~~~~~THE TBL NEWSLETTER~~~~~
Issue #1, Volume 2
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Brought to you by:
The Balrog’s Lair –
http://www.geocities.com/jpalazzolo/
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Contents:
I. Note from the Editor
II. News & Rumors
III. Columns
IV. Advertisements
____________________
Note from the Editor:
Joe Balrog
balrog275@geocities.com
Note from the Editor:
Welcome back to all of our old subscribers that have
returned from our old list and all of our new subscribers
that have signed up in the past two weeks! What I am
expecting this newsletter to become is a weekend update
for you great readers from the wrestling world. I will
also probably be sending out random issues when time
permits. In this issue, I am just looking to get a basis
of what I will be able to actually put in the newsletter.
At one point, this newsletter was jam packed with
information and commentary the likes of which was never
seen before, but after the good people at server.com
deleted my old mailing list, I just said “F it all” and
let the newsletter section of The Balrog’s Lair lay at
rest. However, with a little pressure from my good friend
Dave Talbert and from an increase in my free time thanks
to getting shitty hours at work, I decided to get this
thing back up again! So I ask all of you, if you like
what you see, then tell your friends about this
newsletter. Tell them to sign-up. “Word of mouth” is the
best form of advertising so make sure you let everyone
know! With any further BS, welcome to Issue #1, Volume 2
of The TBL Newsletter!
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News & Rumors:
^^^Lance Storm invades the WWF Again^^^
In his latest commentary, Lance Storm posts the
following: “Everyone may not be aware of this but I did
my second WWF Invasion this past weekend. I Invaded the
WWF house show at the Air Canada Center in Toronto on
Saturday…For those who haven’t heard I ran in on Benoit
vs. Rhyno. I super kicked a chair into Rhyno’s face and
drop kicked Tajiri for good measure. I was in and out in
less than a minute (I stayed to celebrate a bit with
Chris) and had a great time. The crowd response was, to
borrow a word, Tremendous. It’s amazing the reaction you
can get from a crowd when you genuinely surprise them.”
(Thanks to StormWrestling.com”)
^^^Scott Steiner’s Top Phreak^^^
The latest wrestling personality to auction off time on
eBay is none other than WCW’s Phreak of freaks, Midajah.
The auction is currently at $2500 and it shows some sexy
and sweet photos of Midajah posing. Hey, if you got the
money, why not tout Midajah around in front of your
friends? Really now…
^^^The New WCW^^^
There are a lot of rumors and what not going around about
the new WCW. Here is a quick round up of what’s going
down. Apparently the WWFE wants to keep their newly
signed WCW stars in an air of controversy as well as
uncertainty like they recently did with Diamond Dallas
Page. Personalities who are suspected to be in this air
of controversy include men such as Billy Kidman, Rob Van
Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Buff Bagwell, and superstars such as
Ric Flair and Sting. However, Sting has been somewhat
vocal in letting everyone know that he is ready for
retirement and moving on in a new direction in life. As
for Ric Flair, the general feeling in the industry is that
with Hogan starting his own promotion, Dusty Rhodes
already getting rave reviews with his Turnbuckle
Championship Wrestling, and Hulk Hogan starting his own
promotion there might not be another choice for the Nature
Boy except starring in the new WCW. This new WCW already
has Stacey Kiebler (Ric Flair’s son’s girlfriend) as well
as Arn Anderson (Ric Flair’s own personal friend)…with
this situation, it looks more and more like Flair would be
willing to join Vince McMahon’s WCW. Sounds weird, huh?
Vince McMahon’s WCW.
^^^RAW Ratings Jump^^^
This week’s RAW rating jumped up from last week’s 4.1 to a
4.2. Not a big improvement, but the overrun did a 5.0 so
that is a big positive heading into a pay per view.
^^^Advertisements^^^
Want to advertise? It’s FREE! Just let me know! Thanks!!!
^^^WWF Drops the MCW for HWA^^^
In a statement on their website today, the WWF’s Jim Ross
confirmed what many insiders felt was going to happen
sooner or later. Namely, the WWF has dropped the MCW
promotion in favor of Les Thatcher’s HWA promotion. Ross
stated that since the HWA and OVW are in closer proximity
than the OVW and the MCW, it would be better off for their
talents in training to be moved closer to each other. As
a part of this move, the WWF also released some pretty big
developmental names such as the entire Mean Street Posse,
Shooter Schultz, Joey Matthews, Christian York, and the
American Dragon. Jim Ross was also sure to say that one
of the reasons that the WWF let go of these talents is
because they needed to compete against men that were
better than what they were currently competing against in
the MCW. One of the options that Jim Ross brought up was
the possibility of sending these young talents over to
Japan. Such a move would undoubtedly triple their current
competition level since Japan is a well known hot bed for
technical wrestling.
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Columns:
Balrog Babblings
By: Joe Balrog
balrog275@geocities.com
The Light Heavyweights of the WWF
By far, the weakest division in the WWF at this point in
time is the Lightweight Division. And why? Well, I don’t
really know. But here is a run-down of what the WWF has
…so why aren’t they using them?
Yoshihiro Tajiri – One of the most brutal wrestlers to make
the cross over from the Orient to the States and actually
be successful about it. Dubbed “The Japanese Buzzsaw” on
ECW Television which never rang truer than his brutal
matches against men like Mike Awesome and other ECW stars.
Spike Dudley – Definitely a fan favorite after his runs
with Steve Austin and his first kiss with Molly Holly on
RAW. By FAR the lightest wrestler in the WWF as well as
one of the biggest risk-takers in the WWF.
Scotty 2 Hotty – A rare occurrence in the wrestling world…a
light heavyweight that can actually get the crowds behind
him by dancing and doing signature maneuvers. Truly, he
is one of the best young lightweight talents in the
wrestling world.
Dean Malenko – The grandfather, so to speak, of
lightweight. This man has been touted as the best
technician in the world for his vast knowledge of holds
and their effect on his opponents.
Jerry Lynn – Another great ECW transfer to the WWF who
achieved minimal success as the WWF Light Heavyweight
Champion for a short while until losing the belt to –
Jeff Hardy – One of the most charismatic youngsters in
wrestling today as well as one of the most death defying
competitors in the WWF. Not only is Jeff a great tag team
wrestler with his brother, but he also has the unique
ability to make the female fans swoon at his entrance and
ring performace.
Essa Rios – A former champion who brought the lovely Lita
to the public’s eye. Rios proved that you can overcome
terrible gimmicks such as Papi Chulo (Pimp Daddy) and
become a champion in the WWF.
Christian – Another former champion who climbed the ranks
of the WWF Developmental program and became one half of
one of the greatest tag teams of our day with
his “brother” Edge.
Crash – Perhaps one of the smallest wrestlers in the WWF,
but even with his small size, he is still able to pull out
some of the greatest hardcore matches in the WWF as well
as get the crowd behind him for any match.
Taka – Along with Funaki, this duo has been gaining in
popularity due to their new gimmick of voice-overs and has
proven that they can be stars in technical matches.
Funaki – Again, another member of Kaientai that is a great
high-flyer, but has not found his niche in the WWF other
than saying “Indeed!”
X-Pac, K-Kwik, Justin Credible, and even guys like Tazz all
have the ability to be in this division if given the
proper push.
As you can see, the WWF DEFINITELY has the tools to make
one of the most mystifying divisions in wrestling history,
but they aren’t doing anything with it. I really want to
know what you would do if you could book this division, so
e-mail me and let me know! Thanks!
Joe Balrog
balrog275@geocities.com
The Middle Turnbuckle Report
By: Sean O’Leary
Santeria36@aol.com
The Rock vs. Stone Cold
There are four professional wrestlers that are, or were, so
big that they went above and beyond just being a huge
wrestling star but into a star that had mainstream
national media appeal. The first, and obvious one, is Hulk
Hogan; who was so big that he actually got on the cover of
Sports Illustrated. The second is ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage
who got this appeal more from Slim Jim commercials than
anything else, but his trademark “Oh Yeah!” is widely
recognized by wrestling and non-wrestling fans alike. Ric
Flair, it can be argued, is a household name below the
Mason-Dixon line, i.e., The South, but that is only a
small region. The second two in our fearsome foursome is
the Rock and Stone Cold, two men who have literally
redefined the meaning of pro wrestling.
First, a little history, which shows the parallel of these
two men’s career in the WWF is striking similar. Both men
arrived with much fan fare, Stone Cold with his Ringmaster
persona in late 1995, and the Rock with his Rocky Maivia:
Blue Chipper persona in late 1996. Both of these personas
were pushed hard by the WWF, but neither clicked. The
Ringmaster was mildly over as a heel, but nothing that
would turn any heads. Rocky Maivia was a miserable failure
as Rocky was not good in the ring yet and hadn’t found his
mic skills, and the fans hated, loathed and despised Rocky
Maivia. Both men changed their personas to their current
ones of Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock. Both men
were heels who cut scathing promos, with Stone Cold
cussing, beating ass, and challenging Bret Hart while the
Rock took the role of a cowardly heel whose weekly rants
on opponents were hilariously and entertaining to say the
least. Like with all good heels, see Ric Flair and Shawn
Michaels, the fans grow to love to hate the bad guy, and
eventually the heel must be turned face to cash in.
But I doubt even the WWF knew the gold mine that they were
sitting on in Stone Cold and the Rock. Stone Cold
transcended pro wrestling and became the biggest thing in
pro wrestling since Hulk Hogan. He was an everyman who got
tired of his boss, of authority, and just rose all hell.
The fans ate it all up week after week and couldn’t get
enough of it. The Rock was a total different animal all
together, as the fans ate up his entertaining promos
and ‘sang’ along with him during his key catchphrases. The
key point to remember here is that these were two very
different types of mega-stars. Stone Cold was the
antiauthority; raising middle fingers, pounding beers, and
beating the crap out of everybody. The Rock was simply an
entertainer; he entertained you in and out of the ring.
The Rock was a star while Stone Cold was your everyman.
I bring this point up as we enter 2001, the Rock is off
making a major motion-picture with him as the star while
Stone Cold turned heel with Vince McMahon. At
WrestleMania, I was confused to the point of asking myself
aloud what the hell the WWF was thinking. Stone Cold had
finally returned from his horrible neck injury and
surgery, was finally about the reclaim the WWF title, and
there was McMahon with Austin. I know there is more money
to be made from a heel World Champion, but what gives? The
answer came to me as I watched, of all things, the MTV
Movie Awards last Thursday. There was the Rock, with
Brendan Fraser, doing a hilarious spiel with Fraser
referring to himself in the third person and imitating the
Rock. It hit me right there like a lead pipe over the
head.
The Rock is a superstar, his character has always been that
of a superstar, and with his recent role in the Mummy
Returns, he is a bonafide *star*. He is no longer a pro
wrestler, he has entered into true celebrity status. We
should have seen it coming. The Rock is a good looking
guy, with great acting ability, and, well I can’t put it
in any simpler terms, charisma. The WWF, because of the
Rock, I feel is about ten-thousand times more acceptable
to the mainstream world than in 1998 when Stone Cold was
running things. Stone Cold is, was, and will always be a
pro wrestler. Sure he did some episodes of Nash Bridges,
but he wasn’t a television star, although arguably he
could be. Stone Cold would never be seen hob-knobbing with
Brendan Fraser and the rest of Hollywood, it just isn’t
the way he works, both as a character and in real life.
The WWF knew this leading up to WrestleMania. Stone Cold
Steve Austin was clearly and far and away the more popular
of the two at the arenas where the WWF ran shows running
up to WrestleMania. But the WWF also knew that to the
average casual fan, the Rock was more over. The hardcore
fan loved Stone Cold, but the hardcore fan will always be
there, it’s at the casual fan where the money is to be
made. Pro wrestling is after all a business. So the WWF
turned Stone Cold heel because the Rock is the #1 star
that they have. WrestleMania next year, I can almost
guarantee, and I hope I’m right, will involved a face
Rocky taking the title from a heel Stone Cold Steve Austin
and it will be huge.
No one can deny the impact that Stone Cold and the Rock
have had on pro wrestling. They have already headlined two
WrestleMania’s, and a third would seem to be a lock. Both
have forayed into the world of celebrity past just pro
wrestling. In the end, it is the Rock, if he continues to
wrestle, that will become the bigger star. Fate dealt
Stone Cold a cruel hand with his neck injury, and who
knows what the situation would be if Stone Cold didn’t
have to take 2000 off while the Rock’s popularity
skyrocketed. As it is, the Rock did have 2000 all to
himself, and he took advantage of it. You thought the
return of Stone Cold last fall was big? Just wait, I mean
just wait, until the Rock returns. If Rocky keeps
wrestling, which is turning into a bigger and bigger if,
he will become the biggest pro wrestling star ever.
Sean O’Leary
Santeria36@aol.com
Food For Thought
By: Wrestlebabe
wrestlebabe316@yahoo.com
Hello Everyone! Hope it hasn’t been too hot for you! Things
are definitely starting to heat up in the WWF. Throwing in
a little WCW too, just enough to make you want more so it
seems.
Let’s talk romance! Spike Dudley and Molly Holly!! I LOVE
it!! This is turning out to be a love story for the ages.
Spike is Romeo and Sir Lancelot all rolled into one 150
pound package! The way he stands up to the Rattlesnake is
so noble. In all honesty, it every woman’s dream to have
her man stand up for her and be open and honest about his
feelings like he has. Molly is no slouch either. She puts
herself in harms way to protect her man too. A good love
story is always great to watch.
Terri and Perry – Perry has been taking too many blows to
the head. Alright, he says weird things. It’s all good.
Some folks don’t like it because it’s too realistic to be
entertaining. Think about it, if you kept getting hit in
the head, wouldn’t you get just a little loopy. Perry gets
loopy like Perry gets loopy. I wasn’t crazy about him
coming out during the Terri/Trish match in the full figure
bra. The Thong on the other hand, was GREAT!! Perry is a
Fantastic set of buns!! Remembering his feud with Raven, I
don’t think it’s a good idea to dress him like a girl.
Pairing him up with Raven in some way, shape or form could
be beneficial to both wrestlers.
Kurt Angle – I don’t know what his problem is or what he’s
trying to prove. He’s so annoying!! Patrick Fitzgerald
responded to my question with an excellent suggestion
regarding a WCW opponent for Shane to use against Angle.
(Someone new needs to get into the situation) Patrick
thinks Mike Awesome coming back as the Career Killer would
be a plan. I agree, I like Mike Awesome!! Rick Steiner
could be another worthy opponent though I don’t think he’s
signed yet. KOTR – Shane in a Street Fight with Angle?
Could be a good match if placed on the card right.
To be honest – I’m not all that enthusiastic about KOTR.
When Tajari got in there, I wanted to see him win. This
man is SO TALENTED!! Then, wham, in with Rhyno!! How fair
is that? Tajari needs to be wrestling!! Could be
interesting for him to take English lessons from SCSA once
he comes full circle.
SCSA – Look what they’ve done to him! He’s been turned into
a lunatic. Too much into himself and what he does or
doesn’t “deserve” What was that crap all about him telling
Vince to choose between him and Linda? The hug? The
psychotic looks on his face at times? He needs to come
full circle soon or get put in a straight jacket. This
Benoit – Jericho thing is OLD. I think KOTR is going to
put SC in a straight jacket or something. SCSA tapped!!
That’s NOT the SCSA that everyone fell in love with and
sold more merchandise that Hogan in his prime.
Undertaker – You know I would have to talk about The
DEADMAN!! So – DDP wants to become “FAMOUS” Has this guy
got a death wish or what? Does he really think he can
survive a cage match or any kind of down and dirty match
with Bubby? Look what he did to Mick!! DDP is no where
near as tough a Mic was or nearly as young as Mic is.
Guess he wants to go out with a “BANG” Does anyone know
anything about the contract he signed? Let me know
please!!
Final Thoughts:
Kane and Albert – Looks like a good match at KOTR.
Trish – Give Steve a roll!!
Grand Master Sexay – Gone but not forgotten!! I like to
watch him dance and he was entertaining at times.
Shane – At KOTR, do whatever it takes to put Angle in his
place. Please throw some more WCW guys in the mix. It was
good to see the prettiest set of eyes from WCW jump in
there to interfere with Edge’s interference. Yes, Hugh
Morris does have pretty eyes and a lot of talent. Let us
get a closer look. Sign Bobby and Jerry as your announce
team for WCW!!
APA – Kronik!!! COME ON!! I want Brians!!! We need to see
these 2 teams of big men go at it!!
HHH – Get Well Soon!! Miss you terribly!!
The Rock is REALLY getting around. He’s got a shot at a
REAL movie career!! Saw The Mummy Returns. Excellent
movie!! The Rock looked FANTASTIC in it!! Miss you too,
hope someone brings you back soon.
Mic vs Regal – Come on, THAT would be a GREAT match!! Mr.
Snooty (the look on his face says he smells a skunk)
versus the #1 best selling author for the 2nd time in a
Battle of the Commissioners!!
Vince vs Linda – Looks like Linda is winning!! You go
girl!! Well, Lady. Vince seems to be not so arrogant as of
late.
XPac sucks!! Sorry to say, X Factor does not have the
personality or charisma of DeGeneration X. Ideas?
Where’s Chyna? Her being Woman’s Champion is STUPID!! She
has no competition!! Any other ideas?
Drop me a line with your ideas so I can share them with my
readers: Wrestlebabe316@yahoo.com
Have a nice weekend!!
Wrestlebabe
wrestlebabe316@yahoo.com
The Dirty South Chronicles
By: GrandMaster D.
The3rdLibra676@cs.com
“I watched you change…it’s like you never…had wings…I
watched you change.” Chino–DEFTONES(the white pony)
Change. A quality and process that takes place in all
facets of civilization. Evolution, relationships, life,
death, and of course…wrestling. What started as a
legitimate sport in the days of the ancient Olympia,
changed into modern entertainment in early twentieth
century America, and eventually found itself considered
little more than a carnival attraction until the late
nineteen-seventies. Sure, the NWA and the Japanese
promotions were still allowing their workers to give great
displays of athleticism through booked outcomes, but it
would take a broadminded entrepreneur from Connecticut to
give wrestling it’s most influential change. Vincent K.
McMahon, upon buying his father’s territorial promotion
set out to conquer the world. He ran into a few roadblocks
along the way early on.
Sammartino, Morales, Koloff, all men of great talent and
ring expertise, but not exactly someone who could star in
a movie or show up on a box of cereal. Enter Hulk Hogan. A
6’6 275 lbs., blonde, hair, all-American mass of
advertising and superstar miracle. Hogan will never be
remembered for his ability, or knowledge of wrestling, but
everyone knows that without Hogan, the only major
wrestling we would be discussing now would probably be the
NWA’s big buy out of some promotion out west. Make no
mistake about it kids, without Hogan we have no RAW, no
NITRO, no MONDAY NIGHT WARS, and (gasp) probably no ECW,
as Heyman would never have actually been as fired up and
exposed to wrestling as he would when, as a result of
Hogan’s presence, the WWF brought pro-wrestling into a
global entertainment market.
Those that think the WWF was popular a few years back, cant
even begin to imagine the mainstream infiltration
practiced by the fed in the mid-eighties. Imagine a
SATURDAY NIGHT MAIN EVENT now, with SCSA being German
-suplxed ten times, but not on cable…on NB friggin C!
That was the power Hogan and the WWF had as it blazed a
path over territorial promotions and the world throughout
the eighties. Something happened though, an economy sank
into recession, an insane dictator by the name of Saddam
Hussein, brought a nonviolent country to its knees, and
went unpunished, and a deadly, incurable disease spread
its way throughout the world, weaving itself from sexual
encounter to sexual encounter with seemingly no end in
sight. What does this cause within society? Change,
immense change in social attitudes and beliefs, a certain
jaded quality overtakes the world. Yet in the WWF and most
other promotions, it was still good guy beats bad guy. Yet
in the real world, the good guys were losing to the bad
guys of downsizing commerce and detached government
everyday.
And so wrestling’s decline begins, as a result of its
failure to change. The stagnant position of wrestling
remains as such until about 1995. Ted Turner, who had
recently purchased the NWA, renaming it WCW, decided to
broadcast on his national cable station, TNT, a competing
Monday wrestling program to go head to head with McMahon’s
Monday night program. The next change was upon us. As a
formidable, realistic sense of competition was brought for
to McMahon, the WWF was forced to find out why the WCW was
outperforming them in the ratings, the answer? Namely all
of McMahon’s major talent had jump-shipped to WCW for more
money, so in essence fans were still watching WWF only it
was under a different name, The point here, Eric Bischoff
knew what fans wanted. they didnt care about stupid
gimmicks or new talent, they wanted Scott Hall, Kevin
Nash, Lex Luger, Sting, Ric Flair, and most
importantly…Hulk Hogan. The WWF would try and fight off
the WCW, with what many have referred to as the best
working period in the WWF.
Loyal company employees were consistently putting on great
matches. Still, when Tuesday morning arrived, WCW had
triumphed once again. But why? Why would people rather
watch a bunch of old, has-beens who could work a good
match if their life depended on it? Because they knew who
the worker were, they were familiar, they cared about
them. People cared if Hogan won, or if Nash and Hall would
be in the audience. More people than the ones who cared
about some Canadian technical master, and a bump machine
from San Antonio. Enter Paul Heyman. Around 1995, Paulie’s
sitting in his mom’s house in New York watching wrestling.
On WCW he sees faded stars that he cares about, but is
unimpressed by their ring work. On WWF he sees beautiful
15 minute masterpieces, yet could give a damn less about
what happens, because Vince has failed to give him a
reason to care.
So what does he do? Starts his own promo. ECW is born and
the next big change in wrestling happens. Paul decides to
combine the elements of WCW and WWF along with his own
take and vision. Take a great storyline and presentation
of WCW, where the fans are informed of who the workers
are, what they’re about…but instead of labeling one a
good guy and the other a bad guy, Heyman just leaves that
out. Lets the fans decide, they’re the ones paying to see
it aren’t they? Who is Heyman to insult their
intelligence. The other major evolution wrestling incurs
thanks to Paulie is actually one that dates back to the
beginnings of wrestling. An element of pain. So Nash
powerbombs a guy, and Hogan gives a legdrop. You can see
the recipient of both moves get up a minute afterwards
through the corner of the camera. Paul wanted real, it
would still be booked, but the scenario of punch, kick,
rest hold, finisher would not see the light of day in ECW
as far as he was concerned.
He assembled a talented group of rather unknown athletes
who essentially were asked to sacrifice their bodies night
after night. A dozen or so taped shows, constant touring,
and an inaugural pay per view later, ECW had a grass roots
fan base that live, died, ate, slept, drank, and breathed
for the likes of RVD, TAZ, SABU, Lynn, Awesome, Tajiri,
Tanaka, and others. No, there was no national tv deal, nor
did the fan base rival the size of the WCW’s or WWF, but
how many WWF fans do you know that scrounge up money to
fly across 5 states just to sit general admission for a
ppv? Not too many, but that was all part of the gig for an
ECW fan. Honestly though, what difference can an
independent promotion make in a world of fiber-optic
broadcasting? Well, if you’re owner’s got the balls to
take a few of his employees and himself and sit ringside
for a WWF RAW live broadcast, and literally invade the
show…ALOT OF DIFFERENCE. WCW had the NWO angle going on,
and whether you like who was involved or not, it is
perhaps the greets angle of all time. But the WWF had a
secret weapon that would bring it Monday night dominance.
A RVD buzzsaw and a Sabu, balcony moonsault later, WWF saw
the future. Here was an independent promotion that had
gained a national following with largely unknown athletes,
if the WWF could use their same approach the results would
be monumental. So a talent exchange occurred, and through
that process a few guys from ECW no one had ever heard of
for the most part would change the wrestling world
forever. Paul had recruited a man by the name of Steve
Williams who had fallen out of favor with WCW president,
Eric Bischoff, and had sough sanctuary in ECW. He gave
great shoot interviews, mocking WCW and those he had come
across in various locker rooms throughout his career. His
style, was vulgar, violent, rude, and offensive. People
loved it. So naturally Vince gave him a contract, but
instead of letting him keep his same routine Vince thought
that although beer and cussing may work good inside of a
midsize auditorium, there was no way it would work on a
nationally televised program. So he did what he always does
when presented with “rough-edge” talent. He gave him a
gimmick.
Steve was now the RING MASTER, and was accompanied by Ted
Dibiase. He made a rather substantial mid-card impact
before being repackaged in a more comfortable role as an
insane, brutal, offensive, red neck: Stone Cold Steve
Austin. He viciously attacked opponents, singling out the
company’s top babyface Brett Hart, and mercilessly
brutalizing the man at every turn. A year prior he had
destroyed a newly religiously zealot Jake Roberts at KOTR
1996, and coined the phrase “Austin 3:16” Here was a man
who cussed constantly, drank excessive amounts of beer,
and worst of all attempted to remove the very breath from
Bret Hart every chance he got. One problem though. No one
hated him for it.
For a generation that grown up, raised on television and
violent vide games who were now finding themselves in a a
society where no one understood their anger and seemingly
wanted to hold them back, they found a hero in Stone Cold
Steve Austin. They couldn’t stand up to the pretty-boy
rich kid at school, they couldn’t tell their parents and
churches that there life wasn’t going to be dictated by
and outside force, they couldn’t beat up their boss at
their minimum wage job, or their oppressive principals,
teachers, or police force, but Stone Cold could.
Wrestlemania 13 would be the place where the next change
occurred, and Vince McMahon had the closest thing
to a religious experience he’s probably ever had. Bret
Hart, the hard working, goody-good from Canada was set to
face off against, the lewd, drunken, redneck of Stone Cold
Steve Austin in an “I QUIT” match. The two fought each
other in a blood soaked war, and as the match came to a
close, Hart poised himself to lock in the sharpshooter.
From there it was elementary. Austin would submit and Hart
would leave the hero once again. Except Austin didn’t give
up. He fought, screamed, shook his head no, and eventually
passed out from the pain and in a pool of his own blood
lost the match. That’s when history changed. The WWF told
the fans that Hart was your hero, he defeated the heel and
he should now be cheered. But the fans didn’t listen. They
saw Austin go the distance with Hart like no one before
him, he hurt for them, he bled for them, he walked through
hell for them and jobbed out…all for them, and they
stood and applauded his effort. They didnt care about a
story, a character, an angle, a push…just the fact that
a common man went out and gave a 110% for each and every
one of them. From that point on Vince realized it was the
reality of ECW’s character’s and matches that appealed to
the fans. The good guy doesn’t always win, no matter how
hard he works or deserves it.
This was no more evident that at the 1997 Survivor Series.
Two years after his win over Hart, SCSA defeated Shawn
Michaels to become the WWF champion and ushered in the
ATTITUDE ERA for the WWF. They’ve never looked back. But
what now? WWF ended the MONDAY NIGHT WARS buy purchasing
WCW, ECW has gone bankrupt, and the hard-core ATTITUDE era
has dissolved into nothing more than a gimmick. So where
does it all go from here? Well, there’s nothing else to
evolve to a wrestling level, perhaps entertainment wise,
yes there is more that can be done, better pyro, bigger
stages, bigger arenas, bigger production. But as far as
wrestling, the actual craft, there is nothing which has
not been done. Thirty-foot high cage matches, broken
tables, death defying leaps from ladders and scaffolds,
six minute psychological epics, all have been performed
and improved on, but where does it go from here? Should
new gimmicks be invented? Should the federation repackage
itself? No, a bigger cage, a bigger bump, more blood,
longer matches are all good in idea, but the most
important ingredient needed for propelling the WWF lies
not in the future, but in the past.
A past where wrestlers made the fans care, not for their
gimmick, their music, their pyro, their angle, but for the
athlete himself. When Sting battled Flair to a forty-five
minute draw people stood and applauded much like ECW fans
did not too long ago, and much like WWF fans have been
doing recently with for the last few weeks of WWF
television. They applauded for the men themselves, that
two men were willing to involve themselves in a situation
of pain and agony for the sheer enjoyment of the fans.
That is what is needed now, that is what Austin, Jericho,
Benoit, Angle, and most probably The Undertaker when his
match with DDP commences, have done. They have made us
care about and respect their performances. Going into the
Benoit/Angle cage match a week ago on RAW I wanted
Benoit to win because I’m a fan of his, and a win would
solidify a good face push for the man. As the match drew
on though, I didn’t care who won. I didn’t care who lost,
I just cared about the match, the fact that Kurt would
climb a twenty foot high cage and perform a beautiful back
-flip moonsault all so that I wouldn’t change the channel,
all to impress and entertain me, knowing full well that he
would miss as he leapt to the canvas, was something that
left me in awe. That Austin would agree to a heel turn
knowing it could jeopardize his career and persona all to
improve the product for me the fan, that he would
willingly allow Chris Benoit to deliver ten German
suplexes to him a row knowing that any one of them could
leave his fragile neck mangled, and paralyze him for life,
left me astonished. The fact that HHH would endure a
serious, crippling injury midway through a match, and then
subject himself to keep going only to be willingly placed
in a merciless submission maneuver left me in awe of the
man’s dedication.
That is the change needed in wrestling. Not more gimmicks,
not marketing repackaging, not death-defying, violent
bumps, the only change needed is something that used to be
common place in the territorial promotions of yesteryear.
Let the athletes do what they do best. Perform, wrestle,
to write a page of a never ending story with the words
including of drop toe holds, suplexes, submissions, blood,
sweat, and tears. They have worked their entire lives to
write their part of this story before a world wide
audience. If I may paraphrase a certain Kevin Costner
inspired voice from above,
“Vince, if you show it, they will watch.”
GrandMaster D.
The3rdLibra676@cs.com
Rounding the Squared Circle
By: Sam Jerry
SamJerry@aol.com
“DIRTBAG’S DASTARDLY DEBUT”
OR
“THE TAKER CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO A SCUMBAG’S FUNERAL”
Visit My Home Page At: http://members.aol.com/samjerry
The Stalker’s identity was revealed last night on RAW.
Unlike how Emperor McMahon blew the surprise of who The
Higher Power was (himself), he nailed this one right on
the head. In an art imitates life move, Dirtbag Doophus
Page (DDP) was revealed to be the slimeball stalking Sara,
The Taker’s foxy young wife. It has been pretty common
knowledge that the voice we have been hearing playing The
Stalker was The Emperor’s and the signing of Douchebag
wasn’t final. I suspect the WWF was throwing everyone off.
I think DDP was signed some time ago and The Stalker angle
created for him. Who better to play such a vile,
disgusting person than DDP? DDP following Stacy Kiebler;
talk about a 180 degree difference. Having Satan follow an
angel.
Dirtbag revealed himself on RAW and immediately went into a
tirade ripping on The Taker and how he planned to use him
to shoot immediately to the top. The Taker may make DDP
famous all right; famous as someone who debuted and was
buried the same night. I can’t think of anyone (or
anything) worse to be pissed at you than The Dead Man.
There’s an old saying “Be careful what you wish for, you
just might get it.” In Dirtbag’s case, it is a death wish,
and he is going to get it.
There is also a rumor that Dirtbag may be used on WCW’s
Booking Team. If true, it brings McMahon’s wisdom into
question. I have never run across anyone who brings an
immediate hate or love reaction than Dirtbag, and most are
in the hate category. If memory serves me correctly,
DDP’s “talent” as a Booker was utilized by Good Old Eric
(GOE), and it led to him winning the WCW Championship
shortly thereafter. He had the reputation of being GOE’s
buddy and used that relationship to his advantage. While
they need star power to jump start the New WCW, they have
to guard against that type of thing. It hurt WCW and it
could hurt the New WCW. Bang!
Other than that, RAW was a winner. The Final Four for King
Of The Ring (KOTR) was established. Last years winner, The
American Olympic Zero, Rhyno, Edge and Christian. Unless
the WWF wants to set a precedent and have Zero repeat
(that in addition to his Street Fight v. Prince Shane,
Dare Devil In Waiting), we can expect one of the young
lions to win and take a major step up. Rhyno is new, so he
is long shot. Having The Canadian Clueless Brothers meet
in Finals is a natural. It breaks up their tag team and
gives one a major push to Main Event status. The loser
doesn’t move as fast, but getting that far wont hurt. Who
has the Edge?
The Main Event gave us a hint of what might happen at KOTR
when Stone Cold Steve Austin (SCSA) (C) put the WWF Title
on the line in a Triple Threat Match v. Canadian Chris No.
1 and No. 2. The match ended with SCSA taping out as he
was trapped in both The Crippler Cross Face and Walls of
Jericho. If this happens at KOTR, who is the Champion? Is
it No. 1 or No. 2 … or does our beloved Commissar, The
Ass With A Mouth and/or Emperor Vince declare that it is
impossible to determine who won and therefore SCSA keeps
the Title or possibly declare the Title vacant.
We also saw the long overdue beginning of The Dudley Boyz
heel turn. Watching Bubba Ray and DeVon playing nice in
the sandbox just doesn’t seem right. They should be
kicking sand (and anything else they can their hands on)
into the face of everyone around. Big Daddy Dudley will be
proud; finally his two oldest boyz are going to be tearing
the place up, and beating the crap out of their outcast
half brother Little Spike Dudley every chance they get.
Now if only Big Dick Dudley, Sign Guy Dudley and Snot and
Snerd Dudley get the call.
Sam Jerry
SamJerry@aol.com
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