Breaking The Walls Down: Your Thoughts on Fixing The WWE
Submitted by Chris Dailey on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 at 3:16 PM EST



Breaking The Walls Down



Hello all and welcome back to Breaking The Walls Down. First, and foremost, I apologize to everyone for not putting out a column lately. Due to matters out of my control, I have been busy. I have assured Calvin that I will put forth a better effort to write a column; however, in the event I can not write further columns, I will stepaside and make room for someone who can. Again, I apologize for the lack of postings.



Bits and Pieces



The British Bulldog has passed away. And with him, another death rocks the foundation of the Hart family. I know there is bad blood in the family involving Mr. Smith, but I hope all discontent can be put aside to mourn the loss of someone who is a father to two children.

I have had the fortunancy of catching CZW on my local cable channel for the past couple Saturdays. And, while I will say I'm not a huge CZW mark by any means, I do retract my previous statement about CZW. I believe that statement went something to the effect of me falling asleep during their matches. And, while I will say that I've seen some matches since them that have started to make me drowsy, I have also seen some matches and moves that have totally caught me by surprise. I will also say that CZW has an excellent openeing theme song. I have found myself murming that song to myself every now and then.

On the topic of CZW, Mad Dog 20 (sp?) is an exceptional tallent. When I say exceptional, I should also add, beginning exceptional talent, as you can see he needs to improve, but he has the potential to be an excellent cruiserweight. I don't see him putting on that much more weight to become a heavyweight, but you never know. I do suggest you check him out. Also, The BackSeat Boys have an awesome move. The T something. I can't remember all of the name, but it is incredible to watch. I do recommend checking them out.

There has been some talk of having a Rock vs. Keji Muto (The Great Muta) match. There has been talk of having some relations between I believe All Japan and The WWE. While I would like to see this come about, I don't know if it will. I would love to see the wrestling matches that would come out of it, but I don't think it will happen in the long run. An invasion of Japanese wrestlers into the promotion may possibly boost the ratings. The question is, is there stability in that boost of ratings, or would it only last for a little while.

The Undertaker has a new theme song. The song sounds like the songs they used to use for the jobbers back in the 80s and early 90s. Come on, give The Undertaker (who is now your champion) a better song than that. I felt no intimidation in that music. I didn't feel any in his other one either, but this one is worse. It's clearly time to give The Undertake some new music.

And now, onto the column.



Your Thoughts on Fixing The WWE



I have put everyone's e-mail in the column that I felt added some form of insightfulness into the WWE's situation. I thank everyone for their well-thought e-mails, as it's obvious many of you put a lot of thought into them. Please bare in mind that these opinions were written before Hall and Henning were fired and before the WWF changed its name to the WWE.

As for my suggestions to improve the WWE, don't put on a RAW, Smackdown! or PPV like they have for the past month. I can say with the utmost confidence that Judgement Day was the most horrible PPV I have seen in a good year. Now, I was in Florida for the PPV before Judgement Day, so I did not see that one, but Judgement Day was awful. I had this horrible feeling to me that The Undertaker was going to win the belt. I called Hogan, but I should have known better as I only went 4-4 on Sunday night, not as bad as one of my friends who went 1-7. Props to Jeff for that great record.

In all seriousness, though, The Undertaker walked out and I heard his horrible music. Then, the crowd was almost silent when The Undertake came down. Now, I tried to attribute that to the fans being confused by the new music, but when he won the title, they were just as quiet. No one cared. The last two matches on the card were horrible. I had this horrible feeling that Rico was going to be Rikishi's partner and I was right.

As for suggestions instead of me just complaining, how about hiring some more script writers and putting together some story lines that are going to keep an audience interested. Wrestling matches don't do it anymore. If it were up to me, I'd love to see an excellent match, but fans don't care for that much anymore. They want storylines that keep them talking after the show is done. New, fresh script writers can do this. Ones that have an idea of where the wrestling world has come from and what storylines were already done time and time again.

More often than not I have had my fair share of advice. And, admittingly I have no right in the WWE's eyes to give that advice because I'm not in the business. However, I am a fan . . . a fan with a very active imagination. Stars like Raven, Tazz, Lance Storm, The Hardys, and many others are all being used wrong. The can be so much more, yet we don't see a whole bunch from them. I mention The Hardys, and that may surprise you, but they haven't really done anything lately except get squashed. Kane is another wrestler who has been underused. He has started to become a major player since the split, but then he became injured. I can only hope that the WWE continues to build on him when he returns.

However, enough of what I think, onto your thoughts.

LunarComplete wrote:
I want new writers for both shows, first and foremost. Now even though I have had RCN for the past two weeks which doesn't carry TNN, Raw has been awful since 1999 and with this split it seems nothing is making it a split. There are no funny segments such as Vince appearing on the titantron and turning the power off at raw nor is there flair appearing on Smackdown to turn every bit of audio off.

If Flair and Vince are competing I wouldn't even know it. Bradshaw in a mainevent is a big joke. Raw got a new set, new logo and theme music but isn't a split deamable for everything to start over? Triple H is a good champ but these storylines for both shows absolutely suck. The feuds are boring there are no real good feuds save for RVD and Eddie Guerrero. I want to see the hard-core division HARD-CORE not backyard soft-core wrestling, I want both shows to compete against each other not just branch off one another.

Both shows have their own domains smackdown.wwf.com and raw.wwf.com now why can't they do more to separate one from the other AND at the same time have inter-federation matches?

jack lloyd wrote:
I FEEL THE WHOLE SPLIT THING IS A FLOP. JUST LOOK AT THE RATINGS BOTH RAW AND SMACKDOWN ARE DROPPING. ALSO THERE ARE ALOT OF WWF AND WCW SUPERSTARS THAT ARE BEING WASTED OF GOOD TALENT. VINCE BETTER WAKE THE HELL UP AND SEE WHAT IS GOING ON. IF TED TURNER DOES GET BACK INTO THE BUSINESS HE WILL SUCK THEM UP. REMEMBER HE IS ALOT RICHER THAN VINCE.
I HAVE SEEN ALOT CHANGES IN WRESTLING IN THE 24 YRS. I HAVE BEEN WATCHING IT. I HAVE SEEN FEDS COME AND GO. THE WWF BETTER TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT WHAT IS GOING ON. AND MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS WITH ROSTER AND COMPANY WELL THATS ALL I GOT SAY ABOUT THAT. I AM BASICALLY PISSED OFF AT WHAT IS GOING ON. I REALLY MISS THE OLD AWA AND NWA DAYS. AFTER WCW FOLDED THERE IS NO COMPETION ANYMORE.

Jim S. wrote:
what i would like to see is the wwf have some surprises on each show,
like a wrestler no one has heard to be coming and just show up on raw
or smack down. But i guess with the internet that is obviously a problem
but nonetheless i would like to see that and as well the wwf has become
to predictable as in the way the match is going to turn out,they need
to have some surprises to keep the fans coming back, as for myself i am
a diehard wrestling fan and as bad as the shows can get,i will still
watch, but with some pain ina sense. I just hope vince and the writers
can come up with some good story lines and some surprises.


Adam S. wrote:
Just some thoughts on your latest column about the roster split and where I'd like the WWF to take it. In the history books is where this lame, half-assed approach to some of the problems WWFE expresses should be taken. The only way I'd approach this rediculous roster split is to undo it. Everyone says that this is a great thing, or it is not as great as they expected. I don't get it. The split has lived up to the only expectation I ever saw for it. It stinks. Every time Vince, Nash, Hall, Hogan, Flair, X-Pac or Big Slow is put on screen I chuckle. Why? Because those guys remain on TV during a process that was supposed to bring fresh faces. Also, do they really think that seeing new faces being pushed is enough? The fans want, I would think and hope, new faces that are main event material. Bradshaw being pushed. What a novel idea that is Vince! It hasn't been done before! Oh wait, there's a reason it hasn't been done before. No, not because there was no time to do it, but because Bradshaw, as good of a mid-card player as he is, is just that. A mid-card player. He's like a second line center of a hockey club. Important, and deserving of recognition. But him being important back there doesn't always warrant moving him to the first line.

The Wraytion wrote:

How can you not like the direction the women's division is going in. The WWF finally has a solid roster of women, who not only look good, but can put on a solid, if not descent match. The first thing people have to do is change their mentality towards the women's division as far as just seeing it as eye candy. These women are competitors.
You have Molly, who in my opinion is the best women's wrestler in the WWF maybe even the world. Jazz is a brawler and very physical. I'd put Trish next, because she takes bumps as well as most of the men and has come so far in improving her wrestling ability since she first entered the WWF. Jackie and Ivory are good veterans. Lita's the high flyer but still needs to improve the technical aspect of her game. With more ring work Stacy K. could be good as well.
In order for the division to improve the need more air time and then things will fall into play. So give it a chance & see where it goes. It may not be in the class of a Rock-Stone Cold match, but it's far better than a Sable-Debra match.


Jerry wrote:
I dont mind the slow start.......they way i see it i rather see the wwf get off to a slow start and build their way back up again instead of automatically being hot straight from the start and then burning out quickly. Hey i could be wrong but if the latter happens i think it will be more enjoyable in the long run. take it easy.


Mike wrote:

I think one of the most basic factors that the WWF has been ignoring since their creation, and which due to the Monopoly that Vinnie Mac has created has pretty much become non-existent, is what the 2nd W in their name stands for; Wrestling. I'm not talking about SLOW, reeeeaaaaaallllly long matches here, but I want to see some competition. Especially with the wrestlers that the WWF currently has on their Roster. People such as Kurt Angle, RVD, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Kidman, Tajiri, and Lance Storm can do a Hell of a lot more than simply babble into a microphone and "perform" sub-par matches just to fit what Vince McMahon thinks that we want to see. I feel that incorporating some actual wrestling into the product might be the only way to actually save the WWF from the mess that they've created, and actually save the entertainment of Professional Wrestling from disappearing off the face of this Earth. Maybe somebody should start hitting up the WWF Creative Team with some Japanese videos to show them what they are actually supposed to be doing???

Michael Daugherty wrote:
Hey, read your column today, along with several others, and I have a lot of thoughts on the direction of the WWF. Let me begin by saying that I got interested in wrestling back when I was watching Bret Hart and his brothers in Stampede Wrestling, back when Bret was about 18. Then I discovered a little program from the Southeast called the NWA, along with Vern Gagne's AWA, and of course a little later, the World Class organization run by the great Von Erich family. These were the pre-McMahon days, although his father also had a regional outfit running up in the northeast, the World Wide Wrestling Federation. You know what all of these had in common? The shows were BOOKED, not WRITTEN. In other words, they lacked "sports entertainment". I, for one, feel that is a good thing.

I have been kind of outspoken on this topic, and in fact sent an email off to Brendan the other day from his column. You can link off the LOP site directly to a site called www.highspots.com , and there you will find a video library that is second to none on all the antics of the NWA, dating back to the early 80's and 90's, and it brought a smile to my face to remember all the things that are on each tape, because to me that was a time when wrestling was really exciting. I am about to buy a bunch of them. The talent was much better, the wrestling action told the story. Promos were never EVER longer than 5 minutes, because wrestling at the time was exactly that....wrestling.

Now don't get me wrong, I like to listen to the guys talk smack to each other. I think that that can be very entertaining. But the backstage nonsense that goes on just to set up a match just kills me. I see Vince walk to the ring or come on camera at all, and I am ready for a channel check. By the way, have you ever noticed how he looks right in the face like Wile E. Coyote when he realizes that the rock is going to land on him or that the parachute isn't going to work? He makes me sick. Seeing Steph come down (although she is definitely a hottie) also makes me want to barf.

They have huge rosters on both shows with tons of quality talent. They can't use them because we have to see Vince spend twenty minutes of what could be solid mid-card matches hiring an executive assistant. Since those guys have no place on the show because we have been treated to the antics of Stacy Kiebler, and the inevitable hiring thereof, they get to hang out in the parking lot and place bets on the transvestite and old lady lover, and proud papa of a hand, Mark Henry holding back a limo? WHAT??? (sorry, I had to do that). Flair comes out, apologizes for being the first guy to come out, tells us about all the wonderful talent in the back, and gives us 20 minutes of nonsense with Undertaker and Austin?? WHAT?? Because we have to have this, we get six 5-minute or less matches per night? WHAT?? WHAT?? WHAT??

I say, stop IT!! If we didn't screw around with all the backstage nonsense and the long, long, promos, there would be WAY more time for everyone on each roster to have an opportunity to shine. Yeah, the return of HHH was incredible and emotional and all, the arrival of Ric Flair was just an incredible night, and the arrival of Y2J was nothing short of brilliant. Doing those things occasionally is a good thing. It has been run into the ground now. Used to be there was time in an average show to get pretty much everybody on. That's because people could run their mouths and make their point quickly back in the day. Also, since no promos, no pyro, no none of that was done back then, matches at house shows were exciting. They make a big deal out of a sixty minute Iron Man match today, hell, Flair used to do it every night. Dusty Rhodes, as wonderfully conditioned as he was, would stay right with him, every step of the way.

Anyway, Brendan had a tournament over the past few weeks to determine, by vote, the true wrestling "Icon". Bret Hart won it, over Andre, Stone Cold, Sting, Rock, Shawn Michaels, and Bruno Sammartino. First of all, I asked how it is possible that those were our choices, and it turns out they were nominated by the readers. When I think "Icon", I think about guys who have given their lives to this business and continue to do so today, guys like Flair, Rhodes, Jim Cornette, Jerry the King Lawler, Arn Anderson (who I still think is one of the toughest SOB's ever in the wrestling world), Michael PS Hayes, and yes, as much as I hate to say it, Hogan, along with many more. I personally think that Bret Hart has done more to try to destroy the business by exposing its nasty side than to make it what it is today, and consequently should not have even been considered. And I can't really blame him, given how he was put through the wringer over his last several years in the business. However, I have also come to the conclusion that most of the fans today are under the misguided impression that a) Vince McMahon invented wrestling, and b) that wrestling did not exist prior to about 1993 or later.

Furthermore, everybody says Smackdown! is a far superior show and has a far superior roster to RAW. I think that could not be further from the truth. They have an excellent roster on RAW, the problem is Vince never gave most of them a chance. The women's division could be really excellent. Trish is turning it up a BIG notch, improving weekly. I disagree with you about Lita, I think she is the best of the women's division, with Molly and Ivory running a very close second and third, and Trish threatening that lead, with Jackie and Jazz rounding out the bottom. The Hardcore division is just ridiculous. They should do away with hardcore matches as a whole. Did Foley need a belt to be hardcore? I challenge McMahon to talk to Tully Blanchard about hardcore, after getting a piece of a wooden chair jammed in his forehead and finally uttering the words "I Quit" in an "I Quit" match against Magnum TA. Texas Death Matches, scaffold, chain, bullrope, and bunkhouse matches were infinitely more dangerous and exciting than anything we are calling "hardcore" today.

All that being said, here is what I would like to see as far as use of talent in the WWF (this assumes you have made it this far through my rant). Interested in your thoughts also. So without further adieu, here we go....
RAW!

Austin- Singles competitor, don't tag him randomly with people, but you could do a semi-permanent tag thing with him and Bradshaw as a brawling, badass-style team. Keep him just the way he is, flipping at will from badass face to heel, playing both sides of the fence.

Undertaker - It is just really hard for him to carry a match any more. I would have Taker maybe tag with Kane for one last run, have Kane come back with no mask, let them become an awesome and damn near unbeatable tag team, then have Taker take on some sort of "enforcer" role.

NWO- Big mistake by McMahon bringing these guys back, particularly as the NWO, and then making them out to be a bunch of candyasses. Not to mention the money spent on bringing in Nash to do that, and then have him get injured, which will happen again and again. Taker would be good in the role of "enforcer" for this group, leading them back to dominance, except I don't think Nash can handle much more, and besides he seems to still have that same old Nash attitude. Another thought would be to shoot the wheels off the NWO, get Nash healed up, and let him and Hall climb the ladder to greatness, and have Taker and Kane's last hurrah be against Hall and Nash, while moving X-Pac over to tag with Spike, RVD or Credible.

Kane- Good to see him finally developing a personality. Tag him up with Taker mask-free for one last hurrah, we can develop him a new character while all that is going on, then send him to the singles division and push him to the MOON. Feud him with Lesnar, Booker,

RVD- GREAT singles competitor. Definite contender for IC belt, always in the hunt when he does not have it. Could have a good run as a tag team paired with X-Pac with a badass martial arts type gimmick if they could work and play well together, OR run them in a feud against each other. Feuds with Booker T, Austin, Bubba Ray, Bossman, Dreamer.

Booker T- Singles competitor only. Put him in the hunt for Undisputed Champion and IC champion, take him back to his Harlem Heat badass character. Feuds with RVD, Kane, Lesnar, Dreamer, Regal.

Big Show- He is about done. Can't stay in shape. Put him in a hot feud with Kane or Taker which would end up as a battle of the giants and a battle of the choke slams.

Bubba Ray Dudley- Bring back D'Von. He is a great hardcore guy, but hardcore any more is a joke. It was STUPID to break this team up. Could team him with Dreamer or Richards.

Brock Lesnar- Animal. Make him an invincible heel, with Heyman as his manager, run him in a program against Booker, Kane, Bossman, or any of the big guys.

William Regal- Singles competitor only. Hot feuds with Austin, Bradshaw, maybe even Bossman

Lita- Women's champ competitor, feuds with Trish, Jazz, Molly

Bradshaw- Hated seeing what happened to him and Farooq, and then breaking them up. He is a major badass. Feuding him with Lesnar, Kane, Regal, Booker, Taker. Or form a tag team with him and Austin, with a brawling style like the APA and send them after the tag belts.

Steven Richards- Just is not that great a performer, very one-dimensional. Richards should be a nasty, cheating, interfering manager/mouthpiece, but for who? Maybe the tag team of X-Pac/RVD?

Matt Hardy- KEEP THE HARDYZ TOGETHER!! Neither is any good as a singles wrestler, while maybe you could push Jeff in the cruiserweight division in a feud with Mysterio. Nope, these guys need to be a tag team to pull of the flashy and spectacular moves that only they seem to be able/willing to do.

Raven- Either reform the flock, or make him an announcer. He does rip on Coach pretty good. The Flock could consist of Richards, Bossman, Big Show, and maybe Dreamer. Have Bossman and Show turn on each other and the group disintegrate after a while.

Jeff Hardy- See Matt Hardy. If not teamed with Matt, put him in the cruiserweight division and let him mix it up with them. Wouldn't it be cool to see him in a program with Mysterio?

Mr. Perfect- and now, the end is near, as I sit and face, the final curtain....lose any and all gimmicks and let him go back to being Curt Hennig. Singles division wrestler, but back to undercard. Stick a fork in him, he is done.

Spike Dudley- I have loved the gimmick with the little guy that beats up all the big guys, but this guy is a cruiserweight. A feud between him and Jeff Hardy would be unbelievable. A feud between him and Mysterio would be good too.

D'Lo Brown- Reform the Dudleyz with D'Lo as the "fake D'Von". Then bring back D'Von to feud with him and eventually reunite with his half brother Bubba.

Shawn Staziak- What has this guy really done in his wrestling career except stupid gimmicks and acting like an idiot? Staziak would be a cut for me, as I can't think of anything intelligent to do with him.

Terri Runnels- announcer/interviewer only unless you would like to revive the Marlena gimmick. Many of us would, but I doubt she would be comfortable with that. God, she is a hottie. Could use her for matches which are T&A oriented, evening gown, bikini, gravy bowl, etc., but I don't think any of the other women in the division are too terribly interested in all of that.

Jackie- has tons of potential, and in fact, used to be baddest of the bad girls. Programs against Lita, Jazz, Trish, Molly. Push her harder. Did Tough Enough hurt her or slow her down? Give her a good program to get her fired up again.

Goldust- Why, somebody for God's sake tell me why this gimmick was ressurected? Dustin would be an undercard competitor, maybe make a run for the IC belt picture. Feuds with Hennig, RVD, Guerrero, Dreamer, Richards, Regal

Trish-most improved wrestler for this year by far. She should hold the women's title for a while and do both shows, but eventually she should drop the strap to Molly or Lita.

Justin Credible- well, we have seen him team with X-Pac, no real chemistry. In fact, the only thing I have seen him do well is when tag teamed with Storm. Since there is no Storm in this division, tag him with Crash, and bring back the "Super Heavyweight" gimmick and let them fight in the undercard with teams like Big Show and Bossman or something. If he is to be a cruiserweight, which might work out well for him, run him in programs with Crash, Spike, Jeff Hardy, etc.

Bossman- LOSE THE GIMMICK ALREADY!! Send him to Heat or as suggested above, make him part of the new "Flock"

Tommy Dreamer- such a waste, what they are doing with him. Make him a singles competitor as part of the new "Flock", and make him a legit contender for the IC belt.

Crash- still think the best thing he ever did was with Bob Holly and the "super-heavyweight" gimmick. Bring it back with him and Credible or put him in the cruiserweight division and make his character a little less stupid.

Molly- arguably the best female wrestler in the WWF, and better when she is not putting on the sweet lovable persona. Should be always in the hunt for the women's title.

Eddie Guerrero- better heel than face. RVD match will be a barnburner. A program with him and Matt Hardy finishing up with a ladder match would be fabulous. Other feuds or matches with Dreamer, X-pac, Richards, etc.
Smackdown!

HHH- Let's really quit screwing around here. Get the undisputed title in the hands of someone who can really do something with it, and no, I DON'T MEAN HOGAN!!! Or maybe I do mean Hogan. See my sections on Hogan and Rock. HHH drops the strap to Hogan at Backlash, and begins an intense feud with an invading or traded Lesnar.

The Rock- See now this is why I say the Smackdown roster is weaker. What can we do with this guy that has not already been done? I guess there are a few possibilities if you were to turn him heel upon his return. YES!!! I have it!! Bring him back as a heel to feud with Hogan for WWF Undisputed title and to take it from him in a retirement match in late summer/early fall. Then slide him into programs against DDP, Kane, Benoit, maybe even a returning Rhyno.

Kurt Angle- What a feud it would be between him and a returning Chris Benoit! Get him in the main event mix with a champion Hogan prior to Rock's return. Maybe team him with DDP and have them both take on the "positive" gimmick to make a hilarious tag team, and they would be. "That's not a bad thing, it's a good thing." "Oh, it's true, it's true".

Chris Benoit- looks like they will get him in a program with Jericho, which would be my suggestion also, but the Angle program would be good too. Or, if they choose not to reform the Impact Players, form a Benoit/Storm tag team. That could be awesome.

Hulk Hogan- Retirement angle with a returning heel Rock where he really retires. I am sorry, but he sucks, he has always sucked, and will never not suck. He is the reason we have "sports entertainment" as opposed to wrestling today.

Billy and Chuck- why the HELL did we keep this team together when it came draft time, while breaking up the Dudleyz and the APA? I guess only because they were champions. The only good thing Billy Gunn has ever done was the DX/New Age Outlaws bit, and Road Dogg carried him through most of that. Get them into a feud with a reformed Edge/Christian team. Then shoot the wheels off of this team, send Billy back to undercard/dark matches, and put Chuck in a program either against or tagged with Staziak where they could do the whole "better physique" angle.

Edge- Team him back up with Christian already!! He is ok as a singles competitor, but he is so much better when the two are together, and he brings out the best in Christian too, who has also not been that impressive as a singles competitor.

Rikishi- Yeah, and we talk about Big Show being out of shape! Definitely undercard material here, entertainment value. Maybe get him in a singles program against Henry.

D'Von Dudley- A preacher?? WHAT??? I smell the rubber burning between Stephanie's ears here. He needs to be teamed up with Bubba again. Trade him for Staziak, so you can give the Dudleyz a rebirth by sending him to RAW and having him attack and defeat the fake D'Von (D'Lo Brown), and then you can have the Staziak/Palumbo program as described above.

Mark Henry- WHY, WHY, WHY??? I guess you could start a feud with either Lesnar, Palumbo, Staziak, etc. by having some sort of Strongman contest that would end badly. Or put him in the undercard/dark match/Heat/Jakked tour for entertainment value. "Sexual Chocolate" my ass!

Maven- I think he would make an awesome addition to the cruiserweight division, with Al Snow as his interfering "mentor" and manager, if he is actually small enough.

Billy Kidman- Let me say first of all that he needs to grow up and keep onstage and offstage separate where Torrie Wilson is concerned. If he has that little faith in her, then this marriage is doomed from the start. As of now, I see him and Tajiri as the best of the cruiserweight division, and I think it will be a great feud between the two if they keep it going. He would also do well against Credible or X-Pac, or Maven.

Tajiri- I love to watch him. Cruiserweight division, definitely. Could feud with X-Pac after the Kidman program in a battle of the martial artists.

Chris Jericho- WAY better face than heel. Praying for a program between him and Benoit, which it sounds like they will do. I also would love to see a program between him and Eddie Guerrero, with Jericho taking on the "Y2J" gimmick and screwing up everybody's names again. Push to IC champion.

Ivory- the only good women's division competitor. Enter her in a program with Jazz where Jazz would drop the strap to her, then slide her over to RAW with the rest of the good female competitors where she could feud with Lita, Molly, Trish, etc.

Albert- Undercard/Jakked/Heat/dark matches then out. I don't care whose kid he is. He just sucks.
Hurricane- The superhero gimmick has about worn out its welcome. Make him a viable contender in the cruiserweight division.

Al Snow- Make him Maven's mouthpiece, mentor, and interfering manager.

Lance Storm- Team him up with Benoit and send them after the belts. This would be an incredible tag team.

DDP- Team him up with Angle as above, and push him to the IC title picture. He is being SO wasted.

Torrie Wilson- She needs a new boyfriend (I volunteer!). She is not a wrestler, is not going to be a wrestler. She would be ok in an undercard T&A match (bikini, gravy bowl, etc) but that's about the extent of it for her. Otherwise, she should be a valet that everybody wants to have for their own, and consequently bets her "services" on matches.

Scotty Too Hotty- Please tell me that there will be no "Too Cool" reunion! Send him the way of Albert.
Stacy Kiebler- See Torrie Wilson. 'Nuff said.

Christian- See Edge.

Test- See Albert. He just sucks.

Farooq- Turn him heel and push him to the IC title picture, followed by a strong run at the Undisputed Champion. He doesn't have real good mic skills, so he would need a good mouthpiece, but he was a great champion in the NWA, and could be again.

Tazz- Oh my GOD, PLEASE get him into shape and make him the "Human Suplex Machine" again. IC title contender. The WWF has damn near ruined him with their bad writing and the roles they have given him.

Hardcore Holly- Leave him as a "Tough Enough" instructor. He is too injury-prone to keep a good program going.

Big Valbowski- Get him in the IC picture in a program with with Jericho or DDP to help him once again get over.

Perry Saturn- We all know what he is capable of, but do injuries hold him back? Try him on HEAT with the goofy gimmick ("you're welcome"), maybe have him feud with Al Snow there, he could steal Head from Al, and carry Head around wherever he goes.
Wild Cards (guys who are currently out)

Rhyno- get him in a reformed Flock, and put him in the hunt for the IC title.

Kanyon- I really liked the old "Mortis" gimmick as opposed to the DDP rip-off gimmick. Bring it back, stick him in the undercard and let's see how it goes.

Mike Awesome- has not been awesome since ECW. HEAT/Jakked/Dark Match guy.

Chavo Guerrero- get him in the cruiserweight picture ASAP.

Hugh Morrus- HEAT/Jakked/Dark Match candidate, then out.

Rey Mysterio- Cruiserweight division ASAP.

Those are my thoughts. If I missed somebody, sue me. This would get use out of everybody, and losing lots of "sports entertainment" would make both shows more exciting and entertaining. Sorry this was so long, but I didn't want to exclude anybody. Love your column, and look forward to the next one.

Well, that will do it for this week. Again, I am sorry for my lack of columns; however, that will change. Until next week, join me as I try to "educate people on the realness of the fakeness of professional wrestling" ©.

Later,
Chris Dailey












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