November Column Of The Month: 'Crazy Train'
    Submitted by Stanman on Monday, December 8, 2003 at 11:26 AM EST

    NOTE: The following columnist was the winner of the LOP Columns Forum November Column Of The Month contest. Each month, the winner has one of his columns posted here on the LOP main page. Without further delay, here is SteJ and his column, Crazy Train. Enjoy!



    CRAZY TRAIN


    CRAZY TRAIN - 21st Stop!


    Welcome to a special twenty first edition of the Crazy Train. The reason it is special is because I have become the November Columnist Of The Month - and this stop is exclusively on the main page. It is a big priviledge to be here, even if it is for one column. It's been a long four months, but I have finally arrived. For those who don't know me, I'm SteJ from Carlisle in England, the root of where Black Sabbath first came together guitarist Tony Iommi and Bill Ward moved to Carlisle in early 1968 to JOIN, not form, JOIN a Carlisle group called Mythology). I have been a wrestling fan since 1991 when I first saw Wrestlemania VII. But I did dip in and out between 1994 to 1998, but returned to regular watching in 1999 during the big Attitude era. I have been a columnist on a now deceased Chris Jericho website in 2000.
    I joined the LOP Forums in June 2003 and started my columns a month later. As you can tell from the title, yes, I am a huge fan of Ozzy Osbourne and all things Black Sabbath.



    The Crazy Train has made a name for itself on the LOP Forums, with my PPV Ratings System called The Rail Inspection. The Rail Inspection looks through all the matches taken place and gives an overall mark of either Pass, Fail or Inconclusive. And also hands out awards for greatness and awfulness. Click HERE to read the Survivor Series Rail Inspection. But the Crazy Train also has many regular features too, which I shall explain further down. This is how it works
    - at each stop we go to two platforms, one with news that has hit the wrestling world this week, and the other is my review of the Osbournes series. I recently finished the third series and have now started to go back to the first series. And then we head to the main stop (feature) of the column.



    Before I get started, I'd like to say Happy Birthday to a special inspiration of the Crazy Train - Mr. John "Ozzy" Osbourne.
    That's right - 55 on December 3rd. And what a birthday present from me to the
    Heavy Metal God - we made it, Ozzy! So let's get underway:



    PLATFORM 1 - RAIL NEWS THIS WEEK

    People in the UK have been waiting for months, but now Sky Digital will be previewing the new Wrestling Channel through December, with the official launch to take place in 2004. The channel is to showcase many classic shows, Ring Of Honour, Combat Zone and various British and Irish shows. And NWA:TNA may end up being shown free on the channel too. For us, this is good that some will be able to see some of the top indy stars that have been praised by many in the US, that some in the UK don't even know who they are.



    Many wrestlers are now unhappy that John Heidenreich has signed a long term contract, as he hasn't shown signs of improvement in the ring. This comes as John Heidenreich injured Steven Richards twice with his finisher. But despite asking older wrestlers how to improve, they feel he isn't going to ever amount to anything and was only given the contract based on being another big guy. Well I'd be upset and it's no surprise. As long as you are 6'5 or over and weigh 300lbs+ and you can have talent or not, you're in!



    PLATFORM 2 - OSBOURNES (Series 1 - Episode 4)

    This episode saw the Osbournes landed with the neighbours from hell, partying all night and absuive to Sharon. So the Osbournes decide to have a a neighbour war! Both sides had many tactics - they had an acoustic guitar, singing Com-By-Yar, while Jack cranks up "War Pigs" on the stereo!


    Good


    This is the main stop of the column. When the monthly Rail Inspection does not take place, I have many other features, including How To Make It Successful, which is about looking at a division, feud, wrestlers etc, and suggest how to improve it and make it successful, and Who Is Top Dog, which is a Top 5 look at a group of wrestlers linked in some way and see who is the better, also being known as the Top Dog. But our main stop today will be...





    WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG?


    This is the feature where the Crazy Train looks at a failed feud/gimmick/title/wrestler and finds out where it all went
    wrong. To mark the start of the UK's own Wrestling Channel, I've decided to look at a UK TV Channel who showcased WWE programmes for two years, before they had enough of it.


    CHANNEL 4

    In the UK, there are five channels you can view without using a satellite dish or a special cable. They are known as "Terrestial Channels". The third terrestial channel, ITV, was the first to show wrestling on TV, with its own UK wrestling show, which showcased wrestlers like Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy. In the early 1990's ITV showed WCW programmes for a short while, during the night.


    In 1982, the fourth terrestial channel launched, called Channel 4. This channel has made its name by showing programmes such as the Liverpool soap Brookside (recently axed and finished), TV game shows Countdown and Fifteen To One and the now famous Big Brother. In 1999, new TV contracts were opened up, as Smackdown had just debuted in America and most of Sky's deals were about to expire. Up for contracts were Smackdown, Heat and all 12 PPVs (Sky's contract with Raw would not expire until 2002). Channel 4 signed a deal to show the Sunday Night Heat programmes and 4 out of the 12 PPVs (Royal Rumble, Backlash, Fully Loaded/Invasion and Armageddon/Vengeance), while Sky picked up Smackdown and the other eight PPVs.


    And in January 2000, Channel 4 became the first terrestial channel to broadcast WWF programmes, with Heat shown Sunday afternoon on 4pm. This was good for many who don't have Sky. But Channel 4 didn't realise what they had taken on board and the amount of backlash they would get when they fiddled around with the programmes, which saw hundred of complaints
    made by wrestling fans - and even the UK's TV Watchdog were breathing down their necks too! By the end of 2001, Channel 4 had enough and ended their deal, which saw Sky pick up the four deserted PPVs and shown on its PPV channel, Sky Box Office, with Sunday Night Heat finally picked up at the beginning of this year, including the live Heat. But where did it all go wrong for Channel 4?


    * Running adverts during the live PPV


    The real problems started on their very first PPV, the Royal Rumble 2000. The PPVs are shown in the UK at 1am on Sky, and Channel 4 stuck with this. However, Channel 4 is one of three terrestial channels that show commerical breaks and what happened was Channel 4 cut from the PPV to a bunch of commercials. But they didn't stop the PPV - the PPV kept rolling and many interviews and segments were missed entirely in the UK, including the Hardy Boyz interview, the APA/Outlaws video package and a segment with Chris Jericho and Chyna. But what really put salt to the wounds was the Rock was being interviewed - and Channel 4 cut halfway through it and returned with the next match. This caused an outcry by viewers and the Channel 4 website received hundreds of complaints about the cutting from the show to the break. But if Channel 4 thought this was the only problem they faced, they were wrong.



    * Have a 50 minute delay - then edit the PPV

    After the Royal Rumble, Channel 4 stated they had to show commercials no matter what the programme is - so they decided to show the WWF PPVs at 1.50am - which is 50 minutes AFTER the official start, so that way, they can put their adverts in, and we wouldn't miss ANY action. Well that was fair for both parties. However, Channel 4 were up to something else, which would not sit well with the UK viewers. So the first of the 1.50am WWF PPVs started in April 2000 with Backlash 2000. But the first match would show evidence of editing by Channel 4, as after being
    cut open by a ringbell, X-Pac's blood was blurred! Then later in the PPV, the biggest editing job and the most complaints came from the T&A/Dudley Boyz match.

    From the video package to the aftermath of the match, there were about 10 edits!


    But why, you people ask? In the video package, Bubba Ray was holding on to Trish's hair and the camera only focussed on Bubba, as in a slow motion shot of him. Then the Dudley Boyz grabbing Trish again and setting the table up in a corner. And then the aftermath saw shots of the audience when the Dudley Boyz held on to Trish. And then freeze shots of Bubba powerbombing Trish through a table were shown to not show the full effect. This was ironic, as in another video package afterwards, they didn't even edit out Lita being
    put through a table! And let's not forget about the HHH/Rock video package, as Channel 4 made a shot of Vince bleeding go black and white. And a chair shot from Vince to the Rock was freezed too. After this, even more complaints were received by Channel 4, as a result of this. Many complained that the WWE was edited, even though:



    a) It was shown in the middle of the night.

    b) Between 10pm and 11pm that night, Channel 4 show a programme called Queer As Folk, a programme about three gay men and that included a lot of gay sex scenes (not blown over the top ones) and men kissing each other - none of which were edited in any way.



    * The content of the WWF

    Channel 4 now decided to leave the editing button alone and leave the PPV in its 1.50am slot. But it seemed that Channel 4 did not realise what kind of content they would be broadcasting. One report said that Channel 4 were reconsidering their deal after Mae Young's stripping at the Royal Rumble 2000. Even scenes of women being attacked by men weren't satisfying for Channel 4 at all.



    * UK TV Watchdog slamming Channel 4 for not editing Rikishi's sledgehammer attack

    But a big complaint would take place in the autumn of 2000. And it wasn't just the WWF fans that were breathing down the necks of Channel 4. The UK's TV Watchdog, the Independent Television Commission (or ITC for short) received complaints from parents about a scene from an October 2000 edition of Heat. In this scene, clips were shown of Rikishi with a sledgehammer and he started to smash Stone Cold Steve Austin's pick up truck with it. Then Jim Ross, who was being interviewed at the time, was told about this and proceeded to the scene, and Rikishi was still there. Then Rikishi grabbed JR and threw him to the ground and threatened to hit him with the sledgehammer. And then Commissioner Mick Foley saved the day. But he didn't save Channel 4 from a grilling. A few months later, ITC reported
    its findings and both parties (Channel 4 and ITC) agreed it should had been cut, but Channel 4's reason to show it was that Mick Foley stopped Rikishi from using the sledgehammer on JR. The ITC stated:



    "The ITC recognises that American professional wrestling is essentially a mixture of soap opera and pantomime which, in general, viewers do not take seriously. But certain conventions and limits must be recognised, especially when children could be watching in numbers. Fighting staged away
    from the ring and the presence of weaponry are two elements that can give rise to problems."


    To read the official findings from the ITC,
    click HERE!


    * Putting Heat on at Midnight

    The ITC was the last straw for Channel 4 and they decided to pull the Heat programmes from Sunday afternoons and stuck them on a regular midnight broadcast. Again, this didn't sit well with the viewers, but by then Channel 4 didn't care. No doubt they wanted out of their contract quickly. And at the end of 2001, they got their wish.



    IN CONCLUSION

    It was a dream to all non-Sky viewing WWF fans over the UK. But Channel 4's inexperience of broadcasting wrestling hurt the viewing and themselves, trying to play safe all the time. But now with all WWE programs back on Sky, one must wonder when the WWE will ever step foot on a terrestial channel again.



    ALL ABOARRRRRD - HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    Time to depart from this stop. To leave feedback, send them to my email address
    - stevenjericho@hotmail.com (BTW
    - my last name is NOT Jericho!). But before I go, I'll do some plugs:



    LOP
    Columns Forum


    Click out some of the bright upcoming columnists like myself:



    Tinaali "The XY Files" (Last month's Columnist Of The Month is still going strong, looking at the world of wrestling from a female's perspective)


    HeyYou "Spankadette Speaks" (Another female columnist, but this one is a huge Spanky fan and looks deep into the independent world and cruiseweights and profiles an indy star)


    Winter "Let It Snow" (A fellow Brit who also has a very impressive PPV Rating System. He is currently counting down to Wrestlemania XX by reviewing each Wrestlemania from I to XIX. He is currently at number V)

    XanMan "The Northern Star" (The ambassador Of X gives his personal perspective, with some of the best quotes from famous names and even the bible!)


    XanMan "X-Change" (his second and very entertaining column, which sees his thoughts on wrestling do battle with another columnist's thoughts. We have met on the X-Change before and battled hard)


    Pt2 "Take Thy Wrestling Boots And Walk" (One of the longest running columns on the forum has just reached the 50th edition, which features yours truly with a Special Rail Inspection on a famous wrestling match)

    Dubzilla "Turnbuckle Tailgate" (August's Column Of The Month and another long running columist who also celebrated his 50th column by bringing in a special two way column with the main page's own Wevv Mang)

    Randomguy#5 "The Nosebleed Section" (One of the newest columnist who has been impressive already in the Forums)



    Thank you to everyone who voted for me and those who took the time to read this column. I am counting down to my Silver Stop (25th edition), and will bring in 8 of the top columnists on the Forum and Wevv Mang from the main page. So see you soon and don't go off the rails on a Crazy Train!



    -SteJ
    stevenjericho@hotmail.com




    *NEW GALLERY* Very HOT Photos of Alicia Webb aka X-Pac's Sexy Girlfriend!

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