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Submitted by Pt2 on Saturday, April 17, 2004 at 11:24 AM EST
Welcome one more time to the column that reeks of awesomeness and is endorsed by Jug bands worldwide, Take up thy wrestling boots and walk. Here once again to share my thoughts, I’m your erstwhile host, Pt2. For the record, this is kind of an anniversary of sorts. It’s the 75th edition of TUTWBAW. I’d like to thank all the people who’ve read TUTWBAW, and helped me along the way. But all the emotional crap aside, there’s some big news in the WRESTLING world now. The big news right now is that the man who spearheaded the attitude era, the man without whom WCW would probably still be in existence, Stone Cold Steve Austin, has left the WWE. I’m curious as to what this means for RAW now. Will someone else come in to take charge of the show, or will Eric Bischoff go back to being the sole power figure? I’m all for more Eric personally. Hey, maybe they’ll put Eugene in charge. And it would STILL be better than the second half of 2002. RAW Summer Lovin’You have no idea how stupid I feel taking a line from fucking grease as a heading. Anyhoo.... RAW is in a pretty healthy state right now. There is a lot of talent on RAW that people want to see, and there are a lot of avenues’ that can be explored to make this summer a great time to be a wrestling fan. The last time Wrestling was really GREAT, at the top level consistently, has to be post Wrestlemania 16 leading up to the Invasion. A great time, and I stand before you to proclaim, the RAW brand right now has what it takes to make this summer just as fine. They have the talent, and the set-up; all that’s left is the execution. First, lets look at the list of over stars that people want to see: Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, Edge, Evolution, Shelton Benjamin, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho and Christian. That’s a lot of big name talent to be going into the summer with, and they could all conceivably main event shows (and have) and no one would bitch about it. This gives you a lot of room to work with, and a lot of combinations to throw together. How many times have you heard people complain about the same main event’s being aired time after time after time, and you just not caring who wins the 476th match between two stars? The key to it all, as always, is sensible booking. Don’t groan, just because that’s what everyone says doesn’t mean it is any less true. Chris Benoit’s role could hold the key. We know he isn’t the biggest name on RAW over-all. He’ll never be a bigger draw than Triple H was, or maybe even Shawn Michaels (the man practically responsible for keeping the WWE afloat in the middle of 1996), but he has one thing going for him, and that is that he is the man that the fans want to see NOW. Judging on re-actions, he is the fan favourite for the time being, and that can mean only one thing; Until they have someone to take over from him with a more mainstream appeal, they should run with it. The first step in this is having him retain at Backlash. The second step is having him on the title throughout the next few months. But he shouldn’t always be the focus. He’s the champion, and people should always be chasing him and aiming to win the belt from him, but he’s not the man you want carrying a feud throughout the entire summer. So you set up a bigger feud between two other main-eventers. Triple H is the obvious choice once he returns from making his movie, as he is THE raw heel, and probably still the most charismatic performer on the roster. The rumour going around is that Hunter has asked to work with Edge, so why not run with that for now? Set up some kind of believable feud between the two, and build it up, and up, before finally coming to a head at Summerslam. What kind of believable feud? I don’t know, I’m no booker. But it’s been proved before that successful feuds can be built on competition, the involvement of a woman, personal disagreements, people reacting to something someone does to further their own interests - there is enough room for manoeuvre in there. And while these two are battling it out, trying to prove that each is better than the other and more deserving of a title shot, Benoit wrestles all comers. Have him more as the champion Shawn Michaels was in 1996, defending the title against the number on contender, rather than a champion whose title matches are arranged by who they don’t get on with. While it would limit the amount of time used for duelling microphones in the feud (thus hiding one of Benoit’s weaknesses), the feud could still be built up through the announcement of the contender, and then friction developing. A sense of realism would also be brought back into the frame, which I don’t think can really hurt. How many boxing world title matches are awarded to people who lose more often than they win, just because they think the champion is a dick? Then the key to it; At Summerslam, While Hunter takes on Edge in their big finale, Benoit defends in a big face vs. face match. Against Shawn, Shelton - it doesn’t matter, as long as both men have great momentum going in and they don’t telegraph who the hell is going to win before hand. Now, you may seem sceptical about this, but this plan has one thing going for it - Balance. The sports entertainment side is represented, so the more casual fans don’t get bored, and their is Wrestling, as Chris Benoit defends his title against the number one contender - and the genuine number one contender is something we don’t get to see that often anymore. So in that much alone there is a certain balance at the top of the card. But as we all know (and are constantly reminded), for a truly great time in wrestling, it isn’t just the main event that needs to be strong. The upper mid-card needs to be solid as well. When the WWF put on the best Wrestlemanias of all time, they had a solid mid-card. Mania 3 featured the great Savage and Steamboat boat. Mania 10 had great performances from Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon to back up the main event. In 1997, Steve Austin and Owen Hart were there at the top of the mid-card, and recognized practically as main eventers. In 2000, the defecting Radicalz all put on fine matches, ably supported by the likes of Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle. And dare I say it, RAW has the depth in talent that with the slightest effort their mid-card work could be very good. What, you don’t believe me. On the face side of things, the RAW brand can offer you Matt Hardy, the Hurricane, and Tommy Dreamer, all ready to step up and start having matches against the bigger names. All have shown in the past that they are not incapable of having quality matches, and all have a certain amount of charisma. Hardy will probably be the first name to move up. On top of that, there is Rhyno, who can wrestle pretty damn solidly when he wants to. Granted, he isn’t exactly Hulk Hogan when it comes to the sports entertainment, but it gives a lot of options, and options keep it all fresh. You look at the heels that can be brought through, and then you see how much the brand really does have to work with this summer. Lance Storm, Kane, Val Venis, Steven Richards, Rob Conway, Garrison Cade, Johnny Nitro - all of whom could step into the fray and wrestle the likes of Shelton Benjamin and Chris Jericho. It certainly wouldn’t hurt them, and some of the youngsters like Cade and Conway would certainly benefit from it. One other thing; Eugene is the unknown quantity for RAW this summer. It could be one of their best creations, or it could be doomed for Wrestlecrap. Is this another Booker T and Goldust tag team style hidden gem? Will Nick Dinsmore prove to be a modern day King Midas as everything he touches turns to gold? Or is this gimmick as, uh, “special”, as Eugene himself? If it all works out well, RAW will have it’s share of amusement/feel good stories this summer. So when you look at the talent available to RAW, and the situations that can present themselves quite easily, with a wrestler (and probably the best wrestler in the company) as champion going into the summer, it’s really not that surprising that they have the potential to put on a great summer of wrestling entertainment. All we have to do now, as always, is wait and see what they can do with it. With that much talent, I’m going to say that optimism, is the way forward. 8 days a weekThe WWE schedule is highly demanding. There is certainly no denying that. And it has been for years, ever since the Rock n’ Wrestling era began, and probably even before that. When Jake Roberts signed with the WWE in the eighties, rumour had it he was contractually obligated to wrestle up to 400 times a year. That’s pretty bad, and although things aren’t that bad any more, it’s still not a damn picnic. So it comes as no surprise to hear that many of the main event stars in the WWE are looking for part time schedules. A lighter schedule, that would allow them to spend more time with their families, and would give them more time for their bodies to heal after every match. It really isn’t surprising that those people with a solid enough position in the company try to use that position to make their workload less demanding. Truth be told, I think the stars should have a lighter schedule. But that’s another issue for another day. What I want to talk about, is how this will affect the WWE. If the upper talent on the card have a more limited schedule, that will mean one thing; much of the main event talent will not be performing on house shows. To keep house show revenues up, the WWE will have to make bigger names out of people lower down on the card. You may start to see younger guys, especially the home grown talent, start to get more TV time as the WWE tries to groom them into money makers. While they may only get to the top of the mid-card on TV, they will be plugging the gaps left by the main event talent that would no longer be available to perform on the house shows. The TV time would also be essential - As things stand right now, most of you would not go to see a show headlined by Doug Basham vs. Rico, but like it or not, you would be more likely to go if these two were getting on TV regularly. So that’s one scenario. The WWE gives more time to younger talent, in a less strong position, in order to keep you coming to their house shows. Or, the alternative, is scenario 2.... The WWE keeps things the same, and tries to keep the house shows going with the talent in their current roles, as they are. The lack of star power on the house shows causes attendance to fall. The WWE no longer make a profit on the house shows, and cancels them. This causes a lot of the midcard stars to lose one of their main earning points. With no exposure and less money in, many of these wrestlers lower down on the roster start to leave the company seeking work on the independents and on the Fox sports network with the newly televised NWA-TNA. So you have two scenarios: The first, where wrestlers get more exposure and to headline shows, while the main event stars still dominate the TV shows, and the second, which would result in a less stacked roster, and more talent dispersed throughout America. Nothing in depth here; Just something to think about. Any opinions? Let me know. That’ll do it for this one. All feedback is as always appreciated, you can email me by, clicking here. Read this months column of the month, SEX, here. Let AdamG know what you think. Go to The LOP columns forum . Read some columns, maybe write one of your own, and if you like what you read, vote in the Columnist of the month contest at the end of the month. That’s it. I’m outta here. Catch you next week, have a good one. Pt2 *NEW GALLERY* Very Rare Photos from MR. KENNEDY'S WEDDING!
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