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Submitted by Stanman on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 at 6:37 PM EST
Justin's Eyes I remember being about 8 years old and finding out that there was no Santa Claus, sorry to spoil the fun for my readers. It was a bit young of an age to have something that is supposed to be such a fun time of imagination spoiled. I made my discovery after finding my parents' Santa stash, and when Christmas arrived I simply did the math. At the time I had mixed feelings, ranging from sadness to disappointment, even to somewhat angry. When the wheels really started turning in my head though, is when I really started thinking about the crumbling of a small child's world of imagination. You see, the more I thought about it, the more I had questions that left me uneasy. Since I had been lied to about such things as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy, and various other beings, I was curious what else had been a lie. I began wondering if maybe God was indeed a lie. I wondered if maybe I had been lied to about one being, then why not another. Here I was, an eight year old child, questioning the existence of God. It wasn't so much the lie that got me, but rather the fact that I had believed so strongly in the lie. If a lie is dressed as truth and pounded into you enough over time, in your mind it almost becomes truth. However, when the lie is finally exposed for what it really is, those who firmly believed in it, become angry and question the other things they had become so used to in their daily routine. When the truth we believe is really a lie, we may come to eventually think of everything as such. There is of course the opposite direction, in which the person enters a subconscious state of denial and refuses to believe that there little world was constructed on lies, that they continue to believe the lies. The point is, as a child it is fun to believe everything, but as we grow up we realize that we need to form our own opinions of what is real and what is not. Opinions need to be handcrafted, not copied and pasted. Let the truth... Armageddon 2001 Going into the PPV the WWE had plans to unite both the world titles, referring to the WWF World belt and the "WCW" belt. This was meant to one of the nails in the coffin, for Vince to finally shut the door on his former rival. He figured by combining the belts, and making sure to have his guys on top, it would make the WCW product seem inferior in nature. This was meant to be a slow process, but a huge piece in the puzzle would be the creation of an undisputed world champion. Of course the biggest key would be to give the belt to a guy who WCW never saw much in and eventually let him go. The obvious choice was Steve Austin, as it would be yet another fuck you. Triple H on the other hand, saw things differently. He went to Vince saying that Steve Austin would be an obvious choice, but they've been there and done that. Chris Jericho on the other hand, had not been there. Chris Jericho who was a huge talent, was never used to his full potential in alot of critics eyes while in WCW, so what better way to bury the legacy of the WCW title, then to have Jericho combine the gold. Though the true reasons Triple H wanted things to go this way, were a bit different than he let on. H was thinking about his return to that very scene, something that was coming very soon since he had already been promised by Vince a Royal Rumble win upon his return. Therefore, Triple H wanted to use his increasing backstage pull to pick his opponent at Wrestlemania. Jericho was the man in his eyes. Not due to wrestling ability, but rather based on the fact that that battle would be fresher than a Stone Cold/HHH war. Of course HHH's deep seeded hatred for any man who had trained in the Dungeon based on his old days in the Kliq and there confrontations with Bret Hart. Hunter had seen Jericho as quite the young wrestler, but a threat nonetheless, a threat to his main roster spot. Hunter knew that Jericho had to get the win, so that his very own Wrestlemania victory would have even more of an impact. After pleading with Vince for the "fresh" main eventer to win, McMahon opted in his favor, changing the original finish to the main event. Jericho had his first World Title reign, but for all the wrong reasons. Following Triple H's Rumble win, he focused all his energy on his upcoming story with Jericho. He knew he wanted to make Jericho look weak in the feud, but couldn't be as blatant as just approaching Vince and saying as much. He instead opted to throw his other half into the story to help sabotage Jericho. Stephanie McMahon, who was hated by Jericho in every story they've ever had together, suddenly took Jericho's side. It was Triple H's way of ensuring that the attention was taken off Jericho. We got weeks of lotion and Lucy, all in an attempt to make Jericho look like the weak link, since he was after all new to the scene. By the time Wrestlemania rolled around, it took little convincing at all to "con-vince" Vince that Jericho simply wasn't ready for top billing, using the execution of the story as an example. This further solidified the decision to take Jericho off the mountain, but in fact Triple H's influence on that decision was so great that Jericho wasn't even giving a slot on the following month's ppv, Backlash. Trying to take the heat off of him as many people started to question his backstage influence, HHH agreed to drop the belt to Hulk Hogan at Backlash. This was his attempt to convince his critics that he in fact tried to be a team player and had the best interest of the product in mind. He sat back and watched awaiting his next move, a move that presented itself months later. The very night HHH lost a match to one-time friend, would be the night that the door began to crack open. Vince had decided that in order to strengthen the brands and help the split that each brand needed its own titles. The first step was making the monster Brock Lesnar an exclusive Smackdown talent, leaving an opening in the Raw department. The very brand that Triple H was a part of. Though the majority of the backstage wanted to hold a Raw only tournament to decided the Raw World Champion, HHH pitched another idea to Vince. He felt that what Raw needed was somebody the fans could truly hate, a heel that fans tuned in hoping to see him lose the belt, the longer he had the belt the longer fans would watch in anticipation that any moment could be his last atop the mountain. Vince was convinced, and the tourney idea was scrapped. A little over a week, following a loss at SummerSlam, Triple H was somehow awarded the World title. Ultimately, Triple H decided that this was indeed a formula that worked and Mr. McMahon was becoming convinced with angles like the Katie Vick one having great ratings in retrospect to the current product. If one reign would fuel hatred and add viewers, imagine how many viewers 4 reigns would add. Triple H through his reigns has held the title for well over one year combined, in second is Benoit with just over four months. Morpheus: "We have all, at one point or another, fallen victim to having our opinions shaped or altered by the news and rumors that we have encountered here on LOP. Overall, do you think that this has a positive or a negative effect on the perspective of most IWC folk? Are these rumors the cause, whether directly or indirectly, of much of the negativity that plagues our beloved IWC?" Stinger: Well I think it has a negative impact overall, but I wouldn't say it is directly responsible for the huge amounts of negativity that is spread across the IWC. The rumors and spoilers do take away from the surprise factor, hence the reason I've turned away from that. But, in my view, most of the negativity is caused from people not knowing what they want, and over-paying attention to stuff. Adeaton: Personally, I don't think that all the rumours the IWC spouts up these days have a negative effect. Quite the opposite in fact, I think they get people that may have just turned away from watching wrestling back into it for a little bit just to see if that rumour will come true. However, since none in recent memory have, the disillusioned fans are just getting turned off of wrestling completely and (if they happen to post on a message board) move to the off-topic discussion. So as of right now, all of these rumours don't have much of an effect at all. Stinger: Yeah, but look at those rumors, and then look at the WWE Forums. Most of the rumors and spoilers are completely dissected before they even are giving a chance. Morpheus: I don't know if I agree with either of those statements entirely. I remember several months back, the rumor of Benoit winning the Rumble was leaked. Though many people, including myself, were totally psyched about it, they still bitched about it, despite it being like the second coming of Christ, because the surprise had been spoiled. So in a sense, I think that these rumors DO in fact have a negative effect, in the very least in the form of ruined surprises and let-downs when said rumors don't come to pass. Adeaton: I was actually excited when I read that rumour, and it made the Royal Rumble all the more special for me. I wanted to see if it would come true, because I had read so many rumours that didn't. I never felt like the surprise was being spoiled, I thought that it would be amazing to see that happen. So when it did I totally marked out, and none of that moment was spoiled for me. Stinger: Very true M, and I agree. Most rumors aren't given a chance to work out, as the IWC jumps all over it. Now, I never even read the rumor of Benoit winning the Rumble, so the surprise was still there for me. Most negative stuff in the IWC stems from the Kerry Effect (flip-flop), as in the case with Benoit and the Rumble. People wanted it, yet they bitched about it. Had he not won, they still would have bitched about it. Morpheus: Damn, Stinger. You couldn't even keep your politics out of this one, could you... I hope Monkey beats you senseless after this. Stinger: No I could not M. It's almost election time, dammit! Adeaton: Sting, the election was over 5 months ago. Get with the program. Stinger: It was five months ago? Adeaton: Yeah man, the Liberals won. Didn't you hear? Stinger: Ha, Liberals won, good one. No, I didn't hear that; and Bush has this thing won. Adeaton: Bush? He's not allowed to run in my election. He's president of the U.S. Morpheus: Fucking Canehdians… Anyway, back on topic. I believe that a lot of the negativity does in fact come from the average IWC-er's inherent need to bitch, but I also believe that all of the "news and rumors" don't help any in that regard, because as you said in different words, the WWE ends up damned if they do, and damned if they don't. Stinger: Yeah, rumors only stir some of the negativity, the rest comes from people just liking to bitch about everything. When they in fact know they could not run things any better. The IWC negativity, especially down in the WWE Forums, pisses me off. Adeaton: That's very true. It's the sad story of the reaction to the current product. For every person that's positive about it, there's 2-3 that think it sucks. They let out their pent up rage by making up these rumours and such. In my opinion, it's a good release of anger, and some can be quite funny. Morpheus: Now, A, I think we’re talking about two different things now. Sure, IWC folk tend to post some outrageous rumors at times, but I think the ones that really affect the majority of internet savvy wrestling fans are the "backstage news and rumors" that get posted on wrestling news sites, like this one. Right Here, On LOP!!! (Thumbs Up, Cheap Pop) Stinger: Are you going to write a children’s book on the meaning of dreams M? Cause you seem very Foley-ish man. Adeaton: And M, I suppose you're referring to such things as the spoilers and the hints that wrestlers might be leaving the company. The fact is, if people decide to read those and believe them, that's their choice. I take everything I read in the IWC with a grain of salt until I actually see it happen. Until then, I just smile sweetly and leave most of these wonderful IWC-ers alone. Morpheus: Foley Is Good, but I am very serious about that. I agree that it is each person's choice whether or not to read and believe these things, but still. A reputable site like this one posting such things inherently leads to people putting weight behind those words, and whether or not they come to pass, tends to unduly influence the viewpoint of its readers, whether it be in a positive or, more likely, negative fashion. Stinger: The only thing the news sites are good for, is reporting deaths that you other wise wouldn't know about. Who is sleeping with who isn't news, and I don't care about it. Some of the people on the IWC, choose to think they are part of the WWE family, which makes them think they know every thing about what goes on, when in fact, they know shit. It leads to this "mark", "smark" crap. It's why I stay off of the news sites most of the time. Adeaton: Well if you don't like reading the rumours, it's best to stay away from them. Stinger: Yes indeed A, and I try to stay away from it. Morpheus: Word up. So are we all in agreement that reading these rumors does more harm than good? Stinger: Yes we are M. Adeaton: Well I'm sort of undecided; I think it could go both ways, but we'll leave that for another time. We sure babbled on a lot; let's hope monkey isn't too mad at us. If he is, we'll buy him a banana or something. That'll cheer him up. Until next time folks, you've just witnessed the Revolution of the Industry. The Revolution Authors, Stinger, Adeaton, and Morpheus, would like to sincerely thank THE MONKEY for asking us to participate in his Main Pager that he earned by winning a well-deserved CotM. We really appreciate it brother. We hope you enjoyed our little portion of Monkey’s simian scribblings, and if you don’t already do so, be sure to check out the LOP Columns Forum for some of the best wrestling columns on the net! ...lie in front of you Sometimes people read various headlines and are quick to believe them without even thinking about the merit of them. "Backstage pull, of course I should have know." Without even thinking of which internet guy is really getting this alleged backstage exclusive or even how. "Yeah but I read it on the main page of a wrestling site it must be true." Really, well guess what. You just got done reading a bunch of lies on the main page of a wrestling site. As always I am THE MONKEY and you've just seen the world through my eyes. monkeyweasel9821@yahoo.com The Movie Bar Forums (Much more than just movies) A very special thanks to the Revolution for helping with this bad boy. Also a big thanks to everyone who reads and replies to my columns, you guys are the reason I'm here. *NEW GALLERY* Simply AMAZING Gallery Dedicated to Amy "Lita" Dumas HOT POSES!
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