Literally twenty years to the day since I was last in Texas. Admittedly at the age of five you're not at your most responsive to anything except your favourite Tonka Truck and where your next happy meal is coming from. Fortunately as a twenty something I'm much more capable of taking in my surroundings and fully apreeciating them. Well, I am now anyway. Last night after 24 solid hours of travel I was capable of little more than drooling, twitching and making the occasional "Ngh" noise. Fortunately my gracious host, the ever lovely Sarah, was tolerant of this and believed my slurred promise that I'd be much better company once I'd gotten used to TX time.

So here I sit in Austin, taking a day to aclimatise and sort my brain out. A few cups of tea, a bowl of cheerios and a bit of a workout and I feel vaguely human again. I'm also going to be seeing WCW Nitro for the first time in over a year since I stopped recieving cable TV. Typical of me really, turning up in time to see the last one on it's way out. Lucky for me I didn't manage that at the airport. I'll also get to see Raw before Friday, the day it's normally broadcast over in jolly ol' England. Both were handily taped for me by the aforementioned gracious and ever lovely Sarah on Monday night and will be watched tonight with plenty of imprted alcohol and home grown, all-american snack foods. Life is sweet.

Of course, this particular brace of Monday Night wrestling programs is anything but run of the mill. For all I know there could have been numerous crossovers, any manner of folk turning up on each other's programs and all sorts of insanity abounding. Particularly on Raw where the Monday before Wrestlemania is somewhat legendary in terms of good old fashioned, no-frills, teeth-rattling, hair-curling, who's-your-daddy type chaos. The fact that my brain has also finally caught up with the rest of me after being held in Houston over night for observation means I now feel ready to address the big issue of the week.

The big issue of the week is of course that Vince McMahon is evil.

No, really. He is. He must be. After all he bought WCW and now controls all the main stream wrestling in America. This has to be the end, cue rivers of blood, fire on high, four horseman riding again and someone actually understanding me when I speak English at them in texas. If you listen to some of the folk on the scene then this is the worst thing to happen since Oasis split up and then ruthlessly got back together and made another album!! (The bastards.)

Personally I'm rather excited about the whole deal. So excited in fact that I've stopped reading the "smart" news sites so I don't get any surprises ruined for me in the tumltuous weeks and months to come. A genuine WCW V WWF feud is something that any wretling fan has been drooling over for decades. It's a big reason why the NWO angle worked so damned well, everyone knew it was the closest that we'd ever get to an inter-promotional war that was fought in the ring as opposed to the Neilsons. Now we actually have that. It's actually going to happen and, surprise surprise, people are moaning already.

Moaning because they'd rather have WCW be self sufficient as an entity in itself. Moaning because Mr McMahon now has the monopoly. Moaning because it's their dream feud and it's not happening on their terms, the way they imagined it.

Look at it like this. WCW was dying. Let's not kid ourselves here, it was dying. Not from an in ring perspective and certainly not from a talent perspective. Sadly it all came down to money. Too much going out and not enough coming in. Until that was put right it's days were numbered. Who's to blame for the fact that their business tailed off while their overheads stayed the same? Bischoff, Hogan, Nash, Sullivan, Busch, Russo... Pinning the blame on one person is like pinning fog to the wall. Everyone on that list borugh something great to the table too. I can tell you one person who isn't to blame for WCW's demise. Vince McMahon.

WCW wasn't killed, WCW died. The WWF might have drawn some folk away from the WCW product but they didn't force them to make poor TV. In short, blaming the WWF's success for WCW's failure is extremely narrow minded and above all totally wrong.

"But if Fusient had bought WCW then everything would be allright!" Well, if Fusient could have and wanted to buy WCW then they would have it right now. Let's face it, the second Time Warner turned their nose up at "Rasslin'" the deal was six feet under. There was nobody, I repeat nobody that was going to jump to WCW's aid. Nobody except WWFE.

Yep, they've got the monopoly now that they've bought WCW. Of course, they'd still have the monoploy if they hadn't bought WCW but that fact seems to have escaped some onlookers. At least this way WCW will still exist and the guys and gals from WCW will still be getting paid. If you're one of those folk that thinks WCW should have been left to die nobly then go tell one of their workers that. Just be sure to be ready to run away.

How about all you folk out there that have been moaning about the way that WWF storylines have been getting stagnant? This takeover and cross promotion has the potential to be the equivalent of shooting four double espressos directly into your carotid artery. Suddenly an interpromotional card will have fans on both sides of the fence caring about wrestlers they didn't even give a damn about, not to mention the huge list of dream matches at the top of the card. Austin V Goldberg, Rock V Booker, Benoit V Storm, Guerrero V Helms and many many more besides. Best of all, since there's only going to be one office involved it's not going to have the same danger of being mired down in politics with one company reluctant to put the other one's players over. Literally anything can happen in the WCWWF!

In any case you'll all have seen the first night of this dream scenario by now and I'll be seeing it tonight. We'll all soon know if this turns out to be a dream or a nightmare in progress. One thing is for certain, the idea that it'll draw more people to watching WCW is true. The gracious and every lovely Sarah will be watching Nitro for the first time in years with me. I'll guarantee that she's not the only one.

Sit back, enjoy the show.

By the way, if anyone's going to Wrestlemania or Axxess on Sunday and fancy catching up for a beer or a spirited attempt to understand my dialect then drop me an E-mail. Particularly if you can explain the whole purpose of One Dollar Bills. Mystfying to me.

Besides, I'm also aiming to meet a few cheerleaders while I'm over here, purely to dismiss the stereotype about them being lofty, egotistical and ditzy. No, honestly that's the real reason... Really it is.

Chris Brooker
[slash] wrestling

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