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Scott Christ

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BLAH

FOR CHRIST'S SAKE
Dissection of an Experiment

Its weird. Going in, no one really saw any potential for this year's Bash at the Beach show. Leaving, the entire wrestling world was abuzz.

I hadn't planned on speaking much about this, because the whole thing is a work, that I'm certain of. But, you can't deny what they've done here. In a perfect world, Hulk Hogan really would be gone. In a perfect world, the fact that the fans are loving Booker T as the WCW world champion would be enough to prove that Hogan isn't needed any longer. In a perfect world, this would all work out wonderfully, and WCW would again provide us with quality programming.

But, this is not a perfect world. Politics dictate a lot of things, including everything in this experiment. Booker T's world title win is deserving of an asterisk by it, because I have no doubt in my mind that its not at least partially due to the lawsuit filed by Sonny Onoo and others. But, the fact remains that they've put the title on Booker T, and hyped his win, AND had him win his first title defense cleanly in a pretty damn good match over Mike Awesome on Nitro.

Still, one has to wonder what they're up to with all this. Look, its Russo. And, as much as Russo may WANT to put the focus of WCW on Jeff Jarrett and Booker T right now, thats probably not going to happen. If you look at all sides, this could be the situation in the near future, though. Lets go back in RussoTime, shall we?

Summer 1998: In the WWF, The Rock and Hunter Hearst Helmsley enter a summer-long feud over the Intercontinental title. After a great two-of-three-falls match at Fully Loaded that went to a 30-minute time limit draw, they worked a ladder match at SummerSlam. This single match launched both into the main event scene, and made both serious threats to the upper echelon of the WWF, and players among the established headliners [Austin, Undertaker, Kane].

November 1998: Survivor Series, "Deadly Game." The tournament to fill the world title vacancy the entire two-month Austin-Kane-Undertaker program made. Going in, the favorites were definitely Austin and Taker, with Kane as a bit of a third-choice also-ran. But, there was other intrigue. Mankind was Vince McMahon's personal entrant, and the field also included both The Rock and Triple H, as first round opponents. Triple H had a knee injury at the time, and his inclusion in the bracket was simply to save face, for the most part, and keep his name floating.

An Austin-Undertaker final seemed almost...natural. I remember watching the show live on pay-per-view, and my pick was Undertaker with a screwjob win over Austin in the final. The shock came when The Rock made it to the finals, against the Vince-choice, Mankind, and Rock took a screwjob win over The Mick to win the title.

Here he was, 27 years old, a FRESH main eventer, and someone who the crowd was really into. The WWF world heavyweight champion.

See, Russo knew that Austin-Undertaker, with Kane as The Beaver, couldn't go on forever. There had to be something fresh interjected, no matter how over Austin was as the top face. So, enter The Rock, as the corporate megaheel champion.

Rock and Mankind went on to have a tremendous feud that piqued fan interest, and Austin kept his feud with McMahon going, leading to their long-awaited match at St. Valentine's Day Massacre in February '99, which then set up the Austin-Rock world title match at Wrestlemania XV the next month.

Lets see what was accomplished with all that: Rock elevated into main event status, and made a credible world champion; Mankind elevated into main event status, and made a credible, and loved, world champion; Austin maintained at the level he was always at, and coming out on top at "the end."

The tricky little ingredient in all this was Triple H, who stayed right in the public eyes as the leader of DeGeneration X. Hunter stayed a babyface throughout all of this, had a couple shots at The Rock's world title, and was shown to be someone who could beat The Rock and win that title given the opportunity. His heel turn from DX to The Corporation at Wrestlemania XV sealed the deal, and he, too, was on his way to the main event. And, just like the year before, he battled The Rock at =46ully Loaded, beating him to become the number-one contender to Steve Austin's world title at SummerSlam.

Mick Foley was entered into that match, and did pin Austin to win, but Triple H won the title the next night, proving just who it *really* was that the WWF was ready to put the focus on. Helmsley beat Austin at the next pay-per-view, solidifying his status.

To this day, Triple H and The Rock are in the focus in the WWF, and are helping to elevate guys like Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho up to the main event.

And now look at what we've got today, in WCW. Russo putting a title on Booker T when no one expected it, even though it was being hinted at just days prior on Thunder. Let's just do a little face-heel reversal here, as Booker T will play The Rock, and Jeff Jarrett plays the part of Triple H. Bill Goldberg will be co-starring as The Undertaker, with Scott Steiner as Kane, and Hulk Hogan as Stone Cold Steve Austin. There is a quote that fits so well right here:

"Screw you, Austin! YOU'RE FIRED!" - Vince McMahon

See the parts? Strange how history is always doomed to repeat itself, but, it can also be a good thing. A resurgence, and a change, has been what WCW has needed for a LONG time. Rantsylvania's Bob Morris wrote what I thought to be a pretty fine article about the situation, saying that if this is, indeed, a work, then WCW is finished. I disagree.

If it's a work, it's a damn good storyline, if executed properly. If it's a work, then just remember that this work is going to put Booker T and Jeff Jarrett, if not a few more guys, over as credible main eventers. And, if Booker or Jarrett happens to lose the title to Hogan a few months down the line, SO WHAT, really? God, its not the end of the world. Yes, there will come a day when Hulk Hogan leaves the industry for good, and that day isn't too far off. A deteriorated Steve Austin beat The Rock at Wrestlemania XV, and a fat, out-of-shape Mick Foley was put over Austin and Triple H at SummerSlam '99 for the WWF title. Did it hurt anyone? No, it certainly did not. Did simply WORKING with those men gain that much more notoriety for the careers of The Rock and Triple H? It certainly did, the same as working with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels made Steve Austin the biggest star in the industry.

Its hard to jump the gun and bet that WCW is on the right path, because so many times before, people have done that and gotten fucked over within a matter of weeks. And, hey, a lot of people might feel cheated when Hogan wins the belt back at Halloween Havoc, as I am predicting, but I'm not going to. I assume he'll beat Jeff Jarrett for the title there, with Booker T probably working that show with Goldberg. I give Hogan a two-month reign before Goldberg takes him out at Starrcade, and, folks, that could be the last we see of Hogan. Remember King of the Ring '93? Yokozuna vs. Hogan? The same thing may happen here.

And lets not forget about the other pushes going on right now. Chris Kanyon, Mike Awesome, Billy Kidman, and Lance Storm, among many others, are all seeing quality airtime.

Excuse me if I'd just like to have a little faith for once, and hope for the best out of this situation. If handled correctly, this whole angle could turn WCW around maybe in about a year, and make them competitive again. At this point, I'm thinking Booker T vs. Jeff Jarrett will headline and sell for Starrcade 2001. And who knows? Jeff Jarrett might even be a major babyface then.

My point is simple, in all reality. Its easy to say Russo's an idiot. Usually, he is. Its easy to say Hogan's a bastard. Usually, he is. Its easy to say this is just another case of backstage politics, and it probably is. I agree on every point. But, look...Dennis Rodman is an idiot. But for years and years, he helped teams win basketball games. Thats what he was paid to do. The point is just that, to quote Wesley Snipes in "White Men Can't Jump": "Even the sun shines on a dog's ass some days."

So, here's to WCW's future, and what could become a very solid promotion once more. Here's to Booker T's well-deserved world title. Here's to the pushes of Jeff Jarrett, Bill Goldberg, Scott Steiner, Billy Kidman, Mike Awesome, Lance Storm, and Chris Kanyon. Here's to Vince Russo for being a visionary, even if he's generally wrong with his visions. And, finally, here's to Hulk Hogan. For putting every single one of those men over, by simply saying, "This is why the company's in the state it's in now...because of bullshit like this!"

Yes, its a work. But so is everything else that we praise. Remember that.

I'll be the first to say I was thinking along the same lines as everyone else, that WCW would give us one pay-per-view [New Blood Rising] with this angle, and then head back to the same old shit. But, I sat, analyzed, and thought about it, and I'm telling you...it could be the dawning of an era that we won't even realise until sometime next year.

As always, I am and will remain more jaded than Mark Madden could ever pretend to be, even if I'm being the optimist for once.

Later.

Scott Christ
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