Hello There Everyone!!! It seems that all of CRZ's regulars have been, er, not so regular these days. Unlike my fellow columnists, I have not been staying away on principle, or through disillusionment: quite simply, university is keeping me busy as a mofo (if that's even an expression)!!! I apologise for falling behind with compiling CRZ's best quotes from May (and probably June as well) but plan to catch up throughout July. I just wanted to throw this 'mini-column' out there to show that I am still in one piece, as well as get something off my chest that really bugs me, and which has reared its ugly head again this past couple of weeks.

It would seem that Kimberly's 'creative differences' stemmed from an angle she vetoed that might have involved her getting 'roughed up' by Big Poppa Pill, sorry *Pump*. Also, it has been widely reported that Vampiro threatened resignation after being requested to hit his finisher on Asya, citing a history of spousal abuse in his family.

We are all aware of Bret Hart's reluctance to play the anti-America heel he portrayed in the swansong of his WWF career throughout March 97, and his distaste for an angle in which the Hart Foundation had obviously been 'framed' for writing "offensive" (pretty mild, if I remember correctly) graffiti on the Nation's lockerroom walls.

All of these would, I suppose, be defensible were it not for one thing. Wrestlers' desire to cross over into mainstream acting.

Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, the following are just some of the pro-wrestlers that have exploited the recent boom in pro-wrestling to appear in mainstream TV and movies.

Bill Goldberg (Universal Soldier 2)
The Rock (SNL, The Mummy 2, Star Trek: Voyager)
Ken Shamrock (That 70s Show)
Mick Foley (G Vs E)
Triple H (Pacific Blue)
Chyna (Third Rock From the Sun)
Bret Hart (Lonesome Dove, The Simpsons)
Hulk Hogan (Mr Nanny, Thunder in Paradise)
Shawn Michaels (Pacific Blue)
Sable (Pacific Blue, that new show with Rodman)
Vader (Boy Meets World)
Rob Van Dam (The X Files)
Tommy Dreamer (Early Edition)
Steve Austin (Nash Bridges)

and so on...

The thing that people like Hart, Sable, Vampiro and any other wrestler who vetoes an angle/vignette fail to realise is how UNPROFESSIONAL it makes them look, especially if they wish to be seen a athletic ACTORS, and not 'just a wrestler'. Do you think that many leading actors in Hollywood say to the director, "Look, Mr Tarantino. I, er, am not really comfortable about slicing this cop's ear off and setting him on fire. I just don't think it fits with my personal morals and beliefs."

OF COURSE NOT. I wonder if has anything to do with these wrestlers being 'marks for themselves', and failing to realise that just because their *character* does something distasteful, or is an asshole/slut, doesn't mean that we think less of them. Hell, do you think that anyone thinks less of someone like, Joe Pesci, a fine actor who has spouted some of the filthiest dialogue in movie history, not to mention simulated some of the worst violence either? I certainly don't, and I am sure that most of you reading this don't either.

For as much as I dislike Vince Russo and his now passe booking style, I do feel for the guy, when he repeatedly has his performers refuse to do the things he has planned for them. They need to remember that they can't have pretensions of being major TV/motion picture actors, if they aren't prepared to act in scenes (that they may not always agree with) on their own TV shows, i.e., Nitro, Smackdown, Raw and Thunder, etc.

There is a saying in Britain (and throughout N America, I am pretty sure) that "you can't have your cake and eat it", which in case I am wrong, means that you can't have things both ways.

Either these individuals 'suck it up' and cooperate in what is scripted for them and continue to land mainstream TV/movie roles, or they continue to frustrate scriptwriters like Russo and McMahon yet give up any claim to acting in other avenues.

That's all I have to say in this short rant: needless to say, I'd love any feedback especially if you strongly agree/disagree with what I have to say.

For those who care about these things: Anarchy Rulz and Heatwave 99 are in the UK shops on Monday, with November to Remember and Guilty as Charged 2000 following rapidly on their heels on July 3rd.

WWF King of the Ring airs LIVE on Sky Sports 1 on Monday June 26th at 1am (or late night Sunday June 25th, if you wanna play things the WWF's way!), so there'll be no crappy editing a la TSN, nor will there be any delay/commercials. So hopefully, Tori will 'get wood' from Buh Buh this Sunday week, so us fans in the UK don't have to wait for the home video (like we did for Backlash).