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/wrestling /guests /Craig |
| Guest Columns | Richard Craig |
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WWF/WCW Television, Merchandising, Computer Games, Tours: The UK latest Since CRZ was kind enough to put up what I only meant as a contribution to the next "I Get Letters", I kind of feel obliged to come up with my first serious contribution for a few weeks (No three month hiatus for me, although Dennis Dubay's effort was (and is) well worth the read...). Non-wrestling news out of the way first: went to see The Blair Witch Project today (I know: everyone in North America reading this will probably groan and remark to themselves "so what?") and thoroughly loved it. There wasn't really anything *scary*, more chilling. I did have a problem with the fact that there were scores of 15-year olds who insisted on providing commentary on the film to one another, and whom were prone to laughing at inappropriate moments: there were some obvious funny moments where you were *supposed* to laugh, but these generally did not coincide with their hilarity... The funny thing that stuck me was that, with such an abrupt ending, the whole theatre remained in their seats until the lights came up. Now I suppose you could say that they were sufficiently scared by the movie that they did not want to leave in darkness: however, I honestly believe that they were not prepared to believe that the film had actually ended! To the matter at hand, namely the latest goings-on in the world of pro-wrestling, and my own take on them. I got the opportunity to see Mick on Conan this evening (the show aired last Sunday in the UK and I got the tape today) and felt compelled to remark on one point Mick made during his interview. He surmised that the fans who had watched the ("Hell in the Cell") match over and over, tended *not* to have a girlfriend... Well, I have watched that match probably more than a dozen times, haven't got a girlfriend: should I laugh at Mick's gentle rib, or should I be worried about his chilling indictment of me!!! See, in an ideal world, I'd be watching the Hell in the Cell match *with* my girlfriend. In fact, I think those people who frequently write on the 'net and say "I watched this match with my wife/girlfriend" should do a "How To" guide as to getting round the fact of being a wrestling fan when you're trying to date. I often wonder how you introduce the fact that you like wrestling to someone you'd like to date without them losing interest in you quicker than the average match on Raw... I should have in my possession by this time next week both "Have a Nice Day" *and* "WWF The Music Vol.4". Amazon.co.uk surprisingly had the book on sale in the UK, and shipped it to me Thursday. I am spending next weekend back in Scotland, visiting my family, so intend to read it on the train on the way back to university. As for "The Music", it is the first WWF CD to get a full release in the UK: previously, the only way to get these items in the short-run was to get them from the States, or from the official merchandising licensee of the WWF here in the UK. This time, the CD is getting a release in all the record stores (Tower, HMV, Virgin) just like any regular CD. Both PowerSlam magazine and some UK websites reported the fact that the November issue of Sky TV Guide included a letter concerning BSkyB screening Smackdown! and HeAt (or hEaT, whatever way round it's supposed to be). The reply stated that there are no immediate plans, although the two sides *have* been in negotiations, without any agreement as yet. This sounds quite promising, so to my fellow British fans I say write or e-mail Sky (I will dig up the addresses when I am home next weekend and will hopefully have them up on [slash] before Survivor Series. To be frank, with the two sides seemingly finally reaping financial rewards from co-promoting WWF PPVs in the UK, and WWF programming regularly coming second only to soccer on Sky Sports 1 and 3 (0.17 million people watched No Mercy live: for a terrestrial channel 170,000 viewers at any time is pretty pathetic by UK standards, however for 170,000 people to be watching a satellite or cable channel at 1am until 4am in the MORNING is nothing short of sensational...) I believe that it is only a matter of time before these shows, especially Smackdown! are added to the schedules. If I remember correctly, the current contract between BSkyB and the WWF expires in 2001: I would be surprised if both sides wait until then to conclude negotiations to extend it further into the first decade of the 21st century. Also on th UK television, TNT Europe was, on October 15th, "scrambled", i.e., encrypted on the Astra satellite system, meaning that only those viewers with a Sky viewing card would be able to receive the broadcasts. Nitro and Thunder (both shown on a same-week transmission pattern as the US, with Nitro opposing Raw from 9pm until 11-30pm GMT on Fridays, and Thunder airing unopposed from 9pm 'til 11pm on Saturdays) are the prime brands in this new entertainment-themed channel, therefore I would not be surprised to see the UK get live coverage of WCW PPVs before the end of next year. Previously, TNT was available as a free-to-air channel across Europe, and since German digital sports channel DF-1 has an agreement to screen live WCW PPVs in their market, that precluded Time Warner from bringing these PPVs to the loyal fans (of which I must grudgingly concede there are plenty in the UK, although I'm definitely not one of them) of the UK. The recent change means that this problem has been resolved, since the TNT service on Astra is no longer available outside of the UK. Whether Time Warner wish to protect the home-video release of WCW PPVs which has recently re-started in Britain, or recognise that screening PPVs free over TNT (how this would go down with our North American cousins would be interesting: whilst we don't have to pay the equivalent of thirty dollars to watch WWF pay-per-views, at least we are paying *something* in the form of a Sky Sports subsciption each month) would not harm that market; there are plenty wrestling fans in the UK who do not have access to Raw, Nitro or Thunder every week, and rely upon home-video to keep as up-to-date as the release schedules of these tapes allow. The planned WCW tour of England for November was cancelled, something which many saw coming, since the details on how to actually get tickets never materialised following the initial announcement. The dates are reportedly to be rescheduled for February 2000, although I'll believe that when I see it, if you catch my drift. Since July, W.O.W. magazine has been printed in a UK edition, by licensees to the H&P Media title in the States. This is a good read, mainly due to the fact that it is the thickest, glossiest wrestling mag available in the UK. PowerSlam, always an itelligent read, simply cannot match up to the thickness of W.O.W. UK, but betters its rival due to its much shorter lead-time, enabling it to cover events that perhaps only occurred a fortnight prior to its publication. Indeed, that's where W.O.W. UK falls down: whilst the UK inserts and letters are well done, the rest of the magazine relies upon content from its US equivalent. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the UK October issue to feature news taken from the *September* issue in the States, given the magazine a terribly dated feel. I mainly buy the magazine for the feature writing, which is less susceptible to this problem of "ageing". WCW magazine is available through all good-sized branches of WH Smith, whilst in the time elapsed since Raw magazine went monthly, the lag between the publication of WWF magazines in the states has shrunk to very acceptable levels. Whilst at one time, the difference was as much as three weeks, generally WWF Raw and WWF Magazine are widely available the weekend following their publication in the States. For example, the November issue of Raw magazine *should* be available from Friday November 6 here in Britain... In fact, the timetable goes something like this (WCW Magazine not included) 1st Friday WWF Raw Magazine 2nd Friday W.O.W. UK Magazine 3rd Friday WWF Magazine Final Thursday PowerSlam MagazineAn advertisement on the back cover of the latest issue of PowerSlam reveals that Silver Vision (the official retailers of WWF Home Video in the UK) are releasing both the "Hell Yeah" And "WM15" DVDs in the month of November. My Dad's PC has the latest DVD-Rom drive technology, and I certainly hope to rent, if not buy the "Wrestlemania 15" DVD to see what it is like. Finally, as I feel I am in danger of overstaying my welcome, or overcompensating for my absence, the word from my industry sources is that whilst WWF Attitude (for the PlayStation, at least) is currently available again through limited stockists, this is a *temporary* measure as Acclaim and their distributors have allegedly decided to delete this title with the impending release of Wrestlemania 2000 for the N64 (available late November/early December in the UK) and WWF Smackdown next year. Having seen how gorgeous WM2000 looks, and knowing how good WCW/NwO Revenge plays, I may still pick up an N64 second hand and acquire the game upon its release. However, my chosen strategy is that I am getting my brother's ageing PlayStation (he also owns an N64) and our copy of "WWF Attitude", and will buy "Smackdown" (and possibly WCW Mayhem by EA) when it's released next year. I hope that you have not all clicked "Main" by now, and if you're reading this you clearly have *not* and I sincerely appreciate that, and thank you for your patience and stamina. I know that I did not really have a "focus" but I simply made this up along the way, and as it is late here (0010) I made a pretty lousy job of dividing this "stream of consciousness" into legible paragraphs: I therefore apologise to CRZ, and hope that this causes him the least amount of inconvenience. Richard Craig (A Scotsman living in) Bedfordshire, England, UK [slash] wrestling Mail the Author |
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