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Bill Gillon

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FROM THE BRIT SIDE
(The home of Steven Regal on Slash Wrestling)

Thought for the week: What was the best thing before sliced bread?

Request for the week: Kelly-Marie Super Vixen, likes wrestling, beer and is funny. Be mine ;-)

Film of the week: The Blair Witch Project. The only thing that has scared me before was the thought of Hulk Hogan being around in another ten years, but this film really creeped me out. Amazing film.

Also, hi to Richard Craig there (hey, you're Slash Wrestling now as well Richard by the looks of thing). My surname comes out as 'galleon' according to Richard's spellchecker. A large ship, usually laden with gold and goodies...that's me :)



Buying a new house is such a bind. For those who read my columns you may have noticed that it's a little bit later this week, because of the aforementioned house buying, going to see solicitor's and getting details ready etc. Added to this the fact that I've started a new section at work and things are pretty hectic to say the least. Actually, I might continue to do my columns at the tail end of the week as there seem to be a sudden rush of stuff from Monday to Wednesday, probably because of the Monday shows and weekend PPVs. Yeah, that's a good idea.

Oops, I'm rambling. Hi there, hope you all had a good week. I'm sitting here half asleep after a busy week, but am sacrificing my sleep and rest in the hope of entertaining you, my fans, and those who have stumbled in here by complete accident. So what's been happening? We've had the fallout from Road Wild (including the baffling angle of Sid Vicious the Millennium Man, destroying all in his path like some sort of undefeated, entertaining wrestler...hmm) and the run-up to Summerslam. More on those later, but for now I'm going to touch on a subject that's been covered by every wrestling columnist on the internet, but hey, I have to give my views and thoughts. So, to begin with....

GO JERICHO GO!!!!!


What was your first reaction when that name appeared on the Titantron, the lights blazed on and Chris Jericho stood there, arms raised with his back to the ring? Myself, I was thrilled more than I would ever have thought. Yes, even though it was 99% certain that Jericho would indeed be the man behind the Millennium countdown, that one moment sent a shiver down my spine. Jericho's entrance theme was absolutely first class and Chris was, well, Chris. He had the crowd eating out of his hand, and in a couple of minutes had turned from instant crowd favourite to heal, yet still had fans cheering him and following along with his phrases. Big assistance from The Rock as well, who gave a fantastic retort to Jericho's rantings...anyone notice the little smile on his face while the countdown was going on by the way? He knew what was coming and by all accounts he and Jericho have struck up a good relationship behind the scenes as well. I can't wait to see how this feud unravels.

While all was rosy with the WWF, what was WCW's feelings towards Jericho's huge impact? I would go so far as to suggest that Chris Jericho's appearance on Raw could be one of the most important and influential moments in wrestling history. Comments and mutterings coming out of WCW suggest that some wrestlers who have had recent opportunities to go to the WWF are now regretting their choices to stay with WCW. I even read a comment that when Jericho appeared, many in the WCW backrooms were watching the TV sets tuned into Raw. Was this one moment the time when certain people wondered what they are doing floundering on Nitro midcards playing the part of Hogan and Nash's playthings? Could this be the spark which makes the WCW powers at be realise how far behind their company has fallen? Could this be the turning point for WCW, or the moment when the WWF buried them for good...or neither? Only time will tell.

What do you think? Mail me and let me know.




WCW: I give up, I really really do. After what was, by all accounts, a surprisingly decent and solid PPV at Road Wild, they make a complete and utter mess of Nitro. What the hell are they doing having Sid Vicious interrupt nearly matches on the card, portraying him as this unbeatable Millennium Man (wonder where they got that title from??) and then have him mess up against Hogan in a rather confused way. And even more important, what the hell is Sid Vicious doing chokeslamming STEVEN REGAL????? How dare he!!!!! I don't often swear, but fuck you Vicious, you do not even think about harming the undisputed lord of wrestling. You and me Vicious, outside. Game of softball, I can take you boy!!!!

Is Vicious the way to go? For the answer to that question let's ask people like Goldberg and Sting, in fact let's ask the people in attendance and WCW's remaining fans if they'd rather see Vicious in the title match than Goldberg and Sting. I'm left to wonder how many more times Sting is going to let himself be pushed to one side so Hogan and his cronies can protect their exalted positions as everybody's favourites, at least in their own minds. Does Goldberg think that he's going to be allowed a lengthy title reign when he eventually gets hold of it again in about 10 years time? He's obviously going in the right direction against the likes of Barry Windham.

Speaking of Goldberg and Sting, messages to WCW:

1) For all our sakes give Goldberg back his original entrance music. It was so intimidating even watching off the TV, it added to Goldberg's air of menace. This Megadeth crap just turns him into another wrestler. Geez, by the time 'Crush 'Em' has reached the relevant lyrics, Goldberg's got into the ring and the match is over.

2) If Sting is going to persist with the Crow gimmick, he needs to keep his mouth shut or at least not play to the crowd as much as he does with all his "Whoooooos". This gimmick worked best when Sting was mysterious, coming from the rafters (don't do that again though for obvious reasons) and dispensing his own kind of dark justice. If on the other hand he wants to play to the crowd then bring back the blond hair and the facepaint. In my opinion, his current persona is a mishmash of them both and it doesn't really work.

It's a crying shame that WCW is the way it is at the moment. The talent is there for it to be so much better, but it just has to be used in the right way, but I've come to the conclusion that the only way that WCW can make a recovery is with the WWF's help, as under the current situation, they're not going to get there themselves. Look at some of the wrestlers in WCW just now, such as Raven, Chris Benoit, Saturn, Vampiro, Eddy Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, Sting, Scott Hall and Goldberg. If you ask me that group is a pretty decent starting point for some entertaining matches, with a diversity of styles and some good mic work there as well. But notice a similarity between them all? They are either rotting in midcard hell or been given a taste of the high life, a fleeting taste which didn't last very long because they're toooo popular. How many of those mentioned, and others which I didn't mention, were looking at those television screens on the 9th August and asking themselves "Could that have been me???"

WCW, hell, it could have been you!!!! Instead of paying the likes of Dennis Rodman substantial amounts of money to play bit parts for a few shows, use your talent. Those words Jericho was saying on Raw could well have been on Nitro, for example as part of the young v old angle. Just imagine the pop you would have got if you'd admitted your faults, given Jericho the mic to interrupt say a Hogan or Nash match and basically got him to say the exact same stuff he did on Raw...."PPV buyrates falling... viewing figures going down...no more heroes...and it's all because of the old guys like you...move over, it's time for the new blood!!!". Nice idea, but would it happen? Like hell it would, not while egos are running the WCW into the ground, and until that situation changes, like I said, WWF will need to drop the ball big time to enable WCW to make the recovery.



Wow, I really started ranting there....give me a cold flannel.....that's better. Let's move onto.....

WWF: After saying that the WWF would need to screw up in a big way to lose their superiority, I also have to ask myself are the first signs of the screw up in the air? In the past week or so there has been talk of some friction in the WWF camp. First of all Steve Austin is refusing to work matches with certain wrestlers, like Mr Ass Billy Gunn and Jeff Jarrett. While in theory Austin may be correct that Gunn and Jarrett might not be as over with the fans to work matches with him, it wouldn't do him any harm to do said matches anyway. For a start it sounds as though he's building a reputation for himself of being a bit difficult, whispers which seem to be growing all the time. Also, working matches with Gunn and Jarrett would HELP to get them over, and would be good for the WWF as a whole, as well as being good for Austin's opponents and their futures. I hope I'm wrong, but Austin's apparent attitude smacks of Hogan and Nash possibilities, so I hope that Vince pulls rank...nobody should be bigger than the company Mr Bischoff.

A second favourite topic of conversation over the past week or so is the apparent friction between The Rock and Road Dogg, with Dogg mentioning that The Rock has let the push he's received go to his head. This may very well be true, I don't know for certain, but I would point out there's a crucial factor in this. That is that, even if The Rock has a high opinion of himself, he's not putting it in the way of what's good for the WWF as a whole. He's still willing to job and work matches with others, eg. Billy Gunn. A lot of Rock fans are complaining that he seems to be doing to much jobbing recently, hardly a symptom of a wrestler thinking he's beyond such thoughts as losing matches. It just seems a case of The Rock and Road Dogg just not getting on, which is fair enough. In a large group, there is always going to be some friction. When it occurs just don't let it get in the way of the job in hand.

It's great to see Mankind back in the mix isn't it? Well, to be more exact it's great to see the brilliant Mick Foley back in the mix, one of the funniest and most entertaining guys in the wrestling fraternity. Personally though I prefer his Cactus Jack persona, don't know why, just personal taste. I loath Dude Love, and much preferred the original Mankind, the disturbed and deranged one. But in it's own way the current Mankind gives Mick the opportunity to show his mic skills at their best, along with his wrestling abilities. The WWF has been a quieter place without him.

Talking of Mick, he's in the championship match at Summerslam, which means it's time for...

BILL'S SUMMERSLAM PREDICTIONS


While there are other predictions on the site, I have to add my own, since mine are far and away the best. So, here goes...

Tag-Team Turmoil!!!!!

This could be anything. Personally I would like Christian and Edge to get the win here, though could Gangrel interfere in some way to stop them coming out on top? I tend to think not, as they are one of the most popular teams around and it's their time. As an alternative I fancy The Acolytes.

Ivory v Tori for the WWF Women's Title

I have to admit I'm not a great fan of the women's matches (although Mona got me pretty interested on Nitro). As a result I'm pretty indifferent to this, but since Tori used to suck up to Sable, I want Ivory to get this.

Ken Shamrock v Steve Blackman

Hey, weapons are involved!!! Anybody remember when The Berzerker tried to skewer The Undertaker with his sword?? This is a difficult one to forecast. Like CRZ I quite like Blackman, although I still reckon the might of Regal would wipe the floor with him. Shamrock owes Blackman a win, but will Shamrock want to leave the WWF with a loss like this? Hmm, interesting one. I'd like Blackman to get this and have a feeling he will.

D'Lo Brown v Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental and European Titles

With Debra still being with Jarrett it's highly possible that she'll interfere on D'Lo's behalf. I'd just love for Austin's real life connection with Debra brought into an angle somewhere, but it probably wouldn't be fair and probably won't happen. D'Lo for me in this with interference from Debra, which I'd like to see too.

Kane/X-Pac v Undertaker/Big Show for the WWF Tag-Team Titles

With Kane and X-Pac being hugely over just now it wouldn't make real sense for them to lose this after they've just regained the titles again. I can see a DQ in this match somewhere along the line, but whatever, Kane and X-Pac to retain the titles and continue their run. I agree with some people though, if Kane loses the mask they lose a major part of his appeal. Interesting to see how they play this angle.

Big Boss Man v Al Snow for the WWF Hardcore Title

Boss Man has apparently said he's not keen on doing too many hardcore matches and with Snow not seeming to have similar views, I think he'll come out on top here and deservedly so. Not sure about the dog though.

Test v Shane McMahon

I've said in an earlier column that I'm not keen on this angle. Saying that though I quite like the idea of Stephanie coming out on her brother's side on this one to help Shane win the match. I'd love Shane to get this, and have to be honest, I can't see Test winning it. I favour a DQ here as well.

The Rock v Mr Ass

Gunn owes The Rock surely?? Saying that, Chris Jericho in all likelihood will make an appearance somewhere along the line, and the favourite time for him must be during this match which makes this so intriguing. Any match with The Rock in it is hugely entertaining, and I hope he wins. Should be interesting.

Steve Austin v HHH v Mankind for the WWF Championship

This has so many possibilities. With Jesse Ventura as the referee will he risk the wrath of the crowd by counting HHH to glory? How serious is Austin's injury (I think Mankind's involvement here tells the story)? I would say that either HHH or Mankind will win this. Personally I'd like HHH, I've been impressed with him recently and he deserves a go. I would put forward the possibility that Shawn Michaels will interfere on HHH's behalf...he is the commissioner after all, and it would save Jesse counting the heel to victory. The best outcome for the fans would probably be Mick winning the title on his return though.

All in all an intriguing show. There's so many ifs and buts and maybes and coulds, and I wouldn't say there's one match on there in which I could confidently predict the outcome.



To finish off for this week, it's the.....

AWARDS OF THE WEEK

WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: Mankind. The return of Mick Foley and into the main event at Summerslam. Welcome back Mick.

ANGLE OF THE WEEK: The Hollys....there's two of them now!!!! This just gets better and better.

SHOCK OF THE WEEK: Sid going over Sting at Road Wild. The state of WCW personified in one match.

DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE WEEK: That Kevin Nash's 'retirement' will only last as long as the Outsiders reunion, and possibly to the reform of the NWO....oh well.

SPECIAL MENTION TO: The Rock-Mr Ass confrontation on Raw this week. Priceless.



Well, that's all for this week. As always, keep those mails coming and let me know if there's anything you agree or disagree with amongst the views or points I've made, or anything about the wrestling world at all. Just mail me at the link below. Thanks for dropping by, take care of yourselves and I'll see you all next week.

Spellchecker fun.....it's amazing what you can do with Gunn. Last week it was goon, this week I can change Gunn to 'GNU'. Isn't a gnu a large lumbering animal, rather unimpressive with limited vocal talents??

SLAINTE!!!!!

Bill Gillon
[slash] wrestling

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Guest column text copyright (C) 1999 by the individual author and used with permission