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Citizen Lazlo

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THE YOUNG VS. THE OLD

An interesting question was posed to me a couple of days ago.

"How long have you been watching wrestling?"

I was a bit dumbfounded by the question. But I collected myself quickly and answered the question. I have been a wrestling fan since I was a kid and have been watching off and on since about 1984.

Answering that one question has sent my mind on a voyage of discovery about the differences between the "newbies" and "old timers" in the world of wrestling fandom. I have noticed lately that many people have been spending an extremely large amount of time bitching and complaining about the quality of wrestling these days. Of course what these people mean is that they are not pleased with the storylines permeating the feds these days. Not the actual wrestling.

I would have to say that the quality of the actual wrestling on TV has been terrible for quite awhile and most fans wouldn't recognize wrestling talent if it came up and bit them on the ass.

But as for the quality of the story lines I think people are over reacting. Yes right now the WCW is in the process of rebuilding their shattered organization, and the WWF has effectively played out most of the big stories they have used in the last few years. But They still have all of the tools they need to regain their freshness and originality.

The WWF is the most "over" of the big 2, and as of right now it appears that the gravy train they have built will just keep chugging along indefinitely. But if the past is any teacher it is obvious that the WWF needs to keep pushing the creative envelope so that the millions of casual fans they have attracted in the last year don't desert them out of sheer boredom from the repetition of old product. Vince and company seem to understand this and have been bringing fresh new talent over the last year and some of these investments already appear to be paying back dividends.

WCW is the youngest of the "Big 2" and arguably has the best workers in the business. It seems that the WCW has managed to put the breaks on their ratings slide and that they are now surrounded by their core audience with very few casual fans hanging around. Personally I would love to work for WCW these days, Their young talent is chomping at the bit to show what they are capable of, they have some of the deepest pockets in the business, and they have had most of their creative restrictions removed. Unfortunately they now have Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara calling all of the shots, and it appears that they are attempting they same angles and plot devices that were used in the resurrection of the WWF. I consider this a monumental mistake, they should realize that the core WCW audience is nothing like the core WWF audience. They should be catering to the their fan base and not trying to shove old ideas down the publics throat.

Of course most of the "newbies" haven't made any of these connections, they are still being entertained by the same old same old. And these are also the same people that are heralding a rebirth of WCW. I think that the majority of fans don't realize that the whole Austin McMahon feud that drew them into the world of prowrestling had quite a bit of buildup behind it that they never saw, and that wasn't nearly as entertaining as the later portions. Bottom line is that good storylines require a certain amount of build up to be good.

On the other hand most of the old time fans I know are quietly waiting for the next major development in the wrestling world. These are the people are the ones who love wrestling. They watch WWF, WCW, ECW, and the various indie feds and international organizations. They are the hardcore fans that loved the days of the NWA, and the AWA. And they shake their heads when they consider what "Smokey Mountain Wrestling could have become if only it had been given a chance and not been murdered in the cradle.

The youngsters and the old-timers could not exist without one another. The kids look at us and shake their heads when we speak of Andre, Hogan, Flair, Piper, and many others with a measure of awe. They don't understand. But conversely may of the "kids" hold the same regard for The Rock, Austin, and Goldberg.

Don't ever forget people that you were a "newbie" once yourself.

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