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/wrestling /guests /Mr. Mean |
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/wrestling /guests /Mr. Mean |
| Guest Columns | Mr. Mean |
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IT DOESN'T MATTER They still haven't told us who the hummer driver is. But as the Rock would say, IT DOESN'T MATTER! What does matter is what WCW has done to its upper tier of wrestlers. After 13 years as a superhero, Sting is now being cast as WCW's top heel. At least that is what WCW is attempting. The question is whether it will succeed. Sting's turn began at Fall Brawl, though the fans didn't seem to realize it even as the announcers were trying very hard to sell it. Certainly a lot happened at Fall Brawl and Monday Nitro in terms of storyline development even though Sting was the only wrestler to turn. The Revolution got squashed at Fall Brawl but rallied the next night. Sid Vicious picked up some gold and kept powerbombing people. Rick Steiner has taken over as the ref-beater of WCW. Conspicuous in their absence was The Cat and Sonny Onoo, proving that the post-Bischoff era is underway. But my friend Lady Diamond Cutter (a big-time DDP mark) thinks Onoo is really funny. So do I. They should find another role for him at least. I wonder if Mike Graham will continue to book Thunder after exposing Sid's "streak" and putting over the very unover Windham brothers. Sting is now supposed to be the top bad guy. Ric Flair was brought out Monday in Chapel Hill to help Sting get over as a heel. It was sure nice to see the Nature Boy back on TV. Yet another sign of the post-Bischoff era. Flair is still one of the best talkers in the business. And he can still bump. Lex Luger and Sting really laid a beating on Flair. This was good booking if WCW wants the fans to accept Sting as a heel. Ultimately, it's up to the fans. Remember that Goldberg was NOT brought in to be a babyface. Neither was the Rock. Neither of these guys changed their character to draw cheers. Also, I wonder how many fans remember that when Sting first came over to WCW from the old UWF, he was a heel. At that time he was tagging with Steiner. But the fans insisted on cheering for him and he evolved into the babyface character that held fast all those years until Fall Brawl. Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart rescued Flair and of course the challenge was issued for a tag team match later in the show. Backstage, Sting and Luger discussed Luger's medical status and decided there would be no match. In a hilarious Bob Newhart-type segment, J.J. Dillon found out that Luger is OK to wrestle. Too bad, Lex, the match is on. Speaking of Goldberg, he is clearly WCW's most over performer. His victory over DDP in what was really a handicap match was well done. Now, he's on a collision course with Sid, who will finally have to do a clean job. Goldberg keeps getting better on the mic, too. His calling out of Sid on Nitro drew some nice heat. He added the exclamation point by giving Jerry Flynn a spear and jackhammer. Sid just keeps being Sid, which is OK by me. He picked up the U.S. title cleanly from Benoit on Sunday and went right back to his old ways Monday. I'll say it again. Sid doesn't need that belt. Anyway, Sid made his first appearance Monday during the Erik Watts-Disco Inferno match. Like we didn't know that was coming. Charles Robinson tagged along and was WEARING the U.S. title belt. Does that mean he's the champ now? I said Sid didn't need the belt, didn't I? Well, if the British Bulldog can give Al Snow the WWF Hardcore title, WCW can do something similar. Robinson held his signs as Sid powerbombed Watts. Then he rambled on the stick. Robinson reminded Sid to powerbomb Disco. Then he rambled some more. Then he powerbombed Disco again. But though the ref counted three pins, Sid only chalked up one victory, raising his "record" to 81-0. Just forget the math. This is WCW. I just loved that planted sign that read "Boring, bring on Sid" or whatever it said. It didn't take long for Sid to return as Norman Smiley and Silver King were in the ring for the next match. Guess what Sid did? I'm not in the mood to transcribe what he said. There's a hurricane bearing down on South Carolina and I'm a little preoccupied. Benoit may have lost the U.S. title but they are still pushing him, thank goodness. That doesn't mean WCW still can't make a mess of things. Last week, Benoit's match with fellow Revolution member Dean Malenko was ruined by Sid, supposedly because both refused to job. Yet Bob Ryder on WCW Live announced that Benoit would get the world title shot anyway. No. Instead, Benoit and Malenko will have a rematch with the same stipulation. This time Benoit goes over in a well-worked clean match. So it seems Benoit gets the title shot against Sting. No, sorry. Instead, he gets Steiner for the TV title. Steiner explains that Sting has better things do or something like that. Benoit won. Gosh, they threw him a bone. It was nice to see Lenny and Lodi have an actual tag team match instead of the de facto handicap matches they usually have against a single opponent. The Insane Clown Posse provided the opposition. The ICP got some big face heat. Talk about an entertaining match. You had four guys in there that can bump and are quite amusing. One thing noticeable in the immediate aftermath of Eric Bischoff's departure is the presence of actual WRESTLING matches. That bout between Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn was great. Yes, the Revolution and the Filthy Animals stared each other down after the match but that's good competitive spirit, right? And how about Buff Bagwell finally doing the job to Berlyn? It came a day late. I wonder if someone with authority (Nash?) told Bagwell to perform or take his "stuff" elsewhere. I don't know how this angle is going to fare but it's not off to a good start. Bagwell's refusal to job at Fall Brawl forced WCW to trot out an angry Jim Duggan, who refused to sell for Berlyn. On top of that, Alex Wright looks terrible. In his previous stint, he had a tanned, lean, muscular frame. Now he just looks skinny and soft. Lady Diamond Cutter doesn't think he looks any better than David Flair does. Ouch. Maybe that's why Bagwell, who looks like a bodybuilder, didn't want to job to him. But, come to think of it, Bagwell did plenty of jobs to Sean Waltman in the old GWF, so he knows the rules of the game. As for the main event, that looked like a NASTY baseball bat shot on Bret Hart. They really are trying hard to get Sting over as a heel. I think it would have worked better if they had him attack Goldberg, who's more over than Hogan. Well, those are just my opinions. But, again, as the Rock would say, IT DOESN'T MATTER! Mr. Mean |
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