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STICK IT
Where the Fun Ends on Slash!!!

Welcome again to Stick It, the column born from a WCW line......which nowadays is really sad. A year ago the idea crossed my mind to change the name of this column, but I didn't. I'll always mark out for Stings promo the night after the first nwo formed and when he told Hogan to stick it. Now, on the more important matters.

Thanks to CRZ for writing a bit at the end of my last column, which was a review of ECW: Double Tables. I learned something, and I hope everyone else did too. One reader did and actually MAILED ME! Here's the letter:

Peacock,

Hey ,pretty cool. Not only do you get a fourth reader ( me ) but CRZ himself writes the epilogue for your column. Get Jim Ross to right your Foreward and things'll be rockin'.
Believe it or not, this the first reveiw I've read of Double Tables. I'm not all that into the ECW. I watched it ever so briefly when I first got my dish and got all those regional sports stations. I had to stay up till ungodly hours to see it though. I hope it's changed format since then because the endless promos drove me insane and I quit watching. I'll probably buy this tape.
Thanks for writing. I like to read.

Shawn Colton

Yay, that's like the thrid letter I've gotten for this column. Thanks to Shawn, and I really hope he didn't mind me printing his letter. Like I told him, for any ECW, contact other people online or possibly ebay, but not RF Video. Not that I don't like them, but it's just too expensive.

And now on the main portion of the column!

Topic One: The WWF Star Machine and My Really Good Example of Why It Works:

Wrestlemania 13 featured the classic Bret Hart vs Austin "I quit match" and a pretty good Bulldog/Owen vs Mankind/Vader match, but I don't want to talk about those matches. That would mean running to the video store and renting it again, which isn't going to happen at this hour.

What I want to talk about is IC Title match between Sultan vs Rocky Miavia, very much the worst IC title match in WrestleMania history. Long, boring, and overall really really sad considering the past title matches at WM (Shawn vs Razor, Piper vs Hart, Steamboat vs Savage).

Fast forward to 1999, WWF Smackdown, the current number one show on UPN and WWF's first exposeure on national TV in years, where The Rock is facing off against Rikishi Phatu in the main event. Now hold the phone, the crowd is going insane for this match....can that be the same two workers?????? Really, taken in this light, it boggles the mind as to how over both men are and how over wrestling as a whole is!!!

Dancing and a large ass made Rikishi popular (and the sitout piledriver, which I think should be called the "Booty Call" awwww come on, it's catchy!!!), and a endless list of catchpharses. Matches are no longer 15 minutes long (heck the Starrcade main event was 12 minutes! but that's another promotion). The emphsis has changed and the characters are completely different, the WWF started listening and catering to the fans what they wanted to see. If Rikishi had made fans go the bathroom, or people got bored and booed the Rock (and not in the good way)then they wouldn't be there, that's the difference between then and now.

It's still amazing though that two people that got no reaction 4 years ago are now two of the top faces in the WWF, is it because of the workers themselves, or just Vince McMahon marketing? It's both, one can't work without the other. Picture Steve Blackman saying "smell what THE STEVE! is cooking".....no, it's not a pretty sight, or Rikishi, just coming out and wrestling w/o the dancing? Vince and the bookers and wrestlers can come up with the catch pharases and characters, but without the right wrestlers who have the chrisma to do them, might as well be another WCW.

Topic Two: My Week (Month? Business Quater?) In Review:

  • What can I say about the (New) Radicals debut in the WWF? Hey, they only get what they give and they sure have given a lot...now they will be rewarded.

  • Sorry, I can't hear the name "Radicals" w/o thinking of the band, perhaps they could have called them the "Aces of Bases", that would have been cool

  • The Ten Man Tag was the best raw match of the last few month, but I also the the Big Show vs Kane match from before the Rumble was really good to.

  • Watching RAW, the Godfather sure looks like he's having fun. Sadly....I have a gut feelings every day he cries the tears of pain, as only a pimp can when no one ever takes his product.

  • And shouldn't he be getting arrested, isn't prostitution illegal? nevermind, i'm thinking to much

  • I dedicated a lot of time to WM2000 over the week, the created character is fun. New Jack is really fun to make because the challange is making sure he doesn't have any moves at all. I wish there'd be a feature in the game where if a character tried a move he didn't know, he'd stop and it'd get reversed, at least then i could have the total New Jack experience.

  • Oh wow, Angle vs Jericho at No Way Out!!! That should be great! See, the WWF is doing what makes them great, putting a great heel against a great face in a match togeather. Take note WCW, if Vampiro is getting great responce, push him up or put him in there with someone who is getting as great pops as him.....so next week is Vampiro vs Wall.....wait.......damn!

    I'm taking off for this week, hopefully I can manage to update this a little more, and thanks for reading!!

    Peacock
    freelance

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