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/wrestling /guests /Pitbull3 |
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/wrestling /guests /Pitbull3 |
| Guest Columns | Pitbull 3 |
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MARKING MY TERRITORY On "You Sold Out" Finally, the Pitbull has come back to Slash! As many know, I have just moved back into school, and classes have just begun. I am just now finding the time and energy to write a *full* column. I have two big ones in the hopper as we speak. There has been a big outcry that we really haven't seen before about the "You Sold Out" chants echoing through the ECW crowds, and in particular, the ones directed towards Taz. I think this has to be one of the biggest misunderstandings among wresting fans out there. I am an ECW fan. I have been watching them as religiously as I could since April of 1995. Through that time, I have seen many guys come and go...some more surprising than others. I also want to preface this by saying that there are probably some out there that this does not apply to for whatever reason, but I believe that number to be in the vast minority. It has been said, and rightly so, that ECW fans are the "smartest" subset of wrestling fans. Their fans are highly knowledgeable of the business of wrestling, and the relationship of the people we see in the ring to the people we never see in the locker room. We understand the difference between the character and the real person. That is, more or less, implicit in a person's "smartness." We chant "You Sold Out, You Sold Out," during the intros, during the match, through to the ending sequence. But what happened AFTER the match? What was the reaction of the fans to Taz and to his closing speech? He was cheered like crazy. Taz got a GENUINE, respectful standing ovation from the fans. What can explain this? Why, then, did Malenko and Guerrero get chants of "Please Don't Go," when Shane Douglas got "Get the Fuck Out," and The Public Enemy basically had a going away show devoted to them. And on top of that, every one of those men, including a long list of others, received standing ovations and cheers of respect as they walked out of ECW to a rival promotion. And beyond that, why is it that the rival promotion's name incites booing even when it is a heel involved? The ECW crowd has a roll to play in these situations. We boo the heels and cheer the faces. We always pop for a great wrestling sequence or a great highspot or an innovative use of a golf club. We understand our roll in wrestling, but we appreciate the hard work and dedication of the workers. WE have a duel existence just as the performers do. We do to the heels what we are supposed to do them, boo them. We do for the faces what we are supposed to do for them, cheer them. As long as they are performing on the stage, they will be treated accordingly. The Dudleys were inciting near-riots and being booed out of the arena the night they said good-bye. As soon as the match was over, they broke out of character and thanked everyone for their stay in ECW, and were cheered wildly. Then, in a last second turn, they ripped the fans again. They were booed heavily as they left the ring. Now, the same fans who seconds ago had loved them could not be interpreted as having turned on the Dudleys for that petty of a reason. The crowd went back into character just as the Dudleys had. I think guys like Scaia and Issacs are horribly mistaken in their analysis of the way heels are treated as they depart ECW. I think it speaks volumes about the wrestler the louder the negative chants are. Maybe as much as the genuine reaction they get as they are leaving the ring. As for the reactions to the rival promotions, as I wrote in my very first Slash column, it has always been a basic principal in ECW that WCW and the WWF were the bad guys. They were the bigger, richer, more powerful companies out to destroy ECW and steal all its talent. I am now as I have always been a fan of the WWF and WCW (though they are tesing me now). I have out right booed the name of Vince McMahon, though I admire him a great deal. I have cheered the angry curses hurled towards the WWF and WCW, and even thrown out a few myself. It is a roll I accept as an ECW fan. ECW : Join the Revolution. It is US versus THEM, and they are winning. I am positive that 99.9% of the ECW fan base watch Monday Night Wrestling, from the most casual of ECW fan to The Hat Guy. AND, when they watch other promotions, they are just regular fans like me. It is the roll of ECW fan that brings us to tearing down the promotions we still watch and love. But then again, we aren't REALLY tearing them down, just presenting the image of it. So you see, our jeers to the guys aren't because we are being dicks...we are just staying in character...not breaking kayfabe. Pitbull3 [slash] wrestling Mail the Author |
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