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/wrestling /guests /Robar |
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/wrestling /guests /Robar |
| Guest Columns | Jason Robar |
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ROBAR'S RAMBLINGS (In case this doesn't make the pre-Raw and Nitro update, I should point out that it is being written before Raw and Nitro.) (Oh, and thanks to Clyde Ford for his letter on my last column and my thoughts about kayfabe.) (Plus, before I forget, don't listen to Scaia. The new Foo Fighters CD is great. It's a bit more mainstream, but you can still tell that it's a Foo Fighters CD.) So, I'm apparently trying to make kayfabe cool again. At least, that's what CRZ got out of my column last week. In that case, I'd like to apologize in advance for failing in my mission. Because I know I don't have the ability to make kayfabe cool once again. In reality, I don't think that anybody can make kayfabe cool again. And I know what those who read my column last week, all two of you, are going to ask: Weren't you railing against the Buff Bagwell angle last week? Doesn't that contradict what you are saying above? And the answers are Yes, I was (and still am) against the Buff Bagwell angle, and No, it doesn't contradict what I'm saying above. My objection to the Bagwell angle is simple: It's a dumb angle that most people aren't going to get into. Why? Because the "smarts" know that it's an angle, so they don't really care about it. The "marks" and the casual fan doesn't know what's going on. Plus, when you combine it with another angle that they are running with Curt Hennig, where Hennig is to retire should he get pinned in the middle of the ring, and it doesn't make sense. If wrestling results are predetermined, then why don't the "Powers that be" just tell Hennig that he has to be pinned in the middle of the ring to make him retire? And if they aren't predetermined, then why is Bagwell concerned about being told to let himself be pinned? Can't he just wrestle a good match and win? It's another example of a problem that plagues wrestling: Everybody wants to have it both ways. Wrestlers don't want to job, but they expect other wrestlers to make them look good. If somebody is only willing to take, why would you be willing to give them anything? How does that benefit you? Writers are just as bad if not worse. They want you to remember and forget about things at their convenience. We are supposed to forget about kayfabe when watching the Bagwell angle, but we are then supposed to remember it when watching the Hennig angle. And it isn't limited to WCW. The WWF wants us to forget that Shane McMahon is the owner of the WWF, according to storylines, but they want us to remember that all the McMahon's have a bit of power in real life, so they have it in story lines whenever they feel like it. Plus, let's not forget the DX reunion. They hate each other, but now they love each other. Huh? And ECW blurs the line between reality and work so much that everything that happens in ECW is assumed to be a work, until proven to be real. The ultimate example of people wanting their cake and eating it too has to be the "Powers that be" angle. Vince Russo is on record saying that he doesn't want to have a on-camera role. The problem is, this "Powers that be" angle can only end by giving the fans what they want, and having the "Powers that be" get beaten by the face. Assuming that Russo has decided that he's going to be a heel. The "Powers that be" angle is a dicotomy upon itself. Russo is being portrayed as a bad guy who only cares about popping ratings, and not about his wrestlers' well being or concerns. Hell, he's willing to play upon his wrestlers' concerns to generate a better angle. The problem with this idea, is that Russo is only going to pop high ratings by giving the fans what they want. If the fans get what they want, are they going to be upset with the guy who's giving it to them? So we're left with Russo acting callous towards his wrestlers, but at the same time, you have a lot of T&A and mindless violence, which pleases the fans. How are they supposed to feel? Russo needs to clarify that before he ends up with his first major angle being botched completely. Lucky for Russo, it seems like the WWF and ECW are willing to give him another shot at regaining the top should he fail with his first angle. The WWF is caught up in late 1998 WCW booking, where they were bringing things back in the hopes of regaining their previous momentum. So, they decide to bring back something old in DX, and make it cool again by taking them back to their roots, which is a street gang of degenerates who don't care about rules and traditions. Of course, the fans have to be trained to hate X-Pac and the New Age Outlaws, after cheering them for a year and a half. And now comes rumors that Steve Austin is going to turn heel and join up with Vince McMahon, which is nothing more than pure desperation booking in an attempt to regain the edge that they have seemingly lost. While they are continuing to try to push the wrestling aspect of their product, it is going to get lost in the shuffle if they continue with their hotshot booking. In ECW, it isn't so much a case of "everything old is new again", as it is a case of "everything old is still old." I mean, at the top, after a two year break, Tommy Dreamer is still fighting Raven, and the Sandman is still fighting Raven. The Chris Chetti/Nova vs Danny Doring/Amish Roadkill angle continues ad nausem. Dawn Marie still hates Tammy Lynn Sytch (okay, that might have turned into an inexplicable alliance). Sabu and Rob Van Dam are on the outs again, after a few months of being friends. And lord knows that you can count on Tajiri taking on Super Crazy at least once every two weeks, and Spike Dudley taking out a fat guy once a week. Hell, we got another PPV repeat with Masato Tanaka taking on Mike Awesome. The PPV itself, one of ECW's feature events, advanced nothing significant. Chetti saved Nova from a Little Guido/Big Sal attack, only to be laid out by Doring and Roadkill (gasp!). Awesome pinned Tanaka, which wasn't a surprise. RVD beat Taz, which wasn't a surprise. Sabu beat Chris Candido, which wasn't a surprise. Spike Dudley beat Simon Diamond, which wasn't a surprise. Jerry Lynn won a three-way dance against Tajiri and Super Crazy, after Tajiri eliminated Crazy. Again, no suprise there. And the Impact Players/Rhino team beat Dreamer, Raven and Sandman after a miscommunication spot between Raven and Sandman. Wow, I was just shocked by that. Heyman needs to do something to freshen things up, and quick, because the novelty of seeing ECW action for the first time is going to wear off a lot of their viewers. So, how do each federation change things? WCW needs to concentrate on keeping storylines coherent. The WWF needs to manuever other wrestler near the top, no matter what Steve Austin thinks of these wrestlers. And ECW needs to create different angles, and close off the current ones that they are running. In each case, we are seeing a bit of an improvement. WCW is showing continuity between angles, which is a start. The WWF has positioned Val Venis to be a threat, and has moved Chris Jericho into Jeff Jarrett's slot. And ECW seems to have started a Little Guido/Spike Dudley feud as well as an Impact Players/Raven/Sandman/Dreamer feud. But all the federations need to make more moves, or risk having the most prosperous era in wrestling come to an end. But that's another column for another day. Jason Robar freelance Mail the Author |
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