The WWF should change the focus of their promotion to more in-ring action and less "sports entertainment". In the past, I've said that the WWF has slowly started to make the move to concentrating on wrestling matches, rather than angles. Since that point, they haven't progressed far. But, with Austin now close to being out of the picture, it's time to accelerate the process.

Already, the effects of Austin being absent from Raw can be seen. Smackdown was also down in the ratings, but that can be attributed to Thanksgiving, as opposed to a lack of interest. So why bother with "drastic" actions like severely altering their product? Because there are a lot of indications that the business is about to enter a valley in the neverending pattern of peaks and valleys in terms of business and popularity for professional wrestling.

The major sign is the negative press that the WWF is receiving. The PTC has been attacking the WWF's programming, and they have succeeded in getting major sponsors like Coca-Cola and the Armed Forces to drop their advertising from WWF programming. Wal-Mart has pulled Al Snow action figures from their stores because of the Head accessory. They are constantly under attack and blame for backyard wrestling injuries, as well as other wrestlng move related injuries. The death of Owen Hart is a cloud that still hangs over their head, and will only get worse before it gets better (if it ever gets better). And even the Rena Mero lawsuit is something that portrays them in a negative light.

The WWF's current approach is to attack all of their detractors. They are doing it with the PTC. They are attacking Wal-Mart and those who had the Al Snow figures pulled. They are not legally able to portray Rena Mero negatively, but their lawsuit against Playboy shows that they are not going to let go of that vendetta any time soon. And foolishly, they were on the attack with Martha Hart, and especially Bret Hart, in the light of the Owen Hart death and lawsuit.

The problem with this approach is that it is doing a lot more to hurt the WWF than to help it. Their arguments, in most of the cases, are logical. But once an issue hits the media, logic is lost in all arguments, and rhetoric takes over. So, even if it's true that it is ultimately the parent's responsibility to raise their child, and it's true that the Al Snow doll doesn't promote the degradation of women, the WWF comes out looking bad, only because the other side has people who are yelling louder and more hysterically.

So what does the WWF do? They will likely continue their attack on the "right-wing zealots". But this will only draw more attention to their product, and put it under the microscope even more. And if this happens, then the WWF's decline will be even quicker and more pronounced than expected. And if they fall so quickly, they will end up falling back to what they always do: Wrestling. In that case, their best course of action would be to put the focus on wrestling as early as possible, in hopes of hooking some of the casual fans. While it's true that some fans will turn to WCW for their Monday night entertainment, WCW hasn't come close to perfecting the Crash TV style that worked so well for Russo and Ferrara in the WWF. So, there will be less fans changing the channel.

Personally, I would recommend that the WWF not say anything more about the issues at hand, and let them die on their own. To make sure of this, I would tone down the product, at least for a month or two, in order to make that the arguments have less impact. With the WWF taking an attitude of "This is so unimportant that we are going to just ignore it," and the product being less raunchy than before, the PTC and those who petitioned Wal-Mart will have the winds taken out of their sails.

And what would be the best way to tone down the product, and yet keep some of the edge that the WWF is known for? The easiest way is to move the WWF back to in-ring action. Guys like the Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, Too Cool, Kai En Tai and Papi Chulo can burn up a ring with great spots and great wrestling. If Chris Jericho were to move into main event status, he could carry a lot of the wrestlers on top to good matches. The same holds true for X-Pac. A lot of the WWF's prospects and younger stars would also fit into the new style. A guy like Kurt Angle could flourish in a workrate heavy environment, and his current character would fit well into a high flying environment. There will be those who are left by the wayside, but in most cases, these wrestlers have not been positioned in key roles, and their losses would be felt in terms of depth, not quality.

Of course, the WWF will likely turn up the raunch, instead of lessening it. And this will only hurt the business. Not only the WWF, but WCW and ECW as well. The business will see it's record revenues dwindle to the levels of the early 1990's. And to save money, the companies will return to the concept that is the basis of their business: wrestling.

So, if you have a problem with what Chris says in his Nitro reports, and feel that he's rather biased, then go read Hyatte's Mop Up, or Steve Schroder's Nitro Report of Doom. But why complain to Chris when he doesn't have an obligation to do much of anything except report results in whatever way he feels like? And why tell him to stop watching Nitro if he's only going to be bitter? Are you going to step up to the plate to replace him? Somehow I doubt it, or else you'd be recapping Nitro elsewhere.

Plus, a recapper would have to be able to write proper English, so that eliminates most of CRZ's critics from consideration.

But hey, that's just my opinion.