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Jerry Root

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BLAH

THE MAT POTATO

Greetings from the spud. I hope everybody is getting ready for Christmas, and that you're not putting yourself too far into the hole. It's tempting I know, but keep it real. For those of you who are celebrating other holidays (Channnuka, Kwanza, Ramadan or whatever, I wish you all a blessed holiday season.)

This weekend I tuned into WCW Saturday night. Why? Was I feeling especially masochistic? Well, actually I thought I would give it a shot as there was a vast desert on the tube at that time. Do you know what I saw? I saw an actual wrestling match!

Anybody who has read my drivel for longer than 20 minutes knows how I feel about "sports entertainment", and how I long for pure wrestling. Well, I got it from the least expected place imaginable. Two of the Power Plant guys were putting on a show. In a totally unexpected display they were put someplace other than the very first match! I managed to catch the end of the Lash Laroux match (and I have no idea why he's so popular. A giant Zero as far as I can tell), however this was followed by a very entertaining match between Mike Sanders and Rick Cornell.

What made this match so interesting and enjoyable? No story lines, no interference, no bad acting. Two men in the ring trying to make a name for themselves, giving the impression that they were actually enjoying what they were doing. Both of these men presented themselves well, both were in great shape (I immediately thought of the line so often used by announcers everywhere, "you don't get a body like that standing on a streetcorner".)

Now, if we could get some of the swelled heads to remember their roots, remember what it was to be hungry, trying to make a name for themselves, and remember that it's the fans who pay their bloated salaries.

There are a few who still give their all. Foley still looks like there is nothing in this world he would rather be doing than getting in the ring and bumping like crazy. But here you had two young warriors without egos getting in the way, without storylines needing pushing, and without interference.

Off on the other extreme, there is one other show that I will admit to absolutely loving. I know I'm not in the demographic you normally think of when you think of MTV, but whenever I get the chance (kids in bed, wife asleep or shopping, or whatever), I like to tune in to Celebrity Death Match.

Call me warped, an anarchist, or whatever, but there's just something about it that has me falling on the ground, clutching my sides, screaming. I may not get all of the inside jokes, however watching Emeril go up against the 2 fat ladies was great.

One parting shot. It seems that Vinnie Mac has found a way around the restrictions of the public airwaves, or basic cable. I mean, isn't PPV great? You can get away with so much more. Isn't America great?

Jerry Root
[slash] wrestling

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