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Jerry Root

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THE MAT POTATO II
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When in trouble / Or in doubt / Run in circles / Scream and shout.
- Advice given to all new recruits in Boot Camp.

Can you smellllll-la-la what the WCW is cooking? Smells suspiciously like panic and chaos to me. They are truly a rudderless ship foundering in the high waves of a storm. Just what are the problems? Got a couple of days?

Actually, it's the same problem that infests every organization at one point or another. Those who goof off, make noise and generally make pains-in-the-ass of themselves get preferential treatment as if that will keep them quiet. So, who picks up the slack? Those who do the work, keep their mouths shut, and are actually concerned with the product.

However, why should I go on about it? I urge all of you to head on over to wrestleline and check out Steve Anderson's piece on this very subject. He nails it right on the head. As Stan Lee at Marvel Comics used to say in the 70's, " 'Nuff said"

What is it with Vince and pimps? Or is it Vince and women in general? Rebecca brought this one up in her latest Rebecca's Rants column and to this I only want to add the name of Flash Funk. I railed against this character when he came in, and the arguments I made against him are applicable to the Godfather (and now to D-Lo.). I thought that the cartoon characters were gone from wrestling, however there will always be room for the "colorful characters".

I know that the main audience of the WWF seems to be the teenage male segment of the population, what with the heavy emphasis on "puppies", 'ho's, etc. (However, how much damage are we doing to this next generation having Mae "I was never really" Young expose herself?) I just don't think this is really the message that we need to be sending out.

Yeah, it's all in good fun, and what boy doesn't want to grow up to be a big man with "fine 'ho's" draped all over him? But with all the heat that professional wrestling in general (and the WWF in particular) is generating, is this really what we want to put across?

Kane is back! And he's back with an attitude. Good! This is how it should be. Like so many others, I am not really fond of Kane being a love struck puppy, or what have you. Bring back the big red machine. I was opposed to the change that the WWF put the Undertaker through (you remember, the leather clad, biker dude, etc.). I longed for the days (and I still do, to a certain extent) when he would come out in his long coat and that hat of his. I never really cared for the leather duds, and his losing the aura of invincibility he carried with him.

Can a Kane/Mankind feud be far off? Does the presage the return of the Undertaker? Is a Kane/HHH feud in the offing? Or a Kane/Big Show feud? The last thing I want to see is another Kane/X-pac feud. I doubt I'm alone in that feeling.

Time to head off on a tangent here. I am a giant fan of horror movies. Generally these are referred to as either "B" movies or "ZZZ dullers", but what can I say? If you are a fan of these types of movies, then head on over to "Night of the Creeps" at http://zombie.dreamhost.com. Why mention it here? Because along with their reviews, etc. there are numerous wrestling references. Oh, and the site is just downright fun. If you're into cult favorites, etc. this site is highly recommended.

The future is now - George Allen.

George Allen was a head coach in the NFL during the late 70's and early 80's. His whole philosophy was "To hell with rookies and developing talent. Grab the veteran and win now". This philosophy seems to be the same one that the WCW is following.

The basic flaw is that the veteran only has a short span left in his usefulness and the skills tend to deteriorate over time. Granted, most bring name recognition, but who among us can honestly say that Ric Flair is the wrestler he was 20 years ago? Even Terry Funk isn't the same man he was. Then again, none of us are.

Personally, I think that a mixture of old guard, and young, fresh talent is the key. Development is essential to keep the flow going through. Else the product becomes stale and as a result, everybody suffers.

Can you smellllll-la-la what the WWF is cooking?

Jerry Root
[slash] wrestling

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