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/wrestling /guests /Scotso |
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/wrestling /guests /Scotso |
| Guest Columns | Scotso |
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IT AIN'T NEWS Welcome back, loyal readers, to another installment of IAN. All of you who have been disappointed with my lack of columns the last few weeks, fear not... Scotso was on vacation, but he is back and better than ever! So without further ado, let us jump back into the world of wrestling. This is a huge week in wrestling, as SummerSlam has just concluded, and as I write this, the WWF prepares to tape their first episode of Smackdown! for UPN, while ECW is preparing to air their first show on TNN this Friday. Mainstream publications including TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly have covered these major debuts, and all eyes are focused on the world of wrestling this week. So what does this mean for sports entertainment as we know it? No one can say for sure, but I'll certainly be willing to tell you how I see it, and take a look at what impact this will have on the future. First, I think that the WWF adding two more hours of TV in prime time is not a good idea for their current product. Even with the format changes to Heat to make it a recap show rather than using it to further storylines, two more hours of wrestling is too much. WCW tried to capitalize on the popularity of it's product by making Nitro a three hour show and then adding two hours on Thursday nights to their lineup as well. On the one hand, WCW has a large enough roster to put on five hours of television a week. On the other hand, this forces us to watch poor angles and many matches that feature Norman Smiley and Jerry =46lynn. WCW rode a wave of momentum into 1998 with Thunder's debut, but the show quickly went from a "don't miss" program to filler and Nitro recaps that drew small audiences who were looking for something to watch on Thursday nights. Over the next several months, Thunder's ratings plummeted and WCW began its downward spiral. Not that adding another TV show caused their ruin, make no mistake, it was poor booking and bad matches that ruined WCW, but five hours of bad TV is a lot harder to watch than two. So the WWF has decided to expand to network television, which is good. Rather than add another cable show, they are reaching out to a new audience (if you consider UPN as having an audience, that is). But the worst thing that they can do is to create another RAW. At first, Smackdown will be a huge success, there is little doubt. The massive audience that tunes in on Monday nights will most likely carry over to Thursday to see what happens next, but how long will it last? How many times can we watch The Rock finally come back to another city? How many more rapid fire title changes can we see to keep the shows interesting? And how soon will fans start to feel that they can sacrifice watching one of the shows because they know they'll catch the other one in a few days? But don't despair, there is a way that the WWF can save themselves from overkill. They have an extremely talented roster and some great performers outside of the ring. They have a talented writing staff, to which they have been adding new writers to keep the product fresh and to avoid burning out their team. But the one criticism that is always true of RAW is that a lot of things are rushed. Sure, it may add to the excitement of the fast paced show, but they could certainly benefit from slowing things down and extending the time they give to each segment. Great wrestlers like The Hardy Boys or Edge can have 10 minute matches, without having to cut back on the interview time given to Chris Jericho and The Rock. But the real key to making both of their shows a "must see" program is to make them very different. The name "Smackdown" was inspired by The Rock, so maybe make that his show...if you want to see The Rock, you have to tune in on Thursdays, because you won't see him on RAW. If they split up the roster into two equal groups, with top guys like Austin, Undertaker, Triple H, and Mankind getting plenty of time on one show but not on the other, and the rest of each program being stocked with strong mid-carders like Gangrel, Edge, Jarrett, D-Lo, and others; both shows will have a unique feel to them without creating a jobber-fest like WCW's Thunder. Then, of course, the pay-per-views will regain some prestige, since they will feature all of the stars competing together on one card. Maybe this doesn't seem all too important now, but it could be the most important thing in preserving the success of the company over the long haul. As far as ECW is concerned, their struggle is entirely different. Their first hurdle is to introduce all of their workers to a new audience of fans who have never been able to see them before, and to make the fans familiar with their characters. ECW has the talent and some potentially hot feuds, but the fans must first know enough to care about those matches. Once that is accomplished, they have to make use of that talent to deliver major matches. ECW has had a history of pushing the same feuds and the same matches, while not putting together the top level matches that the fans want to see. For example, rather than putting Taz in the ring with Tajiri, or even Steve Corino, they could match up Taz against some of the other top wrestlers in the company, such as Justin Credible, Lance Storm, Tommy Dreamer (when he's healthy), or Rob Van Dam. In fact, Van Dam and Taz have been the two top stars in the company for the last year, and they have come nowhere near facing each other. While I agree that Van Dam and Jerry Lynn have put on some incredible matches, the story behind them has gotten weak, and it's time for both to move on. Adding Sabu to the mix for their next match makes it more exciting, but this has to be the last battle for a while between these superstars. With the use of a national program, ECW has the opportunity to turn their wrestlers into mainstream stars, and when the do offer a Taz -Van Dam showdown, it has the potential to draw great ratings and a large buyrate. But they had better do it soon, in order to capitalize on the potential while both men are hot, rather than waiting and running the risk of losing the interest in the match or losing one of these stars. Over the last few years, several potential big matches were held off, and now they can't happen because ECW has lost such main event wrestlers as Shane Douglas and The Sandman. ECW has a smaller roster than the Big 2, but with only one hour of TV time a week and six pay-per-views a year, they stand a chance to compete with some excellent programming, provided that it is booked properly. Speaking of ECW's stars, they stand to regain a major name in near future. Raven has been very unhappy in WCW, and has made no secret of his desire to return to ECW, the company that made him a star. At a time when they are gearing up for a run at the big time, wrestlers who are unhappy elsewhere may be looking to jump on board and be part a company on the rise, rather than one that gets worse by the day. Rumors coming out of Nitro were that Raven took Eric Bischoff up on an offer to release anyone who wanted to leave, and that he walked out of the room and then did not appear on the show. WCW has never used Raven to the best of his abilities, despite the fact that he was very over as a main event heel in ECW. If he were to return, feuds with Taz, Van Dam, and Sabu could put him back in the main events again, and could get him the national stardom that WCW refused to grant him. If it does happen and works for Raven, we'll surely see many others follow, as The Ultimate Warrior has already indicated interest in ECW, and the more names that sign up, the more attention they will get. With Paul Heyman's ability to turn other promotions' mid-card wrestlers to his main event stars (as he did for Raven and Justin Credible, for example) free agents like Dan Severn could come in and suddenly be valuable assets to the company. Heyman not only knows how to use his workers, but he gives everyone a chance with him, and opportunities like that will draw people away from WCW, much like the WWF's promises of success drew Chris Jericho away. ECW does stand a chance, and with a little luck and perfect planning, we'll all be considering them part of the "Big 3" in the future. That's all for this week's column...so sit back, relax, and enjoy all of the wrestling that will be on this week. As always, I welcome your feedback and enjoy reading all the emails I receive from you, the fans, so keep them coming. And if you write something good, you might see your name here in this world famous column. Until next week... The Man they Call... SCOTSO Mail the Author |
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