I have all these different thoughts running through my head about WMXVI and just general wrestling stuff. I will see if I can get through all of them. I am sure this will ramble like MrA during one of his classic diatribes. First, however, a little tradition: Ziggypop8 Ziggypop8 (hope the surgery went well) oh and a Rockstar51 just for good luck.

Now, the most important wrestler I think in a federation is the number one heel. Just like everybody in a jazz big band gravitates back to the first trumpet, I think everything heatwise and cardwise gravitates to the number one heel. It is far far easier to be a heel than a face, so faces are created and helped along by going against the number one heel. So, you have to have a really strong heel to have really strong faces. In WCW and WWF this is blatantly obvious. HHH is a masterful number one heel and really helps Rocky as a face (not that Rocky really needs the help or anything like that). In WCW, Jarret is probably their best heel, but surrounding himself with the Harris brothers and chasing after the belt does not help Sid get over. Or really anybody. IMO, the best feuds are the ones where the face is chasing after the belt, which the heel arrogantly has. Surprise, that is the Rocky-HHH feud right now. There is more to that than just Rocky chasing the belt, but that is more or less the feud.

The WM feud is always like that. Number one heel has the belt and tries in every way possible to keep number one face from getting to him. Surpassing all odds and, in some cases, achieving his childhood dream, the face wins at WM. Winning the belt at WM means you are the most popular wrestler in the WWF usually. HBK won it and then passed that torch to Austin. Austin was that position for 2 years running, but now The Rock has it. Over in WCW, it is different. Sid has the belt and JJ is chasing him. And they do the same stuff as if JJ was a face. Things such as having him win in non-title situations. That does not seem like sound strategy. If the great WrestleMania feuds have been formulaic, would not it pay for WCW to use that formula.

Another way in which the WWF sets up its fed a lot better than WCW relates back to the number one heel theory. As I said everything boils down to the number one heel. Like the six degrees of separation, the fed should gravitate around the heel. It would be like this:

HHH has belt; is heel
Rocky faces HHH; is face
Big Show face Rocky and sides with HHH mostly; is heel
Mick Foley faces HHH; is face
Revolution helps HHH; is heel
DX sides with HHH; is heel
Too Cool/Rakishi face HHH; is face

Look at all those direct relationships. There are probably even more I cannot think of off the top of my head. Now how about those less direct relationships.

Kane faces XPac (DX) who sides with HHH; is face
Hardyz face Revolution and DX who side with HHH; is face
Dudleyz face Revolution and DX who side with HHH; still heel (well just goes to show that everything is more than just black and white :-))
Edge/Christian face Dudleyz who are heels anyway; is face
Esse Rios face Malenko who sides with HHH; is face

Well it gets a little hazier from there, but you can see how it gets back HHH within at least 2 connections. WCW is a lot hazier.

JJ is not champion; heel nonetheless
Sid is champion faces JJ; is "face"
Harris Bros side with JJ; is heel
Vampiro face JJ; is face (this is very new)

The whole Hogan/Flair/Package/Anderson/Hennig storyline is pretty much separate and that is a huge part of the storyline. Plus, as I said the face chasing the heel is always better than the heel chasing the face, because the blowoff match cannot really happen. All (good) storylines need to climax at some point with the face getting the blowoff match win. Because Sid would keep the title in the win, it would not be as big as him winning the title.

These are really basic tenets of strong wrestling that WCW does not seem to be following. From what I understand, the upcoming feud is supposed to be Sid v. Hogan. If they turn Sid heel that would be a step forward. Of course, that only works on paper, because really Hogan there ruins the whole thing. But hey I can monday morning quarterback all I want it won't change a thing.

I said above these are tenets of strong wrestling. Traditional wrestling. ECW is nothing if not traditional. Who is their number one heel? Mike Awesome? He is a good heel, but really really really good wrestlers have troubles being heels. I mean how can you boo a tope or a huge PBomb through a table? And since ECW always has its wrestlers always connected even better than the WWF, they do follow that tenet. ECW kinda goes under its own rules, though. Since it is more wrestling based, you do not need the strong number one heel, because anybody can step up to create excitement and heat. They just need to work, work, work, work, and then work some more.

So for all of you who are going to create your own fed, those are some simple plans to follow. Getting a good TV deal that is not like 3 in the morning on channel 14 or something is also another good plan.

1. Have a strong number one heel
2. Give him the title
3. Build everything out from that in concentric circles

Pretty simple huh?

Anyway, if you have any comments, concerns, criticisms, or questions, or just wanna chat about how ECW has passed WCW already as Number Two then please email me at talboito@uclink4.berkeley.edu.