Well I don't think there is any point in argueing at this point over several points on the NWO angle.  The first point is there doing it, there going to stick with it, so they might as well make the best of it.  The second point is so far for whatever reason it isn't working. www.otherarena.com has many suggestions on why this might be so click over there and go to the WWF message board to here there analysis.  What I'm going to do is suggest some psychological (the real type not the wrestling type_ things that might actually help.

 

Depersonalization. This has been a major problem in the angle so far.  The viewer will look for any reason to seperate from a victim when they view it.  If the violence doesn't look realistic they seperate, or if they can't see the victim they seperate.  Look at the ambulance angle.  You couldn't see the Rock and the actor of the violence (Hogan) was in a machine.  So it looked like a machine on machine violence more so then a person on person violence.  A different problem comes in the Austin cinder block angle.  The cinder block smashing so easily allows the viewer to say GOD that wouldn't hurt a bit that cinder block must have been made of sugar!  A violent angle that worked was the Austin injury of Bret Hart in early 1997.  In this case Austin's attack was vicious and believable and we could see Hart.  We thought he deserved it so we cheered and hense it got over both Characters better because some of us actually could see Bret's side of things (if we were in Canada) so both people got over more and how they were supposed to.  Basically you need a weapon that you can swing credibly (you can't swing a baseball bat credibly usually) and a viciousness of the attacker and a brillant sell by the victim to get the most reaction.  We need to be able to see the violence, see the consequences without thinking GOD THAT WAS FAKE.

 

Distinction-  They are with a McMahon, they are attacking Austin or the Rock, they use big Vehicals to attack and do group beat downs.  Umm this is basically the formula for EVERY HEEL GROUP the WWF has used since the first corporation group. For the NWO to matter more then them they have to do somethings to seperate themselves from the pack.  Here are some suggestions.  1 No McMahons.  It makes sense the NWO was sent in to destroy the WWF, the McMahons are the WWF so they should eliminate them and quickly.  That's doubly  good since the McMahons are overexposed (espiecally Stephanie) and are death for the product.  They need to destroy that power and run it out of the federation.  Don't give them power though because it destroys them as the rebel faction. They should be able to totally ignore the power that is weilded against them but weilding power in the storylines has again been done to death and the NWO needs to be special.  One good thing WCW did was defacing the belt which violated the sacredness of the title (DON"T DO THAT) but think similarly to that.  What do the WWF viewers find sacred and how should it be violated. Austin's neck is one thing that would get reaction but I know that the WWF has to be so careful with that.  The rock's promos.  Maybe when Hogan gets the belt (and he should) he should just trash it and use something else like his weightlifting belt etc.  Or maybe a shirt with the belt on it he'll rip off before every match you know something non sacred .  Maybe during some title matches just have them interfer from the begining to give no pretense of fair play.  Look at how the NWO made Sting change in WCW.  Again something the fans cared about that had been totally changed by the corruption of the NWO.  What can the WWF do that would equal Sting?  I don't know maybe Vince himself but anything is a streatch. Again having the NWO bring Vince truely to his knees is the only way I can think that they can seperate themselves.  Maybe even keep a powerless and changed Vince around as a reminder. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four promotoins choose there Destiny this month.

I've been writting about it for awhile but I'll say it again. Febuary 2002 is going to be one of the most historic months in wrestling history. No less then four major promotions are going to start down one of many possible roads. We'll start with NOAH.

NOAH- Kobashi returns! Where does that leave Akiyama. Akiyama has several problems at the moment as ace. The first one is that he doesn't seem to give a big rat's ass about anything so the fans catch on to that. The next thing is he hasn't been spectacular at all in the ring. Those are his fault obviously. His other problems arn't his. Misawa has booked No fear terribly, removing two people who could have chased Akiyama for his title to motivate him and create tension from even being main eventers. Then he has booked himself weak which makes it seem like Akiyama just kinda got the spot handed to him and didn't truely earn it. With Kobashi back Misawa has another option (at least for a little while till Kobashi gets hurt again). Someone to push Jun and someone who has a legitamate claim to being the ace. Misawa can choose now who he wants to have be the promotions top man or he can let them choose for him. If Kobashi pins Akiyama at the budokon this month you can be sure that he will be the top man. If Akiyama pins Kobashi you know Kobashi will have to prove himself again. If neither of them get pinned Misawa may be sitting the fence.

All Japan- All Japan has a similar dilema. At their budokon show this month Kawada and Mutoh will wrestle not only for the triple crown but to decide who will be the companies top man. If Mutoh were just entering the promotion without the triple crown I might put him over to establish him as the top heel. Yet he has had the title for 8 months and it just feels like its Kawada's turn. All Japan has to decide wither to reward Mutoh for jumping or finally reward Kawada for staying. Kawada is in better health and the better wrestler but Mutoh as a full time AJPW wrestler is a novelty and they may want to keep the title on him to insure his loyalty. Tenyru is pushing for a Kawada win and I think Kawada is actually pushing to win so that may be enough. We'll have to wait and see what Hase wants. It feels good to have Hase pulling the strings.

New Japan- So far New Japan seems to have choosen their poison. They are doing a title tournament. So far Nagata has beaten Nakanishi, Tadao Yasuda has beaten Giant Silva (in a match tape traders are already clamoring for) and Rick Stiener has squashed Kensueke Sasaki. So the semifinals are Yasuda vs Chono and Nagata vs Steiner. Not exactly a dream semifinal and the final could in theory be Yasuda vs Steiner (though i'd be suprised). The direction the company has choosen seems to be to continue down the Inoki-ism road. Which is mixing shooters and pro wrestlers in this crappy style that doesn't draw. They are a mess. They have a very deep roster but people are talking like they could put themselves out of buisness (which would create an interesting All Japan vs Noah bidding war.) Unreal.

WWF- we all know what they are doing and why they shouldn't. I have no need to say it again.

State of the WWF

Whats funny when I look at this the WWF shouldnt be worried about anything. The WWF has the strongest roster in the history of North America. They have a group of main-eventers with proven drawing power and appeal in HHH, Rock and Austin. A group of Monsters that they can always build up or use to put over people in The Undertaker, The Big Show, and Kane. A group of guys just underneath the top guys who are different enough to offer something new but all have huge drawing potential in Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Booker, and Kurt Angle. A group of projects who may or may not turn out in Test, RVD, Albert, Tazz, the Dudleys, Hardys, Lance Storm, DDP, Edge, and Christian. Obviously that is a group that can put on a variety of matches of many styles. Add in guys with main event potential like Val Venus, Chuck Pulumbo, Brock Leznor, Prototype, and Shelton Benjaminand Sean Ohaire (only Val is close right now but I emphasis potential. Solid midcarders like D-lo and Tajiri they arent even using. The WWF has everything it needs to grow and produce at a high level.
The question then must be why are they so desperate? Bringing in Hall, Nash, and Hogan stinks of desperation. Sure this will draw on the short term. Wrestlemania will do a HUGE buyrate if they book it at all competently. The question is though is it worth the long term risk. The people who are saying wait and see and it could turn out perfect are not marks in the wrestling sense of the word but in the original PT Barnum sense of the word. Folks weve been around Wrestling we know Vince McMahon, we know Hogan, we know Nash. These people have acted a certain way throughout there careers and they are not going to change. Vince has always been susceptible to Nash, HHH, and Hogans sweet talk. He will continue to be. Nash, Hogan, and HHH have always been about helping themselves regardless of wither it was good for the company they will continue to be that way. With Hogan, Nash, Hall, HHH all working to maintain there spots and better their position it will probably force Rock and Austin (both of whom normally can be pretty given though Austin is nobodies fool) to be more political. Undertaker will also have to be even more assertive to hold on to his spot as the companies resident unbeatable legend.
This situation will make it almost impossible for the Benoits, the RVDs, the Angles, and even the Kanes (who I think deserves a fresh push) to move up the ladder. Guys like Hogan and Austin will be to worried about lossing there spots and looking bad compared to each other to even think about trying to elevate someone else to there level. They will all need there time so they will take up all the TV and all the angles making it impossible for the other guys to get over to any extent and causing frustration and people to lose interest in the midcard. Then in a year when the Hogan card is played out and Austin and HHH are banged up and the WWF needs guys like Angle to be ready to step it up it wont be in the cards. Simply because the WWF will have taught the fans that those guys arent important. It takes months not weeks to change that perception and Vince has shown he just doesnt have the patience.
If I were booking and I brought in Hogan, Hall, and Nash here would be my plan. They would both have two fueds one with an established main eventer and one with one of the next level guys. So for instance Hogan would get Rock and Benoit and maybe latter he would move to Austin once those were played out. In the fued with the main eventer they would be kept strong though they probably couldnt get a clean win. In the fued with the next level guys they would have to elevate them and put them over. Once that was accomplished they would be reevaluated so maybe Hogan would be put over stronger against Austin for elevating Benoit. This would give them a year of fueds (all I think these guys are good for) and allow the WWF to elevate the young guns without jobbing Austin, Rock, or HHH. This would make it a long term gain for signing the NWO. However no way in hell will that ever happen. Hogan would laugh in the bookers face if they told him to put over Benoit in anyway. Youd have to tell him specifically to give Benoit equal offense or if he did let Benoit get a pin hed make him look like a joke then have it on a fluke.
What has always drawn money in wrestling are guys fightening for spots. Just like Austins, Rocks, and HHHs accents drew huge money because the fans were seeing guys try to protect there spots or take someones spot. It always draws and it always will. Stagnation always hurts business just like it did in WCW when everyone realized that the old guys were never going to put over anyone. Since Wrestlmania 2000 the WWF has been stagnated. If they want to turn around buisness all they need to do is make the fans believe the next level guys are close to stealing the top level guys spots. That is what makes money for the long term. Yet you have to constantly do it with different guys and never feel secure. That is what the WWF needs to do not these panicky bring in the cancers that killed WCW attitude. Oh well thank god for tape trading because this aint going to be pretty.

NOAH isnt out of the storm yet.

Ive held my tongue on what I think of NOAH for a while because I didnt feel I was knowledgeable enough to comment. Now I think I know enough to say some things, but Ill try to avoid saying things like everyone else says such as Akiyama isnt good enough to be the ace.

Lets start out with Jun. I think many people are to hard on him, they seem to expect him to be as good as Kobashi, Kawada, Misawa, or Tsuruta. He isnt on that level but if you compare him to New Japan heavies he looks a great deal better. Right now on both of their best days I dont believe Akiyama is quite as good as Misawa is. However on a day to day basis and as far as dependability Akiyama is the best option NOAH has for their top guy. I think Misawa should be fighting more fiercely (in the storylines) for his position and I think its hurt Jun that Misawa has just stepped aside as opposed to them doing an epic feud. The main problem is Jun doesnt seem to bring that much heat to his matches. I dont understand why this is maybe his heel turn against Kobashi killed his heat. The fact that Juns matches dont have the aura that a aces matches should is a problem. However; there are more important things then heat and Akiyama seems to draw. This is evidenced by his big attendance numbers against Misawa and even more impressively against Vader just recently. The feud with New Japan had the potential to finally give Akiyama that aura but now that Nagata has been killed dead Akiyama is equally hurt. Beating Nagata wont help Akiyama and losing to a man who just lost in 21 seconds would be a disaster. Maybe resuming his feud with Kobashi will help Akiyama turn the corner as the ace. That should be the focus of any feud with Kobashi as Kobashi is just in no health to become the centerpiece of the federation again.

The major problem for NOAH isnt Akiyama and it isnt putting on good shows its the fact that there is seemingly no one coming up to challenge Akiyamas spot. Misawas aura was always helped because he had Kawada constantly nipping at his heels. Akiyama just doesnt have anyone in that spot and its hurting him and the long term future of the company. Two of the best options for that would have been Team No Fear. I spoke in the previous column about how poorly Ohmori has been booked and how he is in a worse position now then he was when NOAH and All Japan split. Takayama has been treated even worse though. Hes been allowed to be put in two shoot fights where he had no chance and was absolutely destroyed. This killed his credibility as a bad ass and will take years for him to again become considered a rising star. With No Fear dead NOAH has NO young natives who are in the position to chase Akiyama. NOAH has a good deal of young talent but nobody who can afford to elevate them. Also all of this young talent is a few years from being ready to begin the elevation process which usually takes a long time in Japan. Hence Akiyama is forced to just feud with his seniors with no support and no one who is pushing him for his spot.

Another man who is totally lost in NOAH is Taue. Taue does need Kawada there is no doubt about that. However; if Misawa would do the right thing they could again begin to take advantage of what Taue brings to the table. Misawa needs to turn heel and fight viciously to retake his spot. No one in wrestling is a better heel second then Taue. If they joined Taue and Misawa and had them attack Akiyama together and maybe push Ohmori up to Akiyamas second they could elevate Ohmore, give the fans a reason to get behind Akiyama, and finally take Taue out of the woods hes been lost in ever sense he came to NOAH with out his buddy Kawada. They wont do that though because Misawa seemingly doesnt want to become the bad guy to help Akiyama as Jumbo did to help him. NOAH has many things going for them. They put on consistently entertaining shows. They are the only promotion in Japan that has a good roster and isnt trying to self-destruct. Still they arent building for the long term or seemingly at all and if they dont they will have to struggle with an Ace who cant draw for the foreseeable future.

Disappointment and pleasant suprises

The year in wrestling is almost over and so now feels like a good time to go over what suprised me other then things like Mutoh not sucking and the WWF killing the invasion angle which everyone knows about. This will mainly be WWF but I may fit in some other stuff just to piss people off.

Christain- Disappointment- Quite frankly this time last year I thought he was an underrated talent now I think many people are convinced he is way better then he is. Christain is cool on the mic still but in the ring he hasn't delivered at all. He has yet to have a solo match that was at 3 stars. For a guy with talent and the opprotuntiy that is just unacceptable. Last year I was quite sure Christain would never get the push he deserves right now I'm not exactly sure what push he deserves.

Takao Ohmori- Disappointment- This one really suprises me and I honestly don't know what is going on. At the championship carnival 2000 Misawa seemed to show that he had Ohmori pegged as a future main eventer. Ohmori certainly delivered in the biggest match of his career against Kobashi having a very memorable match. Misawa put Ohmori over Akiyama, Kawada, and Williams in a short span so when he moved to NOAH you would expect he would get a prime spot. That hasn't happened strangly enough. When you think about the fact the Kenta has been out the whole year it would have seemed logical for Ohmori to be the guy to get bumped up to the number 3 native spot. Maybe he is the number 3 native but its obviously that there is a huge gulf between the stature of Misawa and Akiyama and that of Ohmori. He has not been made a viable draw and his only big match in the past year he was jobbed out to Hashimoto in under 10 minutes. Like Ohmori or not he had the legs cut out from under him for no apparnent reason (at least none that I know of.)

All Japan Women- Pleasant Suprise- AJW has a direction and it makes sense so that puts them about a million miles ahead of most other promotions on the planet. What I like about AJW is they have a group of young talent, they are marketing them towards an audience that they have drawn with before that can help them in the future, and these girls can go. The AJW stuff i've seen is so much better then the vastly overrated GAEA and the directionless ARSION. Its interesting that ARSION is going in the cross promotional direction. All they really have to offer AJW is Ayako and Lioness. Ayako isn't as good as the top AJW young talent and so I don't think ARSION can get much for her. So basically wither people like it or not Lioness is the only good card ARSION has to play. Lossing to Lioness won't hurt anyone so ARSION may be able to get some high profile wins using Lioness and may get alot in return for a few key JOBS from Aska. I don't think they should even be considering doing this but if they are going to do it I have to disagree with Zach Arnold and say Lioness is the best card they have to play right now. Hense she should lead the angle because she is the only one I think AJW will put over strongly.

American Independents- disappointment- To hear some people talk you'd think you were having a Renaissance in the indy's. I have to disagree. All I've seen are a bunch of people who are to small to ever make it to the WWF throwing out a bunch of dangerous spots in midcard matches with no build, no psychology, and no reason except to pop the crowd while the 100 or so people they are risking their neck for wait for the first chance to chant you fucked up at them. You better believe if I critize Misawa and Kobashi for throwing to many headdrops out in a main event in front of 16000 people with some build I'm going to knock people in midcards of little shows for doing it with none. Not everyone who can do a shooting star press can wrestle. Its just desperation to draw any fans and all its accomplishing is to numb them. Watch a NOAH match, watch what guys like Misawa and Akiyama have to do to get a rise out of those crowds. Watch a Jumbo Tsuruta match and see how little he has to do to get the same reaction. Misawa is a master at building drama but even he can't get rises without resorting to crazy spots. That's what happens when you start pulling this shit and quite frankly some of these people are so sloppy I wouldn't feel comfortable letting them bodyslam me. Look at American Dragon vs Low-ki I didn't see anything there that looked to crazy and it was a phenomenal match. It had build and good pacing and the crowd got sucked into it. Learn to wrestle then do the crazy stuff when it pays. Also why are indy crowds so eager to chant you fucked up? I mean its like they chant it now for moves that arn't really fuck ups but planned spots. I find it rude. Hey if Rock messes up say what you want he's got about 10 million reasons to be happy every year. These guys are making less then $50 i'm not saying you shouldn't critize them but there is a place for that such as on boards and such. Just don't chant that because it has to make them nervous and it hurts the show. It makes me feel these fans are trying to be the stars not the wrestlers.

Fujita- pleasant suprise- I hate Inoki's booking as much as the next guy and I don't think Fujita should have the belt but none of that is his fault. I just can't help liking the guy though. He seems to be a nice enough guy. All of the problems arn't his fault but Inoki's . I really think he could draw money if Inoki changed his focus to wrestling instead of shooting. He just has a great look, aura, and power. Plus he works hard and doesn't try to make his opponent look bad because he's a bad ass shooter. If all shooters were like Fujita I don't think there would be nearly as much trouble. Still if he can't work tours he shouldn't be champion no matter if I like him. But damnit I just know they could make him what Kandori was for females if Inoki wasn't such a jackass.

Ultimo Russo- dissappointment-I'm pissed off because Stuart used this term two weeks after I did. Although it was on my site so I doubt he stole it from me. The fact that we and probably several other cynical bastards probably all came up with the same joke shows that Ultimo's booking is really crazy right now. My comment is that someone must have gave him a best of WWF 1999 tape and Ultimo is booking from it. To many promos, to many lame finsihes, to many stupid angles that don't get anyone over. Does anyone really care if Big Fuji stole Ryo Saito's bike, he offers his hair for the bike so he offers his pride and dignity, the bike is probably worth 200 dollars, so why should people care if his pride and dignity is worth $200? And now they are teaming! Someone please stop Ultimo before he kills his own promotion.

Chris Jericho vs The Rock- pleasant suprise- In the midst of all the terrible dreck that is the WWF TV they have actually managed to book an awesome fued. This fued gets more heat then any of the WWF's creative fueds and its so simple. Rock and Jericho both think they are the better man and they will do anything to prove it to the other. Remember keep it simple stupid the success of this proves it the failure of ever thing else does as well.

ECW Folds- who cares-

WCW Folds- who cares-

WWF stays the course- disappointment- With their chance to throw caution to the wind as the only major wrestling company in the country the WWF has set on the ball. I didn't like either of its competitors at the end and I thought both of them deserved to go out of buisness. However so far the WWF monopoly era hasn't been good for wrestling.