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For the week ending September 22nd, 2000.
This edition dedicated to the memories of Bernie Houghton and Michael Leslie.
After the longest hiatus in the history of The McStay Report, I'm back. I have managed to resist the temptation to do a Rock Catchphrase involving the words "Finally" and "Come Back To", so bear with me.
Hells Bells, it's been so long since I last wrote this I really don't know where to start. Plenty has happened, let me tell you that. Not just in Wrestling, well, you alrady knew that, but just in my personal life, which hasn't left me the time to dedicate to the report. And if anything, I wasn't gonna do a half-assed effort every week. (I can see all the emails flooding in already - "Your report is half-assed every week anyway")
But before I start tearing any wrestlers to shreds, a big THANK YOU to Everybody who has been writing asking for the report to return. Thanks for keeping me in mind, and it's good to be back.
Now, which area of Wrestling do I start with? Well, to tell you truth, I'm gonna kick off with ECW. I know I have talked about E-C-Dub very rarely on the report in the past, but that's only due to lack of exposure. Basically, no TV coverage, and no video coverage, until last week that was. My local Video store's wrestling supplier now gets ECW tapes in place of WCW, so I enjoyed January's "Guilty As Charged" this week, and I am certainly keen for more. (They have started distributing this years PPV's, and will catch up very quickly) I had seen Sabu live out here last year, and he tore the house down. Wel, that show was headlined by Chris Candido V Marty janetty, so you can imagine how Sabu stole the show. I have seen Mike Awesome on WCW as of late (More on him later) but otherwise, I was unfamiliar with the rest of the roster. And I was most certainly impressed. These guys were busting themselves up all over the place, and just kept coming back. The crowd was into EVERY match, something the WWF can't claim. I certainly hope Paul Heyman secures a new TV deal, and Little Spike Dudley gets fit soon. I can't wait for the next ECW release.
So much has gone on since I last wrote my little rant, too much to re-cap, so I might as well focus on the recent and current stuff.
So, Stone Cold Steve Austin is back, and looking for the culprit. Well, for all the rumors that are loating around, (like it would make ANY sense for it to be Billy Gunn!), I would like to see Triple H revealed as the Culprit. Why? For all the net talk and speculation of Triple H turning Face very soon, why does it have to be so? OK, the guy is feuding with Kurt Angle, so the WWF havea Heel V Heel feud running. Oh, of course! The internet "Smarts" I hate so much can't come to terms with the fact that a heel is facing a heel, therefore one of them MUST be turning face, right? WRONG. Sure, one of them will emerge victorious, but it doesn't mean Triple H is gonna be a face on the other side of the feud. I mean, when you look back, prior to Survivor Series when Austin was taken out, Who was Triple H's last PPV title defence against? Austin. Who was he feuding with? Austin? Surely Triple H emerging as the culprit would re-ingnite his heel heat and take it to a whole new level, regardless of whether or not he had Stephanie at his side or not. Now, if Triple H WERE to turn face, where ould the real viable depth in Bad Wrestling Karma lie in the WWF? Nowhere. Unless of course, they turn Austin or Rock Heel, but that will take a feud to be viable, not a one-night thing. (Now some may argue that Austin turned Face and Hitman turned Heel in one night at WM13, but remember the feud that led up to it?)
I was thinking the other day about just who would be the best option to take the tag Belts off Edge and Christian? Well, the Hardy Boys have the chance this weekend, and it's gotta be about time for them. The dropped the belt at last years "Fully Loaded", if anybody remebers it... Fair enough, these guys electrify the crowd, and with Lita around, keep the interest level up even more, but what about the other teams? The Dudleys are still red hot, hell, even the Acolytes get one of the bigest pops of the night when they emerge for a rare wrestling appearance. (I tell ya, if Faarooq was to start using the Dominator again regularly... Mmmmm... Dominator! One of my all time favoutite finishers)
I realie things are still in a transitional phase over at WCW, but it still begs the question, what the hell is going on over there? Twice, Hitman Hart appears outta nowhere to be Goldberg's main adversary, then when Goldberg actually had another pinfall recorded against him (his 3rd, I think), no sign of him. That was left to Scott Steiner and Vince Russo. Fair enough, Hitman had medical tests to undergo, but wouldn't it have made more sense to have Steiner feud with Goldberg on his own in the lead up to the PPV? Couldn't they have held Hitman off until his schedule allowed moe reliable appearance dates?
The WCW championship is still being tossed around, and I can see the Storyline reasoning, But, It's the damn Championship! Make it Viable!
I certainly have a lot more time for WCW these days. I appreciate what they are doing with "The Natural Born Thrillers", a bunch of guys essentially straight outta the Power Plant and onto TV. If you hate them already, well, Good. They are supposed to be heels. But remember, the NBT gimmick won't be "For Life", anybody remember a gimmick that had someone labelled as "The American BlueBlood"?
One thing I don't get with Mike Awesome is his current Gimmick. "That 70's Guy"? W.T.F? Okay, so the guy has a Mullet Haircut. Whoopee! In a few short months he's gone from "Career Killer" to "Career Killing Gimmick". How does a Partridge family bus fit in with a former ECW World Champion? Hmph, I read today that WCW has somebody planned for NITRO next week that will make Mike Tyson showing up on RAW look like Gary Coleman showing up on NITRO. I can see it now, Tony Schiavone being forced to call this situation : "Oh my god, who's that on the bus with Awesome? It's - (a)Danny Bonaduce (b)Tony Danza (c)The guy that was Webster" (Sorry, I couldn't pick it myself, so It's up to you, the faithful reader).
Hey, two short weeks from Today, and SmackDown!begins braodcasting over here. Four days after that, and I'm going to see WCW Live. Sure, not quite the big trip I had to Wrestlemania earlier this year, but it's still something...
For those of you who don't buy WOW Magazine (World Of Wrestling, you are really missing out. Not all of their reporting is top notch, and with the pace that Pro Wrestlin Moves taday, magazines can become dated very quickly, which is why most of us use the internet. Now I have appplauded the man before, an I am Gonna do it again. Well Done BILL APTER. After years as Editor Of Pro Wrestling Illustrated and writing form the "Mark" angle, he jumped ship to WOW to write form the "Smart" angle. Now, in the latest edition of WOW that hit Local newsstands, (August 2000 issue) Apter tore "Smarts" a new @$$hole. And good on him. (If you head over to WrestleLine, They have features of WOW magazine there. Unfortunately that particular Bill Apter column isn't online) My praise goes out to Apter for cutting down the "Too Smarts" especially. Enjoy your wrestling the way you like to watch it. Sure, very few people these days believe that "Its Real!", but it's more fun to watch when you are getting into it rather than looking for every chance to chant "Boring" at a rest hold or "You F###ed up!" when a wrestler misses a spot. Apter made the point that most Smartshave never even stepped in a ring, and should therefore Shut the Hell up. And I for one, agree.
So what is with all this p!$$ing and Moaning about the Undertaker's new Gimmick. Okay, his entrance may be like that of The Disciples of Apocalypse, but in the Ring, he's still the Undertaker. Yeah, he's using a Powerbomb now, but only because Piledrivers are gone from the WWF. I mean, would anybody still be buying into "The Dead Man", "The Conscience of the WWF", The Leader of "The Ministry", the guy who would sit up from a finisher while his opponent strutted around. I'm sure Mark Callaway is happy with the Biker-Taker image, hell, that fans sure seem to like it. Once again it's only the internet smarts who are decrying it.
Hmph, I can see Big show returning to the WWF and ripping off the Undertakers Gimmick, with a re-worked song or the entrance : "I Am American FAT Ass!"
Aaahh! Time has got the better of me. (I've had to step out a few times for an hour or more while trying to Update, so this hasn't been one session in front of the PC) So I'm gonna wrap up now with the Old McStay One-Liners.
Who got the Better deal? Dustin Runnels jumping to WCW or Perry Saturn jumping to the WWF?
Kidman : From being held back by Hogan to being buried by a Douglass push
Will Vince Russo PLEASE keep his shirt on next time he, umm, 'wrestles'.
I would quite happily admit to being the father of Miss Hancock's baby! (Who wouldn't?)Wouldn't Steve "Mongo" McMichael make in ideal culprit for running austin over? Think about it...
Where did that Essa Rios guy go?
Is Dean Malenko still the Light Heavyweight Champion?
Is Goldberg still a heel?
Well, that's it. I guess I'm probably better off easing back into this,instead of trying to pull out a huge report first time back. But I am back now, and will try to keep a weekly schedule of updating. On a personal note, before I go I must send out to Louise (and little Christina) my love and respect to the end.
Until next time, Stay well, and enjoy.
And for the best damn E-Fed around (I'll be back soon as Norman Smiley and The British Bulldog!), go to the...
