Call me stupid- I've certainly be called that enough times- but it seems to me as if the WWF vs. WCW Monday night cable TV ratings war is about to move to an altogether different front: the wrestling ring.
Crazy, right? Idiotic? Stupid? A pipe dream? The nonsensical babblings of a wrestling columnist who's been around the game for too long and has waited too long for this to happen?
Maybe, but this time there's reason to believe. You see, the WWF vs. WCW war is being fought in tighter quarters. And that's great news.
WCW fired the first strike by going head-to-head with Raw on Monday night, then the second strike by continuing to sign away many of the WWF's biggest stars (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, for example), then the third strike by having the gall to win the ratings battle, then the fourth strike by adding a live Thursday night prime time program to the mix.
But the WWF is finally striking back, thanks to a group of wrestlers who aren't fond of WCW and aren't afraid to speak their minds at any time.
Most notable, the WWF powers aren't afraid to let them speak their minds.
That's significant because way back, the WWF never acknowledged WCW and didn't allow its wrestlers to acknowledge WCW. There has, however, been increased verbal interplay between the two federations over the past few years, and it peaked on a Raw broadcast on April 27.
That night, the WWF and WCW were holding their Monday Night shows approximately 15 miles apart, the WWF in Hampton, Virginia, and WCW in Norfolk, Virginia. In what turned out to be a shocking piece of television, the WWF's D-Generation X- Hunter Hearst Helmsley, X-Pac, the New Age Outlaws, and Chyna- went to the Scope in Norfolk late in the afternoon, yelled disparaging remarks about Eric Bischoff, talked to WCW fans just outside the doors to the arena, and chanted, "Let our people go." That was a reference to former WWF stars Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, who according to their good friend X-Pac- recently fired by WCW- are contractually being held hostage in WCW by Eric Bischoff.
Then D-Generation X, dressed in battle fatigues, ignited what sounded like a bazooka blast from its jeep across the street.
This in itself was notable and entertaining. But what made it amazing was that the WWF aired this episode, which was taped before the live broadcast began, on Raw. The WWF wasn't merely taking verbal jabs at WCW; it was acknowledging WCW as a competitor and also acknowledging that WCW had wrestlers it wanted (or at least wrestlers that D-Generation X wanted).
Amazing stuff. Even more amazing: nobody from WCW made much of an effort to stop the WWF wrestlers.
Of course, that can't last long. WCW has never been a silent combatant, and that won't change now. So let's try to guess the next steps in this intriguing war:
1. DX pulls another similar stunt.
2. This time, WCW wrestlers confront the WWF wrestlers outside the building.
3. A fight breaks out.
4. Promoters from WCW and the WWF realize that it's time to settle their differences in the ring. A night of WCW vs. WWF matches is signed.
There are obstacles to this ever happening, most importantly Vince McMahon's stated dislike for WCW owner Ted Turner, and Turner and Bischoff's dislike for McMahon. WCW and the WWF aren't merely competitors; they're rivals who hate each other. Getting them into bed with each other, even to settle a score, won't be an easy task.
Fortunately, the fans have a wild card in this situation: The wrestlers call the shots. If members of DX want to confront the NWO, who's going to stop them?
Question: Does either federation have the guts to put its reputation on the line in a situation in which they'll be no turning back? If the WWF gets its butt whipped by WCW, it'll have to live with the humiliation for a long time.
This isn't American League vs. National League in baseball or NFC vs. AFC in football. The NFC and AFC are partners in the football business. The WWF and WCW have never been partners in anything.
Steve Austin vs. Hollywood Hogan? Would love to see it.
Degeneration X in the same ring with the NWO? Tremendous.
Bret Hart back in the same arena with his good buddy Vince McMahon. Sounds fun.
Am I dreaming? Maybe. It's hard to tell. The truth is, the WWF and WCW have never been closer to battle. Hostility toward each other has peaked. There have been words. There have been TV ratings. But there haven't been matches.
Wrestling fans know not to even demand such a thing, realizing it'll probably never happen. But if it does, it'll happen soon. Real soon. Now or never. I'm betting on now.
