Instead of lying why not try the age-old art of promoting? How hard is it to say, "A rare team-up of two major superstars is happening tonight."? Let's stop treating the faithful viewers like they have amnesia and haven't yet graduated from 2nd grade.
I'm sorry WCW announcers, but Hulk HAD faced Roddy Piper before you had the "Epic Battle of the ICONS" at Starrcade a couple years back. I don't want to listen to this crap. What it basically comes down to is WCW being too lazy to come up with original storylines and angles. The alternatives? Lie. The fans are too stupid to know and most of them won't care anyway. Well, I DO care and I'm tired of being insulted.
A classic example of this blatant disrespect to the consumers are the house show title changes that "never" happened. The Internet was in a virtual frenzy after Benoit won the TV title. Yes people, Chris Benoit won the TV title. If you don't have the Internet or weren't at the house show you wouldn't know though. He beat Booker T for it at least 2 times, perhaps 3. If anyone knows for sure please e-mail me. Why don't they tell us these things? I would think they would want us to know, as it promotes their house shows as something more than non-televised mid-carder match-ups where no titles ever change hands. But no one can EVER lay claim to having WCW "figured out". Enter the Sandman.
The inspiration for this article comes from the recent news of Jim Fullington, better known as The Sandman, signing a multi-year deal with WCW. This is FACT ladies and gentlemen. Dave Scherer is reporting this, not Al Isaacs. Yes, the "Extreme Icon" and one of the senior members of ECW is moving to the greener pastures of WCW. Why does WCW want him? Simple question with a simple answer: Because they want to hurt the competition, namely ECW. The first I saw of this my initial reaction was one of dismay and anger. "How could this guy sell out?" was my first thought. Before you join the sell out bandwagon though, look at it from HIS point of view as I now do.
Fullington is in his 30's and has been taking ECW style bumps for 5 years now. Sure, he makes a good living but he does not make a GREAT living. Whether you like or dislike wrestling you have to recognize the danger in it. One missed spot or a bad twist and his career is over. Do you think that the rather large six figure salary that he makes will sustain him for the rest of his life? Surely not. Going to WCW is a great way to ensure his family and himself that he will be minimizing the risk to his body and his longevity. And should something bad happen to him in WCW he will have a guaranteed contract for a great deal more money than Heyman could provide him with. That is not a knock on Heyman just a simple fact. The Sandman knows that he will not be a big player in WCW. He also knows that his gimmick will not be coming with him, and if it does it will be EXTREMELY toned down. Again, from his point of view it is the best move for his career, body, and family.
The question on mine and everyone elses mind right now is this: How will Paul Heyman handle the situation? Talking to a person that happens to know Mr. Heyman quite well I got the feeling it will not be handled as it should. The Sandman became synonymous with ECW and helped them through the early years when recognition was tough to get. Heyman should show respect for Mr. Fullington and revere his accomplishments. The feeling that I got was that Paul was going to lambast him to the fans and label him a sell out. Should Paul Heyman choose to do this I think it will be a slap in the face to a man who gave it his all for a company he loved for 5 years. Best luck to Mr. Fullington in his new endeavor and federation.
Comments, opinion, or rants are welcome as always.
