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TI0 
Posts: 28
(7/6/02 12:51)
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A Question to Ponder, (aka "Leave Logic at the door&quo
Recently, Eddie and RVD have put on a series of excellent matches. Their ladder-match just a couple of weeks ago was PPV-worthy - much too good for any WWE weekly-based show.
But here's the thing - when the match was done, Stone Cold came in and subjected us to stomp, stomp, kick, stunner, stomp, stomp, kick, stunner.
Now in that brief period who got the louder pop? And which was more genuine? The audience were genuinely excited by the Eddie-RVD match. The cheer for SCSA was marquee-recognition, followed by the "triggered response."
The "triggered response", of course, is what WWF/E has turned wrestling into - spots (i.e. "The People's Elbow") and catchphrases (" WHAT!?") designed solely to let the audience know when to cheer.
There's an important distinction there. The catchphrases and spots aren't designed to get the crowd cheering, they're designed to let them know cheer now.
It's like the APPLAUSE[/b} sign at a TV Show.
APPLAUD.
This is why WCW suffered. In the last year their product was improved by the respective title-reigns of Booker and Scott Steiner. The quality of their product improved and was continuing to improve. You just have to look at the way McMahon's suddenly realized the value of Cruiserweights to see that.
The problem was nobody really had the designer-catchphrase or spot. Russo tried to get it going for Booker with, "Don't hate the player, hate the game" but it never really took-off. Ironically, Hall and Nash used to have the right catchphrases - obviously they learned their lessons well at WWF. Otherwise, the majority of wrestlers had a free reign - improv. But the audience had been spoiled by the WWF's development of triggered-responses.
Obviously there's a place for catchphrases. They've been going around for decades; but WWF/E has gutted the wrestler's capacity on the mic. Also, obviously, there's a place for spots. Even the reaction Goldberg got from the spear & jackhammer became spot-like. But WWF/E has decimated the credibility of wrestling by overusing it. (And if ever one of the sheep of WWF/E was going to argue with that argument, I point them to The Worm).
So, in my long roundabout way, back to the original point: who got the better genuine reaction on RAW a couple of weeks ago - RVD & Eddie for their match? Or Stone Cold with his marquee appearance?
Because as the last bastion of commercial-wrestling, if WWE doesn't want to go the way of WCW and ECW, then they have to advance and evolve. And the only way they'll do that is if they recognize when marquees pass their use-by date and begin rewarding the true entertainers.
Hell, maybe they can even turn Sports-Entertainment back into Wrestling.
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Hugemon 
Posts: 212
(8/6/02 16:55)
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 Re: A Question to Ponder, (aka "Leave Logic at the door
I think you already know the answer to your own question, SILK...
Stone Cold easily got the bigger reaction from the crowd, and it kind of pissed me off. Eddy G & RVD worked thier asses off during that very entertaining match, but the Bionic Redneck gets a louder *POP* for 30-seconds of 110% predictable "textbook Austin-ization".
For me, its a virtual paradox...what the majority of todays wrestling fans *POP* for... the over-used monotonous catchphrases and weak-assed-yet-theatrical moves like the W-O-R-M & The People's Elbow are the exact same things that I passionately loathe & revile.
I don't mind a STRONG *spot* like Lesnar's or Austin's finisher, because THEY aren't obviously FULL OF $HIT, but I appreciate the 5-15 minutes of solid ring-work that precedes the inevitable finisher even MORE.
I'm confused, though...WHO should I be mad AT?
Vincent K McMahon, for giving the sorry-assed lemmings what they evidently want???
...or...
All of the millions & millions of The Rocks fans, that pay all of the WWE bills???
As for your "use-by date" analogy, I do indeed see problems for VKM in the future...
Look at Hogan's "Farewell Speech" last week- as a wrestler, I can't stand him, yet with todays fans, he's near as big as he has ever been....because of his mic-work. The man can still tell one hell of a story; he had both the arena & the television audience eating out of his hands...
Now put a 50-something year old Austin in his place.
I honestly don't believe that Austin has the longevity that Hogan does, because he doesn't tell ANY story, besides What?! ...
But the "Lemming Factor" remains...
Without any other wrestling federations around to give them anything better, will the well-trained fans of today continue to lick their spoons clean after everything that VKM puts on the table in the future???
I think that they will, but I will still be bitching about it.
| Behold, a pale horse, and the man that sat on him was Death |
| ...and HELL followed with him |
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