| *Once again, I've been blessed with a good news week, as it seems I have a lot to discuss today, so let's get down to bidness... *The man we once knew as Meng is no more, as he has jumped to the WWF and revived his "Haku" character from his past WWF stints. Of course, this week, just like every week that contains a wrestler from Company A leaving for Company B, there has been a lot of talk about shots being fired in the Great Wrestling War. However, this time some people tried to downplay it, saying "Well, it's only Meng", and that perhaps the overall quality of WCW's roster has imporved my subtracting the rapidly-slowing Meng. While his jump is hardly Radicals Revisited, this is something that shouldn't be taken lightly. For you see, this isn't about WCW losing "Meng." In most circumstances, that wouldn't be much of a loss. What this is really about is WCW losing their current Hardcore Champion. Simply put, WCW dropped the ball on this one, and Vince McMahon was there to run it back for a touchdown. Sure, Meng isn't much from a talent stand-point, but McMahon can now claim he stole away a WCW Title Holder (even if it is the Hardcore Title), with WCW being none the wiser. If there was any doubt as to the status of the War, needless to say, the War is back on. Now, even though some were quick to point fingers, this isn't Eric Bischoff's fault. Hell, the guy just showed up and I'd be surprised if he even has his office furnished yet. But even though he wasn't responsible, there are some important things he can take away from this. First, and most important, is the lesson that should be purely elementary: Don't give a guy a Title, or even involve him in a major storyline, unless he has a sure-fire contract that can't be tossed aside. These "per-night" contracts are all well in good sometimes, but don't give them to people you plan on giving a lot of TV time, or it could very well bite you in the ass. If there's anything you keep a close eye on in your company, it should be your wrestler's contracts. The second thing Bischoff should take away from this is motivation. Bischoff was always the guy who wanted the War to begin with. It looks like he's right back in it. Having Vince McMahon, a man who we all know Eric doesn't particularly care for, steal away one of his Champions right from under his nose should be motivation enough for him to get WCW back into shape and really give the WWF a run for it's money. There's no need to be brash, but keep it in the back of your mind, and let it always serve as a motivator. Let's see if I can wrap this up. Vince McMahon definitely pulled a fast one on WCW, but unlike most defections, the WWF might end up receiving more repercussions than benefits. Sure, they snatched up a WCW Title-Holder, which always serves as a 1-up in the War, but Meng is a below-average worker who is well past his prime, and is only going to get worse. In return for all this, the WWF may have just kicked the sleeping dog known as WCW, and they might not like the outcome. *It was, what I'd call, an average week for WCW TV, with Nitro and Thunder having their fair share of ups and downs. Here's a look at The Week That Was... *First, let me start with a non-television note. As we've all heard by now, Scott Steiner was arrested and chaged with Assault by a man who was portraying an EMT on Nitro. Now, I know Scott Steiner has had his troubles with the law and he has a bad reputation, but this is ridiculous. Any time you are sent into a wrestling ring with professional wrestlers in the proximity, even if you're not a professional, you should know that you're entering at your own risk, especially if you're going out after an angle where Steiner's pretending to break people's legs. Every time there's an angle like that, you always see the wrestler take a few shots at the EMT. What I'm trying to say is that unless Steiner viciously attacked him, he should just let it go, even if it wasn't expected. Should Steiner apologize to the guy? It would be a classy thing to do. Maybe even give the guy an autograph and some free tickets. But Assault charges are totally and utterly out of line. *One of the more interesting matches this week was Nitro's match between Chris Daniels and Mike Modest. First, I can't believe how many people on the Internet were literally spitting venom over the finish to this match. Granted, it was a lousy finish to ANY match, but there are some things we need to remember: 1) It was a "tryout" match for both of these men, which means it had no official bearing on any kind of on-screen WCW business. In other words, in a "tryout" match, the result really doesn't matter, because it's a possibility that neither of these guys will ever be on WCW TV again. They're not under contracts when they wrestle the match. 2) They were given seven minutes. SEVEN MINUTES!!! There aren't many matches on Free TV these days that get seven minutes, so it's hardly like they didn't get enough time to show what they could do. Do people honestly think that the match would have been infinitely better had they been given three extra seconds for a pinfall? Seriously. Some people just never want to be happy. As for the match itself, here are my thoughts: It was a very sloppy match at times, but I thought both men worked extremely hard and showed off a lot of spots that haven't been seen in WCW lately, if ever. They showed the really wanted the chance to shine, and that's all I was looking for. The word right now is that both men have agreed to sign contracts in the near future, so I look forward to their future work in WCW. I think that if either of these men were put in the ring with one of WCW's more-experienced Cruiserweights, instead of each other, they could put on some seriously good matches. *General Rection is dead, and Hugh Morrus is back!!! YES!!! Personally, I would have prefered an entirely new gimmick, but beggers can't be choosy. Speaking of people being back... *Our blood is running colder, and our world has changed...again. Glacier has returned. I think if used properly, this Glacier/Smiley alliance could be very funny for a moderate amount of time. The two things they need to do is 1) Don't over-saturate them by putting them on TV ALL THE TIME just because it's funny, and 2) When it starts to become un-funny, pull the plug on it. But in the mean time, I'm really looking forward to seeing Glacier and Norman fight injustice. *That does it for this week. I'll be back again next Friday. Until next time, keep stylin' and profilin'. THIS RIDE IS OVER Back to The Patcave |