Volume I, Number 12
*I'm going to answer 5 questions each week. If for some reason YOUR questions doesn't get answered, don't worry. I save all the questions I don't answer for a later date, so if it's slow one week, I'll have something to fall back on. If YOU would like to respond to one of MY answers, feel free to do so at the e-mail link at the bottom of the page.
*No small talk. Let's get down to bidness...
QUESTION ONE
Lyfe Style asks..."Don't you think Juvi's release was a bit cold? Don't people deserve more chances? I think WCW treated him unfairly without a thorough investigation of the matter. Had Goldberg gone on an ecstacy-induced tyraid, I doubt they'd just instantly fire him."
BPP: There are a lot of points to addresson this topic. First, allow me to say that I still think Juvi got what he deserved. You can't just go and make a drug-induced ass out of yourself in a foreign country, when you're SUPPOSED to be acting as an ambassador of goodwill. As much as I like Juvi, and would love to watch him perform in WCW for years to come, you can't just get away with stuff like that. I think anything less than his direct termination would have opened the flood gates for chronic trouble-makers to cite Juvi as a precedent for why they can screw around. As far as a thorough investigation of the matter goes, although I don't know the specifics of the incident, I can't imagine there was much to investigate. He was in a public place high on drugs, proclaiming he's Jesus Christ while getting naked. What's to investigate?
The issue of "double standards" is also brought up. You mentioned Goldberg, but the name that comes to most people's mind is Scott Hall, the man who has had seemingly endless chances in WCW. First, since the time this question was submitted, Scott Hall has supposedly been terminated from WCW, although there is some paranoid "smart" fan suspicion as far as the legitimacy of it goes. Why hasn't Scott Hall been fired BEFORE this? Well, the fundamental difference between Scott Hall and Juventud Guerrera is that Hall, I'm sure, has a "No-Cut" clause in his contract, making it VERY hard to get rid of him. Juvi, like most other mid-carders, doesn't have this clause, making it very easy to terminate him, especially if cost-cutting measures need to be taken. I imagine Goldberg also has the "No-Cut" clause, so yes, I suppose it's true that if this had been Goldberg instead of Guerrera, Goldberg wouldn't be fired. However, I can imagine that we would see much of him on camera if he were involved in an incident like this one. He would probably get the "Luger Treatment" and be sent home with some sort of reduced pay.
QUESTION TWO
Hawkeye asks..."Why did WCW release Chris Daniels?"
BPP: This is still something that I can't quite figure out. Of course, this question makes past reference to the WCW "Fire Sale" they had a few months back. I can understand why they released most of the people they did, as most of them were under-talented and/or over-paid. Daniels, however, was neither. He couldn't have been making that much money, as he was signed only a few months before he was released and he had only made two television appearances (once as Vampiro's "Master", the other in a Worldwide match woth Chris Candido). And as far as talent goes, he might very well be the most talented wrestler in this country not under contract with the Big 3. It's as if they just signed him to do nothing with. They could have at least sent him to the HWA, or NWA Worldwide, or even New Japan to get some experience and stay in shape before they came up with any actual plans for him. I have a really bad feeling that someone else is going to pick up Daniels and WCW is always going to be talking about "the one that got away."
QUESTION THREE
Lyfe Style asks..."With Time Warner owning WCW and also a cable provider, why would they immediately add TNN to their package for WWF fans instead of giving WCW a boost?"
BPP: I believe this can be answered with one word: Money. Even though it contradicts the interests of a company they own, they do not want to upset their cable customers. It's possible that in markets where they don't get TNN that if Time Warner didn't cooperate with their customers demands, their customers would seek business elsewhere, possibly in one of those satellite dish companies that gives you every channel in the known universe, including the 24-Hour Kazakhstani Goat Carcass-Chasing Network. The other factor that comes into play is that I would bet a large number of people that work for Time Warner don't even know they own WCW. WCW is such a small cog in that corporate machine. They don't receive nearly enough attention, but that's an answer for another day.
QUESTION FOUR
Hawkeye asks..."Rumors were flying around about Kurt Angle's brother and another young athlete coming into the WWF. What ever happened to them?"
BPP: Well, I don't claim to specialize in "Where are they Now?" questions, but I'll give it a shot. I do remember hearing the rumors about Kurt Angle's younger brother talking with the WWF, but they seemed to die down pretty quick and never resurfaced. I guess he's also a very talented amateur wrestler, and perhaps he wants to persue that a little longer before he decided to follow his brother's footsteps. Or perhaps he's just not interested. Pro Wrestling may not be for everyone.
As for this other athlete of which you speak, you may be referring to Brock Lesnar, who was a former NCAA wrestling champion at the University of Minnesota. Well, last I heard he was wrestling in the OVW, a developmental fed for the WWF that received a lot of press when both Mark Henry and The Big Show were sent there to get into shape. From what I hear, Lesnar has some pretty natural ring ability, but conditioning his one of his big flaws. Many people who have seen him in action say that he could be a future star.
QUESTION FIVE
Lyfe Style asks..."Are TNN's 'We've got POP' commercials the most annoying ever?"
BPP: I don't know about most annoying ever. There certainly not in the same league with the "Whasssup!" guys, as the "We've got POP!" campaign is limited to TNN. However, TNN's vain attempt to convince us that they're not The Redneck Network anymore is juat plain embarrassing. Let's face it: Most people just can't relate to Rodeo. "18 Wheels of Justice" is not aimed at the mainstream. WWF is the only thing they have going for them. Although, I can point to one good thing that came from the "We've got POP!" ad campaign. On one of the last episodes of "ECW on TNN", Lou E. Dangerously came into the arena on behalf of The Network faction. What did his name plate on the screen say? "Lou E. Dangerously: He's got POP". Very clever.
*That does it for this week. Keep sending in those questions, as I'm starting to get low. Later.
QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES!!!
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