In this weekly column, I will comment on the past week's goings-on in WOW, and whatever else it occurs to me to discuss :-) I also hope that a big part of the column will be printing and responding to your e-mails. So please send them in (the address is thatthing35@yahoo.com)!
TFHWrestling.com - read my column, "Eat My Dust" by Tom Dean, and all the other (often WOW-related) content!
Analysis of WOW, Inc.'s (presumably) final financial report
8/6/01 Updates:
7/26/01: RAW Is Lana?
I have had this article written for a long time. It discusses the chances of WOW women to make the WWF. Unfortunately, since I wrote it, it has gone from a discussion of immediate interest to a discussion that would now seem to be purely hypothetical:
All that says to me that the last thing the WWF wants to do right now is hire ex-WOW wrestlers. Nonetheless, I will print this article because I think WOW fans will want to discuss the question, even if it is hypothetical. And who knows... the "foreseeable future" in wrestling is often shorter than expected. Here is my list, from those the WWF would want most to those it would want less.
Everyone else in my opinion either proved pretty clearly that wrestling was not going to be their future; didn't show much of anything either way; or is not the type of person who fits into the WWF prototype.
Well, like I said, I don't see the WWF hiring any WOW women in the foreseeable future. If the WOW alumnae want to be in the WWF eventually, they will have to pay dues in indy federations. That's a very tough life... it doesn't pay well, and the odds of ultimately "making it" are not too great. Most of the WOW women will have opportunities in other forms of entertainment -- acting, modeling, stunt work, etc. I'd imagine that almost all of them will put wrestling behind them, and pursue those safer fields. The few who do stick to wrestling will move by default to the top of this list... and hopefully, if their desire is to join America's only currently viable wrestling organization, they can eventually achieve it.
Jack Stark writes:
"WOW is the last we are going to see of women's wrestling in the US for a long time. I'm sorry to say that, but I think it's true. Even the WWF doesn't get the respect that it deserves. Now, before everyone jumps all over me for saying that, let me explain. Pro-wrestling is looked down upon by many industry execs and is seen as a waste of money and air time. Which begs the question: What is VIP and Walker, Texas Ranger? But I digress.
"The WWF was the #1 show on cable when it was on USA, where it put a serious
dent in Monday Night Football's ratings week after week. It then put TNN on
the map. Meanwhile, UPN actually gets viewers ever since they put on Smackdown,
a decision which was highly criticized in the industry. Now, it seems that neither
Time Warner nor Fox is willing to put any wrestling on TV unless someone is
willing to pay about 30 million a year. WCW/ECW can't even get it's own show.
Perhaps, you can explain to me why cable networks refuse to air a show that
might actually get some ratings. WWF is still getting quite good ratings despite
the fact that many parts of the country do not get TNN and/or UPN."
Well, first off, the fact that those stations are not received in certain areas does not affect the ratings. The ratings reflect how many people who receive the channel are watching the show. That said, of course no one can deny that WWF gets tremendous ratings, especially by cable standards. Ultimately, it's gotta boil down to sponsors. I can't fully explain why sponsors shy away from wrestling. It's obvious that advertisers at least believe that wrestling fans are not an attractive group to target. How true that is, I don't know. If it's not true, these advertisers are costing themselves a lot of money, so I suspect it probably is true for the most part. But I can't say that for sure.
"OK, this was supposed to be about WOW, right? Well, what I'm trying
to say in my round about way is that if the WWF can't get air time, how the
hell is
WOW or any other women's wrestling organization? Women's wrestling is considered
even lower than men's. It's considered silly, exploitive, and lowest common
denominator type stuff. Wait, I just described the Howard Stern Show, and he
just signed a 4-year $23 million deal. (I like Howard, BTW.)"
You make a helluva point... I've got no answer for ya. I don't see why the Stern audience would be more attractive to advertisers than the wrestling audience. Perhaps it is, though. People in the business sure think it is, anyway. Needless to say, if we're talking specifically about women's wrestling, the fact that no one in this country has ever made a dime on it is going to be a big factor.
"What really angers me about all of this is that we are supposed to be living in an age of unprecedented consumer choice, especially on TV. When I was a kid there were 3 networks, 3 local channels, and I didn't get cable. Now, with all of the networks, cable channels, satellite TV, and PPV, I can't find what I would like to watch. If you've got an answer to that one, I'd like to hear it."
Well, things seem to be getting a little too specialized, I think. I like food, but do I really need 168 hours a week of food-related programming? I enjoy some cartoons, but do I really need 168 hours a week of cartoons? Unless you have very specific interests, a lot of these channels won't appeal to you. Personally, I watch sports, wrestling, Simpsons, movies, and the occasional game show, so my needs are pretty well taken care of. Anyway, we're getting a little far afield here ;-)
Dan writes, responding to the above article:
"Lana Star - I agree completely. She would actually be the most likely candidate simply because she is hot, doesn't completely embarrass herself on the mic, and while she can't wrestle, after having to endure Stacy Kiebler and Torie insult Lita and Trish by actually being portrayed as competition to two women who are better wrestlers, it is clear it doesn't matter. (Trish isn't great but at least she doesn't embarrass herself anymore and is very tough. Sure she knows only like two moves, but that is twice as many as Torrie and Stacy combined.) So if Torrie and Stacy are 'WWF material', Lana Star is a godsend. Actually compared to Torrie I think the Tough Enough winner is a better wrestler where they are at in the show now. They may be hot but they suck as wrestlers."
Yup. I do doubt that Lana will be willing to pay the wrestling dues to get to that point (not that I blame her), but if she was, she would have a good shot. FWIW, I don't think Lana is as good looking as Torrie or Stacy, but that's in the eye of the beholder of course. I do admire Trish, who seems to work hard to improve in the ring, and seems to be a lot smarter and deeper than the character she's been given... things we could say about many of the WOW wrestlers.
"About Jade... I am assuming you wrote this a while back since anyone who is watching WWF now needs to only mention Tajiri. For the record the same could be said in the past for Ricky The Dragon Steamboat, and Yokozuna (I know he was not really Japanese but the character was.) Actually the last women to hold the women's tag-team belt I believe were The Jumping Bomb Angels who were both Asian, although they hardly defended it much."
You're right about the Jumping Bomb Angels (who, as I recall, were very over given their exposure -- a sign that WWF fans *can* appreciate good women's wrestling) and Yokozuna (always an inexplicable figure...) So I will tone down my statement and say that it is a WWF tendency, but not an absolute rule. Right now, Tajiri is very over, but I'm not sure I'd say that the fed has pushed him. It's too early to say yet... I would say that in a few months, if he is getting this same crowd reaction and still is in the position he's currently in, then that would be underpushing him. So we have to see. Steamboat was presented as "Hawaiian" if I recall correctly, and anyway had to go to WCW to win the World Title that he clearly deserved.
"I doubt that they would ever hire Jade or Lotus though, like you said, way too small. Although have one of them become Kaientai's valet and I bet they would become ALOT more over. Doubt it would do them any favors though:)"
(Wait for it...) INDEED.
"I also agree with you on Beckie The Farmer's Daughter and Jungle Grrrl. I honestly think either would be money in the bank for WWF (although they would need new gimmicks), especially running a program with someone like Lita or Molly. Both are very attractive, in JG's case a good speaker, and with the exception of Molly Holly, Jackie, and possibly Tori, better wrestlers. (Much as it pains me to not mention Lita who I love, she is not as good in the ring as either of them IMHO and everyone else in the women's division isn't even close) I think WWF is missing out not hiring those two."
Agreed.
"Actually I am hearing there is a new federation called MECW that is claiming to not be about T&A and sensationalism and is in theprocess of going national. Don't know if they are planning to spend much time in the way of a women's division but they have hired some female talent so maybe there is hope for anyone in WOW who wants to make a living as a wrestler. After all the pickings are slim for talented female wrestlers."
I think their approach is going to be less T&A, but no less violence. Which fits in with our screwed-up American sense of values... but does make me wonder why they want to hire Francine and Dawn Marie. Anyway, although I question MECW's business model (it seems like they'll be in syndication, and we know how well that works), it definitely is something that the WOW wrestlers should look into, if only for the exposure and the experience.
Brian Currie writes:
"Well, we must assume it's over.
There is nothing to do, then, but to provide a eulogy for the late, great WOW.
Why was it important? What makes it worth a second thought?
Well, it's all over popular culture. Times are changing. In the old days, there were stereotypes for heroes of different genders:
Male Hero: Physically strong, decisive
Female Heroine: Faithful, compassionate
Now they are being replaced by the one:
Hero: Brave, skilled, intelligent
The performers in WOW didn't sexually pander to the lowest common denominator like GLOW did. I was impressed by the athletic prowess of those women every time I watched -- I'd say they were all in better shape than most of those gut-heavy guys in men's pro wrestling. (Well, maybe not Lana Star.) And hell, so there was a bit of sex appeal to the show. It was entertainment, after all, and to suggest that someone must forgo their sex appeal if they want to appear heroic seems to me to be sexist in and of itself. As if a woman must be asexual to be strong or confident.
And after all, guys, if you like pro wrestling, who would you rather watch? Not a hard choice.
WOW put the "wrestling" in the fore and the "women's" behind
it. Despite its many flaws, it was exciting to watch, and palatable because,
let's face it, pro wrestling is cheesy. It's not a sport, it's the most
outlandish of entertaiments. Some male pro wrestlers seem to carry the arrogance
of their TV personae over into real life. I'd like to see any of those guys
wrestle a real match (collegiate rules, freestyle, or greco roman) against someone
else of their weight class who has experience in the sport. But WOW was cheesy
and corny and great. When you think about it, everything that's really fun is
a little corny or dumb or both, and WOW was fun to watch. Not as much fun as
those parties that used to last until 8 AM, but many of us are getting on in
years and need to get fun wherever we can find it. I miss
it. But if you're the underdog, chances are that you will not succeed, by definition.
Let's hope women's wresting has a future in this country, and that Riot will be a part of it. I have to admit that she, Ice Cold and Jungle Grrrl were my favorites.
Well, peace out. Your site was fun to check out."
Please e-mail me with
your thoughts about anything WOW-related!
(e-mail: thatthing35@yahoo.com)