VWWE Universe

12 Search Results for "attitude"

• Retro Blog: Stu's Take - 2007

  • From: VWWE
  • Description:

    Originally Published: June 5th, 2007

     

    2007 has been a wonderful year so far in E-feds, it only seems like yesterday it was January but here we are in June 07 already and we've seen a few people step up their game in the past six months, whether it be in promoting their characters, writing skills or their guessing frequency has been consistent, hell even I make sure I guess for all my matches these days, there’s so many new people coming in especially in the last few days that I get the feeling everyone is upping their game for fear of losing their spot in the ranks and do you know what? That’s a good thing for E-feds, your sure to find that Mick, Nik, Scott are receiving more guesses and more better quality promo’s. It’s the same in life really, if you work hard at something to get somewhere with it only to have someone who hasn't put as much effort in as you to take it away it’s pretty upsetting.
    
    Many people in 2006 had their big breaks in E-feds but the people I'm about to talk about now I think have put that little bit extra into their characters whether it be real or created in 2007 so far and if they stick at it I can see them ending 2007 as some of the best E-feders we have ever seen and I guarantee you their characters position in their respective fed will prove that. I'd like to kick off with Forxx aka Scott, ECW writer and former owner of the awesome XFW. Now to me Forxx has always been a great creation by Scott, he’s easy to mould, you can fit the big man into any sort of gimmick you like and if the writer knows what he’s doing it'll work, he also a guy you can have at any level of the card and any type of angle, he’s a character I feel you can pull into main event status at anytime in any fed because he’s been around for many years and accomplished so much title wise and big storyline wise, he took a big step up this year and done what has eluded him for so long, he won the WWE championship against Randy Orton on Raw a few months back which by the way he held at the same time with the Intercontinental belt, I really enjoyed the ECW storyline he was involved with Team Forxx Versus Team Heyman and his feud with Neal’s character Randy Orton over the title was superb well played by both guys and well written by Mick and Nik. He also did great on Turmoil in WVW winning the Extreme title a few months back also he held this for about two months in which he defeated many roster members such as Ethan Morris and Blade. These title wins where all roughly around the same time and you can be guaranteed Scott was grinning from ear to ear and to be honest it was well deserved, I'm sure everyone will agree with me on this one Scott is a great E-feder and a decent bloke also. I've noticed a change in his style of writing also this year so far, his matches have got shorter for some reason we all have time restraints on writing etc and as much as his writing is still good I hope he can pick it back up that little bit to the way he was in XFW.
    We also saw a welcome return to Nik in 2006 and he is another guy who has stepped up his game since returning, His Legendary character Doomsday has been shown in some great angles and matches in 2007, with a great showing in the Royal rumble and at No way out, a personal favourite of mine was the destruction of Sabu by the masked maniac and his partner the Undertaker to win the tag team titles on SmackDown a few months back, once again like Forxx he can be used anywhere on the card because of his status in E-feds, although not winning as much gold as Forxx he was in some legendary storylines before he took a long rest from E-feds if you will, Since his return he has physically killed Johnny Blue, almost destroyed RVD and Sabu and whooped the ass of the Union and we all remember what he did to ole HBK when he returned I can see this being the year of Doomsday for some reason I just have a feeling and it'll be great if it is. Meanwhile Nik continues with the awesome SmackDown, writing some amazing matches, I have to say since he left and returned he hasn't lost his creativeness, some great angles and storylines from both him and Mick, in my opinion his writing is second to one and I guarantee you if Nik would have stayed in feds since his debut he would be on par with Mick right now, the guy can churn out some awesome matches in a very exciting descriptive manner and their not exactly short lets just say that. All in all a top bloke, a legendary stoner and one of the most funniest guys in chat.
    
    Over the pond as they say in WVW I believe there has been many great characters coming through the ranks since the beginning of the year but none other than Fi’s Character the awesome Viper, I remember first reading about Viper in one of his promo’s in IVW, he was part of a tag team with Phil’s character Grant Morgan and all due respect to Phil but viper always stood out for me in promo’s etc and I remember writing his matches in SFW and it was just after they had split as a team and I thought to myself that is what Fi needs with Viper, a break away from Morgan and a heel turn and boy when she got the ball did she run with it in 2006 and she spent most of the year in one of the best written and played feuds I have ever seen with Mike’s awesome character, Christopher Draven! This all culminated in 2007 gaining Viper a title shot which he won and it was great to see and it shows that you don't gain gold and the top spot in any feds respectfully in a few weeks it takes years and I was happy for Fi and I'm sure she felt the same, that’s what I love about E-feds, it is like a long road and you feel as though you have to over come obstacles that stand in your way to get to that top spot and when you do it is an awesome feeling believe me I've been there and a lo of other people have too. Fi also has been one of the breakout writers for me this year also with some awesome matches for Turmoil and pay per views, very descriptive and I have found myself engrossed in some of the matches she has written, I think she has definitely cemented herself as one of the top writers in E-feds and I can't wait to see what she does with WVW when she takes over. She may have had her problems with many people in her time in E-feds but Fi has always been consistent in her guessing, her promo’s have always been to a decent if not better standard and her attitude in chat is very polite and in WVW this will be her year whether it be writing the shows or playing the game.
    
    A few other people who I shall mention writing wise who are gonna be great, Morten I've read a few of his matches and I liked what I saw so far, Nathan, awesome writer and a great player of the game and genuinely funny guy in the locker an also Matt aka Nathan James has got great potential.
    
    In E-feds this week, nothing really much has happened, VWWE has had a spate of new signings on behalf of myself and I'm sure everyone else, welcome peeps hope you enjoy it and please be patient lol, Nik returned from a few weeks off, it’s good to see you back dude, Mort stopped singing in the locker but my ears are still buzzing, Fi wanted to interrogate Mort’s witness in her box, make of that what you will, WVW had an awesome Turmoil after the Mayhem PPV there’s some great angles coming up there soon and there’s a heavy build up to WrestleMania with many shows before and after being planned by Mick and co, should be awesome as always.
    
    I'll continue the E-feds column next week, as I've said before these are my opinions many of you will agree many will not but to all who have read down this far thank you very much, it’s appreciated. Stu.

     

     

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• VWWE - Beginnings

  • From: VWWE
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    At the start of the year i began to think of what we should do for the fifth anniversary of VWWE, what sort of special features should we put out. This anniversary for me is very special, five years of anything is impressive, in the short lived World of E-Feds, stunning. E-Feds normally only have a shelf life of around three months and for one to last five years is made all the more impressive considering we were originally a WAP Fed with very limited resources and people. So i got looking through the old WWE 10th anniversary special Magazine and came across an interview with Vince McMahon where he discussed the beginning of WWE Raw and its lasting appeal, the people he's worked with, the problems he's encountered. So being the eternal plagiarist.... i stole the idea...
    
    VWWEs beginning starts at the turn of the Millennium, back when the World was a very different place than it is today. Id have been about 19 at the time and the events of September the Eleventh were still clear in everybodys mind, the looming war in Afghanistan was hanging over the World and even worse, there was rumors Hulk Hogan was about to return to WWE, dark times indeed. My first exposure to the wrestling community on WAP, like many, was through WAPWWE owned by Simon and later Big "Fat" Dave. Id been a user of the chatrooms at a community called Jumbuck and later o2 chat for a few months for about a year previous to that and knew one of the Semi-regulars toward the end from there. I didn't chat at all however in the famous chat, just used it for the results and news. While browsing one day, i came across the link to something called "WrestleManiac" owned by a certain Dr.SmackDown!. It was a little site about something called E-Feds.... Naturally enough i was intrigued, im the sort of person who simply has to have an answer to a question. So i clicked on the first link on the site, "WWW".
    
    I arrived in WWW Chat in early January of 2002 and frankly found utter chaos. The owner Diddy was leaving, i only ever exchanged a few words with him in the chat and i think after i arrived he was never seen again. Nice passing of the torch. The first three people i met in WWW however were Twisted Trucker, Physio and Banshee in that order, the latter of these would play an important role over the next three months. Physio seemed nice enough, he was a nurse in Newcastle if i remember correctly as seemed Banshee, i disliked TT from the word go however, a typically ignorant Scotsman of which Dads Army's Frazer embodies perfectly (no offense to our Scottish contingent intended lol). TT would eventually make himself the most hated man in the business at the height of the Monday Night Wars, and considering the competition that was no mean feat. My application to WWW was of course never answered as Diddy apparently went to America and left the company in the hands of Mark who at that time i feel wasn't ready to run an E-Fed, time wise or maturity wise. Becoming impatient (as always), i looked elsewhere. I'm certain theres more to the tale of the demise of WWW but with all the major players except Dr.S (Mark) having now left "the business", i doubt it'll ever be told.
    
    I soon came across an E-Fed by the name of EHW, owned by WAPWWEs rival WAPW-W-E and owned by Tazz and Extreme. WAPW-W-E was a poor alternative to the original WAPWWE, largely pasted from the net and very poorly laid out. Still, it got hits and im sure they were happy. As an inexperienced player, EHW looked brilliant, it had lots of features and sections for the time and was, compared to the awful WWW, well written. I was the first person to sign up to the original EHW and was rewarded by being in the main event of their first show against quickly and long forgotten J-Love who was a sort of male version of Jennifer Lopez (don't ask). I lost when Nightmare made a run in and attacked me with a chair, this would the very first time i was involved with Tony and in fact the first time I'd even heard of him and of course not the last. While EHW was busy building its roster however i was at a loose end and offered by services to the company in an advertising role which was accepted, i had my first backstage job. In honesty it was rather unsuccessful, i managed to get Dr.S to sign up after a few rounds of E-Mails but my moves to bring in Physio, Banshee and the others failed completely. A day before the broadcast of EHWs first show, a link was left in EHWs chat which led me to yet another E-Fed, the now infamous FWC, an offshoot of WWW.
    
    While WWW was the first E-Fed on WAP to make a splash (they were not the complete first, despite popular belief), FWC had now taken the Torch from them and was the big player. Rhyno and most of the FWC roster had all been members of WWW at one point and broken away and there seemed to be little love lost between FWCs Owner Jon Hunter (Rhyno) and Diddy. FWC was, like EHW, far better laid out and written than WWW, although under the surface were far more flaws that didnt become clear till much later.
    
    Mid-January is when everything changes (and Rhyno certainly wasn't ready). I decided to join FWC after talking with Banshee (Jo) and some of the FWC members briefly including two men who play a big part in the future of the community, Silent Assassin (also called Jon, which led to suspicions he was Rhyno for almost a year) and Doomsday (Nik). However, when i told Rhyno via mail i was also in EHW, i was told to choose between joining FWC or being in EHW, a fact that irritated me immediately and would always be amusing to me later on when Rhyno complained about VWWE asking the same of people who were also in his Fed. Nether the less, i chose FWC simply because it looked more fun and the people in their chat were more talkative and interesting. I think it was about January 14th when i debuted on FWCs Flagship Show Gore is War (named for the Owners signature finisher, of course).
    
    Two weeks later, me, aka HBK, was FWC Champion.
    
    This has always been one of the chief reasons i began to become dissatisfied with FWC, it was far too easy. Yes, i was good, its stupid for me to say otherwise considering what I've gone on to do, but nobody deserved the kind of push i received considering veterans such as Doomsday and Silent Assassin hadn't had any kind of headlining run or Title reign. I guess Rhyno saw the potential but for me, it began to show those problems i mentioned earlier - Rhyno couldn't book for shit. He had no concept of pushes, finishes, paying dues or the like and just seemed to book in a completely haphazard fashion, making no match feel important or special and making no title reign mean squat as the defenses were so frequent and often.
    
    I was outspoken in chat, which considering what many will remember of my behavior later in 2002, i guess is no surprise. This of course created tension with Rhyno and Silent Assassin, the former making the heat quite obvious while SA didn't reveal how he felt about the period till a year later during one of our famous arguments. Rhyno booked me in a completely pointless feud with TT, a man who couldnt draw flies in a shit factory. The heat got to the point where i was booked in a ladder match and somehow Rhyno had me lose via DQ, when i pointed out to him afterward that its impossible to lose via DQ in a ladder match, he booked me in a kiss my ass match against TT, which naturally enough i lost. Was i being pushed to the moon or buried? i had no idea and quite frankly, i don't think Rhyno did either. By now early February, with the looming threat of the coming nWo all over WWF Television, i decided to start a revolution of my own and the idea for the Virtual WWF E-Fed was born.
    
    Why Virtual WWF? simply i figured that its everybody in E-Feds dream to be a WWF star. People play SmackDown vs Raw, why not make the E-Fed equivalent in a simulation of the WWF? it was so simple i was surprised that nobody had attempted it on WAP yet and i began to note down what I'd need to do to get this thing off the ground. The first thing of course was the site and after enlisting the help of Nik (who didnt know what i was doing), i managed to get a very basic site working on the Hiugo host. The next three things however would prove to be far more trick - a roster, a partner and advertising.
    
    I began the build up to VWWF a week or so before the actual launch, first contacting Silent Assassin under the assumed alias of Vince McMahon (or "vince" as Sam would later have it). SA agreed to come aboard as a member of the first board/creative team, particularly after i showed him a promo match id written, he seemed genuinely impressed with my skills and eager for VWWF to get off the ground. SA very much liked to have a finger in every pie and hedge his bets with all parties, his actual reasons for coming aboard I've never really known or thought about too much. At the time all i knew was, SA was a major player in Feds, a man who'd been around a while, a leader, important to FWC and the kind of acquisition that would send a big time message to Rhyno. Next aboard was Banshee at Jon's suggestion if i remember, in honesty i dont recall what she actually did and i didnt trust her at all. Banshee and Jon were very close, the details of which im still not entirely clear on and on more than one occasion it seemed the two were conversing about VWWE and making their own agendas. This however was a very small issue and i was happy with the way of things at this point in time.
    
    I knew the roster would come from the advertising and also that there was no way VWWE could survive on the scraps from FWC, we had to bring in new people to VWWE from outside Feds and i opened negotiations with the WAPWWE Owner about adding a link. On February 15th, VWWE was launched throughout the WAP Wrestling community, firstly in FWC and then everywhere else. The initial reaction was slow with only a handful signing up, the first being Stevie Dragon (a Welshman, for the record) and Rhyno was openly hostile in that "i don't mind really" way of his. A day into the VWWF Era, we merged with Tony's fledgling BWWF Fed as i saw no point in us competing against each other and Tony was added to the Creative Team. Yet another day later, everything changed finally as WAPWWE gave us far more than we asked for - a full front page link. With this being at the height of both WAPWWE and WAPs powers, VWWE was flooded with application after application for the next three days, we couldn't get through them all before more arrived. The chat we were using at the time (a myWap Beatles page we hijacked) became almost unbearable with all the new faces giving off their enthusiasm and ironically Jon and Myself took refuge in FWCs chat for the night while i sifted through the beginnings of what was about to become the very first proper version of VWWE as we know it.
    
    Of course, knowing absolutely nothing about our new members and being an era of little character development, a lot of people who should have got bigger pushes at the start didnt and started off in the midcard while some people who didnt deserve it, did get those shots. A lot of the initial push ration went off how much "trash talk" you did in the chat (The locker) as opposed to anything else. Some prominent original members of VWWF included Mav, Pimp, WDS, Matt Hardy, Showtime, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Triple H, Unforgiven, Paz, Rediffusion, Forsaken, Razor Ramon, Diesel, Nitro, Kane, nWoKane and of course the members of the Creative Team and many more besides. The decision was taken early that SA would contest the WWF Undisputed Championship with HBK on the first Raw simply because we were the biggest names available at that time and once again, it would be good for the image if a "draw" was Champion. Something that almost every Indy company has done is presumed they can make their own stars and claim they're in the same league as VWWEs when of course they're not, just like TNA's own stars are nowhere near WWEs, to make new stars they need to feud with established stars in the business and thus, early VWWE was dominated with ex-FWC Stars. One of my mottos with VWWE is "image is everything" and its completely true, whether wanting to bury an opponent, get somebody over or dictate the entire style and direction of the company, how people perceive what you're doing is where everything is won and lost, a fact, just like booking, that Rhyno never got his head around.
    
    Im always one for "impact", making the big entrance and/or a huge scene, i wanted VWWE to be talked about and from day one it be everywhere, i wasn't here to be second best, i knew i could produce something FAR better than what was currently on the table. But at that point, in those initial days, there was no desire to run anybody out of business, i did believe we could have a three Fed system like the old WWF-WCW-ECW one with VWWF-FWC-EHW. Nevertheless, i knew that if VWWF was to succeed we were going to have to both get FWCs attention and its members. At this point i was leader of the D-Generation X faction in FWC as HBK, Rhyno still having not connected me to the new Fed. Id kept my identity secret simply because i wished to remain in FWC as long as possible. Rhyno still suspected nothing even when i decided to change the faction from DX to the nWo and despite another affront on his part - adding TT and Sandman to the group, it became the best thing on the show. Gore is War was fast becoming, along with FWC chat, dominated by the nWo members, myself and SA.
    
    On March 4th 2002, Raw is War debuted from Madison Square Garden, the nWo defected from FWC along with SA and the show, although very poor by todays standards, was hailed as a classic. The impact had been made and you could probably say the first shot in the coming Monday Night War had been fired. What followed was a calm, Rhyno began a few rumors of moles within VWWF, trying to unsettle the creative team and the like and of course he succeeded. At that time i was a rather paranoid individual, but of course, as somebody said, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you, and despite very little being proven, there were almost certainly people giving information to Rhyno, as of course SA and to a lesser extent, Tony was to us. The real Monday War didnt begin for around two weeks and in this time of calm, VWWE was REALLY born.
    
    Within the first two weeks several people emerged as locker room leaders, people of strong personality who stood head and shoulders above the rest both in terms of the promos they were dropping in chat, enthusiasm, knowledge and general likability. These men would become known as the Kliq. Hulk Hogan (Sam), Steve Austin (Tony) and the three Creative Team members in myself, Tony and Jon. However at this time Kane (Danny)., Triple H (Will) and Urbie were all also prominent as well as a certain Hollywood Nitro who would go one to be a controversial figure several years after leaving VWWE in much the same way the Ultimate Warrior has in real life. One of the biggest locker personalities at the time was Pimp who was very much in real life exactly what his character was. Many nights were spent in his company in these days and all that were there will remember him as possibly the most missed personality from the chat in that period.
    
    VWWEs image as a shambolic rebel promotion was always half reality, half created image based of WWFs 1997-1999 image but also our own birth, "bad" attitude and lack of site facilities. The Hiugo site crashing on an almost daily basis, a fact that maybe in a small way gave VWWE members an attitude of fighting the "corporate like" FWC with a site that never crashed and built on a PC as opposed to our built on a cell-phone. There was certainly a "backs to the wall" mentality that was reminiscent of the WWFs defense against WCW, a war of course then still fresh in the memory with the Alliance angle having ended just Three Months previously. The VWWF members developed something that FWC nor any Fed previous or since has achieved, a real community spirit and a comradeship that may have all begun when faced with the FWC onslaught that was soon to come, Hogans Crew, Nova and other idiots. We lived together and we died together to give an overly dramatic turn of phrase.
    
    VWWEs first major problem came just prior to WrestleMania X8 when my phone was broken. I was only away a week but soon discovered that a week is a long time in E-Feds and in the time off-line, not only had SA and Banshee relieved themselves of their positions on the board, but left the Fed while SA was Champion and scheduled to defend the belt in the Main Event of WrestleMania X8. To say i was mad would be an understatement. SA was officially stripped of the Undisputed Championship and hasty rewrites began. It was at this point that Sam stepped up to the plate and his first official backstage involvement began when he came aboard on discussions for the proposed ECW angle and the huge mistake of Virtual ECW, a second Fed run under the VWWE banner (it would be four and a half years before i produced an ECW show, so you know how this one ends). What SA was doing E-Fed wise between this point and his return a few months later i don't know but we still conversed frequently.
    
    WrestleMania X8 was a disaster, not much better than a normal Raw show. Three matches stuck out as quality in The Outsiders vs Too Good, the RVD Cage match and the Main Event, though the rest was a let down and in particular the ending, where a new and previously unannounced ECW faction made a run in was lame. The power had swung back toward FWC and did so for the whole next month during the Kane vs Nitro feud. Danny was not the problem, he was one of the best players of the game at the time and ive no doubt would be a major player still today, the problem was Nitro. Nitro was a poor character, even in the era of poor characters, and was a poor promo as well, bland and boring. However, he'd made a number of friends backstage and was a massive presence in the chat. In essence, there was a mini-Clique around him, some names including Hunter (George not Stu), Nemesis, Trish, Max Pain and Suppz Monkey will be familiar. This "popularity" led to him being in an awful faction by the name of AWOL and he received a push and the Main Event opportunity, firstly winning the ECW World Title (which would later become the WWE World Title, a scenario i of course didnt foresee at the time) and then WWE Champion. Nitro winning the belt was poor for VWWF, i knew this and booked him against Kane till he lost it quite frankly and following that loss he didnt receive another push. Unfortunately, six months later when Steve took over writing SmackDown, it appeared he was a fan and Nitro received a second undeserved push.
    
    While we had won the day both in February and March, FWC had won it in April. Several attacks by the likes of TT, snide comments in FWCs news and poor angles off ourselves had left me demoralized and the company losing its way somewhat. When Hiugo finally went down for what appeared to be good, it looked like it could be the end for VWWF.... and it was, for when VWWF returned on Tagtag and MyWap, we were now known as VWWE. WWE had "Got the F Out" a week or so before and we followed suit, i myself seeing it as a new beginning for the Fed and with many of the worse aspects of the last month forgotten, began several new angles that would make the Summer of 2002 possibly the most creative ever seen and a genuine golden age of VWWE and welcomed in several new faces that would become known as the second generation of Virtual WWE.
    
    With VWWE finally finding its feet, producing a quality product, chat and clearly around for the long haul, we began to attract several of FWCs stars including Tommy Dreamer, Suppz, Sabu and famously Sphere who went as far as to produce his own site detailing his reasons for leaving. They were Radicalz style Godsends, some of the final indications that FWC was dying. They all slotted in perfectly to storylines and despite the disappointments of agreeing deals with both DD and AWO only to see them fall through, VWWE was firmly back on top again. But something was missing angle wise, both a "big" star Ala Hulk Hogan, The Rock or Steve Austin in the WWE and a big time angle to center the company around. Thus was born the nWo era.
    
    Before the nWo however, came that big star and at that time there was one man who stood out for his dedication and quality above all other - Tony AKA Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin had already headlined WrestleMania X8 and of course, then received a push in FWC (which he left shortly after the war began), so his elevation to a permanent Main Event status was no great leap up the card, plus his feud with Kane was something that both he and Danny got totally into, making it the most successful feud up till that point in VWWE. After the let down of WrestleMania and subsequent poor month in April, we needed to do what we'd done that very first Raw and make an impact. There was only one match that could do it - Hell in a Cell. It would be billed as the biggest match ever held in E-Feds, Kane the monster versus Steve Austin, the massive face looking for his first title. And did we deliver? oh hell yeah. The match was at that time, once again the most impressive match ever seen and was hailed as such, but more than that - it was a great card, everybody had something to do, a match of importance and i feel felt they had a lot of input into both it and the direction of their characters.
    
    Every good face needs a strong heel opponent. Rowdy Roddy Piper once aswed the question, would Hogan have been as big a face if he hadn't had such strong heel opponents such as himself? every Sherlock Holmes needs a Moriarty. Austin following Judgment Day was the biggest face in all E-Feds but needed an opponent, Kane had been defeated and was out of the picture as of course was SA and i was uncomfortable pushing HBK so soon again after the disastrous push he received around WrestleMania. My mind however was cast back to the very inception of VWWE and the nWo, a group that in the defection from FWC to VWWE had created possibly the largest amount of GENUINE heat from the business yet seen at that time.
    
    So the nWo would return, this time however, it would be true to both the real life nWo and DX - it would be born from the Kliq. HBK, Hulk Hogan and Nightmare formed the core to the group, Urban-Wolf and originally Triple H as the second duo, even though Urbie was of course a big star in his own right. The angle cought fire immediately, the locker loving it and truely dividing themselves into nWo and WWE groups. The addition of Booker T and Max Pain following Wills 27th firing may have diluted the group slightly but no more than a faction. The nWos political games, internal struggles and battles against Austin, Kane, RVD, Randy Savage, Nitro and the like gripped the whole community and just as the angle had done for the real WCW in 1996 through till 1998, we dominated the business.
    
    In late May, FWC finally folded. The Monday Night Wars were over (for now). Its hard to pin point and actual definite reason for its failure. I always like to point out the similarities between our small wrestling community and the real life goings on in WWE and how many times, without design, the art has immitated the life and without a doubt, the parallels with the folding of WCW are there for all to see. While FWC originally was the big cat, it got taken down by VWWE who they tried unsuccessfully to put out of business originally. Why did they go out of business? again, the similarities are there for all to see. WCW pushed stars who were either hasbeens or neverbeens such as Jarrett, Savage, Sid, FWC did the same, allowing Main Event positions to be given to the likes of AWO, Kohl, Sandman and HHH, members who today, wouldn't even be allowed a curtain jerking position in VWWE. WCWs booking decisions in its last years, particularly after the addition of Vince Russo to the creative team were nothing short of shambolic - Rhyno couldn't book for shit. Booking is an art form, you dont just throw matches out there, you need to plan ahead, what if Superstar A wins, what will we do? what if Superstar B wins, what will we do? how to we protect Superstar A if he lose? how do we give him his heat back? and so on. Rhyno never considered such action, he didn't understand this basic principle of ownership as quite frankly, so very few owners ever have. The third reason I'd put down is image which i talked about before. Once it became clear that Rhyno was out to attack VWWE in every way, by both insulting us personally and allowing others to do it, obvious that there was no peace, it became a war and the main tactic VWWE used was to destroy FWCs image. Destroy an E-Feds image and who'll want to work there? make it a joke, and what value is it? this is the exact tactic used by the WWF in the Monday Wars and it worked again here and has done again since. As said, image is everything and Rhyno again failed to conduct a defense and make himself look good, his shows, matches and belts became worthless as he produced a string of lame shows with the worst characters pushed over actual talent like Tommy Dreamer, Sphere, Doomsday and the like, he played right into our hands. And finally? its those same names. When Benoit, Saturn, Guerrero and Malenko defected to the WWF in 2000, it was seen as the death knell for WCW and although they continued on for over a year afterward, essentially WCW died that night the Radicalz debuted on Raw. When Dreamer, Suppz, Sphere, the Dawg Pound, Sabu etc all came to VWWE within a short space of time, it sent out a message that FWC was dying. A few weeks later, possibly the final straw came when Doomsday left FWC. DD had been instrumental backstage within FWC, doing much of the writing and creative duties, his leaving caused the stack of FWC cards to come crashing down around Rhynos ears, the era of FWC at an end. Although FWC did attempt comebacks later in the year and again in 2003 and again since, it never reached the heights of the Monday Wars.
    
    Of course, peace didn't rain for very long and around the same time VWWE began to encounter a very different type of opponent - Hogans Crew and Nova. Where as we'd been at war with a group/organization previous, this was a new challenge, two individuals who had no agenda other then to act like complete and utter pricks. The motivation, i cannot guess, a psychologist may know more. For those who dont recall, Hogan (NO relation to the other Hogan aka Sam btw) led a small group of idiots known as Hogans Crew (later the Devils Crew) in WAPWWE Chat. However, WAPWWE Chat began to die, several members moving to the VWWE Locker and its usership drying up. So of course, Hogan followed to where the members were, his task? to "destroy the chat". Hogans Crew, like with FWC, always claimed to have people inside VWWE and i almost know for fact this was in fact true. Hogan always knew more than he should and several incidents spring to mind immediately that confirm he was no all he seemed. Was Hogan really somebody VWWE already knew? later evidence points to that being the case, but of course, we'll never know for sure. Nova was like Hogan in many ways, simply came into chat and spouted random bullshit and insulted people. He was clearly both a child and slightly retarded, hence his joining up with Hogans Crew at one point. It was at this time i first came into contact with Fi via an opposition group named Killcrew that we supported, Sam and Myself joining toward the end. Hogans Crew were finally defeated following a memorable and in retrospect, rather odd, night in the locker. Nova however, continued to make a nuisance of himself for two whole years.
    
    Creatively, VWWE was on a high. The nWo angle had divided the locker down face and heel lines and we were on an all time high. Jon had agreed to return to the fold and we'd made new stars of RVD and Hogan (Sam always insists btw that he debuted in late March 2002 as a main eventer, this is not the case and it was early March as a midcarder lol). The nWo were the most successful group in history, but as we approached SummerSlam, the steam was running out a little. If done now, it would last 6-8 months thanks to the lesser shows and more evenly handed out airtime, but back then, the nWo was EVERYWHERE, just like in WCW of 96/97. Every segment was filled with the nWo vs WWF feud. It was decided that the nWo would split Ala Hollywood vs The Wolfpac, but instead of the Wolfpac - we'd return to DX and it would take the form of HBK, SA and a few weeks later, Doomsday. The alliance of HBK and SA, bitter enemies, and the return of DX at SummerSlam, shocked everybody and shook up the angle, the objective was achieved. However, looking back, i have to consider the thing a failure. Both Silent Assassin and Doomsday left the company shortly afterward (SA leaving for a second time while WWE Champion) and DX became swiftly HBK and Triple H (a group that would have great success with the Outlaws and X-Pac in 2003, but for the fall of 2002, was not on the map). The nWo continued on for a sort while, its line up consisting of RVD and Austin at one point before settling on Hogan, Hall and Nash and then in December, splitting up for good. With the nWo era over, in October a new one began when VWWE announced the brand extension would be coming to Raw and SmackDown. Steve aka Sphere would be taking the reigns of SmackDown while i would continue as writer of Raw and Chairman, Sam would be CEO. The ingredients were all in place for what has become the VWWE of 2007, but that as they say, is another story.
    
    So there ya go, the story of VWWEs birth. Of course, theres far more to it than this and i apologize in advance for anything or anybody ive forgotten or anything I've deliberately glossed over. Like all good books, even those published by the likes of Flair, Michaels and even Foley, need a few pages left out and a few fact maybe bent a little to make it seem like VWWE knew what they were doing all along :)

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  • 4 months ago
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• Characters Welcome

  • From: VWWE
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    There were a few posts today in the chat about what makes a good created character and I've a few views on this that I've brought up in the past in creative meetings. Good characterization and character development is one of the key facets of good drama and good television and as owner and head writer, I probably have a good perspective on this... so here goes, my two cents.
    
    When VWWE started (as VWWF) it was very simple and very basic, plot depth was virtually none existent, same with characterization. What we basically looked for back then was somebody exciting, with something to say and a cool name, which was still far more than our rivals looked for who basically hired anybody, no matter how absurd. A wrestling monkey for instance.
    
    Out of these days came VWWE characters such as Silent Assassin, Mr Showtime, Sphere and Nightmare and while Nightmare has evolved through the years, technical master to Ric Flairs protege to wrestling obsessed franchise ala Triple H and latterly the veteran of VWWE, some of those other characters did not. Mr Showtime has forever been "like RVD/Y2J" and that's the sum extent of his character and background.
    
    One character that would never find a home in the VWWE of 2009 is Silent Assassin, one of the two characters I'll be using for this blog as two ends of a single spectrum. SA debuted in that simple world of 2002 and had little characterization. He had no history, his look was taken from Spike out of Buffy the Vampire slayer and personality laying like a cross between Sting and William Regal. Never was any of this explained and worst of all was that he was allowed to put himself over in promos and actions against his opponents with now giving back. Sadly, this was somewhat atypical in those days.
    
    But lets look at each aspect and compare it with a modern created character - Michael Shane. I've picked simply because I know most about him and frankly, he's brilliant. History, look/moves, character development.
    
    SA never had any history, like so many characters, he just seemingly arrived in FWC like magic. We knew he was English.. but that was it. No background. Later when he was in VWWE we managed, under protest from Jon (his handler, not OUR Jon), to construct a history where he'd started out in the Allstar Promotions in the UK in the 80's alongside the likes of Finlay and Regal and moved to the States when the NWA were looking for their answer to the WWF's British Bulldogs. Assassin then went to the WWF, WCW etc etc, I'm not reciting it all lol, but now he HAD a history, he had events that shaped him. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing. Look was never expanded on, he looked the same and wore the same stuff for 5 years and kept the same moves. Character development.... well that's difficult because I'm tempted to say fuck all. SA saw himself as top dog and always wanted to be it, he did NOT put people over or show ass, I really cannot honestly think how he changed a single bit in 5 years.
    
    Characters don't need prearranged targets of where they're going to go as a character or a big master plan. What the need is the room for them to develop, they need places to potentially go.
    
    Michael Shane was a character that was developed in the space between the "old VWWE" and the "new VWWE" in mid-2005 just before our comeback and I think he was genuinely one of the first characters that was thought about as WWE would think about a character. In the era of James Steele, John Cupbord and Michael Steven Northmore, he was a new thing. After that we saw great characters such as Ryan Simmons, Primal, Adan Reyes, Joey Nebraska and the new Suffering, plus the all new generation of Assassin and Sergio Griffon.
    
    WWE always say that the best characters are the ones who are en extension of the real personality behind the character such as John Cena, Steve Austin, Badass Undertaker, The Rock, MVP, exaggerated forms of reality. Shane is no different, he is Mick in exaggerated form... some may even say not too exaggerated. He even started as a Republican and became a Democrat lol
    
    Arrogant to the point of being obnoxious but deeply respectful of the business, he loves wrestling but loves being controversial. He loves being the center of attention and is clearly a genius. He knows it. Snappy dresser, ladies man. Sadistic streak.
    
    That's a basic MO... then around that, you can fit a look. Would that gimmick and attitude fit a 7 foot Indian? no. It suits a smaller man, a good looking man, somebody akin to Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels or John Morrison. Again, his look is inspired by myself, long hair, unshaven.
    
    Once you have a look, you have a move set. Again, power moves would never have suited... so why would he do them? the times ive seen requests that 7 footers do Luchadore moves or cruiserweights use Powerbombs etc is countless. Also, get a WELL ROUNDED move set, don't fill it with finishers.
    
    In the beginning, Shane was far more influenced by Lucha-Libre than today where the Ric Flair influence is more paramount. I was a big fan at that point and it was about 6 or so months before Eddie passed, he was massive at the time and I was a huge Eddie mark. The moveset was heavily influenced by Eddie and HBK so from Eddie came the Mexican influence and the suggestion he'd worked in Mexico, been trained by Gory, the Gory Bomb finisher.
    
    Once you have all that, you've a character, a history can be created from what you have by answering questions - whys he arrogant, what reason? whys he have the lucha moves? whys he get into wrestling?
    
    Also, id suggest giving him backstage gimmicks. Shane, being an arrogant prick, was also said to be trouble backstage in those days... shitting in bags and taking drugs etc (now in 2009, long gone as he's grown up and is respected by his peers, having won that over the past 4 years). So on day one you have this drug taking prick who was arrogant... but he was hugely talented and had great potential, he'd been trained in Mexico and had friends high in WWE with the likes of HBK. He was a rebel and potentially trouble... but also potentially a future legend. Which way would he go? giving him the arrogance and the drug abuse, these are character flaws that are ESSENTIAL. SA never had a single flw, he m,ay as well have been an automation. Theres no need to make a character a failure or a loser, but having a few things in a characters life that are wrong or they're not proud of makes them human.
    
    Now... this is the key thing for me - character development, both in terms of gimmick and emotion.
    
    Shane started off there and started in the tag division, he developed from being a tag team wrestler into the singles star. He grew in confidence and stature, bringing in the whole hip-hop styling with the new Kanye West theme and attitude, being a bit of a playboy, obsessed with money and women. But that started to get old and he rediscovered his love of wrestling during his feud with Flair. It was really this feud that marked a change again. Shane started to "grow up" around WrestleMania 24. He became serious in his wrestling talent and desire to win championships, his feud with Flair led to the New Generation attitude, the hip-hop styling's starting to vanish as he found Ashley and became a one women man. The controversial nature of their relationship with the "Rated R" segments later becoming a genuine relationship between the characters, developing over time. In 2009, Shane had his belief in wrestling tested with the Suffering incident and will have his relationship with Ashley tested. Two weeks ago there was the darker Shane in the black with the leather jacket, this we'll see again, this is the consequence of the actions and scenarios he's been put in. His mental state one that's depressed, bitter and angry. It wouldn't work if he remained an arrogant pretty boy. Its the exact same principle WWE used for Triple H after Orton RKOd Stephanie, if Trips had feuded with Randy with his DX joker gimmick.. then would truly have been no buys.
    
    A lot of where Shane had been and gone does come from myself and I really cant urge enough people to do likewise, insert yourself into the characters, change them as you change and grow. If you're a Goth... make a gothic character, emo? go emo. If you're a chav, create Ryan Simmons lol.
    
    Characters need to develop and change to stop becoming stale, they need their beliefs tested as Shane has had his belief in wrestling tested and will have his relationships tested. These tests of character create drama and emotional growth, they allow the character to develop from one thing to another and become more multi-faceted and deep.
    
    Three dimensional characters are what VWWE requires and in fact expects in 2009 and I think we have, the likes of Suffering, Joey Nebraska and Ryan Simmons have developed just as well and have just as deep histories, they are a world away from the likes of Plinny, Kohl and AWO that graced feds in 2002 when we started. In 2009 I think the majority of VWWE understand the fact that VWWE is about far more than winning and losing - its about the show. We all pull together to make a great show each week for each others enjoyment, we write promos for others to enjoy and collectively make absolute greatness. If we win... that's awesome, the titles being the highest achievement and also a fantastic feeling to win... but VWWE is so much more. Now in 2009 I think many realize that telling a story is what this game is really all about.... juts like with the WWE Superstars our job is to entertain, to tell a story. And nobody tells a story quite like VWWE :D

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  • 7 months ago
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• WrestleMania Memories

  • From: VWWE
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    As I take a (well deserved) break from writing Raw, I thought I'd blog on WWE matters and what else could I possibly talk about other than WrestleMania?
    
    I'm going to do two pieces, one on my personal memories of WrestleMania (that's this one), and secondly, my predictions and hopes for this years event.
    
    In the beginning... Vince created WrestleMania.
    
    WrestleMania at the beginning really wasn't seen as "the Superbowl of professional wrestling", it really wasn't as grand as all that. The NWA had already promoted their Starrcade supercards and WWE had produced Showdown at Shea, make no mistake, WrestleMania was the answer to Starrcade.
    
    Vince McMahon is the kind of man, much like myself lol, who has to do everything bigger, better and badder than the opposition. Vince will have looked at Starrcade and thought - how can we blow that out of the water. At this time Vince was at the forefront of new innovation and technology, something WWE is NOT in 2009. Vince looked at cable and MTV in particular, he looked at the 1980's political landscape and gave us Hogan, Volkoff etc... he looked to pay-per-view.
    
    PPV was the single invention that changed wrestling forever, talking it out of local arenas and barns and into the front room, the revenue allowed companies to suddenly become major TV players and increase production values and wages tenfold. People like Hulk Hogan became mainstream celebrities, all from this one event. Vince apparently figuratively stakes the family jewels on this being a success... and it was. The celebrity endorsement brought in new fans and exposure and WrestleMania, in one night, made the WWF the hottest thing in America, burying the NWA in the process.
    
    My first WrestleMania was apparently WrestleMania III though I remember nothing of it. My father was allegedly something of a fan in the 1980's and literally everybody watched WrestleMania 3, I was allowed to stay up for it. Even though I don't remember it, maybe it left a subconscious memory that led me to VWWE some 15 years later lol. What follows next is my own memories of the events I saw live at the time. Many of these I, in truth, haven't watched fully again since then, so I'm just remembering off the top of my head what I can (I nearly forgot the ladder match at WM16 for one lol, so sorry if I miss anything really important out)
    
    My first actual memory of a WrestleMania is WrestleMania IX at Caesars Palace with those absurd toga costumes. All I remember remembering is how much Hulk Hogan sucked and at that time I'd wished Bret Hart had left with the title lol. In truth I probably still believe that, Hulk Hogan winning the title at WM9 being the moment Hogan Jumped the Shark in the WWF, it was one of the most shameful power plays ever seen. Bret should have left WM9 as champion and although it didn't hurt his career, it could easily have done.
    
    WrestleMania X I remember a lot more, by this point I was watching the WWF regularly with the likes of Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor Ramon etc being my favorites (even Bret Hart). WrestleMania X is still one of my favorite PPV's and one of the best ever WrestleMania's with Owen Hart going over Bret and the infamous Ladder Match. This was imo the PPV where the New Generation really came into their own. The main event, like last year and next year was forgettable however - Bret vs Yokozuna and I don't think imo that WrestleMania had really reached its "Superbowl" status yet and wouldn't for a long time.
    
    WrestleMania XI and the involvement of Lawrence Taylor I remember, funnily it's really only the celebrities I remembered from this PPV, Pamala Anderson of course being there with Jenny McCarthy. I didn't remember a thing about any of the matches which says everything about the quality of the show. This was a PPV where they tried to mask the lameness of the card with the celebs. Did it work? nope.
    
    WrestleMania 12 was the Ironman match and of course the Warrior vs Helmsley, losing in 12 seconds which is hilarious now... but I was pissed back then. Not for Helmsley who I hated but if there was one person I hated more it was the Warrior. I was a total New Generation freak at the time and ANYBODY who I saw as being from the 80's I hated - Hogan, Warrior, Slaughter. An Ultimate Warrior return filled me with dread, luckily it didn't last. I haven't seen the Ironman match in ages but it's always been one of my favorite matches.. yet thinking back to it, I really think HBK has had better matches since. Id certainly rather watch his Flair match or Jericho matches. Maybe I've just forgotten how great it was, I'll have to rewatch sometime.
    
    WrestleMania 13 came at a time I was becoming exasperated, for want of another word, with the WWF. I'd been watching WCW a lot in the latter half of 1996 and it was on fire, the WWF was in transition but mostly lame and WrestleMania 13 didn't buck the trend. I remember little of it and haven't seen it since first broadcast I don't think. I really had little interest in it. The only match that stands out is Bret Hart vs Steve Austin... and i'm gunna leave my thoughts on that for my 1997 history blogs lol.
    
    What a difference a year made... WrestleMania 14 and it could have been a whole different company. This was the "official" start of attitude with Tyson, Austin and Michaels being so memorable. Throughout that match it really felt like the end of an era but HBK was in such visible pain its still amazing they had the match they did. The final punch by Tyson and the 3:16 T-Shirt over the face were absolute perfect. There was much more to this PPV though, the DX Band murdering America the Beautiful was perfect for this era, LOD and Sunny was great, the dumpster match... great PPV and at this point, my favorite of them all.
    
    A year later and the WWF was now trouncing WCW... but in my own opinion, WrestleMania 15 wasn't as memorable as the year befores and all that stands out is the very poor Hell in a Cell match and the main event. The HIAC really was a snooze fest from a feud undeserving of the stipulation, it seemed tacked on and there simply to build on the reputation of the Taker/Mankind HIAC. The main event however was, like last year, genuinely the best two guys in the company and the hottest acts in wrestling. The right result with Austin again being champion led to the main event for the second year in a row being particularly memorable.
    
    WrestleMania 2000, XVI, 16, whatever you call it... it was shoite. Possibly the biggest disappointment in WrestleMania history for me, WrestleMania 16 should have been so much more. With the roster they had, the total domination... they decided for some reason to simply stick as many people as they could on the card. I'm struggling to remember much about the event, its another I haven't seen in a long time despite buying the DVD a few weeks back. Ice T I remember of course and there was the Angle/Benoit/Jericho match that was very good but could have been more. Plans I've always presumed originally featured the Undertaker who'd been scheduled to return at the 2000 Royal Rumble but in the end they had the four way that was excellent all told. Mick Foley's return however was lame and he should never have been in the match. Mick's career ending so close to WrestleMania was a perfect tragic ending to a career, it told a story. Coming back for this one match ruined that and would only have worked had Mick won the title for the fairytale ending. In the end we broke with tradition and Triple H won when many were expecting the Rock to do so. The ONLY great thing on the show as the triple threat ladder match, that's all that saved this card from being a disaster. That alone and the fact that all the matches, while not stellar, were good ranks it over WM15. Not my favorite event though....
    
    But the next one was.
    
    WrestleMania 17 from the Houston Astrodome was simply the greatest night in the history of wrestling, I'll not hear otherwise. This show was the final act in the attitude era, the last hurrah before the onset of a dark period. From top to bottom the card was utter quality. I remember watching this one live with some mates from college as everybody was still into wrestling at this point, something unthinkable just a year later. This night for me personally was the peak of wrestling's popularity even though ratings had already started to fall, but in terms of quality, passion from the fans, productions, talent, everything on this night was aligned.
    
    We had the TLC match, the gimmick battle royal, that awesome Limp Bizkit theme song, Undertaker and Triple H, the great garage brawl with Kane, Show and Raven, Angle and Benoit.
    
    McMahon vs McMahon for me at the time was just absolutely brilliant, it had been built perfectly with Shane buying WCW and on the night it was amazing storytelling with Linda rising up and kicking Vince in the balls, Shane going coast to coast - it was a fine start to the Alliance feud that sadly never lived up to these heights.
    
    The match of the evening however was Austin vs The Rock and frankly, this was one of the best built matches of all time. Austin and The Roc in the run up to this contest put in some of their finest ever performances, from Austin's NEED to be champion to the Rocks quest to actually win the belt from Kurt Angle, it was all brilliant and on the night they gave us one of the greatest WrestleMania main events ever. I loved them stealing each others finishers lol, you never seen that these days.... but the finish was what always made this special. I knew very little of backstage happenings at this point so it was a complete shock, Austin turning heel was the greatest swerve of all time, that image of Austin shaking hands with McMahon was one of the great pictures in wrestling history, played perfectly by JR and Paul Heyman. As much as I'd loved King, this event wouldn't have been quite as good without Heyman imo. It was a perfect end to a perfect show. The greatest WrestleMania of em all.
    
    For me, WrestleMania 17 was the moment that WrestleMania became WWE's answer to the Superbowl. Unlike other recent Manias, the crowd was huge, over 70,000, I cant remember the exact number. Every match on the card was fantastically built and a huge collision, the performances were off the chat as was the production. WrestleMania 17 heralded a new dawn for WrestleMania.
    
    WrestleMania 18 the year after was the first of the VWWE era, for many of our younger members, that must seem an age ago lol. The problem with WrestleMania 18 is that it followed 17 and could never live up to the previous years event despite the fact that WWE followed exactly the same formula almost. There was the big arena and crowd, the massive set, a live band... the problem? the matches.
    
    I'm as big a Chris Jericho fan as anybody but the decision to put the belt on Jericho at Vengeance in December 2001 was one of the biggest mistakes in WWE history. Following what happened at WrestleMania 17, the logical and poetic finale to the year 2001 was The Rock vs Steve Austin for the Undisputed Championship with The Rock winning and avenging his loss at WM17, possibly going on to WM18 to face Triple H. However... WWE threw us a swerve and had Jericho win and the had him hook up with Stephanie McMahon. In just a year WWE had gone from some of the greatest TV ever seen... to shoite. Jericho was a poor champion, a weak champion.. and there was never any doubt in anybodys mind that Triple H would roll over him at WM. That said, Triple H's return at the Rumble had been awesome.. but the whole fake pregnancy? not so. And Steph really looks a slut at this point as a side note lol.
    
    Steve Austin was completely wasted on this show and I've never understood why. From being the biggest draw in wrestling just 6 months previously, Austin was reduced to facing Scott Hall (no disrespect to him) in an undercard match... why? Personally, I'd have gone for - Nash and Hall challenge for the tag titles, Hogan faces The Rock, Austin faces Triple H, Undertaker faces Ric Flair. THAT would have been a challenger to WrestleMania 17.
    
    But the show wasn't a complete disaster, The Rock and Hulk Hogan was as well built as Austin/Rock had been the year previously. Who can forget "Yes.... or no?", one of the great promos of the decade? the match was absolutely electric, a magnificent example of psychology and working a crowd. This was the final answer to the idiots who believe that the likes of American Dragon have what it takes to be stars. These two men held the crowd in their palm and, frankly, out of an average match in the ring, gave us an ICONIC match through the manipulation of the crowd and the audience. The told a story and THAT is what this business is all about.
    
    Often forgotten on the card tragically is the Undertaker vs Ric Flair. Another fantastically built match, I LOVED this heel Undertaker, demanding respect and taking it if he didn't get it. Taker was awesome in the run up to this match with his beat down of David Flair for example. The match is a great street fight, another example of great storytelling but in truth, also the best actual match on the card. I MARKED for the run-in of Arn Anderson in the match, that was a WrestleMania moment for me.
    
    The main event as I mentioned... was crap. The crowd burned themselves out with Hogan/Rock which should have main evented, but besides that.. it just wasn't a good match. I never believed Jericho stood a change and frankly... his ring attire was vile. This match really marked a MASSIVE downturn in the quality of the main events in WWE for about the next six months. We had the atrocious Triple H/Hogan and Hogan/Undertaker in the moths that followed and ratings plummeted.
    
    Over all.. a letdown of a WrestleMania, but maybe not as bad as many people remember.
    
    WrestleMania XIX the year later was a return to form and a big improvement all round. WWE once again were following that formula of the past two events - big arena, live music, even Limp Bizkit returned this time.
    
    Matt Hardy vs Rey Mysterio started us off if I remember and it was a great opening match, Limp Bizkit played Taker to the ring.. Fred Durst looking an absolute midget next to Taker.
    
    This was the first WWE branded PPV and the first with the two titles. The WWE Championship match was poorly and offensively built with a vaguely racist Angle built around Triple H and Booker T which I thought was beneath Triple H and Ric Flair and even if they'd gone there, Booker T had to win the blow off... which of course he didn't. This match really held little interest for me or anybody else as I remember, there were three other matches on the card of prime importance - Michaels vs Jericho, Lesnar vs Angle and Hogan vs McMahon.
    
    There was always a sense in the early days of HBK's return, as far up to this match at WM19 that we should expect too much from him, his back could give out at any moment and going into the event, although we expected a good match, we didn't think it'd be a classic as this was. This was the moment we realized "Michaels is truly back" The ending where Jericho kicked him in the balls was great storytelling again and really got Jericho over as a heel at that point.
    
    Lesnar vs Angle was a match where Lesnar had to step up, it was make or break for him. Luckily he and Angle had a great match but what everybody talks about is that final moment where Lesnar was supposed to win with the Shooting Star Press and botched it. There was complete shock both in chat and the arena, a moment of silence where the whole world thought "he's dead". Luckily he wasn't and recovered enough, Angle has the intelligence to work a finish on the fly and all was well, but that was nearly the worst possible moment in WrestleMania history.
    
    The big match promoted here however was McMahon vs Hogan, twenty years in the making. In one way, it would have been cool had they held this off to WM20 but as it was this was built fantastically with a lot of great promos from both Hogan and McMahon on who was really responsible for the success of WrestleMania. In WWE, few people really are as good at this type of street fight as Vince McMahon, he's really pretty much mastered it over the years. The ladder and bloody Vince with the pipe were both great moments but the return of Roddy Piper was just brilliant. Very similarly booked to Undertaker vs Flair the year before in many ways.
    
    One year later and the WWE was really up shit creek. Raw had been poor, SmackDown had descended into shit central and VWWE was closed nearly, my own interest in WWE was dwindling a little, one of the few saving graces WrestleMania XX on the horizon from the iconic Madison Square Garden.... but WWE really dropped the ball here. WrestleMania 20 should have been the greatest card of all time, yet like at WrestleMania 16 WWE decided to simply cram the card with as many people as possible. There were a few saving graces going in - Evolution vs Rock/Sock, Angle vs Eddie, The Triple Threat and Christian vs Jericho.
    
    Christian vs Chris Jericho had been one of WWE's better booked programs going into the event with Christian playing the Creepy Little Bastard to perfection, perving after Trish Stratus. It was an excellent match with a great swerve finish with Trish turning on Jericho... and watch this space for VWWE ripping that Angle off soon enough :)
    
    The Rock and Sock Connection vs Evolution was a match that let me down on a lot of levels and I know many in VWWE were angry about the match and in particular by the performance of The Rock and Mick Foley that was just not up to standard. A lot of backlash went against The Rock after this in some quarters while Mick salvaged a lot with his excellent match against Orton at Backlash. However, watching iMPACT this week and Mick's words about WrestleMania... fuck him. And talking of TNA wastes... Kurt Angle. In seriousness, Angle and Eddie were on top of their games at this point, it was the height of both men's careers and after the euphoria of Eddie Guerrero winning the title at No Way Out, I think a lot was expected of this match... and for me... it failed to deliver. The match was excellent and certainly one of the best on the card... but it wasn't quite the 5 star match we were expecting and it was something of a letdown as well. After 5 hours almost, I was tired and exhausted by the main event but what happened next certainly kept me awake.
    
    The triple threat WAS a 5/5 star match. I remember the early talk in the locker was about how awesome Triple H's combination of white boots and black trunks was... which gives you an idea how "Queer Eye" Sam was back in those days lol. The match was another masterclass and an answer to the critics who'd been out in force for Triple H for well over a year. What happened after the match however is something that has changed since then. When Eddie came out to congratulate Chris Benoit in 2004, it was a poetic finale to the show, the two friends who were like brothers after all these years, champions together at last. Now it's a symbol of tragedy, the two friends locked together by a fateful future. What was once the most joyous end to a WrestleMania, is now the saddest.
    
    WrestleMania 21 had a theme - Hollywood, despite not actually being held in Hollywood. The commercials for this WrestleMania were probably the best thing about it with the "You lookin a me" one actually helping to build up Batista's character at the time I think. My personnel favorite was Austin's Gladiator one, being a big fan of that film but the Braveheart one with Flair falling off the donkey was hilarious. The event itself really marked the beginning of a new generation in WWE with Randy Orton, John Cena and Batista all in prominent singles matches for the first time.
    
    The build before the show was all about Batista, it had been going on for about six months and was the best turn WWE probably ever did. It was so subtle and Batista and Triple H played it to perfection, each week Tista got a little bit further away from Evolution. When he finally turned and powerbombed Triple H through that table, a viewing audience cheered in unison. It really seemed that Batista was the next big thing at this point, everybody was behind him. Unfortunately after his 3-0 winning streak over Triple H he got sent to SmackDown and was found out very quickly, he never reached these heights again which says a lot about Triple H's fantastic ability and is the final word to people who believe Helmsley wont do what's right for the business.
    
    Batista's victory was met with a massive response.. but on the undercard, Cena's wasn't. At this time Cena was over as a face, not to Batista's level at that time but certainly over. His win over JBL was more expected I think, the program was nowhere near as good, the crowd were bored of JBL as champion, the match was atrocious for a World title match at WrestleMania and Cole completely, as usual, failed to get the moment and its significance across. The Cena era started with a whimper.
    
    Elsewhere on the card Undertaker downed Randy Orton in a great match that's started their excellent feud and Shawn Michaels faced Kurt Angle in the match of the night, Shawn against stealing the show. To be honest though, I cant remember off the top of my head who won here, I'm pretty certain it was Angle but I wouldn't bet on it. I could go and look it up on Wiki... but I'll leave it lol.
    
    WrestleMania 21 marked a move back away from the big arenas that had made WrestleMania's 17 to 19 so great, 20 being excepted due to it being MSG and WrestleMania 21 to me always seems far smaller and less grand than many other manias, even WrestleMania 22 which was at just a small arena.
    
    WrestleMania 22 marked WWE with the Cena era in full swing and again, this isn't one of my favorite WrestleMania's. The Edge vs Mick Foley match was the highlight and an excellent match as Mick always manages in that environment, nothing less was expected. There were some great touches with the barbed wire, fire and Lita and it probably stole the show. However, there was some crap here too - the Boogeyman's involvement, Undertaker being landed with Mark Henry, Rey Mysterio winning the World title. Cena vs Triple H was excellent and I remember everybody was rooting for Triple H, having turned on Cena in the proceeding year... yet Cena won. Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon was another excellent match.. yet with two street fights on the card, it may have been overbooking in retrospect. Though the elbow off the ladder onto the trash canned Vince = WrestleMania moment. At the time I was caught in the atmosphere of WrestleMania and the good points outweighed the bad... but in retrospect, this was an average WrestleMania I'm sad to now say. The theme song rawked though, it was also the first web era WrestleMania for VWWE.
    
    WrestleMania 23 felt somewhat different to WrestleMania 22 to me, it was nearer WrestleMania's 17 -19 in terms of scale. WWE went back to the big arenas for it and the build up was brilliant. I've always put over the three months of Raw prior to WrestleMania 23 as some of the best Raw's ever and I still think that. With Cena, Orton, Edge and Michaels, the four of them gave us great match after great match in the build to Mania that year, coupling that with The Donald and you already had a great lineup and in truth, I was a little disappointed when Orton and Edge were put in the MITB as I thought they deserved to be in singles action after their awesome performances.
    
    Undertaker vs Batista was again, very well built on SmackDown.. even if nobody believed for a moment Batista stood a chance. Undertaker winning the title was an added bonus. Much of the build however surrounded that hair vs hair match. The less said about Bobby Lashley the better but the match was decent enough, an enjoyable clusterfuck and the crowd got what they wanted with Vince being shaved, a nice added epilogue to the McMahon/Austin feud.
    
    Much like WrestleMania 22 the main event featured John Cena, as a face, squaring off against a man who most people wanted to beat him, this time Shawn Michaels. Original plan seemed to be Triple H vs John Cena again but Helmsley of course got injured. This was really the best opportunity WWE had to put the belt on Michaels at a time most fans believed he deserved it, a lot of people thought he'd win... but no. Excellent match however and the trend of great main events continued. WrestleMania 23 was overall an excellent PPV... the feel and format of which WWE's again followed last year at WrestleMania 24 and again tonight for WrestleMania 25.
    
    WrestleMania 24 is probably my favorite WrestleMania since WrestleMania 17. The outdoors nature gave it a unique look and the set looked absolutely awesome as well. Those great images of the pyro,  a lot of the entrances couldn't have been done indoors. A decent opener from Finlay and JBL, nothing spectacular but it warmed the crowd up. The MITB, which I haven't mentioned at all this blog, was fucking amazing. Remember that Morrison bump? and Kennedy with the Green Bay Plunge to Hornswoggle? Batista vs Umaga = passable and Kane defeating Chavo, while disrespectful possibly to Chavo... was funny as hell.
    
    But now it was down to serious business - namely Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels. When thinking of my favorite match of all time... I can't think of anything better than this. Is it either mans best match? no. Was it the best ACTUAL wrestling match of 2008? no. Was it probably the best wrestling match of the decade? oh yes. This was about spectacle, about that storytelling and that psychology. That image of Ric Flair getting up, begging Michaels to finish it and Shawn telling Ric he loved him before pulling the trigger was THEE most memorable moment in the history of WrestleMania for me personally. For most its probably Hogan slamming Andre or some huge moment... this was so different. Subtle almost, quiet.. but just as emotional. It was the death of a career and an era, Michaels and Flair told the perfect story, the perfect ending to a perfect career and no true wrestling fan can have watched that without a mix of emotions. Delight that Flair had gone out in such style, sadness that it was all over and so much more. A rollercoaster and in my humble opinion, the greatest 30 minutes in WrestleMania history and why these two men are and were peerless in this industry.
    
    The Triple Threat was excellent and somewhat unexpected as I think many believed Orton would lose the title, The Undertaker and Edge giving us a hell of a main event, definitely deserving of the spot after Taker got bumped last year, winning the title for the second year in a row.
    
    Like WrestleMania 23, much of the hype and advertising centered on the celebrity involvement - this year being Floyd Mayweather Jnr. I'd always been a fan of Floyd, getting even bigger when he beat the crap out of the annoying Ricky Hatton. Mayweather and Big Show were excellent in the run up to the event I thought, building it like they would a boxing contest. Celebrities either "get" it.. or they don't, Pete Rose for example "got it" as did Kevin Federline and Mike Tyson all those years ago, while other celebrities remain aloof backstage and believe they're above the business. Mayweather luckily "got it" and was said to be very willing to learn and very sociable. Mayweather totally performed above my expectations and his match may actually be my favorite celebrity match of them all.
    
    So... there ya go, my memories of WrestleMania. I expect WrestleMania 25 will follow the format of the past two years and I think we've seen that already - big arena, big set, celebrity, big matches, well built. The event is fitting into a predefined template almost and now at the 25th anniversary, is truly... the Superbowl of Wrestling.

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• DX - Suck It Deep

  • From: VWWE
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    The offensive and poor DX video lol

  • 8 months ago
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• WWF History: January 13, 1997

  • From: VWWE
  • Description:

    Welcome back to my review of WWE history which started last week on January 6, 1997. I wount recap any of that... you can read it below :)
    
    We are now however just one week away from the Royal Rumble so this is the go home show. In the world outside wrestling, the past week we saw the TV debut of King of the Hill, the box office hits were The Relic... which i mentioned last week, still haven't seen if it was any good or not, Scream and Jerry McGuire still being big. For a quick link to 2009, Bruce Springsteen also sang an awesome song on the soundtrack to Jerry McGuire as he did The Wrestler called Secret Garden. An awesome song. Your billboard number one was still Unbreak My Heart while in the UK... no change either, still the Spice Girls and 2 become 1.
    
    Random fact for January 97.. the biggest selling video game in the US was Super Mario 64 while the SNES was still shifting units, Donkey Kong Country 2 one of the top games in the charts.
    
    On with the show.
    
    We start with a recap from last week of Sycho Sids attack on Jose Lotharios son last week and a look at Superstars where Stone Cold attacked Bret Hart, apparently Shawn will join us live from San Antonio. Not much of a preview but as we kick off the show Hunter Herst Helmsley is entering the ring... his theme rawked :D
    
    Honky Tonk Man is on commentary, still looking for a protege.... sigh. Like it was ever gunna be Triple H lol (the business would have been quite different if it had been) his opponent will be Marc Mero. Sable gets the pop. She didn't look as slutty in these early days lol.
    
    We now notice that Jerry Lawler is prepped to fight at ringside. There's no explanation for this but it appears this is in fact a tag match as Goldusts coming out (no pun intended). So our match is in fact Jerry Lawler and Helmsley vs Goldust and Marc Mero. Its quite shocking this isn't made clear by Vince on commentary to be honest.
     
    Goldust pairs off with Trips, Lawler with Mero and the faces clean house, King telling the crowd to shut up. Honkey is decent on color commentary, i'm surprised he was never offered a perminant spot. Vince plugs Shawn being live from San Antonio and tonights matches - Undertaker vs Crush (that'll draw...) and somebody called Rocky Maivia versus The British Bulldog.
    
    "Shades of Sugar Ray Leonard" - Vince on Marc Mero. That's almost Michael Cole like lol
    
    I actually liked Mero in his early WCW days as Johnny B. Badd, the Mero character i always found bland and colorless, it was only Sable that kept him employed so long. Vince plugs whats coming up once more and this is one of the problems i have with the commentary on this show and last weeks, Vince, King and now Honky don't talk about the action in the ring half as much as they should do. They're either off topic, talking about whats coming or recapping whats been. Its fantastic watching the early days of Triple H, there's no way i'd believe this man would in 2009 be giving performances like he has been doing alongside Randy orton or become as successful as he has been. Just think thouigh, this was 12 years ago... just imagine how good Randy Orton will be in 12 years? its a staggering thought.
    
    Commercials. So far... i'd have turned to Nitro. This is a poor match to kick off Raw with. Nitro always started their show usually with a lucha match to excite the crowd, smart booking. This match would only have served to turn me over to TNT. Once again, the attitude era ideas are here but not fully here yet. Goldust was DQd and he's facing Trips on Sunday at the Rumble allegedly. Triple H is also Intercontinental Champion apparently, this fact not being mentioned until the match is over. This show in January 1997 is completely frustrating.
    
    Shawn is in San Antonio, we go live, there's a hot chick behind him. He is in high spirits.
    
    Rather worryingly at this point, we go to Sycho Sid who's in the empty Alamo Dome. Sid uses the exact same quote Michael Shane used on VWWE Raw this week from Neitziche about "he who fights monsters". Now thats just a weird coincidence. Sid gives his quietly mad promo, a very good one. Sid was underestimated on the mic, a lot of the time he could cut a very good heel promo as he does here, coming across as genuinely dangerous and unbalanced... which he probably was. Sid mentions HBK's family being at ringside and watching as Sid destroys HBK. Excellent go home promo from Sid.
    
    Back to Shawn for a second before we get a Taker/Crush graphic, commercials, back to Shawn amidst fans somewhere in San Antonio, fans mob Shawn. We get another replay of Sid/Lothario last week. 
    
    Shawn gives a equally good promo, putting over San Antonio and Texas. One thing that strikes me again here is how natural all the promos are compared with today, these are neither not scripted at all or the Superstars have just been given vague instructions, they barely seem scripted at all. In one way, thats good as its far more natural but equally you probably would never be able to have gotten highly scripted segments like Orton/Triple H at this point in time. It really did mean that you had to get by on your own talent and not the talent of a Hollywood writer though.
    
    HBK namechecks Stalin... possibly his only ever reference on WWE TV lol, gives the old favorite teeth down the throat line and adds that Sid will see them next morning in his stool sample... classic. Shawn directly talks to Vince as the Chairman which wasn't being acknowledged at this time.
    
    Back live we get the screech and beats - it's Bret, limping out after Steve Austins attack yesterday on Superstars. Steve is still been treated as a full blown heel at this point which seems odd to watch to be honest.
    
    Commercials. Quick flick back to Shawn, that cute chick pressed against him, fans everywhere, some have beer and HBK puts up the Hook-em Horns. Can there be any doubt that HBK was THEE man in 1997? lol
    
    In the arena, the Bulldog is in the ring. One of the first things you really notice is that physique which was essentially the death of him, its rare to see somebody that size now but was pretty common back then pre-Attitude when look became secondary.
    
    "I think Rocky has shown more promise than any wrestler i've ever seen in the World Wrestling Federation" - Bret Hart... see, he did once talk sense. Rocks haircut was a farce though, very mid-90s. Rocky had only been in the WWF two months at this point, it'll be a treat watching his career progress over this blog series. We get a recap from Shotgun Saturday of an altercation between Rocky and Marc Mero. Rocky looks bigger than the image we're all more familiar with at this point.
    
    Bret on commentary is a classic example of why the double turn at WrestleMania 13 happened. Bret is complaining that guys like Steve Austin are trying to end his career and it comes across as very whiny. In the 80s and early 90s it would have been a fine face interview, but from this point on when you have the tough Steve Austin, coupled with the change in attitude i mentioned in my Attitude blog, this isn't what the fans wated to hear.
    
    Bret makes a few references to Rocky Johnson and Peter Maivia, always nice to see history referenced, guess this is history within history. Honky Tonk Man suggests Bret could be his new protege... which is plainly absurd. The fact this angles getting so much air time is as well considering who eventually he selects. Waste of time imo.
    
    We get a ringside shot.. wonder where Raw was tonight, they look rather inbred. Here comes Owen Hart with his slammys to boos which his puts on the announce desk in front of Bret.... break.
     
    The Bulldog is in control, of this match, some of those nice arm drags from Rocky. Some nice near falls for Maivia.... here's Austin - Stunner to the Bulldog, fingers to Bret, Owen chases after him. Rocky wins via countout. Probably the first time The Rock and Stone Cold ever appeared together on TV.
    
    There's a Rocky chant and frankly... it sounds fake lol
    
    The Nation is backstage, Faarooq was fucking brilliant in this role as the leader of the Nation. Crush... really didn't fit.... here's Taker, an entrance that was just as awesome then as now. We cut back to Shawn in San Antonio, go to commercials.
    
    Back live, the Nation are coming out, the rappers rawked, this is pure attitude era here as was the Crush character that played on his real life jail time. Taker attacks Crush in the aisle, the Nation scatter, Faarooq looks pissed.
    
    The Undertaker had that ginger beard he has now back then, his costume very much the Phenom also, has that tear on the cheek... which is emo well before it's time. Vader suddenly appears on stage looking on at the match.. and that's our que for another break.
    
    After the break we get a Starburst sponsored rewind showing us Austins attack earlier. Live however, Crush is in control of Taker. Taker fails to Tombstone Crush... but hits the Chokeslam and the Nation storm the ring to mob the Underatker, Vader runs in and its a beat down on the Deadman, the Nation move Taker to the ropes and Vader hits the Vader Bomb on the Deadman. The bell rings frantically as Vader goes up again... second Vader Bomb.... and here's AHmed Johnson with a 2x4, stolen by Faarooq... and down goes Johnson. Faarooq smashes Ahmed in the back with the wood... and that's your show. A decent ending that promoted the Vader/Undertaker match and the Johnson/Faarooq feud, i think they'll fight at the Rumble, i'm not sure, not watching or reviewing Superstars or Shotgun Saturday obviously a slight issue. I think in these days Raw really wasn't seen as the flagship as it is today, that really didn't come in until Raw is War and the two hour format, so angles are spread out over the three shows.
    
    Although it was a strong ending.. again, i don't think highly of this episode. The oepning match was a bore. Sid and HBK gave strong go home promos however.. yet i don't see why they kept going back to Shawn after he'd said his piece, again, like last week, it seems a waste of time on a show that can't afford to be doing it. Austin was underutilized again but Rocky Maivia got his first run out of the year in a decent encounter with Bulldog. Feuds were advanced certainly.. but there's wasn't much to get excited about and i doubt this show would have persuaded me to buy the Rumble - 6/10.
    
    Next time... i'll be reviewing the Royal Rumble 1997, the first PPV of the year that will lead us to WrestleMania 13 :D

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  • 8 months ago
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• Attitude: The Great American R

  • From: VWWE
  • Description:

    This blog started life as a single paragraph in my next Raw 1997 review but i got writing so much i couldn't conceivably put it in... so here's a whole new blog.
    
    This one off blog looks at the reasons, causes, rise and fall of the WWF Attitude era. I intended it to be a little background initially but i think it may be interesting for those who don't remember these years. Much of it is just my opinion and thoughts. You'll probably also get a little insight into me and my own booking style as well cause this is where i came from lol
    
    To understand why the attitude era happened and why it was a success you need to look at 90's youth culture in America.
    
    The ultra-patriotism and successful capitalism of the 80s had given way to nationwide scorn of the American political landscape, the continual scandal of the Clinton administration, in particular the resurfacing of the Jennifer Flowers allegations and the national outrage and feelings of injustice over OJ Simpson, in 1995 and 1996 respectively, the Monica Lewinsky scandal following in early 1998, led to a feeling of complete failure in Americas institutions.
    
    Americans, particularly the youth, lost their faith in the America that their parents had known in the 1980s that promoted saying your prayers and eating your vitamins and increasingly turned to alternative culture.
    
    The Grunge scene of the early 1990s with bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana gave way to seemingly newly rebellious sounds like Rage Against The Machine, new punk like Green Day and  The Offspring and a resurgent metal with the likes of Marilyn Manson (who would heavily influence the attitude era and had released Antichrist Superstar in 1996 to great morale furor) and bands such as Korn, Slipknot and The Nine Inch Nails. The rebellion even broke onto TV with networks pushing the envelope as far as they could, starting with one show that probably influenced WWE far more than will ever be realized - The Jerry Springer Show.
    
    The Jerry Springer Show by 1997/1998 was a phenomenon, seemingly well adjusted Americans would tune in to "trash TV" in their millions to see what "trailer trash" were doing this week. The nation was gripped by tales of midgets, incest, affairs, rednecks, alien abduction, transvestites and sexual depravity. It was a modern day freak show, a car crash that didn't take itself seriously and became beloved for it as the worst excess of American bad taste.
    
    The envelope was being pushed... and soon others followed suit. South Park debuted in 1997, the tale of four foul mouthed high school kids that took bad taste to whole new levels. Shock Jocks like Howard Stern ruled the airwaves and there wasn't a day gone by that some moral guardian like the PTC wasn't up in arms about some new outrage, laying the blame for the nations moral corruption at the feet of Marilyn Manson, Tupac Shakur or Bill Clinton.
    
    The WWF however, was still stuck very much in the 1980s still. Cartoon characters, traditional faces and 80s presentation. While the World around them changed, the WWF remained the same. The WWF was uncool.
    
    One company however had managed to tap into the 1990s counterculture - ECW. Paul Heyman had seen what the WWF had done in the 80s and applied the same principle in the 1990s. In the 80s, the WWF tapped into popular culture with the Rock and Wrestling era, they tapped into the Cold War with anti-American heels, they tapped into the wave of ultra patriotism and gave us Hulk Hogan, into the new generation of TV viewers - the MTV generation. Wrestlers helds their heads high alongside the rock stars of the day... but not in the 1990s.
    
    In the 1990s, ECW tapped into popular culture just as Vince had done. They carved out a niche, promoted an adult product and gained a loyal following. While i don't believe ECW was as influential in the WWF Attitude era as some internet marks do, there's no doubt that the WWF and Vince Russo and McMahon looks toward ECW for ideas.  
    
    Russo, who was appointed to the creative team in late 1996 realized exactly what Heyman had realized - that to survive the WWF had to tap into popular culture. With Vince controlling his wilder ideas, the two made a perfect team.
    
    Russo gave the rebellious American youth their anti-hero face in Steve Austin, rebelling against authority, the obnoxious punk rebels in DX, the gang wars and angles straight off Springer. The closet homosexual pervert in Goldust, transvestites with Mark Henry, Satan worshiping with the Ministry and so much more. The WWF was cool again, the viewers flocked in droves and the rest is history.
    
    By 2000 and 2001 however, the public's appetite for trash TV had been worn out, the ratings for shows such as South Park and Jerry Springer began to fall and in the place of this crash TV we saw the rise of reality TV, shows such as American Idol capturing the public's attention anew. The onset of the Bush Administration meant that what was previously acceptable on TV was no longer going to happen. Two particular incidents however put paid to "attitude" forever.
    
    The September 11th terror attacks quashed the public's appetite for trash TV forever as the nation "lost its innocence", things such as South Park didn't seem funny anymore, the time for rebelling was over, the nation was united. An era of introspection had begun.
    
    On February 1, 2004 at the Super Bowl half time show, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson were involved in a controversy when Jackson's right breast was exposed following a dance routine.. the infamous "wardrobe malfunction."
    
    The Bush era will possibly be remembered politically for the rise of the Religious-Right in politics and public life, individuals such as Rush Limburgh promoting a conservative mob agenda. The reaction to this incident was just that - a mob reaction. A conservative powerbase, in power four years and feeling confident, just waiting for the excuse to go on a moral crusade to clean up the TV that had been spiraling out of control since those heady days of South Park, Raw is War and Springer. No longer would TV be allowed to get away with what they had been doing for the past 8 years, new standards were in place and attitude slipped into a fading memory.
    
    Once i believed that WWE needed to go back to the attitude era, to produce crash TV the like of which TNA iMPACT often does these days. This was more to do with fond memories of the era than common sense. While it was fun while it lasted, this era was a unique point in time just like Rock and Wrestling, it wouldn't work in 2009, American and the viewing audience is a whole different place.
    
    To truly become a force in the ratings again, WWE need to once again tap into popular culture, to promote angles and characters relevant to their target audiences in 2009, to promote an adult product that doesn't talk down to the audience but doesn't descend into trash TV. Going off the quality of Raw over the past few weeks, maybe... just maybe... WWE are starting to do just that.

     

    WWF Attitude: 1997 - 2001, RIP

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• WWF History: January 6, 1997

  • From: VWWE
  • Description:

    Welcome to the first of a new series of regular blogs looking at the history of WWE and Monday Night Raw. These blogs won't be VWWE connected, though i may make reference to angles we stole etc lol, they will instead simply be my reviews, thoughts, opinions and knowledge on all things WWF.
    
    Starting on January 6, 1997, i will review every episode of Raw and the PPVs in order, giving those thoughts and a retrospective look at the product, how it compares to today. I'll go through the entire attitude era, from the start of 1997 and the debut of Raw is War two months later up to WrestleMania 17 and Stone Colds heel turn, possibly taking in the alliance afterward. Maybe right up to the debut of VWWE and the onset of the WWE down period... those two events entire coincidental, i can assure you.
    
    January 6, 1997 then. Lets set the scene. The Monday Night Wars are in full swing and WCW is destroying the WWF in the ratings, the nWo that was formed last year in 1996 is the hottest thing the business has seen since Hulkamania, a poor WWF product has however started to slowly improve. An unknown writer by the name of Vince Russo is working hand in hand with Vince McMahon, influenced by WCWs styles and that of the adult ECW, to also make the product adult and darker in tone. As we start off, i expect to see an odd mix of attitude and mid-90s wrestlecrap, a product not quite there yet.
    
    I also have the January 6, 1997 episode of Monday Nitro in my collection so i MAY review that also :D get both sides of the tale. Outside wrestling, Bill Clinton is President and John Major is the British Prime Minister still, Jerry McGuire, Scream and Mars Attacks were in the top 10 grossing movies the weekend just gone and your number one songs? the UK was still obsessed with the Spice Girls, 2 become 1 being their number one while Stateside.... it was Toni Braxton and Unbreak My Heart. The X-Files is probably the biggest show on TV, Seinfeld, Friends and Frasier make up a trio of classic comedy still on the air and the Nintendo 64 had just been launched.
    
    Good times :D on with the show
    
    TV-PG!!!!!! that'll soon change. I loved that "for over fifty years" intro too.
    
    We start off with a quick pre-credits promo by Vader, you don't see anything like that any more, either in terms of the Vader style or the placement on the show. Vader i've always said was one of the biggest wastes of talent ever by the WWF, as a hell he had NO peers. He was one of those rare heels that was scary and imposing without having a gimmick like the Undertaker or Kane or being a psychopath like Sid. When he got in that ring you genuinely felt that he could and would hurt his opponent, no matter how much you knew about the business. Unrivaled power and skill as well, should be a WWE Hall of Famer some day... if Vince can admit he fucked up with him in the WWF lol. Bret Hart vs Vader is our main event apparently and HBK will be at ringside.
    
    Brief recap of Shotgun Saturday Night. This show was really where attitude was born. WWE were allowed to get away with things they couldn't at that point on Raw, we have Mankind i think it is laying out Ahmed Johnson with a chair, Ahmed giving on of the Nation the Pearl River Plunge on a car and Marlena exposing herself. You DEFINITELY don't see any of that on Raw any more lol.
    
    As we enter the arena, Owen Hart is on the way to the ring with his Slammys, no pyro. The production values compared to today are poor, its dark and grimy... but i kinda like that, it looks like a wrestling arena and not a TV studio and set as it does too often these days. Mankinds out next and this will be a familiar phrase in these blogs.. you don't see anything like this any more either and that's a sad thing. The original Mankind in the brown attire with his Ode to Freud theme was a stunning piece of characterization before he became the clown he did in 1999. This mentally disturbed Foley was a brilliant heel, the vignettes in 1996 with him in the basement with the rat were brilliant and he was a multi-layed character. In one way you felt sorry for him, in another hated his actions. This character really was the first of the attitude characters.
    
    Note: Vince really sucked on commentary lol
    
    The rulebook is certainly not in effect like today here, Mankind sent onto the exposed railings... those things must have hurt, Owen hitting him with a belt and the Referee (i like its Jimmy Korderas) doesnt bat an eyelid. Seeing that ECW influence there. King is brilliant here, complete heel, joking about Mexican food blocking Jose Lotharios arteries after he'd done a heart attack angle. Jose being HBKs mentor and occasional manager in these days btw. Nice Enzuguri by Owen.. into the barrier by Foley.... hit with a plastic tray and up goes an ECW chant by a single fan lol
    
    Commercials... Freddie Blassie advertising Full Metal: The Album
    
    Owen counters the Mandible Claw.. but cant escape the Piledriver - Mankind wins. A decent opener which showed what both men are about, Owens athleticism and Foleys hardcore nature. 
    
    HBK is backstage, with hair and as much fashion sense as always. Shawn was talking to the wrong camera for half the promo. These things happened in the days when everything wasn't scripted and a lot pre-recorded i guess. Standard promo, building up Shawn's feud with Sycho Sid.
    
    Shotgun Saturday Night Recap 2.... THE FLYING NUNS!!!!! The sisters of love lol, watch this space in VWWE, i love it.
    
    Here's Kane as the Fake Diesel... and the Fake Razor. This is the wrestlecap i spoke of. Whatever gave the WWF the impression this would work i dunno.... and here's the Honky Tonk Man, looking for a protege. After Mankind, this really shows the battle backstage between the Russo camp who wanted that adult modern style and those wanting to keep the mid-90s style. The fakes will face Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon. I'm fast forwarding this, no doubt this is the point that the nation switched to Nitro. 16 minutes in... i'll check that Nitro episode later, see what was on.
    
    Commercials, Royal Rumble commercial... comes to you live from San Antonio, HBK will face Sycho Sid for his WWF Championship and Ahmed Johnson will face Faarooq.
    
    The match is still going on... back to the fast forward. 26 minutes in and it's over. I really cant believe they gave that 10 minutes of a one hour show as Raw was at this point.
    
    Here's Bret, randomly stood backstage. That's all.
    
    More Shotgun Saturday Night recaps, Marlena (Terri Runnels) exposing herself to The Sultan (Rikishi) and the crowd to give Goldust the win. A good amount of this show has already been spent recapping SSN, too much imo. People who'd already seen the show... must surely have flicked straight to Nitro, not wanting to see what they watched just two days ago once more?
    
    Back to Bret. Anti-HBK promo... an apt way to start 1997... cut off by Sycho Sids music, looks pissed, leaves.
    
    Commercials and we're now half way through the show. My thoughts.... um. As i thought it'd be, its half way between heaven and hell, the attitude era is hinted at in Mankind but the mid-90s wrestlecrap is still here and the booking, when faced with Nitro.. i have to question. The tag match was 10 minutes too long and there's too many recaps of Shotgun Saturday. But on with the show....
    
    Heeeeeeeeeres Sid. We're back to the attitude here, the fans are clearly cheering Sid despite the fact he's supposed to be an evil heel. Sid is the reigning WWE Champion, will face HBK at the Rumble as noted earlier. JR is in the ring for an interview. Sid shouts and does the "constipated smile" he does quite often. Sid seems to be a cliche of what many people thing of when they thing "wrestler" - big, dumb, shouts a lot lol. For some reason they didn't turn Sids music off during the whole interview. What Sid said seemed to make little sense but it sounded impressive and that's good enough for both me and the crowd. He is the master and the ruler of the World.
    
    OH.. OH.. OH... SHAWN... here comes HBK... in a robe and sunglasses.... Shawn proceeds to climb on the announce desk and in a stripper fashion remove his robe. Sid is amused. If you people think Jeff Hardy is gay... you really need to see this lol. Sid is actually waving at HBK from the ring... Sid leaves and HBK is unfastening his belt and pants as we go to commercials....
    
    Commercial for the Superstar Line... y'know.. the same thing that the WWF ran down WCW for running lol
    
    Back live and here comes Bret Hart o a big reaction, HBK is on commentary, we cant see whether he's sans-pants or not. Earl Hebner is the Referee... heh
    
    IT'S TIME... IT'S TIME... IT'S VADER TIME!!!!!
    
    Vince is talking about Attitude, Shawn references losing his smile as now we get a recap from Superstars yesterday.... Undertaker Tombstones Jim Cornette... fantastic, cant believe that wasn't saved for Raw. Vince calls JR the best play-by-play man in the business.... so whys he not on Raw FFS? lol
    
    Vader into the steps early, follows with the ringpost and we're just informed that Vader will be facing the Undertaker at the Rumble. Apparently Bret has been saying we was screwed out of the WWF Championship..... this really is such an apt start to the year isn't it? :D
    
    Stone Cold is backstage and is watching the match.... commercials. Rewind to Shotgun again on the return, Ahmed Johnson with the Pearl River Plunge on the car.
    
    Back live Vader has ten command of this match.... FROG SPLASH... Jesus lol, Vader + Frog Splash are two terms which really should not go together ever. The athleticism and power of Vader were off the chart as was his ability, he could have seriously injured Bret with that but as far as i'm aware, he never hurt anybody except one young man in Germany i believe it was, Mick Foley telling the tale of how he wept when this guys neck was broken and what a gentle giant Vader was.
    
    Few shoot comments from HBK on Bret being no angel on commentary... Bret gets the Knees up on the Vader Bomb. Shawn says it's "The same all the time" as Bret goes into his Five Moves of Doom lol, Austins still watching and doesn't look impressed.
    
    Sid comes out and for no reason at all pulls a cameraman backstage. Austins out now, Stunners Bret. Quite why Sid kidnapped a cameraman isn't clear.
    
    Vader Bomb - one.. two... three, Vader wins. Good match while it lasted, bit of a clusterfuck ending, could seriously have gone on longer if the show hadn't had that tag match or so many recaps.
    
    Backstage we get answers, Sid is strangling Jose Lothario's son. Shawn dashes backstage (wearing pants), Joses son is powerbombed on a very unrigged table. Commercial Break.
    
    Back again and Aldo Montoya (complete with jockstrap on his face) is making up the numbers in a small crowd, HBK tending to Pete Lothario. And thats all, thats your show.
    
    Overall.. a mixed bag. There's signs os what the show will become with HBK/Sid and Mankind but also the old wrestlecrap of the mid-90s like the fake Razor and Diesel. Some of the booking was shocking such as that tag match which i'm sure turned off a huge number, there were also too many recaps for my liking. The star power in some cases, like with Austin, no Undertaker either, was slightly wasted but that maybe understandable considering the one hour format. Over all i can't however give this opening Raw of 1997 anything more than 5 out of 10.
    
    Stay tuned this weekend and i'll review the next episode which i believe is the last one before the Royal Rumble 1997.

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  • 8 months ago
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• The Founding Fathers

  • From: VWWE
  • Description:

    I was reminded by Tone earlier that today marks the 7th anniversary or the first ever edition of VWWE (or VWWF as it was then) Raw, you can read whats left of the show here:

    Tony then said that there are only 3 survivors of that show still in VWWE... so lets now take a look back at what became of the VWWE Founding Fathers

    Nightmare: Nightmare went on the become a VWWE Hall of Famer and icon, winning a record 8 WWE Titles, being a member of the nWo, the Horseman and Kliq. He is an icon of the game.

    The Nick Show: Didn't do anything more in the game and really has no claim to fame.

    Edge: The original Edge went on to be a star on SmackDown following the brand split, winning four WWE Tag Team Titles with Mick as Christian and winning two Intercontinental Championships. The character will make a splash in 2009 in ECW.

    Reaper: Reaper was one of the first "indy characters" and while finding leittle success in VWWE, he had success elsewhere, notably XIW

    Phoenix: A life long enhancement talent Phoenix was another with little claim to fame other than a never ending feud with Blizzard and Angel. In 2008 his character was retconned in the VWWF Retro Fed and controlled by Nath.

    Manny: Vanished from the business but made a little impact in FWC's Crusierweight Division i believe

    Ultimate Warrior: His one and only VWWE appearance lol

    Stevie Dragon: Famous as VWWE's first ever member, this Welshman may get into the Hall of Fame one day for that alone. Hey... Vince's driver got in. One and only appearance.
    
    Banshee: One of the original members of VWWFs four man board with Jon the pervert, Tony and Mick she became one of the most controversial figures in history and regarded as a threat to VWWE's security. Her relationship to Jon has been questioned and some suspect she may have been a work.
    

    Mallory: My own then GF, i press ganged her into joining lol, the name was taken from the film Natural Born Killers and the couple Mickey and Mallory. Went onto success as Lita before we broke up.

    Rogue: The story of Fi is well known. Going on to become VWWE Womens Champion and later James Steele, Fi left in 2007 after an incident with FWC. She now lives with Mike aka Goldberg.

    Venus: One of the biggest womens stars of the era, Venus will probably be retconned into being Venus Vulu at some point lol. A far bigger star in FWC and elsewhere however, she never really got over with the VWWE crowd.
    
    Randy Savage: Seen as a potential headline act for years to come, Marty or the ginger tosser as he called himself had a major falling out with VWWE in late 2002 following the "WWWF Incident" as it's generally refereed to. Became a Bruno Sammartino like figure, bitter about what happened. He returned only once - to object to his inclusion in the HOF. A tosser indeed.

    nWoKane: Despite his objections that he did, this man later went on to play Booker T and become KOTR 2002 and United States Champion. Seen as a major breakout start for later that year and 2003, he unfortunately vanished. Was a tennis prodigy who played in national youth tournaments and for i know, may very well have been Andy Murrey lol
    
    Rob Van Dam: Irish Rob went on to be World and WWE Champion. He is a Guinness delivery man and makes sporabic appearances in the chat and VWWE. Also winning Intercontinental and tag gold in VWWE and having success in many other feds of the era, he is a Hall of Famer.

    Sandman: Gary went on to major success in FWC, becoming FWC Champion before making the switch to VWWE and taking up the mantle of William Regal. He is now VWWE Chief of Staff.

    Pimp: Became on of the most beloved superstars in VWWE history and one of VWWEs only Asian members. His debauched evenings of weed and women set the tone for the whole of VWWE. Becoming the greatest hardcore champion ever, he also won tag gold and a HOF spot. His legacy will forever live on.

    Steve Austin: Tone went on to be the face of VWWE for a generation. Main eventing three WrestleManias, having the Icion vs Icon match, leading the Monday Night Wars and becoming a great friend. Tone was the centerpiece of VWWE for the attitude era. Tony MAY be haaving one last match at WrestleMania 25... watch this space.
    
    Triple H: Possibly the most eventful career in history. Will was always the insurgent in the midst, ready to attempt to seize power at any moment and comically failing. As Triple H he main evented the first WrestleMania but never rose to that height again thanks to his backstage attitude. He took over the WWWF E-fed and absurdly allowed VWWE on board while VWWE made him 49 percent owner of VWWE, a meaningless gesture. He was involve in scandal after scandal and generally became to be considered as the plaything of the Kliq. Made numerous comebacks an attempts to takeover or subvert VWWE till finally just leaving. The characters was taken over by Mark who finally led him to the WWE Title in 2007. In 2009 he will return under a new controller on the ECW brand.

    Angel and Janus: Both men went on to be life long jobbers in VWWE, though Angel did carve out a short lived career in the indies of the day. He is also responsible for the worst VWWE angle of all time - Mr America, being the "fake" Mr America to Sam's "real" one.

    Craig Gilbert: Seen as a sort of Paul Ellering figure, he did little after VWWE's first month and vanish as quickly as his nWd charges.

    Unforgiven and Forsaken (New World Disorder): Made more famous by Morten than they ever were as themselves, the nWd were the Road Warriors of March 2002. They did little and vanished quickly. The were resurrected in 2008 by Morten and have had a little backstory added to them. Quite random.
    
    Nitro: Debate rages over whether Kyle was black or not. Originally conceived as being white, he was retconned into being VWWE's (and WWE's) first ever African-American champion in 2007. He went on to be World and as mentioned, WWE Champion. Many in hindsight consider him the 2nd worst VWWE Champion of all timebut he never lost his sense of his own self importance. Formed TNA in 2002 and has rarely been seen since then.

    Paz: God knows what became of him lol, i really have nothing to offer here. Did nothing, ever.

    Kane: Danny was an icon of the business in 2002 and was what Neal is to VWWE now. Beloved and popular, he could promo, write and was great in the chat. Winning four WWE Titles at that time was a stunning achievement and he is rightfully one of our first Hall of Famers. One of the biggest ever losses to VWWE. The character of Kane of course lives on in the excellently capable hands of Stu, one of the few members i know can carry on Dannys legacy.
    
    Chris Jericho: I dont remember much of the original Jericho besides the fact he was Intercontinental Champion and a star in FWC as well. He vanished in mid-2002.

    Ringmaster: Formerly Physio in WWW, Ringmaster cursed himself with his character that was never going to survive next to Steve Austin. An intelligent and popular member however, he was good friends with SA and Banshee and from what was gathered at the time had a falling out with them and was done away with. Not seen since then.

    HBK: Well this is me obviously, you don't need me to tell you what happened... well... OK then. HBK went on to win 5 world titles and have some of the greatest matches ever. Mick went on to win the Monday Wars and make VWWE the biggest and greatest name in all E-Feds. You know the deal :)

    SA: Became managements right ahnd man in 2002. A schemer, he always looked for ways to consolidate his own power. AFter trying to seiaze power in E-Feds in 2003, the relationship changed and faced terminal mektdown a year later afetr one famous argument. Jon's once glorious career became akin to that of the Warrior.

  • Blog post
  • 8 months ago
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• Ross Report: March 2, 2009

  • From: VWWE
  • Description:

    Good evening once again folks, I'm Jim Ross welcoming you to the first edition of the reinstated Ross Report, now finding it's home right here on the WWE Universe. It's been a long time since i had this privilege so i maybe a little rusty but ya can be sure I've got a lot ta say.
    
    Of course we're coming right off the back of that amazing Royal rumble Pay-Per-view, a lot has been said and i don't believe there's much new insight an old Sooner like myself can add but my thanks and congratulations go out to all the performers on that show. The WWE roster did one of the best jobs I've seen in 30 years of putting on an entertaining show from start to finish. To my mind there really wasn't a bad thing on this show and in todays business, that's a rarity. It was an honor an a privilege to be at ringside to call the action over four epic hours.
    
    With the Royal Rumble over we're truly on that fabled road to WrestleMania but there's on last junction before that event, that being No Way Out. From what I've heard from a friend of a friend on the grapevine... this could be even better than  the Rumble. That's not pride talking, that's just a stone cold fact.
    
    Talking of stone cold, the latest news I'm hearing from Texas is that Steve has certainly expressed interest in working one last match in Houston at WrestleMania, don't be surprised when this one happens.
    
    Of all the surprises last night, Assassin was one of the shocking. While our fans may not like his change in attitude, Randy Orton can only be of benefit to this young Superstar and i wouldn't be surprised if Legacy does for him what Evolution did for Randy Orton and Batista.
    
    Ryan Simmons maybe a little sore this morning but it could have been a whole lot worse. After seeing that tragic injury to Steve Austin and being told first hand by Sabu and Hayabusa of their own, i know that careers can often be cut short or decided in seconds. Ryan is a very lucky man and by the look of his lady friend, in more ways that one.
     
    The Suffering incident really doesn't need me to say a whole lot more on it, nor would i even if it did. This heinous act deserves no publicity from either yours truly or WWE. Michael Shane was and is the most talented wrestler inWWE, his personality may rile but his passion, humor and love of this business won his a hell of a lot of friends and admirers amongst the locker room and our fans, a fact shown live. Sufferings actions will be remembered for a long time to come.
    
    Is there anybody better in this business right now than Randy Orton? and the scary fact folks is that Randy is not yet even 30. Shocked he will main event three WrestleManias in a row? donm't be, by the time he's done it could be 13.
    
    Random thoughts from under the black Resistol hat...
    
    AKM is as good now as he's ever be and may ever will be, thats not an understatement.
    
    Is the carer of Jeff Hardy over? only a fool would count out the man who's already made more comebacks in his career than FWC.
    
    Sources in the entertainment business are rumored to believe that WWE are looking to have U2 play WrestleMania in homage to the 18th edition of that great event 7 years ago. I wouldn't know about that but with Mickey Rourke looking like he maybe in attendance, i know the Boss may just very well have a song to play as well and i don't mean Mr McMahon.
    
    How great was it to see Primal back to his best form?
    
    And to see Shawn Michaels back in a WWE ring?
    
    Just how far can Cody Rhodes go? from what i can see, he can go as far as it appears he can.
    
    One thing i would very much like to add to the Ross report next week would be a Q&A section, if any of you great fans out there in the WWE Universe have a question for old JR, drop me a line and i'll make sure i answer it in next weeks edition.

     

    But for now, so long folks

    J.R. (Boomer Sooner!)

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  • 8 months ago
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• The Dane and I

  • From: JeffHardy
  • Description:

    Well folks I thought today to be a fine day for me to start we weekly VWWE Universe blog, like Mick's this will be in-character, out of character, kayfabe, non-kayfabe and a whole bunch of other things.

    This week I will be providing an in-character non-kayfabe blog (as Jeff Hardy) speaking about one of the dudes on the undercard or one of the youngins', the idea being to investigate this character and their controller and put them over a wee bit. This week I was thinking of focusing on a character that has proven himself many times in VWWE, Primal.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    So people, I was approached this week by Vince McMahon and informed of this new VWWE.com creation, something about a VWWE Universe. I've been asked to give all of you WWE fans a weekly blog feature, giving my thoughts on the WWE, the roster, the backstage gossip and even produce some of my poetry for you all to read.

    This week I'm going to focus on my opponent at the Royal Rumble this coming Sunday and (though it may surprise some of you) a personal friend of mine, Morten AKA: Primal. I first got to know Primal after my return to the WWE and subsequent rise to stardom after Wrestlemania last year.

    This dude is quite the opposite of the character he plays on TV, Morten is one of the most genuine guys in the locker room and one of the few dudes I'd trust with my life. I won't lie though, a few of his bacon rants nearly ended in fisticuffs with a certain "New Generation (Vegetarian) Nature Boy".

    Following my Intercontinental Title victory I was immediately thrown into a program with Morten, me a punk kid who had just returned from a less than perfect hiatus with the WWE against one of the WWE's elite up and comers, a guy with a future, Primal. Going into our feud I didn't know what to expect but Mort always gave me sound advise, guidance and a helping hand when it came to learning how to operate properly in the WWE, how to be one of the "guys".

    I couldn't sing Morten's praises enough but our feud, at the time, was regarded as one of the highlights of Raw that spanned all the way through the win that made me, The King of The Ring, and the win that kept me on the level of "future star", my win over Primal at Summerslam. I'll always be eternally gratefull towards Primal for putting me over all of the times he did, he made me at the expense of his own career but thankfully (and finally) his career is not only on the rise once more, but looks to be heading towards new heights and levels we've not seen Morten compete at before.

    This mixture of attitude, size and strength have made Primal more than any generic big man, his "love/hate" tandem with Ryan Simmons is something that has been an interest of mine on Raw and has kept the pair excited and motivated more than I've seen either of them in a while which can only be seen as a blessing for our WWE fans. Look for both of these guys to leave their mark on the WWE leading into Wrestlemania 25 and look for Primal/Hardy III to blow our previous encounters completely out of the water.

    All in all, Morten's passion, drive and humor truely have made him not only a beloved figure in the locker room but have helped him to once again begin his ascension straight to the top of the WWE. There truely is no stopping the Danish Destroyer.

  • Blog post
  • 9 months ago
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• The Golden Age of Wrestling

  • From: VWWE
  • Description:

    I guess to open i should really say what this blog type column thing will be all about. Simply this will be my weekly thoughts on anything and everything, usually VWWE.

    Sometimes i'll speak as Michael Shane... usually you'll hear what i really think... though is there a difference? the Michael Shane you see on TV is simply an exaggerated form of the Michael Shane you see in the street. I expect it will at times be controversial, you wont agree with some things i say and frankly, it will be littered with Paramore references with the occasional Coldplay one.

    There will be a big Bollywood dance number at the end of next weeks as well.

    So... here we go, number one. Or maybe more if we count the archive of the Mick is Blog thing i did some years ago

    As for the name, after thinking of going with the boring "Mick is Blog", "The Dirt Sheet" that really doesn't feel right or the unlikely "My Bloggy Wog" i'm still undecided what to call it so for now, this column is simply "The unamed blog"

    
    
    I've often spoken on WWE as having had a golden age, a great era when everything was perfect, when the crap smelled of roses and the birds sang in the trees. The sun shin.... well, you get the picture. I've often stated that i believe 2002 - 2003 to have been the golden age of this business. An attitude style era never to be repeated.
    
    
    Then Rhyno said something in his news piece that got me actually thinking about that statement. He said he wanted to bring back "glory days"
    
    Now enough has been said on that news piece over the past few days and I'm not going to speak any more on that in particular, this is not an attack on that
    
    But were those glory days so glorious at all? and would we REALLY want them back.
    
    The feeling amongst the older members iof the roster si - yes, of course and my gut reaction would also be yes... but when i think longer and harder, that yes slowly becomes a no.
    
    This attitude era was marked by the Monday Night Wars, when we all formed a comradeship under the heat of battle. It truly was a war every minute of every day during this period, you couldn't leave the chat because you never knew what would happen if you turned your back. Friendships were formed and we had the excitement of battle. This business was new to us and many of us were nowhere near being as smart wrestling wise as we are now - things were let go, angles and characters, situations and moments that would never happen now.
    
    But for all the excitement, was it any good?
    
    A resounding no.
    
    In comparison, the shows of 2002 - 2003, and 2002 in particular are very poorly written and booked. They are a booking disaster. Characters that had no business in the elite company of the day won titles while some some members put themselves over endlessly. Absurd matches like Mr Hogans input via SA were broadcast and characterization was poor. The booking came straight out of Vince Russos playbook - heel turns, face turns, screwjobs, the works.
    
    And we were the best of the bunch.
    
    The nearest rival FWC was poorer written with absurd characters such as Plinny and AWO fighting it out while we saw dozens of women inside HIAC and Rhyno putting himself over. And below that it got worse and worse and worse.
    
    You couldn't trust anybody, despite the comradeship, you were always looking over your shoulder to see if SA, Hogan or Austin would be next to stab you in the back, to see what FWC was plotting this week, to see who planned to defect. It sounds absurd now.. then it was second nature. It wasn't till AFTER this period that those friendships in many cases actually became cemented.
    
    Would we want to go back to a time when we were servants to tagtag and mywap? when their slightest hiccup put us offline for days?
    
    In 2009, we have evolved.
    
    In retrospect, and i can admit this, i have been wrong in looking back through rose tinted glasses. It's insulting to compare and era that gave us Hollywood Nitro and Suppz Monkey to an era when the likes of John Cena, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton give us such amazing promos every week, when we see a WrestleMania like last year, when young talent such as Sergio Griffon and Assassin are coming through the ranks and when our shows are constantly booked to the highest standard of excellence.
     
    We have our problems...
    
    But when those shows are broadcast.. they blow you away. When that chat is full, its still the most entertaining chatroom you will possibly find. The website is a masterful piece of work, our writing is of the highest quality anywhere on the internet and so is our roster. And for all we joke about some members talents, i'm in no doubt that this roster is the finest we've ever had. We stand as friends, undivided by the paranoia or betrayals of a Monday Night War, we stand as a professional company that rose from the ashes of the old company in 2005.
    
    We do not need to see a retiurn to "glory days" because we're living in them right now, no longer in the shadow of what came before in a different era and a bygone age.
    
    Long may they continue.
  • Blog post
  • 9 months ago
  • Views: 79