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Alex Chan

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REMEMBERING THE NWO

How are you guys all doing? Once again, the invitation is still out there for those of you who know wrestlers or people affiliated with wrestlers who would like a radio interview. I am desperate to get any wrestler on my morning show. Just send me an e-mail and we'll set something up.

Thanks for all the replies on Booker T. I was surprised that a lot of people including one of the writers agreed that Booker does in fact suck. However, I must say that I was too strong in my criticism of Booker. He doesn't suck. He is a great tag-team wrestler, and was built for the midcard. There is no way he should be the WCW world champion, or competing in any main event. Flair, Goldberg, Sting, Nash, Hall, Hogan, BPP, and Jarrett are all guys more entertaining than Booker T. I am troubled by the fact that I received an e-mail accusing me of racism. Just because Booker is an African-American doesn't exclude him from criticism. Keep in mind that I am an Asian-American and I am laughing along with the rest of you when Taka and Tajiri speak.

When the whole idea of the invasion started, everybody proclaimed that this angle would easily defeat the NWO as the greatest angle ever. I don't think those same people realize how special that angle was. Let's remember that there have been some good Raws with the WECW invasion, but let's remember the bad Raws. There are boring chants whenever a WCW wrestler steps on WWF soil. They have done an awful job building up these guys. If Booker T. is the top guy, who is he? Is he a bad-ass mofo? Who are Shawn O' Haire and Palumbo? Are they guys obssessed with their bodies? The only guy with an actual character right now is DDP. They have done an horrendous job introducing these guys to the audience. The theme music to WCW has also surprised me. The music sucks!!!! I thought that the WWF would improve WCW in the terms of theme music, but instead, it has done nothing for the wrestlers. The Invasion has too many people the WWF fan has never seen, or for that fact, the ECW guys. The usual suspects remain free agents: Flair, Goldberg, Sting, Nash, Hall, Hogan, BPP, and Jarrett.

My final point I want to bring up is that we have forgot the brilliance of the NWO angle. While the WWF has had bad moments with the WCW invasionn, there were no bad moments to the beginning of the new world order. Seeing Hall on a WCW television was very surreal. He wasn't represeting the WWF. He was representing the rebel cause, something truly different. When he introduced Nash, the WCW crowd ate it up. Them powerbombing the WCW president, Bischoff, was something that had yet to be seen. Seeing Hogan turning heel was one of the coolest sights this industry has ever seen. A man who was a hero to many growing up, a man who represented American values, was joining up with the two hated monsters. Hogan broke everybody's hearts, as he played the heel role to perfection for six months. That moment with fans tossing trash in the ring represented the rise of WCW. One angle turned a company that had never been anything but shit, into the #1 company in the world. This angle brought Dennis Rodman, Karl Malone, Jay Leno, and countless publicity into our sport. People in high school talked about the New World Order.

Other great moments was on that fateful Labor Day. Seeing the Giant, the last hope for the WCW, all of a sudden turn on everybody and join the bad guys was a great move. Everything was so original at the beginning. Nash and Hall bringing baseball bats, and cleaning the ring. The WCW fans waited in anticipation for when Hall and Nash would show up. Nowadays, WWF fans want the WCW guys off their tv. Just sit back a moment, and remember how well executed that angle was run. The NWO was so a masterpiece for six months. It rejuvanted the careers of Roddy Piper, and brought us a hero called Goldberg. This Invasion angle has us scratching our heads. Nash and Hall will not be remembered for being lazy asses; they will be remembered as the guys who took WCW to #1, the Outsiders, the men who created the single greatest angle in wrestling history. I will remember Bischoff as a man who helped start this too. Their legacies will forever be cemented in wrestling history.

What does the WWF need to succeed now with the invasion? They might can it or they might go on with it. All I know is that it's not the greatest angle ever. In my opinion, screw WCW and ECW and WECW. The WWF should have been invaded by the NWO in the first place. Nash and Hall should have showed up drunk like skunks and wrecked havoc. Shawn Michaels should have been the Hogan. And you know what, the NWO would have done wonders for Jeff Hardy's career. How cool would it have been for Nash to toss Jeff Hardy into a trailer. The WCW and ECW invasion will cost the WWF around 50 million. Goldberg costs 2.5 million. The NWO : priceless.

Alex Chan
The Great One

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