I've Got THEME Music

There's this guy I happen to know. You may have heard of him. He goes by the name BrewGuy here and other places around the Net. Well, besides being one of my personal favorite PPV recappers on the Net, he also happens to be a very musically talented individual. BrewGuy makes these short little instrumental songs that he calls his Musical Mark-Outs. Brew has made Musical Mark-out for a number of wrestlers and friends. Out of sheer kindness he has created a mark-out for me (Who Betta?). It's called, appropriately DrinkingBeersandMarkingOut. Click on the name to listen and then go to www.brewguy.freeservers.com to check out the rest of his AWESOME work. BrewGuy now holds the distinction of being the most AWESOME Canuck I know this side of Wolverine (and Llakor and maybe that cfgb fella). But anyway, I'm rambling. Let's get on with this week's thoughts.

Welcome to another ten minutes inside my brain. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Or not.

And I Should buy WrestleMania BECAUSE...?

So, let me get this straight (forgive me as I tend to be Type A): Vince has brought the nWo to the WWF so that they can destroy Flair and the rest of the WWF. Enter Hogan, Hall and Nash. Big guys. Big stars. Boy, they sure are gonna kick some WWF ass, I thought.

So, what happened?!?

I'll tell you what happened (or rather, what has happened thus far): Hogan, Hall and Nash have shown up on TV. They have insulted the Rock and StoneCold. They have cowered in fear of Austin. They have tripled-teamed and injured both stars. And then, they have gotten their asses handed to them by one or both men on consecutive TV shows.

Does anyone else see a problem with this picture?

In order for the nWo and their feud to be taken seriously, they need to make an MAJOR impact. The need to be seen a credible threat to the WWF and it's Superstars. Most wrestlers' credibility is built through convincing wins and hard-fought loses. For a feud to make big money by attracting lots of fan interest, the challenging wrestlers have to be seen as a credible threat to the existing stars. The booking and writing of the show must plant the seed of reasonable doubt in the viewer's mind that their hero (or the villain, if that's who you cheer for) might not be able to vanquish his or her opponent.

Hogan, Nash and Hall haven't done any of that yet. In fact, they've done just the opposite. They have been established as older, aging mega-stars who can sure bully the hell out of a few Main Event wrestlers when they have a surprise advantage, but when they don't, boy do they get their asses whupped.

To wit: It has been firmly established that both the Rock and/or Stonecold can beat the nWo all by themselves. Why then, should I fork over $49 for two or three one-on-one matches involving the nWo and either the Rock or Austin when I already know that the faces can beat any combination of the heel faction that is thrown at them.

There is NO reasonable doubt. The nWo are not credible threats at this point. Oh, I'm sure the bookers will somehow have Rocky and Stonecold lose their tag match this Monday on RAW, but I think it's all just a little too late. The damage has already been done. Who out there thinks going into WrestleMania that the WWF is in any danger whatsoever from these three clowns?

I certainly don't.

Do you?

This is a disturbing trend that has been permeating thorough WWF television for a while now. The Main Event stars are only credibly threatening to each other. And no one else. It didn't work with the purchase of WCW. It didn't work with the InVasion. And it probably won't work for this angle either. Just think of all the talent that has debuted on WWF television over the past year or so and how many of them have been taken seriously? Booker? Nope. Lance Storm? Nah.

So, why should I care about Austin's latest match with Booker on RAW or Storm's filler match with RVD. I already know the outcome. The WWF writing team has trained me that these guys are NOT credible threats and that I should have NO reasonable doubt of a victory where their matches are concerned. The Heroes need to lose in order for the villains to be taken seriously. There is no other way around it. Here, with the nWo-Rock-Austin angle, the heroes have already won. Rock and Austin are better than the nWo.

So tell me again why I should purchase WrestleMania?

............

I thought so.

Send feedback and hatemail to drinkingbeersandmarkingout@yahoo.com

Until next time: Be a fan. Drink a few. Mark Out. Have no shame.

I'm out.

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[slash] wrestling