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I apologise for not publishing this before last night's RAW...who knew? - CRZ

WCW vs. nWo... AGAIN?

This is the first wrestling column I've ever written... and it's kind of a gimmicky column, that is a take on Nick Bakay's tale of the tape... so you don't have to e-mail me and let me know that I'm ripping him off. I know that already, and I'm damn proud of it. So, here it is... a brief comparison between the WCW Invasion and the nWo Invasion of 1996.

  nWo Invasion WCW Invasion Advantage
Key Invaders Hall & Nash Booker T & Buff Bagwell nWo.  I think Hall & Oates could have put on a better frist match for the new WCW
Memorable Quote "Damn you, Hogan!  Damn you straight to hell!" "Hey, we're sorry for what you're about to see..." Apologizing for the upcoming programming?  And you wonder why we're apathetic?  nWo
Holy Sh*t Moment Hogan's the 3rd member!?!?! Arn Anderson's still alive!?!?! nWo
Seems like they never end: The revisions of the original... Stacey Kiebler's legs. Oohhh... WCW, baby.
Things that make you scratch your head and wonder... "How did WCW blow this?" "They're invading who?  What?  But they're wrestling eachother..." Push.  I don't think I need to explain why.
You just wish it would die... The angle, after the 15th time it was reheated and served to us on the same plate. Buff Bagwell It's a "pick your poison" situation here... do you want to be cracked on the knuckles with a ruler, repeatedly, or stabbed in the eye, repeatedly?  Gimme the ruler.  nWo.
Embarrassing bi-product. "Fake Diesel" and "Fake Razor" in the WWF. "Fake Goldberg" and "Fake Flair" coming soon. nWo.  At least THAT jumpstarted Kane's career.
Too big: The faction itself. Vince's ego nWo.  Let us love it, Vince.  Let us love it.  We want to.  Let us.
Heels or faces? The biggest heels in the history of the industry. Well, the crowd boos them... that must make them heels... right?  But, there's Vince, who is a heel... and he's anti-WCW... and Shane... the crowd likes Shane, but, he is the WCW Owner... and the crowd likes Booker, but not DDP... I have no damn clue! nWo.  Clarity is a great thing.
Potential defectors: Everybody, at some point or another. Test. So far the WWF is 1 for 1 in storylines that center on Test... but I guarantee that this will make them 1 for 2.  nWo.
It could be better, if: Hogan died 2 months after his heel turn, when his usefulness had ended. Hall and Nash were still around. What a sad, sad statement.  nWo.
Where Hogan fits in: A key component. Starting a new company. Push.  There are NO winners when The Orange Goblin is involved.
Where Hogan's Heroes fits in: Nowhere... but a funny sitcom, nonetheless. Nowhere... but a funny sitcom, nonetheless. Push.  Everyone wins in sitcoms about the Holocaust.
Where it fits in, in the long run: Possibly the greatest angle in wrestling history. Can you say XFL? nWo.

 

So, by the overwhelming margin of 10-1, with 3 pushes, the nWo angle has it ALL over the new WCW Invasion angle. To say that the WCW Invasion is destined to be a flop of proportions as grand as the XFL is both unfair, and untrue. Nothing will ever flop that hard again. But, without big names... your average WWF Fans aren't going to mark out. It might be buy-out time for 'Berg, or Nash, if only to open some eyes. Flair, meanwhile, sits idly by, knowing damn well he could potentially be the savior, but Vince doesn't want him because he won't wrestle again. Well, Vince is a very confused man. Maybe he's just not willing to realize that Flair is one of the biggest draws in wrestling history. Maybe Vince just doesn't want to admit that all this time, the WCW has had the big man... the ace in the hole... Vince needs to swallow some pride, and give The Nature Boy what he wants. The WCW Invasion will go down like (insert any vulgar analogy here), unless some major changes are made. And, Vince... come on... we WANT to like it... we really, really do. Don't try to convince us to hate it, because we will, man. I realize that you must stay in character...but that creative team can find some way to find the happy medium. There's some way to promote WCW, while still being against it. Maybe that can be in the divorce settlement. If any WWF star makes a negative comment regarding WCW, he will be fined by WWFE, and vice-versa.

To the WWF, I suggest this: learn from the nWo invasion angle... emulate the good stuff... alter the bad stuff. Ya take the good, ya take the bad, ya take 'em both and there you have, the way to make this angle work. So, that's my take... and I'm gone.

Rick Robinson
freelance

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