This rant, kiddies, is cut into two parts. First of all, I tackle the name change. And second, I rant about the programming.

First of all, I'm not fucking calling it the WWE. Fuck that shit all to fucking hell. I've called the WWF the WWF since 1984 and it shall be the WWF to me until Vince McMahon and his kids implode the business.

Last week, the WWF underwent a name change, one I won't conform to. Vince McMahon, who has made it his policy to brag that the FCC and the Feds couldn't touch him, finally was defeated. And who did the defeating, you may ask? Well, it was the non-profit World Wildlife Federation. There you have it folks: the Teflon Don of the wrestling world jobbed to a panda.

Now being anti-McMahon, I usually cheer for any time Vince is defeated due to the fact that anyone who can one-up him after what he's done to professional wrestling is a good thing. But not this time and I honestly don't blame the World Wildlife Federation. No, I blame Vince for this one because in one drastic move, he changed the air of his business.

The WWF (World Wrestling Federation) is a household name. The name's been around for over twenty years. Many older-school fans have a certain nostalgia for it because they remember Saturday afternoons watching jobber after jobber squashed by the likes of Savage, Steamboat, and Studd on WWF Superstars. When people think of wrestling, they think of the WWF. It sounds strong, proud- a federation built by legends.

Now the WWF has become the WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment. Emphasis on the Entertainment part, which leaves little room for wrestling. Perhaps fitting given the shitfests of today that have Vince, Sr. rolling in his grave, it's a good idea to change the name, given the fact there's been little room for wrestling these past couple years, anyway.

 

First we have the name change. And to ring in the new WWE era, boy have the pulled out all the stops. *end of sarcasm*

I admit- I watched WCW in its death throes before Time-Warner wanted to unload that dead weight (and incur a new dead weight, AOHell- glad I didn't buy stock in that). The angles sucked but I honestly can't remember it being this bad all around. While the main events and angles sucked, at least the underlying cruiserweights could still put on a good show. Nitro pretty much sucked, but I remember Thunder and WCW Saturday Night, shows of the mid-carders, were actually good. And at least if the angles sucked, they could always rely on wrestling, something that was welcomed.

But in WWF-land, it's bad all around. Ratings are down, attendance is down, morale is down- is it no wonder? With the WWF being this bad, I'm surprised things haven't tanked sooner than they are. Main-event feuds and matches that blow a diseased goat. Angles that leave you scratching your head, figuring you have to be smoking the mary jane to find any meaning in them. Hogan walking around with the title and the most pivotal part to his current feud with Stone Cold Mark Calaway has been them fussin' and feudin' over their bikes. And when the audience should be eating it up and sailvating for their PPV match, no one gives a flying fuck. Then you have the bastardiztion between Lenny and Lodi and Two Much walking around with the tag belts for months. Steve Austin -still- won't let up on that "What?" shit. Eddy Guerrero still hasn't dropped the "Latino Heat" gimmick. If you want hokey, friends, you've found it.

I think the main problem that caused this is laziness. I figure after Vince bought out all his competition, he thought they could put anything on the TV and since there were no other alternatives, people will watch anyway. I could see him saying, "Put up a damn test pattern for 30 minutes: they'll watch." So with this lazy way of thinking, the booking crew took an extended vacation and we were left with such gems as Booker/Bagwell main events, Vince McPervert, the Stephanie/HHH saga, and the stalker angle.

And in all of their "The Nielsen's are huge!" glory-basking, they failed to notice the casual fans (who run the biz) slowly leaving until the finance dept. reported a major drop in sales last year. Boy the shit started to hit the fan at that moment. They started blaming everything from 9-11 to the Internet Fans, trying to reflect responsibility for the dropoff. Currently, it's common to see shows at 40-50% capacity and things are so bad, Vince is withholding attendance records from his own workers and the public. Ratings and buyrates have dropped dramatically. Their only major success has been Dwayne Johnson, who is heading towards leaving The Rock behind in the WWF for his budding Hollywood career.

However, the blame should be pointed at no one but themselves. They are responsible for the mess and didn't return from their ego-trip in time to save a train wreck from happening until it was too late. The federation that was known for booking things months, even a year, in advance goes from day to day and booking is best described as "running scared." It's so spotty that what you see in the current WWF magazine or WWF RAW magazine usually doesn't match what's going on, storyline-wise. The WWF says they don't listen to the 'net fans but the minute opposition for a HHH/Taker Backlash main event surfaced at places like RSPW and the Torch, the next night it was switched to HHH/Hogan and they finally decided who to book as the winner the morning of the PPV day. Recent rumors are saying it's confusion backstage as what they should do regarding the situation.

Some are even going as far as saying the WWF has turned into something worse than the WCW in its final days. From some of the news/rumors I've seen, it is there. Egos seem to be running amok and wrestlers are getting the book, making things go their way. Austin sits out over his character direction and angles for 2 weeks. Two days ago, it was reported that Nash and X-Pac threatened to quit based on their angles. If it was my league, I would have told them to make sure the door doesn't him them in the ass on their way out. And it's been said that HHH is taking pleasure in squashing Jericho, easy for him to accomplish due to his relationship with the head booker. The backstage, once known as a harmonious environment, is filling with chaos and uncertain wrestlers who are said to resent the mega-pushes undeserving newcomers have gotten while they fight for a place on the roster. Combine unhappy wrestlers and bad booking and you're dealing with a deadly mixture.

The division of the roster also hasn't ended up being a good thing, either. What I thought would result in a more balanced show, with the guys warming the benches finally getting some time out there has ended up boiling down to the same old shit every week, with the same old wrestlers and recycled feuds. I thought Ric as a honest and fair owner was wonderful but leave it to the bookers to fuck that up. What we have now is Flair v. Austin, something that has already been done to death with Vince v. Austin. That nWo shit just needs to stop and the only bonus to that is the subplot regarding whether Booker should stay loyal to the nWo or should he be with his loyal buddy, Goldust. And out of the whole thing, the only division that has shown some promise is the women's division, run by Dave Finlay, a former pro wrestler.

I do understand wrestling has its booms and busts. When I was a kid, wrestling was the most popular thing out there; by the time I hit my teens, no one gave a shit and when I was in college, people really got into it again. And the bust period is here again but was quickly ushered in in a major way instead of being told to wait at the door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©2002 to Diana. This means it's my intellectual property and isn't to be snitched for your very own or distributed in any form, in part or whole, without my express permission. Got it, chief?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

&n