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In the Hall of Champions

© Christian R. Bonawandt

With the Invasion in full swing, and a lot of gold being threatened and changing hands, I have been forced to sit down and make sense of it all. The following are my thoughts on the most recent title changes.

Light Heavy Weight Champion: Yoshihiro Tajiri

This is a great move by the WWF, who have held back another Japanese former ECW star and amazing athlete – Taka Michinoku. Yep, for those who didn’t know, Taka is famous in Japan (a champion at the Michinoku School of Wrestling, from which he took his name). Taka was the first ever Light Heavy Weight Champion, but since then has received no push outside of the occasional beating by APA or the Big Show. Until recently, I had sworn that the WWF hated the Japanese (and I still have my concerns). I doubt they will do much to Tajiri beyond this stupid Regal’s-puppet gimmick because of the Buzzsaw’s rock-solid fan base that followed him from ECW.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion: X-Pac

Three words: Useless, useless, useless. Those are my thoughts on X-Pac as ANY sort of champion. I had a hard enough time believing that he could win the Light Heavy Weight from Jeff Hardy, let alone the Cruiserweight title from Billy Kidman. I hope he loses this title to the Buzzsaw at “Summerslam” also and we see Kidman and Tajiri feud. But I think it’s more likely that Pac will just go to the Alliance.

WWF Hardcore Champion: Rob Van Dam/Jeff Hardy

You can tell by not only the crowd’s, but also the wrestlers’ and announcers’ reactions that Mr. Monday Night will be going straight from the Invasion to the WWF’s permanent roster. That alone makes me feel all fizzy inside, but then add his feud with Jeff Hardy and – BAM! Here’s a bit of history: the Hardcore belt was given to Mick Foley as a joke gimmick. But he and The Road Dogg quickly became known for their ourageous actions (Remember the sock full of thumb tacks?), not wrestling manuevers. Foley and The Road Dogg gave the belt recognition by shocking audiences.

Later it fell into the hands of wrestlers like Al Snow and Crash Holly, who again made it joke by incorporating it into silly gimmicks (like Head and, though hilarious, Crash's reign altogether). RVD and Jeff Hardy, however, bring both extreme acts and extreme skill to the Hardcore title. Their match at the Invasion PPV begged to be repeated – now it will be.