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"Me and Hulkamaniacs, we're going to fight evil together, brother!" -- Hulk Hogan, on the Jan. 23, 2003 episode of Smackdown
From 1998 until the Invasion fiasco in 2001, WWF/E had their biggest and best reign as top pro-wrestling federation in the world. The reason? They had changed their entire look, feel and format to fit the post-80s mentality of their audience. In the 1980s, bright colors, happy-crappy pop music and happily-ever-after morals were what people were into. Look at the cartoons, the music, the sitcoms. They all had this red-and-yellow, Hulkamania aura. Think of any Mr. T cameo on a show like "Different Strokes" and compare it to his appearances on WWF television. They're identical. That was just how things were then. Today things are different. The music is more gritty, a little more real. In the late 90s McMahon picked up on that, and changed his style. Stone Cold Steve Austin, the beer-drinking, finger-flipping, mostly self-serving bad boy became the hero of decade (quite literally, as WWE gave him an award of the same name at the Slammies, er, uh, Raw X Special). But sometimes things change faster than you realize, which is why Stone Cold no longer has the pull that he used to. What do we watch on TV? "Reality Television." Thus the Tough Enough series, WWE Confidential, and the myriad appearances of wrestlers on talk shows, and in backstage interviews on WWE.com. We all know Kurt Angle isn't really a whiney wuss. He's 6-foot-2 and all muscle. I wouldn't say he sucked to his face. Rumor has it that management in the WWE wants to do away with the reality end of pro-wrestling. They want to bring back kayfabe -- the ancient art of always staying in character around fans. Supposedly, Triple H and others believe that Reality TV is hurting business. They want to go back to the way things were ten years ago . . . when business was in the dumpster and WCW ruled supreme. Don't get me wrong, I like Undertaker. I love Hulk Hogan. But these guys can't do what the Brocks, Mysterios, Edges, Jerichos, RVDs etc. can do. Jeff Hardy is way underused. Even Shannon Moore has more talent than Scott Steiner. Immediately, he may not have as much drawing power. But let's face facts, Steiner's drawing power got used up once he got in the ring on TV. He drew fans, but he couldn't hold them. I'm not sure about Goldberg, but I'm glad to hear he isn't interested in a long-running deal. Hogan's return was wonderful, but his leaving was also well timed. He can't keep up with Angle or Brock. Bringing him back caused a jump in ratings because it was great to see someone you haven't seen in a while. But after some time, you remember why he left. The worst mistake so far was this second return. Sure, they may sell some more copies of Hogan's book, but not if he reverts back to a character 20 years buried. Go To Page: 1 2 |
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