Austin=nwo's bitch

[Guest Army Eye]

The only problem that I see is the NWO beating Austin is completely unrealistic (based on in ring ability alone) and ironic (seeing as Austin single handedly destroyed the NWO via the ratings circa 1998)

Unrealistic?  Well.. I doubt they'd be winning cleanly.  Even in WCW, except for the Outsiders beating some jobber tag teams clean, the nWo just about always cheated like crazy to win.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

I'm aware, but in order for this to happen, you have to use the SLOW build (and no, I don't mean HHH's moveset). Have the nWo kick some serious BUTT in the midcard level (and maybe attack some main eventers every now and then) and keep doing it until finally Austin, Rock, HHH and the rest have had enough. By then, it should be Summerslam time.

I agree that a slow build is needed, although i would say that the way the nWo is currently being built up it is much slower than anything we have seen recently in the wwf.  Also you jump to the conclusion that austin, hhh and rock would be willing to run to the defence of the wwf midcard.  this goes totally against their characters, as they have been shown to be very self serving, and not at all concerned with others.

 

Also, the fans wont treat the nWo as a threat if they are attacking midcarders, and unless the 3 aforementioned main eventers undergo some major character development, there will be an even larger logic gap then usual if they spring to the defence of the midcard.  Also, this would make the nWo appear very weak, as the fans would get the perception that they are afraid to take on the main eventers, and would this not view them as a true threat to the very existence of the company

[Guest MixxMaster]

Also, the fans wont treat the nWo as a threat if they are attacking midcarders, and unless the 3 aforementioned main eventers undergo some major character development, there will be an even larger logic gap then usual if they spring to the defence of the midcard.  Also, this would make the nWo appear very weak, as the fans would get the perception that they are afraid to take on the main eventers, and would this not view them as a true threat to the very existence of the company

Exactly, I feel that Austin WILL be the FIRST wrestler to take a nWo beatdown in the ring.  He is Ric Flair's boy, although, a midcarder, or maybe Flair himself, if the ratings don't jump,  will probably be the first backstage casualty(get ready for spray-painted bodies!)....

[Guest Loss4Words]

Some also forget that the NWO buildup in WCW back in '96 was VERY slow. Having a major storyline development on every show will cause the group to run out of steam fast. There were gazillions of Nitros where the NWO did nothing except hang out in the parking lot. But they had people picketing through the crowd and had the announcers so worked up that you never knew when something was going to happen.

 

THAT motif should be what the WWF is shooting for. The NWO is not a stable like the Four Horsemen, they are a group of thugs out to destroy a wrestling company by any means necessary. They need to create an atmosphere where the fans are looking over their shoulders never knowing who's going to come out and they need to create an atmosphere where guys like Austin show some vulnerability instead of steamrolling over everyone like he has for the past five years.

 

I actually think Austin v NWO is the most intriguing route they can take, and the main reason is that Austin never gets beat up and the NWO never got beat up. Who wins the battle of wills here? It may compromise their images, but if Austin and the Rock SELL for the NWO, not just landing back for a punch, but act just a tad concerned, then this angle has a chance of working.

 

I have little to no faith in the name value leading to drawing power of Hogan, Hall and Nash since none of them have drawn a dime in close to four years, so this angle is going to have to be carefully executed and the storytelling is going to have to be strong for this to work.

 

And here's hoping it's blown off by Survivor Series and that the WWF can then switch their focus to something that has nothing to do with the NWO in any way, form or fashion. It's time for a change and hopefully, them restarting the group isn't a sign that the WWF is creatively bankrupt.

 

It amazes me that no one has been able to move past the NWO. Yeah, through the end of 1996, the angle was brilliant, but it was in 1996 and this is 2002. There are new stars on top (except for Hogan, who won't GO AWAY ALREADY) and the atmosphere preceding the angle is totally different than it was in 1996 in WCW before the NWO started. I just hope that they can use this bought time (bought at a very expensive price, by the way) to come up with something new and different that we've never seen before and go with it. Otherwise, wrestling has hit the wall and from here on out, it's going the way of Nick and Nite and we're in for reruns. Pray I'm wrong, but that's what I fear.

[Guest Big Poppa Popick]

random unknown beatdowns start tonite

 

2/4/02

 

cause I am a living legend

 

 

the former ssg1

[Guest Blackston]

The WWF should put on one of their patented Kane Raw's when they bring the nWo in.  Back in the day, when they were pushing Kane to be a giant badass, they would have him interfere in every match, regardless who was fighting.  This gave him the opportunity to squash all sorts of midcarders, and he got mega-over as a result of that.  The nWo is not going to need to squash mid-carders to get over with the crowds, but in order to come across as a cancer to the average fan, this would be the easiest way for them to do so.

[Guest goodhelmet]

I think Blackston is right when he says that if they're serious about the NWO, then they need to squash people left and right. Unfortunately, I've seen this done ad nauseum and have no desire to see it again. Hell, they don't commit enough time to mid-card matches as it is amd now we have to see even more screwjob endings? This is gonna suck.

[Guest Army Eye]

Some also forget that the NWO buildup in WCW back in '96 was VERY slow. Having a major storyline development on every show will cause the group to run out of steam fast. There were gazillions of Nitros where the NWO did nothing except hang out in the parking lot. But they had people picketing through the crowd and had the announcers so worked up that you never knew when something was going to happen.

You hit on an important point here:  How the commentators sell the angle.  

 

One of the dozens of reasons we can point to for the failure of the Alliance angle was this very thing.  First you had the nWo, where Schiavone did a good job of acting intimidated, and fearful of his job, and then there was Heenan who basically feared for his life and would run for the hills whenever the nWo came near.

 

On the other hand, whenever an Alliance wrestler was in the ring, J.R. would all but tell us that the guy was dog shit and wasn't worthy of licking a WWF wrestler's boots.  

 

So far Ross, Lawler, Cole, they are all putting the nWo over as a pretty serious threat, this is what they need to keep doing.

[Guest Loss4Words]

Exactly. Say what you want about Tony Schiavone now, but he did an incredible job in 1996 getting the group over. In some ways, his fall from his grace was NOT his fault since he was used and abused by Eric Bischoff. When Bischoff left the booth, Schiavone was the one left behind to say all of those stupid Bischoffy things about the WWF. It ended up ruining him.

[Guest Banky]

Another person who really got the nWo angle over was Bobby Heanan.  I was a useless little mark back in 96, and it added to the authenticity of the angle how The Brain (A notorious weasel, con artist, heelish charachter) would always leave the announcers table heading for higher ground.  The realism that such a highly repetuble heel like Heenan was scared of this group made it seem scary for everyone else around