Guest AllState Report post Posted September 2, 2002 This column is being written purely out of boredom. Most likely, writing about wrestling is just a phase of mine and I will be back to video games in a few days. That said, here goes a mediocre column. These days all the internet fans are discussing the downfall of the WWF/E. As a change of pace I thought I would discuss briefly the positive aspects of today's product. I figure that maybe by pointing out what we have left worth watching, maybe we can all justify our need to argue what is wrong with the product. I guess the brand extension is as good a place to start as any. As far as I am concerned, the roster split has not been as big a failure as most think. In fact, it has actually made me more eager (at times) to tune in and watch RAW and Smackdown. The main reason for this is that you now have to wait a week for development of storylines and the conclusion to cliffhanger angles. A good example of this would be the Shawn Michaels attack angle. Although it was pretty obvious that Triple H would be named the attacker, I was more anxious for closure because it would be a while before you got the answers. Instead of the usual two days (if you read spoilers) it would take an entire week before any furthur developments happened. Bringing in Stephanie and Bischoff as general managers has also been a positive thing. Bischoff has proven that he is effective on the microphone and you really get the feeling that he wants to put on a superior product. The talent raids, while one-sided and overdone, have at least been interesting. The recent development of Stephanie paying off Brock to no-show RAW is probably the best example of an intriguing defection. A high-profile defection also has the ability to bring a waning midcarder back into the spotlight again. So, if the defections can be kept to minimum and explained better we should continue to see interesting backstage segments. Talent wise I think the WWE is doing a great job of getting rookie and fresh talent over. The most shining example being Booker T and Goldust. The comedic chemistry between these two is similar to Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in "Lethal Weapon." Their backstage segments are hilarious and they perform solidly as a tag team is not spectacular. Booker T in the WWE is slightly stereotypical at times but not so much as to be offensive (i.e. The Truth). Goldust has retained a lot of his former homoerotic character but plays more the humorous than the bizarre aspects of it. As far as JRs favorite , the cruiserweights (ha ha), three talents come to mind: Jamie Knoble, Rey Mysterio Jr., and Funaki. As champion, Knoble has displayed solid in-ring work and decent comedic ability. He also has an easy character to identify with in case a face turn is down the road: he won the title because he doesn't want to be poor anymore. In addition, Nidia is very believable as the trailer trash queen. Rey Mysterio Jr. has blended in well in the WWE because of being booked smartly and getting proper build-up before his debut. The last cruiserweight MVP is Funaki. The WWE has taken a once believed finished star and made him even bigger by having him handle backstage interviews of all things. Funaki plays his role of trying to finish interviews even amongst chaos in the locker rooms very well. Two other well-booked newcomers are John Cena and Chris Harvard. And of course always entertaining are Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, and Rob Van Dam. Thats the end of this column as I am very tired and wish to get to sleep before I begin singing Rikishi's praises due to sleep deprivation. Any and all feedback is appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites