Yeah, the PPVs are where all the feuds come to their conclusion. The best matches are usually on the PPVs as well as the craziest stunts. However Monday Nights always sum it all up and do a pretty good job of communicating to the audience what happened so that they're not left in the dark simply because they didn't buy the PPV. Because of that, and the fact that I'm discussing more of the story-telling side of wrestling as well as some of the more "behind the kayfabe" issues rather than giving an actual review I rarely find that anything has happened that requires me to see the PPV in order to understand.
Survivor Series was an exception, and usually it is too I find throughout it's history. In fact this year was really quite a disappointing year for me as far as Survivor Series was concerned. Aside from the crowd cheering on The Rock and how they played that into Cena's character development there was very little of importance this year. Perhaps, if Cena really is finally turning heel, (and I don't see how he can NOT be at this point) this SS will have a bit more importance in retrospect, but all in all... kind of a bleh PPV.
In 1997 however nothing could be further from the case. The Screw Job was the central point of a lot of the story telling afterwards, not just in the WWF either, but in WCW too. So, I usually will watch the pay-per-view if, while watching the following Monday Night Raw I feel as though I really missed out on something, or if something really big happened that requires me to witness it first hand. Besides that I've seen all the big PPVs during this time, and I've seen most of them again over the years since, so it's not like I've never seen them. It was Raw that I really skimmed on the first time around.
At this point in time in the WWF, I can say that Austin WOULD be a bit over rated, if it weren't for the fact that he was only the intercontinental champion. I find it really amazing that he was THIS over, the most over in the company for certain, especially now that Bret Hart is gone, and he's only the mid-card champion. I'm truly impressed with that... but then again, at this point in time I was already on the Goldberg bandwagon, and he didn't have the championship yet and he was by far the biggest draw for me in WCW. His little 5 minutes of fame each Monday night was far more interesting to me than anything else that was happening in pro-wrestling. By this time I was already rooting for him to get a shot at Hulk Hogan because I knew Goldberg would crush Hollywood.
For me, the Monday Night Wars were always about ONLY Austin vs Goldberg. I loved the nWo, I loved who showed up there, I loved the storylines, and I loved the Flock too, as well as a number of other things that were going on in WCW. But Goldberg, he was just unreal. I've said it before. Austin was a badass in that he was tough, and I loved what he had to say, but Goldberg was the flipside of that coin. Goldberg was a badass because he was an unstoppable weapon, and he didn't waste words talking trash, he just f**ked you up.
Austin had great charisma in the ring and on the mic. Goldberg had every bit as much charisma as Austin, but Goldberg was 80% in the ring where he shined like no one else, and 20% on the mic where he wasn't bad, but he wasn't that good either. He didn't need to be either, as long as he got the job done and didn't shoot himself in the foot like the noob he was then it was a win for him, because no one compared to Goldberg's charisma in the ring, not Hogan, not Warrior, not Rock, not Austin... maybe Andre...
Andre was pretty damned scarey when he got in the ring and decided to show it, and he had the presence that only Goldberg and Undertaker have had too. Andre is actually a pretty good comparison to Goldberg really, I mean how many years was Andre unbeaten? And it was believable with him because no one in their right mind would believe someone could be Andre... Well, that's how it was with Goldberg too. All you had to do was watch Goldberg, and you knew he was unf**kingtouchable.
The Undertaker is another good example of a man who is far more charismatic in the ring than on the mic. Undertaker is really good on the mic, but not like he is in the ring. Watching him in the ring you can't help but be in awe of the guy, especially when he first debuted and was feuding with Warrior, Roberts, Kamala, Yokozuna, etc. WCW calling Bill Goldberg the phenom of the WCW was a good call, because in a lot of ways Goldberg had that same in-ring charisma and gave you that feeling like no one could beat him, regardless of match outcomes.
Austin though at this point in time Austin was understandably the top dog in the WWF, and as the Intercontinental Champion it had everyone chomping at the bit for when he was going to get elevated to the place he deserved to be, much like CM Punk prior to Money in the Bank this past year.
Even better is now that Survivor Series is over, The Rock begins his rise to dominance. First by calling himself The Rock instead of Rocky Maivia, and then stealing Austin's IC belt from him.
Mick Foley is on a roll still, and in all honesty I can't understand why he's not already the WWF champion. As Dude Love he was hilarious with his "Sweet Shin Music" finisher and whatnot, and then as Mankind he was creepy, awesome, and scary. Still haven't seen Cactus Jack, but he's been mentioned a few times.
Poor Ahmed Johnson is stuck in a rut now. He's finally feuding with other people... or trying to, but he can't get over anymore. He seems to have just lost his "it" factor that he had previously.
LOD seem like they're starting to slip some now too. It's amazing how a poorly booked feud that's drawn out too long (in LOD's case it's with the Godwins) just ruins both parties.
Farooq has gotten stale and boring as well. It's a good thing The Rock is there because he's got pretty much ALL the heat for the NOD these days.
Goldust is just plain disgusting now. I kinda marked out a bit when I saw Luna Vachon, but who am I kidding? It's not like she's going to wrestle Chyna. And aside from that I've no reason to care about that heinous b**ch. She's a great character, but too far ahead of her time. I'd kill to see her in today's Diva's division, but we all know that can't happen, and even if she were still alive she'd be too old now. But Goldust? Bleh, I couldn't care less.
DX is definitely interesting on the mic, but they are as annoying as hell too. Rick Rude quit in protest to the Screw Job, and they replaced him with Handsome Harvey (Wimpleman) and then after Harvey did Rudes bit of "What I'd like to have right now..." they literally tossed him aside, and said "Well that spot wasn't hard to replace." That's fine with me. Rude was better than them anyways. He was the coolest part about the DX gimmick, so far at least.
Shawn is still fighting the crowd vehemently with their "Shawn is gay" and "******" chants while he's wrestling. During one of the promos he was cutting in the ring with DX, a "******" chant broke out and he turned to kiss HHH right on the mouth.
I remember watching with some interest when Sgt. Slaughter challenged HHH to a match. Now, it seems completely stupid of me to think that Slaughter would win that match, but back then I was loving it and I couldn't wait to see Slaughter wipe the floor with that maggot.
I'm almost positive now that I'm going to end up liking HHH a whole hell of a lot once DX is fully under his control. I've always loved to hate Shawn Michaels as a heel, but man, during his original DX days he just doesn't cut it for me anymore. HHH on the other hand, who I've always hated, seems really pretty cool. I wouldn't say I was a fan just yet, but I like him pretty well.
The New Age Outlaws (I'm not even sure if they're being called that yet, I kinda think they're not) are kinda... weird. They're sort of an anomaly. They're very DXish, that's for sure, and that makes them very cutting edge, but the way they run from everything like cowards is very throwback heel-ish. I don't like Road Dogs entrances yet... I remember that at some point in time I did like them, but this wasn't that time.
Kane is certainly the coolest new thing in the WWF though. He's got the edge that Undertaker never had. Without him doing much of anything but just doing a run-in to squash whoever's there, there's not much else too him. But I can't wait for him to meet Taker in the ring.
Survivor Series was an exception, and usually it is too I find throughout it's history. In fact this year was really quite a disappointing year for me as far as Survivor Series was concerned. Aside from the crowd cheering on The Rock and how they played that into Cena's character development there was very little of importance this year. Perhaps, if Cena really is finally turning heel, (and I don't see how he can NOT be at this point) this SS will have a bit more importance in retrospect, but all in all... kind of a bleh PPV.
In 1997 however nothing could be further from the case. The Screw Job was the central point of a lot of the story telling afterwards, not just in the WWF either, but in WCW too. So, I usually will watch the pay-per-view if, while watching the following Monday Night Raw I feel as though I really missed out on something, or if something really big happened that requires me to witness it first hand. Besides that I've seen all the big PPVs during this time, and I've seen most of them again over the years since, so it's not like I've never seen them. It was Raw that I really skimmed on the first time around.
At this point in time in the WWF, I can say that Austin WOULD be a bit over rated, if it weren't for the fact that he was only the intercontinental champion. I find it really amazing that he was THIS over, the most over in the company for certain, especially now that Bret Hart is gone, and he's only the mid-card champion. I'm truly impressed with that... but then again, at this point in time I was already on the Goldberg bandwagon, and he didn't have the championship yet and he was by far the biggest draw for me in WCW. His little 5 minutes of fame each Monday night was far more interesting to me than anything else that was happening in pro-wrestling. By this time I was already rooting for him to get a shot at Hulk Hogan because I knew Goldberg would crush Hollywood.
For me, the Monday Night Wars were always about ONLY Austin vs Goldberg. I loved the nWo, I loved who showed up there, I loved the storylines, and I loved the Flock too, as well as a number of other things that were going on in WCW. But Goldberg, he was just unreal. I've said it before. Austin was a badass in that he was tough, and I loved what he had to say, but Goldberg was the flipside of that coin. Goldberg was a badass because he was an unstoppable weapon, and he didn't waste words talking trash, he just f**ked you up.
Austin had great charisma in the ring and on the mic. Goldberg had every bit as much charisma as Austin, but Goldberg was 80% in the ring where he shined like no one else, and 20% on the mic where he wasn't bad, but he wasn't that good either. He didn't need to be either, as long as he got the job done and didn't shoot himself in the foot like the noob he was then it was a win for him, because no one compared to Goldberg's charisma in the ring, not Hogan, not Warrior, not Rock, not Austin... maybe Andre...
Andre was pretty damned scarey when he got in the ring and decided to show it, and he had the presence that only Goldberg and Undertaker have had too. Andre is actually a pretty good comparison to Goldberg really, I mean how many years was Andre unbeaten? And it was believable with him because no one in their right mind would believe someone could be Andre... Well, that's how it was with Goldberg too. All you had to do was watch Goldberg, and you knew he was unf**kingtouchable.
The Undertaker is another good example of a man who is far more charismatic in the ring than on the mic. Undertaker is really good on the mic, but not like he is in the ring. Watching him in the ring you can't help but be in awe of the guy, especially when he first debuted and was feuding with Warrior, Roberts, Kamala, Yokozuna, etc. WCW calling Bill Goldberg the phenom of the WCW was a good call, because in a lot of ways Goldberg had that same in-ring charisma and gave you that feeling like no one could beat him, regardless of match outcomes.
Austin though at this point in time Austin was understandably the top dog in the WWF, and as the Intercontinental Champion it had everyone chomping at the bit for when he was going to get elevated to the place he deserved to be, much like CM Punk prior to Money in the Bank this past year.
Even better is now that Survivor Series is over, The Rock begins his rise to dominance. First by calling himself The Rock instead of Rocky Maivia, and then stealing Austin's IC belt from him.
Mick Foley is on a roll still, and in all honesty I can't understand why he's not already the WWF champion. As Dude Love he was hilarious with his "Sweet Shin Music" finisher and whatnot, and then as Mankind he was creepy, awesome, and scary. Still haven't seen Cactus Jack, but he's been mentioned a few times.
Poor Ahmed Johnson is stuck in a rut now. He's finally feuding with other people... or trying to, but he can't get over anymore. He seems to have just lost his "it" factor that he had previously.
LOD seem like they're starting to slip some now too. It's amazing how a poorly booked feud that's drawn out too long (in LOD's case it's with the Godwins) just ruins both parties.
Farooq has gotten stale and boring as well. It's a good thing The Rock is there because he's got pretty much ALL the heat for the NOD these days.
Goldust is just plain disgusting now. I kinda marked out a bit when I saw Luna Vachon, but who am I kidding? It's not like she's going to wrestle Chyna. And aside from that I've no reason to care about that heinous b**ch. She's a great character, but too far ahead of her time. I'd kill to see her in today's Diva's division, but we all know that can't happen, and even if she were still alive she'd be too old now. But Goldust? Bleh, I couldn't care less.
DX is definitely interesting on the mic, but they are as annoying as hell too. Rick Rude quit in protest to the Screw Job, and they replaced him with Handsome Harvey (Wimpleman) and then after Harvey did Rudes bit of "What I'd like to have right now..." they literally tossed him aside, and said "Well that spot wasn't hard to replace." That's fine with me. Rude was better than them anyways. He was the coolest part about the DX gimmick, so far at least.
Shawn is still fighting the crowd vehemently with their "Shawn is gay" and "******" chants while he's wrestling. During one of the promos he was cutting in the ring with DX, a "******" chant broke out and he turned to kiss HHH right on the mouth.
I remember watching with some interest when Sgt. Slaughter challenged HHH to a match. Now, it seems completely stupid of me to think that Slaughter would win that match, but back then I was loving it and I couldn't wait to see Slaughter wipe the floor with that maggot.
I'm almost positive now that I'm going to end up liking HHH a whole hell of a lot once DX is fully under his control. I've always loved to hate Shawn Michaels as a heel, but man, during his original DX days he just doesn't cut it for me anymore. HHH on the other hand, who I've always hated, seems really pretty cool. I wouldn't say I was a fan just yet, but I like him pretty well.
The New Age Outlaws (I'm not even sure if they're being called that yet, I kinda think they're not) are kinda... weird. They're sort of an anomaly. They're very DXish, that's for sure, and that makes them very cutting edge, but the way they run from everything like cowards is very throwback heel-ish. I don't like Road Dogs entrances yet... I remember that at some point in time I did like them, but this wasn't that time.
Kane is certainly the coolest new thing in the WWF though. He's got the edge that Undertaker never had. Without him doing much of anything but just doing a run-in to squash whoever's there, there's not much else too him. But I can't wait for him to meet Taker in the ring.
