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**Mr. Nerfect** · 05-11-2018, 07:34 PM

Some of the matches may have been executed well (Austin vs. Angle from SummerSlam comes to mind), but when your emotional stakes are all warped, it takes away from them. More goes into the match than just the moves. There's the psychology in the ring and the psychology out of it too.

At the time, I had no sentimental attachment to WCW, but it felt...weird. I could tell they weren't doing them justice, and I wasn't stimulated by many of the acts. People liked Van Dam, and I remember being into Rhyno and enjoying Kanyon. I thought the forced heel status of The Alliance made things a bit bullshit, especially since they barely got anything over the WWF. Shane, Booker T and DDP would have made much better babyfaces. Vince and Angle being in that role felt weird. The Undertaker was turgid. Austin was performing great, but it felt like he lost his "special" as a heel. All the heels were chickenshit, save for RVD and Rhyno, and shock, surprise -- they got over.

Personally, I don't think they had the talent for the angle. Austin should have turned babyface on the Raw after Mania, when you knew it was not a good idea (you were losing The Rock and knew you weren't turning Triple H -- who sucks as a face anyway). "You dumb son of a bitch" and a Stunner in the opening segment after Vince gloats about getting Austin on side. Slowly introduce the talent you want to bring in, and phase out some of the mid-card acts you were kind of burning through, and elevate some of your mid-card talent that your audience had an affinity for.

Shane had introduced the idea of owning WCW by WrestleMania X-7, so the one angle I would consider doing is bringing in Booker T with the Big Gold Belt, given that he had it, so why wouldn't he flaunt it. I think he would have been a good ally for Shane to go against Vince & Triple H at SummerSlam, or something. I'd have had Austin hold the WWF Title for most of the year, maybe give a hypothetically healthy Benoit a run at SummerSlam, but get it back onto Austin in time to lose it to Rob Van Dam at Mania X-8. The Big Gold Belt could be used -- and I know people hate the two World Title thing -- as a device to keep Triple H satisfied and busy. He could win it from Booker after several months, then drop it to Benoit at WrestleMania in Toronto, before you build to a unification match at SummerSlam or something. You were also getting some talented high-flyers in (Shane Helms and Billy Kidman, mainly), so I wouldn't have been opposed to Helms bringing in the Cruiserweight Title too, Shane McMahon sanctioning that, and then doing Helms vs. X-Pac and Jerry Lynn vs. Tajiri at some point and having a "cold war" between weight-class champions before that also gets resolved.

But you don't have the heavyweight players, so I don't think a major invasion angle was a good idea.

05-11-2018, 07:34 PM	#31
Mr. Nerfect Posts: 60,919	Some of the matches may have been executed well (Austin vs. Angle from SummerSlam comes to mind), but when your emotional stakes are all warped, it takes away from them. More goes into the match than just the moves. There's the psychology in the ring and the psychology out of it too. At the time, I had no sentimental attachment to WCW, but it felt...weird. I could tell they weren't doing them justice, and I wasn't stimulated by many of the acts. People liked Van Dam, and I remember being into Rhyno and enjoying Kanyon. I thought the forced heel status of The Alliance made things a bit bullshit, especially since they barely got anything over the WWF. Shane, Booker T and DDP would have made much better babyfaces. Vince and Angle being in that role felt weird. The Undertaker was turgid. Austin was performing great, but it felt like he lost his "special" as a heel. All the heels were chickenshit, save for RVD and Rhyno, and shock, surprise -- they got over. Personally, I don't think they had the talent for the angle. Austin should have turned babyface on the Raw after Mania, when you knew it was not a good idea (you were losing The Rock and knew you weren't turning Triple H -- who sucks as a face anyway). "You dumb son of a bitch" and a Stunner in the opening segment after Vince gloats about getting Austin on side. Slowly introduce the talent you want to bring in, and phase out some of the mid-card acts you were kind of burning through, and elevate some of your mid-card talent that your audience had an affinity for. Shane had introduced the idea of owning WCW by WrestleMania X-7, so the one angle I would consider doing is bringing in Booker T with the Big Gold Belt, given that he had it, so why wouldn't he flaunt it. I think he would have been a good ally for Shane to go against Vince & Triple H at SummerSlam, or something. I'd have had Austin hold the WWF Title for most of the year, maybe give a hypothetically healthy Benoit a run at SummerSlam, but get it back onto Austin in time to lose it to Rob Van Dam at Mania X-8. The Big Gold Belt could be used -- and I know people hate the two World Title thing -- as a device to keep Triple H satisfied and busy. He could win it from Booker after several months, then drop it to Benoit at WrestleMania in Toronto, before you build to a unification match at SummerSlam or something. You were also getting some talented high-flyers in (Shane Helms and Billy Kidman, mainly), so I wouldn't have been opposed to Helms bringing in the Cruiserweight Title too, Shane McMahon sanctioning that, and then doing Helms vs. X-Pac and Jerry Lynn vs. Tajiri at some point and having a "cold war" between weight-class champions before that also gets resolved. But you don't have the heavyweight players, so I don't think a major invasion angle was a good idea.