Post by sungod2020 on Jul 24, 2022 17:42:06 GMT -5
So as many of you wrestling historians are aware, 1997 was a transitional period for the World Wrestling Federation. While the New Generation was still pretty much there in early 97, the company was showing some signs of "Attitude", and it became more and more apparent as the year progressed.
Motivated under the threat of competition breathing down their neck(WCW), the WWF was throwing all sorts of shit at the wall to see what stuck. New titles, new TV shows, RAW changing it's set, more profanity and violence, sexuality, actual stables(not manager-centric ones like they had in the past) feuding with one another, darker and edgier characters("Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Mankind, Goldust, Kane). It's surreal now to see New Generation announcer Todd Pettingale and powdered-blue suit Vince McMahon commentating on Sunny's "Fondle Me Elmo" skit.
And while not everything was gold, at least they were willing to get out of their comfort zone and try new things.
This brings me to the ill-fated light heavyweight division. Even as a bias 10 year old wwf mark who had no idea of backstage politics and creative decisions that get greenlighted to air, I knew it was a pathetic attempt to compete with WCW's cruiserweight division, and it couldn't match. It felt like you were watching a different show, and not in a good way.
In fact, weren't the commentators half-ignoring the match at hand, while talking about the angles and storylines that mattered? I think they even discussed what "Stone Cold" Steve Austin had for breakfast that morning or what he was listening to on the radio. That just goes to show how much the company cared about the division.
Throughout the whole year, it was half-assing along the way, culminating with Taka Michinoku defeating Brian "I'm not Jerry's kid" Christopher in the finals to become the inaugural Light Heavyweight champion, and while he was somewhat over, he wasn't presented as a legit star, even though he held it for almost a year(before losing it to a debuting Christian), the man from the land of the rising sun along with the belt got lost in the shuffle.
After Taka won the championship, whatever effort the company had in making it was abandoned, and the belt just existed for the next four years before quietly retiring in early 2002(X-pac being the final holder).
I think the problem is, WWF/E was never meant to have a cruiserweight/light heavyweight division. It has always placed more emphasis on larger than life characters(both in size and in personality), as well as sports entertainment rather than it's in-ring action. The reason why it worked for World Championship Wrestling is because it was more of a wrestling-base product. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just dosen't gel with their style.
Thoughts?
Motivated under the threat of competition breathing down their neck(WCW), the WWF was throwing all sorts of shit at the wall to see what stuck. New titles, new TV shows, RAW changing it's set, more profanity and violence, sexuality, actual stables(not manager-centric ones like they had in the past) feuding with one another, darker and edgier characters("Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Mankind, Goldust, Kane). It's surreal now to see New Generation announcer Todd Pettingale and powdered-blue suit Vince McMahon commentating on Sunny's "Fondle Me Elmo" skit.
And while not everything was gold, at least they were willing to get out of their comfort zone and try new things.
This brings me to the ill-fated light heavyweight division. Even as a bias 10 year old wwf mark who had no idea of backstage politics and creative decisions that get greenlighted to air, I knew it was a pathetic attempt to compete with WCW's cruiserweight division, and it couldn't match. It felt like you were watching a different show, and not in a good way.
In fact, weren't the commentators half-ignoring the match at hand, while talking about the angles and storylines that mattered? I think they even discussed what "Stone Cold" Steve Austin had for breakfast that morning or what he was listening to on the radio. That just goes to show how much the company cared about the division.
Throughout the whole year, it was half-assing along the way, culminating with Taka Michinoku defeating Brian "I'm not Jerry's kid" Christopher in the finals to become the inaugural Light Heavyweight champion, and while he was somewhat over, he wasn't presented as a legit star, even though he held it for almost a year(before losing it to a debuting Christian), the man from the land of the rising sun along with the belt got lost in the shuffle.
After Taka won the championship, whatever effort the company had in making it was abandoned, and the belt just existed for the next four years before quietly retiring in early 2002(X-pac being the final holder).
I think the problem is, WWF/E was never meant to have a cruiserweight/light heavyweight division. It has always placed more emphasis on larger than life characters(both in size and in personality), as well as sports entertainment rather than it's in-ring action. The reason why it worked for World Championship Wrestling is because it was more of a wrestling-base product. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just dosen't gel with their style.
Thoughts?
