The nWo angle walked a tightrope of logic, but successfully so. The invading army forced its way onto WCW TV by winning the tag titles, then used that as leverage. En route, they just jumped in the ring and pummeled people. You could see the issues. They didn’t need explained.
This Hogan & Angle vs. Jarrett & Foley nonsense won’t need a referee. It will need a tour guide and subtitles.
The McMahon vs. Hart silliness won’t be much better. The final resolution of the battle between the WWE owner and the promotion’s greatest champion (just ask him) will feature two old men trying to reignite an issue that has been dormant since 1997. The fraction of fans that congregate online will get it.
Everyone else will have it explained to them – at great length, and in great detail – in a trade of too much TV time for not enough payoff.
These two come off as total marks. McMahon wants to get even for getting socked on the jaw. I can’t fathom what Hart wants. McMahon presided over the death of Bret’s brother, the death of his family’s promotion, the attempted destruction of his legacy – will participating in a fake wrestling angle and cutting some scathing promos come close to settling THAT score? The best, most noble thing Hart ever did was let it go.
That said, I think Bret is a thoroughly decent man. He’s not doing this for the payday. He’s doing it for the reckoning. But what IS the reckoning?
At least TNA sucks. TNA is like a car that loses a demolition derby. Start ‘er up, and ram her into the wall one more time. What’s the difference?
But WWE, while far from compelling, is at least starting to establish a few new stars. What’s it tell fans about Sheamus and Kofi Kingston when their pushes get put on the backburner while WWE television is ABSOLUTELY DOMINATED by the conflict between a 64-year-old and a 52-year-old? Shouldn’t McMahon and Hart at least tour Australia first?
There’s a lot at stake in McMahon’s mind as far as this angle is concerned. I expect it to be done very seriously, and very well. But at what price?
I repeat: This is the best they can come up with? WWE and TNA are reprising a time that led to one of wrestling’s biggest boom periods ever, and the best they can do is THIS?
