Page 101 - Phoenix2000-01

Thursday, March 1, 200 I - Page 13 A student gives his View: The fond farewell to extreme wrestling high expectations. because the in the midst of a mid-life crisis? are flawed Some It is hard enough high expectations create a situation quarterback to come for a into where pressure builds to such a fe- league and make an impact, . Michael Jenkinson looks Both of these guys are small, ver pitch that the player tries too like Andre Ware, Danny Wuerffel at the demise of the ECW but not small or comical enough to hard to succeed, and thus fails. and Gino Torrena have discov- and the legacy it leaves be like Crash Holly or Kaientai to In other situations, Ithink that ered. be the funny small guys who can- Extreme Championship Wres- not win a real match. the hype plays into athlete's vun- Ware came into the league tling, which has existed for six Tazz is one of the best examples ity, causing them to be overconfi- with huge expectations. If things correctly. out panned dent. Detroit years, will soon be closing shop. of ECW shorties not making the The perfect example of this would have been building a dy- While this information is not yet grade. Jeff Grever discusses the would be Ryan Leaf. While he did nasty around BaITY Sanders and official, the signs are all there. Tazz was one of the biggest causes of the Heisman not win the Heisman trophy, he has Ware. A large portion of their talent stars in ECW history, but his small has already left to join the greener stature has reduced him to third- curse and iI'S effects had to endure the same pressure Instead, Sanders was success- pastures of other organizations string announcer duty and very Have you ever heard of the and media attention usually that face. the ful while taking hand-offs from an Heisman winners such as the WWF and WCW. The little wrestling. Hersman curse? Well if you And in my opinion, Leaf is one of unstable trio consisting of Eric company is no longer touring for Neither Lynn or Tajiri are as haven't, then you probably don't the most conceited players in the Kramer, Rodney Peete and Ware. house shows, and they only have talented or entertaining as Tazz. watch SportsCenter very often league. The few players that can Wuerffel may still have a one pay-per-view date left on the However, they are both talented in- during the football season. make it big through all of this hype chance of being successful in the slate. ring workers, so they may have a For many a football fall. look- are usually the ones who are NFL, but not for the Saints. Now ECW has always been the third career working house shows and that Aaron Brooks, a mid-round a list of past Hcisman league, and never big and strong appearing in occasional matches, ing through winners provides a rno- humble to begin with. draft choice out of Virginia has Trophy enough {O battle with the WWF and but this won't last longer than a menr ofnosralgfa. Tennessee running back Eddie shown that he has true NFL poise. WCW for supremacy in the United year or so. The names that appear on one George is one of the few recent And Gino Torrena? WeiLl States. Justin Credible has a slim lists were all very famous Heisman winners to break the not even sure what happened They did have a very strong, chance to really make it. Credible or another. Do you curse, and really make a name for him after a promising career die-hard following, however. The does have some personality, but it guys like Gino Torretta, himself in the NFL. to Florida Miami. The point is mat no ['lOY'" I is a sure thing in today's So what will happen organization, which was once isjust minimal. Salaam. and Desmond State quarterback Chris Weinke That is one reason why T based almost exclusively in Phila- Credible does have one advan- after this year? Wit! he even be understand how owners can delphia began to travel the country tage that none of the other ECW are all guys whose pro- drafted? in the past few years. rookies have. Connections. Cred- football careers have He is approaching 30 years old, However, ECW has a1ways ible has already served one tour of cursed by the Heisman Tro- been number three.iso why should duty with WWF a few years back For one reason or another, it and besides if you ask me, he wasn't close to being the anywhere mainstream \Zrestling fans care? under the guise of Aida Montoya. for Heisman Trophy win- football in college The majority of WWF fans have Sohe knows some of the higher ups have the same success in best quarterback Drew Brees. Michael this season, never watched an ECW event on in the organization. Even more 80 Jackson is one of the Vick, and Josh Heupel are the three television, nor have they ever been important is the fact that he is close to an ECW event live. (Something personal friends with WWF stars quarterbaCks that stand out in my mind when 1 think about this past 'personally would recommend for X-Pac and Triple H. Wrestlers tend all wrestling fans). ~_ to have a lot of backstage power. The problem lies in the fact that, And having two established stars besides losing a fun, capable wres- on your side certainly will help. tJing show for die-hard wrestling He will last longer than Lynn fans, ECW will no longer be and Tajiri. He may even have a around to supply the other leagues shot at winning the interccntinen- with future stars. tal title one day if the cards fall into Many of the most talented stars place for him. However, it is in the wrestling world today have doubtful that he will win the world roots in ECW. title or main event at any pay-per- Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, view events. Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Unlike his fellow ECW gradu- Shane Douglas, Tazz, Raven, Mike ates, Rhino might just have the Awesome, Lance Storm, Bam Bam tools to do it all. He has enough BigaIow, The Dudley Boyz, and size, and is mean enough in de- Mick Foley have -all spent a por- meanor to be.a serious "bad guy" tion of their career in the ECW or in the WWF. Furthermore.he is "Eee, See, Dub," as dedicated fans very young, 23 iii fact. call it. It seems like a shame that His personality will need some this flow of talent will no longer polishing, but the ·WWF has the Winston Cup Championship. end- exist. ability to turn someone who News Editor ing his tie of 7 championships that what his wife and four children are The ECW does leave one final seemed boring in another organi- There are afew rare people that feeling. And it is with this thought Petty. personally that I would legacy for the fans of the major zation and turn them into stars. Just I have in the past perceived as in- he shares with Richard Sunday, Feb- press my condolences. like to ex- That all changed leagues, the WWF fans in particu- ask Eddie Guerrero and Steven vincible-you know, a person who lar. (William) Regal. has approached any obstacle set in ruary 19 during the last lap of the Racing will not be the same That is because four men have They both had sputtering ca- their path and has overcome such first race of the 2001 NASCAR because it has lost a driver that has season Winston when just left ECW to sign contracts with reers in the WCW before they went a barrier with little or no physical Earnhardt's Cup Series #3 Chevrolet been referred to as the "Michael black Jordan of his sport." Even people theWWF. to the WWF and became refresh- or mental injury. Monte Carlo crashed into the wall who were not racing fans new of Yosiro Tajiri, Rhino, Jerry ing new stars. . Illustrious. Intimidator. Invin- Lynn, and Justin Credible can be Right now, Rhino is more tal- cible ... between toms 3 and 4 of the 2.5 his prominence considered the final graduating ented than either Guerrero or Re- That was the Dale Earnhardt I mile track. This was not what was sup- class of ECW wrestling. How will gal did in the WCw. went looking for with my dad each At 5: 16 prn, Earnhardt was pro- posed to happen. He was supposed this class fare in the WWF? The end of the ECW is certainly summer since I was IO-years-old nounced dead at Halifax Hospital. to win his 8th championship and I don't think that Lynn or Tajiri a sad event for all wrestling fans. Almost instantly, people began retire in 2005 and watch his son have much of a future in the WWF. Even for those who barely knew it at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylva- questioning the safety of racing. become another racing hero. My nia. On one OCcasion, my dad was speculation to con- They will see some TV time when existed. able to meet him and shake his There was had the HANS that (Head if dad and I were supposed ventures to tinue our two summer Earnhardt they first arrive. Lets just hope that the ECW hand. and Neck Support) device, he Pocono Raceway to talk to "our This will excite old ECW fans, alum who are still wrestling in the At the end of last season, Dale." so Vince McMahon will placate WWF and WCW can carry on the Earnhardt had said during an ESPN would still be alive. Off the record, buddy He was supposed to remain in- lncredu- I find this to be slightly them by putting them in the spot- torch and help us remember the interview that although 2000 had lous. vincible, after all he is the illustri- light for a few months, but they glory days of the little number three been a good year, 2001 would be a I had not known Earnhardt per- ous "Intimidator!" God Bless you won't last long. league. better one-he would get that 8th sonally. But I can only imagine Dale.