by Bob Morris

First things first…since I happen to be a big fan of their stuff as well, be sure to head on over to visits www.theshooters.net and check out one of the not-as-well-known yet definitely a quality site for the finest in wrestling columnists who aren't on Rantsylvania. A lot of must-read material for your reading pleasure.

And now time for something else for you reading pleasure, and that's the latest words from me about the wonderful world of pro wrestling.

First of all, I know Scott Keith hasn't gotten around to doing his first Retro Rant of 1993 King of the Ring, so I'll just shamelessly plug my review of that show, which is archived right here on this very site. One thing to note: I was generous in the star rating for Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, which is actually closer to **. I stand by everything else as I rated it, though.

As for your 2000 King of the Ring, Lord knows the reason to watch the PPV (not that I order PPVs anyway, but that's another issue) isn't gonna be the main event or the Hardcore title match that's rumored to be an evening gown match for who knows what reason. But I will avoid ranting about how those matches are guaranteed to suck and talk about what will make the PPV worth ordering, and that's your eight-man KOTR tournament.

The only thing I really ask that the WWF not do is make Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho the opening match, because that, right there, will give away who is going over as the tourney winner. Keep the people guessing by running the other three matches first. But at any rate, the winner of Angle/Jericho is pretty much guaranteed to go over as the tourney winner…unless, of course, WWF decides to swerve us all and book a draw between the two, in which case I'll be worried about the WWF booking the wrong guy to win it all.

Actually, the only member of the eight who would be the wrong choice is Bull Buchanan, because he is the guy the fans care the least about. Sure, he's an OK wrestler and agile for a big man, but because he's not over and the fans have seen no reason to care about the guy, putting him over as the KOTR winner would be only exceeded in stupidity by whoever had the idea of letting Mabel win the thing in 1995. Remember, the KOTR winner should be somebody who is already over and you want to build further, and not somebody who isn't over.

OK, so HHH turned out to do just fine after his 1997 win, but the crowd was pretty deflated at that point, given that Ahmed Johnson was the crowd favorite at the time. But actually, given the fact that things turned out well for HHH and not so well for Ahmed, I can forgive the WWF for that…hell, I can even compliment them for seeing something that I and many other wrestling fans at the time didn't see in who had the brighter future.

Speaking of HHH, I know everyone is getting giddy about a possible HHH/Angle feud in the making, but keep in mind that the WWF has just dropped a few subtle hints about it, so I doubt they'll be jumping into it so quickly. And also remember there have been a few subtle hints about HHH and Jericho getting even more heat between them, so the WWF still has that feud to play around with.

In fact, there's one feud that really never was settled that is still looming on the horizon, and that's HHH vs. Steve Austin. You know Vince McMahon will still see dollar signs all over that feud, especially given the fact Austin and HHH have had just one singles match for the World title between them. I suspect Vince will want to play that feud out for a bit before any HHH face turn, or before any rumored Austin heel turn.

And don't forget that the heels went over strongly at Judgment Day, meaning it's not likely you'll see the heels go over like that at KOTR. I suspect either the six-man tag or KOTR will see a face go over, with the heel going over in the other, so I wouldn't bet on HHH/Angle being the next big feud after Fully Loaded.

Sure, it will happen down the road, but the real question to ask is if Vince sees so much potential in the feud, he'll build for it as a draw at Wrestlemania 2001 on top of whoever it is fighting for the World title (and somehow I suspect he's looking at Austin vs. Rock for that match). After all, the WWF has gotta find as many ways as possible to fill up the Astrodome.

Shifting the focus to WCW, may I just say that if Vince Russo isn't happy with how things are in WCW, he can just stay at home. Hey, I'll give him credit for his mic work and taking a stand against Lex Luger, but his booking continues to stick out like a hundred sore thumbs, and given that the booking is supposed to be his number one priority and he sucks at it, he'd be well advised to either adjust or get the hell out.

This past week alone, we got to see some glimpses of just what some of the WCW wrestlers could turn out to be…I mean, who knew Sean Stasiak and Chuck Palumbo had personalities? How come we didn't see that Ernest Miller is a better choice for the "evil boss" role than either Russo or Eric Bischoff earlier? And didn't we ever realize just how much we really missed 3Count? Not to mention the fact that the Booker T we all know and love is ready to raise the roof again. I know it's just one week, but given that so many positive signs popped up in WCW just from one week of Terry Taylor and company, I think we have more than enough reason to believe that WCW will be on the right track if they just allow Taylor and the others to continue having this input.

And if WCW is smart, they will sign Johnny Ace PRONTO and put him, Fit Finlay, and Arn Anderson together to book match endings. What has always made the WWF so special is that Pat Patterson is one of the best in the business when it comes to visualizing how a match is going to end, so WCW having somebody in place who knows how to book match endings would be an important step in getting back into the race.

The entire wrestling fanbase should keep its fingers crossed that the Taylor regime, with Johnny Ace as the chief agent determine finishes, continues to stay in charge of WCW, because given that Booker T vs. Kanyon is a lock for Bash at the Beach, WCW may be blessed with its first **** match of the year. And just think how much more we would get for our money in July if a 3Count/Jung Dragons match, or a Chavo/Juvy match for the cruiserweight title, or Kidman against any talented, motivated worker were also placed onto the card.

Sure, matches like Goldberg/Nash and Kronic/Perfect Event aren't going to be classics any time soon, but at least one could tolerate below average matches if there are first-rate matches to accompany them. Besides, at least you'd have yourself a match with a solid ending, even if the workers are Shane Douglas and Buff Bagwell, since Johnny Ace is known for being one of the better guys at booking finishes.

Hey, there might even be a reason for me to get excited about Nitro every week, and thus make the wrestling world more interesting again. Because in my opinion, despite a few bright spots showing up, the wrestling scene has been getting stale, and the lack of an interesting, competitive race between WCW and WWF seems to be a reason why. Competition is good for the business, so if WCW gets back on track, that just may spark some new life into the wrestling world, and keep the boom going.

And I think that'll do it for another installment of "Weekly" Wrap-Up, so until next time, remember that I don't have a catchy closing catchphrase.