By "Net.cop" Scott Keith

Since I used to do this for the old Rantsylvania, and people liked it, here's my own little update for RS.com to satiate my followers.

First of all, the fallout from Heroes of Wrestling continues, but since I'm an egomaniac, we'll just cover the fallout that deals with ME. First piece of business:  Was the show, in the words of the Simpson's unnamed comic book guy, THE WORST EPISODE EVER?  Yes and no.  Yes, it was egregriously horrible, but it's not like it was being promoted as a great wrestling exhibition to begin with.  It was being promoted as a bunch of old guys getting together again for a one night show - - but it just happened to go horribly, horribly wrong.  For sheer waste of talent and blowing of expectations, there's still very little that can touch WCW's Bash 91 and it's bastard offspring, Fall Brawl 98, both of which were Ric Flair protest shows.  I almost have to give the edge to Fall Brawl 98 at this point for managing to do what even four years of bungling by Hulk Hogan couldn't do:  Kill the Wargames dead.   However, Bash 91 always has to have that sentimental spot as the #1 Worst Show Ever, just on general principles.  And just GIVING it to some upstart bunch of goofs like Fosstone Productions without making them earn that spot with a series of bad shows (like ECW did leading up to WrestlePalooza -- you'll notice I went VERY easy on them for the first year of PPVs) would be giving them credit I don't think they deserve.

On the upside, one of the people (who shall remain un-named) involved in the production of the show contacted me about my rant on the show, and would like my input as to what changes to make for the NEXT show, should the buyrate warrant a second one.  I wouldn't advice anyone to go holding their breath on that one.  The official Netcop Buyrate Prediction currently stands at 0.1.  And falling faster than a WCW show. But rest assured that if a second one DOES go through, chances are that it will be Netcop Approved (tm).  Of course, if it sucks, you didn't hear that from me.

Speaking of WCW, the traditional Concept Rants will continue for the next two weeks on WrestleLine leading up to Halloween Havoc, although the 89, 90, 91, 92, 95, 97 and 98 shows are already up here on Rantsylvania for your reading pleasure. Since the advent of digital cable (which I actually like a lot), I've had to PAY for pay-per-view, so the former cable-stealing group has split into two factions: CMA-Hollywood (ECW & WCW shows at my house) and CMA-Wolfpac (WWF shows at Rahim's house).  As a result, that means I now have to pay for WCW shows every month, so HAVOC BETTER NOT SUCK. Anyway, expect Retro Rants for 1993, 1994 & 1996 to complete the set sometime this week.  Being a money- grubbing capitalist who needs a DVD drive for his computer, I'll probably post them here first and make you view our ads rather than Wrestleline's, but no promises.

By the way, rest assured there's no clickery involved in Flycast.  It goes by number of hits, not who clicks, so in fact I encourage you NOT to click on the ads, just because we have ATTITUDE here at RS.com and all that.   Sure, the catchphrase sucks, but it's not like it's the stupidest thing I've ever been associated with on the 'net.

No ratings yet this week due to Columbus Day (or as we call it up here, "Thanksgiving"), but ECW did a whopping 0.9 after hotshotting two PPV matches and a, ahem, gripping Sytch interview.  Anyone wanna bet we get Super Crazy v. Tajiri again next week and the rating drops to 0.7?  I guess getting EXTREME means not breaking 1.0 in the Neilsons or something.

For those who keep bugging me for RSPW FAQ updates, I'm actually giving it up in the near future, probably to either CRZ or a panel of people. I just don't have time to continue updating and posting it on a regular enough basis.

Hype Central:  A new, exclusive column will be up on MarkMadden.com as soon as the webmaster posts it.  It's a random thoughts column, but I make some darn fine points in there, so it'll well worth reading.

Speaking of well worth reading, in a little over or under two weeks (well, okay, when I finish it.) y'all will be blessed by the Revelation Rant, which is sort of part three of my ongoing little saga.  The subject shall remain a secret for now, but a major hint was dropped on the nWWWo messageboard last night, and smart cookies should be able to figure it out for themselves.

I still haven't watched the Stampede tape from this week, so no rant there yet.  It may still come yet, who knows.

Recommended listening:  Mark Madden's 5 minute heart- attack inducing rant against Hulk Hogan on WCW Live Monday night after Nitro.   I nearly stood up and applauded when he was done, and you may safely fill me in as "DITTO!" for everything he said in that span.

Finally, a reminder to fill out Rantsylvania's demographics survey, because more participation from YOU means more money for ME, and we all know that I'm the centre of your universe, right?  Besides, I REALLY want that DVD player.

Until next week, keep smiling...

- "Netcop" Scott Keith