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New Blood Rising
By Bill Adeline
(Wow Magazine Jan 2001)Dick Vitale, college basketballs answer to Mark Madden, would have a fun, though near-impossible time selecting a Diaper Dandy team from the ranks of World Championship wrestling. Where do you start? Better yet, where does the rookie roster end, as WCW is filled with so many sensational youngsters. New blood isn't just a gimmick in WCW.
It starts with "Above Average" Mike Sanders, "Prime Time" Elix Skipper, Johnny "The Bull," Mark Jindrak, and Sean O'Haire. Each is a first year pro: each has already been a champion. Chuck Palumbo, another newcomer has already feuded with "The Total Package" Lex Luger and Kurt Hennig. The Jung Dragons (Kaz Hayashi, Yang and Jamie-san) and 3-Count (Shannon More, Evan Karagias and Shane Helms) have had countless show stopping matches. Kwee Wee is an eccentric, always entertaining character. Sgt. A-WALL is a monster waiting to be unleashed, directed toward gold.
A notch above WCW's rookies is a barely more-experienced group, which includes Lash LeRoux (Corporal Cajun). He's a 23-year-old with a few years experience under his belt, and some WCW superstars joke that he's already a veteran on the over-all roster. Then there's "The Cat" Ernest Miller, who is 35, but carries only three years wrestling experience.
The landscape in WCW is clearly changing. It's a youth movement in Atlanta unlike any previous era at WCW.
Too Much Too Soon?
"It's obvious that there's only one way to go- with the younger guys," said Palumbo. "I think we're all pretty talented guys: we just need to be seasoned a bit more, and then we'll be ok. We can get that experience by working with the older guys, learning from the older guys and getting that ever-important 'rub.'"
Enter Coach Kevin Nash, a five-time world heavyweight champion and five-time tag team champion who has adopted the Bobby Knight approach to guide WCW's Natural Born Thrillers through their neophyte days. And don't think that Nash is being forced to hang with the kids- he wants to, and enjoys the alliance/friendships that he has developed. No Scott Hall means no worries for Kevin Nash. He bonds with the NBTs. In the Ring and out, Coach Nash and his crew are a team.
Jindrak and O'Haire, who combined have less than a year of in-ring experience, won the WCW world tag team title by surviving a battle royal on September 25th, 2000. And they have already wrestled the team of Sting and Booker T, a unique combination of mat veterans.
Sanders, who took the WCW cruiserweight title from Skipper on October 2, 2000, has recently been featured in a high-profile creative clash with fellow commissioner Miller.
But is it too much too soon? Are the green guys getting pushed toward gold too soon?
There's no faster way of learning than being in front of a live crowd, on television, in the ring. It's do-or-die at that point… and most of the guys do," said Palumbo. "I've only been here a short time, but I've heard that our locker room is more fun than it has been in a while. The pressure is toned down and everyone is getting along. It's like I'm living in a dream. We've gone from the PowerPlant to top-notch main-event on Monday Nitro and pay-per-views. Does it get any better than that? Give us time to develop and it will work out."
Generating Young Talent.
WCW's new blood has it roots in the company's official training center, the PowerPlant, now based at its headquarters in Smyrna, GA. Mat veterans Paul Orndorff, Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker, Mike Graham and Mike Werner are PowerPlant professors. The magna cum laude students are Sanders, Skipper and Kwee Wee among others.
The students arrive at PowerPlant with dreams of replacing Hulk Hogan, performing like Goldberg and being respected like Scott Steiner. Over time, that may come.
"For the young guys, it's not just about being part of the company, but rather a case of growing with it. It's like a 50-yard dash. Everyone will race and compete, but the few that excel and literally run away with the race will be the leaders of the future," said Miller. "It's one thing to be in a race and another thing to compete and win. We will get better. The WCW will get better. We will continue to improve. I really like working with the younger guys, because I enjoy encouraging them to do whatever tasks they attempt. We're working toward the same star in the sky- success."
"We need to start developing the younger guys now," added second-generation performer Shawn Stasiak. "That means we should incorporate everyone, old and young. I've been around wrestling my whole life, and I know you have to have a look, talent, character and personality. Also you need the support, or the push as it's called. I believe my time will come, and when it does, I'll be ready for it."
Developing new talent is never an easy task. No one knows for sure who will be accepted and who won't. The fans answer that over time. Take for instance Kwee Wee, who's alter ego is the real world's Alan Funk, a life-long wrestling fan. He is living his dream, working on Monday Nitro and traveling the road with Nash, Goldberg, Steiner and other legends. Will he be the breakthrough sensation of 2005? Will Kwee Wee of all people, a one time wardrobe worker in WCW's storyline be the next Rock? It seems scary now, but quite possible. Or maybe it will be Reno, he of the bizarre hair? Or maybe it will be Skipper, the incredibly athletic primetime player?
"I think all of us have what it takes, barring attitudes from certain individuals," said Kwee Wee. "I think we're going in the right direction. Knowing each other helps in the ring. We used to be a pretty tight group, having trained together for two years. We all experienced the same growing pains along the way."
Balancing Exposure and Experience
Will the mega-push translate into mega-contracts and mega-attitude? And how does the younger cast get along with the veterans? "Paying your dues" can be a very touchy subject in wrestling.
"This has always been a dream of mine, so I definitely respect all of the veterans," said Kwee Wee. I don't think some of the (younger) guys realize the opportunity they are being given. When you're in a match alongside guys like Nash, Sting and Booker T, some of the younger guys don't seem to appreciate the fact that they are in there with the Babe Ruths, Joe DiMaggios, and Mickey Mantles of pro-wrestling. It's a shame that some of the guys don't seem to appreciate or understand what they have going."
"It would be great to have things slow down at bit so (the younger guys) could get the exposure and experience, yet no end up in a situation that we can't handle," added LeRoux. "Hopefully that won't happen. You don't ever want to be out in a position and fall because of inexperience. I think we are performing as well, if not better, than we are expected. Any time you bring in this many new athletes, it takes some time to establish credibility with the fans."
The pressure is enormous for WCW's rookies, but the PowerPlant crew is dominating WCW television only six months into it's run in WCW. Years ago, after six month in the business, wrestlers would be working independent shows, and it would be six or seven years before most had an opportunity to shine.
Not in 2000.
"If everyone pulls together and does the right thing for each other, then we've got nowhere to go but up," said LeRoux.
"We're taking over. It's our time now," added Skipper. "Others have had their time. No it's time for those of us from the PowerPlant. We're gonna do what we have to do to get to the top and stay on the top. We're doing now what we've been doing all along in the PowerPlant; now we're just doing it on television in front of millions of fans."
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