Every so often something happens that reminds me of why I got into
the wrestling business in the first place.
Such was the case two weeks ago in the ECW Arena, when I was
witness to Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn put on the single best match I have seen live since
the legendary Shawn Michaels-Undertaker Hell in a Cell match back in 1997.
Van Dam and Lynn have been putting on consistently fabulous matches
throughout 1999 in what will likely be the feud of the year, but the match in Philly
eclipsed all the others. The combination of both mens' timing being perfect that night
along with the incredible emotion of the live crowd popping for a feud which is now rich
in history.
The crowd reaction was very much like an All Japan main event in
the sense that the well educated (for wrestling anyway) crowd was familiar with many of
the guys' spots and the clever twists Van Dam and Lynn added had the crowd on an emotional
roller coaster for fifteen minutes.
The Van Dam-Lynn feud is a modern example of traditional booking,
of how in an age of vignettes and comedy sketches, that actual wrestling can be the focal
point, that people can believe and care about theathletes.
While Van Dam is a huge babyface with ECW fans and has beaten Lynn
every time they have wrestled, Lynn has carved himself a niche in the traditional role of
sympathetic babyface. The fans love RVD, but Lynn, who may be the best worker in a company
of great workers is a guy who is so good in the ring that he gets over by losing.
Its all about the booking, you see. The idea is that Lynn never
beats RVD, but that one day he will, finally. The way the feud has been booked makes fans
want desperately to see Lynn get his win, and the more time RVD beats him, the more drama
is added and the more significant that eventual win will become. As a result, the fans pop
wildly for every two count, every move and every death defying dive.
I recently told Lynn, who is a friend, that the worse thing that
could happen to him is to beat RVD. Lynn is so good he doesn't need to. The pairing with
Van Dam, who is the best pure athlete in wrestling, along with the creative mind of ECW
Executive Producer Paul Heyman is the stuff of which historic, legendary feuds are made.
For myself, I just sit back and enjoy like everyone else. And while
the wrestling business has many downsides that often make me question my place in it, for
that one night, I was a fan again, sitting in the famed Eagles Nest at the ECW Arena, Paul
Heyman next to me, both of us out of our seats high fiving each other, marking out for the
falsefinishes.
It was a great night to be in the wrestling business.
