So what the hell am I going to talk about? Well, many columnists or I guess wrestling theories have discussed what is called the Net Effect. Now what the hell is the Net Effect? Well, with the internet, you now know lots of inside news. Before, you didn't. So if something shocking happened with the net effect, you knew it was coming, whereas if you didn't follow wrestling on the internet, you'd be surprised. Now can you dig that?

Again, many have covered it, but it's time I put my own spin on this wonderful subject so that this column can actually be updated. So blah.

The Net Effect

My story with the internet is that I started getting into it heavily around early Summer of 97. I guess you could say I was internet retarded at that point, since I was just new to this Brave New World. Well anyway, I started finding some sites with Newsboards or just news columns with the latest wrestling news. I began to check them everyday, and so forth, and at many instances, I started to know what could or would happen before the shows even began!

I'd have to say my first big Net Effect was the entrance of Raven and Curt Hennig into WCW. I read that Raven's contract was open now, and that he was able to leave ECW to then sign with WCW. Then, I read that Hennig's contract ran out in the WWF, and that he too was going for the "greener pastures" at the time in WCW. So they both signed, and I knew they were coming into WCW. Now, I kept hearing rumors that one could be in the NWO, or another. Then, I found out both wrestlers would be debuting on the same Nitro, which they did!

But that's not the story. I knew they would be there, so it didn't shock me at all. From then on, I was then beginning to worry about how WCW would use two former greats in their former federations. I wasn't shocked at their debuts, but more into what they would be doing. So with that said, I couldn't enjoy the shock or the surprise that they happened to show up on Nitro on the same night... Oh no! I started nitpicking about how WCW would use them, and when Raven wasn't being used to my expectations, I became mad, and am still bitter about his WCW days. I couldn't enjoy the fact that he came to WCW...just how WCW used him!

You see, when we know this "inside information", the element of surprise is now gone. You want to know why millions of fans still pop for everything the WWF does? Because maybe around 20% of the wrestling fans get into wrestling news. The other 80% or majority of the fans don't know what is coming. Therefore, anything that happens, will shock them completely, while people like myself, will write bad things about it.

Want another example? Chris Jericho. What if we didn't have internet access? Sure, his entrance was spectacular, and there was and probably never will be anything like it. But just imagine if we didn't know about his problems or contract expiring in WCW. We could have had no idea that Jericho would be on that countdown. I'm sure you could assume it was him, but that's still guessing. Since we read "insider" reports on the matter, we knew the exact day Jericho was debuting. So once the Rock was talking, and the countdown hit, we knew it was Chris Jericho. Good thing the WWF did perfect timing, or nobody on the net would have enjoyed it.

How about another? Tazz. Like Jericho, we could ASSUME that the early signals of Tazz symbol or the number 13 were him, but to other fans without the internet, it would come as a surprise. We knew full well that he would be at Royal Rumble 2000 to squash Kurt Angle, which he did. Had we not known this, maybe the expectations on Tazz might be a lot lesser from internet fans. It seems like anything Tazz does is bitched about.

Since we have such great power at our fingertips, it seems to dilute wrestling. Federations usually rely on the internet as a means for quick feedback, but it's obviously too picky. Why? You get guys like Vince Russo who try to "beat" or "trick" the internet with their booking style. They don't realize that we are a smaller percentage of the wrestling fans, and are much different than regular fans. If you haven't noticed lately, the WWF hasn't been playing to the internet as much. That's pretty much why guys like myself are pissing and moaning about the WWF being too "repetitive" or whatever else.

To make things worse, the regular fan only gets wrestling when it's on their television screen. Wrestling fans get wrestling 24-7, thanks to their computer screen. They are thrusted into more wrestling coverage than the regular fan, which could be a reason why expectations of netfans are WAY too high.

So if you think I'm such a harsh critic or that if I expect more from wrestling than the average fan, then you should look around at other netfans or even yourself. This net effect changes a lot of opinions about the sports entertainment we enjoy. Nothing comes as a shock or surprise anymore, and things seem like they are repetitive because federations sometimes have to find new ideas to please everyone.

Should we stop getting wrestling information online? I think not. If you eat, breathe, and sleep wrestling, then why not read about news, post opinions instantly, and so forth. Wrestling is my hobby, and I enjoy reading about it and writing about it. I'm sure many others feel that exact same way, and that's why wrestling on the internet remains popular, and will always be popular. It's just that maybe we, including myself, should lower some expectations to start enjoying it.

I'll try to take that with a grain of salt.

One Bad Mother...

-Mr. Tito