Ok, I guess the whole Arquette thing isn't paying off after is, now is it? I'm, to this day, still saying that it was a mistake, and these low ratings are proof of what I was preaching for the past few days about Arquette becoming WCW champion. WCW should look at their current situation and notice that they aren't doing anything for the long run. They are attempting to do everything in their power for shock value instead of eventually competing down the road. Bischoff's final days, Russo's first run, and Kevin Sullivan's era have dug WCW into a deep hole that should take time to get out of. Russo and Bischoff are failing to recognize that, and the ratings are showing. WWF on the other hand is on fire! Just the thought of Stone Cold appearing on any program will spike their ratings for a while now. When he returns to wrestling, the WWF will be that much powerful. Oh yeah, did you know that HBK and the Undertaker are both returning soon as well? My gosh!
It's also sad to see the WWF's 3rd ranked show, Heat, have a bad rating and be as good as Nitro's rating was. Now that's evidence that things really need to be looked at in WCW. Nuff said on that topic.
On the lower end front, WCW Saturday Night produced lower numbers this week, maybe stemming from the Arquette flaw. But this is the WCW's 3rd ranked show, and despite the lower numbers on the other shows, a 1.3 is the lowest it usually gets. However, ECW can't stay within that range when they get past the 1.0 mark. They have been stuck at the rating which they have started at for 3 or 4 weeks straight, and this is coming after the red-hot WWF has been helping to promote them. I still don't get that. Things need to be looked at there as well. Again this week, both Livewire and Superstars pulled in good ratings even at 10 am spots on Saturday and Sunday mornings. WWF has to be proud of that.
-Some reports are suggesting that Tazz has torn a bicep the other night on RAW. Ouch. That can't be good for Tazz, especially when his career is SLOWLY being built up like it is. That's a damn shame too, as it will put him on the shelf for a good 3 months. Hopefully, he can come back like a ball of fire if he IS hurt.
-Well, it seems that Triple H's injury was a work. Hmm, that's strange..all of that hassle for a cage match pitting Rock vs. Shane McMahon? Well, I'd bash the hell out of it for that reason, but I can't deny a match that gets a 9.1 and is the second most highest rated match of all time. Can't deny that!
-The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, is returning to WCW to host Turner South's WCW Classics. My gosh, I really wish I could get that channel(Damn AT&T cable), but then again, too many Turner channels isn't a good thing. I'm wondering if the "son of a plummer" will also wrestle for ECW part time when he does this deal with WCW. He hasn't been THAT BAD at ECW, especially considering he's very old right now and been in the business for years. I just wish he would return to commentating WCW shows, because for some reason, I enjoyed listening to him. "OHHH, IT's THE MOTHERSHIP" or "SOMEBODY's GOING TO THE PAY WINDOW". I really miss those, and I'm not joking there.
Now the story starts from the beginning of the Falkingburg family. It goes from DDP's grandparents, to his parents, to his life from start to finish. Throughout the book, I kept admiring on how tough it was for Page at the beginning of his life. His high school years were very entertaining to read, especially how he became a decent basketball player by working hard.
It then shifts into his Bar career, where he worked hard to get any Nightclub "over" in a city. His bouts in Ft. Myers to establish the Nightclub audiences were a trip to read. He did a lot of amazing things back then, and I was impressed with each accomplishment he made in the Bar business.
After a few years at dominating the Nightclub scene, he ended up in wrestling as a "tall" manager. It discussed his days in AWA, which I remember seeing. He was fun to watch back then, but it's too bad that the AWA couldn't hold up to make his exposure on ESPN better. His climb to WCW was neat to read about, as he was mainly used as a "4th string announcer" in those days. After being a manager/announcer for a while, he then decided to become a wrestler. Oh my, the respect gained for what he went through at this point really went up for me.
Page busted his ass to get to the point that he is at today, and it came with ridicule from the other wrestlers or critics on the way up. No matter how bad it was, he kept positive and kept working towards the top of the ladder. Just that part alone gives me a lot of respect for DDP, and I take back anything I criticized about him in my Phat Daily Columns. I was only seeing one side of the story and not through the man himself.
The thing that really shocked me was how he helped many wrestlers that you see on the tube today. That was shocking to read about how he helped certain wrestlers get to WCW. Hell, he even helped out a bigtime entertainer in music during his days working the Bar scene. That was simply amazing how he would go out of his way and help others.
One thing I really enjoyed in this book was the truth of everything. He pulled no punches and told everything in his life. He went through a good 40 years in just 442 pages, and it was all well documented. To tell you the truth, when I started reading when I found free time, I couldn't put the book down. I'd sometimes think I would only read for 2 hours, but end up reading for 4! When books do that to you, then you know it's a great book.
Last Word: GOOD GAWD, I loved this book! I enjoyed every page that I read in this book, and afterwards, I wanted to read more about him!! DDP has went through a very tough life, and I admire him for the way he handled it. This book gets an easy
Special thanks to DDP, Smokey, and especially RichinKC. Go to DDPbang.com to purchase this great book!
@Well brothers, that's all I have for you today. I'll be back tomorrow with maybe some Thunder thoughts, as it will be on 8:05 pm tomorrow night, as it won't conflict with Oz this week. So just chill till the next episode!!!
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Take Care, and Thanks a Million for reading.