The Radicals - Where are They Now? II

It was probably the biggest wrestling story of the year 2000. Four men, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn, disgruntled at life under the Kevin Sullivan regime in World Championship Wrestling, had decided enough was enough. Not even the awarding of the WCW World Championship to Benoit could stop these four men handing in their notices and approaching the World Wrestling Federation for work.

When the four men took ringside seats on Raw in January 2000, immediate parallels were drawn to Scott Hall and Kevin Nash appearing on WCW Nitro nearly four years previously. But whereas Hall and Nash had left the WWF and joined WCW because they were offered a higher wage, Benoit et al left WCW because they were unhappy.

The Radicals, as the WWF christened them, promised much. The WWF had got their hands of four of the world's best wrestlers, and all they had to do was push them in the right direction.

At first, all seemed to go well. It seemed obvious from the get-go that Benoit would be pushed the most. It wasn't long before he was wearing the Intercontinental title, and just a few months after his debut, he was headlining pay-per-views and Monday nights in a high-profile feud with then-WWF champion The Rock.

Guerrero, becoming a form of racial stereotype, also received a high profile angle, a relationship with Chyna. This included a reign as European Champion, and he was probably one of the best wrestlers who ever held the belt. One of his early feuds, with Essa Rios, provided some of the best matches of the year. The angle with Chyna would eventually continue, and included an Intercontinental title reign.

Malenko, after the disastrous run of Dwayne Gill as Light-Heavyweight Champion, brought some much needed credibility to that division. His matches with Rios and Scotty 2 Hotty gave us some great entertainment, and proved that Malenko, in wrestling ability terms, wasn't that far behind Benoit.

Saturn, though, floundered slightly. A run at gaining the Hardcore championship came to nothing. The only run he would receive would be on Metal and Heat. Saturn just didn't seem to find his niche until he was paired with the horny little devil herself, Terri, although many thought this was just for rhyming purposes.

The Radicals went their separate ways, and re-formed again a short time later as Guerrero ended his on-screen relationship with Chyna. A gang rivalry with a psuedo-DX, which included Chyna, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and K-Kwik was promised, but didn't amount to much.

So, as WCW floundered, leaving everyone to think that perhaps these men made the right decision to jump ship. It also proved that the members of the group that remained in WCW, Shane Douglas, Konnan and Juvi Guerrera, would have been wise to perhaps join their friends. But in the case of Konnan and Douglas, this would have meant swallowing their pride.

So now, just a couple of months before the second anniversary of their arrival in the WWF, a certain news item has led me to thinking what has happened to these four men in the past few months.

Benoit, sadly, is on the injured list. The neck injury which seems to plague wrestling these days has taken it's toll. Possibly Canada's greatest technical wrestler could be out for another six months.

Malenko is apparently in a state of semi-retirement, training the youngsters in the WWF's developmental territories. Malenko has played the role of trainer before, most notably to Sean "X-Pac" Waltman. If Malenko is helping to train the next generation of WWF superstars, then they have one of the finest wrestlers of his generation helping them.

Saturn, sadly, is still somewhat floundering. A pairing with a mop provided some fine comedy moments. But is this all the WWF writers can find this man to do?

Guerrero's problems are well documented. A pain killer addiction came to the fore at the time he was put into a high-profile angle involving Lita and the Hardy Boys. Having fought off these demons, and doing quite well to get himself back in shape in the feeder leagues, he now finds himself out of a job, after being arrested for a drink-driving offence. Guerrero's new problems make me think, once again, of Scott Hall.

The sad fact is that, if all four men had been on the active roster, they could have played a key-role in the InVasion angle. The reasons for their departure could have been exploited. We could have seen more of the Booker T-Benoit matches that lit up many a WCW show in the past. We could have seen Benoit regain the WCW title from Booker, and then stating that, unlike the last time, he was now proud to win the WCW title, because he was winning it for the WWF.

We could have seen Guerrero v Guerrero, as Eddie and Chavo fought it out, showing that it wasn't just the McMahon family that was feuding in this angle.

Malenko could have once again shown why he was one of the best lighter wrestlers in the world, perhaps unifying the WWF Light-Heavyweight and WCW Cruiserweight championships. Bouts against young guns like Billy Kidman and The Hurricane could have been a lower-card highlight, and it would have been better to put the belts on Malenko rather than X-Pac.

Saturn, well, he still would have been looking for Moppy, and a decent angle.

With the injuries to the likes of Triple H and Rikishi, and the prolonged absence of The Rock for the majority of the summer, we are left to ponder just what could have happened to the InVasion angle had these men been injury-free. It's just a shame that, at a time when a high-profile angle was waiting for each and every one of them, The Radicals were not around for various reasons. The InVasion of the WWF by the Alliance could have been a great deal better.