WWF v WCW

"Pardon me, but didn't King of the Ring used to be a one-night, single elimination tournament?"

Everyone else is writing about it, so I may as well too.

This year's King of the Ring provided some top-notch action. From top to bottom, we had some great matches. But a part of me can't help but feel a little disappointed with things.

I began to feel this when the fourth match of the night began. In years gone by, the final of KOTR was either the last or last-but-one match on the card, but the fourth match? Come on!

Like other writers, I was a little disappointed that all four semi-final spots were filled by rule-breakers, but hats of to Edge. After becoming a legend in the tag-team ranks, Edge deserves this accolade, and this push.

But in the coming weeks and months, we Internet hacks won't be talking about the tournament. We'll be talking about the WCW invasion. The "unsanctioned confrontation" between The Undertaker and DDP, and Booker T's botched move on Stone Cold.

I've got nothing against the WWF v WCW angle. But because of this, the actual KOTR tournament seemed to take a back seat. But that's enough about that.

The WWF v WCW angle does promise much, and it will be good to see athletes that definitely have not competed against each other less than a year ago face off. But watching recent events in this angle, reading about them, and watching KOTR, finally made me realise exactly what I had been missing in my wrestling world since ECW went belly up, and WWFE swallowed up WCW.

It's the actual politics of wrestling I am missing. One of the delights I had observing the goings on in the wrestling world, the constant games of one-upmanship that went on between the WWF and WCW, both on screen, behind the scenes, and in the board rooms. The constant speculation that wrestler X was unhappy with his contract, his working conditions, and wanted to jump ship from one promotion to another. It's what made the world of sports entertainment very, very interesting.

But now that Vince has all the cards in the deck, and with us Brits getting no access to news from Japan, Mexico, or even the Indies in the US, all we here these days are news snippets coming from Titan Towers.

But back to the invasion thing. While I am enjoying the build up to the event, and trying to guess which WCW star will appear in a WWF ring next, I do think that perhaps this angle should have begun a few weeks later than it did, so it didn't overshadow KOTR in the way it did. When the tournament first began, the winner would normally go on to near main event status, possibly even getting a title shot at Summerslam. So will Edge get his shot? Probably not.

When the angle began, I said I would love to see a title v title, Stone Cold v Booker T match, and it now looks like I might get my wish. But during the past couple of weeks, I heard a rumour that at Invasion/Fully Loaded/whatever it's called, we could see a tag-team WCW v WWF match. When I heard this, I had memories of 1997, and the Canadian Stampede pay-per-view, possibly the best 10 man tag I've ever seen, with a partisan crowd to match as well.

Such a match would make a great main event for whatever it's called, but how about this? Keep the invasion angle going right until Summerslam. Why?

There was a rumour last week that WWF Raw could become WCW Raw. If this is the case, then the Booker T/Stone Cold match could be held off until August. Then, with both titles being on the line, another part of the story could be introduced - the winner of the match wins the coveted Monday Night slot for their respective promotion. Then, with the right storylines, the angle could continue.

So Vince McMahon's stranglehold on the wrestling world will continue, and we will go along for the ride. The Invasion angle promises much. Let's just hope they deliver.

Before I go, I would like to send best wishes to my favourite current wrestler, Chris Benoit. Get well soon. A pity you won't be part of this great angle.