Page I() - The Behrend College Collegian Thursday, December /1. /997
WCW comes to Erie
by Ray Morelli
Collegian staff
Tuesday night Erie Civic Center
was a showcase for some of the
world's greatest athletes. The event
featured men who seemed strong
enough to hold the world on their
shoulders. There were competitors
so quick their every move was a
blur. Some were as agile and spry
as a world class gymnast. It sounds
like a tryout for the Olympics, but
it wasn't. It was World
Championship Wrestling live in
Erie.
World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) is now arguably the number
one processional wrestling
organization in the United States.
Many believe it has surpassed the
World Wrestling Federation
(WWF), which has been long
considered the wrestling leader.
After its purchase by movie and
media mogul Ted Turner, WCW
found itself with a
suddenly huge
payroll. It put its
newfound fortune to
good use, buying the
contracts of several
top WWF stars
including Hulk Hogan, "Macho
Man" Randy Savage, Bret Hart, and
others
Add to this an already talented
group of established wrestlers,
exciting young stars, and high
flying\libre Mexican wrestlers and
you have a talent pool of great depth.
This is made clear by the fact that,
although several of WCW's top stars
did not appear, they 'still put on a
quality show with many talented
wrestlers thrilling the crowd.
In the main event, "The Total
Package" Lex Luger squared off
against Buff Bagwell of the New
World Order, which is a clique of
wrestlers led by Hogan who despise
WCW and want to "take it over."
The group enjoys immense
popularity.
Bagwell wrestled a great match,
as did Lex Luger, who demonstrated
all his characteristic power moves
that prove him to be one of the
strongest men in wrestling. Bagwell
is one of the sport's brightest young
stars; he combines power with speed
and wrestling know-how. Luger lost
the match by countout after being
pummeled by other members of the
New World Order.
Several wrestlers in the undercard
had stellar performances. "The
Canadian Crippler", Chris Benoit ,
got a great response from the Erie
crowd when he applied his "Crippler
Crossface" finisher. Benoit has the
respect of the fans for being one of
the toughest men in WCW. Dean
Malenko schooled Juventud
Guerrera, showing why he's
renowned as the world's best
technical wrestler. He finished the
match with his patented Texas
Cloverleaf leglock, which also
earned the praises of the spectators.
One Bchrend student was
impressed with Harlem Heat, a
powerful tag team. Mike
Wisniewski, 03 MIS, says, "The
whole night was great, but Harlem
Heat really impressed me." His
friend Dave Buona, a student at
Edinboro, says, "WCW is great.
Curt Hennig was great, perfect."
Diamond Dallas Page, the Steiner
Overall, WCW put on an outstanding show. ft
was one of the best I personally had ever seen
...every fan could see a match they'd enjoy.
brothers, the Disco Inferno, and
Saturn all wrestled great matches
also.
There were several noticeable
absences. "Hollywood" Hogan, who
local radio stations hyped as
appearing, didn't show. While
Hogan has a large fan base, he also
has little, if any, visible talent left.
Fans should have been happy the
dinosaur didn't wrestle.
An unfortunate no show was by
the Wolfpack: Kevin Nash, Scott
Hall, and Syxx. They are one of
WCW's biggest draws and many
fans were heard complaining about
their absence.
Others who didn't wrestle include
the popular veteran Ric Bair, the
towering Giant, and the incredible
Rey Mysterio Jr. Mysterio
impressed many fans in Erie last
year. These absences were
countered by the appearances of
some unannounced stars like Rick
Rude, Public Enemy, the legendary
"Gentleman" Chris Adams, and
others.
The biggest disappointment of the
night was definitely the crowd.
Unfortunately, several fans felt the
need to pelt wrestlers with coins and
garbage. The admission cost, while
definitely steep, did not give those
fans the right to wreak havoc. One
fan threw a full cup of beer at Lex
Luger. It hit not only Lex but several
irate fans in the first row. A handful
of fans were obviously drunk and
there were almost as many
altercations outside of the ring as
there were inside the ring. The City
of Erie police quickly handled most
disturbances.
World Championship Wrestling
has made an effort to be very fan
friendly. About a dozen or so fans
waited in the lower parking lot for
the wrestlers to arrive. Several
honored their loyal fans' requests for
autographs or pictures. Diamond
Dallas Page gave an autograph to
every fan who asked and even took
a picture of him with a fan in his
patented "Diamond Cutter"
neckbreaker which has made him so
popular.
Harlem Heat were
very personable,
talking to fans and
signing autographs.
Their manager, the
lovel and talented
Miss Jacqueline,
signed autographs and even took a
picture with myself and a friend.
Former pro wrestling great Kevin
Sullivan also signed for fans. Before
his current office job, Sullivan's
career spanned three decades.
Overall, WCW put on an
outstanding show. It was one of the
best I personally had ever seen. The
card featured a variety of wrestlers;
from sound technicians to brawlers
to high flyers, every fan could see a
match they'd enjoy.
World Championship Wrestling
showed why it has been so
successful in the past years. While
the WWF has recently resorted to
controversial topics like
homosexuality and racism, among
others, for viewership and
patronage, WCW provides
wrestling that is more along on the
lines of family entertainment.
Many parents took their
youngsters to see the action. Also, a
good percentage of the crowd
seemed to be in the college-age
group. In a town where there's often
little to do, for one night World
Championship Wrestling offered a
great form of entertainment.
Features
"Winter Wonderland"
celebrated
In the midst of extremely
inclement weather, the Erie
Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra
performed "Winter Wonderland,"
their annual concert at the Warner
Theatre last Saturday night.
The choir, masterfully led by
former Behrend director David
Stuntz, performed five selections
including "Angels We Have Heard on
High," "Carol of the Bells," "Jesu Joy
of Man's Desiring," "A Merry
AWN , HoME Folk
CHRISTMAS.
6 • i
vek4s\.
by John Groller
news layout editor
It's the most
wonderful time of the
year...
by Erie Philharmonic
Christmas," and the climatic
"Hallelujah Chorus."
The choral pieces were performed
in that order during the second half
of the concert. Amid the
Philharmonic Chorus are twelve
Behrend students: SOPRANOS; Kira
Griesback. Lindsey Myrick, Christy
Taylor, ALTOS; Lacy Heitmann,
Tricia Michel, TENORS; Thomas
Burger, Josh Wisinski, BASSES;
Adam Gaines, Johi Grolier, David
Grygier, Dan Hack. Aaiun
Horneman.
eetings
the Behrend Collegian
a•~ ~*.
t'; "
Special guest Jeff Tyzic, who
arranged nearly all of the pieces
performed, conducted the
performance. The orchestral pieces
included: "Joy to the World," "What
Child Is This," "Chanukkah Suite,"
"The Christmas Song," "Sleigh
Ride," "The Night Before
Christmas," "Santa Claus is Coming
to Town," and "The Skaters'
Overture."
Folio Wing their performance, both
the chorus and orchestra were
honored with a standing ovation
V :°'
good luck
on finals!