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Mallory's Thoughts on What Makes A Good Feud--and What Doesn't

By Mallory Mahling
Apr 16, 2008 - 8:58 AM


...

When Shawn Michaels and Batista drew their proverbial line in the sand on Raw a couple of weeks back, I suddenly remembered what it was I used to enjoy so much about professional wrestling. The stories.

Pro wrestling is commonly touted as a soap opera for men, which leaves one whole gender of viewers not represented, but that's a rant for another day.  Be that as it may, it's that other gender--we women--who know what makes a good soap opera. The stories.

The WWE writers might do well to take a look at "General Hospital" or "Days of Our Lives" if they want to see how the pros write durable stories that keep viewers returning decade after decade.

But until HBK and Batista launched into their storyline revolving around the retirement of Ric Flair, feuds seemed to last no longer than the two-hour time span of a weekly show.

Is it any wonder that people are getting weary of the Randy Orton/Triple H/John Cena so-called feud?  It seems like they've been feuding for years and whatever point it may have had has been lost over time.  They need something to freshen it up, and throwing John Bradshaw Layfield into the Fatal Fourway didn't do it for me. 

What is their motivation, other than being perpetually pissed off about something? Give me a real reason to care because clearly, I don't. 

Give me a story. 

As far as the blossoming Michaels-Batista feud goes, I do care. I care that each of them has a point of view. When they cut the kind of solid promos they have so far, I care. And, ultimately, when they get in the ring for the match to settle the score, I will care. By that time I may have chosen sides and be rooting for one or the other, but I will care.

Just a thought. 

* * *

Thanks for reading and see ya next week.


Alphabetical Listing of Guests You Can Hear on ClubWWI.com :

A

Aaron Aguliera
Skandar Akbar
Brent Albright
Ole Anderson
Road Warrior Animal

B

Buff Bagwell
Doug Basham
Paul Bearer
Giant Bernard
Big Daddy V
Eric Bischoff
Steve Blackman
Nick Bockwinkel
Bad News Brown
D-Lo Brown
"Jumping" Jim Brunzell
Mike "Simon Dean" Bucci
Bull Buchanan

C

Christian Cage
Bryan "Adam Bomb" Clark
Rob Conway

D

Scott D'Amore
Christopher Daniels
Shawn Daivari
Dawn Marie
Damian Demento
Brother Devon
Demolition Ax
Demolition Smash
Bill DeMott
Ted DiBiase
J.J. Dillon
Nick "Eugene" Dinsmore
Disco Inferno
Spike Dudley

E

Bobby Eaton
Paul Ellering

F

Dory Funk Jr.
Terry Funk

G

Jackie Gayda
Sylvain Grenier
Tod Gordon
Zach Gowen
Juventud Guerrera

H

Chalie Haas
Jimmy Hart
Diva Search's Jessica Hatch
Dave Hebner
Earl Hebner
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
Jon Heidenreich
Christy Hemme
Molly Holly
The Honky Tonk Man
Tim Horner
Scotty 2 Hotty


I

The Iron Sheik
Ivory

J

B.G. James
Jazz
Ahmed Johnson
Orlando Jordan

K


Kamala
Kid Kash
Kevin Kelly
Pat "Simon Diamond" Kenney
Ron Killings
Cpl. Kirschner
Kevin Kleinrock
Brian Knobbs
Ivan Koloff


L

Bruno "Harvey Wippleman" Lauer
Jerry "The King" Lawler
Buschwhacker Luke

M

Rodney Mack
Rick Martel
"Masterpiece" Chris Masters
Matt Morgan
Ernest Miller
Missing Link
Sean Mooney
Ricky Morton

N

Kevin Nash
Nidia

O

One Man Gang
Fred "Typhoon/Tugboat/Shockmaster" Ottman

P

Diamond Dallas Page
Tom Prichard

R

Harley Race
Baron Von Raschke
Rhino
Dustin Rhodes
Rikishi Fatu
Paul Roma
"Super Hero in Training" Rosie
Jacques Rougeau
Terri Runnels


S

Samoa Joe
Bruno Sammartino
Tito Santana
Dan "The Beast" Severn
Elix Skipper
Slick
Tracey Smothers
Al Snow
Dennis Stamp
George "The Animal" Steele
Rick Steiner
Scott Steiner
Idol Stevens
The Stro
AJ Styles
Kevin Sullivan

T

Sylvester Terkay
ECW's Tiffany
Too Cold Scorpio

V

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
Jimmy Valiant
Johnny Valiant
Jesse "The Body" Ventura
Sid Vicious
Vito
Nikolai Volkoff


W

Koko B. Ware
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams

Y

David Young
Mae Young


Z

Larry Zybszko

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