EXCLUSIVE: I’m From Pittsburgh; Gangsta’s Paradise

GANGSTA’S PARADISE

Are Nexus going to feud with The Corre, Wade Barrett’s inexplicably misspelled new gang? Don’t turn your back on the Wolfpac…

That’s the problem with gangs. Either they absorb established stars, or they’re a bunch of no-names that can’t produce a star. Barrett, to his and WWE’s credit, did break out of Nexus. It thus seems odd that Barrett’s been put right back into another gang.

The nWo split was a Hogan device. It was time for WCW to get some wins back, or for the nWo to finish off WCW and re-brand the promotion, breaking a babyface out of the nWo in the process. But Hogan didn’t want to lose, or be part of anything that appeared weak.

The nWo split allowed the wrestlers that actually represented the company’s brand name to be largely ignored. The nWo stayed on top.

Of course, the split and dilution ruined the nWo. But a lot more nWo T-shirts got sold, with Hogan getting a cut of every one. JACKPOT!

Gangs are so hard to properly book. The Corre is being presented as four equals. Good luck. Every gang has a leader; every gang has a jobber. Most gangs have a technician; most gangs have a brawler. In most gangs, one guy does the majority of the talking.

To repeat: Gangs are hard to PROPERLY book. But they’re easy to slap together, which is why everybody in TNA is in a gang. If I’m TNA money mark Dixie Carter, I make my bookers punch a clock. I’d love to know how little time goes into writing that swill. Wait until Dixie leads the Main Event Mafia back into TNA. ANOTHER GANG! YAY!

I loved the Four Horsemen. But eventually they became a parody, Bachman-Turner Overdrive with just one original member.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM, Pittsburgh. Check out the Mark Madden page at WXDX.com. Contact Mark via wzmarkmadden@hotmail.com.

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