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By Chris Woodward , TV Data Features Syndicate With World Championship Wrestling at tempting to rebuild after numerous manage ment changes and Extreme Championship Wrestling practically nonexistent, the World Wrestling Federation has achieved total domi nance over the wrestling industry in this coun try. So naturally, owner Vince McMahon has been less concerned with hyping the WWF and more focused on pushing his new football league, the XFL. People within the WWF insist that McMahon has not taken his energy away from wrestling, although on the surface it would appear he has. They claim McMahon is simply pushing the new product in an attempt to establish it, secure that the WWF has cemented its place on top of the wrestling heap. After a wild debut that saw the XFL hit record ratings, the football league saw its au dience cut in half by the second week, no doubt because of curious fans who didn't re turn for a second helping - and probably some wrestling fans who were shocked to find out it really was a football league Still, the power of World Wrestling Federa tion Entertainment (the corporate name) is ful ly behind pushing the inaugural season. In fact, more and more WWF personalities are moonlighting in the XFL. Jim Ross, who is a senior vice president and top announcer in the WWF, is now broad casting the Saturday XFL games on NBC. In an ironic twist, he is back in the booth with Jesse Ventura, whom he worked with in WCW. Stephanie McMahon, Vince's real-life daugh ter, is now balancing being a member of the WWF's writing staff with being an interviewer in the XFL. Jerry Lawler, color commentator for WWF's Raw and Smackdown, is now an XFL announcer as well. With so many WWF staples working “on the side” for the XFL, one wonders who is minding the store? Already there are signs that the WWF's product is slipping into a familiar pat tern of the same tired concepts being used over and over again. Instead of cutting-edge, exciting angles and matches, fans are treated to a series of pre dictable plot turns and less-than-spectacular matches. House show attendance has taken a noticeable dip, and for the first time in recent memory, Raw and Smackdown broadcasts are not drawing sellout crowds. Could the WWF be slipping as a result of the XFL? It would not be the first time McMahon has taken his focus off wrestling. In the past, he tried his hand at boxing promotion, resulting in a disastrous pay per view with Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Donny Lalonde, and the doomed to-fail World Bodybuilding Federation. Every time the WWF took second place, the quality of the product noticeably plummeted. The WWF is always better when McMahon has all his creative energies focused on it. Vince McMahon is the undisputed king of professional wrestling, but some folks are wondering if the kingdom will crumble if he continues seeking new lands to conquer. Chris Woodward is editor of the Wrestling Lariat newsletter, and a contribu tor to numerous wrestling publications and Websites, including www. 1wrestling.com. Vince McMahon
Newspaper Details
Ironwood Daily Globe
Ironwood, Michigan, US
Fri, Feb 23, 2001
Page 25
Full Page
Clipped by
Brandon C.
USA 16 Jun 2026
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