Roundup rips local tapings

Fans, when both the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling visit Southern California in a two-week, the gesture is good -- in theory.

However, both federations dumped poor shows on Southern California while they were here.

Last week, it was "Thunder." Yes, I know this is the third column attacking that steaming pile of ox feces at the Long Beach Arena, but having attended the show in person and lived to tell about it, "Thunder" was truly a bottomless pit of banality.

Two-thirds of the show was devoted to fantastic visual displays from the WCW production crew and funky beats by the funniest man in the federation, DJ Ran. Don't think he's funny? Consider this: one of the songs he spun for the Nitro Girls was "Who Let the Dogs Out?" by Baha Men. (Ran must have also been the genius behind naming a cheeseburger after Goldberg at the Nitro Grill.)

Anyway, no need to beat a dead horse, especially since the carcass is festering.

Now it's on to "Monday Night Raw," which could have been billed as "The Crime in Anaheim" or "Conned at the Pond."

We now know who was the rascal who ran over "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. People who bet on the Black Scorpion or the Hummer driver lost their shirts.

Mick Foley looked the Rock squarely in the eye and told him he found the culprit. He turned his head and pointed to Rikishi, the 400-pound mound of dance and sound.

Then Rikishi brought the whole angle to a screeching halt by actually admitting he did it. His rationale: he was seething over Pacific Islanders like himself never becoming the WWF world champion. He dropped the names of his relatives, wrestling's famous Samoans, to illustrate how none of them ever became world champ. Most of all, however, Rikishi said he did it for The Rock.

The fans were clearly shocked. Not because Rikishi had done an evil thing, but because it looked like the bookers programmed the angle after sitting in a dark room, sniffing super glue while listening to Foghat.

The other item that would make for great footage in a booking blooper video was Al Snow representing Greece by dressing as John Travolta in the movie "Grease." The silence was deafening.

The only noise heard was a piano crashing to the ground after falling from a high place. Unfortunately, it was too far away from the ring.

The WWF shows weren't a total loss though. Fans were treated to a three hour show, just like "Thunder," and a bulk of it was actually wrestling. Nothing good, but it was wrestling.

Until next week, fans, keep watching.

Chris Ledermuller is a print journalism major at Cal State Long Beach.