Roundup welcomes back wrestlers

Chris Ledermuller

Fans, two wrestlers made major returns this week.

First, Bob "Hardcore" Holly is back in action in the World Wrestling Federation. He saved cousin Crash Holly during his impromptu match with WWF world champion Kurt Angle on "Raw is War" Monday.

"Hardcore" Holly was injured when he wrestled Angle earlier this year. Angle executed a moonsault and landed on Holly's arm, causing the injury.

The match came at a time when "Hardcore" Holly was on a hot streak. He put on crisp, entertaining matches and his interviews, mixed with a combination of braggadocio and simple non-sequitur insults, garnered cheers from the fans.

Even though he was gone for almost half the year, fans still recognized "Hardcore" and give him a good reception. Hopefully, "Hardcore" can pick up where he left off before his arm injury.

A feud with Angle makes sense, but not while he is world champ.

"Hardcore" is not at the level where he can headline a pay-per-view as a No. 1 contender, but the two can put on an entertaining match.

Meanwhile in Extreme Championship Wrestling, Scott Hall staggered his way into the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Schenectady, N.Y last Friday. In his first match with the company, he and partner Jerry Lynn defeated Justin Credible and Rhino.

This marked the first time Hall has wrestled since World Championship Wrestling let him go, much to the chagrin of best friend Kevin Nash.

When Hall returned to WCW in 1996, he was a center figure of the promotion and the New World Order angle. Then he dropped out of sight for a long period of time due to his well-publicized bout with alcoholism. He still remained massively popular with fans when making public appearances, but he did not stay clean long enough to wrestle. With WCW's mounting financial losses, firing an unreliable employee like Hall made sense, especially since he was given many chances to straighten up and fly right.

WCW's loss is ECW's short-term gain. Hall still has a major following, and it could help ECW's live show attendance and possibly another cable deal to replace the failed venture on TNN.

Going to ECW is a step down for Hall, who was one of wrestling's most important figures during the '90s, but the move does have its advantages. Hall is now the most important wrestler in the federation, and someone is still willing to take a chance on him despite his unreliability and personal problems.

So far, Hall's ECW record is 2-1. Besides his debut, he worked two matches Saturday night at a television taping in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., according to 1wrestling.com. He lost the first match to Sal E. Graziano from the Full Blooded Italians. Later on that night, he defeated Justin Credible in a one-on-one match, using his version of the powerbomb formerly known as the Razor's Edge and Outsider Edge.

Until next week, fans, keep watching.

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