Austin Improv right now is kind of like late 90's WWF
Posted: September 8th, 2006, 1:45 pm
WWF then, WWE now. Anyway.
Back in the late 90's, professional wrestling was dominated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. He was either the world heavyweight champion or on the road to being the world heavyweight champion. He rarely fought mid-card matches.
Vince McMahon (the real life owner, billionaire, cocky son-of-a-bitch...on air, the same thing but heightened skyscraper-style) doesn't want Stone Cold as the champion of his company. It looks bad on the WWF. He organized a group of wrestlers and formed a stable known as "The Corporation." The groups core members were: Ken Shamrock, the Bossman, Shane McMahon, Test, and The Rock. "The Corporation's" job was to keep Stone Cold away from the title. That's all they cared about. They came out in packs, they cheated, they did whatever.
There's also the Undertaker (6-10 big dead man character, been wrestling since the early 80's). He doesn't like the Undertaker either. He organizes a big group of people called "The Ministry of Darkness." This group includes all the characters in wrestling who are sort of dark-side-ish - The Acolytes, Edge and Christian, Mideon, and Viscera. The Undertakers group does things a little differently - they use a lot of scare tactics to get under Stone Cold's skin. They put him on this cross looking thing and set it on fire, they dump blood on him, they bite him, etc. The Undertaker is behind it all, pulling all the strings.
Stone Cold manages to defeat The Undertaker one-on-one. He also manages to get the best of The Corporation (not an easy task).
So what happens next? Well, a lot. But I'll make it easy.
The Corporation and the Ministry of Darkness combine forces.
The Corporate Ministry. See:
Now there mission to stop Stone Cold is a lot easier.
Okay, breathe. Now follow me.
Let's call Vince McMahon Del Close and the Undertaker Keith Johnstone.
Let's call Steve Austin the audience, except replace "defeat" with "pleasure."
Let's call Steve Austin the general public, except replace "defeat" with "inform."
Let's call Steve Austin Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, except replace "defeat" with "be considered with them as major destinations to make a strong name for yourself with improv (or sketch, stand-up, whatev)."
So when people take different styles and systems and melt them all together and work towards that big shiny goal in the sky, the people win. They are unbeatable.
See, I told you. Wrestling.
Undisputed Champions.
Back in the late 90's, professional wrestling was dominated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. He was either the world heavyweight champion or on the road to being the world heavyweight champion. He rarely fought mid-card matches.
Vince McMahon (the real life owner, billionaire, cocky son-of-a-bitch...on air, the same thing but heightened skyscraper-style) doesn't want Stone Cold as the champion of his company. It looks bad on the WWF. He organized a group of wrestlers and formed a stable known as "The Corporation." The groups core members were: Ken Shamrock, the Bossman, Shane McMahon, Test, and The Rock. "The Corporation's" job was to keep Stone Cold away from the title. That's all they cared about. They came out in packs, they cheated, they did whatever.
There's also the Undertaker (6-10 big dead man character, been wrestling since the early 80's). He doesn't like the Undertaker either. He organizes a big group of people called "The Ministry of Darkness." This group includes all the characters in wrestling who are sort of dark-side-ish - The Acolytes, Edge and Christian, Mideon, and Viscera. The Undertakers group does things a little differently - they use a lot of scare tactics to get under Stone Cold's skin. They put him on this cross looking thing and set it on fire, they dump blood on him, they bite him, etc. The Undertaker is behind it all, pulling all the strings.
Stone Cold manages to defeat The Undertaker one-on-one. He also manages to get the best of The Corporation (not an easy task).
So what happens next? Well, a lot. But I'll make it easy.
The Corporation and the Ministry of Darkness combine forces.
The Corporate Ministry. See:
Now there mission to stop Stone Cold is a lot easier.
Okay, breathe. Now follow me.
Let's call Vince McMahon Del Close and the Undertaker Keith Johnstone.
Let's call Steve Austin the audience, except replace "defeat" with "pleasure."
Let's call Steve Austin the general public, except replace "defeat" with "inform."
Let's call Steve Austin Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, except replace "defeat" with "be considered with them as major destinations to make a strong name for yourself with improv (or sketch, stand-up, whatev)."
So when people take different styles and systems and melt them all together and work towards that big shiny goal in the sky, the people win. They are unbeatable.
See, I told you. Wrestling.
Undisputed Champions.