[Vision2020] God on Pay-Per-View April 30th

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (April 16, 2006) Calgary (Canada) Sun at:

http://calsun.canoe.ca/Sports/OtherSports/2006/04/15/1535417-sun.html

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Forgive Them, Father
Desperate storyline involves Almighty

World Wrestling Entertainment has announced the biggest celebrity guest
appearance in the history of sports, the history of entertainment and,
probably, the history of the world. 

At the Backlash pay-per-view April 30, God will make his pro-wrestling
debut. 

Yes, WWE is advertising the actual God -- of Old and New Testament fame --
will be taking part in a grappling match and, for just $35, you can witness
a moment previously thought to be reserved for sometime around the Second
Coming. 

Here's the back story: A few weeks ago at Wrestlemania, Shawn Michaels
defeated Vince McMahon in a violent one-on-one match. McMahon later accused
Michaels of having help to win the match, in the form of divine
intervention. Therefore, McMahon declared, to even the score, he would team
with his son, Shane, and take on Michaels and God in a tag team match at the
next pay-per-view. 

Now here's the real story. WWE is rapidly running out of edgy angles to push
the envelope and get some watercooler talk going. Since the anti-Arab
storylines were nixed by the networks and fans no longer react to the
exploitation of Eddie Guerrero's death, the company was on the lookout for
the latest buzz topic to latch onto. 

Seeing dollar signs in the controversy spawned by The Da Vinci Code and The
Passion of the Christ, McMahon decided Christian sensitivities were ripe for
the picking. 

The storyline was plotted and the wheels were set in motion, with Michaels
-- a devout Christian who often turns down WWE scripts because they go
against his beliefs -- at the helm. 

How they actually execute the match, though, is still anybody's guess. 

For one thing, the pay-per-view takes place on a Sunday which, last I
checked, God doesn't work. 

Remarkably, Christian groups haven't come out in opposition to the
storyline, although that's not necessarily an indication they see it as fun
family entertainment. 

It likely either means WWE is so far under the public radar that no one
knows or cares what happens on their TV shows, or WWE has crossed the line
of decency so many times the mainstream is completely desensitized to any
cheap publicity stunt. 

But while the storyline isn't stirring controversy, it is getting a ton of
press for the company and developing a lot of curiosity.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving
safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
sideways, chocolate in one hand, a drink in the other, body thoroughly used
up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO. What a ride!'"