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Wrestlers'
film takes us global, by Nui Te Koha - 15th August
2002
(Credit: Herald Sun)
WWE superstars will promote Melbourne
to the world in a documentary about their record-breaking
tour.
World
Wrestling Entertainment kingpins, including The
Rock, Triple H, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho,
will praise Melbourne as a sports-mad city and
Australia's premier destination.
The
hour-long documentary, filmed during the four-day
Global Warning juggernaut, will be beamed to 130
countries, WWE executive vice president, Roger
Marment, said yesterday.
"The
idea was not to showcase the WWE, but to showcase
Melbourne as a destination city, and its wonderful
people," he said. "We really aim to
show the world what Melbourne is about."
WWE
diva Torrie Wilson spent a day riding trams and
visiting attractions including the zoo, aquarium
and Rialto Tower.
Heavyweights
The Rock, Triple H, Angle and Jericho are also
featured in key areas of the city, talking up
their impressions of the town.
Global
Warning, a chaotic ballet of beefcake and beauties,
played to 56,734 fans on Saturday, setting a crowd
record at Colonial Stadium.
Movie
hero The Rock may have been the undisputed star,
but Triple H, Jericho, Angle, Edge and dynamo
Rey Mysterio matched his appeal.
It
was a dazzling no-rules night in a game that has
no rules about its demographic, either.
Young,
old, hip, uncool, famous and the repulsive played
their role, hollering, booing, hissing and sneering
in the right spots.
Sometimes,
it got lost in the translation.
"I'm
in this p--hole country with a bunch of convicts
telling me I'm a wanker. I don't even know what
the hell a wanker is," a puzzled Chris Jericho
told a loud wave of dissent.
But
they thrive on it.
"I
don't know why I didn't get here earlier,"
The Rock said. "But I appreciate the love
and support and passion of the Melbourne fans.
Finally, The Rock made the 16-hour trip to Melbourne,
and it was worth it."
Stephanie
McMahon, daughter of WWE owners Vince and Linda
McMahon, said: "The only real plan was to
meet the fans and entertain them as best we can.
Melbourne fans turned it on like we knew they
would. We will definitely be back next year."
Yesterday,
in an exclusive to the Herald Sun, WWE superstars
signed a special note of thanks to their Melbourne
fans.
"The
success of this tour has told us there is a fan
base here craving our product," said Marment.
"It became a national story, we set an attendance
record, we gave back to the community through
our charity work, we performed and we met the
fans.
"Everything
we hoped to achieve, we achieved."
The
Global Warning: Melbourne documentary has a potential
viewing audience of 500 million.
Links:
Official
websites
World
Wrestling Entertainment
World
Wrestling Entertainment corporate website
Profiles
World
Wrestling Entertainment
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