Welcome to Code Name: Project Discovery Channel, or what I'd like to call "The Interview Series". Like the name says, it'll be a series of interviews with the who's who of the e-fed world. There will be three different types of interviews:
1 - Handler Interviews - This is where I, Tom Holzerman, interview handlers completely out-of-character about their various projects in e-fedding.
2 - The Michael Morenstein Files - This will be akin to the Rob Feinstein shoots (only not by an alleged pedo!), where my fictional wrestling journalist, Michael Morenstein, will interview wrestlers/e-fed characters in an "out of character" setting.
3 - Squiggy Jackson Presents - This is a series of interviews that are totally in-character and will deal with in-character issues.
So, without further ado, here's the first in the Handler Interviews series, and it's with Mike Stanton. If you don't know Mike, he dilligently runs LVW and handles Doc Silver and The First in various feds around the FW circuit. I have to say, this was an excellent interview to start the series. Enjoy!
TH: First up, thanks for doing this!
MS: No problem at all, interview stuff is awesome.
TH: First question, you've come back with LVW after a considerable hiatus. What was the inspiration for bringing the fed back?
MS: I brought LVW back because I just have a lot of time on my hands and I'd read comments on your blog about it was fun cause it was kind of different and gimmicky, and that's what I'm trying to do with LVW, a really kind of low end indy fed, I don't write it as much like that cause I don't want people being offended that their guys gassed out after 5 minutes or having dropkicks with a ton of daylight. But I just felt like I had the time to do it and people seemed to want it back, so I got it back off the ground.
TH: Aside from the blog, did you get a lot of positive feedback for LVW's first run?
MS: People liked it from what I could tell, there was a lot of enjoyment out of it, the problem was that we had a screw up between Paul and myself where he got busy with a job and so did I, where I'd write the card and then he'd edit and post things, and we just got hung up on a card and then it got posted late, and next thing you now, next card comes out, and nobody Rp's for it. I think it was just the fact that LVW didn't have that base of support that it could handle a lull, like CSWA could be gone for 3 years and if they posted a thread for a card, it would get Rp. I think A1E, EPW and NFW are they same, they are franchises that have that kind of credibility with handlers, LVW wasn't at that point, so while people enjoyed it, they didn't bleed LVW as they would another league.
TH: Is that what prompted you to go with a shorter style of matchwriting?
MS: That's a part of it. I want quick turnaround in the cards to make sure there isn't a lull, but it's also the fact that I'm the only one writing for LVW, I'm not outsourcing these matches, I might do that in the future, but I'd expect a quick turnaround from those that were writing for me. The other side of it is, this is LVW, these guys are supposed to not be amazingly good wrestlers, like a Super Spade Vs J1D fight really shouldn't be a 30 minute classic, these guys should be green and working as good a 6 minute match as possible. I wouldn't go long with really anyone on the card right now except Olvir and Donovan cause they are more legit. In time the rest of the locker room will get that way to, but I want it to be a growing process for the new characters.
TH: Okay, going with the theme of characters, you got Donovan, Olvir and if Franklin can get some stability into his life, Broadway Johnny Doll back from the original run. In a two parter, which new characters are you most excited for, and which from the original run would you love to see back in LVW?
MS: I love 7-10, and Born Again, partly cause I was in on making those characters and Born Again is someone I felt the league kind of needed to have since our two main faces are a Viking Porn star and a Hooker loving Cowboy. I mean kind of need an anti-sex heel to deal with those two. I like J1D cause that gimmick is something he's clearly got working and building on.
As for who I'd want back. Well I'd want El-Magic-O back cause Mike's a great Rp man and the gimmick was camptastic. And I'd love somebody to take over the Ben Lerner gimmick, a scumbag lawyer is always a good thing. Paul and I had a few gimmicks for old LVW we never got off the ground that are still looking for homes now.
TH: That actually sounds interesting. Would you mind letting us in on a few of those gimmicks, or do you want to keep them a suprise?
MS: One gimmick is Chief Bigbet, he'd be from the tribe that owns Foxwoods, he'd be the Anti-Vegas heel with a bit of Million Dollar Man to him. We had him worked up to just be this totally scumbag who would talk about how the white people had hurt his tribe, but he himself would never use his money for native american causes, and he'd always date white women, just a complete jerk.
And for this time around, my two current gimmicks I have in my mind are a Glenn Beck rip off...I want somebody who loves LVW...And fears for it...He'd have a segment called the "Doom Room" or something and talk about how LVW is going to be a commie state or run by the One World Government or whatever the hobgoblin of the day is.
And I'd like somebody to play the son of the owner, Gary Goldale, and just get this totally undeserved push cause he's the son of the owner, like when Shane was fake punching Randy Orton to death, just doing that as a gimmick to drive people nuts.
TH: Keeping in the vein of being the owner of the fed, how much input is Paul Kobylarz having this time around?
MS: We talk now and then, cause he's in Vegas with me, but he's mostly just sticking to holding the reigns of the Bill Bellmoth character, when I get to much into FW stuff his eyes kind of glaze over at this point.
TH: Heh, well, good luck with LVW, but let's get into the handling side of things right now. You're one-half of the EPW Tag Team Champions as The First. You guys don't really have a lot of challengers right now to the point where fedhead Dave Brunk is actively recruiting teams. Has he sort of let on to you who's bitten so far?
MS: There has been no word on who if anyone has come in looking for a shot. I really don't know what I can and can't say here as far as spoilers go but basically Barry and I had one plan for the tag belts and that's fallen through, so at this point we're going with another idea, but all these plans were pretty much based upon getting The First out of the tag division and into a singles push.
TH: Interesting. I won't prod anymore. But back to another question, you've reintroduced the always-controversial Doc Silver back into FW, both in EPW and TEAM. What can we expect, and regarding TEAM, how do you feel about your chances in the upcoming Invitational Tournament?
MS: Well Doc's back cause of the whole angle with Ryoko and Felix, he's going to be the Mr. Perfect Felix's Ric Flair, except that at a certain point, once Ryoko's contract with Felix is up, he's going to try to kill Felix, before that happens, if anyone wants to start something with Doc, that's always cool.
As for TEAM, I put Doc in there instead of The First cause I really hate walking in blind to a match, cause it's just like, you're yelling your stuff, and they are yelling their stuff, and then somebody judges the winner. If I get past the first round, and so does Cameron Cruise, then that'll be a lot of fun, cause I know Cammy and he knows me and we can just rip each other apart. I like the concept of TEAM it's just that sometimes with my style of RPing I feel like I just can't find a groove against an opponent and that costs me. So my hope would be to win two matches with one of them being a war with Siegel, and anything beyond that would be gravy.
Oh, and to make sure everyone is up to date on the latest events in the NFL and the NFL draft with Doc and Greenie, I like RPing them as just talking about random shit and having them fighting over the Patriots and Dolphins.
TH: Everybody loves them some football. Anyway, final question. A lot of people know about your checkered past with A1E. I don't want to dig that up, but with a lot of FW stalwarts going there over the years like Brunk, Ryan Strawsma and now Gregg Gethard, is there any chance of that bridge being rebuilt and seeing Doc Silver or any other of your characters in an A1E ring?
MS: I dunno, Doc wouldn't do it, cause like that character he's a prick, and he'd only do something like a 'go to CSWA or go to A1E' in an angle where he won the World Title just as this big 'holy shit' shock to the system kind of deal. But CSWA hasn't been to keen on the Doc Silver World Title Run, and I doubt A1E would be rolling out the red carpet for such an event.
I could see The First in A1E. But at the same time, I kind of like having him only in EPW, trying to be like the big star of that company, I like that A1E has a quick turn around on its cards, I've been away for a long time so I don't know exactly how the voting goes there now, but I'm still leery of it, and I'd figure people there would be kind of leery of me, so I guess I'd just have to say that until you have The A1ETron suddenly show the words "Pax Vobiscum" on it, that I'd not there. But who knows.
TH: Alright, well, thanks for the time, and the best of luck with LVW and with The First and Doc Silver!
MS: Thanks man, glad to get air time on the blog.
TH: No problem.
Showing posts with label LVW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LVW. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Monday, March 09, 2009
LVW... the return?
First off, let's welcome Stanton back to the eW blog-ring:
The Lifeless One
He ran the eW dirtsheet before, which was a cool gimmick blog, but one that I could see getting tiring to write after awhile. Check out his first two blog posts, especially the latest one, where he offers insight into the main event to the latest EPW Aggression card, which he wrote. If you've ever wanted to glimpse into the mind of a matchwriter, here's your chance.
That's not the thing the juiciest thing I gathered from reading the blog though. Take a look at the first entry he posted, specifically this passage:
If he can get the ball rolling on that... wow, that is huge news. If you remember back from the first blog-run I had, LVW was a pet favorite fed of this establishment. While it didn't stick around and only one of the main characters from the fed has found a regular home outside of it (Olvir), it was great for what it was, a breeding ground for gimmicks that ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime.
If and when it does come back, I think it could be a huge shot in the arm for FWC, especially with people slowly trickling back to the hub after months or years of inactivity. What would be a better place to shake off ring rust, especially with a new character concept, than in a new or new-to-you start-up fed?
Plus, I still think people have their freak flags hidden and want to be able to fly them again. LVW can provide a good breeding ground for that, just as it was in the past. We saw guys like Dove, McNic, Siegel and even Gerlach shake off their one-character chains and try something new to varying degrees of success. If LVW can draw someone else who has handled maybe one or two characters for their career to come in and try something new and off-the-wall, then it's a success (provided that the usual suspects come back for it... I know I'm there, and hopefully the guys who are still around like Siegel do as well).
But anyway, I can't recommend trying something out in this fed if and when it comes back. Let loose and try something new. Who knows, you might have a good time.
The Lifeless One
He ran the eW dirtsheet before, which was a cool gimmick blog, but one that I could see getting tiring to write after awhile. Check out his first two blog posts, especially the latest one, where he offers insight into the main event to the latest EPW Aggression card, which he wrote. If you've ever wanted to glimpse into the mind of a matchwriter, here's your chance.
That's not the thing the juiciest thing I gathered from reading the blog though. Take a look at the first entry he posted, specifically this passage:
I'm trying to get LVW re-opened on FW.com. I sent a message to the Godfather about it, hopefully the tab comes up sometimes shortly. I'm unemployed, and my WoW guild leaves me weeping so I got nothing better to do then to start up the land of a thousand gimmicks again. I have ideas for a bunch of characters, so if anyone's interested about LVW, IM me at War on Eurasia on AIM or Stantonmjs on Yahoo.
If he can get the ball rolling on that... wow, that is huge news. If you remember back from the first blog-run I had, LVW was a pet favorite fed of this establishment. While it didn't stick around and only one of the main characters from the fed has found a regular home outside of it (Olvir), it was great for what it was, a breeding ground for gimmicks that ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime.
If and when it does come back, I think it could be a huge shot in the arm for FWC, especially with people slowly trickling back to the hub after months or years of inactivity. What would be a better place to shake off ring rust, especially with a new character concept, than in a new or new-to-you start-up fed?
Plus, I still think people have their freak flags hidden and want to be able to fly them again. LVW can provide a good breeding ground for that, just as it was in the past. We saw guys like Dove, McNic, Siegel and even Gerlach shake off their one-character chains and try something new to varying degrees of success. If LVW can draw someone else who has handled maybe one or two characters for their career to come in and try something new and off-the-wall, then it's a success (provided that the usual suspects come back for it... I know I'm there, and hopefully the guys who are still around like Siegel do as well).
But anyway, I can't recommend trying something out in this fed if and when it comes back. Let loose and try something new. Who knows, you might have a good time.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
eW Six Pack: Best E-Fed Gimmicks Ever
Gimmick.
For some, it's a dirty word. Gimmick? I don't need a stinkin' gimmick to get over in eW. For others, like me, it's their bread and butter. I don't think I've had a character that didn't start out as a total gimmick that I've gotten over huge. Arguing the benefits of gimmicks vs. characters that are the handler turned up to 11 is a post for another day.
This post is for the best gimmicks in eW that I've at least seen, in Six Pack form. Now, a few disclaimers. One, best gimmick doesn't necessarily mean best quality. A handler could have a mediocre gimmick, but RP the hell out of it and be a top talent. Plus, most handlers run characters that are part "real" and part gimmick anyway. Two, well, there is no two, only Zuul. Now, without further ado...
The Six Best E-Fed Gimmicks Ever
1. Olivir Arsvinnar, Porn Star Viking - I want to know what was going through Strawsma's mind when he came up with this. Actually, scratch that. I'd probably be deathly afraid of what I'd find there. In all seriousness though, this is the kind of absurd gimmick that could only work in eW, which is usually populated by those smarky Internet fans whose quirky senses of humor give us characters like The Illustrious Face-Eater and Professor Tremendous. Just to give some background to the folks who don't know and are new to the blog (where I've raved before), Olvir is like Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, only instead of a caveman, he's a Viking seafarer unthawed in the modern ages. Vikings are good at a few things, some of them being pillaging, drinking, screwing and fighting, all good qualities to have if you're a professional wrestler. Well, maybe not the screwing part, but it helps with the gimmick.
It doesn't hurt that Strawsma's warped mind is the perfect vehicle for this character to roar on all cylinders, or to get in the mood of the character more, to row with the might of a thousand rowers in a Viking longboat. When Olvir is on, there isn't really a character more entertaining to read.
2. Slambo the Clown, e-Wrestling's Answer to Pennywise - This is the Bill Dempsey edition that teamed with Prisoner 187 and the HPSC, not the one that was P-187 in what was the seminal swerve in the early history of A1E.
Anyway, the evil clown gimmick was done in the WWF back in the '90s with Doink. As an aside, I always thought Doink was underrated as a heel. It got a bit too kitschy when he became face, but that's neither here nor there. Now, if you think Slambo mk II was a play off that character, you'd be sorely mistaken. Slambo wasn't really an evil clown as much as he was psychotic, downtrodden, almost subhuman. He was really a clown who was everything that a clown wasn't for most kids (who weren't afraid of them growing up :p).
There was always an underlying innocence behind every Slambo RP, like there was a gentle child behind the savage exterior, and even though he never won a World Championship (while Bill achieved that with Freakfish), I always thought Slambo was his greatest success as a character.
3. Dr. Curiosity, Mad Scientist of the Squared Circle... Literally - This is the prime example of a gimmick that can only really work on eW. If it were tried in the "real" thing, it'd come off contrived and really fuckin' goofy. However, in the e-fed universe, where in-character writing isn't limited to on-camera stuff and is often times better-written than the more outlandish stuff you see on camera for one of the big promotions, it's gold in the right hands.
Andy Hewitt's hands were, and still are, more than capable of turning lead into gold, and I bet Doc C has tried that at one point. The Good Doctor got his start in XUW, which was PTC's resident nuthouse, but he parlayed that success into a crossover smash in the fWo and more recently, NFW.
4. The Codemaster, The Blackest Brother in the Kingdom of Hyrule - Now here's a gimmick that I thought would have worked huge in the WWE. A guy who's so delusional to think that he's a video game overlord... classic. Although Mike Renner will be known for a lot of things in our extended circle before his time's up, this bombastic, video-game trivia spouting villain will rank as his most colorful character (and for a guy who created the traveling geek squad known as Mega Job... that's something).
I think what helps is that Renner probably has an unhealthy addiction to video games and video game characters. I mean, this is the guy who penned (sprited?) the webcomic In Wily's Defense. All in all, whatever fed Codemaster lands in should be grateful to get him and will always get entertaining segments that are satisfying on every level to giant nerds such as myself.
5. El Magick-O (blogger's note: the "O" is for orgasm), The Sexual Wrestling Magician - LVW was such a great concept for a fed because the city itself lends itself to gimmicks. I mean, a crapload of casinos there have some kind of theme going for them, from the Pirates of the Caribbean to scaled-down models of European landmarks. The acts that populate the stages at the lounges there often times are laden with gimmicks. You could find anything to watch in Vegas if you really wanted to, and I truly believe that LVW was a microcosm for that, something that let people try things they'd never try in another FWC fed. This is the fed that gave us the aforementioned Olvir Arsvinnar, Eastern European strongman Hans Novak, a character that was a wrestling Elvis impersonator and in the later days, an actual "dog-boy".
Aside from Olvir, the standout gimmick to me was El Magick-O (the O being for orgasm). Not that there was anything really groundbreaking about it, but it was almost the perfect gimmick to be played in a fed based out of Las Vegas. Of course, the sexual aspect was just icing on the cake, but coming from the warped mind of Mike McNichols, well, that's to be expected.
6. Lowell Dot Com, The Shillin' Villain - A devious, constantly scheming manipulator who sells advertising space on his ring attire? Handled by Devin Woods, who probably huffs as much glue as Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia but writes wrestling RPs instead of rock operas about Dayman?
Sign.Me.Up.
For some, it's a dirty word. Gimmick? I don't need a stinkin' gimmick to get over in eW. For others, like me, it's their bread and butter. I don't think I've had a character that didn't start out as a total gimmick that I've gotten over huge. Arguing the benefits of gimmicks vs. characters that are the handler turned up to 11 is a post for another day.
This post is for the best gimmicks in eW that I've at least seen, in Six Pack form. Now, a few disclaimers. One, best gimmick doesn't necessarily mean best quality. A handler could have a mediocre gimmick, but RP the hell out of it and be a top talent. Plus, most handlers run characters that are part "real" and part gimmick anyway. Two, well, there is no two, only Zuul. Now, without further ado...
The Six Best E-Fed Gimmicks Ever
1. Olivir Arsvinnar, Porn Star Viking - I want to know what was going through Strawsma's mind when he came up with this. Actually, scratch that. I'd probably be deathly afraid of what I'd find there. In all seriousness though, this is the kind of absurd gimmick that could only work in eW, which is usually populated by those smarky Internet fans whose quirky senses of humor give us characters like The Illustrious Face-Eater and Professor Tremendous. Just to give some background to the folks who don't know and are new to the blog (where I've raved before), Olvir is like Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, only instead of a caveman, he's a Viking seafarer unthawed in the modern ages. Vikings are good at a few things, some of them being pillaging, drinking, screwing and fighting, all good qualities to have if you're a professional wrestler. Well, maybe not the screwing part, but it helps with the gimmick.
It doesn't hurt that Strawsma's warped mind is the perfect vehicle for this character to roar on all cylinders, or to get in the mood of the character more, to row with the might of a thousand rowers in a Viking longboat. When Olvir is on, there isn't really a character more entertaining to read.
2. Slambo the Clown, e-Wrestling's Answer to Pennywise - This is the Bill Dempsey edition that teamed with Prisoner 187 and the HPSC, not the one that was P-187 in what was the seminal swerve in the early history of A1E.
Anyway, the evil clown gimmick was done in the WWF back in the '90s with Doink. As an aside, I always thought Doink was underrated as a heel. It got a bit too kitschy when he became face, but that's neither here nor there. Now, if you think Slambo mk II was a play off that character, you'd be sorely mistaken. Slambo wasn't really an evil clown as much as he was psychotic, downtrodden, almost subhuman. He was really a clown who was everything that a clown wasn't for most kids (who weren't afraid of them growing up :p).
There was always an underlying innocence behind every Slambo RP, like there was a gentle child behind the savage exterior, and even though he never won a World Championship (while Bill achieved that with Freakfish), I always thought Slambo was his greatest success as a character.
3. Dr. Curiosity, Mad Scientist of the Squared Circle... Literally - This is the prime example of a gimmick that can only really work on eW. If it were tried in the "real" thing, it'd come off contrived and really fuckin' goofy. However, in the e-fed universe, where in-character writing isn't limited to on-camera stuff and is often times better-written than the more outlandish stuff you see on camera for one of the big promotions, it's gold in the right hands.
Andy Hewitt's hands were, and still are, more than capable of turning lead into gold, and I bet Doc C has tried that at one point. The Good Doctor got his start in XUW, which was PTC's resident nuthouse, but he parlayed that success into a crossover smash in the fWo and more recently, NFW.
4. The Codemaster, The Blackest Brother in the Kingdom of Hyrule - Now here's a gimmick that I thought would have worked huge in the WWE. A guy who's so delusional to think that he's a video game overlord... classic. Although Mike Renner will be known for a lot of things in our extended circle before his time's up, this bombastic, video-game trivia spouting villain will rank as his most colorful character (and for a guy who created the traveling geek squad known as Mega Job... that's something).
I think what helps is that Renner probably has an unhealthy addiction to video games and video game characters. I mean, this is the guy who penned (sprited?) the webcomic In Wily's Defense. All in all, whatever fed Codemaster lands in should be grateful to get him and will always get entertaining segments that are satisfying on every level to giant nerds such as myself.
5. El Magick-O (blogger's note: the "O" is for orgasm), The Sexual Wrestling Magician - LVW was such a great concept for a fed because the city itself lends itself to gimmicks. I mean, a crapload of casinos there have some kind of theme going for them, from the Pirates of the Caribbean to scaled-down models of European landmarks. The acts that populate the stages at the lounges there often times are laden with gimmicks. You could find anything to watch in Vegas if you really wanted to, and I truly believe that LVW was a microcosm for that, something that let people try things they'd never try in another FWC fed. This is the fed that gave us the aforementioned Olvir Arsvinnar, Eastern European strongman Hans Novak, a character that was a wrestling Elvis impersonator and in the later days, an actual "dog-boy".
Aside from Olvir, the standout gimmick to me was El Magick-O (the O being for orgasm). Not that there was anything really groundbreaking about it, but it was almost the perfect gimmick to be played in a fed based out of Las Vegas. Of course, the sexual aspect was just icing on the cake, but coming from the warped mind of Mike McNichols, well, that's to be expected.
6. Lowell Dot Com, The Shillin' Villain - A devious, constantly scheming manipulator who sells advertising space on his ring attire? Handled by Devin Woods, who probably huffs as much glue as Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia but writes wrestling RPs instead of rock operas about Dayman?
Sign.Me.Up.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
LVW Supershow on the Strip
clicky clicky... finally!
Once again, it's very hard for me to be completely objective with this show (if you're unsure why, just skip to the end of the main event), but I'd have to say, it was well worth waiting for. I liked the Olvir segments, and I have to say, Paul and Mike handle my character as well as I do with out of match segments.
So check it out, it's well worth reading.
Once again, it's very hard for me to be completely objective with this show (if you're unsure why, just skip to the end of the main event), but I'd have to say, it was well worth waiting for. I liked the Olvir segments, and I have to say, Paul and Mike handle my character as well as I do with out of match segments.
So check it out, it's well worth reading.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Shows and stuff, plus A few of my favorite characters -- UCW
First thing's first heeyah, the blog has made a splash over at the PRIME forums, specifically, the post about death in e-feding. Really cool of Sebastian (their fedhead) to put this up for discussion on their boards and give me the free advertising. Love discussion and advertising, that I do.
Anyway, some more shows I have to report to you, first off, this is kinda late, but as the Offical LVW Mark of the Blog World, I have to put up a link to Prelude, their last show before crowning the first ever LVW World Heavyweight Champion (and Las Vegas Champion too). Good read, Ybok and Stanton haven't put out a card that I haven't enjoyed yet.
Next up, an NFW Double Feature! Crash TV! Midnight Madness! Fun for everyone! Pay special attention to the East show and an angle featuring Maggot... I crave feedback for it!
Finally, we get to the ENN Awards show, which was put together very nicely by Lindsay and everyone who contributed. Once again, I want feedback on JA's opening monologue.
Alright, now to the meat of the post... the last one of these favorite wrestler entries for an active fed, and that active fed is Ultimate Championship Wrestling, which is in a slight state of flux right now due to ENN's server troubles. I'm sure they'll get right back on track though. Once again, in no particular order...
Cameron Cruise Cruise is in like a million different feds, doing a million different things, but he seems to be clicking best in UCW. His feud with Dan Ryan is so old-school... and really, that's what attracts me to it. It's refreshing to find in a sea of everyone trying to outsmart themselves there are two characters who understand the basics of wrestling.
Dan Ryan See above.
BG Bruce 400 pounds and very homosexual... not many people would be able to pull that off, but in all fairness, not many people would have the balls to handle this character. It's more proof that Dan West may be the greatest e-fedder ever.
The First When I first read this character, I was skeptical of where Stanton was going to take him, but it turned out very well. Honestly, he was the best choice to hold the UCW Title first, kinda to give the fed a personality and to make a statement that, hey, this isn't just another retread fed. We have our own homegrown stars, and they're pretty good.
Damon Blackburn I'll flat-out admit that I didn't like the Damon character in A1E. However, Roger's playing the character very well here, and I really like the angle and character being played, especially since UCW is seen as the closest fed to A1E on the market outside of EPW.
Anyway, some more shows I have to report to you, first off, this is kinda late, but as the Offical LVW Mark of the Blog World, I have to put up a link to Prelude, their last show before crowning the first ever LVW World Heavyweight Champion (and Las Vegas Champion too). Good read, Ybok and Stanton haven't put out a card that I haven't enjoyed yet.
Next up, an NFW Double Feature! Crash TV! Midnight Madness! Fun for everyone! Pay special attention to the East show and an angle featuring Maggot... I crave feedback for it!
Finally, we get to the ENN Awards show, which was put together very nicely by Lindsay and everyone who contributed. Once again, I want feedback on JA's opening monologue.
Alright, now to the meat of the post... the last one of these favorite wrestler entries for an active fed, and that active fed is Ultimate Championship Wrestling, which is in a slight state of flux right now due to ENN's server troubles. I'm sure they'll get right back on track though. Once again, in no particular order...
Cameron Cruise Cruise is in like a million different feds, doing a million different things, but he seems to be clicking best in UCW. His feud with Dan Ryan is so old-school... and really, that's what attracts me to it. It's refreshing to find in a sea of everyone trying to outsmart themselves there are two characters who understand the basics of wrestling.
Dan Ryan See above.
BG Bruce 400 pounds and very homosexual... not many people would be able to pull that off, but in all fairness, not many people would have the balls to handle this character. It's more proof that Dan West may be the greatest e-fedder ever.
The First When I first read this character, I was skeptical of where Stanton was going to take him, but it turned out very well. Honestly, he was the best choice to hold the UCW Title first, kinda to give the fed a personality and to make a statement that, hey, this isn't just another retread fed. We have our own homegrown stars, and they're pretty good.
Damon Blackburn I'll flat-out admit that I didn't like the Damon character in A1E. However, Roger's playing the character very well here, and I really like the angle and character being played, especially since UCW is seen as the closest fed to A1E on the market outside of EPW.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
A (temporary?) farewell... and a few of my favorite characters -- LVW
First off, Gregg Gethard has announced his retirement from e-fedding. Huge loss to the CSWA, NFW West and EPW and to the hobby altogether, seeing that his characters are among my favorites in any fed he's in. He has hinted that he'll be back, but for now, I'd like to wish him good luck with his Masters, his upcoming marriage and his writing career. We don't know if he's gone for good or just for a bit, but if it is permanent, well, it's nice to have a proper send-off.
And now... back to the favorite characters. I'm skipping the fWo because of the limbo we're in there, so that brings us to my favorite new fed on the block, Las Vegas Wrestling. Honestly... this is the hardest fed for me just to pick five favorites, because everyone really has a kick-ass character here, but I do what I must. Once again, in no particular order.
Olvir Arsvinnar The pornographic Viking... who really is a Viking. Seriously, this may be the greatest character ever (along with Lowell Dot Com and Professor Tremendous). I knew from the moment I read his first preview segment on the third LVW card that this character would be money. Honestly, I salivate at the entertainment value an RP thread between him and my own Jimmy Donovan would bring.
Elvis Aaron Presley It's a shame he had to run into Olvir in the LVW tournament, because an Elvis impersonating wrestler is an idea that's overdue. I guess a fed based in Las Vegas, the Elvis impersonator capital of the world, had to come along for Elvis to enter the ring. Still, it's a great gimmick.
Hans Nowak Sometimes I read a profile and I just become enamored with the little things. Like Nowak winning the U-62's World's Strongest Man competition three times. The little things. That's not to say that's the only thing I like about Hans. I love the RP style, and I'm interested to see what he does with Miss Ann too. All in all, I think he should be the co-favorite to win the LVW title (With Olvir, of course)
Bill Bellmoth A guy who talks to janitors about how great he is and wears a headset in the ring to call his own matches, most of the time while getting his ass kicked... folks, this character is gold. Proof that you don't need to win matches to have an über-entertaining character.
Ben Lerner Once again, another gimmick whose time is overdue, the sue-happy loawyer wrestler. Honestly, unlike Elvis, this character could work well in any fed, but for some reason, I think it clicks the best in LVW, even though schyster lawyers aren't really associated with Las Vegas in any big way.
And now... back to the favorite characters. I'm skipping the fWo because of the limbo we're in there, so that brings us to my favorite new fed on the block, Las Vegas Wrestling. Honestly... this is the hardest fed for me just to pick five favorites, because everyone really has a kick-ass character here, but I do what I must. Once again, in no particular order.
Olvir Arsvinnar The pornographic Viking... who really is a Viking. Seriously, this may be the greatest character ever (along with Lowell Dot Com and Professor Tremendous). I knew from the moment I read his first preview segment on the third LVW card that this character would be money. Honestly, I salivate at the entertainment value an RP thread between him and my own Jimmy Donovan would bring.
Elvis Aaron Presley It's a shame he had to run into Olvir in the LVW tournament, because an Elvis impersonating wrestler is an idea that's overdue. I guess a fed based in Las Vegas, the Elvis impersonator capital of the world, had to come along for Elvis to enter the ring. Still, it's a great gimmick.
Hans Nowak Sometimes I read a profile and I just become enamored with the little things. Like Nowak winning the U-62's World's Strongest Man competition three times. The little things. That's not to say that's the only thing I like about Hans. I love the RP style, and I'm interested to see what he does with Miss Ann too. All in all, I think he should be the co-favorite to win the LVW title (With Olvir, of course)
Bill Bellmoth A guy who talks to janitors about how great he is and wears a headset in the ring to call his own matches, most of the time while getting his ass kicked... folks, this character is gold. Proof that you don't need to win matches to have an über-entertaining character.
Ben Lerner Once again, another gimmick whose time is overdue, the sue-happy loawyer wrestler. Honestly, unlike Elvis, this character could work well in any fed, but for some reason, I think it clicks the best in LVW, even though schyster lawyers aren't really associated with Las Vegas in any big way.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
A huge post about AWC
Alright, I'll trust blogger not to eat this post like it did earlier when I tried to save it to draft.
Anyway, before I get to the meat, I might as well pimp some of the latest shows for you to read.
First in the queue, we got LVW's Championship Madness, which of course is an all-around good effort. Seriously, check this fed out. You will be hooked. Most character/gimmick driven feds rock, and LVW is no exception. The only qualm I had with the show was the DQ finish being used in two tournament matches. I prefer pin/submissions in those situations, be they clean or Dusty. But those qualms were outweighed by the appearance of the GENTLEMAN OF LEISURE~!~!~!
Next up, UCW hits with their latest edition of Revolution. Solid effort, a little shortish, but it had some good stuff going on. Just want to take some time out to give props to both Brunk and Siegel for the Ryan/Cruise feud. They're in just about every fed, yet I think they're both at their most intriguing here.
Finally, we get to AWC FRESH~!. This week's show, very segment heavy, but with a roster that size and with everyone with at least one story to tell, it's understandable and expected. Two major things going on here. One, Mike Wade becomes the Frontier Champion, his third concurrent title. Triple Champion... impressive.
Second was Chainz's controversial and graphic angle to end the show. On this blog, I predicted that Chainz would cause a mid-level riot, but I never thought it would be this soon into the new year. For those who don't know, Chainz, the character, is a degenerate mysogynist, a sexual predator and a part-time pedopile who's spent time in the can for rape (I think). The angle involves him showing graphic footage of him killing Ellis' Nash's sister, delivering their stillborn baby and committing necrophilia on her, all this after Chainz had found out she was cheating on him and was going to abort their baby, partial-birth style.
Now, I can almost see most of you recoiling in horror at the angle. I kinda did too, but I didn't think it was that bad at all, at least the idea behind it.
Chainz is a lowlife scumbag as a character, so we should expect him to do lowlife, scumbag things. And since wrestling is by nature a business that is over the top. What Chainz did was extremely over the top. But honestly, it might have been too much so, at least in the way that it was presented. It came off very Katie Vick-ish, at least with the admissions of murder and necrophilia being open and graphic.
What Mike Sloan (Chainz' handler) should have done was not written the part where he was describing what was on the tape he was showing Ellis. Maybe have it so that the "Technical difficulties" screen was showing to both the "TV audience" and to us, the reading public. Showing Ellis' horror after seeing the video would have conveyed the same effect as showing the video, and it would leave a lot of gray areas as to what happened.
Despite the criticism, I think Mike should be commended for pushing the envelope, but he pushed a little too hard this time. He shouldn't be flogged too hard at all. We all make mistakes, but they all turn into learning experiences. Honestly, Chainz is one of my favorite characters, period, and I hope he doesn't rein in too much with what he's doing with him.
The other AWC note I wanted to touch upon was a topic that came up on their OOC board: how to deal with a waiting list.
If it were up to me, I wouldn't even consider having a waiting list for any fed I ran. I guess I "grew up" around a culture in A1E and MBE where everyone was welcome, no matter how grammatically or aesthetically bad your writing was.
But then again, A1E at its height had 20 handlers doing 25-30 characters (and that might be generous). Perfect size for a fed. They didn't have the amount of people wanting to get in like AWC (and most PTC feds) do. I know that I wouldn't want to have 50 handlers making Fresh shows almost unbearable to read due to the sheer size of them, so I kinda understand where Hyde's coming from.
In a perfect situation, everyone on your waiting list would be of equal stature and talent and you could let them in on a first-come, first-serve basis. But as most of us in this hobby know, no situation is perfect.
Which is why a straight waiting list system will never work if you want to keep harmony and quality high.
You need to run a selective waiting list process. Go with guys you know will bring the goods, or guys that people you trust refer to you. When you want to give someone new/unknown a chance (and believe me, as a struggling recent grad trying to find work, I'm all about giving the unknown quantities a chance), make them prove their way into the fed. Have them do stuff to get in your good graces: writing matches, talking about wrestling theories and stuff like that, brainstorming angles, getting to know the person in an OOC light. Odds are, if they write a good match, or if they know a bunch about wrestling, or if they link you to stuff that is just fantastic storytelling or anything else positive, they'll be a positive impact on the fed.
But letting folks in blindly... that could lead to disaster in large feds where waiting lists are necessary.
Anyway, before I get to the meat, I might as well pimp some of the latest shows for you to read.
First in the queue, we got LVW's Championship Madness, which of course is an all-around good effort. Seriously, check this fed out. You will be hooked. Most character/gimmick driven feds rock, and LVW is no exception. The only qualm I had with the show was the DQ finish being used in two tournament matches. I prefer pin/submissions in those situations, be they clean or Dusty. But those qualms were outweighed by the appearance of the GENTLEMAN OF LEISURE~!~!~!
Next up, UCW hits with their latest edition of Revolution. Solid effort, a little shortish, but it had some good stuff going on. Just want to take some time out to give props to both Brunk and Siegel for the Ryan/Cruise feud. They're in just about every fed, yet I think they're both at their most intriguing here.
Finally, we get to AWC FRESH~!. This week's show, very segment heavy, but with a roster that size and with everyone with at least one story to tell, it's understandable and expected. Two major things going on here. One, Mike Wade becomes the Frontier Champion, his third concurrent title. Triple Champion... impressive.
Second was Chainz's controversial and graphic angle to end the show. On this blog, I predicted that Chainz would cause a mid-level riot, but I never thought it would be this soon into the new year. For those who don't know, Chainz, the character, is a degenerate mysogynist, a sexual predator and a part-time pedopile who's spent time in the can for rape (I think). The angle involves him showing graphic footage of him killing Ellis' Nash's sister, delivering their stillborn baby and committing necrophilia on her, all this after Chainz had found out she was cheating on him and was going to abort their baby, partial-birth style.
Now, I can almost see most of you recoiling in horror at the angle. I kinda did too, but I didn't think it was that bad at all, at least the idea behind it.
Chainz is a lowlife scumbag as a character, so we should expect him to do lowlife, scumbag things. And since wrestling is by nature a business that is over the top. What Chainz did was extremely over the top. But honestly, it might have been too much so, at least in the way that it was presented. It came off very Katie Vick-ish, at least with the admissions of murder and necrophilia being open and graphic.
What Mike Sloan (Chainz' handler) should have done was not written the part where he was describing what was on the tape he was showing Ellis. Maybe have it so that the "Technical difficulties" screen was showing to both the "TV audience" and to us, the reading public. Showing Ellis' horror after seeing the video would have conveyed the same effect as showing the video, and it would leave a lot of gray areas as to what happened.
Despite the criticism, I think Mike should be commended for pushing the envelope, but he pushed a little too hard this time. He shouldn't be flogged too hard at all. We all make mistakes, but they all turn into learning experiences. Honestly, Chainz is one of my favorite characters, period, and I hope he doesn't rein in too much with what he's doing with him.
The other AWC note I wanted to touch upon was a topic that came up on their OOC board: how to deal with a waiting list.
If it were up to me, I wouldn't even consider having a waiting list for any fed I ran. I guess I "grew up" around a culture in A1E and MBE where everyone was welcome, no matter how grammatically or aesthetically bad your writing was.
But then again, A1E at its height had 20 handlers doing 25-30 characters (and that might be generous). Perfect size for a fed. They didn't have the amount of people wanting to get in like AWC (and most PTC feds) do. I know that I wouldn't want to have 50 handlers making Fresh shows almost unbearable to read due to the sheer size of them, so I kinda understand where Hyde's coming from.
In a perfect situation, everyone on your waiting list would be of equal stature and talent and you could let them in on a first-come, first-serve basis. But as most of us in this hobby know, no situation is perfect.
Which is why a straight waiting list system will never work if you want to keep harmony and quality high.
You need to run a selective waiting list process. Go with guys you know will bring the goods, or guys that people you trust refer to you. When you want to give someone new/unknown a chance (and believe me, as a struggling recent grad trying to find work, I'm all about giving the unknown quantities a chance), make them prove their way into the fed. Have them do stuff to get in your good graces: writing matches, talking about wrestling theories and stuff like that, brainstorming angles, getting to know the person in an OOC light. Odds are, if they write a good match, or if they know a bunch about wrestling, or if they link you to stuff that is just fantastic storytelling or anything else positive, they'll be a positive impact on the fed.
But letting folks in blindly... that could lead to disaster in large feds where waiting lists are necessary.
Monday, January 16, 2006
More shows
Quite the busy week for e-fedding as two more feds came out with new shows today.
LVW Viva Las New Year's 2006 was posted early, early this morning. By the admission of Paul and Mike, this was a throwaway card, and it showed. But it's a must-read because of the introduction of some new characters, including Ben Lerner and my favorite, Olvir Arsvinnar, the porn star viking. In an unrelated note, he may be my new favorite character.
EPW Aggression 22 was posted today. Not as much stuff going on as last time, but you also have to realize that EPW is holding Onslaught cards, which cuts into the matches on Aggression. Still, there was a lot of stuff on the show, and it's a good read.
Finally, LoC posted a new edition of Violence. Last week's show was tremendous. This week... well it was alright, but like Ryan Aston said on EWN, it was a step backwards. I thought the Scott Riktor segment where he announced the Williams/Duzza match was a bit anti-climactic and lacked some aura, and the end of the Sylo made suspension of disbelief a little hard. Still though, there was some good stuff on the show, and hopefully, they can deliver with the PPV.
I know this seems like the results shilling blog right now, but I'm going through a bbit of a busy-spell e-fedding wise. I do have a commentary lined up, plus I want to look at XUW's Deadly Draw a little in depth.
LVW Viva Las New Year's 2006 was posted early, early this morning. By the admission of Paul and Mike, this was a throwaway card, and it showed. But it's a must-read because of the introduction of some new characters, including Ben Lerner and my favorite, Olvir Arsvinnar, the porn star viking. In an unrelated note, he may be my new favorite character.
EPW Aggression 22 was posted today. Not as much stuff going on as last time, but you also have to realize that EPW is holding Onslaught cards, which cuts into the matches on Aggression. Still, there was a lot of stuff on the show, and it's a good read.
Finally, LoC posted a new edition of Violence. Last week's show was tremendous. This week... well it was alright, but like Ryan Aston said on EWN, it was a step backwards. I thought the Scott Riktor segment where he announced the Williams/Duzza match was a bit anti-climactic and lacked some aura, and the end of the Sylo made suspension of disbelief a little hard. Still though, there was some good stuff on the show, and hopefully, they can deliver with the PPV.
I know this seems like the results shilling blog right now, but I'm going through a bbit of a busy-spell e-fedding wise. I do have a commentary lined up, plus I want to look at XUW's Deadly Draw a little in depth.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Shows abound!
The inaugural LVW show is here
I have to say, I'm impressed with it for being a first show. We got good introductions to characters like Jimmy Two Times and The Inferno, plus I liked the bi where they kicked Wayne Newton's ass in the intro. The matchwriting was solid and easy to follow too, always a plus in my book.
My only criticism is that it wasn't racy enough. But also, it was only the first show. I'm really liking the set up so far. Kobylarz and Stanton seem to be at least pointed in the right direction.
Holla! Holla! Katz gave NFW a new website!
The link to East Week 5 is on the front page. The new website looks very snazzy. Katz is an EXCELLENT web designer.
As for the show, I think it was very flat in the beginning, but it got stronger and stronger as the show progressed. I admit though, that I'm still confused as to who the guy in the Neon Green Chicken Suit is though, but the overall angle where Mikoto is now Beau's manservant is pretty intriguing. I also was marking out at the "Fetus Red?!?" segment.
I have to say, I'm impressed with it for being a first show. We got good introductions to characters like Jimmy Two Times and The Inferno, plus I liked the bi where they kicked Wayne Newton's ass in the intro. The matchwriting was solid and easy to follow too, always a plus in my book.
My only criticism is that it wasn't racy enough. But also, it was only the first show. I'm really liking the set up so far. Kobylarz and Stanton seem to be at least pointed in the right direction.
Holla! Holla! Katz gave NFW a new website!
The link to East Week 5 is on the front page. The new website looks very snazzy. Katz is an EXCELLENT web designer.
As for the show, I think it was very flat in the beginning, but it got stronger and stronger as the show progressed. I admit though, that I'm still confused as to who the guy in the Neon Green Chicken Suit is though, but the overall angle where Mikoto is now Beau's manservant is pretty intriguing. I also was marking out at the "Fetus Red?!?" segment.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Viva Las Vegas
Much to my surprise, I saw forums for a new fed on FW Central, right above the CSWA. The fed is called Las Vegas Wrestling. On the surface, it seems like just another fed on a site that has an overglut of feds in the first place. Not only that, it's run by people who don't have the best reputations on FW.
However, I'm intrigued, and I applied. Here's why.
It's a niche fed, and it's a particularly interesting niche at that. The concept is that everything takes place in Las Vegas, and with it comes the seedy underpinnings of Sin City. It's an edgier fed. The goal is to push the envelope a little more than normal.
But then again, you might think that NFW or the fWo have pushed those same limitations in the last couple of years and they didn't have to have the trappings of limited surroundings to do it. That's a more than valid criticism. The folks heading LVW and the handlers involved are going to have to work to make sure that there's a difference. That the niche aimed for is gotten.
But if things go exactly as they've envisioned, well, this could be a really cool fed, and it could, along with NFW and EPW, be a part of a strong active three-fed core on FW and help anchor the site for years to come, even after NFW has completed its second (and possibly final) season.
(Waits for Katz to comment about how the season two will last until 2008)
However, I'm intrigued, and I applied. Here's why.
It's a niche fed, and it's a particularly interesting niche at that. The concept is that everything takes place in Las Vegas, and with it comes the seedy underpinnings of Sin City. It's an edgier fed. The goal is to push the envelope a little more than normal.
But then again, you might think that NFW or the fWo have pushed those same limitations in the last couple of years and they didn't have to have the trappings of limited surroundings to do it. That's a more than valid criticism. The folks heading LVW and the handlers involved are going to have to work to make sure that there's a difference. That the niche aimed for is gotten.
But if things go exactly as they've envisioned, well, this could be a really cool fed, and it could, along with NFW and EPW, be a part of a strong active three-fed core on FW and help anchor the site for years to come, even after NFW has completed its second (and possibly final) season.
(Waits for Katz to comment about how the season two will last until 2008)
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