Last year, when I first ran the TEAM tournaments and other events, the response was amazing. Sure, I had no-shows. I'm not going to pretend that everyone RPed and RPed enthusiastically either, but there was enough RP going on for me to be proud of it. The second iterations, well, the TiT and ToC were still both well RPed-for. Some of the SuperShows have become a bit sparsely participated in, despite the somewhat enthusiastic turnout for people signing up for them. The absolute nadir thus far though, has been this past week in the Dupree Cup. I think there were a total of three or four matches that had participation from everyone who was scheduled to be in the match. For one meet, only one person RPed for only one team in the entire meet. One person!
For me to chide people about not being active would be pretty hypocritical, seeing as my time and energy lately has been sapped pretty bad, but at the same time, to have one team totally no-show and another team only have 1/4 representation is kinda depressing. I asked around and got a few responses. They ranged from the totally excusable (death in the family) to absurd (dropping out of the tournament because they thought they wouldn't be fairly judged), but I still haven't gotten a response from most of the people who didn't show. It makes me wonder whether the sheen is off the rose and they don't really want to come out and say it. I could understand if that was the case. I mean, I wouldn't want to tell someone that I didn't RP because I thought the novelty was gone. At the same time though, TEAM isn't a regular fed. It should always have some kind of novelty attached to it, shouldn't it?
That's one question I really don't know how to answer. On one hand, I love putting on SuperShows, I love running the tournaments, and I love having the interfed titles. On the other hand though, I'm very nonplussed about the lack of participation. It makes me wonder if the sheen is off the rose. I've been sort of fighting with myself over this in my mind, whether I was the one taking the novelty away, and it's been recently confirmed by two other minds. One is Jarret, who on his blog mentions that TEAM may be getting too much like a regular fed, and the other Karl, who suggested the same to me privately. It's not like that was coming from two bumpkins who came in with no idea of how TEAM worked. Both guys are respected RPers/handlers, and they've competed in several TEAM events before. For them to notice the same thing really drives the point home to me.
TEAM has become everything I never wanted it to become.
Seriously, I wanted to do things with TEAM that people wouldn't do in their regular feds, that people COULDN'T do in their regular feds. That's why all the secondary titles are differently gimmicked. I really don't want to have regular RP battles for titles when that kind of thing doesn't work unless you have a history going into it. The CoC, yeah, because you expect the best of the best to come up with stuff out of their asses, and a lot of times, with the sort of Victorian Era European royalty we have in the main-event pool for TEAM, you do get matchups with history. Still though, I can see now how people would get burnt out on the FFA~! Title if there's one every other week.
So, I've already decided to scale back on the SuperShows. Instead of having them all the time, scaling back on them will have fewer TEAM matches for people to feel obligated to sign up for. Having fewer of them means that TEAM matches are more likely to fall on lulls for the regular cards, and people will have time to RP.
The tournaments... well, hopefully that's just a byproduct of too many SuperShows, because if week 3 of the Dupree Cup ends up like week 2, I'll be pretty bummed out. I guess that's my question... has TEAM really lost its novelty? And can I ever get it back? I have no plans of folding this thing anytime soon, but I really would feel bummed out if people didn't get up for TEAM events.
I know this post seems a bit emo, but that's just the mood lately. I'll snap out of soon, I promise.
Showing posts with label sluggishness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sluggishness. Show all posts
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Two years of kumquats, making people look like Hitler and just being Blogotron
Hard to believe, but the Blog is two years old today. I never thought I'd take it this far or that it'd become this big, but hey, stranger things have happened. I mean since I've started this thing, angle fedding has become an endangered species, PTC has ceased operations as a full-time interfed and yes, NFW has finished its second season four years ahead of schedule.
Not to sound pompous or self-centered, but I feel like this blog has become bigger than I am. It has become this place where people come to find out about places they're not fully familiar with, a place for people to get news or opinions, and occasionaly for them to bitch at me when I say something they don't agree with :p Regardless, over these two years, with all the characters I've handled, the most important one has become the character of the Blogger, which isn't a character at all. I'm somewhat of a journalist, and really, the only one that eW has right now.
I'd like to let you in on a little secret; I never meant it to be this way. I really don't want to be your only source of eW news because, quite frankly, I don't have the time to be your only source of eW news. I always thought that I'd be the first in a wave of several eW bloggers, a veritable e-fed blogosphere. For awhile there, I thought that was going to be the case. You see the sidebar to the right of where this is. It's full of links to other blogs. The only problem is, some of those links are dead, and others haven't been updated for months, and if they have, it's been sporadic at best. That's a damn shame.
I'm not saying that people need to step up and be exactly what this blog is. I try to take a more worldly approach, a broad scope. If there were two or three more bloggers like me, that'd be fine, but everyone who aspires doesn't need to focus on anything more than a fed or two that they're familiar with. We need a more parochial approach to blogging, people who comment on just some of the old PTC feds, or a guy who covers NAPW and REBEL and so on and so forth.
People complain that the hobby is dying. I still see a ton of handlers lurking around the big sites, and that tells me that there's at least a passing interest. If the hobby is dying, it's only because people don't care anymore. If you start caring, you do things like handle in feds and promote them. Blogging is one of those ways to promote.
Not to sound pompous or self-centered, but I feel like this blog has become bigger than I am. It has become this place where people come to find out about places they're not fully familiar with, a place for people to get news or opinions, and occasionaly for them to bitch at me when I say something they don't agree with :p Regardless, over these two years, with all the characters I've handled, the most important one has become the character of the Blogger, which isn't a character at all. I'm somewhat of a journalist, and really, the only one that eW has right now.
I'd like to let you in on a little secret; I never meant it to be this way. I really don't want to be your only source of eW news because, quite frankly, I don't have the time to be your only source of eW news. I always thought that I'd be the first in a wave of several eW bloggers, a veritable e-fed blogosphere. For awhile there, I thought that was going to be the case. You see the sidebar to the right of where this is. It's full of links to other blogs. The only problem is, some of those links are dead, and others haven't been updated for months, and if they have, it's been sporadic at best. That's a damn shame.
I'm not saying that people need to step up and be exactly what this blog is. I try to take a more worldly approach, a broad scope. If there were two or three more bloggers like me, that'd be fine, but everyone who aspires doesn't need to focus on anything more than a fed or two that they're familiar with. We need a more parochial approach to blogging, people who comment on just some of the old PTC feds, or a guy who covers NAPW and REBEL and so on and so forth.
People complain that the hobby is dying. I still see a ton of handlers lurking around the big sites, and that tells me that there's at least a passing interest. If the hobby is dying, it's only because people don't care anymore. If you start caring, you do things like handle in feds and promote them. Blogging is one of those ways to promote.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Guest Bloggings! Snow on New Blood
Our next guest bloggings comes from David Snow (I don't know his real last name :p), who handles Jason Snow. He writes on a subject that's near and dear to my heart, and I have to say, it's a must-read.
Now and Then
by David "Snow," Special Guest to RRoaEL
Upon returning to e-wrestling after a three year hiatus, I was staggered to see the differences in the game. First of all, it seems that angle feds turned out to be just a fad after all, and the RP fed once again reigns supreme. Second, people are much more mature, but I suppose that comes along with the fact that it’s mostly the same people, only now we’re all way too old for this game. Third, the game itself has lost a lot of steam.
Around the time I left in 2003, eW was electric. Forums were buzzing with activity, and there were chats going around the clock. No matter what time of day you were able to stop in, there was always something going on to get your eW fix.
It’s not like that now.
The forums are, for the most part, looked at, but not used. The chats are reserved for rare occasions.
Originally, I just thought the game had changed; that people just weren’t as into as I remembered. But when I got into the community, I saw that wasn’t the case either. You only need GTT6 for proof of that. Even during the most active time that I was involved in eW, I’ve never seen anything generate buzz like GTT6.
I’ve talked to many people about the state of eW today as compared to the time I left, and nearly all of them said the same thing - eW will rebound when the wrestling industry rebounds. I agreed. It sounds logical, right? More wrestling fans mean more people will trickle in to eW, populating our game with new blood. The over all numbers are down, but I think everyone will agree, the bulk of the difference is in how many “new” guys are around. In 2002/2003, there were a lot of guys who’d been involved in the game for less than four months - less than two months, even. Since my comeback, I don’t think I’ve talked to one.
But that’ll change when wrestling gets popular again, right?
Well...
Rating for WWE RAW (September 30, 2002): 3.6
Rating for WWE RAW (October 7, 2002): 3.8
Rating for WWE RAW (October 14, 2002): 3.8
Rating for WWE RAW (September 29, 2003): 3.4
Rating for WWE RAW (October 6, 2003): 3.4
Rating for WWE RAW (October 13, 2003): 3.6
Rating for WWE RAW (September 25, 2006): 3.7
Rating for WWE RAW (October 2, 2006): 3.4
Rating for WWE RAW (October 9, 2006): 3.8
Lets face it. The golden age of wrestling was over a full year, or perhaps two, before the golden age of eW began.
In preparation for this article, I decided to look around at other feds. I found one of those Top-100 sites and starting going through. I was very surprised. When you look through the “geocities” and “angelfire” feds, almost nothing has changed. These feds seem as active as ever, if not, I daresay moreso. I know what you’re thinking: “I saw one of those Top-100 feds sites too, and a lot of the feds had long-since died.” All I can say is you might be looking at 2002/2003 through rose-colored glasses, because that’s what those things always looked like. Small feds rarely made it to their six month anniversary. The point is, people are still creating the feds.
I found out recently that my first ever fed has come back from the grave - not only has it come back, but it’s now bursting with activity. It has a roster of over thirty members, and that’s a conservative estimate. They’re all very active. And yes, the fed still uses real pictures and several of it’s RP’s happen in a ring.
Looking through these feds, I came to two conclusions. You can think they’re wrong if you like, but I believe that these are cold truths that we should accept.
Conclusion #1
The decline of e-fedding is an illusion.
Conclusion #2
We have hi-jacked the hobby.
Who are we?
We are the writers.
I am, perhaps, more guilty of this than any of you. I don’t watch wrestling; I haven’t watched wrestling since roughly 2002. I don’t know who the WWE champion is, and in casual conversation, I still refer to it as the “WWF.” I don’t know who the faces and heels are. If I’m flipping through the channels and I happen to see an old face from my childhood, I’ll stop to watch. Other than that, the most it will get is a quick pause, and then I’m onto the next channel.
I’m not alone. In fact, I don’t even think I’m in the minority. That’s not to say I don’t like wrestling. I think that each of us involved in the game has, at some point or another, been captivated with the sport. It is, after all, the closest thing there is to a soap opera made for males. But to say I’m a fan? No... I’m like the guy who’s favorite baseball player has long since retired. He likes the sport - you might even say he has a love for it - but it is very hard to call him a fan.
But eW isn’t about wrestling anymore - lets face it. It’s about intriguing stories that may or may not be loosely based on wrestling. The characters in eW are not really characters at all, save for a few. Ask around.
“What’s your character?”
“Oh, I handle John Smith in GWF (Generic Wrestling Federation).”
“Oh yeah, what’s his gimmick?”
“He’s a guy that was born into a terrible family where his father abused his mother. Now he’s in the middle of a plot to blow up his city because an evil congressman is trying to divert attention away from his unnatural lust for young boys.”
You know who has the best “gimmick” in that? The congressman with the unnatural lust for young boys. What we call gimmicks today aren’t really gimmicks - they’re circumstances that surround the main character. A gimmick is who the character is, not what’s going on in his life.
Again, I’m probably more guilty of this than the rest of you. That’s because I’m in the game for the writing, and often times, the most interesting characters are pretty ordinary ones that get caught up in an unordinary situation. Why? Because we’re writers, and those are the kinds of characters that people can relate to.
And damn it, have we ever gotten good.
There are a handful of people involved in PTC right now that have the talent to write a novel. They might even have the talent to write professionally. And just behind them, there are several more e-fedders who are developing at a pace that will have them in that group shortly. There are guys that I would wager large amounts of money that, given enough free time, could make it as authors. And without e-fedding, they’d probably have remained above average.
But where does this leave the average wrestling fan?
They come to PTC, looking for a good wrestling game to get involved in. They see the posers, read the news columns, check out some rankings... they’re excited. They want to get involved. But then they come to the RP section, and they find that it’s not a wrestling game at all. It’s a writing game that simply uses wrestling as its platform. They’re not interested in a writing game.
And you know what’s funny? I’ll bet many of you would have been in the same boat when you got into the game. 99% of us got into it for wrestling - I know I did. Many of us were decent writers to begin with, so as the game evolved, we didn’t have much trouble adjusting. Many of us weren’t great writers, but through practice, became good writers. Many of us were terrible writers, but because of sheer competitiveness, or perhaps simply to continue having fun in the game, we got better. Maybe it was even an accident.
I’m not being critical - I want that to be known. I’m just pointing out that this really isn’t a wrestling game anymore, and that’s probably the biggest reason for the decline.
And when I say “we’ve hijacked the hobby,” I really only mean we’ve hi-jacked the major leagues of the hobby. Because it seems that in the feds that we used to call “indy” feds, where it’s still all about the wrestling, things about the same as they always were.
It’s not about making changes, it’s about accepting the way things are. We’ll probably never get back to the heights of the “Ron days,” simply because the game has changed now. Being a wrestling fan isn’t enough to thrive in PTC now. You have to have the unique combination of being a wrestling fan/like wrestling, and being a fairly talented writer or better. That combination is a lot harder to find, and thus, new blood continues come in at a trickle.
Now and Then
by David "Snow," Special Guest to RRoaEL
Upon returning to e-wrestling after a three year hiatus, I was staggered to see the differences in the game. First of all, it seems that angle feds turned out to be just a fad after all, and the RP fed once again reigns supreme. Second, people are much more mature, but I suppose that comes along with the fact that it’s mostly the same people, only now we’re all way too old for this game. Third, the game itself has lost a lot of steam.
Around the time I left in 2003, eW was electric. Forums were buzzing with activity, and there were chats going around the clock. No matter what time of day you were able to stop in, there was always something going on to get your eW fix.
It’s not like that now.
The forums are, for the most part, looked at, but not used. The chats are reserved for rare occasions.
Originally, I just thought the game had changed; that people just weren’t as into as I remembered. But when I got into the community, I saw that wasn’t the case either. You only need GTT6 for proof of that. Even during the most active time that I was involved in eW, I’ve never seen anything generate buzz like GTT6.
I’ve talked to many people about the state of eW today as compared to the time I left, and nearly all of them said the same thing - eW will rebound when the wrestling industry rebounds. I agreed. It sounds logical, right? More wrestling fans mean more people will trickle in to eW, populating our game with new blood. The over all numbers are down, but I think everyone will agree, the bulk of the difference is in how many “new” guys are around. In 2002/2003, there were a lot of guys who’d been involved in the game for less than four months - less than two months, even. Since my comeback, I don’t think I’ve talked to one.
But that’ll change when wrestling gets popular again, right?
Well...
Rating for WWE RAW (September 30, 2002): 3.6
Rating for WWE RAW (October 7, 2002): 3.8
Rating for WWE RAW (October 14, 2002): 3.8
Rating for WWE RAW (September 29, 2003): 3.4
Rating for WWE RAW (October 6, 2003): 3.4
Rating for WWE RAW (October 13, 2003): 3.6
Rating for WWE RAW (September 25, 2006): 3.7
Rating for WWE RAW (October 2, 2006): 3.4
Rating for WWE RAW (October 9, 2006): 3.8
Lets face it. The golden age of wrestling was over a full year, or perhaps two, before the golden age of eW began.
In preparation for this article, I decided to look around at other feds. I found one of those Top-100 sites and starting going through. I was very surprised. When you look through the “geocities” and “angelfire” feds, almost nothing has changed. These feds seem as active as ever, if not, I daresay moreso. I know what you’re thinking: “I saw one of those Top-100 feds sites too, and a lot of the feds had long-since died.” All I can say is you might be looking at 2002/2003 through rose-colored glasses, because that’s what those things always looked like. Small feds rarely made it to their six month anniversary. The point is, people are still creating the feds.
I found out recently that my first ever fed has come back from the grave - not only has it come back, but it’s now bursting with activity. It has a roster of over thirty members, and that’s a conservative estimate. They’re all very active. And yes, the fed still uses real pictures and several of it’s RP’s happen in a ring.
Looking through these feds, I came to two conclusions. You can think they’re wrong if you like, but I believe that these are cold truths that we should accept.
Conclusion #1
The decline of e-fedding is an illusion.
Conclusion #2
We have hi-jacked the hobby.
Who are we?
We are the writers.
I am, perhaps, more guilty of this than any of you. I don’t watch wrestling; I haven’t watched wrestling since roughly 2002. I don’t know who the WWE champion is, and in casual conversation, I still refer to it as the “WWF.” I don’t know who the faces and heels are. If I’m flipping through the channels and I happen to see an old face from my childhood, I’ll stop to watch. Other than that, the most it will get is a quick pause, and then I’m onto the next channel.
I’m not alone. In fact, I don’t even think I’m in the minority. That’s not to say I don’t like wrestling. I think that each of us involved in the game has, at some point or another, been captivated with the sport. It is, after all, the closest thing there is to a soap opera made for males. But to say I’m a fan? No... I’m like the guy who’s favorite baseball player has long since retired. He likes the sport - you might even say he has a love for it - but it is very hard to call him a fan.
But eW isn’t about wrestling anymore - lets face it. It’s about intriguing stories that may or may not be loosely based on wrestling. The characters in eW are not really characters at all, save for a few. Ask around.
“What’s your character?”
“Oh, I handle John Smith in GWF (Generic Wrestling Federation).”
“Oh yeah, what’s his gimmick?”
“He’s a guy that was born into a terrible family where his father abused his mother. Now he’s in the middle of a plot to blow up his city because an evil congressman is trying to divert attention away from his unnatural lust for young boys.”
You know who has the best “gimmick” in that? The congressman with the unnatural lust for young boys. What we call gimmicks today aren’t really gimmicks - they’re circumstances that surround the main character. A gimmick is who the character is, not what’s going on in his life.
Again, I’m probably more guilty of this than the rest of you. That’s because I’m in the game for the writing, and often times, the most interesting characters are pretty ordinary ones that get caught up in an unordinary situation. Why? Because we’re writers, and those are the kinds of characters that people can relate to.
And damn it, have we ever gotten good.
There are a handful of people involved in PTC right now that have the talent to write a novel. They might even have the talent to write professionally. And just behind them, there are several more e-fedders who are developing at a pace that will have them in that group shortly. There are guys that I would wager large amounts of money that, given enough free time, could make it as authors. And without e-fedding, they’d probably have remained above average.
But where does this leave the average wrestling fan?
They come to PTC, looking for a good wrestling game to get involved in. They see the posers, read the news columns, check out some rankings... they’re excited. They want to get involved. But then they come to the RP section, and they find that it’s not a wrestling game at all. It’s a writing game that simply uses wrestling as its platform. They’re not interested in a writing game.
And you know what’s funny? I’ll bet many of you would have been in the same boat when you got into the game. 99% of us got into it for wrestling - I know I did. Many of us were decent writers to begin with, so as the game evolved, we didn’t have much trouble adjusting. Many of us weren’t great writers, but through practice, became good writers. Many of us were terrible writers, but because of sheer competitiveness, or perhaps simply to continue having fun in the game, we got better. Maybe it was even an accident.
I’m not being critical - I want that to be known. I’m just pointing out that this really isn’t a wrestling game anymore, and that’s probably the biggest reason for the decline.
And when I say “we’ve hijacked the hobby,” I really only mean we’ve hi-jacked the major leagues of the hobby. Because it seems that in the feds that we used to call “indy” feds, where it’s still all about the wrestling, things about the same as they always were.
It’s not about making changes, it’s about accepting the way things are. We’ll probably never get back to the heights of the “Ron days,” simply because the game has changed now. Being a wrestling fan isn’t enough to thrive in PTC now. You have to have the unique combination of being a wrestling fan/like wrestling, and being a fairly talented writer or better. That combination is a lot harder to find, and thus, new blood continues come in at a trickle.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Shortforming, plus NEW BELLS AND WHISTLES WHOO~!
Before I get to this entry, you might have noticed something different with the blog. There are now labels at the bottom of most posts (all the recent ones and some of the ones that go all the way back). I'm in the process of tagging all my entries so you can click on one link and see all the posts about a certain topic, whether it's about a fed or a topic.
Plus, if you notice on the side, I added a few new feds to the mix. Three new angle feds.
Spinebuster Wrestling - Unique and old-school name, unique show name... gave the roster a once over and noticed both Andy Sharp and Jeff Garvin on the roster. Although there are too many NPC characters (the ACW crew brings ACW habits?), that's a strong base and this is a fed to follow.
Universal Wrestling - These guys have been pimping hard on FW and cIm, and they feature Turk on the roster, as well as Derecho's handler fedheading it. Could be interesting.
Revolution Pro Wrestling - Another fed that's gotten the hard pimp on cIm and some major backing over at PTC from Sean Williams. They have major balls to put out shows with just four characters. Major risk, but at this point, with angle fedding being at the point of stagnation, it's a welcome risk. The only thing I don't really like about this fed so far is their members ganging up in the cIm Wrestler of the Week voting and just voting for each other. Kinda cheapens the process (the same with the Global and nbW guys... it's a competition, not a shill). Still, watch out for these guys. With the people involved, this could be the big angle fed story of 2007 (unless Travis somehow gets the fWo kickstarted).
I may not be able to follow those feds as closely as the feds I do now, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them. I expect big things from them, and hopefully, they can revitalize the angle fed community.
Now, finally...
For years, we've all slaved over our computers to write matches in a somewhat timely fashion (although at FW.com in the last year, timely means within a month :p). We tell ourselves that since we put so much effort into RPing/promoing, the matches have to reflect that. Yet, I'm willing to bet that more than half any community doesn't take the time to read matches except maybe at PPVs. I know most of the time, unless I'm really in the mood, I skim the contests and look for big angle advancement things. PPVs and special events are different, but for most regular TV shows, I'm reading for segs and angle advancement.
So, we kill ourselves writing matches and then no one ends up reading them. Shows get delayed for posterity, so that we can look good for our peers, when odds are, most of them will just skim through it. It's a bad habit for everyone, but at this stage of the game, where most of us are getting older and have less and less time to read and write wrestling matches, it's becoming more and more understandable.
For many years now, I've been leading the charge for e-fedding to stick to its roots of wrestling, and it would seem that those roots include writing out full-form matches to make shows feel like wrestling shows and not just TV sitcoms or dramas with a requisite ensemble cast. It might be a bit hypocritical for me to suggest what I'm about to suggest, but in light of the breaking news that when you get older, you have less time to devote to hobbies like this, I think it makes all the sense in the world.
For e-fedding to retain much of its past life and vigor, unless a new influx of late high school-aged to college aged people enter the hobby, all matches for your free TV shows should be shortformed.
Think about it, what's the thing that usually holds up cards being posted on time? Matches. Why is that? Because writing matches in longform takes time unless you're a wunderkind or you pay no attention to things like detail, flow, plausibility, angle-advancement, psychology, etc. That time that was so abundant to us when we were in high school or college now is limited as we enter our working lives, having to worry about things like paying bills, keeping jobs, getting married, etc. We still want to participate in the hobby, but it's increasingly difficult to do more than put up a couple of promos a week or write one, decent storyline RP (although the PTC community seems to be where the FW/A1 community agewise was a few years ago, which is why they have more feds that are regular in the traditional sense).
Because of that, compromises must be made. Most of the time, free TV matches serve the purpose of angle advancement or heat building, places where you'd normally use a Dusty finish or where happenings in and around the match matter more than the outcome. It's always been true in real wrestling (with a few exceptions, like the legendary Bret/Benoit Owen Memorial Match on Nitro or the infamous Austin & Trips/Benoit & Jericho tag match where Trips tore his quad). You build the feud during the show and then blow it off at the PPV, where the wrestling really, really matters. So why not let the writing reflect that? Shortform matches give the reader the satisfaction of knowing the finish, flow and major happenings of the match in less time and with clearer results than if the match was written out, and the writer gets to put his story across in a conciser manner where he/she wouldn't feel as stressed or pressured to get it done.
Now, this may seem like the short way out. Let me let you in on a little secret. It certainly is a short way out, a quick fix. Usually, those are bad, but in this case, it's a necessary evil. Until God decides to give us 8 more hours in the day, we're stuck with the dilemma of deciding between work and this great hobby of ours. It may seem like short-shrifting, but if it means the FW.com feds come alive again, if it means the PTC feds never have to experience a slowdown like FW has experienced, if it means more people getting involved in writing stuff for shows instead of just writing it for their promos/RPs, then it could save the hobby if we never get another new handler to come into it.
Plus, if you notice on the side, I added a few new feds to the mix. Three new angle feds.
Spinebuster Wrestling - Unique and old-school name, unique show name... gave the roster a once over and noticed both Andy Sharp and Jeff Garvin on the roster. Although there are too many NPC characters (the ACW crew brings ACW habits?), that's a strong base and this is a fed to follow.
Universal Wrestling - These guys have been pimping hard on FW and cIm, and they feature Turk on the roster, as well as Derecho's handler fedheading it. Could be interesting.
Revolution Pro Wrestling - Another fed that's gotten the hard pimp on cIm and some major backing over at PTC from Sean Williams. They have major balls to put out shows with just four characters. Major risk, but at this point, with angle fedding being at the point of stagnation, it's a welcome risk. The only thing I don't really like about this fed so far is their members ganging up in the cIm Wrestler of the Week voting and just voting for each other. Kinda cheapens the process (the same with the Global and nbW guys... it's a competition, not a shill). Still, watch out for these guys. With the people involved, this could be the big angle fed story of 2007 (unless Travis somehow gets the fWo kickstarted).
I may not be able to follow those feds as closely as the feds I do now, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them. I expect big things from them, and hopefully, they can revitalize the angle fed community.
Now, finally...
For years, we've all slaved over our computers to write matches in a somewhat timely fashion (although at FW.com in the last year, timely means within a month :p). We tell ourselves that since we put so much effort into RPing/promoing, the matches have to reflect that. Yet, I'm willing to bet that more than half any community doesn't take the time to read matches except maybe at PPVs. I know most of the time, unless I'm really in the mood, I skim the contests and look for big angle advancement things. PPVs and special events are different, but for most regular TV shows, I'm reading for segs and angle advancement.
So, we kill ourselves writing matches and then no one ends up reading them. Shows get delayed for posterity, so that we can look good for our peers, when odds are, most of them will just skim through it. It's a bad habit for everyone, but at this stage of the game, where most of us are getting older and have less and less time to read and write wrestling matches, it's becoming more and more understandable.
For many years now, I've been leading the charge for e-fedding to stick to its roots of wrestling, and it would seem that those roots include writing out full-form matches to make shows feel like wrestling shows and not just TV sitcoms or dramas with a requisite ensemble cast. It might be a bit hypocritical for me to suggest what I'm about to suggest, but in light of the breaking news that when you get older, you have less time to devote to hobbies like this, I think it makes all the sense in the world.
For e-fedding to retain much of its past life and vigor, unless a new influx of late high school-aged to college aged people enter the hobby, all matches for your free TV shows should be shortformed.
Think about it, what's the thing that usually holds up cards being posted on time? Matches. Why is that? Because writing matches in longform takes time unless you're a wunderkind or you pay no attention to things like detail, flow, plausibility, angle-advancement, psychology, etc. That time that was so abundant to us when we were in high school or college now is limited as we enter our working lives, having to worry about things like paying bills, keeping jobs, getting married, etc. We still want to participate in the hobby, but it's increasingly difficult to do more than put up a couple of promos a week or write one, decent storyline RP (although the PTC community seems to be where the FW/A1 community agewise was a few years ago, which is why they have more feds that are regular in the traditional sense).
Because of that, compromises must be made. Most of the time, free TV matches serve the purpose of angle advancement or heat building, places where you'd normally use a Dusty finish or where happenings in and around the match matter more than the outcome. It's always been true in real wrestling (with a few exceptions, like the legendary Bret/Benoit Owen Memorial Match on Nitro or the infamous Austin & Trips/Benoit & Jericho tag match where Trips tore his quad). You build the feud during the show and then blow it off at the PPV, where the wrestling really, really matters. So why not let the writing reflect that? Shortform matches give the reader the satisfaction of knowing the finish, flow and major happenings of the match in less time and with clearer results than if the match was written out, and the writer gets to put his story across in a conciser manner where he/she wouldn't feel as stressed or pressured to get it done.
Now, this may seem like the short way out. Let me let you in on a little secret. It certainly is a short way out, a quick fix. Usually, those are bad, but in this case, it's a necessary evil. Until God decides to give us 8 more hours in the day, we're stuck with the dilemma of deciding between work and this great hobby of ours. It may seem like short-shrifting, but if it means the FW.com feds come alive again, if it means the PTC feds never have to experience a slowdown like FW has experienced, if it means more people getting involved in writing stuff for shows instead of just writing it for their promos/RPs, then it could save the hobby if we never get another new handler to come into it.
Monday, November 06, 2006
FW.com is sleeping
...and I'd like to wake it up.
I wrote this entry a little while back this year concerning the slow death of wrestling promo-styled RPs and feds of that nature. Of course, I was assured this wasn't happening, but here we are, 9 months later, and the FW community of feds is at a near standstill. Only UCW has come out with a new show in the last month, but to their credit, the show that was just in RP for them was very hotly RPed for. We're still waiting on shows from EPW, NFW and NEW. Plus, we've seen some signs of life from the sleeping giant known as WFW. Those four feds are the lifeblood of FW (I've always seen the CSWA as a seperate entity unto FW... part of the community but apart from it at the same time), and they've been quiet this year so far.
Of course, it's for good reason, Edmunds is going to law school, Brunk has recently had to pick up a second job and Katz moved across the country. Plus, Shane C., who's had problems getting his shows up, has had to deal with college and with his co-fedhead dropping on him. I know I sound like a broken record, but we're all getting older, and of course that's going to hurt our productivity. I've been trying to spark life into FW with TEAM, but I can only do so much. This is all besides the point though.
Without FW.com, the only corner of the fed devoted to old-school wrestling promo RPs is at A1, and that's a small corner to say the least. The two feds there, A1E MBE, are about as old-school as you can get, but we barely register a blip on the big screen (a problem that we seem to be rectifying in this year's GTT6).
Even in the CSWA, when the Gold Rush was in RP, while the best players in the match were going old school (Brunk, Pete, Gregg, Lindz), a good amount of people went in and put up newer, short-story style RPs looking to win. There was a distinct dichotomy between the FW regulars and the PTC-styled guests.
None of the past events have done anything to allay my fears that my favored style of RPing is dying. People seem not to be interested in it in the most active community (PTC). I mean, there are some people there who look down on it, debasing it as "mere trash talk," saying events can "devolve into trash talk" and using other verbiage that suggests that only lower form writers use that style.
And if I can go on an aside here, only people who are ignorant to how the style works will talk that badly about it. People who think that wrestling promo styled RP is only "I R better than U" and who have never read a Lindsay Troy EPW RP, or any of the Dan Ryan Alter-Ego RPs in the CSWA Gold Rush, or who have never bothered to realize that one of their own, Nova, is among the best old-school styled RPers in NFW and TEAM right no, they don't know what they're missing out on. I mean, of course the n00bs of the world will pull the second-grade crap, but if you tell me that you can read a promo by Eddie Mayfield or Felix Red or Yori Yakamo, Jr. or The Spoiler or Beast or Big Dog or Troy Windham or Jonathan Marx or Doc Silver or Jason Payne or HAL or Professor Tremendous or Freakfish or even one of my many characters and still think it's base trash talk crap, then I don't know what to tell you.
People at FW seem not to have the time to run the feds needed to keep the community active. When you don't have the activity to denounce the naysayers, negative stereotypes will abound. I'm not saying that all of us should quit are jobs and do this full-time. Unless Chad wants to pay us. I'm just saying... maybe it's time for another fedhead to step in and run a fed that will stabilize, someone younger, or perhaps someone who's rich or out on disability leave. I don't know. FW needs some lifeblood injected into it.
The old-school needs to thrive for e-fedding to truly thrive. Hopefully, I can do my part with the lineup of TEAM events that I have coming up, but interfed stuff should only be used as a supplement to healthy fed activity.
I don't know. Maybe I'm pushing the panic button. But really, I don't want to see FW.com and the wonderfully rich style contained therein to wither away.
I wrote this entry a little while back this year concerning the slow death of wrestling promo-styled RPs and feds of that nature. Of course, I was assured this wasn't happening, but here we are, 9 months later, and the FW community of feds is at a near standstill. Only UCW has come out with a new show in the last month, but to their credit, the show that was just in RP for them was very hotly RPed for. We're still waiting on shows from EPW, NFW and NEW. Plus, we've seen some signs of life from the sleeping giant known as WFW. Those four feds are the lifeblood of FW (I've always seen the CSWA as a seperate entity unto FW... part of the community but apart from it at the same time), and they've been quiet this year so far.
Of course, it's for good reason, Edmunds is going to law school, Brunk has recently had to pick up a second job and Katz moved across the country. Plus, Shane C., who's had problems getting his shows up, has had to deal with college and with his co-fedhead dropping on him. I know I sound like a broken record, but we're all getting older, and of course that's going to hurt our productivity. I've been trying to spark life into FW with TEAM, but I can only do so much. This is all besides the point though.
Without FW.com, the only corner of the fed devoted to old-school wrestling promo RPs is at A1, and that's a small corner to say the least. The two feds there, A1E MBE, are about as old-school as you can get, but we barely register a blip on the big screen (a problem that we seem to be rectifying in this year's GTT6).
Even in the CSWA, when the Gold Rush was in RP, while the best players in the match were going old school (Brunk, Pete, Gregg, Lindz), a good amount of people went in and put up newer, short-story style RPs looking to win. There was a distinct dichotomy between the FW regulars and the PTC-styled guests.
None of the past events have done anything to allay my fears that my favored style of RPing is dying. People seem not to be interested in it in the most active community (PTC). I mean, there are some people there who look down on it, debasing it as "mere trash talk," saying events can "devolve into trash talk" and using other verbiage that suggests that only lower form writers use that style.
And if I can go on an aside here, only people who are ignorant to how the style works will talk that badly about it. People who think that wrestling promo styled RP is only "I R better than U" and who have never read a Lindsay Troy EPW RP, or any of the Dan Ryan Alter-Ego RPs in the CSWA Gold Rush, or who have never bothered to realize that one of their own, Nova, is among the best old-school styled RPers in NFW and TEAM right no, they don't know what they're missing out on. I mean, of course the n00bs of the world will pull the second-grade crap, but if you tell me that you can read a promo by Eddie Mayfield or Felix Red or Yori Yakamo, Jr. or The Spoiler or Beast or Big Dog or Troy Windham or Jonathan Marx or Doc Silver or Jason Payne or HAL or Professor Tremendous or Freakfish or even one of my many characters and still think it's base trash talk crap, then I don't know what to tell you.
People at FW seem not to have the time to run the feds needed to keep the community active. When you don't have the activity to denounce the naysayers, negative stereotypes will abound. I'm not saying that all of us should quit are jobs and do this full-time. Unless Chad wants to pay us. I'm just saying... maybe it's time for another fedhead to step in and run a fed that will stabilize, someone younger, or perhaps someone who's rich or out on disability leave. I don't know. FW needs some lifeblood injected into it.
The old-school needs to thrive for e-fedding to truly thrive. Hopefully, I can do my part with the lineup of TEAM events that I have coming up, but interfed stuff should only be used as a supplement to healthy fed activity.
I don't know. Maybe I'm pushing the panic button. But really, I don't want to see FW.com and the wonderfully rich style contained therein to wither away.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Rethinking the Tag Division
Much has been made about the state of tag team wrestling in e-feds over the years. It happens upon the same cycle. People get excited about the tag team division, and there's a spike in activity. After a little bit of action, the division dies back down again after everyone realizes that there's no "glory" involved and you actually have to *gasp* work with other people or handling an entire tag team by yourself can be taxing. Then it dies again, often with your fed's variant of the Tag Team Championship perishing with it. It happens in cycles all the time until people just stop caring and the cycles cease to begin again.
You'd think that it'd be best to leave well enough, right? If people don't want the tag division, why bother? Well, I don't think that people don't want the tag division. Deep down, I believe people like the idea of wrestlers teaming up. Why else would there be a push for it every once in awhile? The interest is there, but there's no incentive to keep going. Tag Team Championships are often treated like second class titles, used to build up-and-comers, to shunt acts into after their progress in the singles ranks has been retarded, to put characters when the booking committee or the fedhead has no other ideas for them. There's no "prestige." There's nothing to suggest that the Tag Team Titles are on the plateau right below the World Championship like they should be in theory. Forget about write-ups, too. Tag matches are much harder to write than singles matches are. You're talking about a no-win situation as is.
So how do you put that prestige back? How do you make the tag division a selling point? Well, you have to put some prestige back into it. You have to make the tag division, at least at the Championship level, main event caliber. How do you do that, you ask? Well, two things:
1. Stock your tag division with main eventers
A division is only as prestigious as the wrestlers in it. If you stock your tag division with nothing but newbies, then it'll be the rookie division. If you stock it with midcarders whose push to the main event didn't quite work out so well, then you'll effectively make it the retread division. But if you make a concerted effort to put people in the division who are talented and who are over, then you'll have a division people will want to compete in, thus making your Tag Titles coveted.
How would you go about selling that to people who think they might be above tag wrestling though? Well, not everyone can go for the World Championship at once. So, while you have, say, Troy Windham challenging for Lindsay Troy's EPW World Heavyweight Championship and you have guys like Beast, Joey Melton, Karl Brown and Steven Shane lurking around the main event scene, you can make a concerted effort to put two of them together and believably go for the Tag Titles. Then, when you have Shane and Melton challenging Farnswirth and Friendly for the EPW Tag Titles, you automatically put cache behind the division. Here you have four of the best talents in the game going for these titles. They have to be important.
But what happens if say, Shane and Melton win the Tag Titles at the next PPV, but you've lined up Melton as your next number one contender? Well, to circumvent that, you make it so that you can hold singles belts as well as the Tag Titles. That might hurt the tag division in theory, but if done correctly, it can certainly be turned into a positive. For example, you can have Lindsay Troy, not satisfied with just dominating the singles ranks, step into the tag ranks and become EPW's ultimate wrestler. It could also be used as an elevation tool. Let's say that Troy's the World Champion, and she co-holds the Tag Titles with Melton. Then Blitz comes along, and they beat the Tag Champions. They not only win the Tag Titles, but they also beat the World Champion's team to do it, thus adding more luster behind the titles and their win.
There are infinite possibilities with booking, and that leads me to the second point:
2. Build hot feuds around the Tag Titles
This should be a no-brainer, right? However, you'd be surprised at how many times feds just have number one contenders' matches with slapped together teams to build a PPV Tag Title match. The best replacement for star power in any feud or fed is always going to be the heat surrounding it. Once again, the tag titles can be incorporated into angles in ways you can't work singles belts. A great example of this from real life was when Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels won the WWF Tag Belts when they were feuding. Or perhaps you could have two high contenders to the World Championship become Tag Champions have those tensions split them apart.
If you put a little work into anything, you can make it happen. A good tag team division can be a great asset to any fed, and it can provide opportunities to work with other gifted handlers in a collaborative sense as well as a competitive sense without having to join an angle fed.
Just think about it. Before you scrap your Tag Division, just think of the possibilities of, say, Gabriel Afeaki and Pierce Lavelle running roughshod over the Tag Division.
Just some food for thought, to no one in particular ;)
You'd think that it'd be best to leave well enough, right? If people don't want the tag division, why bother? Well, I don't think that people don't want the tag division. Deep down, I believe people like the idea of wrestlers teaming up. Why else would there be a push for it every once in awhile? The interest is there, but there's no incentive to keep going. Tag Team Championships are often treated like second class titles, used to build up-and-comers, to shunt acts into after their progress in the singles ranks has been retarded, to put characters when the booking committee or the fedhead has no other ideas for them. There's no "prestige." There's nothing to suggest that the Tag Team Titles are on the plateau right below the World Championship like they should be in theory. Forget about write-ups, too. Tag matches are much harder to write than singles matches are. You're talking about a no-win situation as is.
So how do you put that prestige back? How do you make the tag division a selling point? Well, you have to put some prestige back into it. You have to make the tag division, at least at the Championship level, main event caliber. How do you do that, you ask? Well, two things:
1. Stock your tag division with main eventers
A division is only as prestigious as the wrestlers in it. If you stock your tag division with nothing but newbies, then it'll be the rookie division. If you stock it with midcarders whose push to the main event didn't quite work out so well, then you'll effectively make it the retread division. But if you make a concerted effort to put people in the division who are talented and who are over, then you'll have a division people will want to compete in, thus making your Tag Titles coveted.
How would you go about selling that to people who think they might be above tag wrestling though? Well, not everyone can go for the World Championship at once. So, while you have, say, Troy Windham challenging for Lindsay Troy's EPW World Heavyweight Championship and you have guys like Beast, Joey Melton, Karl Brown and Steven Shane lurking around the main event scene, you can make a concerted effort to put two of them together and believably go for the Tag Titles. Then, when you have Shane and Melton challenging Farnswirth and Friendly for the EPW Tag Titles, you automatically put cache behind the division. Here you have four of the best talents in the game going for these titles. They have to be important.
But what happens if say, Shane and Melton win the Tag Titles at the next PPV, but you've lined up Melton as your next number one contender? Well, to circumvent that, you make it so that you can hold singles belts as well as the Tag Titles. That might hurt the tag division in theory, but if done correctly, it can certainly be turned into a positive. For example, you can have Lindsay Troy, not satisfied with just dominating the singles ranks, step into the tag ranks and become EPW's ultimate wrestler. It could also be used as an elevation tool. Let's say that Troy's the World Champion, and she co-holds the Tag Titles with Melton. Then Blitz comes along, and they beat the Tag Champions. They not only win the Tag Titles, but they also beat the World Champion's team to do it, thus adding more luster behind the titles and their win.
There are infinite possibilities with booking, and that leads me to the second point:
2. Build hot feuds around the Tag Titles
This should be a no-brainer, right? However, you'd be surprised at how many times feds just have number one contenders' matches with slapped together teams to build a PPV Tag Title match. The best replacement for star power in any feud or fed is always going to be the heat surrounding it. Once again, the tag titles can be incorporated into angles in ways you can't work singles belts. A great example of this from real life was when Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels won the WWF Tag Belts when they were feuding. Or perhaps you could have two high contenders to the World Championship become Tag Champions have those tensions split them apart.
If you put a little work into anything, you can make it happen. A good tag team division can be a great asset to any fed, and it can provide opportunities to work with other gifted handlers in a collaborative sense as well as a competitive sense without having to join an angle fed.
Just think about it. Before you scrap your Tag Division, just think of the possibilities of, say, Gabriel Afeaki and Pierce Lavelle running roughshod over the Tag Division.
Just some food for thought, to no one in particular ;)
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Slow news week
I know that my posts about the FW feds have been few and far between, but that's for good reason. The feds have all been kinda slow. I know a lot of that has been my fault. I still owe NFW a playoff match that I feel horribly about. Right now, it seems like all the activity has just died down. (Although UCW recently posted a show). I know that I've been the biggest proponent of being patient because everyone has a life, but with every fed being on a downturn, it seems like old-school, wrestling promo based RP feds are going the way of the dinosaur. Of course, this isn't the case, seeing that for one, the desire to promo in "our" style is still there very much, and two, there are more than a few great old-school RP feds offsite (A1E, MBE and NAPW being three of them).
Still though, it's kinda disheartening that the oldest and one of the best old-school hubs is as dormant as it is. I mean, what can be done to rectify this? Well, all of us can hit the lottery, retire early and then dedicate our lives to e-fedding. The average age on FW land is probably in the early-to-mid 20s, and that's the age where you sort of put things like this aside and start to focus on real life. Or, you try to juggle real life with the hobby, and you end up promising a lot of things that you can't pull through on because the desire is there but the time isn't.
Then, there are more logical solutions. One, you've got the MBE solution. Short-form the TV shows and write out the full PPVs. Personally, I'm ambivalent towards this. On one hand, the cards are easier to write, and you give people a condensed form of the matches when people tend to skim over the matches in the first place, unless you're a hardcore match-fanatic, which means you're probably a tSC alum ;). On the other hand, angles can get lost in the shuffle in one extreme where you include angles and segments in short-form (like MBE does), or on the other extreme, segments can dominate the show and literally bog it down. Even in AWC, a fed where they do write out the matches fully for every show, angles and segments dominate that show and can make it too long to read in one sitting.
Then the other solution is an influx of new talent. This can happen one of two ways. One, TNA can magically start giving VKM some competition and drive a new wrestling upturn. That may never happen. The other is for people from the PTC who've been clamoring for a return to the old school for awhile to migrate over to FW (or A1E, MBE or NAPW, the last of which is looking for tag teams!) and take a stab at helping the system work better. While the writing intensive style of PTC has a place in the hobby, so does the wrestling intensive side. Both sides need to be healthy. I mean, the desire is there. I've gotten a lot of inquiries about A1E, MBE, NEW and EPW, and Al Larcher had even thought about starting an old-school thread over at PTC. Whatever happened to that? I was looking forward to it. Especially with HSW and UWF going on hiatus and/or closing, there's definitely a spot for a new fed on PTC, one that fulfills a different demand.
Look, I'm not asking people to drop the long, character development driven RP style altogether. I know some people don't like to write in our style. I know some people think it's beneath them. I know it's not for everyone. But if the hunger to do something that has more to do with wrestling stories, angles and stuff on-screen is there, why not capitalize on it?
Y'never know. It could be... fun! :)
Still though, it's kinda disheartening that the oldest and one of the best old-school hubs is as dormant as it is. I mean, what can be done to rectify this? Well, all of us can hit the lottery, retire early and then dedicate our lives to e-fedding. The average age on FW land is probably in the early-to-mid 20s, and that's the age where you sort of put things like this aside and start to focus on real life. Or, you try to juggle real life with the hobby, and you end up promising a lot of things that you can't pull through on because the desire is there but the time isn't.
Then, there are more logical solutions. One, you've got the MBE solution. Short-form the TV shows and write out the full PPVs. Personally, I'm ambivalent towards this. On one hand, the cards are easier to write, and you give people a condensed form of the matches when people tend to skim over the matches in the first place, unless you're a hardcore match-fanatic, which means you're probably a tSC alum ;). On the other hand, angles can get lost in the shuffle in one extreme where you include angles and segments in short-form (like MBE does), or on the other extreme, segments can dominate the show and literally bog it down. Even in AWC, a fed where they do write out the matches fully for every show, angles and segments dominate that show and can make it too long to read in one sitting.
Then the other solution is an influx of new talent. This can happen one of two ways. One, TNA can magically start giving VKM some competition and drive a new wrestling upturn. That may never happen. The other is for people from the PTC who've been clamoring for a return to the old school for awhile to migrate over to FW (or A1E, MBE or NAPW, the last of which is looking for tag teams!) and take a stab at helping the system work better. While the writing intensive style of PTC has a place in the hobby, so does the wrestling intensive side. Both sides need to be healthy. I mean, the desire is there. I've gotten a lot of inquiries about A1E, MBE, NEW and EPW, and Al Larcher had even thought about starting an old-school thread over at PTC. Whatever happened to that? I was looking forward to it. Especially with HSW and UWF going on hiatus and/or closing, there's definitely a spot for a new fed on PTC, one that fulfills a different demand.
Look, I'm not asking people to drop the long, character development driven RP style altogether. I know some people don't like to write in our style. I know some people think it's beneath them. I know it's not for everyone. But if the hunger to do something that has more to do with wrestling stories, angles and stuff on-screen is there, why not capitalize on it?
Y'never know. It could be... fun! :)
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Some random nuggets and self-promotion
- First up, for all you PRIMEates and PRIMEfans, I will have a full review of Colossus III when I get done reading it. I have a lot on my plate, but this is the biggest PRIME PPV of the year, and I'd like to do it proper justice.
- The self-promotion part... the Dupree Cup starts tomorrow, and I'm pretty excited with the turnout. Eleven feds sent teams, which was way more than I could have hoped for to begin with. I think we got a somewhat diverse turnout too. I can see where someone would argue against that seeing that it's very A1/FW heavy, but looking at it, A1 and FW are different communities that just happen to overlap a little. Plus, with feds like EUWC, WZW and of course NAPW in, you have the flavor of some feds that have a little overlap into FWland, but that are also entities amongst themeslves. I would have liked to have had more PTC involvement, but what can you do if no one bites on the invite, y'know? I'm more than happy to have AWC aboard, as well as representation from the angle fed community in LoC.
That's not to say I don't appreciate the A1/FW outpouring, because I very much do. I don't want you guys in A1E, NEW, EPW, NFW, UCW or MBE to feel like I take you for granted, because I don't. Every time I throw an event, you guys come out en masse and I appreciate that. If it weren't for you guys, I'd probably have given up on this TEAM thing a long time ago.
- The Gold Rush match over at the C-S-Dub is coming to a close, at least the RP portion of it, and man, talk about turnout. A hyooooge shout out to everyone who took the time to throw something up, and especially to the promo warriors like Brunk, Pete, Dove and of course, GG, as well as all the new guys. The only concern I have about all these n00bs taking over is that they might get discouraged if they don't come out of this with a belt and leave right away. I think that would be pretty damn sad if that happened; it would only be another sign of the decline of this hobby. While this is a great opportunity for everyone involved, there are only four belts to go around, and let's face it here... I'm not so sure that anyone, myself included, stepped up enough to legitimately claim the UNIFIED Belt away from Gregg and Troy Windham. Even so, I honestly feel that even if one doesn't walk away with a belt, they should stick around and try to earn it the old-fashioned way... by earning it.
There aren't many people who want to pay their dues anymore it seems. I mean, a match like this gets a million people to show, but I bet like half of them wouldn't have come out if it was just a regular CSWA casting call. Not to marginalize these casting calls, because when Chad and Steve say that apps are open, a lot of people come applying. However, it just seems that a bunch of people showed up only to see if they could win gold and nothing else. That's not the best attitude to have, IMO.
I know you're not going to prevent it all the time, but hopefully, the majority of these guys stick around. It would breathe some life into the Granddaddy, and maybe it could kick-start the fed's self-sufficiency when Chad goes away for business.
- And just as a final note, if you're in NFW and you're reading this note, try to volunteer a match for the playoffs. Katz is working insane hours and he can't do this alone. Neither can McNic, seeing that he's only one person. So if you want the results to come out at a pace slightly quicker than glacial, volunteer and get a match in on time.
- The self-promotion part... the Dupree Cup starts tomorrow, and I'm pretty excited with the turnout. Eleven feds sent teams, which was way more than I could have hoped for to begin with. I think we got a somewhat diverse turnout too. I can see where someone would argue against that seeing that it's very A1/FW heavy, but looking at it, A1 and FW are different communities that just happen to overlap a little. Plus, with feds like EUWC, WZW and of course NAPW in, you have the flavor of some feds that have a little overlap into FWland, but that are also entities amongst themeslves. I would have liked to have had more PTC involvement, but what can you do if no one bites on the invite, y'know? I'm more than happy to have AWC aboard, as well as representation from the angle fed community in LoC.
That's not to say I don't appreciate the A1/FW outpouring, because I very much do. I don't want you guys in A1E, NEW, EPW, NFW, UCW or MBE to feel like I take you for granted, because I don't. Every time I throw an event, you guys come out en masse and I appreciate that. If it weren't for you guys, I'd probably have given up on this TEAM thing a long time ago.
- The Gold Rush match over at the C-S-Dub is coming to a close, at least the RP portion of it, and man, talk about turnout. A hyooooge shout out to everyone who took the time to throw something up, and especially to the promo warriors like Brunk, Pete, Dove and of course, GG, as well as all the new guys. The only concern I have about all these n00bs taking over is that they might get discouraged if they don't come out of this with a belt and leave right away. I think that would be pretty damn sad if that happened; it would only be another sign of the decline of this hobby. While this is a great opportunity for everyone involved, there are only four belts to go around, and let's face it here... I'm not so sure that anyone, myself included, stepped up enough to legitimately claim the UNIFIED Belt away from Gregg and Troy Windham. Even so, I honestly feel that even if one doesn't walk away with a belt, they should stick around and try to earn it the old-fashioned way... by earning it.
There aren't many people who want to pay their dues anymore it seems. I mean, a match like this gets a million people to show, but I bet like half of them wouldn't have come out if it was just a regular CSWA casting call. Not to marginalize these casting calls, because when Chad and Steve say that apps are open, a lot of people come applying. However, it just seems that a bunch of people showed up only to see if they could win gold and nothing else. That's not the best attitude to have, IMO.
I know you're not going to prevent it all the time, but hopefully, the majority of these guys stick around. It would breathe some life into the Granddaddy, and maybe it could kick-start the fed's self-sufficiency when Chad goes away for business.
- And just as a final note, if you're in NFW and you're reading this note, try to volunteer a match for the playoffs. Katz is working insane hours and he can't do this alone. Neither can McNic, seeing that he's only one person. So if you want the results to come out at a pace slightly quicker than glacial, volunteer and get a match in on time.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Odds and ends
- Look here in the coming days for a HUGE announcement concerning the next TEAM event. I've talked about it on the boards and in IMs with people, but there will be an official announcement coming here before next week's over.
- It looks like there's going to be a ton of activity within the next week with regular feds, as ACW and EPW are almost imminent in their show postings. Hopefully, NEW isn't too far behind either.
- Speaking of EPW, Brunk has talked about changing the matchwriting around for Aggressions, mixing up short and long form matches depending on how many matchwriters they get for the week. I think this is a good idea, and an idea that's sorely needed for EPW to get out of this rut they're in.
- It looks like there's going to be a ton of activity within the next week with regular feds, as ACW and EPW are almost imminent in their show postings. Hopefully, NEW isn't too far behind either.
- Speaking of EPW, Brunk has talked about changing the matchwriting around for Aggressions, mixing up short and long form matches depending on how many matchwriters they get for the week. I think this is a good idea, and an idea that's sorely needed for EPW to get out of this rut they're in.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
RAH RAH RAH
I was talking to Katz last night, and he was kinda lamenting the fact that no one besides myself and Bobby Nickens (Chris Storm, Joe Average, Guy Boudreaux) post on the NFW fan board anymore. No one really has the rah-rah spirit in NFW. I agree with him, actually. Honestly, it doesn't affect me as much as it does Katz, because as long as people continue to RP and send in segments, I think the fed's doing fine.
But as a fedhead, I can see why Katz wants more. I mean, I always crave feedback when I post TEAM happenings and cards. Plus, the more discussion you have, the better your OOC atmosphere is. I mean, everyone wants to have OOC harmony (or something close to it). But when no one's discussing things, it almost seems that you have that harmony because no one cares. While I honestly think that everyone who's in NFW cares about the fed, I also must point back to when I said that perception is reality. And if it's perceived that no one cares, then folks will think no one cares. Then things like considering shortening the regular season or cutting some roster fat start being considered. Then folks come out of the woodwork.
But if you think about it... who on FW does have that "rah-rah" spirit? I mean, the CSWA doesn't have an active fan board when the fed is active. WFW is the same way. So is NEW unless it's Sean trying to jumpstart conversation with the show status threads or by letting us know how he's doing in real life. The only fed that has an active OOC board by standards is EPW, but even EPW's board isn't that active by objective standards.
But what it does have it can probably owe to the infusion of either new, eager talents like Josh Ray or Scott Franklin, or the fact that so many A1 guys are there, and the A1 feds have always had active discussion on the OOC boards.
The other FW feds? They all have the P* standbys who've seen it all, and maybe that's a reason why they'll join a fed, but they really won't say anything on the OOC boards, because they may feel that what's been said has already been said before.
If you look at it, NFW has a good amount of those FW standbys. And they also have a lot of guys from the EWN and PTC circuits out West. I don't know why they don't contribute more. I'd like to speculate but I can't find a reason.
So that's my take on it. Honestly, this is one thing that I can't really diagnose as anythign else but the base of handlers getting older and not being replaced by younger enthusiastic guys. I mean, the youngest member of the NFW roster is probably Lindz, and they have a few guys on there in their thirties. They got other stuff to worry about than posting to the OOC boards.
So yeah... if anyone else has an idea, I'd be more than happy to entertain it, actually.
But as a fedhead, I can see why Katz wants more. I mean, I always crave feedback when I post TEAM happenings and cards. Plus, the more discussion you have, the better your OOC atmosphere is. I mean, everyone wants to have OOC harmony (or something close to it). But when no one's discussing things, it almost seems that you have that harmony because no one cares. While I honestly think that everyone who's in NFW cares about the fed, I also must point back to when I said that perception is reality. And if it's perceived that no one cares, then folks will think no one cares. Then things like considering shortening the regular season or cutting some roster fat start being considered. Then folks come out of the woodwork.
But if you think about it... who on FW does have that "rah-rah" spirit? I mean, the CSWA doesn't have an active fan board when the fed is active. WFW is the same way. So is NEW unless it's Sean trying to jumpstart conversation with the show status threads or by letting us know how he's doing in real life. The only fed that has an active OOC board by standards is EPW, but even EPW's board isn't that active by objective standards.
But what it does have it can probably owe to the infusion of either new, eager talents like Josh Ray or Scott Franklin, or the fact that so many A1 guys are there, and the A1 feds have always had active discussion on the OOC boards.
The other FW feds? They all have the P* standbys who've seen it all, and maybe that's a reason why they'll join a fed, but they really won't say anything on the OOC boards, because they may feel that what's been said has already been said before.
If you look at it, NFW has a good amount of those FW standbys. And they also have a lot of guys from the EWN and PTC circuits out West. I don't know why they don't contribute more. I'd like to speculate but I can't find a reason.
So that's my take on it. Honestly, this is one thing that I can't really diagnose as anythign else but the base of handlers getting older and not being replaced by younger enthusiastic guys. I mean, the youngest member of the NFW roster is probably Lindz, and they have a few guys on there in their thirties. They got other stuff to worry about than posting to the OOC boards.
So yeah... if anyone else has an idea, I'd be more than happy to entertain it, actually.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
UCW: Plus/Minus
Ultimate Championship Wrestling is at the doorstep of its second pay-per-view event. For a new fed, they have a lot of things going for them. They have a good, solid corps of handlers, great matchwriting (I actually underrated them a bit on the Matchwriting Report Card I put out a couple of weeks ago), and the main event scene is pretty jumping.
However, they seem to have a problem with guys in the midcard showing for matches. And that's a big problem.
They had thirteen guys booked for their latest edition of their flagship show, Revolution. Six of them no-showed. The turnout for the previous show was better, only two no-shows out of ten booked talents. And yeah, this previous show was over the holiday season.
However, six, nearly half of the booked talents, is a distressing number.
Shane and Dan deserve better. They put out a solid show every week, and illogical heatless face/face Bruce/First title match aside, they book well.
I really hope this is the exception and not the rule. UCW is a great fed, a fed where I hope to be returning in the near future. They have a solid group of handlers and characters with interesting stories. I mean, I read the last two shows, and the angle building is pretty solid. I'm really digging this Cruise/Ryan feud, Damon Blackburn's entry angle, and I'm intrigued by the way that they're bringing in Adam Benjamin. Whether it's elite handlers like Brunk and Dan West, or scrappers who bust their asses no matter you put in front of them like Jeff Kane and Shane G., you have a bunch of quality handlers here who can carry a fed when they all show up.
But that's the thing. They all have to show. It would be a shame if UCW was plagued by inactivity, because it's one of the more promising feds on the 'Net.
However, they seem to have a problem with guys in the midcard showing for matches. And that's a big problem.
They had thirteen guys booked for their latest edition of their flagship show, Revolution. Six of them no-showed. The turnout for the previous show was better, only two no-shows out of ten booked talents. And yeah, this previous show was over the holiday season.
However, six, nearly half of the booked talents, is a distressing number.
Shane and Dan deserve better. They put out a solid show every week, and illogical heatless face/face Bruce/First title match aside, they book well.
I really hope this is the exception and not the rule. UCW is a great fed, a fed where I hope to be returning in the near future. They have a solid group of handlers and characters with interesting stories. I mean, I read the last two shows, and the angle building is pretty solid. I'm really digging this Cruise/Ryan feud, Damon Blackburn's entry angle, and I'm intrigued by the way that they're bringing in Adam Benjamin. Whether it's elite handlers like Brunk and Dan West, or scrappers who bust their asses no matter you put in front of them like Jeff Kane and Shane G., you have a bunch of quality handlers here who can carry a fed when they all show up.
But that's the thing. They all have to show. It would be a shame if UCW was plagued by inactivity, because it's one of the more promising feds on the 'Net.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
The Abortion That Was the FW Draft
I think the draft over at FW is completed now. Now, if it had gone the way it should have, then I'd have complete analysis for you here.
But really, it fell apart before it really ever got started. I don't know how many people ended up striking out. People were missing picks all over the place. Katz had to shorten it to 10 rounds unless people wanted to continue, but no one who was left outside of myself or Tom Siegel actually voiced any opinion on the matter.
It's just a microcosm of the way things are at FW. Only a few people really care about anything. Everyone else is just along for the ride.
Is it a shame? Yeah, but really you can't get too worked up over it. It's a hobby, you do it for fun.
Still, it's not fun when other people who say they're going to be there aren't.
The A1 Draft is still going. It's losing a little steam, but we made it to the 16th and 17th rounds before it started showing any signs of sluggishness. I mean, why is it that way? You'd think that a site totally dedicated to e-fedding would have more people gung-ho about an e-fedding thing.
But I guess not. I mean, I saw the same thing with TEAM. Those the most eager to help me out were the MBE and A1E faithful. I got some support from the usual suspects at FW (Paul Miller, Gregg G, Brunk, Siegel, CS), but for the most part, it was pulling teeth trying to get people to respond or even get interested.
It's something you live with though.
At least I'll have full analysis for the A1 Draft. That's turning out to be quite interesting, if I say so myself.
But really, it fell apart before it really ever got started. I don't know how many people ended up striking out. People were missing picks all over the place. Katz had to shorten it to 10 rounds unless people wanted to continue, but no one who was left outside of myself or Tom Siegel actually voiced any opinion on the matter.
It's just a microcosm of the way things are at FW. Only a few people really care about anything. Everyone else is just along for the ride.
Is it a shame? Yeah, but really you can't get too worked up over it. It's a hobby, you do it for fun.
Still, it's not fun when other people who say they're going to be there aren't.
The A1 Draft is still going. It's losing a little steam, but we made it to the 16th and 17th rounds before it started showing any signs of sluggishness. I mean, why is it that way? You'd think that a site totally dedicated to e-fedding would have more people gung-ho about an e-fedding thing.
But I guess not. I mean, I saw the same thing with TEAM. Those the most eager to help me out were the MBE and A1E faithful. I got some support from the usual suspects at FW (Paul Miller, Gregg G, Brunk, Siegel, CS), but for the most part, it was pulling teeth trying to get people to respond or even get interested.
It's something you live with though.
At least I'll have full analysis for the A1 Draft. That's turning out to be quite interesting, if I say so myself.
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