It's hard to believe that only four months ago, I named ACW my Fed of the First Quarter. I thought we were onto something big. I thought it was going to give LoC a run for its money in terms of angle fedding.
But then the bottom started falling out. Butch lost interest and pulled KSZ. Both Renner and Dupin quit, sending Max Danger and Coral Avalon out of the fed and leaving the Blue Rogues in the hands of Seth as bit players in the background of Andy Sharp's meteoric rise to the top. Cimon lost his mind on several occasions and finally quit. Devin decided that Lowell and Jimmy Cain weren't wrestling characters anymore (and in a way... I guess I could agree with his reasoning, but you know me... I love outrageous gimmicks and characters). And of course, I got a full-time job and couldn't keep up writing every week without being late all the time.
And so here we are, at Courage 100, which could very well be the last ACW show ever, and I think it's a damn shame. We had so many really great writers, but somehow, it all fell apart. Not even Zezu coming back (which fulfilled one of my 2006 predictions for ACW :p) could save it.
This last show... I'd say it was enjoyable. I thought Lowell's angle was very entertaining, Devin always knows how to keep my eyes glued to the screen. It's great to see Sharp finally get his due as ACW Champion, and of course, Dean Matthews using Duran Duran as a backdrop is always classic.
There were several outs for a reboot, and honestly, I hope they don't capitalize on them unless they're focused on putting out a quality product... it doesn't even have to be weekly, it just has to be well-written.
If this is farewell though, then farewell ACW. It's a shame to see you go, but you had one hell of a run.
Showing posts with label ACW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ACW. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Sunday, May 07, 2006
ACW and LoC... the feud?
Just when you thought it was safe to venture into the forums...
eWn nuckas
Here's the synopsis. Zezu posted a feedback thread for Courage 96. William Morgan said it sucked shit, which led to some postage (Which it always does... Morgan is the KING of cheap message board heat), and then after some legitimate feedback, Zezu posted again, this time saying his desire to take back the mantle of "best angle fed" from LoC for ACW. Then the dick-waving really starts, with sniping going back and forth on both sides.
Now, for my take. In bullet format.
- Firstly, no one should ever take what William Morgan has to say seriously. Ever. The only trolls that are more obvious are those ones with the freaky hair from the 90s. You know, the wishin' trolls? Seriously, he says stuff to get a rise out of people. It's not like when Bobby Nickens (Unoriginal Name) offers his criticisms, which are valid, in my opinion.
- Zezu has a definite right to feel what he's feeling, especially in the way he put it across. I thought he showed great tact towards LoC, and if you're a fedhead, you should want to be the best, and you should want to have a healthy, friendly competition with other feds like you. I mean, back in the day, when A1E and MBE were going full-swing, even though we shared a few handlers, there was still friendly competition. A1E and MBE were always trying to be the best fed on A1, and no one really harbored any enmity longterm. I think that's the case here. Zezu and Dan McDevitt (too many Dans in e-fedding!) seem to take these things in stride. The fact that guys like Cimon and Kyle escalated it so quickly just shows that we still have a long way to go before we can realize that it doesn't matter who puts out the "best" work, just as long as we all put out work that we're happy with.
Speaking of putting out...
- A lot of the criticisms that have been following around ACW have some weight. I mean, I know I gave them Fed of the Quarter Year, but since then, they (more like we since I am part of it and have been part of the problem) have had problems getting the last two Courages out. There's been a good bit of turmoil, and Mike Dupin, Mike Renner and Butch Rosser have all left the fed as a result. Now, we've gotten in some new guys who are promising, including Bryan, who handles Kyle Lamen in PRIME and is handling Kenichi Kazuyo, and Nikko, who's handling handling the Britton Brothers. It's all a matter of coordination and timing and letting things settle in.
Honestly, I think ACW has the potential to remain one of the top feds in all the e-fed universe. As long as we still have Devin Woods, Seth Silviera, Cimon and Roland as the backbone, we'll always have solid, interesting writing.
eWn nuckas
Here's the synopsis. Zezu posted a feedback thread for Courage 96. William Morgan said it sucked shit, which led to some postage (Which it always does... Morgan is the KING of cheap message board heat), and then after some legitimate feedback, Zezu posted again, this time saying his desire to take back the mantle of "best angle fed" from LoC for ACW. Then the dick-waving really starts, with sniping going back and forth on both sides.
Now, for my take. In bullet format.
- Firstly, no one should ever take what William Morgan has to say seriously. Ever. The only trolls that are more obvious are those ones with the freaky hair from the 90s. You know, the wishin' trolls? Seriously, he says stuff to get a rise out of people. It's not like when Bobby Nickens (Unoriginal Name) offers his criticisms, which are valid, in my opinion.
- Zezu has a definite right to feel what he's feeling, especially in the way he put it across. I thought he showed great tact towards LoC, and if you're a fedhead, you should want to be the best, and you should want to have a healthy, friendly competition with other feds like you. I mean, back in the day, when A1E and MBE were going full-swing, even though we shared a few handlers, there was still friendly competition. A1E and MBE were always trying to be the best fed on A1, and no one really harbored any enmity longterm. I think that's the case here. Zezu and Dan McDevitt (too many Dans in e-fedding!) seem to take these things in stride. The fact that guys like Cimon and Kyle escalated it so quickly just shows that we still have a long way to go before we can realize that it doesn't matter who puts out the "best" work, just as long as we all put out work that we're happy with.
Speaking of putting out...
- A lot of the criticisms that have been following around ACW have some weight. I mean, I know I gave them Fed of the Quarter Year, but since then, they (more like we since I am part of it and have been part of the problem) have had problems getting the last two Courages out. There's been a good bit of turmoil, and Mike Dupin, Mike Renner and Butch Rosser have all left the fed as a result. Now, we've gotten in some new guys who are promising, including Bryan, who handles Kyle Lamen in PRIME and is handling Kenichi Kazuyo, and Nikko, who's handling handling the Britton Brothers. It's all a matter of coordination and timing and letting things settle in.
Honestly, I think ACW has the potential to remain one of the top feds in all the e-fed universe. As long as we still have Devin Woods, Seth Silviera, Cimon and Roland as the backbone, we'll always have solid, interesting writing.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
February's Wrestler of the Month
It's the last day of February, and with no other shows outstanding, I think it's safe to announce this month's Wrestler of the Month. So without further adieu, here he is.
Seymour Almasy
He almost won last month with his ACW Title win over Khristain Keller and Max Danger, but this month, his resume is a little more impressive across all feds. In addition to his stellar showing in NFW (55 points), he defended the ACW World Championship both against Machiavelli St. Romani and against 5 other blood and goldthirsty wrestlers in the Survival of the Fittest match at ACW Honor and Glory. And on top of that, he's in the GTT5 Final Four. Quite the month for the Final Fantasy.
Honorable Mentions:
Andy Sharp (ACW)
Doc Silver (NFW)
Jack Murphy (AWC)
Olvir Arsvinnar (LVW)
Wrestlers of the Month for 2006:
January: Adam Dick (AWC)
February: Seymour Almasy (ACW, NFW, PTC events)
Seymour Almasy
He almost won last month with his ACW Title win over Khristain Keller and Max Danger, but this month, his resume is a little more impressive across all feds. In addition to his stellar showing in NFW (55 points), he defended the ACW World Championship both against Machiavelli St. Romani and against 5 other blood and goldthirsty wrestlers in the Survival of the Fittest match at ACW Honor and Glory. And on top of that, he's in the GTT5 Final Four. Quite the month for the Final Fantasy.
Honorable Mentions:
Andy Sharp (ACW)
Doc Silver (NFW)
Jack Murphy (AWC)
Olvir Arsvinnar (LVW)
Wrestlers of the Month for 2006:
January: Adam Dick (AWC)
February: Seymour Almasy (ACW, NFW, PTC events)
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Two HYOOGE PPVs and a few of my favorite characters -- NFW East
Before we get to the character pimpage, it's time for some PPV action.
First up, ACW delivers BIG TIME with Honor and Glory. Seriously, I think this comes close to, if not surpasses, Legends II. 2006 is at least starting off well for ACW. Check the SotF main event, and major props go out to Mike Renner, Michael Dupin and Sean Williams for writing this bad boy, and check out the Spirit of ACW 2/3 falls match between Andy Sharp and Max Danger, and again, mad propers going out to Seth Silver and Dupin. I'd also like to solicit a little feedback for those of you who aren't narrative-impaired to check out my Suleimon/Republican match and give me feedback and criticism on it, because I need it like a junkie needs smack.
Next up, there's AWC Bloodlust, another good read. Props go out to Josh Young for writing the Suleimon match well (although I'm a bit bummed at the loss... but hey, losses build character), and big congratulations go out to Jack Murphy for winning the Transatlantic Championship and to Taso for capturing the Alliance Titles with Celestial Fury (Butterfly Hamada and The Green Grappler). Also, a bittersweet moment as we say farewell (at least for now) to Paddy O'Shea from AWC. He will be missed.
And now, a few of my favorite characters from NFW East. I was going to do NFW on the whole, but it's really like two different feds under one banner. So I'll split it up by conference. Once again, in no particular order...
Yori Yakamo, Jr. Seriously, one of the funniest characters I've ever read. I don't know what it is about overt perversion and sexuality or blasphemy that is so funny, but really, every YYJ promo is a MUST-READ, and I don't say that about many characters. What he's doing for comedic characters in the NFW East this year is truly a great thing, because comedic characters deserve World Titles too, dammit.
Beau Michaels Once again, outrageous factor over here. NFW East is home to a lot of over-the-top characters, and Beau is no exception. I often stare at my screen in amazement at the balls Edmunds has to post some of the things he does at Beau, but most of the time, it's well-written and entertaining.
Felix Red Strange bird, this one is, but hey, I can't say I'm not enjoying the whole Kooter thing he's got going. As freaky as his promos and segments are, there's something strangely alluring about them that you can't seem to avert your attention elsewhere when your eyes hit the words. I mean, sometimes it just doesn't make sense, but you still keep reading. That's Felix Red.
Michael Manson You can't say enough about the way McNic's handled this season. There's such an allure to some folks to try and plug on and defend the UT with all the fury of someone trying to repeat, but instead, he's taking out time to help other folks get their storylines over and in the same vein, is playing up a major, major change to his character (albeit a temporary one) to make things more interesting. I'll admit to not being the Manson character's biggest fan in the past, but this season, he's been on, and I've gained an all new respect for the character and the handler.
Kin Hiroshi Kin will always be an underrated character wherever he goes because he's not afraid to try new stuff, but at the same time, he's also not going to be the flashiest or the biggest name (despite being around for a good while). Well, I will go on record to say I appreciate Kin, and I think he's been doing some good, under-the-radar stuff in the East since he came back. His match with Kevin Powers in week 2 was a good shock to the roster, and his stories with addiction and his harassing of Doc Silver for his NFW Title shot have been compelling and amusing respectively.
First up, ACW delivers BIG TIME with Honor and Glory. Seriously, I think this comes close to, if not surpasses, Legends II. 2006 is at least starting off well for ACW. Check the SotF main event, and major props go out to Mike Renner, Michael Dupin and Sean Williams for writing this bad boy, and check out the Spirit of ACW 2/3 falls match between Andy Sharp and Max Danger, and again, mad propers going out to Seth Silver and Dupin. I'd also like to solicit a little feedback for those of you who aren't narrative-impaired to check out my Suleimon/Republican match and give me feedback and criticism on it, because I need it like a junkie needs smack.
Next up, there's AWC Bloodlust, another good read. Props go out to Josh Young for writing the Suleimon match well (although I'm a bit bummed at the loss... but hey, losses build character), and big congratulations go out to Jack Murphy for winning the Transatlantic Championship and to Taso for capturing the Alliance Titles with Celestial Fury (Butterfly Hamada and The Green Grappler). Also, a bittersweet moment as we say farewell (at least for now) to Paddy O'Shea from AWC. He will be missed.
And now, a few of my favorite characters from NFW East. I was going to do NFW on the whole, but it's really like two different feds under one banner. So I'll split it up by conference. Once again, in no particular order...
Yori Yakamo, Jr. Seriously, one of the funniest characters I've ever read. I don't know what it is about overt perversion and sexuality or blasphemy that is so funny, but really, every YYJ promo is a MUST-READ, and I don't say that about many characters. What he's doing for comedic characters in the NFW East this year is truly a great thing, because comedic characters deserve World Titles too, dammit.
Beau Michaels Once again, outrageous factor over here. NFW East is home to a lot of over-the-top characters, and Beau is no exception. I often stare at my screen in amazement at the balls Edmunds has to post some of the things he does at Beau, but most of the time, it's well-written and entertaining.
Felix Red Strange bird, this one is, but hey, I can't say I'm not enjoying the whole Kooter thing he's got going. As freaky as his promos and segments are, there's something strangely alluring about them that you can't seem to avert your attention elsewhere when your eyes hit the words. I mean, sometimes it just doesn't make sense, but you still keep reading. That's Felix Red.
Michael Manson You can't say enough about the way McNic's handled this season. There's such an allure to some folks to try and plug on and defend the UT with all the fury of someone trying to repeat, but instead, he's taking out time to help other folks get their storylines over and in the same vein, is playing up a major, major change to his character (albeit a temporary one) to make things more interesting. I'll admit to not being the Manson character's biggest fan in the past, but this season, he's been on, and I've gained an all new respect for the character and the handler.
Kin Hiroshi Kin will always be an underrated character wherever he goes because he's not afraid to try new stuff, but at the same time, he's also not going to be the flashiest or the biggest name (despite being around for a good while). Well, I will go on record to say I appreciate Kin, and I think he's been doing some good, under-the-radar stuff in the East since he came back. His match with Kevin Powers in week 2 was a good shock to the roster, and his stories with addiction and his harassing of Doc Silver for his NFW Title shot have been compelling and amusing respectively.
Friday, February 10, 2006
A few of my favorite characters -- ACW
Once again, in no particular order...
Lowell Dot Com The Shillin' Villain... I guess I love him so much because he reminds me so much of Roderick McRatrick, only not as goofy and with more of an edge. Plus the sellout/corporate sponsorship gimmick is gold.
Andy Sharp Ever since he won the TV Title, I've been following Sharpie very closely. The angle with Almasy was brilliant, and the feud with Danger and Hound was must-read material each week. I'm very interested to see where Seth takes him, especially since Seth's been hyping Sharpie's new direction to me in IM for over a month now :p
Max Danger I don't know what it is about Danger that I like, but he's just an all-around interesting character. I especially like any segment he's in with Coral Avalon. They're just so childish but they're fun to read.
Jimmy Cain WARJIMMY WARJIMMY WARJIMMY~! Another ridiculously over the top character from Devin and yet another ridiculously fun character to read.
As an aside here, it's a shame Gethard doesn't have a whole lot of time anymore, because he would have fit in great in ACW. He was supposed to have joined in January. I was marking out at the prospect of it. But alas, that real life thing happens to the best of us.
Anyway, back to the list...
The Codemaster/Blue Rouges I don't know, any character who calls himself "The Blackest Brother in the Hyrule Kingdom" is aces in my book.
Lowell Dot Com The Shillin' Villain... I guess I love him so much because he reminds me so much of Roderick McRatrick, only not as goofy and with more of an edge. Plus the sellout/corporate sponsorship gimmick is gold.
Andy Sharp Ever since he won the TV Title, I've been following Sharpie very closely. The angle with Almasy was brilliant, and the feud with Danger and Hound was must-read material each week. I'm very interested to see where Seth takes him, especially since Seth's been hyping Sharpie's new direction to me in IM for over a month now :p
Max Danger I don't know what it is about Danger that I like, but he's just an all-around interesting character. I especially like any segment he's in with Coral Avalon. They're just so childish but they're fun to read.
Jimmy Cain WARJIMMY WARJIMMY WARJIMMY~! Another ridiculously over the top character from Devin and yet another ridiculously fun character to read.
As an aside here, it's a shame Gethard doesn't have a whole lot of time anymore, because he would have fit in great in ACW. He was supposed to have joined in January. I was marking out at the prospect of it. But alas, that real life thing happens to the best of us.
Anyway, back to the list...
The Codemaster/Blue Rouges I don't know, any character who calls himself "The Blackest Brother in the Hyrule Kingdom" is aces in my book.
Monday, January 16, 2006
A cavalcade of shows~!
A1E's Warfare was the first show posted this weekend in our little circle of interest, and I have to say, I can see the marked improvements in continuity. Hopefully, they stick with the "BC card review." I know I wouldn't mind waiting one extra day to see vast improvements in card flow.
ACW Legends... this was the biggie for the weekend. Huge, huge show, with no fewer than three matches that might get some MOTY lovin' by the end of '06 (Spirit Match, Gimmick Hell, World Title Match). We also get an appearance by KSZ (~!), and a proper farewell for both SVJ and Alias *sniffle*
fWo Countdown 1... the end of the fWo? I read this show, and I really can't give any instant analysis because I really was caught off-guard by it. I have to admit that I really didn't follow a lot of the administrative storylines with Tallison and Silver Fox, and I don't have any idea what this whole Neo and guys in black shirts thing is about. So when I get some background from other folks and read the show again in proper context, I'll let you know.
Still waiting on Crash Week Six to be fully posted... and from previewing some of the stuff on there, it's going to be a remarkable upgrade from week 5. A lot of matches and good ones at that.
Plus after that, we'll get Midnight Madness and the UWA stuff too. Plus EPW Aggression should go up soon, plus AWC Fresh~! will be up Thursday.
Plus XUW Deadly Draw is later on today. I really don't know a whole lot about the roster, but I have only started following the fed, and hopefully, Deadly Draw will be a good starting point for me. I like the concept of it... lethal lottery with the winning team being rewarded... with a match against each other. Good for twisty, turny booking.
ACW Legends... this was the biggie for the weekend. Huge, huge show, with no fewer than three matches that might get some MOTY lovin' by the end of '06 (Spirit Match, Gimmick Hell, World Title Match). We also get an appearance by KSZ (~!), and a proper farewell for both SVJ and Alias *sniffle*
fWo Countdown 1... the end of the fWo? I read this show, and I really can't give any instant analysis because I really was caught off-guard by it. I have to admit that I really didn't follow a lot of the administrative storylines with Tallison and Silver Fox, and I don't have any idea what this whole Neo and guys in black shirts thing is about. So when I get some background from other folks and read the show again in proper context, I'll let you know.
Still waiting on Crash Week Six to be fully posted... and from previewing some of the stuff on there, it's going to be a remarkable upgrade from week 5. A lot of matches and good ones at that.
Plus after that, we'll get Midnight Madness and the UWA stuff too. Plus EPW Aggression should go up soon, plus AWC Fresh~! will be up Thursday.
Plus XUW Deadly Draw is later on today. I really don't know a whole lot about the roster, but I have only started following the fed, and hopefully, Deadly Draw will be a good starting point for me. I like the concept of it... lethal lottery with the winning team being rewarded... with a match against each other. Good for twisty, turny booking.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
E-Fed Links of the Week... THE RETURN~!
ACW Courage 86... peep that shizzle, my nizzles
For the first time, I really could dig the matchwriting in that narrative style. The match of the night is easily Lowell Dot Com vs. Jimmy Cain vs. Coral Avalon vs. Jason Deline. The finish is absolutely pure genius.
Plus, there's my first actual in-ring promo for GOP in ACW. All in all, a good week for me and my Battlin' Booster when considered I won the NEW World Heavyweight Championship on the latest edition of Raucous. I'll reflect on that here, maybe tomorrow.
For the first time, I really could dig the matchwriting in that narrative style. The match of the night is easily Lowell Dot Com vs. Jimmy Cain vs. Coral Avalon vs. Jason Deline. The finish is absolutely pure genius.
Plus, there's my first actual in-ring promo for GOP in ACW. All in all, a good week for me and my Battlin' Booster when considered I won the NEW World Heavyweight Championship on the latest edition of Raucous. I'll reflect on that here, maybe tomorrow.
Friday, November 25, 2005
ACW: The good and the bad (no ugly)
I was over my neighbor's house for Thanksgiving today, and they have a non-piece of shit computer. So I was surfing the web there and checking up on all the cool e-fed related stuff that I just haven't been looking at because my video card at home has been shot and I didn't feel like scrolling massively.
I checked in on All-Star Championship Wrestling, a fed I've been trying to follow as of late. I didn't get a chance to read their latest PPV, Ready or Not until today. I was glad to know that they didn't really progress much after that right now. Only one other show was put up after that, so I was able to catch up easily.
I have to say that I was halfway thoroughly impressed with it. The character building pieces are brilliant. They have a lot of talented writers who really get wrestling storylines. The best was the Seymour Almasy/Andy Sharp/Khristain Keller arc where Sharp beat Almasy for the TV Title in what was considered a fluke; Almasy's body was so beaten down by his hyperactive schedule that it just gave out and Sharp got the much-too-easy victory. Their rematch was at the PPV, but there was a catch; if Almasy won, he also got to pick the stip for his title match at their flagship PPV Legends against World Champ Keller (Almasy won their Royal Rumble-esque event, End Game, to earn the shot), but if Sharp retained, Keller got to name the stip. Plus there was the inherent tension between Almasy and Sharp. Sharp needing to prove that he was indeed as good or better than his friend and didn't need to take advantage of his weakened state to win the match.
But then we got to the actual match itself, and I really couldn't be bothered to read it fully. It's just... I can't really explain it. I can't get into the way that the match was written. And mostly every match I've seen is written like the math was.
Basically, ACW matches are written in narrative form, which isn't bad in and of itself, but there's a lot of flowery prose, a little omniscience from the narrator... I don't think it works for a wrestling match. Now, I think that it's just a matter of personal taste, but still, it's a big thing for me to overcome.
I guess I'm used to seeing wrestling matches either be written in straight PBP, PBP with dry narrative mixed in, or in dry narrative (which is how we wrote matches for UXW... we didn't have announcers because in storyline, we couldn't afford them). But that's how I think wrestling should be presented. Especially if you make a big deal about your announcers.
I'm totally not knocking ACW though, because I did apply there, and I still might be joining soon. But I guess I'm gonna have to start training myself to read their style of matches if I do choose to join.
Because you can miss a whole lot if you skim through a match.
I checked in on All-Star Championship Wrestling, a fed I've been trying to follow as of late. I didn't get a chance to read their latest PPV, Ready or Not until today. I was glad to know that they didn't really progress much after that right now. Only one other show was put up after that, so I was able to catch up easily.
I have to say that I was halfway thoroughly impressed with it. The character building pieces are brilliant. They have a lot of talented writers who really get wrestling storylines. The best was the Seymour Almasy/Andy Sharp/Khristain Keller arc where Sharp beat Almasy for the TV Title in what was considered a fluke; Almasy's body was so beaten down by his hyperactive schedule that it just gave out and Sharp got the much-too-easy victory. Their rematch was at the PPV, but there was a catch; if Almasy won, he also got to pick the stip for his title match at their flagship PPV Legends against World Champ Keller (Almasy won their Royal Rumble-esque event, End Game, to earn the shot), but if Sharp retained, Keller got to name the stip. Plus there was the inherent tension between Almasy and Sharp. Sharp needing to prove that he was indeed as good or better than his friend and didn't need to take advantage of his weakened state to win the match.
But then we got to the actual match itself, and I really couldn't be bothered to read it fully. It's just... I can't really explain it. I can't get into the way that the match was written. And mostly every match I've seen is written like the math was.
Basically, ACW matches are written in narrative form, which isn't bad in and of itself, but there's a lot of flowery prose, a little omniscience from the narrator... I don't think it works for a wrestling match. Now, I think that it's just a matter of personal taste, but still, it's a big thing for me to overcome.
I guess I'm used to seeing wrestling matches either be written in straight PBP, PBP with dry narrative mixed in, or in dry narrative (which is how we wrote matches for UXW... we didn't have announcers because in storyline, we couldn't afford them). But that's how I think wrestling should be presented. Especially if you make a big deal about your announcers.
I'm totally not knocking ACW though, because I did apply there, and I still might be joining soon. But I guess I'm gonna have to start training myself to read their style of matches if I do choose to join.
Because you can miss a whole lot if you skim through a match.
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