I've pimped FMLL on here before when it was active, and really, I think it's a great concept. That being said, lucha libre really isn't my thing, so while I had interest in joining it for awhile, I really didn't think I'd do too well or fit in and help give it its own voice. I was always more a puroresu guy myself. Well, someone at FWC is finally trying something that's a little more up my alley.
Enter Isamu League. Headed up by relative FWC newcomers, it's a fed that best tries to recreate a puroresu atmosphere, which admittedly can be very hard. Japanese wrestling is more about the sporting aspect and about what happens in the ring. Angles and feuds are based around matches and rivalries, about respect and that sort of thing rather than outrageous storylines and out-of-ring stuff. Sure, there are more than one flavor of puroresu fed out there, but most of them stress in-ring stuff. Characters and fed atmosphere, though, can range from the most straitlaced of straitlaced (think AJPW in the '90s with Misawa, Kobashi and Kawada) to goofy as all hell (HUSTLE and such characters as Daneshoku Dino, Razor Ramon Hard Gay and Survival Tobita).
Judging from the mission statement, IL will be a sort of hybrid between the traditional Japanese workrate fed and the kind of garbage fed like FMW and Big Japan were/are. In terms of fed mechanics though, they've put forth a very lax RPing schedule, which they basically require one RP every two weeks. This seemingly leisurely pace seems like it's a great fit for the more mature FWC audience.
Where I think they might run into some problems is their RP set-up, where they explicitly say that you won't have to get into promo battles and can write RPs that don't have anything to do with wrestling at all. This might throw some people off, as FWC has always been a more "traditional" community, NFW's presence notwithstanding. Still, I think this mission statement is a positive; the philosophy will allow people to get acclimated and perhaps try something new. Yeah, NFW is another place with a freestyle attitude, but it's harder to work something different in an established fed, or let's put it this way, it might seem harder to the handler. I know Katz, and I know that he, like every other FWC fedhead, pushes on a merit basis. If you write well, you're going to get pushed.
That being said, in a fledgling fed, you might have less pressure to perform right away, and thus might be more prone to try something different. IL could provide the best sort of portal to the PTC/narrative out-of-arena RP style on FWC.
Either way, I'm very high on IL, and I hope people give it a fair shake. I've got something I'm going to try out there, and hopefully you all will like it. In the interim, I'd love some feedback for my character profile :p
Masaharu Keichigawa
Showing posts with label self-promotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-promotion. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wanted: Someone to Run TEAM
In case you guys haven't noticed yet, it's been about three or four months since the last TEAM card. That would have been all well and good had the last TEAM card not been the semifinals to the TEAM Invitational Tournament.
Yeah.
RPing is finished for the grand total of two matches that were on the card for the finals. I have no idea about the judging, but that can be redone. The fact that this was left for three months without a peep from the guy I left to run the place while I stepped away is a little embarrassing. I got a promise from him that he'd take care of the place and run it the same way I did. I think I've been let down. It's one thing to have late cards. I mean, I was hardly ever on time, especially if I planned a long-form card where I was writing the biggest match on there.
However, I'd like to think that I was always communicative with the masses, that I kept people informed of progress and what was going on. The fact that three months have gone by without a peep from the new management is embarrassing. Therefore, I'm making an executive decision. I'm taking TEAM back for the interim until I can find someone who'll take care of it. But that's the rub.
I need someone who'll take care of TEAM.
What I need is someone to take care of the day-to-day operations. That person should be ready to:
- book
- coordinate judging
- coordinate writing
- recruit
- advertise
- BE ACCOUNTABLE
You'll have complete freedom to do what you want with it. I will stay on as an advisor, but rest assured that it'll be more of a "hey, what do you think about this?" or a question-answering guy rather than the kind of advisor Vickie Guerrero is to Teddy Long on Smackdown *groan*. If you're interested, please contact me in any way possible. If all else fails, just reply here.
If no one steps forward, then I'll produce the final card, and we'll lay TEAM to bed, Irish wake style. IF someone does volunteer, then we'll move forward. Please though, I think this is a great opportunity for someone who wants to try his/her hand at fedheading but doesn't really have the time or patience to do a full-time fed.
Yeah.
RPing is finished for the grand total of two matches that were on the card for the finals. I have no idea about the judging, but that can be redone. The fact that this was left for three months without a peep from the guy I left to run the place while I stepped away is a little embarrassing. I got a promise from him that he'd take care of the place and run it the same way I did. I think I've been let down. It's one thing to have late cards. I mean, I was hardly ever on time, especially if I planned a long-form card where I was writing the biggest match on there.
However, I'd like to think that I was always communicative with the masses, that I kept people informed of progress and what was going on. The fact that three months have gone by without a peep from the new management is embarrassing. Therefore, I'm making an executive decision. I'm taking TEAM back for the interim until I can find someone who'll take care of it. But that's the rub.
I need someone who'll take care of TEAM.
What I need is someone to take care of the day-to-day operations. That person should be ready to:
- book
- coordinate judging
- coordinate writing
- recruit
- advertise
- BE ACCOUNTABLE
You'll have complete freedom to do what you want with it. I will stay on as an advisor, but rest assured that it'll be more of a "hey, what do you think about this?" or a question-answering guy rather than the kind of advisor Vickie Guerrero is to Teddy Long on Smackdown *groan*. If you're interested, please contact me in any way possible. If all else fails, just reply here.
If no one steps forward, then I'll produce the final card, and we'll lay TEAM to bed, Irish wake style. IF someone does volunteer, then we'll move forward. Please though, I think this is a great opportunity for someone who wants to try his/her hand at fedheading but doesn't really have the time or patience to do a full-time fed.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Feedback Plz: Roderick McRatrick
The last time I took time off/contemplated retirement and then came back, I did so secretly under the guise of a deviously idiotic and amoral character known as Roderick McRatrick. I had people going for awhile, but then I revealed myself, although I'm not sure if it came out naturally or if someone *cough*Lindz*cough* forced it out of me. Ah well.
Anyway, here are some of Roddy's greatest hits. Why am I posting them? Well, because I want feedback. For a guy like myself who's known more for handling comedically biased characters (you could argue Maggot and Captain Suleimon were the only ones that didn't have a built in sense of humor about them, and even that's debatable), Roddy, to me, is my most funny work. Comedy is a lot more subjective than regular e-fedding, so I want to get feedback from all of youse out there. Without further ado:
The Debut of the Ghost of Steve Guttenberg - Scroll down for more hijinks with Homsar of HSR.com fame
Roderick in Japan
Lord Tophattington and All of Roddy's Friends
The Debut of Randy McRanderson
Vs. Dan Ryan!
The Debut of Real Ultimate Power
A Visit to Santa!
Roderick Tools a Future A1E World Champion
Roderick's First Apperance at FWC... featuring POWERMASTER~!
I want honest feedback. How does the character hold up after all these years? I want to know, because in a way, Roderick feels like my best character.
Anyway, here are some of Roddy's greatest hits. Why am I posting them? Well, because I want feedback. For a guy like myself who's known more for handling comedically biased characters (you could argue Maggot and Captain Suleimon were the only ones that didn't have a built in sense of humor about them, and even that's debatable), Roddy, to me, is my most funny work. Comedy is a lot more subjective than regular e-fedding, so I want to get feedback from all of youse out there. Without further ado:
The Debut of the Ghost of Steve Guttenberg - Scroll down for more hijinks with Homsar of HSR.com fame
Roderick in Japan
Lord Tophattington and All of Roddy's Friends
The Debut of Randy McRanderson
Vs. Dan Ryan!
The Debut of Real Ultimate Power
A Visit to Santa!
Roderick Tools a Future A1E World Champion
Roderick's First Apperance at FWC... featuring POWERMASTER~!
I want honest feedback. How does the character hold up after all these years? I want to know, because in a way, Roderick feels like my best character.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
RRoaEFL Presents: Exit Interview - A Sit Down with the Anglo Luchador
Hello and welcome to a very special edition of the Michael Morenstein Files. As many of you know from dirtsheet reports around the 'Net, Jericoholic Anonymous has been removed from all future bookings for both A1E and EPW following their most recent pay-per-view events. Rumors were swirling that the Anglo Luchador was retiring, but there has been no official word yet...
...until now.
I recently sat down with the former A1E and EPW World Champion and got answers to some burning questions, as well as some other things that the wrestling world has been dying to know about one Jericoholic Hulkamaniac Anonymous.
MM: Hello, and welcome.
JA: Hello to you, and thanks for having me, Mike.
MM: Pleasure's mine. First thing's first, and this is a question that's been on the minds of everyone since your last appearance at WrestleVerse III, are you retired?
JA: nervous laughter You don't pull punches, do you, Mike?
MM: Heh, well, you could say that. But there have been a number of rumors on the Web, and no one, not even Dave Meltzer or the folks over at FW Dirtsheet have been able to get a straight answer.
JA: Well, Mike, I can't say I've talked to anyone except for Nate [Nathan Houston] and Lindz [Lindsay Troy] about this.
MM: And what did you tell them?
JA: Well, that I was taking some time off and that I wouldn't be signing any new contracts. I was coming to the end of my original EPW deal that I signed way back in 2004 anyway, a plum deal for them since my downside guarantee wasn't all that high and I didn't ask for many incentives.
MM: Of course, because of your accumulated wealth outside of the business.
JA: Yep. Basically, after I came back from my last hiatus, I was a self-made millionaire and I didn't actually need wrestling for the money so much as I needed it for myself, if that makes sense. So, Troy and [Dan] Ryan both were trying to get extensions put together for me for the last few months. I was receptive, but in the back of my mind, I figured it would have been time for another extended period off.
MM: So you've been planning this for awhile?
JA: Well, yes and no. Yes in that my body hasn't been in peak condition since before I suffered that back injury in A1E in 2002, back before I was programmed against Big Dog for the World Championship. The aches and pains pile up, even after having rested for the time that I rested. While EPW's television schedule isn't exactly rigorous, their house show schedule, combined with A1E's much more regular TV schedule plus their house shows can make things add up. Still, I was ready to continue until I suffered The Big One.
MM: The Big One?
JA: Yeah. I tried not to let on to anyone except Tamara [Lollipop] and the training staffs from both companies, but I pulled a muscle in my back against Trip [Sean Stevens] at Aggression 43.
MM: That doesn't sound all that bad.
JA: No, but I kept working on it, and again, the house shows, plus the TV matches against Wraith and the PPV matches against Trip and [Rocko] Daymon and against Ken Cloverleaf. It got aggravated somehow, and I kept putting off getting it scoped further. I was subsiding on codeine and cortisone shots for the last two months, Mike. Then, as it turns out, after WrestleVerse, I got it scoped and it turns out I tore a muscle back there.
MM: Ouch!
JA: You can say that again. I had surgery on it last week, actually, and things are healing, albeit slowly. Before I went into surgery, I had told both Houston and Troy about what my plans were, and they were both agreeable to let me announce them on my own terms.
MM: You explained the terms of your EPW contract. What about A1E? It was reported that you signed a three-year extension last year.
JA: Well, me and Nate sat down and we came to an agreement that would let me out of my contract without any financial obligations on their end and without any penalty on my end. They were more than gracious.
MM: A 180 from the last time you left, eh?
JA: Heh, I guess you could say that, Mike. If I had to leave, I'm glad I'm not doing it crossing the bridge with a gascan in one hand and a flamethrower in the other. Seriously though, one of the biggest regrets that I had after leaving the first time was that I had left the only wrestling home that I had known for the three to four years prior on such bad terms. Now I feel like when I do heal and if I get the urge to wrestle again, I can go back to the locker room and not have to prove myself all over again.
MM: You said "if" you get the urge. Are you saying that injuries may not be the only factor on this?
JA: Well, not really. I mean, it's not entirely impossible for someone to love what they do and still get sick of it. Am I sick of wrestling? No, not in the least. Am I a bit tired of waking up in pain, living out of a rental car and not being able to settle down with my wife? Yeah, a little bit. Plus, there are a lot of other ways to be involved in wrestling without having to live the lifestyle.
MM: Thinking about stealing my gig?
JA: laughs Yeah, I could do that. Or I could announce, book, train... there are a ton of things to do. I was born to be in this business. If I come back in a year or so, and I think I'm ready to go again, I'll go. If not, then I'll find something else. I'll survive.
MM: So going back to the original question, I'd say that it's a "no"?
JA: Yeah, I'll be in this industry in some capacity. Now whether it's as an active competitor, we'll see.
MM: Until then, what are you planning on doing?
JA: Well, I'm gonna take some time off. Enjoy the finer things in life. I'll probably take in some games at Citizen's Bank Park, sleep in a bit, visit James [Irish] and Paul [Bennett - Big Dog] at the retirement home. laughs Who knows, maybe I'll try and start a family with Tam too.
MM: Hoping to get a fourth generation of Anonymous in wrestling, I take it?
JA: Haha, yeah, well, I'm not making any promises. I have taken more than a few nutshots in my day, and no matter how much you try to protect yourself down there, well, there's only a certain amount of trauma you can prevent. It's not the most "workable" move if you know what I mean.
MM: I think I do. I think I do. If or when you do come back, what do you think you have left to accomplish? You have won every singles Championship there is to win in A1E and EPW save the Challenge Championship in the former and Television in the latter. You've won a Pier Six and a Best of A1E. You've scored gold in the CSWA, and not many people can say that at all.
JA: Well, I would like to have more than one successful World Championship defense, Mike. I mean, not to knock Andy Gilkison, but I think he was the only guy I beat while I was World Champion. Winning the World Championship isn't enough, I'd like to be able to defend it a bit more.
I also don't think that winning something once really is accomplishing anything. I see guys quitting feds, retiring because they've done all they can do in their words. That's bullshit, Mike. Pure and utter bullshit. I mean take a look at Paul. He did what he did in his first run way back in 2002. He was dominant. But when he lost the World Championship, he didn't turn tail and run because he did it all. No, he kept going. When he did take breaks, it was because the aches and pains were getting to him. But he came back and years later, he won the World Championship again. He kept up excellence. You see Mike, it's one thing just to get to the top, but to stay there. Paul stayed there. Marcus [Westcott] stayed there in two companies. [Dan] Ryan did it in a million companies. They got over, they stayed over. They performed to a high level and when it came time to sustain it, to go out there and give a main event performance, to look good and put in an effort when putting the next guy over. So don't tell me there's nothing left to do. There's always something left to do, unless you're Ric Flair or Hornet or Joey Melton.
MM: Wow, tell me how you really feel.
JA: Oh man, you don't want me to get off on a real tangent. I mean one time, I chewed Wreck's ears off talking about taxes, and all he did was ask me who Ron Paul was.
MM: Wow, you're a Ron Paul supporter?
JA: Yeah, something about small government, lower taxes and having our boys at home safely instead of in Iraq appeals to me, but that's for a political blog, not a wrestling one.
MM: Alright, then, let's go back. Is there anything else you'd want to do if you came back full-time as a wrestler?
JA: Yeah, there's quite a bit. I think tops on the list would be to sort of finish off the longstanding feud with Marcus. There's a big story there that is okay right now if nothing else were to happen but would be fantastic if we had just one more six-to-twelve month run to work it.
MM: I'd assume then that the legit heat between you two has dissipated?
JA: Oh yeah, that went out the window a long time ago, Mike. I learned that grudges are never good to have, especially in this business, where there's only a limited amount of guys that you can work with, especially at the top. And me and Beast both are inalienable parts of both the A1E and EPW pantheons, so it's not like we'd be able to avoid each other unless I just up and started anew in another fed. But between you, me and all your readers, that wouldn't have a great chance of happening.
MM: So new territories would be out of the question if and when you came back?
JA: No, but if I went somewhere new, like NFW or somewhere in the PTC circuit, it would be in addition to A1E and/or EPW.
MM: A couple of months ago, you got married to your valet and longtime girlfriend Tamara "Lollipop" Boyd. Can you tell us about the ceremony?
JA: Well, the ceremony was at Mother of Divine Grace church in the Port Richmond section of Philly. A lot of people from the business there. Actually Lindz was in Tam's bridal party, and James was my best man. It caused some friction among my brothers, but they understood. And we honeymooned in Grand Cayman, which was sweet. All the Cuban cigars I could smoke, and just beautiful weather all around.
MM: How did you guys last this long when many wrestling relationships end badly?
JA: It's simple. We're really normal people. Neither one of us does hardcore drugs. We drink, but ask anyone, we're really mellow drunks. I don't beat her, she doesn't fuck behind my back. We have normal conversations, get into normal arguments - well as normal as you can get without having to live in a house for more than a week at a time. I've never done a steroid in my life, and she isn't into plastic surgery. We love each other for who we are, and yeah, they say you don't shit where you eat, but really, this isn't the kind of job where being together all the time is grating. Most of the time that I'm on the job, my focus is on the guy on the other side of the ring. She just has the best seat in the house.
MM: Okay, one last question. Say this is it and you don't ever wrestle a match ever again. Do you have any regrets?
JA: pause No Mike, I can't say I do. I had a good two-decade run from soup to nuts so far, with half of it being in the bigs. I've wrestled the best wrestlers in the world, performed in front of some of the greatest fans and I've turned in performances that I'm mostly satisfied with. Do I have a million World Championships? No, but I was respected enough by the companies that I worked for for them to toss me the ball and say, "Hey Tom, run with it", whether it was in the main event, the big tournament or even if it was just in a midcard match that they needed to fill out a card and make people remember the event. While in my heart I want to believe that this injury won't sap my spirit and that I will be back in a wrestling ring as a wrestler and not just a trainer, if I don't come back, well, que sera sera. I had a great run, and I'm out with a good portion of my life to enjoy in financial security.
MM: Alright, well, thank you very much, it was a pleasure.
JA: No prob, and thank you.
...until now.
I recently sat down with the former A1E and EPW World Champion and got answers to some burning questions, as well as some other things that the wrestling world has been dying to know about one Jericoholic Hulkamaniac Anonymous.
MM: Hello, and welcome.
JA: Hello to you, and thanks for having me, Mike.
MM: Pleasure's mine. First thing's first, and this is a question that's been on the minds of everyone since your last appearance at WrestleVerse III, are you retired?
JA: nervous laughter You don't pull punches, do you, Mike?
MM: Heh, well, you could say that. But there have been a number of rumors on the Web, and no one, not even Dave Meltzer or the folks over at FW Dirtsheet have been able to get a straight answer.
JA: Well, Mike, I can't say I've talked to anyone except for Nate [Nathan Houston] and Lindz [Lindsay Troy] about this.
MM: And what did you tell them?
JA: Well, that I was taking some time off and that I wouldn't be signing any new contracts. I was coming to the end of my original EPW deal that I signed way back in 2004 anyway, a plum deal for them since my downside guarantee wasn't all that high and I didn't ask for many incentives.
MM: Of course, because of your accumulated wealth outside of the business.
JA: Yep. Basically, after I came back from my last hiatus, I was a self-made millionaire and I didn't actually need wrestling for the money so much as I needed it for myself, if that makes sense. So, Troy and [Dan] Ryan both were trying to get extensions put together for me for the last few months. I was receptive, but in the back of my mind, I figured it would have been time for another extended period off.
MM: So you've been planning this for awhile?
JA: Well, yes and no. Yes in that my body hasn't been in peak condition since before I suffered that back injury in A1E in 2002, back before I was programmed against Big Dog for the World Championship. The aches and pains pile up, even after having rested for the time that I rested. While EPW's television schedule isn't exactly rigorous, their house show schedule, combined with A1E's much more regular TV schedule plus their house shows can make things add up. Still, I was ready to continue until I suffered The Big One.
MM: The Big One?
JA: Yeah. I tried not to let on to anyone except Tamara [Lollipop] and the training staffs from both companies, but I pulled a muscle in my back against Trip [Sean Stevens] at Aggression 43.
MM: That doesn't sound all that bad.
JA: No, but I kept working on it, and again, the house shows, plus the TV matches against Wraith and the PPV matches against Trip and [Rocko] Daymon and against Ken Cloverleaf. It got aggravated somehow, and I kept putting off getting it scoped further. I was subsiding on codeine and cortisone shots for the last two months, Mike. Then, as it turns out, after WrestleVerse, I got it scoped and it turns out I tore a muscle back there.
MM: Ouch!
JA: You can say that again. I had surgery on it last week, actually, and things are healing, albeit slowly. Before I went into surgery, I had told both Houston and Troy about what my plans were, and they were both agreeable to let me announce them on my own terms.
MM: You explained the terms of your EPW contract. What about A1E? It was reported that you signed a three-year extension last year.
JA: Well, me and Nate sat down and we came to an agreement that would let me out of my contract without any financial obligations on their end and without any penalty on my end. They were more than gracious.
MM: A 180 from the last time you left, eh?
JA: Heh, I guess you could say that, Mike. If I had to leave, I'm glad I'm not doing it crossing the bridge with a gascan in one hand and a flamethrower in the other. Seriously though, one of the biggest regrets that I had after leaving the first time was that I had left the only wrestling home that I had known for the three to four years prior on such bad terms. Now I feel like when I do heal and if I get the urge to wrestle again, I can go back to the locker room and not have to prove myself all over again.
MM: You said "if" you get the urge. Are you saying that injuries may not be the only factor on this?
JA: Well, not really. I mean, it's not entirely impossible for someone to love what they do and still get sick of it. Am I sick of wrestling? No, not in the least. Am I a bit tired of waking up in pain, living out of a rental car and not being able to settle down with my wife? Yeah, a little bit. Plus, there are a lot of other ways to be involved in wrestling without having to live the lifestyle.
MM: Thinking about stealing my gig?
JA: laughs Yeah, I could do that. Or I could announce, book, train... there are a ton of things to do. I was born to be in this business. If I come back in a year or so, and I think I'm ready to go again, I'll go. If not, then I'll find something else. I'll survive.
MM: So going back to the original question, I'd say that it's a "no"?
JA: Yeah, I'll be in this industry in some capacity. Now whether it's as an active competitor, we'll see.
MM: Until then, what are you planning on doing?
JA: Well, I'm gonna take some time off. Enjoy the finer things in life. I'll probably take in some games at Citizen's Bank Park, sleep in a bit, visit James [Irish] and Paul [Bennett - Big Dog] at the retirement home. laughs Who knows, maybe I'll try and start a family with Tam too.
MM: Hoping to get a fourth generation of Anonymous in wrestling, I take it?
JA: Haha, yeah, well, I'm not making any promises. I have taken more than a few nutshots in my day, and no matter how much you try to protect yourself down there, well, there's only a certain amount of trauma you can prevent. It's not the most "workable" move if you know what I mean.
MM: I think I do. I think I do. If or when you do come back, what do you think you have left to accomplish? You have won every singles Championship there is to win in A1E and EPW save the Challenge Championship in the former and Television in the latter. You've won a Pier Six and a Best of A1E. You've scored gold in the CSWA, and not many people can say that at all.
JA: Well, I would like to have more than one successful World Championship defense, Mike. I mean, not to knock Andy Gilkison, but I think he was the only guy I beat while I was World Champion. Winning the World Championship isn't enough, I'd like to be able to defend it a bit more.
I also don't think that winning something once really is accomplishing anything. I see guys quitting feds, retiring because they've done all they can do in their words. That's bullshit, Mike. Pure and utter bullshit. I mean take a look at Paul. He did what he did in his first run way back in 2002. He was dominant. But when he lost the World Championship, he didn't turn tail and run because he did it all. No, he kept going. When he did take breaks, it was because the aches and pains were getting to him. But he came back and years later, he won the World Championship again. He kept up excellence. You see Mike, it's one thing just to get to the top, but to stay there. Paul stayed there. Marcus [Westcott] stayed there in two companies. [Dan] Ryan did it in a million companies. They got over, they stayed over. They performed to a high level and when it came time to sustain it, to go out there and give a main event performance, to look good and put in an effort when putting the next guy over. So don't tell me there's nothing left to do. There's always something left to do, unless you're Ric Flair or Hornet or Joey Melton.
MM: Wow, tell me how you really feel.
JA: Oh man, you don't want me to get off on a real tangent. I mean one time, I chewed Wreck's ears off talking about taxes, and all he did was ask me who Ron Paul was.
MM: Wow, you're a Ron Paul supporter?
JA: Yeah, something about small government, lower taxes and having our boys at home safely instead of in Iraq appeals to me, but that's for a political blog, not a wrestling one.
MM: Alright, then, let's go back. Is there anything else you'd want to do if you came back full-time as a wrestler?
JA: Yeah, there's quite a bit. I think tops on the list would be to sort of finish off the longstanding feud with Marcus. There's a big story there that is okay right now if nothing else were to happen but would be fantastic if we had just one more six-to-twelve month run to work it.
MM: I'd assume then that the legit heat between you two has dissipated?
JA: Oh yeah, that went out the window a long time ago, Mike. I learned that grudges are never good to have, especially in this business, where there's only a limited amount of guys that you can work with, especially at the top. And me and Beast both are inalienable parts of both the A1E and EPW pantheons, so it's not like we'd be able to avoid each other unless I just up and started anew in another fed. But between you, me and all your readers, that wouldn't have a great chance of happening.
MM: So new territories would be out of the question if and when you came back?
JA: No, but if I went somewhere new, like NFW or somewhere in the PTC circuit, it would be in addition to A1E and/or EPW.
MM: A couple of months ago, you got married to your valet and longtime girlfriend Tamara "Lollipop" Boyd. Can you tell us about the ceremony?
JA: Well, the ceremony was at Mother of Divine Grace church in the Port Richmond section of Philly. A lot of people from the business there. Actually Lindz was in Tam's bridal party, and James was my best man. It caused some friction among my brothers, but they understood. And we honeymooned in Grand Cayman, which was sweet. All the Cuban cigars I could smoke, and just beautiful weather all around.
MM: How did you guys last this long when many wrestling relationships end badly?
JA: It's simple. We're really normal people. Neither one of us does hardcore drugs. We drink, but ask anyone, we're really mellow drunks. I don't beat her, she doesn't fuck behind my back. We have normal conversations, get into normal arguments - well as normal as you can get without having to live in a house for more than a week at a time. I've never done a steroid in my life, and she isn't into plastic surgery. We love each other for who we are, and yeah, they say you don't shit where you eat, but really, this isn't the kind of job where being together all the time is grating. Most of the time that I'm on the job, my focus is on the guy on the other side of the ring. She just has the best seat in the house.
MM: Okay, one last question. Say this is it and you don't ever wrestle a match ever again. Do you have any regrets?
JA: pause No Mike, I can't say I do. I had a good two-decade run from soup to nuts so far, with half of it being in the bigs. I've wrestled the best wrestlers in the world, performed in front of some of the greatest fans and I've turned in performances that I'm mostly satisfied with. Do I have a million World Championships? No, but I was respected enough by the companies that I worked for for them to toss me the ball and say, "Hey Tom, run with it", whether it was in the main event, the big tournament or even if it was just in a midcard match that they needed to fill out a card and make people remember the event. While in my heart I want to believe that this injury won't sap my spirit and that I will be back in a wrestling ring as a wrestler and not just a trainer, if I don't come back, well, que sera sera. I had a great run, and I'm out with a good portion of my life to enjoy in financial security.
MM: Alright, well, thank you very much, it was a pleasure.
JA: No prob, and thank you.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Writer vs. Wrestler vs. Wrestling Writer
Before we get to today's blog posting, a couple of quick hits.
- First, A1E has posted Sudden Death. It's actually been up for the better part of a week, but it's a good read. Three title switches, a rebranding of the one belt that didn't change hands and a shocking unmask. Go to the results section and read post haste!
- Second, some shilling. As you may or may not have figured out, I've created a second blog here on Blogspot. The Wrestling Blog will feature the same insight and wit (response from the peanut gallery on that comment: "lol") that you get here, only directed towards the WWE, TNA, puroresu, lucha libre, indies, WCW and other random wrestling-related things. Please check it out and bookmark it if you're a fan of the "real" thing.
Now, onto the post. Over at PTC, another discussion was started as to whether the handlers considered themselves as writers or wrestlers. This is an argument that seems like it's been beaten to death, and I know I've written about it here a lot, but some of the attitudes in that thread bear mentioning.
One of them is that eW is so different than wrestling, and if they were more of the same and the game wasn't so writing-oriented, then e-fedding would be "99% trash talk." My obvious predilection towards defending the art of the wrestling promo RP aside, it made me wonder whether this was actually true. Having watched wrestling for nearly my entire life and having seen the evolution and the OBVIOUS differences between the WWF in 1991 and the WWE in 2009, I can say beyond any shadow of a doubt that it's not.
If you discount the time on RAW, SmackDown and ECW dedicated to recapping what happened on the other shows, movie trailers or running down the card for the next PPV, here's the breakdown of what happens on a wrestling program: wrestling matches, promos, in-ring confrontation segments and segments where people are on camera but they act as if they're not on camera. Of these, there's probably a tie in time used between the confrontation segments and matches. Next is probably wrestling promos and after that are the backstage pseudo-shoot segments. Ever since the Monday Night Wars started, matches and multi-person in-rings have had the most time spent on them. There was a time during the late 90s when the pseudo-shoot segments were dominant over promos, thanks mainly to Vince Russo's "Crash-TV" style, but it seems equilibrium has been reached in that regard.
So what does all of that mean? Well, for one, it means that the "99% trash talk" number is way out of line. If you equate the number of RPs that happen per-week for the average FWC-styled fed to hours of camera time for cutting promos, you'd end up with HOURS of footage, more than what the "real" thing dedicates to single-entity unchallenged wrestling promos. In that regard, the FW/A1E-styled promo feds are wholly unrealistic to how a real wrestling fed works.
Secondly, all those "Crash-TV" style segments that were huge in the Attitude era and still pop up now albeit in more believable fashion to me equate more to PTC-styled RPs. The PTC RP is basically a writing exposition about the life outside of the ring for the character being portrayed. These things don't often times break character/kayfabe, but they're meant to show what the character is like when he/she is not in the ring or in front of a microphone. Isn't that exactly what a PTC RP is? It doesn't break character, but it's meant to get a glimpse into what that wrestler's life is when they're not at the arena? Sure, the "real" example hardly follows the person home or follows them around during their every day travails, but it's very similar in spirit.
Thirdly... whether a wrestling promo is meant to be written or spoken, for all intents and purposes of e-wrestling, it's written down. You still have to write it in order for you to imagine it being spoken. Matches still have to be written. Segments still have to be written. This game is 100% immersed in writing, so I fail to see how someone who is involved in a fed where very high percentages of content are wrestling promos is not a writer.
The fact is, everyone in the game is a writer, and I feel like everyone in the game should at least have some vestige of being a wrestling fan, whether you are one now or you used to be one and don't like the product anymore. In this game, you have to be both a writer and a wrestler. There's no way around it, and there's no real separation between the two. If there were, well, you'd be better off either trying to write short stories or essays for publication if you have no interest in the wrestling portion, or you'd be better off playing Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 over Wi-Fi if you have no interest in the writing portion.
- First, A1E has posted Sudden Death. It's actually been up for the better part of a week, but it's a good read. Three title switches, a rebranding of the one belt that didn't change hands and a shocking unmask. Go to the results section and read post haste!
- Second, some shilling. As you may or may not have figured out, I've created a second blog here on Blogspot. The Wrestling Blog will feature the same insight and wit (response from the peanut gallery on that comment: "lol") that you get here, only directed towards the WWE, TNA, puroresu, lucha libre, indies, WCW and other random wrestling-related things. Please check it out and bookmark it if you're a fan of the "real" thing.
Now, onto the post. Over at PTC, another discussion was started as to whether the handlers considered themselves as writers or wrestlers. This is an argument that seems like it's been beaten to death, and I know I've written about it here a lot, but some of the attitudes in that thread bear mentioning.
One of them is that eW is so different than wrestling, and if they were more of the same and the game wasn't so writing-oriented, then e-fedding would be "99% trash talk." My obvious predilection towards defending the art of the wrestling promo RP aside, it made me wonder whether this was actually true. Having watched wrestling for nearly my entire life and having seen the evolution and the OBVIOUS differences between the WWF in 1991 and the WWE in 2009, I can say beyond any shadow of a doubt that it's not.
If you discount the time on RAW, SmackDown and ECW dedicated to recapping what happened on the other shows, movie trailers or running down the card for the next PPV, here's the breakdown of what happens on a wrestling program: wrestling matches, promos, in-ring confrontation segments and segments where people are on camera but they act as if they're not on camera. Of these, there's probably a tie in time used between the confrontation segments and matches. Next is probably wrestling promos and after that are the backstage pseudo-shoot segments. Ever since the Monday Night Wars started, matches and multi-person in-rings have had the most time spent on them. There was a time during the late 90s when the pseudo-shoot segments were dominant over promos, thanks mainly to Vince Russo's "Crash-TV" style, but it seems equilibrium has been reached in that regard.
So what does all of that mean? Well, for one, it means that the "99% trash talk" number is way out of line. If you equate the number of RPs that happen per-week for the average FWC-styled fed to hours of camera time for cutting promos, you'd end up with HOURS of footage, more than what the "real" thing dedicates to single-entity unchallenged wrestling promos. In that regard, the FW/A1E-styled promo feds are wholly unrealistic to how a real wrestling fed works.
Secondly, all those "Crash-TV" style segments that were huge in the Attitude era and still pop up now albeit in more believable fashion to me equate more to PTC-styled RPs. The PTC RP is basically a writing exposition about the life outside of the ring for the character being portrayed. These things don't often times break character/kayfabe, but they're meant to show what the character is like when he/she is not in the ring or in front of a microphone. Isn't that exactly what a PTC RP is? It doesn't break character, but it's meant to get a glimpse into what that wrestler's life is when they're not at the arena? Sure, the "real" example hardly follows the person home or follows them around during their every day travails, but it's very similar in spirit.
Thirdly... whether a wrestling promo is meant to be written or spoken, for all intents and purposes of e-wrestling, it's written down. You still have to write it in order for you to imagine it being spoken. Matches still have to be written. Segments still have to be written. This game is 100% immersed in writing, so I fail to see how someone who is involved in a fed where very high percentages of content are wrestling promos is not a writer.
The fact is, everyone in the game is a writer, and I feel like everyone in the game should at least have some vestige of being a wrestling fan, whether you are one now or you used to be one and don't like the product anymore. In this game, you have to be both a writer and a wrestler. There's no way around it, and there's no real separation between the two. If there were, well, you'd be better off either trying to write short stories or essays for publication if you have no interest in the wrestling portion, or you'd be better off playing Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 over Wi-Fi if you have no interest in the writing portion.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Return of the Blog: Why I gave up TEAM and where I'm going from here
Well, I said that there was always a chance that this blog could come back, and now here it is. Don't ever say I never gave you guys anything :)
So, in case you haven't noticed, I've decidedly ramped down my activity in eW over the last year. The blog was the first casuality for the simple reason that I couldn't keep my attention span at a full level with all the stuff going on around me. I started to prioritize my eW activities, and I figured that being an eW journalist was nice, but ultimately it wasn't needed.
Now though, things have slowed down, I figure I can bring the blog back, although with the caveat that it won't be as journalistically themed as it was before. I mean, that doesn't mean I won't spotlight different feds at different times, but I wouldn't expect full card reviews like I was doing.
*booing and hissing from Katz*
Now that that's out of the way, the meat of the post. Part of my eW ramp-down included me giving up the reins of TEAM. TEAM and this blog have almost been synonymous with each other, mainly because I drafted the original idea for it here and used this blog as a pimping tool for it. It was a happy marriage, and it worked out well for me. That's why it was so hard for me to give the pseudo-i-fed up. Still though, as I said on the boards, it was a combination of life and the cardwriting becoming much like a chore for me that I had to give it up.
But the question then becomes why I gave it up instead of closing it down. It can be told sort of anecdotally at first. I probably told this story before on here, but I'll tell it again. Back when I first got to FW, Andrew Medina had a fed open which for the life of me, I can't remember the name. Well, for whatever reason, he closed it down when life got to be too much for him or whatever reason. The problem was that the fed still had a lot of handlers who were willing to keep it going, guys who plans and wanted to RP in it.
That situation made me realize that feds didn't really belong to the fedhead, no matter what some people might think. Sure, some are more inexorably linked to fedheads than others. NFW is one such fed, probably the closest example I can think of to a fed being equal to the guy running it. But in reality, even in those feds, the fed belongs to the handlers.
Think about it. You can theoretically run a fed without a fedhead, or at least one singular fedhead. E-fed communism is possible in theory. Whether it works in practice is another thing, but that's not a conversation for this entry. However, if you don't have handlers, your fed is either a concept or it's just masturbation. Besides, who wants to do all the work by him/herself? Not me, says I.
So that's why I put TEAM up. I know that there are people out there that still want to participate in these events and that still want to defend their titles. Even though I set the entire infrastructure up, it's really nothing unique. Tournaments and one-off shows... nothing too revolutionary there.
Thankfully, Adam Shinder, a guy whom I think is a terriffic handler and an untapped resource as a fed-staffer, took the ball and will run with it. Hopefully he can do as good a job or better than I did with it.
So yeah, that's where things stand right now. Here's a toast to being back on the blog, and hopefully, I'll update this frequently enough for you guys to enjoy it.
So, in case you haven't noticed, I've decidedly ramped down my activity in eW over the last year. The blog was the first casuality for the simple reason that I couldn't keep my attention span at a full level with all the stuff going on around me. I started to prioritize my eW activities, and I figured that being an eW journalist was nice, but ultimately it wasn't needed.
Now though, things have slowed down, I figure I can bring the blog back, although with the caveat that it won't be as journalistically themed as it was before. I mean, that doesn't mean I won't spotlight different feds at different times, but I wouldn't expect full card reviews like I was doing.
*booing and hissing from Katz*
Now that that's out of the way, the meat of the post. Part of my eW ramp-down included me giving up the reins of TEAM. TEAM and this blog have almost been synonymous with each other, mainly because I drafted the original idea for it here and used this blog as a pimping tool for it. It was a happy marriage, and it worked out well for me. That's why it was so hard for me to give the pseudo-i-fed up. Still though, as I said on the boards, it was a combination of life and the cardwriting becoming much like a chore for me that I had to give it up.
But the question then becomes why I gave it up instead of closing it down. It can be told sort of anecdotally at first. I probably told this story before on here, but I'll tell it again. Back when I first got to FW, Andrew Medina had a fed open which for the life of me, I can't remember the name. Well, for whatever reason, he closed it down when life got to be too much for him or whatever reason. The problem was that the fed still had a lot of handlers who were willing to keep it going, guys who plans and wanted to RP in it.
That situation made me realize that feds didn't really belong to the fedhead, no matter what some people might think. Sure, some are more inexorably linked to fedheads than others. NFW is one such fed, probably the closest example I can think of to a fed being equal to the guy running it. But in reality, even in those feds, the fed belongs to the handlers.
Think about it. You can theoretically run a fed without a fedhead, or at least one singular fedhead. E-fed communism is possible in theory. Whether it works in practice is another thing, but that's not a conversation for this entry. However, if you don't have handlers, your fed is either a concept or it's just masturbation. Besides, who wants to do all the work by him/herself? Not me, says I.
So that's why I put TEAM up. I know that there are people out there that still want to participate in these events and that still want to defend their titles. Even though I set the entire infrastructure up, it's really nothing unique. Tournaments and one-off shows... nothing too revolutionary there.
Thankfully, Adam Shinder, a guy whom I think is a terriffic handler and an untapped resource as a fed-staffer, took the ball and will run with it. Hopefully he can do as good a job or better than I did with it.
So yeah, that's where things stand right now. Here's a toast to being back on the blog, and hopefully, I'll update this frequently enough for you guys to enjoy it.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
News and Notes!
Been a long time since I've done one of these!
- First up, NAPW will be celebrating its second birthday on Halloween with Anniversary Assault II. Hard to believe that this fed is only two years old; it seems like it's been around forever. That's the mark of a great fed though. Time is exaggerated in e-fedding. What takes a "real" wrestler half a career to accomplish will take an e-wrestler half a year. Anyway, the card looks pretty good so far. The main event is going to be a Halloween House of Horrors match. The combatants haven't been announced for that, but I'm sure you can count on Ravager, current Champion Bruce Richards and former Champion Donovan Astros to be a part of those proceedings. Billy Kryenik and Tommy Deathrow will settle their feud in a TaiPei Deathmatch. All in all, it should be a decent card at the very least, and maybe I'll get up off my duff and review it ;)
- Intersting note posted over at PTC's advertisement forum. Ben (Steven Caldera) is going to be starting up a new fed, Outlaw Pro Wrestling. Here's the announcement, and it looks like this fed is going to be run on a smaller scale on the local level. It's also going to have a more of an underground feel. Hopefully, Ben either has someone else running this, or he's not spreading himself too thin, because I like the idea of this fed. It reminds me of me when I started up UXW all those years ago. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more information about OPW.
- Speaking of notes posted places, it seems that A1E is on the in-character selling block. Jarret posted notes both at A1 and FW noting this, and I think it's probably going to tie in with the ongoing storyline between Nathan Houston and the board of directors. I have to say, even though I've been enjoying Houston's current departure from character in his feud with Spoiler, I'm looking forward to the sale and the eventual replacement of Houston that almost seems imminent. Houston's been the figurehead for A1E for a long time, and I feel like that when Roger stepped down as the OOC head booker, he should have been replaced. I'm guessing Jarret had that plan all along, but he had a storyline for that, so kudos to him for going through with it, even if it's been a bit drawn out.
- One more thing before I sign off this time. The Dupree Cup playoffs will be starting soon, and that means we'll be heading into SuperShow VII. Start thinking about challenge matches or whether you want to participate in the Lethal Lottery Championship or FREE FOR ALL~! Championship matches.
- First up, NAPW will be celebrating its second birthday on Halloween with Anniversary Assault II. Hard to believe that this fed is only two years old; it seems like it's been around forever. That's the mark of a great fed though. Time is exaggerated in e-fedding. What takes a "real" wrestler half a career to accomplish will take an e-wrestler half a year. Anyway, the card looks pretty good so far. The main event is going to be a Halloween House of Horrors match. The combatants haven't been announced for that, but I'm sure you can count on Ravager, current Champion Bruce Richards and former Champion Donovan Astros to be a part of those proceedings. Billy Kryenik and Tommy Deathrow will settle their feud in a TaiPei Deathmatch. All in all, it should be a decent card at the very least, and maybe I'll get up off my duff and review it ;)
- Intersting note posted over at PTC's advertisement forum. Ben (Steven Caldera) is going to be starting up a new fed, Outlaw Pro Wrestling. Here's the announcement, and it looks like this fed is going to be run on a smaller scale on the local level. It's also going to have a more of an underground feel. Hopefully, Ben either has someone else running this, or he's not spreading himself too thin, because I like the idea of this fed. It reminds me of me when I started up UXW all those years ago. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more information about OPW.
- Speaking of notes posted places, it seems that A1E is on the in-character selling block. Jarret posted notes both at A1 and FW noting this, and I think it's probably going to tie in with the ongoing storyline between Nathan Houston and the board of directors. I have to say, even though I've been enjoying Houston's current departure from character in his feud with Spoiler, I'm looking forward to the sale and the eventual replacement of Houston that almost seems imminent. Houston's been the figurehead for A1E for a long time, and I feel like that when Roger stepped down as the OOC head booker, he should have been replaced. I'm guessing Jarret had that plan all along, but he had a storyline for that, so kudos to him for going through with it, even if it's been a bit drawn out.
- One more thing before I sign off this time. The Dupree Cup playoffs will be starting soon, and that means we'll be heading into SuperShow VII. Start thinking about challenge matches or whether you want to participate in the Lethal Lottery Championship or FREE FOR ALL~! Championship matches.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Novelty
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.
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.
Friday, July 06, 2007
ToC Thoughts from the Man Behind the Curtain
Before we get to the main event, how about some Major League Wrestling, eh? New league, run by Sanket Desai, proprietor of the defunct competitor in last year's Dupree Cup, War Zone Wrestling. Give it a shot if you have the chance, Sanket's good people, and he's a young'un too, so you know he's got enthusiasm :)
Now, the ToC...
I thought there was a marked difference between this year's ToC and last year's, and it had nothing to do with the change in venue. It probably had more to do with a change in the competitors. Only four people came back from last year (Nero, ProfT, Ravager, Kin Hiroshi). I also think more people knew what they were getting into this year than last year. Seeing that 2006 was the first time I ever did something like this, it's going to throw people into shock. Now, folks are getting wise to the format, and I think that's why the last two rounds were handled a bit better than before.
The first round though... I'm not going to say it was bad, because there were a lot of really good RPs in there. Last year's round 1, however, stuck out to me more. D!, Mr. Amazing! and Eddie Mayfield all really jumped out at me, and K-Wolf and Vangelus Olsig had really memorable RPs. That's not to say that this year's crop wasn't good or memorable. It's just no one really jumped out at me, which isn't a good or bad thing; it just meant that this round was a lot harder for me to judge this time around.
Round 2 and round 3 though... I thought the quality for both rounds was better, and the most telling thing to me about that was the lack of cringeworthy moments. Last year, and I'm not mentioning names, I had to cringe at the quality of some of the later round RP stuff. Here, there was really none of that. The writing quality went up, and there very few times when I had to cringe at how the writing was. It felt like Round 2 was solid RP after solid RP, even for the first timers.
I feel like whoever's coming out of this as the winner really earned it, much like Brunk did with the TiT. Two tournaments, two hellacious RP battles. Hopefully that bodes well for the Dupree Cup... which is right around the corner, ladies and gentlement ;)
Now, the ToC...
I thought there was a marked difference between this year's ToC and last year's, and it had nothing to do with the change in venue. It probably had more to do with a change in the competitors. Only four people came back from last year (Nero, ProfT, Ravager, Kin Hiroshi). I also think more people knew what they were getting into this year than last year. Seeing that 2006 was the first time I ever did something like this, it's going to throw people into shock. Now, folks are getting wise to the format, and I think that's why the last two rounds were handled a bit better than before.
The first round though... I'm not going to say it was bad, because there were a lot of really good RPs in there. Last year's round 1, however, stuck out to me more. D!, Mr. Amazing! and Eddie Mayfield all really jumped out at me, and K-Wolf and Vangelus Olsig had really memorable RPs. That's not to say that this year's crop wasn't good or memorable. It's just no one really jumped out at me, which isn't a good or bad thing; it just meant that this round was a lot harder for me to judge this time around.
Round 2 and round 3 though... I thought the quality for both rounds was better, and the most telling thing to me about that was the lack of cringeworthy moments. Last year, and I'm not mentioning names, I had to cringe at the quality of some of the later round RP stuff. Here, there was really none of that. The writing quality went up, and there very few times when I had to cringe at how the writing was. It felt like Round 2 was solid RP after solid RP, even for the first timers.
I feel like whoever's coming out of this as the winner really earned it, much like Brunk did with the TiT. Two tournaments, two hellacious RP battles. Hopefully that bodes well for the Dupree Cup... which is right around the corner, ladies and gentlement ;)
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
The Pros and Cons of Kumquats, Part 1
The first of a fifty-five part series...
...or not. No Katz, no posts about kumquats and their effect on eW, but I will take this opportunity to do some random news and notes.
- First on the list, MBE has made the jump from A1 to FW. I think this is a good move, since there's a broader handler base at FW and because FW is an e-fed site while A1 is more a hodgepodge. Yes, FW guys have come over, Shinder and Strawsma being the most recent examples, but they lean towards going to A1E over MBE.
Still, I encourage everyone looking for a fed to try MBE out. You'll be getting in on the ground floor of the current reboot, and you'll definitely be in good hands. With Jeff Paternostro at the helm, you know it's going to be good.
- Next up, a new addition to the blogring: The Dragon's Eye, written by Karl Brown. Check it out. He only has one entry up so far, but I'm sure he's got many more where that came from.
- Finally, a little self-promotion. After the ToC wraps up, the next big thing for TEAM will be SuperShow VI: Lethal Lottery, and just like the name suggests, we'll be instituting a Lethal Lottery Championship. To decide the titles, we'll have a tag team gauntlet match where all the teams are randomly drawn, and then after that, the winners of that match will take on randomly-drawn teams at each sucessive SuperShow. It's my way of spinning tag team wrestling for TEAM without doing the same ol'-same ol'. So please consider it if you're into tag team wrestling and random pairings.
...or not. No Katz, no posts about kumquats and their effect on eW, but I will take this opportunity to do some random news and notes.
- First on the list, MBE has made the jump from A1 to FW. I think this is a good move, since there's a broader handler base at FW and because FW is an e-fed site while A1 is more a hodgepodge. Yes, FW guys have come over, Shinder and Strawsma being the most recent examples, but they lean towards going to A1E over MBE.
Still, I encourage everyone looking for a fed to try MBE out. You'll be getting in on the ground floor of the current reboot, and you'll definitely be in good hands. With Jeff Paternostro at the helm, you know it's going to be good.
- Next up, a new addition to the blogring: The Dragon's Eye, written by Karl Brown. Check it out. He only has one entry up so far, but I'm sure he's got many more where that came from.
- Finally, a little self-promotion. After the ToC wraps up, the next big thing for TEAM will be SuperShow VI: Lethal Lottery, and just like the name suggests, we'll be instituting a Lethal Lottery Championship. To decide the titles, we'll have a tag team gauntlet match where all the teams are randomly drawn, and then after that, the winners of that match will take on randomly-drawn teams at each sucessive SuperShow. It's my way of spinning tag team wrestling for TEAM without doing the same ol'-same ol'. So please consider it if you're into tag team wrestling and random pairings.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Quick notes
- The answers post to the "Ask Your Blogger" post will go up once I get a few more questions. Thanks to Dove and Sam for providing some good ones thus far, but I know you guys have things you want to ask. Don't be shy, you can ask just about anything eW related. Like about my answers to the big-ass survey.
- Here's something I'd like some feedback on. How many of you out there would be interested in doing a monthly Power Poll for TEAM? It's basically like the AP college football/basketball poll, only in the interest of time and because of the numbers involved, it'll be a top ten rather than a top 25. If that's something you're interested in, lemme know.
- Remember this? Yep, it's a post on how much I thought death angles in eW were such a bad idea. Well, in a case of real life ripping off fantasy, Vince McMahon thought it'd be a swell idea to fake his own death for an angle. Brilliant, and the worst case scenario, a wrestler or former wrestler actually dying during this asinine angle, happened. Sensational Sherri passed today at the age of 49. Guess whose death got top billing on WWE.com? Yep, Vince's "passing." Ludicrous. Just goes to show that bad ideas in eW also are bad ideas in the real thing. There's no question in my mind that even the most mediocre of minds in the eW realm could book circles around the WWE at this point. That's not a good thing, since this stagnance is a huge reason why eW is perceived to be dying itself.
- Just one more quick note on the survey... I agree with more than a few of the people who answered. I really think that for as cool a move as it is and with as much a wow factor as it has, the C-4 (Burchill's version, not K-Wolf's) is totally underused in eW. You'd think that people would have latched onto this move since I've seen a total markage for flippy moves like the Destroyer and the base move off this variant, the Rock Bottom. Oh well, maybe it's a good thing it's not being overdone, because then I'd end up throwing something at the monitor every time I saw fifty characters with it in their arsenal ;)
- Here's something I'd like some feedback on. How many of you out there would be interested in doing a monthly Power Poll for TEAM? It's basically like the AP college football/basketball poll, only in the interest of time and because of the numbers involved, it'll be a top ten rather than a top 25. If that's something you're interested in, lemme know.
- Remember this? Yep, it's a post on how much I thought death angles in eW were such a bad idea. Well, in a case of real life ripping off fantasy, Vince McMahon thought it'd be a swell idea to fake his own death for an angle. Brilliant, and the worst case scenario, a wrestler or former wrestler actually dying during this asinine angle, happened. Sensational Sherri passed today at the age of 49. Guess whose death got top billing on WWE.com? Yep, Vince's "passing." Ludicrous. Just goes to show that bad ideas in eW also are bad ideas in the real thing. There's no question in my mind that even the most mediocre of minds in the eW realm could book circles around the WWE at this point. That's not a good thing, since this stagnance is a huge reason why eW is perceived to be dying itself.
- Just one more quick note on the survey... I agree with more than a few of the people who answered. I really think that for as cool a move as it is and with as much a wow factor as it has, the C-4 (Burchill's version, not K-Wolf's) is totally underused in eW. You'd think that people would have latched onto this move since I've seen a total markage for flippy moves like the Destroyer and the base move off this variant, the Rock Bottom. Oh well, maybe it's a good thing it's not being overdone, because then I'd end up throwing something at the monitor every time I saw fifty characters with it in their arsenal ;)
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Ask your blogger!
Alright, time to do the reader participation thing again. We did reader-suggested topics, guest columns and now I'll answer any and all questions you have for me. Just comment here and I'll answer them on the blog to the best of my knowledge.
To keep this from being a supershort entry, some notes:
- Go ahead and make some predictions on the ToC. You can do that right here. Just make a quickie prediction and a confidence level. This is for the purpose of making odds for vBookie.
- If you haven't noticed at any of the hubs, I posted a really, really long survey. If you haven't answered yet and have 20 mintues to a half-hour free, please answer it. I just love seeing what people think about eW, all the different ideas and all the questions that everyone, regardless of community, seem to be in unison about. I plan to post a similar topic every month on the hubs... although future ones won't be nearly as long as the survey :)
- Even though I haven't read the show yet, I got the spoilers from it and I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Mike Dove on winning the NFW World Championship as Kin Hiroshi. The trend of good guys winning World Titles continues into 2007, and by my reckoning, there isn't anyone in this hobby more deserving of winning the big one right now than he is. This is long overdue, and it couldn't happen for a nicer guy.
To keep this from being a supershort entry, some notes:
- Go ahead and make some predictions on the ToC. You can do that right here. Just make a quickie prediction and a confidence level. This is for the purpose of making odds for vBookie.
- If you haven't noticed at any of the hubs, I posted a really, really long survey. If you haven't answered yet and have 20 mintues to a half-hour free, please answer it. I just love seeing what people think about eW, all the different ideas and all the questions that everyone, regardless of community, seem to be in unison about. I plan to post a similar topic every month on the hubs... although future ones won't be nearly as long as the survey :)
- Even though I haven't read the show yet, I got the spoilers from it and I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Mike Dove on winning the NFW World Championship as Kin Hiroshi. The trend of good guys winning World Titles continues into 2007, and by my reckoning, there isn't anyone in this hobby more deserving of winning the big one right now than he is. This is long overdue, and it couldn't happen for a nicer guy.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Busy busy busy
Yeah, work hit me hard again this week, so I haven't been able to review all the shows I wanted to yet. I did try to get the scoop on the poop for WfWA's International Wars, PSSPW's School's Out, NAPW's Badder Blood and of course, the biggie, NFW's Night One of Wrestlebowl. I feel bad because I promised more show reviews, but I just got hit with another round of digs in Jersey, two hours commute easy and no wireless access.
Still, I'm not too busy to throw out some congratulations. First to Lindz, for capturing the PRIME Universal Championship, becoming the first handler to my knowledge to be able to pull of a World Championship in both PTC and FW. Secondly, I'd like to throw some props out there to Bobby Nickens (Chris Storm, Guy Boudreaux) and Samantha Spinks (Tessa Windsor), who turned an eW relationship into love. After four years of dating, they got engaged recently. Congrats guys, always good to see love wherever it springs up.
More shillage on my part, I'm taking apps for the Tournament of Champions, and if you're interested in seeing if you're eligible, check out the threads at the various eW hubs that I frequent. If you're not eligible and you want in, there's a prime opportunity to get a spot through the FREE FOR ALL~! Match in TEAM's SuperShow V. If you're not eligible and you'd rather not do the FFA~! route, then I need good judges.
Also, a note to all those who are RPing for SSV... You have a little more than 48 hours to RP. If you've got something, now's a pretty good time to put it up.
Still, I'm not too busy to throw out some congratulations. First to Lindz, for capturing the PRIME Universal Championship, becoming the first handler to my knowledge to be able to pull of a World Championship in both PTC and FW. Secondly, I'd like to throw some props out there to Bobby Nickens (Chris Storm, Guy Boudreaux) and Samantha Spinks (Tessa Windsor), who turned an eW relationship into love. After four years of dating, they got engaged recently. Congrats guys, always good to see love wherever it springs up.
More shillage on my part, I'm taking apps for the Tournament of Champions, and if you're interested in seeing if you're eligible, check out the threads at the various eW hubs that I frequent. If you're not eligible and you want in, there's a prime opportunity to get a spot through the FREE FOR ALL~! Match in TEAM's SuperShow V. If you're not eligible and you'd rather not do the FFA~! route, then I need good judges.
Also, a note to all those who are RPing for SSV... You have a little more than 48 hours to RP. If you've got something, now's a pretty good time to put it up.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Give your Blogger feedback
Thus marks the 300th post on this crazy thing, and as with any milestone post, there has to be a crazy gimmick involved, right? No? Well, you're getting it anyway.
I really try not to talk about myself on the blog, and in fact, the last time I really asked for thoughts about me and my work, it was the 200th entry, so I'm doing it again. If you don't like it... tough cookies :) It's just a series of questions about the blog, about my work in eW and things I've done and what I might do. So here goes:
The last time I did a self-post, I asked what your favorite character of mine was. If you didn't answer last time, tell me, what is your favorite Holzer-character? If you did, has that answer changed since the last time?
I love gimmicks and I love handling gimmicked characters. I've done the Ottoman throwback, the masked GOPundit and a score of others. What kind of gimmick would you like to see me do in the future?
Those of you who actually read RPs, how have I been since I came over to FW in 2004 and then started the blog in 2005?
What do you think of the blog? Be honest, if you think there's something missing, something wrong, something I'm doing or allowing to be done that just plain sucks, please let me know. I'm glad people like the blog, but if I hear nothing but knob-slobbering praise, I have no idea how to improve, because let's face it, I'm not a perfect writer and I'm not a perfect judge of content. I need to know, people!
That's it. You don't have to answer all of the questions if you do answer, but if you do, please, please, please, PLEASE answer the last question if you only do one.
I really try not to talk about myself on the blog, and in fact, the last time I really asked for thoughts about me and my work, it was the 200th entry, so I'm doing it again. If you don't like it... tough cookies :) It's just a series of questions about the blog, about my work in eW and things I've done and what I might do. So here goes:
The last time I did a self-post, I asked what your favorite character of mine was. If you didn't answer last time, tell me, what is your favorite Holzer-character? If you did, has that answer changed since the last time?
I love gimmicks and I love handling gimmicked characters. I've done the Ottoman throwback, the masked GOPundit and a score of others. What kind of gimmick would you like to see me do in the future?
Those of you who actually read RPs, how have I been since I came over to FW in 2004 and then started the blog in 2005?
What do you think of the blog? Be honest, if you think there's something missing, something wrong, something I'm doing or allowing to be done that just plain sucks, please let me know. I'm glad people like the blog, but if I hear nothing but knob-slobbering praise, I have no idea how to improve, because let's face it, I'm not a perfect writer and I'm not a perfect judge of content. I need to know, people!
That's it. You don't have to answer all of the questions if you do answer, but if you do, please, please, please, PLEASE answer the last question if you only do one.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
More on PTC
Just in case you didn't know, Pete Speer announced last night that PTC was dropping the interfed aspect and becoming more of an eW-based hub (for now) for forums and interfed activities. Did I just contradict myself? No, not really. What I mean is, they're dropping the interfed requirement for participation, ie, no longer do you have to be in a PTC fed to vie for PTC titles. It's more of an open interfed. I find it slightly amusing that after all the inspiration I've taken from PTC over the last year for TEAM that they're using a trick out of my book ;) Seriously, I have no idea what to think about it yet. Part of me wishes they kept the I-fed requirement, because it was part of their identity, but another part thinks that if this is the path to survival and, more importantly, flourishment, then hey, let's do it like this, eh?
So folks who want to test your mettle in the storyline style of RPing, now's your chance. Well really, you've always had a chance, since the only things that were PTC-exclusive since I've been blogging have been the Global and Extreme titles. Still, the principle behind everything is more of a welcoming one. This is not to say that in the past, PTC has been exclusionary in practice, but I can see how they may have come across as exclusionary in perception. But yeah, come on over and test your mettle in the Infinite Gauntlet, or even make your bones in the Free Agent forum, which is now open to all feds.
A great chance for you to get in on the ground floor in the new PTC is the Chris Williams Memorial Cup, an "e-fed indie" tournament. It's being run by Jay, the handler of Jay Phoenix/Ember, and yes, there is that pesky write-about-wrestling requirement, although everyone who participated in round 2 of the ToC last year can do that ;)
Speaking of the ToC... it's coming sooner than you think. If you're eligible or think you might be eligible when the time rolls around... why don't you give it a thought or two? :)
So folks who want to test your mettle in the storyline style of RPing, now's your chance. Well really, you've always had a chance, since the only things that were PTC-exclusive since I've been blogging have been the Global and Extreme titles. Still, the principle behind everything is more of a welcoming one. This is not to say that in the past, PTC has been exclusionary in practice, but I can see how they may have come across as exclusionary in perception. But yeah, come on over and test your mettle in the Infinite Gauntlet, or even make your bones in the Free Agent forum, which is now open to all feds.
A great chance for you to get in on the ground floor in the new PTC is the Chris Williams Memorial Cup, an "e-fed indie" tournament. It's being run by Jay, the handler of Jay Phoenix/Ember, and yes, there is that pesky write-about-wrestling requirement, although everyone who participated in round 2 of the ToC last year can do that ;)
Speaking of the ToC... it's coming sooner than you think. If you're eligible or think you might be eligible when the time rolls around... why don't you give it a thought or two? :)
Monday, May 14, 2007
Random notes
Posting may be sparse from here til the middle of June, seeing as I'm on a hectic work schedule. Back and forth between central New Jersey, right in the middle of the armpit of America. Still, I haven't forgotten the blog or all of you out there.
- First up, I'd like to give a shout-out to a new old fed on the block.
J-j-j-j-j-j-j-enkins World Order... 4 life!
An old fed from FW's history run by our own Brian Jenkins is back up, and they've already gotten one show under their belts. Totally check this out, as it features at least one old face (Hida Yakamo), some great standby handlers doing new stuff (Aston, Shinder) and some newer faces (Mr. XYZ and AC Blood... sorry, don't know your handlers' names!). If this gets to take off, I have faith that it'll be a great fed for FW, filling a void that MCW tried to do when Bolich restarted it.
- Talking about drafts, over at W3:16, a thread about said idea turned into another classic snipefest that we've all come to know and love from that group of posters. Honestly, that thread is a microcosm about what bothers me about them; for one, you have your group of posters who have skin thinner than rice paper, and they take everything to heart quicker than it takes Homer Simpson to inhale a strawberry frosted donut. Then you have your uptight dicks who are more concerned with laying down rules for threads or for proposed ideas than they are for actually running the idea through in the first place. And then to top it all off, you have guys who come up with every idea in the book and then don't have the werewithal to follow through with anything other than a "oh, the hobby is dying, woe is us" sort of malaise for everything. I mean, looking in that thread, you had people argue on whether it was going to take time away from fed duties, whether it was a waste of time or not, which way was the most effective of getting the draft going... I'm sorry, but I have to say "What the fuckity fuck are you on about?"
A draft is something that should be an outlet for blowing off some steam and a chance for everyone to play recruiter without the burden of having to convince everyone to come in and RP and booker without the task of actually writing full cards. It's fun, pure and simple. If you can't just queue up the drafters and let 'er rip, then what's the point? Seriously. I thought I was overcomplicating things when I came up with my draft order and means of turnaround.
It's just another day at Black Rock for some of the folks there though. It's a wonder there's any activity there at all, what with the constant spectre of William Morgan coming in and berating you for not having historical perspective or for making things too much about "e-life" (a bullshit term if I ever heard one... and I'm in the eW conservative camp, just ask anyone at PTC when the wrestling relevance debate comes up :p), or about Tom Mason pontificating about some shit or Cimon or whoever the fuck Ser Trent et al. are starting shit to provoke any of those aforementioned with the rice paper skin. It also doesn't help that the one admin who's there most of the time contradicts the "no-to-low moderation" policy. You know, there have been ten topics sent to their recycle bin since they've opened in February of this year. In contrast, the "fascists" over at PTC haven't thrown out a thread since mid-December of last year, and one that hasn't been moved to their bin for moderation reasons since the beginning of that month. Hmm, kinda makes you think doesn't it?
I had such high hopes for that community, but then the rabble from EWN/cIm came over and ruined the place. There, I said it. I mean, there are more than a few good eggs who frequent/have frequented/used to frequent that place, like Medina, Katz, Bobby/Jerrod, VossMan, Edgar and Hollan but for the most part, it's a barren wasteland because of the rabble, the vocal minority that has polluted the place. And it's a shame too. Something like a draft could have easily revitalized that community, at least from a discussion standpoint.
I'll still go there, I'll post whenever I fancy a topic, I'll keep the NFW boards going when Katz posts shows, and I'll shill my TEAM stuff there, but man, that doesn't mean I can't bemoan the premature death of a could-have-been great site.
- Speaking of PTC, kudos to them for appointing Dave Cook as the moderator of the eW forum. He's one of the last of a dying breed, people who are enthusiastic about discussion of the hobby. Here's to hoping he can spark some good talk about goings on and maybe get some people on the feedback train. I know this oversteps the bounds of eW, but kudos on appointing Jay (Phoenix) and Thommy (Tsunami Oni/Plucky the Cockfighting Duck/Sun Tzu) as mods of the pro wrestling forum and Phil (Tarrant) of the sports forums. And on the same note, congrats to Jay on the birth of his son. May he follow in his father's footsteps and be the next breed of eW handlers ;)
- Start thinking about the Tournament of Champions. It's coming up sooner than you think, June or July depending on how fast we can get SuperShow IV written. SuperShow V will most likely be a short-formed card just so we don't hold things up too long. But yeah, for those who don't remember, the ToC is a "one-night" tournament in character. Out of kayfabe and in the RP phase, it's a three-round event. One round is dedicated to wrestling promo RPs, the second to storyline/off-camera RPs and the third is a wild-card round. Last year, it was backstage attacks. This year? Well, I haven't decided yet :) However, I promise it'll be good. You get a berth by being a singles Champion in your fed, a winner of a major interfed tournament or wrestler of the year award, the last holder of your fed's World Championship before the current holder or by being a special legend. Once again, this year's Legends List is a secret until I unveil it... be on your toes :)
- First up, I'd like to give a shout-out to a new old fed on the block.
J-j-j-j-j-j-j-enkins World Order... 4 life!
An old fed from FW's history run by our own Brian Jenkins is back up, and they've already gotten one show under their belts. Totally check this out, as it features at least one old face (Hida Yakamo), some great standby handlers doing new stuff (Aston, Shinder) and some newer faces (Mr. XYZ and AC Blood... sorry, don't know your handlers' names!). If this gets to take off, I have faith that it'll be a great fed for FW, filling a void that MCW tried to do when Bolich restarted it.
- Talking about drafts, over at W3:16, a thread about said idea turned into another classic snipefest that we've all come to know and love from that group of posters. Honestly, that thread is a microcosm about what bothers me about them; for one, you have your group of posters who have skin thinner than rice paper, and they take everything to heart quicker than it takes Homer Simpson to inhale a strawberry frosted donut. Then you have your uptight dicks who are more concerned with laying down rules for threads or for proposed ideas than they are for actually running the idea through in the first place. And then to top it all off, you have guys who come up with every idea in the book and then don't have the werewithal to follow through with anything other than a "oh, the hobby is dying, woe is us" sort of malaise for everything. I mean, looking in that thread, you had people argue on whether it was going to take time away from fed duties, whether it was a waste of time or not, which way was the most effective of getting the draft going... I'm sorry, but I have to say "What the fuckity fuck are you on about?"
A draft is something that should be an outlet for blowing off some steam and a chance for everyone to play recruiter without the burden of having to convince everyone to come in and RP and booker without the task of actually writing full cards. It's fun, pure and simple. If you can't just queue up the drafters and let 'er rip, then what's the point? Seriously. I thought I was overcomplicating things when I came up with my draft order and means of turnaround.
It's just another day at Black Rock for some of the folks there though. It's a wonder there's any activity there at all, what with the constant spectre of William Morgan coming in and berating you for not having historical perspective or for making things too much about "e-life" (a bullshit term if I ever heard one... and I'm in the eW conservative camp, just ask anyone at PTC when the wrestling relevance debate comes up :p), or about Tom Mason pontificating about some shit or Cimon or whoever the fuck Ser Trent et al. are starting shit to provoke any of those aforementioned with the rice paper skin. It also doesn't help that the one admin who's there most of the time contradicts the "no-to-low moderation" policy. You know, there have been ten topics sent to their recycle bin since they've opened in February of this year. In contrast, the "fascists" over at PTC haven't thrown out a thread since mid-December of last year, and one that hasn't been moved to their bin for moderation reasons since the beginning of that month. Hmm, kinda makes you think doesn't it?
I had such high hopes for that community, but then the rabble from EWN/cIm came over and ruined the place. There, I said it. I mean, there are more than a few good eggs who frequent/have frequented/used to frequent that place, like Medina, Katz, Bobby/Jerrod, VossMan, Edgar and Hollan but for the most part, it's a barren wasteland because of the rabble, the vocal minority that has polluted the place. And it's a shame too. Something like a draft could have easily revitalized that community, at least from a discussion standpoint.
I'll still go there, I'll post whenever I fancy a topic, I'll keep the NFW boards going when Katz posts shows, and I'll shill my TEAM stuff there, but man, that doesn't mean I can't bemoan the premature death of a could-have-been great site.
- Speaking of PTC, kudos to them for appointing Dave Cook as the moderator of the eW forum. He's one of the last of a dying breed, people who are enthusiastic about discussion of the hobby. Here's to hoping he can spark some good talk about goings on and maybe get some people on the feedback train. I know this oversteps the bounds of eW, but kudos on appointing Jay (Phoenix) and Thommy (Tsunami Oni/Plucky the Cockfighting Duck/Sun Tzu) as mods of the pro wrestling forum and Phil (Tarrant) of the sports forums. And on the same note, congrats to Jay on the birth of his son. May he follow in his father's footsteps and be the next breed of eW handlers ;)
- Start thinking about the Tournament of Champions. It's coming up sooner than you think, June or July depending on how fast we can get SuperShow IV written. SuperShow V will most likely be a short-formed card just so we don't hold things up too long. But yeah, for those who don't remember, the ToC is a "one-night" tournament in character. Out of kayfabe and in the RP phase, it's a three-round event. One round is dedicated to wrestling promo RPs, the second to storyline/off-camera RPs and the third is a wild-card round. Last year, it was backstage attacks. This year? Well, I haven't decided yet :) However, I promise it'll be good. You get a berth by being a singles Champion in your fed, a winner of a major interfed tournament or wrestler of the year award, the last holder of your fed's World Championship before the current holder or by being a special legend. Once again, this year's Legends List is a secret until I unveil it... be on your toes :)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The Return of Random Notes
Because it's been a long time since I did these... too long.
- First up, some shameless self-promotion:
Read the EPICENTER for TEAM SuperShow III!
Leave me feedback for said show!
Then sign up for a match on the next SuperShow and if you really liked me, volunteer to write a match!
Yep, the finals are set for TiT, we have a new Champion of Champions, and once again, an NAPW guy is the first to hold a TEAM Championship. It's important that you leave honest feedback, because once again, I have no idea what I'm doing wrong if you guys don't call me out on it.
Speaking of the next SuperShow, right now, I have a bunch of unanswered challenges going on over there. So before you go making challenges, see if you're being called out. I'm probably going to cap it at some point, but once again, you can always participate in the FREE FOR ALL~! match. Now that that's out of the way...
- Speaking of NAPW, a bit of news out of their camp. The talk in the eW world is that tag team wrestling is back, but in the Canadian indie fed, you could argue that it never left to begin with. NAPW's tag team division was one of the best in the land, and now, they'd like for you to partake in it. It's an event called TAGSTRAVAGANZA II! It happens 5/22, and the details are there as you follow the link.
- Staying with that family of feds, NAPW's sister fed REBEL Pro, they're having an open invitational event of their own. This one is geared towards singles wrestlers and is a battle royale for a shot at their Championship. Open-invitational battle royale... groovy! Once again, follow the link for more details. The event happens 5/8, so throw your hat in the ring now.
- I'm pleased to announce some additions to the blog family of feds. First off, we've got Problem Solver South Park Wrestling, a fed that's loosely based off the hit show South Park (duh). I had some reservations about it, but it seems alright from glancing over it. Plus, Kevin Healy, Fusenhoff/Ace Mason's handler, gives it a glowing review, and I hear they're timely with all their shows, which is rare in the world of eW these days. Second up, it's the Superstar Wrestling Circuit, a new RP fed in the world of angle feds. I'm not certain, but I think it's run by Antoine of Malik Roland fame, although I could be mistaken. There are some familiar names and heavy hitters on the roster, and I think it could be a force in the W316 world.
- Keeping with things in South Park land, Mr. Healy also has a blog, the Damn Yankee blog. Give it a whirl if you're thinking about following or if you do follow PSSPW.
- Here's a random question... when are they going to announce the PTC Wrestler of the Year for 2006? It's getting a bit late in the year, and I hope that Ross and Pete didn't forget about things. If they did, it's understandable, seeing both of them have been very busy lately with real life stuff. If they need some help organizing things, I'll volunteer. PTC needs its WotY, dammit!
- Finally, I'm going to end with a surprise of sorts. It looks like WFW is FINALLY getting back on track after more than a year of inactivity. Normally, I'd say that with the combination of inactivity and the general fall from grace that its fedhead took in the last year or so, this fed wouldn't have a chance of surviving. However, there's something to be said about the loyalty of the roster. Guys love this fed for whatever reason. Miller has guys in there that won't even touch other FW feds let alone anything outside of that shell, and the roster regulars have an undying devotion to the fed, even if some of them (like Aston and Edmunds) have had pretty bad dust-ups with Miller in the past. It just goes to show that having a great nucleus of handlers can go a long way and can make up for other deficiencies. For the roster's sake, I hope this is for real. Say what you want about Miller (and believe me, we all have), but I truly believe that FW is a better place when WFW is active.
- First up, some shameless self-promotion:
Read the EPICENTER for TEAM SuperShow III!
Leave me feedback for said show!
Then sign up for a match on the next SuperShow and if you really liked me, volunteer to write a match!
Yep, the finals are set for TiT, we have a new Champion of Champions, and once again, an NAPW guy is the first to hold a TEAM Championship. It's important that you leave honest feedback, because once again, I have no idea what I'm doing wrong if you guys don't call me out on it.
Speaking of the next SuperShow, right now, I have a bunch of unanswered challenges going on over there. So before you go making challenges, see if you're being called out. I'm probably going to cap it at some point, but once again, you can always participate in the FREE FOR ALL~! match. Now that that's out of the way...
- Speaking of NAPW, a bit of news out of their camp. The talk in the eW world is that tag team wrestling is back, but in the Canadian indie fed, you could argue that it never left to begin with. NAPW's tag team division was one of the best in the land, and now, they'd like for you to partake in it. It's an event called TAGSTRAVAGANZA II! It happens 5/22, and the details are there as you follow the link.
- Staying with that family of feds, NAPW's sister fed REBEL Pro, they're having an open invitational event of their own. This one is geared towards singles wrestlers and is a battle royale for a shot at their Championship. Open-invitational battle royale... groovy! Once again, follow the link for more details. The event happens 5/8, so throw your hat in the ring now.
- I'm pleased to announce some additions to the blog family of feds. First off, we've got Problem Solver South Park Wrestling, a fed that's loosely based off the hit show South Park (duh). I had some reservations about it, but it seems alright from glancing over it. Plus, Kevin Healy, Fusenhoff/Ace Mason's handler, gives it a glowing review, and I hear they're timely with all their shows, which is rare in the world of eW these days. Second up, it's the Superstar Wrestling Circuit, a new RP fed in the world of angle feds. I'm not certain, but I think it's run by Antoine of Malik Roland fame, although I could be mistaken. There are some familiar names and heavy hitters on the roster, and I think it could be a force in the W316 world.
- Keeping with things in South Park land, Mr. Healy also has a blog, the Damn Yankee blog. Give it a whirl if you're thinking about following or if you do follow PSSPW.
- Here's a random question... when are they going to announce the PTC Wrestler of the Year for 2006? It's getting a bit late in the year, and I hope that Ross and Pete didn't forget about things. If they did, it's understandable, seeing both of them have been very busy lately with real life stuff. If they need some help organizing things, I'll volunteer. PTC needs its WotY, dammit!
- Finally, I'm going to end with a surprise of sorts. It looks like WFW is FINALLY getting back on track after more than a year of inactivity. Normally, I'd say that with the combination of inactivity and the general fall from grace that its fedhead took in the last year or so, this fed wouldn't have a chance of surviving. However, there's something to be said about the loyalty of the roster. Guys love this fed for whatever reason. Miller has guys in there that won't even touch other FW feds let alone anything outside of that shell, and the roster regulars have an undying devotion to the fed, even if some of them (like Aston and Edmunds) have had pretty bad dust-ups with Miller in the past. It just goes to show that having a great nucleus of handlers can go a long way and can make up for other deficiencies. For the roster's sake, I hope this is for real. Say what you want about Miller (and believe me, we all have), but I truly believe that FW is a better place when WFW is active.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Very quick post
- The Sweet Sixteen is wholly set. I'll write a preview for it on the boards later on, but just to see all the matchups in full here:
Dan Ryan vs. Fusenshoff
Karl Brown vs. The Canadian Loonie
Jason Payne vs. Kin Hiroshi
Troy Douglas vs. Ace Mason
Yori Yakamo, Jr. vs. Ulysis Solian
Kodiak Vic Creed vs. Rocko Daymon
Shawn Hart vs. Promo
Beast vs. Fred "The Poet" Cook
A lot of familiar faces, but a lot of new guys too. I like that sixteen. Hopefully, all of them deliver when the RP threads go up Wednesday.
- Added a few new links to the sidebar. One is eW Central, a new eW resource site by Ben Halkum. I got into a spat with him at EWN, but that's the past and I think this is a good idea. Quick easy links to more eW related stuff than I can even cover here. The other one is a new category, "Not Quite eW, but Related," which is for stuff that us here in the e-fed community work on but aren't exactly related to wrestling. The big link that I added was to the Asylum, an underground fight-club type deal. It's been around off-and-on for awhile, but it seems to be going strong. Truthfully, I probably won't cover it all that much, but I know people like that kind of stuff, and who am I not to help broaden people's horizons, y'know?
Dan Ryan vs. Fusenshoff
Karl Brown vs. The Canadian Loonie
Jason Payne vs. Kin Hiroshi
Troy Douglas vs. Ace Mason
Yori Yakamo, Jr. vs. Ulysis Solian
Kodiak Vic Creed vs. Rocko Daymon
Shawn Hart vs. Promo
Beast vs. Fred "The Poet" Cook
A lot of familiar faces, but a lot of new guys too. I like that sixteen. Hopefully, all of them deliver when the RP threads go up Wednesday.
- Added a few new links to the sidebar. One is eW Central, a new eW resource site by Ben Halkum. I got into a spat with him at EWN, but that's the past and I think this is a good idea. Quick easy links to more eW related stuff than I can even cover here. The other one is a new category, "Not Quite eW, but Related," which is for stuff that us here in the e-fed community work on but aren't exactly related to wrestling. The big link that I added was to the Asylum, an underground fight-club type deal. It's been around off-and-on for awhile, but it seems to be going strong. Truthfully, I probably won't cover it all that much, but I know people like that kind of stuff, and who am I not to help broaden people's horizons, y'know?
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Shillings and such
Some new feds, some new projects, some pimpings and everything else that's good in the world of endless promotion. First though, I haven't forgotten about the WrestleVerse review or the Ultimate MBE Tournament. This weekend, I should have stuff up. I've just been swamped with TEAM stuff and RPing for PRIME (both the Dual Halo and the Tag Championship match), so hopefully, we'll have some goodness going.
As for TEAM, tonight, we find out who the other eight wrestlers are who made it to the Sweet Sixteen. I'm personally excited to write the results, and I think now, things will kick into high gear. Remember to make make predictions and leave feedback, both for the last EPICENTER writeup (for which I've gotten none so far =[) and for the RPs.
Onto more important things...
- Rebel-Pro Wrestling is the newest "e-fed indie" on the block. It's based out of North Carolina, and if you recognize names off the roster right away as being from NAPW, don't be alarmed. It's the Alberta indie's sister fed. Brion (Chris Casino's handler) is the booker here, and I believe it's his first foray into fedheading, so wish him luck. This also spells a change in NAPW schedule from weekly to a more "indie" feel, running shows here and there like an ROH. I'm intrigued by the switch-around, and hopefully neither fed will suffer from it.
- Next up is a new FW fed, Premier Championship Wrestling. This is the brainchild of Al Larcher, the man who has brought us the Williams family and lots of good, fun eW radio shenanigans. This is only a temporary name, since Al has found a real life fed with the same name, but the premise will remain the same; indie-styled wrestling in and around the Chicago area. A lot of eW indies popping up nowadays, eh? I actually like that trend, seeing that national is a) overdone, and b) unrealistic in the vein that you don't just start up a company and expect it to be national overnight. But as I did when Al was kicking around this idea at PTC, I'm giving this fed the E-fed Blog Seal of Approval.
- I was remiss not to tell you guys about this fed when I told you about the forums it's related to, Wrestling 3:16. World Wrestling Revolution is the anchor behind W3:16, and it's taking the NFW hybrid approach. However, the way Aidan/Al explained things, this is going to be a "game-driven" approach. Not sure what that means exactly, but I'm willing to observe for myself.
- If you haven't heard by now, PTC is combining the Global and Extreme Championships into one title. Normally, I don't like the condensation of titles unless necessary, but I think this is necessary. Wrestling interest is on a downswing, and the title divisions as they were were not conducive to getting out multiple defenses in a year. They rearranged the divisions (now just division), appointed Ben "Pants" Morrow as the head, and they'll just worry about one title. Hopefully, they'll make the rounds in each PTC fed at least once every six months and have a few I-fed events so that this title becomes a dynamo. I am a bit leery on the match though. It's too big, in my opinion. You have each Champion (Global Champ Clinton Sage and Extreme Champ Dusk) plus Jason Snow (as GTT6 Champion) plus the IG Champion at the time (whoever that is) PLUS fed representatives from XUW, WWA, Global and GCW. That's eight people, about five or six too many. I'd rather see one big unification match between Dusk and Sage and then have the rest of the competitors in the match receive their shots. Snow first, unless he's unable to do it because of real life concerns (which I think is the case right now), then you go into the fed reps. That's just me though, and either way, I think this match should be a great success.
- One bit of sad news, ENN is going to be closing. Brian Jenkins announced it this week, and I think it's a shame. I know that there wasn't a lot of activity there, but that's across the board on most eW hubs anyway. I thought the news page was a good thing, plus the Ray Rosa shoots were a great idea that just never took off. I thought maybe that ToC '07 might have provided a spark, (now that TEAM has taken off a little more) but I guess this is for the best. Fare thee well, ENN. You had a good run while you lasted.
As for TEAM, tonight, we find out who the other eight wrestlers are who made it to the Sweet Sixteen. I'm personally excited to write the results, and I think now, things will kick into high gear. Remember to make make predictions and leave feedback, both for the last EPICENTER writeup (for which I've gotten none so far =[) and for the RPs.
Onto more important things...
- Rebel-Pro Wrestling is the newest "e-fed indie" on the block. It's based out of North Carolina, and if you recognize names off the roster right away as being from NAPW, don't be alarmed. It's the Alberta indie's sister fed. Brion (Chris Casino's handler) is the booker here, and I believe it's his first foray into fedheading, so wish him luck. This also spells a change in NAPW schedule from weekly to a more "indie" feel, running shows here and there like an ROH. I'm intrigued by the switch-around, and hopefully neither fed will suffer from it.
- Next up is a new FW fed, Premier Championship Wrestling. This is the brainchild of Al Larcher, the man who has brought us the Williams family and lots of good, fun eW radio shenanigans. This is only a temporary name, since Al has found a real life fed with the same name, but the premise will remain the same; indie-styled wrestling in and around the Chicago area. A lot of eW indies popping up nowadays, eh? I actually like that trend, seeing that national is a) overdone, and b) unrealistic in the vein that you don't just start up a company and expect it to be national overnight. But as I did when Al was kicking around this idea at PTC, I'm giving this fed the E-fed Blog Seal of Approval.
- I was remiss not to tell you guys about this fed when I told you about the forums it's related to, Wrestling 3:16. World Wrestling Revolution is the anchor behind W3:16, and it's taking the NFW hybrid approach. However, the way Aidan/Al explained things, this is going to be a "game-driven" approach. Not sure what that means exactly, but I'm willing to observe for myself.
- If you haven't heard by now, PTC is combining the Global and Extreme Championships into one title. Normally, I don't like the condensation of titles unless necessary, but I think this is necessary. Wrestling interest is on a downswing, and the title divisions as they were were not conducive to getting out multiple defenses in a year. They rearranged the divisions (now just division), appointed Ben "Pants" Morrow as the head, and they'll just worry about one title. Hopefully, they'll make the rounds in each PTC fed at least once every six months and have a few I-fed events so that this title becomes a dynamo. I am a bit leery on the match though. It's too big, in my opinion. You have each Champion (Global Champ Clinton Sage and Extreme Champ Dusk) plus Jason Snow (as GTT6 Champion) plus the IG Champion at the time (whoever that is) PLUS fed representatives from XUW, WWA, Global and GCW. That's eight people, about five or six too many. I'd rather see one big unification match between Dusk and Sage and then have the rest of the competitors in the match receive their shots. Snow first, unless he's unable to do it because of real life concerns (which I think is the case right now), then you go into the fed reps. That's just me though, and either way, I think this match should be a great success.
- One bit of sad news, ENN is going to be closing. Brian Jenkins announced it this week, and I think it's a shame. I know that there wasn't a lot of activity there, but that's across the board on most eW hubs anyway. I thought the news page was a good thing, plus the Ray Rosa shoots were a great idea that just never took off. I thought maybe that ToC '07 might have provided a spark, (now that TEAM has taken off a little more) but I guess this is for the best. Fare thee well, ENN. You had a good run while you lasted.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Thoughts and shillings
For those of you who don't know, the first wave of TEAM Invitational Tournament highlights have been posted for the first round, the second wave is awaiting judgment and the first wave of the second round is in RP. I really don't want to say too much about the judging except that I thought that the quality of RP was a little better in the first wave, but there were a lot more close matches in the second wave. Overall though, I'm pleased with how things turned out, except for the four matches that had double no-shows. At this point in the game, if you're getting close to the deadline and you see your opponent has also not showed yet, why not just throw something really short up, something to show that you at least give a damn enough about the tournament you're in?
Enough about that though. Since the New Year's began, there have been a couple of new eW hubs popping up. The first:
RingHype
RingHype's actually been around since November, and it's headed up by Jay Phoenix's handler. It's been kept somewhat under wraps up until the unveiling of their first tournament, FaceOff. It's basically a PTC influenced crowd thus far, so you're probably going to see a lot of story-based narrative RP stuff discussed there.
For this affair, you sign up for an anonymous account on the boards with a wholly brand new character. I like this idea because I'm always for people trying new ideas and new things. If you want to join but you don't have a character idea, or if you have a boss idea for a new character but not the time to run him/her, then there's also a Create a Character contest, where people submit their new ideas, and the best is submitted to an entrant in the tournament without an idea for their use. This isn't the first FaceOff tournament (Jeff Ward of Angelo Deville fame won the first one), but it's the first tournament affiliated with this site. It's a great idea, and I wholly endorse it.
Secondly:
Wrestling 3:16
This site is pretty much the brainchild of Al, handler of Aidan Campbell in old school NFW. It's for the EWN and cIm crowds but so far, the riff-raff has been kept out. I find this is a refreshing alternative to those sites, which have been ravaged by trolling and bickering, mainly started by one or two posters over there. It's a promising community, and they also feature fan forums for feds like NFW, LoC and SbW. It's a good place to check out if you're in the angle fed community and you're sick and tired of the other two hubs.
Thirdly:
Fuck This Blog!
Yep, another addition to the blogring, this one from Rob Franklin. He's a veritable rookie to these parts, and he's getting in on the action. Check it out, encourage him, because Lord knows we need more active bloggers than what we've got now, right? :p
Finally, I haven't forgotten about the shows. THE SHOWS, MAN! When I get a chance to sit down, I will crank out that WrestleVerse flagship review, plus throw up some blurbs about Cold Snap and Revolution.
Enough about that though. Since the New Year's began, there have been a couple of new eW hubs popping up. The first:
RingHype
RingHype's actually been around since November, and it's headed up by Jay Phoenix's handler. It's been kept somewhat under wraps up until the unveiling of their first tournament, FaceOff. It's basically a PTC influenced crowd thus far, so you're probably going to see a lot of story-based narrative RP stuff discussed there.
For this affair, you sign up for an anonymous account on the boards with a wholly brand new character. I like this idea because I'm always for people trying new ideas and new things. If you want to join but you don't have a character idea, or if you have a boss idea for a new character but not the time to run him/her, then there's also a Create a Character contest, where people submit their new ideas, and the best is submitted to an entrant in the tournament without an idea for their use. This isn't the first FaceOff tournament (Jeff Ward of Angelo Deville fame won the first one), but it's the first tournament affiliated with this site. It's a great idea, and I wholly endorse it.
Secondly:
Wrestling 3:16
This site is pretty much the brainchild of Al, handler of Aidan Campbell in old school NFW. It's for the EWN and cIm crowds but so far, the riff-raff has been kept out. I find this is a refreshing alternative to those sites, which have been ravaged by trolling and bickering, mainly started by one or two posters over there. It's a promising community, and they also feature fan forums for feds like NFW, LoC and SbW. It's a good place to check out if you're in the angle fed community and you're sick and tired of the other two hubs.
Thirdly:
Fuck This Blog!
Yep, another addition to the blogring, this one from Rob Franklin. He's a veritable rookie to these parts, and he's getting in on the action. Check it out, encourage him, because Lord knows we need more active bloggers than what we've got now, right? :p
Finally, I haven't forgotten about the shows. THE SHOWS, MAN! When I get a chance to sit down, I will crank out that WrestleVerse flagship review, plus throw up some blurbs about Cold Snap and Revolution.
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