Above Average

Oddly enough, I feel the need to explain this thing, which I normally don't do. It was supposed to help my writers block, which it hasn't and set-up the real promo I wanted to do, which it does, kinda. Ugh. And the subtitle's supposed to be 'Eighteen... Nineteen...'.

Just handle the spacing, so that it's easier to read and it's money~! Your valent Kate is a very entertaining character. Keep it up.

Completely valid point Thugg. I guess, because my internship is finishing up this week and they don't have any more projects for me to do, I have more time to dedicate to it. Still though, they don't have to be long like mine. I doubt mine will be long for much longer, school coming around and all, but the back and forth should be there regardless. People always think they have to write a lot, but I just want something different then 'the show was good'. Opinions on one thing you liked, in-detail, can be three sentences and spark interest/explore something other people didn't not think about. And look, the thread made two pages... I guess this did work.

A suggestion to Spike, if he's still writing, is to write a promo with clips from the match, made up of course and just put it mid show, since the opening promo slot is gone. I'd ask JLCC first, if they don't mind, but why would they if it fills your plot gap and gives you a chance to put over the title. Once again, only a suggestion.

Card. See now thats awesome. I personally, would have dug the Press slam trifecta. That just sounds like an awesome spot visually, but I think you made the correct choice taking Quiz/Show down with the decapitator. It shows that the heel champs can get hit by this move and if they do, it's over. And thanks for actually explaining the heat, it was very informative. It did seem a bit disjointed, like you guys meant to do something else. And Johnny, if you'll notice, I said some people did comment and I appreciated it. You did that, so thank you, but others did not. I just realized nobody was going to step up and actually tell people to comment. I talked about this with Z last night and quite frankly somebody needed to say it's okay to comment. In fact, that people should comment. And if I took that idea and stated it harshly, I'm sorry, but I got you (again) and Va'aiga AND King (don't know if he was alreasy going to do it) to comment. And I learned something from a guy that has MUCH more wrestling knowledge than me. Mission accomplished, almost. Now I get to respond to what you thought and hopefully Thugg and Stevens will chime in, with their thoughts.

With all the matches reviewed, how about the people who were, you know, actually involved in said matches, respond to the comments. Explain to Ejiro what you were going for with your match. Did he cover everything you wanted? Respond to the things I brought up about the main event, and if I saw things correctly, even if it isn't your match. Did I miss some things you were trying to include, if it was? Did I read too much into others? Ask Edwin about his thought on the storyline aspects of the fed, then give your opinion on some promos in-depth. You can ask about his love for AWK, but just comment, beyond asking for a review. It's supposed to be a back and forth thing, not a somebody posts, everyone reads and doesn't respond thing. Why bother with this if I won't learn something from this either? It's not like our comments are the be all, end all, of everything. I'm no wrestling deity that understands every transition possible, or moment of psychology. I'd like to understand more about the different matches you guys wrote, and what your motives are. I'm sure something was thought provoking enough for a disscussion... I'm glad some people commented. Now, Smarkdown's still sitting there for more to do the same. /end o' harsh but probably fruitless rant

Edit: Card's promo is filled with bumping of the chests and screaming, which is always good. I can't wait till Drew gets back and I can write your character again. The stuff I wrote for the tag title match, was fun ands just came off as energetic. Ejiro, you own. You wrote the review for Johnny's match just before I started. And Edwin handled the six man already, so, I go on to the MAIN EVENT~! Judge vs. Ejiro I'll start by saying that one thing I really don't like about this match is how you turned Ejiro face/tweener. I know that heel vs. heel is difficult, but there is no way that the annoucers should show sympathy, for a guy who should be trying to out cheat his opponent. That seems very wrong. Judge does all of the cheating after the beginning, going so far as to use Ejiro's on device on him, which is good, but where are his discrete knee strikes to the nads, to show he can steal from Judge as well. The tone was set with the double cheat, in the beginning, off the hand shake. Judge works the leg and Ejiro works the arm/shoulder. So we have some consistent psych and an internal storyline going. And excellent start. The mat work establishes parity, because they're tag partners and should know each other. All that was missing was a nice pin exchange sequence. Not that that couldn't come up later in the match and still be very effective. It must be there though, because I love them! Ejiro goes to a school boy near the ropes... and doesn't hook the tight or attempt to use the ropes for leverage. This is what started me on that first paragraph, when I was reading. In Jericho/Christian, which could be considered a template for this match, they both cheated on any opportunity. I know the match didn't happen until after this one was turned in, but I mentioned it for future reference, since you may run into another heel vs. heel. Reverse elbow gets two with Ejiro going into ground and pound mode, briefly, and going back to the shoulder. Judge counters and you flow into a half crab, with head stompin' for good measure. Cool. I'd have liked to see a strike from Judge here as that transition, is difficult to see. Normally out of a flash roll up, the person getting pinned is the first to their feet. Judge needs an attack to show that the momentum has shifted in his favor. It doesn't have to be a big one, but one needs to be there. The point of flash pins are that they surprise an opponent that's in control, allowing for a hope spot, but also allowing the person in control to reassert themselves, directly after the attack. That's why faces use them a lot more than heels, unless they're cheating. Ejiro out striking Judge to get control back is the correct way to go. The cross armbreaker/reverse cross armbreaker, is nifty in my book and ties moves together. Jackknife pin out of the Moneymaker is nice, but you need to give more explaination of what the cross examination is, if they didn't look at your stats. Screaming elbow comes back and is appropiately dodges since it's been hit early in the match. Finisher trade spot is well done, if lacking some long term affects, since they don't go along with Judge's leg work. But they definitely set-up the finish, which I didn't notice on the first read. Delayed pins were definitely good. Ref bump, cheating, and the kick-out all make sense and are well executed, putting over Ejiro's heart. Real emotion with both guys saying stay down, and the like. Aha, I retract my earlier statement about the tights, because you use it late in the match. I missed a lot of stuff on the first read (re. I was getting lazy, reading wise). The finishing sequence was excellent, and oddly, reminds me of Spike Jenkins vs. Judge in the JL, from Spike's match... since I helped him work out that spot, but his involved Reno's roll the dice, IIRC. This is just a great finishing flurry. The counters leading up to it make sense, with Judge trying to end it with his Tombstone, which is his money move and it may seem a little odd that Ejiro wouldn't go for a submission, to some people, after all the work on the arm/shoulder, but in that position the easiest move to transition to is THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD #2~! The Money maker worked the neck, the leg came back, although Judge's arm/shoulder didn't. Maybe if you put over the reason Ejiro got out of the Tombstone as Judge's arm... and I would have loved to see a big time delay after the mid air diamond cutter was hit, because of the shoulder... then I would have just bowed down and laid forth the praise like your name was Vida Guerra and I was complementing you on your ass. A delayed pinfall after a huge finish like that doesn't hurt Ejiro at all and maintains long term selling, which you did throughout the match, with lariats and the like... only to forget about putting it in the finish. *Cries* That's worth taking away half a snowflake at least. After stuff was already covered, as I wonder who that big fella is, and the gang stays together... this reminds me of Flesher jobbing me out for the ICTV belt. *laughs at the irony of at least tying his record*. At least you guys are staying together, with this big guy killing both of you, as to help with Ejiro getting over the loss. Poor East Coast Legacy... It was great. You know this. The people know this and the little things were, for the most part, well accounted for. I caught a lot of things on the second read through, that I didn't originally, and I don't feel like deleting what I said, so there. And to find one more thing wrong with the match... IT'S MISSING THE PIN TRADE SEQUENCE DAMNIT! There are your Franchisable comments, so don't no-sell them bitch.

I want to see more of Royal and Landon. That was a well executed return that flowed within the context of the show. I enjoyed it very much. English Dragon continues to impress, but I must admit that I was shocked you kept the European title. It would have made much more sense for Apostle to hold that belt, while you take your attempt at the World title. Maybe CC should starting telling people when to job, like Crusen used to.

I'll go over the running threads of the show. If you want in depth comments on your matches people, I'll get to them, more than likey if you ask, but it's fairly disapointing to see all these short comments when we should be getting hype for Genesis. I know we don't have Edwin, Wilson, Frost and most of the other people that were comment machines active, but damn, can we get a little more than the standard, it was a good overall show. I'll start with the Craven promo. There wasn't much done for something feud-wise, because Craven's just treading water until a Finals match. I'm not sure that anybody knows exactly why Craven wants to be the World champion, though. We all know you want the belt, because people don't respect you, but why do you want to prove them wrong? Give Craven something internal to deal with, cause he needs cracks in his 'armor'. There's no emotion like that 'shoot' promo against Kibagami and me. It had emotion and there was a real confidence in it. It didn't work out the greatest possible way, but I felt something from the promo, unlike you're last few. Maybe Craven, going into a possible match with Judge, should realize that he's lost to this man mutliple times and show some real emotion. Not just the cookie cutter 'I'm going to be the best. Hear me rant.' Thats why people like Edwin, Silent and Wilson's promos so much, real emotion. Duran/WC, which I think has been very well set-up. It makes complete sense in the context of the Ejiro/Dub Cee stuff. Ejiro feels that the Hardcore title is counter productive and offers Wildchild to Duran. Simple, effective, with real logical emotion and it'll probably lead to a title change. This was well handled in WC's title defense. I like Duran as the Hardcore champ, but what he needs is an opponent for Genesis, with the belt on the line. Who that is, I don't know. The Sacred stuff concerns me and therefore I don't feel the need to talk about it. But Johnny is starting to look very strong. A few more promos and the like, should really help him out, but he's doing a fantastic job building himself up. The return of Grand Slam was expected, but I'll be the first to admit you guys worked me last show. The progression has been well handled and paced. I still would love to see a throwback to one of the old moments in carnie history, but thats just me. Valid questions are brought up about Thugg and Stevens. If they just get along, I think that'll take away from the angle, cause, just because they're both faces doesn't mean they should like eachother. Thugg and Stevens have there history and that absolutely needs to be brought up and settled. The main event had a nice vibe to it. The shock being, who the R. Kelly wanna be is. I have thoughts on this, and I hope this leads somewhere nice. This completely reminds me of the Kane debut, but what I'd have liked to see is Thugg's reaction to this large black man. I guess I'll have to wait.

Tag Titles #1 Contendersip Match Dante Crane and Crow vs. the Unholy Trinity (Dace Night and Va'aiga) Well, the Unholy Trinity won this match up last time and logical booking says they should win this one too. Double Jeopardy vs. The Unholy Trinity at Genesis is a solid match. Just a little promoing and everything's gravy, if they win. Which I think they will. Winner: Dace and Va'aiga No-DQ Handicap Match Double Jeopardy vs. Nathaniel Kibagami When does the tag team, ever, win one of these things. Winner: SILENT ICTV Title Match Mak "The Franchise" Francis v. Jay Dawg I asked King for a defense and I got one. If he's around and writing, this'll be a very good match. I've got a rushed match to use for history and must consider an angle that I'm not sure JD is able to work anymore. I wish Drew was around to un-confuse me. Winner: No prediction Hardcore Title Match WildChild © v. "The Sinner" John Duran I have no idea how this would be booked from a logical booking sense, since Duran deserves a run with the Hardcore title and honestly, Wildchild has not used the belt for character development or to elevate himself. His feuds with Ejiro and Johnny are overshadowing the fact that he even has the belt. Dub Cee could use a defense to help his title reign, but I'm going with Duran, no matter who writes the winning match. Winner: 'The Sinner' (who needs to put over his very cool looking t-shirt, by the way) And your Double Main Event! Losers' Bracket Final Match Special Guest Commentator: "The King of Nightmares" Michael Craven Apostle vs. "The Judge" William Hearford I think that Apostle is going to run into trouble with Judge here, who just came off a win over arguably, because of Craven's run, the hottest writer in the WF. Judge is bringing the goods and gets the win, setting up Craven/Judge, which has history and is a tournament final that actually makes sense. It'll end this thing that has caused King in particular, so much grief, fairly well. I'd love to see Craven and Judge do a little post match beatdown segment and promo up next weeks ME, which is what this should be. Winner: Judge World Title "I Quit" Match "The Superior One" Tom Flesher vs. The Boston Strangler I don't know if it's good to use a PPV gimmick, on a regular show. Seems like a waste, honestly, with Genesis on the way. We had a thread about this in Community a while ago. But this is a similar situation to Angle/Lensar on Smackdown and I think that will work out just fine. These two writers can handle it. Maybe a promo explaining why it's an 'I Quit' match, will help it make sense. This booking gives Tom the definite edge, in and out off character IMO, so I have to go with him here. Thats an explaination right there, guys, but I'm sure you can do better. Winner: Flesher

Dub Cee's like my pops, only 20+ years younger. That's fuckin' scary.

Awe shnap. I kinda saw this coming. Sad to see you go, but I was hoping that you'd make it to Genesis against Flesher.

Edwin, I completely agree, but just thank god you've turned twenty. I got another three weeks. It means nothing. Sure, I'll get drunk, but I can do that all the time. I want to do it legally, while friends attempt to feed me enough alcohol that I pass out and don't remember the nights events, or my initial foolishness at the club/bar. Now, thats the stuff.

Didn't you know Cast... you're an OLD HEAD. Not a Dub Cee like old head, but an old head none the less.

*Ahem* AH-AH-Ahahahahaha... I knew I'd beat Flesher in something. Fitting that it'd be an ICTV title run, which I challeneged for in my second PPV match. Only to get sent back down to my midcarder cage. Mid-carder forever, keep your World title! Edit: I should defend the belt on Storm. Just because coasting to that record would suck

JAKE I can't give the exclaimation points (!!!) because sadly, you're leaving. You didn't get bumped, but you have tons of history with the fed. I hope you can come back someday and acheive what you deserved a while ago.

I should be drunk, but because I'm not... Opening Promo - Micheal Craven Well, I think Ash cuts a 20 minute opening promo, telling all who will listen, that he's on the rampage, while they chant 'You tapped out'... okay, not really, but thats a really good WWE promo. Seriously, he'll talk about the possibility of being in the Genesis Main Event. Singles Match CIA v. Crow If Drew can get on a computer, I'd pick him to win. But he more than likey cannot and the fuckin' bird doesn't lose all too much. So he wins, that is, if he shows... Winner: Crow via Natural Born Chaos No-DQ Singles Match "The Sinner" John Duran v. Annie Eclectic Annie must write. Write Annie write. Win Annie win. I think Duran has the skill. Honestly, the guy sells himself short, but only TNT is allowed to do that, so for that he loses. That and Annie needs some wins if she's facing who I think she could be facing at G4. GOOOOOD MOOOOOOORNING! Winner: Annie E. via Daybreak (which is by far the best idea for a finisher name with crowd participation, ever) Non-Title Challenge Match Mak "The Franchise" Francis v. Johnny "The Barracuda" Dangerous Johnny asked for a match and a match he shall have. Winner: No prediction. Hardcore Title Match WildChild © v. Xcalibur Dub Cee to get the winning nod. That crazy fella' finally defends his belt, bout time too. I don't think he'll let his run end without a successful defense. Winner: WC via ropewalk rana (because Elix would be proud) Six Man Tag Match "The Superior One" Tom Flesher, Quiz & Show v. Dace Night, Va'aiga and The Boston Strangler Logically booking says nothing. This is about as predictable as the next match. The heels should win to give Flesher bragging rights and allow Quiz/Show to get a cheap win over their opponents for G4, more than likely. Winner Teh Heels via Boilermaker/Frogsplash combo (EAST COAST -- FUCK YOU -- ~!) G4 Tournament (Loser's Bracket) Semi-Final (Non-Title) "Judge Mental" William Hearford III v. Ejiro Fasaki It's a real shame I got on too late to do something about this and I think our triple threat would have had tons of possibilities for you guy, but I believe that Judge would benefit more from a win here, which is why I would have done the job anyway. This way its a fair straight up contest. I did it for you... I did it, for the people. Yeah.... I still think Danny is destine to be the World Title challenger, but either of these guys could do the same thing. So tough, so tough. So Drew Kelking it. Winner: Drew Kelk via One legged piledriver

N00BIE MATCH Brian Bowers vs. Tommy Nguyen vs. Craig McLennan I don't know as much as I did about a month and a half ago about the JL but Craig McLennan seems like the favorite to me. I don't know if Nguyen writes and since Bowers is a n00b, I can't make a pick here. Winner: Can't pick #1 CONTENDERSHIP - SJL EUROPEAN & TELEVISION TITLES Jay Morrison vs. Dominic Korgath Korgath is skilled and makes me think he's done this before. No-showing, being a trait of returning veterans. That said, while I liked reading Morrison's last match. I think the Dominator will get this win. Winner: Korgath SJL TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP Landon "La Cucaracha" Maddix © vs. Brian Kingsmen Landon Maddix has some definite skill and I think he will hold onto the TV title. I wish I had more to say but I don't. Winner: La Cucaracha SINGAPORE CANE MATCH "Canadian Thunder" Chris Trepanier vs. Todd Royal !!! JAKE'S writing. This is very interesting and could be a good match-up for the two. Last time I saw, Royal was a face by default, so he gets the pick because the face always goes over, damnit. That's why I'm a face... for now! Winner: Todd damn HIGH STAKES TWO FALL MATCH SJL EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP/WORLD TITLE CONTENDERSHIP English Dragon © vs. Apostle English Dragon in my opinion, will win this match. I see Apostle settling in the Euro division until a bump, when a slot or two may open up in the ME scene. Winner: English Dragon MAIN EVENT NO HOLDS BARRED MATCH SJL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Viktor Tarakanov © vs. Tryst vs. "Hollywood" Spike Jenkins Tryst if he writes. Tarakanov most likely, but I actually think Hollywood could get the title, since he might actually show for this one. This gets the Drew Kelk prediction, not that you guys know what that is anyway...

Well thats one fairly long rant. The one thing that was suggested to me, when I started getting into the preachy promos during my time in the JL, was to change from a script style to prose. Fugue = genius, for telling me that. That way, I could add more than just spoken words, to give the promo atmosphere. This does a solid job of saying who you are and most importantly, what you want and the motivation for it. It just really drags during the second huge block of writing. A prose style would allow for more breaks inbetween sentences to keep the reader hooked. Just a suggestion.

I enjoyed reading this a lot. I'd like to see a little cleaning up and description of your characters actions, while cutting this promo, but the premise is great. This is a fight/this is survival of the fittest, is a good starting point for any character, the hard part is adding the layers. I wonder if this was intended to be a monologue, with just straight talking to a camera, to put focus on the words said. If so that negates my earilier assessment, but I still enjoyes it a lot.

*Ahem* Hollywood Spike Jenkins has teh skill. Fear him, if he shows and you are not a ringer. I actually think I'll start checking out the JL once again and commenting, since I begged for that kind of stuff when I was in a similar situation. Z, do the hands on thing. Help them build up a storyline I can follow and enjoy. P.S. JL feuds are easy. Just do what I did. Join/help create a stable with the face/heel disposition of your choosing. Then bitch about being held down. Write some promos, find somebody who is a better writer than you, ask then if they want to feud and you're in like flynn. Oh, and get Z to put you over and give you direction. But that last part is hard... Z rarely does the job. M. Francis

This somehow overrides the fact that I've beaten him every other time we've seen each other? Grr. Yes. You mean you didn't know that...?

Judge, if I start getting the ME push, who does that leave to job you out. Besides, being a consistent MEer means more work and less being lazy, who'd want to do that. Not me, that's for sure. Just give my push to Craven and be done with it.

TAG MATCH The Unholy Trinity (Va’aiga & Dace Night) vs. Crow & Dante Crane Well, this is quite the hot opener. The former tag team champs are looking to reaffirm themselves with a win, but this new team, I dub thee, "The Fuckin' Birds", is very, very talented. Logical booking says that the Unholy Trinity go over and build up to their rematch, giving Quiz/Show time to wait until the Mega-face International Incident can tag wrestle again. What? That's how I would book it. Okay, okay, I'll go with Crow/Crane because of Card's computer woes. Winner: The Fuckin' Birds SINGLES MATCH “The Superior One” Tom Flesher vs. Jay Dawg JD has beaten Tom before and I believe he could do it again. That said JD isn't around and I've seen Tom, so being fresh and now a senior (!), he'll get the win. Winner: Tom TOURNAMENT SINGLES MATCH “The Judge” William Hearford III vs. Nathaniel Kibagami Eh, this is an interesting match because both writers have won a match. This is the rubber match and it won't do Kibagami much go to lose here after doing so well in the tournament. Judge can take a loss and live, although I think he really will win this one. I'll go with the Judge, because losing streaks suck. Winner: Judge TOURNAMENT TAG-IN ELIMINATION MATCH “The Franchise” Mak Francis vs. “The Sacred One” Andrew Blackwell vs. Show Well, this is a interesting match to say the least. I know how this match has to go, but the actual writing is difficult. TOURNAMENT TAG-IN ELIMINATION MATCH “The Sinner” John Duran vs. Quiz vs. Ejiro Fasaki I picked Duran last time and Quiz is coming off one of the greatest written matches ever thought up. Sadly, Ejiro is consistently better than both of these talented people and wins this one. This may be too tough match for Duran, one month into his bump, but one thing is for sure, you can never count out Mike. Logically booking says Ejiro because writing Justice and Rule in a #1 contender to World Title elimination match would be filled with possiblities, if it were to happen, mind you. Winner: Ejiro MAIN EVENT – TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL TAG-IN ELIMINATION MATCH Apostle vs. “Deathwish” Danny Williams vs. “The King of Nightmares” Michael Craven ... Michael Craven wins the winners bracket, I didn't see this coming, but, hey good for him. He's in prime position to... Main Event Genesis... wow, who thought that'd happen.

After reading the show I was pleasantly surprised with how everything went, minus a few no-shows. The running theme of this show was pulled off well. Once again I pretty much knew what was going down, so I can't really comment, besides saying that it was the correct choice. King and Thugg on equal terms would not work if this storyline is leading to Mark vs King, which it is. I mean, look at where the next show is being held. Danny wrote one hell of a match and after reading Ejiro's it was probably a very very tough call, but Danny's just told a better story in the end, IMO. Same with Craven, who not surprisingly advances. The man has stepped it up people. And Apostle gains another win. This type of thing has never happened for a JLer, so no-show or not, he's in a position a lot of people would like to be in. I really wish I could have written my match with more description but I got rushed and had to go get drunk. It accomplished what needed to get done, I guess. We'll see. I'd also like to point out that the next show should be and is STACKED, with building to Mark/King and other feuds starting to develop. Get on the ball people. Lets start seeing some build to the PPV people. If we want to attempt and top G3, we need at least a few big money feud, with backstory and buildup. I want to see PromoWars version 2, in this piece. By the way, It's somebody esles turn to do in-depth comments, because I'm feeling mighty lazy today... maybe tomorrow.