Where Do I Go From Here

[Guest Sandman9000]

Well, Doomsday has come and gone, and blah blah blaaaaaaaaah to the intro. Basically, this is the director's cut to the KODM, I Quit, and everything I wrote. Eat this kayfabe.

 

Why am I doing this? Because I'm burned out on writing matches. By doing this, I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong or over and over again, and trying to help others who want to write matches from doing the same mistakes that I made.

 

Let's go now, shall we?

 

SS vs. TK vs. Naz, BW Boards & Bat: I originally meant to tease the barbed wire for a while, but that lasted only a few minutes.

 

When I started writing this, I wanted to add all kinds of psychology into the KODM. Obviously, that went out the window fairly soon. However, I felt for a while, at least, there was some wrestling between the spots.

 

After I finished writing this match, I really felt it was one of the best matches I had ever written. Looking back on it, it's good, but average at best.

 

The booking was obviously set up to let SS go over. No disrespect to TK and Naz, but they were just random fodder for this match.

 

Big spots were a spear through a board, SS being double-press slammed out of the ring, through a board propped on chairs (which he recovered way to quickly from to eliminate TK), various bat shots (there needed to be more bat-assisted moves, instead of the usual bat shots and scraping of the wire on flesh, and the finish. I liked the sandwich spot, even though it has been done before. Psychology-wise, it makes sense.

 

SM vs. GM vs. Jingus: Deathcore tables: Sandman vs Jingus, with poor GM in the middle.

 

I planned to not use lightbulbs until the second round. Obviously, that didn't last very long.

 

Spot after spot after table spot. Selling and psychology take a backseat to violence.

 

Basically, it's Jingus being big, throwing Mist and Sandman around, through anything he pleases.

 

In order to eliminate a freak like Jingus, it's gonna take a crazy bump. Originally, it was planned to be me vs. Jingus in a flaming table match, where it would be logical to knock Jingus off the apron through one. However, once the KODM was expanded to 12, I wanted to do more then just flaming tables. Of course, since the final bump was flaming tables, blahh.

 

Oh yeah, final bump. I hated the way that I set Jingus up for it, but other then knocking him off the balcony or 'Tron, it was the best way. I figured Pyramid of Hell, with some barbed wire and lightbulb ones thrown in for shits and giggles, could do the job.

 

AP vs. Flow vs. Reject: I hated this gimmick. Out of the matches I wrote, this one was my least favorite. I had 3 matches planned out for the first round, but I needed a fourth that wasn't just a ripoff of the other three. Carpet tack strips and mousetraps were used. And there is only so much you can do with those two gimmicks.

 

As for the tack strips, I've only seen people whipped into them. No one has had a strip smashed into their body in some way or form. Yet.

 

Ending was designed to give heat to BPP/AP later on in the night. Even in my own tourny, I still bow down to BPP's wishes.

 

Alf vs. BPP vs. MME: I wanted to come up with new ways to use the tacks. I liked the super overhead belly-to-belly into the tacks, if it matters.

 

Nothing much but tacks and lots of them. Psychology my ass. And that is what keeps me from really loving this tournament: the lack of psychology. The thing that bothers me the most is the lack of selling between the matches. I wrote each match like all competitors were fresh; something I shouldn't have done.

 

AP's run in to take out Alf was two-fold: psychology-wise, so that BPP would have to do two deathmatches, and to fuck with Alf. Don't worry Alf, I still love ya! Victim of circumstances, that's all.

 

SS vs. Sandman: I had the biggest swerve of the tourny in this match; that SS went over me. I felt that he deserved the win, and this was me paying him back for everything. The staple gun deathmatch, taking the X-Title from him, everything.

 

Panes of glass are fun. I wish I had used them more often.

 

The barbed wire ropes never even came into play; something I should have took care of. The staple gun and thumbtack bat spots ended up taking a backseat to the panes of glass in my view, something else I could have done better.

 

One spot I did like, aside from the slingshot through the pane of glass, was the spot where SS stapled me to the barbed wire wrapped ropes, and started bashing me with the chair. Designed to be revenge from our X-Title match, if anyone got that. I could have illustrated it better.

 

Again, SS gets the nod, satisfaction that he can beat me in a DM, life is gud for him. Heat for everyone.

 

BPP vs. Flow: This was interesting to write. You had two faces going at it, something that I wanted to keep in mind throughout the match. The handshake at the begining, BPP cutting Evenflow out of the barbed wire. You've got two men who are in this horrible environment, who both want to win, but still are "good" people at heart. (BPP good, that's funny)

 

I needed something to use as the fourth bed. I never really wanted to use nails, since there just isn't much you can do with them. They were only used for one spot. I would have used mousetraps, but they were in the previous round. Ah well.

 

Salt is fun. I should have used it more; teased some spots.

 

And when was the last time you saw a small package win a DM? I liked that.

 

I want to say that this DM had a different feel to it then the other ones, especially the semi, but it was still spot after spot after spot. It was interesting to write, and I wasn't sure how well it would go over.

 

 

Pre-final shit: I needed a way to take SS out. More on that a little later.

 

Watts and Flow was designed to do something. I never really got to a point. Couple thousand useless words. Kinda like college.

 

 

SM vs. Flow: Once again.

 

I think I went a little overboard with the barbed wire in this match. Exploding barbed wire, C4 boards, barbed wire boards, and the canvas stripped down to plywood and barbed wire stretched over it.

 

My friend counted 154 lightbulbs used in this match. For comparison, the 200 Lightbulbs DM was only 195 lightbulbs, 145 if you eliminate the insane final spot.

 

I didn't list the exploding ring in the stips because I wanted to surprise people. I had the countdown going, since it is practically a written law that you have one in an exploding ring DM, and to see if anyone (other then Jingus) got what I was doing. Only thing I didn't do was have the face cover the official, who got the fuck out of there.

 

I liked the "both men fall off the ladder into the exploding barbed wire" spot. Kinda paying homage to out MOTMFY (Match Of The MotherFucking Year) No Rope Barbed Wire Ladder Match. In reality, I had debated making the final a No Rope Barbed Wire 200 Lightbulbs Ladder Match, in combining our two infamous encounters, but I decided exploding shit would be so much cooler.

 

Sick spot after sick spot after sick spot. Rinse and repeat.

 

I liked the reverse suplex onto the barbed wire. I'm surprised no one has tried that before. That I know of.

 

Barbed Wire trash cans are fun. I wish I used them more often too.

 

I kinda wish I had actually seen an exploding DM before I wrote this. I've seen clips of one, but not an actual one in itself. Of course, I wrote the 200 lightbulbs match without actually seeing one, but I've seen highlights of other 200 lightbulbs DMs before, so I had an idea. I hope the explosion came off well.

 

I wanted it to be obvious that the momentum had changed drastically after the explosion, with Evenflow kicking the shit out of me.

 

We needed a sicker then shit finish, and I think going head-first into an exploding barbed wire board should do the trick.

 

I really wish we had a normal wrestling match on the card. Every match, including BPP/AP, was gimmick heavy. We needed some kind of balance.

 

I Quit: This is how you end a feud. Two men who won't give an inch to each other, one has to say I Quit. Man, imagine if Austin/HHH had been I Quit, instead of that MOTY 3 Stages of Hell!

 

I considered running the match with no weapons, but it wouldn't be brutal enough without them, so glass and barbed wire and thumbtacks and other sharp objects for everyone!

 

NO SELLING OF LAST NIGHT at all in the I Quit! My burnout is obvious here, as I'm really just going through the motions. Spot here, change, spot here, change.

 

Kayfabe-breaking time: (anyone important, feel free to edit this part if I am accidentally giving anything away) Originally, the plan was for Evenflow to have been the one that attacked SS, under the idea that his hate for me was so strong, he would take others out to hurt me. The OAOMEF would do a run-in, since Evenflow took out their ally, until SS was kicked out of the OAOMEF. I figured I would just say something that I paid them off, until I found out that I was aWo! That changed everything, INCLUDING THE ENDING.

 

EVENFLOW WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO WIN THE MATCH! Yes, Evenflow was going to win, and I was going to be gone. I mean, c'mon, we all know that forever means months in wrestling terms. I wanted to give my guy some time off and give him a complete overhaul, which I won't mention in specific details. However, the aWo threw a wrinkle into those plans. Since I didn't want to take myself out of the picture, not knowing what Tony and BPP and others had in store for aWo and I, so I changed it so I won the match.

 

However, I wanted to not make it as clear as possible. What I originally wanted to explore was what happens when the person who is supposed to win the blowoff match doesn't? I had compared me/Flow as out version of Raven/Dreamer, well what happens if Dreamer never beats Raven? What happens to him? I wanted to explore that, but that's gone now.

 

I FINALLY decided to bust out the weedwhacker for this match. Before some of you (Jingus) ask what took me so long, first, I wanted to save it for a special occasion, and second, after seeing Mondo take it at TOD, I had finally found something that even I couldn't watch. Every time I watch TOD now, I stop the tape before MOndo takes the weedwhacker. I simply can't watch it.

 

Originally, the weedwhacker spots and Evenflow holding it to my throat would cause me to say I Quit. Instead, aWo comes back, ties up Evenflow, tortures him (with stuff that has been used in REAL matches, ::vomits:, and gets the win. Sandman finally wins, aWo look like badasses, yay.

 

However, I have a couple underlying themes here. First, what happens when everything you fight for actually happens? How do you feel? How does Sandman feel now that he has finally beaten Evenflow? Was everything worth it? Second, did Sandman actually beat Evenflow? The aWo were the ones who caused the submission. That's why I had the doubt on my face at the end. I was wondering how I should feel, since I had won, but did nothing to deserve it. That's for the future of me.

 

As for the future of Sandman9000 the wrestler, and Sandman9000 the person, well, I dunno. My character is going to be out of my hands for a while. I've been a little overprotective of him; it's time to see what others can do with him.

 

And most importantly, I'm burned out on writing matches. I've noticed that everything I do degenerates into a spotfest. Spot, change person, spot, repeat, blah. I find myself ripping off more spots for matches then coming up with my own. I need a break, plain and simple. I don't think I'll be writing any more matches for the rest of the year. I need to recharge, come up with some new shit, and I should be good. Also, it could give others a chance to strut their stuff. I've noticed how good SS and Zack are at writing; time for me to step aside and let them run with the ball for a while.

 

So, basically, that's everything (that I can remember) that I was thinking for the past couple months. The KODM was pitched to Tony and BPP some time over the summer, and I would say that nearly the entire thing was planned and booked, from top to bottom, before Excessive Force was over. Maybe only a few things were changed. Even the I Quit was planned way back then as well.

 

That's all I can remember. It's been fun. I'm not quitting, or really even leaving, just taking a step back and deciding to enjoy the ride for a while.

[Guest Tony149]

The fact you had this planned in advance gave me time to do a better job on commentary, and add those little commerical segments.

 

If you want time off for your character, we could probably set something up.

 

And let me end this message by saying: I love director's cuts. I did one for WCW which I think didn't make it over here (thanks, Alf).

[Guest evenflowDDT]

EVENFLOW WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO WIN THE MATCH! Yes, Evenflow was going to win, and I was going to be gone. I mean, c'mon, we all know that forever means months in wrestling terms. I wanted to give my guy some time off and give him a complete overhaul, which I won't mention in specific details. However, the aWo threw a wrinkle into those plans. Since I didn't want to take myself out of the picture, not knowing what Tony and BPP and others had in store for aWo and I, so I changed it so I won the match.

 

I actually would've protested if I would've won. Why? Because when I called myself Edgenflow it was a joke. Seriously, if I won in every encounter, sure it drove you (well, actually both of us, but more of you, I just went off on whatever) more and more enraged and bloodthirsty, but it also totally buries you. Everyone said you couldn't beat me and you didn't. Thank you, punch your ticket and leave, for now you officially mean nothing. As semi-cliche and lame as it seems, if the underdog (face or heel) doesn't come back to win in the end, what's the point? Isn't the point to escape reality... the reality where a majority of us are underdogs and the majority of us lose? It instills hope, even if said underdog PSYCHO DRIVAHS~! his sister and has to have his gang beat down and drip hot wax into an opponent's open wounds, he still did it, which means someday maybe I can too.

 

As for the "degeneration" into spotfests for the Deathmatch tournament, my not having seen that many of them allowed me to not notice that at all. Its also allowed me to make the huge general statement (at least as it applies to my viewing habits): there is no purpose for a Deathmatch other than to be a spotfest. I don't watch for spinebusters, I watch for blood. I watch for wanton violence. I have a specific reason to watch, and once I get that reason I am satisfied. However, that also leads to the problem of having to top that for next time; I honestly had no idea how you were going to top the Deathmatch tournament, nevertheless the next night. As brutal as the ending was, however, that'd be the only way I can think of that you could've done it, because that uses elements not in the tournament, is brutal, and also brings in the aWo (who, after reading Doomsday I knew were to be involved in the match and the finish somehow, I just had no idea to what degree). I think its good that you and I don't meet again for a while. I also think that you deserve a break - you always write mid-length to fairly long matches, regardless of the venue, and especially after coming off such a stretch of great stuff, there'll be a time when you "run out of spots" and can't deliver, which would turn people off of you for a little while anyway. Plus college can suck. I wouldn't know since I have easy classes right now, but I'm probably going to have harder classes next quarter so I don't know how much I'll be able to contribute to the site and board, especially considering my notoriously short attention span and propensity for writer's block when a paper is due and there's an IE Browser Window open. Chill out for a bit, (re)develop your character, it's all good.

 

Blah, I think I wrote too much. Where the hell is all this in the Microsoft Word window for my review column?!

[Guest Sandman9000]

I'll say this. I found myself essentially doing the same match over and over again, with different spots. Person 1 hits a spot on Person 2, they sell, Person 2 hits a spot on Person 1, repeat. I tried to throw different wrinkles in there, but I just found myself doing the same thing over and over. It's why I need some time off: so I can develop my writing style. I actually really don't want to write a deathmatch or anything involving weapons for a while. Actually work some psychology into a deathmatch.

 

As for DM's being nothing but gory spotfests, I'll give you that, but there are a reason that Tomoaki Honma vs. Ryuji Yamakawa are considered the greatest DM's ever: they actually wrestled, and used psychology. Instead of I hit you, you hit me, they threw something else into the formula. I desperately need to find those two matches to watch, and I am have a self-imposed ban on writing DM's until I watch more of them, especially BJW's DeathMatch revolution, and both Honma-Yamakawa matches.

 

As for the you going over me finish, I was going to do a complete overhaul of the character. Almost everything would have changed. Again, I'm not going to go into specifics, since I could still use some of the elements in the future. But, for now, I'm going to take a backseat and see what happens. I'm proud to say I've helped this fed develop, now let's see who else can help the fed out.

[Guest Big Poppa Popick]

Sounds good sandie, thanks for everything, i cant wait for you to come back in a few months

 

That being said, ill be stepping up some because I think its time i start writing long, good matches... But im mainly an organizer booker, so lets see who else shows up

[Guest The Superstar]

Yeah Sandman, that was great. Thanks for all the matches...and putting me over. Even *I* was sure that you were winning. Heh. And as for the me writing matches thing, I guess it just comes natural. I used to be big on fantasy booking and I would write out entire matches. My personal favorite is the Empty Arena match, but then again, I believe that's the longest match I've ever written.

[Guest Tony149]

Much like BPP, I'm going to step up my game a little, even though I'm the one who basically makes sure the shows run smooth.

 

I've already written the main event to Breakdown which is 4 1/2 pages long. I belive this is my third match I've ever written (I did a Caboose HIAC match for GAB), did the final ever match for WCW, now the main event for Breakdown. I also wrote all of "The Body Shop" except for the interviews "Body Slam" and "1 on 1".

 

Now is going to be the time you guys who want to be more involved should start writing. Hell, you even get a cool credit at the end of each PPV.

[Guest Mystery Eskimo]

Count me in. I've written matches for the OAOAST before, and I'd like to step those up, maybe become a bit more involved. My other "project" is drawing to a close, so I'll have that bit of extra time to devote to OAOAST matches.

[Guest Zack Malibu]

As per usual, I can write pretty much anything as long as I know in advance to make sure I have the time for it. Or I could just drop schoolwork...

[Guest Sandman9000]

I find it interesting in how everything I said I was going to do, I didn't.

 

No matches before 2003. Nope.

 

No DM's before watching Honam/Yamakawa. Nope.

 

Changes style. Modified a few things, but on a general basis, nope.

 

I'm such a hypocrite. I love it.

[Guest J*ingus]

You still haven't seen any explosion matches? Hell, where do you live, I'll make a tape for you.