Ground Zero Comments

[Guest Goodear]

I see... so it isn't that people didn't read it, they just don't care. I'm not sure if that is better or worse. ::sigh:: I thought I meant more to the Fed than that.

 

YOU do. But the character of "Grand Slam" Mark Stevens is somewhat lost on me since all I know about the guy is that he's a former World Champion. I just don't have an emotional attachment to him at the current time and since he's not an in your face sort of guy like Neilson, that prior attachment is almost a prerequisite for getting into this angle.

 

Honestly, I was hoping for a bit more reaction than that. I wasn't expecting long-winded "NOOOO!!!!" type posts, but more than one or two people mentioning it would have been nice. Between the opening package (which was mine, by the way) and the "Grand Slam gets fired promo" I wrote for three and a half hours. I know this doesn't seem like a lot to those of you who wrote PPV matches, but if you consider I retired because I didn't have time to write... well, let me just say there were better ways to spend my Sunday than this.

 

Hey, sometimes things work and sometimes they don't. If I had a dollar for everything I did that got no reaction I'd have a pile of dollars. It's not a personal, "OMG Mark Stevens (the person) sucks ass!" sort of deal. The angle just didn't work with me, someone with that prior emotional connection (Thugg) loved it. That doesn't mean I think you're an aweful writer or that I spit on your name with the venom of a thousand King Cobras.

 

This may sound bitter, and I guess it is. There was a time when nearly everyone would take the 30 seconds to comment on matches and promos, at least to let the writer know they read it. I guess I miss that level of involvement in the Fed.

 

Yes well that is true. But this is a really time consuming hobby that takes up something like 5 hours a week of strait writing for me at a time. With work being what it is as well as my dream of actually having a life, if I have the choice of writing my next match or comments for the last show, I'm going to produce new content that has a deadline attached to it.

 

I was going to take the high ground and not say these things, but Ejiro's comment hurt. I might be out of line, but so be it. I think I have earned to right to say what I really think once in a while.

 

You can say what you think, just don't be suprised when other people do the same. I wasn't trying to make you feel bad about yourself. I did not insult you in any way. I did not say that the angle is DOOOOOOMED. All I did was mention why an interview didn't work for me all that well and that I'm not a big fan of the direction. You know, oh well. Ash has to deal with the same sort of discussion about every week.

[Kaertos 0]

And believe it or not Ejiro, I appreciate your comments. I think sometimes us old-timers get a big head about how important or beloved we (our characters) are. I am glad someone would rather have been honest and said that the angle didn't work for them than lie or say nothing.

 

Is it frustrating? Well, sure. Is it useful? Yes, it is.

[HVilleThugg 0]

Ejiro, you do make a good point...which is that in your opinion, the angle isn't a mark out moment for you, mainly because you don't know Mark as more than just the announcer, and you don't know King as more than the commissioner. And you certainly entitled to feel that way.

 

However, Mark's point isn't that you insulted him or that you think he sucks. It's more that he felt his contribution to the fed was greater than it seems it is. He's not mad at you for not caring, but it is the fact that you don't care that is kind of upsetting to him. It's upsetting to me as well. It doesn't make you a bad person or a jackass or anything, it's just a reminder to him and all of us old vets that our glory years have passed, and the last thing we want is for our memory to die. I went through this very same thing last time I came back, which is...all the hard work I put into this fed during my time here has been forgotten and now I"m jsut some old guy who hangs around, and while people respect me, no one truly (or ever will truly) respect me the way they did when I was active. No one will ever be scared to face me...much like, when I started to make my push, I wasn't afraid of people like PDS or Rane, because they were before my time and by the law of evolution, I'm just going to be better than them. Now, that may not be true, but it's something that inevitably happens...the student outshines the teacher. The problem is, the teacher knows this, but dammit if it doesn't still hurt. And, the last thing the teacher wants is to be forgotten. And that's what it boils down to. Us old-timers, that in all honesty, paved the way for you guys and if it wasn't for us busting our asses week in and week out, the SWF would have died a long time ago.

 

Also, let's look at something else that may or may not be making Mark upset...I know it upsets me. One these boards and in chat and in general conversation, there is constant praise bestowed upon King...and to a lesser extent, Edwin. Not that they don't deserve it, because believe me, they do...but it's hard for me (and I can't speak for Mark, but I bet he feels the same way), to never see our name mentioned amongst the best in the history of the fed. It's hard to look at people praise King constantly while people like me and Mark get no love. I mean, Mark won like every single title in the SWF and held the world title 2 twice! He was the locker room workhorse and became world champion when no one thought he would. Likewise, I held the JL world title for a record 53 days, a record that still stands today. I held the ICTV title for a then-record 61 days (or something like that), only to have it broken a year later. Not only did I hold the SWF title, but I broke a record that people thought would never be broken, in that I held the WF title for like 67 days, breaking Rane's old record. Not only did I break that record...but I broke it TWICE!

 

Now, I understand why these complishments by myself and Mark are forgotten. There have been many world champs since Mark...and other, more flamboyant people have held a lot of titles. My JL record is what it is...a JL record that not many people care about. My world title record was torched not only by Edwin, but then by ELM. So I understand why no one cares about that...but the fact still remains that Mark and I did accomplish a lot. You don't forget Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron even though their records are broken. I know it's hard for me to know that people don't really respect what I did. I know it's not because they're mean or anything, but it's the nature of what we do. Things move fast, and people's careers are luck to span more than a year, so there is a lot of turnover. But dammit...it still hurts! And I think that's what Mark is feeling right now...he's hurt because no one cares. He's not saying you're wrong for not caring....but it does hurt that you don't care. I guess maybe us old-timers are delusional in thinking that people who join up will go back and see the kind of history they are becoming a part of...go back and see who came before them...go back and get a feel for the elite group of individuals they are now joining...go back and see the kind of people they might aspire to be like. I dunno....maybe that's silly....but when we were active, we were thought of as living legends....greats that would never die. It's just painful to see that wasn't true, and that we are indeed forgotten and by that means, might as well be dead (figuratively).

 

I hope that sheds some light on why Mark could be upset by the lack of attention his angle with King is getting. If I"m wrong about any of this Mark, please correct me. I just have a gut feelling that you and I feel the same about this.

 

Oh, and Mark, you also have to remember that the SWF is full of many more Smarks than we have every had, and you know how they feel about non-wrestling angles. Not a knock on the smarks, but I'm just saying that they don't usually look too favorably on non-wrestling types doing angles.

 

Da "sorry to drop my pain on you guys, but that's how I feel" H

[Guest Goodear]

Well that's good. Honestly, I could see a whole bunch of ways to play this puppy off myself, unless this was a way to retire GS (which I sort of doubt). Personally I would take a few trips into the Grand Slam home and get a more personal look at all that SK has done to the Stevens Family. (And why would King let that on TV if GS is fired?) As a warning to all those who would dare mess with him. Anyway, thats me... a little less history, a lot more what have you done to me lately.

 

Tom Flesher vs Frost

 

This was a really fun match with a minor problem that I'll get to in a minute. I thought the mechanics of the match were freaking wonderful as Frost concentrates on throwing huge bombs and dropping Flesher on stuff while Flesher responds simply by beating the living shit out of Frost's face with smaller objects. It's like a Hammer vs a Knife sort of deal as both men work to what would work in a "real" fight. The part about forst being his own cut man was inspired story telling and the finish was freaking beautiful.

 

Now on to that problem... it's Bobby Riley. More directly it was the insertion of humor through the commentary in what was a completely UBER-violent contest. Talking about Nacho Hats while Tom is getting his face ground into broken glass just breaks the mood in twine. It's like watching Schnidlers List ... starring Leslie Neilson... the horror of the contest got a little lost. Plus, the "Tom Flesher is a Douche Bag" is sort of a lame sounding name... same problem as the commentary really as it breaks the mood.

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

I'm happy that someone finally commented on my leaving opus. I agree with the commentary, but that's how Riley is, or at least how I invision him. Even in the most dire of situations, he's still trying to be funny and I thought with a match as heavy as I was making it to be some levity needed to be involved. The TFDB was derived at a time I was making Frost a lighter character and with the way the move had been built up, I knew it had to be the finish. Although, I guess the use of the name at that point could be distracting. Honestly, when I started writing the match I had really cut back on Riley, but it just didn't seem right while I was writing. That whole 'hammer vs. knife' metaphor is great and I didn't even think about the dynamic of what objects and tactics I was having the men use consciously. That's just naturally how the match laid out for me.

 

I will read the show and post comments, might not get to it until this weekend though. Now that I am retired, I do hope to start making indepth comments on the shows again, especially in the JL. After I read Mark's promos I will fully comment on the situation, but at this time I must say that I'm in the Ejiro camp. Don't we bitch at the WWE for letting non-wrestlers wrestle and bringing up history that the general fan doesn't know or remember? If it's just them coming out of retirment for one match, I don't think it's going to fly. What's the point? If there's going to be far reaching effects on the active fed as a whole, say Stevens comes out of retirement, or becomes commissioner or is replaced permantly as the play by play man, then you have new storylines and elements opened to the rest of the fed to explore and play off of. I also agree with Ejiro in that you should make it more about the now rather than the then. Do something to get those unfamiliar with the two characters out of thier current roles into the feud and confrontations.

 

Now, to Thugg. I think most people in chat who are constantly praising King and Edwin don't have a clue what they're talking about. It's just trendy for them to do. You can also say that Edwin and King are a little more active in the fed today than you or Mark, even though he is a member of CC. Instead of grousing about how great you used to be and how no one respects you; trying getting into the fed of today. Start reading shows and commenting, start pointing people to old matches of yours when it seems appropriate. "I see what you were trying to do with the match, it kind of reminds me of this match I wrote, here it is, check it out, it might help you." I know you do the rankings and run upkeep on the website, and people should be thankful and praising you for that at the least right now. When you do the rankings, don't you usually get a decent response to that? That's because you're doing something that effects the fed of today. I'm very sorry that I never got a chance to wrestle you Thugg, as I was digging a lot of what you were doing in your last run and was impressed and surprised by how good you really were. However, it's not like you can just pop in a tape and watch old Thugg matches. If you want n00bs to know who you are, you have to show them.

[HVilleThugg 0]

I totally agree Frost...and that's kind of my point. I wasn't trying to tell people to care about me...I was more trying to point out that it hurts that people don't. I understand why people don't...I'm not very active anymore (although I'm more active than I was a few months ago). That's just a fact...people deal more with the present than the past, especially around here...I know that. I was just merely trying to comment on something that I felt and that Mark might feel too. And I do agree with the trendiness of Edwin and King praise...believe me, I know. And that's fine...also, I'm not much of a toot my own horn kind of guy. I don't really like to go around saying, "here...look at this...aren't I great" (although you probably can't tell that from my last post, which was essentially, I'm great...now love me). Since I'm not one to pass out pamphlets on how great I am, and I'm not very active, I can't expect people to care about me. I know that and accept it...however, and this is my general point....it still hurts. Whether I accept it or not...whether I do anything aqbout it or not....it still hurts that people don't care. And I know how it feels when you work hard on something and no one seeme to care.

 

Oh, and what are you talking about you liking my last run...dude...that sucked ass. No offense to Bo, but the reason it sucked is because it was a burnt out angle...something that Ive run countless times. I came back so that I could do things with people like you and Tom and Danny, but I ended up just rehashing old angles with Bo, and in the end, it was just the same old shit, just a different day. So, personally, I think it sucked....although, I liked how I was turning Thugg into a sell out, but for me, it was just boring because the immediate angle I was running was EXACTLY the same as 2 before it. I guess you may have liked it since you weren't around for the first two, but I hated it.

 

Da "don't forget asbout the show" H

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I thought people just liked to heap praise on me because of my 14-inch penis. Shows how much I know.

 

On the Mark/King angle: What Ejiro suggest definitely has merit, but I think even more so might be this: it's one segment on a PPV with 20, and most of them are around 8000-10000 words. Very easy to miss. Some sort of history/recap board promo done from an interesting perspective might pick people up more quickly. Also, Frost suggests that the angle needs to have long-running consequences that makes new stuff for the people who are permanently active. I don't know any big details (damn you CC, keeping secrets from your own!), but I would actually be kinda surprised if this didn't conclude with some sort of thing along those lines. For what it's worth, though, even at this point, I'm liking it muchly.

 

And Frost, I'm finally up to your match. That's what you get for being second to last on the card, sucka.

[Kaertos 0]

Frost, I see your point. Let me make a couple of my own, and maybe restore some faith in what King and I are doing.

 

Point one: I forget the audience here is more "smarky" than I am with a much lower tolerance for non-wrestling angles.

 

Point two: King and I take this very seriously, maybe a little too seriously. Be that as it may, I would never run an angle like this just to get myself or King over. There will be implications, I promise. And as far as I can see, Grand Slam isn't returning to the announcer's table anytime soon.

 

I hope that makes some of you feel a little better about the storyline.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

You guys forget that the pinnacle of Mark's career was tagging with me.

 

*crickets chirp*

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Window Pain 2k3

 

Okay, I was PRAYING for someone to do a Blondie reference, and you did it in the first 500 words. Bless your heart, Frosty. Riley is a bit over the top, but the fact that he actually seems to be expressing genuine concern that Flesher could get hurt actually ratchets stuff up--when was the last time Captain Shill-pants ever thought Superhuman Flesher was in the slightest danger? Tom's short promo is the bomb, and the glass all over the ring is already a new element to Window Pain that has me hyped to read this. You're getting all the little touches right, even having Eddy Long totally out of the way and explaining that he's there for one reason only. The early teases with the first glass table gets thing going well, and it's odd to see such a garbagey brawl from these two, but I think I like it. All the rubbing of faces into the glass in the mat has me kinda sick to my stomach, but it's certainly effective. Like Ejiro said and you acknowledged, the commentary is a bit ever-present. It cuts back a bit once they get in the ring, but still feels a little overbearing--not so much the content, but the presence of so much announcer talk in such a mondo brutal match. Then again, you write with a pretty laid-back approach to in-ring action, so it kinda helps amp stuff up. I could go either way on that.

 

The match really turns from good to great when Tom reverses the chokeslam. From there on out your writing kicks up and it feels like a whole different ballgame--probably because Frost is in absolute danger of losing or worse for the first time. "Glass crunching underfoot" makes me feel like I'm in the future scenes of the first Terminator movie, which makes me happy. I loved seeing the smaller glass pieces come out--that's more Flesher's realm and adds to the feeling that he might be getting over on Frost again. After the cut, the match goes from great to balls-out bombastic, and I'm buying every move hit as a lead-in to the end. The steak sauce is cheesy, but whatever, I don't care at this point--the match is going on and on, and I mean that in a good way--after the slice on Tom's stomach, I'm afraid these guys are going to die. Boilermaker through the tables--no, superplex! Touch of Frost! Early Winter! Holy shit! TFDB! BOOYAH. The feud ends the only way it really good, with Frost finally getting the big win. And still, Tom doesn't lose heat because he can act like it was a garbage match even if the fans know otherwise. Nice.

 

Frickin' brutal, one of the most hardcore matches the WF has seen. Maybe a little too much at points--I really must emphasize that I didn't like the glass swipe across Flesher's stomach, cause that could have really killed him if it was off a few inches, and I think it's going a bit too far. Still, this was all good enough to have me batting it back and forth with the great story of Danny and TNT as MOTN.

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

Thank you for the great comments Edwin. I'm glad you liked it so much. I'm glad everything I was trying do and threw in is getting over with people.

 

In my thinking, I brought in the other two presents Frost sent Flesher, so I had to bring in the steak sauce to round it out. It also plays into Tom taking away the psychological advantage or whatever away from Frost and turning it into his own gain. The swipe across the stomach might have been a bit too far out there, but I felt I needed a dire injury to hit Tom like the beating in the face with the table leg did to Frost. I had another spot there that I took out, because I thought it way too contrived and jokey. That being, I was going to have both men crawl under the ring with Tom coming out first with a small pane of glass in his hand waiting for Frost. However, Frost comes out of the side of the ring with a pane of glass, sneaks up on Flesher, but he turns at the last instant and they deck each other with the glass for a double out spot, with Flesher finally recieving a major cut off of that. I also had a Ganso bomb over the ropes to a sawhorse on the floor planned, but took that out, because that's just way too fucking sick.

 

The thing I was trying to do with Riley's commentary as the match progressed was a Bobby Heenan on Flair in the Rumble type thing, where he's spazzing out over every little thing ending it for his man. I think I could have and should have done more with that. My writing style has always been commentary heavy, that's just me. I use the commentary to get the emotion and excitement of what the fan is seeing over.

 

I felt a garbagey brawl just worked best here with the various elements and storylines. I'm glad that worked for you, although in retrospect I could have had some more wrestling scattered throughout. I was trying to write my best match ever and as far as realizing outside and internal storylines, I think I've done that.

[TheBostonStrangler 0]

Mark, comments will be up on your promo sometime today. I haven't mentioned it since I haven't gotten to that part of the show yet. But don't worry, I care. Of course, I was still active when you were around and in your heyday, so I can't comment on whether Ejiro's point of view is accurate or not, but I do remember feeling the same way about Rane and PDS when they returned to do some stuff. But trust me, if you write some good stuff, people will pay attention. You might not get the respect automatically, but if you write like you did, you won't have any problems getting people interested in this feud. Plus, I'd like to see a front-office feud that actually has an ending this time, since the Neilsen ending was such an abortion.

[Hank Kingsley 0]

I feel really bad about not being able to comment on what looks like a hell of a PPV, but with school starting the day after, really, the only thing I had time to do was see if we won (And, by the way, we did) on Monday Morning before I went to school. I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing this weekend, though.

[Above Average 0]

I'll comment on your promo quickly, Mark and the first person to pick out a match, will get it reviewed. Now, onto your promo.

 

I'll admit here and now, that I may be closer to a WWE mark than most of the members in this fed, probably because I missed actually watching a lot of shows, while in school. But I also must admit, that like Ejiro, I don't know 'Grand Slam' the character. The most I saw was your retirement match with Edwin, which took a heck of a lot of searching a long time ago, by the way and your 'On the road' promos, plus seeing your character used, mostly dealing with Edwin leaving and Wargames. The King/Stevens dynamic in the promo, is pretty good. Not Trips/Foley, but then again, not much is. With two month to build and remind the reader, it should turn out great... depending on how it's booked. With Mark no longer in the fed, I feel it messes up King's control over him. He's already ruined Stevens' life, so now what can be worse than that? Unless like Ejiro said we see just how this effects Mark at home.

 

That's the booking problem I see. I personally, want to see King pulling up old tricks like, the Raynor retirement spot, with the hundred dollar bills down someone's throat, or a throwback to Edwin/Stevens by pitting people against each other in retirement matches, while Mark still has the authority to fight back against King and get them out of it. In particular bringing up King's old 'carnie killer' stuff. Not that it's just 'King is acting like a jackass' so far, but I can't 'mark out' until those big time history type things happens. Bases Loaded was a great start, but honestly, it doesn't have the history behind it, since the JL angle was aborted by Kibs. You need something else bigger than that, in my opinion, for this to be the epic affair it should be. Just blow us away with a promo on Mark's home life troubles and it should be golden.

 

Also, to tell the truth, in answer to Thugg's post... out of all the kliq, I got to read more of Edwin's stuff than anybody elses, while in the JL and it has impacted my writing, and development as a character, through my JL connection with Wilson. Thugg matches are next on that list, followed by Stevens and then King, which is in the order you guys retired. If you look at that, it would dictate, in theory, that I'd identify with you guys returns and angles, in that order. Basically, I barely got to see Thugg writing, until his return, which I loved, because I never had the proper chance to experience his talent and I figuritively grew up on Edwin/Wilson over the summer. I had to really look back hard to get the Mark stuff, as I wasn't an Insider, so that means no King matches, except for something an Insider found and gave me in chat. Now, try to imagine what it's like for the people that weren't even here when I was just getting bumped from the JL, like Ejiro.

 

Since Stevens/King never got a proper blowoff, (I think I remember King saying you guys dropped the ball on that big time feud, in a thread once, while Stubby was still around) I'm really glad you guys will get to finish this thing, but you must understand that the connection will take a while to form.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Mak, I think you should review the tag match, since none of us have really talked about it yet. Though it does have your character losing, so it might be a sore spot. Heh.

[Hank Kingsley 0]

Hell yes bitches~

[Crippler Crossface 0]

I'm finally getting to commenting.

 

Good show overall. I'll have more in-depth comments later, but continuing the trend in this thread, I enjoyed the Mark/King promo. Both men came off as they should (King as an asshole corrupt with power who likes to fuck around with people, Mark as the innocent type character just tryng to make a living who gets fucked with), and I felt it really set a good foundation for the two to build off.

 

While for many of you it doesn't seem to fit or you're lost, it's not for me, probably because I've been around for a while and I've been able to see both Mark and King in the ring. Hell, I even faced off against Mark in my second WF match back in the Genesis II Tournament (and lost...). I think it's got possibilites a plenty, but it's got to be done right, and most of my points would be found in Mak's post on the subject.

 

In response to Thugg's post, I have a great respect for the past and I've looked back on older matches from several writers, including Edwin, King, Mark, Thugg, and Sacred, and Wilson to name a few. I've been lucky enough to be not only an Insider, but to have been here for so long that I've been able to see these guys develop into the legends they are today. I think in the long run that might have helped me more, and if there was some way that we could have this kind of knowledge open to those who don't have it, that'd be a great thing for the fed.

 

I'm probably just rambling on at this point, but I'll be back with more in-depth comments on the PPV later.

Edited August 14, 2003 by Thoth

[HVilleThugg 0]

Well, funny you should mention it Ash, but that's the whole reason I've been working on thie SWF Archiving application. It's not done yet, mainly because I haven't had the time to finish it, but it should go into beta within the next 2 weeks. The idea will be that everyone who has the archived matches from IGN will be able to log in and post the matches. Then, everyone else can just search for stuff and find matches and promos based on what they search. It doesn't have to only be IGN stuff, but I figured we could start with that since that's the stuff that isn't public to everyone.

 

I'll give out more information about it when we're closer to beta, and if you're interested, I need like 3 people to beta test thing thing for me when it's ready, so...if you wanna do that for me....uhhhh, PM me or something.

 

Da "should be cool" H

[Justice 0]

I'm gonna post this while I'm in the middle of reviewing the tag match, but I think maybe one of the retirees or someone who has a lot of energy to burn could do maybe a "Confidential" style show every week, highlighting the history of the fed and maybe a wrestler or two, active and retired. I suggested one a while back, but as more of a recap show, to which it was pointed out that people would read that rather than the shows. I think that doing it with the Historical match of the week, posting maybe an AIM shoot interview with a person or two, and recapping the history of some more prominent figures in the fed would be cool. Call it "SWF Walk Off" (Which was suggested for one of the new shows, but fits the type of show more. Plus it has a nice ring to it) and do it once a week. I think it'd be a pretty cool thing to do, but I dunno if I have time to do it. So... what do you guys think?

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

There's a disconnect to me with a lot of the old-timers, too. I'll be the first to admit, if you retired before I got bumped to the WF, I've probably never read any of your stuff; I wouldn't even know where to look for it.

[TheBostonStrangler 0]

INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT vs. DOUBLE JEOPARDY vs. UNHOLY TRINITY

 

Double Jeopardy have the worst theme ever. I’ve mentioned this to Show repeatedly. CHANGE IT. I’m liking Quiz and Show’s antics at the beginning, and I almost wish they were face. This gimmick would click better as faces…but they’ll make it work as heels. I’ve mentioned in earlier posts that the gay jokes with Riley really aren’t all that funny, so there was a little too much of that early in the match. Good work establishing DJ as heels, since they had been fairly face-like to start. Another thing: Don’t reference the WWE if possible. Just takes me out of the element. Watching Va’aiga destroy Quiz is well-written, and strangely enjoyable. The tagging in and out is well-done, and seems to make sense when it’s done. It’s easy to lose track of people, so good work having most of this make sense. Mak tagging himself back in seemed a little out of nowhere, but it’s still cool. I had liked what CIA was doing, though, so it was a little disappointing to me. Taking down Mak with a knee injury really levels the playing field, and makes for some interesting psych work in a triple threat. Dace kicking ass was well-written, and there were some good near-falls. And for the love of god, get rid of the “American Idol Bomb”. Worst. Move. Name. EVER. Replace it with the $64,000 Pyramid Price is Right Name Game Slam or something. I also love how Va’aiga goes nuts after Soapdish is knocked out. The match is really a clusterfuck, as a match like this is bound to become. That’s a unique tag finisher, and it’s pretty cool. Nice way to get the pin fairly systematically, and you put Va’aiga over huge. Nice work, although somewhat unpolished, but as the champs get used to these characters a little bit more, they’ll be great.

 

GRAND SLAM vs. THE SUICIDE KING

 

Solid entrance by King, and the setup is laid soundly. I would have liked it if Stevens had gone back and edited in some of the instances where he publicly denounced King, and have King just display them on the SmarkTron. It would have been a good way to illustrate it. Stevens actually sounds a little wooden during his impassioned speech to King, which is surprising, since Mark generally wrote natural-sounding commentary. Still, he makes up for it with the challenge to King, which is very well-done, and made me want to see more of them. King actually firing him made me very sad, even though I already knew it was coming. Overall, a good storyline promo. However, it would have been nice to set it up with some of the history of your feud, just to bring the newer guys into the problems you’ve had. Hell, just repost the Edwin vs. Grand Slam match. That’d be enough right there. That’s my favorite match, in terms of pure emotion involved, that I’ve ever read in this fed (although Edwin vs. Raynor comes fairly close). So if you just bring back some reminders of the old days, I get the feeling a lot of people will really get into this feud. God knows you and King can still write with the best of ‘em.

 

 

Janus/Crow and Tom/Frost comments later tonight, maybe tomorrow.

[Hank Kingsley 0]

Finally~

 

Strangler, sweet ass. Again.

[Justice 0]

OMG JUDGE IS COMMENTING WTF LOL?!

 

The Tag Match:

 

- First off, a nice lead-in to the match. I'm a big fan of this stuff, as it can really help the reader understand the motivations and actions of those involved, and can make them expect something and surprise them when the person doesn't actually do it.

 

- I have to say, I'm not much of a fan of the "Wheel of Fortune Backdrop" magically appearing in the ring. I think it'd be better just to put it and Vicky Black on the SmarkTron or something, that way everyone can see it and it'll save on all that moving and shizzit.

 

- Not really a comment on the match, but am I the only one surprised that Mak and CIA don't have a tag entrance yet?

 

- A nice little nod to Angle vs. Taker vs. Rock with the staredown between the two "big" players and the "joke" getting angry at being ignored before getting punked out. I laughed at the little "Survey says" line.

 

- I find Mak's stopping of the first tag finisher attempt a little hard to believe. He knocks Show down and then catches Quiz in mid-air for a Shoulderbreaker. The problem is Mak is a borderline cruiser himself, plus he has a bad leg as well. I remember Janus in the JL catching Arianwyn in a SSP and it being believable because he's fricken huge. With Mak... It's a lot harder. I see Mak, if anything, countering it with a roll-through Ric Flair style, or maybe dropkicking him. But that's just me.

 

- I'm kinda into Double Jeparody showing how green they are by attempting their finishers so early on. It also pounds home that they are more of a threat together rather than apart and really depend on their teamwork to win a match, rather than individual stuff.

 

- I'm slightly saddened that Va'aiga didn't go on a spree of anhiliation when he got tagged in, but you can't have everything, can you =-\? I mean, it's done very well, but I think Va'aiga should have fucking destroyed anything that came his way when he got in, then get caught in trouble, but that's just my view on the character and really just a minor gripe.

 

- I like you pointing out how Va'aiga's popularity really wanes when he's going after CIA. Of course, this is coming from a CIA mark...

 

- Hey, Va'aiga is from NEW ZEALAND, not AUSTRALIA. Nothing major, but I'm sure Card would want me to point that out. Plus, your excuse:

 

(8:14pm) (+Quiz) My excuse: Riley's a fucking douche.

 

Is good enough for me.

 

- Neat little spot with the Crucifix Pin/Missile Dropkick. Definitely inventive.

 

- A lot of tags, which I like. It switches the match up a lot and a simple tag between Va'aiga and Dace or Mak and CIA or Quiz and Show can really change the face of the ring.

 

- *Marks for CIA being a "House En Fuego"*

 

-

Va’aiga turns around to meet Quiz with an ear-to-ear grin, and then winds up his arm, swinging it for a lariat…that Quiz ducks! The game show host charges into the ropes and bounces off of them, coming back at the Maori with speed. However, instead of hitting the Champion, Quiz slides, baseball-style, between the Maori’s legs and drives his shoulder right into an unsuspecting Mak Francis’ knee! The ICTV Champion crumples to the mat, holding his formerly injured leg in pain.

 

I'm not sure how the mechanics of that work. Is Mak just standing there? I think maybe you should have had them attempt a double lariat or something because that whole sequences rings wrong with me.

 

- I'm getting into the last dash before the finish. Dace hitting the finishers, Mak getting in trouble and playing a face in peril, Va'aiga lariating everything, and now I'm up to International Incident getting nailed with UT's and DJ Tag Finishers. I really like that spot for some reason. I don't think I've ever seen or read something like it, and it's damn cool to see two huge things like that come one after the other, plus the pace seems to be speeding up.

 

- A great hot ending! I loved them using "X for the Block" on Va'aiga: It's a real original move, and I'm a fan of the "Using my partner as a weapon" line of thinking. The after match stuff is handled very well, nothing overly dramatic, but definitely showing that this is not done by a longshot. Mike seems to have a way of with the after match stuff so that everyone keeps their heat.

 

- I'd just like to mention that you guys have a very clean and very readable style that you write. Very nice blend of description, action, and personality with all the characters involved.

 

Overall? A great match for the PPV, and certainly deserved a win no matter who showed and who didn't. It was entertaining but still brought some psyche into play, and there were definitely a few cool spots. Something to be proud of boys.

 

Oh, and I hope you are keeping my belt warm, Show. I intend to take it back in a week or so.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I'm gonna post this while I'm in the middle of reviewing the tag match, but I think maybe one of the retirees or someone who has a lot of energy to burn could do maybe a "Confidential" style show every week, highlighting the history of the fed and maybe a wrestler or two, active and retired. I suggested one a while back, but as more of a recap show, to which it was pointed out that people would read that rather than the shows. I think that doing it with the Historical match of the week, posting maybe an AIM shoot interview with a person or two, and recapping the history of some more prominent figures in the fed would be cool. Call it "SWF Walk Off" (Which was suggested for one of the new shows, but fits the type of show more. Plus it has a nice ring to it) and do it once a week. I think it'd be a pretty cool thing to do, but I dunno if I have time to do it. So... what do you guys think?

I think this is a wonderful idea. Whoever does it would probably need access to an IGN insider account for some of the stuff, but I know that some of us have them and could probably lend 'em too. I know TNT used to his From The Vault bit, which is sorta in this vein, so maybe when he gets back we can get him to pick it up again.

[Guest Beezel]

I know I'm quite late on this, but I'm still wondering where this is going, and quite frankly if this is the end of Grand Slam as commentator/wrestler/anything in the fed, it will be a sad day. I remember Grand Slam the wrestler and have written Grand Slam the commentator for god knows how long. Seeing that Cyclone Comet has taken his seat, it is a bit of a heartbreaker.

 

No more Grand Slam? That... well, it would be very bad. But I don't have any choice, do I?

 

Another reason people don't talk about it is the possible eventual downer for those that remember. Still, if it does end where we think it will, a King/Grand Slam match, then at the very least Gen-4 will have a hell of a match.

 

Not all of us miss things. And yes I still need to comment on a match.

[Secret Agent 0]

Well, maybe Edwin will fill one of their spots when the two leave.

 

The King/Stevens promo is very cool in my eyes. It's a little hard to expect people to be jumping off the walls about it though, until Steven's makes some kind of strike against King. Hell, Raynor hasn't even said anything yet.

[Ace309 0]

Can't comment for long - this is the first time I've gotten to a computer in about a week, since I've been busy meeting up with the Left Coast Fleshers, Biaaaaatch, and chasing down the numerous toddlers over here in the Lodi Valley.

 

But, let me just say I'm sorry for no-showing (I just couldn't do what I wanted to do with all the busy-ness going on preparing for the trip), I'll read the show next week when I get home, and Frost - thanks for handling the match so damn well.

[5_moves_of_doom 0]

...Woohah. Well, it's about 1am and this is the first time I've been able to get online in about two weeks, aaaand it'll probably be another two weeks until I get on again. Everything looks pretty friggen' swank, especially the effort put forth by Frost, Danny, and TBS. Anyhow, I know I'm just doing the usual "CONGRATS YOUZ GUYZ~!" shit here, but it's only because I just moved and I only have about fifteen minutes of online time here, until I'm banished away from computers again for another two weeks, after which I will return. The one thing that I'm majorly upset about is the dissapointment that came along with a non-conclusion to Beezel/Atlas, but eh.

 

Anyhow, good job to all who are still effortin' it up, and try harder to those who didn't. Kind of hypocritical since this move is making me so damn inconsistant, but I'll actually have some type of internet connection in about two weeks, and then... well, promos-a-go-go baby, 'cuz it's Genesis time! Let's knock 'em dead with this one, bizznatches.

[Rawknight 0]

- Hey, Va'aiga is from NEW ZEALAND, not AUSTRALIA. Nothing major, but I'm sure Card would want me to point that out. Plus, your excuse:

 

(8:14pm) (+Quiz) My excuse: Riley's a fucking douche.

 

Is good enough for me.

I personally don't like commentators making mistakes like this about Va'aiga... largely because commentators are ex wrestlers, and therefore I can't rip their heads off. If characters call Va'aiga an Australian to his face, they WILL be lariated, possibly after some righteous anger no selling

 

Of course IN Australia Va'aiga is a huge heel, cos he can cut SUPREME anti Australia promos

[Guest Suicide King]

Va'aiga's from Austria?