SWF Smarkdown Comments

[devo 0]

Guess I'll make this topic again. >_>

 

Ghost Machine writes another epic.

 

Very nice work on the arm throughout the Hawke/Myers match, which ended with a really creative way to lock in the Wing Span. Also, the bit at the beginning with Hawke testing Myers was great.

 

Goddamn Zyon, nice job. You're off to a hell of a start. Really good big/guy small guy match. I've said it before, but I enjoy your commentary very much.

 

Terrific promo between Toxxic and Pretzler. The characters have great chemistry that makes their exchanges really fun to read. And of course, I really want to see what exactly Pretzler wants with Flesher.

 

Goddamn, Ejiro's match had a breakneck pace to say the least. Excellent match, very fun read. Definitely made more use of the stip than I did. Great job.

 

Congrats, WC and Johnny. Four-time Tag Team Champions, and in fantastic fashion. The midair Belly-to-Belly/Hurricanrana spot was awesome and fucking crazy at the same time.

 

Fantastic match from Williams. The bit with Toxxic playing possum and suckering Danny in was brilliant. The entire match had a real epic feel to it and the post match shows a good bit of character development for Toxxic.

[muzz 0]

"The midair Belly-to-Belly/Hurricanrana spot was awesome and fucking crazy at the same time."

 

wtf

[Guest bennerisbetter]

Wow.....sorry about my match. Poor even for Ghost Machine standards. I just assumed I would lose and pounded that P.O.S. out in five minutes.

 

[Coffin Surfer 0]

Loved the Hawke/Randy match. Even with the short length, Hawke manages to build a cool three act match with all the essentials. Great role playing with Hawke smartly using a vet vs. rookie dynamic as well as the typical heel/face roles. Good face in peril segment as well.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Mags, that spot was in homage to a spot that I first saw the Steiners do against Fujinami & Iazuka at WrestleWar '92.

 

Real comments sometime later tonight, I promise.

[Toxxic 0]

Well, I’m going to do a quick bit of commenting on Danny’s match. Needless to say, it will be bitter in tone as I’m a bad loser. Maybe. Let’s find out.

 

 

The opening is suitably grandiose, something that perhaps I didn’t manage to convey well enough. However, I must admit I have a problem with the start of the match, in that Toxxic initiates a grapple with Williams. Toxxic is NOT stupid and would know that he’d be overpowered. What’s more, last time I checked Williams was a decent technical wrestler as well as a fantastic striker, so I really don’t see what Toxxic would have to gain here. And let us not forget that this is a guy who has made a career out of beating his opponents by preparing for them instead of using his fairly meagre physical attributes.

 

The Asai moonsault is certainly a tactic that Toxxic would be likely to use. I’m curious as to why it’s his ribs that are the major injury from the powerslam though, as Scott Pretzler worked the back in our match on Lockdown. Again, the headbutt WOULD be an obvious offensive move, especially since Danny has his big bandage in this match, but why go for an Irish whip again when the last one didn’t work, considering how one headbutt would be unlikely to change things that much? I’d have written Toxxic as firing off several more shots to the head in an attempt to make Williams groggy enough to move, not just one.

 

I certainly can’t fault the way Williams goes after the ribs… except for the fact that he looks very guilty after it each time! Granted, he’s a nice guy and all, but there’s a difference between not deliberately trying to injure someone and trying to win the match. I’m also confused why, if Toxxic’s ribs ARE that injured, he’s able to no-sell the belly-to-belly and kip up to enzuigiri Williams. And if he’s NOT injured, why was he rolling around after the powerslam when he wouldn’t have known if Danny would grant him any leeway?

 

Then we have a continuity error. Toxxic moonsaults onto a standing Williams and makes the pin, Williams kicks out but is ‘groggy from the DDT’. Unfortunately, the DDTs don’t occur until another two near-falls have occurred! Then Toxxic goes for the Repeat To Fade - a good call, although the move isn’t correctly described, if it had been applied as described in my stats Danny wouldn’t have been able to get to the ropes - which beat Williams a year ago. One year, not two. I wasn’t even in the fed two years ago. But never mind. However, even though he manages to get Danny into virtual unconsciousness Toxxic apparently isn’t strong enough to hold on long enough for the ref to do the ‘arm drop three times’ trick, instead opting for the cover. He made Williams pass out last time, so why not this time? And why is he so weak? Let’s look at what damage Toxxic has taken so far:

 

A running powerslam.

Irish whip to the corner

Being thrown back into the ring

Back bodydrop

Running elbow

Belly-to-belly suplex

 

Fair enough… except that after the belly-to-belly suplex, Toxxic still has enough left in the tank to kip up with no sign of rib injury and kick Danny in the head, then point to his ribs and laugh. In the time between that and the Repeat To Fade, Toxxic has taken NOTHING from Williams, he’s been on offence all the time. I’m struggling to see how landing on top of Danny a couple of times (and why so many Asai/regular moonsaults with the injured ribs when I have fistdrops and Hangovers that don’t end in Toxxic landing his own injury on top of the enemy?) and applying a couple of DDTs can drain him so much. I mean yes, Vitality 4, he still beat Kibagami in a Last Man Standing match.

 

Next, Toxxic shrugs off a Danny elbow strike and hits back with a Spinning Wheel Kick. Now, I know that opinions may vary on this but back in the day when I first faced Dace and I shrugged off an elbow strike, he was SCREAMING at me for it. Yet Danny Williams, elbow maestro extraordinaire, can hit Toxxic straight in the jaw and… what? Gets hit back and knocked down. Even beat up, Williams should still be able to PASTE Toxxic in a brawl anytime.

 

Finally, the coup de grace - the ref is bumped and Toxxic, for some reason, goes outside to get a chair. Regardless that we all know he doesn’t cheat. Regardless that he has never in his entire career shown any sign of using a weapon that isn’t allowed in the match. And regardless of the fact that this hesitation and time wasting is giving Danny the perfect opportunity to recover. Then he goes up top (I assume, it’s not mentioned anywhere) for a missile dropkick, but even though his feet are flying at Danny first with his head right at the rear, Williams can still hit the Axe Bomber for the pin. That’s pretty impressive right there.

 

And here is my final problem with the match. Danny has spent most of his limited offence working over Toxxic’s ribs and back. Fair enough - that’s the body part Spike injured at 13th Hour, and Pretzler targeted the back as well on Lockdown. However, Toxxic is able to kip-up and visibly no-sell most of that offence halfway through the match, then inbetween then and the end he takes one elbow strike to the head (weak enough for him to shrug off and hit back) and then an Axe Bomber. Effectively, Danny has jobbed a three-time World Champion out to ONE MOVE. There was no work on the head to set the Axe Bomber up, and everything else was either no-sold, targeted the wrong area of the body, or both.

 

I don’t have a problem with Danny winning (he’s in the World Title hunt, I am not at present), but I do feel a little narked that I’ve been jobbed out to a glorified clothesline with no setup to it. However, I am sure Mike has his reasons.

[Toshiaki Koala 0]

Don't diss the AXUUUUUUUUU BOMBAAAAAAAAAAH!

[Coffin Surfer 0]

The opening is suitably grandiose, something that perhaps I didn’t manage to convey well enough. However, I must admit I have a problem with the start of the match, in that Toxxic initiates a grapple with Williams. Toxxic is NOT stupid and would know that he’d be overpowered. What’s more, last time I checked Williams was a decent technical wrestler as well as a fantastic striker, so I really don’t see what Toxxic would have to gain here.

 

I've been watching a lot of old NWA and what I love so much about those matches is the attempting and failure of numerous strategies. Toxxic trying the grapple, learning from his mistake and trying a new approach is much more compelling than Toxxic already having the answers. Besides, you don't have to be a strong guy to get an advantage from the grapple. There are speed and technical ways as well, armdrag anyone.

 

The Asai moonsault is certainly a tactic that Toxxic would be likely to use. I’m curious as to why it’s his ribs that are the major injury from the powerslam though, as Scott Pretzler worked the back in our match on Lockdown.

 

Back/ribs, it's all the same area to some degree. You kept switching injuries so I just took the one you put over the most. I think you had taped ribs in a promo, so I figured it was more long term. I skimmed the Pretzler match and mistook it for having rib work as well.

 

 

Again, the headbutt WOULD be an obvious offensive move, especially since Danny has his big bandage in this match, but why go for an Irish whip again when the last one didn’t work, considering how one headbutt would be unlikely to change things that much?

 

Williams screamed and recolied in pain, so he looked more vulnerable this time. I didn't put in repeated shots to the head because it was just a one shot deal as payback, because as written he got pissed over the ribs when he was trying to have a straight match.

 

 

I certainly can’t fault the way Williams goes after the ribs… except for the fact that he looks very guilty after it each time! Granted, he’s a nice guy and all, but there’s a difference between not deliberately trying to injure someone and trying to win the match.

 

He's not intended to look guilty. It's just basic power stuff that happens to hurt the ribs.

 

I’m also confused why, if Toxxic’s ribs ARE that injured, he’s able to no-sell the belly-to-belly and kip up to enzuigiri Williams. And if he’s NOT injured, why was he rolling around after the powerslam when he wouldn’t have known if Danny would grant him any leeway?

 

The Belly to Belly never hurt his ribs, it was just an impact throw.

 

Then we have a continuity error. Toxxic moonsaults onto a standing Williams and makes the pin, Williams kicks out but is ‘groggy from the DDT’. Unfortunately, the DDTs don’t occur until another two near-falls have occurred!

 

Yeah that should read Enzuigiri.

 

Then Toxxic goes for the Repeat To Fade - a good call, although the move isn’t correctly described, if it had been applied as described in my stats Danny wouldn’t have been able to get to the ropes - which beat Williams a year ago.

 

I invisioned as a Step Over Stretch Plum, if Willaims is on his ass he can scoot to the ropes.

 

One year, not two. I wasn’t even in the fed two years ago. But never mind.

 

Another slip.

 

 

However, even though he manages to get Danny into virtual unconsciousness Toxxic apparently isn’t strong enough to hold on long enough for the ref to do the ‘arm drop three times’ trick, instead opting for the cover. He made Williams pass out last time, so why not this time? And why is he so weak? Let’s look at what damage Toxxic has taken so far

 

He's not weak from damage, I wrote it as he wore himself out from working the hold so hard.

 

Next, Toxxic shrugs off a Danny elbow strike and hits back with a Spinning Wheel Kick. Now, I know that opinions may vary on this but back in the day when I first faced Dace and I shrugged off an elbow strike, he was SCREAMING at me for it. Yet Danny Williams, elbow maestro extraordinaire, can hit Toxxic straight in the jaw and… what? Gets hit back and knocked down. Even beat up, Williams should still be able to PASTE Toxxic in a brawl anytime.

 

Remember Williams had just been in a finishing hold.

 

Finally, the coup de grace - the ref is bumped and Toxxic, for some reason, goes outside to get a chair. Regardless that we all know he doesn’t cheat. Regardless that he has never in his entire career shown any sign of using a weapon that isn’t allowed in the match. And regardless of the fact that this hesitation and time wasting is giving Danny the perfect opportunity to recover.

 

I spent about a paragraph writing an explanation. If that's not enough, what is?

 

As far as the Moonsaults, there was no real rib injury in the match. A running powreslam that Williams spent all day building momentum for, caused initial pain but wasn't intended to be a re-injury anymore than the single headbutt was going to reopen the wound on my head.

 

Then he goes up top (I assume, it’s not mentioned anywhere) for a missile dropkick,

 

Missile Dropkick is written.

 

 

but even though his feet are flying at Danny first with his head right at the rear, Williams can still hit the Axe Bomber for the pin.

 

It's a real spot. Watch Misawa/Kobashi 1/97. Classic. Actually, Misawa used the leg first dive into a Lariat/Chokeslam..etc. transition regularly in the late 90s. Obviously, Williams had to side step the legs though.

 

And here is my final problem with the match. Danny has spent most of his limited offence working over Toxxic’s ribs and back.

 

He doesn't work any body part.

 

Effectively, Danny has jobbed a three-time World Champion out to ONE MOVE.

 

It's a DEATH spot. He jumped off the top rope and got hit so hard he went the other direction.

 

There was no work on the head to set the Axe Bomber up, and everything else was either no-sold, targeted the wrong area of the body, or both.

 

No head work necessary for the Axe Bomber, especially if you jump into it.

 

I don’t have a problem with Danny winning (he’s in the World Title hunt, I am not at present), but I do feel a little narked that I’ve been jobbed out to a glorified clothesline with no setup to it. However, I am sure Mike has his reasons.

 

It's an AXE BOMBER!

 

 

I'm sorry you didn't like the match as I took great pains to get your character right and cement his face turn. The whole match is literary a valentine to your character, note there's very little from Williams' viewpoint. This is Toxxic's story.

[Ace309 0]

Don't mind Toxxic. He's a bit invested in his character.

[Justice 0]

Yeah, uh, Danny, watch the quotes. Apparently now you can use too many of them. Same thing happened to me in CE.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Flesher opens the show...

 

... And we have a new World Cruiserweight Champion. Kind of eerie, that promo was, with Tom breaking kayfabe on camera. My gut impulse was that he was the wrong character for the role, but since I can't imagine who'd actually be better that it would make sense to be out there, I have to say that it was very well done. I'm a little surprised that Pretzler wasn't in the ring to accept the title, but that's just nitpicking.

 

 

 

 

Manson gets pwned!

 

And this is what you risk when you no-show. Man, as if it wasn't bed enough to get punked, but no-sold on top of that? Harsh. Not sure why he felt the need to involve Griffon, though...

 

 

 

 

Hawke vs. Myers

 

Hawke is a cocky bastard... I love it! After looking like a simpleton for the first few minutes, Randy turns it into a brawl and takes over for about a minute, until he misses a charge into the corner. Hawke then proceeds to do what he does best, and murderlize Randy's arm, which is always good. Hawke goes into full "shooter" mode, and I can't remember the last time we actually had one of those, so he's aces with me. Myers mounts a comeback just as Hawke seems to be getting ready to go for the Wing Span, and... uhh... yeah; maybe it's just me, but I think that Myers is a little wee bit too big to have a 619-type maneuver in his moveset... I don't think I've ever seen anybody escape a pinfall by putting their opponent in an arm submission before... and then rolls into the Wing Span? That's fucking boss! I tell you what, I mark out for Pretzler something awful, but I think that Hawke may have improved more since his debut than anybody; the development in his writing from since me and Johnny beat him and Pretzler at FTF is nothing short of out-fucking-standing.

 

 

 

 

Griffon vs. Zyon

 

I've noticed that our newbs here lately seem to be partial to script style, but as long as they continue to work on improving, I'm cool with it... Nice big man/little man dynamic, and Zyon reminds me a little of me when I debuted in the JL, except that he has a much better understanding of psychology and pacing than I did when I was starting out... Love the belly-to-belly suplex counter; just love it... Not sure if I'm feeling Zyon snap suplexing the 300-pound Archie that late in the match, after the beating he took, but I'll overlook it... What is "precise strength," by the way? Zyon counters a "Guerilla Press" (???) into a rana, and then wins it with the Final Flash. A few newb mistakes, but nothing that we haven't all done at least once or twice.

 

 

 

 

Toxxic and Pretzler mince words

 

Apparently, Toxxic takes exception to Pretzler's choice of words in his most recent Workrate Report. Pretzler makes a couple of cracks about Toxxic being old, which is odd, since Toxxic is younger than Pretzler, but the delivery is well done, so it works. Not sure why Toxxic is advising Scott not to trust Flesher, but I'm sure it's going somewhere.

 

 

 

 

Mags vs. Ejiro

 

A catfight threatens to break out early, until Ejiro gets a boot in; Mags with a nice counter into a dropkick... Some more fast-paced back-and-forth-ed ness, and Ejiro counters a monkey flip attempt into a lariat, which I'm not sure I've ever seen before. I still say nothing beats a headbutt as a monkey flip counter, but this was a nice change of pace... more back-and-forth-ery ensues, and it's very fluid... Ejiro counters a sunset flip into the Boston Crab, and I love submissions that can be applied like that... They eventually take it outside, and Mags channels RVD... the two go back and forth, in some borderline no-selling of a blown Tequila Sunrise... Nice sudden Dragon Whip to end the match, and Ejiro is so good at the fast paced stuff, it's a crime that he doesn't do it more often.

 

 

 

 

Wild and Dangerous vs. Martial Law

 

Aaaaand... I still don't comment on my own stuff.

 

 

 

 

Danny vs. Toxxic

 

This match has already been covered way better than I could hope, so I'll just a few quick impressions: Looking back in hindsight, Danny's idle commentary in the narrative about how Toxxic's last win over Williams was when he had an injured arm almost seems like the "sledgehammer of plot" is at work... I like the show of strength with the "tug-of-war." It's rare to see these days, as most people seem to only use the strength stat to justify being able to hit big power moves; you rarely seem to see one wrestler actually out muscling another wrestler, and Danny works the "brute strength" angle quite well... I'm a little annoyed by the fact that the DDT has become more of a transition move in the fed than an enzugiri; just who was the last guy besides me to use a DDT as a finisher, anyway? If I didn't know better, I'd say that Danny has been using this run in the fed to no-sell all of the moves he jobbed to during his last run (I'm kidding)... AXE BOMBAH~! And Toxxic goes down; sorry Toxxic, but the Axe Bomber is sooooo a believable finisher for a guy like Williams.

[Ace309 0]

Flesher opens the show...

 

... And we have a new World Cruiserweight Champion. Kind of eerie, that promo was, with Tom breaking kayfabe on camera. My gut impulse was that he was the wrong character for the role, but since I can't imagine who'd actually be better that it would make sense to be out there, I have to say that it was very well done. I'm a little surprised that Pretzler wasn't in the ring to accept the title, but that's just nitpicking.

No, I'm comfortable with that. I was going for a sort of awkward, uncomfortable vibe, especially considering the lack of a character-based authority figure (yeah, we have Joe Peters, but he's a deus ex machina businessman). Flesher, in-character, is a strong backer of Pretzler and was also very close to IL (there were a lot of bar promos involving the two of them), so I thought it would be an interesting thing to write. I think I succeeded in making it uncomfrotable, although I think I enjoyed creating that feeling more than the readers will enjoy getting it.

 

As for not bringing Pretzler out, it was reasoned out from the "I don't want to make a spectacle out of this" idea. I debated using Pretzler, but I didn't think that, if WWE were faced with the same situation, they'd use it as a character promo segment. We were dealt a really shitty hand by IL deciding to 'die,' but I felt like we could deal with it without retconning the angle.

 

Anyway, thanks for your comments. I appreciate it.

[JJ Johnson 0]

just who was the last guy besides me to use a DDT as a finisher, anyway?

 

IL.

[Guest Goodear]

My Half Years resolution is to write matches of different than 'work the joint' or

'Ejiro gets pounded' style in order to have a different feeling to the matches for fun sakes. The no selling was pretty rampant in my match which is funky for my usual standards but I was trying to do a WCW cruiserweight style match which would be a style that didn't really consider selling a major point of emphasis.

 

Next up... 80s WWF midget match

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

Ghost Machine is awesome.

[Toxxic 0]

I dunno... I'm just really uncomfortable with the Axe Bomber being a one-hit kill since it's so close to a regular move. Something like the Demonstar Driver or Dace's Dark Star Driver or, hey, the old Danny Williams powerbomb yes - immensely hard, theoretically COULD get the win straight off but generally needs a bit of building to avoid the opponent squirming away. I just don't feel that a forearm smash from a man who already uses lots of forearm smashes can be THAT different to be a one-hit kill. A match-ender sure, but not an INSTANT match ender without any build to it. And in the same way that the Axe Bomber is not a clothesline, the Repeat To Fade is NOT a step-over Stretch Plum. If it was a step-over Stretch Plum I'd call it a step-over Stretch Plum. It's a Dragon sleeper combined with a hammerlock and bodyscissors and once you're in YOU AIN'T MOVING (which I admit doesn't lead to good dramatism, and is why I might change it soon).

 

I suppose the other gripe I had was that, for all it was 'Toxxic's story', he was a generic cruiserweight. In all of a 6k match, he never used a single Signature Move or any of the flashy offence that he's known for - just a couple of moonsaults, the headbutt, a superkick and his finisher. In terms of offence, I was Billy Kidman with a harder head and a submission finisher.

 

But here endeth the lesson. As Tom has stated, I probably AM too heavily invested in my character. I felt the need to make my points clear though.

[Coffin Surfer 0]

I dunno... I'm just really uncomfortable with the Axe Bomber being a one-hit kill since it's so close to a regular move. Something like the Demonstar Driver or Dace's Dark Star Driver or, hey, the old Danny Williams powerbomb yes - immensely hard, theoretically COULD get the win straight off but generally needs a bit of building to avoid the opponent squirming away.

 

It is whatever I want it to be. Not to mention it's booked as a big finisher in the real world with Omori and Hogan using it. A move is only as valuable as you make it.

 

And like I already said, you jumped straight into it from the top rope set up, making it more brutal than it normally is.

 

 

"I just don't feel that a forearm smash from a man who already uses lots of forearm smashes can be THAT different to be a one-hit kill. "

 

That type of thought process has no place in wrestling. You might as well start asking why the Rock's punches are more powerful when he spits in his hand? You won't find real world logic to justify it but in the entertainment business it's treated special because it's more attention grabbing than a regular punch.

 

And in the same way that the Axe Bomber is not a clothesline, the Repeat To Fade is NOT a step-over Stretch Plum. If it was a step-over Stretch Plum I'd call it a step-over Stretch Plum. It's a Dragon sleeper combined with a hammerlock and bodyscissors and once you're in YOU AIN'T MOVING (which I admit doesn't lead to good dramatism, and is why I might change it soon).

 

Than put a better description in your stats, no mention of a body scissors. Besides there's no fun in a unescapable submission.

 

I suppose the other gripe I had was that, for all it was 'Toxxic's story', he was a generic cruiserweight.

 

Look beyond the moves. There's paragraph after paragraph dedicated to your character.

 

all of a 6k match, he never used a single Signature Move or any of the flashy offence that he's known for - just a couple of moonsaults, the headbutt, a superkick and his finisher. In terms of offence, I was Billy Kidman with a harder head and a submission finisher.

 

There wasn't enough words to use ALL your signature moves because I spent so many kissing your ass.

 

If the only thing that seperates you from Billy Kidman is your moves, I think you should re-think your character. From what I've seen of Kidman is a one dimensional void of boredom, I at least gave you personality and motive.

 

But here endeth the lesson.

 

Lesson?

 

edit-To be less vague.

 

It's your character, if you don't think I nailed him, I really can't argue. However, my intent is fairly obvious and ignoring that fact to make bitter comments like the "Kidman" nonsense isn't getting us anywhere. I'm always happy to discuss wrestling, my writing, your writing, whatever but I don't like the direction your last post is taking this so I'm dropping out.

[Guest Goodear]

I love EVERYYYYYYYYONE.

[Sly 0]

<3

[Angel_Grace_Blue 0]

WAFFLES!

[muzz 0]

/me First Drives G.O.A.T

[Angel_Grace_Blue 0]

/me blades and whoats and sells and breakdances and punches Muzz in the face

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

We need Va'aiga to come back, so Toxxic can tell him how a clothesline-type move isn't a believable finisher, too.

[muzz 0]

/me kicks Godrea in the ovaries

[Angel_Grace_Blue 0]

/me blades with the fury of a million suns

 

/me hugs Muzz through a table, left-handed

[Toxxic 0]

Danny - I have my opinion, you have yours, and that's fine (incidently, as for the Rock's 'spit punch' I always thought that was more powerful because he backed off to do the spit and then charged back in so it had momentum behind it... but that's by-the-by)

 

I would appreciate it if you could look over MY match and give me your feedback on where you felt I fell down.

[Coffin Surfer 0]

Danny - I have my opinion, you have yours, and that's fine (incidently, as for the Rock's 'spit punch' I always thought that was more powerful because he backed off to do the spit and then charged back in so it had momentum behind it... but that's by-the-by)

 

I would appreciate it if you could look over MY match and give me your feedback on where you felt I fell down.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I don't know how helpful my insight will be or if you would even value it but here are my impressions as to why it probably didn't win:

 

-Your match was less explict than mine.

 

-There was little characterization or emotion.

 

-For the leg work being such a key to the story, there was no real focus on Toxxic's part to emphasize it. When Williams first takes over with the Mule Kick, I was left asking,"why is his leg hurt...those Dropkicks a few paragraphs ago?"

 

-Not enough dynamics to make things intersting. There's a hint of power/speed but the focus is more on "injuries" which isn't enough on it's own to be a story.

 

-No heel/face roles, face/face roles. How is this match suppose to help turn Toxxic face? A hand shake after kicking a guy's ass? Jumbo used to do that shit for heel heat, it's simply not enough on it's own to make someone loved.

 

This is one of the reasons I decided to go with the chair spot. It helped to bring out Toxxic's morals and standards, something that's likeable about him. His decision not to use the chair when he could get away with it is a reason to like him. Sure, he didn't have to even go for the chair but that doesn't help clarify anything.

[King Cucaracha 0]

No heel/face roles, face/face roles.

 

That's the one thing I really suffered with when writing the Slay Ride match. A lot of stuff got left on the proverbial cutting room floor, because I thought it was either too heelish for Toxxic or too 'nice' in context of the match and the feud.

[Toxxic 0]

I suppose the main point of the handshake is that the old Toxxic would have spat on you after kicking your roided-up arse.

 

Yes, I have come to realise that goody-two-shoes heel Toxxic is a bitch to write if you're looking for any sort of heel/face dynamic. He can get heel heat from just being damn better than you without even having to cheat, but I recognise that it can be a bit tricky at times. I suppose he's just 'there' really. I never even intended him to be a heel, he was always going to be face. But that kind of didn't work out...

 

One thing I thought of the other day is that the programme I'm in with Pretz (and yes, it is a programme) is going to be good for turning him face. Toxxic's charismatic and has high-flying, flashy offence that can pop the crowd; meanwhile, he's going up against a supercilious (and Canadian) arsehole who deliberately slows his matches to a crawl to annoy the fans.