CQI13

So incredibly tired of superhuman Edge...

Fair enough on the Booker front. I know Mauro is still doing MMA and boxing, but maybe Trips can work his magic once Mauro's contract is up. If not, oh well - it was fun to listen to him during the black and gold era but we move on. (Not as if we haven't already, right?)

I only watch the events, but never had any issues with Jimmy Smith on commentary. Kevin (Egan) Patrick does MLS play-by-play, so I am sure he will do fine. (I know that one doesn't necessarily prepare you for the other, but he has some experience in the rest of the company...and I trust the current regime to know what they're doing). Makes sense to make the move now with the "season premieres" being this Friday and this coming Monday. Back to 2 man booths for both Raw and Smackdown (Patrick and Graves/Cole and Barrett respectively). Guessing Smackdown will have a temporary 3 man booth when McAfee gets back? Too bad Booker T is the new color commentator for NXT - never been a fan of his work in that regard, but maybe it will be better. Can we get Mauro back somehow? No hate on Vic Joseph, as he fits the WWE mold, but Mauro just made things sound special.

Who starts off as unemployed that would fit with Lilly and Rose to create a "Beautiful People" type stable? If you had to add a manager, who would it be? I normally have the male counterpart to the group as Model Behavior - Raphael, Ozzie Goldstein, and Prime Time Jack Pryde, but I already have plans to switch that stable up slightly. My goal is to have several stables comprised of 3 men and 1 woman, with one or two stables made up of 3 women and 1 man.

All valid points, and looking back on it I think it comes down to personal bias. The spear never looked believable to me for a guy his size so now that he is (and looks) older it stands out more. But your explanation holds true, I can definitely see what you are saying.

Don't the heels feel dumb now that they ran away from a 4 on 1 against someone who isn't looking to get physically involved. 😂

Much like Punk, Edge just looks...old. At least he looks infinitely better with the short hair than when he came back with the long hair. I'll enjoy it for what it is, but haven't been a fan for a while.

People will complain when he either becomes just Madcap or just Moss. I heard he was supposed to get new ring gear coming out of the feud with Corbin but Vince didn't like the options presented so they kept what he had. Which I guess is fine for now, but he looks a little generic until they give him some sort of character to build off.

I think John Cena's debut match would have worked really well in that title match - the heel champ underestimates her enough that she manages to make it a competitive match. But at least for now, the heel champ should keep the belt. Maybe now the heel champ puts her at the back of the line which gives you an opportunity to build the newbie.

I knew it was too soon for them to kick him out, but darn it if they didn't have me believing they were going to do it - AND feeling bad for Sami for it. Incredible storytelling.

Started at Tiny with a created fed owned by my user character (Robert Montgomery Sr). Classic balanced product so popularity and work rate grade closely - the women produce some high ratings. Most of my Main Event is old and decrepit (Caulfield, Doug Peak, The McWades, Savage Fury) but hoping to build some names along the way. Was just outside the range for two releases from the Big 3, but hopefully the one signing will help move me along to the next level.

Don't know them and never heard the song, but should it be pro cancel culture? Maybe if I knew the so g the comment wouldn't be going over my head. I saw the clip of the debut. It didn't move me one way or another, but agree that 4 heels should not be running away from her. Maybe it's the cool factor as mentioned previously, but I don't think she has enough of it. Say Awesome Kong in her prime came in that way? Maybe the 4 heels take their chances, but if I was one of them I might be thinking "nah, I'm good." Paige doesn't inspire that same reaction. Whatever Paige is doing now she looks infinitely better with the regular size lips.

Given that Shafir's was on Dark, people had to go out of their way to go look at it. Twitter is a race to the bottom. If it was no good, let it be no good for the smallest possible audience, or limit their ability to ad lib until they get good at it. It would probably mean someone would have to help Tony, and it doesn't seem like he enjoys that.

The more people involved to make a conspiracy work, the more easily it falls apart. I mean, was Russo purposely sabotaging WCW when he got hired? More easily than WWE and WCW working together. But even then, the more likely answer is that he works as someone who provides ideas that may or may not get used, and not so much as the guy who has final say on what ideas to use.

Those are all great suggestions. I will keep them handy when I book my shows.

Dang, well you sold me on it. I think there is enough there to go with it. And if you are married to one of the 3 ideas, take the liberty to edit the chemistry for the pairing in order to make the story work best. I have a question of my own, finally getting back to this after too long. Created Impact! Wrestling in the C-Verse. It's basically a lot of big names from the indies in a promotion owned by Robert Montgomery Sr. I want to ultimately build the company around his kids as they feud with the other stables (similar to the Von Erichs perhaps). At the top of the card I have Chris Caulfield, Texas Pete, Clark Alexander and Doug Peak. Some other big names, but also not the ones to build around would be Savage Fury and The McWades. The women bring in some very solid ratings, too. So my question is, what are some different types of debuts for the different popularity groups? If I get a solid midcarder USPW releases he will probably eclipse the top of my card, so I can have him do a staredown, a brawl, or attack someone. But if they are unknown in my region (Fuyuko Higa, or a rookie), I don't think it would carry much weight. So what are some good ways to debut folks that lack popularity? I am not a fan of expecting the audience to try to figure out who these people are, so my announcers can't just be all excited because someone is big in Japan but a complete unknown in the South East.

I don't mind it. In NXT we all knew it was coming and it was UE against the rival(s) at the time. If they used the old Survivor Series method on this War Games match I qod be all for it - revisit multiple feuds. For example: Drew, Riddle, Street Profits, Sheamus vs Kross, The Usos, Rollins, Gunther. Don't let it go past 1 match for the men and one for the women for the year and it won't wear out like Lockdown or HIAC (which should be retired or simply used sporadically).

On the topic of scripted promos, I feel like you should be able to get your voice across in the promo, adjusting it as needed. If you suck at them, learn to memorize! And if you want to have that freedom, get an acting coach/sign up with one of those agencies. Rock was already good to great, pre-Hollywood. Go watch his promos after he came back the first time. Dude elevated himself to another level. Do that, get your freedom. On the Bianca front, her character post the title win against Sasha was so annoying...you are supposed to the the EST, enough with getting all emotional and just being happy to be there.

The possible issue with the Stratton idea (which I happen to like) is that what is the endgame? Obviously with Waller or Hudson you can have them become jealous if he starts to overshadow them. If you have a good exit strategy for the Stratton pairing, I really think that would be a refreshing take. Maybe he ends up using her for her money, leading to some character development/gimmick change for her down the line?

Better than finishers not being finishers, which they do a lot of already. With Brock in, there was no way he wouldn't win, , and obviously they had to protect Lashley. Maybe have Riddle get the pin on Styles, and Rollins beat Riddle, but ultimately you get Brock destroying anyone still there. They had me almost believing Rollins could beat Reigns last month, but Reigns destroying Goldberg was the right move. Also, I would say they spend/waste 3 hours. The ROI on that weekly PPV on Mondays could be significantly better for it to be an investment. For the story they are telling most of the EC made sense to me. The one disappointment to me was the Viking Raiders, because they constantly shaft the tag division unless you act street tough or throw pancakes, so this was likely a one off. I won't know for another 6 weeks though.

Other than the Viking Raiders getting hosed, almost everything else was predictable so it made sense. Not sure it hurt anyone else in the EC, but the FT off the pod makes Austin Theory look like he's tough. He didn't do much against Brock (not should he have).

He is charismatic enough as a wrestler (not superb, not exceptional, but if used right he can do well). He is nowhere near charismatic enough to be a star in television. The Miz is infinitely better at it, and there's a ceiling to what he has done outside of the WWE. I don't see Cody and Brandi even sniffing that ceiling. How the tables turn though. Kind of surprised that he's being ousted (seems self inflicted, but still, one of the founders is out). Best of luck to him. Maybe he'll go to Impact or somewhere else and cross the Forbidden Door down the line. Would hardly garner a pop though, unless he's been gone sufficiently long.

Obviously the more the merrier, but I have a ideas for some of these already. Shooting for some time this weekend on some. Hopefully life doesn't get in the way.

Really digging that idea. I am adding that my list. Thanks!

Extreme Horsemen Lucha House Party Azteca Underground