CQI13

Do wrestlers now feel the need to hit every spot? Such a disappointment watching a match where they are fighting in the corner and they nearly slip on the way up…and they immediately go for the same move because it was a planned spot. There was even an interview with Moose about when he accidentally chopped Sabin on the throat, and Brian Myers was hanging upside down on the corner. Sabin goes to the back to get checked…and Myers stays in the corner the whole time. Bro, the spot is gone. Move on.

Regarding overloading fans with content, is 2 “annual” PPVs per month the limit? I have tried with one and I find the storytelling more difficult. If that is the case I can always revert to 1 per month after I have leeched off enough popularity from aging and retiring stars to people I want to push.

Darby gets to choose his partner and keep the belts? Or do we get a tournament?

Any particular events?

The promotional poster showing BOSSton as the city gave it away. It has popped ticket sales but what is the long term coherent story coming out of it? Remains to be seen.

The cynic in me thinks this is a way of insulating the film from criticism.

It may depend on who is participating and the level of upsets. But you could heavily protect the Major Stars or simply manually boost them back if it serves the purpose of the story you are trying to tell.

Anyone But You, a modern retelling of Much Ado About Nothing (by the same director of Easy A) was an empty calorie movie, filled with situations created to get pretty people in various states of undress. It was nothing special, but largely inoffensive quality-wise. If 90s-00s type RomComs are in your wheelhouse, give it a shot.

The winners of the Chamber matches made sense, but I am guessing a heel (Drew) shouldn’t get to “finish his story” unless Punk will just come and take it from him when he gets back. Given Punk’s injury history though I don’t know I want to put the belt on him as soon as he comes back. Also, is Waller a face now? The team with Theoryis done at the very least, right?

Was that a big announcement by Tony? That Will Ospreay will finally wrestle next week?

What’s going to happen if Cody wins the belt, and minutes later Damien Priest cashes in and the reign last as long as Dusty’s did? Also, with his reduced schedule is Reigns due to take time off after Mania?

If you post a list of names I might be able to come up with some.

I don’t think losing to the champ by interference is “jobbing” to anyone. Let’s not conflate the two terms. At least it wasn’t Drew, but maybe that’s what they’re building to on the other side. Not sure who is going to be in the Chamber yet - but hopefully there are some decent characters that can carry the belt. As entertaining as he is, I don’t see the appeal of Rollins in wacky outfits screaming and laughing. But I will find other things on the show to enjoy.

Ha! I knew about the press conference. Didn’t know about Punk. Ring on the discussion panel. That is hilarious!

I get that’s probably a reference to Tony fearing for his life. But maybe I am missing the relevance - Cody vs Rock?

I don’t know that he knows any more than we do. But if we are to believe that is true, there is something I heard a while back that holds true: whenever some news leaks, ask yourself “who benefits from this information leaking?” And when you answer that, you have your answer as to the source. Wrestling fans are a nutty bunch - myself included. But the internet is a different animal. The negativity could be largely coming from bots or whatever, or have been started by them. I will vent my frustrations here, but don’t worry too much about it outside of it. If the story is not compelling, I will enjoy the rest of the show and have that match on in the background. If it’s this, I would see Cody vs Rock at Summerslam and then Vs Roman hopefully by Survivor Series. I am all for long term stories but the Bloodlines isn’t big enough to warrant Cody taking 7 more months after Summerslam to get to Roman again.0

And while you make sense 100%, I don’t have to like it. 🙃 The only thing is they cannot keep talking about “finishing the story” that whole time, not when it looks like Cody willingly chose to not finish his story. Stop with the term until Cody builds up steam in the next Rumble.

Option 1 is what I would go with. At Elimination Chamber you have Bloodline assist Roman - to make people think that The Rock will win. At Mania, Cody is about to win (just like the one before) and the Bloodline comes out to interfere, and The Rock comes out and makes sure they can't interfere. You can then have that shot of Reigns on his knees looking around confused waiting for the help to arrive, The Rock yelling and pointing at him, and then Cody hits a finisher or two. The following Monday (or you can wait until Friday if you want the storyline to be Smackdown exclusive), Roman is livid. You could even have them ready to attack Rock's daughter, and when The Rock comes out to save her, she turns and joins The Bloodline. Then, you have him get a severe enough beating where the next time he comes out is in the build up to Summer Slam. Of course, TKO would then have to put out a message saying that The Rock was not actually badly beaten because most investors would probably believe it's true. Then again, I had thoughts on how Reigns could lose the belt ever since he won both but before he unified them.

If the plan is for Cody to win at 41, then they need to stop talking about finishing the story. It lacks any semblance of heat at that point, like Drew crying about not winning in front of fans. We all know Roman is winning this, so it’s easy to skip. And if he doesn’t win, you just took a dump on the roster who couldn’t beat Roman for 3 years.

Who knows if the TV show was ever really in play, but NWA will get a show on the CW App and website. Wonder if it will always be available, or if it's going to be one of those things where the shows will be available for a month. First show is next Tuesday (February 6th) with 3 title matches - EC3 vs Matt Cardona being the main event.

So was the tricep injury a freak accident? Certainly didn’t seem like a botch. But I guess either way it probably affected what he could do at the end of the match. Credit to them though - it all looked like it was part of the story they were trying to tell.

Cliff Anderson died in my game in the first few weeks, Pistol Pete Hall took over CZCW and Ash Campbell got the book. Have yet to see anyone leave CZCW but they have hired a few people. Tommy Cornell is coming back to the USA with USPW.

I have no experience with SWF, but I think the key to any title (not just another main event one) is making it feel unique. Something that a “belt collector” would have a reason to go after - if he meets the criteria - or at least have a reason to not ignore. Do you have a lot of brawlers? Do you have a lot of guys that might fit a style and one that kind of bucks the trend? For example, let’s say you have a Hardcore/Brawler/Brass Knuckles title. You would have a large enough division for it. Is there a character that is anti-hardcore that might want to bring prestige to the division? Bonus points if you make it someone who will still use underhanded hardcore tactics despite speaking out against them. Or you can use it to show who the top dog is in that division. Another option is to have it defended against “local” talent. Not the people you bring in, but against people on your roster that are based in different areas of the country. Maybe you have increasingly difficult defenses and after X amount they can go after the World title. But make it something difficult so that you can really build someone up by doing it. Maybe someone keeps getting screwed about of their title match. So they use this as a way to finally be able to get it. Might be helpful to see who the belt is meant for to come up with some specific ideas.

It’s funny because a lot of what you say I have said about workers other people have enjoyed (not getting Bray’s appeal, Edge being presented as a legitimate threat when he looks like anything but) - I guess it’s just a matter of perception or personal taste. Kofi has had a few botches on his Rumble elimination saves before - I don’t remember the last time they made a big deal about his save spot. One of the girls in NXT did it at their show prior to the Rumble in their battle royal. And while I enjoy Kofi, I can’t take him seriously as a champ - not with the pancake throwing, unicorns, etc. Cool for the kids and to move merch but not as a top guy spot. Again, personal taste.

Guessing Punk finds a way to cost McIntyre the match at the Elimination Chamber? Drew just doesn't do it for me as champ. Maybe he'd grow on me, but this whole "I couldn't win it in front of fans" just never resonated with me.