Erock

Thank you! Love your avatar btw - haven't played Eternal in a minute but I've logged probably triple digit hours. TFC was a good shout, and I think a few people have used a similar format. I'm reading back through Heart and Soul right now, forgot how much I loved that diary. Thank you both for the input. I think I'll likely stick with photos for a few key matches/segments and just try to feel out when it's right. Between the time it takes and the clutter it can cause it'll take a bit of effort.

The Mid Atlantic Boot Camp Mean Jean put a hand on Rip’s shoulder, “Fresh faces, huh?” “A few.” Rip looked out at the wrestlers sparring. He knew that spreading the word about MAW and it’s wrestlers would also mean more of them getting poached and quicker, so it was important to stock the locker room. Because of that, he’d started doing something MAW had once sworn off — calling in names from elsewhere. It started with Ant-Man. The kid wasn’t impressive looking, but he had some go in him. He’d introduced himself with his ring name and Rip could respect living the gimmick. He was shorter than Rip and just about everyone else in the lockerroom, but as Rip watched him bodyslam his coworkers Chord knew he had something. They needed some administrative help, too, so Jean had suggested picking up Chad Brent. He was young and from New York (not one of Rip’s favorite places) but he had a passion for the business. Apparently he’d been sending Jean emails for the better part of a year trying to get booked. Jay Fair had a bit too much to do at the Invitational, so it was time for another zebra. Finally, Rip had called in a pair of PSW youngins. One of them was an old dojo member and he’d been excellent in his time. Nelson Callum had a good look and could more than back it up. The other kid Rip hadn’t spent as much time with, but his father had a name in the business. Ash Campbell wasn’t as impressive looking as Nemesis was. As a matter of fact, he was physically unimposing overall. But he had his dad’s charisma. All eyes were on him when he entered the room. Plus he was getting some tag experience with Matthew, and MAW was going to need someone for The Awesomeness to work with. Rip wanted to get to know him better, but it was going to have to wait. He had other business to attend to. He shuffled some papers, took a step up to the dojo trainees (in amongst the main roster), cleared his throat, and finally announced, “Alright, kids. You’ve all been putting the work in, but Jean and I been talking and decided it’s time for a pair of you to move up.” “Ooo, new recruits? Let’s go,” Matthew Keith exclaimed. He was like his dad in a lot of ways, Rip thought. “Yes, Matthew, new recruits.” Rip stared at one young man. “First, Melvin Greyjoy. I won’t lie to ya, Mel, your style took some work for me to get but you’ve been pulling it off. Plus, your promo work is starting to get there. It’s time for you to step out.” An always excitable Greyjoy said some slang Rip had only heard from Jay and reveled in congratulatory high-fives. “Next,” Rip stared down the other grad, “Matthew Deal.” Deal had been putting in some real work and built a solid technical style. But he was rough around the edges. Rip thought getting Deal on TV was the best thing for the kid — Deal was best primed for SWF in Rip’s estimation, and they would value camera experience highly. The other trainees weren’t going to be overly happy but — “What? A guy can’t even own his first name anymore?” Matthew Keith laughed a Keith laugh. Deal got hot, “I was born Matthew, you call me Matthew goddamnit.” Before Rip could react the two were in each other’s faces, trading barbs. Finally, Deal reached back for a hook and caught Keith with it. The slightly more veteran wrestler instantly hit back, but Greyjoy and Brandon Smith pulled the two apart. “Boys,” Rip was red in the face, “that doesn’t happen again. No one else is gonna put up with it, so neither will I.” The anger was only somewhat real. The fighting was unprofessional but, Rip figured, that’s what you get when you’ve got two natural heels in a room together.

Thank you both! Looks like 6 points for Lloyd and 7 for James - neck and neck lol. Not sure what I'll do with these yet. Maybe something bookie committed every few months? The Atlantic Connection is Riley McManus and Curtis Jenkins, didn't realize until after the show was booked that I'd doubled up on Riley. Hadn't checked in with either of them, but looks like 10 years hasn't done much. Riley's off in NYCW while Curtis is piloting his own indie in Britain. It's possible we'll be more acquainted but I don't think they're destined for too much more in this universe. Any tips on managing images/thoughts on how I've used them here? I felt like every segment was too much, and I'll probably keep it to stars and big segments in the future. But I feel like there must be a quicker way to format it then c+ving imgur links one by one.

Rip Chord Invitational V A paltry crowd of 157 people filtered into Stanley Hall ahead of the fifth annual Rip Chord Invitational. Backstage got a bit chaotic; Ernest Forthdyke-Hume was in Brett Starr’s face after Brett was needling him and American Patriot got the riot act from Demon Spite for skipping out on his tab. Just before the show, though, Riley McManus pulled everyone back together by pretending he’d broken one of the new cameras. The show then kicked off with a decent but unexciting match between Citizen X and Ricky Douglas. While Ernest Forthdyke-Hume was really playing it up on the outside, X and Douglas worked the crowd in. The match ended with a nice sequence leading to a Flaming Anarchy. (25) Brett Starr then came to the ring with a microphone in hand, doing some crowd work. The few in the Hall were fully warmed up for Brett’s mystery opponent — Matthew Keith! Starr threw the mic nervously, while Keith came out attacking. The two started off brawling, but worked into a more technical match. Keith got the better of the catch-as-catch-can, ending the match by getting Starr in the Proton Lock. (31) Ribster Riley McManus was out next, followed by a troubled looking Cameron Vessey. The trouble left as soon as the bell rang, though, and Vessey got much more offense in. The wrestling wasn’t technical, but Vessey had the crowd eating out of his palm. When he grabbed for the Vessey Driver II, a “you suck” chant broke out. (28) Vessey stuck around for Casey Valentine’s match against Max Mayhem, which involved a lot of jaw jacking. Mayhem’s wild offense had Casey on the backfoot early, but Valentine caught a second wind and finished Max with a Deep Impact. (24) The tournament then continued with Matthew Keith and Citizen X. The pair had great back and forth in the ring, but the crowd were much hotter for Keith than for X. With X playing the de facto heel, the two made some solid audibles before Keith once again grabbed a Proton Lock for the win. (34) Casey Valentine and Cameron Vessey were out next and the crowd was excited to see the tag partners being forced to fight it out. Vessey came down with a microphone, playing up how much it would hurt. Valentine came out silently, meeting Cameron in the ring. The bell rang, they shook hands, and Valentine… layed down and let Vessey pin him. Vessey helped Valentine up to the tune of an irate crowd. (41) The Atlantic Connection entered to a still angry crowd, which continued into The Awesomeness’ entrance. Their title bout was action packed and face paced, much needed to bring people back to the show. When the crowd was finally fully wrapped up in it, The Awesomeness hit a sudden Shock and Awe and Huey Cannonball snatched the win to retain. (25) Finally, the stage was set for a now white-hot match. Matthew Keith entered to vigorous applause while Vessey was met with pure hatred. The two let the tension simmer for a minute, before going into a brutal series of holds and suplexes. Both second-generation stars lived up to the family legacy, laying in some rough hits. The end began with Vessey rolling up Keith, who kicked out and slapped Vessey loud enough it echoed. Vessey threw a punch which Keith countered, then Matthew launched into some suplexes. Vessey nearly mounted the comeback because Keith was winded, but one wrong move was reversed into a third and final Proton Lock. (38) Rip Chord then came out with a microphone to congratulate Keith on the win. He said he was proud to see who Keith had become, having known him since he was born. A voice from backstage spat back, “You know who else you’ve known since birth? Me, Dad. You’ve known me. Yet for some reason, I didn’t get an invite. Why, because you like Matthew more than me? Because he didn’t have to deal with you when you were broken down? One day, you’re going to realize I’m the future of wrestling. Just hope it’s before I have to show you.” Rip and Jay then traded verbal blows, until Keith went to attack Jay. The weasel kid fell back and immediately left, crying, “This is an unsafe work environment.” (61) The night was capped off by an MAW mainstay: Mean Jean Cattley versus American Patriot for the belt. The two old school workers started off with a collar and elbow tie-up, but the strong youngster quickly took over. He got some great offense in, demonstrating impact moves that hadn’t been seen since the 80s. An unsuccessful pin attempt was nearly his downfall, though, as Cattley was able to lowblow American Patriot and takeover from there. He nearly got Patriot with a sleeper, but the power of the crowd woke the masked man. From there he powered out and moved into his finishing sequence, hitting the Inverted Piledriver to get the 3 count and retain his MAW title. (41) Fans who stuck around after got to witness Rip Chord’s promo class with some of the up and comers, all of whom were buzzing after a good start to the year. (Show Overall: 42) --- OOC: That's the first show down. It's still going to to take some time to really develop a style, both visually and prosaically. I know I want to stay punchy and minimal, but how minimal is going to take some work. I'm happy with this but already much happier with the February show.

Yeah, for reference Brett and Jay are both 19 here. Although that doesn’t make them much younger than most of the roster. Just about everyone is in their early to mid 20s.

Edge, Christian & Marty Jannetty [vs] New Generation X (Pac, Gunn & Kwik) Five Pack Challenge – Winner joins Light Heavyweight Title Match at Royal Rumble: Scotty Too Hotty | Crash Holly | Spike Dudley | Tajiri | Mr. Sexay No Disqualifications Match: 'Latino Heat' Eddie Guerrero [vs] 'The Bad Guy' Razor Ramon Hardcore Title Match: Hardcore Holly © w/ Crash & Molly [vs] Al Snow Rikishi [vs] Test Kane & The Rock [vs] Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit

Stanley Hall It wasn’t as glamorous as the crews he’d had before, but Rip had invested pretty heavily in the set up. “HD” was a thing now and he figured they should film in it. One of Jay’s friends had come in to handle the internet side of things. Rip told him not to promote too much, just get the shows up. Rip stared down the hard cam, showed the hand cams where he wanted them. He always liked how they did the cameras in Japan. No cuts, not much editing. They’d set up the backstage the same way. He went to the locker room and called out the boys. Rip started pointing at the hand cams, there’ll be a few here and a few there. Giving them the quick rundown at TV. Then he showed them the hard cam. “That, gentlemen, is where you eat and sleep. You’re gonna work the hard cam as much as you can. When you do your entrance, enter to the hard cam. When you do your finish, do it to the hard cam. And you —” he pointed, “when you celebrate your win tonight, celebrate to the hard cam. We’re writing a love letter, folks. Make sure the people can read it.” --- Rip Chord Invitational V Prediction Card Live from Stanley Hall. And Available On Demand On YouTube.com! Block A: Citizen X vs Ricky Douglas Hollywood Brett Starr vs A MYSTERY OPPONENT Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2 Block B: Cameron Vessey vs Riley McManus Casey Valentine vs Max Mayhem Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2 Winner of Block A vs Winner of Block B The Atlanic Connection vs The Awesomeness © for the MAW Tag Team Titles Mean Jean Cattley vs American Patriot © for the MAW Title Bonus Question: Who is the Mystery Opponent?

The Chord Abode Rip Chord was sat by his pool, flanked as usual by Mean Jean Cattley and Demon Spite. He was finishing the first iced tea of many and staring down a new meeting member — although a mainstay in the household. “Dad, I’m telling you we need to do it.” Jean countered, “What’s a 19-year-old know about what we need?” Spite added, “Come on, now. That 19-year-old is a second-generation superstar.” Rip took a final sip of iced tea, “You know what, kid? I think you’re right.” The other two veterans were floored. “Since when does Rip Chord say other people are right?” It still felt wrong to Rip, “I talked to Sam the other night. He agrees. MAW is hot with wrestling fans. We don’t need to promote, we don’t need to be huge. But if we want these kids to really get ready for the big time, they have to be on TV. I’m gonna have to put up some more money… and we’re gonna need to expand the roster a bit. But I’m not trying to make FCW midcarders. I’m trying to turn these kids into USPW champions. TCW champions. SWF champions. And you can’t have a world champ who can’t work TV.” Jay looked stunned, “You really want to do it?” Rip stared at his son, both proud and uncertain, “We’ll give it a shot. Just the events we have going now. Maybe more later. But we start with the Invitational.” “Speaking of,” a nonplussed Jean added, “who’s winning?” Spite smiled, “Well at least he’s the same as ever.”

Thank you all - kind of lumping these together to add on: 1) I love Dangerous Territory and just about everything James has done. I'm hoping to find my own style pretty quick here, but wanted to shout him out because of how much that diary changed the way I was going to approach diary writing. 2) This roster is crazy looking at where they've ended up now. I'm sure you'll recognize a few faces James, although they aren't all hits. I really should do a roster recap but might hold off a bit - these kids are meant to be unknowns. Still waffling on if I'll try to really grow MAW or keep it as a feeder league style promotion. Thank you - 2010 is great, and this MAW roster has some of my favorites. Indies are pretty stacked, too. Thank you very much! I've been catching up on your WWF 2001 - loving it so far! Now, 2 more backstage posts before we get to the wrestling.

The USPW Christmas Party, 2009 Sam Strong waltzed to a table surrounded by mostly empty chairs, his demeanor as intense as always but with a hint of somberness. “Brother, you been hanging around ol’ Jean too much.” Sam takes a seat across from the only other filled chair, leaning heavily forward. The whiskey on his breath, luckily, isn’t odorous from that far. Sam waved his arms around the conference room, bustling with USPW wrestlers, many shooting glances hopefully at the veterans. “You missing it, brother? The big time?” Sam sighed, “I miss it, too. But these kids love us, brother man. They love us and we gotta let them have their time.” The other sitter still didn’t reply, but Sam could have a conversation with a wall, “Come on now, brother. We could still go if we wanted to. Lift up a little bit. We could still go. But I invited you to come mingle, give these kids some of the magic. I can’t teach heel. What’s on your mind, brother?” Finally, Rip Chord looked up at Sam, “It’s not the feeling old, Sam.” He takes a quick glance at the open bar, “It can still be hard being around it, you know? But I’m staying clean brother, I’m staying clean.” Sam smiled, “I know you are, Rip. That takes some strength. You might steal my name.” Both laughed. “The thing is MAW,” Rip says, “That’s what’s on my mind.” “You gotta learn to put work down, brother.” “I know, I know. The wife says the same. But a couple of these kids came through me. I’m proud of ‘em. Real proud.” Rip looked at Alicia Strong, the young woman speaking just as charismatically as her father. “How’s it been working with your girl? God, I remember when she was knee high.” Sam also looked at her, pride in his eye, “Sam, it’s been great. Hardest thing I’ve ever done. But great. Jay working now?” “He is, he is. And he said something to me the other day that I can’t stop thinking about.” Rip breathed in. “I was telling him he could be a star anywhere he goes —” “Amen to that, brother, good-looking kid.” “But he tells me he doesn’t want to be a star anywhere else. Says he wants to be a star in MAW. Told me about something called YouToo or something like that. Tells me we should put our shows on there, like TV.” Sam nodded, “The suits here had the same idea, brother. It’s a good idea. TV’s better, but the internet keeps getting bigger. Someone showed me one of my old house show matches had a million views, brother. I still got it.” “Sure, Sam. And maybe someone else could do it. CZCW or someone. But not us. Jay’s upset I told him no.” “You’re always telling the kids no, Rip.” Sam rapped his knuckles on the table. “You gotta wise up, brother. You got a good thing going and the kids want to share it with the world. Let em.” “That’s not what MAW is. We’re a training center.” “You sell tickets, don’t ya?” Rip gritted his teeth, “Sure, but that’s just to pay for the ring.” “Brother, you sell tickets cause you know people wanna see what you’re putting on. I know you don’t wanna go big time, that’s fine. But let the kids get some fans why don’t ya?” “Sam, I’m not trying to make this company big.” “It don’t gotta be big, brother. I’m the booker man here. I pick who comes in. I picked up some of your boys. You know what would help? If someone knew who the hell they were outside of North Carolina.” Chord didn’t have an answer, so Sam kept on, “Get some video out there. Make the tape traders' job easier. Hell, I wouldn’t hate letting more than a single scout see what your kids are up to. People want to see you, brother.” “Sam, that’s just not what we’re meant to be.” “You got a company, Rip, what the hell else are you supposed to be?” Rip leaned back in his seat, “A love letter to wrestling.” “That’s real cute, brother. Real cute. But love ain't private. You didn’t get married in some backwoods gym.” Sam tried to maintain eye contact, but Rip looked away. He looked at the young wrestlers, all basking in TV time, “You really think we should open up?” “Brother, the world wants what you got. Let ‘em have it. You don’t gotta main event. Wrestling needs midcarders.” “I’ll think about it.” Sam stood up, “Think about it some other time. You’re at a Christmas party, brother. Come party.” Rip stood up, too, “I hate when you’re right.” --- OOC: Doesn't seem like the 2010 Cornellverse is suuuper popular on the Dynasty boards these days, but I've been on a bit of a nostalgia trip. If my profile is right, I joined these forums in 2011 at about 13 years old. (I'm hoping that's not a ToS break, but I was the type of kid who probably wouldn't have joined if it was.) Those were some tough years and walking back through my profile was a reminder of how important TEW and these boards were in getting through them. I never had the courage to start a diary as a teenager, and I haven't had both the time and desire simultaneously in my on and off playing and checking in since. Part of the appeal of the game back then was that I wanted to be a writer and TEW let me be. Now I am a writer by just about every metric. But the creative juices always need a pick me up, and that's when I come back. I still don't always feel courageous enough to start a diary. But I recently started rereading James Casey's "WCW: Dangerous Territory" (an influence I'm sure will remain very much on my sleeve) and thought maybe I should push through. This is half the diary I didn't write 10 years ago, and half a love letter to the game and the community.

The USPW Christmas Party, 2009 Sam Strong waltzed to a table surrounded by mostly empty chairs, his demeanor as intense as always but with a hint of somberness. “Brother, you been hanging around ol’ Jean too much.” Sam takes a seat across from the only other filled chair, leaning heavily forward. The whiskey on his breath, luckily, isn’t odorous from that far. Sam waved his arms around the conference room, bustling with USPW wrestlers, many shooting glances hopefully at the veterans. “You missing it, brother? The big time?” Sam sighed, “I miss it, too. But these kids love us, brother man. They love us and we gotta let them have their time.” The other sitter still didn’t reply, but Sam could have a conversation with a wall, “Come on now, brother. We could still go if we wanted to. Lift up a little bit. We could still go. But I invited you to come mingle, give these kids some of the magic. I can’t teach heel. What’s on your mind, brother?” Finally, Rip Chord looked up at Sam, “It’s not the feeling old, Sam.” He takes a quick glance at the open bar, “It can still be hard being around it, you know? But I’m staying clean brother, I’m staying clean.” Sam smiled, “I know you are, Rip. That takes some strength. You might steal my name.” Both laughed. “The thing is MAW,” Rip says, “That’s what’s on my mind.” “You gotta learn to put work down, brother.” “I know, I know. The wife says the same. But a couple of these kids came through me. I’m proud of ‘em. Real proud.” Rip looked at Alicia Strong, the young woman speaking just as charismatically as her father. “How’s it been working with your girl? God, I remember when she was knee high.” Sam also looked at her, pride in his eye, “Sam, it’s been great. Hardest thing I’ve ever done. But great. Jay working now?” “He is, he is. And he said something to me the other day that I can’t stop thinking about.” Rip breathed in. “I was telling him he could be a star anywhere he goes —” “Amen to that, brother, good-looking kid.” “But he tells me he doesn’t want to be a star anywhere else. Says he wants to be a star in MAW. Told me about something called YouToo or something like that. Tells me we should put our shows on there, like TV.” Sam nodded, “The suits here had the same idea, brother. It’s a good idea. TV’s better, but the internet keeps getting bigger. Someone showed me one of my old house show matches had a million views, brother. I still got it.” “Sure, Sam. And maybe someone else could do it. CZCW or someone. But not us. Jay’s upset I told him no.” “You’re always telling the kids no, Rip.” Sam rapped his knuckles on the table. “You gotta wise up, brother. You got a good thing going and the kids want to share it with the world. Let em.” “That’s not what MAW is. We’re a training center.” “You sell tickets, don’t ya?” Rip gritted his teeth, “Sure, but that’s just to pay for the ring.” “Brother, you sell tickets cause you know people wanna see what you’re putting on. I know you don’t wanna go big time, that’s fine. But let the kids get some fans why don’t ya?” “Sam, I’m not trying to make this company big.” “It don’t gotta be big, brother. I’m the booker man here. I pick who comes in. I picked up some of your boys. You know what would help? If someone knew who the hell they were outside of North Carolina.” Chord didn’t have an answer, so Sam kept on, “Get some video out there. Make the tape traders' job easier. Hell, I wouldn’t hate letting more than a single scout see what your kids are up to. People want to see you, brother.” “Sam, that’s just not what we’re meant to be.” “You got a company, Rip, what the hell else are you supposed to be?” Rip leaned back in his seat, “A love letter to wrestling.” “That’s real cute, brother. Real cute. But love ain't private. You didn’t get married in some backwoods gym.” Sam tried to maintain eye contact, but Rip looked away. He looked at the young wrestlers, all basking in TV time, “You really think we should open up?” “Brother, the world wants what you got. Let ‘em have it. You don’t gotta main event. Wrestling needs midcarders.” “I’ll think about it.” Sam stood up, “Think about it some other time. You’re at a Christmas party, brother. Come party.” Rip stood up, too, “I hate when you’re right.” --- OOC: Doesn't seem like the 2010 Cornellverse is suuuper popular on the Dynasty boards these days, but I've been on a bit of a nostalgia trip. If my profile is right, I joined these forums in 2011 at about 13 years old. (I'm hoping that's not a ToS break, but I was the type of kid who probably wouldn't have joined if it was.) Those were some tough years and walking back through my profile was a reminder of how important TEW and these boards were in getting through them. I never had the courage to start a diary as a teenager, and I haven't had both the time and desire simultaneously in my on and off playing and checking in since. Part of the appeal of the game back then was that I wanted to be a writer and TEW let me be. Now I am a writer by just about every metric. But the creative juices always need a pick me up, and that's when I come back. I still don't always feel courageous enough to start a diary. But I recently started rereading James Casey's "WCW: Dangerous Territory" (an influence I'm sure will remain very much on my sleeve) and thought maybe I should push through. This is half the diary I didn't write 10 years ago, and half a love letter to the game and the community.

I don't have any dynasty specific tips because I haven't written any in forever. Just tuning in as another person who writes for a living to say that anything you're writing is important to developing skills, and dynasties require a whole bevy of them. If you can write a good dynasty, there is absolutely value beyond these forums. EWR/TEW were how I found out you could write on the internet as a kid. And now I've written myself into a career path on the internet. TEW helps out with some of the business skills, too, lol.

"Zack Ryder was off his game tonight."

You have not mastered the art of promos until you can work 'What?'. Listen to a Vince promo, that's why I love what.

I always wondered who exactly HHH was holding down.