cappyboy

Exactly. The foundation has been laid with their hardcore base. Now we're getting to the point where it needs to be laid with the folks who will build upon that foundation. Guys like Page and Omega will get their chance. But before that can happen, the belt has to have some prestige. It has to have guys who have names to have fought over it so that when a Page or Omega takes it, their victory is more impressive. AEW's not about "oh let's put the belt on this guy because he needs it." They want to be above such garbage thinking. They want to be more sport like and have their champion be seen as the best at that moment in time. To have that, it has to be the title Jericho held, that Rhodes held, that insert brand name here held to start off with. Then once that prestige has been established, the guys whose names have been getting built can take over. The Pages and the Omegas and guys we hardcore fans already love but the greater audience has to learn. Heck, I'd rather see the Hangman win AEW's answer to the U.S. or Intercontinental title before he gets to World anyway. Build up his resume more with some accolades that are more visible to the TV fan than what he's had so far. That way when he gets to World, hopefully early in the upcoming decade, it will be harder to dispute.

Gotta disagree here. The problem is you're thinking like someone whose been there since Day 1 and that's fine. But when TV comes in October, the company's gonna starting picking up people who currently have no idea there even is such a thing as an AEW. Who will have just learned there is a company with the debut of TV and the word of mouth of those fans will be critical to the company's outlook. Unless they watch RoH, most of those folks won't know Adam Page. They may very well not know Kenny Omega. They know Chris Jericho and whether they'd hold the "out of shape part timer" thing against him out not is a toss-up. Up to now, AEW's essentially been preaching to the choir and there's nothing wrong with that. Gotta build the foundation after all. However, the choir alone will not determine their future in a positive way. It's the fans who discover AEW over the course of the year's last quarter that will do that. So be careful with the pronouncements. The proof of the pudding is in the eating and a lot of future AEW fans have yet to have their first taste.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="RatedRKO16" data-cite="RatedRKO16" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46105" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Were there any good features anyone suggested that didn't make the cut? Blading would have been a cool feature. I would have seen that like the "sick bump" with maybe a less chance of injury.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> The one that comes to mind to me is the pre-booking calendar. Which is a shame as that would have been an insta-buy for me. Looks like this may be another game in the series that's tricky to play because story structure has to be tracked via third party program or not at all.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="RingRider" data-cite="RingRider" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43724" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Some stalwarts for me have been:<p> </p><p> </p><p> Sozen Ishimori (sp? I don't have the game in front of me...he's a big fatty who can work in US...I have face paint alt for him I use and rechristen him "The Great Kabuki")</p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Actually, I preferred Ishinomori before he chunked up. Used to have him and Haruhiro Tsumemasa as a warrior monk and his celebrity protege tag team called The Firmament. Since he shrunk and got fat, I've found the guy a lot less compelling. BTW, where is Tsumemasa in this thread? Dude always struck me as a prime candidate to be somebody's resident ice man or Stone Pitbull type.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="EBEZA" data-cite="EBEZA" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46105" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Slightly off-thread-topic, but when you say e-Fed, do you mean one of the exclusively promo-based ones, or one where you actually play matches, such as on WWE 2K?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Mostly promo-based but where one could send in "strats" that gave notes on spots you might like to see included, mental state of the character, etc to aid the match writer along. Have both played characters and been match writer. At times both in the same fed at once.. Those fedding experiences were part of what made booking sims like Promotion Wars and TEW catch my eye in the early days of me playing them.</p>

My thought would be The Lunar Sisters based on Ember's last name and Bayley having been Wrestling's Little Sister. Or if you wanted a repackage maybe make Bayley a hippie/Shirley The Loon type for a second way to make name work.

As one who was nervous about the radical nature of the gimmick overhaul, I am loving today's post. The way Adam has done things he's kept the best of the old system and crafted something new and so much better around it. When I've done my Cappy Packs in the past, I may have been comfortable creating new storylines and the custom angles to go with them but gimmicks were a whole other story. That put the fear of God in me because of trying to figure out how to figure out risk and subtlety. For example, I used to run this e-fed character named Darby Sharpe who for complex backstory reasons spoke in WW2 slang but was otherwise your basic old school face. Using the old gimmick system I never did get a version of Darby's shtick I was comfortable with. My attempts always felt like "guy who just says Jackson a lot" and I could never decide just how subtle it was. Like was a A- subtle, straight A, A star. Now I give Darby the correct basis, mark him wildly creative and safe to reflect the fact he's an old school face with a unique quirk and he can live or be imitated in the C-Verse the way he should be. The talk I've heard about being fiddly because of having a large gimmick file and all these gradations of the same gimmick never really felt relevant to me. One had the option before to search only for gimmicks that fit the character and to further parse the list out by gimmick category. So that overwhelm always felt hard to relate to. If that were the best thing coming out of this redesign, I'd probably be seeing it as the misguided destruction of chained storylines all over again. The fact you can now better create narrow gimmicks like Darby's is what makes this overhaul sing and really should make it one of the most popular parts of the new game.

Maybe rebrand Sunburst as Toronado or something similar so they can be Storm Front

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="DatIsraeliGuy" data-cite="DatIsraeliGuy" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Still not over the fact Jericho will be the champion despite being older than Brock Lesnar.<p> </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Well, he certainly can't ACT any older or more out of place in wrestling than the days when he was he was trying to play the heel and the completely broken man whose spirit had been crushed at the same time. I can't imagine a version of Chris Jericho that could ever be worse than his scalded dog period. That was pure agony to watch.</p>

Christopher Daniels was floating around WCW at that time. Ditto AJ Styles. Mike Modest was well thought of at the time and getting undercard run in the company. Maybe Donovan Morgan. The ties to WCW aren't there as such but like Modest is a guy who was highly regarded at the time but didn't get the big time run that a Styles or Daniels did.

TLC, be glad you can ask that. The incident Frantic is describing sure makes me wish I still could. Watched the clip once and that was once more than I would ever have needed to have a happy and fulfilling life. Pretty much the same way most of Joey Ryan's antics make me wish I'd never seen him. But repellent as both performers are, they do both make the point that people do learn indy talent due to social media buzz.

Gotta disagree with you here. At least where the dumping on Matt Taven is. He represents what they need to do more of. Not less. I think and I will emphasize that verb THINK I get why he gets the doubt he does. The guy is rather a jack of all trades, master of none type in a realm where people like their champions to be master of something. But to the degree that Matt Taven perhaps is not the best champion, it really feels like "Who the heck else is there?" If Ring of Honor had a strong core at the top right now, it would be a lot easier to agree that yeah, Taven's just done badly at being world champ. But they've spent several years chasing shiny objects like Rush, like the Bullet Club and on back to names like Alberto El Patron, Samoa Joe and AJ Styles in 2015. Were Rush to win the RoH world title, that would be just another statement that RoH regulars just aren't worthy of holding their own company's gold. That perception can't be good for the company's health. Honestly, if I were booking RoH in TEW right now, I think I'd put the belt on (yick) Kenny King. Other than Taven as champ, King is the most Ring of Honor guy that's really in a position to be world champ. The Briscoes and Dalton Castle are in story states that suggest they are mentally unsuitable for world title gold at the moment however good their skills are. Jay Lethal sure isn't pushing hard enough to get the belt back to think he might. He's essentially in a creative no man's land at the moment. Marty Scurll's relationship with the company has too recently been up in the air and all the shiny objects would just continue the disrespect of the main roster. The worst part in these statements is that as a performer I like Rush. I loved his work in MLW and he's continued to be strong in RoH. So looking at him as a shiny object is rather frustrating. Yet I can't help it because of all that's happened in RoH the last four and half or so years. Conversely Kenny King rubs me the wrong way as a fan and has for a long time now. I may find him more credible now than I used to but I still find him incredibly annoying and off-putting. Yet I can't deny he has the resume and company history to not only be a suitable world champion but more distinctly an RoH champion than pretty much anybody else in logical contention. So I root for him in a corporate sense even though I despise watching him on a personal one. Ultimately, that would seem to be RoH's bigger problem than whether this guy or that guy is just bad at being champion. When you leave the fans in a position they can't even be fully sure what they want, how can you book in a way that is coherent and satisfying to them?

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Jaysin" data-cite="Jaysin" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26529" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Browns started pre season pretty well. Can’t wait to see Baker play with OBJ</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Hope Baker stays healthy though. Stanton and Gilbert looked like union-on-strike garbage.</p>

Question for the European gamers out there. Have seen some Tour de France games on PS Now when trying to decide what I want to play next. So I was wondering what y'all thought of these games and how they played. Are they management sims or are you riding the race yourself? Would they be worth the time for someone who doesn't really know the sport or particularly care to watch it? Been curious how such a game would work but haven't been able to talk myself into trying them yet. Should I look into changing that? I haven't done any sports games on Now since getting it in January so it owuld be something different at the very least.

Gotta disagree with you here that Stone Cold barely had a gimmick. Dude was very much playing the Rebel gimmick. Playing it so fully and laying it on so thick, that at the time I couldn't necessarily take him seriously. At times, watching Stone Cold reminded me of this old sitcom scene. I forget the show offhand but it dates back far enough you'd likely find it on Antenna TV or some similar network. Anyway it was a school show and one of the kids who was typically Mr. Nice Guy suddenly developed this Stone Cold style hardass attitude. The teacher he would normally love and respect asks him what he's rebelling against and the kid replies "What you got?" That to me was Stone Cold. He was so over the top bad boy, so ridiculously hardass he didn't even seem to know what he was rebelling against. He was just doing it for the sake of it so far as I could see. Now over the years, I grant you it's become less of a gimmick. The Stone Cold persona has become more an integral part of who Austin is and grown to be more organic. But when he first started being Stone Cold it was as gimmicky as all get out. Ultimately though this is the part that matters most for our purposes. And I'm right with you on this. Doing the new idea at the complete expense of the old system would seem to damaging to the game in the way dropping chained storylines was. Having some kind of balance would definitely seem best so as to allow the largest number of playstyles possible.

Like they did with The Tempura Boys. Where a lot of the New Japan workers have felt like shiny objects to distract us, those guys always felt like they were where they belonged? Were they still taking the spot of an undercard team that could still exist and be in the tag title race by now? Sure. But they squashed well as jobbers should and RoH management still managed to find fun little moments to use them in. I'm especially glad I got to see the six man match that put Dalton Castle & The Boys against Colt Cabana and The Tempura Boys. The symmetry of Boys on each side was quite fitting in a feud between a couple guys who aren't afraid to use silliness as a form of psychological warfare. And then for Cho and Yo to do so well, they returned to New Japan and got elevated into a stable. That felt well earned when I finally learned it. I love seeing jobbers grow and make good.

Find myself of two minds when it comes to this gimmick entry. On the one hand, I can't deny the gimmick section needed work. The stats weren't always clear for creating new gimmicks so I found I relied mostly on what others had come up with. And I'm sure they didn't always know what they were doing but it gave me a wider range of options. Not to mention that differentiating between 5 Old School Heels wasn't particularly easy unless you had an expansive gimmick file. Which I always maintained. And did happily for the most part. After all, one could screen out gimmicks that just didn't suit a worker. So clutter was only really an issue if you allowed it to be. Or at least that was always my perspective on the matter. On the other, it also kind of feels like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Kind of like getting rid of chained storylines was. The gimmick system may not have been perfect but as long as you weren't creating from scratch it did eliminate some overthinking. Seeing as it boiled down a side of the game people could get lost in otherwise. You found what type of gimmick the guy excelled in, found one you liked in that category and you rolled with it. With the new system, I can see people trying so hard to craft the perfect gimmick they forget to play the actual game. And as someone else mentioned, pity the poor mod makers trying to figure out what everybody's gimmick is in a character pool of multiple thousands. The way I understand this new gimmick system, it seems like it should stand alongside the current gimmick system. Or even better be part of a higher skill level. That way those who want the challenge of crafting everyone's gimmick can do so. While those it might drive to overthought and distraction could set it aside and not be troubled by it.

I can certainly see how that would get grating. That said, I really like the most recent GEICO ad the camel appears in. That one with the lady who won the contest to be in the ad. I love her interaction with the other GEICO mascots and them grumbling about the camel getting a trailer to himself. When let's just be fair. How would there be room for anybody else in a trailer if they were sharing it with the camel? Great play with showbiz stereotypes there and far more character than you'd expect in a "Hi. I'm the random lady who won the contest" based commercial.

i know I've been kind of harping on the pre-booking calendar thing. Perhaps even to the point of it appearing that's the only feature I care about. But do I ever like the expansion of talent trading in today's entry. The talent swap in particular would be big for me. The way I play my training games is that I want to get guys to the point they no longer need me. So let's say I've made a guy like Weird Waldo Odlaw presentable enough he's getting strong enough offers from the outside world that he's giving them priority over me. That means he no longer needs my job in order to have one. I could then offer Waldo up to a PSW for Tank Bradley who would be a bit of a reclamation project due to all the ill-will Pittsburgh has for him. Allowing them to dump a guy the crowd hates and enabling me to not have to beat the bushes in order to fill the open main event spot. That could be potentially huge for all involved.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46861" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> </p><p> The second is another automatic mute. It is the, State Farm Don't mess with my discount commercial. I am not sure why I hate that commercial so much but I just do. Maybe it is because that woman in the commercial gives me a, "Let me speak to your manager", vibe. She may not have the "Let me speak to your manager" haircut, but she does give off the vibe.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Right. That's Kim. The psycho arsonist who burned down Cheryl's she shed. And I tell you I'm not about to go near her or her discount if I can help it. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26106" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> </p><p> But I am not sure there are many credible teams to hold the titles. GOD is one of them (Plus GOD has an awesome look to them). As you said though, they should be using the Briscoes' to build up younger talent.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Yeah. The Guerrillas of Destiny being anywhere near the RoH tag belts is a sore spot for me. Nothing against the guys themselves but it just strikes me as another case of RoH leo hunting at the expense of their own people. Having a world class team at the top is all well and good. But your Best Friends, Motor City Machine Guns and Young Bucks are ultimately luxury items. You gotta build your own teams for when those guys aren't available.</p><p> </p><p> Could I see teams like Coast To Coast, The Bouncers or TK & Vinnie being RoH tag team champions? Sure. And while I've been wanting to see them with gold for a long time, the problem for RoH is that it's not gold that belongs to them. The titles I've been wanting to see those guys win belongs to OVW. I have no interest in seeing Coast to Coast face The Briscoes. I'd rather have seen them against The Bad Boys Club. Bouncers/Briscoes? No thanks. I wish I could have seen them against The Bro Godz or Entourage 2.0. TK & Vinnie vs the GOD? Forget it. Put them up against King's Ransom. That would be more fun.</p><p> </p><p> Oh and Coast to Coast, I wish they'd split that team up and send Shaheem solo or maybe partner him with Shane Taylor. I get "Leon St. Giovanni" is hardly the best wrestling name in the world. But calling the guy by his initials has always set my teeth on edge. His initials are one letter away from a drug reference. And I came of age in a circle where that would have been enough for my friends' parents to not want their kids knowing the man even existed. If anybody in wrestling desparately needs a repackage, it's LSG. As long as he's "LSG", I want Coast To Coast nowhere near the RoH tag titles. I don't want champs where one guy's ring name is that irritating.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26106" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Also, the heavy reliance on New Japan guys has ended up hurting them as well. Mainly because (I believe Cappy made this point prior), it came at the expense of building up new younger workers.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I've made it a lot. And not just because I saw the problems it would create for the company. But the issue has also been a very selfish one for me. One of my favorite parts of watching the indies is seeing guys when. I like being able to tell ECW fans I saw their core superstars as rookies in ICW Savoldi. Seeing an Adam Cole grow from undercard tag guy to world champ. Matt Taven go from newbie beefing with Mike Mondo to Top Prospect winner to leader of The Kingdom. Adam Page go from random jobber to Decade whipping boy to growing into the Hangman. For RoH to be so neglectful of the zero to hero arc over the last few years frustrates one of my fondest fan wishes. The chance to have been there with a guy from Day 1.</p>

Oh believe me I have. Suggested it myself. Posted my support every time someone else has suggested it. Referenced it in other threads where it might be relevant. I'm anything but new to this idea.

Yeah. Looks like I misread the end of today's post. Thought Adam was suggesting the announcement of new features was over.

So I guess no pre-booking calendar. Which means the messy list remains as is and therefore makes another game in the series a chore to play. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Oh I know. Those guys are so offputting. Really makes you not want to go there. The offshoot ads with the two women are so much better. More appealing personalities and the writing's not nearly as dumb. It's not that they are trying to sell you on the notion that buying toilet paper is a good idea. The thought is to sell you on being loyal to their brand over others because you like their ads best.