HRTVAndrew

<p>Got a fun problem to have.</p><p> </p><p> In my current CornellVerse game (just started my second year), I've got Ernest Youngman, Greg Gauge, and Kirk Jameson in a faction called The Uprising. The goal was to gradually get them over, and it's worked. They're all at about 60 popularity across the US.</p><p> </p><p> At some point this year, though, I'm probably going to want to split them up. Since they can all play faces, I'm thinking about turning one of them face to set up a triple threat match. My question: Which one do I turn? Here's some quick background.</p><p> </p><p> Youngman: Tremendous worker, time very much on his side (he's 23), decent talker. Bad news: No flashiness at all.</p><p> </p><p> Gauge: Very solid worker who can also work with lighter guys, decent talker, not quite as young as Youngman but still plenty of career left. Bad news: Everything he does well, Youngman probably does a hair better.</p><p> </p><p> Jameson: Narrowly the best babyface gimmick rating, can work a good match with pretty much everyone. Bad news: He's not much of a talker.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Poputt" data-cite="Poputt" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41191" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>An 18 minute time limit? What</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I put 20 minutes down, not allocating two minutes for entrances. I wanted a 20-minute draw and goofed; should've put 22 minutes for the total time. That's all!</p>

Smark Friendly Wrestling rolls on, and I've just started the money feud that will headline the next six in-game months of my save. In one corner, current SFW World Champion Eddie Peak, coming off a successful title defense against Guide in a dog collar match. In the other corner, Marat Khoklov, who demolished Sean McFly at Season's Greetings (the big December show) and has not lost since signing with SFW several months ago. This is going to be a LOT of fun to play out, and I'm really excited to do that. I've also just poached Joshua Taylor from TCW (boy, are THEY bleeding talent; on my roster alone, I've poached Peak, Taylor, Aaron Andrews, Guide, and Edd Stone!). It probably helped that I already had Tracy Brendon (his wife) on the roster. I've currently got him programmed with Aaron Andrews, and I envision him being a main-event mainstay since his ringwork fits my booking philosophy. I changed both the Cruiserweight and Women's titles at the big show. First, El Mitico, Jr., regained the first belt from Greg Gauge in a cage match. This capped off a storyline between Mitico and The Uprising (Gauge, Ernest Youngman, and Kirk Jameson), and right now, all four guys have popularity hovering around 60. All four will be big pieces going forward, and with some of my core guys getting up there in age, developing new guys that can carry the ball when asked is a big priority. Additionally, I pulled a bit of a shock in the women's ranks. I had Sara Marie York, who had not been pinned or made to submit in months, defend her title in a four-way match that also included Melody, Demelza Wade, and Nadia Snow. Wade pinned Snow in what I tried to represent as a plan between the two partners to ensure one won the title, and that finally caused York and Melody to join forces after the match (after bickering for weeks before it). I still plan on putting those two against one another at some point (maybe the big June show that'll also feature the Peak-Khoklov blow-off), but this was a fun story to run, so I did it. As far as new signings are concerned, I picked up Roderick Remus and put him in a tag team with Aldous Blackfriar, simply because there weren't many heel tag teams besides my current champs (Super Ninja and Silver Tiger). I approached Remus early in my game about a developmental deal, but he wasn't interested, so I waited until he developed a bit to sign him. Both are decent prospects, so it made sense. I also made a play for Angry Gilmore, but SOTBPW, which desperately needs top talent after Champagne Lover left for a year to film a movie, signed him to a ridiculous deal (something like $40k a month). Meanwhile, I called up Jack Avatar and Tanyu Toshusai from developmental. Tanyu didn't develop nearly as much as I'd hoped, but I've got a working agreement with PGHW, and he's very valuable in talent trades since he's got some popularity in Japan.

<p><a href="http://imgur.com/a/Glrw2" rel="external nofollow">http://imgur.com/a/Glrw2</a></p><p> </p><p> What's funny about this screen shot, you ask? That I wasted this match (my best of the year thus far) on a pre-show. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

<p>I'm now 10 months into my Smark Friendly Wrestling game, and I just completed my once-every-two months big event (in this case, SFW Reckless Abandon). Here are the big news items, title-wise.</p><p> </p><p> - Eddie Peak won the world title back from Aaron Andrews in a tables match</p><p> - Super Ninja and Silver Tiger (who have excellent chemistry) won the tag titles from Art Reed and Clark Alexander (also excellent chemistry, which is great since Alexander is deep in career decline and Reed is just starting to go that route)</p><p> - Sara Marie York retained the women's title over Tracy Brendon</p><p> - El Mitico, Jr., won the cruiserweight title over Greg Gauge in a 30-minute Iron Man match</p><p> </p><p> Marat Khoklov also dispatched Greg Black with ease in a fun 10-minute match. The next night on my flagship show, SFW Mayhem, he did so again, but Sean McFly (fresh off a talent trade with NOTBPW) ran out to stop the post-match beatdown. I've booked them for my next big show, Season's Greetings in December, and that should be a REALLY fun angle (if challenging to book since I can't trot McFly out every week).</p><p> </p><p> The obvious money angle is Peak/Khoklov, but I'm saving that for the next calendar year. Ideally, I'd want to run it six months until my biggest show in June. I've plugged Guide (fresh off a win over Frankie Perez at Reckless Abandon) into a main-event feud for the title to pass the time until then, and that should be cool since Guide can work a good match with anyone and is reasonably over.</p><p> </p><p> I've also got Aaron Andrews feuding with Edd Stone (who beat Bulldozer Brandon Smith at Reckless Abandon and has been on fire of late), Frankie Perez feuding with Smith, Gino Montero feuding with Eisasu Kunomasu, Buddy Garner feuding with new signee Duberry Excess, and Mitico feuding with The Uprising (a stable consisting of Gauge, Kirk Jameson, and Ernest Youngman).</p><p> </p><p> However, what I may be most excited about is the women's division. Sara Marie York is a beast, and has not had a single bad match since signing with me. She's been booked as a very strong champion in a division that also includes Suzanne Brazzle, Joanne Rodriguez, Demelza Wade, Nadia Snow, and recent push recipients Lauren Easter and Tracy Brendon. However, a new signee could threaten her top spot. That's Melody, who I poached from USPW (she was their women's champion at the time). Currently, I'm setting up a four-way match for the title at Season's Greetings, and that could be a spot for a title change to set up a lengthy program. Additionally, I've just come to an agreement with Missy Masterson, who adds some overness and depth in the face department. With all this talent, I tried to get a third weekly TV show strictly focusing on the women (in addition to Mayhem and Shockwave, my B-show), but only being "cult" means nobody wants to give me a third broadcast. Oh well, maybe I can get it when I grow.</p><p> </p><p> My developmental system is also producing talent. I recalled Aldous Blackfriar at the start of October, and I've been phasing him into the cruiserweight division. He's not a bad hand in the ring, and his acting/charisma skills both shot up to 80 during his time in developmental, so he's a darned good promo. I've also got a few guys who could be ready shortly. Landon Mallory is as blue-chip a prospect as one can get; he's up to 79 on the microphone, with decent wrestling skills and a 70 in psychology. He's probably coming up next month. Jack Avatar, Logan Wolfsbaine, Alina America, and Romi Yamato are also high on that list, and I'll probably call them up sooner rather than later.</p><p> </p><p> The best part: I'm traveling by plane all day tomorrow, which means I can go into serious "grind" mode and book a ton of shows. I love this game, and I love this particular save!</p>

Closing in on another once-every-two-months event at Smark Friendly Wrestling in the CornellVerse, and I'm still having a blast. I made several big signings, and some worked out MUCH better than others. The bad news first: Edd Stone and Greg Black will be short-lived as a tag team. The Black Diamonds have poor chemistry. Thankfully, their match at the big event is a four-way tag match that includes several teams with great chemistry (Super Ninja/Silver Tiger and Art Reed/Clark Alexander), plus two heels who are VERY over (Guide/Eisaku Kunomasu, the latter of whom signed a one-year contract after PGHW didn't re-sign him; he is still VERY useful despite being in time decline). However, several other new acquisitions are much more positive. The biggest is Marat Khoklov, who I'd been trying to sign for months. He kept saying we were too small, but he finally became open to negotiations in early-July, so I snagged him. I sort of shoehorned him into a midcard feud to start things out; he's tag-teaming with Bulldozer Brandon Smith against Gino and Luis Montero, and MUCH bigger things are on the horizon. He doesn't really fit the mold of what I usually look for with my workrate-first product, but he's had a few pretty solid matches so far, and his 100 Menace rating is a godsend for segments. I also snagged a diamond in the rough for very cheap. Spencer Spade's contract came up for renewal at RIPW, and once I saw he wasn't open to a developmental deal, I poached him for use on the main roster. He instantly became #1 on my "next big things" list, and I started him off in a standard "good-looking young babyfaces" tag team with Kip Keenan. I tested the "suggest a name" feature, and The Highlights came up, which I liked enough to go with. They're not over enough to justify a huge push yet, but at the very least, two young prospects now have something defined to do, which is a big plus. The main event of the big show is Eddie Peak-Aaron Andrews, with the SFW World Championship on the line. As I mentioned above, I've been using the younger guys to act as fodder for AA, and that's worked pretty well, as all three of them are now upper-midcarders. I'll also have Frankie Perez taking on Buddy Garner, the tag team match I mentioned above for the brand-new SFW Tag Team titles, Sara Marie York defending the Women's title against Lauren Phoenix (who's gotten a pretty big push as of late), and a few other matches to fill out the card. It's going to be fun!

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="HRTVAndrew" data-cite="HRTVAndrew" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41174" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I may, however, be most excited about something that hasn't even come together yet. I'm trying to sign Chance Fortune from TCW, since I could always use more midcard to upper-midcard faces. I've already got Greg Black, and I'm hoping to sign Fortune and put them together so I can employ one of my favorite tag team names: Bet On Black.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Never forget that I'm a jinx. Fortune re-upped with TCW for less money, so Bet On Black remains a tale of what could have been. <img alt=":(" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> On the plus side, I DID ink Edd Stone, opening up another tag team with Greg Black that I think could be fun. I'm calling them the Black Diamonds, because, you know, a diamond is a stone.</p><p> </p><p> I either really love this game or REALLY need a hobby.</p>

<p>I had a diary going for a federation called Smark Friendly Wrestling, but just didn't have the time to maintain it anymore, so updates here will have to do. Backstory: Buddy Garner returns to wrestling and starts up a workrate-oriented company. I'm to the end of June 2016, and I'm having a blast.</p><p> </p><p> TCW is having off-again, on-again financial issues, so I've poached a few big stars. In fact, the primary storyline for the rest of 2016 (or most of the rest of the year, at least) is Eddie Peak vs. Aaron Andrews. Additionally, I've positioned a stable of young guys (Ernest Youngman, Kirk Jameson, and Greg Gauge) as Andrews's lackies/fodder for Peak. That should help those three guys get some popularity, which is good since all three have serious potential.</p><p> </p><p> Additionally, Frankie Perez has probably become my #2 babyface. This was partly by accident; I signed Koshiro Ino to fill that void, but he tore his rotator cuff, is out eight months, and has been moved into the role of interim commissioner so he's got something to do. Perez has been having good-to-great matches with pretty much everyone, so he's gotten a significant push. In fact, he's feuding with Garner right now after Garner lost the World title to Peak at the most recent big show.</p><p> </p><p> I may, however, be most excited about something that hasn't even come together yet. I'm trying to sign Chance Fortune from TCW, since I could always use more midcard to upper-midcard faces. I've already got Greg Black, and I'm hoping to sign Fortune and put them together so I can employ one of my favorite tag team names: Bet On Black.</p>

http://imgur.com/a/f8ws2 So much for that family-friendly reputation!

<p>I just started a dynasty thread focused around Smark Friendly Wrestling, or SFW. The premise is that Buddy Garner, on the verge of retirement, has grown sick and tired of gimmicky, soap opera productions in wrestling and has started his own no-nonsense, hard-hitting promotion. We just had the thread's first major TV show, and I'm pretty happy with how things have gone so far.</p><p> </p><p> Link to the thread: <a href="http://greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=536621" rel="external nofollow">http://greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=536621</a></p>

OK, this needs to be documented. Eddie Peak came in and already moved the meter (my expected attendance went up nearly 1,000 people). His first TV show with us saw him tag-team with Greg Black against Buddy Garner and Bryan Holmes...and he broke his wrist, FIVE DAYS BEFORE OUR FIRST BIG EVENT AS A COMPANY. Thankfully, he'll be back in a few weeks, but I was going to find a way to move the title belt onto him, and now, that needs to be delayed.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="HRTVAndrew" data-cite="HRTVAndrew" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41174" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Picked up TEW again after a few months off due to burnout (I did about 18 months of an MAW dynasty thread in 2-3 real-life months, so I may have overdone it!). I decided to go with a scenario in the CornellVerse where Buddy Garner, fed up with the other promotions in the U.S., starts his own, with a heavy emphasis on hard-hitting, no-nonsense.<p> </p><p> I got pretty much everyone I wanted off the bat, with the exception of Nelson Callum, who signed with USPW. I just ran my first show, and it did pretty well. Frankie Perez and Bryan Holmes had a 78-rated match on the undercard, and Holmes, Garner, and Greg Black had a 70-rated triple threat to close things out (Black became the company's first World Champion). Cruiserweight champ Greg Gauge started a feud with Gino Montero, Art Reed is feuding with Bulldozer Brandon Smith, and I've got a pretty strong women's division as well.</p><p> </p><p> I'm not sure how long this'll go for, or what the promotion's ceiling is. Having said that, I'm having fun so far.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Some updates here as the game moves into March 2016. My champions remain unchanged (additionally, Sara Marie York is my women's champion and cranking out one solid match after another), but I've been able to do some more fun stuff elsewhere that's worth noting.</p><p> </p><p> TCW is beginning to have financial issues, and in the coup of the game to this point, I signed Eddie Peak, who will debut just before my first big show coming up later this month. Considering my main eventers range from 40-50 in popularity, getting a guy with 70's across the board who can work is a godsend for me. I'm currently undecided about how to begin his push, because my current World Champ, Greg Black, is cranking out some of the best matches in my company on a weekly basis. He's one of the few top-line faces I have, and Peak can work face or heel with no problems. It's an interesting dilemma, especially since I don't want to neuter Black's push while launching Peak as my figurehead.</p><p> </p><p> I've also signed a few other guys of note, namely Harry Allen and Clark Alexander. Alexander is on the decline, but he came cheap and I can use him as a gatekeeper face easily enough. Allen, meanwhile, is pretty over and can be carried to good matches. There were a few guys I missed out on, namely Ross Henry, who USPW immediately inked for more money than I'm paying Peak, an established veteran! Hopefully, I'll be able to poach some more TCW talent as the company keeps declining; in the few CornellVerse games I've played, it's been common to see them struggle.</p><p> </p><p> I've also started a developmental company. Nothing huge, just enough to hire some young guys and see how they develop. Some of them could probably contribute immediately, but I don't have an immediate need for them to do so, so off to developmental they go.</p>

Picked up TEW again after a few months off due to burnout (I did about 18 months of an MAW dynasty thread in 2-3 real-life months, so I may have overdone it!). I decided to go with a scenario in the CornellVerse where Buddy Garner, fed up with the other promotions in the U.S., starts his own, with a heavy emphasis on hard-hitting, no-nonsense. I got pretty much everyone I wanted off the bat, with the exception of Nelson Callum, who signed with USPW. I just ran my first show, and it did pretty well. Frankie Perez and Bryan Holmes had a 78-rated match on the undercard, and Holmes, Garner, and Greg Black had a 70-rated triple threat to close things out (Black became the company's first World Champion). Cruiserweight champ Greg Gauge started a feud with Gino Montero, Art Reed is feuding with Bulldozer Brandon Smith, and I've got a pretty strong women's division as well. I'm not sure how long this'll go for, or what the promotion's ceiling is. Having said that, I'm having fun so far.

<p>What the heck did Mike Tenay do to deserve this?!?!</p><p> </p><p> <a href="http://imgur.com/a/kD15x" rel="external nofollow">http://imgur.com/a/kD15x</a></p>

<p>Just some stuff I've found in running MAW.</p><p> </p><p> - Bulldozer Brandon Smith may not be affordable for a little while, but sign him when you can. He's as well-rounded as any indy-level big guy in the game, and he can have a good match with absolutely anybody while working either face or heel. Entertainment-wise, he's good on the microphone, and his 76 Menace rating is a big plus, too.</p><p> </p><p> - In my game, TCW had major money problems. As such, they let Edd Stone walk, Killer Shark outright walked out, and both Brent Hill and Darryl Devine were re-signed to open contracts, not written ones. These guys aren't cheap, but if they come available, they're all big-time guys. Stone stayed with me for a year until CGC grabbed him, while the other three are main-eventers (Devine is probably my top babyface).</p><p> </p><p> - Lisa Bowen is a sneaky good manager who's run a midcard to upper-midcard stable in my game. Her presence makes for some solid segments, and in my game, she and Ozzie Golden have good chemistry, which makes him even more useful.</p>

That happened to me in a TEW 13 game. I put in a $35k/month bid for The Ultimate Warrior in 1995 as WWF, and WCW ultimately bid themselves up to $52k/month with ridiculous extras tacked on. I laughed HARD.

Did they hire one of the Operation Lullaby agents?

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="LoganRodzen" data-cite="LoganRodzen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41174" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Restarted a CV2005 game using the updated data as MAW. First two shows, Rip Chord lends psychology pointers to Antonio. He jumped from 42 to 45 and 45 to 48 after each backstage incident. I don't think I noticed this before now. Awesome!</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Had the same thing happen twice in my game so far with Brent Hill tutoring Jack Avatar. It happened once with working as a heel and once with psychology; it's a nice little boost!</p>

Well, I jinxed the daylights out of that one, as Edd Stone is now leaving MAW for CGC. I still plan to keep Dan on board, as Sam Keith's contract is coming up for renewal and he has no intentions to stay on board. Dan will likely fill the role of my main road agent/on-screen authority figure/trainer at the Mid Atlantic dojo. As a retired wrestler, he's no longer GREAT in the ring, but he can do OK if he absolutely has to. On the plus side, I'm not hurting for top-quality faces. Ross Henry is a star, Darryl Devine has become my best in-ring performer, and poaching Bulldozer Brandon Smith was a great move, as he's got promo skills and can work with pretty much anyone, from brawlers to technicians. Logan Wolfsbaine is approaching a year-long reign with the American title, and it may be time to take it off of him, as he's approaching upper-midcard status (41 popularity in the Mid-Atlantic). The question is, what do I do with him after that? Do I turn him heel? Do I find an upper-midcard gatekeeper heel to put him over? The wheels are turning here.

<p>Just for fun, I started an NYCW game last night with Steve Flash as my avatar, and for the first time ever, I rage-quit.</p><p> </p><p> Let me explain. USPW, naturally, poached Roger Cage. That's expected, and thankfully, I was able to have him drop the title to Honest Frank at the first NYCW show (since his USPW contract started the very next day). Fine and dandy, except Honest Frank was #2 on the "time decline" list at the start of the game behind my user character.</p><p> </p><p> As such, I had Frank beat Cage, only for Bulldozer Brandon Smith to challenge him after that match and beat him for the belt, thus launching a new storyline where, ultimately, Frank would put Smith over in the end. Additionally, I brought in my usual suspects in terms of independent talent. Namely, Ernest Youngman, El Mitico, Kip Keenan, Raphael, and Logan Wolfsbaine all showed up.</p><p> </p><p> I carded eight matches on the very first show, and here's where the real kick to the gonads comes in. Of those eight matches, SIX suffered from a lack of chemistry. That included BOTH Empire title matches. The only exceptions were Steve Flash/Logan Wolfsbaine, which suffered from Flash's STEEP time decline (the screen said 11 years past his prime!), and The Ring Generals/The Boys from the Yukon, which was so-so and only THAT good because Statler and Waldorf are awesome. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

Figurehead question: One of my guys is getting the "has all the tools to be a successful figurehead but is overshadowed" message. Is that enough of a concern to NOT make him a figurehead?

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Liger!Liger!" data-cite="Liger!Liger!" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41174" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Wich size are you in?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I'm still small, but close to regional. Edd became available after walking out of TCW, which had tons of financial issues early on in my game. I was also able to sign a few other TCW guys because of that; when they re-upped, they did so with open deals, not written ones. I was stunned Stone was willing to work for me, so I snatched him up with an exclusive PPA deal.</p>

<p>I'm having a blast with MAW right now. Edd Stone is a MAJOR star in the Mid-Atlantic (83 popularity, 58 everywhere else in the U.S.), and I've put both the COTT and MAW titles on him. In a fun twist, I managed to lure Dan Stone, Jr., out of retirement, which is going to make for some REALLY fun segments down the road.</p><p> </p><p> Unfortunately, Ernest Youngman, who had been on a freaking TEAR, got snatched up by PGHW in Japan. Thankfully, I had enough notice to be able to run Stone/Youngman for the title, which was a 79-rated match that saw Stone retain. Talk about going out with a bang!</p><p> </p><p> I've also had some fun bolstering the tag team division. Jack Avatar and Kip Keenan are my current champions, but I've just signed Jackpot Jordan and Jake Idol from CZCW, as well as the Ring Generals from NYCW. Additionally, Ozzie Golden and George Wolfe and The Dynamite Express are fun heel teams to book. With all those combinations, the tag title scene is going to be really interesting.</p>

<p><a href="http://imgur.com/Ydm7JOy" rel="external nofollow">http://imgur.com/Ydm7JOy</a></p><p> </p><p> BUT THEY'RE PRACTICALLY THE SAME PERSON!!!!!!</p>

Pretty big stuff in my MAW game, but not necessarily to me. Jack Bruce got hurt and will be out for a year, but SWF rebounded by poaching Nicky Champion from USPW. TCW, meanwhile, has ping-ponged back and forth in status, and I wound up being able to sign some of the talent they let go (Edd Stone, Darryl Devine, Brent Hill, and Killer Shark). Stone was cut completely, Shark walked out, and Devine and Hill both signed open contracts. Given the dearth of talent in MAW (especially following the predictable poachings of Greg Gauge and Roderick Remus), that's been a godsend.