kingjames

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Jaysin" data-cite="Jaysin" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Hey guys, I have an idea.<p> </p><p> Let's all go see a movie we know is bad and boo and shout things at the screen!</p><p> </p><p> <img alt=":rolleyes:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/rolleyes.png.4b097f4fbbe99ce5bcd5efbc1b773ed6.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> Then again, the vast majority of wrestling fans continuously follow a product they no longer enjoy and crap on it instead of simply moving on.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I was watching ECW One Night Stand today, and I can't help but see a lot of the seeds of the show hijacking problem in the way those audiences interacted with the product. I mean, "The Mutants" were probably the first audiences to try to get their own catch phrases over, among other forerunners of the current wrestling audiences.</p>

<p>I feel like it's the immovable force of a crowd who want to hijack the shows and become more important than the performers, meeting the immoveable object of stubborn and out-of-touch booking on the part of WWE. Crowds are disrespectful, no doubt, but the unwillingness to shape booking based on organic crowd reactions inflames that problem.</p><p> </p><p> I mean, when Shockmaster fell flat on his glitter helmet, even WCW didn't try to keep pushing him as an unstoppable babyface. I suspect today's WWE would continue to plow ahead with the planned booking.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="steesh07" data-cite="steesh07" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Can anybody help me out? Been looking on and off for the past few months looking for a match from WCW. I had seen it on WCW Worldwide on Channel 5 in the UK back when it originally aired and it had a Hell in a Cell like tag match on it. I remember someone getting put through a table. Any help would be appreciated as its an earlier memory wrestling I have.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Oof, man, that could be a hard one. But to help narrow things down a bit, from what I'm seeing WCW WorldWide was broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK from July 1999 through WCW's closing in May 2001. The trick is, WCW WorldWide in the UK collected matches from Nitro, Thunder, and Saturday Night in the US that could be 5-6 weeks old - which is a different format than the WCW WorldWide syndicated in the US.</p><p> </p><p> So! If you really wanted to figure this out, you could review Nitro, Thunder, and Saturday Night results from about May 1999 through May 2001, looking for the match you're talking about? Do you remember any of the participants? Even one would help limit possibilities.</p>

<p></p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><span style="font-size:14px;">In a world...</span></p><p> </p><p> Where far too many people are faking the funk...</p><p> </p><p> A hero will rise...</p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:8px;">Admittedly, in New Zealand so you might not hear much about him...</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:8px;">But he's totally there, trust me on this one...</span></p><p> </p><p> And if you stand in his way...</p><p> </p><p> He's gonna <em>funk you up</em>.</p><p> </p><p> <span>http://i.imgur.com/6nQk40Q.jpg</span></p><div style="text-align:center;"></div><p></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size:14px;">K.P. Avatar </span><span style="font-size:14px;"><em>is</em></span><span style="font-size:14px;"> Doctor Funkenstein</span></p><p> in</p><p> <strong><span style="font-size:18px;">THE FUNK FROM DOWN UNDER</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> <span>http://i.imgur.com/jsvUOme.jpg</span></p><p> </p><p> Featuring!</p><p> </p><p> <strong>***All your favorite ZEN characters!***</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> <strong>***High-flying action!***</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>***Delicious baked goods!***</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>***A sweeping and dramatic overview of 19th Century agrarian proletarian resistance to encroaching industrialization!***</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>AND SO, SO MUCH MORE!!!</strong></p><p> </p><p> Make sure you buy your tickets for the Mothership Connection early, funkateers! You'll buy the whole seat <strong>BUT YOU'LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE</strong></p></div><p></p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Temes1066" data-cite="Temes1066" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41194" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I am working on a half-worked half-shoot promo,but I need some help.<p> </p><p> What would be a good insulting name for <strong>Allen Packer's USPW</strong>? (not <em>Sam Strong's USPW</em>)</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Something like "USPW stands for United Sissies, Punks, and Wusses!"</p><p> </p><p> Or "USPW - U Sold Out Professional Wrestling!"</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="vbase" data-cite="vbase" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41194" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>2 of the guys I want to push to main event had a poor rated gimmick. I changed both their gimmicks and one got below average and the other got poor again. Now I can't change the gimmick because it is too early but the poor gimmick has penalties on the match and also these are the gimmicks I actually want them to have.<p> </p><p> How do I develop their gimmicks to get better rating without changing them?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I can't say I have all your answers, but I have gotten gimmick ratings to go up by using the "Tweak Gimmick" button in the Gimmick selection screen, and I have had workers with below average ratings wrestle a few pretty good matches and bump up to average. I'm not sure if there's a foolproof plan for them to grow into a rough start to a gimmick, but I've seen it happen without me doing anything special other than put the worker in question into good matches.</p>

Given Y2J is old enough to have been involved in the dying days of the territory era, and KO came up through the indies cutting live promos, I'm not surprised they excelled in that live, less scripted environment. I never really thought of Lita as a great promo. Lots of in-ring talent, but I never really felt like she was more than just adequate on the stick. Not surprised she seemed to have a little trouble keeping up.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kesselll" data-cite="kesselll" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41194" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>you may get the idea of what is the good manager just by looking through database. I just did that after readin your post, and noticed, that in a cornellverse managers usually are "equipped" with: charisma, micskill, acting skill, and star look, plus sex appeal. I would think that this is the correct order, especially if you look on some of most popular managers there. The better first three mentioned, the better manager i believe. And if i think about any manager in the corner of stars today, then it seems that charisma + acting for the match, and charisma + mic for promos would be my picks for the most important attributes.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> That would make sense. Thanks!</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Temes1066" data-cite="Temes1066" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41263" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I plan to have this heel stable in my SWF game consisting of:<p> </p><ul><li>The Crippler<br /></li><li>Randy Bumfhole [aka. Randall Buck]<br /></li><li>Brett Biggins<br /></li><li>Cartel (The Hired Muscle) [aka. Mexico's Finest]<br /></li><li>Ana Garcia (The Manager)<br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> Ana Garcia, Randy Bumfhole and Brett Biggins are disgruntled employees who feel they have been screwed over by SWF management, The Crippler keeps his Bitter & Disgruntled Veteran gimmick and Cartel is there because Ana hired him to act as muscle for the group. </p><p> </p><p> I was thinking of calling them <strong>"The Backbone"</strong>. However I wanted to see, if you guys have any better ideas?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> How about "The Deserving"? Really play up their sense of feeling like they are entitled to something they have been unjustly denied. I've always felt like a good heel takes some bit of truth, and then twists that kernel of truth into something that's unfair/unethical/unjustified, so "The Deserving" puts front and center what their beef with the company is and makes you <em>almost</em> feel sorry for them until you see how it justifies their evil ways.</p>

<p>I've been looking around and not seeing an answer to this question - if it's part of the in-game FAQ or an FAQ here on the site, just let me know and I'll happily march on over there.</p><p> </p><p> What skills are managers graded on when they are not actively part of a segment? Like, if they're managing a wrestler in a match, what stats are looked at to determine the effect they have on the match grade? Or if they're not speaking during an angle - basically, any time when they're not being specifically selected as part of a segment, what does the game look at to determine whether they actively add or subtract from the segment rating?</p><p> </p><p> Thanks in advance!</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="HighDefOverDose" data-cite="HighDefOverDose" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41263" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Will be putting together a stable could consisting of Rikishi, Tazz, K-Kwik, The Godfather (manager) and possibly D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry. Basically a thug/gangster/ethnics with attitude type stable</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Maybe something like, "The Streetz"? have promos end with a tag line, "And that's the word, on/from...The Streetz". Corny enough for WWE purposes, anyway. And people really liked putting extra Xs and Zs on things in the late 90s/early 2000s (see Radicalz, The).</p><p> </p><p> Could call the stable something like "Money" or "Dirty Money". If Godfather's still in his pimp routine but gone heel, you've got things like, "[CENSORED], where's my money? Here's <em>my</em> Money! Ya heard?" Face or heel, you got things like, "Godfather's got everything - he's got gold, he's got hos, but most of all, he's got MONEY."</p><p> </p><p> If you're willing to potentially get the Mafia mad at you, and you're still in the PG-13 era, you could run with "Murder Inc." - which is a hip-hop reference to the infamous collective of Mafia-associated hitmen and assassins from the 30s and 40s. Heck, Snoop Dogg's a big enough wrestling mark, license out "Murder Was the Case" for their entrance theme.</p>

What have you all found to be the best ways to rebuild a worker's popularity after leeching it off to put someone else over? Have you had luck with angles or jobber squashes? Or have you found only beating someone else with higher pop gets them back to where they started?

<p>Hello! I had a diary going on little while back as CGC - until my computer decided to shuffle off this mortal coil, wiping me completely out. But it was a fun run, and now that I have a sturdier computer and TEW2016, I'm ready to embark upon a new diary.</p><p> </p><p> I plan on playing AAA as Catherine Quine, who has just bought AAA from Anne Stardust. My plan is to follow through with the in-game text and expand AAA out of the Northwest. My goals for the playthrough are to get AAA to Cult level, and to secure a television deal for AAA. I plan on writing Catherine as the protagonist as she tries to prove not only can the market support a women's wrestling promotion, but times have changed such that a woman's wrestling promotion can thrive. The story will be told through a series of mediums, including Catherine's diary, news reports, blogs, e-mails, interview transcripts, and descriptions of the shenanigans both in the ring and behind the scenes.</p><p> </p><p> I appreciate everyone who was following the CGC Enough is Enough playthrough, and I look forward to a good, long, not interrupted by equipment failure run with TEW 2016!</p>

If I gave the impression I was ragging on the guy - which I did because I didn't say what I'm about to say - then I gave the wrong impression. Every promotion NEEDS guys you can rely on, night after night, to deliver a solid product. That is an incredibly useful skill set! You can't have a roster of 30 Stone Colds. You need midcard guys who help develop younger wrestlers during victories, who can make others look legit when they beat someone like Strong. One of WWE's holes, I think, is a very poor midcard scene. Strong may not be WWE World Champion material, or even NXT champ material, but he doesn't need to be in order to be a good, valuable pickup - which I think he is.

<p>I was reading someone's take online and they noted that, in some ways, the blandness of Strong works...for Austin Aries. I mean, they have set Aries up as an arrogant jerk the likes of which may never be equaled, whose ego is so suffocating that it's incredible people don't asphyxiate when they're in the same ZIP Code as him. So, if you have Aries tagging with someone, in character, who does Aries pick? Someone that absolutely will not outshine him. Someone whose physical presence doesn't draw attention to Aries' lack of height. Someone who isn't going to chafe (at least for now) at being on a team named "Team Aries".</p><p> </p><p> That someone is Roderick Strong.</p><p> </p><p> It's why teaming Roode and Aries in NXT is something I at least want them to hold off on for now. Sure, they've got history you can refer to, but right now their titanic egos are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too large to let them work together - especially since neither's been portrayed as being particularly crafty or pragmatic in the way egomaniacs Owens and Jericho have on the main roster. Roode is too Glorious to share the spotlight, Aries is the Greatest Man Who Ever Lived and can't stand anyone suggesting otherwise. So at least for now Aries and Strong makes a lot of in-story sense for me.</p>

Who's the artist on that track?

Eva Marie is...an odd case for me. Personally, and I seem to be in the majority for this, her in-ring performance lacks fluidity. It's the difference between someone performing a (What a!) maneuver in the ring, and someone actively trying to perform a maneuver in the ring. I don't think she's hurt anyone through her sloppiness, which for me is an even greater sin than just sloppiness. Wrestling is in a really weird place, in terms of faces and heels. I mean, there are definitely cases of faces who have gained the ire, usually through over-exposure/staleness/poor booking, of at least segments of the fandom to the point where they get booed no matter who they're facing. And then you've got heels who are going to get cheered because they have high levels of technical skills, really great charisma, or both, which segments of the audience will cheer no matter what they say or do. Kevin Owens is one for me. In terms of his character, he's pretty thoroughly despicable. He's an arrogant blowhard who justifies his complete lack of scruples by invoking his children. He's needlessly rude, acts like he's better than everyone else - though there's an argument to be made that it's overcompensating for an inferiority complex - and he's a hypocrite. But he's really, REALLY good at getting that character across. He's able to do things we don't expect from people of his size and body type. He seems to be able to tell good stories in the ring with just about anybody. And we know the man, Kevin Steen, has been working his whole adult life and not given up despite having been overlooked because of his non-traditional body type. So Owens gets pops. He gets legitimately excited, happy to see you, we want you to win face pops. He doesn't get it from all of the audience, but he gets it from a sizeable part. And unless he's fighting someone who this segment likes just as much, like Sami Zayn, the face/heel alignment gets totally thrown out of whack. Because we're operating in the post-kayfabe era, Kevin Owens gets cheered by a subset of the audience in almost all cases no matter what he does because he is "good at his job". But as a heel, isn't getting people to hate you, to not cheer you, to want to see you lose and be humiliated, being "good at your job"? I think this one of the trickiest parts of telling stories in professional wrestling today. Now, Owens has shown he can still get those reactions because I really do think he is very good at his job - the worked shoot where he called NXT fans "the John Cena of wrestling fans" is, I think, an example of how to get legit heel heat in a post-kayfabe world. But, how many smarks are going to boo Damian Sandow if he ever (he won't) gets a massive heel push? What could he possibly do, in character, that would overcome the "he's underused" (he is, though I suspect I might disagree with some to the extent), internet darling status? And what heel is going to not get at least an audible face pop for attacking John Cena? What could Cena ever do to not get that reaction? Cena could take a bullet for a child cancer patient, for real (I suppose "shoot" is super appropriate in this case), and when he came back you'd still have people telling him how much he sucks. You could bring these people to his death bed (unless his Wolverine healing factor means he cannot die) and they'd tell him to his face as he lay dying how much he sucks and chant "Let's go cancer!" I guess in my rambling, I wonder if X-Pac Heat isn't one of the few sources of heat that we, as fans, have left bookers to work with? I mean, the "you can't wrestle, get off my screen" heat of Eva Marie is absolutely undoubtable. But if you get a crowd like NXT, who definitely lean smark heavy, and then you take someone who they feel is "undeserving" and only got anything because of their looks, not their talent or drive (which I think are both entirely, maybe easily arguable points with Eva Marie)? And then you consciously choose to book a story where it looks like she's getting opportunities she doesn't deserve for those reasons, particularly because representatives of the evil, anti-"good wrestling" corporate overlords are looking to bespoil the paradise of NXT with their crossover reality shows? I think that's genius. I think it's not a story you can tell all that often (the Cornette rule of how long before you can run an angle again comes to mind) without, in reality, doing what you're kayfabe doing. But I think whether it "works" or not is entirely depending upon how you measure "works". Those NXT fans were legit LIVID that Eva Marie got a title shot. They went non-ironically ballistic about how that match had a main roster referee, screwjob in the back of their mind. Every time Eva Marie got a near-fall they were honestly terrified that she would win. And when Bayley put her away, they exalted in her triumph. If the measure of professional wrestling is telling a story that engages people, then I think Eva Marie's NXT work became, in the context of the audience of NXT and though conscious choices made to exploit her X-Pac Heat and whatever talent she may possess, a success. I don't think you can work that same story with main roster talent quite as well. I don't know what you do with Eva Marie now. But on a single angle basis, I think NXT took what they had with Eva Marie and got a ton of mileage out of a worker with very limited skills. And I think that's brilliant booking. You can argue how much credit Eva Marie deserves for that brilliance, but I think it was the perfect way to use her.

NXT seems to be at a place right now, while they're airing stuff filmed in Dallas, kind of in a holding pattern, but I thought this week's show was still pretty solid overall. Can I just say I really liked Tye Dillenger's work in his match against Nakamura? He's got fantastic expressions, he's playing the crowd, reacting to the crowd in real time. His freak out to the "HE'S ELEVEN" chant was priceless. Plus, he's getting to a point where he can cut a pretty decent egomaniac heel promo. Of all the people to start getting impressed by in NXT, I have to say Dillenger would not have been my first choice, but man, he was on point this week.

Maybe they aren't halting his push entirely, but just the push within the singles division? Perhaps this experience where he got screwed by the darn Numbers Game will lead to him deciding he needs someone, a bro, if you weeeeell, to watch his back. A bro who doesn't get hyped, but stays hyped? Given what appears to be a possible investment in the tag team scene with this tournament, the Hype Bros could be a decent addition to the division. Either that, or Ryder got a giant thank you present at Mania for staying around, putting dudes over, and helping develop talent in NXT, while also allowing midcard gatekeeper extraordinaire The Miz to have a path to the belt that shines up his heel credentials, while not damaging the push of Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn as they leave the IC belt behind and pursue their personal, eternal vendetta.

I think that's the thing - he already *is* that guy, to an extent. I mean, D-Bry was a once-in-a-lifetime, perfect time and place phenomenon. I would argue WWE's attempt to replicate that phenomenon with Roman Reigns is one of the major issues that soured people on Reigns. Is AJ really going to get that much more popular with the belt than he is right now? I do think Roman with the belt and an attitude has an opportunity to develop into a top-drawing heel, transforming the X-Pac heat he's been getting into real, nuclear heat that is increasingly difficult for performers to draw in a post-kayfabe world. At this moment in time, I think it is Reigns who has the potential for exponential growth. A solid heel run as the arrogant heel champ that no one can seem to get the belt off might define Reigns in a way that it propels him for another decade. AJ winning is…well, AJ winning. Which is nice, but then what? What story do you tell then? And is it worth tanking what could be a defining heel run for a worker you'll have for another decade or two, who, if you handle him correctly at this pivotal moment, has the potential to draw serious heat and serious money for years to come? If I am the 'E right now, I want to see if I can create a heel main eventer that will be around for WrestleMania 42, as opposed to whatever short term bump an AJ run might give me right now.

I don't know if AJ needs a run with the belt right now. He's 38 years old and seems to be very solidly over without the belt. I think you get a lot more mileage in the slow-burn heel turn they seem to be heading toward with Reigns if he, a cocky jerk, defeats the humble and well-liked, particularly amongst the smark set, AJ Styles. Sets up this run of who Reigns is - a hyper-athletic jerk who smugly does what he wants, when he wants, to whoever he wants to do it. I think Reigns' character actually benefits from holding the belt, a physical and tangible symbol of his increasing arrogance and entitlement. I think the growth we're finally seeing in Reigns loses a ton of momentum if he's knocked out of the title picture. I think they keep working slowly more heel as champ for at least a few months, say Summerslam where he drops it to Ambrose or a returning Rollins or even a last World title run Cena, you might build one of the biggest heels in WWF history that draws serious money for years to come. I mean, if AJ wins I'm not going to be mad, guy has busted his butt and done everything except hold WWE gold. I just think the longer view is better served by letting Roman have more than one PPV title defense before you take it off him. Frankly, I am legitimately curious about this Reigns run, and cautiously optimistic that we are seeing a world class heel developing before our eyes.

Also, seriously, someone on the roster has to lose. Somebody has to job. Enhancement talent, the carpenters as Stan Hansen put it, are part of the natural ecosystem of professional wrestling. Some dudes know they have a ceiling, so they get other people over for a living, help make other people look good, work safe in the ring, and have steady employment and a paycheck in an unsteady business. As much as the Tyler Breeze character is an egomaniac, it actually takes a kind of selflessness to get other people over for a living. Calling people who are good at that "jobbers", especially in the sneering and dismissive manner it is often used on the Internet, disrespects the important role their work has in making wrestling work. Also, zero doubt Breeze is working people on Twitter, and obviously it worked, because now people are legit pissed and want to see him be humiliated. That's how you work in the smark-heavy Internet age, like Jericho calling into a podcast to gloat over "burying" AJ Styles at WrestleMania. That was a next level heel maneuver.

It's amazing how a little bit of character development, and just letting them tell their real stories with a little bit of kayfabe mixed in, can make you really want them to succeed. It's so simple and old-fashioned, but it works. All you have to do is make me care about someone winning, and make me care about wanting to see someone receive their richly deserved comeuppance.

Not being familiar with Nakamura before NXT outside of watching the occasional YouTube clip of a match, just how good is his English? That's a legit question, not suggesting it's good or it's bad. I think NXT audiences would deal with occasional stumbles or such, if he's at that level of fluency, but I don't know if an audience on Raw or Smackdown would go for it without "WHAT?"ing Nakamura to death. Would he be able to handle a MizTV segment, should he get put in one? I'm not sure he needs a translator, but he might benefit from a Paul Heyman-type - hell, Brock's a native English speaker and he most definitely benefits from having Paul do most of the speaking for him. Letting Nakamura get in a couple of really good lines, while a manager - call him an "agent", since Nakamura essentially is a rock star - does a lot of the grunt work in getting through dialogue segments might be the better option than having him be only passable on the mic. Especially if Dallas and last night's NXT was indicative of the physical charisma, expressions and body language he has, he doesn't need to be on the stick to say things. Main roster fans aren't patient, they aren't known for cultural sensitivity, and they have no idea why Nakamura is a big deal. My fear is that he stumbles on a few early promos, gets "WHAT?" to hell and back, and then gets shuffled into midcard hell or into the generic "foreigner" role. A lot of WWE today, for better or for worse, is dialogue heavy. If other people who have a better handle on his English think he's going to do fine, then I absolutely think the translator was unnecessary/showing that Nakamura didn't need a translator, as suggested. But if he's not quite fluent, why not give him someone to do a lot of the heavy lifting, at least for a time while he continues to improve in his English language skills? I suspect it'd get him to the main roster faster, if that's something the company plans on having happen sooner rather than later. Of course, whether he should want to get to the main roster quickly is a whole other can of worms...

Also, don't forget to adjust for inflation when looking at financials over a long period of time…the effect of inflation means $104.9 mil in 1999 was worth more than $104.9 mil in 2015.