Matt_Black

April 8, 2018

AAA January 2018

Got the company up to Cult status in October '17 and slowly but surely started signing folks to written deals. Unfortunately, I didn't move quite fast enough and lost Sara Marie York, Nadia Snow, Zoe Ammis, and Melody to USPW. The last one hurts, as I also have her protege Ariel Breaks on the roster. On the other hand, poking in the editor and looking at her skills, she's really solid overall for someone so young, so it's not a HUGE loss. Cherry Bomb got sent to rehab.

The plan now is to just focus in the North West and Mid West (the two areas that pushed me to Cult), with one weekly show and the monthly events. I'm cutting the second weekly show, which I had moved from the Mid West to the Great Lakes. The idea was to keep growing pop to get some kind of TV deal, but the better idea is just to focus on the core areas and build up that money to start my own broadcaster.

Amber Allen got released by NOTBPW. I could have had her around sooner, what with my cutting a Working Agreement with them, but I was focusing on my own roster. But, now that I can get her under a written, heck yes. Normally, I'm a bit gun shy on hiring NOTBPW talent, as they have very low pop in the U.S., and it often takes them a while to get that up to match their usually impressive skills. But Amber, in my experience, is generally good enough that even when she loses, she puts in better and better performances each time. And that's without Steffi Chee on the roster. Having her mentor around? Amber is a steam roller.

April 1, 2018

Playing AAA, just hit January 2017. Considering replacing Cherry Bomb as the head trainer of the Cat's Lair Dojo, in part because some of her stats aren't where they need to be (most notably Reputation, which is at 70), and partly because she's been having an issue with painkillers. (In that regards, I should hit Cult status before the year is out, as importance is 48 in the North West and 30 in the Midwest, and I'm currently focusing my two weekly shows in the latter region; once that happens, I can send her to rehab).

So, if I keep the focus on Technical Wrestling, my potential replacements are Demelza Wade, Jessica Bunny, new hire Melody, J-Ro, Grace Harper, Steffi Chee, Steph Blake, and Suzanne Brazzle. I'm leaning towards Wade or J-Ro, with a bit of a focus on the latter, as J-Ro seems more likely to become a mentor of any graduate; she almost always takes on Simony Sentinel as a protege, whereas I rarely see Wade do so (though it has happened in one playthrough, at least).

Thoughts?

March 21, 2018

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Alucidus" data-cite="Alucidus" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41174" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Ugh! Hogan just won his stupid lawsuit and sunk me for 6.4 million. Which sets back my long term goal of creating a global broadcaster back several months. Is there an option where I can have him killed? Sick of that selfish, greedy pile of human garbage winning out in the end. (Only profession in the world where you can get reprimanded for starting fights 4 times inside of 3 months and win a wrongful termination lawsuit)</div></blockquote> Hogan gonna hoge. Remember, this is the same man who sued WCW because Vince Russo called him bald. You have my sympathies, because the Hulkster, in real life, blocked me on Twitter. I never @'ed him or replied to anything, so I can only assume he took those Santa With Muscles jokes I made very personally.

March 20, 2018

I just started a CGC game because I wanted to do an established Canadian Fed, but NOTBPW's product is... not for me. First, fixed the backstage rules (yikes!), and I also upped the match/angle ratio for events to 80%, as you don't have enough guys who are capable of carrying angles, so each one would look like "Freestyle Angle starring ____ DeColt". <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Scorpio3060" data-cite="Scorpio3060" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41392" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> I also tried to get Alex to allow me to start a Women's Division but he is currently against it.</div></blockquote> I got around this by playing as Alex. I mean, they have a Women's Title picture to use, why not? The issue is that while there are a lot of Women wrestler's who can work in Canada, most are not terribly over, at least the ones you can hire right at the start. I went with Steffi Chee, Tamara McFly, April Appleseed, Emma Bitch, Jana Marie Bowen, and Eve Grunge, as they're the most over (not counting Cherry Bomb, at least not on a written; don't think I've ever tried signing her to PPA). Might hire Selina Svelte, as AAA playthroughs have taught me that Steffi will take her as a protege, and NOTBPW just cut Lauren Easter. This is one of the few times were I'm running a country that features women wrestlers and I don't have a crisis about whether or not to hire them. "Yes, they're very skilled, but because NOTBPW has practically zero U.S. (or Mexico, when I run CILL or OLLIE) exposure, I'll basically be paying a heckuva lot for someone who's going to job for her first six months." Won't have THAT particular problem with CGC. Also shortlisted Zoe Ammis, because hey, DeColt trainee. It just fits. Anyway, the Women's Division should improve, as experience tells me that NOTBPW and USPW will be cutting more talent soon. Backstage has improved dramatically; Thrill Seeker has adopted Chucky Dorrance as a protege, and Joey Poison has likewise taken Intrepid Ian Identity under his wing. There's some tension between Gargantuan and Ricky thanks to a botched move from the latter. Haven't been able to fix that yet, but we're only in February Week 2. The tag team division isn't great, but I've also seen much worse (USPW, looking at you!).

February 25, 2018

Regarding the Women's Division- first, if you're going to keep Kaede and Kimuye (and keep one, in case you want to bring in Japanese talent), they start as heels, but they work much, much better as babyfaces. If you want to balance out the roster, Nina works better as a heel, and Amber Allen is pretty good either way.

Amber and Lauren are definite keepers. While I haven't played extensively with NOTBPW, I do have experience hiring them in AAA, and they're BEASTS. The former is especially good if you grab Steffi Chee to the roster.

If you want to poach from USPW, Raven Nightfall and/ or Alicia Strong often get cut in the first year, and snap them up. Even if Raven is in Time Decline, as long as it's not too severe, you'll make good use of her.

Where I'm getting stuck with NOTBPW is I find it hard to have stories progress in my head when every match needs a decisive finish.

February 19, 2018

My thoughts on the roster-

Ronin 3- All of them are keepers. I see people continuously saying, "Oh, cut Toni, she's a negative influence", but honestly of all the negative influences I've dealt with in the game, she's been the easiest to get into neutral territory and not backslide. As for their manager? Eesh. Theoretically, he'd be a good talker, but his pop is so low that he continuously under performs in angles. As long as he and Jillian stay together though, he's a keeper, as that relationship will aid the backstage atmosphere.

The Anti-Establishment- Pamela Rojo is a solid talent, good enough that you may want to give her a singles push. Hellcat's good too, though, albeit much greener. Like all your starting babyface teams, they're just as good at being heels as faces, generally, so a turn to balance out the tag division is not out of the question.

Anderson & Snyder- They seem about even, stat wise, with Lily Snyder maybe having the slight edge. On the other hand, she can also easily turn into a negative influence, even with backstage at 100%.

Tex-Mex- On paper, Teresa should be the better choice. And yet, most of my playthroughs, Houston Handley hits main event status first, even when I'm not actively trying to get her over.

Raquel Alvarado- Your starting Shockwave champion, she's a fair hand in the ring. She also has a decent charisma score, so she usually performs well in angles. I often like to partner her up with Ronin 3 and making it a quartet, because their designated talker Vinny Cruz doesn't cut it.

Danielle Sweetheart- she's phenomenal, for a Small company worker. Can call in the ring, great on the stick, etc. Everything you could possibly want in a main eventer at that level.

Foxxy LaRue- Pretty much everything I said about Danielle also applies to her.

Alina America- Great sex appeal and oodles of star quality. The downside is that she's pretty green. It'll take some work, but long term she's probably the best bet to be figurehead.

Charity Sweet- Almost as good as Alina when it comes to potential. Star quality isn't as high, but she's also more well rounded and developed when it comes to in-ring ability. She starts as a heel, but she's much better at being a babyface. Turn her once her gimmick gets stale.

Emma May- Decent enough. Her manager though? Boss Man Brayfield is just like Vinny Cruz, but worse. He's usually first to go in my games.

Alexis Lee Littlefeather- Again, not much different than Foxxy or Danielle, though since she's further down the card, she'll need a bit more pop to match them entertainment wise. Of the starting roster, she'll probably be the first to hit Time Decline.

February 14, 2018

I think the other big thing to do is get the COTT title off of Lopez, especially if he's in Time Decline. Because I've noticed that he gets fatigued crazy fast, sending me the "Time To Heal" email at least every other month. (I've seen this happen with Mr. Lucha III when he signs with PGHW, but man, that's Japan wrestling! That'll take it's toll on anyone.)

I'd probably set up a Fatal 4-Way match with Lopez, Silver Tiger, El Hijo Espada Roja, and an Upper Midcard Rudo to do the job. Have Roja go over the fourth guy, put Keep Strong notes on Lopez and Tiger (to represent them brawling in the crowd as their starting feud deepens). That way, Roja gets pulled away to other feds and hopefully gets better while Lopez gets a well earned break.

Obviously, you can switch Roja out for any other guy you want to improve in skills, but the theory is the same.

The other thing, if you're keeping the Women's Division- if and when CWWF starts up, add a COTT Women's Title and put it on whoever you want to develop, like Dreamer or Amazon. CWWF tends to hire AAA talent like Katherine Goodlooks, Suzanne Brazzle, Paige Croft, J-Ro, and other incredibly talented in-ring ladies, so your girls are definitely going to improve.

February 13, 2018

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="TLCJR4LIFE" data-cite="TLCJR4LIFE" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41616" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I took OLLIE to national in a 3-4 year save and am done with it. They have a lot to work with so its a fairly easy task. I ended up with El Leon, Extraordinario Jr, Mr Lucha, Xtinction and Khoklov as the big draws. From the starting company, Extraordinario Jr and Mr Lucha are the prizes, Gino usually gets poached for me. As far as free agents, Los Asesinos are mediocre workers but in OLLIEs popularity based product, their solid age, decent physical stats and performance stats and long term tag experience makes them highly underrated. They were essentially the cornerstone of my tag division and held the titles on 3-4 seperate occassions. Averaging around 79-84 in match grades</div></blockquote> What about the women's division? Any success stories there?

February 13, 2018

Actually, I do La Deporte del Hoy (I think that is what it's called) because a free to air station seems perfect for "The People's Promotion". A few months, and you can then get the monthly events in Seleccion Mexico expensive while keeping the weekly TV show.

February 13, 2018

Some more thoughts- you might want to bolster the tag division a bit. At least 2 teams are main event or semi-main event level, so you don't want to waste them feuding for the tag straps (unless of course you set it to Floating). Similar deal with the Monteros, as you'll want to pull off Gino. Two more teams are females, and that CAN work if you build their pop.

So, that leaves you with two heel teams and Dos Phoenix. Fortunately, there are several options. First, you can raid CILL. Second, there are many highly experienced teams that can work in Mexico that are unemployed. The Luna Twins, Los Academia, Los Asesinos, and the Aces of Mayhem (though one or both of Los Academia may be in time decline).

For the managers, Agueda (North Star's manager) has high sex appeal and not much else. Emilia Reyes (Silver Tiger) on the other hand has good charisma and star quality in addition to her sex appeal, so once she's up in pop a bit more, she'll be an excellent mouthpiece for Tiger (though he might not need it, depending on how often you pair him with El Critico).

As for other hires, La Bestia Pirpura is a good choice, as he's Eduardo Prieto's protege, and Chica De Partido, mainly to give a morale boost to Luis Montero Junior and possibly push him out of being a negative influence.

February 12, 2018

I've been playing a bit, and one of the main issues you'll need to address is the announcing, especially if you're going to make a push into TV ( and you should, as you have a few good options to do so right out of the gate). Of course, pickings are slim, as most of the really good ones are contracted to SOTBPW. Peter Michels can work in Mexico; expensive, but worth it. As for colour, I'd hire Farrah Hesketh and put her next to Rafael Ruiz. Not only is she good on the stick, but then you can hire her proteges Maria Guest and Ashley Grover.

Speaking of - Electric Dreamer is $$$. Another thing is that most of the other titles are open to either gender, so you can put the ladies in feuds with the men, and this is supported by the back story with Mystery Pink defeating Amo Del Gato for the Mexican championship.

February 11, 2018

Currently playing USPW. We're in 2016, about a few days away from the Independence Day event, and we're going to wrap up the starting storylines (though many have seen worker rotations).

What I'm really excited about is stealing Sean McFly from NOTBPW. After ID, I'm going to put him and Nicky Champion in a storyline. They'll start out against Tyson Baine and T-Rex; Sean feeds off Nicky's U.S. overness for a spell, gets built up a bit more, and then, totally doing a Once In a Lifetime match aim since Sean's a definite Hall of Immortals candidate and Nicky's 75% there. I'll hold it in Canada, and book it like Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog at Wembley Stadium.

February 10, 2018

Oh, I know the feeling. I was playing USPW and Sam Strong and Captain U.S.A. both kicked the bucket on the same day. Fortunately, it was right before the go-home show for our May PPV, so tributes on American Wrestling and memorial battle royals at the big event, baby!

February 5, 2018

So, for those of you who have made a SWF Women's division, who have you signed?

January 28, 2018

For my C-Verse European women's federation, AVOW (Allied Valkyries of Wrestling)....

December Week 1 2016

AVOW 9 Worlds Championship (Main Event)- Zofia Jankovic

AVOW Shieldmaiden Championship (Midcard)- Anna Ki

AVOW Twin Ravens Championship (Tag Team)- Viper McKenna & Tomoko Nagatsuka

AVOW Well of Fate Championship (Annual Tournament)- Jeri Behr

January 28, 2018

I decided to play a C-Verse game where I make a women's only fed for Europe, give the ladies there an option aside from working with Byron. Using Aud D'Hoffryn as player character, I formed AVOW- the Allied Valkyries Of Wrestling, which I imagine as one part Shimmer, one part Lucha Underground, and one part Wagnerian opera.

Had to start at local (though I went to the in game editor and added a few zeroes to the end of the starting $2500), simply because there are few options in Europe (and even then I pulled a cheat by taking Anna Ki out of retirement, simply because I took one look at her stats), but we've managed to slowly build that thanks to talent trades (I didn't know that using the talent trade once allows a work to skip over the restricted areas thing) and a young Japanese talent going on excursion. It's not quite the end of the year, and now that we're small size, AAA, 5SSW, and OLLIE, have joined ZEN, CILL, and QAW in working relationships with us, though I find the latter group easier to trade with than the former.

I especially proud of some of the event names I've come up with- Highway to Hel, Vanaheim Violence, and Wrestling Ring of the Nibelung being particular favorites.

January 4, 2018

AAA, Tuesday, Week 1 May, 2017, we're getting ready for the Girls Aloud event and... OH. Anne Stardust died. On the one hand, very sad. On the other hand, GREAT timing! I can kick off the show with a tribute, and then the Main Event will be the Anne Stardust Memorial Battle Royal, with the winner being the inaugural Anne Stardust Memorial Champion, a tournament title competed for in said battle royal every May.

... That's a bit ghoulish of me, isn't it?

January 1, 2018

Trying my hand at AAA. First year in, and we scored Most Improved Company of the Year, Referee of the Year (Dwight Kumas), and Female Wrestler of the Year (Steph Blake; and I usually cut her, too, since she can be a pain in the keister). Also, all 32 members of the active roster made the Power 500, even the jobbers!

December 28, 2017

Speaking of talented workers with goofy names, Katherine Goodlooks. First, her name is goofy, but she scores double because her tag team's name is also goofy, Good-Lookin' Bunny. Once you get past that (and it took me a long while to do so), she's a phenomenal talent. Great in the ring, good in angles, a locker room leader, will take new talent as proteges eventually, etc. Especially important in an AAA game as once your top babyfaces like Sara Marie York, J-Ro, Jaime Quine, and others get snatched by USPW or NOTBPW, you're going to need a talented worker to step up.

Her partner, Jessica Bunny, on the other hand? Eesh. Not bad, but she can easily turn into a negative influence if you're not careful and isn't nearly as skilled as Katherine. She's definitely the Marty Jannety of the pair.

December 20, 2017

I think Selina Svelte is another one. Yes, she's a young talent, potential, yadda yadda, but she starts the game as partner to Talia Quinzel, and it's very easy to think of Selina as the "Marty Jannetty" of the Uprising, when she's actually a very solid talent in her own right.

December 18, 2017

I'm not sure she counts, since she always turns up in my Hidden Gems list in both AAA and QAW, but why did no one tell me about Maria Guest?!? One or two wins under her belt, and she turned into a nigh unstoppable steam roller of momentum.

December 17, 2017

Here are some names I've come up with for female tag teams, for those of you who run women's feds or companies with a women's division.

2 Woke Girls

The BFF Troop (I apologize for nothing!)

The Feline Fatales (if they have cat gimmicks, masks, or what have you)

Monstress Inc.

December 11, 2017

AAA, Thursday Week 4 2020

Femme Fatale Champion- Demelza Wade

Tag Team Champions- Hell Cat (Jana Marie Bowen) and Ellie May Walton, of the Nocturne

Top Contender's Champion- Christy Higgins

United States Champion (formerly the Social Media title; I figured we now cover the entire U.S., so why not?)- Simony Sentinel

Queen of the Ring 2019- Debbie Rose

December 11, 2017

Went back to before the "can't fall below $8 million" owner goal went into effect and started the AAA Network! Monthly events, 2 weekly shows, and I'm currently projecting to get funds back up and clear the $5.5 million owner goal.

December 9, 2017

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="James Casey" data-cite="James Casey" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41408" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Weekly shows to accelerate popularity gain/income growth, but you do need a chunk of change in the bank to cover the likely losses you'll take in the first few months.</div></blockquote> Yeah, no kidding. QAW starts with $250k and I ran a few months and... Well, didn't go into debt, but yikes. Maybe try again and not use every main eventer (all 4 of them) on the weekly show. Didn't help that the wrestling industry wasn't great and was quickly falling. We were gaining pop, but that was quickly going to come to an end before we got high enough to turn a profit.

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