the secret to a good tag match?

[takertitan]

No matter what i run for tag matches, the result is always lower than their singles counterpart. I use the 2 teams with B exp between them. They are all generally good all rounders(briscoe's vs kendric/london) and still their singles matches are turning in better ratings than their tag matches. Jay and Brain even had bad chemisty and still got a better rating.

[eayragt]

I'll have to admit to having no idea, which isn't too helpful. However, despite the number of complaints about this, I tend to find my tag matches going fairly well, and are especially good for covering up rookies. That could indicate product, but don't quote me on that, as I'm not sure what products would be good or bad for tag action.

[Greg McNeish]

I doubt product comes into it. I imagine that the lower grades are simply due to the fact that the average skill levels will be lower in tag matches (simply because everyone has different strengths and weaknesses), and there are more chances for style clashes (more bodies = more styles). As for advice... I don't really have any. Some use I am.

[Marcel Fromage]

Card position might have something to do with it. Tag matches are often not exactly the focal point of the card - more likely to be filler in between the bigger singles matches. Now, if a singles match rates a C+, for example, and the tag match following it is likely to rate a C+ but not quite as strongly, I reckon the game pushes it down to a C or C- because the crowd cools off a bit from the (albeit slightly) better match. I've seen this happen time and time again in my ROF game. 2 teams put on first on the pre-show can have a couple of grades better match than the same 2 teams put on in the middle of the show after a decent singles match. That said...there is definitely a negative effect in tag matches anyway. I think it's what has been alluded to above by Greg - more wrestlers = more conflicts of style etc. Even in multi-man singles matches this can be the case, and certainly when you get to battle royals and such like. I don't really find this a problem though. My tag matches are generally midcard matches, and they generally score similarly to the midcard singles matches, give or take a grade either way. Keeps it interesting and it certainly makes you want to keep a firm look-out for tag chemistry. British Samurai and Glen Ward in my game had excellent tag chemistry, and their matches are noticeably better than my other teams, despite their stats not necessarily being much better.

[Blackman]

I tend to have numerous A* tag matches. Surprisingly, most of them involve workers who average C+ matches, but paired up with a better partner. In NOTPBW, I sometimes do mixed gender matches who seem to have a tendancy to rate higher then expected, even without notified worker tag chemistry. Of course the main event worker tag matches don't rate as high, but if the tag matches are rare enough (once a month), it tends to score well regarless. That said, a main event tag match still remains a big gamble, and generally won't product A shows, if at all. Of course, position on the card is also a factor as usual. After a great match they tend to be worse.

[Sigilistic]

I love tag matches. They are great for: 1)putting on big matches that help build for PPV 1v1 matches 2)stashing sub-par workers until such time as they improve. For example, I am running TCW right now and I took Rocky Golden, a weak worker, and put him in a tag team with Chance Fortune (with whom he has excellent chemistry). He's been improving significantly ever since.

[Frank_Vest]

Doesn't it have something to do with the percentage of 2 vs 2 matches in your product settings?

[mad5226]

no thats just for if the AI is running the promotion

[James Casey]

Agreed - I have shows that are 80% tag matches and shows with no tag matches. It never seems to affect anything. My tag division is a stashing point for my lowercard workers - I have very few people in there who I'd consider to be over enough to hold down a feud, for example. Most of my matches pull in the D range, with the occsaional E+ if I have the belts on a team I'm building up, or C- if two of the built-up teams square off. Although I have a strongish division (11 teams) a lot of them have low experience (D range or lower) because it's relatively recently that I started running shows where the teams might wrestle more than once or twice a month. Tag experience will add to match quality, as will good/great chemistry between the members of your teams. It won't make a silk purse from a sow's ear or anything - but it'll help. Perservere with your division, and remember that tag wrestling is an artform in itself - not every wrestler can manage it, and it's probably better suited for the undercard anyway.

[Brandon9967]

I have had this problem as well. It's haunted me since I first got the game. No matter the promotion or tag team, it seems the tag matches have terrible ratings. It's starting to get frustrating as I love tag team wrstling.

[NoNeck]

Does it have something to do with the ratio of tag matches you offer via your product settings? Maybe you have a low percentage and the crowd is tired of it very quickly because it's not what they came to see. Just an idea.

[Marcel Fromage]

Some tips.. 1) Give tag teams lots of matches - particularly in the dark. Established team against new combinations. Gives your established team tag experience (which will help their match ratings down the line) and lets you try out new pairings to see if you can find some chemistry. Try to make your tag teams long-term projects so you see the benefit of that experience. 2) Don't necessarily pair up like for like workers. You want your tag team partners to learn from each other (or maybe one in particular to learn from the other). Eric Future needs to learn performance skills, so I tag him with Keith Adams, who has decent performance skills but isn't really a guy I need in my singles ranks right now. Joey Beauchamp, who has flying and performance skills, tags with Luke Cool, who has better technical skills. I'm hoping they'll rub of on one another a bit. 3) If you're looking to run a game with longevity, put younger guys in tag teams. Then they're still fresh for a singles run later on. Sometimes if you have a young guy who's good come in and have a singles push at a young age, you can run out of ideas for them. So start them in the tag ranks - look at what happened with Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels etc. Generally now if I sign a guy in his 20s in my ROF game, he'll go in the tag ranks to start with. I think if you treat your tag division more as a type of worker development project, you'll feel happier with its results.

[1PWfan]

Another thing that seems to work is partnering older veterans with younger talent. For example, on one game with TCW I wound up partnering Joel Bryant and Davis Wayne Newton, and it worked surpisingly well.

[Greg McNeish]

[QUOTE=1PWfan;366624]Another thing that seems to work is partnering older veterans with younger talent. For example, on one game with TCW I wound up partnering Joel Bryant and Davis Wayne Newton, and it worked surpisingly well.[/QUOTE] As can be seen with Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly, in WWE. Steve Flash is a great guy to fill this role in any North American promotion, as well as any veteran with moderate Popularity (you don't want to go too low, or you'll really get low ratings, but you don't want them complaining about jobbing out), and adequite skills. Young workers usually need Performance skills more than anything else, so find some old guys with high Performance (Psychology is the one I always look for), and watch the youngin's grow.

[Sigilistic]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;366606]Some tips.. *snip* 3) If you're looking to run a game with longevity, put younger guys in tag teams. Then they're still fresh for a singles run later on. Sometimes if you have a young guy who's good come in and have a singles push at a young age, you can run out of ideas for them. So start them in the tag ranks - look at what happened with Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels etc. Generally now if I sign a guy in his 20s in my ROF game, he'll go in the tag ranks to start with. I think if you treat your tag division more as a type of worker development project, you'll feel happier with its results.[/QUOTE] This is extremely good advice. In my TCW game, most of my lower midcarders and openers (who aren't there solely for job fodder) are in tag teams. Frankie Dee and Frankie Perez Brandon Smith and Des Davids Davis Wayne Newton and Joss Thompson These guys are all teamed up and working the dark match circuit, with the occasional TV loss to the more veteran teams. They gain valuable experience and slowly accrue overness. It's a beautiful thing, really. The advice about sticking a youngster and a vet in a tag team is also really good, you'd be amazed at how quickly your workers progress when you do that.

[Greg McNeish]

A nice thing about having a team of two young guys, is that when they eventually split, you'll most likely have a superstar waiting to happen, as well as a very established jobber (unless you're lucky enough to have two actual stars, but that's unlikely). Examples can be found in Booking for Dumbies (see Janetty and Neidhart).

[Sigilistic]

[QUOTE=Greg McNeish;366680]A nice thing about having a team of two young guys, is that when they eventually split, you'll most likely have a superstar waiting to happen, as well as a very established jobber (unless you're lucky enough to have two actual stars, but that's unlikely). Examples can be found in Booking for Dumbies (see Janetty and Neidhart).[/QUOTE] Ha! Indeed. See, for example, my team of Jack Griffith and Ice Man C.A., the American Badasses. I teamed them for about six months, during which they ruled the tag team division and held the titles. Then I had them pull an AMW, with Griffith playing the role of Storm. It's worked beautifully in making Griffith a star and Ice Man a jobber to the stars. :D

[James Casey]

Ditto the Perez brothers - Frankie went on to megastardom, Jonnie a cup of coffee in the midcard. The Keiths (Guages), on the other hand, could both go on to megastardom.

[Marcel Fromage]

[QUOTE=James Casey;366740]Ditto the Perez brothers - Frankie went on to megastardom, Jonnie a cup of coffee in the midcard. The Keiths (Guages), on the other hand, could both go on to megastardom.[/QUOTE] Interestingly, in my ROF diary, the short time I had both Gauges on the roster and they were a team, their tag results were not up to what I'd expect given their skill set. So it just shows you can't simply rely on 2 great wrestlers (on paper) teaming up to create an awesome team. As a side note, despite almost identical skills and overness, Matthew's singles performances were almost always better than Greg's.