Getting the women and the midcard over...

[MFKR78]

Hey guys, still fairly new to the game so I'm trying to feel my way along at the moment.

 

The main problem I'm having with my TNA game is that I really want to build an exciting Knockouts division and showcase womens wrestling as being almost on a par with the mens, but the crowd clearly aren't interested at all. I think almost all womens matches and segments are E's, even if I try to invest a storyline and use good workers.

 

What's the best way to gain interest in the women? I don't mind using some of the sex sells stuff but on the whole I want people like Cheerleader Melissa (who I want as the face of the division) to get over as legit athletes who get decent ratings. I'm just not sure of the best booking tactics (more angles, less angles, certain ones more than others? How many knockouts on 1 card aswell seeing as I have a decent amount under contract etc) and am concerned that the constant low ratings will affect my overall product and popularity.

 

In the same kinda way I also wonder how I build up the midcard guys into future main eventers. Seeing as I'm still new(ish) to the game, I've gone in at the deep end before trying to get rid of the old heads like Nash, Steiner etc and replace them with Styles, Daniels, LAX etc but it doesn't work. Doing it overnight just ended up with me killing my ratings. That makes sense to me now that it's going to take time and even though I don't want people like Nash and the old heads taking up major TV time, I have to accept that they pop my ratings right now so it needs to be gradual. Overall though again I'm unsure how is best to build to the stage where the people I want get great ratings and I can phase out the old timers without killing my show.

 

It shocks me that even a 4 way tag match with Lethal Consequences, LAX, Beer Money and The British Invasion got something like an E. On TV the fans would love a match like that with the booking details I had in there. So really I just wonder what's the best way of building these guys up? Again is it angles and things which will get them over more than the matches they're in? Or just putting them up against main eventers (although surely I have to be careful not to have the main event guys getting buried but still not have the new guys keep losing too?)

 

Any help would be appreciated as that's what I'm struggling with right now!

[CQI13]

Check the product, as it might not be conducive to women's wrestling (as well as the worker popularities in the area you're holding the show).

 

Check to see what the popularities of the workers are in your tag division (as well as their chemistry...British Invasion that popular in the US?)

 

Check the Official Tip Thread for further advice, there's a ton of useful stuff there.

[Remianen]

Hey guys, still fairly new to the game so I'm trying to feel my way along at the moment.

 

The main problem I'm having with my TNA game is that I really want to build an exciting Knockouts division and showcase womens wrestling as being almost on a par with the mens, but the crowd clearly aren't interested at all. I think almost all womens matches and segments are E's, even if I try to invest a storyline and use good workers.

 

What's the best way to gain interest in the women? I don't mind using some of the sex sells stuff but on the whole I want people like Cheerleader Melissa (who I want as the face of the division) to get over as legit athletes who get decent ratings. I'm just not sure of the best booking tactics (more angles, less angles, certain ones more than others? How many knockouts on 1 card aswell seeing as I have a decent amount under contract etc) and am concerned that the constant low ratings will affect my overall product and popularity.

 

I dunno what mod you're using but in reality, TNA's product is very friendly to women's workers. But until the women get some overness, you can't expect 5-star classics from their audience. Also, I've noticed that many mods underrate women's workers so that could be a problem as well. I've seen at least one mod rate Melissa in the D range for technical skill (that person has obviously never seen her work outside of TNA and/or just doesn't watch anything but WWE programming). Happens a lot. So you could be running into a problem with mods underrating them on both scores (skills and popularity).

 

Assuming you have women's wrestling in your product, it shouldn't take any extra effort to get the women over (especially if you have skilled workers lik Kong, Melissa, Sarah Stock, Lisa Varon, etc on the roster) than it does for the men. Highly rated storylines, angles, and matches work just as well for the girls as for the boys.

[Hyde Hill]

Also placement on the card helps but it is A risk reward thing butting them in the top 3 matches/segments eg opening and ending gives higher exposure but also influences the end grade a lot more. Once they churn out C- matches you might consider putting them in the opener on occasion. Or if in this mod you are at national get a B show asap.

[chris hbk]

Check the product, as it might not be conducive to women's wrestling (as well as the worker popularities in the area you're holding the show).

 

Check to see what the popularities of the workers are in your tag division (as well as their chemistry...British Invasion that popular in the US?)

 

Check the Official Tip Thread for further advice, there's a ton of useful stuff there.

 

as a brit just let me say...

 

the british invasion aren't popular over here either! They are god awful! They can't talk, in fact, it seems William Regal got every last drop of microphone skills England had to offer.... in fact, the British Invasion are something I skip through when watching TNA.

 

Just thought I HAD to speak up here! We hate them! We hate that British workers usually have to be heels cos they work predominantly in the US, and we hate that the fact they're British has to be their defining characteristic, although i kinda understand why its done.

[Derek B]

I love the British Invasion... they might not be great on the mic but Brutus Magnus is starting to show some good charisma and we all know that Doug Williams is an awesome wrestler, though he's yet to really showcase it.

 

I do have to agree that it's lame to see anyone from the UK having their entire character based on the face that they're from the UK. Brits are as varied and interesting as any other nation and it pains me to see the way they're all treated as being stiff upper-lipped, tea drinking toffs. At least Burchill has a shot at getting away from that, but every time he gets called up from development he seems to be landed not far away from "he's a Brit" again. *sigh*

 

I'd go out of my way to make a Brit rebel against that and just be a guy, with depth and personality who also happens to be from Britain. You know... the same way we're all supposed to think Americans are.

[James Casey]

It always amazes me that the Guy Richie characters have never been adapted to wrestling - Pne Punch Mickey, anyone? Or how about bringing in someone with Jason Statham qualities?

[D-Lyrium]

Nigel McGuinness down in RoH is FANTASTIC on the microphone. He pretty much qualifies as 'a wrestling Jason Statham' too.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsdYIvn2YmU

[Self]

My advice for getting the women over... Find the girl you want to headline the division, in your case Melissa, and put her in an Unchained Storyline with the most over guy on your roster. Every week, do a backstage angle between them, rated on their best attribute (what's Melissa's Sex Appeal like?) and her Popularity will soon shoot up just from hanging out with the guy. As her Popularity rises, her matches will get a better response from the crowd. Also, when you're doing that, Melissa should win every week.

 

Once Melissa is nice and over, move onto another Knockout. Same with the tag division. Don't try to get everyone over at once, just do it one at a time and learn what works.

 

I think Brutus Magnus was on Gladiators, but I don't know anyone who watched the latest version of that show, so /shrug. I remember seeing Doug Williams in a really fun threeway with AJ & Lethal when TNA came to Coventry a while back, so he's pretty good... and his finish rules.

[lazorbeak]

As Remi said, the problem is likely that you are dealing with a borderline unplayable mod. As far as getting women over, put them in storylines, have the division's best talker be the 3rd chair for knockouts segments, and keep the matches under ten minutes.

[Nedew]

Nigel McGuinness down in RoH is FANTASTIC on the microphone. He pretty much qualifies as 'a wrestling Jason Statham' too.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsdYIvn2YmU <-- That's pretty poor by Nige's standards, but it's the only one I could find at the start of a video, rather than at the end. So yeah... hire Nigel McGuiness.

 

Honestly, I thought that was pretty cringeworthy. He's using all the... not sure how to phrase this, but... American 'ways' of timing and speaking, yet without an American accent. It just doesn't come across well at all in my eyes.