Total Championship Wrestling: Tuesday Night Wars

[Dragonmack]

I second CGC as a good choice if you go that way. I know I had a lot of fun with my diary of them, despite my personal ( and in game) dislike of Alex DeColt. It's still Sports Entertainment enough to let you experiment with angles and just go for overness, but there are enough talented people to lead you to great show grades, and Eddie Chandler is just aching for a diary writer here to really adopt him and make him the fabulous heel he needs to be. ( I wanted to for my diary last year, but Steve DeColt and his story with Jack became the more defining thing for it, and Eddie's character ended up being more of a secondary story.)

[Bigpapa42]

I had a short game with CGC on 2008 and haven't really touched them yet on 2010. They were one of the first games I played on 2007, but I haven't spent that much time with them since. Whether I'm playing CV or real world, I tend to stick to bigger promotions. National or above. Smaller promtions simply do not fit my prototypical playing style. Unless I adapt the way I approach and play, I get very frustrated. I realize that by sticking to bigger promotions I'm limiting myself, so I'm going to try playing a few smaller promotions and adapting to them. Its just going through a game with a different mindset and more flexibility.

[Dragonmack]

I had a short game with CGC on 2008 and haven't really touched them yet on 2010. They were one of the first games I played on 2007, but I haven't spent that much time with them since. Whether I'm playing CV or real world, I tend to stick to bigger promotions. National or above. Smaller promtions simply do not fit my prototypical playing style. Unless I adapt the way I approach and play, I get very frustrated. I realize that by sticking to bigger promotions I'm limiting myself, so I'm going to try playing a few smaller promotions and adapting to them. Its just going through a game with a different mindset and more flexibility.

 

Their size was one of the things I liked. Their roster is big enough to support several storylines and actually flesh out the title divisions with more than just three or four contenders, plus they have the weekly format that I tend to enjoy most for storytelling purposes, allowing to build up to PPV's, but the roster isn't so bloated that half of them get lost in the shuffle. It just feels a little more focused, but with room to adapt if a particular person flops, or someone gets really hot.

 

Also, I like the fact that it becomes a race on whether you can get to the next level before you start to lose your major stars, or whether you have to do the balancing act of raising and lowering overness in order to keep them. You still get the ability to do involved storylines, but you still may have to make some changes on the fly. I dont think I really reach my full stride in a diary until I am close to this point.

[Bigpapa42]

Their size was one of the things I liked. Their roster is big enough to support several storylines and actually flesh out the title divisions with more than just three or four contenders, plus they have the weekly format that I tend to enjoy most for storytelling purposes, allowing to build up to PPV's, but the roster isn't so bloated that half of them get lost in the shuffle. It just feels a little more focused, but with room to adapt if a particular person flops, or someone gets really hot.

 

Also, I like the fact that it becomes a race on whether you can get to the next level before you start to lose your major stars, or whether you have to do the balancing act of raising and lowering overness in order to keep them. You still get the ability to do involved storylines, but you still may have to make some changes on the fly. I dont think I really reach my full stride in a diary until I am close to this point.

 

See that's just it - there is definite upside to playing as a smaller promotion. But its a matter of having the mindset to see those advantages when you are playing the game. My typical mindset it based around using national-level or bigger promotions, and with that approach, some of those advantages become negatives.

 

With a diary game, I'm used to making large-scale storyline plans that cover an extended period. With TCW, my main storyline was going to take until about January 2011, if not later, to play out. It really only needed two key workers, both of whom would be around, short of some serious injury. I maintain a degree of flexibility in my plans due to things like possible injury, but you don't need to be as flexible. If you have guys locked up under long-term written deals, you know you have them and can plan around that. With a smaller promotion, you aren't likely to have too many guys locked up. And with PPA deals, there's always that risk they get stolen. I end up feeling a sense of possession to certain workers, especially when I've built them up quite a bit, so its frustrating to lose those talents. Instead of looking at it as a talent lost, you have to see it as a new opportunity to build up someone new, and to see having fewer options of who you can sign as shouldn't be viewed as a limitation, but simply having to go outside the typically-used talents to find the rarer gems.

 

Its just a matter of looking at things a different way. But I do need to change my prototypical mindset. Whatever CV project I move on to, it won't be anytime soon. So I have plenty of time to play around and get used to running smaller promotions again.

[Bigpapa42]

Do you like to book SE feds more? Why not try and go down an entire different road? Maybe you should try something like ACPW? They are a fun little company and from what I see their wrestlers seem to not move on all that much.

 

Heck I would love to do a diary with them but I can't do match write-ups. However, you are great at match write-ups so maybe they could be a possibility for you to look at.

 

I've always preferred watching a more traditional approach than pure SE, so I figured I would prefer booking it. But the creative openness of SE is pretty attractive.

 

I've looked at ACPW a few times. To be honest, running a company that small would take some adjustment. No TV, money is always an issue, etc etc. I've always wanted to give ZEN a try as well, so who knows...

[LiquidSwords]

What about 21CW? They are SE and they are outside of North America. A smaller talent pool could be a good challenge.

[Bigpapa42]

The Main Storyline

 

So when it comes to the main overriding story, I guess the best way to start is with an admission… "Tuesday Night Wars" was a false title for the project. There never really was any intent to make the war with the SWF a central focus of the story. The problem was that the true title for the project gave too much away and made things too obvious. I went with "Tuesday Night Wars" since it sounded good and I had a nice logo. But it should have been called "The Fall of Tommy Cornell"...

 

...because I was going to retire Tommy Cornell.

 

Not out of spite. Cornell is and always has been my single favorite CornellVerse character. But what makes him such a dynamic and interesting character, in my opinion, was also the reasons I liked the idea of him falling.

 

Tommy Cornell seems like the kind of guy who has everything. He is arguably the most talented overall wrestler of his generation. He owns his own promotion, which he is the "ace" of. He is presumably decently wealthy. He has a gorgeous wife. They have a talented son who grows up to emulate his father (the dream of many parents). With his combination of Star Quality, Charisma, and Athleticism, plus an assumed drive to succed, I've always seem him as the kind of person who would have found success to a high degree in whatever path he chose - whether that was another sport, acting, etc. Factor in that its not just any promotion that Cornell owns, but the second biggest in the world, with clear ambitions of being the number one promotion, and it starts to seem… hubristic. Almost arrogrance that this man who has so much yet he wants even more. Its understandable ambition, certainly, but still ambition.

 

So the question becomes - how much is too much?

 

The basic idea was that Tommy Cornell wants it all. And he can't have it all. Its too much and he literally cannot handle everything all at the same time. So of the three big aspects - owner, family, wrestler - something has to give. And I would think he would give up being an active wrestler before the other two. So the main story was going to be Tommy Cornell getting to the point where he gives up wrestling.

 

The story would unfold both on-screen as a kayfabe storyline, as well as backstage. The backstage story began with the rather heavy-handed "something's wrong with the boss" Total Mark segment. Moving forward, there would be hints and bits about him not being "right" and seeming to be very stressed. Rumors that the Mrs. is pressuring him to stay off the road and spent more time at home with their young son. Then I would've revealed that Cornell and Bryant seem to have some sort of secret plan that no one else knows about - because by late 2010, Cornell would realize he really had no choice but to give something up and would have begun planning the way to play it out.

 

On-screen, there were a few elements I put in place already. One was Cornell losing to Rocky Golden. Another was the suspension by the Home Office - after being able to push the never-seen authority committee around in the past, Cornell can suddenly no longer do that. And having him lose the final match of the feud with RDJ was also key. Going forward, Cornell would butt heads with the Home Office several times and come out the worse for it. He would also become more overt in keeping Hawkins down. This would contrast with RDJ's relationship with Stupid Joey Minnesota, where RDJ does everything he can to help and support Minnesota, leading to a world title win sometime in 2010.

 

Building off a history I laid out to an extent in one of the very first Total Mark segments, Cornell was going to move into a feud with Bryan Vessey that would last much of the summer. The history is that they had an unofficial long-running feud in the early part of the decade, where they put on top-caliber matches but Cornell always came out on top. This time, its Vessey getting the better of things. It really puts him up there as an elite talent in TCW and drives forward the Cornell-losing-it aspect. Plus it keeps Cornell out of the world title picture. It would build toward a very obvious split and feud between Cornell and Hawkins.

 

The feud between Cornell and Hawkins would last through the fall. When Hawkins finally has enough and turns on his mentor, he gets beat down for it. He becomes the obvious babyface, with Cornell accusing him of being a traitor and such. Around Christmas, a particularly vicious attack by Cornell would be too much even for his bodyguard Dread, who would walk away, truly leaving Cornell by himself. Although I hadn't settled on the exact details of how it would happen, Cornell would have an on-screen epiphany and realize what he had become. So after a brutal match against Hawkins at either Malice in Wonderland 2011 or Total Mayhem XVI, he would lose clean and then offer Hawkins a handshake. After congradulating his former protégé, Cornell would take the microphone. He would admit that he's been surpassed by Hawkins. But unlike so many others who hang on past their prime, he's done enough so he's walking away.

 

And with a quick edit, Tommy Cornell would be retired.

 

He would still have some on-screen role. A color-commentator spot would suit him, though acting as an authority figure would be an interesting twist, after a history of issues with the Home Office. Whatever the role he had afterward was, the intent was to actually remove him from active competition. Not even cheating to only use him on dark matches and such, but no longer have him in the ring at all. In a sense, the one month "suspension" in the early going of the diary was a test run, to see if it could work.

 

The intent to take away one of the best wrestlers in the game was one of the reasons I ended up signing a lot of the "usual talents", like Davis Wayne Newton, Champagne Lover, etc. The idea was that I wanted them to be able to move into the midcard over the course of the first year of the game, so there isn't a major talent gap there. Would I have signed these same guys even if I wasn't intending to retire Cornell? Quite possibly….

 

Also, Sammy Bach's continual use of references to "falling" was because of this planned storyline with Cornell. Not that they would be connected, really, but it was intended to put the thought in reader's minds...

 

Interesting Small Note: The main feud with Rocky Golden that would eventually see him lose the world title was originally planned to be Troy Tornado. I had his "amped-up jock" character laid out. It would have been emulating PhantomStranger, but that's not a bad thing. Unfortunately, poor chemistry between Golden and Tornado sank that plan. I went with Rick Law as a backup, but had to come up with a character for him as I was having some trouble doing so….

[angeldelayette]

Sorry to see this one coming to an end, BP. If I were to pick another diary for ya, I'd say to try USPW. I'd love to see what you could do with that promotion.

[Teh_Showtime]

main storyline seems great and I love the idea of Vessey and Cornell feuding again.

 

Im also curious to see what you had planned for Rocky, Sam Keith, and Sammy Bach

[Bigpapa42]

Sorry to see this one coming to an end, BP. If I were to pick another diary for ya, I'd say to try USPW. I'd love to see what you could do with that promotion.

 

I've never actually gone very far with a game with USPW. No idea why... Just never have. They are a promotion I may play around with just to see how they "fit". You never know...

 

main storyline seems great and I love the idea of Vessey and Cornell feuding again.

 

Im also curious to see what you had planned for Rocky, Sam Keith, and Sammy Bach

 

Those are coming, don't worry.

[Bigpapa42]

World Title Scene

 

So, now that the belt is finaly off of Rocky Golden… What's next?

 

This is where I was changing plans significantly. My original plan was to have a Law-Golden rematch, where Law retains in a more "honorable" fashion. Then he would move into a feud with either Bryan Vessey or Joey Minnesota, dropping the belt to them. A PPV title match against RDJ was also a possiblity, with Law going over to solidify him as a legit champion before he dropped the belt. Vessey would probably be tied up in the feud with Cornell, so Stupid Joey Minnesota was the most likely candidate. There was a certain symmetry I liked of having RDJ try for the belt and fail, then have him do everything he could to help Minnesota win it. That would contrast Cornell clearly keeping Hawkins down.

 

Law was never intended to have a long run. Not that I was going to start passing the world title around constantly, but he would probably have four months as world champion, at most. However, after DragonMack suggested I look outside my plans and find alternatives, I thought of another option for the world title that I was going to go forward with it. It felt a bit Sports Entertainment, but I figured it would still work for TCW.

 

On the next Total Wrestling, Kyle Rhodes would again act as the representative for the Home Office. He would announce that Rick Law was being stripped of the TCW World Heavyweight championship belt. The Home Office felt that threatneing a female manager with a chair was not an action worthy of a TCW champion, so he was losing the belt. However, as Rocky Golden had still quit the match, he would not be getting the belt back. Instead, there would be an 8-man tournament for the vacant belt, with the Final being at the Excessive Force pay per view.

 

Law would be obviously irrate over this, setting him off into a loose cannon role, where he can't really be trusted. Rocky Golden would also be upset after being told that he wouldn't get an automatic rematch with the new champion. Feeling slighted, Miss Sara would talk him out of participating in the tournament… which would set up something of a heel turn for the Golden One's girlfriend.

 

So the eight participants would probably be Joey Minnesota, Sam Keith, Troy Tornado, Bryan Vessey, Wolf Hawkins, Eddie Peak, Ricky Dale Johnson, and Rick Law, and either Koshiro Ino or Joshua Taylor. Hawkins wouldn't be the first choice - Cornell would be. He would refuse, stating such a tournament is beneath him. So the Home Office hands the chance to Hawkins, which does not make Cornell hapy. Little pieces adding toward that eventual split and feud.

 

The winner? Undecided, actually. Bryan Vessey would probably be my first choice, but there's the complication of wanting to start the feud with Cornell and wanting to keep him away from the world title. Second choice would be Joey Minnesota. Again, having RDJ coaching him to the victory. However, Sam Keith was a strong possibility as well - one last run for the legend. That probably wouldn’t be a particularly long reign, but I loved in on my Generation Supreme game when TCW had Keith take the belt from Cornell.

 

I was giving some consideration to giving Eddie Peak a run with the belt at some point. Koshiro Ino would make for an interesting choice somewhere down the road, though he's right on that edge of being not quite good enough, at least when compared to other candidates on the roster. Hawkins would probably get a run with the belt in early 2011, after finishing up his feud with Cornell, completing his climb to the top. There were also a couple of unexpected additions coming (to be detailed later) that could get consideration in late 2010 or into 2011 for a run with the world title.

 

I don't really regret leaving the belt on Golden so long, per se. But when I play as TCW again, whether it’s a private game or a diary game, I am fairly certain he will be dropping the belt sooner in the game. I felt like I did a pretty decent job of protecting and developing him… but in a promotion with so much other talent, its not really necessary to have a champion that require such protection. I certainly view Golden as a long-term key player for TCW, but he needs time to reach the in-ring levels required.

 

Interesting Small Note: In the first Total Mark segment, when Cornell told the booking team that the likes of the Stone Boys and Sean McFly weren't about to walk through that door, it was a very intentional statement. In this particular game, virtually every top level talent on a written contract at a smaller promotion who wasn't loyal to that promotion (in other words, someone I could likely sign if their written deal came up) was locked up long-term. Most of those are random-length contracts in the database, so it was a random thing. It was something of a tradeoff, though, as almost all of my noteable talents were also locked up fairly long-term. Two exceptions, who I could have faced losing to the SWF, were Ricky Dale Johnson (early fall 2010) and Rocky Golden (early 2011). Althought it would turn out I was wrong about not being able to land any "name" talent… it just wasn't who I expected...

[Phantom Stranger]

I do like that, a lot...

[Bigpapa42]

Workers Part 1

 

This will probably take a few posts, and some workers will get more detail than others.

 

I consider myself a fairly visual writer. I am usually trying to get across something can picture or envision myself, and I want to have the reader to be able to do the same. Something that I did more on this diary than on Generation Supreme was finding a "real world basis" for most workers. That's not so say I'm merely take real wrestlers and applying them to the C-V. Rather, its finding someone with either a physical similarity to how I imagine a given C-verse worker to look or a style similar... or possibly both. This makes picturing sequences far easier, especially writing matches. I don't know how obvious most of these will be, but I will try to list the basis. I figured some people might find this interesting...

 

Joey Minnesota:

Stupid Joey Minnesota. One of the key players for TCW going forward, even if just based on in-ring talent. It annoyed me to no end when I saw the 2010 and realized that he had turned into an enormous jerk-bag. It actually didn't affect things much - there were a couple small incidents early in the game but nothing for the past few months. That negative personality gave me some concern, but given that his in-ring talent - at least in terms of performance skills - is probably only behind Cornell, Vessey, and Keith in the main event scene, he was destined to be a world champion before too long. Of the "new generation" of talent coming up in TCW, he is clearly tops.

Comparison: a young Bret Hart in terms of diverse in-ring style

 

Sam Keith

Not at the top of the Time Decline list... but still on the list. That gave me concerns about how heavily to push Keith through 2010. As previously mentioned, I was giving serious thought to having him take the world title, at least for a short run. In that sense, I probably should have had him take it off of Golden within the first few months of 2010. The major plan for the legend beyond that possible world title run was to have him work with his twin sons... though not quite as one might expect. The feud with Vessey wasn't quite done, even though Vessey was going to move into a feud with Cornell. Keith would try to teach his kids about needing a "killer instinct' to be a champion. The kids take it too far, and beginning to realize this, he tries to reign them in. But he taught them too well, and since they are supposed to destroy anything that stands between them and glory, and their father now seems to be... they turn on the elder Keith. So in the later fall, Sam would turn face and feud with his kids. My first choice for his surprise tag team partner... Bryan Vessey...

Comparison: Arn Anderson with Ricky Steamboat's in-ring style, minus the aerial

 

Wolf Hawkins:

Pretty much destined to be world champion in TCW, but there some really good other options out there so I wasn't in a rush to strap the belt on him. He needs some seasoning to really make a true top level talent, but seems to be on his way. After the face-turn and successful feud with Cornell, Hawkins would likely re-ignite a long-running rivlary with Minnesota over who is the "face" of the new generation. I had thoughts of putting together a "Wolf Pack" of young talent around Hawkins, and possibly a heel turn for Minnesota. Having the pair feud over the world title heading into Total Mayhem XVI would be some nice timing...

Comparison: Randy Orton without the tattoos and without wrestling in slow-motion

 

Sammy Bach:

My plan for Bach was fairly simple - have him feud with Taylor over the International championship, then have him hang onto the International belt for a long while. The hope was to eventually build him into a main eventer, while he helped out his "Un-Stable". There were to issues with this plan - one being that there were some issues with finding quality midcarder faces to have him feud with over the title. Second was that he didn't seem to mesh that well against most main event talent - which made me wonder if he would actually fit into the main event scene. Regardless, he was going to continue to move toward that. A feud with Benny Benson was possible next...

Comparison: if it wasn't obvious... a lightweight cruiserweight version of Raven... complete with a freakshow "flock"...

 

Rick Law:

The intent was to have Law stick around the very top of the card, even after he was stripped of the belt. During the planning stages, I struggled to find something that fit a heel version of Rick Law, in terms of character. Everything start to feel like he was a modern version of the Big Boss Man - not ideal. Then I thought of an unlikely basis - Stone Cold Steve Austin. Just the basics of Austin's rebel character - angry, volatile, uncontrollable, and uncompromising. To combine the heel and the law enforcement aspects, I gave him a twisted perspective and - thought it hadn't really come through yet - a focus on justice. Except its his version of what justice is. Being stripped of the belt was going to really set him off and have him become a real loose cannon... with the long-term idea of turning him into a babyface without really changing the character or gimmick.

Comparison: As mentioned, Stone Cold Steve Austin

 

Rocky Golden:

More popular than talented, which in 2010 TCW doesn't help that much. He developed quite a bit thus far, likely thanks to teaming regularly with Bryan Vessey. But still not good enough to be a stand-alone main event star. My hope was that he would eventually get to the leve that Rick Law starts at. One of the major plans that I had for Golden was to create a Savage-Elizabeth dynamic between him and Miss Sara, except reversed. The sweet lovely young lady would slowly begin to look like the controlling, manipulative one. The original intent was to use this in the feud planned feud between Golden and Troy Tornado, where Tornado would make advances toward her and she could play the damsel in distress... only later to be shown to be anything but helpless. I stayed away from that when I used Rick Law instead of Tornado, as making advances towards Sara didn't really fit his character. The first notable step toward manipulative girlfriend (there were some earlier hints) would be Miss Sara telling Rocky he shouldn't partake in the title tournament. What I had not yet decided is who he would move into a feud with. I was leaning toward keeping him out of an actual feud for a month or two while he "adjusts" to not being champion and begins to get brow-beaten by Miss Sara.

Comparison: A bigger Lex Luger with Hulk Hogan's "Hulkamania" era in-ring approach and a touch of super-babyface John Cena

 

Tommy Cornell:

Won't say much about Tommy, as I already detailed the plan to retire the man. I have to admit that I felt restrained in writing the character for a simple reason - Rich Money. I had put some thought into a TCW diary before deciding go with an SWF way back when, and I ended up applying a character template which I had found for Cornell - the Magnificent Bastard - to Rich Money. The basics of that template - arrogant, manipulative, charismatic, and above all, successful and talented - fit my perception of Cornell so well in my mind. I tried to find something different for Cornell's character for this, but that just fit too well. But I felt like if I really let loose with the characterization, it would turn into a rip off of my Rich Money minus the catchphrase...

Comparison: The basic physical build of Triple H, with the mannerisms of Clive Owen.

 

Bryan Vessey:

As I mentioned to someone awhile back, I'm actually surprised no one called me on the lack of real character for Vessey. He was basically just a few characteristics - intense, honorable, determined. But those few traits are enough of a character, I guess. Vessey was going to be world champion, despite the steroid use and lack of entertainment skills. Maybe not a long-term champion or a multi-time champion, but he was good enough to get that strap. I was a bit torn on whether to continue his team with Rocky Golden or not, as Vessey was going to move into a pseudo-stable with Koshiro Ino and Joshua Taylor. I was tempted to find a mouthpiece manager for Vessey, but no one I looked at really felt right. And to be honest, I felt like in my vision of TCW, a babyface who rarely cut promos and mostly communicated by gestures could potentially work...

Comparison: Chris Benoit-ish

 

Eddie Peak:

Oddly, Peak suffered a bit because there were too many possible uses for him. His Total Violence Connection team with Genghis Rahn could have become a cornerstone of the tag division if I made that his focus. I was very tempted to play up the crazy aspect and have him turn into a monster heel. the intent was to push him toward that gradually. Through the summer and fall, Peak would have a few "incidents" when the crazy got the better of him. But they cost him. So he finds an unlikely mentor - Dread. The big legend helps Peak learn how to control the crazy and focus it. The result would be Peak moving into a primary heel role (probably around the same as Law is turning face, if I could've pulled that off).

Comparison: Batista, at least physically. Turn up the skill and the crazy, turn down the metrosexuality...

 

 

 

Small Interesting Note: "The Fall" that Sammy Bach kept talking about was an idea inspired by Fight Club. The basic idea that "once you've lost everything, you are free to do anything". That losing everything - the fall - can lead to rock bottom, where one can have the epiphany that material possessions and concerns are not really necessary for basic survival. The moniker he gave his talent - The Fall Children - is actually a reference to an AFI song, which I used simply because Bach used AFI's "God Called in Sick Today" as his entrance theme. Also, I had a fourth wrestler yet to make his full debut who was going to be part of the Un-Stable. Working under a mask and using the name Hellboy, he would play a feral cruiserweight who wrestled at a frantic pace and took insane risks. When not wrestling, Karen Killer would lead him around on a leash. jtlant did me a custom render for him that I will post up soon enough.

[20LEgend]

the Cornell story with the Sammy Bach links are genius

[Bigpapa42]

the Cornell story with the Sammy Bach links are genius

 

I dunno about "genius"... but it would have made for fun storytelling, I think. If I could time it right, I was going to have the three "Fall Children" slowly get out of Bach's control and threaten to tear the Un-Stable apart, with the trio basically becoming metaphors for the elements of Tommy Cornell's life going out of control. Dunno if anyone would've actually picked up on it, but it would've kept things interesting on my end....

[tristram]

The end of a new legend breeds the dawning of a new one, whatever diary it is you choose to run with.

 

However, brudda... we have discussed a few things in PMs, and I must say, that bad boy you've got me anxious about ... I would love to see that played out.

 

Congratulations on this, mate. I have to be completely honest here. My current diary is my first real attempt at CVerse. You know that. The reason I did it is simply because I kept reading your diaries and being amazed. It's no secret that a lot of the formatting and style comes off your genius work. Unfortunately I can't mould it anywhere near to the level you obviously have. It is somewhat of a secret though that when I first started in TEW10, having been culpable of restricting myself to the easier TEW05, that I relied on you an awful lot to show me how it was done, and then inspire me to get it done. Without your assistance, I wouldn't have even tried, and maybe, just maybe... pro wrasslin would completely have been lost to me as I really don't watch the stuff anymore, so this is my only real outlet. My favourite character here? Sammy Bach. You know, as a noob to the CVerse, everytime I saw your shows I'd immediately get into TEW10 and learn more about the characters you were defining, and instantly, from the way you portrayed Sammy Bach, he became a cult superstar in my mind. We've spoken about it before, but I totally saw the Raven references. It was so spookily well done.

 

Anyway, I'm rambling, but mate... thanks for everything brudda, I place you into my personal hall of legends which features the immortal gurus keefmoon and nevermore. Yep, you are in the top pinnacle of TEW excellence in my book.

[Bigpapa42]

The end of a new legend breeds the dawning of a new one, whatever diary it is you choose to run with.

 

However, brudda... we have discussed a few things in PMs, and I must say, that bad boy you've got me anxious about ... I would love to see that played out.

 

Congratulations on this, mate. I have to be completely honest here. My current diary is my first real attempt at CVerse. You know that. The reason I did it is simply because I kept reading your diaries and being amazed. It's no secret that a lot of the formatting and style comes off your genius work. Unfortunately I can't mould it anywhere near to the level you obviously have. It is somewhat of a secret though that when I first started in TEW10, having been culpable of restricting myself to the easier TEW05, that I relied on you an awful lot to show me how it was done, and then inspire me to get it done. Without your assistance, I wouldn't have even tried, and maybe, just maybe... pro wrasslin would completely have been lost to me as I really don't watch the stuff anymore, so this is my only real outlet. My favourite character here? Sammy Bach. You know, as a noob to the CVerse, everytime I saw your shows I'd immediately get into TEW10 and learn more about the characters you were defining, and instantly, from the way you portrayed Sammy Bach, he became a cult superstar in my mind. We've spoken about it before, but I totally saw the Raven references. It was so spookily well done.

 

Anyway, I'm rambling, but mate... thanks for everything brudda, I place you into my personal hall of legends which features the immortal gurus keefmoon and nevermore. Yep, you are in the top pinnacle of TEW excellence in my book.

 

I'm honored to have inspired you, especially since I enjoy your work. But you give me too much credit, Tristram. I was more than happy to help you make the transition, but its not like its not like you were learning to play TEW from scratch. It was just helping you adapt. I am certainly glad you did, and that you've made the transition into the CornellVerse - I'm quite enjoying your SWF!

 

Thanks for the kind words, T.

[Lo-Drew]

it's a shame that this has to end but this was another great diary by you BP. In many ways I look up to your diaries as inspiration for once I actually get a diary up and running. You truely are my favorite CVerse writer and for whatever diary you decide to do next, good luck.

[Bigpapa42]

it's a shame that this has to end but this was another great diary by you BP. In many ways I look up to your diaries as inspiration for once I actually get a diary up and running. You truely are my favorite CVerse writer and for whatever diary you decide to do next, good luck.

 

Thanks Lo-Drew. I've always felt honored to be so well regarded as a writer, and to inspire someone in any way is just damned cool...

[Bigpapa42]

Workers Part II - Tag Teams

 

Its not really a secret that I am a big fan of tag teams. Even more so in 2010, as they tend to pull better match ratings. As such, I was never really in a big hurry to break up teams, whether it was The New Wave or The Machines. Hill and Anderson are both talented enough to be key singles wrestlers, save for the weaker entertainments kills, but I didn't really feel any to go in that direction.

 

The New Wave

The single base tag team in TCW. Unlike The Machines, they aren't quite good enough individually to be looked at in that regard. The short-term plan was to keep The New Wave in the tag title scene and have them continue to feud with the Samoans. The long term plan... was not really any different. The team was going to end up functioning as the "muscle" for the Home Office when required, which was really just a way of establishing their loyalty to the promotion. I was considering them being put into a babyface mini-stable later in the year, similar to how they became part of Team Gilmore in my SWF... just hadn't decided yet what the stable would look like.

 

Samoan Violence Unlimited

The Samoans got over fasted that I expected, so I pushed them faster than intended. They were definitely meant to be pushed to the world titles within a relatively short time, but I figured that would be at least a month or likely even two beyond where they won them. I decided to take advantage of how quick they got over, but I honestly regret it a bit. Part of the plan was to have them turn babyface not long after winning the belts - which was set up with their handshake with The New Wave after the title win. The timing ended up being screwed up, though. I still had about two months before I could turn them face effectively, though, so I was going to have to stretch things out. The reason I most wanted to turn them face was simple - more interesting match-ups than as heels. I also wanted to split them from Planet Silver when they turned, but they hadn't been with Sara Silver long enough yet to really make that split meaningful.

 

The Machines

Another core team. I like they idea of them having a permanent on-and-off feud with The New Wave. The lack of entertainment skills on Hill and Anderson made me feel that a manager would help out... but I really didn't find anyone who felt right.

 

The Canadian Animals

Were intended to become a fairly key tag team, but I didn't want to push them too quickly. They would've become the number two full-time heel tag team after the Samoans turned. Edd Stone was going to get himself a good hard singles push, but not for awhile yet.

 

Total Violence Connection

As previously mentioned, I was torn on what to do with this team, mainly because I didn't really want to "waste" Eddie Peak as a full time tag competitor. If I had decided to go that route, they might have replaced the Machines as the top heel tag team.

 

Small Interesting Note: A previously mentioned, Ricky Dale Johnson was one of the few workers who's contract was coming up and had me concerned. I was kind of limiting RDJ's push heading toward that, which seems weird to say as he went over Cornell clean to end their feud. The intent was basically to put him in a position where, if I figured I would lose him and wanted to job him out first, it wouldn't make for an utter and obvious switch...

[Bigpapa42]

Workers Part III - Yet to Debut

 

What's more fun than creating new stars? Well, I went overboard in that regard in Generation Supreme and I was trying to avoid doing the same here in TCW. I created a developmental territory - Full Throttle Wrestling - and stocked it with some talent for the future. I also had a few guys on the main roster who were intended for the future, but had not yet debuted on the main show yet.

 

Emblem - Joss Thompson and Steven Parker

The original plan was to team Steven Parker with James Prudence - I even had an alt done so they would match to some degree. Bad chemistry = plan abandoned. So I had Parker on my main roster doing absolutely nothing. In about March, Thompson's deal came up so I snagged him and thankfully, no bad chemistry. The pair were jobbing in dark matches on almost every show to build up their tag experience, with Thompson's overness climbing quite quickly to match that of Parker's. Just something about an arrogant young team of talented heels that I liked. Both guys can be future singles stars, but it could've been the kind of team I kept together long-term.

 

Triple Double - Davis Wayne Newton and Antonio Maxi Marquez

The third and fourth members of Planet Silver, who were doing the same as Thompson and Parker and jobbing regularly. These two would definitely not be a permanent team. I wanted to build them both up, but slowly. No real need to rush, as I did with DWN in Gen-S.

 

The Hellraisers - Colossus and Ekuma

Right as I was about to start the diary, I watched a profile on the Road Warriors. They were always my favorite. I decided I wanted to do a big powerhouse tag team that could come in and dominate. I wanted size, menace, Star Quality, and skill in both. I had to settle mostly for size and Menace, with a bit of SQ. Not so much skill. jhd1 did me up some alts for them, which I will post. Both were in my development territory but progressing kinda slowly. I don't know if I would have been able to debut them before the end of 2010.

 

Hellboy

As previously mentioned he would be the fourth member of Sammy Bach's Un-Stable stable. The truly unstable one, he would be practically feral, a masked wrestler led around on a leash and let off only to maul opponents. A lucha-style lightweight, he would overwhelm opponents with insane quickness and pure daredevil antics. Under the mask was Gino Montero, who could later be "tamed" into simply being a standout member of the All Action division...

 

Steve Frehley

This signing - and the next - made a liar out of me. Frehley had signed about a week before where I stopped the game. His contract with the SWF came up, and he wouldn't resign due to being conservative. So when his contract expired, he walked. What made this awesome was the timing. About a month before the end, Eric Eisen took a long-term injury. He dropped the world title. With about 5 days left on Frehley's contract - and after there has been two news stories about him refusing to resign - they put the belt on him. And he walks out as champion. I was really tempted to debut him to take advantage of that, or at least write a segment about it... but I kept it under wraps because I didn't want to debut him. Instead, I stashed him in my development territory... for the next two months...

 

Christian Faith

Had not actually signed yet. His contract was up one month further into the game. I did a "test ahead" at one point, and he did the same as Frehley - he refused to resign and was allowed to walk at the end of his contract. In the test, I was able to secure his services - was surprised Cornell let me put out the money he demanded. I am not certain if him refusing to resign with the SWF would happen for sure, but I was counting on it.

 

Small Interesting Note: Always one to plan head, I put a serious amount of thought of into how I would debut Frehley and Faith. It was really getting them as a pair that interested me. If it was just Faith, I would probably still grab him. But Frehley by himself... not so sure. I went to one of my gurus for advice and hadn't really settled on how to debut the pair. One point of concern - would they be face or heel? These are two guys who would be very much associated with Supreme, and they are walking out on Total Wrestling? Could the fans cheer for them? I can see the arguement that they should be heel... yet I wanted them as babyfaces...

 

One idea I was toying with was a reverse version of the Outsiders. There would be a few weeks of hints - Rhodes pointing out someone who looked like Faith in the crowd, etc - before they simply walk out onto the show. Is it an invasion? Instead of talking about "taking over", Faith would talk about being held back "out East" and wanting to come to TCW to prove himself. He and his friend (Frehley has not been seen yet) want to earn contracts, so he tells the Home Office that they will face anyone. So over the course of a month or so, Faith and Frehley go up against ever-increasing quality of opponents. I woudln't want to put them over top guys, so when they finally came up against a main team - Syndicate, Freedom Fighters, maybe even New Wave - they lose. But they do so honorably and prove themselves worthy. But even under contract, they would remain "outsiders" to an extent...

 

_________________

 

So that's all I can think of right. I am certainly open to questions.

[ampulator]

Steve Frehley is a bit green to be a main eventer in a performance-based TCW. He will probably should be a midcarder in TCW, because his skills would drag down the match quality.

 

Christian Faith, on the other hand, could have likely held his own, at least for a while. Even if he was the "anchor" of SWF, it's hard for me to envision him as a "heel" right off the bat, considering, TCW's own top star is their primary heel, Tommy Cornell.

[Bigpapa42]

Steve Frehley is a bit green to be a main eventer in a performance-based TCW. He will probably should be a midcarder in TCW, because his skills would drag down the match quality.

 

Christian Faith, on the other hand, could have likely held his own, at least for a while. Even if he was the "anchor" of SWF, it's hard for me to envision him as a "heel" right off the bat, considering, TCW's own top star is their primary heel, Tommy Cornell.

 

That's exactly it. Frehley by himself didn't interest me nearly as much. Would I still have signed him? Maybe, but I'm not certain. He over enough that he would auto-push to main event status and he certain asked for main event money. But he would just about another top level worker I would have to protect in singles matches. Putting Frehley with Faith, though, means I don't have to. Between a two-month stint in development and teaming with Faith almost exclusively for the next few months after that, my hope was that he would see skill increases that would allow him to be used as a legit main eventer in TCW.

[ampulator]

So, I guess this is a "faith-based" development, eh? Heh.

 

In any case, even if I was TCW, I'm not exactly clamoring to get Frehley, of all people to get from the SWF.

[Bigpapa42]

So, I guess this is a "faith-based" development, eh? Heh.

 

In any case, even if I was TCW, I'm not exactly clamoring to get Frehley, of all people to get from the SWF.

 

Frehley and even Faith are pretty low on the list of Supreme workers I would want to steal. The ones I really coveted were Angry Gilmore and Lobster Warrior, with the likes of Rich Money, Jack Bruce, Remo, Marc DuBois, and the Bumfholes behind them. Frehley was not a top choice at all, and Faith would've been except for the age issue, which pushed him a lot lower on the list. The problem is that even if any of those others come up, they wouldn't leave the SWF for TCW at this point.