Superior Wrestling: A Road to Glory Walk-Through

[smartman]

I have one request for this diary. If you have a serious difference of opinion/I get something very, very wrong, please just PM me as I'd like to keep this diary as clean as possible (and I'll correct it in diary by giving you credit). If you love it, please give me feedback, but I don't want to have to keep arguing difference of opinion in this diary. That's what PM is for after all.

 

Note #1: Please read Eidenhoek's NYCW diary as there are some really good things in it for newer players that I'm going to gloss over in this diary because he did it well and first. So, you might refer to this diary as a 102 diary.

 

This diary is designed to guide people through playing a 3x0/$1000 game aka a 0 Popularity/0 Prestige/0 Momentum/$1000 game. The type of 3x0/$1000 game I'm going to be doing is a subset of this type of game called Road to Glory. A Road to Glory (RtG) game gives you a specific goal for the end game. You are to take your User Character from a very mediocre 19 year old wrestler to Main Eventing a PPV event for a National fed getting a 95+ match rating.

 

Your character is given 750 points for all skills, 100 for Heel/Face, and 250 for Gimmick types (Brute, Cocky, etc) except Reputation and Resilience which are both set at 100 AND your potential is set to Excellent. You do have a stat cap of 75 when starting out so no 100 Star Quality to start with. You also get a roll at the end of each year (whenever the game starts not necessarily January) that can give you positives and negatives to your promotion or user character. To better understand some of the skills, I'm going to give you a breakdown with the pros and cons of dumping points into them.

 

Step 1: User Character

 

Star Quality:You get a bonus in matches at 60+ and your popularity cap is tied directly to this stat meaning a low SQ could cap you too low to meet your goal. This skill CAN'T be improved in matches.

Psychology and all other Performance row skills: You want to have at least 35's across the board as anything lower tends to be a real problem in matches however these easily improve during matches.

Top Row Stats: You need to have a type of wrestler in mind and then funnel most of those points into that grouping. Is he a brawler, technician, or high flier? Also, having a decent Flashiness isn't a bad thng either. Also, you can improve these stats directly in matches quite easily.

Stamina: This is an essential stat for a wrestler as this tells you how long a wrestler can go in a singles match (tag matches can go longer). Also, this is the single easiest skill to improve as all you have to do is keep putting them in slightly longer matches than he can normally handle. Something in the 35-45 range is plenty.

The Other Physical Skills: These are Athleticism, Toughness, and Power. This goes back to what type of wrestler he is going to be. Put points into the ones that fit your wrestler with a min. of 20 per stat as these are much, much harder to improve in matches but aren't critical to the match rating.

Intensity and Stiffness: You can make your guy a very stiff worker if you want, but the points are better used elsewhere. Somewhere in the 20's is fine.

Referee and MMA: If you are a stat head, you can put 1 point each in these as they won't grow if they are set to 0. Otherwise, you're really wasting points here.

Entertainment Skills: Again, if you are a stat head, put 1 point in Announcing. Otherwise, we're focusing on Mic, Charisma, & Acting. Those improve only when you are in angles that are 6 minutes or longer. Note: Your role doen't even have to be rated or rated on Entertainment to improve those skills. Also, if you put him in the 2nd chair on the announce team, he will gain Charisma. Depending on the type of fed you aim to end up with, you may want to use lots of points there, or just know that you'll be using a manager at National.

 

So, be creative with your User Character as it is for YOU. Here is my UC for the game.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4509504161.jpg

[smartman]

Step 2: Picking A Mod to Play and Setting Up The Game

 

I'm not going to tell you to play this game with the Cornellverse. The beauty of TEW 10 is that there is a pretty vibrant mod community out there to pick from. In fact, I'm purposely not using the CV as again, I don't want to step on Eidenhoek's toes or the other good 4x0 diaries on here. The other beauty is that you can import your User Character into any database though make sure to change his birthdate so he's 19 (also, it is helpful to set the month to when the game starts).

 

Now, once you pick a mod to play, you need to pick a promotion to play. You can either play as one that is set to open in the future, or you can import a fed from another database and change its start date to the month and year the game starts. Also, remember that this is a 3x0 game so you have to set their popularity and prestige to 0 and momentum to F-.

 

After doing this, you reach a critical decision. Where do I put my fed? Keep in mind that Regional Battles start when there are 3 Regional or Small feds that have at least 17 (E-) popularity in the same region so you don't want to start in a crowded area. Also, it is a very good idea to look at TV coverage as it is really sour to start in one region and find out that if you started in the region next door, you would have TV much sooner. It's a good idea to start a test game as you can check all of these things out AND get an idea of what workers you can get as well.

 

Okay, you have your region picked out. You have two things left to do. The easy one is deciding what type of fed you are running. Most people have a set fed type that they like to run so make sure you set that in the Product before you start the game (if you forget, go ahead and change it in the Editor). Though I will add that it would be a good idea to check out the Trends in the Gameplay Info button in the Database Editor before you start as being a Medium or Strong Positive has major benefits and being untrendy has severe drawbacks to how fast you grow.

 

Note: There is one rule in RtG games on movement. You can't jump feds that are more than 1 step above you. For instance, you start at Local so you can only jump to Small. So, you can't start the game and jump immediately to WWF/E or SWF. Also, you are very unlikely to move anywhere for the first 2-3 years as you don't get any booking points to start with and your booking reputation is set to Very Low. If you go broke/get fired, you can sign up with any other fed that is at the level or lower you were at when you get fired.

 

Ah, the 2nd thing you have to do. RtG games mean you are forever a booker ONLY. This means you need to pick your owner. You can do it randomly, but again, you're a Local fed with very limited funds. The worst thing to happen is that someone that costs $2,000/month gets the job on a Written contract. So, pick someone that is cheap but talented. You can pick any particular skill (announcer, wrestler, etc) for your owner, but keep in mind, he/she is never going to leave unless they retire and keep them on PPA contracts. To assign an owner, you must give him a contract in the Database Editor to your fed. Set it to PPA and 12 months (it defaults to that in game permanently) and leave the amount blank so the game will assign the amount based on skill and economy. Once they have a contract, go back to the Promotion screen and select Power Structure. That person will now show up in the drop-down menu for Owner. Save the fed, and now you are ready to start the game.

 

Here's a Pic of this screen

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/orig/2/4509533922-orig.jpg

 

Next up is picking the workers.

[smartman]

Step 3: Who do you hire?

No matter what type of product you run, there are certain things you need to look for when searching for people to fill out your roster. There are 2 specific people you need to hire to start the game. You have to have an announcer and a referee. Now, if you picked one of these to be your owner, you're one step ahead. If you haven't (most of you won't), then you need to target an announcer that has at least a 50 announcing skill, and it would help if they had some popularity in your region. Don't go too high as they tend to be too expensive. You'll be focusing mainly on people that are labeled Virtually Unknown on their popularity level though you can shoot for the occasional Independent Name IF they are well worth it. The ref should likewise have a 50 or better ref skill.

 

Note: I didn't say anything about a Color Commentator or Road Agent. If you can find a really, really cheap quality one of each, then go for it (a female manager is sometimes a good idea for CC as they tend to be cheap with high charisma). Otherwise, make sure you have at least 2 wrestlers on your roster than can do those roles. You're Local, and the bonus a good CC or RA gives a match is inconsequential to your show's rating. The goal is to get a show rating of greater than 20 points above your popularity after all so pocketing the money is a pretty good strategy.

 

Sub-note: If you do hire a CC or RA, they can do both in a match. So, say you hire a veteran with good psychology and charisma, well that's your CC & RA all in one. He/She just can't be wrestling in that match too.

 

Ideally, both the announcer and ref's salaries come to around $1,000 or less. Your non-wrestlers are what economists call a Sunk Cost meaning those 2 are going to be used every show so you can add their salaries plus $700 (Cost of a Small show) plus $200 for the building. So, at $1000 + $900, you're going to spend $1900 just to have the show. To put that into perspective, if you have a decent economy and a product that is either very or quite favorable to sponsorship, you will get $3800-$4300 per month. So, you've just dropped about half your money on 2 people and the show.

 

Now, we move to the workers. First thing to check is how many wrestlers you need. The game says that you have to have 4 Main Eventers, 5 Upper Midcarders, 2 Midcarders, and 1 Lower Midcarders for a total of 12 wrestlers (11 more since you're 1). Which brings me to my first opinion statement. That's way to freaking many people for a fed that is going to have 12 people to the show. So, let's take a 2nd look at what you need AFTER you put a brand split in. The brand split is going to let you run whatever kind of show you want without ticking off half of your roster for not using them as ME and UMC demand to be on every show. The brand split adds 1 ME, 2 UMC, and 1 each MC and LMC for a new total of 17 wrestlers (again 16 plus you). Just make sure you put everyone on one brand and set your show to the other brand.

 

Okay, so you're looking for people that aren't very popular (Virtually Unknowns typically have less than 20 popularity in their home country). What else should I look for?

 

Psychology is the most important skill in the game! At 60, two wrestlers can call a match in the ring which is what you should be shooting for in the main event. Plus, as was stated earlier, if you skip hiring a Road Agent, you'll need at least 2 people with a 60+ psychology (and around 40+ respect) to fill that role. So, sign everyone you can afford with 60+ psychology.

 

Let's stop to take a look at what bonuses and negatives a match can have. You can see them if you turn off Keep Dirt Sheet hidden in the User Options.

 

Positives

 

Star Quality—If over 60

Call in the Ring—Again, all wrestlers have to have 60+ psych at this level

Going All Out—This is a hidden ability. You'll find out if they have it once you run a match less than 16 minutes using the All Out note. It isn't totally hidden as generally the worker has to have at least one top row skill in the 60's to use it but not always. It's best to keep a list in the notes section of who can and can't go all out. Oh, and my user character never can go all out.

Charisma—Again over 60 Charisma

Announcing, Color Commentary, Road Agent, and Ref—Only if they have that position (so your wrestlers who are your CC and RA won't give you that bonus) and if they are better than what the match would get without them.

Open Match—If you use the Open Match note, you will get a positive note. The one drawback to that note is that it mutes the winner's popularity gain from the match.

 

Negatives

 

Stamina—If you run a match longer than their stamina allows

Psychical Condition—If a wrestler has a yellow or red body part, you'll get this note

Consistency—Wrestler has less than 60 consistency stat

Psychology—If you try to call in the ring with a wrestler with less than 60 psychology

All Out—If the wrestler can't go all out. However, in a multi-person match, if more wrestlers can go all out than can't, it is worth doing anyway. For instance, a 4-way match with 3 who can and one who can't should have that note

 

I'm sure I've left a few out.

 

So, the rest of your roster should be filled out with people that have high Star Quality and good top row skill(s). A good place to look is your Hidden Gems section in your Creative Meeting area. Do keep in mind that if you get foreigners in your fed that you'll need at least 2 people that speak their language or they'll be unhappy (since they won't have anyone to talk to). Also, don't worry about giving out travel expenses. Some people will absolutely demand it, but you can always renegotiate with them immediately after they sign which will get them to wave it (yes, being a skinflint owner is a good thing!). Also, save 2-4 spots for rubbish jobbers for your top people to beat the living daylights out of. These should cost no more than $150 apiece.

 

I'll post some screenshots of people I signed and passed on to show you what I'm talking about.

[smartman]

Just a couple of things as it is late, and I'm not up to a long post. First, the Road to Glory thread is located in the TEW10 General Thread. You only need to read the 1st post. It's really a lot of fun, and I want to thank the original creator and Derek B for adding in a ton of additional year-end bonuses to get.

 

Secondly, I'm using Genadi's wonderful 1987-The Superfly Effect mod. I fixed a few things in the data that don't effect me at all (namely WCW doesn't have 70% of their roster on Exclusive PPA contracts since the game really doesn't do that well at all. Hmmm....need to fix WWF's too though that means I won't get Bret Hart at Regional). Also, drug use has been severely toned down as the game doesn't function well with the 80's drug use (seriously, you try and use Kerry Von Erich when his spots get dinged 30 points due solely to drugs).

 

Remember all that stuff about picking your location carefully? Yeah, I threw that out the window mainly because I picked Sting as Owner and my main long-term signing was The Undertaker who both have 40's in pop in the Mid South meaning I'm going to end up in a Regional battle as soon as I hit 17 pop. There are good TV options at Regional though so that's good, and Mid South is a 95% area meaning you hit Growth Levels earlier.

 

This is a good mod in two respects. One, there are only 23 feds (with the 3rd in Mid South debuting in August) so you tend to not see overly-stretched workers which makes scheduling easier. Two, there are no development feds from Hell snapping up all of your roster every 2 months! Play Derek B's Cornellverse 97 mod if you like being a sado-masochist. There is one drawback to it though. The non-wrestlers are really expensive. Remember I said shoot for $1000 for both announcer and ref? Well, most refs demand $1000 and the announcers are close to that which can put you in a little bit of a pinch. Oh, and that little narrative that tanks the economy in October. It does help you sign people at Small though as people sign for less during a crappy economy.

 

Oh, and remember my sage wisdom of keeping two of every language if you're going to have one of them? This is what happens when you fire that 2nd guy because you needed to trim the roster. Note the first line.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4517091276.jpg

 

And you can decide if this wrestler is worth $600/show or not (keep in mind the economy is at 72 and going up). I won't tell you who he is, but he's auto-pushed to Main Event though he only has 25 pop in Mid South with 10 everywhere else in the US. Oh, and pretty much all of you have seen at least one of his matches.

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4515121663.jpg

[smartman]

*crickets chirping and there goes a tumbleweed*

 

Thanks to everyone who is reading this. The answer to the Who Is This Worker is the Hardcore Legend Mick Foley. Sure, he doesn't have a 60 Psychology yet, but good lord look at the Brawling, SQ, Selling, and Menace. This is today's topic.

 

Why you should always have 2-4 Workers that have good Menace and/or Sex Appeal

 

Unless you are going to run a Much More Pop fed, which means that almost all of the match rating is based on the 2 workers' popularity, your matches are going to score pretty well. "That's really good though!" Yes, but it does have one drawback. Your angles are all based on the worker(s) popularity no matter what they are rated on (Entertainment, Mic, Acting, and Overness).

 

There are only a couple of exceptions to that rule. The obvious one is if they're Not Rated in the angle, though someone has to be rated in the angle or the game explodes (just kidding). The other one is Menace angles though it is somewhat based on pop too just not severely. So, if you have a couple of wrestlers with high Menace, those are the main ones you use for angles in the beginning.

 

Sex Appeal is kind of in-between Menace angles and regular angles in how they are rated. Pick a low-overness worker with a 67 Sex Appeal, and the angle will still score in the high-20's to 30's, but once you hit small, you can get someone like Sunshine (48 Pop;84 SA) who will give you a 66-67 Shoot T-Shirts into the Crowd Angle. Btw, that's the highest a strictly Sex Appeal angle can score. Later on, I'll show you how to avoid that cap.

 

The reason this is so vital is there is an insidious note you will get on all your shows if even ONE of your angles does worse than 10 points of your Overall Match rating (roughly take your last two matches and average them with a heavy weight towards your main event match). The note will say "Some of your angles didn't meet the standard of the matches", and you will get dinged at least 2 points per failing angle.

 

Again, the main focus you have at Local is to get the hell to Small as you get 5x-6x the sponsorship money with very little increase to your costs so anything that hurts your shows is to be avoided at all costs. "So, we should just be a soulless fed then?" Well, that's up to you, but consider your roster first. What that means is that you're going to have an hour to fill with at least 3 matches (you have to have 3 spots in your show no matter what though pre and post-show things do count) so if your roster can fill that time, being soulless (what everyone calls a no-angle fed on here) is an option. If they can't, then you're adding 2 more wrestlers to the card for a 4th match which means mo' money mo' money. Also, angles are an easy way to gain overness for your wrestlers.

 

I purposely left out Owner goals from the hiring rules. There's a simple reason for this. Most of your initial goals are really simple to follow that they don't usually matter. Typically, you'll get one goal against an odd worker type (MMA Crossover or Psychopath) with the rare exception of Spot Monkey that could hurt you. Then, you'll get 2 with min. 35 of a certain skill. You'll finish up with 2 Critical goals that are the ones that really matter. These are the ones that can get you fired for failing once, and it must have been serendipity that I got the worst goal for a poorly scouted database. Again, SCOUT YOUR DATABASE BEFORE YOU PLAY!!!

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4606240153.jpg

 

The first one is the one I'm talking about. Remember, there is one fed opening up at Regional in August. However, in my test game, one of the Cult feds goes bankrupt within a year so I'm good. If you get the worst note of all in your game, you can always turn off owner goals, sim a day, and turn them back on which will give you all new goals. The worst goal is the variation of #2 which states that you can't go below $0 EVER instead of at the end of the goal.

 

I'll leave you with the shot of my Product I'm running which I'll talk about next time along with a complete breakdown of my roster.

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4606510680.jpg

[smartman]

Before I unveil my opening roster, let me add something that tends to be glossed over too much. Everyone on your roster needs to be on there for a reason, or they need to be replaced with someone else. Now, the other thing to remember is that half of your roster are going to be losers while you push the other half. So, when you're evaluating talent to sign, figure out A)Where that person is going to be on the roster which has to do with cost benefit and B)Is this something you're going to be pushing? Obviously, you're going to run across people you go OHMYGODIMUSTPUSHHIMTOTHEMOON!!!!! However, they better have talent or your shows are going to take a hit. Now, without further ado, here is my roster.

 

Enhancement Talent-None (and if you have one to start, you're hiring too many people so fire some people!)

Opener-None (ditto above)

Lower Midcarder-2/2 (Game Says 2/I have 2)

 

Adolfo Tapia (Face) $300-His Performance row stats are fabulous for a 21 year old with B's across the board except a 58 psychology which I can improve quickly. A 71 Star Quality means he'll be with me for a long time. The only downside is that he's $300 with no popularity in the US. This is the downside of signing foreigners. Sometimes you just suck it up and sign future stars like this though.

 

Art Barr (Face) $150-Another youngster (which all of your LMC'ers should really be btw as this is the group that can be termed Future Winners with their abilities and/or Star Quality pushing them up the card) who has solid Performance row stats who is almost ready to call in the ring with a rounded up 60 psychology. He's a slight risk with a 58 safety though with my 40 Match Intensity that isn't that big of a deal. However, if you're running a 60-100 Intensity fed, that safety stat better be higher or the body count will skyrocket.

 

Midcarder-3/4

 

El Hijo del Diablo (Heel-duh!) $200-And we run into our first loveable loser (or is that unloveable loser given his name?). He's 24, but his SQ is only 59 with nothing across the top above 41. A good thing to look for in losers centers on 3 skills-Safety, Consistency, and Selling. This means they can bump like crazy (not to be confused with Crazy Bumps) safely and consistently. He does all three things well with 68/76/69. And he's the 3rd person on my Hot Prospect with my 2 LMC. Note: People that push to UMC or ME will not appear on your Next Big Thing and Hot Prospect lists thus when you see my UMC'ers that's why.

 

Mark Fleming (Heel) $250-Sometimes you hire someone because they have a special skillset. He's got amazing Mat skills that I hope to pass along to Sting and Mick Foley. This is another good reason to pick a mod like this as fewer people get stolen from you. In the CV, with 3 North American National+ feds, hanging on to young talent is pretty freaking hard. If you're doing this, stay away from Midcard teachers and focus hiring better Main Eventers to do the teaching. In this game, he's not bad for $250.

 

Mysterion (Heel) Free-My User Character pushes here despite having no popularity anywhere. Unlike what most people do in 4x0 games by signing Jack Avatar and god-pushing, your first couple of years are going to be more focused on talent development. When you see my Upper Mids, you'll see I hired some people to do that talent development.

 

Tommy Jammer (Face) $150-And our first Babyface loveable loser. He's awesome backstage...and that's about it. Oh and he's cheap too. Those are the best two things to have in Loveable Losers. Tommy, meet The Undertaker and Tom Prichard. They'll be beating the hell out of you regularly.

 

Upper Midcarder 7/9 (And here's my main problem with auto-push. It gives you way too many Upper Mids and Main Eventers. Why oh why couldn't I have 5 Lower Midcarders?)

 

Bob Yuma (Face) $300-And meet the person I should have fired instead of Pat Tanaka who speaks Japanese. Instead he'll be smashed by every heel on the roster. He does have 60ish psychology (that's a 59.6-9 meaning it shows 60 but he can't call in the ring). Does have 60 Menace if I cared to use him.

 

Brian Pillman (Face) $600-OHMYGODIHAVETOSIGNHIMANDPUSHTOTHEMOON!!!!!! Sorry, a really huge fan of his or I would have passed on him at Local. $600 for an Upper Mid is never a good idea at Local. That said, he can call in the ring, 81 consistency, 68 mic skill, and he can fly. Oh, and 76 SQ.

 

Eddie Guerrero (Heel) $400/Freelancer-Yes, I'm renaming my Upper Midcard to the dead wrestlers club. However, he's just too awesome to pass up. I will explain Freelancers and why they are good to sign. You can only sign for 3 months which means you're signing them constantly, but the benefit is that they never get signed by anyone else in the game. And until you get TV, any popularity gain in your region isn't going to bump their pay up.

 

Jason Knight (Heel) $150-Yet another loveable loser heel. He has no popularity in the Mid South, and other than his C+'s in the 3 loser categories there isn't much to say other than he's cheap.

 

Jushin “Thunder” Liger (Face/Wrestling God) $400-Let's see B- across the entire top row outside of Brawling, check. His worst performance stat is a 71 psychology, check. He's consistantly named the world's top flier, check. He's an exceptionally positive influence, check. I only have him if NJPW stay below National. !@%@%^@$!#

 

Owen Hart (Face) $500-Another member of the dead wrestling club, and another super-talented wrestler. All B- in Technical and Flier, check. Can call in the ring, check. B+ Consistency and Basics, check. Needs a manager, darn. I'll live with that all the way to the bank.

 

Scott Armstrong (Face) $250-Not bad at all for him as he's 60ish in psych with that being his worst Performance stat. Only a 48 SQ stat means he'll stay around, but it will mainly be in jobber tag teams (hey, like real life!). Still $250 with multiple possible relationships is well worth it once he can call in the ring.

 

Shinobi (aka Al Snow in a mask) (Face) $150-Decent Brawler, 60 SQ, and good performance row stats except in psych (48) make him a long-term project, but as long as he's that cheap, he's got a home on my roster.

 

Tim Patterson (Heel) $150-A Light Heavyweight on a roster full of lightweights-middleweights, he's here because he's cheap and good in the 3 loser skills. Oh, and that 25 pop that I'm going to steal from him.

 

Main Eventers 5/7

 

In descending order based on their Franchise Player ranking

 

1. Sting (Face/Owner) $500-He's the Stinger for crying out loud! He's going to be my CC early on (84 Charisma). He has 75 Menace and 45 Pop for angles, a 58 psych, 86 SQ, and 85 Consistency meaning he brings it every single match.

 

2. The Undertaker (Heel-duh) $100-The yang to Sting's yen, he's the other cornerstone of Superior Wrestling. Sure, he can't call in the ring and won't be able to for some time (47 psych), but 89 SQ and 95 Menace make up for it. Back-up CC when Sting is wrestling (70 Charisma).

 

3. Tom Pritchard (Heel) $600-Another one that I shouldn't have hired, but I loved watching him growing up. Plus, he's the 3rd choice as CC and 2nd choice as RA so he's not too overly priced. Really solid Performance stats and 50's in brawling and technical stats. 80 Stamina and 62 SQ make him a solid contributor for a long time. Plus, he's 27 so I might squeeze out some more stat growth.

 

4. Shane Douglas (Heel-duh) $600-Only 22 now, he's got nowhere to go but up, and he's pretty darn good now. 62 Brawling stat and 60 Mic skill along with 71 SQ are solid, but he excels in the Performance row. 77/58/76/81/70 so he joins Sting in being very close to calling in the ring. Once he does that, The Undertaker might not be the #1 Heel in SW!

 

5. Steve Keirn (Heel-huh?) $600-Another old favorite from his Fabulous Ones' days. He's also going to be my go-to Road Agent and training up Sting and Mick Foley. Otherwise, just a guy who's going to move down the card as the fed grows to be the heel gatekeeper.

 

Mick Foley (Face) $600-You can see my comments on him in my earlier post and see his skills. After I'm done training him up, he might displace Sting as top Face while spreading his massive Brawling skill to everyone on the roster.

 

Ken Timbs (Heel) $500-Why oh why is he a Main Eventer? Stupid auto-push. He's a distant 3rd in RA running (for the record Liger and Eddie don't speak English which rules them out as RA's). He's not any positive influence backstage. So, take a wild guess who is going to be elevating the Upper Mids and training Mick and Sting?

 

Non-wrestlers

 

Bob Dinsmore Referee ($700)--A positive influence who has a 60 ref skill. Again, everyone is overpriced.

 

Steve Stack Announcer ($600)--A really good find at 76 Announcer skill who is good backstage. Also, for the future has a friendship with Tully Blanchard.

 

My first show will be up tomorrow as we get to the actual shows. No predictions yet as anyone with a clue will get them all correct. Maybe at Small or Regional where unpredictability will reign.

[Rayelek]

Only in a mod based in the distant past will you see comments about Shane Douglas usurping The Undertaker.

[smartman]

Only in a mod based in the distant past will you see comments about Shane Douglas usurping The Undertaker AND not be a total a-hole backstage either.

 

Fixed that quote for you. Have to remember that this is 1987, and both are really young and unproven. Though most potentials are random, I specifically set Sting and Undertaker to Excellent for purely historical reasons. *cough* Yeah, that's why. *cough* The rest is basically a crapshoot. Just wait to you see who I sign at Small/Regional too (based on my trial game though I'm going to be much smarter about it this time although that freaking Regional battle has to be addressed some way). Considering this was truly the Golden Age of wrestling, my 7th grade self watched at least 3 hours of wrestling most Saturdays (and that was without cable).

[Eidenhoek]

I was going to guess Foley, actually.

 

And...that's a tough sell for me at $600. Great brawling skills, decent entertainment, solid phsyical and camera skills. Good bumper. But the psych...I'd have wanted him for $500, maybe.

[smartman]

A quick little learning point before I post the show. I've skipped over one of the last things to do before running your show. Once you have your roster finalized, you need to assign gimmicks to everyone. Most come with gimmicks already assigned, but they don't always work for the worker or with your fed.

 

There is one key note to pay attention to when you set up your product. As you can see with my product, my fans won't get "subtle" gimmicks. What does this mean? Well, the gimmicks are broken down into five ratings. The 2 obvious ones are Face and Heel. Anyone can use a gimmick that has at least a 50 rating in whichever side they're on, but anything lower than 50 means it is either a Face or Heel-specific gimmick. The third rating is Risk. As you can see on my product, they won't like highly risky gimmicks. Highly risky means over 70, and risky means over 50. So keep those numbers in mind though most mods have very few gimmicks rated over 70 on risk with Occult being the most obvious. The 4th rating is difficulty. This just describes how hard the gimmick is for a wrestler to pull off. If you pick too many high difficulty gimmicks, you risk some not being pulled off which means a poor gimmicks which is one of the negatives I forgot to mention in the dirt sheet positives/negatives.

 

The last rating is Subtlety. This is going to cause you all kinds of grief if you don't pay attention to that rating. The reason has nothing to do with anything realistic, but is a purely game mechanic. Remember, I said my fans won't like subtle gimmicks. Obviously, a gimmick with a super-high subtlety rating is out, but any gimmick that is lower than 21 on subtlety trips the fans up as well!. So, either you can change almost all of the gimmicks in the database before you start, or you can clone all of the gimmicks in the game and give them 21-29 subtlety ratings. You can use gimmicks with higher subtlety ratings than 29, but I tend to go with what works which 21-29 do. This keeps you from running into a roster full of poor gimmicks which along with hurting EVERYTHING (angles and matches) also ticks the wrestler off which gives you another negative to everything. So, as you can see, avoiding poor gimmicks is a vitally important thing.

 

The show will be up a couple of hours.

 

Oh, and Eidenhoek, I agree with you on Mick Foley. I passed on him in my test game for that reason, but I learned the hard way that I need more menacing workers for the Regional battles. Viewed that way, he's worth it just barely. That and I went from 7 Negotiating skill in the test game to 6 this game which is why Pillman and Owen Hart are $100 more per show than they were. And of course, they'll still cost that much 2 years from now thanks to the economy being below 50 in all of that time (after the October crash).

[smartman]

Oh, and one last very important thing before you run your first show. Go into your Finances-->Prices and up your prices by $4. That's the max you can go without ticking off your fans.

 

Now on to the Cropping with Upload Screenshot errr...The Show.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4708290989.jpg

 

"Did I tell you guys about that one time me and Stan Lane beat the hell out of the Moondogs all over Memphis (and everywhere else in the South)?" Well, it sure had the young guys' attention which relaxed everyone for the show. Having a veteran presence backstage isn't a bad thing.

 

The Superior Wrestling Beginnings (I am the king of naming things!) show opens with 11 people who are the most hardcore of wrestling addicts in all Arkansas. (Note: 11 isn't all that bad of an opening attendance unless you have Vocal fan base)

 

And we kick the show off with a truly southern style booking angle. Sting is in the ring, but before he can speak, Tom Pritchard comes charging out from the back, and they start brawling all over the ring. Not to be outdone (and to boost the angle rating) The Undertaker comes charging out and beats the hell out of both of them before going to the back. 52 Sting and The Undertaker on Menace, Pritchard on Overness. Basically, it was a good way to get some momentum for Tom while using the other two's Menace to do it.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4708445393.jpg

 

And we hand Liger his title aka the Superior Wrestling Cruiserweight Title. This is my #2 title and is set to Floating. I somehow failed in my other goal of him training my user character in anything though. As the 1st match, it was completely inconsequential as you're always going to have a cold crowd at this point. One note, a gimmick match at Local is a cheap way to buy time. The Ladder match has a 5 minute set-up instead of the standard 2.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4708455970.jpg

 

And we come to the Semi-Main Event. Owen is there to carry the match psychology-wise while losing to The Undertaker. Oh, and to train Mark up quite a bit which Owen did a great job of doing. Solid match and did everything I wanted it to do.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4708473491.jpg

 

Taker moves to Color Commentary while Owen fills in as Road Agent for our Main Event. I didn't want to give the #1 Title away on the first match so this is non-title, and it sets up beautifully for the 2nd show to be a 3-way with a cheap finish as The Undertaker beats down Sting for the DQ win. Yeah, I could have had a double DQ, but again, Sting is the owner while Tom is just there to teach which he unfortunately failed to do. A 59 is great at this level which makes the show awesome.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4708485651.jpg

 

A quick post-show angle to show what the first angle could have been without Pritchard, and I stupidly set it to 5 minutes instead of 6 so they could have gotten a skill increase. Below is the full show results.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4708503511.jpg

 

And that's how you avoid the dreaded poor angle note. As a quick note, any show that is 20 points better than your popularity is awesome so a show that is greater than 40 points is amazing. Here's why.

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4708571298.jpg

 

And of course, the financial picture is highly important.

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4708592139.jpg

 

This is wonderful as the next show is going to be more expensive (with the 3-way) so I've got some money to play with which is all you can ask for at Local.

[Blake Trask]

Two small things, though before I say anything about them I'd like to say you seem to be doing a good job so far. I certainly never hit angle grades like that for a long long time in 0/0/0/0 games of mine.

 

* For gimmicks, you can go into the forties for face/heel rating without getting the 'This gimmick would need a turn' message. I've had success running 'Enforcer' gimmicks with faces before, and that has a face rating of 46. (another gimmick with a 41 face rating also doesn't have that note show up).

 

* I don't think that you need the "X is improving in Y skills" note for there to be actual improvement in stats. I've seen boosts without that note showing up.

 

Anyway, keep up the good work.

[smartman]

Nice to have a great diarist reading this, so thanks Blake. Yeah, if I had run "normal" angles, the grades wouldn't be anywhere close to that (see the Pritchard angle dropped the angle by 24 points with his 35 overness), but I'm so sick of getting that poor angles note. As long as Menace angles are going to be rated like this, I'm going to focus more on those. It's either that or run a 100% fed because there's one fed that threatens me in the upcoming Regional battles. One thing about me playing games. The method might be different or odd, but there's a logic behind them.

 

However, this does bring up the point I was talking about earlier. If you're running a much more pop fed, those regular angles would be perfectly fine, and conversely, if you're running a much more performance fed, why the hell are you running angles? Seriously, the matches would have rated better making angles almost impossible to run.

 

Just to add something a little more substantive to this post, I'll touch on why my popularity jumped from 0 to 2 (2.2 to be exact). As I said, most people are set in their ways in TEW from a product standpoint. I love Equal feds because a good performer is valuable, but someone that gains popularity is valuable too. There is one tweak I made to my product. My Modern is normally set to Medium. This really doesn't do anything to the overall product as Medium is where it affects things then again when you have it as Key Feature. There is a simple reason why I did it though, and it has to go back to my key statement: Know Your Mod!

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4715332831.jpg

 

If you have a trending product, you gain popularity much, much, much faster than if you were at No Effect. The rule of thumb is if your show is 10 points better than your pop gains you .3, 20 points gains you .6, and 40 points gains you .9. Then, you add in any modifiers such as trends and the wrestling industry status. So, a strong positive trendy product + a booming industry (92 and increasing) + a 58 show= 2.2 which means if I keep doing that combined with Mid South being a 95% area, I will hit Small (aka where you want to be ASAP when you're Local) in 5 more shows. You hit Small at 11% Importance which is at 11.6 pop. Six months to reach Local is about the best you can do running one show a month.

 

The 2nd show will possibly be up sometime tomorrow. I'll get into much more stuff once I run up to Small complete with the Regional battles. However, I will leave you with this funny screenshot.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4708520976.jpg

 

Oh, and please read the background on this superb mod: The Superfly Effect by Genadi. As my bookshelf full of Harry Turtledove books can attest, I love plausible Alternative History which sums up this mod. Note: As happens in the story Hulk Hogan is out for 18 months with an injury so that's why he's missing from WMIII. And I'd like to thank I Effin Rule as that is where I pulled Superior Wrestling (my fed name and logo) from his Effinverse mod AND he produced those cool dual-grades (letters and numbers) too.

[smartman]

And Superior Wrestling Spring Break Presented by Upload Screenshot's Crop Tool is LIVE!

 

First, something really funny.

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4805121921.jpg

 

Remember, he doesn't speak English. Note to self, don't play him in charades.

 

I booked myself a quick win under the rule of thumb of if you're not going to gain skills, gain wins. Tried to use the Work the Crowd note to mitigate the Cold Crowd note all small feds get. My User Character can't do that either.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4805304474.jpg

 

Now, on to the show. You wouldn't know this by how I'm booking, but putting people debuting in your fed in an angle before their first match is usually a really bad idea. The reason is that for your main people, they will gain more momentum from winning a match than being in an angle at Local-Regional. Obviously, if you bring in a Sean McFly into TCW or someone similar, you can stick them in a 95+ rated angle which will be better than most 1st matches. For instance, Owen Hart has a 64 momentum from losing to The Undertaker last month while Pritchard has a 53 from debuting in the angle.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4805324597.jpg

 

Sting (49) and Pritchard (37) rated on Overness; Foley and Undertaker on Menace. Showing once again how badly regular angles would do.

 

Straight into the 1st match. This one the Liger Title and share his abilities with the roster match. Unlike last show, he did with one of my Hot Prospects.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4805334766.jpg

 

We move to the Semi-Main Event match between two debuting main eventers. This match was supposed to help Foley gain psych and technical while Keirn handled the match. Unfortunately, the match didn't do too well (remember for an equal fed you either have to have two skilled wrestlers or two popular wrestlers or one of each; this one had one skilled and no popular wrestlers).

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4805353096.jpg

 

Finally, we reach the main event of the evening. A 3-way match for the Superior Wrestling Championship. However, I goofed and put this as an elimination match instead of a regular 3-way. So, uh ignore the ending of the match for story purposes. Note: You don't have enough control over the order of elimination in matches in the game along with the 2/3 falls matches. The game will always have one of the top two most popular wrestlers be the last one pinned which is why even though Pritchard was named the loser he went out first.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4805371577.jpg

 

As Sting is getting ready to address the crowd thanking the 11 for cheering him on, The Undertaker gets ready to attack. Mick, the Color Commentator for the match, makes his 2nd save of Sting. This time I made sure it was a 6 minute angle. Sting-Entertainment; Taker and Mick on Menace.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4805382161.jpg

 

Here's the entire show. Slightly worse than the 1st show even though the main event was better thanks to the semi-main being a whopping 8 points worse. Overall, still a very successful show with both titles being owned now.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4805404824.jpg

 

And the financials which look pretty good considering the extra $600 wrestler and stagnant attendance.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4805480188.jpg

[smartman]

I'm going to run all of my shows at once until I hit Small (4 shows in all) without any frills. However, I thought I'd put up some screens, and I would really like an answer to the question.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4810131298.jpg

 

But, but, but...I was aiming to hire the Freebirds and bring them back to Texas at Regional! Grrr....

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4908042456.jpg

 

This one is specifically for Eidenhoek.

 

Now, can someone please explain why my merchandise plummeted from $850 to $60? The economy is dropping, but it is still at 70. I didn't fire anyone, change who was on what brand either. Seriously annoying as I lost about 25% of my meager bankroll.

 

Oh, and here's one last screenshot. He's a game-created wrestler that I couldn't pass up. Carl Wood has 15 popularity across the US. $450/month

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4908181373.jpg

[Blake Trask]

Merchandising is an erratic piece of revenue unfortunately. It can bounce a lot month-to-month so it's very unlikely it's down to anything you've done. The only way I've seen it bump consistently is by raising my size.

[smartman]

May Show--Superior Wrestling Thunderstruck (For future reference, this is going to be my #1 annual show)

 

Mysterion def Scott Armstrong—E+/31

Sting Blows Off Interview w/Stack For Title Match vs Keirn—C+/62

Trying to build up Stack's Popularity though he looks lost out there (Note: You get this note when one person on screen in the angle is wildly less popular than everyone else on screen in the angle)

 

The Undertaker def Brian Pillman—D/45

 

Jushin “Thunder” Liger def Shane Douglas—C/60

Very good chemistry between the 2 as Liger makes 2nd defense of Cruiserweight Title

 

Sting def Steve Keirn—C/60

This is the first Brawl Based match, a Texas Death match (if you're based in the Mid South, you might as well use it). The Undertaker botches his interference and wipes out Keirn allowing Sting to defend the Superior Wrestling Championship.

 

And we finish the night off with my first “Use Everyone on the show in an angle, angle”. Sting and The Undertaker stare each other down (both Menace) while everyone piles into the ring to stop the fight though I couldn't use Liger because of the lack of English (why you need English to hold someone back, I don't know). C+/67

 

Show produces a C-/59 with an 18 attendance. And my Merchandise inexplicably tanks causing me to lose $426 as it went from $870 to $850 to a whopping $60. So instead of making money, I'm going to have to seriously re-evaluate my next show. Oh, and we hit F/7 (6.6) so that's $1/ticket more now.

 

June Show--Summer Bash (for when you can't steal one name, smash 2 together)

 

The newly debuted Carl Wood faces off against Mark Fleming to try and train up his weak performance skills.

 

Carl Wood def Fleming—D-/39

 

The main show starts with Sting in the ring.

 

A casket, along with ominous music, slowly rolls to the ring causing Sting to lose a little bit of his composure. He finally throws the mic down and grabs the casket flinging it open. No one is there. C/64

 

The please train up my user character's skills continues. Again, it doesn't look like it did much good. I got worn out to the point I just kick Liger in the nuts for the DQ.

 

Liger def Mysterion by DQ—D/44 to retain Superior Wrestling Cruiserweight

 

And Bob Yuma gets fed to The Undertaker and gets a pink slip after that performance. This also shows why you should avoid scripted matches as much as possible.

 

The Undertaker def Yuma—D/45

 

The Main Event of the Evening features Sting going against a debuting Eddie Guerrero. Two of the best performers of their generations don't disappoint. Sting's Scorpion Deathlock lets him retain the title though in clearly the best match of the night.

 

Sting def Eddie—C/65 to retain Superior Wrestling Championship

 

As the match ends, The Undertaker gets up from his commentator position and grabs the title belt. He sneaks up behind Sting as he's getting his arm raised nailing him in the back of the head. Taker rolls him over and puts the belt on him screaming at him that he's going to get this title next month. (Taker on Menace; Sting on Overness which explains this:) C/62

 

The show gets another solid C-/59 with a jump in attendance to 28. And now my Misc money vanishes into thin air (down from $732 to $291 though it is easily the most random money in the game) too while my Merchandise money rebounded to $120 meaning that even saving $600 that show I lost money again. This time only $157 leaving me with a paltry $1,151. Did I mention you want to run to Small ASAP when you're at Local? Only 2 more shows to go thank heavens.

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4913080891.jpg

 

I salve the wounds by signing someone else that doesn't speak English, Dean Malenko as a face. Strong Friendship with Eddie Guerrero for the win! $400/show and yes, he speaks English but with E+'s across the Entertainment skills means the mic will never be close to him.

 

July Show--Fireworks (and this has nothing to do with Katy Perry)

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4913475299.jpg

Okay, I really don't want to know about that. ABBA music videos are all the Swedish Cinema I need to watch.

 

My Dark Match super-push continues.

Mysterion def Adolfo Tapia—E+/34

 

A standard pre-match face off in the ring features Sting, The Undertaker, and furious glares—C+/70

 

The first match is to apologize for leaving Tom Pritchard off May's show (or more accurately I forgot to put him on the Roster brand instead of the Show brand). No big surprises here.

 

Tom Pritchard def Shinobi—D/44

 

The Semi-Main Event features two awesome wrestlers fighting over the Vacant Cruiserweight Title. I'm keeping this a face title for now mainly due to Eddie's Freelancer status.

 

Owen Hart def Eddie—C-/58 Owen wins the Superior Wrestling Crusierweight Title

 

Finally, the match everyone has been waiting for Sting vs Undertaker. The 2 leaders of the fed. And what do you do with a huge match? You make it a gimmick match with a dirty ending.

 

The Undertaker def Sting via First Blood with brass knuckles—C-/58 The Undertaker wins the Superior Wrestling Championship; Sting made 3 defenses. Honestly, with this being a scripted match, I'm happy with it. That's honestly why I put it off.

 

As the crowd goes nuts (obviously everyone but Sting and the ref saw them), Steve Stack goes to try and get a word with the new champ. The Undertaker takes the rapid-fire questions/insults before he finally gets fed up and walks off without saying a word. C/65 and I regret making this a 5-min angle.

 

And our usual, awesome C-/58 show rating. This time we got a new record of 43 people in attendance.

Oh, thank heavens my Merchandise money finally bounced back to $850. My Misc money is still stuck at below $300, but at least I cleared $237 this month.

 

CWA drops to Regional and UWA makes the disastrous leap to Cult (they had less than $200k in the bank. There's the lesson people. NEVER jump to Cult unless you have at least a couple million in the bank.) That's why I am not worried about dropping to #24 as WWW opens and signs The Undertaker. That's just his 3rd job so I'm safe unless someone else snaps him up. (Looks menacingly at the 2 touring feds)

 

August Show--Heat Wave (held a day early due to WWW bogarting in on my 4th Sunday shows meaning my title holder isn't available that day.)

 

We start off with the Get Sting Some Momentum Back Match. He dominates Jason Knight.

 

Sting def Knight D/47

 

He goes to the now working house mic. “Taker, everyone out here knows you stole that title from The Stinger. You fight hard, but you just didn't have what it takes to beat The Stinger so you had to hit me with those brass knuckles. Taker's music plays as he saunters to the ring. They stare each other down while Sting mouths “Look behind you” while Taker laughs at him. Sting has a big goofy grin on his face that finally ticks off The Undertaker who tries to swing at him, but his arm is grabbed by Mick Foley! Foley gets some punches in before Undertaker takes his belt and leaves rather hurriedly. C/60 (Sting on Entertainment; Taker and Foley on Menace Taker and Foley improve Charisma; Taker improves performance skills)

 

My quest to finally get an improvement note fails again though I'm slowing improving just because of my potential.

 

Brian Pillman def Mysterion D-/41

 

The Semi-Main Event is Owen Hart's first Cruiserweight title defense. Note: When you give a title match a Cheap Finish, it doesn't count as a title defense in history. Shane Douglas should have remembered that when he DDT'd Owen on the floor.

 

Shane Douglas def Owen Hart via Count Out (Owen retains Cruiserweight Title) C-/56

 

I'm also the king of gimmick matches as this is a Texas Bull Rope Match for the Championship Title. My other motto is always leave them wanting more. Thus, the finish on this match as the ref stopped the match due to both men beating each other silly and strangling each other to near death.

 

The Undertaker vs Mick Foley is a draw (Taker retains Championship Title) C/60

 

Sting slides into the ring to check on Mick Foley. As Sting starts to move to check on The Undertaker as well, The Undertaker sits up abruptly causing Sting to backpedal almost out of the ring. Then, a thick smoke envelops the area around Taker (who slides out of the ring on the side where there are no chairs and hides under the ring while his ominous music plays as Sting looks mortified. C/62

 

The show gets a C-/57 with 67 attendance. And we are finally at Small. And I end up in a regional battle which I come in 2nd in to WWW (65). Just keep that in mind when you see some of my contracts I'm forced to sign. Remember, either you have to get talent or popular people in an equal fed, which WWW is too btw. I will leave you a screenshot that shows why you want to get to Small.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/4917413037.jpg

 

I will accept requests on people you think I should target in my hiring spree. A few rules though: they have to be A)quality enough I might hire them anyway B)can't be more popular than Independent Star as they won't sign with me anyway right now though I'll hold them in reserve when I hit Regional C)can't be utterly toxic in the locker room. I'll deal with a talented Very Negative, but I refuse someone like The Ultimate Warrior. Oh, and they can be an announcer, road agent, manager, commentator too not just wrestlers.

 

I do want to thank everyone who reads this as I never thought it would get 500 views this quickly so thank you. Now, we're getting to the fun stuff of Small with a Regional battle with 2 Regional feds while I'm at Small. Oh, and the great economy crash that is about to hit in October.

[smartman]

The scene opens at the monthly meeting held in Sting's apartment on the 1st of the month.

“We finally got over the hump, Mark. We're a Small fed now.”

“Thanks for giving me the belt Steve. I'll always remember my first title was thanks to you.”

“Hey, that was Street's idea. If you could have seen the looks on the fans' faces after you went up in smoke. That was priceless. Good thing I know that magician and got those smoke bombs cheap.”

“So, what are your plans now? Am I going to be keeping the title long?"

“Well, Street is the one that could tell you more about that. I'm wondering why he's running late today. I wish there was some phone that would work in cars. Hope he isn't hurt. knocking on door And there he is.”

 

“What happened to you? You look like something the cat threw up not drug in.”

 

“I haven't slept since the show. *drops a stack of papers which scatter on the table and end up on the floor* There's something you both need to know. Mark, thanks for getting me into that show last night and for volunteering to go undercover with Wild West Wrestling.”

 

“What!?! When did this plan go down?”

 

“I'm sorry, but I didn't have time to tell you what with having to print up new fliers for moving the show a day earlier and make sure the wrestlers came in a day early too. The bottom line is that we're in a Regional battle with them and (new, Gilbert-run version) Mid-South Wrestling. Look, I know we're all thrilled with hitting Small and making more money from the sponsors, but this is the downside to that.”

 

“Okay, we'll take them on together, as long as we're all a united front here.” as Steve glances at Mark."

 

“Hey, I ASKED him to do this, Steve. We need eyes and ears there. It's a way to network that you and I can't do. Sure, he's our champion now, but everyone knows you own Superior Wrestling while I'm head booker. Did you get the numbers that I asked for, Mark?”

 

“Yeah, I got all but one of them as Ken [Mantell] kept Arn away from most of the roster for 20 minutes going over his TV title match.”

 

“That's fine. I was going to wait to bring him at until we got bigger anyway. Tom's given me some contacts in Turner's fed that should be enough. Steve, you've got their numbers, right?" slides a sheet of paper over to him

 

“Oh yeah, they're fun people to hang out with, but uh, I know what these guys make. I didn't want to spend that kind of money yet. I mean we don't even have enough money to buy a new Cadillac yet. Aren't you kind of over-reaching here, Street? I know we all wanted to bust it to Small, but I thought we were going to be able to relax a little.”

 

“Steve, I didn't figure on us facing TWO Regional feds. Let me show the roster WWW signed in 3 weeks. They're not a little dinky fed run by an old, backwards-thinking promoter. They're gone for good now that Don Owen [Pacific Northwest] and Bob Geigel [Central States] have left the business. He's even got name-recognition in Texas after booking World Class for years. I didn't want to do this either, Steve, and I had intended to give you a long run with the title, Mark as well. The bottom line is that either we keep finishing 2nd to Wild West, or we re-do our roster with some more-known people.”

 

“It's that bottom line that I'm worried about, Street. We have to build up that bankroll because I'm not doing this to go broke. *Looks at the list* You can try to get some of these guys, but they can't be more than $1,500/month. Judging by some of the names here, I guess you're adding a tag division? *nods* Well, I guess I'm off to get us a new couple of belts. Glad your friend is a trophy and belt designer, Street.” picks up the invoice

 

“Mark, depending on who I can get, you can probably expect to hold onto the belt for another couple of shows. I'm not going to hire anyone that requires a Main Event title run just on general principle, but if we get who I want, they might not want to lose to you. We both know you're great, but you saw first hand what we're dealing with so I hope I can count on you to help get us to equal footing with them.”

 

“Street, you know I'm in with you guys for the long haul, and yeah, when a Horseman is getting their #2 singles titles (Midcard btw), I know I'm not at that level yet. So, if you need me to drop it, that's fine. Just don't ice me out for years from it, okay?”

 

“Hey, I'm going to do my best to keep you front and center as much as possible. You and Steve gave me this shot, and I won't forget that. As long as we all do what's best for the business, we'll keep growing, and then, we'll all be TV stars.”

 

“Yeah, now go home and get some sleep. You look like you wrestled Bruiser Brody after you ticked him off. Nah, you are still in one piece.”

 

“I'll take a nap, but then I've got to start working the phones. Oh, we're riding down together for the show Sunday, right? I'll make sure the contracts are ready for them to sign. Hopefully, we can skirt Ken knowing about. He doesn't come off as too much of a jerk, but we can't get into a war with anyone just yet.”

 

Key: Sting/Steve-Blue Undertaker/Mark-Indigo Mysterion/Street-Red

 

What we learned:

1. Superior Wrestling is now at Small

2. The Undertaker signed to go undercover at Wild West Wrestling.

3. I'm capped at $1500/month on contracts which I can add cost me a Freebird reunion.

4. I'm adding a tag belt that will be Main Event-level named Superior Wrestling Tag Team

 

I'll post my new roster (hiring is done but I will still take suggestions/requests) tomorrow plus why no one should ever do this at Small. All I can say is that I'm thrilled with the roster and at the prices I got everyone. Beginning to wonder if you aren't better off starting with a 6 in Negotiating Skill instead of a 7 as I did much better this time around. Though it might be due to the Economy at 61 instead of 80.

[smartman]

We're going in reverse order this time since pretty much everyone I hired is at the top.

First though, the firings I made: Tommy Jammer, Ken Timbs, & Mark Fleming (I didn't want to fire him but the game decided to push him as a Road Agent which he is terrible at and didn't want to use him there anyway). So, 2 guys who never actually wrestled for me and Fleming who was on the Time Decline list. Timbs was #1 on that list with the dreaded he should really consider retirement note. Note: Other than Sam Keith, you should run from them ASAP (or plan for them moving to teaching in your development fed), and you really should have not have anyone like that on your roster at Small anyway as they're usually too expensive.

 

Main Event (Recommended 5/Have 6)

 

1. Sting (Face/Owner/28 years old)--His pop has gone up from 45 to 50 in 6 months. Main skill gains were just numerous +1 gains on the top row, +3 stamina, and +1 psych (up to 59, so close). Kind of scary that I spent all that money, and he's still #1. Or, I can take it to mean that I picked my owner very well.

2. Michael Hayes (Face/33) $1500—So badly wanted to sign Terry Gordy as a face Freebird tag team, but Gordy wanted $2,000/1,000 downside which I'm not paying. He's a face under the “Legendary figure returns to the crowd's delight aka they cheer too much for him to be heel” theory.

3. Bobby Eaton (Heel/29) $1500/700 down—YES! The Midnight Express is coming to Superior Wrestling! Not great that he's mainly a tag wrestler, and is my #1 heel. However, as someone who literally watched him grow in the ring in the CWA, I wasn't going to pass on signing him. Oh, and he's super-talented too. What can you say when the Performance row is all green, his worst top row relevant skill (purorsau doesn't matter in the US) is a 48 in aerial with everything else C- or better, and his only drawback is his mediocre Entertainment skills and barely adequate SQ (62). Oh, and the Midnights were my favorite tag team ever.

4. Jimmy Garvin (Heel/34) $1500/800 down—Another legend in Texas, but he's impossible to have as a face when you bring his wife back to be his manager. Just way too much history to overcome. Nothing earth-shattering skill-wise just a very solid, charismatic worker.

5. Manny Fernandez (Heel/33) $1500—One of the best brawlers in the world (B-/74) with very solid performance skills. Solid SQ too. Slightly weak on the mic which is easily fixed with his tag partner. The only Negative influence on my entire roster fwiw.

6. The Undertaker (Heel/Champion/22) $100—Our champ barely doesn't make the Franchise Player list, but he's gotten better. Hopefully, the other two shows he wrestles each month will continue his skill growth. Pop has gone from 35 to 47.

 

Upper Midcarders (5/6)

1. Marty Jannety (Face/25) $1000—The other half of the Midnight Rockers. He's the only one of my hires that can't call in the ring, though he's close at C-/57. Mainly there to learn from the better heel tag teams I've hired while working with Shawn Michaels.

2. Rick Rude (Heel/28) $800—The biggest steal I made. He's just simply too good to be that cheap. As good as Manny is, Rude is already showing signs of being better. 85 SQ, 75 Sex Appeal, and a 72 Entertainment rating that will only go up. Tags with Manny as Awesome Twosome (62!)

3. Shawn Michaels (Face/22) $1000—The legendary wrestler is still at the early faze of his career, but the future is clear for him. His Entertainment skills still aren't great, but they should get the job done while improving. The Midnight Rockers are the initial main face tag team (63)

4. Stan Lane (Heel/34) $1500/700 down—Yes, the Express don't come cheap, but again, favorite tag team who can really go in the ring. Sweet Stan isn't as good as Eaton though he is not a slouch plus he's got an 80 SQ. Unlike Shawn and Rude, he isn't good enough on the mic to speak for the team. Oh, and despite his age, he's not on the Decline List. Midnight Express (31 as they hadn't been together that long)

5. Terry Taylor (Face/32) $1000—Another old CWA hand, that I'm happy to get for $1000. He's just a solid wrestler who isn't exceptional at anything, but he's reliable. In other words, my top choice to spam for tag partner chemistry while losing to the Main Eventers.

6. Tom Pritchard (Heel/28) $600—Much like Taylor, he's being moved to the tag division while he'll still be facing the ME'ers in singles action while I search for tag chemistry.

 

Midcarders (7/9) This is where most of my Upper Mids went after replacing all but 3 of my top 2 card positions

 

Brian Pillman (Face/26) $600

Lanny Poffo (Face/32) $900—Oops, I left an Exclusive PPA with the WWF. Well, their loss is SW!'s gain. Leapin' Lanny is one of the most under-utilized talents of his generation, imo, mainly because he wasn't his brother. I enjoyed watching him so I signed him. He's another Taylor/Pritchard type of a solid wrestler, adequate SQ, moderate Entertainment skills. He'll be involved in the Cruiserweight division and possibly tag with someone.

Mick Foley (Face/22) $600—A giant fall for the future Hardcore Icon, but he's seen the biggest improvement in his top row skills. His psych isn't there yet (54), but he's still supremely talented.

Mike Rotundo (Heel/29) $700—Is it harsh to say that I mainly hired him for a future Barry Windham hiring? Yes, he's a very solid, reliable worker, but unless his C-/58 SQ jumps 2 points, he better hope I can hire his cousin or find tag chemistry. Otherwise, he's going to be pushed out when I can hire better workers at Regional.

Owen Hart (Face/Cruiserweight Champ/22) $500—Great gains in Brawling, a point in psych and SQ to boot. Hoping he doesn't get stolen. Pop has gone up from 17 to 25 in 6 months.

Ricky Santana (Heel/26) $900—My other signing in this level. He's what I wish Rotundo was except he's not as skilled technically. 67 SQ and flashy, though lacking in charisma. Mainly focusing him in the Cruiserweight title hunt.

Shane Douglas (Heel/22) $600—A little disappointing that he hasn't improved at all in 6 months wrestling for me and Mid-South. I've also dropped his pop to 28 while elevating a couple of others. Still highly talented.

Steve Keirn (Heel/35) $600—And my midcard gatekeeper slides into his projected place. He and Jimmy Garvin are the only two on the Time Decline list though it is only the 3-4 years past his prime one. As he is mainly a tag teamer, I hope to get lucky with chemistry somewhere. If not, he'll spend his time mentoring my youngsters.

Tim Patterson (Heel/23) $150—Basically, I kept him around because he's a cheap heel. I hired him basically to siphon off his pop, and then didn't use him. His future is either curtain jerker or unemployment.

 

Lower Midcarders (5/6)

 

Carl Wood (Face/19) $450—My first game-created wrestler has already gained +1 stamina, psych, and SQ in 3 months. He can only get better getting squashed by my new hires. $450 is still high for a LMC, but he's 19 and #5 on Hot Prospects. When you're behind, in order, Eddie, Pillman, Owen, and Foley, that's pretty darn good.

Dean Malenko (Face/27!) $400—Intentionally kept him off-screen until I hit Small in-case I needed another heel. Didn't, so he'll stay Face. Can't believe he's 27, but he's my main low-level tech guy.

Eddie Guerrero (Heel/19) $450/Short Term—Dean's buddy/#1 Hot Prospect/Wrestling god, he'll move up now that I will be running longer shows/looking for cheaper talent to fill out the show. I'll eventually turn off his Freelancer status as the game really doesn't handle that well at all (the only way for someone to lose this status in the game is to go 1 year unemployed and Eddie starts with a PPA with CMLL so it will never happen plus why waste a year of that talent?)

Jason Knight (Heel/24) $150—Everyone needs a cheap jobber. Meet our cheap jobber. Will never win a match for me

Mysterion (Heel/User Character/19) $0—Severely disappointed that I haven't improved that much. I've gained +2 in all of the in-ring skills and +1 in SQ and SA so isn't all bad, but I've gained a lot more in other games. May spend the next few months looking for tag chemistry as that's a great way to improve skills.

Shinobi/Al Snow (Face/24) $150—Mainly going to be a jobber though I still have hopes he'll improve through use. If he develops, great, but if he doesn't, being a jobber isn't all bad.

 

Opener (2/3)

 

Art Barr (Face/20) $150—He shouldn't be here for very long as his 67 SQ will shoot him up the card. Needs to work on his safety, but otherwise very long career for him with me.

El Hijo del Diablo (Heel/24) $200—And meet heel jobber #2. Solid jobber stats (safety/consistency/selling) and great in the locker room. Oh and cheap too. That's the jobber triumvirate btw.

Scott Armstrong (Face/28) $250—You never know when you might want another Armstrong on the roster. Otherwise, face jobber #2 as he's not quite as good at jobber skills as Diablo but he's better top row.

 

Enhancement Talent (0/1)

Adolfo Tapia (Face/21) $300—Absolutely never should pay an ET $300 even at National+. However, he's here only because he's a Mexican who hadn't ever wrestled in the USA. He's exactly like Barr in that he won't be staying here for long.

 

Managers

 

Bruce Pritchard (Heel/27) $700—82 Mic skills and 75 Entertainment skill make him a very good manager. His 28 popularity means I need to boost him up fast. His brother is Tom Pritchard so major bonus.

Precious (Heel/32) $450—Jimmy Garvin's wife and one-half of the first female (don't call them divas) feud in wrestling history with Sunshine. Not great on the mic, she'll be using her 83 SA a lot.

Sunshine (Face/30) $250—Currently the only Face Manager on the roster, the other half of that legendary feud is quite a steal at $250. Very good Entertainment skills along with 84 SA. She'll be spending time in the 3rd chair at the announce table to improve skills a little bit.

 

Announcer

 

Steve Stack (Face/47) $600—Still solid announcer with a +7 gain in pop in 6 months to 35. Didn't get replaced due to signing a bunch of new workers and that friendship with Tully Blanchard. If he stays that cheap, worst case scenario is 3rd chair.

 

Color Commentator/Road Agent/Authority Figure

Blackjack Mulligan (Face/50) $1500—And the best case for re-doing how people are paid in the game. Right now, the vast majority of your pay is based on their respect level which means your road agent is going to cost an arm and a leg. So, knowing that, pick one that can do something else too which is why I picked Blackjack who retired 2 months ago. He's a B-/73 CC and a B-/76 RA. Plus, he's a very nice 50 pop in Mid South area which means I can have an old-school Authority Figure. Back before Mr. McMahon and Eric Bischoff became the “evil authority figure” that everyone associates with AA's now, the head of the promotion was usually one that feuded with heel managers or the top heel(s) because they called things right down the middle. Sometimes bumbling, they generally pushed storylines forward. Oh, and he has a 76 Menace too. He's going to be pushed initially as a CC, but I might change it to Road Agent if I don't get CC bonuses from him.

 

Bob Dinsmore is still my ref at $700. He's gained 2 skill points to 62.

 

So, my base show cost has jumped to $2800 + $1700 (Medium shows cost $1000 more than Small) for a total of $4500. Oh, and the $1500 limit kept Cornette (who isn't nearly as popular as Mulligan either btw which again shows that respect should be a very minor variable in their starting pay. It just doesn't make sense that worker with an 80 pop across a country with 10 respect will cost way less than a 10 pop/80 respect).

 

Now, this is absolutely NOT how you should run a Small fed. You should just sign the few people you need in the jump to Small with pay around the same level. Also, you should run a 2nd Small show (your main one will be Medium) with your cheaper people once you hit the 1,000 attendance mark for the Medium show. This show should make money now as it is basically the show you were running with a much bigger audience. By doing this, you will jump to Regional faster plus make more money. That's part of the reason to put in a brand split in the first place. You just have to shift people to a Cheap/Expensive breakdown instead of everyone on the un-used brand. I can't do that here because of the economic crash that's about to come which will depress my attendance. However, by knowing my mod and making my fed a Strong Positive, I'll gain more or the same from one show than a no effect or minor positive fed will from 2 shows. I just won't gain the extra money. If I had picked a different owner that was popular in the Southwest, I could have started there, and easily beaten PNW and GLOW (I've been beating them even with my Small shows), but I stuck to the Mid South so I'm having to jump my shows up by about 8-10 points to beat Wild West Wrestling. Hopefully, I'll make a few grand per month. I'll post the show tomorrow.

 

Edited: Oh, and what is the cost of coming in 2nd in a Regional Battle is a 0.2 drop in pop. I do only have to beat a 60 this month so I'll breeze by that one. Mid South is just terrible posting worse shows than I have so I'm not worried about them. Quick catch by Eidenhoek, that per the help file, Regional battles aren't affected by promotion's relationships to the fellow combatants though I swear they do in the game. We'll probably be finding out once I hit Regional as Mid South must DIE (what? you expect me to pick on the better fed?)

[TheEffect]

Don't fire Adolfo Tapia!

Turn him into his LA Parka character and push to the MOON!!!!

[smartman]

Note to self, READ THE BIOS!!!!! *headdesk* and facepalm. Seriously, 6 months in this game and almost a year in my test game, and I never noticed that. I blame the fact that it doesn't automatically list an alter ego for him as they're all fed specific. And don't worry, he's a long-term project for me. Too much talent, but he's not going to be La Parka for me for awhile. He didn't do that until 1992, and I already "debut" The Undertaker a year and fed early.

 

And since comedy gimmicks severely penalize anyone they defeat, I never use them. Those and Gimmicky really kill the loser's pop so I have banned myself from ever using them. Well that, and I have comedy at None.

 

Quick edit to my previous long post above.

 

Warning: There is no prediction contest. Just posting my temporary card (I'm going to try to fit in one more match but not until I can juggle the numbers and see my attendance). And yes, my show title makes no sense, but New Beginnings is worse. It's a Small, Small, Small World isn't good either and a one-time title.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5204214013.jpg

[smartman]

Superior Wrestling Last Chance (Sponsored by Upload Screenshot)

 

Note: How great is it to have a Married, Related, and Friendship relationships with plenty of great backstage ratings? I have just the top 5 (aka the negatives) checked on the rules, and I'm still at 100%. Is it going to make things “boring”? Yes. Is it going to keep me from having to fire a knucklehead or three when they do something stupid? Hell yes! When in doubt, ALWAYS hire great personalities whenever possible over knuckleheads until you get to a massive roster.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5212313597.jpg

 

And that's leaving out 4 more negatives, but that's with a 2 full brands at Global with way too many people on the roster.

 

MANNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fatherly approach got the “I get the message response”.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5209000562.jpg

 

Blackjack and Michael Hayes open the show in the ring. Mulligan announces that he is running things here in SW!, and the first thing he did was sign a legend in Southern Wrestling history, Michael Hayes. Just as Hayes starts to speak, The Undertaker comes out from the back with the title around his waist. He tries to intimidate both of them to little effect, but it does mean they're focused on him. Jimmy Garvin uses that to his advantage as he sneaks behind them and pounces with Taker joining in very quickly. Out from the back sprint Foley and Sting to clear the ring! (Hayes & Mulligan-Entertainment; Taker, Sting, & Foley-Menace; Garvin-Overness)

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5211413488.jpg

 

The first match of the night is a 4-way Ladder Match for the Cruiserweight Title. As I made the show 2.5 hours long, 5 minutes wasted setting up the ladder is a good idea. And yet again, no skill gain for me. This is getting annoying.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5211440277.jpg

 

Jimmy Garvin comes back out to the ring and brings Precious along this time. He goes up to Blackjack at the announce table and demands a match with that nobody named Dick, Rick, Stick...Mulligan says it is Mick Foley, and Garvin is told that the match starts right now! (Garvin-Entertainment; Precious-Sex Appeal; Foley-Menace; Blackjack-Mic) Uh oh, guess I get to show you the poor angle note...

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5211471352.jpg

 

Garvin plays the over-confident heel very well, and Foley plays the plucky underdog well. Garvin starts off strong, but he's slowly overwhelmed by the ferocity and tenacity of Foley. Finally, just a Mick gains control of the match, Precious hops up on the ring and distracts the inexperienced Foley. This give Jimmy the opening he needs as he gets the pin.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5211501173.jpg

 

The next match features two tag team members in singles action as Beautiful Bobby Eaton faces Marty Jannetty. Eaton controls the match, but being the heel team they are, Bruce Pritchard distracts the ref allowing Stan Lane to slide into the ring and nail Marty with a beautiful dropkick. Eaton follows with the pin. Oh goody, we get 2 negative motivation notes. Hopefully, it is simply a “hates his debut match one”. The other ones are “hates working against smaller or larger than what size he is”, “hates/loves working the opening match”, and “gets more nervous the higher up the card they are pushed”.

 

And I somehow deleted the screenshot. It got a wonderful 64 rating.

 

Oops, had this one and forgot about it.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5008013184.jpg

 

The Midnight Express along with Pritchard stay in the ring where he raves to Mulligan about how good this team is, and they'll be tag team champs here further proving they're the best team in the world. (Pritchard-Entertainment; Eaton & Lane-Overness; Blackjack-Mic) And this is the drawback to running 6-minute angles. They have to be better than the preceding segment or they get penalized about 10 points.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5211564656.jpg

 

The next match features Sting versus the debuting Mike Rotundo w/Precious which is why this match got made (along with developing Sting's skills). Sting is never in massive trouble even when Precious tries to distract him. One Scorpion Deathlock later, and he's the winner. Yay, bad chemistry note! Strike one Rotundo as I really don't tolerate bad chemistry notes too often from Midcarders or lower.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5211591715.jpg

 

Michael Hayes comes down to the ring hoping to get to speak this time. He thanks the crowd for their cheers and says that he has come back here to win titles. Nobody is going to stand in his way, not even a “deadman”. On cue, the ominous music again plays, and smoke gathers down the entrance ramp (dry ice really is a cool thing) while Hayes tries to keep his composure. He finally loses it when a noose descends from the entrance. (Signifying a bull rope match and/or Hayes' impending hanging) (Taker-Menace; Hayes-Entertainment)

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5212012965.jpg

 

We need to calm the crowd down before the final 2 matches so we put in a squash/build up Tom Pritchard's momentum to give it to someone else later. Giving Tapia some pop is a bonus. And we didn't need to calm it down that much, but that's what happens when you put 2 men who can't go all out get told to do so.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5212065886.jpg

 

Before the final 2 matches, a good old-fashioned brawl is in order. The 2 Midnights brawl while Sunshine is trying to keep the Rockers away from the Express. Finally, Blackjack decrees a match between Shawn and Stan starts NOW! (Eaton, Lane, Shawn, & Marty-Overness; Sunshine-Sex Appeal) Ugh, this is really bad. Can't understand how this one stunk. Should have made Sunshine a Catalyst I guess.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5212090958.jpg

 

Everyone stays at ringside for the match, including Bruce who is done managing his brother. The action is fierce and fast as the crowd is riveted to the action in the ring, but of course, the Express aren't happy with a 1-on-1 match. So, Eaton looks for an opening to intervene in the match, and he finally gets one when Shawn's flying cross-body is ducked taking out the ref momentarily. Unfortunately for Bobby, he tries one move too many, and Sunshine has the ref up in time to see the DDT leading to the DQ.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5212112911.jpg

 

The Main Event is upon us featuring Michael Hayes vs The Undertaker for the Superior Wrestling Championship in a Texas Bull Rope match. This is a massive brawl between two men who know how to dish it out. Finally, after busting each other open, strangling each other with the rope, and general mayhem, both men are left lying face down in the ring unable to answer the ref's 10 count. The ref reluctantly rings the bell. The match ends in a draw. (As you could guess, Hayes wouldn't lose, and as a personal preference I almost never give a debuting wrestler an existing title) Thank God this saved the show.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5212130353.jpg

 

And there's that note I'd hope never to see. Didn't seem to hurt me too badly this time about 5 points which isn't bad with two horrible angles. 108 people isn't what I hoped for, but it's 40 more than I had last month.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5212153335.jpg

 

We made $2,098 for the month which is pretty good considering I spent almost $17,000 on wrestlers and the show. We easily came in #1 beating WWW's 60 and Mid-South's lousy 50. And I jumped my 2.2 up to F+/15.2.

 

Edit: If you can't run the show on the last day of the month AND you have less than $20,000 in the bank AND you're in a similar situation war-wise meaning your roster is more expensive than it should be, give yourself between $5,000-10,000. This keeps you from temporarily falling into negative which triggers the "Ohmygodthey'reinfinancialtrouble" note. If you get this twice in, I think 3 months, you get closed down by the game. Don't use the money for anything, but keep it in the bank to avoid that note. Why I got it in my game after this show, I have no idea as clearly I made it back in a few days. Stupid CWA(EUR) touring on Sundays stinks as they have Sting, Owen, and a couple other big names on my roster. Even though I'm at $18,000 in the bank now, I'm pumping in $5,000 just to avoid that note again.

[smartman]

Okay, today's lesson is on how to properly construct an angle for maximum ratings. The first thing is to identify your most popular person in the angle. As mentioned earlier, all roles in angles are rated on popularity with the exception of Not Rated. Sex Appeal and Menace are much less based on popularity than the other choices though so remember that too. Everyone else follows along from 2nd most popular on down which is why Foley was dead last in the opening angle even though he was rated on Menace.

 

Now, the actual roles of the angles are ranked accordingly Catalyst & Attacker (tied #1), Calvary, Victim, Subject, and Support being the lowest. So, if there is a very close popularity breakdown between people use that list. Also, something that is vitally important to remember when doing angles is that Support roles don't trigger the angle's rating. The only exception is Sex Appeal and Menace. So, if you use an pre-set angle with an interviewer as Support in the first position, don't worry about it as the angle will get the same rating if you put him/her at the last slot in the angle.

 

So, put your main people in Catalyst/Attacker/Victim/Calvary roles and support people in Support roles. So, if you have an experienced (meaning good and over) interviewer, you don't want them to be in a Support role (usually the default position), and for all the woefully anonymous managers, put them into Support roles. Also, put your main people in the top slots always. Your top slot bears most of the responsibility for the angle rating (if it isn't Support of course). Put your hangers-on in the very last slot in a Support role where they will do the least damage. Also, put a bunch of people in the angles to buffer any "damage" a low-level person will do. I've used that as a great way to build up lower-level people that I want to push. The 6-8 slots don't ding angles much at all.

 

Using that horrible Midnight Express angle as the perfect example of bad angle everything really, here was how it went down:

 

Catalyst-Pritchard-Entertainment but still remember that his 28 Overness plays much more of a role than his great entertainment skills.

Subject-Eaton-Overness (52 Overness)

Subject-Lane Overness (46 Overness)

Support-Blackjack-Mic Again, still primarily using his 53 Overness

 

Now, if I was using my head, the angle would have looked more like this

 

Catalyst-Blackjack-Mic

Catalyst-Eaton-Overness

Catalyst-Lane-Overness

Support-Pritchard-Entertainment

 

That would have gotten about 10 points better. Likewise, the brawl angle would have worked better if I had made Sunshine Catalyst and put her first.

 

So to sum up, if you have an attack angle of 4 people (tag brawling), all 4 as Attacker-Overness, you want the most over person #1 on down. Just remember that the ROLE is more important than position so a Support, Support, Catalyst, Catalyst still won't be any different than the inverse (C, C, S, S). I know because I've tried. Use hot, cheap women as managers or valets for their Sex Appeal to boost people up the card. I did that in my TCW game with Art Reed (blah entertainment skills) by putting Blonde Bombshell with him (blah entertainment skills but uber-SA rating). Even using her in angles like this:

 

Support-Bombshell-Sex Appeal

Catalyst-Reed-Overness

Support-Announcer-Mic

 

That produced angles 10 points better than Reed could do on his own.

 

The main thing is to use common sense. If you are having your big star be rescued by your #10 star, run the angle like this Victim/Attacker/Calvary, but if the roles are reversed (#1 saving #10) then it should be Calvary/Attacker/Victim. Use what the mod maker gave them (Menace or Sex Appeal) or what you gave them (Overness). And remember that Entertainment skills that are mediocre is all they need if they're over. That's something that confuses people. You could take Ric Flair/Jericho/Hogan/any mic god you want, give them 10 overness, and the Entertainment/Mic-based angle would tank. You could take an avg mic (mid 60's) guy give them 90 overness, and the angle will rock.

 

Now, again, there is no current prediction contest, but here is the card anyway. (Face then Heel)

 

Superior Wrestling Halloween Horrors 1987

 

Lanny Poffo vs Mysterion

Owen Hart (champ) vs Ricky Santana—Cruiserweight Title Match

Sting & Mick Foley vs Jimmy Garvin & Mike Rotundo w/Precious

The Midnight Rockers w/Sunshine vs The Midnight Express w/Bruce Pritchard Superior Wrestling Tag Team Title Match

Michael Hayes vs The Undertaker (champ)--Cage Match for the Superior Wrestling Championship

 

Show should be up tommorow night.

[smartman]

Superior Wrestling Halloween Horrors 1987

 

The show opens with Michael Hayes in the ring with Blackjack Mulligan. Blackjack announces that since there was no winner last month, he has decided to book a match that demands there to be a winner-a CAGE MATCH! Hayes says that is fine, and while he was impressed with The Undertaker's performance last month, he's going to take the title and celebrate with some fine Southern women tonight. Kind of confused as to why this angle didn't as well as I thought. (Hayes-Entertainment, Blackjack-Mic, and Taker-Overness) (Note: Ignore the commentary box as I didn't fix that when I fixed the angle)

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5409271076.jpg

 

The first match of the night is the next match of the Train me up to be a good wrestler series. Poffo wins pretty easily. And I find chemistry with someone! Still no skill gain note.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5409290797.jpg

 

It is now The Undertaker's take on the Cage Match stipulation and defending the title again against Michael Hayes. Clearly, Taker is not pleased which causes a very uncomfortable exchange between him and Blackjack. He says “Rest In Peace” and storms off ending the interview. (Taker-Menace, Blackjack-Mic)

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/2/5409300413.jpg

 

Next up is Owen Hart defending his Cruiserweight Title against the debuting Ricky Santana. This is a great back and forth match between two very talented youngsters. Santana finally snaps at a perceived slow count by Dinsmore and shoves the ref causing the DQ.

 

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Jimmy Garvin, Rotundo, and Precious come strutting to the ring. Garvin takes the mic and rips SW! He makes fun of the fans, but he saves the worst attacks on that “goof Foley and his face-painted buddy Sting”. Jimmy says that if they're so tough that they should come out here and accept a challenge to face them in a tag match so he can be done with his inferiors and focus on the Championship Title. As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for because you just might get it as Sting and Foley come roaring out of the back and beat up both Garvin and Rotundo sending them out of the ring. Sting picks up the discarded mic and says “Showtime starts NOW!” (Garvin-Entertainment, Precious-SA, Rotundo-Overness (Support), Sting & Foley-Menace) (Note: The angle last month got Foley's Charisma up to 60 and got him on the Talk the Talk List oh and of course, ignore the angle dialog)

 

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They keep the momentum going for the early part of the match, but the veterans slowly start taking control of the match with experience and dirty tricks. Sting finally gets the tag into Foley for a DDT on Garvin to the crowd's delight but the ref counts 2. Sensing trouble, Precious hops up on the ring right in Mick's face, and being the inexperienced wrestler he is, he goes over to her while Rotundo distracts the ref. Precious slaps Foley square across the face, and when he goes to grab her, Garvin pops up for the roll-up. Note: I'll talk about that note in the next post.

 

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As the ring is getting cleared, Steve Stack enters the ring and says that since it will be Halloween in just a couple of days, Superior Wrestling has decided to have a hottest costume contest. Sunshine comes down to the ring wearing a nurses hat along with the ubiquitous trenchcoat much to the crowd's delight. Precious follows after the quick change carrying pom-poms. First up, Sunshine rips off the coat revealing a quite naughty nurse costume as the crowd goes nuts. Next up, Precious reveals quite the cheerleading outfit, but it is clear who the fans support. Stack announces that Sunshine is the winner. (Stack-Mic-Support; Sunshine & Precious-SA)

 

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The crew had been busy during the contest setting up some tables and bring out the ladders as the Tag Title match is a TLC match! And as usual a TLC match is messy and exhilarating. Eaton goes through a table, and Shawn goes off the top rope getting chair in the face from Lane for the trouble. As the match starts to wind towards the end, the four men are up barely. Pritchard tries to get involved as Lane has a hold of Marty to get a chair shot, but Sunshine hops up on the apron still in nurse costume giving Marty the much needed seconds to work free as the chair comes down squarely on Lane's head. Marty quickly sends Eaton over the top rope with a clothesline freeing Shawn to scale the ladder and retrieve the belts. The Midnight Rockers are the NEW Tag Team Champs!

 

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The cage is quickly assembled by our crack staff as the crowd takes a few minutes to catch its breath for the Main Event. Just like last month this was a very hard-hitting match. Both men are busted open, and it looks like we're headed for another 10 count when Mulligan orders the ref to stop counting as there will be a winner tonight. After what seems like 25 seconds, Hayes gets to his feet followed by Taker. Hayes ducks a punch and manages to hit a DDT. After the 3 count, Hayes staggers around the ring trying to get to his feet as the crowd roars. Mulligan unlocks the cage to let the new champ out...

 

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...but as Hayes is mid-way through the door, Jimmy Garvin comes out of the back and slams the door right on Hayes' head! He finds a chair the crew managed to miss, but the security staff come down quickly and keep him from using. All Garvin gets in is a few kicks to the ribs.

 

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The show is a sell-out at 232 people as we moved from Arkansas' 200 seat studio to Lousiana's 232 gym (same $200). Despite the poor angle note, this was the best show in history so far, and it easily crushed WWW's show (62). We more than doubled our ticket money which will now up with me hitting E- though I only jumped to 16.7 (1.5) which is due to the economic crash and the now-declining industry.

 

We made a whopping $3,525 this month so I'm deleting that $5,000 that I put in as a place holder to avoid getting this game canceled. Our new balance is $21,535 which means I can use another couple of expensive wrestlers for the shows now.

[smartman]

Time for angle tips and construction part II

 

First, we're going to tackle Sex Appeal angles and how to avoid the note the costume contest got on the last show. If you don't plan the angle out well, you are capped at C+/71 but usually between 66-69. So, how do you use what God (or the mod maker) gave them? It is quite simple. For every Sex Appeal-rated person in the angle, you must have 1 more Rated AND On-Screen person. Not Rated won't work. So, that means that if you have an angle like this:

 

Support-Sex Appeal

Catalyst-Entertainment/Mic

 

You will get dinged for it being looks-based. This is the standard Wrestler w/Valet hyping himself angle. So, you need to do either one of these versions.

 

Support-Sex Appeal

Catalyst-Entertainment/Mic

Support-Entertainment/Mic

OR

Subject-Overness/Entertainment

 

Just remember that the worker you're insulting HAS TO BE ON SCREEN! The first one is the normal Wrestler w/Valet Being Interviewed Hyping Himself. The second one is the Wrestler w/Valet Insulting another Wrestler (to his face).

 

Now, say you're running a fed like mine with TWO super-hot women in it. A Valet Catfight won't avoid that note as that's 2 Sex Appeal people. A variation on that with both people they're valeting for pulling them off just makes is 2-on-2. So, you would need to add a 5th person to the angle. It can be a 2nd person she's managing (like Rotundo in my game) or an announcer. The person isn't that important. That person just has to be rated and on screen.

 

Of course, this only matters once you can start running angles better than C+. Otherwise, just put them in angles using their beauty. That's why you're always better served to hire a couple of 80+ SA women when you can afford them. I can run that Bikini/Costume Contest angle every month, and it will be my best or 2nd best angle of the night because again your best wrestler's overness is going to be at or below C+ (and below 69) until you hit high Cult. If they're higher than that and there is at least 1 National+ company, it will steal them very soon. Michael Hayes managed to pull his 69 off by leaning heavily on Taker's Menace.

 

Now, it is important to note that only Sex Appeal angles have the requirement of 1 more than anything else because those angles are the only ones that can be dinged for being looks-based. Of course, if you run BSC in the CV, Eye Candy Matches are capped that way too with no way to mitigate that. Also, to score that highly with a Looks-Based angle, you need to have High T&A in your product settings AND the women need to have some pop in your region. I am pretty sure Low T&A cap at a lower rate.

 

The other note I purposely gave myself in the last show was a Keep Strong road agent note. It's important to go into a little detail on those Road Agent notes referring to who looks good in the match.

 

1. Open Match is a great note to use in certain circumstances. It will boost your match rating a couple of points for it "being properly booked". However, it severely limits the popularity gain the winner of the match receives though it obviously mitigates the loss of pop the loser suffers. Also, if you want a tag team to gain any popularity from winning a match (Note: This excludes the losing your way up the card pop you get for being exposed to the fans or the fans being exposed to you), DON'T USE THIS NOTE! Seriously, tag teams are the hardest things to gain overness for via matches. I could keep The Rockers and Express at the same pop level for YEARS just putting them in tag matches using that note and not putting them in good angles.

 

Note: All RA notes used below will cause you to get the penalized for booking decisions note.

 

2. Keep Strong is pretty self-explanatory. This note is used when you want to mitigate or eliminate the pop loss of the loser either in a tag match or singles match. I used that on Sting in the match to do just that AND to make sure that the match didn't do too well.

 

Note: Tag matches do better than singles matches of equal level (all assuming no chemistry notes), and you don't want to run the risk of 3 similar scoring matches and 6 minute angles or presto, burnt out crowd for your last match of that sequence. Since that's usually your main event, that's very, very, very bad.

 

3. Dominate also is pretty straightforward. This is the note to use when you want to uber-push someone up the card. It helps if you give them a Brute gimmick too. Obviously, this is going to hurt your match rating pretty significantly, but the winner is going to gain a lot of overness from winning. The important thing to consider is this. The loser is also going to lose more pop, AND they can lose star quality. I took Arn Anderson off my Hot Prospect list in a game by having him get squashed in 2 matches, and I only had 3 people on the list before he dropped off. So, if you use the note, it best be on someone you don't care about at all. Oh, and the winner also needs to be able to carry off a squash match. You'll get either a + or - note for that by using this note.

 

4. Burial. Don't use this note. The only time to do that is when you're a vindictive person and someone leaves you for a better fed *cough* Eidenhoek *cough*. Frankly, I wish there would be a locker room hit for being that vindictive to a wrestler as that would be pretty revealing to me that I'm not worth anything to the booker. This will cause very little pop gain to the winner (not nearly what they would get from Dominate), but it severely drops the loser's pop much more than what a regular loss would do.

 

Superior Wrestling Presents WrestleFeast

 

Sting & Carl Wood vs Mysterion & Tom Pritchard w/Bruce Pritchard

Brian Pillman & Dean Malenko vs The Midnight Express w/Bruce Pritchard

Owen Hart w/Sunshine vs Shane Douglas--Cruiserweight Title Match

Art Barr vs The Undertaker

Mystery Opponent vs Jimmy Garvin w/Precious--#1 Contenders Match for SW! Championship Title

The Midnight Rockers w/Sunshine vs Awesome Twosome w/Precious--Superior Wrestling Tag Team Title Match

 

The Mystery Opponent was signed last month after coming off tour with NJPW. He's a now-former WWF superstar who made most of his fame as part of one of my favorite tag teams. Oh, and he's Canadian but doesn't have the initials B.H.