ESE: Eternal suffering or just a quick painful crash?

[Zergon]

Hi all.

 

I guess I didn´t manage to stay away from trying to write diary for long so here we go again. I have wanted to try to work with cult level company for ages but never really got it going for long on any of my personal games so I figured that writing a diary would be my best shot to keep this one alive (since my diary games seem to go lot longer than any personal game partly because I can more easily force myself forward when I don´t really feel like doing it). The company is the same I pretty much always use (Eternal Studios Entertainment, ESE) but this time I will start as Easy level (created company) instead of the typical 0/0/0/0 start. The product itself will be same than before and the database is the default 2013 database. Here are the promotion production definitions:

 

Mainstream and Traditional are Key Features

Modern is Medium

Hardcore, Lucha Libre and Comedy are Low

Everything else are None

80 % match percentage, no Women division or T&A but face/heel divide is on.

Match intensity is 20% and Match Danger is 40%. Grand Avatar will be my user character.

 

Now, I guess a bit of warning is in order as I have never really run a cult level company so if you looking to see how company is run right, then I suggest you look elsewhere as I´m sure I make plenty of mistakes. I try to do without playing with the editor but if I go red on finances I might decide to give myself more money instead of going bankrupt, similarly, I might edit to give myself a TV deal if I lose one and feel that I need to have one in order to keep playing. Hopefully I don´t need to do either one but if the use on editor is putting you off then you have been warned. Also, the phase on this diary will likely be bit slower than on my previous ones simply to avoid getting burned out again. Also, since the roster will be chosen by readers, I obviously don´t yet have much plans so I will be booking on a fly depending on who gets picked so anyone looking to read some well thought ahead diary… well, this isn´t one of them.

 

As for my roster, I originally thought about just picking a roster and go with it (which would have been safer bet in terms of me being sure I can handle this and that this won´t end before it really even starts) but the more I thought about it, the more I started to think that it would still be better if I let you choose my roster as a) I enjoyed it a lot last time and b) that´s really the main “selling point” of my diaries anyway. So I decided to go with it and let you pick my roster again. However, I do change the how that is done a bit for few reasons. First was that while I did enjoy having next to no control about my roster, it sometimes felt a bit frustrating (especially when I felt that I had no good options as new hires) so I tried to find a way to give me bit more control over the situation. Similarly, there was a bit of lack of experienced tag teams and with the more familiar names starting to grew older, I feared that I would eventually have had bit of lack of younger guys. Also, I did feel that the prediction contest was bit tough especially for possible newer readers or those who don´t come here to daily basis as missing one prediction round pretty much meant that you were out from prizes for that year with my shows being typically rather predictable especially for long time readers, which meant that it was hard for the newer readers to get to pick guys they would had liked to see. So how I plan to fix this one? First of all there will still be prediction contest and winner will still be able to pick a wrestler that I must sign for a year contract. However, other than that, the rest of the roster will be picked differently. Basically, I can decide that I want to sign a new guy(s) any given time. I put this rule on because on my last diary, pretty much all the new signings happened in January/February simply because that´s when I got new guys in my wrestler pool. Anyway, when I decide to sign a wrestler I will give you at least 3 choices on which you can all vote for the guy you would most like to see. I will give some basic idea on what role the guy(s) might have (sometimes it depends on which guy you will pick) and how different picks might affect the end result. Whoever gets the most votes will then be chosen to the roster and in case of a tie, I will choose the guy that I think is better fit for me. No idea if this method (of choosing roster) actually works or not but I figure it´s worth a shot. Hopefully I managed to explain this clearly enough but if you have any questions (or suggestions) feel free to ask me clarification. I also need to figure some way to be able to steal talent from the big three but not sure how I could make that work. Right now, I think the best option is that I will just list every active wrestler on each company that are well known or less (I would assume that guys with B- or above popularity are too big for cult promotion to sign) and let you pick 5 guys per company in order to first to fifth with first pick getting 5 points, second pick getting four points etc. and then count the points together. The five highest scoring wrestlers on each company could then be signed by me for a year (I plan to give a new list at the start of the next year). Now, this is obviously quite luck based since it´s likely that at least some of the guys getting votes don’t have their contracts ending during the year but it´s the best way I could figure right now. I will listen suggestions if anyone have better idea for this though.

 

Now, going forward, the minimum number of wrestlers for the cult level is 26 and that´s where I´m going to start as I don´t have much idea about how finances go with cult. Since I like to have equal number of faces and heels this means that I will hire 13 faces and 13 heels. I also like to have equal number of face/heel guys I consider as main eventer, midcarders and jobbers so let´s use 4/5/4 divide meaning that I need four main eventers, 5 midcard guys and 4 jobbers per side. I would also like to have at least 3 tag teams on both face and heel sides. Now, my plan is to pick 8 guys who have regional star popularity (they will form the initial main event scene), 10 guys on regional level popularity (midcard guys) and 8 unknowns (jobbers). Whatever they will stay on those spots remains to be seen but that´s the starting spot. Unfortunately, since one pick will affect the other picks, it will take some time to get the starting roster together so it will take quite some time before this diary gets truly going. It´s also more than likely that same guys will appear multiple times in case they aren´t picked on the first time you see them. Please keep in mind that it doesn´t necessarily mean that I absolutely want that guy in my roster, he just might be someone who I consider being a good fit for multiple roles. I will wait at least a day plus whatever time it takes for this to fall off from the 1st page after that before posting the results and next vote options.

 

Current roster:

 

Main event:

????? ??????

????? ??????

????? ??????

????? ??????

 

Midcard:

????? ?????

????? ?????

????? ?????

????? ?????

????? ?????

 

Jobbers:

????? ?????

????? ?????

????? ?????

????? ?????

 

 

 

Now with the basic stuff out of the way, here are the first two pick options:

 

1) I like to build four man group similar to Four Horsemen. The plan is to have 2 – 3 (hopefully two but it depends on certain things) of them being main event level guys and others to be really good midcard guys. I will also likely add some manager for them if I find one that fits the group. Who will be the leader of this group?

 

a) Greg Black

b) Fumihiro Ota

c) Jack Griffith

 

This pick will pretty much decide how this group works and who could be the other three members of the group. It will also affect to how I pick rest of my roster since I want to make sure that I have good feud options with this group. If Greg Black would be the leader, then I have two ideas about how to build the group. First would be group of guys with experience in big 3 as there´s plenty of that type of guys on this popularity level which might mean that I might need to have ¾ of the heel main eventers from this group. This would have them as “elite” based on their earlier success in the industry and they would have that “we are better than you” aura simply because their experience. This group would likely enforce the “you have to put your time first” mentality and would thus feud with younger guys who they see trying to get “above themselves”. Other option would be to go with guys that are skilled in-ring guys which would likely mean that they can produce better in-ring ratings but would also mean that they have way less popularity to start with (meaning that at least half of the group would likely start with midcard push) as guys like Parker or Matthew Keith could be part of this group. If Ota would be the leader, then I could see the group being bit more of a mercenary group that could possibly be hired by other heels (or perhaps corrupted authority figure). Another possible choice would be to go with darker stable with likes of Madman Boone etc. filling the line-up. Ota is usually portrayed as a person who doesn´t speak but as a main guy for my main stable, I likely would stay away from that idea since I´m not sure how I could get that to work. Jack Griffith would offer a another type of stable, likely being exact opposite for Greg Black´s lead “big company” guys group, namely that I could see him leading a group of guys who haven´t yet get into big 3 companies and who are quite bitter about it. This version of the stable would likely feud with guys who have been in big 3 companies, trying to beat them in order to prove that they are better than them and thus justify their claims that they have been overlooked.

 

2) Other than the heel stable, I would also have a stable of faces. However, instead of being four high level guys, this would be one main event veteran teaching punch of younger guys. Now who should be this veteran?

 

a) Steve Flash

b) Johnny Martin

c) Donnie J

 

Unlike with the heel group, this face group will have the same idea no matter who is going to lead it, so the main decision point here is what kind of guys will be in this group. If Steve Flash is picked, then I try to look technicians/regular wrestlers, with Johnny Martin, I would try to find brawlers and with Donnie J, the rest of the group would be Cruiserweights/Luchadors/Spot monkeys. Other points of note would be that Martin would likely be signed on p.p.a deal (since he´s loyal to Vibert) while Donnie would likely be a main event star with other two being bit more of a main event gate keeper guys thanks to the fact that they are way more likely to be on time decline.

 

[KnowYourEnemy]

Now with the basic stuff out of the way, here are the first two pick options:

 

1) I like to build four man group similar to Four Horsemen. The plan is to have 2 – 3 (hopefully two but it depends on certain things) of them being main event level guys and others to be really good midcard guys. I will also likely add some manager for them if I find one that fits the group. Who will be the leader of this group?

 

a) Greg Black

b) Fumihiro Ota

c) Jack Griffith

 

2) Other than the heel stable, I would also have a stable of faces. However, instead of being four high level guys, this would be one main event veteran teaching punch of younger guys. Now who should be this veteran?

 

a) Steve Flash

b) Johnny Martin

c) Donnie J

 

Unlike with the heel group, this face group will have the same idea no matter who is going to lead it, so the main decision point here is what kind of guys will be in this group. If Steve Flash is picked, then I try to look technicians/regular wrestlers, with Johnny Martin, I would try to find brawlers and with Donnie J, the rest of the group would be Cruiserweights/Luchadors/Spot monkeys. Other points of note would be that Martin would likely be signed on p.p.a deal (since he´s loyal to Vibert) while Donnie would likely be a main event star with other two being bit more of a main event gate keeper guys thanks to the fact that they are way more likely to be on time decline.

 

 

Question 1:

• Greg Black
  
• Fumihiro Ota
  
• Jack Griffith
  

 

Question 2:

• 
  Donnie J
  
• Johnny Martin
  
• Steve Flash
  

 

Question 1: Jack Griffith is the best option of the three for what you're aiming for -- he's a capable mouthpiece with decent psychology and will do well in a mainstream environment. Of the three, he's the most imposing and the best on the microphone, and should get over quickly.

 

Question 2: Donnie J, is, without a doubt the best choice of the three. Years younger than either Martin or Flash, he's got more star quality and a varied skill set -- priceless in a pop > performance fed (I'm fairly certain ESE is). Donnie is dating his capable valet (Britney Hollywood) which brings a positive relationship and a + manager on the microphone into the promotion from the jump. Plus, Donnie is great at playing a sympathetic underdog.

[Zergon]

 

 

Question 2: Donnie J, is, without a doubt the best choice of the three. Years younger than either Martin or Flash, he's got more star quality and a varied skill set -- priceless in a pop > performance fed (I'm fairly certain ESE is). Donnie is dating his capable valet (Britney Hollywood) which brings a positive relationship and a + manager on the microphone into the promotion from the jump. Plus, Donnie is great at playing a sympathetic underdog.

 

 

Forgot to mention that in my post but ESE actually is performance = popularity fed since I have no real idea how to book pop > performance promotions and I feel that equal split allows me to use higher number of wrestlers with differend abilities more effectively (not sure if that´s actually true though as it´s usually the performance guys that seem to get into top with me )

[KnowYourEnemy]

Forgot to mention that in my post but ESE actually is performance = popularity fed since I have no real idea how to book pop > performance promotions and I feel that equal split allows me to use higher number of wrestlers with differend abilities more effectively (not sure if that´s actually true though as it´s usually the performance guys that seem to get into top with me )

 

I made an assumption based on the product-- I didn't expect Modern to be able to pull it down that much.

 

Either way, I stick by my choices and my logic, and I'm super pumped to see ESE return.

 

With regards to a "heel stable", bringing back "The Succession" is always a great idea in '13 with Vessey/Valentine/Starr from MAW. Either peg in Ash Campbell or George Wolfe as the forth guy, and Lisa Bowen as the manager. I've put them "together again" in '15 mod and in a number of my games.

 

Did you address managers/commentators/etc. in the first post? I'm guessing you'll pick them yourself (I brought it up in my original post).

[Zergon]

I made an assumption based on the product-- I didn't expect Modern to be able to pull it down that much.

 

Either way, I stick by my choices and my logic, and I'm super pumped to see ESE return.

 

With regards to a "heel stable", bringing back "The Succession" is always a great idea in '13 with Vessey/Valentine/Starr from MAW. Either peg in Ash Campbell or George Wolfe as the forth guy, and Lisa Bowen as the manager. I've put them "together again" in '15 mod and in a number of my games.

 

Did you address managers/commentators/etc. in the first post? I'm guessing you'll pick them yourself (I brought it up in my original post).

 

Succession guys could work yes, but the problem with them is that they all start with popularity around E- to E+ meaning that they wouldn´t be main eventers for me and thus don´t quite fit for what I want from my main heel group (they could be build to be main eventers of course but with my "skills" on that area, I´m not particularly confitend that would be a huge success ). That said, I could see one or two (or even all three) of them sneaking in on the roster if the picks go the right way as they are all skilled enough to warrant a look when I get to midcard guys.

 

Current plan is indeed that I sign manager/referees etc. by myself, mainly because I figure setting this up would take long enough already plus I personally find them lot less exciting than picking wrestlers and other than managers, I usually don´t pay much attention to them as long as I don´t get any negatives from them.

[BHK1978]

Glad to see you back this looks like it is going to be so cool!

 

 

Question 1:

 

• Greg Black
  
• Fumihiro Ota
  
• Jack Griffith

 

I like all of the ideas that you had in regards to the different groups but I see Jack as a Ric Flair type leader of a Four Horsemen type group. As for a manager I could see Boss Man Brayfield as the JJ Dillon of the group.

 

Question 2:

 

• Donnie J
  
• Johnny Martin
  
• Steve Flash

 

While I would like to see Johnny Martin on the roster, KYE brought up a good point in that Donnie is younger and has more star quality. Really any of the six picks would be good choices and I really love the idea that you had for Ota's stable as well.

 

Such tough choices but I think I am good with my picks.

[Uncrewed]

Question 1:

 

a) Greg Black- Established Wrestler and a former Tag Champ in the biggest company in the world. Plus alright Mic Skills

b) Fumihiro Ota

c) Jack Griffith

 

2)

a) Steve Flash- Someone who has been around for almost 30 years and can teach the young and up and comers the basics.

b) Johnny Martin

c) Donnie J

[Kitarzu]

Question 1

 

Jack Griffith

 

Question 2

 

Donnie J

[Zergon]

So, the first round of voting is done and the results mean that Jack Griffith and Donnie J will be added to my roster. What this means is that the “Four Horseman” group will be guys who haven´t been in big leagues but think that they should, while the face group will be punch of luchadores, cruiserweights etc. Also, since Griffith´s group is all about wanting to prove that they should have been picked by one of the big name companies long time ago, I want to have some main event faces (two to be exact) who has been in the said big companies before. I also decided that I need to change the voting process a bit to take into account the fact that there might not be that many readers making the picks (really should have thought this before but luckily first round worked just fine at it was so thanks to those who took time picking

). Namely, instead of just picking the guy who you would want to see most as before, I would ask you to number your picks on order of who you would want to see most. The 1st guy then gets the maximum points (4 points if there are four choices, six if there are six etc.), next choice gets one less point etc. with the last guy getting one point. At the end of the voting period, all points are counted together and the one (or more like in question one) guy/team that gets the most points will be chosen to my roster (again, it´s my decision in case of a tie). Unfortunately, this adds a bit extra work to you readers, but I hope that this way we can avoid having ties even if number of readers picking would be low. It might not be needed but I guess I might as well add a rule that if there is tie somewhere the guys that are tied will get the lowest point total on tied places, for example, if you couldn´t decide if Brave or Toma should be 4th on first question and choose both of them as 4th, then they will both get two points (as they would be 4th and 5th thus getting the points for 5th place). If someone only makes some picks, for example, only make two picks on the first question then the other guys will be counted as having tie and would get one point each. Hopefully me explanation made sense but as usual, feel free to ask if something is unclear. Also, if someone has another idea of how these votes could be done, feel free to suggest alternative voting methods. I added a quick pick list on the end, as while it feels a bit dumb to have that right after I list my choices the first time, it would likely help readers to make their picks (yet another thing I managed to overlook on the first try )

 

 

Anyway, back to business. First of all here is my current roster (not that it´s needed right now but might come handy later with more guys under contract so I´m just learning to do this every time I ask you to pick someone so I don´t forgot to do it later):

 

 

Main event:

Donnie J

?????

?????

?????

 

Jack Griffith

??????

??????

??????

 

Midcard:

?????

?????

?????

?????

?????

 

?????

?????

?????

?????

?????

 

Jobbers:

?????

?????

?????

?????

 

?????

?????

?????

?????

 

 

1) As I said, I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

a) Akima Brave

b) Kid Toma

c) Clark Alexander

d) Ford Gumble

e) Greg Black

f) Madman Boone

 

There´s was quite lot to choose from this time and I decided to narrow this down to these six with Handsome Stranger and Fumihiro Ota being the last two cuts. As from these six, Black is probably the one I would rate highest (remember that I do use fog of war so I don´t actually have whole idea about how good/bad Brave and Toma are) in terms of what I expect from them with Gumble being likely the bottom of the barrel guy. As for possible plans I would likely have Boone, Brave or Toma play a “lone wolf” type of tough guy who wouldn´t ask help from others and just keep trying to beat his opponents alone (Boone being bit more “crazy” than the other two). Of course, if both Brave and Toma are going to be picked then I look for another plan for them (or just say that they won´t work with anyone else than each other´s) as they would obviously form a team. I know, I want lone wolf kind of character on my roster so if none of those three aren´t picked here, that´s probably going to be the fourth main event face (possible options for that role outside the three guys I mentioned here would at least be Johnny Martin, Billy Russel and Puerto Rican Power). Black, Alexander and Gumble would be more willing to work with others (which is probably good idea since I plan to feud them with my “horseman” group), As for characters, I don´t have much decided yet but Alexander could be some laid-back/easy going guy, Gumble would likely use his cowboy gimmick and I could possible look some tag partner for him as he would likely be more of a gatekeeper than true main eventer. No ideas for Black yet, but it would probably be some kind of fan favorite/blue collar type of character.

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

a) The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James)

b) Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed)

c) The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

d) Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

 

I have to admit that I was like a kid in a candy story, trying to figure who I would like to see on this role with so many good options. Teams that I wanted to include here but decided to cut in order to avoid having too many choices include The Philly Blondes (Ash Cambell & Nelson Callum), C-V-2 (Cameron Vessey & Casey Valentine), Sweet N Sour (Kashmir Singh & Kirk Jameson) and The Ring Generals (Dean Waldorf & Marv Statler). Cali Dragons are the most over from these teams and probably the safest choice, but that would also mean that ¾ of my main event heels would be on the same stable which could cause some booking troubles down the line. If Cali Dragons will be picked then the fourth member will be midcard guy (and boy is that going to be hard to narrow down with so many great options). The Future Is Here would provide two great midcard guys who I could easily throw into main events with any main event level face. I do love to have few of that type of guys and they could certainly back their words in the ring making them good with in that regard. The main problem I have with them is that Keith is only 23 and thus don´t perfectly fit to the idea of the group being punch of guys who think that they have been overlooked by the big companies, but I figure I could give him some arrogant character to play who believes that he should have been picked instantly because of who he is. Shark Cage and Shoot Club might not be as skilled as the other two choices but both offer a guy who could jump straight into main event scene if needed (Roger Cage and Marc Speed), again I quality that I like to have in my roster in case of emergency, and another guy who isn´t quite as good or over and who would likely be a fall guy for the group (Sammy The Shark and Al Coleman) but still servable midcard talent who still has time to develop into big name player. If any of the other teams than Cali Dragons will be chosen, then the fourth member would be regional star level guy, possible options could include Hell´s Bouncer, Billy Russell, Masked Cougar, Puerto Rican Power and Johnny Martin.

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

a) Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

b) El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

c) El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

d) Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

 

Well this proved to be bit harder than what I expected with Going Costal and The Inner City Express being the only established teams that fit the bill. Every other team either had one member who wasn´t cruiserweight/Japanese Junior/Luchador/Spot Monkey or were just too old to be considered as prospect. Well, no matter, that just meant that I had to put some possible combinations together. After making some possible tag team combinations, I decided to cut The Inner City Express (Malik Cash & Jay Becker) from the list as I just felt that they were too weak to be with cult level company even as jobbers and since I planned to use Donnie J with these guys, I would rather pick guys who have some upside. Of the teams, Going Costal is the only one that offers tag team experience plus the only ones that have a readymade connection to Donnie thanks to all three of them working in CZCW. With Love Machine being regional level guy, he would occupy a midcard slot while Frankie-Boy would get a jobber spot (at least eventually). They would also be the most over choice as while Frankie-Boy only has F+ popularity, he´s still third most popular guy on the eight guys in this poll. Depending on how the other picks (and early results) go, they would be either a jobber or midcard team (my guess is the latter thanks to Love Machine´s popularity + Frankie-Boy scouting as strong for everything except in-ring skills). Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus offers similar combination than Going Costal in terms of popularity with Remus being decently popular while Wilkes has no popularity in USA. In terms of in-ring skills, this might be the weakest pairing as Remus only scouts as average everywhere (again, I have fog-of-war on so scouting reports are pretty shaky with this group) but I think that he´s higher starting popularity will offset that fact plus neither of these two aren´t usually seen in diaries, much less on cult level ones. That said, they would likely be jobbers to begin with and would have to prove that they could better before having any chance to rise on the card. El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr. are bit of a nod to my earlier FCW diary as I paired them together on that one. Almost certainly the best pair in terms of in-ring skills, I would expect them to rise to midcard status, especially with Donnie helping them. This would mean that I would likely pick my midcard this in mind, meaning that there should be two guys who I wouldn´t mind relegate to jobbers when/if El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr. have enough popularity to be considered as midcarders. El Diablo and Jayson Van Pelt are bit of a wild card choice, not quite as skilled (at least I don´t expect them to be) as El Mítico/El Extraordinario and not having the popularity of Love Machine/Remus but still solid enough that I feel they would be a good addition to the roster. Much like Remus & Wilkes they would need to prove themselves before I would push them past the jobber level, but I would expect them to be able to do just that as I already know Van Pelt (who I would expect to be the “weaker” member) thanks to my previous diary so I would probably try to pick my midcard with that on mind again.

 

 

Quick picks

Number guys from the one you want to see most (1) to the one you like to see least (4 or 6 debending on the question)

 

1) I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

 

Choices:

Akima Brave

Kid Toma

Clark Alexander

Ford Gumble

Greg Black

Madman Boone

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

 

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

 

Choices:

The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James)

Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed)

The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

 

1

2

3

4

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

 

Choices:

Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

 

1

2

3

4

[Kitarzu]

Quick picks

Number guys from the one you want to see most (1) to the one you like to see least (4 or 6 debending on the question)

 

1) I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

 

Choices:

Akima Brave

Kid Toma

Clark Alexander

Ford Gumble

Greg Black

Madman Boone

 

1 Madman Boone

2 Kid Toma

3 Ford Gumble

4 Clark Alexander

5 Akima Brave

6 Greg Black

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

 

Choices:

The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James)

Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed)

The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

 

1 Shoot Club

2 Shark Cage

3 The Cali Dragons

4 The Future Is Here

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

 

Choices:

Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

 

1 Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

2 Going Coastal

3 El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

4 El Mitico Jr & Extraordinario Jr

[KnowYourEnemy]

Number guys from the one you want to see most (1) to the one you like to see least (4 or 6 debending on the question)

 

1) I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

 

Choices:

Akima Brave

Kid Toma

Clark Alexander

Ford Gumble

Greg Black

Madman Boone

 

1 Kid Toma

2 Akima Brave

3 Clark Alexander

4 Greg Black

5 Ford Gumble

6 Madman Boone

 

The Wildboyz are the best overall combination of skill and entertainment for your product. They're a clear 1-2 for me, and the two have tag team experience to boot. Of the remaining four, Greg Black and Clark Alexander are close... honestly, Clark is the better entertainer, and I still think that gets him over even in pop = perf. because storylines. Gumble and Boone are way, way below the other two guys, with Boone's low Stamina and high injury risk (plus, he's not a great face) making him a bad choice.

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

 

Choices:

The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James)

Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed)

The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

 

1 The Future Is Here

2 Shark Cage

3 Shoot Club

4 Cali Dragons

 

The Future is here, as far as a "fit", overall skill levels and importance to the company, are the best by a mile. It's really a toss-up between Shark Cage and Shoot Club -- both Coleman and Speed are negative influences, so Shark Cage is the best way to go, and even then, entertainment skills help keep Storylines high and keep you from getting penalized.

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

 

Choices:

Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

 

1 Going Coastal

2 Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

3 El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

4 El Mitico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

 

Going Coastal is going to serve you much better -- Mainstream/Modern hurt Lucha, and Mitico and Extraordinario won't be good fits for the product. None of the bottom three have any tag experience, but of them, Wilkes & Remus are the best fit -- plus, they have the same size/style, so they have a decent chance to get chemistry.

[DAVEFAN95]

Quick picks

Number guys from the one you want to see most (1) to the one you like to see least (4 or 6 debending on the question)

 

1) I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

 

Choices:

Akima Brave

Kid Toma

Clark Alexander

Ford Gumble

Greg Black

Madman Boone

 

1 Greg Black

2 Akima Brave

3 Clark Alexander

4 Kid Toma

5 Ford Gumble

6 Madman Boone

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

 

Choices:

The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James)

Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed)

The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

 

1 The Future is Here

2 Shark Cage

3 Shoot Club

4 The Cali Dragons

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

 

Choices:

Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

 

1 El Diablo and JVP

2 El Mitico and Extraordinario Jr.

3 Going Coastal

4 Leftie Wilkes and Roderick Remus

[Zergon]

I guess I didn´t mention it before but I have already simmed January as I don´t really want to start hiring people month before I could even negotiate a TV deal and start hiring people at the start of February. Also, I should have known this by few past tries but it always shocks me that I lose money (-16 506$ this time) when not holding any shows and not having anyone on payroll. Now I know I should get money from the shows plus possible house shows assuming that I have enough people on written so it might not be that bad when I´m actually holding shows but that still always makes me little uneasy to lose that much without any guys on my roster.

 

Second thing is that one thing that I have liked about other diaries is that they list what happens outside their own promotions every month or so and I decided to shamelessly copy that idea here, especially since I think it might be interesting to see how AI bounces back after I´m done stealing talent from the indy scene. However, I only write down about new signings/guys leaving and any changes on promotions size. If anyone want to know more about certain promotions (their roster, champions etc.) feel free to ask and I happily give the information. All contracts are p.p.a deals unless otherwise noted (or unless I forget to specify )

 

 

Company news in January 2013:

 

5SSW rise to regional size

GSW rise to small size

USPW fall to cult size

 

Signings:

21CW:

Signed UK Dragon from WLW to written

Signed Petey Barnes from EWA to written

Signed Stefan Raynor to written

 

APW:

Signed Dumfrey Pinn from DIW

 

BHOTWG:

Recalled Reijito Hiraki from Hinote Dojo

 

CZCW:

Signed American Elemental

 

DIW:

Signed Scott Hickey to work as a manager

Signed Blaze Maximum

Signed Seeker

Signed The Void

Lost Dumfrey Pinn to APW

 

EWA:

Lost Petey Barnes to 21UK

 

EX2010:

Signed Taka Kajiwara to work as colour commentator

Signed Akahito Miwa to work as a manager

Signed Munenori Umari to work as a manager

 

GSW:

Signed Kip Keenan from IPW

Signed Lil Henry from IPW

Signed Babau from IPW

Signed Roger Cage

Signed Matthew Keith

Signed Lug Phelan from IPW

Signed Pierrot from IPW

Signed The Guru to work as authority figure

Signed Mainstream Hernandez

Signed Hellech from IPW

Signed BB Colossus from IPW

Signed E-Soteric from IPW

Signed Ernie Turner to work as a manager

 

IPW:

Lost Kip Keenan to GSW

Lost Lil Henry to GSW

Lost Babau to GSW

Lost Lug Phelan to GSW

Lost Pierrot to GSW

Lost Hellech to GSW

Lost BB Colossus to GSW (is still part of their roster at February 2013, Monday week 1)

Lost E-Soteric to GSW (is still part of their roster at February 2013, Monday week 1)

 

MAW:

Signed Hustler D to work as Colour Commentator

 

NOTBPW:

Signed Golden Delicious to written contract

 

PGHW:

Signed Hirobumi Takimoto to developmental deal and send him to SAISHO

 

PSW:

Signed Professor Nero to work as a road agent

 

RIPW:

Signed Herb Stately to work as a manager

Signed Duke Hazzard to work as a colour commentator

Signed Joffy Laine

Signed Ernest Youngman

 

SWF:

Recalled Kristen Pearce from RIPW

Recalled Spencer Spade from RIPW

Recalled Lenny Brown from RIPW

 

WLW:

Lost UK Dragon to 21CW

 

 

Not much surprises here. USPW fell to cult and GSW rise to small and stole everything that weren´t bolded down from IPW. I knew they sign a lot of IPW talent from the beginning but I was still bit surprised that they stole total of 8 guys and still had enough roster phase to sign the likes of Matthew Keith, Roger Cage and Mainstream Hernandez. Other things worth noting were that SWF called Spencer Spade and Lenny Brown up, RIPW signed Ernest Youngman and that 21CW signed both Barnes and UK Dragon to written. APW also stole Pinn from DIW but I guess that happens pretty much every time so not much of a surprise there either.

[BHK1978]

Quick picks

Number guys from the one you want to see most (1) to the one you like to see least (4 or 6 debending on the question)

 

1) I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

 

Choices:

Akima Brave

Kid Toma

Clark Alexander

Ford Gumble

Greg Black

Madman Boone

 

1 Greg Black

2 Clark Alexander

3 Akima Brave

4 Kid Toma

5 Ford Gumble

6 Madman Boone

 

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

 

Choices:

The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James)

Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed)

The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

 

1 Shoot Club

2 Shark Cage

3 The Future is Here

4 The Cali Dragons

 

(Regardless of if Marc Speed makes it this round I would love to see him on your roster as he is probably my favorite character in the game.)

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

 

Choices:

Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

 

1 Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

2 Going Costal

3 El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

4 El Mitico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

[Uncrewed]

Quick picks

Number guys from the one you want to see most (1) to the one you like to see least (4 or 6 debending on the question)

 

1) I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

 

Choices:

Akima Brave

Kid Toma

Clark Alexander

Ford Gumble

Greg Black

Madman Boone

 

1 Greg Black

2 Akima Brave

3 Kid Toma

4 Clark Alexander

5 Madman Boone

6 Ford Gumble

 

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

 

Choices:

The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James)

Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed)

The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

 

1 The Future Is Here

2 The Cali Dragons

3 Shark Cage

4 Shoot Club

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

 

Choices:

Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

 

1 Going Coastal

2 El Mitico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

3 El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

4 Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

[flaviooooo]

Good to see you back Zergon, sorry I missed the first round

 

Quick picks

Number guys from the one you want to see most (1) to the one you like to see least (4 or 6 debending on the question)

 

1) I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

 

Choices:

1 Clark Alexander

2 Greg Black

3 Kid Toma

4 Akima Brave

5 Ford Gumble

6 Madman Boone

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

 

1 The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

2 Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

3 The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James)

4 Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed)

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

 

1 El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

2 Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

3 Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

4 El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

[BornToFail]

Great to have you back Zergon!

 

 

1) I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

 

 

1 Greg Black

2 Kid Toma

3 Akima Brave

4 Ford Gumble

5 Madman Boone

6 Clark Alexander

 

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

 

1 The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

2 The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James)

3 Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

4 Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed)

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

 

1 El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

2 Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

3 El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

4 Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

[Peppermint Rage]

1) I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

 

Choices:

Akima Brave

Kid Toma

Clark Alexander

Ford Gumble

Greg Black

Madman Boone

 

1 Madman Boone

2 Greg Black

3 Ford Gumble

4 Clark Alexander

5 Akima Brave

6 Kid Toma

 

I may be alone on this but I'm a fan of Boone, Black seems to have better odds and I feel he's a good choice great in the ring competent (good would be too strong but he's not bad either) on the mic.

 

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

 

Choices:

The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James)

Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed)

The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

 

1 Shark Cage

2 Shoot Club

3 The Cali Dragons

4 The Future is Here

 

Roger is good in ring and great on the mic, Sammy's not as great but he's decent enough.

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

 

Choices:

Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr.

El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

 

1 El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt

2 Going Costal

3 Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus

4 El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr

[Zergon]

First of all, let me start this by thanking again for everyone who took time to voice their opinions and comment here, your input is very much appreciated.

 

Now, with the second round of voting done, the roster starts to take a shape so let´s see the results for this round, shall we?

 

1) I want to have two main event faces with connections to big three companies in USA. Which guys should be in my roster?

 

Choices:

Greg Black 1 + 3 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 5 + 6 + 5 = 38

Kid Toma 5 + 6 + 3 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 1 = 31

Akima Brave 2 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 5 + 3 + 4 + 2 = 30

Clark Alexander 3 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 3 + 6 + 1 + 3 = 29

Ford Gumble 4 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 20

Madman Boone 6 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 6 = 20

 

 

This was an even one (excluding Boone and Gumble who got some support but were the bottom two picks more often than anyone else) but at the end, Greg Black got the most points with Toma getting the second spot. What this will mean is that Black will be the top face alongside Donnie J while Toma will take the “loner” gimmick and be either the number three or four face depending on who the last pick ends up being. Speaking of that last pick, I´m not actually sure yet and have to spend bit of time thinking about that, right now I generally have two different options, first is to add another talented high flyer (Remmy, Ota, Fox Mask, Cougar, Perez, James etc.) which could allow me to have bit more freedom on heel side, possible opening spots for some less great talent like Nation Of Filth, Hopkirk, Cahill or Steadyfast (since I generally like to have some less often used guys once I´m sure that I have enough guys to pick up the slack). Other option is to hire someone to be the main event gatekeeper guy (Flash, Martin or Gumble could all fill that role alongside few others) who could possibly also be included in a tag ranks if good options as partners could be found.

 

 

2) I want to have one tag team in my “Horseman” group. Which team will be in the group?

 

Choices:

The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker) 1 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 1 = 24

Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark) 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 4 = 23

Shoot Club (Al Coleman & Marc Speed) 4 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 3 = 18

The Cali Dragons (Frankie Perez & Mickey James) 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 2 = 15

 

This was another rather close one and I have to admit that I was bit surprised on Cali Dragons being left on the last place here. Still, any of these choices would have been just fine but Future Is Here was probably the best option match grade wise as they does add lots of talent on my midcard, something that is surely going to be useful. This pick makes sure that the last member of the heel group (Five Stars) is going to be another main event level guy as Keith and Parker will start on my midcard (though I fully expect them to gain main event level popularity sooner rather than later). It also gives me bit more freedom to choose other midcard heel guys (in terms of not needing to be that great in-ring talent) since I got my midcard workhorses on Keith and Parker, who I can trust to deliver good matches with my main event guys.

 

 

3) I also want to have tag team on my face group, which one will it be?

 

Choices:

Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez) 3 + 4 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 25

El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt 2 + 2 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 4 + 4 = 23

Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus 4 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 18

El Mítico Jr. & Extraordinario Jr. 1 + 1 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 16

 

Only real team got this one rather clearly at the end even though both El Diablo & Jayson Van Pelt and Leftie Wilkes & Roderick Remus did get close at various points. To be honest, this pick doesn´t affect that much on overall picture simply because pretty much any of these picks would have given the same results, mainly the fact that I certainly want another midcard tag team (or possible main eventer & midcard guy) to take the mantle off top face team until I can (hopefully) build Hernandez up, and similarly I would likely need a midcard guy who I wouldn´t mind dropping to jobber position if/when Hernandez claims the midcard spot (then again, I´m probably going to expand my roster later anyway so perhaps this wouldn´t be necessary). Basically, the main differences on these picks were whatever I needed to build just one or both guys up and this result means that I´m bit more likely to have more skilled guy (and I´m willing to add guy who is still unknown in terms of popularity) picked as the last member of this group, simply because I don´t need to build two other guys (I couldn´t build three jobbers up at the same time since that wouldn´t leave anyone to actually to the jobs) up like would had been the case with the Diablo/Van Pelt and Mitico/Extraordinario pairings.

 

 

Right, time to go with next set of questions, but before that, here is the current roster again with latest picks added to the list.

 

Main event:

Donnie J

Greg Black

Kid Toma

?????

 

Jack Griffith

??????

??????

??????

 

Midcard:

Californian Love Machine

?????

?????

?????

?????

Matthew Keith

Steven Parker

?????

?????

?????

 

Jobbers:

Frankie-Boy Hernandez

?????

?????

?????

 

?????

?????

?????

?????

 

Teams:

Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

 

Stables:

Five Stars (Jack Griffith, Matthew Keith, Steven Parker, ?????, ?????)

?????? (Donnie J, Californian Love Machine, Frankie-Boy Hernandez, ??????)

 

 

1) Who is going to be the last member of the face group led by Donnie J?

a) Arthur Dexter Bradley

b) Jacob Jett

c) Jamie Atherton

d) Mimic

e) Mr. Lucha III

f) The American Flash

 

Since I´m tying one of my top faces with this group, I´d like to have someone who I believe to have so upside as part of the group and much like Love Machine and Hernandez, I believe that these six have some upside to offer and all of them are guys I have wanted to use for a long time for various reasons. The American Flash, is likely the least talented of the group but he has that always easy to write patriot gimmick that might well lead into midcard storyline at some point and he´s also from CZCW and thus has readymade connection to rest of the members. He´s also only one from this group that pushes as midcard guy (regional level popularity) at the beginning. Mr. Lucha III is the second most popular and is actually very close to regional level and according to current power 500, the top talent from this list. He would likely play the typical Mexican babyface role. Arthur Dexter Bradley is someone who I always wanted to use after my FCW diary (back then, he was stolen from me before I really managed to build him up from the initial jobber role) and this might be a good spot to try to make him at least a midcard talent and perhaps even future main eventer? Jacob Jett is another one who was stolen from me early in my diary game (as some of you might still remember) and now could be my chance to use him since I never got to use him in my latest diary. Jamie Atherton and Mimic are another pair that I always wanted to try put but rarely have had chance to do so which is why they are included on this list. They would both start with no popularity (as would Jett) meaning that their initial push would be jobber (as would with anyone expect Flash) but I´m quite confident that I could build any of these guys up to midcard level thanks to their talent and association with Donnie J.

 

 

2) Who is going to be the last member (barring manager who I will choose later) of the Five Stars?

a) Billy Russell

b) Hell´s Bouncer

c) Johnny Martin

d) Puerto Rican Power

 

With the last (active wrestler) member for the Five Stars, I´m looking for another main event level player, though with Parker and Keith on the group, I don´t mind if it´s someone who has limited time left on the top as I expect Parker and Keith to reach the main event sooner rather than later anyway. This member would also be the enforcer of the group and there´s two quite different ways to go on here. Hell´s Bouncer and Puerto Rican Power would go the typical big guy route. Bouncer would likely be bit more of a bodyguard type meaning that he´s bit more likely to stay on the background and letting his stable mates run the show (at least on the beginning), while the other three would be bit more likely to do their own things in terms of who they want to feud with etc. which likely means a bit less spotlight for Future Is Here than what might be the case with Bouncer. Billy Russell´s role as enforcer would be more based on his MMA abilities than size while Martin would just be the violent, never give up type of guy thanks to his background in DAVE and PSW. PRP and Marin would likely be signed to p.p.a while Bouncer and Russell might be more likely to get a written contract (at the time writing this one, I´m not yet sure how many written contracts I will offer but I know I want to have at least 12 guys on written to ensure that I have enough guys for the house show).

 

 

Quick picks: Number guys from the one you want to see most (1) to the one you like to see least (4 or 6 debending on the question)

 

 

1) Who is going to be the last member of the face group led by Donnie J?

Arthur Dexter Bradley

Jacob Jett

Jamie Atherton

Mimic

Mr. Lucha III

The American Flash

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

 

2) Who is going to be the last member (barring manager who I will choose later) of the Five Stars?

Billy Russell

Hell´s Bouncer

Johnny Martin

Puerto Rican Power

 

1

2

3

4

 

I will be away from the computer for few days starting next Monday and the next update will likely be on Friday at the earliest, so you have at least that long to make the picks this round.

[BHK1978]

1) Who is going to be the last member of the face group led by Donnie J?

Arthur Dexter Bradley

Jacob Jett

Jamie Atherton

Mimic

Mr. Lucha III

The American Flash

 

1 Mr. Lucha III

2 Mimic

3 Jamie Atherton

4 Jacob Jett

5 The American Flash

6 Arthur Dexter Bradley

 

2) Who is going to be the last member (barring manager who I will choose later) of the Five Stars?

Billy Russell

Hell´s Bouncer

Johnny Martin

Puerto Rican Power

 

1 Johnny Martin

2 Hell's Bouncer

3 Billy Russell

4 Puerto Rican Power

 

PR Power is going to be a nightmare to book because his loyalty is with FCW so that is why I put him last.

[KnowYourEnemy]

1) Who is going to be the last member of the face group led by Donnie J?

Arthur Dexter Bradley

Jacob Jett

Jamie Atherton

Mimic

Mr. Lucha III

The American Flash

 

1 Jacob Jett

2 Jamie Atherton

3 The American Flash

4 Mr. Lucha III

5 Mimic

6 Arthur Dexter Bradley

 

Jacob Jett is by far the best choice, and Jamie Atherton is far and away #2. Jett is one of the best talents and comes with an amazing number of benefits. He has tag experience with Darryl Devine who you can sign if/when USPW releases him (soon, probably) and Jett is dating and managed by arguably the best manager available, Katie Cameron. "White Lightning" is a "poor man's" Jett, with stand-out charisma. You could justifiably put the next three in any order. Flash and Lucha III are dead even in my eyes -- I edge it to Flash as you said you'd like to write for him and he has CZCW connection. Lucha is a great prospect, but probably isn't on the level of Jett and Lucha does not do well in Mainstream/Modern. Mimic has pretty severe attitude problems. ADB has few positives in comparison to the rest of the workers listed here.

 

2) Who is going to be the last member (barring manager who I will choose later) of the Five Stars?

Billy Russell

Hell´s Bouncer

Johnny Martin

Puerto Rican Power

 

1 Hell's Bouncer

2 Billy Russell

3 Puerto Rican Power

4 Johnny Martin

 

This one isn't close. Hell's Bouncer is the best worker of the bunch, the only one who can (and should) significantly improve. Bouncer has above-average in-ring skills for any wrestler his age, even if his first row is one-dimensional, and he can and often does turn into a main event talent. His menace is invaluable. Billy Russell is the clear #2, as he has good top row stats and is least likely to be on time decline, plus you can always have him put over someone in Puerto Rico. Power is similar, but more one-dimensional, and older. Johnny has little appeal outside of being the first DAVE unified champion.

[Kitarzu]

1) Who is going to be the last member of the face group led by Donnie J?

Arthur Dexter Bradley

Jacob Jett

Jamie Atherton

Mimic

Mr. Lucha III

The American Flash

 

1 The American Flash

2 Arthur Dexter Bradley

3 Jamie Atherton

4 Mimic

5 Mister Lucha III

6 Jacob Jett

 

2) Who is going to be the last member (barring manager who I will choose later) of the Five Stars?

Billy Russell

Hell´s Bouncer

Johnny Martin

Puerto Rican Power

 

1 Hell's Bouncer

2 Billy Russell

3 Johnny Martin

4 Puerto Rican Power

[Uncrewed]

1) Who is going to be the last member of the face group led by Donnie J?

Arthur Dexter Bradley

Jacob Jett

Jamie Atherton

Mimic

Mr. Lucha III

The American Flash

 

1 Jacob Jett

2 Mr Lucha III

3 The American Flash

4 Mimic

5 Jamie Atherton

6 Arthur Dexter Bradley

 

2) Who is going to be the last member (barring manager who I will choose later) of the Five Stars?

Billy Russell

Hell´s Bouncer

Johnny Martin

Puerto Rican Power

 

1 Hell's Bouncer

2 Johnny Martin

3 Puerto Rican Power

4 Billy Russell

[flaviooooo]

1) Who is going to be the last member of the face group led by Donnie J?

Arthur Dexter Bradley

Jacob Jett

Jamie Atherton

Mimic

Mr. Lucha III

The American Flash

 

1 Jacob Jett

2 The American Flash

3 Arthur Dexter Bradley

4 Mr. Lucha III

5 Jamie Atherton

6 Mimic

 

2) Who is going to be the last member (barring manager who I will choose later) of the Five Stars?

Billy Russell

Hell´s Bouncer

Johnny Martin

Puerto Rican Power

 

1 Puerto Rican Power

2 Hell´s Bouncer

3 Johnny Martin

4 Billy Russell

[Zergon]

Again, big thanks to everyone who took time to write their opinions down.

With your help the third round is now done and here are the results from it:

 

1) Who is going to be the last member of the face group led by Donnie J?

 

Jacob Jett 3 + 6 + 1 + 6 + 6 = 22

The American Flash 2 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 5 = 21

Mr. Lucha III 6 + 3 + 2 + 5 + 3 = 19

Jamie Atherton 4 + 5 + 4 + 2 + 2 = 17

Mimic 5 + 1 + 3 + 3 + 1 = 13

Arthur Dexter Bradley 1 + 1 + 5 + 1 + 4 = 12

 

This was a close one between Jett, Flash, Lucha III and Atherton (the first three were even after 4/5 of the points were counted and Atherton was only point behind) but at the end, it was Jett who got the win and thus he becomes the last member of the Donnie´s still unnamed group (I really need to figure a name for them soon). With this pick, the last two jobber spots on face side will certainly be someone´s who have next to no chance to rise on the card (possibly a jobber level tag team) and I will likely also look to add at least one midcard gatekeeper level face who I won´t mind dropping down on pecking order if (hopefully when) Jett and Hernandez brake to midcard ranks.

 

 

2) Who is going to be the last member (barring manager who I will choose later) of the Five Stars?

 

Hell´s Bouncer 3 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 3 = 18

Johnny Martin 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 2 = 12

Billy Russell 2 + 3 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 10

Puerto Rican Power 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 10

 

This one didn´t seem to be even close with Bouncer never being worse than 2nd on anyone´s list. I´m not really surprised about the result either, as Bouncer was probably the most obvious addition to the group and certainly the one who had most long term benefits. This pick will mean that I now have my main event monster heel (had Russell or Martin been the pick, I would have looked to add monster heel as one of my two yet to be decided main event heel slots). It will also mean that Parker and Keith will likely get bit more time on the spotlight as I see Bouncer as more of a bodyguard/henchman guy than a main threat, although that could easily change in the future. One interesting thing is that the Five Stars group ended up being quite young with the exception of Griffith, actually way younger than I thought they would be when I first drafted this idea for the group. As a result, I might need to change the groups ideology a bit (luckily, I have plenty of time to figure that one out while filling the rest of the roster) since ¾ of the members are still young enough that the “the big companies had made a mistake on ignoring us for so long” idea might not work all that well. Instead, I will likely go more to a route were they trying to impress the big companies by showing that they are way better than the guys who already have been there and hunt the big company guys because of that instead of just to prove that they should had been signed by big companies long time ago.

 

 

And here is the current roster with the two latest picks added to the roster:

 

Main event:

Donnie J

Greg Black

Kid Toma

?????

 

Jack Griffith

Hell´s Bouncer

??????

??????

 

Midcard:

Californian Love Machine

?????

?????

?????

?????

 

Matthew Keith

Steven Parker

?????

?????

?????

 

Jobbers:

Frankie-Boy Hernandez

Jacob Jett

?????

?????

 

?????

?????

?????

?????

 

Teams:

Going Costal (Californian Love Machine & Frankie-Boy Hernandez)

The Future is Here (Matthew Keith & Steven Parker)

 

Stables:

Five Stars (Jack Griffith, Matthew Keith, Steven Parker, Hell´s Bouncer, ?????)

?????? (Donnie J, Californian Love Machine, Frankie-Boy Hernandez, Jacob Jett)

 

1) I´m looking to add old school cowardly/cheating heel to my main event group. Who will be that guy?

a) Fumihiro Ota

b) Grandmaster Phunk

c) Paul Steadyfast

 

Since I already have my monster heel, I now look to add another rather stereotypical heel on cowardly/cheating heel (hey, no one have ever accused me on being creative so why not use the old and well tested character models? ). As for the three choices, Ota would be more of the cheating guy (ninja tricks?), while Steadyfast would likely be the most cowardly one of the three with Phunk somewhere in between. Phunk and Steadyfast would likely be using other heels (either by paying them or making other deals with them) to do some of their dirty work while I would see Ota being more of a loner type who deals his problems by himself. Ota and Phunk would both likely slot as number two heels ahead of Hell´s Bouncer while Steadyfast, who I see as least skilled of the three (by quite a big margin) would be more of a main event gatekeeper guy. If Steadyfast is the pick then in all like hood the last main event heel would be someone who I think I could trust in terms of in-ring performance. In case of Ota/Phunk… well I actually have no idea but it would more likely to be someone who I would slot as main event gatekeeper role (after all, I need to have space for Keith/Parker to get into main event if they work the way I would hope they do).

 

 

2) I´m looking to add a midcard face team that would hopefully be one of my tag division corner stones and likely be the top face team (at least for now). Who should that team be?

a) The Ring Generals (Marv Statler & Dean Waldorf)

b) Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

c) Sweet N Sour (Kirk Jameson & Kashmir Singh)

d) Bradford Peverell & Mainstream Hernandez

 

Whoever this pair will be, it will likely be my top face tag team (unless I decide to use my last main event face spot to a guy who I look to put into tag team) and as a result, they are more than likely to feud with Parker and Keith (almost certainly my top heel team) down the road and thus need to be someone´s who I wouldn´t mind putting over them. A tall order to be sure but I think these four teams have enough talent that it would warrant a win over the likes of Parker & Keith. Peverell and Hernandez are likely to stick out from this group since they aren´t a proper tag team but while that is true, they are the current FCW tag team champions so they will likely gain a bit of tag experience there and they are both skilled enough on their own that I felt they warranted a spot on this list (though Mainstream could clash name wise with Frankie-Boy so I might need to rename one of them). Also, I do have a soft spot on FCW´s talent ever since my FCW diary back in TEW 2010 and that partly explains Sweet N Sour being on the list as well, though I do feel that both of these guys are also talented enough to do well in this level even if they aren´t as obvious signings as Parker, Keith twins, DWN etc. Talented and perhaps a bit overlooked is exactly how I see Ring Generals as well, those who followed my ESE diary remember how important part of the roster they (especially Statler who came in earlier) were there (even if they never were on the same side), and I wouldn´t mind to see how they could handle themselves in big leagues. Frankly, I don´t expect either of them ever getting past midcard (which I could see to happen with Cage or Mainstream for example) but I figure they would have enough in-ring skills to become a solid midcard tag team even on bigger company like the one I´m trying to run here. Shark Cage is a team that I could better see as heels (hence why they were on the earlier vote that was won by Parker/Keith) than faces but they work well on both and I could see them anchoring my tag division for years, though Cage is also one guy who I could see breaking into main event scene assuming he could develop his top row skills a bit.

 

3) I´m also looking for a heel jobber team, who should be that team?

a) The Night Terrors (Babau & Moroi)

b) The Dynamite Express (Syd Collier & Cameron Jones)

c) Mexican Hardcore Killers (E-Z & Sanchez Villano)

d) Coulrophobia (Hellech & Pierrot)

e) The Boys From Yukon (Howlin´ Mad Mort & Whitehorse Whittaker)

f) Notorious (Carlos Barrera & Miguel Rivera)

 

First of all, let me say that whichever team is going to be picked here won´t have much chance to get past jobber status and thus the goal here is more about which team you want to see getting the boost (hopefully on both skills and popularity) before they are send back to indy scene, rather than who you think would do well in ESE. I´m well aware that some of these teams are hardly any good even on indy standards (The Boys From Yukon being the most obvious example) while some like The Dynamite Express might have brighter future in front of them but that´s not the main point here as they are going to job for a year and then likely released back to indy scene, thus performance doesn´t really affect their future (though obviously better match rating means more popularity gains and hurt my overall show grades less but still). Thus these teams were chosen mainly because a) they are young and could thus benefit greatly for being in ESE even on jobber role and b) they aren´t so talented (to my knowledge/opinion) that I would have an urge to push them. Since the team here will be jobbers, this pick won´t affect much on the rest of the roster other than the fact that I´m more likely to pick other heel jobbers that aren´t carbon copies of whichever guys are picked here. For example, I won´t be picking someone like Evil Spirit, Acid II or Brimstone (aka “dark” characters) if Night Terrors or Coulrophobia is picked. Similarly, I would be less likely to pick big guys like Steel, Andrew Harper etc. if The Boys From Yukon would be picked etc.

 

 

1) I´m looking to add old school cowardly/cheating heel to my main event group. Who will be that guy?

 

Fumihiro Ota

Grandmaster Phunk

Paul Steadyfast

 

1

2

3

 

2) I´m looking to add a midcard face team that would hopefully be one of my tag division corner stones and likely be the top face team (at least for now). Who should that team be?

 

The Ring Generals (Marv Statler & Dean Waldorf)

Shark Cage (Roger Cage & Sammy The Shark)

Sweet N Sour (Kirk Jameson & Kashmir Singh)

Bradford Peverell & Mainstream Hernandez

 

1

2

3

4

 

 

3) I´m also looking for a heel jobber team, who should be that team?

 

The Night Terrors (Babau & Moroi)

The Dynamite Express (Syd Collier & Cameron Jones)

Mexican Hardcore Killers (E-Z & Sanchez Villano)

Coulrophobia (Hellech & Pierrot)

The Boys From Yukon (Howlin´ Mad Mort & Whitehorse Whittaker)

Notorious (Carlos Barrera & Miguel Rivera)

 

1

2

3

4

5

6