Total Nonstop Gameplay (Real World Chronicles: Feb 2016 w/ TNA)

[Big Mark Smark]

TNA High Impact Show in week 1, March 2016

 

Flush with the relative success of my financial plan, I move to sign a few jobbers on short-term PPAs. Yes, this is an added expense, but I do need people whose job is simply to eat pins one or two nights a month. I offer seven deals based on finding Unknowns with Good Performance skills (and preferably good In-Ring skills, too). The older ones get Pass the Torch, those who refuse to be seen in this light get offered Backbone. All of them get CC to save money. Making these signings auto-pushes a few of my prospects out of the Opener/Enhancement Talent slot, which is helpful in terms of getting me to book them the right way, but the main reason I get them is so that the young guys have someone to beat. I'll try to get all these jobbers some initial momentum by having them eat a loss to someone further up the card.

 

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The backstage comes up, I get a couple of happy events, and I notice that I have not assigned this show to the High Impact Brand. Nuts. I spent ages assigning everyone to brands, and then forgot that one last step. Well, I can just restrict myself to the heavyweights this show anyway. I've been pretty good about getting workers on shows to date, so I probably won't get any under-use discontent. Austin Aries might be annoyed at being left off but I think everyone else will be OK. I single out the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York for the show, following the same logic as last time. My notes on this show are in a shorter format because I really just wanted to book it and move on.

 

Ted DiBiase Jr. beats Chris Hero (8 mins)

 

58. Ted Jr. is demotivated, Hero is motivated.

 

Backstage segment with Abyss (5 mins)

 

I don't really have a match for the big guy, but he's a good enough entertainer to help the show even without hitting the ring. He'll be hanging out listening to Marilyn Manson or something.

 

65. People love Marilyn Manson.

 

Squash matches

 

Magnus beats Mike Dell (6 mins) [58.]

Lashley beats Mike Foxx (6 mins) [55.]

Mike Bennett beats The Big O (8 mins) [48, didn't click.]

 

Ted Sr. interviews Drew Galloway (5 mins)

 

Practically a training segment. It should rate well anyway.

 

76. Both of them improvised well.

 

Kurt Angle & Mr. Anderson beat Tyrus & Jesse White (15 mins)

 

This is too short for two Main Eventers. It's mainly here to test chemistry and train Jesse.

 

54. Mr. Anderson & Kurt don't work well as a team.

 

Matt Hardy beats Rhino (15 mins)

 

I'm abusing Rhino a bit but Hardy needs to get wins. This is a non-title match, set up Open and Matt wins clean.

 

66. Rhino demotivated, Hardy abusing substances.

 

EC3/Matt Hardy mic duel (5 mins)

Another of those angles that's hard to avoid even when trying to get a non-story show.

 

65. EC3 improvised well, Hardy didn't.

 

Beer Money beats Dupree & Singh (23 mins)

 

Bobby Roode makes his return to the ring in a house show. This actually feels like a good way of selling his injuries as legit, implying that he's working his way back to match fitness. Not that it's been that long since he got beat up by Abyss, but I'm trying for some logic. This match should help Dupree & Singh develop.

 

71. Beer Money's experience and chemistry are still really valuable.

 

Beer Money celebrate (4 mins)

 

Ending the show on a happy note for once.

 

52, James Storm brought this down with his drinking habit.

 

Show Rating: 69

 

I get to make a speech here, which is momentarily confusing because I didn't for the Arena Show. But the Arena Show was weekly and this is monthly, so it makes some sense. I single out three younger workers: Ted Jr (Encourage), Drew Galloway (Compliment) and Rene Dupree (Compliment). They all seemed pleased. TNA increases in popularity in Tri-State from 55 to 56, and gets great feedback and a lot of praise. The show also increases TNA's Prestige (now 32) and Momentum (to 12).

 

Unfortunately, the show drew just 3,832 fans despite what TEW told me on the venue select screen - presumably a decreasing returns effect? The show costs $23k, so that's $8k plus the hiring cost of $15k, plus just under $2k for bringing some extra talent in. We pull in a bit under $70k (without getting too precise, it looks like $18 a ticket again). So the show made money even though it wasn't as lucrative as the Arena Show. That's enough to convince me to junk the specific tour Events in the hopes that the diminishing returns are per week or due to a bad card or SOMETHING that would mean I can still make plenty of money on the other shows this month so long as I watch the numbers carefully.

 

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Remianen, welcome aboard! As it looks like TNA won't go bankrupt, the next "bad end" to avoid is getting sacked for forgetting to push Dixie Carter's favourites. Now, who were they again..?

[tryker2710]

Didn't you have to get Bobby Roooooode through the roof with momentum?

[Big Mark Smark]

Didn't you have to get Bobby Roooooode through the roof with momentum?

 

Plus Bram and Davey Richards. Davey is a guy I'm going to push anyway. Bram and Bobby are guys I wanted to use for putting other workers over, but so long as I make sure to get them wins along the road it won't be a problem.

[Big Mark Smark]

Impact Taping for Week 2, March 2016

 

I booked this show in my first play session since explaining the financial troubles I'd gotten into in February. I'd actually taken quite a long break from the save, because I knew I had material to post to the diary and I wanted to put a fresh mind to work. Let's go.

 

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I'm relying on the Visibility tool to see which parts of the USA haven't had a show yet. The South West is still untouched so I pick it out in the hopes of drawing a better crowd. (Again, TEW 2013 doesn't give much incentive for a realistic taping strategy for a TNA-sized promotion, but Adam's promising to change that by basing workers in definite locations and adding travel costs.) The game expects a gate of 3,799 and recommends the 3,500 seat American Sports Center in Anaheim, California. The ASC has a good reputation, and even though the in-game help doesn't explain how that's good for me I assume that it helps. Anaheim it is.

 

Pre-show: Adam Cole beats Don Juan (6 mins)

 

Cole is popular but his Psychology is still awful. (The database starts him at 36, and he's up to 38.) Don Juan is one of my PPA jobbers and can help Adam with his Performance skills in this dark match. Cole goes over clean and I ask them to work the crowd. I don't script the match, assuming that Don Juan can call the spots.

 

40. Don Juan gets a 100 on his Internet Tough Guy gimmick. Both of them fail to engage the crowd. Hmm.

 

Pre-Show: Alex Shelley beats the Big O (6 mins)

 

I should be doing more with Shelley, but for now he can train a young guy and improve his own recent fortunes.

 

51. Shelley's fairly over and although Ohriner is a little rough around the edges both of them have what it takes to be stars.

 

Pre-Show: Ted Jr. interviews Tiger & Rene Dupree (5 mins)

 

This is probably good enough for the main show but this tag team isn't in storylines. I'm starting to think that they'll take the straps off the Wolves, probably in a screwy match with a kayfabe injured Davey Richards or by lots of interference from stablemates. But for now, Ted Jr. can train their entertainment skills.

 

53. Lots of good improvisation, but what I really care about is development. TEW claims that Tiger improved his charisma and performance skills.

 

Pre-Show: Rhino beats Ryan Davidson (6 mins)

 

Speaking of recent fortunes, Rhino has lost four matches in a row and desperately needs a win. Although Ryan is my guy for training up the young boys, this is a match where I expect him to learn from a veteran.

 

42. Didn't click. Rhino still wants to be a tag guy.

 

Pre-Show: Ted Jr. interviews the Wolves

 

Consider this a hint to the live audience. Also an opportunity for a good entertainer to train Davey & Eddie.

 

56. Davey improvised badly but the other two did well. Allegedly there were no improvements.

 

Pre-Show: Rhett Titus beats Mark Haskins (6 mins)

 

Another Open match to train up guys and get them on the card.

 

44. Rhett gets a motivation bonus.

 

James Storm beats Cyberpunk Fire (6 mins)

 

This is a simple squash. If you know who Cyberpunk Fire is without looking it up, you might watch too much wrestling.

 

44. Fire gets a 98 for his Goth gimmick (which is probably the default, HINT HINT not a very helpful hint )

 

Abyss taunts James Storm (4 mins)

 

Again, I try not to spam this angle but it sort-of makes sense here. From past experience, I know Abyss can pull off a good entertainment angle.

 

72. Good improvisation. Personally, I don't find Abyss's promos that entertaining, but I must be an outlier.

 

Gail Kim beats Alissa Flash (7 mins)

 

I've avoided mentioning Alissa Flash's more notable ring name up until now, but if you're still wondering: she's Cheerleader Melissa, one of the best female workers around today. The database certainly does her justice, and for that reason I can set this up as a regular match (rather than eye candy). Alissa has plenty of momentum at TNA and less popularity than Gail, so she can eat a loss here and hopefully gain a bit of overness in the process. I use the Open note and ask them to Call in the Ring, but as it's a short match they'll be going All Out. Mickie James features as a Distraction and Madison Rayne is in commentary (instead of Josh). Technically I only need one of them here to credit the match to the storyline, but Mickie will get a bit of success for distracting.

 

54. Both pulled bonuses for going All Out.

 

Gail confronts Madison and Mickie in the ring (5 mins)

 

This segment should go well, considering their entertainment skills. I've set up Tyrus as Madison's "manager" (bodyguard) so that he appears in her segments the same way she'll turn up in his. Rather than test it in the pre-show, I'll take a gamble with a safe angle on camera. (I might also be floating towards some sort of weird 2v2v2 mixed tag match, but Gail would need to find a partner to make that work.)

 

49. The improvisation was a mess. Madison gets the "overwhelmed by manager" note. So much for that experiment.

 

Mr. Anderson taunts Drew Galloway (4 mins)

 

At least, sort-of. Really what I'd be getting him to do is hype Galloway's match against Angle tonight, no doubt promising to get the Scotsman's back. Mind games!

 

57. Bad improvising and soft drugs. I can see why real TNA let him go, but I will have him job on the way out.

 

EC3 beats Shannon Moore (6 mins)

 

The weakest member of Omega Point takes a fall to help push EC3. I set this as All Out, but at Main Event vs. Lower Midcarder That I Don't Care About (Shannon Moore's special push), it doesn't rate Open.

 

60. Both of these guys get mixed results with All Out and (as I've noted before) Moore would rather be a tag wrestler. Not that I'm complaining about this result - 60 would be a decent main or semi-main at TNA's current popularity.

 

Jeff Hardy and EC3 have a Face-Off (5 mins)

 

This angle calls to mind happy memories of repeated Sting/Hogan face-offs in WCW saves. Jeff and EC3 are both pretty over (average high 60s) and I can dump six other guys into a non-rated on-screen role. Despite the temptation to feed a high-rated segment into other feuds (as I did for Nitro), the six guys chosen for the "pulling apart" role are Helms, Matt, and Shannon on the heel side, plus Harry Smith, Rhino, and Chris Hero for the faces.

 

60. Jeff pulls down a reformed drug habit penalty, a low momentum penalty and a motivation penalty. I understand the first two but I'm baffled by the last.

 

Obligatory bikini contest (5 mins)

 

Anna B, Barbi Hayden, Kelly Black, and Jade take part.

 

61. Kelly Black gets singled out for a good performance, probably due to overness. Or having 98 Sex Appeal.

 

Bram and Christopher Daniels beat Caprice Coleman and Ryan Nemeth (13 mins)

 

This gets main event time because Bram is auto-pushing to Main Event and Daniels is UMC. I want to get three things done here: feed a match to the Daniels/Lethal feud (which I do by putting Jay on commentary), debut Caprice in a high-rated match (fingers crossed), and train Ryan. The match gets set up Open and All Out, and the heels go over Tainted.

 

55. Coleman debuts a Cocky gimmick at 96 - I probably should have given him something more defensive as he is not getting pushed. The match is solid but has not much in the way of heat, so I'm guessing the low rating is more to do with a lack of overness (especially from the babyfaces).

 

Ringside scouting: Mike Bennett scouts Lashley (2 mins)

 

I'm dropping this in as a set-up for the next segment, but their storyline is doing so badly (34) that I'd expect even a throw-away like this to help it.

 

44. As expected, this helps the storyline.

 

Bobby Lashley beats Jesse White (6 mins)

 

This match is mostly for the Lashley/Bennett & Kanellis feud, so the finish is the most important thing. I've already done a couple of variations on interference, and even though the game will let me just keep spamming the same finish I resist the temptation. I park Maria on commentary and give both her and Mike get a distraction note. But the match finishes clean with a stoppage, suggesting that the referee has to stop an infuriated Lashley from seriously injuring Jesse White.

 

55. Average reaction and decent action. The stoppage finish goes over fine, though TNA's mainstream enough that only the Sports Entertainment Finish will penalise ratings. (As an aside, more real-life promotions should use stoppages in squash situations.)

 

Beer Money beat down Abyss backstage (4 mins)

 

The time has come for the babyfaces to get some successes in this feud. This will probably only pull a low 50s, but I'm more concerned with getting a full Success for each member of Beer Money.

 

54. James Storm is the weak link because the other guys are more over.

 

John Hennigan and DJZ beat Austin Aries and Eric Young (13 mins)

 

In a fantasy booking sense, this is a match that could feature a lot of teased finishes for the two intersecting feuds (Hennigan/Aries, DJZ/Young). In a strictly business sense, I want to add a bit of fire to both storylines without using up the singles matches - I'm saving them for PPV. Young gets DQ'd for the loss and I drop Keep Strong on both Heels (they will lose popularity here because the faces are less over, so I want to minimise that). I also set up the match as Open and All Out.

 

62. Would have rated higher without the Keep Strong notes, but I don't need a higher rating for the segment and protecting the heels' overness is important.

 

Alissa Flash and Ted DiBiase Jr. argue (5 mins)

 

I know that this combination works for ratings. It's also storyline motivated - why didn't he help out in the match against Gail Kim?

 

66. Didn't hit a looks-based limit. Ted improvised badly.

 

Elaborate Kurt Angle entrance (4 mins)

 

Cashing in on his overness here, nothing more and nothing less.

 

72. The people love Kurt even without UR Fight getting him over.

 

Kurt Angle beats Drew Galloway (16 mins)

 

I set this one up Open, Call in the Ring, and Slow Build. Both of these guys have enough Psychology to take advantage of this style, so they get a little bit of extra time to showcase their skills. (In my experience, Slow Build doesn't really work at 15 mins or less.) Magnus gets parked in commentary to contribute the match to his feud with Angle, but I'm going to have him refrain from interfering at the moment and give the match a clean finish. Drew's in the match as one of Magnus' stable-mates (not that TEW's storylines care), but more pragmatically he's been winning most of his matches so a loss won't hurt his recent fortunes and a good match against Angle should help his overness.

 

77! That's a lot better than I expected!

 

Angle and Magnus confront one another (6 mins)

 

We close with an Entertainment-based segment. The difference between doing this and an Overness-based segment is that (I think) 40% of the grade is going to be from their Entertainment skills, which in both cases average out higher than overness. This should pull something in the 70s.

 

85. EIGHTY FIVE. Both of them got improvisation bonuses, but this is also a lot more than I expected.

 

Show rating: 75.

 

This is quite a good demonstration of how a show can succeed with just a couple of hot segments. Aside from the Kurt stuff, the rest of the show was wavering around the 60s, but finishing hot gives the audience a much better impression of the event. Understandably, this gets great feedback and a lot of praise. Disappointingly, the gate is just 3,462, a few seats short of a sell-out. Prestige stays at 32 but Momentum creeps up to 13. The boulder is starting to move up that hill.

 

I check the overness on the cruisers in the semi-main. Austin lost one point in a few areas of the USA, Eric Young might have lost fractions, DJZ gained two overness across the USA, and Hennigan gained almost as much. Keep Strong is powerful, but I think the note does a good job of representing real life booking. It's rare for top guys to lose without being protected, particularly when they're facing less illustrious opponents.

 

Before wrapping up, I take a quick glance at skill improvements. A lot of the Performance Skills I've been sweating are slowly coming right. The Entertainment skills are less noticeable, though Alissa Flash is getting quite a lot from working with the DiBiases. (If anyone's confused about why I would care to improve guys like Davey Richards in this respect, I'm mainly trying to boost his Charisma for additional bonuses to his matches.)