Booking WWE exactly as real life... FOR SCIENCE!

[K-Nection]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Greylocke" data-cite="Greylocke" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Looking at the segment ratings, it's clear that game-wise, RAW main problem is that they lack the one guy that can consistently pull a B+ to A segment rating. Smackdown has that guy, and his name is John Cena. Every angle he's in delivers at least a B+ or better, and it always boosts the overall show even if their main event wasn't spectacular.<p> </p><p> Theoretically, the guy that can do the same on RAW <em>should</em> have been Brock Lesnar, and RAW is basically hurt by the fact that he only appears rarely and none of the other guys can fill that void while he's away.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> What are you talking about.....they have Roman Reigns.....mwahahahaha!</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="11373753_955090707867347_208001269_n.jpg?ig_cache_key=MTExMjk1NTA4MzY0NzUxNjcyOQ%3D%3D.2" data-src="https://scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s480x480/e35/11373753_955090707867347_208001269_n.jpg?ig_cache_key=MTExMjk1NTA4MzY0NzUxNjcyOQ%3D%3D.2" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

[Derek B]

Looking at the segment ratings, it's clear that game-wise, RAW main problem is that they lack the one guy that can consistently pull a B+ to A segment rating. Smackdown has that guy, and his name is John Cena. Every angle he's in delivers at least a B+ or better, and it always boosts the overall show even if their main event wasn't spectacular.

 

Theoretically, the guy that can do the same on RAW should have been Brock Lesnar, and RAW is basically hurt by the fact that he only appears rarely and none of the other guys can fill that void while he's away.

 

Yeah, RAW has an excellent roster but the WWE star making machine hasn't been able to elevate anyone to the highest level and keep them there, with John Cena being a massive star who can both talk and wrestle to a high level. Cena can take even weak material and make it great, something that CM Punk was also able to do and he would have been just as good but... well, we know what happened there. Daniel Bryan was building that level of popularity, which combined with his in-ring talent and momentum would have also kept him up there... but we also know what happened there.

 

Roman Reigns COULD get there... I think we all forget that he's still only been wrestling for about seven years, and it takes most people at least a decade before they reach their full potential. Roman has been booked like a megastar, has the look, the athleticism and raw talent to out perform Cena in almost every way... except in entertainment skills and his babyface rating. That will hold him back from ever becoming a Figurehead, especially with Cena still around. But with better writing, leading to a better gimmick and improved entertainment skills, he could also get there. I don't hate Roman, I just want his writers to do what they are meant to do so that they can get Roman to deliver the same ratings that Cena does... and not just when he's working with Braun.

 

What are you talking about.....they have Roman Reigns.....mwahahahaha!

 

 

When Roman was wearing the blue contact lenses, this seemed all too true

[Greylocke]

I downloaded the mod yesterday (first RL mod I've downloaded in years since I stuck to Cornellverse after TEW05)......is WWE's Product having "Daredevil" set to "None" really realistic, since that seems to affect how the Cruiserweight matches are rated (most of them are aerial workers and aerial skills get a penalty for this product)?

 

I know the CW division has never been push as a main feature in WWE, but surely "none" seems to be way too low?

 

I know "Modern" has an effect on the style too, but even here "low" seems little underrated - if I'm reading this right it also decreases the effectiveness of guys like Styles and Rollins numbers-wise?

 

I'm also confused by how Nakamura has been set as less popular than Jinder Mahal. The latter may have been pushed more, but the former had been getting consistently better reaction.

 

Sometimes I feel the language factor in real life (well, in the WWE, mostly, not so much elsewhere) is almost as abuseable as the "Menace" feature in the game, because all a foreign heel needs to do to boost his heat is to cut promos in his native language (which is, quite frankly the only way people like Mahal and Rusev could really get good heat during their promo segments - they don't really have the mic skills to do better). It just feels weird that game-wise you get a penalty for language barrier but in RL lots of heels abuse it to get better (well, louder) reactions even though most of the crowd don't understand most of what's being said.

[Blake Trask]

<p>I don't really comment a lot so I'm trying to change that by saying I've been reading along and this is fascinating</p><p> </p><p>

I really like your insights and comments on the shows, Derek, it's really informative and thought provoking and helps deepen an understanding of the game.</p>

[Derek B]

Not much to say before the show today. Aiden English asked for a pay rise, so I gave him 75% of what he wanted so that his morale wouldn't actually change. The company made a profit of $5.9 million dollars, which is some seriously silly money even after the nearly $4 million we paid in tax. PPV revenue is high too, though with the PPV burnout feature I suspect this will fall over time since we have far too many PPV events just now... but does also make sense for the WWE to run, since they run in large venues (earning a large gate) and can get extra revenue from event sales too. That's lots of money, which is ultimately what they are after even if it's more than most of us fans can possibly handle.

 

Last week saw the start of the build towards Summerslam and the stories have stayed the same. Here they are for those who may not remember them from last week.... which WWE seems to think is basically everyone in the world given how often they remind us of them.

 

Raw Storylines

 

#1: Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe, Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman,

#2: Kurt Angle, Corey Graves, Jason Jordan,

#3: Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Big Show,

#4: Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Mickie James (minor), Emma (minor), Dana Brooke (minor),*

#5: Bray Wyatt, Finn Balor, Elias Sampson,

#6: Goldust, R-Truth.

#7: (Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy), (Sheamus, Cesaro), (Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder), (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson)

#8: Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, (The Miz, Maryse, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas)

 

205 Live/Cruiserweight Division Storylines

 

#1: Neville, (Akira Tozawa, Titus O'Neill (minor)), Ariya Daivari,

#2: Rich Swann, TJP, Tony Nese, Cedric Alexander

#3: Drew Gulak, Mustafa Ali.

#4: Jack Gallagher, The Brian Kendrick,

 

http://imgur.com/2bnDCQh.gif

 

 

Should be the Paints Arena, Pittsburgh but that's not in the game.

From PA Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA (capacity 12,508)

Expected Attendance (in-game): 11,625 (no figurehead)

Actual Attendance (in-game): 10,708

 

Announcers: Michael Cole Corey Graves, Booker T

 

Angle: Then, now, forever. Recap of RAW with Kurt, Braun, Samoa Joe, Roman, Brock. Rated Overness/off screen. 3 minutes

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Kurt Angle hypes the show. Rated Entertainment (Kurt Angle), Overness/off screen (Braun, Roman, Joe, Miz, Big Cass, Big Show, Jason Jordan). 3 minures

Rating: C

 

Angle: Brock Lesnar in the house! Heyman claims if Lesnar loses at Summerslam, they're gone. Rated Entertainment (Paul Heyman), Menace (Brock Lesnar), Overnesss (Kurt Angle), Overness/off screen (Braun Strowman, Roman, Joe). 7 minutes.

Rating: B+

 

Minor Angle: Hype for tonight. Rated Overness/off screen (Joe, Roman, Braun, Miz, Jason Jordan, Matt, Jeff). 1 minute.

Rating: C+

 

Match: The Hardys vs The Club

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Jeff Hardy

Loser: Karl Anderson

The Revival on colour commentary (though I just put Dash Wilder in to replace Booker T here)

COMMERCIAL

Decisive Win

9 minutes (3 minutes pre/post match)

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Hardys, Club and Revival fight! Rated Overness (Hardys, story success), Selling (Anderson, Gallows, Wilder, Dawson. All story minor defeats). 4 minutes

Rating: C

 

Angle: Renee Young interviewing Ambrose. Rated Entertainment (Dean, Seth), Overness/off screen (The Miz, Bo, Curtis), Not Rated (Renee). 3 minutes.

Rating: C

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Angle: Seth bumps into Sheamus/Cesaro, ends up with Seth vs Sheamus tonight. Rated Entertainment (Sheamus, Cesaro, Seth), Overness/off screen (Dean). 3 minutes

Rating: B-

 

Match: Rich Swann, Cedric Alexander and Akira Tozawa vs Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese and TJP

Match Aim: Steal The Show

Winner: Akira Tozawa

Loser: TJP

COMMERCIAL

Decisive Win

7 minutes (2 minutes pre/post match)

Rating: D+

 

Minor Angle: Hype for Miz TV with Jason Jordan. All rated overness/off screen. 1 minutes

Rating: C

 

Minor Angle: Generic merchandise promo. SKIPPED

 

Angle: Miz TV. Rated Entertainment (The Miz, Jason Jordan), Overness (Kurt Angle, off screen), Sex Appeal (Maryse), Not Rated (Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel). 10 minutes

Rating: B+

 

Angle: Roman hypes match. Rated Entertainment (Roman), Overness (Braun, Joe, Lesnar). 1 minute

Rating: B-

 

Minor Angle: Seth walking for match. 10 seconds (SKIP?)

 

Match: Sheamus vs Seth Rollins

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Seth Rollins

COMMERCIAL

Flash Pinfall

9 minutes (3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Cesaro and Sheamus beatdown on Seth, Ambrose tries and fails to make save. Rated Overness (Sheamus, Cesaro. Both Story Success), Selling (Seth, Ambrose, Story Defeats). 5 minutes

Rating: B

 

Angle: Samoa Joe hypes Braun, Roman, Lesnar. Rated Entertainment (Joe), Overness/off screen (Everyone else). 2 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Minor Angle: Special olympics promo. 2 minutes (SKIPPED, nothing to rate).

 

Angle: Bray Wyatt promo at Finn. Rated Entertainment (Bray), Overness (Finn). 6 minutes

Rating: B+

 

Angle: Here comes Finn! Rated Overness (Finn, Story minor success), Selling (Bray, story minor defeat). 3 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Braun hypes match. Rated Entertainment (Braun), Overness/off screen (Roman, Joe, Brock). 1 minute.

Rating: B

 

Match: Samoa Joe vs Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Roman Reigns

Loser: Samoa Joe

COMMERCIAL

Open Match

Pinfall Finish

16 minutes (5 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: B

 

Angle: Hype for Big Cass vs Big Show (with Enzo). Rated Entertainment (Enzo, Big Show), Overness/off screen (Big Cass). 2 minutes.

Rating: C+

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Angle: Elias Sampson hates Pittsburgh. Rated Entertainment (Elias). 2 minutes.

Rating: D

 

Match: Elias Sampson vs Kalisto

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Elias

COMMERCIAL

Decisive Win

8 minutes (2 minutes pre/post match)

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Dasha interviews Alexa. Rated Entertainment (Alexa), Overness/off screen (Bayley, Sasha, Nia Jax), Not Rated (Dasha). 2 minutes

Rating: D

 

Angle: Hype for Smackdown with Cena vs Nakamura for Jinder, AJ vs Kevin Owens. All rated overness/off screen. 1 minute

Rating: B

 

Ange: Recap of Dean and Seth fighting Cesaro/Sheamus, hype.. Rated Entertainment (Seth/Dean), overness/off screen (Sheamus/Cesaro). 2 minutes

Rating: C+

 

Match: Bayley vs Nia Jax.

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Bayley

Distraction: Alexa on Bayley

Count Out Victory

7 minutes (plus 2 for pre/post)

Rating: D

 

Angle: Renee Young interviews Big Cass about Enzo/Big Cass. Rated Entertainment (Cass), Overness (Big Show, Enzo), Not Rated (Renee). 1 minute.

Rating: C

 

Angle: Hype for Akira Tozawa vs Ariya Daivari tomorrow, winner faces Neville. Rated Overness/off screen (all). 1 minute

Rating: D-

 

Angle: Miz TV recap. Rated Overness/off screen (Miz, Jason Jordan). 1 minute

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Enzo talking at Big Cass. Rated Entertainment (Enzo), Overness (Big Cass). 3 minutes

Rating: C

 

Match: Big Show vs Big Cass

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Big Cass

DQ by interference from Enzo

9 minutes (plus 2 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: C

 

Angle: Big Show KO's Big Cass when Cass is beating Enzo. Rated Overness (Big Show, story minor success) Selling (Big Cass. Enzo, story minor defeat). 2 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

SHOW RATING: B-

 

This show lost us popularity in 18 regions (persumably USA and Canada). It also gained us popularity in 18 regions.

 

32 segments

157 minutes (the rest of the 175ish is commercials)

7 matches

87 minutes so roughly 50% match ratio again

Less than 10 minutes of pointless filler/hype

 

Overall, this was a solid episode of RAW. The major hype was for the Roman vs Braun vs Samoa Joe match... which for reasons unknown they put in at the end of the second hour/start of the third insted of it's logical position in the main event. In TEW terms, that's defnitely going to hurt the show rating, as the already stale stuff between Enzo, Big Cass and Big Show has no business being in the Raw main event unless they are blowing it off with a big match. They didn't... Cass beat up Enzo a bit more then got beaten up by Cass, who was then KO'd by Show. The very definition of midcard stuff here. The Summerslam main event of Brock vs Braun vs Roman vs Joe looks amazing on paper, I'm excited for that... I'm also excited for the Shield reunion that is being played out with Dean and Seth. They're giving it time to breathe, playing up the very real trust isues that Dean should have and making it work well. Those two against Sheamus and Cesaro has the potential to tear the house down anywhere in the world so I'm excited for that.

 

RAW also had less needless filler this week.. the endless graphics showing reminders of what is coming up later and video recaps of what has already happened were toned down and it made the show feel like it had more content. Not all of that content is great, but I'd rather see Elias Sampson vs Kalisto in the third hour than a recap of stuff I watched in the first hour so that's a plus. There were also lots of new musical flourishes on the show with Big Cass and Jason Jordan debuting new entrance themes (both pretty average) and Seth Rollins getting a new little hook in his theme too. It's the kind of thing I'd like to see covered somehow in TEW mechanics (I have some ideas) but is mostly covered by gimmick rating just now and the tweak mechanic.

 

In-game we had Roma develop a new comeback spot that boosted his psychology, so that's nice. After the show we also had an email of complaint from Karl Anderson about his momentum being in the toilet... it's at Minor Negative for now, which is an early complaint from him about that but in real life he's been a directionless midcard act for a while so a complain seems fairly justified. Pop losses in USA and Canada as everything after the Roman/Braun/Joe match was relatively weak, which I think anyone watching the show would have predicted too. I just don't understand why it was booked that way at all... particularly with Lesnar on the show, it just feels like the show should have ended with the triple threat match descending into chaos as Brock Lesnar gets bored and throws himself into the mix with suplexes galore. Instead, we get a clean finish to a main event match that was in the midcard with no special interaction at all between the champion and his challengers....

 

That's all for RAW... stay tuned for Smackdown and 205 Live sometime soon (probably Saturday) as I book more WWE Just Like Real Life... For....

 

[Derek B]

I downloaded the mod yesterday (first RL mod I've downloaded in years since I stuck to Cornellverse after TEW05)......is WWE's Product having "Daredevil" set to "None" really realistic, since that seems to affect how the Cruiserweight matches are rated (most of them are aerial workers and aerial skills get a penalty for this product)?

 

I know the CW division has never been push as a main feature in WWE, but surely "none" seems to be way too low?

 

I know "Modern" has an effect on the style too, but even here "low" seems little underrated - if I'm reading this right it also decreases the effectiveness of guys like Styles and Rollins numbers-wise?

 

I'm also confused by how Nakamura has been set as less popular than Jinder Mahal. The latter may have been pushed more, but the former had been getting consistently better reaction.

 

Sometimes I feel the language factor in real life (well, in the WWE, mostly, not so much elsewhere) is almost as abuseable as the "Menace" feature in the game, because all a foreign heel needs to do to boost his heat is to cut promos in his native language (which is, quite frankly the only way people like Mahal and Rusev could really get good heat during their promo segments - they don't really have the mic skills to do better). It just feels weird that game-wise you get a penalty for language barrier but in RL lots of heels abuse it to get better (well, louder) reactions even though most of the crowd don't understand most of what's being said.

 

Addressing a few points in order

 

1. Product isn't dictated by worker styles or by who has achieved success within the company, otherwise WWE would have to have at least low levels of everything since they hire workers of all kinds of styles from all over the world. The different worker styles, particularly in the WWE, are forced to fit into the WWE style and it's for this reason that 205 Live is a pretty rubbish show. The Cruiserweight Classic was fantastic as it was presented with wrestlers being allowed to do basically anything they wanted at a breakneck pace... that show was the definition of a Modern style focus and it was great. Mechanically, this would allow them to be rated as popularity = performance or perhaps even a performance bias based on the production there, which was a Modern/Mainstream hybrid that could have been argued to have other elements.

 

2. 205 Live is nothing like the Cruiserweight Classic at all. It's exactly the kind of thing you'd expect on the main episode of RAW, but using guys who have top row skills that are generally far better than their entertainment skills and far in excess of their popularity. It's why extremely talented guys are getting generally D ratings in-game and why the brand seems to be dying a death. Neutered performers doing nothing more complicated than perhaps 2 risky moves in a match is the same as Dean Ambrose or even John Cena on a good night.

 

3. For these reasons, the WWE definitely shouldn't have any daredevil set. There is no focus on that at all in their default product. The Cruiserweight Classic gave us a look at what the division could have been but that's not what we have, nor what we're ever going to get. Modern could be argued up to about Low level as there is more focus on faster paced things in the ring, but it's also not a focus. And that sucks, because they have the talent there that could really take advantage of that and generate fantastic in-game ratings... but in real life, that's not what Vince McMahon believes will draw money and we all know that it's all about the money.

 

4. Some workers, particularly in the aerial department, have to try to better fit the WWE style in order to succeed. Historically, this has always been the case. Rey Mysterio was an amazing high flyer when he came in, but it was his character development and entertainment skills combined with the universally helpful performance skills that ensured he became a star. Same with Eddie Guerrero. And... well, how many fliers have really succeeded in the WWE? Even Neville, a man with never ending aerial skills, has only now got over based on his entertainment, performance and a focus on other top row skills. There's a reason for that.

 

5. The Shinsuke and Jinder situation is a tricky one. One of the reasons to run this diary is to see how the WWE booking reflects in-game on workers like these. Shinsuke is a massive Japanese star who cemented a reputation in NXT before he came up to the main roster... but being a star there can only generate so much popularity and momentum for an audience that is only a small percentage of the main WWE roster. No-one comes up as a ready made top star... they come in at a midcard level (at best) and have to work their way up by doing things to get over. Shinsuke hasn't really done anything noteworthy since he came up... starting at about D+/C- popularity he's had a go nowhere rivalry with Dolph Ziggler (C+ popularity) that massively underdelivered and more or less saw his momentum slow down, with his popularity going nowhere. He's had a couple of squash match wins that I can't even remember and I doubt anyone else does either so minimal gains there. And then he's been in a bland feud with Baron Corbin who sits at a similar C- level popularity where Baron has won some ambushes (hurting Shin's momentum) and picking up some cheap wins... all the while he's had a few fun interactions with important people and been part of a few decent tag matches. But honestly, Shinsuke has done nothing of note on the main roster until this week where he got a big win over John Cena (which we'll see in here soon), which should see his popularity start to go up.

 

Meanwhile, Jinder Mahal has been beating people weekly for months now, including AJ Styles and Randy Orton repeatedly. He's been the focus of shows, getting microphone time and main eventing PPVs while getting big wins. His momentum has been booked to go up almost constantly, so even while being nowhere near as talented as Shinsuke, his rivalry with Randy Orton has been used to elevate him significantly and deliberately. Jinder has a great look (Camera skills, particularly Star Quality), a strong enough gimmick (for the typical WWE audience at least), momentum and a title that helps to elevate him.

 

It may not seem fair that Jinder is somehow more popular than Shinsuke... but he's got it all going for him just now, even if Shinsuke can outwrestle him every day of the week and bring far higher performances. Even the game recognises that, with Shinsuke typically getting around a B-/B in-ring rating while Jinder is sitting at around C levels and is being carried by Orton in their matches. Summerslam might fix that though.

 

6. As for the language thing, if someone CAN speak English but chooses not to, I'd count that as part of their gimmick. It's a trick that works particularly well with American crowds, where patriotism is a more powerful thing there than in many countries. Not to say it can't work everywhere, but as a heel trick it's better in some places than in others. That said, not being able to speak the local language will always hurt a segment rating... people can boo someone for not understanding them or care less than they could (an issue with Shinsuke right now). Understanding the language makes is being said actually important and meaningful... not understanding it just makes it background noise, which makes a segment lose it's impact, which directly translates a far lower segment rating as people care less. They might boo more, but that's the difference between getting a pop and getting over... one sees an instant reaction that quickly goes away, the other leaves a lasting impression.

 

I don't really comment a lot so I'm trying to change that by saying I've been reading along and this is fascinating

 

I really like your insights and comments on the shows, Derek, it's really informative and thought provoking and helps deepen an understanding of the game.

 

Thanks, Blake.

 

I like to take the time to put things together that can help as sometimes it even helps me to better understand things too. The more thought that goes into a product, the better it tends to be and looking at the WWE like this helps me to understand why they do or don't do some things. I'm also hoping it gives me ideas on things that a future TEW could/should do that might not be obvious, or that are overlooked mechanically for some reason. Like, the WWE constantly hyping things or the constant product placement on top of their regular commercials that surely generates more cash but at the expense of sacrificing time in the show. That might be something worth adding to TEW and it's going in my notes for future suggetions... those are already at more than 10,000 words and counting, so I feel bad for Adam and everyone else when I end up posting them.

[Greylocke]

<p>Thank you for the detailed explanation. I just want to clarify a couple minor points....</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Derek B" data-cite="Derek B" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>The Cruiserweight Classic was fantastic as it was presented with wrestlers being allowed to do basically anything they wanted at a breakneck pace... that show was the definition of a Modern style focus and it was great. Mechanically, this would allow them to be rated as popularity = performance or perhaps even a performance bias based on the production there, which was a Modern/Mainstream hybrid that could have been argued to have other elements.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> So, in TEW terms, will CW Classic be something similar to a WWE show with a "Modern" brand focus (applied under Brand Split)?</p><p> </p><p> Also, can I ask something in relation to that? (I know this thread is not meant to be a FAQs and I did try to ask in the Small Questions thread but either nobody knew the answer or it was buried by several other questions) How does one find out exactly what the brand focus mechanics do? At first I assumed that I can go to Products and change that focus to "Key Feature" to check the effects....but then I did a little experimenting by running RAW with a "Risqué" focus. In the Products it says I would need an eye candy match on show if Risqué were set to Key Feature. I went and ran my Risqué-focus RAW without any eye candy matches but didn't get panelized for it. I DID get lots of penalty for all my matches due to low Match Danger setting and content risk. So I'm a little confused now by the brand focus requirements because there's no detailed information in the handbook and my Product definition isn't any help. If I were to, say, run 205 with a "Modern" focus", will the Cruiserweights be pulling better ratings in their matches? Also, in the Product definition it says wrestlers will be "rated equally on popularity and performance" if I set Modern to Key Feature. Is that what will happen on 205 if I go ahead with that experiment?</p><p> </p><p> Also, if I keep running RAW with Risqué focus, does that mean I need to constantly re-set the Match Danger slider in my Product after every show to avoid the penalty, or is there any other way around that?</p><p> </p><p> Sorry for hijacking this for my own game questions. <img alt=":o" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/redface.png.900245280682ef18c5d82399a93c5827.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> It's okay if you decide not to answer those, but I gotta try my luck here. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Derek B" data-cite="Derek B" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>It may not seem fair that Jinder is somehow more popular than Shinsuke... but he's got it all going for him just now, even if Shinsuke can outwrestle him every day of the week and bring far higher performances. Even the game recognises that, with Shinsuke typically getting around a B-/B in-ring rating while Jinder is sitting at around C levels and is being carried by Orton in their matches. Summerslam might fix that though. <img alt=";)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Well, I wasn't just talking about their matches. I felt that Shinsuke really was getting bigger reaction just by default even outside the ring and during entrances (and during his promos even with the language barrier....Jinder speaks better English than Nakamura, but the latter is getting better pops when he's on the mic.....except when Jinder is speaking in Punjabi), which is a good indication that a guy is more popular. I thought Jinder was the perfect example of how sometimes good/strong booking doesn't always make you more popular, but I guess that's just my subjective personal perception.</p>

[Derek B]

Much like with RAW, not a lot to say before the show as our storylines are established heading towards Summerslam. That said, going into this show you would think it was going to be amaing as we have two PPV level matches in AJ vs Owens for the US title and Cena vs Nakamura for the right to fight someone in 3MB on PPV for the championship. What a truly special time this is.... and I can't wait to see Drew win the NXT title and for Heath Slater to beat Brock for the Universal title to complete the gold rush for the greatest stable of all time.

 

I made some minor tweaks to storylines, namely ending the Corbin/Nakamura one in favour of moving Nakamura into what we had all assumed was a Jinder vs Cena feud for Summerslam. I also added Shane McMahon to the Owens vs AJ feud since it looks like he's going to be a major factor in that one now. And I almost forgot to add Orton vs Rusev, even though I predicted last week that we'd get it soon enough.

 

Smackdown Storylines

 

#1: John Cena, , Shinsuke Nakamura, (Jinder Mahal, Samir Singh (minor), Sunil Singh (minor))

#2: Kevin Owns, AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, Shane McMahon

#3: Tye Dillinger, Aiden English

#4: Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso

#5: Becky Lynch, Carmella, Charlotte Flair, Lana, Naomi, Natalya, Tamina, James Ellsworth.

#6: Sami Zayn, Mike Kanelis, Maria Kanelis.

#7: (Fandango, Tyler Breeze), (Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder), (Konnor, Viktor), (Primo, Epico)

#8: Randy Orton, Rusev

 

 

 

 

From OH Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio (13,610 capacity)

Expected Attendance (in-game): 13,193

Actual Attendance (in-game): 11,493

 

Angle: Then, now, forever..... recap of AJ, KO, Jericho, Cena, Shinske, Jinder. All rated overness/off screen. 3 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Match: AJ Styles © vs Kevin Owens for the WWE United States championship

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: AJ Styles

COMMERCIAL

Open Match

Screwy Referee Finish

14 minutes (4 minutes for pre/post match stuff)

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Video replays of KO definitely having his shoulder up. Rated Overness (AJ, KO). 3 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan tell referee he made a bad call. KO angry. Makes KO vs AJ ast Summerslam. Rated Entertainment (Shane, Bryan, KO), Overness/off screen (AJ), Not Rated (Mike Chioda). 4 minutes

Rating: B

 

Minor Angle: Hype for Cena vs Nakamura and Fashion Police. All rated Overness/Off Screen. 1 minute.

Rating: C-

 

Angle: Hype for Braun, Roman, Joe, Lesnar at Summerslam. All rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Recap of Usos attacking New Day last week. Usos new music and intro. Rated Entertainment (Usos), Overness/Off screen (New Day). 4 minutes

Rating: C

 

Angle: Fashion Peaks. Rated Entertainment (Tyler, Fandango, The Ascension). 3 minutes.

Rating: D+

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Angle: Aiden English sings a bit. Rated Entertainment (English), Overness/off screen (Sami). 2 minutes.

Rating: C

 

Match: Sami Zayn vs Aiden English

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Aiden English

Flash Pinfall

4 minutes (2 minutes for pre/post)

Rating: C-

 

Angle: Kanelis' taunt Sami for losing. Rated Entertainment (Mike, Maria), Overness (Sami). 1 minute

Rating: D+

 

Minor Angle: Naomi and Becky walking. Rated Overness. 1 minute.

Rating: D-

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Match: Natalya and Carmella vs Becky and Naomi

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Naomi

Loser: Carmella

Submission Finish

5 minutes (3 minutes)

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Renee Young interviews Jinder Mahal with Singh Brothers. Rated Entertainment (Jinder Mahal, Renee Young), Not Rated (Samir, Sunil). 2 minutes.

Rating: C+

 

Minor Angle: Hype for Aleister Black on NXT. 1 minute (SKIPPED)

 

Minor Angle: Generic musical summerslam hype. (SKIPPED)

 

Match: Rusev vs Chad Gable

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Rusev

Open Match

Submission Finish

7 minutes (3 minutes pre/post)

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Rusev hypes himself and is looking for Summerslam opponent... here comes Orton, RKO! Rated Entertainment (Rusev, story mminor defeat. Orton, story minor success).5 minutes

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Hype for Cena/Nakamura next.... or in like, 5 or 10 minutes cos WWE doesn't know what next means. 1 minute

Rating: B-

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Angle: Recap of AJ and KO stuff earlier. Rated overness/off screen (AJ, KO, Shane, Bryan). 3 minutes

Rating: B

 

Angle: Rusev/Orton confirmed for Summerslam. And Naomi/Carmella in singkes on Smckdown next week. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Match: John Cena vs Shinsuke Nakamura

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Shinsue Nakamura

Ope Match

Decisive Win

COMMERCIAL (for RAW title at Summerslam, seriously)

13 minutes (4 minutes pre/post match)

Rating: B

 

SHOW RATING: [b/u]

 

This show increased our popularity in 26 regions. In real life, I doubt it did that.

 

20 segments (with a few skipped)

94 minutes total

5 matches

59 minutes counting as matches (technically over 60% this week, but we're allowed up to 65%)

10 minutes of filler (about 10% of the show was Summerslam hype, graphics and charity related things)

25 minutes of commerials (estimated)

 

Once again this show fell into the 50% ratio expected by the game... in terms of game things, Sami Zayn was furious at losing to English, not the first person that's happened to in this save. English is picking up some wins at last... they may not be clean or even particularly strong, but wins are wins, right? Cena was also furious at losing to Shinsuke, which I wouldn't see happening in real life. May need to revisit that somehow in the mod in future. AJ vs Owens had bad chemistry, but we knew that from last time we ran this in-game so that's to be expected.

 

Going in to this show it looked like it should be very good on paper, but it felt very hollow by time I finished it. AJ vs Owens had a finish that rendered the match pointless, especially given that they have already faced each other several times and we're going to get it again. This match should feel special but it didn't, with it being almost as stale as Dolph Ziggler vs the entire midcard or Miz vs Ambrose. We also had Cena vs Nakamura which was announced on the last show and wasn't built up... telling us a match is coming isn't hype. And having Shinsuke say a few words last week after hearing the announcement isn't hype. So a match that could in theory be a Wrestlemania headlining match was used on Smackdown, with minimal hype to build towards a PPV match against a champion who just shouldn't be. If that isn't bad booking, I don't know what is. Not only that, but Orton vs Rusev has been booked for Summerslam with one confrontation happening... that's it.

 

That said, Breezango are hilarious just now and are carrying a tag division that barely exists. With their promos/mystery they are at least managing to avoid burning out the liimited combinations of matches available while keeping teams active for now. But the pay off is going to have to be something good... and what can it be? The only thing I can think of that might be worthwhile would be The Authors Of Pain getting a call up from NXT (where they are still champions) to be the force behind this. Maybe Sanity? Perhaps Luke Harper and Erick Rowan reuniting for no real reason? Or a returning team that we have all forgotten about? But if that's the case who could it be? Ultmately, the pay off is probably going to come at Summerslam and with NXT having their show too, we might want to keep an eye on the Authors Of Pain just in case. I like those guys, if they come up as a destructive force they could reignite a weakening division.

 

Also, the Usos got a musical update this week while stealing some of the New Day's schtick. It might have been the best of the new musical touches rolled out en masse this week but they didn't really need it so it seems odd. Oh well.

 

http://network.wwe.com/assets/images/5/1/6/241757516/cuts/205LiveLogo_Ntwk_s0j5xcwc_z03ffue7.jpg

 

 

 

I just want to say, I really want to stop recapping this show now. It's starting to hurt my soul a bit to see so much wasted talent.

 

Announcers: Vic Joseph and Corey Graves

 

Angle: Then, now, forever. Recap of Akira Tozawa, Neville, Ariya Daivari and Titus O'Neill. All rated overness/off screen. 3 minutes

Rating: D-

 

Angle: Hype for Gran Metalik vs Tony Nese. Akira vs Ariya for #1 contender to Neville. All rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: D-

 

Match: The Brian Kendrick vs Jack Gallagher

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Brian Kendrick

Rage DQ

2 minutes (2 minutes pre/post match)

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Jack Gallagher beats down Kendrick. Rated Overness (Jack, story success), Selling (Kendrick, story defeat). 2 minutes

Rating: C-

 

Angle: Rich Swann and Mustafa Ali playing games, TJP and Swann bantering leading to match next week. Rated Entertainment (TJP, Swann), Not Rated (Mustafa). 2 minutes.

Rating: D

 

Angle: Hype for Ariya vs Akira. Rated Overness (Ariya. Akira, off screen). 1 minute.

Rating: E+

 

Angle: Hype for Braun vs Roman vs Joe vs Lesnar at Summerslam and generic music hype. All rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: B

 

Angle: Tony Nese promo about his looks before match. Rated Entertainment (Nese), Overness (Metalik). 3 minutes.

Rating: E+

 

Match: Tony Nese vs Gran Metalik

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Tony Nese

8 minutes (3 minutes for pre/post show)

Rating: E-

(note: both worker had D level performance, so this likely would have been around a D rating if they weren't both autopushed as Enhancement Talent)

 

Angle: Akira readying for match. Rated Overess (Akira. Ariya, off screen). 1 minute.

Rating: D-

 

Angle: NXT promo. 1 minute. SKIPPED

 

Angle: Dasha interviewing Neville. Rated Entertainment (Neville), Overness/off screen (Ariya, Akira). 2 minutes.

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Daivari hypes Iranian wrestling for match. Rate Entertainment (Ariya), Overness (Akira). 1 minute.

Rating: E+

 

Match: Ariya Daivari vs Akira Tozawa

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Akira Tozawa

Decisive Win

11 minutes (3 minutes pre/post match)

Rating: D-

(note: This got a penalty since it wasn't as good as at least one of their previous encounters and this is the 4th time they have faced off.)

 

SHOW RATING: D

 

Once again, not enough attractive females what with there being none really doing anything, though if Dasha were in the game she would probably count as one for this. Even so, this was a bad show and having one pretty girl on it woul not have helped.

 

First things first... I changed Akira Tozawa's push to Lower Midcarder from Opener. Otherwise the second and third matches of the night would be considered to be between jobbers by the game. Would it be wrong to say that? Not really... the cruiserweight division ranks below the women's division in terms of it's importance to the WWE. At least the women can get on the main show of a PPV from time to time, the Cruiserweight title can't even get on a RAW exclusive PPV event let alone a major show like Summerslam or Wrestlemania (where they at least had their undoubted 2 best going at it). So yeah. This show happened, 42 people worldwide actually cared about it and whoever else watched it had nothing exciting to write home about. Even the main event, a match between two talented guys, is the fourth time this combination has happened since I began this save 5 weeks ago and both guys are considered to be openers by the game. I think that speaks volumes about how the brand isn't working in-game, and highlights why it isn't working in real life either. Oh well....

 

Stay tuned for more Booking WWE Exactly As Real Life... FOR SCIENCE!!

 

Or don't.... I can't tell you what to do.

[Derek B]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Greylocke" data-cite="Greylocke" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Thank you for the detailed explanation. I just want to clarify a couple minor points....<p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> So, in TEW terms, will CW Classic be something similar to a WWE show with a "Modern" brand focus (applied under Brand Split)?</p><p> </p><p> Also, can I ask something in relation to that? (I know this thread is not meant to be a FAQs and I did try to ask in the Small Questions thread but either nobody knew the answer or it was buried by several other questions) How does one find out exactly what the brand focus mechanics do? At first I assumed that I can go to Products and change that focus to "Key Feature" to check the effects....but then I did a little experimenting by running RAW with a "Risqué" focus. In the Products it says I would need an eye candy match on show if Risqué were set to Key Feature. I went and ran my Risqué-focus RAW without any eye candy matches but didn't get panelized for it. I DID get lots of penalty for all my matches due to low Match Danger setting and content risk. So I'm a little confused now by the brand focus requirements because there's no detailed information in the handbook and my Product definition isn't any help. If I were to, say, run 205 with a "Modern" focus", will the Cruiserweights be pulling better ratings in their matches? Also, in the Product definition it says wrestlers will be "rated equally on popularity and performance" if I set Modern to Key Feature. Is that what will happen on 205 if I go ahead with that experiment?</p><p> </p><p> Also, if I keep running RAW with Risqué focus, does that mean I need to constantly re-set the Match Danger slider in my Product after every show to avoid the penalty, or is there any other way around that?</p><p> </p><p> Sorry for hijacking this for my own game questions. <img alt=":o" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/redface.png.900245280682ef18c5d82399a93c5827.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> It's okay if you decide not to answer those, but I gotta try my luck here. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Well, I wasn't just talking about their matches. I felt that Shinsuke really was getting bigger reaction just by default even outside the ring and during entrances (and during his promos even with the language barrier....Jinder speaks better English than Nakamura, but the latter is getting better pops when he's on the mic.....except when Jinder is speaking in Punjabi), which is a good indication that a guy is more popular. I thought Jinder was the perfect example of how sometimes good/strong booking doesn't always make you more popular, but I guess that's just my subjective personal perception.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Yeah, questions can easily get lost in places. It's not always easy to answer them and as much as I like helping, I don't always have time or I forget to get back to them later. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> At least in here you know I'll be lurking around and will check back, so I'll try to answer things for you. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p><p> </p><p> 1. Brand Splits. They do indeed act as if they become a Key Feature of the product for that show. BUT as you've noticed, they affect some aspects of your definition but not others. I'm not actually sure if it's an oversight or not, but adding a Focus doesn't change anything listed where it says "This Definition....". It does change the range for Match Intensity and Match Danger settings though, so if you are running with a different Focus you will need to ensure that you change each of the matches there or face the penalty. It's a bit of a frustration but it happens.</p><p> </p><p> 2. With that in mind, it might be worth asking Adam about how it works regarding the balance of popularity and performance. I've not run a brand split at all in TEW16 so I've not played around with the focuses at all, but it definitely seems logical that it should change how a product is rated. It's more of a query than tech support, but I'd ask it there anyway. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p><p> </p><p> 3. As for the Cruiserweight Classic, it's really tough to get a good version of that in TEW. It was a stand alone tournament with it's own show and a product that would be mostly Modern and no real face/heel divide and a weight limit. It's not like anything else under the WWE umbrella and if anything, I would want to run it as a completely different company to simulate it properly. Since we can't do that... well... the best we can probably do is to run it as a third brand with a Modern focus and it's own B-show on the WWE Network. A similar format will likely be required for the Mae Young Classic if you wanted to run that (instead of leaving it to NXT) though I don't know what focus, if any, that would have.</p><p> </p><p> 4. As for Shinsuke and Jinder. Shinsuke has more charisma by a looooong way and I would say more star quality too, though Jinder's increased muscle mass and definition have helped him grow there a LOT. Those two stats cover the initial reaction a casual viewer would have (star quality) and their ability to connect with a worker over time (Charisma). People can connect easily with Shinsuke because of these qualities which ensure he gets a good reaction... but I would argue that he still has less popularity.</p><p> </p><p> There are obviously many ways to look at popularity but I like to think of it as the strength of the relationship the worker has with the fanbase combined with the fanbase's recognition of that worker. Like... an A* level of overness would be a deep, profound and passionate link between the two that is shared by almost EVERY fan. Doesn't matter if they are heel or face, it's the strength of it and that matters. Whereas an F- is basically the same level of connection you have with a random person on the other side of the planet that you have never met. </p><p> </p><p> In the case of Shinsuke, I have that link with him through seeing him a little in NJPW and all of his NXT run. But NXT represents a small number of fans compared to the whole world... which is a thing the game better represents now, where a worker can only get a level of overness scaled to company size and the level of exposure through Broadcasters. He achieved as much as he could within NXT and his step up to the main roster has seen that bond weaken with the fans that know he can do better, while simultaneously grow ome recognition with fans that may not have known him. It's some slow gains for him so far and he's been booked as a strong wrestler but he's not done any particularly awesomely graded things on the main roster (segment ratings are meant to be a measure of the level of connection the segment has with fans) so his actual overness hasn't moved much. Compare that with Jinder... he's been doing important things with important people and coming out on the winning side of it for several months. I don't think there is any aspect of wrestling he's better at than Shinsuke, but he has been given segments where he can actually get over as a heel and that is what he's done.</p><p> </p><p> The specific numbers are always somewhat debatable by nature, and I can certainly listen to argument on Jinder being rated a bit on the high side given where he started from just a few months back. But I don't think Shinsuke is far off at the point the mod was released. And Jinder has definitely continued to grow since the time of release. It's still weird seeing him as champion, but he is pulling it off fairly well for now. If he keeps going as he is doing then he will cement a position above anything that someone like Jack Swagger ever reached. Maybe he'll even turn out to be great given that he's working meaningful matches now with people who have a lot of talent. That can only help him in the long run. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p>

[Teh_Showtime]

Really love reading this, as you've been the board sage for quite a while, so your perspectives and explanations really flesh out everything.

[Greylocke]

As for the Cruiserweight Classic, it's really tough to get a good version of that in TEW. It was a stand alone tournament with it's own show and a product that would be mostly Modern and no real face/heel divide and a weight limit. It's not like anything else under the WWE umbrella and if anything, I would want to run it as a completely different company to simulate it properly. Since we can't do that... well... the best we can probably do is to run it as a third brand with a Modern focus and it's own B-show on the WWE Network. A similar format will likely be required for the Mae Young Classic if you wanted to run that (instead of leaving it to NXT) though I don't know what focus, if any, that would have.

 

Well, I just ran a Modern-focus brand show with WWE and it came out even worse than the Risqué one. Now the fans not only want to see higher Match Danger, they also want higher Intensity too. And worse, Vince wouldn't let me touch the sliders to change any of the settings. Seems like unless you're running as Owner, it's impossible to run a brand focus that's very different from your original product without penalty due to the necessity of having to adjust the sliders all the time to fit it. So I guess those standalone tournaments would be hard to simulate in TEW at the moment. :/

 

I find some weird discrepancy between running a focus with default Product and running it with brand split. Like, BSC (in Cornellverse) was a Risqué-focused fed, but the fans there never complained about low Match Danger. Also, when I edit Risqué setting to Key Feature in my default product, the definition doesn't even mention that the fans would want to see high-risk matches - that only happens when I up the Hardcore setting, not Risqué. Something's not matching here.

 

And as mentioned, the Match Aim requirements seem to remain unchanged - the fans don't expect to see a Car Crash/Steal the Show/High Spot match in on my Modern-focus show and they don't expect eye candy match for my Risqué-focus show.

 

Okay, I'll stop derailing this thread and probably request for more information to be given out on this topic in the Suggestion forum (so far the only information I find on this topic is some vague lines from a "?" box via the editor - not even in the main game itself). Again, thanks for all the help!

[Greylocke]

Have you got hit by any physical decline notes with any of your main eventers? Most of them are on the wrong side of 35.

[Greylocke]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Derek B" data-cite="Derek B" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>First things first... I changed Akira Tozawa's push to Lower Midcarder from Opener. Otherwise the second and third matches of the night would be considered to be between jobbers by the game. </div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Personally, I think the penalty for lowcarder matches shouldn't be applied to B-shows. People who watch it <em>expect</em> to see the lowcarders being showcased. Also the B-Shows are often taped alongside the pre-show dark matches for the A-Shows, so the if the dark matches don't get the penalty, neither should B-Show matches.</p><p> </p><p> Also, is there a similar penalty for putting jobbers in long matches? That's something I feel should be different in B-shows as well. Curt Hawkins may get squashed in 3 minutes on RAW but on shows like Main Event (which I admittedly stopped watching for some time), one would expect to see him wrestle a fuller match. Maybe those time limits can be extended for B-shows before the penalty kicks in?</p>

[Happy0wns]

Personally, I think the penalty for lowcarder matches shouldn't be applied to B-shows. People who watch it expect to see the lowcarders being showcased. Also the B-Shows are often taped alongside the pre-show dark matches for the A-Shows, so the if the dark matches don't get the penalty, neither should B-Show matches.

 

Also, is there a similar penalty for putting jobbers in long matches? That's something I feel should be different in B-shows as well. Curt Hawkins may get squashed in 3 minutes on RAW but on shows like Main Event (which I admittedly stopped watching for some time), one would expect to see him wrestle a fuller match. Maybe those time limits can be extended for B-shows before the penalty kicks in?

 

I actually think that makes a ton of sense, I don't normally book my main eventers on B-Shows because it's meant to build up lower card talent, or at least give them some credibility after losing 30 matches on my A-Show. It's just a place to showcase what the little guys can do y'know, kinda hard when they're all openers & ET tho.

 

Also, loving this science :3

[Derek B]

First things first... some people on the roster are unhappy about the losses they've been asked to take, so I'm issuing the a bunch of bonuses (sooooo realistic) as follows for anyone with worse than "minor morale issues":

 

Dean Ambrose: $25,000

Finn Balor: $25,000 + $35,000

John Cena: $60,000

Randy Orton: $30,000

Renee Young: $4,000

Sami Zayn: $20,000 + $30,000

 

I try to give the bonuses at around a level just above their monthly pay, but a couple of those didn't make much of a dent so I upped the bonus levels a bit. It's definitely something that I want to see looked at in future TEW games, it's definitely overly simple and workers get unrealistically upset about some booking decisions compared to their real life counterparts.

 

With that out of the way, here are our storylines as we go into Raw.

 

Raw Storylines

 

#1: Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe, Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman,

#2: Kurt Angle, Jason Jordan, (The Miz, Maryse, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas)

#3: Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Big Show,

#4: Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Mickie James (minor), Emma (minor), Dana Brooke (minor), Alicia Fox (minor),

#5: Bray Wyatt, Finn Balor,

#6: Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, (Sheamus, Cesaro),

#7: (Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy), (Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder), (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson)

 

205 Live/Cruiserweight Division Storylines

 

#1: Neville, (Akira Tozawa, Titus O'Neill (minor)), Ariya Daivari,

#2: Rich Swann, TJP,

#3: Tony Nese, Cedric Alexander

#4: Jack Gallagher, The Brian Kendrick,

 

I'll save the chatter about the show for after I've run it, but I'll take a guess at a B rating for this one......

 

 

 

 

From the Air Canada Center in Totonto, Ontario (19,750 capacity, is hotbed)

Predicted Attendance (no figurehead present): 11,574

Actual Attendance (game): 11,335

 

Commentator: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T

 

Angle: Then, not, forever... here we go! Roman vs Braun annonced for Last Man Standing. Rated Overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: B

 

Angle: Miz calls out Jason Jordan... here comes Kurt Angle! Rated Entertainment (The Miz, Kurt Angle), Overness (Curtis Axel. Jason Jordan, Off Screen), Sex Appeal (Maryse), Not Rated (Bo Dallas). 3 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Angle introduces Brock Lesnar! Rated Entertainment (The Miz, Story Minor Defeat. Paul Heyman), Menace (Brock Lesnar, Story Major Success), Selling/Story Minor Defeats (Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel), Overness/off screen (Roman, Samoa Joe, Braun). 9 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Minor Angle: Seth walking. 10 seconds (rounded to 1 minute).

Rating: B-

 

Minor Angle: Jinder vs Shinsuke Nakamua hype for Summerslam. Both rated overness/off screen,, 1 minute.

Rating: C+

 

Minor Angle: Charity hype. 1 minute (SKIPPED)

 

Angle: Recap of Seth/Dean and Sheamus/Cesaro. All rated Overness/off screen. 2 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Match: Seth Rollins vs Sheamus

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Sheamus

Distraction Finish (with Cesaro distracting)

Open Match

7 (2 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Seth gets beaten down by Sheamus/Cesaro. Rated Overness (Sheamus/Cesaro, Story Minor Success. Dean Ambrose, off screen), Selling (Seth, Story Defeat). 3 minutes

Rating: B-

 

Minor Angle: Hype for Braun/Roman. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Angle: Dean angry at Seth for making him look like a jerk. Rated Entertainment (Seth, Dean), Overness/off screen (Sheamus/Cesaro). 2 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Curtis Axel too hurt to compete, Kurt Angle sends out jobber. Rated Entertainment (Kurt Angle), Selling (Curtis Axel), Overness (Jason Jordan), Not Rated (Jobber). 1 minute.

Rating: C

 

Match: Jason Jordan vs Jean-Pierre Goulet (using Josh Alexander, a local talent on a one night deal)

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Jason Jordan

Dominate: Jason Jordan

Decisive Win

2 minutes (2 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: E+

 

Angle: Bayley hurt! :'O Rated Overness. 1 minute.

Rating: D-

 

Angle: NXT Hype for Roode and Drew. 1 minute (SKIPPED)

 

Angle: Dasha helping recap injury vs Nia, out of Summerslam match. Rated Entertainment (Bayley), Overness/off screen (Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks). 6 minutes.

Rating: D

 

Angle: Hype for Smackdown with Naomi and Carmella. 1 minute.

Rating: E+

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Match: Sasha Banks vs Alicia Fox vs Emma

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Sasha Banks

Loser: Emma

Submission finish

Alexa Bliss on commentary, replacing Booker T.

6 minutes (4 minutes pre/post match)

Rating: D

 

Angle: Renee interviews Braun for match with Roman. Rated Entertaiment (Braun), Overness/off screen (Roman), Not Rated (Renee). 2 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Hype for Dean vs Cesaro later. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Recap of Big Cass and Big Show last week, with Enzo causing DQ. Rated Overness/Off screen (Enzo, Cass, Show). 1 minute

Rating: C

 

Angle: Enzo and Big Show talking at Cass, here come The Club.... Rated Entertainment (Enzo, Big Show, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson), Overness/off screen (Big Cass). 5 minutes.

Rating: C-

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Match: Big Show/Enzo Amore vs The Club

Math Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Karl Anderson

Loser: Enzo Amore

Distraction: Big Cass on Big Show

6 minutes (2 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: C

 

Angle: Cass attacks Show, Enzo tries to save but gets beaten up. Rated Menace (Big Cass), Selling (Enzo Amore, story minor defeat), Overness (Big Show, story minor success). 4 minutes

Rating: C

 

Angle: Recap of Bray and Finn. Leading to Finn talking... Rated Entertainment (Finn), Overness/off screen (Bray). 5 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Bray and Finn brief fight and Bray promo. Rated Entertainment (Bray), Overness (Finn). 2 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Hype for Dean vs Cesaro again. Next... Rated overness/off screen. 1 minute

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Hype for Total Bellas... make it stop... please... it burns... (Brie, Nikka, Bryan). 1 minute. SKIPPED

 

Match: Cesaro vs Dean Ambrose

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Dean Ambrose

Open Match

Distraction: Sheamus on Dean

COMMERCIAL

Flash Pinfall

19 minutes (3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: B

 

Angle: Sheamus/Cesaro look to beatdown Dean, Seth makes save. Rated Overness (Sheamus/Cesaro, Seth), Selling (Dean). 1 minute.

Rating: B

 

Angle: Dean/Seth Shield fist bump... Seth declines Dean! Rated Overness. 2 minutes.

Rating: B

 

Minor Angle: Recap of the start of show.1 minute

Rating: B

 

Minor Angle: Hype for Braun vs Roman

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Recap of Tozawa becoming #1 contender, Neville interupts. Rated Entertainment (Titus, Neville, Akira, Apollo). 3 minutes.

Rating: C-

 

Angle: The same Smackdown hype as earlier... 1 minute

Rating: D-

 

Match: Ariya Daivari vs Akira Tozawa (FIFTH TIME FOR THIS MATCH)

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Akira Tozawa

Titus on Commentary to repalce Booker T

Open Match

Decisive Win

5 minutes (2 minutes)

Rating: C-

 

Angle: Roman hypes. Rated Entertainment (Roman), Overness/off screen (Brock, Braun). 2 minutes.

Rating: B

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Minor Angle: NXT Brooklyn hype. SKIPPED

 

Match: Mickie James vs Dana Brooke vs Nia Jax

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Nia Jax

Loser: Dana Brooke

Alexa Bliss on commentary instead of Booker T

Decisive Win

4 minutes (3 minutes pre/post match)

Rating: D-

 

Angle: Commentators talk Summerslam weekend for aaaaaages. Rated Overness (Brock, Braun, Joe, Roman). 3 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: 205 Live hype with Swann vs TJP. 1 minute

Rating: D-

 

Angle: Goldust talks about "The Big Audition". Rated Entertainment (Goldust). 2 minutes.

Rating: C

 

Angle: Recap of Show, Cass and Enzo... Cass confronts Angle, wants match vs Big Show. Rated Entertainment (Big Cass, Kurt Angle), Overness/Off screen (Big Show, Enzo Amore). 2 minutes.

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Bray vs Finn added to Summerslam. 1 minute.

Rating: C+

 

Match: Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns in a Last Man Standing match

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Braun Strowman

Keep Strong: Roman Reigns

Outside Interference Finish as Samoa Joe interferes with Roman

19 minutes (+3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: B-

 

SHOW RATING: C+

 

The general feeling is that the WWE don't have enough interesting storylines going on. This show lost us popularity in 30 regions.

 

And a quick show breakdown:

 

41 segments

161 minutes

20 minutes to 25 for hype, recaps and repeat matches

8 matches

88 minutes for matches (around 55% tonight)

Endless hype for Summerslam and things happening tonight (about 20 minutes)

 

In the only real tag team match of the night, Enzo and Big Show had great chemistry. In the same match Karl Anderson debuted a spot that gor great heel heat and boosted his psychology. It did alright there but I worry that Big Show is literally substituting for Big Cass along side Enzo. I feel that if that's all Enzo is going to be doing then him being split from Cass will kill his character. Big Show is past his best so it's not really hurting him, so this arrangement doesn't really hurt him.

 

As for the show itself.... if you look through all the grades you will see that there are a LOT of segments rated at B-, with a few B rated segments. With our popularity at that level, that really highlights how the WWE are really only producing stuff that's about as good as expectations, but not good enough to exceed expectations at all. And when you do that a lot, you lose fans just like tonight. Before the show we had one storyline on each brand with B heat so we were barely meeting the storyline minimums for the company as a whole, which is to have 2 storylines at B heat. On Smackdown it was the World title storyline with the Cena/Nakamura side of things keeping that storyline hot enough. On Raw it was the Universal title scene... and tonight, that suffered since all it got was endless hype for a main event that was alright, but wasn't great. In reality, Roman and Braun have had a lot of intense brawls thast have been better than this... Last Man Standing tends to reduce the intensity a bit and this hurt their match. In=game, there's no real difference but Braun just isn't quite over enough and Roman isn't quite talented enough to carry a great main event. So overall, a relatively weak main event on a show with no strong angles to support it led to a bed show. Smackdown will have to pull things up on their own, which is not going to be easy.

 

As for my thoughts on the real show, it dragged. And not because of the wrestling content, which was generally good, but because the angles were poor. I think the game under-rated Brock's appearance but nothing else on the show really stood out. Seth/Dean's stuff is interseting but it's nto enough to carry the show. In short... the WWE's build for Summerslam is lacking. There are a bunch of matches announced for it, but the hype for them is pretty weak. Maybe next week will address that, but having seen Smackdown before I write this (and book that), I'm not sur they'll manage to do a great job.

 

Smackdown should be posted tomorrow (Monday) as I finally get the free time to book it. For now though, stay tuned to this page as we continue Booking WWE Exactly As Real Life... FOR SCIENCE!!

[Greylocke]

Is there a reason why you never seem to use the "Keep Strong" note? (I'm assuming you show all your RA notes, since you always include notes like "Open Match".) It would affect how many guys you actually piss of for jobbing out, surely. I was able to get Orton to agree to losing to Mahal using "Keep Strong". And he definitely was kept strong during that Punjabi Prison match, considering Jinder needed 3 other guys (with 2 of them getting destroyed in the process) to help him and still barely won.

[Derek B]

So, as mentioned before RAW has no storylines currently meeting the B level heat that we need for our requirements... since we need 2 of those, Smackdown is going to have to deliever big in order to get there. And that doesn't look likely going into this, so this show is likely to end up somewhere around the C+ region barring any major surprises from this show. As a reminder, here are our storylines as we go into this show.

 

#1: Shinsuke Nakamura, (Jinder Mahal, Samir Singh (minor), Sunil Singh (minor))

#2: Kevin Owns, AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, Shane McMahon

#3: Tye Dillinger, Aiden English

#4: Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso

#5: Becky Lynch, Carmella, Charlotte Flair, Lana, Naomi, Natalya, Tamina, James Ellsworth.

#6: Sami Zayn, Mike Kanelis, Maria Kanelis.

#7: (Fandango, Tyler Breeze), (Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder), (Konnor, Viktor), (Primo, Epico)

#8: Randy Orton, Rusev

#9: John Cena, Baron Corbin

 

And now, on with the show.

 

 

 

 

At the Air Canada Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (19.750 capacity)

Predicted Attendance (with figurehead): 13,335

Actual Attendance (in-game): 11,323 (around the non-figurehead level)

Announcers: JBL, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

 

Angle: Then, now, forever.. recap of Cena vs Nakamura, Baron attacks after match!. Rated Overness/off screen (Nakamura, story minor defeat. Cena, story minor success. Corbin.). 3 minutes

Rating: C+

 

Angle: John Cena puts over Nakamura (and Canada chants for Jinder!). Rated Entertainment (Cena), Overness/off screen (Nakamura, Jinder). 6 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Baron Corbin interupts at last (with new music and a shiny new set entrance), Daniel Bryan makes Cena vs Corbin for Summerslam. Rated Entertainment (Baron, Cena, Bryan). 5 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Orton vs Jinder grudge match (non-title) and AJ vs KO (with Shane as ref) confrontation. Usos vs Sami/Tye NEXT! All rated overness/off screen) 1 minute.

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Summerslam hype for Brock vs Braun vs Roman vs Samoa Joe. All rated overness/off sreen. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Recap of New Day vs Usos and hype for Summerslam match. All rated Overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: C

 

Match: The Usos vs Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Jimmy Uso (maybe)

Loser: Tye Dillinger

COMMERCIAL

Decisive Win

7 minute (plus 3 minutes pre/post match)

Rating: C+

 

Angle: New Day ambush Usos. Rated Selling (Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso. Both story defeats), Overness (Kofi, Xavier, Big E, minor story successes). 3 minutes

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Hype for Jinder vs Orton again, hype for Shinsuke interview and Fashion Peaks. Rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: C-

 

Angle: Renee interviewing Randy Orton about Rusev and Jinder. Rated Entertainment (Orton), Overness (Rusev, Jinder), Not Rated (Renee). 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Fashion Peaks part 2! Rated Entertainment (Tyler Breeze, Fandango, Konnor, Viktor, Arn Anderson). 4 minutes.

Rating: D

 

Match: Charlotte Flair vs Lana

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Charlotte

Dominate: Charlotte

Decisive Win

3 minutes (plus 3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: D

 

Angle: Hype for Shane's doing ref duty for AJ vs KO. All rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Shane laying down the law for the AJ vs KO Summerslam match. Rated Entertainment (Shane, KO, AJ). 16 minutes.

Rating: B+

 

Angle: Summerslam weekend hype with NXT in there too. Jinder vs Nakamura. 2 minutes.

Rating: C-

 

Angle: Another reminder for Orton vs Jinder match, 205 Live has Rich vs TJP, plus Naomi vs Carmella next. 1 minute.

Rating: D

 

Angle: Tamina and Lana talking. Rated Entertainment (Lana and Tamina), Overness/off screen (Charlotte). 2 minute.

Rating: D

 

Match: Carmella vs Naomi

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Carmella

Interference Finish: James Ellsworth on Naomi

5 minutes (plus 3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: D

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Angle: Carmella and James Ellsworth along with Natalya. Rated Entertainment (all). 1 minute.

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Renee interview with Nakamura. Rated Entertainment (Shinsuke, Renee), Overneess/off screen (Cena, Jinder). 3 minutes.

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Hype for RAW, with women's title focus. Rated overness/off screen (Sasha, Nia, Alexa). 1 minute.

Rating: D-

 

Match: Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Randy Orton

COMMERCIAL

Open Match

Decisive Win

15 minutes (plus 5 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Rusev attacks Orton. Rated Overness (Rusev), Selling (Orton). 1 minute

Rating: B

 

SHOW RATING: C+

 

Damn, I forgot to do a show breakdown... but needless to say that it was within the 50% ratio again and thing generally seemed to be around the norm, though this Smackdown wasn't too heavey on needless hype. We actually gained popularity in 3 regions (maybe Mexico?) and lost popularity in 18 regions (USA/Canada), though it shouldn't be much.

 

Aaaaand... they end the show there, just as Rusev attacks. I guess between that and the Corbin attack that we only found out about on screen this week despite it happening last wwek, they are trying something new to replace Talking Smack. Personally.... I don't like ending the show like that, but I can see the theory that if they end on a potentially hot angle (without giving us the whole thing) it will make people more likely to tune in next time. Personally, I think if something is storyline relevant then it should be on screen. I don't care about social media or looking out things beyond what is on screen... just feels like people are going to miss it leading to air time being used to show it anyway.

 

As predicted, the show didn't manage to deliver strong enough storylines and the show rating too a bit of a hit. That said, it wasn't far off the mark as the AJ/KO/Shane segment delivered well and the end of the show did okay too. Cena's program with Baron Corbin has started but that has no real heat behind it yet as every aspect of it was on this show. I think Smackdown was better than Raw this week in pretty much every way too, though it was still nothing to write home about. The WWE's build towards Summerslam this year has been very lacklustre.... outside of the Universal title match and maybe the AJ vs KO US title match there are no matches that feel big. Most of them just feel like they've been thrown together for yet another PPV event, which is something that happeed during the original brand split with the addition of so many extra PPV events. Oh well, I guess that's the price we pay for the WWE Network needing so much content to be worthwhile.

 

On with 205 Live, lets see if that gives us anything worth watching. (hint: no).

 

 

 

http://network.wwe.com/assets/images/5/1/6/241757516/cuts/205LiveLogo_Ntwk_s0j5xcwc_z03ffue7.jpg

 

 

 

Announcers: Corey Graves and Vic Joseph

 

Angle: Then, now, forever... recap of TJP and Rich Swann. 3 minutes.

Rating: D-

 

Angle: Summerslam hype for Neville vs Akira Tozawa, face to face. Also TJP vs Swann. 1 minute.

Rating: D-

 

Match: Tony Nese vs Cedric Alexander

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Tony Nese

Tainted Win

7 minutes (plus 3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Tony Nese taunts Cedric. Rated Entertainment (Nese), Overness (Cedric). 2 minutes.

Rating: D-

 

Angle: Dasha interviews The Brian Kendrick about Jack Gallagher, Jack attacks! Rated Entertainment (Kendrick), Overness (Jack). 2 minutes.

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Hype for TJP v Swann (in case we forgot again). Overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: E+

 

Angle: NXT hype. 1 minute, SKIPPED.

 

Angle: Noam Dar promos at jobber. Entertainment (Noam), Not Rated (jobber). 2 minutes

Rating: D

 

Match: Noam Dar vs Cody Deaner (hired on a one night deal instead of real person)

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Noam Dar

Dominate: Noam Dar.

Decisive Win

3 minutes (2 minutes pre/post match)

Rating: F+ (JOBBER PENALTY)

 

Angle: WWE 2K17 hype witih Kurt Angle. 1 minute, SKIPPED.

 

Angle: Corey Graves interviews with Akira Tozawa and Neville. Rated Entertainment (Corey, Neville, Akira Tozawa). 6 minutes

Rating: C

 

Angle: Another Rich Swann vs TJP hype thing. It's next! 1 minute.

Rating: E+

 

Angle: Oh look.. Summerslam main event hype. Rated overness/off screen (Brock, Braun, Roman, Samoa Joe). 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Match: TJP vs Rich Swann

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: TJP

Open Match

Decisive Win

10 minutes (plus 3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: D

 

Angle: TJP taunting Swann in the name of "friendly competition". Rated Entertainment (TJP), Selling (Swann). 4 minutes.

Rating: D+

 

SHOW RATING: C-

 

Rich Swann was used too much... given that he pushes as an opener, that's reasonable for the amount of time he was on the show. Jobbers are jobbers... just because it's a B show, doesn't mean someone is willing to watch them for 15 minutes. Not when they care about so many other people on the roster so much more. That said... it does feel like the penalties should be relaxed on jobber vs jobber matches. As long as they don't overstay their welcome I'd be down for the penalty being banished from the B show so that undercard workers can do the things they often do... like pushing new talent by giving them wins over undercarders early on.

 

In terms of storylines... in the save, Raw has 4 storylines at B- heat. Those are the Universal title match, Finn vs Bray, Sheamus/Cesaro vs Dean/Seth, and the Hardys vs Club vs Revival (which may not even be a proper story at this point). Smackdown currently has 3 storylines at B- heat. They are Jinde vs Nakamura (which is benefitting greatly from Cena's previous involvement), KO vs AJ, and Orton vs Rusev. So overall, that's 7 stories in the WWE that are just short of being interesting enough to appeal to their fans, with none that are quite there yet. And honestly... that sounds abot perfect. The only stories that I would argue that could potentially be rated higher than that would be the Universal and US title pictures... but given the build on RAW so far, I'm disappointed for the hype for what should be an insanely awesome brawl between 4 of the legit most entertaining brawlers in the world (when they are on form). AJ vs KO on Smackdown has been fought so many times that it's difficult to care so much about it now... it might be an awesome match but the Shane McMahon factor seems to detract from it more than enhance it.

 

So yeah... I'm hoping that the upcoming go home shows from both brands will really help to sell the shows. I wouldn't be surprised to see Roman vs Samoa Joe headline Raw with no clear winner due to Braun deciding to wreck the place... maybe Brock will even show up too. A wild brawl with all of them would be better than any match, so lets hope for that. As for Smackdown, I'm going with a pair of tag matches... the most likely main event has to be Cena/Nakamura vs Jinder/Baron with the babyfaces probably going over by DQ... if I'm right, you heard it here first.

 

I'll try to get a PPV predictions card up so we can all guess at the running order and match ratings of every match on the show. The winner gets... nothing. Cos it's not like I can convince the WWE to book things or anything like that. Stay tuned as ever, as I Book WWE Exactly As Real Life.... FOR SCIENCE!

 

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/c5/c5f7369ca5a1ab939cb703ac63794fbc3c333bdf9ea90bec61487865b553de18.jpg

 

 

[Derek B]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Greylocke" data-cite="Greylocke" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Well, I just ran a Modern-focus brand show with WWE and it came out even worse than the Risqué one. Now the fans not only want to see higher Match Danger, they also want higher Intensity too. And worse, Vince wouldn't let me touch the sliders to change any of the settings. <img alt=":(" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> Seems like unless you're running as Owner, it's impossible to run a brand focus that's very different from your original product without penalty due to the necessity of having to adjust the sliders all the time to fit it. So I guess those standalone tournaments would be hard to simulate in TEW at the moment. :/<p> </p><p> I find some weird discrepancy between running a focus with default Product and running it with brand split. Like, BSC (in Cornellverse) was a Risqué-focused fed, but the fans there never complained about low Match Danger. Also, when I edit Risqué setting to Key Feature in my default product, the definition doesn't even mention that the fans would want to see high-risk matches - that only happens when I up the Hardcore setting, not Risqué. Something's not matching here.</p><p> </p><p> And as mentioned, the Match Aim requirements seem to remain unchanged - the fans don't expect to see a Car Crash/Steal the Show/High Spot match in on my Modern-focus show and they don't expect eye candy match for my Risqué-focus show.</p><p> </p><p> Okay, I'll stop derailing this thread and probably request for more information to be given out on this topic in the Suggestion forum (so far the only information I find on this topic is some vague lines from a "?" box via the editor - not even in the main game itself). Again, thanks for all the help!</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Well, if 205 Live is anything to go by with it's diluted version of the Cruiserweight Classic goodness, I'd say Vince's reaction is spot on there. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p><p> </p><p> As I've previously said, I don't tend to use the brand focus much if ever due to learning a long time ago that I don't want to book brand splits in general. If you want to run the science by comparing the product reactions to see if they are different between changing it as a product setting or a brand focus, then I'd be interested to see what you find. For science! <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Greylocke" data-cite="Greylocke" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Have you got hit by any physical decline notes with any of your main eventers? Most of them are on the wrong side of 35.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> There are several, but most of them are pre-set in the mod for guys who are obviously beyond their best. No-one is seriously bad though. Jericho, Goldust, Titus, R-Truth and Big Show show up on the screen and are all listed as "prime clearly ended a few years ago". You'll be able to see for yourself after Summerslam when I upload the file for all to have a look through. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Greylocke" data-cite="Greylocke" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Personally, I think the penalty for lowcarder matches shouldn't be applied to B-shows. People who watch it <em>expect</em> to see the lowcarders being showcased. Also the B-Shows are often taped alongside the pre-show dark matches for the A-Shows, so the if the dark matches don't get the penalty, neither should B-Show matches.<p> </p><p> Also, is there a similar penalty for putting jobbers in long matches? That's something I feel should be different in B-shows as well. Curt Hawkins may get squashed in 3 minutes on RAW but on shows like Main Event (which I admittedly stopped watching for some time), one would expect to see him wrestle a fuller match. Maybe those time limits can be extended for B-shows before the penalty kicks in?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I referred to this on my post-205 discussion but I'll also mention it here. Each card position has a limit on how much time they can be on a show before it's too long. Since card position is determined relative to everyone else on the roster, it's not unfair to assume that people want to see other people a LOT more than the openers and enhancements so these limits seem okay. The jobbers penalty might need looked at for B shows... but again, fans do expect to see a certain quality of people otherwise why would they even tune in? your #30 ranked guy is still far more interesting than your #50 ranked guy no matter how you spin it. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Happy0wns" data-cite="Happy0wns" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I actually think that makes a ton of sense, I don't normally book my main eventers on B-Shows because it's meant to build up lower card talent, or at least give them some credibility after losing 30 matches on my A-Show. It's just a place to showcase what the little guys can do y'know, kinda hard when they're all openers & ET tho.<p> </p><p> Also, loving this science :3</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> SCIENCE! <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Greylocke" data-cite="Greylocke" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Is there a reason why you never seem to use the "Keep Strong" note? (I'm assuming you show all your RA notes, since you always include notes like "Open Match".) It would affect how many guys you actually piss of for jobbing out, surely. I was able to get Orton to agree to losing to Mahal using "Keep Strong". And he definitely was kept strong during that Punjabi Prison match, considering Jinder needed 3 other guys (with 2 of them getting destroyed in the process) to help him and still barely won.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I've used it a few times, though somewhat sparingly. In general I'm trying to book what would reflect what I see on the screen so if a match is fairly close, then no-one is really looking particularly strong. Similarly, things like the tainted win and flash pinfall notes also help to keep someone stronger than default too, so I've generally not been using Keep Strong at the same time unless someone looking particularly strong. I think it's also important not to confuse Keep Strong with the natural heel/face balance in any given match... bad guys tend to control more of the match than good guys do a part of the heat stage of the match so I wouldn't give anyone a Keep Strong note because of that as it's part of the natural psychology of a match.</p><p> </p><p> In the case of the Orton vs Jinder Punjabi Prison match, I did consider using the Keep Strong note.... but with all the interference set I decided that would be enough. It may have been a misjudgement in hindsight as it probably should have had it... I'm pretty sure Orton would have still been angry about it anyway though, there was still about 25 point of popularity between them and he's not the most positive of people. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p>

[Greylocke]

<p>While I realize you do have legitimate complaints about WWE's booking in real life, I think an important reason the shows tanked this week is due to them being held in Canada, where most of WWE's top stars aren't as "Popular". A few guys like native Canadian Kevin Owens (who gave you your only 'B+' segment that I can see) aren't affected, but others like Reigns and Styles and Joe and Strowman and Mahal are going to suffer for it. Even Brock is slightly less popular there. Baron Corbin's all the way into D-range over there, so he drags even Cena (who usually wouldn't have been affected) down with him.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Derek B" data-cite="Derek B" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>As I've previously said, I don't tend to use the brand focus much if ever due to learning a long time ago that I don't want to book brand splits in general. If you want to run the science by comparing the product reactions to see if they are different between changing it as a product setting or a brand focus, then I'd be interested to see what you find. For science! <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Well, I've been using 205 as my Guinea pig to experiment with the match sliders after my first experiment attempt with RAW tanked. Sucks to be the Cruiserweights, but it's the only B-show I have, so it's the only show I can experiment with without causing WWE to fall to Cult. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> Both Risqué and Modern focus require minimum of 40 on the Match Danger slider (with the default product set at 10), and minimum content risk of "Medium" to avoid any penalty. I've created a 1vs1 default match with Medium risk and call it "1vs1 modern style" to substitute all my gimmick-less matches. Modern focus also requires minimum of 25 Match Intensity to pull off.</p><p> </p><p> I'm assuming those will have to be even higher if WWE's default Product were set higher, but I can't be sure until I try another fed.</p><p> </p><p> Match aim requirements don't change at all, it seems, and neither do the number of pretty girls required (I think). I'm still not sure about the performance vs pop thing. I'm starting to get better grades for my main events now after hitting the right match setting levels, but that may also be due to Neville being in all of them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Derek B" data-cite="Derek B" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>There are several, but most of them are pre-set in the mod for guys who are obviously beyond their best. No-one is seriously bad though. Jericho, Goldust, Titus, R-Truth and Big Show show up on the screen and are all listed as "prime clearly ended a few years ago". You'll be able to see for yourself after Summerslam when I upload the file for all to have a look through. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> So no main eventers yet? You're lucky there, in my game John Cena (who's bizarrely still set as Figurehead even though he hasn't been booked like one since he put over Daniel Bryan) is in decline. Still pulling better ratings than 90% of the roster though, so he probably deserves to be.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Derek B" data-cite="Derek B" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I referred to this on my post-205 discussion but I'll also mention it here. Each card position has a limit on how much time they can be on a show before it's too long. Since card position is determined relative to everyone else on the roster, it's not unfair to assume that people want to see other people a LOT more than the openers and enhancements so these limits seem okay. The jobbers penalty might need looked at for B shows... but again, fans do expect to see a certain quality of people otherwise why would they even tune in? your #30 ranked guy is still far more interesting than your #50 ranked guy no matter how you spin it. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> But if I'm not wrong, the penalty mostly reflects the reaction of the live crowd, right? The way B-shows are usually taped (admittedly, my only basis for comparison is the WWE, since I don't know of any other companies that do B-shows), they pretty much function as "pre-show matches" for the main shows which are usually taped/held immediately after, so logically, the crowd shouldn't be reacting to them any differently than how they react to a dark match, which doesn't get the penalties.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Derek B" data-cite="Derek B" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43895" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>In the case of the Orton vs Jinder Punjabi Prison match, I did consider using the Keep Strong note.... but with all the interference set I decided that would be enough.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> He almost overcame an entire 3-man stable by himself before the Great Khali got involved. That to me's the definition of Keep Strong. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

[Derek B]

So, first things first.... I really enjoyed this episode of RAW when I was watching it. Before the show I was already thinking that the Summerslam ard looked like it had too many matches on it, so hearing that a couple of those matches were getting bumped to Raw actually had me feeling excited. The show was filled with things that were a bit different from the usual and in general I enjoyed it a lot as I was watching it.... but more about my thoughts on that after the show again

 

As for storylines, nothing new going on there. This show felt pretty good and MIGHT have done enough to bring our storyline heat up to our requirements but I guess we'll find that out after the show. Here are our storylines.

 

Raw Storylines

 

#1: Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe, Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman,

#2: Kurt Angle, Jason Jordan, (The Miz, Maryse, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas)

#3: Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Big Show,

#4: Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Dana Brooke (minor), Alicia Fox (minor),

#5: Bray Wyatt, Finn Balor,

#6: Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, (Sheamus, Cesaro),

#7: (Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy), (Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder), (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson)

#8: Mickie James, Emma,

 

205 Live/Cruiserweight Division Storylines

 

#1: Neville, (Akira Tozawa, Titus O'Neill (minor)), Ariya Daivari,

#2: Rich Swann, TJP,

#3: Tony Nese, Cedric Alexander

#4: Jack Gallagher, The Brian Kendrick,

 

And with that in mind let's get to the go-home show for Summerslam.

 

 

 

 

From TD Garden, Boston, MA. (capacity 19,028)

Expected Attendance (no figurehead): 11,160

Actual Attendance: 11,498

 

Angle: Then, now, forever! Recap of Dean/Seth vs Sheamus/Cesaro..... Rated oveness/off screen (all). 4 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Seth and Dean face to face, leads to scrappy brawl! Rated Entertainment (Seth/Dean). 8 minutes.

Rating: B

 

Angle: Sheamus/Cesaro attack Dean/Seth! Brawl leads to Seth/Dean FINALLY doing Shield Fist Bump!! Kurt makes match for Summerslam! Rated Overness (Sheamus/Cesaro), Selling (Seth/Dean), Not Rated (Kurt Angle). 5 minutes.

Rating: B+

 

Angle: Hype for Brock/Braun/Roman/Joe confrontation, Sasha/Nia for Alexa next! All rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: C

 

Minor Angle: Jinder vs Nakamura hype for Summerslam! Rated Overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: C+

 

COMMERCIAL?

 

Angle: Announcers issue statement on Ric Flair. 1 minute. SKIPPED

 

Match: Nia Jax vs Sasha Banks

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Sasha Banks

Alexa Bliss at ringside (on a throne thing, distraction on both)

COMMERCIAL (two of them!)

Open Match

Submission Victory

15 minutes (plus 3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Angle talking to The Hardys, won't be able to fight Revival at Summerslam. Miz interupts, leading to The Miz wanting to take on Jason Jordan. Rated Entertainment (Angle, Matt, Jeff, Miz), Overness (Bo, Curtis. Jason Jordan, off screen), Sex Appeal (Maryse). 2 minutes.

Rating: C+

 

Minor Angle: Mae Young Classic hype. 1 minute. SKIPPED (though it should be awesome)

 

Angle: Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor brawling backstage! They don't want to wait til Summerslam... Angle makes match for tonight! Rated Overness (Finn/Bray), Entertainment (Angle). 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Elias Sampson dissing Boston, interupted by R-Truth who gets beaten up. Rated Entertainment (Elias, story success), Selling (R-Truth, story defeat). 4 minutes.

Rating: C-

 

Minor Angle: Hype for Universal title face off. 1 minute.

Rating: B

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Angle: Feud recap for Enzo, Cass, Show. Cass cuts promo, crowd are all over him! Rated Entertainment (Cass), Overness/off screen (Enzo/Big Show). 6 minutes.

Rating: C

 

Angle: Enzo interupts Cass at last. Enzo with some sharp words at Cass, out comes Show, out come Anderson/Gallows to attack Show! Rated Entertainment (Enzo, story minor defeat), Overness (Show, story major defeat. Gallows/Anderson, story minor victories. Cass, story success). 7 minutes.

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Recap of Roman/Braun from last week's Last Man Standing match, with Samoa Joe and hype for Brock. All rated overness/off screen. 2 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Bray/Finn to fight tonight. Less than 1 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Neville vs Tozawa hype, happening next! Less than1 minute.

Rating: D

 

Angle: Hype for NXT Brooklynn. 1 minute. SKIPPED

 

Match: Akira Tozawa vs Neville © for the WWE Cruiserweight championship

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Akira Tozawa

COMMERCIAL

Decisive Win

10 (+3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: C

 

Angle: Celebration for Tozawa with Titus and Apollo. All rated overness. 2 minutes.

Rating: D

 

Angle: Announcers hype Summerslam, main focus on Universal title and WWE title matches, Bray and Finn next. Rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Recap of Cass and The Club beatdown on Big Show, update saying Show's hand looks broken but is going to fight anyway. Rated Entertainment (Enzo, Show) overness/off screen (Cass/The Club). 2 minutes.

Rating: C

 

Angle: Recap of Sasha/Nia for shot at Alexa. Rated overness/off screen. 1 minute

Rating: D-

 

Angle: Mickie James and Emma backstage. Mickie issues challenge for match tonight. Rated Entertainment (both). 1 minute.

Rating: D+

 

Match: Bray Wyatt vs Finn Balor

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Bray Wyatt

COMMERCIAL (during Bray's entrance)

Open Match

Decisive Win

15 minutes (+3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: B+

 

Angle: Bray lays out Finn with another Sister Abigail and gives him a blood bath! Rated Overness (Bray, story success), Selling (Finn, story defeat). 4 minutes.

Rating: B+

 

Minor Angle: Hype for Universal title match. Rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: B

 

Minor Angle: Recap of Bray using a "viscous, acidic liquid" on Finn. . Rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Minor Angle: Recap of Seth/Dean and Sheamus/Cesaro. All rated overness/off screen. 2 minutes.

Rating: B

 

Match: Emma vs Mickie James

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Mickie James

Decisive Win

5 minutes (+1 minute for pre/post match)

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Hype for a movie. 2 minutes. SKIPPED

 

Angle: Miztourage walking to the ring. Less than 1 minute.

Rating: D

 

Angle: Smackdown hype. Cena and Jinder will collide on Smackdown for some reason. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Finn and Bray will collide at Summerslam, he's bringing his demon... rated Entertainment (Finn), Bray (Overness). 1 minute.

Rating: B

 

Match: The Miz vs Jason Jordan in a non-title match

Match Aim: Story Telling

Winner: Jason Jordan

Outside interference finish (Axel and Bo on Jason)

Keep Strong (The Miz, though he really doesn't warrant it)

2 minutes (+3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: C-

 

Angle: Hardys save Jason Jordan from attack by Miztourage! Rated Overness (Hardys/Jordan, Miz), Selling (Bo Curtis). 1 minute.

Rating: C+

 

Match: Hardys / Jordan vs The Miz / Bo Dallas / Curtis Axel

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Jeff Hardy

Loser: Bo Dallas

COMMERCIAL

Decisive Win

11 minutes (+2 for post match stuff)

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Confirmation of The Demon vs Bray for Summerslam, also hype for Universal title confrontation next. All rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Mae Young Classic hype. 1 minute SKIPPED.

 

Angle: 205 Live hype for Tozawa celebration, plus Neville will get rematch at Summerslam. 1 minute.

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Summerslam main event confrontation. Rated Entertainment (Paul Heyman), Overness/off screen (Roman, Joe, Braun), Menace (Brock Lesnar). 10 minutes.

Rating: A

 

Angle: Here comes Joe... here come Braun... here comes Roman! Rated Overness (Roman, Joe), Menace (Brock, Braun). 9 minutes.

Rating: A

 

SHOW RATING: B+

 

This show increased our popularity in 37 regions.

 

So... the crowd were amazing tonight in real life, making everything feel that much bigger and better. The show opening stuff was great, with Dean and Seth's storyline getting a big emotional bump from the big emotional fist bump. Big Cass also had amazing heat on him for his promo at Enzo/Show, which surprised me a lot but might be a good sign that he is indeed getting over as the WWE hope he does. And even though I feel like I've been getting hourly hype for the PPV and the Universal title, I'm actually excited for it because there is no way in hell that Roman vs Braun vs Samoa Joe vs Lesnar is going to be bad and I'm really looking forward to it. The segments in-game delivered strongly at the end of the show, bringing the very most out of the performers without going overboard by giving us too much with a tag match or something between the competitiors. Wyatt vs Finn delivered a big grade for their match here, which I think was a bit of a particularly high grade but I guess that's what happens sometimes.

 

Back to what I was saying at the start... I felt that this show was a very good one when I watched it and the in-game grade reflected that well. The major downside... despite an actually overstacked PPV card with 12 matches that we have now seen two of... we are getting rematches for both of those matches at Summerslam. That just makes me throw my hands up in the air and want to throw things at the company for doing things that actually make me want to see them a bit less. Demon Finn is cool and all, but they could just have brought him out without the extra step... and not calling the bloodbath for what it was was just incredibly, incredibly stupid. They don't have to make us believe that it's even blood, just tell us what it looks like since that's presumably what everyone was thinking it was.

 

Anywho, I realise at this point that I've once again forgotten to do a proper show breakdown. But once again we're comfortably within the 50% angle ratio and the show delivered well. We aso managed to bring at least two storylines up to at least B heat,

 

Coming up soon, perhaps even today... both Smackdown and 205 Live being Booked Exactly As Real Life... FOR SCIENCE!

[Derek B]

So, Smackdown wasn't as good as RAW as the proper go home show for the PPV. Luckily in TEW terms, there are already plenty of hot storylines so things should be fine here for the show rating. There's a bit to talk about obviously with the failed Money in the Bank cash in, clearing the way to the World title match being free of anything that could potentially ruin Shinsuke's title win... and by god, if he doesn't win I will stop writing this diary... which, y'know, is the plan anyway.

 

Storylines, as ever.

 

#1: Shinsuke Nakamura, (Jinder Mahal, Samir Singh (minor), Sunil Singh (minor))

#2: Kevin Owns, AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, Shane McMahon

#3: Tye Dillinger, Aiden English

#4: Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso

#5: Becky Lynch, Carmella, Charlotte Flair, Lana, Naomi, Natalya, Tamina, James Ellsworth.

#6: Sami Zayn, Mike Kanelis, Maria Kanelis.

#7: (Fandango, Tyler Breeze), (Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder), (Konnor, Viktor), (Primo, Epico)

#8: Randy Orton, Rusev

#9: John Cena, Baron Corbin

 

 

 

 

From Dunnkin Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island (capacity 14,000)

Expected Attendance (with figurehead): 12,781

Actual Attendance: 10,209 (waaaaay below even the non-figurehead number)

 

Angle: then, now, forever... hype for Cena vs Jinder tonight. Rated overness/off screen. 2 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Singh Brothers intro for Jinder Mahal and all kinds of things for Indian Independence Day. Rated Entertainment (Jinder), Overness/Off Screen (Cena, Shinsuke), Not Rated (Samir and Sunil Singh). 8 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Shinsuke finally interupts! Rated Entertainment (Shinsuke, Jinder), not Rated (Samir and Sunil Singh). 4 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Hype for AJ apology to Shane for errant kick last week, and Becky vs Natalya tonight, next! 1 minute.

Rating: C-

 

Angle: Hype for Universal title at Summerslam. Rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: B

 

Angle: Ric Flair health update. 1 minute. SKIPPED

 

Match: Becky Lynch vs Natalya

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Natalya

Naomi on commentary (replacing Byron Saxton)

COMMERCIAL

Submission Finish

8 minutes (+4 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: C-

 

Angle: Natalya post match attack on Becky, Naomi quickly in to make save! Carmella makes presence felt by appearing with MITB case. Rated Entertainment (Carmella, James Ellsworth), Overness (Naomi. Natalya, minor story success), Selling (Becky Lynch, minor story defeat). 3 minutes.

Rating: D

 

Angle: Hype for Fashion Peaks, Cena/Jimder. Rated Overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: C

 

Angle: Movie trailer and music for Summerslam. 1 minute. SKIPPED

 

Angle: Hype for AJ/Shane again. Rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: C+

 

Angle: Lana and Tamina backstage, Tamina wants Lana to get her a title match. Rated Entertainment (Lana, Tamina).2 minutes.

Rating: D

 

Angle: Usos and Daniel Bryan talking about facing New Day. Rated Entertainment (Usos/Daniel), Overness/off screen (New Day). 1 minute.

Rating: C+

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Angle: Hype for Mae Young Classic. 1 minute. SKIPPED

 

Match: Rusev vs Chad Gable

Match Aim: Story Telling

Double Count Out

1 minute (+3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: C-

 

Angle: Rusev puts Accolade on Gable on top of announce table.. then Orton hits RKO outta nowhere... as always. Rated Selling (Chad Gable, story defeat), Menace (Rusev), Overness (Orton, Story success). 4 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Announcers spend too long talking about Summerslam weekend. Jinder/Nakamura, Universal title. All rated overness/off screen. 2 minutes.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Another hype segment for Cena vs Jinder tonight. AJ and Shane, is next! All rated overness.off screen. 1 minute

Rating: B-

 

COMMERCIAL

 

Angle: AJ apologising to Shane McMahon in lead up to Summerslm. Rated Entertainment (AJ, Shane). 6 minutes.

Rating: B

 

Angle: Kevin Owens interupts, confrontation gets physical ending with KO accidentally kicking Shane.. Rated Entertainment (KO, AJ, Shane). 7 minutes.

Rating: B+

 

Angle: Fashion Peaks tonight... plus New Day will face Usos (not the same pair as will face on Sunday). 1 minute.

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Hype for Jinder vs Shinsuke for the WWE title. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: New Day hyping Usos. Rated Entertainment (New Day), Overness (Usos). 4 minutes.

Rating: C+

 

Match: Kofi/Xavier vs Usos

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Jey Uso (maybe)

Loser: Kofi Kingston

COMERCIAL

Decisive Win

8 minutes (+2 minuts for pre/post match)

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Hype for Fashion Peaks, Cena/Jinder, 205 Live with Titus/Akira. Rated overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Fashion Peaks finale. Rated Entertainment (Tyler Breeze, Fandango, Konnor, Viktor). 4 minutes.

Rating: D+

 

Angle: In case you forgot, it's Cena vs Jinder next. Like... we've been told this 5 times tonight and only via announcers and graphics. Lazy! 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: NXT hype for NXT Brooklyn. 1 minute SKIPPED.

 

Match: Jinder Mahal vs John Cena (non-title)

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: John Cena

COMMERCIAL

DQ Finish

Interference from Baron Corbin on Cena

10 minutes (+ 4 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: B

 

Angle: Baron Corbin cashes in Money In The Bank on Jinder Mahal! Jinder rolls him up to win! Rated Menace (Baron Corbin, story major defeat), Selling (Jinder, story major success), Overness (Cena). 6 minutes.

Rating: A

 

SHOW RATING: B+

 

This show raised our popoularity in 37 regions.

 

Another strong show for the WWE in the game... carried by a couple of very strong angles in the MITB cash in and the AJ/KO/Shane drama, things seemed to go well for us here. And hile I hate what they've done with the cash in this time, at least it has cleared the way for any future champions to have a title reign without any extra drama with challengers. If that's not a good sign for Shinsuke being about to win the WWE title, I don't know what is.

 

I don't think this show was as good in real life as it was in the game though.... and Fashion Peaks was disappointment, I'm still waiting for them to do something meaningful instead of treading water for what has now been a couple of months. Things have generally been interesting or funny, but not much is going on there just now.

 

Anyway, on to 205 Live just now.....

 

http://network.wwe.com/assets/images/5/1/6/241757516/cuts/205LiveLogo_Ntwk_s0j5xcwc_z03ffue7.jpg

 

 

 

Angle: Then, now, forever. Raw recap as Tozawa beats Neville. Celebrate tonight. Rated overness/off screen (Tozawa, Neville, Titus). 3 minutes.

Rating: D

 

Match: Cedric Alexander/Gran Metalik vs Tony Nese/Drew Gulak

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Cedric Alexander

Loser: Drew Gulak

Decisive Win

9 minutes (+4 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: D

 

Angle: Ariya, Noam and Lince Dorado talking about Neville. All walk away from former champ. Rated Entertainment (all). 1 minute.

Rating: D

 

Angle: Titus on the phone getting ready for celebration. Rated overness (Titus). 20 seconds, rounded to 1 minute.

Rating: D+

 

Angle: Hype for Shinsuke vs Jinder for Summerslam. 1 minute.

Rating: C-

 

Match: The Brian Kendrick vs Mustafa Ali

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: The Brian Kendrick

Outside Interference Finish when Gallagher attacks Kendrick

6 minutes (+3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: D

 

Angle: Dasha interviews Rich Swann about TJP, Ariya claims he's replacing TJP. Rated Entertainment (Swann, Ariya), overness/off screen (TJP). 2 minutes.

Rating: D

 

Minor Angle: Tozawa and Neville recap. Overness/off screen. 1 minute.

Rating: D

 

Angle: NXT hype. 1 minute. SKIPPED

 

Match: Ariya Daivari vs Rich Swann

Match Aim: Regular

Winner: Ariy Daivari

Open Match

Distraction Finish with TJP distracting Swann

6 minutes (+3 minutes for pre/post match)

Rating: D

 

Angle: Dasha tries to interview Kendrick, paranoid about Jack attacking. Wants a duel next week with Jack? Rated Entertainment (Kendrick), Overness/off screen (Jack). 1 minute.

Rating: D

 

Angle: Celebration, next! 10 seconds SKIPPED

 

Angle: Universal title hype for Summerslam. 1 minute.

Rating: B-

 

Angle: Celebration. Rated Entertainment (Tozawa, Titus O'Neill), Overness/off screen (Neville). 6 minutes.

Rating: C-

 

Angle: A tired looking Neville delivers countdown to Tozawa, brawl ensues! Rated Entertainment (Neville, story defeat. Titus), Overness (Tozawa, story success). 4 minutes

Rating: C-

 

SHOW RATING: C-

 

So... 205 Live was the same as usual, no surprises. But with that, we are now ready for the biggest party of the summer. I'm excited for a few of the matches on the card, but like many other fans I do feel that too many of them have been added for little to no reason beyond "these guys should be on the card". With that in mind, here are the matches, the storyline heat and lets have some fun by guessing some winners, the show's running order, the match grade and the show grade.

 

 

 

 

Brock Lesnar © vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe (Universal Championship)

Storyline Heat: B

Match Grade:

 

Jinder Mahal © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Championship)

Storyline Heat: C+

Match Grade:

 

Alexa Bliss © vs. Sasha Banks (Raw Women's Championship)

Storyline Heat: D+

Match Grade:

 

Neville vs. Akira Tozawa © (Cruiserweight Championship)

Storyline Heat: D+

Match Grade:

 

Naomi © vs. Natalya (SmackDown Women's Championship)

Storyline Heat:

Match Grade:

 

AJ Styles © vs. Kevin Owens (United States Championship)

Storyline Heat: B-

Match Grade:

 

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Storyline Heat: B-

Match Grade:

 

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Storyline Heat: B-

Match Grade:

 

Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt

Storyline Heat: B

Match Grade:

 

The New Day © vs. The Usos (SmackDown Tag Team Championship)

Storyline Heat: B-

Match Grade:

 

Big Show vs. Big Cass

Storyline Heat: C

Match Grade:

 

Sheamus and Cesaro © vs Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose (Raw Tag Team Championship)

Storyline Heat: B

Match Grade:

 

SHOW GRADE:

 

I'll post my predictions just now, with no prizes of any kind for anyone beyond bragging rights. It's all just.... FOR SCIENCE!!

 

http://www.libertariansociology.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/bro-science.jpg

 

 

[Derek B]

SUMMERSLAM PREDICTIONS

 

KICKOFF: Neville vs. Akira Tozawa © (Cruiserweight Championship)

Storyline Heat: D+

Match Grade: C-

 

KICKOFF: The New Day © vs. The Usos (SmackDown Tag Team Championship)

Storyline Heat: B-

Match Grade: B

 

Sheamus and Cesaro © vs Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose (Raw Tag Team Championship)

Storyline Heat: B

Match Grade: A

 

Naomi © vs. Natalya (SmackDown Women's Championship)

Storyline Heat: D+

Match Grade: D

 

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Storyline Heat: B-

Match Grade: B

 

AJ Styles © vs. Kevin Owens (United States Championship)

Storyline Heat: B-

Match Grade: B+

 

Big Show vs. Big Cass

Storyline Heat: C

Match Grade: C

 

Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt

Storyline Heat: B

Match Grade: B

 

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Storyline Heat: B-

Match Grade: B

 

Jinder Mahal © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Championship)

Storyline Heat: C+

Match Grade: B-

 

Alexa Bliss © vs. Sasha Banks (Raw Women's Championship)

Storyline Heat: D+

Match Grade: C-

 

Brock Lesnar © vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe (Universal Championship)

Storyline Heat: B

Match Grade: A

 

SHOW GRADE: A

 

I'm expecting this show to have some ups and downs, but to be mostly pretty good. I've debated with myself where most of the matches would go since it's usually a little tricky to predict how long some matches will go and what extra things are going to be thrown on the show. But to me, this show looks like an overall A rating based on what is most likely to be the main event and just how well I expect that to deliver. The hype segments should also do very well as the WWE production crew are fantastic at editing any rivalry to look better than it is, so even if you haven't been watching the stories unfold you end up more excited for the match just after thos videos than you are for it before the show. I don't think the WWE ever gets enough kudos for just how good they are there.

 

I'm interested to see what you guys all think/expect from the show. And after the show, I will be uploading the game for anyone who wants to look at the data almost 2 months on from it's start date while being booked exactly as real life. I'll also be replying to comments sometime soon again, I just wanted to get all of this up early so that we could have a chance to do this with Summerslam.

[dexi21]

<p>SUMMERSLAM PREDICTIONS</p><p> </p><p>

KICKOFF: Neville vs. <strong>Akira Tozawa ©</strong> (Cruiserweight Championship)</p><p>

Storyline Heat: D+</p><p>

Match Grade: C-</p><p> </p><p>

KICKOFF: <strong>The New Day ©</strong> vs. The Usos (SmackDown Tag Team Championship)</p><p>

Storyline Heat: B-</p><p>

Match Grade: B</p><p> </p><p>

Sheamus and Cesaro © vs <strong>Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose</strong> (Raw Tag Team Championship)</p><p>

Storyline Heat: B</p><p>

Match Grade: A</p><p> </p><p>

Naomi © vs. <strong>Natalya </strong>(SmackDown Women's Championship)</p><p>

Storyline Heat: D+</p><p>

Match Grade: D</p><p> </p><p>

Randy Orton vs. <strong>Rusev</strong></p><p>

Storyline Heat: B-</p><p>

Match Grade: B</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>AJ Styles ©</strong> vs. Kevin Owens (United States Championship)</p><p>

Storyline Heat: B-</p><p>

Match Grade: B+</p><p> </p><p>

Big Show vs. <strong>Big Cass</strong></p><p>

Storyline Heat: C</p><p>

Match Grade: C</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Finn Balor</strong> vs. Bray Wyatt</p><p>

Storyline Heat: B</p><p>

Match Grade: B</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>John Cena</strong> vs. Baron Corbin</p><p>

Storyline Heat: B-</p><p>

Match Grade: B</p><p> </p><p>

Jinder Mahal © vs. <strong>Shinsuke Nakamura </strong>(WWE Championship)</p><p>

Storyline Heat: C+</p><p>

Match Grade: B-</p><p> </p><p>

Alexa Bliss © vs. <strong>Sasha Banks </strong>(Raw Women's Championship)</p><p>

Storyline Heat: D+</p><p>

Match Grade: C-</p><p> </p><p>

Brock Lesnar © vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. <strong>Samoa Joe </strong>(Universal Championship)</p><p>

Storyline Heat: B</p><p>

Match Grade: A</p>

[K-Nection]

Kinda makes me sad this is going to end....I love seeing this

[Greylocke]

Nice grades for this week's shows! Too bad I won't be able to watch them in RL until 2 weeks later. Almost wish I hadn't peeked at the grades, since now I'll be itching to read the rest of the shows for spoilers.