What is your booking process?

[Dave E Mac]

So when it comes to storylines and booking things what is your process?

 

Personally i have an ending idea, how I want to see it finish and work back from there. I’m currently working on starting a WWF dynasty in 1991 and have my idea how I want Wrestlemania to end so working my way back from there.

[sdaubs]

So when it comes to storylines and booking things what is your process?

 

Personally i have an ending idea, how I want to see it finish and work back from there. I’m currently working on starting a WWF dynasty in 1991 and have my idea how I want Wrestlemania to end so working my way back from there.

 

It usually starts with a “holla!” and ends with a Creamsicle. And if there’s the time in between, Thundercats!

 

Sorry, actual answer to the question. Since I normally run as SWF, I rarely have to worry about any company stealing my talent so I normally work in 6-month storylines.

 

I pick the major players for the Main Event/World title, the mid-card title and the tag titles and place them into storylines. I then decide the main actions that I want like Heel wins a title by cheating and at which PPV. I do that for all of the major titles but try to have the blow-off match at the end of the 6 months.

 

This allows for some mid-carder that gets a great gimmick or gains in popularly to be added to the mix in the next 6 month storyline.

[Makhai]

So when it comes to storylines and booking things what is your process?

 

Personally i have an ending idea, how I want to see it finish and work back from there. I’m currently working on starting a WWF dynasty in 1991 and have my idea how I want Wrestlemania to end so working my way back from there.

 

As I see it, there's two valid booking approaches and two ridiculous ones that idiots who run billion dollar companies use.

 

You've got storylines dominant, booking decision dominant, then you've got fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, and "Cutting Edge, bro"

 

I'm most definitely the last one, I mean some combination fo the first two depending on whether I get a storyline idea or the booking idea first. Sometimes I have it mapped out years in advance, other times im going week-to-week until I hit an overness, momentum, or skill goal. It's really just about the situation. I'm very flexible.

[fullMETAL]

When I was booking in EWR with the NWA Domination mod and Arsenic Trainer-ing the heck out of it, I literally just booked my fed (ROH, which is NWA Strong Style in the mod) with a group of guys I wanted to see pushed, and just did it, with only a foot-deep depth of justification behind it.

 

That was well more than 10 years ago, and looking back, if I were re-doing that NOW with an updated version of the mod, I would definitely think a lot more as to WHY I'm pushing them that way, and frame the storylines around THAT.

 

Still gonna push Mike Bucci/Nova (I repackaged him as "Michael Nova" in my game to give him a more "championship material" name than just Nova -- still has the Nova recognition, but now sounds more credible) to the moon though and this time I'll add Scorpio Sky to my Nova/Kaz/Daniels trio to properly rep S-C-U!

Maybe Watts too (in a "menacing big man" role) since he and Sky team up in Championship Wrestling From Hollywood.

 

Also, this time around, I'd be putting my "stars of tomorrow" push behind Suede Thompson & Chris Bey, the tandem currently known as Double Platinum.

Seriously, those guys are hecking awesome.

[HarryFandango86]

I go into shows having some kinda idea but I don’t plan things out too far ahead, I don’t really plan endings to storylines so much because then I want to find out what happens myself...I never did like spoilers

[Dave E Mac]

As I see it, there's two valid booking approaches and two ridiculous ones that idiots who run billion dollar companies use.

 

You've got storylines dominant, booking decision dominant, then you've got fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, and "Cutting Edge, bro"

 

I'm most definitely the last one, I mean some combination fo the first two depending on whether I get a storyline idea or the booking idea first. Sometimes I have it mapped out years in advance, other times im going week-to-week until I hit an overness, momentum, or skill goal. It's really just about the situation. I'm very flexible.

 

I wish I could be more flexible. I’m honestly like Vince McMahon too much. If someone is organically getting over, sorry buddy if you’re not part of my planned pushed then tough luck! I need to try and be a bit less rigid with what I do. I tend to play wwf historical mods where you build to the big four ppv’s so I do like planning those big pay offs in advance.

[sdaubs]

I wish I could be more flexible. I’m honestly like Vince McMahon too much. If someone is organically getting over, sorry buddy if you’re not part of my planned pushed then tough luck! I need to try and be a bit less rigid with what I do. I tend to play wwf historical mods where you build to the big four ppv’s so I do like planning those big pay offs in advance.

 

This is why I moved to 6-month storylines. I had one storyline in 2013 that would have run for nearly three years and ended with them in the Main Event of the Supreme Challange, but I could never get one of them over past a mid-carder. At the same time, Spencer Spade went from ET to Main Eventer and had chemistry with the heel of my planned 3-year storyline. I might run a storyline longer than 6 months but generally only if there's an organic reason to do so.

[noknuckles]

Last second booking. The only thing I have planned is that Joanne Rodriguez wins. I fill out the 4 weeks leading up to a PPV with lasers and explosions, but in the end, J-Ro wins. Always.

[Peria]

I like to set up rivalries that span years, something I can call back on. I don't get very zany with my storylines, I admit. That's largely because I prefer NJPW to WWE's method of storytelling, to give a modern example. Often times I'll have a word doc up explaining the bigger rivalries that took place in 1 vs 1 format. And just keep going back to them whenever I need something for that specific guy to do. It helps me a bit. I have a relevant main event scene and undercard largely because of this sort of management. Sure, some guys are filler, and hardly have any character to them, but they don't really do well in the company I book anyways. They are just there to fill in for multi-man matches, or if someone gets injured, or the rare title shot.

[Dave E Mac]

Another question is do you try and run like modern day wwe in the sense that every ppv match has some sort of storyline to it. Or do you run like old skool wwf where the ppv’s have a couple of big storylines, but every ppv will have a few filler matches on there without a story behind it.

[Makhai]

Another question is do you try and run like modern day wwe in the sense that every ppv match has some sort of storyline to it. Or do you run like old skool wwf where the ppv’s have a couple of big storylines, but every ppv will have a few filler matches on there without a story behind it.

 

I'm very strict with my cards. Every PPV match has a story. From top-to-bottom. Even if that story is as simple as, "$50,000 purse to the winner" It's something tangible that these guys are competing for. And for the most part when I put a cash stip on a match and there's a clean finish, I payoff the winner. The way I figure it, reality is the spice of entertainment. The more of it you pose, the easier it is to swallow the BS.

 

Reality TV has run with this concept, I bet you turn on shows like Hot Bench or w/e and think those are real cases? They're not, scripted. I bet you think the Kardashians go to all of these hip startups because they're cool. Nope, they're paid to be there, it's all advertising. That show is just a vehicle to cover a full show in advertising people won't know is advertising. It's genius, and why everybody is a billionaire now. Survivor and The Bachelor are heavily manipulated show, storylines are created by utilizing staff to sell gossip and turn people against each other. They cast actor wannabes, and the hottest empty-headed fools they can find, so they manipulate them into playing out their scripted archetypes and if that doesn't work, selective editing is always there.

 

So yeah. That's my process for traditional companies. Sports Entertainment shows I tend to get a lot wackier with, but even those companies, the top-feuds are handled this way.

[BiffJordan]

I book usually around two "big events" each year, with PPV's in between. My champion in a year will at best defend his title 7 times. I do full time schedule where I run an A TV show at an hour and a half and B hour long TV show for 6 months and then I do two league tournaments, a tag league and heavyweight singles. Like NJPW I use my champions in the tournament with the winner winning prize money and a shot at the champion at the big season closing PPV.

 

I usually have around a dozen storylines playing as I like the bonuses they add to matches and angles. When I start a promotion I take some time to find my figurehead, sometimes the potential setting can be low so it's important to know if your figure head and maintain over 94/95 popularity if you are attempting to be ranked 1st in the world.

 

When I run the leagues I don't use TV shows. I just book 4 weekly events per week, A Block Tues, B Block Wed, A Block Fri, B Block Sat. With the rest days working out nicely I rarely have had injuries I couldn't deal with.

 

Every angle I run in the game is a generic angle and I just make up the story in my head. Sometimes I will write out "Pre Match Promo with ... " or "Contract Signing with...." but usually I don't.

 

Also I really like to "Add a new player" and take over certain companies while playing a game so that I can manipulate their direction or potential. For example I'm playing a 90's game and I have a working relationship with FMW at regional and I can propose a trade from the FMW side that will allow 10 dates for a worker. So I can get Cactus Jack his Japanese legend that he got in the real world, or have Terry Gordy touring All Japan, Vader working in Europe, Mexico and Japan etc...

[Everything Ken]

I'm the type of person to book so far in advance (at least the major titles and storylines) and never actually advance too far into the game. But, that all changed with my current WWE April 2014 save. I planned until WrestleMania 32 in 2016. Then I kept adding a little bit of plans along the way, until now I'm up to WrestleMania 35 in 2019 for my main event and womens titles. I'm still in September of 2017 though, so I've got quite a bit of work to do until I catch up with my current plans.

 

My upper midcard stories are planned out in roughly 6 months to a year patches. And then the lower card stuff is typically pretty on the fly

 

Point is, I like to have a good roadmap for the upper card and major women happenings.

[Joshdb]

I usually try to find tag chemistry for everyone and then I book tag team and six man matches forever until I quit the save.

[BasicThuganomics]

<p>I use pre-booking and lay out every PPV of the year at the start of each "Season" (WrestleMania, for example). Then I use that to book my weekly shows, if I have them, so that I can stay consistent with storytelling and pushing the right people at the right time.</p><p> </p><p>

Helps me to set goals and stick to them.</p>

[Gungner]

Storylines advanced through angles. Matches on TV-shows are thrown together completely at random.

[brianc2008]

I tend to book around my titles. Other matches are done more randomly.

[Rayelek]

Typically I pair off all of my main eventers, then come up with storylines for the rest of the titles, then go from there. Weekly shows are a little on the spot, but I try to do from 1 event to the next in one sitting so I don't lose my line if thinking.

[Remianen]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="brianc2008" data-cite="brianc2008" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46759" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I tend to book around my titles. </div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Yep, me too. Everybody is chasing gold to some degree. One reason I tend to have so many titles. I typically have three tiers for each title. First is champ vs #1 contender. Then it's the people competing to be #1 contender. The third tier are the people fighting to get into that group competing for the #1 contendership. There are usually 2-4 people/teams at each tier as well. Helps to also keep the roster active and fresh when you can cycle people in and out like that. With my standard product, I tend to have a main event singles title, main event tag title, midcard singles/TV title, midcard tag title, low card singles title, low card tag title (used to mainly fish for chemistry in the preshow), and then specialized singles and tag titles (cruiserweight/high flying/X division, Pure, lucha, youngster), and 'Artist of Stardom' like trios title (which you can basically just call a 'stable championship' due to the Freebird/New Day rule). Between matches and angles, I never have to worry about advancing storylines because that typically happens all the time.</p>

[Self]

<p>I look at the next PPV and pick three matches to headline it. Those matches will typically be the main title match, something with the tag teams (most likely for the titles) and a third wildcard of whatever I think would be cool. I then come up with stories to build to those matches using the weeks I have available, and try to jigsaw those stories together in a way that each episode has one <strong>(and only one)</strong> main event caliber match. If I can laser-focus a couple of those episodes around its main event, and save some money leaving the other main eventers at home, all the better. </p><p> </p><p>

I then book garbage to fill in the gaps on the undercard. Squashes. Cheap matches. Character spotlights. Rookies having simple matches for exposure. Small character beats where nobody important loses. </p><p> </p><p>

I typically have a loose idea of where I want to end up over the long term, but I mostly do it month-to-month and see what I'm having fun with.</p>

[Remianen]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Self" data-cite="Self" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46759" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I look at the next PPV and pick three matches to headline it. Those matches will typically be the main title match, something with the tag teams (most likely for the titles) and a third wildcard of whatever I think would be cool. I then come up with stories to build to those matches using the weeks I have available, and try to jigsaw those stories together in a way that each episode has one <strong>(and only one)</strong> main event caliber match. If I can laser-focus a couple of those episodes around its main event, and save some money leaving the other main eventers at home, all the better. <p> </p><p> <strong>I then book garbage to fill in the gaps on the undercard. Squashes. Cheap matches. Character spotlights. Rookies having simple matches for exposure. Small character beats where nobody important loses.</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I'm a stickler for long term booking but the bolded part really appeals to me. I wind up spending more time trying to figure out the filler on a card than the actual meat of the card. But how do you handle the booking when your people are exclusive (so you don't have to worry about per show costs)?</p>

[Self]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Remianen" data-cite="Remianen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46759" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I'm a stickler for long term booking but the bolded part really appeals to me. I wind up spending more time trying to figure out the filler on a card than the actual meat of the card. But how do you handle the booking when your people are exclusive (so you don't have to worry about per show costs)?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Firing spree.</p><p> </p><p> I try to have relatively few people on exclusive contracts, as it doesn't really reflect how I like to tell stories; with a core group of heroes facing off against a revolving door of bad guys. I'll send top heels on vacations once they've been properly defeated. I'll only sign lower-end villains to short-term non-exclusive deals, letting them expire and hiring them again when I need them. </p><p> </p><p> 10-12 exclusive guys feels like a good number. Enough to run house shows. A mix of top stars and young prospects.</p>

[Hashasheen]

Well for starters, I try to focus on seasonal arcs.

 

I typically do a 3-4-5 breakdown, wherein I run a 3 month series, then a 4 month series and then a 5 month series. What this usually means is that the first series always an interim one where I'm clearing guys out of the company and bringing in new guys. The second series is where I'm building up steam and really overhauling the company. And finally the third series is where I'm going all the way by sorting out the new stars of the company and the like.

 

This follows the argument I've occasionally heard of it 'taking 9 months to build a star', with series 2 (4 months) and series 3 (5 months) being that build up.

 

Now, I usually run regional or cult promotions where I don't have to worry about expansion and can try and ignore running into cult wars, so I usually have between 6 and 12 guys I can rely on to carry the shows grade wise. That breaks down into 2-2-2 or 4-4-4, with that being an equal division of 'rising stars', 'downsliding veterans' and 'peak performers'. Having that limited number of regulars also means that I can bring in outsiders on an infrequent basis to pop match ratings and fan attendances.

[EBEZA]

I tend to have a main event singles title, main event tag title, midcard singles/TV title, midcard tag title, low card singles title, low card tag title (used to mainly fish for chemistry in the preshow), and then specialized singles and tag titles (cruiserweight/high flying/X division, Pure, lucha, youngster), and 'Artist of Stardom' like trios title (which you can basically just call a 'stable championship' due to the Freebird/New Day rule).

 

That is a LOT of titles! I hope you invest in gold before getting them made!

[Defmall]

My style is rather hybrid.

More often than not, I'll pick a time period from WCW or WWF/E and I'll start off trying to replicate the time period but taking out the stuff I didn't like and improving on it.

 

After several months, I've likely shaped the roster and the storylines to my liking, and I'll refer back to history when I get 'stuck'. (Well...who was champion in 1998? HIM?! Ok, Let me at least put him in the title match mix and see how I like it....)

 

If I find Chemistry...either as opponents or tag team partners...I'll ride it for as long as I can. If I have the budget, I'll sign top names to see how they would have fared in this "era".