The "Booking Committee" Thread, 2020 Edition

[Dalton]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Original_Broski" data-cite="Original_Broski" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47898" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Who would you consider the best "pure" technical wrestlers of this generation, the past, present and future? <p> </p><p> I ask because I'm doing a ROH save with August '21 data and Violence Unlimited has issued an open challenge for three pure wrestlers, one from the past, one from the present, one from the present and one from the future.</p><p> </p><p> i'm thinking of using Chris Hero (past) or Alex Shelley (past), and Lee Moriarty (present/future) but I need another for the present/future. I want to be realistic so I'm not trying to do anything crazy.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Easy.</p><p> </p><p> PAST - Bryan Danielson (it's not unrealistic that he'd go to ROH since he left WWE strictly due to wanting to wrestle everywhere)</p><p> PRESENT - Jonathan Gresham</p><p> FUTURE - Daniel Garcia</p>

[Original_Broski]

<p>I appreciate the feedback. Yehi and Williams are good options, but they're on the roster already, and I'm trying to bring in someone from the outside.</p><p> </p><p>

Garcia is tempting, but I'm not sure about the working relationship between AEW/ROH; it's been minimal so far, so I'm not sure if that'd be too out there, but someone at Garcia's level, rather than someone crazy like Omega etc, could be fair IMO.</p>

[Richguy501]

So I'm thinking about starting a NCW save in the Thunderverse. Watching the lastest NWA PPV gave me a few ideas. But I think playing as an narcissist D-Bag like Chaperone kinda limits what I can do. What do you guys think? Any signing suggestions? Maybe who could book as instead of old Chappie?

[Dalton]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Original_Broski" data-cite="Original_Broski" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47898" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I appreciate the feedback. Yehi and Williams are good options, but they're on the roster already, and I'm trying to bring in someone from the outside.<p> </p><p> Garcia is tempting, but I'm not sure about the working relationship between AEW/ROH; it's been minimal so far, so I'm not sure if that'd be too out there, but someone at Garcia's level, rather than someone crazy like Omega etc, could be fair IMO.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Looking outside of the company, then ZSJ could be your present.</p>

[Dalton]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Richguy501" data-cite="Richguy501" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47898" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>So I'm thinking about starting a NCW save in the Thunderverse. Watching the lastest NWA PPV gave me a few ideas. But I think playing as an narcissist D-Bag like Chaperone kinda limits what I can do. What do you guys think? Any signing suggestions? Maybe who could book as instead of old Chappie?</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Sign Mattias Taylor and Markus Kage</p>

[Richguy501]

Sign Mattias Taylor and Markus Kage

 

Thanks! I've never booked Kage before but Taylor is someone almost always sign!

[DirigoJoe]

What are some of the ways you've gotten heels over?

 

Say you have a guy on the lower midcard and you want to build them to the upper midcard/main event scene, right? I feel like I have a good idea of how to bring up a face. They've got fighting spirit, they've got a never say die attitude. They keep working and improving and finally score some key wins.

 

But for a heel? That's hard. Because you'd naturally want to root for a guy rising up the card, right?

[Peria]

What are some of the ways you've gotten heels over?

 

Say you have a guy on the lower midcard and you want to build them to the upper midcard/main event scene, right? I feel like I have a good idea of how to bring up a face. They've got fighting spirit, they've got a never say die attitude. They keep working and improving and finally score some key wins.

 

But for a heel? That's hard. Because you'd naturally want to root for a guy rising up the card, right?

 

Lots of ways, I'll list a few:

 

"Next Best Thing" (Cheater) - A guy who claims he is better than anyone, but have him cheat to do it. Gradually beating guys up the card with "Keep Strong." Often having promos over matches beforehand.

 

"Next Best Thing" (Legit) - Same as above, use keep strong, but just have him be extremely arrogant/douchey about it, whilst winning clean.

 

"Legend Killer" - Familiar, yes. Have this guy run rampant through your time decline guys. I have a declining Riki Choshu who is pretty okay with losing to anyone nowadays, often use him as a first feud for some young lions I really care about. Until.. I can't, and the cycle continues.

 

"Protege" - I use this one the most. I like having young guys join a faction/group. Or just team up with a super popular heel claiming that only this guy can be the one to replace/dethrone said main event heel. Let them team up, maybe win the tag belts, implode, one can turn face, the other heel. It's all easy.

 

 

It's basically the same as building a face I just think you're stuck on your own conceptualization of it all in your head.

[shamelessposer]

But for a heel? That's hard. Because you'd naturally want to root for a guy rising up the card, right?

 

There weren't a lot of people cheering for MJF during his ascent to the main event.

 

Heel promos, a good gimmick, and a high profile betrayal can go a long way to get someone booed. But the important thing is to keep them protected. When an ascending heel loses, it should mean something. Don't give that up on free TV in the midcard.

[St. Templar]

<p>Okay, so I've got Duke Rotunda (Bray), Spike Rotunda (Bo Dallas), Erick Redbeard (he's actually gone by that name on the indies), and Big Buck (you know, the guy...the big one), and I've put them into a stable called the Blood Eagles (basically a motorcycle gang vibe with a Viking-ish theme).</p><p> </p><p>

I'm looking for suggestions for finisher names for these guys that aren't just description names.</p><p> </p><p>

Duke Rotunda - Swinging STO</p><p>

Spike Rotunda - Springboard Bulldog</p><p>

Erick Redbeard - Uranage Slam</p><p>

Big Buck - Running Powerslam</p><p> </p><p>

Any suggestions would be appreciated.</p><p> </p><p>

St.T</p>

[stiffkick80]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="St. Templar" data-cite="St. Templar" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47898" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Okay, so I've got Duke Rotunda (Bray), Spike Rotunda (Bo Dallas), Erick Redbeard (he's actually gone by that name on the indies), and Big Buck (you know, the guy...the big one), and I've put them into a stable called the Blood Eagles (basically a motorcycle gang vibe with a Viking-ish theme).<p> </p><p> I'm looking for suggestions for finisher names for these guys that aren't just description names.</p><p> </p><p> Duke Rotunda - Swinging STO</p><p> Spike Rotunda - Springboard Bulldog</p><p> Erick Redbeard - Uranage Slam</p><p> Big Buck - Running Powerslam</p><p> </p><p> Any suggestions would be appreciated.</p><p> </p><p> St.T</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Iron Horse Special</p><p> Piston Drop</p><p> Outlaw Slam</p><p> Red Death (for Redbeard)</p>

[g33kking]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="St. Templar" data-cite="St. Templar" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47898" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Okay, so I've got Duke Rotunda (Bray), Spike Rotunda (Bo Dallas), Erick Redbeard (he's actually gone by that name on the indies), and Big Buck (you know, the guy...the big one), and I've put them into a stable called the Blood Eagles (basically a motorcycle gang vibe with a Viking-ish theme).<p> </p><p> I'm looking for suggestions for finisher names for these guys that aren't just description names.</p><p> </p><p> Duke Rotunda - Swinging STO</p><p> Spike Rotunda - Springboard Bulldog</p><p> Erick Redbeard - Uranage Slam</p><p> Big Buck - Running Powerslam</p><p> </p><p> Any suggestions would be appreciated.</p><p> </p><p> St.T</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Duke Rotunda - Swinging STO - <strong>Welcome to Ragnarök</strong></p><p> Spike Rotunda - Springboard Bulldog - <strong>Jomsviking's Bounty</strong></p><p> Erick Redbeard - Uranage Slam - <strong>The Berserker's Rage</strong> or <strong>The Norns Fate</strong></p><p> Big Buck - Running Powerslam - <strong>Fenrir's Revenge</strong></p>

[Original_Broski]

Who are/were some really realistic options for The Joker in the Men's Casino Battle Royal for AEW Double or Nothing 2021? The Lio Rush choice didn't exactly pan out so I'm looking to do in a different direction for my AEW save.

[St. Templar]

Iron Horse Special

Piston Drop

Outlaw Slam

Red Death (for Redbeard)

 

 

Duke Rotunda - Swinging STO - Welcome to Ragnarök

Spike Rotunda - Springboard Bulldog - Jomsviking's Bounty

Erick Redbeard - Uranage Slam - The Berserker's Rage or The Norns Fate

Big Buck - Running Powerslam - Fenrir's Revenge

 

Thanks!

 

St.T

[Everything Ken]

I'm in a bit of a creative dilemma. So, I'm running WWE. On Raw, I have the Four Horsewomen (Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Sasha Banks) as heels and they've been the focal point of the Raw womens division since April 2019. It's currently October 2019 and one of them are slated to win the Raw title in December. They don't have a clear leader.

 

On Smackdown, I have a newly turned heel Ronda Rousey slated to win the Smackdown Womens Championship later this month. I had thought of calling up Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shaffir from NXT for Ronda as backup. I would like to have a Four Horsewomen vs. Four Horsewomen match, not at the upcoming Mania, but probably the following Mania. Ronda would be clear leader of the MMA Horsewomen.

 

My question is, if you would be part of my in-game audience, would it be boring to have two 4 person heel stables in the womens division on both shows, especially for at least 1.5 years?

[CQI13]

I'm in a bit of a creative dilemma. So, I'm running WWE. On Raw, I have the Four Horsewomen (Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Sasha Banks) as heels and they've been the focal point of the Raw womens division since April 2019. It's currently October 2019 and one of them are slated to win the Raw title in December. They don't have a clear leader.

 

On Smackdown, I have a newly turned heel Ronda Rousey slated to win the Smackdown Womens Championship later this month. I had thought of calling up Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shaffir from NXT for Ronda as backup. I would like to have a Four Horsewomen vs. Four Horsewomen match, not at the upcoming Mania, but probably the following Mania. Ronda would be clear leader of the MMA Horsewomen.

 

My question is, if you would be part of my in-game audience, would it be boring to have two 4 person heel stables in the womens division on both shows, especially for at least 1.5 years?

 

I think you would need one of them face by their match for it to be meaningful to the audience. I would be more interested in MMA 4HW as faces in this scenario, because I am sure in real life it would be WWE 4HW as faces.

[St. Templar]

I think you would need one of them face by their match for it to be meaningful to the audience. I would be more interested in MMA 4HW as faces in this scenario, because I am sure in real life it would be WWE 4HW as faces.

 

I agree completely that one of them would need to be a face stable by their match, but I think the reason the WWE 4HW would need to be faces (and it would be more natural) is there's a ton more star quality among them than the MMA women, which would make the audience more into them as faces (which is also why they likely would have been irl if this had come to pass).

 

St.T

[CQI13]

I agree completely that one of them would need to be a face stable by their match, but I think the reason the WWE 4HW would need to be faces (and it would be more natural) is there's a ton more star quality among them than the MMA women, which would make the audience more into them as faces (which is also why they likely would have been irl if this had come to pass).

 

St.T

 

I agree that WWE 4HW is more natural (and yes, far more star power). Also, in real life, I don't think they would push WWE vs UFC with WWE as the heels. But if I was a fan in the game it'd make me go "hmm, didn't expect that." Perhaps that's a situation of trying to be too smart by half - sometimes, predictable is good as long as the story is crafted properly.

[St. Templar]

I agree that WWE 4HW is more natural (and yes, far more star power). Also, in real life, I don't think they would push WWE vs UFC with WWE as the heels. But if I was a fan in the game it'd make me go "hmm, didn't expect that." Perhaps that's a situation of trying to be too smart by half - sometimes, predictable is good as long as the story is crafted properly.

 

Unfortunately, smart, cohesive storytelling has not always been a hallmark of WWE creative.

 

And that's sad. When they focus on logical storytelling, they can (and have) told some amazing stories over the years, and they've actually hit more often than they've missed. But, too often, they tend to go for the "moment" over the "story". I think the problem with a UFC vs. WWE storyline where the UFC women were the faces is that Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey are more naturally heels because of their focus as competitors. And Duke and Shafir have never been given anything to give them a personality beyond "Ronda and Shayna's friends". Obviously, doing this feud would give them more personality (hopefully, at least lol), but I still think you'd have a hard time convincing the fans that Ronda and Shayna are faces without having Stephanie McMahon (or somebody at that level) side with the WWE Four Horsewomen, which would be totally out-of-character for Becky, Charlotte, Sasha, and Bayley. Of course, that could work as a way to make them all heel, too, but...

 

My only hope for anybody telling this story is to tell a good story that made sense.

 

St.T

[Jaysin]

I'm in a bit of a creative dilemma. So, I'm running WWE. On Raw, I have the Four Horsewomen (Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Sasha Banks) as heels and they've been the focal point of the Raw womens division since April 2019. It's currently October 2019 and one of them are slated to win the Raw title in December. They don't have a clear leader.

 

On Smackdown, I have a newly turned heel Ronda Rousey slated to win the Smackdown Womens Championship later this month. I had thought of calling up Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shaffir from NXT for Ronda as backup. I would like to have a Four Horsewomen vs. Four Horsewomen match, not at the upcoming Mania, but probably the following Mania. Ronda would be clear leader of the MMA Horsewomen.

 

My question is, if you would be part of my in-game audience, would it be boring to have two 4 person heel stables in the womens division on both shows, especially for at least 1.5 years?

 

This is really hard because Charlotte and Sasha aren't remotely likable as faces. Even when they're faces, they aren't remotely believable. Becky is a terrible heel as her current run is showing. Her promo work lacks any sort of believability. Bayley is the only one that can really work both sides of the coin in my opinion. She's insanely likable as a face and super despicable as a heel.

 

As for the MMA women, Ronda is a believable face in my opinion. She's a better heel obviously, but she is able to work as a face. Shayna I think is a dark horse face. If given a push similar to a face Samoa Joe or Minoru Suzuki, I think she would be mega over. She also patterned a lot of her wrestling after Suzuki, so that would make a lot of sense creativity wise.

 

Marina is cute and I think she could work as face based on that alone honestly. She seems so likable on social media.

 

Duke also comes across as super likable on social media.

 

While Vince wouldn't want WWE people to be the bad guys, in this particular case, I'd have the MMA women as faces just based on everything I have mentioned.

[DirigoJoe]

What would you call a special show/series of shows for USPW to run in the UK?

 

I'm kind of stuck on "The Special Relationship Tour" which alternately sounds wholesome and ridiculous or just dumb every time I roll it over in my head.

 

I want to have USPW do some talent trading and get a few big time UK wrestlers and run a show. Maybe do the same thing with Canada and Mexico when the time comes.

 

I'm stuck on names.

[a0161613]

What would you call a special show/series of shows for USPW to run in the UK?

 

I'm kind of stuck on "The Special Relationship Tour" which alternately sounds wholesome and ridiculous or just dumb every time I roll it over in my head.

 

I want to have USPW do some talent trading and get a few big time UK wrestlers and run a show. Maybe do the same thing with Canada and Mexico when the time comes.

 

I'm stuck on names.

 

I think you have to go with the ridiculous, you only have to consider the default event names for USPW to understand that the company revels in that kind of cheesy approach.

 

The problem could be not tanking your pop with low scores.

[Koholos]

So, in my TCW save, I brought in Casey Valentine as the player character. My plan was to have Greg Gauge finish his feud against Benny Benson by injuring him and then have CV step in as a sort of "defender of justice" type of thing.

 

However, during the angle in which Gauge 'injured' Benson, he himself managed to injure his spine, and is now out on medical leave for 2 months, while also leaving Benson announced as injured for several shows. Which leaves CV spinning his wheels and leaves me without anyone holding the TV belt.

 

Any suggestions for what to do with Valentine? I'd considered having him play spoiler to Chris Flynn, but I don't want him involved with The Syndicate yet. My only other thought is having him fight with Freddy Huggins over his sister, but I'd kind of like to turn her into an Authority Figure, and I'm not sure I can do that with Freddy clinging to her.

[CQI13]

So, in my TCW save, I brought in Casey Valentine as the player character. My plan was to have Greg Gauge finish his feud against Benny Benson by injuring him and then have CV step in as a sort of "defender of justice" type of thing.

 

However, during the angle in which Gauge 'injured' Benson, he himself managed to injure his spine, and is now out on medical leave for 2 months, while also leaving Benson announced as injured for several shows. Which leaves CV spinning his wheels and leaves me without anyone holding the TV belt.

 

Any suggestions for what to do with Valentine? I'd considered having him play spoiler to Chris Flynn, but I don't want him involved with The Syndicate yet. My only other thought is having him fight with Freddy Huggins over his sister, but I'd kind of like to turn her into an Authority Figure, and I'm not sure I can do that with Freddy clinging to her.

 

So am I understanding that this is out of the gate?

 

A few options:

 

Have the announcers talk up that Gauge and Benson is a heated (and hated) rivalry as evidenced by what just went down.

 

Is Gauge available for angles? Have him call out Valentine as someone who is not worthy of going up against him, to duck him for the time he is out. Have Valentine say what he and Benson did doesn't have a place in TCW and that he would be a worthy champion.

 

You could also go the usual route of champ is injured, fill the belt, then champ comes back with the "real" belt or comes back to challenge for the belt he never lost.

 

Not familiar with TCW but would he be joining the Syndicate? Or fighting against them? (You say you don't want him involved with The Syndicate yet)

 

If fighting against, have him fail the first time, but it plants the seeds for later on. If he will eventually join, have him interfere in the match in favor of The Syndicate but decide not to join. You would just need some reason why he cost the opponent the match.

 

You can always go back to your original plan (Valentine with the TV belt) after.

[jeronullet]

Family Feuds

 

So, in my TCW save, I brought in Casey Valentine as the player character. My plan was to have Greg Gauge finish his feud against Benny Benson by injuring him and then have CV step in as a sort of "defender of justice" type of thing.

 

However, during the angle in which Gauge 'injured' Benson, he himself managed to injure his spine, and is now out on medical leave for 2 months, while also leaving Benson announced as injured for several shows. Which leaves CV spinning his wheels and leaves me without anyone holding the TV belt.

 

Any suggestions for what to do with Valentine? I'd considered having him play spoiler to Chris Flynn, but I don't want him involved with The Syndicate yet. My only other thought is having him fight with Freddy Huggins over his sister, but I'd kind of like to turn her into an Authority Figure, and I'm not sure I can do that with Freddy clinging to her.

 

Since Casey is the nephew of Peter Valentine you could have him feuding with Jay Chord until Gauge returns. You could also throw Edd Stone into the mix since Stone's family trained Benny Benson. Jay, Greg, Edd & Casey all had famous wrestling fathers or uncles so you can use that history in their feuds.