How to book an event to have high ratings?

[Capelli King]

Lets assume you have one of the bigger companies such as USPW, SWF, 21CW. How do you book the cards to have high ratings in the 80s? I know it is possible because the AI is pulling it off every week and they even get late 70s with lesser companies.

 

If you are consistently getting 80s for your events, please post your booking strategy.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Capelli King]

So nobody knows how to book a high rated event with a good company? I remember with 2016 there was a basic strategy many people used that i copied.

 

Basically i would click on auto booker. Go to the main event, make it s 25 minute spectacle / epic match, edit the results to choose who i wanted to win for the whole event and have the first match being a warm up. I would sometimes edit some of the angles, make them longer and unscripted. I would also make the co-main a longer match with epic/spectacle, depending on the worker quality. This would give me consistent A to A+ ratings for events. With a strong company i would get B+ level results even from the beginning of the game and B would basically be the lowest ever i would get. Now, getting a B is my dream result.

 

Let's put it this way, the old strategy does not work, or at least it does not work with all the products i tried so far. So how do people book the events?

[ThePastor]

So nobody knows how to book a high rated event with a good company? I remember with 2016 there was a basic strategy many people used that i copied.

 

Basically i would click on auto booker. Go to the main event, make it s 25 minute spectacle / epic match, edit the results to choose who i wanted to win for the whole event and have the first match being a warm up. I would sometimes edit some of the angles, make them longer and unscripted. I would also make the co-main a longer match with epic/spectacle, depending on the worker quality. This would give me consistent A to A+ ratings for events. With a strong company i would get B+ level results even from the beginning of the game and B would basically be the lowest ever i would get. Now, getting a B is my dream result.

 

Let's put it this way, the old strategy does not work, or at least it does not work with all the products i tried so far. So how do people book the events?

 

 

Maybe it’s been changed under absolutely perfect scenarios in this game but you should never use Epic/Spectacle for any reason. At its best it does exactly the same as a regular match in terms of grade output and all of the huge penalties and intense micromanaging you need to do to even get it to not give you those penalties is simply not worth the effort.

 

 

At any rate I wouldn’t really rely on auto booking your shows unless they are just filler TV shows and you’ve hit a point of reasonable auto pilot, certainly not on game start will that be the case.

 

 

So just book all of your storylines out, use your most entertaining guys to build heat on feuds and be mindful of your workers stamina when doing your match length.

[ThePastor]

Let's take EILL and go through a basic booking strategy.

 

They have a requirement of 5 storylines with 65 heat so we need to be mindful of that.

 

 

Now if we look at EILL's starting feuds all of them are OK except the last one, it's a tag feud and it's failing the requirements. Now for example Devious Dr Fang is only 51 popa across Mexico so we don't really want to use him in a storyline with this heat requirement. So we can actually just delete this storyline as it is basically a really bad bait.

 

Instead we'll use Soul Taker vs Pirata Maivada. Soul Taker is aging but EILL has a heavy pop based product and hes at 81 pop.

 

 

So this is the whole show. A 90 rated show with the day 1 roster on day 1. First thing we do as mentioned is setup an adequate fifth feud as you receive a massive show penalty for not meting the storyline requirements. Second i discontinued the Alvarez/El Leon alliance and instead turned Alvarez heel.

 

Now onto the booking itself

 

Segment 1: Modern TV Opener Leading to 1 V 1

Pirata and Soul Taker 6 Minutes

 

Reason for this is we just started this feud and need it over 65. Grading on Entertainment in every TEW has always been OP and now this is even moreso because the other ones got pretty badly nerfed. So just both on entertainment for 6 minutes and both guys are popular and decent enough on entertainment to get a 70s or so grade.

 

Segment 2 - Match between Soul Taker and Pirata

 

We do the promo before the match always to "build" it. If we just do the match cold its going to get penalized for not having an associated hot storyline and will be in the 60s and it might be an issue. Doing the arugment before the match secures the 76 grade. As far as the match itself, it's set as storytelling solely so I can meet the requirements in a match that doesn't really matter for the overall grade.

 

 

Segment 3: Montero Taunts Axxis

 

Again very safe angle to run, this one is even pretty cheap to use because it gives minor success to the taunter without any defeats, so it's just completely free momentum. Gino of course has good entertainment and overness so this is a slam dunk angle.

 

Segment 4: Rudo and Gino vs Axxis and Heroe

 

To save card space and ensure the heat on the storylines this early in the game I just book a 15 minute high spots match between two different feuds as a tag team. High spots because its mandatory and because enough people in this match have good flying skills. Another good match.

 

Segment 5: El Leon beaten down backstage by Rock God

 

This was just done for a turn. Ran about 4 minutes, its an overness angle only so keep it shorter if possible. Turned Alvarez during this segment.

 

Segment 6: Golden Kings vs Masked Lightning and Sea Monsters

 

Again, we have some workers pretty low on the card in a feud in our 4th feud and we dont have much leeway here, so I just put them in a multi man match with a main event tag match and have them both lose to secure the heat on the storyline. This gives me a little more wiggle room in case the straight up match between these two is below a 65 for whatever reason.

 

Segment 7: Angle with El Leon and Rock God

 

Essentially this is just another 6 minute entertainment angle, same as the opening angle. For role playing purposes it would be a challenge and then accepted challenge for the title but the accepted challenge angle works oddly in the default database requiiring two separate angles.Anyway, the feud is hot and these guys are big stars and it gets a 94.

 

Segment 8 : Alvarez vs El Leon

We built to this match all show and had a 94 angle right before it just to boost up the storyline heat and give this more of a bonus. We only make this match 16 minutes, regular, called in the ring and with the open match note. Don't want to get too fancy this early on and like I said before, Epic and Spectacle are actually just useless to me and huge newb traps. Alvarez doesn't have amazing stamina so he gets dinged a bit on stamina. We alternatively could have booked this 18-20 minutes with a Slow Build by Alvarez's psychology is shaky for that, so this is ideal.

 

Remember as product setting state you only need the match in this company to go 15 minutes to get the max possible grade potential. So we book it just over hat to keep the guys unpenalized but to take care of our guys stamina.

 

As a rule of thumb you don't want a guy below 80 stamina to go anymore than 19 minutes

 

 

 

EDIT: I forgot to mention I chose Alvarez here specifically not just due to his popularity but also due to his red hot momentum. Being red hot in momentum is extremely strong in this game and is when you should book your wrestlers the most favorably.

[The Nickman]

Here's my Week 1 show for RAW. All I've done here is book all of the segments within the product specifications, mainly short angles and short matches.

 

None of the angles go more than 8 minutes, with most of them being 4 or 5, and only the main event goes 10 minutes, every other match is 5-8 minutes.

 

 

It's worked well, I'm supremely happy with this. I haven't even done a single thing you'd consider "gamey".

[Mr. Ramen]

One thing that I've noticed that helps is adding the road agent note ”allow high-risk moves”, I'm pretty sure in 2016 it had ban high risk/ban spinal but it didn't have the allow option!

 

SWF for example - if you look in their product screen there is an option to toggle High Risk Moves Banned - ticked or unticked! It is automatically unticked SO SWF allows it but for some reason, there is still a road agent note ”allow high-risk moves”?! So I'm unsure if high-risk moves are even being done without this note added even tho SWF’s product doesn't have them banned!

 

So I tested the note and when I booked a show without using the ”allow high-risk moves note” I was getting like 67-70 rated shows BUT when I added the note I started getting like 75-79 rated shows!

 

Hope this helps!!

[Jaded]

Let's give USPW a go...

 

Firstly, I'd go with Inspirational Leader or something like that for user talents, because motivating is going to be useful - I mean, it's not like you care about saving money with 50 million in the bank.

 

Okay, first issue is that you need 3 hot storylines and you only have 2. Best way around this is mixing two feuds up for a match - I went with Bulldozer and Nicky over Trent and Frehley in the semi-main after a hype video featuring the four of them.

 

Starting roster's key people:

 

Major stars

 

Nicky Champion (Red Hot) - very marketable gimmick

Rich Money (Hot)

Steve Frehley (Red Hot) - gimmick means he may get a bonus when booked to look dominant. Shouldn't take part in comedy bouts or lose to cartoony/gimmicky gimmicks.

 

 

Stars

 

Enygma (Very Warm) - gimmick means wins/losses have a greater effect on pop changes than normal

Joss Thompson (Hot, with legendary gimmick) - gimmick gives him a small SQ boost during matches and angles

Running Wolf (Very Hot) - gimmick is very marketable and gives him a small SQ boost during matches and angles

Tyson Baine (Neutral) - gimmick gives him a large Menace boost during angles and may receive a bonus when booked to look dominant

 

Worst psychology there is 72 (Wolf), worst stamina there is 66 (also Wolf)

 

Baby Jamie has refereeing 78, Robbie Sanchez's is 80, so you obviously want them taking care of your big matches.

 

It looks like Corporal Doom (82 psych and 100 experience) is your best road agent.

 

For your product, you're looking for around 30% angles on TV shows. Remember that can vary by 15% either way so anywhere between 15% and 45% is okay. Angles seem more variable this time around but with USPW wanting short ones, pack enough in using your top guys and you should get at least 2 very good ones. (They need short angles which are non-risky and not based on sex appeal.) At Regular focus your best angle gets 70% of the angle score, your second best gets 20%, and your third best gets 10%.

 

Regular focus for matches means you get 70% of the match score for your main, 20% for the best other match, and 10% for the average of the rest of the main card. Realistically, as long as you don't completely kill the crowd off, you only need two good matches.

 

So, this is my thinking, and how it panned out.

 

Booking:

 

Main event

 

Money over Wolf in a 18 minute match. Slow build, open match, Sanchez as ref, Doom as road agent. Non-title, because I don't like giving title matches away on free TV. Tainted win for Money. This is followed by a 4 minute Money beatdown of Wolf, with James Justice saving. (Money fighting, Wolf overness, Justice overness.)

 

Champion and Bulldozer over Frehley and Shaffer in a 12 minute match. Open, all out, Smith clean pin over Trent. Post-match, Nicky and Brandon celebrate for 3 minutes. (Freestyle angle rated on entertainment which, to judge from the handbook, is more in the spirit of things than overness.)

 

Earlier in the show, we have 3 minute hype vids for each of the big three feuds, a 4 minute Money promo where he taunts Wolf, and a 3 minute Smith/Champion promo to hype the main.

 

That's 57 minutes used and includes 7 angles with the potential to score reasonably well to very well, and 2 matches, both of which should score highly. From there, it's going to matter very little who you book in terms of getting a decent grade.

 

Pariah is white hot and in a storyline with Jillian Jarvis which is set to catapult her into the women's title picture; Charity Sweet is a long-time favourite of mine. I book Pariah and Sweet to go over Jarvis and Quine when Pariah takes advantage of miscommunication between the heels to pin the champion in an 8 minute storytelling match. Post-match, Pariah challenges Quine for the next PPV, Quine freaks out and walks off.

 

Enygma's gimmick means wins/losses have a greater effect on pop changes than normal and his squash master attribute gives him a bonus for being booked to dominate. I book a 6 minute steamrolling of Bash Street for him, followed by an angle in which Bash and his Olympus Order stablemates Siale Valhalla and Zeus attack Enygma in revenge, only for Roger Cage to run down and save. Again, 3 minutes.

 

Joss Thompson is a giving performer whose legendary gimmick has a pro of boosting his star quality during matches. With very good stats I'm going to want him on most shows. I add him into a tag match with 3 unimportant guys to try and give them a shine, pairing him with Jack Jackson to go over the Texas Express in a 10 minute bout. Post-match, there's a 1 minute staredown between the Express and the team they're feuding with, The Cold Warriors.

 

Juliette King got sent to rehab at the start of the show, meaning I want another heel involved in the Triumvirate storyline. I book Alicia and Glorious Gloria to go over Sara Marie and Melody, with Gorgon interfering for the finish. Post-match, in a 2 minute angle set to advance The Triumvirate storyline, I have Alicia introduce Gorgon as their newest associate while Gorgon looks menacing.

 

I add in 2 more short angles. Rick Law issues an open challenge for next week, accepted by Anthony Trask. And Elizabeth Cartier cuts a promo saying this year will be all about Dusty Ducont, as Dusty stands around looking menacing.

 

For pre-show, Regular Joe and Casey Valentine beat Rajah/Funky Fedora, Joe pinning Rajah.

 

Killer Kass and Tiffany Jade go over the Bombshells.

 

Raven and Trent taunt the USPW fans for being ugly and stupid, only for Faith McGee to come out to defend the fans and challenge Raven to a match, which Faith wins.

 

Natural Storm kick things off with a 6 minute steal the show win over American Gold, to hopefully get the crowd buzzing.

 

Okay, here we go - do I know what I'm talking about?!

 

Initial attempt

 

Storm vs Gold gets 56, both Storm members getting 63, Chamberlain 34 and English 37. Both teams get tag specialist bonuses, Gold get excellent chemistry. Looking at dirt sheet, everyone gets penalised for holding back, which is understandable on TV, especially in a dark match. Storm both get bonuses for going all out; Gold get penalised for trying to go all-out. Eddie Howard gets star quality and great gimmick bonuses. Annoucing/colour/road agent all get bonuses. Everyone gets penalised for being unable to use high-risk/spinal-impact moves (I'm assuming this is going to happen to all wrestlers so I'm not mentioning it for everyone). Howard also gets penalised for inconsistency, Chamberlain for poor psychology and for lack of experience.

 

The Raven/Trent/Faith promo gets 65, the first two both getting bonuses for decent improvising and Faith getting one for improvising well. Tyson Baine's road agent work gets a bonus, as do Raven's very good gimmick, Trent's great gimmick, and Trent's good momentum.

 

The match between Raven and Faith gets 52, (Faith 43 and Raven 52). It's boosted by pretty good chemistry, Raven's star quality and charisma, high announcing experience, announcing/colour/refereeing/road agent work, but penalised for both holding back and for Raven's declining physical ability.

 

Tiffany and Killer over Bombshells gets 52. Tiffany, at 62, carries it. Kass is off her game and gets 47. Adams gets 37, Fairchild 36. Tiffany and Adams both get bonuses for great gimmicks and for star quality, Dani gets one for charisma and Tiffany gets one for selling. Usual announcers/road agent bonuses, usual holding back etc penalties. Kass and Amelia both get penalised for inconsistency; Adams for inexperience.

 

Joe and Casey over Rajah/Fedora gets 52. Again, the star carries it, Casey getting 62. Rajah gets 37, the other pair 38. Usual penalties and out-of-ring staff bonuses. In addition, Joe and Casey get bonuses for selling, Casey and Funky for good momentum, everyone except Joe for charisma, and Casey/Rajah star quality. Funky also gets bonuses for being an amazing heel and for a legendary gimmick.

 

Money's 4-minute promo gets 83, limited for being short but with bonuses for Baine's road agent work, good improvising, a very good gimmick and for bein an amazing heel.

 

Cartier/Dusty promo gets 56, boosted by great road agent work and very good gimmicks but hurt by Cartier's poor improvisation of dialogue.

 

Women's tag match gets 64. (Alicia 69, Melody 63, Sara-Marie 59 and Gloria 39.) Usual penaties plus Gloria being inexperienced and Sara-Marie being inconsistent. Usual bonuses for out of ring staff. Momentum bonuses for Alicia and Melody, star quality/charisma bonuses for everyone except Gloria, selling for Alicia and Sara-Marie, great gimmick for Alicia and amazing babyface for Sara-Marie. Melody debuted a new comeback spot as well, getting the crowd buzzing.

 

Strong/Gorgon promo get 65, very good improvising and high morale for Alicia, great/very good gimmicks, and road agent work all being bonuses.

 

Money vs Wolf vid gets 68, bonus from Baine's RA work but limited at 3 minutes for being short.

 

Law/Trask promo gets 59, gimmick bonuses, RA bonus, Law also getting good momentum/managerial help bonuses.

 

Joss Thompson carries the 3 relative unknowns to a reasonable match of 50 overall. (Joss 70, Express 40 each, Jackson 29.) Everybody in segment gets charisma/SQ bonuses, as well as the usual stuff we've been seeing all card. Joss and Jack get legendary/great gimmick bonuses respectively, with Joss getting good momentum bonus and Jack getting one for being an amazing heel. Both Express members are penalised for inconsistency and inexperience, with Jack also being penalised for inexperience. The segment rating gets hit for being disrupted by injury, as Cooper suffers a Torn Achilles.

 

Express/Warriors staredown gets 47, everyone except Turk getting gimmick bonuses along with one for Doom's RA work.

 

Enygma carries Bash to a 56. (Enygma 65, Bash 33). Engyma's bonuses are for good momentum/charisma/SQ, and for his Squash Master attribute. Segment gets a bonus for being a well-executed squash but is penalised for booking decisions. Both are penalised for inconsistency, Bash is penalised for being inexperienced and Enygma for declining physical ability.

 

Enygma/Bash/Siale/Zeus/Roger stuff gets 49, gimmick bonuses from Enygma, Siale and Roger.

 

Women's tag gets 57. (59 Jaime, 56 Pariah, 50 Jillian and 48 Charity.) Gimmick bonuses for Pariah (legendary) and Jaime (great) and face/heel bonuses for Charity and Jaime respectively. Star quality bonuses for everyone except Jillian, charisma for both faces, and selling for Jaime. Other than the usual, only penalty is Pariah for inconsistency.

 

68 for Pariah/Jaime segment, with Pariah getting great improvising and high morale bonuses, both getting gimmick bonuses, and Jaime getting heel bonus.

 

71 for Smith/Champion promo, both getting improvising bonuses and gimmick bonuses, Nicky getting one for being an amazing babyface, and Doom for road agent work. However at 3 minutes it's penalised for being short, although the Nicky/Steve storyline's high heat raises the segment rating.

 

Bulldozer/Trent vid gets 63, with only bonus being USA's road agenting and no penalty.

 

Champion/Steve vid gets 76, bonuses for USA's road agenting and storyline heat, but limited for being short.

 

Tag match gets 75 (Nicky 81, Steve 77, Trent 68 and Smith 62.) Usual penalties, bonuses for charisma/SQ/going all out for everyone, great gimmick bonuses for everyone except Nicky. Nicky gets an amazing babyface bonus, both heels get good momentum bonuses, and Trent gets bonuses for managerial help and managerial chemistry.

 

Faces celebrating gets 75, both getting gimmick bonuses. Smith gets one for improvising well and high morale, Nicky for babyface performance. Boosted by RA work of Justice but limited by being short.

 

Money vs Wolf gets 75. (Money 74, Wolf 68). Money hit by inconsistency and declining physical ability but getting charisma, selling and amazing heel bonuses. Wolf gets a bonus for good momentum while both get star quality bonuses. Segment is penalised for going too long for our product, but gets a bonus for being done to a hot crowd.

 

Finally, main event angle gets 73, with gimmick bonuses for all three guys, heel/face bonuses for Money and Justice, and road agenting bonus for USA.

 

Okay, 76 overall. But that hit a LOT of penalties for length. So let's do what WWE can't, magically rewind stuff, and see how different things are with minor adjustments.

 

 

 

2nd time around

 

Same card, in effect. However, I've taken 2 minutes off the main, and added 2 to all angles involving any combination of Smith/Trent/Nicky/Steve, and for the Money promo and Money/Wolf hype vid. I was on 115 minutes, I'm now on 125. (This also means the angles are going to contribute a little more to the overall score as there's a higher percentage of the show dedicated to them.) Let's see if it makes a difference. (I won't go through the entire card again!)

 

Money's 6 minute promo gets 77 (compared to the 4 minute one's 83) with the key difference being it's no longer capped for length, but it went on too long for the audience. It does get a bonus for being a good start to the show, strangely, which I don't think it got previously?

 

Interestingly, the Cartier/Dusty promo goes up from 56 to 61, presumably because Cartier doesn't mess up improvising this time around.

 

Money/Wolf vid goes down to 55 due to lack of anything interesting happening. Okay, definitely don't run 5 minute hype vids (which I think I should have known from the handbook, to be fair!)

 

Law/Trask promo at same length as before is up from 59 to 67 thanks to Law doing a masterful job of improvising.

 

With no injury dragging the tag match down this time, it goes from 49 to 57.

 

Smith/Champion promo, at 5 minutes, avoids any length penalties either way and is up from 71 to 75, helped by a hot crowd.

 

Smith/Shaffer vid down to 55, again, too long for a hype vid, as is Champion/Steve which is down to 71.

 

Tag match gets 80 this time around, with individual performances only being 1 point each higher than before but the match being 5 points higher. Very hot crowd appears to be the difference.

 

Celebration, at 5 minutes rather than 3, is now up to 83 from 75 although I think that's mostly due to a very hot crowd.

 

16 minute main gets 75(Money 73, Wolf 65). Wolf gets hit by inconsistency as well as Money this time, and again it's too long for the audience.

 

Main event angle gets 70.

 

Show rating 77 overall. Okay, let's see what happens if we shave a couple of minutes off that main and go with all out rather than slow build...

 

 

 

 

3rd time around - key changes, Wolf vs Money now a 13 minute all out match which is called in the ring.

 

Money's show opening promo down from 6 to 5 minutes, hype vids down from 5 to 4 minutes.

 

Okay then. Money hits it out of the park with the opening promo scoring a sky high 89, despite apparently being limited for being too short. He didn't even get an improvisation bonus, so I'm guessing a 5 minute from him could do low, maybe mid-90s with luck. Again, bonus for being a good start to the show.

 

5 minute Money/Wolf vid gets 62, but does get the crowd hotter. (Ouch, this should have been 4 but didn't notice it.)

 

Law/Trask up to 69, this time Law doing an exceptional job of improvising.

 

Smith/Champion promo now gets 81, helped by a very hot crowd.

 

4 minute Smith/Shaffer video is at 69; it looks like 4 minutes is definitely the sweet spot for videos in USPW.

 

Champion/Frehley vid, at 4 minutes, jumps from 71 to 84.

 

Tag match gets 83. (Nicky 87, Steve 80, Shaffer 72, Dozer 66.) Again, very hot crowd seems to be the key thing here,

 

Celebration gets 80, mainly because Nicky struggles going off script for once.

 

Main event up to 82 from 75, neither guy inconsistent this time around although both get hit for stamina, but get bonuses for going all out. Money gets a bonus for psychology as well.

 

73 for main event angle.

 

83 overall, increasing our pop in 38 regions!

 

Pretty happy with that. I wonder how badly stamina hurt the main, though... I'm going to try it without all-out, and I'll adjust the Money/Wolf vid while I remember.

 

 

 

 

4th time even luckier?

 

Money does a decent job of improvising and the segment gets 83, getting the show off to a good start.

 

Money/Wolf vid, at 4 minutes, gets to 78.

 

Smith/Shaffer vid gets to 73.

 

Tag match 79.

 

Celebration 83, not dinged.

 

Main event 80, suggesting the all-out bonuses outweigh the stamina penalties.

 

80 overall.

 

 

 

Okay, one last time. I wonder if going all-out but limiting it to 10 minutes would help... answer is not really, still 80, although Wolf being penalised for inconsistency will have hurt it.

 

81 overall this time.

 

 

 

Okay, so what can we learn - what's the TLDR?

 

Open things up with a strong segment to get the crowd hot.

 

For USPW, 5 minutes is sweet spot for promos, 4 minutes for hype vids.

 

As always, momentum is important.

 

Long is BAD; keep things to between 10 and 15 minutes, which makes perfect sense to me for USPW's product. All-out for your best couple of matches seems likely to pay off.

 

Given the AI may play by different rules (as it did in 2016), or if it does play by our rules knows all the tricks whereas I've only had a little bit of time experimenting, for me this is a great balance of challenging without being TOO horrendously difficult.

[Capelli King]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="ThePastor" data-cite="ThePastor" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="48326" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Let's take EILL and go through a basic booking strategy.<p> </p><p> They have a requirement of 5 storylines with 65 heat so we need to be mindful of that.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Now if we look at EILL's starting feuds all of them are OK except the last one, it's a tag feud and it's failing the requirements. Now for example Devious Dr Fang is only 51 popa across Mexico so we don't really want to use him in a storyline with this heat requirement. So we can actually just delete this storyline as it is basically a really bad bait.</p><p> </p><p> Instead we'll use Soul Taker vs Pirata Maivada. Soul Taker is aging but EILL has a heavy pop based product and hes at 81 pop.</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="oopopo.PNG?width=797&height=453" data-src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/521657197315227658/704540689962106920/oopopo.PNG?width=797&height=453" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> So this is the whole show. A 90 rated show with the day 1 roster on day 1. First thing we do as mentioned is setup an adequate fifth feud as you receive a massive show penalty for not meting the storyline requirements. Second i discontinued the Alvarez/El Leon alliance and instead turned Alvarez heel.</p><p> </p><p> Now onto the booking itself</p><p> </p><p> Segment 1: Modern TV Opener Leading to 1 V 1 </p><p> Pirata and Soul Taker 6 Minutes</p><p> </p><p> Reason for this is we just started this feud and need it over 65. Grading on Entertainment in every TEW has always been OP and now this is even moreso because the other ones got pretty badly nerfed. So just both on entertainment for 6 minutes and both guys are popular and decent enough on entertainment to get a 70s or so grade.</p><p> </p><p> Segment 2 - Match between Soul Taker and Pirata</p><p> </p><p> We do the promo before the match always to "build" it. If we just do the match cold its going to get penalized for not having an associated hot storyline and will be in the 60s and it might be an issue. Doing the arugment before the match secures the 76 grade. As far as the match itself, it's set as storytelling solely so I can meet the requirements in a match that doesn't really matter for the overall grade.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Segment 3: Montero Taunts Axxis</p><p> </p><p> Again very safe angle to run, this one is even pretty cheap to use because it gives minor success to the taunter without any defeats, so it's just completely free momentum. Gino of course has good entertainment and overness so this is a slam dunk angle.</p><p> </p><p> Segment 4: Rudo and Gino vs Axxis and Heroe</p><p> </p><p> To save card space and ensure the heat on the storylines this early in the game I just book a 15 minute high spots match between two different feuds as a tag team. High spots because its mandatory and because enough people in this match have good flying skills. Another good match.</p><p> </p><p> Segment 5: El Leon beaten down backstage by Rock God</p><p> </p><p> This was just done for a turn. Ran about 4 minutes, its an overness angle only so keep it shorter if possible. Turned Alvarez during this segment.</p><p> </p><p> Segment 6: Golden Kings vs Masked Lightning and Sea Monsters</p><p> </p><p> Again, we have some workers pretty low on the card in a feud in our 4th feud and we dont have much leeway here, so I just put them in a multi man match with a main event tag match and have them both lose to secure the heat on the storyline. This gives me a little more wiggle room in case the straight up match between these two is below a 65 for whatever reason.</p><p> </p><p> Segment 7: Angle with El Leon and Rock God</p><p> </p><p> Essentially this is just another 6 minute entertainment angle, same as the opening angle. For role playing purposes it would be a challenge and then accepted challenge for the title but the accepted challenge angle works oddly in the default database requiiring two separate angles.Anyway, the feud is hot and these guys are big stars and it gets a 94.</p><p> </p><p> Segment 8 : Alvarez vs El Leon</p><p> We built to this match all show and had a 94 angle right before it just to boost up the storyline heat and give this more of a bonus. We only make this match 16 minutes, regular, called in the ring and with the open match note. Don't want to get too fancy this early on and like I said before, Epic and Spectacle are actually just useless to me and huge newb traps. Alvarez doesn't have amazing stamina so he gets dinged a bit on stamina. We alternatively could have booked this 18-20 minutes with a Slow Build by Alvarez's psychology is shaky for that, so this is ideal. </p><p> </p><p> Remember as product setting state you only need the match in this company to go 15 minutes to get the max possible grade potential. So we book it just over hat to keep the guys unpenalized but to take care of our guys stamina. </p><p> </p><p> As a rule of thumb you don't want a guy below 80 stamina to go anymore than 19 minutes</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> EDIT: I forgot to mention I chose Alvarez here specifically not just due to his popularity but also due to his red hot momentum. Being red hot in momentum is extremely strong in this game and is when you should book your wrestlers the most favorably.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Ok, so basically the trick is to have your workers hype their matches. It helps if they are in storylines as well if they are important members of the roster. All matches should be significantly shorter as well, as well as the angles + angles from what i see.</p>

[RingRider]

Math Aims are your friend. The more I played with them and brought my crowds up and down appropriately, my shows dramatically improved. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

[SirMichaelJordan]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Nickman" data-cite="The Nickman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="48326" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Here's my Week 1 show for RAW. All I've done here is book all of the segments within the product specifications, mainly short angles and short matches.<p> </p><p> None of the angles go more than 8 minutes, with most of them being 4 or 5, and only the main event goes 10 minutes, every other match is 5-8 minutes.</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="id6a6kbt7iv41.png" data-src="https://i.redd.it/id6a6kbt7iv41.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> It's worked well, I'm supremely happy with this. I haven't even done a single thing you'd consider "gamey".</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Yea I found that putting on shows and getting good grades are actually more rewarding now. Older version it got to a point that i could book a great show without even thinking. </p><p> </p><p> This time around you have to consider details like not over working a road agent to get the best out of a segment.</p>

[DeBosco]

Has anyone booked a company with different match type requirements? For example, I like using BHOTWG and this year they have the requirements to run a technical masterclass and steal the show every event. The only problem is you get penalties for tech masterclasses if the crowd is already hot.

 

This means I’ve been booking all of my shows the same so far: opening with tech masterclass, steal the show in the mid card somewhere because of the shorter match length and finishing up with a longer ME usually just booked as a regular match.

 

Do I need to book every show with the same formula or is there a better way to mix up the card a bit and still get a decent grade?

[ThePastor]

So nobody knows how to book a high rated event with a good company? I remember with 2016 there was a basic strategy many people used that i copied.

 

Basically i would click on auto booker. Go to the main event, make it s 25 minute spectacle / epic match, edit the results to choose who i wanted to win for the whole event and have the first match being a warm up. I would sometimes edit some of the angles, make them longer and unscripted. I would also make the co-main a longer match with epic/spectacle, depending on the worker quality. This would give me consistent A to A+ ratings for events. With a strong company i would get B+ level results even from the beginning of the game and B would basically be the lowest ever i would get. Now, getting a B is my dream result.

 

Let's put it this way, the old strategy does not work, or at least it does not work with all the products i tried so far. So how do people book the events?

 

Ok, so basically the trick is to have your workers hype their matches. It helps if they are in storylines as well if they are important members of the roster. All matches should be significantly shorter as well, as well as the angles + angles from what i see.

 

 

 

Yes exactly now this was just proof of concept but if I was really booking and I’d advise also you can just fill maybe 2-3 matches cold with whoever you feel like getting some momentum that month or featuring and it wouldn’t really hurt the show grade with this skeleton accounting for most of the show grade.

[Historian]

Has anyone booked a company with different match type requirements? For example, I like using BHOTWG and this year they have the requirements to run a technical masterclass and steal the show every event. The only problem is you get penalties for tech masterclasses if the crowd is already hot.

 

This means I’ve been booking all of my shows the same so far: opening with tech masterclass, steal the show in the mid card somewhere because of the shorter match length and finishing up with a longer ME usually just booked as a regular match.

 

Do I need to book every show with the same formula or is there a better way to mix up the card a bit and still get a decent grade?

 

When I use technical masterclass, it's usually the match after a cool down match.

 

So I might open with a lift the crowd to get them hot, follow up with something big, then cool them down, then come out in a technical masterclass and then go into my steal the show as a 'we just gave you this longer technical battle, now you get two guys just going out there to tear the house down' then cool down, lift, then main event.

[Jaded]

Has anyone booked a company with different match type requirements? For example, I like using BHOTWG and this year they have the requirements to run a technical masterclass and steal the show every event. The only problem is you get penalties for tech masterclasses if the crowd is already hot.

 

This means I’ve been booking all of my shows the same so far: opening with tech masterclass, steal the show in the mid card somewhere because of the shorter match length and finishing up with a longer ME usually just booked as a regular match.

 

Do I need to book every show with the same formula or is there a better way to mix up the card a bit and still get a decent grade?

 

I think in general you can mix it up but it's TOUGH to find a good place to have a technical masterclass! One thing you may be able to do is open with steal the show, use another match to calm the crowd, and then move to a technical masterclass, for example? Might be worth a try.

[franticloser]

I just booked what would have been an 85ish show using a converted 94 mod with WWF. Only reason it wasn't was I forgot to add enough angles. Essentially I had a ten minute tag match with lesser known guys, an interview with Shawn talking about Bret that was five minutes, a singles match between Owen and Razor that went 15 minutes. A five minute brawl between Shawn and Taker, then a 15 min draw Shawn and Diesel vs Taker and Bret.

[Capelli King]

Math Aims are your friend. The more I played with them and brought my crowds up and down appropriately, my shows dramatically improved.

 

But i thought there was the option to remove that in the preferences? Match aims existed in 2016 as well, but here, even if you tick that off, you still need to have match aims?

[RingRider]

But i thought there was the option to remove that in the preferences? Match aims existed in 2016 as well, but here, even if you tick that off, you still need to have match aims?

 

You don't "need" them any more than you need any other preference. That said, your limiting what the game can do. I have always gotten my best grades when I play with everything working in concert--pre-booking, match aims, perfect show theory, etc.

[Capelli King]

I just booked what would have been an 85ish show using a converted 94 mod with WWF. Only reason it wasn't was I forgot to add enough angles. Essentially I had a ten minute tag match with lesser known guys, an interview with Shawn talking about Bret that was five minutes, a singles match between Owen and Razor that went 15 minutes. A five minute brawl between Shawn and Taker, then a 15 min draw Shawn and Diesel vs Taker and Bret.

 

Did you use any match focuses or was it just all regular matches?

[D-Lyrium]

<p>(Edit: this really is the longest post in the history of the world. Sorry. I didn't mean it).</p><p> </p><p>

Let's do TCW! TCW through the mind of D-Lyrium. Despite my long tenure with the game, I'm not an expert and don't profess to be. I can get a decent rating or two when I want to though, so let's walk through my thought process while I book TCW's first show. Might help one or two people, but again, DON'T take this as gospel or "the right way to do it". It's just the way I do it. And even then, only the way I do it for a company like TCW.</p><p>

As you'll see in the epilogue, I made a few fairly big mistakes even in this supposedly-tutorial. It happens. It's not the end of the world.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Housekeeping</strong></p><p>

First, as it's my first day on the job let's look at the product and see what notable things we can take from it:</p><p> </p><p>

70% matches, 30% angles on TV. So in a 2hr show, we only need about 36 minutes of angles.</p><p>

Rated on 40-55% in-ring work, so being talented helps a lot but overness is king.</p><p>

Matches less than 15 minutes will be capped. This is fine, I naturally book important matches at least 15 minutes, and if it's not important, it's probably not going to count towards the match rating (using the Three Ring Circus method).</p><p>

No overbooking, nothing too extreme, fans won't like comedy, eye candy/sex appeal based stuff, deathmatches, etc. Fine by me, I don't like any of that crap either so I'm unlikely to book it.</p><p>

We need storylines. Good, I can't live without them.</p><p>

We need at least one Story Telling match and one Wild Brawl per show. No problem, given our roster.</p><p> </p><p>

Popularity is 72 across the US, so shows will need to be at least that to increase pop. We have a couple workers on the roster who are more over than that, so it's definitely doable but will require concentration. We're not in CWW anymore, Dorothy.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Storylines</strong> </p><p>

Storylines in TCW need to be kept over 50 heat to be 'hot', and we need 2 hot storylines. That's pretty lenient to be honest. At least one storyline must be advanced per show to avoid penalties. Cool. I defy anyone to advance less than one storyline per show. Seriously, what're you booking?</p><p> </p><p>

Andrews vs. Hawkins. Obvious, our top heel vs. our top babyface/champion. No problem at all keeping this over 50. 83 currently - THAT might be a problem to maintain, but we can definitely keep it around 80ish I'd imagine.</p><p> </p><p>

Chord vs. Bach. Again, two top stars, both talented and over, the two best talkers in the company (plus or minus Hawkins). Easy peasy. Starts at 76, shouldn't be a problem.</p><p> </p><p>

We should probably make sure that we feature one of these two feuds each week in our main event.</p><p> </p><p>

Greg Gauge vs. Benny Benson. Currently a bit borderline because it's only 59 heat. Greg is exactly 50 over, so will need a bit of help to keep the storyline hot. Benson's a bit more over so this should be ok.</p><p> </p><p>

The Behemoths vs. Mighty Meaty. Currently 62 heat, Mighty Meaty are more than over enough to carry this, and the Behemoths are no slouches, though out of all of them Mo is the only one I'd consider any good in the ring so we might need angles to help keep this hot at times <em>(Editor's note: remember this whole paragraph, it will come back to bite me in many ways)</em>.</p><p> </p><p>

Elite vs. Divine Fortune. Lower level storyline. 55 heat right now but might struggle to stay there. Luckily we don't need it to. Good for building momentum but we don't need to worry about it for hitting our goals. Side note, damn, I remember when Chance Fortune and Darryl Divine were up and coming stars in TEW. Time flies!</p><p> </p><p>

So we have two absolute banker storylines that we'd have to screw up pretty badly to fall below 50, plus two that we should be able to keep hot.</p><p> </p><p>

I'll also start another one because we're not really "developing" anyone in the above feuds (except Greg Gauge): T-Bone Bright (51 over) vs. Troy Tornado (66 over). T-Bone is one of the next big things potentially in the company, Troy is an ageing vet who still has a little to give but is nearing the end of his career. Troy is a perception level above T-Bone, so it feels right. Let's try and get T-Bone to Troy's level.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>First Show</strong></p><p>

I don't necessarily book the main event and then down in order from there, but I have it set up so that whatever I book next is the lowest segment on the card, so I do tend to start with the main event as it means less rearranging later.</p><p> </p><p>

What do we KNOW we want on this show? The main event needs to feature either Hawkins/Andrews or Chord/Bach. Or all of them, but that leaves us less room creatively next week. Because this demo (or whatever this is?) is for the purposes of proving a point, I'll restrict myself to only using one of the two feuds per show. So let's do Andrews/Wolf today, just because it feels right that we should kick the new year off with the main feud.</p><p> </p><p>

So, main event match: 1 vs 1: Aaron Andrews vs. Joshua Taylor. </p><p>

18 minutes (20 total, I like round numbers). </p><p>

I chose Taylor because he's one of my favourite workers from back in his PGHW days. I could just as easily have plugged in Huggins or Chord (though we agreed not to use Chord), and might have juuust about gotten away with Doc Hammond.</p><p>

Call in ring (because both are more than capable), open match (to protect Josh's momentum a little, we want him to look like he's on the champ's level even though he obviously is going to lose).</p><p>

<em>(Editor's note: As you'll discover, this was a mistake. Shouldn't have used this. Got sentimental, no need to protect Josh's momentum, he's not using it for anything. Andrews is!)</em></p><p>

A-Double to be the victor, story telling match focus (because it's a requirement of our product, and it fits well with these workers).</p><p> </p><p>

How does this link in to the storyline though? Hmm, I don't really want Wolf to interfere, but I need him involved. Let's put him on commentary. Book it, Danno! <em>(Editor's note: Danno forgot to book it. Wolf wasn't on commentary so the match never counted towards the storyline and missed out on a potential bonus. Danno's been fired).</em></p><p> </p><p>

The match needs a story. Why is it happening tonight? Why is it the main event?</p><p>

Ok, idea. Opening segment, freestyle. A-Double opens the show. Calls out Wolf. Wolf says if A-Double is such a fighting champ he'll put his title on the line tonight in the main event when he faces Joshua Taylor, knowing he won't accept that clause at such short notice and look weak. Andrews says 'fine, let's go'. Shock, awe! Wolf can't believe it.</p><p>

Andrews rated on Entertainment, on screen, minor success. Scripted.</p><p>

Wolf rated on Entertainment, on screen. Scripted.</p><p>

Josh Taylor rated on Overness, off-screen.</p><p>

Let's have this go 10 minutes. Both are more than capable. Also let's not forget to put the title on the line in the match. This would give it a bit of a boost and might be considered 'gamey', but I'd argue it's logical and works with the narrative here. It's not like we're doing it every week, and this match doesn't NEED the bonus from the belt.</p><p> </p><p>

We probably want some minor interaction between Taylor and Andrews in the middle of the show somewhere so that fans don't forget what we're building towards. Andrews is a babyface, and Josh's character is a respectful heel, so let's add a quick 3 minute angle where Andrews walks up to Taylor backstage and confirms that although he was goaded into it by Hawkins, he feels Taylor deserves a shot at the title and doesn't want there to be any awkwardness between them. He offers a handshake. Taylor accepts.</p><p>

Andrews - Entertainment - scripted.</p><p>

Taylor - Charisma (he's not saying much, just accepting a handshake). <em>(Editor's note: Taylor should still have been scripted here, that cost me a point or two).</em></p><p> </p><p>

Right, next up we need to remind people that Chord and Bach hate each other, even though they're not the focus of this card. Four minute minor impact hype video between Bach and Chord. Both off-screen, both rated on overness. Job done. The minor impact will ensure that the feud isn't actually progressed by the video, which mechanically wouldn't be a bad thing but feels like cheating. In terms of game mechanics there's absolutely no point to this segment at all. Being minor, it won't affect the rating or the storyline or either of their popularity ratings. But in terms of storytelling it would be weird for neither guy to be on the show at all.</p><p> </p><p>

We need one more big, impactful match to end the first hour of the show. Personal preference, but I like structuring TV shows to be Decent Opening - Decent Middle - Big Main Event. Those are the three rings of my circus. Then I can fill in the gaps in between. One match I add in later might end up overshadowing one of my planned "rings" <em>(Editor's note: it did, massively)</em> but as long as my rings are solid to start with that's a win-win situation.</p><p> </p><p>

I feel a Greg Gauge coming on. Let's have Benny Benson taking on a well-known heel with some momentum (Benny's going to lose, even if it is in a tainted fashion, so we don't want him to lose to a lemon, we want the guy picking up the win to be someone on the way up, not on the way down). Doc Hammond seems ideal for this. So:</p><p> </p><p>

1vs1: Benny Benson vs. Doc Hammond</p><p>

15 minutes, Hammond to win via outside interference when Gauge storms the ring.</p><p>

After the match. Greg tells the complaining fans to shut up, and says Benson would've lost anyway to Hammond (I mean, he's not wrong...) and he was only saving them all some time. If they want to see a real match, come back next week when Greg will be taking on a well known babyface with neutral or better momentum who isn't in a storyline... let's saaay... Edd Stone! A wild pre-booking appears!</p><p>

Greg Gauge - Entertainent, scripted.</p><p>

Benny Benson - either Overness or Charisma, I went with Charisma just because he has some. He's not speaking on the mic, but he's still doing something. <em>(Editor's note: Benny should still have been scripted! Grrr! Got away with this one because Greg dealt with it, but it was still an error).</em></p><p>

5 minutes.</p><p> </p><p>

At this point we need one more decent match for our third ring. We've covered two storylines, but I have my doubts about Gauge/Benson, so just to make doubly sure, let's have The Behemoths vs. Mighty Meaty. So far, none of our matches have featured rivals actually facing each other, so let's do that. <em>(Editor's note: No! Let's not! Abort! Abort!)</em></p><p>

2vs2: The Behemoths vs. Mighty Meaty</p><p>

Wild Brawl, to satisfy the requirements and because they're all good at that. </p><p>

Do we want to ask the likes of Tana and Titan to go 15 minutes in a wild brawl? Nope! 10 minute match. </p><p>

Killer Shark pins Tana by Managerial Interference when Floyd clocks Mo behind the referees back and stops him breaking it up. I won't script this, none of them are that bad, but I'm going to remove call in ring, because none of them are that good.</p><p> </p><p>

Post-match: As soon as they get backstage, Mo finds a camera and swears revenge on Floyd for costing them the match. Demands that one of them face him one on one next week. There's our second match next week, and a progression for this feud.</p><p>

Mo: Entertainment, scripted. Mo complains and says he doesn't want a script, I decide to trust him since nobody else is speaking.</p><p>

Tana: Charisma (he's not saying anything but is presumably doing things in the background). <em>(Editor's note: You know by now this was stupid, right? In my defence, if I HAD scripted Tana, I may well have gotten the note that he didn't cope well with people going off-script since Mo wasn't scripted, so probably damned if I do, damned if I don't on this one).</em></p><p>

Titan: Overness, offscreen</p><p>

Shark: Overness, offscreen.</p><p>

Floyd: Overness, offscreen. (I'd probably leave him out if he wasn't over, but since he is, and it's his fault this angle is happening, I wanted him involved).</p><p>

5 minutes.</p><p> </p><p>

On review, I think this would probably be better at the mid-show point, because Tana and Mo are pretty over compared to Gauge and Benson. So Let's swap these matches and their corresponding angles.</p><p> </p><p>

The show now looks like this, from bottom to top:</p><p>

Show-opening angle with Andrews, Hawkins, Taylor.</p><p>

Benny Benson vs. Doc Hammond in the opening match.</p><p>

Greg Gauge taunts Benson.</p><p>

[Gap]</p><p>

Andrews finds Taylor backstage, handshake</p><p>

The Behemoths vs. Mighty Meaty</p><p>

Mo swears revenge</p><p>

[Gap]</p><p>

Chord vs. Bach hype video</p><p>

Andrews vs. Taylor</p><p> </p><p>

So we have the three "rings" of our circus in place.</p><p>

We have our key angle, and two decent supporting angles (Regular Focus for angles, so 70/20/10%).</p><p>

Three storylines are being progressed, so more than the two required.</p><p> </p><p>

We now have 40 minutes of our show left to fill with matches and angles which, honestly, don't really matter that much in the grand scheme of things. I like to do "mini-storylines", like back in the day on Raw/Smackdown, where you'd have storylines that only lasted one show and weren't real "storylines" as such, but built towards an otherwise-filler match on the card.</p><p> </p><p>

First though, I want to kick off our T-Bone vs. Tornado feud. Seems silly to start it but then not do anything on the first show.</p><p> </p><p>

T-Bone is backstage, and overhears Troy chatting with some buddies about all the "new flashy upstarts" ruining wrestling these days. The Big Dog knows Troy isn't referring to him specifically, but as a newcomer to the company he doesn't like hearing Troy talk like that. He interrupts and confronts Troy and they brawl.</p><p>

T-Bone: Entertainment, scripted. Minor success for standing up to Troy.</p><p>

Troy: Entertainment, scripted.</p><p>

Now we need some cameo appearances by guys Troy would reasonably hang out with, who are heels, and aren't young enough to be offended. Let's say Chris Flynn, since he can't wrestle anyway and probably needs the screen time, Marc Speed and road agent Robert Oxford, not rated on anything. Remembering to set them up as cameo appearances will ensure they don't affect the rating since they're not doing anything.</p><p> </p><p>

In fact, another idea. Before this segment, we need a match between just such a young up-and-comer that Troy was so annoyed about vs. an old veteran, for Troy to then be watching with his mates and moaning about. That makes more sense. It's unlikely, unless they do an amazing job, that this match will provide much towards the rating of the show, so we can safely choose recognisable guys for this instead of more well known workers. Remembering the veteran needs to be the heel for the Tornado segment to make sense:</p><p> </p><p>

1vs1: Maverick vs. Elliot Thomas.</p><p>

Not expecting fireworks from this one. It's not related to the storyline, other than to serve as an example in the viewer's minds. Not a great example, because Thomas sucks and is going nowhere, but hey. Can't win 'em all.</p><p>

Thomas wins. 8 minutes. What can I say? I wrote the premise before I looked at the roster properly and my choices were limited! Not forgetting to move this to just before the Troy segment so that Troy can be watching the end on the monitor when we cut to him.</p><p> </p><p>

Now lets have a look at who ISN'T currently on the show or mentioned in the show, but probably should be (ie, Star+ or really high momentum Well Known). We don't have to use everyone on every show, but for ratings purposes it's probably best if we don't leave off stars in favour of "recognisable" filler when we have extra time left to book with, the candidates are:</p><p>

Freddy Huggins</p><p>

One Man Army</p><p>

Elite</p><p>

Matt Hocking</p><p> </p><p>

We can work with this. Elite will be on next week with Devine Fortune <em>(Editor's Note: Or maybe just Fortune. </em><img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><em>)</em>. Don't want two tag feuds on the same show when we only have a bout 6 teams total. Matt Hocking doesn't really inspire me much right now. Let's use Freddy and OMA. </p><p> </p><p>

We have 24 minutes left. So I'm thinking One Man Army is training backstage, working out or doing boot camp or whatever armies do. Laura Huggins walks by, and takes a minute to admire Army's barracks. Freddy notices, doesn't like it, storms in and demands OMA face him in the ring, because he's secure and masculine like that.</p><p>

OMA: I've gone with Star Quality. Laura is probably not that interested in watching, say, Jason Azaria work out, so the guy in this role needs something about him.</p><p>

LCH: Acting, scripted.</p><p>

Freddy: Entertainment, scripted. <em>(Editor's note: I must've forgotten this because he got a bonus for improvising...)</em></p><p>

5 minutes. It feels a bit long for what I've just described, but... eh.</p><p> </p><p>

1vs1: Freddy Huggins vs. One Man Army</p><p>

If you're very familiar with the default TCW roster you'll notice I've kinda booked myself into a corner here. Both have Hot momentum. A draw would be pretty unsatisfactory, and would likely mean that logically I'd need a whole storyline for this, which was never the plan. So realistically Huggins has to win. Hello Keep Strong note, nice to see ya. Open Match probably wouldn't be enough here because they're already evenly matched.</p><p>

Huggins wins, tainted win. </p><p>

Keep Strong OMA.</p><p>

12 minutes. </p><p>

This is only filler and we don't want to overshadow anything, especially if these two DO end up feuding. So the penalty for being under 15 minutes is fine. If this does end up being rated in the show grade, it's only because it ended up being better than Benson/Hammond even with the penalty, which is win-win as far as I'm concerned since I've got faith Benson/Hammond will be solid enough for our 72+ overall rating.</p><p> </p><p>

5 more minutes left to book. I'm not a big fan of having two entirely-unrelated angles back to back when one of them isn't a hype video, it just feels wrong to me (there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing it, though! Personal preference here). So let's put a quick undercard match between the Gauge/Benson segment and the T-Bone segment. <em>(Editor's note: This ended up getting moved but I realise I forgot to mention that, it got swapped with the Thomas/Maverick match but still served the purpose of breaking up consecutive angles).</em></p><p> </p><p>

We know we've already used (or mentioned) everyone star-and-above on the show. So let's look further down. Edd Stone is in a match next week and he's losing it (Greg Gauge pre-booking), so let's give him a win here. This will both give Greg more of a boost for beating someone with higher momentum, and help to prevent Edd falling too far from the loss. For his opponent, we don't want to ruin anyone's momentum, so having a guy with good momentum lose in a filler match is a bad idea. Marc Speed is a good choice. Heel, less over than Edd so would expect to lose, has Cooled momentum so isn't losing much rub.</p><p> </p><p>

1vs1: Edd Stone vs. Marc Speed</p><p>

Edd to win.</p><p>

Open match (to help Marc out a bit, we don't want him sinking like a stone - no pun intended - and we're not necessarily pushing Edd).</p><p> </p><p>

So now our card looks like this:</p><p>

Aaron and Wolf open the show.</p><p>

Benny vs. Hammond, interrupted by Gauge.</p><p>

Gauge promo, prebooking with Edd.</p><p>

Thomas vs. Maverick</p><p>

T-Bone, Tornado segment.</p><p>

Stone vs. Speed</p><p>

Andrews and Taylor mutual respect segment.</p><p>

Behemoths vs. Mighty Meaty</p><p>

Mo challenge</p><p>

OMA/Huggins segment</p><p>

Huggins vs. OMA</p><p>

Chord/Bach hype vid</p><p>

Andrews vs. Taylor</p><p> </p><p>

That looks like a decent card to me. I’ll just add some dark matches (2-4 matches, 10 minutes max, nobody over Well Known and if they are Well Known they face an Unimportant guy where possible. The only point of these, for me in TCW at least, is to get the less experienced wrestlers in the ring at least once every other show with a veteran. Vets always win, obviously), and then let’s run it!</p><p> </p><p>

Dark: Devine Fortune vs. Nick Booth and Yuri Yoshihara – 40</p><p>

The unknowns have good chemistry, worth remembering in case the Sinners want a new member at any point. Devine sustained chronic upper back pain due to Yuri botching a move, which is unfortunate for the next show and the Elite storyline.</p><p> </p><p>

Dark: Dave Diamond vs. Jeremie Courtney – 51</p><p> </p><p>

Andrews/Hawkins Angle – 77</p><p>

Strong start note. That’s the gem we wanted from this. </p><p> </p><p>

Benny/Hammond – 63</p><p>

Benny was off his game (grr!), but the key is: it’s good enough to keep the storyline hot. Crowd got hotter too.</p><p> </p><p>

Gauge/Benson angle – 61</p><p> </p><p>

Thomas/Maverick – 56</p><p> </p><p>

T-Bone/Tornado angle – 65</p><p>

Storyline started.</p><p> </p><p>

Edd Stone vs. Marc Speed – 62</p><p>

Speed cracked his ribs, which hurt the rating (and him, obviously). He was also really off his game. </p><p> </p><p>

Andrews/Taylor interaction – 67.</p><p> </p><p>

Behemoths vs. Mighty Meaty – 68</p><p>

Storyline advanced and gained heat. Bit surprised, though grateful, that this was so good.</p><p> </p><p>

Mighty Mo challenge – 62</p><p>

Storyline continued but lost the heat it just gained. Still in the 60s though so we’re more than good with regard to penalties.</p><p> </p><p>

OMA/Hugginses – 70</p><p>

I’ll take a free 70! Thanks! Freddy improvised well, which means I forgot to script him. Sigh.</p><p> </p><p>

Freddy Huggins vs. OMA – 69</p><p>

Nice.</p><p> </p><p>

Chord/Bach hype – 69</p><p>

Ni- oh, I’ve done that already. Note this will have zero affect on the show or storyline rating as it’s a minor angle.</p><p> </p><p>

Main Event: A-Double vs. Taylor – 74</p><p>

Ok, I’m gonna be honest here, I forgot to put Wolf on commentary, so this had no affect on the storyline and also the storyline gave no bonus to the match. D'oh! Other than that though, just what we needed.</p><p> </p><p>

Overall show rating: 73. Gained popularity in 10 regions.</p><p>

Some notes:</p><p>

- We left two “main event” level guys off the show entirely. That obviously had an impact on the final rating. I'm actually quite pleased with a 73, considering.</p><p>

- We left Eddie Peak off the show entirely when he could’ve been in angles and again could've had an impact on the rating.</p><p>

If we were the AI, we wouldn’t have done either of those things.</p><p> </p><p>

Storylines: </p><p>

T-Bone/Tornado – 58 (debut)</p><p>

Andrews/Hawkins – 80 (-3, kind of expected tbh. 80 is still great though, level with Wolf's popularity and a smidge below Andrews')</p><p>

Gauge – 59 (+0)</p><p>

Behemoths/Meaty – 65 (+3, did go up higher during show)</p><p> </p><p>

Not going to go into pop changes as it’s only one show so there won’t be many, and that wasn’t the point.</p><p> </p><p>

Notable momentum changes:</p><p>

Aaron Andrews: Red Hot to Very Warm - this is likely because we used the Open Match note. From a purely booking POV this was a bad move, as Taylor’s not in a storyline, but A, I’m confident I can get it back and B, I’m a sentimental old fool and Taylor is one of my favourite workers. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p>

Wolf Hawkins – Stayed hot.</p><p>

Joshua Taylor – Stayed very warm – see, in my defence, the plan worked! If we hadn’t had an open match, he likely would’ve lost a bit of momentum despite losing to a superior opponent. The plan just wasn’t well thought out, because he can afford to lose momentum. The champ probably shouldn’t be…</p><p>

OMA and Freddy Huggins – both stayed hot, a tribute to the Keep Strong note.</p><p>

Edd Stone – Neutral > Warm. Ready to give it to Greg next week!</p><p>

Gauge – Stayed at Very Warm, for now…</p><p>

T-Bone – Stayed warm, though he didn’t really do much.</p><p> </p><p>

Now for the big disaster. Let's talk about meat.</p><p> </p><p>

Mighty Mo – Hot to Cooled.</p><p>

Giant Tana – Very Warm to Chilly.</p><p> </p><p>

See, my huge error here was not realising how much of a popularity gap there actually was between these two teams. Despite all four guys being Well Known, there’s actually an 8 point gap (well, was…) between Tana and Shark. That’s quite big. So Shark going over Tana like that, even though it wasn’t clean, hit Mighty Meaty pretty hard – harder than I’d intended. If I’d known the gap was that big, I likely would’ve done something in the match notes to mitigate it (keep strong, open match, etc). 62 pop makes Shark towards the lower end of Well Known guys on the roster, and 68 makes Tana one of the most well known. So there’s a lesson for us, pay attention to actual popularity, not JUST perception. For perspective, Tana and Mo were actually more over than Freddy Huggins, One Man Army or *JOSHUA TAYLOR*, who were all involved in the top two rated (and positioned) matches on the card. So that was a pretty big error. I did tell you I was no expert...</p><p>

I also completely forgot about gimmick effects, which hurt Tana especially and probably others.</p><p> </p><p>

Elliot Thomas, incidentally, is up to Very Warm and gained two points of popularity. If only he wasn’t so utterly boring…</p><p> </p><p>

So this was a big wall of text. Hope you found it useful in some way, or at least enjoyed reading.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

Don't want to bump the thread, but for those curious about show #2:</p><p> </p><p>

Dark: Rod Remus d. Dean Daniels and Nick Booth - 47</p><p>

Dark: Elliot Thomas d. Marc Speed - 55</p><p>

(Pre-show, Edd Stone offered to job to Thomas as he thinks he's a potential star. Awks).</p><p> </p><p>

Jay Chord/Sammy Bach angle, agree to a tag match in main event - 86</p><p>

T-Bone d. Yoshihara in a 6 minute squash - 45</p><p>

Troy Tornado beats down T-Bone post-match - 54</p><p>

Greg Gauge, Benny Benson, Edd Stone promo - 64</p><p>

Greg Gauge d. Edd Stone to retain TV Title - 68</p><p>

Jay Chord recruits Freddy Huggins for the main event - 71</p><p>

The Elite d. Bart Biggins/DFonz, Chance Fortune at ringside - 62</p><p>

Sammy Bach recruits One Man Army for the main event - 68</p><p>

Mighty Mo d. Killer Shark in a wild brawl - 65</p><p>

Aaron Andrews/Wolf Hawkins promo - 90</p><p>

Joshua Taylor d. Dave Diamond in a wild brawl - 71</p><p>

Chord/Huggins d. Bach/OMA when Chord cheats to pin OMA - 72</p><p>

Overall: 76</p>

[Capelli King]

Does anyone know if the "hyping a match" angle actually increase the rating of the actual match? I am pretty sure in 2016 it did nothing.

[franticloser]

Pretty sure unless it is attached to wrestlers in storylines it is just flavor text.

[awesomenessofme1]

Does anyone know if the "hyping a match" angle actually increase the rating of the actual match? I am pretty sure in 2016 it did nothing.

 

Only insofar as it might make the storyline hotter if the angle rating is good. But there's no direct connection.

[Donners]

I defy anyone to advance less than one storyline per show. Seriously, what're you booking?

 

Enjoyed the write-up but, for what it’s worth, I’ve not booked a single storyline in my eight-year 4C save from 2016.

 

There are many different playstyles out there, and I pity Adam having to try to appease such an audience.

[Capelli King]

What about the gimmicks, i noticed that some of them have effects on performance, but they are not directly connected to the gimmick types? For example in the editor you can even give Simple gimmicks affects as well.

[Capelli King]

Only insofar as it might make the storyline hotter if the angle rating is good. But there's no direct connection.

 

ok, so it does not add to the actual match, but does still increase the heat of a storyline, which in turn can increase the match rating as well?