Backstage Environment Revamp - The Sleaze-O-Meter

[shamelessposer]

This is another one of those pitches I'm making with the understanding that it's probably too complex for consideration in a patch and, if it's ever implemented, will probably wait until the next iteration of the series.

 

A few people have commented that management of the backstage environment is kind of boring. It's either a harmonious enough place that there's no need to meddle or it's a raging, seemingly unfixable trash fire where circa 1997 Shawn Michaels is the whole of the law.

 

To fix it, I propose shaking up the basic 0-100 "good backstage" and "bad backstage" environment and creating something a little more varied. We introduce a second axis on which the backstage environment is graded. We introduce the Sleaze-O-Meter.

 

The Sleaze-O-Meter tracks a different dimension of the backstage environment than the standard backstage rating. Every time you invite a dirty doctor backstage, it ticks up a couple of points. Also - every time you allow a wrestler to share a dufflebag of liquor with the rest of the roster, every time you choose not to break up a backstage fight in favor of seeing how it plays out, every time you fail to punish talent for getting into altercations with fans, and every time you allow a wrestler's homophobic social media rants to go unchallenged by management. In short, the Sleaze-O-Meter tracks management's willingness to allow for the roster's pure, unchecked id to be expressed either backstage or in public view.

 

As the Sleaze-O-Meter ticks up, things start happening. Rookies and more malleable established members of the roster get targeted first, some becoming bullies and others adopting more negative attitudes as they learn from their coworkers. Some personalities get flipped - in a high-sleaze environment, a Professional might be seen as a mark for himself and a Bully might be seen as a locker room leader. Walkouts become more common. The worst members of the roster get worse because no one steps in to check their worst impulses. Maybe your family friendly TV partner cancels a long-term deal due to concerns over the morality of your business, or maybe a high-profile overdose causes nationwide harm to the prestige of the wrestling industry.

 

On the other hand, sleaze has its advantages. Trashier media outlets might allow for the antics of a member of your roster to "go viral," picking up unexpected mainstream attention. That Bully who turned into a locker room leader because of your horrible backstage situation might be over enough that you prefer him as an enforcer rather than the liability he'd turn into in a more professional environment. A Grifter or Horndog type might prefer an environment that turns a blind eye to lazy ring work and provides a steady supply of ring rats, and maybe you've got enough people like that to pull a net gain in your backstage environment. Maybe you get away with bringing in New Jack and paying him with a trash bag full of porn DVDs instead of, you know, money.

 

With certain personality types and random events always threatening to add extra sleaze to a promotion, it would be interesting to develop a kind of sub-game - are you as vigilant as possible, stamping out any unruly behavior at first sight, or do you let a few things slide here and there for the sake of short-term morale? With 1997 Shawn Michaels and friends ratcheting up the sleaze every week, are they worth the harm they might do to your impressionable future stars in the undercard? What happens when a top star indicates his intention to sign somewhere else at the end of his contract unless you work on cleaning up the rest of the roster?

 

There's so many different aspects of the game that an addition like this could touch, while also providing a fun simulation element that the game is currently lacking. At present, an "inmates running the asylum" environment like mid-90s WCW creates an unworkable backstage environment that tanks matches in a hurry. The introduction of mechanics like those suggested by the Sleaze-O-Meter provides an in-game justification for how that kind of backstage environment can produce good quality matches and maintain morale equilibrium on the roster - at least for a little while.