The League, Redux: Seasons 8 and Beyond Game Thread

[ShadowedFlames]

So, little thought project for me over the last few days…

Theme music. What would GMPCs use? Now, I will preface this with one disclaimer. Normally when I think C-Verse, I try to imagine that the names of bands, sports teams, etc. do not exist. So there is no “Avenged Sevenfold” or the like in my version of the C-Verse. I also realize I broke that rule in the last week of Season Ten during the Nocturne segment, calling out Sixx:A.M. by name. So I’m looking at doing this by the following guidelines:

* Unless specifically stated, the songs listed are meant to be “sound alike.” The actual themes will be slightly different but overall they’re meant to be similar to the songs listed. (Author’s note: this exists in reality too. Tell me that DDP’s WCW theme isn’t Smells Like Teen Spirit, or that Christian Cage’s Impact/AEW theme isn’t Evanescence’s My Last Breath, and I’ll tell you that you’re a filthy liar. 🤪)

* This is not a complete list. I have a mostly-finished one at home, these are just going off of memory.

* A few artists will repeat on this list. This is allowed because it’s my list and by and large my Spotify I’m pulling these from. 🤣

With the disclaimers aside…let’s start the list!

The League itself: “Ten Thousand Fists” by Disturbed. For the early seasons, this was the opening theme to the weekly shows and is one of the “real” songs that has jumped into my C-Verse canon.

Angela Wassermann: Much like reality’s Ronda Rousey, Wassermann kept her MMA theme for The League—Rammstein’s “Du Hast.”

Brian Blackfield: Something he has become for many a wrestler over the last three seasons—“Nightmare” by Avenged Sevenfold.

Billy Norris: One of a couple that I admit I’m blatantly stealing the ideas of from reality. In my head I envision something similar to Billy Kidman’s WCW theme for his entrance.

Yoshii Nakamatsu: In the same vein as Norris, Nakamatsu gets a theme cribbed from reality. In this case, my personal all-time favorite wrestling theme—Ken Shamrock’s WWF theme.

Nocturne: The Aerie’s star pupil gets two. One is her teacher’s final entrance theme, Sixx:A.M.’s “Rise” as mentioned before, which is her standard theme as it was gifted to her from Will Prydor himself (and this is one of the actual songs). The other is a more personal choice for her, and not truly suited to a wrestling theme—“Fight Song” by Rachel Platten.

Mel O’Hallister: Rounding out this initial list of things I clearly remember, the fact that the character is a blatant nod to my roommate continues with one of his favorite songs as an entrance theme—“Primo Victoria” by Sabaton.

Devil’s Delight: Can’t believe I almost forgot this one. One of my favorite songs in recent memory, the opening line of the refrain is what makes it speak to Delight’s backstory and character—“Entertain You” by Within Temptation.

EDITED TO ADD THE FOLLOWING:

Big Scott Weathers: I don't really have a rationale for this one, it just kind of stuck to me. "Fade to Grey" as performed by Exit Eden.

Blood River: I was originally going to give River a song pulled from a video game based on the name of said song, but I was reminded of another song that's not on Spotify that fits better. So I submit for consideration the following--"Lies" by Evanescence.

Brandy McDonald: We're staying with the same band for this one. (Yes, there is a lot of female-fronted rock and metal on my Spotify, why do you ask?)  In this case, it's a message she tries to send to all of her opponents to remind them who they are--"Everybody's Fool" by Evanescence.

Daniel Simmons: Probably not a song suitable for broadcast television, but that's why The League is a streaming-only venture at this point, haha--"No More" by Disturbed.

De'siree Mitchell: Going back to my favorite band here, and one of their newer songs. Also kind of makes sense for her history as a football nose tackle--"The Reckoning" by Within Temptation.

Diego Rodriguez: While he's a face, he kind of subscribes to the Cobra Kai mentality. If a man can't stand, etc.  To wit--"Last Man Standing" by HammerFall.

El Tornado: This one is solely based on the name of the song, and not much more--"Control the Storm" by Delain.

George Mastachas: He's let the Season Ten championship get to his head. He's demanded League offices that his new theme is to be "Hail to the King" by Avenged Sevenfold.

Jimmy Anarchy: Here's another one that doesn't really have a reason except that it seemed to tell me that this was right--"One Step Closer" by Linkin Park.

Jun Onoo:  Jun has decided that he's going to avoid the stereotypical Japanese-sounding songs for something more American--"Riot" by Three Days Grace.

Lord Robert Abernathy: His Lordship chooses a rather stereotypical piece that goes with one of his finishers--"God Save the Queen."

Pulsar: Pulsar was looking for a rather fast-paced song that wasn't DragonForce, and found a decent alternative in "Devour" by Shinedown.

Reverend Johnny Gross: As befits his Southern Baptist nature, Gross uses a traditional hymn for his entrance, an instrumental version of "Rescue the Perishing."

Sterling Silver: Kind of fitting for her stance, a luchadora who refuses to wrestle in Mexico if absolutely possible, Silver's song of choice is "Rise" by Skillet. (Not to be confused by the song of the same name by Sixx:A.M.)

The Mastodon: Drawing another song from David Draiman and associates, Mastodon's choice of entrance themes fits how he thinks of himself--"The Brave and the Bold" by Disturbed.

SONGS YET TO BE DETERMINED: Erick Gibson, Indigo Rose, Jean-Paul Ouilette, Lance Heartilly, Markus Clay, Otto von Schwarz, Sin, Terrance Stevens, The Siberian Nightmare

Edited December 20, 2023 by ShadowedFlames

[Croquemitaine]

If we're going with "sound-alike", then Monty's theme sounds a lot like this (but imagine it with actual bagpipes for the high parts): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjD544XjhPM

 

After his inevitable face turn, he will switch to this: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-qXWLGlY08

 

Mickey's Steele's theme is literally this: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_C9E9tOaSU

 

 

[Eternal Phoenix]

I searched Youtube for Japanese death metal, and basically the first one was DEVILOOF's uh, something. I, uh, doubt this would pass muster even on streaming, though. Sorry, Kichi.

 

Lucas, on the other hand, probably has something either symphonic or 80s/early 90s electronic whatever. The most basic theme because he just doesn't even care.

[Jman2k3]

Scott Stevens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw79RVnlCb0

George Stevens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et2OCCGj8mI

[ShadowedFlames]

Two things on the Friday before Christmas…

1) PC trait point (TP) allocation.

It’s the most confusing time for most players in the offseason. So I’m going to try to hit all the high points in the notes here to make things easier for y’all leading up to Season Eleven.

* Any current negative traits a wrestler has can be worsened by one level if applicable. (So if a character already has, say, Puny Human Lv 1, Fish Out of Water Lv 1, and Gasses Easily Lv 2, that character can worsen any or all of those traits by one level to gain additional TP.)

* One (1) single new negative trait can be applied, as long as limits are adhered to. (Continuing the above example, our fictional character also takes Toothpick Arms.)

* Players may use the resulting balance of TP for any positive traits they deem fit, once again adhering to trait limits. (Keeping the example going, this character puts a level into Respected Brawler (new) and two into Ground and Pound (new), and improves Raw Power (existing) by a level. He is unable to grab Impact Player because he is at his three trait limit for that category.)

* Any TP not spent by January 9 will be banked for next season.

* All GMPCs have had this done already and updates will be shown on or around January 9.

* For convenience, the current TP totals for PCs are listed below. These totals already include the 1 TP granted for finishing Season Ten on the main roster:

Christian Priest: 1 TP

Diamond: 1 TP (trait assignment is done)

Kichi Hida: trait assignment is done since November. 😀

Lucas Molina: see also “Kichi Hida.”

Monty Dhillon: 2 TP

Nuclear Templeton: 1 TP

Scott Stevens: 1 TP

 

 

2) Possible reworking of body wear mechanic.

I’m knocking together an idea that slightly changes how the “wear and tear” factor is calculated. Instead of increasing by a factor of 1.01 a season (100 > 101 > 102.01, etc), I’m looking into making the factor be derived from the overall body health of a wrestler coming in to a season.

In practice this is likely to lead to more frequent rests for GMPCs and at the same time emulates the fact that everyone wears down at different rates, and may make for a more dynamic League that puts a greater emphasis on PCs. After all, they have the alternate treatment available that isn’t sitting out a season, this would make them more likely to advance divisions faster. Plus it would give me an excuse to make more than a couple wrestlers to add to the Omega Division and give me a chance to play with more experimental builds.

I am still in the testing phase of this change and the earliest it would go into effect would be for Season Twelve, should I decide to implement it.

Working Example:

Consider the cases of Big Scott Weathers and Blood River. Both are entering their fourth consecutive season of competition.

Under the current rules, their wear and tear penalty is (1.01 ^ 3), or 1.0303. In layman’s terms, the damage they accumulate over the season is increased by 3%. So if the head were to lose 1 point of overall health, the wear and tear penalty would make it 1.03 points. This is static for both wrestlers despite River having suffered little lasting damage over the last three seasons, and Weathers having suffered more.

With the proposed system, the body health of the wrestlers would be used to determine a wear and tear rate that applies for the entirety of the season. With the formula I’m working with at present, these changes are less than 1% overall between the current values and the proposed. The two individuals named are the largest outliers.

Weathers: at his fourth consecutive season, he should be receiving 3.03% more damage. However under the proposed rules, due to having taken nearly 11 full points of body health damage (89.30 current head condition, 99.72 current body condition), the wear and tear favor for Weathers would come out to 5.49%, meaning he’d take more damage than normal due to the abuse he’s suffered already.

River: also in his fourth consecutive season, so expected wear and tear is also 3.03%. However, River has managed in three seasons to only lose just over  point and a half from his overall health (head 98.42, body 99.996). With the proposed formula, this translates to only 0.79% additional damage, a far cry better than the expected 3% figure.

Again, these examples are the most extreme in either direction. But the ability to make everyone unique in their wear and tear is an idea I’m still tinkering with pursuing down the line.

Edited December 22, 2023 by ShadowedFlames

[Eternal Phoenix]

On 12/22/2023 at 11:06 AM, ShadowedFlames said:

Kichi Hida: trait assignment is done since November. 😀

Lucas Molina: see also “Kichi Hida.”

What can I say? I was thinking about it all season.

[Eternal Phoenix]

Hey. Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals. 🎅

[ShadowedFlames]

All right, so it’s high time I started getting back into good League work habits now that the holidays are behind us (and more importantly,  now that I’ve survived Whamageddon for another year, lol).

The working agenda for this week…okay, for tonight specifically:

Make sure all GMPC stat updates are done.

Ensure all characters’ OVR, SPR, and Body Health are updated for start of Season Eleven

Get the George Stevens render/headshot onto CV background and put it on my Imgur, and update sheets/documents accordingly.

Update database with a few updated pictures that will be coming in this thread after the New Year, as a hype teaser for Season Eleven. (We once again have Croquemitaine to thank for this!) Also to get those same pictures into my Imgur if they’re not there already, and get my links updated on my master spreadsheet and Show in Progress documents to reflect this.

Go back through my PMs, Discord chats, and the like to make sure I haven’t missed an already standing order to redo a PC’s moveset, and if I have, to redo said moveset.

RELATED TO THE ABOVE: If you have a PC who you’d like me to regenerate a moveset for/wish to manually adjust your own moveset, deadline to notify me about that is also January 9. I’d like to have a little time to make sure everything works properly if any changes are to be made for PCs!

FINALLY, if there is still time after all of the above, I might look into adding a couple new characters to Omega and at least getting stats and such laid out to prep for movesets. Current ideas in my head include: Jessica Solomon/Devil’s Angel, a high wizardess right out of a fantasy novel, the younger sister of a current main roster member (and no, I’m not revealing any names until the first actual Omega update late in the season), and a couple more “out there” ideas designed to be experimental character builds housed within more gimmicky, sports-entertainment character types.

 

UNRELATED TO THE ABOVE…

So, remember when I said that The League is CVerse-adjacent? That reason is why I can state the below and not have it come off as wrestling blasphemy.

Theme Song for Lance Heartilly: Europe’s Final Countdown (not a sound alike, the actual song).

I will now accept the cries of heretic in the replies below. 🤪

Edited December 26, 2023 by ShadowedFlames

[SeanMcG]

Christian Priest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d6YFOOcevY

 

 

[ShadowedFlames]

3 hours ago, SeanMcG said:

Christian Priest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d6YFOOcevY

 

 

The real-life counterpart of Mel O’Hallister nods in approval. (He knew the song just by name.) 🤘

[SeanMcG]

2 hours ago, ShadowedFlames said:

The real-life counterpart of Mel O’Hallister nods in approval. (He knew the song just by name.) 🤘

Man of culture ❤️

[ShadowedFlames]

The following is why I’m supposed to be too busy at work instead of having essentially a week “off” that I still have to show up to work and make appearances in between the vastly reduced number of child abuse referrals for the week. (Thank schools being off for winter break for that.)
 

Nothing is set in stone yet—I don’t even have a copy of my official League spreadsheet with me to see how vast these changes would look over a three-season sample—but I am beginning to re-tool the OVR calculations for match results. After three seasons I’ve noticed that the OVR totals are a touch higher than I’d expected, and much of the fault lies in 2* matches barely affecting the loser of the match, and 1* bouts not affecting the loser as much as planned. 

The idea is to recalibrate the formula to be a bit harsher on the loser of a match at 2* or below, but be a bit more lax on 4* and up. The idea being, of course, that putting forth a great contest makes you look better even in defeat. A match’s division may also come into play in this newer formula, but that’s not decided yet. It is also as yet uncertain whether I will apply these new formulae retroactively as a sort of “rebalancing” of the roster. 

This idea is likely going to take a bit of work to set up, so the absolute earliest it would be put into effect is Season Twelve. The upshot is that I’ll have four months to fine tune the thing if I do aim for a Season Twelve deployment!

[Eternal Phoenix]

That gasp you heard, boss? That was Molina. He is both shocked and insulted. He's supposed to be entertaining? C'mon, that's not what this sport is about. It's about wins and losses

Kichi, meanwhile, wonders what on earth this has to do with inflicting maximum violence in a minimal amount of time. If she's supposed to have more "entertaining" matches, then her opponents need to step up.

Rock says whatever, man. He's just excited to get out of Omega. Tacoma's favorite son is ready.

 

[ShadowedFlames]

An update:

The roster list on page one has been updated for the current Season Eleven roster. The four coming from Omega are noted as such next to their names, and are still in danger of not making it to the final roster if we get any new PCs signed up by Sunday night.

This also means that for PCs returning from Season Ten, you'll see your updated XP totals for training purposes, too.

New bios for all GMPCs are also live, except for Sterling Silver. Her official bio contains spoilers for things to be revealed after the sign-up period closes, and so will not be edited in until such a time as she is safely on the main roster for Season Eleven (if that happens).

 

DEADLINE FOR NEW PC SIGNUPS ENDS IN ROUGHLY 72 HOURS FROM THE TIME OF THIS POST!!!

Edited December 28, 2023 by ShadowedFlames

[ShadowedFlames]

So…I may have found that my sheet has been semi-broken since almost the beginning of Season Eight.

In prepping a copy of the current sheet to conduct experiments on for the proposed OVR rate change, I found that since about halfway through week one of Season Eight, my sheet had not been looking up a table correctly for finishes. So most of the matches were being factored as if they all ended 2-0 under European Rules, which is a more extreme factor than a standard pinfall/submission finish by about 40%.

So what does that mean in terms of the current season?

Well, since the original spreadsheet still has the lookups available, but most of the lines are not reading them correctly, I will be going back to fix those immediately. The resulting updated OVRs will be applied to all League wrestlers and will be in effect for Season Eleven, as they are what the original formula should have been if not for tables breaking. These updated figures will be published the next time I update the roster page on page one of this thread.

I will summarize the changes below. The TL;DR is that folks with better records will see their OVR drop a few points, while those with losing records should see their OVR improve slightly.

PC CHANGES:

Christian Priest: 581 -> 570

Diamond: 474 -> 478

Kichi Hida: 463 -> 461

Lucas Molina: 477 -> 473

Monty Dhillon: 531 -> 524

Nuclear Templeton: 536 -> 529

Scott Stevens: 418 -> 420

NOTABLE GMPC CHANGES:

Brian Blackfield: 575 -> 561 (this is the largest drop by 3 points, given his 39-3 overall record).

Brandy McDonald: 519 -> 514

Devil’s Delight: 425 -> 432

El Tornado: 445 -> 454 (highest gain of any character, with a 10-32 career record)

Reverend Johnny Gross: 499 -> 501

EDITED TO ADD: For the whole two or maybe three of you who may be interested, over in the rules thread I’ve put forth a rather lengthy post about formulas and possible OVR changes. It pulls back the curtain a bit to go over how things run when they’re supposed to work, and how I may change them in the future.

Edited December 28, 2023 by ShadowedFlames

[ShadowedFlames]

With the deadline for new PCs having passed, it’s now time to reveal how the top four in the Omega Division placed, and who was at greatest risk. It’s that person who we’ll start with…

 

4. Rock Sheridan: 12-5, 12:10.917

Sheridan was the one at risk, due to his loss to Leon de Ramos in just over five minutes. His other losses came to fellow Omega graduate Mickey Steele, as well as Sakura Uematsu (9th), Vladimir Chavinski (13th), and in his final match against The Siberian Nightmare (14th). To his credit, though, Sheridan also managed a 4* victory, in his longest outing of the Omega Division (18:42) against Sven Ulafsson. The giant from Tacoma will be bringing some of the beef back to the Delta Division that went missing when Jun Onoo was demoted, and Monty Dhillon got promoted to Gamma, and fans can hope he’ll do better than the other giant to have graced The League, Otto von Schwarz, though given his record against those promoting from Omega (1-2) he may find a tough task ahead of him.

 

3. Leon de Ramos: 12-5, 12:26.667

Leon got the tie-breaking win over Sheridan, which gave him a little breathing room. The technical grappler from Lisbon tasted defeat just five times, falling to Kyler den Boen (6th), Sterling Silver, Lord Robert Abernathy (7th), Sakura Uematsu (9th), and The Siberian Nightmare (14th). Going 2-1 against Omega graduates (including a 4* victory over Mickey Steele, and the previously-mentioned five-minute win over Rock Sheridan) gives the appearance that he’s indeed ready for the increased competition against more established competition, though he has also shown signs of struggling as he took 21:25 to put away Joslin Baroni, a wrestler smaller than he.

 

2. Mickey Steele: 13-4, 10:47.154

The would-be detective thrived against the lower three-quarters of the Omega Division, sporting losses only to Vladimir Chavinski (13th) and the giant Otto von Schwarz (14th). Against those he’s promoting with, he went 1-2, losing to Leon de Ramos and Sterling Silver. Steele’s victory times ranged from 16:18 (a blood stoppage victory against Rock Sheridan), to seven minutes flat against “Dirty” John Murdoch. Steele also had one of the rare 4* matches in the Omega Division, in a 13:55 victory against Rhys Caddell near the end of the rotation. Steele will bring his character work, and his “girl Friday” Roxy Rose, onto the main roster as the runner-up from the Omega Division this season.

 

1. Sterling Silver: 13-4, 6:40.154

Silver was clearly determined to reclaim her spot in the Delta Division after a knee sprain forced her to miss the opening of Season Ten. Her eighth-round victory over Jimmy Anarchy set an unofficial League record, with a 2:58 time of victory. Somewhere, Kichi Hida looks up and takes notice, knowing that sub-three minutes is indeed possible. Silver went 2-1 against fellow Omega graduates, dropping a match to Rock Sheridan but putting both Leon de Ramos and Mickey Steele away in under five minutes each. Silver’s other losses were to Kyler den Boen (6th), Rhys Caddell (10th), and Joslin Baroni (11th).

 

The roster is officially locked in at this point. While the link may still say "Official Season Ten Schedule" back on the first page second post, the actual schedule has been updated and is finalized for Season Eleven, in case anyone wants to get an idea of what their characters face this upcoming season.  The final administrative work will be started this week, and the target date to have everything ready is January 9 (a week from Tuesday).

[Eternal Phoenix]

Season Eleven Pre Season Predictions & Commentary

 

This is based on last season’s performances and ending stats, along with reported Omega results and educated guesses based on starting stats for the newcomers in Delta. Off season upgrades have not been taken into account. I promised I’d wait until the schedule reveal, and now that’s happened. So let’s get started, shall we?

 

Alpha Division

 

Top Two: George Mastachas, Nuclear Templeton
Middle Four: Brandy McDonald, Brian Blackfield, Mel O’Hallister, The Mastodon
Bottom Two: De’siree Mitchell, Jean-Paul Ouilette

 

Alpha changed little last season. The two newcomers bounced off without making a dent in the established and evolving dynamics of the six who have been there since Season 9. As many expect, however, this is the season that changes. Brian Blackfield, The Juggernaut, has arrived. Zero chance he simply washes out like Gross and Simmons did. With that said, he has shown signs of weakness as he’s climbed divisions, and I said all last season Alpha is where he hits the wall. Mastachas, Nuke, and Mastodon are a type of foe he’s simply not faced before. So while he won’t wash out, I sincerely doubt he’s going to win the League championship. That is still more or less a two horse race between Mastachas and Nuke. The middle four listed above can and will play spoiler and possibly even make their own pushes (especially Mastodon and perhaps Blackfield), but I feel pretty comfortable saying that the top two last season will be the top two this season. Brandy and Mel ought to hold their spots in Alpha down, as well. It’s De’siree and Ouilette who’ll be bounced out at the end of the season. Ouilette’s a no brainer. Anyone with eyes can see how far out of his weight class he is in Alpha. Dude’s gonna get rag dolled all season. De’siree, however…it’s no secret I’m not high on her. She almost washed out last season, with Gross and Simmons stinking it up. Blackfield is neither man. She does have a chance if she can overtake Brandy or Mel, but eh. I don’t think it’s likely. She’ll fight, but she’ll lose.

 

**********

 

Beta Division

 

Top Two: Christian Priest, Reverend Johnny Gross
Middle Four: Billy Norris, Blood River, Lucas Molina, Yoshii Nakamatsu
Bottom Two: Angela Wasserman, Pulsar

 

Beta, by contrast to Alpha, has definitely changed. But not as much as some may think. Priest is just Blackfield 2.0, as far as the division is concerned. He’ll be handing out ass whippings all season. Gross absolutely dominated this place two seasons ago. His performance last season wasn’t because he’d suddenly gotten dramatically worse. Tag Team Turmoil showed that wasn’t true at all in rather dramatic fashion. Add in Molina and Nakamatsu’s somewhat erratic performances last season, and Priest and Gross should be the ones battling it out for the division crown. With that said, Molina did technically earn his promotion by winning just enough, and Nakamatsu missed promotion by a hair. They’re not chumps, and ought to keep the promotion chase very interesting down the stretch. Here’s where the divide between top and bottom halves of the division gets a bit sharper. We all know Pulsar’s jobber tier. Saved only by Simmons taking a season off. The thing is, Wasserman missed being in his place by a hair of her own. Billy Norris had to take care of his business pretty late in the season to avoid any possibility of being in it. And Blood River’s promising start was completely squandered. Barring somebody else taking a season break, it’s all but guaranteed one of these three will be relegated at the end of the season. River and Norris ought to have just enough to avoid it, but Wasserman’s 1-6 in the second half was bowling shoe ugly. So starting the season off, she’s my candidate for the second spot.

 

**********

 

Gamma Division

 

Top Three: Monty Dhillon, Diego Rodriguez, Indigo Rose
Middle Two: Lance Heartilly, Kichi Hida
Bottom Three: Big Scott Weathers, Markus Clay, Terrance Stevens

 

Gamma, despite being in a similar situation to Beta, feels like it hasn’t changed a whole lot. Monty Dhillon fills that Christian Priest shaped hole at the top of the division. Lance Heartilly slides right in as the third technician, Lucas Molina style. The other two, Diego Rodriguez and Indigo Rose, are still here. So are Terrance Stevens and Markus Clay. There’s even Big Scott Weathers filling in for Gibson (who’s on break) as the brawler who gasses easily. There, however, the similarities end. Kichi Hida is not in any way like Diamond. And that is what’s going to make this season different from the last. With that said, I do believe that Diego and Rose will be battling it out for the second promotion spot. Technicians give Kichi fits, and Gamma’s got three of them. Lance is good, but he’s not quite up to the levels that Diego and Rose have reached. Kichi ought to have enough to avoid the second relegation spot. Clay is claiming the first to the surprise of nobody. Which leaves Weathers and Stevens to fight over who gets the second one. I kind of want to bet on Stevens, but who knows?

 

**********

 

Delta Division

 

Top Two: Nocturne, Sterling Silver
Middle Three: Leon de Ramos, Mickey Steele, Rock Sheridan
Bottom Three: Diamond, George Stevens, Scott Stevens

 

Sterling Silver is back, and Delta is an entirely different place since she left. I had her pegged as a top promotion candidate before the arrival of Lance Heartilly. She was going to fight tooth and nail with Monty Dhillon and the improving Kichi Hida, mostly likely coming out with the second promotion spot behind Monty. You will notice that none of those three names are in Delta now. In fact, only two names from last season’s division remain. Nocturne and Scott Stevens. Oh, yeah. Silver’s my division champion pick. Nocturne was my pick for the second promotion spot before Kichi got promoted after Gibson’s break was announced. With a season’s worth of improvement in the books and the people responsible for 6 of her 7 losses last season out of the division, she’s primed for a good run. Leon de Ramos is a technician, which tends to do well here in Delta. I think Nocturne’s improvements will put her just past him, but he’ll compete strongly until the end of the season for that second promotion spot. Mickey Steele…on paper I get Erick Gibson (1D brawler with valet) combined with Billy Norris (stamina keeps him in matches long enough to have a chance despite that 1D status) vibes. And clearly, this worked out for him down in Omega. There’s no reason why it can’t continue to do so in Delta. But I don’t quite get that “elite” feeling. I gotta see him work. So for now he’s in the middle of the pack. Rock Sheridan, however, I know well because he’s mine. He’s a powerhouse brawler who finishes opps off with a lariat. There’s already two of these guys that come to mind who already do that in the League. Mastodon and Priest. So Rock’s in good company, even if he’s not quite ready to dominate the way those two do. Diamond…look, I…I wanted to believe in her last season, and she let me down hard. So if she wants my respect back this season, she’s gotta earn it. Right now, she doesn’t have it. The Stevens brothers, well…Scott jobbed hard last season. Like Diamond, if he wants my respect, he’s gotta earn it. With George, I only have his stat to work with and well, I’m not impressed. My initial impression is Jun Onoo but with more raw power. This does not mean that he can’t do well and impress me. This bottom trio has it in them to step up and excel. I just haven’t seen them do it yet, so yanno. Bottom off the rankings for them.
 

[Eternal Phoenix]

If y'all want me to do the quarter season stuff again, lemme know. Right now I'm only planning to do the halfway mark and the post mortem like I originally planned last season.

[ShadowedFlames]

I’m of the belief that you should do whatever is easiest and least mentally demanding for you, EP. (He says knowing that he’s going to spend a fair bit of the season tinkering with the OVR and body health mechanics off-camera and creating three times the work for himself.)

Speaking as a reader and not the Commish, I for one would not object to first-half and end-of-season only given how much detail and work you put into those and knowing how time-consuming that is.

[ShadowedFlames]

Also along the same lines as EP… I also have a predictions thing ready. Not nearly as detailed as his, naturally, but it’s been sitting on my phone waiting since Omega was finished. So without further ado…

“Bold” League Predictions

League Champion: Nuclear Templeton, via tiebreaker over Brian Blackfield. Mastachas finishes third.

Drops from Alpha: De’siree Mitchell, Mel O’Hallister. (JPO finishes 6th via TB and stays alive over O’Hallister, and I hate myself for actually writing that.)

 

Beta: Priest and Nakamatsu advance, CP wins second straight division title with a 12-2 record. Gross loses out on promotion after being swept by Priest and Nakamatsu, and finishes 10-4 in third place. Pulsar finishes ahead of Wassermann but not well enough to avoid relegation himself, and will be joined by the returning Daniel Simmons in Gamma.

 

Gamma: Monty wins his second division title. TB for second goes to Diego over Rose. Terrance and Markus fall to Delta, Weathers survives by a 1 match margin.

 

Delta: Sterling Silver defies the odds, wins the Delta Division. Nocturne pips out Diamond in week 14 to promote via tiebreaker (Nocturne upsets Silver, Diamond loses to Leon to force said tiebreaker), opening zero spots for Omega Division next season due to six PCs waiting for Terrance Stevens, Markus Clay, and Erick Gibson…which means something has to give there! Sheridan, Steele and de Ramos are the first three at risk of automatic demotion if new PCs sign up in this case (Sheridan first as he is EP’s third character), but that could also be moot if Gibson, et al fail another medical check at the end of the season. It’s going to be crowded in Delta at the end of the season, and that is where most of the drama will occur.

Omega: Will still be run despite no spots appearing to be open in Delta. Murdoch will win the Division but find himself unable to be promoted, and will end up spending a night in jail after assaulting the Commissioner in a fit of anger. Devil’s Delight, wrestling without her sister as a manager, barely manages to do better than Sin and is not a factor in the final standings. Commissioner Prydor, showing pity and a human side to himself, elects to give all Omega participants the equivalent of a half-season of Delta Division experience because no one is able to promote this season. This decision causes several GMPCs to leave and start their own League, with blackjack…and women who wear even less than Sin does in the ring. (For those of you who’ve reached this point, yes, I’m making a mockery of Omega Division predictions because it’s my show and I can get away with it! Though the half-season XP thing may be an actual change forthcoming.)

Edited January 1 by ShadowedFlames

[Croquemitaine]

Welcome back!

 

[Eternal Phoenix]

32 minutes ago, ShadowedFlames said:

I’m of the belief that you should do whatever is easiest and least mentally demanding for you, EP. (He says knowing that he’s going to spend a fair bit of the season tinkering with the OVR and body health mechanics off-camera and creating three times the work for himself.)

Speaking as a reader and not the Commish, I for one would not object to first-half and end-of-season only given how much detail and work you put into those and knowing how time-consuming that is.

I mean...it is and it isn't. Time consuming and mentally demanding, I mean. I update my won/loss records and character stats after each show and I don't just...not think about the League during the week, you know? The posts are only a collection of thoughts I've already been having plus the logical extension of same. But at the same time, quarterly instead of halfway point and post is stretching it. Not so much material, alas. It's why I asked instead of just doing it. If quarterly was enjoyed and a return is desired, I can probably make that happen. Barring any disasters at work, anyway. Otherwise, I can keep my thoughts half formed in my head until the halfway point and post season.

[Croquemitaine]

 

Je suis touché par la confiance que vous m'accordez.

 

 

 

 

 

[Croquemitaine]

 

If Scotty Juggs thinks he's taking my spot, he got anutha thing comin'!

 

[ShadowedFlames]

16 minutes ago, Croquemitaine said:

If Scotty Juggs thinks he's taking my spot, he got anutha thing comin'!

Welp. I now have a voice in my head for De’siree as well thanks to that! 😂