619 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 I massively agree with what @christmas_ape said about your tone: having your own signature style really makes your dynasties stand out and the observations you make about holes you perceive in your booking or the silly side of wrestling more generally are always a highlight. In this latest show, I loved the concept of a hype video full of moments the audience had never seen. Separately, though I've surely said it before, as someone who is most comfortable writing about how "after X minutes, Wrestler Y beat Wrestler Z with his finisher", I'm so envious of how good you are at giving each match a clear story and unique flavour. As someone not overly familiar with Mexican wrestling in the CVerse or real world, I'm enjoying the blend of in-ring seriousness and out-of-ring zaniness, both crossing over at times, and the main event in particular felt like it would be a really fun watch with the pinfall and top rope double jeopardy. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha2117 Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 3 hours ago, AboardTheArk said: Thank you for the feedback and for reading anyway. I already addressed some hesitations with the pictures and I am very much up my own ass and don't want to use the same renders because the promotion changed universes. At some point I will settle on something for the imagery I think. I get you - I think you understand that I commented in a constructive criticism sort of way too. Without the Worker pics the immersion inherently becomes a little more difficult for some people (well this person anyway). Hopefully you find pics that work for you because like I said the writing on this is good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AboardTheArk Posted August 13 Author Share Posted August 13 THE BOOKING TEAM, THE NEW PHILOSOPHY, AND THE LEGACY Chess Maniac, Captain Lucha and Cique Jr. Those are the three men who are going to steer the "TV" era of EMLL. The big shift in booking voices came as 2021 was a year of stagnation even with the big payoff that was the rise to the top of Samael The Accuser (and beating Dolphin Master for the belt wasn't the biggest match the company could have ran for its biggest moment post-Guerrero Muerto unifying the belts). The roster was too big for the singles gimmick, a lot of the matchups felt random but unlike fighting games, (some) luchadors don't have THAT much variety to always get by on the novelty of the matchup. The lore kept getting more vague to justify matchups happening, crowds weren't responding. Alliances would only pay off with interference, and paying a guy a fee to run interference knowing he'd not get to wrestle for the next 5 months of cards except in the pre-show because you have to get the more established guys on the show was annoying. But really it circles back to the lore and the booking. Chess Maniac came in and immediately recognized a rigidity in how EMLL works- selling the novelty of the 2 out of 3 rings matches that aren't singles + Mortal Combat being an "anything can happen" type show was the only things EMLL revolved around. Everything else is optional and for the hardcores because really, everyone wants to either rule the world, destroy the world or end the circumstances that make EMLL exist as this weird cosmic battleground, so you can't have plot advancement. The addition of Time Master is useful for this, slowing down a de facto hero, but really there was a chance to sell the reboot here. And it is a reboot in terms of the promotion, just done in a way where nothing is official so you can reference things the fans know about. You can't decanonize dominance and blood and good ass wrestling. So, Captain Lucha and Cique Jr come in. These two guys do not have to think about the lore, that's Chess' work. They were there because, well. Because MPWF is actually EMLL ver. 0.1. El Bandido, Atlantis Jr, Chess Maniac, Soul Taker, Mayan Idol, El Hijo Del Mephisto, all played up their characters far more than the usual luchador with a name that implies they're a being of higher purpose than humanity. The difference was MPWF being strictly family friendly. And maybe that's what did them in. Maybe SOTBPW doing La Alianza Del Terror while Soul Taker vs Magnifico was about reminding 8 year old kids of their favorite anime made them seem out of touch. Maybe that's why El Bandido decided his own company will be grittier. Besides, all of the booking team and the owner are MPWF alum. EMLL stands on the shoulders of giants, of a company that made it 38 years before unceremoniously shutting down. You can't say they learnt from it until they make it to 39. As for the vision? TV is to seem major league. No one expects those shows to be good, only to be good enough to get word of mouth around the country in places where they're virtually non-existent right now and get them on a real channel. This is more doable in Mexico than most other countries and with more choices due to what lucha libre means culturally. But this expansion also means eating more costs short term, which seemingly they're fine with. When the deal with Wrestleworld Lucha was signed, El Bandido joked that they can call it "season 1" if they get in debt. Maybe it rings more true if you take it seriously. A big disagreement between The Cap and Cique is on toning down the hardcore factor. The Cap thinks doing that makes you EILL 2.0, just spookier. It's true that the reliance on promos has been going up, but maybe that's a bit dramatic. On the other hand, Cique is traditional to death. This is good in some ways because he'll be a brutal judge on if someone is good enough. Not only if they can do the moves, but if they are actually great. If those tag matches measure up and if they're worth keeping. But in others, maybe he wants a MPWF 2.0 too much, because it would make it easier for his trainees to find spots when all the hardcore guys leave. It will not all be smooth sailing. The thing is, despite the shimmering tension in the booking team, despite the fact the TV shows lose double the money that the big events make up at the end of the month, everyone is still hyped and still sees this endeavor as worth it. And how can you not, knowing what's about to come? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
619 Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 This does a great job of explaining the changes you've made, and it's a nice bit of background detail to know there's some tension in the booking team. It also gives you the flexibility and built-in explanation if you find yourself leaning more in a particular direction as the save develops. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha2117 Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 44 minutes ago, AboardTheArk said: THE BOOKING TEAM, THE NEW PHILOSOPHY, AND THE LEGACY Chess Maniac, Captain Lucha and Cique Jr. Those are the three men who are going to steer the "TV" era of EMLL. The big shift in booking voices came as 2021 was a year of stagnation even with the big payoff that was the rise to the top of Samael The Accuser (and beating Dolphin Master for the belt wasn't the biggest match the company could have ran for its biggest moment post-Guerrero Muerto unifying the belts). The roster was too big for the singles gimmick, a lot of the matchups felt random but unlike fighting games, (some) luchadors don't have THAT much variety to always get by on the novelty of the matchup. The lore kept getting more vague to justify matchups happening, crowds weren't responding. Alliances would only pay off with interference, and paying a guy a fee to run interference knowing he'd not get to wrestle for the next 5 months of cards except in the pre-show because you have to get the more established guys on the show was annoying. But really it circles back to the lore and the booking. Chess Maniac came in and immediately recognized a rigidity in how EMLL works- selling the novelty of the 2 out of 3 rings matches that aren't singles + Mortal Combat being an "anything can happen" type show was the only things EMLL revolved around. Everything else is optional and for the hardcores because really, everyone wants to either rule the world, destroy the world or end the circumstances that make EMLL exist as this weird cosmic battleground, so you can't have plot advancement. The addition of Time Master is useful for this, slowing down a de facto hero, but really there was a chance to sell the reboot here. And it is a reboot in terms of the promotion, just done in a way where nothing is official so you can reference things the fans know about. You can't decanonize dominance and blood and good ass wrestling. So, Captain Lucha and Cique Jr come in. These two guys do not have to think about the lore, that's Chess' work. They were there because, well. Because MPWF is actually EMLL ver. 0.1. El Bandido, Atlantis Jr, Chess Maniac, Soul Taker, Mayan Idol, El Hijo Del Mephisto, all played up their characters far more than the usual luchador with a name that implies they're a being of higher purpose than humanity. The difference was MPWF being strictly family friendly. And maybe that's what did them in. Maybe SOTBPW doing La Alianza Del Terror while Soul Taker vs Magnifico was about reminding 8 year old kids of their favorite anime made them seem out of touch. Maybe that's why El Bandido decided his own company will be grittier. Besides, all of the booking team and the owner are MPWF alum. EMLL stands on the shoulders of giants, of a company that made it 38 years before unceremoniously shutting down. You can't say they learnt from it until they make it to 39. As for the vision? TV is to seem major league. No one expects those shows to be good, only to be good enough to get word of mouth around the country in places where they're virtually non-existent right now and get them on a real channel. This is more doable in Mexico than most other countries and with more choices due to what lucha libre means culturally. But this expansion also means eating more costs short term, which seemingly they're fine with. When the deal with Wrestleworld Lucha was signed, El Bandido joked that they can call it "season 1" if they get in debt. Maybe it rings more true if you take it seriously. A big disagreement between The Cap and Cique is on toning down the hardcore factor. The Cap thinks doing that makes you EILL 2.0, just spookier. It's true that the reliance on promos has been going up, but maybe that's a bit dramatic. On the other hand, Cique is traditional to death. This is good in some ways because he'll be a brutal judge on if someone is good enough. Not only if they can do the moves, but if they are actually great. If those tag matches measure up and if they're worth keeping. But in others, maybe he wants a MPWF 2.0 too much, because it would make it easier for his trainees to find spots when all the hardcore guys leave. It will not all be smooth sailing. The thing is, despite the shimmering tension in the booking team, despite the fact the TV shows lose double the money that the big events make up at the end of the month, everyone is still hyped and still sees this endeavor as worth it. And how can you not, knowing what's about to come? Wonderful way of explaining the changes to the product and also how you've reshaped things backstage. Great stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugh Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 Love booking post, great insight into the game world. I love how there are two prominent EMLL diaries, both with a similar approach of stripping away aspects of the promotion and deviating more towards factions, both very clearly the same world, but the vibes are so dramatically different. Really loving this. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AboardTheArk Posted August 16 Author Share Posted August 16 (edited) EMLL ROSTER CHART TO GET EVERYONE UP TO SPEED FACTIONS: ARMY OF DEATH GUERRERO MUERTO - EL HIJO DEL VIGILANTE - MALEFIC - CALAVERA EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES SURVIVORS CAPTAIN LUCHA - APRENDIZ JR - BLUE WOLF - EL BANDIDO JR - TRICOLOR JR HELLMOUTH REMNANTS EL DIABLO EMPLUMADO - MACABRO - NOXIOUS - PYROMANIAC KINGDOM OF BLOOD DEATH'S HEAD - MASCARA ROJA JR - HELLFIRE THE ACCUSER'S ACCORD SAMAEL THE ACCUSER - CHARRON - TRICKSTER - DELIRIUM THE DARK TRIAD CYCLOPS - DEMON KING - EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA THE FERRYMAN'S ARK STYX THE FERRYMAN - BORIKEN LOVE MACHINE JR - LA BESTIA MORADA - SCREAMER UNAFFILIATED: CHESS MANIAC SNAKE KING SCORPION DECIPHER GOBLIN PRINCE REY SOLDADO TIME MASTER GANYMEDE JR EL HIJO DEL NEUTRON Edited August 16 by AboardTheArk 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AboardTheArk Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 ISSUE #1 - CHAOS THEORY HELD IN: Antigua Mercado de Monterey CA: 375 WrestleWord Lucha Viewers: 21,443 SEGMENT 1: DARK TRIAD PROMO The show begins from an undisclosed location with Demon King, Cyclops and El Hijo Del Fantasma. They relish on their tag title victory against Samael The Accuser's cronies at Avatar of Chaos, but realize that the war has only just begun. Demon King, fresh off being part of a winning trios team and a good performance in the Avatar of Chaos battle royal officially challenges Samael to a title match at Herald of Justice. Cyclops expresses that this is only a small part of the big cosmic game they're playing, but a necessary step to putting things in motion. Rating: 46 MATCH 1: SNAKE KING VS SCORPION Wearing a new necklace, Snake King is fighting the Other Animal Worshipper, Scorpion, in a match where the stakes are vague but really it's all about showcasing a new side of the Snake King. He fights less controlled and tricky than usual and more like an aggressor. Scorpion is there to milk all the sympathy possible from this "new version" that mostly does the same moves but with different conviction and some neat punches, and a few neat hope spots such as a beautiful twisting sunset flip off of the wheelbarrow position for a nearfall and a single leg dropkick that sent Snake King bouncing off the ropes and back for a flapjack. Ultimately, the Snake-Bite (Wheelbarrow Facebuster) was hit around 10 minutes in to send Scorpion home. Rating: 53 SEGMENT 2: AH WELL, THAT WAS SHORT-LIVED After the match, Snake King proudly takes off and presents the necklace to everyone with one arm aloft, letting everyone know he's a new level of threat. Until he's kicked in the nuts by El Bandido Jr, who steals the necklace for himself! Rating: 23 SEGMENT 3: HATRED THROUGH TIME AND SPACE Rey Soldado is backstage cutting a promo that boils down to "DeCipher in this and any timeline you're an asshole. But now with the Ring of Chaos you are dangerous. I'm going to get your ass and protect anyone you would harm for laughs you stupid deranged idiot. Next week you're mine!" It gets a lot of cheers, Soldado is not the best promo on the roster but he's improving. Rating: 41 MATCH 2: TIME MASTER VS GOBLIN PRINCE Proving whatever Soldado does, he can do better, Time Master is relentless in his assault of the feral luchador. Goblin Prince is scratching and clawing and thrashing but it's hard to find an angle against someone so athletic and dangerous. Time Master is in control and puts him away pretty early on with a Time's Arrow (Fireman's Carry Slam). Rating: 46 SEGMENT 3: IN MUERTO'S LAIR We find ourselves backstage to a segment which has a very simple premise: Guerrero Muerto is chewing off Calavera for failing to win the Ring of Chaos. He places 0 blame upon himself for not entering the match and only sending his weakling minion, and expresses that "the stress" of the Big Arrival would have been alleviated a lot if he had the Ring of Chaos in his possession. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice the other minions, Malefic and El Hijo del Vigilante, didn't even enter the match. Rating: 43 MATCH 3: CHARRON & SAMAEL THE ACCUSER VS GANYMEDE JR & EL HIJO DEL NEUTRON A way for the heels to get their mojo back, the space tecnicos seem to be very much an undercard addition for now- but a welcome one in the madhouse that is EMLL most of the time. Charron grounds the kid Ganymede Jr and makes him sell, Ganymede gets a good dodge and arm drag and the hot tag to Neutron, Neutron hits Samael with three moves for almost a two count, tags Ganymede Jr in for a double team move, Samael lariats them both, Poison of God, 1-2-3. Rating: 45 SEGMENT 4: STYX & BORIKEN & LA BESTIA MORADA TALK ABOUT NOTHING Styx: "You see, Earth-ians... you're in our way. Neither of our sides is where we belong, but you have no ambition for more than perseverence. We are... pest control on our way to ruling this universe." Boriken Love Machine Jr: "Yeah I was alive and then died but now, I'm hotter than ever. I am too sexy for Rigomortis, too much of a star to be contained by the Grim Reaper, and every babe in the crowd is watching the bod I got from swimming in the river of the Underworld! Captain Lucha, Blue Wolf, Tricolor Jr got nothing on me!" La Bestia Morada: "I'm going to fucking kill you. You don't know me! I'm crazy!" This did not go over TOO well. Rating: 33 MATCH 4: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST SURVIVORS (BLUE WOLF, CAPTAIN LUCHA & TRICOLOR JR) VS BORIKEN LOVE MACHINE JR, LA BESTIA MORADA & STYX THE FERRYMAN This was a pretty killer trios bout considering two guys here are pretty green in Wolf and Styx. The tecnicos were better at working together, including threatening a really early win with a triple dropkick on Morada early on, but the rudos ironically showed the better survival instinct. Boriken in particular would always get back up no matter what shine the babyfaces got, while Morada seemed to hyperfixate on Tricolor Jr. Styx was content working a bit less, hitting big power moves whenever an opportunity would arise and riling up the tecnicos by not really getting down and dirty. You could say this was a demoralizing match but really Captain Lucha's ability to come back is legendary, allowing the tecnicos to hit the stereo dives to the outside and get into a hot finishing stretch. However under lucha rules tags aren't necessary which led to the optimal conditions for the Ferryman's Ark after a bit of lumberjacking on the outside- Blue Wolf isolated with Boriken Love Machine Jr. Pop Up Gutbuster, Body Slam, Falling Side Slam, 1-2-3. The Undead Puerto Rican picked up a huge win. Rating: 49 SEGMENT 5: TWO WEEKS AWAY We get the look of a futuristic spaceship, but the music playing is so ethereal it might as well be religious. The gloss and gold all around is evident, but really there is no sign of life. Until we get a glimpse of a green mask with some more color on it, and everyone goes wild. In two weeks.... The Herald of Justice arrives! Rating: 62 MAIN EVENT: DELIRIUM VS TRICKSTER Finally free from Trickster's grasp, Delirium fought the match of his life here (not quality wise). The tricks were too cheap to fight off sheer rage, this was only competitive to blueball the crowd at just the right moments. There was no refuge for Trickster- on the outside, in the crowd, on the stage, he'd always not only be followed but pay for even running away. The fans go wild at every chance to see Trickster humiliated, punched, thrown into the ringpost, dove on, hit by a chair and scowl whenever he gets a cheapshot in. There's a count out tease after a kick to the groin by Trickster before sliding in the ring, but even when Delirium slides in the ring and Trickster instantly locks the Stretch of the Truth in, there's just this sense that there's no way Delirium is losing- he gets the rope break in a rare for Mexico milking of the submission, and hits the Dazed and Confused only a couple minutes after for the clean win in the middle of the ring. Rating: 45 SEGMENT 6: OH BROTHER, AGAIN? After the match, DeCipher comes out with the Ring of Chaos and a microphone. His mask covers his mouth but his eyes betray a shit-eating grin. He congratulates Delirium and introduces him to the idea that he is his master now. Delirium is having none of it and tries to hit the Dazed and Confused but DeCipher easily sidesteps it and uses the ring to hurt Delirium's mind. DeCipher hits him with the "you're not quite free, more like under new management" and kicks him in the skull before exiting the ring to end the show. Rating: 42 Show Rating: 52 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
619 Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 My favourite @AboardTheArk segments are the ones that seem to get buried by TEW itself, and Segment 4 here was my favourite of the dynasty so far. Boriken Love Machine Jr living the dream of being too sexy for rigor mortis, following it up with another killer line about swimming in the Underworld river and then La Bestia Morada dropping an F bomb straight after, and the segment title being "talk about nothing". The kind of gold you pull off so well. I was delighted they went over after that too, and the show-closing segment was also a lot of fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanegan Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 Decipher as the new Avatar of Chaos is gold and I loved your promo of Boriken and Morada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christmas_ape Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 I was about to say comment pretty much exactly 619's thoughts. Although I also liked the highest rated segment too. I don't know the mexican c-verse scene enough to know who that could be but I'll look forward to seeing more next week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AboardTheArk Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 On 8/18/2024 at 2:08 AM, 619 said: My favourite @AboardTheArk segments are the ones that seem to get buried by TEW itself, and Segment 4 here was my favourite of the dynasty so far. Boriken Love Machine Jr living the dream of being too sexy for rigor mortis, following it up with another killer line about swimming in the Underworld river and then La Bestia Morada dropping an F bomb straight after, and the segment title being "talk about nothing". The kind of gold you pull off so well. I was delighted they went over after that too, and the show-closing segment was also a lot of fun. On 8/18/2024 at 5:10 AM, kanegan said: Decipher as the new Avatar of Chaos is gold and I loved your promo of Boriken and Morada. On 8/18/2024 at 9:57 AM, christmas_ape said: I was about to say comment pretty much exactly 619's thoughts. Although I also liked the highest rated segment too. I don't know the mexican c-verse scene enough to know who that could be but I'll look forward to seeing more next week. Thank you all, it's always nice when a spur of the moment bit works out so well lol! ISSUE #2 - THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME Held In: Monterrey CA: 300 SEGMENT 1: SETTING THE TERMS Backstage, Chess Maniac approaches the Kingdom of Blood, asking for a talk with Death's Head. After a lot of suspicion, he gets his wish and makes his proposal: A game. A bet. The executioner against the Gamemaster. Whoever collects the most heads wins. The wager? If Death's Head wins, Chess Maniac becomes a servant of his. If Maniac wins, the Kingdom of Blood will have to help him take out a target. Of course, they both agree. Rating: 41 MATCH 1: BLUE WOLF & TRICOLOR JR VS CALAVERA & EL HIJO DEL VIGILANTE VS SCREAMER & STYX THE FERRYMAN A bit of a spotfest to get us started in terms of in ring action, this also helped make Styx more of a threat surrounded by undercarders he'd be allowed to dominate. Calavera and Vigilante had a chip on their shoulders and really upped the violence (and also made dumb decisions head on) they approached things with while the tecnicos of planet earth mostly were on Screamer mode, with Wolf trying to contain him and Tricolor trying to match him. The substance wasn't really there but it was a hot opener especially following an all-in-all successful promo. After a lot of breathtaking dives that took everyone else out, Calavera and Styx where in the middle of the ring, and this could only end with the Journey's End on the skeletal minion. Rating: 43 MATCH 2: APRENDIZ JR VS LA BESTIA MORADA This was very short at 8 minutes, starting off with a llave grappling segment that the veteran dominated before Morada hit all his signature moves one by one with the routine of an SWF TV squash. That is all well and good, until Aprendiz counters an attempt at the Purple Patch (horizontal bow and arrow lock), gets complete ground control on Morada and gets him in the La Magistral cradle for the shocking win! Rating: 42 SEGMENT 2: OFFICIAL DECLARATION OF WAR Captain Lucha essentially cuts a promo about what has already been happening: there will be an all out war between the Earth refugees and the Undead. Fans are welcome to keep score until the final battle, which will be at Mortal Combat (if you haven't, The Ferryman's Ark are winning 2-1). Rating: 50 MATCH 3: DELIRIUM VS REY SOLDADO With DeCipher at ringside, we see a weird sight: a powered up Delirium under control. Under Trickster, especially since all that time was spent before the reset, Delirium was just an interference warm body for him. Here it seems like doing weirder stuff with the Ring of Chaos is going to be the route taken. Regardless, this is a pretty good match between high flyer and powerhouse, Soldado is a competent base even if he gets less offense in. Crucially, nothing is no-sold. There's just an air of confidence and impact in everything Delirium does. He even wins clean with the Dazed and Confused knee, at which moment DeCipher turns the control off and he collapses from adrenaline. Rating: 48 SEGMENT 3: TIME AFTER TIME After the match, if the ass kicking wasn't enough, Time Master also violently attacks Rey Soldado, visibly bloodying him through his white mask. Rating: 39 MATCH 4: CYCLOPS & EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA VS EL DIABLO EMPLUMADO & MACABRO The evening's car crash affair, the two Hellmouth demons absolutely got down and dirty here trying to earn their TV time in this. Chairs, tables, stairs and the tag belts all got involved, this was worked almost like a tornado tag with how much was outside brawling, and it took a while for the comeback to be on. The heat built and built up, but in the end El Hijo Del Fantasma is unstoppable at his best. Macabro went toe to toe with him on strike exchanges but the minute he tried to wear him down with holds Fantasma couldn't be contained by raw power and inexperience- he gets a headbutt in before a side backbreaker and locks in the Ultimate Boston Crab for an instant tap out. El Diablo is running in with a chair post match but is temporarily stopped by Cyclops so the tecnicos escape. Rating: 57 SEGMENT 4: TITLE MATCH IS SET Samael The Accuser approaches Demon King and accepts his challenge for the Campeonato Del Mundo EMLL at Herald of Justice. King is satisfied and tries to begin trash talking but he is interrupted by the Champion, who makes it a Scaffold match. King is surprised by that choice which would minimize interference advantages (although really he has the tag champs watching his back) and lets Samael know that his reign over the Dark Universe is going to be over. Rating: 48 MAIN EVENT: GUERRERO MUERTO VS SNAKE KING Not only was this a man that is laser focused against a man consumed by grief over his precious belonging that was stolen, these two are also hit by bad chemistry. This is a bit of a case where the "story" gets in the way of the wrestling itself, it's disjointed and the action stops to show us how frustrated Snake King is and how every mistake against Muerto is fatal. These two are good enough where it doesn't suck and it's still better than a lot of what the rest of the roster can put together, it's just not great. Regardless, Snake King is too aloof to end things when he has the chance and gets caught into a Furusawa Armbar for the submission loss. Rating: 56 Show Rating: 55 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christmas_ape Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 5 hours ago, AboardTheArk said: Of course, they both agree. I loved that, would be great to have just set up the wager for it be rejected. Again it was an enjoyable read there's always little turns of phrases that make it fun to read. Still not entirely sure about whether I'm supporting the survivors or the ferryman's ark. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
619 Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 Shame the main event was snake-bit, but it feels like everything is settling into a satisfying rhythm since the reset and there's lots going on. This was another showcase of your ability to make each match and segment feel different, with the Aprendiz Jr match probably my favourite for how you established it as being a one-sided squash but then pulled off the swerve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AboardTheArk Posted August 26 Author Share Posted August 26 On 8/21/2024 at 11:11 PM, christmas_ape said: I loved that, would be great to have just set up the wager for it be rejected. Again it was an enjoyable read there's always little turns of phrases that make it fun to read. Still not entirely sure about whether I'm supporting the survivors or the ferryman's ark. I guess you could have them reject it and then use the whole "gamemaster" part to set up a gambling addiction storyline... I think I haven't found a way to make the undead guys menacing enough so it makes sense. On 8/22/2024 at 1:52 AM, 619 said: Shame the main event was snake-bit Heh. I do think there's an appropriate amount of things going on too. I am a couple shows ahead booking wise and while not everything is perfect things advance show to show in an okay manner. ISSUE #3 - La Llegada Held in: Monterrey CA: 406 MATCH 1: CYCLOPS, DEMON KING & EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA VS CHARRON, SAMAEL THE ACCUSER & TRICKSTER The first rematch from issue #0. And it's worked in a similar way except this time the focus in the final stretch is on the Campeonato Del Mundo combatants. The work is slick, focused and familiar with even a tease to the finish from a month ago with Demon King locking in the Eternal Pain on Charron, only for Samael to brutally break it and drag the demonic tecnico to the outside for a brawl. The focus on El Hijo Del Fantasma looking strong also continues as he dominates most of his exchanges, but Trickster and Charron keep finding ways to survive him. In the end, we have a reversal of the previous finish with Cyclops being victimized by the champion, Samael wrecking him with a series of power moves before hitting the Poison of God for the win. Rating: 56 SEGMENT 1: UPPING THE SCORE We see a brutal cinematic backstage fight between Screamer and Blue Wolf, full of violence and a grittiness they usually don't bring to the ring. However to eagle-eyed viewers the background green screen stuff still looks a bit uncanny. Rating: 28 SEGMENT 2: TOYING WITH GREAT POWER We see El Bandido Jr, hiding from Snake King, doing parkour, and generally being a sneaky thief. Then we catch a glimpse of his eyes being green and his demeanor changing for a second, until he goes back to normal. Rating: 33 MATCH 2: CALAVERA VS TIME MASTER The next victim of Time Master's wrath, Calavera was out to prove things to his master which is why he put up a better fight than Goblin Prince. However, at his best Time Master is a force to be reckoned with, maybe the best athlete on the roster if we take his size into account, and Calavera is still inexperienced at getting the job done. This was a bit more grounded but the moment a bomb was hit, things opened up and a Time's Arrow sent them home in 8 minutes. Rating: 49 MATCH 3: CHESS MANIAC & DEATH'S HEAD VS EL HIJO DEL NEUTRON & GANYMEDE JR This was a weird version of a "can they co-exist" tag as both men fought for who will get the pin on the clearly inferior undercarders. They punch each other, send each other out, almost lose multiple times. This is a balancing act where you don't want to bury the (for now) jobbers but this isn't about them either. As a result, both Neutron and Ganymede actually hit their finishers and the rivals have to save each other barely. But ultimately, Death's Head hits a powerbomb on Ganymede Jr and... gets hit with a low blow from his own teammate! Chess Maniac steals the win! One scalp in his favor. Rating: 50 SEGMENT 3: PRE-MATCH PEP TALK Styx approaches Boriken Love Machine Jr before his match with Captain Lucha, wishing him luck for the good of the crew. As a motivating factor, he gives him a simple display- as he resurrected BLM Jr and collected his soul, he has the power to make his luck run out, and kiss his sexy corporeal form goodbye. Boriken gives him a salute and runs to Crippler position trying not to show he's terrified. Rating: 38 MATCH 4: BORIKEN LOVE MACHINE JR VS CAPTAIN LUCHA Boriken made this a hard brawl, with the intensity and pace of the arena brawls of old, but the story of the match was about the pep talk backfiring- Captain Lucha dissected him. Despite his intensity otherwise, Boriken seems to want to use his sexiness while he still has it, taking longer than usual working the crowd and taunting Cap, who notices the behavioral patterns really early and capitalizes. Ironically, this is the rare match where the tecnico keeps cutting the rudo off, but whatever works, works. Captain Lucha makes no mistakes and hits the Mexican Death top rope double foot stomp to put a stamp on a big win for Team Earth. Rating: 52 MATCH 5: DECIPHER VS SCORPION This is more of an angle than a match, DeCipher takes Scorpion to the outside, gives him to Delirium to beat the hell out of, rolls him back in the ring, hits a Dazed and Confused knee then a Code Breaker and wins. Scorpion gets his hope spots but really, he's screwed against the holder of the Ring of Chaos. Rating: 49 SEGMENT 4: HALF-HEARTED CELEBRATION After the match, DeCipher expresses his boredom with what happened (even though he's basically the only one responsible), and orders Delirium to a match next week! Rating: 54 SEGMENT 5: OH, SO HE'LL TALK NEXT WEEK? I WATCHED 90 MINUTES OF THIS! Finally, the reveal the reboot has almost revolved around. We get a video playing of a golden, futuristic hall. Anthemic rock music is accompanying images of grandeur, of fans cheering, of titles won, of speeches given. Then it all goes dark. And a theme famous around Mexico blasts through, making the crowd of 400 sound like 3000. The Legendary Axxis Jr is in EMLL! Rumors of his exist from EILL after he was asked to lose his mask to Gino Montero are seemingly confirmed- and there was only one more place for him to go in the country. 4 time EILL Campeon Del Mundo, main eventer of 4 seperate LuchaManias, winner of 3 Luchas de Apuestas, and currently a leader of a Space Tribunal/Police seemingly for EMLL. Things are about to get interesting. Rating: 68 Show Rating: 56 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
619 Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 I really enjoyed the tag match and how the story of infighting and one-upmanship allowed the inferior guys to hit their finishers and look a slight threat, and then a final bit of dissension at the end when it looked to all be resolved. The BLM Jr story was fun too with the pep talk having the opposite effect, while the segments were gold as ever with DeCipher's self-imposed boredom, referencing limitations to the green screen technology and calling the finale "I watched 90 minutes of this", haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha2117 Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Axxis Jr is a potential game changer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanegan Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Axxis Jr. is a big signing for you. Kudos to that. The resurrected BLM should create some fun storylines in the coming weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AboardTheArk Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 (edited) Hey folks! As everyone saw in the preview thread, now that the Alt 2022 mod is up to speed I'm working on that right now instead of this diary. In truth I was mapping out things and I noticed that 1) I have nothing interesting post Mortal Combat 2) I did not like what I was doing with the top title 3) the TV episodes got sluggish for me really early and I fully made a mistake not going with a short season narratively, the Events are so much juicier to write in lucha. But it made sense for the business and gameplay part of "filling the OLLIE gap" and I thought the cool setting idea would carry me but wrestling storylines and my ideas of 'realism' prevented me from taking advantage of its full potential. In more personal news I'm also moving cities in a couple weeks for the beginning of my post-grad and therefore my ADHD wanted to "begin something new" alongside that. I am very sorry to everyone who invests their time in these diaries that end really quickly, basically every diary I've done that wasn't CGC ended before the 10 show mark and it is really frustrating. But I do craft these with love I am just dumb about it lol and the standard I hold myself, while also taking shortcuts sometimes to get shows out is not a good combo for longevity. I *will* have a separate post detailing the plans for Herald of Justice and Mortal Combat instead of jumping into whatever's next immediately, I owe you guys that much. Edited September 2 by AboardTheArk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christmas_ape Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Of course it's a shame to see this end but I wouldn't hold onto any guilt. It was a fun read and you've got to enjoy what you're writing or there's really no point. I'm sure you've earned readers no matter what, and I'd include myself in that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanegan Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 It was fun while it lasted and I enjoyed comparing notes between yours and my vision. Best of luck for your upcoming diary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha2117 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Good Luck in your Future Endeavours 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AboardTheArk Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 EL MUNDO OSCURO #4: -Axxis Jr first promo gets an 86 which is crazy -Screamer beats Blue Wolf -Mascara Roja Jr defeats Hellfire for the right to face Chess Maniac on the next episode -DeCipher beats Delirium after almost losing by using the ring of chaos against him, declares him a disappointing foe, gets attacked by Rey Soldado who has Delirium's back -Demon King defeats Death's Head before his world title match as Chess King pulls referee switcharoo to mess with the Executioner -Face off between Demon King and Samael to end the show EMLL HERALD OF JUSTICE: -Screamer defeats Aprendiz Jr -Tricolor Jr defeats La Bestia Morada -Snake King defeats El Bandido Jr and beats the crap out of him post match to show the strength of the Snake God pendant -Captain Lucha defeats Styx The Ferryman -Rey Soldado and Delirium defeat Time Master and DeCipher as Soldado pins Time Master -Samael retains against Demon King -Axxis Jr defeats Guerrero Muerto in the main event in a match that surprisingly only gets 66 and vows to main event Mortal Combat EMLL MORTAL COMBAT ROUGH CARD: -AXXIS JR VS SAMAEL THE ACCUSER FOR THE EMLL CAMPEONATO DEL MUNDO -DECIPHER VS DELIRIUM LUCHA DE APUESTAS (RING OF CHAOS VS HAIR) -TEAM EARTH VS FERRYMAN'S ARK 4 VS 4 GAUNTLET ELIMINATION TAG MATCH -GUERRERO MUERTO & CALAVERA VS CYCLOPS & EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA FOR THE CAMPEONATOS DEL PAREJAS -CHESS MANIAC VS DEATH'S HEAD -SNAKE KING VS REY SOLDADO -some sort of undercard spectacle deathmatch between the guys willing to work one So this is what was planned for you guys over the next few weeks. After this I basically had nothing which plays a part in the decision as mentioned. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
619 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Like @christmas_ape said, you shouldn't beat yourself up: there's no point forcing something if you're not feeling it. And who doesn't get the urge to book The Alexithymia Eunuch to world domination from time to time? I find that highly relatable. I enjoyed the introduction to a roster and product I wasn't familiar with and look forward to seeing what you do next. Good luck with the move and post-grad too, and wow on scoring an 86 angle on this game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha2117 Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 7 hours ago, AboardTheArk said: EL MUNDO OSCURO #4: -Axxis Jr first promo gets an 86 which is crazy -Screamer beats Blue Wolf -Mascara Roja Jr defeats Hellfire for the right to face Chess Maniac on the next episode -DeCipher beats Delirium after almost losing by using the ring of chaos against him, declares him a disappointing foe, gets attacked by Rey Soldado who has Delirium's back -Demon King defeats Death's Head before his world title match as Chess King pulls referee switcharoo to mess with the Executioner -Face off between Demon King and Samael to end the show EMLL HERALD OF JUSTICE: -Screamer defeats Aprendiz Jr -Tricolor Jr defeats La Bestia Morada -Snake King defeats El Bandido Jr and beats the crap out of him post match to show the strength of the Snake God pendant -Captain Lucha defeats Styx The Ferryman -Rey Soldado and Delirium defeat Time Master and DeCipher as Soldado pins Time Master -Samael retains against Demon King -Axxis Jr defeats Guerrero Muerto in the main event in a match that surprisingly only gets 66 and vows to main event Mortal Combat EMLL MORTAL COMBAT ROUGH CARD: -AXXIS JR VS SAMAEL THE ACCUSER FOR THE EMLL CAMPEONATO DEL MUNDO -DECIPHER VS DELIRIUM LUCHA DE APUESTAS (RING OF CHAOS VS HAIR) -TEAM EARTH VS FERRYMAN'S ARK 4 VS 4 GAUNTLET ELIMINATION TAG MATCH -GUERRERO MUERTO & CALAVERA VS CYCLOPS & EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA FOR THE CAMPEONATOS DEL PAREJAS -CHESS MANIAC VS DEATH'S HEAD -SNAKE KING VS REY SOLDADO -some sort of undercard spectacle deathmatch between the guys willing to work one So this is what was planned for you guys over the next few weeks. After this I basically had nothing which plays a part in the decision as mentioned. As I always say it needs to be fun for you - once it starts feeling like hard work it's no longer worth it. Dont stress pulling the plug. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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