Mark Cuban Does DaVE!

[Gozer]

I've gotta be careful reading these writeups, dude. I have a tendency to skim a little (I can't help it, I blame too much school), and I'm missing things. Not results, but little things. I almost missed this, for example: [QUOTE]Vin Tanner is walking down a corridor backstage, thinking whatever it is that Vin Tanner might think upon in his moments of reflection and solitude, thoughts like "My knees always ache when it's about to rain" and "Do you remember when a bowl of soup cost a nickel?" and "It's hard to find a good creamed corn these days."[/QUOTE] And when Tanner pulled that high-flier thing? Comedy gold. I hate that guy, but you're making him hilarious. Seriously - push Tanner, but push him as a grumpy old man. And I guess I don't mean "push" so much as "embarass". And I know I've already calld out my favorite quote of the night, but this has got to be the runner-up... I love these little gems, man. Rewards me for paying attention! [QUOTE]Acid stands in the center of the ring, motionless, betraying no emotion, fear, or humanity. He looks like a robot, or a statue, or [b]a potted plant in a luchadore mask[/b].[/QUOTE] Gold! Solid gold!

[Gozer]

Oh,one other thing before I forget - I like your fontsmostly but a few of them are hard on the eyes. Stay away from that light gray/blue, it's almost impossible to read... and I had to squint before I could read the "Show Rating" bit - that's a dense-assed font! But hey, if my biggest ocmplaint is about the font, you doin' okay, right?

[Monkeypox]

Ramaeno - Cuban is an amazingly divisive figure. People seem to either love him or absolutely detest him. I'm sort of in the middle, though I think his recent rant about how the whole idea of having to wear a suit to work is stupid was pretty awesome. I can actually see him BUYING a wrestling fed, though. That's just the sort of guy he is. Gozer - Thanks for the kind words. I think we've found a character for Vin Tanner! And... ahem... point taken on my illegible fonts. Keep readin!

[Monkeypox]

[CENTER][B][FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="4"]"Life As The Fallguy"[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/CENTER] The worst thing about being booker? Nobody outside of the industry knows who you are. You sweat and slave and drink too much trying to come up with the next big angle, the next big gimmick, the match-up that'll throw sparks and get your fed back on top, and your reward is to watch the owner take all of the credit for your idea. Worse yet, the reverse isn't true. If something goes wrong and someone's gotta take some ****, that guy is you. Mark takes all of the credit for the smart moves, but if the guys are pissed off, I'm the one they write, even if it's only to complain about him. We got all of the guys over on E-Mail accounts a few years ago, and that's gradually taken over as the way complaints are made, at least with the younger guys. There've been a lot of changes in the fed lately so I've been getting a higher than usual number of complaints. Here's a representative sampling: [QUOTE][B]From:[/B] Big Cat Brandon (brandon@dave.com) [b]To:[/b] Jack [booker@dave.com) [b]Sent:[/b] February 15th, 2007 [b]Re:[/b] Six Man Thing Hey I dont get how this belt thing works. Am i ever gonna get parnters or what am i just supposed to sit this out? Am i still the number one contedner or what? This was better with the old man vibert at leaats there werent all these rules man. Brandon[/QUOTE] Or this one: [QUOTE][B]From:[/B] Sammy Bach (ihumpemma4real@dave.com) [b]To:[/b] Jack [booker@dave.com) [b]Sent:[/b] February 18th, 2007 [b]Re:[/b] Tag Belts Hey man 'sup! Dude just want to spit props for the tag titles and mucho screen time - all very cool just excited to finally get a push, you know? Emma says she's happy too and she'll keep it in mind when it's time for her to renegotiate that contract, you know? In fact, she told me to tell you that she's gonna keep how you treat me in mind when she re-signs, so it's probably good that you're treating me well, you know? Anyhow, just wanted to say thanks. Oh man, you should see what Emma's got on right now. OH MAN. I so totally gotta go. -Sammy[/quote] Note to self: Push Sammy Bach, install webcam in his room. These next two are ones I get pretty much every week, in one form or another, so I've learned not to be too alarmed. [QUOTE][B]From:[/B] Eddie Peak (eddie@dave.com) [b]To:[/b] Jack [booker@dave.com) [b]Sent:[/b] February 13th, 2007 [b]Re:[/b] The Burning of Children's Shoes Erstwhile authority is fleeting, child, and the eyes don't blink. Despair and beware our prophet margin, our profits are false. Rats know when a ship is sinking, sharks can smell blood through dark water, the phones ring in empty spaces, the hand is ever answering, the voices are stilled, the ink is unspilled. Shed no tears for he who is not a book. I do not fear him as the tire does not fear the road, as the step does not fear the stone, as the ceiling does not fear the floor. Kisses, Eddie PS: Feed me Sammy Bach this week. [/quote] Yeah, there's probably some nugget of meaning in there somewhere, but who's got the time? I would take this last one much more seriously if I didn't get something like it every week. [QUOTE][B]From:[/B] Chrissy Tyler (sparklepony1993@hotmail.com) [b]To:[/b] Jack [booker@dave.com) [b]Sent:[/b] February 15th, 2007 [b]Re:[/b] My Dad made me write this Hi!!!1!! This is Chrissy Tyler, Eric's daughter!! He's making me write you because he doesn't know how to use the computer and says computers are for lazy people who don't know how to use pencils. Anyhow, he says that your power rankings are... uhm... (he used a badword!!!)... bullpoo? And if they mean anything, he should be at the top, and he says he isn't going to lose anymore matches to... uhm... men who are in love with other men? (I dunno that word is bad too lol) And he says if you make him lose any more matches to guys he doesn't like that he's going to leave and destroy Dave and he can because he is the whole point and he's a very good wrestler... wait, he wants me to say that part over again. He is a very (OMG that's such a bad word!!!) wrestler, and if you don't like that you can... uhm... you know what a man and woman do when they're very in love with eachother to make a baby? He wants you to do that, except he wants you to do it to yourself. lol!! <<<<<3 ChRiSsY! [/quote] Another day on the job...

[D-Lyrium]

Bwhaha. Vin Tanner the Luchadore for the win. I'm loving Cult of the Grey Dragon already (Forgotten Realms reference? Although I don't remember that being a grey dragon specifically, and there are probably at least four cults involving dragons per RPG, so maybe not). Acid having a bad match is a shocker though... Keep on truckin' with the Latino Kings. I'm sure you'll turn the fans around somehow. Liking Joey's character, but loving the 'Ultimate Warrior' Eddie Peak even more ¬_¬ Also: Wooo, go Wolfpack. Only one prediction wrong so, and that was a match with only one announced wrestler, so it doesn't count ¬_¬

[Akki]

[QUOTE]you know what a man and woman do when they're very in love with eachother to make a baby? He wants you to do that, except he wants you to do it to yourself. lol!![/QUOTE] Go to Africa? Why would he want you to go to Africa? Hey, maybe you'll find Dirk Nowitzki there.

[Dragonmack]

From: Sammy Bach (ihumpemma4real@dave.com) My vote for best email address ever :D

[Jehovah]

I love the email section, great way to really solidify how you're being pulled in so many ways at once. Keep the ship sailing, buddy boy.

[Derek B]

lol Not at anything in particular, just at everything. This has to be the most entertaining read in the diaries section for some of the laughs and the sheer style of it all. I would also like to add my vote to the "Cult of the Gray Dragon are the best stable of all time" poll... even if it hasn't started yet. Seriously, those guys look awesome together! Derek B

[mad5226]

This is really an amazing diary man. The way you give these guys such personalities is something only a truely great writer could do. You get Mucho Mucho props man

[Guest TDubTNA]

Lol [QUOTE=Dragonmack;187132]From: Sammy Bach (ihumpemma4real@dave.com) My vote for best email address ever :D[/QUOTE] I also vote for that too...I love this diary...you write with such a great style and your little one liners are pure comedic gold...This has been my favorite diary so far...Keep up the good work...You got a reader here...

[Monkeypox]

[i]O.o.c post[/i] Wow, I stumble back from the bar and I've got all sorts of stuff goin on! First of all, thanks for the encouraging words... writing this thing is way more fun than I thought it would be, and positive feedback helps a lot. Especially when the positive feedback is frequently even better than the diary. Case in point: [QUOTE=Akki;187116]Go to Africa? Why would he want you to go to Africa? Hey, maybe you'll find Dirk Nowitzki there.[/QUOTE] That made me spit beer on myself. [QUOTE=D-Lyrium;187111]Bwhaha. Vin Tanner the Luchadore for the win. Liking Joey's character, but loving the 'Ultimate Warrior' Eddie Peak even more ¬_¬ [/QUOTE] No kidding, dude. Peak writes himself. They say he's a psychopath, who am I to disagree? Jack's gonna have an interview later on when he talks about some of the pop culture influences he uses to book and gimmick his wrestlers - there'll be a segment on Peak. AND on Acid. Oh, and Joey's character hasn't arrived yet. Wait until after the next PPV. [QUOTE=derek_b;187161]lI would also like to add my vote to the "Cult of the Gray Dragon are the best stable of all time" poll... even if it hasn't started yet. Seriously, those guys look awesome together![/QUOTE] Uh... [b]yeah[/b]. For real. If I could watch those three wrestle in real life, I'd never leave the house again. (note to self: I usually start that sentence with "If I had boobs...") I'm excited about that stable - on paper, they don't have any weaknesses. They aren't particularly over yet, but in terms of long-term potential I think they're the best 3-man team in DaVE (though if the Wolfpack had Johnny Martin instead of Vin Tanner... :eek: ). [QUOTE=mad5226;187185]This is really an amazing diary man. The way you give these guys such personalities is something only a truely great writer could do.[/QUOTE] That's a really really cool thing to say, man, but I gotta disagree. The C-Verse is awesome because the damn thing practically writes itself. The C-Verse was just a bunch of random **** a few years ago - the wrestlers [i]didn't even have pictures[/i] - and the diary community really sorta put meat on those bones. I mean, around here, with the C-Verse guys, if you talk about Fox Mask, most of us remember that Infinitywpi's CZCW diary (which is still running!) pretty much invented him as a character. And there are a lot of examples like that. The whole gameworld is fan driven. It's great - there aren't any expectations to live up to. Thanks for the compliment, but there are a lot of really good diaries on this board. Still, I'm glad you like this one! So again, thanks for the positive reinforcement... I'll throw another post up, and then I'll probably [i]throw up[/i], and then it's time for me and dynasty to black out for the evening.

[Monkeypox]

err... black out now, post tomorrow.

[theoutlaw321]

Just wanted to say that I am enjoying your diary. You are very entertaining and have given life to the characters in the game. Keep it up!

[Monkeypox]

[CENTER][FONT="Book Antiqua"][B][SIZE="4"]"What Patch 1.3 Taught Me About Kayfabe"[/SIZE][/B][/FONT][/CENTER] Interesting meeting with Mark today. I was sitting around with Nemesis, drinking coffee, chain smoking, and trying to decide whether it would be financially viable to launch another weekly show to up our exposure when Mark showed up for our monthly review with a paper in his hand. He slammed it down on the table. "WHAT IS GOING ON?" He demanded, not taking off his jacket or sitting. Nemesis squinted up at him, responding in that window rattling baritone of his, "You mean, why did TCW, USPW and a couple of Japanese Feds all announce a downturn and layoffs on the [i]same day[/i]?" "Yeah, Campbell. I'm wondering THAT." Nemesis chuckled but didn't answer. Exasperated, Cuban finally plunked down in his chair and stared at me expectedly. I ashed my cigarette, took another drag, stared hard at the ceiling for a second, and shrugged. "Industry downturn?" Mark leaned forward. "Listen, I know the industry is down in the U.S., but it's up in Japan. And the SAME DAY? Why don't you tell me what REALLY happened." I kept staring at the ceiling, trying to find an answer in the cracks in the paint radiating from the corner of my smallish office. "There's been a movement in wrestling to reduce the number of jobbers and emphasize a smaller talent pool, in order to-" "BULL****!!!!" Mark yelled, on the verge of standing back up. "There's no reason for three feds, ONE OF WHICH IS AMONG OUR BIGGEST COMPETITORS, to suddenly make a coordinated downsizing and flood the market with talented workers! TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED. NOW. On penalty of your ****ing job." I finally stopped staring at the ceiling and glanced over at Nemesis, who nodded and shrugged. I exhaled a cloud of smoke, and gestured for Mark to lean forward. Glancing around the room conspiratorally, I began to speak. "Allright, Mark, you're the owner of DaVE now, so I suppose you deserve to know a few things about how the gameworld really works. Now, I'm gonna tell you something that most people don't know, that NO ONE outside the industry knows except for J.K. Stallings and a few others, Vibert included. Really, this is something that only bookers and owners and VERY FEW workers know. I can tell you what happened." "It got patched." Mark looked at me, waiting for some sort of punchline, and then demanded to know what I meant. "[i]Patched.[/i] Changed. On some sort of existential level. I don't know, I don't totally understand the mechanics of it myself. It doesn't happen so often, but every once in awhile the fundamental organizing principles of the world change in subtle ways. You have to watch out for it. It just happened again. And it will probably happen a few more times, what with the glitches on internet reporting and show popularity and-" Mark stopped staring at me and exploded. "Wait, you're telling me that there's been some sort of operative SHIFT in the... I don't know... the ORDER OF THINGS in the wrestling industry? Who the hell is responsible for this?" I glanced around the room again, doublechecking to make sure no one was in earshot except ourselves and Nemesis. I leaned in very close, almost to his ear. [i][b]"Adam Ryland!"[/b][/i] Now Mark DID stand up, knocking over his chair in the process. [b]"WHO THE **** IS ADAM RYLAND??!"[/b] Now that was a hard question. Adam Ryland was hard to explain, but I did my best. I got about halfway through my explanation when Cuban cut me off again. "So... this... Ryland guy. Is he some sort of a GOD?" Nemesis laughed from the corner. "No, but some people act like he is." Cuban stared at my face like he was looking for signs that I was joking, or crazy. "So he's a man? A human? Where does he live?" I shrugged. "There are a lot of rumors. Probably somewhere in England." Cuban grabbed his jacket, purposeful. "Well, I want to see him. And probably SUE him. This is all totally ****ing anticompetitive." Nemesis and I both laughed. Cuban glared at us, and I struggled to pipe down while Nemesis kept chortling, indifferent. "Mark, listen... no one ever [i]talks[/i] to Adam Ryland. Sometimes, if you have a problem, he might talk to you. But you can't just go looking for him. Just forget about it. You don't want to mess with him anyhow." Mark gabbed a finger into my chest. "Jack, I'm Mark ****ing Cuban. You may forget this, but I'm rich. Very rich. Richer than anyone in this pathetic non-industry. I run professional basketball teams as a [i]hobby[/i]. If I want to... as you put it... [i]MESS[/i] with Adam Ryland, I will." I shook my head frantically, suddenly very afraid for Mark Cuban. "Dude, you can't. He can DO things... he has... an [i]editor[/i]!" Mark continued glaring. "And what can he edit, exactly?" I started to answer, but Nemesis cut me off. [b]"He can distend your anus, for one thing."[/b] Mark was totally silent, mouth hanging open. "He can... distend my anus?" "Yeah. He can distend anyone's anus. All he has to do is use his editor." Nemesis leaned forward, cracking his tremendous and scarred knuckles. "Remember [i]Buffy the Vampire Slayer[/i]? Remember that chick that played Buffy, [b]Sarah Michelle Gellar[/b]? Well, after she left the show, Adam was so angry that he used his editor to distend HER anus, and look what happened to her career? I'm tellin you, he's bad news." Mark looked to me, and then to Nemesis, and then to me. And we cracked. "Mark! Dude! We're kidding! We were telling the truth the first time. The industry is in a general downturn, and the only workers released were on written contracts. This way, they can be picked up by multiple feds and will probably end up working at the very place that let them go. They had to pay a settlement for breach of contract, it's all very by the books and there aren't any hard feelings. It happens." "God, for a billionaire, you sure are gullible!" [QUOTE][SIZE="3"][FONT="Arial Black"][COLOR="DarkRed"]This week on DANGER ZONE TV:[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE] [CENTER][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/ShawnGonzalez.jpg[/IMG]-vs-[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/BigCatBrandon_alt.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [b]Shawn Gonzales[/b] cashes in his [b]#1 Contendership Challenge[/b] and faces [b]Big Cat Brandon[/b] in a [b]#1 Contender Match[/b] to determine who will face DaVE Unified Title holder [b]Eddie Peak[/b] at [FONT="Impact"][COLOR="Red"]DaVE: March Into Battle[/COLOR][/FONT]! [CENTER][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/EddiePeak.jpg[/IMG]-vs-[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/SammyBach.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] It's revenge time as [b]Eddie Peak[/b] looks to inflict a whole lot of punishment on [b]Sammy Bach[/b] in a non-title match! [CENTER][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/EricTyler.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/Guide.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/Scout.jpg[/IMG] -vs- [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/BlackEagle.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/Acid.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/FumihiroOta.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] More three-on-three action as the [b]School of Tradition[/b] takes on the debuting [b]Cult of the Gray Dragon[/b] in a feud that has already gotten personal! [CENTER][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/ArtReed.jpg[/IMG]-vs-[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/TravisCentury.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Finally, sparks will fly as Menace and the Wolfpack continue their rivalry with a singles bout between [b]Art Reed[/b] and [b]Travis Century[/b]! All this and more on [COLOR="DarkRed"][FONT="Arial Black"]DANGER ZONE TV[/FONT][/COLOR]... Short form: [i]Shawn Gonzales vs Big Cat Brandon Eddie Peak vs Sammy Bach The School of Tradition vs The Cult of the Gray Dragon Art Reed vs Travis Century[/i] [/QUOTE]

[bkremer72]

The patch 1.3 posting was hilarious. This is the best diary for my money out there right now. Mark Cuban getting pissed because of other companies releasing talent and then actually starting to believe that Adam Ryland had magical powers that could screw with him and his business.:p I could see Mark just saying, "OK you think you are funny, I'm putting you in a match with the Cult of the Gray Dragon. See how funny that is".:eek:

[Akki]

[QUOTE=Monkeypox;187623]"So... this... Ryland guy. Is he some sort of a GOD?" Nemesis laughed from the corner. "No, but some people act like he is."[/QUOTE] Best line in a diary, ever. [QUOTE=bkremer72;187653]I could see Mark just saying, "OK you think you are funny, I'm putting you in a match with the Cult of the Gray Dragon. See how funny that is".:eek:[/QUOTE] Actually, I'd find that pretty funny.

[Gozer]

Somebody really needs to PM Ryland and tell him that he distended Buffy's anus! Serious, O.O.C or not, where the hell does this stuff come from, dude? I can't even imagine what goes on in your brain to make you write this stuff. That's not me telling you to stop, though. Not at all.

[Gozer]

Oh, and for what it's worth: Shawn Gonzales vs [b]Big Cat Brandon[/b] - Brandon is young and promising, Shawn is old and essentially temporary. [b]Eddie Peak[/b] vs Sammy Bach - There is NO WAY that the champ (who is built on being unstoppable AND has Nemesis in his corner) loses to Sammy ****ing Bach. This will be a squash. The School of Tradition vs [b[The Cult of the Gray Dragon[/b] - Dude, how can this stable EVER lose? (though this is close if only b/c Guide and Tyler are important to the fed and Black Eagle and Ota are low on the card.. maybe a draw?) [b]Art Reed[/b] vs Travis Century - though Travis could win by cheating. Which is a total copout but whatever, it's DaVE!

[Adam Ryland]

Good stuff, I think we have a number one contender for next month's pinned diary. But for the record, I've never distended any part of SMG's body, that was just a vicious rumour.

[theoutlaw321]

I was reading your last post this morning and laughing my a** off, and had some coworkers walk in and had to explain what was so funny. They didn't get it, go figure.

[Payne]

Dear Christ. That was the funniest post EVER. I think I need to buy a new keyboard, as I laughed coffee on this one.

[Jaded]

Just read all of this so far, and probably my favourite dynasty that I can remember! So many great lines, and the Cult of the Gray Dragon are the super-stable of the future :)

[Actarus]

From Adam being a God to his special superpower of distending anuses, I want to just give kudos to Monkeypox for dealing with patch 1.3 in an intelligent, creative manner! This has been a strong read from the start. Keep it up!

[Monkeypox]

[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"]"The Rise of the Gray Dragon"[/SIZE][/B] [FONT="Arial Black"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="DarkRed"]DANGER ZONE TV[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT="Book Antiqua"]February, Week 3 in front of 2,000 people at the sold-out Perry Hall (Great Lakes)[/FONT] [COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Dark Match: Vin Tanner vs Cameron Vessey[/COLOR][/CENTER] Result: Vin Tanner d. Cameron Vessey w/a [b]V for Victory[/b] [i]Jack's Notes: More floorburn for the young lion, this time taking the hit from Old Man Tanner. (I'd been liking calling him "Silverback", but after a fan suggested "Old Man Tanner" on the DaVE boards, Nemesis and I can't stop making that joke and Tanner has a good sense of humor for that kind of thing) Since Tanner took a beating from Nemesis, he's been [i]using a cane[/i], part of his character shift in the direction of "wily veteran", which the fans seem to like. Cameron actually got some momentum against Tanner, getting boo'd heartily for pushing the old man around. Of course, Tanner was playing possum, and when Cameron takes a little too long to follow him out to the apron after shoulderblocking him over the top rope, Vin brains him WITH THE CANE! Emma and Mitch emphasize that you can't ever turn your back on the wily veteran! Seriously, it's like booking Vlade Divac, complete with the flopping.[/i] [COLOR="Red"][B]Rating: C-[/B][/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Dark Match: JD Morgan and Nathan Coleman vs The New Jersey Devils[/COLOR][/CENTER] Result: JD Morgan and Nathan Coleman d. New Jersey Devils [i]Jack's Notes: JD Morgan looked good out there. Nathan Coleman looked good out there. Alex Braun looked good out there. The referee looked good, the popcorn guy looked good, Emma Chase's top looks nice, that dude in the front row has a pretty cool sombrero. Everyone looks good out there [b]except Tank Bradley[/b]. We've been talking about starting a plotline where Tank keeps costing Alex matches because he's lazy and distracted, but while Alex looked sincerely displeased with Tank after the match, [b]we haven't started the plotline yet![/b] He may not even be worth jobbing out. And I did promise Nemesis that he could fire him. Jelly Belly Bradley ruins another one.[/i] [COLOR="Red"][B]Rating: D[/B][/COLOR] [CENTER][B]***MAIN SHOW***[/B] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/Nemisis-1.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/EddiePeak.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [b]Menace[/b] is meeting in a backroom. [b]Nemesis[/b] addresses his troops, and explains to Eddie about why it's so important to make an example out of [b]Sammy Bach[/b] with the number one contender match between [b]Shawn Gonzales[/b] and [b]Big Cat Brandon[/b] happening later tonight. "Don't hold back." Nemesis growls at Peak. Peak flashes that smile, all those shiny teeth and dead shark eyes, and answers. "I smell blood. I'm off to taste it." [COLOR="Red"][B]Angle: Nemesis and Peak discuss making an example out of Sammy Bach. Rating: B[/B][/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Travis Century vs #10 Art Reed[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]*HARDCORE MATCH*[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/TravisCentury.jpg[/IMG]-vs-[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/ArtReed.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Result: Art Reed d. Travis Century w/ a [b]Dreadlock[/b] [i]Jack's Notes: No surprises here, as Art Reed does away with "The Devil's Right Hand". Making this a hardcore match was the way to go, and caused a major improvement in crowd reaction over the last time these two matched up. A fair amount of posing on Travis' part, too. After creaming Art with a chair, he made a big show out of "Thanking the Dark Lord", which gave Art the opening he needed to rally but also got the crowd behind him. Art didn't even touch the chairs and garbage cans, though.... especially in a hardcore fed, you've got to admire a purist. And Travis sold the tap perfectly, screaming out to his Dark Lord to come and save him and burn Art Reed with Hellfire and etc. When the screaming strategy didn't work, he tapped. Good match, and a reasonable performance from Century. He and Tanner are both doing their best to prolong their already overlong lifespans in this Fed.[/i] [COLOR="Red"][B]Rating: C[/B][/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]The School of Tradition vs The Cult of the Gray Dragon[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/EricTyler.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/Guide.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/Scout.jpg[/IMG] -vs- [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/Acid.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/BlackEagle.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/FumihiroOta.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Result: The Cult of the Gray Dragon d. The School of Tradition after blatantly cheating in an awesome way. [i]Jack's Notes: My heart was in my throat for the entirety of this one. Releasing a new stable is a lot like I imagine sending a kid to college would be... you do everything you can to get them ready, but when it all comes down to it, they succeed or fail on their own merits. Of course, I wouldn't know... the ***** took the kid AND the house when she left. I got the dog, a bag of beef jerky, and a bottle of vodka, both of which I split with the dog. The dog is dead now. I don't want to talk about it. But anyways... WOW. These two stables really laid into eachother and played up to their respective styles - the School of Tradition leaned on a lot of chops, throat stabs, boots, elbow blasts and forearm shivers. The Cult used a wide range of moves, but Black Eagle and Ota have both figured out how to imitate Acid's semi-robotic, doublespeed attack style, and they're downright evil-looking out there - no posturing, all business. Ota plays a nice mini-gimmick as the guy who reverses or blocks everything - he had a great sequence with Eric Tyler early in the match where he didn't do anything but block Tyler's offense while Tyler got increasingly more blustery. Eventually, SoT gets the upper hand off of a blind tag to Guide that creams Black Eagle with a huge big boot off the rebound. Guide lays some heavy tools into Black Eagle and sets him up for the [b]Guided Missle[/b]. At that moment, Ota climbs halfway up the turnbuckle and pulls something out of his jersey, puts it to his mouthpiece and exhales hard. Something flashes across the ring and Guide gives a confused lurch, swatting at his neck. He immediately begins to stumble like a drunk and Black Eagle quickly turns the tide, ending things with a [b]New Jersey Turnpike[/b] shortly thereafter. Cult of the Gray Dragon retreat in a pack as the remainder of SoT flood the ring, screaming at the ref. They kneel and pull something out of Guide's neck... a replay is shown on the overscreen, and the replay confirms that Ota nailed him from the corner with a [b]blowgun[/b]. Eric Tyler throws the dart to the ground and stomps on it, furious.[/i] [COLOR="Red"][B]Rating: C+[/B][/COLOR] [CENTER][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]#1 Eddie Peak vs Sammy Bach[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/EddiePeak.jpg[/IMG]-vs-[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/SammyBach.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Result: Eddie Peak d. Sammy Bach by knock-out following a [b]Widow's Peak[/b] [i]Jack's Notes: Sammy comes out first and looks confident right up until the minute Eddie gets in the ring and starts circling him, then he looks scared. And he should. It's pretty much over as soon as Eddie gets a hand on him, mixing strong slams and one very convincing stall suplex with a merciless physical pounding. Sammy plays the hero mostly by continuing to get up, even after the crowd starts yelling at him to stay down. Sammy's one moment is probably the moment that dooms him, as he crotches Eddie witha forearm as Eddie is pulling him up... to virtually no effect. Angered more than hurt, Eddie locks Sammy into [b]The Widow's Peak[/b]. Introduced in December of 2006 against Art Reed, [b]The Widow's Peak[/b] is a modified bearhug submission with a headbutt chaser. Eddie pins his opponent's arms to his sides, but upon acheiving that, he starts slamming his forehead into the other man's face until both men are soaked with blood. By the seventh headbutt, Sammy is limp... the ref ends the fight on the tenth headbutt... and Eddie finally drops Sammy to the ground on the thirteenth. While a shocked announcer declares Eddie the winner by knockout, Eddie stands in the ring with his arms raised, dead eyes shining through the blood, licking the gore from his lips. A horrified and crying Emma tries to enter the ring to get to the motionless Sammy Bach, but Eddie scares her off with a look.[/i] [COLOR="Red"][B]Rating: C-[/B][/COLOR] Nemesis joins Eddie in the ring with a mic and the ringbell, tossing the latter to Eddie. As Eddie holds a semi-conscious Sammy Bach on his knees by the hair, Nemesis explains that it doesn't matter who wins tonight's [b]#1 Contender Match[/b], they're still gonna end up like this - bloodied, on their knees. Eddie raises the ringbell to smash it into Sammy's face at point blank when Chris Caulfield and Teddy Powell come running from the back. After a long pause, Eddie smiles and moves to drop the ring bell. It's a feint. He smashes it into Sammy's forehead full force, creating new rivulets of blood and knocking Sammy to the ground. Eddie smiles and spreads his arms helplessly, sending Powell and Caulfield a "What! He started it!" look before vacating the ring. [color="red"][b]Angle: Eddie and Nemesis assault Sammy bach. Rating: C+[/b][/color] [CENTER][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]#2 Big Cat Brandon vs #4 Shawn Gonzales[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]*#1 CONTENDER MATCH - UNIFIED TITLE*[/COLOR] [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/BigCatBrandon_alt.jpg[/IMG]-vs[IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/monkeypocks/ShawnGonzalez.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Result: Shawn Gonzales d. Big Cat Brandon after Joey Minnesota interferes [i]Jack's Notes: Wow, that was a sleeper. I have no idea why, either. The chemistry was fine, everyone was on their game, there was plenty of build-up, no one really did anything *wrong*, but the match never made it much beyond average. It wasn't bad, but after watching 14 minutes of back-n-forth, I'm at a loss for anything I could safely call a "highlight". Brandon loses after being distracted by a taunting Joey Minnesota, who stands at the apron and flings a whole bunch of fairly uncreative insults about BCB's mother and, again, breath. BCB turns his back on Gonzales a little too long and gets rolled up in a weak ending to a not-so-bad show. Gonzales wins the #1 Contendership, and will face [b]Eddie Peak[/b] at [b][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]Dave: March Into Battle[/FONT][/b] in two weeks.[/i] [color="red"][b]Rating: C-[/color][/b] [b][u][color="red"]SHOW RATING: C-[/b][/u][/color] [QUOTE][b]SHORT FORM[/b] [i]Vin Tanner d. Cameron Vessey: C- JD Morgan & Nathan Coleman d. The New Jersey Devils: D #10 Art Reed d. Travis Century: C The Cult of the Gray Dragon d. The School of Tradition: C+ #1 Eddie Peak d. Sammy Bach: C- #4 Shawn Gonzales d. #2 Big Cat Brandon: C- [b]Show Rating: C-[/i][/b][/QUOTE]