Overall I think we successfully made every single piece count. Taking a look at past shows as a metric, we've made more use of the message boards towards 24/7. We cut down on segments by about 11 to 8. Considering five matches ate up those blocks yet everything else was effective, I think this show was much more streamlined.
And that's really the best part. When I go out there and write up some stuff, I want to make sure everyone gets my major points and the rest I can explain again later. Thanks for upping the quality guys & girls.
Alrighty... gonna start this shit off again, since no one else is gonna.
Marissa/Biz/CK opener: Good... very good. While I'm still on the "No" side of the fence for women competing against men for real... Marissa as a character is getting better every show. I really hope to keep seeing the level of character advancement. Monet may be the first character to sway my thoughts on the subject... emphasis on May.
Oh, and CK has Biz's number. I don't care what the history says. CK is gonna get this one!
Pain vs. Heretic match: Pretty dern good. No complaints at all and Pain still came off lookin' pretty good. Though, pretty good against the Heretic generally lets you keep ONE eye. ...not to toot my own horn!
Davis interview... loved it, but really thing that Ethan HATES making Davis a face. It seems like AJ is literally holding a cattle prod to his ballsack.
Ewiak vs. Reigns: Good match, slightly choppy. Drifter vs. Ewiak is officially happening? So is Drifter gonna start writing again? I'll wait to see the OTC to confirm.
Women's match: It was.
Cain vs. Christian: A _VERY_ worth substitute for Knight/Christian. I'm excited to see this keep going! PLEASE let THIS be the catapult for officiall main event Christian.
Biz interview: Not is best interview, but he got his message across officially. Beware those who cross Biz. He WILL go after you for not putting forward good promos.
Beware people with "oom" in their name. ...had to go for it, I'm sorry. I like poking the bear.
Demola vs. Weaver: I'm guessing they don't like each other. And also, I think Weaver has something big planned next. Quite big.
Davis vs. Biz: Is it possible to get these two listening three or four times a card? Not each other, necessarily... but a great match regardless.
VERY good card, end to end. I loved it and read the whole thing. Start to finish. Totally dug it.
Good work by all... though I STILL want to see the OTCs ahead of time!
I've got a moment or two so here's my thoughts....
- Good opening segment with Monet and The Biz and CK Walker. Yes, I'm biased but come on, you would be too if your character was involved.
- Pain vs Heretic was a nice opener for the show. The battle of two guys throwing submission moves left and right that ended on a proper note. Plus the backstory of Weaver and Pain coming from IGA was a nice touch too.
- AD4 vs Jack Sharp... I gotta agree that Davis is walking the same fine line that The Biz is when it comes to playing the face but really wanting to be a badass. I definitely think he needs a solid monster heel to really put him over as a babyface.
- Ewiak vs Reigns... decent match and debut for Reigns. Nice win for the more over Ewiak. And whoever wrote the match, nice going with the need for an instant replay of the final moment to really put over how insane Ewiaks finisher was.
- Toughill vs Poet Wright: I dig that it started in the back and that these two chicks will go murder death kill if necessary.
- Gideon Cain as the latest victim of Eddie Christian's wrath? I hope this is an angle and not a way to phase Eddie C off the show for good because I think we're finally seeing a really entertaining side of Christian.
- Biz vs Jack Sharp: I'll let others discuss this because I truly want to know if it served its purpose of helping to explain what happened two weeks prior in the most IC way possible.
- Weaver doing double duty. Nice going with that booking to really put over how much Weaver dislikes DeMola.
- World Title Match: nice back and forth. My only gripe is that I wish The Biz had sold the attack from the top of the show a bit more. The finish leaves alot of things open between Biz and CK, not to mention it pushes The Biz into a program of having to face any and all comers as he works his way back up the ladder for another title shot in the future.
It's a shame to see Sammy go without a little fanfare. The point of this segment was to say goodbye to Sammy, do a little character advancement for Marissa and answer some real questions about the Biz while adding fuel to the fire for the Walker/Biz feud.
I thought everything was accomplished well. I hoped to get across that message that Marissa is volatile and that volatility can lead to some catastrophic decisions on her part. There's finally a lane open for her in SPW and with the exodus of the longtime handlers Marissa's finally being presented as a big timer. The stars are aligning for Marissa right now. Fewer and fewer rps are about her being a woman and more about her being a wrestler who is a woman. Maybe it's the absence of Viper and Hopper, but there are no more vagina jokes and Marissa is being met on relatively equal terms. Now the Great Black Shark can be a character rather than a cause.
Biz/Walker should be a great feud. Biz's explanation for his return was weak in my view because SPW was going swimmingly and didn't need a Biz face return, but with Walker picking at his carcass it worked beautifully.
Pain vs. Weaver was a good match. I think the win basically via knockout was too strong for Weaver, though, as it came decisively over Pain. I'd rather have seen a narrow win to continue to build both characters.
Davis interview. I think this continues to be an interesting phase in Davis' career. The face turn is being handled much like the Austin face turn, the Orton face turn, the Savage face turn ... in that they still did the same things they always did but there are just cheers for them now. Ethan seems to be attempting to add depth to Davis which is needed with him as a top draw. I'm not sure if Ethan knows how to write a face or whether he's just staying really true to the Davis character and hate him or love him he's just going to do what he does.
Ewiak vs. Reigns seemed to have the point of getting over another feud. Drifter-Ewiak. So it was a good exhibition for Ewiak and a nice debut for a finisher which I think resembles Paul Burchill's C-4 except from the top rope. A breath takign move, but it's no Vagina Dentata!
Wright vs. Toughill. This is a strange feud. It's driven and catered towards Erica. She always gets the upperhand. She always gets the last word in physical exchanges, but we have no real answer for her motivation. Is it only the championship or is there some depth to Erica. Does the handler even promo? Poet has been doing some promos where she's explaining that she's not a garbage wrestler. Although she may look "gruesome" to the mainstream eye the character has never been like a Galiver or any of Neal's splatterporn types. She's insane not crazy. Her hands and feet are her weapons and she'll teach Erica that a legacy as a garbage wrestler isn't good enough. That point came across with the knee causing Erica to bleed when all the weapons didn't, but it seemed out of context without rps leading into it.
Cain vs. Christian: Christian may find a voice without Knight around and become an uber heel or this may be a character trying to figure whether to stay or go. I hope Christian stays because the character has never been given an individual voice. I know the handlers didn't want to do Knight/Christian although it would have been great to watch develop. For far too long Christian has been considered as a "sidekick" character to all the big happenings in SPW and never really got his due. Hopefully that comes now.
Biz interview: After the opening beatdown segment this jarred me a little bit. I resolved it internally by mentally putting the words: previously recorded on the screen. Biz had some tough questions to answer. I'm not a fan of the back from the dead, but with the material the character is doing well and the reason for his absence should be relatively quickly forgotten.
Biz/Davis: I would have liked to see Biz struggle more because of his previous injuries. As it was it took more interference from Walker to cause the loss and Biz was more dominant than someone returning to the ring for the first time and having taken a Death from Below and C-Kutta to a formerly broken neck might have.
Still Biz and Davis work well together and the match seemed written by someone (AJ I assume) who had a handle on the characters. And that is the secret to a successful feud. The writer has to understand them enough to create the wrestling ballet where the actions are logical and true to the character. Yes, Andrew wears a knee brace and yes he'll use it as a weapon even though the fans cheer him. Those little touches mean the world.
Overall a show I enjoyed greatly. While we may have lost some heavyweight handlers, I have to say these shows have been lean and mean. Good, energetic reads not horribly bogged down by extra bits. I'm liking where this is going.
Opening: Me likey. I bought Marissa's anger and confusion at the crowd, and her attack on the Biz. CK Walker was great in finishing off the job. Good way to start.
Derek Weaver had a great little chat - I was worried for a second that it'd become too inside - I famously don't care about other companies, but I was able to follow the IGA talk, and it was very effective. Nice match, great submissions, both looked vicious in their own ways. But who cares, LOOK AT WHAT'S NEXT!
That Andrew Davis guy is amazing. Wow. What a great piece. Since dare talked about Marissa, I'll talk about Andrew. I try to stay very true to the character of Andrew, which I know doesn't make him a "typical face" - he's not going to rescue a cat from a tree or help an old lady cross the street. But I am trying to make him more honest, more truthful, so you have to respect him and like him for what he is, even if you don't agree 100% with his methods.
It does mean that I have to read shows now instead of just spouting conspiracy theories. Let's see how long that lasts...
Reigns/Ewiak - I like matches that start with a big move and a quick almost pinfall. People above said it better than I, so look up. That's what I thought.
Wright/Toughhill - Not sure how I feel about ladies making other ladies bleed. I don't like insane violence when the fellas do it either (try to convince Andrew to be in a match like that, I dare you), but a woman's first blood match makes me... uncomfortable? Something like that.
Christian/Cain - Superkicking the boss? Hopefully this moves Edward into top heel territory...
Biz - Favorite line of the piece: "Derek Weaver signs a three year deal." HILARIOUS!!! Hehehehe.
Kinda vanilla, honestly. Said a lot without saying a lot. Not sure if Biz is running for office somewhere, but for a guy who just came back from the dead, he seemed committed to not making many waves.
Weaver/Demola - Awesome booking. Great hate.
Biz/Davis - God, I gotta update my opening. It's been on my to do list for a month. I love using the kneebrace, big ups to the writer, great back and forth, I like the plethora of named moves Andrew has (must create even more, muhahahaha). I'm okay with the non-ending, as both guys look good, but Andrew totally would have won. Totally.
