Unleashed Review, WOTM, FPOTM

No, that's not a typo.

I'm changing Promo of the Month to Featured Promo of the Month. I've had a request to avoid choosing what I feel is the best promo and instead focus on simply featuring a promo from the EPW rp period instead. So the FPOTM may or may not be what I feel is the best promo.

First, to the review.

I think this is the most well-written show I've read since joining EPW. From start to finish, every contributor did an exceptional job with their match. Justin wrote the TV title match and I've already expressed to him how much I enjoyed reading it. I really like the angle we're exploring right now. I like the way he deliberately had Fusenshoff refrain from using weapons as much as possible in the match. It was also a great climax when he finally snapped and the resulting attack from Sean Stevens. I'm really looking forward to what will happen when Fuse tags with Stalker and Stevens at Aggression 40.

The Hart/Cruise/Hiroshi vs. CC and Olvir did an excellent job of both following the story well and boosting the prestige of the wrestlers involved. I didn't see the addition of another 'stablemate' coming at all and I think it'll add a little bit of power to a rising faction in EPW.

Speaking of Wells, I've never heard of the character, but after reading his segment I feel like I have. The background info was a great setup to a character that has already hit the ground running. It was also a nice surprise in a pay-per-view that was very light on segments.

Speaking of newcomers, Damian Stone and Echo will make a nice addition to the tag roster if that's where they choose to get their foot in the door. Their timing is perfect for a division that is dominated by The Forsaken and is coming off of The Kings of the Cage tournament.

The Miles backstabbing of Beast by not showing up was also a great improvisation. After the last show I thought these two were starting to bring it together at the perfect time. Now we have potential for a great feud I think everyone will enjoy if it plays out.

The main event match was long as hell. That said, it was an excellent read. The end was terrific and everything leading up to it was intense. I'm going to assume it was Strawsma who wrote it. Apologies if I'm wrong about the writer, but this seemed like Ryan, who rivals any matchwriter in FW or anywhere else.

I wrote the opening match between Frankie Scott and Omega. I did my best to make it a fun read while also making both characters look good and help these two further the storyline via recommendation.

I was waiting for Lindz to show up at some point in the show, but hopefully next time...

Okay, now my picks for WOTM and FPOTM.

Wrestler of the Month: "Triple X" Sean Stevens

This was a no-brainer. Stevens is the first two-time winner of the EPW World Heavyweight Title and has become synonymous with the cage match. This was a Match of the Year candidate and The Blue-Eyed Badass came out on top. We've yet to see a World Title defense win yet this year and Triple X might have time to take that distinction as well.

Runners up: The Forsaken

Taking on the best the Kings of the Cage tournament had to offer, The First and Felix Red once again establish their stronghold on the EPW's tag division. These guys are steamrolling over and over again every team EPW has to offer. EPW has a competitive tag division by eW standards and this team is without a doubt its centerpiece.

Featured Promo of the Month: Troy Douglas' audio promo

Shinder chose to do this audio promo in the first-person perspective and I'm guessing it was his voice as Troy Douglas. The tone was intense and focused. The timing was perfect and the content was enjoyable to listen to. Douglas prides himself on overcoming his 'choke artist' label and mentioned it again in this promo. He emphasized Tact waltzing into the IC scene at the perfect time and does a good job of using that to his favor. I enjoyed listening to this and while it isn't the first time something like this has been done (see NFW early 2007, I wanna say Dove did a video promo and there may have been others before my time), it was a refreshing change and warranted a little something extra judging-wise in my opinion.

That's it, I know it's long, so if you read this far please comment. :)