The Bottom Of The Bottle

Aggression 50 Review

2010-02-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

Fit hit the shan for me tonight. I was supposed to do an overnight drinking/rock wall climbing (Safe? Probably not. Entertaining? You bet your ass.) thing, but that fell through. It gives me time to review Agg 50 though. I think I'll also read and review Destrucity II too later tonight and hope someone from the WFW:NE crew rps so I can get one up tonight while I have time too.

Right away we get the extravagance of our World Champion. Jamar makes The Blue-Eyed Badass surprisingly endearing for the OOC handler and its impressive. If I was actually an EPW wrestler or a fan I'd hate Stevens, but as a handler sort of watching the puppet show from above, you can't help but like the character, particularly the way Short uses him. I'd like to see more interaction in general from Anthology, but especially between Stevens and the rest of Anthology. I know OOC Jamar stated publicly he'd like to collaborate more with the rest of the handlers in the stable. I hope it happens.

The Stevens and Stalker seg was a fantastic storyline transition and much needed. Too often feuds and alliances die with little explanation. I'm really glad this segment happened so we can follow what is happening between the two most evil heels in EPW for the last several years. Plus an Anthology/Stalker, Black and Omega alliance is just scary for the rest of us.

That said, Stevens talked about Stalker leading his own stable and I really liked that. What's surprising is that Stalker has a "Career vs Career" match coming up. I'm not sure what to make of that, but it would be a damn shame to see either Stalker OR Rocko leave EPW. Let's hope some extenuating circumstances come into play related to this and they both stay.

I like seeing Winters stirring the hornet's nest backstage. He's the perfect character for it. I know Layne talked about moving up fast because of injuries against my character in rp and its good to see him staying congruent. Obviously he was all over the place in this show and he picked a good time considering the stage. That said I'd absolutely LOVE a Winters/Brown feud.

Heirs of Wrestling had an impressive win. Forgive me, but I can't remember your first name, but if its Seth I'll feel really dumb. Anyway, I've PMed this guy back and forth a few times and anybody who comes recommended by Lindz is definitely talented. Heirs has been thrown into the fire a bit and this is a huge win. I think ?Seth? also writes Tony "The Grin" Gamble as well. I rped against Gamble in the TiT a few years back and there's no question Seth is very talented. He's a welcome addition to a stacked roster. Forgive me if any of the multiple assumptions in this paragraph are inaccurate. Ask Stanton how often I f*ck things up on this blog. He's my editor. ;)

Whoever wrote the Brown/Fuse match (I'll guess again and say Jay wrote it) I really enjoyed reading it and I'm glad he put such an emphasis on how big the match was to the two wrestlers. Having Karl back in EPW is a real blessing. Hypothetically speaking, you give me Karl on the topic of most talented writer in EPW, I'll give you anybody else and we'd have one hell of a debate, let's put it that way.

Big win for Basterd. Tom is so good at taking just about any imaginable character and making him good. I don't know how he writes such diverse styles and still makes it work.

I wrote the tag title match. I hope everybody involved enjoyed it. I tried to make Stalker and Omega look good because they rped really well and I thought it was fitting for the new Anthology tag team to mesh well, hence the way it ended.

The Black/Dishon match was very good. I'd like to see Dishon bounce right back from this loss. Everything I've read from him shows a lot of talent and I truly think he'll move up in EPW swiftly. The Black/Winters rp period will be a fun read. Pitting those two characters against each other should cause some fireworks.

I'd love to see a solid Hart/Edmunds feud leading up to the next PPV. Aston's segs are always absolutely awesome and what I've seen from Sean is all talent so I hope they jump at this chance and really shine the next few weeks. The potential is there ten-fold. Plus it would be nice to see another good HOPE vs Anthology feud besides the First/Stevens one.

High Flyer's a hell of a talent. I loved reading the character in PRIME and he's done well in TEAM's interfed tourneys. I hope he sticks around because I think he can compete with anybody. It's really nice seeing this influx of talent.

I know I sound like a broken record, but there's really no one like Strawsma and the way he writes matches. I think he went the extra mile this time because Agg 50 was such a big deal. I truly loved it. Stanton puts so much effort into everything related to EPW and he really pushed Jay like crazy during that rp period. I also like seeing Cruise bounce back from what happened with Anthology. Great main event.

One last thing, I really liked how many segs there were with HOPE. There's a lot of drama there and its a lot of fun to watch all of them collaborate and put out entertaining segs.

I'd say Agg 50 lived up to the hype.

Aggression 49 review

2010-01-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I went into more detail and did one of these reviews, but I feel like this show really deserved it. There were some huge additions and losses that were both stunning and exciting as far as roster changes.

Before I get started, I'd just like to say that for about six to nine months now I've been steadily impressed with the level of talent on this EPW roster. Just when you think it can't get much better, the talent level rises yet again. With Karl and the guy who handles Windham now, there's a plethora of great writers. Then there's guys like the Toms and Larry Tact's handler on the sidelines now, but who could always come back. We might even see Jarret or Katz back too. It's pretty exciting.

Just wanted to throw that out there. Time for the review.

I like the anticipation and build-up right away to start things off with Lindz. We all know how this ended and I'm hoping this is just the beginning of an angle. It would be sad to see Lindz gone, but I'm totally guessing this is just the beginning of something major.

I enjoyed the Rocko/Stalker match and looking forward to another build-up between these two. They were both part of the biggest feud in EPW a few years ago and its possible things could get just as messy in the near future.

The segment ripping on all the past EPW tag team champions was well written and something totally unique, to me at least. In the couple years I've been here I've never seen anything like it and really enjoyed it. Nice way to start.

I wrote the Dishon/Doe match and I hope both of them enjoyed the read. There were a couple stabs at humor and I read the rp battle, as I always do before writing a match. These two are solid additions to EPW and I expect big things.

I also wrote the Fusenshoff segment, which was hopefully a little funny and built some anticipation for what was coming later in the show.

The next segment was awesome. It's always a treat when Aston writes a segment with the Doctor and having Anarky in there to play straight man made it that much better.

I think the highlight of the show was the job Billy did on the IC Contenders match. I'm not 100% positive he wrote it, but it has his fingerprints all over it. It was hilarious and intense. This was edge-of-your-seat matchwriting and the comic relief just made it that much better. Truly amazing.

On a side note, if someone else wrote this, you did one hell of a job. And nice Fight Club reference.

And Karl, what can I say? I loved the seg you wrote and can't wait until our match. I tried to keep it as under-wraps as possible, telling only Mike I think. I'm glad there were people that were truly surprised. Welcome back!

Stalker, Omega and Erik Black in a stable is pretty damn cool. It's not clear yet what they'll do to stir things up, which makes it that much more fun. The possibilities are many for these three to wreak havoc on EPW.

The First/Winters seg was fun. Mike is a pleasure to work with and there's rarely a sentence that goes by where Billy doesn't impress.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Windham can do. Surprisingly I haven't read any of his work. It'll be a lot of fun seeing just how good he is. The match itself was well-written, as Mike has had plenty of practice (I'm pretty sure Stanton wrote it, but could be wrong). We all know how dedicated he is to EPW, particularly picking up any matchwriting slack.

Big win for a deserving Anarky and this will probably generate a huge push for a guy who was already a big part of the Miles/Westcott feud. Also, what more can you possibly say about Ryan's matchwriting?

There were some real shocks at the end of this show. No more Lindz or Tact and almost no more Anthology. Plus the leadership in EPW is up in the air. It really builds some excitement for Agg 50.

This was a very Mayberryesque blog review. I guess Agg 49 was just that good. It was a little seg happy, but didn't feel that way while reading it. I really couldn't find any gripes and loved almost all of it.

Not Another Halkum Hater!

2009-12-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

I've been getting bugged about updating this thing, plus everyone else is doing it, plus I actually have something to talk about, so I'm updating the blog.

And yes, it's about the recent movement to unite all e-feds, and yes I also think it's a bad idea.

Call me elitist or whatever, but I'm not about to spend my time reading, and God forbid, participating in a conversation involving a group of prepubescent preteens calling each other douchenozzles and fucktards for the silliest reasons imaginable.

I'm not a babysitter.

There are a ton of handlers out there that just don't know how to act. FWC seems to have weeded damn near all of them out.

You can't unite all feds because a good portion of them are virus-laden plagues to humanity, let alone e-fedding; plain and simple.

That being said (who watches Curb Your Enthusiasm ;) ) I think what TEAM did for a couple years there was great and disagree that interfed tournaments are a waste if done correctly with select groups of handlers.

Tom did a great job with TEAM and it flourished for all but the last six months or so that he was fedhead. It slowed because Tom was tired of it, not because of people complaining.

A lot of people enjoyed it and a few got pissed. Frankly those people that got pissed were quickly forgotten. A lot of people respected Tom, which is why I think it worked, and he was good at handling the few whiners.

Sure, it was unfortunate that there were issues at times, but the good moments far outweighed the bad with TEAM.

I haven't even paid any attention to the J-date tournament or whatever the hell they call it over there. The only reason I even heard of it was because I like Billy and Dave and I read their blogs.

With EPW, NFW, A1E, WFW:NE, formerly TEAM and now NLW we have plenty of shit to choose from to waste our time in FWC and A1E alone. Hell, I'll go to PRIME, REBEL or NAPW before taking the chance of scoping out some fed I've never heard of that has a fedhead I've never chatted with.

The point is we have a hell of a lot of options.

I look at the Classifieds threads or anything resembling information from people I've never heard of as much as I look through my spam folder in my e-mail, which is never.

Aggression 44 Review

2009-06-21T00:11:00.000-07:00

After reading Agression 44 the first time, I remember thinking that it was one of the most solid "TV" shows that I've read in quite a while. With the additions it may be the best one I've read in over a year.

I felt like I've been mentioning a lack of Anthology segs over the last couple reviews and chose to ignore that absence again after the first read when going over what to say in this blog post. The locker room seg was terrific and exactly what I was looking for as a fan/reader. It made things very clear that they're going after Stevens, First, Winters and Anarky while hintng at a possible Westcott feud too.

There were two other people I missed seeing in this show. I wanted more Westcott since he's number one contender and more LT, but then I considered that its better if her presence came only when truly necessary. I guess ts needless to say that I was very happy with Agg 44 2.0. The Westcott beatdown builds anticipation. I hope there's even more of him on the next Aggression.

I was very happy with the Scott/Fuse match. It was an entertaining read for me, with a fast pace. I also felt like Frankie did a great job during the promo period and I'm glad it shone through in the results.

I'm also very pleased with the progression of the Stalker/Fuse/Daymon angle. Ryan came to me with most of it, and I had a couple ideas, but certainly can't take more than a sliver of credit. A big reason I began working with Justin is because of the Stalker/Daymon feud and how impressed I was with it. I'm lucky to be a part of it now.

Writing the Winters/Tact match was a blessing. It was a great promo period. I've always enjoyed reading Tact's work and I continue to be impressed by Winters.

To cap things off, everyone knows how competitively rped the main event was this week. I really liked how the show ended with The First getting applause from the fans. While all four handlers put forth a fantastic showing, Mike and Tom took it to another level. These two put in a stellar effort.

Wrestleverse 3 review

2009-05-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry I missed the review for the last Aggression....

First I'll give props to all the matchwriters on this one. Stanton put out four matches for this show. There's not much else to say about that; the guy's a workhorse, plain and simple. All four were quality matches too. Ryan put out his typical top-notch match. He's usually the main event matchwriter and it felt like we had two main event-caliber matches on this card. Will definitely kicked ass on his cherry-popping tag battle (I'm pretty sure that was him anyway). Not the gentlest way to lose your EPW matchwriting virginity, but he took it like a champ.

That was a little crude for my typical review, but I'm gonna blame it on reading Will's blog for the last twenty minutes, which you can find at http://fwmoneyshot.blogspot.com

Shawn Hart has put together a nice winning streak lately. I think EPW could use a few more feuds/storylines. Someone should get a hold of Aston and start brainstorming with him. Guaranteed it would be one of your most enjoyable angles ever. In and out of character, one of the best.

The Miles/Massey seg was short and sweet. Some nice foreshadowing for what's to come.

I'm glad Fuse/Stalker was put in this match because I got an opportunity to see the beginning of what's going to be an intense tag division in EPW. All these teams looked good in the rp period. Almost all gimmick tag teams, which is refreshing. All of them are entertaining. I especially liked Jungle Storm with the Brazilian gimmick. It reminded me of Paul's Ice Tre gimmick, which is good company to be in. It's good to see Sergeant back too. I'm hoping to work with him in the future.

Our seg was up next. It's been a pleasure working with Justin so far and I can't stress enough the importance of respect and compromise when working an angle with someone. We've been working this feud for about eight months now. He comes up with great ideas, usually him more than me, and basically nothing is ever shot down. I sought him out because he'd been doing such amazing things with Strawsma in the Stalker/Daymon feud and when Daymon went down I saw an opening. Obviously I got lucky and he was game too. Now with Ryan in the picture the possibilities have me really excited.

I don't know what happened to Omega during the rp period, but I like both these character and have enjoyed the feud. It's good to see Frankie Scott get another much-deserved win.

There's few things I enjoy more than the wackiness of Ryan's comedy characters. CC (I never know which name he's going with at any given time) is yet another strong tag team and Ryan's been working on the Fear angle for a while now. It's nice to get another look at Fear, as Ryan had him tripping on acid this time. I was worried the mystery opponent no-showed. Should've known to expect the unexpected...

Another win for Cam, this time legitimizing his IC title reign and status as a major EPW heel. Siegel made a genius move bringing all this talent together. He's reaping the benefits of it too. Tough loss for First on the screwjob, but just a few months ago we saw JA come back from the Omega loss with a huge win over Stevens in their non-title match. One big win for First soon can put him right back up in the main event spotlight.

It'll be fun to see what Wells and Copycat do with their history. Nice post-match dialogue.

On a side note, I'd like to see more collective seggage from Anthology. I feel like this is one of the strongest forces in EPW history with an opportunity just waiting to have a HUGE impact on the landscape of the fed. I don't want them to overshadow everything else or be the next nWo, but I feel like they could really put the pressure on LT and some of the characters backstage. So what I'm saying is more seggage, collective or otherwise, and cause a little more chaos- stir up the hornet's nest, so to speak, a little more.

That said, they control the majority of the gold in the federation right now. Tact and Wells are a very strong duo. They have a plethora of competition now, so it's a good time to be the tag champs.

The Anarky/Miles/Westcott and now Tre storyline is quickly becoming the best in the fed. Three big, mean dudes... and Ice Tre. Sounds like something I want to read about.

A big when for Stevens. He wasn't able to defend the title on the first run, but now he's beaten First, JA and Daymon. There's no question that he's a legitimate World Champion and the big name in EPW for the past year at least.

Aggression 42 Review and WOTM

2009-03-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

Aggression 42 started off as one of the best shows I've read. I think with two or three more segs it would've been one of the best since I joined EPW. The matches were very well-written, the segs were extremely entertaining and the wrestlers are all exceptionally talented.

The show started with the best seg of the night in my opinion. Aston wrote a hilarious segment that also had a lot of strong content. I don't know how long Hart has been coming out to "Look At Me" by Geri Halliwell, but I had to youtube this video. It's pretty damn funny thinking about a premiere wrestler like Shawn hitting the Hart On, getting the 1, 2, 3 and having this pop rockette jam hitting over the PA.

Like I said, every match on this card was well-written and the opener was no exception. A big win for Wells over Olvir, who's potential knows no bounds. There's so much talent at the beginning of this EPW roster and a lot of opportunity for big wins. Wells got a well-deserved one here.

I'm very happy with the way things are going in the Fuse/Stalker feud. Will Fuse finally give in now that he's a member of The Fallen? Will Stalker once again ruin the career of another EPW wrestler, or will Fusenshoff be better for this and turn into an evil heel? How does JA and Lindsay Troy play into the equation? Will Fuse and Stevens get along? What are the terms and conditions of this mysterious new partnership? Time will tell.

Speaking of Troy, her role in this show was perfect. She popped in a few segs and laid down the law. I feel like every time she's in a couple of segments it boosts the show's excitement. The confrontation with The First was another good seg. We all know what her relationship is with the World Champion, but there's some irritation between her and The First and Forsaken too. This adds some intrigue if the Forsaken vs. Stevens/The Fallen feud continues.

The Miles vs Westcott feud has some added spice with the addition of Anarky and Felix. Things took a surprising turn when Anarky went after Miles. Is there a Felix/Westcott beef? I like the transition here as I have no idea where all this is going. Looking forward to all of it.

Big win here for Cam as he wins the Intercontinental title. The Anthology is obviously a major player now in EPW and their first gold is big gold. I don't know if Cruise is the leader of this group or if they even need one. I want to see more Anthology segs with some collaboration between all four members. Four top-notch guys are together now and I want to see the dynamics of keeping these egos in check as well as the havoc they'll cause on the other guys backstage.

Things ended well too. Mike wrote a great main event match and showed a great deal of humility in pushing Stevens so well. This is another tribute to the maturity of the entire EPW roster. There is no OOC issues ever here because everyone realizes that what's good for EPW is good for them, and put the fed first. It makes it a lot of fun to be a part of it all. Also, first title defense since LT, as Jamar pointed out, which leads me to my Wreslter of the Month.

February 2009 Wrestler of the Month: "Triple X" Sean Stevens.

I was going to make this a shared WOTM with Cruise and Stevens, but I felt like the rp period was much more competitive for the World Title match. I hope Shinder makes it back to EPW soon and apologizes on no-showing for a title match. I'm glad it wasn't a ppv. Jamar gets a big win in what could've been a coin flip as Mike showed up and proved himself with The First. There's a reason The Forsaken can't be beat and both Felix and First showed why in singles matches. Congrats, Jamar on a big win.

WOTM Runner-up: Cameron Cruise.

Congrats to Tom on winning the EPW IC Title again. Cruise has been as hot as anyone in EPW for a while now and he caps it off with this win. Anyone challenging for his title better bring their best.

Aggression 41 Review and WOTM

2009-01-27T13:55:00.000-08:00

This show started off with a bang right away, as the Frankie Scott/Omega feud is one of the best in EPW now. Omega is winning me over each week with his nuttiness to go along with being one tough sob. Scott plays the heel to perfection and adding Lindsay Troy in this segment was a brilliant touch. I'm getting more and more excited for this feud each week.

Speaking of Omega and Scott, both pick up big wins this week. Omega gets a huge win over the biggest face in EPW right now and Scott takes care of business against Stone, who I'm looking forward to seeing more of.

The Anthology segment was just as entertaining, with a few spots that really made me laugh. Hart is his usual loony self, and the bit with Cameron Cruise had me chuckling. There's a reason this group is rising so fast through EPW, they're fun and talented.

I wrote the Cruise/Tact vs Crimson Calling match and I hope everyone involved enjoyed it. It took me longer than usual to write this one as I seemed to hit a snag at every turn, but I hope it had everyone involved enjoying it by the end. Someone needs to lure Nathan Fear into one of his million-dollar safes, lock him in there, and change the combination.

Justin did an excellent job with the Hart/Fusenshoff match. I really enjoyed reading through the whole thing and he always surprises me with the brilliant swerves he comes up with to keep our feud interesting. I'm really looking foward to our cage match and the magnitude of the stipulations it brings.

Also a big win for Anarky, who's destined for a huge feud with one of the best in EPW, Felix Red. These two have a deep-seeded dislike for each other. I hope they draw this feud out and give it the attention it deserves. I hope they make it ugly, brutal, and as exciting as it seems like it will be for us readers.

My happiest moment was seeing Beast and Miles back in the ring. These are two huge stars going at it. The swerve that Miles locked Beast in the locker room during Kings of the Cage was a nice touch. I liked the Fight Club reference. I look forward to seeing Miles back in the ring once Katz is able, sounds like the ppv.

I have no doubt Strawsma wrote the main event, and we should all be eternally grateful he shows up week after week putting these matches together. I don't follow NFW as much as I should, but from what I've read Ryan is the best matchwriter in FW. This match was another fantastic one. It even had a little chinese lady ready to kick some ass. In the end Forsaken proved they're the best duo in EPW and have been for one hell of a long time.

They're also my Wrestlers of the Month for January.

Unleashed Review, WOTM, FPOTM

2008-12-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

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. :)

EPW September/October WOTM/POTM and Aggression 39 Review

2008-10-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, that title's a mouthful.

I picked out the "Promo's" of the month quite a while ago, but unfortunately us match-writers took quite a while to get Aggression 39 up. I'm just as much to blame as anyone as it took me a week longer than I predicted it would too. I'm going to start with my "Wrestler's of the Month" first.

Wrestler of the Month: Ice Tre

In a show littered with disqualifications, Ice Tre takes home TV Title gold in his second match back. Tre has been as cunning as anyone in his victories lately, always striking at the perfect time. He's a small guy who fights with tremendous heart and likes to downplay his intelligence, but has it in spades. A TV title win is well-deserved here and accepting the open-challenge for a TV Title match proves that the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

Runner-up: Beast

A tournament that started with sixteen men from EPW ended with two coming out as 'Kings of the Cage'. Beast and Miles have been at each other's throats for weeks while still decimating their competition. In this KOTC Final Beast hit his Absolution 2K4 while Miles made sure there'd be no save. Also in an interesting turn of events, Beast and Miles might be warming to each other at the perfect time. Beast ran out to help his fellow King in a battle-turned-brawl against the Fallen's King. They'll need to be on the same page against the dominant Tag Team Champions The Forsaken.

Promo of the Month: Draw- Steven's second promo, thread four MAIN EVENT and Hiroshi's first promo, thread four.

I felt like Stevens amped things up at the end of this promo. I thought the first promo from each competitor was strong, but luke-warm as far as intensity compared to the usual from these two, who can both bring the house down. There was a definite change of pace from Stevens and its a shame we never got a second promo from Miles.

Hiroshi had an exceptional roleplay against The Fallen as his first rp. The checking off list was a nice tough and entertaining. Then he came out aggressive and made fun of 'Stalker's rules'. Overall I thought the promo was creative, had an air of confidence and made a strong argument.

And on to the review....

First I'd like to say, welcome back Aston! Everything involving Shawn Hart was gold tonight whether it was hilarious commentary or the best swerve I've seen in EPW in 2008. What I liked about it wasn't the build-up from show to show (obviously), but the way the Cruise/Hart segment got things started, and particularly the anticipation during the match when Hart gets up, stands between The Fallen and Cruise/Hiroshi, waits for Dahaka and Stalker, then strikes. That part was magic to read and really shocked me.

Like I said before, Aggression 39 had a lot of disqualifications and run-ins. Personally I've never been a big fan of this aspect of wrestling, but if used sparingly it works. I think the show lost a little bit because of this.

Beast running out for Miles was good too. They were quarreling and now they're coming together. I also dug JA hitting the ring, particularly after the referee's ruling of double-DQ. I thought it was fitting that JA would run out after the decision was made.

I am a HUGE fan of Olvir so I feel like anything involving EPW's Pornstar Viking is gold. This match was probably the most well-written of the show for me. It kept my attention throughout. I liked the Douglas/Secong Coming dynamic in this one and would like to see more of the three together in the future.

The Stalker/Lindz seg was good too. When Stalker gets upset I always enjoy the read. The Lindz as owner angle has been very refreshing so far.

I wrote my own match for this one. I hope Justin and Paul enjoyed what I did with their characters and hope it was entertaining for everyone else.

Frankie's win over Omega was a big one for him. Also, I like the feud developing here with Barb. There's a lot of potential in Omega as a nutjob with awesome strength.

EPW WOTM and POTM

2008-09-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

Here's the first ever Wrestler of the Month and Promo of the Month.

This is for August 2008.

Wrestler of the Month: JA

Let's just say I didn't stay up all night trying to pick this one. JA won the World Heavyweight Title at Aggression 38, beating "Triple X" Sean Stevens in a match that seemed to have everything. He survived a meat-hook stabbing and multiple Fallen interferences to take home gold. On a side note, Tom Holzerman was less than a month from his marriage date, and still managed to pull off wins for JA AND Priest & Eisenkreuz.

Runner-up: Craig Miles

Miles single-handedly defeated one of the best tag teams in EPW, Second Coming, to move his team (with Beast) to the KOTC Finals. He took one hell of a beating and used his in-ring expertise to sneak out a win. It's a testament to the talent of these two wrestlers that despite rarely seeing eye-to-eye, they've been able to dominate the competition on their way to the KOTC Finals. It's especially impressive that Miles' first match in EPW was Round One of the KOTC.

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Promo of the Month: MAIN EVENT: World Heavyweight Title match- Thread #7, JA's third promo.

I felt this was the best promo during the Agression 38 promo period. It was very aggressive and biting. It had just the right amount of sarcasm and there was a lot of KOTC talk, which was appropriate because we're in the midst of it in '08 while the tournament itself has so much history for Stevens, JA and Dis/Troy. The Melton rebuke was strong. Overall, I felt this was the best roleplay of August because it challenged Triple X and was exceptionally tight, leaving no mistakes for Stevens to exploit.

Aggression 38 Review, Fuse's WOTM and RP of the Month

2008-09-03T15:54:00.000-07:00

First thing, I talked to Dave about doing a "Wrestler of the Month" and "Promo of the Month". I hope anyone who follows this blog will check again, probably tomorrow, to see my picks. Obviously this is just my own POV. Promos are so subjective, and I'm happy to listen if you want to argue your case for a particular rp. Also, if you think I'm full of sh*t and know nothing about what a good rp reads like, feel free to keep it to yourself.

Just kidding.

Feel free to let me know what's up. I can take it.

Now, on to the review.

After 37, I felt like we didn't have enough segments. After 38, I felt there were way too many. That said, it would've been hard to cut any of them because they were pretty much all good. I really liked the PSA at the beginning and thought it was a nice 'return' segment for Ice Tre. Beast's segments were entertaining, and I especially enjoyed Miles' dialogue spots. The Troy/Miles/Beast banter back and forth was the segment of the night. Miles getting dragged out of Troy's office was my mark moment. I'm most looking forward to Cruise/Hiroshi and what that becomes.

I wrote a segment for the show too that never went up. I blame my idiot co-worker who thought it was a good idea to put Linux and its .odt word processing file system on the community cpu. I worked with Justin (Stalker) on the seg, and he had problems with it too. I'll post it on the OOC forum.

Match-wise, the main event was far and away the best match. Kudos to whoever wrote it (Ryan, I'm looking in your direction). Both Jamar and Tom deserved a win with their showing, and the match was worthy of the rp period. I especially liked Ice Tre dropping from the rafters and fixing Stevens' crown properly on his head before the home run swing.

Justin did a fine job writing my match. Tact/Douglas was a fun read too, and I'm glad Tact won because Adam and Tact's handler really compliment each other well. That PPV match will have a great promo period.

Lindsay's doing a fine job as head honcho. She's really getting involved with the segments, which makes it more fun for her and everyone else too. Please keep it up if you read this Lindz.

Please check back for more; likely tomorrow or in the next couple of days.

EPW Aggression 37 Review

2008-07-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Exactly one month to the day that the rp period ended we have Aggression 37. It's the start of the King of the Cage tournament, along with an extra Tag Team title matchup with Troy Douglas and Larry Tact facing the champs, the Forsaken.

This match was a fun one to read. It was well-written as the Champs looked like they should, while Douglas and Tact showed their disdain for each other, possibly setting up a feud between the two.

My match was similar in style, with Hart and Fusenshoff not really meshing. The week of the rp period I was working 40 hours, finishing up Finals week for two accelerated summer courses, and just didn't have time to rp until Sunday night. I couldn't even rp then because Aston beat me to the punch. I didn't check the boards again until Wednesday to vote for the TiT Finals match, and by then it was too late to post during the 24-hour extension. As a result, Fuse was Tea Bag-pinned in our match. I supposed I deserved it. I'll just pretend it didn't happen and never sign-up for a show when there's a 95% chance I'll be too busy.

I've apologized profusely to Ryan and Aston already for no-showing.

I wrote the Fallen vs Second Coming match. It was fun to re-read after writing it three weeks ago. Hopefully Justin, Adam and Patrick enjoyed it too.

The Lindsay Troy/XXX segment was the highlight of the show. Rocko dropping the title was a shock. I'm hoping Lindsay wrestles in a few matches because I really enjoy reading her promos.

I was also hoping to see some kind of segment from Miles or Beast. This show was kind of dry segment-wise, and it probably could've used it with so many tag matches. Luckily the show went up today instead of last weekend. I'll be able to sign-up for the next show. I won't be tea bagged again, you can count on it.

Pending business

2008-07-18T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have a bad feeling about this.

Next week is midterms. I work too, like every week.

That said, I know both Supershow 9 and Agression 37 are likely to go up this weekend. That means next week I'll be in two very important matches for Fuse's wrestling career (IF Fuse/Hart move on to the next round, which I don't deserve even if Hart does, but you never know.).

Not to mention my CC title shot is against Ravager, arguably the most consistent rper in FW. This guy will stack on you in a heartbeat and never leaves any wiggle room. He'll also be coming off his biggest FW match to date, win or lose. I've been looking forward to this match for months.

During the rp period for Round One of King of the Cage I had Finals for the first half of Summer semester. I didn't rp because Sunday was my first real chance, but Aston beat me to the punch. There's nothing worse than no-showing a match.

So today's Friday. Next Wednesday and Thursday are the midterms. One is Criminal Justice, which should be cake. International Economics is going to be a lot of work. At least I can see it coming this time. I think I'm prepared for this.

On a side note, nothing really to report. I've been thinking about talking to Dave regarding this blog and EPW. I was thinking about doing a wrestler of the month or sending questions to handlers in EPW to get a closer look at the men behind the characters... its just a thought.

Aggression 36 & King(s?) of the Cage

2008-06-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

I defended my title via countout against Beast at Aggression 36. Jarrett and I have very similar rp styles. We're both relentlessly aggressive. I made a major mistake in the rp period because I misread his first rp (and I even read it twice). I'll admit I was lucky to get the win and it wasn't as rewarding as it should've been to survive one of the very best this hobby has to offer.

Jarrett amazes me with his dedication to A1E. It's such a tightly run ship over there and he's the head honcho. I'm completely loyal in making sure I give everything feds ask of their handlers in EPW and TEAM. That takes up more time than I can give to a third fed. If that wasn't the case, Fuse would be in A1E looking for adversaries to put him out of his misery. ;)

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Fusenshoff is teaming with "The Phenom" Shawn Jessica Hart, PhD. in Kings of the Cage. Aston opened my eyes to his talent in the 2007 TiT. Our styles are VERY different and it's going to be our greatest strength in this tournament. I PMed him because I'm fully confident we'll win this thing if we both do our best.

That said, Fusenshoff is a lone wolf. I'm going to have to come up with something to make this partnership valid. This will force me to create an angle, which is good because I've just been fighting with no storyline so far for Fuse.

End of The Road/Era

2008-05-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

I've been knocked out of the TiT after a grueling promo period with Troy Douglas. Adam has been a man possessed lately in the TiT, winning the EPW IC Title, and a date for the Cyber Title in A1E. I know he's in PRIME and at least one other fed. Having so much on his plate hasn't slowed him down at all.

Two things Adam does really well: one, he pretty much never makes mistakes. Trying to pick apart his promos is like playing Hasbro's Operation with a hockey stick. And the second thing he does really well is either downplay or ignore completely any mistakes he does make. That's two ingredients for success.

If I'm going to go out in the TiT (which I'm making a bad habit of :) ) then at least I've gone out guns blazing. I'm glad real life has afforded me the opportunity to put in good showings the last two years. I'm looking forward to meeting Ravager again for the Challenge Championship.

The "Era" part of this promo is about the retirement of Dan Ryan. My one match with Dave taught me more about the hobby than all the other promo periods put together, and that's no knock on my other opponents. I truly hope this isn't the end of promos from Dave Brunk. If it is though, no one's earned it more.

A1E's Vengeance 2008 (Edited)

2008-05-13T00:05:00.000-07:00

First off, I'm honored to be a part of the show and have to thank Jarrett for allowing my small part in the A1E vs EPW war. I hope this isn't the last of it. I know the EPW/NEW joint-work was exceptional and I'd love to see something like that from these two feds this summer.

I was just as in the dark as everyone else after reading the show. I thought there was going to be an A1E/EPW infusion for a month or two. With EPW being recessed at the moment I thought this was coming. Perhaps I'm just too naive to realize this isn't possible. Not to mention the drastic change that would be asked of the entire A1E roster to basically join EPW for a while.

I read the whole show and was very impressed. I think the matchwriting by A1E writers is particularly excellent. Like many said on the boards, the length of the main event Wargames match was perfect.

You have to read Dan Ryan's 'Descent' to really appreciate part Two. i wish I would've read it first. I can't think of a better way that anyone has forcedly retired in anything. It was artistic, original, creative and brilliant.

Kudos to all involved, including all the A1E members who had complimented the angle and guys like Rocko Daymon, Chronic Collizion and Sean Stevens who showed those in A1E what EPW can do.

Black Dawn review

2008-04-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Black Dawn was a lot of fun to read. I had class about twenty minutes before I noticed it was posted, so I cheated to see if I won or not right away. That class was a lot more bearable to sit through. :)

Whoever wrote the 4-way really made it fun to read and really nailed Fusenshoff in the ring. I felt like I couldn't write him better than that.

I wrote the 3-way match which was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed writing for Olvir. This guy is one hell of a character and it's an insane gimmick. I have a feeling we'll be meeting in the near future. I'm looking forward to it.

The EPW/A1E angle is getting interesting on this end. Big Dog coming to help out Beast/Marcus Westcott was a nice touch. Big Dog bleeds A1E so his presence in EPW is a big deal and won't disappoint I'm sure. The A1E loyalists in EPW have been struggling to stay afloat over here, and I think Big Dog is the kickstart they need.

The highlight of the night for me was JA giving an elephant laxatives and positioning him over Beast and Dan's cars. I hope there's a response from Beast after this in the next show or rp session.

I felt both the World and IC title matches were MOY candidates. They were long and hard fought with every character leaving it all out there. The fact that the titles changed hands both times was pretty cool too. I read the rps for both, and I had trouble giving anyone an edge based on who I felt should win.

More TiT and EPW thoughts

2008-03-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

Ask for it and you shall receive, as the saying goes. I said this is my favorite time of the year for FW, and with the week I have coming up, along with the one behind me, it's not a disappointment this year.

I had a 4-way matchup for the Television Title in EPW, and while my character doesn't care, I'd be honored to wear gold in this fed. My second go-round in a row with Hart was even tougher than the first time, and the Irish rematch was no pushover. The beauty of EPW is the level of talent, and taking even a single week off is a guaranteed loss.

I battled Cameron Cruise twice this week, and he put up a great showing for this match in EPW. He is very good at noticing flaws in his opponents' game plan, and jumping on it. He's very aggressive and likes to stir things up, just like me.

The TiT has hit the ground running with only one double no-show, and it's even more impressive considering Payne, one of the very best in TEAM and reputably reliable, was one of them. Payne can beat anybody in this hobby, and often does, so any other time and he would've had a first round win. Hell, the guy even posted a pre-TiT rp, so it's not like that was a common occurrence.

As soon as the next round starts, I'm facing two venerable opponents. I'm not as familiar with my first opponent, but from what I've heard of High Flyer, I have a battle on my hands. That's compounded by my other adversary this week... who needs no introduction.

I was elated when I saw that I'm in the same brackets as Lindsay Troy and Dan Ryan. I've been reading Lindsay's stuff even before this tourney started. I try to follow all the big names. She has a talent for clever wordplay, and her similes/metaphors are why she's one of the best. Matches like this teach me more in one week than I learn all year.

I have my work cut out for me, which is just the way I like it.

Agression 35 and TiT excitement

2008-03-08T14:45:00.001-08:00

My first match was a big one at EPW. "The Phenom" Shawn Jessica Hart, PhD. is one of the toughest guys to roleplay against because he never gives you anything to pick apart. He's mastered being an entertaining read and has more one-liners than "The Quintessential Studmuffin" Joel "Put your lipstick on my dipstick" Gertner.

My last match was against Big Dog was a lot like this one for this reason. Shawn is the self-procliamed "menagerie of non-sense" while Big Dog takes a more serious approach. They both really pushed me to dig for content to use in our matches and I learned a lot from both. These are the kinds of matches I really enjoy because they push my creativity. I was busy as hell this week and thought I was toast once I realized I sniped via EPW rules, but luckily the show had a twist where Hart and I will meet again at Black Dawn.

I'll be in a battle royale with James Irish, Shawn and Cameron Cruise. I have history with two of the three, and I've talked with Tom a little bit over PM. I'm especially eager for this one.

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This show is the first EPW event I've read from beginning to end. I like what I saw and laughed out loud half a dozen times.

"Davey, you are the only man on the planet that can make a sport where half-naked, oiled-up muscleheads in spandex tights roll around with each other on the ground seem even gayer than it appears to the naked eye."

Really got a kick out of that one. I thought the Stalker/Caitlyn match was the most gripping one of the night. I was on the edge of my chair reading that one. I enjoyed my match a lot and I was shocked by the TV title shot later in the show. I'll do everything I can to make sure I don't waste this opportunity.

Chul Sol was quite the character. I read it more like a promotional segment than a match. Considering we're both new I'm willing to bet our paths will cross sometime soon. I like Fusenshoff fighting big men because The Domination is my favorite finisher, but I really like The Whiskey Bomb too. It combines the X-Factor and the Famouser as a hybrid-spur of the moment finisher Fusenshoff uses on big men and as a surprise attack.

I really liked the "unlikely alliance" video over the Titantron. Mysterious anticipation stuff like that is really fun. I love trying to guess ahead of time and depicting the clues.

The whole show seemed to be set up for a Rocko win in the main event, between the Stalker/Caitlyn match and the Stalker/Stevens alliance. He still had to earn it rping this week. I skimmed the thread before reading and thought Rocko would win with the extra rp to seal it. I've lost to Tom's Thrillbillies twice, so I know how tough he can be to beat.

It was a fun read and really sets the mood well for Black Dawn. I really like what I read tonight.

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The TEAM Invitational Tournament starts this week and I have a match as Ace Mason. I have more trouble writing with him because I don't have his personality and 'angle' set in stone yet. Consistency is important with a character for the readers and for the handler. Promos are much smoother and fluent when we know our character's inside and out.

Ace is in the tourney because I told Tom to add him if he needs spots filled. I'm glad he was added because he's good practice for Fusenshoff. I approach writing with him very differently and with a different mindset. I can't really explain this, but I feel it may add a dimension to my writing that could be a deciding factor if I make it deep in this tournament.

Either way this is my favorite time of year in this hobby. The tournament is a lot of fun and the hype for it is huge. I love that TEAM brings together so many different handlers with a wide range of backgrounds. My competitive personality really thrives in this tournament. It feels great knowing there's so many big names I might get a chance to banter back and forth with.

Kidney Transplant

2008-01-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

I no-showed my first match at EPW.

I talked to Dave and he understood why. I spent the last five days of the rp period in University of Michigan hospital. My Mom has needed a kidney transplant since August after a five year battle with a rare kidney disease I still can't spell. My uncle immediately volunteered as soon as a transplant was imminent and he's a match.

Both went under the knife the first day. After a 12-hour day at the hospital, we left that night thinking both surgeries were a success. The next day we walked in at 8am on cloud nine. I hadn't felt that relieved in five years. A weight had lifted off my shoulders that I didn't realize was so heavy. Everyone in my family was healthy again. My Mom was rejuvenated and couldn't stop smiling. My Uncle was right down the hall. We felt like resurrecting a statue in our front yard devoted to his act of heroism.

That's when one of the general practitioners walked in with cautious news. He informed us that my Mom's new kidney wasn't secreting enough urine. My Mom needed to have an ultrasound. He told us that it was simply a precautionary measure whenever urine secretion is low. I could tell from his tone and body language he wasn't as optimistic as he pretended to be. My Dad caught the same vibe, but we both kept our hunches from my Brother and Sister.

My Dad left with my Mom to the second floor where they did the ultrasound. Bad news. There was a kink in the renal artery. My heart fluttered when my Dad told me. She needs another surgery. At 23, I don't think I've crashed that hard emotionally in my whole life. I've had a few bad break-ups, but I went from thinking my Mom is healthier than she has been in almost a decade, to the worst fear I've ever known. My Mom's barely 100 pounds. She acted like a punch drunk boxer from the anesthetics the night before. Will she even make it through a second surgery 24-hours after her first one started?

I needed time to myself. I left for five minutes and sat in the bathroom. It may have been longer. Describing my feelings now wouldn't do them justice. They said the surgery was exploratory. It sounded like maybe they caught the problem fast enough. That was our highest optimism. Our worst fears were as bad as they get.

All four of us followed her down to prep to get her into the operating room. We spoke with the doctor who would perform her surgery. He was straight forward with our questions. Worst-case scenario she goes on dialysis because her remaining kidneys can't handle the strain from two straight surgeries (they were functioning at 15% before the surgeries). I asked the question we all wanted to know. What's the odds the kidney survives? He said sometimes surgeons are pleasantly surprised when they get a look after an ultrasound. Immediately I'm thinking 5-30% chance; hoping 30, fearing 5.

Sitting in the waiting room with my Dad, Brother and Sister was a living nightmare. The looks on my family's faces described perfectly exactly how I felt myself. We were fighting with every fiber of our beings to keep from breaking down completely. My Brother and Sister still had some hope that it wasn't all for nothing. My Dad later told me the thought had crossed his mind he might have to pick out a casket that day.

On the other side of the waiting room a grown middle-aged man was balling his eyes out. He had to have just lost a wife or child. I go to church every Sunday and get as involved as I can with student activities for the church at Michigan State University. I have a lot of faith. I counted my blessings and reminded myself as convincingly as possible that things could be worse.

I couldn't handle sitting in that room another minute. Carolers had just walked in and I felt like feeding them their Santa hats. I left to visit my uncle on the fifth floor and forced as much of a smile as I could muster. Reminding myself of his sacrifice and adamant insistence (two of my Mother's sisters match too) that he would be my Mother's donor helped me shield my devastation.

He asked questions about the surgery. I told him it was an exploratory surgery. I tried to explain the likelihood that the kidney would survive. He cut me off the second I started speaking with a glum tone. He told me that he firmly felt in his gut that everything would turn out fine. We talked about the Detroit Tigers and the recent Cabrera trade. He talked for a while about the Detroit Pistons during the Bad Boys era. I was five when they won their second title, so I mostly listened. That's when my family entered the room.

Necrosis is a technical term for death of an organ. They couldn't tell us why the transplant failed, but it turned pink faster than usual the night before. Problems this quick with a perfect match kidney is unheard of. She doesn't need dialysis, which is basically slowing death. The doctors told my family downstairs they'd have an autopsy prepared in four to six weeks. My uncle let out a bellow you'd hear from a dying dog.

Hearing the news for the first time, I couldn't cry. I did a bit in the bathroom earlier that day. I didn't know how to feel. She didn't need dialysis. I knew the chances the kidney wouldn't make it were slim-to-none hours earlier. My uncle was shocked, but his heroic deed was no less significant. I knew she could have another transplant in four to six months and two of her sisters are also perfect matches. My faith in God refused to let me fathom a tragedy like this could ever happen again.

I felt I would lose all self-control and rue the moment that my Mother heard the news.

She expressed zero self-pity. Her only concern was for her brother. She was even apologetic toward him. Her courage and selflessness was other-worldly. While in tortuous pain, she gritted her teeth and was genuinely smiling because she was just happy to see us. It was a sight to behold. I couldn't have felt more proud of my Mother than I did at that moment.

As the week went on we spoke with many practitioners and the surgeon. We also spoke with a dietitian and a kidney specialist. At this moment she's recuperating extremely well (at home)and physically feels about 85% of how she was before the surgery. She still has both her old kidneys and they don't seem to have suffered any damage.

Looking at it now I feel grateful. It seems crazy. My uncle's only kidney will grow and he'll have 95% of the kidney function he had with two kidneys. My mother has a stricter diet and I firmly believe she'll maintain her health until my Aunt gives her another kidney this summer. I've learned more about what it means to have heroic character and resolve from my Mother and Uncle than I ever could have second-hand.

I feel the only tragedy that could come from this experience is ignoring the wisdom inherent here by failing to actively pursue life endeavors that hold similar value. The power of sacrifice for the well-being of others has no match in this world. Strength, courage, faith and fearlessness will always persevere over any adversary. We have all come out of this experience as better people.

I'm not the type to no-show on a match. I completely forgot about it. I talked to Dave the minute I realised the deadline had passed. He was very understanding and interested about staying informed about her condition.

It feels good to write about.

Slow Times

2007-11-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

It's been slow for me since my return from the summer. I had a great time getting vengeance on Jason Payne for when he knocked Ace Mason out of the TiT, but unfortunately Jason was busy with some personal life stuff and couldn't put out his best. He still put out one very good roleplay before the match. I wrote the first two promos of the matchup, and it was tough writing them after the layoff and without anything to respond to. Not my best stuff, no question.

This last match I went up against Big Dog, who is one of the best, no question. He's done everything and then some in a very prestigious fed, A1E. I've read much of his stuff back in early '07 and especially in his first World Title match against Dan Ryan. Back then MBE was on the A1E boards and I read a lot of the stuff over there, even voted a few times. I knew I'd have a tough one against him.

Dog is a master at giving you little to tear apart in your response. I had almost nothing after he rped first and was looking to fire things up with my first rp. He came back with a blowout response on me that was professional, impersonal and another one tough to respond to.

I came back at him hard, trying to get him fired up and hopefully off his game. Maybe fortunately for my chances at the outcome of the match- but unfortunately for the feud value- Big Dog didn't have any more time to rp and I posted one last cap promo to reemphasize my stance and it got me the win.

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Now I'm bored and I've finally made the move to join a new fed. I'll be Fusenshoff in Empire Pro, and I'm hoping I make waves there. I've been watching the boards lately and there's some real competition. It stinks that Brunk doesn't compete in the fed, because my match with him last March has been my favorite by far. Still, there's so much talent there and I'm very excited. I'm really charged up for a chance to battle it out with Beast or Lindsay Troy. I've read some of both their stuff and I know I'd learn a TON going against them. That said, I'll have a good battle against every one on the roster. I don't see anyone there that has no clue what they're doing.

I'm hungry to really attack hard and get into it. Here's hoping that moment comes sooner than later.

How I Found Fusenshoff

2007-10-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is my first "real" blog post. Leave a comment if you want me to link your blog to mine and I hope you'll return the favor.

I'll be out of character here.

I think I'll inform any readers out there how I ended up writing the character Fusenshoff. I started in MBE with Ace Mason and talked a buddy of mine into being my tag partner. He wrote one promo and called it quits, but I still had this tag team, International Icons.

I decided to keep the tag team because we had a title shot and I liked both characters. The TEAM Invitational Tournament was coming up and I told Tom I could rp with both guys if need be. MBE was at a stand still and I felt I could handle it.

I had never written a solo promo for Fusenshoff at this point. He was still kind of my buddy's character, and was just Ace's mean tag partner. I sat down and wanted to make him very different from Ace Mason, and I came up with a drunk. I needed a good reason for him to be a drunk and thought of the car accident. It all fell into place after that.

I'm personally not a whole lot like Fusenshoff. I drink socially two or more times a week, but very rarely get hammered. I usually stop at five and my tolerance is high because of my genes. Neither of us are approval seekers, so we have that in common. I put effort into staying positive and optimistic, while 'Hoff is obviously nothing like that. I'm 23 and I've never experienced a significant death in my life (knock on wood).

I love writing this character because it flows out of me much more naturally than Ace does. I think he's easy for me because I'm VERY clear about what he represents and what he stands for. I feel like I could predict exactly what Fusenshoff would do in any given situation without a moment's hesitation.

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Where this blog is concerned, I'll update it either weekly or bi-weekly. Right now it's a mystery what I'll come up with to post, and it'll probably take a month or so for me to find a true direction for this blog. I see a bright future for Fusenshoff because I love to write and I'm starting to really get the hang of promo-style rp writing.

Fusenshoff Bio

2007-10-24T01:15:00.000-07:00

Name/Nickname(s) Fusenshoff/Fuse
Common Derogatory Remarks about his name
Any Hasselhoff reference (see Knight Rider, Baywatch)

Hails From Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada

Height/Weight 6'3" 263

Entrance: "Wherever I May Roam" by Metallica hits over the sound system.

"And the road becomes my bride,
I am stripped of all but pride.
So in her I do confide
and she keeps me satisfied.
Gives me all I need."

Fusenshoff steps out from the entrance. No fireworks, just a spotlight, no superfluous spectacles. He's wearing a black leather jacket, wife beater, black jeans and black boots.

"And my ties are severed clean.
The less I have the more I gain.
Off the beaten path I reign.
Rover wand'rer nomad vagabond
call me what you will...."

He makes his way down to the ring without even looking out at the capacity crowd. His focus and concentration remains unwavering. The only thing on his mind is what lies ahead. He's not here for the fan support, the achievements, the glory. He's here because wrestling is his release. Wrestling eases his pain.

"Wherever I may roam
where I lay my head is home.
Carved upon my stone:
My body lies, but still I roam... yeah, yeah!"

Fusenshoff trots up the steps and climbs under the top rope. He walks over to his corner and lies his head on the turnbuckle, waiting for the bell to ring.

Accolades (titles, tournaments, awards, etc.)
TEAM Championship of Champions
EPW TV title (x2)
Sweet Sixteen of TEAM Invitational Tournament 2007
Elite Eight of the TEAM Invitational Tournament 2008
Dupree Cup playoffs (representing TEAM)
TEAM Tournament of Champions Finalist

Affiliation/Alignment
Affiliated with The Fallen in EPW as of March 2008. Fusenshoff was a lone wolf before this.

Appearance/Attire
Wears a white wife beater, black jeans, and black shoes. Fusenshoff has long black hair and a black goatee. He has a tattoo on his left forearm of the Canadian flag, and on his right forearm of the British flag.

General Wrestling Style Brawler/Street Fighter/Power, and is also decent at technical.

Finisher Primary: The Domination
(Lifts up like a powerbomb. When opponent is on his shoulders he tosses them up so they hit the mat like someone being hit with an X-Factor only Fusenshoff remains on his feet. Takes a perfect combination of power and agility to pull off with maximum devastation. When done perfectly it leaves Fuse's opponent with a dislocated jaw and they're left unconscious. You can't get up from it if done right.)

Secondary: Whiskey Bomb
(Kick to the stomach and X-Factor/Famouser hybrid move. Setup like a X-Factor only Fusenshoff comes down like a Famouser with a Guillotine Leg Drop to the back of the neck. Fuse uses this when he needs a quick 1, 2, 3 or against opponents too heavy to Domination.)

Other Common Moves Punches
Atomic Drop
Snap Suplex
Head to Turnbuckle
Knee Drop
Suicide Dive
DDT
Swinging Neckbreaker
Spike Piledriver
Crucifix (pin)
Exploder Suplex
Sitdown Spike Double Underhook Powerbomb
Top rope Overhead Belly to Belly Suplex

Three Strengths/Three Weaknesses
Strengths:
1. Nearly unparalleled athleticism (combination power/agility)
2. Focus/consistency in the ring never wavers.
3. Damn near impossible to keep down.

Weaknesses:
1. Not very good at submissions.
2. High Flying maneuvers foreign to him.
3. Has a lot to learn about the intricacies of wrestling.

Wrestler Profile

Personality: Drinks heavily to ease his pains and considers it a strength rather than a weakness. He feels the alcohol blocks out everything but his next match, allowing an almost superhuman focus and intensity when he’s in the ring. Fusenshoff is only truly happy while in the ring. Outside the ring Fusenshoff is practically comatose in numbness from being drunk at all times. His instincts from years of reading take over and his words run together without thought while he plays mind games with his opponents and often becomes aggressive.

History: Fusenshoff led a relatively normal life as a child growing up in the small town of Kamloops in British Columbia. Always big and smart for his age, the other kids showed him a great deal of veneration. He was quarterback/linebacker on his high school football team and felt somewhat obligated to party every weekend. He grew up without a father figure, which was unheard of in the Canadian small town, but he learned the ways of a man from his Grandfather, who was well educated and liked in the community.

Fusenshoff’s Grandfather was an Alpha Male and the young boy’s idol. He saw Fusenshoff’s uncanny IQ at a young age. He bought the young boy Shakespeare, Whitman, Chaucer, Hemingway, Dickens, Twain, Eliot and Austen literature so one day the boy could show the world he was a big man who could also express himself. Fusenshoff took to the reading very quickly, spending almost all his time either in books or with a ball, playing alongside the neighborhood kids.

Fusenshoff finished his books given to him by his Grandfather early and moved on to other literature. Soon he was challenging himself with Dante, Homer, Joyce, Milton, Nietzsche, Goethe, Sophocles and Virgil. He also dabbled in some Freudian psychology before preparing for university.

~~~~~~~~

Charles Dickens wrote “Think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable night.” Fusenshoff’s memorable night came the summer before his enrollment at the University of British Columbia.

That night Fusenshoff was drunk with his friends when a boy got aggressive with his younger sister across town. She called Fusenshoff and he immediately hopped in the car to pick her up. Fusenshoff beat the boy very severely and left with his sister in his car. On the way back home Fusenshoff was furious and got a lead foot. He wrapped the car around a tree and his sister died in the accident. Fusenshoff has always blamed himself.

Rather than grieve over the loss of his beloved sister, Fusenshoff began to drink heavily. His life has spiraled out of control since as he spent an entire year binge drinking in an apartment he bought in Alberta. He never went to university and only recently took up wrestling, debuting in December of 2006 after being cajoled by Ace Mason a few months beforehand.

~~~~~~~~

Fusenshoff has natural ability and has even been called a prodigy. He learned 90% of his arsenal just two months before his first match. The Domination, his original and borderline criminal finisher, takes a combination of power and agility so extraordinary only a fraction of a percent of athletes could pull it off correctly, making it that much more devastating.

Fusenshoff's most memorable match came in April of 2007 during the TEAM Invitational Tournament. He was rolled up by Dan Ryan in the Sweet Sixteen while arguing with a referee. The two men went well past the promo period, exchanging words that make parents put their kids to bed early. The match didn’t end at the bell either, with the fight finally ending in the parking lot after Fusenshoff put Dan’s head through a windshield.

Since then Fusenshoff has enjoyed the competitive environment of TEAM. He's lost twice there in two years, once in the TiT Elite Eight to Troy Douglas and once in the ToC Finals match against Tyler Rayne (a PRIME future Hall of Famer). He won a TEAM Championship of Champions match coming in March against Marcus Westcott and Ravager. He also has a banked Challenge Championship match too, but currently holds the Championship of Champions Title.

In EPW, Fusenshoff won the EPW Television Title in a Battle Royale during his second match (March 2008). He defended it three times before being defeated by Ice Tre in October. Ice Tre left EPW before the next show, where Fusenshoff won back the Television Title. During his title reign he was forced by Stalker to join The Fallen and be a slave to his will.

Fusenshoff lost the Television Title to an up-and-coming Layne Winters, who pinned him after Fusenshoff was injured earlier in the night by an accidental chairshot by Rocko Daymon. Fusenshoff eventually signed a contract offering his freedom from Stalker after Fusenshoff became unruly.

~~~~~~~~~

Fusenshoff is still learning the intricacies that take years to master in wrestling, but his raw talent ranks among the very best in history. Combined with a rare intellect, Fusenshoff seems born for physical contact sports involving delicate strategy. There’s no telling where these gifts will take him. He doesn’t seem to be interested in accolades, only the outlet for his grief that the ring affords him. You can see in his style of wrestling an instinctual efficiency and yet a creative intuition that makes him so unique and dangerous. He turns wrestling into an art form, and often performs flawlessly.

My Match Promos

2007-10-23T01:58:00.000-07:00

2007
TiT Round 1 vs James Irish
TiT Round 2 vs Ravager
TiT Sweet Sixteen vs Dan Ryan (loss)
Dupree Cup vs Jason Payne
Dupree Cup vs Big Dog
2008
Agression 35 vs Shawn Hart
Black Dawn vs Hart, Irish, Cruise
TiT Round 1 vs Eric Mateo
TiT Round 2 vs High Flyer
TiT Sweet Sixteen vs Donovan Astros
A1E Vengeance vs Duchess
Elite Eight vs Troy Douglas (loss)
Aggression 36 vs Beast
Aggression 38 vs Nakita Dahaka
Aggression 39 vs Ice Tre
Tournament of Champions Round 1
Tournament of Champions Round 2
Tournament of Champions Round 3
EPW Unleashed vs. Stalker
Aggression 40 vs Anthology
2009
Aggression 41 vs Shawn Hart
Aggression 42 vs Stalker
Aggression 43 vs Anarky/Westcott
TEAM Supershow X vs Ravager/Westcott

My Matches

2007-10-23T01:06:00.000-07:00

P.S. Click the link, then Ctrl+F, then type in 'Fusenshoff' to find my match as fast as possible.

2007
1st Round TiT Recap: Mexico City and Portland (vs James Irish)
2nd Round TiT Recap: Mexico City and Portland (vs Ravager)
Sweet Sixteen (vs. Dan Ryan)
Dupree Cup Week 3 (vs Jason Payne)
Dupree Cup Wild Card Round (vs Big Dog)
2008
Aggression 35 (vs. Shawn Hart)
1st Round TiT Recap: Orlando and Minneapolis (vs Eric Mateo)
2nd Round TiT Recap (vs High Flyer)
Black Dawn TV Title Match (vs Irish, Hart, Cruise)
Sweet Sixteen TiT Recap (vs Donovan Astros)
A1E Vengeance (vs Duchess, lost on A1 Community Forums)
Elite Eight TiT Recap (vs Troy Douglas)
Aggression 36 TV Title Defense (vs Beast)
Aggression 37 KOTC match (loss, didn't rp)
Aggression 38 TV Title Defense (vs Dahaka)
Aggression 39 TV Title Defense (vs Ice Tre)
EPW Unleashed TV Title Match (vs Stalker)
TEAM Tournament of Champions 2008
Aggression 40 tag match (vs Anthology)
2009
Aggression 41 TV Title Defense (vs Shawn Hart)
Aggression 42 Cage Match (vs Stalker)
TEAM Championship of Champions Match (vs Ravager, Westcott)