Joe’s Thoughts: Week of February 1, 2004
Howdy once again boys and girls...Joe’s back with another set of thoughts on some of the latest e-wrestling shows...First thing first, let’s get this out of the way...Who needs to wait for half time? *pulls up shirt, revealing nipple* Okay, now onto the shows...
WILD – Fusion 4.5
groups.yahoo.com/group/wild-cards/
Last week I promised WILD would be the first thing on my list to read, and I’m a man of my word, among many things...if you wanna find out how many, give me a call, Oh!...
Opening promos: All good stuff, usually I’m not a fan of more then one promo at the start of show, but these all move quickly, work well together, and set the night up perfectly...Ain’t nothin wrong with that...I especially enjoyed Art Blake’s promo...Very intriguing, definitely hooked me into the storyline...Gotta like a man with a plan...
The matches: I’ve never read a WILD show before, so their summary style is new to me...and I’m a little disappointed. The writing itself is top notch, but it’s a true “summary”, reports of the matches, sometimes with the action not even seemingly in chronological order. My biggest pet peeve with E-Wrestling may be anytime a match is described as “great” or any other word like that (even “sub-par”) without us getting to see the full match...That sort of thing should be decided by the reader, not forced as a fact...
-Art Blake vs. Requiem: The finish was perfect here...A true sign of great booking...Would have been nice to see the full match, but no use in crying over spilt milk...
-Angel Martinez vs. Chuck Diesel: Really really quick...I don’t think there’s anything else I can say...
-US Title – Jesse Ewiak (c) vs. Arron Iron: Again, I wish we weren’t getting “highlights” but rather the whole match...Maybe I’m alone here, but this super short summary stuff doesn’t do it for me...I prefer summary to play by play, but I like my summary a la Rumble Pro Wrestling, or the mixed summary/pbp stuff we do in I-X (leans more towards summary)...
-El Sonambulo vs. TJ Corruption: Same comments I’ve already made...good booking, short summary, disappointed Joe...
-Lark Fenriz vs. Tony Quint: Fenriz works here too?! Good God, is my company like the only one out there who hasn’t signed him yet? Maybe I should make some phone calls...Anyway, you know the deal, how many times can I say it?...
-Shayne King vs. Dirk Robertson: (Just see above already!)...
-Larry Gionet vs. Kenzo Tagara: Since this is my first WILD show, I have no idea how the major cards are handled, I hope their matches are longer...There’s so much potential for wrestling greatness here...
-Fusion TV Title – Thomas Creighton vs. El Savaje (c): Hve I mentioned how well written these summaries are? Seriously, they’re impeccable and enjoyable to read...all the more reason I wish they were full matches!...
-WILD Rumble: Good stuff...Helps that a rumble like this is highly based around booking, WILD’s strong point, and has little to do with actual in-ring action...This was easily the best read on the show, other then the opening promos anyway...
Overall show: As I said before, this is my first WILD experience, so I don’t know how the major shows are done, but I really hope they have longer matches. The booking here is top notch, easily some of the best I’ve seen yet. The short summary style just doesn’t work for me...It more often leaves me wishing we had seen the whole match instead of thinking how cool that match must have been...
Final Grade: B-
GOLD – High Impact – 02/02/04
groups.yahoo.com/group/GOLDmail/
Wow, I guess I’m officially “following” GOLD since this is the second show I’ve read in full and responded to...
The matches: Overall there was a nice step up from the first show, I definitely prefer getting the full match (summarized, but still) instead of a paragraph of “highlights” for the first few minutes and then the full ending...That was probably one of my two problems with the first show, and right away it’s been remedied...
-Jeffrey Dylan Marsh vs. Ethan McBride: While the match itself was nothing special, the booking here was pretty intriguing...The mystery woman coming out of the crowd and interjecting herself in the match hooked me...The promo with Marsh and the woman (Valentina) was really good...Their interaction was so well done, I’m really interested to see where this goes...
-Matsu Akahara vs. WooWoo Stardust: Good match...The action between these two in the ring was written perfectly. It made for an exciting match...Good stuff...
-El Savaje vs. "The Hard Way" Robert James: Okay match, would have been nice to see it go a little longer (or see more of what actually went down) but still it worked for what it was...
-Van Wild vs. Saishuuheiki: So far this feud is going really well in GOLD...The backstage segment prior to the match was perfect...Good match as well, especially the ending...I like how Saishuuheiki worked as a team, and even with all of Wild’s will power and drive (he’s a great face), the numbers were still just too much...It made sense and, along with the after match stuff, really helped to further the feud...This may be the best thing going in GOLD right now...
-Endurance Title - Lark Fenriz (c) vs. Frank Ewiak: Pretty good match, some nice spots though at times it feels like they’re not all entirely built up and even a bit over-depended on...It would have been nice to see a little psychology interjected here, but it’s not a big deal...
Overall show: Again, I’m really liking the GOLD show format...That old school NWA Saturday Morning TV show feel just works perfectly, and nobody else is really doing it now...The matches stepped up greatly from the first show, as did the booking in general...Match of the night goes to Akahara vs. Stardust, while Starring/Wild vs. Saishuuheiki is easily the best, most developed feud GOLD has so far...Really good stuff, plus a pretty quick read, which never hurts...
Final Grade: B+
ISW – Card #6: The Tournament Part 3
isw.bobwrestling.com/
ISW Fed-leader (I hate the term “fed-head” myself...sounds like a really cheesy porn flick) Nick Piers asked me to take a look at the fed’s latest show...So I shall do that right now...What follows is the wild and crazy adventure of me reading this card...
Right off the bat I have to say this is some of the best, most entertaining writing I’ve ever seen on a card...Clearly ISW has a sense of humor about itself, something we don’t see too often...This already has ten points in my book based on originality and good old fashioned humor...
The matches:
-Thorin Stonehand vs. M*A*S*H: Does it say something about me that I half marked out for the guy named M*A*S*H based on said name alone? Does it say even more that I know all the words to “Suicide Is Painless”, the M*A*S*H theme song?...Anyway, onto the match, well it’s pretty quick, and basically played for laughs. By those standards, it works...
-Abordar vs. Wayne: Okay, so by this point it’s obvious, this is fed based almost entirely around comedy...Thing about it is the jokes are funny! They cater perfectly to the “smart mark” wrestling crowd, which it’s safe to assume most e-wrestling people are a part of...This one may go a little longer then it needs to, but everything in it plays out well, and reads even better...
-Mitch Brzezinski vs. Brother Superior: Another hysterical exchange here...How can you not love the amateur wrestling attempts, Superior trying to ref the match himself, and the crowd interaction (they play almost as big a role as the actual talent)? It made me laugh, which is the goal, so bravo...
-Little Blue Super Jew vs. “Smooth Criminal” Genshun Osakawa: Not only is this one hilarious, but the wrestling in it is pretty good too...I guess one could call the comedy here “edgy”, but I’ll avoid that and just say it’s freaking funny...I’m a Little Blue Super Jew mark now! Seriously, the Arm Bar Mitzvah may be the best move name I’ve ever heard...
-Contract signing between Chase Hunter and Mark Sherrick: Eh, this would have worked better earlier in the show...It’s the least funny of the bits, and not a match in any sense, so one has to question why it’s at the end of the card. Overall the contract signing goes as any wrestling contract signing does, and the hype for the best of five series between these two is well done. It just feels like a lackluster way to end the show...
Overall show: I wasn’t expecting this to be a comedic fed, so when I started reading the show, it really surprised me...But what really got me was the fact that the comedy worked! It was truly entertaining. If you’re an wrestling purist, somebody who loves reading chain wrestling, psychology, cool spots, and serious promos and storylines, ISW isn’t for you. On the other hand, if you’re looking for something truly unique in the e-wrestling world, something that does an amazing job of not taking itself seriously, check this fed out! The only place this show faults is when it tries to be serious (the contract signing) instead of going for the jugular with jokes, like in the rest of the show...
Final Grade: A-
Other Stuff
Y’all know I-X by now, right? I-X’s next show, “Total Chaos” comes to you on Saturday, February 14, 2004 on Pay-Per-View! The card so far features:
-Non-Title Match: 411 (I-X World Champ) vs. “The Cuban Missile” Jorge Cardera
-I-X Tag Title Match: Caramel and Kevin (c)) vs. The Asian Foundation
-Last Man Standing Match: Spindle vs. Smokeey
-I-X Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Venom (c) vs. Big Daddy Cool Dudley
-Gangsta Heaven vs. Real Xtreme
Keep an eye out this Friday for “Guerrilla TV”, our “flash” show, if you will, featuring all of the build up to Total Chaos!
Remember, I-X is always looking for new talent...If you want to join our message board or join as an e-mail roleplayer, send me an e-mail at [email protected], indicating which way you would like to join, and I’ll get you set up...
We're also always looking for feedback on our shows, so if you read anything from us and want to share what you think, please do...
Sign up to our Yahoo group to receive our shows and updates:
groups.yahoo.com/group/I-Xwrestling/
Don't forget to give my favorite fed going right now a look...It's Rumble Pro Wrestling and it is the place you want to be right now! Go sign up!:
groups.yahoo.com/group/rumblepro/
For those of you who have been waiting for the next big non-affiliated tournament, it's here! The Young Lions Cup! Go sign up for all the latest updates:
groups.yahoo.com/group/younglionscup/
And finally (the shill to end all shills), quite possibly the greatest thing going in E-W today, it's the E-Wrestling Web Ring! Check it out and get involved! The more e-feds and characters that are linked to it, the better:
www.ewwebring.tk/
That's it for me this week...Next week I'll be here with the latest reviews, including hopefully the latest IGA show (which I've skimmed through, but dammit I wanna read and review the whole thing!) and more...always more...I'm a giving man baby!...
Ciao...
Joe Lopez...
Have an interesting perspective on the wrestling world? Then e-mail
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