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In the SPOTLIGHT!
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FWrestling.com - Circuit News and Info
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Fwrestling.com news
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What Is FW? (The Basics)
It's not your typical fantasy sport. It's not strictly based on professional wrestling or on some sort of statistics pulled from ‘sports entertainment.’
It's your version of professional wrestling. You decide on your character, and you book the angles and the 'promos.' Events are put on by the owner of the league and (if applicable) his or her staff. In most leagues, you create a character from scratch and become the “handler.” These leagues are called “generated” feds. While the character may be based on various wrestlers you like, it should not be too much like any one of them. In “real” leagues, you may select characters from professional wrestling. In these leagues, many handlers take existing characters in new directions. Generated leagues presently vastly outnumber real leagues.
There are many different 'types' of leagues. Just like the difference in what types of characters are used between 'real' and 'generated' leagues, many leagues are differentiated by how results are decided, or where that roleplay is done.
Some leagues base their roleplay through your online inbox. Handlers send their roleplay to a designated e-mail address, and the president or staff put the roleplay (also called 'flashes') into a group (often called a 'packet') and e-mails the group to all handlers in the league. Some leagues even send out their cards via e-mail, while many post cards on a league website. Other leagues base their roleplay on a league message board, either on a free message board site or a league website equipped with one. In most cases (unless the board is 'hidden' from view), this allows non-members to take part by keeping up with roleplay.
Results can be decided in many ways. Statistic-based leagues are probably the least prominent, although they had more favor in the past. In these leagues, a handler designates specific statistics for a character, usually moves or characteristics with point values. These statistics may be worked into a manual or computer-based system that generates a winner. Programs like ZEUS and sites like GeekSoft have taken stat-leagues to a new level, working in more and more statistics and variables, and even allowing owners to ‘create’ full matches using characters.
Angle- and roleplay-based feds dominate the current FW landscape. “Roleplay” leagues are based on exactly that, roleplay. League owners and staff read roleplay posted by handlers, then base the winner on who they feel provided the best roleplay and/or storyline. In general, angles are also used, with the cardwriters and president deciding what angles are used and how. Angle-based feds also use roleplay to advance storylines, but match decisions are predetermined, usually between handlers, with some input from staff members. In some cases, one of the handlers involved in the match will actually do the write-up. The line between “angle” and “roleplay” feds can become blurred, with many leagues making little distinction. The CSWA, for example, is a hybrid fed. While roleplay plays the major factor in decisions, angles can also play a role in decisions; long-term angles can often 'string' matches together, creating a storyline in card writeups, as well as roleplay.
Other leagues are based on brand new ideas or even other sports. These “concept” feds cover the board and beyond: boxing, ultimate fighting feds, futuristic leagues, ‘team’ sports competitions and more. Roleplay still plays an integral part in most of these leagues, as do angles and storytelling.
As professional wrestling ventures into the world of “sports entertainment,” attempting to push the envelope of the sport, Fantasy Wrestling fans find that the sport has yet to catch up with its online counterpart. Sometimes angles on television seem so close to those that have taken place online that FWers swear they must be reading and 'stealing' our material. Who can say for sure? As pro wrestling progresses, so does the fantasy realm, using new ideas and capitalizing on old ones to continue to keep the game interesting.
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