ACW is closing.

[Zezu]

Four and a half years ago, I got together with a few old ACW handlers and decided to do a one-off show to see how it would go.

Four and a half years later, we are closing our doors.

It's safe to say I never imagined our run to last this long... but it's also safe to say that neither did I imagine at one point that we would close.

eWrestling is a weird beast. It allows us, as writers, to create crazy persona's and live out a fantasy life in front of our own prose. It also brings together individuals who generally would pass each other in the street without a second glance. It's also a place where relentless hard work and endeavour is seen by very few eyes... and sometimes can be seen as a thankless task.

My little efed has now come to it's natural conclusion, and I for one think it's quite impressive that we are closing it on our own terms. We still have a decent amount of activity backstage in our RANT/RAVE thread which at this moment in time has 2280 replies and I don't see it stopping there.

ACW has allowed me to mix with some of the best writers this game has to offer... and I truly hope that their work will stand the test of time and be seen as some of the best that angle feds has offered in it's recent time. There was a time when we were up against big feds... and there was time when we were up against none. We still, ever week(month), tried to put out the best show we could possibly provide to anyone who was reading.

I hope most of the handlers will maybe come visit this thread and say what they feel about the place; good or bad. As it is them who ran the place, not me... I was merely there to make sure we had enough people submitting material to provide a legitimate show.

As for me, my time in eWrestling is over, and I don't realistically see a time in the future that I will ever return.

I just hope that I provided a place that handlers could have fun in writing their amazing stories.

I just hope that I provided a place that handlers could call home.

- Ben

 

[Ford]

BOO!! Boo-urns!

 

[BenHalkum]

Very disheartening.

I hope everything is OK with you Ben.

 

[Zezu]

there ye go :]

 

[BenHalkum]

I remember ACW returning as a one off night and man was I surprised when it was all a swerve and it'd be full time.

hats off to you guys, really.

 

[Spike Saunders]

Honestly, it sucks but is somewhat needed I suppose. After all a lot in Ben's life has changed A lot in the lives of the various writers that have passed through the doors of ACW has changed as well.

I remember ACW popping back up during FWO, then continuing forward rather than a one-off which was great. At the time I was busy but wanted to be involved so through my hat into the ring for their EndGame match. Not long after that FWO faded away. And rather than everybody splitting off in their own directions, a good portion of the roster of the FWO moved on to ACW.

Had a lot of fun in ACW over the years. Unfortunately I don't think one single story of mine that was planned has played out to its end, yet.. heh. But from taking Spike Saunders and Callie Urban over to ACW from the FWO, to bringing in the masked duo PowerTrip, to the arrival of the somewhat-silent giant and protege of Saunders, Billy Law -- It's been a blast! Still a lot I wish I could have done, including an actual feud with Omega/Saunders and KSZ/Saunders.

It is what it is, and I have no doubt that if Ben has the time in the future, ACW could see a return, even if just another one-off show. On that same front I am looking forward to Defiance's swap over to an Angle fed, as this actually increases the pool of writers in angle feds with people that have not done so previously. And hopefully they spread out if Defiance isn't all the can handle on their plate. Things like this would have helped ACW out as well if it were earlier this summer or year even.

 

[Justin]

Sucks ACW's done, but hey, you got to finish.

I love that.

I hope that one day DEF can finish.

And yes, we're about to go hardcore angle, son, hardcore.

 

[Russel]

As for me, my time in eWrestling is over, and I don't realistically see a time in the future that I will ever return.

I just hope that I provided a place that handlers could have fun in writing their amazing stories.

I just hope that I provided a place that handlers could call home.

- Ben

Never was there a truer home then the one we made in ACW.

I still thought about it, angled for it, this last year. It itched and me, so I scratched back with Alias appearing hear and potentially getting into a status quo shattering story with Craig Miles there. Then life became bigger and busier and I realized what I was avoiding in the name of creating stories in my home on the internet. So I stepped back further and further, 'til I got curious and checked these beautiful old forums for the first time in forever.

So, my home was shuttering it's doors. Again. For the third time, Ben? But yes, this time forever it would seem. Not just for a few months. If there is to be one final show, it's Legends VI, and it'd be a show that would break the earth. It would be the opposite of what we cooked up for the One Off show, that's for certain. Less that '...' that I had so much fun over-using, but more one of these '!', or hell five of these '!!!!!'. The One Off show isn't Legends VI, but god damn that One Off was a fun thing to put together... going podcasts, acting as characters, putting pieces of old ideas in an ACW with an all new wild life.

I am so immensely proud of what we all wrote in this final run of ACW. The first two weren't even a full year worth of stories, it was always drawn short, our stories, so that there was something like three years between the first and second Legends, and the third one didn't show up for (what?) another two? Then we had three in a row. We told that many stories. We wrote well over a hundred weekly shows. Countless PPVs. Additional material too. All just in this last run.

I still say we, it's habit. I'm standing on the shoulders of the giants who stayed with ACW, and helped shape what it's become. Butch and Sean. Seth and Markus. Olly and Spike and Ed and Tony. Yes, Katz too. There really are countless names to thank for enriching my life, as weird that may sound in our hobby, for giving me such joy reading grown men grapple in a world that's only possible in e-wrestling. Fake and real. Cinematic. Over-produced in the best of ways.

What I've read in ACW has proven to me my love for angle feds, the endless limitations that are possible through the collaborative spirit of a group of writers, and a fed head with the right amount of tough love and openness to ideas. The doors may be closed, but what we have is a history together as writers that will keep us together for as long as we please.

Thank you Benny boi. I'll put some tea on whenever you want to catch up.

Later days,
Russel

 

[Zezu]

As we discussed in the back... we will TRY and get the last 2-3-4 shows out and finish it with a Legends. That's the way to do it.

Ben - I think you hosted the podcast that myself and Russ went on when we announced it was re-opening.

Spike - Always a pleasure sir. Never had the chance to make Saunders the monster he deserved

Justin - We had a lot of Justins in ACW... but you were by far the angriest

Russ - Man, that post makes me feel pretty proud of what we have done. This is the 3rd time yeah. The first time was me. Second time was after Cimon recked the place! (I think)

 

[Sc00t]

It's a loss to the community to have such a long standing, high quality fed disappear. I hope the handlers themselves stick around and hopefully pool into one specific fed to bring that forward the was ACW came forward over the years.

I wish you all the best, Ben. I know you've done a lot of growing up lately and now you're a proper man, with proper responsibilities, so I can appreciate why you feel it's time to step down.

I have to say that in all of the feds I've been in over the last what, 14 years, working with you sticks out as one of, if not the, all-time best-time in an efed.

Thanks for everything you gave to the game that we all love playing so so much.

-sc00t

 

[Zezu]

I think the majority of the roster are already in jOlt in some form or another, so hopefully it's not too big. I don't know about Sean and Butch... but I'm sure they will end up somewhere if they want to continue writing. I was always pretty lucky that we kept the same core for the number of years we have been open.

It's a mixture of things to be honest that have caused my demise in this hobby. A family and a decent IT job don't leave much time to be writing segments or working on angles.

Plus there is my Dota 2 obsession!

But that's a fantastic thing to know Scott, and as I say hopefully I helped build something that people will remember for the fun they had.

Sure, I had fights with handlers... but those are far far outweighed by the good times.

 

[Jesse Ramey]

I think you did a marvelous job running ACW, especially with those of us who were prone to soul searching from time to time.

 

[The Red Hood]

Still breaks my heart to see this. The greatest matches I have ever written will be tied to this fed and despite Ben and I not ever being on the same page, not even fWo was not home as much as ACW. Where else would a writer like me get to work with the people I looked up to like Butch, Seth, Russ, Sean, and Ed? There's always going to be a special place in my heart for ACW and for that, I thank you Ben.

-Tony

 

[ShawnHartXXX]

I've been out of the loop with this hobby for awhile, so I missed this...but let me just say I loved my little run in ACW. I was super in a lot of feds at once at that time and ACW was my favorite for sure. Got along great with everyone I worked with and consistently liked the majority of what I saw from everyone. Kudos.

 

[Zezu]

thanks for the kind words fellas

 

[Derecho]

I actually remember being in ACW way back in its early days with my secondary character Mattock. I want to say he debuted on Courage 4. It's been forever. When I saw ACW still around when I came back to efedding a couple of years ago, I was amazed. Still sad to see it go after all that time. If I wasn't in two feds at once, ACW would have been a place that I would haves liked to handled Derecho in.