Was meaning to get some feedback in earlier, but it's been a pretty busy week for me.
- Intro was good, pretty epic. Only thing that would've made it better was some solar eclipse footage between the highlights, but it does its job. Dave, Mike, and Dean's talk-downs of the matches are on the point, and pretty good backstory for a hypothetical first-time reader.
- Smallz/Poe was a good, nostalgic read. I'm glad the commentary recapped the backstory at the start of the match, because there are probably very few people left in the hobby who remember these events. Smallz being the heel was a good fit. Definitely liked the crucifix powerbomb through a table on the ringside floor spot; that sort of thing really calls back to the era when extreme spots like that were pretty much commonplace. The finish with Poe raging out was also very telling, showing what happens when his girl gets messed with. Smallz, meanwhile, makes a splash in his anticipated return to The Empire. The spot at the end was a solid finish -- and the mention of the King of the Cage tournament was a good touch. I imagine Dan Ryan shaking his head in the back, wondering where all these stoners trying to upheave his company came from.
- Wow... I forgot about the EPW Girls. Do we call them the Emporer's Concubines? But anyway... what am I reading here? A backstage extra? A debut interview? I couldn't tell if this was a new wrestler being shown around or a new employee being given an orientation. It was a cool mic spot... I just didn't know if the person giving it was really speaking that or if he was just imitating Impulse.
- The first of two IC Title matches had good detail in Impulse taking a beating, setting him up for his later grudge match. I still favor the commentary-only style, in this league -- feels like the "Empire" style of match-writing. It was a quick, easy read, but also felt like fast-forward material... not because it was boring, but because there didn't feel like a whole lot of build around this match. Wells coming back to Empire Pro caught some attention, but the momentum just kind of petered out by the time of the Pay Per View. In any case, this match does the task in setting up Impulse for later on.
- Dan Ryan has the most stress-filled job ever imagined. As if the task of being a husband and father weren't enough, he's also single-handedly managing this entire company, and moonlighting as a wrestler. And here all these people barge into his office throughout the day making ludicrous demands and giving him sh*t. This guy just needs one of those custom plaques every boss has on his desk, that reads "This Desk Has Been Approved By The Humility Bomb Association of America" or something on those lines.
- Nice, powerful Impulse promo. Short break in the action. Not much else to say on it.
- Stanton did a good job on this match. The finish was pretty awesome. Only thing that seemed out of place was Neely being a die-hard Stevens supporter, compared to his commentary at the last show when he was more on the fence, giving appreciation to either man's style. Neely cheering on a face just seems strange to me... even when it's Sean Stevens. I'll also admit... this was a disappointing loss on my end, mostly because I genuinely tried to put more effort into this event's promo period as compared to months past. That being said, I can still say that I think the right decision was made. As always, Mr. Short never fails in motivating me to put out some of my best work.
- On an opening note, I regret not having been given the tip on Codine's name change. I threw a few crowd chants in there to ease the transition, but after a formal announcement (sorry, by the way, but I needed more on who "Lecompte" was, because there's not much I can remember about TCW) it seemed out of place to have the commentary keep calling him by his name. Ah well, in any case... I like the name change. Kendall Codine has joined the camp of wrestlers like Impulse, Anarky, Stalker, Rezin, and the First, with the single-word name thing. For the match itself, well... thank you for the kind remarks. It wasn't an easy task trying to describe sporadic action spread out across seven competitors. A few years ago, this one might have spread across the entire ballpark -- anybody remember Stalker vs. Kin Hiroshi way back? Then again, that probably would have added another twenty pages and a month on the wait time. As for the stipulations of the match... when I got the assignment, it came with an order of elimination, and I rolled with it. I personally preferred the elimination-style match over the angle of any single pinfall could lead to a new champion. In one hand, it was a LOT easier to write after participants start leaving. In another, I just feel it had a better build up to the climactic showdown between the last two men standing.
- Call me a stickler for the material, but I love embeds... as if it wasn't obvious from my promos. Even if I don't like the music, it's just nice to listen to something in the background to put me into that character's mindset. Definitely brings a new dimension in imagining an entrance to the ring. Getting the ladies involved in this one didn't seem like too much of a distraction. Caitlyn with a taser is a nice callback to some incidents in the past where she used one. The match itself flowed pretty well, and the commentary team did a good job of laying out the story. Caitlyn's swerve was well-timed, though not a whole lot seemed to be explained on just exactly why she's join the side of her ex-husbands arch-rival. In any case, Ryan's speech saved the moment... although this puts Stalker and Caitlyn into a very dubious future.
- The revelation of the Dreamstealers was hilarious. Hair metal comes to tag team wrestling. Certainly not the first time, but maybe in this era of wrestling. Still feel the champions should have come out last, as is title match tradition. I liked the addition of Mylde on commentary, cause I'm a stickler for guest commentators bring a new perspective to the table. Dreamstealers walking out on the match did the job of making them look bad but saving them from looking REALLY bad by getting beat in their debut. I thought it was right the champs retained in this match, but hopefully this incident carries over into the King of the Cage event.
- I'm finally starting to catch on to the First as a self-absorbed heel living in his own self-perceived existence of grandeur. Or maybe his drawn-out chase for the World Title and many encounters with Stevens have finally just pushed his ego past the breaking point. The entrances to this match were gold. Cruise coming out in Cena-style sports attire was a good touch. The First's entrance was an awesome moment, with the Egyptian king motif. That was a way to ride out in style, and it's awesome to finally see the character living out his "first-born man on the planet" gimmick to its fullest extent. The match itself -- and the subsequent rematch -- is some of Stanton's finest work, I feel... on par with the Return of the King main event at the start of the PPV cycle. The swerve at the end was a good way to put the belt back on the First, although I have to wonder why Cruise didn't just ask for HIS immediate rematch. If there's one thing I remember from A1E, it's that the rematch clause is probably the only part of Cruise's contract that he's read. Several times, I would imagine. Only thing that didn't feel right about this match was Cruise going over as a hard face. His transition from being a top heel to the top face didn't really seem that smooth over the past group of shows... especially considering the reunion of the Dangle Brothers. This felt like a main event program between two bad guys, as a result. Barring all that and looking forward, at least the line in the sand is clear now. Cruise is taking the place as the Empire Pro top face, and while I don't know how the character will thrive as a face, I am glad that Tommy's years of dedication to the league are paying off. Personally speaking, I don't think this will mark the end of Cruise's push for the belt, and considering the King of the Cage bracket pairings, I think this animosity is only going to continue.
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: The main event was pretty good... definitely did not mean to overshadow this with the TV Title match.
SEGMENT OF THE NIGHT: Segments weren't very outstanding on this show... just a few quick speeches here and there. I'll give it to Dan Ryan coming out and laying down the law on Stalker.
FACE OF THE NIGHT: Cameron Cruise wasn't a face to me until he walked through the entry-way and got the pop of the night... and not a whole lot of the good guys came out looking good at the end of their matches... so I might have to give the nod to "Triple X" Sean Stevens for shaving Rezin's head.
HEEL OF THE NIGHT: I think The First gets this vote. Honorable mentions go to the Dreamstealers. I'd also give it to Anarky for having a triumphant night overcoming six opponents, but there wasn't anything very sneaky or nefarious about that. But the champ pulled a rematch clause to take his title back, and had a great post-match rant. Feels like a no-brainer.
BEST MOMENT: Cruise winning the World Title -- and it should be noted from now on that Cameron Cruise is now an official member of the Former World Champions club. That puts him on the level of Rocko Daymon, and even breaks his record of Shortest Title Reign.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I thought Black Dawn was a pretty triumphant card. Action seemed well paced and the formatting seemed pretty uniform from beginning to end. Only thing I felt hampered the event was hype... which, again, suffered with a lot of the participants in the IC title scene missing out on the last TV show. The upcoming tournament pretty much dictates the direction building toward the next PPV, but afterwards, I'll try not to muck a bunch of angling up with pointless eight-man tag battles that nobody wants to be in.
