CR10 is Up!

[BWade]

Thanks to all the writers, and participants. CR10 is up and a new day has dawned for the IWF.

Go here for the results.

Thanks,

-Brian

 

[The Minstrel]

Great card - lot of impact on the federation as a whole.

Matches were well written, but the segments were certainly the stars.

Looking forward to see where CR10 leads - certainly is a big moment for IWF.

 

[brusch]

Super pumped for the future of the IWF...the Era of Fear has a chance to be really compelling. Gotta love the "fine, here's your Emerald City title, now it's the secondary belt" angle with Perfection. Wonder if he'll try going for both belts...also wonder how that affects Kuroyama's quest for the Emerald City Title.

SPOOKY DOOOOOOM! I'm looking forward to creating some intense and cool work with him. I think we can both push each other and make something really compelling.

If I were to play fantasy booker for a moment, I might look into a Minstrel v. Perfection match down the line...yes it's heel vs. heel, but those two could put something INSANE out there.

Niles takes another loss, but he's getting closer. His work has improved since his initial debut, and I hope he can continue to take steps forward in his work. Derrick Allen is just too much of a buzzsaw at the moment for "good but not great" writing.

Props to everyone involved! Looking forward to CR11!

 

[SpookyDoom]

Super pumped for the future of the IWF...the Era of Fear has a chance to be really compelling. Gotta love the "fine, here's your Emerald City title, now it's the secondary belt" angle with Perfection. Wonder if he'll try going for both belts...also wonder how that affects Kuroyama's quest for the Emerald

Yeah, can I say that I'm not too pleased with a belt that has just been snubbed by what is presented as the top guy in the company? Who would want the Emerald City title now if Perfection doesn't want it?


These angles work better when it's the heel that's screwed, not the babyface figurehead. If there were a new title introduced that was billed as more prestigious than the current Emerald City title, Perfection could act all bitter that HIS title got snubbed and promote the Emerald title as the true honor while the new international Washington state belt (really?) could be the "official" top title of IWF. If a babyface were to defeat Perfection for the no-longer-officially-top title, then he could build the Emerald championship as the one with more history, as the one truer to the territory or what have you. Both belts would have true, distinct importance.

 

[RStrawsma]

Good card... Although it didn't seem realistic to see a new guy like Spooky Doom get a deafening pop when he hasn't really been around long enough or done enough in the ring to merit that big of a reaction. Other than that, felt it was a decent card, and I thought the introduction of the new title worked pretty well. Just my personal opinion.

 

[SpookyDoom]

Good card... Although it didn't seem realistic to see a new guy like Spooky Doom get a deafening pop when he hasn't really been around long enough or done enough in the ring to merit that big of a reaction. Other than that, felt it was a decent card, and I thought the introduction of the new title worked pretty well. Just my personal opinion.

I'm actually the most prestigious babyface IWF has. With more seniority than Leyenda, less of a "learning rookie" personality than Kerry and not a heel/tweener type like De Seti; who in IWF should garner a bigger face pop than Doom?


Add to the fact that Doom is the one of the few IWF wrestler with experience outside of the IWF (a plot point I touched on previous occasions, me learning a posteriori that the IWF has a "new character" policy) and its like TNA hiring top merch seller Jeff Hardy into its ranks. Really, top babyface Spooky Doom is really the only sensible option there is.

 

[brusch]

I'm actually the most prestigious babyface IWF has. With more seniority than Leyenda, less of a "learning rookie" personality than Kerry and not a heel/tweener type like De Seti; who in IWF should garner a bigger face pop than Doom?


Add to the fact that Doom is the one of the few IWF wrestler with experience outside of the IWF (a plot point I touched on previous occasions, me learning a posteriori that the IWF has a "new character" policy) and its like TNA hiring top merch seller Jeff Hardy into its ranks. Really, top babyface Spooky Doom is really the only sensible option there is.

While all that may be true, I think Strawsma's point is more along these lines: even if Spooky is the "top babyface" since the most recent title contenders have largely been heels or tweeners, and the other faces are more "new to the biz", there are a couple problems with the pop being "deafening" (even if it is among the more substantial pops of the evening):

To me, "deafening" pops are things like Punk's entrance at MITB 2011, Bret Hart's music playing in Canada when Shawn Michaels was doing a massive heel promo, The Rock returning, etc. Obviously, IWF is (by design) a much smaller promotion than WWF(E), so to look for huge indie pops, it's things like the end of Punk/Joe II, Danielson winning ROH gold, etc. The situations require significant buildup, history, and grandeur. To use your TNA example, perhaps Jeff Hardy (or Kurt Angle, or whoever) received a massive pop when he debuted, but he doesn't get "deafening" pops when he shows up for a backstage interview after being gone for one show.

Now, if Spooky had been gone for months and months because of horrible circumstances and was back for a dramatic "I'm back and I'm here to kick that bastard's ass" moment, then sure (ESPECIALLY if Spooky had a longer history with IWF specifically). In this case, he tweaked his knee in CR9 and was announcing he's back for CR10.

Pop: sure! Deafening: that's what he was calling more unrealistic. And I think I agree with that opinion.

 

[TheHopper]

Pop: sure! Deafening: that's what he was calling more unrealistic. And I think I agree with that opinion.

Totally agree. I'm not 100 % sure that many IWF guys would get deafening pops at the current moment.....nor would they get the kind of heat that rips ceilings off a place.

 

[SpookyDoom]

Totally agree. I'm not 100 % sure that many IWF guys would get deafening pops at the current moment.....nor would they get the kind of heat that rips ceilings off a place.

Well then lucky I didn't write that! I used the terms "big time crowd pop", "the crowd comes unglued", "mighty roar" and ultimately presented the cheer as louder than the IWF's sound system; but with a crowd of a couple of hundreds in the biggest city of the American North-West, that sounds much more reasonable.

 

[John Doe]

Yeah, can I say that I'm not too pleased with a belt that has just been snubbed by what is presented as the top guy in the company? Who would want the Emerald City title now if Perfection doesn't want it?


These angles work better when it's the heel that's screwed, not the babyface figurehead. If there were a new title introduced that was billed as more prestigious than the current Emerald City title, Perfection could act all bitter that HIS title got snubbed and promote the Emerald title as the true honor while the new international Washington state belt (really?) could be the "official" top title of IWF. If a babyface were to defeat Perfection for the no-longer-officially-top title, then he could build the Emerald championship as the one with more history, as the one truer to the territory or what have you. Both belts would have true, distinct importance.

This is what I have a problem with. The angle that was chosen took weeks of tweaking between Brian and I for a way not to destroy the integrity of Pete's character (which I hope he does come back) as well as trying to get things inline following Surge. The fact is that he wasn't "Handed" the title. Plus if you followed the stroyline, the RPs, the Segements, etc. It was laid out for a while.

Secondly. The Washington State belt (and I had no clue in advance Brian was going to do this but when he did he opened the doors to a whole range of reatcions from my end that I am excited for) makes SENSE. IWF isn't a world comapny, or traveling to other states and it was said by Fear that that won't happen for a while. How can you have a World Champion/Company champion when you are still local.

The need for a second belt is there, thus "handing" the belt over and announcing a more prestigous belt makes sense being that Perfection has tarnished and devalued the Emerald City title with his self-entitlement. The story is good, removing Mori was a great heel power play move by Paz who is Cho's hand picked.

I think this card was a great one to build to great feuds and awesome inner company story.

 

[The Minstrel]

This is what I have a problem with. The angle that was chosen took weeks of tweaking between Brian and I for a way not to destroy the integrity of Pete's character (which I hope he does come back) as well as trying to get things inline following Surge. The fact is that he wasn't "Handed" the title. Plus if you followed the stroyline, the RPs, the Segements, etc. It was laid out for a while.

Secondly. The Washington State belt (and I had no clue in advance Brian was going to do this but when he did he opened the doors to a whole range of reatcions from my end that I am excited for) makes SENSE. IWF isn't a world comapny, or traveling to other states and it was said by Fear that that won't happen for a while. How can you have a World Champion/Company champion when you are still local.

The need for a second belt is there, thus "handing" the belt over and announcing a more prestigous belt makes sense being that Perfection has tarnished and devalued the Emerald City title with his self-entitlement. The story is good, removing Mori was a great heel power play move by Paz who is Cho's hand picked.

I think this card was a great one to build to great feuds and awesome inner company story.

For what it's worth I agree 110% on the addition of a second title, not only for the reverberations on the storyline for Perfection, but for the federation as a whole.

First, it's completely in keeping with the end of the Mori era, it establishes Fear/Paz as a coalition willing and looking to change the old guard. It's something fresh and new, which IC creates buzz and excitement around a product that IC has been run rather sloppily.

Second, it's pure gold for Perfection because now his end-game has been changed - his title is now less prestigious because of his own doing, he's cut off his nose to spite his face (sorry for the cliche), which is keeping with his character's narcisistic(sp?) traits. It creates a divide between himself and management and creates positive buzz with Fear in knocking Perfection down a peg with the IC crowd.

Third, it's great for the talent base, as well, it spreads the wealth, we've got sufficient talent that needs direction - the addition of a second title will allow the federation to allow developing and hard-working talent to grab some gold while allowing the main event talent to fight for a greater prize. It will lead to more feuds, angles, heat and creates more meaning.

As for the grander picture, I've said this before and been shot down, but I will continue to beat this drum... What a regional fed like the IWF would really benefit from is an umbrella-NWA like strucutre with two or three other regional feds (think NWC, WfWA, for those who may have been in or been familiar with those feds) where there are World Championships that tour those feds. Where the fed is a part of an over-arching umbrella structure.

That's where I really see a fed like this one thriving - not only in terms of story and structure, but also receiving a big influx of talent.

Just an opinion...

 

[brusch]

To bring up another thing entirely...

Am I the only one who noticed that McGinnis got a more thorough voice on commentary? I dug it a lot. Gives him more of a reason to be there.

 

[John Doe]

As for the grander picture, I've said this before and been shot down, but I will continue to beat this drum... What a regional fed like the IWF would really benefit from is an umbrella-NWA like strucutre with two or three other regional feds (think NWC, WfWA, for those who may have been in or been familiar with those feds) where there are World Championships that tour those feds. Where the fed is a part of an over-arching umbrella structure.

That's where I really see a fed like this one thriving - not only in terms of story and structure, but also receiving a big influx of talent.

Just an opinion...

Oh, a territories kinda guy. I always liked that idea. Like having one universal title. But egos, politics, favorites, etc always make that a harder challenge than it was meant to be ;(

 

[The Minstrel]

Oh, a territories kinda guy. I always liked that idea. Like having one universal title. But egos, politics, favorites, etc always make that a harder challenge than it was meant to be ;(

Yeah, that seems to be the general sentiment - not sure I agree with that.

It's like anything else you need a solid foundation - a constitution or whatever you want to call it with workable checks and balances. If you had that in place - it could operate fairly smoothly and with limited bias. There's always going to be bias in the game - it's just the nature of the beast, but you could limit it through a working document.

Essentially, the feds continue to operate independently of each other except with the World Championships (Heavyweight and Tag, for example) and maybe bi-yearly PPVs. That's all scheduling and not too hard to do if you give yourself enough time in between matches (say a month between defenses) to make sure the cards don't run into each other. Plus, you can either have the championships travel together (In Fed A in October, Fed B in November) or separate (World in A, Tag in B in October), so you either have big events in multiple feds at once or you have a real showcase every few months.

Plus, it gives you a TRUE world champion. I mean if you have a fed with like 10-15 handlers - you can slap a belt on the table call it the World Championship, but you're really just the best out of 10-15 handlers. I mean, I'm sure we've all been in feds like that where the quality isn't anything like what's here. However, if you expand your universe to upwards of 60 handlers - you've really accomplished something by being champion.

As for voting, it's also simple if you have 3 feds - all three get to vote - you assume fairness, but even if Fed A votes for its wrestler b/c of bias, Fed B votes for its wrestler b/c of bias, then Fed C is an independent party and votes accordingly. If you have 4 feds - you could switch to a point system - like UltraTitle - the two independent fedheads vote out of 10 points - highest point total wins.

Schematically, I think you can work through those issues - that's a matter of cooperation in the formation. Plus, I think it adds a homefield to a title match, which is really cool - I mean imagine an east coast champion coming into Seattle, it'd be like Quest Field for the Seahawks. Be a fun write and read.

I know I just made it sound way simpler than it actually is - I just think the problems with it aren't as big as people make them out to be. You could easily check and balance your way through these problems IMO.

 

[BWade]

Exactly what I'd like to see this become. Can't say it will lol but ... I will lay the ground work regardless. #spoilers.

Yeah, that seems to be the general sentiment - not sure I agree with that.

It's like anything else you need a solid foundation - a constitution or whatever you want to call it with workable checks and balances. If you had that in place - it could operate fairly smoothly and with limited bias. There's always going to be bias in the game - it's just the nature of the beast, but you could limit it through a working document.

Essentially, the feds continue to operate independently of each other except with the World Championships (Heavyweight and Tag, for example) and maybe bi-yearly PPVs. That's all scheduling and not too hard to do if you give yourself enough time in between matches (say a month between defenses) to make sure the cards don't run into each other. Plus, you can either have the championships travel together (In Fed A in October, Fed B in November) or separate (World in A, Tag in B in October), so you either have big events in multiple feds at once or you have a real showcase every few months.

Plus, it gives you a TRUE world champion. I mean if you have a fed with like 10-15 handlers - you can slap a belt on the table call it the World Championship, but you're really just the best out of 10-15 handlers. I mean, I'm sure we've all been in feds like that where the quality isn't anything like what's here. However, if you expand your universe to upwards of 60 handlers - you've really accomplished something by being champion.

As for voting, it's also simple if you have 3 feds - all three get to vote - you assume fairness, but even if Fed A votes for its wrestler b/c of bias, Fed B votes for its wrestler b/c of bias, then Fed C is an independent party and votes accordingly. If you have 4 feds - you could switch to a point system - like UltraTitle - the two independent fedheads vote out of 10 points - highest point total wins.

Schematically, I think you can work through those issues - that's a matter of cooperation in the formation. Plus, I think it adds a homefield to a title match, which is really cool - I mean imagine an east coast champion coming into Seattle, it'd be like Quest Field for the Seahawks. Be a fun write and read.

I know I just made it sound way simpler than it actually is - I just think the problems with it aren't as big as people make them out to be. You could easily check and balance your way through these problems IMO.