Read this full blog post at the author's site
It's true - I don't ever update this thing do I? I also almost always say that I'm gonna update it more often when I happen to update it at all, so I won't say that this time. I'd like to, but no promises. Ideally, with the extra time away from roleplaying that I have nowadays, I'll be able to post more frequently....but we'll see.
Matchwriters.
That's the topic.
So I'm reading around and I've been thinking about how I see my own fed. If you don't know already, I own and run Empire Pro Wrestling on FW.com. It seems we generally get very positive feedback even from those not in the fed, so I've been pondering just what our identity is. I think that in general the tone of any given fed reflects the personality of the owner. That's true in the real life corporate world and it's true in our fantasy world as well. I think that without stroking my own ego too much, that more than anything most would tell you that during my roleplaying career I've been mostly known for being consistent and steady. I've taken the ups and downs of the ride in stride and generally managed to ride through controversies without too much long lasting damage. I've seen more than my share of people fall to the wayside because something didn't go their way and they let their emotions get the best of them. And, I've seen people flash hotter than hot and then never be heard from again.
Why is that? I think early on I could have gone down a different path. I found myself to be very competitive in my early years and would take it pretty personally when I lost. Of course, "early years" for me was a time when I was 15-16 years old and spending money to get back a paper bulletin with match results. So maybe there's an intelligence factor in there somewhere as well. But I think eventually I decided that I just liked the journey of the game. I enjoy the moments within it and a lot of the time the best moments have come without me winning anything, or at times without me being involved at all. So the pure enjoyment of the hobby kept me consistent - so that even when something didn't go my way, or threatened to anger me to the point of doing something stupid - I've been able to step back and think first of all, this is only a game. And second of all, it's not all about me.
And that's what brings me back to my topic.
I think our reputation with Empire Pro covers a few bases. I think we're known for good solid storytelling. Our angles garner us the most positive feedback and I'm proud of that because I love a good wrestling story. I'm an old schooler at heart, so a good solid story with a good build and shocking climax marks me out to this day. I've also been very blessed with handlers who understand the big picture. They've bought into my "system", to use coach speak and allowed for the telling of some fantastic stories that garner praise from outside the fed. That's the highest praise to me, because it would be quite the story indeed that would cause me to click over and read a fed I'm not involved in. And finally, and this ties into the rest - we're known for a very very friendly "backstage". This is something I specifically strive for. I just flat out don't put up with petty bickering, and this is the one area when I'm very strict. I will not compromise what I believe is the right way of doing things for anyone, no matter who you are. If you like politics, you'll be weeded out - and I won't even pretend to be doing anything else. I have a natural inclination to protect the little guy who can't catch a break.
So you're thinking - I thought this was about matchwriters.
It is.
In my fed, my matchwriters, my handlers set the tone of the entire fed. They take their lead from me, they take the tone and the direction from me, but they are the absolute heart of the fed. As a whole, Empire Pro is what it is. Everyone who knows me, knows that I really don't like writing matches all that much. I'll do so in a pinch, but I'd rather not. So what I want to do is recognize three people who have prominently written matches for the fed and made the fed as enjoyable as it is.
Ryan Strawsma - If you're wondering where you've heard the name, he handles various characters around the internet, most prominently Rocko Daymon, Olvir Arsvinnar and Chronic Collizion. Some may or may not know, but Ryan was at one time a co-owner of Empire Pro. Unfortunately, his youthful willfulness made him a casualty of my hardass nature as we butted heads at the time and he chose to leave the hobby for a while. As he changed his stance on some things, we came back into contact and he was I believe surprised to find out that I held none of it against him whatsoever. Truth is, Ryan is a markedly different person than that first incarnation and I've found him to be light years more developed as a writer and as a person. He's become my go-to writer and regularly takes on multiple matches per show. Ryan's been known to take as many as three or four matches in a pinch. Many of the great main events you see on our shows were written by Ryan. If he wished to do so, he would make a fantastic fed owner in his own right one day - and I've told him as much.
Adam Shinder - Adam handles Troy Douglas and Second Coming, so you have your frame of reference on who I'm talking about here. Hard to imagine you wouldn't know anyway, as Adam has made this his true breakout year. Adam's been good for a very long time but always seemed to be pulled away by some real life issue or another. Always on the brink, but never able to take that next step has always been his reputation. But it's never been about talent, only about oppurtunity and personal time to take advantage. But this year, he's taken his much deserved huge step forward and received the attention his talent has always deserved. Adam writes on every show and has been the 1b to Ryan Strawsma's 1a. If Ryan needs a break or wants something simpler than the main event, Adam gets it and there's no noticable drop off. Both guys "get" the comic stylings of the broadcast crew very well and can seamlessly write the Empire Pro style without even thinking about it.
Jamar Short - Jay came back on the scene this past year and it's been a very welcome return. I first ran into Jay when I "invaded" CSWA back in '03 and he was one of the first people I was paired up against. He took some time off to begin the process of what I can only assume is his quest to buy his own country and populate it himself. Then, he unexpectedly came back and started kicking ass right where he left off. Jay has written quite a few matches and particularly some very memorable matches along the way for various pay-per-views especially. Jay has also written almost every word of the last year's Triple X/Ice Tre story along with Paul Brisbin and continues to write that story even now. Jay's been getting deserved attention this year too, but he's always been this good. So it's no surprise.
There are others who have written for me obviously. Recently, some of the newer handlers have pitched in, including Kevin Healey, who handles Fusenshoff, Patrick Schutt and Jeff Pena. Justin Buitron (did I spell that right?), who handles Stalker has also done a ****load of writing for us lately and is quickly moving up into that upper echelon.
Some honorable mentions for past contributions have to go to Jeff Bolichowski - who like Ryan Strawsma is a former owner-slash-co-owner of Empire Pro and is partially responsible for one of the most talked about matches and angles in our history, the Dis vs. Beast match that ended with Lindsay Troy winning the first of many World Championships as a fantasy wrestling character. Also, to Tom Holzerman who before TEAM took off into the stratosphere wrote as many great quality matches as anyone else I've mentioned.
So I think - why do my people enjoy the fed so much? Why are they so loyal? They're loyal because they ARE Empire Pro. When we get accolades, it's not just me getting them. It's everyone that writes a word of dialogue for the show, a single match, a single segment. They make the fed run, and I'm forever greatful - because as I sit here today retired as an active roleplayer for the most part - I can't forsee a time where I would no longer enjoy running this fed. It's been my favorite part of this hobby, here in my soon to be 20th year.
Maybe when my son is old enough to take it over, I'll step down. But he's only two.....so it looks like you people have me for at least another 20 years or so.
Read this full blog post at the author's site
It's true - I don't ever update this thing do I? I also almost always say that I'm gonna update it more often when I happen to update it at all, so I won't say that this time. I'd like to, but no promises. Ideally, with the extra time away from roleplaying that I have nowadays, I'll be able to post more frequently....but we'll see.
Matchwriters.
That's the topic.
So I'm reading around and I've been thinking about how I see my own fed. If you don't know already, I own and run Empire Pro Wrestling on FW.com. It seems we generally get very positive feedback even from those not in the fed, so I've been pondering just what our identity is. I think that in general the tone of any given fed reflects the personality of the owner. That's true in the real life corporate world and it's true in our fantasy world as well. I think that without stroking my own ego too much, that more than anything most would tell you that during my roleplaying career I've been mostly known for being consistent and steady. I've taken the ups and downs of the ride in stride and generally managed to ride through controversies without too much long lasting damage. I've seen more than my share of people fall to the wayside because something didn't go their way and they let their emotions get the best of them. And, I've seen people flash hotter than hot and then never be heard from again.
Why is that? I think early on I could have gone down a different path. I found myself to be very competitive in my early years and would take it pretty personally when I lost. Of course, "early years" for me was a time when I was 15-16 years old and spending money to get back a paper bulletin with match results. So maybe there's an intelligence factor in there somewhere as well. But I think eventually I decided that I just liked the journey of the game. I enjoy the moments within it and a lot of the time the best moments have come without me winning anything, or at times without me being involved at all. So the pure enjoyment of the hobby kept me consistent - so that even when something didn't go my way, or threatened to anger me to the point of doing something stupid - I've been able to step back and think first of all, this is only a game. And second of all, it's not all about me.
And that's what brings me back to my topic.
I think our reputation with Empire Pro covers a few bases. I think we're known for good solid storytelling. Our angles garner us the most positive feedback and I'm proud of that because I love a good wrestling story. I'm an old schooler at heart, so a good solid story with a good build and shocking climax marks me out to this day. I've also been very blessed with handlers who understand the big picture. They've bought into my "system", to use coach speak and allowed for the telling of some fantastic stories that garner praise from outside the fed. That's the highest praise to me, because it would be quite the story indeed that would cause me to click over and read a fed I'm not involved in. And finally, and this ties into the rest - we're known for a very very friendly "backstage". This is something I specifically strive for. I just flat out don't put up with petty bickering, and this is the one area when I'm very strict. I will not compromise what I believe is the right way of doing things for anyone, no matter who you are. If you like politics, you'll be weeded out - and I won't even pretend to be doing anything else. I have a natural inclination to protect the little guy who can't catch a break.
So you're thinking - I thought this was about matchwriters.
It is.
In my fed, my matchwriters, my handlers set the tone of the entire fed. They take their lead from me, they take the tone and the direction from me, but they are the absolute heart of the fed. As a whole, Empire Pro is what it is. Everyone who knows me, knows that I really don't like writing matches all that much. I'll do so in a pinch, but I'd rather not. So what I want to do is recognize three people who have prominently written matches for the fed and made the fed as enjoyable as it is.
Ryan Strawsma - If you're wondering where you've heard the name, he handles various characters around the internet, most prominently Rocko Daymon, Olvir Arsvinnar and Chronic Collizion. Some may or may not know, but Ryan was at one time a co-owner of Empire Pro. Unfortunately, his youthful willfulness made him a casualty of my hardass nature as we butted heads at the time and he chose to leave the hobby for a while. As he changed his stance on some things, we came back into contact and he was I believe surprised to find out that I held none of it against him whatsoever. Truth is, Ryan is a markedly different person than that first incarnation and I've found him to be light years more developed as a writer and as a person. He's become my go-to writer and regularly takes on multiple matches per show. Ryan's been known to take as many as three or four matches in a pinch. Many of the great main events you see on our shows were written by Ryan. If he wished to do so, he would make a fantastic fed owner in his own right one day - and I've told him as much.
Adam Shinder - Adam handles Troy Douglas and Second Coming, so you have your frame of reference on who I'm talking about here. Hard to imagine you wouldn't know anyway, as Adam has made this his true breakout year. Adam's been good for a very long time but always seemed to be pulled away by some real life issue or another. Always on the brink, but never able to take that next step has always been his reputation. But it's never been about talent, only about oppurtunity and personal time to take advantage. But this year, he's taken his much deserved huge step forward and received the attention his talent has always deserved. Adam writes on every show and has been the 1b to Ryan Strawsma's 1a. If Ryan needs a break or wants something simpler than the main event, Adam gets it and there's no noticable drop off. Both guys "get" the comic stylings of the broadcast crew very well and can seamlessly write the Empire Pro style without even thinking about it.
Jamar Short - Jay came back on the scene this past year and it's been a very welcome return. I first ran into Jay when I "invaded" CSWA back in '03 and he was one of the first people I was paired up against. He took some time off to begin the process of what I can only assume is his quest to buy his own country and populate it himself. Then, he unexpectedly came back and started kicking ass right where he left off. Jay has written quite a few matches and particularly some very memorable matches along the way for various pay-per-views especially. Jay has also written almost every word of the last year's Triple X/Ice Tre story along with Paul Brisbin and continues to write that story even now. Jay's been getting deserved attention this year too, but he's always been this good. So it's no surprise.
There are others who have written for me obviously. Recently, some of the newer handlers have pitched in, including Kevin Healey, who handles Fusenshoff, Patrick Schutt and Jeff Pena. Justin Buitron (did I spell that right?), who handles Stalker has also done a ****load of writing for us lately and is quickly moving up into that upper echelon.
Some honorable mentions for past contributions have to go to Jeff Bolichowski - who like Ryan Strawsma is a former owner-slash-co-owner of Empire Pro and is partially responsible for one of the most talked about matches and angles in our history, the Dis vs. Beast match that ended with Lindsay Troy winning the first of many World Championships as a fantasy wrestling character. Also, to Tom Holzerman who before TEAM took off into the stratosphere wrote as many great quality matches as anyone else I've mentioned.
So I think - why do my people enjoy the fed so much? Why are they so loyal? They're loyal because they ARE Empire Pro. When we get accolades, it's not just me getting them. It's everyone that writes a word of dialogue for the show, a single match, a single segment. They make the fed run, and I'm forever greatful - because as I sit here today retired as an active roleplayer for the most part - I can't forsee a time where I would no longer enjoy running this fed. It's been my favorite part of this hobby, here in my soon to be 20th year.
Maybe when my son is old enough to take it over, I'll step down. But he's only two.....so it looks like you people have me for at least another 20 years or so.
Read this full blog post at the author's site