Been Avoiding This...
Jake-
I know I haven't said much to you about Johnny Styles in the way of criticism, so here goes.
First off, Tom is right, come to me if you have questions about something. Whether it be an angle idea, a contact with someone, a wrestlers past history, whatever. I have been around since EWI...way back when.
Secondly, I don't know how well I can critique Johnny Styles. After all, you and I have worked e-fed angles and real-life angles together for about 7 years now. I am a bit biased with your work because we think so similarly.
That said...
I don't know how viable of a character Johnny Styles WILL be in the future of GXW. Him and Julius D. Licious remind me a lot of King Fiesal III, Sky Suicide, and "Turn-On" Tony Sajec, only Styles and Licious are poor... oh well.
One of the things I've always tried to accomplish with Kin Hiroshi is to cut promos in real life situations. I know I've told you that before, and I remember you saying how original it is. As opposed to a promo like this:
*
Johnny Styles is in a dark basement. And the basement only has a single light swinging back and forth while Styles lifts weights in the flickering light. The only thing is, there is no more weight left because it's all on the bar, and there are paint cans duct taped to the bar, because all the other weight is on the bar. And there is so much weight that the bar is bent, and there is about 600 pounds of weight on the bent bar. *
Another positive aspect of Styles is he is a funny guy when paired with Licious. Ask yourself this, "Can Styles be a comical character while pursuing a career without Licious?" or better yet "Can Styles be a comical character while pursuing a career as a tag parter, or teamed with someone else?"
The comical, everyday "Joe" is a magnificant angle. Kin has pulled it off for a long time, but look at where it has gotten him. A cheap laugh here, an AOLIM there, people like him. Just as I'm sure Styles will grow on people, but the comical act can only go so far.
For example, again using Kin, I threw in the angle of Kin only being half-Japanese, therefore turning his world upside down. After all, Kin pretty much wears the Japanese flag as a tattoo on his forehead. Due to this, Kin completely changed his style. He dropped his shortlived partner in crime, Wildfire, to pursue a real wrestling career. Kin also adopted a more hardcore edge, but not totally extreme due to his beliefs in the industry.
The hardest thing to do with Kin has been to cut out comical aspects of his character (ie, less "oddball" things happening to him, focus more on matches than what is happening in Kin's life, research opponents and their flaws). Kin's comical side will always be there, but not as strong.
I feel that if you want to continue to pursue an e-fed career with Styles, you may need to become more of a serious kind of guy. Not TOO serious, mind you. After all, we all need to laugh at our own promos or there would be NO fun in e-feds.
Now, I'm not saying "Drop the character/angle and Licious and FOCUS," but I am saying that I love the promos you have presented to us all thus far. However, there is always work to be done.
I think I told someone in GXW a couple weeks ago that I never can look back at ANY promo I cut and say "That is the best promo I have ever done," simply due to the fact that there is always room for improvement. Hell, watch any WWE programming with me sometime. I turn the channel through most of the promos because I am embarassed by the people. They can't get over a message without looking like an idiot half the time. The problem is that they are trying to be a viable serious wrestler. Crash Holly may be the only exception to the rule. Kin Hiroshi's promos have been built on the fact that everyone will look like an idiot in their promos, one cannot POSSIBLY cover every angle his opponent might toss back in his face, and no one is perfect. Therefore, Kin tries to play up that he looks like an idiot half the time, but he acknowledges that and is okay with it.
I see you doing this with Styles right now. Congrats. It took me a long time and a lot of work to figure it out. Way to be ahead of the game.
Another thing that is going to help you in the long run is facing opponents that will RP against you. I know that it's hard to RP a match by yourself, but people get busy with real life and it's hard to predict when that will happen...
Don't worry too much on how Johnny is developing, and take your time with it. GXW is here to say for a long time, and you will have plenty of oppotunities to iron out the creases.
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things...
Erik taught me that.
- D
