I'll give a shot at the ole feedbackin' machine:
- I am always impressed by NFW openers, time and time again they actually do a remarkable job of getting people (me) hyped for the show while reading them. In a way it's such a simple thing but it's really tricky to do right. If I was writing something like that I'd offer as much depth as "HEY GUYS STUFF IS HAPPENING. WHOOOOOOOOP STUFF".
- Bit of a squash to start things off, which is disappointing as I've heard rumour that Helga loves Finish House Music and would've happily taken those fine Northern Frontier gentlemen under her wing. Point of View lack theme music at the moment but I've managed to do some hard work and track 'em down some:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps_4tmuilmg
- There is something oddly cute and endearing about the hope that cupcakes can make NFW a better place, bringing everyone together as they enjoy the delicious frosting. Sadly the NFW is filled with complete wreakage zones of human beings so this was going to fall on its face sooner or later. Not exactly sure a sledgehammer to the face is the most suitable comeuppance for a cupcake thief like Nova. Hanging would probably be better suited. The cupcake segments were just fun little things, enjoyed 'em
- IMPULSE HAS A LIVE MIC! HE'S BURYING EVERYONE! OH GOD DUCK OUT OF THE WAY! Seriously, cool face promo that played in well to the "turns your back in JJ" gimmick that has already starting developing. Things eventually need to move on and this promo done the job of pushing Impulse forward with an "onwards and upwards" sort of attitude.
- Since I've started reading NFW again, I've not quite got the Legion/Stalker and The Fallen stuff, probably because I just didn't read far back enough to get there, which is my fault but to me, obviously The Fallen are a group of characters but they all just seem to sit there and serve the same purpose when I read this but as I said, that is more my fault than anyone elses for not following the stuff too closely. Good win for Teddy here that doesn't really take the steam or momentum away from Legion either. Always good to see a brief moment of uniting against a common foe before going back to smack each other in the face some more.
- I never got a chance to get a cupcake. DAMN YOU NOVA.
- Okay, my return... yeah. That happened. Emmm... enjoy? I guess? I think I sent it to Katz with the mindset of "oh no, this is far too ridiculous" and thought he might step in at some point. Oh, how wrong I was. Now I get to run with the idea without trying to **** up shows! This will be a delicate balance. I fully expect Rupert Murdoch's chair to also be a jetpack.
- God damn is JJ DeVille for me, the best heel on the show. I mean, given the power he has, it's hard to overcome but there's just something about the writing that just wants you to smack him all across his smug little face. Continuation of the new exciting method of turning your back on the most evil man in NFW is fun too. The Cruise stuff really feels like an old school wrestling angle and a great way to rehabilitate a character who aligned themselves with the "big bad" stable. Getting smacked up, down and all around is really a great way to try and build sympathy and fan support. I suppose the only problem with that was it kinda happened twice on the show, as NeinNineNein and Harmen came across in that way too but hey, if it works, it works.
- DAMN RIGHT YOU GET SMACKED IN THE FACE NOVA! I wanted some cupcakes.
- So yeah, to follow up what I was saying with Cruise, all it took for Harmen to be forgiven in the eyes of the NFW fans was to be thoroughly smashed up by a crazy German. I enjoyed seeing it all progress over the course of the match, from the start with the fans still a little unsure about our formerly high flyin' friend until the show of support as Nova came up to save him from the bat**** crazy man. Not sure if it was the intention but it certainly came across as a double turn kind of situation with Harmen getting a bit of sympathy and Doc being just a little bit too bat****. Certainly came through that way.
- It's interesting to see a gimmick of "dream come true" and "is a d
ick" come and be merged together with Beachy but I'm interesting in seeing more from the team. Not sure if in real life insulting an autograph hunter is considered a sin worthy of pitchforks but really, I'm not one to take about "in real life" with regards to NFW events.
- I'm interested to see where the Dynasty goes from here. I've loved the team as it has a great old school feel (yes Billy, free Blaine) and that is something that NFW does great. Given the events at the end of the match, I feel like you almost have this Heyman/Cornette kinda deal with the Midnight Express but rather leading to co-ownership instead. The Carlton family feud has been a fun one to follow and I do like the options that the post-match events offer, there's a lot of comedic potential in a co-managerialship between the Carltons and I do hope it goes that way. The match itself was excellent at being complete manic and excellent in its own right. Surprised to see the rematch cash-in, not sure if this was a write-out job or not. I've been following the shows but not the ins and outs of NFW.
- Contract signing was mixed for me. I felt like you could have really cut out most of the stuff leading up to getting to the conference room as it just seemed to be taking pointless shots at stuff outside of NFW. Just seemed unnecessary to me and I agreed with Billy's view of the Blaine/Zero decision. Maybe I was missing some true genius there but it seemed like a good page or so of "I'ma gonna write a dumb character called Chadwick because Chad is a dummypoopoohead for letting Zero win". Also wasn't really keen on the Impulse/Ryan shots but really, normally I'd view that as good heelin' but after the Chad thing, it's easier to take it as dumb shootin'.
With that said, I enjoyed Castor touring his former property and seeing the damage brought about by Dane. The post-agreement shenanigans were great, just a complete feel of the hero trying to escape the super villain's lair and having to go through his henchmen to do so. I loved having the mental image of Eric Dane driving about town with a Castor Strife hood ornament as he goes to pick up his shopping, get some gas, all the things a fancy man about town does even if it did invoke the mental imagery of Big Show riding his father's coffin as Bossman drove him about. Although nothing wrong with picturing that great moment in wrestling history either.
Overall though, good show, looking forward to being part of NFW again and indeed onwards to Brawl and Reloaded.