DEFRoad ARC FEEDBACK

[Jman2k3]

Baf vs Wrestlefriends
Good intro and a fun match to introduce the BRAZEN tag tournament winners

LEVI COLE & THUGS FOR HIRE vs. NJNP
Fun match. Loving the BRAZEN brand being developed.

RED DEAD REDEMPTION: ATTENTION
Nice buildup for the Tag Title Match and maybe planting the seeds for a breakup down the road.

KERRY KUROYAMA vs DAVID HIGHTOWER
Another fun read.

THE TOYBOX vs. GAGE BLACKWOOD, MUSHIGAHARA & VIRGINIA QUELL
Glad ToyBox went over because I?d like to see them as a true threat in the tag division and not just a comedy act, etc. They have untapped potential and this could be the beginning to tag gold and possibly trios gold if they dust them off anytime soon. Loved the forklift spot to isolate Mushi.

WRESTLEFRIENDS, ASSEM... NO, CONGREGATE, NO... GATHER... NO?
Fun segment and it?s good to have goals?even unreachable ones. Lol.

FUSE BROS (c) vs THE STEVENS FAMILY
Match of the Night. Roland knocked it out of the park.

ACT VIII: THE RARE DEFCON COIN
Angus is gold!

THE JAY HARVEY vs. ELISE ARES
Enjoyed the match. Classic heel/face match. Surprised that Harvey went over but if Elise and Harvey feud next arc I can see her taking it then.

SCOTT STEVENS (c) vs. SCOTT DOUGLAS with GUEST REFEREE JACK HARMEN
Got to give Brian all the credit. Dude is a phenomenal writer. Wrote a parts of it and he went over it and made it sound even better. Kudos. Sure the match was a cluster fuck and that was the point. It showcased the return of Burns and Crimson Lord but more importantly it solidified the story of Jack Harmen playing Stevens like a fool as he had been manipulating the FIST of DEFIANCE throughout the entire arc. How else do you expect Stevens to react when his ace in the hole is cock blocking him at every turn. Sure it may have been a cluster but it ended one story and propelled a shit ton more.

 

[VJ Valentine]

WRESTLEFRIENDS vs. BRUTAL ATTACK FORCE

My first opportunity to say that I really enjoy Wrestlefriends being a goofy tag that will hit every style of wrestling that someone will surely enjoy. This match was everything an opener should be, so people should take notes. It has a very good sense of wrestling style and how the two styles play off of each other, which I appreciate. Without being horribly familiar with either team (I've seen them both sparringly in different formats), I felt as if I had a good idea of who they were at the end. Also the match didn't try to do too much, and got both teams over for their purpose.


LEVI COLE & THUGS FOR HIRE vs. NJNP

REGULATORRRRS, mount up. I know Baylor and Cole a lot better than everyone else in the match, and honestly that made this match a little difficult for me to follow. I found myself scrolling up to the entrances to remember who was on which team which broke the flow of the match, but that's more on me than you. That being said while I feel this match didn't really identify styles as well as the match before (which may be because they have similar styles?), I felt it made up for it by building a real sense of heat and some big fun spots. I have trouble naming spots by name after the first match, but I remember the ribs stand and the huge belly-to-back off the top of my head.


RED DEAD REDEMPTION: ATTENTION

Typically a fan of the FUSE Bros. but this segment fell a little flat for me. Had a typo smack me in the face pretty early, and the rest of this felt kind of thrown together and rushed (which if I remember correctly, it was, right?). Almost a segment for the sake of having a segment. The only thing we learned at the end is that they know their opponents and think they have a weakness. Should be implied I believe, hope this ties into the match better than I anticipate.


KERRY KUROYAMA vs DAVID HIGHTOWER

Have I mentioned that I love The Pacific Blitzkrieg as a nickname? Because I do. You've always written a ton of commentary in your matches and this match strikes me as moreso than normal, which I think makes you a vastly better writer of DDK/Angus than I am. Commentary is something I feel like I struggle with but I also feel like having almost no blocks of texts in this match takes me out of the action a lot. Not sure if that was intended here, but it feels a ton more noticeable in this match for whatever reason. Beyond that I enjoyed the match a lot. Dug the suicide line and spot, with Sawyers eating the slide. Loved the "NO F***ING WAY" ending. Might be my favorite kind of ending where someone does something unimaginable to win. Well done, sir!


ARRIVAL

Well an ambulance is here.


THE TOYBOX vs. GAGE BLACKWOOD, MUSHIGAHARA & VIRGINIA QUELL

AWAITING BEEF... just kidding. Liked the toybox during the entrance, didn't like the Vikings line too much. I remember Angus being a big fan of Viking War Cult so it's a bit OOC for him to run them down. I really liked the wrestling psychology of this match. The isolated man getting a ton of crowd support while the villains make quick tags and stay fresh, along with Jestel telling Gage NOT to tap, because he'd rather break the arm. That being said sometimes you over explain things. If something is implied, you don't need to tell us it's implied, we can figure that out. Also things like Angus saying "Just give up! You clearly are no match for the wrestling skill of The Mad Prince!" feels like it's straight out of an English dub of an anime. I recommend reading Brian's commentary to get a really great feel for Angus and how he should talk and react. Loved the big conquering monster coming out at the end, was excited for some HOSS SPOTS but the ending fell a bit flat for me. I feel it generated a good amount of heat though which I hope was the intention, and I moreso hope this may be setting something up between Gage and Mushi.


WRESTLEFRIENDS, ASSEM... NO, CONGREGATE, NO... GATHER... NO...

I think poor Lance is going to have to file for Worker's Compensation after that shot from Mace. I feel similar about this segment as I did about the FUSE Bros segment earlier in the show, but I also feel this appears to be leading up to something bigger later in the card and is telegraphed a bit better. A shot out of nowhere at The Occupation? A THIRD WrestleFriend? Hmmmm.


FUSE BROS ? vs THE STEVENS FAMILY

Love the idea of a tornado tag, it's something rarely seen in both real wrestling and eWrestling, but even before I read the match my first thought was how much of a bitch this match was going to be to write well. This was chaos, stuff was happening all over the place, and it was super nice to see the Adidas Backpack come into play, justifying the segment earlier in the night. Well done. Labeling the mushrooms as legal is always good for a laugh from me, and with all the false finishes this was very well done. You accomplished what I probably couldn't, sir.


ACT VIII: THE RARE DEFCON COIN

Yeah, so then this happened, haha. Somewhere backstage I picture Klein trying to faceplant himself as many times as he possibly can before the end of the night in hopes of getting a coin from the Game Master. I do very much enjoy the intrigue of The Toybox having a coin they can use to take a shot at any title they choose, I think I just would've preferred having another intrigue of having a match for it to see who'd end up with it in the first place instead of it beind handed to them.


THE JAY HARVEY ? vs. ELISE ARES

Will did most of the heavy lifting for this, I just helped some up with an outline and an idea that Will kinda followed. Sorta. Haha


IN DISTRESS

Ambulance on fire. Doors kicked off. Something has to be coming during the main event, right?


SCOTT STEVENS ? vs. SCOTT DOUGLAS with GUEST REFEREE JACK HARMEN
Regret not making a GORRAM count tonight. I liked the intro to give this a real "big match" feel, and also enjoyed Scott Stevens having a special championship entrance. Everyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for that. I also enjoyed how the SOHER and FIST had similar introductions, continuity FTW. This match didn't feel as bad for going in and out of the action as the Kerry one did earlier for whatever reason, so that's good. A lot happening here with the returns of Oscar Burns and Crimson Lord, the Stevens' brothers putting Kerry through a table, and some surprising push-back from Jack Harmen. I felt like we didn't get the definitive ending we wanted, but the pulse of DEFIANCE was heightened significantly, which is fantastic. We have some returning bigger names, some crossing storylines, and a somehow more hatable heel at the top. I really dug it.