Clean & Fair
I love Troy / Ryan segs because the interplay is just so on point, so familiar. King and Queen of shit talk, lol. The quality of the build for this angle is going to make the end result more than just a well written match. Lindz, Brunk and Dames are killin’ it this arc.
Keyes vs. Hoffman
Ben did the heavy lifting with this one. And just a note. Ben completely dove in head first with Reinhardt, chit chatting about the character on Skype he helped me sort of see a new direction we could take with the character’s gimmick. THIS is how you work with the… I’’ll go ahead and coin the term “active NPC’s.” If you guys start to get a feel for any of the characters we debut from BRAZEN and have an idea for an arc or an angle or a segment, or if you want to use them in your own arcs hit me and Justin up. Again, props to Ben.
The Mastodon Cometh
I’ve said it before, I think Frank is Justin’s best character. I love Dane, don’t get me wrong. I’ve followed Eric Dane the character pretty much since the day I discovered ewrestling. But when Justin’s on point and ready to really kick out the jams with FDJ it’s just killer. This is going to be a fun arc dude.
Harmony vs. Felton Bigsby
Yay. lol I hope you guys know what a kick I’m getting seeing you guys write such solid matches with the BRAZEN guys. A lot of the characters we’ll debut (some will stick around, some with”go back to developmental”) are ideas that have sat in mine, Justin’s, Jon’s, James’, etc’s docs for ages just collecting dust.
Damien just added some to the doc, I can’t WAIT to see Dames sink his teeth into BRAZEN.
I’ll Be Careful. YOU’LL BE DEAD!
It makes absolute puzzle piece sense both in and out of character, this feud. Dan Ryan is a legacy character, loooots of history. Frank’s the DEF born DEF bred firebrand. Seems like cut and dry face heel, but it’s not. The shades of grey Brunk and Ken are working with right now between face and heel reeeeally works for both Frank and Ryan. Ryan’s not “eeeevil”... he’s just been around the block so many times he’s made of goddamn stone. He’s a MAN, by each plausible definition. And while a “fun guy” Frank is young, weird, really evasive and reeeeally pushy. Bordering on disrespectful.
[Ryan stops and stares down directly into Holiday’s eyes.]
Dan Ryan:
… BRAH.
But Brunk just slays it with “finger in the face” promos like this. Young men yell and scream, old men get in your face and whisper epic shit right in your goddamn ear. lol Probably my favorite seg of the night, honestly.
Nicky’s Big Break
Sorry about the formatting, I figured out the new backstage cut and paste stuff after I’d posted this and I was too lazy to fix it and repost. So. Anyway. Moving on.
God-Beast vs. Levi Cole
Imagine Cole’s gimmick like… a REALLY polite, bordering on dopey Brock Lesnar. Pure good hearted flyover state meathead. Another fantastic recap write up. I’m digging a couple of these being on every card.
YORBOITAI
The fact Eugene approaches Ryan and LT at all shows he’s got balls… but by the end you feel that impotent nerd rage as he huffs away. I want more heel Eugene in my life.
Where’s My Reckoning
I’ll let everyone else tug on James’ wang for this puppy. I Boxer’d my stuff and provided input but James fronted this seg. Good shit my man.
Demoralized
Just playin’ in the sandbox, havin’ a good ol’ time. Moving on.
Euge vs. Ty-Walk (love that nickname, lol, goddamn you Brunk)
Good booking, Eugene needed a win and Ty’s usually a good candidate to eat a loss. Solid match.
Guess Who’s Back?
This needed a little more padding between the talky bits. Just having Waner start talking and not giving any bracketed setting of the scene, what Sam’s wearing, etc. Facial expressions, what they might be thinking, what they’re wearing, how they’re approaching each other.
Example, just for instance, Jake’s entrance into the scene.
[Sam’s interrupted by Jake Donovan walking up to Lance Warner]
[Sam’s saccharin babyface promo was cut short by the entrance of DEFIANCE’s very own backyard weirdo, the enigmatic Jake Donovan. The wild streaks of paint up and down his face don’t hide the fact he’s got a a frustrated, bitter look etched on his sour mug. Sam turns to greet the obviously unwelcome intrusion on HIS promo time. As the two size each other up for a moment, Lance Warner exists stage left, his lower back still aching after his "tumble" earlier.]
Yada yada. Best rule of thumb I can give is ALWAYS write your segs and matches like a brand new reader is jumping into DEF with this show. If you don’t tell the reader who your character IS on card they’re not going to go look up your bio and read the "what you're character looks like" section, they’re just going to skim on down the page.
Curtis Penn Invitational / Cancer Jiles vs. Johnny Booya
Riiiiiiiight off the bat, I have to remind everyone of what a fucking mark I am for both Penn AND Jiles, so… that being said, and Jon and George both being fantastic writers I’ve known through this game forever… I’m going to be a little critical.
The segment especially feels like y’all might have pulled it from the oven a little quick. It has a little of the problem I had with the last seg with not quiiiiite enough descriptive text? Especially right out of the gate but got “meatier” later, especially when Booya returned (also awesome btw) The back and forth banter was spot on. The characterizations of Penn and Jiles are just so there.
Remember when The Dudley’s were really hot in ECW? Heel heat like I’ve never SEEN… the fans weren’t booing them because they were heels they were booing them because they fucking HAAAAAAAATED THEM… and the fact they were so entertaining, it was all a really magical combination. Penn’s like that. He’s shown he’s a great wrestler, he’s a champion, a proven property but he’s just sooooo insecure and such a deluded cunt. The way he’s been characterized as just this arrogant virus has produced some killer promos.
Curtis Penn:
Cancer...Cancer… Don’t listen to them Cancer, it’s a conditioned response! Watch.
Curtis Penn:
CANCER JILES EVERYBODY!
RAHHHHHHHHH!
Curtis Penn:
MYBOITAI
RAHHHHHHHHH!
Curtis Penn:
POPSICLES!
RAHHHHHHHHH!
Curtis Penn:
CURTIS PENN!
BOOOOOOOOO!
[Cancer’s eyebrows arch over the COOL Shades.]
Curtis Penn:
See, they cheer for everything I say and do. I’m their Southern Heritage Champion and they absolutely love me…
I literally laughed out loud at “POPSICLES!”
I’m so glad George is back, Cancer is such a fantastic character. Like I said once upon a time, he’s like a super gross version of HBK circa the early to mid 90’s. The match was probably shorter than it needed to be being in the main event slot. I’d have maybe constructed something BIGGER from Penn at the end… maybe when Penn and Booya looked back, have them go back for seconds, work together to really put Cancer down for the count, some sort of big shocking crowd popping high spot, really launch this SoHer angle. I'm not sure you guys took full advantage of being in the main event slot, is all.
Anyway, criticism always given with love guys, no hurt butts.
Not the most epic show, but like we said before… not EVERY show HAS to just rock the earth. Only the second card of the arc, everyone still in setup phase with arcs. Some REALLY solid stuff on this card. Brunk, Lindz and James tore shit up this week with collectively the best segments on the card, hands down.
Now. I'm going to go sit on my sofa and watch Chris Hero and Zack Sabre Jr. beat the holy living shit out of each other.
