This is way late, but I didn't get to read the card while I was in France. Friggin honeymoon getting in the way of business and shit...
OPENING VIDEO MONTAGE - This was one of the best we've done in a long time. The descriptions all gave a pretty good idea of what's going on at the moment with each character, and even included bonus material (like Peter Windham getting on stage during the Jay-Z concert, which was originally supposed to be a segment that I never got around to writing). I also loved how the song broke into a distorted voice quoting Macbeth. Funny thing is, on Manson's last album he intro'd a song with that exact quote, with a distorted voice. Made me think of that. Very cool.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW - Didn't really go into much other than the main event, but I did like the acknowledgement of backstage/dirtsheet drama, and the fan signs ("FUCK THE FRONT OFFICE!"). That had me laughing. Nice little nod to the forum drama that just ensued, lol.
THE TWO JACKS - Great segment. Had me laughing when Harmen and Bryant temporarily teamed up to fight back security, then went back to killing each other. These two play off each other real well, and I like that Harmen berated Bryant over the injury thing. That should definitely be something people mention to Bryant.
DORCHESTER vs. MALIK - Solid win for Dorchester, decent action.
CONTINUE? - Excellent first promo as champion for Ocho. He's not just holding the belt, but using it to flesh out the story of his character, and it will be interesting to see how the belt changes Ocho for the better or worse; what kind of challenges it will bring him. I get the sense that LDO is still learning a lot about himself. The videogame belt is perfect. LDO might be the People's Champion by year end.
GAME OVER. INSERT COIN - The handler abruptly retired, so that's how it came off for Rook. Out of nowhere, with very little sense to it. This is usually where the long-time secondary belt holder makes it known that he's seeking higher ground, but instead, the Nat/Triple Crown title will be his legacy, and the end of his career. Not my favorite seg, but it did the job.
HELLFIRE CLUB vs. THE GRAVEROBBERS - Awesome! Graverobbers are an exciting new team, reminiscent of Hellmachine in so many ways (dominant tag champs from NFW 1.0), and I feel like the tag division has a little bit of new life to it. Could this be the end of "super teams" and a return to archetypal pairings with a gimmick all their own?
EDDIE/JJ vs. THE GUILD - This went down as well as I could have hoped for. PW forgetting the rules and shit was hilarious. All the relevant background info coming into the match was covered, such as Steel Viper's heat with JJ, his past with Eddie, etc. Alex Austin was written well - a grappler who can't brawl too well and has bad ring generalship. Eddie and JJ are like oil and water as a team, and that was basically their downfall. Great to see Alex Austin score the pin with his submission finisher; that was a nice touch. The return of Castor was bad ass, basically merking JJ. The shove on Austin was also key, and we'll learn more on that later. ;-) Finally, STRYFE capped it off with a promo that I thought hit the right tune - short, cryptic, intriguing.
IMPULSE vs. JACK BRYANT - For a moment I thought JB was going to pull it off, and that's what you really want to get out of these championship matches - the sense that anything could happen. The match was very well written, full of great action, and as dumb as it probably sounds now, I really did not see the setup for a three way dance coming. I honestly thought JB would win and go on to face Harmen. This entire card put over Harmen vs. JB as a MATCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO and the fact that Impulse will be defending his title against both guys launches it into a different stratosphere altogether. That will be one of the biggest matches in NFW history, and I can't wait.
This was one of the better Reloadeds we've done in a while. Way to bounce back from all the drama, and just get back to putting out great material. Props to everyone involved.
