“Too Cool” Chris Hopper vs. Larry Tact
Larry Tact – RP1
Tact went out and set down the gauntlet trying to make a basis on previous RPs from Hopper. I think it came across well and set a tone for the contest inciting what I would imagine to be a myriad of responses from Hopper in his response. He did a great job of putting over the tournament and the match but I wasn’t blown away. But I give enormous respect for setting the tone for the battle, in my opinion dictating how Hopper would respond to him.
“Too Cool” Chris Hopper – RP1
Hopper had Tact’s measure in his promo and really dissected what Larry, in my opinion set-up. Did play to what Tact was trying to go for? Yeah. I think he did. But along with being led into talking about what he did Hopper managed to contort it in his favour and really address the character at heart. It was an excellent rebuttal and it hyped the match, the tournament and was a good promo.
Larry Tact – RP2
Larry really listened to Hopper’s promo and truly dissected it piece-by-piece in a great promo. He REALLY puts over the tournament and drives in Tact’s opinion of Hopper’s take on the tournament and showing what being a part of professional wrestling means to him as a character and his inspiration drive and it really comes across well and strong and I can feel the passion from the character. He addressed everything that was raised and, in my opinion, really nailed it good and strong. Well done!
“Too Cool” Chris Hopper – RP2
And then Hopper hones in on Tact’s jugular and pulls it to pieces, Everything Tact brought to him he addressed and took apart and once again got into the soul of who Tact is. He really pulled him apart and I think came across as the better out of this battle, despite having that path laid out for him he really went above and beyond and turned that dictation around in the second RP and fed Tact to come out and forced him to set-up what he wanted in the finale. Excellent work!
Winner: “Too Cool” Chris Hopper 7-3
"Suite" Pete Whealdon vs. Jason Murray
Jason Murray – RP1
This kinda missed what I was expecting. The guy just had the biggest win in the tournament, the biggest shock of them all, and the character comes out a bit blasé about the whole thing. Bronte was excited and she did ramble but I’m not sure she really added anything to the RP for me. But he spoke of how he won the match fuelled by adrenaline, this was supposed to be a few minutes after getting that win and that adrenaline is gone? Murray came across flat and I didn’t really get into it. I know going first is hard but I didn’t get a thing outta this and arguably, Murray has the best storyline (outside of Triple X) to work within the whole tournament.
“Suite” Pete Whealdon – RP1
Whealdon had some real enjoyable stuff here and had some great momentum early on in the piece. I really enjoyed how he talked in the first person and tore into Bronte but I think his focused dropped off in the latter half of the RP when he started addressing his opponent. He still did it better than Murray did so props for that. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if this is how the character goes, but he dropped talking about himself in the third person and when he did that he lost his momentum. The whole “Ultratitle got cool before Jason Murray submitted his 2000 words” did not sit with me well. While I can stand for people blurring the lines of kayfabe I can’t stand for people blurring the lines of Whealdon being a fake wrestler being written about.
Jason Murray – RP2
Murray turned it up a notch in the next bit. Bronte addressing all the rudeness Whealdon berated her with was entertaining. There were aspects of “dirty blocking”, as in introducing new elements to block comments from Whealdon but they still worked for the promo and I found Bronte quite enjoyable. I did struggle somewhat to get into the Murray character and then complete cracked the shits when he mentioned word counts, too. Sigh. FFS. I feel like the ending lost some steam.
“Suite” Pete Whealdon – RP2
I never mentioned about the first but it applies to both... I really like the way Whealdon’s scenes are set and the movements outside of the speech display his emotions. It works really well and it helped me picture what the character was doing so much more, helping get the point across. Again, I think I’d prefer the Suite One to stay in third person but it wasn’t so visible this time. Truth be told, Whealdon got on top of it for the whole promo and I enjoyed it. It flowed well; he addressed his opponent and hyped the match. He took Murray apart, in my opinion, and really put the nail in the coffin in this RP.
Winner: Suite” Pete Whealdon 6-4
I felt like jobbing you both out for breaking eWrestling kayfabe though. That shit is not on.
Spooky Doom vs. Classy Mike C
Classy Mike C – RP1
The way the RP opened up was a lot of fun and entertaining. I liked where he was going at the start addressing the kids and would’ve enjoyed seeing him address those kids for a little while longer before turning to his opponent. When Mike began to address Spooky he did all the right things in hyping the match, the tournament but he wasn’t really getting over with me but I have to give him props because he’s pulled the battle wide open and given Spooky a lot to deal with. I was enjoying it a lot until he got to addressing the opponent. The detached narrator was good fun but he didn’t really give us much of Mike C’s body language when he addressed Spooky and I think that’s where it lacked.
Spooky Doom – RP1
Hot damn! I thoroughly enjoyed that right from the very start it had my attention and nothing could take me away from it. I went through the whole damn thing without taking a breath and was entertained from head-to-toe. It goes to show that the guy writing for Spooky Doom really knows his character. From the scientists arguing to the cut shots of “Look at that (m)ass!” to the casual change from addressing the scientists and seamlessly addressing his opponent. So far, alongside Ford’s work with Flyer in Round 1, it could be one of the best promos to date but it fell apart when he made no effort to pull apart his opponent’s response at all. Still a great read. It DID seem like Spooky wrote this intending to be the first one to post an RP and decided it was too good to edit to address his opponent’s first RP.
Spooky Doom – RP2
The opening dream sequences didn’t really do anything for me. And I am especially torn by the whole breaking the eWrestling kayfabe thing which is starting to piss me off after reading the Whealdon/Murray RPs. As note guys, I don’t tolerate this shit and while Spooky did it in a “dream sequence” and probably comes closer to getting away with it a little more so it still pisses me off when characters speak about this stuff. But overall, the intro to this RP didn’t do anything for me and I wasn’t drawn in like I was in his first RP. Finally, Spooky starts pulling apart his opponent’s promo and he’s doing a really great job. Mentioning promos is kind... MEH to me. But doesn’t bother me near as much as the breaking eWrestling kayfabe. The second half of the promo was good and did exactly what I wanted to see from an ULTRATITLE promo but not nearly as good as the first one.
Classy Mike C – RP2
I really enjoy the Narrator, probably more so than what Mike says. Sigh to the breaking eWrestling kayfabe YET AGAIN! Holy crap this is starting to get under my skin. Seriously people, we're reading this shit but there’s no need to destroy the illusion. I liked the play on the camera being there when he woke up. That was cool and I kinda think that every time someone’s cutting a promo from this standpoint. This never makes sense to me but whatever. Mike really turned it up a notch and addressed Spooky, picking apart his words and really deconstructing Spooky’s argument and I liked it. He came across as a bit of a whiner so as an Australian, that’s perfect for a “pom”, right? Never mind. I really enjoyed the second part of this promo, too. It was a better step on his first and better than Spooky’s second.
Winner: Spooky Doom 7 – 3
Leyenda de Ocho vs. Orphan
Leyenda de Ocho – RP1
Interesting comparing the wrestling match the video game and it was pieced together well. I’m completely unfamiliar with the character de Ocho but I feel like he’s a measured calculating individual who analyses things a lot. That’s how it came across and he set somewhat of an intelligent pace even if the video game comparison didn’t do that much for me, I did like the character. I liked how level-headed he was but at the same time subtly sniping at Orphan. He set a tone and laid out some stuff for Orphan to work with (played the game) and addressed all the criteria for a very solid piece.
Orphan – RP1
The Orphan piece was good but it felt pretty manufactured. He addressed his opponent and hyped his ULTRATITLE match-up decently but never really dissected de Ocho’s promo, which I would have like to see happen. I liked seeing him talk about the match and play it out for us. I had no interest in the girls and I think that’s what made it all seem a bit forced and manufactured because I liked Orphan and had no connection with those girls.
Leyenda de Ocho – RP2
The beginning of this promo didn’t really do too much for me but then again that’s probably due to my inability to get video games that don’t include a basketball. When Leyenda began to speak I felt myself connected with his calculation and need to say this was written well to pull apart what was a scene on Orphan’s behalf. This is far more difficult to address since it never really addressed him in the first place. I do like how both characters are accepting of each other’s ideas and have mutually, through their writing, found themselves supporting one another. This makes the battle more entertaining. It has been done in this one and Orphan’s first promo and I want to say thank you to both writer’s for not blocking the other writer to try and make them look stupid.
Orphan – RP2
The level of response which came out of this promo epitomised what Leyenda de Ocho’s promos had inspired and that was facing a losing battle. But this piece was inspired and this piece had some heart and soul and gave us Orphan and Seymour Almasy all at once. He told us his history and explained it. He hyped his match and the ULTRATITLE and dissected Leyenda’s RPs wonderfully. Leyenda had a clear advantage, in my opinion, preceding Orphan’s response and then this piece really did wonders to turn the tables and seal the victory for Orphan in my opinion.
Winner: Orphan 6-4
Feedback for Billy coz some asshole no-showed the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Round on him like they did the first
Billy’s piece wasn’t nearly as good as the first he’d posted against Jaguar but it was still enough to set the pace, had it needed to be set at all. I have to say though; I’m getting sick of the whole free Blaine-Zero shtick. It’s time to build a bridge. The piece was solid and I have always enjoyed the genuine originality of Strife. I just hope we can see someone challenge him through this tournament because it’s getting annoying and could either make or break Billy going into Round 3 – sometimes it’s a help to have gone through these things without competition yet but he could hit someone REALLY hitting their stride (but I don’t think Billy will be bothered that much, honestly, until the Sweet Sixteen). IMO, Billy’s first round stuff was better than this by a mile.
Winner: Castor V. Strife 10-0
Eddie Whisky vs. Khristain Keller
Khristain Keller – RP1
Keller’s first RP was a relatively strong performance and met criteria of hyping the match, the tournament and giving us a little something into the character. It didn’t really set a standard for how the match was going to play out. I wanted some more. I wanted Keller to talk more about what he was going to do. Linger on destroying his last opponent. Really sell WHY he was going to turn “Whisky into blood”. I didn’t really get that and while it was easy to read it didn’t go out and entertain me much or put any anticipation into how his opponent would react. It didn’t set the pace.
Eddie Whisky – RP1
It didn’t start out all that strong but I slowly got into the character and started to understand him about a third of the way through and was able to get into it a bit more. I mean crazy is fine, as long as it’s done well, and I think some more description of Whisky’s body language would get that across better. Albeit, he addressed his opponent and dissected the first RP in a way only Whisky really could, dwelling on insignificant things and playing on words. I’d really like to see some more commitment to being irrational from Whisky, but other than that I think it was as strong a showing as Keller’s first.
Khristain Keller – RP2
Keller’s second promo was much stronger than the first and we’re finally seeing a little bit of pace being set. He met what we’d expect out of a promo for ULTRATITLE but I don’t think he really killed it. I found the jokes forced and not matter of fact, like the character kinda permeates to me. It was easy to read and like I said, set the pace, and really provided Whisky with some material he needed to address while dissecting Whisky’s words.
Eddie Whisky – RP2
The promo was entertaining but I don’t think it did much more than dissect Keller’s words and Whisky’s own assumptions. I liked the whole sparkly thing and it was still enjoyable but I think it didn’t meet the pace and put the nail in the coffin I though Whisky could have done given the material and the gimmick. It didn’t hype the match or ULTRATITLE.
Winner: Khristain Keller 5.1-4.9 (aka a bee’s dick).
The Sergeant vs. Derrick Allen
The Sergeant – RP1
The Serge’s first promo was strong. He hyped his match and the tournament and I learnt the character was matter-of-fact and only dealt with facts. I didn’t warm to the character that much but he did set-up a bunch of stuff for the battle to flow. He made a statement that he’d fear that Derrick Allen would underestimate him but he never really told me why he feared it. As a reader I don’t want unanswered questions.
The Sergeant – RP2
The second RP from Sarge I really enjoyed and liked the character. I liked how he addressed the match and his opponent and his warmth with the guys whom he wanted nothing to do with in the first RP. I’m not sure if it were time restrictions of not but I really felt like this would have been a better opening RP and I would have loved seeing him respond to Allen. This promo was much better.
Derrick Allen – RP1
His first RP really surprised me because essentially, I don’t think he really addressed or dissected anything Sarge said which kinda baffled me given he was provided with the opportunity to sting with a right hook and then an uppercut on a man without arms having the last two days. I think he missed a massive opportunity and this RP didn’t really give me anything outside of confirming some Green Day lyrics.
Derrick Allen – RP2
Allen really started to get going and was getting the trash talk working but never really dissects anything Sarge gave him. I was starting to like the character and getting into him and the promo ended without really lining up those punches Sarge left him open to. He missed some major opportunities and I was left really disappointed.
Winner: The Sergeant 5.1-4.9
Doc Silver vs. Anarky - My favourite battle from the round!
Anarky – RP1
I really enjoyed the pace Anarky set with this RP. I don’t know the history and he spelt it out for me. I don’t know the background and he painted the picture for me. That’s how you do it. You show the audience what they don’t know if you’re going to talk about it and this was done perfectly. I really enjoyed this for an opening RP in a battle and the pace is right up there. It makes me want to see how Silver responds and what becomes of these words which really are fighting words. Well done!
Doc Silver – RP1
Wow. Doc Silver didn’t dissect, he performed a fucking autopsy. I honestly haven’t read much of this character but even after reading through the first few lines I felt like I was becoming a fan at his sincerity in being a cowardly thief. He took everything which Anarky threw at him and tore it apart. I knew the pace had been set but didn’t know I was at the Grand Prix. This battle picked up dramatically and Anarky had really bring it to take Silver down a peg or two. Met all the criteria especially the most important one: Entertain me! Bravo!
Doc Silver – RP2
Doc’s second RP wasn't almost as strong as his first but really laid the boots in. It’s really enjoyable for the pair of them to give us the history lesson and show us what that history is instead of assuming we’re all fans of wherever the Hell they’ve been. Again, another enjoyable read which had me towing the line from fade-in to fade-out but I felt the first was a little stronger as Silver came out of the bull gate running and this one he started on a brisk stroll.
Anarky – RP2
Anarky dissects Silver’s previous two RPs and he does it really well. I really enjoyed this to and if anything the pace which Anarky created at the start carried through nicely for the next three promos. He broke it down and responded and did it will but I was still left wanting a little more of what it meant to Anarky to go over the top of Silver. That was the only thing I wanted and probably the difference between the two.
Winner: Doc Silver 6-4
