The Shoot #7
March 24, 2009
By: Joshua Piedra of WrestleView.com
If this were a television show, I?m sure I?d have some dramatic music with some deep voice over aggressively stating ?Previously on The Shoot?, but this is just a column with words and none of that is even possible so use your imag-i-nations here and humor me just a little bit.
Anyway, welcome back to another edition of The Shoot. Last week, I talked about the basics of E-Wrestling and how it has become a cult hobby in the world of professional wrestling. This week I promised to take a closer look at the angle fed and how a storyline was constructed and perhaps give a sample of some writing. So with that being said, welcome to Part II of my three part mini-series on The Hobby of E-Wrestling, but before we get to that, this column wouldn?t be complete without Quick Shots!
-Quick Shots-
ROH had its first television broadcast this past Saturday on HDNet and even though I don?t get HDNet, I found some? ?creative? ways to watch the program and it’s not really that bad. The quality was very good, but the small promos while entrances are being made didn?t really do it for me. I know it’s for people to get familiar with the characters, but they could have easily did the same thing through commentary. Hodgewood wasn?t THAT bad as people are making him out to be. His over usage of the ?THAT HURT? phrase did get a little old, and sure, he only really called the wrestler’s finisher holds for moves, but this was his first time doing a pro-wrestling broadcast and I think he did okay. I don?t know why people say that Dave Prazak was off his game. He sounded the same as he does on ROH DVDs, which isn?t saying much to being with.
Speaking of ROH, 7th Anniversary Show also went down on Saturday and I was thrilled over the return of Colt Cabana, but not so thrilled over Jimmy Rave. Rave’s return actually shocked me give the condition he left ROH. If you didn?t know, Rave was very vocal about being disgruntled with his push and involvement in ROH, which is why he left to go join TNA in the first place. I?m surprised that ROH let him return to the company after that. All I can say is? if Rave can return after having an attitude problem, then I don?t know why Cary and Co. didn?t try to snag Low Ki before the ?E did.
Kevin Fertig aka Kevin Thorne aka Moredcai aka Seven (no.. not the Uncle Fester Seven from WCW which resulted in one of the dumbest promos ever conducted by TAFKA Goldust) proclaims that he has something to say on April 5th. He says that he is going to prove to the world that the handcuffs are off and that he is a talker. He says he’s loyal to any company that he works for and he ponders whether to go to TNA or ROH. I?m sorry, but Kevin Fertig may be a gifted talent, but this just reeks of another ?I got fired by WWE so now I?ll get myself over with the IWC by being anti-WWE after being future endeavored.? We?ve seen this with so many wrestlers these days that it just seems like it’s the ?thing to do? once you get the pink slip from Stamford. Quite frankly, I?m getting a little tired of it. Oh well, Mr. Fertig. Come April 5th, I?ll sit back and listen to what you have to say, but I doubt it will be anything worthwhile.
Be that as it may, it is time to get onto the meat of the column.
Last week, I went over the basics of E-Wrestling. This week, I?ll go over the angle fed portion of it since it is the most unique and interesting of the two. Most of the big league angle feds out there take a while to set up. Most of them go with a professional web design, they scout out handlers and compile a roster, they hire Poser artists to get digital representations of their wrestlers uploaded and posted to the site, they create media, promos, and sometimes, videos, and they?ll even flesh out the first couple of arcs worth of storylines all before the doors officially open. In fact, I?ve, personally, been associated with some projects that approached me in, let’s say October of one year, and told me that the fed wouldn?t be opening until February or March of the following year. They did so just so they could get everything set up and ready to go once the doors were opened so it assured that everything flowed smoothly.
So basically, you have all of that taken care of. You have a roster of about, say, twenty handlers. Each of them has a storyline, save for a couple. You?re a couple months away and it’s time to being writing your main arcs, which would be your championship storylines. Usually the fed owner will already have in mind, someone to place the main title on initially and they will usually be set aside and not really have an angle partner. The fed owner will usually oversee the main championship storyline and, of course, all involved can put their own spins and perspectives on the scenario to help flesh out the angle. Once an angle is determined, it is usually fleshed out with a bullet point sheet.
I remember an old feud I had with a man named John Harvey. John handled a British wrestler named Tyke. I had handled with Tyke in a previous federation called 21st Century Wrestling and we had a nice feud there. When the place closed down, we went our separate ways until a fed called Legacy of Champions opened up. We both ended up in the same fed again and we said that we should finish what we started. Instead, we decided to forget the past and do something new. It went from an athletic contest styled feud to a personal issues feud, to getting real personal by involving family members, then finally settling it with a blood feud. We tried to roll every kind of feud possible into this grand finale between the two of us. I brought this up because I have a bullet point sheet for this as an example to show how most story arcs are structured.
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Classic 1
Tyke Speech: Explains why he cost Derecho the championship
Writer: John
Classic 2
Derecho Speech: Snaps? declares war on Tyke’s soul? announces that he will get his revenge.
Writer: Josh
Classic 3
Has a match vs an NPC? after a squash of fury and rage? Derecho announces that he has decided on how he will enact his revenge: Triple Threat Theater.
Writer: Josh
Classic 4
Tyke wants to know what the TTT is and asks around but nobody seems to know what it is except for Derecho and Derecho is not at the arena that night. Derecho said something about going out and getting the necessary tools for an announcement.
Writer: John
Classic 5
Tyke knows that Derecho is in the Arena of Champions and he seeks him out.. he wants to know what the Triple Threat Theater is, but Derecho delivers a warning to Tyke. He said he would find out soon enough.
Writer Josh
Classic 6
Derecho tricks Tyke by making him think that he has a surprise No DQ match with him in the ring. When Tyke makes his entrance, the arena is pitch black. Tyke walks down the ramp with a spotlight revealing two ladders? he walks some more and another spotlight reveals barbed wire.. he then tries to enter the ring, but something is blocking access.. the lights come on and Derecho is in the middle of the ring encased in a glass cage! It’s announced that the three matches are Twin Ladder, No Ropes Barbed Wire, and a Glass Cage Match.
Classic 7
Derecho tells the history of the TTT and why he chose it for Tyke.
Writer: Josh
Classic 8
Derecho haunts Tyke and tells him that the time is drawing closer and closer and that the world will finally be deprived of The British Lion.
Writer: John and Josh
Revelations PPV
Derecho vs Tyke: Triple Threat Theater
Twin Ladder: Winner: Tyke
No Ropes Barbed Wire: Winner: Derecho
Glass Cage: Winner: Derecho
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Basically, it’s more or less a small description of what happens on each show, each week with outcomes and it’s up to the handlers to fill in the blanks with the writing to make each bullet point of the story come to life.
As an example of filling in the blanks, I have the promo I used from Classic 2 where Derecho snaps. Basically, a little background on this promo is Derecho was the fed’s champion. When he got a hold of that title, it meant the world to him. He treated title above everything else in life: friends, family, even his own health. To Derecho, the belt was his only reason for living and he became beyond obsessed with it. Then, during his PPV defense, Tyke came in after returning from injury and cost Derecho his championship. With that, Derecho felt the link between the belt and his very soul had been shattered and the end result was this promo.
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Title: Armageddon
Who: Derecho
Where: The Ring
When: Opening Segment (if possible)
The lights in the arena faded out. It was then pitch black in the Arena of Champions in Orlando, Florida that evening. The crowd buzzed with what could be going on. All of a sudden, the light acoustic tones struck up over the P.A. system.
?Hurt? by Johnny Cash
The screen illuminated in black and white. Derecho with a tear rolling down his eye was displayed.
?I hurt myself today. To see if I still feel.?
Derecho, with tears in his eyes, looks up into a blinding light.
?I focus on the pain. The only thing that’s real.?
Derecho shut his eyes as the screen brightened to pure white.
?The needle tears a hole. The old familiar sting.?
The screen then switched to a shot of the Legacy Championship.
?Try to kill it all away. But I remember everything.?
Derecho was then depicted sitting alone on the top turnbuckle of an empty arena.
?What have I become? My sweetest friend? Everyone I know? goes away? in the end.?
The scene switched to over Derecho’s shoulder as he looked onward at the ring from the entrance ramp.
?You can have it all. My empire of dirt. I will let you down. I will make you hurt.?
The acoustic strumming faded out as did the lights in the arena. After a brief moment, the lights returned and there was Derecho as he sat on the top turnbuckle pad. His usual wrestling tights were on, but he also sported a long black trench coat, a pair of shades, and a black scar painted over his right eye. He held a microphone in his hand as the fans booed him wildly.
He remained motionless up on the top turnbuckle pad as he waited for the reaction from the crowd to diminish. When he felt that he could speak, he slowly brought the microphone up to his lips.
?It is true. I am no longer Legacy Champion? stated Derecho with hesitation and shakiness in his voice.
Derecho hung his head low.
?Tonight? we mourn. We mourn the loss of the man who had the potential to become the greatest champion in this industry’s history, but now.. it’s all gone. I have lost everything.?
Derecho hopped down from the turnbuckle pad and leaned up against the corner.
?First? my manager? Phoenix Rose? was unexpectedly released from his LoC contract. My insurance policy? gone. Then? my match for the LoC Championship? the LoCDown match?. Unexpectedly happened without warning to which I had no time to prepare and then…?
Derecho had to hold back his emotion, but he couldn?t. He collapsed to his knees.
?In a sudden?.. blinding moment??. That??. That??..?
Derecho fell to all fours as he made fists with his hands. He pounded the canvas and then rolled out of the ring. He brushed back his hair as he wandered around ringside frantically.
?That?????.. That?????. ARGH”
Derecho dropped the microphone and grabbed the top half of the steel ring steps and threw them with reckless abandon. They smashed up against the barricades and it was a miracle that no one was injured! Derecho walked over to the time keeper’s table and overturned it. Officials ran for their safety. Derecho then snagged a steel chair from the announce position and swung it up against a steel post, breaking it on contact. Some people in the front row feared for their safety.
Derecho quickly bent over and grabbed the microphone up off of the ground.
?TYKE!? screamed Derecho.
?You son of a bitch! You did this to me! You did all of it! You ruined my life? my career? my visions? and my future. You did it all to me you piece of shit!?
Derecho was out of control at this point, but all of a sudden, he dropped to his hands and knees at ringside. Into the microphone we could hear his laughter billowing throughout the arena speakers.
?heh heh heh heh heh?. It’s okay?. It really is because you can be jealous of me all you want Tyke? it matters not? heh? it matters not?. Heh heh? it oh so matters not.?
Derecho gets up to his feet and stares up at the entrance ramp.
?If you think your life here in LoC has been so bad? if you think that you?ve been shit on week after week? month after month? then you have no idea what it means to be shit on, my friend. This isn?t about wrestling anymore.. you stole from me my life? my reason for living.. my bloodline? my link to my very soul? you robbed me of MY LEGACY CHAMPIONSHIP!?
Derecho grabbed his hair and almost wanted to pull it out. The veins in his neck were ready to pop. We have never seen Derecho this infuriated before.
?But that’s okay?. Because Tyke? all your games? they all come to an end. This is it Tyke?. The end of everything between you and I. Costing me the most important thing to ever happen to me in my career is going to cost you your life.?
Derecho rolled back into the ring and knelt down in its center.
?Right here? in the center of this ring? your blood will spill? your final breath will exit your lungs? your heart will thump its last beat? your brain will malfunction? and you will pass into the shadows never to return to the world of the light because when this is over? your death will be on my conscience? your blood will stain my hands? your soul will be removed? and your life will have ended.?
Derecho stood up in the center of the ring, but he kept his head down.
?The sacrifice of a human soul is inevitable. My revenge has been plotted. Tick tock? tick tock? the life clock of the man known as the British Lion slowly winds down? the countdown to decimation has begun? and the world will finally cease to exist for the man known as Tyke?
Derecho laughed into the microphone. His mind was gone.
?A universe of pain awaits? and the sentence of your punishment for the crimes you have committed against me has arrived. Tyke? the be all to end all battle will take place.?
Derecho looked up and stared off into space.
?Revelations? your Armageddon will be at hand.?
Derecho stretched out his arms and dropped the microphone. He then fell to his knees and rolled out of the ring. He stormed back up the entrance ramp and made his way through the curtain. Behind there, several officials confronted Derecho.
?Calm down, sir. You just can?t go ahead and destroy LoC property because you?re pissed off at another wres..?
Before the official could finish, Derecho grabbed him by the shirt.
?HELP! HELP!? screamed the official
Derecho took him and threw him into some equipment. A couple of big security guards ran in and tackled Derecho. The head trainer ran over with a needle and injected Derecho as he yelled and screamed for freedom. After a moment, Derecho began to relax. The trainer then headed over to the fallen official.
?Are you okay?? the trainer asked.
?Yeah.. what did you do?? asked the official.
?I just gave him a mild sedative to calm him down.? Said the trainer
?Can he still wrestle?? asked the official
?Yeah, but he should be given some time for it to wear down?, said the trainer.
?Well.. that’s impossible because his match is up first.? Said the official.
The camera then spun over to see Derecho on the ground, conscious, but relaxed. This could prove to be very interesting now that he has to focus against not one, but two men while drugged. The scene then faded to black.
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Of course, promos or even matches would carry on like this for several weeks until the big blow off on a ?Pay-Per-View? show. Yes, what I displayed here in this column was a little nerd-ish? ok, fine. It was COMPLETELY nerd-ish, but this is the hobby that is E-Wrestling. There are many out here who actually enjoy this because they are fans of professional wrestling. I would put up an actual match into the column, but I?m already up to page 7 in MS Word and my matches would easily double the length of this column overall.
Angle feds, I guess, can be summed up on one way. It was kind of a release for wrestling fans who wanted something different than what they saw on television. They wanted something unique and different and they felt the only way to do that is to create it themselves. How many times have you disagreed with something you saw on television or played armchair booker for a company saying ?I would do this? or ?I would do that?? The angle fed was designed for wrestling fans to do just that. To flesh out stories and to write wrestling the way you would want to do it. In reality, E-Wrestling is mainly playing armchair booking with a lot more creativity.
That will wrap it up for this week. I hope you enjoyed the examples and the sample writing I provided (no matter how cheesy and nerd-like it was). If by any chance you have an interest in seeing more writing or an actual match and how it is written, drop me a line and I?ll e-mail a copy over to you. Hopefully this miniseries of columns sheds some light on E-Wrestling and opens some eyes to some who are not familiar with this hobby.
Part III of the miniseries is next week and in Part III, I will take a look at how an E-Fed gets its name out there and a look at some of the websites that are used to help promote and advertise E-Feds and how communities are formed and handled. After that, I?ll get back to talking about pro-wrestling if e-westling isn?t your cup of tea, so don?t worry!
No reader e-mail this week because I?m trying to keep the content of this column as short as possible because I knew going in that the examples provided would make this a long column to begin with, but to the people who did send me feedback (all twelve of you!), thank you for writing in!
If you do wish to send me feedback about the column or other topics such as why I have to keep hearing about this octuplet mom every day on the news or for just the low low price of $2,000, YOU TOO can own your very own brand new car, drop me an e-mail at syscrash2002@hotmail.com.
Until next week…
Because I can.