Okay, Brunk, it's high time I fed something back at you.
Actually, was intending to do some PPV feedback, but didn't get around to it. Internet is back up, but time is cut down now that I'm working 60 hours a week.
As is the way of the Strawsma, this will be point by point as opposed to the Random Topic of the Night thing. But just for kicks, I'll throw that on the end. As a natural critic, however, I'd be remiss to not give you some honest opinions about this card and the state of the federation as a whole.
So let's jump right in.
Show Intro - I like the new video montage. Not so sold on the music, but I'm sure if anybody here has listened to my RP embeds, you'd already know I listen to some really, really obscure and halfway unlistenable sh*t anyway. Also good to see that Team VIAGRA isn't completely gone.
First/Stalker Seg - Good job at getting some beginner's build on this oncoming encounter. The exchange read a bit to much like Argument A versus Retort B as opposed to an actual conversation, but I understand it's hard to do "believable" joint promos without having to go back and forth in PMs and AIMs for an entire week.
Tact vs. Willard - I thought this was a good match, in execution and even on paper. Willard and Tact are two very strong talents on the roster right now. Tact getting the win really puts him in good standing after the good showing at the PPV. Well written, and a nice clean finish. This is the awesome sh*t EPW is known for. If I had to give it some criticism, then I would say that I didn't really pick up on much story-telling; it just seemed like an extended exchange of moves until one guy pulled out the win. That's a minor gripe, though. It's still very good work.
Dangle Bros. Seg - Really enjoyable, and good comic relief. Everything out of Jared Wells' mouth is gold, in my opinion. He should be the EPW Microphone Champion just for being as awesome as he is. Cruise making his claim to the World Title was bold, but pretty impressive. I wasn't quite as sold on the trashing of everybody in the locker room -- at this point, his focus should just be the champ, and all the rest could just as easily been put into an Air Time promo. Hearing Cruise rant is the core of the character, I realize, but in this case, it just made his spot on the mic drag on a little longer than what seemed necessary. Other than that, happy to see the Cruise and Wells causing a ruckus and making some intentions known. Really interested to see how this develops, especially with the recent title matches being signed.
Impulse Seg 1 - While I'm not always a stickler for the third-person perspective style in backstage angles, I thought this was a good segment. Likening Caitlyn to other women Impulse has known was interesting, as I never really imagined these two every forming a connection in that kind of way. More thoughts when we get to Part 2...
Copycat Seg - Crap... looks like somebody beat me to the Rough Up Fatora idea I had rolling around these past few months. Still, credit to Garth for putting it to a use in a way even I couldn't think up. This gets my nod for the segment of the night, and in my opinion, was a very fitting exit for an egoist like Cat. Very well written, and very true to the character. I hope Cat lives on through future cards with a few commercial breaks advertising James Kattman starring in a new upcoming movie.
8-Man Tag Match - Holy bejesus... what was I smokin' when I suggested this monstrosity of an idea? Anyway... good, entertaining read. Huge matches are typically hard to follow, but I found this one pretty well organized and easy to follow. The storytelling was also done well, with the focus being on the now budding rivalry between Stalker and Impulse. My only criticism is that near the end, as things began to unravel, the pacing got a little hectic, and much of the emotion which could have been milked seemed to get lost with one action melding into the next. After seeing the previous segments, almost felt like I should have contributed more after Anarky's swerve the revelation that the two most destructive men in EPW have joined forces. Don't worry, next card, I'm going to smother all of you with five or six segs to completely saturate this league with nihilistic sludge.
Steven Shane Teaser - Awesome to see Shane coming back. EPW needs all the fan favorites it can get at this point.
Impulse Seg 2 - Another very good seg, and decent conclusion to the first chapter of an Impulse/Stalker feud. As Caitlyn's original owner, though, I feel something should be mentioned on the subject of her role. Right now, she feels like damsel in distress... which could be working in its own purposes, but I always personally saw the character as more tomboyish and independent. After all, this is the crazy b*tch that fought her own husband in a fifteen minute backstage brawl to the death (what a f*cking horrible idea that was...). I mean, I never saw her as equal to Lindsay Troy in any respect, but maybe likened to Foxx or Mary-Lynn Mayweather, as in I would think she would have the natural ability to defend herself, or at the very least take a bump on the head like a champ. Again though, I willingly gave up this character a couple years ago, so any changes I willingly leave up to the other handlers. Just don't want you honky-ass mofoz disrespeckin' the STRAWS by insulting his divine intellectual property!
Rich Mahogany Seg - Gold. Mahogany is more of a sleazeball than Beau Michaels could ever dream of being. I have to wonder, though... how many enemies does the First need at this point?
Main Event - This is one of those matches that's so good, I have to admit that I'm really jealous. I mean, Sean Stevens allegedly raped Rocko Daymon's wife... but that rivalry doesn't even come close to the fire between these guys. Everything was pretty solid here, but my only beef was seeing the First as the heel in this match, especially after several segments reading him getting into it with the other bad guys. Or maybe it's just because Stevens was perfectly written as getting I'm The Most Badass Motherf*cker Of All Time heat from the crowd.
So all in all, a very good read. Segment heavy, but that's considerably good coming off of a PPV. Today, the trash is talked... tomorrow, the path is walked. Or some Taoist sh*t like that. With only three matches, the action was still very solid. I wish I could say I'm interested in a lot of the storylines at this point, but there don't really seem to be any cohesive pairings at this point. The First is now in it with Stalker, Cruise, Stevens, and possibly Mahogany as well. Impulse is in it with Stalker, Jared Wells, and possibly Anarky and Rezin. Then you got the unsung heroes... Tact, Willard, Brown and Otaku, and Layne Winters, who are just showing up and kicking ass. Instead of natural rivalries, we have this huge clusterf*ck of animosity, and everybody just wants to kick everybody's ass. Still undecided on whether this is a good or a bad thing, but it's good to see the norm being shaken up. It still feels like this federation is reeling from the Dis unmasking.
That's about all I have to say... here are my favorites:
MATCH OF THE NIGHT - Main event
SEGMENT OF THE NIGHT - Copycat's parting speech. It seems rather anti-climactic to a vague storyline, but that sort of nutshot is exactly what the character was intending. Kudos on that.
FACE OF THE NIGHT - Impulse/Brown/Otaku, for showing solidarity and teamwork in spite of facing off against a pack of animals with a rat as their backup. I would give it to Stevens, but he'd superkick me in the face for even daring attempt to confuse him for one of the good guys.
"Triple X" Sean Stevens is BEYOND good and evil. He has transcended concepts such as duality, and become all of existence itself. Even GOD buys this guy's t-shirts, and gets angry calls from Buddha on occasion, who as we all know is a fan of the First.
HEEL OF THE NIGHT - Copycat. He was the complete bad guy, and he got away with it.
MOMENT OF THE NIGHT - Rich Mahogany trying to pin Impulse, and Neely explaining it as "Going for an upgrade."
