Okay, Brunk... I'll pry myself away from D3 for these few minutes to let you know what I think. Brace yourself, because I might have some fairly critical observations this time around.
KENDALL CODINE RETURN SEGMENT
Good seg, pretty appropriately short and to the point. Maybe the cut from Ryan's office to the locker room could have been spread out over the show, but it's not a biggie. This was a good way to re-introduce Kendall Codine back into the sport, especially for people not familiar with where he's from. That's what made the Stevens conversation that much better... it shows that his face and name have (or had) recognition among the long-time veterans.
INTRO
Okay, here's the first thing that popped out to me...
[CUTTO: The map, this time a tracking line heads towards a dot marked Chicago, when the line hits the dot, AGGRESSION 65 bursts onto the screen in red letters.]
Brunk, did I mention I have an English degree, and am currently seeking employment as an editor?
Okay, just a minor observation... the run-down of matches was good as always. And Stanton, I'm sorry about the time I complained about the new highlight reel intro -- it's actually REALLY awesome. Unfortunately, I had the luck of growing up into a music snob, and I just can't stand Jack White. Didn't mean it as a knock.
BURNS AND FIRST SEGMENTS
This was probably my favorite segment on the show. Why is that? Well number one, it happened in the ring, so that takes care of the awkwardness of having an invisible camera man snooping around on people backstage during periods of drama. Number two, it really resolved a lot of questions I had about The First. Since the Dis mask came off, I had a hard time figuring out who The First was as a character. He'd just been getting built up as a face once again, but then revealing him as Dis pretty much makes you realize that he's been an assh*le too. So the champ gets mixed reactions, and it's hard to see him as a good guy or a bad guy. Burns pretty much took a stand and went face here (which is pretty awesome) and I think The First left no more dispute that he's the heel champ, the guy people WANT to see beaten. I really got the feeling that The First is feeling insecure with all the criticism he's getting, but he's defiantly sticking to a guns and continuing to claim that he is and always has been a desperate man. He's not going to take the high road for what he wants to get.
JONES VS. DARKNESS VS. CODINE
Holy crap, Aaron Jones is from Nap-Town?! Hoosiers represent, yo! The Codine intro was awesome. Seems like a really cool way to bring a character back without having age and deterioration be an obvious weakness. Action was pretty good, with the new Codine dominating with size and strength. Darkness bailing from the match seemed questionable, but maybe it will move on to something else. It was probably expected to see Jones go down in this one, but I still think he has the all the makings of an underdog.
TEDDY ALEXANDER PROMO
Good build-up to the TV Title match, and I like the neck brace as an intimidation device.
TACT VS. ALEXANDER
Quick, easy match... not much can be said about it. Felt like a good, even match between both competitors, and it just came down to one opportune moment for Larry to finish it off and retain his title. I could see a rematch at some point down the line, almost like the Willard/Cruise feud for the title.
CRUISE AND RYAN SEGMENT
Love how Ryan is just trying to pass off Cruise, but Cruise is determined to get his second chance. Setting the conditions of victory for the tag match later gives it some extra hype, too. Thought it was a nice seg.
STEVENS & DRAGONS VS. NARK/REZ/BURNS
Epic as every Stevens entrance is, this one felt a little out-dated. At this point, he should be coming out to booming pops and huge fireworks... an entrance fit for a king being welcomed by his loyal subjects, or somesuch. But ah, anyway... into the match. Action went by pretty quickly, with the drama of keeping Stevens out til near the end being used very effectively. Got confused at one point -- how did Karl and Otaku end up getting hand-cuffed? Who did the cuffing, and where did they keep it? There were points like that and a few others where some added details probably could have been added, but overall, it was a pretty good, and easy read, and it was good to see Stevens standing strong at the end even though he didn't manage to get the win.
JIMMY MYLDE SEGMENT
While I thought it was a little overboard, I thought this was a good segment. Hypes up a coming tag team, and had some pretty funny jabs at the tag team champions. Can't wait to see what this brings
DANGLE BROS. ATTACK
An appropriate retaliation from what went down at Aggression 55... but something was missing here. The Dangle Bros. are regular motor mouths. I would at least think after laying a royal beatdown on two guys they see as below them, they would gloat about it in some sense. Cruise and Wells without trash talk is like Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo without a pint of ether.
DANGLE BROS. VS. IMPULSE/STALKER
I thought this was the best match of the night, which was to be expected given the promo war. The action was good, and the commentary was really spot on. The length was good given the animosity among these guys and the promo battle. Finish was done pretty well for not being clean. Impulse keeps his heat, Dangles get a very hard-fought win.
HYPE PACKAGE
Good build up to the main event, recapping the history between these characters. This was sorely needed for anybody who might have missed the drama between these two from a couple years back.
NARK/REZ ATTACK
Sent this in to keep Rezin and Anarky putting pressure on The First's opponents. The point was to weaken Layne before his fight with The First, giving the champ the advantage. Why help out the guy they hate? Answers are soon to come...
(once I sober up and figure it out myself)
THE FIRST VS. LAYNE WINTERS
I still say title matches should have the "formal" introductions (announcements being made with both guys standing in the ring, belt held up by the ref, etc.), but hey, to each his own style. Match had some pretty dynamic action -- I'm a definite fan of Caps, provided it doesn't go over the top, but this had a nice balance. Screaming commentators is always hilarious to listen to. Winters blocking the Mist was a cool spot. The finish was also a nice subtle call back to Rezin and Anarky working on Layne's arm before the match. I also liked The First's tantrum in the middle of the ring to close the show.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Not so many segs, but not so bad. Solid show, with very good writing. Not many OMFG stand-out moments, but that's just fine with a build-up show. Winners got some good rubs, and all the participants made pretty good statements.
My overall criticism isn't how this show is written. It's how it was set-up. A few of the matches didn't jive with me on all levels. Not a knock on Teddy Alexander, who is a great character that shows a lot of potential, but a newcomer shouldn't get a title shot in his first match. The six man tag match seemed like retread of the last show's tag match, with Sean Stevens and Eddie Burns kinda thrown in because they had nothing better to do that night. Then there was the main event. For as long as I've been waiting for an epic Winters vs. First match for the EPW World Heavyweight Title, this wasn't the show it should have been on. There was no build behind this match... and Winters hasn't really been active on recent shows. I was even aware a challenge was made. It didn't really seem like he had done anything to earn a title shot, and while the rivalry was there, it didn't really have anything to do with the current angles and the build toward the PPV. It's too bad this match couldn't have happened during better circumstances, cause it could have been a hallmark point in a long rivalry. On this show, it just seemed like a one-off... and I almost felt like the previous tag match between the Dangle Bros. and Stalker and Impulse would have been a more appropriate main event. There's about three active angles all building toward the PPV right there.
That being said, having to work with what we had, I still think everybody managed to produce a pretty good show. I didn't really have a hand in working on it, so I kinda feel bad saying stuff like this, but I'm going to try and get committed more on getting the cards together from here on out -- hopefully in a way that doesn't delay things two weeks at a time.
Okay, gave my thoughts and pissed everybody off. I got skeletons to kill.
MISSING IN ACTION
Adrian Willard... one of the few heros EPW had left. Somebody bring this guy back.
Rich Mahogany... was right there on the level of top star for a minute, then just disappeared. I'm like Neels... I miss Rich.
