The Hand of Hess - I love me some Omega, but I'm not sure he's the kind of guy to bust out a big word like "sanctimonious"
. That being said, this was a really solid way to start off the show, and it seems like HFX has gotten even better in his promo writing in PCW. The Gryphon accent was quite a bit easier to read this week. Hess and Barry's stuff was excellent as well. Hess is so sure about his path, and I love the way that he said he only answers to himself (not even to God - a big distinction for his character that makes him an even bigger hypocrite).
Barry vs. Gryphon - The action of the match was solid, good back and forth stuff, but I'd like to see a bit more crowd interaction and storytelling/investment on the part of the announcers. That's the difference between a good match and a great one. I like that Gryphon has a couple similar moves to Omega, that really solidifies the whole mentor/student relationship they've got going on. I dig his moveset overall actually, some solid stuff. Good showing for Barry in defeat as well. Nice way to open the show.
Enough is Enough - Not sure how much interaction Daz and Foster ever had in WCSF, but it's kind of cool seeing them together here as suddenly Foster finds himself one of the senior members of this locker room along with Daz. Interesting stuff here, and a good way to further the story by having them guess over the motivations of Miller. That actually does a lot to help the transformation of Miller's character as well, because we've even got guys remarking on the sudden difference in their segment. Some good booking and writing.
Magnum - Thanks for the comments so far guys, I wish Brett would have been able to finish his part, but I'd have felt really weird writing for a character in his debut. I feel that Brett should have the chance to get to establish his character before anyone else writes for him.
Neo Runway Chic vs. The Misfits - PARTS UNKNOWN! Awww yiss
. Also, I love the little characterization going on with Adrian Dale, and Chambers and Brody not approving of his dancing. Great stuff, haha. It's a cool little story in their replacement of Daniels. Crystal Bahl... groooooan
. Excellent action as you would always expect from a Daz-written match, but it's the characterization of Dale that's really sticking out to me throughout this entire thing. I can just picture him giddily jumping up and down, beating his chest, super eager to get into the match to try and make an impression. It's hilarious. Also, I thought this part of the commentary was excellent:
Cage: Calvin, Carter, are you prepared for that kind of unique offense from Dean Brody?
Calvin: Yeah, I'd think so. I mean, Dean's a crafty guy, but we can think on our feet just as well.
Carter: Sure. You've got to take into account that Dean has experience, and with experience comes a bit of routine.
Alex: That's an interesting take.
Calvin: You play enough of a game, you figure out what works for you. Which character, class, weapon choice, you know what you deal with.
Carter: But the consequence is that if people watch you enough, they figure out how to exploit your comfort zone.
This was outstanding for several different reasons. One, it highlights a key aspect of Brody's character in that he's the experienced member of Team Catwalk, which despite what he and Chambers think, may not actually play in their advantage when paired with the newcomer Dale. Two, it's a great way of taking the storyline of this feud and explaining it in a way that strongly reflects the Brothers' characters. Last show I thought they came off a bit hokey, but this week they were able to deliver a line like that that helped further establish their characters without resorting to corniness. Great stuff.
Anyway, a really solid match, although probably rather long for a match vs. a team that's not going to be sticking around, but at this point I'd never bother telling Daz to trim down his writing
Face of the Phoenix - Pretty decent promo here from Knight, although I'm worried we may have one too many characters going the "unstable" route, given that we have Miller going nuts and Kaiser being Kaiser already. However, I'm all for Knight taking a temporary stride down the path of instability if it only means that he's doing whatever necessary to match the mindset of these guys.
Strike Three - Damn, there were some beatings in here. I'd still like a little bit of explanation as to why Miller is suddenly the way he is, but I'm sure that's yet to come. Certainly interesting having him in segments where he DOESN'T speak, but it's been pretty effective. Excellent segment, Foster came out looking like a badass and the development of Miller's character continues.
Not So Secret Admirer - I hope Taj is reading this, he's finally got his creeper angle going
. Seriously though, this was actually hilarious. I love that not only does Zaid give her flowers and all that, but also a ton of pictures of himself... masterful
. And the reactions by Johnny were priceless as well. The only thing I might have done differently is have Gia actually be somewhat flattered by the gesture... it might do even more to build up the tension in Johnny and have him want to beat down Zaid even more than before. But, I trust that ya'll know where this is going better than I do
Missing in Action - Cmon Omega, art thou thine brother's keeper? Why so worried?
THE MASTAH - I'd like to see the jobber at least have a name, but that's a minor quip. Short and sweet here, a good way to debut. I kind of thought it was cool that The Master wound up being short for his name... Jack Masterson isn't the most memorable name (which is ironic, considering he told us to remember it) but the Master alias will help. The only thing is we still don't really have much of a sense of the gimmick of the character. But, we got a little bit of development here so at least we're on our way.
The Player - Ah, more golf! I didn't realize Drake Bernard was called "The Player" now, but granted this is only my second show back. Although I shudder to think of the greenskeepers that would allow such scantily clad women on their course
. Gormless billy no-mates munter... what?! lmao. And he's rich now? Well that's a shift, but he played off the character well, so as long as he remains consistent with it I think it could work.
Prairie Storm Brewing - HFX is getting a lot of work in on this show! Something tells me that Omega taking the Lord's name in vain would make Hess hurry on out, but apparently not
Awesome promo setting up the big handicap next week, I'm pumped for that one. Great work by HFX/BSM/ShaneO on this show.
Zaid vs. Sato - "It's ok buddy, they all know who I am..." lmao, I actually laughed out loud at that. So good. I'm so much more sold on Zaid this week than I was last week, he's just hilarious. "The beautiful princess of PCW... I hope youre watching wherever you are babes." bahahaha. As great as Zaid is speaking and in segments, I'd like to see that character shine through more in matches. Just go over the top with him, make him a total ham. I think this is the kind of character that lends itself to that sort of thing, so just have a blast with it. Give him more swagger and arrogance in between moves, and even with the selection of moves that he chooses. That same swagger and arrogance could even become his fatal flaw, with opponents taking advantage of it to put him on the ropes. You get me... you can play with that. Just right now, the big character that he has isn't as evident when he's fighting. You played that up a bit later on but I'd like to see it more consistent. As for Sato, not entirely sure what to think about him yet. He doesn't have as strong/definable a character, but it's probably nice for ShaneO to have a character with a totally different moveset. Anyway, nice little segment afterwards to tie things up. I'm going to reiterate what I said before, because especially after this promo, I think it'd be awesome if Gia actually starts to warm up to Zaid a bit just to add a bit more heat to this feud. Obviously she doesn't have to wind up with Zaid in the end, but it could be a fun thing.
The Levee Breaks - That Escalation Match sounds sweet, but my goodness am I glad I'm not a moderator right now as the logistics for it would probably be a huge pain in the ass
. Still though, I like it. Something new and a great way to crown a first champion. Also, Kaiser's part was fantastic, and the decision to put him first in the match is SO great. Excellent booking. Kaiser gets to talk about how he's getting screwed and get even more heat, and it's an awesome way to build up anticipation for the match as everyone will be wondering how long Kaiser can last. The Kaiser/Daz confrontation was AWESOME and makes me wish that I'd been able to book a feud between them in WCSF .The insinuation by Kaiser that he's not responsible for Miller's attacks was interesting. If true, it really makes me wonder what Miller's motivations are. I highly doubt that Foster/Daz segment was just a red herring to make us think he's working for someone, so it seems to me that either Kaiser is lying or Miller is working with someone other than Cavanah.
The huge brawl at the end was fucking epic. It was kind of predictable, especially once Zaid rushed in, but it was so well done that that didn't hurt it at all. Really made me pumped for the PPV and the Escalation match. Also, it was kind of silly for me to see Magnum get his in-ring debut in a huge brawl, glad nobody knocked him to the turf yet
Seriously though, awesome way to end the show.
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SOOOOO here are my big winners/takeaways for the week:
1. Zaid, and the Zaid/Johnny story. That segment was gold all three characters have a lot of potential. Looking forward to seeing where that all heads.
2. The HFX/ShaneO/BSM threesome. You guys had so much to do on this show and nailed it all, so you deserve some props.
3. Escalation match. I didn't expect to get something on this show that really got me pumped to see where things are going (before reading this I was still kind of in the "eh sure, I suppose I'll come back to sim fedding" stage), but now I'm stoked. Looking forward to seeing how that match turns out and how long Kaiser winds up going in it.
Nice work everyone!