CONFLICT - Philadelphia 4/4 Review
Apr 5, 2021 19:18:26 GMT -5
Post by Biggs on Apr 5, 2021 19:18:26 GMT -5
-I really like how the show graphic highlights the Main Event match for the Mainstream Television Title. Makes the match between Manny and Cartier seem like a bigger deal, which it absolutely is. Nice touch.
-Brutal stuff in the opening, and I can understand it being shown later due to The Herkman being involved so as not to spoil their reveal on MS64. Billy being found in a dumpster, but still having the energy to do what he did last show feels like a no-sell of the brutality of the beat down. The segment was well written, really descriptive, and in a vacuum is just fantastic. But in the context of MS64, it's hurt by Billy coming off as super human.
-Cyrus Riddle vs. Desmond Creed: This was a straight butt kicking. I don't think Creed got a single move in. Pairing this with Creed's debut against JT Saint, and it's an interesting dichotomy. That being said, Riddle continues to impress, and I liked the smart-alec Charles Hudson commentary after the match. Not sure if the Desmond Creed squash was planned or if real life issues prevented him from getting something turned in, but either way, hopefully he can rebound in the coming weeks.
-Bekah/Leytrix does a really good job playing her characters off of one another. She also has a good handle on Bobby Larson. The Imp being respectful of Bekah and Bobby's privacy and not realizing why they would want it was humorous, and this did a good job of selling the upcoming tag match between the IA and Violent Intent.
-I'm going to get the obvious out of the way, it's going to take a lot to buy Billy Danielson of all people as a face. Coming to Juliana DiMaria's aid once and getting beat up by the ostensibly “badder” guys doesn't make for an organic or believable face turn. Feels rushed and like it's happening more for plot purposes rather than character motivations.
But heels lie, so his line about The Franchise wanting to do what's best for Mainstream makes sense, because his view would be that what's best for him is what's best for Mainstream Wrestling. Further proof that Billy is only playing face but still a heel is claiming all of Mainstream's success is due to him. I'm glad that the segment got us to the match we were supposed to have at MS64, but more work needs to be done before Billy should be getting full support from the fans.
If I may take a moment and fantasy book, here's how I would have booked a Billy Danielson face turn over the last two shows. This isn't meant to say "Hey, it should have been this way," it's just an example of my own thought process on how I plot out big character beats, and am offering it only as an example.:
At MS64, Pagan comes out with the Legacy Title, no explanation. He grabs a mic and says since Billy won't be here tonight thanks to an incident in the parking lot (without elaborating), he's effectively forfeiting the match and title to Jimmy Pagan. Cue Billy's music, and he comes limping out, battered and bloodied, but tells Pagan he can have the Legacy Title over his dead body. Pagan says “That's the idea!” and ref comes out to try to talk Billy out of it, but he insists on the having the match then and there. Billy gets wrecked, dropping the belt to Pagan. This does three things. First, it adds value to the Legacy Title, because it shows what it means to Billy beyond being a BS Title awarded to appease him. Secondly, it puts Pagan over as a bad-ass killer, and builds the IA up more leading into the eventual match that was announced this week. Third, it builds sympathy for Billy Danielson. Honestly, the fans need to relate to Billy somehow to buy into him being a face, and there are few ways as effective as going down swinging in a fight you can't win. During the Main Event scrum, you still have Billy come out, but he's noticeably worse for wear.
Conflict, Billy comes out, cuts his impassioned promo, insisting that though he still hasn't fully healed, he wants his rematch, then and there! Have it be a hard fought match, where Billy gets his butt kicked, but still manages eke out a win and regain his title. He shows the fighting spirit and heart of a champion, winning over the crowd through his words, but more importantly, his actions as well. Looking back at Julianna's face turn, for example, it was built over several shows, with her promos getting more and more personal and impassioned. By sharing her issues with her father, the fans had a reason to feel sympathy for her and a lot of them could relate to having issues with a parent. That's why I think it's important for Billy to find a way for the fans to relate to him to really land the face turn.
-Billy Danielson vs Jimmy Pagan: This match reminded me a lot of a Young Bucks match where the two guys just kept hitting bombs and not giving things time to breath before moving on to their next spot. The F-5 is one of the most bulletproof moves in wrestling, and here it's used a transitional move very early in the match. I counted five Chicago Blackouts. These are big time moves that could end a match. While it showed that Pagan was a tough son of a gun, it was difficult to maintain suspension of disbelief, or to get a story beyond big spots happen after big spots. Furthermore, with Billy coming out all bandaged and covered with KT Tape, the way the match was written, he did not sell the injuries, making them seem more like window dressing than anything else.
No complaints about the writing itself, as it was clear what was going on, and you got a good sense of space. I also like that biting is one of Pagan's hallmarks.
-As for the post match, we all knew that it would take a huge match to settle the score and War Games is a huge match. Having DiMaria involved to make the sides 4 vs 4 makes sense. It'll be interesting to see who the mystery partner is for The Franchise & DiMaria. I could see Cicada being involved somehow in that match, whether as a part of the IA team, or pulling an Ultimate Warrior from Wargames 98, where he's not officially in the match, but he appears for shenanigans. Considering this is the first War Games match in Mainstream Wrestling, expectations will be high for all the writers to work together to deliver on it.
-With Emma and Sage's promo, I'm never going to not mark out for a Freddy Kreuger reference (unless it references the 2010 remake. That movie sucked), and it fits Emma's character as a bad-ass, no nonsense butt kicker that the fans can get behind. Sage even said as much! I like the dynamic of having Sage do more of the talking, because it keeps Emma's aura that much stronger. She's not meant to be Miss Congeniality, she's not going to deliver a Machiavellian treatise on how she'll dismantle her opponent psychologically before steam rolling them. Emma is a bulldozer, plain and simple. Also really liked how the history between Sage and their two opponents in the Emerald City Squires was brought up. Did a good job of selling their strengths, but also selling why Sage and Emma can beat them. Good stuff!
-Violent Intent vs. The Immortal Atrocities: I know I say this every time Leytrix/Bekah has a match, but she really sells her character well in every match she's in. It's out there and different, but she knows who her character is, and plays to that very well. Honestly, you get a really good sense of all four characters in this match, and the action is a vicious and hard hitting as you'd imagine. Well laid out match, and I liked how during the finish, Sage took out Penelope to allow Emma a clean pin attempt. Excellence is in the details, and this match had them in spades.
-Cartier has such a unique cadence in her promos versus everyone else in Mainstream, and even though this promo was totally serious Cartier, it did a fantastic job of selling her history with Manny, as well as Manny himself. Cartier's point about them being equals because they're both at the top was a nice line and how the difference between a win and a loss is razor thin when they're that evenly matched only enhanced the anticipation for the match itself.
-The thing I love about Juliana DiMaria's promos is that she absolutely knows how to use her past to inform her present. I honestly don't see what she sees in Pagan to stay in a relationship with him, but her flirtation with succumbing to the IA, to now being on the opposite side of a faction war against them is compelling stuff. With the IA being as big as it is, you don't necessarily need Pagan to be officially in the match for him to play a role in War Games, but part of me would like to see it start out with DiMaria vs. Pagan. Another strong promo from DiMaria.
-James Edwards vs. Roxas Kingsley: Another show, another ass kicking from James Edwards. I am eager to hear his motivations for returning, but for now, this is building him back up very nicely.
-The A.J. Knight promo really should have been placed before the War Games announcement. A.J. Knight seems to have very different motivations than his Franchise stablemate Billy Danielson, as Billy boy was talking about The Franchise doing what's best for Mainstream, while A.J. threatened to burn it all down. This could be an interesting wrinkle if there's cracks in The Franchise heading into War Games, because the Immortal Atrocities are very much unified.
-Biggs vs. Michael Flynn: I hope everyone enjoyed the match. I do hope I get to work with Eli again in a cycle where he's not also putting out his magnum opus, because he's very easy to work with. Also, yes, Biggs is supposed to be a dork.
-Short but sweet promo from Ford. I like the way it was written with the constant … because it allowed you to really feel the frustration Ford is experiencing. Like he's so flustered and upset that he needs time to collect his thoughts. I really liked the line at the end, “cuz while I still see you as my friend... I will gladly assign you to the title of enemy if you screw me again..."
-A.J. Knight vs. Bryan Ford: Good story in this match, as the constant back-chatter about almost having each other informed the early portions of the match. A.J.'s cockiness shined through with the bongo drums on Ford's head, and just the way he carried himself in the match. Ford also did well to sell his character's recent frustrations and attitude shift, and the action was clean & crisp throughout. I also liked how A.J. kept going for the Knightfall, but Ford kept managing to escape it, but once A.J. hit it, it was over. Really liked how that sold the devastation of the Knightfall. Echo continues to be a thorn in Ford's side, and the blow-off between the two should be a good one!
-In character, I give Skye Healy a lot of crap, but out of character, I have nothing but good things to say. I liked the detail about how there was a smattering of cheers for Healy. As I said before with Billy's promo, considering Philly is very much a smark town, there's no doubt that a character like hers would be over with a segment of the fans there. Good meat & potatoes to the promo, selling Madison's relentless nature contrasting it with Healy's (perhaps over)confidence. Making the third fight in their trilogy No Hold Barred, No Disqualification is interesting, as Madison's honorable character doesn't seem like a guy who would use weapons, but Healy very much would. Gonna be a heck of a match, that's for sure! I would have liked some sort of response or rebuttal from Madison, especially considering that this was an in-ring promo, but that doesn't take away from what Skye has here.
-Good guy Manny cutting a good guy promo. Both he and Cartier sold their past, but this one had an air of Manny accepting that he may very well not walk out with his title in-tact. I feel like he put Cartier over more than himself, but it works for his character. Mariano Fernandez is laid back, he rolls with the punches, and he's got no ego. Doesn't mean he's not great. Like I always say, Manny is probably the most pure babyface on the roster.
-Mariano Fernandez vs. Cartier: Really good pace in this one, as both are wrestling with a sense of urgency. I love the little bits of flavor added to the match with lines like, “he decides to deliver a gang-style beatdown on the downed Champion, and starts stomping a mudhole on him like this was American History X!” Good selling of the mist, and I don't think Manny would complain about the way the pin was performed. Congrats go to Cartier on winning the Television Championship, as her work the past few months has been top notch. Manny is always a class act, so I really liked the post match as well.
Overall Thoughts:
Mainstream Wrestling has a consistent level of quality that it rarely dips below. This was an all around solid show. It's probably not the kind of show that will come up in End of the Year awards or anything, but it was an agreeable way to spend a few hours reading. Having two squash matches does ultimately bring overall match quality down a tad, though the James Edwards squash came off stronger. As for the Billy vs. Pagan match, it was well written from a technical standpoint, but there was far too much no-selling for my tastes.
With Cartier's win, all the officially recognized Mainstream Titles are held by women, and that's pretty darn cool.
As for the Immortal Atrocities vs. Franchise/Julianna DiMaria/Mystery Wrestler X storyline heading into War Games, hopefully all parties involved are already plotting out the match, because it's going to be a beast to write. With that many moving parts and the big expectations that come from a match like that, everyone is going to need to be on the same page to pull it off. The talent is absolutely there to make it special.
Match of the Night: AJ Knight vs. Bryan Ford – I really enjoyed the cat and mouse game and constant one-upmanship present in this match. Also, it told a clear story of how once AJ hit the Knightfall, it would be over, with Ford doing everything he could to avoid it until AJ was able to connect. Way to put over a Finishing Move.
Promo of the Night: Three Way Tie between Cartier, Julianna DiMaria, and Skye Healy. All three women showed up with their promos tonight, and I couldn't pick any one above the others. Had Madison been able to be involved in Healy's promo, that might have taken it over the top, but all three women have strong voices that come through their characters.
Final Grade: B+, just a hair away from an A-
-Brutal stuff in the opening, and I can understand it being shown later due to The Herkman being involved so as not to spoil their reveal on MS64. Billy being found in a dumpster, but still having the energy to do what he did last show feels like a no-sell of the brutality of the beat down. The segment was well written, really descriptive, and in a vacuum is just fantastic. But in the context of MS64, it's hurt by Billy coming off as super human.
-Cyrus Riddle vs. Desmond Creed: This was a straight butt kicking. I don't think Creed got a single move in. Pairing this with Creed's debut against JT Saint, and it's an interesting dichotomy. That being said, Riddle continues to impress, and I liked the smart-alec Charles Hudson commentary after the match. Not sure if the Desmond Creed squash was planned or if real life issues prevented him from getting something turned in, but either way, hopefully he can rebound in the coming weeks.
-Bekah/Leytrix does a really good job playing her characters off of one another. She also has a good handle on Bobby Larson. The Imp being respectful of Bekah and Bobby's privacy and not realizing why they would want it was humorous, and this did a good job of selling the upcoming tag match between the IA and Violent Intent.
-I'm going to get the obvious out of the way, it's going to take a lot to buy Billy Danielson of all people as a face. Coming to Juliana DiMaria's aid once and getting beat up by the ostensibly “badder” guys doesn't make for an organic or believable face turn. Feels rushed and like it's happening more for plot purposes rather than character motivations.
But heels lie, so his line about The Franchise wanting to do what's best for Mainstream makes sense, because his view would be that what's best for him is what's best for Mainstream Wrestling. Further proof that Billy is only playing face but still a heel is claiming all of Mainstream's success is due to him. I'm glad that the segment got us to the match we were supposed to have at MS64, but more work needs to be done before Billy should be getting full support from the fans.
If I may take a moment and fantasy book, here's how I would have booked a Billy Danielson face turn over the last two shows. This isn't meant to say "Hey, it should have been this way," it's just an example of my own thought process on how I plot out big character beats, and am offering it only as an example.:
At MS64, Pagan comes out with the Legacy Title, no explanation. He grabs a mic and says since Billy won't be here tonight thanks to an incident in the parking lot (without elaborating), he's effectively forfeiting the match and title to Jimmy Pagan. Cue Billy's music, and he comes limping out, battered and bloodied, but tells Pagan he can have the Legacy Title over his dead body. Pagan says “That's the idea!” and ref comes out to try to talk Billy out of it, but he insists on the having the match then and there. Billy gets wrecked, dropping the belt to Pagan. This does three things. First, it adds value to the Legacy Title, because it shows what it means to Billy beyond being a BS Title awarded to appease him. Secondly, it puts Pagan over as a bad-ass killer, and builds the IA up more leading into the eventual match that was announced this week. Third, it builds sympathy for Billy Danielson. Honestly, the fans need to relate to Billy somehow to buy into him being a face, and there are few ways as effective as going down swinging in a fight you can't win. During the Main Event scrum, you still have Billy come out, but he's noticeably worse for wear.
Conflict, Billy comes out, cuts his impassioned promo, insisting that though he still hasn't fully healed, he wants his rematch, then and there! Have it be a hard fought match, where Billy gets his butt kicked, but still manages eke out a win and regain his title. He shows the fighting spirit and heart of a champion, winning over the crowd through his words, but more importantly, his actions as well. Looking back at Julianna's face turn, for example, it was built over several shows, with her promos getting more and more personal and impassioned. By sharing her issues with her father, the fans had a reason to feel sympathy for her and a lot of them could relate to having issues with a parent. That's why I think it's important for Billy to find a way for the fans to relate to him to really land the face turn.
-Billy Danielson vs Jimmy Pagan: This match reminded me a lot of a Young Bucks match where the two guys just kept hitting bombs and not giving things time to breath before moving on to their next spot. The F-5 is one of the most bulletproof moves in wrestling, and here it's used a transitional move very early in the match. I counted five Chicago Blackouts. These are big time moves that could end a match. While it showed that Pagan was a tough son of a gun, it was difficult to maintain suspension of disbelief, or to get a story beyond big spots happen after big spots. Furthermore, with Billy coming out all bandaged and covered with KT Tape, the way the match was written, he did not sell the injuries, making them seem more like window dressing than anything else.
No complaints about the writing itself, as it was clear what was going on, and you got a good sense of space. I also like that biting is one of Pagan's hallmarks.
-As for the post match, we all knew that it would take a huge match to settle the score and War Games is a huge match. Having DiMaria involved to make the sides 4 vs 4 makes sense. It'll be interesting to see who the mystery partner is for The Franchise & DiMaria. I could see Cicada being involved somehow in that match, whether as a part of the IA team, or pulling an Ultimate Warrior from Wargames 98, where he's not officially in the match, but he appears for shenanigans. Considering this is the first War Games match in Mainstream Wrestling, expectations will be high for all the writers to work together to deliver on it.
-With Emma and Sage's promo, I'm never going to not mark out for a Freddy Kreuger reference (unless it references the 2010 remake. That movie sucked), and it fits Emma's character as a bad-ass, no nonsense butt kicker that the fans can get behind. Sage even said as much! I like the dynamic of having Sage do more of the talking, because it keeps Emma's aura that much stronger. She's not meant to be Miss Congeniality, she's not going to deliver a Machiavellian treatise on how she'll dismantle her opponent psychologically before steam rolling them. Emma is a bulldozer, plain and simple. Also really liked how the history between Sage and their two opponents in the Emerald City Squires was brought up. Did a good job of selling their strengths, but also selling why Sage and Emma can beat them. Good stuff!
-Violent Intent vs. The Immortal Atrocities: I know I say this every time Leytrix/Bekah has a match, but she really sells her character well in every match she's in. It's out there and different, but she knows who her character is, and plays to that very well. Honestly, you get a really good sense of all four characters in this match, and the action is a vicious and hard hitting as you'd imagine. Well laid out match, and I liked how during the finish, Sage took out Penelope to allow Emma a clean pin attempt. Excellence is in the details, and this match had them in spades.
-Cartier has such a unique cadence in her promos versus everyone else in Mainstream, and even though this promo was totally serious Cartier, it did a fantastic job of selling her history with Manny, as well as Manny himself. Cartier's point about them being equals because they're both at the top was a nice line and how the difference between a win and a loss is razor thin when they're that evenly matched only enhanced the anticipation for the match itself.
-The thing I love about Juliana DiMaria's promos is that she absolutely knows how to use her past to inform her present. I honestly don't see what she sees in Pagan to stay in a relationship with him, but her flirtation with succumbing to the IA, to now being on the opposite side of a faction war against them is compelling stuff. With the IA being as big as it is, you don't necessarily need Pagan to be officially in the match for him to play a role in War Games, but part of me would like to see it start out with DiMaria vs. Pagan. Another strong promo from DiMaria.
-James Edwards vs. Roxas Kingsley: Another show, another ass kicking from James Edwards. I am eager to hear his motivations for returning, but for now, this is building him back up very nicely.
-The A.J. Knight promo really should have been placed before the War Games announcement. A.J. Knight seems to have very different motivations than his Franchise stablemate Billy Danielson, as Billy boy was talking about The Franchise doing what's best for Mainstream, while A.J. threatened to burn it all down. This could be an interesting wrinkle if there's cracks in The Franchise heading into War Games, because the Immortal Atrocities are very much unified.
-Biggs vs. Michael Flynn: I hope everyone enjoyed the match. I do hope I get to work with Eli again in a cycle where he's not also putting out his magnum opus, because he's very easy to work with. Also, yes, Biggs is supposed to be a dork.
-Short but sweet promo from Ford. I like the way it was written with the constant … because it allowed you to really feel the frustration Ford is experiencing. Like he's so flustered and upset that he needs time to collect his thoughts. I really liked the line at the end, “cuz while I still see you as my friend... I will gladly assign you to the title of enemy if you screw me again..."
-A.J. Knight vs. Bryan Ford: Good story in this match, as the constant back-chatter about almost having each other informed the early portions of the match. A.J.'s cockiness shined through with the bongo drums on Ford's head, and just the way he carried himself in the match. Ford also did well to sell his character's recent frustrations and attitude shift, and the action was clean & crisp throughout. I also liked how A.J. kept going for the Knightfall, but Ford kept managing to escape it, but once A.J. hit it, it was over. Really liked how that sold the devastation of the Knightfall. Echo continues to be a thorn in Ford's side, and the blow-off between the two should be a good one!
-In character, I give Skye Healy a lot of crap, but out of character, I have nothing but good things to say. I liked the detail about how there was a smattering of cheers for Healy. As I said before with Billy's promo, considering Philly is very much a smark town, there's no doubt that a character like hers would be over with a segment of the fans there. Good meat & potatoes to the promo, selling Madison's relentless nature contrasting it with Healy's (perhaps over)confidence. Making the third fight in their trilogy No Hold Barred, No Disqualification is interesting, as Madison's honorable character doesn't seem like a guy who would use weapons, but Healy very much would. Gonna be a heck of a match, that's for sure! I would have liked some sort of response or rebuttal from Madison, especially considering that this was an in-ring promo, but that doesn't take away from what Skye has here.
-Good guy Manny cutting a good guy promo. Both he and Cartier sold their past, but this one had an air of Manny accepting that he may very well not walk out with his title in-tact. I feel like he put Cartier over more than himself, but it works for his character. Mariano Fernandez is laid back, he rolls with the punches, and he's got no ego. Doesn't mean he's not great. Like I always say, Manny is probably the most pure babyface on the roster.
-Mariano Fernandez vs. Cartier: Really good pace in this one, as both are wrestling with a sense of urgency. I love the little bits of flavor added to the match with lines like, “he decides to deliver a gang-style beatdown on the downed Champion, and starts stomping a mudhole on him like this was American History X!” Good selling of the mist, and I don't think Manny would complain about the way the pin was performed. Congrats go to Cartier on winning the Television Championship, as her work the past few months has been top notch. Manny is always a class act, so I really liked the post match as well.
Overall Thoughts:
Mainstream Wrestling has a consistent level of quality that it rarely dips below. This was an all around solid show. It's probably not the kind of show that will come up in End of the Year awards or anything, but it was an agreeable way to spend a few hours reading. Having two squash matches does ultimately bring overall match quality down a tad, though the James Edwards squash came off stronger. As for the Billy vs. Pagan match, it was well written from a technical standpoint, but there was far too much no-selling for my tastes.
With Cartier's win, all the officially recognized Mainstream Titles are held by women, and that's pretty darn cool.
As for the Immortal Atrocities vs. Franchise/Julianna DiMaria/Mystery Wrestler X storyline heading into War Games, hopefully all parties involved are already plotting out the match, because it's going to be a beast to write. With that many moving parts and the big expectations that come from a match like that, everyone is going to need to be on the same page to pull it off. The talent is absolutely there to make it special.
Match of the Night: AJ Knight vs. Bryan Ford – I really enjoyed the cat and mouse game and constant one-upmanship present in this match. Also, it told a clear story of how once AJ hit the Knightfall, it would be over, with Ford doing everything he could to avoid it until AJ was able to connect. Way to put over a Finishing Move.
Promo of the Night: Three Way Tie between Cartier, Julianna DiMaria, and Skye Healy. All three women showed up with their promos tonight, and I couldn't pick any one above the others. Had Madison been able to be involved in Healy's promo, that might have taken it over the top, but all three women have strong voices that come through their characters.
Final Grade: B+, just a hair away from an A-
