CONFLICT: WAR GAMES - 5/2 Review
May 3, 2021 19:21:55 GMT -5
Post by Biggs on May 3, 2021 19:21:55 GMT -5
Conflict: War Games – Oakland, CA – 05/02/2021
-There's no doubt that this is going to be a segment heavy show thanks to there only being 3 matches, and the upcoming Emerald City Classic to sell. Starting off with the Bryan Ford Show isn't a bad place to start, seeing as he's one of the big stars in the ECC this year. Good meat and potatoes promo, showing that while Ford has inched back closer to the side of angels, he hasn't let his new found cocky streak subside in the slightest. Ford does a good job hyping up the importance of the ECC and why he should be a big player in it. If I'm being honest, though, I'm not sure why this was called “The Bryan Ford Show.” When I hear something like that, be it “MizTV” or “The KO Show,” it brings up images of a talk show format, where there's some sort of furniture in the ring, maybe a simple set or an obscenely expensive Jeritron 5000 hanging from the ceiling (though with the War Games cage up there, it's a good call to not have anything else hanging), or a guest. So having it be just an in-ring promo undersold the “Show” aspect of the “The Bryan Ford Show.” That being said, I'd also buy it as Ford trying to sell himself as the whole show, so he doesn't need the accoutrements of a normal wrestling talk show, because he's enough. That's a genius play, and on a second read through of the segment, that's how I'm choosing to read it.
-With my segment, I was hoping to sell the idea that Biggs isn't a coward, just more so that he's not willing to pay whatever price it would take to continue hostilities with Jason Cashe. Not saying things are settled by them, but that Biggs doesn't want to pay the price to settle them. Also, paranoid Bobby is fun to write.
-Sage Lowry as the mouthpiece for Emma Douglas just works. Short and sweet, sells their objectives, shows they're not playing games. Good stuff.
-The Graham Legacy vs. Violent Intent: This match was a one-sided ass kicking. I think the only offense the Graham Legacy got in was one drop toe hold and a Russian Leg Sweep. The match did sell the brutal style of Douglas and Lowry well. If I have one bit of constructive criticism, it's that the match could have used a little bit more flavor in it.
Using the above passage as an example, it came off a bit clinical at times, like you see what's happening, but not how or why it's happening. It's not bad, per se, but it can make matches feel kind of samey as you go along. With a few tweaks like the one below, it can take something that's already good, and just make it sing.
There were points in the match where there was this kind of flavor, and those were the strongest points of the match. For example:
From this, I get that Emma is a wild and slightly reckless with her actions, and that she enjoys beating people up. It's a more interesting read than just getting the actions of the match strung together. Still, a good showing for Violent Intent that continues their ascent in the tag team division.
-I've said it before, but it bears repeating, but the two ladies in Euphoric just have a fantastic cadence together that makes their back and forth so easy to read. I also liked the little bit about how they were posing on the stage for the audience's “viewing pleasure.” That made me chuckle. I do like the announcement of Violent Intent vs. Euphoric for the tag belts at MS67, though the line from Charles Hudson at the end was a bit strange.
If anything, Violent Intent should be celebrating even more due to getting a title shot. Now this very well may be a surprise to the handlers, and why the segment just ended with Euphoric posing and not switching back to show Emma and Sage's reaction. Still, a good announcement, and something even more to look forward too than just the ECC!
-Jason Cashe is an insensitive jerk! Bruised Kidneys are a serious matter! That being said, when Cashe asked me if he could use Thaddeus and Joe, there was no hesitation to say yes. Knowing him, he'd come up with something at least amusing to salvage them. I do like that they were mistrustful of Josslynn, and the whole promo came off as Cashe being calm, collected, and in control of the situation.
-The Franchise/Juliana promo was a lot of fun! Billy is still very much a jerk face heel, AJ the tweener, and Juliana the face. I loved how their personalities all got to shine and bounce off of each other, and I especially liked the line about how they all hated Jason Cashe. That was funny. This was incredibly well done, with the sense of agitation and unease between them growing throughout. It just flowed incredibly well. While the idea that Bryan Blaze would be the fourth man was the logical one, there's still room for a Cicada swerve because we still haven't seen Blaze by this point. (Also, bonus points to Juliana for calling the Legacy Title the “Collector's Title.” Keep calling that bologna out!)
-Very efficient promo from Storm. As somebody who has not seen his work before last week, this promo showed several things. First, Storm is a man of dignity and honor. He gives respect where respect is due. Second, Storm and Edwards have a history. No deep dive into their back story, but enough meat is on the bone to know that this isn't just two big names from the past going at it in a dream match scenario. Third, he sells that Edwards has been taking the easy way out, and that he's not going to be an easy out himself. I always say that the best way to sell a match is to sell your opponent, Storm does this. Yes, he's taking Edwards to task for taking the easy way out, but he's trying to remind Edwards that he's better than that. This does two things, one, if Storm wins, his mean wins something; if Edwards wins, it makes his win mean even more. Two shows in, and Storm is already my hero.
-James Edwards vs. Mark Storm: This match had a big fight feel from the get go. I liked how Storm noticeably played by the rules and showed good sportsmanship throughout. Good character beat. The action flowed well, and they built up as the match progressed. Too often in this game, we can all be guilty of throwing too big of a spot too early, but this match did not fall into that trap, and it was better because of it. I also liked how the fan reactions were interspersed throughout, as it gave the match a bit of flavor that I was talking about earlier in the review. (That being said, I would have liked a little more emotion from combatants, but again, that's a nitpick.) Storms story in the match was showing that he was a good and decent man, the sporting type, while Edwards, who didn't out and out cheat, did do some less than sporting things, so that was really good. Also, if you're gonna spam a move, the Dragon Screw is a good one to spam. Storm's leg giving out playing into the finish was just fantastic, and paid off the Dragon Screw spamming. Overall, great work that War Games may have trouble following, that's how good it was.
-Tell me again how Jason Cashe is a face? The man's a sociopath! Having two grown men fight for a job like that is barbaric, and the aftermath, well dang. Joe got messed up, and hopefully EMTs were sent there post haste. Cashe has always kind of done his own thing, but if this promo is a harbinger of things to come, I wouldn't be surprised to see him develop a more sinister edge moving forward. Cashe's strength is that he plays an absolutely reprehensible character, but in a way that it's not depressing reading. Little humorous touches like stealing the sandwich from Ford to using the soda can as a grenade offer levity in a way that softens the blow of just how brutal and messed up Cashe's challenge to Thaddeus and Joe was.
-As much as I just want to stand up and slow clap Julianna's promo, that wouldn't make for a good review. While she did get a lot of mic time in the Franchise segment earlier, by taking the time to address the elephant in the room with Jimmy Pagan, it adds that much more intrigue to the War Games match itself. I also strongly agree with her point that the IA preys on people at their most vulnerable. Having her team with the Franchise did seem a bit weird, but the way she explains it in this promo covers for that fact, and when paired with the earlier one, shows that the alliance is tenuous at best.
-The IA promo had me in stitches. Eli has a gift for expressing humor in his writing and going with an army general theme for the promo poking fun at cliches by using the cliché itself was just fantastic. Everyone played their role well (Though Rebekah/Leytrix's bit was sad because of OOC concerns), and this was another winning promo from Eli and the Spooky Bunch.
-Not much to say about the short promo before the match other than it did what it needed to do.
-Franchise & Julianna DiMaria vs. The Immortal Atrocities – War Games: I liked the line early on where Billy and AJ were slapping the crap out of Leytrix. That was amusing. There was a lot to like with this match, so I'm going to get my one nitpick out of the way early, that being the no-sell of the Tower of Doom spot in the middle of the match right before Julianna came out. It was jarring, because while the rest of the action was chaotic, it made sense. It went from point A to point B to point C. By doing the Tower of Doom spot and then immediately go into them pairing off to brawl, it begs the question of why even do that spot. I want to see them writhing in pain on the mat, I want there to be consequences to the action in the ring. Case in point, later in the match, Billy is unable to follow up on a big move because he just collapses. Give me more of that! The only reason that stood out so much was because the rest of the match did such a good job, so the oversight stood out like a sore thumb.
That being said, there were a lot of highlights in this match, too many to list them here, but of particular note was Billy telling Pagan the IA were “F***ed” when he thought Blaze was coming out, to Pagan responding in kind when their final buzzer was coming. Blaze's no show was a good turn for the match as well. When Cicada finally showed up, taking the mask off to show that he was there as Blaze, that was yet another good story beat. The finale coming down to Juliana and Pagan was also good, considering the promos earlier in the show. I'm glad that Julianna got the pin, considering her title was on the line, and the fact that The Franchise played defense for her could be an action that would solidify a face turn if that's the direction they should choose to go in. But overall, the action was crisp, easy to follow, and sold the brutality of the match well. There were emotional highs and lows on both sides (I was rooting for Julianna, but hoping the IA kicked Billy's butt from here til next Sunday), and all of the characters had moments that sold their characters. It had everything you would want in a big gimmick match.
As an aside, and this isn't a problem with the match itself, but there should have been a bit with Graham Stevens on the mic explaining the rules of War Games before the match. What intervals of time were there between entrances, how could it be won, explaining the fact that the match couldn't be won until all the competitors had entered, ect... For example, NWA and WCW War Games could only be won by knockout or submission once the Match Beyond started, NXT's War Games can end on a pinfall, submission, knock out, or DQ if a member of the team escapes the cage after The Match Beyond started. It doesn't make or break the match, but as a reader, it would have been helpful to have that information.
Also, I wanted to point out how much I respect what you all were able to accomplish with War Games. Considering the number of handlers involved, the fact that you only had one snafu in the Tower of Doom spot is nothing short of astounding. This was a quality match that paid off multiple storylines going in. Good job on working together so well! While I may have been critical of some of the build, the match ended up coming through.
-Match of the Show: As much as I loved Edwards vs. Storm, how it built to a crescendo, I have to give this to the War Games match. As I said, the effort that had to go into getting so many moving parts could have resulted in an unreadable car crash of a match. The fact that it wasn't is a testament to the quality of teamwork from the writers involved. As I said in a prior review, I knew the talent was there to write something great, it would come down to the execution, and y'all executed it to a high level. While not perfect, it's still an admirable accomplishment.
-Promo of the Night: I could cop out and give this to any of the War Games promos, but I'm going to say that I liked Jason Cashe's the best. He did a really good job of setting the twisted scene, and I'm interested in where he took things with Thaddeus and Joe. I hope he gets more out of them than I was able to.
-Overall Thoughts: Every match and promo segment delivered. Even if I have a nitpick here or a constructive criticism there, it doesn't take away from the fact that this was a strong show from top to bottom. We have a lot of quality writers here in Mainstream, and when all I can complain about is having a little more attention to detail, we're in a good spot. With two instant classic matches, and good promos that push a lot of stories forward this show gets an easy A.
-There's no doubt that this is going to be a segment heavy show thanks to there only being 3 matches, and the upcoming Emerald City Classic to sell. Starting off with the Bryan Ford Show isn't a bad place to start, seeing as he's one of the big stars in the ECC this year. Good meat and potatoes promo, showing that while Ford has inched back closer to the side of angels, he hasn't let his new found cocky streak subside in the slightest. Ford does a good job hyping up the importance of the ECC and why he should be a big player in it. If I'm being honest, though, I'm not sure why this was called “The Bryan Ford Show.” When I hear something like that, be it “MizTV” or “The KO Show,” it brings up images of a talk show format, where there's some sort of furniture in the ring, maybe a simple set or an obscenely expensive Jeritron 5000 hanging from the ceiling (though with the War Games cage up there, it's a good call to not have anything else hanging), or a guest. So having it be just an in-ring promo undersold the “Show” aspect of the “The Bryan Ford Show.” That being said, I'd also buy it as Ford trying to sell himself as the whole show, so he doesn't need the accoutrements of a normal wrestling talk show, because he's enough. That's a genius play, and on a second read through of the segment, that's how I'm choosing to read it.
-With my segment, I was hoping to sell the idea that Biggs isn't a coward, just more so that he's not willing to pay whatever price it would take to continue hostilities with Jason Cashe. Not saying things are settled by them, but that Biggs doesn't want to pay the price to settle them. Also, paranoid Bobby is fun to write.
-Sage Lowry as the mouthpiece for Emma Douglas just works. Short and sweet, sells their objectives, shows they're not playing games. Good stuff.
-The Graham Legacy vs. Violent Intent: This match was a one-sided ass kicking. I think the only offense the Graham Legacy got in was one drop toe hold and a Russian Leg Sweep. The match did sell the brutal style of Douglas and Lowry well. If I have one bit of constructive criticism, it's that the match could have used a little bit more flavor in it.
Emma Douglas steps back into the corner of David Graham who leans over looking to sucker punch her. He does so and she turns around dropping him to the apron with a head butt.
Emma Douglas steps back into the corner of David Graham who leans over looking to sucker punch her! He clocks her right in the back of the head, but to no effect! Emma turns around, her eyes wide with rage, as she explodes towards him, dropping him to the apron with a head butt.
Emma smirks as she follows up by just scraping her boot across his face over and over. From there, she runs back to the ropes and damn near kicks his jaw off, looking quite satisfied with her handiwork.
From this, I get that Emma is a wild and slightly reckless with her actions, and that she enjoys beating people up. It's a more interesting read than just getting the actions of the match strung together. Still, a good showing for Violent Intent that continues their ascent in the tag team division.
-I've said it before, but it bears repeating, but the two ladies in Euphoric just have a fantastic cadence together that makes their back and forth so easy to read. I also liked the little bit about how they were posing on the stage for the audience's “viewing pleasure.” That made me chuckle. I do like the announcement of Violent Intent vs. Euphoric for the tag belts at MS67, though the line from Charles Hudson at the end was a bit strange.
CHARLES HUDSON: A short lived celebration for Violent Intent before Euphoric came out and broke the news.
-Jason Cashe is an insensitive jerk! Bruised Kidneys are a serious matter! That being said, when Cashe asked me if he could use Thaddeus and Joe, there was no hesitation to say yes. Knowing him, he'd come up with something at least amusing to salvage them. I do like that they were mistrustful of Josslynn, and the whole promo came off as Cashe being calm, collected, and in control of the situation.
-The Franchise/Juliana promo was a lot of fun! Billy is still very much a jerk face heel, AJ the tweener, and Juliana the face. I loved how their personalities all got to shine and bounce off of each other, and I especially liked the line about how they all hated Jason Cashe. That was funny. This was incredibly well done, with the sense of agitation and unease between them growing throughout. It just flowed incredibly well. While the idea that Bryan Blaze would be the fourth man was the logical one, there's still room for a Cicada swerve because we still haven't seen Blaze by this point. (Also, bonus points to Juliana for calling the Legacy Title the “Collector's Title.” Keep calling that bologna out!)
-Very efficient promo from Storm. As somebody who has not seen his work before last week, this promo showed several things. First, Storm is a man of dignity and honor. He gives respect where respect is due. Second, Storm and Edwards have a history. No deep dive into their back story, but enough meat is on the bone to know that this isn't just two big names from the past going at it in a dream match scenario. Third, he sells that Edwards has been taking the easy way out, and that he's not going to be an easy out himself. I always say that the best way to sell a match is to sell your opponent, Storm does this. Yes, he's taking Edwards to task for taking the easy way out, but he's trying to remind Edwards that he's better than that. This does two things, one, if Storm wins, his mean wins something; if Edwards wins, it makes his win mean even more. Two shows in, and Storm is already my hero.
-James Edwards vs. Mark Storm: This match had a big fight feel from the get go. I liked how Storm noticeably played by the rules and showed good sportsmanship throughout. Good character beat. The action flowed well, and they built up as the match progressed. Too often in this game, we can all be guilty of throwing too big of a spot too early, but this match did not fall into that trap, and it was better because of it. I also liked how the fan reactions were interspersed throughout, as it gave the match a bit of flavor that I was talking about earlier in the review. (That being said, I would have liked a little more emotion from combatants, but again, that's a nitpick.) Storms story in the match was showing that he was a good and decent man, the sporting type, while Edwards, who didn't out and out cheat, did do some less than sporting things, so that was really good. Also, if you're gonna spam a move, the Dragon Screw is a good one to spam. Storm's leg giving out playing into the finish was just fantastic, and paid off the Dragon Screw spamming. Overall, great work that War Games may have trouble following, that's how good it was.
-Tell me again how Jason Cashe is a face? The man's a sociopath! Having two grown men fight for a job like that is barbaric, and the aftermath, well dang. Joe got messed up, and hopefully EMTs were sent there post haste. Cashe has always kind of done his own thing, but if this promo is a harbinger of things to come, I wouldn't be surprised to see him develop a more sinister edge moving forward. Cashe's strength is that he plays an absolutely reprehensible character, but in a way that it's not depressing reading. Little humorous touches like stealing the sandwich from Ford to using the soda can as a grenade offer levity in a way that softens the blow of just how brutal and messed up Cashe's challenge to Thaddeus and Joe was.
-As much as I just want to stand up and slow clap Julianna's promo, that wouldn't make for a good review. While she did get a lot of mic time in the Franchise segment earlier, by taking the time to address the elephant in the room with Jimmy Pagan, it adds that much more intrigue to the War Games match itself. I also strongly agree with her point that the IA preys on people at their most vulnerable. Having her team with the Franchise did seem a bit weird, but the way she explains it in this promo covers for that fact, and when paired with the earlier one, shows that the alliance is tenuous at best.
-The IA promo had me in stitches. Eli has a gift for expressing humor in his writing and going with an army general theme for the promo poking fun at cliches by using the cliché itself was just fantastic. Everyone played their role well (Though Rebekah/Leytrix's bit was sad because of OOC concerns), and this was another winning promo from Eli and the Spooky Bunch.
-Not much to say about the short promo before the match other than it did what it needed to do.
-Franchise & Julianna DiMaria vs. The Immortal Atrocities – War Games: I liked the line early on where Billy and AJ were slapping the crap out of Leytrix. That was amusing. There was a lot to like with this match, so I'm going to get my one nitpick out of the way early, that being the no-sell of the Tower of Doom spot in the middle of the match right before Julianna came out. It was jarring, because while the rest of the action was chaotic, it made sense. It went from point A to point B to point C. By doing the Tower of Doom spot and then immediately go into them pairing off to brawl, it begs the question of why even do that spot. I want to see them writhing in pain on the mat, I want there to be consequences to the action in the ring. Case in point, later in the match, Billy is unable to follow up on a big move because he just collapses. Give me more of that! The only reason that stood out so much was because the rest of the match did such a good job, so the oversight stood out like a sore thumb.
That being said, there were a lot of highlights in this match, too many to list them here, but of particular note was Billy telling Pagan the IA were “F***ed” when he thought Blaze was coming out, to Pagan responding in kind when their final buzzer was coming. Blaze's no show was a good turn for the match as well. When Cicada finally showed up, taking the mask off to show that he was there as Blaze, that was yet another good story beat. The finale coming down to Juliana and Pagan was also good, considering the promos earlier in the show. I'm glad that Julianna got the pin, considering her title was on the line, and the fact that The Franchise played defense for her could be an action that would solidify a face turn if that's the direction they should choose to go in. But overall, the action was crisp, easy to follow, and sold the brutality of the match well. There were emotional highs and lows on both sides (I was rooting for Julianna, but hoping the IA kicked Billy's butt from here til next Sunday), and all of the characters had moments that sold their characters. It had everything you would want in a big gimmick match.
As an aside, and this isn't a problem with the match itself, but there should have been a bit with Graham Stevens on the mic explaining the rules of War Games before the match. What intervals of time were there between entrances, how could it be won, explaining the fact that the match couldn't be won until all the competitors had entered, ect... For example, NWA and WCW War Games could only be won by knockout or submission once the Match Beyond started, NXT's War Games can end on a pinfall, submission, knock out, or DQ if a member of the team escapes the cage after The Match Beyond started. It doesn't make or break the match, but as a reader, it would have been helpful to have that information.
Also, I wanted to point out how much I respect what you all were able to accomplish with War Games. Considering the number of handlers involved, the fact that you only had one snafu in the Tower of Doom spot is nothing short of astounding. This was a quality match that paid off multiple storylines going in. Good job on working together so well! While I may have been critical of some of the build, the match ended up coming through.
-Match of the Show: As much as I loved Edwards vs. Storm, how it built to a crescendo, I have to give this to the War Games match. As I said, the effort that had to go into getting so many moving parts could have resulted in an unreadable car crash of a match. The fact that it wasn't is a testament to the quality of teamwork from the writers involved. As I said in a prior review, I knew the talent was there to write something great, it would come down to the execution, and y'all executed it to a high level. While not perfect, it's still an admirable accomplishment.
-Promo of the Night: I could cop out and give this to any of the War Games promos, but I'm going to say that I liked Jason Cashe's the best. He did a really good job of setting the twisted scene, and I'm interested in where he took things with Thaddeus and Joe. I hope he gets more out of them than I was able to.
-Overall Thoughts: Every match and promo segment delivered. Even if I have a nitpick here or a constructive criticism there, it doesn't take away from the fact that this was a strong show from top to bottom. We have a lot of quality writers here in Mainstream, and when all I can complain about is having a little more attention to detail, we're in a good spot. With two instant classic matches, and good promos that push a lot of stories forward this show gets an easy A.