The Most Interesting Man in FMW - 11.2

Preface: So this is going to be a new segment that I'm going to be doing. I haven't decided the intervals yet. Perhaps after every show, perhaps after a couple. More than likely, I'll be writing it whenever I feel the rankings need an update. The premise of the segment is to highlight the most interesting storylines going on in FMW right now. In this case, "interest" is calculated in my head using intangible criteria that only makes sense to me. Said criteria will include in-show storylines, RP story arcs, the relevence of the former to the latter, and so on. If you disagree with the rankings, tough shit. Make your own.

And without further ado...

#5 - Matthew P. Dunn

You need look no further than the copious use of "Dunn-speak" on the forum to realize that right now, the Dunn storyline is one of the most interesting going. His return brough sense to the Jack Eastwood storyline and injected a much-needed contender on the Abandoned Title scene. His promo for 11.2 had one of the most memorable moments for me; Jack Eastwood hanging upside down from the ceiling, shifting personalities. While he did not get the win against Omega, I felt that him losing was by far the better storyline move. Now, he can focus on Dunwood and their inevitable partnership on Team Distortion. It was either marginalize Seth Omega, who had just arrived on Distortion, or push Dunn, who had a far more interesting angle. Both came out ahead, and I applaud MPD for writing the shorter promo to assist with character development, rather than going gung-ho for no reason. Him being lazy, you say? Maybe. But it all worked out for the best. Stay thirsty, Dunn.

#4 - John "Doc" Derrick

A man who jumped up in the rankings after Corruption, John Derrick has quickly found a good plot. Despite a fairly run-of-the-mill promo, his loss in the PX match has furthered a title reign with little direction, and a femme fatale with little going on recently. Now, Faith has injected herself into a classy angle once again, after a somewhat mediocre interlude where she was attacking Corruption officials. This marks the most interesting maneuver for her since the Hayabusa cup win. Meanwhile, TyranT has had a shortage of things to do as of late. The ass-whupping he delivered to Abel Steele and an unispiring match against Romeo via technical difficulties put him in limbo. No longer! Now, he's facing down Faith in their most direct confrontation yet. And the catalyst for all of this? The good doctor. And that's enough to earn him the fourth spot on this list. Stay thirsty, Doc.

#3 - Seth Omega

Surprised? I understand. I am too. Often the victim of many a trash-talker, Seth Omega might not be the obvious choice. But to the trained eye? Well...let's have a look. He's made the excellent kayfabe decision to kill off Annalisa, who constantly dragged him down anyway. He made the move to Distortion, which finally gave the character a new lease on life after being relegated to mid-card gatekeeper on Corruption. And then? He writes a comedy promo that, ultimately, is one of the best he's done in a long time to win the number one contendership to the FMW Abandoned Championship. Whether you like it or not, Seth Omega made three big moves to bring his character back to relevance. Once again, this begs the question; can Seth Omega finally win a title? And against Hannibal Frost, who's coming off a win against the other two franchise champions? I don't know these things. But question begging is more than this character has had in a long time. Just when he looked to be dead, he resurrected himself through some smart plays. And the clincher? He did it by himself. Now all he needs to do is change his rep to Husky Harris. Stay thirsty, Seth.

#2 - "Radical" Chris Austin/Alex O'Rion

The man who could never win a title has finally done so. And he's done it in interesting fashion. After remaking himself with the "Student of the Game" gimmick, Austin formed The Wayward Sons with fellow Ammunition member Alex O'Rion. Together, the two finally snatched the tag team titles from the corpse of Crash Scene. What's more,, his character dynamics have really shone through with the O'Rion partnership. The interaction between the self-destructive and malicious Austin, and the gruff yet good-hearted AoR have finally given Chris Austin what he so desparately needed after losing the Hayabusa Cup to Faith so long ago; a GOOD angle. It also gives O'Rion, a hall of famer that hasn't quite been in hall of fame form, a reputable thing to do without hurling him into the main event. Hopefully, the Wayward Sons will have many defenses against many slopilly-arranged tag teams for quite a while. The O'Rion/RCA presence also adds an interesting valet aspect to any future matches. I'd really like to see AoR accompany him to the ring in singles matches and vice versa. Perhaps he can get in the way of potential RCA cheatin attempts? Who knows. But it's interesting. Stay thirsty, you two.

#1 - Skyler Striker

If you didn't see this coming, you're probably a fruit bat. Skyler Striker has easily become the most over heel in FMW with his painkiller abuse angle, his alienation of Leon, and the self-destruction of Crash Scene. It was an angle that basically swallowed all the attention on the Distortion franchise, at a time when not much else was going on there. Him losing the Abandoned Championship was ultimately the best move. Always the golden boy, Skyler is now the annoying, self-contradicting, holier-than-thou asshole that people always wanted him to be. And it works. It really, really works. He has a ton of momentum heading into Catalyst, against a champion who has only now started to find some new ground with Derrick's involvement. Will he win? Will he lose? I don't know. But if he does lose, you can bet there'll be a one on one match with him and the emerging champion sometimes soon, especially if he stays as hot as he's been. Skyler Striker is the most interesting man in FMW right now. Stay thirsty, Skyler.

Well, folks, that's the countdown. But wait! Don't go away! What kind of segment would this be if we didn't look at the other end of the spectrum? As the permanent outro, I proudly present...


Angles on Ice

-Jaro/Harley: Thus far, the feud has consisted primarily of Harley Quint winning the title and Jaro beating things in sacks. It's been a bitter feud with some hefty backstory, but not necessarily an "interesting" one.

-Drew/Bryson: It's an angle that's on-again-off-again. Aside from its tearful beginnings, I'm not necessarily sure if it's really been "interesting".

-The Gold Card: The members of the gold card gauntlet are now set in stone. But they're a fairly mixed lot. No prior feuds here. And only one show to establish some sort of heat between them. More than likely, this angle won't generate much until we see a winner.

-The FMW Games: The points system ties it all together, which makes those initially interested even MORE intersted. But it's entirely dependant on who is involved in the match itself. A lot of no-shows. I'd say the brunt of this angle has been carried by the announcers. No superstar has really brought heat to the standings themselves, as much as they have to personal things. The massive clusterfuck at the end of Corruption 11.2 definitely stood out. But I see it as more of an attempt to bring FMW back to former crazyness. Unless it succesfully sets the standard, it will turn into an out-of-place bit of nostalgia and not much else. I'm hoping that doesn't happen.

-Stay Thirsty, My Friends.-

Number one.

No one can teach me proper english bye, aint gonna happen.

Though I can speak Spanish seniorita.

Number two.

I get relegated to a foot note, ouch bye, ouch. I'll just go back to pretending I matter then

Actually, that's a mistake. I had you written down as tied for 2nd on my paper. Look again.

Thanks for pointing that out.

This was cool.

Want to see more. =)

Pretty cool thread; the stig like intro is badass (although it's EWR, not ERW as you have typed)

Yep, Awesome idea and I think very well done.

Very cool idea and hell I got a mention!! Toast my man this was cool the Dos Equis guy is the shit and I am glad to see he enjoys a lil FMW!!!

Good thread idea! Honoured that you're interested in what's going on. An FMP to you for creating some interest around FMW during non-show time.

Non-show time? We just posted Corruption...

Interesting show time, Ro...

;3 ilujkjkjk.

This is win.

Dunn wrote:

Interesting show time, Ro...

;3 ilujkjkjk.

You said you were going to write segments for me, which did not happen.

Explain.

He's a fag who only cares for the advancement of anything green branded?

I actually (in no particular order);

• Work full time with RoTeL & Print on Black,
  
• Also do a lot of extra work for Print on Black, outside my regular hours,
  
• Also have a girlfriend.
  
• Also am trying to patch things up with my ex girlfriend,
  
• Also do a lot of gardening work, (I grow vegetables. Organic foodz.)
  
• Also go bike riding a lot to catch up with old friends,
  
• Also have college I attend some evenings,
  
• Also am planning my holiday,
  
• Also have a weekly band pratice I need to attend to work on our new material,
  
• Also have raids three nights a week on an actual WoW server.
  

Ultimately, I thought I had the time to do it. It turns out I didn't, and for that, I'm sorry.
If I'd have found the time, I'd have got it you in half an hour, but I was busier than I expected I'd be this weekend (well, Sunday,) but I realised this after I told Seth I'd do it.

I mean, I'm happy to do segments, but if you actually want me to do them, it'd be way easier for me to get a PM mid week saying DOTHISNAO instead of me picking it up off someone else of a Sunday evening half an hour before I need to go out to the pub.

RCA wrote:

He's a fag who only cares for the advancement of anything green branded?

Also this.

ToastErr wrote:

-Bryson vs Broken Saints: It's an angle that's on-again-off-again. Aside from its tearful beginnings, I'm not necessarily sure if it's really been "interesting".

Fixed it for you.

@Ro
This was more of a tryout thing to see if people would like it. Since it seems to be going over decently, there will be more time between the last 11.3 show and the next edition.

@Skyler
FMP? Like the one you said you'd give me for writing that Distortion match? Triflin' ass Australian. I'm wise to your lies.

@Bryson
Ehh...would you really say that ALL of the Saints are still involved in this angle? I'd personally say that it's Drew. Saints by extension.

ToastErr wrote:

@Ro
This was more of a tryout thing to see if people would like it. Since it seems to be going over decently, there will be more time between the last 11.3 show and the next edition.

@Skyler
FMP? Like the one you said you'd give me for writing that Distortion match? Triflin' ass Australian. I'm wise to your lies.

@Bryson
Ehh...would you really say that ALL of the Saints are still involved in this angle? I'd personally say that it's Drew. Saints by extension.

Um, yes, I would considering I said I would go through all of the saints and beat them before I got to drew.

Of course the angle involves all the Broken Saints.

He took out Mark.

He is working with Apo right now.

Then he gets Leviticus.

He'll move onto Romeo.

Then go against Omega.

And eventually Drew as well.

...this is of course the Saints stay intact over the course of several months while it takes shape. Wouldn't that be such a bitch? Bryson goes through like 4-5 Saints and everyone just goes "fuck it". I'd lulz.

Also thanks for the recognition, it is good to be considered among the most interesting storylines in FMW right now and I hadn't been this excited for a storyline since the infamous Omega vs PX storyline. Hopefully Hanniboo and I can go have a knockout, dragout, match that makes Distortion proud, makes FMW proud, and hell...even makes Jaro proud (he hates everyone).

Mmmm...but see, here's why I phrased it as Drew Michaels rather than the Saints:

To me, what that angle was missing was GROUP recognition. Unless I missed something while reading, nothing like that has existed. If it has, I'm sorry for being wrong. But when can you say it's really been Mark against "The Saints" as a whole? When have Romeo, Seth, Johannsen, Drew, and now Leviticus sat down and said, in-show, that Nick Bryson is picking us off? Did I miss it? I may well have.

The angle officially "began" at 10.1, with Bryson posing as the fake Virus and supposedly laying down for Mark. After that, came the Ammunition 10.2 promo where he confronted Drew and basically let him have it about how the Saints aren't what they used to be and how he had been used to make Mark look good, etc.

Then comes Supremacy. Who does Bryson attack? Drew. Where is the acknowledgement of the Saints? Not there.

He has the match with Mark at Lethal Injection and wins. That can be said to have been the conclusion of the so-called "Celeste" portion of the angle. Fair enough.

But then right after that comes Corruption 11.1. All the Saints together talking about the draft. Bryson? Not mentioned. The Saints all skedaddle to different franchises as though absolutely nothing is happening.

Then comes the Apostasy match at 11.2. Bryson loses, but beats Apostasy down. Segment comes immediately afterwards between Seth Omega and Mark Johansen. Is Bryson mentioned? No. Why not? And the latest portion is the Corruption 11.2 debacle. He comes out, and targets Drew again.

Then there's the issue of Leviticus. He wasn't even HERE when this shebangabang got started. Is he targeted now too? No answer. Meanwhile Romeo is doing his angles on Ammunition, Seth is going after Hannibal, Leviticus just got jumped by The X, and Johansen is pretending like the loss at Lethal Injection didn't happen.

Understand this: by not mentioning Nick, all of the Saints are unintentionally no-selling this angle. Drew has been the most common theme. HE was the one who got chewed out in the shoot. HE was the one who got jumped at Supremacy. HE was the one who got jumped at Corruption 11.2. All of the other events have come almost by proxy.

Am I off base?

Yeah, I guess if you discount the promos that's pretty true assessment

Game, set and match.

1. This thread is very very cool. I like this as an addition.
2. This Toasterrr person (sorry, I'm re-learning this place again. lol) just owned my life. He effectively summed up a storyline for me without me having to read through 4 shows. Now I know what's going on! I love the attention to details he had for this storyline.

^ What that guy said, especially that last part.

Not bad Kaoru, except you missed the part where Bryson attacked Apostasy during an interview while dressed as a cameraman. That set up that portion of it, also I already spoke on how I wished that we would have saved Apostasy instead of the blood thing, but that was my fault because I wasn't aware Skyler was doing a segment or I would have talked to him about it.

Fair enough.

But I'd still say my argument is valid.

Not questioning that, considering Bryson's purpose is to get to Drew by eliminating the Saints one by one.

Guys this segment got me thinking, and I have had conversations with some on AIM around this idea. If I am outta line I will respectfully pull my head in but I am gonna say what I think regardless

Storylines are not working at the moment.

ToastErr's "Most Interesting Man in FMW" piece highlights this very well to me. Not trying to have a go at either Doc or Dunn (or the segment itself because it was very entertaining and well written, not to mention spot on IMO as to which are the best stroylines) but if two guys who have been back all of 5 minutes are the most entertaining storylines after a guy who has (and I <3 you Seth, no homo) had one good promo and one good show after a TERRIBLE run by his own standards then that says to me the FMW is as a whole really lacking in this department.

It comes accross as the main focus of the fed and the people involved is just as a random title hunt. Everyone is more concerned with their next title shot or rematch than building a really good feud/angle over time that will actually generat heat and interest.

You only have to look at the Wayward Sons & Skyler/Leon to see what everyone should be aiming for and these guys are proof that if you build a good storyline the titles WILL come.

Hell the FMW Games should have been a chance for EVERYONE on the active roster to get involved in a plotline bigger than their own agenda. Up until the segment at the end of Corruption 11.2 there had been virtually no mention of anyone thinking as a team. It should have been a point of contention through the TT and shows for this whole cycle and aside from the commentary it really wasn't. Partly I think this was a booking thing and if we had put all title shots (except the Champion of Champions, that was a great idea but maybe should have been at Catalyst and let the Wargames Teams involve some different people) on hold and made this the sole focus of this cycle it would have gone over much better

I don't know the answer to the problem (although I have some ideas to try) but I really think we all need to consider what it is FMW is supposed to be about. Are we here to win meaningless title matches for our own self gratification or are we trying to build a place that actually has some genuine heat and feeling to the characters we all spend so much time writing?

I know some will say we have tried longer running fueds and people get bored of them but I would counter that most of them fizzle because they get pushed too hard too early or they suffer from becoming endless one on one battles between the two guys involved.

As Celt said in his original criticisms of Corruption 11.2 (before the removal and rewrite) there is not enough of guys just getting involved in others business in more subtle ways to build heat over a long term. Joining commentary to hype future match ups, backstage confrontations (and contrary to FMW tradition these don't have to end with someone hospitalised), run ins (again not always for a beat down, even just to psych out a future opponent from the ramp) etc etc

On top of the segments etc during the shows I think the booking could be better used to hype upcoming matches. Number one contender matches where possible would ideally be decided by the .1 of any given cycle to allow two full shows to build hype for a Title match. The titles themselves should be defended 90% of the time only at PPV's (with only Gold Cards and rematch clauses as exceptions) so that a title shot means a hell of a lot more (aside from the TV Title by its nature).

I realise this is incredibly difficult for the bookers to lock in because of no shows and RL getting in the way but I'm talking ideal scenario's here. My hat's go off to the bookers for the work they do, I know I couldn't do it without tearing my hair out.

The last point and one of the biggest one's IMO is the TT. The whole thread in the end comes across for the most part as random shoots on people that usually aren't relevant to the person delivering them and they only serve to kill of momentum of what the guys involved should be doing instead of having a poo throwing contest (and I readily admit I'm as guilty as anyone). There is so little use of the TT as a tool to build heat/further storylines/ etc which should be its primary focus. I realise that there is always gonna be an element of people having a crack at the easy target but this shouldn't account for (and I'm going on no facts and how it seems to me here) 90% of what's in there.

Anyway rant over.

I'm sure someone will drag up some proof that I am wrong.
I also acknowledge I don't know how to fix it. Wiser and more creative heads than mine run this place and I don't want to come across as shitting on their work. I fully acknowledge how hard it is to do a lot of the things I've suggested when you have so many ego's, personal agendas and real life dramas getting in the way.

I just wanted to put accross how in an ideal world I would like FMW to look.....

Abel Steele wrote:

.

Hell the FMW Games should have been a chance for EVERYONE on the active roster to get involved in a plotline bigger than their own agenda. Up until the segment at the end of Corruption 11.2 there had been virtually no mention of anyone thinking as a team. It should have been a point of contention through the TT and shows for this whole cycle and aside from the commentary it really wasn't. Partly I think this was a booking thing and if we had put all title shots (except the Champion of Champions, that was a great idea but maybe should have been at Catalyst and let the Wargames Teams involve some different people) on hold and made this the sole focus of this cycle it would have gone over much better

I dont disagree with most of your points, but as far as this goes, I have to point out that we havent known WHO was on the final teams UNTIL this show, so with the "anyone thinking as a team" point thats because there were no teams.

The games, for the majority, have been pretty important so far, and were definately a centerpiece of 11.2. I think now that we know who the teams are its going to be easier to dissect and utilize the games effectively.

Abel Steele wrote:

The last point and one of the biggest one's IMO is the TT. The whole thread in the end comes across for the most part as random shoots on people that usually aren't relevant to the person delivering them and they only serve to kill of momentum of what the guys involved should be doing instead of having a poo throwing contest (and I readily admit I'm as guilty as anyone). There is so little use of the TT as a tool to build heat/further storylines/ etc which should be its primary focus. I realise that there is always gonna be an element of people having a crack at the easy target but this shouldn't account for (and I'm going on no facts and how it seems to me here) 90% of what's in there.

Okay, I have long been pitching the solution to this problem, but there hasn't really been any strong feeling for or against it: separate TT threads. A la LPW. Many a good LPW storyline has been built and advanced based merely on the fact that people usually kept to their own brand's TT thread. Personally I've always been a little more discouraged from TT-ing here by the fact that TT tends to get buried due to a lot of people pitching in, and sometimes the main conversation has to be dug up in previous pages.

Now that you've raised that point, it may be time to revisit the notion.

I concur with Romes.