DOMINATION 08 - Feedback Thread

[Keegan]

I appreciate the reply, Brian.

I'll try and learn from it, and do better.

[Legend]

I appreciate the reply, Brian.

I'll try and learn from it, and do better.

I think we all have quite a bit of learning to do here. This show was a wake-up call that you do a lot of dressing up for the shows, which is much appreciated.

I would be more interested in what the expectations are going forward. What can be done to help you going forward?

[Alex Reyn]

and no, I'm not listening to a 75 minute podcast on a show that happened a month or longer ago just for proof she is part of the feedback

That was my fault. We'd recorded the feedback a week before, but I got busy with other projects and didn't upload.

[Alex Reyn]

That said, is it REALLY that unbelievable that a former US Marine with years of both combat training and experience can dominate a low-ranking jobber like Jed Johnson? She's new to wrestling, but not in any way knew to fighting. And It's been said numerous times that he is a man stuck in one way of fighting who has refused to grow, learn or advance.

[THEHopper]

That said, is it REALLY that unbelievable that a former US Marine with years of both combat training and experience can dominate a low-ranking jobber like Jed Johnson? She's new to wrestling, but not in any way knew to fighting. And It's been said numerous times that he is a man stuck in one way of fighting who has refused to grow, learn or advance.

It is more than just vs Jed Johnson that makes the character unrealistic.

[pdbnb]

BEST MATCH: Alfie vs Rich. It's something I would have gladly stopped and watched on TV.
BEST SEGMENT: No Case. Felt like real TV. Also, #FTK!
BEST ANGLE: This was clearly a Reyn episode, so...that, I guess?
BEST LINE OF THE NIGHT: There were several good ones. Gotta love British crowd chants.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: I'm not as down on this show as everybody else, but there WERE a whole heap of SNAFUs which I think have contributed to the overwhelmingly negative reaction. In my eyes, those aside, this was a solid all-rounder episode, neither our best not our worst (*cough* Domination 3! *cough*).
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS: One interesting fact, judging from feedback, is that everyone appears to be sick of Reyn being treated like an unstoppable force and never called out. In fact, if this was actual TV, he would be primed to get Put On A Bus right about now.
From my end, I apologise for rushing a couple of things (I wish the first half of Roxx/Players had been longer, and there was supposed to be a match at the end of the Fingerpoke of Doom, but neither I nor Keegan had the time to write it due to real-life holiday plans. Hence why the segment is so meh.)

[Keegan]

Before I start, I’d like to say I’m sorry I wasn’t around for the last few days prior to deadline. Perhaps next year, I won’t schedule a show around Easter, however, I didn’t give it too much though when planning the schedule, and I honestly (with due respect to anyone here) don’t think Easter is anywhere near as big a deal as Christmas. Having said that, it’s still a holiday and an opportune time to go away, which I know Pedro and I did. Hopefully, if you were away or busy, you had a good time. Onwards…

A MERE MORTAL: I think we all know what the criticism is going to be here, so I won’t dwell on it, but it doesn’t look good in the opening lines of the show, admittedly. Anyway, that aside, I had read the segment prior to the show and these two have got history, both before and during GLOBAL, and we know they’re going to meet in the future at some stage. It showed off both characters, didn’t interfere with what they’ve got going on and overall, I thought it was a very good exchange.

FAKE NEWS TRAVELS FAST: Knew exactly who wrote this from the off, which is a compliment. Very, very specific information at the start, and I mean that in a good way, too. I thought this was an excellent segment. Exceptionally written, Truth feels toned down, but in a way that is probably more palatable to others while still getting the point across, which isn’t an easy thing to do, and the dialogue was superb. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

MIRROR, MIRROR: Decent segment that kept things chugging along nicely. What I will say is that it shows what can be done in GLOBAL more than most segments here. Take The Warrior in WCW 98, where only Hogan ‘could see’ him and no one else could. WCW hadn’t established that lore there at the time, whereas here…yes, you can do it and as a result, it doesn’t suck. The feud is doing okay, but I think it can – and will – go up a notch or two on Domination 9.

A SPECIAL MOMENT TAKE ONE: I was wise to what was going on before I read the segment, and it reminded me of Ted’s antics as The Million Dollar Man. These two are terrific together. I’ll take SOME credit for the formation, but Chris does a fantastic job writing Smith, a creation of mine, and Gemini is one of the funniest characters in the fed.

TROUBLE ROXX V THE PLAYERS: LOVE the intro, which I could imagine and picture playing out. Some fantastic references/commentary here. Pedro played around with Kid Chameleon’s moves name in a cool way, and it worked. Plus, the hint at tension between The Players, and while I’m assessing the writing, you can tell this is someone who reads the show. More on that another time. As for the match itself, a lot of fun and not too long at all, in my book, but that’s down to personal preference. They could wrestle 10 times, have 10 totally different matches, and it would be fun each and every time. Right now, Trouble Roxx are a top 4 tag team, and a definite contender for the straps. I’d love to see them wrestle The Master Sisters, Best of British, PTA, The Law, The Rich Family, FTK…a LOT of great matches in there. Plus, there’s definite singles potential there, too…

THE SEARCH CONTINUES: Moves things along. I am looking forward to more development.

NO CASE: I wrote this but want to have a go at myself for NOT writing the time stamp on there. That was a mistake on my part, and something for all of us to be mindful of. I also did the same in ‘A Trip Home’ and that’s not acceptable on my part, so holding my hands up there. Moving on…

CONCERN: Excellent, as always. I loved the opening to the segment. And the segment showed how far this feud has come, and that it’s still got legs before it reaches its conclusion. One of my favourites on the show.

RICH FAMILY SAVIORS: Decent gateway to an upcoming feud, and there’s a lot to like about PTA. Not the best segment they’ve been part of, but we’ve got a much better idea of who they’ll be facing at the pay-per-view, and it’s up to a certain writer, this one, to write the rebuttal. About time, my end. And my fault for not making it clear that Declan was in action. Apologies.

RANDOM ASIDE BY ME HERE: Not a missing segment, no. But I can already see the match/segment ration being criticised with how many segments I’ve sat through compared to matches.

A SPECIAL MOMENT TAKE TWO: Even more entertaining than the first part, and my favourite of the lot.

A PLANNED HIKE: Cool segment. Re-read it, and it showcases the bundles of personality that many of the characters in this segment have.

RETURN OF THE JED-I: Terrific segment title, telegraphed or not. The segment did what it had to and would’ve been a feel-good moment for the group and the fans on hand.


CRACKING: Short and sweet, in an out…I could go on, but it served its purpose.

DREAM/AUG: I would’ve submitted the title in a different way, but that’s a nit-pick. Let me get my other criticism out of the way first: While Chris is one of the best I’ve ever seen at commentary, and this is no different, I would have swapped a lot of Mark’s remarks for Quinn’s and vice-versa, given Quinn’s status as Dream’s cheerleader. That aside, I loved how much damage simple stuff like punches by Aug did to Dream, because…they would. It highlighted how big and strong Aug is.

Very good action throughout, and a fantastic near-fall on the Dream Catcher, and the one afterwards as well, once Dream rides the storm and comes into it more. Then, suddenly, BAM! Dream gets the clean victory and looks great after weathering the storm to advance to the final. I wish I’d given Chris a bit more insight beforehand, so that falls on me.

I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU: A great stab at writing Amber by Blair here, and a believable segment. I like how The Bro got brushed off, everyone seems to have no problem nailing that character, and Crusader X’s figurative mask slips a bit here, and it makes sense that it would, especially with Alfie not around you. A fine segment, overall.

THE LEGEND PREPARES: Great analogies by one of the best writers in the game. Built The Wall up, and he’s going to tear him down later.

COMATOSE CONVERSATION 3: Chris, weren’t you a critic of those numbers being used in the first arc, and here you are doing the same thing? Anyway, more importantly, this was another strong segment for Pierson, and Manny has gone from being funny to frightening over a period of time. A contender for best segment, like always, and talk about contrast and range when comparing to Gemini and Smith.

TAKE 3: Action! Speaking of which, here they are again. I don’t normally go down the ‘…of the night’ route, but this would be angle of the night, for sure. Again, you know that catchphrase is coming…it’s still funny when it drops, a la DAMN by Ron Simmons. Some might feel it’s controversial Gemini behaving like this with the kids the way he is, and it makes him a DICK, for sure. I personally enjoyed every segment, the second one probably being my favourite, but they were all consistently good and it’s a big coming-out party for Smith AND ESPECIALLY Gemini, who in fairness, has been great on virtually every show he has appeared.

RAH/ALFERSON: And I knew where this was going, too. Very, very good for what it wanted to achieve, and I could picture everything perfectly.

THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: A nice little segment between two RIVALS who’ve become a team, and this would be a little bit like Jerry David and EZ Rah becoming mates – to an extent. This is a FANTASTIC addition to the tag team, and Tony Sweat, while reviling one or two here, will get over with a lot of others.

SOMETHING’S MISSING: Well, the segment wasn’t, given it appeared twice. For what it’s worth, I really liked this piece, and again, it points to Crusader X having hidden intentions, we know he’s off, weird, what have you and we’ve had two segments attesting to that.

DEATH: Well-written, as always. And I loved the ending to it.

TAG TEAM TITLES: I’ve known for a long time what was going to happen here. I expected people to have stronger opinions, one way or another, but unfortunately, that seems to have got lost with wider debates in this thread alone. What it did do was open up the tag team division to a degree, and set things up ahead of 9 and Gold Rush, which was pleasing.

I GUESS WE’LL NEVER KNOW: I echo what Scott said above, but appreciate Hector’s a busy man, so it’s a definitely a compliment to say you want to see more because Daniel Dream is a heck of a character and why I was delighted to get Hector on board when opening GLOBAL.

MAIN EVENT: It still had some great action and moments but felt rushed at the beginning and end of the match, and there was some sloppiness. In terms of action, I could still make a case for this being the best bout, however, it lacked some fundamentals that prevented me from giving it the nod as the best of the night.


OVERALL THOUGHTS: And that’s a wrap. Very sloppy in parts, as other previous shows have been too, and a lot of that is on me, so I’ll take the time to say sorry on my end. Some of it isn’t helped, however, by people forgetting script v novel, past v present and this is our NINTH show. As for me, yes, I forgot to put time stamps on as said above, so I’m not excluded from, above or exempt from such criticism. I never am, and that’s why we have feedback, which I’ll never censor, the way we do. Does some of it err on the personal at times? Yes, it does. Is grammar emphasised a bit too much? Maybe. That’s coming from someone who teaches the stuff on a regular basis, mind. But, overall, not taking the time to read the show or even read feedback won’t aid your cause either.

When I was in a previous fed as a handler, I got criticised by the same person EVERY SINGLE WEEK. I did get some praise, don’t get me wrong, but I used it as motivation to try and get better, and in the end, perhaps he just didn’t like my writing. I don’t believe he did. However, I read what he had to say each and every time about me and what everyone else in that particular fed.

I appreciate people have busy lives. This is a hobby. It’s unpaid. I get it. I really do. However, I won’t discourage honest feedback if that’s how a person feels. In my case, I probably tow the line too much and don’t always say how I really feel, because I prefer to be positive, constructive and look at the good.

However, this show was a disappointment and one of our worst shows, and not just because of what Scott wrote above.

It’s sad in a sense, because there are some good things on this show that have been overlooked. I don’t put it in the bottom 5 of shows I’ve ever read, and that’s not just because I’m a fedhead, though 5 out of 10 is probably being kind. Again, am I proud of that? Not at all.

Some people have said 6 and 7 were easy/a breeze to read. For me, this wasn’t. I’m not particularly proud of the show, and when I challenged people to produce a better 3rd show last arc, you smashed it. This arc, not the case and generally, the second arc hasn’t really got going. I’ll take the blame for that. Not as a cop out, I’d rather have a weaker middle arc than 1 or 3, and it’s a good job, really. I thought we’d be further on than we are, and while there are positives and I’m proud of certain things, I’ve not had happy feelings following the releases of any of the shows this arc. 9 is the go-home show. Consider that when booking your matches and segments, and even more so when you’re writing them. This is the one show to try and get right in this arc before the PPV. So, yes, I’m pleased with certain things, but not proud of the show nor the arc on the whole, and I’ll take responsibility for a lot of that. Please use it as fuel when writing for 9 and Gold Rush.

I don’t usually do the short form, but for once, here goes.

Best Match: I won’t pick myself, which should tell you what I really think, so I’ll go for Aug v Dream, followed by the opener.

Best Segment: All of the FTK stuff along with Something’s Missing.

Best Angle: Mm. I could cop out and say the FTK stuff here, too. There’s no question who this show’s MVP was. Other than that, Crusader X’s stuff and Trouble Roxx having a breakout night are also in my thinking here.

More to come in the next few days.

[pdbnb]

I just want to add a thought here:

We are, as we say in Portuguese, 'complaining with our bellies full'. Or spoiled for riches, if you will.

What I mean to say is, as somebody who's been in more 'circles' (sorry!) and generations of efedding than some or most here (while being around for half the time, I feel like I was significantly more of a journeyman throughout the years) I can safely state that the worst GLOBAL show is better than at least half, if not 75-80%, of all efed shows I've read throughout the years. Yes, there are issues, and yes, we should absolutely strive to address them and be the best we can possibly be.

BUT.

There are people out there who see a three-line summary with no full stops and think it's a good match.
There are people out there who write publish-ready 7k novellas and are met with the above write-up once the show drops, sometimes only because the fedhead or writer were too busy playing videogames or getting high or something.
And when they ask why that happened, or what people think of their writing, they get crickets. Or at best, a generic 'you're doing fine but we thought his stuff was better' statement.
Meanwhile, here we are nitpicking obviously high-quality shows, and arguing about Oxford commas and lack of feedback.

Just saying.

[Keegan]

Some good points there, Pedro.

I also wanted to say a special thank you to you for what you did for this show, despite being away. Much appreciated.

[Legend]

Some good thoughts in this thread are starting to form, and one thing I do agree with is. With some initial negative tone and feelings about the show, it's unfortunate that some excellent pieces aren't exactly getting their full due. I feel wrong about my part of not doing a complete breakdown in the review.