Ring of Poison: SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY SPECTACULAR

My apologies for such a tardy review. I’m finally a college graduate and I’ll have some free time on my hands for a while (hopefully not too long!). So onto booking ICW and reviewing other shows!

We’re kicking off ROP seventh anniversary spectacular with Chris Hero. I’m always eager to compare and contrast other booker’s use of Hero with Jeremy’s (WCWA Online). Hero is WCWA’s most hated and most used wrestler and it’s always fascinating seeing how others use him. It appears he’s one of your top heels as well, which is going to be a very good thing in my opinion.

I have to say, I love how you hyperlinked the wrestler’s entrance music. That’s a very smart and innovative thing to do; in fact, I can’t recall any booker who’s down that. Nice little touch.

Shame Alex Shelley was brutally assaulted by El Generico and Kevin Steen because I’m sure that would’ve been a great match. But after some dastardly talking by Steen, we’re going to get Hero/El Generico. Sign me up for that!

El Generico vs. Chris Hero
A fun yet short match. It was a solid way to open up the show and the ending, while a little predictable, was nicely done in my opinion. You write Steen well, my friend. I look forward to seeing where this storyline goes…

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jigsaw
I really dig this Jimmy Jacobs storyline. He’s someone who is trying to bring a certain validity to the Junior Heavyweight division and does not appreciate what CHIKARA is all about. The match was very good but the ending is what caught my eye. I love that Jacobs is collecting the masks of CHIKARA’s wrestlers. That brings such an interesting element to Jacobs’ character and this storyline. Very cool…

Love that the Motor City Machine Guns will be coming to ROP…

Ultimo Dragon vs. Bryan Danielson
Terrific match. I really love how you acknowledge Danielson’s WWE tenure with the crowd chanting “YES!” I also love how Danielson is starting from scratch in ROP and he takes a big step forward by beating an icon in Ultimo Dragon. Very good booking.

Street Fight for the Ring of Poison World Tag Team Championship: Cloudy and Low Ki vs. Cheech and Christopher Daniels
Fantastic, hard hitting match up. Love a good tag team feud, especially one that feels so personal. This feud takes an interesting turn with Matt Sydal’s inclusion. Definitely a feud I’m keeping my eye on…

Nice CM Punk promo…

Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Excellent match up between two excellent competitors. You have a very good (and accurate) knowledge of these wrestler’s move sets and overall tendencies. Makes for a very entertaining read. It’s also interesting to see the lack of respect shown by Nigel at the end of the match.

ROP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kenny Omega vs. Samoa Joe
Joe retains the gold in a very exciting, hard hitting match up. I knew there was no way Joe would drop the belt; I was, however, shocked at how much Omega hung in there. You made him look strong even though he lost the bout. Smart booking.

Nice little twist with Steen obtaining one of those “open contracts.” I dig it.

Would’ve been nice if you wrote out the video package, sorta like how WCWA Online does it. Just a suggestion.

Steel Cage Grudge Match: CM Punk vs. Raven
You know this has to be one hell of a feud if it’s main eventing over a World Heavyweight title match. The feud between Punk/Raven is, in fact, one of those feuds. The match itself was fantastic. Love the inclusions of Cactus, Snow, Dreamer (even though it is odd he’s allied with Raven), Sandman (ditto), and Stevie Richards! Loved the twist with Stevie. And, of course, it’s quite sad CM Punk is gone from ROP…and so is Raven?!?!? Wow did not see that one coming!

Fantastic PPV. Love how you link the entrance themes, your mind for booking, love your roster. Only criticism: watch your spelling. Saw tons of little careless mistakes throughout the show. Other than that, fantastic show.

And I'm back for part 2! Things are hectic around here. Being your own boss is nice and being able to make as much money as you need is great, but it's not friendly to free time sometimes.

I start with a nice vignette for the impending debut of the Motor City Machine Guns. It does exactly what a vignette should. It hypes up the coming wrestler, it tells his purpose, who he is, and what he's about, while not taking too much time away from the guys currently on the roster. A great way to start "the second disc" of this show.

I think Ultimo Dragon serves a nice purpose here. With indy federations, you have to sprinkle in guys with name value as a means to establish your stars, but you also have to pick guys who fit your exact feel. I've found that niche with Shane Douglas, Lance Storm, and in the past guys like Tracy Smothers. It's a real balancing act because you need someone who can still "go", but is out of the limelight enough that they're a fresh character. As long as we can forgive and forget his clumsiness at Wrestlemania 20, Ultimo Dragon serves that role very nicely. I like how he was used to put over Danielson, because Danielson could be a legitimate top guy with proper build.

I don't know the back story behind the tag team match, but I find it fascinating that it's a wife swap match essentially. Up In Smoke and Triple X both split and switched. A great physical match between the two teams and while it blows off one part of the feud, it leaves the open window for a return or an extension on the feud.

A solid promo from CM Punk. Bumper style promo.

I liked Nigel and Claudio a lot and echo ant's thoughts that you have tendancies down which assists in the visualizations of what's happening. Anyone can replicate a John Cena match and paste in new names, but to put together a match that accurately portrays the wrestlers you're using is a sign of writing talent.

Samoa Joe dominates Kenny Omega. I wondered how this one would go when a lot of Omega's signature moves just couldn't be done to Joe. Stuff like the electric chair release German.. even as agile as Joe is, there's no way that Omega could do it to him. So it's a good thing that Joe went over. Kenny Omega is the most baffling one to me that no American companies have ever even attempted to use. Including ROH. The guy has unbelievable charisma and a cult following in Japan that could be capitalized by a company like WWE.

The group parking lot promo reminds me of CZW X-Posed from 05, and the promos in the dark parking lot of the ECW Arena.

I'll echo ant's thoughts again, putting more into your video packages can lend a lot more to the hype, rather than just knowing that a video package has been there. Use your words to paint the picture and the feel of the video and use music as you deem appropriate.

The main event was a great match. A very ECW feeling match, with Raven's dog and pony show and all the mythology throughout the match. It is exactly the type of match that should've finished this card.

Overall a very solid card. What I can suggest is to try to closer replicate sequences. Take your time with spots, especially earlier in the matches. Let the feeling out process play itself out, especially in the bigger matches. Work the arm, work from a test of strength and use that to transition into your opening spots, rather than just going into your opening spots. It'll make things flow more naturally as you're writing them and it'll help in the overall drama of the match for the readers. And say, your finish is something like a leg submission, extending the feeling out process can lend to the psychology of the wear down leading to the submission. I'd also suggest a bit more emphasis on your promos. Don't hit all your points right away. Ramble a little bit. Hit the idiosyncratic speech patterns of your roster, as they're saying what they need to say to get from point a to point c. Overall, a very solid redebut on this board, though