Colin Locke

Nothing's on you, don't worry, it's what it is. I think there are often broader issues with audio mixing/sound design in OCW, so it's always something to be mindful of, I might do a video on it during the next break as sound is probably the thing that's most often neglected.

I'm really into the TWC stuff at the moment. I reckon Carter's really coming into his own as a writer, if he improves the presentation side of things (primarily the grammar at this point, little bits of punctuation), he'll be rolling, and I'm really hoping for him to get a great moment for himself with this storyline and the looming threat of the FI briefcase. Marcus is becoming a very strong character too, he's come a long way since appearing as H2O's smurf account, and Jasmine is far more convincing for being part of them, feels like she's got a bit more drive than her face persona that we'd seen before.

Yeah, completely, for me it's about the advantages of each format. Videos allow you focus on the visual aspect, maybe get some visual comedy going if that's your style, maybe something comes out of nowhere, or you're using video to illustrate a visual callout (like Marcus/Harris), or try and do something in editing you've not seen someone do much before. Then, obviously, the classic beatdown/chase, if it fits and isn't too long. On the other hand, text allows for the big monologues, and for shitloads of information to be sent out and understood quickly. It also allows for some amazing descriptions, which I feel might be a lost art sometimes, you can set the scene and immerse the reader in the space the promo takes place, and that allows you to break the limits that videos may have placed on you. As a reader, I can read an entire promo built on duelling monologues in the space of time I can wait for one line of text to pass in a video. Obviously, there's crossover, text can hold some great visual images, and a video can be a way to cut certain styles of promos to a captive audience, but yeah, a single image over a static background while we wait for the slowest person to finish reading the text with every paragraph isn't it for me. I wonder if that's the kind of stuff that makes people feel (and sometimes rightly so) that text isn't being noticed as much, because, if that's in style and people tolerate it, why not just copy and paste your text into Resolve over a static cutout that you can grab out the assets folder? I'm optimistic though, that format is quickly approaching its 'jump the shark' moment, if it hasn't passed already, and hopefully that inspires more writing or more varied videos.

I feel like this show, overall, is a great one to use to restate the value of werdz, as much as this point has been hammered into the ground over this weekend. Just caught up with the show, and I am biased as I couldn't watch this live, but I feel that watching some of these segments without VC just sort of drained the air out of me, but there's subtlety to this, so I'll do some in depth critique. I call this VIDEO SEGMENTS AND WHERE TO USE THEM I think H2O/Tony carries on this tradition of 'Champion names the guy they're about to fight', and I feel like 'Oh shit it's Tony' would've got a big reaction on VC, so even though I did skip a lot of the video's dead spaces to read the text faster, I'm pretty alright with this, thought it could've been given a bit more aggressively edited so it snaps a bit more and doesn't read as a text RP copy-pasted into a video editor. CG/Wrex used the video format a little better. The lack of sound design did make it feel a bit dead behind the eyes at times, but I do like the extra angles they used, and the slightly snappier less 'trading monologues' writing style that got the video out the way a little quicker. This is the sort of thing I'm talking about, I'm becoming less convinced by the 'blurred ring, cutouts talking in front of it' format, there are always neat ways to be creative. It takes work (and that links to what I think Nate said about burnout last thread), but yeah, a decent time. Jared McGregor pulled me right back into the 'blurred ring, cutouts talking' format though, and that's a bit of a shame. I think this would be a far better text RP, because then we can save the full ring design (when that's done, this still had the Riot tron and whatnot) for a match and immediate see what this guy's about in ring. The reason why this definitely should've been a text RP, is because I think the content itself was good, just needed editing for a video format. The problem with that, however, is that it'd make the content shorter than the entrance, so you get this 'why did I watch an entrance for that' situation. This show was pretty strong on the text RP front, so I think this could've made a great addition to that, I just couldn't imagine watching this without being able to skip the dead periods. KC/Chance. I was very ready to write this off when I saw that iconic blurred ring and cutout, but this used the format nicely. I really liked the cut to the black arena when KC did the bow and arrow motion, and it got me invested in what's happening between these two. My only complaint, I don't think Chance should've got up, this could probably have been split between two weeks, this week KC gets the upper hand and lays Chance out, next week Chance sees it coming (maybe in a different location) and chases KC off, twice the weeks of content for one week's worth of work. Love Triangle Highlight Reel, great, loved the stylised video look, and this is exactly the sort of segment that this story needed, short, sweet, let's go. Karmine. Ladies, gentlemen, all things in between, we have returned to the land of blurred rings and broken dreams. This was more justified, it's great to see Karmine's new look following his heel turn, the group chanting at him to postpone the promo was a really nice touch. This has the best text pacing tonight, it kept up with my reading pace without dragging too much. There is more movement than text here, and it strikes a great balance, and, again, that's justified as it's a totally new persona for a pre-existing character. Marisa's Ladder. For me, this is my big 'should've been a text segment', because I will be straight with you, the John/Marisa/Mac story has, overall, been a success for me. It's had some great moments (the wedding segment at Lution was a great, if rough around the edges, twist, it would've been an awful call to end the story at that), and it's had some less good moments (I didn't dislike the shower thing, made sense to me, but I know that's controversial), but overall, good. I don't think this segment added anything as a video segment, however. The words themself? Tongue firmly in cheek, filled with innuendo, and very fun, however the delivery method where I was skipping dead periods because the pace of the video was so far off my own reading pace, much less fun, and Marisa is such a visual character, it's always a shame to be skimming a video with her involved. With two other highlight reels on this show hyping the match up, I think this is exactly what we have werdz for, it fleshes out a story and a character without taking up the time and, most importantly, effort a video takes to make. Samsin/Wrex. This is hard to critique, as it comes after a match that has had enough said about it. Wasn't bad, was short enough to be a throwaway, I do wonder if the video format is preventing us from getting into the real meat of this story, but yeah, why not, this was fine. C Note/Telos, at least the ring isn't blurred. That said, it was a great call to not use Telos' entrance and just get to the point. I do think this veered into 'duelling monologues' a bit too much for this format, so the editing could've, again, been snappier, but this will be a good feud, it's a nice way to announce it, so a step in the right direction, absolutely. Last note, show, don't tell, my pet hate is reading stage directions in a video promo. If you have stuff you have no way of animating, make it a text RP, but if you do want to do a video, get your sound design and keyframe animation on. Worst case, it's hilarious and notable in its own janky way, you won't get buried for a bad mic drop animation. Reign of Derek. A step in the right direction! Yes, another 'stand in the ring while words appear', but the champion entrance was great to see, the cut on 'look what I have in my hand' is exactly my taste of jankily animated fun, and it didn't overstay its welcome. Solid stuff other than that one bit where the text escapes the text box, and I hope Derek has some good stories coming, it's his time to show what he's got. Clark Effect, short, sweet, and Roy Brown has debuted a Saw gimmick, love to see it. Maybe it could've used a bit more motion in the Stacy segments, but that whole thing was just a vehicle for that interruption, so it served its purpose. Jas/Ashley. It's just a short, simple conversation, and maybe the text format would've made this feel a bit inconsequential, so I'm alright with this. I feel like the video format better suits quicker-paced, more back-and-forth dialogue than the 'dueling monologues' style, so I liked this. Harris/Marcus. This is how you start things with a video. Very quick, a really strong visual element, my only critique is I don't think Marcus should've been lurking around the corner. I feel that his character might have watched this on TV after the airing, but that's a tiny niggle that is just there for taste. This'll be a nice little story. Blacksmith segment, I have never been happier to see a non-blurred arena. But nah, I really liked this, I think he could have sold the 'farewell' a bit better by including some match highlights, but he really got me going before Hito turned up. This feud is gonna be monstrous in every sense of the word, and I think that story development and the farewell tease has helped me look past the whole 'words in front of video' format to a decent extent. Marisa/John/Mac highlight reel. I don't even care anymore, this has been a story and a half, so much aligned well to make this work, and I hope that as weeks go by without this story, people look more favourably on it. Yes, it could've been streamlined with a few segments either made shorter or cut, but each beat has been a fun time, and if a 'throwing shit at a wall until it sticks' approach gives us stuff like Nate's proposal, or the wedding segment, I'm alright with there being a few misses here and there. With this story, I've said so many times that I won't be able to fully critique it until I see the whole picture, as, yeah, there are some times where this story could have fallen off the rails (insert the now beaten to death John Carter taking advantage of drunk girls meme here), but now we've got the full picture, I like it. The highlight reel reminded me of everything I like about this story, and I've gotta give it a lot of credit. The match was great, too, Nate losing because he just wanted to beat JC a little harder, Carter taking advantage of that, and Marisa ends up on top. Great stuff, I'm glad Carter was fine with showing as much arse as he has despite being a Future Investment holder (champions do not have to be as funny as Schindler's List to work!), and I hope Nate can get back on his feet, maybe he helps #Free Tre Golden. I will probably put more thoughts here on the werdz and matches later unless this reply kills the thread.

Anyway, we've done negative criticism, we've done positive criticism, let's get the real criticism down. John Carter is, for yet another week, refusing to debut the John Carder gimmick, which would really give him the boost he needs. He can definitely win the world title, but he needs to believe in the heart of the cards, as that will allow him to draw all the cards that make up Exodia and truly become the top heel in OCW. But, again, to do that, he needs to drop the Carter thing. Plus, that shower would've ruined his deck, my immersion is ruined. As for CG and Parca, some people might not realise this is it's subtle, galaxy brain storytelling, but El Parca is actually Spanish for The Coat, and so this entire arc is leading up to someone wearing him like, you guessed it, a coat. CG was a red herring all along, you're all being worked, and it's leading to something huge, just wait. I'm enjoying what Kasstianity are doing, however, no one has cottoned onto the truth. Their aesthetic is inspired by Ghost, right? Now, earlier, we saw the Shower segment, you following? Nah, well, shower, bit like a bath, but vertical. Ghost Bath. I'm telling you, once we hear Kasstianity walk out to the music of Ghost Bath, we may as well all give up, because they are gonna be on a reign of terror like no one has ever seen. Fucking Ghost Bath. I knew they'd be the death of me. Also, when are we getting the Fireman Nate Mac? I feel like Marisa would've been more into the male stripper aesthetic that gimmick was allowed. Shit, maybe that's why she cheated on him. Anyway, as we all know from this discussion, that's all that happened at Summercide, but jesus christ, was a ride. Just remember, always believe in the heart of the cards. Or something. Emp is a hanzo alt wake up sheeple etc

I feel like we should be able to read through stuff. Exaggeration is a thing. I can see how some shortcomings of CG/Parca, plus perhaps a timing mismatch can make a thing make 'no sense' in the same way I have been awake literally a million hours doing this recording. Like, it feels very much missing the forest for the trees, there's so much worth that isn't just disqualified by hyperbole. That can be debated, of course, but it's not 'objectively wrong', that's just a weird hill to die on.

--- Probably one of the better weekly shows of 2k22, a majority of the show was really enjoyable, gonna be loads to get excited about with Summercide, particularly with that ending segment being as strong as it was.

Some werdz about the show. --- RPs! First up, I've gotta say the Colin/Mugen stuff has been an absolute pleasure to do, and one of the reasons why is the opening RP, it's great to be served up all this mad stuff, and it got the show off to a really great start, particularly as (spoilers) I found the written parts of the show to be a bit dry and serious as a whole, but we'll get into that with more highlights. Antonio had a really solid promo towards the end, and it got me excited for Cide pretty quickly. It feels clear to me that, unless there's a big twist, this is really the bow on the Dominion story, and it looks like it'll be a nice neat ending. Content was great, made me smile at Everett saying we aren't used to the heat in the UK when I am currently losing a battle against heatwave 2: birmingham drift, and it made me consider the various spellings of the word 'pussyole' around the UK. Fun stuff, probably my favourite 'call out' promo of the night. Now, I'm loathe to heap praise on promos from this general arc right now, as I am outright not convinced by either the 'work shoot' 'academy is falling apart' story, or the potentially very real 'this story has gone completely off the rails because of some personal drama' event. However, I really did like Jasmine's RP with Marcus. Marcus has been finding a really strong voice as a character for a while, and with Jasmine seeming to come from a very different direction to Marcus, this segment just fed the 'universe is alive' feel where anyone can interact with anyone that makes me love wrestling/reality tv with fighting. We also got a Scotty X promo here, rough around the edges, but it's nice to see a new guy jumping in and giving it a go. First promos are hard if you've not got a gimmick, so I get why people go to the 'I am the greatest, new heights' well over and over again, but hopefully he finds his feet and Stops capitalising Every Other word, Because Proper grammar Can make People Believe the Content is better Than It is! Presentation matters, and it's something you can always be working on, even if you aren't inspired in terms of content. Video segments! My segment of the night, Mark Reese on the microsoft clipart tractor! I love vehicles, we've had the Ice Cream Truck, Harri's golf cart (later driven by Ashley) which sounds like a ferrari because my sound design is just memes at this point, now we've got the Reese tractor. Love it, it was stupid in the best way. Man, rewatching it, I don't even know why I enjoy it so much, it was just some dialogue and 5 seconds of Mark Reese looking like a Lego Island loading screen, but jesus christ if it isn't the thing I remember most from last night. Nate's promo was really enjoyable, too, I'm always into this live action Nate promos, especially now he's got such a strong character motivation against John Carter's looming threat of cashing in. This story has probably been my favourite one of the last month or so, truth be told, I've fully bought in on the Marisa/John/Mac stuff, it's got a serious foundation, but it's not afraid of being silly, or hamming it up a bit. Just great work. We also got the Hanzo segment, and while I do, maybe, think it's a bit early for him to be given the H2O rub, and while the segment was dangerously close to 'new heights', the effort and vision is undeniable with the GTA cutscene stuff, the talking cutouts and whatnot, he's off to a solid start, and there's some good stuff to build on, here. I'll also say that while, yes, too early, H2O being willing to appear in a new rookie's segment like that speaks to how well suited he is to being a world champion. I think not enough is said about how much it does for OCW to have world champions who are always happy to listen to rookies and get involved with their stuff. That was Quartz and B17 to me when I was coming up, and I hope future rookies have that too. The chop-off made me feel inadequate, here's me doing songs and shit to try and get a segment of the year candidate, and these two guys spend six minutes slapping each other and keep my interest for every second. OWEN has fully won me over, I have been on the 'I wish Sanctum was more Owen/Sheldon with Fraser overlooking things' train for a while, but honestly, that might be a blessing in disguise, OWEN as a bit of a wanker, bit of a heel, that's hugely winning me over, he's consistently getting big reactions out of me, and I really hope he's in huge demand as a singles star soon, I love it. DOC was the perfect foil for all of this, both guys looked hard as nails, and yeah, loved it. Matches! Match of the night for me was clearly Cort vs Maxx. This is the best I've seen Cort play in this game, as I remember, and everything surrounding Kasstianity Maxx was just incredible to watch, the chain animation was fantastic, the general mood on VC made this match really exciting to watch, and the fact that this all got a lot of us to cheer for Maxx to lose after he's just had a face turn just shows how effective this story has been. I do want to see where this goes, as it feels like there's still more we need to know about why Kasstianity was luring Maxx in if they're just gonna set him free after one match, or if they even did set him free, but we've got a go home show and a PPV to tie up those loose ends. Derek vs John. I get that people were really invested with the 'Derek has loads of momentum' story, but personally, I always wanted to see a bit more writing, and bit more of him stepping out on his own, I was worried that the stuff with the GOAT Academy and him was maybe telling me something that I wasn't being shown, and while he did get tossed around a fair bit in this match, he got to show off some of his identity, the grand moves always get a little pop off the VC and a smile out of me, and I think that this is exactly the sort of refresher he needs going into Cide, there's no pressure, and he's working with two fantastic handlers, so he's in an excellent position, and I just want to see the writing improve, and then he'll have a really solid place, as it's clear that he can hold his own in-game. It's also good to see John with momentum, Mac got a huge reaction out of me with the post match stuff. Loads of stuff to unpack in this match alone for all three characters involved.

Sources have recently confirmed that OCW's Harri Etiquette has been racking up the appearance at local wrestling, sports, and gaming conventions, allegedly attending 200 conventions in the last seven days, 4 of which she was booked to appear at. "She just sat at a stall, started writing her name on things, and no one wanted to stop her" recounts one die-hard fan, enamoured by her guest appearance at the Diablo Immortal booth at Eurojank 2022. Over in the States, however, some attendees had less than stellar things to report, with one fan lamenting: "I just wish that more people could witness this remarkable achievement, in a better world, Harri could have attended 300 conventions and had time to spare." When asked how she achieved this incredible feat, the all-singing, all-dancing wrestling genius claimed that her frequent flights between time zones caused extra hours to appear in each day, functionally allowing her to experience 30 days over the course of a 7 day week. "Of course, I'll be counting that in my reign as the OCW Etiquette Champion. In briefcase form." Harri adds. The young Miss Etiquette has also avoided criticism for contributing to an increase of carbon emissions by chartering a new private jet which only emits CO3, which Harri assures fans "is just one better, y'know?" than CO2. She also assures wrestling fans that she will be back on OCW television imminently, and will be keeping a close eye on any upcoming competitions featuring Terra Daturas and Furiosa. 07/08/2022 ~ The Etiquette Observer

So, whatever personal drama is going down aside, I think the issue with the CG/Jesus thing is that they picked the worst way for it to happen. While it could be argued that the interruption happening after a finisher has been hit, or even at the hint of one coming is predictable, I'd argue it's only predictable in hindsight, no one would be going 'Oh, I bet so and so won't get the pin'. In reality, when we could have had the visual of Parca interrupting after Jesus' finisher, denying his underling the victory, or stopping CG from getting the pin after he hit it, thereby saving Jesus, immediately we've got a more complex relationship on display between the three characters and a lot of potential for storylines. Instead, we get a cut to black when neither one of them is finishable, Jesus apparently disappears and we can assume the bell is rung for a disqualification off camera. There's a lot more creative potential working within the boundaries of what OCW is as a competitive environment than there is trying to subvert it for subversion's sake. It's a shame, because the voice acting had a strong motivation behind it, and that Trouble in Tijuana should've been absolutely grisly once the lights come on, and instead it's being overshadowed by a blip in the execution. --- Other great stuff, though. Maxx Edwards in the Soul Reaver church, my god, it took me right back the good days of PC gaming where it was all invisible dice rolls and badly animated first person monsters and less buildings forts and telling a 6 year old his mum's adopted while you shoot him. Kasstianity's genuinely piqued my interest these last few weeks, I've liked the overarching story, the fact that some people are hugely in the cult and some are just no-selling it (Quartz walking off was bloody genius), it's just something that doesn't make demands of the entire roster in order to work. Whether you think it's a spooky nonsense 'we listen to metal' faction, or a threatening presence that should be respected, Kasstianity have carved out a really nice place in this current OCW climate, and I'm interested to see what developments occur. In terms of writing, I really enjoyed seeing Marcus, Spider, and John's mission statement, I'm not overall convinced by the sort of work-shoot meta aspects yet (if that was a work and not someone legitimately throwing a big storyline in the air), but it feels like this new development will give people a sense of individuality and direction that they've really lacked as of late, and I'm intrigued. I also enjoy the level of description in Hito Gui's promos, I always like to read vivid descriptions rather than lines upon lines of dialogue, it makes things flow a bit nicer and justifies the written format a lot more for me. In terms of matches, thanks to everyone involved in Hot Storage vs C-Note & Flojo, we managed it despite the WWE servers being made out of dvd copies of the Space Jam remake, and while the show didn't have a huge amount of absolute eye poppers for me, that just let Alyssa vs Mina V stand out, which is really nice for them, the match was really enjoyable, so much so I didn't realise that Alyssa's still got the Etiquette Check in her moveset until I rewatched it, it's lucky that Harri's busy with her duties as the OCW Etiquette Champion (in briefcase form). Seriously though, really solid match, both characters are looking better than every, and it's looking like we're gonna see some strong stories and ideas coming through in the women's division, ace stuff.

There's gotta be a swerve coming

Colin Locke reportedly said he 'would have smacked that twat, too', after OCW Superstar OWEN taunted America on the day of Roe v Wade's overturning. Get your 'Hot Storage Says Trans Rights' T Shirt and 'Master and Defeat (Pro) Life' elephant towels at OCWShop.com! Use code WORLDOFTANKS40 for your Pride Month discount, valid until Wrestlution!

Regarding the Rust/Quartz thing, while I rarely find l o r e a convincing argument for why something is rich and multilayered, this is pretty key. Tony's little bit earlier in the RP outlines the premise of the feud for people who aren't in the know, and then there's some extra context dotted around for those who are. I always see Lution as a celebration of OCW, it's the place where people can line up the stories that alienate some people with years of lore and pay off stories they've wanted to finish for ages. I fully expect to have several segments that make me feel like I have no clue what's going on, and as I result, I probably won't care as much as others about them, but there's other stuff on the show that'll shape the future, not everything has to be for everyone. In this particular RP though, while Rust saying he's gotta beat Quartz and then everyone else seemingly going 'alright then, onto the next character' might read weirdly, it's (ironically) sold by Quartz absolutely no selling it, which in turn forces Rust to show his arse a bit, as people aren't acting like his insults are really doing anything. Horse/Kass, meh, I don't mind it. I do think it's a shame that the 'fade out brawl' after the main event gave the show a definitive end, and then there was more, so it sort of made Horse/Kass feel like a post-credits scene. Then again, maybe that's a good way of putting it, the segment was far slower paced than what preceded it, and as there are several people saying it shouldn't have closed the show because they didn't feel it surpassed the main event, the main event itself wasn't necessarily undermined by it. No real harm done, the Carnivore entrance was a nice moment, and it'll be a fun time on Lution. And if it's not a fun time, it's one match in a longer show, no need to think about it after it's done if it wasn't your thing. Anyway, adding onto this, strong show all round. In terms of writing, I'm really enjoying the Terra/Sue stuff at the moment, and the catering promo might have been my favourite written RP on this show, you can feel the character just dripping out of every word, and I'm here for it, it's exactly the sort of thing that makes reading the werdz worth it, don't miss out. On the other hand, I'm kind of less convinced by Owen's characterisation coming into the match with him and Reese. Personally, I think the premise is sold by these guys just being meaty bois who are gonna just run into each other, and now I'm starting to read Owen as a heel, there's just something not aligning for me. It'll be a fun match, regardless, and I think there's a lot of ways it can go with Owen finding and defining his identity as a single's competitor, but Reese's title reign still has a lot in the tank, and I really like how it feels that Jamie's trying to give this title a strong identity as a 'big meaty men' division. Also, fuck me, Marcus is drinking a potentially magic potion that'll turn him (maybe? I hope so) back into the original sized Marcus, this is exactly the sort of content I come here for, and I really hope everyone joins in to sell how mysteriously huge he's gotten out of nowhere. My segment of the night, as silly as it is, was John Carter getting his arse kicked, Ry's really dining out on the fact he's figured out how to do intergender stuff, and I like John's willingness to be the butt of a joke, it's the perfect fun segment to go into a celebration like Lution. Overall, the matches were strong, and there were several incredibly strong matches that were tainted by FPR breaks, I think Joe and C Note was a solid match with a few strange edits, Claudio and Derek was a great time until some weirdness crept in towards the end, and Jasmine got a solid showcase in the women's tag, complete with her starting up a new meme, and the playing on Ted not calling the ropebreak was a really nice addition from a roleplay point of view. Also, I'd like to thank everyone in the 6 man tag for somehow sorting it all out despite this being the one week I wasn't available in the US time, and for everyone who went along with my stupid idea to make a show-wide sub-plot about the elevator being broken, was fun being a part of this week.

I dunno, I've properly shat on some things in my time here, and for most part I don't reckon people have taken it personally. There's a fair bit of criticism and responses to criticism on twice, discord, and whatnot, and it's nice to have an active discussion there. For this show, it'd be tough for me to review it, nothing was bad enough to need course correction, and the video stuff that was got called out immediately and sorted out, and I don't wanna just randomly praise things where I know I've not seen the full picture yet, especially if my praise is, essentially 'yeah, this was solid, let's see more'. Will say though, I think John Carter's dialogue is improving, maybe borders on the verbose in some areas ('Everytime the Wolves have stepped into the ring with The Wrestling Club it yields the same result' feels like a McMichaelism rather than a Carterism), but it's looking good. I'm really enjoying the tag division in general, I love that Cutlass are still doing stuff, the Karmine character is probably my favourite new thing of the new game so far. The only thing I was down on is Nier YorHa, as I mentioned in the VC, a YorHa unit is a robot in the Nier: Automata game, so as a character, it's kind of like someone debuting 'Star Wars Jedi'. I think they either need to go all in on the Nier thing, maybe adopt a YorHa designation (YorHa 6E or something), or go all in on the 'mystery' thing, take a one word name (if they're that in love with Nier, could go with Emil and I wouldn't be as bothered), and be mysterious. I do like some spooky bollocks, and it might be a direction for them to take. To end it well though, Deaver/Verde is such a fun time. It's not 100% polished, but it just makes me happy, I've got my eye on it for the future. Overall, not much I think needs course correction, and I'd rather see how the more fully formed things unfold before trying to add extra stuff to it. It's been nice seeing more discussions happen on discord, both good and bed, and it's nice to see people take it on the chin and not get arsey for most part if things aren't unanimously praised, I'm not overly worried about anything.

Not done one of these in a while, let's go! Storylines Rust and Tony have absolutely got me with this storyline. I've said in the past that Dominion as a thing kind of go in and out with me, sometimes I'm all aboard, sometimes I don't want it there and would prefer to see all the people individually do stuff, but this has paid off my attention whether I was high on it or not. Great, great roleplayers, Rust's promo took the cake for me tonight, I think he's playing this perfectly, and Tony is great to read, I'm really getting into his stuff. --- Terra and Sue! This is one of the few storylines that has ever made me legitimately nervous. It was really nice being a small part of this story, with the Harri/Ashley vs Sue/Terra match, and I love that this is doing something real. Sue's going mad on a body image issue, Terra's trying to hold things together, or so it seems, and while I know this stuff usually has a wholesome feel to it, these two do a great job at making me believe that this time it might not. Excellent story, one of the main ones I'm following. --- Kasstianity. Now, I've never been 100% sold on them, Kasstianity was before my time here, and their promo last week was a bit bare, but this one has more meat on the bone, and I now get how Furiosa works, I was slow, but finally I see what's going on. I will admit, I don't yet see how Kassidy is worth worshipping, and I am considering some weird fridge logic moments at the idea of their being a stable of women dedicated to worshipping a guy, but I wanna see where this goes, I think there's good potential with the handlers involved. It's definitely moving in more of a direction that I'm enjoying. Video Segments Jesus christ, the Colby/Maxx segment. Maxx is absolutely top tier on this game, and of the squashes tonight, I enjoyed his more, and it paired perfectly with this segment. Nothing more to say about it, I just wanna blow more smoke up its arse, it was really good, insane detail on the urine, absolutely the segment on the night. --- Now, I try to hide this, but I love metagame stuff, analysis, figuring out strategies and whatnot in any game, it's a fun passtime, so GOAT academy is right up my street with the replays. This, for me, serves two purposes, in character it sets up everything that goes into an OCW Match and an OCW wrestler, and on a meta level, it shows us how good an eye these handlers have for the game, that they can make a good segment out of a bad dodge that happened a week ago. I think there are some great rookies (alts or legitimate) that can be really made by this storyline if that's the way it's going, and regardless, I'm along for the ride, and I hope there's more content like this coming, I like seeing matches re-considered, even if a throwaway match might not have huge consequences in the moment. --- John, Marisa, Mac. Honestly, I think in this segment (and potentially in this story overall), I saw characters really find themselves. I love Nate and Marisa as this kind of biker gang couple, and while I think John can still definitely develop in terms of writing skills and storytelling (Maxx went into this better than I could have), nowadays I'm starting to feel a kind of self-awareness in his presentation that I hadn't over the course of last season. He's an absolute shitter, he is the in all but name leader of The Wrestling Club, but his style's looking more like an indie guy with a matador gimmick, he's desperate for titles and I think when it comes down to it, he wants to win, even if that means it's not 'wrestling'. This needs self awareness to pull off, John has it, and he clearly doesn't mind being smacked around and getting his comeuppance for the story. This segment gave every character more identity, and I'm all for it. --- Matches! THE MURDERS These are strange matches to rate. I enjoyed the Maxx match more than the Parca one, as Maxx honestly might be one of the most over people here, if not the absolute most over. If this season is about Maxx making everyone eat his shit until he is world champion, I don't care if Colin's gotta stay in a dungeon for the whole thing, it'll be a great time. I felt that Parca's squash might have been a styles clash, Cort is a brilliant roleplayer and 'character player', as is Parca, but the character of Parca is desperate to dominate, to keep the title at any cost, and it feels very much powered by insecurity, to an extent, which really contradicts Cort's more generous and slower pace as a character. A match like this could've been a great establishing moment for Parca, however, I feel that this match would've suited a PPV midcard, ending what could be an excellent story between the two of them, rather than main eventing a show. I think with that in mind, it adds to why I was a bit 'whelmed' by it, in comparison to the Maxx hype, I think Parca/Cort could've been a great call for a first defense with the work they both can put in, but it was what it was, and both guys can put on match of the night any other day in other circumstances. --- Triple Threat. John's dodging took me on a journey, it's like the Sideshow Bob rake scene. First it was 'oh fuck, John's found an OP thing again', then it was hilarious, then it was 'oh fuck, can someone smack everyone who dodges all the time', and then it was great again. I think Maxx is right that it looks 'gamey', but I also think he's right that John was the standout player here regardless. I'm gonna be blunt, I don't know how Danny competes for the world title off of this. Him leaving the ring is a meme, I don't think it's good character playing, and while I disagree with Maxx and think that 'Big dude who is actually a coward' can be a really subversive and nuanced character, and that Danny doesn't have to be a generic powerhouse, this would require writing to do. Any kind of semi-substantial writing at all, and I haven't seen that from him in a very long time, quite frankly. There were some fun spots in this match, I enjoyed it despite my critique, however, I can't shake the feeling that the match will border on being non-canon in the coming weeks. I do hope that John can do something with this, but I feel for him that 'I lost off a whiffed move' is a tough match finish to write around, I hope his ideas are better than mine. --- Final thoughts I'm really enjoying seeing people feel this game out. I do hope that the number of murders decreases with time, as I'm sure it will, and overall, I think we all did a great job doing more writing, adapting our segment work for the game, progressing stories, great stuff. I hope that this season lets more new characters emerge. I already really enjoy Viktor, Deaver's got that Myrath track that could win 'entrance theme of the year' with stronger audio mixing with time, Bishop's gonna have a bonkers rise with Maxx at the helm, and I hope they can really grab some opportunities, I wanna see titles flying all over the place this season, because I love the unpredictability and the kind of near-insanity that OCW delivers on, whether that's me committing war crimes on your brain cells for some of my less serious videos, watching bizarre glitches and whiffs on twitch with you all, or seeing a story unfold, told by some excellent, hard working handlers.

The camera is focused on a large metal door with a piece of paper that reads 'Harri Etiquette!' stuck to it with masking tape. A familiar voice is heard screaming. Harri: WHAAAAAT?! The scene changes to reveal Harri Etiquette standing in front of a television, watching the first match of Ambition start. She immediately scrambles around, rummaging through several bags, many of which are not hers. Harri: If someone's hidden my phone, I'm gonna slap the shit out of someone! Harri's phone is very clearly on the bench behind her, and she misses it every time she scrambles to empty another bag or container. Harri: That audio guy is trying TO FUCK ON ME. Harri sits down on the bench aggressively, folding her arms and sulking, not realising that she's just sat on her phone. Harri (grumbling to herself): You're telling me I did the flip and shouted at the lighting guy and sang along to my theme song in front of my adoring fans and don't even make it on tv this is bullshit. She looks around for a second before bouncing in surprise as her phone vibrates underneath her. Harri springs to her feet, grabs the phone and immediately starts talking. Harri: Hey, you, Mr. Ambition! Listen, you got a lot of ass to be reducing my screen time, how are any of these morons gonna know how many times you've gotta say Etiquette if the song doesn't tell you? And furthermore- Phone: Miss- Harri: -Don't you get smart with me, kid! You're gonna be fielding a lot of calls today, calls from unsuspecting people who were not ready to see Harri Etiquette (Etiquette, Etiquette) on their screens. They didn't hear the drums, they didn't sing along with the song, they're completely going in cold! This is the worst- Phone: MISS!- Harri: -No! You are gonna listen, because this is the worst creative decision since Jaws vs Predator, how do you mess up Jaws vs Predator? You've got the shark, you've got the thing that's not a shark, so tell me now, how do you not put my entrance music in Jaws vs Predator- I mean, the fatal four way? There is a moment of silence, and the man on the phone replies in a small voice. Phone: Miss Etiquette, we've had to leave your FedEx delivery with your neighbour as you weren't in earlier today. Harri stares at her phone blankly for a moment. Phone: ... Yeah. After a few seconds that feel like minutes, Harri silently hangs up the phone, gently places the phone beside her, and folds her arms again, continuing to sulk. Harri: I hate UPS.

Eh, I wouldn't condone using 'grey FPR' against people having some of their first matches here, regardless. Either way, I generally see FPR to be about trust, and if people constantly skirted the rules like that, it's a really quick way to break that trust and have matches go weird.

I think the main one I caught was around 9:20 where the guy punched you, you walked backwards, dodging his grab, and then you grappled him. I don't think many people were worried, as there were other weird things from RNR beforehand. I remember a lot of the debate being around you guys not ending the fight when Ricky went red, but I get that a lot of people have different views about how easy or not to go on rookies. Will post more thoughts on the whole thing soon!

I'm gonna try a full review of the videos and my favourite RPs, oh jesus Tag Team Title Match In terms of story, this match was always un-ruinable because every result can have stories coming from it. Mark Reese still has Parca to beat cleanly, and could've fought for the world title if he'd have lost the title, but as he's kept it, you get the in-fighting between Christian and The Artist Formerly Known As Wrex while Reese and Aisu get to continue the tag team reign, I really like the result. The match itself, solid, a good display of tag wrestling. I do think it's a bizarre call, both in and out of character, to have Ross soaking up the damage, and Christian not being asked to break the pin up, however, I'm not sure this match needed to be much longer. Short for a match with this many people in, relatively sweet, good job all. Summer Adventure Videos + RPs There's so much to unpack here. I enjoyed the general insanity and absurd nature of the videos, in the text, Hootsneyland just broke me more than it ever should have, I was dying, and considering this all served Emp's retirement, I loved how this brought some fun into what was, honestly, a really sad night towards the end. Well paced in general, I had fun with it. Colby vs Telos Now, I have to be honest. I think I was more invested in the incredible side plot of Thomas Archer being dead outside the ring than the actual match that was happening in front of me. Match wasn't bad by any means, I just think the Archer thing became a key aspect of it, I thought it was really creative, and in the ring, I'm interested in what Colby's doing, I think I need a bit more time to get to know Telos and what he's all about, and yeah, looking forward to seeing what both do in future. I am also really interested in the dead Archer story, I hope he gets well soon, or at least has a hell of a retirement match if he's gonna take a break with injuries. Hunter Promo He's calling out Davy Jones. The promo itself, fairly standard, but it didn't outstay its welcome, it had a point, and yeah, hopefully this story plays out and Hunter sticks around, I remember him being decent at the game, and hopefully the story can live up to that. Tucker vs Maxx This match was mental. The Simpsons' 'I'm gonna start kicking the air, and if you get hit, it's your own fault' felt relevant at several points, I still can't decide whether or not Tucker letting Maxx out of a pin he didn't kick out of was a good idea or not, but yeah. This match would've had to be an instant classic to live up to the promos that led to this match, so I can't complain too much, I loved the segments, and while it was a bit rough around the edges, it was a solid match that went for a regular length of time and it was a lot of fun to watch in the viewing party. Iceman Interview I agree that this needed some editing, but there's a definite charm to Iceman's manic energy, and if he's bringing in a multiple personality aspect, I'm all for it as long as it's a bit clearer. I think it'll be interesting seeing a feud using Marisa as a MacGuffin, as she is one of the strongest characters here in her own right, so this story has the potential for some twists and turns, maybe Marisa gets rid of Asher and the feud becomes more to do with Asher being pissed off that Nate ruined his relationship, or something, who knows. I'm game for this story already, let's see what happens. Christian and Ross promo I enjoyed this RP. I do think that the 'Recognise El Primero' stuff has a definite sell-by date if Christian wants to make an impact on his own, but he writes well, and he bounced off of Ross brilliantly. I like how Ross seems a bit more of a mercenary, he's just paid to be there, he doesn't 'recognise', or what have you, and I think this has brought a brilliant dynamic into DDE. Now we know without a doubt that it's 100% about the money, and the personal relationships are secondary, Ross becomes a bit of a wild card, and if he beats Christian in a one on one sometime, I'll be interested to see how that affects the Christian/Parca relationship. Mugen vs Cort This, for me, was the ultimate viewing party match. It was crazy, so much stuff was happening, things were botched, fun moments appeared naturally, like Cort flailing his legs, and this made the well executed spots (when they happened) a lot more enjoyable for it. The near falls were legitimately tense, Cort looked great, this match felt like everything I want a Mugen match to be, just a really fun time, and a brilliantly booked match to work with the ongoing global situation that stopped the previously booked match from happening. John vs H20 I have two main thoughts about this. One of them's very much in-character, the other is a sweaty meta nightmare, so I'll put them in two sectionss, so if you wanna skip the boring metagame crap, you can. --- good in character story things In character, we saw John, who always presented himself as a big heel, bragging about his dirty wins, get torn to pieces clean. Not only that, we saw the character visibly panic and be punished for it. I really hope that this can be reflected in story, because, booking wise, you couldn't have ended Carter's reign better. I'm not sure I'd have wanted him to have the 'damn, I fight good, but you fight gooder let's shake hands' title change, he's been a real bastard to Chris Greene, he's let things get to his head, and I hope John can write a good frustration/redemption arc here, it's got so much potential. Also, I love watching H20 play, he's a strategy masterclass, but the meta nerd stuff comes later. --- sweaty metalgame nerd crap In terms of the game itself, this match just made me think, it's definitely time for John to retire the running knee. In the podcast, Jake mentioned that this match exposed John Carter, and I think that's both in and out of character. H20 came at him with everything he had, chaining combos, and when John started panicking and running, H20 seemed to take that as permission to do the same thing himself (which I agree with, I've done similar in matches with excessive running), and he was quicker to the punch on everything. John fights with a similar kind of strategy to Parca, but unlike Parca, he didn't adapt when he was faced with a counterplay. For me, the tension of this match came from 'Will John hit an unblockable running knee out of nowhere after being outplayed', rather than 'Will he outplay H20', and for me, that's a shame, as John is genuinely a good player, and we've seen that he can put work in on the character front. I think he'd have an easier time rebuilding if he used that signature Electric Chair as a finisher and let the knee take a backseat for a bit, so we can see him stand and wrestle, rather than panic and sprint. I think this period of rebuilding will be more important than his actual title reign, so I hope he improves in all ways and comes back stronger from this match with a different approach, rather than coming back to do the same thing and get the same reactions. OCW studios I'm glad people loved this, and I'm looking forward to being on camera as OCW's disgruntled music producer, so yeah, new video format, everyone get their wrestlers into the OCW studios. P3 Bonanza I loved this, I really did. I mentioned Hootsney World before, but this segment had a perfect mixture of absurdist comedy and genuine emotion behind it, just like the videos. I think people who've been around longer than I have have already said how great Emp is, and put it far better than I could have, but yeah, there's something about this promo that got me rereading it over and over again. Really well done, amazing stuff, the pictures were fantastic, and Hootsney World is definitely the silliest thing I've laughed at on this site. Parca vs Tony This was a fantastic match, all in all. Parca getting thrown through the barricade, the repeated drains to zero reversals, the finisher kickout, it was everything a world title match should be, and it's exactly the kind of match we expected these two to have. Top level play by both, and Tony got the sort of title defense that will really solidify him as champion. I can't wait to see who he fights next, and I feel like Parca still has momentum and could potentially challenge again for a world title later down the line, so yeah, great match, great result. This will, no doubt, add some complications to the DDE storyline, and it'll also give some more fuel to Dominion, as they're clearly not done yet. Dragana vs EMP This match is inseparable from the story. This is one of my favourite things I've seen here because it wasn't overshadowed by any means, and the match didn't take on a life of its own. It was a really good match that, in context, became a really important match, despite the outcome clearly being the title being handed over via cash-in. It was great in the viewing party, as I feel like we were all watching with this sort of bittersweet interest, and that made it so easy to play along, as while it felt obvious where the title would end up, getting to see whether or not Emp wins her last match here, potentially ever, gave it far higher stakes than just being for the title. I will never not enjoy Emp's sigs and finishers, and the final pin felt monumental, without getting overdramatic on things. I loved this, I really did. The retirement wasn't too much, it was perfectly done, and the cashin was well executed. Big moment for the women's division, and I can't wait to see more. Also, La Hamburglar, fuck, my sides. --- Night 2 Colin vs Tre Jesus that crowd counts fast. Gotta thank Tre for working with me here, I really enjoyed the match, really enjoyed the story, he was fantastic to work with, and I really enjoyed the booking leading up to this storyline with the tag matches, the Quartz match, so yeah, thanks to everyone involved in that! Also, thanks to the commentary team, that call on the finish is the kind of thing that makes me love this place, feels really good to hear matches being called that brilliantly. Pirate times ARRR. Yeah, looks like Davy Jones is a demon form rather than a guy, so I'm really excited to see more. Everyone loved Rated Arrr Superstar, including me, and I hope I'd get to see him with all the pirate-y stuff going on round here. Triple Threat Match Oh jesus this was meaty. I'll agree that Owen split up moves a little too much, but there were some great janky animations that came from moves just falling apart. This match was unpredictable throughout, I love that they went all in on the slams and chops, and it was impressive that they did this without making the match sluggish. Owen's getting better every time I see him, though, and I have high hopes for him, and hopefully Derek keeps going with this win, as I do like what I've been seeing from him. Good stuff, all in all. Drunk Flojo Yeah, this was alright. Mad to watch with the viewing party. The content of the promo itself, I'm not mad keen on, looks like we've got Terra/Flo on our hands, which will be a fun time, and I hope that'll put Flojo back on track, as I've really enjoyed the character in the past. Nate vs Blacksmith Again, I think this was a viewing party match. In isolation, I can see why watching the two fight over who gets to use the accendi table for ages, only for the table to give us an I AM THE TABLE moment would be a bit dull, but it was a riot on VC. I can't say I didn't have fun with the match, I was howling at points, but I don't know if I can say it was a good match. Last Man Standing matches look fundamentally broken, but with Iceman playing such a mad character in his live action promos, I'd love to see him run with the most insane moments of this match, him no selling huge moves, him being too cold to use an accendi table (dig it), and refusing to go down for any length of time until he had no choice. A lot of story stuff to pull from here. Also, while I'm not a fan of the shiny latex costume, I think Satanic Mantis Red works, being all horrible and thrown together as an aesthetic. I just hope there's some good writing to come from this, and some good in game playing, too. KD Promo KD is coming from the darkness and we're all sissays. I don't have too much to say about this, it was good, and I like KD, I wanna see how he bounces back from the Quartz match. Baker vs H20 I love that we now have a one day long title reign, it's great. Slightly embarassed that I didn't recognise my own mashup of Alive/Audacity, but I like how H20's character model reflects Carter's piledriver spam, and I like how this match differed from the Night One match in that it was a full on wrestling competition, rather than destruction derby but with people. I loved the irony of the Rocket Kick ending after H20 came out to his tag theme, both guys looked strong, particularly with H2O pulling double duty, and I think the decision to make this for the title was a stroke of genuis, it made perfect sense considering the result. Great playing from both, and a great bonus to cap off this story and take the Light Heavyweight belt in new directions before the end of the season. Marisa vs Valk Marisa has improved so much. Seriously. She played the perfect heel here, as while we were all behind Valk, we also knew that she had competition. This wasn't a bad guy getting their comeuppance while we all cheer and laugh, Marisa put up a fight, she brought out some real wrestling moves, and I think that when her in ring skills improve a little more and she can pick up some wins, she'll be able to add a whole new dimension to her character, which I'm excited to see. Valk's brilliant, sign me up for a Valk Crate. Really enjoyable match, and these two just worked together brilliantly, the match absolutely lived up to its build. Masterfully done. Quartz vs Bobby Quartz continues his undefeated stre-awwww. Quartz starts a second streak, potentially, I really enjoyed this match. It felt like a competitive title match as well as a really aggressive blood feud match, which is always difficult to balance. I feel like the difference between Quartz and Bobby in this match made Quartz' strong, powerful style even more apparent, and gave the match more dimensions than just 'here's Quartz, he's dominant', which is always fun, I love discovering stuff about characters and how they work in matches, it makes it more than just a game. These guys just went for it, which kept the pace going, and might've been my favourite match of the night if it wasn't for what came right after. Rust vs Nate Best match I've seen here. I feel bad that there's not much to say about these good matches, it's so much easier to say why something's bad, but nah, this match was perfect, it's the pinnacle of what FPR can do with this game. Nate's non-resilience kickout was immense, and the exact sort of moment this match needed, both guys were on top form and resilient, and commentary sold this whole thing flawlessly. I particularly liked how both of these guys just went for it from start to finish, the finishers weren't a foregone conclusion after a lengthy reversal draining battle, they came out of nowhere, and it's part of what made this one of my favourite things to have experienced during my time in OCW. Awesome stuff. Genuinely fantastic. Love this place.

As you browse YouTube, scrolling past repeated recommendations for 'Steven Goth Insults Anso Love', a curious video with the thumbnail of a shocked presenter catches your eye. You click on it. Aaron: Goooood afternoon, everyone! Aaron Willis here from WhereCulture, and here is some news! Sometime after tonight's Riot, OCW Superstar Colin Locke was seen placing a pre-order on a Valkyrie Crate. According to reports, the storage-hunting wrestler was quoted as saying that he 'doesn't mind supporting Valk', as he 'likes what he's seen of her stuff'. He goes on to say that while he isn't a fan of Funko Pops, he 'may as well go for it', as it might 'keep his Monokuma Funko Pop company', whatever that means. Aaron: More news on these, and other industry shattering revelations as they appear, until then, smash that like button, subscribe, and ring the bell for all of your wrestling news! You do not smash the like button. Or maybe you do, I don't know your life.

Very good show. I do think that the show didn't potentially live up to the promise of the card with some repetitive bits happening, but that's about 90% due to the nature of the site more than anyone's mistakes, people are gonna get the same ideas about finishes, comp is gonna comp, etc, so yeah, I really enjoyed it overall. I do have two concerns regarding the non-finishes, so I'll get the stuff I wasn't convinced by out of the way before I gush about the really good stuff. Parca and Reese Going into this match, it could've gone any way, and while I respect that the ball punch happened, I'm not convinced it did more for the match. I think with the stage we were at in the match, if Parca would've held on and pulled out the win, that would've been a huge moment, it would've strengthened his claim to Tony's title, and it wouldn't have hurt Reese. However, if Reese had continued his dominance and beat Parca, that would have been a huge moment for him. I have total, utter faith in both these guys as writers, though. It looked like Parca was saying this feud had so much more in it, and I believe that, I could see this leading to Reese vs Parca for the world title in future, or, at the very least, a huge, definitive feud ender at a big show once the next game rolls around. My main concern there, is that there are so many moving parts. While I know these guys will tell a hell of a story, anything can happen here, so dragging it out puts it at unnecessary risk when we're currently not sure of how the new game will be, and how much it will shake up the card, I wanna see some new main eventers stomping up there in the next few months. These guys do great stories, though, and I just hope that their hard work isn't affected by things that we can't predict when the payoff was theirs for the taking here. Nate vs Watts I'll preface this by saying this; Prove me wrong. I would love for this whole Dominion arc to knock my socks off, as it's constantly threatening to, it's had some shining moments, and with the aftermath of Nate/Rust in this match, it got there, I was right back in there. What I will say, is with this DQ finish, I feel that maybe Nate was being very generous protecting Danny from the clean loss. With how results have fallen in the last few months, I think the Danny Watts character has had so many opportunities to react to what is going on in OCW, really get into the character's headspace, tell us who he is, how he's feeling, and what's changed, and I don't think those opportunities have been taken as much as they could have been. We've only really seen childish anger from him so far, which, while I like that angle, him being a large, violent guy in the ring who is surrounded by more dominant figures, I wanna see motives, I wanna see how he feels about more stuff. I feel like a clean loss would not have hurt him, and I feel like if he's still not feeling 100% confident in his writing, he'd have an easier time with a simple 'I lost and need to get my mojo back story' than he'd have with the more nuanced Dominion stuff, particularly with Nate being the commanding presence that he is. With Nate, you cannot take your foot off the pedal when you're writing with him. I wanna see all members of Dominion talking, writing, doing stuff, particularly if Nate's authority is becoming more questionable with each beat of the story. Weeeell... Well it's the best stuff dudu dudu Well fuck me if Cort vs Dane wasn't one of the best matches I've seen in ages. I remember when I first came in here, Parca/Aisu was held as the kind of 'gold standard' OCW match that you must watch, and with the new patch notes and stuff, I think we've found a new one. Cort's sloppiness towards the end with that major not ending the match got a lot of attention, but I feel this match required a different headspace. Not so much 'Are they doing the right thing on the sticks', and more 'what's this character doing'. I vaguely remember Jay saying that he booked Consequence based on what matches he wants to see and knows will be good, and I imagine that's why some feuds made this show and other's didn't, and I think this match is the best example of that idea taking full form. Amazing, amazing match. It's got me side-eyeing my Xbox and mashing stock checkers on the Series X to fight Cort in the future. I don't have enough words to say about this, bloody brilliant. Emp becomes the main character of Consequences. As a full package, Emp stole the show for me. Her RP with Ashley was excellent, I think this show had the best P3 segment I've read so far, and Emp vs Terra lived up to all of my expectations. Not only that, she had the best retirement of the night, and that was kind of bittersweet, as everyone else retired previously, but it says it all about Emp's character, and how well liked she is here, that even with everyone and their mum announcing their retirement here, hers still stood out. Brilliant. Valk promising to return and the Marisa/Valk story I'm 100% sold on Marisa/Valk. Marisa and Valk both do a great job with their videos, but, I'm a writing guy through and through, I've gotta see werds bruh to seal the deal after I get interested in the visual stuff, and Valk's promo showed why this feud works. It's got everything, the videos that keep things immediately present, and the written work that lets you get a deeper dive into the character's heads. I love this, I want every feud to be this, it's amazing. Valkyrie usually has so much production surrounding her, and so much character, that seeing her break things down into 'we're gonna hurt each other' has a huge impact, and I'm excited for their match, but, more than anything, I'm excited to see what the characters do following that match. Marisa has a lot on her plate, with Asher not being too happy as well, so I think we're gonna get some top storytelling here, I love it. Tony vs Parker This match could not have been scripted better. After beating B17, Tony didn't just need a win to solidify his rein, he needed the. Maybe not one against someone on his level, but an absolute murder that shows that he is head and shoulders above a lot of people here. I watched this match with my mouth open, going 'stop he's already dead', and to have Parker that beaten, and Parker losing because of his beaten his body was, rather than because he took a huge move... Yeah, just... Christ. People always say not everything needs to be a million stars in the Tokyo Dome, and this sort of match is what they mean, the story is clear, the dynamic is there, it's why I love this place, genuinely. Give me Tony leveling up and being the new B17, it'll be so good. Also 'They should call him Daddy Long Legs, but I'm not here to argue' was a great commentary bit. Caine vs H20 I really like Caine, he's a great character, great guy to work with, and still one of the hardest fights I've had here, so seeing him beaten so throughly, followed by his retirement, followed by the ball punch, this was a sad time for me. Caine held on as long as he could in this match, and while it wasn't exactly a back and forth affair, but Caine kept threatening to come back into the match, it stayed engaging, and the ending sequence was smooth as hell with H20's running finisher. H20 also had some pretty decent promos on the show, so I'm looking forward to seeing him come in as a bigger presence now he's building his momentum back, there are a load of matches I'd love to see. Overall thoughts Yeah, great show. Some good RP work all around, special mentions go to Val's thing, as while I have no clue what her character is right now, she's moving in the right directions, and if she can stick to it, she could be very good. Maxx's videos are always a treat, Archer's big promo was a highlight, and I'm enjoying what DDE are doing right now. I really enjoyed Cort and Jehst's promo too, genuinely, read the show, I think the writing was tight, very little outstayed its welcome, and it's the most digestible show I've read in a while because of it. Amazing work, everyone.

El Parca vs Mark Reese Reese has got this, I think. If I was gonna predict how the match would go, I reckon we'll all think Parca is ahead, he'll be playing the more 'optimal' game, he'll have kept his +Reversal and all that, and then Reese will win out of absolute nowhere and we'll all go mental for it. This is one of the matches I'm most excited about. AC Cobra vs. Kassidy Hayes vs. John Carter Kass wins this one and gets the only falls in the match. John's running finisher might swing things in his favour, but I do not think he's leaving with that belt, genuinely, the odds are too stacked against him here. Danny Watts vs. Nate Ortiz Ortiz takes it Dane Xavier vs. Cort Marshall Ah, this'll be a fun one, both entertaining guys who can play in character. That said, I think Cort takes this one, but either result would be great, I think Dane could go some great work off a win, but we'll see, again, it's Cort for now. Solomon Caine vs. H2O I always say Caine is one of, if not the most underrated players here, and it'd be silly to overlook him. That said, H2O has a fair bit to prove here, and I reckon he's gonna really bring it and pull out the win. Either way, this will be a close match, and I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up being match of the night. KD vs Quartz o lawd. I'm hyped for this match and can't call it. With resilience, KD can take this match off of pure attrition, but Quartz is probably the most dominant guy at the moment. Quartz wins, but the match will have everyone screaming and barely able to keep it together on some of the near falls. Elliot Parker vs. Tony Everrett Parker takes it, I'm choosing chaos here. Tony's a very good player, but not infallible, and if there was one time that Elliot's luck can come in and change things, it'll be this. I'm not sure if I genuinely believe Elliot wins, but imagine him winning the belt with B17's finisher? Bonkers. Give me it. EMP vs. Terra This is a tricky one. I really want EMP to win, the gingerbread attire won me over, but I think Terra might have it. This has quickly become one of my favourite stories going into Consequences, and the main attraction of the whole show, and I can't commend this enough, this sort of thing is what OCW is about, and I wouldn't even mind seeing this story expand and continue, or get revisited later down the line. For now, though, I think Terra takes the title, and we'll get so enjoy EMP chasing it again and telling other fun stories somewhere down the line.

A video with a thumbnail of Colin Locke lying on the ground after tonight's match, holding his face with COLIN LOCKE INJURED?! in bold red text appears in your Youtube Subscriptions section. Curious, you open the video and click play, and WhereCulture's Aaron Willis appears onscreen. Aaron: Gooood evening everyone, I'm Aaron Willis from WhereCulture Wrestling, and HERE IS SOME NEWS! A hastily put together slideshow of the closing moments of the tag team match appears on screen. Aaron: Viewers appeared worried after Colin Locke was shown looking wobbly and holding his eye after failing to put his fookin hands up to block Tre Golden's punch after receiving a violent eye rake beforehand. While rumours of facial damage, concussions, and all manner of things have flooded the internet over the past hour, we can confirm that Colin is cleared to wrestle, he is uninjured, however, he will be taking things easy with his left eye for a while. The camera cuts to Aaron, who is reading off of a piece of paper. Aaron: The former International Champion was apparently quoted as saying that he was 'Alright, but his eye just hurts a bit, maybe some sleep with do some good', and claimed that Tre Golden was 'An actual donkey, going for my eye like that'. Well, there you have it! Tune in for more wrestling news, I've been Aaron Willis, and make sure you ring the bell, hit subscribe, and watch some more videos while you're here! You click another video entitled '10 Things You've Forgotten About OCW Consequence', closing the video and feeling slightly more informed about the backstage details of OCW.

I feel like I've gotta cheat and talk about more videos, as here, the videos really shone. First you had the court bit, which was just bonkers. The whole thing being resolved when The Judge revealed that he watches tv sounds like something I'd come up with, I loved it, and it says a lot about the quality of this show that a janky paper cutout animation wasn't my favourite bit to watch. I'm getting a real soft spot for live action promos, both Quartz and Iceman brought it, and I love seeing people having the confidence to do this stuff. It's great fun to watch, Iceman's chaotic energy fills out his character, and Quartz really captured the over the top anime villain feeling I get when I read his stuff, liked it. Of course, the best thing was the sauna promo. This just kept giving with the floating cards, the shit eating grin on the guy's face when Maxx got kicked out, the fact that there was an engaging segment that was essentially about one guy having a better spa pass than the other one. Fantastic, loved it. In terms of matches, I've become a massive Emp fan recently with all the sweets references, the attires, the segments, and, I'm just gonna throw this out there, I think she's got the best theme music in all of OCW, I'll always have a fun time with her matches. For me, in terms of matches, Emp/Evelyn was the most fun I had watching through. I will echo was Maxx said, though. The writing was fine across the board, there wasn't much that stood out, and as we potentially lost a day due to the site outage, I won't harp on it too much, but I just find it a bit disappointing when I say 'Oh wow, I like this, I wanna read more of this character/story/etc to see where it's going', and then I see people with either one line of dialogue, or just going missing on the writing front. It's a shame, I just wanna see a bunch of words in a row, they don't even need to be good, nothing's good every single time, I just wanna see more of the things that show promise. To end it on a good note though, I did enjoy Emp/Ashley, Aisu, and Everett's promos, scanning through the show to make sure I didn't miss anything and that I'm happy whacking my opinions up, these are the main promos that I just had to come back to to get into them more. Strong characterisation across the board, the champions are wearing their titles well, and I really like the Aisu character in written form in general.