Infinity Mondays
Feedback – Infinity #1
Hello
everyone The Copycat Kid here, Infinity founder and current COO. I welcome you
all to the first edition of my Copy Room;
the first installment discusses the feedback from the first Infinity Wrestling Federation show that happened August 5th
2013 and there is no better person to do it than the King of Character himself.
I will even announce my first promo of the week once I am done with analysing
the matches.
My
congratulations to all the winners and condolences to those who were
unfortunate in their first endeavor but do not feel disheartened this is only
the start of your journey. By now most or all of you have asked about the
feedback, and I am happy to say there will be feedback from every show. Not
wasting any more time let’s get down to some serious business with this week’s
show.
For
the purposes of this segment I will be breaking my kayfabe gimmick, this
feedback is directly concerned with character promos/scripts/role-plays the
roster had submitted for their matches and how the show writers (and
consequential) judges came to decide on the winners of the matches. But before
I get into each match, I will refresh you with the promo criteria that I had
written for the Promo Guide in the
Developmental page of the Infinity website. I use this as a reference point to
consider when I am judging promos, some points are more important than others
but a well-rounded promo has all or most of these things.
Good Promos:
·
Grabs
the reader’s attention and imagination
·
Direct,
relevant to the match you are in
·
Written
well, with good grammar and fitting writing style for your character
·
Interesting
to read, original, innovative
·
Adds
a new piece of story that improves Infinity City
·
Shows
your knowledge of the Infinity City, whilst also interlinking with its living
story
·
Complements
your character/gimmick, and puts them over
·
Keeps
to your alignment (Heel/Face/Tweener etc.)
·
Dialogue
used well
·
Balanced
in regards to length of promo
Bad Promos:
·
Copied
or heavily plagiarised (cheaters will face consequences)
·
Indirect,
not relevant to the match you are in
·
Poor
use of grammar and chosen writing style for your character
·
Boring
and unoriginal
·
Adds
little or degrades the story of the Infinity City
·
Shows
poor knowledge of the Infinity City, nor does it link to the living story
·
Contradicts
your character/gimmick, doesn't put them over
·
Does
not keep to your alignment (Heel/Face/Tweener etc.)
·
Dialogue
badly used, large unbroken chucks of solid text
·
Unbalanced
in regards to the length of the promo
You
can check out the Infinity Developmental page here where you can learn how to
build amazing promos, characters, and more! http://www.infinitywrestling.net/#!infinitydevelopmental/c1a4e
There
are some other things that I also take into consideration when reading a promo,
and that is after the reading the promo I ask myself what I can remember of the
promo.
Promo Length
There
have been issues with the submitted promos when management were judging them that
I thought I’d bring up, and in many cases has hindered people’s chances of
winning their respective matches. Many people did introductory short promos, I
won’t namedrop but one thing I mentioned in my Promo Guide was that in order for a promo to be short enough it
needed to be relevant, interesting, and possessing many of the good criteria stated
above. Anything short of that and it was just a waste of time as there will be
most likely no chance of a match being won.
Finding
balance between what is long or short enough or what defines quality is what I
mean by promo length. Make your promos as long as they need to be, just don’t
deliberately underplay yourself with a super short promo that has no chance of
winning and which doesn’t include barely any content to be actually judged on,
by this I mean about a paragraph and a half that has no real value to your
match or your chances of winning. Matt Rydell, Adrian Flynn, and Chris Michaels
had a really good promo length if you want to check out theirs on the Promo
Scripts page…all were long enough to include everything I was looking for in a
really good promo, they were long enough to feel satisfied after reading, they
were just right. What I liked about their promos was that there was no
excessive waste and they got straight into the reason for promoing/roleplaying
in the first place: to win matches. A shorter style promo also frees up your
time, gives you some structure, and if you are writing just for the sake of
writing a tonne of words then what does
it really achieve at the end of the day?
We
don’t expect hefty or huge essays, if I was to see a twenty page promo I might
actually cry where I was sitting. Not because of the time I would waste, but
because I know someone would have wasted their time constructing a promo which
would quite frankly frustrate me and I would end up hating it. Super-long is
very bad. If you are familiar with e-feds online currently, then you may know
that there is a reputation for excessively long promos and at Infinity we think
that is unnecessary as we don’t have strict expectations over the need to write
ridiculously long submissions that dishearten people if they lose.
My
advice would be to write a promo about 3-4 A4 pages long, when you get to
writing it those pages will fill up in no time at all and you should feel
confident that is enough to clinch a good result in your match. This template is
short and long enough for the reader of your promo to feel satisfied and
wanting more and not getting bored or frustrated. Alternatively 2-4
pages/entries/parts on the promo-scripts forum is roughly the same amount as
3-4 A4 pages.
Grammar Mistakes
It
may not be the most important factor in the arsenal of promo judging but good
grammar can go a long way to give good first impression, a well written piece
can really make it easier for the judger to see that you took your time to
seriously write your promo. One major pitfall of many people is not to use a
spellcheck, some words if not corrected can have a whole new meaning and can
actually a stop a really good read in its tracks. Just be careful people, it’s
the little things that add up in a promo. Everyone had at least one grammar
mistake so this is message to the entire roster for the future just to keep it
classy.
Dirty Laundry – New Additions to the Infinity City
website
Right
peeps, before I move onto the match there is a quick announcement to be made:
management is working to add a part to the website where you can view these
things:
·
Promo Board: You’ll be able
to view your current promo score and the performance and statistics of each
Infinity show and PPV
·
Win-Loss Records: A basic
rundown of individual win-loss-draw records, but only that…download the more
comprehensive sheet and make your own record for your time in the Infinity City
·
Promo Compilation: After each show I am
compiling all the promos that have been written, because promos are a part of
the living story they are valuable and an excellent source of reference. The
first one will be up ASAP!
Now,
what you have all been waiting for. I will be discussing all seven matches that
took place on Infinity #1. I hope you find this feedback useful for making
improvements in the future. Please try to read all the match comments, being
the King of Character I learnt by reading over peoples feedback and haunted my
opponents strengths and weaknesses, maybe you can learn something too by
reading everyone else’s feedback.
-
-
Match One:
Murray Muir vs. Matt Young
What a match to kick off Infinity #1 to, Murray Muir and Matt Young had a compelling
match with two really good promos. Murray Muir won this match, and he moves
onto the next stage of the world championship tournament. This match surprised
me, as Matt Young’s prior reputation for promos had everyone assured of a
Murray victory, that however was not the case. Management read Young’s, then
Muir’s promo. After reading Matt Young’s promo I was asking myself if Damien
had produced a great promo, because he would need it.
I
will start with Matt Young’s promo as I read it first, and he had produced a
well written promo with only a few grammar mistakes which I like to see.
Young’s promo was a short and sweet read, and very enjoyable. The length of the
promo was ok, but it could benefit from being a little bit longer to add some
content that further elaborates the points he had made in his promo. Young does
very well to state his case for winning the championship, why he is relevant
compared to the rest of the Infinity roster, and why moving out of tag team
wrestling and onto the next stage of his career is important, and it was nice
to see it in his promo, having read his promos in UBW it is good to see he has
advanced his writing skills. There were things though that could be done to
improve what was already there, and things he could have done differently to
make a good impact. One thing me and Robbo discussed was his breaking of the
fourth wall, Matt…if you are reading you state in your promo that “but after reading your character profile”
when addressing Murray Muir. We believe that this isn’t such a bad thing, but
it could have been done differently, for example, “after I researched into Murray’s past” would be much better to use.
Young has broken the fourth wall many times, as a kayfabe character this can be
a sloppy technique, another case was when he referenced “Bebo wrestling” when he should have used the “Bebo Wrestling Network” instead to add some nice kayfabe in the mix
of his promo, it may sound like I am picking holes but it took away from the
focus of the character bubble by piercing through it to reference the ‘real
world’. As long as Young pays attention to this matter his promos should read
much better. Overall, Young had a direct and relevant submission, which kept to
his alignment, displayed knowledge of the City to his advantage, but despite
what I loved about his promo he would fall short this time round for a simpler
reason. His first promo in Infinity was an introduction promo and lacked enough
content to include everything I was looking for in a winning promo that Murray
had achieved in his. There was nothing wrong with his promo, in fact it was a
refreshing read, and got him into the Power Rankings as a result. My advice to
Young would be to be more edgy, and infuse his promo with some good old fashion
sizzle and spice to get to the next level that he desires to reach. There was
no giant punch factor that every
promo needs to have a reader remembering his promo. With a little bit more bite
and content Matt Young could be the serious competitor contending for
championships all year round.
Moving
onto Muir’s promo there was little I could fault him on when I read it, he
ticked all of the criteria I was looking for and made for a really thrilling
promo as it got more into it. I could tell Muir was writing better as he went
along, the latter parts were a much better quality. It was nicely broken up
into readable sections with no massive blocks of texts and was a good length
too which made me wanting more after I finished it. Like Young he states his
case for winning the championship, and that his character is a novice looking
to prove himself. I loved his character involvement and cast, which made it
into a real story, but the one thing I loved about Muir’s promo was that he Uses
profanity bizarrely well, beats the cliché and we read lots of promo’s where it
is very cringe-worthy. This didn’t come off as cringe at all. Story was a
rollercoaster ride, and very entertaining read. Even though there could be some
improvements naturally, but there were many shocks and twists throughout the
story, and it culminated in a really good finish and a really amazing finish to
the promo that captivated my attention. Some of the mistakes to clean up on
include:
-
Dialogue: Could make it
more obvious who is talking, it is hard to follow when dialogue is used in
places, like when the first speech used.
-
Grammar: Change all
numbers such as‘50’ to ‘fifty’.
-
Many
UBW PPV references
-
Thought
Italics: When Muir is thinking in his head, it is easier for the reader to identity
them when they are in italics.
Match Two: Chris
Michaels vs. Adrian Flynn
This
match had both judges pulling their hair out, we knew it was coming, but we
read two fantastically written promos. Adrian Flynn won this match because of
the finish to Chris Michaels promo, in which he had breached Adrian’s kayfabe
character by having a story where he was sleeping with Jaden, which we learn
after Flynn wakes up from his dream. We believed that if Chris did not include
this, and instead included a piece where he woke up to his wife and family,
realising he had everything Flynn didn’t…would have won him the match. Both of
their promos were really good length, and included everything we were looking
for in the criteria (which is why it won match of the week). Furthermore both
promo’s had a very good style and were easy on the eyes to read.
Adrian
Flynn used very good imagery used throughout, and absolutely no grammar
mistakes.
There
was a slow build up, but has lots of emphasis on the real issue at hand which
kept it relevant and direct. Incorporates his creations in the City well
(characters, locations, etc.).
And
his dialogue is used well; he creates believable conversations and characters,
a very grounded approach which gives Adrian authenticity. Mentions Bebo past,
tournament, and Michaels being a big deal which was nice to read. Overall, it
had a big fight feel…like boxing…what is important is one match at time; dilemmas
of wrestling, injuries, families, responsibility, a realistic setting. Adrian
doesn’t need to be out of this world. There is no mincing around with who he
is. The highlight of this promo for me was the Alexis character, Adrian’s wife.
Seeing a more desperate side to Adrian could really spice up his character, I
know Kasey will be reading this so as the main point of critique on a character
level I will say that when a hero is challenged with a moral dilemma or set of
choices they’ll always cross paths with many dark moments and acts of
desperation, a deeper inner conflict would make the Adrian character a very
formidable man. The only other thing I would mention is that Adrian’s promo could
do better with more reference to Chris, from the whole scouting out point of
view.
Chris
Michaels has a behind the scenes feel to his promo, this is stuff that
wrestlers do together…there is a vivid scene about what is going on right now.
Batman vs. Clark got the big match feel about it. Talks issues with the
wrestlers injuries, his injuries, I could even recommend that Chris needed to
say to Flynn that he was taking his life for granted. Bit about fans being
selfish is really good…really deep character, on character he knows he is a
work, and he doesn’t live up to his alter ego. The writer puts across Chris
Michaels being a veteran very well, who can see through Flynn’s masquerade.
Questions Adrian being a hero and he keeps Flynn in character for the most part,
which is amazing to read.
Well
written, Michaels personal dialogue is better than Flynn’s, however Flynn’s
other character dialogue is better than Michaels other character dialogue. Dream
bit of his promo was really good, but there was more reality of the situation
in the dream than in the reality itself. From a reading point of view it is
good, but also confusing, as he puts Flynn out of character…if on the other
foot that was Chris waking next to his wife realising that he had everything
Flynn didn’t have at the moment. Ending made it easier for us to make a
decision that we before reading were going to struggle to make. Chris wrote a
solid promo, and as already said only an improvement to the ending would have
secured him victory.
Match Three: Jack
Anderson vs. Taylor Westfall
There
is not a lot to say about this match really, Jack Anderson failed to submit a
promo which was disappointing, which left Taylor Westfall with the easy task of
doing something, anything…to win the match.
But
for the sake of commenting on what I read, I will be honest, I knew that this
was a minute long botch promo…the writer even told us himself. It may have been
enough to win Taylor the match, but because I don’t know the true extent of
either of these people’s abilities my judgement on their character will be
misleading. I am intrigued though what Taylor will do against Lucian Shannon on
the next Infinity though. A word of warning though…Taylor’s promo was easily
forgettable, short, had plenty of grammar mistakes, and if, just if Jack
Anderson were to promo last second with a better piece of work then there is a
no shadow of a doubt that this promo would have not been enough to see Taylor
through to the next round.
Match Four: Lucian
Shannon vs. Craig Anderson
The
final match in the IWF World Championship tournament bracket for the first show
and another close match to call, but it was ultimately Lucian Shannon was victorious
in this bout between the two superstars. Close match…but Lucian shaded it. Both
men had written good pieces, both need better understanding of their character
which is what will drive their promo skills up and through the roof. It will
come in time as we get into the running of shows more. Both wrestlers need just
subtle improvements more than anything at this stage, things like fixing
grammar and improving their dialogue. When I write anything I read it aloud,
trust me it makes a world of difference in the long run as it allows you to
read it how a story is told.
The
winning promo from Lucian was an entertaining read and grabbed my attention; it
did however lose momentum quickly in the middle, but picked it up again at the
end. I loved his affixation on Craig’s wife Jess which really drove home some
of Lucian’s intentions. Lucian hit most of the points on the promo criteria,
including saying that he intends to win and what the world tournament meant to
him which makes it relevant and direct to the match.
It
was a very good introduction promo…gives a slither, short and sweet, gives a
bit to go on, makes you want know more about him in a way which was written
well with little grammatical error. He is the ultimate loner gimmick, and we
expect him to feed us more. Overall, the promo complimented his character but
there are steps to be taken to advance it further, who know at this point it is
a thing or trial and error so we are here to help any character. There were
some editorial things Lucian should stray from, for example:
“I foretell I am going to do. And that is a)
Command and b) Conquer. I will command this ring and I will conquer the IWF
World Heavyweight Championship.”
This
if written a different way and without the “a)” and “b)” would have really made
this a easier read, but these are just the small things and ways to make
incremental changes that really do go a long way to mastering promos.
Furthermore
Lucian if he were to play off the angle nobody has confidence in his abilities,
as he has not been voted once on either of the opinion polls could give him a
good edge in his next promo. Everyone loves a good old fashioned and
controversial comeback story.
Underground
home wasn’t mentioned at all which was surprising, seeing as it is a unique
aspect of the character. I would recommend Lucian incorporate his City
involvement, very much like the advice I gave to Matt Young. One additional
comment on the character side of things involves the whole ‘coming from the
dark’ angle, Lucian needs a unique selling point, that extra flare and reason
why his gimmick is distinguished from the all so many ‘dark & mysterious’
characters out there. I believe the gimmick will get better with age, and as he
gets more acquainted with the City it will only get better. I have high hopes
for Shannon if he promos every match he is in, and he must step up against
Taylor Westfall for Infinity #2.
Craig
Anderson’s promo was an ok read with a decent length and style, it didn’t need
to be longer or it risked dragging out the same points he was making. We
understand Craig had minimal to work with in regards to Lucian’s character, for
future I recommend in these situations to stick to a person’s strengths in
overcoming any odds and the unknown rather than make blind assumptions. Alternatively
Craig could have focused on overcoming the unknown, rather than saying he has
everything Lucian doesn’t. Craig’s character kept to his alignment and he also
stated his case for winning the championship convincingly. There is a lot of
potential with Craig, but in this instance we know, and felt, like he had
rushed his promo to meet the deadline. If he took a step back and figured out
where his character was heading, and how to get there he is going to be a
strong force in the Infinity City.
One
thing that this promo made me aware of is interpreting another person’s
character, I don’t myself if Lucian Shannon is also the same kayfabe man as
Bobby Hogan, but Craig made many references to Lucian as Bobby which I found
confusing as I didn’t know quite who he was talking or directing his fight and
efforts against. From the viewpoint of Lucian, he will be asking: why is he
talking about this Bobby Hogan character? Lastly with a better involvement of
the Infinity City will benefit his promos in the future, with some moderate
changes and a considerate amount of time into his promos Craig Anderson will go
the distance.
Match Five: Jamo
vs. Kaos
In
this match, there was a no-show from Typhon Kaos which meant that all that Jamo
had to do was promo to win the match, which he did. Jamo now moves into his
second submission match against Starkiss on the second Infinity on the route
find out who will be the first IWF Singularis Champion.
What
can I say about Jamo’s promo? It was clear the type of Jamo is immediately; he didn’t
mince his words and cut to the chase which made it very direct and relevant. A
bad-ass who knows exactly how he is going to dismantle his opponents, it was a
short, brief, but very entertaining piece which made me laugh in some parts. This
shoot-style promo was a refreshing read admittedly, and did win him the match.
As Jamo continues his path of destruction in Infinity then he will need to
brush up on a few things, such as adding some more content to each promo submission,
fixing the many grammar mistakes within, and incorporating more City fiction
such as places and people. If he was to do these things for his match against Starkiss
I am sure the Grimm Reaper will have no problem competing effectively and
putting his name around some future gold.
Match Six:
Charismatic vs. Holmes
This
was the third match in Infinity #1 where only one of the contestants did a
promo which was a great shame as I was really interested in seeing what Blair
Holmes and John Charismatic would do against one another, despite them being in
the same team. John Charismatic won after Blair Holmes did not submit a promo. Hopefully
both can show up and put up a strong offense against Casanova & Jameson on
the next show.
Charismatic’s
promo was a very interesting and entertaining read, it has been quite a long
time since I had read any of his work and it is safe to say the structure and
style of his writing has dramatically improved! Dialogue is used very well and
convincingly, it is direct and relevant, keeps to his face alignment, and
supports his character which does not contradict him. Overall, a very well
rounded promo. What I loved about it was the story, about the tragedy of his
wife and it was a good twist and fun to read, also Charismatic hits the nail on
the head about real wrestler issues such as financial hardship which was really
compelling. Additionally his addition of the Charismatic Coliseum really sold
him in his promo. I even get a special
mention in his promo which was good as he got my character spot on, he could
see through his mentor and the plan he had devised…it also did well to give him
a veteran feel. I wanted to read more of his promo, especially as it included
the point of Harmony in the tag
division. Having said all that his future promos could really benefit with
additional length and content to really push up the quality…still, is he even
over? Probably not. But hey, what would I know about the man I trained?
Match Seven:
Casanova vs. Rydell vs. Jameson
The
main event was a tough call, mostly because we had to consider if any of three
promos was good enough to win the first championship in IWF, the Purity shield.
Robbo made it clear to me when judging the match about a concept he use to use
in UBW when judging promos for FnF. He asked me what did I want to read more
of? If there was three taster books I had just sampled and I could only buy
one, which would it be?
When
it comes down to it due to the similar styles of promo it comes down to the
question: Who made the best case for the championship. Rydell was the one who
gave us more substance…Rydell gave us the full sandwich; there was more
ingredients in his promo for me to feel happy we’d made the right choice. Jameson
had given us the sweet bacon, but no real sustenance to feel content with the
decision. Casanova would have won if he made reference to why the Purity belt
meant to him…about shaping the Purity belt in the Fair City way.
Final
match made me want to read more of their promos and they were all really
imaginative, it was a really good main event that should be benchmarked for the
coming years.
Casanova’s
was a really enjoyable read and accessible on a really cool format, having an
individual blog made it so much more personal for him which sold him really
well. He keeps to his character and has lots of reference to the Infinity City
fiction which is really nice to see mentioned. Speaking of mentions, he was the
only superstar to mention our TV-14 rating and the BZN network. As I already
stated Casanova fell short because of his lack of incorporation of the Purity
Championship being the focus which is why Rydell got the edge in the match.
Also,
I wanted to read more and more of Fair City’s hooligan, the promo itself was a
tad shorter than I expected and could have really benefited with some
additional length to discuss why he the Purity championship deserves to be in
the hands of someone not in the City.
The
match winner Matt Rydell’s promo was the most direct and relevant to the Purity
Championship, as well as being written well, in character, interesting to read,
and complimenting to everything Matt Rydell stands for. He had a perfectly
balanced promo in terms of length and additions, filling every criterion we
look for in a championship winning promo. He could have improved his promo with
more reference to the City that the other two had made in their submissions but
the strength of his promo was so good it didn’t matter this time round as it
was a really good read. Congratulations to the first Purity champion, let’s
hope for more of the same for your defense next week against the Blood Family’s
Neal Powers.
Jameson
was so close to winning, which is why the decision was a debate between management
over who and why the winner should walk away with the belt. Jameson’s
submission really sold me on his character and instantly grabbed my attention,
what I love most about it is the style of the promo it is written in, you know
when you are reading a Jameson/Harding promo. The promo had some relevance to
the match, but very shoot-based, written well and enlightening to the points he
was making, such as the role of media and television in questioning what is
normal and mainstream. In stating that Purity is something away from the
ordinary was something I didn’t expect and enjoyed reading about. I wanted to
read more of it, and I wish it was longer, as I said Jameson had everything
sweet I was looking for but not enough to clinch a full victory. Having said
that I commend his promo, and all of the competitors in this match…good luck to
both Casanova and Jameson in their upcoming match against Team Over Rated on
Infinity #2.
TCK’s Promo of the Week
I
am proud to announce that promo of Infinity #1 goes to…Adrian Flynn!
He
has shown promise in the first outing of Infinity; his promo was compelling and
really gave a grounded, realistic character that is full of challenging dilemmas
in his life whilst incorporating aspects of the Infinity City fiction. His
promo put him through to the semi-finals of the IWF World Championship
tournament against Murray Muir, and with an expectation of tough competition
from Damien Muir’s nephew it will only get tougher in the next round. Can
Adrian Flynn keep this top spot for next week? Who knows, but based off the beautiful
promo he constructed for the first week of Infinity we may already be looking
at the new champion.
Feedback Me More?
Excuse
the awful Ryback pun, but in all seriousness if you wish to discuss more about
your individual promos or anything else related to anything like your character
or promos do not hesitate to contact Infinity Management. We’ll always respond
to emails, or if you have either of the 2.0 Initiative on Facebook send us a
private message or post in the Infinity group and I’m sure a conversation will
break out.
TCK’s Email:
infinitycopycat@gmail.com
Infinity Email:
wrestlinginfinity@gmail.com
No
way is better than the imitative way.
Copy
That!
-
-
@TheCopycatKid
@infinityIWF
www.infinitywrestling.net
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