Devil's Night/Great American Nightmare Preview

You've all heard about it by now. On November 4th, Global Championship Wrestling and PRIME will be co-hosting, for the first time ever, two Pay-Per-View events under one roof. This year, GCW's Devil's Night and PRIME's Great American Nightmare will be held on the same night in the same building, and at times, in the same ring.

But so far very few details have been released. Well, that changes now. Here is some vital information on both the kayfabe events lined up, as well as some of the behind-the-scenes, making-of goodies.

Will there be interfed matchups?
-Of course! However, this is not a purely interfed event, like you might find at PTC. PTC remains our central hub for purely interfed competition, but this show is meant to not only breed hostilities between the feds, but also to display what each fed is doing. Therefore, you'll be getting a few interpromotional bouts in addition to each fed's regularly scheduled lineup. This means you can see the storylines of GCW and PRIME, and also get some never-before-seen matchups, all in one neat and tidy PPV package.

Where will the show be posted?
-On November 4th, you'll be able to find the show on both the GCW and PRIME websites. Just view the one you think is prettier (not that that's a tough decision...).

Who is organizing the thing?
-This event is being run in complete cooperation between GCW and PRIME. I'll greedily take credit for the initial idea, but so far everything's been done together between myself and Matt and Lindz over at PRIME.

All right, then, what interfed matches are we getting?
-Rumored matches include Vivica J. Valentine vs. Tony "The Grin" Gamble, Peter Vetra vs. Hoyt Williams, Kimbusa vs. The Illustrious Face Eater, and more. Watch GCW's WorldWide this weekend and PRIME's Revolution next week to see all the buildup and find out what matches get confirmed.

What does the future hold for these types of events?
-I'm hoping that CEi here becomes a hub for these events. With the launching of the Official PTC Blog, there's now a great stop, hosted by Pete, to get information on PTC Interfed events. CEi will therefore seek its niche in organizing and examining events held directly between the conglomerate of GCW, FUSE and PRIME. Eventually the hope will be to host three-way events in a gathering of all three feds, but it's best to start small and figure out how these things should function. So far work between GCW and PRIME has been a wild success, and I have reason to believe that this show will live up to the hype. We've spawned new relationships across fed boundaries because of this event, and it's time to incorporate FUSE. A GCW/FUSE or PRIME/FUSE event should be forthcoming, perhaps before the end of the year. Right now we've got our first triple-hosted event in discussion, but we're still a little ways away from making that a reality. Look for another cross-promotional event coming up in the next couple months, and a GCW/FUSE/PRIME event coming to you in the first quarter of '08.

Why not go all-out and host a fed vs. fed supercard?
-For a number of reasons. Firstly, PTC is still the place to see members of each fed in direct competition and CEi supports that. Secondly, the concept for this show isn't centered around seeing those fed vs. fed matches, though that's certainly a big part. The concept is to create the opportunity for otherwise impossible rivalries, yes, but at the same time breed familiarity between the members of each fed. Before last month I can honestly say I'd only spoken to one or two PRIME members, and I almost never read their shows. Now I'm talking to a large portion of their roster on a regular basis and I've got a good grip on what storylines they are running. Having two shows combined into one and posting PRIME material on the GCW site (and vice versa) will provide everyone with a quick way to get familiar with their rivals. The result will be a better, closer working environment for, eventually, all three feds. With the e-wrestling community as a whole in decline, creating a tightly knit community amongst ourselves provides us with insurance for the future, expands our individual horizons and, hopefully, will strengthen the community as a whole to lengthen its life expectancy, which is rapidly waning.

I'll be happy to answer more questions is anyone has them. Just leave them in the comment box. I'm very, very excited for this event. I can't reveal more about the individual cards for a few more days, as there is still a lot to do. But I can say that I am optimistic for the success of this event and those to come, and I'm also optimistic about GCW's chances of beating the high holy hell out of every PRIME wrestler that dares to step into the ring with us.

A Brief Review

Recently I was surprised to find that Ben Halkum (I assume) had registered an account on the GCW forums to inform us that he'd reviewed GCW over at EWzine.com. I'd glanced at the site before, but this was the first time I'd ever actually looked into it deeply.

Now, I know there's some controversy surrounding the site, and I'll readily confess that I don't know the whole story... and what I do know isn't really relevant. But the site looks like a good concept; the e-wrestling world could use a few more resource sites.

I'd like to express my thanks to Halkum for the great review (I'd link you to it, but... I can't) and for taking the time to check us out. I think EWzine is a good concept. But, in light of GCW being reviewed by EWzine, I had to do a little review of EWzine myself.

Really, my problem is this: while I was very flattered by the comments, the review itself was so riddled with writing mistakes as to make it difficult to read. Not only was is tough to decipher at times, it really made the whole effort seem amateur. Nothing kills my interest in a site, any site, more than seeing bad writing. There was obviously zero time given to proofreading each entry (the other fed reviews are equally bad), and the vast majority of the errors seemed to be mere typos that could be fixed with a quick readthrough.

This isn't intended to burn Halkum, because I do appreciate the perfect score, and it isn't intended to dissuade anyone from visiting EWzine. But really, I hope those guys will take things a bit more seriously, proofread every word they publish, and make the whole effort look more professional. E-wrestling needs more resource sites, but we have no use for bad ones.

This Means War

Everyone in PRIME and FUSE can fornicate themselves with a rusty piece of metal.

Now, before you get all up in arms, allow me to explain what I mean by that.

What I mean is that you should all find a piece of rusty metal, turn that sumbitch sideways, and--

No, not that.

Let's take a little trip down memory lane. While a portion of the people in the PTC community have been late to the scene, I'd wager that the vast majority of us have been around since wrestling's glory days. That's both "real" wrestling and e-wrestling; the glory days of both coincide, and it's no coincidence.

We can all go back and look at old wrestling clips from the mid to late nineties with fondness, and even the early part of this century didn't totally suck. But I don't think it's much of a stretch to assume that the PTC community, and wrestling fans in general, almost universally hate the current wrestling product on television. WWE's talent is weak and their storylines either bad or a rehash of something bad they did ten years ago. TNA is run by WCW washouts who clearly have no idea what they're doing, and aside from a few pretty bright spots their talent is a lot of WWE retirees.

But it wasn't always this dire. And if you're looking for one moment when the transition began, when wrestling's decline was in full force, it was the day Vince McMahon was seen on WCW television on the last broadcast of Nitro, telling the wrestling fans he'd bought his competition and now intended to bring an unceremonious end to wrestling's glory years with the biggest botched opportunity since Tara Reid's boob job.

So what changed? In a word, competition. What made WCW and WWF so great back in the day was that competition, that ferocious war for ratings that drove both companies to excellence. Most of us that were watching back then can claim allegiance to one company or the other; myself, I considered myself a WWF fan first and was happy to see them win the wars. Despite that, I still watched Nitro every Monday night, too, and I loved the NWO storyline, I loved heel Chris Jericho, stealer of gimmicks, and I loved their ridiculously populated main event scene. Every week the writing wasn't just meant to give you a decent show, it was intended to beat the pants off that other show. When the WWF finally pulled ahead in the ratings, WCW fired back by giving away Goldberg vs. Hogan on free television, which was a dumb business move but was a giant gift for wrestling fans.

The point is, the heavyweight battle of WCW vs. WWF was good for us. There may have been a lot of genuine animosity there, but it was good for us. Knowing that on any given week both shows would be top notch because even the slightest slipup would mean giving away ratings points was what made it the golden age of wrestling. In modern times, WWE writers can throw random crap at the wall no matter how stupid or ridiculous, because fans have no choice but to watch it. If you turned on the WWF back in 1997 and saw Jonathan Coachman chasing around a midget dressed up like a leprachaun who was also Vince McMahon's illegitimate child, would you have tolerated it? No way, you'd click right over to Nitro and watch Chris Jericho read off his list of reasons why he's better than Dean Malenko.

So, how does this explain why I want everyone in FUSE and PRIME to suffer horrible, horrible pain? I think you see where this is heading.

Part of the reason GCW vs. PRIME stands to make PTC a better place is because of the animosity it will breed. Not genuine, "I really hate that Lindz chick" sorts of animosity, but "I really hate that Lindsay Troy and I want to make her suffer" animosity. For the last couple of weeks, the PRIME logo has adorned GCW's banner, and the GCW logo complete with Caldera's handsome face has been atop PRIME's website. Why? To make the other team hate us.

And this is good. Behind the scenes it has allowed us to get to know the other side a bit better; I know that I've never spoken to a larger number of people in the game before. I've been in close contact now with a good portion of the PRIME roster, and even those I don't talk to I know how to get hold of. But I hope to breed a competitive edge, something that makes every member of every fed remember as they write for their show each week that they need to make it the best they possibly can, because you're competing with other feds that are damn sure going to be doing the same.

That competitive edge is what made wrestling so great in the late 90s, and it's what will make e-wrestling so great now in the mid 00s. But in that respect, we have one major bonus. We know each other and we can work together to take advantage of that competition and give the people what the want to see.

If someone had offered you the chance to see a WCW vs. WWF card back in 1997, wouldn't you have paid any amount of money to see that show? I sure as hell would have. But it couldn't happen, it was impossible (well, it could have happened when Vince bought the place, but I won't delve into that quagmire).

But nothing is impossible for us. At the same time that we're breeding this kayfabe contempt, we're breeding new connections with the handlers and leaders of each fed. I'd never spoken to Mattchu before the idea of this event came about, and because of it I now have a working relationship with the fedhead of PRIME. I talked to Lindz fairly often before, but now (in part, too, due to PTC competition) I speak to Joe, Nate, Al, Matt, Craig and others. The result? You're going to see matches like Tony Gamble vs. Vivica J. Valentine at Devil's Night/Great American Nightmare, and that's like getting to see The Rock vs. Goldberg when they were both still on their way up.

With respect to PTC, there isn't a lot the community can do to aid this. This is a task best left to the individuals participating in the "Big Three" of FUSE, GCW and PRIME. PTC, as presently constituted, is the perfect environment for interfed competition of a different color; Death Row Incorporated, GTT and such. But to create the sort of competition that we can feed off of directly, it should remain exclusive to the feds themselves.

Therefore, in an effort to differentiate this blog from the PTC community, I hope to shift focus a bit and dedicate my coverage to creating, maintaining and broadcasting that competition. I'll certainly continue to cover PTC events and the community itself, but my main objective will be to help forge and maintain the connections that will be vital to creating an environment like the one wrestling enjoyed in the 90s.

GCW vs. PRIME is just the first step. It will blaze a trail, and in doing so the leadership on both sides will be able to find out what works, what doesn't, and what to look for in future interfed events. From there we can get far more aggressive with our pursuit of competitional-excellence, and it is my hope to be a leader in that quest.

What we are entering is an era in which the "interfed" is obsolete. And yet we must pause to appreciate the long history of PTC and the role it played in getting us to this point. But consider for a moment the history of e-wrestling and the interfed. Back when the entire literate wrestling fanbase (at best only a third of the whole) was engaged in wrestling, the interfed was the best way to keep it all straight, and feds had to try their hardest every week because, for a member, the alternatives were plentiful. You had to go to PTC or WO to even find great feds, and even then there were great feds outside the community.

But now e-wrestling is reduced and operating on a much smaller scale. That larger structure is no longer necessary. If e-wrestling was a sprawling metropolis at the start of this century, needing one governor to stand up and lead the way through the masses, the game now is a small town where everyone knows everyone's name.

PTC ceasing operations as an interfed allows this new sort of connection to be made. PTC remains a crucial element to the equation because it allows for interaction on the forums and competition in other forms to break up the monotony (see: DRI). And I think this will become more important, because more and more often I am encountering people who don't even like wrestling any more, but stay in the game because they are writers. And the writing in this condensed version of the game is far and away the best it's ever been, meaning we've got people who can actually consider taking the skills they learned from this game and turning it into an actual career. PTC will be the place where the pure writing can be explored and exalted.

But the actual interfed is now an unspoken, unseen bond formed directly between the Big Three. And as we strengthen this bond and begin to use it, I think you'll see e-wrestling's lifespan extended quite a bit. If PTC allows the community to explore and exhibit its amazing writing skills, this new invisible interfed will allow the community to exhibit their fedding skills.

The result is an environment that promotes excellence at the absolute highest level. PTC will sharpen our writing skills while interfed competition will sharpen our commitment to our feds and our friends within them. So we're about to create for ourselves a world just like the one that made WCW vs. WWF so amazing, only we get to be friends with the members of the other companies... at least, when we're not trying to destroy them.

You love me! You really love me!

This blog has been getting a very positive response, so expect a new entry soon.

But right now all my writing prowess is being poured into GCW's Dangerous Games.

Be sure to head to GCW tomorrow when the show goes up. It'll be a good one with a lot of familiar faces.

The Future of Primetime Central

The following post stands to be a bit touchy, so I feel the need to preface it with a few words about my intent.

This is NOT intended as a slight to the people mentioned below. This is NOT intended to incite, enrage or aggravate. I like PTC, I have great respect for its history, and I have great respect for everyone involved in its operation over the years, from the big guy in charge down to the people who dedicated their time to judging PTC events.

I worry now that there will be no way to artfully avoid the potential pitfalls of writing this criticism. I do not wish to be seen as a malcontent, because I am quite pleased with the status of our game and the things we're able to accomplish in it. So please understand that this is not borne out of anger or resentment. This is merely a plead to all relevant parties to give all of us the chance to maximize our potential for fun.

That said, here comes the criticism:

PTC is not dead.

In fact, PTC is more alive than ever. We have a big interfed event coming up, IG is arguably more active than ever, we have a unified title division that is attracting great talent and interest, we have a concept competition that looks phenomenal, and GTT is going to run as usual. What, precisely, is "dead" about it?

Consider the actual physical and functional changes that have occurred since PTC "closed:"

-The Trash Talk board is now unmoderated.
-The stagnant PTC website is gone.
-Anyone may now recruit from the Free Agent board.

...And that's it. Only superficial changes were made. Now, before I continue on I think you can see the source of my concern. I won't dance around the issue: Ross (Argyle) and Pete (Pete) have been the guys in charge of PTC for some time and therefore this criticism of PTC will largely be viewed as a criticism of them.

Pete and I have worked closely together before. Pete was in GCW and that's how he got involved in PTC in the first place. He was my right-hand-man for some of our best times in 2002, and he actually ran GCW for me in the summer of 2006. I know Pete fairly well.

Ross is not a guy I know as well, though in what comparatively little interaction we've had I've been able to learn enough to know I like the guy. In fact, I like both guys. I'm excited to see Pete back out and handling again, even if Jason O'Neil has turned tail and run to FUSE.

While my criticisms of the decisions made regarding PTC's future may appear to be targeted at these guys, that's not the case. Because I feel that PTC should not be identified by its leaders alone, but by everyone active in the community. So in that respect, this criticism is aimed at myself every bit as much as it is at Ross and Pete.

Now that I've hedged a bit I can return to the point. And the point is this: PTC as it exists today is a fraud. Because it's not dead, it's absolutely thriving. The only change is that it is no longer a members-only club, and in that respect the decision to "kill" PTC was the best decision possible. The e-wrestling community at large is simply not big enough to exclude anyone. Back in 2002-3 when the game was thriving, e-wrestling had to organize itself into this sort of hierarchical structure to sort it all out. There were thousands of people in the game and visiting the communities, and the only way to make sense of it all was to put everyone in their place.

But that's not the case any more. For the most part the casual obnoxious teenage fanboy is gone, or at least stashed away quietly in the wealth of Geocities feds still running. The remaining members of the e-wrestling community are largely holdovers from the past era, and therefore there's no reason to turn anyone away.

I think the current status of PTC is a good thing, I just think it's got an unfortunate label. PTC should not be called "dead." The PTC splash page is a bit more diplomatic: PTC has "ceased trading." But why even go that far? PTC hasn't ceased trading anything. PTC is just trading on a broader scale.

The doors are open and that's a good thing. Now that the community has been restructured the way it has the rest of us have a chance to make things happen. It's happened already: Andy is very capably running the Infinite Gauntlet, my namesake is running the Unified Title division, and this allows Pete and Ross to run spot events when they have the time (see: Death Row Inc., GTT).

But what this really allows us to do is create a new reality for ourselves. The attitude that PTC is "dead" is dead wrong. PTC is dead in the same way Brittany Spears is dead. Sure, she may have lost her mind and put on some weight, but if she could just tighten up that flabby ass and find the energy again, we'd all be right back to lusting over her.

So here's the self-serving part of the column: I feel we're on the right track with this GCW vs. PRIME event. There are no hangups, no reasons why we can't just decide for ourselves to do this and do it. We decided to unite for one evening to see what happens, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Furthermore, the interest garnered from the event has led a large number of PRIME and even FUSE people to request to show up at Dangerous Games this weekend (you'll have to visit GCW on Saturday to see who). I really hope this leads to greater interaction among the PTC feds.

What needs to change is our own view of what PTC is. PTC is what we choose to make it now. My criticism of Ross and Pete here is that they chose to word the future of PTC poorly, but in reality what they've done is given us the chance to, as a community, create something altogether new. What I hope occurs here is to see PTC become a world very much like the one in which WWF and WCW operated in the late nineties. We're in competition with one another, we're the big promotions of the world, but from time to time we mix things up for the sake of seeing the matches we've always dreamed of seeing.

With PTC more a loose confederation of feds it's my hope that we use PTC itself to host events like Death Row and GTT, but that we use the feds themselves to host interfed events. GCW and PRIME are meeting under the same roof, each hosting its own event, but allowing the rosters to interact. If this is successful, and I feel it will be, I hope it provides the blueprint for the future of PTC. This will allow us to interact like never before as a community, get to know each others' feds much more intimately, and furthermore the increased cooperation stimulates the health of the feds; what's good for PRIME is good for GCW, because the better off both feds are, the bigger and better our joint show becomes.

So I hope this alters the perceptions of what PTC is right now. PTC should be the hub at which the PTC feds meet, but it's the PTC feds themselves that become the major players. We can accomplish whatever we want. PTC is NOT dead. Long live PTC.