[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by M-A-G I have to laugh at a dude with the moniker of "The Wrestler". As opposed to what, the Bassist?

I believe the moniker is primarily because Shibata was the definition of EWR's "No Gimmick Needed" gimmick. Wrestlers who work as young boys in the New Japan dojo always start off in plain black trunks and black boots, then go away on excursion to either the US, UK, or Mexico for a year or two and then return to NJPW with flashier attire and maybe a gimmick.

Shibata never did this, keeping the plain gear and just staying purely a wrestler. And a total shit-kicker at that.

If you ever think you're in pain, just watch highlights of Shibata vs. Okada and you'll remember it could always be worse.

I have to ask if you went to the AI again to come up with the report because this was a very different presentation. Like there was an actual storytelling element to each match breakdown. That's quite scary when you think about it if that's the case. All you have to do is give the thing a few points and the thing churns out some great captivating shit.

Yeah I figured PPVs called for longer than the quick TV write-ups. So I asked ChatGPT if it would be possible to recap of a hypothetical wrestling card one match at a time and it said yes, just give me the participants, outcome, and any specific spots.

So I did Shibata vs. Garcia first. Had it generate three different recaps for it, decided which one I liked the best and then responded to that one and said "this is exactly what I'm looking for, now onto the next match" and gave it the next match parameters etc.

It's really kinda fascinating to give it certain spots/tones etc and watching it "come to life". Obviously I did clean a few things up and add in some of my own stuff too but it made for a fantastic baseline.

I feel like the one advantage I have here is the AI knows these are actual wrestlers. So in knows the mannerisms, characters etc. Using AI to write results for your game would be near-impossible because you'd have to train it on all the characters. Although having it try its hand at a standalone Michael Hotbody promo would be kinda interesting.

I would absolutely play up Joe being angry over not being victorious on the same show where Punk stole the show and came out on top. I don't think there's a reason to not extend this program out, especially if you're not in a rush to do Punk/MJF. It's some easy stars at the very least.

Yeah I'm sorta imagining it being Punk wanting MJF but Joe being the roadblock he has to get through first. So figure Joe/Punk at the July "PPV" and then Punk/MJF in August.

But stars were definitely the theme with this show. Plus you got that overall rating in the high 80s, which is always a win. It blows that you can't get all of these guys locked down but if nothing else, it almost makes the show that much more special. I still remember my one SummerSlam show from way back when getting a 98% overall rating and I've been chasing it ever since.

If I could lock these guys down my game would basically become an NJPW game instead of an AEW game. I might book some underneath NJPW guys here and there and maybe bring in a big star or two for a major show if the calendar allows (August's PPV, in theory, is in Wembley Stadium which is the kinda show you go all out for) but otherwise I'll keep it realistic and keep most of these guys away until next year's Forbidden Door.

So with this show taken care of, and the fact that you need to do PPV events every month despite the real AEW not following the same format, what's next for you? Do you have your own names for the shows that aren't on the real life schedule?

The game data I downloaded had the core AEW PPVs set as PPVs and then the other months had ROH PPVs as large events. But I'm not booking ROH.

Real-life AEW often will have one big "special" episode of Dynamite a month where the card feels like a mini-PPV on free TV. I might borrow some of those names for the new "PPVs" I set up. In my imagination, these might be bonus shows they stream on HBO Max or something vs. true PPVs. Like July can be Fight for the Fallen, which originated as an AEW PPV where all the proceeds went to gun violence. But yeah, the game will basically force me into running monthly PPVs.

August/September will be interesting to me because I believe the plan in real life is to run PPVs in consecutive weekends. Wembley (All In) the last weekend in August. But then the following weekend is Labor Day weekend where they do one of their core US PPVs (All Out). I'd presume it'll be like building a giant mega-card between the two shows. I'd expect the Wembley show to have more involvement with NJPW etc and be more like a super-show while the September show would be strictly AEW.

I think I'll try running it like that in my game too, the benefit is I'll then have a shitload of time before my October pseudo-PPV and my actual main November PPV (Full Gear).