[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by M-A-G Checking out Uranus, no doubt...

Yeah that's definitely the one. Can a planet be described as "juicy"? Because, well, yeah [/quote]

I should be thanking the gods that none of my top guys have suffered anything major in regards to injuries. Now I just jinxed it...

Yeah I've been fortunate that I've only lost Dark regulars so far. Evans has worked his way up to like a 76 overall which is pretty great considering he started in the low 60s, he's been working mostly on Dark but churning out great performances with tag partner Angelico which has allowed both of them to steadily climb in overness, EWR usually will let guys build into like the 80s overness on match quality alone before you have to then actually push them in an angle.

That said this injury is a big setback for him, without the game in front of me right now I don't remember how devastating it was but I think his speed is now in the low 70s and that was his best stat. I don't cut people during injury but he might not have a practical spot to return to if Angelico keeps climbing in his stead.

So, wait, is Trent? is his actual name? Like, what does that even mean?

Yep indeed.



I don't know the actual backstory. I know he worked under a differently spelled version of his WWE name (Trent Beretta) as well but I think that was too close to actually put on American TV. Given the Best Friends being portrayed as a bunch of slackers I totally could see him being asked for his name and being like "uhh...I dunno...Trent?" and it stuck.

Side story. At one point last year, Santana and Ortiz were feuding with Best Friends and one of the heels worked the angle online by going at Trent's actual mom Sue on Twitter. They eventually have a parking lot brawl which the Best Friends win. Sue herself then drives up to the parking lot in her soccer mom SUV and and the Best Friends (including a bloody Trent) simply get in and they drive off as if they were just getting picked up from practice. That visual cracked me up.

LOL, I love that heel trope of them acting tough when they're not in the same vicinity as their rival. It's shades of the old "I could do that...if I FELT like it" bit.

Yeah I love that stuff. I generally don't have the creative wherewithal to actually script out full promos like I saw people doing in their EWR diaries back on EW Battleground, but if I can just capture the tone and gist of what is being said that's good enough for me.

Wait, aren't Daniels and Kazarian SCU?

Oops, yeah I meant to say FTR. Too many abbreviations here. Also I don't proofread

Kingston and Hardy are the MVPs of this match with their awesome douchenessity. It doesn't appear Page brought out anything absurdly expensive this time around so I'll imagine that he brought custom Dark Order merchandise for the rest of his partners to wear.

"And the official Dark Order underwear too..."

I'd have to imagine that right now, more than any other time, is a shit time to be in the professional wrestling business if you're looking for a steady stream of reliable income and the pandemic would have just aggravated that. I wonder how some of these guys and gals are making out.

AEW, to their credit, pays its contracted wrestlers as employees including benefits etc and they paid out workers during the pandemic who either didn't feel comfortable participating or couldn't travel.

In the very early days of the pandemic they spent a weekend filming 5 or 6 weeks of Dynamite in Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall's wrestling school in Georgia. People like Mox, Hangman Page, Matt Hardy etc chose not to participate and all of the talent based out of New York (MJF, Santana and Ortiz, Statlander etc) and California (Young Bucks, SCU, Jungle Boy etc) had no way to fly with those states shutting down flights. They taped enough matches with a skeleton crew and supplemented it with promos sent in by the wrestlers stuck at home. Several of the extras who worked those tapings made the most of it and ended up getting signed.

I believe NJPW, ROH, and a bunch of others paid everyone their per show wages as well even when there were no shows happening at all. WWE was the only place that did wholesale cuts. I imagine indy wrestlers had a tough go of it and many turned to Twitch and other streaming ventures to try to keep their "brand" afloat.

Oh, I fucking HATE that shit when you've got two guys who you think would draw a good rating because of their stats but the game just decides it doesn't give a fuck. I swear to Ash I've lost count as to how many segments I've done that have been in the shitter despite all participants being at 85 or over in terms of charisma. I've found that it affects people who don't have the Superstar Look stat checked more than those who do. I'm also amused at the idea of someone who looks like Miro/Rusev doing a Twitch stream and playing something like Shantae or Little Big Planet.

Hmm...I forgot all about the Superstar Look box but that could absolutely play a part in it. I know you get dinged if you try to book a non-intimidating wrestler in an angle where having a killer is required, and that the Fonz Factor automatically adds points to segments, but didn't know the extent to which Superstar Look impacted things.

Really though this demonstrates the double-edged sword with guys who are clearly past their prime still going on and wanting to go out on one final big glorious bang. Yes, it makes for a great moment on paper but in practice, not so much. Flair vs. HBK at WM 24 and Austin vs. Rock at WM 19 or any of Terry Funk's 233 retirement matches are examples of this. Although, if it's good enough for the participants who am I to judge?

Dustin's said that he really was going into DON 2019 expecting it to be his swan song. Cody straight after the match got on the mic and cut an emotional promo asking Dustin to be his tag partner at the next PPV and it was a shoot, Dustin didn't know he was gonna be offered another match or a spot in the company. So they hugged it out and it made for a really cool organic moment.

Given he helps as a trainer and is still a capable hand helping out the young guys I think he'll be sticking around for a decent while, not sure he's the type that would want a sendoff let alone another Cody match when they'd have a near impossible task topping the first. But given I had to act quickly in the game I felt it made sense.