Dave's Q&A.

[Dave]

Truth be told, I like these sorts of threads.

And since I am one of the longest serving people in this Fed, a former Elite X Champion and and long-serving Creative member, I guess I have somethings to offer to anyone who poses a question.

So, if you want to know anything Fed related, then post it here.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

1) Thoughts on Steven Holmes as a character?
2) Thoughts on FunKay as an RP'er/Creative dude?
3) Thoughts on our alliance and subsequent feud?

 

[The Doctor]

-Thoughts on me and Saxton?
-How does it feel knowing that you're directly responsible for my return to the fed?
-On that note, how fucking awesome was Constantine vs. Karzai? So glad we did that match.
-Would you ever want a temporary Karzai return? Do you think it could work, or that he has a place?

 

[GI Cake]

Thoughts on me as a person, and my character. (Just because I've been feeling selfish lately)

 

[The Crock]

What do you think of Smith as a character and me as an RP'er?

Any characters you feel could be better utilized?

Top five opponents?

 

[Dave]

1) Thoughts on Steven Holmes as a character?
2) Thoughts on FunKay as an RP'er/Creative dude?
3) Thoughts on our alliance and subsequent feud?

1) Steven Holmes is a great heel. In fact, I would go so far as to say that he is the best outright heel in the fed right now. Not only have you been unrelenting in your quest to get right to the top of the Fed, you've never allowed yourself to break from the "Steven Holmes is a heel" mentality and that lends itself to your character. You really are the epitome of what a heel should be and you've got it down solid. It wasn't so long ago that you were the lackey in the Crashin Movement... Christ! Since then, Holmes has become lethal. He will be the Champion at some point in time, I really believe that.

2) You're awesome. You've got a really good brain for booking and I've seen that on a personal basis. You write excellent matches and everything you thought about in the Creative section seemed like gold. You're a well liked dude with a lot of character and a lot of presence around here. Back when you started, I would never have suspected it. You've come a long way and deserved it.

3) I'm torn. Personally, I loved that we teamed up. But I also think that we left soething in that feud. I know that you were reluctant to really have that out and out feud with Constantine and I never really understood why that was. Maybe you were focused on getting to the main event but I, personally, would have loved a better feud with you. I know we had an amazing match but it was too rushed. The problem was, Constantine as a face wasn't the right opponent for Holmes. If we could have a heel vs heel match, it would have been much more competitive.

 

[Dave]

-Thoughts on me and Saxton?
-How does it feel knowing that you're directly responsible for my return to the fed?
-On that note, how fucking awesome was Constantine vs. Karzai? So glad we did that match.
-Would you ever want a temporary Karzai return? Do you think it could work, or that he has a place?

1) I am glad that you've found some success in the Fed... Heaven knows you've deserved it. You are one of very few people who are honest with their work and it shines through. I remember having a discussion with 2 un-named Creative members in the past about Saxton and how we didn't think that there was a place for that kind of character in the Fed. But since then, you've been a great example for people on how to be truly honest. And with Saboteur, you've found an equally honest partner that you can be successful with. I think you've showed me.

2) It feels awesome! Whilst I was unsure if you could be successful in the Fed with that kind of writing/character, I always encouraged it and now I'm glad that I did. You are one of the few people that I genuinely enjoy reading every piece. Like I said, it's quality work and it deserves success.

3) That was a personal writing highlight. That, alone, was worth all the drama that it resulted in.

4) I'd like that. The problem is that you would need to take away Saxton and that can't happen. Saxton and Saboteur have crafted a place for themselves in the Fed that no one else could possibly fill. Whilst Karzai was an awesome character that I really enjoyed reading, he just didn't create the same niche for himself. That said, I'd still MTFO for a return of sorts.

Thoughts on me as a person, and my character. (Just because I've been feeling selfish lately)

Don't take this the wrong way, but you should be doing a lot more with yourself than you are now. The result of Runn Reynolds Runn should have seen you pushed further up the card but, inexplicably, you just couldn't keep that momentum going. You really did work best during that partnership with Numbers and I sometimes worry that you have hit your peak. What I would love to see, is Runn finding something unique about his character and exploiting it. Only through that can you possibly get the momentum ball rolling again and get your push back underway.

What that might be? I really don't know. I guess that falls to you to decide. I really hope you do it. You're a really good dude and deserve some singles success. It seems like a long way away though. I really can't explain it.

What do you think of Smith as a character and me as an RP'er?

Any characters you feel could be better utilized?

Top five opponents?

You're awesome. When I think of you/Smith, I think of concrete. You are so very solid and that is a huge credit to you. I remember when you used to send me your work in the Mayhem Division and would worry that it wasn't good enough. Now you and I have had some great matches and have been embroiled in some great angles.

Nevertheless, you deserve bigger. I worry that you're too good an Elite X Champion and unless you drop the title pretty soon, you're going to find yourself stuck there and stagnating. I might be wrong but didn't you say that was the reason you left the last time? Yeah, don't let that happen again. You're too good to leave. Honest. Take a leaf out of Holmes' book and get yourself moving up the ranks, you've got the talent.

In terms of talent that could be better used, Sam Smith is right at the top of that list. Rush is another one who could step up tot he main event and feel at home. I would also say that, for a long while, Constantine feel into this bracket too. I didn't feel as though I had anything to do for a long time. The others would probably be SHIT and Barbosa, who could be World Champions themselves.

Top 5?

1. Showtime Cougar
2. Ty Burna
3. Austin Reynolds
4. Steven Holmes
5. Chris Beckford

 

[FlexAmerican Dynamite]

Thoughts on Krypto if you will.

 

[BK Styles]

Aye, why not? Thoughts on X, me as an RPer, and just to mix things up, who do you think has been the biggest waste of potential you've seen in the fed?

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I'll take a stab.

Thoughts on Stormrage and his run?
Do you regret that brief face turn after winning KFAD?
I think the thing I miss most about you on creative is your match writing. I know you had a lot of things come up that lead to you stepping down, how are things now?
Do you take pride in the fact that Constantine and Holmes were the first team to ever beat Strikeforce? Does it feel even better knowing Strikeforce is the only team to win tag gold twice?

 

[Da Prophet]

Could you feel your match with Kermit slipping away as I started talking about how wrong that situation was?
Did you think it was basically set in stone before I showed up?

 

[Dave]

Thoughts on Krypto if you will.

Krpyto, as much as I hate to say it, was not a character I was familar with until very recently. Truth be told, until then, the only recollection I have of him was a deliberation with Creative about whether to allow an alien into the Fed. And since then, I didn't really take into account his story arc.

That was until he teamed up with SaboSaxton. Everyone has said it, your teaming up with those guys has left you refreshed and with a whole host of new talents to use in your work. I didn't really believe in the mentorship program, truth be told. But the one success that has come out of it, has been Krypto and that is a huge slap in the face for me. I was sure that nothing would come of it and you have proved me wrong. Your RP the other week, I can't remember who against, was really good and you could see the little details of Doc and Jiggles' work resonating in yours. It was a fine read.

Nevertheless, you've got some way to go before you start beating the main event guys but if you continue your development, you'll get there in no time.

Aye, why not? Thoughts on X, me as an RPer, and just to mix things up, who do you think has been the biggest waste of potential you've seen in the fed?

You're awesome. There's not much else that I could possibly say that everyone else hasn't already said.

However, that said, I don't think anyone really knows how good an opponent you are until they face you. I mean, I was never really an "X-Head" until very recently. I thought I had put out a match winning effort until I read yours, that is. You really have a great writing style and it just works. I really think that you are destined for great things here if you can keep up your level of momentum. In addition, it was awesome getting a win over you last week. I didn't think I had din enough but it was an awesome match and something that I enjoyed. Truth be told, I'd really love a good feud with you somewhere down the line. That would be an awesome thing to behold.

As for the biggest waste of potential, it's got to be Corey Payne, right? Won the KFAD briefcase and then just jacked it in. I remember beating him in a match with my old character Karnage and thinking that he was shit. But Lee really liked him and gave him the KFAD. I never really liked him at all but as far as pissing away a great opportunity, he really took the cake.

I'll take a stab.

Thoughts on Stormrage and his run?
Do you regret that brief face turn after winning KFAD?
I think the thing I miss most about you on creative is your match writing. I know you had a lot of things come up that lead to you stepping down, how are things now?
Do you take pride in the fact that Constantine and Holmes were the first team to ever beat Strikeforce? Does it feel even better knowing Strikeforce is the only team to win tag gold twice?

It's interesting, I'll say that. Like many, I was a little perplexed at Shotaro leaving right after winning back the Championships. And what's more, leaving you in the thick end of the shit. Honestly, I don't get on board with keeping the titles on SaxoTeur just because Shotaro was leaving. You guys seemingly had the best RP and this is the place where if you have that, then you should win. Good decision by Creative. His new run seems like it doesn't really have a great deal of direction. I would PM someone on Creative and brainstorm some ideas. Don't go back into tag wrestling though, you deserve a go at something else.

Things are much better actually. I think I am the only member of Vreative to have been in the position 3 times... Christ! Honestly, I really enjoy being a member of Creative. Ty said in his thread that when it was Phoenix, Me and Ty, it was the golden age of WZCW and I wholeheartedly agree. We just worked. Everything was on time and great quality. That part of me will never die and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Whether I would actually go back and do it in the future is not for me to decide. I've had a lot og cracks of the whip and whilst I enjoy it, I think it's time for someone else with new ideas to have a go. Barbosa was a great replacement.

I've never really thought about it until now but I guess I could take some pride in that. You guys were a great team and to get one over on you was awesome at the time.

Could you feel your match with Kermit slipping away as I started talking about how wrong that situation was?
Did you think it was basically set in stone before I showed up?

I could, actually. You marketed yourself really well and I'm not surprised that you got voted into the match. Your RP was by far the best in the thread and you deserved to win. I had a suspicion that if you somehow managed to get into the match you would win it. Glad to see I was right.

 

[ABMorales787]

How and what made your transition from Karnage to Constantine? After a good amount of build and momentum with him, what did it feel like to start fresh and all over?

I've written one or two matches, and staying from some sort of repetitive formula proved a bit difficult. I would skim over a character's moveset and simply write spots where they are performed. How did you keep matches from looking too simplistic or repetitive?

You've been on some highs and lows with both characters, right? Were the lows frustrating? What did you feel you needed to do to bounce back? What did you feel you needed to do maintain a dominant stature?

Your feelings on my character and RP's?

 

[Miko]

Do you have an ego? By that I mean do you mind if your character as a heel is made to look weak, cowardly or silly in a segment or lose cleanly in matches?

 

[Dave]

How and what made your transition from Karnage to Constantine? After a good amount of build and momentum with him, what did it feel like to start fresh and all over?

I've written one or two matches, and staying from some sort of repetitive formula proved a bit difficult. I would skim over a character's moveset and simply write spots where they are performed. How did you keep matches from looking too simplistic or repetitive?

You've been on some highs and lows with both characters, right? Were the lows frustrating? What did you feel you needed to do to bounce back? What did you feel you needed to do maintain a dominant stature?

Your feelings on my character and RP's?

Well, truth be told, I was just bored of writing Karnage. He was your typical monster heel and fell into the trap of not having much character development outside of that. I remember trying to turn him face before realizing, of course, that I am lousy at writing face characters. When you couple that with being burnt out from being on Creative for a long time, I just got bored of writing. When I decided to come back, I thought long and hard about what kind of character I wanted to have. I knew I wanted one who would develop over time and a politician really is an all-encompassing character that I felt I could relate to. I must say, that when I started writing for Constantine, I felt renewed. I could use him a lot better than Karnage and slowly but surely I've built my up again.

I guess there is no real answer for this other than I would take each match as it came. I would generally look at one guys finisher and have the other guy try to take that away from him. Say your finisher was the chokeslam and I was facing you, I would be trying to work on your arm to take that away from you. I know my matches didn't have a lot of moves in them but I was very proud of the fact that I could use psychology and good story telling to create a entertaining and often times harrowing match up.

Yeah, I've had my fair share of lows, to be honest. Much like The Killjoy has. I feel really sorry for you and your plight of not being able to win a title. I've been there, feeling as though you're banging your head off of a brick wall. But you've just got to keep your chin up. What I've been doing recently, is looking at where my character can develop and it's been working really well. I've started to beef the character up and it's given me a lot more ammunition when I am writing my work. Picking yourself up is hard but it can be done. I've just started to set myself goals for a PPV cycle and tried to achieve them through various means. If I were you, I would make some more noise. Use WZCW.com as a springboard and get people looking at your work. It can be frustrating when you feel you're getting nowhere but it only takes one thing to change it and you're all set. Winning the KFAD has been the makings of Constantine and now I have so many directions I can go in.

I like you. I like your work. I've only read a few pieces of yours since I left Creative but I was shocked and appalled that you didn't pick the win in the first match of the 2 out of 3 series. What I will say, is that your RP's seem really chaotic at times. I think if you settled them down a little, then you would reap the rewards from that. I think your formatting needs some work. I like that you are keeping your work true to your characters but perhaps images and videos should be put in spoilers? I don't know, the content is brilliant but the look of your work seems chaotic and sometimes off-putting.

Do you have an ego? By that I mean do you mind if your character as a heel is made to look weak, cowardly or silly in a segment or lose cleanly in matches?

Generally, I trust Creative with my character. If it all driving towards a purpose, then I would be fine with losing or being made to look cowardly. But if it is just for the sake of putting someone over, then I guess it just depends on how it is done. I don't really know how I would feel because it hasn't happened before. The incident with Showtime turning his back on Constantine was as close as I came to that and I guess it didn't feel good. But I have no problem with losing clean. Someone has to lose and if I didn't have the best piece of work that week, then it deserves to be me. I guess it all comes down to how Creative handle such things.

Do you?

 

[Miko]

Generally, I trust Creative with my character. If it all driving towards a purpose, then I would be fine with losing or being made to look cowardly. But if it is just for the sake of putting someone over, then I guess it just depends on how it is done. I don't really know how I would feel because it hasn't happened before. The incident with Showtime turning his back on Constantine was as close as I came to that and I guess it didn't feel good. But I have no problem with losing clean. Someone has to lose and if I didn't have the best piece of work that week, then it deserves to be me. I guess it all comes down to how Creative handle such things.

Do you?

Shit, I wasn't expecting it turned back on me, erm, no the only thing I'd get annoyed about is when my character acts out of character, which rarely if ever happens anyway. Unfortunately, that means that when I am a heel, showing fear would still be out of character, which makes S.H.I.T a very un-heel like heel. But if he was to have segments where a face mocks and makes him/it look stupid I wouldn't be against it, because I feel that is my role as a bad guy. As far as clean wins and losses, once again, as a heel, losing cleanly and winning cheaply is what you do.

The main reason I ask really is because its the characters like yours and to a bigger extent Holmes for example that set yourselves up for a fall, by basically being so repulsive that to have someone, to borrow a WWE segment, pour feces on you for a crowd pleasing moment, or more simply to chase you out of an arena because you won't fight them, it wouldn't look out of place and in all honesty I wondered how you'd take something like that being written about your character.

 

[Remix]

My/Misch and Coberer's spoken RPs: good bad or indifferent?

Why?

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

Rank the top 25 RPers that are currently on the roster.

 

[Blade]

Top 5?

1. Showtime Cougar
2. Ty Burna
3. Austin Reynolds
4. Steven Holmes
5. Chris Beckford

Do you want your knife back, or should I just keep it here in my spine?

Ahem.


Ok Dave, I am thinking about returning, and Constantine is one of the main guys Blade never feuded with. Not for lack of wanting, mind, the circumstances just didn't align. We were always either both in different feuds or both heel and not wanting to turn.

I want you to whet my appetite, make me want to return. How would you want a Blade Vs Constantine feud to go down?

Finally,

I've been gone for about a year, so who has been really impressing since I've been gone and what newbies' RPs are worth reading?

 

[Dave]

My/Misch and Coberer's spoken RPs: good bad or indifferent?

Why?

Yeah, I really like them.

I recall having a conversation with someone (at some point) about creating a new kind of RP. I was thinking more of a video RP than a spoken word but I did have a passing thought about doing such a thing. What put me off, was that I really don't have skill with voices. And that's the difference between you and I. I guess that's why yours is so successful and mines never materialized.

Still, I'm really glad that you had a go at it. I think it's what sets you apart from everyone else in the Fed. The thing is, also, that it doesn't take that long to get to grips with your RP. It takes a lot to sit down and read an RP when they just resemble a wall of text but all of that just turns into a 2 minute RP and that makes it a whole lot more accessible. When you add to that the fact that they are always very interesting, you really have a winning formula. I really like it and I would implore you to continue with it, for better or worse.

Rank the top 25 RPers that are currently on the roster.

Hmm. That's a good one. Let's have a look. I might not do 25 though, maybe 15.

1. Showtime (David Cougar)
2. Ty Burna (Ty Burna & Califa Dragon)
3. Barbosa
4. FunKay (Steven Holmes)
5. The Crock (Sam Smith)
6. Miko (SHIT)
7. BK (Triple X)
8. Harthan (Drake Callahan)
9. Merk (Rush)
10. Numbers (Austin Reynolds & Grand Mystique)
11. Lee (Titus)
12. Kermit (Chris KO)
13. JGlass and Doc (Saboteur and Saxton)
14. Killjoy (Matt Tastic)
15. Echelon (Celeste)

This list is probably in need of some qualification.

Firstly, I would have perhaps had Ty at the top if he had found his feet with Califa quicker. His work with Ty Burna is the best work we have seen in this Fed. The most successful character in it's history, so he deserves to be at the top. Still, I like Showtime and his work is always good. It's been a dream of mine to feud with Showtime and now I have the chance.

Lee could have been higher up but he's really inconsistent right now. And the same goes for Killjoy, I guess.

I didn't put myself in there either. Mainly because I'm not that arrogant. But I guess I would fall within the top 10. Who knows.

Do you want your knife back, or should I just keep it here in my spine?

Ahem.


Ok Dave, I am thinking about returning, and Constantine is one of the main guys Blade never feuded with. Not for lack of wanting, mind, the circumstances just didn't align. We were always either both in different feuds or both heel and not wanting to turn.

I want you to whet my appetite, make me want to return. How would you want a Blade Vs Constantine feud to go down?

Finally,

I've been gone for about a year, so who has been really impressing since I've been gone and what newbies' RPs are worth reading?

Wait! You're thinking of returning!? Awesome!

Yeah, we need a feud. But I probably wont turn Constantine face for a long, LONG while, so you'll need to do the returning babyface bit.

In terms of a plan, here's what I am thinking. Constantine loses his match at All Or Nothing before building a head of steam heading into the Lethal Lottery. He says that he wants a shot at the Championship at the Lottery but is denied it. He gets put in the Lottery and looks as though he is the main man. That is until Blade is named as the 20th entry to the match. He comes in and immediately heads for Constantine. The crowd goes nuts as Blade and Constantine go at it in the middle of the ring. Eventually, Blade gets the better of Constantine and puts him out of the match.

This starts of a chain of events that leads to them facing off at Kingdom Come in a first blood match, where Constantine promises to take Blade's blood as sacrifice for his actions at the Lottery. We tear the roof off of the building at Kingdom Come and everyone lives happily ever after.

I like that.

In terms of who to look out for, Triple X is the man right now. Everyone, as you might have seen, is screaming "Main Event" whenever his name comes up. He really came from nowhere and is making waves in the upper midcard right now.

Miko is another guy who i really rate and he has come a long way from being a curtain-jerker on Aftershock. He could fit into any feud in the Fed and be at home. Plus, his RP skills have improved tremendously far. His feud with Barbosa was a personal highlight for last year. Infinity's Vega is another good shout and he has taken on the mantle of permanent Mayhem Champion seemingly.

That's about it right now. I'm sure there are more though.