What could have been...

[a0161613]

So I figured this topic hijacked the WZCW.com thread enough to get its' own topic. The idea is simple but Doc summed it up well.

This does open up an idea for another thread. Maybe something like lost opportunities or potential, or unpopular opinions on WZCW characters? If egos can be kept in check and people can open up dialogues about it that could be a lot of fun and even give some people character ideas.

There are so many names who could be here, in many ways, there are very few characters who deserve not to be here. But anyway, I'll start with a few names.

Austin Reynolds - Going to suggest it because someone should. Taking a different approach after Apocalypse last year, could have turned heel, not formed RRR and instead formed a dastardly team with Showtime. I look back and figure the injured neck storyline really hampered any chance I had of moving the character on. (And why I didnt make Austin evolve into GM, I can't explain beyond not being able to think of a way to do it for the brief amount of time that I considered it.)
Blade - very talented RPer who could really tell a story and cut a vicious promo when he wanted to. Should have been involved in the main event but never cut the RP's that he could have and the destiny gimmick didnt evolve either.
Michael Winters - good gimmick, well written, cleverly worked heel turn and then HE LEAVES!!
Brad Bomb - interesting enough character, but so boring. This guy should have been all about destroying stuff but did nothing! Similar to Scott Hammond but Hammond at least did something in his early run as Mayhem champ and a tag champ.
Corey Payne - the surprise KFAD from KC II who lost the briefcase. I dont remember him much he must have been great to have won that match given who was in it. This is one truly regretful departure.

This thread could very well raise some controversial topics but let's not let it develop into a flame war or something.

 

[Kermit]

Interesting, I would prefer reading a Brad Bomb RP over a Scott Hammond RP any day.

King Shabba - A lot of you probably don't remember him, but he was on a roll in his first few RPs that he did here. He was a part of my recruiting class and he seemed to have the early elements of a potential superstar. Apart from his rich heel persona, his character was pretty unique with his elephant. I think he would be on the cusp of the main-event had he stuck around and continued to progress.

Ale/Stevenson Marquel - He started off pretty rough, but he learned quick. A lot of his first matches were against the higher-ups like Ty Burna. His handler eventually dropped the Ale character and returned later as Stevenson Marquel, who did a lot better. He made a ton of improvements and even had a nice reign as Mayhem Champion. He left again recently and I think if he just stayed consistently and built up a character, then he would find himself in a nice mid-card position.

 

[The Doctor]

I love this thread already.

Going to suggest my own character, Max Karzai. He was a character built for Mayhem...who never even got a chance in the Mayhem division. He really should have been much more than he was but due to my very tenuous grasp on the gimmick and the unenviable position of being in a thrown-together tag team that simply wasn't working even when we won the tag titles, along with my lack of RP experience, never really got what he deserved. I feel his best moment was in WZPW, really, where I managed to do everything that I wanted with the character in that RP. Was a damn good appearance there. I'd never consider bringing him back to WZCW since Saxton just works so much better and is much more fleshed out already, but I really think in the right hands Karzai could have been great. Those hands, unfortunately, were just not mine. I'm really surprised he's remembered so fondly by guys like Jose and Crock. Any insight into why that might be would be nice, ha!

Marcus Chambers is another gimmick who would have been great in another man's hands. Appealing to affirmative action is a GREAT heel gimmick. In fact, I fully intend to steal it should Saxton ever turn heel. Too bad the guy behind the gimmick sucked.

Also, BIG +1 on King Shabba. In a company where we've had rich heels out the wazoo, Shabba was a diamond in the rough. A pretty muddy and dusty diamond, but a diamond nonetheless. Excellent gimmick. Shame the guy then made that really, really bad RP which I think probably killed his enthusiasm and lowered his stock in many's eyes.

 

[Beastmode 24]

Jason Armstrong. I liked this guy, and he started out here about the same time I did. He had a little success (he challenged for the mayhem championship a couple times) and I think that if he stayed around he could've been a mid card titleholder.

Mr. Butty. I loved this guy's debut roleplay. He could've been such a good heel if he stayed around. He's still active on the forums, but I guess WZCW just wasn't his thing.

 

[The Crock]

I'll suggest my own character, to start. Smith was an Elite X Champion very early on into his run and rubbed elbows with a couple of top guys... But he never made any leap forward. It's my own fault as a writer, but the character stalled. He wasn't interesting (still can be a boring read, I'm sure), nor was there anything about him to separate him from the pack. I returned with him because I got re-energized and had some cool ideas for the character, but when I realize that I'm in the same spot I was a year ago, I can't deny that it's been a disappointment. Still, my current story with Rush has been a lot of fun, and I'm excited for what we can bring to the table.

Michael Winters is definitely another guy who deserves to be on this list. He was damn good and was going to be a star, but disappeared shortly thereafter. He was a good writer, the character was fresh, and he would have probably held onto his Elite X Championship for quite some time, had he not bailed out.

 

[a0161613]

I thought about suggesting Smith Crock. I'll be honest, I was surprised you had your Elite X title run go so long to be honest. I definitely think you have the right guy alongside you now. Rush has been a great read since his return and (although this might sound strange) I think he is the perfect guy to learn from and improve alongside. You've not been back that long, don't be disheartened. If you were losing to lesser guys then I'd be concerned.

 

[The Doctor]

Jason Armstrong. I liked this guy, and he started out here about the same time I did. He had a little success (he challenged for the mayhem championship a couple times) and I think that if he stayed around he could've been a mid card titleholder.

Mr. Butty. I loved this guy's debut roleplay. He could've been such a good heel if he stayed around. He's still active on the forums, but I guess WZCW just wasn't his thing.

Both of these guys were definitely two really regrettable losses. I'm still bummed about Mr. Butty. Amazing gimmick, excellent RPer...and he just disappeared. Maybe he didn't realize the commitment it would take. Damn shame. I really hope he comes back in the future, or someone else takes the teacher gimmick and runs with it.

 

[Thriller Ant]

Winters and Shabba are at the top of the list for me.

I actually feuded with Winters a bit and the guy was great at what he did. Wish I knew why he left, because he was on his way to the top of the card at a ridiculous pace.

Shabba started hot, then it seemed like he lost interest or something, but that character had a ton of potential.

Since it came up in the other thread, I'll also nominate The Internet Warrior. He wasn't going to headline Kingdom Come or anything like that, but there was plenty of stuff I could have done with him. My mistake, though, was I became more focused on winning rather than having fun with a character that was designed to be fun. Those few months where I went downhill with TIW and sucked with Phoenix were definitely the low points in my WZCW career.

 

[Beastmode 24]

Anderson Styles is on my list too. He was a good character and I think he could've played up the patriotism part of his gimick to do a heel "we're better than everyone" thing.

 

[The Crock]

I thought about suggesting Smith Crock. I'll be honest, I was surprised you had your Elite X title run go so long to be honest. I definitely think you have the right guy alongside you now. Rush has been a great read since his return and (although this might sound strange) I think he is the perfect guy to learn from and improve alongside. You've not been back that long, don't be disheartened. If you were losing to lesser guys then I'd be concerned.

I should have dropped the title to Constantine, in all honesty. I lucked out. My RPs can be boring and I struggle to keep it fresh, I don't deny that. It's just frustrating when I write those RPs, because I feel like I fail to execute an idea with a lot of potential. Still, as long as I'm having fun, I'll keep at it.

 

[Барбоса]

For potential, Prince "Shabba" Nana and Michael Winters would be high on the list but the biggest "What could have beens?" for me circle largely around the continued presence of Hunter Kravinoff.

Had he continued on his run of success, he would have taken the KFAD briefcase from Big Dave and probably taken the WZCW title from Ty before the year was out. Dear knows what the main event of KCIV would have been then - Perhaps Ty would have been founding the AoC to finally getting his rematch instead of taking over the company? The implosion of Kravinosa Barbinoff for the title?

 

[The Doctor]

For potential, Prince "Shabba" Nana and Michael Winters would be high on the list but the biggest "What could have beens?" for me circle largely around the continued presence of Hunter Kravinoff.

Had he continued on his run of success, he would have taken the KFAD briefcase from Big Dave and probably taken the WZCW title from Ty before the year was out. Dear knows what the main event of KCIV would have been then - Perhaps Ty would have been founding the AoC to finally getting his rematch instead of taking over the company? The implosion of Kravinosa Barbinoff for the title?

The whole "you won the briefcase, not the contract" angle was completely bullshit. Kravinoff had that.

 

[Bernkastel]

My 2007 run was crap considering that back then we were allowed to manipulate the system. I was handling two characters, and I was slated for a feud for the tag team titles which I could have won single handily. But I chose to bail out of the fed completely and nothing came out of it. Ironic considering I later beat the Devilspawns who were the tag champs at the time, when I returned for a one off.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

I enjoyed working with Brad Bomb and even thought that a tag-team between Rush and Bomb would've worked but it just wasn't ment to be it seems. I wasn't around for most of Bomb's time here, but in the short amount of time that I had with him, I felt like he was missing out on something big.

When Rush first came to WZCW, it was a wreck in my eyes. I think I tried to cram too much into one character at one time and to me it lacked focus. If I may toot my own horn, since I came back and Rush is essentially a new character from when he first debuted, he's getting closer to reaching a level where he never would have before Kingdom Come II.

 

[Lee]

I enjoyed working with Brad Bomb and even thought that a tag-team between Rush and Bomb would've worked but it just wasn't ment to be it seems. I wasn't around for most of Bomb's time here, but in the short amount of time that I had with him, I felt like he was missing out on something big.

When Rush first came to WZCW, it was a wreck in my eyes. I think I tried to cram too much into one character at one time and to me it lacked focus. If I may toot my own horn, since I came back and Rush is essentially a new character from when he first debuted, he's getting closer to reaching a level where he never would have before Kingdom Come II.

I think I remember with Rush is you had a long term back story planned that would be unveiled but generally people don't care for that type of thing.

 

[Ty Burna]

For potential, Prince "Shabba" Nana and Michael Winters would be high on the list but the biggest "What could have beens?" for me circle largely around the continued presence of Hunter Kravinoff.

Had he continued on his run of success, he would have taken the KFAD briefcase from Big Dave and probably taken the WZCW title from Ty before the year was out. Dear knows what the main event of KCIV would have been then - Perhaps Ty would have been founding the AoC to finally getting his rematch instead of taking over the company? The implosion of Kravinosa Barbinoff for the title?

I dispute this. Kravinoff was good, but I was in the middle of my reign of unholy terror that took a Herculean effort from Big Dave just to take the title from me. Did Kravinoff have that type of effort in him, enough to overcome whatever I came up with? You should know more then anyone that I had another gear when it came to the big matches. Showtime and Reynolds can also understand that as well.

Maybe if I was heel at the time he would have, but for whatever reason as a face I was unstoppable. I have no idea how the hell that worked because my character was far better suited as a heel then a face.

That all being said, that was one match I really wanted that I never got. Kravinoff vs. Ty would have been a huge main event match considering how big of a roll both of us were on at the time.

Back on topic, Shabba was a major disappointment. I had real high hopes for him and I lobbied hard for him to get a big push out of the gate. Had he kept up his effort from his initial start, he would have been a pretty significant star in WZCW. Winters was another one, no idea why he disappeared.

I also think Blade and Phoenix (the character) should have gone farther then they did. Maybe their everlasting feud hurt them both, but in all honesty Phoenix was the likely one to win the Gold Rush tournament and face me for the title. He upset Showtime but couldn't take down the rookie Gordito. As we all found out later Gordito had it in him to hang with the big boys but Phoenix should have grabbed the brass ring. Not to mention we had the characters for a damn good feud. (Also, I love you Thriller I'm just being honest.). Blade meanwhile only had a decent Eurasian run. Some of his RP's were brilliant but he just never grabbed that big opportunity that would come his way.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

I thought about suggesting Smith Crock. I'll be honest, I was surprised you had your Elite X title run go so long to be honest. I definitely think you have the right guy alongside you now.Rush has been a great read since his return and (although this might sound strange) I think he is the perfect guy to learn from and improve alongside.You've not been back that long, don't be disheartened. If you were losing to lesser guys then I'd be concerned.

Stuff like this always blows my mind and I'm forever honored to see that people are really enjoying my work as much as I have been enjoying writing it.

I don't know what I can really bring to the table when it comes to teaching or improving someones work but if I'm able to inspire some words or help anyone in anyway possible, I'll do what I can.

I know that I have been inspired and driven on a number of times just by reading Crock's work and our chats and we attempt to tell a similar story.

I think I remember with Rush is you had a long term back story planned that would be unveiled but generally people don't care for that type of thing.

There was a big story that I wanted to get too, but it wasn't too long before I got bored with it myself and abandoned ship with it.

For me, the Rush that I'm writting for is streets ahead compared to the original Rush.

 

[Lee]

I dispute this. Kravinoff was good, but I was in the middle of my reign of unholy terror that took a Herculean effort from Big Dave just to take the title from me. Did Kravinoff have that type of effort in him, enough to overcome whatever I came up with? You should know more then anyone that I had another gear when it came to the big matches. Showtime and Reynolds can also understand that as well.

Maybe if I was heel at the time he would have, but for whatever reason as a face I was unstoppable. I have no idea how the hell that worked because my character was far better suited as a heel then a face.

That all being said, that was one match I really wanted that I never got. Kravinoff vs. Ty would have been a huge main event match considering how big of a roll both of us were on at the time.

Back on topic, Shabba was a major disappointment. I had real high hopes for him and I lobbied hard for him to get a big push out of the gate. Had he kept up his effort from his initial start, he would have been a pretty significant star in WZCW. Winters was another one, no idea why he disappeared.

I also think Blade and Phoenix (the character) should have gone farther then they did. Maybe their everlasting feud hurt them both, but in all honesty Phoenix was the likely one to win the Gold Rush tournament and face me for the title. He upset Showtime but couldn't take down the rookie Gordito. As we all found out later Gordito had it in him to hang with the big boys but Phoenix should have grabbed the brass ring. Not to mention we had the characters for a damn good feud. (Also, I love you Thriller I'm just being honest.). Blade meanwhile only had a decent Eurasian run. Some of his RP's were brilliant but he just never grabbed that big opportunity that would come his way.

Another never ending feud with Phoenix was Garth Black who was so much better overall but after their feud was over it was rebooked again for some reason causing Tasty to lose heart and quit.

 

[Harthan]

Susumu could have gone somewhere once I got a better handle on him. While the tag team was probably not the right idea from a character standpoint - or maybe if I'd put more effort into making it work - I had a hell of a lot of fun doing it. I think I could have taken him places though. I still think about him every now and again.

Also both of Remix's previous efforts, really, but Reese is probably (definitely) the best of all three.

 

[Барбоса]

I dispute this. Kravinoff was good, but I was in the middle of my reign of unholy terror that took a Herculean effort from Big Dave just to take the title from me. Did Kravinoff have that type of effort in him, enough to overcome whatever I came up with? You should know more then anyone that I had another gear when it came to the big matches. Showtime and Reynolds can also understand that as well.

Oh, I know what prepared Ty can do but given that Kravinoff would have been armed with the KFAD contract, I think he would have taken it (although as a Creative member maybe you would have been prepared).

That all being said, that was one match I really wanted that I never got. Kravinoff vs. Ty would have been a huge main event match considering how big of a roll both of us were on at the time.

Serious Kravinoff vs Juggernaut Ty would have been epic.

There were flashes of what might have been at LL, HIAC and others but an extended Barbosa/Ty feud when they were both focused on one another would have been great too.

 

[Ty Burna]

Oh, I know what prepared Ty can do but given that Kravinoff would have been armed with the KFAD contract, I think he would have taken it (although as a Creative member maybe you would have been prepared).

Actually if the KFAD contract were to be cashed in, we had a creative member assigned to handle that so that I would not be aware of the cash in and there would have been a secret vote without my knowledge. I would literally have no idea that the KFAD was getting cashed in, but I was always prepped anyway. I watched Dave after he won it to make sure he didn't suddenly break out an RP that was of higher quality/PPV quality then the normal. It also pushed me to keep upping my own standard so I wasn't caught off guard either.

Serious Kravinoff vs Juggernaut Ty would have been epic.

Kingdom Come quality main event for sure.

There were flashes of what might have been at LL, HIAC and others but an extended Barbosa/Ty feud when they were both focused on one another would have been great too.

Perhaps one day friend. It's a feud that we've never truly had a chance to fully explore. I do have ideas for that by the way.

 

[Thriller Ant]

Not to mention we had the characters for a damn good feud. (Also, I love you Thriller I'm just being honest.)

I was so pumped when I got to that final; we would have had an amazing match. That tourney was definitely the closest I ever came to the big time. I probably got in my own way as far as accomplishments, I mean, I was on the path to the Elite X title when I left the first time, but I'm pretty happy with that first run. Could I have done better? Fuck yeah. But I had fun and am proud of what I did accomplish

 

[Viola Moonlight]

I'll throw William Teach's name in the hat. He was unstoppable as a singles character and won every match, then I jumped in with Kurtesy and the two of us took the Tag titles and had a pretty decent reign with it. He left after KC though... could have been something more with his comedic style RP's.

 

[Ty Burna]

I was so pumped when I got to that final; we would have had an amazing match. That tourney was definitely the closest I ever came to the big time. I probably got in my own way as far as accomplishments, I mean, I was on the path to the Elite X title when I left the first time, but I'm pretty happy with that first run. Could I have done better? Fuck yeah. But I had fun and am proud of what I did accomplish

Indeed sir. I remember the RP I used with Ty and Phoenix meeting up, just the potential work between us had me salivating at a genuine storyline between the two of us. You also have every right to proud of what you accomplished.

Ah there it is: http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=136308

I loved that RP. Bouncing off Phoenix and Gordito was a blast.

 

[Thriller Ant]

Indeed sir. I remember the RP I used with Ty and Phoenix meeting up, just the potential work between us had me salivating at a genuine storyline between the two of us. You also have every right to proud of what you accomplished.

Ah there it is: http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=136308

I loved that RP. Bouncing off Phoenix and Gordito was a blast.

I had forgotten that RP, but man, does it hold up well. I just reread all of that stuff, man those couple of rounds were awesome. It was mine for the taking, but Jose deserved that win. He brought it.