Legend wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:44 pmSON OF MALTA V ALEX REYN: It happened as I expected. I would have liked to see SOM get a more sell job here. He is built as this tough-nosed fighting veteran. It wouldn’t have hurt Reyn’s character to have SOM look bigger here. SOM wasn’t squashed, but I felt more meat was on the bone.
Would you mind elaborating on this, because making SoMlook strong WAS one of my goals, so I'd like to figure out where I went wrong and what I could do differently next time.
Sure, the big moments of the match felt like Reyn. The memorable moments were designed around Reyn. Again, I said that SOM was not squashed. He didn't back down or look weak.
But, from my reading POV - this was the main event, and there was a sell job of history between the two men leading up to the match - I felt like it could be a place we could have seen SOM have a little shine.
I don't recall any of his signature spots even being used. I also take this from the point of view of who wrote an earlier match for SOM and his PPV, where I spent a lot of time selling his veteran experience and toughness. To capitalize on that, how would it look if he got in some of his spots on Reyn before going out?
Some of those leg kicks... Some of his close submission moves. Maybe teasing the Maltese Cross that has been sold as one of the deadliest submissions in GLOBAL...
It wouldn't have hurt Reyn and had only raised Malta heading into the PPV.
The match was well written, and I want to say it again. SOM was not squashed. Just some food for thought.
Hmm... what's odd for me is I DID try to do that. Two teases of the Maltese Cross, multiple teases of Maltese Clover. Teasing the Satan of side headlocks, using the Northern lights suplex and giving Malta spots like slapping Reyn, getting the armbar on him, the initial takedown, turning the calf-slicer into the Maltese Clover ect.
Not offended. Just trying to work out what I was missing.
Feedback to follow on Friday or Saturday, guys. Sorry. I feel like a failure today.
In the meantime...
Not going to say I am never wrong when it comes to grammar, but I teach it on a regular basis and seem more relaxed on the matter. I echo Brian's sentiments to a large extent. Should it be pointed out? That's up to you. I'm not going to censor a person's feedback, but I don't feel it should be the focus. I'll take anything directed at me, though.
Regarding the main event, it's interesting to see two totally different takes on how it went, and I'll give my thoughts on the matter when I do my full review. But, that's what's great about feedback, helping each other see things from another perspective and get better, particularly ahead of a PPV.
Only a week later than I had originally intended, which I apologise for, but hopefully with enough time ahead of next week's pending deadline. Let's get cracking with the knacking.
Breaking News: A decent set-up for the upcoming Darring v Pierson match, which is an intriguing contest for all kinds of reasons, and hopefully more people pay attention to this than Pierson v Public on 2. Also good to see Darring in action for reasons I’ll go into later, beyond it’s always great when he’s involved in a match because…it’s Darring.
Back in Business: I cannot wait to see John Truth REALLY get going, because if he’s this entertaining when he’s starting, then…well, I’m stoked.
Sign off Meeting: Another entertaining segment in which Stella was the star. Thought this was very, very well done, indeed.
Two Girls, One Debut: A lovely little segment, one I could envision happening in a TV show or high school movie, or even horror film, for that matter. I especially liked the start of it, setting the scene very well, and the finish wasn’t half-bad either.
Best of British v The Master Sisters: Great commentary to set up what we’ve already seen, and yet playing along with the universe we’re in, as everything is ‘rumour and innuendo’ to quote Conrad from Allie and The Mark. In fact, the dynamic between the three commentators…Perfect.
I knew what was going to transpire here, due to my position, but if the Fingerpoke of Doom had played out more like this than it really did, maybe the wrestling industry would be in a different place. Aleczander and Best of British…well, that’s a trio right there, to join what is already a terrific trio in The Master Sisters, of course.
Sand Advertisement: Thank you, Scott.
Doritos Advert: This reminded me of Trainspotting, oddly enough. Well-written, como siempre, and this character lives on years after it was conceived through drunkenness, just in case you didn’t know, though I’m sure you won’t be surprised.
Phone Calls Etc: Cute, for sure, but also VERY intriguing that Angel and Saul are talking to Valorie Vitality, and may we have another ‘ship’ in the future? Excellent verbal sparring between Angel and Saul, no surprise there, and this did a wonderful job of selling Jed v Valorie AND Angel v Bianca at Magnum Opus. A lot of boxes ticked here. Superb.
Our Peak: A quick aside if I may. Aurora drinking water in spite of not wrestling instantly made me think of ‘pro’ FIFA players who take sips of water in between goals for some reason. Anyway, getting back to the segment itself, a different path (if I were completely oblivious) to what I felt was going to be taken from the earlier match of The Master Sisters joining forces with Best of British and Aleczander.
As well as the dialogue and dynamic between the girls being brilliant, I love the logic and business-like approach they have to the invitation, putting any personal feelings aside, and this is definitely a shining example of a segment I envisioned prior to opening the fed.
Nurse, Nurse 1: Another strong showing for EZ Rah in what is a DEFINITE contender for the hottest feud of the first arc. He showcases strength and vulnerability very well in this segment, and as soon as I saw that bio, I thought: This character, here in this fed, has potential rushin’ a rushin’ around.
It Won’t Reyn: If you like the title, give me credit. If you don’t, take it up with Keith. A better segment by Son of Malta at a time when he needed it, particularly ahead of later on, and I think re-adding The Horseman is a potentially interesting wrinkle/dynamic for him.
Darring v Pierson: Okay, I thought the match had started before it actually had, and that’s even with a heads-up! So, we know through his fandom that he’s just happy to be in there with LSD, and not protecting himself at all times, which is ‘psychology,’ no doubt, but not something a regular fan is accustomed to. Just an aside: I really dig the commentary throughout.
Honestly, this is so well-written and knowing Pierson’s and Manny’s thoughts, as well as selling the shit out of Darring’s legendary reputation, anticipation and vast experience, this is a well-cooked dish full of excellent ingredients.
I got a kick out of Pierson trying to put the Legend Lock on Darring. In fact, it made me laugh after typing that sentence. Fancy that, especially for someone TOO respectful at the beginning. But, he’s also DELUDED for thinking he’s beating Darring down, which is in line with how I view Pierson on what I do know.
A good win for Darring, and a good showing for Pierson in defeat. Highly enjoyable and different. Manny is one of the most underrated heels in the fed.
Party at Apartment 3F: Nice set-up for Ross Hanson's final match. The line of 'two-sided dildo' certainly got my attention, but yes, we've had a lot of stipulation announcements/final confirmation for various matches, and again, an entertaining segment to land on that,
Trouble Roxx: Going to group everything together here. First of all, what an entrance, and that ties in with their segment from earlier on, too. But, yes, they’re made to feel like a big deal from the off, plus the banter with RAF…DAMN!
As for the match itself, nicely done, barring the obvious thing Pedro knows about, and I saw it myself, but couldn’t edit after updating the show went haywire on deadline day, so I apologise for that on my end, too.
However, the match deserves for the positives to be focused on, and Team United were made to look better than they are, so credit to Pedro for making BOTH teams look the part and I look forward to reading more of Trouble Roxx in the future on the basis of ‘this taste.'
TNT v Alf Alferson: That stands out, doesn’t it? For the record, TNT is NOT dead. Brilliantly written, it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but you can ‘get away with’ that here in GLOBAL.
Physical Competition 2: Really liked this segment. I can see the PTA as future Tag Team champions already. Like what I said about Aleczander v Auggie, you kind of know where it’s going, but it’s entertaining anyway, and I got a kick out of it. Maybe I should change my choice of words.
Aleczander v Paul Sanders: Thanks, Seth, for making Sanders look better than the jobber he is. A very good match for what it was, obviously the right person went over, and I loved the closing line! Aleczander got his ‘shit in,’ I liked the heat/crowd interactions ahead of the Magnum Opus, plus it was a decisive win. Good stuff.
Dream v Principe: This was very well done, indeed. I can tell Brian had fun with this. Dream showed a different side to other matches, and both looked good in defeat. Yes, we knew who was going over, but this was ‘more like’ Principe for some of you, Dream got another win in, and I believe is the only ever-present in terms of having a match on every single Domination of the arc (I await to be corrected on that, and should have done my homework before making such a statement, but I stand by it) and to tie this in with what I said about Darring, and clearly the main event later on, it’s good to see all 3 of the Magnum Opus headliners in action and recording solid wins.
Nurse, Nurse 2: EZ Rah did a good job in the opening segment, and Jerry more than matched it here, announcing the stipulation and one-upping Rah in that regard. The segment shows you don’t need to go too long to get a message across, and it undoubtedly moved the story along, even at this late stage. A well-executed piece.
Hall of Fame Whining: Just seeing the title has got me invested. This segment had no wasted motion with plenty going on between Aleczander, Auggie AND The Best of British, connecting things beautifully from earlier on in the show, and it whetted the appetite nicely for the OPENER at Magnum Opus. Two cracking characters from the master, and a fantastic final step ahead of the blow off between two characters that could go either way.
Main Event: The entrances, while short, added to the match, and that’s why we do them. I’ll talk more about this subject on a podcast one day.
Early doors, I feel you get a good handle on what Son of Malta is like as a character, and his reputation prior to coming into GLOBAL. A nice shift into a lateral press out of the gate, and a 1 count is the right way to go about it, because if that had been 2, yours truly would be writing something negative right now. Well done.
While I ultimately agree, I believe the line of ‘Malta doing better than the 2 previous opponents’ came prematurely in the match and would have been better reserved for later down the road. I used a similar device in the match that preceded this.
Some sound commentary filling in the gaps for those of you not familiar with Reyn-Malta’s past and why certain moves are being pulled out of the bag. Going back and re-reading a match before writing a rematch helps, and it’s something I did before a match I wrote on this show, as well as one from here for the PPV. I don’t expect anyone to, but it is honestly sound advice from time to time, when you’re writing an immediate return or a big PPV match to show how well the characters know one another – OR THINK – they do.
Poisoned Rana was handled well. Did Malta recover too quickly for the Small Package counter? Perhaps.
The Calf Slicer has got me back on board, though, so praise for that. It sells that SOM isn’t a one-trick pony and has got various tricks to watch out for, whether he gets you with the Maltese Cross or not. NOW, you can use the line of the last 2 minutes as opposed to the last 2 matches, though if I’m not mistaken, there’s still a hole in that argument, which I’ll save for now.
I can picture the slap getting a great reaction from the fans, so that was a cool moment.
The match is well-built and paced. It’s not the best Reyn-Malta match, but it wasn’t meant to be from the outset, and it’s clearly Alex’s toughest test yet. I have said this privately, so I’ll say it publicly, I reckon your pre-match expectations, one way or another, will influence whether you felt this was a competitive bout or not. I would like to have lasted a LITTLE longer, but I’m not displeased with it, and Malta can certainly come again. Not pulling any punches there.
GLOBAL Showdown: Decent segment in the aftermath to sell the PPV main event, which felt longer in the Discord chat, than it did on the actual show. Hopefully, it achieved its purpose and well done to the handlers involved.
Well, even as fedhead, it can be difficult to anticipate what you’re going to get from one show to the next as we certainly went from segment-heavy to match-heavy, even if I played my part in that. Never mind. A good go-home show, short on segments, yes, there were some matches that could have waited, BUT there were/are reasons for them being here too, so I’ll accept the feedback and defend my reasons at the same time.
Onto the PPV, which will be a bugger to get through, but I am HYPED and honestly looking forward to it.
Let’s knock it out of the fucking park. Good luck, everyone.
Mini feedback real quick because my thoughts are all over the place and I have several things to catch up on (I'll have to read again the latest to get more out these are skimmed over stuff and not proper feedback);
- Alex Reyn is terrifying and the fact he made me feel bad for VIP angers me.
- I really like Angel! (Ramirez). idk why exactly I like her, but I am rooting for her atm.
- Master Sisters are my favorites I: No bias at all here. NONE AT ALL.
