(01-30-2023, 08:48 PM)Mark Flynn Said: Reading in full now to make complete notes, check back later.

Edit 1: I'm getting sleepy so I'll do the last two matches later, but this is what I have so far.

I'm trying to be as constructive as possible. So I didn't label my feelings as 'good' or 'bad', but instead, 'great' and '???'. As in, these were the things I completely understood and got perfectly, and these are the things I didn't understand the execution of, but maybe we have different opinions on storytelling and that's okay.

If you wrote a match or segment and don't think my notes are good, feel free to throw them away. The thread asked for notes and I'm mostly trying to help get more conversation going.

Edit #2: Finished!

SnowJob Review

Segment 1: Ned Kaye - vs - Chris Page promos

Great: It set motivations and stakes for both Kaye and Page going into the Television Title match. It furthered the Saga - vs - CCPE storyline which has been a-brewing for months now. It’s been a gradual simmer, but it’s exciting to see Theo make moves to escalate the Saga’s membership, given how dominant CCPE has been thus far in the story. Buster Gloves is an exciting addition to the Saga, I love his work

???: If there’s one issue with the opening segment, it kinda felt like Kaye and Page were talking across each other. Kaye was like ‘THIS is what the match is about, you’ve been targeting me to get in my head’’ and Page is like ‘No, you’re self-centered, THIS is what the match is about, I’ve been disrespected and I carried XWF’s brand for two years.’ And it kinda feels Page and Kaye are throwing darts at each other, trying to hit emotional targets that don’t bother the other guy too much.

It’s like, that can be really interesting in the build phase, two guys having beef over different issues, but by night-of-the-show, the exact force-of-nature driving these two powerhouses toward each other in conflict should be locked down, ironclad. Imho.

Segment 2: JMJ - vs - Jacki O’Lantern

Great: Solid match. It’s interesting to see JOL expand out of the Madness roster. I’ve been following her and Kieran King’s segments, I’m interested to see where her Warfare storyline takes her and if it overlaps with the Madness storyline, or if they’re completely separate.

???: GodDAMN, son. Three gotch-style piledrivers back-to-back? Fuck, is JMJ dead? Feels like an odd line to cross for a face like JOL to break a guy’s neck for a non-title win. But, I know JOL is a Deathmatch Division regular, so she might just go that hard in the paint.

Segment 3: CHARDONNAY - vs - Oswald & Vayden

Great: Great match. Solid psychology through-out. I like Oz as this dominant giant that also cheats. And Blondie tossing the much smaller Vayden into the corner to compel Ozzy to tag in is that kind of face-shit where it’s not good strategy, but Blondie obviously wanted a piece of Oz more than winning at that point, haha.

I like Oz’s new angle. I wonder if the tag-team will go on beyond this point. I like how often the other three were using Vayden as a weapon lol.

Great character work for Blondie indicating he can still continue with the shaka sign.

???: We got a great sense of psychology and chemistry team vs teams, but didn’t get a great sense of comradery or psychology between the teammates. Is Vayden okay with being slammed by her teammate? Weaponized by her opponent? Do Dionysus and Blondie vibe completely, are they opposites that just fit together? Is Oz using Vayden as a tool or  does he see her as a teammate? A little bit of bickering or teamwork goes a long way in terms of bringing life to a tag-team.

Segment 4: Chris Page & Kat Jones

Great: Solid escalation from segment #1. We get a brief preview of two organizational leaders within CCPE and how they’re trying to shore up ranks headed into a possible confrontation with the Saga. But, when Theo runs security and the arena is XWF’s, can back-up even arrive? The stakes are clear and add tension to the upcoming confrontation.

???: The back-and-forth between Page and Kat was just a little odd. At the start, Page feels like he believes he’s in total control and that he’s in Theo’s head. Then, Kat comes in like the voice of reason, telling him he’s outgunned. Then, Page is like ‘nah, we’ve got all these guys here in the building for the show’. But, then, Page is like “idk, maybe I’m paranoid”? That prompts Kat to send out a group-text calling for CCPE members in the area to provide backup. And Page is like “No good, Theo can block out any CCPE talent that’s not signed to a contract to compete. He has us by the nuts.” And Kat is like “I’ll try anyway.”

The beats are all good and further the story. But Page’s sudden shift from “I have nothing to worry about” to “Theo has us by the nuts” is a little jarring. And Kat sending out the call dulls the sting of Page’s acknowledgement that Theo’s made moves to limit backup. If Theo has CCPE by the balls, let’s stick with that and ramp up the tension.

Segment 5: Anarchy Title Match - Ruby - vs - Tommy Wish

Great: Match was great. Happy JB/TW is getting a title-run. He’s been around forever, hope he takes advantage of this opportunity and tells a killer story with it.

I loved the character-work from Cent and JB as the two different types of guest referees: The biased heel and the face calling it straight down the middle.

Fascinating choice to have JB switch to Cent’s viewpoint and admonish Reggie for cheating, then Reggie getting mad and leaving. Am interested to see if this leads to the THUGS fracturing.

Love Cent & Ruby. Fascinating character work that Cent felt awful about counting the three on Ruby but that Ruby has no ill will. Just two goody-two-shoes faces that believe in ethical wrestling and care about each other. Very sweet.

Loved the lumberjack stipulation. Gave a lot of the more prominent members of the Anarchy roster something to do at the PPV, that will hopefully turn into angles and segments heading into the next cycle.

???: No Lord Raab? Also, is ‘The’ Jessica Anderson dead? Only notes I have. Great match. Succeeded at the insane task of forwarding stories across the entire Anarchy brand.

Segment 6: Tag-Title Match (#CoolKids - vs - Nickles & Waters - vs - X-Treme Alliance)

Great: Beautiful match. Fantastic little interactions between teammates (like Gravy pulling Barney to the apron to check if he was dead, Dolly and Charlie bowling over the #CoolKids with the ladder).

The finisher sequence with all the competitors doing their shining wizard style kicks was fantastic.

Whoever wrote this should write all Pip Collins’ commentary. That special meter comment gave me a healthy chuckle.

Great transition from people brawling in the early-going to bringing the ladder in the ring for offense, transitioning neatly to the objective of the match, setting up the ladder to get the belts. Masterfully done.

???: I’ve thought about it and I don’t think I have any notes. Great match.

Segment 7: Raion Kido - vs - ‘Mad Dog’ Mark Wright

Great: Solid match. Real different meeting of styles here between Kido and Mad Dog. Felt like both characters were on full-display. Really sold how tough Mad Dog is taking all of Kido’s moves and fighting through it until the Lightning Punch.

???: Somewhat one-sided. Wright got a brief flurry of offense in, then starting barking like a dog and “somehow” Kido hit a shotgun dropkick. From that point, I don’t think Mad Dog got in a single offensive move. Verging on anti-climactic.

Segment 8: Goth is haunted by a ghost

Great: Haha, fucking what? Goth is being haunted by a ghost that maybe only he can see and talk to, except was the figure standing in the doorway the end the ghost? And Goth needs the X-Treme title to banish the ghost? Fucking amazing.

???: I have no idea what’s going on or who this ghost is, but I love it.

Segment 9: TV Title Match: Page - vs - Kaye (Ironman match)

Great: Brilliant move to have Page go up one fall early. Completely shifts the tension and makes the pro-XWF face Kaye the underdog against the heel. Perfect choice.

Fantastic back-and-forth ironman match. Great psychology throughout, with Page as the cocky heel that came to slowly understand the threat Kaye posed against Kaye, the face with everything to prove.

Genius face move and story move having Kaye as the defending champion request an overtime period. Again, IC, horrendous strategy. But as covered by the opening segment, for Kaye, this was about taking down a Page, a guy who, according to Kaye, has been trying to fuck with him for months. Of course, he’s not gonna be happy with a draw. He needs to score Saga a definitive win over CCPE.

And, of course, that doesn’t happen. The hero’s hubris bites him in the ass. I liked the whole ending sequence of the match.

???: No notes. Match was excellent.

Segment 10: CCPE - vs - SAGA Confrontation

Great: Page goes for the fake post-match respect handshake, then punts Kaye in the nuts. What a heel. Then, he calls out CCPE to hit the ring. The Saga guys are already rolling out down the ramp as well. 

The guys pair off, brawling all over the arena. Cool chaotic visual.

Thad’s return is excellent news. He does great work as a roster member and him shifting from CCPE to Saga feels like the first real victory that Saga has scored. Majorly needed for the CCPE - vs - Saga story to feel like it could go either way.

???: Goddamn, the Saga boys sure left Theo to fend for himself very quickly. I understand that Theo is a former Uni champ, and canonically can wrestle with the best, but the way that the announce team presented it, Theo was not expected to hold his own in the fight. And in fact, got his head caved in by Page with very little resistance. Kinda doesn’t gel with the Segment 4 statement that Theo has CCPE by the nuts that night when things immediately go sideways for him and he ends up with his skull bleeding from multiple chair shots.

The ending to the confrontation was… not what I would have done. Thad cuts Page a check buying out his remaining CCPE contract, effectively becoming a free agent, so he can without liability sign onto Theo’s Saga. Like, cool, sure. I feel like given the ultra-violence up to this point in the segment, it is an underwhelming climax to be executed by a buy-out clause. Especially when Page was previously seconds away from breaking Theo’s neck with a second-rope attack with a chair wrapped around Pryce’s throat.

Pryce being near-mortally wounded from multiple chairshots, then standing up to bro-shake with Thad as Page and Jones just kinda roll-out is an… odd ending to what had up to this point, been a very violent, escalating confrontation.

That plot-point about Kat calling CCPE dudes that aren't Flynn, Holden, Vaughn or Bam never turns to anything, as far as I can tell.

NEXT-DAY EDIT: I've thought about it more and maybe the phone call was a red herring so you weren't sure which side Thad was on as he rolled down the ramp? If so, that's clever, but I feel like it's a hat-on-a-hat. Or like when Bobby Heenan called "But who's side is he on?" hinting at Hogan's heel turn in WCW before it even happened. Thad switching sides should be a shock. I'd have let that moment go and just let the announcers be shocked about it in the moment, THEN afterwards reason out and/or speculate that Thad switched because he's Theo's nephew, etc, etc.

Also, and this is my fault for not doing more about this. It’s a little odd that Flynn and Vaughn have no issue fighting on the same side in this segment, given that they’re about to wage an all-out war for the Uni in maybe a half-hour, in-universe. I get that that's the theme of the CCPE - vs - Saga story, but more effort could have been put into tension between Vaughn and Flynn throughout this feud. That’s on me.

Segment 11: X-Treme Title Match: Goth - vs - Myst - vs - King

Great: Holy shit, this match was amazing. Very very creative experimental choices throughout. Love Myst's character work. Did a great job of establishing her as both crafty and crazy which is a very difficult line to tow. (i.e. having the brains to survive being crushed in the trunk of the car by crawling out the car space, but also willing to jump off a 20 foot high platform onto concrete!)

Really loved the psychology of all three wrestlers. Everyone had the primary goal of winning the match, with the secondary goal of eliminating a third wheel from contention to transition to one-on-one, increasing their chances of victory. That makes so much sense from a competition perspective, I love it.

Isaiah King's choices were fantastic. After all these efforts where two of them would try to put one down for the count and they'd recover, incredibly smart to physically remove Myst from contention by lifting her 20 feet in the air. Only flaw was assuming Myst wouldn't throw herself to possible death to keep the title, which is fantastic character work for both King and Myst.

Sometimes, characters in matches are written like a mad libs grab bag of their move-lists. That was never the case here, and I'd like to highlight Goth, who the entire match, felt like a character moving and using these moves to further his off-kilter violent goals. Loved it.

???: Only one note that the match-writer still handled very well. Given the build to the match on Warfare (Queen's Court), and how hard Goth has been pursuing Myst for the X-Treme, it's *slightly* odd that Goth and Myst decide to pair up to eliminate King. One might assume Myst would pair with King to eliminate Goth, who has been pursuing her for months.

Interestingly, though, the announce team covers this! They explain Goth's motivation as wanting to maximize his chances to win the belt competing one-on-one versus having a wild card like King in the mix. And is the subtext that even though Goth has been harassing Myst for a title shot for months, Myst was actually more concerned about King and wanted him out early because she was more confident she could handle Goth? If so, that's a fascinating detail!

Segment 12: Uni Title Match (Vaughn - vs - Flynn)

Great: I might be biased because Flynn is in it, but I thought Dolly knocked this match out of the park.

It would have been easy to just cut to Vaughn and Flynn at the Super Aggro-Crag. Having it raised out of the ground is fucking brilliant lol.

I picked the stipulation and Olmec as the Special Guest Referee and even I was amazed and excited with how much was added to the match by Olmec doing trivia and introducing the hazards and obstacles.

I also want to call out all the sub-text built into the match, which was DENSE and masterfully done. Flynn called out in his trash talk that Vaughn cares about getting gold and nothing else and how he has a bone to pick with. Vaughn's take was more "I have no problem with Flynn, he's a CCPE teammate, but this is my time and I should be Universal Champion." This is perfectly encapsulated by Vaughn immediately leaping into the obstacle course and Flynn instead immediately attacking Vaughn. Way to capture exactly what these characters targeted in their trash talk and using it to inform how they would act in the match.

The trivia question bit is BRILLIANT. Flynn alleged in his trash talk that things just work out for Vaughn, "right place, right time" World Title Reigns, and that Vaughn has had a much easier career road than Flynn has had. So, Vaughn beating Flynn at trivia, then LITERALLY having an easier route to the mountaintop than Flynn does? Brilliant. Even more brilliant because Vaughn actually earned the easier road by actually answering the trivia questions correctly! That's so great and turns Flynn's bitterness on its head. Flynn acts like it's not fair that Vaughn gets more chances and title shots, but isn't it completely fair if Vaughn actually earns those shots?

And Flynn pulling the lever to throw both he and Vaughn back to the bottom, maiming them both with boulders? Loved it.

Vaughn visually beating Flynn at his own Optimal Path game by shoving him into Olmec's mouth... Olmec's eyes are lightsabers... Lightsaber duel... Knee-strike. Incredibly climactic back-and-forth ending. Loved it.

I also really love the story where Flynn pre-becoming-Uni-champ was an irritable pure-wrestling guy, who hated gimmicks and was constantly talking about how the top wrestling champ should be a WRESTLER.

And now he's a soulless corporate husk that's turned the Universal Title into a game show hellscape because that's what the audience loves to watch and, thus, maximizes profit. Flynn sold his soul for SUCCESS™ and RECORD PROFITS™ and the match perfectly furthers that storyline.

???: Boy, Bourbon sure made Flynn and Vaughn look stupid. Which I guess is the point of the interruption. But, I'm of the opinion that, if two guys are fighting in a rock-climbing match, having a third person jetpack up to the top, tell both guys he's better than both of them and then jetpack away. It's a great way to put over Bourbon, but kinda takes the wind out of the match's sails. I get that the match is gimmicky and that that isn't everyone's cup of tea. But, if we're already doing a gimmick match, let's sell it as a legit competition instead of making it look dumb as we're in the middle of doing it.

If this is a signal to set-up Bourbon for a shot at the Uni, I like that Bobby wants the ante-upped on the game show bullshit with Double Dare and Mark Meadows.

Phew, done. Hope this helps. Feel free to disagree with me.