Ok, so now it's example time.
SEGMENTS
So here's an example of what a booker might provide for a writer in a segment. This description is rather specific, but it should give you an idea. The part in parentheses is the users that are involved in writing the segment, so that they know which parts of the card they need to check. For thigns that we want to keep secret in the show, we PM it out to people.
So here's the example of what you'd see on the card:
SEGMENT - Family First (reyflyinfury619, Darckaos, jet)
[showhide]Backstage, Andrew Logan approaches Desmond Frazier, and is obviously furious. He blames Frazier for what happened to Alexa in the Dome of Doom. Frazier sayshe should remember that Alexa chose him (Frazier) over Logan, which should indicate exactly how much either of them care about anything Andrew says. A brawl begins but Alex Morgan soon arrives on the scene and helps Frazier to take out the 2nd Gen star. Morgan continues the beating and makes an agreement with Frazier tot ake out the Logans.[/showhide]
Then here is an example of the finished product:
SEGMENT – FAMILY FIRST
The camera cuts backstage near the trainer’s room, where Frazier is having his bandages changed from last night’s brutal Dome of Doom contest. The trainer finishes wrapping Frazier’s wound and pats him on the shoulder.
Trainer: Alright Desmond, you’re good to go. Just keep resting and you’ll be set to resume your training in no time.
Frazier: Right.
Frazier gets up and walks out of the room, but suddenly he’s not alone. The camera pans back a bit to reveal Andrew Logan already right in his face. The audience explodes with an “OOOOOOO!” as the two fierce rivals stare each other in the eye, mere inches away from each other. Logan appears dangerously calm, but you can tell that there’s something stirring underneath the surface. Frazier does not seem extremely excited to see him.
Logan: Well look who it is, Mr. Dome of Doom himself.
Frazier: What the hell do you want Logan, don’t you have a match to be losing?
The audience boos at this, but Logan gives an odd smile.
Logan: Cute, Desmond. Tell me, do you have any little bastard brothers or sisters on the way after our last trip to Scotland? I mean, I saw your mother in the audience…
This time, the resounding “OOOOOOOOO!” from the audience is about three times as loud as the previous one, and Frazier’s face flushes a dark crimson.
Frazier: One more word about my mother, Logan, and what I did to Maverick inside that Dome will look like a pillow fight compared to what I do to you…
Logan: What’s wrong, Desmond? Don’t like it when someone picks on your family? Don’t like it when someone treats people you love poorly?
Frazier’s scowl hardens now, as he sees exactly where this is going.
Frazier: Right, I know where you’re going with this Logan. You think I’m somehow to blame for what happened to Ale—
Logan: Say her name, and your teeth go straight down your throat.
Frazier is momentarily stunned into silence, as the audience cheers.
Logan: Sure, Maverick is the one who hit her with the Samoan drop. Maverick’s the reason she went through the table. But Des…
you’re the reason she was even out there to begin with.
Frazier: Don’t be thick, Logan, she came out of her own free will. I never asked her to set foot in that dome…
Logan: And yet she did. Because you were there. Because she… cared about you.
Logan looks like he has to force those last few words up, like a sick child with the stomach flu. Frazier’s face clouds.
Logan: For weeks, she warned you what would happen if you chose revenge over success, Des. I gotta admit, I thought you’d be smart enough to take the right choice. But no, you wouldn’t listen. Your blood lust couldn’t be stopped. You threw everything that you’d rightfully earned on the line… your Revolution title shot, my sister herself… just because Mike Maverick made a few daddy jokes?
Frazier looks like he’s about to start speaking, but he remains quiet.
Logan: Well now, here we are Des. You put my sister in the hospital. You might think by everything I’ve said that I wouldn’t bother with revenge…
Frazier’s eye lights up at this word, and he now appears to be on his guard.
Logan: …But the difference between you and me, Frazier, is I don’t
have a Revolution title shot, or a loved one to lose. I’ve got nothing Des, nothing but a concussion and a hospitalized sister. Now you tell me, what would you do in my situation?
Frazier looks down into the seething face of his rival, and grits his teeth as he growls out his response.
Frazier: I’d be careful of what the hell I do next, if I were you.
Logan grins widely.
Logan: Well Des, hate to disappoint you, but that’s just one more thing we don’t have in common.
Without warning, Logan throws a punch directly at Frazier’s head, connecting right with one of the many bruises Frazier received from the Dome of Doom the previous night.
Craig: Goodness, Logan’s assaulted Frazier! That young man is in a hot mood here tonight, and we’re going to have to get some help backstage!
Logan continues to hammer away at Frazier, who is pushed back against a wall. Frazier finally manages to block one of Logan’s jabs, but Logan delivers a hard kick straight to Frazier’s midsection, forcing him to double over in pain. Logan uses the opportunity to set Frazier up into position for his Millennial DDT…
Troy: Oh man, Frazier’s about to taste concrete!
Craig: Wait a second, Troy!
Suddenly Logan is clubbed in the back by someone who has just burst into the screen… Alex Morgan.
Morgan's blow knocks Logan to the floor and the Phoenix quickly helps to pull Frazier back to his feet before he turns his attention back to Logan. Morgan doesn't let Logan get back up to his feet and he stomps on the fallen star over and over again as Frazier gets involved as well. The two lions continue to stomp at Logan, but the Second Generation American starts to force his way back to his feet, as he does though, Morgan grabs hold of his and he tosses him into a flight case.
Morgan gives a few more stomps before he pushes Frazier back and he waits for Logan to start to getting back up and he lets Logan get onto his knees before he charges at him and he drives his knee into the skull of Logan, crushing it against the flight case. Logan slumps to the floor motionless, but Morgan still doesn't stop, he rolls Logan over and he mounts his chest and he begins to hammer away with punches into the skull of the young Logan.
Morgan continues the assault for a few more moments before a string of officials pull Morgan off of Logan, the camera showing that Logan has been busted open now. The officials force Morgan and Frazier away as they tend to the wounded Logan. As the Lions leave Morgan stops Frazier to look at the destruction.
Morgan: See Des, it's time that the Lions were back on top of the company, and the way we're gonna do that is by taking out the Logans.
Morgan turns and he walks away with Desmond behind him as the officials continue to check on Andrew.
Segment by reyflyinfury619, DarcKaos and jet
In the next post, I'll give you an example of a match.
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BOOKING MATCHES
So you've got your example of how to book and write a segment. What about something more complicated... a match?
Matches come in varying lengths. Some are a one-page squash, others are huge epic PPV main event encounters. When you're just starting a new fed, though, you're generally going to want to keep things on the shorter side. We have some matches in the WCSF that go 20 pages in Microsoft Word... these are rare, but they happen. When you're just starting out, an average match will probably only be a few pages, and that's perfectly fine.
So, if you're a booker, you want to maintain a small amount of control over what happens in a given match, because it will affect your future storylines that you have planned. However, you also don't want to give too many guidelines, because the idea is to let the writers be creative.
So here's an example of what you might see on a card:
MAIN EVENT - "Upgrade" Jackson vs. ??? (revealed to be Desmond Frazier), Faust at ringside (GNR, DA, DarcKaos)
[showhide]Upgrade puts on the gutsiest performance of his career, and Frazier goes from clearly understimating him to being quite respectful in victory. After the match, Frazier nods his head at Faust, as if to signal that Upgrade is a deserving candidate for his title shot. As the show closes, the cameras show Storm in the back, clearly fuming that his plan didn't work.[/showhide]
Then, here's what this would look like once it's fully written out. Again, the length is completely up to the writers in most cases.
MAIN EVENT – “Upgrade” Jackson vs. ???
Announcer: The following contest is scheduled for one fall!
Rick: We have our main event up coming, Upgrade takes one a –
Tyson: Wait a second!
Faust emerges from the backstage area onto the stage; the fans boo and are surprised to see the Champion at coming to the ring, clearly not scheduled for the match.
Rick: Faust isn’t the opponent is it? We would have known.
Tyson: He’s not in wrestling gear, Rick.
Faust stalks past the ring and moves the time keeper from his chair before taking a seat and placing the championship belt over his laps.
Rick: Faust making himself comfortable out here…. And here comes Upgrade!
Upgrade Ya!
The parkour master Upgrade Jackson comes out to a mixed reaction. Some fans show allegiance towards their country, while others are still willing to cheer on the American Upgrade.
Announcer: Making his way to the ring, from Dallas, Texas, he is... UPGRADE Jackson!
Rick: Upgrade looks a lot more focused now after that talk with Mr. Logan.
Tyson: Yeah, it'll be great to see how he can match up with whomever he's facing tonight.
Jackson prepares himself in the ring, he stretches against the ropes, his eyes are fixed on the stage awaiting his opponent.
Rick: Jackson is one of the most promising stars on this show, a young man with a lot of natural athletic ability, it’ll be interesting to see how he adapts to –
The lights cut out and smoke begins to billow from the stage. A spotlight behind the smoke screen glares out into the arena, Jackson looks on, tense.
“I am the shadow and the smoke in your eyes, I am the ghost that hides in the night”
Tyson: Woah!
“Diamond Eyes” by Shinedown kicks into gear, spotlights begin to whirl around the arena as the fans get to their feet, cheering as the Number One Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, Desmond Frazier, steps out onto the stage!
Rick: It’s Frazier!
Frazier steps through the smoke screen and looks around, his black leather jacket flowing behind him, his beard wild and shaggy. He cracks a smirk before making his way down the aisle. Inside the ring, Upgrade looks around at the fans and then back at his opponent, ready for the test that awaits him.
Announcer: And his opponent! Weighing 232 pounds, “FLAWLESS” DESMOND FRAZIER!
Frazier tags hands with fans leaning over the barriers as he makes his way to the ring.
Rick: Upgrade with a huge test ahead of him!
Tyson: How great is it to see Frazier here on Uprising Rick!?
Frazier hops into the ring and clambers onto the second rope, hitting his signature pose for the admiring fans in attendance, the lights in the arena return to normal as Frazier leaps off the turnbuckle and lands in the centre of the ring, his gaze fixed on Upgrade.
Rick: Frazier calls himself the best in the business; he has beaten some of the best that is for sure. Names like Daz, Shane Evans, Amos Hess, Jason Williams, Kaiser Cavanah, Andrew Logan, Anthony Blake and of course… Mike Maverick. How will Upgrade stand to that list of greats… it’ll be interesting to see.
Frazier takes off his coat and hands it to a technician as the bell sounds, the atmosphere in the arena is one of electricity. Upgrade shakes his hands as if to shake off the static clinging to his body as he approaches the centre. Frazier enters the ring and nods his head towards the ref, while Jackson, stone-faced, does the same.
DING DING DING
Frazier extends his hand out to Upgrade, Jackson pauses for a moment before accepting the gesture. A mistake on his part as Frazier lulls him in close and rocks him with a right hand, the fans eating up every second of it!
Tyson: A rookie mistake from Upgrade!
Frazier quickly applies the pressure, a knife edge chop lighting up the youngster, Upgrade staggers back but finds no rest from the assault as Frazier rocks him with another right! Upgrade falls into the corner, the Flawless One stalks him, raising the youngsters chin with his hand before ravaging him with a hard European Uppercut!
Rick: Upgrade needs to get out of the corner!
Frazier steps back for a moment before rocking Jackson with another, stiff, hard, uppercut! The youngster falls into the corner, his head dizzy, Desmond Frazier pulls him up by his hair. One the outside Faust looks on with a sly smirk on his face, the gold glinting on his knee. Frazier pulls Jackson into the middle of the ring and looks for a third Uppercut, Jackson side steps it this time, the youngster gets behind Frazier who spins around only to see Jackson looking for a clothesline. Frazier ducks under the attack, Upgrade continues with the momentum to the ropes, leaving his feet for a moment and using the second rope to springboard himself across the ring!
Rick: Upgrade looking to fly!
Frazier side steps the attack and swats Jackson down to the mat. Upgrade scrambles to his knees and backs off a second, looking at his opponent, wondering how he might find a way into Frazier’s defences. Frazier crouches down for a moment and tells Jackson to bring it; the youngster nods and gets to his feet.
“LETS GO FRAZIER!”
Both men step into the centre of the ring and tie up, Frazier immediately gains the advantage with a side headlock. The Flawless One looks for a head lock take down and gets it, but Upgrade squirms out from Frazier’s grasp and nips up to his feet, showing great agility. Frazier scrambles to his knees, Upgrade looks for a knee to the skull but Desmond ducks under it and gets to a vertical base, immediately picking Upgrades head again and synching in another side headlock. Frazier squeezes down hard, Upgrade looks for a way out and finds one in pushing Frazier to the ropes. Desmond, hits the ropes and charges back at Jackson, the youngster ducks under the man destined to headline Revolution and jumps to his feet awaiting his return. Frazier hits a second set of ropes and charges back to the centre, Jackson this time leap frogs over Frazier. The Flawless One puts on the breaks, turning around only to eat two feet from Upgrade, the youngster hitting a perfect drop kick! Frazier crashes to the mat; Upgrade scrambles over and gets the cover!
Rick: First cover of the match!
One!
T-
Frazier powers out. Upgrade is relentless; he remains on his opponent, not wanting to relinquish any momentum.
Tyson: Jackson needs to keep this match moving, he can’t fight at Frazier’s pace, he needs to remain moving and in the air!
As if hearing Tyson, Jackson backs Frazier up into the corner and steps back to give himself some room. Deron charges at Desmond, Frazier ducks under the oncoming high knee. Jackson uses the momentum to pull himself onto the second turnbuckle and leaps off, spiralling in the air, connecting with a huge spinning forearm taking Frazier back down to the mat!
Rick: Upgrade is warming up here!
Jackson jumps to his feet and immediately leaps into the air, somersaulting mid air and landing on the Flawless One with an elbow!
Rick: This offence is unpredictable – the cover!
One!
T-
Frazier kicks out again. Both men scramble to their feet but this time the Flawless One is a little quicker, he snuffs out any momentum Upgrade has with a boot to the face, sending Jackson straight into the mat! Frazier plucks Jackson’s arm off the mat and locks in a keylock, Jackson shouts in pain as Frazier lets out a deep breath as he regains control of the match. Upgrade grunts as Frazier applies pressure to the wrapped arm of Jackson. Upgrade tries to roll over, but the Flawless one simply uses his momentum against him, rolling over and applying even more pressure to both the arm and head of Upgrade. Upgrade struggles and kicks around, desperately trying to escape from the submission maneuver.
Tyson: I think Frazier's got him here!
Upgrade stops moving and struggling. Frazier begins to smile and starts preparing to cruise to victory. The referee has to check and see if Jackson has passed out, when all of a sudden, Jackson kicks up with both legs and kips up like a ninja. Frazier's submission is still locked in, but he almost goes bug-eyed in shock as Upgrade gets to vertical position in about 3 seconds. Frazier keeps the submission locked in, but the vertical stance allows Upgrade to spin around, fall to his knees, and smash Frazier's forearm against his shoulderblade, finally releasing the agonizing hold.
Rick: Nice chain of moves by Upgrade there.
Tyson: You said it there. You know, I really think Frazier thought he had Upgrade there. You could see that legendary cockiness coming in, but Upgrade broke it down. He may be the number 1 contender, but he'll have to watch out for this guy.
Upgrade spins around and chops Frazier in the chest. He chops him with the opposite hand and leaves a red mark on the Flawless skin of Frazier. He grabs the midsection of Frazier and attempts to swing him around on his back, but Frazier blocks the attempt by putting his foot near Upgrade's. Upgrade releases and goes for a shot to Frazier's ribs. Frazier absorbs the blow and responds with a strike to the ribs of his own. Upgrade follows suit. The fans cheer for each succesful shot by Frazier and each shot from Jackson.
Yeah!
Boo!
Yeah!
Boo!
Yeah!
Yeah!
Frazier blocks Upgrade's strike and hits him with an elbow to the right shoulder. Upgrade yelps swiftly as his arm appears to go limp. Frazier Irish-whips Upgrade to the turnbuckle, pulling his apparently injured arm. He steps back after he whips him, anticipating a springboard attack, but is met with a pleasant surprise as Upgrade hits the corner right on his arm. The number one contender briskly walks to the young Jackson and starts to work on the arm. He punches the shoulder several time, taking great joy in Upgrade's pain. He stops after the 5th blow. He grabs the young one's arm and deviously wraps it around the rope. Frazier pulls on the arm tenaciously as Upgrade grunts like an injured animal. The referee comes to break it up.
One...
Two...
Three...
Four...
Fiv-
The Flawless one breaks the hold a split second before he is disqualified, ensuring maximum damage done to Upgrade's arm. Upgrade closes his eyes, clenches his teeth, and helplessly shakes his arm back and forth, trying to restore the blood flow and circulation. Frazier looks on momentarily, before going right back to work on Jackson. He grabs Upgrade's arm for a second, but the parkour expert throws him a left forearm chop out of nowhere, stunning Frazier and giving Upgrade some space. Upgrade gets on the middle turnbuckle. He flie off, hitting Frazier with a flying clothesline and flipping off of him. He lands on his arm and pounds the mat with pain, releasing the tension from the fall. He sees Frazier on the ground, and tries to capitalize. He pulls himself with one arm towards Frazier and covers him.
One...
Two...
Frazier kicks out to Upgrades dismay.
Tyson: Upgrade is gonna need a lot more than that to take out the number one contender.
Upgrade pulls himself up with his left arm, right arm dangling uselessly at his side. He pulls up Frazier with his left arm and transitions his awkward raise-up into an Irish-whip into the corner. Frazier hits the turnbuckle facing the English crowd, who egg him on. Upgrade runs to the rope next to the turnbuckle and jumps directly on top of it. He kicks Frazier square in the face, knocking him off the turnbuckle and sending him reeling off into the center of the ring, back turned to Jackson, open to attack. Upgrade jumps off and tries to bulldog Frazier. He hits him with his injured right arm, not exactly bulldoging him, but still clobbering him in the back of his head.
Rick: Nifty move by Upgrade there, but you have to wonder if that did more damage to him than it did to the Flawless One.
Upgrade and Frazier lie on the ground, supine and prone, respectively. Frazier clutching the back of his neck, Upgrade his right shoulder. Upgrade and Frazier both stir and start to use the ropes to get themselves up. They get to their feet at the same time. They walk towards each other and lock up in the middle of the ring, struggling to best the other. Upgrade buckles for a moment. Frazier notices this and eases up a bit. He eases up too much though, and Upgrade takes control. He gets Frazier in a side head-lock. He lifts his hand and chops Frazier right on his chest, leaving a huge red welt right next to his heart. Frazier is sent rocking backwards and hits the ropes, leaning on them to try and regain some strength. Upgrade goes up to Frazier and Irish-whips him to the opposite rope. Frazier bounces off the rope and runs back. Upgrade runs at him and Frazier slides under. He stops his momentum and waits for Upgrade. Jackson bounces off and runs back at Frazier. Frazier bends over and sends him flying with a back-body drop. Only Upgrade flies over and actually lands on the rope. The fans are momentarily awed at his athleticism, and then they pop as Frazier clobbers him and sends him crashing in front of the announcer table.
Tyson: Oh no!
Upgrade lies broken in front of Faust. Faust observes emotionlessly as Upgrade lays there, eagle spread. Frazier slides out of the ring. He quickly makes eye-contact with the Uprising Champion as he drags Upgrade up and throws him into the ring. Upgrade stands there swaying on the spot, watching Frazier in front of him. He is clearly unable to to fight, but puts his fists up, willing himself to keep to keep going. Frazier looks at him with a look of what almost seems to be pity. He jumps on Upgrade and brings Jackson's head down on his knees, putting the Uprising star out of his misery.
Rick: Unbreakable!
Frazier covers Upgrade.
One...
Two...
Three!
DING DING DING
Announcer: Here is your winner... "FLAWLESS" DESMOND FRAZIER!
The English fans roar and make some noise for their hometown hero. Frazier raises his hand in victory, but does not gloat or taunt to Upgrade. Instead, he looks at his prone body, and then to Faust at ringside. Frazier locks eyes with Faust for a moment, glances back at Upgrade, and nods his head at the champion. Faust does not respond, but continues eyeballing the number one contender.
Tyson: I guess we know who Frazier thinks deserves a title shot!
The camera cuts to Mickey Storm backstage, watching the match on a flat-screen. He has a scowl on his face. He appears to be rather angry his plan didn't work out the way he planned it to.
Camera cuts back to the ring. Uprising goes off the air as both the number one contender and the Uprising championship stare at one another.
Written by: GNR and DarcKaos
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Whew! Sorry if that's all overwhelming to you guys, but remember that everything's going to be a lot simpler for you guys as you first get it kicked off, because everybody's new to the e-fed thing. Just remember, it's more important to start small and have everybody understand what they're doing and have fun with it than it is to try to start something HUGE and try to keep up. It took a long time for my fed to get to where it is now, but we were in your exact position when we started off. A lot of what the bookers do will be trial and error, but you'll get the hang of it eventually
