Fight Night '24 & KODM3 || Card & Discussion Thread.

[SupineSnake]

the FWA proudly presents

FIGHT NIGHT.
only on the WCNetwork.

Friday 15th March, 2024.
Live from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

FIRST MATCH | 1/20.
Big Bryan Bastard vs. Chris Peacock.
Singles Match (F1 Climaxxx Pool B 1st/2nd Play-Off).
Match Writer: Dubb.

With the sudden and unexpected shelving of Xavien Marshall, Pool B and indeed the F1 as a whole was cast into turmoil late last week. It was announced on Fallout 038 that this scheduled match between Baxter and Peacock would now decide the positioning of the two atop the pool, with both having defeated Halloween Knight earlier in the competition. It is understood that a tie here would hand first place to Baxter, with the FWA North American Championship having accrued one extra point over his campaign thanks to a tie with Marshall against Peacock's loss. The runner-up of Pool B will face Michelle von Horrowitz in the semi-finals, whilst the winner will have to wait for the outcome of the evening's main event. Although both are already through to Meltdown XXXIX’s Final 4, a lot is still to play for in this rematch from 2023’s F1, with pride amongst the trophies up for grabs.

SECOND MATCH | 1/20.
The Coven (Trixie Bordeaux, Blair Ravenwood, and Celestia Ravenwood) [c] vs. Tr1ck or Tr4sh (Juan Tothrefor, Halloween Knight, and Trash Mammal).
Trios Match for the FWA Trios Championships.
Match Writer: Man.

Trash Mammal of Tr1ck or Tr4sh was able to secure this shot at the FWA Trios Championships by retrieving a present in the Secular Spectacular match on A Very Crossfire Christmas. The Coven, and specifically the team of Trixie and the Ravenwood sisters, have held the belts in question since they were inaugurated in July of last year. They have already successfully defended them in matches against the YOKAI Death Squad and the Undisputed Xperienx, and will be looking to add another scalp to that collection at Korakuen Hall.

MOD NOTE: A 3000 word limit is in play for Trios Championship matches, including all words used in titles, images, quotes, etc. For promos submitted by PDF, only words in the PDF will be counted and therefore graded.

THIRD MATCH | 1/∞.
Konchu Hao vs. Mike Parr.
Singles Match (F1 Climaxxx Pool A 2nd/3rd Play-Off).
Match Writer: Tommy.

The knock-on effects of Xavien Marshall’s departure from the F1 Climaxxx tournament on pool A - the group that Xavien was not a part of - mean that this singles match up between Mike Parr and Konchu Hao is now for a spot in the semi-finals. Michelle von Horrowitz, Big Bryan Bastard, and Chris Peacock have already secured their spots in Osaka’s Final 4, but ‘the Prodigy’ and ‘’the Mad Wizard’ thus far boast identical records. They each have a loss to the aforementioned Dreamer, whilst also possessing a victory over Xperienx Xtacee, meaning this contest - which must go to a finish, regardless of time limit - will decide who faces the winner of Bryan Bastard and Chris Peacock in the semi-final stage.

FOURTH MATCH | 1/30.
Brooklyn Steiner [c] vs. Madison Gray.
Singles Match for the FWA Television Championship.
Match Writer: Jimmy.

At A Very Crossfire Christmas, Madison Gray was able to secure one of four presents, and inside was a plane ticket to Tokyo, symbolising that she would get the opportunity to challenge for the FWA Television Championship on this show. Brooklyn Steiner, a relative newcomer to the Fantasy Wrestling Alliance, has gone from strength to strength since claiming that championship against Kleio De Santos back at Winter Wasteland in a triple threat match also involving Jack the Clipper. This defense will be Steiner’s very first of his Television Championship reign, with Madison Gray hoping she can turn some of her recent momentum into her first taste of FWA gold.

FIFTH MATCH | MAIN EVENT | 1/60.
Jay Kenny and Donny Toner [c] vs. Randy Ramon and Chris Crowe.
Tag Team Match for the FWA World Tag Team Championships.
Match Writer: Man.

The tag team division was thrown into turmoil this week when Xavien Marshall relinquished his half of the FWA World Tag Team Championships ahead of Fallout 038. He, along with partner Jay Kenny, were due to defend those belts on Fight Night against Randy Ramon and Chris Crowe, the winners of December's Buddy Bowl tag tournament. Ramon and Crowe were thrown together by chance, and managed to outlast nine other randomly assigned tandems to earn this shot at the champions. It was announced on Fallout 038 that Kenny would be joined in this defense and hypothetical future defenses by Donny Toner, who steps in for Xavien at the eleventh hour to ensure this tag team main event goes ahead, even if not quite as planned.

and

KODM3.
only on the WCNetwork.

Sunday 17th March, 2024.
From an Undisclosed Location in Japan.

The King of the Deathmatch tournament returns for its third installment, with FWA X Champion Tommy Bedlam hoping the defend his prize against fifteen competitors. The FWA descends on an undisclosed location in Japan to see who will take home the X Championship and the Crown of Thorns (if, of course, it's reclaimed from inaugural winner Thomas West in time for the tournament), with ‘blind bracketing’ in play, meaning we won't know who will be facing who in any of the rounds until the participants’ entrance themes hit. The KODM tournament will be filmed over the course of Saturday and then released on the WCNetwork on Sunday evening.

The sixteen FWA stars descending upon this unnamed island for KODM3 are:

FWA X Champion Tommy Bedlam.
Aka Yurei.
Alyster Black.
Anzu Kurosawa.
Colby Sol.
Jack the Clipper.
Jason Randall.
Jeffry Mason.
Johnny Johnson.
Kleio De Santos.
Leafdom.
Sawyer Xavier.
Trixie Bordeaux.
Vengador.
Xperienx Xtacee.
XYZ.

The structure of the tournament is as follows:

FIRST ROUND | CAGE OF DEATH 8x1v1 MATCH.
In this unique match, two rings will be in play, with one large open-topped cage around them both. All sixteen competitors will start in the ring, but each of them is assigned a specific opponent that they have to overcome to qualify for the second round, but we won't find out who that opponent is until directly before the opening bell. Eight wrestlers will survive the Cage of Death opener, due to begin at 12:00 local time, to progress to the quarter finals singles matches.

SECOND ROUND | FANS BRING THE WEAPONS ISLAND DEATHMATCHES.
In the first two editions of the King of the Deathmatch, one of the quarter finals was a Lumber-Nephews Fans Bring the Weapons Deathmatch, and half of that stipulation survives into the third instalment. The Nephews may be AWOL, but the FWA fans in attendance are invited to bring along weapons of their own choosing to go along with whatever tournament organisers have packed around and beneath the ring. These four quarter finals matches are due to begin at 14:00 local time and will decide who makes the final four.

SEMI-FINALS | 10,000 LIGHT TUBES CAN'T BE WRONG DEATHMATCH // CLOCKWORK ORANGE HOUSE OF FUN DEATHMATCH.
These two stalwart match types, both featuring in the first two King of the Deathmatch tournaments, make their return as part of KODM3. The four remaining participants will be randomly drawn into these semi-finals matches, due to begin at 17:00 local time.

FINAL | TEXAS^2: TEXAS BULLROPE TEXAS DEATHMATCH.
This year's final seems to have been constructed with current FWA X Champion in mind. ‘The Cowboy' Tommy Bedlam would no doubt feel at home in this Texas Bullrope Texas Deathmatch, where the only way to win is by pinfall or submission, but there is no guarantee that Bedlam will even make this grand final. All sixteen KODM hopefuls will be targeting a place in the TEXAS^2 match, due to start at 20:00 local time.

Promo deadlines:

Sunday 3rd March at 23:59PM Pacific.
Monday 4th March at 03:00AM Eastern.
Monday 4th March at 08:00AM UK.
Monday 4th March at 19:00PM Melbourne.

No extensions.

GLHF.​

 

[Shawn]

 

[Oz]

here i not go again

 

[Gurryman]

 

[Grimoire Lenin]

God dayum, this will be interesting

 

[Rosie]

Fight Night logo/Art pleases my weeb heart.

 

[Dubb]

As posted in the Discord:

As you all know that there's been some transition going on behind the scenes and honestly I think we could all use a little more time to breath after this week. SO - the mod team has decided to extend this cycle by a week.

So take some time to regroup and then come back stronger than ever.

 

[Mandalorian]

I thought that I would take the opportunity to review the KODM promos that I have read/graded. Don’t want to go into masses of detail with these, but will do my best to comment on at least a couple of things I liked and then in an entirely constructive manner, what I think could have maybe been considered or looked at differently to elevate, if anything.

Trixie Bordeaux: Using last year’s KODM as a reference point at the start for us to then compare with where Trixie is by the end of it. This is very strong character growth and the way you chose to put the promo together punches us in the face with it. I like that this is all about Trixie, how and why she has changed. Her not being happy with losing important matches started off as the motivation but then it just seemed like she realised that version of her may have never been able to achieve what she wanted to, and it all being because of deep-rooted fear was a great touch. This seems like almost a blank slate for her and a chance for a fresh beginning with a new attitude. I like the paper effect and it is a good touch usually, but I found the promo quite difficult to read at times, unfortunately. I think the bolding with the font chosen does make it quite hard on the eyes. Not a major concern, but it could have looked cleaner. That being said though, there’s a lot of good stuff in here. Very good effort.

Johnny Johnson: Logan Darwin cameos are always a plus, so points there. I think the sole opponent focus being on Tommy is fine, given the history between them and the tension that has been building since Johnson returned at Winter Wonderland. I do believe I saw you say somewhere that you wished you had more time to work on this one, and I think that may have stopped this from being elevated even more. This promo would probably have exceeded the WW promo (which I loved) had we gotten a bit more of an exploration of the clear trauma Johnny experienced as a child watching Logan bleeding and how he then became fine with the sight of blood and then began to lean on wrestling being in his blood. The scenes with Johnny as a child all hit the mark in terms of evoking emotion and building sympathy. Similarly to the Trixie one, I think a couple of parts were hard to read due to the formatting, namely the inner monologue parts. Johnson is a character I always tend to enjoy reading promos for, and this was no different.

Jason Randall: Good to see some continuity from what happened on the last set of shows and Randall’s knee and overall health being a factor. He was clearly determined here, as he should be with a chance to prove himself. I always like the interactions with Penny in these promos too, and of course the hint that he might not have a lot left in the tank and seeing what you do with that will be fun. What I think this promo would have benefitted from is Jason going on a journey of some sort? Even if he starts and begins the promo determined to do KODM and not caring what people say or think, some doubt over whether that was actually the right thing to do would help especially in the character development section. Formatting very good as usual with Jimmy promos, so no comments there. Nice work.

Xperienx Xtacee: “You would think that for someone without a gag reflex, you wouldn’t throw up so easily.” - amazing line. The opening exchange between Monica and Antonio was good shit. Very funny. I enjoyed how relevant you made this to KODM and XX’s place in it and the thread of him being dissatisfied with his standing in the company and not being taken seriously was good. In fact, it reminds me of a disco dancer from a few years ago that couldn’t win important matches and other wrestlers tried to dismiss as just a gimmick. Dream sequences happen quite a lot, but this one again seemed quite relevant and the thought of XX hijacking a plane just so he could throw himself out of it, showing his daring, was fun as well. With the whole “I want to be a winner” thing at the start, I’d have liked to have seen that come back and factor into the ending a bit more. Did the dream convince him that he can be, etc. But this was a very enjoyable read. It hit my sense of humour and got a few laughs when it intended to. Good work.

Jack the Clipper: I’m a big fan of this character so it was a shame that you did not have enough time to write something proper for this, as I do think given your ability he could have been a bit of a dark horse. Won’t write anymore here as I’ve quadrupled the length of the promo already.

Blair Ravenwood: Great title. A short promo here which definitely does the job of moving the ongoing power struggle within The Coven forward. Blair’s motivations and reasoning for all of this happening makes sense from her position and the work recently has done an effective job of adding some more layers to the sisters and differentiating them from one another. With something this length, one is always limited from getting really into things and as I’m sure you’re aware of, there’s no real story here. However nothing wrong with this as a character study of Blair and what she is hoping to get out of being in the tournament. Format will limit scoring in some areas but character-wise this is a strong piece of work.

XYZ: Lol at the references to XYZ not technically being allowed another shot at the X Championship. I know we usually say that the “list” promos in these multi-person matches are common, but at the time of writing (I only have one more to read after this one), no one else has taken that approach. Highlighting the relationships with some of the other competitors is good and I like the allegorical uses of the other people the gang met. Good character growth from XYZ to use what happened with Jerry dipping to adapt his approach and attitude towards the others. I think the promo could have benefitted from a bit clearer distinction between scenes - something like location headings etc, just to make it harder to not lose track. This was good though, the journey that XYZ went on made sense given his current state of play and the issues with Kleio. Always enjoy reading these and this one was no different.

Colby Sol: Top use of “Dickhead”. The first monologue was very good. I’ve said before that whilst a monologue can be inherently “un”-creative, they can still be very strong and this one was. So, this is actually the final promo of the bunch I’ve read and Sol stands out from the bunch here as he’s the only one that didn’t have something which has brought him down coming into it. The guy was just confident in himself the whole way through, and given he’s 2-0, why shouldn’t he be? I liked the acknowledgement that OF COURSE the cab driver is a wrestling fan. An area where I think we could have seen a bit more of is if everything didn’t go smooth sailing for him here and how he’d react to that? It’s good to see this hunger for power though, and depending on how he gets on here, his confidence could increase even more. Formatting was clean aside from the font switching up a couple of times. Overall, this was really good. Definitely rose to the occasion. Good shit.

Sawyer Xavier: A very articulate piece here, especially in the opening. Great descriptive writing of the surroundings. This really packed several huge emotional punches throughout, with how Sawyer was mistreated by his father, the all too real story of drifting apart from friends and then of course Sawyer questioning his entire existence. I feel like I was missing a bit of a link as to why Sawyer resolved to do this for Hank instead of himself? It’s clear Hank was/is a very important person in his life so maybe it could have been reinforced a bit more, however saying that, the lingering promise to get a drink with an old friend being a reason Sawyer gave himself to step down from the ledge is so realistic. Great work on that part. Not masses of focus on the tournament itself aside from the end, but it doesn’t stop this being a very powerful promo. Nice work, Blaine.


Really good batch of promos here. A lot of good stuff and all were enjoyable reads. Please remember that all of the above is intended in an entirely constructive manner and in no way am I trying to diminish anyone’s efforts. No obligation to reciprocate a review either, so no expectations from me on that front. Best of luck to everyone in the tournament.