Effective Thinking with... SBS: A Very Special Edition
Okay, okay, okay, so interview fever is going around and I've gone and done the best interview EVER! So basically me and SBS had a little chat, imagine Jay Leno or Parkinson kinda chat shows... Feed Back will be lovely to decide on what route effective thinking will go down.
EffectsofRaven: People, I have returned with a third addition of Effective Thinking with EffectsofRaven, and I'm joined by my cohort and fellow Headwriter, SBS! Now, reason I'm doing an interview week, is because I wanted to change this up, and doing something unique, so here we go! And straight off the bat, SBS, the past week you saw Raw Roulette versus Smackdown live from the Astro Stadium and really, what are your thoughts, be as brutal and honest as possible!
SBS: My thoughts on the shows. Well if you want me to be brutally honest I'd have to say the two shows this past week trumped anything I've seen before in ETW, UCW, UWF, etc. Minus PPV's of course. The work put into those shows was not given enough credit. Especially you man. That show you put together was incredible.
EffectsofRaven: Thanks for the kind words and Cwalker is putting up one hell of a fight and I think it's been helping both of us and him make UWF Better battling it out and with what you told me last week about someone saying I couldn't do a proper show just drove me further but would you agree that the TTing standard helps making the shows better? Does good and tough TTing drive you?
SBS: Of course. E-feds live and die by participation. UCW and ETW hit their peaks when tting was at its highest. For me if no one posts or if its just 1-0 it makes very hard for me to write. For example I find writing easier when I have material to work with, I love to incorporate people's TT's into a match. It not only makes it more fun to write, but I think overall it makes a better product. And regardless of what anyone says Cwalker, you, and I are out to give the best possible product.Of course we can only do that with good and tough tting as you put it.
EffectsofRaven: While we're on the subject of trash-talking, it's almost certain Prodigy is going to become Trash-Talker of the month, in UCW that would be unheard of, in-fact a few of the Headwriters saw Prodigy as a lower-midcarder. But with the World Championship being your baby as we like to call it, why is it Prodigy (in your mind) is fit to be the Standard Bearer for Smackdown and it's champion? Also, why do you think Prodigy has improved greatly, particularly underneath you?
SBS: Prod has suffered from the very same thing I've suffered for years , and that was no one would trust him to give him the ball and roll with it. Prod in my mind has always been at the very least upper mid-card, with only a small push of the buttons to send him to the top. It is very hard as a tter to tt when you know your headwriter either A. hates your guts or B. doesn't give a damn about you. You aren't motivated to try and you just fall in this constant state of loss after loss. It takes someone of great character to overcome that, and Prod has. That's the first thing I saw that would make him the standard bearer of our brand. The other reason why, is because I went to him and I said, you post hard I'll give you a shot at the big one. From that point on Prod has been on fire. I've said the same thing to numerous guys throughout the years and you can ask them, I give them a chance. I'm not afraid to give a guy the ball. Of course they drop it well then they're is usually no going back. But the reason I love him as Champ is he isn't a Dresdon, or an AK, or a Lewb, or a Slim who have won the big one not only several times but long reigns each. Nothing against them of course, but seeing a new guy at the top, like Bumout, or Prod, I think makes the roster, the little guys like Lub and BDC and Andrew who have never gotten the chance to run with the ball incentive to work hard. This is I believe what makes Prod a great symbol on Smackdown, because I want the message on Friday nights to be if you are a newb you still have a shot at the World Title if you work hard. Under other people you were stuck where you were and that was it. Not like that here in my mind. Plus I'm always helping out my tter's with their characters. Prod has asked me a hundred times how to improve, Lewb, and honestly I love doing it, so anyone who wants tips let me know. I like seeing people wanting to improve and Prod is the symbol of what happens when you do.
EffectsofRaven: Yeah, I'm exactly the same, I truly do believe in giving people a chance, so far, I've been the only person to give Sammeh a proper shot at being the champ, in fact it was the last thing I really did for UCW which I did in good faith. But I noticed you mentioned Lub & BDC, would agree with the notion that BDC is the most improved trash-talker in UWF and Lub is possibly one of Smackdown's Diamonds in the rough?
SBS: That is how I would describe Lub, rough. He's were Prod was right before his Smackdown run. I understand you've taken him under your wing and its shown in the past few months. The thing about Lub though is that he's the European Champion. A title that unfortunately doesn't get as much hype as I feel it should. He's earned it and right now he's proving to me he can defend it. Could he be WHC? I believe so, he's impressed me, though I do want to see what he can do now at Summerslam as he has two very good opponents in BDC and AM. I will say this though, he keeps it up that Euro title could be around his waist for a long time.
As for BDC, I say it all the time, I don't get the RP style of tting. But yet BDC has someone managed to come from that style into our style and just Bam! Everytime I read a tt of his now I am laughing. His recent tt with Richardo had me howling. Now he's a guy that could very well get to the top fast. However I like to push people slow. BDC has an opponent in Lub who for all intents and purposes could be the next Prod.I think if BDC pulls an upset and wins the Euro title, I'll probably keep him there. Nothing against him, but a show is only as good as your mid tier. And with the stacked roster we have of Main Event Tter's it almost makes the Mid Tier just as big as the Heavyweight one. I believe these two along with AM have that ability.
AM is another guy who was left out, but here's the thing about him. He puts him mind to the task he can be deadly. His match against Jarrett was so close and seeing what he is doing now that they've become a tag team has made me proud. All three of these men are Diamonds in the rough. I wouldn't give people title shots if I didn't think they deserve it. So that tells you I have extremely high hopes for all three of them.
EffectsofRaven: I am indeed looking forward to writing the triple threat match, it's going to be a chaotic match, but we still have three other matches on the card which we should really touch upon, firstly; the UWF Tag Team Championship, do you think this could be most fiercily contested Tag Title match in UCW & UWF History?
SBS: Here's the major problem with the Tag Team Championships. The fact they are cross branded. It makes it incredibly hard to book, because normally its Raw does this, SD does that, ECW did that, and only on rare occasions like Survivor Series did they come together. With the tag titles its all the time. I remember in UCW I had James Storm and Robert Roode as my champions and they were too face off against a Raw team and a Thunder team at the time. Everytime I wanted to do anything with the tag titles I had to check with both head writers of the other brand to make sure its ok. I personally don't like cross brand stuff. I'm ok with it happening at the Big 4, especially the Rumble and Survivor Series. But it complicates my life as a writer alot. For the tter it's fun, go in and talk up your brand, but for example this champ v. champ match on SD I have to put everything through Cwalker before I do it. Otherwise it will cause problems and... Eh enough of a rant and back to the question.
I look at this match and I see 4 former UCW World Champs in the ring together. Its all on one show. RIR and Hoov are on a completely different level right now.Dres' Sting is excellent and he's come out firing. And of course there is you, and your Joe just gets better and better each week. I think it does have the potential to be the best ever tting wise and probably writing wise. 4 solid dependable guys, all on the top of their game. I just hope it builds up credibility to the titles because I felt like it fell flat at the Bash.
EffectsofRaven: I think the issue with the Bash incident Raw was unprepared as such and this isn't meant to be a cheap shot but did you feel, that having the YES versus Black & White Machine at Great American Bash had been the wiser option and have Wolfe/D-Bry a month later or has things panned out for the better?
SBS: Honestly it worked out fine. One way or the other these two matches were going to happen. As a head writer things change daily its the problem with relying on TTing, but its also part of the fun. I like this match at Summerslam because this has been building since the first episode and is a good send off to the feud as well as a great way to start something down the road.
EffectsofRaven: Naturally, some headwriters have notoirity for booking months in advance, while we do try to plan out our shows, do you enjoy the fact us two generally have to change the booking and plans on a daily basis?
SBS: Yes and no. The fact we have to change things makes it interesting. But its also a headache when you would like to build up prestiege for a Championship. The UCW Championship before the final restart only changed hands like 5 times in 3 years. Compared to the WHC which changed hands on a more regular basis. I think Dod's Orton had the longest reign at like 90 some days compared to Jay and Vita's 200 some days each with the UCW. So in that respect I think it hurts. But overall it can be quite fun cause then you can throw in some craziness to things like Deebs winning only for Ambrose to win it right back. Its fun to write and while I might take unnecessary grief for it, I wouldn't go back and change a thing.
EffectsofRaven: Even Dresden on iMPACT had a longer reign than anyone from World Heavyweight Championship, which is concering and currently, this incarination of the Championship is following suite and certainly as we spoke earlier, Prodigy certainly can be the standard bearer for the long reigning champion. However, moving on slightly, while sticking with the headwriter talk, where does working with me compare to working with other people in the past?
SBS: Compared to alot of people i've worked with, working with you is a breeze. See I notice you get all fired up from time to time but when you get fired up its usually about what you know is best for the Fed. I know that everything you do is in the best interest of the Fed and it makes it very easy for me to work with that. Plus I've worked with anybody who is anybody in the writing business. And while I don't remember accurately enough to say your the best, I know you are up there as one of my favorites. Cwalker is also enjoyable to work with, out of all my years of writing this is by far my favorite staff to work with, and that is saying something.
EffectsofRaven: Certainly the current staff of Me, You, Cwalker, Prodigy & RawisRey is certainly an effective unit and we all have our disagreements but nothing has caused an actual riff which has effected the fed, do you believe this is because of the people we have in the staff or the ownership qualities of Cwalker, seeing as he's still the 'noob' of the group?
SBS: Its the people. Not knocking Cwalker's owning ability at all. It helps when the guys you are working with have either owned a fed such as Rey and I, or been around forvever like you and Prod. He's not alone (well maybe writing wise he is but I still try and help) and everything is done democratically. So long as no one gets a big head I forsee this group being able to do this a very long time.
EffectsofRaven: One will defiently hope so, and we did touch on about the matches we got booked for Summerslam earlier on and we swayed off course slightly but while the staff could last for a very long time, it isn't long till Summerslam and honestly, I don't even know this, but how do you see the World Heavyweight Championship match going down, TTing wise and storyline wise? 'Cause I've never seen the World Championship defended in an actual handicapped match
SBS: Well I can't spoil anything and it is indeed to early to tell, but I have some ideas of what's going to happen, I do expect big things from both men though, I wouldn't have booked it if I didn't. But I know no matter what people will enjoy it most certainly.
EffectsofRaven: I love it when we get surprises! No, really, sometimes I don't even know how SBS is going to book his shoulders, but doesn't bother me but we have one more match to mention, our main event for Smackdown, the Money in the Bank TLC match! Now, the build up for this match is abit bizarre but at the same time, it will add new elements of Smackdown, how will this effect your booking on the Main Event scene?
SBS: you mean having a MITB on the show that can be cashed in at anytime? I already have an idea of what I want to do next month for the Title, and while it will most likely change I look forward to it. Honestly the MITB makes every match a title match essentially. Depending on who wins that match could make it very exciting indeed. How will I book things, like I usually do, by ear. But I promise you no matter what I choose people will enjoy it
EffectsofRaven: Naturally I can't think of a reason why nobody want to enjoy Smackdown; especially when you produce a match of the month candidate, or a TV Match of the Month Candidate but also, we have some fantastic promo artists amongst us. Who this month has been the best on the microphone, YES? Ted DiBiase? Dean Ambrose? Bray Wyatt? Please, SBS beg my indulgence?
SBS: That's a tough one, because each character is so unique in their own right, and each has its strengths and its weaknesses obviously. I really like were Ambrose is taking his character so I expect big things from him.Dibiase is always sure to give us a sense of class yet somehow show none. Wyatt I believe is truely trying to save people in his own deluded mind, but YES are the Kings of promos. Not only are there promos witty and smart, every single week you never know what they are going to do next. RIR and Hoov will go to any length to entertain us, even if it means taking a job to a girl.
EffectsofRaven: Oh god, I swear the Sandow jobbing to Chelsea is not going to be let down, Edge speared him for crying out loud! With that being said, Damien Sandow is now a martyr in his own right which makes everything more interesting, do you believe this could make YES followers larger? Seeing as you been against factions, would there be room for YES to expand?
SBS: I'm not a fan of factions. Look at the N.W.O. and you can see right there why i don't like them. I feel a faction is only as good as its weakest link so to speak. I wouldn't be completely against YES expanding, though it would have to be someone who i had complete faith in to join because otherwise it would just screw over us the writers as well as the other members of the faction.
EffectsofRaven: Yes, we've seen the fall of the n.W.o, quite unceremiously as well behind the scenes but we won't go into that here. Do you think it's quite nice however that drama on Smakcdown few and afar between?
SBS: Yes. I put too much effort and time into doing this to have someone come in and whine. Its unbecoming of anyone over the age 10. I hate drama and I've left because of it many times. Thankfully I don't see it becoming a problem, as I am more likely to say get lost we don't need you and I know Cwalker feels the same way.
EffectsofRaven: We certainly a strong group in that sense, and it is assuring to have the backing of the owner, and we've both left over drama or battling issues to prevent drama but this is the first time, you've returned since the drama of UCW where you're in full swing; so I'm dying to know, what has been your favorite segment or match you have done so far?
SBS: That's a tough one tbh. I think my favorite match so far was the 2/3 falls match at Starrcade between Bryan and Ambrose. I put my whole heart and soul into that match and I'd like to believe that the match did indeed deliver
EffectsofRaven: It really did bro, like blew everyone out of the water and I don't think anyone will get that kind of match out of anyone else again; unfortunately I'm about to retire to my bad but I got one more question for you, if you were to retire completely, firstly what would be your finale match, who would you play, who would you face and who would you want to write it? And finally, for your retirement writing match, what would want to write and who would you want to deliver the writing?
SBS: That is a deep and personal question. The best answer i can think of is that I'm never going to retire, haha! But I don't think anyone will blame me when I say I'm retiring for good my character will have to be Cena. I'd still be playing him to this day if I could and the second he's free you know I'll be taking him. So I guess I'll have to wait to retire unfortunately. Who would I want to face? It would have to be Chase. I've never gotten to feud with him properly, and I owe alot of my e-fedding career to him. I don't care if he'd play AJ, Angle, Mysterio, Jericho. I'd prefer AJ but that would be just me. That would have to be my last match. As for who I'd want to write it, I'd have to say you. Because your my best friend and if anybody can write my swan song it'd be you. As for writing, it would have to be a very well built up match for the WHC between two guys that really want it. I have one more Ambrose/Bryan, Kofi/Michaels match in me and I'm going to save it up for my grand finale. Of course when that will be I don't know. I guess if I really had to I could retire as Orton but thinking about it, it just would not be right if I couldn't go out saying the Champ is here!
EffectsofRaven: The Champ never went away and honesty, and I'd be honored to write your finale. But, this has been a pleasure and I've learnt a lot about your mindset which I think will many people will have seen a newer side to SBS and really, all I can say is thank you for doing this interview and this has been a very special addition of Effective Thinking!
