A little history ... and the birth of BigDog

So, this little journey into the efedding world started just over five years ago. I was pretty bored with the wrestling scene, but I still liked to visit A1 since I'd gotten to know so many of the people, and it had started to expand into more than just a straight wrestling messageboard. I remember distinctly making the conscious decision to avoid the efed forums that had cropped up because I didn't understand the idea behind them at all. But, boredom can make even the most foreign things look appealing at some point, so I started to check it out.

After reading a few cards, I realized this was actually some really good stuff. There was a really good Housefly/187 angle going on at the top of the card. Some strong mid-card stuff with Beast/Necromancer and Mikey. Just some very interesting angles that really caught my attention. So, I continued to follow it.

I don't remember when I actually got the bug to join the game. To tell the truth, I'm a math geek. I never liked writing. It was always my worst subject in school, and I hated it with a passion. When I started, I had no idea if I'd like it, and certainly couldn't even begin to predict if I'd be any good at it. But hey, why not give it a shot?

So, on the 2/7/01 TNW, BigDog made his debut.

I'd heard all the stories about how the best wrestling characters are basically your own personality turned up to 11, so that's what I decided to go with. It would be the easiest for me to relate to, and the easiest to write. BigDog was created in my own image. I restrained myself from making him some Adonis. He was just supposed to be this rock solid guy who would fight you until he no longer had any fight left. Little did I know how well he'd take off.

It started with a prolonged winning streak, then turned into a really fun little feud with Torgo that culminated at the original Vengeance with a "Barbed Wire 2x4 on a Pole" match. From there, the team with Gladiator was formed, and that was quite possibly the most sheer fun I've ever had promoing. Working with Jarret (Beast) in his Gladiator incarnation was so much fun. We gelled together so well, and could write for each other interchangeably.

After that, came "the slump", otherwise known as the master of frustration, Chip Friendly. That jerkoff ... and I mean that in the nicest way possible ... is probably the most irritating man I've ever faced. I tried tactic after tactic to get that Cyber Title off of him, and it just wasn't happening. It began to make me question just where the character was going.

But then Fly had this brilliant idea for a Royal Rumble-type event called the Pier 6 Brawl, and the winner would be declared #1 contender. It's amazing what a shot at the world title can do for your focus. BigDog was reborn, and the promoing I did for that event is still some of the strongest stuff I've ever done. From there, it was on to Sudden Death where BigDog captured the A1E World Heavyweight Title. All I wanted to do was successfully defend that thing one time. A year later, and somebody finally took it from me. Now THAT was satisfying.

If promoing with Gladiator was the most fun I ever had at this game, promoing with Euclid was absolutely the most satisfying. The matches with him I count as some of the most gruelling in my experience. But that was only the half of it. Dave was an absolute marvel to work a storyline with. We crafted out the whole BigDog/Euclid/Jamie triangle, and worked it into a fantastic double turn (at least the turn was cool ... BigDog as a heel didn't work out so well). That was one of those times that I didn't care a lick about winning or losing. It was just a blast to tell that story.

From there, BigDog has kind of evolved into the roll that Undertaker SHOULD be playing in WWE right now. He's the seasoned veteran. In many ways, he's the face of A1E. He'll pull a solid match out of just about any opponent because it still means something to beat him. Who knows if he'll make another run at the world title. Right now, I'm enjoying just playing the tag team game with Dan Ryan as my partner.

Maybe someday he'll get the itch for that big fiery belt again. Until then, he's content to just sit back and let Farnsy play with it. But that's a story for next time ...