Catching Up

Wow, there are just so many things that have happened since I last wrote here. At that point, I was talking about the "new" A1E and how exciting things were getting. Let me just start off this entry with a couple of follow-ups to all that.

First off, the new A1E.

If I had to give A1E a grade right now, I'm thinking of something in the B+/A- area. I really think that all the handlers have taken to their new ability to provide input to their own storylines. In addition, I know that each of us bookers have been keeping each other up-to-date on the individual story arcs that we're responsible for, and everybody is giving input to everybody else. It seems to really be working well.

The proof is in the results though. Personally, I think we've put out some of our best results in quite a long time over these last few months. Every story on the card is getting focus, and each match on a pay-per-view really feels like the culmination of something.

Of course, I'm not exactly an unbiased reporter when it comes to evaluation of an A1E card. However, it appears that we're also getting good feedback from folks like Tom who review shows as well as the A1E participants themselves.

Bottom line, I'm liking where things are going right now. With Golden Dreams on the horizon, that will be the ultimate test of this new system. It's our biggest show of the year, and we're all determined to make it the best.

As for the personal side, well ... what can I say really?

It's going better than I ever could have imagined. When I wrote last, I talked about BigDog undergoing a bit of a revival. Turns out that was only the beginning.

At the end of that program with Spoiler, I managed to earn my way to a world title match. On the same show, my tag team partner, Dan Ryan, beat James Irish to win the A1E World Title. That set us on a path to meet each other in the main event of Vengeance.

Now, I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone reading this about Dave Brunk. He's been one of the absolute best that this game of ours has ever seen. Dave's held world titles pretty much everywhere he's been, and I know that he badly wanted to win the A1E World Title as well. So, I knew that I had my work cut out for me to try and take it away from him.

Imagine my surprise when I did exactly that.

So now, BigDog is the third character in A1E history to have won the World Title more than once. The first was Housefly, and he even added a third reign to go along with it. The other was Richard Farnswirth.

It's been six years since I started playing this game. If you had told me then that I'd have held the World Title multiple times with multiple characters, I'd have probably laughed at you. I'm not sure I can even believe it myself.

I got into this little hobby because I was fascinated by some of the stories that people were telling. It was more interesting for me to read each week's results here than it was to wait for the next WWE show. To even imagine that I've been able to tell at least a few stories that other people have found even comparable to those is enough to make me pause. I really couldn't ask for anything more.

And now, for a little bit of looking forward.

In A1E, Richard Farnswirth is in the middle of a fun little storyline with Cross and Duchess. It's always fun to work with Cross on a story because he's always so invested in whatever he does. He is committed to putting out something other people will enjoy reading, and he's always willing to work with you to put out the best story possible.

Interestingly enough, BigDog's next opponent is Duchess herself. She won a #1 contender match at Vengeance, so she gets the shot at Mercury Rising. The two of us have a history going back to her turning on me when she joined the HPSC. Should be a fun match.

And, of course, on the horizon is both the tag team tournament as well as the inevitable singles rematch with Dan Ryan.

Outside of A1E, BigDog earned his way into the TEAM Tournament of Champions with his world title win. Just today, I put up my final RP for the tourney. Tom always has interesting "themes" for each round, and it forces all the participants to step out of their comfort zone. I got to do the traditional promo style in round one, but both rounds two and three made me try something new. Round two was narrative style, and round three was first person perspective match writing.

Interesting stuff.

As always, it's fun to step out of my home fed of A1E and try some new things on for size. The ToC is interesting in that you aren't specifically matched up against a particular opponent until the RP'ing is done, so I can't focus on a particular guy/gal. I guess we'll see how things go as the judges tally their votes and the results get put together.

All in all, it's been a pretty interesting summer so far, and it looks to only get better as we build toward Golden Dreams.