A trend I've noticed in E-Fedding is that newest characters people make tend to be smaller. I think this is because as we've grown up around the business of wrestling, we made 'stat monster' characters in our mark days. We all got a kick out of the 7'4" guys hitting shooting star presses (and they did exist) but on the whole, a lot of old school guys are big.
I think the new crop of smaller guys has come along as we've moved from being marks who wee fans of monsters, and became smarks who are fans of workrate. Nobody's blown away by Mark Henry's workrate, so giant monsters like him aren't seen a lot on the forums.
Like Anthology is a bunch of old school characters...Cameron Cruise (6'4" 263 lbs.) Jared Wells (6'1" 254) Larry Tact (6'6" 260) Copycat (6'4" 280) their newest member, Sean Edmunds, is the runt of the litter (6' 228)
I never really thought of Cruise as a big guy till I read his stats, and I was like "Wow, he's a big guy". Reading the First/Cruise match over I never got the sense that The First was really facing a big guy, in the tag match with Copycat/Cruise...It was made clear that Copycat was ragdolling The First, and he should be, he's a big guy, nearly a monster heel, and The First is a tiny, high flying face.
Currently three of the most over guys I can think of on the forums (If I'm allowed to use one of my own characters in a gross showing of self promotion) are Impluse, The First, and Ice Tre, who are all listed at under 200 pounds on their bios, I really doubt this would have happened back in the old school P* days when people wanted to powerbomb you through the mat and didn't really care if being 250+ meant you shouldn't be hitting shooting star presses. Heck Shane Southern who was a HBK knock off was 6'4".
When you're writing a match it's important to look at the bios and see what the two guys measure up as, because you should play up a size mis-match between two people. Most of the boards know about MMA or Boxing and understand weight classes and two guys 30 pounds apart is a big deal. Of course by that same token you have to sell the little guy's comeback by talking up his speed advantage, the nature of his offense, etc. Bring up the fact that the big guy has to carry around all that weight so he could gas out later in the fight.
Odds are I'll be writing the Layne Winters/The First TV Title match in EPW...Besides just BURYING Winters and putting myself sick over (That's rule #1 when you write your own matches, never forget that.) and one of the things I'd bring up in that match is that Winters has fought Olvir (A absolute MONSTER at 6'7" 317) and Fusenhoff (checking in at a meager 6'3" 263) and has gone from being the smaller man in both matches (If only by 13 pounds Vs Fuse) to now being the much bigger man Vs The First, and how that'll change his tactics and game plan now that he finally enters into a battle as the larger fighter.
Billy talked a lot about this with his writing of the Castor/PC Vs Black/Impluse match, and how he wanted to get over that Castor is much bigger then Impulse, and he should, that's part of both characters. If you make up a character that's under 200 pounds, you have to expect him to get the shit beaten out of him. I'd be a moron if I thought The First was gonna steamroll people, and I'm sure Pete Russo knows the same thing with Impulse.
The move towards smaller guys, while people still have their older bigger characters is interesting, and if Ryan's lucha league ever has any of it's guys move to the "American" leagues, that influence would be even bigger. Not that all new characters are smaller, but I believe the trend is moving that way. So don't fear the 200 pound line, embrace it, enjoy watching your character being stuck like a tack...It's not so bad, really...
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Edmunds has always been 6', 228 lbs. When I first created the character way back when (oh jeez, I don't even want to think about the 2012 anniversary if I make it that far) I was amazed by Owen Hart. I thought he was the coolest wrestler (and then when he went heel I nearly had an orgasm.. he was, aside from Candido, my all-time favorite wrestler).
ReplyDeleteHart was listed as 5'10, 227lbs. I thought 5'10 was a little short, so I upped him to 6'0". But he kept Hart's weight of 227/228.
But I always made sure that he had a moveset that was appropriate.
That was actually something I consciously wanted when I created Impulse - at 180ish pounds he's probably going to be the smallest guy on any roster, but that's combined with superior wrestling skill.
ReplyDeleteSo on the one hand, he can outwrestle anyone, but on the other, virtually all of his opponents can pretty much move him wherever they want, so he has to be smart if he wants to win.
I fully expect Castor to steamroll over Impulse, while at the same time I fully expect Impulse to employ much more of a mental game. If he has to hit and run, he needs to make the hits count.
@Edmunds: Doc was a Flair/Bret Hart knock off which is why he was tiny. None of my big time over guys (Doc/BH/First) have been over 6'. Heck Canyeta/Gladiator I think were shorter then that. I need a monster at some point. Maybe Jeff Davis will get over in the lucha fed.
ReplyDelete@Russo: I knew you would have a mindset about making a smaller wrestler. I like the idea of skill trying to overcome power.
The First is a Jeff Hardy styled high flyer, I made him 190 because I figured that's about what he weights. WWE has Brian Kendrick and Evan Bourne billed at 185-190. They bill Jeff Hardy at 220-225...If Jeff Hardy has those guys beaten by 30 pounds, I'd eat the table my keyboard and monitor are on top of currently.
Like most others, I tend to model my characters after a particular wrestler. Layne Winters, physically, is akin to Shane Douglas, although taller. Douglas was billed at 6'1 249; Winters is 6'3 250. However, I make note in his bio (I think?) that he is not really cut, but barrel chested and smooth. He's not any sort of physical specimen by pro wrestling standards.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I actually INCREASED Castor's size. He used to be 6'3 240, but I storylined it that Jimmy Mylde sold him steroids and he is now a pretty built 265, like an old-school 80's wrestler. His model is Lance Storm. His in-ring style is a mix of Storm/Mike Awesome, aka a bigger man who has the athleticism to pull off high risk maneuvers. He's not doing shooting star presses, but he's quick enough to keep up with some of the smaller guys and is not shy about going up the turnbuckles either.
I did this because I wanted to re-debut Castor with significant improvements; everything about him is times 2 now. He's bigger, crazier, and more determined than five years ago when he left.
Also, I'm slowly establishing that Castor's mind is going, in a Caligula-like fashion, and this can't just happen for no reason. So, it'll be apparent that the steroid abuse mixed with years of taking painkillers and other pills have eroded his sanity (what little he had to begin with).
Castor is by far the most unorthodox character I've ever created. Someone like him just wouldn't exist in pro-wrestling. He's a bonkers character with whom I take every advantage of the "fantasy" aspect of this hobby, teetering on the edge of breaking 4th wall. In many ways, he's a perfect villain for Impulse, who is a very sane, reasonable character, yet at the same time an intentional violator of 4th wall. The singular aspect of insanity that Impulse possesses is the only one Castor does not.
The Crash match I wrote is already one of my favorites, because I feel that both guys leave the ring more over than when they entered it. Castor leaves with a ton of heat, Impulse leaves with a ton of hero's sympathy, and the feud is established. (Oops, did I reveal too much? lol)
To end this novel of a reply, I'll just note that my other characters are nothing special in terms of size. I forget what J1D's stats are, but I know he's much smaller. Arcangel's a little Mexican, too. Problem Child is 6'0 225, or something like that, and it's only cause he's gotten fatter (accentuating his aura of "loser"). Normally, he was 205-210.