This is something I’ve been meaning to write about for a while, but hadn’t had the time. It obviously stems from personal experiences, however affects many others out there. No matter what type of results your eFed has, chances are the match writers have a movelist to work off of for each character in the match. These are the moves that the character would call theirs. Not saying it is all of the moves a character will perform, but a good guideline for the match writer to stick to.

Typically in these list there is a section for there are sections for special/trademark moves and finishers. A trademark move is one the character performs semi often and are known for. This will usually lead into a finisher. The finisher itself is the move, which like the title alludes to, is the move used when the character goes to end the match.

This brings me to my point. If you are going to be a match writer, you should understand the psychology of a match first and foremost. Watch any classic wrestling match, and I say classic because it seems today’s wrestling has lost the art of psychology as well, and pay attention to how it plays out. Wrestler A gets the upper hand at first, later Wrestler B gets a reprieve. When it comes to the end, a series of events take place that usually have a trademark move followed by the finisher of the winning wrestler. There is a system to it.

A growing problem though is the over use of finishing moves, effectively watering down their actual purpose. I’ll take my character for example. My finisher was a powerbomb, obviously with a personalized name, but a powerbomb non-the less. Obviously a powerbomb is a devastating power move. After a powerbomb, the match is over, unless say, it is a PPV where kicking out of finishers is expected in a lot of cases. I came in using my finisher as a show of power before actually being booked, thus building it up as the move I am known for using when I want to end the situation.

I begin to be booked, winning my first few matches with a devastating powerbomb at the end. So far, so good as the move is doing what it is supposed to.  Now, I’m not a great writer, so obviously I wouldn’t win forever. My first loss came after I hit my finisher. I don’t remember the circumstances, but my opponent was able to kick out of the situation and go on to win. This is fine, because it puts them over as the guy who was able to overcome the move. It made sense.

What didn’t make sense was that almost every match after, not exaggerating, the same situation happened. I would always hit my finisher with the opponent coming back and hitting theirs. Why? To build them up more like the first person? At this point it is un-needed as I was no longer undefeated. What this effectively did was kill the mystique built around my finisher. Something built to be a serious match ender, was not nothing more than a normal move and no longer devastating.

But, I’m not the only one this has happened to. Chances are you’ve seen it yourself. We see matches on television like CM Punk versus The Undertaker, or The Rock versus John Cena where each kicks out of the other’s finisher twenty times and go to emulate that. However, the thing being left out when it happens in eWrestling is that these aren’t large shows, just the typical weekly/bi-weekly show.  It is expected on a normal basis, nine times out of ten, the finisher finishes the match.

I’m sure there are those that will argue that eWrestling is somewhere where we can suspend belief, and we can. But writers need to take into consideration some realism should be used when writing. I can lose all day long and not care, it is when the match writers aren’t paying attention to my moveset or watering down my finisher. Once you start doing that, I begin to wonder if I am in the right place. I want to feel like my character is going through the motions as if he was someone I was watching on television.

To be a great match writer, you need to be able to capture some realism, at least in the character perspective. Handlers don’t fill out bios and movelist for them to be misused. At the same time, you need to understand the match psychology.  How do you transition from point A to Point B to the finish keeping the flow in tact while respecting both characters?

This leads me into another match finisher issue I have, the submission. Once again, I feel this is an overused finish. Not to say that people shouldn’t tap out ever, but you need to really know the characters you are writing to do it justice. You need to understand that having a character submit is a good way to upset the handler of the character submitting, so it needs to be done tastefully.

Take for example, a beast of a character that has dominated the fed for the most part. They have built themselves up to be one of the badest. This person would do anything to win. Having them tap out for no reason other than end a match doesn’t make sense. They would rather pass out then submit. This type of person submits in a submission match if they lose, not a regular show.

But time and time again I’ve seen matches end, sometime multiple matches on a card, with people tapping out. It makes no sense to me. Save the tap outs for big matches and events. The submission move is much like the finisher; it should be used logically and properly. This all comes back to a writer having a great since of the psychology in a match.

But this is just my open thought. Maybe you agree, maybe you have a different outlook? Express your opinions and expand the topic on our discussion fourms.