The Empress Cup - All-Women's Tournament [FAQ]

  ________ _______ _________________________________________
  |  _____|  ___  |                                         |
  |  |_   |  |  |_|             EMPRESS CUP                 |
  |  __|  |  |   _              TOURNAMENT FAQ              |
  |  |____|  |__| |             BY: Neal Thayer             |
  |_______|_______|_________________________________________|


CONTENTS

1. Who are you?
2. What is this?
3. How will this be run?
4. So what's the plan?
5. What about rules?
6. What's required of me?
7. Who are the on-screen personalities?
8. When do we start?
9. How do I sign up?


1. Who are you?

Who am I?  Who are you? :)

Okay, in all seriousness, I'm Neal Thayer.  Some of you might remember me as
the original guy behind the North American Wrestling Council, others as the
creator of Mile High Wrestling, others still as the mind behind Diamond Star
Wrestling.  I've also been known for my female characters: "Wild Animal"
Sarah Mayson (retired), and now the Benedict family (Myra, Sonya, Ronan, and
Ronnie).

2. What is this?

The Empress Cup is an all-women's e-wrestling tournament.  It will start
with 32 characters, and end with one, crowned the "Empress of Wrestling".
This tournament will stretch over five rounds, taking on new twists and
turns with each round.  Anything can happen!

The story itself will go down in my hometown, Chicago, at the Aragon
Ballroom, the location of past ECW events.

3. How will this be run?

The object here isn't to put out a monstrous supercard... well, it is, but
only to an extent.  I'm not looking to put out the biggest non-affiliated
supercard/tournament ever.  In fact, I'm just here to have fun, which I'm
sure is shared by handlers that take part in this tournament.

With that in mind, the first three rounds of the tournament will be
summarized to help reduce workload on myself and other writers.  Then, for
the Semi-Finals and Finals, those matches will be fully written in
play-by-play as well as the action bracket system.

As for the inner workings of it, EC shows will be released on the official
mailing list, as well as on the RSPWF.  It will also use a closed flash
system, meaning you send your stuff to me, and I put it on the cards.  There
will NOT be a flash packet.  ALL flashes will be put on the shows, but don't
have to be actual on-cards.  What do I mean by that?  Your character can do
a promo at/around the arena, or anywhere else for that matter.  That aspect
of it doesn't matter.

As for the format of the tournament itself, see below.

4. So what's the plan?

Ah yes, the plan...

Bust your asses to see who wins the whole damn thing! :)

No, actually, that's not it.  In short, the plan is how I intend to approach
this tournament, each round laid out for you.  Remember, 32 characters will
begin this tournament.  After each round, only half of the remainder will
advance.  Also, each of the first three (3) rounds will take up a separate
show.  After that, the Semis and Finals will occupy the final (fourth) show.
So here goes...

ROUND 1:
Round 1 will consist of eight (8) tag matches, no gimmicks attached.  The 8
winning teams will advance to the next round.  So only 16 advance to the
next round.

ROUND 2:
There will be a single match for Round 2, a 16 woman Batle Royal.  Once the
first eight (8) have been eliminated, and the other 8 remain, the match is
over.  Again, there are no special gimmicks here.

QUARTER-FINALS:
Here's where things get interesting.  The Quarter-Finals will consist of
four (4) singles matches.  However, these won't just be ordinary singles
matches.  Instead, a different gimmick will be announced for each at the
event.  This time, four will go home, while the winning four will advance.

On the fourth and final show, the winners of the Semi-Finals will be given a
minute to recouperate before the Final match begins.

SEMI-FINALS:
The four remaining women will battle it out in a Four-Way Cage Match!  The
only way to secure a spot in the Finals is by going over the top and down to
the floor.  THE DOOR WILL BE WELDED SHUT ONCE ALL 4 COMPETITORS ARE INSIDE!
The first two women to escape advance to the Finals, upon which time the
cage will be raised above the ring so the losers can be removed prior to the
final match!

FINALS:
Only two women remain!  And if you thought they just went through Hell in
the Cage, you ain't seen nothin' yet!  The Final match is a TWO OUT OF THREE
FALLS GIMMICK MATCH!  What gimmick you ask?  Well, actually there are three,
each one ending upon the end of a fall.  However, these gimmicks won't be
announced until the night it all goes down!

NOTE: Depending on the turn-out, this format may be changed as I may have to
reduce it to a 16 or 24 person tournament.  If we go with a 24 woman format,
then the finals would be a 3-way rather than a 1 on 1, and as such, the
match type itself would be changed accordingly.

5. What about rules?

Most people put this one last, but I'm puttin' it first.  Why?  'Cause it's
the most important.  What's that rule?  HAVE FUN!  Without the fun, none of
us would be here.  So don't ruin it for anyone.

If you lose, by all means, feel free to bitch, flame, whatever.  This isn't
a fed, and I can easily put you on my block lists.  Up to you.  Got
constructive criticism, advice?  I'm all ears.

This is a personal pet peeve, and a sorta' unwritten law in my book.  DON'T
break the kayfabe rule under any circumstances at all.  Doing so is like a
terrible taste in my mouth.  Breaking this "rule" will almost certainly
result in loss.  So let me clarify the "kayfabe" rule...  No references to
WWE, any of its stars, or even the use of "e-wrestling", "jobber",
"gimmick", you get the idea.  The way I see it, none of that exists in
e-wrestling.

Cursing, swearing, whatever you want to call it...  Anything beyond "damn"
or "ass" should be censored.  However, I'll accept it if it's deliberately
spelt wrong as a way to illustrate the character's accent.  Oh, and when
you're censoring, simply use a [bleep].  So if my character wants to swear,
I'll usually replace it with "f[bleep]k" or something to that affect.
That's acceptable.

One flash per character per match.  I want to strongly stress quality over
quantity.  Get to the point, and make it good.

There is no limit on the number of characters you are allowed to handle in
this tournament.  If you can keep them alive in the tournament, then you're
welcome to have as many as you like.  However, be realistic.  Can you handle
flashing for 10 girls in the first round?  Not likely.  There's a very good
chance that half of them will be eliminated.  So what's the point?

6. What's required of me?

All that are required of you are a single flash and single strat per match
your character is in.  That's it.

Well... maybe not.

Or rather, it's not that simple.  For the first three rounds, strats aren't
as important as flashes.  In these rounds, keep your strats short.
Remember, matches are summarized, so entrances aren't needed.  Give me a few
suggested spots, as well as your character's gameplan, and you're good to
go.

In the final two rounds, strats are far more important though, as they may
act as a difference maker during times when flashes are very close in
quality.  Be more detailed, include a few extra spots, the character's
mindset and gameplan, her ring entrance, as well as post-match reactions.

As I said above, keep your flashes short and to the point.  However, be
creative.  I'm looking for something that'll "wow" me, not something that'll
bore and keep me at the computer for an hour.

That about covers it.  There's no need to change your own writing style to
comform with mine... unless you want to of course :)  The only exception to
this is in the case of matchwriters.

7. Who are the on-screen personalities?

Rusty Waters - Play-by-Play Man - A man in his 50s, Rusty has a ton of
respect for the women of wrestling, especially those who push themselves to
be the best they can.  He was last seen working for Denver-based Mile High
Wrestling, which has since gone under.

Rebecca Howard - Color Commentator - Rusty's co-worker in MHW, Rebecca was
the head reporter there.  Out of a job for over a year, she jumped at this
opportunity to shine in front of a much larger audience.  Plus, she is a
firm advocate for women's wrestling.

Doc Draven - Head (and only) Referee - Doc was last seen in the North
American Wrestling Council, where he was Head Referee as well.  He has an
extremely high work ethic, and knows the rules inside-out.  There isn't a
whole lot he'll miss.

TJ Malone - Ring Announcer - Fresh out of college, TJ has a great voice, and
so the people (whoever they are) behind the Empress Cup were quick to hire
him on.

The Authorities - The only semblance of control.  The Authorities are
off-duty police officers hired to ensure nobody gets out of hand.

8. When do we start?

Although nothing is set in stone, the ideal start would be sometime around
the middle of January.

9. How do I sign up?

Fill out the application below, then send it to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
with "[EC] Wrestler Name App" in the subject line.  Also, you are strongly
advised to sign up for the official Yahoo Group, as all correspondence will
be sent through that.  You can sign up by logging in to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ECmail

APPLICATION
*-*-*-*-*-*
PERSONAL INFO
Your Name:
E-mail Address:
Are you willing to help with match writing?:

CHARACTER INFO
Name:
Height:
Weight:
Hometown:
Allignment [Face/Heel/Tweener]:

Looks & Attire:

Gimmick:

Entrance Music [in "Song" by Artist format]:
Entrance Sequence [in Cut & Paste format.  Ring announcer is TJ Malone,
abbreviate to TJ]:

Movelist 15-20 regular moves in repertoire, explain when necessary]:

Signature Moves [3-5, explain when necessary]:

Setup Move & How It's Done:

Finisher(s) & How It's Done [You may have up to 3 finishers]:
PRIMARY FINISHER:
SECONDARY FINISHER #1 [optional]::
SECONDARY FINISHER #2 [optional]:

Sample Flash:

*-*-*-*-*-*

Again, send these to [EMAIL PROTECTED], and please remember to sign
on to the ECmail Yahoo Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ECmail/)