I figure that the majority of discussion that will take place on this board is going to be e-fed related, so I guess that my first post should be about that very subject. Even though I'm really antsy right now wondering where my love life is going, I think a good e-fed post is really what this blog needs for a shot in the arm.
So with that, let's talk tag teaming in the e-fed world.
It's really something that we see very little of this day. Now, Dave has always done his best to showcase his tag team division in EPW and Jarret is also showing a very valiant effort in trying to bring more teams into A1E with their current tag team tournament, of which I am a part of. Granted that my participation has been lackluster the past couple of weeks, I for one am still very much interested in how things are shaking out in this tournament.
But the thing that I love best about this is the fact that I'm teaming with one of the best while doing so. And really, that's where I guess this post originates...
It would seem as though most people within this community are all about their own personal abilities and too proud to try and make something happen by becoming a tag team partner with another member of the community.
Let's take a look at the fed that has possibly the best tag division around, EPW...
Now, since I've been taking my break, I haven't been following the scene as much as I should, but from what I can tell, 5 of the 7 active teams listed in the information thread are ran by a single handler. Now, if you're reading this post and I am incorrect, please feel free to inform me.
Anyway, it seems as though these days this is the only way that tag teams are formed within the ranks of the FW community. If you go back (at least in the A1E annals) there are plenty of teams that were more than successful with two handlers. Big Dog & Gladiator, Housefly & Beast, and not to toot my own horn, but Sensationally Perfect.
But what really surprises me about this whole situation is why more people don't work together to try and get a little spark for both characters. Personally, I believe that diversity is a big deal when it comes who wins within a given RP period. For example, let's say that Housefly & Beast are set to take on Blitz. Everytime that we here from Blitz, the majority of the time Max and Jecht are going to be together and, therefore, Karl is forced to speak for both of them at the given time. In contrast, Housefly & Beast are able to come at Blitz full force with whatever they want to say in their given RPs. And even if Blitz were to keep things even on a 2-to-2 RP level, there are still two minds working against one in this case. Karl is very gifted, but I doubt that he is always fully capable of seeing everything that two guys like Roger and Jarret could see.
So my question becomes: Why don't more handlers take advantage of this and really try to boost their characters? Most would agree that e-fedding really reached its peak during the Attitude era when tag teaming was the least of everyone's worries. Hell, WCW had practically disbanded their tag division at that point.
But is that really where we're still at in this hobby? Is everyone trying to make their character the same old DTA character that we've seen for years now?
I know that, personally, I've given more than my fair share of tries to the tag division. Of course, the first time, it lead me to two tag team title reigns. From there, I've offered up ideas of teaming with several different characters... James Irish, Irishred, and of course, I'm currently in the A1E tag team tourney with Chip Friendly.
Personally, I see this as a nice shot in the arm for my character because it gives me a change of scenery and allows me to work hand in hand with some guys that really know their stuff in how to get buzz around your character.
It really seems like something that more people should try in this hobby. Why don't they? I'm not too sure, but I would definitely like to hear it. The singles ranks are packed full of talent already, why don't we spice things up and try something different for a change?
5 comments:
Y'know, you answered your own question in the fifth paragraph. ;)
When PRIME had a roster of 35+, I kept saying that singles people should team up and help bolster the tag division because of the substantially large ratio of singles characters to singles titles. Same thing in EPW (granted, the roster wasn't of the same size at the time.) Props to those who've done so...the latest being Karl and Foxx in EPW...and I hope this is something that they stick with long term instead of doing a one-off match. But two-character tag teams aren't something that people can be made to do and there are drawbacks to it, like anything else in the hobby.
On a personal note, I hate running tag teams on my own. I'd much rather collaborate with someone else. It's more fun that way, IMO.
I'll second Lindsay's comment that running a tag team by yourself isn't easy, for many of the same reasons Shane elaborates on in his post.
I've spent a lot of time in various tag team divisions over the years. Most, actually all, of the success that I've had has come via two person teams. The one time I tried running a team all unto myself, it failed miserably. It's just very difficult to match everything that the other team can throw at you when you're the one who has to reply every time.
I'd love to see more people pair up together and give a tag team a try. When done well, it really is quite rewarding.
I can see the benefits of having a tag team formed with another handler (I'm currently in one with Dave over in EUWC... but who ISN'T tagging with Dave these days?). But I still think there's a special appeal to running your own two characters.
Having my character Rocko Daymon tag with somebody else makes for an interesting tag team, but one that is predictable and cliched. Daymon's the kind of guy who normally operates alone (I guess that makes him a little predictable and cliched as well), which usually restricts him to always being in the sort of "alliance" type of tag team of two individuals working toward a common cause, but not quite considered a "team".
I also handle the CHRONIC COLLIZION!!, who currently undefeated in the tournament (remains to be seen at Vengeance). They've so far been successful against teams that are one handler with two guys and two handlers working together. I've never considered them to be at a disadvantage.
Having two handlers also presents a caveat: You and your OOC partner must always be on the same page. If the handlers are only responsible for their own character, and one guy doesn't RP, then it's one character against two.
I try to judge tag matches that have unequal numbers of handlers in an unbiased light. There's a greater challenge set for the team run by a single handler, and if that handler can meet that challenge and put forward some decent RPs, then they should in no way be at a disadvantage.
I view tag divisions as just what they represent--a seperate division from singles. As such, I would expect the style of roleplaying and match structure as unique in its own respect. If I'm reading RPs from two different handlers who have their characters speak as though they were just promoing for a singles match, then I lose interest. In my opinion, that takes the "team" out of tag team.
One thing that irks me about a single-handler team is how interchangeable the characters sometimes are. It's the Road Warriors/Demolition syndrome--Hawk, Animal, Ax, Smash, Crush, Crash, whatever... two guys with face-paint and similar flashy pajamas. CC used to be like this under their "Crimson Calling" billing, which caused me to lose interest in them quickly, as they were nothing but a couple of muscles working for a manager who did all the talking. Otherwise, they had no personalities within themselves.
As the CHRONIC COLLIZION!!, they become unique identities without their manager spokesperson. Erik is a squirrley stoner and Ivan is a Russian giant. I haven't really heard much feedback on how well they work together, but they seem to be doing alright.
I think the budding tag divisions through various federations is one of the more interesting aspects of modern e-fedding, but I strongly feel that we shouldn't judge teams that are handled by a single person as being disadvantaged or being uninteresting. There's a great challenge to overcome, yes, but if a handler can pull it off then you'll have a good product.
Tag teaming in this hobby is certainly not as common as I'd like. But, I think one of the biggest things that Ryan kinda touched on, and one of the reasons you don't have as many two-handler teams, is because a lot of people would judge it on an RP vs RP basis; for example, there were two multi-team matches I can remember being in with Blitz where the other teams were all two handlers - and in each team only one person actually put up an RP, for their character. Except for me, who was handling both guys (the match at Russian Roulette where Blitz won the tag titles, and again later when it was Blitz and three teams made up of people striving for the TV title). I'm still to this day pretty sure a reason for me winning those matches was because Blitz had RPd, Blitz had promoted completely - but, say, only one of the CCP had, or only Lindsay had for her team, or Jeff for Benjamin. What you will probably find amongst a lot of people is they don't want to risk losing a match because of their partner no-showing.
Handling the team on your own though can definitely be a challenge. When Blitz lost the titles (deservedly), it was me against three other people, all of whom were on the same page, with the same goal (it's different if it's a four way match because everyone's trying to beat everyone else). In the MCW tournament, there were some matches again where I felt that I was going to be really stretched to pull out the win (the big one for that I won, I think, mostly because Dave didn't RP - Blitz vs. BigDoy/Dan Ryan). Like Ryan says though, it's also a Godsend sometimes because I don't have to worry about how my partner's going to do - especially with me living so many hours ahead of you guys (and if I get a teaching job I'm applying for I'll be even further ahead time-wise).
So, tag teams... really quite a difficult area to say which side is better. The diversity you get from two handlers is good. But a lot of time they lack the unity, even if they've been teaming for a long time, that you see with teams like Chronic Collizion or Blitz - Ryan handles CC well, and I designed Max and Jecht to be complimentary (Jecht has a much more aggressive personality and a violent temper, whilst Max is a lot calmer and more thoughtful, but they work towards a common goal, and with Leonard as the main mouth piece, and the introduction of Laura, it gives me a total of four different personalities I can draw upon if I need to). But at the same time in some cases that's a bad thing because you lack the more spontaneous aspects of teaming with someone else. I can't really say which is the better way to go - both have merits and both have weaknesses. I mean, unless you were going to put, say, HPSC, Blitz, CC, and BigDog/Dan Ryan in a four-way match, I doubt you'll get a real answer. But that's just my view.
I've always felt that it should be best RP wins, period, regardless of who from the team shows up or not. A little one-sided? Maybe, but if a one-handler tag team can't out-write a two-handler tag team where only one of the people show up for whatever reason, then them's the breaks.
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