How to maintain Kayfabe?

I assume the managers also have some say in it.

Well AFW is REAL... and it is Serious Business in the AFWverse.

So there is no need for kayfabe... but some of those terms can be used.

Face/Heel: Can be used to refer to mean wrestler or goody two shoes.

Jobber: A wrestler that always loses... would be an insult for sure.

Heat/Cheap Heat: There is heat and cheap heat in boxing and MMA.

Booker: Dana White is UFC booker, isn't he?


Go Over/Put Over: This happens in boxing and MMA too.

Kitten wrote:Well AFW is REAL... and it is  in the AFWverse.

So there is no need for kayfabe... but some of those terms can be used.

Face/Heel: Can be used to refer to mean wrestler or goody two shoes.

Jobber: A wrestler that always loses... would be an insult for sure.

Heat/Cheap Heat: There is heat and cheap heat in boxing and MMA.

Booker: Dana White is UFC booker, isn't he?

Go Over/Put Over: This happens in boxing and MMA too.

I do agree about the use of jobber and booker but as some else said face and heel are probably a it too ridiculous for someone to say with our characters, there are plenty of words to describe a face or heel that would get the point across.

Kitten wrote:Booker: Dana White is UFC booker, isn't he?

Joe Silva / Sean Shelby

(they're usually called 'matchmakers' to avoid using potentially-loaded terms that bring either pro wrestling or oddsmaking to people's minds)

rhapsody wrote:

Kitten wrote:Booker: Dana White is UFC booker, isn't he?

Joe Silva / Sean Shelby

(they're usually called 'matchmakers' to avoid using potentially-loaded terms that bring either pro wrestling or oddsmaking to people's minds)

Match Maker conjures up other ideas that are also not necessarily good. >.>

ICly, the people who have final decisions on matches are Lukretia, Rally and Melissa. Of course Melissa has ultimate authority but she doesn't get involved with too much of the day to day. That falls upon Lukretia. She has the ability to override anyone except Melissa though occasionally Rally can get something past her if she wants, so the three of them are basically the authority.

For the less consequential stuff, the assistants can have authority in making matches and can even appear on television as a proxy. This includes Lukretia's assistant Hilde,Rally's Assistant and Melissa's assistant.

Normally the latter group would deal with the bulk of "inconsequential" matches. Matches that need to fill up television time (OOC, this would be one offs and stuff like that). They also are the ones who usually deal with manager booking.

Managers can, to a degree, pick which opponents they would like to face. There are generally two types of contract in AFW. There is a stand-by contract, which basically means that the wrestler is available to take any match (ICly you will see some girls who have something more akin to indentured servitude to AFW built into their contracts in their history sections.) It's like an auto yes built into their contract.

And then there are representative contracts where a request will be made either by the wrestler or the wrestler's manager. A formal notice will be sent out if a specific wrestler is chosen and the two will be given contracts of intent to sign. If both parties agree to the terms and sign, then the match is made.

All employees who are bound by contract will receive a monthly stipend and room and board provided by the AFW corporation for the duration of their contract. This is the most base contract AFW has and pretty much is not really enough to to live off of unless the equivalent of half way house food and lodging is an appealing life choice.

Money contracts are negotiated further as AFW sees fit. Merchandise sales, television appearances and "championship bonuses" are all a part of negotiating past the entry level AFW contract, however it's all fairly complicated. Needless to say, AFW could probably not exist in the real world with its business practices, nor should most people to aspire to make it through this "meat grinder" of a company if it had a viable business plan.

That being said, I am sort of ok with the idea of the words heel and face existing as vernacular in the AFW verse, but I don't think i would ever want a wrestler in character to refer to oneself or another as either of those terms. They should be viewed as pejorative to those in the business, used by the snarky and caustic detractors of the AFW brand in (mostly) online venues.

I really think the idea of "heat" and especially "getting someone over" are left out of the conversation entirely. I find those terms really are just too jarring for OUR suspension of disbelief (i.e. believing that AFW is real combat) and sort of pulls us out of that reality or mindset. At least, that's my personal opinion.

Don't know why I felt like ranting about that ...

Tatyina wrote: All employees who are bound by contract will receive a monthly stipend and room and board provided by the AFW corporation for the duration of their contract. This is the most base contract AFW has and pretty much is not really enough to to live off of unless the equivalent of half way house food and lodging is an appealing life choice.

Money contracts are negotiated further as AFW sees fit. Merchandise sales, television appearances and "championship bonuses" are all a part of negotiating past the entry level AFW contract, however it's all fairly complicated. Needless to say, AFW could probably not exist in the real world with its business practices, nor should most people to aspire to make it through this "meat grinder" of a company if it had a viable business plan.  

This is sort of interesting for me. I always imagined AFW wrestlers being on the wealthier side as the arena is fairly large and like everyone describes the arena as selling out. Obviously, people like Akashi make more than people like Shinji, but as a whole the league seems to be doing well. Its level of talent and concomitantly its success caused Wrestle Angels to fold, and I would presume that means butts in seats every night as well as the tons and tons of merchandise sold. Apparently, Ryback made $655,000 last year and he is not someone I associate with the cream of the WWE crop. After a little digging, I found this which seems to suggest that the baseline salary of WWE wrestlers is around $75,000 dollars. This makes things a little bit complicated, as AFW does not have house shows or smaller offshoots. Apparently, developmental contracts are in the range of $25,000 which with lodging makes for a decent life. Tokyo can be a tad on the expensive side though, so perhaps they are a little bit on the poorer side. The way I RP it, Jessica makes more than the entry level contract because she has some, err, heat, while Eka doesn't make quite as much because she is not as notorious.

Furthermore, we are not accounting for the purely non wrestling side of AFW. It seems logical to me that women who partake in hentai matches earn more money as they draw in more viewers. Woman can earn $800 for girl-girl scenes, so when we combine that with wrestling, making it worth more, it seems to indicate that our girls are not quite as penurious as it seems.

I would of course love to hear your take on this.

I try to avoid the 'in business' terms of wrestling. It just seems to break the illusion of the AFW being a real thing.

That being said though, with most of my characters, I try to have a somewhat believable living situation for them based on their backstory. For example, Marisa is able to live comfortably considering she is also a successful model and has a modeling agency apart from the AFW. However Asami by contrast is someone whose family has just disowned her, and the AFW is her primary job, but she's 'stuck' in the low-midcard ranks. As such, she's going to live in a very small apartment, and has to worry about making ends meet. Although, I didn't know about the AFW room and board thing. I might have her move in there...

LtLukas wrote: This makes things a little bit complicated, as AFW does not have house shows or smaller offshoots.

I (and a few others I know of) have always operated on the assumption that the AFW does do smaller house shows and light touring around Japan, as well as filming dark matches specifically for DVDs and internet exclusive things.

I always wonder how AFW keeps kids from watching its programming...not exactly a PG show, and every now and then you see a character claiming she has kid fans...

I'm in agreement, the only planned events are ppvs where we have a set card. I just assumed we treated all the other matches as part of a card or a house show.