1 - CREATIVITY is judged over anything else...but be realistic! Unless you use a real wrestler who has shown "supernatural" powers like Undertaker, Kane or Papa Shango, the use of the supernatural will not be allowed. Likewise, don't do something in an rp that wouldn't be possible for your wrestler. An original rp with a good storyline that explains your motivation is the best way to win a match. Character development, a well written storyline, a good promo and some logical plot twists are the sort of thing we look for in a winning rp.
2 - How well is it presented? Is it poorly worded and just strung together for the sake of being there, or is it linier with a well thought out story that leads someplace?
3 - Spelling and Grammar are NOT a factor in and of themselves (not everyone hails from the same part of the globe and some people may not have English as their first language, not to mention we are not all from the same age group)...however if we cannot read it...than you may not do very well in your match! A very well written rp that shows an extensive vocabulary will get credit. If you are really talented and manage to incorporate literary devices like imagery or symbolism in an effective way you will be a cut above the rest.
4 - We NEVER judge HTML skill. Not everyone has mastered this skill, although it really looks good, adds to presentation and sets itself apart from other roleplays...you may get an RP'er of the month recognition for this. Likewise, music and photos will only affect our judgment if they are carefully chosen to add to the mood of the rp.
5 - WE DO NOT JUDGE CATAGORIES (Humor, intensity, etc) and will not judge one over the other. Certain types of rps don't always beat other types, rather we look at how well it's written overall and how much thought and effort went into writing it. For example, a parody that makes us laugh, or an rp that really takes emotional shots at an opponent's character can be very effective...but be careful, your opponent could turn it back against you. A deep and emotional response to simple mockery will PROBABLY beat the rp mocking that character if it is well written and conveys enough emotion to beat the parody rp. Generally, it takes more thought and creativity to come up with a deeply personal response than it does to launch insults or make fun of someone.
6 - WE WILL NOT JUDGE FAVORITES - Like any wrestling fan, each of the owners has one or several real life favorites. We will not vote for someone just because they are favorites, nor will we vote against a wrestler because we dislike them in the real WWE. RP quality is what counts. Likewise, if you know us personally or talk to us frequently on MSN it doesn't mean you will get preferential treatment...you won't.
7 - Length is NOT judged. We would rather read 3 good paragraphs that are exellently written about how you will smite your opponent than a thirty page essay that is long and drawn out! Of course it is hard to convince us you should win if you only write a couple sentences. Write as much as you need to in order to make your point, but don't try to write more than your opponent for the sake of having the longest rp.
8- Many times the rp quality in a match is very close. Judging rps can be a very subjective process and we will cast our vote for the person who entertained us the most if they both meet the criteria posted above equally.Our taste might vary from your taste or someone you talk to on the roster, and we are frequently in disagreement about who wins...that's why there is always more than one person deciding the winners!
9- It is good to explore different sides of your character, but try to be somewhat consistent so we can follow your character's progression. If someone comes out cracking jokes like the Rock in one rp and being dark like the Undertaker in the next rp it will probably hurt their chances of winning.
10- Directly breaking the rules on the rules page will probably cost you a match. For example, the rules page does state that you should get someone's permission before making their character speak or do something in an rp. If you stage an rp where your opponent's character does something completely out of character, or you make them run away from you or act like they are scared of you, it will cost you points and maybe even the entire match. It really isn't all that creative to describe yourself beating up on someone to make yourself look tougher than they are. Excessive swearing or personal attacks on another player (not their character) are other actions that will cost you matches. Lastly, the real WWE has a tendency to bring in legends from the past and have a current wrestler beat them up. This is something you should avoid in your rps. If you decide to beat someone up, it is better to beat up on a fictional jobber, an announcer who was never a wrestler or a random character. An rp where you bring in some like Randy Savage and then beat them up to make your character look tough won't really do you any good (and it is a really cheap way to make yourself look tough to begin with). Using beatings you gave someone in a previous match or on the real WWE is of course a good thing.
11-Attention to detail...make sure you keep the setting of your rp and your opponent's rp in mind, and if you mention past history (real or fed) make sure you don't get it mixed up! Continuity errors can cost you!
TAG TEAM MATCHES
Tag team, six man, eight man, Survivor Series and so on are judged in the same way, with one difference. We add up all the rps made by the entire team. So, don't let your team down. If an individual wrestler makes the best rps in a match, but his partner is silent and everyone on the other team posts several good rps, the guy with the best rp could end up losing! So...if you lose in a situation like this, blame your partner!
If there are Multiple good ones and we can't decide we will ask for picks from the roster
For the Elimination Chamber or a gauntlet match, we score the rps out of ten. The order of entry is decided at random by drawing names out of a hat or container. The last person to enter suffers no penalty, and for each spot away from the final spot you lose one point. (So if you were in a 6 man elimination chamber, got a score of 10 on your rps but came in at number one you would lose 5 points and end up with a score of five). This adds to the overall realism of the match and makes the luck of the draw count.
For the Royal Rumble, we score rps out of 50 as there are more positions and we apply the same penalty system. So, like in the real Royal Rumble, # 30 has the best spot because he suffers no penalty, and #1 is at the greatest disadvantage because he loses 29 points.
Above is a list of the things that we do or don't look at when we pick winners. Like we said, judging an rp can be subjective and my personal taste might be different than Darren's! Since it comes up in conversations, here is a list of things I personally view as strengths and weaknesses when I judge matches. It isn’t an exhaustive list but here goes.
STRONG POINTS (I don’t expect anyone to do all of this every time they rp. Unless you are insanely, unnaturally talented and organized trying to do all of the things I list would probably have you jumping all over the place)
-Be true to character. A creative rp that makes your point but is still true to the behaviour and tone (in the case of promos especially) of the wrestler you are using is a strong rp. Even if you have a created wrestler you should have some kind of established personality that comes through in your rps.
-Explore different sides of your character. I like to see different emotions or reactions. Showing your character’s life outside of wrestling can be a great benefit to rps. If you want to show a contrast between public confidence in a promo and private doubts, great. This doesn’t mean everyone needs to go into a detailed storyline about their wrestler’s love life or childhood . How you prepare for a match or act in private can be good character development in and of itself.
- Using wrestling history, both real and on the fed, will always get you points if you do it right and integrate it effectively. Past ppvs and quick results are available to help you with this. Since I’ve watched wrestling since the early 1980s using events from the distant past can really boost your chances of winning. Be careful though, if you get it wrong I’ll probably pick up on it and it will cost you.
-Being consistent is a strong point. It’s good to show different sides of your character or even to switch between face and heel. You can even develop your wrestler away from the real persona if you do it right and gradually. But jumping from face to heel, religious to unscrupulous, loving to hating all within one week and without a good reason for doing it is a weakness and makes your rps inconsistent. Even if you have a created wrestler you should be consistent with the background story you’ve created. The best created wrestlers have done this effectively.
- Selling what has happened in the results or what an opponent says is stronger than not selling it. If you have a brutal match and you sell the injury in some way (even if it’s in private), I’d consider it a strong point. If an opponent runs some kind of mind game on you, showing how it affects your character is better than pretending it doesn’t bug you. Of course if it’s a pathetic mind game that shouldn’t affect your character you should react accordingly. A great reaction to an opponent’s rps can really help to put you over the top.
- Attention to detail is a strong point. If you keep the location of an rp in mind, or if you find some way to use something your opponent said against them, it will enhance your rp and your chances of winning. If you can pick up on a mistake your opponent makes and turn it against them, or react to a strong rp in a way that is equally strong, you will get credit for it.
-Strong promos that add to your storyline and capture the essence of your character make great rps. Nuff said.
- Written quality. A well written rp that flows and makes sense is stronger than one that isn’t. We don’t judge spelling, but it won’t hurt your chances of getting my vote if your rps are free of annoying and distracting spelling or grammar errors.
-Anything really original can only help you win. A new approach, a mind game no one has ever tried, or a hilarious parody are all effective ways to win a match. If, for example, you can find a creative way of getting around a potential problem or addressing something your opponent said off camera in a way that isn’t unrealistic and doesn’t imply that you actually know they said it, great job. There is a fine line here…if your opponent privately sees a flaw in your ring style, it’s realistic for your wrestler to also recognize the flaw and train accordingly. It isn’t realistic for you to know what the other guy was thinking!
WEAKNESSES
-Continuity errors. If your opponent does an rp in an undisclosed location and you show up to confront him, no matter how good your rp is you screwed up and I’ll dock you. If a guy is on the titantron and you say in your reply he is in the ring, I have to dock it. So make sure to read your opponent's rp carefully.
- Being unrealistic. If your opponent does a private off camera rp, there is no way you should have any knowledge of what they say or do. It’s also unrealistic to know what they are thinking or to find an undisclosed location, especially if they make a point of saying it’s a secret place.
- Making mistakes with wrestling history. Using it effectively is one of the best things you can do…if you screw it up, I will dock you. I will probably even point it out. If you screw up and your opponent calls you on it…you hurt yourself and they add to their rp quality at the same time.
-Breaking the rules…really a no brainer, if you use someone else’s character in appropriately or do something we said not to do on the rules page, you’ll lose.
-Jumping all over the place…I’ve seen people show every side of their character in one given week for no reason…it’s a weakness. It’s inconsistent. It makes no sense. It costs people matches.
-Ignoring the results. Bad move. Nuff said.
- For created wrestlers…changing elements of your background story because they don’t suit you this week. The best created wrestlers use a consistent background story…changing it continuously weakens your rps.
-Breaking kayfabe. I’ve seen rps where someone goes to McMahon asking for a gimmick change. Don’t do that. Rps should be kayfabe, even the off camera ones. If another wrestler has a detailed fictional background story, treat it as real. You can acknowledge that the Rock was once Flex Kavana or Stone Cold used the ring name “Ringmaster” or “Stunning Steve” because it doesn’t hurt the character. Doing an rp about the past gimmicks of someone like the Undertaker or Kane is not something I’ll accept because it scraps the whole brother storyline and a decades worth of matches and storylines. So, when there is a detailed fictional story, use it…treat Mean Mark as a separate person from the Undertaker.If you aren’t sure…ask me.
-Getting the wrong card. I’ve seen rps for Smackdown listed as a Raw rp. I’ve seen Bad Blood referred to as Backlash. I’ve seen post Smackdown rps where someone says they left Raw. If you are paying attention, you know what the card is.
OTHER NOTES:
-A lot of this stuff doesn’t automatically win or lose a match. Adding in some relevant history to an rp can turn it from a 7/10 to an 8/10. Screwing up can turn an 8/10 into a 7/10. If you do something really dumb like showing up at an undisclosed location or knowing what was said in a private rp I’d probably dock more than a few points though…you’d be looking at 4/10.
-An effective promo making strong points and showing your character’s personality and a strong character development rp in private can be EQUALLY effective. It depends on the overall quality and what is said. Character development doesn't always beat a strong promo.
-It’s possible for someone to do three rps and beat someone who did five if the quality is that much better, but if rps are fairly even and one guy did more, the odds are the person with the most will win.
We have an attack board that we take into account when we judge a match, but in general a match is never won based on an attack. A well written attack that ties into an rp will earn you points...simply describing a beatdown on your opponent won't really do much.We won't count an injury you might say you inflicted on your opponent.
Attacks are also a double edged sword...if you get into the habit of constantly using attacks to make it look like your wrestler can kick the other's wrestler's butt, it gets annoying...and annoying the owners usually won't win you a match. People might be tempted to "give themselves a win" in an rp. This is ok but you should do it with a nameless jobber and not a legend or someone who is not currently taken. It is a pet peeve of ours when the real WWE brings in a legend and beats them up...so in an rp it will also be annoying. It might not cost you anything but it probably won't gain you anything either.
Attacking a General Manager or Vince is usually a mistake and you probably won't get away with it. Both GMs are wrestlers themselves so they can't just be pummelled at will.
One last point...if you stage an attack on someone you aren't in a match with, make sure you are willing to have a match because the odds are you will end up being booked against them. So don't attack someone if you don't think you can beat them on the RP Board.
We now have a new system in which you must appeal for a title shot and then we will decide if you deserve it based on your record, rp quality, etc...
The World Heavyweight Title is the toughest one to get a shot at...we now have a Number One Contender Trophy which grants its owner a title shot whenever they choose to cash it in...once you use the shot, you lose the trophy. Otherwise the owners can give a title shot to someone they feel deserves it, or we can book matches between contenders at will.
For other titles, you can ask for a title shot and we'll decide...but a shot must be earned so no one can walk in and expect a shot right away. At times we will post some rankings to give you an idea where you stand...this DOES NOT MEAN NUMBER TWO ON THE LIST AUTOMATICALLY GETS THE NEXT SHOT AFTER THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDER. THE RANKINGS CHANGE EVERY WEEK.
And of course, a champion has a rematch clause that they can excercise when they lose their title. This rematch is only good against the person who took your title...if they lose before you ask for your rematch you have to climb the ladder again.