DIFFERENT STYLES OF STORY DEVELOPMENT:
Throughout the history of the Toy Wrestling Murrey Universe there have been at least five different models for approaching play/presentation. Below, we delve into these different models, what they consist of, which “promotions” specialized in them, the era they flourished in, their strengths and weaknesses.
The approach to play wasn’t an issue in the First Era (1991-1997), but by 1998 – about a year into the Second Era – the participants in the highly competitive atmosphere began questioning each other’s methods (USWA was just beginning to become the dominant promotion, WWF had faded away, but a handful of other promotions led by other participants were hotly contesting the coveted top spot). At the time, each participant in this Toy Wrestling realm was no older than 13 years old and naively believed that wrestling was real despite all evidence to the contrary (kayfabe was VERY strong at the time).
The fact that the kids were convinced wrestling was not pre-planned contributed to the controversy surrounding play. For a period of time in 1998 it was seen as an unforgivable sin to “plan” the outcome of one’s shows. This led to pressure for high unpredictability in presentation, which was also coincidentally associated with the state of Professional Wrestling in real life wherein each show was unpredictable.
As the USWA solidified its status as the dominant and eventually UNBEATABLE force in the Toy Wrestling World the pressure was relieved a little, but out of the dust of this controversy in 1998 came the building blocks for the following models.
Chaos: This is exactly what it sounds like. Under pressure from the intense competition of the early Second Era, each participant would play freely with little or no predetermined plan for match outcomes or character direction. The approach was pioneered by the USWA with little deviation (starting in the First Era when the USWA was called the WPW), but every promotion adopted and exploited this approach at the time. This was because it was seen by the participants as a “sin” to predetermine anything in the “industry” at the time. This model returned temporarily died with the end of the Second Era but later returned with the short-lived WWO in the late-Third Era and in the PWI for the last stretch of the Fifth Era. The greatest strength of this approach is that it permits extremely unpredictable twists, but its greatest weakness is that the “shock and awe” can easily get old (though it never did for the USWA) and it typically sacrifices deep story development.
Structured Chaos: This approach was likely introduced by Jeff Murrey’s WWF in the First Era and may have been secretly used by some during the Second Era. Though it is predominantly chaotic, there is an overall game plan which loosely guides and concentrates the chaos. This approach was likewise adopted by the HCW in the Fourth Era, which absolutely aided it in overcoming the competition from Mickey’s UWA and Benny’s EWA and ECW. The Fourth Era incarnation of ECW-TNA also largely utilized this approach at one point, as did the LWF in the Third Era. Moreover, for the last year of the Second Era – September 2001 through September 2002 -, the USWA adopted this model to frame its conclusion. Its greatest strength is that the light touch of “structure” allows the participant to present a slightly more organized touch with an envisioned framework to focus the somewhat unpredictable pattern. It helps tell long-term stories with many twists and turns along the way. Its greatest weakness is that certain goals for stories can be forgotten, forcing a change in course, because the goals are not typically written out formally to guide play.
Advanced Structured Chaos: Utilized by the UWA in the Third Era and PWI in the beginning of the Fifth Era as well as throughout the Sixth Era, this model permits the participant to map out a long-term outline as a tangible guide for reliable reference for story direction. This is seen as a balanced approach utilizing Chaos and Structure in just the right way so that they complement each other. The greatest strength is that the plan forward is easily referenced and the story can take a number of twists and turns along the way, as needed. The greatest weakness is that mapping out a plan relies on limited interruptions in schedule and availability of characters (sometimes, a character gets “injured”, forcing a change).
Structured: Employed exclusively by the UWA in the Fourth Era, this approach allows the participant to map out a detailed outline with notes guiding week-by-week steps, with little to no chaos. This approach proved relatively unsuccessful because of how little each story twist appeared to be organic. The greatest strength is the predictability for the participant, having a complete plan for how to proceed. Its greatest weakness is that the process of detailing an outline on a weekly basis is time consuming, and it makes the process feel like a chore. It is easy to make mistakes in telling a detailed story, and those mistakes can sometimes prove detrimental to said story. This all takes the passion out of the performance, which robs the participant and the audience of joy.
Advanced Structured: Pioneered by the UWF in the Third Era, this approach was likewise utilized by the EWA and ECW in the Fourth Era, the short-lived NEW in the Fifth Era, and the EWA in the Sixth Era. Here, the participant not only creates a detailed outline for the story, but they also typically compose and utilize a detailed script for all promos, skits, and sometimes even commentary moments. This approach typically has a complete absence of chaos with only selective exceptions. Its greatest strength is the incredible and professional-level depth of story telling. Its greatest weakness is the time consumption and the fact that any slip-up can prove to be disastrous for the story.
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 