What To Expect in 2020

As we usher in the third decade that 4CW has existed, I wanted to give a general update on 4CW/some announcements for 2020/some new things moving forward in terms of the presentation of the show.

So, it's probably best if I do these in sections. I'd like to hear any feedback/comments/concerns you may have, but I think you'll all be pleased with what's here:

Win-Loss Records
First of all, a smaller, but neat thing. Over the years, I have tried to keep track of the win-loss records. While some years are missing or incomplete, I do have a lot. They are all listed on the 4CW wikia, which is also packed with a bunch of other information/history that has been compiled over the years by myself and many others. Anyway, my point is, as of 2020, I will be starting a win-loss record thing on the show itself. It'll reset annually, because I can't be completely sure of all time accuracy of win-loss records from the past for everyone, so if we do it specifically by year, it can be tracked better. This won't really be much of a change, you'll just see win-loss records noted in the show akin to how AEW have win-loss records on their name cards.

Streamlined Matches
So what does streamlined matches mean exactly? Well, let's be real, some matches are more important than others. Some are historic bouts, others are filler to get an angle or spot over. So, essentially, people can still write their own matches whenever they want and even offer to write, but if a match is not very important in the grand scheme of things, it may get more of a "recap" treatment rather than a full play-by-play of the match. This won't apply to PPVs, only Storm Front. And it'll make reading filler (and writing it) less of a slog and help the show feel like it's moving forward at a solid pace. Essentially, if it's a squash match with no extended reason for existing, it'll probably be a paragraph. If it's a massive, important match, you'll get the whole shebang.

Soul Survivor Returns - TAG TEAM STYLE
That's right, Soul Survivor is returning in 2020. Previous renditions in 2016 and 2018 were a great success, with Rhys Cain and Witch Hazel winning the respective tournaments. However, for the first time ever, we're going to be doing a tag team Soul Survivor. It will start in January, and will feature the 4CW Tag Team Champions as well as (this number could change) seven other tag teams in a tag team battle royal first round match. The first three teams to be eliminated will be out of the tournament, and the winner will determine the second round stipulation. In the second round, five teams will duke it out with two eliminations. In the third round, three teams will battle with only one elimination. The final round will take place at Revival 2020 for the 4CW Tag Team Championships.

Expanding Roleplaying
4CW chugs along as always, but I'll be the first to admit it's biggest issue is the lack of RPs. It's not really an issue, because we are awesome at working out storylines by ourselves, and it provides the same creative outlet, which is the whole point of 4CW in the first place. But basically, I'm going to be more lax with RPs. You don't neccesarily have to RP for every match to win it.

I'll explain, I'll basically be looking at RPs as an ongoing thing, so RP whenever you want, as often or as little as you want, and make it a traditional RP if you want, or instead just post a "YouTube promo" or an interview or anything that involves your character. Whenever deciding who wins a match, I'll look into generally how much someone is RPing, as well as reviewing shows, writing matches, getting involved creatively, and decide the winner with all these factors in play. This isn't far removed from how I currently do it anyway. Of course, if you want to continue RPing for every match, that's fine, this is purely just to try and alleviate the "pressure" of RPing to a "deadline" and just having an open, flexible RP policy. The important thing to remember is the more you are involved, the more your characters will reap the rewards.

OK, so now all that is out of the way, my final point is more of a question, and I want all of your opinions too. This is a question I feel I should ask every year or so, to keep you guys involved and make sure the way forward is what everyone is happy with. So my question is about the scheduling of the show.

What do you think of the current 4CW schedule?
So currently, we have monthly Storm Fronts, some of which are SuperShows, and we have two PPV months, Revival in April and Gallows End in October. That gives us two PPVs and ten TV shows per year, in theory. Of course sometimes, we skip a show because reasons but I digress.

Are you guys happy with that?

Do you think we should have shows more often? Less often? Keep it as it is? With a lax RP policy, the only deadline we need to concern ourselves with is getting the shows written. Keep in mind the more regular the shows, the smaller each show would be.

A couple of examples of how we could increase the number of shows without burning out:

1. Have two Storm Front's a month, except in April and October, for the PPVs. Each Storm Front would be an "hour-long" show, and as such would contain less matches, less segments but would be coming twice as often.

2. Keep the schedule as it is, but introduce a smaller secondary show that is posted every so often. Kind of like a mix between AEW Dark and the House Shows we have done in the past.

I realise this is a big post, and a lot to take in. But I want you guys to be continuously involved in the process of 4CW. So, take it all in, and reply when you're ready. If you have any ideas/comments that I haven't covered, definitely throw them in here.