Discussion: Why OSW?
So I've been thinking on this, contemplating the question a bit in depth. I've never really held a traditional introduction into OSW or efedding as a whole. Hell, the way Robbie (Narcissa's handler for those that might not be familiar) introduced it to me was showing me a Jake Jeckel vs Santa Claus set of promos and the show with said match. And I think that's what got me in, was that you could have a juggalo fight Santa Claus and that just be part of a show. That here, you can literally throw something to the wall and have it stick around fantastically.
In the long term of keeping to OSW (Not counting my small 'break') since then, I think it just hits just the right flavor of community and creativity. I have without a doubt pushed the envelope with characters through my time here. I have been a robot twice (Once a steampunk Star Wars vibe, once a ancient Japanese assassin), a literal god, a skeleton in a space suit, and a Power Ranger in a character pitch. And without a fail, it's been "Alright, let's get it in," with a sick poser each time and wrapped into the story like it's just a mere bump in the road.
And as someone who I'd like to think very clearly doesn't have much history of wrestling and eFeds (Robbie's got me caught up actual show wise but it's not something I keep active tabs with IRL), that there's a certain appeal to the crew made projects. From Dean making plot lines to having creative teams and match writing teams, you help create and foster a sense of community and comradery that other places fall apart without. When you've got surprises and the matches each show, along with folks stepping up to volunteer to help out, it lends itself to becoming something more substantial and sustainable long term. And that shows with OSW, that structure outweathering most of the feds that started at the time it did and lasting entire lifespans outside of the hobby. And that can be strange for those that are used to the old ways mentioned above, but it's genuinely worth it. Each person that sticks around, that keeps at it helps flesh things out like a family almost. And if that can keep going, then OSW will be around for a long, long time. I hope I get to be around for that as well.
I've spent a little while mulling this over, trying to find the right answer to Why OSW because its absolute multiple choice. Yes, the work and quality here is S+ on the worst days, yes it's an evolution of effeding or Fantasy Wrestling (which I'm absolutely calling it from now on), yes it's a place I hang and have fun with my boys doing something we all love. Yes, it's because of Dean fucking Mason who I would go to the moon and back for in the appropriate business days of course. It's all that and more but Why?
When I first started getting into effeding, I was this dorky kinda loner kid who never really fit in anywhere. I loved wrestling so I figured writing in the hobby might help. It did a little as the high of doing something I was truly interested stayed but when that new shine came off, reality started sinking in. The feds where my buddies ran felt too easy, pandered to with bias and the others, the glass ceiling was so low it felt like an endless punishment banging my head against it. I had nearly given up until an old friend pointed me to the IWF.
I found a phenomenal owner who truly cared for everyone on the roster, amazing stories, great characters and a damn good bunch of people that I was privileged to know. But it still felt like the prototype for what should be, nearly there, hints of something truly great but not quite there.
And that's what OSW is. It's not just the phenomenal writers with skills that astound me every week that I read, the challenge of trying to keep up to these ridiculous talents as they have made me a far better writer then I could ever imagine. It's not just the characters and stories that have been told, a majority of them I would put up against any piece of media created and say it rivals. The stories that if adapted to print or film at even a tenth of the quality could win pulitzers and oscars with world wide renown.
It's not just the truly great people I have met here, people that I love that I would gladly call brothers and go to the ends of the earth for without hesitation.
It's everything and more.
Why OSW? Because it's home. It's where that dorky fourteen year old had been searching for, it's where he belongs. And no matter what goes on in the future, I'm a Dean Mason guy, I'm a Mike Lane guy. I'm a Dawson guy, I'm a Damo guy, I'm a Mel guy, I'm a Mikey guy and so on but most importantly I'm an OSW guy and that ain't ever gonna change.
I used to handle in real handled e-feds and it was horrible. I spent far too many years portraying obscure characters that no-one else wanted to be, like Al Snow or Goldust and losing to "big names" who no matter who they handled or what fed they joined, were always top of the pile. There was an intrinsic bias that if you were a 'name' in that circle, you'd be Champion.
When I came here as The Generation Kid, I won the Rewind Championship at Wrestle Heroes in my first ever match. I studied the style of OSW long before I joined and felt confident that I could be competitive but not in a billion years did I think I'd win a title. It showed me that right away, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, if the judge likes what you write, they'll take a chance on you.
Dean took a chance on me in my very first promo. I could've been a flake but he thought I deserved the title and I won it. It told me everything I needed to know about why OSW was the place to be. There's no bias here. I'd be comfortable with Dean handling a character here because I have 100% confidence that if I beat him in a match or vice versa, he'd choose the right winner no matter what.
Every character gets a big storyline. Every handler gets fair treatment. New people break into the top sect of handlers all the time here. We've had two first time World Champions this year alone. If you listen and take on board the advice, read promos and see what works, you can have more fun here than you've ever had in your entire fantasy wrestling experience.
And yes, this is fantasy wrestling. I petition we change any reference to E-FED on this website to fantasy wrestling because this is the epitome of it.
Why OSW? Because Dean currently has me suffering from immense Stockholm Syndrome the likes of which the world has never seen.
But, jokes aside, I started E-fedding by what could only be described as an accident way back in like... I want to say 2012 or 2011 when I stumbled across the IWF website. Now, before then I had always wanted to be a writer of some sort but never actually got into the hobby in any way. It was just never something that I found myself getting into.
Well, despite that, I joined the site because I saw the graphics, the stories, and found them all just so insanely cool. I sucked, like a lot, but for some reason found myself hanging around for I think it was a bit over a year or so. Lost a lot in that time, but it helped me become a better writer.
It was in the IWF that I fell in love with e-fedding and even on the rarest occasions I explored other feds, I never quite had the same spark as I do in OSW. Everything from the intricate storylines made for every character to the top tier posers to the community around it makes OSW the only place I could ever see myself fedding in, honestly.
As mentioned above, this is Fantasy Wrestling more than it is an E-fed. It's interesting, it's creative, and it really lets anyone who joins create a one of a kind character that wouldn't likely work in any other kind of fed without significant retooling.
I'm mostly rambling now I realize but it's hard to narrow down the reasons for why I love OSW. It's competitive, the storylines are filled with drama and intrigue, and I can't stress enough how amazing the community is. Even if you're someone who isn't often in the Discord chat you can guarantee that it's a welcoming place to be. Like, I honestly can't imagine opening up Discord and not seeing the OSW server at the top of my server list.
So, why OSW? Because as far as I'm concerned, OSW is home.
I'm not one to get emotional or have a long drug out speech for why I choose OSW, and to be honest, there's not much that I could say here that probably isn't an echo chamber of the above statements, but I can say this..
Sure, the shows are great and timely. Yes, the poser work and graphics are phenomenal. And I'd be a fool to not mention the stiff competition that each member of the roster brings to the table.. but I think what drives me the most is the community.
I've said it once and I'll say it again, the community makes this place so much stronger than anything else. I've been efedding for years, and while I've had my fun elsewhere, there was never a sense of community. Sure, I've written as part of an in-character group or family, but even then there was a disconnect. OSW feels like home. If something is going on outside of the fed and I need an ear, there's always someone there to lend it.
In other feds, the closest thing to community was drama. There was always an "inner circle" likely calling the shots and making sure that their friends would win when it mattered and making sure that they were having fun at the expense of the others, but it's not like that in OSW. It's a place that's away from the normal efedding drama, in a little corner of it's own. And it's pleasant here.
If you take that and mix it with all the other things that I mentioned, or the desire and passion of Dean and those on the creative team, the better question then becomes "Why Not OSW?"
It's a no brainer.
I was here many years ago and enjoyed my time. I originally joined back then as a younger kid because of the posers, graphics and website. I came back all these years later because I wasn't good enough back then and didn't have the patience to keep trying. I wish I'd stayed, to be honest, because I've wasted so many years in crappy sub-par feds with egos and bias ownership that I could've just stayed here and had a better time.
I do think in a way, it doesn't matter what skill level you find yourself at, you need to come here, dig in and grind out the difficult first few months until it clicks and when it does, you'll have so much fun writing promos. Even during that time, there's no grind on the storylines because you'll get a great angle no matter how you write.
Osw is the premier fed out there. Nothing else competes even if it tries and you need to be here to know it.
I will keep it straight to the point.
I initially joined because a) OSW was relatively active on Twitter at a time when I was using Twitter to look for feds (and I already feel some people wincing at that...), b) the website and posers sold me instantly and c) my days of grinding out multi-thousand word novellas are long behind me, and I was looking for something a little less demanding, so the microfed aspect also appealed to me.
If you REALLY want to, you can come in, write your promo, leave your feedback and disappear into the night for the rest of the week (some people on the roster have to do that because of where they access the site from etc. and it works for them) and you would have a really good time still, you'd get to write a character and see that character come to life in creative segments, pitted against various levels of inhumanity as you go.
OR, you could hang around and post on the forums, join the discord chat, join in with the semi-regular Saturday games nights, and actually get to know the people behind the characters. Believe me if you can do it, it makes the place that bit warmer for it. You could hang out on Twitch when we do the special live shows and marvel at the latest intro videos either Dean or Laner have put together. You might even make some new really good acquaintances if you're lucky.
Where do I even begin?
Things have changed so drastically throughout my life that where I started as Tommy Hawk, somewhere over 8 years prior, seems like a life-time ago. I came to OSW for the same reasons most people do. I needed an outlet free of ego and trouble. I struggled to find that just about anywhere. OSW was a gamble, like any fed is when you start out. It had the graphics and the posers. It had posters, it had the best website I'd ever seen bar none and I just wanted to be a part of it.
Little did I truly know about what that meant for my entire life. That sounds dramatic, doesn't it? My life. Those who know me know I keep myself relatively to myself. I have a severely disabled mother who I used to care for daily and still visit daily, as well as two jobs to pay for the home she currently lives in. Life is hard. That's not a woe is me tale, that's just the truth.
But whenever I've wanted to write, Dean and OSW has been there. I love this place. This has been my outlet for years and it never fails to impress me or make me feel happy. Every time I sit down to write, I'm excited. It doesn't matter if it has been a long day or a terrible week, this place is like a second home to me. It draws the bad energy out and replaces it with confidence and power.
I don't involve myself much in the community. I'm not a Discord guy, it's true. I'm not a social guy. I know there's a few here like me and that's fine too. You don't have to be a social guy, though I do not doubt that you're missing out if you're not. I know I am. The people here are workhorses. They're kind, friendly and caring to a fault. I've never truly seen so many congratulations over victories in matches as I do on a live show when people have lost something they desperately wanted to win. They celebrate others.
There's a hundred reasons why you should choose OSW and there's many more as to why I have and will always. Over the years, many have come and gone. Traitors, deceivers, liars and scumbags. People who took this place for granted. People who thought the grass was greener somewhere else because they couldn't hack it here. People who just didn't like being held to fucking account. People who took weak minded wasters with them when they left. OSW always survives. It thrives. You can't stop this runaway train because there's a leader driving it down that track with a roster full of handlers pushing it with all their might, that love it, that support it, and that appreciate just exactly what the fuck it is.
If you want a humble and beautiful place to ply your fantasy wrestling, that doesn't close down, that doesn't have drama, that doesn't have egomaniacal lunatics vying for their main event status like it's the WWE, then OSW is for you. If you want to just have... fun... then OSW is for you. If you want to enjoy writing and being challenged.. then OSW is for you. If you want to enjoy fantasy wrestling... OSW is for you. If you want friends... then OSW is for you.
And most importantly, if you want to feel like you're apart of something, like a fantasy wrestling website is a big part of your life, not just a game that you can discard at a moments notice, then OSW IS.. FOR.. YOU.
It's for me. It always will be for me.
It might sound weird, but I’ve been a bit of a peeping tom for quite some time. This place is so well polished, with graphics on a whole new level, so I became a fan first before I even had the idea for a character.
Honestly, I never thought I was good enough for this place. But I wanted to take a chance and join, and I’m glad I did. Everyone has been very welcoming.
I love creating a character, writing, and wrestling. It’s been a cool experience to witness the masterclass connection that happens with Dean, who takes our character descriptions and brings them to life with beautiful graphics. Seeing Reverend Ezekiel Graves come alive is super cool, I described him, and bam, here he is.
The mentality and vibe I get from here is what I wanted to be a part of. It’s great to see a connected group of writers having fun creating this badass fed.
Dean, the owner, is very open, and despite running this amazing site and dealing with the talent, you’d think he’d be too busy for the new blood, but that’s not the case. He has been incredibly available whenever I’ve had questions. My interaction with him made me feel like part of the team instantly.
This is my "why," and as I get deeper into the role of Reverend Ezekiel Graves, I’m sure I’ll have even more reasons to say not just why I’m here, but why I love it here.