Invasion XI
TOP THREE MOMENTS:
1. The Invasion Match: I absolutely loved the Invasion match congrats to Mikey, well deserved homie!
Win or lose, Graves looked incredible in his first-ever Invasion match, and I’m super proud of how he was showcased. It was an amazing opportunity to cement his place in OSW history, and I really appreciate the platform to display his power with some crazy moves.
What I enjoyed most about this match was how unpredictable it felt. At no point did it feel like the winner was obvious or that the match was just building toward one person. The pacing and storytelling kept me on my toes the whole time, which shows the smart writing behind these matches. It was my Invasion debut, and it was an amazing read I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
2. The Failsafe: This segment was intense, especially after such a hard-fought match. The question of whether Doom is really dead has me hooked, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. The idea of more Failsafes being unleashed is terrifying, and I’m excited to see how this plays out.
3. Dean’s Big Break (That Never Happened): This was hilarious from start to finish. Laner reading it made it even funnier, but this line absolutely killed me:
“MATT RUBY: This fat fuck looks like he ate the picnic.”
I also marked out huge seeing the Dread Clothing shirt. It was a nice change of pace, and I loved the comedic switch-up tone.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
- Will Eclipse cash in sooner or later?
- Who blew up the Pantheon?
- Who is the leader of the Watchers?
- Is Stubbins Doom really dead? And if so, how many more Doom Failsafes will we see?
- Will Mighty hand the title over so easily?
- If Dean had a match who would his opponent be?
MY FAVOURITE PROMO OF THE WEEK:
I have to give it to Lithium and Cost of a Mask: You both absolutely killed it. I had the great pleasure of writing segments for this sick storyline, and these promos took the match to the next level. It was an honour to be part of this feud in any capacity, and reading your work blew me away. Amazing job by both of you!
HAVE YOUR SAY:
I was super bummed that I missed the live show because of that stupid snowstorm. I love these events, and I feel like they bring the team even closer together.
Laner, you absolutely killed it on the call, brother. You’re a legend, and you give every match the love it deserves.
It was hard picking just three moments because the entire show was amazing from start to finish.
As for Graves and Nero things are heating up, and I’m super excited. Getting to experience the credit system is a cool new element, and I’m pumped to see how deep this goes. Rob/Nero, I’m really looking forward to working with you on this feud.
TOP THREE MOMENTS:
(Three moments of the show that stood out to you and why.)
- When it comes to matches, there's honestly fewer that really catch the eye than Invasion. Here, you get eight highlights of excellence, and one of the most dynamic pieces of combat I've seen in ages. The opponents were lovely, the brawling an absolute delight, and the way that Eclipse defied all standards and expectations and took the show was just a genuine delight. Wonderful stuff!
- The Price of Power showing that Gravedigger had weaknesses he wasn't ready for, and the reveal that Calypso was back in the realm of the living with a few darker twists than before was just a fantastic moment. This one is a feud I'm going to be keeping my eyes on as time goes on, and
- Dean Hungie is my new favorite jobber, and had a wonderful breathe of fresh air with the deep breath to give a pause between things. The annoyed Scott Sterling, the continued dejection by our announcers, all of it just was a fun little bit that I had not expected going in. He might be a walking disaster, but we love 'em for it.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
How will Ares running things work out?
Is Doom truly dead?
Who dug up CJ's body?
How will the Temple of Bones play into things going into the future?
Who blew up Olympus?
Will Mighty Mighty escape his cage from Klaus?
MY FAVOURITE PROMO OF THE WEEK:
Olive and Redwood takes it for me. I went back to read it again after seeing the show, and the brilliance shone through. Handling the foes, having a good theme, the strikes and buildup for the plan, it was like threading a needle almost with how well it read. Excellent stuff.
HAVE YOUR SAY:
A List of Names was just the spine chilling sort of revelation that helped pump up the layers beneath it. It seems to be that the folks that made the groups of heroes had names on the list, and that Sunshine was once part of one of the teams! And like that alone would be enough, but the fact that he tried to get his name out, and the Zookeeper kept both of them on because they weren't done with them is a deep and startling revelation. This alone would have been something brilliant to stand out with.
And then Dean came swinging out with The Ledger. The names crossed out of the list, the mysterious figure, and the new names means we're maybe getting a new Kingdom going? New folks that are going to come up and take a roll in all of what's going on? That's just going to be fantastic I think. And I can't wait to see how it all plays out from here.
TOP THREE MOMENTS:
1. It has to go to Invasion itself here, always a highlight of the year especially getting to watch it live. Without being in it, it was just great fun watching to see what new name got the briefcase and a way to jump to the top of the card. That being said, congrats Mikey, you definitely earned it and I've been wondering when the big push would happen for Eclipse since you started writing for the character.
2. Ares is in charge?! I wonder what this means for Arcadia as a whole let alone OSW. I expect more violence and swift action and maybe even police state style stuff with him. It makes me wonder if he did the explosion more but honestly I'm just curious what change it will bring.
3. Dean's big break made me lose my shit, that moment of levity was fun and having what was meant to be a fun throwaway segment seemingly makes me want to see more of Deanie Hungy, a new legend in Arcadia and I need to see him and Savor in a segment.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
When will Eclipse Cash in?
Will Mighty Mighty let Narcissa win?
Will Sunshine stay in this dark place?
MY FAVOURITE PROMO OF THE WEEK:
Daws crushed it with that promo. Treating the handbook as a work of art that meant the world to him, almost treating it like a tattoo and using literature as a parallel to art was brilliant and now making a blackout poem brilliant.
HAVE YOUR SAY:
Great writing for Narcissa as always, definitely expecting some tension between her and Ares after Zeus named Ares in charge. That will be fun to see in the future but before that reveal, we see the work put in to make Mighty potentially up his title, definitely wondering it it will happen. Lastly, loved the match writer including that slide in after all the chaos, a slimy and cheeky win is great.
TOP THREE MOMENTS:
(Three moments of the show that stood out to you and why.)
- the invasion match took the cake for me this week, as to be expected of course. there was some marvelous writing that went into that match to make it as special as it was, so definitely hats off to dean for that. there were so many amazing spots at every which turn, not to mention eclipse being the winner, which many people might not have predicted right away including mikey himself (have some faith my man lmfao). but thats just the beauty of it all. it was a pleasure to be apart of such a staple match.
- the match and subsequent segment of doom/foley was so fuckin weird but in the good sense. i mean obviously it was a sticky situation with doom being involved in the pantheon explosion, but then again maybe he wasn’t? but like some others said, i cant buy that hes completely dead just yet. it might take some time for any further answers but i’ll have to wait and see on that one.
- the judgement of juicy and the deanie hungy segments were gold in the moment and even now a week later. it was good comedic relief in the midst of a very tense and high stakes event, and i would say it definitely hit the mark as dean was intending lmfao.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
(What questions has the show left you with?)
who blew up the pantheon?
who dug up cj’s body and why?
who is the zorokeeperrrrr?
who is the leader of the watchers?
MY FAVOURITE PROMO OF THE WEEK:
i really did enjoy jackson cade’s by the book promo. it was just amazing to me to how he was able to incorporate an art work idea with the concept of abiding by the book. nice shit
HAVE YOUR SAY:
i would be lying if i said i wasnt anticipating anton linking up with the preservationists but the manner it was executed was even more genius (and darker) than i coulda ever imagined. im eager to see how everything progresses throughout the weeks with this now, especially with the preservationists gaining so many new recruits this show and with ares seeming to be in control now. i know shits bout to start goin down real soon and im ready for the nonsense.
TOP THREE MOMENTS:
1. The God of War Ascends takes the top spot. Holy shit, Ares taking the throne of the Pantheon is a scary thought. Just what will his leadership entail and how many people will suffer because of it? Will Zeus ever recover to take the power back, or is this the course we're staying on until the end of the volume?
2. The Eclipse victory takes a very close second. Honestly, we slept on Mikey when he posted his piece. So to see him play the underdog going into this match at number one and emerging victorious when it looked like Klaus had it in the bag was an awesome and pop worthy moment. Congrats, dude. Hope you know when to cash in that case and become the new world champ!
3. The Dean Hungie appearances round things out. Holy shit Dean, when you said you were going to inject comedy into Invasion, I thought you meant the Judgement of Juicy and the running gag that was present in the Invasion match. Didn't expect you to make fun of yourself this harshly. 😛 Now the question is, when will he be placed in a match? And if he does, will it be someone with just as much heart as him?
BURNING QUESTIONS:
Is Doom actually dead, like many of us assume he isn't? We had a failsafe come out and confirm it not only to Foley and the rest of Arcadia confirm it, but is it a lie? If not, what happens to the war now that one of the Preservationist's main players is gone, possibly for good?
Who else is on the Zookeeper's book of names? Who are the four new Kingdom members (assuming they are new Kingdom members) the Zookeeper will get to do his dirty work now that Roland Gray is out of the picture?
Who dug up CJ's body? For what purpose at that? Jackson's gonna be pissed at them when the truth comes to light, but will he be able to get his hands on them?
MY FAVOURITE PROMO OF THE WEEK:
This is more than likely my bias for Daws talking, but I really enjoyed Wants and Needs by Hatchet. It's such a simple concept that I feel worked incredibly well. I liked how he shit talked how, while his opponents would need the Invasion case, Hatchet simply wants it; and he's gonna take it. I also love how he said that needing that case makes everyone else in the match weak. I love the no nonsense approach of this piece and Hatchet's voice helps sell it for me. While it's not anywhere as eloquent and metaphorically beautiful as the top three, this piece was still a lot of fun.
HAVE YOUR SAY:
Calypso: She's back, and she's seeking revenge against Gravedigger! Absolutely thrilled to have her back and I cannot wait to see if I can shake the rust off after not handling her for two months.
Night: Hoo boy, things did not go well for the Seekers this time around. Not only did they fail to dissuade Drewitt and Grimskull from joining the preservationists thanks to a cloned dog, but they also have the image of them planting the bomb that blew up the Pantheon attached to them like an albatross around their necks. I'm interested to see if they can or how they plan on correcting the course in the following months, but it definitely doesn't look good for them.
I also like how the seeds of a possible turn were planted by having Night think Narcissa was responsible for the explosion. Meanwhile, the reader knows that Gemini was the one responsible for blowing up the Red Light District. How long will it take for Gemini to spill the beans? Will she even be the one to do so? How will Night react when he finds out one of his comrades in arms was responsible? I'm not sure, but I hope we'll get to find out soon.
TOP THREE MOMENTS:
(Three moments of the show that stood out to you and why.)
- The God of War Ascends. I'm going in reverse order here but the basis of power changing hands here has mammoth implications, especially because it's Ares. The God of War has always been a little...rougher around the edges then Zeus, seemingly being that vicious devil on the Barons shoulder at times and lord knows how bad things will get now he's truly in charge...fuck I just had a theory too. What if Ares was tired of Zeus trying to appease everyone? What if Ares wanted to go harder at the Preservationists but Zeus forbade him for fear of the public backlash? What if Ares was worried the dessenting Pantheon members would sway Zeus against his wishes? What if Ares was responsible for the bombing? He'd take out the people against him, ensure Zeus somehow didn't die despite being in the epicenter of it all but was out long enough to need a temporary Baron, who just happened to be Ares and he happened to have proof on him...almost like he was expecting it to happen. I'm probably dead wrong but fuck if that wouldn't be a twist and a half. Either way, huge ender and definetly one that'll shake the hell out of this war in the meantime.
- Going the Invasion match as a whole. Amazing main event with great action and picture perfect commentary from BB and Ruby alongside a very well deserved victory for Eclipse. Brilliant match there as always and a fitting final one for Part 3.
- The Ledger. I love me a good mystery and the Zookeeper's identity has been one for a long time now. Arcadia didn't seem to be any closer to finding out the truth despite hearing about the Ledger and it seems four new names have been transcribed onto it. Whether this means a new Kingdom or something else entirely we'll find out but this definetly seems like it's going to be something big in the next few months and I'm all for learning more.
- Hon Mention: Dean's Big Break. Couldn't put this as a top three given it was a possible one shot comedy seg but fuck was this hilarious in all the best ways. Dean absolutely reminds me of a more gunho Mark and I very much want to see more of this goofy bastard as Olympus and OSW can always use a loveable hopeless underdog around.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
Who blew up the Pantheon? George Cade? Ares? Doom? The possible candidates list is kinda endless here
Will Mighty go along with Klaus's promise to Narcissa or will he once again rebel against his master?
Who is the leader of the Watchers and when is the soon that they will reveal themselves?
Is Doom actually gone? Are there more failsafes? Did one of them "die" in his stead or is Stubbins actually gone?
Who dug up CJ if it wasn't Jasper? Who is sick enough...and malicious enough to do so and how badly will they suffer when Jackson finds out who they are?
MY FAVOURITE PROMO OF THE WEEK:
As much as I hate to give him a big head, it's a tie between By The Book and Wants and Needs for me this week. The former was a brilliant use of the police handbook to twist Jasper's love of art against him in a beautiful way and definetly deserved winning the title here. As for Hatchets, I'm a sucker for the classic juggalo promo and this was the classic Jeckel promo through and through with adding that little Hatchet twist to it.
HAVE YOUR SAY:
So I'll admit I wasn't expecting Destructo to come save Felix and his momma but it also absolutely felt right. Despite his change in attitude, he's still a good kid and given there's kinda still a friendship there, it made sense for Destructo to try and do the right thing, even if his attitude was still bratty dick. Despite that, there's still the good heart there showing with Momma Foley and the little agreement of worrying about Felix, I can kinda see how this is going to go and if it does go this route, I'm very intrigued and absolutely down to see more of this.