Rules
- Original, masked characters only.
- 1x 500-word promo limit every card; best promo wins.
- Let me know if you can’t meet deadline.
- Don’t plagiarise others or recycle your old material.
- You can use NPCs (except authority figures) but no roughing them up.
- Real-world promotions and wrestlers don’t exist in our universe.
- Wrestling isn’t fake here.
- If it’s in your promo, it’s on-screen.
- No response pieces – be creative.
- Play as many characters as you can keep up with.
Names
I want to see gimmick names.
We’re all about colourful masks and zany lucha action. Having a guy named John Smith or similar doesn’t fit that vision.
If your character is an Olympic gold medal wrestler, lean into it and call them Mr. Suplex; a biker could be named The Outlaw; a politician could be Founding Father – so on.
Promos
As mentioned, promos have a hard limit of 500 words.
The greatest wrestling promos in history were cut in the ring or in front of a curtain backstage. They used words, facial expressions, and body language to push their character, storyline, and match.
Scenery description isn’t required, as everything happens on Masqopolis. If you have an idea for a locale which is relevant to your promo, by all means go for it – just remember that painting a picture is going to burn through precious words.
The same is true for conversations or interactions. If you feel it gives your promo the edge, do it – but it all comes out of your word count.
Winning here requires you to sell, focus, and weave: acknowledge what happened to your Masqot on the last show; concentrate on your next opponent(s)/match; tie in your feud, saving your best material for the blowoff match – likely at a PLE.
You can experiment, but the best approach is to do a 50/400/50 word split, with the majority being spent on your opponent.
Should you find yourself in a gimmick match or facing multiple opponents, you could direct your focus on the stipulation itself, or hone in on one combatant in particular.
Team-based matches will use the same approach. The single best promo of each team will be judged against one another. This also ensures fairness in case teammates no-show or have an off-week.
Promos can be trash talk, character dissections, metaphors – whatever you dream up. They can be conventional scripts, journal entries, poems – again, your only confines are your imagination.
SHOWS
All segments and matches are written by me. Your only obligation is to write a promo.
Everybody gets a storyline. I can’t guarantee that you’ll like everything you’re involved in, but I can promise that you’ll always have something to write about.
Shows take the form of summarised reports. Conversations are paraphrased, and in-ring action focuses on spots, with soundbites of commentary. The undercard is a “get your shit in” affair, whilst main events typically run longer, telling more of a story and showcasing characters.
This approach keeps my workload reasonable and makes things digestible for readers.
Cards aim for fun over realism. The Mettle title guarantees at least one gimmick match every show, and TV matches on Unmasked are essentially randomised. This ensures variety and gives everyone the shine of being in a main event.
We don’t have rankings. The W/L/D histories are purely for record-keeping. Everybody will receive opportunities as time goes on.
A typical program will see 2 Masqots feud for 1 month, consisting (on average) of 3 shows, with a blowoff PPV match. Bigger programs run longer or get revisited over time.
Dibs
Every Masqot must have a unique finisher & entrance music. These will be granted on a first come, first served basis. When a Masqot is inactive, their move and theme will be freed up again.
Below is the list of dibs’d stuff. You can use ctrl+f or cmd+f to search for what you want:
| Finisher | Masqot |
|---|---|
| Boston crab | TRIV |
| Busaiku knee | El Grandé Malo |
| Cross Rhodes | Slim Chance |
| Double underhook brainbuster | The Silver Skull |
| Figure four jackknife pin | El Hijo del Phonk |
| Fireman’s carry sidewalk slam | Wes Hollywood |
| Front handspring cutter | Medico Muerte |
| German suplex > springboard moonsault | King Homewrecker |
| Guillotine Choke | The Undying Mage |
| Oscutter | La Leona Del Sol |
| Package piledriver | Martillo Negro de la Muerte |
| Running fisherman brainbuster | Coldblooded Mutanto |
| Scoop brain buster | El Padrino |
| Shiranui | Pirata Aterrador |
| Sitout reverse piledriver | El Supervillano |
| Tiger bomb | El Masko |
| Music | Masqot |
|---|---|
| Angel’s Thanatos – Akira Yamaoka | Martillo Negro de la Muerte |
| Ants Marching – Dave Matthews Band | El Masko |
| Born to ****– Wheeler Walker Jr. | King Homewrecker |
| Brass Monkey – Beastie Boys | El Hijo del Phonk |
| Diamonds From Sierra Leone – Remix – Kanye West, JAY-Z | El Padrino |
| Drink – Alestorm | Pirata Aterrador |
| Jungle – X Ambassadors, Jamie N Commons | La Leona Del Sol |
| Last in Line, The – Dio | TRIV |
| Life’s Been Good – Joe Walsh | Coldblooded Mutanto |
| Live And Let Die – Paul McCartney, Wings | The Silver Skull |
| Merry-Go-Round – Man With a Mission | El Grandé Malo |
| Mojo Hand – Lightnin’ Hopkins | Slim Chance |
| Patient, The – TOOL | Medico Muerte |
| Superbeast – Rob Zombie | El Supervillano |
| Superstar – Lupe Fiasco, Matthew Santos | Wes Hollywood |