Post by WorshipTheRam on Jul 13, 2008 9:23:38 GMT -5
about Bryan Alvarez.
Wrestling fan. He discovers the Observer as a teenager, and pretty much hero worships Dave Meltzer. He's suddenly thrust into a whole new world: the INSIDE world of pro wrestling, the backstage news and the gossip and such. So he starts his own newsletter, and I'm betting he apes Meltzer's style pretty well; nothing wrong with that, since a growing writer always imitates their heroes. The one thing he has that Dave doesn't is a wacky sense of humor. and as the years go by, and Bryan matures as a writer, this becomes the big difference between Figure Four Weekly and the Observer.
Bryan's sense of humor becomes his selling point. He and Big Dave hook up, and Meltzer praises F4W to the moon for being so funny, and right here is the essential problem: to Bryan, this consigns it to "wacky humor newsletter", whereas Dave is universally respected in the wrestling community. Whether he admits it or not, that starts to eat away at Bryan.
The one thing he has that Meltzer doesn't is the knowledge that we're in an internet-based world now, so he launches the website, hitting upon two great ideas at once: putting the newsletter online, and posting WHACKY~! radio shows which begin to draw a bigger and bigger audience. I don't think you can deny that the radio shows, up until the merger, were the primary drawing point for the site; especially since, as the shows got goofier, the humor began to drain out of the newsletter, rendering it--honestly--mostly superfluous.
So Bryan gathers an audience of equally WHACKY~! people, but he's still not satisfied; especially since his hair-trigger temper leaves him constantly raging at his subscriber base, partly because he knows that he's got a niche audience, whereas Dave is mainstream. Then Bryan takes over WOL, and things start to change. He's involved in the Observer brand name again, and Dave Meltzer is HIS guest, instead of the other way around. Then Benoit happens, and Bryan--to his credit--is able to provide a lot of insight, based on his friendship with Benoit. Combine this with his appearances on mainstream media outlets discussing the murders, and I think you can trace all of this back to last summer.
Bryan's now had a taste of being considered a SERIOUS WRESTLING JOURNALIST, and he begins to realize that, hey, this is what I've really always wanted. He wants the reputation. He wants the RESPECT~! So he begins snapping more and more at his niche fanbase, unwilling to accept that he may just be a really funny guy, and not Dave Meltzer Jr. But again, he's got something Dave doesn't have: the site. So he makes his move. He absorbs more and more of Dave's workload, then the merger goes down. Bryan has made himself invaluable to Dave, who obviously doesn't have the understanding of technology to do what Bryan does. Now the site is F4W/Wrestlingobserver.com, and Bryan is in place to get what he wants more than anything: the Observer.
He has to lighten up on the B&V shows, since they keep him in the comedy ghetto. He has to neuter the board, because it tarnishes his burgeoning reputation as a "serious wrestling journalist", and reminds him of his niche audience. He becomes Super Serious Bryan Alvarez on the non-B&V radio shows, knowing that this is his chance to win over the Observer readers. This came to a head yesterday.
Basically, he's desperate for the job as Observer writer, and wants to shape his image accordingly, which makes his entire niche audience expendable.
End novel.
Wrestling fan. He discovers the Observer as a teenager, and pretty much hero worships Dave Meltzer. He's suddenly thrust into a whole new world: the INSIDE world of pro wrestling, the backstage news and the gossip and such. So he starts his own newsletter, and I'm betting he apes Meltzer's style pretty well; nothing wrong with that, since a growing writer always imitates their heroes. The one thing he has that Dave doesn't is a wacky sense of humor. and as the years go by, and Bryan matures as a writer, this becomes the big difference between Figure Four Weekly and the Observer.
Bryan's sense of humor becomes his selling point. He and Big Dave hook up, and Meltzer praises F4W to the moon for being so funny, and right here is the essential problem: to Bryan, this consigns it to "wacky humor newsletter", whereas Dave is universally respected in the wrestling community. Whether he admits it or not, that starts to eat away at Bryan.
The one thing he has that Meltzer doesn't is the knowledge that we're in an internet-based world now, so he launches the website, hitting upon two great ideas at once: putting the newsletter online, and posting WHACKY~! radio shows which begin to draw a bigger and bigger audience. I don't think you can deny that the radio shows, up until the merger, were the primary drawing point for the site; especially since, as the shows got goofier, the humor began to drain out of the newsletter, rendering it--honestly--mostly superfluous.
So Bryan gathers an audience of equally WHACKY~! people, but he's still not satisfied; especially since his hair-trigger temper leaves him constantly raging at his subscriber base, partly because he knows that he's got a niche audience, whereas Dave is mainstream. Then Bryan takes over WOL, and things start to change. He's involved in the Observer brand name again, and Dave Meltzer is HIS guest, instead of the other way around. Then Benoit happens, and Bryan--to his credit--is able to provide a lot of insight, based on his friendship with Benoit. Combine this with his appearances on mainstream media outlets discussing the murders, and I think you can trace all of this back to last summer.
Bryan's now had a taste of being considered a SERIOUS WRESTLING JOURNALIST, and he begins to realize that, hey, this is what I've really always wanted. He wants the reputation. He wants the RESPECT~! So he begins snapping more and more at his niche fanbase, unwilling to accept that he may just be a really funny guy, and not Dave Meltzer Jr. But again, he's got something Dave doesn't have: the site. So he makes his move. He absorbs more and more of Dave's workload, then the merger goes down. Bryan has made himself invaluable to Dave, who obviously doesn't have the understanding of technology to do what Bryan does. Now the site is F4W/Wrestlingobserver.com, and Bryan is in place to get what he wants more than anything: the Observer.
He has to lighten up on the B&V shows, since they keep him in the comedy ghetto. He has to neuter the board, because it tarnishes his burgeoning reputation as a "serious wrestling journalist", and reminds him of his niche audience. He becomes Super Serious Bryan Alvarez on the non-B&V radio shows, knowing that this is his chance to win over the Observer readers. This came to a head yesterday.
Basically, he's desperate for the job as Observer writer, and wants to shape his image accordingly, which makes his entire niche audience expendable.
End novel.
