Booking Theory & Fed Managment

[aceldamas]

I was in a long and boring refresher training at work and rather than doodle like some people do, I booked a month of my ROH fed.  (Not the first time I have done this btw   )

This got me thinking about an idea I've had for a while of starting a thread to discuss how we book our feds.  From booking shows, to roster selection, to storyline development.  I am always interested in how people book their feds and the thought processes behind it. 

I've noticed a lot of new or returning players posting with questions in this vein lately.  So I thought it may be a good time to try the thread. There are a lot of great feds on this board and some creative promoters.  Let's pick their brains!!  Let's share ideas!!

Here is something I am trying out to track storylines and pace plot points.  I have one board for each month (3 TVs and one PPV/house show) with different colored sticky notes for each program.  I want to see if this will help me keep things straight and space out moments so shows aren't bogged done or overbooked, as well as trying to string things along so there is something interesting happening each show that moves a story/feud forward.

And to those who follow my fed: SPOILERS!

[Deleted]

I must say, you have me beaten by a mile when it comes to pre planning and organization. I am a "book on the fly" type, booking one event at a time and progressing from there. I have a pretty good idea of what feuds and angles I want to play out into the future but it can change in a an instant depending on how the dice roll.
I don't schedule big events ahead of time. When I have enough hot feuds and title contenders, I'll put together a major event for the blow offs.

[TDalton]

When I played regularly, I would have both short-term (2-3 months) and long-term (12-18 months) plans roughed out. Used excel for the most part to track everything. Didn't have card lineups or fine details, which was determined more on match results. Big picture stuff like feud planning, major angles, people coming in and leaving was what I laid out.

I tried to make it fluid enough where if feuds needed longer to reach a conclusion, it wouldn't ruin the long range plan. Conversely, some feuds would fizzle a lot faster than I hoped and would adjust on the fly.

As an example, when I stopped playing my NWF in August of Year 9, my long range plans were through December of Year 10. I also did a lot of what I call 'reverse booking' - figuring out what the next major supercard matches were expected to be, then backing into when certain events should occur in the weeks/months leading up to the show.

[Cory Olson]

When I start a new game year, I plot out all the cards for that year, as far as locations, dates, supercards, etc. I like to do that to see when any milestone 50th or 100th cards are going to take place. I usually have a few ideas in mind of the top feuds I'd like to do and maybe some big matches that I'd like to do to blowoff the feuds. I try to limit doing certain matches too often, especially Cage Matches. But if a feud ends up being one guy/team dominating, then it changes plans and I might shorten the feud a bit. The hard thing is with booking feuds around titles: if one guy is the champ, I try to keep his feuding opponent strong so he can challenge for the title. But of course, the dice dictate the outcome. Injuries and suspensions always interrupt plans as well.

I use an Excel spreadsheet that Tim made to plan when all the cards for a year are going to take place. I try to book the top matches for each card two or three cards before, if not longer, and then try to book the guys in matches on the cards before to make them strong going into the big match. But again, the dice can change those plans. And that's where I have to be creative as a booker/promoter and figure out how to make this madness make sense. I'd like to think I do a better job than Vince Russo or modern-day WWE.

["Dr Death" Ric Anderson]

Aug 16, 2019 12:25:36 GMT -5 Cory Olson said:

When I start a new game year, I plot out all the cards for that year, as far as locations, dates, supercards, etc. I like to do that to see when any milestone 50th or 100th cards are going to take place. I usually have a few ideas in mind of the top feuds I'd like to do and maybe some big matches that I'd like to do to blowoff the feuds. I try to limit doing certain matches too often, especially Cage Matches. But if a feud ends up being one guy/team dominating, then it changes plans and I might shorten the feud a bit. The hard thing is with booking feuds around titles: if one guy is the champ, I try to keep his feuding opponent strong so he can challenge for the title. But of course, the dice dictate the outcome. Injuries and suspensions always interrupt plans as well.

I use an Excel spreadsheet that Tim made to plan when all the cards for a year are going to take place. I try to book the top matches for each card two or three cards before, if not longer, and then try to book the guys in matches on the cards before to make them strong going into the big match. But again, the dice can change those plans. And that's where I have to be creative as a booker/promoter and figure out how to make this madness make sense. I'd like to think I do a better job than Vince Russo or modern-day WWE.

Would you be willing to share a copy of that spreadsheet? I’d love to see it.

[Cory Olson]

Aug 16, 2019 13:20:41 GMT -5 "Dr Death" Ric Anderson said:

Would you be willing to share a copy of that spreadsheet? I’d love to see it.

KD, you're in luck! I checked my Google Drive and found that I for some reason I had half of my 2008 booking sheet uploaded from Excel to Google Sheet! This is actually good as an example, rather than the completed year, as you see how I use this sheet and add matches and angles through the year. You can view it here.

One thing that gets lost on the Google version is that Sheets doesn't allow you to underline some of the cell, only the whole cell. So after I play the cards, I underline the winner of each match. I also keep a tab with win-loss records for singles and tags, so that I can see how guys are doing to help with choosing challengers for the titles. Where is says, "returns to full strength," that indicates the card where a wrestler is 100% after suffering an injury. One thing I do know with Excel is that when injuries occur, I write a hidden comment that explains the type of attack/angle that took place, so it doesn't take up as much of the cell space and make the spreadsheet too cluttered.

Let me know if you have any questions!

["Dr Death" Ric Anderson]

Aug 16, 2019 19:44:14 GMT -5 Cory Olson said:

Aug 16, 2019 13:20:41 GMT -5 "Dr Death" Ric Anderson said:

Would you be willing to share a copy of that spreadsheet? I’d love to see it.

KD, you're in luck! I checked my Google Drive and found that I for some reason I had half of my 2008 booking sheet uploaded from Excel to Google Sheet! This is actually good as an example, rather than the completed year, as you see how I use this sheet and add matches and angles through the year. You can view it here.

One thing that gets lost on the Google version is that Sheets doesn't allow you to underline some of the cell, only the whole cell. So after I play the cards, I underline the winner of each match. I also keep a tab with win-loss records for singles and tags, so that I can see how guys are doing to help with choosing challengers for the titles. Where is says, "returns to full strength," that indicates the card where a wrestler is 100% after suffering an injury. One thing I do know with Excel is that when injuries occur, I write a hidden comment that explains the type of attack/angle that took place, so it doesn't take up as much of the cell space and make the spreadsheet too cluttered.

Let me know if you have any questions!
This is fantastic!  I'm running a fed with multiple territories and this will help me keep track.

[Bazzy]

In all my feds I book one show at a time . As the dice don't always , do what you hope they would do . Plan a year of PPVs etc but no matches booked as in who fights who etc .

[markyhitch]

As oVe would say, I let my dice take over everything...EVERYTHING!!!

[mj]

I only schedule ahead...no cards just stops and Ppv cities. I may schedule a card or two ahead, but I let let the dice dictate my direction.