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Film Discursion publishes Schmoedown articles every week, discussing the latest matches, storyline twists, and character development. Follow the blog to make sure you catch all of our Schmoedown content, and ahead of the return of the Schmoedown, check out our off-season content here:
Schmoedown Spectacular Review Special
TOP 10 Singles Matches of 2017
TOP 5 Innergeekdom/Star Wars Matches of 2017
Welcome to our preview of the Season 5 premier! Going forward, our weekly Schmoedown articles will drop on Monday, featuring reaction to the week’s matches, previews for the next week’s matches, and as always, a ton of speculation. This week, we have a breakdown of the state of the Schmoedown titles, a roundup of speculation that has come out of the off season, and a preview of the triple threat number 1 contenders match.
The State of the Titles
There’s an argument to be made that, with the runs that the various belt holders have put together, we are in the most impressive run of form in title holders that the Schmoedown has ever seen. The most obvious is the Team Titles – at 8-0, the Patriots are obviously the most successful team in the Schmoedown. While a young league, Witwer is the only player to ever string together two victories. In Innergeekdom, Inman’s victories over Fyffe, in the 4 way match, and over Navarro, mean that he currently enjoys the most successful run of Innergeekdom matches, topping Navarro’s run of 2. Where it gets interesting is when we turn to Samm Levine and the Singles Belt.
Here’s Samm’s current run of 5 wins: Bibbiani/Rocha/Cushing/JTE/Harloff
Here’s Murrell’s run of 5: Campea/Mantz/Reilly/Wolfe/Ellis
And Harloff’s: Macuga/Signore/Bibbiani/Sneider/Murrell
All are impressive runs, but Levine’s is the only run in which every player was a tough match, in which he was always the underdog, or at best slight favourite (in his JTE match). We judge Champions on their title defences, and so Murrell is still regarded as the greatest singles player of all time, yet Levine has an arguably better run of five. Murrell benefited from getting a quicker title match in a younger league, but if Levine manages to defend that belt once, then there’s is a real argument that he could be the greatest singles player in the Schmoedown. Something to look out for going into Season 5.
Something else Levine might be keeping in mind is how he stacks up to Champions past. In this respect, defences become a lot more important, and so this is my current ranking of champions:
- Murrell – 2 time Champ: 2 defences + 1 defence
- Reilly – 2 time Champ: 1 defence + 0 defences
- Rocha – 0 defences (Held the team belt)
- Harloff – 0 defences (Held the team belt)
- Levine – 0 defences SO FAR
While the team belt doesn’t matter in terms of singles rankings, I’ve used it here as a tiebreaker. Beyond that, I’ve given Rocha the edge over Harloff as Rocha played a better game when he lost the belt, and nearly reclaimed it at Collision. However, what’s interesting is that, with a singles defence, Levine would jump to at least 3rd, and an argument could be made for 2nd. Defend for a second time, and we’ll be having conversations about Levine putting together the most impressive title run yet. If he captures the Team belt, maybe we can put him above Murrell. Even if Levine fails to defend, if he plays a good match, he would probably be ranked ahead of Harloff, so poor was Kristian’s match at Spectacular. It’s also worth noting that Levine has played every other Champion, beating Harloff and Murrell but losing to Reilly and Murrell. You might not agree with my arguments about where we might place Levine, but it’s certainly a conversation that we should be having!
Harloff vs Thadd
In the In Memoriam section at the recent Schmoedown awards, Team Schmoes was given a question mark. It is my belief that we will see the Schmoes back in action in 2018, but not in the way that many might expect. After Harloff lost his title match, and was denied the Commissionership, he challenged Thadd to a match. Recently, Thadd told the Schmoedown Rundown that he would not be accepting this match, emphasising the fact that he is a singles competitor. This struck me as odd: does this not imply that Thadd would play the match, but only if he was playing as part of a team?
The suggestion is that we could see Schmoes vs Deep Cuts, but I think that something more interesting may happen. Either Thadd brings in a ringer, a big name competitor like John Rocha (allowing Harloff to complete the revenge tour while he’s at it), or even more interestingly, a member of the Lion’s Den. I don’t think that Thadd is a heel, and was initially frustrated at the way that his conflict with Kristian seemed to be trying to push our perception of Thadd towards the heel end: surely we’re supposed to root for Kristian? Maybe not. Thadd can easily argue that he has the right on his side, that Kristian signed a contract. In response, Harloff activates some executive powers to force the match, and Thadd, unhappy at his treatment, agrees, but requests a team match, since he is a team player. Harloff accepts, assuming that Thadd means to play as part of Deep Cuts. Come the match, Thadd is revealed as part of the Lion’s Den, and plays with a Lion’s Den heavy hitter on his team. The match: Harloff and Ellis vs Thadd and JTE or Sneider. The stakes: if the Schmoes lose, Napzok will take over as Commissioner; win, and it’s Harloff’s.
First of all, yes, I said Napzok. Dagnino is the manager of the Den, and honestly wouldn’t be that interesting as Commissioner. Sure, it’s a fun idea, but Dagnino works well in small doses: to give him such a big role leads to either fixed matches, or, if not, a damaging of the image of Bobby Guchi. The Den’s obvious candidate for Commissioner is Napzok: he’s a heel that could do the job. As he said when he turned, I should have ruled! This match would be the perfect way to bring the confrontation that he had with Kristian into a match, and whoever wins, either can easily play the role of Commissioner, so there’s nothing to lose there.
What I like about this is that Thadd would seem entirely reasonable, since Harloff’s treatment of our hard working Interim Commish has been pretty poor. The Den seem likely to move from being the supreme heels into more of a 2016 Rocha role: heels that you can root for. The Commissionership is going to play a big role in 2018, and needs match implications. Harloff vs Thadd would be a little dull, so this is my suggestion of how to spice things up.
The Return of Finstock?
That’s right, more Lion’s Den speculation! In a recent Take 3 interview, Dagnino discussed the possible return of Finstock, and referred to the fact that he may have outgrown the character. I think that this is right: we don’t need to see Dagnino back in the mask. However, this doesn’t mean that the mask shouldn’t have storyline implications, so here is my suggestion. I’ve talked at length about my ‘End of the Den’ storyline, but for those that have missed it, essentially I’d love a storyline in which Ken takes over the Den, ousting Dagnino, and in the process becoming the biggest heel the Schmoedown has ever seen. In the aftermatch, Dagnino tries to reclaim his faction. This is settled in a match between Napzok and Dagnino, since Napzok feels the victory will be easy. However, Dagnino pulls out his Andreyko trick, and walking out in the mask is…Rachel Cushing.
Before you go mad, Cushing isn’t the heel here, it’s Napzok. In this scenario, Dagnino is the man that has been kicked out of his own faction: we’re rooting for him, and while Cushing doesn’t want to work with Tricky Tom, Napzok has become such a huge heel that she recognises that this is the only way to stop him. This would also form a part of the ongoing ‘Nerd’s Watch Betrayal’ storyline that looks set to dominate early 2018. My feeling is that the mask should be less of a character, and more of a plot device, for want of a better term, that allows Dagnino to pull off one more huge move.
Cushing’s Partner
I’ve gone back and forth on this one, and I’ve discussed a lot of options, all of which can be seen in the above picture (except Howard. It isn’t Howard). The new development, however, is Chandler’s comments on the Schmoedown rundown. Previously, I’d speculated that Cushing might team up with Chandler, after Kalinowski informed us that Chandler was joining the League, and that the League was still looking for a fourth active member. This led me to speculate that Cushing could team up with Chandler, and join the League, possible after the upcoming #1 contenders match. This is still a possibility: it’s not hard to imagine Kalinowski and Chandler recruiting Cushing on Friday, and the team could easily play new teams in Washington’s revamped Viper Squad. However, Chandler told the Rundown that she would be working in a new role, possibly even in a new place. Harloff mentioned that Chandler has been helping out a lot with the Patreon, which could have explained the new role comments, but a new place? These comments seem designed to address her relationship to Kalinowski, and I honestly don’t know what they could mean. It does sound like she might not be competing, and if so, is unlikely to be Cushing’s new partner.
This is such a tough one. The storyline option would say Cushing joins Chandler, yet the competitive option says that she joins Wolfe. My official, final prediction? Cushing + Wolfe. Harloff has said 2018 is the year of the superteams, and there are still plenty of storyline options here. What puts me over the edge is Cushing’s ‘faces unite’ awards speech: this is the year for faces, and Cushing + Wolfe would be one hell of a face team. All of these other possibilities seem to be a distraction, and for once the obvious answer might actually just be the answer in the Schmoedown!
Bateman vs Inman
Jason Inman and Ben Bateman have been building a rivalry across Singles and Teams, but at the Schmoedown Awards, it was hinted that this rivalry might move into the Innergeekdom. Harloff talked about this on the Season 5 preview video: he said that Inman wouldn’t accept a singles match against Bateman (who is currently scheduled to play Dale the Dude), but would put his Innergeekdom belt up against him in a heartbeat. Bateman, as we know, has been training for Innergeekdom, and this could well be our first IG title match of the season. With #1 contender matches lined up in singles and teams, it’s hard to see a series of matches being played in time to line up an IG title match in time for title week, since all of the major competitors are coming off a loss. Personally, I’d set up Navarro vs Cushing for a title shot, and have Bateman play Kalinowski, but it seems like Bateman may be jumping straight into an Innergeekdom title match.
Speaking of Innergeekdom, you know who is likely to be looking for a new IG competitor? The Lion’s Den. With the dismissal of Robert Meyer Burnett, Dagnino is likely to be looking to fill this spot, and Bateman fits the bill. Without Ghai around, Bateman is a free agent, and it’s worth noting that on the Season 5 preview video, Napzok was touting Bateman, claiming that he will easily defeat Dale the Dude in Singles. The Den have often spoke favourably of Action, and Dagnino even stuck up for Ghai after the tackle, claiming that he would be lending Ghai his legal team on twitter. This seems like Bateman’s moment to join the Den, and, on Ghai’s return, there are a lot of storyline options. Does Ghai feel betrayed? Does Bateman reveal that he’s been playing the Den all along? Maybe Ghai joins the Den too?
The Den needs an IG player desperately, since there are so many rivalries between the den and IG players (Kalinowski/Washington/Burnett/Cushing) that need to be exploited! And there are two things we know: The Den needs an Innergeekdom player, and Bateman, newly decoupled from his Team Action partner, is looking to join the Innergeekdom league in 2018. It only seems logical….
JTE vs Cushing vs Kalinowski Preview
A lot of the possible storylines that could be in play here have been covered above, and this match does indeed represent the continuation of the biggest Schmoedown storylines. Will we find out who Cushing’s partner is? Chandler’s relationship to Kalinowski? Rachel’s ongoing feud with the Den (Napzok has confirmed that he’ll be at the match)? This is also a big faction battle: The Den, The League, and maybe even Fyffe? Don’t forget about the incredible promo that LoQuasto dropped, in which he called out the Den. Look for more of that here.
My official storyline predictions go like this: we’ll find out what’s going on with Chandler, and Cushing will be revealed to be part of Fyffe’s new faction. It seems like the season opener is too big an event not to include Fyffe and continue the ‘faction wars’ narrative. I don’t think we’ll find out who Cushing’s partner is, but by adding her to Fyffe’s faction, this starts speculation: could it be Cushing + Fyffe? Cushing + Andreyko? This would distract from the fact that Cushing will be teaming up with Wolfe.
Predicting the match is a tough one. It’s fair to say that JTE is the favourite, then Cushing, and then Kalinowski, but this is anyone’s game. JTE is looking good coming off of a tough team win in which, not only did the Patriots beat Above the Line, but they did so on the strength of JTE. Sneider had an off day, scoring poorly in Round 1, and playing a Round 2 category that Sneider was weak in. That win belongs to JTE. Yet in terms of accuracy rate, Cushing is statistically the best of the three: if she has a strong round 3, it’s hard to imagine the match going against her. And yet Kalinowski has more of a chance than you might imagine: as one of the best in the game at steals, a three round match favours him, since there are more round 2 steal opportunities.
When it comes down to it, any of these three could win the match, but what sways it for me is always round 2. The best wheel spin wins a match between three equal opponents, and this is actually a disadvantage for JTE. Kalinowski and Cushing are Innergeekdom players, and while Cushing’s strength slice may be Directors or Oscars, Kalinowski’s is certainly going to be an IG category, which Rachel will also be strong in. Kalinowski is also strong in a lot of JTE’s strength categories. It’s only JTE that may struggle if he spins a Cushing or Kalinowski strength, and while this is in no way guaranteed, JTE is simply more likely to spin a bad round 2 category against these opponents. As such, here is my official prediction:
1st: Cushing
2nd: JTE
3rd: Kalinowski
It should be noted that, from a storyline perspective, I’ll be rooting for JTE. The ‘Patriots vs Above the Line’ storyline has been one of the best in-match rivalries of the Schmoedown, and so a Levine vs JTE II match would be a great next chapter to the story.
That’ll do it for this week: come back next week for reaction to the triple threat match, storyline speculations, and a preview of Top 10 vs Top That and Harris vs Hall!
Want to stay up to date with everything published on the blog? Follow our twitter account, @FilmDiscursion, and never miss another update. Want to read more of our content? Why not try the following articles:
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SCHMOEDOWN: Top 5 Innergeekdom/Star Wars Matches 2017
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REVIEW: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The Schmoedown Breakdown 
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