The Movie Trivia Schmoedown is Collider’s hugely popular film trivia competition. Heavily influenced by pro-wrestling, the Schmoedown features huge characters, shocking storylines, and twists galore. Check it out here!
Film Discursion publishes Schmoedown articles every Monday, discussing the latest matches, storyline twists, and character development. Follow the blog to make sure you catch all of our Schmoedown content. You can find all of our Schmoedown content by clicking here.
NOTE: Over April, content (including Schmoedown blogs) on Film Discursion will be published sporadically.
Innergeekdom: Jordan vs Parks vs Haibon vs Robinson vs Costa
The Match: This was an entertaining and enjoyable match, with a lot of new fun competitors, but let’s not mess around here (this being a lightning round) – the story is Jared Haibon. Before the match, I suggested that he could be the Samm Levine of Innergeekdom, and so far so good! We didn’t see how he might have performed in the third round, but the reason that Haibon was impressive was that he performed across a wide variety of categories. In round 1, he only missed questions in Star Wars, Harry Potter and Mixed Bag. A Round 2 Harry Potter and Star Wars steals suggest that Haibon is short on weaknesses, and while we haven’t seen enough to test his breadth of knowledge, Haibon’s 5/6 point MCU Round 2 is promising.
What Next? Haibon will be playing Mark Donica in a #1 contender match. It’s a tough match to call: Haibon went 14/17 for 82%, while Donica went 15/18 for 83%, so there’s not much between them. I give Donica the edge, simply because we’ve seen him play in the 5th round, and across more categories, but Haibon is more familiar with the Schmoedown, which could make the difference at the buzzer. Whoever wins, this promises to be a great clash between two new Innergeekdom stars. I’ll be rooting for Donica, because as a heel, I would be more excited to see him play against Inman – there hasn’t been a face/heel IG title match since RMB held the belt! (Also, neither of these guys are beating Inman, just thought I’d let you all know)
As for the other competitors, I’m sure we’ll see some of them again in 5 way matches – I found them all entertaining, and we certainly don’t have enough game-tape to anoint or discard any of them. One match that I would like to see is Costa vs Carlson because, I mean, come on!
What Else? I was incredibly impressed with Bibbiani at the commentary desk, and I wasn’t the only one. The majority of the early comments on the match praised the Beast’s turn at colour commentary:
Bibbs is one of the competitors that shows up and watches a lot of matches, and it showed: Bibb’s brought a comedic insight that is sometimes missing from the commentary desk. More please!
Speaking of comments, Donica watched the match. As I always say, studying competitors are dangerous competitors.
Bateman vs Dale the Dude
The Match: I was surprised at Dale the Dude – he put in a pretty decent showing, and I’d like to see him play again. His character certainly isn’t for everyone, but I had fun! However, as with most matches in this article, the story here is the winner: Bateman. He is for real. As part of Team Action, he always stood out as a strong player, and while many will need to see him win a big match to say what I’m about to say, for me, this match earned Bateman the title of Schmoedown Superstar. His character work was spot on and unique, and his trivia game was excellent. Bateman answered 85% correct, a level that is significantly higher than the league average, and one that I feel confident he can maintain. If he meant what he said about studying up Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock and Gwyneth Paltrow films, then I’m impressed. This is a brilliant tactical move, as these categories are already likely to show up on the wheel as weaknesses for other competitors. The potential to pick them as an Opponents Choice only increases Bateman’s game-winning options, and demonstrates exactly why he’s championship material: he understands the game, studies, and improves. Expect to see him in the title picture soon.
What Next? Bateman called out Andreyko, and to me, that seems like the perfect match. A hot and cold player, Andreyko is exactly the sort of competitor that Bateman needs to beat if he is to enter the title picture. Plus, a Fyffe Club/Action clash could be useful story to pull on later. The winner of that match could face Sneider for a title shot, since the Den wants revenge on Andreyko, while Sneider has repeatedly said that the Patriots want Team Action.
Meanwhile, Dale should definitely be playing Napzok next. He wants to face Dagnino, and so another member of the Den seems like the obvious place to go. On the other hand, if JTE loses to Rocha on Friday (to be clear, I don’t know the result of the live match), then Little Evil will have a 8-9 record. A match against Dale could play out like JTE vs Cody Miller – JTE would seem to be looking for a squash match to get himself back on top, but I suspect that Dale might give him a run for his money, and definitely has the chance to pull off a shock upset.
What Else? It’s worth noting that Andrew Ghai’s ban should be nearing it’s end fairly soon. Maybe in time for the Free For All?
Shirewolves vs Lion’s Den
The Match: In an exception to the theme of this article, the Shirewolves aren’t the story here. Cushing and Wolfe performed as expected, and had it not been for an unlucky Round 2 wheel spin, they could have put up a seriously impressive accuracy rate. The story here isn’t even the Lion’s Den (or Dream Crushers, a much better name). It’s Napzok. He played a really good game, enough to warrant more matches. I’d happily see him play again with Dagnino, or, if he knows his general trivia, maybe Mark Donica. But I’ll talk about that more in the ‘What Next’ segment. For what it’s worth, I’m with the Shirewolves on the challenge: the answer was wrong, and no new question should have been asked. However, Harloff has been clear that the rules will be less flexible going forward. Plus, if there’s time next week, I’ll write a big storyline article that relates to this call, so there’s something to look forward to!
What Next? At 1-0, the Shirewolves are likely to take on a team with a similar record. Now that World’s Finest are playing Trek, Superhero News (1-0) seem the most likely option. However, fans clearly want to see the Shirewolves in big matches, so an alternative might be DC Movie News (2-2). This would make for a bigger match, without creating a situation where teams with wildly different records play each other.
As for the Lion’s Den, there’s no question. At 0-1, this is absolutely the perfect opportunity to return to a Season 4 storyline, and set up a match against the Wildberries (1-2)! The next chapter in the Macuga/Dagnino rivalry could be the best one yet!
What Else? The big question that remains after this match is: what will Emma do with the #1 contender spot? The Shirewolves have indicated that they want to work their way up the ranks, so it seems unlikely that they will use it, at least not until they suffer a defeat (although Cushing has been clear that this is Emma’s decision, not theirs, so there is wriggle room here). The fact that Bateman called out Andreyko suggests that the league doesn’t expect the shot to go to him. Witwer has the Star Wars belt, so he seems unlikely to get the shot. Both Wolfe and Cushing have positive singles record, and so aren’t that far away from a title shot should they win a few matches. For my money, that shot is being used to give Cushing an Innergeekom title match at Collision.
Erwin vs Machado
The Match: Back to the winner being the story. Erwin was seriously impressive, and not only did he play a near-perfect game, he also mentioned that he did his homework and watched some other Schmoedown matches! This is always something key to look for in new players. Erwin has taken time to familiarise himself with the game, and this will only make him more dangerous down the line. While it’s too early to crown him the next big thing, it’s safe to say that Erwin has some big matches in his future!
As for Machado, she put in a fairly average performance. Lack of familiarity with the show might have led to her decision to keep Tom Cruise in Round 2, since without watching the show, there’s no way of knowing the level of question difficulty to expect. That being said, I’d certainly be up for seeing her play again.
What Next? At this point, Erwin could play any contender with either a 500 or +1 record, but with the absence of any rivalries, he’s tough to book. Kalinowski could be an option, as could Jeannine. There are also hungry newcomers around the corner, such as Seibold. At 1-0, Emma Fyffe could even be an option, as it would get Erwin on the radar of the Fyffe club should they ever meet in future high profle matches. However, for my money, you book Bibbiani vs Erwin. A big match like this could make Erwin a star, and the match makes a lot of sense for Bibbiani too. At the start of Season 4, Bibbs played JTE. The logic was that Bibbs wanted to take on a big name in the league, and JTE (at the time with a negative record) wanted to show his quality against the ‘hot new thing’. Bibbs now finds himself in a similar position that JTE was in, and so this match actually has a lot going for it.
As for Machado, we haven’t really seen enough of her to book a match, but at 0-1, she could face Matt Atchity, who also sits at 0-1. This isn’t based on anything other than the fact that they have the same records, and that I want to see Atchity back in the ring!
What Else? Not a lot else to add, just that if we see Erwin at the Free For All, he could be a dark horse to take it all! His round 1 was as close to perfect as you can be without hitting all 8 questions, and so he seems like a high accuracy rate/round 1 specialist player. Will he struggle with elements of the game, such as round 3, as Bibbiani has? Time will tell….
Reel Rejects vs Widberries
The Match: Wow. Every time the Wildberries play, I say this, but we have a contender for the most fun match of all time! Everything about this match was great – the live format had such an incredible atmosphere, and these two teams fitted the style perfectly. I didn’t think things could get better after we had maybe the best pre-game interviews ever, yet throughout the match, things just got better and better. What do I have to do to get a Live Schmoedown here in the UK? Dewberry again proved that, when he has a good match, he can hang with some serious competitors.
Looking at the challenges, while I like to see the rules followed strictly, I felt that the ‘Green Goblin’ answer was correct. In my mind, while the villain is credited as ‘New Goblin’, the point of the character is to take on the mantle of the ‘Green Goblin, and so the answer should stand. However, in a live setting, if comic expert Marc Andreyko is telling you that the challenge should stand, then the challenge stands. Credit goes to the Reel Rejects for a smart use of their challenge, and I was glad to see that the ruling was clear and decisive, without leading to a new question.
What Next? Well, I mentioned it earlier, but: Wildberries vs The Lion’s Den! It’s exciting just saying it! And, as I mentioned a few weeks back, it’s time we saw Dewberry back in action in the singles league, possibly against Scarpino (with Macuga present, playing up a ‘lover and the ex’ conflict).
The Reel Rejects want the Kingsmen, and they certainly proved here that they deserve another match. They were funny and energetic, and took the time to prepare something special for the live fans. Of all the Schmoedown teams, the Reel Rejects might have put in the most effort compared to the success and fan appreciation that they receive.
What Else? Looking to Friday’s match (again, I don’t know the result), excitement levels are even higher having seen the quality of the live product. I have Rocha as the favourite against JTE. The winner is set to play a big match against Drew McWeeny, but what about the loser? If JTE loses, he slips into the negative record zone. At this point, he could find himself playing the likes of Inman, Knost, Dale the Dude or Matt Atchity. However, his 2017 season suggests that he’ll get a higher profile match than that – could we see Wolfe vs JTE 2? Macuga vs JTE 2? Even JTE vs Bibbiani vs JTE 2? Win or lose, JTE is not going anywhere.
As for Rocha, the consequences of a loss are far greater. Lose here, and it could be a long time before we see the Outlaw back in singles. Despite this, a loss would leave Rocha at 7-6 and, out of belt contention, it might finally be time to see the conclusion of a big 2017 storyline. We were promised Bibbiani vs Rocha. Lose on Friday, and Rocha’s hat might be on the line….
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SCHMOEDOWN: Patriots vs Top 10 – Analysing the Controversy
SCHMOEDOWN: McWeeny vs Bibbiani
Talking About the MCU at the Box Office
FAVOURITE FILMS: The Incredibles
The Schmoedown Breakdown 
Good work! I enjoyed the analysis. Disagree with you about the Green Goblin answer. It wasn’t a well known name, but that was the answer. I feel awarding them the points would cause problems down the line with rulings. If Ihnman couldn’t get Eva I don’t see how you could give them this. Humphrey should have gotten sporting good store for the surf board shop if you give them Green Goblin. Besides he could have said Harry Osborne or just named Sandman instead.
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Thanks, I appreciate that. Fair enough, I can’t really argue with that!
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