Bonus Stage

How's it going? I hope you've been keeping well. There's some more good news that I've got to share with you this time which is related to content that I've wanted to share but haven't been able to because of long-running internet troubles. As of a couple of weeks ago we've got some decent internet at home and my hope is that this will allow me to flex even a little bit when it comes to putting out content, whether it's the current content like the walkthroughs or the audio series or the type of content that I am about to talk about. 

Let's start from the beginning. Back in 2015 I started putting out audio reviews of wrestling shows that I was following at the time. You can give them a listen here. 

I am a long time wrestling fan, maybe that's a bit of a surprise to some of you, and those reviews were just for fun really. Thought it would be nice idea and just gave it a shot. Another idea that I had was for an audio version of Universe Mode from WWE's video games. Universe Mode is a feature where you can basically come up with your own storylines, book your own matches and so on. My first taste of Universe Mode was in the WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 game and I really liked it. But I didn't have any of the later generation consoles after PS2 (and I didn't have a proper gaming computer) so I missed out on what came after that 2011 game. 2015 came along and on Youtube I saw a lot of WWE 2K15 Universe Mode content being put out, with one channel in particular that stood out called DenkOps. It motivated me to try making my own series, where I could tell interesting storylines that might not be told on WWE television. Obviously I didn't have the 2K15 game and a console, so how would this series be done? In audio form. Again, it was just another "sure, why not?" kind of idea and the series went on for several episodes, with reviews mixed in as well. You can check out this audio Universe Mode series here.

It's thanks to this series that I got noticed by a Youtuber named MurfsYT13. He had started a series based on WWE 2K16's My Career Mode around that time, which followed the rise of a wrestler he had created named Ryan Lusk. There were other My Career Mode series being put out at the time but what made Murfs' series stand out was that he started implementing some Universe Mode style storytelling into it instead of just playing out My Career Mode as it was. I thought what he did was great and it made me interested in not only watching the story of Lusk but to offer ideas that could help the series. Murfs was cool enough to give the ideas I offered a try and the first idea went LIVE starting in episode 12 of his My Career Mode. Eventually I suggested that Murfs do a Universe Mode series which would be a sequel to My Career Mode and I was willing to team up with him as a co-creator/writer/booker. He was up for that and once My Career Mode concluded, Universe Mode kicked off and for the next couple of months we had a blast telling cool wrestling stories, booking some incredible matches (believe it or not, one of those matches involved Nia Jax and Nikki Bella! I kid you not) and watching it all play out week to week for an audience that was really into the series. Some highlights from My Career Mode and Universe Mode include...

- A heel Roman Reigns leading his own faction with the Usos (the Roman Empire).

- Roderick Strong in NXT before the real thing happened.

- Kazuchika Okada in NXT.

- Balor Club in NXT.

- The Briscoes in NXT.

- The Glorious Heels formed in NXT.

- King of the Ring tournament which included NXT participants.

- Better booking of the women's division (this was my main focus during Universe Mode).

- Better booking of Shinsuke Nakamura in NXT and on the main roster.

Sadly there was a falling out, it was my fault really, because there was a creative decision that I didn't like at the time. Looking back now I realise that it wasn't such a big deal, I could've still found a way to make things work under that decision...but I can admit that I was a bit of an idiot back then so you can blame me for the collaboration ending. I have tried to reach out to Murfs over the years via Twitter but he hasn't responded and these days he doesn't make Universe Mode series anymore, instead there are "What if" wrestling scenario videos on his channel now. It's a bit of a shame I think, considering the content which brought people to his channel in the past and how cool that was. Maybe he just got tired of Universe Mode content.

What I'm planning to do is download the 2K16 Universe Mode episodes which I worked on with Murfs and re-upload them onto my BitChute Channel. I was involved up until the King of the Ring episode, which was the second to last episode in the 2K16 Universe Mode series. My suggestion would be that you start with the 2K16 My Career Mode series on Murfs' channel and then head over to my BitChute channel to continue in the Universe Mode series once I start re-uploading there. You can still choose to watch the series on his channel but I don't know if he will be available to take feedback, comments or questions about the series that you might have. I'm available and would be happy to chat with you if you have anything to say about it. 

And if you are someone who is interested in doing a WWE 2K24 edition of Universe Mode and want a co-creator/writer/booker, especially after checking out that 2K16 series, then you can reach out to me either via the comments section for this post or via email allenchngnzh22@gmail.com. I did enjoy teaming up with Murfs on that series and if I get the chance to work on another one with someone else, cool. It's the thrill of telling wrestling stories and booking matches which might not happen on WWE television that still makes me a fan of Universe Mode to this day.

I am still in the process of downloading the videos but have got enough so far to start re-uploading next week. You can consider this as bonus content and who knows, maybe I'll be lucky enough to team up with other people and you get another series that you can look forward to.  

MurfsYT13's WWE 2K16 My Career Mode series playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7RWUYMyoODsAzFwnyD_-_3uv1r8vMp8k

MurfsYT13's WWE 2K16 Universe Mode series playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7RWUYMyoODtolSxtyyD4DVzKtkvFBx1B

**BitChute Links**

00a Road to WWE 2K16 Universe Mode - Wrestlemania 32 Highlights
00b Road to WWE 2K16 Universe Mode - The Champions
01 WWE 2K16 Universe Mode -Week 1- Raw
02 WWE2K16 Universe Mode -Week 1- Smackdown
03 WWE 2K16 Universe Mode -Week 1- NXT

Thanks for reading and take care.

P.S. Asterix is on the way too, I haven't forgotten about that. Should be out either next week or early second week of October.