Watch/Listen to this article on YouTube (above) or continue reading (below). 🙂
So, I was happily writing my creative pitch for Abadon as I had promised from my previous article, Evolving Abadon. It was fun. It was challenging. I felt like I had done a good job at establishing an unassuming starting point and adding incremental details that logically built to a satisfying explanation of why a woman wrestling as a zombie makes perfect sense. However, there was one nagging issue that plagued me:
TV Time Remaining
Originally, I had planned for the story to be told by having a makeupless Abadon do a taped interview with JR on an episode of Dynamite. But as I got deeper into the story it became clear that was not feasible. The story was too long to dedicate that much TV time to it and the story was too detailed to expect fans to take in and retain it between wrestling matches.
So I scrapped that idea and instead, I drew inspiration from one of my favourite wrestling stories of all time.
There’s Levels to this Shit
When The Elite storyline between Omega, Hangman and the Young Bucks kicked off, it was an amazing storyline in its own right. But what enriched it was the stuff the four of them did on Being The Elite. You didn’t have to watch BTE to enjoy it but you got a deeper appreciation for it. And because it was on YouTube, they could dedicate all the time they needed to it.
I decided then that Abadon’s story should appended to AEW canon via a special feature for AEW’s YouTube channel. This way, Abadon is given all the time she needs and story would be very accessible on YouTube for future fans to go back and learn more about Abadon.
Road To: Abadon
So the creative strategy is this:
- Create a “Road To” style video solely about Abadon called “Abadon: Birth Of A Living Dead Girl”.
- Release it at 7PM ET on Halloween night on AEW’s YouTube channel
- Promote the release 3 weeks in advance with the the tagline…
“See Abadon’s real face and hear her real voice tell her real story.”
Promotion Schedule
So just as an example, let’s say the date is Wednesday, October 11, 2023:
| Wednesday, October 11th | Tony Schiavone is in the ring. He talks about how wrestling has always had a host of mysterious characters who use their mystique to give them an edge in the ring. But none of them have even been as mysterious as Abadon. Until now. Tony informs fans of the special feature being released on Halloween night. |
| Wednesday, October 18th | Tony Schiavone once again teases Abadon’s special and this time, we’re given a trailer but one that doesn’t give anything away. |
| Wednesday, October 25th | We get a competitive women’s match between two babyfaces where, at the end of the match, the two women shake hands. Abadon’s music hits, she comes out and annihilates them both. Excalibur figures this is as good a time as any to remind fans that next Tuesday on Halloween night, Abadon’s feature comes out. |
So that’s where this article ends. In Part III of this Abadon series, I’ll finally publish the Abadon backstory. I’m in the process of either shortening it or contemplating splitting it into 2 parts. I’ll attempt to keep in mind how it’ll work in the format of a documentary style movie.
Stay tuned! Thanks for reading! And as always, tell the women in your life how much you appreciate them!
