Matches

Match Naming
Matches have two names, a record name and an actual name.

The record name, which must be unique, is used when viewing or selecting matches such as in the editor or during booking.

The actual name is what the match is called during show reports and histories. This does not have to be a unique name. This is used for cosmetic purposes to allow reports and histories to look nicer.

Match Type
The match type tells the game how many competitors are involved and what the teams, if any, are.

Match Style
Unlike previous games in the series, TEW2020 does not have a Style setting for matches. This is because the same information is contained in the match aims that the player gives via the road agent notes while booking.

Match Prestige
The match prestige is an indication of how respected (or feared!) a match is. It is used purely for searching purposes and has no other impact on the game.

Match Minimum Size
A match's minimum size tells the game what companies can utilize it. Companies which are smaller than the minimum size will not be able to book that match. This is useful for making sure that smaller companies do not start using matches that would require significant costs, space, or construction, and would thus likely be out of their price range.

Match Held
The first three places a match can be held are in the ring, inside a specially constructed set inside the arena (for example, a 'lion's den cage structure), or backstage / in a car park. These three options are almost entirely cosmetic, the only thing the choice impacts is what moves are available to be used for the finish.

The fourth option is for the match to be held on location, which means it is being filmed in a cinematic manner. This option has some restrictions and also special rules attached to it that alter the way the match is rated.

The main restriction is that the show must be being broadcast for a cinematic-style match to be used. In addition, if the product does not suit these sort of matches or if the company's production values are lower than Professional then the associated penalties are so heavy that they make these matches effectively unusable.

The following are the special rules (in no particular order): gimmick rating effects are more pronounced than normal for the competitors (not for people at ringside, run ins, etc) and apply even if the user has turned off gimmick effects via his or her preferences; the match rating is affected by the company's production values (Professional and High Quality are considered neutral and have no impact - lower than this brings penalties, higher brings bonuses); stamina, injury, and botch penalties are all disabled due to the match having the option of being edited; there is a bigger element of randomness to simulate the fine line between doing these sort of matches well and them turning into a mess.

In all other ways a cinematic match follows the normal rules.

Match Entrances
Matches can either have regular entrances (everyone starts) or timed entrances (workers come into the match at timed intervals). This is purely for cosmetic purposes as it impacts how the match report is written.

Match Rules
The match rules tell the game how the match ends.

Two of these rules may need clarifying. Firstly, 'Elimination' means that a team is eliminated once any member is defeated. Secondly, 'Total Elimination' means that a team is eliminated once all of its members have been defeated.

Match Injury Risk
A match's injury risk indicates how likely the participants are to get injured during the course of the match. This should not include any crazy or stunt bumps, as these are handled by the appropriate road agent note.

The injury risk of a match only forms the basic chance of an injury happening, it is further modified by the worker's resilience, their fatigue level, their drug usage, the way the match has been booked, the backstage rules for the company, and the injury frequency settings from the options menu.

Match Content Risk
The content risk measures how likely the match is to offend or shock people. For example, a barbed wire match would get a high rating. A high risk level will offend some types of fans but please others. Some workers will refuse to do matches with a high content risk, based upon their personality and attributes.

Some broadcasters will refuse to allow highly risky matches to be shown on their network.

Match Name Value
If a match has 'name value' it means that it will be explicitly mentioned by name when viewing event or match histories. This is useful for 'big name' specialty matches.

Default Matches
For convenience, when a user goes to select a match during booking he will only see the default matches to begin with as these are the most commonly used ones. The user can then further expand the selection if necessary. The user is able to customize his default match selection during gameplay and this selection is unique to him or her (i.e. player 1's selection does not impact player 2's).

Basic Matches
Basic matches are those that are generic, run-of-the-mill match types that are appropriate for general use. This setting is used by the auto booker facility; when it is choosing a match type to use it will try and use a match that is both one of the user's defaults and a basic match, then just defaults, and finally just basics. This means that the player doesn't end up with unwanted match types. Basic matches have no other impact on the game.

Match Times
Every match has a minimum and maximum length of time that it can run for; the user must book the match between these two limits. If the two limits are equal, the match is limited to run exactly that long - this would usually be used for iron man matches, for example. These minimum and maximum times indicate the bell-to-bell time.

Each match also has a non-wrestling time. This covers the standard entrances and exits (special entrances and pre- or post-bell shenanigans should be done via angles). This is automatically added to the match's run time. For example, if a match is set to run for 25 minutes and has a 5 minute non-wrestling time then the segment will take up 30 minutes in total.

Match Set Up
Every match can have its 'set up' defined from a list of possible options; this is purely to give the player an idea of what is involved, it does not impact the gameplay.

Match Finishes
Every match must have at least one finish, which indicates how a wrestler can win. This is purely for cosmetic purposes as it affects how the match report is written.