Kinda-kayfabe-ish explanation? Dunno. It's longer than the rest of the post, but I kinda had fun writing it.
For decades, idols have been a mainstay in Japanese culture. While their popularity has waxed and waned over the years with cultural and economic shifts, they've always been the very definition of star power. While today, idols are experiencing a resurgence thanks in part to the global popularity of K-pop and J-pop, they no longer have a monopoly on the whole "entertainment through personality" thing. No, they've got competition:
Streamers. While arcades aren't the community hubs that they used to be, sites like Twitch and YouTube replicate the feeling of peeking over somebody's shoulder to see the local champion kick someone's ass at Mortal Kombat. Only this time, with cool special effects, and entire communities in chatrooms, comment sections, and social media to hang out with. Whether it's eSports, speedruns, IRL streams, or just plain old gaming, online streaming has opened up a whole new world in online entertainment.
Over the years, people from both worlds have made their way to LAW for a piece of its pro wrestling glory. Idols and streamers have become wrestlers and announcers. For the most part, they're friendly enough -- if a little attention whore-y at times. They usually attract huge crowds, blending their old fanbases with the new ones they've earned in their time at LAW. Online, those fanbases have clashed a little, passionately making their cases. Which was better: the stagecraft and golden pipes of idols or the digital dominance of streamers?
Why not answer that question in the ring -- once and for all?
Streamers. While arcades aren't the community hubs that they used to be, sites like Twitch and YouTube replicate the feeling of peeking over somebody's shoulder to see the local champion kick someone's ass at Mortal Kombat. Only this time, with cool special effects, and entire communities in chatrooms, comment sections, and social media to hang out with. Whether it's eSports, speedruns, IRL streams, or just plain old gaming, online streaming has opened up a whole new world in online entertainment.
Over the years, people from both worlds have made their way to LAW for a piece of its pro wrestling glory. Idols and streamers have become wrestlers and announcers. For the most part, they're friendly enough -- if a little attention whore-y at times. They usually attract huge crowds, blending their old fanbases with the new ones they've earned in their time at LAW. Online, those fanbases have clashed a little, passionately making their cases. Which was better: the stagecraft and golden pipes of idols or the digital dominance of streamers?
Why not answer that question in the ring -- once and for all?
If you're interested, shoot me a PM on here or a DM on Discord. Or leave a comment here, if that's your thing. Let me know what characters you have that might wanna get involved. If we get enough traction, I can make a group chat or Discord channel to shoot around some ideas.
(and honestly even if this doesn't work out, I would love to do something with all the Streamers on the site, so lmk if you wanna do that lmao)