The Anatomy of a Good Faction Wars Team -- Part Three

III. Good Wrestlers Are Not Necessarily Good Faction Wars Players

"I think UnderTaker is pound for pound the worst Faction Wars guy ever." - Greg Jovi, eGo Busters GM

The UnderTaker is public enemy number one in this section of the Anatomy of a Good Faction Wars Team. He is a main eventer. He is a World Champion at times. He's the most protected man on the WWE roster. But he wrestles a part-time schedule.

Part-time and protected equate to Faction Wars dead weight. In the first ten weeks of season ten, the UnderTaker has posted two 5-point-plus weeks. The rest of the season, he's posted a lot of 1's. Two straight weeks of 0. Those are not "main event" numbers, despite his status as a main eventer.

eGo Busters General Manager, Greg Jovi, also feels that this section should mention "favorite" wrestlers which is slightly different than (but in a similar vein as) "good" wrestlers. As discussed in part one (Drafting for Dummies), CM Punk has made a Faction Wars career out of being the favorite wrestler of nearly everyone in the league. Even this season, which is possibly Punk's best single-season performance since debuting in Faction Wars, he is a top 15 player - not a top 5 player. A player of Punk's caliber makes him a third round draft pick; even picking him in the second round might be feasible, but certainly not the first round.

And yet, CM Punk has consistently be drafted in the first round.

Until this season, Shawn Michaels was also in the same category as the UnderTaker: a main eventer, a title contender, a WWE mainstay...and a terrible Faction Wars player. Michaels has been able to prop himself up in past seasons, unlike 'Taker, due to having an easily-hit finisher. Since the Faction Wars reboot, Michaels has been a monster, looking to redeem himself for nine seasons of sub-par work.

The good wrestlers that are also good Faction Wars player, according to Walt Florio, should always be on the table if it means getting something better in return.

"If I have a wrestler that is currently getting pushed well I have no problem trading them. I think I have proven to be excellent at trading talent other players want for good value and remaining strong in the current season." - Walt Florio, former GM of Stacy's Freak

The king of swindling, Florio always knew how to use good players to his advantage - be it on his team, or on his trading block. Prior to the elimination of an all-inclusive playoff bracket, strategy was as simple as building a team that would be good at playoff time, regardless of how well they performed prior to that. With that knowledge, Florio dealt away good "now" players for good "later" players and is part of the reason he won the Season Three Championship, despite a 3-6-3 regular season record.

On the flipside of this equation, there are wrestlers that aren't that good and/or aren't well-liked, but they produce points consistently.

"For instance, NOBODY likes Kane. He's like the anti-Taker. He's a decent player, but nobody wants him on their team. Why? Cause he's Kane!" - Greg Jovi, eGo Busters GM

Kane has no strong upside. He only occasional holds a title. He consistently challenges for titles (and consistently fails to win them). He floats from mid-card feud to mid-card feud. But somehow, Kane puts up respectable numbers, fleshing out the undercard of whichever team manages to sneak him onto their roster.