See Also Wrestling Theme Pt 1 and Series 1 Trading Cards

What would wrestling be without Fans?! Whether it is fans erupting into joy as Stone Cold Steve Austin’s entrance music hits with that signature broken glass sound or showering boos on Roman Reigns as he hits his opponent with a vicious Spear (or title belt) to win yet again it is the fans and their reaction that create the emotional heft to a match. We all know that wrestling is scripted and the physical ability in the ring is only one part, and arguably not the most important part, of a wrestler’s job. It is the connection with fans that can lead to a star’s meteoric rise. In wrestling parlance getting fans is called “getting over” with the crowd. The wrestler talks on the mic, does fantastic moves, or just has ‘it’ and fans gravitate towards them.

Wrestlers that are “over” rise to the top of the company. Wrestlers that are gaining fans quickly are sometimes said to “have a rocket on their backs” and are often given a “secondary title” like the Intercontinental Belt that shows they are moving up. Wrestlers that get the best crowd reactions and the most fans will often be given a title reign with the “top title” like the Universal Heavyweight Champion.

All of this reminds me of XP systems, leaderboards, and badges.

I have typically avoided XP displays because I usually use XP Grading which ties the score to their actual grade. Due to privacy laws displaying XP would be problematic. In this wrestling theme though I am planning on transitioning to a different grading system that will be anchored into a newly required online gradebook (more on this later). This frees up the XP though, and to match the theme, I am going to call this XP – FANS!

Not that kind of fan…
THESE FANS!!!

As students complete activities they will earn “X” number of fans per activity. They will be able to go on side quests (which I will probably call rivalries or feuds), winning review matches, and completing different activities throughout the semester.

I am also interested in creating top “heel” (bad guy) and “face” (good guy) categories though I’m not really sure how to do that yet. I might let students decide their “personality”orientation with their stables/factions (small groups) and then give some optional rivalry quests that would allow them to “turn” either from face to heel or heel to face. I am interested in allowing students to challenge each other during quick review games. Heel stables could take on Face stables and the top Individual Heels and Faces could square off for the Titles.

United States Heavyweight Championship

  • Awarded to the Heel or Face in each class with the most fans. They will compete against each other in a winner take all match using the wrestling card game. The names will be recorded on a Title List near the door. There would be 1 belt per class.

Intercontinental Champion

  • I think this might be an “open challenge” system with anyone challenging the IC Champ at anytime. There would be 1 champ per class.

Tag Team Champions

  • This would go to the Stable/Faction that has the highest Fan total.

Fans (XP) could also be used to unlock unique challenges, new powers, or status symbols. It would be fun to have “merch” available at certain Fan levels. 10,000 fans and they can design T-Shirt. 15,000 and the can make baseball hats. 25,000 and a belt and they can make their own title faceplate. There are a lot of possibilities.

Id love to hear your ideas!