jesseewiak

‘Liger-Mania’ Sets New Heights In Gobe, a small city that sits on the Pacific Ocean seventy miles south of Osaka, the small city-owned arena is sold-out with over a thousand fans, waiting for the beginning of a locally promoted show for New Japan Pro Wrestling, the largest wrestling organization in the nation. While there are still many middle-aged and younger salarymen who are here for stoic fighters such as Riki Choshu or Shinya Hashimoto, who descend from the line of samurai-like fighters that have topped professional wrestling cards in this nation since the days of Rikidozan in the aftermath of World War II, or even some young women coming from those same long office jobs because of young Western wrestlers such as former football linemen Brian Pillman, a mass of the crowd are children who are all here for one man – a masked superhero named Jushin Liger. Hundreds of children buy masks, manga (Japanese comic books), t-shirts, and CDs, alongside other pieces of merchandise, that according to some estimates makeup half of all merchandise sales for New Japan during the past year, before filling up the arena. They quietly pay attention to the rest of the evening’s card, but even the well-known myth of how well-behaved Japanese children only has so much truth, as there’s plenty of obvious restlessness throughout the crowd, before the last match of the evening – Liger teaming up with two other wrestlers for a six-man tag team match. From the moment the ring announcements start, the chants of ‘LI-GER, LI-GER’ begin, and continue throughout the entrances of all six wrestlers, and it continues through much of the match. After the end of the show, the masked hero signs pictures, toys, masks, and sticker books for nearly an hour, before New Japan officials take him to the back. Pro wrestling has been a popular form of entertainment in Japan, since it rose to prominence in the aftermath of World War II, where American wrestlers helped create the sport with Rikidozan, a former sumo who wrestled a match against Lou Thesz in a match that got an enormous 85.1 rating, more than double what the Super Bowl gets even today in the United States. As with the early days of television in the United States, professional wrestling was cheap, exciting content for the burgeoning television industry. Even after Rikidozan’s tragic death and a split between his two most famous pupils, pro wrestling still has a large place in Japanese society. Both major promotions have network television shows, long-time New Japan owner Antonio Inoki has become a politician, and respect is given in polite society in ways that never come to American wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, who first rose to stardom in Japan. “It’s a totally different world, brother,” Hogan said, via phone while on tour with the WWF. “Obviously, I’m happy as a clam in the World Wrestling Federation, wrestling all over the world in front of millions, but there’s something special about a Japanese crowd.” Despite this success, New Japan officials realized their crowds were trending older, and needed some splashy to bring in a new generation of fans to whom the serious brand of wrestling that wrestlers such as Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami personified didn’t appeal too, especially in a world with far more media options, so they returned to an idea that’d brought them great success before – a superhero based on a popular superhero anime (Japanese animation). This had been a huge success before with a wrestler named Tiger Mask in the early 1980’s, so with a young graduate of their harsh dojo under the mask, the new character debuted during New Japan’s first show at the 60,000-seat Tokyo Dome. Officials expected a popular wrestler, but they never expected what has happened with Liger. In Japanese pro wrestling, as with its American cousin, the drawing power has always rested with the larger wrestlers – whether it’s somebody like a heavyweight like Inoki wrestling Muhammed Ali or the over 7-foot Giant Baba taking on American stars such as Ric Flair in All Japan Professional Wrestling, lighter workers could be short-term attractions or something to fill out the card, but the big men drew the money. Even with Tiger Mask, “he sold a ton of merchandise and helped create a new style for younger wrestlers to be drawn to, but even at his height, men like Baba, Inoki, Fujinami, and Tsutura were much larger stars,” Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer, a publication that covers the business and backstage side of the pseudo-sport stated. “Liger was something different – I had people in the New Japan office tell me that almost immediately they could see a shift in their audience on television, and especially at smaller house shows.” For obvious reasons, New Japan officials wouldn’t say anything quite that firm, but other reporters in Japan who cover the business agree with Meltzer. “In places like Tokyo, Osaka, and such, it’s the same crowds, but those crowds were always diverse,” Fumi Sato, a reporter for a Japanese sports publication that covers pro-wrestling said. “The true change is in the smaller cities and towns. These are places that were slowly dying off and being abandoned by the two major companies, as it wasn’t financially viable to do so. Towns and cities that were barely half-filling gyms and arenas in 1988 & 1989 were now selling out 1,000 to 5,000-seat arenas. Unlike the US, there aren’t a ton of 10,000 to 20,000 seat arenas in the nation, so these smaller buildings like that are the lifeblood of both major promotions.” This change has not been without some growing pains, as veteran pro wrestler Dick Beyer said, “This is a very hierarchical culture, and wrestling is no different. Just like you take a job at Toyota and work there forever, you go to a dojo and work for that company forever, slowly raising up the ranks as you gain experience. Guys like Sayama (Tiger Mask) and Liger kind of upend that belief.” Satoru Sayama, the man who was under the Tiger Mask caused a sensation when he published ‘Kayfabe’, a book that spilled many of the backstage secrets of pro wrestling, but so far, the man who is behind the Liger masks, Keichi Yamada, seems unlikely to do anything like that. “Yamada’s a dojo-bred guy, and intensely loyal,” Meltzer said. “Anything is possible, but unless New Japan really screws up, I don’t see any way he causes anything close to the problems Sayama did, who always beat to his own drummer.” But, Meltzer added, “In a world where he continues to be a top-top draw, the question becomes, does he move to a heavyweight division? Do they begin to have large shows with Liger in the main event? Do they really have to build up the division to help Liger, at that point, other interesting questions about the future begin to bubble up." Those are all questions for the ‘hardcore’ fanbase in the United States and Canada, who keep track of professional wrestling via video tapes traded in the mail and copied discreetly, but for the legions of elementary school children in Gobe, all that matters is not only did their hero win, but they can shake his hand and bow to him after the match, before going home.

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING A result of the Giant Baba – Antonio Inoki split that led to the formation of the two dominant promotions in Japanese wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling is still the leading promotion in the country, with a large national audience. Inoki led the company through the 70s and much of the 80s, leading NJPW to prominence thanks to his massive amounts of charisma and ‘Strong Style’ matches against various opponents from outside of the pro wrestling world, including Muhammad Ali. However, a series of financial and political scandals led Inoki to cede control of the company to long-time front-office member Seiji Sakaguchi, and a series of other financial backers. In recent years, Riki Choshu has taken over as booker and thanks to prominent gaijins such as Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow, the mega-wattage stardom of Jushin Liger, and the ‘Three Musketeers’ of Shinya Hashimoto, Masahiro Chono, and Keiji Muto, New Japan’s been on a recent hot streak, but a somewhat weak midcard could lead to some issues in the long-term. MAJOR PLAYERS ANTONIO INOKI A living legend, and one of two men who has carried on Rikidozan’s legacy in professional wrestling, Inoki has created an aura for himself as a legit badass by facing off against various outsiders from different fighting styles, with varying degrees of legitimacy, and booked himself to go over. Most famously, fighting to a draw against Muhammad Ali in the late 70s cemented Inoki’s place, and even opened bigger doors outside of the wrestling industry. Now in his late 40s, and with outside interests including politics, Inoki no longer books New Japan or is there day-to-day, but he’s still a massive draw, and even if he only shows up for big shows, can be both a help and hindrance. TATSUMI FUJINAMI Known as ‘The Dragon’, Tatsumi Fujinami was the Ace of the promotion throughout the 80s as Inoki stopped being a full-time wrestler and helped move the promotion to a more modern style, along with other rising stars in the promotion such as Choshu, Yatsu, and big-time gaijin stars like Bruiser Brody. Now in his late 30s, Fujinami is slowing down slightly but still is one of the better workers, and one of the top draws for New Japan. JUSHIN ‘THUNDER’ LIGER The successor to ‘Tiger Mask’ has become an even bigger star than the legendary competitor, and even threatens the balance between the heavyweight and junior heavyweight divisions in New Japan, thanks to his crossover stardom, which has even led to international attention. Cartoons, comics, t-shirts, stickers, and even a guest appearance in the latest ‘Godzilla’ movie have made Liger a massive star, even as he continues to be perhaps the greatest non-heavyweight worker anywhere on the planet. RIKI CHOSHU One of the biggest stars in puroresu, Choshu was famously the first ‘traitor heel’ in Japanese pro wrestling, turning on Fujinami in ’83, before leaving NJPW for All Japan in a move, along with several jumps by prominent gaijins that eventually led to the current agreement between the two companies that there will be no stealing of currently contracted workers, between the two companies. After returning to New Japan, Choshu eventually got back on the side of the New Japan Army by battling the monster Vader, and other top stars, and even though he’ll likely never be the top star in the promotion, he has been trusted with the book, in part because of his ability to bring in outside ideas from the rest of the wrestling world, and his own creative mind. KEIJI MUTOH A rising young superstar, Mutoh first gained prominence in the mid-80s as a rising young lion in New Japan, eventually becoming IWGP World Tag Team Champion with Shiro Koshinaka. But his true stardom wasn’t evident until he went to the States for a second excursion and created the character of The Great Muta in the NWA. Coming back to Japan, Mutoh quickly rose to the top of the card, under the Muta gimmick, including somewhat shockingly defeating Vader for the IWGP Heavyweight title at the first January 4th Dome show. Unfortunately, Mutoh suffered a serious knee injury a couple of months afterward and had to give up the title, and only recently returned to the ring in November, but going back to his real name. It's unknown when and if the Muta gimmick will return. BIG VAN VADER & BAM BAM BIGELOW - 'ULTRA VIOLENT' Since arriving in Japan by destroying Antonio Inoki in a non-title match in only five minutes, and causing a riot at Sumo Hall, Big Van Vader has been nearly unstoppable in the Japanese rings, winning the IWGP Championship multiple times, facing the biggest stars in the company, all while having a presence that’ll likely lead to American stardom for him eventually Bigelow’s path to New Japan is more interesting, as despite only having been in the business five years, he’s had appearances in both the NWA & WWF, before arriving in Tokyo as Vader’s surprise partner when they destroyed Fujiwara & Yamazaki for the IWGP Tag Titles in under seven minutes. Since then, as ‘Ultra Violent’, Vader & Bigelow have been the dominant tag team in the promotion, with only Vader’s flirtations with the IWGP title stopping them from being completely unstoppable. OTHER PLAYERS OF NOTE MASAHIRO CHONO Another rising star in the promotion, while Chono may not be the worker Mutoh or Hashimoto may end up being, Chono’s intensely charismatic, either as he is currently as a cocky babyface, or possibly even as a heel. Chono’s time at the top is coming, whether it’s through impactful strikes, his STF finisher, or teaming up with the other ‘Three Musketeers’, it’ll be interesting to how Chono gets there. SHINYA HASHIMOTO The last member of the ‘Three Musketeers’, Hashimoto doesn’t have the look of a star you’d expect in the United States, but the stocky young man with Elvis-like mutton chops whom can kick the hell out of you and is fiery in a way the Japanese crowds can easily get behind. Already a multiple-time tag champion with his mentor Masa Saito, Hashimoto has gone blow-for-blow with monsters like Vader, talented gaijin workers like the Steiners, and legends like Inoki & Fujinami, so it seems the sky truly is the limit for him. BLACK TIGER II (Eddy Guerrero) The scion of the legendary Guerrero family, Eddy came to New Japan at the start of last year, quickly rising to the top of the junior heavyweight division, and having fantastic matches with El Samurai, Norio Honaga, and Liger. Will possibly head back to Mexico at the end of this year, but while under the mask as the second Black Tiger, has already been a very successful member of the roster. BRIAN PILLMAN & CHRIS BENOIT A rising star in Japanese wrestling under the mask as ‘Wild Pegasus’, Chris Benoit is one of the most talented young wrestlers in the world when it comes to workrate but was likely doomed to being an occasional challenger to Liger and to be unknown in North American wrestling, until Brian Pillman decided against signing a contract with the NWA in the middle of 1989, and instead, moved to Mexico. After a few impressive matches against young New Japan dojo wrestlers on an excursion, word got back to Liger, and the young former Bengal was brought over to Japan at the beginning of 1991. Shortly before that, in the fall of 1990, Benoit dropped the 'Wild Pegasus' mask to Liger. From there, Benoit & Pillman were teamed up, and quickly became a popular duo, especially to younger fans, thanks to Benoit’s intense aura and Pillman’s charisma along with his good looks. The real question is how much longer it will take until the Big Three come calling for Pillman again, and whether Benoit gets a chance as well. MAJOR EVENTS WRESTLING WORLD After its opening in the late 80s, the Tokyo Dome quickly became known as the place where the biggest possible shows take place, and this is true of New Japan as well. Starting with this year, New Japan is attempting to make a yearly January 4th show as its trademark show. It remains to be seen whether they’ll continue to do other Dome shows throughout the year, as well. G-1 CLIMAX For many years, New Japan has held an annual round-robin series, under various names such as the World League, the MSG League, and the IWGP League. In 1990, the G-1 was christened as the newest example of this round-robin tournament. The yearly series, taking place in August, has some of the best wrestling action on the planet and can help create stars and make main eventers, as it’s done for men like Hulk Hogan and Riki Choshu. BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS A relatively recent invention, and likely only continues to take advantage of Liger’s insane popularity, the BotSJ is a round-robin style tournament, only involving junior wrestlers.

PWTorch.com Rewind ‘SURVIVE OR STRIVE – THE FUTURE OF THE USWA’ January 5th, 1991 by Editor Wade Keller As a long-time AWA fan, the rise of the USWA as a way for what could be called the second-tier of wrestling promotions to survive against the onslaught of the Big Three has had its upsides and downsides. On one hand, the mainstream credibility of the Von Erichs and the combined strength of USWA cards have probably led to enough money flowing into the coffers of all three companies that wrestlers such as Curt Hennig and Rick Martel are still in Minnesota, as opposed to standing across the ring from Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, or Roddy Piper. On the other hand, it’s also meant having to hope that Kerry Von Erich actually shows up to big AWA shows, that Jimmy Valiant isn’t drafted to stink up a mid-card six-man match no matter his supposed drawing power in Memphis, or that Jerry Lawler’s ego doesn’t make another appearance when it comes time to do a job to somebody outside of his hometown. But, after three years of existence, this alliance has already outlasted most ‘hardcore’ fans' views that wrestling promoters can’t get along for more than five minutes, even when their continued existence is at risk. However, the three promotions have been smart in that the promotions are still largely disconnected, and that all three companies have big enough draws so that nobody can dominate the proceedings. There are still rumblings, though. Whether it is Von Erich’s well-known demons, Lawler’s own view of his stardom, especially within Memphis, and the intense worry in the AWA offices over the chances of current AWA Champion Curt Hennig’s long-term future are all pieces in an unstable Jenga board that could collapse at any time. So, as we go into the New Year, I wanted to look at the long-term future of all three promotions, as part of the alliance, and on their own terms. AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION When it comes to the AWA, the strongest parts of the promotion are a fairly strong top of the card, a viable cable network TV deal, and at least at the moment, the strongest recent booking. However, a dearth of younger babyfaces, strong competition locally from both the WWF and PWA, and the instability that comes from multiple members of the roster that could jump when their contracts are up mean that with just a few signings, the AWA could quickly be ravaged and have no viable stars. As long as they don’t lose Slaughter, Hennig, or Martel, the AWA could likely survive the USWA falling apart, but if those wrestlers left, they’d need to double down on the remaining Von Erich's, Jarrett, and Lawler, along with others to remain anything more than an independent promotion with a lot of history. CONTINENTAL WRESTLING ASSOCIATION The interesting thing about the CWA is that, if the USWA collapsed tomorrow, much of their current audience wouldn’t know the difference. Outside of occasional appearances from Von Erich, Hennig, and others, Memphis is still a ‘bubble’ where a reference to a feud from 1981 is still more important than a big-time star from outside of the area. But, the long-term issue for the CWA is the rise of the national promotions means that not only have their ratings and attendance been slowly chipped away, especially outside of Memphis, but their ability to create new stars and build long-time roster members has become almost non-existent, and the well-known lack of pay for wrestlers who aren’t connected to the top of the card doesn’t help either. If Lawler, Dundee, Jarrett, Valiant, and other well-known names remain as part of the company, the CWA can easily last for another five years or more without fully losing ground to either an encroaching NWA or a rising PWA. But, if one or more of those names, especially Lawler decides to take the risk at becoming more than a local legend, that might be the day the lights go out in the Mid-South Coliseum. WORLD CLASS WRESTLING In many ways, even with the USWA, WCCW is in the most precarious position, but if it could break out of its own self-limitations, has perhaps the best chance at becoming something more. However, the Von Erichs must realize that their time has passed when it comes to them being the alpha and omega of the promotion. They can still be important parts, and Kerry Von Erich is still a household name in Texas, but that’s about it. Their old enemies are either overseas or past their prime, and they’ve built no new monsters or charismatic heels to oppose them. That’s nothing against the current crop in Dallas, but it’s not a surprise that the top heel came in from the AWA. Even their possible young star, Warrior, has obvious flaws, and a limited shelf life, if not booked perfectly. That’s not even getting past the obvious attention he could get from one of the major companies. But, World Class is still World Class – it has a name that casual fans are aware of, it still has good production values, even if they’re not a world ahead anymore, and a base in Texas is likely stronger than Tennessee or Minnesota. That’s only if World Class takes advantage, otherwise, they’re one more arrest, overdose, or simple bad booking to becoming irrelevant. At the moment, the USWA as an alliance is useful to all three promotions – AWA can build depth, WCCW can expand beyond the Von Erich’s, and the CWA can have a national stage for its local legends, but as with any agreement among promoters, it can quickly fall apart. The Von Erichs have already broken one alliance only a few years ago, Memphis can also retreat behind the walls of a local fanbase, and the AWA can decide to go it alone with an expansive cable reach. For now, though, the alliance survives, and as a result, so will all three promotions…for now. NEXT UP: JAPAN!

WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING Rising to prominence in the early 80s thanks to cutting-edge production, entertaining angles, and a legion of Dallas teen girls screaming for the heroic Von Erichs, the tragedy of the family, along with Fritz Von Erich’s reluctance to not have his boys at the top of the card led to a fall from grace, especially after their initial alliance with Pro Wrestling America barely lasted six months in the aftermath of the 'Kiel Double Cross.' On the verge of collapse, the Von Erichs joined the fledgling USWA, giving the new alliance some mainstream credibility with the living Von Erichs, and its still somewhat strong syndication package. The question that remains is how long World Class can survive without creating viable stars without the last name Von Erich. MAJOR PLAYERS KERRY VON ERICH The peak of Kerry Von Erich’s career is still his short run with the NWA title after the death of his brother David in 1984, but despite his numerous personal issues, the rise of the USWA has allowed the World Class territory to be slightly more secure – regardless, Kerry is still the biggest star in the territory, and now a multi-time AWA World Champion, but the question remains how long he can battle his demons and stay a draw. KEVIN VON ERICH The older Von Erich brother has somewhat slowed down, due to injuries and his own demons, even if they’re nothing close to his brothers. Still a tough brawler and decently charismatic, but doesn’t quite appeal to the teenyboppers of the 90s as opposed to the lovelorn girls of the mid-80s. Still a strong part of the World Class roster, though. GARY HART’S NEW AGE MANAGEMENT Gary Hart has always had a menagerie of heels looking to destroy the Von Erich’s, and now is no different, as the former Chicago Street thug has the dangerous Angel of Death, the legendary Great Kabuki, and the mysterious Yoshi Kwan. Currently feuding with Warrior, who turned his back on Hart earlier this year. DEVASTATION INCORPORATED The other major heel group in the company, and one that always has a tense détente with Hart, Skandor Akbar currently has in his corporation, the maniacal Matt Borne who is the current WCCW Champion, the tough cowboy Black Bart, and the ego-fueled Bombastic Bob Holly. OTHER PLAYERS OF NOTE THE SIMPSONS The Simpsons are two younger wrestlers from South Africa, who came to the US in the mid-80s and became a prominent part of the Texas territory over the last three years, as their father at various times has had points in the territory, to help Fritz Von Erich stay afloat. Both brothers are talented, but the idea they’re second-tier Von Erich’s isn’t too far from the truth. ICEMAN KING PARSONS A longtime member of the World Class roster, Parsons has been both a face and heel, including a successful team with Brickhouse Brown, multiple Television and Tag title runs, and even two WCCW Heavyweight title runs in the past year or so as a heel, but after a brief break, Parsons returned as a babyface this past fall, back in his familiar mid to upper-mid card position. WARRIOR An incredibly charismatic, muscular, and explosive worker, but very uneven and out there, who’d made his name known as a wild brawler and over-the-top character over the past few years in World Class. After losing a WCCW title match in August, New Age Management turned on him and left him for dead, but he returned in November and is in a big-time feud with the stable. JIMMY GARVIN A veteran worker, who is still entertaining in the ring, after bouncing between various territories, Garvin has remade his home in World Class for the past couple of years, including a very entertaining off-and-on feud with Eric Embry, over the Television title. THE CALIFORNIA STUD A relative newcomer to the business, Rod Price, under the name ‘The California Stud’ has quickly risen to be a very hate able heel to the Texas crowd, especially as he talks up California to the partisan Dallas crowd. Currently the tag champs with Jimmy Garvin. ERIC EMBRY A somewhat underrated worker but doesn’t have quite the size to be a true star, even in a territory such as Dallas. Still a solid midcard competitor who has had an entertaining off-and-on feud with Jimmy Garvin over the past few years. MAJOR SHOWS STAR WARS Connected to major holidays, and edging against copyright violations galore, the major Star Wars show make up the majority of the big shows during the World Class calendar, and are where big World title defenses, major gimmick happens, and big moments happen. PARADE OF CHAMPIONS After the alliance with the USWA, the Von Erich Memorial part of the show’s name was quietly dropped, as pointing out the Von Erich’s various tragedies were likely a net negative, when combined with Kerry’s issues, even as he’s with us among the living. Despite this, Parade of Champions is still the biggest show of the year for World Class, and still takes place at Texas Stadium, despite issues with attendance since the peak of the mid-80’s. .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: white; text-align: center; color: black; font: Georgia } LAST MAJOR SHOW X-MAS DAY STAR WARS Dallas, TX Matt Borne © d. Kevin Von Erich – (19:07) Kerry Von Erich & The Simpson Brothers © d. Jeff Gaylord & The Moondogs – (14:16) Iceman King Parsons d. Jimmy Garvin © - (10:05) Eric Embry d. ‘California Stud’ Ron Price – (12:35) Black Bart & Bob Holly d. Fantastics – (13:25) The Warrior d. Yoshi Kwan – (4:42) Great Kabuki & Angel of Death CO Action Jackson & Tugboat Taylor – (11:13)

OOC: It's the mod that refuses to die! Tomorrow I should have World Class up, then a 'story' post again. Frorm there, it should be Japan and other companies after that. Hopefully. CONTINENTAL WRESTLING ASSOCIATION As a territory, Memphis has existed in a variety of forms ever since the beginnings of pro wrestling in the state, whether it was the Welch, Gulas, or other families in control, or the various ‘outlaw’ groups that tried to take the place of the main promotion. Ever since the 70’s though, it’s been Jerry Jarrett as the man in charge, along with eventually the ‘King’ Jerry Lawler stepping in as a co-owner, with the help of what could be regarded as the pound for pound, most popular weekly TV show in the country. But, the national expansion of the NWA and WWF hurt the talent available along with the rise of the PWA. As a result, in 1987, for legal reasons, the Memphis territory was reformed as the Continental Wrestling Association, and aligned with the AWA & World Class, as the USWA. Even though in many ways, it’s the least known territory outside of its home area, it’s also the strongest within that territory, which may allow it to last longer than it’s current allies. MAJOR PLAYERS JERRY LAWLER The famous "King of Memphis" Jerry Lawler is easily one of the most well-known names in the business during the territory era of the 1980’s. His rise to fame outside of Memphis came on the back of a feud with comedian Andy Kaufmann, including a now infamous spat on the Tonight Show. Not a flashy performer by any stretch, Lawler has a talent for brawling and for story telling in the ring. A former AWA World Champion, Lawler’s keeping Memphis afloat, almost on his own, and could be a national draw in the right situation. JIMMY HART One of the most legendary managers in the history of the territory, Jimmy Hart & His First Family feuded with Lawler and the rest of the babyfaces of the Memphis area from the late 70’s on, Hart left for the WWF in 1985, but returned in 1988 after he began to believe he’d never get a shot to be the top manager while Heenan was still in the promotion. Returned to Memphis in a shocking angle where he was revealed as the man bankrolling a variety of top stars from other territories to try to take out Lawler, and has been in some ways, the top heel since. BILL DUNDEE One of the most surprising top territory stars in history, Dundee came to the territory from Australia in the 70’s and quickly ensconced himself as a top star in Memphis for fifteen years since then, thanks to his charisma, despite his small size. Has been a babyface, a heel, and in feuds with Lawler, Dundee, Idol, Mantell, and Valiant. THE IRON SHEIK After losing the WWF title to Hogan, ‘Sheiky Baby’ hung around for a few more years, including a tag title reign, then had a variety of short stops in the territories, before returning to Stamford for a nostalgia run in ’88 that ended with his 35-second loss to Flash King at Summerslam. Leaving almost immediately afterward, Sheik ended up in World Class and then the AWA, playing his typical evil foreign heel character. Currently somewhat regularly showing up in Memphis as part of the USWA co-promotion. Relatively over, but a bit of a pain backstage. AUSTIN IDOL Idol is best known for his long tenure in Memphis and other southeastern promotions throughout the 80’s. A possible bigger star, if not for his dedication and reliability issues, along with a reluctance to take plane flights after a 1975 plane accident, and thus, was hard to book regularly. Has a legendary feud with Lawler in the 80’s, and is still fairly popular in the area, despite never saying for too long. DUTCH MANTELL A talented brawler and talker, Mantell has been a consistent star in the Memphis territory throughout the 80’s, along with strong runs in Puerto Rico, and even a very short run in the PWA. Has also booked in Memphis and Puerto Rico, while also having helped out on the booking team in various small promotions during his breaks from Memphis. JEFF JARRETT The son of legendary promoter, Jerry Jarrett, Jeff has been thought as a possible star in his business since his debut. A natural talent, even though he’s not entirely fluid in the ring, Jarrett will likely have a long career in the business. However, Jarrett’s career had a very rough speed bump has he missed most of 1989 thanks to a severe car wreck in the spring. JIMMY VALIANT Valiant will never have a match loved by tape trading circles, but he’s still a massive draw in the small towns around the Southeast, where he can get a crowd to his feet in small arenas and high school gyms from Virginia to Alabama, and all points in between. Has had viable runs in the NWA, Memphis, the Continental territory, and the Gulf Coast. OTHERS OF NOTE THE FIRST FAMILY There have been many versions of The First Family, but this most recent version was formed in the spring of 1989, when Dr. Tom Pritchard and ‘Prime Time’ Brian Lee turned on their partners and joined up with Joel Deaton. Long-time veteran hand Danny Davis quickly joined the group, and they’ve been very successful in the promotion since then and helped all four men become bigger stars in the area, which is the point of the stable. STEVE KEIRN A talented worker, if not slightly bland, Keirn drew well in the early and mid-80’s as a member of The Fabulous Ones with Stan Lane, and had underneath runs in several other promotions, before recently returning to Memphis as a mid-card babyface, chasing after the Southern title held by Dutch Mantell. BRIAN C & JAMIE D The two scions of legendary wrestlers in the territory, even though one of those bloodlines isn’t mentioned on Memphis television, Brian C & Jamie D are the typical young babyfaces that have been built up a million times in the territory to appeal to the young female fanbase, but both men have possibly long and successful careers in the wider wrestling business if things roll correctly for them. DIRTY WHITE BOY (w/ DIRTY WHITE GIRL) Tony Anthony has played his dirty, trashy character, as both a babyface and heel in various Southern wrestling promotions ever since his debut in the early 80’s, whether it’s Memphis, Continental, or other small start-up promotions. Currently has long-time girlfriend has his valent, the Dirty White Girl. Not the smoothest in-ring worker but has good psychology and sure as hell can have a brawl. KOKO B. WARE Koko had a successful run at the start of his career in Memphis, but recently returned to the area as he no longer had a full-time contract with the World Wrestling Federation and is allowed to ‘moonlight’ for the Memphis promotion, as long as he’s always available for Titan if necessary. Currently plugging in holes at spot shows or showing up as a tag or six-man partner as parts of larger feuds. MAJOR SHOWS MID-SOUTH COLUSEIM Every Monday, rain or shine, no matter the roster, the newcomers, or the top of the card, pro wrestling is on the marquee in Memphis, Tennessee, and will likely continue to be as long as the names Jarrett, Dundee, and Lawler are in the business.

AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION Originally created as an outgrowth of the successful Chicago national TV promotion based around Verne Gagne, the territory while separate from the NWA, kept friendly relations with the organization, as its existence was a good anti-antitrust argument, and much of the AWA territory was seen as not worth expanding into by the NWA. After a successful 60's and 70's, Vince's talent raids of the mid-80s left the cupboard bear, and it looked like the company would falter. However, two strokes of good luck in the form of Sgt. Slaughter coming into the company to become the booker after a falling out with Hogan and Cut Hennig deciding to stay w/ the AWA allowed the company to survive. Working with Memphis and World Class to form the USWA has also been successful, as one could argue the AWA World Title is the last territory-based title in the business, with the WWF being the WWF, Crockett taking control fully of the NWA World title, and the PWA always being a promotion based belt. While the AWA is more stable than OTL and has a decent top of the card, there's a dearth of young and mid-card babyfaces to replace men like Slaughter, Snuka, and the Fantastics, while there's always the worry of Hennig moving on to St. Louis, Stamford, or Charlotte. MAJOR PLAYERS CURT HENNIG A natural athlete, Hennig has been described by many as the most natural professional wrestler of his generation. Blessed with fluid athleticism, he combines it with smooth technical ability and brilliant in-ring selling. Charismatic to boot, Hennig has all the makings of a star. He has been very loyal to the AWA, turning down several big money offers from the WWF, as he's been pushed as the #1 star in the AWA for the last several years, getting in various feuds with wrestlers such as Sgt. Slaughter, Rick Martel, and even foreign stars when they come through such as Jumbo Tsuruta. JIMMY SNUKA The man from the islands of Fiji is one of the most recognizable names of the last decade plus. A showman of the highest order, Snuka shot to fame in the World Wrestling Federation where we wowed crowds with his flashy ring style and unique charisma. A bit unstable and unreliable, Snuka's star has faded over the past decade, stumbling from promotion to promotion. Is currently in a feud with Matt Borne in a battle that has been pitched as a battle of off-kilter personalities. LARRY ZYBYSKO The "Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko is one of the great technical heels of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Became a star after turning on his mentor, Bruno Sammartino in New York, launching a feud that became so heated that Zbyszko was forced to leave the area to save his life. Found long-term success in the AWA, thanks to both his talents and connections with the Gagne family. A talented mat worker with strong charisma. MATT BORNE A long-time veteran from the Pacific Northwest, Borne is slightly crazy both in and out of the ring, and has some salacious issues as well, but is a good worker, charismatic in his way, and quite creative. Currently one of the top heels in the territory, feuding with Jimmy Snuka. RICK MARTEL Martel is a charismatic good-looking wrestler, who after short stints in the WWF and various territories, has spent most of the height of his career in the AWA, where he’d been both a strong face and a dirty heel, feuding with men such as Jumbo Tsurtura, Sgt. Slaughter, Stan Hansen, Jerry Lawler, and most recently, current AWA World Champion Curt Hennig. Could still have a run in the big 3, but time is ticking on that idea. SGT. SLAUGHTER A huge star in the early and mid-80s, and a possible number two to Hulk Hogan, he left the WWF due to arguments with Vince McMahon over outside pay. Slaughter then had short stints in the AWA, NWA, and All Japan, he became full-time with the AWA in late 1987 and took over as head booker at the beginning of 1989. Older, but still a big bumper and charismatic. THE IRON SHEIK After losing the WWF title to Hogan, ‘Sheiky Baby’ hung around for a few more years, including a tag title reign, then had a variety of short stops in the territories, before returning to Stamford for a nostalgia run in ’88 that ended with his 35-second loss to Flash King at Summerslam. Leaving almost immediately afterward, Sheik ended up in World Class and then the AWA, playing his typical evil foreign heel character. Relatively over, but a bit of a pain backstage. OTHER PLAYERS OF NOTE DON MURACO A top-tier star in the early ’80s, a combination of laziness and weight gain pushed him out of the main event picture, but Muraco’s still an entertaining presence, and in a wrestling world where most of the draws are either in New York, St. Louis, or Charlotte, Muraco is still a ‘name’ the AWA can use, even though he’s never going to be on the top of the card again. Has been teaming with Ken Patera semi-regularly, recently. FANTASTICS Could be considered one of the best in-ring teams in the business throughout the ’80s, outside of a short run in the NWA, they never got a shot in the Big Three, but have been very successful in the AWA, Memphis, and World Class, while having a semi-regular gig in Japan for Giant Baba. Slightly past their prime now but can still be a very solid part of a company's roster. ERADICATORS (w/ ANDAN AL-KASSIE) Perry Saturn and John Kronus are two young workers from the Northeast, who were working in the nascent independent companies, but were brought into the AWA in 1990 as a new tag team for long-term manager Andan Al-Kassie. Playing silent wild men, they’re still being built-up but could be stars in the future. KEN PATERA Another star of the late 70s and early ’80s, who fell due to a combination of physical deterioration and criminal issues, Patera came back to the AWA in 1988 and has been drifting between the mid and upper midcard, for most of the past couple of years. Has been teaming with Muraco semi-regularly, recently. TOTAL DESTRUCTION Barry Darsow was successful in the mid-80s as a member of the Russian’s but was let go near the beginning of 1987, after the booking shift in the NWA. After a year of short stints in various independents, Darsow came into the AWA with his friend Randy Colley, the former Moondog Rex who’d largely languished since the mid-80s, the new rough ‘n’ tumble brawling team quickly rose to the top of the AWA and recently won the Unified Tag belts from Iceman King Parsons & Jimmy Garvin. WIGAN PIT CLUB Arriving at the start of 1990, the Wigan Pit Club are three wrestlers (Jacob Blackpool (Steven Regal), Johnny Kidd, and David Taylor) under the tutelage of long-time AWA veteran Billy Robinson, they’ve quickly risen up the ranks, with Blackpool & Taylor winning the AWA American Tag Titles and Johnny Kidd winning the Light Heavyweight championship. EVENTS OF NOTE WRESTLEROCK September The first big event after the doldrums of the summer, Wrestlerock takes place throughout the AWA territory and has defenses of all the big titles in the company. Has seen AWA World title changes in the last two years. SUPERCLASH December The biggest event of the year for the AWA usually, and takes place in the Midwest, whether it’s Chicago, Minneapolis, or Milwaukee. Where big matches such as Hennig-Lawler, Lawler-Martel, and Kerry-Lawler have taken place. .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: white; text-align: center; color: black; } LAST MAJOR SHOW SUPERCLASH V RESULTS Chicago, Illinois Curt Hennig (c) d. The Iron Sheik in a Persian Club match to retain the AWA World Heavyweight title – (12:03) Rick Martel d. Sgt. Slaughter – (17:46) Total Destruction © d. The Simpson’s to retain the Unified Tag Team Titles – (11:19) Ken Patera d. Jimmy Snuka in the finals of the tournament for the AWA America’s Title after interference from Matt Borne – (14:34) The Wigan Pit Club (Blackpool/Taylor/Kidd) d. Black Magic & The Top Guns – (12:51) The Fantastics d. Matt Borne & Larry Zybysko – (16:13) Don Muraco d. Brad Rhenigans – (8:29) The Eradicators d. Charlie Norris & Jay Strongbow Jr. – (5:49)

.myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: ffdf00; text-align: center; } Southern Fried Champion March 1st, 2020 - Austin, Texas Southern Fried Championship Decision Match Texas Pete vs. Paul Steadyfast Special Six-Man Battle Chatto & The Dallas Death Squad vs. The Nation of Filth & Sgt. Bubba Lee West Jay Silver vs. Trusty Rodriguez Bradford Peverell vs. Brady Prince Jerry Pepper vs. Rattlesnake Dreadnought vs. Jaxon Duke - Tickets are $18, $15, and $12 - Drink & Food Specials Prediction Results - @KyTeran -6/6 - (Admittedly, not the hardest card to predict, but still, great job!)

UNITED STATES WRESTLING ASSOCIATION In the aftermath of the Kiel Double Cross, Pro Wrestling America & World Class initially worked together, but when it became obvious to Fritz Von Erich that the PWA brain-trust would not allow the Von Erich boys to dominate the top of the card, while also allowing them to spend much of their time in Texas, that alliance fell apart, and by the end of 1987, Verne Gagne, Jerry Jarrett, and Fritz Von Erich all made a deal to form an alliance to share wrestlers, ally together for their larger shows, and at least give the appearance that their territories belonged to a powerful organization on the same level as The Big 3. It's been fairly successful, as along with strokes of good booking, all three companies are holding on, but not all is well. AWA WORLD CHAMPION CURT HENNIG A fixture in the AWA for nearly a decade, Hennig has been described by many as the most natural professional wrestler of his generation. Blessed with fluid athleticism, he combines it with smooth technical ability and his brilliant in-ring selling. Charismatic to boot, Hennig has all the makings of a star. He has been very loyal to the AWA, turning down several big money offers from the WWF, as he's been pushed as the #1 star in the AWA for the last several years, getting in various feuds with wrestlers such as Sgt. Slaughter, Rick Martel, and even foreign stars when they come through such as Jumbo Tsuruta. UNIFIED TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS TOTAL DEVASTATION Barry Darsow was successful in the mid-80s as a member of the Russians but was let go near the beginning of 1987, after the booking shift in the NWA. After a year of short stints in various independents, Darsow came into the AWA with his friend Randy Colley, the former Moondog Rex who’d largely languished since the mid-80s, and the new rough ‘n’ tumble brawling team quickly rose to the top of the AWA and recently won the Unified Tag belts off of Iceman King Parsons & Jimmy Garvin WCCW WORLD SIX-MAN CHAMPIONS KERRY VON ERICH & THE SIMPSON BROTHERS Largely a sop to the Von Erichs, as Kerry’s issue mean he’ll never get the support of either the Jarrett/Lawler team or Gagne for a long-term reign, but Kerry is still a decent draw, so teaming up with The Simpsons, whose father is all but confirmed to have a piece of the World Class territory is a good way to bring him to various Memphis or AWA shows, without depending on him to be part of the main event picture in the long-term. OTHER WRESTLERS INVOLVED IN MULTIPLE TERRITORIES JERRY LAWLER The famous "King of Memphis" Jerry Lawler is easily one of the most well-known names in the business since his rise to stardom in Memphis in the late '70s His rise to national fame came on the back of a feud with comedian Andy Kaufmann, including a now infamous spat on David Letterman. Not a flashy performer by any stretch, Lawler has a talent for brawling and for storytelling in the ring. A former AWA World Champion, Lawler’s keeping Memphis afloat, almost on his own, and could be a national draw in the right situation. KEVIN VON ERICH The older Von Erich brother has somewhat slowed down, due to injuries and his own demons, even if they’re nothing close to his brothers. Still a tough brawler and decently charismatic, but doesn’t quite appeal to the teenyboppers of the 90s as opposed to the lovelorn girls of the mid-80s. Still a strong part of the World Class roster, and is enough of a name to bring in some fans in both the Great Lakes and Memphis. THE IRON SHEIK After losing the WWF title to Hogan, ‘Sheiky Baby’ hung around for a few more years, including a tag title reign, then had a variety of short stops in the territories, before returning to Stamford for a nostalgia run in ’88 that ended with his 35-second loss to Flash King at Summerslam. Leaving almost immediately afterward, Sheik ended up in World Class and then the AWA, playing his typical evil foreign heel character. Relatively over, but a bit of a pain backstage. MATT BORNE Well-known for his troublemaking ways in the back and a variety of problems, Borne largely stayed in his native Pacific Northwest until that territory fell apart. Still has his issues, but also charismatic, a good brawler, and when on his game, a decent ideas man. Currently plays a relatively upper-midcard heel in the AWA and showed up as Akbar’s bounty hunter in World Class. Remains to be seen how long he’ll stay in either company. THE FANTASTICS Could be considered one of the best in-ring teams in the business throughout the ’80s, but outside of a short run in the NWA, they never got a shot in the Big Three. However, they've been successful in the AWA, Memphis, and World Class, while having a semi-regular gig in Japan for Giant Baba. Slightly past their prime now but can still be a very solid part of a company's roster. THE MOONDOGS (w/ RANDY HALES) Rough and ready, the Moondogs are well-known in Memphis with a variety of different Moondogs, but the current ‘litter’ showed up in Memphis during 1990 and then were brought into World Class as two of the ‘invaders’ alongside Jeff Gaylord & Randy Hales. Not great in the ring, but can have a hell of a brawl, and play their role well. Hales has played a variety of roles in Memphis from referee to short-term commentator to temporary matchmaker but has evolved into a slimy invading heel manager, alongside Jeff Gaylord & The Moondogs in World Class, where he’s been playing things to the hilt. NEXT UP: FOCUS ON ALL THREE TERRITORIES OF THE USWA

Southern Fried Fallout February 9th, 2020 Austin, Texas - 198 paid (225 total) .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: #FFE184; text-align: center; color: black; } Once again, Pistol Pete Hall came out to welcome the crowd in Austin, to the second show of Southern Fried Action and got another decent pop. Hall’s an institution in the business and has enough of a local background to be a solid ‘face of the promotion’, at least as it starts up. PPH: Now, a few weeks ago, a new era for Texas rasslin’ started right here, and damn if we didn’t have some good ole’ fashioned blood and brawlin’! POP! PPH: That’s why I’m happy to announce that tonight’s two top matches – Steadyfast versus Peverell _and_ the main event of Texas Pete vs. Sgt. Bubba Lee West will be qualifying matches into the match to determine the first-ever Southern Fried Heavyweight champion in three weeks right back here in Austin! CHAMPIONSHIP POP! PPH: Enjoy the show…now let’s HOOK EM UP! [47] hr {width: 100%;height: 5px;background-color: black} .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: #FFE184; text-align: center; color: black; } Dallas Death Squad (w/ Alina Montes) vs. Brady Prince & Rattlesnake Interesting tag match to start up as the qualified tag team of Eli Thatcher and Uriah Sand return to take on the somewhat makeshift team of Prince and Rattlesnake, even though they’re both fairly competent sneering heels. The match started with the DDS hitting a variety of double-teams including a double hip toss, a suplex into a powerbomb, and a Hart Attack-style move with a spinning elbow instead of a clothesline. However, Thatcher risked a moonsault from the top, and Brady Prince was able to get his knees up, allowing the tag into Rattlesnake. From there, it was some reasonable heel work from both men, including Brady Prince grinding down Thatcher with some takedowns, and various submissions, before Rattlesnake came in to nail Thatcher with some hard strikes, followed by a big thrusting knee for a near fall. Rattlesnake then went for another crescent kick, but Thatcher ducked under and then drilled Rattlesnake with a RELEASE GERMAN SUPLEX! A hot tag to Uriah Sands later, and the Dallas Death Squad went to work on the heel, with Sands running off and knocking Prince off the ringside area with a big boot, and then nailed Rattlesnake with their Texas Hospitality finisher to pick up the victory! The Dallas Death Squad d. Brady Prince & Rattlesnake – 8:08 – ** 1/2 .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: #FFE184; text-align: center; color: black; } After the match, Alina Montes took the mic for her charges. AM: Last time we were here, my boys took a scalp off a big-time team by the name of The Nation of Filth. But, those two green-haired bastards decided not to take their loss by men, and instead, attacked Eliah and Uriah from behind. Tonight, they showed why they’re going to be future tag champions in this business, but first Nation of Filth – ET: - we’ll break your necks…no charge. AM: Talk to the management, the Nation of Filth, unless you want everybody in this crowd, and everybody in wrestling to know you’re nothing but yellow-bellied and green-haired little cowards who are afraid to get their asses kicked…once again! Solid promo, as Montes is popular with the crowd, and the DDS have been effective so far. [49] hr {width: 100%;height: 5px;background-color: black} .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: #FFE184; text-align: center; color: black; } Before the next match, Trusty Rodrigeuz came out with his manager DeAnna Desire, to the boos of the crowd. DD: Last week, you cretins and weirdos who I see slobbering over me, the Queen of Southern Wrestling, saw the debut of a man who will rise to the top of professional wrestling – Trusty Rodrigeuz, the Los Alamos Lothario! TR: Chatto, you’re a tough hombre, but tonight, you’re going to learn some brains and beauty can defeat dumb muscle any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. But don’t worry, fans, you’ll learn to love me…TRUST ME! [37] hr {width: 100%;height: 5px;background-color: black} .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: #FFE184; text-align: center; color: black; } Chatto vs. Trusty Rodrigeuz w/ DeAnna Desire Both men are young wrestlers, making their way up in this business, so they have a while to go to become fully well-rounded workers. Chatto is solid, including surprisingly adept at technical skill for his size, but in his heart, he’s a brawler, and he showed that early in the match by throwing the smaller Rodriguez early in the match, to the cheers of the crowd. He threw Trusty around, finishing the series off with a big boot and a clothesline to the outside. DeAnna helped her charge up, but Chatto got a big pop from the crowd by hitting a huge Plancha onto both DeAnna and Rodrigeuz, even if the move itself wasn’t the smoothest thing in the world. Chatto then went for a powerbomb on the outside, but Trusty scratched at the eyes of the big Native American from New Mexico, and then took control on the outside, slowly taking control of the match with a series of forearms, forearms, and knee strikes. Rodrigeuz then threw Chatto inside and locked on crossface submission, but Chatto powered out of it, then hit a huge belly-to-belly suplex. DeAnna Desire then got on the ring apron, distracting Chatto for just long enough to hit Chatto with a low blow, and a crucifix for a near-fall! As Rodrigeuz argued with the ref, Desire slipped in a chair – Trusty went back to work on Chatto, and then Desire argued with the ref, allowing Trusty to hit his Trustfall (Firearm’s Carry into a DDT) onto the chair, then got the pinfall victory! The only downside is that the finishing sequence was a bit sloppy, and the referee seemingly saw the finisher on the chair but ignored it. Trusty Rodriguez d. Chatto – 10:14 - ** ¼ hr {width: 100%;height: 5px;background-color: black} .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: #FFE184; text-align: center; color: black; } Jules Night vs. Dreadnought w/ Duke Hazzard Jules Night is a young wrestler from Oklahoma, who has decent skills, but is blander than a CBS network comedy, and he was next vict – er, opponent for the son of Dread, as he came down to ringside, accompanied by Duke Hazzard. Night went after Dreadnought, trying to shock the crowd, but Dreadnought tossed him into the corner, hit a big boot, following it with a huge choke slam, and then the big ole’ powerbomb to pick up his second victory in Southern Fried Action! Dreadnought p. Jules Night – 1:58 – DUD After the match, as Duke Hazzard cackled to the crowd, Dreadnought picked up Jules Night, first hitting him with a press slam, a big boot, and then another power bomb to finish things off to the boos of the crowd - [35] hr {width: 100%;height: 5px;background-color: black} .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: #FFE184; text-align: center; color: black; } Jay Silver & Jerry Pepper vs. The Nation of Filth Sometimes, things, in theory, are better than they are in reality – this match was one of those situations. The Nation of Filth are still fairly popular, and as we saw at the first show, still able to have a decent brawl with the right opponents, but they’re too old, and their opponents tonight, Jay Silver & Jerry Pepper weren’t able dance partners. As a result, this match was a messy, boring, slog of a match, where the only positive was that it went less than five minutes. The NOF finally hit their backbreaker into a 2nd rope elbow finisher combination for the ignoble victory. The Nation of Filth d. Jay Silver & Jerry Pepper – 4:58 - * ¾ Grunt & Stink then continued the beatdown, bringing in a cane, a cookie sheet, and a chair, beating down the young wrestlers, and pushing away the referee, as the crowd booed, until Pistol Pete Hall and the other referees came out to break things up. As noted, the Nation of Filth aren't great workers, but they can sure use some violence to get a positive response from the crowd - [38] hr {width: 100%;height: 5px;background-color: black} .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: #FFE184; text-align: center; color: black; } Bradford Peverell vs. Paul Steadyfast Southern Fried Championship Qualifier Steadyfast’s a solid veteran presence, but Peverell is a rising star and a hot brawler, and that’s the way he started the match, throwing strikes and kicks at the former TCW stalwart, knocking him down to the mat, and attempting to lock Steadyfast into an armbar submission, but Steadyfast reversed it into a cradle and locked on a submission of his own. Paul then slowed the match down, locking Peverell in a series of holds, including finally driving in a deep Boston crab. As the crowd cheered Peverell on, Steadyfast slowly got to the ropes, but Steadyfast held on until the ref counted to ‘5’. Steadyfast continued on the attack, hitting a snap suplex, and a dropkick, before lacing Bradford into a scorpion deathlock, but Bradford used his power to send the veteran into the corner with a harsh kick, followed by a series of quick jabs, before knocking Steadyfast down with a big knee strike, and getting a near-fall afterward. Peverell picked Steadyfast up, hitting a big suplex to the cheers of the crowd and surprisingly went up top, but Steadyfast shook the ropes, and went up top himself, hitting a very sloppy second rope superplex for a near-fall of his own! Both men slowly got up, and Steadyfast went on the attack, but Bradford fought back, eventually tossing Steadyfast to the outside. As the crowd cheered, Peverell slid out and went for a running boot, but Steadyfast got out of the way, and the brawler ran straight into the ringpost! Steadyfast tossed Bradford inside, then hit a quick DDT for a near-fall. Upset, Steadyfast argued with the ref, then walked away. As the referee checked on Peverell, Steadyfast untied the turnbuckle, and as Bradford rushed in on him, Steadyfast got out of the way, and the Texan brawler ate steel – a quick-release German later, and Steadyfast was ready to hit the Steady as He Goes (Angel Wing’s) to pick up the victory, to the boos of the crowd! Steadyfast then made title belt motions, to the boos of the crowd as he headed towards the back. Paul Steadyfast p. Bradford Peverell – 15:30 - *** hr {width: 100%;height: 5px;background-color: black} .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: #FFE184; text-align: center; color: black; } Texas Pete vs. Sgt. Bubba Lee West Southern Fried Championship Qualifier This was never going to be a fine technical battle or a wrestling classic filled with plenty of crazy moves, but what it was from the moment Texas Pete got in the ring was a crazy brawl, between two men ready to go to the war with each other, right from moment one. Punches were thrown, elbows, forearms, until both men spilled to the outside, throwing big right hands at each other as they went over the timekeeper’s table. With a brief advantage, Bubba Lee West nailed Pete with kicks to the gut, and a big slam on to the cold concrete floor. The mad sergeant then hit a big knee on to Texas Pete, before tossing Texas Pete back into the ring, as the crowd booed. Bubba continued on the attack, kicking the crap out of Texas Pete as he was on the mat. Pete slowly got up, and West followed things up with a huge football tackle, then a sidewalk slam for a big near-fall. Bubba mounted Pete and went on the attack, hitting him with punch after punch, until the referee pulled him off. Bubba went up top for his Parris Island Plunge (top rope splash), but Pete rolled out of the way at the last possible moment, as West crashed to the mat! Texas Pete slowly got up, drilling Bubba with a lariat. The big Texan then followed it up with a series of right hands, a big side suplex, and followed it up with a powerslam for a near fall. Pete then locked Bubba in for the Beaumont Bomb (gutwrench powerbomb), but Bubba blocked it, powered out of things, and then hit a big bulldog. West for another big spear, but Texas Pete got out of the way – Bubba crashed into the corner and then Texas Pete hit the big Beaumont Bomb to pick up the victory and move into the main event at the next show! Texas Pete d. Sgt. Bubba Lee West – 11:17 - ** ¾ After the match, Texas Pete was celebrating his victory, but once again, the lights went out again, and when they came back on, a noose was hanging from the ceiling! – [39] SHOW RATING: 44

.myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: white; text-align: center; color: black; } The Ambition Of A Snake The nightmares never stopped. The need never stops. The memory never leaves me. But I push it down because I must. Because once you’ve survived death twice before, a third chance becomes highly unlikely. I didn’t find God. I didn’t find Jesus. Hell, I didn’t find Allah or Buddha. I found my own future, looking me in the eye, looking at a future where I was a joke, forgotten, or worse, pitied by the boys or the fans, and I realized I could never let that happen. I left the business for six months. Some assumed I was gone forever. I needed to go through everything – what Dad was, my sister, my brother, the drugs, the women, the drink, and the darkness that it caused. The darkness I could use, for my own good. If nothing else. My father was a monster, but he’s still my father. I can only give sympathy to my family members and anybody else, but I can’t deny my blood. Those who will judge me on that, so be it. It was a slow desperate climb. The offer from New York was still there, but it was a poisoned chalice, so I had to let it go. I walked into the devil’s den that was Dallas, and survived, despite every possible vice being put in front of me. I couldn’t deny it all, so I chose the one that couldn’t kill me directly – women. Every town, every city, there wasn’t much discrimination. But, it kept me busy – in the bed of a hotel room instead of the bar. There have been lapses, but nothing long-term. I don’t deny it may return. Watts, Ross, and Matysiak took a risk, but it was almost a return home. The schedule while tough wasn’t anything close to the fucking insanity of Titan. Bit by bit, earning my keep. Pushing through the pitfalls. Looking overproduction because it was an alternative to going out with the boys and falling into the abyss. No easy roads – it’s cutthroat at the top. Windham, Piper, Race, Cornette, and even Funk when he shows up wants a shot at the book, but Larry and Watts pull me in before the Busch shows and tell me, I take over afterward. There will be no second chances – so I double down. On the one hand, I’m nearly a monk. A monk who knows every strip club in every major city in the Midwest and Great Plains like it was his second home. The abyss winks at me, but I’m digging deep to not look back. Will I? Well – I’ve got ambitions. Trust me.

.myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: white; text-align: center; } Southern Fried Fallout February 9th, 2020 - Austin, Texas Texas Pete vs. Sgt. Bubba Lee West Bradford Peverell vs. Paul Steadyfast Chatto vs. Trusty Rodriguez Dallas Death Squad vs. Brady Prince & Rattlesnake Jay Silver & Jerry Pepper vs. The Nation of Filth Dreadnought vs. Jules Night - Tickets are $18, $15, and $12 - Drink & Food Specials Prediction Results - @James The Animator - 2/5 (These aren't OC characters, but rather various characters added to the game by people in the mod forum) @KyTeran - 2/5

Southern Fried Debut January 19th, 2020 Austin, Texas – 193 paid (200 total) Independent wrestling in Austin, Texas began a rebirth last night, and what better man to start off than with none other than ‘Pistol’ Pete Hall making his way to the ring to a decent pop from the crowd, including a relatively big one from the ‘smart fans’ in the crowd. Chatto & Murdoch Munson vs. Brady Prince & Sgt. Bubba Lee West An opening match with two contrasting partners on each team – Chatto is an able, if intense competitor that has built experience on various indies for the last few years, while Murdoch Munson has made a fun side living for over 20 years bleeding buckets and getting into brawls on small independent shows through Texas, Louisiana, and the rest of the Mid-South. On the other side, Brady Prince is a former southern star and now a veteran who can take control of any match, while Bubba Lee West is a well-known weekend warrior who also isn’t afraid to break tables or bleed all over a front-row crowd. This was a solidly hot match, as West & Prince were the most well-known team, and sold early, getting the wild Manson and intense Chatto over early, with Chatto somewhat shockingly going hold for hold early with Prince, before getting back into the fight. The heels took over with some blatant cheating, and West hurling abuse at Chatto, but eventually the native wrestler made the hot tag to Munson, and the craziness was immediately afoot. West and Munson spilled to the outside, both got chair, and went after each other, causing the referee to call for the bell as all four men continued to the brawl on the outside, including Munson sending West through a row of chairs, as the crowd cheered. Chatto & Murdoch Munson DDQ Brady Prince & Sgt. Bubba Lee West – 9:29 - ** ¼ Bradford Peverell vs. Rattlesnake On social media, this was built-up as a battle of bad-ass strikers, pushing Peverell’s ‘hands of stone’ going up against the young Rattlesnake’s ‘Oklaresu’ style of stiff kicks and knees, and much of the early part of the match was built on both men avoiding each other strikes, and trying to take down each other by other means, including Rattlesnake trying to take Bradford down with several big suplexes, while Peverell struck back with a few flashy takedowns, but quickly, both men tried to go to their strengths, which the other attempted to duck or weave out of as quickly as possible. Bradford’s a massive star in Puerto Rico, and has had some crossover independent success, while Rattlesnake has rarely step foot outside of Texas & Oklahoma, but the two men were booked of equal strength earlier, with Rattlesnake even getting a near fall after a crescent kick, but the veteran brawler fired back, and eventually hit a quick series of jabs in the corner, tossed Rattlesnake to the mat, and as he got up, knocked him out with a flush right hand of doom, before getting the pinfall victory. Bradford Peverell d. Rattlesnake – 10:12 – ** ½ After the match, Peverell took the mic as Rattlesnake rolled out – Near rookie Jay Silver made his way to the ring, waiting his opponent as Duke Hazzard walked out of the entrance area with a microphone. Jay Silver vs. Dreadnought (w/ Duke Hazzard) Jay Silver, the young striker from New Mexico truly did his best, going right at the youngest son of Dread, attempting to shock the world, but it was all for naught. Silver hit a few strikes, and even went off the ropes to hit an impressive running knee strike on the young monster, but Dreadnought shrugged it off, and hit several impressive power moves, before finishing things off with a huge Power Bomb to notch his first victory in Southern Fried Action. As the bell rung, Dreadnought continued his assault as Hazzard yelled out directions to the young monster, before picking Silver up, and hitting him with two more choke slams, and another powerbomb before heading to the back to the boos of the Austin crowd Dreadnought p. Jay Silver – 4:01 – DUD Jerry Pepper vs. Trusty Rodriguez (w/DeAnna Desire) Two relatively young wrestlers making their way up the ladder of success in professional wrestling, as Pepper is another young New Mexican brawler, while Trusty had a few more years of experience, but is well-known as a shady customer. He also has an advantage outside, with his manager, DeAnna Desire, a charismatic young woman based out of Baton Rogue. The two men went after each other quickly early on, exchanging holds and some quick moves, with Pepper gaining the early advantage with some brawling and striking, and even hitting an impressive looking release German suplex, but Trusty went low to regain the advantage, and slowly worked on Pepper’s arms and legs, to the boos of the Texan crowd. Rodriguez ignored the crowd, while DeAnna argued with them on the outside, as he did his best, but hit several sloppy elbow, leg, and knee drops while Pepper sold the moves. Rodriguez tried to apply a STF, but Pepper reversed it, and went back on offensive, eventually tossing Trusty out of the ring to a decent pop from the Southern Fried crowd. On the outside though, Trusty played possum, allowing Pepper to end up hitting the ringpost on the outside, and then, as Rodriguez argued with the referee to break the count, DeAnna got several solid kicks on the fallen Pepper. Slowly, Pepper got back inside, with Rodriguez then going for the kill with a brainbuster, but Pepper got out of it, and got a near-fall with a roll-up, followed up with a big flying forearm, and a series of strikes to get the crowd hot. Desire then got up on the ring apron to argue with the referee, and then Pepper made the fatal wrestling mistake of going over to argue with her. That allowed Rodriguez to hit a low blow, then roll Pepper up in a small package, and putting his feet on the ropes to steal the victory! Trusty Rodriguez d. Jerry Pepper – 14:53 - * ¾ Dallas Death Squad (w/ Alina Montes) vs. The Nation of Filth As Alina said her last words, Uriah and Eli headed to the ring, and the match was on. Grunt and Stink were never masters of the mat even in their prime, and now as they’re closer to retirement than their peak, they basically know how to do things – play to the crowd and brawl, and they were happy to trade punches and kicks with Thatcher and Uriah, even if the young upstarts got the advantage early. Eventually though, after a few quick tags and double teams by the Dallas Death Squad, Stink got tired of not being involved, rushing in and starting a fracas with Thatcher, the legal man, but before the official could get a handle on things, a chain was slid in and Grunt nailed Eli with it to gain advantage, and lay down a beating on the long-haired member of the Death Squad. After tagging in his fellow green-haired partner, Grunt & Stink laid the beatdown on Thatcher, including a big second-rope elbow drop that would’ve been the end if Uriah didn’t make the save. This quickly led to another brawl, but this time the DDS got the advantage, with Uriah coming alive with a few big moves, including a surprising dive to the outside on to both members of the Nation of Filth. As the crowd popped for that, Stink was rolled back in to be taken care of by Thatcher, but then Uriah had to save Alina from Grunt, but the QAW regular saved herself, by hitting a ‘rana off the apron on to Grunt after Sands hit him with a dive to the knee. Back inside, Uriah was tagged back in, and the DDS hit their Texas Hospitality finisher to get the huge victory! As the young tag team celebrated, the Nation of Filth regained their composure at ringside, grabbed two chairs from ringside, and went after the DDS from behind, bringing both men down with chair shots to the back, before advancing on Alina. Montes was ready to fight, but didn’t have too as the other referees, and ‘Pistol’ Pete Hall came down to ringside to warm the Filth off. The Dallas Death Squad d. The Nation of Filth – 9:55 - *** Texas Pete vs. Paul Steadyfast A battle of former TCW stalwarts was up next, as old school heel Paul Steadyfast took on the big cowboy, Texas Pete. Pete of course, got a big pop from the crowd as the biggest active star on the roster, while Steadyfast got a decent heel response, as the wily veteran, that after his Big 2 run, has spent years making appearances at indy shows like this, as he entered the twilight years of his career. After the violence of the last match, this started slow, with both men feeling each out (and possibly, Steadyfast determining if Pete was wasted), with both wrestlers avoiding each attempt at taking advantage. Pete got a big boot, a sidewalk slam, and a big legdrop in, but as he picked Steadyfast up, the veteran got an eye poke in, then took over the match. Steadyfast worked on Pete’s knees and back, working him over with a kneelock, hammerlock, and several other takedowns and holds, before hitting a suplex on the big man, and following it up with a single arm DDT for a near-fall. The former TCW Tag champion locked in a butterfly hold, but Pete slowly made his way to the ropes, and to pop, grabbed them, breaking the hold, even though Steadyfast held the hold until ‘5’. Paul tried to take Texas Pete down again, but the Lone Star resident fought back with his own strikes, sending Steadyfast into the ropes, and hitting him with a huge powerslam, followed by a lariat, that Steadyfast barely got his foot on the ropes for. As Pete went to pull the veteran back up, Steadyfast went low, and went for the quick pin after a butterfly suplex, but Pete strongly kicked out, backbody dropped Steadyfast as he went for a Pedigree, then hit a huge Beaumont Bomb (gutwrench powerbomb) for the victory in the first main event of Southern Fried Action! Texas Pete d. Paul Steadyfast – 10:37 - *** ¼ As Pete rose his hands in victory to the crowd though, the lights went out in the building for just a moment, and when they came back up, a NOOSE was sitting in the ring in front of Pete to end the show! - [39] SHOW RATING: 38

PRO WRESTLING AMERICA An outgrowth of the former St. Louis territory, Larry Matisyk managed to talk Sam Mushnick into not selling out to Vince McMahon and instead fight to keep the territory strong and stop a total takeover of professional wrestling by Vince Junior. Thanks to strong booking, smart use of talent from other territories, and several missteps by other promoters, St. Louis managed to extend itself to be national promotion, now without the NWA affaliation, but rather as Pro Wrestling America, with a weekly show on ESPN. Even though Matsyik is set-up to the public as the 'face' of the ownership, in reality, to pay for various upgrades and to keep up with the NWA and WWF, an ownership group backed by various Midwestern regional companies have stakes in PWA, but Matsiyk remains the CEO. With strong connections to bring in international talent, a very talented roster, the only thing holding back the PWA may be it's reliance on a sports-style presentation compared to the glitz 'n' glamour of the WWF, even though new booker Jake Roberts bringing in some more creative storytelling into the promotion. MAJOR PLAYERS JAKE ROBERTS The wrestler on perhaps the hottest streak in professional wrestling at the moment, Roberts since getting over his demons has been the best heel in the business, engaging in a violent, diabolical feud with Roddy Piper that finally gave him the PWA World Championship at a TV special just a few days before the end of the year. The Snake's initial run in the WWF flamed out due to his issues, and that flame out along with he's described as a vision led him to get clean (for now), and go to the PWA where after proving himself, he became an important part of the roster, and finally became head booker in 1990, after a committe led by Jim Cornette, Eddie Gilbert, and Les Thornton were replaced. RODDY PIPER After 'retiring' at WrestleMania III, Piper shocked the wrestling world when after nearly two years of being in Hollywood, he returned in a PWA ring. He then main evented Battle at the Busch, winning the PWA World Title from Ted DiBiase, and has been the top babyface in the promotion since then. Piper's getting older, but is still incredibly charismatic, but is also still interested in movies and TV, so can't be counted on 100% of the time, but when he's there, he's incredibly popular. Now, after being screwed out of the title by The Snake, the hunted now may be the hunter. TED DIBIASE DiBiase may not be a Million Dollar Man (even if he is well-paid), but since coming over to the PWA from the Mid-South territory in 1986, DiBiase has played the perfect manipulating schemer, feuding with all of the top faces in the company, including being Piper's first feud in PWA when he arrived in 1989. Still incredibly hated, has become the #2 heel since Robert's ascension, and is currently fighting with Barry Windham, as their feud has been reigned. THE ROAD WARRIORS Still the most well-known tag team on the planet, The Road Warrior's became full-time with the PWA in early 1987 and have been part of the tag title scene almost always since then, despite more than a few face and heel turns. After losing the tag titles at Devil's Night, they did a tour with AJPW in a special deal with the promotion, and will not be back until February of ’91. BARRY WINDHAM 'The Lone Wolf' of professional wrestling was rising up the ranks in the NWA, but a conflict over the head booking position with Dusty Rhodes led him to leave the promotion in the middle of 1987, ironically only a few months before Dusty was pushed out. Since then, Windham has been both a top face and a top heel in the promotion, playing the lone wolf character who likes to fight alone. Currently renewing his battles with DiBiase. TERRY FUNK Funk may be middle-aged and crazy, but he's still quite talented as wrestler, even as he nears fifty years of age. Since the mid-80's, has largely competed only for the PWA and All Japan, including a short PWA Title reign in 1987, in part to give prestige to the belt, but also to put over the man who defeated him for it. After being in Japan since Devil’s Night, returned at the Christmas TV special to interrupt Harley Race's special announcement, and from there, a feud between former World Champion's was on! ADRIAN ADONIS Another man with a more positive career than in real life, as Adonis has kept his weight in-check, and once the PWA left the NWA as part of the Kiel Double Cross, he was the shocking choice to be the first PWA World Champion, as a cocky, hated heel for the babyfaces to chase. After losing the title in May of '88, Adonis has continued to be a quality heel, feuding with wrestlers in the main event and upper midcard. Now currently teaming up with Bob Orton Jr. to face off against The Steiner Brothers, after they wre put up against each other in a 'wild card' 8-man tag match on Christmas. GREG VALENTINE Valentine has thrived in the wrestling business for close to twenty years, and while he's lost some of the marketable looks he's had, but has also parlayed being in the background of the Piper - Roberts - DiBiase three-pronged feud throughout 1990 into a short World title run this past summer, but now is largely playing the 'gatekeeper' role for the main event. OTHERS OF NOTE HOT STUFF INTERNATIONAL (Eddie Gilbert & Terry Taylor w/ Missy Hyatt) One of the hotter acts in the PWA at the moment, HSI was former in the latter part of 1989 after Gilbert's babyface pushed stalled, Taylor came into the company from the smaller territories, and Missy Hyatt showed herself to be an able manager. Now feuding with the tag champs, if they don't flame out, HSI could be an important part of the company for years to come. JIM POWERS After a dissapointing run in the World Wrestling Federation, Powers has got a newly renewed push in the undercard since coming to the PWA near the beginning of 1989, as it's thought he has a good TV-friendly look that other top guys on the roster don't quite have. Unsure how long it'll last, with Power's talents, but for now, he's more than the JTTS he ended up being in our timeline. JUNKYARD DOG Nearing the end of his days as a contributor to a major roster, JYD has bounced from territory to territory and company to company since leaving the WWF in late '85, but was recently brought on to the PWA in the end of '89, largely to be used as a nostalgia pop on smaller house shows in the Mid-South, and be an occasional tag and six-man partner for other babyfaces. In addition, largely rumored to he was brought in as a favor to Bill Watts and Jim Ross, who still hold backstage power within the company. JYD is never going to have a five star match, but he can be a strong part of the undercard if used correctly. RON SIMMONS Very successful since showing up in the PWA as a personal project of Jim Ross and Bill Watts, Simmons has had a very successful last year or so, becoming a strong part of the mid and upper midcard, winning the North American title three time, and before possibly being moved into the main event, especially after a huge win over Adrian Adonis at Devil’s Night, is now in a feud with Butch Reed, who has returned to mainstream professional wrestling after a few years out of the spotlight to feud with Simmons. THAGNAR One of the more creative characters brought into the company by Roberts, former AWA wrestler John Nord plays a wild and crazy Viking, on the undercard. Unclear how successful it will be, but Nord isn't a terrible wrestler and plays the character well. MIDNIGHT EXPRESS Dennis Condrey didn't disappear into the mist, so along with Cornette & Eaton, this version of the Midnight Express is still having great matches, now in the PWA since 1988 with a tag title reign to their name, but are now currently feuding with Los Guerreros, with Jim Cornette cutting some very Jim Cornette promos on the Guerreros. THE NEW & IMPROVED DIAMOND EXCHANGE (Pretty Paul Roma & Marvelous Marty Jannetty) w/ DDP The team of Roma & Jannetty made their debut in PWA during the summer, attacking Badd Company (Diamond & Tanaka) after they lost a #1 contender, including DDP turning on Badd Company as well. Jannetty had been in a variety of tag teams and lower midcard matches since arriving in PWA in 1988, while Roma left the WWF after WrestleMania. SCOTT LEVY Formerly known for his gimmick surrounding his 'cool' personality, including Scotty Flamingo and Scotty the Body, Levy arrived as the color commentary partner of Jim Ross near the end of 1989, and even though he can still work, has been used as just that with his size being seen as possibly a downside. Still has the quite the creative mind though, and might eventually get back in the ring. STRICTLY BUSINESS (Al Snow & Dean Malenko w/ Sir Oliver Humpherdink) Thrown together on a whim near the end of last year, the tag team called Strictly Business based on both men's in-ring styles slowly rose up the rankings, especially after Roberts took over the book. In the spring, added the colorful Humpherdink as their manager as a contrast to their in-ring syle, becoming more popular, ending with them taking the tag title belts off The Road Warriors at Devil's Night 1990. MAJOR EVENTS OF THE PWA CALENDAR PWA BATTLE AT THE BUSCH The premier event of the PWA calendar, takes place in the middle of May at the historic Busch Stadium in the PWA's hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Main evented by matches such as Windham-Adonis, DiBiase-Piper, and Piper-Roberts since 1983, it's the 'season finale' for Pro Wrestling America. PWA RED, WHITE, AND BRUISED A big summer spectacular, with lots of big main events, along with some more gimmick matches than at other big shows. PWA DEVIL'S NIGHT The second biggest show of the year for the PWA, and a show that PWA tries to have take place in areas outside of its core in the Midwest, and also tends to set the tone for the next few months. .myDiv { border: 5px outset red; background-color: #29b6f6; text-align: center; color: black; } LAST MAJOR SHOW Devil’s Night 1990 Roddy Piper d. Greg Valentine © for the PWA Heavyweight Championship - (19:01) Jake Roberts d. Terry Funk – (15:23) Strictly Business d. Road Warriors © for the PWA Tag Team Titles - (9:01) Barry Windham DDQ Ted DiBiase – (17:33) Midnight Express & Art Barr d. Los Guerreros – (14:07) Harley Race © d. Billy Jack Haynes to retain the PWA North American Championship – (8:36) Steiner Brothers d. New & Improved Diamond Exchange – (13:33) Ron Simmons d. Adrian Adonis – (11:09)

Matwatch Special November 25th, 1990 (Dusty Rhodes during his WWF run this past year) As 1990 ends, the most surprising thing is that there seems to be nowhere for one of the biggest stars of the past decade – ‘The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes. Everybody knows the story of Rhodes, from taking over as the head booker of Jim Crockett Promotions as it transformed itself into the leading light of the National Wrestling Alliance, before taking control of all the titles, even though some could argue things like the Kiel Double Cross, the formation of the USWA, and other things made it a fait accompoli. Putting that aside, it appears that the man whom you could argue was the second most powerful man in professional wrestling behind Vince McMahon himself, has managed to lock himself out of every major promotion. In the NWA, the battle lines between Dusty and Flair were drawn in 1987, and it appears if The Nature Boy is still the standard-bearer, there’s no chance he’ll allow Rhodes a chance to wiggle his way back into any sort of power, and with Wahoo McDaniel’s somewhat surprising success as booker, the chance a desperate Jim Crockett Jr. will overrule him appears to have disappeared. That’d be one thing, but Dusty’s attempts at restarting his Florida promotion, taking the booking job in PWA, or becoming a trusted lieutenant of Vince in Stamford all failed, for one reason or another. The Florida promotion was a desperate idea from the start and appeared mainly to be largely a way to get his young son, Dustin, a chance to be booked strongly and learn how to be a star, even if it was in front of sparse crowds, largely there either for cheap beer or nostalgia for his father. After going to St. Louis, Rhodes looked to be being booked warmly, including a hot feud with The Road Warriors alongside his son, but all reports were that Big Dust appeared to try to backdoor his way into the booking job by trying to impress PWA’s big-dollar, but silent investors, but Barry Windham (who had his own tangle w/ Rhodes in ’87 a few months before his departure) and Jim Ross caught wind of it, and drew the same line in the sand that Flair did, and despite the respect and star power Rhodes has, he was quietly written off, and his son followed a month or two later. Undeterred, Rhodes did a few big spot shows in Japan, as he did in 1987, but at the 1990 Royal Rumble, did what absolutely nobody would have said was possible only a few short years earlier – work for Vince McMahon. McMahon, of course, took glee in having Dusty on his roster, painting him as the Common Man, with several vignettes with him as a plumber, pizza man, and other working-class professions before debuting, but Rhodes performed well, and Dusty was surprisingly well-received by the WWF fanbase, most of whom had likely never seen Rhodes in his bloody wars with Flair or Tully Magnum on Crockett television. This honeymoon ended as well, as a Randy Savage – Dusty Rhodes feud through the summer didn’t do well on house shows, and reportedly, Dusty was unhappy with taking the completely clean loss on an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event in early October. As a result, Rhodes was written out of Survivor Series (replaced by Tito Santana of all people), and was largely off television, but did a series of jobs for Rick Rude through the rest of the month. Since then, there’s been the usual rumors – Dusty will be back in Crockett, Verne Gagne wants him to take over for Slaughter, he’ll re-open Florida again, he’ll take a big-money temporary gig in Japan, but none of it has panned out. Rhodes is still a fairly major star but has made himself quite toxic in all the locker rooms and board rooms of the Big 3, and perhaps most importantly, made other top stars wary of him even in smaller companies, that may take the risk of an older veteran draw like Rhodes. The reality is, in professional wrestling, nobody stays away forever, but whatever his future, it will require The American Dream to realize his time at the top of this business is over, both in front of and behind the curtain. If he can do that, he can still be a positive presence on a roster, as a creative, and even as a occasional nostalgia draw, especially in the Southeast. If PWA ever wants to take a real chance at becoming #2 in places like Georgia or North Carolina, a strong storyline involving Rhodes, along with a generally hot product could help, or even if the fledgling USWA wants to take a chance at stepping up, a big-time Hennig vs. Rhodes or Lawler vs. Rhodes could bring in enough outside interest, to make them viable long-term. Regardless, I’m not dumb enough to say Stardust is completely down for the count, but this is his toughest ride so far.

- Pro Wrestling will return to Austin, Texas on January 19th, 2020 when Southern Fried Action makes it debut - announced talent includes Pistol Pete Hall as the 'canon' commissioner, indy stars focused in the Midwest and Mid-South such as Bradford Peverell and Paul Steadyfast, former big two talent by way of Texas Pete and The Nation of Filth, and lesser known indy talent such as The Dallas Death Squad, Chatto, Rattlesnake, and Trusty Rodriguez, along with veterans such as Brady Prince and Sgt. Buddy Lee West. Tickets will be $18 for the front row, $15 for the first three rows, and $12 for general admission, along with drink and food specials. Southern Fried Debut January 19th, 2020 - Austin, Texas Texas Pete vs. Paul Steadyfast Chatto & Murdoch Manson vs. Sgt. Bubba Lee West & Brady Prince Dallas Death Squad vs. The Nation of Filth Jerry Pepper vs. Trusty Rodriguez Bradford Peverell vs. Rattlesnake The debut of DREADNOUGHT $18 / $15 / $12 Drink & Food Specials

I'd like to be added when Arlie gets back as well.

What I'm going to attempt to do is little world-building for some of the characters in different places or situations than in our time line, along with just some fun writing - going to post the two I should've added for the WWF & NWA, then post the next company up (Pro Wrestling America). ____________________________________ Hagerstown Herald-Mail May 19th, 1990 HAGERSTOWN RESIDENT GOES FROM RAMBO TO CARNAGE IN WRESTLING (John Kreczman Jr., as "John Rambo" before joining the World Wrestling Federation) The colorful world of pro wrestling has seen it’s share of characters that could be confused with characters from the silver screen or the news of the day, whether it was the cheerful Indian of Chief Jay Strongbow or the evil Iranian Iron Shiek who rose to prominence after the Iranian Revolution, or even the very early days of grappling, when the audience still thought it was real and supposed Nazi’s goose-stepped to the ring or shifty Japanese wrestlers threw salt in our heroes eyes. For John Kreczman Jr., better known as Corporal Carnage to followers of the mat wars in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), it’s all part of the pageantry of the business, even though he understands why there’d be some that’d be upset at his portrayal of an out-of-control soldier. “Of course, I have all the respect in the world for the military, but also, this is entertainment. It’d be one thing if I was talking about Vietnam or actual incidents in the real world, but I don’t feel we’ve crossed the land. After all, my name is Corporal Carnage in the ring. That’s not exactly a name that you’ll hear on the Joint Chiefs or whatever.” Kreczman says he was originally offered a spot in the global juggernaut that is the WWF when he was only training, but felt he needed to get some experience wrestling as John Rambo, so he wrestled in small independent outfits until the beginning of this year, when he made his debut as the wild-eyed disgraced corporal. There are some wrestlers that feel the cartoon-ish over-the-top style of the WWF hurts the wrestling business, but Kreczman disagrees, saying, “we’re offering an entertaining, family friendly product that anybody from 7 to 70 can enjoy, that pushes forth positive ideals for kids that are watching, while not boring them to death. I tell ya’, a 7-year-old is far more likely to listen to Hulk Hogan telling them to eat their vitamins than their mom or teacher. After all, would you rather have your kid be watching me screaming and saying some silly things or some of the actual violent crap they show on TV? Say what you want about wrestling, but nobodies getting shot up with bullets or exposing themselves.” As for other companies, Kreczman shrugs off any concerns, saying, “honestly, when I was growing up, I was watching Gorilla Monsoon and Bruno Sammartino on television, but I figured out it was entertainment quickly. If anything, that made me more interested, and once I began training, I learned how tough it was to entertain the fans. After all, how many 30-second boxing PPV’s have you bought, and been disappointed?” Since arriving in the WWF, Carnage’s character has went after popular stars such as The Big Boss Man, The British Bulldog, and Koko B. Ware, but like any other wrestler, the goal is the WWF Championship in the view of the man behind the painted face, “that should be any wrestler’s goal in the business, even though just having a main event feud with somebody like Hulk Hogan or Randy Savage would be a massive honor and show the faith the company has in me.” Kreczman is happy to stay in the WWF for as long as they’ll have him, but he already has a future for when his time fighting in the squared circle are done, “I want to give back to this business, and train young folks who want to get into this business and create a lasting legacy. After I beat Hulk Hogan of course,” he adds with a grin.

Surprise. This still isn't dead. Unfortunately, other things got in my way to really working on this, but some time has opened up for me to do some looking over, and updating. I'm doing some long term testing and such, but outside of that, for some additional flavor, here's more info on the companies in the database - starting w/ the NWA As the territories collapsed, Jim Crockett Promotions took total control of the NWA, with other companies either leaving the NWA or creating other alliances. With stars such as Ric Flair, Lex Luger, 'Magnum' Terry Allen, and others, the promotion is still owned by Jim Crockett, as with the competition of Pro Wrestling America, JCP/NWA didn't overexpand, start buying large office buildings in Dallas, or private jets. In addition, Dusty Rhodes was forced out as booker at the end of 1987. With no face-painted superhero from Venice Beach to take the reins of the #1 spot, Ric Flair was more willing to drop the title to Lex Luger, and Magnum TA's car accident was butterflied away, giving the NWA more well-built stars, but competition from the PWA has limited its ability to expand outside of the company’s southeast core. As 1991 begins, the NWA must decide on where to expand, whether to go after the midwest portion of the country where the WWF & PWA are already fighting, trying to become the #2 promotion on the West Coast, or even risk incurring into the WWF's home base in the Northeast. One downside of the current company is a lack of young rising stars, as many stars that helped take the promotion to its heights are now past 30 or even 35. Will Luger & Magnum still be the lead dogs of the NWA, along with Flair, or will new stars rise? NATIONAL WRESTLING ALLIANCE MAJOR PLAYERS RIC FLAIR Ric Flair is the former leader of the Four Horsemen, a multi-time world champion, the flagship of the NWA, and ultimately, perhaps the greatest wrestler of all time. Now though, the question is, how long will Ric Flair remain a member of the NWA, as the end of his contract draws near, in only 3 months. Flair has been turned face after the rest of the Horsemen turned on him after he accepted a title shot from new Horsemen leader Lex Luger. LEX LUGER This is the version of Lex Luger that is not a choker, but rather a two-time World Champion, including defeating Ric Flair at Starrcade '88. Luger's been both a heroic babyface and a conceited heel but engaged in a hostile takeover of The Horsemen. After losing the title to Flair at Starrcade '90, The Total Package along with the rest of the Horsemen want to take his title and spot at the top of the NWA back. 'MAGNUM' TERRY ALLEN Using his real name to move past the connection to the now off-the-air Magnum PI, the Terry Allen who never had his car wreck has become one of the top stars in the NWA, becoming a 3-time World Champion, including becoming known as 'King of the Bash' after winning the World Title twice during the Great American Bash tours. As the NWA heads into the 90s, the question is can Allen stay at the top of the NWA, and will he adjust his character to not get left behind in the neon 90s? ARN ANDERSON & TULLY BLANCHARD (w/ JJ Dillon) Both men have been part of the Horsemen for years and shockingly sided with Lex Luger to take Flair out of the Horsemen. Anderson was also painted as Flair's best friend, while Tully was always more of a competitor to Flair, even winning the World Title in 1988 for a short 3-month reign, while Flair was out injured. Both men have been more successful in this version of reality, taking US, Tag Team, and Six-Man titles, and even winning The Crockett Cup. Can this version of the Horsemen continue to rule the NWA, or will they rue the day they turned on The Nature Boy? NIKITA KOLOFF (w/ Ivan Koloff) 'The Russian Nightmare' still turned face in this version of reality, but unfortunately, without the connection of Magnum's car crash, it was a bit of a dud, and Koloff was slowly pushed down to the midcard until he left for Pro Wrestling America in the spring of 1989. There, he got a strong push and was rebuilt, and after a little over a year run, Koloff returned to the NWA, along with his uncle Ivan in a managing/part-time wrestler role, and at Starrcade '90, was part of big heat angle where he beat down World Strongest Man competitor Bill Kazmaier, after he announced he was entering pro wrestling. Those matches aren't going to be pretty, but they'll be physically impressive on both sides of the ring! OTHER PLAYERS OF NOTE BOB BACKLUND Bob Backlund fell into obscurity after losing the WWF Title, as in our reality, but he returned to mainstream pro wrestling in the middle of 1989, as a surprise for the then-US Champion Nikita Koloff. Since then, Backlund has feuded for the US and TV title and quickly became a mid-card staple. BIG STEEL Related to Dusty Rhodes via marriage, Ottman was surprisingly brought in by the NWA after Dusty's attempt at running competition in Florida fell apart and is currently doing a family-friendly gimmick as Big Steel Man. Currently involved in an angle where he is acting as Manny Fernandez's backup against a bounty hunter. BILL KAZMAIER Multiple-time winner of the World's Strongest Man, Kazmaier has an incredible look and some presence, but in this version of reality, he looks to have some inherent talent to learn and become a reasonable pro wrestler, but it's a question of how much he'll learn from Nikita Koloff. BRAD ARMSTRONG There is no real 'Armstrong Curse' in this NWA, as after the collapse of Mid-South, Armstrong chose to come to the NWA and has been well pushed as a member of the mid and upper mid card, even though he'll never be the most charismatic guy on the roster. Recently, he has been involved in a three-way feud over the US Title, where Robert Fuller stops Armstrong from winning the title, but also stops US Champion Kevin Sullivan from getting a clean victory over Armstrong. JACQUES ROUGEAU Not the flashiest wrestler around, Rougeau came to the NWA a couple of years ago after The Fabulous Rougeaus ran their course in WWF, as a straight ahead Canadian babyface. A talented worker, Rougeau has been part of the TV title scene during the latter part of 1990. Missed last month with injury, and will return in February, possibly w/ a rebrand. NASH Nash has recently arrived as the ultimate bounty hunter, willing to take anybody out for a price. Recently going after Manny Fernandez as his next bounty, but Big Steel Man has shown up to be Manny's backup. Will Nash find somebody to split the bounty, or will he got it alone? ROBERT FULLER The Tennessee Stud came into the NWA in early 1989, and quickly became a prominent part of the roster, having a near 45-minute match with World Champion Ric Flair on an episode of Saturday Night, winning the tag titles with his long-time partner Jimmy Golden, and battling over the United States and Television titles. As noted above, Fuller has been in a long-term feud with Brad Armstrong, as part of the never-ending Armstrong-Fuller battle that has been part of promotions all over the southeast for decades, along with trying to win back the US Title. SKYSCRAPERS Since arriving near the end of 1989, the Skyscrapers have been dominant, never losing by pinfall, including easily running through The Crockett Cup, then taking the NWA World Tag Titles off The Rock 'n' Roll Express near the end of the year. The question as 1991 begins is simply, can anybody take down these two massive, dominant wrestlers? SHEEPHERDERS No goofy marching, as The Sheepherders are still the violent New Zealand maniacs they've always been, fighting all over the world, including in Pro Wrestling America and the NWA. STAN LANE In this version of reality, Stan Lane is not a member of The Midnight Express, but is still a talented wrestler, who can be quite the cocky heel and have great matches. Will he be more in the 90's, or will that be his limit? WAHOO MCDANIEL After several mediocre or straight-up bad bookers that were quickly ran through in the NWA after Dusty Rhodes was forced out, McDaniel was named booker a month out from Starrcade '89 and has done a good job straightening the ship of the NWA, along with being a nostalgic babyface who can be a bit of a draw for house shows in the core territory of the Mid-Atlantic area, without pushing himself too hard. .myDiv { border: 5px outset black; background-color: white; text-align: center; color: black; } RECENT MAJOR EVENT STARRCADE '90 Ric Flair p. Lex Luger © for the NWA World Championship - (22:45) Magnum TA d. Arn Anderson - (17:31) Skyscrapers © d. Steve Armstrong & Tracey Smothers to retain the NWA World Tag Team Titles - (07:01) Robert Fuller d. Brad Armstrong in a Street Fight - (17:44) Tully Blanchard d. Wahoo McDaniel - (10:03) Rock 'n Rolls DCO Samoan Swat Team - (12:53) Kevin Sullivan © d. Bob Backlund to retain the NWA United States Title - (09:31) Sheepherders d. American Pitbulls - (09:31) Z-Man © drew Michael Gekko in a match for the NWA World Television Title - (10:00) Dark Match: Stan Lane d. Tim Horner - (09:55)

So, this is _not_ dead. Basically - real life intervened, then I got distracted. But, for the past six weeks or so, I've been worked on this fairly regularly and I'm getting close to something workable. Multi-year tests don't look too horrible, or at least no horrible than any other long term save in TEW. Regardless, let's get back on track, by going over the World Wrestling Federation. 'The Revolutionary Force in Sports Entertainment' is by far still, the most powerful wrestling promotion in the world, and truly the only global powerhouse in the business as of the start of the 90's, but it wasn't quite the almost total walkover it was in real life. With Los Angeles and San Francisco still in tatters, McMahon still took over the West Coast fairly easily, thanks to the death of the California territories nearly a decade earlier, but between the St. Louis territory remaining the 'kingpin' of the National Wrestling Alliance at-first, and Jim Crockett Promotions making a few smarter booking decisions, some ripples have been created in history. Wrestlemania III still had Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant, but the show itself was only in front of around 70,000 people at the Silverdome instead of (supposedly) 93,000, as both a slightly resurgent AWA and a stronger St. Louis/Kansas City territory had enough strength in the Midwest to deny Vince McMahon the public relations coup that was supposedly beating the Pope. On the other hand, the MegaPowers angle still happened, and it was still a hugely successful storyline, even though Savage's heel manager was Madusa Miceli, instead of Sherri Martel (who has taken a shift in her career will talk about later). Another change in history is as noted, there was a face-painted superface that won the I-C title in seconds at Summerslam '88, but it was Steve Borden under the facepaint instead of Jim Helwig, and he was running over The Iron Shiek, instead of The Honky Tonk Man. Since then, Flash King has quickly become even a bigger star, and without ripping his knee climbing a cage, Flash still has explosive offense, and that has helped him remain over, along with a slightly more down-to-earth character that doesn't totally drive away teenage and young adult fans from the WWF audience, as Warrior did in our timeline. Now, as 1991 begins, the question remains for the WWF – will they pull the trigger on Hogan – Flash II, with the undercurrent that Hogan will get his win back? Will they move the title to a top heel instead, giving Hogan a way to win back the title without splitting the fans? Or, will they keep the title on Flash, and hope Hogan doesn't get upset enough to simply walk away? WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION MAJOR PLAYERS FLASH KING After arriving in the WWF, shortly after the collapse of the Mid-South territory in early 1987, Sting was quickly pushed up the card, winning the I-C title in 30 seconds at Summerslam 1988, then defeating Hulk Hogan to become WWF Champion at WrestleMania VI, becoming the first man to pin Hogan cleanly in years. HULK HOGAN ‘The Incredible’ Hulk Hogan is still the biggest name in professional wrestling, but the relative better strength of other companies meant that Hogan isn’t quite the massive star he is in our timeline, even though Hogan is still a huge star, and has been in the movies. With much of the same history, including feuds with Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, and other early on, before the huge money feud with Randy Savage. After dropping the WWF Title to King, and taking the summer off to shoot a movie, Hogan has a crossroads where he’ll either move entirely toward Hollywood or try to take the top spot back in the locker room. ‘MACHO MAN’ RANDY SAVAGE (w/ Madusa) No ‘Macho King’ in this timeline, but Savage still broke up the MegaPowers, had perhaps the greatest match in WWF history, and became the #2 star in the promotion behind Hulk, but Savage’s backup has been Madusa, not Sherri Martel, but even though you could argue he’s still the top heel in the promotion, there are questions about what his role in the near-term for the WWF will be. Especially after a year where he had a less-than-spectacular feud with Dusty Rhodes, who has recently left the promotion, leaving Savage with no obvious opponent. EARTHQUAKE (w/ Bobby Heenan) Earthquake made his debut in the WWF in much the same way, attacking Flash King in late ‘89 instead of somebody else, but has been a destructive force since then, restarting his feud with Flash during the fall of 1990, after the face-painted hero won the WWF Title, and looking quite dominant. BIG BOSS MAN Boss Man showed up in the WWF around the same time as in our timeline, having the huge feud with Hogan, teaming up with other members of Heenan’s stable, and even trying to take the I-C title off Flash King, before turning babyface when he refused to help a beatdown of The Nasty Boys. In the last few months though, Boss Man has been feuding with Cpl. Carnage, as Boss Man has been righteous that even a military man like Carnage is not beyond the Long Arm of the Law! JIM DUGGAN Since arriving in the WWF, choosing the company over the fledgling Pro Wrestling America after Mid-South collapsed, Duggan has been a semi-main event act in the company, never quite getting to the top of the card, but never being moved down to midcard comedy act like he was after his drug arrest. As a result, Duggan has had two short title reigns (an I-C title reign and a tag title reign w/ Tito Santana) and is always a threat to the rulebreakers all around the World Wrestling Federation. RICK RUDE (w/ Bobby Heenan) The Ravishing One has been an awesome force in the World Wrestling Federation since his debut, quickly rising the ranks, including a big-time feud with Flash King over the Intercontinental Title. After WrestleMania VI though, instead of going after the WWF Championship, Rude has continually called out Hogan even though the babyface announcers repeatedly told the fans watching on television that Hogan was not in the building. Hogan made his return at Summerslam ’90, where Rude interrupted a Barber Shop, and it’s been off to the races from there. TITO SANTANA Winning the Intercontinental Title for the 3rd time in his illustrious career in the spring of 1990, after it was vacated by Flash King, Santana’s career in the WWF has largely been along the same lines as in our timeline, winning the Tag Titles w/ Duggan, and being a solid midcard talent. Recently though, Slick’s charge One Man Gang has begun to chase after Santana, hitting him with three 747 Splashes on a Superstars in November. Will this be Tito’s Last Stand, or can Santana continue to have a late-career resurgence? OTHER PLAYERS OF NOTE BRET HART After years of success in the tag division, including three tag title reigns with his brother-in-law Jim Neidhart, Hart has recently moved into singles action, attempting to rise to the top of the WWF, in a company dominated by larger-than-life characters. He’s been successful so far, but also has largely treaded water in the midcard, with no stellar feuds or angles, but the fans seem to like him. BRUTUS BEEFCAKE In this version of reality, the Beefer doesn’t get hit by a parasailer. Doesn’t allow him to become Intercontinental champion, but Hulk Hogan’s close friend is still a solid member of the roster, but there’s also that nagging fear he may be given a bigger push to appease The Hulkster. Still popular with the actual WWF fanbase, even if the more hardcore fans dislike him. CORPORAL CARNAGE The former John Rambo on the independents, Carnage came into the WWF as a direct replacement for Sgr. Slaughter after Slaughter’s issues backstage with McMahon, but Carnage has been a surprising success, quickly rising the ranks in the WWF, and becoming a solid midcard heel presence. Now feuding with Big Boss Man, it’s being seen as a test for Carnage to see if he might become a main event player in the company. CHAINZ Recently arriving to the World Wrestling Federation, Brian Adams is portraying a biker character, coming to the ring on a motorcycle, attacking people with chains, and being a strong, aggressive force in the company. IRON EAGLE A mysterious masked wrestler, Iron Eagle has recently arrived in the World Wrestling Federation, being an undercard babyface, capitalizing on the recent rise in patriotism among the populace, and adding in a bit of solid wrestling as well. THE MENAGERIE Perhaps the weirdest addition to this version of the World Wrestling Federation, The Menagerie is stable led by carnival barker Silas Pinkerton (Jim Fullington/Sandman), with his charges, Marauder (Mick Foley) and Leatherface. At the moment, just an undercard heel group, but with the right push, could do some interesting things in the company. SWEET & SOUR (Shawn Michaels & Scott Hall) (w/ Billy Graham) The tag team of Michaels & Hall has been an impressive heel duo, with Superstar Billy Graham as their manager, talking for the team, as they gain experience as cocksure, arrogant heels, feuding with The Nasty Boys over the WWF Tag Team Titles, even though they’re now having to take a backseat with Heenan’s Powers Of Pain, who recently took the titles. THE UNDERTAKER (w/ Brother Love) Not The Undertaker we know, but rather Tyler Mane showing up as the obsequious character. Debuted much the same way at Survivor Series 1990, but has Brother Love as his manager, and the character looks to have a tougher road to success, with the more limited Mane under the black hat, than Mark Calloway, who is currently teaming up with Terry Gordy in All Japan. RECENT MAJOR EVENT .myDiv { border: 5px outset red; background-color: #29b6f6; text-align: center; color: black; } SURVIVOR SERIES '90 Flash Attack (Flash King, The British Bulldog, The Killer Bee, and Conan) defeated Ritcher Scale (Earthquake, Chainz, One Man Gang, and King Kong Bundy) - Chainz DDQ British Bulldog – (1:00) - One Man Gang p. The Killer Bee – (2:50) - Flash King p. One Man Gang – (5:01) - Flash King p. King Kong Bundy – (8:02) - Earthquake p. Conan – (10:02) - Flash King CO Earthquake – (14:55) The Hulk-A-Maniacs (Hulk Hogan, Jim Duggan, Iron Eagle, and Brutus Beefcake) defeated The Rude Brood (Rick Rude, Sour Scott Hall, Sweet Shawn Michaels, and The Genius) - Sour Scott Hall p. Brutus Beefcake – (5:02) - Jim Duggan p. Sweet Shawn Michaels – (8:15) - The Genius CO Iron Eagle – (10:02) - Hulk Hogan p. The Genius – (10:55) - Hulk Hogan p. Sour Scott Hall – (12:02) - Jim Duggan DQ Rick Rude – (15:09) - Hulk Hogan p. Rick Rude – (18:31) Macho’s Men (Randy Savage/Beverly Brothers/Agent Storm) defeated Arriba! (Tito Santana/Nasty Boys/Nikolai Volkoff) - Jerry Sags p. Beau Beverly – (1:12) - Jerry Sags p. Blake Beverly – (2:09) - Agent Storm p. Nikolai Volkoff – (4:02) - Agent Storm DCO Brian Knobbs – (5:15) - Randy Savage p. Jerry Sags – (8:01) - Randy Savage p. Tito Santana – (15:19) Carnage Crew (Cpl. Carnage/Undertaker/Papa Shango/Marauder/Leatherface) defeated Lawgivers (Big Boss Man / Bret Hart / Jim Neidhart /Tatanka / Koko B. Ware) - Undertaker p. Koko B. Ware – (3:30) - Undertaker p. Jim Neidhart – (6:08) - Undertaker DCO Tatanka – (8:01) - Bret Hart p. Leatherface – (11:15) - Big Boss Man p. Marauder – (13:01) - Cpl. Carnage CO Bret Hart – (17:02) - Big Boss Man DQ Papa Shango – (18:05) - Cpl. Carnage p. Big Boss Man – (18:33) Dark Match: Faces of Fear d. Shane Douglas & Jimmy Jack – (4:31)

<div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:10px;background: #a8c8ff; max-width:90%; ";"> January 8th, 2020 Starbucks Green Bay, Wisconsin The snow was on the ground, and it was freezing outside, but Archie was content. He had a large black coffee, the rent was paid, and most importantly, an e-mail from Rick Sanders, who agreed to serve as the road agent for Great Lakes Wrestling, once it began doing shows. Included was an overview of the entire roster, including Sanders thoughts on their strengths and weaknesses. Archie could've done the road agent work, but between working with the rest of the crew and booking, he simply didn't have the time to do so, plus Sanders had legitimacy thanks to his NYCW run during the early 2010's. He took a sip of his coffe and begin to read... “I mean, sure, I never teamed with Masked Mauler Seventeen or whatever,” Archie muttered, as he took a swig of his warm coffee, thinking of the half-empty bottle of bourbon still at his apartment, but shook his head. Thinking about it, he was right. His biggest bit of stardom was wrestling Whistler a dozen times at nostalgia shows, but this also was his chance to change that. Archie had to agree with all of that, even though the fact other promoters had let him know that Aaron was a fan of the needle was slightly disconcerting. Not that he had any moral problems with steroids, he just didn't want his new promotion getting into trouble, if Willis screwed up. Paired up with an intense personality, that could cause some issues. Of course, Rick Sanders didn't know that Alejandro had been caught in flagrante delicto with Manuel Pierto's barely legal granddaughter, and had been cast out of Mexican wrestling quicker than you can say, 'adios', but Mexico's loss was our gain, I suppose. As long as he didn't do anything too stupid. Even in Wisconsin, Archie had heard about what happened in that locker room in Alexandria. Hell, the whole wrestling world had talked about it for a week afterward, but that didn't mean both men involved weren't talented as hell, and GLW was just lucky that Austin's fiancee had family in Illinois, so they'd moved to the region, and as a result, Priest was now available to wrestle. Of course, what Rick didn't know is that even though Brandon Olson, the man behind the mask, could barely drink, he was already known as a tightly wound agitator, but also like Sanders mentioned, he had a whole hell of a lot of potential, which is why Archie had kept him on board. There wasn't much to add about Callum. He was what he was – an intense big Irish guy who could probably kick most people's ass. Not much more to it. Archie quietly chuckled, as he moved down to the next name on the list. Gorija was a lucky break, thanks to Archie knowing a guy who knew a guy, who told him about a young Japanese rookie, who wanted to go out on his own, so he contacted Gorija, found him an apartment in Green Bay, along with access to the ring, and a gym. Now, the kid was happy as a clam, even though it probably helped that he'd grown up in the north of Japan, himself. Unfortunately, Rick sort of had a point, but on the bright side, Jeremy was still relatively early in his career (and to Archie's knowledge, it was a shoot name, just with no III on the end), and still had room to grow. Unfortunately, the main issue Molina had, was connected to his background as a young boxer, that quit after a series of rough fights. The issue made itself clear in the form of various pills that Molina had gotten hooked on, and even though he wasn't incredibly deep, that combined with his outside interests as a boxing trainer himself, led to limited opportunities for Molina, outside of the Midwest. Archie didn't have much to add, outside of the fact that part of Parker's issue was that he really enjoyed using Twitter, and had gotten into hot water with it before, at least on the local level, especially when he famously Tweeted – 'QAW is good for one thing – watching it at 3 AM with the sound off.' Now, to be fair, he was only twenty at the time, so hopefully, he'd matured. Slightly. 'That sounds about right,' Archie thought, as he finished his cup of coffee, and went to the register for a refill. On the positive side, according to everybody he'd asked, he was also a good kid who was up for anything asked of him. The good news was, as Archie began his second cup, is the gimmick was Oleg's idea, and yes, his actual last name (Yarmolnik) was not seen as conducive to a successful pro wrestling career. However, he seemed to be a positive influence backstage and was enough of a hustler that he'd already sold a shocking amount of 'Space Wrestling Agency' t-shirts at small indy shows in the area. OK, that almost made Archie spit out his drink. But yeah, Ryze, legally known as Peter Arono, had flown to America from New Zealand with a dream, and a bit of a gymnastics background, and even though he had far to go, in his limited experience with the kid, he was impressed with his positive outlook. Then again, if you don't have a positive outlook, how the hell do you get on that plane in Auckland in the first place? That hadn't changed, but on the upside, he was engaged to his valet, Donna Dixon, and they seemed deeply in love, and on the same wavelength, so that was a positive. One thing that could be a problem is that it seemed ole' Tripp had a tendency to not put 100% in if it wasn't an important match, but hopefully, that could be worked with. Sanders had a point, Archie thought. However, despite the evil German gimmick, the guy was well loved backstage, had no problems putting people over, and perhaps most importantly, could still get a decent reaction from the old school fans who remember his runs in the indies during the early 2000's. With both men, Archie had to nod. The other bit of good news is they seemed to be legitimately good guys, getting along well, and being able to light up the locker room with their antics, and that's sometimes needed in a wrestling promotion. Plus, like Sanders had said, with some experience, Javier could be a top guy, even beyond Great Lakes someday. Unfortunately, Archie had to agree with that – Malik and Decker were both monsters in the ring, especially for their experience level and total professionals in the back, but also, they were college wrestlers who'd been talked into joining professional wrestling by a mutual friend, not longtime friends, so sometimes, they acted like athletes trying to win, more than people trying to entertain a crowd, which can work, but you need some charisma behind it, or you end up with a 'boring' chant. Both Siona and Taua had bright futures in front of them, but Archie wondered if either of them could get over without the other, if necessary. At least he had a little time to figure that out, the unmasked Dark Patriot idly thought, as he sipped another gulp of his coffee. The other positive was that both Samoans were chill dudes, even if they could throw down if necessary. Since 'Double D' and Tripp were connected at the hip, of course she'd be a part of the promotion, but like Rick said, she wasn't terrible as a manager, and she looked good, so why not? The only real downside was like Tripp, she loved to party, but hopefully, they'd keep the craziness limited to each other. Archie understood Sander's confusion, but it wasn't a huge deal to him. As long as she could do the job, she could be a martian for all Archie cared. Then again, an alien ref would be quite the gimmick for someplace like ZEN, the GLW owner/booker thought, while looking over the last person listed. With that, Archibald closed his email and looked up for a moment. For the first time in a while, his first thought wasn't of the pills or the booze, but rather, what was in front of him. </div>

To be fair to other people, this is an alternate history and I don't have prior mod experience. Plus, I also didn't post any kind of beta or such, which I think also drives interest. If I had posted a 1999 mod, with a data link, it probably would've gotten more attention, but hopefully, as I release more info, people will become more interested.

Moments in Time March 29th, 1982 St. Louis, Missouri Sam Muchnick was officially retired, but everybody knows that nobody really retires from the wrestling business, so even though the elder statement of the National Wrestling Alliance doesn't show up to the St. Louis Wrestling Club office anymore, he still wields considerable power within the consortium, which is why he's currently talking to the current NWA World Champion, Ric Flair, making sure the jet' flying son-of-a-gun doesn't skimp out on his bookings in St. Louis and Kansas City. “Ric, Ric, I've told you a dozen times, that Harley sold his interest in both St. Louis and Kansas City when we decided to consoldiate things. I realize Crockett has done a lot for you, but this is still the heartland of the NWA, and if we're going to protect this territory in the long run, we need you out here on the regular.” Muchnick heard Flair's response, then said, “Larry's a good kid. He's a little abrasive at times, but he has good ideas, and more importantly, he doesn't have an ego. I understand why some territories have to do it, but I've never understood giving a worker the book. Obviously, Dick, Pat, and Harley all had a voice in decisions, but you can't give you guys the keys to the asylum, regardless of what you may think. But, I'll give him a call and remind him you are the Champ, so if you turn up to a interview session a little late, don't be so harsh on you.” Mushnick waited again, then said, “now, let me know what's going on with Piper and Steamboat...” June 30th, 1984 St. Louis, Missouri For the second time in a few months, Vince McMahon was walking out of the KPLR-TV office, incredibly upset. “Goddamit Pat, why don't these local yokels understand that I'm offering them a better product, and I'm even offering to pay? How many bodies does Muchnick have the knowledge of where they're buried?” Pat Patterson, Vince's erstwhile right-hand man and the one who was helping guide the national expansion of the World Wrestling Federation responded, “well Vince, they've had the St. Louis club on their TV station basically since it first went on the air. People in that building have houses they've bought in part due to that show. Plus, unlike a lot of places -” “They aren't tits up in drawing money. I know, I know. I tried calling Muchnick and he basically blew me off. Wished me luck in California, but reminded me that his city had a vibrant wrestling scene and that it didn't need the WWF. That son of a bitch dinosaur! Speaking of which, how do tickets look for tonight?” “About 5 or 6 thousand.” “How'd Matisyk's group do last week?” “A little under ten thousand, but they had Flair on top.” “Still, we've got actual stars. Thunderlips! Hell, Mr. T was a special referee last month and still, nothing.” “Could be worse, Vince. Still doing better than Memphis or Dallas.” “Don't remind me.” With that, two men attempting to create a colossus entered the well-appointed Lincoln Continental and got driven back to the Checkerdome. June 18th, 1986 Tulsa, Oklahoma “Ted, I appreciate you not leaving me in the lurch, but I hope you also understand how disappointed I am it's come to this,” said Bill Watts, as he sat behind his desk, his gruff voice almost in complete exasperation, seeing another top star leaving his promotion. “I have to be honest though, I am happy it's not Vince.” “Bill, I do appreciate everything you've done for me, but I've also got to be honest – there's no way I can afford not taking this deal from St. Louis. Even putting aside the money, I'll be seen all over the country, and even the world if they get certain clearances. Let's look around here as well – I've seen the crowds, and they're not getting any better, even when we run good angles. There's just not enough people coming through the turnstiles to afford staying around.” Ted was being harsh, but it was true. The combination of the drop in crude oil prices, combined with the exodus of all his top guys, either to St. Louis, Dallas, Charlotte, or New York, had absolutely destroyed the ability of the promotion to draw any money. Occasionally, he'd been able to pop a crowd if somebody who enjoyed working in Japan like Steve Williams or somebody between runs like The Rock 'n' Roll's had a couple of spare months, but he was now pushing guys that wouldn't have sniffed the midcard eighteen months earlier. “Well, I'll close ya' out by the end of the month. Of course, you'll be jobbing out, but it won't be anything too over the top. I respect you too much to do that, plus it's not like it'd make that much of a difference.” Both men stood up and shook hands. After DiBiase left the office, ready to get on the road to a house show in Oklahoma City later in the day, Watts sat down and made another phone call. “Hello, this is Bill Watts. Is Larry Matisyik in at the moment? Sure, I'll hold.” A moment passed. “Larry, I think you know why I'm calling. I can admit when I'm licked, even if wasn't totally your doing. However, the last thing I want is to end up selling to that [bLEEP] in Charlotte, that SOB McMahon, or even Fritz and his drug addled boys. You're still doing things right, and I think we can make a reasonable deal on my TV contracts. I'm no going to lay out a number, but I'll send Joel out to you next week, after we tape TV, to talk things over.” An era was ending, but a new one was beginning. October 18th, 1986 Dallas, Texas Fritz Von Erich shook hands with Ric Flair, then watched him leave Reunion Arena, after a big arena show that had finished with what had bad seen by the typical finish to leave the fans home happy – in the main event where Flair defended the NWA World title against Kerry Von Erich, there was a ref bump of long-time NWA official Tommy Young, head World Class official David Manning taking over, and a backslide where Young counted both men down, while Manning seemingly counted only Flair's shoulders down. To most fans in the audience, it seemed obvious for another rematch, maybe at Thanksgiving or Star Wars. But, the reality was, this was likely the last time that an NWA Champion would wrestle on a show booked by World Class Championship Wrestling, or perhapss more importantly, the St. Louis Wrestling Club. Sitting down in his office, Fritz made a call. Larry Matisyk answered. “It's done. We've got the footage. I'll cut what we need too, but I'll send you the masters so your guys can make what edits you need too. I'll also tape the resignation announcement before anybody else shows up, and send that along as well.” Fritz knew this was war. But, it was also necessary. With Mid-South, Florida, and other territories giving up the ghost, a problem was quickly rising – Crockett taking complete control over booking of the NWA World Title. It had really started rising in the middle of 1985, and had only gotten worse – tonight was only the 3rd date he'd gotten on the champion this year, and St. Louis was barely doing any better, all while Flair was working all over the country for Crockett as his World Championship Wrestling program was blasted on the Superstation every Saturday on cable throughout the nation. While Friz was visiting St. Louis for their big stadium show in May, Matisyk, along with new office member Jim Ross, had approached Fritz about an alliance. The deal was simple – they'd both withdraw from the NWA at the same time, and between both of their syndication deals, and agreements to beef up each other's big shows, they could fight Crockett to a draw on their home turf, and force them to withdraw, at least for the moment. The reality was, Fritz was smart enough to know that his goose was quickly becoming cooked – the Freebirds outside of Hayes were gone, Kerry wasn't exactly stable, and the rest of the family were hanging on by a thread. A deal with Crockett might've kept them running 'hot' for a little while longer. On the other hand, withdrawing from the NWA, and teaming up with St. Louis was likely the only way for one of his boys to get a legitimate World Title run that wasn't obviously a sympathy run, or some pity BS two week run because Flair had a new girlfriend he wanted to go on a vacation with. Outside of Manning and Kevin, nobody else on the roster knew. He expected to lose some people, even though most of the locker room were far closer to Fritz than the NWA. On the other hand, if this failed, people would likely know that a victorious Crockett and Barnett would remember whom they backed. It was simple then – don't lose. Fritz had to chuckle at that, as he took a long drink out of his whiskey, and thought about it all. David. The Parade of Champions. The two thirds full Reunion Arena tonight. How'd the song one of his sons had told him about went? Better to burn out than to fade away, indeed. July 26th, 1987 Richmond, Virginia The champagne was flowing, and the party was just beginning, but for Terry Allen, he was still somewhat in a state of shock. Of course, he'd known about this for weeks, if not months, but it still didn't feel quite real to be holding the NWA World Title in his hands. He still wasn't sure how long he was even going to hold the strap – Flair and Sullivan had told him this wasn't going to be any Tommy Rich bullshit, but at the same time, but outside of that reign and the Von Erich deal (which seemed hilarious considering recent news), he was the first man not named Flair, Rhodes, or Race likely to have a considerable time with the belt as champion in nearly a decade. He felt the numerous hands slapping his bucks, telling him congratulations, even the heels who had snuck into the babyface locker room in a breach of kayfabe, that was being forgotten now that the fans were out of the arena, aside from a few of the nighttime companions of the wrestlers, who were well aware of the lack of reality of what was happening in the ring. Still though, Terry almost felt a chill up his spine – after all, so many long drives, late nights, hard matches, and backstage blowups. Any one of those things could've stopped this from happening, so for now, he was just going to enjoy the moment. March 7th, 1988 Minneapolis, Minnesota Jerry Lawler had two thoughts as he took a seat, waiting for his plane back to Memphis. Even under a heavy sweater, the lovely young woman sitting a row down from him was well endowed, and more importantly, he still didn't understand why human beings decided to live in these frozen conditions. Lawler had just left the third, or was it the fourth meeting between himself, Greg Gagne, and Kevin Von Erich, who were working together to hammer out an agreement they could agree too, and more importantly, at least when it came to the other two men involved, their father cum bosses could agree too. In the aftermath of Fritz's agreeement with St. Louis imploding (it seems Kerry showing up to 3rd straight Keil shows high as a kite had meant that they no longer wanted to give him their belt at their big stadium show), the younger Von Erich knew that in order for World Class to survive as a viable territory through the end of the year, they had to find some new partners. For Lawler, along with Jerry Jarrett, they'd largely stayed out of the Wrestling Wars, safely enconsed in their DMZ of Memphis, where names like Dundee, Lawler, and Fargo mattered far more than Hogan, Flair, or even Funk, but three companies all trying to expand now meant that there was a ton more wrestling television on their air in the area – sure, a lot of it was on relatively low power UWF stations, but even on those stations, the production values stood out, and the drop in business had been noticable. However, Lawler had kept a good relationship with Minneapolis, especially Bockwinkel and the younger Gagne, so after getting the call from Von Erich, Lawler reached out to the man who'd helped sell Verne on making him a World Champion in a few short weeks, on bringing in the Dallas office as a partner in the deal they'd made last year. Of course, there'd been arguments over titles, big shows, booking agreements, and all the like, but Lawler was actually quite sure a deal would be made, since everybody needed it – the AWA had held relatively firm, even as Vince purged their roster seemingly for fun, but Curt Hennig staying, and Sgt. Slaughter showing up had buoyed them enough that they weren't in a tailspin, so they were looking for more help. As far as World Class went, they had their good syndication deal, two healthy Von Erich's, and some big shows in Texas to offer up. Memphis had something the other two companes didn't – stability. Short of getting caught with a dead girl or a live boy, the WMC TV slot was sacroscant, and not even Crockett had been bring enough of the Memphis audience over, to actually draw a decent crowd in the area. Now, the only question was a name – ideas like the Global Wrestling Federation, National Wrestling League, and Universal Wrestling Alliance had been shot down, but as Lawler absent mindily drew while waiting for the plane back to Memphis to board, some letters came to him – USWL? USWF? USWA? After all, a lot of his fans, Jerry thought, would supprot something United States-based more than a global sanctioning body. Then, a stewardess (cute, but too old for Jerry) said they were boarding, and the future AWA World Champion tried to see if the young woman who'd been sitting a row down from him, had an open seat on the plane. August 28th, 1988 New York, New York Steve Borden was ready. The face paint was on, he was jacked up, and pacing right behind the curtain, as he heard twenth thousand people booing the living daylights out of Iron Shiek, as the WWF Intercontinental Champion blasted America, and was about to declare an open challenge – that would be Borden's cue to become Flash King, rush out to the ring, and easily defeat Shiek in under a minute to claim the championship. After bouncing around small territories like Memphis, Continental, and even the dying embers for Florida for a few months after Mid-South has closed shop, and St. Louis had professionally, but firmly told them they weren't going to book him, he was surprised to get the call from Pat Patterson for a gig with the WWF, but he'd quickly risen up the card, and now on some nights, was getting responses close to that of Hulk Hogan. Flash King, a combination of an idea that McMahon had previously had for Randy Savage (The Macho King) and Borden's first wrestling name (Flash), was more explosive, flew through the air, and in many ways, was even more colorful and cartoonish than the flag waving 'Real American' and some people at the WWF offices in Connecticut had quietly let him know that among younger kids, his merchandise was selling at an even clip with Hulk. McMahon hadn't told him explicitly that tonight was a stepping stone to becoming the WWF Champion, but it was already well known that Hogan would likely be taking time off after the next Wrestlemania, in part to recover from the grind of nearly six years straight as champion, but also to film a movie. If he didn't screw this up, he could be walking out of Toronto not just the Intercontinental champion, but also the WWF Champion and Hulk's successor. As Steve heard the first few notes of his ferentic theme, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he ran through the curtain – Steve Borden was gone. Flash King had arrived to Summerslam. April 23rd, 1989 Tampa, Florida Terry Bollea couldn't believe it. Vince had sold him the hell out. He assumed that he was coming back like a bat out of hell after filming was done, right into the big feud with 'Quake, and then taking the title belt. Now, Vince was telling him not only was there no plan to take the belt off Flash, and get it back to him, but he was also being programmed with Rude, despite telling Vince he thought Rude was going to be stiff with him. McMahon had tired to assuage him that Rude had gotten bigger, and softer in the ring, but any other time, Vince would've agreed, and Flash would've been stuck trying to make Rude a viable contender. It didn't help that one of his snitches in the office had let him know that Flash's wrestling buddy was selling almost as well as his. Terry hadn't killed himself on the road for the past six plus years, showing up to every TV interview, Make-A-Wish gimmick, or even flying out to Timbuktu to talk to the troops, just to get passed over for some face painted kid who could fly over the ropes, and hit a big splash. He'd tried to get Bruti to give him some heat, but well, Bruti wasn't exactly a Green Beret, and managed to give himself some heat. Looking over at Linda in bed, the 'Incredible' (Vince had also shot down his Immortal nickname before the last 'Mania') realized that he was far from that, and he needed a plan to stay on top of the mountain. He'd neutralized Randy without even really trying – a few friendly talks with Elizabeth, and the guy had blown up like a nutbar right in front of Vince, so there had been an angle to pressure McMahon about Flash. After all, the main reason that Terry had even agreed to do the job in Toronto, was that he didn't seem like a threat. Now, it was damn obvious he was, and Terry Bollea needed a plan. Or a way out.

THE EWIAKVERSE The year is 1991 – but it's a different 1991 than in this reality. Of course, not everything has changed – Hulk Hogan is still a massive star, Jushin Liger is lighting up the rings in Japan, Ric Flair & Dusty Rhodes have backstage heat, and Paul Heyman has upset his prior employers and is in a form of exile. But, other things are different – there's a national company based out of St. Louis, the Man You Knew as Sting is called Flash King, and he's also the man who ended the Hulk Hogan title reign at Wrestlemania VI in front of 60,000 odd people in Toronto, the trio of old-school promoters in Minnesota, Memphis, and Dallas actually are working together under their version of the NWA, called the United States Wrestling Association, and they're surviving far better than they are in our reality. Some wrestlers have national exposure long before they did in real life, others are dealing with injuries, different men have different gimmicks, and there are promotions that exist, that never happened in our reality – this is a new wrestling reality. This is the Ewiakverse. SO REALLY, WHAT IS THIS? The Ewiakverse is an alternate history mod I've been working off-and-on when I've had the time, passion, and inspiration in a vague way for years, more seriously since TEW 2016, and truly more seriously since TEW 2020. The very, very basic idea is Sam Muchnick still retires, but instead of hanging things over to the motley crew of Bob Geigel, Harley Race, and Pat O'Connor, and later giving up the 'Wrestling at the Chase' timeslot to Vince McMahon, he decides to use his significant backroom power within the NWA to give Larry Matisyk a leg up, allowing the vaunted St. Louis Wrestling Club to fight the WWF to a stand-still in their region, and for the promotion to quickly buy out the Kansas City territory, and start expanding throughout the Midwestern regions not dominated by the AWA. This results in changes such as Magnum TA never having his auto accident, Mid-South never being able to expand outside of it original territory and quickly failing to pressure from both the expanded St. Louis territory and World Class, and other changes, but other things stay the same – David Von Erich still dies, the WWF still becomes a national power, and many of the territories die out since the actual history shows that cable television and the lack of ability to react to that truly killed the smaller territories, not so much Vince McMahon. In addition, the true thing that guaranteed the WWF becoming a national player was that it already had large swathes of the top markets in the Northeast locked up, and California's territories had died out in the late 70's/early '80s. Do you want to stop the WWF expansion? Run Vince McMahon off the road in Maine on some cold winter night in 1981 or make sure the Los Angeles and San Francisco territories don't burn themselves out into dying husks, all while disco is still popular. Now, I've made some changes to reality for the sake of the story I'm trying to tell, but I've also made other changes, on luck. Since in reality, I'm only one man, and hostage to my own biases, I decided to throw a bit of chaos into things. So, what I did was I ran an RNG for every single person in the database. If somebody in the database got a 90 or above, or a 10 or below, I ran the RNG again, depending on the second number that was rolled, a series of changes were made to their stats, overness, and success in the intervening yeas since my point of departure. As I go over the mod, I'll point out some of these changes, both the good and the bad, as we go through the different wrestling world. DATA/GRAPHICS/ETC. So, since I started this in TEW 2016, this is all originally coming from justxyank's great 1991 mod, along with adding Aesemon's Broadcaster DB, and for the moment, using nGo graphics. I might check out some other graphic packs, and see if there's anything better, at a later point. Of course, there's also some (mediocre at best) graphics created by me, when it comes to the additional companies and shows that have been created. WHAT I HAVE DONE / STILL LEFT TO DO / FUTURE UPDATES At a basic level, the mod is largely done. I still have to edit some wrestlers, double-check some narratives, etc. It runs, it simulates, and things aren't too crazy. However, I'm still not done making some graphics, fine-tuning the testing, and making some backend decisions. The basic update plan is this – the next post after this will be a narrative history of the wrestling world, from 1983 to 1990, then there'll be an overview of a company, followed by another narrative post based around some of the changes, major moments, interviews, etc. There will be kayfabe'd magazine posts, 'real' news articles, and backstage transcripts, all to build up this alternative version of reality, while I work on the actual data.

<div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:10px;background: #b3ffb3; max-width:90%; ";"> January 4th, 2020 Washington Hall Seattle, WA It was a relieving and stressful night at the same time for Jesse Ewiak. Things had moved quicker than he thought, especially after Ariel had agreed to throw in $250,000 to fund the promotion, as long as she got a promise that if this failed, or didn't lead to more opportunities for her husband, that'd be it for him. After all, she'd already made more than enough money, and the ye olde biological clock was ticking. With the money in the bank, the calls went out to various wrestlers, both in the region and in other places, to begin working for the fledgling promotion. The 'Core Five' who'd been at the Five Points that night, along with Ashley, had decided that they'd grow without bringing in bigger indy stars, at least at the beginning. Both in order to save some cash, but also because they wanted to build something of their own. If they wanted to end up jobbing to some guy who just got out of his US Pro or just had a good match down in Arizona, they could work for any of the smaller indy companies, instead of taking that risk. Looking around the locker room though, Jesse was impressed with the roster he'd built, in only a little over two months. <hr> Of course, things started with his own younger brother, Frank. While they were growing up, they hadn't been incredibly close, with Jesse focusing on school, while Frank went his own path, which involved a lot of hell-raising. A love of wrestling kept them close, and when it was obvious that Frank was more athletically gifted, Jesse began to help him out with booking ideas and putting in some side work with his social media and such. Not that Frank was a dummy though, as he was happy to put in his own thoughts, but in all reality, a lot of time, Frank was more interested in hitting on the girl in the 3rd row, or smoking some weed in the car after the show, then going over some booking plans. <hr> After that, probably the most prominent member of the actual roster was Jonathan 'Big Train' Waters. Sitting in the corner of his locker room by himself, Waters was a charismatic menacing big man, who nonetheless had never really caught in a career over a decade long, in part due to his reputation as somebody who didn't want anybody else's input, but also somebody who wasn't afraid to let off the gas if the match wasn't important in his view. On the other hand, he was a master of the 'ten-minute special', where he put it all out there with explosive power moves. <hr> Also on his own, in the locker room, for other reasons, was Christopher Kojima. Unlike Waters, who gave off a 'don't mess with me' vibe, Kojima was a quiet guy, who just kept to himself, and was more likely to be seen listening to a podcast about foreign affairs, while working out, than going out with the boys. Put that beside a full-time gig as a school teacher, and it made sense why Kojima hadn't done much outside of his two home areas (Kanto & North West) in his career. Even in Japan, he's only worked a few small indy shows, in a kind of a joke character, as a super gaijin, even though he's ethnically Japanese. In the ring, Kojima was a solid all-rounder, and never slowed down, but also didn't stand out too much. <hr> Sitting beside our newly signed referee, Elegance, going over a spot he wanted in his match, was Destiny Jones, who was almost all charisma, as in between he was nothing special, especially for somebody nearly a decade into his career, but he'd gotten consistent work in the Oregon and Washington indies, in part due to his side gig as an actual radio gig, but also because he was the type of guy who could get a block of ice over as a fiery babyface, with a three or four-minute heel promo. <hr> Meanwhile, working on a reversal sequence with the young English worker Martin Halley, El Grande Pistolero was probably the man who'd competed in the most matches in this locker room, as even though he was only thirty-one, he was now fifteen years into a career that had spanned tons of small Lucha shows all over Mexico and had received a decent amount of low-level indy work in the United States. He'd settled in the Seattle area running a lucha-themed food truck, and had been happy to join the promotion. In all reality, both Jesse and EGP knew that the end run of EGP's career was coming up sooner than both liked, but they wanted him around to train some folks and help some of the less experienced wrestlers to put together a story. One of those young workers was Halley, who'd recently graduated from the Ewiak Compound – aka, their former warehouse in the SoDo District, who'd come over from the UK to train in part because he wanted a new adventure, and also because he had been dating a girl from Seattle, who promptly dumped him within three weeks of his arrival in Seattle. Tough break for the kid, but he'd put his nose to the grindstone, and even though he had a lot of room to grow, and was likely never going to be a top tier talent, he could wow the fans with aerial abilities and athleticism. <hr> Sitting in a semi-circle toward the front of the locker room was of course, the rest of the 'Core Five', as long with Frank, were James Kira, Youth Gone Wyld, and Mandrake. There had been already tons of jokes made at Kira's expense, including a cardboard belt, with 'Ariel's Husband Champion of the World' written on it, but the reality was, that Kira was talented in-ring, and more importantly, he could cut a hell of a promo, without being any real trouble backstage, always gave 100% in the ring, and kept in-shape all year round. On the other hand, one could argue that Mandrake, the nearly 300 lb muscular heavyweight was the most likely guy on the current roster to end up in US Pro or Supreme sooner or later, but that's only if he didn't get end up turfed out of wrestling before that. It's not that he was some terrible person – he just had a temper, was easy to piss off, and treated the business like a business. The fact that the rest of the 'Core Five' was close to him was more of a side effect of training him, than any close friendship. Inside of the ring, Mandrake was a solid power wrestler, but still had room to grow with only a little over four years of experience. Finally, there was Youth Gone Wyld. YGW was in many ways, his character in the ring. An absolute daredevil, who took crazy risks, was fun-loving, and also enjoyed a bit of the wacky tobacky at times. The limiting factor of YGW was that he wasn't that charismatic on the mic, but with only a little over three years of experience, he could grow into that, while developing the rest of his in-ring skills. <hr> The other trio, sitting close to each other more because there was no other room was a group of wrestlers that Jesse had mentally filed away as 'needed dependable guys.' As a big muscular black guy who enjoyed wearing facepaint, 'Killing Joke' Marcus Baldwin knew how to brawl, and was happy to do so, pretty quickly. In some cases, entirely too quickly. Despite that reputation, he was also talented in the ring, with an impactful style that worked well in the ring, despite not being elite in any one skillset. Baldwin had just finished doing a short run for a small indy company in Japan near the end of the previous year and also wasn't afraid to show off his Japanese skills to anybody who gave him a moment either. On the other hand, if Baldwin's love of facepaint and tendency to be a bit intense was different, Asher was a whole level of weird. As Frank said to his older brother, the first day he came in, 'dude, that guy is either totally insane or incredibly attuned to his character to a level that'd make Heath Ledger flinch.' Regardless, he wasn't afraid to stay deep into his 'urban vampire' gimmick, including basically having no social media, always having weird ideas to drop into his promos, and not caring at all about his political standing within the company, since after all, would a creature of the night care about such things? Meanwhile, despite being only three years in the ring, Asher was solid when the bell rang, and shockingly, had quickly built his own strong female fanbase, within the Northwestern indy community. Hey, whatever floats your boat, right? Originally known as Kenny Dorsett, the last guy sitting in that row of lockers getting ready, he'd been kind of drifting through his training, when he showed up to drop off his payment wearing a full suit since he was heading out to his sister's wedding. YGW had joked, 'you looked like an 80's villain' in that, and from there, the gimmick and character began to take shape. Out was Kenny Dorsett, the son of a Boeing worker, in was 'rich extremist,' Kenneth Madison. Even though Madison still had barely over a year's experience in the ring, and as a result, had a lot of room to grow, he knew how to cut a promo, and had a presence thanks to his muscular build and background as a high school football star. Unfortunately, he was also kind of an ass, as he'd almost gotten his ass kicked by trying to flirt with another worker's wife, openly politicked despite bring a rookie and had a shady background, including some things in high school that were sketchy. It is wrestling, after all. They can't all be choir boys. <hr> Coming in from the chilly outside, was Takayoshi Asakura, our own Japanese punk. After setting a record for getting kicked out of a Japanese dojo in only four days for insubordination, 'Yoshi had managed to get a few gigs on the Japanese indies, before also being pressured to leave his home country. Rumors range from sleeping with a minor Yazuka's underage daughter to throwing sake in the face of Mito Miwa, but whatever, Asakura had shown up in Portland, to work at his cousin's motorcycle repair shop, and then recruited to work in the Northwestern indy scene himself. With only a little over a year of experience, Takayoshi had a lot of rough edges, but his bad-boy edge brought him a lot of female fans, and he had seemingly limitless reservoirs of energy to go full tilt through even long matches, which meant he had a bright future, as long as he didn't end up getting hit by somebody with a wrench after a show. <hr> The next set of people in the locker room, largely keeping to themselves, were three of the tag teams brought into the promotion. Perhaps most importantly, was the arrival of the Emerald Express, the hometown team from Seattle, which meant that unlike the rest of their work, they'd be babyfaces here in the Northwest. Brendan Sanders & Eric Kiley were in many ways, total opposites, both in the ring and personality-wise, as Sanders was a prickly 260 lb powerhouse, while Kiley was a lively technical middleweight, but together, they were a very impressive tag team, that got along well. Beside them were, one of the teams that had been brought in full-time to the area, as they'd done the tour of the smaller indies in the United States, were Double Trouble. The hard-partying, hard-drinking (well, at least Vinny) tag team had gotten a small amount of fame, for their ability as a team, and both men's individual skills. Wilde's a talented young heavyweight, who could do a hell of squash, while Vinny was a hell of a talker while being pretty creative himself when he wasn't three sheets to the wind. Plus, Vinny could actually play the guitar pretty well. Finally, was a team partly shrouded in mystery. Andres Arrabal and Salvador Saez, better known as Los Caudillos, had torn up the Mexican indy scene, especially the border area, with a gimmick even more closely related to the drug wars going on in the area, but either due to issues with other workers, or other things, depending on the story you believed, both Arrabal and Saez ended up in the US, where it quickly became obvious that both men were largely in it for themselves, and weren't afraid to spread acrimony in a locker room to get their way. They also played their characters well and could have excellent brawls with the right team, and if worse came to worse, they could always be let go. <hr> The final grouping of people, were three of the younger people in the locker room, as the trio that formed Instinct quietly were looking at something on the young Norwegian's phone, and laughing. Tor Sparre already had a Viking as hell name, but when he got into wrestling, training down at the Gray Wrestling Academy in Florida, naming himself after the Viking god of vengeance, Vidar. With only two years of experience, Vidar still had a long way to go, but he was willing to learn, a positive presence in the locker room, and looked very scary with his war paint on, even if he was currently showing cat memes to his teammates. Speaking of teammates, the only guy taller than Jonathan Water was Rishu Sarkar, better known as Varaha, named after an avatar of Vishnu, was a quiet Indian guy, who looked menacing as hell, but still had a long way to go to truly know how to work, even though he could currently squash the hell of anybody who stood before him. Then, there was perhaps the most important member of the team – half-Indian/one-quarter Colombian/one-quarter African-American, Shanti Barrios was the vey picture of American multi-culturalism, and it was a very pretty picture indeed. She was in college for broadcasting, before Rishu, who was related to her somehow (Jesse had gotten confused after the third uncle), had dragged her to a wrestling show, where both of them were spotted by Thomas Gray, who was in attendance at the show, and Rishu was trained, with Shanti also learning how to properly be a manager/valet, and she'd begun to work as simply The Goddess. <hr> There were two members of the roster, not currently in the locker room. First, there was 'Fabulous' Frank Roberts, who'd been brought in as a road agent. He had cred from his in-ring career, along with being PSW's road agent in the late 2000s, and had moved to the Seattle area a few years ago after a divorce, so had been sold on coming in to help out with the show, and was currently talking with the production crew on how to shoot the show. The last person was YGW's sister, Ashley, who was currently selling merch, to the fans already in the building, which was probably the job as she was best suited before, as along with being a hard partier like her brother, Ashley wasn't exactly dynamic on the mic, even though she did well as a cheering section for YGW during matches, and even though he'd never say it out loud with YGW in the room, looked good in her usual outfit of athletic shorts and a tank top. With it being ten minutes until bell time, Jesse signaled to the 'Core Five', then cleared his voice to get the attention of the locker room. “Well, guys, and don't worry Shanti, you're included in the guys, this is it. I've already gone over the finishes and timing of everything with all of you individually, and if you've forgotten, it's up on the whiteboard. I'm not about to give you some rah-rah BS Phil Vibert speech....” That's how a new era of professional wrestling in Seattle began. It was time for the birth of Emerald Pro Wrestling </div>

Before Our Story... So, this is an idea I've been working on a bit over the last few weeks, and I think I'm finally ready to get rolling with it. Basically, as anybody who does this thing we do, you likely have some fantasy booking you did before you found TEW or other games of this ilk. In my case, there's years upon years of companies I've booked on pen 'n' paper, where I've created wrestlers, booked angles, created rivalries, in and out of the ring, and quite enjoyed myself. But, how to bring this into TEW 2020? Lots and lots of work. Basically, what I've done is created _four_ different small feds of various products, created about 80 wrestlers of various skill types, and also imported the vast majority of the add'l characters made by various people on the forums, and also added a few of the companies from some alternate Cornellverse mods, so there's hopefully more of a burgeoning indy scene. The backstory for each company, the 'feel' of the company, and the various rosters will come together as we go. In general, to make sure that the more talented people on the roster don't immediately leave the story, I've added a one year written contact to everyone to more simulate the idea they're not very well known, more than actually having a written contract. The Story Begins... <div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:10px;background: #b3ffb3; max-width:90%; ";"> October 14th, 2019 Five Points Bar Seattle, Washington It was another late night, and as was tradition after another barely promoted independent wrestling show in the Seattle area, and this group of three people were sitting around a table, complaining about booking, the lack of professionalism, and the other vagaries of trying to get a wrestling career kickstarted in the Pacific Northwest. “...it's true though,” Jesse Ewiak said, pointing to his younger and more athletic brother, Frank. “How many times have you come out of whatever disaster of a locker room, told me what the money mark of the month had planned, and within a half an hour, I had a better card written up? I'm not saying this as if I'm Peter Michaels or anything, but I just understand Wrestling 101.” “Sure, man,” the laidback younger brother said, “and I appreciate it, but the reality is, we're stuck in no man's land. It was already tough-as-hell when this was known as the region for girls to wrestle, but now that Triple A is shut down, not only is there nothing going on, there are not even any hotties to hit on after a show anymore.” “As always, you get to the most important things,” joked James Kira, a long-time friend of Frank, who ended up getting close to Jesse, due to their mutual love of wrestling and Formula 1. “He does make a fair point, though, Jesse. It's a dead scene, and we're going to have ended up traveling over to the East Coast or maybe even head up over the border to get a shot with All Canada.” “There is another option -” began Jesse, but James cut him off at the past. “We've talked about that before. There's no damn way that Ariel would go for that,” responded James, looking down at his half-eaten plate of eggs and bacon. “What point is there to having a beautiful, rich wife, if you can't use some of those funds, though,” added in Finn Newman, better known as Youth Gone Wyld to the small crowd at the wrestling show earlier, alongside his sister Ashley, who was bringing over a round of drinks to the table. “We're not talking millions here – look, we've all been to the house in Bellevue. We know she lets you focus on training and trying to get shots with other indies, instead of a full-time job. You could sell her on this, with the idea that you'd actually be around,” Jesse added in, before taking a drink of his Blue Moon. “Let me guess, you'd like to be the bookerman,” said James with a smirk, as he waved over the hulking mass better known as Mandrake, over Reggie Hall to his friends. “Well, yeah. Plus, we'd have a brain trust...of sorts,” Jesse responded, as he moved over to let Reggie in. “So, what the hell are we yapping about,” asked Reggie, as he waved a waitress over. “Dreams of not being at the mercy of idiotic promoters – ya' know, the usual,” said Frank, while finishing his waffles. “You're not actually serious about this, are you,” added YGW. “I mean, there's a hell of a lot of stress that comes with a gig like that.” “I mean, it's not as if my current situation is all roses and wine,” Jesse responded. “If the choice is fighting with other folks like me for technical writing gigs, and reaching out for more creative stuff, or seeing if I can actually draw some money with my ideas, why not try the latter?” “Say I'm tempted by this idea,” James said, pulling back another swig of his stout. “How'd we sell Ariel?” “As I said, nothing huge, to start with,” Jesse responded. “It'd be a modest buy-in, with a promise that we wouldn't come back for any more. If we blow this, we're done. If we really want to drop a big ole' carrot for her, you connect the idea that if this fails, you also give up the dream, find some nice personal trainer gig, and spend the rest of your days having slightly past their prime MILF's flirting with you in their empty houses all over Bellevue and Kirkland.” “I don't think we'd put it that way,” Kira responded, seeming more open to the offer. “Oh please,” Ashley said, finally butting in. “Ariel knows you'd never cheat on her.” “Mainly, because if he did, he'd have to get a real job like the rest of us slobs,” Reggie gruffly said. “I mean, that isn't untrue,” James responded, to laughs from the rest of the table. “Seriously though, it's not like we're hurting and if anything, she's got capital laying around.” “A rough life you live,” Frank said, turning back from his weekly flirt session with the cute brunette waitress, with a grin on his face. “Not all of us can end up marrying a genius that sells out to Microsoft before they're twenty-five.” “Look, Jesse,” James said, turning his focus on him, “If I try to put this to Ariel, she'll want an actual plan. She'll want to know the other people you'll be contacting. She'll want a budget. If you're actually ready to do this, I'm not going to say it's our only shot, but I'm not saying it isn't, either.” After a long look at each other, Jesse said, “give me two weeks, and I'll wow her more than when you came back from that show in New York with diamond earrings.” Frank stood up, clapped Jesse on his shoulder, as he got up, “now, that's my big goddamn brother. Shots? Shots!” YGW got up, to join Frank, while Ashley moved closer to Reggie, talking about a spot in their match earlier, while Jesse brought up his phone, typing something up and showing it to James, who nodded. After all, the night was still young, and there were plenty of stories yet to tell, and plans to be made...</div> <div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:9px;background: #ffa8a8; max-width:90%; ";"> September 17th, 2019 Gray Training Academy Cocoa Beach, Florida It was the middle of fall, but the sun was still shining brightly on the Space Coast of Florida, as Mark Gray looked over the group training in the ring, working with Matthias Pax, the default current trainer, after the previous head trainer took a long-term gig in Europe. The lanky tattooed 26-year-old didn't look it, but he was an utter professional inside of the squared circle, as he put the younger wrestlers through their paces. Gray smiled, thinking of when he was in that ring, before a bad knee, had put him on the shelf before he even had a career of note. He could've rehabbed, but his father moved him over to the business side of things, taking care of both the training school and the various side companies that Thomas had started since retiring from the ring in the early 90's, after a long career of mid-tier independent shows in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. He then heard the familiar buzz of his phone, and read the message, that said – 'Come to the Main Office.' After a moment, he nodded to Matthias, then took the short walk into the modified former grocery store that had become the Gray Training Academy in the past decade. He walked into his father's office, where he was surprised to see Jack Pierce, the former Division I-AA standout, sitting in the office, with him. “Pierce, good to see you,” Mark said. “Surprised though, to be honest. I would've thought you'd never be back here after finishing up your training.” “That's actually why Jack stopped by,” his father said. After stroking his salt 'n' pepper hair, he continued saying, “Jack has been telling me, how difficult it's been to get any ring time. He went up to Mid-Atlantic, but they softly turned him away, and despite his background, Supreme seems set on their own class of guys.” “Nothing overseas,” Mark responded, thinking that one of the Japanese feds would love an athletic heavyweight like Jack. “The tsunami, plus everything else, means it's rough seas, plus every non-Japanese guy with a contract is holding it with dear life,” Jack said, in his straightforward way. He wasn't trying to be stand-off-ish, but when you'd been a God on campus, since you were barely out of elementary school, staring down at the bottom didn't seem that inviting. “That's unfortunate, but I'm confused on why you're back here,” Mark said, sitting down, across from his father. “Well, Jack pointed out that we'd promoted shows before,” Thomas said, posting to a poster of a show from the late 2000's. “Sure, but that was a decade ago, and most of that was sold shows, to get time for our trainees at the time,” Mark responded. “Plus, you remember the reason why we stopped doing it before, Dad.” “Times are different,” his father responded. “Look, we've got a wide-open market, and more importantly, we've developed enough talent in the last few years, that we wouldn't be totally depending on the dregs that made up the indy scene around here even only a few years ago.” “What exactly are you talking about here?” “Nothing large scale, at least at first. Cheap talent, plus a few names, including Jack here to bring in some folks, and we see what happens. The trucking business has been doing well, and we've got some cash to spare, that even if it doesn't work, there's relatively little risk,” Thomas responded. “OK, and nothing personal Jack, what if Eisen or Reviere call up tomorrow?” Jack took a moment and said, “how about this? Draw up a contract. I'll give you a year. Obviously, since you can't pay me too well, it won't be ironclad or anything, but it'll leave an opening that if somebody does come calling, you can have me put somebody over, then decide what you want to do.” “That actually sounds fair,” Mark responded. “Don't sound so shocked. I'm just not a dumb jock,” Pierce said. “OK – I'm sure we can get a decent roster together, just with our folks, but that's not enough,” Mark said, looking over some of the posters, behind his father. “I'll start contacting folks like the hillbillies, Jerome, and well, there is one guy, we'd want on the show, but -” “I know who you're talking about, and no damn way,” Thomas responded. “Look, I know he's a scumbag, Dad, and he's the reason Priest is out in Wisconsin or whatever, but he's also incredibly talented and can help solidify a roster for us.” “Fine, but I want other people on the roster, who can keep control of him. I'll call Kilburne.” “Is he even still working?” “He can be. Plus, I know his business took a dive in the last couple of years.” “Excuse me,” Jack added in, “but who the hell are you talking about?” “Oh right,” Thomas said, with a chuckle. “I forget you don't know all this BS. Mark. Cliff notes, please.” Mark sighed, then began. If Jack OK'd this guy being brought in, it'd mean a lot, but it'd also possibly be a tempest in a damned teapot.</div> <div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:10px;background: #a8c8ff; max-width:90%; ";"> November 2nd, 2019 Castlegate Apartments Green Bay, Wisconsin Archibald Oliver Foster, better known to Midwest independent wrestling fans as Dark Patriot, looked over the agreement one more time, while also nursing a Jack 'n' coke, as he usually did in the morning. It helped with the pain. It'd be a bit of a coup – basically merging three of the small scale independent promotions in the area, to one organization that actually has a bit of notoriety, all under his umbrella. It'd been an easier sell than he expected, mostly because two of the promoters were AARP members, and the other one had gotten the 'sell or leave the house' declaration from his wife, so with a relatively small infusion of cash, Archie had been able to take possession of a well-worn ring, contracts for a decent amount of shows, and of course, contact information for dozens of wrestler, that had wrestled on shows for these promoters over the past few years. For Archie though, there were names on that list he would never call, because even though he'd wrestled for the weirdos, the crazies, and the smarks, he actually cared about the wrestling, which is why if he was going to have a promotion, it was going to be back to basics, without all the BS, all the wildness, and pointless wackiness. He wasn't some hardcore Neroist or anything – after all, he wore a damn American flag mask to the ring, and he'd done a moonsault or two in his career, but after watching a few indy shows, he realized there needed be a promotion where the characters and angles were a bonus, not the whole damn thing. Thankfully, there was one name on that list, that he'd be happy to call – Heinrich, also known as Von Hess, would be an invaluable resource, on who'd be interested in such a promotion, and more importantly, who'd be a troublemaker. Then again, Archie wasn't looking for choir boys, not with what he'd done in the past, even though that was – what, eighteen years in the past? Time for another sip of his drink. Regardless, there were plenty of names on the list, and Archie began to boot up his laptop, to do some additional searching, to make sure none of the people at the top of his list would end up in Rhode Island or Mexico by the time he got to them. It'd be tough. It'd be worth it, though. To bring back wrestling to what it should be.</div> <div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:10px;background: #d2a8ff; max-width:90%; ";"> August 23rd, 2019 Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles, CA Rachel Patterson was waiting in a car, wondering if the future before her, was actually going to happen. After a short wrestling career, that hadn't gotten farther some dark matches at a couple of AAA shows, along with appearing in the background of a few US Pro angles, Rachel had moved on to her actual career – the law. Of course, Rachel had never gone full hog into wrestling, since it sure as hell wasn't going to pay that law school debt, but on the other hand, even her limited experience, had helped her in the courtroom, and quicker than you can say, 'class action,' she'd shockingly been on the winning side of a huge lawsuit, and even though plenty of more senior lawyers had gotten far more than she did, Rachel had gotten a bonus that paid off her loans, and also allowed her to think of something more than the next case. So, she took a leave of absence and began to make some calls. To wrestlers, she'd worked with. That led to calls to other wrestlers. Personel. She even got a three-minute conversation with Allen Packer, while she was visiting with Alicia. Now, here she was, waiting for the two lynchpins of her plans to actually commit to the biggest risk in her life. So, of course, both flights were delayed, which meant both planes would land within fifteen minutes of each other. After waiting a moment, Rachel cleaned off her glasses, took a look at her phone, and saw the first text – 'Plane Land. Please come pick-up.' Doing a quick, slightly illegal turn, Rachel parked, and then headed into the baggage area, looking for her first set of guests, and it was easy to spot them. Even in a place like LAX, three athletic, good looking Japanese women stood out. Especially when one of them had purple hair. Her first name was Aoki, but everybody, including her family, referred to her as the name she'd chosen, while in training – Angel. “Miss Kikuchi, I'm glad to finally meet you in person,” Rachel said, putting her hand out. After a brief handshake, and a signal to the two younger women behind her, she responded, “it's good to meet you, Miss Patterson. I assume everything is going according to plan.” She spoke perfect English, but then quickly turned back to Japanese to give more instructions to the young girls, behind her. “Nothing too difficult to deal with, but unfortunately, another flight I have to meet is due to land in about ten minutes, but it shouldn't be a worry.” “Ramone?” “Exactly. Have you met her before?” “No. It's of no matter. You understand that she's, um, sizzle, no steak?” “Well, I wouldn't put it that way, but yes, she's quite the character, which will be important to draw enough fans to start competing with other organizations.” “As long as she doesn't get in my way, it's of no worry to me, Miss Patterson,” Kikuchi said, barely looking at the person who in theory, was employing her. After another string of Japanese to her young girls, who barely nodded to Rachel, before heading for the Uber, Angel turned back to Rachel and said, “I expect a full six-month plan sent to my e-mail before I put pen to paper. Just because I can't go back to Five Star, doesn't mean I'm without options.” Of course, what Angel was referring too, was the still mysterious circumstance, in how she got turfed out of Five Star, just when she was beginning her ascent. Everything from a real lifeblood feud with Fuyuko Higa to a torrid romance with a J-Pop star had been thrown out into the ether, and in the six months since her last month, Kikuchi had done nothing but continued to train the two young girls, who were coming with her to America, and made a single appearance at a QAW card, where it was reported, that Farrah Hesketh and her argued for an hour about the finish to her match. Needless to say, she didn't make a second appearance. On the other hand, Kikuchi was insanely talented, and even if it was only for a year, Rachel needed someone of her talents to get SPARKLE off the ground. As she looked and saw the Uber drive away, she got another text – 'Yo, plane's here. Got other big news, babe.' Thirty minutes later, Rachel and Penny Ramone were sitting down at a Chili's Two, Rachel with an overpriced margarita, and the underage Ramone, with an oversized root beer float. “ - and that's when I threw the bat at the SOB,” Penny finished. “Now, I guess we should get down to business.” “I suppose it'd be an idea,” Rachel said, with a smile. Compared to Angel, Penny was a revelation, even though they'd also already dealt with three different fans looking for an autograph. “So, you've gotten the general top of the card you'd be working with – obviously, booking plans change, and nobody else on the roster quite has your popularity, but I really think we can build something.” “Rachel, you can stop selling,” Penny said. “You've got me. Well, mostly.” “Mostly,” Rachel responded, with a bit of worry in her voice. “Well, that's the thing. After our last concert in Bern, our manager contacted us about a quick deal over in Asia – it'd be about three months of fun in the sun, or I think the sun since we'd be around the equator. Regardless, we'd be opening for Crackerjack and Mario Joyner, and it'd be a real shot at breaking through -” “What are you saying?” “I'm saying, doll, that I won't be able to come in until the end of March. Unless you can pay up for my entire band to not take the gigs.” “No, no. Of course not. Hmm. That shifts some things.” “Look, I'm not ditching you. It's just, everything – three years ago, I was a teenage girl, singing in front of a couple of dozen guys mostly interested in getting in my pants, and I rushing off to download Five Star shows off the torrents. Now, the band is getting somewhere, and so is this wrestling thing. It's just a weird deal.” “I totally understand – six months ago, I was arguing a class action lawsuit with five dudes my father's age. So, I get change,” Rachel said, taking a long drink of her margarita. “Anyway, I've got a 'secret' gig that we've posted all over Twitter tonight, but I'll leave your name on the list. Worry about everything tomorrow, right,” Penny said, with an impish grin. “Sounds like a plan.”</div>