WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="JMike" data-cite="JMike" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> How many championships will change hands? Not counting the TV title, one. </div></blockquote> Thank you for pointing this out. I've edited the original post to reflect it.
- June 4, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

January 2004: Road to Sin <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="3MFjcGQ.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/3MFjcGQ.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> The Backstories:</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Our Fallen Brothers</div> January 5th: Arn Anderson summoned Rey Mysterio Jr. and Steve Austin to the ring, saying that after their huge victories at Starrcade he considered them the top two contenders to the World Heavyweight Championship, and as a result he was going to put them in a #1 contender's match. It was supposed to be the main event of the following week, with the winner to challenge Unnatural at Sin, but Matt Hardy crashed the party. He'd already made defense #11 of the TV title earlier in the night against Bobby Roode, but he revealed that he was gunning for #15 and the title shot at Unnatural, and he was going to hit that mark before Sin! Arn pointed out that there were only two more episodes of Nitro before Sin, so even if he defended the title every week he'd still be two victories short. Matt said that that wasn't going to be a problem, because he would defend the belt multiple times a night if it meant he got his hands on Unnatural sooner! Arn asked him if he really wanted to do that, because he thought it unwise. Matt said his mind was made up, so Arn shrugged his shoulders and said he couldn't stop him. Everyone else left the ring while Matt dared anyone from the locker room to come out and challenge him on the spot. Shane Helms took him up on the impromptu opportunity, but a determined Hardy beat him in under ten minutes for defense #12. January 12th: Hardy opened up the show with defense #13 against Chavo Guerrero Jr, and afterwards got on the microphone and shouted for anyone else to come out right away for defense #14. To the surprise of everyone, it was old face Bobby Eaton, himself a former 2 time TV champ, who emerged to take up the challenge. The veteran did his best to use his tricks as well as Hardy's stamina to try and turn back time, but the Twist of Fate put him down and placed Matt one title defense away from the magic number. Salvation appeared on the video screen afterwards, and Unnatural assured Matt that none of them would do anything to impede his efforts. "You want to avenge your fallen brother, and how could I fault you for that? It was that same objective that fuelled me at Starrcade, and I will never forget the satisfaction I felt. It's only fair that you be given the same opportunity. That's why no member of Salvation has asked to be one of your challengers, and why we will stay out of the way as you try to make your final defense next week. I wish you luck, Matthew. But should you make it to Sin, I can promise that you will not find me an easy target to exact your vengeance upon." January 19th: Matt Hardy's fifteenth and final title defense was in the books after a win over Yang. Afterwards, Unnatural appeared on the video screen. "Well done, Matthew!" he praised. "You have done what you set out to do, and now your chance for vengeance is just six short days away. But let me ask you: do you really think you can achieve it? It's no secret that in the eyes of most, your little brother is the one destined for greatness, the one with singles world championship potential. Can you succeed where he failed, and step out of his shadow once and for all? I have my doubts, but maybe you can prove me wrong. I challenge you to catch up to me later tonight and impress me." Later in the show, with no sign of Matt, Unnatural sent the rest of Salvation home. "Let's find out if he truly has the fortitude to impress me. I shall remain here alone for the rest of the night and see what happens." The main event had concluded, still with no sign of Hardy. Unnatural left the building, shaking his head in disappointment...and that's when Matt struck. He blindsided Unnatural in the parking lot with a forearm to the back of the head, then slammed his face against the window of a rental car. Unnatural tried to escape by crawling over the vehicle, but Matt followed him and grabbed him by the foot before he could escape. He pulled an unwilling champion up to his feet, then delivered a Twist of Fate on the hood of the car! Message delivered! </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Fight For Your Right</div> January 5th: As already documented, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Steve Austin were determined to be the top two contenders to the World Heavyweight Championship. Matt Hardy's mission threw a wrench into Arn Anderson's plan to have a #1 contender's match on January 12th, but Arn made it clear that it was still going to happen at some point. If Matt was dethroned before the end of the January 12th Nitro, it'd happen on the 19th. If not it would happen at Sin itself, and the winner would get their shot the following month at SuperBrawl XIV. Austin was interviewed later in the night. He called Matt a "crazy SOB" for what he was attempting to do (but he said it with a smile on his face, so it was obvious the move earned his respect.) But now that he'd finally beaten Goldberg, there was only one thing on Austin's mind: winning the title that had eluded him for years, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. "And it don't matter who I gotta go through. Mysterio, Hardy, Unnatural, I'll stomp a mudhole in all of 'em and walk it dry, so long as it gets me that belt!" January 12th: Austin and Mysterio stepped into Piper's Pit, and both agreed on one thing: they would be holding nothing back. Rey said he respected Austin, but all his toughness wouldn't help him if he couldn't keep up. With a smirk, Austin said Rey wouldn't be doing any flying once he got his hands on him. Piper's next question was cut off by the Dangerous Alliance. Heyman "apologized" for the interruption, but he felt compelled to let Austin, Mysterio, The Unnatural and Matt Hardy know that they were all operating on borrowed time, because it was inevitable that the Dangerous Alliance would control everything soon enough. Austin and Mysterio put their own battle aside momentarily to go after the intruders, but the three on two numbers game favored the Alliance. Douglas drove Austin's head into the mat with a DDT, O'Haire launched Mysterio through the air with his new finisher, and the Alliance stood tall. January 19th: Stemming from the altercation in Piper's Pit the previous week, Austin and Mysterio joined forces against O'Haire and Douglas in a big tag team main event (though both made the point in an interview that at Sin, all bets were off.) This wound up being an unforgettable match, one that will be a frontrunner for match of the year twelve months from now. Despite their best efforts, there was obviously a lack of trust between Austin and Mysterio. The Dangerous Alliance had no such problems, and O'Haire tossed Mysterio to the mat for a clean win. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Returning with Style</div> January 5th: The True Heroes' in-ring promo celebrating their third reign as World Tag Team Champions had an inglorious end thanks to the returning Made in Italy, who ambushed the unsuspecting champions. Storm was thrown over the top rope and to the floor, while Punk was on the receiving end of their Catwalk double team move. Made in Italy posed with the tag team belts while Dawn Marie smiled. January 12th: Made in Italy's in-ring return went well, as they made short work of local talent Pac and Paul Burchill. Afterwards the Heroes stepped into the aisle to respond to last week's attack. Punk and Parisi handled the talking for the two teams, trading verbal barbs before Punk eventually revealed that even though Made in Italy didn't truly deserve a title shot after being on the shelf for months, he and Lance had gone to the office and lobbied for them as the first challengers at Sin. January 19th: Punk and Parisi met in a singles match this week. It was a very good match in which Parisi acquitted himself well, but ultimately it was a ruse for Mamaluke to attack Punk and the two of them to soften him up before Sin. Storm was quickly out for the save, but Dawn Marie strategically placed herself in his way. We made a point of referencing their past as Lance hesitated for a moment, which was all Parisi needed to blast Lance in the face with Punk's tag title belt. Punk was given The Catwalk face-first onto the belt for good measure, and afterwards Parisi grabbed the microphone and said Made in Italy would wear these titles with style after Sin. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">A Fallen Empire</div> January 5th: A huge story unfolded at the end of the show. King Corino, blaming everyone from the "rebellious failure" Goldberg to "the incompetent bimbo" Tammy Sytch to "the clueless redneck" Jamie Knoble and even "the wannabe CEO who was nothing but a worthless pervert" (Bischoff), officially shut down The Empire! Of the members present, Knoble had a big smile on his face at the reveal, while TAKA and Sytch looked crushed. January 12th: In an interview with Becky Bayless, Sytch and TAKA presented a united front. Tammy said that even though The Empire might have crumbled, their own partnership would continue. Later in the night, when the Jung Dragons objected to Made in Italy returning to action and immediately receiving a title shot, one of the concessions Arn Anderson gave them was placing Kaz Hayashi in a #1 contender's match against Aguila the next week, with the winner to challenge TAKA for the Cruiserweight title at Sin. January 19th: Hayashi knocked off Aguila to earn a title match against TAKA. Also on the show, King Corino appeared briefly to tease a major announcement this Sunday at Sin. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">The Phoenix's Five Star Challenge</div> January 12th: Hayabusa followed up a win over Konnan by knocking off Fit Finlay in a match to determine the #1 contender for Rob Van Dam's United States Heavyweight Championship. Afterwards, Van Dam and Heyman congratulated Hayabusa. But Heyman was quick to suggest that earning this chance was a double edged sword for Hayabusa. "Just look at what happened to Bryan Danielson!" he said. "If you're not careful, "The Phoenix" could join "The American Dragon" on the endangered species list!" January 19th: Hayabusa had a ringside seat as RVD showed off his offense and beat Teddy Hart in a non-title match. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Shooting with Danger</div> January 19th: The Dangerous Alliance interrupted a Shooting Stars interview, with Heyman declaring that "much more important things" needed to be addressed, namely that night's main event tag match where his men were going to take on Austin and Mysterio. The Stars, and Teddy Hart in particular took offense to the lack of respect. Teddy said he wasn't afraid of either of them, and he and Billy would be happy to put them in their place. The Alliance laughed, and that set up another match for the PPV. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">A Calgary Legacy</div> January 5th: During an interview, Harry Smith said he'd been down in the dumps and feeling like a failure for months, until his lifelong friend/brother in all but name TJ Wilson showed up and reminded him who he is and what his legacy is. This officially signaled Harry's heel turn, setting up the Calgary Bulldogs as a new team to contend with on the heel side. January 12th: The Bulldogs picked up a tag team victory over Petey Williams and Ernest Miller. January 19th: The Bulldogs mocked Aguila after his failed bid to become the #1 contender for the Cruiserweight title, and Volador didn't appreciate it. He came out and challenged the Bulldogs to meet them in a tag match, a challenge that TJ arrogantly accepted. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">What's Flair Up To?</div> January 5th: AJ Styles bounced back from a tough loss to Sean O'Haire at Starrcade by beating Brian Kendrick in a thrilling main event. The match was so good that it apparently attracted the attention of Ric Flair, who turned up halfway through and watched the remainder of the match from the aisle. January 12th: Becky Bayless tried to get an answer on why Flair had appeared last week. Was he scouting AJ Styles, or Brian Kendrick? Or maybe even both? Ric laughed and flirted with Becky for a bit, but was evasive on actually answering the question. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Other Points of Interest</div> -On the January 5th Nitro, Arn Anderson said he regretted what had happened to Jeff Hardy at Starrcade. He felt personally responsible for what had happened, and while Hardy himself requested a dangerous Texas Death Match, Arn should have empowered referee Nick Patrick to exercise his judgment and call the match off before any serious injuries happened. He didn't do so, and in his mind he'd failed both Jeff hardy and WCW. He'd gone to ownership and handed in his resignation. Per their request he was staying on in the job until they could find a replacement, but a new president would be revealed at Sin. -Once Matt Hardy made title defense #15 against Yang, it was time to find a new TV champion. In his last full night on the job, Arn Anderson announced there would be a ten men battle royal at Sin to fill the vacancy. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Show Summaries: 1/5: <img alt="tQWVeLt.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/tQWVeLt.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -Buff Bagwell showed up very late to the building, blowing off his pre-show meeting. I fined him, and that was it. -I took some time out before the show to work on psychology with TJ. -Kevin Steen's no-nonsense badass character got a better than average reaction I'd say, while El Generico's fun, goofy babyface received a more typical response for a debuting wrestler. -Harry Smith's embracing of TJ's cocky attitude and fully committing to a heel role went over pretty well in my opinion. "I think Mamaluke's pretty good; glad to see that his neck's finally feeling better. I'm looking forward to working with him and Johnny at Sin." -CM Punk 1/12: <img alt="Yi1ECqs.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Yi1ECqs.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -King Corino kept the mood light before the show by leading a poker game. -Ric Flair and Petey Williams were joking around; well, really Ric was joking around and telling stories to the kid, who seemed very interested. "I was impressed at how well Parisi kept up with me on the mic. He could be a really good promo guy if you keep giving him chances." -CM Punk 1/19: <img alt="bk2GUBc.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/bk2GUBc.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: "I made sure to watch Devitt's dark match because I've heard a lot about him. I think he's gonna be great." -CM Punk </div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> Fan Scorecard: World Heavyweight Championship: Matt Hardy vs. The Unnatural {©} #1 Contender's Match: "The Hellraiser" Steve Austin vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. World Tag Team Championship: Made in Italy vs. True Heroes {©} United States Heavyweight Championship: Hayabusa vs. Rob Van Dam {©} 10 Man Battle Royal for the vacant World Television Championship, featuring: Brian Kendrick, Chavo Guerrero Jr, Christopher Daniels, Colt Cabana, Fit Finlay, Konnan, Mark Jindrak, Paul London, Shane Helms and Yang Cruiserweight Championship: Kaz Hayashi vs. TAKA{©} The Shooting Stars vs. The Dangerous Alliance Volador Jr. and Aguila vs. The Calgary Bulldogs What will be match of the night? How many championships will change hands (the TV title doesn't count)? Who will be named the new president of WCW? BONUS (worth 3 points): Who will be the next WCW Women's World Champion? General diary comments/questions/critiques: </div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> My first ever 100 rated match. And it came on a random episode of Nitro! <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="WilburTrey" data-cite="WilburTrey" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Your women put on better shows than my whole roster. You have done a great job building them up while also building up the WCW show. Great job!</div></blockquote> I'm really happy with how well Renaissance has come along!
- June 4, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

January 2004: Post-Dream Slam News and Hall of Champions <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="FlfrjkH.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/FlfrjkH.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> Based on the initial internet response, it's clear most people took Akira Hokuto's victory to mean that Manami Toyota had accepted WWE's offer and would be leaving us. That actually was not the case. It came right down to the wire, but she wound up accepting a new four year contract extension. She got some nice perks, such as a 20% bonus on every PPV appearance and house shows off, plus a massive pay increase that now makes her the eighth highest paid person in the company. It's a great contract for her, but I felt we couldn't afford to lose her. I think she's worth it. The decision to put the title on Hokuto was made independently of Toyota's negotiations. It actually was the plan from before the Grand Prix tournament that Hokuto won even started, much less WWE reaching out to Manami. As fantastic as Toyota has been as the flag bearer for Renaissance, it felt like the time was right to make a title switch. I believe the title and the brand are in good hands with Hokuto, and Toyota will remain a central figure on Renaissance regardless of if she's a champion or not. <hr noshade size=3> <div style="text-align:center;">Hall of Champions:</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="JJBwRaP.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JJBwRaP.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> World Women's Champion: http://i.imgur.com/741TrEA.jpg Akira Hokuto <img alt="Hz5OM83.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Hz5OM83.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Won: January 11th, 2004 from Manami Toyota at Dream Slam in Tokyo, Japan ((This was formerly the WWWA World Championship, the top title in All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling. The title was renamed the WCW World Women's Championship upon WCW buying AJW, and its title lineage was kept intact.)) Previous Champions (since January 2002): Manami Toyota: October 5th, 2002-January 11th, 2004 (463 days) Etsuko Mita: January 9th, 2002-October 5th, 2002 (269 days) World Women's Tag Team Champions: <img alt="ZkoqX4B.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ZkoqX4B.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Our Generation (Melissa Anderson and Nattie Neidhart) http://i.imgur.com/OophliK.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/MAaFqtV.jpg Won: January 11th, 2004 from Devil Kong at Dream Slam in Tokyo, Japan Previous Champions (since July 2003): Devil Kong (Aja Kong and Devil Masami): July 6th, 2003-January 11th, 2004 (189 days) ANNUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: Grand Prix tournament (held every October): (From 1985-2000 this was a tournament held in All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling. The tournament was revived in 2003 by WCW and the Renaissance brand after purchasing AJW.) 2003: Akira Hokuto (x2) 2000: Kaoru Ito (x2) 1999: Manami Toyota (x4) 1998: Manami Toyota (x3) 1997: Kaoru Ito 1996: Aja Kong (x2) 1995: Manami Toyota (x2) 1994: Yumiko Hotta 1993: Akira Hokuto 1992: Aja Kong 1991: Kyoko Inoue 1990: Manami Toyota 1989: Mitsuko Nishiwaki 1988: Bull Nakano 1987: Chigusa Nagayo 1986: Yukari Omori 1985: Lioness Asuka </div></div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Prediction Score (out of a possible 8 points): BHK6: 8 JMike: 7 Dead_Jester: 7 evileddie10: 7 DHK1989: 6 CobheadJake: 6 WilburTrey: 5 franticloser: 5 K-Nection: 5 deanohbk: 5 DGenerationMC: 5 Cro Cop Rules: 5 Rateddc: 4 Satyr24: 4 Uncrewed: 4 GingeyOne: 3 bonnie: 3 Danny_H22: 3 James The Animator: 3 DavidCorperial: 3 Nobby_McDonald: 2 </div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="JMike" data-cite="JMike" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Who's in Zero One besides guys like Hashimoto, Minoru, Wright and Adams? I know Shinjiro Otani and Masato Tanaka are always in Zero One too, but anyone else? Nice new logo btw</div></blockquote> Aside from the ones you've mentioned, other guys they have that jump out at me are Shibata and Ken Shamrock as more top of the line, and a few that could work with cruiserweights like Ikuto Hidaka, Chad Collyer and Wataru Inoue. I'm also intrigued by Claudio Castagnoli and Genki Horiguchi, but they're only under touring deals. All credit for the graphical overhaul of 2004, logo included, goes to K-Nection! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Hashasheen" data-cite="Hashasheen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>> Edit: Also, ZERO-1? Really? After they've picked up several ex-WCW guys? Obviously it's down to AI, but you'd think an in-game Shinya Hashimoto wouldn't want to make his promotion look even more dependent on WCW starpower.</div></blockquote> On the other hand, maybe he's interested in booking as many name brand gaijins as he can get his hands on. <img alt=":cool:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/cool.png.f00d2562b2c1d873a09323753efdb041.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />
- May 30, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

January 11th, 2004: Dream Slam <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="FWEyw7p.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/FWEyw7p.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> January 11th, 2004 From Jingu Stadium in Tokyo, Japan Attendance: 48,000 Announce Team: Joey Styles, Tracy Brooks and Bret "The Hitman" Hart <img alt="jUhTewM.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jUhTewM.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="cyeakzQ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/cyeakzQ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="nG8aWZm.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nG8aWZm.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Official Theme Song: "Dream On" by Aerosmith <iframe width="560" height="315" src="<a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9bAoq7k3tZ0" rel="external nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/embed/9bAoq7k3tZ0"</a> frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Alexis Laree and Allison Corino vs. Etsuko Mita and Kaoru Ito http://i.imgur.com/VwQDgVe.jpg<img alt="Z9fdnin.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Z9fdnin.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/cAw5Dl8.jpg<img alt="CwgRMYN.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CwgRMYN.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> This felt like it would be a good way to open the show, and that was correct. This match didn't set the world on fire or anything, but it was a solid little bout and it got the crowd warmed up and into the show early. Etsuko Mita has the biggest pedigree of the four, and it was obvious why. She was the best performer in this match by a pretty wide margin, executing her offense well and doing a good job as a cocky heel that generated heat. Alexis wasn't bad either, showing flashes of the main event potential we see in her. The other two weren't terrible, though they did lag behind a bit. It did feel like Allison showed off some improvement both as she brawled with Ito, and went into a chain wrestling sequence with Mita. We did our best to establish the faces as a team to watch in the future, especially the more they teamed and built a rapport together. They came close, including a teased fall when Alexis hit a tornado DDT on Ito but Mita made the save just in time. In the end though, it was Mita and her big match experience that came through. She hit her Death Valley Driver finisher on Allison and got the pin. <div style="text-align:center;">Grade: 79</div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/vjvktnZ.jpg<img alt="cyeakzQ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/cyeakzQ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> Before the next match could begin, Tracy Brooks was handed a note that requested she come to the ring and do the honors for Katarina Waters' 'grand awakening'. She read off of a prepared script in Japanese to the audience while we put up subtitles for the PPV viewers on our English broadcast. Tracy has been working in Japan long enough that there was no language barrier for her, but she still seemed nervous and underperformed in her role. She did what she needed to do though, which was get across the message that Katarina's grand awakening would spell a nightmare for the rest of the Renaissance roster; a terrible, but beautiful, nightmare. <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="P0DrpjS.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/P0DrpjS.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> Out came Katarina, clad in black and gold and wearing an eye mask, now going by the name The Beautiful Nightmare. She did a sort of cocky dance on her way down the ramp and once she got into the ring. I thought the fan response to this new character was great. She really came off well, and I think the crowd got more interested in the upcoming match. <div style="text-align:center;">Grade: 71 Kyoko Inoue vs. The Beautiful Nightmare http://i.imgur.com/vjvktnZ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg<img alt="P0DrpjS.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/P0DrpjS.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> Now that the 'grand awakening' had been delivered and the new character was introduced, it was time to see what happened bell to bell. I told Dusty to have them focus mainly on telling the story here. We had plenty of matches coming up that would hopefully be fantastic crowd pleasers; this one was about establishing this new character. Kyoko was the much better performer in this match, it has to be said, but that wasn't really a surprise for me. She has been doing this for fifteen years and is still one of the better female workers in the world to this day, while Kat is only a three year pro and this was by far her biggest match to date. She's an above average technical wrestler already, and hopefully her work will continue to grow along with her crowd reception. As she had been doing since the beginning of her sudden TV win streak, Nightmare wrestled with a completely different, more confident aura about her. Inoue was another level of competition compared to the women she'd been defeating on TV though, so this was a much tougher match. Nightmare's attempt to deliver a blow off of the top rope was thwarted when Inoue cut her off and executed an overhead belly to belly superplex. When that failed to finish the job she stayed right on the attack, lifting her foe onto her shoulders for her Victoria Driver (Burning Hammer.) Nightmare escaped certain defeat by slipping out the back door though, and she swiftly caught Kyoko on the jaw with the move she'd been finishing all her opponents with, the superkick (which would later be named the Night Terror during Katarina's post-match interview for WCW.com.) <div style="text-align:center;">Grade: 73</div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Chigusa Nagayo vs. Wesna Busic http://i.imgur.com/XvzeNmR.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg<img alt="FuHp3pk.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/FuHp3pk.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> The storyline buildup for this was nicely woven into the match itself, as we waited to see whether Busic would fight Chigusa head-on or if she'd try and look for an opening for a surprise attack. That question was answered early, as Busic made a beeline for Nagayo, tackled her to the mat and tried to land some strikes. Perhaps Busic could be a bit of an opportunist, but she was no coward. She had no problem going toe to toe with the veteran, and held her own. Her performance didn't leave anything to complain about, but there was no doubt who shone the brightest here. Chigusa might be one of the older women on the roster, but she can still go with the best of them. She was borderline great here. We pushed the idea that Wesna was young, hungry and looking to inflict serious pain on her opponent with her shootfighting-influenced style. She succeeded in dishing out damage, but Nagayo showed that despite nearing the age of 40, she still had the ability to absorb damage and keep coming back. She weathered the storm, made a comeback and hit the Super Freak to put away her much younger opponent. There was never any question in my mind about who was winning this match; Chigusa is one of our top babyface women, and her time in that upper echelon isn't through just yet. I believe that merely being in this program with a top star has helped legitimize Wesna, who was enhancement talent not so long ago, as a bona fide member of the roster. <div style="text-align:center;">Grade: 78</div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/LyKOnBY.jpg<img alt="Hz5OM83.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Hz5OM83.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jmNiTQv.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jmNiTQv.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="3S8ZZlj.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/3S8ZZlj.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> Manami Toyota and Akira Hokuto cut promos to hype tonight's main event. Manami's improv was somewhat poor here, but all in all they did a fantastic job at getting over the importance of this match and how seriously they both were approaching it. I think Joey and I also did our part in hyping the match up. This was a fantastic segment that did exactly what it was designed to do, which was get people more interested in this match. <div style="text-align:center;">Grade: 100</div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Meiko Satomura vs. Toshiyo Yamada <img alt="OCuJKqq.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/OCuJKqq.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/zVT0XcD.jpg </div> This was the first of what I viewed as the 'big three' matches on this show, and like the others it got significant time. They started off slow, telling a story of the 16 year pro Yamada wrestling a conservative defensive match and waiting for her younger opponent to make a mistake. It's a simple story, but they told it brilliantly. Yamada was pretty good as the cowardly heel, and Satomura was really great at playing a fiery, energetic babyface. She really got the crowd behind her, and up to this point I'd say she was the second best individual performer of the night behind Chigusa. This was a really great match. Yamada's plan was successful; she baited Satomura into attempting a missile dropkick that she sidestepped, and then went on the offensive. Several sharp kicks set the stage for Toshiyo's Elbow Cutter, but it wasn't enough to finish Meiko off. Yamada shook her head and pointed her finger at referee Charles Robinson before refocusing herself and measuring Satomura for a corkscrew roundhouse kick. Meiko ducked though, and moments later connected with her own Scorpio Rising kick to score a big win. <div style="text-align:center;">Grade: 93</div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="ZkoqX4B.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ZkoqX4B.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Our Generation vs. Devil Kong {©} http://i.imgur.com/OophliK.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/MAaFqtV.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/iVkKXFP.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/gOVE3CN.jpg</div> The first title match between these two teams on the November 15th episode of Renaissance fell below my expectations, but I was hopeful that the four ladies could produce something better the second time around in this semi main event spot. My faith was rewarded. Aja, even when maybe a step off her game, was still great as a monster heel executing power spots. Nattie was pretty good herself, showing some fire and "excellently" executing some solid mat wrestling. Melissa was even better, nearly matching Kong's level of work. She is the more well-rounded member of Our Generation; while Nattie is the superior mat wrestler, Melissa has a notable edge as a brawler and can also do a bit of flying, and she showed off her all-around skills in various situations against both members of Devil Kong. But I'd say that Melissa's most valuable skill is her understanding of match psychology. I gave them plenty of time and allowed her to make any adjustments to the structure of the match on the fly, and she didn't disappoint. But while the work of the other three members of the match was to be applauded, Devil Masami truly shone above them all. She was absolutely fantastic here, doing some good brawling and also showing her versatility while mixing it up technically. There was no question she was the best performer of the entire night. With the combined efforts of both teams, this was a massive step up from their first encounter. Satomura vs. Yamada was very narrowly better, but I was still thrilled with how this turned out. Our Generation had things going their way, with Nattie spearheading a successful strategy of wrestling Kong to the mat and targeting her legs with a variety of holds and strikes. Devil Masami could feel the titles slipping away, and she decided to once again take drastic action. In what was nearly a mirror image of the ending of the first match, she waited for referee Hideki Kobayashi to be out of position so she could bash Melissa with one of the title belts. But Nattie, who had been on the receiving end of that tactic the first time around, was ready for it. She darted in from the apron and tackled Devil, taking the both of them through the ropes, the title belt falling harmlessly to the mat. Melissa looked startled at the commotion, but she saw her opportunity and took it. Picking up the work her partner had started, she went after Aja's weakened legs with <a href="https://i.imgur.com/MSiDLct.gif" rel="external nofollow">a new, yet-unnamed hold</a> best described as an inverted cloverleaf. As the ropes were nowhere in sight, Kong tried to brute force her way free, but Melissa's technique was too solid, her grasp too strong... ...and she tapped out! <div style="text-align:center;">Grade: 92</div> Our Generation were presented with the titles after the match, and received a nice response from the Tokyo crowd. Melissa is the better talker of the two, so we had her cut a promo in Japanese to thank the fans for supporting them and promise to be fighting champions who would make Renaissance, WCW and the entire wrestling world proud. Pretty generic babyface stuff, but it worked. The fans were very receptive to the promo, treating and reacting to both her and Nattie as big babyface stars. <div style="text-align:center;">Grade: 98</div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/741TrEA.jpg Akira Hokuto vs. Manami Toyota {©} <img alt="Hz5OM83.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Hz5OM83.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/LyKOnBY.jpg</div> After the first two thirds of the 'big three' delivered excellent outings, Hokuto and Toyota had their work cut out for them if they wanted to prove they deserved to be in the main event spot of this show. To the surprise of absolutely no one, they were up to the challenge. While I'd still say that Devil Masami was the best individual performer of the entire night, both of these two were right on her heels. Manami was perhaps a half (or a quarter) step better than Akira, but really they were very evenly matched both in kayfabe and in reality. They told a phenomenal story from start to finish; both women are excellent ring psychologists, so there was no worry about letting them do what they wanted. This was two world class wrestlers putting on a clinic in both ring work and dramatic story crafting, and it was a delight to call. Not only was this very clearly the best match on a great show, it edged out Toyota's victory over Toshiyo Yamada at October's Grand Prix as the new best match in Renaissance history. After Toyota suffered a (kayfabe, thankfully) neck injury on a beautifully-sold crash into the buckles, Hokuto pinpointed that body part as the focal point of her attack. Some suplexes and neck-based submissions put Manami in peril, and her great selling added to the drama. That made her comebacks all the more rewarding, and got the fans even more involved in urging her on every time Hokuto regained control. For industry insiders (and people who like to think of themselves as such), Toyota's ongoing contract negotiations with both us and WWE were nearly as fascinating as the match itself. She'd thankfully made her decision a day before the show, so there was no uncertainty on her status from my end. Word hadn't yet leaked to the dirt sheets or the internet fans, who I'm sure had a close eye on this to see what the finish was and speculate on what it meant about her future. Those who were convinced McMahon's deep pockets meant Toyota was a goner were probably very surprised when she made a big late-match comeback and got Hokuto on her shoulders in a familiar position. There was still a chance for an escape or a counter, of course...but it wasn't to be. Hokuto was driven to the canvas with Manami's signature <a href="https://i.imgur.com/8lgNKn9.gif" rel="external nofollow">Ocean Cyclone Suplex!</a> Charles Robinson was in position to deliver the one... two... ...Hokuto got the shoulder up! Manami and the fans alike were stunned that Akira had somehow survived, but she knew she couldn't afford to sulk. She pulled Hokuto to her feet and crossed her arms, trying to hook her for the Ocean Suplex, but the challenger fought her off with an elbow to the jaw. That stunned the champion, and Akira followed up with a bridging German suplex. Toyota was able to kick out, but was holding her injured neck in pain after the rough landing. Hokuto pulled her up by her hair, and Toyota was unable to prevent a <a href="https://i.imgur.com/r2StHG3.gif" rel="external nofollow">Northern Lights Bomb!</a> Hokuto hooked the leg, and Charles Robinson's hand hit the canvas once... twice... ...and a third time! <div style="text-align:center;">Grade: 98 <img alt="Fr5nOJR.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Fr5nOJR.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="HxQ0KSv.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/HxQ0KSv.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> There was a buzz in the crowd, many of whom were shocked to see Toyota's fifteen month title reign come to an end. Daffney and LuFisto joined their leader in the ring, smiling at her side as I left the desk to present the title to the new champion. After she strapped the belt around her waist, Hokuto taunted the fans for believing she could be stopped, mocked Toyota for her arrogance, and dared anyone else on Renaissance to try and stop The Darkness from consuming them all. Hokuto looked good here, though LuFisto looked awkward at her side, and upon rewatch I have to say Tracy didn't do a great job handling all the color commentary for this segment while I was away. It was still a good way to close the show though, marking a major shift on top of Renaissance. <div style="text-align:center;">Grade: 92</div></div></blockquote> <div style="text-align:center;">Show Overall Grade: 96</div>
- May 29, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

January 2004: Pre-Dream Slam News and Notes <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="FlfrjkH.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/FlfrjkH.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> I reached out to Zero-One owner Shinya Hashimoto, and we agreed to begin working together. We've been without a Japanese partner since NOAH ended our short-lived alliance and grew hostile towards us, so I thought this was a good arrangement. We don't actually need any of their stars to help us move tickets in Japan, but adding one in on occasion could spice a show up, plus it could be good for some of our younger guys to work a show or two in Zero-One just for a different experience. We've signed 27-year old Gail Kim to a developmental contract. She's an Ontario girl, but has been wrestling mainly in Europe for the last couple of years. She isn't really working often enough to hone her craft though, so sending her to 5SSW should help her get better. With the calendar turning over into a new year, we felt it was the right time for a bit of a presentation overhaul. We're finally bidding goodbye to the 'star' logo, leaving the entire Vince Russo era of WCW in the past where it belongs. The graphics guys have designed a new logo that we'll be working into everything, and we'll be debuting new sets and ring mats too. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/sDkxtEI.jpg </div> New Japan held their annual biggest show of the year on January 4th. They made a really curious decision here, as though he was in action, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Riki Choshu did not defend his title. He beat Shinya Makabe in a mediocre non-title match that was third from the top. They boldly put the Junior Heavyweight belt in the main event position instead, and it turned out to be a brilliant decision because Koji Kanemoto retained over MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba in an early Match of the Year contender that received a 99 rating. On the strength of that plus a 98 rated midcard match between Manabu Nakanishi and Kensuke Sasaki, this show scored a 95, which is their best major show since I brought WCW back two and a half years ago. Kanemoto was their most consistently excellent performer in 2003, and now he has this feather in his cap as well. If I were them I'd get the top title on him, and quickly. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg </div> Bam Bam Bigelow has signed an extension to remain with WWE for another two years. He really hasn't done anything of note since going back there two years ago, but I guess at this stage of his career he's probably just happy for the steady paycheck. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/HLY8nvy.jpg </div> NOAH held their first PPV of the year, Wills Are Tested III, on January 7th. Jun Akiyama retained the GHC Heavyweight title over Takeshi Morishima in a pretty good main event that the Observer gave an 87 rating, but they were upstaged by the semi main event, a 92 rated bout in which Akira Taue beat Dr. Wagner Jr. The show got an 86 overall, which isn't necessarily bad, but it is their lowest rated PPV since August. <hr noshade size=3> I was hoping to get all of Dream Slam written up and posted days ago, but with the move I just didn't have time. I finally found all of the components for my computer though, so here's an update! Still tons to do around here, but hopefully it won't take too long to get through Dream Slam. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Hashasheen" data-cite="Hashasheen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Can't believe CM Punk is neck-and-neck with Undertaker for popularity.</div></blockquote> He's actually MORE popular than Taker, though only slightly. Taker has a (slight) edge in star quality though. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="scarletspeed7" data-cite="scarletspeed7" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I followed this diary a long time ago when I was active on this board, and now I've gotten back into TEW and found it again. I'm just blown away by the quality of the writing here. It's a phenomenal dynasty so far. I'm almost caught up and then I'll jump into the predictions!</div></blockquote> Yo, welcome back man! You were an avid commenter in TGAAB too, and it's always cool to see an old face! Speaking of, I saw BHK6 pop up too. For those who don't know, he won the original UFS back in the TGAAB days. In a related note, this year's UFS has finished drafting. I'll do a formal post for that probably after Sin so I don't have to dig through multiple rounds of predictions at the same time, but you can go to the special dynasty forum if you want to see the results now.
- May 26, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

January 2004: Road to Dream Slam <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="VXs1cBn.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/VXs1cBn.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> The Backstories:</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Manami Steps into the Darkness</div> December 6th: Manami Toyota retained her title over Daffney. With both Daffney and LuFisto vanquished, that left one member of The Darkness for Toyota to contend with: Grand Prix winner Akira Hokuto. December 13th: Toyota and Hokuto stood face to face in the ring at the end of the show, but they fought with words rather than fists. Akira complimented the champion on making it through both Daffney and LuFisto, but reminded her that she still had one final task if she hoped to shed light on the darkness. Manami said she couldn't wait; she'd taken Akira up on her challenge and defeated both of her underlings, but Hokuto was the opponent she'd been waiting for the whole time. All that was left was the showdown between the reigning champion of the world and the winner of the 2003 Grand Prix. and that match would be taking place on January 11th at the next Renaissance PPV, Dream Slam. Both women were eager to get there, and confident in their chances of walking out with their hand raised and the championship in their possession. December 20th: We announced a six woman tag where Manami would be joined by Alexis Laree and Allison Corino to take on all three members of The Darkness next week. This was going to mark the first time Manami and Akira competed against each other in any form since Bash at the Beach 2002, and would also be their one and only time as opponents before Dream Slam. December 27th: While there was some physicality between the two stars during the six woman tag, it never went on too long or gave away too much. Their shared time in the ring was meant as an appetizer, a glimpse of what was to come when they met with the title on the line at Dream Slam. It was The Darkness who won this match and Hokuto who secured the win, but the real battle for these two was still to come. January 10th: Champion and challenger met in the ring for a final verbal confrontation to close out the go home show. Hokuto promised that Toyota was about to learn the same thing that the entire field of the Grand Prix tournament learned the hard way: The Darkness had arrived, and there was no stopping it. Akira struggled slightly with her delivery here, but Manami was tremendous at giving a fiery babyface response that elicited a strong reaction from the crowd. She acknowledged Hokuto's skill, said she didn't win the Grand Prix by accident and she was perhaps the strongest challenger Manami would have to face since she won the title fifteen months earlier. But Akira needed to remember something: this was HER toughest battle, too. The competition in the Grand Prix may have been stiff--but Manami hadn't been involved in that tournament because for over a year, no one had been able to beat her. If Renaissance was truly going to be covered in darkness, first Akira would have to do what no one else had been able to. This was a killer promo and I have high hopes for the match as well, but for some the behind the scenes aspect of this match is equally interesting. Manami has not made a decision as of yet on whether she'll re-sign with us or jump to WWE, so the dirt sheet subscribers and internet users will try and read a lot into the result. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Our Generation, Our Time</div> December 6th: After Devil Kong completed a quick squash match, Our Generation stepped out and promised that the champions had not seen the last of them. December 13th: It was officially announced that WCW matchmakers agreed with Our Generation's argument and were giving them a rematch for the titles at Dream Slam. Devil Kong called the decision laughable given that they'd just retained their titles against the same team mere weeks earlier (never mentioning that they'd only done so by using one of their belts as a weapon.) December 20th: Melissa and Devil wrestled one on one in the main event, and Melissa got the pin on the veteran champion with a German suplex. Our Generation were all smiles as they celebrated in the ring after the match, but the champions were enraged. After having to cheat to retain their titles against them, now Devil had been pinned. Joey Styles bellowed that we might be seeing the end of Devil Kong's reign of terror. December 27th: The show opened with footage from a recent Renaissance house show, where Devil Kong ambushed Our Generation in the ring moments after they'd finished a match. Devil rendered Nattie unconscious with the sleeper and Aja knocked Melissa out with her Uraken backfist, and then the champions posed with their gold. January 10th: Our Generation had a tune-up match at the start of the show, after which Devil Kong taunted them in the aisle. They said Nattie and Melissa didn't deserve this rematch after failing the first time, and said the match at Dream Slam would go the same way that first match had. Just like they did at that house show, they were going to leave Our Generation battered and bruised while they celebrated with their belts. Melissa handled the response for the challengers, saying that no matter how Devil Kong tried to throw their weight around or how many times they got the upper hand by any means necessary, Our Generation was not going to back down. They were coming for those titles, and after Dream Slam they'd be theirs! </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Protect Your Spot</div> December 6th: Meiko Satomura walked up to Toshiyo Yamada at a PR event and called her bitter that she'd had her shot at the top and failed, and said that was why she'd targeted her and was trying to keep her from ascending into title contention. December 13th: Yamada kept a close eye on the ring as Satomura competed in singles action, but made no attempt to get involved or prevent Meiko from picking up the win. December 20th: Yamada was in action this week, winning a convincing squash, but afterwards Meiko threw down the gauntlet. Since Toshiyo was so obsessed with protecting her spot and preventing younger women like Meiko from ascending, why didn't she stop it herself in the ring, this time without intentionally getting herself disqualified when she felt the tide turning against her? Yamada answered the challenge with a nod and a glare, and we had another match for Dream Slam. December 27th: Toshiyo jumped Satomura in the back as she was being interviewed for WCW.com, but Chigusa Nagayo arrived on the scene to aid her occasional partner. That attracted Wesna Busic to the party, and we had a full-fledged brawl on our hands. January 10th: Building off of the brawl on the previous show, Satomura teamed with Nagayo against Yamada and Busic in the main event. It was truly a main event caliber match, one which saw plenty of interaction between Meiko and Toshiyo. There was no firm resolution between those two though, as it was Chigusa who got the pin for her team by finishing Yamada. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Picking Your Spot</div> December 6th: Wesna Busic said that despite what anyone might think, she was perfectly capable of destroying Chigusa Nagayo in a head-on fight--and she was going to prove it in a one on one match next week. December 13th: Busic did indeed prove she was a threat to Nagayo in their match, but she seemed more worried with delivering punishment in the form of hard strikes than she was with actually trying to win the match. This cost her when the 23-year veteran took advantage of an opening and rolled her up to snatch the victory. Wesna would have the last laugh though, as she connected with more strikes after the bell and ensured that Chigusa had to be helped to the back. December 20th: Wesna gloated about her attack, remarking that Chigusa might have technically won the match, but she was the only one who'd left under her own power. Highlights from the beating drove the point home. December 27th: Chigusa called Busic to the ring, and while admitting she took quite a beating two weeks ago, she reminded everyone that it was her, not Wesna, who got her hand raised. But she'd heard Wesna celebrating her little attack last week, and it made her sick. She wasn't going to let it end there: she wanted a rematch with Busic. Wesna agreed, saying it would be a pleasure to beat up "the old woman" one more time, and another match for Dream Slam became official. January 10th: Wesna got her shots in on Chigusa during the main event tag match, but thanks to being cut off from making the save by Satomura, she could only watch on as Nagayo got the pin on her partner. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Not Impressed</div> December 6th: Alexis Laree sat in on color commentary for Etsuko Mita's match. She used the opportunity to say that she and Allison Corino believed that Mita wanted to advance into a future tag team title match, but saw their commitment to teaming regularly as a threat and wanted to shut them down before they could build momentum. December 13th: Alexis took on Ito in singles action once again, and this time Allison Corino made sure Etsuko didn't get involved. A tornado DDT spelled victory for Laree, but Mita got on the mic afterwards and angrily told Alexis that her run of good fortune against them wouldn't last for long. December 20th: Alexis and Allison stood by Manami Toyota's side in a backstage promo for next week's main event against The Darkness, and they promised to pull their own weight and not drag the world champion down. The Darkness got their own promo for the match, and Mita and Ito stopped by to wish them luck in putting the trio of arrogant braggarts (especially Laree and Corino) in their place. December 27th: Etsuko and Kaoru might not have been officially involved in the six woman main event, but they still had a major part to play. It was their outside interference that was a key factor in Hokuto finishing off Corino to win the match for The Darkness. During the match we formally announced that Laree and Corino would meet Mita and Ito in a tag match at Dream Slam, so the heels got one over on their PPV opponents here. January 10th: It was Corino and Mita meeting this week in a preview of the tag match on Sunday. Both of their partners made their presences felt on the outside of the ring, but it was Mita who came away with the pin thanks to a handful of tights that referee Hideki Kobayashi did not detect. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">A Grand Awakening</div> December 6th: Katarina Waters seemed to be carrying herself with a completely different air, and not coincidentally she picked up her first televised win since May, convincingly defeating Miki Handa with a superkick. December 13th: Another week, another win via superkick for Katarina, this time over Yumiko Hotta. December 20th: It was a steeper level of competition this week for Katarina, as she took on a full-fledged member of the Renaissance roster, Mariko Yoshida. Not so long ago this would've been a predictable win for the technical wizard, but Katarina and her newfound confidence got a surprising victory thanks once again to a pinpoint superkick. December 27th: Kyoko Inoue won her enhancement match against Hailey Hatred, but her celebration was cut short when Katarina came to the ring and told her to leave. There was something much more important to discuss: her 'grand awakening' at Dream Slam! Kyoko did not take kindly to the disrespect, not that Katarina seemed to care. January 10th: A video package revealed that Inoue vs. Waters had officially been added to the Dream Slam line-up. But what was this 'grand awakening' all about, and what would it mean for the match? </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Show Summaries: 12/6: <img alt="4KsjLtr.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/4KsjLtr.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -Alexis Laree did a pretty weak job as a guest commentator during Mita's match. -Both Televisa and Seven Network Australia let me know that they were unhappy with the quality of this week's show. Neither was I. 12/13: <img alt="PSacnad.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/PSacnad.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: "Allison Corino might be a good talker, but she's just not tough enough to be believable against someone like me." -Aja Kong 12/20: <img alt="axlWtWv.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/axlWtWv.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -Mary Apache committed some sort of faux pas before the show, so Dusty had her buy drinks afterwards. - 12/27: <img alt="3Etcdl9.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/3Etcdl9.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: "Wesna Busic is going to be a star if you give her the chance." -Takako Inoue 1/10 (taped 1/6): <img alt="s8wh425.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/s8wh425.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: - </div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> Fan Scorecard: Women's World Championship: Akira Hokuto vs. Manami Toyota {©} Women's World Tag Team Championship: Our Generation vs. Devil Kong {©} Meiko Satomura vs. Toshiyo Yamada Chigusa Nagayo vs. Wesna Busic Alexis Laree and Allison Corino vs. Etsuko Mita and Kaoru Ito Kyoko Inoue vs. Katarina Waters What will be match of the night? How many championships will change hands? General diary comments/questions/critiques: </div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> Thus begins a fresh round of our little prediction game. This one will run through March, and the winner will have the option of booking WrestleMania in-game. (A different prize can be arranged if the winner doesn't have TEW16 or just doesn't want to book Mania.) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="franticloser" data-cite="franticloser" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Can't quote properly since I'm on my phone. But yeah to say the least, you have provides a distraction when things regarding gender switching gets to much. And it means a lot, which is weird to say to someone I've only talked to enough to convince them that giving the belt to Million Dollar Man was the best choice!</div></blockquote> Glad I can help! It was obviously the best choice though! <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kinnikuniverse" data-cite="kinnikuniverse" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Congratulations, franticloser! hope you're feeling much better now! as for the national battles, it's still as tight as ever! though one thing i'd like to see in TEW2020 is that I don't think foreign companies should have an impact in the Japan national battles. cause, frankly, IRL, I don't think Japanese wrestling fans really gives a damn about any foreign companies. Mexicans and british might care about WWE, maybe, but not Japan.</div></blockquote> They really aren't that tight. I'm actually considering doing something in 2004 that could make them quite a bit tighter though....<img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> I don't think the national battle concept makes very much sense in general from a realism standpoint.
- May 14, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

National Battle Report: January 2004 <hr noshade size=3> Not sure if all of the UFS players have checked their PMs, but the thread has been open for a couple of days and the draft is in progress. Here is the link. Glad you've enjoyed it! I try to make the game world as interesting as possible, as much for my own sake as anything else.
- May 13, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

Winter 2004 Roster Breakdown and Hall of Champions <div style="text-align:center;">Hall of Champions:</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="u9bsFuK.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/u9bsFuK.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> NITRO BRAND World Heavyweight Champion: http://i.imgur.com/haJKoFv.jpg The Unnatural http://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpg Won: June 15th, 2003 in a triple threat match against Rey Mysterio Jr. and Eddie Guerrero at Great American Bash in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Previous Champions (since March 2001): Rey Mysterio Jr.: December 29th, 2002-June 15th, 2003 (168 days) Booker T (#5): May 19th, 2002-December 29th, 2002 (224 days) Rob Van Dam: December 30th, 2001-May 19th, 2002 (140 days) Scott Steiner (#2): July 15th, 2001-December 30th, 2001 (168 days) Booker T (#4): March 26th, 2001-July 15th, 2001 (111 days) United States Heavyweight Champion: http://i.imgur.com/mitTbCm.jpg Rob Van Dam <img alt="P2oAF93.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/P2oAF93.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Won: September 21st, 2003 from AJ Styles at War Games in Houston, Texas Previous Champions (since March 2001): AJ Styles: December 29th, 2002-September 21st, 2003 (266 days) Shane Douglas (#2): April 1st, 2002-December 29th, 2002 (272 days) Rey Misterio Jr (#2): October 14th, 2001-April 1st, 2002 (169 days) Kanyon: August 5th, 2001-October 14th, 2001 (70 days) Rey Misterio Jr: May 13th, 2001-August 5th, 2001 (85 days) Booker T: March 18th, 2001-April 30th, 2001 (44 days) Cruiserweight Champion: http://i.imgur.com/u0cJ04Z.jpg TAKA (#2) http://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpg Won: December 28th, 2003 from Chavo Guerrero Jr. at Starrcade: The 20th Anniversary in Greensboro, North Carolina Previous Champions (since March 2001): Chavo Guerrero Jr. (#3): October 19th, 2003-December 28th, 2003 (70 days) Jamie Knoble: September 21st, 2003-October 19th, 2003 (28 days) Bryan Danielson (#2): April 20th, 2003-September 21st, 2003 (154 days) Christopher Daniels: September 22nd, 2002-April 20th, 2003 (210 days) American Dragon: August 11th, 2002-September 22nd, 2002 (42 days) AJ Styles: April 21st, 2002-August 11th, 2002 (112 days) TAKA: December 30th, 2001-April 21st, 2002 (112 days) Jushin Liger: August 5th, 2001-December 30th, 2001 (147 days) Shane Helms: March 18th, 2001-August 5th, 2001 (140 days) World Television Champion: <img alt="rrRBDgP.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/rrRBDgP.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Matt Hardy <img alt="bH5oivJ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/bH5oivJ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Won: October 19th, 2003 from Bobby Roode at Halloween Havoc in Fresno, California Previous Champions (since July 2002): Bobby Roode: August 24th, 2003-October 19th, 2003 (56 days) ((O'Haire reached the maximum fifteen title defenses, thus vacating the title on 7/21/03 and earning a World Heavyweight Championship match)) Sean O'Haire: January 26th, 2003-July 21st, 2003 (176 days) Fit Finlay (#2): July 29th, 2002-January 26th, 2003 (181 days) World Tag Team Champions: http://i.imgur.com/S0cu0uO.jpg True Heroes (Lance Storm and CM Punk, #3 as a team) <img alt="heiyf1p.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/heiyf1p.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="IyPxuzp.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/IyPxuzp.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Won: December 28th, 2003 from Mortis and The Destroyer at Starrcade: The 20th Anniversary in Greensboro, North Carolina Previous Champions (since March 2001): Salvation (Mortis, Alexander and The Destroyer): August 24th, 2003-December 28th, 2003 (126 days) Christopher Daniels and Brian Adams (#3 for Adams): June 15th, 2003-August 24th, 2003 (70 days) The Hardys (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) (#2): December 29th, 2002-June 15th, 2003 (168 days) True Heroes (Lance Storm and CM Punk) (#2): October 27th, 2002-December 29th, 2002 (63 days) The Hardys (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy): July 14th, 2002-October 27th, 2002 (105 days) True Heroes (Lance Storm and CM Punk): December 30th, 2001-July 14th, 2002 (196 days) The Natural Born Thrillers (Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire): January 14th, 2001-December 30th, 2001 (351 days) ANNUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: Mayhem Battle Royal (held every May): <img alt="DZfKm2b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/DZfKm2b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> 2003: Eddie Guerrero 2002: Diamond Dallas Page Stu Hart Classic Tournament (held every November): <img alt="1qogKhQ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/1qogKhQ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> 2003: Jeff Hardy 2002: Rey Mysterio Jr. 2001: Rob Van Dam </div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">The Ultimate Fan Series 2003: Satyr's Hopeful Few, managed by Satyr24 (Mortis, The Unnatural, Alexander, Christopher Daniels and Melissa Anderson) 2002: The Agents of Chaos, managed by Beejus Pilgrim (Scott Steiner, Rick Steiner, Mark Jindrak and Dustin Rhodes) 2001: The K-Nections, managed by Kevin Gaines (Booker T, Sting, AJ Styles and Alex Wright) 1989? Championship Pedigree, managed by Bernie Klein (Hulk Hogan, Ted DiBiase, Tito Santana, Robert Gibson and The Rougeau Brothers) </div></div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> <div style="text-align:center;">Winter 2004 Roster Breakdown: (Faces in blue, heels in red) </div> NITRO ROSTER <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Main Event:</div> Bill Goldberg CM Punk (World Tag Team Champion) Lance Storm (World Tag Team Champion) Matt Hardy (World Television Champion) Rey Mysterio Jr. Steve Austin Eddie Guerrero King Corino Mortis Rob Van Dam (United States Heavyweight Champion) Sean O'Haire Shane Douglas TAKA (Cruiserweight Champion) The Destroyer The Unnatural (World Heavyweight Champion) </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Upper Midcard:</div> AJ Styles Billy Kidman Chavo Guerrero Jr. Jamie Knoble Bobby Roode Brian Kendrick Christopher Daniels Fit Finlay Kaz Hayashi Yang </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Midcard:</div> Aguila Harry Smith Hayabusa Konnan Mark Jindrak Minoru Tanaka Volador Jr. Colt Cabana Johnny Parisi Shane Helms Tony Mamaluke </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Lower Midcard:</div> Ernest Miller Paul London Teddy Hart Chris Harris Great Sasuke James Storm </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Opener:</div> Lash Leroux Cash Elix Skipper Shannon Moore </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Enhancement Talent:</div> El Generico Kevin Steen Petey Williams Eric Young Kid Romeo TJ Wilson </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Announcer:</div> Mike Tenay </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Color Commentator:</div> Bret Hart </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Road Agent:</div> Ricky Steamboat Bob Orton Jr.</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Personality:</div> Arn Anderson Becky Bayless Roddy Piper</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Active Tag Teams:</div> Calgary Bulldogs (TJ Wilson and Harry Smith) Jung Dragons (Kaz Hayashi and Yang) Made in Italy (Johnny Parisi and Tony Mamaluke) Steenerico (Kevin Steen and El Generico) The American Outlaws (Chris Harris and James Storm) The Shooting Stars (Billy Kidman and Teddy Hart) True Heroes (CM Punk and Lance Storm) Volador Jr. and Aguila </div></blockquote> RENAISSANCE <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Main Event:</div> Chigusa Nagayo Manami Toyota (World Women's Champion) Melissa Anderson Aja Kong (World Tag Team Champion) Akira Hokuto Devil Masami (World Tag Team Champion) </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Upper Midcard:</div> Alexis Laree Kyoko Inoue Meiko Satomura Nattie Neidhart Etsuko Mita Takako Inoue Toshiyo Yamada </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Midcard:</div> Allison Corino Momoe Nakanishi Daffney Kaoru Ito LuFisto Wesna Busic</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Lower Midcard:</div> Mariko Yoshida Katarina Waters Shinobu Kandori Sonoko Kato </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Opener:</div> Mary Apache Hailey Hatred </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Enhancement Talent:</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Announcer:</div> Joey Styles </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Color Commentator:</div> Tracy Brooks </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Road Agent:</div> Dusty Rhodes </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Active Tag Teams:</div> Alexis Laree and Allison Corino Chigusa Nagayo and Meiko Satomura Daffney and LuFisto Devil Kong (Aja Kong and Devil Masami) Our Generation (Melissa Anderson and Nattie Neidhart) </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">On Vacation:</div> Jeff Hardy</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Out Of Action:</div> Bryan Danielson (broken ankle) Scott Steiner (rehab) Sting (rehab)</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Factions:</div> Salvation (Father Isaac, Mortis, The Destroyer and The Unnatural) The Dangerous Alliance (Paul Heyman, Rob Van Dam, Sean O'Haire and Shane Douglas) </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Managerial Assignments:</div> Buff Bagwell (Shane Helms) Dawn Marie (Johnny Parisi and Tony Mamaluke) Father Isaac (Mortis, The Destroyer and The Unnatural) Paul Heyman (Rob Van Dam, Sean O'Haire and Shane Douglas) Ric Flair (Bobby Roode) Stacy Keibler (Kaz Hayashi and Yang) Tammy Sytch (King Corino and TAKA) Torrie Wilson (Billy Kidman and Teddy Hart) </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">In Developmental:</div> Ace Steel Austin Aries Daisuke Sekimoto Fergal Devitt Johnny the Bull Kenny Omega Lacey Lisa Marie Varon Lizzy Valentine Madison Eagles Mercedes Martinez Nigel McGuinness Rebecca Knox Reno Samoa Joe Shelton Benjamin Shinsuke Nakamura</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Creative Meeting:</div> Franchise Players: 1. Steve Austin 2. Bill Goldberg 3. Rey Mysterio Jr. 4. CM Punk 5. Rob Van Dam Next Big Things: 1. Meiko Satomura 2. AJ Styles 3. Alexis Laree 4. Volador Jr. 5. Johnny Parisi Hot Prospects: 1. El Generico 2. Allison Corino 3. Volador Jr. 4. Mark Jindrak 5. Paul London Talk the Talk: 1. Steve Austin 2. Ric Flair 3. CM Punk 4. Paul Heyman 5. Roddy Piper Show Stoppers: 1. Rey Mysterio Jr. 2. Rob Van Dam 3. AJ Styles 4. Manami Toyota 5. CM Punk Ring Generals: 1. Rey Mysterio Jr. 2. Eddie Guerrero 3. Lance Storm 4. AJ Styles 5. Christopher Daniels Who's Hot: 1. Toshiyo Yamada 2. Etsuko Mita 3. Meiko Satomura 4. The Unnatural 5. Brian Kendrick Who's Not: 1. Ernest Miller 2. Chris Harris 3. James Storm 4. Shinobu Kandori 5. Sonoko Kato Time Decline: 1. Fit Finlay 2. Aja Kong Hidden Gems: 1. Jay Briscoe 2. Mike Sanders 3. Shawn Stasiak 4. Simon Diamond 5. Scoot Andrews</div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kinnikuniverse" data-cite="kinnikuniverse" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>man, I'm rereading the entire 2003 year of this dynasty, and I'm reminded of so many things I completely forgot about, like the Jung dragons.</div></blockquote> How could anyone forget the Jung Dragons?! <img alt="RMztDiC.gif" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/RMztDiC.gif" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>speaking of which, what's going on right now for guys like samoa joe, the Jung dragons, ROH, TNA home of mantaur, and wondering if dragon gate's gonna exist to fill the void left by michinoku pro.</div></blockquote> Joe is hanging out in Wildside. He still has one area that can be dramatically improved, so he'll probably stay down there at least until that's no longer the case. Not much to say about the Dragons. ROH is an unremarkable Small level company, currently ranked 25th in the world. Just about everyone who was big in establishing early ROH in reality is unavailable to them, so they've had to build around the Maximo brothers (Joel was their second champ, and then he lost it to Jose.) TNA is at #10, but they did have some modest growth in 2003. They've been putting on better shows once Mantaur lost the title, so they might have a good 2004. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="franticloser" data-cite="franticloser" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Well I totally crapped out on that one! Though now maybe Matt goes for the retribution, takes out Dustin, and then Jeff turns out of jealousy. Possibly joining up with Mitchell! Anyway great to read one of your shows again TFC, you make work so much easier. And give me something to look forward to on some of my dark days.</div></blockquote> Hey man, that's awesome to hear! (Well, dark days obviously aren't awesome, but knowing I can help make them more bearable is an honor.) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>If Fergal Devitt is outranking Bryan Danielson while working outside of WCW imagine what he would be ranking working for WCW....</div></blockquote> I guess we'll find out eventually, since he's in developmental. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Its also crazy to me that WWE has Brock Lesnar and he isn't cracking the top 100....What are they doing with him????</div></blockquote> Still the reigning ECW TV champ, which is the first belt AI WWE has put on him (he had the IC title earlier, but it was a guest booker that gave him that win.) He went 17-9 in 2003, which is a lot better than his 5-6 record in 2002. He's probably the best case for this guest booker concept being a good idea. He was doing nothing after being called up, but the guest bookers would usually do something to feature him that would give his popularity a nice little boost. Thanks to that he's now at the point where the AI books him to win more often than lose, so he saw his pop go up slightly over the last few months of 2003, which were exclusively AI booked. With their help he may eventually become an actual main eventer there. He ranked #120, which was a big jump up from 2002. He works almost exclusively with other midcard guys like Saturn, Scotty Too Hotty, Albert, etc, which means his matches usually top out in the low 80s. He pulled a 93 with Kurt Angle in his one big PPV match, and that's with only C rated popularity, so he should be a force if he really gets over. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I think Jerry The King Lawler tossed out the rest of the votes excluding his on that one....</div></blockquote> http://i.imgur.com/HkwkTiP.jpg Sounds legit. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="KeyserSoze" data-cite="KeyserSoze" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Congrats for one of the best dynasties I've ever read.</div></blockquote> Thank you very much!
- May 12, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

2003 Year-End Awards and Power 100 The 2003 awards and Power 100 are out. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Wrestler of the Year: http://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpg Dustin "The Unnatural" Rhodes (WCW) Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: Mitsuharu Misawa (NOAH) (x3) 2001: Steve Austin (WWF)</div> I don't think anyone, myself included, could have ever predicted this at the start of the year. His main event against Rey Mysterio Jr. at Sin in January was supposed to be a one shot, a routine title defense on a B level PPV. Rey did retain as planned, but Dustin did so well both in the ring and on the microphone that he earned himself a much bigger role. I wound up pivoting to put the title on him in June. Even then it was supposed to be temporary, more of a transitional reign to further the storyline between Rey and Eddie Guerrero, but yet again Dustin took to the role so well that plans changed. Now he's still the champion heading into the new year after retaining his title in the main event of Starrcade, and his unbelievable and unexpected year has been rewarded with this honor. There isn't any one match you can single out from his year; he had so many great ones, from the standout TV match against RVD on Nitro in January that first made me rethink the plan for him to only be a temporary main eventer, all the way through the end of the year at Starrcade. Whether he shared the ring with high spot guys like RVD and Hardy, technicians like Guerrero, luchadors like Mysterio or powerhouses like Sean O'Haire, Dustin delivered the goods every single time. He's had a great 15 year career, but his unforgettable 2003 caught us all off guard. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Female Wrestler of the Year: <img alt="LyKOnBY.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/LyKOnBY.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Manami Toyota (WCW) Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: Chigusa Nagayo (GAEA/WCW) 2001: Aja Kong (GAEA)</div> I would have been shocked if this had gone any other way. All the major joshi groups are gone, so our only real competition was the WWE women's division. Their biggest contender was Lita, who had a couple of very good matches and a bunch of decent ones. That's not even close to the output Manami Toyota had as the cornerstone of our Renaissance brand; we actually had half a dozen women aside from Toyota who ranked higher than Lita on this list. The highlight of her year was a fantastic 97 rated title match against her former longtime partner Toshiyo Yamada to headline our Grand Prix PPV in October. She was one of only two women to make the Power 100 (Devil Masami being the other), and has done everything we've asked of her in her role as the face of Renaissance. The only thing clouding our domination of this award is the ongoing bidding war. She's been a huge asset for us, but right now there is the very real possibility that the Dream Slam PPV on January 11th is her last major match for us before going to WWE. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Company of the Year: <img alt="bbqIMX2.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/bbqIMX2.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> World Championship Wrestling Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: NOAH (x2) 2001: NOAH</div> We took huge strides forward in 2001 and 2002, but 2003 was the year that we proved beyond all doubt that WWE does not have a stranglehold on this business. We had the better angles and storylines, and though WWE turned in plenty of excellent PPV offerings throughout the year, their best simply wasn't as good as our best. Adding both Austin and Goldberg gave us the star power we needed to truly make it a fight while we continue to groom and prepare the next generation. 2003 was great for us, but I think we're well-equipped to continue building on this momentum. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Team of the Year: <img alt="URXFrkN.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/URXFrkN.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ZqYgYw4.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ZqYgYw4.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Mitsuharu Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa (NOAH) Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: TenKoji (Tenzan and Kojima) (NJPW) 2001: Two Man Power Trip (HHH and Austin) (WWF)</div> This is Misawa's second time winning this award, also having done so with Kenta Kobashi way back in 1995. These two weren't involved in the tag title scene in NOAH, but their tag belts are very much booked as midcard belts, so they're kind of beneath Misawa. They only teamed a few times on PPVs, but their best work together came on the weekly TV show. They participated in seven TV tag matches throughout the year that received a score of 90 or higher, which just about says it all. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Match of the Year: <img alt="3ik8HDu.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/3ik8HDu.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="7J4y7W7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7J4y7W7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Shawn Michaels vs. The Rock from WWE Raw in August Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: The Rock and Hollywood Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels and Kane from Smackdown! in August (WWE) 2001: Steve Austin vs. Chris Benoit from Survivor Series in November (WWF)</div> This is the second year in a row that these two have been involved in the match of the year. Last year it was a tag, but this year it was a singles match on the go home episode of Raw before Summerslam. Shawn got the clean win here in a classic match that had the crowd in Madison Square Garden going insane. Ironically Rock would win the WWE title from Jericho six days later. You'd think that would be a perfect setup for a huge main event feud...but they've had only one match against each other since, a double count out in a non-title match on Raw a month later. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Show of the Year: <img alt="5LLyYiz.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/5LLyYiz.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> WCW Starrcade in December Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: Starrcade in December (WCW) 2001: Judgment Day in May (WWF)</div> Two in a row for Starrcade! Obviously we try to go all out and do everything we can to make our biggest show of the year stand out, and it's been really rewarding to see that effort earn it show of the year honors two years running. Second place went to Halloween Havoc two months earlier, so we were golden either way. The experts wound up giving the nod to Starrcade, which I think was the correct call. It had three legitimate match of the year contenders, while Havoc "only" had two, plus it was a more significant show from a historic standpoint. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Most Improved Company of the Year: <img alt="fOS5DO2.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/fOS5DO2.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: Michinoku Pro Wrestling</div> This makes sense. Zero-One has seen a significant upswing in popularity over the last year. All you have to do is look at their attendance figures in 2003 compared to 2002. Their biggest gate in 2002 was just barely over 4000 tickets sold, and they had a total of 16 events all year that sold 1000 or more. Their biggest attendance of '03, for November's Strike For Retribution show, did 16,236. They had three other events that broke the 10K mark, and in total they had 78 shows that did at least 1000. Things are looking bright for Zero-One, and now they've added WCW alumni Alex Wright and Brian Adams to their roster as well. Hopefully they have a better follow-up year than 2002's winner Michinoku Pro, who ran up so much debt that I bought them out in October. Zero-One is drawing good crowds much more consistently than M-Pro did though (I think being based in Tokyo probably has at least something to do with that), so they appear to be more financially stable. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Young Wrestler of the Year (age 24 or younger): <img alt="ICMDAHo.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ICMDAHo.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> AJ Styles (WCW) Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: CM Punk (WCW) 2001: Jeff Hardy (WWF)</div> Last year's winner CM Punk was no longer eligible now that he was 25, but AJ would have won this award even if Punk had still been in the running. As his ranking in this year's Power 100 proves, AJ is already one of the very best in the world, capable of putting on classics with a variety of opponents. He was already a great athletic worker, but the big difference that allowed him to step into the highest tier in 2003 was the continued evolution of his psychology. He's now become one of the guys that understands how to tell a story in the ring, pace things perfectly, read the crowd and adjust on the fly. I'm not sure he has quite as much ability to appeal to the masses and sell merchandise as the likes of Jeff Hardy or CM Punk, but bell to bell he is as good as or better than any of his peers in the rising generation of WCW. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Veteran Wrestler of the Year (age 42 or older): <img alt="Ev4obsk.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Ev4obsk.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Scott Hall (WWE) Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW) (x2) 2001: Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW)</div> Scott has always had a great mind for the business, but he's generally been his own worst enemy. He's more or less stayed out of trouble since WWE brought him back in January 2002, which is nice to see (I never had any major problems with him, unlike his buddy HBK.) Him winning the WWE title from Eddie Guerrero with no buildup on a Smackdown two weeks before Mania was a surprise, especially considering the other options they could've gone with, but he lost it to Jericho in a three way at Mania anyway. He did have quite a few great matches this year, but they still have nine to ten guys who are more over than him, and most of them are better workers too. So I doubt we'll see him win a second world title any time soon, but it looks like he'll be a main event player for awhile yet as long as his old habits don't screw it up for him. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Independent Wrestler of the Year: <img alt="9npAfaj.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/9npAfaj.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Jack Evans Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: Villano V 2001: Marc Mero</div> This is an ironic one. Sure, Jack Evans is an independent wrestler, but most of his best work came as an occasional job guy for us when we hold Nitro in his area (he relocated to the Mid Atlantic early in the year.) I guess that shows how "prestigious" this award is these days. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Manager of the Year: <img alt="hGCCLQD.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/hGCCLQD.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Debra (WWE) (x3) Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: Debra (WWE) (x2) 2001: Paul Heyman (WWF) (x2)</div> How does Debra keep winning this award in a world where Paul Heyman exists and is active as a manager? Your guess is as good as mine. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Announcer of the Year: <img alt="2H0ZNTt.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/2H0ZNTt.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Akira Fukuzawa (NOAH) Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: Jim Ross (WWE) (x11) 2001: Jim Ross (WWF) (x10)</div> JR has been dethroned! Good for Fukuzawa. He's been around for more than a decade, and is very respected in Japan. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Color Commentator of the Year: <img alt="nG8aWZm.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nG8aWZm.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Bret Hart (WCW) (x2) Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: Takashi Nakano (NJPW) 2001: Bret Hart (WCW)</div> Look who's back! Take THAT, Takashi Nakano! This honestly isn't as big a deal as it was the first time, because WCW has a lot more to celebrate this year. Still, the recognition is nice. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Referee of the Year: http://i.imgur.com/WgjQE1j.jpg Nick Patrick (WCW) (x2) Previous Winners (since 2001): 2002: Red Shoes Unno (NJPW) 2001: Nick Patrick (WCW)</div> Slick Nick reclaims his spot as well. He's the lead ref for Nitro and our male PPVs, so nobody oversaw as many classics as him this year. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">THE POWER 100:</div> 1) The Unnatural 2) Rey Mysterio Jr. 3) Jun Akiyama 4) The Rock 5) Eddie Guerrero 6) Kenta Kobashi 7) AJ Styles 8) Chris Jericho 9) Kurt Angle 10) Shawn Michaels 11) Toshiaki Kawada 12) Chris Benoit 13) Koji Kanemoto 14) Lance Storm 15) Mitsuharu Misawa 16) Triple H 17) Keiji Mutoh 18) Manabu Nakanishi 19) The Undertaker 20) CM Punk 21) Big Show 22) Kane 23) Yoshinari Ogawa 24) Jushin Liger 25) Masahiro Chono 26) Mortis 27) Booker T 28) Hiroshi Hase 29) Akira Taue 30) Tiger Mask IV 31) Jinsei Shinzaki 32) Scott Hall 33) Osamu Nishimura 34) Taiyo Kea 35) King Corino 36) Great Sasuke 37) Tatsumi Fujinami 38) Yuji Nagata 39) Ricky Marvin 40) Satoshi Kojima 41) Universo 2000 42) Steve Austin 43) Kensuke Sasaki 44) Hulk Hogan 45) Sean O'Haire 46) William Regal 47) Shocker 48) Kazushi Sakuraba 49) Hiroyoshi Tenzan 50) Daisuke Ikeda 51) Grand Master Sexay 52) Abismo Negro 53) Shinjiro Otani 54) Genichiro Tenryu 55) Atlantis 56) Shinya Hashimoto 57) Funaki 58) Negro Casas 59) Yoshihiro Takayama 60) Jeff Hardy 61) Samoa Joe 62) Takao Omori 63) Mr. Perfect 64) KENTA 65) Jamie Knoble 66) The Destroyer 67) Kazuyuki Fujita 68) Alex Wright 69) Rob Van Dam 70) Masato Tanaka 71) Christopher Daniels 72) Hiroshi Tanahashi 73) Christian 74) Katsuyori Shibata 75) Chad Collyer 76) Chris Candido 77) Gran Naniwa 78) Manami Toyota 79) El Hijo del Santo 80) Ken Shamrock 81) Kaz Hayashi 82) Daisuke Sekimoto 83) Kendo Kashin 84) Spike Dudley 85) Fergal Devitt 86) Bryan Danielson 87) Dr. Wagner Jr. 88) Shane Douglas 89) Jerry Lynn 90) Riki Choshu 91) Yoshihiro Tajiri 92) Devil Masami 93) CIMA 94) Hector Garza 95) Mr. Gannosuke 96) Chuck Palumbo 97) Ultimo Dragon 98) Yasushi Kanda 99) Chavo Guerrero Jr. 100) Al Snow A pair of WCW women, Aja Kong and Chigusa Nagayo, finished just outside the list at #101 and 102, respectively. </div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> I'm glad to see enthusiasm for the UFS, especially from some first-timers. That has grown into one of my favorite features, even if does mean a lot of work for me! <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Speaking of which, the PMs are out. I've already gotten confirmation from Uncrewed, and didn't bother sending PMs to James, JMike or K-Nection since they'd already confirmed their interest here in the thread. The other four: your invitations are in your inbox. Once I've got all eight confirmed, we'll get started. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="James The Animator" data-cite="James The Animator" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>TFC for Comeback of the Year in 2019!</div></blockquote> This line got me curious about how long I've been doing this, and I realized a major milestone passed while I was away. I started my first diary here in March 2009, meaning I've officially hit ten years! <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />:eek:<img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> ...Now I feel old. <img alt=":o" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/redface.png.900245280682ef18c5d82399a93c5827.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Oh Yeah made the UFS again! *victory dance* I almost guessed the main event time correctly lol</div></blockquote> I did a double take when I realized you'd only missed it by like three seconds. I almost didn't bother to look up James' guess, because there was just no way he could've gotten closer than that! <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="WilburTrey" data-cite="WilburTrey" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I just read through this thing from start to finish. I had read part of it before but I couldn’t remember everything. I always loved the Hitman growing up and I feel like you nail the character. I fear that Rey has capped as others are shooting passed him. Which is sad considering how pivotal he has been. Not to say he won’t remain a big part of everything and I am sure he will. I was just hopping to see one of those nice big numbers next to his name in the national battles. I have always been a big Dustin fan in real life. I hated the character Golddust but even in his last run in WWE he was extremely solid in the ring he just had a goofy gimmick. I hope he and Cody tear it up at all in. Is Cody around yet in save? I am glad you are back.</div></blockquote> As his #2 spot in the year end rankings backs up, Rey had a fantastic year. He is going to remain a big part of WCW for sure. Austin and Goldberg won't be around forever to carry the load in the national battles, and Rey (and Punk and Jeff Hardy) will become even more important if/when that happens. Dustin is extremely underrated I think. That early Goldust character could have been a miserable failure, but he committed to it and made it work. Without him it probably would've been gimmick battle royal-worthy, but it wound up being ahead of its time in a lot of ways. Cody isn't set to debut until early 2006, though I could probably speed that up in the editor if I choose. Could make sense to do so; he'd be eighteen in this universe right now... The promotion for that match at Double or Nothing has been great. I'd like to watch that show, but it's the day after I move so I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it logistically.
- May 9, 2019
- 2,912 replies
Diary Of The Year - Award Ceremony

The Final Countdown replied to Togg's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

Thanks to all who voted for me, and congratulations to all of the other winners. Kudos to Togg too, for the time as well as the graphical work. Your presentation always stood out in any of your work that I've followed, and you've given all of this a really cool look. The History Book is really cool too, BTW; anyone who hasn't checked that out should go do so!
- May 9, 2019
- 10 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

Post-Starrcade News and Prediction Standings <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg </div> I gave Dustin and Jeff Hardy plenty of praise during our post-show party, but I also made sure to give Bryan Danielson a pat on the back. I could see how dejected he was about the injury, and I reassured him that his spot was secure no matter how long he wound up being out. This had been a career-making performance. His stock had never been higher, injury or no injury. Bryan's diagnosis came back as a broken ankle, which is serious but not quite as bad as we feared. He'll be out of action for a couple of months, but that's much better than six to twelve. King Corino got better news. His mishap in his match had turned out to be nothing more than a strained calf muscle, and the doctors said he'd be good to go after resting it for just a week or two. Hours after the show I got confirmation from Japan that our 'Genius of Pin', Momoe Nakanishi, had put pen to paper on a three year contract extension. She's really talented, and at 23 years old her best days are probably still ahead of her. More news trickled in as we hit 2004, none of it good. Minoru Tanaka unexpectedly cut off our negotiations on a contract extension so he could go tour with Zero-One. I'm not sure why he made such an abrupt decision without even giving us a chance to counter, but best of luck to him I guess. He's leaving a lot of money on the table to go work a single tour. He's a tremendous technician, but it's not like he's a vital piece of our company. Far worse news was that Sting was still struggling with painkillers. The fine I gave him in October not only didn't work, it upset him. This time I felt my only option was to insist he go to rehab. It seems like the stricter consequences had the intended effect, because he thanked me and said it was a wake-up call. Hopefully he can put this issue behind him, because I'd like for him to stick around WCW in some capacity. Even if he's no longer someone that can be relied on in main events, he's synonymous with this company. <hr noshade size=3> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Prediction Score (out of a possible 13 points): GingeyOne: 12 K-Nection: 11 XMultiGames: 10 DGenerationMC: 9 James The Animator: 9 JMike: 8 Danny_H22: 8 kinnikuniverse: 8 Uncrewed: 7 smw88: 7 crackerjack: 7 deanohbk: 7 Theheel: 7 Dead_Jester: 6 Warhawk8492: 6 Rateddc: 6 franticloser: 5 DHK1989: 5 bonnie: 5 Chaossy: 5 Satyr24: 5 Nobby_McDonald: 5 evileddie10: 4 MisterRomanini: 4 Wolfman84: 4 </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Final Standings in UFS prediction contest after 8 shows: 1. Dead_Jester: 71 2. Rateddc: 70 (24:02) 3. GingeyOne: 70 (18:22) 4. K-Nection: 67 (28:13) 5. James The Animator: 67 (23:18) 6. Uncrewed: 66 7. JMike: 65 8. evileddie10: 64 (32:18) deanohbk: 64 (21:40) cbacon87: 63 DHK1989: 61 DGenerationMC: 60 Wolfman84: 59 Satyr24: 59 crackerjack: 59 Happy0wns: 58 Warhawk8492: 58 Danny_H22: 58 Cro Cop Rules: 57 DavidCorperial: 57 bonnie: 55 kinnikuniverse: 55 Theheel: 54 chrismday: 54 Beejus: 47 Kijar: 45 jscotty: 41 michgcs: 38 Nobby_McDonald: 37 The Lariat: 36 123Kidd: 34 franticloser: 31 Smasher1311: 30 ThorJ: 28 Texasrangers13: 28 smw88: 24 CobheadJake: 20 KnowYourEnemy: 19 Ian carlisle: 18 ElectricX: 16 2Sweet: 16 Chaos Zarak: 15 Chaossy: 15 Forrest01: 11 The Pitbull: 10 StrongHearts: 10 UltimateJerichoFan: 10 XMultiGames: 10 Destiny: 8 tg01: 8 The Lloyd: 7 RKOwnage: 7 NathanielKern: 7 SomeLazyMagic: 7 Mr. Jones: 6 Bluestillidie00: 6 MisterRomanini: 4 </div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> Hopefully my math was correct, but I'm pretty sure this is the accurate top eight who will have the option to take part in the UFS draft. I'll wait until tomorrow to PM the eight bolded names; if you think there's an error in my math, now's the time to mention it. It came down to the tiebreaker between evileddie and deano for the last spot, with one of them going under the actual time and one of them beyond it. So I'm glad that I've always had the rule that it's whoever is closest to the time no matter whether they're above it or below it. I would've hated to try and make a decision on that if I didn't already have that guideline set. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Hashasheen" data-cite="Hashasheen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Alex Wright to ZERO-1 isn't the first thing that would have come to mind, but oddly enough ZERO-1 does have a history of picking up random gaijin that nobody thinks about...</div></blockquote> It's actually a perfectly logical pickup given how my universe has evolved. Alex is now the third most over member of their roster in Japan; only Shamrock and Hashimoto are above him. Even Brian Adams cracks their top five! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="James The Animator" data-cite="James The Animator" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> UWA Welterweight Championship: Paul London vs. The Great Sasuke {©} (I don't think that title belongs to WCW, so Sasuke is keeping it, I guess. This match is still a solid breakout moment for Paul London.)</div></blockquote> I actually do own it. It came along with the purchase of Michinoku Pro. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>General diary comments/questions/critiques: Finally, you have returned! I just found this again this morning. I'm so happy you finally came back! This Starrcade looks like it will be an excellent show. By the way, screw Alex Wright! Did the titles get vacated when you fired him? That would have annoyed me so much, as someone with an eye for little details like that. It should be said that this is one of the toughest cards you have ever booked. I cannot wait to see how it turns out. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote> Happily, no. Once I saw that I had that pending request for his release, I went in and used the Replace button to swap Alex with The Destroyer in the reign. So it continued on uninterrupted. The only flaw is that it removes the reign from Alex's title history, but that's his problem. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Up soon (hopefully tomorrow) will be the year end awards and Power 100. How did WCW do? You'll find out soon. <img alt=";)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />
- May 8, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

December 28th, 2003: Starrcade: The 20th Anniversary December 28th, 2003 From the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina Attendance: 21,273 Announce Team: "The Professor" Mike Tenay and Bret "The Hitman" Hart Official Theme Song: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gPCDIRPdn08" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> Show Overall Grade: 100
- May 8, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

December 27th, 2003: News and Notes <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">December 27th, 2003 Greensboro, North Carolina--Hours before Starrcade</div> "Nice hand," I said with a smile, pushing the remainder my poker chips across the table to The Great Sasuke. I'm not sure if he understood the words, but he definitely understood how to play poker. He'd set this entire tournament up to help everyone relax before the biggest show of the year, and he was also the current chip leader. I was fine with being knocked out early. I had plenty on my mind, and not all of it was about Starrcade itself. In the most recent Observing Wrestling, their business analyst declared that we'd officially overtaken WWE as the #1 wrestling company in the world. It was still by the absolute narrowest of margins, and some would probably still argue that WWE is the more established brand name, but it's a sign of how far we've come in the last two and a half years. I'm sure Vince would tell any reporter that he put no stock in such things, but I know him. He wants to run this entire business with an iron fist, and any threat of legitimate competition is something he wants to stamp out. He thought he'd won the war against WCW in 2001, but Ted Turner sold me the company at a heavy discount in one final act of defiance. Now here we are. I doubt Vince actually watches our programming, but one of his lieutenants must have told him about what we've been doing with women's wrestling. In his company it's just a sideshow, an excuse to send out some beautiful, scantily-clad women. Not only are we treating the women seriously, we've built an entire full-time brand around them. The cornerstone of the entire thing has been Manami Toyota. Has Vince ever seen Manami Toyota wrestle? Does he even know who she is? I doubt it. But he knows how important she is to us right now, so he wants her. Her contract is due to expire in late January, and I was expecting a pretty routine extension. Instead I'm in the middle of a bidding war, and the WWE is going all out. I'm doing everything I reasonably can to try and hold onto her, but they show no signs of backing down. At the rate we're going she could wind up among the top five highest paid people in the entire company--and that's only if we actually succeed in winning this bidding war. In 2001 WCW rose from the ashes and got back on track. In 2002 we became a legitimate player again, and in 2003 we once again stood tall enough to look Titan in the eye. As we flip the calendar to 2004 the war is back on in full force, and the first battle is over the best female wrestler on the planet.</div></blockquote> <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg </div> WWE held their last big show of the year, Armageddon, on December 14th in Milwaukee. No title changes or other major newsworthy events to report, but they did present a pair of fantastic 99-rated matches to end the show on a huge positive. In the first, Kurt Angle wrestled to a no contest with Kane in their ECW title match (an ECW match ending in a no contest sounds kind of stupid, but whatever.) The finale saw Rock retain the WWE belt over Big Show. Thanks in large part to those two matches the show scored a great 95 overall rating, so the pressure is on for us to hit a home run at Starrcade. This ranks alongside this year's King of the Ring as the best WWE shows in years. Mick Foley signed a contract extension. Mick's a really charismatic guy, and I'll always appreciate the stand he took after what happened in Montreal. I'm glad he's getting paid, but I think he's miscast in his current role as a color commentator. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg </div> We signed LuFisto to a two year contract extension. I really like what the association with Hokuto has done for both her and Daffney. Takako Inoue is sticking around too under a one year deal. She hasn't been featured all that much of late, but she's one of the more well-rounded women on Renaissance. Kaoru Ito has signed an extension as well, though hers is only for six months. Towards the end of the month I signed developmental wrestler Mercedes Martinez to a one year contract extension. She's been under contract with us since we absorbed All Japan Women's in January 2002, and has blossomed into a really great in-ring talent. She'll probably be up on Renaissance before too long. A recent online article praised Alexis Laree as a potential breakout star in the future. We feel much the same way about her. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/syuSRKH.jpg </div> Really bad news here: Johnny Smith, who way back when was brought into Stampede as Davey's kayfabe brother and also teamed with Dynamite in Japan after the Bulldogs split, overdosed and was rushed to the hospital. It's quickly becoming a story that is bringing negative attention down on the company, especially in Japan where the culture is a lot stricter about drug abuse. Johnny's condition was critical but stable last I heard, so hopefully he makes a full recovery. In more positive news Shinya Hashimoto announced he was going to start taking bookings for All Japan. This is interesting for several reasons. Hashimoto is the owner, top star and World champion of Zero One. Z1 and All Japan have no formal partnership. Zero One does have working arrangements with New Japan and NOAH...both of whom have hostile relations with All Japan. The political workings of all of this are pretty interesting, but it's a huge addition for All Japan as Hashimoto will slot right in as one of their top main event stars. All Japan wrapped up their annual tag team tournament on December 6th. The all-star team of Keiji Mutoh and Toshiaki Kawada beat Genichiro Tenryu and Takao Omori to win the tournament. That's Mutoh's first time winning the tournament, and Kawada's fourth (the previous three all coming with his longtime partner Akira Taue.) That final received a rather disappointing 76 score, while an earlier tournament bout where Mutoh and Kawada beat 2 Cold Scorpio and Gran Hamada was much more well received (89.) Thanks to that lackluster main event, this was their second worst PPV of 2003. After a strong few months in the early part of the year, they've really dipped back down quality-wise. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/HLY8nvy.jpg </div> NOAH held their last PPV of the year, Winter Navigation, on December 20th. Misawa didn't wrestle on this show, only appearing in an angle with Jun Akiyama and Chris Candido (though he did work a tag match on an episode of their weekly TV show that was taped the same day.) It turned out that they didn't need the founder in action to still put on a great show. Truthfully though, this was a below average show propped up by an excellent main event. The second best bout on the show, a junior heavyweight showdown between KENTA and Tajiri in the midcard, only got a 75 grade, while Akiyama retaining the GHC Heavyweight title over Yoshinari Ogawa got a 98 in the main event. But they delivered in the most important spot, so the show itself received an 89. That's just slightly below last month's Thunder of Heart, but it's still one of their better PPVs of 2003. <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="fOS5DO2.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/fOS5DO2.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> It didn't take long for Alex Wright to find work. He announced he'd be heading to Zero-One barely a week after I released him. It's a guaranteed written contract too, so it seems he'll be working there exclusively. They didn't stop there when it came to signing ex-WCW guys either; they signed Brian Adams to his own written deal at the same time. Shuji Kondo also joined the company, also on a full-time gig. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/ebDwXEW.jpg </div> Marty Jannetty announced his retirement. It's a shame that Marty never achieved his potential, but given his lifestyle and personal choices I don't think he has anyone to blame but himself. He'll always be 'that other guy from The Rockers.' At least he got a solid final two year run with WWE, but he hadn't been very visible since they allowed his contract to expire in May. Former WCW wrestler Devon 'Crowbar' Storm recently got married. I wish him the best. I wouldn't rule out a potential WCW return for him one day, though our roster is pretty full as is. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/1eeVS9d.jpg </div> Koji Kitao has announced his retirement. Kitao was a famous sumo wrestler in the '80s who made yokozuna before being expelled from the sport in disgrace. New Japan signed him in 1990 and had big plans for him as a future star, but he had more problems there and was fired after an incident with Inoki. The big-budget startup company SWS scooped him up with similar hopes, but he had an infamous kayfabe-breaking match with John "Earthquake" Tenta that included him getting on the microphone after the match and saying that wrestling is fake. That was the end of his SWS run, though he did make some appearances years later with New Japan and WAR. He'd been working in Big Japan, but no one has booked him since they went out of business this spring and I guess he saw the writing on the wall. <hr noshade size=3> I've written up five matches from Starrcade, with six to go. It'll probably still be a bit before the show is completed, but this is most likely the last post I'll make before then. So if you want to get your predictions in, and especially if you're still in the running for the UFS, now's the time. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="JMike" data-cite="JMike" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> General diary comments/questions/critiques: Man, I thought it was finally Jung Dragon tag title time. Not dissing though, I like this card.</div></blockquote> That was tentatively in the plans a long time ago, but things changed. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="MisterRomanini" data-cite="MisterRomanini" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> General diary comments/questions/critiques: Really, REALLY happy that you've come back for a last hurrah. Can't wait for Starrcade, TFC. Good luck!</div></blockquote> I'm actually not intending for this to be a last hurrah. Obviously we've seen how quickly things can change so I'm not making any promises, but I think this has still got some life left in it yet. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="XMultiGames" data-cite="XMultiGames" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Fan Scorecard: Texas Death Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Jeff Hardy vs. The Unnatural {©} I think this is going to be a curve ball, a very needed curve ball, as this has the problem that Wrestlemania had for years, and that is that because it is the biggest show where storylines reach their climax, is unlikely to see the heel go over in the main event, because they want people to go home happy with a babyface win, it actually took 15 wrestlemanias for a heel to go over on the main event, and it wasnt until the next year in wrestlemania 2000 that an advertised heel won the main event (as in 15 Austin and Rock turned during the match), and starcade right now is falling in that formula first with Van Dam getting the world title of the heel champion, and the next year Rey Mysterio and The Hardys getting the titles from the heel champions, and the fans expect Hardy to take the title of Dustin, and when the fans already know the result it takes away from the match, so if a heel must win who better than the son of a son of a plumber, who breaths WCW, and also I think the fallout is going to be more interesting, Hardy will get the title for sure in the future, but at this moment in time he isnt ready yet. </div></blockquote> The Austin/Rock double turn was actually Wrestlemania 17. (Well, it wasn't really a double turn since they were both faces heading in, but yeah.) Their match at 15 was another of the standard babyface triumphs you're referring to, so your argument is actually even more compelling than you thought. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Eddie Guerrero I actually have high expectations on this match, and that could be its downfall, this match could be an A* match, and it could be the best match in the night, but I actually hope its not, I hope its not, because the crowd could be burned out for the last two matches tanking the event, If they were closing that would be another thing, but they arent so I hope for the best for the event in general. </div></blockquote> Does putting angles in between matches work as a buffer against that? <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> World Tag Team Championship: True Heroes vs. Mortis and The Destroyer {©} I remember when these championship main evented starcade last year, and I must admit there has been a lot of good matches in the tag division, but it has decreased in importance a lot, if with alexander I was doubtful, a shift in the defending champions could force a title change to not put in doubt any destroyer plans for the future, and the true heroes are what the tag division needs to be carried, Punk will main event as world champion in the future, but at this moment in his career him and storm are in the place they can do best.</div></blockquote> One thing I noticed when looking through histories recently: pretty much every great tag title match I've had has involved the Heroes. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Sting, The Shooting Stars, Hayabusa and Minoru Tanaka vs. Bobby Roode, The Jung Dragons, Brian Kendrick and "Sugar" Shane Helms Mostly balancing the Face - Heel wins tonight, this is a toss up, I wish Tanaka coudl win, but I dont see a clear winner.</div></blockquote> Spoiler: through what I'm guessing is a bug in the code, Minoru isn't long for WCW. I didn't know that at the time I ran Starrcade though, so it didn't factor into the booking. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>UWA Welterweight Championship: Paul London vs. The Great Sasuke {©} Sasuke should win his first defense as a WCW star, and London is too green.</div></blockquote> It's technically his second defense in WCW, but you'll be forgiven for forgetting that since the first was a throwaway match against Teddy Hart on an episode of Nitro in November. I'd forgotten it too. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Finally... do you know how difficult is to read 167 pages on one weekend, I´ll give you a clue, a lot, but it has been worth it all the way.</div></blockquote> First: welcome, newcomer! Second: you absolute madman! <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> I've binged diaries in a short period of time like that before, but never that much in that short an amount of time. I'm glad you thought it was worth your time though! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Also, Im only commenting on this because it seems no one noticed it when it happened, but when you had a guest writter write summerslam, it was stated the PAUL HEYMAN, retired the European Championship and brought back the ECW Television Championship, when he had debuted for WCW like 2 or 3 months before summerslam, just an nitpick.</div></blockquote> Yeah, I don't think anyone noticed that. I don't think I did, or if I did at the time I guess I neglected to mention it.
- May 2, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

December 2003: Road to Starrcade: The 20th Anniversary <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="5LLyYiz.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/5LLyYiz.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> The Backstories:</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Embrace Your Fate</div> November 24th: It should have been a night of celebration for Jeff Hardy, but instead he had a sour expression on his face as he came to the ring to open Nitro the night after Calgary Stampede. He said that his win was being clouded; clouded by Salvation. Anybody with any brains should already know it by now, but he was not aligned with Salvation, and The Unnatural could take his comments about wanting to "help" and "save" him and stick them up his you know what! He didn't have anything to do with Salvation now, and he never would in the future either. While CM Punk was right in saying Jeff was willing to risk his own health to win and to provide fans with memories they'd never forget, he was dead wrong if he thought Jeff would ever sell his soul just to try and get ahead! Jeff wanted to prove he was his own man, and the best way to do that was to challenge anybody from Salvation to meet him in the ring! Mortis stepped out from the back, alone, to accept the challenge, saying that it would be his honor to educate Jeff on just why he needed to allow Salvation to claim him. Later in the night, Unnatural scolded Mortis for breaking ranks and going against the group's plan. "We were to leave him alone until Starrcade," Unnatural reminded him. "He is not our enemy, and if you treat him as such and take any undue measures next week, you and I will have issues, brother." December 1st: The promised match main evented (but didn't close) the show, and Unnatural was right there at ringside. That distracted Jeff at a few points, but the champion didn't interfere, not even when Jeff hit the Swanton and got the clean pin on Mortis. Afterwards, Unnatural let us know why he'd stood back and watched as his fellow Salvation member failed. "Salvation is my family," he began. "I would risk my very life to protect one of my brothers in Salvation. But that does not apply only to current brothers. I treat my future brothers with the same care, and you, Jeffrey, will be one of us one day. You may not believe it, you may hate me and everything I represent and you may currently be convinced that everything I've done ever since I ordered the attack on you in August has all been part of one long, elaborate ruse. But everything I've done, everything WE'VE done, has been because we see your true self and want to help you find it. Mortis attempted to hasten the process tonight, and he failed. But at Starrcade, Jeffrey, I will break through the facade and drag the true spirit of Jeff Hardy out, even if I have to break your body to do so." December 8th: The show opened with a promo from Salvation, where Unnatural somberly revealed that their brother Alexander had been "broken." He didn't know what horrors had been inflicted upon him, but it went beyond merely the physical, and he doubted their fallen brother would ever rise to walk beside them again. He vowed that whoever was responsible would receive the appropriate punishment. After the three remaining members of Salvation won a squash six man tag, Jeff walked into the ring and told Unnatural straight to his face that he was responsible for taking Alexander out. He called it a receipt for Salvation doing the same to him months ago and starting this whole battle, and said unlike Alexander, he would not be broken! Unnatural wore a look of great sadness as he reluctantly declared that they had no choice but to inflict immediate "salvation" upon Jeff, but Hardy received some unlikely backup in the form of True Heroes, who had their own bone to pick with Salvation. December 15th: This feud once again was the first thing people saw, as we started with Jeff in the ring holding a mic. He reminded us that this all started with Salvation attacking him in the back at the Japan Supershow in August and leaving him face-down on the floor. He'd gotten a measure of payback by driving Alexander out of WCW in an "unfilmed attack", but he wouldn't truly be even until he'd knocked Unnatural's lights out. "Let's go full circle! Let's make Starrcade a Texas Death Match, so the only way you lose it to get beaten so badly that you can't stand!" The Unnatural stepped into the aisle and had a quick response. "Jeffrey, you have no idea what you have done. We wanted nothing more than to welcome you into our family, to treat you as a brother and show you true Salvation. But you went too far. You committed a cardinal sin with what you did to the poor lost soul we once knew as Alexander, who is now lost to us forever. Now I am left with no choice but to unleash my full might against you. I shall hold nothing back at Starrcade, and you will receive the full punishment due to you, even if that means you too are lost to us forever. The twentieth anniversary of Starrcade is meant to be a party, a celebration, but thanks to you I now have no choice but to turn it into a slaughter. You desire a Texas Death Match? I accept. The boy known as Dustin Rhodes saw his legendary father partake in several such matches, but nothing his young, innocent eyes saw will even compare to the brutality you will receive from the hands of The Unnatural!" His objective for the night accomplished, Jeff was packing his bags and preparing to leave when he bumped into True Heroes. He awkwardly thanked them for the unexpected backup last week, but Punk brushed it off and said it had nothing to do with him. There was no love lost between them; they showed up solely because they had a battle of their own with Salvation. Arn Anderson walked in towards the end of the conversation and suggested the three of them get on the same page in a hurry, because six days before Starrcade they were going to team up against Salvation in a six man tag. December 22nd: Unnatural usually has plenty to say before big matches, but he was curiously silent this week. We did get a backstage promo from Hardy and True Heroes, though it was more about playing up the bitter history and current tension between the three as a way to build intrigue for the main event. Punk promised that if Jeff got in their way, intentionally or not, he wouldn't make it to Starrcade. Jeff did not appreciate the threat in the least. The tension was still very much present in the match, but they put it aside to focus on their respective battles with Salvation. This match was nothing short of fantastic; all six guys contributed in their own ways, and I was thrilled with the end result. As far as this rivalry is concerned, we demonstrated that both guys were operating with a really nasty edge. Unnatural's previous comments about wanting to convert Jeff into a "brother" of Salvation had fallen by the wayside, as he looked like he very much wanted to physically destroy Jeff on the spot. Hardy, for his part, did a lot more brawling and less of his usual flashy aerial stuff here. The match ended with Jeff downing The Destroyer and finishing him with a Swanton Bomb, but that was not the end of this fight. Unnatural attacked Jeff after the bell, tackling him with enough force to send them both through the ropes and to the floor. They traded punches on the floor and around ringside, and Unnatural even went for Jeff's eye at one point. Officials were still struggling to try and pull champion and challenger apart as we went off the air. The tone was driven home exactly as intended: these two are going to war at Starrcade. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">The Dream Match</div> November 24th: We aired a lengthy video recapping the Austin vs. Goldberg story, starting with Goldberg's shocking return to WCW at Clash of the Champions in April, where he interfered and cost Austin his match against King Corino. It had been a long journey of Austin trying to coerce the leader of The Empire (whoever it might've been at the time) into giving him the match everybody wanted to see, but we were finally getting it. After airing the highlights of Piper's Pit where the match became official for Starrcade, we plugged a contract signing between the two for the following week. December 1st: The contract signing was the true main event of the show, with Arn Anderson there to oversee things and King Corino and the rest of The Empire also on hand. Austin handled a lot of the talking. "A lotta people are real excited about this match finally comin' together," he pointed out. "WCW wants to sell pay-per-views, the people want their 'dream match', Corino over there wants to line his pockets while sittin' on his ass and not doin' a damn thing. As for me, I just wanna whip somebody's ass! Goldberg, you and I have had this fight comin' for a long time, a lot longer than just you comin' back earlier this year as The Empire's little attack dog. I was on the road every damn night doin' my thing in 1998, but I saw what you were doing over here in WCW. I watched as you mowed down every SOB they put in your path, right up through beating Hogan in the Georgia Dome for the WCW title. And as I watched you do your thing, I said to myself, 'Damn, I'd love to fight that big SOB!' And now it's finally gonna happen! I may not like you, Bill, but I respect what you can do in this ring. It's gonna be one hell of a fight at Starrcade, a fight millions of people have been waitin' to see for years. But at the end of it only one man's hand will be raised, and you better believe you're lookin' at him right now!" Goldberg did actually do some talking as well this time, touching on how he'd been compared to Austin from the moment he'd debuted. "Bald guy, no frills, black tights, black boots, in 1998? People started calling me a Steve Austin ripoff right away, but I was never anything but myself! I didn't need to beat up my boss, drink beer and cuss up a storm to make people care about me. People cared about me because night in and night out, I destroyed! I went on an undefeated streak that will never be matched again, and if it weren't for that stupid Kliq it'd still be going today! Austin, you may be a hell raiser, and you're a tough guy, no question about it. But you have never, EVER fought somebody like me! I don't care if it's Undertaker, Rock, Triple H, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, or anybody else you've beaten--NONE of them have done the things I've done! You call me an attack dog if you like, but I'm only employed by The Empire because WCW didn't want to bring me back--they were too afraid of what I'd do to the promising young kids they're banking on to lead the company for the next decade! But at Starrcade, it isn't about who signs my paycheck or who gets a cut of the gate, and it isn't about WCW or WWF or who is ripping off who. It's only about one thing--YOU'RE NEXT!!" After the contract was signed, Corino nodded to Knoble and TAKA in a clear indication that he wanted to launch an attack on Austin. Goldberg prevented it though, deliberately placing himself between Austin and the rest of The Empire. When Corino started arguing with him, Goldberg just shook his head and mouthed 'HE'S MINE!' Corino unhappily led the rest of the group out, and the show closed with Austin and Goldberg standing in the center of the ring in a staredown. December 8th: Goldberg was in the night's main event against AJ Styles, and he let the rest of The Empire know in no uncertain terms that they were to stay in the back and not stick their noses in the match. Corino shrugged and told him to do whatever he wanted, and true to his word, there was no sign of the group before, during or after the main event as Goldberg scored a clean, hard-fought win. Austin appeared on the video screen afterwards, and he was impressed to see Goldberg starting to show some backbone instead of just doing whatever Corino told him to. "Maybe you still got some guts in there after all, Bill!" he said. "If you do, Starrcade's gonna be a whole hell of a lot of fun!" December 15th: Goldberg was not on hand, but we got a nice long vignette of him going through a heavy workout in Atlanta as he prepared for the dream match. As he finished he walked towards the camera, grabbed it, brought it up close to his face and had two simple words for Austin: "YOU'RE NEXT!" Austin didn't get much of a chance to respond verbally thanks to Brian Kendrick, but he shut the young man down in the main event. Afterwards he was attacked by The Empire, minus Goldberg, with Corino directing traffic and spiking Austin's head into the canvas with a piledriver. We signed off with Mike and I wondering if Goldberg had been aware of this plan or if Corino was acting on his own. December 22nd: We opened the show with footage of Goldberg throwing open the door to the Empire's locker room. He immediately confronted Corino, demanding to know why he hadn't responded to any of his calls over the last week, and more importantly why he and the rest of The Empire took it upon themselves to attack Austin last week. "He's MINE to deal with!" Goldberg shouted. Corino shook his head, not intimidated. "This doesn't just concern you, Bill. If you do your job and beat Austin, we add him to our group and reap all the rewards of his fame. I'm not taking a chance on you screwing this up for me, so if you expect me to apologize for making a tactical decision to weaken Austin before Starrcade, guess again!" Austin responded via promo later in the night. Did he think Goldberg was in on the attack? "I don't give a damn," he said. "Was Bill in on it? Did Corino act alone? None of it makes a damn bit of difference. Whether Bill fights me one on one like a man or I gotta go through every SOB in The Empire all in one night, I'm fixin' to raise hell in Greensboro this Sunday!" </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Once Brothers</div> November 24th: By virtue of his win over Jamie Knoble at Calgary Stampede, Rey Mysterio Jr. was getting his former friend/betrayer Eddie Guerrero in the ring one on one at Starrcade. During an interview with Becky Bayless, Eddie brushed off the idea that he was afraid to face his former friend. "I'm not scared of Rey--but he'll be scared of ME after he watches the main event tonight!" he shouted. Said main event saw Eddie against AJ Styles in a thrilling match, but one which turned on outside interference from the Dangerous Alliance, interference that allowed Eddie to score a tainted pin. He gleefully joined the Alliance in putting the boots to Styles after the match, but their fun was ruined when Mysterio ran to the ring with a chair and chased them all off! December 1st: For the first time since the betrayal at Halloween Havoc, Guerrero and Mysterio stood across from each other. Along with their respective partners, Sean O'Haire and AJ Styles, they fought to a double countout. Eddie didn't want much to do with Rey in that match, tagging out whenever he came in and downright fleeing during the countout finish. December 8th: The rivals were in the show closing position as they were Roddy Piper's guests on Piper's Pit. Roddy threw in plenty of questions about their long history and whether there was anything left of their former friendship, and both agreed that it was long gone while placing the blame for it on the other. Eddie said he was looking forward to paying Rey back for being a false friend and stealing the world title shot that should've been his at Halloween Havoc, while Rey said he was done trying to figure out what was going on in Eddie's head. Eddie also taunted Rey throughout the segment by holding up the same steel chair he'd dented on Rey's skull at Halloween Havoc, and as the talking wrapped up he used the chair again. This time it was Rey's surgically repaired knee he targeted, bashing him in the knee as he was about to walk away and then delivering several more shots before walking away with a grin, carrying the chair that now showed even further signs of wear and tear after being used as a weapon against Eddie's former best friend. December 15th: After a short squash match against young Jimmy Jacobs, Eddie forced the production crew to replay the clip of him bashing Rey's knee with the chair last week. He got a great laugh out of it, and taunted the fans and the recuperating Mysterio by limping around the ring and pretending his knee was hurt. December 22nd: Rey took to the ring against Shane Helms, who tested the health of his knee with frequent, targeted attacks. While Rey did still seem to be favoring the knee, the injury wasn't debilitating enough to stop him from rallying and winning the match. Eddie snuck in clutching his chair and went for another sneak attack, but Mysterio was ready for him this time. He spun around and stared at Eddie, bracing for a battle, but Guerrero backed down and left the way he entered. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">O'Haire Unleashed</div> November 24th: To say the Dangerous Alliance was furious with AJ Styles would be an understatement. Paul Heyman placed the blame for Sean O'Haire losing to Jeff Hardy in the Stu Hart Classic finals squarely on AJ's shoulders, and warned Styles that he would pay dearly for his decision. "You may have thought you were getting even with the Dangerous Alliance for us doing what we had to do in our Semifinal matchup against you, but what you really did was sign your own death warrant! Because Sean O'Haire is mad as hell and wants to tear your head off, and I'm not going to stop him!" O'Haire, along with RVD and Douglas, turned word into action by interfering in AJ's main event against Eddie Guerrero and costing him the match, but the arrival of Mysterio spoiled Sean's post-match "fun." December 1st: Styles and Mysterio joined forces in a tag, and AJ welcomed the chance to get O'Haire in the ring. He took the fight right to the big man, though he did so intelligently by making use of his speed and aerial skills. A flip dive to the floor took both men out and factored into the non-finish. December 8th: There were no confrontations between the two, but Heyman and O'Haire did deliver a backstage promo during which Heyman formally challenged Styles to meet his client in a singles match at Starrcade--"Assuming you survive your encounter with the beast known as Goldberg tonight!" December 15th: AJ and O'Haire got into a huge fight back in catering, one which Heyman was powerless to stop. It took a number of other wrestlers to pull them apart and restore order, and Heyman did his best to calm his charge down and remind him that he'd have all the time he wanted to rip Styles in half between the ropes with the entire world watching at Starrcade. December 22nd: Styles was successful in his tune-up bout against the veteran Fit Finlay, after which O'Haire and Heyman appeared on the video screen. Heyman taunted AJ, saying he should be very thankful they were remaining in the back instead of coming out to the ring. "If Sean O'Haire so desired, he could walk down that aisle, step into that ring and destroy you with a simple snap of his fingers. Instead, we'll wait for Starrcade. But at the 20th anniversary of Starrcade this Sunday, Sean O'Haire will deliver the biggest beating in the storied history of this event!" </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">A Dragon's Proving</div> November 24th: Fresh off of a huge pinfall over Shane Douglas in their PPV tag match, Bryan Danielson was impressive in outwrestling veteran Fit Finlay and forcing him to submit to Cattle Mutilation. The Dangerous Alliance mentioned Bryan during a promo immediately afterwards, but far from the venom they spewed towards AJ Styles, Heyman was actually fairly complementary of Bryan. He called the former two time Cruiserweight champion "intriguing." December 1st: RVD and Heyman approached Danielson with "an offer he couldn't refuse." "We're very impressed with you, Bryan," Heyman said. "Anyone who can pin the shoulders of Shane Douglas to the canvas is worthy of attention, and you do not disappoint! You're a technical wrestling wizard wise beyond your years, you can fly, you can brawl--you can do it all, kid! But can you be the greatest wrestler on the planet? We're going to give you the chance to be exactly that, because that what you'll HAVE to be at Starrcade! That's right, Bryan: we're giving you the golden ticket! ROB-VAN-DAM has hand-picked you to challenge for his United States Heavyweight Championship at the biggest show of the year, and WCW has agreed to make the match! All you have to do is accept, and prepare for a challenge the likes of which you've never even imagined!" Danielson immediately accepted the challenge (as if there was any doubt.) December 8th: Danielson watched on as RVD teamed with Shane Douglas. RVD seemed to enjoy his presence, putting on a show and bowing in Bryan's direction at certain points during the win over Volador and Aguila. December 15th: This week it was RVD's turn to watch Danielson in action, with the added caveat of his opponent being Douglas. Shane was a tough test of course, but Danielson was able to counter his underhanded tactics with solid technical skills and pin him just as he'd done at Calgary Stampede, but this time in a singles bout. RVD and Heyman weren't thrilled to see it, but Heyman did nod in reluctant acknowledgment. Van Dam held the US title aloft so Danielson could see it and shook his head, letting him know he wouldn't be getting his hands on it any time soon. December 22nd: Both parties had a sit-down interview. Bryan acknowledged this was the biggest opportunity of his career, but insisted he was excited instead of nervous. He said his success against Shane Douglas proved his ability to take whatever the Dangerous Alliance can throw at him, and stated that RVD had never faced an opponent with his level of technical skill. Heyman laughed and said he appreciated the kid's confidence. "You are good, Bryan, no doubt about it. That's why we chose you, and you validated our choice by defeating the great Shane Douglas one on one. But your feel-good story ends here. There will be no happy ending to this little fairy tale, because at Starrcade you will find out that as good as you are, you just aren't quite good enough to defeat ROB-VAN-DAM!" </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">TAKA for the title</div> December 1st: TAKA emerged from a Cruiserweight Shootout against Brian Kendrick, Hayabusa, Minoru Tanaka, Shane Helms and Volador Jr. to earn a Cruiserweight title shot at Starrcade, all while Chavo watched on commentary. December 8th: Chavo did mention his upcoming title defense during an interview, calling TAKA a tough challenger, but most of his time was spent on another topic (see below.) December 15th: The Empire interrupted Chavo's interview this week, with Corino telling Chavo to keep his nose out of Empire business. "You don't have time to be worrying about what goes on within The Empire," Corino declared. "All of your attention should be on trying to hold onto that cruiserweight title at Starrcade--not that it'll matter, since you have no hope of defeating TAKA!" Chavo suggested he prove just how focused he was the following week in a tag match against Corino and TAKA. Corino laughed and said he'd be more than happy to wipe the floor with him, assuming Chavo could find anyone dumb enough to be his partner. December 22nd: TAKA got the pin on Chavo during their match to claim some momentum heading into Starrcade, but more on that below. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Knoble's Had Enough!</div> December 1st: Jamie Knoble approached his boss King Corino backstage to ask why he'd been able to secure a spot for TAKA in the Cruiserweight Shootout to determine the #1 contender for Starrcade, but not one for him. The answer was not what he expected. "You have no one to blame but yourself!" Corino shouted. "I wasn't about to waste my time negotiating a spot for you after what you did when you had the title! You went against my orders, AND against common freaking sense, to volunteer to defend the title in a three way match! And what happened? You lost, genius! Unlike you and Goldberg, TAKA can actually follow orders, and he'll bring the title back to The Empire at Starrcade--a title we'd still have if you weren't so stupid!" December 8th: Chavo spoke at length about Knoble during his interview with Becky Bayless. He said he was impressed with Knoble's sportsmanship and competitiveness in offering the triple threat for the title at Halloween Havoc when he could've tried to take an easy way out, and said he was surprised when Jamie's name wasn't in the Cruiserweight Shootout to decide his Starrcade challenger. He encouraged Knoble to take a page out of Goldberg's book and stop listening to Corino's directions, because Corino cared only about himself. December 15th: Knoble didn't say much during Corino's verbal sparring match with Chavo, but he had more of a role to play in the group attack against Steve Austin later on. TAKA worked alongside Corino and did whatever was asked of him, but Knoble was much more reluctant to participate. After repeated shouts and orders, Knoble did finally jump in and lock Austin in his guillotine choke, enabling Corino to get in some cheap kicks on the defenseless Hellraiser. December 22nd: When the time came, Chavo walked to the ring alone. Corino mocked him for failing to find a partner, but Chavo explained that he had a partner in mind, and that partner was already in the ring. He wanted to team with...Jamie Knoble! Everyone was surprised by that, including Knoble, but Corino shut that thought down immediately. "He is Empire property, and there's no way in hell I'm letting him team with you!" Knoble looked conflicted by it all, but the end result was that Chavo wound up in a handicap match against both Corino and TAKA. Predictably, he was defeated by the Michinoku Driver. But the real story was after the match. As Corino and TAKA rubbed their victory in Chavo's face by putting the boots to him, Knoble sprang into action. He surprised TAKA with a belly to belly suplex, and got in a few punches on Corino before the Empire leader escaped to the floor. Corino grabbed a microphone and ranted at Knoble's idiocy. "First Goldberg, now you! Nobody in The Empire seems to want to listen to their boss anymore! Clearly you've forgotten your place, you stupid redneck! But I'll remind you why I'm the leader and you're the follower--and I'll do it at Starrcade!" </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">A Heroic Threepeat?</div> November 24th: The Unbound heard True Heroes' message, both verbal and physical, loud and clear. They wanted revenge, fair enough. They wanted to become tag team champions once again, splendid. However, as Father Isaac pointed out, CM Punk and Lance Storm had been focused mainly on their singles careers in recent months, and had been teaming rather infrequently. So if they wanted a match with the champions, he recommended they prove their worth by teaming together and winning some matches. December 1st: Responding to Isaac's suggestion, the Heroes teamed up to defeat the most recent challengers to the tag titles, The Shooting Stars. Alexander watched the match closely, getting a good look as Storm earned the submission victory. December 8th: CM Punk cracked jokes about Alexander's departure during a True Heroes interview, weaving the storyline in along with some subtle inside digs about Alex's real life prima donna attitude. His standup routine was interrupted by Isaac, Mortis and The Destroyer, who took great offense to Punk making light of this "tragedy." "You won't be so jovial after Starrcade, Punk!" Isaac shouted. "One of our brothers may be gone, but The Destroyer will take up the mantle in his stead. Yes, Mortis and The Destroyer will accept your challenge and see you at Starrcade, and you won't be laughing once they're through with you!" The Heroes showed up again later in the night, running down to prevent Salvation from inflicting a 3-on-1 assault on Jeff Hardy. They stood side by side in the ring with their former bitter rival, but their attention was squarely on the two men who they'd be challenging at Starrcade. December 15th: No interaction between the teams this week; just the announcement of the six man tag that would be the main event on the go home Nitro. December 22nd: The clash between Jeff Hardy and The Unnatural understandably took center stage, but these two teams had more than enough time to get their own battle over during the six man tag main event. One thing we tried to establish here was that the substitution of Destroyer for Alexander gave the champions a completely different element thanks to his size and strength, and it was something the Heroes would have to adjust to. We drove this point home by having him toss both Punk and Storm around the ring quite a bit during the match, though they did aid Mysterio in scoring the fall on the big man. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">An Angel Waiting in the Wings</div> November 24th: Defense #5 of the TV title came for Matt Hardy in a quick squash over Petey Williams. After the match, Christopher Daniels announced that thanks to winning a 20-man battle royal before Calgary Stampede went on the air he was being granted a shot at the TV title at Starrcade. He said he'd see Matt there and was looking forward to taking his title--unless someone else took it away before then, that is! December 1st: Matt fended off the shenanigans of Colt Cabana and Bobby Heenan to make his 6th defense, which earned a rather sarcastic round of applause from Daniels. December 8th: Defense #7 was in the books as Hardy took care of Harry Smith, but the story didn't end there. As Harry's friend TJ Wilson came into the ring both to check on Smith and yell at Matt, Daniels appeared out of nowhere and dropped the champion with Last Rites! December 15th: Daniels guested on commentary as Matt recorded defense #8 with a win over TJ Wilson. Daniels' parting shot before he left the desk was that he'd expected nothing less, but Matt was going to be in the ring with a completely different level of competition at Starrcade. December 22nd: Hardy made defense #9 against Yang of the Jung Dragons, but Daniels was nowhere to be seen all night. Mike and I suggested he was taking the time to rest at home so he would be fresh and ready to go at Starrcade, while Hardy was coming off of a solid month of defending the title every single week. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Does the Scorpion Still Sting?</div> November 24th: Sting said he'd done a lot of thinking in the 24 hours since his little run-in with Ric Flair and Bobby Roode, and he admitted that what they said made a lot of sense. Maybe he was becoming too complacent now that WCW was back from the brink and thriving again, and was content to let the young guns of the next generation lead the way. But he believed he still had a lot to offer, and he wanted to prove it. "Last night we talked about what Starrcade might have in store for the Stinger. Well here's an idea: how about a match against you, Roode?!" Roode and Flair's response? Sting wasn't good enough anymore to even be worth their time, so they were refusing his challenge! To quote Roode, "Even five Stings put together wouldn't be able to beat me!" December 1st: Sting cornered Roode and Flair as they were doing a live chat on WCW.com, and he used Roode's own words against him. "Five of me, that's what you said, right? Five Stings put together wouldn't be enough to beat you? Well that gave me a heck of an idea. I find four partners, you do your best to find four people who can stand to be around you for longer than five minutes, and we have ourselves a little ten men tag at Starrcade!" Roode, feeling backed into a corner, accepted the challenge. December 8th: The Jung Dragons claimed a controversial win over The Shooting Stars thanks to an assist from Stacy Keibler, and both teams continued to push, shove and taunt each other afterwards. That brought out Roode and Flair to invite the Dragons to join their Starrcade team, and Sting wasn't far behind to extend the same offer to the Stars. Roode and Flair's team grew one larger later in the night when they were approached by Brian Kendrick, who confidently told them that selecting him would be the best choice they'd ever make. Roode laughed and shook his hand, while Flair smiled and said he reminded him of himself twenty five years earlier. December 15th: After Hayabusa and Minoru Tanaka were victorious in tag action, Sting came to the ring and recruited them to round out his team. Immediately afterwards we cut to the back where Flair, Roode and the Jung Dragons were all watching on a monitor--and joining them were Buff Bagwell and his client, the final member of Team Roode, "Sugar" Shane Helms. December 22nd: Stacy Keibler tried to give Yang a leg up by distracting Matt Hardy during their TV title match, but Torrie Wilson came out to neutralize her. Hardy went on to win the match, and the members of Team Sting and Team Roode joined their partners in the ring to argue the situation. While surrounded by arguing men (and a couple of women), Sting, Roode and Flair stood in the center of it all, exchanging words about what was going to happen at Starrcade. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Is London Calling for Sasuke?</div> December 15th: Paul London defeated Volador Jr. in a match to earn a shot at Great Sasuke's UWA Welterweight title. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Show Summaries: 11/24: <img alt="oyS28fd.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/oyS28fd.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -Alexander blew off his scheduled meeting with Ricky Steamboat, and I sat him down afterwards to tell him this kind of thing isn't going to be tolerated. He nodded and said he understood, but I'm not sure if the message really took hold. He's been a pretty angry personality recently, ever since I had him lose to Billy Kidman on Nitro and then refused to renegotiate his contract and give him the hefty raise he wanted. -Ric Flair felt that Colt Cabana disrespected and ignored Sting backstage, so he told him he had to buy a round for the boys after the show. I wonder if Ric really just wanted free alcohol. -I had Paul Heyman work as Brian Kendrick's manager in his pre-show match, thinking Kendrick could be a great fit for the Dangerous Alliance. Unfortunately Kendrick and Heyman just didn't connect at all during the match, so scrap that idea. It was so bad that Kendrick came to me afterwards to talk about how disappointed he was. I think he knew that was a potentially huge moment in his career that unfortunately didn't pan out. "I think you had the right idea not using Kid Kash, man. Those people were dead all match." -Jeff Hardy "I know he's my best friend and all, but I still say Colt Cabana is money. I hope he's in the main events with me some day." -CM Punk "I like this Cabana kid. He might be worth a look." -Steve Austin 12/1: <img alt="swZifOO.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/swZifOO.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -Minoru Tanaka felt that he was miscast in the spotfest Cruiserweight Shootout, and he probably had a point. -TJ Wilson's weasely take on a next generation character, where he brags about being the next evolution of pro wrestling, got an average initial reception. 12/8: <img alt="xCMtsyg.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/xCMtsyg.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -I took some time before the show to pass on some tips on psychology to TJ Wilson. -Konnan debuted a new high spot during his pre-show match, and Bob Orton thinks it'll really help with the layout of his matches. -Goldberg and AJ were a little sloppy with their chemistry during the main event. It was still a fantastic match though, and this was a great sign in a trial run to see if Bill could handle a longer, slower-building match. "Petey Williams looked really bad during his match with Colt Cabana--his psychology was all over the place." -Jeff Hardy "Did you see Brian Kendrick look totally at ease cutting an improvised promo with Flair? That guy's great." -CM Punk 12/15: <img alt="M6kzWEo.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/M6kzWEo.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -Bobby Roode had the locker room engrossed in some kind of silly trivia game before the show. -I saw Ric Flair and Aguila joking around with each other a lot during the game. What they were talking about, I couldn't say. I wonder if they even understood each other. -When I came backstage after the show, both CM Punk and Jamie Knoble raved to me about Paul London's performance in his match with Volador. 12/22: <img alt="8oDXl8i.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/8oDXl8i.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -Knoble's face turn wasn't necessarily something the crowd went crazy for, but I still thought it went over fairly well. "I don't know about Cash. He's not a bad hand, but I just don't see anything to draw the people in." -Steve Austin </div></div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> Fan Scorecard: Texas Death Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Jeff Hardy vs. The Unnatural {©} The Dream Match: "The Hellraiser" Steve Austin vs. Goldberg -If Austin wins, Goldberg is fired! -If Goldberg wins, Austin must join The Empire! Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Eddie Guerrero World Tag Team Championship: True Heroes vs. Mortis and The Destroyer {©} United States Heavyweight Championship: "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson vs. Rob Van Dam {©} "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles vs. Sean O'Haire Jamie Knoble vs. King Corino World Television Championship: "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels vs. Matt Hardy {©} Cruiserweight Championship: TAKA vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.{©} Sting, The Shooting Stars, Hayabusa and Minoru Tanaka vs. Bobby Roode, The Jung Dragons, Brian Kendrick and "Sugar" Shane Helms UWA Welterweight Championship: Paul London vs. The Great Sasuke {©} What will be match of the night? How many championships will change hands? TIEBREAKER: How long is the main event (minutes and seconds)? General diary comments/questions/critiques: </div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> A huge thank you to K-Nection for designing the Starrcade 20th Anniversary logo, as well as the poster that the rest of you will see when I post the show itself. Great work as always, bud! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Hashasheen" data-cite="Hashasheen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Dunno, maybe he winds up in New Japan or TNA...? Next NWA World Heavyweight Champion? The man to dethrone Riki Choshu?</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>That would actually be the better outcome but the cynic in me thinks Vince will snatch him up.</div></blockquote> He's already signed a written contract with someone, I'll say that much. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="smartman" data-cite="smartman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>"I'm coming back to write up Starrcade and maybe just a little more." The game just cackles maniacally as it throws up a bunch of news at you to slow you down and rejigger two matches on the fly.<img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote> Heh. Fortunately the Steiner/Douglas match wasn't very important. And I kind of like the way I worked Alex's leaving into the Hardy/Unnatural feud.
- April 25, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

December 5th, 2003: News <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">December 5th, 2003</div> "Are you kidding?" I couldn't help but ask. "You're requesting your release weeks before the biggest show of the year? As one half of the tag team champions, too?" "That's right," Alex Wright, aka Alexander, said seriously on the other end of the phone. "I'm very unhappy with how things have been going lately, and I want out." "Is this still about having to do a job for Kidman last month?" I really hoped that wasn't it. "Everyone has to lose sometimes, and it was only to set up you guys beating them in the tag at the PPV." He's also far more talented than you are, I thought to myself. "I'm still furious about that, yes," he said, causing me to roll my eyes. "I'm a much bigger star than he is." "You also get lots of screen time in featured storylines because you're teaming with Kanyon (also much better than you, I thought) and are in a faction with Dustin, who is just about the hottest wrestler in the world right now," I pointed out. "You could have put anyone in that spot, but you chose me for a reason," he countered. "It's because I'm marketable, and I deserve to be protected and paid like it." "So THAT'S it," I said, snapping my fingers. "You're still pissed I refused to give you a raise." "Yes I am," he confirmed. "I more than earned it, especially after being a team player and putting Kidman over." Yeah, some team player. "Is this some play for more money? Because you're still under contract for almost a year. I don't have to give you a thing." "I want you to recognize my importance, and it isn't happening. So if you aren't going to start treating me better, you're going to be without a tag title match for Starrcade." "Is that right?" I said, my patience at an end. "You aren't anywhere near as important as you think you are, Alex. You want out? Fine. Once you return the belt to us, I'll have our lawyers draw up an immediate release for you. I'll just write you out, sub Mike Awesome in, and we'll lose nothing out of it. Nothing except a career midcarder with an inflated ego. Good luck in the future, because I can just about guarantee no one's going to push you as hard as I have." I hung up before he could respond. That was an unexpected and unwelcome call. I wasn't kidding about not feeling like we'll lose much with him gone, but it's still annoying to have to make yet another change to the Starrcade plans just days after the Scott Steiner news. Hopefully all of this this isn't a sign that bigger, more drastic roadblocks are incoming. </div></blockquote> <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg </div> As I pretty much expected, Brock Lesnar chose to sign a multi-year contract extension with WWE, despite competing offers from both us and New Japan. I think he has the potential to be the next big star there, so it certainly stings that I couldn't snag him. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/sDkxtEI.jpg </div> NJPW held their Power Struggle event on December 2nd. The show featured a fantastic match between Satoshi Kojima and Taiyo Kea that received a 95 score from the Observer, well above any other match on the show. Unfortunately for them that was smack dab in the midcard. Even the semi main event, a 90-rated match between Masahiro Chono and Manabu Nakanishi, would've been a fitting way to close the show, but the actual main event in which Riki Choshu retained the IWGP Heavyweight title over Koji Kanemoto was only an 82. Had the match order been different it could've been a stellar show, but as it was it only received an 84. That's not bad judged on its own, but it ranks among their worst big events of the year. The quality of the title bouts have dipped noticeably since the 51-year old Choshu started his 4th reign in April. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/JO5PDMM.jpg </div> TNA held 'Seven Deadly Sins II' (God, what a title. Russo, you idiot!) on December 4th. Their World champion Marc Mero was nowhere to be seen on this show, though the NWA title did feature in the semi main event as Tadao Yasuda successfully defended it against Jarrett in a passable 51-rated match (passable for TNA's size, that is.) The main event, Matt Sydal and Kent Kohl defeating a pair of former WCW talent in Nicho (Psychosis) and Evan Karagis got a pretty strong 61 grade, leading to a 57 for the show as a whole. That made it the second best show they've run. Their three most recent shows are all in the top four in company history (they've only been open since May 2002, but still.) Maybe they're turning a corner.
- April 17, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

December 1st, 2003: Breaking News <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">December 1st, 2003</div> I put down my beer and shook my head. Things couldn't ever be easy. News came in from our drug testers that Scott Steiner was abusing pain killers. As this was the second time this has happened with him, I knew I had to take action. He's off to rehab now. Who knows how long he'll be gone, but obviously Starrcade is off the table. He was set to wrestle (and lose to) Shane Douglas at the event, a match we actually made official tonight. It wasn't a marquee match on the show, but it being pulled is still going to necessitate a lot of reshuffling. Do I find a new singles opponent for Douglas? Or do I cycle a different match in and just let Shane be involved in the other Dangerous Alliance matches? More important than all that is trying to help Scott, and early signs there are positive. I didn't know how he'd react, but he actually shook my hand, thanked me and admitted this was the best thing for him. Could we see a kinder, gentler "Big Poppa Pump" when he comes back? Okay, yeah, probably not. </div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> I totally forgot about this; it happened, then I went away so I never posted it. So here's a brief story update a lot sooner than I was expecting! Thanks so much for the warm welcome back! It's comforting to know that I can be away for four months and there will still be people interested in jumping back in. Today was the first real amount of time I've spent doing any work on this in all that time. Still haven't run a show, but I plotted out the progression of all the major feuds on Renaissance for the next five weeks' worth of TV leading into their next PPV in January. Hopefully I'll be able to run a show in-game tomorrow, though I guess I'll have to take some time to refigure my main roster plans since Steiner was supposed to be in a singles match at Starrcade! (It was a lower priority match, but still.) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Danny_H22" data-cite="Danny_H22" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Really happy to hear that we might have an update in the not too distant future. You are by far my favourite creative writer and I’m in awe by how brilliant this whole story has been. I hope that once you do get your teeth back into it, it reignites your love and we can all continue on this journey (and maybe I’ll get to contribute as SHC winner)</div></blockquote> Thanks for reminding me about the SHC prize! I'll contact you soon so we can figure out what your prize is going to be. I feel like I had something specific in mind, but...yeah, that was four months ago. <img alt=":o" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/redface.png.900245280682ef18c5d82399a93c5827.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />
- April 17, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

I haven't touched TEW at all these past...four months, or however long it has been, so obviously I have nothing to show you at this time. But I just wanted to leave you guys a quick note that I plan to pick this back up eventually. At the very least we'll get through Starrcade, but I'm thinking/hoping that doing so will help me get motivated again. I've tried working on other, non-TEW/wrestling related writing projects while I've been gone, but haven't been able to maintain my focus on any of them. I miss writing in general, and it seems like the best way to get myself doing it again is to try and revive this thing. That said, I'll be moving in a little over a month, so obviously I'll be pretty busy preparing for that. I can't give an ETA on anything, but hopefully most of you will be ready to step back in with me when I can finally get going again. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="ScubaSteve83" data-cite="ScubaSteve83" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Does anyone know if TFC altered the mod to get Taka and Corino on long term deals? They are both free lance and won't sign anything longer than 6 months. TIA!</div></blockquote> Yeah, I'm pretty sure I used the editor to remove the freelance tag from both of them. I feel like either one of them would have been more than happy to sign long-term contracts with a company (and I'd assume Taka was actually under one with the WWF), and their bouncing around from company to company was just a product of circumstance. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="smartman" data-cite="smartman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Honestly, that's been one of my very few pet peeves with Genadi and the Mod Squad mods. Freelance was one of the things that never worked in TEW and actively screwed the workers that got assigned that. I pretty much always remove that from everyone when I start a new game. I bet he did the same.</div></blockquote> I think I take freelance off of most everybody except for the likes of Funk, Abdullah and Brody.
- April 15, 2019
- 2,912 replies
The Official ROH Discussion Thread

The Final Countdown replied to Wrestling Century's topic in The Dog Pound

Yeah, I wouldn't say that Taven's even bad. He's not good either though. He's just a guy. I don't have a problem with him being on ROH's roster, but he belongs nowhere near any main event, much less winning the company's top title on the biggest show they'll probably ever run. He has to be the worst world champ in ROH history, right? Some long time fans might say Xavier, but I'll take him over Taven without hesitation.
- April 8, 2019
- 1,409 replies
The Official ROH Discussion Thread

The Final Countdown replied to Wrestling Century's topic in The Dog Pound

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="MightyDavidson" data-cite="MightyDavidson" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26106" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Putting their title on Matt Taven when Jay Lethal and Marty Scrull were in the title match says otherwise. That Taven was in spitting distance of the title at all says otherwise.</div></blockquote> Yup. ROH is a dumpster fire. Taven winning the title says a lot about the state of that company. I laughed when the ROH announcer was closing the show by talking about the new champions crowned, mentioning Matt Taven in the same breath as Okada. And Taven winning the title was pretty low on the list of bad things ROH contributed to this show.
- April 7, 2019
- 1,409 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Danny_H22" data-cite="Danny_H22" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Now the dust has settled and you’ve had a bit of time to think about it, do you know if you’re going to continue this? It’ll be a shame for it to end Hope you all had a good Christmas and new year</div></blockquote> I want to at least get through Starrcade. I think I only have three weeks of TV left to go, and it would be a fitting show to go out on if I decide not to go any further. I can't make any promises though, because I have no more enthusiasm to load up TEW than I did two weeks ago or however long it's been since all this happened. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Armando Payne" data-cite="Armando Payne" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>God damn, I come back after a while, I get caught up and then it dies. T.T Hopefully y'all return because this is aight. We got my dream Mantaur World Champ Push, we got Ace Attorney Shout Outs which I dug because my name is an Ace Attorney shout out (diego ARMANDO and winston PAYNE). (It's a shame you're not doing this with current WWE considerin' they had Godot as one of their commentators an' all.) But yeah <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn-enjcgV1o." rel="external nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn-enjcgV1o.</a> I even name dropped your Genius Of Pin wrestler on Reddit. T.T I wanted to book next year's Survivor Series as well.</div></blockquote> Booking Mantuar as a world champion in 2003 is such a Russo thing to do. I'm on a big Ace Attorney kick right now. Just bought the trilogy digitally on 3DS, after realizing that I'd somehow skipped over the third game, which is supposed to be the best in the series! <img alt=":o" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/redface.png.900245280682ef18c5d82399a93c5827.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> I'm kind of curious about the context for bringing up Genius of Pin.
- January 7, 2019
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Wolfman84" data-cite="Wolfman84" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Yeah, Genadi statement. However, I think he was talking about that board bashing dynasty from here. I could be wrong thou.</div></blockquote> Yes, he was talking about the EWB ripping GDS dynasties. I have no clue on the validity of that, but it doesn't really matter to me regardless as it's probably been at least fifteen years since I logged into that forum.
- December 23, 2018
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

I appreciate the messages of support/appreciation, but let's please drop the discussion of GDS/the developers. I don't want this thread to turn ugly (or uglier than it already has, I guess.) That's a comment from Genadi in one of the closed threads, right? If so, he was referring to a different board entirely, not this one.
- December 22, 2018
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

So yeah, this is going on hiatus for now. Possibly forever. I don't really feel like this is the place to discuss it, so I won't go into details. I'll just say that the way recent events were handled has me questioning whether I want to continue to be part of this community and whether I want to continue supporting the game/developers.
- December 21, 2018
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

November Renaissance Update, News and December National Battle Report <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/2aDyraK.png</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">November 2003 Update</div> -While Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto is the big match we're building towards, it didn't overly dominate the main events this month. 11/8 saw Hokuto "congratulate" Toyota on surviving her title defense against LuFisto in October, but then she reminded her that that was only step one of three if she wanted to truly conquer The Darkness. On the 15th Toyota said she would be more than happy to deal with Daffney as well before finally getting to Akira, but suggested that Hokuto prove her own mettle by wrestling a match the following week against an opponent of HER choosing, a challenge that Hokuto accepted. Manami chose the promising Momoe Nakanishi, who came tantalizingly close to the upset multiple times with her flash pin offense before Akira eventually stopped her. The 29th saw both camps cutting promos about Toytoa's title defense against Daffney scheduled for the following week. -Our Generation and Devil Kong cut promos on the 8th to promote the big title match the following week. It got the headline treatment on the 15th, and Our Generation were booked to look like a true threat capable of taking the fight to and even defeating the champions. In the end Devil Kong had to resort to underhanded methods, with Devil whacking Nattie Neidhart with one of the title belts behind the referee's back, allowing Aja to finish the job and end what had been a disappointing match from my perspective. Melissa and Nattie confronted the champions next week to say they were cheated and demand another title shot, but Devil Kong laughed in their faces. Our Generation had a decisive win over non-roster members on the 29th, but it didn't impress the champions. They came out after the match to say it was nice to see Our Generation finally competing against talent more on their skill level, rather than being totally overmatched against Devil Kong. -Chigusa Nagayo confronted Wesna Busic after the latter's match on the 8th and dared her to fight now that they were face to face, but Wesna left without giving her what she sought. Chigusa was right back at it after her own match on the 15th, and this time Busic seemed to be giving the matter serious thought--at least until she struck with a sudden suckerpunch that knocked Nagayo out in a single strike! The following week's show began with footage taken earlier that day; footage featuring Nagayo and Busic having a knock-down, drag-out brawl in the catering area until they were pulled apart and escorted out of the building by officials. Nagayo was rather amused by it the following week, saying that Busic hadn't seemed nearly so tough when they were actually fighting head-on. -After Meiko Satomura beat Sonoko Kato in the main event of the 11/8 show, she was inexplicably attacked by Toshiyo Yamada. Meiko wanted answers the following week, and Yamada explained that she'd been in this situation before. Every time she suffered a setback like she did against former partner Manami Toyota at Grand Prix, some greedy young lioness would come and try and usurp her rightful position that she'd fought so hard for. The 16 year veteran knew how high everyone was on young Satomura, so she decided to launch a preemptive attack and remove her before she even had the chance to swoop in. The two women had the best match of the month on the entire brand to headline the show on the 29th, but it ended in unfortunate fashion when Yamada, feeling the match turning against her, attacked referee Charles Robinson and intentionally got herself disqualified. -After taking some time to reflect on their near-miss in their challenge of Devil Kong back at October's Grand Prix, Alexis Laree and Allison Corino reconvened on 11/8. They agreed that their team had great long-term potential, and that's why they were going to continue teaming on a regular basis. That announcement didn't impress Etsuko Mita, who mocked the pair on the 15th as her cohort Kaoru Ito stood by as protection. Laree and Corino had a successful outing the next week as Mita and Ito watched from the aisle. The two sides clashed directly on the 29th, with Laree and Ito going one on one. Alexis got the win, albeit by DQ when Mita attacked and laid her out with the Death Valley Driver. </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Show Summaries: 11/8: <img alt="IsWfko1.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/IsWfko1.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -"I'd appreciate it if you could give me some wins so the people aren't dead silent when I walk to the ring." -Katarina Waters 11/15: <img alt="aWaeu6h.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/aWaeu6h.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -Maybe Wesna Busic is getting pushed a little too hard, too fast, because Dusty pulled her aside for disrespecting someone and told her she was buying a round of drinks for the rest of the girls after the show. -I hate to say it, but Nattie was a weak link in what was a disappointing tag title match. 11/22: <img alt="YPlAx0N.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/YPlAx0N.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -Akira Hokuto threw out a new catchphrase during her "chat" with Manami Toyota, as she warned the champion that "the black cloud of Darkness will soon cover all of Renaissance." -"I'm serious. It's totally silent. I can hear the people cough in the front row." -Katarina Waters 11/29: <img alt="E3GUnUS.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/E3GUnUS.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Notes from this show: -I guess Wesna's punishment from Dusty took hold, because I hear she was making pancakes for anyone who wanted them before the show. -"Thanks for the pre-show win, but it's going to take more than that to get me out of this rut." -Katarina Waters (Okay, seriously, I get it. Calm down, miss.) </div></div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg </div> The contract of Brock Lesnar is up for renewal. A lot of people see money in this 26 year old former amateur wrestling standout with freak athletic ability and a superstar look, so it's no surprise that a bidding war is ensuing. Of course WWE is attempting to re-sign their current ECW TV Champion, and I jumped n with a very competitive offer. This isn't just a two person race though, because New Japan has thrown their own hat into the ring with terms that are apparently right on par with our offers. I was surprised to hear that they were making such a strong play for him given their financial status compared to WWE or even us, but with their rise to national I can see the reasoning behind it. They need star attractions to compete with what both us and Vince are offering, and clearly Inoki agrees with me that Brock could very well become that. My gut feeling is that Brock will stay with WWE, but current word from his agent is that he's seriously considering all three offers. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg </div> Allison Corino agreed to terms on a 2 year contract extension. She has a lot of potential and should be a solid part of Renaissance for years to come. We've agreed to one year extensions of our deals with Global TV in Canada for Nitro and Renaissance. I would've liked to move the show to prime time, but they weren't willing to budge. Oh well. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/sDkxtEI.jpg </div> New Japan wrapped up their annual Tag League on November 24th. Koji Kanemoto and Yuji Nagata beat Riki Choshu and Taiyo Kea to win the tournament, but the highlight of the show was the semi main event where Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat former partner Satoshi Kojima in an excellent match that Dave gave a 97 grade. The show as a whole got an 85, which is pretty much right in line with what their big shows have been doing recently. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/HLY8nvy.jpg </div> NOAH's Thunder of Heart PPV sold out their 25,000 seat building on November 26th. Misawa placed himself in more of an upper midcard position on this show, fourth from last to be more exact, and let Jun Akiyama take center stage. It was a good move, because Akiyama's successful GHC Heavyweight title defense over Chris Candido received a strong 95 grade. On the strength of that match the show got a 90 score, which ranks as their third best PPV of 2003. <div style="text-align:center;"> http://i.imgur.com/ebDwXEW.jpg </div> Blue Meanie's 3PW is no more. <div style="text-align:center;"> <img alt="ieBLbQ1.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ieBLbQ1.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> Ricky Knight's World Association of Wrestling announced that their November show (appropriately titled End of Days) would be their last before they shut down. Not surprising since their shows weren't all that good. Ricky's wife works as Sweet Saraya, and I hear their kids want to get into the business as well. <hr noshade size=3> <div style="text-align:center;">National Battle Report: December 2003</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="ebDwXEW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ebDwXEW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> USA</div> #1: <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> World Championship Wrestling Top 5 Stars: 1) Steve Austin (1000 points) 2) Bill Goldberg (990) 3) CM Punk (820) 4) Jeff Hardy (810) 5) Rey Mysterio Jr. (770) Total Points: 4,390 #2: <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> World Wrestling Entertainment Top 5 Stars: 1) The Rock (997 points) 2) Hollywood Hogan (825) 3) The Undertaker (809) 4) Triple H (791) 5) Big Show (741) Total Points: 4,163 </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="ieBLbQ1.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ieBLbQ1.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> British Isles</div> #1: <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> World Championship Wrestling Top 5 Stars: 1) Steve Austin (1000 points) 2) Bill Goldberg (989) 3) Jeff Hardy (796) 4) CM Punk (791) 5) Rey Mysterio Jr. (763) Total Points: 4,339 #2: <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> World Wrestling Entertainment Top 5 Stars: 1) The Rock (999 points) 2) Hollywood Hogan (855) 3) The Undertaker (809) 4) Triple H (790) 5) Big Show (740) Total Points: 4,193</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="1eeVS9d.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/1eeVS9d.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Japan</div> #1: <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> World Championship Wrestling Top 5 Stars: 1) Steve Austin (1000 points) 2) Bill Goldberg (989) 3) CM Punk (830) 4) Jeff Hardy (826) 5) Rey Mysterio Jr. (780) Total Points: 4,425 #2: <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> World Wrestling Entertainment Top 5 Stars: 1) The Rock (995 points) 2) Hollywood Hogan (815) 3) The Undertaker (809) 4) Triple H (791) 5) Big Show (740) Total Points: 4,150</div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="mUExTtD.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/mUExTtD.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Europe</div> #1: <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> World Championship Wrestling Top 5 Stars: 1) Steve Austin (1000 points) 2) Bill Goldberg (938) 3) CM Punk (811) 4) Jeff Hardy (753) 5) Rey Mysterio Jr. (738) Total Points: 4,240 #2: <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> World Wrestling Entertainment Top 5 Stars: 1) The Rock (998 points) 2) Hollywood Hogan (825) 3) The Undertaker (810) 4) Triple H (790) 5) Big Show (741) Total Points: 4,164</div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Holy crap your main event scene is becoming a shark tank and you have a bonafide (some would say unlikely) figurehead getting ready to debut! I really hope he doesn't Billy Gunn this run and fizzle. Honestly though if his ratings are as high as you are hyping him then you should be able to bully through a low ceiling if you consistently book him strong. I'm hyped for the potential match ups that we never received in real life.</div></blockquote> Looking at potential future figureheads is interesting. Of the younger crop, the three likeliest contenders seem to be Punk, Nakamura and Jeff Hardy. I think Jeff has the best shot though. His star quality is slightly higher than both Punk and Nak, and he has a more significant edge in charisma. In looking at the current knocks on him as a figurehead option, almost all of them have to do with overness, which obviously is something I'm hoping I can overcome with time and push. Only two guys outshine him in any area but popularity. Those two guys are Austin and Goldberg, and obviously we'd be talking about him as a figurehead after those guys were gone. Still, Jeff/Punk/Nak is feeling like a future top trio for WCW in national battles. Hopefully with the help of some of our guest bookers WWE will have their own guys ready to step up, like Brock (assuming he stays!), Cena, Orton, etc. Does it feel like I'm in this game for the long haul? I really hope so. If we can keep the game world engaging, and especially if WWE can remain a legitimate threat, I could see myself sticking with this for a very long time. Both of my previous 'big' dynasties ended right around the three-year (in game) mark, but this one feels like it's going to have much longer legs. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="James The Animator" data-cite="James The Animator" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I imagine the BillyGunnFact guy on Twitter would be quite offended by this statement! But I digress. TFC, that was an excellent show! You threw us a nice curveball with the Dangerous Alliance tag match. I was thinking that the new group would look weak taking falls to singles guys thrown into a team like that, but I suppose the main purpose of the faction is to make O'Haire a main event star anyway, which the Alliance tried to help with in the main event. I really thought the CW title match would be the curveball match if anything, but it looks like my prediction came to fruition. I'm very excited that I'm now qualifying for the Ultimate Fan Series! Since I started reading this diary ages ago, that is the one event I've been anticipating taking part in. Hopefully, I can score well in the Starrcade prediction contest!</div></blockquote> It felt kind of off to me too that the DA lost both PPV matches so soon after forming, but in both cases it was necessary for where I want to go. They'll have their due. Good luck trying to qualify for the UFS! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Danny_H22" data-cite="Danny_H22" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Can’t believe I’ve won the SHC contest! Aha brilliant! Been a long time follower and I’m really glad you’re back and firing on all cylinders. You inspired me to start my own dynasty last year which sadly came to an abrupt end when I just couldn’t commit the time anymore, so for that I thank you and look forward to contributing to the great world you’re building</div></blockquote> Aww, thanks! I don't think I'll have time to think about a prize before I get to bed tonight, but hopefully I'll be able to get in touch with you in a day or two. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Beejus" data-cite="Beejus" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Guess I should've seen the writing on the wall for Jeff Hardy to win it, but I was really pulling for O'Haire there! Well, so the storyline does fit better for Hardy, but it does feel a little weird that technical extraordinaire Bret Hart keeps putting over these high flying risk takers for every SHC <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> I do look forward to the Dangerous Alliance rising up the ranks though, even if it isn't quite as immediate as I felt they were. I do love the stipulations added to Austin vs. Goldberg too. Corino is gonna make some serious bank! But also, I wonder if Goldberg is about to leave, or if you're just planning on giving Austin a "face has to join heel faction" story. As entertaining as Austin is, he would definitely make that work, but at this point, I think I feel a safe bet in Goldberg being out of WCW after Starrcade. It looks like Starrcade is really shaping up, as you have the match for the sports entertainment crowd (Austin vs. Goldberg), the match for the title (Unnatural vs. Hardy), and the match for the workrate crowd in Rey vs. Eddie. With the added popularity that they have, the match they have could potentially outshine their Havoc 97 one. Great stuff all around, man.</div></blockquote> I'll admit it: your prediction post had me tempted to say screw it and change everything! It was an inspiration for that Salvation/DA confrontation on the PPV too, which I had a lot of fun writing. Something I forgot: I did a little in-story justification for Bret's pushing of the smaller flyer types (and more specifically, having those guys win the Stu Hart Classic) by having Bret on commentary for the '01 show say that Stu probably would've wanted RVD to win over Booker because Stampede had been the launching pad for guys like Dynamite, Pillman, Owen, etc. Rey vs. Eddie may be more of the smark's match, but I have a feeling Unnatural is going to make a very strong play for MOTN! And who knows how Austin vs. Goldberg will go in-game? They're by far the two most over guys in the company, and Austin is capable of carrying an excellent match too. Maybe he and Bill can steal the show! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>If this were run by Vince he would claim he has 3 main events!</div></blockquote> I'm tempted to roll with the 'double main event' tag for Starrcade just because of how huge Austin vs. Goldberg would have been if it ever happened, especially if they were still as over as they are in-game right now. I probably won't though; simply referring to it as a dream match should be enough. The only time I can think of where I thought the 'double main event' tagline actually felt legit was this past year's Wrestle Kingdom, where the traditional Japanese fans were all about Okada vs. Naito while most of the international attention was on Jericho vs. Omega.
- December 20, 2018
- 2,912 replies
WCW: Heart and Soul

The Final Countdown replied to The Final Countdown's topic in Total Extreme Wrestling 2016 Dynasties

November 2003: Calgary Stampede Wrap-up and News <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg </div> Bobby Heenan had the boys rolling before the show with some hilarious stories. Since we were in Calgary and all, he told some great ones about Stu. I congratulated Jeff Hardy and Sean O'Haire after they came through the curtain, praising them for a top notch main event. I also heaped praise on Shane Douglas for putting young Bryan Danielson over cleanly and without complaint. "You know how they do those thunderstorm warnings? Well you should play one of those every time James Storm comes out, 'cause the people are in danger of being bored out of their minds!" -Scott Steiner I called up Wildside's Terry Taylor, and he promised to send the requested Shinsuke Nakamura footage. When I asked him for his personal assessment, Terry agreed with Ricky that Nakamura is already a fantastic wrestler and has the chance to become a huge star as well. Terry does seem to think that there are one or two areas of Shinsuke's game that could be honed a tiny bit more down there, so he'll be staying in Wildside for the time being. I have a strong feeling I'll be calling him up early in 2004 though, and I'm already brainstorming possible ideas for him when he debuts. <div style="text-align:center;">http://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg </div> WWE ran Survivor Series head to head against the Calgary Stampede, and Vince didn't hold back at all. He delivered arguably the biggest main event he possibly could: WWE Champion The Rock one on one against ECW Champion Kurt Angle. That match was predictably awesome; one of the best of the entire year in fact, as evidenced by the 99 score it got in the Observer. Angle's ECW title was at stake in the match, and he beat Rock clean to retain. While that main event was better than any of our matches, Vince seems to prioritize having all his titles defended on PPV as opposed to getting his biggest stars and best workers in featured matches. That tends to drag the overall quality of his shows down, and sure enough, no other match on the show was even close. The show's overall grade was a 92, which was below Calgary Stampede despite Survivor Series having the superior main event. I'll take it. Oh, they did have one title change on the show: Halloween won the Light Heavyweight title off of Jerry Lynn. <hr noshade size=3> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Prediction Score (out of a possible 11 points): StrongHearts: 10 cbacon87: 10 James The Animator: 10 Rateddc: 10 Wolfman84: 10 DavidCorperial: 10 UltimateJerichoFan: 10 deanohbk: 9 evileddie10: 9 Uncrewed: 9 kinnikuniverse: 9 chrismday: 9 GingeyOne: 9 DGenerationMC: 8 DHK1989: 8 Warhawk8492: 8 bonnie: 8 K-Nection: 8 franticloser: 8 Dead_Jester: 7 Satyr24: 7 crackerjack: 7 Cro Cop Rules: 7 Happy0wns: 7 Beejus: 7 SomeLazyMagic: 7 Danny_H22: 7 JMike: 6 </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Standings in UFS prediction contest after 7 shows: Dead_Jester: 65 Rateddc: 64 cbacon87: 63 evileddie10: 60 Uncrewed: 59 Happy0wns: 58 GingeyOne: 58 James The Animator: 58 JMike: 57 Cro Cop Rules: 57 deanohbk: 57 DavidCorperial: 57 K-Nection: 56 DHK1989: 56 Wolfman84: 55 Satyr24: 54 chrismday: 54 crackerjack: 52 Warhawk8492: 52 DGenerationMC: 51 Danny_H22: 50 bonnie: 50 Beejus: 47 Theheel: 47 kinnikuniverse: 47 Kijar: 45 jscotty: 41 michgcs: 38 Texasrangers13: 28 The Lariat: 36 123Kidd: 34 Nobby_McDonald: 32 Smasher1311: 30 ThorJ: 28 franticloser: 26 CobheadJake: 20 KnowYourEnemy: 19 Ian carlisle: 18 smw88: 17 ElectricX: 16 2Sweet: 16 Chaos Zarak: 15 Forrest01: 11 Chaossy: 10 The Pitbull: 10 StrongHearts: 10 UltimateJerichoFan: 10 Destiny: 8 tg01: 8 The Lloyd: 7 RKOwnage: 7 NathanielKern: 7 SomeLazyMagic: 7 Mr. Jones: 6 Bluestillidie00: 6 </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Stu Hart Classic Prediction Scores (out of a possible 33 points): Danny_H22: 30 kinnikuniverse: 29 franticloser: 28 cbacon87: 25 Beejus: 25 Dead_Jester: 24 JMike: 24 DGenerationMC: 24 Rateddc: 24 chrismday: 24 Uncrewed: 24 ThorJ: 24 Chaos Zarak: 24 Warhawk8492: 24 The Pitbull: 23 crackerjack: 23 Wolfman84: 23 Theheel: 23 Cro Cop Rules: 23 RKOwnage: 23 michgcs: 22 K-Nection: 22 jscotty: 22 SomeLazyMagic: 22 GingeyOne: 22 Kijar: 21 evileddie10: 21 James The Animator: 21 The Lariat: 21 DavidCorperial: 20 Bluestillidie00: 20 deanohbk: 20 Satyr24: 19 DHK1989: 18 smw88: 18 Happy0wns: 18 bonnie: 18 CobheadJake: 18 KnowYourEnemy: 17</div></blockquote> <hr noshade size=3> If my math is correct (fingers crossed), Danny_H22 won the SHC contest outright! I'll get to you soon about options for a prize. As for the contest to qualify for the UFS: just one show left! Starrcade's a big one though, so there'll be an opportunity for those outside the top 8 to make up some ground and find their way in. So how special is Nakamura feeling? There are only seven people in the entire world that the game considers to be Excellent in-ring workers while also having Excellent star quality. WWE only has one such guy (HHH), while Nak will be our 3rd (Austin and Rey being the other two.) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kinnikuniverse" data-cite="kinnikuniverse" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>YASSS!!! ALMOST PERFECT SCORE!!! well, ok, that card was easy to predict, but still, WOOHOO!! I love Sean o'haire in this, he's finally fulfilling his potential! Him, the dragons and KNOBLEMANIA are who I'm pushing now! They're my Bois!</div></blockquote> It's a good thing almost nobody thought Steiner and Danielson would beat the Dangerous Alliance, otherwise there would've been a lot of perfect scores this month! <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> I'm really happy about the O'Haire heel turn. I think he needed something to give him a shot in the arm after his failed world title shot, and the association with Heyman and the DA should be great for him. Doesn't everybody love the Dragons? All we're missing is a desk for them to slam their hands on like Phoenix Wright always does! <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>With no ring general that match was still fantastic! I love the drama going into starcade. Cheers to another fantastic show.</div></blockquote> I honestly didn't know what to expect out of that match, but I was really pleasantly surprised.
- December 18, 2018
- 2,912 replies

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