infinitehallway

RING OF HONOR WRESTLING- EPISODE ONE (Wednesday, April Wk 1, 2004) The show begins with a video package voiced over by The NBA on TNT’s Ernie Johnson, narrating the long and storied history of professional wrestling on Turner Networks. Unfortunately there are only still photographs shown, mostly from Bill Apter, as Vince McMahon owns the vast majority of the tape library. EJ speaks of the tradition of hard hitting, competitive wrestling, saying that tonight professional wrestling on Turner Networks enters a new era- THE ERA OF HONOR! We then get a video package of the stars of Ring of Honor- CM Punk, AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson, Christopher Daniels, and Samoa Joe, before fading to the ring where JOEY STYLES opens the show. “OH MY GOD!” He exclaims, giving the fans exactly what they want. The arena is small, the crowd well short of the 1800 that packed the RexPlex, but they’re loud and well-lit, the production anything but indy. The lights, graphics, and sound are all of a high enough level to stand up against any other wrestling company, even WWE. “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to RING OF HONOR WRESTLING!” Another big pop. “Allow me to introduce to you our new commissioner, The Best there Is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be, Bret Hart!” A close approximation of the Hitman’s iconic theme plays and Hart returns to TNT airwaves to as big of an ovation as that small of a crowd can offer. He takes the mic and puts over Ring of Honor as being “real” pro wrestling, not “muscleheads in spray tans and cartoon gimmicks.” He then puts over ROH champion Samoa Joe, who enters the building to the sounds of “The Champ is Here”, ready to take center stage in the first match! RATING: 81 Match One: ROH World Championship Samoa Joe © vs Matt Stryker The first match in Ring of Honor Wrestling on TNT history is little more than a showcase for the champ, who dominates his would-be challenger from bell to bell. It’s not a squash, but it’s damn close. Stryker’s only real offense is a short and ill-fated comeback attempt which culminates in him trying to hit a Death Valley Driver on Joe, Joe falling out of the back, and choking him out to retain! These two had good chemistry together, and in different circumstances could have turned in an even better match. The match was dragged down by a really poor refereeing performance from Todd Sinclaire, who looked not ready for prime time. Rating: 53 After the match Joe cuts a promo about Ring of Honor being his house, and how the Samoa Joe champion forever train will continue to roll on TNT. He’s interrupted, however, by the lights going haywire and STING walking slowly down the long, Japanese style ramp as the crowd loses its mind. Joe regards him skeptically, not backing down an inch. Sting grabs a mic. “You really think you could have wrestling back on TNT and not invite the Stinger?” He laughs. “Joe, I just wanted to come out here and congratulate you on your victory, and let you know that I respect you a lot. I respect everything you’ve done. You took that title from something that belonged in a tiny gymnasium and took it all over the world, making it a world title. Joe nods. “But. But but but BUT… that doesn’t mean I’m not coming for you and your belt, now that I’m here in R-O-H!” Joe is unphased. Joe is a badass. <o:p></o:p> “Now, I don’t expect to be handed anything. I know I gotta start at the bottom and earn my shot at your belt just like anybody else, which is why I’m gong to start NEXT WEEK!” Much more muted pop for that, as the fans realize they won’t be seeing the Stinger in action tonight. He drops the mic and extends his hand to Joe, who looks him over solemnly before shaking it. RATING: 66 After a commercial break we are back for our second match, a ROH staple, the TAG TEAM SCRAMBLE! The Briscoes © vs Spanish Announce Team vs The Backseat Boyz vs Special K (Izzy and Dixie) This match is non-title, as none of the three would-be challengers have earned a shot. Gabe Sapolsky, in his alter-ego of Chris Lovey, does a great job of encapsulating who these guys are as they walk out to the ring. Special K are rich kids who use their parents money on drugs and raves, the Spanish Announce Team are two innovators of offense from New York, The Backseat Boyz are egotistical would-be heartthrobs, who just happen to have the goods to back it up, and the Briscoes are two tough young bastards who can wrestle any style. He also explains what a scramble match is- basically lucha rules where tags aren’t required. The match itself is a total spotfest of a sprint with all four teams getting their signature offense in. The Backseats and Briscoes both look like they’re ready for prime time, but even Special K had some bright spots. Fun finish as each team hits their tag finisher on another, culminating in the Briscoes nailing Izzy of Special K with a Spike J-Driller (Tiger Driver) for the win! RATING: 43 Back from a commercial break we get a long video recap of one of ROH’s hottest current feuds- The Second City Saints (CM Punk, Ace Steel, and Colt Cabana) are at war with The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels, Dan Maff, BJ Whitmer, and Allison Danger). It splices footage from the last year or so of shows together with new, fresh promos from the Saints, Maff, Whitmer, and Danger. Short version- The Prophecy attacked Punk’s girlfriend/valet at the time, Daffney, driving her out of ROH. The two sides had a brutal no contest in January, and Daniels hasn’t been seen since. The Saints say they’ve driven The Fallen Angel off, but Danger says the second coming is imminent. RATING: 58 Straight from that we get the ominous tones of AFI’s Miseria Cantare (The Beginning), which is CM Punk’s theme song! He’s out for our next match- MATCH THREE: CM PUNK vs NIGEL MCGUINESS This is not a “Pure Rules” match despite both men being active in the division. This match was not as one-sided as the opener but was far from fifty-fifty, with Punk getting to showcase his offense and heel work. Nigel gets a couple of spots, including his rebound lariat, but falls prey to a Shining Wizard and Anaconda Vice for the Punk victory. RATING: 54 After a commercial break and Bret Hart is back in the ring, holding a title belt in a bag! He gets on the microphone and announces that Ring of Honor won’t just feature the best male athletes from around the world, but the best female athletes as well, unveiling the WOMEN OF HONOR title! He brings out several of the top female talents in the USA including Sara Del Rey, Allison Danger, Lacey, Daizee Haze, and JOANIE LAURER, who gets something that can only be described as a shocked pop. RATING: 67 MATCH FOUR: Austin Aries vs Alex Shelley vs Jimmy Jacobs vs Seth DeLay vs Roderick Strong vs Fergal Devitt Another ROH staple, the Six-Man Mayhem match, is up next. Lovey notes that DeLay and Devitt are both getting their ROH debuts here, and that they’ll only get more bookings if they impress. Impress they do, as all six men look good in this one, with Aries and Shelley looking the most polished. Aries steals the win, nailing his 450 Splash on Shelley as he was going for a pin after hitting Jacobs with the ShellShock. Good stuff all around, but the crowd only cared about the spots, not the wrestlers. RATING: 27 This is followed by the first real miss of the show, a pre-taped promo from Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. Both guys were rough on the mic, somehow meandering despite having nothing really to say. They call themselves the Kings of Wrestling. They’re definitely not the Kings of Promos. RATING: 27 MAIN EVENT: PURE TITLE- AJ Styles © vs Bryan Danielson Lovey does a good job of explaining the needlessly complicated Pure Wrestling rules for the new viewers, and also reels off both men’s accolades as the match gets under way. This was definitely the match of the night, both guys bringing their A-Game. The match starts off slow with some fancy chain-wrestling, but after two or three minutes evolves rapidly into stiff strikes and high impact moves. Styles works on Danielson’s neck, while the American Dragon focuses on Styles’ arm and shoulder area. This plays into the finish as Danielson counters a Styles Clash attempt into what the commentators call a “LaBell Lock”, only to transition to the Cattle Mutilation, but he’s unable to hold it due to his damaged neck! AJ delivers one of his signature spin kicks, ducks a rolling elbow, and ends up connecting with the Styles Clash for the hard-fought victory! RATING: 69 Both men shake hands after the match, adhering to the Code of Honor, but all hell breaks loose as three men emerge from the crowd off-camera and attack them! For a few seconds it looks like a legit fan run-in, as the cameras didn’t choreograph it at all. It becomes obvious that it’s a work as the men take off their balaclava’s to reveal they are Homicide, Ricky Reyes, and Rocky Romero- The Rottweilers! They lay a vicious beat-down on the pair for almost two minutes before the lights go out. “What the hell?” asks Joey Styles. “OH MY GOD!” The lights come back up to reveal JEFF HARDY standing in the middle of the ring with a chair. The crowd is stunned silent. Hardy runs off the Rottweilers and stands triumphant with the two ROH originals… Until he lays them out as well! “What the HELL?” Joey roars again. The crowd, still confused by all this, erupts into boos. The show fades to black as Hardy walks slowly up the long ramp towards the back. RATING: 49 OVERALL RATING: 67 Ninety minutes after the show, backstage: Gabe Sapolsky approaches Logan Jackson in his make-shift office, looking pleased as a pig in slop Jackson is on a laptop computer, pouring over reactions to the show online. "Boss, the boys are all heading out to one of the local bars. You should stop in," Sapolsky says, beaming. Jackson shakes his head. "Thanks, but I'm not one of the boys. They don't need the boss there while they're trying to celebrate our first show." Sapolsky doesn't know what to say to that. "So, uh, how do you feel about how things went?" he asked, regretting entering the office at all. "We can debrief tomorrow, Gabe. I want to watch the show back first. We'll have Ricky and Bret join us too. Go have fun with the boys. Keep them out of trouble." Sapolsky, grateful for off-ramp out of the conversation, smiles and beats a hasty retreat. Jackson returns his attention to the laptop and sighs. There's much work to be done.

Really digging this mod so far. Trying my hand a ROH diary from this era. Will report back!

Ring of Honor presents AT OUR BEST- Elizabeth, New Jersey (3-13-2004) The RexPlex in New Jersey hosted the last show before ROH truly go national, and did so in front of the biggest crowd in ROH history, nearly 1800 strong. According to reports the card was largely unchanged from pre-sale plans, with one or two notable exceptions. The show opened with a six-man mayhem match featuring The Amazing Red, Jack Evans, Sonjay Dutt, Teddy Hart, Jimmy Rave, and Mark Briscoe. Red won a spotfest with his Infra-Red sky twister press. Crowd ate this up and all six guys showed real promise. Slyck Wagner Brown faced off with Xaiver of the Embassy, with the former ROH Champion picking up the win. Crowd wasn’t really into either man, with their seconds (April Hunter and Prince Nana) getting bigger reactions than either. In a match that was previously announced as a #1 Contendership for the Pure Title contest Jerry Lynn defeated Nigel McGuiness. No mention was made of the Pure Title contendership prior to the match or in any official recaps on ROH.com, so it seems that stipulation was quietly dropped, likely due to plans from the new regime. Matt Stryker defeated John Walters in a match that was supposed to be for the #1 Contenders Trophy, but the trophy (as well as any mention of it) were conspicuously absent). This was the exact match you’d expect from these two, proficient but dull technical wrestling that left the crowd pining for something more exciting. It was definitely a mistake having this follow Lynn/McGuiness, as the previous match did the technical battle far better. At the end of the match a HUGE SURPRISE shook the RexPlex as Bret Hart entered the building! He entered the ring and grabbed the mic, putting over both men, saying he was impressed by their display of technical prowess before addressing Stryker’s lack of trophy. “I’m sure you all have heard, there are some changes coming to Ring of Honor… One of those changes is that the Hitman is now the Commissioner! And in my capacity as commissioner I can tell you that the #1 contenders trophy is going away. But don’t worry, Matt Stryker, you won’t be left out in the cold once we get to TNT… on Wednesday April 7th!” His speech gets a huge pop, and he raises both men’s hands before leaving. After a short intermission the show continues with one of ROH’s hottest feuds- The Prophecy vs The Second City Saints! It’s Maff and Whitmer against Cabana and Steel in a match that goes to a double-dq as it breaks down into a total fight. The brawl after the bell lasts almost as long as the match itself before being broken up by security. Following that the leader of the Second City Saints, CM Punk, is out to challenge AJ Styles for the Pure Championship with Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat as the special referee! The match goes almost 25 minutes and is an early contender for MOTY. Punk is convinced he has the victory with his new submission, the Anaconda Vice, as he thinks Styles’ arm drops a third time. Steamboat disagrees, and would you believe it, AJ makes the comeback and gets the victory after a Styles Clash! Following this there’s a ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Cage Match finishing the feud between champion Samoa Joe and the Briscoe Brothers, as Jay takes his shot at Joe! This match can be seen HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o8oI-y4COg WARNING: It is a BLOODBATH! The final match of the evening sees the end to another long-standing ROH feud- Special K vs The Carnage Crew in a SCRAMBLE CAGE! This was exactly what you’d expect- pure chaos, and didn’t quite hold up after the last few great matches. Overall it was a good show with a really great pair of matches on the second half of the card. It did the job of setting the stage for the new era by tying up existing stories and planting seeds for the future. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- March 16, 2004 The fallout of Ring of Honor’s sale to Infinite Hallway Media continues. After a relatively uneventful show this past weekend we have begun receiving reports of major shakeups to the company’s creative structure. While current ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky will remain on with the company he will no longer be in charge of the creative direction of the company, instead he will be in an advisor role to new owner Logan Jackson, who will be the primary creative force of the company. “This kid thinks he can be Vince McMahon,” one source in the company said. “He’s got the checkbook and grew up tape-trading and thinks that qualifies him to run a major television wrestling company. It’s going to be a disaster.” Other sources were decidedly more optimistic. “It’s amazing,” said one worker who had been with the company since day one. “It’s like a whole different company. Travel is getting paid for. Guys are getting contracts, actual contracts. He brought in Bret Hart! I think a lot of the talent are really excited to see what this is going to look like.” On the topic of talent- we are receiving reports that there are several “needle movers” expected to debut on the first TNT show. Rumors are flying around about who might be involved, but one source says that several expected signings “won’t exactly fit the ROH mold”, and that the company is “evolving”. In regards to contracts we are told that ROH will be offering three “tiers” of contract- a typical handshake deal for wrestlers they are trying out or who are doing spot work, what they’re calling “Level One” deals which are written contracts but pay on a per-show basis and contain no exclusivity clauses, and “Level Two” deals which are exclusive to ROH and pay monthly. Punk, Joe, et al are on these deals, as are several of the incoming stars. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- March 22nd 2004 TNA have declared “total war” on the newly national Ring of Honor as they are scrambling to recover from the blow of losing several of their top talent including AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. They have issued a declaration to all of their talent that they are not going to be booked by TNA if they take ROH bookings, even if their ROH contracts are non-exclusive. “It’s them or us,” one higher up said. This adds a new dimension to the “Wednesday Night Wars” as they are already being dubbed, as Ring of Honor Wrestling will air opposite TNA’s weekly PPVs starting on 4/1. Rumors are flying that several more TNA talents have been contacted by ROH for spots, with contracts at different levels being offered. Some talent in TNA are hopeful this could create a bidding war for their services, but thus far that has not materialized. On the other side of the “war” we have begun receiving reports from several independent workers who have been with Ring of Honor and are now fearful that their spot in the promotion won’t be there after the switch to TV. While we’ve heard no official reports of releases, several talent, including some there from day one, have reported to us that they have yet to be contacted about being booked going forward, one stating “There are big money names coming in and only so many spots on the show- I can read the writing on the wall…” TNT have been running ads for the debut episode, and the production quality is miles above what Ring of Honor fans will be used to- easily on par with WWE. It will be interesting to see how the show appears on TV, emanating from such a tiny venue, but lit and filmed professionally. The hope within ROH and TNT is that after a month or two of shows on TNT the switch will be made to one to three thousand seat arenas, which will look far better on cameras. The show has also been plugged on various turner properties, including pre-season Braves baseball on TBS, under the taglines “The Era of Honor begins” and “Pro wrestling comes home”. The commercials that are running heavily feature ROH Champion Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, Bret Hart, and CM Punk. It is expected more promos, especially with the debuting talent, will be shot at the first episode of TV. Logan Jackson’s Room at the Four Seasons, Philadelphia “What do you mean we don’t have Muta?” Jackson asked, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He looked like he could be an MTV reality show star and carried himself with the breezy confidence of a pop music producer, but in the privacy of his makeshift office at Philadelphia’s finest hotel, he was a concentrated, serious businessman. Gabe Sapolsky wasn’t particularly impressed. He had been around the block in the wrestling game, studied under (in his opinion) the greatest upstart wrestling mind in history, and helped build ROH from the ground up. The kid had some interesting ideas and a big checkbook, which was enough for Gabe to suck it up and keep quiet, steering the ship as best he could while keeping his new boss happy, but the young man seemed to think he was the new Vince McMahon, and that just wasn’t true. “All Japan booked him. They sent an email apologizing for the “miscommunication” about his availability and said they’d be sending us a wire to pay for his travel…” “I’m not worried about the ****ing travel, I’m worried about our main event!” Jackson snapped before taking a deep breath. “Sorry, you’re just the messenger. Who is our liaison with All Japan?” “We don’t really have one officially. We’ve been using Wally Yamaguchi. He, uh, hasn’t returned any of my calls today.” Jackson grimaced, his mind racing. “Think this was intentional? A snub?” Sapolsky shuffled his feet. “We’ve had a pretty good relationship, but you’ve been reaching out to a lot of different companies. That’s a big deal there. They could be offended.” “They shouldn’t know who we’re reaching out to.” Sapolsky couldn’t contain a chuckle. “That’s the business, Mr. Jackson. Anyone who thinks they can get a little over by spilling something will rush to Meltzer.” Sapolsky didn’t mention that he, himself, had called Meltzer recently, and would continue to. Jackson, for his part, already suspected as much. He knew he had to play the game, as it were. He was signing the checks, and could very well fire the man outright, but the locker-room liked him, and he did have a great eye for talent. It was just a matter of managing him. And making sure he didn’t leak anything too important. “Okay,” Jackson said, running a hand through his hair. “Let’s redo the card…” Pre-Show talent meeting- Philadelphia PA, Three Hours before air Logan took a deep breath. He hadn’t been planning on a pre-show speech. He wasn’t the rah-rah type, he was a “you’re the best and we know it, let’s kill this” type. But Sapolsky had come into his makeshift office and said that the talent were all on eggshells, some of them upset they were there but not booked, figuring they were out a payday. So there Jackson was, standing in front of what was, he hoped, the beginnings of one of the best rosters in wrestling history. Pieces were missing, and they’d need some time, but he had high hopes. He cleared his throat. “So, ladies and gentlemen, it’s show-day. For many of you this is your first live TV. It’s mine too. At least in this format…” He looked around. They were all watching him intently. He realized, then, that this was suddenly a capital-S Speech, and could well shape everything that was to come. He felt a knot in his stomach at the realization. “So I want to clear some things up right off the bat. If you’re here today, you’re getting paid. Regardless of if you’re on the show tonight. This isn’t some carny operation, some fly-by-night indie. So, if you’re upset about not being on the show, good. I want you to want to be on the show. But I don’t want it to be because you think you’re not getting paid. Everyone got that?” There were nods around the room, a few smiles. “So, with that out of the way, I want you all to know something. I didn’t buy this company just to say I ran a wrestling company. I didn’t buy it to put myself on TV. I bought this company because I was there, in the Murphy Rec Center, for the first show. I fell in love with ROH that night. I said to myself “this… this is the wrestling that I love.” I had no idea, two years ago, that I’d one day be here, getting ready to show the world at large Ring of Honor.” He took another deep breath, doing his best to ignore the expressions he was seeing stare back at him- some confused, others stony-faced, one or two possibly even impressed. “I believe that this company. That you all, and the men and women we’re going to bring in to work along side you, I believe that together we’re going to change the world of professional wrestling. We’re going to SAVE professional wrestling.” Jackson blinked dumbly as a few people shouted in agreement, many others clapping. “Tonight I want you all, whether you’re on first, last, or in the middle, to go out there and show the world what we’re all about. I want you to show them that… that one company doesn’t get to decide what pro wrestling is! One MAN doesn’t get to decide what pro wrestling is! We do! And we’re going to take it into the future, together!” To his great surprise most of the assembled men and women in the room rose to their feet, whooping and clapping. Bryan Danielson, one of Jackson’s favorites as a fan (not that he can have favorites as an owner, he reminded himself) began an R-O-H chant that was almost but not quite picked up by a few others. Jackson shook a few hands as the meeting dispersed, feeling an indescribable buzz. It was, he reminded himself, not even showtime yet…

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- January 4th, 2004 Turner Networks looking to get back into the wrestling game? Not exactly, but sources indicate that AOL-Time Warner is potentially open to having wrestling air on their networks again. While the media conglomerate has no interest in being the owner or financial backer of a promotion, “the door is open”, according to reports, to wrestling returning to its airwaves. While no conversations have taken place yet, one interested party is sure to be NWA:TNA, which has been searching for a network home in order to move away from their weekly PPV model. Jerry and Jeff Jarrett are rumored to maintain good relationships with several in AOL-TW, including Ted Turner himself. More on this story as it develops. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- January 25th, 2004 NWA:TNA have had preliminary discussions with representatives of AOL-Time Warner about a potential deal to land their wrestling on Turner’s networks, likely TNT. Reports from within TNA are that they are “desperate” to get the deal done, while Turner are taking a more wait-and-see approach. “They’re open to having wrestling back,” one source within the television industry told me, “but they’re not actively shopping for it. It would have to be the right fit for them.” More to come. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- February 12th, 2004 Talks between AOL-Time Warner and NWA:TNA have ground to a halt, and it’s possible that the proposed deal, which would see TNA air a two-hour show every week on TNT, could be off all together. Sources in AOL-TW indicate there are major questions of content and presentation, with the network preferring a more “sports oriented” presentation to encourage synergies with current sports franchises, namely the NBA. One higher up on the TNA side was confident that issues of presentation could be “Worked through” and that the major sticking point was the involvement of Vince Russo- a total non-starter for Warner networks. Russo recently returned to TNA after a brief departure, and is allegedly “only an on-air talent”, according to the company, but his presence and influence is, apparently, enough to stall out the deal. Before his departure Russo was a major contributor to TNA creative, and is expected to resume that role, if he hasn’t already. TNA management is unwilling to transition away from Russo, as he and Jarrett have a long-standing positive working relationship. TNA believe that the deal with Warner is still salvageable, even with Russo’s involvement. More to come The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- March 5th, 2004 A perfect storm of events have transpired that could well shake the professional wrestling industry to its very core. In short: pro wrestling is returning to TNT, but it will not be NWA:TNA. The first domino to fall was Rob Feinstien, now former owner of Ring of Honor Wrestling stepping down after being caught in a sting operation designed to catch local predators preying on underage kids. The story broke on a local news station, and within hours he had “stepped down” from his role in Ring of Honor, with talks underway to sell his stake in the company. Enter Infinite Hallway Media, a previously unknown name within the professional wrestling space. Headed by Logan Jackson, a young mega-millionaire who managed to avoid the dot com bubble bursting and life long wrestling fan, IHM have assets within the traditional television space as well as emerging digital technologies. Swooping in with a massive offer, ROH sold up quickly, with assurances that Gabe Sapolsky, current ROH booker, will be kept on in some capacity. As ink was drying on the ROH sale new owner Jackson was already working to increase his new brand’s profile. Jackson, reported to be a WON subscriber, was keenly aware of the precarious state of TNA’s negotiations and hijacked the deal at the eleventh hour, presenting a pitch for a two-hour show with an emphasis on realistic, hard hitting wrestling featuring stars from around the world. Turner executives were impressed, and a deal was agreed in principal rapidly. Details on the show are still to be finalized in the weeks to come, but a tentative start date of April is expected. TNA higher-ups were “blindsided” by these developments, and were downright enraged when they received notice from several top stars that they intended to sign full-time, exclusive contracts with the newly-minted national promotion. Both Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles are said to now be exclusive to ROH, which will be a major blow to TNA. In addition to the two TNA talents, IHM moved quickly to secure exclusivity with several other “cornerstones” of Ring of Honor, namely ROH World Champion Samoa Joe, CM Punk, and Bryan Danielson, as well as Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, who is expected to work in a road agent capacity in addition to his recent on-screen role. More signings are expected, with one source within ROH saying “The checkbook is wide open. The new owners want to be seen as major league from day one.” Ring of Honor have one show scheduled for the month of March- in Elizabeth, New Jersey. “At Our Best” is expected to be ran primarily by Gabe Sapolsky and will likely try to tie up storylines heading into the TNT debut, which will act as a “soft reboot” or jumping-on point for new fans. More on this seismic story as it develops.

So glad to see this! Thank you for all the hard work!

So i want to do a diary but I feel like mine always lack because I have no skills with the visual aspects. I'm a writer, not a designer. Is there anyone out there who would be interested in teaming up with me to enhance the visuals of a "ROH partners with Turner Networks in 2004" alt history/fantasy diary and help me spruce up the visuals?

Just bumping this to say we appreciate you working hard on this and can't wait to see the results, Idolized!

I love a mod where the modmaker says "Here's how I like to play, but if you want it to be different, go nuts!" I'm all about taking WCW back to the promised land, so I made a couple of tweaks to give it a fighting chance and I'm off to the races. Loving it so far. Thanks for putting this together!

Looks amazing, friend! Thanks for doing this excellent work!

So, I'm a dad to two small kids and therefore don't have much "me" time to play this game. I had been looking for a scenario to make my one go-to and see how long I can take it. I am SO happy I found this 92 mod, as it looks PERFECT for what I want to do. Thank y'all for the hard work that went into it. You've made a stressed out dad very happy!

All good points but my main desire is to do a not crappy version of the amazing CHIKARA lore that got punted down the toilet for the closedown angle and what happened after. haha

Playing around with using the 2013 mod to do a CHIKARA never shits the bed dynasty. Setting it up as CHIKARA having a one hour a week show on NetFlix, essentially becoming Lucha Underground before LU, and going from there.

Getting a runtime error when trying to tweak the database before starting a game. Runtime 3049 EDIT: redid it after a clean restart with no issues

Nevermind

Question before I download: does this mean the Database can't be modified through the game? If so I'm going to wait to DL til this is addressed.

Did your partner give you an ETA or even a ballpark estimate for it? I'm itching to start a new game but I've been holding out.

Very excited for this.

SPECIAL EVENT UPDATE: KING OF TRIOS 2010 The CHIKARA Office of Fun is honored to announce that the biggest tournament in Professional Wrestling will be returning in 2010! King of Trios, a three-night, sixteen trio tournament will happen during the second week of April! We are also pleased to announce the first Trio for the tournament! JUSHIN "THUNDER" LYGER, ULTIMO DRAGON, and THE GREAT SASUKE will compete as TEAM J-CROWN! The legendary junior heavyweights have set the standard for the last twenty years, and will team up as a Trio to attempt to capture the King of Trios championship! More teams will be revealed in the coming weeks!

BDK BLOG- LINCE DORADO- 02/06/2010 You people think you're so smart, with all your witty chants and funny quips, but you didn't see it coming, did you? The Bruderschaft told you more members were coming, but you never expected to see good ol' Lince Dorado joining. That's because you're chumps, CHIKArmy, nothing but chumps. You couldn't see a brick wall if you were standing a foot away from it! And now you have the audacity to ask me WHY I'd join the BDK? Are you kidding? You fans have been booing me and booing me, when all I've done is go out there, steal the show, and put on great matches. You IDIOTS would rather see "guest stars" like Bryan Danielson or El Generico come in and get the spotlight than a guy who NEARLY DIED to entertain you! And when I do fight and scrape my way to a main event, you BOO ME! And then let's talk about Jigsaw, Quackenbush's little buddy. The golden child. The favorite. The teacher's pet. He spends time off doing who knows what and comes back and everyone CHEERS him? And then he STEALS my stable? I don't think so. So I'm done. Done playing nice. Done playing up for you chumps. From now on I'm looking out for number one. I'm looking out for Lince. Hail the BDK.

CHIKARA EVENT CENTER: THE MINT CONDITION We here at the CHIKARA Office are thrilled to announce that hot on the heels of our season premiere A Touch of Class we will be bringing a double header in February as we present THE MINT CONDITION and A WORLD OF COMFORTING ILLUSIONS. The shows will be on the last two Saturdays of the month. After interrupting the legendary Kenta Kobashi's CHIKARA debut we have given Eddie Kingston his wish. It will be KINGSTON vs KOBASHI in the main event of THE MINT CONDITION, live from CHICAGO. We can also announce that THE COLONY (Fire, Soldier, and Green Ant) have made the challenge to THE BDK (Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, and Pinkie Sanchez), who have accepted, so there will be TRIOS action in Chicago! We will be back with more info on the card for Chicago, as well as A WORLD OF COMFORTING ILLUSIONS, in the coming weeks!

BDK VIDEO BLOG- 02/02/2010 The CHIKARA Office of Fun received a video blog from the BDK. We have included this transcription for the historical record. We see JAKOB HAMMERMIER trying to figure out how to work his video camera, accidentally filming himself. We get a shaky cut and see THE BDK sitting in a large, bright, white conference room. LINCE DORADO and PINKY SANCHEZ sit on one side of a large conference table, trying to capture the attention of SARA DEL REY and DAIZEE HAZE, who are having none of it. Sara looks like she is ready to knock their blocks off. TURSAS sits stoically. TIM DONST sits off to one side, looking sorry for himself. CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI and ARES enter and the assembled faction snaps to attention. CC: At ease, BDK. The group relaxes. CC: What a start to the reign of the BDK! Lince! You played your part perfectly! Dorado smirks smugly. ARES: Quackenbush had no idea what hit him. It was glorious. CC: And Sara! You destroyed the newest excuse for a Wrestle Factory graduate, just the first step in the mission to show the world that you, the Queen of Wrestling, are every bit the equal of any man. Daizee pats Sara on her shoulder. SDR: And this month the Haze gets her chance. CC: Yes she does. And Pinky! You showed that greenhorn what it's like to be in the ring with a real wrestler! PINKIE: That's right boss! You just point me at 'um and I'll take'um out! I'll rip them! Tear them to shreds! I'll- Ares motions for him to calm down. ARES: Take it easy Pinkie, save it for the technicos. Pinkie tries to get himself under control but is still twitchy. CC: It was almost a perfect debut... almost... Claudio and Ares stare at Donst. DONST: It's not my fault, guys. He knew the counter to the CHIKARA Special! He shouldn't have known it! ARES: I know, I know. It's okay Timothy. Quackenbush obviously stacked the deck against us. CC: The fact remains, though, you should have beat that goof. Donst looks crestfallen. CC: You are the better man, Tim, but you have to be ready for whatever these technicos throw at you. We will get back in the BDK Gym and train harder than ever! Because this is your year, Tim Donst! Your year to win the Young Lions Cup! DONST: Yeah! CC: And the BDK are going to win the Campeonatos de Parejas! BDK: Yeah! CC: And then we will win the biggest prize: KING OF TRIOS! The BDK break out in applause. ARES: And if Quackenbush or any of his cronies think they can stop us... well... we still have one or two surprises left up our sleeves. The group exchange knowing looks. Then, Pinkie, looking confused, speaks up. PINKIE: Boss, what about the Director of Fun- Claudio quickly motions for Jakob to cut the camera as Ares looks ready to shout at Sanchez. We get a shot of the BDK logo before the video fades to black...

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Week Four- January 2010 Several big stories to cover this week, biggest amongst them WWE's annual Royal Rumble Event. Shawn Michaels won a very underwhelming Royal Rumble match, but the story of the show was the MOTYC World Heavyweight Title match which saw The Undertaker defeat John Cena and Triple H. Interestingly, the ECW title was still defended on the show, despite ECW being off-air. The Rumble continued the run of WWE putting on 'one match' cards, which has been enough to keep them firmly in control of the so-called "New Monday Night Wars". The trend continued this week as RAW decisively beat IMPACT yet again in every metric, though neither show was particularly strong. The biggest non-WWE news this week came courtesy of Ring of Honor, who saw their TV show Ring of Honor Wrestling end its run on HDNet. No word yet on a new home for the show. CHIKARA ran their first show of their new era, drawing over 700 fans to the former ECW Arena. The show was solid but not attention-grabbing, with much of the focus being in laying groundwork for their major storylines for the year. The show was very well produced, especially the pre-taped segment, with Bruce Prichard's influence immediately visible. The big surprise was the announcement of Kenta Kobashi joining CHIKARA, and we can report here that it is a guaranteed deal, and Kobashi will be exclusive to CHIKARA. His signing is indicative of CHIKARA looking to expand its roster beyond Wrestle Factory graduates, opening up to having 'outside workers' as more than 'guest stars'. Kobashi's first match will be against Eddie Kingston at CHIKARA's February show, The Mint Condition. Speaking of Wrestle Factory graduates, Ace Astro, who debuted at A Touch of Class, is not actually a Wrestle Factory grad, but rather a graduate of the CZW Wrestling Academy. An actual WF grad, Tursas, was in the main event of the show, and did not look remotely ready for prime time. In that same match Ares, longtime Swiss veteran, almost injured Jigsaw with a botched Tiger Driver, causing more than a few harsh words after the match. Congratulations are in order for both Jennifer Blake and Christy Hemme, who are with child. Maternity leave for both is expected to begin imminently. TNA announced the signing of BG James (Brian Armstrong, AKA Road Dogg) to an exclusive written contract. We will be back with more news next week!

He is in ROH & PWG, and is currently the PWG world champ!

CHIKARA: A TOUCH OF CLASS Saturday Week 4, January- live from the Arena in Philadelphia PA. The show begins with a very slick video package highlighting the BDK formation at the end of last season before running down the card for the night. The match graphics are now animated, ala WWE, and members of factions have their symbol cartooned next to their name. Huge difference from just last season. Our hosts for the night are Logan Jackson, a new boy at the commentation station, former Director of Fun Leonard F Chikarason, and Gavin Loudspeaker, who doubles as ring announcer for the CHIKARA wrestlers. The BDK apparently have their own announcer now, a youngster named Jakob Hammermier, who is possibly the most annoying man alive. We head straight into our first match, Pinkie “Pink Ant” Sanchez vs. Green Ant! Pinkie Sanchez vs. Green Ant Match starts off fast with Green Ant jumping all over Pinkie and taking an early advantage. Green Ant is still a rookie and is therefore very… green… so his offense is mostly basic armdrags, dropkicks, and a headscissors, all of which he hit well. Pinkie takes a powder and Green Ant, due to a combination of his youthful inexperience and his anger at Pink Ant, tries to fly out at him with a tope suicida, but crashes and burns. Pinkie then rolls him back in the ring and takes over on offense, and the match comes wildly off the rails. These two have really bad chemistry together, they just didn’t click at all. The spots just all seemed mis-timed, neither guy able to get on the same page. Pinkie controls for a few minutes before Green Ant manages a small, ill-executed comeback, which is cut short by blatant cheating by Pinkie, which ref Derek Sabato somehow misses. Pinkie hits his version of the Burning Hammer, the Burning Schnicklefritz, for the win. RATING: 26 Post-match Tursas, Sara Del Rey, and Claudio Castagnoli put the boots to Green Ant before Solider and Fire Ant make the save. As the BDK head to the back we hear Claudio shout “We’re coming for those belts!” to the reigning Campeonatos de Parejas. RATING: 52 We then get a brief pre-recorded segment introducing us to Ace Astro, the newest member of the CHIKARA roster. He seems to be dressed as Mal Reynolds from Firefly and wears a crimson mask (a lucha mask, not a bloody face) with a vaguely old-west meets Asian vibe to it. He cuts a short promo talking about how excited he is to make his debut, and sounds just like he stepped out of Serenity. He even says ‘shiny’. NO RATING Next up: SARA DEL REY vs ACE ASTRO Jakob introduces Sara Del Rey, and the crowd already hates him. This one is little more than a squash for Sara, who looks like a million bucks, both physically and skills-wise. This match only goes about five minutes and Astro gets next to no offense in, only a token comeback which SDR cuts off immediately. She locks in the Royal Butterfly hold for the tap-out victory. Crowd seemed to take to Astro, though, which is a good sign. RATING: 39 Next up we get a pre-taped promo with Colt Cabana re-introducing himself to the CHIKARA faithful. It’s a simple, short, and funny promo, not really much to say. RATING: 61 Next match is: COLT CABANA vs. DASHER HATFIELD Dasher is the former Create-A-Wrestler, who has settled into a final form as the baseball-faced “old timey king of swing”. This is a straight up comedy match, like the CHIKARA of old, with Dasher talking Colt into playing some air-baseball with him, which he wins handily, before Colt goes into some of his British style rolling and zaniness. Lots of sight gags with Cabana razzing the new guy in a friendly, welcome-to-the-big-show type of charm. Cabana picks up the win after his Superman-Pin. Crowd liked Dasher, but Cabana looked great here. RATING: 47 We then get an announcement from Gavin Loudspeaker in the ring, who says that the CHIKARA Office of Fun have dictated that since the promotion is under new ownership, all points totals towards contention for the CdP will be re-set to zero. This is especially relevant because tag action is up next! INCOHERENCE (FRIGHTMARE & HALLOWICKED) vs. F.I.S.T. (CHUCK TAYLOR & ICARUS) Two top teams with points in play here, and this plays out like some classic CHIKARA tag action. Match stars off with Hallowicked scaring both Taylor and Icarus with some spookiness. Commentary does a good job reminding everyone Icarus and Wicked were tag partners way back in the first years of the promotion. Frightmare tags in and gets a few nice spots off but then eats a big boot from Taylor and FIST take over. They do the typical rudo spots, cutting off the ring and leaving Frightmare as the masked face in peril. The rudos try to finish the job but Frightmare just won’t stay down, eventually flipping out of Icarus’ Blu-Ray attempt and making the hot tag to Hallowicked, who clears house. He hits his step up front kick on Icarus before Taylor comes in and eats a Rydeen bomb. They trade finisher near-falls with Wicked saving Frightmare from taking the Omega Driver/Awful Waffle before they hit him with a combo Rydeen Bomb/Kneecolepsy for the victory! RATING: 33 Next Gavin Loudspeaker returns to the ring for a special announcement. He runs down the new investors/owners in CHIKARA and says they’ve already delivered one big name new signing. The lights dim and unfamiliar music plays, then Kenta Kobashi enters the 2300 Arena! He makes his way to the ring waving and shaking hands with the stunned fans. It seems like CHIKARA’s fanbase is more or less 50-50 split between young kids who love the wacky fun and wrestling nerds who love the high-quality wrestling, so the reaction is about what you’d expect. He gets in the ring and cuts a very limited promo, thanking CHIKARA and its fans, before Eddie Kingston comes out! Kingston claims “no disrespect”, which of course the fans don’t believe, and says he’s only out because Kobashi is one of his heroes, and he wants to be first in line for a match with him. Kobashi accepts the challenge, and no fists are thrown. RATING: 47 Next up we have two top teams in action! THE OSIRIAN PORTAL (AMASIS & OPHIDIAN) vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS These two teams were on opposite sides of a first-round match at King of Trios 2009, when the Bucks were PWG tag champs and the Portal were CHIKARA CdP. This is their first 2 on 2 meeting, and points are on the line! Unlike the other tag matches tonight this one is less of a old-school rudos isolate the technicos- hot tag to the finish match and more of an outright sprint with both teams trying to one-up the other. The Bucks look like stars here, hitting all their crisp, innovative double teams, but the Portal hold their own well. The Bucks pick up the win after a series of near-falls and double teams, scoring the pin after hitting More Bang For Your Buck on Amasis! This ended up being match of the night, and the Bucks get a “Please come back!” chant. RATING: 59 Post match Sara Del Rey mocks the Portal as they get to the back. RATING: 40 Next up we have more action as EL GENERICO vs. TIM DONST El Generico gets a big pop, as word has made the rounds that he’ll be a regular for CHIKARA going forward. Donst, a long time clean cut fan favorite, is doing his best annoying jerk gimmick, which is pretty effective. This match is a classic grappler vs flier contest, as the former “mat wrestling machine” Tim Donst looked to ground Generico, but only found success when bending (okay sometimes breaking) the rules. Generico started off hot, sending Donst to the floor to recuperate, following him with a perfect tope suicida. Back inside the ring Donst clips the generic lucahdor’s knee and takes over with ground-based attacks. He picks apart Generico’s knee slowly and methodically, boring some of the crowd. Eventually he locks on the CHIKARA Special, and the commentators do a GREAT job putting over the move as a near insta-kill, and how only long standing CHIKARA wrestlers will know the counter. Generico, however, defies the expectations and KNOWS THE COUNTER! The commentators flip out, as does Donst, who totally loses his cool and ends up blowing the match. They sprint to the finish with Generico nailing the Helluvakick followed by the BRAINBUSTAAAAAAAA for the win! RATING: 38 Next we have a pre-taped segment from Ultramantis Black’s lair, which looks like some combination of cave and occult church, very dark, lots of symbols and torches. There’s ominous, chanting music. MANTIS: Fate is a cruel mistress. She cannot be understood, let alone controlled. The best laid plans of Ultramantis Black are all at the whims of that unknowable goddess, Fate. But I shall persevere! I may have had the Eye of Tyr stolen from me by that dastardly Ares and his thugs in the BDK, but I shall continue on the path to my destiny as overlord of the wrestling world! This year shall be the year of the Neo-Solar Temple! My perfect weapon Delirious, my bruising brute Crossbones, and I shall rise to the top of the proverbial heap, we shall strike down the enemies before us, en route to the ultimate prize… KING OF TRIOS! Mantis takes a deep breath and cackles maniacally. He turns to a shelf full of dusty books and pulls down a tome, opening it. MANTIS: One last thing… BDK… As much as I would take untold joy in smiting each and every one of you, I do not have the time of energy to waste on such miserable mutants such as yourselves. I consider our business closed, and suggest you continue whatever crusade you are on elsewhere! Or you shall truly face the wrath of the NEOOOOO SOLARRRRR TEMPLEEEEEE! RATING: 44 MAIN EVENT: MIKE QUACKENBUSH & THE FUTURE IS NOW (JIGSAW, HELIOS, & LINCE DORADO) vs DIE BRUDERSCHAFT de KRUEZES (ARES, TURSAS, CLAUDIO, ???) The BDK hit the ring first, and there appears to only be three of them out for the match. Team CHIKARA is out next and as The Future is Now enters the ring Lince Dorado attacks Helios, giving him a brainbuster on the ring apron! Lince Dorado is in the BDK! Senior Referee Bryce Remsberg doesn’t know what to do, as the match isn’t supposed to start until all eight men are ready to fight. The BDK runs roughshod over the CHIKARA team for a solid three or four minutes, eventually tossing Helios, the smallest man in the match, into the ring by himself and taking turns manhandling him. Tursas, the giant viking warrior, is going to town on him when EDDIE KINGSTON hits the ring and sends the BDK scattering. Bryce tries to eject him but King insists on making it 4 on 4, so Bryce rings the bell and we have a match! MAIN EVENT FOR REAL: MIKE QUACKENBUSH, JIGSAW, HELIOS, & EDDIE KINGSTON vs. DIE BRUDERSCHAFT de KRUEZES (ARES, CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI, TURSAS, & LINCE DORADO) This wasn’t the best in-ring match of the night, but told several fantastic stories. The continuation of the long-standing Eddie Kingston vs Claudio rivalry was the main one, with Claudio ducking Eddie at every turn. Kingston was also involved in another sub-plot, as he seemed to be the only one on the CHIKARA side who could damage Tursas, was not even knocked off his feet for the whole match. Another sub-plot saw Mike Quackenbush getting more and more angry and aggressive as the match wore on. The commentators did a great job of shedding light on how intense Quack seemed in comparison to years past, and how he’s taking the BDK ‘invasion’ personally. The technicos are more or less thoroughly dominated in this one, their only real offense coming from Kingston for most of the match. The BDK seemed to mark Helios (better known as Ricochet elsewhere) as the weak link and focused on him during the match, and he sold like a champ. Team CHIKARA gets a huge hope spot as Eddie gets a hot tag and cleans house until Claudio clips his knee. Finish comes with the rudos sending everyone but Helios crashing and burning to the outside before hitting their Ragnarok finisher on him. Quack tries to break up the pin but is just too late. RATING: 41 The show proper ends with the BDK standing tall in the ring as Team CHIKARA, minus Kingston, help Helios to the back. King leaves through the crowd, disgusted with the loss. OVERALL SHOW RATING: 47

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHIKARA OFFICE OF FUN! CHIKARA Pick'em's announced! Full card for A Touch of Class! The CHIKARA Office of Fun is pleased to announce the 2010 CHIKARA Pick'em contest! Each show we will announce the card and for each match you guess correctly you will get a point! The person with the most points at the end of each period (period one runs from January to the end of April) will win a special prize! There will be three winners this year, and you won't want to pass up your chance to be one of them! A TOUCH OF CLASS CARD! PINKIE 'PINK ANT' SANCHEZ vs GREEN ANT ACE ASTRO vs SARA DEL REY COLT CABANA vs DASHER HATFIELD INCOHERENCE (HALLOWICKED & FRIGHTMARE) vs F.I.S.T. (CHUCK TAYLOR & ICARUS) THE YOUNG BUCKS vs THE OSIRIAN PORTAL TIM DONST vs EL GENERICO THE BDK (CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI, ARES, TURSAS, ???) vs MIKE QUACKENBUSH & THE FUTURE IS NOW (JIGSAW, LINCE DORADO, HELIOS) Tune in live on iPPV this weekend from the 2300 Arena to catch A Touch of Class!