A Brief History of Professional Wrestling

[shipshirt]

Awesome stuff...I started my own database and I'm having fun watching it. How did you determine who would get offed in the wars?

[mrnoun]

A few people have expressed interest in me putting up a copy of my data. I'm willing to do this, but what kind of data would you like to see? A. My original, blank data B. My original, blank data, with certain key characters added as "new workers", so you can mess around with them C. The current saved game Anyways, let me know what you think would be most interesting. And now, the thrilling conclusion to... [B]The War to End All Wars[/B] [B]-January, 1916[/B] Danny St. Hubbins defeats Neil Hupp for the PWV Virginia title. Jim Flanders beats Clyde Foley for the GLG World title. [B]-February, 1916[/B] Norman Gonzales and Leo Morgan win the NEW Tag titles from Dan Hesketh and Mr. Pain. Eddie Anderson continues his comeback, beating Danny St. Hubbins for the PWV Virginia title. Norman Gonzales makes it a really good month for himself, beating Howard Randall for the DPW Georgia title. [B]-March, 1916[/B] Arnold Young defeats Clyde Foley for the PWV World title. [B]-July, 1916:[/B] Glenn Clark beats Leo Morgan for the DPW World title. [B]-August, 1916: [/B] Darryl Brook inexplicably allows the contract of Clyde Foley to expire. Wrestler of the Year: Glenn Clark Match of the Year: Glenn Clark d. Clyde Foley, DPW September [B]-April, 1917: [/B] The US enters the war. Around this same time, Great Britain began enforcing the Canadian Military Service Act. Clyde Foley re-signs with PWV, correcting one of the weirdest mistakes in wrestling history. He celebrates by beating Jim Flanders for the GLG World title, his 9th world title. Vernon McKean beats Glen Simmons for the WCW Oregon title. Raymond Levesque defeats Lewis Crane for the GLG Ohio Memorial title. [B]-May, 1917: [/B] Clyde Foley drafted. Germany promptly surrenders, rather than fight the Nature Boy. Jim Flanders beats Lewis Crane for Foley's now-vacant GLG World title. Mr. Pain defeats Takesi Mori for the NEW New Jersey title. [B]-June, 1917:[/B] Some no-name schlub who'll never amount to anything named Tommy Cornell is drafted. In more important news, former GLG World champion Howard Randall is drafted. Arnold Young beats Jim Flanders for the TBW World title. Mr. Pain defeats Dan Hesketh for the TBW Texas title. Leo Morgan beats Glenn Clark for the NEW World title. [B]-July, 1917:[/B] Former TBW World champion Dan Hesketh drafted. Former TBW Texas champion Bernard Westybrook drafted. Current WCW Tag champ Glen Simmons drafted. PWV staff member Earl Harris meets with owner Darryl Brook to discuss the future of the promotion. In particular, the two discussed how to deal with the loss of so many big names, and the resulting attendance hit. Harris stumbles upon the idea of boosting attendance by giving the crowd reason to care who wins, by promoting one wrestler as a good guy and the other as a villain. The first face-heel divide is born. Vernon McKean and Jim Gallagher beat Norman McMahon and Douglas Mustafa for the WCW Tag titles. [B]-August, 1917:[/B] Earl Harris, inventor of the face-heel divide, is drafted. Greg Runnels takes his place as head booker. Howard Randall and Bernard Westybrook are wounded in the Third Battle of Ypres. Gene Montgomery deals with the talent depletion and dropping attendance by cutting stars Franklin Richardson and Duane Rush to reduce expenses, and trying to weather the storm. [B]-September, 1917:[/B] Former DPW, and current NEW and WCW World champion Leo Morgan is drafted. This leaves NEW with only one main eventer, Glenn Clark. Staff member Willie Martinez suggests to owner Marc Windham that they play up Clark's amateur boxing background by relaxing some rules to allow him to use those brawling skills. Glenn Clark beats Eddie Anderson for the vacant WCW World title. This is Clark's seventh world title reign, as he slowly catches up with Clyde Foley. Takesi Mori wins the vacant NEW World title, beating Mr. Pain. Pain, however, goes on to win the PWV Virginia title, beating Eddie Anderson. [B]-October, 1917:[/B] Mr. Pain and Norman Gonzales take the vacant NEW Tag titles, beating Duane Rush and Glenn Edwards. [B]-November, 1917:[/B] After a particularly low-attendance show, Franklin Richardson meets with WCW owner Patrick Dahl to brainstorm solutions. In the end, Richardson suggests that he and other top stars occasionally "throw" matches against lesser talents, to make fans want to see the rematches. Thus, an early form of "worked" matches emerges. Wrestler of the Year: Takesi Mori Match of the Year: Norman Gonzales d. Clyde Foley, DPW February [B]-January, 1918:[/B] Leo Morgan's career is cut short when he loses an arm in the Battle of Jerusalem. Darryl Brook beats Arnold Young for the PWV World title. A couple weeks later, Takesi Mori beats Young for the TBW World title. Young announces his retirement after the match. [B]-April, 1918: [/B] Darryl Guest beats Takesi Mori for the TBW World title. [B]-May, 1918: [/B] Gene Montgomery yields to popular demand and rehires Franklin Richardson. [B]-June, 1918:[/B] After an unsuccessful show, TBW owner Asa Montgomery meets with advisor Jeffery Sanders. Montgomery, a clever businessman from the carnival era, immediately recognizes the potential of Sanders' suggestion to begin "pushing the limits" in terms of risque content. [B]-August, 1918:[/B] Lewis Crane beats Jim Flanders for the GLG World title. [B]-November, 1918: [/B] World War I ends. The Allies win after Belgium hits Germany with a steel chair behind the ref's back. Franklin Richardson beats Glenn Clark for the DPW World title. Wrestler of the Year: Takesi Mori Match of the Year: Takesi Mori d. Franklin Richardson, PWV October [I]Notes:[/I] My TV network mistake is rearing its ugly head, as I had to cheat a bit to keep TBW from getting a TV show about 30 years before TV was invented. Other than that, there isn't really much to say about the war years, except they were incredibly tedious to do, because I had to keep editting who was active and who was in the military. I think I'll just ignore WWII when it comes.

[mrnoun]

An Overview of the Wrestling Industry, January 1919: [B]Dixie Pro Wrestling.[/B] Based out of Georgia, DPW is described as "Traditional Shoot". Owner Gene Montgomery is a traditionalist who doesn't want to change his product style to suit the changing wrestling industry. DPW has the established star power and history to survive anyways. Owner: Gene Montgomery Booker: Manuel Deeley Main Eventers: Franklin Richardson, Glen Simmons, Glenn Clark World Champ: Franklin Richardson Regional Champ: Norman Gonzales Tag Champs: Gonzales and Neil Hupp Prestige: D- Popularity: D+ (Southeast) [B]Great Lakes Grappling.[/B] This Ohio-based company has yet to really feel the squeeze of the declining wrestling industry, thanks to a deep roster. This still operate as "Pure Shoot Wrestling". Owner: Ted Bainbridge Booker: Charles Blanchard Main Eventers: Jim Flanders, Lewis Crane World Champ: Crane Regional Champ: Raymond Levesque Prestige: D Popularity: D (Great Lakes) [B]Northeast Wrestling.[/B] Based out of New Jersey, NEW operates under a "Proto-Hardcore" style, slowly integrating aspects of what would eventually be called "hardcore" wrestling. Owner: Marc Windham Booker: Willie Martinez Main Eventers: Glenn Clark, Takesi Mori World Champ: Takesi Mori Regional Champ: Mr. Pain Tag Champs: Mr. Pain and Norman Gonzales Prestige: E+ Popularity: D- (New England) [B]Pro Wrestling from Virginia.[/B] PWV has made it a point to adopt a "Shoot Entertainment" style, where the matches are real, but the fighters take on face/heel roles to engage the crowd. Owner: Darryl Brook Booker: Greg Runnels Main Eventers: Darryl Brook, Darryl Guest, Franklin Richardson, Jim Flanders, Takesi Mori World Champ: Darryl Brook Regional Champ: Mr. Pain Prestige: D Popularity: D (Mid Atlantic) [B]Texas Brand Wrestling[/B] Asa Montgomery's carnival background gave him insight into how to draw smaller but more fanatical crowds to his shows, by introducing cult and risque factors, making TBW a "Proto-Cult" promotion. TBW is also the place to go for tag action, as they feature more tag matches than any other promotion, even though they don't have a tag champion. Owner: Asa Montgomery Booker: Jeffery Sanders Main Eventers: Darryl Guest, Jim Flanders, Takesi Mori World Champ: Darryl Guest Regional Champ: Mr. Pain Prestige: D+ Popularity: D (Mid-south) [B]West Coast Wrestling.[/B] Oregon based WCW uses a "Worked Shoot" style, wherein matches are occasionally predetermined in order to build interest in a rematch. Owner: Patrick Dahl Booker: Franklin Richardson Main Eventers: Richardson, Glen Simmons, Glenn Clark, Howard Randall, Norman Gonzales World Champ: Clark Regional Champ: Vernon McKean Tag champs: McKean and Jim Gallagher Prestige: E Popularity: D- (Northwest)

[shipshirt]

I opt for B

[Ping von Erich]

I like option B, key characters there, maybe a few of the road blocks you've run into thwarted ahead of time (like not enough skilled owners and bookers) using the new workers option. That.. is a download I'd splooge myself for. EDIT But your current save would also be bad ass to play around with.

[badlefthook]

I also vote B. Your current save would be cool but I'd rather be able to start fresh personally. Thanks for whatever you choose to do.