War of the Independents

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[CENTER][B][U][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]The Beginning[/COLOR][/U][/B][/CENTER] 2006 was an interesting year for wrestling. SWF and TCW continued their long running war with each other, and unfortunately the power brokers in each company had kept the same men on top for a long time. There appeared to be no room for any young up-and-coming stars to make their mark. On the independent scene however, things were hotting up. With the choice of DAVE, CZCW, NYCW, USPW and MAW as well as the women-only promotions, the fans had plenty of options when it came to the world of sports entertainment. Things however were only going to get more interesting. Preston Holt, famous star of years gone by and legend of the Mid South invested all of his money into a start-up promotion with a view to being a legitimate number 3 promotion in the US. He had plenty of money, especially for a local-orientated promotion and had the drive vision and ego to push his company to the very top. That promotion… Lonestar Wrestling Association. Holt began by building his own roster. He had noticed over on the East Coast that The Stomper and Brian Dorsey had formed quite the creative team and had a roster that would make any independent promotion jealous. Rather than trying to overthink the situation, Holt simply paid top dollar to bring in the entire roster from New York, banking on the fact that his reputation was a bigger pull for the workers than the Stomper's. Obviously upset by such actions, The Stomper retaliated (rather rashly) by declaring a promotional war with Holt’s company and the two spent the next few weeks verbally berating each other on the dirtsheets. Meanwhile, over in the UK a new promotion had emerged and was challenging for the European territory. United Kingdom Pro Wrestling had appeared and within a month had overtaken most competitors by offering US-style production values and big stars of the past to gain a TV show and PPV deal. Owned by former US star, Whistler, the show was written and promoted by a young scriptwriter named Thomas Patrick. With experience writing for top UK soap opera West Hammers and Crowning Street, ‘Gentleman’ Thomas Patrick had established himself as quite the hero for UKPW, by guiding the storylines and feuds with natural ability. On top of that, he was also a solid announcer and mouthpiece and even managed 3 different wrestlers to the UKPW Bulldog Heavyweight Title. Unfortunately Whistler’s penchant for hiring old friends at inflated costs lead to an investigation of his accounts in the UK. Although he was cleared, the negative portrayal of his promotion and his history of drink and drugs led to a huge drop in the popularity of the promotion. Eventually the cost of legal fees to prove his innocence financially crippled him, which lead to the closure of the company and release of all employees the day before Christmas 2006. As the year came to close, the most shocking development in the war between NYCW and LWA came to pass. Brian Dorsey, hero to the technical performer and darling of the Internet crowd resigned from his post of head booker of NYCW. What made this resignation even more shocking was that it was first announced on the website of LWA, not NYCW. Preston Holt made the announcement that he had signed the ultra-talented Dorsey to write for his new sitcom on Prime Time. This left the Stomper in the middle of a fight with Preston Holt without the heart of his company and with no real advantage financially or talent-wise. Things looked bleak in the Empire State.

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[I]Before I continue, I'd like to send thanks out to BriFidelity for his awesome NYCW diaries on which these are an homage. Without your writing, I would never have tried the Cornellverse. You are awesome![/I]

[Sons of Kohral]

Yes! Nycw!!!!!

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[CENTER][B][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][U]Decisions[/U][/COLOR][/B][/CENTER] It had been a weird day. Since UKPW went under I’d been wandering around in a bit of a daze. I’m a man used to the rushes that professional wrestling work brings, but without it I was lost. No other UK promotion would touch me after the inflammatory statements I’d made about their owners. They don’t seem to understand it’s just business. Still, this morning was odd. I know I’d made a bit of a splash in the wrestling world, but I had no idea my reputation had spread to the US. So when I got the mail, you can imagine how surprised I was by the 2 airmail letters amongst the bills. One was written very professionally on an ivory-tint paper with headed paper… [QUOTE]Mr Patrick, I am delighted to offer you a position on my booking team. In the role of writing executive, you’ll work closely with my head booker Roger ‘Black Hat’ Bailey and his team…[/QUOTE] Clearly Whistler had put in a good word and Bailey I knew from my time with UKPW and we always got on well. I continued reading… [QUOTE]I have included air flights and hotel passes for the next month so that you can get settled here in Amarillo. I think you’ll enjoy the glazed steak, it’s somewhat of a speciality around these parts…[/QUOTE] This just got better and better. All these perks were more than I ever got from Whistler himself... [QUOTE]I would be willing to pay you £1000 per show, plus a percentage of gate receipts depending on your storylines doing well…[/QUOTE] I spat my coffee all over myself. That was big money, especially for a young company like LWA. They must have a huge pool of resources to draw on. [QUOTE]Look forward to seeing you, Preston Holt LWA MD[/QUOTE] Finally, the break I’d been looking for. A place on a young and vibrant team of creative minds, with good money and solid financial backing. I thought the day couldn’t get any better. Then I opened up the other letter, not sure exactly what to expect. Whatever I expected, this sure as hell wasn’t it, a ruffled bit of paper with what looked like a meatball stain in one corner… [QUOTE]Mr Tom Patrick, I’ve seen some of your work with UKPW and it looks good. I’ve recently been screwed over by that tobacco-chewing son of a motherless goat Preston ****. As you may know, he took my bookerman away and now I fear for the future of my small, but passionate business. I’d like you to come and work for me as my new head booker. I ain’t going to lie to you, the money ain’t good, but our hearts in the right place. Now I ain’t gonna beg, but if you want to help out an old wrestler who loves the business and everything it stands for. Please come over and we’ll meet up and start work. See you then, The Stomper[/QUOTE] Unbelievably, I’d got myself a second job offer. Although this one had none of the perks, less money and was in downtown New York, not a particularly savoury place from what I’ve heard. With all that, it did offer the prospect of holding the book all to myself, and Stomper did really seem to dislike my other potential boss, not a good sign for a new employee. This was easily the toughest decision of my life, do I go for the driven, wealthy, stable and plenty of perks and opportunities that were offered by Preston. Or did I go for complete power, no money, an odd boss and a less-than-favourable place? One thing was for sure, whomever I chose; the other would surely hate me. What to do?

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[CENTER][B][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][U]The Choice Best Made[/U][/COLOR][/B][/CENTER] I arrived in New York City 7.00pm on New Years eve 2006. The streets were buzzing and there seemed to be such an eclectic mix of nationalities and culture all living side-by-side in a true melting pot. Electricity was in the air and I was suddenly feeling a lot better about the huge chance I was taking on The Stomper. I hailed one of the legendary yellow taxis and instructed the, quite frankly rude, taxi driver to take me to the Weston Gymnasium in downtown Manhattan. It was here that Stomper had instructed me to come when I'd called him from the airport. The air was crisp and the condensation from my breath cast an eerie glint in the evening black. I walked up to the entrance to the gymnasium, which was a dilapidated former inner-city school gym. The only signs of any life came from a light beaming out at the end of the entrance hallway. I knocked. No answer. I pushed the heavy door and it scraped open. I remember thinking, how could anyone make any money in an old place like this. I walked toward the light at the end of the corridor, and as I got closer I could hear voices. They weren't clear, but as I edged nearer and nearer I began to pick out decipherable accents. There was a real mix, as there had been in the streets of NYC. I could hear Italian-American, gruff southern, a wheezy Bronx accent and even a squeaky young girl. Aware now that I had been standing and listening for well over a minute, I built up my courage and opened the door. What awaited me eyes when they had adjusted to the bright lights in the main hall of the gym was nothing short of bizarre. There must have been around 30 people all talking and chatting, and yet the moment I had opened the door, silence reigned. In front of me stood the roster of New York City Wrestling and a rag-tag bunch of misfits and mutants they were. After a few moments, an old man pushed his way to the front and introduced himself. "So you’re this Patrick kid then are ya?" "I guess so." I replied, with a little more attitude than I would've normally used. Clearly I was a little apprehensive. "Hmmm, you're taller than I thought you'd be. A good frame, you ever think about being a wrestler kid?" There was laughter booming off the walls now, and all of a sudden I thought back to school and how similar the atmosphere here was. "Line up ya mutants." Barked Stomper, and much to my surprise they all formed a neat and organised line and Stomper began to introduce them all to me. [I][B]Grandmaster Phunk [/B][/I]- He stood there with the tatty Empire title slung over his shoulder, dressed in a custom-made suit and with a set of gold teeth that would've made a rapper jealous. He was clearly the closest thing NYCW had to a star, but there was something that didn't quite add-up. [I][B]Whistler[/B][/I] - He stood there in Old Glory sweat pants with his straggly beard and beer belly hanging out. This was a former star, happy in his new incarnation and with a little bit of juice left in the tank. [I][B]Black Hat Bailey[/B][/I] – Everyone was s******ing at the cardboard cut-out of Black Hat with various rude words written all over it. Clearly he was not popular, probably because of his head booking position for LWA. [I][B]American Machine [/B][/I]– This guy was huge. Huge and unimpressive. For a man with that many muscles I should have been bowled over in awe, or repulsed, but somehow I just didn’t care. [I][B]Honest Frank[/B][/I] – The first person to actually say something to me. Typical ****y veteran, superiority complex and he tried to insult me and my background. I merely responded by asking him how he was. This at least made everyone else laugh. [I][B]Rick Sanders [/B][/I]– This guy looked like an ultimate fighter. Not a good ultimate fighter, but more the type who you see get crushed in the first match on the card. [B][I] Coyote Dynamite and Wiley Steinway [/I][/B]- These two hyper-hippies really irritated me with their non-stop jitters and ridiculously sounds, yet they certainly held themselves as a proper tag team. [I][B] Masked Mauler [/B][/I]– A guy who refuses to take off a mask even away from the fans is one of two things: An enigmatic legend or a lunatic. I’d never heard of this guy. [I][B]Land Mass [/B][/I]– Massive and clearly lumbering mess of a human being. [I][B]Steve Flash [/B][/I]– This guy, I liked. He had the look of a slightly over-the-hill performer, but he had definite star quality and was a genuinely nice person. [I][B]Lee Wright [/B][/I]– Old and grizzled, but with an attitude that irritated me the same way Honest Frank had. [I][B]Sammy the Shark[/B][/I] – A young performer, clearly trying to make a name for himself off of the back of the promotion. I have no problem with that, providing he doesn’t cause me grief. [I][B]New York Doll [/B][/I]– Young kid, very pleasant despite his ridiculous hairstyle. [I][B]Rodger Dodger [/B][/I]– Annoying chattermouth. The remainder of the group was made up of announcers, referees and personalities and I met them as a group. Quite the clique there. What could I possibly do with this lot?

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OOC [I]Hi all, Sorry about the delay on this, I've massively got into the game and am actually up to July 2008 with NYCW. I love the Cornellverse and after some heartbreaking losses and defeats, my war with LWA is still raging, only now there's a twist. I'll start posting show results once I've got my second big show out the way.[/I]