NYCW-The Home of Old School

[1PWfan]

When it comes to Wrestling in the City of New York, it’s pretty much general knowledge that one man is the king. Sure, DAVE is based in the Tri-State area, and just about all the major promotions are in town at least once or twice a month for the money (Tri-State is pretty much a hotbed for wrestling fandom, and fairly affluent to boot), but when it comes to day-to-day, regular wrestling in The Big Apple, nobody’s bigger than the Stomper. Or as I call him, Uncle Derek. That’s right kiddies, The Badass King of New York just happens to be Rick Redman’s favourite uncle (only uncle, if we’re being honest). My mom’s his sister, and whilst he hated my dad (don’t ask me why, I’ve never even seen the slime who fathered me), he always liked me. Maybe it’s ‘cos of my dazzling charm and stunning good looks, or maybe it’s cos I followed him into the business (as a manager, though: it’s safer, and I’m a better talker than fighter any road up). ‘Course, however much Stomper apparently likes me, he’s never actually got round to giving me a job. Until now, that is. *** Every year, me and mom go round to Stomper’s place to see in the New Year with his folks. And every year, I get drunk and joke about Stomper giving me a job, and every year he says the same thing about ‘putting in yer damn time, Ricky son’ and every year we forget about it and get even drunker. But this last year, 2006, he did something very unexpected (and this before we’d even started drinking). He took me aside, said he wanted to have ‘a quiet word’ with me. [COLOR="Sienna"]“Listen, kid, how long you been in the business now?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“About ten years or so, I guess. Why?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Sienna"]“I think you’ve put your time in. How’d you like to run the book at NYCW?”[/COLOR] From not giving me a job for 10 years to randomly offering me the book. I’ll say this for my uncle, he sure knows how to surprise ya. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Wow. Erm, I mean…isn’t Black Hat Bailey running that side of things for ya?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Sienna"]“He is, at the moment, but his contract’s coming up for re-negotiation in a few months, and he’s already said he wants to give the big leagues another shot. I figure now’s a good time to make the change, ‘stead a’ doing it four months down the line when Bailey’s already left. So, you in?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“You do know I’ve booked anything near this kinda level of show, right?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Sienna"]“Don’t give me any of that 'I don’t have the necessary experience' b*ll**** kid. This is wrestling, not rocket science. All you gotta do is put the right guys together in the ring and they’ll do the rest.”[/COLOR] Well, what was I supposed to do? [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“You’ve got yourself a Booker, Stomper sir”[/COLOR]

[Greg McNeish]

Awesome!

[Frank_Vest]

I like this...hope you keep it up.

[1PWfan]

I’d only been on the job a couple of days when Stomper dropped round my office (well, I say office: NYCW HQ is basically Stomper’s extension, and my ‘office’ is at home) for a word. [COLOR="DarkRed"]“Well, kid, how’s it going?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Just been making a few changes to the roster, mostly.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]“I heard about that”[/COLOR] I’ve known Stomper for years (well, he is my uncle), and I recognised that tone. That’s his patented I’m-pissed-off-and-someone’s-got-some-explaining-to-do voice. It didn’t take me long to figure out why [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Is this about me letting go…”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]“Firing”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Letting Go of Rock and Herb?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]“They’re our announce team. Who’s supposed to call our shows now? And what about firing Land Mass and Dodger?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Firstly, I’ve switched Marv Earnest over to announcing, and I’ve already approached someone about colour duties. Hell, I’LL do it if I have to. As for Land Mass, he’s a fat worthless piece of sh*t”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]“And Dodger?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“He’s just a worthless piece of sh*t. Look, Uncle, I get that you’re annoyed- right now, we should be bringing guys in, not letting them go. But trust me on this, we need the right kind of guys. You’re always saying NYCW is the home of Old-School wrestling, yeah?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]“Yeah”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Well, Old School Wrestling needs a certain kinda wrestler, right? And Dodger and Land Mass were the wrong guys here. I got Jungle Jack coming in for talks, and Ray Kingman’s kid Barry is one phone call away from being signed up.”[/COLOR] Stomper gave on that one, as I knew he would. He knew how good Ray was, and whilst I’m fairly sure he knew Barry wasn’t a patch on the old man, he was more than good enough for us. [COLOR="DarkRed"]“Okay, but it’s pretty clear you need reigning in a bit. I got some goals for ya”[/COLOR] I sighed at this one. Black Hat had already warned me about my Uncle’s love of apparently arbitrary goals (I believe the exact phrase he used was ‘A f*cking waste of time that never did anyone any good’). [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Fire away”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]“Firstly, I don’t want any problems with Drugs. Drinking is fine, it’s as much a part of this business as the ring, but drugs ain’t got no role to play in this ring. If a wrestler is using them, then we ain’t using him. Got that?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“No Junkies. I can work with that”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]“Secondly, this is NYCW, where we wrestle. I don’t want us signing any kind of fat-assed wastes of space when we could be signing half-decent athletes. You got that?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“You want me to sign half-decent athletes…but you were pissed at me for firing Land Mass?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]“...I ain’t got time for yakking, kid. I’ll see you at the show”[/COLOR]

[Regis]

Woo! Go Kingman!

[1PWfan]

A few days later, and things were looking less rosy. Duke Hazzard, my first choice colour commentator had turned out to be too expensive, whilst Barry Kingman and Jungle Jack had both signed on for massive sums of cash, plus a downside for JJ. In the long term they were both worth it, but it did spell doom for my chances of making a profit unless Phunk and Whistler’s feud delivered quick. On the other hand, TJ Bailey had come on board as a prospective replacement for Roger Dodger (I was waiting until him and Sammy had been in the ring together before making it official, though). I’d also pulled in Kashmir Singh as a jobber, to help the rest of my roster improve, and had put in an offer to Roderick Remus to pad out the midcard. I wasn’t sure that Roderick fitted with the old-school ethos we were trying to put together, but he the best available, and I would just have to make sure to test him out thoroughly first. For NYCW Rush Hour, I put together the following card: Grandmaster Phunk vs. Whistler [I]The Black Daddy Mack goes up against the All-American Everyman in a battle for the NYCW Empire Title. Will The King of Bling Triumph, or will he fall before the power of the Rebel Yell?[/I] Jungle Jack vs. Honest Frank [I]The Wild Man from the Jungle takes on the Veteran of the east Coast Wars in his debut. Shall Jungle Jack win out, or will Honest Frank spoil the party? [/I] Steve Flash vs. Lee Wright [I]The Remarkable One faces Ol’ Angry B@stard in a match for the NYCW Tri-State Regional Championship. Can Flash resist the power of The Wright Stuff? [/I] Looking at the card, I knew I was gonna make a massive loss (Jack, Flash, Phunk and Whistler all on one card? That’s nearly 5000 gone right there), but I was hoping that high ticket sales could overcome it, or at least soften the blow a little. Otherwise, Uncle Derek was gonna be very pissed at me…

[Dragonmack]

For NYCW Rush Hour, I put together the following card: [B]Grandmaster Phunk[/B] vs. Whistler [I]The only way Whistler wins this is if Phunk's contract is up soon and you need to move the title. Except for Steve Flash, Phunk is your best worker as he brings charisma, mike skills, name value, and some actual brawling ability.[/I] [B]Jungle Jack[/B] vs. Honest Frank [I]With some chemistry, and the right opponents, Frank can pull off miracles in the ring. (Which means a match that doesn't completely suck.) But he has no chance against the Tarzan wannabe.[/I] [B]Steve Flash[/B] vs. Lee Wright [I]Quite literally the best in ring performer in a small fed in North America. He only loses for two reasons, his contract is up, or he is facing someone who can be or needs to be elevated. Wright isn't such a person at this point, so it's a Flash Bang FTW.[/I]

[Regis]

For NYCW Rush Hour, I put together the following card: [B]Grandmaster Phunk[/B] vs. Whistler [I]To put the title into someone else's hands so soon would just be intolerable to The Stomper. Putting your own stamp is one thing, but completely changing the landscape so soon? Not a chance.[/I] [B]Jungle Jack[/B] vs. Honest Frank [I]Jungle Jack has the skills to work with the best brawlers. Still, I can't help feeling that there might be a draw here to keep both men strong.[/I] [B]Steve Flash[/B] vs. Lee Wright [I]Champ's advantage carries here, I think. Wright is good, but not like Steve. Everyone knows that.[/I]

[1PWfan]

[SIZE="6"]NYCW Rush Hour[/SIZE] Coming to you from The Weston Gymnasium, with a crowd of 256, not great but not too bad. I’d made the call to make this a straight-to-DVD show, largely because explaining the internet to my uncle would take way too long. [B][U]Pre-Show/DVD Extras[/U][/B] [B]Wiley Coyote vs. Sammy the Shark and TJ Bailey[/B] This match was…well, pretty bad, I think, but at least it wasn’t an absolute disaster. I was down at ringside as manager for Shark and Bailey, and I think that helped as I ran through the usual manager schtick. Of course, it didn’t help that Bailey was flagging by the end, but at least there was some improvement: Shark and Bailey learnt the usual performance skills stuff from the veterans, whilst Coyote sharpened up his technical skills, weakening Bailey up before letting Wiley take him down with the Steinway Highway Spear. [B]Winners:[/B] Wiley Coyote [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]E-[/I] [U][B]The Show[/B][/U] [B]Steve Flash vs. Lee Wright[/B] Now this is what I want to see. These two guys just beat the ever-loving hell out of each other for 10 minutes, and it definitely helped Flash sharpen his brawling up-there’s nothing like getting a stiff one in the face to up your punches, and by the end Wright had upped his brawling too, as well as some nice performance routines too. Flash took the win by simple expedient of repeatedly slamming Wright’s head into the turnbuckle before rolling him up for the pin. [B]Winner:[/B] Steve Flash [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]D+[/I] The familiar funky guitar lick signals the appearance of Grandmaster Phunk, who comes down to the ring to some phenomenal heat. [COLOR="Purple"]"Shut yo’ mouth, you pansy-ass nuggets!"[/COLOR] Three guesses what the crowd do (if you guessed ‘get louder’ then you’re right). [COLOR="purple"]"Tonight, I got to put MY Empire Title on the line against that no-good honky Whistler. Now, Whistler boy, I’m gonna lay it down nice and easy for you. You DON’T wanna mess with me, boy. There’s two things the Grandmaster ain’t Neva gonna lose: his cool…and his bling! Back down, Whistler. You just ain’t got the FUNK!"[/COLOR] This was…well, extraordinary. Phunk is a damn fine talker, and Whistler’s very over here, so people loathed Phunk’s derogatory comments. So glad I extended this long enough to stick in the mind. [B]Rating:[/B] [I]C+[/I] Honest Frank is backstage, ready for an interview. [COLOR="Sienna"]Tonight, I’m up against Jungle Jack. Jack, I got news for you. We aren’t in the jungle anymore, we’re in New York City. And I can tell you this, Jungle Jack: New York City is not for you. Tonight, I’m gonna show you that, when I beat you in my match. Make no mistake, Jack, you’ll be much happier away from here. After all, Would I Lie to You?[/COLOR] This wasn’t great, but still punching way above our weight. Maybe it would’ve done better not coming after Phunk’s promo, which was top drawer. [B]Rating:[/B][I]D[/I] [B]Honest Frank vs. Jungle Jack[/B] Another wild brawl that saw Jack beat the ever-loving snot out of Frankie, who raised his game tonight and gave as good as he got, even if he was flagging by the end. A nice little brawl that saw Jack put his opponent away with the Jungle Jack-Hammer for the win. [B]Winner[/B]: Jungle Jack [B]Rating:[/B] [I]D+[/I] Whistler comes down to the ring, also on promo duty for the match tonight. Interesting fact: Whistler has no entrance music, apparently because of all the chants of U-S-A! which kina render the whole ‘music’ thing pointless. [COLOR="Blue"]Grandmaster Phunk! You’re right about one thing-I DON’T got the Funk. But I’ll tell you something-I don’t NEED the funk to beat you. All I needs is the support of these fans [/COLOR](big cheer at this point) [COLOR="blue"]the strength in my arms, and Old Glory flying! HOOOOOOOO!!!![/COLOR] It’s official: my headliners RULE. This promo was fantastic, and Whistler is definitely on fire tonight. [B]Rating:[/B] [I]C[/I] [B]Grandmaster Phunk vs. Whistler[/B] And after two great promos, it turns out my top guys have bad chemistry. Ah, f*ck. Still, the crowd was hot for this one, and even with both guys sucking air by the 15 minute mark the crowd was way into this. Whistler picked up some new performance tricks from Phunk, before the King of Bling hit The Phunk (a pretty impressive lariat) and got the pin with his feet on the ropes. [B]Winner:[/B]Grandmaster Phunk [B]Match Rating:[/B][I] D+[/I] Show Rating: D, with some people complaining about the lack of storylines on this show, as well as TJ Bailey’s 10 minute run. That said, Brains McGee (our replacement colour man) was on top form tonight.

[Phantom Stranger]

Ah, Whistler. If he were ten years younger... ...well, he'd probably still be with SWF and not help. But it'd be handy.

[1PWfan]

Feedback on Rush Hour was pretty positive, with the general consensus being that it had helped raise our profile more, even with some disappointing match-ups (to me, anyway). So, naturally enough, The Stomper called me into his ‘office’ to have a friendly word with me. [COLOR="DarkRed"]“Listen, kid. Have you any idea how much money we lost on that last show?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“No, I’ve only just come into work. I haven’t had a chance to check over the financials yet”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]“How about 9,845 bucks? Kid, that’s way too much for us”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Look, it’s not a total disaster, okay? We haven’t had the merchandise or sponsor money in yet, and that’ll probably offset some of that loss.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]“You sure about that, kid? ‘Cos I’ve had a look at some of the new guys you bought in, especially their pay sheets.”[/COLOR] Oh sh*t. [COLOR="DarkRed"]“Like, do ya know that we’re legally obliged to pay Jungle Jack 700 bucks a month whether he does our show or not? Or what about precious Barry Kingman, huh? Do you realise that we’re paying him 1,175 bucks a show? And he’s only a midcarder? That’s more than Frank or American Machine get.”[/COLOR] I bit back the obvious retort (namely, that Frank and Machine aren’t worth jack compared to JJ or Kingman), and instead settled for the infinitely less fun reasoned argument. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Okay, yeah, I screwed up with Kingman. But Jack’s gold, Uncle. One show and already people are putting him in the title picture. And you can’t say that that ain’t an accomplishment. As for the other signings, Brains McGee, our colour man? Gold. And okay, I’m not sure about Roderick Remus, but he’s young, we can sharpen him up a bit.” [/COLOR] You could tell Stomper wasn’t happy, but credit where it’s due (to me, in other words), he calmed down enough to let me get out of there. *** Sure enough, our sponsors and merchandising came through trumps, cutting the loss right down to 4,608, which Stomper eventually accepted after I pulled my usual trick of talking fast enough to confuse him. As for our next show, I put a one-hour show in February, named Manhattan Mayhem. We needed a card for that, but I was in a bit of a fix: I wanted to get Kingman onto the show, but I couldn’t do that without costing us another huge amount of cash, especially if I continued to push Jack up to the top. We also needed to put together some more storylines, so I instituted one pitting Flash against Honest Frank, and build a storyline around the tag team battle between Wiley Coyote and newly named Vegas Connection (Sammy the Shark and TJ Bailey). Eventually, the card for Manhattan Mayhem looked something like this: American Machine vs. Grandmaster Phunk [I]After Phunk scored the cheap win over Whistler last month, the American Everyman’s partner is out for revenge. Will the American Machine win out, or is he too powerless in the face of The Phunk?[/I] Black Hat Bailey vs. Jungle Jack [I]The Man with the Hat takes on the King of the Jungle. Who will emerge victorious?[/I] Honest Frank vs. Roderick Remus [I]A battle for the number 1 contendership spot for the Tri-State regional championship. Can the young blood take the win, or will he be defeated by the wily veteran?[/I] Three of my four main eventers were in use, and I had yet to find a heel replacement for Bailey at the top of the card, but what the hell, it looked reasonably promising.

[Dragonmack]

Eventually, the card for Manhattan Mayhem looked something like this: American Machine vs. [B]Grandmaster Phunk[/B] [I]The protege follows the path of the mentor, and gets cheated out of a win.[/I] Black Hat Bailey vs. [B]Jungle Jack[/B] Tarzan gets another win on his path to a showdown with the Phunkster. [B]Honest Frank[/B] vs. Roderick Remus [I] I predict this match will tank, as Frank really needs his opponents to protect him, which I don't think Remus can do[/I]

[Regis]

Eventually, the card for Manhattan Mayhem looked something like this: American Machine vs. [B]Grandmaster Phunk[/B] [I]The Phunkster is a cheating son-of-a-bitch, and will stop at nothing to keep his spot at the top![/I] Black Hat Bailey vs. [B]Jungle Jack[/B] [I]A tough one, but Jack's push is worth Bailey doing the job.[/I] [B]Honest Frank[/B] vs. Roderick Remus [I]Honest Frank takes the rub - he's got way more upside to him than Remus at this point, and could likely work better with Flash.[/I]

[1PWfan]

[FONT="Times New Roman"][SIZE="6"]NYCW Manhattan Mayhem[/SIZE][/FONT] Coming to you from the Weston Gymnasium with a crowd of 244 people. Gotta figure out a way to boost that up. [B][U]Pre-Show/DVD Extras[/U][/B] [B]Cameron Vessey vs. Kashmir Singh[/B] A quick squash match to introduce our newest signing. Stomper’s very big on Vessey at the moment (that whole pedigree thing, apparently), but I’m less convinced- he’s decent enough, but nothing special far as I can see. That said, he put a good match together with Singh (who I’d bought in to serve as a jobber, in order to build our guys’ skills up), and improved his technical and performance work before putting Singh away with a Vessey Driver. All in all, a pretty decent match [B]Winner:[/B] Cameron Vessey [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]D-[/I] And our resident ‘pretty girl with no other redeeming features’ Fern Hathaway pumps the crowd up with the old firing T-shirts angle. And she looked damn good out there: maybe I should try and get her wet sometime. [B]Rating:[/B] [I]D+[/I] [B][U]The Show[/U][/B] We open up with yours truly on hype duty for the forthcoming title match. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]Y’know, this whole NYCW scene is bullsh*t. My boys, The Vegas Connection, the most promising tag team in the country, didn’t even HAVE a match schedule for tonight until I went out and got one for them. And now I find out it’s against the tired old jokes Wiley Coyote? Gimme a break.[/COLOR] [COLOR="SandyBrown"]Hey Boss? Why don’t we just paint a hole on the wall, see if they run into it?[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]Y’know, Sammy, that might just work. Hell, they’re sure dumb enough to try. [/COLOR] Normally, I get a pretty decent bit of heat out of tri-state crowd, but we were pretty dead here. Probably it was due to Sammy and Bailey’s complete lack of name factor. [B]Rating:[/B] [I]E[/I] [B]Wiley Coyote vs. The Vegas Connection[/B] And it turns out that Sammy and Bailey have somehow come down with zero chemistry as partners, which killed the match. Fortunately, Marv and Brains did some good stuff to lift the quality here, and the storyline has continued (I’ll have to see if there’s some way of getting Bailey out of there and putting someone else in). [B]Winners:[/B] Wiley Coyote [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]E-[/I] [B]Honest Frank vs. Roderick Remus[/B] Fortunately, these two stepped up their games tonight, pulling things back after the tag match. Remus is growing on me: sure, he looks out of place in the veteran environment of NYCW, but I’ve got him kitted out with a blue chipper gimmick that went over well. Once again, Frank was flagging by the end, but he did his stuff and showed Remus the usual performance tricks before putting him away with a pair of brass knucks to end the match. [B]Winner:[/B] Honest Frank [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]D-[/I] [B]Jungle Jack vs. Black Hat Bailey[/B] One word: DAMN. This was fantastic. The crowd are really rallying behind Jack, and Bailey’s rugged tough-guy routine is perfect for him to play off of. This was an all-out brawl, with both guys getting in some good shots before The King of The Jungle put Bailey away with the Jungle Jackhammer. One negative, though: Marv was struggling to keep up, and it showed. [B]Winner:[/B] Jungle Jack [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]C-[/I] The familiar funk guitar plays as Grandmaster Phunk makes his way out for a promo. [COLOR="Purple"]Tonight, the King of Bling faces up to American Honky. Now, you’d think that after I whupped his partner’s ass at Rush Hour, that the boy would know better than to f*ck with the Black Daddy Mack, but it turns out that he’s even dumber than most of you white boys are. Now, Honky, I’m gonna lay this out nice and slow. Do-not-f*ck-with-me. I am gonna reign on you! I am gonna destroy you, boy! And you know why, boy? …Cos you just ain’t got the FUNK![/COLOR] Another gold-standard promo. What more can I say? [B]Rating:[/B] [I]C+[/I] [B]Grandmaster Phunk vs. American Machine[/B] This match was…disappointing, after Bailey and Jack, though still damn good for our level. Machine was…alright, and did show some promise in terms of developing his performance skills, but I think it’s a little telling that Whistler and Phunk delivered better match despite having bad chemistry. Still, it was better than it needed to be, and Phunk got the win with The Phunk to round it off. [B]Winner:[/B] Grandmaster Phunk. [B]Rating:[/B] [I]D[/I] No sooner has Phunk started celebrating his victory, than his old rival Whistler makes his entrance. The pair face off, and are about to charge each other when the lock room empties to keep them apart (alright, so technically it was only the undercarders I’d already used, but hell, we’re allowed to be over-dramatic). [B]Rating:[/B] [I]C-[/I] [B]Overall Rating:[/B] [I]D[/I], with complaints about Kashmir and Bailey’s screen-time.

[Dragonmack]

[QUOTE]And our resident ‘pretty girl with no other redeeming features’ Fern Hathaway pumps the crowd up with the old firing T-shirts angle. And she looked damn good out there: maybe I should try and get her wet sometime.[/QUOTE] Funny thing was that my dynasty game actually has my user character and Fern dating ;) :D

[Marcel Fromage]

[QUOTE=Dragonmack;374019]Funny thing was that my dynasty game actually has my user character and Fern dating ;) :D[/QUOTE] Yeah, but she's blatantly just using you to get favours with the booker man! :D

[Dragonmack]

[QUOTE=Marcel Fromage;374022]Yeah, but she's blatantly just using you to get favours with the booker man! :D[/QUOTE] It must be working because she is still employed seven game years later despite the fact I can't get her overness past an E :D ;)

[1PWfan]

Whilst Manhattan Mayhem hadn’t actually been any better than Rush Hour overall, I was still feeling pretty good when I went into the office on Monday. Of course, Stomper soon put paid to that. [COLOR="Sienna"]"Well, kid, another few shows like that and you can kiss this company goodbye. Have you any idea how much that show cost us?"[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Have I mentioned before that I generally have to look at Cousin Jenna’s financial breakdown before I know anything about our finances?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Sienna"]“We lost 10,630 bucks. Ticket sales were down, too.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“And we’re, what, surprised by all of this? Uncle, we probably aren’t gonna turn a profit for at least a year, if not longer. As long as we use any of our Main Eventers on a show, we’re gonna be making a loss. And if we use Steve Flash as well, then hell, we might just as well start burning money. Face it, uncle: the only we’ll turn a profit is if we get 300 people in to watch nothing but Sammy the Shark matches. And that ain’t ever gonna happen. “Besides, the sponsorship and merchandising money hasn’t come in yet, so we should recoup something on that. Look, the only way we can make money and grow as a promotion is to keep running good shows, and if we keep doing that we lose money. So, it’s kind of a trade-off until I can find someone cheap to put in the main event.”[/COLOR] As usual, Stomper wasn’t entirely pleased, but he did at least let me go and get on with my job. Just to be on the safe side, though, I passed word onto Cousin Jenna (my Aunt Rachel’s kid, who runs our financial department despite still being in High School) to raise our ticket prices by about a dollar. With the economy undergoing a major boom (God Bless President MacGyver) I figured we could stand it, and if not we could always drop our prices back down. *** Looking over our roster, I found we had a few gaps to fill, since a lot of our guys were getting more over as our name got out there. Specifically, we needed a new opener, since both The New York Doll and TJ Bailey had risen in popularity. The best-looking candidate I could find was Harry Wilson, Cliff’s brother. Sure, he wasn’t ever gonna be a star, but we didn’t need a star, we needed a talented undercard worker who wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. I also made the call to try and bring in Steph Williams, aka Jenny Playmate, as a face manager. Sure, there was no way in hell she was gonna be using THAT name in NYCW, but she had the skills to do the talking for JJ, which was the important thing. Of course, when Harry came in, it turned out that he was bitter little f*ck (honestly, if I hear one more word out of him about how his brother got all the breaks and everyone overlooks him and it’s [I][B]not fair[/B][/I] then I’ll set Lee Wright on him), but credit where it’s due, he didn’t complain about his push at all, despite being pretty clearly less than happy. Steph, meanwhile, immediately won me over by a) being incredibly hot, and b) agreeing to work for 150 bucks a show. As we swung into March, there were the usual round of debuts, but the only guy I noticed, a big ol’ ex-footballer named Bulldozer Brandon Smith, wasn’t really our kinda wrestler (very Puro-oriented), so I didn’t go for him. Meanwhile, a whole bunch of promotions rose in size, with Hinote Dojo, MAW and RIPW all rising to small size. Nice, but our corner of the sky is starting to feel a little cramped. For our next show, entitled School of Tradition, I put out the following card: [B]Whistler vs. Black Hat Bailey[/B] The All-American Everyman takes on the Man with the Hat for a title shot at NYCW Big Time Wrestling. Can Whistler win through to face his rival, or will Bailey take him down? [B]Honest Frank vs. Steve Flash[/B] Two veterans of the East Coast War face off for the NYCW Tri-State Regional Championship. Will Steve Flash retain his title, or will he be rendered powerless in the face of someone with actual mic skills? [B]Roderick Remus vs. The Masked Mauler vs. Cameron Vessey[/B] A triple-threat face-off between three of NYCW’s hot young guns (well, two of them and the Mauler). Who will take the win? No Phunk or Jack, but Bailey and Whistler’s match was still attracting a lot of interest, whilst Flash and Frank’s story would serve to further their feud and the triple threat was...well, cheap, and Mauler was in there so someone could get pinned. For the dark, I decided to hold Wiley Steinway vs. TJ Bailey, and also Sammy the Shark and Harry Wilson vs. Kashmir Singh and The New York Doll to see if there were any decent teams there.

[Regis]

Whistler vs. [B]Black Hat Bailey[/B] [I]I'm almost tempted to say that they draw and face off in a three-way dance next show along, but after that comment about finances then I really can't see it. On the one hand, Whistler just came off an unsuccessful challenge, and has bad chemistry with Phunk. On the other, Bailey is Heel, and already got beaten by Jungle Jack. Still, you need the ratings, and the audience can deal with Heel vs Heel for one show while you get JJ up to his rightful spot.[/I] [B]Honest Frank[/B] vs. Steve Flash [I]An odd choice, as Steve is undoubtedly the better man. However, I predict Frank screwing the Remarkable one out of his title through cheating tactics, and Steve playing the outraged babyface trying to regain what it rightfully his.[/I] Roderick Remus vs. The Masked Mauler vs. [B]Cameron Vessey[/B] [I]The obvious choice of the three - Cammy has more in the fundamentals, and can handle a higher push right now than Roddy. Of the three, he's generally got a much better upside.[/I] [B][U]In The Dark:[/U][/B] [B]Wiley Steinway[/B] vs. TJ Bailey [I]Somehow, Wiley Steinway keeps winning things. Bailey, young thoughg he is, really doesn't have the skills yet - so for now he puts in his time and stares at the ceiling.[/I] Sammy the Shark and Harry Wilson vs. [B]Kashmir Singh and The New York Doll[/B] [I]One heel win in the dark already, and more predicted on the main show, so a Face win here. Plus, Wilson has not endeared himself to the Booker. Oh no.[/I]

[Dragonmack]

For our next show, entitled School of Tradition, I put out the following card: [B]Whistler[/B] vs. Black Hat Bailey [I]Who wins probably depends on who's contract is ending first. Either way, Whistler is one of the only credible main event challengers for Phunk at the moment.[/I] Honest Frank vs. [B]Steve Flash[/B] [I]Frank probably needs the win, but experience shows that Flash should be pushed a lot more than Frank.[/I] Roderick Remus vs. The Masked Mauler vs. [B]Cameron Vessey[/B] [I]Both Remus and Vessey can develop over a long time, but Vessey is more user ready at the start. Mauler is , well, someone who can stare at the ceiling lights till his contract ends.[/I]

[1PWfan]

[FONT="Times New Roman"][SIZE="6"]NYCW School of Tradition[/SIZE][/FONT] Coming to you from the Weston Gymnasium, with a crowd of 231. Another new low, but I had sorta expected that. [B][U]Pre-Show/DVD Extras[/U][/B] We open in the ring with Harry and Sammy beating down Singh, before the Doll runs them off to start the match. This was largely done to cement Doll’s face turn, so I didn’t much care that it sucked. [B]Rating:[/B] [I]F[/I] [B]Doll/Singh vs. Wilson/Sammy[/B] This match was about what I’ve come to expect from my tag division: bad, but not disastrous. Doll’s performance skills improved, and Wilson’s technical work improved, but the real thing that helped lift this match was my act at ringside, as I did the whole old-school manager routine to great acclaim. [B]Winners: [/B]Harry Wilson and Sammy the Shark [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]E+[/I] [B]TJ Bailey vs. Wiley Steinway[/B] This match was considerably poorer, largely due to Steinway and Bailey’s lack of chemistry: Steinway’s a big heavy brawler, and Bailey’s not built for that kinda game. That said, Bailey and I make a good partnership, which is good, and the storyline between Wiley Coyote and the Vegas Connection was furthered (kinda pointless, really, if Harry and Sammy cement their team, since Bailey will go solo). Steinway got the pin, and I did a good routine of looking p.o’d with Bailey after another loss. [B]Winner:[/B] Wiley Steinway [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]E-[/I] [B][U]The Show[/U][/B] [B]Roderick Remus vs. The Masked Mauler vs. Cameron Vessey[/B] I hadn’t expected much from this match, so the okay result I got was a pleasant surprise. Vessey played ring general (of a sort: The Stomper put this match together, but it was Vessey that kept everyone on plan), and helped up the other two’s games. Both Remus and the Mauler improved their skills in performing, whilst the Mauler sharpened up his brawling, hitting a very sharp clothesline on Vessey that sent him out to the floor, before locking Remus into a nice looking chickenwing, before Remus reversed it into the Remus Clutch (a very old-school sleeper hold) for the win. [B]Winner:[/B] Roderick Remus [B]Match rating:[/B] [I]D-[/I] After the match, Remus is in the ring celebrating when I hit the ring. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]Y’know what, Roderick? I like you. You’ve got the moves, you’ve got the skill. Hell, it ain’t easy to choke a guy the size of the Masked Mauler out, and you just did exactly that. So, I’ve decided to make an offer to you. You’ve probably noticed that I’ve put a little coalition together in NYCW. Just young guns like yourself, promising talent with an eye to the main chance. I figure, talent like yours needs a mind like mine to make it to the top, so...how’d you like to join up?[/COLOR] Remus takes the mic here, feigning indecision. [COLOR="Green"]That’s a real tempting offer, Mr. Redman. Like you say, I am a very talented athlete, and I guess that yeah, I kinda am a young gun ‘round these parts. So, I gotta say… Cram it up you @ss, Redman. [/COLOR] Naturally, the crowd pops, and naturally, I looked pissed as Remus heads out of the ring. And this didn’t go over too great. Remus’ acting improved, but the offer dragged on too long to work. [B]Ratings:[/B] [I]E[/I] for the offer, [I]E+[/I] for the rejection. [B]Honest Frank vs. Steve Flash[/B] I’d partnered Flash up with Steph Williams, and it didn’t work at all-Flash seemed a little awkward with a young girl valet, and Steph wasn’t suited to Flash’s no-nonsense character. Still, this just goes to show how damn good Flash is-this was one of the best matches I’ve managed yet. Which is probably not terribly promising, but there we are. Flash got the win on a DQ after Frank bought out his brass knuckles again. [B]Winner:[/B] Steve Flash [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]D+[/I] After the match, Frank is heading backstage, when Flash grabs him. [COLOR="Teal"]What was that?[/COLOR] [COLOR="DimGray"]We call those matches, Steve. And unless I’m much mistaken, you won, so I gotta fly, ‘kay?[/COLOR] [COLOR="Teal"]You hit me with a pair of brass knuckles, Honest Frank. That’s cheating. [/COLOR] [COLOR="DimGray"]Steve, buddy, you got it all wrong. I never hit you with a pair of brass knuckles, I swear. The ref must’ve been seeing things. After all, would I lie to you?[/COLOR] [COLOR="Teal"]I’m not stupid, Honest Frank. I know a pair of brass knuckles when they hit me in the head, and what you did goes against everything that NYCW stands for, and I’ll be d*mned if I let you get away with it![/COLOR] [COLOR="DimGray"]Oh really, Flashie?[/COLOR] The two veterans square up to each other, and are on the verge of blows when Steph Williams appears. [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Hey, if you two are gonna fight, why don’t you do it in the ring, at Big Time Wrestling next month?[/COLOR] They pause…they nod…they back away. And I’d swear Flash almost emoted there. [B]Rating:[/B] [I]D-[/I] Backstage, Whistler is on hype duty for the main event. [COLOR="Blue"]Black Hat Bailey! You might have a hat, and you might have skill, but you don’t got what it takes to beat me! I’m gonna beat you down, pin you 1-2-3, and then I’m gonna head on to face Grandmaster Phunk. And Phunk, you better stay well clear of tonight’s match, cause if you don’t you’re gonna feel some Rebel Yell! HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!![/COLOR] This wasn’t bad, but I wish I’d kept the Phunkster on for this show, as it wasn’t on his level of work. [B]Rating:[/B] [I]C-[/I] [B]Whistler vs. Black Hat Bailey[/B] For a main event featuring two big names, this was a disappointment. I booked this one to go around 14 minutes to fill time, and both Bailey and Whistler were sucking air by the end of it. Maybe if it’d been shorter, it would’ve been a better match, but by the time Whistler hit the Rebel Yell for the win, it was clear that these two hadn’t delivered what I’d hoped for. [B]Winner:[/B] Whistler [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]D[/I] [B][U]Overall Rating:[/U][/B] [I]D-[/I], my worst yet. Lesson learnt: use Phunk every damn show. [I]OOC note: the aftermath to this show is still being written, so it may be a while until it's up[/I]

[Regis]

Jebus... 20% prediction rate! Only one out of five! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Sons of Kohral]

I love the fact that you're keeping most of the old roster. Keep it old school. I'm a huge NYCW mark (along with Dragonmack) and will definitely keep reading this. I'm actually thinking of starting another NYCW diary (i know, I averaging like a new one every 2 months...) but keep this going. And yes, use Phunk whenever you can. Most of the time, he wont resign with you because he's "too big for a company your size", so be sure that with 2 months left you start grooming someone else for the title.

[foolinc]

I'm also very happy that you are keeping most of the roster, and I'm definitely going to keep an eye on this. A couple of tips. First, as you know by now, Phunk is awesome and should be getting a lion's share of the event time. Secondly, use the overness and decent to high entertainment skills to your advantage. With as much as 40% of the show being available for angles you should be running as many 5+ minute segments with guys that are able to pull C- ratings or better. These longer segments are weighed more in the over all ratings and can save a show with a weak undercard. Finally, have fun!

[1PWfan]

Thanks for the advice guys. Yeah, angles are playing a pretty big part in my ratings so far (Frank and Phunk get one every time they show up), and I'm poised to start looking for face managers to help my undercard. As for the roster, that's the main aim of this dynasty. I love D-Mack's NYCW diary, and I've definitely drawn from it for ideas, but I wanted to keep it as old school as possible for as long as possible, with the emphasis on angles supplementing matches and long, drawn-out storylines (Whistler/Phunk is set to continue until Whistler's contract runs out in a few months time). That said, it's a challenge: there aren't many young wrestlers out there with the old-school feel I'm looking for, which has made it tough. ********************************************************** Okay, I’ll admit it, I felt like sh*t after that last show. As far as I was concerned, it was a disaster, and the costs were not going down. Anyway, let’s just skip right on ahead to the actual meeting, ‘kay? I don’t really wanna talk about it. *** [COLOR="DarkOrange"]"Stomper? Can I have a word?"[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]What is it, kid? I’m a little busy.[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]"Its okay, I just wanted to hand in my notice. NYCW needs someone who can actually put together a decent show, and after School of Tradition I think it’s a little obvious that that ain’t me. So, I figured I’d get outta here before I put the company out of business and give your new guy a chance to turn it around."[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]"Oh fer…and I though your aunt Rachel was the highly strung one in this family. Listen, kid, that last show wasn’t great, but hell, people are still talking a lot more about us than they were before you got here."[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]"They’re talking about guys like Phunk and JJ. And I can’t see either of them wanting to stick around. Their names are big enough that the likes of the SWF or TCW are gonna be sniffing around soon, even if they don’t there’s plenty promotions big enough to offer them the kind of moolah that they’re gonna want to move on. So, y’know, we’re screwed either way."[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]"Listen, kid. Do you think we sat around crying when Joey Minnesota left for DaVE? Or when American Buffalo went to TCW? No, we didn’t. We found new guys to put in their slots, and we carried on. First rule of the minor leagues: there’s ALWAYS more talent."[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]"Yeah, right. Look, Steve Flash is gonna want a pay rise next time, and there’s no way we can pay him more than we are now. As for the rest of our talent…Uncle, there is no way that I’m pushing guys like Roddy Remus or Cameron Vessey. Hell, Remus’ voice is barely done breaking. And Vessey needs a good 6 years in this business before he sees the main event."[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]"Then find more talent. This is America, kid. It ain’t exactly like we’re starved for talent. Hell, even those damn tea-drinkers are migrating again."[/COLOR] For those of you who are a little confused, ‘damn tea-drinkers’ are what Stomper calls the British. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]"Migrating again? What’s that supposed to mean?"[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkRed"]"Some kid called Cooper just did an interview. Apparently things are going so well in Britain that he’s looking for jobs stateside or something. I ask you, is it really too much for them to stay over there where they’re actually wanted?"[/COLOR] I stared at my uncle. If he’d said what I thought he did, I was gonna be one happy little man. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]"Uncle, get me a transatlantic phone call NOW. I’ve got work to do."[/COLOR] ********************************************************** And the card for NYCW Big Time Wrestling: [B]Grandmaster Phunk vs. Whistler[/B] [I]The All-American Everyman goes up against The King of Bling for the NYCW Empire Title. Who will prevail?[/I] [B]Jungle Jack vs. Rick Sanders[/B] [I]The Wild man of the NYCW takes on Steve Flash’s heel alter ego (only not quite as good). Who will win in this battle of brains against brawn? (clue: their name rhymes with ‘Bungle Smack’)[/I] [B]Steve Flash vs. Honest Frank[/B] [I]Two Veterans of the East Coast Wars face off against each other after Frank cheated in their match at School of Tradition. With the Tri-State Regional Championship on the line, will Steve Flash retain, or will the Wily One take the title?[/I] [B]Slash and Roderick Remus vs. Harry Wilson and Sammy the Shark[/B] [I]After Remus turned his offer down last month, Rick Redman has dispatched Wilson and the Shark to take care of him. However, Remus has recruited an unknown quality in British Wrestler Slash. Who will win the day? [/I]