MAW: 10 Simple Rules...

[James Casey]

I hadn't wanted to bookend the show with non-finishes, but in fairness, both had been very good matches. With new champions from two of the matches, and good action all-round, I thought the show had been well worth watching, if not up there with NYCW’s effort this month. Still, I had one more episode of Nationwide with which to blow them away. How to do that, though, was the question... * Post Beach Blast, I sat down to discuss the presentation of various workers with Rip. Brandon Smith has finally started to catch on with our fans, so we’ll be focusing more on him. As expected, Swoop McCarthy’s exposure has made him into our fastest rising star. Thea Davis has also caught the fans’ collective eye – after Suzanne Brazzle, she’s the most popular face woman on the roster. Not a big achievement, but still… Primus Allen is the big loser. We believe that Lenny Brown has a bright future, but it’s effectively in Primus’ place. It’s likely that Allen will be leaving when his contract expires, in two months or so. Although the tag division has been moribund, that should make Allen stand out all the more as the star we originally hoped that he’d be. Instead, despite almost five years of facing the best that MAW has to offer, he’s just not over, and doesn’t seem all that better in the ring. Now, he’s still only in his mid-twenties, so it’s not like we’re calling time on his career – just that part of it to be spent with us, I guess... Still, as is usual for a farewell tour, he’ll have lots of interesting opportunities to lie down for talented workers on the way out. If he shows any signs of potential in the upcoming weeks, he may rescue his career here in the Mid Atlantic. In fact, Rip and I have picked out nine workers who we don’t feel are contributing as much as their co-workers, for various reasons. Allen aside, they are: • DC Rayne and Eddie Howard, who haven’t given the tag division the boost we were hoping for, and who cost us some $1,500 a show to use; • Debbie Rose, who’s the odd woman out in our nine-person woman’s division; • Greg Ford, who just doesn’t fit in MAW. Marc Speed earns a temporary reprieve as he’s a technical worker and should blossom in singles; • Kashmir Singh, who has talent and charisma, but who just seems stuck in limbo with nowhere to go and nothing to do; • Lord Geoffrey Windameer, who hasn’t yet delivered what we expect of someone on his wages and notionally in the main event; • Burn, who in theory is a midcarder but who’s yet to show any of the talent or drive I’d expect of someone pulling in $700 a show; and, • The Great Ota, who’s hard to do anything other than occasional appearances with, as his TCW schedule clashes with when we want to hold out month-end shows… The nine names sat on a list, locked in my desk in my office. No-one but Rip and I had seen the list, as we felt it was unfair to even hint at that sort of thing when the roster was always under review anyway. * Elsewhere, Aaron had two shows left under contract. If he kept his nose clean, I was willing to give him a hero’s send-off. Despite the trouble he’s been of late, we expanded on his shoulders, and he did us proud. Aaron’s best matches in MAW largely equalled MAW’s best matches, and I’d be sad to see him go. But since losing the World title nine months or so ago, he’s just not been the same, and with his increased exposure through TCW, he was too popular to want to re-sign with us, even if we weren’t parting on poor terms anyway… * “Twilight” Michael Ferdinand, aka The Midnight Prowler, has been signed up to a developmental deal with RIPW. He’s an astonishingly bright prospect, but his attitude is just awful, which is why we’ve never really pushed him. In RIPW, he’ll learn from Professor Nero exactly how far he can push – and what will happen when his employers decide to push back. I can see him being a decent signing for SWF, if he matures enough to break through to the big leagues, and leaves his attitude behind. * We’d moved the On Tour shows to a Thursday in order to accommodate a recent signing by the name of Delirium. Although he was another masked Mexican luhcador, in the vein of Amazing Fire Fly, El Heroe Mexicano and Firebird (kind of…) he was young and cheap, which made him worth accommodating. * [QUOTE] [I][CENTER]MAW.com show report: On Tour in Puerto Rico Thursday, 25th July 2013[/CENTER] Welcome one and all to the On Tour recap with me, Rip Chord. With Beach Blast in the history books, it was time for us to set things in motion for Iron in less than four weeks time. Potential challengers for Suzanne Brazzle’s new Women’s title faced off in the opener, with Deborah Young and Kristabel Plum going at it. Plum has impressed me since her debut here in MAW, but Young is a wrestler who seems to improve every time she sets foot in the ring. She could just rely on her size to give her an advantage, but that sort of drive is the hallmark of a future champion, and with Haley Buck in her corner, she seems to have every advantage she needs. She showed her potential in this contest as she kept pace with the veteran Plum from the bell, eventually using her strength to great effect in overpowering the crowd favourite, and drilling her with a Sit Out Powerbomb for the win. The five-time MAW Tag Team champions, The Canadian Blondes, were quick to tell everyone that they are now, well, you know. With Kristen Pearce holding the belts, they ran down every team on the roster, listing their faults (many) and the ways in which the Blondes are superior (almost every). They put their boasts to the test in combat against Two Smoking Barrels and seemed surprised in the early going as Josh Jones tore into them both with some wild punches. But the experience of the Blondes seemed to make the difference as they came back to catch Jones with O, Canada! for the win and their first defence. Next up, newcomer Delirium made his first appearance in an MAW ring. He ran down the Puerto Rican fans, but promised them a night to remember [COLOR="Blue"]“for the rest of your miserable, worthless lives.”[/COLOR] The kid broke out some impressive moves in his match with Burn, flying high and often as he tried everything he could to take down his fellow masked man. However, he went to the well too often and Burn scored the win with an Acid Rain Bomb after a 450 Splash from Delirium failed, leaving the youngster to taste nothing but canvas. Delirium could stand to improve his timing – and his dealings with the fans who pay his wages… Bradford Peverell has had a tough time of it of late, but promised to turn things around by going back to basics. His first step would be taking on Antonio who was, he claimed, a man with a history of trying to take the short cut to success, which was an approach he couldn’t condone. Antonio seemed offended by the charge, but his tactics in the match seemed to back up Peverell’s words as my former student tried every cheap tactic going, before falling to a Dream Left Hook. Finally, Jean Cattley had brought his MAW World title to Puerto Rico, where he was challenged by “Twilight” Michael Ferdinand. The brash youngster promised to take the title for himself, leading to a match right there and then. Ferdinand tried his best, but Cattley made a well-timed surge to score with a Mood Swing to make the successful defence. From Puerto Rico, I’ve been Rip Chord, and it’s been a great night of action. I hope to see you all there next time we visit your area! Deborah Young def. Kristabel Plum – D- The Canadian Blondes def. Two Smoking Barrels – E+ Burn def. Delirium – E+ Bradford Peverell def. Antonio – D Jean Cattley def. Michael Ferdinand – D Overall: D-[/I] [/QUOTE] * [CENTER][B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Suzanne Brazzle vs. Jaime Quine – non-title Primus Allen vs. Lenny Brown “Machine” Jean Cattley vs. Rudy Velasquez – non-title El Heroe Mexicano vs. Aaron Andrews[/CENTER]

[Hyde Hill]

Hope ya didnt fire em imediatly as lots of those names have overness worth leeching. Sad to see Ota and Singh go who have been very important in the bast and that Burn has failed as a prospect rest won't be missed at least not by me. And on the point of Delyrium he hasn't posted in a while so why keep the blondes?! And give em the belt to boot?

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=Hyde Hill;620446] so why keep the blondes?! And give em the belt to boot?[/QUOTE] Because if you run these games for long enough, you get sympathetic to the guys who've been around for ages? Because sometimes you feel they deserve some recognition? And because, once in a while, that recognition seems to trigger something and their matches pick up?

[pepper2008]

Loyalty to your loyal workers, no matter how bad they suck as long as they are cheap :D

[foolinc]

[QUOTE=Phantom Stranger;620447]Because if you run these games for long enough, you get sympathetic to the guys who've been around for ages? Because sometimes you feel they deserve some recognition? And because, once in a while, that recognition seems to trigger something and their matches pick up?[/QUOTE] This. Because of this Startune International and The American Flash will probably always have a place in NEO Championship Wrestling.

[Briskout]

Damn you Casey, getting [maybe] rid of my two favorite workers! I think the new gimmick you got going for Lord Windameer could work! And well.. I like Broadway and I like Singh!! Oh well, life goes on. Maybe we'll see Findlay back? No? Suzanne Brazzle Lenny Brown “Machine” Jean Cattley vs. Rudy Velasquez – non-title - Dare I say Draw? El Heroe Mexicano Seems like a light show... I mean the Champ is on there... I don't know, maybe it's just me. Heh.

[James Casey]

The workers listed are winding down their contracts. Singh apart (8 months), they all have 6-10 weeks left. I'd love to keep Ota but Firebird can do everything he can, he can work Saturdays and he can talk as well. Natural Storm and Debbie Rose are all but gone. The rest have a greater (LGW) or lesser (Ford) chance of being re-signed.

[James Casey]

[I]OOC: I did a quick check, and in order of most-least likely to get canned, we have: One foot out the door: Debbie Rose, DC Rayne, Eddie Howard Could still convince me (and monkeys could fly out of my...): Greg Ford, Primus Allen, Burn May survive for training: The Great Ota Probably staying: Kashmir Singh, Lord G. Windameer[/I] * [B][CENTER]Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Nationwide Friday, 26th July 2013[/CENTER] Suzanne Brazzle vs. Jaime Quine[/B] Something I want to try is cutting down the number of title defences we give away on free TV – case in point, three champions on the show tonight, no title matches. It didn’t make much of a difference in this case, as Quine put in a decent showing but in the end was put down with a Miracle Connection from Brazzle. Winner: Suzanne Brazzle (D+) * Rip stood in the centre of the ring, grinning to himself. [COLOR="Purple"]“I’ve decided that to celebrate our continuing presence here on National Pride, that MAW is going to bring back it’s very own patented match – the Gold Rush! “For those of you who don’t know the concept, our three singles champions will take part in a match with all three titles on the line. Joining them in the ring will be three challengers who’ll qualify by winning their matches – two tonight, and one on Thursday when we visit the Great Lakes. The match will only end when a champion is pinned or submits, so we are [I]guaranteed[/I] a title change next Friday. “The first match tonight... Well, last Saturday we saw Always Breakin’ Hollywood lose their tag team titles, and after that match we saw Lenny Brown and Haley Buck ditch their colleague, Primus Allen – violently. Primus Allen wants revenge, which in my opinion is only natural, and I’m inclined to let him have it. So the first qualifier for the Gold Rush will be Allen against Brown, right now!”[/COLOR] * [B]Qualifier: Primus Allen vs. Lenny Brown[/B] This was mainly just the blow-off match for this pairing, and I figured I’d get it over and done with quickly. I’m glad I did – it showed that both men have a long way to go before reaching the uppercard on a regular basis. This was a rare showing for Lenny Brown on TV, although Primus has made the odd appearance. Neither really looked like they belonged, although in fairness, Brown’s relative lack of experience is the key reason there. The match itself was a short brawl, punctuated by The Star Treatment from Brown as he put Allen away. Winner: Lenny Brown (D) * After the bell, Rudy Velasquez made his way to the announcers’ table. [COLOR="blue"]“Boss man, I’ve been the All Action champion for a long time now, and it’s not what I thought it would be. It’s time to trade up – gimme the World champ, so I make some real money.”[/COLOR] Rip raised an eyebrow. [COLOR="purple"]“You’re not happy with the All Action championship?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="blue"]“You say I can’t sell it, and I ain’t making more money, so what use is it to me? I’ve gotta keep my family safe, man. Splitting the pot four ways like I did last week ain’t doin’ that for me.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="purple"]“You’re all about the money?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“That’s right.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="purple"]“Well, lucky for you that you’re in the Gold Rush match next week – that’s your title shot. But tonight, kid,”[/COLOR] Rip grinned, and Velasquez took a half-step back, [COLOR="purple"]“you can have the champ. Not in the main event, no titles on the line, but hey – if you can show you deserve to run up top, you may find yourself in the main event. One day.”[/COLOR] * [B]“Machine” Jean Cattley vs. Rudy Velasquez[/B] I was hoping that this show would put us ahead of NYCW in the monthly rankings, and also set up a future feud for these two. No dice – and no chemistry, either. It was still a decent match when they got on the same page, as they’re more than capable workers, but it was all a bit stilted, and being the second-longest match of the night, this just became more and more obvious until Cattley took the win with a Mood Swing. Winner: Jean Cattley (C-) * Rip took his place in the ring once more. [COLOR="Purple"]“I’ve always felt that I have a keen eye for talent. Back in my heyday, I knew exactly who might be a threat to my title, and I’d make sure to take them out early – and often, if needs be. Today, I use that keen eye to decide who will and will not be the future stars of my company. Three years ago I signed up Aaron Andrews as I recognised his potential, and he’s gone on to become the biggest star in the company. Earlier this month I bought El Heroe Mexicano on board. Either man would be a worthy competitor in next week’s Gold Rush – but I’m not going to make it to easy for them. Tonight they’ll face one another to determine who the next qualifier will be!”[/COLOR] * [B]El Heroe Mexicano vs. Aaron Andrews[/B] A so-so night of action was rounded off by the contrasting fortunes of Mexicano and Andrews. Everyone knew how this match would end, which sucked a lot of the heat from the contest, but the pair still put on a decent offering as Andrews recovered some of his previous form, taking Mexicano to the limit in an entertaining contest before finding himself trapped in the Mexican Mutilation and being forced to tap out. Winner: El Heroe Mexicano (C+) [B]Overall: C+[/B] [I](Could have been a lot worse – but shows in the South East are always a little weird, despite it being our second most over region…) Next: TV - do we stay or do we go? Also, Eddie Powell's maths sucks, a TCW miracle, and the last Gold Rush qualifier...[/I]

[Hyde Hill]

Nice show and hope ya stay on tv as long as you making money or think you can make money on cult keep t.v. Definitly keep Ota for training and overness rub purposes inmho. Sing is a decent midcarder and Windameer is getting a push at USPW so is a great one to leech overness off till he improves.

[James Casey]

Despite Nationwide being one of our weaker offerings, we actually scored our highest ever rating – a 0.02! Someone out there is watching – and telling their friends! Hello out there! * Eddie Powell: Great worker, lousy negotiator. His recent deal has seen him go from $2,000 up front, with a $1,000 downside and a midcard title guarantee, to $1,500 upfront, no downside, and a low-level title guarantee. * [COLOR="Purple"]“Kid. How’re the finances looking?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]“Not bad,”[/COLOR] I said, cautiously. I sat back in my chair with a sigh, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose. [COLOR="Green"]“Last month we were down by around $25,000. That’s obviously not great, but it’s a sign we’re getting better at scheduling our shows – most were sell-outs. And we’re becoming more popular, as well. That’s important.”[/COLOR] Rip nodded. [COLOR="Purple"]“We have to negotiate this month if we want to renew the deal.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]“Yeah, and I think it’s worth it. We can cope with four more months of losses like last months, and I hope that over those four months the losses will actually diminish. “That’s the plan, anyway.”[/COLOR] Rip nodded. [COLOR="Purple"]“I don’t like the idea of losing the benefits of TV. It’ll leave us cash short if the losses don’t keep tailing off, but I agree that it’s worth trying one more season, kid. I don’t want to be the guy who cut the head off the golden goose just as the cows are coming home.”[/COLOR] I waited a beat. Little Patrick Casey was the apple of his godfather’s eye, and I had visions of my son growing up and mangling his proverbs just as much as Rip did. [COLOR="Purple"]“Anyway, what plans have we got if National Pride don’t want to renew?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]“We can hit the regions we’ve only been running TV in with the smallest of small shows every week. I have no problem with bringing back guys like Jefferson and Huey to throw out there and try and run two grand shows while we keep building the core areas.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Purple"]“Are the audiences growing?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]“We’ve pulled a 0.02 rating, so that’s okay. Around ten thousand viewers, plus the one or two thousand who’ll come to the shows. That’s up from when we started. It’s not happening as quickly as I’d hoped, but it’s progress.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Purple"]“National Pride is a small network.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]“They’re the only ones offering. To be honest, I don’t know if they’ll want to renew, either. I know that we give them free TV, but they can probably get better ratings elsewhere.”[/COLOR] Rip shrugged. [COLOR="Purple"]“We’ll see what happens. Hopefully in three months time, next time we’re ready to negotiate, they’ll want to share some cash with us.”[/COLOR] I smiled grimly. [COLOR="Green"]“Let’s wait and see if Pride are willing to negotiate first . Who knows – they haven’t tried to cancel us, so maybe they’ll be so pleased they’ll be ready now to take on some of the costs – or give us some of the profits…”[/COLOR] * I’m as big a man of TCW as the next person, but I have to think that TEW.com’s A* rating for their Summer Showdown PPV was a bit over the top – six A-rated matches is all very well, but there weren’t any A* matches. An A would have been appropriate, no? * [QUOTE] [I][CENTER]MAW.com show report – On Tour in Great Lakes Thursday, 4th August 2013[/CENTER] Greetings, grapple fans, this is Rip Chord bringing you the latest happenings from the Great Lakes as MAW invades our neighbouring regions. We kicked off the show with a Tag Team title defence as Natural Storm took on their perennial rivals, The Canadian Blondes. It was a fast-paced match, with these two teams having long experience of each other dating back to MAW’s very first show. In the end, Eddie Howard fell to an Oh, Canada! The Blondes celebrated their win after the bell as Howard and DC Rayne were left looking down in the mouth. Casey Valentine and Antonio, the self-proclaimed Second Sons, had something to say next. “We’ve been a laughing stock for too long,” Valentine declared. “We joined forces to prevent that, but it seems that for years we’ve been going nowhere.” “Then our mentor found us,” Antonio said. “And he shared the secrets to success with us. Now we will become worthy of him – worthy of success at the highest level.” In order to prove their claims, the two then took part in singles matches against Team Honor pairing Lassana Makutsi and Jared Johnson. Valentine was able to dispatch Johnson with his Sweet Sweet Heartbreak superkick, while Antonio edged out Makutsi in a closely fought victory, eventually claiming the victory with his version of my DDT. Finally, we had the ten person battle royal. This as wild and hard to follow as all such matches tend to be, with the masked Delirium taking apparently great delight in soaring high above the crowd using the ropes as a springboard to deliver thrilling attacks that left several people down and out – until he tried it on Brandon Smith, who caught him and pitched him from the ring. Elsewhere, Ford & Speed were united in going after the three women in the match, and while they were successful in knocking Brooke Tyler from the ring, the elimination of Debbie Rose came at a cost as she latched on tight to Greg Ford, helping Kristabel Plum to send him out and over. Marc Speed retaliated by dumping Plum, leaving five men in the ring. Speed seemed to realise that he was now in the ring with three fan favourites and the disinterested Raphael, who watched from his position slumped in the corner as Speed tried to line up who to go after. He chose Singh, who met his approach with a clothesline, before pitching him towards Peverell who landed a one-two-three punch sequence that sent Speed staggering back into Smith, who pitched him from the ring. Raphael finally rose from the corner and stood toe to toe with Peverell, staring intently at the brawler as Peverell stared back. Smith and Singh stood off as neither man blinked until, at last, Peverell made the first move, a big left hook spinning Raphael around and into the ropes – only for him to bounce off and take down Peverell with a spear. The two rolled around the mat for a spell before Smith picked Raphael up bodily and held him clear of Peverell. However, as Peverell stood, Raphael twisted free, a free-standing leap allowing him to flip Peverell with a headscissors towards and over the top rope. Before Raphael could react – would he, anyway? – Singh was right there to pitch him up and over. That left Smith and Singh in the ring, the friends and former tag team champions facing one another down. They shook hands, and circled one another cautiously, tying up but finding themselves stalemated. They tried again, but Singh’s underrated power allowed him to hold Smith at bay, and when Smith tried to take his friend down, Singh countered readily. It was clear to this old campaigner that these two know each other backwards – and apparently they thought so too as they broke apart. Smith stroked his chin thoughtfully, and seemed to come up with an idea. The two clenched fists, and then pounded them into their hands once, twice, three times – Singh came up with rock, Smith paper. Shaking hands once more, Smith stood back as Singh waved to the crowds, before climbing over the top rope to the floor below, giving his friend the win – and the shot at the gold! I can’t say I’d want to see it in every match, but it made a change to see some honest-to-God honour in this match, kids, and it just goes to show that this business can still surprise you – sometimes... Fans, I’ve been Rip Chord. Tomorrow night, it’s Gold Rush time... The Canadian Blondes def. Natural Storm – D- Casey Valentine def. Jared Johnson – D- Antonio def. Lassana Makutsi – D- “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith won a Gold Rush Qualifier Battle Royal featuring Debbie Rose, Greg Ford, Marc Speed, Delirium, Kristabel Plum, Brooke Tyler, “Sensational” Kashmir Singh, Raphael and Bradford Peverell – D Overall: D[/I] [/QUOTE] * [CENTER][B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Eddie Powell vs. Firebird Nadia Snow vs. Joanne Rodriguez Gold Rush: Featuring “Machine” Jean Cattley, Rudy Velasquez, Swoop McCarthy, Lenny Brown, El Heroe Mexicano and “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith[/CENTER]

[Phantom Stranger]

I had my ref do much what Eddie did the month I hit TV - he went from $1000 PPA to $700 quite cheerfully. So, naturally, I turned him heel. I think it may be a reaction to the TV, though; with it, there's an absolute guarantee of four shows a month, so Eddie can be more confident he'll be on a couple and take less a time for the exposure and to encourage you to use him.

[Tigerkinney]

Well I'm back from Paris, to discover that the Canadian Blondes are the Tag champs ?! I got that one completely wrong. Eddie Powell vs. [B]Firebird[/B] [I]Powell's asking for too much money, so it's job his way out the door time. Shame when a solid worker ends up asking for way too much. [/I] Nadia Snow vs. [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] [I]I'll keep picking J-Ro till she actually wins a meaningful match[/I] Gold Rush: Featuring “Machine” Jean Cattley, Rudy Velasquez, Swoop McCarthy, [B]Lenny Brown[/B], El Heroe Mexicano and “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith [I]Cattley doesn't need to win this and it's a great way of setting up a new challenger for his title. I'll go a little leftfield here and go for Lenny Brown after his turn on his tag partner Primus.[/I]

[Hyde Hill]

Eddie Powell vs. [B]Firebird[/B] Keeping the bird strong after loosing to Hero Nadia Snow vs. [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] J-Ro finally gets there. Gold Rush: Featuring “Machine” Jean Cattley, Rudy Velasquez, Swoop McCarthy, Lenny Brown, [B]El Heroe Mexicano [/B]and “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith. El Hero pins Rudy having your top 2 rising stars atm hold belts is a good thing.

[Bigpapa42]

6 A-matches? Wow. TCW isn't doing too poorly, then? And great job on getting the ratings up. Its a slow climb, but its moving forward. That's all you can ask for. [B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Eddie Powell vs. [B]Firebird[/B] Nadia Snow vs. [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] Gold Rush: Featuring “Machine” Jean Cattley, Rudy Velasquez, [B]Swoop McCarthy[/B], Lenny Brown, El Heroe Mexicano and “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith

[James Casey]

[I]OOC: Hot off the presses - the promos are generally the last thing to get written on my shows as I do the matches while playing. This time, though, the Gold Rush got put off, and I finished it about a minute ago. Apparently I'm only done seven shows this month - not acceptable. I'll have to get cracking and get some more up. Of course, tomorrow is our first birthing class, so we'll see if I have the stomach :o And congrats to Tigerkinney, who nailed the reasoning perfectly...[/I] * [B][CENTER]Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Nationwide Friday, 5th August 2013 [/CENTER] Eddie Powell vs. Firebird[/B] With a three match show, the chance of recovering from a bad match was slim – so I wanted good matches. These guys had delivered a decent performance back in January, and this time I gave them license to cut loose – and they delivered a strong match with Powell countering Firebird’s superior aerial skills by deploying rare brawling skills as Firebird had done to El Heroe Mexicano in their match a few days before. The match was fought on an even keel, with both men having chances to win, before Firebird was able to hit the Phoenix Firebird Splash for the win. Winner: Firebird (C+) * After his victory, Firebird took the microphone. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Let that be a lesson that all of you learn. I have impressed in recent weeks – and will continue to do so. I have gained focus. I have set myself goals. I have what others lack – a clear sense of purpose. Be warned, Mid Atlantic Wrestling. Cross my path, and you shall fall.”[/COLOR] * Rip was shown at the announcers’ table. [COLOR="Purple"]“Suzanne Brazzle picked up a knock winning the Women’s title – something about fighting two opponents at once. I can’t pretend that I didn’t enjoy the match, and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch, but at the same time I can’t help but feel that Nadia Snow and Joanne Rodriguez ganged up on Brazzle during the match... and still lost. Now, in order to find out which one of them deserves the match against Brazzle at Iron, I think we need to have a match between these two. And if we find out that the desire to hold gold outweighs the desire to keep their friendship intact, well, I won’t be too surprised...” [/COLOR] * [B]Nadia Snow vs. Joanne Rodriguez[/B] for the [COLOR="Purple"]#1 Contendership[/COLOR] for the [COLOR="Purple"]Women’s title[/COLOR] This match was all story, with the two women reluctant at first to lock up. With a few minutes gone, however, the competitive spirit took over as they sought to win the chance to go after Suzanne Brazzle’s Women’s title at Iron. It seemed that Snow was the more aggressive, her desire to capture a second title driving her to unleash big moves, including a period where she owned Rodriguez completely on the mat. But as the match went on, and she seemed unable to put Rodriguez away, J-Ro began using her more punishing moves. Snow defended well, but Rodriguez had the momentum and was able to score with a J-Rocker to take the win. Winner: Joanne Rodriguez (C-) * After the bell, Nadia looked upset, but after her butler brought in the skirt of her dress and reattached it, she looked somewhat calmer. Slipping on a pair of elbow-length gloves, she looked very much the grand dame – and she offered Joanne her hand in that manner. J-Ro looked at her friend in surprise. [COLOR="Blue"]“Dear Joanne, let’s not fall out over this. You will put the blonde bimbo down and take back the title, and then we can have another match to see who gets to keep the title in the long run.”[/COLOR] Joanne smiled, and Nadia did likewise. Taking Nadia’s hand, Rodriguez laughed and Nadia did likewise – right up until J-Ro delivered a brutal short arm clothesline, dropping Nadia hard to the mat. Ripping at Snow’s designer ringwear, J-Ro stopped only to boot Snow’s butler in the gut and plant him next to his boss with a DDT, before resuming the shredding of her former ally’s gear, leaving her in tatters. [COLOR="Blue"]“You stupid woman,”[/COLOR] Rodriguez hissed into the house mic. [COLOR="Blue"]“I’m only ever interested in number one. With you out of the way, that title is mine – just like it should have been three months ago when I was robbed of my shot. You, with your stupid clothes and your butler – what do you know about being the best? Because that’s what I am – and if I had to play the snivelling little wimp in your deluded fantasy world for a few weeks, well, that’s fine It’ll all be worth it when I’m crowned champion next week.”[/COLOR] With that, Rodriguez stalked off, leaving Snow to be tended to by our medical staff. * In sombre tones, we ran down the rules and entrants for the Gold Rush match, which was coming up next. * [B]“Machine” Jean Cattley (c) vs. Rudy Velasquez (c) vs. Swoop McCarthy (c) vs. Lenny Brown vs. El Heroe Mexicano vs. “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith[/B] in a Gold Rush match for the [COLOR="Purple"]MAW World[/COLOR], [COLOR="Purple"]MAW All Action[/COLOR] and [COLOR="Purple"]MAW Traditional[/COLOR] titles With six men in the ring to start, this quickly degenerated into a trio of wild brawls. Swoop went right after Heroe, Brandon Smith tackled Rudy Velasquez, and Lenny Brown made directly for the World champion, Jean Cattley. The exchanges were fast-paced, a sensation heightened by the lack of breathing time between spots as the three pairings moved fast. Brown unleashed a series of breathtaking moves on the champ, including a spinning backfist that turned Cattley inside out, before Smith flew out of the corner and speared Brown, carrying him almost into the far corner. Freed of attention, Velasquez drilled McCarthy with a Street Cutter and tried for a pin, only to have that broken up by a Standing Star Press from Mexicano, who tried in turn to pin Velasquez. The match continued with all six men unleashing their trademark moves on various opponents. Both Mexicano and McCarthy fell victim to Mood Swings. Velasquez took a Backdrop Driver. Smith in turn was wrapped up in a Mexican Mutilation, before Heroe remembered that forcing a non-champion to submit would get him nowhere – but that was enough time for McCarthy to wrap up Cattley for a Powerslam, only to be drilled with a Street Cutter by Velasquez that put all three men down. And it was here that the match came to a close. With Heroe on his hands and knees, extricating himself from Smith, he was used as vaulting horse by Brown, who launched himself across the ring and into Velasquez, snapping backwards in mid-air and planting him with a Star Treatment to score the win, lift the All Action title, and bring to an end a frantic and breathless twenty-five minutes of action! Winner: Lenny Brown (C+) [B]Overall: C[/B] [I](Lenny Brown was used too much – surprise! Interesting that Swoop (same push) wasn’t, though...) Next: Goodbye - for now. Also, twenty-odd new signings[/I]

[James Casey]

Nationwide drew another 0.02 rating. It was enough to convince National Pride to extend our deal – but as all the profits are there’s, and expenses ours, it’s only for one season. That’s at our request. When we’re National and coining it in, no doubt we’ll be able to dictate terms – but for now we have to spend money to make money. In television news, TCW will now be airing on CBN in Canada, WLW will be in Europe on ENA, and SWF will be in Japan on Prime Japan TV. * Aaron Andrews has left the company, making his farewell appearance a loss to El Heroe Mexicano. I would have liked to send him out on a win, but there just wasn’t time on this show – perhaps I’ll see about bringing him back on loan, but I suspect he won’t want to make a farewell appearance now he’s shaken the dust of us from his feet. * Fumihiro Ota is the new FCW champion having toppled Eddie Powell, who won the belt from Kirk Jameson. Ota’s only the fifth champion since the company opened in mid-2007, with Puerto Rican Power, Shawn Gonzales and Jameson al having two year reigns. Odd that Powell only ran with the belt for six months, but his four match series with Ota over the belt wasn’t up to the same standards as Kirk’s defences, so maybe that’s the reason. * Michael “Midnight Prowler” Ferdinand has been called up to the main SWF roster. If it were me, I’d team him up with Frederique Antonio Garcia, SWF’s star heel, who perfected the handsome stranger gimmick a long time ago. * Primus Allen has picked up his second Top Contender title in USPW. He defeated Ekuma the Hawaiian Strong Man – someone I’d love to have in MAW one day. Really – for the belt. * The Darkness Warrior (formerly Raul Darkness) is to hang up his boots. It’s been a fairly quiet time for wrestling retirements of late, with the only other name of note to give it up in the last few months being Grandmaster Phunk. I would have loved Phunk to have a last hurrah in MAW, as he did brilliantly in his one shot last October – but a misunderstanding when I cancelled his loan deal (so I could try and bring him in full time) meant that he left with hurt feelings, which didn’t heal in time for us to do business. Heidi Brooks has also left the business, at the age of 61. A multi-time champion around the world, most recently she helped out backstage here in MAW before getting on the wrong side of a cost-cutting Rip. It’s something I always intended to redress, but somehow I never found the time to make the call. The wrestling business has a tendency to be like that, sometimes... * There were twenty or so men of varying ages, sizes and skill levels in the ring, surrounding Rip and myself. Of that number, a few were familiar to me, one or two were known to Rip, but the greater number of them were unknown quantities, brought in on short term deals after impressing on YouTube or through our various contacts around the country. I regarded them critically. [COLOR="Green"]“Okay, gentlemen, thank you all for coming. There’ll be one or two more joining us in due course, but broadly speaking you’re it – the core roster for the upcoming Moment Of Madness shows. Yes?”[/COLOR] One of the larger men had raised his hand. [COLOR="Blue"]“Uh, Moment Of Madness?”[/COLOR] Rip nodded. [COLOR="Purple"]“Yeah. Y’see, a little while back we tried running small shows alongside the touring shows and major shows. The kid here said I had a psychotic episode when I came up with the idea. It may be the case that hasn’t changed, so here we are again. We’ll run three weeks of shows, try and get you all on at least once or twice in that time, and see what happens. If any of you impress but the show doesn’t make us money, then you’ll be kept when we cancel it. If the show’s a success, you’ll have time to improve and maybe move up the rankings.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“Will this be singles or tag matches?”[/COLOR] another asked, glancing at his long-time tag partner. [COLOR="Purple"]“Mainly singles, at least that’s the plan eventually. We have six full-time teams already, but it’s possible we’ll look to add to that.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]“You’ve picked up some guys who’re going onto the big shows.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]“Just one – and he’s a big name. Fresh from TCW. Another few guys are going On Tour, but they’re ready... mostly.”[/COLOR] That was a discussion for another day, and would only be between myself and Rip. Our working relationship was pretty much superb, but occasionally he still went off on a tangent, and our newest tag team was an example of that. I’d once said I’d never sign the older member of the team, and I hadn’t – Rip had. But now not only was I having to book for them, Rip was keen on me stepping out from behind the announcers’ desk to manage them. Clearly that wasn’t going to happen – I’d already contacted a number of available managers to try and cover myself, just in case. [COLOR="Blue"]“How many matches on a show?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Purple"]“Four, probably. A lot of you guys can’t handle more – that is, the fans won’t accept you in longer matches. The first few shows are going to be about knocking off the ring rust, as a lot of you guys have been twiddling your thumbs of late. For those shows, it’s likely we’ll be running tag and six man matches to try and get you back up to speed.”[/COLOR] There were nods. A lot of them. Of the twenty or so men standing around me, most had gone lengthy spells without regular employment – some had gone lengthy spells without any form of organised match at all. Good will and training could only do so much – some of the men in the ring would need weeks or months to get back into shape. One guy whose eye I caught had not been employed with any fed since I joined MAW – he was far from unique in the ring, but his skills should have made that impossible... They were here for a number of reasons. Firstly, they were cheap. Secondly, we wanted to improve our popularity in the regions where we were only showing TV. Even if the shows were mainly comprised of the no-names gathered around me, people would pay three or four dollars to see Rip, and if it came down to it, my name wasn’t completely worthless these days. The plan, such as it was, was for these MOM shows to hit the South West, Mid South and other regions where we were scarcely known, doubling up on the gains from the TV shows and maybe pulling the odd show in the Tri-State or Puerto Rico, where we had a little more of a following. If we could, we’d hit Hawaii as well. No-one knew us there, but it was part of America, and I wanted a chance to walk on a sandy beach on a sunny day... We’d only be running for an hour, but popularity issues would limit these guys to short matches, and at first we’d be cramming as many guys in the ring as possible to knock off the rust – ten man battle royals and so on. I sighed, and hoped that the people we were going to ‘entertain’ were Rip Chord fans – they weren’t going to get their money’s worth from the matches, it seemed... [I]Next: On Tour[/I]

[Bigpapa42]

Interesting idea. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

[James Casey]

[QUOTE=Bigpapa42;623608]Interesting idea. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.[/QUOTE] [I] OOC: Yeah, that's one word for it... :p And Moment Of Madness? I didn't promise Moment of Madness...[/I] * [QUOTE] [CENTER][I]MAW.com show report – On Tour in Tri-State Thursday, 11th August 2013 [/CENTER] Welcome to our On Tour update, fans, I’m Rip Chord hailing from the Weston Gymnasium. We kicked things off with Jaime Quine facing Kristabel Plum, a wrestler who’s had some problems of late with her opponents. Tonight seemed to be an improvement as she was able to match the ruthless Quine move for move in the early going, with some swift and hard-hitting exchanges between the two. It was a close encounter that could have gone either way, but eventually Quine was able to score with the KO Kick for the win. The tag team division was on show next, with The Second Sons going up against former champions Team Honor. Lassana Makutsi and Jared Johnson seemed to have the match under control at first, as their clinical teamwork kept Casey Valentine and Antonio on the back foot. However, my former trainees kept at it, and when Antonio planted Jared Johnson with the Italian DDT, the win went their way. After the bell, the Sons taunted their fallen opponents. Casey Valentine claimed that with their new mentor, they were going to be unbeatable in the tag team division. That kind of claim attracts challengers pretty darned quick – we’ll have to see if the Sons can live up to their words. Next up, Thea Davis took on the massive Deborah Young. Davis was giving up almost a hundred pounds to the much larger woman, but took the fight to her from the bell. It seemed to be a successful strategy as she was able to prevent Young from using her greater strength to her advantage by striking quickly and avoiding being drawn into prolonged exchanges. In the end, she was able to score with a Flying Elbow Drop from the top rope to take the win. Next up was newcomer GB Wood, who let us all know that he was straight edge – which, of course, makes him better than us. Allegedly. One person he does seem to be better than is Burn, as he took him down and forced the submission in twelve minutes with a Stretch Plum. Next up, Bradford Peverell and Lenny Brown got into an argument, leading to Brown issuing a challenge – which Peverell accepted if the All Action title was on the line – which Haley Buck accepted so long as it was a Bull Rope match. Peverell might have known something was up there... The match was a wild brawl, with the two men using the rope to whip one another raw. However, Brown proved strangely adept at using the rope, at one point hanging Peverell over the top rope, choking him out with the rope before dragging him around the ring to slap the turnbuckles to score the win. Jaime Quine def. Kristabel Plum – E The Second Sons def. Team Honor – D- Thea Davis def. Deborah Young – D- GB Wood def. Burn – D- Lenny Brown def. Bradford Peverell in a Bull Rope match – D Overall: D[/I] [/QUOTE] * [CENTER][B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Brooke Tyler vs. Joanne Rodriguez Amazing Fire Fly and Primus Allen vs. Swoop McCarthy and The Great Ota “Sensational” Kashmir Singh vs. Lord Geoffrey Windameer And Tim Westybrook has issued an open challenge![/CENTER]

[Pseudo]

I'm not totally caught up on the whole diary, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. :p Is there going to be some sort of Rip feud with Anonio and Valentine's new mentor?

[Tigerkinney]

Brooke Tyler vs. [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] [I]J-Ro continues on the winning track [/I] Amazing Fire Fly and Primus Allen vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy and The Great Ota[/B] [I]Simply for the fact that Swoop seems to be on a pretty good push.[/I] “Sensational” Kashmir Singh vs. [B]Lord Geoffrey Windameer[/B] [I]Singh looks unlikely to ever rise above his current mid card status so the Lord actually manages to score a win in this one.[/I]

[Hyde Hill]

Brooke Tyler vs. [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] Momentum for J-Ro Amazing Fire Fly and Primus Allen vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy and The Great Ota[/B] Allen is in the doghouse where he should be till he learns how to wrestle. “Sensational” Kashmir Singh vs. Lord Geoffrey Windameer I say draw to gauge how good they can be to see if you keep em. And [B]Tim Westybrook[/B] has issued an open challenge

[Bigpapa42]

[B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Brooke Tyler vs. [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] [I]Agree with Hyde Hill on this one - J-Ro stays strong. [/I] Amazing Fire Fly and Primus Allen vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy and The Great Ota[/B] [I]Think the build up of Swoop continues. [/I] “Sensational” Kashmir Singh vs. [B]Lord Geoffrey Windameer[/B] [I]Agree with TK's assessment that Windameer seems like he has a future. [/I] And Tim Westybrook has issued an open challenge! [I]Can't see Westy losing this one, unless you manage to bring in someone huge. Most likely, I think the build up of Westybrook continues. [/I]

[Mattlore Devious]

Okay, so after going on a TEW hiatus after Christmas (my last post in this thread was way back on page 47) I have now caught up with all the goings on in MAW. [B]MAW Nationwide[/B] Brooke Tyler vs. [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] [I]Keeping up her momentum while giving Tyler a bit of an overness rub[/I] Amazing Fire Fly and Primus Allen vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy and The Great Ota[/B] [I]Interesting pairings..[/I] [B]“Sensational” Kashmir Singh[/B] vs. Lord Geoffrey Windameer [I]Please let this be a "loser leaves town match" :D[/I] And [B]Tim Westybrook[/B] has issued an open challenge!

[Guest codey]

MAW Nationwide Brooke Tyler vs. [B]Joanne Rodriguez[/B] Amazing Fire Fly and Primus Allen vs. [B]Swoop McCarthy and The Great Ota[/B] [I]This is the only hard one, I think, since both Swoop and Fly are getting pushed, but Ota and Allen are both on the block. Swoop's getting a bigger push, though, and Ota's more likely to stick around.[/I] “Sensational” Kashmir Singh vs. [B]Lord Geoffrey Windameer[/B] And [B]Tim Westybrook[/B] has issued an open challenge! Oh, and GB Wood = CH Threepwood. Haven't seen him in another diary yet, but like me, you're not using his real name.

[James Casey]

[QUOTE=Pseudo;624072]I'm not totally caught up on the whole diary, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. :p Is there going to be some sort of Rip feud with Anonio and Valentine's new mentor?[/QUOTE] Welcome! And Rip's certainly going to have something to say about the Sons' new mentor - who'll be revealed at Iron, incidentally... [QUOTE=Mattlore Devious;624233]Okay, so after going on a TEW hiatus after Christmas (my last post in this thread was way back on page 47) I have now caught up with all the goings on in MAW. [/QUOTE] Welcome back! Assuming you went through the last thirty-odd pages in fairly quick fashion, how'd it read? [QUOTE=codey;624287] Oh, and GB Wood = CH Threepwood. Haven't seen him in another diary yet, but like me, you're not using his real name.[/QUOTE] Spot on. Now, if only Wood had as much charisma as a certain Mr. Brooks...