NYCW: Old School Forever

[1PWfan]

It was, Rick felt, good to be home. Sure, he’d enjoyed working in Australia, helping the scene there grow into an explosion, but when that guy McMinister started throwing his money around Redman had taken the money and come back to New York. And boy, did being back in the Big Apple feel good. He flagged down a cab at the airport, which he was delighted to find was driven by an Indian man who didn’t speak particularly good English, just as when he’d left. He got a lift to Heyman’s Grill, which was exactly the same disreputable run-down old shack it had been when he left. The City That Never Sleeps had barely changed in the 4 years he’d been away, and Rick had never felt so good in his life He’d been back on American Soil precisely 24 hours before he got the call from his uncle. *** [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Alright, so what’s the big emergency? I’ve hardly been back in the country 24 hours-and might I just add that jet lag is an absolute b*tch-and I’m already being called back into the office. So, what the hell is going on?”[/COLOR] It then struck Rick just how old his uncle, Derek ‘The Stomper’ Bradford, looked. Sure, the guy was 58, but age had never affected The Stomper, who’d looked in his mid-40s for as long as Rick could remember (which meant he’d looked that way in his mid 30’s). But now his age was definitely showing, and it worried Rick more than he’d admit to. [COLOR="Sienna"]“Good to see ya, Kid. How ya been? Hear ya been booking shows over in Australia, right?”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Yeah, I’ve been doing a bit of booking work over there…are you alright, Unc? ‘Cos you don’t look so good…”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Sienna"]“Ah, quit yer’ yakkin’, kid, I’m just getting old, it happens to everyone sooner or later. You heard about DaVE closing down, right?”[/COLOR] Rick grinned at the memory. He hadn’t been having a great time that day, and when the news came up on the ‘net he’d cheered up considerably. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Hell yeah, it was the best news all year”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Sienna"]“Well, things are getting out of control round here. Marv Earnest’s been making noise about modernising the product, 'appealing to DaVE fans', as if Vibert’s boy-toy Naess wasn’t already doing that…”[/COLOR] Rick was slightly horrified at the news. There was a place, he felt, for hardcore wrestling, and that place was six feet under at a crossroads with a stake through its heart. And people wanted to bring it to NYCW, the Bastion of Old School Wrestling? That wasn’t just wrong…dammit, it was [I]sick[/I]. [COLOR="sienna"]“That’s why I want you to take over booking, kid. You know what NYCW should be about, and you won’t take any of Marv’s crap about updating the product or going hardcore. And…ah hell, kid, you’re family. Who can I trust, if not my own nephew?”[/COLOR] There was only one answer Rick could give to that question. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Uncle Stomper, sir, you’ve got yourself a booker.”[/COLOR]

[Sons of Kohral]

Yay! Another NYCW diary. All we're missing is D-Mack at this point. Great to see you keeping the old school style. Hell no modernizing the product!

[1PWfan]

2008 opened with me back in NYCW HQ (otherwise known as The Stomper’s extension), going over the roster. Somewhat reassuringly, things hadn’t changed much: sure there were a few new names around, and Fern and Marv were continuing to waste space and Stomper's patience, but the same old veteran crowd were in place, calling me ‘kid’ and spouting stories about the old days that were mostly rampantly untrue. Still, there were problems that needed to be corrected. For one thing, my uncle had seen fit to keep [B]Land Mass[/B] and [B]Roger Dodger[/B] on the roster. This is not a good idea: Land Mass is a fat, useless sack of sh*t and Roger…well, he’s just a useless sack of sh*t, and costs way too much at 900 per show. They’re the first entrants on my list of people who can kiss their jobs goodbye, soon to be joined by [B]Fern Hathaway[/B] (whose bad attitude makes her not worth keeping around, especially considering that she’s no use for anything else), and [B]Marv Earnest[/B] (who doesn’t really have a role outside of holding a mic for other people, and has damn-fool ideas about moving with the times). Of course, I had replacements lined up for everyone who needed replacing. [B]Roderick Remus[/B] was a young guy with a positive attitude and the talent to go far, especially if he showed some improvement (which he pretty much had to, given that he’s only 19), who’d probably wind up tagging with Sammy The Shark to replace Roger. [B]Bradford Peverell[/B] was another young guy with promise and a good attitude, whilst [B]Davis Wayne Newton[/B] was a no-name nothing here, but was just about the best wrestler of his age I’ve ever seen. [B]Jen Neptune[/B] from BSC, meanwhile, was bought in to possibly replace Herb, as she had considerably better mic skills, was cheaper, and had a very good attitude. I was going to hold off on getting rid of Herb until after Rush Hour, though, since I needed to see how Jen bonded with Rock before finalising my plans. Of course, there were Stomper’s objectives for the year to consider. For once, these were comparatively easy (Stomper must be in worse health than I’d thought): No falling into debt, no luchadores, nobody with a bad rep in the industry, and nobody who’d be gasping after 5 minutes. Nothing too strenuous, and I figured I could talk him round that last one if it was important enough. Of course, he then followed these up a few days later with a new goal: we had to at least stay 23rd in the TEW.com world rankings, which was a touch harder: there were some good promotions below us, and if they put on a run of great shows they could leapfrog us. Still, as long as I focussed on putting together decent shows then I didn’t have to worry too much about that stuff. I also made the call to cover our asses by signing working agreements with most of the companies up the ladder from us, especially USPW, TCW and the SWF. I also gritted my teeth and signed a deal with Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling: I hate everything they stand for (apart from the number of veterans on their roster, that’s fine), but we shared a Tri-State base, and I don’t want to get into a p*ssing match just yet. Besides, I could bring across guys like Johnny Martin or JD Morgan to wrestle Flash or Phunk without having to actually pay them a contract. With NYCW Rush Hour looming, the card went like this: Steve Flash vs. Grandmaster Phunk [I]The former Empire Champion goes up against The Remarkable One in 2007’s first NYCW main event. Will the master of the Flash Bang claim the win, or will the Black Daddy Mack get Phunky on his ass?[/I] Rick Sanders vs. American Machine [I]It’s a battle between members of NYCW’s two top tag teams, as American Machine faces off against Rick Sanders. Sanders holds one half of the tag team titles, but will his technical skill enable him to triumph against the Clean-Cut Patriotism of American Machine?[/I] Lee Wright vs. Dazzling Dave Diamond [I]Ol’ Angry B@stard Lee Wright defends his Tri-State Regional Championship against the debuting Bradford Peverell tonight. Will Peverell have a successful debut, or will prove not to have The Wright Stuff?[/I] Rod Remus vs. Coyote Dynamite [I]Rod ‘The Future’ Remus faces off against the veteran Coyote Dynamite. Will the ****y young newblood take the win, or will it be Dynamite who stands proud?[/I] For the dark I scheduled Honest Frank vs. Dazzling Dave Diamond vs. Davis Wayne Newton, since Frank and Triple D would have roles on the show anyway.

[Sons of Kohral]

Nice. Remus and DWN are good choices for this fed. I personally never let go of Marv. I just don't use him and let his contract run out

[Regis]

With NYCW Rush Hour looming, the card went like this: Steve Flash vs. [B]Grandmaster Phunk[/B] [I]Face it honky... you just ain't got the FUNK! Also, the Grandmaster cheats like his life depends on it.[/I] Rick Sanders vs. [B]American Machine[/B] [I]Sanders can lose out here, setting up the American Made Men as challengers for the next event.[/I] [B]Lee Wright[/B] vs. Bradford Peverell [I]Lose? To a debuting wrestler? On the first show of the year? I think not. Young Lion has nothing on Old Angry B*stard.[/I] Rod Remus vs. [B]Coyote Dynamite[/B] [I]Age and guile triumph over youth and inferior performance skills. Roddy can eat the pin on his debut.[/I] For the dark I scheduled [B]Honest Frank[/B] vs. Dazzling Dave Diamond vs. Davis Wayne Newton, since Frank and Triple D would have roles on the show anyway. [I]I know well of the love you have for Honest Frank - he's a loyalist, a solid guy, and he's good for schooling the youngsters. Sort of.[/I]

[1PWfan]

[B][CENTER][FONT="Times New Roman"][SIZE="6"]NYCW Rush Hour[/SIZE][/FONT] [SIZE="5"]From the Weston Gymnasium[/SIZE] [SIZE="5"]Audience: 300 (sold out)[/SIZE] [/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Pre-Show/DVD Extras[/U][/B] [B]Honest Frank vs. Dazzling Dave Diamond vs. Davis Wayne Newton[/B] This wasn’t too bad, as matches go. Frank won plaudits for the match for improving despite being the oldest man in the match: his brawling definitely looked more solid afterwards, whilst his fundamentals received a much-needed boost as well. DDD didn’t manage as much, with only his brawling sharpening up, but I can deal with that. As for Davis, well he was the best guy in the match by a long shot, so he couldn’t really improve. Frank took the win here, rolling up DDD and grabbing a handful of tights to secure the win (he’s a heel, and we’re old school: Heels ALWAYS cheat). [B]Winner:[/B] Honest Frank [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]D-[/I] [B][U]The Show[/U][/B] [B]Rick Sanders vs. American Machine[/B] Ever heard the phrase ‘Bowling Shoe Ugly’? Well, that’s still better-looking than this stinker of a match. I did some good stuff at ringside, but me and Rick have zero chemistry as a duo-he’s very much a legitimate athlete kind of heel, which doesn’t go with my slimy, weaselly kind of manager. What’s worse, he doesn’t have any chemistry with Machine, either, although the youngblood was still able to sharpen up his fundamentals a bit. Still, I’ll have to find a better manager for Old School Principals, and some new clients for me. Machine got the win here, as I’m building to an Old School Principals/American Made Men feud (or I was, before this pile of crapola). [B]Winner:[/B] American Machine [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]E+[/I] We go backstage, to where Frank is on hype duty [COLOR="Red"]Y’know, I’ve been getting a little tired of NYCW recently. I mean, I’ve been working…elsewhere, way up the ladder from this dump, and sometimes I just get the feeling that my skills aren’t appreciated here in New York. So, I’ve decided to spice things up a notch. Roddy, why don’t you get on out here?[/COLOR] Enter Rod Remus, ****y smirk fixed perfectly in place [COLOR="red"]This is Rod Remus, one half of the Vegas Connection. I’ve put this team together to make things a bit more interesting in NYCW, and I’ll be unveiling the other new guy…well, you’ll just have to wait for that. But tonight, Rod here has a match against a certain broken-down old hack by the name of Coyote Dynamite. Coyote, I’m gonna give you some advice: go home, eat your gruel, watch some old tapes of your glory days-if you ever had any-and don’t step into the ring with this guy. No good will come of it, I assure you. And after all- Would I Lie To You?[/COLOR] This wasn’t that great. Frank’s a good talker, but neither Coyote nor Remus have anything by way of name value, which dragged things down a touch [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]E+[/I] [B]Rod Remus vs. Coyote Dynamite[/B] Sure enough, once I got these two in the ring they delivered a solid match. Remus didn’t actually improve here, which was disappointing, but he’s young, and pretty good anyway (by our standards, at least). Dynamite, meanwhile sharpened up his technical skills, which was definitely a surprise as I thought we’d seen his best years ago. As a kick-off point for the storyline between Wiley Coyote and the Vegas Corporation this wasn’t a bad start, although I might switch this round given how badly things kicked off last time. Remus got the win, after Frank distracted the ref whilst Remus nailed Coyote with a pair of brass knucks, allowing him to get the pin and claim the win. [B]Winner:[/B] Rod Remus [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]D-[/I] [B]Bradford Peverell vs. Lee Wright[/B] Okay, this is just weird: I know for a fact that Lee Wright is way, way over the hill, whilst Bradford is just starting out on his career. And yet, who improved here? Ol’ Angry B@stard himself. This was a better match than the first two, though, partially because these two work very similar styles, with an all-out brawling strategy. Lee got the win here, beating the ever-loving cr*p out of Bradford before knocking the stuffing out of him with a Wright Stuff (a neckbreaker drop) for the pin [B]Winner:[/B] Lee Wright [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]D[/I] Following the match, Lee starts stomping away on Bradford (why? ‘cos he’s a heel, that’s why), driving him into the mat. However, before he can finish him off, the distinctive tones of ZZ Top’s ‘Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers’ heralds the arrival of Dazzling Dave Diamond, riding to the rescue. Lee bails out of there sharpish, as DDD soaks in the overwhelming apathy of the crowd. [B]Rating:[/B] [I]E[/I] Fortunately, DDD and Bradford’s departure is followed by the distinctive Theme Tune from [I]Shaft[/I] that heralds the arrival of Grandmaster Phunk, and for once the crowd comes alive [COLOR="Purple"]Steve Flash! I know yo’ can hear me, playa! I’m only gonna say this once-you can’t beat the Black Daddy Mack! Dat’ bling round yo’ waist, Flash? Dat’s just waiting for me to collect, ‘cos the bling belong to just one man, and that’s the Grandmaster of Phunk, The King of Bling, the Smooooooth Pimp Daddy, Grandmaster Phunk. And you can’t stop me, Steve…. ‘Cos you just ain’t got the FUNK![/COLOR] As usual, Phunk’s promos remain a highlight of the show. Boy, but that guy can talk. [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]C+[/I] [B]Steve Flash vs. Grandmaster Phunk[/B] I knew Flash could deliver a solid main event, and sure enough he didn’t fail here. Phunk held up his end of the bargain, I guess, but let’s face it, guys: Steve Flash is the man in NYCW. He did the classic underdog face thing, opening with some brilliant offence before Phunk stole the momentum with a sneaky elbow between the eyes (not technically illegal, but nasty as hell in any case). Then it was all Steve fighting from behind, before Phunk nailed him with the belt in full view of the ref, earning Flash a DQ victory, and ending a great first main event of 2008. [B]Winner:[/B] Steve Flash [B]Match Rating:[/B] [I]C+[/I] [B]Overall Rating:[/B] [I]C-[/I], with a weak opener dragging down a generally solid card.

[Regis]

With Honest Frank in Remus' corner, no wonder he won. And I forsee great things for Peverell in NYCW's future - he's got just the sort of gimmick that works here. Go Go Steve Flash!

[Phantom Stranger]

Let the young rise!

[1PWfan]

[QUOTE=Phantom Stranger;441261]Let the young rise![/QUOTE] In NYCW? Only way that's happening is if we tie balloons to their heads.

[Phantom Stranger]

[QUOTE=1PWfan;441892]In NYCW? Only way that's happening is if we tie balloons to their heads.[/QUOTE] Eh, give it another seven years or so.

[1PWfan]

[QUOTE=Phantom Stranger;441931]Eh, give it another seven years or so.[/QUOTE] Oh, I'm sure in seven years there'll be some more clapped-out old dudes waiting for retirement for me to hire (they start in 4C and MAW, peak in TCW and the SWF, and finish in USPW and NYCW)

[1PWfan]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Okay, let’s just go over this again…”[/COLOR] To say that Rick was annoyed would be something of an understatement. He’d gotten backstage after the show had wrapped up to find Coyote Dynamite and American Machine at each other’s throats. Stomper had promptly handed the issue over to him to deal with, since ‘[COLOR="Sienna"]you’re the booker kid, it’s your job to sort this sh*t out’[/COLOR], leaving Rick to discipline two workers who were both older and much stronger than he was. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“So, American Machine comes backstage after his match to find that his stuff has disappeared. On further exploration, he finds it chained to a shower pipe halfway up the wall, rendering it nearly impossible to get down without soaking it. Somebody, who remains nameless, told him it was Coyote, and when Coyote gets backstage after his match, the two of you go at it.”[/COLOR] The two men nodded, looking surprisingly unapologetic. At least, it would have been unsurprising to a normal person: Rick, on the other hand, had been around the wrestling business since he was 16 years old, and was quite used to nonsense like this. Hell, Coyote had pulled most of the same guff on him when he’d been starting out in the business. [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“Coyote, can I just have word with you in private?”[/COLOR] Machine took off, evidently going to try and retrieve his bag without soaking the contents. [COLOR="teal"]“Look boss, it was just a prank…”[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkOrange"]“I don’t give a cr*p Coyote. Look, I don’t care about breaking in the newbies, or ribbing or any of that old-school bullsh*t, okay? Sure, we’re old school, but there’s good old school and bad old school, and hazing Machine is just a waste of time, okay? So can it.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="Teal"]“Okay boss, no problem. You say no more hazing, then no more hazing.”[/COLOR] Rick wasn’t sure he believed Coyote, in fact he was fairly certain he was lying through his teeth, but he didn’t care enough to argue. Besides, he knew d@mn well that some of the older guys in NYCW didn’t take him seriously, and getting into a fight with Coyote Dynamite wasn’t the way to convince them otherwise. Still, there was a lot to be said for yelling at people.

[Regis]

Ah, backstage incidents. At least he didn't start putting padlocks on things.

[1PWfan]

Following that little spat, I set about re-organising things in the management ranks. I switched Herb over to managing the Champs and bagged up Rod and his mystery partner to manage myself (and Frank in some ways, but he didn’t need my mic skills as much). Jen also got switched over to colour work full-time, as she’d done a decent job at Rush Hour. I changed her name to Jennifer Montgomery, though: BSC is definitely NOT the type of promotion NYCW wants to associate with, and making it obvious that we share talent would not go over well. I also reorganised the set-up of our backstage stories a little bit. As well as Flash and Phunk’s feud and DDD/Wright, I switched the tag title feud so it was Old School Principals going up against Wiley Coyote, and put together a feud between American Machine and Rod Remus (Lee wasn’t really popular enough to hold the Tri-State Regional title, and the Machine could hold the title convincingly). I also put Frank in the team with Sammy: Rod was probably going to go solo. Looking over our business set-up, I received one piece of very good news: in my first month in charge we’d already made 9,625 dollars in profit, thanks to sponsorship and merchandising. Always nice to see, and it gave me a little leeway to play around with match-ups down the line if it continued. Still, we were heading into a recession, and I was gonna have to wait another month at least until I was sure that profit would be an overall trend. In news from the wrestling world, Jesse Christian decided to return to the business after god knows how long on hiatus. I made an offer to him: he could be a useful face jobber, after all, and had just about enough skill to justify the role. Unfortunately, he didn’t share that view of his future, and we were forced to pull out of negotiations. I did, however, bring in Ace Youngblood instead, who caused a mass roster reorganisation that pushed Lee back into the midcard and Whistler into the main event. I also signed Kirk Jameson, who settled straight into midcard and gave me more options to play with, as well as another hot property to use. Frank also captured the National Title in PSW, where he was working as Frankie Future. I let him know the rules as far as acknowledging that went in NYCW: he was only allowed to mention it if he was booked to lose. I may have mentioned this before, but I’m really not into resurrecting DaVE, and any chance I get to do down the hardcore revivalists over in PSW is one I will jump at. For the next NYCW show, NYCW The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, I put out the following card: Steve Flash vs. Black Hat Bailey [I]After his shameful actions at Rush Hour, Grandmaster Phunk has been banned from appearing at this month’s event, so Steve Flash will be defending his title against Black Hat Bailey. The Man in the Hat is a deadly force in NYCW, but will he overcome the Remarkable One?[/I] Whistler vs. Rod Remus [I]Remus has announced his intention to rise through the ranks of NYCW, and has as his next target the All-American Everyman Whistler. With the likes of Honest Frank and ‘Double R’ Rick Redman in his corner, will it be enough for Rod to cause a major upset?[/I] Wiley Steinway vs. The Masked Mauler [I]It’s another battle to determine tag contention this week, as Wiley Steinway faces The Masked Mauler. Both men are veteran brawlers, but who will survive tonight?[/I] Lee Wright vs. Dazzling Dave Diamond [I]After his interference last week, Lee Wright has challenged DDD to a fight for the Tri-State Regional Championship. Will DDD be able to defeat the Ol’ Angry B@stard, or will be he be unable to overcome the champion? [/I] For the dark I scheduled Grandmaster Phunk vs. Bradford Peverell, as the Phunk would probably be making an appearance at the event (again, we’re old school, what do you expect when someone’s banned from the event?)

[Tigerkinney]

[I]Looks good so far, be interesting to see what you do with Bradford Peverall. [/I] [B]Steve Flash[/B] vs. Black Hat Bailey [I]Wouldn't surprise me if Funk did make an appearance, even though he's been banned, but I can't see Flash dropping the title to Bailey.[/I] [B]Whistler [/B]vs. Rod Remus [I]Remus isn't ready to go over a veteran like Whistler yet (albeit one getting past his sell by date), saying that I think the win will be DQ, when Remus' buddies interfere[/I] [B]Wiley Steinway[/B] vs. The Masked Mauler [I]This should be 'bowling shoe ugly'......I'll go for Steinway, as he's marginally better.[/I] [B]Lee Wright[/B] vs. Dazzling Dave Diamond [I]For the simple fact, that I can't see the faces winning all the matches on the card, and I've stumped for the faces winning everywhere else.[/I]

[Regis]

For the next NYCW show, NYCW The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, I put out the following card: [B]Steve Flash[/B] vs. Black Hat Bailey [I]Phunk interferes, but botches his dastardly attempts to bring down Steve, leading the challenger to a victory over the man in the hat. I then predict BHB claiming a spot in the title match at the next event, leading to a three-way dance to keep things fresh.[/I] [B]Whistler[/B] vs. Rod Remus [I]Got to go with Tigerkinney here; Whistler will be attacked by The Stable With No Name, and will win by DQ.[/I] [B]Wiley Steinway[/B] vs. The Masked Mauler [I]See, the Mauler actually has a pretty good set of third row skills. His actual moveset creaks in the wind, but he knows the basics, he's consistent and he can put together a decent match with a bit of help. Still, he's a byword for Jobberdom, so Wiley wins.[/I] Lee Wright vs. Dazzling Dave Diamond [I]Draw as the ref throws the match out after losing control. The brawl erupts all over the arena, as these two pound the crap out of each other.[/I] For the dark I scheduled [B]Grandmaster Phunk[/B] vs. Bradford Peverell, as the Phunk would probably be making an appearance at the event (again, we’re old school, what do you expect when someone’s banned from the event?) [I]Now don't be silly.[/I]

[Dragonmack]

[B]Steve Flash[/B] vs. Black Hat Bailey [I]Flash may lose, but not to Bailey[/I] [B]Whistler [/B]vs. Rod Remus [I]Whistler will get the win, and then get beatdown by the new stable[/I]. Wiley Steinway vs. [B]The Masked Mauler[/B] [I]Toss a coin, they both stink.[/I] Lee Wright vs. [B]Dazzling Dave Diamond[/B] [I]Lee Wright could retire at any moment, so it is better to be safe and get the belt off of him.[/I]