Lucha Libre hits New England - The Story of a Really Bad Idea

[Sagitta]

I'm going to take another stab at a diary, here. I realized one reason I've always had trouble sticking with one whether its on here or just for personal use is the fact that I quickly lose interest and my mind shifts on to other things. Unfortunately they trend towards 'more of the same' with TEW as I've had my brain stuck in the Sports Ent gear as its basically the only style I've ever followed.

 

That is when a conversation I had made me think of a small town up north of here in Western Maine I've been to a few times on the banks of the Androscoggin. Last time I was there the temperature was pegging a high of twenty below, and the brightly colored sign leading into town was half buried under snow, though the Spanish motif and bright colors still quite clearly let me know I was entering MEXICO.

 

And so that is when it hit me to try something... different.

 

http://calendrae.com/images/mexico1.jpg

[Sagitta]

The story of the New England Wrestling Company is really the story about one man – my grandfather – John Taylor Standish.

 

Grandpa John was born in the mill town of Mexico, Maine back at the turn of the century. His father had worked the mills, as had his grandfather, and Grandpa John would likely have gone on to do the same if he hadn't gone on to become just about the best salesman the Western Maine Shoe Company had ever had.

 

Now Grandpa was a wealthy man, but it wasn't due to selling those shoes, it was who he sold those shoes to that mattered. He was one of the salesmen to the sports world, selling shoes and boots to just about every team in America at some point. It was back in the late seventies, not long before he retired however that he made a sale that altered his life forever.

 

By the time he was fifty he was a millionaire twice over, but stayed at his job because he loved it. Standishes have always had the gift of gab, and we revel in the chance to use it.

 

He was on a trip down through Mexico due to a request by a company called OLLIE to fill a large order of very expensive custom made, brightly colored boots. Now, OLLIE was a wrestling company, but not like the ones you may think of. In Mexico, things are done a bit differently. Less bulk, more high flying acrobatic moves.

 

Grandpa John sat in on a show one night, and he was hooked.

 

After he retired, he bought a satellite dish (back when they were those big, ungainly things one would see planted in the backyards of rural America) just to pull in matches from OLLIE, SOTBPW and any other lucha show that he could. He learned Spanish so he could follow the storylines. He donated to charities for retired lucha stars. He was, perhaps, the world's biggest fan of the sport who did not hail from south of the Rio Grande.

 

Then, when he was in his 80's, Grandpa John passed away. He left a sizable fortune behind, with most going out to charity or family. I myself inherited enough to pay off my debts and have a nice nest egg left over. I was a radio host for a small station, and that inheritance and my investments helped me pay off my mortgage and sock enough cash away for the sinking economy the world was falling into back in the summer of '07.

 

Thats when I got the phone call.

 

Grandpa had left sizable portion aside for a special purpose, you see, and had tapped me in his will to carry out his last wish. I still regret asking Grandpa's lawyer if he wasn't sure Grandpa hadn't died from drugs when I was told the details in the will.

 

He wanted to bring his beloved lucha home with him.

 

To Maine.

 

Regardless, that is how I wound up sitting in an old warehouse outside of Bangor flipping through newspapers written in a language I couldn't read looking for people who may just want to throw on a mask and move somewhere a bit colder than what they might be used to.

[Sagitta]

From the diary of Adam Standish, Week 1, 2008

 

Welcome to the New England Wrestling Company, population: me.

 

I've been doing my research, and trying my best to understand this lucha stuff, but honestly I'm still confused. As far as I can tell its basically small guys in masks flipping around a ring running best of three matches. Don't get me wrong - its fascinating, and certainly not what I'm used to, but I really want to respect Grandpa's wishes and not drive his company into the ground before we even can put on a show.

 

On the bright side, news of this has leaked out and the TV stations up here have been going crazy reporting on it. We even made the news down in Boston. Hey, free advertising, right? It certainly doesn't hurt at all, and I've actually had a couple young people pop by to apply for jobs. Soon as I hire someone who knows what the hell they are doing to help me out maybe I'll look into signing them on.

[Sagitta]

This post will be kept updated as much as possible to reflect the state of the promotion.

 

Style Name: New England Lucha Libre

Match Ration 70% Event, 50% TV

 

Product:

 

Key: Traditional, Lucha Libre

Heavy: Mainstream, Modern, Daredevil

Medium: None

 

Intensity: 40%

Danger: 60%

 

Prestige: 0%

Size: Regional (just big enough to land a local TV contract)

National Importance Ranking: #6 (between CZCW and PSW)

National Influence Ranking : #11 (between NYCW and BSC who are last)

 

 

Roster:

 

Main Event

 

Barry Kingman – The son of the legendary Crippler Ray is playing the part of one of the heels, and will be relying on an act centered around the fact that he's the son of a legend to try to get by. Honestly, he's not all that exciting to watch, but he's going to be used to help push the faces anyhow.

 

Puerto Rican Power – This guy signed on after he noticed a number of the workers from his promotion in Puerto Rico signing on with us. Rather than being angry, he was fascinated and almost begged to be allowed to play a role. I'm going to be relying on him a lot to help out with not only communicating with the non-English speakers, but in helping to point out my mistakes when they inevitably occur. He's playing the heel role of big, arrogant bully, which is a departure from his hero status down in the Islands, and will be the de facto leader of the heels on the roster. He was also expensive at $1000 a show, but well worth it. I hope.

 

Roderick Remus – I hired Rod because he is young, talented, and able to fit in nicely with the vague concept I have for the promotion. He'll be playing the face role of a man on a mission to better himself and those around him. He kept asking if I could hire his brother, so I wound up caving in. His brother actually isn't bad!.

 

Steve Flash – By FAR the most expensive member on the roster, but also perhaps the best known. Theres not much to say about this guy but that he can do just about anything. I'm hoping to pair him against PRP as the main face in the program for now.

 

Darkness Warrior – Warrior is a young guy who also veers from the norm for the rest of the guys on the roster. Again, hired for the name recognition and the fact he's fairly decent (if bland) in the ring. Will be playing his usual creepy acolyte heel role.

 

Ultimate Phoenix – This guy impressed me when he tried out with his aerobatics, a trait that I'm hoping to focus on as a signature for this company. The fact that he's fairly well known and speaks both English and Spanish was another huge plus. He'll be playing the face role of a mysterious, good natured worker.

 

Upper Midcard

 

Air Attack Weasel – Weasel will be playing a geeky heel role. It wasn't until after I'd hired him on that I was informed about his tendency to get in trouble with the cops, so I suppose I'll have to keep an eye on him.

 

Burning EXILE – This guy is only signed on short-term, but is so highly skilled he's worth the investment. Will be playing a show-stealing Japanese Face role. Doesn't speak a lick of English so will have Jake Sawyer representing him in his corner.

 

Ernie Turner – Another non-lucha type, Turner will be playing the part of an arrogant heel. Again, he'll probably be used as a ladder to help push the more aerial guys unless he picks up a little bit of flash himself. That said, the guy is fantastic on the mic and very charismatic so he could have the Jim Force effect of getting by without having any real skill.

 

Mexican Angel – He'll be playing a patriotic Mexican face role, and I'm hoping to team him up with the American Flash provided they work well together as a tag team. Doesn't speak any English, so he's going to be another Jake Sawyer client.

 

Rainbow Dragon – This is another FCW worker who I hired on, and he has the possibility of going far. He speaks a little English, sohe can also help translate for us with those who don't. Will be playing an old school face role.

 

Snap Dragon – This guy will be playing up a comic book villain role. While he isn't overly skilled (except for being able to go air) he's kind of like a younger version of Steve Flash in that he can carry just about anyone.

 

Midcard

 

“Cowboy” Rex Reeves – Reeves was hired because he was cheap. He doesn't have much to talk about other than he has a smattering of talent. Will be playing a heel role for now.

 

New York Red – Red is another 'hired 'cause he was cheap' choice for me. Again, someone I'll be able to hopefully use to push the more talented people on the roster upwards. Will start off as a heel.

 

The American Flash – a young masked worker who looks like they show potential. I'm going to try running him with the Mexican Angel and see what happens. Will be playing the role of the patriotic American. Has little talent on the mic so will be teamed with Jake Sawyer.

 

Wild Tiger – He's a young Mexican luchadore who again I hired on from PRP's Caribbean promotion. He has a decent amount of talent and knows enough English to help bridge the language barrier I'm facing with the roster.

 

Warren Technique – another “Not really a luchadore” who I hired on to help play as rudo heel. Has a good grasp of the basics and can help carry just about anyone. Despite not really being a flier, he'll hopefully fit in with the rest of the roster.

 

Lower Midcard

 

Captain Jack – Known in Mexico as “the Cat Master” or Amo del Gato, he's another talent I plucked from FCW. He'll start out as a happy-go-lucky face, and we'll see where he goes from there.

 

Mark Smart – I'm not sure what to make of this guy. He has talent though, and will start off as a geeky sci-fi heel. He actually has experience with one of the big feds, TCW.

 

Zonk – Zonk is based on a Mexican children's superhero. I think. I'm not really certain. Regardless, despite the goofy mask he's talented, and will hopefully blend in well. Again, he's a FCW worker as well. If we were only a bit bigger we could maybe get some more workers from Mexico proper. Ah well.

 

Openers

 

Davis Wayne Newton – DWN is an extraordinarily talented Canadian who also works for 4C. He'll be playing the role of a rich, spoiled brat and will hopefully play well off the faces in the lower half of the roster.

 

Medic– Medic is a Texan cruiser who can actually speak both English and Spanish. While he pretty much sucks at the mic, he'll help out as being another bridge between the Spanish and English speakers on the roster – I need as many as I can get. He'll play a face role to start off with under the stewardship of Jake Sawyer.

Velocidad – While not extremely skilled, the Mexican Velocidad IS a very decent flier and will play the roll of a showstopping face for now. Knows a smattering of English in addition to his Spanish.

 

Enhancement

 

Cal Sanders – Sanders is an older worker who's somewhat known in his native Canada. He plays the role of lumberjack, so he'll fit right in here in Maine. Will be playing a heel role to start out with.

 

Tempest Appleby – Tempest is a high flying cruiser who for some reason never made it big despite his talents and despite the fact that he's toured three different countries (with the US becoming hiss fourth). Will be playing a slobby heel role to start off with.

 

XDW – These five guys came to me after seeing the news stories and I couldn't help but gamble on them. I hired all five – Xavier Reckless, Super Sonic, Daredevil Aero, Lee Bambino and Extreme Deluxe together as a group. I'm going to use them as a face stable and see how they fare. Bambino will also be acting as a backstage interviewer for now until he gets a bit more talented.

 

Non-Wrestlers

 

Adam Standard – Me. I wound up using a fake surname when my business cards were misprinted. I think it sounds better than Standish anyways for this kind of business. I'll be working at the announce table for now until I can figure out a way to pawn the job off on somebody else.

 

Remmington Remus – Twin brother of Roderick, Remmington is pretty decent on the mic. He'll probably do most of the play by plays as I just kind of fake it along side of him.

 

Zoe Ammis – Known elsewhere as Agent 69, Zoe is, well, hot. With a capital H. She also is fairly charismatic, so she'll sit in on color until the day we can possibly start running ladies matches.

 

Jake Sawyer - “Playboy” Jake Sawyer is known elsewhere as a classic heel manager. He'll be changing things up a bit by running an adventurer's gimmick and managing our face talent for now.

 

Willow – Our Hell manager. She'll probably start seeing some use as I realize just who can and can't carry themselves in segments. She'll be playing a mean, bitchy type that should play off her good looks well.

 

Brains McGee – Our “Commissioner” for the moment. Once things settle down and we have a better grasp of where the company is going he'll transition to a different role. The fact that he's only 3 ½ feet tall only makes this idea better.

 

Reese Paige – Our roadie. She comes cheap, and can also is multi-talented in case we need her for any angles or other roles.

 

Bret Graveson / Jez McArthur – our referees.

 

Buttercup / Monique / Miss Mexico – three ladies who are just kind of 'extras' at the moment. All will transition to some kind of role depending up on how things work out.

[Terminator980]

I like the backstory. That was pretty neat. I'll keep my eye on this one.

[UFC-KING]

Same Here, and Love the Title

[infinitywpi]

The concept gets an A+ from this Maine-born. Interested to see if you import actual luchas, or try to sign lucha-style American talent to save money...

[Phantom Stranger]

I'm intrigured. Great opener.

[Jaded]

Yup, really good opening - looking forward to seeing the roster!

[cappyboy]

Another former Mainer here. Looking very much forward to seeing what you do here. I've done a women's fed in New England a couple times or so. But something as foriegn as lucha? This should be interesting.

[hrdcoresidebrns]

Indeed, as one of the seemingly many New Englanders here (New Hampshire, myself), this one interests me.

 

Also, I would kill for a lucha fed up here.

[Sagitta]

From the diary of Adam Standard, Week 3, January 2008

 

The Belts came in today from the manufacturer. They aren't bad if I say so myself. We now have a NEWCO World, North American and a set of Tag Team belts. Now I just have to work on some ideas on how to get them around a couple of waists.

[James Casey]

Colour me intrigued, too - I'll be keeping an eye on this as it's a decent back story, and different enough to stand out

[Sagitta]

From the diary of Adam Standard, Week 4, January 2008

 

PRP told me I should send feelers around to all the major promotions to help insure I don't wind up getting poached for my workers should their eyes turn our way.

 

It took a bit of doing, but we actually have managed to sign working agreements with every single promotion on the continent save NYCW and the SFW.

 

SWF at least signed a non-aggression pact, so we're safe from them for now.

 

NYCW refused to even talk to us, which is a tad confusing considering our styles couldn't be more different. I really don't think they're going to have to worry about us going big and stealing away Whistler or Land Mass. Seriously.

[infinitywpi]

Land Mass in a mask and his 'style' changed to Luchadore via editor = Priceless.

[hrdcoresidebrns]

Land Mass in a mask and his 'style' changed to Luchadore via editor = Priceless.

 

For some reason "Mucha Lucha" is all that I can come up with.

[Sagitta]

From the diary of Adam Standard, Week 4, January 2008

 

I showed the belts off to some of the workers today, and didn't quite get the reaction I expected. While they liked the World and North American belts, they seemed a bit put off by the two tag belts. I was then informed that in lucha, the norm is for the belts to be for teams of three.

 

Unfortunately for some reason the manufacturers refused to ship out a third belt to me so for now our teams will be the traditional two-man teams that Americans are used to.

 

OOC: Is the 'Six Man' setting in the editor for teams of three? If so, is the only way you can set them via the stable button?

 

EDIT: Nevermind, just discovered it for myself. Heh. This is turning out to be a learning experience for me as I want to at least pretend to be doing this right.

[foolinc]

This is looking promising. Not a fan of the agrreements that's just a personal preference.

[Sagitta]

I'll try to recap each months major happenings among the North American promotions that are cult or higher if I can.

 

Around the Horn – January 2008 Industry Report

 

SWF

 

Title Changes: None

Hirings: Chris Caulfield, Steven Parker, James Prudence, Darryl Devine

Firings: None

Other: New PPV deal signed with UK Choice, Nevada Nuclear recalled from RIPW

Match of the Month: Rich Money def Groucho Bling for the SWF North American Title at When Hell Freezes Over (B)

Musings: None really to speak of. Things seem a bit slow.

 

TCW

 

Title Changes: None

Hirings: None

Firings: None

Other: None

Match of the Month: TCW had three B matches, so the nod has to go to the one shown on PPV, where Sam Keith def Joel Bryant (B).

Musings: I thought SWF was slow this month, TCW was absolutely dormant other than outclassing SWF in the quality department. Kudos to Keith for posting the three best matches in his company as well.

 

USPW

 

Title Changes: The Forces of America (Jim Force and Mr. America) def the Towers of Power for the Tag belts in a TV match

Hirings: Mainstream Hernandez, Roger Dodger

Firings: None, except for the poachings of Caulfield and Devine by SWF

Other: PPV deal reached with U-Demand, so USPW will now be seen across the country for its big shows.

Match of the Month: James Justice def T-Rex to defend his title at the PPV (B-)

Musings: USPW looks to only grow at this point. I wish them luck with their PPV contract.

 

CGC

 

Title Changes: None

Hirings: Jacob Jett

Firings: None

Other: None

Match of the Month: Ricky and Steve DeColt def Jack and Alex DeColt in a TV match (B)

Musings: Not much to say, looks like CGC's just plugging along fairly evenly here.

 

NOTBPW

 

Title Changes: RK Hayes and Dallas McWade def the Kelowna Playaz for the tag belts. No word on Dean McWade's opinion of this.

Hirings: None

Firings: None

Other: None

Match of the Month: NOTBPW pulled off TWO MOTM matches this month. In the first, The Stone Siblings (Jeremy and Dan, Jr) def Johnny Bloodstone and Dark Angel (A*) right before the company's PPV in which Johnny Bloodstone def Dan, Jr. to retain the CGC Canadian title (A*).

Musings: How can anyone expect to top this companies successes this month? My hat is off to the Stones here.

 

SOTBPW

 

Title Changes: None

Hirings: None

Firings: None

Other: SOTBPW loses its TV show slot - OUCH

Match of the Month: There were a bunch of B+ matches, so again, the one on the PPV has to be the one to count. Champagne Lover def Axxis, Jr to retain the Campeon de Mundo title.

Musings: From one extreme to the other – the biggest 'loser' in the success race this month had to be SOTBPW. You can't get much lower than losing your TV show. They're going to have to do something if they hope to keep in the public eye.

[Sagitta]

NEWCO has posted its tentative card for the Week 4 showing of its premiere show Revolution to various sites around the net and the state of Maine.

 

There will be a twelve man elimination tournament for the NEWCO world title. All names will be randomly drawn next week with each group of three names being placed into a tag match together to face another team - after the first round, the teams will be broken and the six remaining workers will square off in a six-man elimination match. Winner will be crowned the first NEWCO World Champion.

 

Workers may cut deals with each other between now and one week prior to the event to set themselves up into teams that they find more to their liking.

 

Competitors:

 

Barry Kingman, Puerto Rican Power, Roderick Remus, Steve Flash, Darkness Warrior, Ultimate Phoenix, Air Attack Weasel, Burning EXILE, Ernie Turner, Mexican Angel, Rainbow Dragon, Snap Dragon

 

Also on the card will be the start of a tournament to determine the North American Champion, to be continued at our future shows. The first bracket being as follows:

 

Warren Technique vs Wild Tiger

Cowboy Rex Reeves vs The American Flash

New York Red vs Captain Jack

Zonk vs Velocidad

 

Also, XDF will be making an appearance, so come out and see us!

[Sagitta]

From the Diary of Adam Standard, Week 2 February 2008

It seems that despite not even putting on a show in January, our sponsors sent us a check anyhow - for just over 40 grand!

 

I decided to put that money to some use and drug tested my roster, and only had one issue.

 

Extreme Deluxe apparently has been doing some pretty hard drugs. Not sure exactly what to do I just decided to fine him a quarter of his salary and he politely agreed to not let it happen again.

 

Of course, that fine was only 25 bucks, but still...

[Sagitta]

It was a week to go before the big show when Puerto Rican Power, Remmington Remus, and Lee Bambino caught me as I was sitting going over some of the details of the upcoming show.

 

PRP looked unsure about the upcoming conversation. “Boss, we have to talk.”

 

“What about?”

 

“Your announcing, man. You have the voice you just... how can I put it...”

 

“Don't know what you're doing?” That was Lee, who quickly put a hand over his mouth at the look I shot him.

 

“The kid's right, Boss. You don't. Hows it gonna sound when something goes screwy and you're stuck ad-libbing terms you don't know in front of an audience?”

 

“You guys have a solution?”

 

“Yea, don't get behind the announcer's table. Find yourself another role. You have the chops for it, man.”

 

I frowned. “If you say so. I'll think over what you said. By the by, I have the final card for Friday, if you want to look it over...”

 

Puerto Rican Power, Darkness Warrior, Barry Kingman vs Burning EXILE, Mexican Angel, Steve Flash (winners to compete in six man World Championship Match)

 

Air Attack Weasel, Ernie Turner, Snap Dragon vs Rainbow Dragon, Roderick Remus, Ultimate Phoenix (winners to compete in six man World Championship Match)

 

Start of 8-man Tournament for the North American championship

 

Warren Technique vs Wild Tiger

Cowboy Rex Reeves vs The American Flash

New York Red vs Captain Jack

Zonk vs Velocidad

[infinitywpi]

I was hoping to see a few more luchadores on the roster... maybe use the editor to 'force' everyone to work a lucha style?

 

Oooo, there's a suggestion for TEW2009... changing styles along with alter egos...

[Greek]

The story is real nice, but I'm not all to keen on the roster. I don't see guys like Steve Flash or Ernie Turner fitting the promotion but maybe that's just me. Looking forward to what you can do with this promotion

 

Keep up the good work!

[Jaded]

It's a weird roster for a lucha fed - or at least parts of it are - but you've still got my interest here.

 

Puerto Rican Power, Darkness Warrior, Barry Kingman vs Burning EXILE, Mexican Angel, Steve Flash (winners to compete in six man World Championship Match)

 

Air Attack Weasel, Ernie Turner, Snap Dragon vs Rainbow Dragon, Roderick Remus, Ultimate Phoenix (winners to compete in six man World Championship Match)

 

Start of 8-man Tournament for the North American championship

 

Warren Technique vs Wild Tiger

Cowboy Rex Reeves vs The American Flash

New York Red vs Captain Jack

Zonk vs Velocidad

 

PRP to win the title and get a monster heel push with all the smaller guys chasing him... not sure how well the matches would go down but I'd imagine you could get away with Power vs BURNING while you have Exile,and hopefully build someone else up to take him on when the short-term deal finishes.