Welcome. You Know The Drill.

[infinitywpi]

<p>March 2014, week 2</p><p>

“So, Fox...”</p><p>

“Yes, O Insane One?”</p><p>

“Where the heck did you go for a month?”</p><p>

“Around.”</p><p>

“Why'd you come back?”</p><p>

“Ran out of bus tokens.”</p><p>

“... fine, don't answer my questions. You were at that retrogaming arcade, weren't you.”</p><p>

“Shhhhh. Don't tell the guys I like to play consoles that came out in the early naughties...” </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

ACZW #59</p><p>

Dragon defeats Idol again in the time-honored tradition of 'beat the lesson into the student' and that's about average. El Mitico defeats Austin (average), and then Moose defeats Boriken (Poor) in Boriken's farewell match. Machine defeats Acid in a good match, and then Donnie retains the ACZW Title over Speedball in an okay match.</p><p> </p><p>

(Show rating: C-, 68 tickets sold)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

CZCW Onslaught #202</p><p>

C'mon, I gotta show I can still book an out-of-the-park show, even if the public doesn't care about wrestling anymore... and the economy sucks... and the roster is in turmoil... oy.</p><p> </p><p>

We open with an Xtreme Title match between Fire Fly and Matt Sparrow. Fly retains, but holy freakin' hell, this could main event a show, easily. Speedball defeats Smooth, and the match sucks – perhaps because it has to follow -that- opener. Notorious does the job to Los Luchas (Mitico and Heroic) in a decent match, and then Moose & Dragon defeat Darryl and Joey in a poor matchup. </p><p> </p><p>

Teddy Powell defeats Acid in an okay match, then Jake Idol defeats Nelson Callum in a below-average match and invokes Tidal Booking. After a short break (where Philippe defeats Tigre in an okay match), we get the Tag Title match between Team PSW and Acid & Idol. The match is very good, not quite main-event-level but still good, with the champs retaining. </p><p> </p><p>

P-n-P defeats Panda & Cheetah (who are now, officially, a team) in an average match, and then we go into the final two. First off, I take on Insane Machine and, after a long match, get the pinfall for the win in a great match. Then, Remmy defends against Masked Cougar – and it's not even on the level of a main event for us. Very disappointing match that sees Remmy retain.</p><p> </p><p>

(Show rating: C+, 6,538 tickets sold.)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

On the next Welcome: Is it time to give up on the pet project I've had since I took the book? Or has Jake Idol shown us he can learn and grow?</p>

[infinitywpi]

March 2014, week 3

So, it was the moment of truth... I had to start negotiating with Jake soon, and if Cliff didn't like him, he was going to walk. So I took drastic actions to try and force the lessons into him.

 

 

ACZW #60

Jake does the Humiliation Conga, losing to El Mitico (Good), Dragon (Sucks), Nelson (Holy God, Horrid), and Machine (Totally Sucks). Most of these had been seen far too many times recently, but there's a reason for that. If he hasn't learned anything tonight... well, it'll be too late for him after this. We top off the night with Donnie defeating Acid to retain the ACZW Title in an okay match.

 

(Show rating: D-, 83 tickets sold.)

 

Dammit. Sorry, Jake. I'll talk to you again when Cliff sees reason.

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #203

We open with a three-team Tag Title match as Team PSW defends against P-n-P and the thrown-together team of Moose & Poison. It is, surprisingly, quite good; not on a main event level, but almost there. The champs retain, and we wonder if Poison Moose could function as a regular team.

 

Cougar says a few words while we clean up the ring, then Philippe defeats Demon Seed in an almost-decent match. Remember when Demon Seed was getting a big push? Yeah, me neither. Insane Machine takes Austin Smooth to school... and holy cow, does he ever, as these two almost outshine the main event. Smooth needs to be taught enough to stick around, if this match is any indication.

 

Snap Dragon defeats Cheetah Boy in a poor match, and then Daryll Devine defeats Cheetah Boy in an average one. So if you're keeping score, that's Dragon/Cheetah for Trash of the Night so far, and Machine/Smooth for Match of the Night. Which of these vets is a better teacher, hrm?

 

I know, I know. Don't play favorites. But I heard about how Dragon was acting while I was gone...

 

I say a few words about the main event as we come back from intermission, to give folks a chance to get back from 'le crapper'. We move on to Panda Mask defeating Barrera (Hey, Dragon, good news: You're safe now!), Tigre Savaje defeating Bullet (Not quite as bad... but still bad), and Acid defeating Speedball in another near-main-level match. Then, to chill the crowd out, Bear squashes Jake. Sorry, Jake, but you're no good to me now. Oddly enough, Bear's matches are getting better.

 

To wrap up the night, we have Remmy say a few words about the main event while we hang the Xtreme Title from the ceiling. We're going to start with a Triangle Xtreme Lucha Ladder Match between Fire Fly, Heroic, and Mitico. I'm a bit worried about this outshining the main event, but while it's a great match, it's nowhere near blow-away level. Fire Fly retains, but let's face it: Los Luchas Look … erm... good. Finally, we wheel out the Over The Edge wire mesh for a triple-threat between Remmy, me, and Cougar. Sadly, this isn't the great match I was expecting; instead, we simply rival the Luchas. And spend at least three times as much in salary. Remmy retains, and I'm starting to wonder if I've really lost my touch.

 

(Show rating: C+, 7,209 tickets sold.)

 

 

On the next Welcome: Will the Fantastic Mister Fox learn to not do angles, even quick interviews? And will he learn to chill with the triple-threats so he doesn't have to use angles to eat up time? And will Jake Idol complain that we're jobbing the crap out of him before he leaves?

[infinitywpi]

March 2014, week 4

So, we were almost a quarter of the way through the year. This was an important week; it would determine if I stuck to one-and-three or moves to two-and-two for our ACZW shows. Because no way was I going to try to break even for a year, and then try to make two million in a single year. Not gonna happen.

 

Although another big-name star can't hurt things, right?

 

… well, big name for us. Midcarder for SWF, where he was. And who had him for another two weeks.

 

I do find I'm running out of times I can have Dragon and/or Machine and/or Callum wrestle people. I need to find a new trainer... what? Bear is a ring general in training? Well... we gotta get him a push then so he can teach some people...

 

 

ACZW #61

Not much of a show this week. Dragon beats Perez, and it's better than their last two matches, although Jonnie goes and breaks his nose when he dives off the ropes and doesn't quite flip far enough away from the apron. Nelson beats Smooth, and it's... bad. Poison Moose defeats Notorious, and it's even worse. Mitico beats Acid, and it's surprisingly awesome, and finally Donne retains the ACZW Title over Teddy in another awesome match.

 

(Show rating: C, 79 tickets sold.)

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #204

We open with an Xtreme Title match as Darryl Devine gets a crack at Fire Fly's title. It's not bad; not a great match, but Devine is still getting known in this corner of the country. Fly retains, as per usual. After that, joey Poison defeats Paradigm in a sub-par match – and if that's the worst we do tonight, I'll be happy. Donnie tries to spend a few minutes talking up tonight's main event CZCW/ACZW Unification Match, but the crowd rips into it.

 

Time to kick things into gear. Machine gets a win over Jonnie in a training session which goes fairly well, then Acid and Speedball turn out a surprise main-event-level match with Acid tapping out. Team PSW retains the tag titles over The Zoo in a below-average match, the Snap Dragon takes Smooth to school and turns out some average action.

 

Moose defeats Tigre Salvaje in a decent match, and then Bear squashes Jake again in our third below-average match of the night. After that, Remmy tries to hype up the main event; the crowd takes better to him than they did Donnie.

 

First, though, we have a fix-man match as Team Cougar (Cougar, Sparrow, and Philippe) defeat Team Me (Myself, Mitico, and Heroic) in a decent match. I know, with those teams, I let the other team win? Anyway, onto the main event unification match. I was counting on these two Coastal Vets to turn out something special, they work well together, they're both riding waves of momentum... and this just turns out ot be nothing special... somehow, not even match of the night, barely being ecclipsed by Acid/Speedball. Remmy wins and picks up two titles, and I'm wondering what the hell I was thinking when I booked this show.

 

Apparently I'm not the only one. I'm told later that Cliff has gotten several... concerns from the boys.

 

(Show rating: C+, 6,965 tickets sold)

 

 

On the next Welcome: Mutiny in the Zone?

[infinitywpi]

April 2014, week 1

Another month, another Coastal Resort 'graduate' that Cliff says isn't fit to be on the roster. And of course, Jake is leaving this week... Jake, who I had tried so hard to turn into a star over the last few years. So much for that idea.

 

Cliff called me into his office. I beat him to the punch. “The boys aren't happy. I know.” “... how did you...” “Jeremiah told me. We've been talking a lot, lately.” “... and?” “And... yeah, I've lost my touch wince I took a sabbatical. So... if I can't turn things around in a month, then we'll go back to booking by committee. And if that doesn't work... I'll drop out of the booking committee.” “... okay.” “Okay?” “Mark, I know better than to talk you out of things.”

 

It wouldn't be enough. Before the CZCW show this week, I'd get into a... heated discussion with one off our big names that would result in him saying he wouldn't re-sign, and me booking a certain match.

 

 

ACZW #62

Fire Fly retains his Xtreme Title over Matt Sparrow in an awesome match; Nelson Callum defeats Jonnie Perez in a decent one; and Bear squashes Joey in the trash of the night. Teddy Powell defeats Acid in an okay match, and Remmy retains the ACZW Title over Donnie in a semi-rematch that is, surprisingly, far better than their last encounter and has me saying “Dayum.”

 

(Show rating: B-, 1,854 tickets sold.)

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #205

I need to book a blow-away here. But I also need to put someone in their place. So we open with a Tag Team Title match, with Team PSW losing their titles against former champs Los Luchas (Mitico and Heroic). The match is, as expected, great. It's followed by Bear squashing Joey Poison... and it's actually okay. Bear is learning, fast. After that, we begin a mini-tournament for the Xtreme Title, as Fire Fly has 'cashed in' and will face Remmy tonight. In the first round, Jeremiah Moose defeats Tigre Salvaje in a somewhat poor match, followed by Darryl Devine defeating Jonnie Perez in a better-than-average of match.

 

A random tag-team matchup, Speedball and Sparrow defeat Dragon and Smooth in a pretty good match. Philippe defeats Demon Seed in a poor match, and then I defeat Acid in... well, a simply average match. We finally returns to the Xtreme Title as Moose defeats Darryl for the title in a... honestly, I was hoping for more out of my new buddy. Then, The Zoo defeats Notorious in a really poor match to give us a break before the main events.

 

First up, a triangle #1 Contenders match between Cougar, Machine, and Donnie. It's a long one that ends with Donnie getting some measure of satisfaction with a rollup on Machine, and it looks like he'll be getting one more crack at the title. The match itself is good, not great. Then, in the main event, Fire Fly proves he deserves more fan respect than he's been getting as he takes the fight to Remmy, and takes Remmy to the limit before ultimately failing in his bid to become a two-time CZCW Champion. But the match is awesome.

 

(Show rating: B-, 7,079 tickets sold).

 

I still got it.

 

 

On the next Welcome: When someone says it's a fluke, can I manage to book another great show? Or am I sabotaging myself with Remmy/Donnie III?

[infinitywpi]

April 2014, week 2

Well, it was coming down to crunch time for Bullet and Austin... they had a month left on their contracts, and neither one was at a point where Cliff felt comfortable having them thought of as 'Zone Material'. Sadly, I came to the conclusion that Austin was probably a lost cause... and Bullet was more than likely as well. So... do I keep Barrera around without his partner? And what do I do if I fail in my chance to train the last of the not-quite-theres, Acid II?

 

 

ACZW #63 (Southeast)

We open with me putting Donnie over in a fairly good matchup, and then follow up with Bear squashing The Zoo in a fairly horrid match. Just realized Bear has an animal name, too. What is it with us and animal names? Tigre gets a win over Joey Poison and hits right in the middle of the last two matches, and then Nelson defeats Bullet to give us two Trash of the Night contenders.

 

We get a tag title match as Los Luchas retain over Austin and Jonnie, and it's the best match so far. We follow it with Remmy vs Cougar, ACZW Title, which goes a good fifteen minutes before Donnie runs in and drops a ladder on Remmy's head. Remmy has trouble coming back from that, and within five minutes, Cougar becomes the new ACZW Champion in a really great match.

 

(Show rating: C, 76 tickets sold.)

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #206

Should be a fun show tonight. We open up with a Tag Title match, as Los Luchas retain against Acid & Poison (Possible tag name: Causes Of Death?) in a decent opener. Notorious then loose to the Zoo in our trash of the night (hopefully), and then we kick things into high gear with Matt Sparrow defeating Teddy Powell in a good match.

 

Out of nowhere, I have a great match when I defeat Tigre Savaje... I have no idea how we did that, but ti worked out really well. We then, unfortunately, have a new Trash of the Night as Speedball defeats Paradigm. To save us from boredom, Snap Dragon defeats Daryl Devine in a decent bout, and then Nelson beats Jonnie... again... this time, it's somewhat below average. Amazing Fire Fly then does the traditional jobbing to the new guy, as we welcome recent SWF cast-off Akima Brave to the Zone. For a debut match, this is fairly good, and Fire Fly does his usual making the opponent look good job.

 

Bear squashes Austin to chill us out for the main events, and they're a doozy. First off, Masked Cougar and Insane Machine meet one-on-one in a long, Zone-Main-Event-Style match that sees Machine get the win, but Cougar works hard to make sure he earns it, and it's definitely a good match. Then, Remmy vs Donnie for the CZCW Title – this is where I find out if my faith in these two old friends of mine is justified. And it is, as they turn out the best match I've seen from the two of them. Remmy retains, but they get a standing ovation for this one – myself included.

 

(Show rating: B-, 6,009 tickets sold.)

 

 

On the next Welcome: Machine has a big win, Akima is in town, Remmy needs a new challenger, Cougar is ruling the east coast, and I'm keeping well out of the title picture for the time being. Let's rock.

[funkyzafara]

Chemical Warfare, as a name for Acid & Poison

[infinitywpi]

April 2014, week 3

So, yeah, Akima Brave is in the Zone. For the first time in a while, a 'major league' castoff wasn't an automatic main-eventer here... we could actually help him out a bit. Felt kinda good to know the Zone was growing like that. We figured he'd be a good guy to have around for a while... if nothing else, he'll be fun to job out, but I actually think we could make him viable as a long-term Zoner.

 

We also decide to bring in some more people – since with Teddy on his way out, and now losing Austin and Bullet, we're dangerously close to appearing understaffed. Let's see who accepts...

 

 

ACZW #64 (Tristate)

Nothing fancy this week. Jeremiah retains the Xtreme Title over Phillipe in a decent match; Bear squashes Bullet; Matt Sparrow defeats Acid (and it's good), Joey defeats Austin (meh), Los Luchas retain the tag titles over Los Luchas (Panda and Tigre) in a good match, and finally Cougar makes his first defense against Fire Fly, and it's... well, not as good as hoped. Not as good as the tag match, even. Cougar retains, and we'll just hope his next match is better.

 

(Show rating: C, 1,827 tickets sold.)

 

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #207

We open with a 'star-packed' tag match, me and Dragon taking on Machine and Sparrow. This is one of the best opening matches we've had in a long time, ending with my eating a Termination Kick – but this is one I'm proud to lose, y'know? The crowd must be in a good mood because of this – we follow it up with Bear squashing Phillipe, and they like it. It's Teddy's last night, and as per tradition, his partner gets the final win over him; unfortunately, the fans aren't digging Nelson as being able to beat such a big name on his own right now, and it doesn't go over well.

 

Things pick up again with Akima Brave picking up his second win, this time over Acid. Acid, hopefully, also learning a few things from the guy who's been in the big time. The match is almost at a main-event level – which is a big pat of why it'll kill me to let Acid go. Fire fly gets a win over Austin, and then our trash of the night sees Barrera get a shock win over Jonnie Perez. Turns out, they have no chemistry whatsoever.

 

Next up, Donnie J gets an easy win over Paradigm, and it winds up being about average; then, a rare ACZW west-coast defense, as Masked Cougar defeats Darryl Devine in a pretty good match. And, to cool the crowd down, Demon Seed defeats Cheetah Boy... and it's average? Wow.

 

For main events, first, a triple-threat Tag Title ladder match as Los Luchas defends against Poison Moose and Los Rudos (Panda and Tigre). The match is great, not quite main event level, but still great, with the champs retaining. Then, Remmy Skye defends the CZCW Title against Marc Speed... and the match sucks an egg. Speedball... you let me down big-time, man... forget about any push... Remmy retains.

 

(Show rating: C, 6,662 tickets sold.)

 

 

On the next Welcome: … okay, in my defense, Speedball used to be great, man. That probably erased an entire year's worth of goodwill... not to mention, my booking reputation...

[infinitywpi]

April 2014, week 4

Let's see. We've resigned an old name (who, frankly, nobody will care about – he was a no-name then, he's still a no-name now), and we're making progress on getting some other names in. We also hired this kid, I'm sure he won't amount to anything.

 

 

ACZW #65 (Southeast)

We pen with Acid getting a victory over Bear (Bear, despite his lack of name value, is apparently an excellent teacher – and he's almost at the point where people would buy him beating most of our midcarders) in a good match. Barerra gets a shock win over Panda Mask (If we're going to keep him, we might as well push him) that nobody likes, and then Philippe defeats Demon seed, and nobody cares. Cheetah Boy gets a rare solo win over the returning Elliot Thomas, and the crowd remains silent. We wake them up with Los Luchas retaining the Tag Titles against Poison Moose in a great match, and then Masked Cougar defends the ACZW Title against the man he lost to recently: Insane Machine. This is the best match we've ever put on in the Southeast, and Cougar looks all the better for retianing his title in it.

 

(Show rating: C+, 132 tickets sold.)

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #208

This... may be a strange show. We're opening with myself defeating the newest member of the Coastal Zone, a mister Rod Remus. The kid may be a nobody, but we work really well together and nearly get people believing he's main-event material. Notorious gets a big win over Austin and Elliot, in a really bad match, and then Matt Sparrow gets a win over Nelson Callum... Nelson seems to have been winning a lot lately. Bear gets a squash win over Speedball – told you he could push anything resembling a push goodbye. And then the Xtreme Title is up over the ring, as Moose retains over Tigre in a rather decent fight.

 

Snap Dragon defeats his student Jonnie Perez, and Jonnie doesn't seem to be showing any signs of learning his safety lessons – his knee came down wrong on one of his high-risk manuvers. He's lucky he didn't break something. Fire Fly gets a win over Cheetah Boy, and I'm again reminded of Fire Fly's ability to carry almost anybody to a decent match – this was good. Donnie, not to be outdonw, defeats Darryl Devine and makes sure to make it a good match, and then we get a surprise contender for best-match-so-far as Phillipe LaGrenier defeats Panda Mask... and it's really freakin' good. Seriously, from those two? Wow.

 

We move on into our main events, as Los Luchas defend the tag titles against Causes of Death. Acid and Poison seem to be doing okay as a team, but they can't take the titles away this soon in their tag career – although they can make a great matchup. Then, a triple-threat match for the CZCW Title. Remmy Skye, Insane Machine, and Akima Brave – it's not th ebest match in the world, but it's decent enough for one of our main events – and perhaps the crowd's reaction takes a bit away from it, because they're surprised as hell when Akima puts an unceremonious end to Remmy's reign to become the new CZCW Champion.

 

(Show rating: B-, 6,671 tickets sold.)

 

 

On the next Welcome: Am I forgiven for last week now? I am? Great. 'cause I got another title change planned. Depending on how things go, of course.

[infinitywpi]

May 2014, week 1

Cliff called me into his office. “Mark,” he says, “You've lost your touch.” Personally, I thought we'd been doing okay with shows. So Cliff was going to hold me to my promise to start booking by comitte again? “No, not that. Your business touch. We almost lost more money last month than we had when I hired you. You're supposed to be making us money... not giving it away.” I told him how I started doing more shows in the tri-state area to compensate for that. “You lose money on those! You pack in so many big names, spend on sets, spend on hosts, spend on music... no more. I'm reigning you in.” I complained about how bush-league that would make us seem. And then he dropped the bombshell.

 

“And I've cancelled our contract with... the catering company. No more free food backstage. Not until things turn around.”

 

… god damn you, Cliff... it's not my fault the economy is in the toilet...

 

 

ACZW #66 (Tristate)

We decide to open with a match between Snap dragon and Acid II, hoping dragon can teach the kid some new tricks. And boy howdy... this is one of the best matches we've done in the tri-state area. Dragon gets the win, and I get another reason to tell Cliff “What do you mean, we can't keep him?” After that Barera defeats Phillipe in a bad match, Fire Fly beats Nelson in a good match, Bullet loses to Joey Poison in a bad-but-not-sucks match, Los Luchas retain their Tag Team Titles against the team of Bear and Tigre... wait, no, they don't. What the hell? Didn't someone tell Bear they were supposed to lose? Dammit... and finally, the title change I actually -planned- for tonight, Masked Cougar fails to retain the ACZW Title against... Rod Remus. I figure this'll give Remus a chance to prove himself on the east coast, and get me Cougar back to use on the west coast.

 

(Show rating: C, 1,802 tickets sold.)

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #209

Time to show the guys I can still book. We start off with Masked Cougar seeking some semblance of redemption to prove he's still champion material as he takes on Snap Dragon; it's a long Zone-style match that ends with Cougar showing he's still got it after a good match. Then, P-n-P get a win over Notorious – yes, P-n-P are still a team... but probably not for long. Not because the match was bad... which it was... but because Jonnie's refusing to learn to work safe. The Xtreme Title is up next, and Jeremiah Moose's lackluster reign comes ot an end with Mario Heroic taking the title away from him in another good match.

 

The Tag Titles are next; Bear and Tigre are calling themselves The Zoo, despite another team in the Zone calling themselves that. Tonight, they face the Causes of Death and somehow manage to retain their titles through Bear's strength and Tigre's lucha techniques, leading to a decent match. El Mitico defeats Speedball in another decent match, and then Cheetah Boy defeats Demon Seed – and nobody cares.

 

We get a triple-threat match between Panda, Fire Fly, and Austin... take a guess who wins. Go on, guess. Fire Fly? You're right. Another decent match? Also right. A thrown-together tag match is next, as I team with Nelson Callum to face Sparrow and Darryl Devine. We throw out a great match, and I find something I never thought I'd run into at this point in my career... Nelson and I really work well together. Maybe a run in the tag division is what I need to keep myself from being tempted to go into the CZCW Title hunt. We win, and it's a good match if I say so myself. Philippe defeats Elliot, and again, nobody cares.

 

For main events, we start with a long match that sees Donnie J eat a Termination Kick, giving Insane Machine yet another win. Then, Akima Brave makes his first title defense as Remmy Skye demands his rematch; the match is pretty good, but I'm honestly surprised it's not better... Akima retains, as I'm not ready to make a decision on if he was a good idea or not.

 

(Show rating: B-, 6,585 tickets sold.)

 

 

On the next Coastal Zone: Okay, that's officially every title changing hands in the span of eight days. Change is good, right?

[infinitywpi]

May 2014, week 2

Crunch time for Acid. He's now in the last month of his contract... and hasn't learned enough to satisfy Cliff. I'd consider keeping him on anyway... but Cliff is -still- ticked at me for keeping Jonnie on the roster waaaaaay back when I first started. Well... let's put Acid through The Wringer... and try to ignore the fact that Bullet and Austin Smooth are leaving this week. Neither one was spectacular, no, but Bullet was learning and Austin was... well, dependable, at least.

 

 

ACZW #67 (Southeast)

Acid gets put through the ringer tonight; first, a loss to El Mitico (Good), a win over Jeremiah Moose (Average), a loss to me (even worse???), and finally a losing attempt to take the ACZW Title from Rod Remus (Average). Here's hoping he learns something from this.

 

(Show rating: D+, 124 tickets sold.)

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #210

Okay. This is gonna be a great show. And not just because I went all-out with great matches. But mostly because of that.

 

We open with Mario Heroic defending the Xtreme Title against Nelson Callum. Nelson's got the crowd behind him more than usual thanks to our tag match; and that puts a lot of energy into this one. Heroic retains, and I'm rather pleased that this is good – main-event good. The followup gives Fire Fly a win over Barrera, and it's an above-average match – once again, I underestimate Fire Fly's ability to carry. The crowd is so surprised that they're not that into the next match... which is a shame, because it's Insane Machine vs Matt Sparrow for twenty minutes. Machine wins, but the crowd... well, for whatever reason, they're not happy with this one.

 

The Tag Titles are next, with The Zoo defending against The Zoo... that is, Bear & Tigre against Panda & Cheetah. And holy cow, this is a good match that I didn't expect from these two teams – maybe the recent lettings-go have given people a kick in the pants, but these two teams did great. The champs retain, but this is a rivalry that'll have to continue. Philippe LaGrenier defeats Speedball in an average bout – Speedball's still not happy about his new 'jobber stepping-stone' status. Then, Poison Moose defeats P-n-P, and it's night-and-day compared to that tag match – We've got three long-time Zoners in here, and that's the best they can do? Donnie defeats Acid in an okay match, then I give Dragon a win over me in a good matchup that, if we added a ladder, would make a great main event. Then, to calm people down, Darryl Devine defeats Ellitot Thomas, and it's not that bad. Not good. But not that bad.

 

For main events, we start off with Remmy Skye defeating El Mitico in a great matchup, and then Akima Brave defends the CZCW Title against Masked Cougar; again, great match, but it's about average when it comes to Zone main events.

 

(Show rating: B-, 6,662 tickets sold.)

 

 

On the next Coastal Zone: How long do we give Akima to get a better match out of himself?

[infinitywpi]

May 2014, week 3

Wow. And I thought we had guts in some of our signing attempts... PSW tried to bring in Bruce the Giant. Note that I said 'tried'.

 

Also, note that, while Acid is learning -something-, it's not quite what we want him to... so, it's the wringer again on the east coast!

 

 

ACZW #68 (Tristate)

Okay, Acid, lets see if you learn anything from tonight. First, a victory over Nelson (Good), a victory over Bear (Decent), a victory over Philippe (meh), a victory over Barerra (blah), and a loss to Fire Fly (Decent). After all that, his reward is an ACZW Title Shot, in which he loses to Rod, and the match is strangely horrible.

 

(Show rating: D+, 2,000 tickets sold)

 

Well, Cliff?

“Not yet. He's close... but not yet.”

Dammit...

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #211

We open with a match to determine who faces Akima in the main event, and it's Remmy Skye vs El Mitico. These two give us a good main-event-level match, and the people are a bit surprised when Mitico is the one who gets the pinfall. After that, Speedball fails to carry Demon Seed to a decent match before defeating him (Hey, he's useless if he loses every single match), and then Sparrow wins a triple threat against Devine and Jonnie.

 

We get some tag action as The Causes Of Death face the reuniting Lords Of Xtreme (Cougar & Dragon). The match is decent enough, but somehow, we were expecting better. After that, Donnie J puts on a good show as he puts over Jeremiah Moose; Moose has come a long way but he still needs the right opponent to work well with. After that, Barrera runs roughshod over Nelson Kemper; Nelson hates it, the crowd hates it, but it's still better than Speedball's match. The Tag Titles are next as The Two Zoos clash again; as with last time, this was a good match that elevates both teams in showing what they can do. Next, the Xtreme Title as Heroic defends against his Hermano-de-lucha Fire Fly; as expected, a great match that could easily be slotted into the main event.

 

Paradigm sells like a madman and puts over Philippe very well in a decent match, and then Machine and I stink up the joint – the crowd really didn't want us to fight again, despite my trying to work some new spots into the act. Machine wins, crowd hates me. Why did I put this as the sub-main-event? Then, finally, Akima defends against Mitico; the crowd is restless enough to distract the guys in the ring, and I'm more than willing to take the blame for this one... sorry, guys. Akima retains, the crowd isn't happy.

 

(Show rating: C, 6,095 tickets sold.)

 

 

On the next Coastal Zone: Which four employees will join Fox on the new booking committee? And can they prevent fiascos like that one?

[infinitywpi]

<p>May 2014, week 4</p><p>

I was noticing an interesting trend. On the roster of All canada Pro Wrestling was... Acid II, Air Attack Weasel, Donnie J, Jesse Gilbert and Masked Cougar. Were they trying to be the Canadian Zone or something?</p><p> </p><p>

Whatever. I couldn't focus on that right now. After last week, Cliff announced that we'd now be booking by committee... at the very least, a committee that would be giving me 'advice'. And of course, have the ability to recommend to Cliff that I be removed. He just wasn't telling anyone who was on the team yet. Which left me... a bit paranoid. If I booked someone wrong tonight... well... there was one thing I could hope wouldn't tick anyone off. Acid would run the wringer again, in the hopes he finally learns something...</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

ACZW #69 (Southeast)</p><p>

Acid loses to Snap Dragon and Insane Machine (both poor-to-bad... Acid's really hurting, just not complaining about it), then defeats Bear (also poor). Then, for a main event, Remus defends against Fire Fly; Easily the match of the night, but that's not saying much.</p><p> </p><p>

(Show rating: D, 104 tickets sold.)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

CZCW Onslaught #212</p><p>

Screw it. I'm booking this the way I want to book. Hurt feelings be damned. We open with Heroic defending the Xtreme Title against El Mitico; as usual, the luchas turn out a good match and a great opener. Barrera defeats Joey Poison in an average match as we continue his push, and then I face Acid in what can best be described as a poor match. </p><p> </p><p>

The Zoo Feud continues in singles action as Panda and Tigre face off; the former stable-mates don't work well together, but manage to keep things up to our average standards as Panda wins. Donnie defeats Speedball, and we're keeping things on a nice, average level. Jeremiah Moose defeats Darryl Devine, and things are getting good – these two put on a good show. Fire Fly defeats Perez, and we're back to average, Nelson defeats Philippe, still average... and Bear faces off against Cheetah Boy... and these two put a little effort into it, giving us another above-average match. </p><p> </p><p>

For main events, we're whipping out an expensive tag match as The Lords Of Xtreme face The Lords Of The Air – yeah, Cougar and Dragon against Sparrow and Skye. It's a good match, suitable for main eventing, but you're telling me these guys couldn't do better? And finally, in our main event, Akima faces a tough task in Insane Machine, and I've decided to pull the trigger and get the title back on one of our big names – and probably just as well. This match was... far below our expectations for a main event. Akima, I gave you a shot, but you just couldn't live up to it. The ball is in Machine's court, now.</p><p> </p><p>

(Show rating: C+, 6,873 tickets sold.)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

On the next Coastal Zone: Time to meet my new 'team'... more like babysitters. If they do poorly, I get the blame... if they do well, Cliff has a reason to get replace me. How the heck do I handle this?</p>

[Beeker]

May 2014, week 4

I was noticing an interesting trend. On the roster of All canada Pro Wrestling was... Acid II, Air Attack Weasel, Donnie J, Jesse Gilbert and Masked Cougar. Were they trying to be the Canadian Zone or something?

 

And you thought I was joking when I mentioned that Arctic Coastal Zone... see... just goes to prove that TEW reads the Greydog Dynasty Forum.

 

 

Spooky!

[infinitywpi]

So, um... I've run through my backlog of shows and haven't had time to do more, so we're on hiatus until the weekend... maybe.

 

In the meantime, any requests?

[James Casey]

I'd love to see your title histories. It seems like after nearly 300 shows you've had a switch about every other show

 

More seriously - 'cos I suspect title histories would take longer to post than a month's worth of shows would to write up - I'm curious if you've had any luck with PPV negotiations? I'm surprised that you've not found anyone to take a chance on you.

[Nightshadeex]

What did you add your extra talent points to?

[infinitywpi]

I'm curious if you've had any luck with PPV negotiations? I'm surprised that you've not found anyone to take a chance on you.

 

I can aswer this without the program in front of me: Nope, no luck whatsoever. I blame a combination of lower average popularity outside the Southwest with Economy and Industry ratings that are at E/E+ levels and falling with no signs of stopping.

[Beeker]

Perhaps a general, state of the US or North American industry. Who's thriving. Who's dying. Who's just barely managed to stay afloat. Unlikely superstars? Big name jumps.

[infinitywpi]

Okay, a short title history of the Zone... so far.

 

CZCW Championship

2010: Fox Mask -> Bryan Holmes -> Art Reed -> Masked Cougar -> Holmes -> Ultimate Phoenix -> Holmes -> Marc Speed -> Holmes

 

2011: Holmes -> Snap Dragon -> Teddy Powell -> Fox Mask -> Donnie J

 

2012: Donnie J -> Randy Bumfhole -> Fox Mask -> Randy Bumfhole -> Fox Mask -> El Mitico Jr.

 

2013: El Mitico Jr -> Snap Dragon -> Amazing Fire Fly -> Remmy Skye -> Insane Machine

 

2014 (so far): Insane Machine -> Remmy Skye -> Akima Brave

[infinitywpi]

June 2014, week 1

“So, Fox... I'd like you to meet your new booking team. They'll be handling ACZW themselves this week, to get into the swing of things... then, they'll be your best resource for booking business-wise shows.”

“Enough ceremony, Cliff. Who is it?”

“The cream of the crop, my boy. We have Matt Sparrow for the high-flying side of things, Snap Dragon for the lucha side of things, Phillip LaGenier for the Canadian side of things, and Marc Speed for the technical side of things.”

 

Oh, dear god... Speedball? Matt “I never get a decent shot in the main event” Sparrow? Snap “Why doesn't Fox like me after I berated this kid?” Dragon? Phillipe... okay, as far as I know I haven't gotten on the kid's bad side yet. But this is not going to be enjoyable.

 

 

ACZW #70 (Tristate)

From the records of the New Zone Booking Team: We've designed this show as a combination of cash-wise and fan-inspiring. It begins with Masked Cougar defeating the booking team's own Matt Sparrow – it was a three-to-one vote on that. The two of them put on a simply great match. After that, we have nelson Callum defeat Jonnie Perez, and that's not that good... Perez will be leaving us eventually here, hopefully before he hurts anyone, but if he's going to hurt someone, might as well be one of the newer guys. We do some more feuding of the Two Zoos, with Cheetah Boy defeating Tigre (Let's face it, anyone in Los Rudos stopped being worthy of a push years ago) and Bear squashing Panda Mask (Same reasoning, even if both matches are okay). In the main event, this Remus kid defends the ACZW Title against Amazing Fire Fly (Dragon likes the kid, so we went along with it). The two put out a good match, but we're starting to think Dragon's push for him to win here was something we should have followed...

 

(Show rating: C-, 2,000 tickets sold).

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #213

Before the show, I sat down with my 'team' to go over some ideas. And had them all shot down. Which was what I was expecting. Speedball actually enjoyed giving 'better ideas'... Sparrow was highly self-satisfied with what they came up with... Dragon certainly didn't look happy so much as businesslike. And Phillippe... I don't know him well enough to know what he was feeling. But he mostly stayed quiet... out of the line of fire. I... might be able to work with that. If I survive the indignities these guys put me through.

 

They... okay, 'we'... start the show with a triple-threat match between Remmy Skye, Jeremiah Moose, and Amazing Fire Fly. The others had wanted to stick this in the middle of the card, but I held strong... they gave in and used it as a reason to get me to back down on other 'issues' I had. As a result, we got a great opener that got the crowd moving. Skye got the win, but they all looked good.

 

After that, Elliot Thomas defeated Panda Mask in a short, barely-passable match; it looked like the rest of the booking team was trying to do away with the old Los Rudos group; Panda was jobbing, Demon Seed wasn't even on the card... the Xtreme Title was next, and Mario Heroic put up a valiant defense before losing to your new champion, Akima Brave. This was one of the decisions I had fought against... although I have to admit, it was a great match. Although I give the credit for that to Heroic.

 

Philippe defeated Jonnie Perez in another short, barely-passable match, and then I got to go to the ring and j-o-b... Paradigm's a good kid, but this match hurt me a lot more than helped him. Don't for a second think I didn't see the reasoning behind it... they're trying to hurt my career. Especially by sandwitching me between midcard matches. After me is a tag match, with Cheetah and Mitico losing to Poison and Callum; it's a good match, Mitico leading the kids through their paces.

 

The Tag Titles are up next, with Speedball and Sparrow putting The Zoo (Bear and Tigre) back into the title chase by taking their titles. I was against this one – some of these titles are for elevating new talent, not stroking the egos of the booking team. Still... good match. We get a bit of a break as Daryll Devine defeats Acid II in their first meeting, but Acid's been jobbed so badly nobody cares anymore, and the match was just bad. I tried to get him to learn faster.. .I failed on that one.

 

For main events, Cougar gets a victory over Donnie J in a good match that was overshone by at least two other matches on the card, and in the main event Insane Machine retained the CZCW Title over Snap Dragon in an awesome match. Dragon, at least, seemed to be willing to do the right thing for the company and the title...

 

(Show rating: B-, 7,052 tickets sold.)

 

 

On the next Coastal Zone: Fox seeks an alliance with someone on the booking team. Can his former friends really feel this badly about him?

[eayragt]

Fox lost... to Paradigm!?! He needs to start making better friends.

 

And yay! Welcome back!

[infinitywpi]

June 2014, week 2

 

I was sitting in my spot in the booking meeting for the ACZW show when Fox Mask started pounding on the door, demanding to know why it was looked. The others all looked at me. I shrugged, said “Sure, why not,” and slipped out the side door to go talk to him.

 

In a way, I felt bad for the guy. I mean, he'd dedicated his life to this company, but from everything I've heard... it went to his head. He forgot he wasn't the owner, and started doing things that weren't working out well, and felt he shouldn't be held responsible for them. From how he was acting, it was easy to believe. To go from the sole booker to being the figurehead of a booking team that was instructed to ignore as many of his suggestions as possible? That's got to take your ego down a few rungs.

 

“Philippe, man... I hired you. You're here because I saw your potential.”

“And I appreciate that. But if I want to stay here? You stay outside.”

“This is bull****. You know it.”

I sighed. “Yeah. I know it. Look... give me some of your ideas, I'll present them as my own. It'll give them more of a chance of getting done.”

“And give you more credit than your own ideas do.”

“It's the best offer I can give. Take it or leave it. Either way... go lace 'em up. They're deciding who needs to be put over tonight.”

 

 

ACZW #71 (Southeast)

The show opens with Snap Dragon defeating Fire Fly in a good, but poorly-recieved, match. The crowd is small... but the show is big enough for all the egos involved. I start to see part of what I've been doing wrong. I go out there and lose to Joey Poison; Joey gives me a wink and tells me he's on my side, and we put on a better performance than the first one. El Mitico gets to put over Jeremiah Moose next; afterwards, he looks at Joey and me and shakes his head. “Can't believe I had to carry that guy...”

 

Darryl Devine defeats Barrera in one of those weird matches where everything clicks, but the match just doesn't work. Phillipe got a win over Heroic in another decent little contest, and finally Rod Remus lost the ACZW Title to Bear Bekowski of all people. It's a fiasco... Bear's coming off a tag title loss, Remus is ticked at losing his title, nobody seems to care, and the match itself just... isn't that good.

 

(Show rating: D, 108 tickets sold.)

 

After the show, Remus makes sure to join me, Mitico, and Poison for drinks... partially to support me. Partially to get away from Bear's celebrating. Quietly, we make plans.

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #214

Tonight, we open with Donnie J and Masked Cougar going for nearly half an hour. Not what I would have gone with for an opener, but I have to admit, it works. Good match, great opener, Donnie gets the win here. We follow that with Nelson Callum squashing Cheetah Boy in an okay match, then Akima Brave retaining the Xtreme Title against Rod Remus in... well, another okay match, because Remus hasn't wrestled in this side of the country before... geniuses.

 

I'm up next, jobbing to Darryl Devine. I give Darryl the match of his Zone career so far – not quite main event level, but the crowd's starting to catch on to the fact I'm on a losing streak. Philippe and Fire Fly are up next, and to my surpise they put on a main-event-quality match – I would have had Fire Fly go over, but then, Philippe -is- on the booking team.

 

Skye and Heroic have to follow that, and fail – if you can make those tow seem average, you've had a good match. Skye gets the win, unsurprisingly. A triple-threat sees Jonnie Perez defeat Panda Mask and Paradigm in a simply average match, and then another main-event-quality match as Speedball and Sparrow retain the Tag Titles over Poison Moose. Joey and Jeremiah impress the hell out of me here – and it turns out, that's what they were intending to do.

 

Barrera squashes Tigre Savaje in the worst match of the night, and then we get down to the big stuff. Snap Dragon defeats El Mitico in... well, it's good, for I've seen these two do so much better. Then, Machine retains the CZCW Title against... wait, Snap Dragon again? Did he seriously just book himself in both main events? He's a bit sluggish for the next one, to the point that it's debatable if it was actually the match of the night or not – with all the good matches here tonight, fans will be arguing about which was best for a long time.

 

(Show rating: C+, 7,094 tickets sold. Four B- matches, and still a C+.)

 

After 'work', Joey brings Jeremiah to talk with me. They tell me that when I'm ready to make my move, they're both with me.

 

… I'm supposed to be making a move?

 

 

On the next Coastal Zone: The booking team is rubbing a few people the wrong way. Will Fox be able to generate enough support to make Cliff see reason?

[Jaded]

After 'work', Joey brings Jeremiah to talk with me. They tell me that when I'm ready to make my move, they're both with me.

 

… I'm supposed to be making a move?

 

 

On the next Coastal Zone: The booking team is rubbing a few people the wrong way. Will Fox be able to generate enough support to make Cliff see reason?

 

Make a move!

 

Great to see this back, one of my favourites because it's so well written but so quick to read.

[infinitywpi]

June 2014, week 3

 

ACZW #68 (Tristate)

I'm fairly certain that if I wasn't being paid by the month, I wouldn't get used anymore. Regardless, the bookign team has thrown me into an actual decent match for once – jobbing, curtain-jerking, sure, but it's a title match at least, losing to Akima Brave for the Xtreme Title. I get to show some offense, and it's a decent enough match that I shake a bit of the funk I'm settling into. The funk comes back as I watch Remus defeat Jonnie in a boring match, and then Paradigm gets a win over Tigre... and looks good doing it. Why are they pushing... they're trying to turn him away from me, aren't they? Push him so I look bad for not doing it...

 

For main events, Bear retains the ACZW Title over Mario Heroic, and the Tag Titles are contested by Speedball & Sparrow against Mitico and Fire Fly – even I have to admit it's a great matchup, but the luchas don't go over like they should... it's a shame.

 

(Show rating: C+, 2,000 tickets sold.)

 

“This is ********, AND YOU KNOW IT!”

“I've been running this company longer than you've been wrestling, Berkowski! I don't have to justify anything to you!”

I opened the locker-room door to find the ACZW Champion in a heated argument with Cliff. Everyone else was trying very hard to not pay attention. Inside of twenty seconds, I got the jist of it: Bear was unhappy with the booking comittie making him a champion when he wasn't known enough; he felt it was going to wreck his Zone career. Cliff, meanwhile, was supporting the others' decisions.

First thing to do was try to calm things down. “Bear, man... there's better ways to deal with th--”

“Oh, don't you start! We've seen your way of 'dealing with things'... you roll over and play dead! The only one in this company with the brains to book right lacks the balls to do it!” Bear grabbed the ACZW Title from his gymbag and tossed it at Cliff's feet. “The hell with this. I'm out of here.”

 

… that could have gone better...

 

 

CZCW Onslaught #211

The show starts off with Donnie J, having just re-signed his contract, defeating El Mitico in a pretty good match. Barrera defeats Mario Heroic in a bad squash, and then Cougar gets a win in over Remus. Poison Moose gets a win over Tigre and Panda in another poor match... and I officially no longer know what the booking team is doing. I'm not sure I want to figure it out.

 

I show up and put in a good match as I lose to Nelson Callum; he seems like a decent enough guy, and so far he's been staying out of politics. As far as I know. Remmy Skye beats Paradigm next, and Paradigm puts on a pretty good show for a not-quite-squash. Then, Jonnie does me proud and puts on the match of the night so far defeating Fire Fly.

 

After that, Darryl Devine squashing Cheetah Boy can't hold a candle to anything so far, and then we move into the main events. Snap Dragon puts over Philippe LaGrenier in a really good match... designed to get him to like Dragon more than me, I assume. And the main event is a huge wad of cash spent, as Speedball and Sparrow defend the Tag Team Titles against Machine and Akima. It's a great match, of course, but nowhere near as good as it should be for that much money. The champs retain their belts... and that has to be the biggest proof that they've let the book go to their heads I've seen yet.

 

(Show rating: C+, 6,322 tickets sold.)

 

 

On the next Coastal Zone: I have no idea. I've lost the reigns. All I know is, if somethign doesn't change soon... I'm changing it.

[Jaded]

This is increasingly awesome. Rooting hard for fox to get back on top!