(C-VERSE)Wrestling Almanac's of the 2010's

[Jaded]

Canada – With the industry and economy rapidly climbing, in stark contrast to the United States, many wrestlers are finding the move north a tempting prospect. NOTBPW is particularly attractive to guys working the more fast-paced, modern style, since new owner Vicky Stone and booker Sean McFly dropped the emphasis on pure wrestling in favour of more high-flying.

 

NOTBPW: NOTBPW is rapidly rising, hitting National status recently, and its matches are hugely in demand by tape traders. The new power pairing of Vicky Stone and Sean McFly pulled off some big acquisitions, notably seeing the return of Art Reed to the fed where he was trained, Eric Tyler’s return to Canada as part of a new announce duo with Jerome Turner, and hot properties Davis Wayne Newton, Jacob Jett and Agent 69.

 

Not much change at the top, as DeColt retained his Canadian belt against the usual line-up of babyfaces from the Stone family, but a bit more interest in the tag ranks, where the surprise champions at the start of the year, Omar Brown and Harlem Haynes, were beaten by an even more unlikely pair of winners in Harrison Hash and Lord James King. However, the Street Team stable regained the belts when Hayes and new member Holmes beat Hash and King fairly easily. Lauren Easter is the women’s champ, defeating Melody, while the Stone Siblings became 3 time Ed Henson Cup winners.

 

Bloodstone and McFly appear able to pull off 5 star matches pretty much at will, having faced each other in 4 classics this year, although Bloodstone’s double count-out 40 minute draw against Jeremy Stone was better than any of them, as was Jeremy’s non-title victory over DeColt.

 

CGC: While CGC is somewhat overshadowed by NOTBPW, there’s still some great wrestling going on in the home of the DeColts, and Power House graduates Skip Beau and Donte Dunn are two to watch in the future. However, the dojo’s future is in doubt after head trainer Jack DeColt sensationally quit the fed, taking some time off from wrestling. Surprisingly, his fiancé Hotstuff Marie is still around, and Ryan Powell turned face by rescuing her from Elite back in September. Eddie Chandler has arguably become a more central figure to the promotion than either of the DeColts, as he’s been involved in the fed’s 6 best matches, against a variety of opponents.

 

Dan DaLay was chosen to defeat Jack for the World title when he announced he was leaving, but Jack’s brother Ricky quickly won the title back from the heel. Elite are still looking strong, however, with a great current feud between Powell and Eddie Chandler, while Sean Deeley is breaking out as a star after his battle royal victory at Last Man Standing. Bobby Thomas has returned to the tag ranks despite the Specialists’ break up, pairing with the monstrous Gargantuan to win the titles, while Gargantuan briefly held the Canadian belt, dropping it to another ex-tag team wrestler, Youth Energy’s Shane Nelson.

 

4C: The underground alternative to the big 2 has been hit by NOTBPW’s success, with DWN, Jacob Jett and Hardcore Killah all leaving, although they’ve picked up some good young talent in Jamie Atherton, Philippe LaGrenier, DeColt Power House grad Donte Dunn, and the Combat Academy’s own Morgan Malone, a very solid all-rounder.

 

Frankie Dee has been the main beneficiary of the departures, as he’s been given a long run with the championship, as have the Gilberts with the tag belts. Meanwhile, Rajah has defeated Antonio Del Veccio for the Hardcore title. ‘White Lightning’ Jamie Atherton is rising quickly despite generally being just thrown into multi-way matches, just through his sheer star quality. Sayeed Ali has been given several shots at Dee’s belt but never managed to defeat the White Angel, but Phillipe LaGrenier has come in and started a win streak, leading to speculation that he may be the man to get the title next.

 

ACPW: Daedalus Buchinsky’s federation is rising quickly, hitting Small size, by focusing on the trio of Jamie Atherton, Jayson Van Pelt, and Mario DeSilva. Atherton’s continual inability to beat Van Pelt is the main storyline, with his latest loss coming in a ladder match when the Sensation hit an incredible slingshot flying clothesline into the ring to knock over the ladder just as Jamie was about to reach the top. Mario DeSilva recently dropped the Regional title to Alistair Shufflebottom. The shock rising star, though, is new Junior Heavyweight champion Dermott Ayres, who upset El Diablo for the belt in December.

[Jaded]

The UK – Although the wrestling industry in the UK is in decline, the economy is becoming rather healthy, and that’s giving fresh hope to MOSC and ROF, both of which have just scraped through to the end of the year without going bankrupt as feared. The scene suffered tragedy in February, however, when The Scotsman died, to so little fanfare that the exact cause of his death was never even reported.

 

21CW: Of the first five graduates of the National School of Wrestling, four immediately signed for Jeff Nova’s fed, although of the quartet – Leigh Burton, War Machine, Joe Simpson and Ricky Storm – only War Machine has had any noticeable success, beating Daniel Black Francis and Nate Manchester. There’s been progress made by the fed, especially in Scotland, and Adam Matravers recently beat Harry Wilson for the UK title, while Joss Thompson is enjoying a long run with the World belt. His defences – especially the ones against Jonathan Faust – have been the highlights of the year for the UK’s biggest fed.

 

ROF: With the plaudits going to the National School of Wrestling, ROF’s own Turnbuckle Dojo has been largely unnoticed, allowing the fed to pick up graduates Grant Taypen and Leighton Buzzard, along with indy standout Wade Orson and a genuine big name in Edward Cornell. They’ve trimmed the roster, however, cutting numerous lowercarders such as Kelly Martin and Jon Michael Sharp.

 

More to the point, they’ve put on consistently impressive shows, with Merle O’Curle’s title defences reaching a level where they wouldn’t look out of place in an NOTBPW or BHOTWG midcard. His two recent victories over Don Henderson and Walter Morgan were the British matches of the year, and he also had a hot series vs British Samurai. Stepping down from O’Curle there’s often a marked drop in quality, but whenever two guys from the Shooters, UK Dragon and Walter Morgan – Don Henderson’s new tag partner as champions – have ended up in the ring together, an excellent semi-main has been assured.

 

MOSC: The departures of the UK Wrecking Crew, Axl Grease and Tony Wright, and the hirings of DJ Reason, Rolling Johnny Stones and Arthur T Turtle have led to suggestions that the Highland Warrior is trying to – whisper it quietly – bring actual WRESTLING to MOSC, a claim that he strongly denies. It’s refreshing to see that despite the ability of guys like Reason and Stones, the fed is still dominated by the big lugs – booker Harley Neill rewarding himself for... something or other... by giving himself a year long title reign with numerous victories over former tag partner Danny Patterson, who was slowed down by a broken nose. Patterson turned face to challenge for the belt back in February, although he recently attacked Stones, presumably making him a heel again. The other current top name in the fed is Buff Martinez, who recently returned, although it’s clear that 21CW is still his main priority.

[TheStroke7]

It has been a good read so far...good job!...anyway, I'm looking for a European scene recap tomorrow!...

[Jaded]

Here you go, Stroke.

 

Australia tomorrow, btw, then year-end awards and requests Saturday morning, before we go on to 2011 later in the weekend.

 

Europe: With the industry and economy at rock bottom, this has been a time of turmoil for the European feds, although all three have managed to stay afloat.

 

EWA: The losses of former three-time UCR European champion Super Falcon and former three-time UCR tag champ Ruud Van Anger have hit the fed hard, but Bam Bam Johansson has been given a third run with the Universal belt and his feud with the White Knight is doing good business. Byron’s run with the title was decent, especially his matches against Jase Cole, who has really emerged as a future star after dropping the Jed High gimmick.

 

UEW: UEW pulled off one of the biggest signings Europe has seen for years in February, bringing in Greg Gauge, the massively talented son of legend Sam Keith. Unfortunately, his run lasted mere months before he was tempted by a written contract with BHOTWG, and he was used to job to both Inky the Squid Boy and Big Poppa Punisher! After the loss of Gauge, and with constant rumours that main stars Stig Svensson and Joey Beauchamp may be targeted by bigger feds, owner Ali Bloxsome decided to take a more prominent role in-ring, reasoning he was the only person he could rely on not to leave. He’s had a reasonably good programme of matches with Svensson, but the clear MVP of the fed is booker Beauchamp, who’s carried Sergei Kalashnikov to a series of surprisingly good bouts.

 

VWA: Europe’s newest federation is probably on a bigger wave of momentum than either of the two slightly more established organisations, as champion Sebastian Koller went from strength to strength. Having a great feud with Cub Balowicz, Koller recently turned heel on former friend Walker Van Cleer, apparently being worried by the progress the Dutchman was making, especially after Van Cleer nearly beat him at Firecracker.

[Jaded]

Australia: While the wrestling industry appears to be coming down from its peak in Australia, the economy is rising quickly, and ZEN’s massive cash injection means there’s a bright future ahead for the New Zealand based fed. On Australia itself, the war has heated up, and the most talked about fed is arguably DIW, who continually bounce back from having their big stars stolen by bringing in some great talent from the indies.

 

RAW: RAW finally brought in Swoop McCarthy, the nation’s biggest star – well, at least from those people still working the nation, even Swoop would admit that he’s not quite in Bruce’s league just yet. They also raided DIW, bringing in Maurice Jackson and mob boss Dumfrey Pinn. Pinn has quickly established himself as a big player in RAW, employing the Master Minds and Spin Doctor to ‘take care of’ his opponents before big matches.

 

While Luke Steele made it to December with the TV title, he couldn’t quite finish the year, as the fans at Stars of RAW 22 finally saw Loxley Robbins get the long awaited victory over his rival. Robbins is currently a double champ, also holding the tag belts with Captain Wrestling II.

 

The main event scene is largely unchanged, but Swoop McCarthy is rising fast. Originally brought in as a jobber, he’s had a very entertaining feud with Pinn and the Minds and appears to now be on the cusp of a real main event push.

 

APW: While the loss of Commonwealth champion Swoop McCarthy was a massive blow for the fed, they recovered fairly well – the show after his defection saw Nathan McKenzie cut undoubtedly the best promo of his career (with claims that more work went into scripting it than into writing many major movies seeming only slightly overblown), tearing apart McCarthy for bringing dishonour on the belt and turning himself face. McKenzie is currently feuding with David Peterson for the number one contender position, while long-time McCarthy ally Harry Simonson defeated Lanny Williams in a tourney final to win his third belt, and that pairing are fighting over the title still.

 

The main problem in APW is the crumbling tag division, with the belts being virtually undefended since co-champion Rick Stantz won the Australian belt as well.

 

DIW: The Comedian brought in a large number of wrestlers in 2010, although many had extremely brief stays – notably Maurice Jackson, who lasted just one match before RAW poached him, and Nicky Gilbert, who went to APW after just 2 contests. However, Richie Fox, Milton Hittlespittz, Seeker, and manager Mac Guffin have all settled in well to the fed.

 

Mayhem Mulhoney and Menace to Sobriety’s insane feud – featuring cage matches, dog-collar bouts, and an incredible barbed wire fight – has been one of the main attractions, and Mulhoney’s win in that blow-off barbed wire fight came with the title at stake, as he’d just defeated the Comedian at the previous show to win the belt.

 

ZEN: After businessman Barry Fitzgerald plunged a seriously massive sum of money into New Zealand’s favourite crazy lucha fed, it was clearly only a matter of time before they made it big. Their progress is steady rather than phenomenal, but Halloween Knight has managed to keep the entire roster together, and is pulling off some very impressive title matches, notably against rising star X-Calibre. Meanwhile, Cyanide has taken Shaolin’s Conceptual belt – or at least, his Conceptual concept of a belt – and Vertigo and Super Zero still hold the ZEN Harmony titles.

[Jaded]

Independent round-up

USA – There’ve been numerous indie shows in the States, with a fair amount of former big stars locking up. Notably, the Nation of Filth have headlined a lot, while Billy Russell and Randal Hopkirk jobbed to Steve Gumble and Jack Griffith in a match which wouldn’t have looked out of place in the SWF’s mid-card. Travis Century, Paul Steadyfast, Darryl Devine, Man Mountain Cahill and Fumihiro Ota have all featured on several cards as well.

 

Canada – Bryan Holmes was the darling of the indies in the first half of the year, beating Alan Parent, Dirty Frank, The Wizard of Ottawa and Mammoth in some excellent matches before being signed up by NOTBPW.

 

UK – Guys like the Agents, the Landlord, Pigeon Mask and Brilliant White have kicked around the scene without ever really doing anything much.

 

Europe – The biggest matches on the indie scene – in both ways – have been Bigger Dan Ewe’s collisions with the Big Bad. Elsewhere on the cards, the Falcons, Doctor Insane, and Puffy The Sand Iron Player have all featured a lot.

 

Australia – Black Flash and the New Zealand Pit Bull have had the best matches of an otherwise extremely forgettable year on the indies.

 

 

The Ones To Watch

Alicia Strong – Sam’s daughter has become known as the Iron Lady in USPW as a result of her superb stamina (up from 82 to 88.) She’s been surprisingly unselfish in the ring, going 14-21 this year, and has put over Belle Bryden on numerous occasions – although she recently won the Women’s title from Cherry Bomb.

 

Anger – The former Demon had a falling out with Giant Redwood earlier in the year, which seems to have limited his chances in USPW. He’s been mainly used to job to guys like Puerto Rican Power, Captain USA and Des Davids.

 

Angry Gilmore – For a guy supposedly at his peak, SWF have been less than keen on using Angry this year, with him wrestling just 12 times. In fairness, that’s partly because he’s doing an incredible job of training up younger guys, both putting time in at RIPW and at the Supreme University.

 

Boo Smithson – Seemingly permanently mired in APW’s midcard, Boo has gone 3-3 and done nothing else of note.

 

Blitz Simpson – While the Barracudas’ leader Vaughan has been picked up by DIW, the other two stable members, Blitz Simpson and Chopper Rourke, are still hanging around the indies, doing little of any note.

 

Bulldozer Brandon Smith – Smith’s superb run as Mid-Atlantic Champion has really solidified his position as a hot prospect.

Cat and Jaime Quine – Cat retired from wrestling and signed on with USPW as a manager, and she is currently working with both Alicia Strong and Raven Robinson in their feud against Cherry Bomb and Cat’s longterm USPW rival Wanda ‘Belle Bryden’ Fish. Jaime has been solid, if unspectacular, in AAA, feuding with Kate Lilly, who seems to have the better of her.

 

Champagne Lover – A year long run as Campeon de Mundo has been the main focus of Lover’s time, as he feuded with El Fuerza in SOTBPW, but he’s also recently gone on tour with WLW using his real name of Antonio Maxi Marquez – however he’s been less successful there, going 5-10-0.

 

DWN – A wild feud with Frankie Dee saw Newton unable to collect the 4C Championship, but it DID bring him onto Sean McFly’s radar, and when Vicky installed her husband as booker Newton was one of Sean’s first hirings. He performed well in a number of pre-show six man tags, and has recently been used on TV a few times, normally teaming with Jacob Jett to put over some midcard faces. However, at the end of the year he managed a shock victory over Harrison Hash with a roll-up, and 2011 could be very good for this young man.

 

Edd Stone: Former All Action champion Edd Stone is going fairly well, despite dropping that title to Fumihiro Ota. A great feud with Harry Allen was the highlight of his year, although the Canadian Animals appear to have stalled slightly, barely teaming in the last six months of the year.

 

Mirror Universe John Gordon: Gordon challenged twice unsuccessfully for Shaolin’s Conceptual belt, but then dominated a feud with manager Guru Vishni’s former charges the Horror Show. However, he’s now taking on Quick Silver, who’s on a quest to find the REAL John Gordon – leading to some incredible promos featuring the kind of special effects more often associated with Hollywood, as Halloween Knight is splashing out the huge cash injection given to him by Barry Fitzgerald.

 

Peter Valentine – A banner year for Peter Valentine, the National champion going 15-5-2, with his only losses being in non-title matches. Has successfully defeated hot prospect Nicky Champion on several occasions.

 

Raven Robinson – Raven’s superb year long feud with Cherry Bomb has been the highlight of the Women’s Division in USPW, with Bomb finally winning the title at Independence Day Slam.

 

Remmy Skye – The King of the Ladder Match is going to get the chance to shine on a much larger scale than the Coastal Zone soon – he was picked up by SWF in August, and is being groomed in RIPW at the moment, where he was moved into a title programme with Lassana Makutsi almost immediately.

 

Steve Flash – Flash has come off worst in a feud with Black Hat Bailey in the middle of the year, and other than that has done little of note in NYCW.

 

Swoop McCarthy – Swoop switched sides in the war halfway through the year, becoming RAW’s highest profile signing and shockingly debuting as a mystery opponent for TV champ Luke Steele – especially shocking as he was the APW Commonwealth champion at the time. He’s tried for that belt several times without success, but has beaten most of RAW’s other top guys.

 

The Big Problem – Along with The Darkness Warrior, Willie York and Rayne Man, the Big Problem has headlined most of America’s top indie shows of the past year in various tag combinations, generally winning – he has an 8-3-0 record.

 

Wolf Hawkins – Wolf has spent much of the year challenging for Rocky Golden’s World title, and nearly won it on numerous occasions. However, after Golden’s injury, he turned face and is now being positioned in a feud with his mentor Tommy Cornell.

 

 

Power 100 Top Ten:

1. Jeremy Stone

2. Johnny Bloodstone

3. Steve DeColt

4. Sean McFly

5. Dan Stone Jr

6. Tommy Cornell

7. PRIDE Koiso

8. Nobuatsu Tatsuko

9. Ricky Dale Johnson

10. Yosuke Narita

 

Year End Awards:

 

Wrestler of the Year: Jeremy Stone (4th win)

Young Wrestler of the Year: Wolf Hawkins

Veteran Wrestler of the Year: Yosuke Narita

Female Wrestler of the Year: Fuyuko Higa

Promotion of the Year: SWF

Most Improved Promotion of the Year: WLW

Match of the Year: Jeremy Stone over Steve DeColt (100)

Card of the Year: NOTBPW Breakdown (95), headlined by Jeremy over Bloodstone and DeColt over Dan Jr.

Coming up in 2011... RIPW bring in some new trainers, causing shockwaves for the smaller feds as they lose bookers... seven feds grow in size, while one goes out of business, and a new one opens... and the SWF sees the most surprising face turn of all time!

[LoNdOn]

This is by far the most enjoyable thing I have read in a long long time!

[Teh_Showtime]

if you need more proof that NOTB is stacked look at the top 5 in the power 100

[TheStroke7]

 

DWN – A wild feud with Frankie Dee saw Newton unable to collect the 4C Championship, but it DID bring him onto Sean McFly’s radar, and when Vicky installed her husband as booker Newton was one of Sean’s first hirings. He performed well in a number of pre-show six man tags, and has recently been used on TV a few times, normally teaming with Jacob Jett to put over some midcard faces. However, at the end of the year he managed a shock victory over Harrison Hash with a roll-up, and 2011 could be very good for this young man.

 

 

Peter Valentine – A banner year for Peter Valentine, the National champion going 15-5-2, with his only losses being in non-title matches. Has successfully defeated hot prospect Nicky Champion on several occasions.

 

 

Steve Flash – Flash has come off worst in a feud with Black Hat Bailey in the middle of the year, and other than that has done little of note in NYCW.

 

 

Power 100 Top Ten:

1. Jeremy Stone

2. Johnny Bloodstone

3. Steve DeColt

4. Sean McFly

5. Dan Stone Jr

6. Tommy Cornell

7. PRIDE Koiso

8. Nobuatsu Tatsuko

9. Ricky Dale Johnson

10. Yosuke Narita

 

 

Good to see DWN starting his quest to the Hall of Immortals...

 

It's great the way in which the game uses Valentine, it really seems that Strong let him win a lot because of their friendship...

 

NYCW has a hidden wish of going bankrupt?...they mis-use The Remarkable Steve Flash in that way...crazy!

 

No SWF guys...mmm intersting

[Jaded]

2011

 

USA: The US scene has been lively, with TCW becoming truly global, and MAW, FCW and RIPW also all rising in size. There’ve been changes in power – Mean Jean Cattley and Alex Braun joining RIPW has led to Steve Flash booking MAW, and Corporal Doom now in charge of things at PSW.

 

Several sad bits of news, as Braun, Peter Valentine, Randall Hopkirk, Johnny Martin, Anger and Robert Oxford all retired from in-ring action, as did Knuckles, who never fully recovered from last year’s injury. Speaking of injuries, Brandon James suffered a herniated spinal disc, which has caused him to be ruled out for a total of 12 months.

 

One important change for the States recently has been the downturn on interest in Cult products – CZCW and PSW are both struggling slightly to pull in their normal amount of fans.

 

SWF : Eric Eisen’s two year reign as World champion was ended by Lobster Warrior in October, but the fans’ joy at this was rather short-lived, as the belt seems to be having a bad effect on the crustacean, who quickly became arrogant and jerkish in his action towards the crowd and the other babyfaces. Giedroyc and Valiant’s unlikely pairing has lasted surprisingly well, as the two are still tag champs, and are in the middle of an entertaining feud with the new Devil’s Playthings partnership of Grandmaster Phunk and John Greed. It’s been a great year for Giedroyc, who also won the 30 man battle royal at Welcome to the Jungle.

 

While Robbie Retro and Akima Brave have departed the fed, there’s been an influx of talent coming up from RIPW, of whom the most successful guys have been Jack Griffith and Darryl Devine, who are feuding over the services of Krissy Angelle, while Runaway Train’s new pairing with manager Elijah Harris has seen him rise back into the main event scene.

 

Perhaps the most shocking news, however, was the return of Big Smack Scott from a minor injury, as he came back as a massive fan favourite. He defeated Valiant for the NA title, thanked the fans for their letters of support as he recovered, and gained popularity remarkably quickly as he defeated former tag partner Kurt Laramee, Marc DuBois, and Ash Campbell in the second half of the year. The main loser of the year was Brandon James, who suffered a herniated spinal disc and will miss a total of 12 months. This derailed a feud with Rich Money, but led to Money taking the managerial services of Emma Chase, who claimed she’d been abused by James and too scared to leave him before his injury.

 

TCW: TCW are rising quickly, hitting Global now, and making a massive signing as they picked up Steve Frehley after a six-month absence following his departure from the SWF. Other big names include Billy Russell, after he spent 18 months toiling in the indies, Fox Mask (as Snow Fox), and the returning Stevie Grayson.

 

Snow Fox pulled off a shock All Action title victory in his debut, beating Mikey James in his first defense, but he only held onto it for a few weeks before the belt returned to former champ Fumihiro Ota. Benny Benson recently regained the International title, while Joey Minnesota has held the World belt all year, and tag gold is worn by three-time champs the Machines, who recently beat Texas Buffalo.

 

The expected Hawkins vs Cornell feud saw numerous five star matches, with Wolf scraping a 3-2 victory in a memorable Iron Man match at Where Angels Fear To Tread, leading to Cornell admitting to him that he’d become better than his mentor – and the on-off reformation of the Syndicate, who are on opposite sides of the babyface/heel divide but still pair up occasionally. The Syndicate/Freedom Fighters storyline is still going, but more as a semi-friendly rivalry than anything, with the REALLY heelish acts being committed by former babyfaces Joey Minnesota and Bryan Vessey, who shockingly turned heel on Frehley due to their jealousy of his success on entering the fed. Sam Keith has turned face, though, and is in a superb ‘legends’ feud with Tommy Cornell.

 

USPW: USPW brought in some new big names – and as always with USPW, big applied more to their physique than their reputation. Ekuma, Marshall Dillon, Mick Muscles, Lead Belly, Akima Brave and Leper Messiah made the fed their home, replacing the departing Anger, Pete the Hillbilly, Des Davids, Java, Giant Redwood and Danny Rushmore. The biggest impact made by a newcomer, though, was Sara Marie York, who replaced Cherry Bomb and had a great feud over the Women’s belt with Raven Robinson.

 

The main event scene has rather stagnated, with the usual Enygma/Baine/Justice/Bruce The Giant stuff going on at the top of the card, Enygma regaining the belt from the Giant in October. Further down the card, Caulfield defeated T-Rex for the TV belt, while Peter Valentine finally lost the National title to the Force, shortly before he retired.

 

CZCW: The Zone has been hit hard by departures, as they’ve lost Jake Idol, Snap Dragon, Masked Cougar, and their beloved Fox Mask to bigger things. However, they’ve rallied in recent months, bringing in Brendan Idol, Panda Mask II, and former TCW 2-time All Action champion Harry Allen, who nearly defeated Coastal champ Matt Sparrow in his first match. Sparrow would go on to lose the belt – without being pinned – in December, as Donnie J defeated Marc Speed in a triple threat match. The tag division in CZCW appears to have died out, as Shoot Club haven’t defended their belts in six months or so, but the Xtreme title has been the focus of a hot feud between long-term champ Insane Machine and the Sensational Singh who sensationally (sorry, couldn’t resist!) won the gold from him in a triple threat in November, with California Love Machine also involved.

[Jaded]

PSW: PSW lost out on head booker Alex Braun, and Snow Fox, along with giant Primal Rage and manager Krissy Angelle, but owner Mitch Naess appointed Corporal Doom as booker and allowed him to bring in two guys he knew from USPW, Mick Muscles and T-Rex, along with Sammy The Shark and Rhino Umaga. The two USPW stars tore through Tank Bradley and JD Morgan in their first match in the fed in December, and appear to be being positioned for a huge push in the coming year.

 

It was Snow Fox who finally ended Johnny Martin’s reign as champ, but he held it for only a few months before Frankie Future beat him to become a two time champion, while Teddy Powell is a two-time National belt-holder after losing the belt to The Punisher but quickly regaining it.

 

NYCW: While Steve Flash quit the fed to concentrate on booking MAW, and Sammy The Shark and Snow Fox also left, New York got some decent imports – Marc Speed, Sayeed Ali, Rayne Man and Kirk Jameson being the more notable ones. The banner storyline, however, was between managers Cat Quine and Queen Emily, who both came in to continue their AAA feud. Quine’s pair of James Hernandez and Kirk Jameson seemed to be dominating the fed, much to the delight of the fans, with Hernandez winning the Empire title tournament after Snow Fox departed without losing the belt.

 

However, as soon as James had won the tournament, and before he’d been presented with the title, Emily hit the ring and challenged he and Quine to take on her client for the gold – saying she’d quit the fed if Hernandez won. After a brief consultation, and presumably expecting the challenger to be Sayeed Ali, who Emily had been managing without much success for a few months, the faces accepted – only to be stunned by the arrival in NYCW of Mick Muscles, who promptly beat a battered Hernandez fairly easily. The following month, Emily taunted Quine into putting HER career in NYCW on the line against the belt in a Muscles vs Jameson match – and Muscles beat him too, forcing Cat out. Can Jameson or Hernandez defeat him? Many of the fans are pinning their hopes on rising star Rhino Umaga, undefeated in the second half of the year.

 

AAA: America’s top women’s fed has been fairly static over the past 12 months, neither losing nor gaining any wrestlers. However, they pulled off one of the most talked about turns of the year, as J-Ro completely snapped when she seemed likely to lose the Femme Fatale title to Grace Harper, blasting Harper with a steel chair to intentionally get herself disqualified. Rodriguez instantly became a hated heel as she continued the assault after the bell, while Grace came back from the resulting two month lay-off as a babyface – and eventually DID win the belt in November. The fans are also rallying around another former heel, Suzue Katayama, due to her feud against Demelza Wade, who has continually cheated her way to victory so far. Wade has had less success in the tag division, where the A-List’s long title run was finally ended in July by Good Lookin’ Bunny.

 

FCW: The big news in FCW has been the rise of Kirk Jameson as the fed’s lead babyface, ending Puerto Rican Power’s 2 and a half year title run and causing Power to turn heel on him, hurling him through a table during his post-match celebration. They’ve also brought in some decent guys – Marc Speed, Matt Sparrow, and Harry Allen – although they’ve lost Eddie Howard and Bradford Peverell. Sienna DeVille is creating waves, acting as ‘image consultant’ to the Sensational Singh, and recently recruiting the tag team of DC Rayne and Speed to her ranks as well.

[TheStroke7]

PSW: PSW lost out on head booker Alex Braun, and Snow Fox, along with giant Primal Rage and manager Krissy Angelle, but owner Mitch Naess appointed Corporal Doom as booker and allowed him to bring in two guys he knew from USPW, Mick Muscles and T-Rex, along with Sammy The Shark and Rhino Umaga. The two USPW stars tore through Tank Bradley and JD Morgan in their first match in the fed in December, and appear to be being positioned for a huge push in the coming year.

 

It was Snow Fox who finally ended Johnny Martin’s reign as champ, but he held it for only a few months before Frankie Future beat him to become a two time champion, while Teddy Powell is a two-time National belt-holder after losing the belt to The Punisher but quickly regaining it.

 

NYCW: While Steve Flash quit the fed to concentrate on booking MAW, and Sammy The Shark and Snow Fox also left, New York got some decent imports – Marc Speed, Sayeed Ali, Rayne Man and Kirk Jameson being the more notable ones. The banner storyline, however, was between managers Cat Quine and Queen Emily, who both came in to continue their AAA feud. Quine’s pair of James Hernandez and Kirk Jameson seemed to be dominating the fed, much to the delight of the fans, with Hernandez winning the Empire title tournament after Snow Fox departed without losing the belt.

 

However, as soon as James had won the tournament, and before he’d been presented with the title, Emily hit the ring and challenged he and Quine to take on her client for the gold – saying she’d quit the fed if Hernandez won. After a brief consultation, and presumably expecting the challenger to be Sayeed Ali, who Emily had been managing without much success for a few months, the faces accepted – only to be stunned by the arrival in NYCW of Mick Muscles, who promptly beat a battered Hernandez fairly easily. The following month, Emily taunted Quine into putting HER career in NYCW on the line against the belt in a Muscles vs Jameson match – and Muscles beat him too, forcing Cat out. Can Jameson or Hernandez defeat him? Many of the fans are pinning their hopes on rising star Rhino Umaga, undefeated in the second half of the year.

 

OK after reading this I think I should change my favourite promotion from NYCW to PSW...T-Rex and Sammy The Shark in the same show!!!! just wow...I thought I was the only one to have ever done this!...Go Mich Neass!

[Jaded]

MAW: MAW broke from their normal practice of signing young stars to replace the departing Hugh De Aske and Brandon Smith with Eddie Howard, returning to the fed where he made his name after six months on the indie scene. Howard’s Mr Amazing character is beloved by the fans, although he’s struggling in a feud with C-V-2, who along with their Succession stablemate Jay Chord are dominating the fed. The Succession have been helped by the addition of Lisa Bowen – daughter of Runaway Train – who turned heel on Jefferson Stardust during a match against Casey Valentine in January. Mid-Atlantic champion Chord is benefitting hugely from a long feud with Steve Flash, which saw them go to a 2-2 draw in a 30 minute Ironman match at The Night Of The Champions.

 

BSC: The Babes’ focus on actual wrestling continued to go stronger, as they brought in J-Ro, Tracy Brendon, and Vixxen to replace the departing Roxy Kitten, Vampella, Sister Beth Mercy and Alison Capone. J-Ro’s feud with Grace Harper has continued there, although the ease at which Rodriguez strips off and plays to the fans has made her the firm babyface, especially against the prudish Harper. Hollywood Magic are currently 4-time tag champs, feuding with the trio of Nurse Hope Daye, Candy Floss, and Lindsay Sugar, while Alexis Lee Littlefeather defeated Dharma Gregg for the title of Queen of the Ring and is holding on to it firmly.

 

RIPW: Lots of big signings for Rhode Island, the most notable being Hugh De Aske, Bradford Peverell, ‘American Patriot’ Brandon Smith, Des Davids and Rayne Man. The most surprising news is probably that Lassana Makutsi is still around, having gone another year without a call up to the SWF, despite having dropped the title in March. He’s actually using this as a gimmick now, playing a bitter heel who hates being stuck in RIPW and feuding with The Cannonball Kid over the belt which Kid now holds.

[Jammy Dodger]

Any more updates as I enjoy reading this???

[Lexa90]

Any more updates as I enjoy reading this???

 

I agree... Hopefully this isn't dead

[Jaded]

Oops...

 

Ummm, yeah. I kinda got sidetracked by World Domination in my non-diary NOTBPW game...

 

Will try and get updates going again over the weekend, thanks for your interest guys.

[Jaded]

Back by popular demand...

 

Canada: With the wrestling industry in Canada hitting an all-time high, it’s been great news for NOTBPW – becoming one of the world’s biggest feds – and 4C and ACPW, as more fans are interested in the smaller organisations. CGC, on the other hand, have taken some major hits, as workers leave for North of the Border.

 

NOTBPW: Vicky Stone has taken North of the Border higher than ever before, harnessing the fed to brother Jeremy and protégé Sally Christiansen as the Canadian and Women’s champions, respectively.

 

The Mid Summer Madness card, traditionally a stand-out show, saw a 73 minute classic encounter between Jeremy and Johnny Bloodstone, Jezza eventually squeaking out the victory, along with a superb Steve DeColt over Owen Love match. Speaking of Love, he’s now a major babyface, and is perhaps the most beloved non-Stone in the company, as booker Sean McFly has really downplayed his own role in the ring in recent months. The fed’s expansion has seen them bring in many new stars – the most notable of whom were Ricky and Jack DeColt, although the returns to the women’s division of Steph Hazel and Cherry Bomb have also been a success.

 

CGC: With Dan DaLay going on a hiatus just a week after losing the World title to Ricky DeColt, Sean Deeley moving to Japan to work for PGHW, and Ryan Powell, road agent Ed Monton, announcer Marty Papin, and even owner Alex DeColt’s brother Ricky all moving to NOTBPW, this has hardly been a successful year for CGC. However, they’ve brought in some impressive youngsters, many of whom rose to prominence in ACPW, like Jamie Atherton, Mario DeSilva, and Mimic. They also replaced Papin with Mitch Naess, a big signing,

 

4C: The big news for 4C was the return of prodigal son Joey Poison, coming in as a mystery opponent for Frankie Dee to put him over in what was planned to be a one-shot deal, but enjoying the crowd reaction so much that he agreed to split his time between 4C and CGC from then on. He’s gone 4-2-0 since then, with Jamie Atherton being catapulted to instant credibility by scoring a quick pin over him during a tag match. Their other big signing was Nate Johnson, while they’ve lost Frankie Dee and Slim V.

 

ACPW: ACPW brought in some relatively big names during the year, often for just a few matches, as the likes of Masked Cougar, Snap Dragon, Frankie Dee, Panda Mask II and Matt Sparrow made it to the Maritimes. Dee was perhaps the most successful, going on a 4 match win streak before putting over Jayson Van Pelt in a superb 16 minute ladder match at Wrestlepocalypse, his last show before he left for NOTBPW. The fed is still built around original stars Van Pelt, Mario Da Silva, Jamie Atherton and El Diablo, and Da Silva had a great run as Junior Heavyweight champ before surprisingly dropping it to Dagger. Three of that ‘core four’ are all splitting their time between ACPW and CGC – Van Pelt being the lone exception – and it’s clearly helping them improve as workers, with Atherton and Diablo surely set for future stardom.

[LoNdOn]

Another great read.

[Jaded]

Thanks!

 

CWWF: Businessman Neil Kernahan announced in February that he was setting up a women’s federation, Canadian Women’s Wrestling Federation, reasoning that the success of that division in NOTBPW showed Canadian fans were interested in seeing female competitors wrestle. He immediately named ‘Miracle Blonde’ Suzanne Brazzle as head booker, and she quickly brought in some top names – notably Katherine Goodlooks as lead babyface and World champion, and the Dream Team of J-Ro and Raven Nightfall as major heels and tag champs. They’ve also courted controversy by bringing in a heel pairing of Gorgon and Emma Bitch, managed by The Guru – notable because Bitch hadn’t been seen since her drug test failure in January 2009 saw NOTBPW fire her. She’s kept out of trouble so far, though, and her feud with Goodlooks – beating KG three times through Gorgon’s interference – has been one of the most talked about in the fed’s early days.

 

The UK: Unfortunately for UK fans, they’re mourning the loss of MOSC, who failed to hold a show in January and finally announced in February that they were closing their doors immediately. It’s not all bad news, though, as ROF – thought by many to be likely to face the same fate – have come back fairly strongly, rising to Regional.

 

21CW: Stevie Stoat is currently receiving a huge push in 21st Century, ending Joss Thompson’s 18 month run as World champion, then pairing with Edward Cornell to win the tag belts from Buff Martinez and Jay B, who’d held them for 2 years. The major storyline has been decidedly soap-opera, with Phoebe Plumridge finding out that major heel Jonathan Faust was the long lost brother of her boyfriend Adam Matravers, and Faust denying it for months, until he eventually turned face by saving Matravers from a brutal Kevin Jones and Leo Price beatdown. With a sinking economy, Nova’s famed wealth has been hit, and a lot of lower-carders have been released in recent months, but the main event scene seemed pretty set in stone for the near future.

 

ROF: ROF lost Petey Barnes, Lance Martin and Johnny Highspot for various reasons, replacing them with Turnbuckle Dojo grads Riddick Jordan and Alton Vicious, and the surprise signing of Rolling Johnny Stones. The big news, though, has been the ascent of Wade Orson, with owner British Samurai showing so much faith in the youngster that he put him over twice in successive shows, both matches going 20+ minutes and being two of the fed’s best of the year. Head booker Merle O’Curle is taking something of a backseat, dropping the main belt to Walter Morgan halfway through the year, and recently signing up to tour with GCG for a while, fulfilling his long-held ambition of wrestling in Japan.

[d_w_w]

It's interesting, to me, to see how different the game world pans out without an active human promotion (especially a larger human promotion). Fun read

[Jaded]

Glad you're enjoying, d_w_w.

 

Europe: EWA have recently risen to Regional, and finally managed to tempt UEW’s head booker Joey Beauchamp to join girlfriend Anna Ki in the fed – although Ki fairly shortly afterwards decided to take some time off. Manager Mark Moore, out of work since MOSC’s demise in February, was the surprise choice to fill that void.

 

EWA: A major talent raid on UEW saw the fed bring in Stig Svensson, Joey Beauchamp, and Sergei Kalashnikov, with all three playing a major part for the fed since signing. Beauchamp is undoubtedly the number one heel, with Bam Bam Johansson’s aura being diminished by several losses to owner Byron, while the other two are popular babyfaces. Big rising star, though, is Sebastian Koller, who debuted last month with a shock victory over the dominant White Knight.

 

UEW: Crusher Von Steiberg has been brought in to take Stig Svensson’s place as lead babyface, while Michael Moodie – better known to many as Razor Valentine – has been pushed up the card to replace Joey Beauchamp as top heel. Svensson’s departure while still champion led to a battle royal to find two contenders for the World title, won by Griffin and Beast Bantom, and Bantom was, to the surprise of many, given the belt in December.

 

VWA: While Walker Van Cleer finally beat Sebastian Koller for the European belt in April, it’s Englishman Christopher Lister who’s considered the premier babyface in the fed – a massive rise for the former Toby Juan Kanobi.

[angeldelayette]

Definitely enjoying reading this one, Jaded. Though it makes me sad to know that the wrestling world has to survive without an active Peter Valentine and Anger.