The Total Wrestling Revolution... A New Feud Emerges...

mikemelling · May 21, 2010

And the results were in. The setting was a little more formal this time as we sat in Gil’s office. His eyes were skirting over the email he had just received from the network and, without a moment’s notice, his expression changed. Slapping the desk he broke into raucous laughter.

“God damn it that’s what we wanted to see.”

My heart was racing, it was a good result, a great result. I’d had a call earlier in the day from a friend and found out that USPW had pulled in a 1.44 last night. Sam Strong had apparently hit a high note with his newest signings.

Still, for Gil to be this happy we must have hit higher. 1.5? 1.6? I couldn’t stand the waiting any longer.

“How did we do?”

“0.44!”

My stare was blank; I clearly wasn’t showing the correct levels of pleasure.

“For god sake man, we’ve almost DOUBLED our viewship in 1 week. The network is ecstatic. They had expected an increase because throughout our first show, non-regular viewers turned channel to watch us.”

“We’re still off USPW…”

“By a long way, but that’s not a reflection yet. We’re 2 weeks old! You can’t expect miracles.”

He was right of course; I couldn’t help but feel deflated but these were solid numbers. A continued viewship like this would see our popularity rise steadily, we had to take it from what it was worth. In our first few months people would be trying us out, testing the water, trying to see if they liked what we had.

“I’m sorry Gil. I know, the numbers are great, I’m just watching USPW rise at a similar rate.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, they’re rising by a similar number, but we’ve had an almost 100% increase to our numbers, whilst theirs is a 15% increase. They had a higher starting plateau and, not to mention, Sam Strong’s name to live off.”

This was a good point, I mean Gil was high profile but not in this business. Me? Well, those who remembered me were better off not, and those who don’t remember me don’t care. We hadn’t hired a huge star, in fact there were very few of our workers who had been on National television in the USA. People would need to invest time and emotion in our characters, in our workers. The stories we would tell would help with that but for now we had to accept that we had a limited star potential on our roster.

“Now down to business…”

Gil’s matter of fact tone brought me back to the room. I hadn’t met him here to discuss the ratings, in fact, when they had arrived I’d just started to discuss my ideas on how to help us going forward.

“I have good news and bad news.”

“Alright.”

I readied myself, almost knowing what his responses would be.

“The good news is that I’m happy to contact TCW and ask for a non-agression pact. The problem I see is that there’s no upside for them. We’re hardly going to steal Wolf Hawkins away, but I’m happy to do it. As for SWF? Unfortunately not…”

This is what I had seen coming; whilst TCW was not really our competion, SWF was the rock Gil wanted to break in the future. If stealing away some of their stars could be achieved in time then we would do it.

“I don’t want to grovel to Richard Eisen not to steal my workers. He has no reason to know we’re worried. We have the raw talent to be a World class company, but if we start to beg our biggest competitor for help then we’re dead before we start.”

I had to admit, his logic was interesting. He would take the help of TCW, but not SWF? Having said that, Sam Strong had skipped TCW and attacked SWF straight from the front. It was an interesting tact, but TCW had established itself as an “alternative” to Sports Entertainment. Maybe that’s what it was? Maybe they weren’t seen as a threat to the main player in this business. That would be somewhat interesting in the future.

“What about USPW?”

“More bad news I’m afraid. I’m new to this business, and I don’t want to get a bad reputation early on. We have no real reason to pick a fight with Strong and his company, it’s bad enough we’re broadcasting on the same night in the same slot. I just don’t think we’d be able to survive a war.”

This, I hadn’t been expecting. Gil Thomas had made his name with aggressive negotiation and hardball tactics. The war was something we needed to get noticed, we needed to make the channel flickers choose a side. I had no doubt that a large portion of our audience were those who flicked the channel during commercials and forgot to turn back. They were good viewers to have but we needed a larger core from start to finish.

“Alright, I can understand.”

I’d lied, blatantly. To be honest, we needed this and I wasn’t sure how else we could make an impact. Still, it would be interesting to see where we went from here; I had another show to write.

I had requested a war with USPW which had been rejected on the grounds that Gil Thomas does not want bad business relationships... Before telling me that we couldn't have a non-agression pact with Richard Eisen as he has a bad business relationship with him.

He did grant me the option of asking TCW not to steal our workers, which was nice of him.

mikemelling · May 22, 2010

TotalRevolutionWrestling.com

Part 1 - Gil Thomas Speaks - The Rumours That Fuelled The Fire

Rumour and hearsay are wondrous things. Sometimes rumours have no valid grounds or basis upon which the whisperings begin, yet the rumours often become the truth. I know this to be true; this is something that is very close to my heart. My name is Gil Thomas, and I had never, ever considered owning a wrestling promotion; rumours and hearsay, secrets and lies.

The story goes that for years I had teased Richard Eisen about the prospect of me taking his crown; that I had been like some angel of death hovering over his shoulder waiting for my right time to strike. This was not the case; I had never intended to enter this business, nor had I ever considered wanting to take Richard Eisen “down”. He and I were, up until several months ago, very close friends.

It is true that I used to mention in passing that I had always been a better business man than he had, which is true. I am, by far, more wealthy and successful. My varied range of projects that have worked are testament to just how good I truly am in the business world. It may sound arrogant to hear but in business, if you don’t think you’re the best then you can never be the best. I had often told Richard that if I ever did venture into the world of “Sports Entertainment” I would operate a much cleaner, tidier and business savvy ship than he; yet it is widely spread that I had threatened to do so; not the case, not the case at all.

My life had, up until the month leading up to Total Revolution Wrestling’s first show, been relatively simple. My dealings were strong, my standing as chairman Gil Thomas Industries Ltd. was solid and to be fair, I had become somewhat lackadaisical. I often spent days, weeks and on rare occasion’s months away from the office as I made decisions via my Blackberry while I sunned my self on my beach front Terrace in Miami. I was, at the time, a fan of SWF and had continued to watch their programming weekly. I had no intention of setting foot into the arena that was, as it had been for so long, Richard’s playground.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d thought about it. I’d watched TCW grow over the years on the back of Tommy Cornell and I realised that this would be my downfall. I had all the money that would be needed to start from scratch but the truth is who would really care that Gil Thomas, a man more synonymous with drills than piledrivers, is starting his own company? No-one… Sam Strong’s name had made USPW, Tommy Cornell’s name had made TCW. SWF Had been around for a long, long time and as such could be considered the powerhouse.

It would appear that there was a core of the wrestling media that had decided to poke the bear. In an interview, just 2 and a half months ago, with TEW Online, Richard Eisen was asked for probably the 150th time, how he would feel if the “rumours” became truth and that his good friend Gil Thomas would really look to challenge him for his crown. I was, apparently, the only man with the resources to really take a crack at him and, as such, was likely to one day strike out a death blow to the legacy of a man to whom legacy was everything. His name and what he’s done in this business is more important to him than anything, even the wellbeing of his kids.

I arrived home that same day, and found my answer machine flashing with a message. I clicked the button and listened to one of the most flustered and angry sounding gentlemen I had ever had the displeasure of hearing from. Whilst I wouldn’t tarnish his reputation by transcribing the conversation word for word, the general gist of the message was that if I was going to start a company I should stop being a, well, let’s just say “cat” to keep things family friendly, and do it rather than letting other people talk about it. If I was going to continue to be a… “female dog” and avoid making good on my “threats” then I should come out and announce it so he could move on with his life and stop answering pathetic questions.

I must admit, I had to smile at the anger in his voice. Not because I was pleased that he was angry, just that he thought he could intimidate me. I have no doubt that phone call would have worked on any of the staff he had working for him, but one thing I know about Richard is that once someone is out of his control, they find it very easy to life at his verbal tirades. It was, however, my duty to return this call, and that I did. I picked up the phone, dialled his number, advised him very quickly that our friendship was no longer an avenue I wished to pursue, and that he’d made a big mistake.

His question made me laugh out loud, a laugh that anyone that knows me can testify to being mocking in it’s tone at times. He asked me “Why?” Why? Why had he just made a big mistake? I calmly advised him that he had made a big mistake because I had never intended to encroach upon his little world, the world in which he felt safe and secure, the world he’d never once ventured out of to do business. His reply was quiet, calm and something that I will never repeat. At that moment, that once sentence ended a friendship that had been strong as iron for more than 20 years.

So now I have filled those Wednesday afternoon golf sessions with discussion about my new promotion, my Saturday night Cigar parties go on without him and now I have a vocation again. Once more I am at the office day in, day out working to make this new endeavour the strongest that I have ever created. It was a tough decision, to allow the rest of my empire be run by men who I’d never even shared a drink with; but it was what I had to do to make this new venture everything I wanted it to be.

Richard… Eisen’s… Downfall.

Part 2 - Gil Thomas Speaks - How TRW came to be?

mikemelling · May 22, 2010

TotalRevolutionWrestling.com

Part 2 - Gil Thomas Speaks - How Total Revolution Wrestling came to be?

That was it, he’d done it. He’d forced my hand and now I had to follow through. That’s something that had been my downfall early on in my business life; I’d been to quick to jump feet first into something that should have been left well alone. Now, now I had to follow through or lose face with Richard; there was no way I would lose face; not now. I made a few calls and pulled a few strings, and the truth is that when I sat opposite the 3 men who sat in front of me, I had no idea what they would tell me.

The first man was JK Stallings, the man who had started HGC all those years ago, the company that would become TCW. The second was Phil Vilbert, former owner of DaVE and current head booker for CGC and finally, his former booker John “Nemesis” Campbell. I believe this little gathering had many wrestling journalists drooling at the prospect but, I can assure you with the guarantees that could be proved with the taping of our conversations, I was after advice only.

Stallings was possibly the least helpful, mainly advising me against taking on the machine that is SWF. He had found his time trying to make it big stressful and altogether more fruitless than TCW had been since he had left. He was once in a similar position to me in that he was a non-wrestling personality who had tried to make it as an owner. He’d failed, and I could appreciate that he didn’t want me to go the same way.

Phil Vilbert was much more encouraging, amassing me with story after story about how close he came to breaking the stranglehold of the Big 2. His fire and passion reminded me of what DaVE was all about. His encouragement and ideas were more than enough to persuade me that I had made the right choice. He had, in fact, offered me the chance to bend his ear on any future developments. I appreciated this sentiment; as a man who once wanted to take Eisen down, it felt he was trying to pass on the mantle.

John Campbell is a strange, strange man. When I called him he sounded uninterested, unwilling and unable to make the visit. I accepted this, thanked him for his time and hung up. On the day in question, I was surprised to find Phil and John stood side by side. Campbell’s reasoning was that he was under the impression I was trying to offer him a job. When Phil told him he was going to be there, and what it was for, he made the long drive to Miami. Whilst he was more than happy to convey his feelings for Richard, his input was limited to “choose the right booker and you’ll be fine.” For me, this was actually quite an interesting piece of advice, I had no idea how to book and who to hire.

At this time, however, that point was futile. I had no name, no base and no ideas. I ran past Phil the discussion as concerns an arena in downtown Miami that had recently been vacated by a local basketball team that I had considered purchasing. He seemed to think it was a good idea, a home can become a hotbed and you’re always likely to get the best possible reaction from locals; especially as a new company.

I spoke with John about what would attract wrestlers; he told me that change often gives those who are floating around the independent scene something to think about, something different; a feeling of revolution. It struck me at once, Total Revolution Wrestling. JK wasn’t too excited and, at this point, had become kind’ve redundant. Phil loved the branding and John told me he would have liked the sound of that if he was active.

Within moments I’d managed to find a name and home; I was pleasantly surprised with how well this had gone. As the 3 of us, Stallings retired for the evening, headed to my favourite Steak restaurant, we continued to snow ball ideas. We didn’t mention the roster or the booker again until the late that night. It was, in fact, Phil who mentioned the name. He told me the guy had a passion for the business and had, up until this point, not been given a chance. I’d never heard of him to be fair, but apparently he had a mind for the business and he knew a lot of people that could help me.

That night I said my goodbyes and my thank yous, Phil returned to Canada and John to, well, anywhere he damn well pleased I guess. I returned to my office and wrote my announcement, and that is where our story began. I called a press conference and had my IT guys set up a new website. It was basic, purely an announcement to be made and contact. Just 24 hours after my announcement, I received notification that I had my first application for booker, and would you believe it? It was the very man Phil had recommended.

The first time I met Duncan Kendall, he looked worried. I suppose when you’re used to booking independent shows and running the under-card in Puerto Rico the idea of running a TV show was somewhat alien. At that point, I didn’t look at another application. My PA asked him to spend 2 weeks speaking to workers and amassing characters for them. I told him to contact my legal team to process contracts and negotiate deals and gave him a credit card to travel the world. I can tell you all, he did.

The first time we met, his meek moment, he showed me is dossier. It was impressive; lists of characters and storyline ideas that would be followed up over the next few months. Lists of workers who were unavailable but who we should try and sign should the opportunity arise. That book was, and still is his bible. I couldn’t help but be impressed with what he had written. The amazing side of this whole situation was that if Phil hadn’t recommended him I would never have set him that challenge. I’d probably have done a sit down interview and been thoroughly unimpressed with his demeanour. He was a wrestler, not a suit. For that reason, I will forever be in Phil Vilbert’s debt. He provided TRW with it’s life blood, it’s heart; and by default, my secret weapon in destroying SWF… Someday.

Details of Wednesday's card will be posted online later today!

mikemelling · May 22, 2010

Having just finished writing up my card I readied myself to send the preview to the dot com guys who would post it online, as I did my web browser directed me to the front page of the TRW website where I noticed a couple of new posts; 2 articles written by Gil Thomas about how and why TRW came to be. I read from start to end, through both articles and promptly understood why he’d asked for these columns to be posted. Since TRW’s inception, Gil had been inundated with requests to shake hands with Eisen to prove they were in a friendly competition. This, it appears, was anything but friendly.

I had managed to keep my name out of the press for this long; yet Gil was true to his word. He looked after those who were loyal to him, and he made sure everyone got the credit they deserved. My name is Duncan Kendall, and it is I who have been writing for TRW. I kept my name away from the limelight because I wasn’t sure how long I would last. Gil gets what he wants, and if what he didn’t want was me I didn’t want to have my name splattered with the mud of failure if he fired me after week one.

Still, these articles went a long way to show the world just who Gil Thomas was and what reasons had made him make this choice. I had believed the hype, that this was something Gil had always wanted, something he had always believed he was “destined to do eventually”. It was late in the evening on our first meeting over dinner, sipping brandy in the lounge corner following an amazing Sirloin steak that had melted in my mouth that he revealed why he’d made the choice, and why he’d chosen now.

I don’t know if it was the brandy or the start of a new chapter in his life, but Gil had seemed vulnerable; almost child-like when retelling the story of the loss of a friend. There wasn’t the brash, arrogant attitude he’d adopted in his article, nor the sense of indifference at such a loss. He’d been generally hurt by the thought that Richard Eisen who he had known for 20+ years could think he, as a friend, would set out to intentionally bring down SWF. As I thought when I saw his original announcement, I had seen the “dick swinging” competitions between the two. Whilst Gil had never known me by name, he had met me on a number of occasions when I had met friends from SWF and he had been a guest of the Eisen Family.

I had seen, what I can only now assume was, the tongue in cheek suggestion that he would have been as good of a business man in the wrestling world as he was in the industrial world. I can see that the wry smiles he left lingering on the end of a sentence was intended as no more than a gentle prod; nothing more, nothing less. Richard Eisen’s ego had driven him to paranoia. Paranoia of the one man who had the resources to really take him on, and he had let that paranoia destroy that friendship.

As I forwarded my card preview to the dot com team I couldn’t help but feel the same affection for Phil Vilbert. I had never known he had recommended me for the job. I knew, as most did, that he had often wanted me to join DaVE when it was around, yet I had chosen not to as I didn’t feel that at that stage of my career I would be a benefit to a company looking to make a difference in the wrestling world. It appears now, that he had truthfully wanted me to be involved in helping him build DaVE, and now I wonder what would have become of me had I agreed.

My final thought was of John Campbell, the man who had been the “lock” for my job; the man who not only had never wanted the job, but had never been considered. I couldn’t help but feel proud that had really been the only candidate for the job. My fear had been that John Campbell had rejected the role and I had been the back up but that wasn’t the case. I, Duncan Kendall, had been the only choice from the beginning. I flicked through my “impressive dossier” with the scribbles and pen marks, with the lists of future stars and signings. I had to admit, my bible was good. I carried it everywhere and, had pondered the possibility that I should maybe have an e-copy on my laptop so I wasn’t carrying this huge binder with me everywhere I went. Still, as I filed away my latest card announcement and flicked to the script I’d written for the show, I knew, I just knew that we were in the right direction.

mikemelling · May 22, 2010

TotalRevolutionWrestling.com - Update!

TRW Total Revolution TV card announced!

Live from the Total Revolution Arena, Orlando, Florida on Wednesday 17th March 2010, Total Revolution Wrestling presents Total Revolution TV.

Our opening contest of the night will provide us with the debut of yet another second generation superstar in Ash Campbell. The son of Nemesis will be looking to make an instant impact this week when he takes on Davis Wayne Newton in our opening bout. Rumours have begun to circulate that The Pedigree have already taken notice of Campbell and will look to try and recruit him to their cause. It is unknown as to whether Campbell would be interested in such a prospect, but more importantly, can he prove he is worthy of what Jay Chord would likely call an amazing opportunity.

Our second match up of the evening sees the aforementioned Pedigree (the team of The Keith brothers and Jay Chord) take on The Band (Antonio Maxi Marquez, James Hernandez and Rolling Johnny Stones) in a six man tag match. The rivalry between The Band and The Keith Brothers continued to escalate last week as both teams seemed more focused on taking one another out than the match. This lead to Samoan Destruction Inc. gaining victory in a match they were clearly out of place in. It will be interesting to see where this places both teams in terms of gaining a shot at Tag Team Gold.

After an impressive outing against Raphael Ruiz last week, Matt Sparrow looks to capitalise on that momentum by taking on another highly rated star. The Chosen One Steven Parker is still looking to prove that he deserves the moniker he has bestowed upon himself and will this week look to ground the birdman. This match could go a long way to deciding who, if anyone, should be one of the first to hold the TRW International Title.

Following back to back victories against Steven Parker, Kirk Jameson moves on to James Prudence, the most disgruntled man in TRW. As of late, Prudence has been unhappy with his exposure on the show; he has been left to one side as his former partner continues to flourish, especially following his main event tag match with Steve Flash last week. Prudence will look to gain a victory over the Straight Edge Superstar this week. Jameson has impressed upon the world that he isn’t trying to be “better” than anyone, this is purely a lifestyle choice. As such, tonight he engages in his “vice” that is to beat those superstars who complain about what they have or haven’t got.

Last week, Mikey James claimed one of the biggest victory of his career when he defeated Fumihiro Ota with a quick roll up. Although James is quick to point out he did get a little lucky, his job this week is to follow up his win over Ota with one over a member of Domination Inc. Sammy The Shark has had a difficult couple of weeks thus far and will look to make an impact against The Dragon to prove to Mr. Batch that he is worth his spot. Thus far, that has not been the case.

Finally, following their one on one contest last week, both Snap Dragon and Shawn Gonzalez wanted more. Their competitive streaks have lead to one more match-up between the two and with Gonzalez up 2-0 in their meetings thus far, the reptilian Snap would be loathed to lose again. Gonzalez has made it clear that he has big plans in TRW, plans that would involve him and championship gold. A victory here could quite easily hand him a future opportunity at the champ.

Also scheduled to appear, Mr. Batch, Donnie J, Insane Machine, Fumihiro Ota and Steve Flash.

Quick Picks

Ash Campbell Vs Davis Wayne Newton

The Band Vs The Pedigree

Matt Sparrow Vs Steven Parker

Kirk Jameson Vs James Prudence

Mikey James Vs Sammy The Shark

Shawn Gonzalez Vs Snap Dragon

BHK1978 · May 22, 2010

Just caught up and I have to say this is really good!

Ash Campbell Vs Davis Wayne Newton

The Band Vs The Pedigree

I just like the Pedigree better.

Matt Sparrow Vs Steven Parker

Kirk Jameson Vs James Prudence

Mikey James Vs Sammy The Shark

Mikey should get the win here.

Shawn Gonzalez Vs Snap Dragon

I think it is Snap's turn to pick up a win against Shawn.

mikemelling · May 22, 2010

Just caught up and I have to say this is really good!

Ash Campbell Vs Davis Wayne Newton

The Band Vs The Pedigree

I just like the Pedigree better.

Matt Sparrow Vs Steven Parker

Kirk Jameson Vs James Prudence

Mikey James Vs Sammy The Shark

Mikey should get the win here.

Shawn Gonzalez Vs Snap Dragon

I think it is Snap's turn to pick up a win against Shawn.

Much appreciated; just wish I hadn't lost my momentum. Didn't want people to think this project is dead, or that I'm a flake.

mikemelling · June 23, 2010

Alright, so here's the thing... I kept playing and not writing. At first, I thought this was a mistake, now I'm thinking it's a blessing. I have some established stories and roster changes. As such, I'm thinking this could be a good time to start up.

Therefore, I plan on skipping from the middle of March to the middle of May. First I'm planning on posting summaries of all the shows including ratings.

Up next I'm going to post a couple of shows in summerised form.

mikemelling · June 23, 2010

<div style="text-align:center;">TRW Revolution TV

Live, Wednesday Week 3 March 2010 from The Total Revolution Arena</div>

Angle: Acid starts the show with Mr. Batch warning Steve Flash to stay out of their way – C-

Angle: Donnie J interrupts and challanges Acid to a 1 on 1 match, if he wins Acid MUST defend the World Title against Steve Flash at the Wrestlevolution Pay-Per-View – C-

Match: Ash Campbell bt. Rafael Ruiz in his debut match by pinfall – D

Angle: Post match, Dharma Gregg slinks to ringside and invites Ash Campbell to join The Pedigree with several “perks” on the side – E+

Match: The Pedigree (The Keith Brothers and Jay Chord) bt. The Band (Antonio Maxi Marquez, James Hernandez and Rolling Johnny Stones) by blatant cheating by Jay Chord to pin RJS – D+

Angle: Using the wonders of Voice over technology, Fumihiro Ota challanges Mikey James to a rematch – D

Angle: In response, Mikey James comes to ringside and refuses, stating he has nothing to prov - D

Match: Matt Sparrow bt. Steven Parker by pinfall - C-

Match: James Prudence bt. Kirk Jameson by pulling the tights on the roll up - C

Angle: Post Match, from no-where, a huge man jumps the rail and slides into the ring. The Fallen Kirk Jameson stumbles into a huge Spine buster. The assault continues and finally comes to an end with a powerbomb from the apron through the announce table – D+

Match: Mikey James bt. Sammy The Shark by pinfall – C-

Angle: Post match, Mikey James’ celebration is cut short as he is blasted in the face with a black mist from the mouth of Ota. The Ninja Warrior lowers his mask back over his mouth and leaves the possibly blinded James on the mat - D

Match: Snap Dragon bt. Shawn Gonzalez by count out after Insane Machine distracted Gonzalez - C

Angle: Post Match the angry Gonzalez attacks Snap Dragon, until Insane Machine joins in the attack. Finally, the 2 masked men take advantage and beat Shawn Gonzalez to the mat – D

Angle: Before the main event, a video is played highlighting the problems between Steve Flash and TRW World Champion Acid – D+

Match: Acid bt. Donnie J by pinfall after a distraction by Mr. Batch – C+

Angle: Post match, Batch calls out the rest of Domination Inc. In an attempt to punish Donnie J. However, as the beatdown is about to begin, Steve Flash hits the ring with a steel chair! Flash clears house leaving Domination scattered to end the show – D+

Show Rating – C

Attendence – 2,288 (^)

TV Rating – 0.43 (^)

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