ASCW: From Zero (/0/0/0) To Hero

Blake Trask · September 30, 2010

Well, this is my shot at making a diary out of a 0/0/0/0 game. I'm learning some strategy as I go, but I'm relatively new to the series, so you can chalk any mistakes I make along the way up to that, haha. The promotion I'm using is a custom one called All-Star Championship Wrestling: ASCW.

Product:

Key: Traditional

Heavy: Mainstream

Medium: Modern & Lucha Libre

(Performance = popularity)

Match Intensity: 40%

Match Danger: 40%

Women's Wrestling: Intergrated

Face/Heel Divide: Medium

We're based out of the Great Lakes region of America. I've run the first few months but I don't want to release all my material at once in case I can't play regularly, so I'll be staggering my updates (well, a little).

So, with no further ado...

From Zero To Hero: The ASCW Story

When, in August of 2009 I resolved that I would be hanging up my wrestling boots at the age of 27, I meant it one hundred percent. I continued to mean it from September through to January and if anything, I meant it even more when a certain businessman – and I use that term extremely loosely – approached me with a 'once-in-a-lifetime' proposition.

In some ways, I think I meant it all the way up until that bell rang to signify the start of my return match.

The name's Dundee Drake Jones and no, that's not a ring name. Make of that whatever you want. Born in Oz, raised in the US, I've made a career out of wrestling. Maybe more honestly, I mostly made it out of staring up at the arena lights, but hey, more than one big star started out as what people tactfully like to call 'enhancement talent' in the same way they call the guys that haul out your trash 'Sanitation and Waste Disposal Technicians'. I figured that getting a contract was the first step and sooner or later, I'd be on the rise to real fame. I... was pretty much wrong. What you're reading right now isn't a story about a guy who doggedly clawed his way up from the bottom of a promotion to the very pinnacle of it. This is a story about the federation itself doing that, or at least making a damn game effort of trying.

And it starts... it starts with a little cafe in Ohio.

~*~

Jordan Brigstock wasn't really the greatest guy to eat lunch with. Not that he was a bad guy, particularly, it was just the fact that sitting across the table from somebody who was seemingly incapable of keeping quiet for the barest instant – including when he was chowing down – could be... well, a combination of nauseating and annoying. Mostly annoying, but then I was and remain an eminently irritable person. I hung out with Brigstock because, sorry to say, he was the only coworker I had that I could just about tolerate. When somebody like him was the bar for friendship, you knew your relationships were in a pretty bad way.

I was picking my way through a sandwich, paying little mind to Brigstock's constant rambling, when the tail-end of something he said finally caught my attention, causing me to look up sharply.

"Can you repeat that?"

Brigstock paused in mid-prattle, smiled widely and obliged. "Well me and this other guy were down at the swimming po-"

I waved an impatient hand. "Just the last bit."

His eyes brightened. "Oh! I'm starting my own wrestling promotion!"

Okay, so he'd actually said what I thought he'd said. I hadn't misheard him, which meant Brigstock was apparently serious about executing what was a titanically stupid idea, even by his standards. If I had a dime for every hare-brained scheme Jordan had come up with during the four or so months that I'd known him... well, I sure wouldn't have been working as a clerk in a convenience store.

Unaware of my scepticism, Brigstock was continuing. "It'll be called All-Star Championship Wrestling and we'll go from the very bottom right to the top of wrestling, above Supreme even! It'll be like the Rocky of wrestling!"

"There's already a Rocky of wrestling," I deadpanned.

"Nooo not Golden!" for all the world, Brigstock sounded 12 instead of 22. "I mean like, the underdog rising to beat all the odds!"

"...Right. So you realise that real life isn't a movie, don't you?" I doubted it, but it would probably be courteous to ask.

"Yep! And that's why I'm going to need your help Dundee!"

That took me aback. Brigstock was aware of course that I'd once been a wrestler, it was pretty much impossible for as much of a fan of the business as he was not to know that. But I'd also, once Brigstock got over his initial excitement of meeting one of his 'heroes' (which really, was a bit of a generous description of me), made it very clear that I wasn't wrestling any more. It wasn't getting me anywhere and even though there was money in wrestling, it just wasn't worth the effort any longer.

"Hold on a second Jordan, you know I gave that up."

"Don't you miss the good old days?" Brigstock was wheedling a little, making it pretty obvious I was a big part of his 'masterplan'.

"What good old days?"

"You wrestled for Supreme!"

"In the dark. In a squash. Against Big Smack *shudder* Scott."

"That's not the only match you had though!"

"Oh yeah. Who can forget my timeless classic against Runaway Train? Why, that might have lasted as much as three minutes."

Sure, at the time I'd been thrilled at the opportunity to join the biggest wrestling promotion on the planet, but my month's tenure in SWF had been little more than a huge disappointment. I didn't expect to be going in there and winning left right and centre, but nor did I expect to be utilised three times in two months, all in dark match squashes, before being released.

"Well, what about that series you had with Tyson Baine?"

"If by 'series' you mean that he Hades Bombed me twice in TCW, and then once in USPW, I can't say it's too fond a memory."

I'd done the rounds in a lot of the name promotions in the US. In retrospect, I'm still not quite sure what those guys all saw in me in the first place, or if they just needed a vaguely-credible jobber for their monsters to destroy and cement their statuses as big threats. Perhaps I aimed too high, perhaps I should've angled for MAW or the Coastal Zone, perhaps I tried to run before I could walk and tripped myself up. Either way, it got frustrating, it got disheartening, and so I quit.

"Aww come on Dundee, you've got to miss it sometimes."

I rolled my eyes. Didn't reply.

"Pleeeeeeeease help me out?"

Urgh. My resistances crumbled. He would be this way for hours if I didn't cave and... well yeah, I did miss wrestling sometimes. Not the politics or the road life,but the thrill of stepping out in front of a live crowd, putting on a show... somewhere between the bright eyed, 17 year old kid that started out in the business ten years ago and the cynical, caustic man that sat at a cafe table, I'd lost that sparkle.

Maybe it was time to see about retrieving it.

"Alright, alright," I held up both hands. "I'll pitch in," Brigstock clapped his hands together like a little kid and I sighed. "How much have you got in the bank to launch this, anyway?"

"Forty dollars," Brigstock announced proudly.

I groaned. At the very least, if the trainwreck that this was starting to look like came to pass, it would get Brigstock to shut the hell up.

TheEffect · September 30, 2010

Why not i'm in.

Blake Trask · September 30, 2010

Objective #1 was, of course, to secure some talent. Nobody ever started a wrestling promotion – a serious wrestling promotion, with two guys, especially when one of them wasn't even a wrestler. As it happened, years of watching every tape, stream, tv show and PPV that he possibly could had actually made Brigstock semi-competent at calling matches. Amazed that I was that there was something in this world that Jordan was actually good at, it was a load off my mind. We'd still need some staff – a referee sprang to mind, but we at least had the announcer's desk covered.

Before I started sending emails and making phonecalls (what, you didn't think I'd let Brigstock handle signings did you? He'd probably try to hire Jack Bruce or something), my 'boss' actually had a few pointers to give me on the type of guys he wanted in. Guy was getting pretty big for his boots to go from pleading with me to help him out to ordering me around, but I digress. Brigstock had never been too hot on the idea of hardcore matches or, more specifically the guys that couldn't even work a match where weapons were involved. Basically, no garbage wrestlers was recruitment rule number one, which certainly wasn't something I was complaining about. Damn psychos...

The other two 'guidelines' were mostly about the physical stuff. Brigstock was obviously pretty anxious about getting in people that weren't complete weeds, and told me to make sure that the guys I brought in were at least a little 'tough'. I had idea how you gauge whether or not somebody's that physically tough, but I supposed I'd just avoid the weaklings. The last instruction was simpler; he wanted to make sure that anybody I signed had decent stamina, cause, well, nobody wants to watch a match where the competitors manage to blow up within five minutes.

These rules in place, I set about establishing a roster...

~*~

It took the better part of a month and we suffered a few set backs along the way, but eventually, we got there. I wasn't one hundred percent happy with what we wound up with and some of the guys we eventually signed weren't my first choices (I won't say which weren't, needn't step on toes, even though it would be going way back), but by and large, we managed to get a decent roster. I, at least, was satisfied. We picked up a good crew, here and in spite of a few high earners, none of them went overblown with their contract demands, which is the main reason the other negotiations folded. I might have all the respect in the world for a wrestler, but if getting hold of them will bankrupt the promotion, I'm not going to bother.

INITIAL ROSTER THOUGHTS: MONDAY 1st FEBRUARY

THE FRANCHISE

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/WolfHawkins_alt2.jpg

Render, which may or may not really be Wolf Hawkins, by J Silver

Dundee Drake Jones: The head booker in the main event? 'Politics!' I hear you call. Honestly, I would prefer if there were other options to this, but I don't really have much of a choice. If Brigstock wants this to work, we need ability and name value at the top. Now, I'm not exactly a national icon, but I'd had exposure and probably more importantly, I'm not half-bad in the ring. I have no intention of keeping a constant stranglehold on the main event, but for now, it's a necessary evil for me to be there.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/BrendanIdol.jpg

Brendan Idol: Going after Brendan was probably a tall order, given his semi-involvement with SWF (or at least, their feeder promotion) and his initial demands were so ludicrous that I almost pulled right out then and there. However, I managed to haggle him down to a reasonable (if, for our standards, pretty lucrative) deal. He's not a bad cruiser, as it happens, and knows enough to cover the other bases too. The guy isn't ever going to be a superstar, but he has the chops to be a lot more than a nobody.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/ConnieMorris.jpg

Connie Morris: I'm a fan of Connie's work. She doesn't stand out, particularly, beyond some decent brawling and chain work, but her fundamentals? Her fundamentals are pretty damn solid. I don't care if she's not the flashiest person in the locker room, or if she isn't too great on the mic. This isn't the SWF. Brigstock wants a product where people care about the wrestling. There's room for high-fliers and promos, but there's room for workers like Connie too and right now, her name value sets her up at the top.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/HughdeAske.jpg

Hugh De Aske: Credit where it's due, this man is a tidy little all-rounder with the years on his side. There's room for improvement, but for the level we're at right now... well, we'll take him as he is and any progress he makes will be a bonus. Thing is, I'm not fond of the guy's gimmick. I KNOW that he has genuine ties to pirates and that's great, but speaking as somebody who has never made much of a fuss of his heritage, it's just... not necessary. I'm letting Hugh roll with it because I want to keep him sweet, but we're supposed to not be THAT into gimmicks. Needless to say, Brigstock loves it.

THE PACK

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/AmberAllen.jpg

Amber Allen: Amber... I can't fathom why she wasn't employed already. Alright, so you're not going to get flash or brawling out of her, but this girl has got some serious technique on her hands. There are literally a handful of wrestlers active in the world that I could say with confidence are better than Amber technically; so what if she isn't that well-rounded? She's young, she'll learn and when she does, she's heading for the top.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Ant-Man.jpg

Ant-Man: I'm not quite as enamoured by this guy (sorry Johnny, you're not nearly as good looking), but he's not bad by any means. Physically, he's great – he's got really good cardio and a ridiculous amount of strength for somebody his size, hell, for anybody's size. Ant-Man will be on his way up sooner or later, but he doesn't quite have the skillset to headline yet.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Jebediah.jpg

Jebediah: Another day, another dumb gimmick. Unlike Hugh, I could throw my weight around with Jebediah, and I point blank refused to let him use the character he'd come up with. You can get a lot more out of a guy as big and as intimidating as Jebediah than a comic relief simpleton, especially since he has the makings of good wrestler, unlike a lot of big men I could name. Jeez, the guy's 6ft 11" and over 300 pounds, in a promotion as small as this you milk the hell out of that.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RegularJoe.jpg

Regular Joe: You know, 'regular' probably isn't too bad a way to describe Joseph Benning. He's an all-rounder, yet doesn't really stand out in any way. Still, that's more or less fine by me, because even if you wouldn't call him greatly skilled, Joe has the 'performance' based aspects of the game down pat. He isn't as good as Connie, but he's also younger, only twenty. There's no telling what a few years seasoning might do for him. He has definite promise, but I'm looking for him to deliver in the here and now.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/SuperSonic_alt1.jpg

Super Sonic: In truth I'm slightly concerned that Sonic won't fit in with the rest of the roster, what with his lucha base (somewhat surprising, giving he's a former backyarder). Still, we'll have to wait and see and in the meantime, get the benefit of a decent high flier. Sonic has a few red flags here and there – for one, he just barely crept past Brigstock's stamina guidelines, for another he's a bit one dimensional – but there's enough of the good stuff that for now, I'm willing to overlook his flaws. Hey, who knows? If it all goes right, he might just have won The Quest...

THE REST

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RunningWolf.jpg

Running Wolf: Again we return to the heritage based gimmicks, but he looks so damn impressive in that facepaint and headdress that I don't have the heart to tell him he can't do it. Otherwise... well, we'll label Wolf a prospect for now. He's not a bad brawler, but almost everyone on the roster that isn't better than him at that trumps him somewhere else, so he's not going to move anywhere fast. He has the tools, but it's up to him how he uses them.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RogerMonteiro.jpg

Roger Monteiro: Were it not for the size of the roster and the necessity of giving the lower echelons a bad guy, I might have been tempted to stick Roger alongside Wolf and let them make something of their Native American blood. Stereotypical? Maybe, but they're both pasisonate about it. Roger... well, he falls under many of the same headings as Wolf. Not awful, but not that good either. Young and with potential. We'll just have to wait and see if that actually comes to anything.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Paranoia.jpg

Paranoia: I'll be brutally honest: I hired Paranoia to pad the roster out a little and make sure we had the numbers to look credible. He's not godawful, or I wouldn't have signed him, but his psychology is poor and he seems to want to make every match a spotfest. I'm not going to write him off because hey, the guy's only nineteen, but I don't really have very high hopes for Paranoia. Too bad his buddies aren't tough enough for Brigstock's liking, otherwise I would have given him some company to lose with.

OTHERS

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/ChadBrent.jpg

Chad Brent: ...He's a referee. What more do you want? Maybe not as good as I'd have liked, but he was available for a reasonable price and that's ultimately all I was after.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/BrendanIdol_alt.jpg

Jordan Brigstock: The 'boss' himself. Like I said, at some stage he's managed to develop some half-decent play-by-play skills, which means he'll be holding the fort. Backing him up and providing colour, we'll have two of the wrestlers. I'm thinking Ant-Man and Amber right about now, simply because they're two of our least expensive workers but are also at least competent on the mic (Ant-Man's charisma is a particular boost)

TheEffect · September 30, 2010

Nice Roster!!!!

Phantom Stranger · September 30, 2010

Yup, it's got some strong similarities to the starting roster of my own 0/0/0/0 recently... although Connie, Amber, Ant-Man and my user character were my main event; I didn't risk Brendan's salary for a while longer...

Blake Trask · September 30, 2010

Nice Roster!!!!

Thanks, although I was really taking what I could get in a lot of cases. Adding Brigstock's restrictions (which weren't too severe, granted, but knocked out a couple of targets) with my preference for not hiring people that were already working elsewhere reduced the pool a lot - and when you add 'affordable' to your criteria... well safe to say, a couple of guys were my second or third choices (I'm looking at you, Paranoia and Monteiro!)

Even so, I'm probably overpaying for a promotion this size. So far I've been fluctuating between about -$200 to +$500 a month though, so money's much less of an issue than it has been for the other, nondiared 0/0/0/0 I played.

Yup, it's got some strong similarities to the starting roster of my own 0/0/0/0 recently... although Connie, Amber, Ant-Man and my user character were my main event; I didn't risk Brendan's salary for a while longer...

Anybody that doesn't sign at least Amber for this kind of game is very, very silly for my money. For a 22 year old free agent... she's crazy good.

Brendan was actually a slightly odd one with his negotiations. He demanded merch and travel along with a big price tag... and then suddenly accepted when I bumped my original offer up by 50$ without any of the extras he'd wanted. Like I said I'm probably paying a bit much for him (and Hugh as it happens), but so far, so good.

Blake Trask · October 1, 2010

Saturday, 20th February, 2010.

Isn't there an old saying that says 'Start as you mean to go on'? Well, if that's the case, then what ASCW is going to lead to is a locker room rife with petty disputes and rivalries. Wrestlers being wrestlers, I'd been expecting something to happen, but I didn't see it coming so early. Right... well, here's the deal.

I'd just put the finishing touches to the set up of the Ohio Jewish Center, our venue for the evening, and was heading back to the locker room when I heard raised voices coming from inside, a real shouting match.

At that moment, I heaved a deep sigh, because I knew that this was something I'd have to deal with. Brigstock, for all his enthusiasm, had and has the spine of snail, which meant discipline fell firmly on MY shoulders. Obviously, I wasn't too enthused by the knowledge that I was going to have to flex my muscles so early on, and I went storming into the changing room (reports suggest I looked furious, which was good, I felt it). Anyway, what met my eyes was the sight of Johnny (Ant-Man) and Joe holding back a none-too-happy Jebediah, whilst on the other side of the room, Amber Allen was doing the same thing for a similarly piqued Super Sonic.

Apparently, what this all came down to was a rib. Sonic told a couple of the others some stories he'd 'heard' (read; made up) about Jebediah – mostly your typical hillbilly type fare and the big guy had got wind of it. There'd been an argument, tempers had flared and I'd walked in to see the pair of them being pulled apart on the verge of erupting into a fist-fight. Now honestly? On another night, I would have been willing to give Sonic the benefit of the doubt, chalk it up to being a rib that got taken in the wrong way; but on the VERY first show? That's not such a great way to be breaking the ice with your new coworkers.

Ultimately I took Sonic aside and gave him a low-key but very clear dressing-down. He didn't want to be making enemies already and in that case, he needed to be more careful about the types of jokes he was making. Sonic actually seemed to take what I was saying pretty well, so that's one positive of the whole disaster. I hope I've nipped this particular troublemaker in the bud...

On a side note, I'm damn glad that Johnny was there to intervene in the fight. I don't think anybody else would've been able to hold Jebediah back.

Blake Trask · October 1, 2010

From the Ohio Jewish Center, with 10 in attendance...

ASCW Presents; All-Star Wrestling.

Announcers:

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/BrendanIdol_alt.jpghttp://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Ant-Man.jpghttp://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/AmberAllen.jpg

Jordan Brigstock, Ant-Man & Amber Allen

SEGMENT #1

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/WolfHawkins_alt2.jpg

Dundee Drake Jones is presiding for the start of the show, standing in the ring with a microphone to open things for the fans (read, gang of drunks with nothing better to do on a saturday night). Dundee raises the mic and speaks into it, but gets little more than a wash of negative feedback. Wincing, then looking at the size of the 'crowd', Dundee figures he can get by with just voice and puts the mic down.

"Welcome to All-Star Championship Wrestling. Tonight, you'll see talent, you'll see ability and you'll see triumphs."

Dundee smirks.

"It's just too bad that all of those things will be packed into a single person. Name's Dundee Drake Jones and tonight, after I beat Brendan Idol senseless, that's something you're all going to remember. That ain't a threat. That's a cast-iron promise. Just try and stop me."

Rating: 38/D-

Dundee's verdict: Pretty generic stuff, but subtle nuances were always going to be lost on these guys. Still, I've never been too shabby on the mic and the fans seemed to buy into it, insomuch as that's possible for 10 guys, at least half of which were off their face drunk.

MATCH #1

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/HughdeAske.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Paranoia.jpg

Hugh De Aske vs. Paranoia

As you'd expect, De Aske dominates here, steamrollering Paranoia, whose own offence is token at best. Yet for all that it's a short match, there's an underlying issue here, just a sense of the timing not quite being on, the two men not quite 'grasping' each other. After laying on a serious beatdown, De Aske ends it with a Cut-Throat Driver.

Hugh De Aske wins by pinfall in 3:43.

Rating: 23/E-

Dundee's verdict: Well, that's a setback, since I was hoping for De Aske to come out of this looking good, yet things wound up being pretty awkward. Still, they're opposite ends of the card, so it's not like I'm going to have to go out of my way to avoid this match-up.

MATCH #2

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/AmberAllen.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RogerMonteiro.jpg

Amber Allen vs. Roger Monteiro

(Running Wolf on commentary)

And our issues with chemistry go from bad to worse. These two can barely work together at all and as a result, the entire match winds up looking incredibly stilted. Maybe it's the clash of styles, maybe they're not used to facing off against an opponent of the opposite sex. Whatever the reason, neither competitor has the chops to cover for the glaring problems they have in the ring, and when Amber Allen hits the northern lights suplex to get the three count, it's almost a mercy.

Amber Allen wins by pinfall in 5:38

Rating: 19/E-

Dundee's verdict: ...Ouch. Admittedly, it might have been a bad call to put a technician and a cruiserweight in there together, but I'm not sure that's an excuse for how utterly all over the place these two were. In the future, you can bet your bottom dollar I'm avoiding these two being in the ring together like the plague.

MATCH #3

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/ConnieMorris.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/SuperSonic_alt1.jpg

Connie Morris vs. Super Sonic

Business starts to pick up a little more now, if only a little. It's an atypical match, what with the woman being the bigger and stronger of the two competitors and the heel being the one playing mouse. Sonic eludes Connie for awhile, using his speed and athleticism (and in one case, a rake of the eyes) to dart in and attack before dodging away. However, after scoring with an impressive springboard splash and gaining only a two count, Sonic makes the mistake of getting in Chad Brent's face, accusing him of counting slowly. That's the window Connie needs to get to her feet, seize hold of Sonic, and go to town. The Missouri Plough ends it not long afterward.

Connie Morris wins by pinfall in 5:41

Rating: 28/E

Dundee's verdict: It's... decent, I'll give it that, defintely an improvement on the pair of matches it followed on from. Not a bad contest, although limited by Sonic's lack of conditioning. I guess there's only much you can expect from a match when our roster's larger than the crowd though.

MATCH #4

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Ant-Man.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RunningWolf.jpg

Ant-Man vs. Running Wolf

(Roger Monteiro on commentary)

...Wow, the pair of men have apparently no issues asides from the lack of ability to work a match, because this one utterly bombs. The crowd are bored, the action is poor and the celebrations when Ant-Man puts Wolf away with the Antidote aren't for the result (although Ant-Man being capable of lifting the 290 lb heavyweight is impressive to say the least), just the fact that it's actually over.

Ant-Man wins by pinfall in 7:26

Rating: 18/E-

Dundee's verdict: Honestly? I'd hoped for more. These guys are both raw, but I know they can do better than this. I suppose I'm going to have to start using slightly more protective booking for a lot of the lower card guys, stop their flaws from getting so exposed.

SEGMENT #2

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RunningWolf.jpg

Running Wolf is picking himself up and shaking his head, disappointed at losing (or maybe by how awful the match he'd just wrestled was) when suddenly a beast of a man comes stalking down the entrance ramp, a scowl on his face.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Jebediah.jpg

"Jebediah!?" Jordan Brigstock exclaims at the commentary table. "What's he doing here?"

"I don't know Jordan," says Amber Allen alongside him. "But I can make a guess, and it's not a pleasant one."

Jebediah slides into the ring and Wolf drops into a guarded fighting position, but he's just wrestled a match and Big Jeb is fresh. Even though Running Wolf isn't exactly a small man, Jebediah has some 5 inches on him and when the bigger wrestler connects with a lariat, it looks lethal. Jeb looks set to really go to town, when suddenly...

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RegularJoe.jpg

Regular Joe comes in to make the save! A gutsy assault combined with the element of surprise allows Wolf to roll out of the ring, and as Jebediah wheels on Joe, Chad Brent calls for the bell to make the match official!

MATCH #5

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RegularJoe.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Jebediah.jpg

Regular Joe vs. Jebediah

Unfortunately, even with an actual angle behind it, this match just doesn't deliver. Neither man is a bad wrestler, but nor are they a particularly good and it certainly doesn't help that they aren't well known. After being taken aback by Joe's initial attack, Jebediah soon gets his feet back under him and starts to dismantle his opponent with a punishing offence. After scoring with a big time bodyslam, Jebediah ascends the turnbuckle and the fans are treated to the spectacle of a 6ft 11" man scoring with a top rope splash.

Needless to say, Joe doesn't kick out.

Jebediah wins by pinfall in 5:03

Rating: (Run in/save) 16/F+ (Match) 20/E-

Dundee's verdict: Okay so maybe I have to get the crowd to buy into the wrestlers more for trying stuff like run-ins, because I'm pretty sure the problem with this little section is that the fans just didn't care enough for it to have much of an impact. That's what I get for trying to be dramatic with virtual unknowns. As for the match... well I think this is another case of neither man being bad, just neither being good enough to carry it. We soldier on.

MATCH #6

MAIN EVENT

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/WolfHawkins_alt2.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/BrendanIdol.jpg

Dundee Drake Jones vs. Brendan Idol

At the eleventh hour, a little quality seeps into the card, with these two combining to produce something that, whilst it's hardly going to go down as a classic, blows everything else on the card out of the water. Idol goes in trying to keep the tempo up and the action dynamic, bouncing all over the ring. Dundee's strategy is a little more simple; he's in there to beat his opponent up. It makes for an entertaining bout and each competitor gets the other in trouble on different occasions. It ends after Dundee blocks a leaping DDT and suddenly spits a spray of green mist into Brendan's face! Blinded, Idol is defenceless aginst the brutal looking cutter that follows (the sequence something Drake Jones refers to as Dundee Brew #2).

Dundee Drake Jones wins by pinfall in 10:47

Rating: 39/D-

Dundee's verdict: Well, well, well – looks like somebody's still got it! Brendan and I produced the goods here and made the main event the match to talk about, just as it should be. As for putting myself over... honestly, early days, it's the heels that need to be built into a threat, not the good guys. There's more to be said for faces fighting against the odds, at least, that's the way I feel.

Overall show rating: 32/E+

Dundee's final thoughts: I think that this card was definitely damaged by the lack of chemistry in the opening matches. It really got us started on the wrong foot for the evening, though it's worrying that even with all the issues, those matches were better than some of the rest of the card. I definitely need to look into pairing people off with guys that can carry a match. The main event salvaged things tonight, but I can't count on that forever.

Blake Trask · October 1, 2010

From the Ohio Jewish Center
ASCW Presents... All-Star Wrestling

FEATURING:

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RogerMonteiro.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/mystery.jpg
Roger Monteiro vs. ????

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Jebediah.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Paranoia.jpg
Jebediah vs. Paranoia

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/HughdeAske.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RunningWolf.jpg
Hugh De Aske vs. Running Wolf

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Ant-Man.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RegularJoe.jpg
Ant-Man vs. Regular Joe

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/AmberAllen.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/SuperSonic_alt1.jpg
Amber Allen vs. Super Sonic

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/WolfHawkins_alt2.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/ConnieMorris.jpg
Dundee Drake Jones vs. Connie Morris

Prediction Key:

Roger Monteiro vs. ???
Jebediah vs. Paranoia
Hugh De Aske vs. Running Wolf
Ant-Man vs. Regular Joe
Amber Allen vs. Super Sonic
Dundee Drake Jones vs. Connie Morris

Phantom Stranger · October 1, 2010

Roger Monteiro vs. ???

Jebediah vs. Paranoia

Hugh De Aske vs. Running Wolf

Ant-Man vs. Regular Joe

Amber Allen vs. Super Sonic

Dundee Drake Jones vs. Connie Morris

MattQ2607 · October 2, 2010

Roger Monteiro vs. ???

Jebediah vs. Paranoia

Hugh De Aske vs. Running Wolf

Ant-Man vs. Regular Joe

Amber Allen vs. Super Sonic

Dundee Drake Jones vs. Connie Morris

Blake Trask · October 3, 2010

<div style="text-align:center;">From the Ohio Jewish Center, with 15 in attendance...

ASCW Presents; All-Star Wrestling.

Announcers:

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/BrendanIdol_alt.jpghttp://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Ant-Man.jpghttp://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/AmberAllen.jpg

Jordan Brigstock, Ant-Man & Amber Allen

SEGMENT #1

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/WolfHawkins_alt2.jpg

Once again, Dundee Drake Jones is in the ring to start off the show, regarding the crowd (although that's probably an overly generous way of referring to them). When he starts to speak into the mic in his hand, it becomes apparent that this is the same dud one from last month.

"Well, well, well... looks like ol' Dundee ain't all talk, eh? Idol couldn't hang with my brew, just like nobody in this company can. Y'see, I ain't just any wrestler. I was in Supreme, I went toe-to-toe with the monster Tyson Baine. I'm above this company and I'm above you."

In spite of there only being a small number of them, the fans gathered in the hall let Dundee have it. He snorts.

"Booing? Really? You people should be thanking me for this. If Dundee weren't here, you wouldn't be getting no entertainment, that's for certain. Sit tight, folks. I'm up against Connie Morris later tonight, and lemme tell you something... I ain't no Super Sonic."

"Dundee's walking home the winner tonight."

Rating: 38/D-

Dundee's verdict: Same sort of fare as last month, though the tack was slightly less generic. I can't just be 'the heel' forever. I needed to set about establishing myself a character, and this was the first step.

MATCH #1

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RogerMonteiro.jpg Vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/JaredJohnson.jpg

Roger Monteiro vs. Jared Johnson

Well, what you can say about this is that it's definitely better than Monteiro's match last week. He stays alive for a while in this match, eluding and frustrating Johnson with some high speed offence. However, the debutant has the wherewithal to evade a running body press and from there swiftly capitalises, keeping Monteiro grounded with some slick matwork. After rolling through an armbar, Roger hits the ropes and goes for a clothesline, only to find himself snagged and pulled into the Carolina Crossface! In the middle of the ring, Monteiro has nowhere to go and swiftly taps out.

Jared Johnson wins by submission in 5:31

Rating: 25/E

Dundee's verdict: With my expectations appropriately tempered by the matches last month, I've got to say that by our standards, this was a neat little opener. I'd hoped for Jared to debut looking a little stronger than this, but I think that there's only so much I can expect out of Roger right now. Still... I hope this is the exception rather than the rule for Jared.

SEGMENT #2

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Paranoia.jpg

Paranoia is heading down to the ring with a big smile on his face, looking like he's generally having a good time. However, somebody's soon to rain on his parade.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Jebediah.jpg

Big Jeb comes charging down to the ring and smashes into Paranoia's back at speed, sending him flying into the apron with a crunch. Jebediah lays into him with a few stomps, then picks him up and rolls him into the ring. Jeb follows, sets Paranoia up... and then plants him with a huge powerbomb! Withi his opponent out of it, Jebediah rounds on Chad Brent and demands he start the match. Intimidated by the sheer size of Jeb, the ref calls for the bell to be rung.

MATCH #2

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Paranoia.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Jebediah.jpg

Paranoia vs. Jebediah

Given Paranoia is already laid out, this barely qualifies as a match. Jebediah spends the first part of it walking around the ring posing and mocking the downed Paranoia. At the first sign of the Paratrooper even beginning to stir, Jeb hauls him up to his feet and pulls him up for another powerbomb, doing a lap of the ring with his much smaller opponent held up in the air... then smashing him down to the mat again. As the exclaimation point, Jebediah ascends one of the turnbuckles (almost slipping as one of his boots slides off the rope) and utterly crushes Paranoia with a Sundown Splash. The Paratrooper wouldn't have kicked out of a thirty count.

Jebediah wins by pinfall in 1:10

Rating: (Run in) 18/E- (Match) 10/F

Dundee's verdict: ...My god. The fans were just utterly dead for this. They just didn't care enough about Paranoia for them to be interested in this - and I don't think it helped that Jeb almost botched the splash, either. That'll learn me to book the least exposed member of the roster in that kind of angle.

MATCH #3

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/HughdeAske.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RunningWolf.jpg

Hugh de Aske vs. Running Wolf

Running Wolf is the far bigger competitor here, but the Dread Pirate has a lot of guile and he uses that to stay one step ahead of his adversary for most of the match. Wolf fights gamely, but De Aske has an answer for almost all of his offence, often taking the big man to the mat and working him over. A missed clothesline allows De Aske to sink Wolf with a Cut-Throat Driver.

Hugh De Aske wins by pinfall in 6:43

Rating: 33/E+

Dundee's verdict: Hugh definitely justifies his price tag here, delivering on a level above almost everything we put on last month, save the main event. Hugh really is a great talent for us at such a small size. I hope we can keep him interested.

SEGMENT #3

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Ant-Man.jpg

Departing his spot at the commentary table, Ant-Man rolls into the ring underneath the bottom rope taking a mic along with him. As he stands in the centre, a little smirk comes onto his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen... especially ladies, allow me to introduce the highlight of your evening... and your night, if some of you play your cards right. They call me many things, including 'The Great One', 'The Superstar' and 'Drop Dead Gorgeous'... but I am known as the Ant-Man because just as an ant can lift a hundred times its own bodyweight... there's nothing I can't slam."

"Look on me now people, because I'm the Antidote to your mundanity!"

Rating: 30/E+

Dundee's verdict: Johnny isn't the finished article on the stick, but he sure has the charisma to make things work for now. If we can get his talking up on par with his natural gift, then he's going to be able to cut some blistering promos.

<div style="text-align:center;">MATCH #4

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Ant-Man.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RegularJoe.jpg

Ant-Man vs. Regular Joe

(Roger Monteiro on commentary)

Joe certainly isn't looking too impressed as he comes out from backstage and as the match gets underway goes straight into a tie up, only to be dumped on his backside by a shove. That sets the tone for much of the match as Ant-Man tosses Joe every which way in spite of the size disadvantage. After a few slams, he starts playing to the fans, spreading his arms wide and taunting every time he hits a big move. On one such occasion, though, Joe is playing possum and catches Ant-Man with a rollup! The arrogant youngster manages to kick out, but is so thrown off by the move that he has no answer by the Joe and Behold that follows.

Regular Joe wins by pinfall in 5:58

Rating: 22/E-

Dundee's verdict: Well, so far Johnny's proven to be better on the mic than he is in the ring, but he's got time to learn. This isn't terrible fare and it's better than Johnny and Joe's showings last week, but I know there's more to come. Still, not a bad effort from our up and comers. (Heck, the whole roster is up and comers, only three of us are south of 25).

MATCH #5

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/AmberAllen.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/SuperSonic_alt1.jpg

Amber Allen vs. Super Sonic

(Running Wolf on commentary)

A pacy little number as Sonic returns to his elusive tactics from last month, keeping things quick and light, desperately wriggling away by any means necessary whenever Amber manages to ensnare him. Still, Sonic gets the best of things in spite of being put into a few painful holds and after flooring Amber with an enzuigiri, goes up top. Sonic Boom!...

No! He crashes and burns as Amber moves out of the way! One Northern Lights Suplex later and this one's over.

Amber Allen wins by pinfall in 7:54

Rating: 28/E

Dundee's verdict: Sonic reproduces his display from our previous show, and Amber proves that were it not for the issues with Roger, she would have delivered. A good solid match from these two, although unfortunately Sonic seemed to be gassing towards the end. He's really going to need to develop his cardio. Good matches need more time than this.

MATCH #6

MAIN EVENT

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/WolfHawkins_alt2.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/ConnieMorris.jpg

Dundee Drake Jones vs. Connie Morris

And once again, the show goes up a notch to end on a high note. There's nothing subtle and little technical about this contest. Dundee and Connie go at it hammer and tongs, in spite of the difference in size. Each competitor seems to be capable of giving as good as they get, and it has to be the biggest pop of the night when Connie lifts Dundee for the Missouri Plough and he has to grab the top rope to save himself.

Dundee proceeds to take a breather on the outside, regaining his composure after the narrow escape. Connie, obviously unhappy by this delay, pursues him, only for Dundee to slide straight BACK into the ring and as Connie grudgingly follows, Dundee pounces on her with a vicious kick to the ribs. The momentum shifts Dundee's way after that and in spite of a couple attempts to rally from Connie, Dundee kills the contest dead with a big time tiger bomb (the 'Alligator Drop')

Dundee Drake Jones wins by pinfall in 12:25

Rating: 39/D-

Dundee's verdict: Just as good as Brendan and I's match last week and the perfect way to finish off the evening. Still, I can't main event every night, so we'll have to look into some new match ups in the near future.

Overall show rating: 34/E+

Dundee's Final Thoughts: It's better, I'll say that much. Our undercard remains weak though, and I think we've got to attempt some better angles or... well at the very least try and make some of them less prominent. We need to start spreading those main event ratings throughout the show...

</div>

</div>

Blake Trask · October 3, 2010

Also thanks for predicting, Phantom Stranger and MattQ, especially the former in managing to get every match up right. Probably a lot of the cards are going to be fairly obvious to begin with but still, it's nice to know somebody's taken a look.

Jaded · October 3, 2010

Wow - Ant Man, Amber, Regular Joe, and Connie? Loving this! Sucks that you were only allowed to get 1/3 of the Paras though. <img alt="

" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Blake Trask · October 4, 2010

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="29194" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> From the Ohio Jewish Center ASCW Presents... All-Star Wrestling FEATURING: <div style="text-align:center;">http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/AmberAllen.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/JaredJohnson.jpg Amber Allen vs. Jared Johnson http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Ant-Man.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RogerMonteiro.jpg Ant-Man vs. Roger Monteiro http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/WolfHawkins_alt2.jpg & http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Jebediah.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/Paranoia.jpg & http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/RunningWolf.jpg Dundee & Jebediah vs. Paranoia & Running Wolf http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/BrendanIdol.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/SuperSonic_alt1.jpg Brendan Idol vs. Super Sonic http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/ConnieMorris.jpg vs. http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/Dynastybucket/HughdeAske.jpg Connie Morris vs. Hugh de Aske <div style="text-align:left;">Prediction Key: Amber Allen vs. Jared Johnson Ant-Man vs. Roger Monteiro Dundee & Jebediah vs. Paranoia & Running Wolf Brendan Idol vs. Super Sonic Connie Morris vs. Hugh de Aske </div> </div></div></blockquote>

Zergon · October 4, 2010

Nice start and interesting starting roster. It will be interesting to see how things go from here.

Amber Allen vs. Jared Johnson

I have to admit that I´m not big fan of integrated women division (likely because WWE is pretty much only wrestling show that I ever watched) so i just go with Johnson here

Ant-Man vs. Roger Monteiro

Roger is jobber

Dundee & Jebediah vs. Paranoia & Running Wolf

Dundee seems to be your best guy and Paranoia is definitely jobber

Brendan Idol vs. Super Sonic

Idol is one of your top guys while Sonic isn´t

Connie Morris vs. Hugh de Aske

I just like Hugh more

Phantom Stranger · October 4, 2010

Amber Allen vs. Jared Johnson

Ant-Man vs. Roger Monteiro

Dundee & Jebediah vs. Paranoia & Running Wolf

Brendan Idol vs. Super Sonic

Connie Morris vs. Hugh de Aske

TheEffect · October 4, 2010

Amber Allen vs. Jared Johnson

Ant-Man vs. Roger Monteiro

Dundee & Jebediah vs. Paranoia & Running Wolf

Brendan Idol vs. Super Sonic

Connie Morris vs. Hugh de Aske

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