Welcome to the Old School!

[infinitywpi]

It had been a wild two years. I'll never understood what made Sam Strong pick me, of all people, to handle booking for USPW; apparently, he'd heard of my work with the Coastal Zone and was looking to 'update' USPW. No major changes, of course, but updates. So, on that cold December day back in '09, he gave me a Christmas gift of a job for the next two years.

 

Yeah, these were the two years that the American economy went down the toilet. These were the years that wrestling was revived in Japan. These were the years that saw SWF be challenges by TCW and NOTBPW. These were... a couple of really hard years.

 

I had my ups and downs. I'm told that, under my book, USPW had gone from the home of politics to the place everyone in the indies wanted to work. My method of updating USPW... by bringing in some west-coast friends... worked fairly well, even if some of them didn't stay very long.

 

Ratings, however, stayed fairly low, and try as I might I just couldn't coax good shows out of the guys except for once in a rare while. Sure, we were on pay-per-view, but in the last two years I'd lost almost two million dollars. Several of our big stars had left, including some that we helped make into stars. And Sam Strong's words to me two years ago rang in my ears.

 

"We're Number Five in the world right now, boy. You keep us this way, and you'll be working for me for a long time." Due to Japan and Canada having two great years... well, we were number nine in the world. With nothign left to lose, I plotted my last pay-per-view... which was destined to be a mess, as our announcer was called away to work elsewhere, leaving me with a commentary team of just Sam Strong. And still, it turned out to be one of our best show ever. My last two episodes of TV threw everything out the window, as I did something I'd've never done and took the World Title off of Sam's boy Nicky Champion and put it on... well, a guy I knew would fly the coop as soon as he got a good offer. I'd let Sam and my replacement worry about that.

 

The year ended, and I went home to get drunk. A few days later, I was woken up by the telephone.

 

"Where the hell are you?"

 

"Fox? I'm at home. Why?"

 

"At home? Why the... nevermind. Look, what's the plan for tonight's show?"

 

"How should I know? Ask my replacement."

 

"Repla... you haven't been replaced. You haven't even been fired. Sam was just talking about how he knew if he gave you time, you'd start giving him results. These last few weeks? You impressed him or something, man."

 

"... so I still have a job?"

 

"Not if you don't book tonight's show."

 

... oh, hell. Here we go again...

[James Casey]

Hah, awesome - this could be a car crash or it could be glorious, but either way I'm in!

[infinitywpi]

So... Who Is USPW?

 

USPW, still owned by Sam Strong, is the biggest non-big fed in the States. They have a reputation for being 'old school'... slow-paced matches that more more of an emphasis on psychology and "Holy cow, how big is that guy?" than on flashy dives and intricate holds. In the last two years, this has changed somewhat... with the introduction of Western-style lightweights and Sam Strong's own decree that he didn't care how big the guys were, if they didn't have the stamina to wrestle, he didn't want them. This lead to the loss of such promising recruits as The Big Problem and Ekuma, the Hawaiian Strongman. These days, USPW is no longer 'The Old Folks Home' or 'Where Wrestlers Go To Retire'... mainly due to multiple retirements.

 

 

Know Your Champions!

 

USPW Champion: Zimmy Bumfhole. After being cut loose from the big time, Zimmy came straight to USPW and started making noise. He showed he belonged in the main event with several great matches, and is probably the best all-around package we have right now. He recently defeated Nicky Champion for the USPW Title after some help from his brother Randy, who made his debut by pushing the then-champion off a turnbuckle.

 

Former Champion: Nicky Champion, Sam Strong's chosen heir. When BLZ Bubb left, Nicky was picked to succeed him as champion and held the title for quite a long time before his recent loss. His amazing run wasn't due to Strong's demands he be kept strong, but rather due to the fact he could actually handle himself with such a push.

 

Television Champion: Akima Brave. Brought in after TCW had done nothin with him, Akima made a splash with two losses that hihlighted his abilities, and then hasn't lost since. Now National Champion, he's mainly upset that Nicky lost the USPW Title before he was able to take it away from the golden boy.

 

National Champion: Jumbo Jackson. After a year with no real direction, Shane Sneer left the company, and his Corporation looked doomed to dissapear. Taking fate into his own hand, Jumbo turned on Mick Muscles and Danny Rushmore, striking out on his own. In the last few months, he has become strangely popular to the point where a title was due.

 

Women's Champion: Alicia Strong. Despite skills, the women's divison has gone from putting on the best matches of the show to putting on some of the worst. Even the addition of ex-USPW star Nadine Snow and ex-CZCW star Joanne Rodriguez failed to bring the division to the forefront. Alicia is now mainly seen as a 'nepotism champion', and the only reason the languishing division is allowed to exist.

 

Tag Team Champions: Fox Force (Fox Mask & The Force). After being controled by the Sneer Corporation until Shane Sneer's departure, the Tag Titles changed hands several times as the former Sneers tried to retain them... and never succeeded for long. After being held by a variety of unlikely partners, they have recently transfered to the hands of two very different legends who seem determined to make the most of their partnership.

 

 

Who's On Staff?

 

With several staffmembers signed away, USPW has been running on a skeleton crew. Robbie Sanchez is the company's sole ref; Sam Strong acts as road agent and color commentator. After losing two announcers in a row to the big leagues, USPW was able to score Mitch Naess, and it turns out he and Sam Strong make for a dynamic powerhouse of an announce team. Your booker is yours truely, aka The West Coast Avatar.

 

Next post: Meet your full USPW Roster! Who signed up? Who retired? What names are surprisingly popular, and who is mired in obscurity?

[infinitywpi]

Meet the USPW Roster!

 

Starting from the bottom:

 

Jobber Corps

Giant Brody -- Brought in due to his size, Brody is credited with Sam Strong finally admitting that not all large men can wrestle.

Marshall Dillon -- Youngster let go from jobbing in the big leagues; he shows a lot of promise, but we're so heel-heavy that we're loathe to give him a big push right now.

Ford Gumble -- Old Reliable. Usually sees action when we forget that 'Ford' and 'Fox' both start with 'Fo'.

Madman Boone -- Brought on during a period where the roster was slim, Boone has yet to have anything beyond a half-decent match.

Paul Steadyfast -- Ditto.

 

Lowercard

Steve Flash -- Former Tag Champion with Clark Alexander, Steve has failed to do much on his own.

Mick Muscles -- When the Sneer Corporation imploded, Mick and Danny made another run for the Tag Titles; it didn't last. They'll probably keep trying.

The Force -- Jim Force hasn't accomplished much lately; his Tag Title win was surprising. It remains to be seen if he'll be a long-lasting champion, or if he'll continue to languish down the card.

Doug Peak -- See Boone and Steadyfast.

 

Midcard

Fox Mask -- CZCW Champion, brought in to freshen things up. Within three months, Fox was at the top of the card, second only to Nicky Champion. Since then, he's faltered, focusing more on helping youngsters get over. As a result, his record has taken a hit and so has his popularity.

Citizen X -- A recent recruit, X was brought in after our recent rash of people let go because Sam wanted workers with stamina. He has yet to have a really good match, but he just needs to adjust.

Java -- After his tag partner Tribal Warrior retired, Java got a push up the card; he was unable to keep himself going and has fallen to a position where he's rarely used.

Kashmir Singh -- Brought in about the same time as Citizen X, Singh has been a mixed bag. What looked like a promising team with Shady K was broken up after Shady turned face, and Singh now needs direction.

Chris Caufield -- A USPW Mainstay, Chris has slowly sunk down the card. Age is catching up with him, but he's fighting against it.

Randy Bumfhole -- Just grabbed after the big guys let him go; he's not expected to stay in the midcard for long with his brother being USPW Champion.

Danny Rushmore -- Until now, the most successful of the three former Sneer Corporation members, Danny finds himself teaming with Mick and fighting over the tag team titles, as it has been for years.

Darryl Devine -- Nicknamed 'Yo-Yo' for how he moves up and down the card. Has moved between midcard and main event so many times, it's not even funny anymore. Capable of performing well, but incapable of holding onto his popularity.

 

Uppercard

Enygma -- Occasionally aimless, Enygma has a tendancy to show up, put on a good match, and vanish. He occasionally shows up in main events to remind people he's around, and then vanishes... like Batman.

James Justice -- After taking a half-year off to deal with injuries, Justice has shown himself to be slowed by age... but still able to put on good matches. Just not long ones. He seems to remain popular despite taking a number of losses, and so he's become the go-to guy when new talent needs to be put over.

Clark Alexander -- One of our recent strapped-to-a-rocket recruits, Clark has tumbled a bit recently after a pair of harsh main event losses. A former Tag Team Champion with Steve Flash, it remains to be seen if he can make it as a singles competitor here.

Peter Valentine -- We know, we know, he's got no talent. But he somehow remains popular, and he's Sam's best friend, so we keep him fairly well-utilized. Amazingly enough, he's dependable enough that this hasn't bitten us in the rear yet. A bit of an arse backstage.

Jumbo Jackson -- We never thought turning him on Mick and Danny would result in his becoming this popular, but we're running with it. Current National champion, Jumbo looks to be ready to make a run to the top of the card -- and as heel-heavy as it tends to be, he may be a welcome breath of fresh air.

 

Main Eventers

Frankie Perez -- Brought in to team with Fox Mask when he first slipped down the card, Frankie put in some great performances, including holding our best match of the last two years. He had some great matches with Champion for the title, and has to be seething that the more charismatic Zimmy got the nod to take it off Champion... and after bein around for a fraction of the time Frankie has.

Nicky Champion -- Sam Strong's protege and former USPW Champion, Nicky was thrust into the spotlight when BLZ Bubb left the company. Since then, he had a great title run and fought all comers... but ran out of possible challengers. It was take the title off him or bring in some expensive named... and Sam wouldn't let us pay for expensive names.

Akima Brave -- Until Zimmy came along, Akima seemed the obvious choice to take the title off Nicky. He started off in the jobber corp and worked his way up, fighting hard and winning the Television Title. He made it to the main event just a hair too late, and it remains to be see what he will do now that he's there.

Shady K -- Everyone was surprised when this man showed up in USPW; surprised more when he found tag success in 'New School'. While his partner would leave over money issues, K would remain popular despite the lack of a push. He recently turned face to help even out the heel/face balance at the top of the card, and it's given him a good deal of momentum.

Zimmy Bumfhole -- And this guy was let go from a major company? Their loss, our gain, as Zimmy hasn't had a bad match yet and is a huge success story. With his brother in the picture, he looks like he'll have a good grip on the title for some time... or until the big leagues come calling again.