MAW: How to not succeed in business without really trying

[Eidenhoek]

I walked into the locker room, kicking over the first trash bin I saw. It was empty, and the hollow bounce it made would barely have been heard had the roster been busy in conversation, as they usually were.

 

Fortunately, I hadn't "walked" into the locker room in the traditional sense of walking. I had unscrewed the hinges of the door, lightly pulling on the handle and sidestepping as the metal slab fell past me.

 

So, on second thought, maybe I had walked into the locker room traditionally; it's just the door that was unconventional.

 

That naturally means that kicking over the bin was a bit unnecessary, but I like the sound the plastic makes against the floor. One day I'll see one of those Stomp routines live.

 

Surely by now the appointment of the new head booker has travelled through the ranks, yes?

 

I looked at "The Mean Machine" Jean Cattley. Hardly a coup-military or peaceful-he had understood Mr. Chord's reasoning. An active wrestler booking the product could be seen as favoritism, Cattley's past work notwithstanding. Most of the room also glanced at him, but he barely shrugged in response.

 

I, however had other plans. Quickly reaching into my pocket, I took the rubber ball that I had placed into my pocker previously for this exact purpose. A bit of a monologue I had had previously, as it was hard to explain then my plan as much as it was now to actualize it.

 

I picked my target.

 

The crack of wood against Curtis Jenkin's head reminded me that I had not put a rubber ball in that pocket. That pocket was where I had placed the wooden ornamental ball that I would have placed on the desk in my office.

 

Alas, an ornamental ball marked with blood is hardly something to be displayed so brazenly. Undaunted, I continued.

 

Jenkins, did that hurt?

 

Yea-

 

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!

 

The room fell silent. More silent. Quantum-silent. At that moment I knew precisely the location and velocity of each and every atom in the room.

 

Aside from my rubber ball, which was not in my other pocket.

 

The sooner you get that through your heads-not literally, obviously-the better we will be. Mid Atlantic Wrestling is a developmental territory.

 

No it-

 

I quickly silenced McManus with another throw of whatever it was in my other pocket.

 

Turns out it was my rubber ball after all.

 

Also turns out that a rubber ball to the eye hurts. As he writhed on the ground, I continued.

 

MAW trains the future. MAW's success is giving every other company in this world someone to hire. Every time one of you gets "stolen" by a bigger company-SWF, TCW, North of the Border-that means we did our job. I don't care how big we get, how much money we make-hell, I don't care who our champion is. So long as people keep getting poached, we're doing our job.

 

What about me?

 

Cattley, yes. You're one of the exceptions. Unless you do get a better offer, in which case you better take it. You're the steady hand. You're one of the guys that's going to train all these pieces of crap.

 

I stifled any protests by reaching into my pocket. A collective flinch from most of the room, but I merely pulled out a marker, moving to the whiteboard in the corner.

 

On second thought, again, the flinch was warranted, as I hefted my missile at Keith Vegas. I pulled out another marker and flipped it in my hand.

 

All of you, every day you stay here, every day you're not getting snapped up, every one of those days is a failure. With exceptions, as I just made. Sure, you can talk about developing, and needing to improve. Tell me, Ace, how old are you?

 

25.

 

I wrote that on the board.

 

25 years old. That's young, probably not your prime. Probably got some years of improvement. But until you do improve, until you get picked up, until you actualize your potential and become the threat to the SWF World Championship that I know you're dreaming of,

 

I wrote "CRAP" underneath the 25.

 

You're crap. You're nothing. You're a developmental talent that nobody cares about.

 

*beat*

 

Yet.

 

The room relaxed a little. Unfortunately, people relaxing makes me throw uncapped markers into the forehead of Max Mayhem.

 

Everywhere I go there's a Max Mayhem. Don't know why, but it's weird.

 

This company builds the future. Until you are the future, until the future is the present, you're nothing. Understand that. It's not an insult; it's a fact. You. Are. Nothing.

 

I pointed at Jenkins, McManus, and Vegas.

 

You're nothing, but this company is all about nothing. This company deals in the nothings, the rookies, the not-yets. I'm here to make sure you learn as much as you can so that you can move out of this hellhole that you better not be calling a company. SWF's a company. USPW's a company. Hell, I'll even allow Coastal Zone Combat Wrestling to be a "company."

 

I don't know who it was, as I blindly threw the cigar I had been smoking at the voice that corrected me. I'm pretty sure it didn't do permanent damage.

 

Hopefully.

 

Improve, and you shall reap the rewards of a larger company. Stagnate, and I'll fire you. Unless you're cheap; a body in the ring is surprisingly useful sometimes. Improve or be nothing for your whole life. And for those of you that actually are something,

 

I looked at Cattley.

 

I appreciate the fact that you've made the conscious choice to be king of the losers. Again, not an insult; you are one of the most important wrestlers in the industry. At least, if I have anything to say about it.

 

Now get ready-we got an Invitational, and I'm going to invite a hell of a lot of workers.

 

I left the room.

 

~~

 

8/4/4/4 skills; simmering tension with everyone.

[Eidenhoek]

Since you guys asked *cough*...

 

I finally started reading "10 Simple Rules," Hi James Casey how are you and I figured, hey, I'm totally as good a writer as evidenced by my numerous accolades and social opinion of me. I should do my own diary!

 

Also, text is the best way to be ironic.

 

Originally, I wasn't going to start abusing the roster; instead, I was going to walk in and claim that MAW ws development, etc., and there we'd go. But then I started hating people. /shrug

 

As noted, I went with an 8/4/4/4 build, and I'm giving everyone simmering tension with me. Since, y'know, I threw stuff at people etc.

 

Edit:

Also, my aim is to get as many people out of MAW as possible through being poached, while not over-loading the roster (unlikely).

[Eidenhoek]

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/9/26113285428.jpg

 

There were only five backstage rules, so I don't get what the big deal was about:

 

No drugs backstage (or in general).

No alcohol backstage.

No smoking backstage.

Arrive to the arena three hours early.

Remain in the arena until the show ends.

 

Why?

 

1. We don't have anyone good enough that drug use can be ignored. Granted we don't have the finances to run a high drug policy like Rip wanted, but if anyone gets any reports on anything, they're out.
   
2. Drunk driving requires you to push a pedal and turn a wheel improperly. WE'RE PILEDRIVING PEOPLE. Yeah, I think the point is made.
   
3. Breathing is good. Breathing smoke makes me want to punch you.
   
4. Be prepared. I need to know you're here, you're ready, I need to know how you feel so I know whether or not I need to change things. Besides, it's not like anyone's going to work multiple shows in a night; they'll pick elsewhere to work over us.
    
   Also, if they are working somewhere else, odds are they shouldn't be working for us.
   
5. Back when I did track, all the distance guys had to wait untiil the very end before we got to run. THIS IS PAYBACK!
    
   Also, I am not irrationally vindictive.
   

 

As to why everyone has "simmering tension" with me...well, technically you'd have to ask them. But fact is why should I care? I'm not here to be a friend. I'm here to run the world's developmental territory. We are a dojo+. They can make friends with each other; I'm getting them battle-ready.

 

Although I'm not sure what Rip's problem with me is.

 

I haven't made many changes since I've been here; I upped our ticket prices a little, I allowed us to have an integrated company (technically, we had a division, then integration. Furthermore, I gave us a 6/10/16 split on matches. Gives the upper guys time to build a match, while barely throwing out everyone else.

 

Oh, and while our matches are fairly intense, they are not dangerous whatsoever. We don't need any accidents.

 

Any more accidents, that is.

[sanityisforbidden]

Well as usual I'll lurk in the background. I like the different style your bringing to this one, subtle comedy with a serious edge. Nice twist with the simmering tensions. Let's see if you get anybody loyal to you.

[Eidenhoek]

Rip's rules for me were fairly simple. Don't fall into debt, push his son, and be safe, long, and resilient.

 

Granted, I'm still firing Jay's ass at the first opportunity. But more on that later...

 

Ah, well, yes, I might as well explain that now.

 

I walked into the locker room the next day. Apparently people don't fix doors, or somebody else had walked in earlier.

 

Everyone cowered in fear at my awesome sight/completely ignored me as they didn't hear me walk in. When I started writing on the whiteboard, though, all eyes were on me.

 

Let me make a few things clear: we are not the big time. I know you guys might have some egos, might have some friends, you might think politics will get you somewhere. Politics work, but not here. Egos are fine, but not here. Here, we build careers. Here, we make you palatable to all the real companies in the world. Want to be my friend? Cool. I'll still bury your ass. Want to have an ego? Fine, go ahead. I'll still bury your ass. Now is not the time to utilize those skills.

 

There was a bit of discontent among the ranks, so I decided to play the ace in my sleeve.

 

Vessey. Front and center.

 

Casey Valentine stood up. I think. Whatever; he came to the front.

 

Now your uncle's a roidhead, right?

 

What? No, he's-

 

Shush. If he's not, cool. If he is, see, that's fine, because that's Bryan Vessey. One of the top...50 wrestlers in the world, and probably top 20 or so in the USA. He can do all the drugs he wants. He's in the big time. Now sit down.

 

Cameron looked a little confused, apparently, but he sat back down in time.

 

Valentine. Up here.

 

Oh, right, that's Valentine. I'll never get them mixed up.

 

Your dad's a huge jerk, right?

 

...Yeah.

 

But, and this is important, your dad's in USPW. He's a multi-time TCW International champion, a tag champ, and now a National champion. That's success. Now maybe he's the scum of society, maybe he's the worst professional wrestler to ever live, the very being as an example of everything wrong in this industry...but he's a success. Sit back down.

 

I smiled-nay, I gleamed-as Casey sat back down.

 

Yes, see, he played politics. Terrible as he was-both in and out of the ring-he buddied up to the right guy. Leveraged that to all his benefit. And where did that get him? The big time.

 

Again, silence.

 

Play that here, I fire your ass. I don't have time for that. But once you leave here? Why should I care? You're gone, you've been taken, you've succeeded. Be nice, be manipulative. Win your matches, refuse to job, I don't care. Once you're employed, we've won. And once I win...I don't care.

 

Now look sharp. We're going to have some fun in a couple days, and I don't want anyone looking fancy.

[Timber]

I demand MORE!

[Eidenhoek]

The roster:

 

• Main Eventers:
  
• American Patriot-Face-Great gimmick and momentum. Busted knee. Can't sell and unsafe. Little polish and he could be our brawling trainer. 26, so he should be moving on.
  
• Mean Jean Cattley-Heel-Good gimmick. CONSISTENT. Low selling. Our technical trainer. I respect him, contrary to the tension we have. Hold the book for half a decade, 26-31, that's respect. Deserves to main event.
  
• Citizen X-Face-Perfect momentum, great gimmick. Our flying trainer. As with all the main eventers, he can dance with the belt. Shame I'm going to ruin his momentum, as this company isn't built for stuff like that.
  
• Upper-Midcarders:
  
• Cameron Vessey-Heel-Solid Momentum and gimmick. Unsafe. Solid prospect at 22; he's looking like our prototypical recruit. Which means he's just a step above a rookie.
  
• Findlay O'Farraday-Face-Sky-high momentum, great gimmick. No bum knee. He's two years younger than American Patriot; his goal better be to catch up to him in those two years. But learn to sell.
  
• Jay Chord-Heel-Good momentum and better gimmick. First guy I'm probably going to fire. If he could fly, he'd be a total package. Doesn't need to be here. And especially if he's going to pull some crap backstage, he isn't going to be here.
  
• Midcarders:
  
• Casey Valentine-Heel-No momentum, good gimmick. Young. Another prototype, but Valentine's got some great performing abilities. For crap, mind you.
  
• Max Mayhem-Face-Poor momentum; good gimmick. I guess he's "extreme" enough to fly, but he is the worst worker I've reviewed so far. Which is alphabetically. And he's expensive for his quality. Which is terrible. Admittedly, do I care about finances? No.
  
• Brett Starr-Heel-Solid momentum and good gimmick. Consistent. Needs help off the mike. Currently crap and has an ego; not afraid to fire his ass.
  
• Ace Youngblood-Face-Couldn't last in TCW. Consistent. Good gimmick.
  
• Ricky Douglas-Heel-Nice gimmick. Second-most consistent so far. He's another one like Huey, though he needs more work to be a performing trainer.
  
• Lower-Midcarders:
  
• Huey Cannonball-Heel-Nice gimmick. Pretty safe. If he knew what a story was, he'd still probably not get hired anywhere; however, that's all that holds him back from a lifetime training contract.
  
• Riley McManus-Face-Poor momentum with a great gimmick. Not very good, but 23. Still probably not very good at 28.
  
• Curtis Jenkins-Face-Consistent. Pretty much sucks.
  
• Openers:
  
• Keith Vegas-Face-Ground-low momentum. Consistent. Overpriced to be "a body in the ring". Improve or die, kid.
  
• Jefferson Stardust-Heel-Poor momentum; great gimmick. Worse than Huey, but has some standout selling.
  
• Managers:
  
• Lisa Bowen-Heel-Nice momentum and gimmick. Young. Not a great manager, but also pretty cheap.
  
• Ernest Forthdyke-Hume -Heel-Cheap as hell, perfect momentum, great gimmick. Dang son. Too bad he's not too good as a manager. But at that price, hell, I'll put him on everybody.
  
• Announcers:
  
• Marvin Earnest-Announcer-A bit of a jerk, apparently. I should replace him, then. Given the backstage atmosphere...hell, the backstage sucks. Keep him then.
  
• Duke Hazzard-Color-Solid enough I guess.
  
• Referees:
  
• Jay Fair-Expensive, but good.
  
• Road Agent:
  
• Rip Chord-How did he get insane momentum? Anyway, I'm not sure if he's actually the best talker, but ****, he's a road agent. Drinking won't help his segments.
  

[Eidenhoek]

List of "prospects":

 

Trainers:

• Black Hat Bailey-We could trade for him, I suppose. American Patriot for him would be amusing, given the knee damage. Tremendous performer.
  
• JD Morgan-Also leg damage, also obscene performer, and he's a technician. Like BHB, I imagine he'd be pricy.
  
• Larry Wood-Brawler, performer, alright though inconsistent entertainer, ridiculously scary, hurt from the waist up, class act, knows pretty much every language. If we could trade for him, probably not that expensive. Then again, WEXXV isn't the best place for a worker to not...die.
  
• Matthew Keith-Essentially he's like Jay Chord except not a huge jerk.
  
• Greg Gauge-Safer than Matt, but a worse psychologist. But the same goes for him as Matt.
  
• Steve Flash-Class act, unhurt body, all-round skill, brilliant performer. Aside from speaking and physical skills (admittedly, he's 43), the exact thing every worker should try to be.
  
• Hell Monkey-Aside from safety and selling (and entertainment), he can teach everything. Though I'd hate to steal a 31-year-old from what should be an explosive Japanese career.
  
• Rhino Umaga-He could be a brawling instructor. Though, again, don't want to take him from Japan.
  
• Samoan Machine-See Rhino, but he can be a technician too. And, yes, he better kill in...I imagine PGHW might get the two.
  
• Acid-Flying teacher. He's good all-round, as well, and a nice step up from X in every way. Which means he's expensive as hell. If we could trade for him from WLW, that might be nice. Wouldn't get in the way of his actual career.
  
• Burning Exile-**** the capitals. I'll let you in on a secret: I'm going to hire him to a short-term contract, then job him out to everyone. I said it's fine to be a complete jerk to everyone in the big leagues. I also said to KEEP YOUR JOB YOU IDIOT. God. Valentine's got it right. You? You're going to pay.
  
• Champagne Lover-hahahahaha well, he's best at flying, but...hahahahahaha
  
• Dragon del Arco Iris Jr.-**** the accents. Not to hate on languages and all that; I just want to keep my files clean. Kid's only 24 but has aerial skills that are good enough I'd want to spread them. I'm hiring him now. And no, FCW isn't a real fed. It's in Puerto Rico. Again, not hating the culture or anything, but they don't matter at all. Although I have immense respect and admiration for Puerto Rican Power.
  
• Jacob Jett-Eh, I imagine CZCW will get him and I did claim they were legitimate...The kid's young and doesn't know what a story is, but man can he fly. Negotiating as we speak.
  
• Joanne Rodriguez-Oh, we play with the ladies now. She's way too expensive, but she apparently does clear the threshold for flying.
  
• Mainstream Hernandez-Hiring him would be a complete **** move, as he already was here. So no. But yes, he's a good flyer.
  
• Masked Cougar-Only 26? I'll hire a young guy with flying skills. Hell, he'll get scooped up soon, I hope.
  
• Matt Sparrow-Safe flying teacher. There's a chance I hire him; this is note-taking at the moment. I'm only hiring the "teachers" that would also be prospects.
  
• Remmy Skye-I expect that if I did negotiate with him-at 25, I am right now-he would be gone before the Invitational. And he's with CZCW, so...eh, whatever. Anybody says anything, I'll teach them to sell an eye poke.
  
• Silver Shark-Man, I'd love a bit better story, but this is an old flyer. Almost perfect.
  
• Snap Dragon-If he's too expensive, I'm not going to hire him. But I will trade for him. Too many beautiful performance skills. And yes, this is breaking my rule about hiring the late 20s early 30s. And guys who work in Mexico, as that already is the "big time", sort of.
  
• UK Dragon-A poor seller considering the style, and a mite bit unsafe. Still, as he travels the world, we might be able to trade for him cheap.
  
• Velocidad-At 23, he would be an easy hire. I will negotiate, but at such terrible performing, it's $150 max. You're going to lay down for everyone, kid. And yes, technically SOTBPW should be the big time, but again, he's a body that can fly. He's on a teaching contract. If he gets better performing by association...good for Mexico.
  
• Amber Allen-22 with great mat skills? Negotiated. Not that good otherwise, but...that's why we're here.
  
• Fumihiro Ota-Going to be expensive if we do, but he's got a lot to offer.
  
• Nene Ebina-I negotiated for the humor of it; I think she's going to retire soon, but she's got good technical skills in the interim.
  
• Nigel Svensson-21-year-old technician? So long as I don't consider RoF the big leagues-and I don't, at the moment-he's an easy negotiation.
  
• Oleg Dorosklov-YES YES YES YES YES YES
  
• Roy Edison-Again, we're in the technician phase, but I think he'd be best suited to...Burning Hammer tours.
  
• Davis Wayne Newton-22? Chain wrestling? Okay. He'll be a "prospect," I guess, but I doubt he'll be that for long. But hey, I'll take a young trainer. I don't care much about age. It's about skill.
  
• Eric Tyler-Yeah, I suppose Nemesis is a brawler, but he's on hiatus. Anyway, Tyler won't bow down to our level, but I want to note that he's a technician, speaker, and performer. Him vs. Rip would be a fantastic nostalgia act.
  
• Ginko Kuroda-She's 29, and that's why it's not an instant grab. Good chain wrestling, but not much else.
  
• Rolling Johnny Stones-I won't break the ExPPA with 21CW, but man, that guy's good.
  
• Billy Russell-Submissions. Also, if Garner comes off hiatus and somehow ends up in our company-trades or otherwise-I will make them square off in the RCI quarter-finals.
  
• Cal Sanders-At 29, if he could tell a story, he'd be in...well...he might be North's undercard.
  
• Etsuko Arihyoshi-5SSW, so unless she's cut, I can't get her.
  
• Frankie Perez-He can't sell and is a bit unsafe. He's not staying in CZCW-or, I'd guess, the USA.
  
• Marc Speed-At 26...hell, I hired him. I'll team him with Cattley. Powerful technician training team.
  
• Rafael Ruiz-Attitude aside, he's the Mexican Steve Flash. With better technical and physical skills.
  

 

Wrestlers:

• Anyone.
  
• Under.
  
• The.
  
• Age.
  
• Of.
  
• 28. -ish. Roughly.
  

 

Other People:

• Mitch Naess-Yeah, best announcer that we could possibly get. Would be way too expensive.
  
• Steve Smith-...if 21CW rehire to a non-exclusive, I'm jumping on him.
  

 

I will actually narrow down a preliminary list of prospects I have, as well as note a few...let's say "key" individuals to the brand split.

[Eidenhoek]

I might as well keep my shortlist in a few places, written down, on the computer, all that backup stuff everyone talks about. So here goes.

 

A note, first: Fact is there's a hundred easy wrestlers out there in the USA that could do with some pruning. Fact is, apparently, today I'm a country boy. So be it. My point is that even if I only focused on guys who are unemployed, there are dozens out there needing a job. Can I fill it?

 

Not for all of them. We're topped out as-is; adding anyone is going to take some skill on my part to utilize everyone. I might have the right mindset for the company, but I'm not the best booker in the world. That's why I'm with MAW in the first place; there's no pressure for me to produce good shows. I have to produce good workers.

 

For example, though, getting to the point, say that Keith Vegas and Matthew Keith were both unemployed. Who hasthe best chance of making it big? Keith, obviously. Surname Keith. Though Matt Vegas sounds like an awesome gimmick...

 

Point, yes. Point is I grab Matt in that case. He wouldn't be with us long, but he's the one that has the greatest chance of getting a job (with some refinement, perhaps). I help him because that means I have a chance at success. Sure, I pick up Vegas, maybe he turns into a nice little CZCW niche wrestler. Good for him. In that time, I could have given TCW two undercarders. I stick with the best potential.

 

Speaking of that, I looked at under-30 unemployeds. Or under 28, as the case is. I don't remember very well. Top picks in alphabetical order(that weren't already noted):

 

• Calamity Joan: She's almost got usable entertainment, and her performance row isn't that much worse than some of our current guys. Good stamina, and some...alright technical skills.
  
• DeCipher: Some high consistency, a top line that looks like it could develop nicely, and he's got some charisma.
  
• Ekuma the Hawaiian Strong Man: I can't pass up a young guy with perfect power. Well, I can, since he doesn't quite have the stamina we require. Rip requires. But ****, he'll be a monster heel one day.
  
• Emma Bitch: I would say, aside from the fact she already failed NOTBPW via drug test. So no.
  
• Happy Elwood: Maybe he'll only ever be a big company's job guy, but he's got relative talent. And USPW picking him up was stupid on their part, so I won't put that against him.
  
• Hugh de Aske: He's about as promising a rookie as I've seen so far. CamVes and CasVal have him beat out a touch, I guess, but Hugh's got more all-round solidarity. Of a new hire, I think he's the first to go.
  
• Jana Marie Bowen: Just needs a little training, I think, a little improvement to where she's already pretty good (relatively), and she can move on.
   
  And yes, I will, to answer your question.
  
• Kinuye Mushashibo: She's like a female Jay Chord, in that I don't know why she's not permanently with 5SSW at least. Not as talented at all, mind, but...anywhere could use her.
  
• Mark Smart: I'm hiring him at least to punch him in the face. He's an excellently flashy worker for this type of filing, and about as good a performer as most of our guys.
  
• Nomad: His notes say he has "unlimited potential". Fine. I wouldn't take him ordinarily, but I will happily job him out repeatedly to the top of the card.
   
  DON'T. EVER. EXAGGERATE YOURSELF. Not until you make it. And 4C isn't making it. Idiot.
  
• Rayne Man: Wait, SWF cut you. **** off.
  
• Regular Joe: Nothing to stand out, but some nice performing abilities. For a rookie.
  
• Roderick Remus: Kid can sell. He'll be cheap, I hope, which means he's "a body in the ring." Good for him.
  
• Xavier Reckless: Hopefully he'll **** up so I can can his ass, but the guy's got the talent to catch my eye. But man...do I hate XDW.
  

 

I note that there were a few other Calamitys in there, but hey, I noticed her averageness first and theirs after some real "talent". Too bad, guys. Next time choose a quicker name.

 

I also will be hiring a few "traders," people who I will hire with the sole intent of trading them with other companies to have talent for a one-off or, most importantly, for the RCI. I'll address that when I address the whole cast, but suffice it to say that our roster's going to double. Easily.

[Eidenhoek]

I had approached every company for a Working Agreement. 11 had refused. That meant 24 companies said yes, meaning a maximum of...72 trades I could do at a time. This was absolutely delicious; once I had hired all the new people, (and the few extra trainers) we were going to have the greatest speech in the history of the company.

 

~

 

Blue-Eyes (White) Dragon wanted $600. Were he not also an exceptional aerialist, I would have refused. Given that he's a luchador, I might be able to snag some trades from him. It was worth it.

 

Masked Cougar wanted $1,000. I can't pay him, nor anyone, that, sadly.

 

Velocidad jumped aboard for $150. Now that's realistic.

 

Amber Allen hopped on for $150 as well.

 

And Nigel Svensson. This is looking nice.

 

Davis Wayne Newton's on for $250. If I could swap him with Dragon, I would. Easily.

 

Jana Marie Bowen's here for $200.

 

Kinuye for $300.

 

Remus wanted $700. That is not lay on the floor money. At all.

 

Thus ended the first round of hires. Possibly two more to go.

 

~

 

Nene Ebina wanted $1,000. Again, no go.

 

As did Marc Speed.

 

DeCipher dropped back to $250, which I accepted. When a lot of our guys are a hundred more than that...it bothers me.

 

Hugh de Aske wanted $700. It's more than I'd like to pay, but at a step under our main event, it's exactly where he belongs.

 

Mark Smart accepted a $150 bid. Excellent.

 

Regular Joe popped for an average $450.

 

Reckless barely accepted $200. Count the days, kids.

 

And thus is the second round.

 

~

 

Jett rejected my approach. Good; he must have a better offer somewhere. That's success, guys. And on that note, while I consider a niche market either the lowest level of "success" or the highest level of failure, working a full three companies is quite a bit higher than that. It's the best you can do until the big guys pay attention. So Jett's expansion isn't going to be inhibited by me whatsoever.

 

Remmy Skye actually wasn't picked up yet. He's way too expensive, but that's unexpected. Roger Cage went to SWF before him. Weird.

 

Snap Dragon's another 4-figure turndown.

 

Oleg Dorosklov is one of the best technicians in the world. $800 is steep, but he's going to be crucial for overseas trades.

 

Calamity Joan is "a buck fifty".

 

Happy Elwood wanted $500. As much as I "don't care about finances," I didn't bite. I'll revisit him later if it is needed.

 

Nomad is not worth $450.

 

$900 to kill Burning EXILE. Steep price, but...you'll see. You'll all see...

[Eidenhoek]

Everyone was seated in front of me at Stanley Hall. I was borrowing the venue ahead of schedule for practice, to allow everyone to understand the atmosphere, and, most importantly, because there were a hell of a lot of people there. Exactly how many...well, I'll draw up a tournament bracket at some point.

 

The Rip Chord Invitational is an exception to MAW's calendar. Those of you here on a trade might not understand what I mean, so I'll explain more fully.

 

We are, in effect, the world's developmental territory. As all of you, especially the Americans, know, workers from the Mid Atlantic have gone to other companies and shown great promise. While we have yet to pierce a national promotion, I feel that such an event is an inevitability. A when question, not an if question.

 

To that end-and I'm getting to the point; pardon me-the majority of our events seek to showcase and develop our talent. Any other time of the year, a traded wrestler is here to teach our rookies, to impart upon them the value that you, the already successful, have gleaned in your career. But not the Invitational. Perk up; this is where things get important.

 

Pausing, I made sure the focus was, mostly, on me. With that many people, various ages and weight classes, some amount or boredom or nervousness was understandable.

 

Also, I challenge anyone to throw a baton accurately at 50 yards.

 

The Rip Chord Invitational is our one offering that truly matters to the industry. Yes, our workers will be featured, but as is clear, so will many, many other companies'. This event is to showcase talent from all areas of the world, to decide who among all of you is superior.

 

*beat*

 

All. Of. You.

 

Every wrestler before me is in the tournament. We have four hours to fill because we have so many wrestlers; we have so many wrestlers because we have four hours to fill. Chicken or egg, the fact is this is your moment. Whether you're eliminated immediately, hit the quarterfinals, or hoist the trophy above your head, the last Friday of January is your day to shine. Give everything you have. Put forth your best effort.

 

Because that day? That day you are no longer rookies. That day, and only that day, each, every one of you, are wrestlers.

 

You head to glory. Let us prepare the arena so that we are not startled; let us train so that we are most impressive.

 

A bit of applause, and I bowed at the praise. Sadly, basking was not in my future, as we did seriously need to practice a hell of a lot of matches. Four hours. God, help me.

[Eidenhoek]

FYI:

 

I currently have somewhere near 70 active wrestlers on the roster, post-trade. And I'm trying to bring in some people to get 5SSW/AAA onboard. So we're looking at ~80 people, which makes single elim kinda weird.

 

Point of being OOC:

 

Please predict once I post the bracket. I don't know how I'm going to format it; grid and have you c&p your choices (upload screenshot?) might be easiest. But why do I want you to predict?

 

I don't think anyone, in the history of the board, has held this large of a tournament. Certainly not at one event, I imagine. 81 matches is just doable in 240 minutes (3 minute average, plus a little pre-show. eh) I'm not saying the show's going to be good. It's going to suck horribly. I'm not saying I'm a good writer or that this diary has any chance of being popular.

 

What I am saying is that this tournament is something unique. For the sake of the sheer insanity of trying to do this, I beg of you to predict. You don't have to read the rest of the topic, don't have to check how accurate you are. I believe that it would be really cool to see the various opinions of people as to who beats whom, and who will win.

 

That said, of course, I have to make a bracket for some 70 people, so...yeah, you guys got at least half a day.

[Psycho Sam]

I predict Gaius to win it all

[James Casey]

No triangle/four corner matches?

 

But I'm looking forward to this. Good start, and looking forward to your finances after the show as well...

[sanityisforbidden]

No triangle/four corner matches?

 

 

I second that motion, I believe first round should be One count to a finish Four Corner Matches or something, even if you have to make a new match to fit within your time standards.

 

I'll be on later to predict. That's Right. A total C-Verse newb who has barely and I mean barely played C-Verse will come up with a winner somehow. Might have to pay a couple people off but it will work!

[Eidenhoek]

MULTI-MAN MATCHES ARE FOR THE WEAK!

 

And those of you who like dealing with 73 wrestlers in a single-elim tourney. /shrug I'll prolly do that next year. Correction: with more people from trades, I'll have to do that next year.

 

Edit: I might end up doing that for the bracket winners, but...dunno.

 

Edit: Yeah, I did. You'll...well...dang it, I should have done this differently.

 

Edit: Brackets 2-4 have the finalist slots missing, but it's clear where they should be. They fight to determine the winner of the bracket.

~

 

"Prelims"

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/9/26303194452.jpg

 

B2

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/9/26303333275.jpg

 

B3

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/9/26303280295.jpg

 

B4

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/9/26303305394.jpg

 

B5 (the wonky bracket)

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/9/26303364782.jpg

 

 

FINALS:

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/9/26303411928.jpg

 

~

 

And now, the text format. God, I hate life...

 

B1

Xavier Reckless

Amber Allen

 

Calamity Joan

Curtis Jenkins

 

DeCipher

Dragón Del Arco Iris Jr

 

Findlay O'Farraday

Hollywood Bret Starr

 

"Winner of Xavier's Bracket" = Catfish

 

Huey Cannonball

Hugh de Aske

 

Jana Marie Bowen

Jefferson Stardust

 

"Winner of Huey's Bracket" = Regularfish

 

Nigel Svensson

Randy Maxx

 

Nigel Winner

Regularfish

 

"Winner of Nigel's Bracket" = Dogfish

 

B2

Air Attack Weasel

Al The Hillbilly

 

Amane Shunsen

Alexis Lee Littlefeather

 

Atlantis Jr

Ultra Atlantis

 

Bulldozer Brandon Smith

Bradford Peverell

 

Burning EXILE

Dagger

 

Cameron Vessey

Darryl Devine

 

Casey Valentine

Dazzling Dave Diamond

 

Citizen X

Eguchi The Amazing

 

B3:

Davis Wayne Newton

Eric Blackley

 

Don Henderson

Extraordinario Jr

 

Hardcore Killah

"Catfish"

 

Jay Chord

Flash Savage

 

JD Morgan

Jerry Martin

 

Julian Watson

Keith Vegas

 

Kashmir Singh

Kentucky Bill

 

KAZ

Mark Smart

 

B4:

Kinuye Mushashibo

Nathaniel Ca$ino

 

Mainstream Hernandez

Nichiren Amagawa

 

Mean Jean Cattley

Oleg Dorosklov

 

Mimic

Ozzie Golden

 

Rafael Ruiz

Pete The Hillbilly

 

Raphael

Regular Joe

 

Sky King

Ricky Turner

 

Snap Dragon

Riley McManus

 

B5:

Steve Flash

"Dogfish"

 

Steven Parker

Young Boy Sayuki

 

Tricolor Jr

Velocidad

 

UK Dragon

Ash Campbell

 

Yosuke Narita

Torajiro Sekozawa

 

Vin Tanner

The Masked Mauler

 

B5 Winner: "Steve Flash, Tricolor Jr., vs. Yosuke Narita" in a three way

 

 

FINALS:

B2

B5

 

B3

B4

 

Winner:

[Eidenhoek]

Before I gave my final pre-show speech, I listened at the locker room door.

 

At Stanley Hall, remember. They still have a door.

 

Noticing relative calm, I returned to my home-away-from-office and checked my notes.

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/9/26304464457.jpg

 

Ah. Well, **** was going to hit the fan in...4 hours, 40 minutes. I shrugged.

 

OOC note:

I'll write the matches...slightly longer than they'll actually be. Which is a ton of 1-minute matches. I clearly did not think this though at all. Next year we're either holding qualifiers or making this a multi-night affair. Seriously, even 4 minute matches (3+1) with 71 matches is 284 minutes, which is more than the 280 I have.

 

Edit: Oh god. I just started a test run to see if there were any problems.

I either need to manually book all the matches, or advance book them.

 

I DON'T HAVE THE CARD MEMORIZED. AT ALL. ALL I KNOW IS ATLANTIS JR. AND ULTRA ATLANTIS FACE OFF BECAUSE I THOUGHT THAT WAS FUNNY.

[sebsplex]

A shed-load of 1 minute matches? Rip will be turning in his grave...

 

And yes he is dead. Dead on the inside.

 

That aside though, it's a very impressive line-up.

[sanityisforbidden]

My prediction lies shortened with a multiple chance, don't like it? Meh...

 

Steve Flash

Hugh De Aske

Jay Chord

CamVes

 

If any of those don't win, you will have suprised me.

[Giel M]

Bracket one will have have Hugh de Aske facing Nigels Svensson in the final match, with Hugh winning.

 

Bracket two will see Brandon Smith facing whoever wins the first-round match of Vessey vs Devine. Betting on Vessey, who'll also be the one going through.

 

Bracket 3 will end up with DWN vs JD morgan, with DWN winning. i was originally picking Morgan there, but that'd throw heel/face balance outta whack.

 

Bracket 4 will end with with Mean Jean against, well, I'm not sure... But Mean Jean will win.

 

Bracket 5 will see the winner of Flash vs [bracket 1 winner], whom I'm predicting to be de Aske, going against UK Dragon. I'm predicting the fairytale push for de Aske, and a victory here.

 

that leaves Vessey vs de Aske, and Mean Jean vs DWN. I'm saying de Aske and Jean pick up the wins there, with Jean ending de Aske's miracale streak in the finals for the win.

[Eidenhoek]

Oh, to have gotten everyone for two appearances. Alas, I am screwed.

 

Edit:

 

Findlay O'Farraday is on the bracket twice.

 

...

 

I really, really hope I can find that quickly. He is in the first bracket canonically; I just gotta find who the second is...

 

THE SECOND FINDLAY O'FARRADAY, THE ONE BENEATH HARDCORE KILLAH IN BRACKET 3, IS THE TOP QUALIFIER IN BRACKET ONE.

THERE IS NO BRACKET ONE WINNER; THE QUALIFIER THAT IS A FINALIST AT THE TOP OF THE BRACKET IS "FINDLAY" IN BRACKET THREE.

THE BOTTOM FINALIST IS THE "BRACKET ONE WINNER" IN BRACKET FIVE.

 

APOLOGIES.

 

Update: I am halfway through Bracket 3. That's 34 matches so far. Taking a bit of a break; I think I'm halfway, or...no, just short of it.

 

Update: Done with Bracket 4. You will lol at the CC. It happened earlier, but things start to get much more evident, I noticed, after the first bracket.

Mainly because the first bracket has no Creative Control.

[Eidenhoek]

"Officially," Rip gets attacked twice by the winner, once in the post-show. Due to the angle fitting the ratings I wanted. DEAR GOD THIS IS HORRIBLE 71 MAIN SHOW SEGMENTS. I need to make this two days (it actually mathematically works out quite comfortably.

~

 

After booking this horse-**** of an event, and realizing that I needed to make this two days-after only trading for one appearance, I went to the lockerroom for a pep talk.

 

Well...it's not really a lockerroom. More like a lockerwhy did you hire out over 70 people for this? And one for the ladies.

 

Turns out Davis Wayne Newton had, somehow, organized a video game tournament.

 

HA HA TRIPLE THREAT HOW DO YOU LIKE IT NOW?

 

Well, he won, so...

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/9/26416470285.jpg

 

...

 

...

 

Editing some matches into angles...some of which might not make sense...I stopped caring...

[Eidenhoek]

In front of 193 people at Stanley Hall, the MAW RIP CHORD INVITATIONAL V!

 

Amber Allen hits a Northern Lights suplex on Xavier Reckless to advance.

 

Calamity Joan defeated Curtis Jenkins to advance.

 

Amber Allen defeated Calamity Joan with a Northern Lights Suplex to advance.

 

Blue Eyes Dragon hit a Dragon Driver '07 on DeCipher to advance.

 

Findlay O'Farraday hit the Atomic Spinebuster on Brett Starr to advance.

 

Dragon hit his Driver on Findlay to advance.

 

Dragon hit Amber Allen with his Dragon to advance to bracket...3? Whatever.

 

Hugh de Aske hit the Cut-Throat Driver on Huey Cannonball to advance. And I just figured out why that's funny.

 

JMB beat Jefferson Stardust with a Bowen technique; Lisa Bowen does well with Jefferson. She manages both.

 

de Aske beat JMB with the Driver.

 

Nigel Svensson beat Max Mayhem with a Hyper Extension Arm Lock. No chemistry.

 

de Aske advances to bracket 5 with a Driver on Svensson.

 

And thus ends bracket one. Do I care? No. BUT THE FANS DO AHHHHHH AHHHHHHHH

 

Amane Shunsen defeated Alexis Lee Littlefeather with a Shunsen Trap Leglock to advance.

 

Air Attack Weasel "beat down" Al the Hillbilly to advance. <_<

 

The Weasel hit an Air Attack Ace on Shunsen to advance.

 

Atlantis Jam by Atlantis Jr. on Ultra Atlantis to advance! Woo!

 

Peverell beats AmPat with a Dream! Left! HOOOOOOOK!

 

Atlantis beats Peverell with an Atlantis Jam to advance.

 

Air Attack Weasel beat Jr. in a chemistry match and Jr. was fatigued. HOW? To advance.

 

Burning EXILE DRIIIIIVERRRR on Dagger to advance.

 

Darryl Devine "beat down" CamVes to advance. >_>

 

Darryl Devine Dream Drop over Exile to win!

 

TripD with a "Dazzle Driver" on CamVes? CasVal, my bad. Dammit! Also, he totally uses a 3DT. Duh. Different Dimension Drop Technique. IDIOTS!

 

Citizen X X-Wave on Eguchi the Amazing.

 

Citizen X FLAMING ANARCHYYYYYY on tha tripster. TRIPLE D IT'S DIME TO PLAY THE DAAAAAAAME except he lost.

 

Citizen X "didn't ally with" Darryl Devine, so...Devine advances!

 

Devine Drops Weasel in the finals. Yayyyyy Devine beat bracket 2!

 

Triple Threat STF Blackley.

 

Henderson SCOTTISH MOTHER****ING DEATHLOCK on ExJr.

 

Henderson over DWN with the badass submission.

 

Hardcore Killah over Dragon del shut up from Bracket 1 with a Detroit Drop.

 

Flash Savage submitted Jay Chord with a Canadian Crab.

 

Killah "attacks" Flash Savage "backstage" to advance.

 

Killah same with Henderson with same result.

 

JD Morgan > Jerry Martin in a similar manner.

 

Julian Watson over Keith Vegas with a Tiger Claw DDT. **** that's awesome. Although I believe kung fu has them paw. Well...hrm...it is more of a pawing motion, whereas the dragon tears...still, that's a cool move. Wish Watson and Henderson could match up.

 

JD Morgan "has an argument backstage" with Julian Watson to advance. Shut up!

 

Singh submits Bill with a Bombay Goose. Sorry, Bombay Duck.

 

KAZ beat Mart Smark...yeah, Super Rana. I botched the name and the crowd hated the jobbers.

 

KAZ over Singh with a SUPERRRRR RRAAAAANNNAAAAAAA.

 

JD Morgan with the Cross Atlantic Stretch on KAZ to win.

 

JD Morgan submits Hardcore Killah and wait, he has a drinking habit? Fffffff

 

JD Morgan wins Match 3! Round 3! Bracket 3 there we go.

 

Kinuye beat Nathaniel with a Blue Dream.

 

Nichiren Amagawa with an AMAGAWA TOTAL LOCK on Mainstream Hernandez.

 

Amagawa over Mushashibo with the submission.

 

Oleg Dorosklov CROSS ARMLOCK on Cattley to win.

 

Ozzie Golden Golden Shower (ewwwww) on Mimic to win.

 

Oleg Elbow Lock Twist Ozzie.

 

Oleg Elbow Lock Twist Nichiren.

 

Pete the ****ing Hillbilly hits the Big Splash on Rafael Ruiz. Dammit.

 

Raphael over Regular Joe.

 

Pete over Rafael. Wait, Raphael. w/e.

 

Ricky Douglas (with a good, though not from chemistry, manager) Figure Four Leglock on Sky King.

 

Snap Dragon "beats down" Riley McManus backstage.

 

Dragon and Douglas same way.

 

Dragon and Peter the **** you the same way.

 

SNAP DRAGON BEATS OLEG DOROSKLOV WITH A DRAGON'S BREATH WITH PRETTY GOOD CHEMISTRY. YES ****ING YESSSSSS

 

Snap Dragon wins Bracket 4; we have one of the semis now.

 

de Aske over Steve Flash with a Cut-Throat Driver.

 

Steven Parker Future Shocks Young Boy Sayuki. Hey Sayuki; YOU'RE GONNA JOB LOLZ

 

Parker FShocks de Aske.

 

Tricolor Jr. Fig4L'Locks Velocidad.

 

Ash Campbell hit an SSP on UK Dragon? What?

 

Campbell over TriJr. with an SSP.

 

Yosuke Narita beat...Tosu...Torajiro Sekozawa? GO PIKACHU THUNDER SHOCK!

 

Vin Tanner "beat down" The Masked Mauler.

 

Tanner over Narita same way.

 

Vin Tanner with a V for Victory on Campbell in our second-longest match to finish the prelims!

 

dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn...

 

Tanner eliminates Devine with a V4Victoes.

 

Snap Dragon ****ing breathes on Morgan for the win.

 

AND FINALLY FINALLY THE FINALS HAVE COME UP!

FOR THE INVICHAMPIONSHIPAL!

 

Though tired, Vin Tanner wins the Rip Chord Invitational Challenge title with a V for Victory to pin Snap Dragon. Tired. You wrestled...like 25 minutes. Dammit.

 

The Chord/Tanner showoff w/e Entertainment/Overness segment didn't bomb.

 

~

 

It did even less bombing post-show!

 

http://img1.UploadScreenshot.com/images/main/9/26417431446.jpg

 

Please, ask away on any match ratings.

[Eidenhoek]

The show was an unqualified success. I mean that both in the sense that it was excellent for our size, but also in a more literal sense that the show should not have qualified to be anything but pure garbage. Nearly every match would have carried the show to a decent rating, with...easily 5 or 10 being near the level of the rating of the show itself.

 

The angles were unfortunate; as I learned all too late, trades only allow a maximum of three matches per "appearance". I need to schedule two days, and I need to get everyone for two appearances.

 

Technically, yes, if I kept better notes I could only trade for the people advancing to the "finals", through the qualifiers, but that would require far more effort than even the great Eisen himself could muster.

 

Michaels. Peter Michaels is the booker, right? Eh, who cares?

 

Once everyone left the show, I came to the above realizations. I then wrote them, hence why...I'm going to address the remaining roster-we had 3/4, I think, leave after last night, from trades-and ask them their opinions of the event. This should be..."fun". Let's call it fun, yes?

 

Yes.

 

What did we learn, just to be succinct?

 

1. RCI is two shows now.
   
2. Get people for two shows for the RCI.
   
3. Not everyone can do angles.
   
4. Talk to the guys.
   

[Rickymex]

I would like it if you threw stuff at Oleg or Morgan and DWN is awesome in every way possible.