Northern Star Wrestling - Take 2

[gbasalmon]

I am a man with a dream. I've been a wrestling fan ever since he was a little boy. I've followed the Sam Strongs and the Tommy Cornells his whole life and was intoxicated with the whole industry. The competition, the pageantry, the drama. I couldn't get enough. And if I ever get the chance, I know I could do it myself. I've seen it on TV all the time. It couldn't be that hard, could it? Well, in December of 2005, I got his chance. I was sitting at my desk, writing out my bills, when my phone rang. A mysterious voice on the other end of the line said "If you want to live your dream, meet me in Cleveland, Ohio, at noon tomorrow. I'll contact you with the specifics tomorrow. If you're even a minute late, the deal's off." I was flabbergasted. I asked him, "How will you contact me?" The voice responded, "I got this number, you think I don't know your cell number also." Touche, I thought to myself. I thanked the voice and made plans to travel to Cleveland tomorrow. The next morning, I touched down at Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland around 9. I had three hours until my meeting. But I still didn't know the specifics. Just as I got my cell phone out to call home, it rang. Freaky, I thought. I pressed the receive button. "I will meet you outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at noon. Remember, don't be late." The voice hung up and I quickly ran outside and hailed a cab. I arrived at the HOF soon after. About 11:55, after a good long time waiting out in the cold, a large stretch limousine pulled up. The chauffer got out and motioned me over to the back window. The tinted window rolled down as I approached, but I could not see inside. The voice that spoke to me was English, but had a slight hint of a Japanese accent. "Mr. Robinson, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Fumihiro Ota and I am the principal owner of a new company called Northern Star Wrestling. We've seen your work on PWTorch.com and we like your ideas. We need someone like you to head our new company. How would you like to be the head booker of NSW?" My jaw dropped and my head started to spin. That stuff I did for the Torch was just a fan editorial. Sure, I like to fancy myself as someone in the know, but this might be a little out of my depth. I stammered out, "Are you sure?" Ota answered, "If I didn't think you could do it, would I have asked you to come all the way here? We have faith in you. Let's just hope it's not unfounded." I gulped hard, then made a life-changing decision. I gathered myself, and said, "I'm in." Ota smiled slightly, and simply said, "Good. We will contact you with more details." I stood there for what seemed like an eternity and wondered what I had gotten myself into. Could I really run this Northern Star Wrestling? And how did Ota get access to so much money? I mean, he's been out of the business since TCW dropped their cruiserweight division. Did he have a grudge against TCW? Would he try to set us up to combat them? All sorts of questions ran through my head. But most of those questions would have to wait. I returned home later that day and informed my family of the news. They were as stunned as I was, but they wished me well. Late at night, around 11, my cell phone rang. It was Ota again. "Mr. Robinson, we'd like you to move to Cleveland. That is where we will establish the NSW offices. We expect you there by next Monday." I guess I'm moving to Cleveland. Fast forward to next Monday. I land in Cleveland again, and take a cab to the apartment that I'd agreed to the week before. It was a nice apartment - one bedroom, decent sized living space. I then waited for another call, and it didn't take long. Ota gave me the address over the phone for the NSW offices and I jetted downstairs and took yet another cab over there. Ota was waiting for me at the door. "Welcome to your new job, Mr. Robinson." This whole Mr. Robinson thing is getting creepy, I thought to myself. "Please, call me Derek." "Fine then, Derek it is," replied Ota. He then showed me to my office, which was very, very nice. Did I say it was nice. Big modern desk, nice view out the window, the works. "Well, here you are, Derek," said Ota. "Now, I expect you to get to work. We have scheduled an event for Saturday of the last week of this month. We'd like to make it a show to remember." Ota then exited and I got to work.

[gbasalmon]

Let The Negotiations Begin I sent out feelers to seventeen different workers on my first day. Needless to say, my fingers were tired from dialing numbers. And when I started getting some answers back, the first four did not make me happy at all. Human Arsenal and Owen Love had decided to sign with NOTPBW instead, and both Dawn the Cheerleader and Dylan Sidle decided to go to SWF. Can't say as I blame them. At this point, NSW is a risky proposition for anyone. Although, for the four people that turned me down, thirteen were willing to talk. The first I sat down to talk with, by pure chance was Craig "Crash" Davis. He was a well-travelled guy who should bump well for whoever I hire to main event. And he came cheap too, only asking for a little over $100 an appearance. I signed him for $125 a show for 9 months. Next up was John Greed, "The Eighth Deadly Sin". I had heard good things about his matches down in Mexico and I was excited to see what he wanted. I was pleasantly surprised when he only asked for $108 a show. I signed him for $150 a show for 9 months. Next up - Des Davids. He's a 6'5", 260 pound hoss that used to be a football player. I see big things in his future and snapped him up on the cheap at the same contract as Greed got - $150 a pop for 9 months. This is going well so far. I've got three guys under contract and they're only $400 between them. Now it was time for a little of the heavy lifting. I picked up the phone and dialed up Bret Graveson. I knew the value of a good referee, as I had seen how bad referees can make a match seem much worse than it is, and vice versa. However, I nearly spit out my coffee when he told me he wanted around $1,296 a show for 8 months if he was going to sign a PPA deal. But, we need a ref, so I got him for $1,300 a show for 9 months. I hope the next one goes a bit better. Next on the docket was Jerry Martin. Luckily, this one was another quick negotiation. He started low, and we kept him there - at $125 a show for 9 months. Next up, I phoned up Vita, an up-and-coming Swedish valet. I was optimistic until she told me she wanted a little over $1,000 per show. For a valet? Not so much. Hopefully Lady Melissa calls back tomorrow and wants a little less money. I told Vita we wouldn't be contacting her again. After that ordeal, I felt like going back to the type of negotiation I had before. So next, I called up Nomad. He had a good luck, some charisma, and came real cheap. He signed on for the same as I gave to Jerry Martin, $125 a show for 9 months. So far, NSW's rosters has a decided Canadian indy spin to it. Not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation. Next up, Gentleman Jim King, an interesting worker from Delaware. He got the exact same contract as Nomad and Martin. I figured I'd give American Elemental a call next. He was all too happy to sign on for $400 a show for 9 months. Next up, I called up "Dog Fyte", a Canadia wrestler who blends some stiff suplexes and some hardcore stylings. He wanted around $400 a show, and settled for $450 for 9 months. "The Dragon" Mikey James was next, and I went a little higher than I liked to get him at $600 per for 9 months. Next on the docket was Jason Rogers. I was eyeing him as a potential road agent, but his asking price is a bit high, at $650. I offered him all the way up to $700 per show, but he said he'd call back tomorrow. I think I might hang up when he does. $700 seems a bit steep for someone who has preciously little to offer in front of the camera, especially after plunking down $1,300 a show for Bret Graveson's services. The last phone call I had to return on the day was to Billy Russell. He may be a star in the MMA world, but he hasn't really done much in wrestling yet. Still, I think he may be the star I build around, so I don't really mind paying him the premium price he wanted, namely $1,200 a show for 9 months. So, at the close of the day, I had the first 12 workers in NSW signed, sealed, and delivered. I hope Ota will be pleased.

[gbasalmon]

Negotiations - Day 2 When I got to the office on the second day of negotiations. I had a flashing "7" on my office phone. That seemed really promising. I checked the machine and waiting for my callback were Nevada Nuclear, Murderous Mikey, Lady Melissa, Frankie Dee, Ben Williams, Jason Rogers, and Thomas Morgan. This day wasn't going to be too fruitful for some of these workers, as my roster was pretty much full after yesterday's spending spree. First, I knew I needed a mouthpiece for someone and at least some T & A, so I contacted Lady Melissa, the former adult film star. She must be feeding some sort of drug habit, because she asked for upwards of $850 a show. I thought it over, and decided to low ball her first at $725. She didn't bite. I then offered $800. Still nothing. My last offer of the day was $875. Still no dice. Apparently she'll call back tomorrow. Maybe I'll listen. Next up, I decided to put Jason Rogers out of his misery and tell him I wasn't interested. Before I did, I gave it one last shot at $600 a pop, which was considerably less that what he was asking for. Oh well, he'll find work. Next up, Ben Williams. I knew he was one hell of a competitor and I'd heard he's better on the stick than he's given credit for. Also, it looks like he'll come cheap as he's only asking for a shade over a c-note a show. What the hell, let's sign him for $125 a show for 9 months. I then phoned Thomas Morgan. I knew he hadn't quite gotten a fair shake over the years, so I didn't mind signing him up for $150 for 9 months. I called up Murderous Mikey and told him we didn't need him right now. I hope he didn't call in a hit on me. I didn't need anymore uppercard guys, so I told Nevada Nuclear the same. The last call of the day was to Frankie Dee. I see some good things coming from him, so I signed him on at $125 a show. That concluded Day 2 of negotiations. I had most of my roster in place. All I still need to track down is an announcer, perhaps a color commentator, and maybe a road agent, if he comes cheap. Also, Miss Melissa is due to put in a call tomorrow. Maybe I'll sign her up and package her as somebody's crack ho manager. Maybe not. Hey, we're sports entertainment here at NSW, not family friendly filtered wrestling like USPW.

[gbasalmon]

Negotiations - Day 3 Day 3 started off with only a lonely "1" blinking at me. I know what this is. Miss Melissa called back, and I told her to take her syphillis-ridden act somewhere else. The main development of today is that I put out a few feelers to find the voice, or voices, of NSW. As lead announcer, I'm targeting Jim Lou Freebush, who is the voice of AAA and seems to have been busted down to backstage worker in USPW. Hopefully he's looking for more. Also, I've put out two feelers for a color commontator. The first is Roger Dodger, of USPW fame. He has a little more name value than my other option, Ted Ross. Ross is a relatively new announcer who is originally from Canada. Lastly, on a whim, I put in a call to Honest Frank. I was thinking that I might want to have an on-air authority figure, as I can't be everywhere at once and sometimes you just need someone to push some buttons. Let's see if he calls back.

[gbasalmon]

Negotiations - Day 4 and 5 I got to the office on Day 4 and I hoped that some of my feelers had called back. I did have the flashing "1" again, but it was only Crash Davis complaining already. Not a good sign, especially from a glorified bump monkey whose current slot as a lower midcarder is probably above his head. Day 5 went a bit better as I had the flashing "3". First off, I returned Jim Lou Freebush's call. He came fairly reasonably, at $500 a show. I do have to work around AAA and USPW shows, but I think I can handle that. Next, I figured I'd dial Honest Frank. His demand took me aback a bit, as he wanted upwards of $1,200 a show. Then I realized that an effective authority figure doesn't appear at every single show, so I theorized I could swing a 9 month deal at $1,300 per appearance. I'll wait to phone Ted Ross until tomorrow. I'm hoping that Roger Dodger calls, as I'd like to compare what both of them are asking.

[gbasalmon]

Negotiations - Day 6 Well, Ted Ross called back and it's good he did. Roger Dodger must have some serious gambling debts, because he wanted a little over $1,600 a show. That simply isn't going to fly, so I signed Ted Ross up for $450 a show. So, I have everyone that is needed to put together a roster together a little less than a week in. Pretty good, if you ask me. The only thing left to do is schedule where and when we're going to debut NSW!

[NickC13573]

you got a take 2 reader.

[foolinc]

Make that two.

[gbasalmon]

Official Press Conference With all of the pieces in place, I decided it was time to announce my good fortune to the world and introduce everyone to Northern Star Wrestling. I booked a large conference center in Cleveland and put in some calls to my connections to ensure that the people that needed to be there were there. I then called all of my workers and made them promise to be there. I don't need anybody no-showing NSW's coming-out party. I got commitments from everyone, and I even got Jim Lou Freebush to MC the conference. It only made sense that the voice of NSW should be the only voice the public sees for now. And the date was set, tomorrow would be the press conference... At about 9 in the morning, we got underway. There were still some people filing in, but they sat down once Jim Lou got to the podium. Ota and I were up on the dais, positively beaming as our vision was coming to life. Jim Lou welcomed everyone in attendance and informed them that all of the NSW workers were in attendance. He asked them all to stand up, and they did so. (Now would probably be a good time to list them all in one place.) [B][I]ROSTER[/I][/B] [COLOR=Red](Heels are in red)[/COLOR] [B]Main Eventers[/B] American Elemental Darryl Freeman (AKA Dog Fyte) [COLOR=Red]Billy Russell[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]Super Ninja (AKA Fumihiro Ota)[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]Mikey James[/COLOR] [B]Upper Midcarders[/B] Nomad [COLOR=Red]John Greed[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]Gentleman Jim King[/COLOR] Des Davids [B]Midcarders[/B] [COLOR=Red]Jerry Martin[/COLOR] Ben Williams [B]Lower Midcarder[/B] [COLOR=Red]Crash Lewis[/COLOR] [B]Opener[/B] [COLOR=Red]Frankie Dee[/COLOR] [B]Enhancement Talent[/B] Thomas Morgan Freebush then called out his broadcast partner, Ted Ross. Ross quipped that NSW had the look of a Canadian independent promotion with all the Canadian talent. I rolled my eyes and Ota started to get up. I put my hand on his shoulder and listened for Ross to save himself. He did, just as I suspected. Perfect heel color commentator, I thought. Lastly, Freebush introduced the commissioner of NSW, NYCW's Honest Frank. Frank was perfectly smarmy, just as I suspected. He said he'd run NSW with an "iron fist". Yeah, "he" would run it alright. Freebush retook the podium and closed out the press conference by inviting everyone in attendance to the Chippewa County Fairgrounds in Kinross, Michigan where the first ever NSW event would be held on the last Saturday of the month. I had chosen the title of the event, and it sounded good when Freebush told everyone to not miss "December to Remember". Sure, it was a bit derivative, but it still fit. It will be our first event ever, so I've got to make this one count...

[MaxxHexx]

Can't wait

[gbasalmon]

A few developments as we lead up to D2R... As I was glancing at our roster at my desk today, I realized that we might have some guys here who might need a mouthpiece. So, I put some calls out there to three managers in particular - Willow, Herb Stately, and Stetson Hatt. I think Willow might be the only one I have a shot at, as I'm sure Stately will get snapped up by one of the big two shortly, and Hatt just became the head booker of CZCW, so he's probably got enough on his plate as it is. So, it looks like Willow might be my only option. Now, if she bites, I have to formulate a place for her at D2R and beyond. As I wait for hopefully at least one of them to show some interest, I can relay some things that I've seen cross the news wire in the past few weeks. There were a few title changes in the past few days with Eisaku Hoshino taking out Noriyori Sanda for the PGHW Historical Japan Title at the Week 2 installment of King's Road in a B+ wrestling clinic at the Sapporo Center and Frankie Perez and Remmy Skye defeating the Gilbert Brothers for the CZCW Coastal Zone Tag Titles at CZCW's End of the Line event from the campus of Hollywood - Los Feliz Junior Community College. In the comings and goings department, SWF and TCW both signed up a pair of non-wrestlers. SWF got their hands on Craig Prince and Micky Starr, and Shane Sneer and Carl Batch have signed on with TCW. NOTPBW more than made up for losing Prince to SWF by signing away Roger Rogers, Jerome Turner, and Adrian Garcia from CGC. Earlier on, a little after I signed Ted Ross, NOTPBW went on a signing spree. In the space of a few days, they signed up Marty Phatty, Brent Hill, Joey Minnesota, and Jenna Playmate. TCW made their fair share of signings around that time also, inking Jakki White Trash, Corporal Doom, Henry Lee, Vin Tanner, and Cat Jemson. One last note - Jason Rogers, my almost road agent, signed on with DAVE. A possible Ace Express reunion warms my heart. Although, the chances of that happening seem a little less now, as rumor is Johnny Martin, the other half of the team, is no longer friends with Phil Vibert. Perhaps this could be taken advantage of? In closing, MAW and PGHW are both growing - MAW has reached small status, and PGHW is now national.

[gbasalmon]

Managerial Developments and Wrestle Peace Festival Well, all three managerial prospects got back to me, and I signed on of them, but it wouldn't be any fun to divulge who now. You all will just have to wait until D2R. On the Japanese wrestling scene beat, the Japanese Wrestle Peace Festival took place a few days ago. They were all simple events, with the exception of BHOTGW, which got 60,000+ buys on PPV, in addition to the 22,000 or so rabid wrestling fans packed into Hakatanomori Athletic in Kyushu. They saw a stellar B overall show, with Kinnojo Horri's victory over Hooded Kudo getting the coveted A. Although there were less people in attendance at the PGHW show at Fukuoka Sports Center in Kyushu (10,000), they were witness to an even better show, getting an A overall. The main event, in which Mito Miwa retained his Glory Crown Title in a match against Yoshimi Mushashibo, got an A*! Back in North America, NOTPBW's Winter War took place at the Colisee Pepsi in Quebec. The over 10,000 in attendance were there to see a B+ overall show, with Dan Stone Jr.'s win over Dark Angel in the main event to retain his Canadian Title got an A. In other wrestling news, Captain USA has signed on for a PPA deal with CGC. Maybe he can be a reverse Bret Hart? Or not. Also, Persephone, who was canned by MAW, signed on with USPW, and Cliff Wilson and Duke Hazzard joined MAW. In closing, Vita, who I was considering as a manager in NSW, inked a written deal with NOTPBW. Good thing I didn't pull the trigger. Back to NSW for a moment - all the storylines are in place, so I'm just waiting for the day to come. It's a good feeling to have a good chunk of the next two shows squirreled away when the first show is still two weeks out.

[gbasalmon]

D2R is finally here! The day had finally come. I couldn't even sleep the night before. I hope the fans like it. Hell, I hope they don't boo all of the guys out of the ring. I had driven up yesterday morning the nearly 8 hours all the way up here to Kinross. I knew we couldn't hope to fill any building of any large size at this point, but I was wondering what I was thinking scheduling our first show on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In all actuality, the tractor pull will probably outdraw us. But still, I'm excited. I ran around backstage, trying to get everything in order. I distributed the scripts as the workers got there, assigned the road agents, and took my place at the gorilla position. Here is what I saw... [B][CENTER]NSW December To Remember Saturday, Week 4, December 2005 Chippewa County Fairgrounds - Kinross, MI (62 people in attendance)[/CENTER][/B] [B]DARK MATCH[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/CraigLewis.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/JerryMartin.jpg[/IMG] Davis and Martin put on a little match just for the people in attendance at the Fairgrounds. Davis got the win at the 7:31 mark after using the ropes for leverage. Freebush and Ross made this one a little better than the actual wrestling was. [B]F[/B] [B]ACTUAL SHOW[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/HonestFrank.jpg[/IMG] The first face to greet the crowd (if you can call 62 people a crowd) was our commissioner, Honest Frank. Actually, to be more correct, Franklin Templeton. Or at least that's what he announced himself as. He came out to formally announce that tonight's main event would be a triangle match between American Elemental, Billy Russell, and Mikey James for the Great Lakes Championship. [B]D[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/GentlemanJimKing.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/HonestFrank.jpg[/IMG] While Templeton was still in the ring, Gentleman Jim King came out to join him. He wanted to know if he could be entered into that match to make it a fatal four way. Templeton did not cave in, but instead gave him a match later on agains Des Davids, with a stipulation of King's own choosing. King was extremely pleased and shook hands with Templeton before leaving. [B]C-[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/JimLouFreebush.jpg[/IMG] Freebush and Ross then announced the match for the DVD that hopefully will be coming out. [B]E[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/JohnGreed.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/DogFyte.jpg[/IMG] Darryl Freeman is shown on the small little video system that we have set up preparing for his match backstage and stretching out. As he turns his back to the camera, John Greed runs in from off camera and blinsides Freeman, leaving him laid out. [B]F[/B] [I](OK, this is starting out SO well.)[/I] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/ThomasMorgan.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/Nomad.jpg[/IMG] Nomad thoroughly whipped Thomas Morgan for a little less that seven minutes. The beating finally ended when Nomad clotheslined Morgan over the top rope and Morgan was so dazed and confused that he couldn't answer the ten count from the referee and was counted out. [B]F[/B] [I](Holy crap, this isn't boding well for the rest of the night.)[/I] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/AmericanElemental.jpg[/IMG] American Elemental was out next, detailing how he was going to beat down Mikey James and Billy Russell. He mentioned something about following in the footsteps of his hero, the original Elemental, and becoming the first ever Great Lakes Champion. [B]D[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/MikeyJames.jpg[/IMG] He was joined in the ring by Mikey James, however, who severely chastized him for counting him out. James ran on and on for a few minutes, and didn't really seem to come out with anything new himself [B]D[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/MikeyJames.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/FrankieDee.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/AmericanElemental.jpg[/IMG] Apparently this was all a set-up, as Frankie Dee, who is now Mikey James' running buddy, ran down and James and Dee together laid the boots to American Elemental. [B]F[/B] [I](Ho ... ly crap. Is Ota watching this part of the show?)[/I] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/FrankieDee.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/DogFyte.jpg[/IMG] Dee stayed in the ring, with James giving him some instruction before he went to the back. Darryl Freeman then walked out and proceeded to put Dee in his place. It took "Dog Fyte" almost nine minutes to put down Dee with a picture-perfect spinebuster he calls the Dog Pound. Yet again, Freebush and Ross are trying like hell, but they can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ass, or something along those lines. [B]E[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/DogFyte.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/JohnGreed.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/CraigLewis.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/JerryMartin.jpg[/IMG] Darryl Freeman then stayed in the ring and proceeded to call out John Greed to get some retribution for his beatdown backstage earlier. Greed did come out, and after some hemming and hawing finally entered the ring. They came face to face for a split second, until Crash Lewis and Jerry Martin ran down the aisle and jumped Freeman. Greed, Lewis, and Martin beat Freeman down to the canvas, and kicked him out of the ring. As Freeman struggled to come to outside the ring, Greed got on the mike and announced that the three of them are forming an alliance. He then teased that you guys don't deserve to know the details, yet. [B]F[/B] [I](Yeah, the crowd loved that.)[/I] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/BenWilliams.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/DogFyte.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/JohnGreed.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/CraigLewis.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/JerryMartin.jpg[/IMG] Freeman came to, finally, and crawled back into the ring. He tried to fight all three of them off, but they began to overpower him. As the tide turned, Ben Williams ran out from the back and helped Freeman clear the ring. Williams then helped Freeman to the back. [B]F[/B] [I](Out-frigging-standing.)[/I] Just in case all of you forgot, Freebush reminds you that Des Davids will be locking horns with Gentleman Jim King. [B]F[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/GentlemanJimKing.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/DesDavids.jpg[/IMG] Gentleman Jim King comes out and announces that he's decided we'll all be treated to a submission match, which definitely is not Davids' forte. Anyways, Davids comes out and tries to make King submit. However, King hit Davids with a chop block, then locked in a figure-four to make Davids tap-out at the 12:46 mark. After the match, King was sucking wind big time. [B]F[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/BillyRussell.jpg[/IMG] In the back, Billy Russell was standing in front of a Northern Star Wrestling backdrop (ooh, spiffy). He claimed that he was, without a doubt, the biggest bad-ass in NSW and there was no way he could not leave without the Great Lakes Championship. [B]D[/B] As he finished, a blur was seen rushing across in front of the camera. Russell just stood there, mouth agape, then just simply said, "No, it can't be." However, the camera was a little too slow, and found nothing when it panned over. [B]C-[/B] [I]Hot damn, a C-! Wow, maybe Russell can act...)[/I] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/AmericanElemental.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/BillyRussell.jpg[/IMG] vs. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/gbasalmon/MikeyJames.jpg[/IMG] When I saw the way the main event went down, I was quite angry, to say the least. I had specifically told our road agent, whose shall remain nameless, that the match was to end with DQ finish. However, Frankie Dee showed up a little too late to attack American Elemental and get the match thrown out. Because of that, Billy Russell actually pinned Mikey James shoulders to the mat to become the NEW Great Lakes Champion. Well, he would have been, if it weren't for the referee being out cold from a sick ref bump. So, for all intents and purposes, our title is still vacant. Well on the plus side, the match itself was a [B]C-[/B]. As Russell was celebrating and American Elemental and Mikey James collected themselves, the lights went out all around the building. When they came back on, all three of them were out cold on the canvas and the attacker was nowhere to be seen as we ended the show. [B]E[/B] [U]COMMENTARY[/U] Dear God. I sincerely hope this gets better. If this gets any worse, the quiliting booth will outdraw us next year. This whole card was shoddy, from top to bottom. And that's not even counting the colossal screw-up on the main event, which was completely my fault. Ah well, I guess I'll just roll with it. So, Billy Russell is your new Great Lakes Champion. Discuss, if you actually found this readable.

[MaxxHexx]

I didn't like the storylines

[theunholyicon]

So Russell IS or ISN'T your Great Lakes Champion? You said he was... then he wasn't, but now he is?

[gbasalmon]

Explanation Russell should be the Great Lakes Champion according to the way the match went down, but for some reason the title was not summarily awarded to Russell. I'm assuming it was do to some mistake I've made. The best idea seems to be to go into the January show as if the December show never happened and reset it all. I appreciate all of you that might have read this, and I apologize for my incompetance, as I'm really, really new at this.

[gbasalmon]

NSW closes up shop I've decided to take NSW out back and put it down. After figuring out how to make someone an owner in the database editor (I know it's simple, but it just didn't click), I've created a new original federation, Lone Star Wrestling, and I hope to use it to give the Cornellverse a little old school flavor. Expect a journal starting up in the next few days, once I get my booking plans squared away completely...