Life on the Indies: The Story of The Federation

tobin834 · January 31, 2014

A former WWE Creative Writer opens his own promotion.

tobin834 · January 31, 2014

(reserved)

tobin834 · January 31, 2014

reserved

tobin834 · January 31, 2014

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<div id="imgwrap0sec0" class="" style="clear: both; position: relative; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid transparent;"><div id="imgcont0sec0" style="padding:5px;text-align:center;font-size:1.8em;"><img id="standaloneimg0sec0" src="<a href="http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh232/tobin834/cover_zps7afb751e.png" rel="external nofollow">http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh232/tobin834/cover_zps7afb751e.png"</a> style="height: 445.3333333333333px; width: 668px;"></div></div><div id="fixedtextblock0sec0" class="" style="clear: both; position: relative; padding: 5px; margin: 5px 0px; height: auto; border: 1px solid transparent;"> <div id="fixedtext0sec0" class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; display: block;">In 2014 the professional wrestling scene was rough. The “professional” part seemed seemed to give way to any backyard promoters that could come up with their state's licensing fee. Gone were the professional wrestlers who had trained for over two years just to get in the ring, and replacing them was a group of entitled kids who thought that jumping around a ring in front of friends and family made them a superstar. The fact was, the stars were few and far between and most of the crowd wouldn't have been there if they hadn't felt guilty and bought a ticket from their relative who happened to be appearing that night in the ring. The crowd more closely resembled a family reunion than a group of fans. Everyone was related to a wrestler on the show, and for it the company covered the expense for the night. The show went on by any means necessary. The sad reality was that anyone could get into the wrestling business. Gone were the days of carney talk, stretching guys out, and kayfabe. Some of the companies involved in this new era of wrestling looked more like legalized backyard promotions than professional companies and it didn't seem to be changing anytime soon.

In small towns in Pennsylvania pro wrestling was the thing to do for the month. Low-income families would pile everyone into the truck and drive down to the matches. That was apart of the business that had stayed consistent. An independent pro wrestling ticket was always a cheap purchase in Pennsylvania, and a very affordable family outing. The state seemed to have a promotion in every town and most of them were hurting the business more than helping it. Stories of “promoters” who ran “charity shows” and took off with the money at the end of the night were becoming way too common. The very business that some loved was being taken over by money-marks, scam artists, and uneducated and inexperienced promoters who at every turn would allow someone to trust the business even less.

In a small town just outside Philadelphia there was a promotion that wanted to fix that. The company, named “The Federation” by its owner as a inside jab at his former employer the WWE, was to be a small regional company that emphasized good wrestling with storytelling. It's founder, Travis Thomas had saved the money that he made from the WWE by staying in cheap hotels, renting the cheapest cars, and not eating at expensive restaurants while he was on the road. He anticipated the night he'd got the phone call releasing him from his WWE contract as creative writer. The staff of WWE knew the company wasn't at all loyal to them and that for any reason they could be released of their contract. Thomas had played it smart and saved most of the money he had made at WWE and saved it for a rainy day.

Travis Thomas had worked several years as a color commentator on the independent scene for his first job in wrestling. From there he had moved to being an Assistant with Dragon Gate USA under Gabe Sapolsky. The experience helped him then land a job on the WWE Creative Team where he had worked for a few years. He was the kind of writer who was passionate about his ideas. He had been known around the company as the guy who stood up for a lot of the developmental guys. His most passionate moment had come during an exchange with Stephanie McMahon on bringing in Chris Hero (Kassius Ohno) and making him a member of the Wyatt Family. The incident would result in the writers giving him respect for standing up to the power hungry boss, and lead to the strained relationship between McMahon and Thomas that would eventually push Thomas out of the company.

As far as Thomas was concerned, his release couldn't have happened sooner. He had saved up enough money to put $1,000,000 of his own money into this new project that he called, The Federation. The name alone had Thomas' attitude all over it. It was a nod to the childhood appreciation he had for his former employer, a jab at McMahon who'd continued to fight for the rights to use the word,, and a way to remind himself where he had come from. Although he wasn't fond of McMahon, he was genuinely happy he had worked at WWE. It had been the crowning achievement of his career and he was hoping that his responsibilities as promoter would lead him to an even bigger recognition. He had certainly took the right approach towards getting into the business. Thomas looked at it as a college degree and had spent the better part of the last ten years learning a business that could be so simple if done wrong, and so sophisticated if done right. This was his time to use everything he'd learned.

This was the beginning of The Federation.

The Roster

Aden Chambers

AR Fox

Cheerleader Melissa

Chuck Taylor

Emil J

Jay Briscoe

Joey Ryan

John Hennigan

Lacey Von Erich

Mark Angelosetti

Mark Briscoe

Matt Jackson

Matt Milan

Matt Morgan

Matt Classic

Nick Jackson

Rich Swann

Rob Conway

Rob Eckos

Rob Terry

Travis Thomas (President of FED)

Shark Boy

Shiima Xion

Spike Dudley

Tony Nese</div> </div></div>

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tobin834 · January 31, 2014

<div id="divContentWrapper" style="font-size:62.5%;line-height:normal;"><div style="width:950px;margin:0px auto;position:relative;"></div><div style="width: 700px; margin: 0px auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 0px 20px 20px; position: relative; overflow-y: auto; background-image: none;"> <div style="padding:0 5px;overflow:hidden;" id=""><div id=""><div style="height: 18px; cursor: n-resize;"></div><div style="clear: both; position: relative; padding: 5px; border: 1px solid transparent;"><div style="padding:5px;text-align:center;font-size:1.8em;"><img src="<a href="http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh232/tobin834/victory_01_zpse7651a67.jpg" rel="external nofollow">http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh232/tobin834/victory_01_zpse7651a67.jpg"</a> style=""></div></div><div style="clear: both; position: relative; padding: 5px; margin: 5px 0px; height: auto; border: 1px solid transparent;"> <div style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; display: block;">VICTORY TV TAPING #1 Tuesday, Week 1, January 2014<ul id=""><li id="">Rich Swann defeated Tony Nese. After the match Nese would attack Swann and walk out to a chorus of boo's and plenty of heat. </li><li id="">The Young Bucks defeated The Varsity (Mr Touchdown Mark Angelosetti and Matt Milan) </li><li id="">Chuck Taylor defeated Aden Chambers convincingly. Taylor looking very impressive in this match. </li><li id="">Cut to the back where John Morrison is seen being very cocky and confident about his match tonight with Matt Classic. </li><li id="">The Briscoes defeated the BroMans in an evenly contested match. </li><li id="">John Hennigan defeated Matt Classic in a great match with plenty of crowd reaction. Hennigan would defeat Classic and then pose over him for the cameras as Classic was on the mat trying to shake the cobwebs free. The show went off the air to a restrained Hennigan yelling at Classic and adding insult to injury.</li></ul></div></div></div></div></div></div>

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