Cornellverse Shakeups

[jwt13]

This made me laugh!

TNA now isn't even a regional promotion - when was the last time when they had at least 1000 PAID spectators in attendance? They are small promotion in TEW terms that runs their shows in one location!

Even at they all time high they were only a regional promotion, that had some popularity (draw power) outside their home region too...

 

That's crazy, TNA is still the 2nd biggest company in America that when they do go on the road sell decent tickets(Arena selection is what makes it look bad)

 

Not to mention the Impact tours overseas do great numbers. You may not be a fan but you can't deny the size of TNA

[Jaysin]

That's crazy, TNA is still the 2nd biggest company in America that when they do go on the road sell decent tickets(Arena selection is what makes it look bad)

 

Not to mention the Impact tours overseas do great numbers. You may not be a fan but you can't deny the size of TNA

 

I am a fan, and they've still never been larger than a cult promotion. They're just cult in two parts of the world, the US and Europe.

[jwt13]

I am a fan, and they've still never been larger than a cult promotion. They're just cult in two parts of the world, the US and Europe.

 

That's understandable but the other guy said they were a Small at best regional company which was insane.

[KnowYourEnemy]

I'd say P.J. Strong (Sam's Son who was "written out" as of TEW 2010) is the odds-on favorite to inherit USPW. I could see the promotion returning to its "roots" and a "more in-ring" approach to personnel, and it would provide a "modern twist" to the promotion. I personally think he went to business school so he could "inherit" his father's company (hence, why "USPW" doesn't have a clear-cut "owner" on the roster).

 

USPW is hands down my favorite promotion -- I've written and contributed far more on them than any other promotion by far. However, keeping them at National beyond 2013 is ludicrous. The promotion will soon "lose" the most important and talented employee in Sam Strong. He is by far the best angle in USPW and is their best road agent, and with the game mechanics, he can do both. They're barely national in 2013 and to think that they'll improve with four out of their top five guys near or on time decline and three of those nearing retirement is absurd. The young talent on the roster is far less impressive and less over than either SWF or TCW -- the closest thing USPW has to a "future face", Andre Jones, was released from SWF after spending several years as an "interference runner" and enhancement talent.

 

USPW has literally and figuratively killed itself to reach National status, and any continued foray will worsen their situation in the long run.

 

There has been considerable backlash against CGC moving up in the ranks. There is a major reason both I and NoNeck in our future mods have pegged CGC for success -- they're closest to the "falling USPW" in philosophy, they fit the prevailing storyline of Sports Entertainment's rise throughout the CVerse and compared to the other national companies in Canada or the US they've come the closest to embracing cruiserweights.

 

My opinion the company that manages to embrace lighter, flashy wrestlers will rise in the CVerse -- Lucha-influenced, flashy wrestlers are extremely easy to merchandise, and in the era of "awareness and presence", Merchandising is a driving force. WWF/E made a killing for over a decade off a washed up Rey Mysterio Jr. and a subpar head case in Sin Cara for the real world equivalent to it -- Kids may not appreciate a well-worked, fast-paced match more than a slow brawl, but they love flashy imagery and bright colors and simple storytelling and slick catchphrases that go along with the influence of lucha. CGC is, in my opinion, the only promotion who can capture USPW's traditional/young audience in the states, and they can do it from a merchandise stand.

 

As far as NOTBPW is concerned, I think they will drop considerably in the next edition of the CVerse. They not only have an aging roster but a performance-based product with the entire main event 40+ in 2015. In threads from 2010-2012 that predicted changes in the game world, NOTBPW was pegged consistently to fall behind CGC and to cult and be among the game worlds' biggest losers. Since, the "face of the company" Dan Stone Jr. has been injured to the point he is a PPV-only worker. The company needs to seriously rebuild, and an injury dogged Jacob Jett isn't going to help with a high work rate -- the move of Jett to NOTBPW over his natural home in the company who has hired the vast majority of 4C alums is downright puzzling, as is Cameron Vessey ending up there instead of Japan, NYCW or TCW.

 

Please stop trying to "kill off" my favorite promotion with ill-informed, short-term decisions that will turn it into "SWF-lite" just so you can have a national battle. There are other options. USPW can take a step back and appeal to a "southern" base as a more "regional promotion" and compete in popularity with SWF/TCW there. USPW was building its own stars in 2008, who all left, and should go back to building their own stars in 2015. Hell's Bouncer/Colossus and Bulldozer Brandon Smith/Masked or American Patriot could redefine the promotion, but they won't be able to if USPW continues to define itself by SWF's scraps and leftovers.

 

There are plenty of better options in the CVerse to "have a national battle" and no one said it had to be in the states.

 

[ I read several prediction threads in preparation for my original '15 CVerse Mod, but I linked one of the more well visited ones here]

[Sudo_Nym]

I think the speculation is because USPW is the only national company in America with the ability to maneuver- TCW's deal revolves around financial instability, and SWF is too committed to its business model. USPW is the one with the ability and incentive to take risks and try something new, and they have the most to gain by shaking up their roster.

 

That said, I think the next big thing in the Cornellverse has to be Canada. America is always in focus, and had several changes; Mexico got a boom in wrestling companies, Japan got the New Japan Movement, Britain saw most of its companies get bought out, and Australia suddenly existed. Canada's the only region that hasn't seen a major change, outside of Steve DeColt jumping ship and a local company opening. They're due for a shaking.

[kn23m]

That's crazy, TNA is still the 2nd biggest company in America that when they do go on the road sell decent tickets(Arena selection is what makes it look bad)

Like I wrote - when was the last time when TNA had at least 1000 PAID spectators in attendance?

From reports what I have seen very long time ago, while ROH have it almost monthly, so - is they really still nr. 2? And number two don't mean a shit - why number two can't be a small or regional company? It's not 80' anymore where almost each teritory draw 5000+ crowds monthly!

Not to mention the Impact tours overseas do great numbers.

What it have to do with their size in TEW terms - it's an USA based promotion - if it's not national level, then it doesn't matter! If they would be UK based promotion, then by looking at numbers which they draw there I would say that they are regional or cult promotion, but if we talk about USA, then it's only small!

You may not be a fan but you can't deny the size of TNA

Just for the record, Impact Wrestling is the only wrestling programm that I watch WEEKLY, so again - you are WRONG!!

 

P.S. I apologize for off topic.

[Teh_Showtime]

For a general universe progression perspective I loved the 2014 update and the direction that has went, but for a shakeup I really think SOTBPW could really gain some footing in the USA. They have been the most progressive company in the world (brand split, TV stars, etc) so they could definitely be the catalyst for expansion. I also think that it would make SOTB significantly more appealing to play as because the userbase doesn't seem to go for lucha much (same could be said in real life)

 

A lot of the old TCW stalwarts are going to be old leaving Rocky (company's in and out of kayfabe savior who has succeeded in growing their finances), Wolf (the next Cornell to Rocky's RDJ) and Joey (best worker but #2 face or heel always). Aside from those three you have RDJ who won't ever leave and might progress to booker while he fades out of the main event. Vessey, Eddie Peak, Troy Tornado, John Anderson, Brent Hill, and Ino are all at or very close to 40 and still near the top of cards. Peak and Tornado could easily slot in with the indies which would allow Tornado to finally get some use as a top guy and Peak would be wanted by any small US company (not even the hardcore ones either, could see fun in him as the giant among CZCW or even in FCW). To replace those 4 top level guys in the near future they have Jay Chord (natural guy to retire RDJ for obvious reasons) and Aaron Andrews (first TCW Dojo graduate). Joshua Taylor is a great worker but less rounded than all of his peers which would make it hard for him to stand out at the top level. None of their other dojo guys seem to be an answer, though Mighty Mo and Killer Shark both have enormous potential.

 

On the other hand you have big money in SWF. With Christian Faith and Vengeance with retirement imminent, and even more guys hovering around 40, it's almost a sure thing that some will be phased out of the main event completely, some will leave before they get too old, and the natural food chain means SWF will be looking to swoop more potential top talent like a Joey Minnesota or Aaron Andrews to base their immediate future on while their guys like Spencer Spade and Primus Allen get ready for the top level.

 

USPW would seem to be in a terrible position for those reasons listed above but Nicky Champion is their rock and he's there for life. They can bring in expunged veterans from SWF and TCW, though as the times progress these new SWF/TCW castoffs might not be the same ones their audience has come to know and love, as they have built their own exclusive USPW fanbase and certain talent might not take it as serious either, seeing it as just a nice paycheck, due to the rep the company might have internally. As the company becomes less of a haven for people who used to reside in the "Big Two", Nicky Champion helps maintain the audience while they build from within with a heavily increased focus on the tag and women's divisions to make up for their lack of star power. Alicia Strong helps build their women division into a legitimate draw as they gather a wealth of female talent from across the globe who want both the fame and focus of USPW. Natural Storm is one of the best teams in the planet though they lack superstar charisma to build around. You could see the Bumfholes making their way to USPW after a decade of midcard hell in SWF which could start drawing more talented teams to USPW as well despite big name singles stars floundering with the audience.

 

Now with all of that going on in the USA, TCW has to risk their future guys going to SWF and their old guys being too old to headline TCW style matches and either fall down the card or leave entirely. This is where I feel a big time working agreement with SOTBPW would come into play. SOTBPW has dominated the Mexican scene on the back of Champagne Lover and to a lesser extent, Pablo Rodriguez, who had an extensive career in the states and is still very over in the USA. TCW is based in the Southwest region (specifically Hollywood/LA) so a potential link between TCW and SOTB would make perfect sense to get SOTB a foothold in America, and it would give TCW some Mexican stars that would flourish in their South West/Mid-South market. The Syndicate could make sporadic trips to Mexico, or I could even see RDJ finishing his career in Mexico as a Texas enthusiast heel. It's also easy access for names in the All Action division for TCW as Edd Stone and Freddy Huggins (please) graduate to the top of the tag division with The Machines being done.

[TakerNGN74]

The Death of Tommy Cornell

[Bigpapa42]

Know Your Enemy and The_Showtime brought up some great points, and some stuff I was going to mention. One of the greatest aspects of the CornellVerse is the balance. Not in terms of how it plays (which is obvious), but in terms of the promotions. They all exist for a reason and fill a certain need. There is a not a lot of needless overlap. The result is that the player has a diversity of options to choose from.

 

Moreover, each promotion has its positives and its problems. There is room to grow and develop them. But there are also problems, which left unaddressed, can cause significant problems. That's key. None of the promotions are "easy mode" anymore. The SWF has age concerns at the top of the card, looks heavily reliant on Jack Bruce, and has a WWE-like issue with Richard Eisen's age. TCW has money problems, some aging stars, a key star who isn't really that well suited to the promotion, and locker room problems. Particularly, one of the young stars the company has built is a giant bag of jerk. Each promotion has these kind of dynamics to deal with.

 

A shakeup doesn't have to be something huge. Someone significant dying or a promotion actually being killed off. Almost any promotion can take a jump forward with a hot storyline or a worker catching fire. That isn't going to race MAW or CZCW up national or anything that drastic, but it could see one of them move to cult. It could be a reason that USPW is still at National. And on the same note, a decline doesn't have to be mass problems. It can be a big storyline backfiring, the belt on the wrong worker nullifying business, workers leaving, unexpected retirements, or outside concerns. Maybe the SWF takes a hit when Big Smack gets nailed for roids and assaults 11 1/4 police officers, and the bad publicity loses Supreme some sponsors. Maybe CGC takes a leap forward in the US when they finally - FINALLY - pull the trigger on the DeColt's feuding in a major way.

 

My point is that big changes - really massive landscape shifting changes - aren't that likely. Evolution, not revolution. If there is a massive shift, like a key company closing, its probably only going to be one, not several. Most changes will be more subtle - gradual growth. The CV has proven to a world that moves rather slowly, not prone to massive rapid upheavals.

 

KYE makes several good points, and the one about cruiserweights is a particularly good one. Its not an area where any of the major US promotions have exploited to any degree and its an opening, as there is significant talent. And similar to Showtime's point about SOTBPW and how cutting edge it really is at this point.

[Strong-San Fan]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the UK yet. 21CW is the only fed running in the UK right now and there are a lot of British workers either going to Europe or just plain unemployed. An unemployed Highland Warrior is reason alone to expect a shake-up.

 

Realistically, I doubt we'll see anything major happen until 21CW gets to a national level. But it's too quiet with too many people out of work thanks to Jeff Nova. Something's got to give.

[Derek B]

I've been enjoying some of what I've read in here, is always fun to speculate on the future of the Cornellverse since it's like a second home to me. That said, if any company is going to have it's own network, I can only see it being the SWF. They've got more than 40 years of history, they could have access to lots of old school content from the territories they killed, they've got the money and they're the largest company in the world as of 2014. They make the most sense, and along with RIPW, they could also have their own NXT to flaunt too, which could be fun if there is more control of child company type deals.

 

One thing I'd love to see happen would be USPW joining the Confderation of the Territories alliance as the flagship company of the group. As has been discussed, USPW has had to put everything behind Nicky Champion to even be competitive at National level, and as a result, they aren't. With an old school wrestler like Sam Strong leading the charge, I could see COTT being the recruiting grounds for the next generation of stars for USPW... as the veterans continue to age, USPW could bring prominence to their women's division and draw in new talent from all across the country. Combined with being able to send their own workers out to do other shows (which might be as big as USPW house shows likely are) then that could help all the members too. The alliance could supply Monster of the Month type opponents for Nicky Champion, USPW could send Champion out to help all the smaller companies draw more people, and with maybe QAW involved too we could have lots of new opponents for Alicia Strong in the women's division. USPW might lose some ground in the short term, but it would be a great way to flesh out their roster in the long term and be huge for indy wrestlling too.

 

As for TCW, i'd love to see them strike up some kind of deal with companies from around the world. Maybe 21CW, BHOTWG and NOTBPW... it could bring some of the best wrestling in the world to one place and give them a place to really build from. Because for the most part, they seem to be pretty stale... they don't make many changes, their roster is ageing and they could do with an injection of talented performers who can challenge the top guys there to make things more interesting.

 

And eventually, the UK has to gain some more companies. There is too much talent over there for there to not be something fun. Maybe an ICW type clone to help make things more interesting?

[Wheelz316]

I've been enjoying some of what I've read in here, is always fun to speculate on the future of the Cornellverse since it's like a second home to me. That said, if any company is going to have it's own network, I can only see it being the SWF. They've got more than 40 years of history, they could have access to lots of old school content from the territories they killed, they've got the money and they're the largest company in the world as of 2014. They make the most sense, and along with RIPW, they could also have their own NXT to flaunt too, which could be fun if there is more control of child company type deals.

 

One thing I'd love to see happen would be USPW joining the Confderation of the Territories alliance as the flagship company of the group. As has been discussed, USPW has had to put everything behind Nicky Champion to even be competitive at National level, and as a result, they aren't. With an old school wrestler like Sam Strong leading the charge, I could see COTT being the recruiting grounds for the next generation of stars for USPW... as the veterans continue to age, USPW could bring prominence to their women's division and draw in new talent from all across the country. Combined with being able to send their own workers out to do other shows (which might be as big as USPW house shows likely are) then that could help all the members too. The alliance could supply Monster of the Month type opponents for Nicky Champion, USPW could send Champion out to help all the smaller companies draw more people, and with maybe QAW involved too we could have lots of new opponents for Alicia Strong in the women's division. USPW might lose some ground in the short term, but it would be a great way to flesh out their roster in the long term and be huge for indy wrestlling too.

 

As for TCW, i'd love to see them strike up some kind of deal with companies from around the world. Maybe 21CW, BHOTWG and NOTBPW... it could bring some of the best wrestling in the world to one place and give them a place to really build from. Because for the most part, they seem to be pretty stale... they don't make many changes, their roster is ageing and they could do with an injection of talented performers who can challenge the top guys there to make things more interesting.

 

And eventually, the UK has to gain some more companies. There is too much talent over there for there to not be something fun. Maybe an ICW type clone to help make things more interesting?

 

Speaking of SWF, and the companies they've killed. Does anyone have a list of those companies?

[KnowYourEnemy]

California Wrestling Federation

Championship Wrestling From Boston

All-American Florida Wrestling

Texas Wrestling League

 

"The Territories" collapsed ~89-91 except for TWL, which lasted until ~96. Continuity works in a funny way -- HCG peaked in the "original game" about 2004 and was in steady decline after the heavy-handed Tommy Cornell took over and became TCW, sort of following RW equivalent WCW in reverse.

 

As far as USPW is concerned, I feel there is a lot of TNA in them -- for a relatively short period (2010-11 TNA and 2013-14 USPW) they were able to "take it to" bigger companies, but because of sacrifices needed to do so (bringing in Strong/Bruce The Giant or Hogan/Bischoff/Sting) they ended up falling short. As for Champion and Baine, a comparison can be made to A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels -- a bit of role reversal, as the younger A.J had the big-league experience in WCW but the older Baine starred in TCW first. USPW's older roster had exciting cruiserweights and sound technical wrestlers with a lack of charisma/entertainment (Bloodstone and Hell Monkey got their start in 2005 USPW) but as the company grew in size, non-traditional talent was phased out for older, established talent.

 

The "Strong/Champion" relationship is unique -- I can't think of anyone Strong's usual counterpart Hogan "took under his wing". I've always thought Strong can be compared somewhat to Flair instead of Hogan, in which case the comparison makes sense, as HHH was Flair's on-and-off protege. This accounts for the super-talented daughter (Alicia/Charlotte) and absent son (David/P.J.?).

[Kitarzu]

Speaking of SWF, and the companies they've killed. Does anyone have a list of those companies?

 

These were the ones literally killed by SWF.

 

American Pro Wrestling Fedration - New York, New York, Tri State - Closed in July 1977

 

Championship Wrestling from Boston - Boston, Massachusetts, New England - Closed in July 1978

 

All American Florida Wrestling - Florida, South East - Closed in December 1978

 

California Pro Wrestling - California, South West - Closed in June 1983

 

Texas Wrestling League - San Antonio?, Texas, Mid South - Closed in February 1995

[tywood2022]

I had a game go several years that might have some good ideas for this. SWF stole several major stars from TCW and USPW: Nicky Champion, Joey Minnesota, Rocky Golden, Troy Tornado, American Buffalo, and others I cannot think of. TCW also lost Eddie Peak to USPW, Elmo Benson and eventually even Wolf Hawkins both went to CGC, and Koshiro Ino went to GCG. The SWF remained #1 throughout, but to add challenge you could give some of the older stars creative control, like Jack Bruce or Vengeance. TCW sunk down to #3 and lost its TV deal, but signed a number of talented workers from smaller promotions, built up their popularity to main event level, and was in hot pursuit of #1. USPW became very stagnant after Sam Strong passed. The only new guys they signed in roughly three years were Eddie Peak and Hell's Bouncer. They moved up to #2 by coasting while TCW fell into shambles.

 

NOTBPW eventually crumbled along with its main event talent, which I guess is the obvious route to go with them. The undercard just never lives up to the Stones, DeColt, McFly, and Bloodstone. CGC passed them with a highly successful feud between Alex DeColt and a heel Ricky DeColt over the title. Wolf Hawkins joining the mix only pushed them further ahead of NOTBPW.

 

In Mexico, either OLLIE or MPWF usually moves to cult and starts competing directly with SOTBPW, which I always think makes a good story. In Japan, WLW closing leads to a lot of highly entertaining workers going mostly to GCG, helping them rise up to PGHW and BHOTWG's levels. Koshiro Ino joins GCG and immediately becomes their world champion. He remained champion roughly 18 months until I stopped playing that save. Not sure how you would shake up UK and Europe, but 21CW needs competition bad.