Walk on the Wylde Side

jayedwards99 · July 31, 2016

Welcome to a new kind of dynasty. I've been toying with different ideas for this and am looking for a way to exercise my creative muscles. Remember the old Choose Your Own Adventure books? Well, this thread will hopefully bring some of that to the TEW game! It's a challenge for me as well since I never know when the storylines will take a sudden left turn out of nowhere.

The idea is that I will setup my user character for you along with three options for where this dynasty will begin. You will vote on which period will be our starting point and I will start booking from there. Then, from time to time, you will have even more opportunities to vote on the direction of the story. Maybe you'll have to vote on how to handle an unruly member of the roster. Or perhaps you'll get a voice in which superstars the company should try to bring in to bolster the product. And when big events come around, you'll vote on potential matches to place on the card. And we'll see how I take those choices and weave them into the dynasty's story. There may even be times that you will have to decide if the user character should stay working under bad ownership or take a chance on moving to greener pastures.

Hopefully, you will enjoy the storytelling that I bring to you with this dynasty. You won't be getting flashy graphics or tons of pics. But, you WILL get something that is well-written and enjoyable to follow. If you're interested in this kind of dynasty, you should meet our main character... "The Wylde Thing" Jay Edwards!

Dr_Avalanche · July 31, 2016

Sounds interesting. Looking forward to see where it goes.

jayedwards99 · July 31, 2016

The Wylde Thing Interview with The Wrestling Insiders July 15, 2016

Willy P: Welcome to The Wrestling Insiders Podcast. I’m Willy P, alongside my longtime co-host Tom Gotti.

Gotti: What’s happening, Internets?

Willy P: This week is a special show! Joining us for the entire hour is Jay Edwards, who has so many stories that he finally put them all on paper in his new book, Walk on the Wylde Side. He started as a rookie feuding with Jeff Jarrett in Memphis and gained mainstream success in the early 90’s with his tag team partner Eric Allen. Welcome to the show “The Wylde Thing” Jay Edwards.

Jay: Thanks for having me, guys.

Willy P.: I’ve always thought your rivalry with Double J should have gotten more street cred from the fans. It quietly became one of the longest running feuds in wrestling and you’ve ended up facing each other no matter where you were.

Jay: Remember that Jeff’s dad, Jerry, gave me my start in ’87.

Willy P.: Right…From reading your book, I saw you started out working backstage as part of the ring crew.

Jay: I was still in high school living in Jackson, TN…which is almost exactly halfway between Memphis and Nashville. So, I was in the heart of the Memphis Territory. I watched the Saturday morning show every week on WMC and went to the house shows whenever I could. I started to hang around, making myself a pest to the guys. Memphis was a great place in the late ‘80’s because the roster was either past their prime veterans or young up and comers like Jeff, Pat Tanaka, Paul Diamond…Paul Heyman was working as the area’s top heel manager for his first big push. He was managing Austin Idol and Tommy Rich in a feud with Lawler and Dundee.

Gotti: That was the infamous Scaffold Match blow-off that Heyman didn’t want to do, right?

Jay: Yeah.

Gotti: That’s when you started on the ring crew?

Jay: I was doing anything. I’d drive to Memphis every Saturday before the sun came up to help set up the ring for TV. If there were house shows nearby, I’d work the merchandise table or sell tickets or help run errands backstage. Anything to be around it, you know?

Willy P.: When did you start training with Phil Hickerson?

Jay: The funny thing is I asked Lawler and Dundee. They were the top guys and I didn’t know enough to realize they were too busy being the top guys on the card to train some green kid. Jeff actually suggested Phil since he was winding down his in-ring duties and trying to slow down a bit. So, whenever I was around, Phil would show me stuff…Tojo would work with me. My story isn’t much different from other guys trained by Phil’s generation. They were rough on you…trying to make sure you were serious and had what it takes to make it in the business.

Gotti: You must have had something to impress Jerry Jarrett. Your first run was with his own son.

Jay: I had been training with Hickerson for about 8 months and kept asking for a match. Randy Hales and Eddie Marlin, the Memphis promoter, kept putting it off and putting it off. One weekend, I was still on the ring crew and after we set up the ring and sound system, I grabbed the mic to do a sound check. I started doing a heel promo about how Eddie Marlin was keeping me from greatness and how Jerry Jarrett was afraid of what I might do if he put me in the ring with Jeff…just goofing off really. I was even calling myself The Wylde Thing and asking why Lawler was hiding from me. The rest of the ring crew were cracking up and kept egging me on. I kept at it and was channeling all of the best promos I’d heard from Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, and Randy Savage…my three all-time favorites. It went on for a few minutes…I made fun of how old announcer Lance Russell was and ranted about how I deserved a title shot. Out of nowhere, this voice booms, “Stop wasting time in my ring! Y’all aren’t getting paid to slack off!”

Willy P.: Was it Jerry Jarrett?

Jay: No. It was Eddie Marlin. So, the ring crew scattered back to work. Eddie stopped me and said, “You think you can wrestle as good as you talk?” and I said, “I’d like to find out.” He snapped back, “Well, find yourself some decent gear and we’ll find out tonight.” My first match was against this huge guy Big Bubba...you know, Fred Ottman who would go on to be Tugboat. Eddie must have told him to beat the hell out of me because for six minutes he pounded me from one side of the ring to the other. Eventually, the ref dq-ed him for using a chair on me. As he was walking the aisle back to the locker room, the crowd was booing him like crazy and I was just lying there thinking this was going to be my first and last pro wrestling match. I figured I should make the most of it and jumped up to grab the mic from the ring announcer. I said, “Hey, Bubba…where are you going? I didn’t hear a ‘One, two, three.’ The match isn’t over yet. And you might want to bring another chair.” He turned around and started back to the ring. Before he made it back in the ring, I jumped through the ropes and headed into the crowd. He kicked the ring ropes in frustration and kept yelling that he’d get me. I was on an adrenaline rush as I came through the curtain until I ran straight into Eddie Marlin. He wagged his finger in my face and said, “If you want to keep working in my ring, don’t ever do that again.”

Gotti: So, you started improvising in your first match! Listen, we only have you for an hour. So, we might jump around and we also don’t want to ruin too much of your book. How long after that first match did you start feuding with Jeff Jarrett? That was your first big push in Memphis, right?

Jay: Yeah, it wasn’t long after. I was wrestling opening matches on house shows for a few weeks and they asked me to work on TV, but I didn’t want to do TV yet. Even then, I was trying to be smart and think ahead. I figured that if I was getting beat on TV every Saturday that I would have a tougher time being booked as a legitimate top of the card guy. I wanted to have a gimmick before I ever did TV.

Willy P.: I’ve seen clips on Youtube of your TV debut…you were like the anti-Jeff Jarrett.

Jay: The thing is that while I was working house shows and losing in opening matches 2 or 3 times a week, I was able to pick the brains of everyone around me. I knew that Jeff was really itching to be the Main Event guy like Lawler was. But, I was smart enough to see he didn’t have a real, high-quality enemy like Lawler did with Bill Dundee or Eddie Gilbert. They were feeding Jeff the wrong kind of guys to build him up as the Super Babyface that could carry the promotion. So, I’d start dropping hints to Jeff in the locker room. Things like “You should have someone stalking you…someone jealous of you because you’re Jerry’s son” or I’d say “What if someone was just scouting you in the crowd for weeks without anyone knowing who he was.” I was scared they’d take my ideas and give them to another worker to use. So, I had to play it close to the vest and watch who I suggested things to. Finally, after weeks of planting the seeds with Jeff or Randy Hales, Eddie Marlin gave me an ultimatum…either I started jobbing on TV or he wouldn’t book me for anymore house shows. I gave him a counter-offer and asked if he’d consider using me against Jeff. I laid the whole plan out…told him why I thought I could raise Jeff’s game in the ring…how we could pull off some great in-ring work…the whole “Wylde Thing” gimmick…doing a slow build where Jeff and I wouldn’t even face each other in the ring for a month or two…I gave him everything on a silver platter. I said, “You need somebody to face Jeff who is like ‘Dark Jeff’ or ‘Bizarro Jeff.’ Jeff is country and I’m Hard Rock.”

Gotti: And Eddie and Jerry bought it…

Jay: Well, the funny thing is Eddie took it to Jerry as a joke…like a “You won’t believe what this kid said”-sort of thing. He tells it all to Jerry and Jerry says, “That’s funny because Jeff and I have been talking about the same thing.” I had timed it perfectly. They figured if I couldn’t pull it off that I would at least buy them some time to bring in a legitimate name to help cement Jeff as a Main Eventer.

Willy P.: How many times have you wrestled Jeff over the years?

Jay: Are you just asking about singles?

Willy P.: Yeah.

Jay: Oh…I think it’s easily a thousand times. We feuded for a solid year in Memphis and counting house shows, we faced each other four, five times a week in every stipulation you can imagine for a year. Then, add in the various times we’ve revisited the feud. It’s amazing that we’ve kept it going off and on for over twenty years. Someone compared it to the Rock N Roll Express/Midnight Express feud…it can’t be stopped.

Gotti: We have so much more to ask you about. We haven't even gotten to your very successful tag team with Eric Allen and your rise to the top both in the ring and behind the scenes. I don't even know where we should take this interview.

###############################################

It's your first chance to vote on the direction this dynasty goes. Now, that you've gotten a bit of a taste for our user character, which era will this dynasty start with???

A. 1987 - The rise of the Wylde Thing from rookie to superstar as he gains more power behind the scenes and eventually becomes head booker of the company. Can Memphis withstand the crossfire while the WWF takes over the world and Jim Crockett tries to stop him? Will Jay be able to grow the CWA into a national powerhouse on par with Vince and Crockett?

B. 1991 - Jay and his tag team partner Eric Allen step up to the big leagues when they join WCW in 1991. Will Jay be able to take control of the last company who can battle the WWF worldwide? How will he fix some of WCW's biggest problems and turn the company around?

C. 1994 - The Wylde Things have been one of the best tag teams in WCW for three years and Jay has done a great job booking the company to stay competitive with Vince and the WWF. However, the arrival of Hulk Hogan has changed things behind the scenes and Eric Bischoff has been promoted to run the company over Jay. A surprising phone call from Vince McMahon brings The Wylde Things to the WWF to help revitalize the company while Vince was dealing with legal issues and a major steroid trial. Can Jay create a New Generation for the WWF?

I'm a big fan of the great historical mods that are out there and have picked my three favorite that are currently updated for TEW 2016. So, which one are we using as a starting point for the dynasty? It's up to you!

Voting will be open until Friday August 5th at 8 pm EST!

Dr_Avalanche · August 1, 2016

Here's a vote for option A, though all of them looks fine. <img alt="

" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

BHK1978 · August 1, 2016

Love this concept. I am going to go with A as well.

jayedwards99 · August 2, 2016

Thanks for the votes so far! I appreciate the comments. Hopefully, we get a few more between now and Friday. Can't wait to get started with this one.

Midnightnick · August 2, 2016

C for sure

NexxusDrako · August 2, 2016

Always up for a good zero to hero dynasty! A for sure!

NoLegsGaming · August 2, 2016

A seems the most interesting option for me!

jayedwards99 · August 3, 2016

Just posting a voting update to keep this near the top of the threads.

Option A is in the lead with 4 votes

Option C is in the running with one vote

No love for 1991 yet, but I'll still accept votes until Friday...so vote now!!!

jayedwards99 · August 16, 2016

Sunday Night, Week 4, April 1987

“Do you want to explain what this is?”

I had only been in the business for 14 months and tried to do my best to stay on Jerry Jarrett’s good side. As the owner of the Memphis territory, he had given me my start and even pushed me in a feud with his own son, Jeff, for the better part of 1986. However when the calendar turned to 1987, he and promoter Eddie Marlin felt that the program with Jeff had run its course and put me into a midcard holding pattern that I couldn’t climb out of.

And now, I was standing in Jerry’s office knowing that my career was hanging by a thread. Jarrett held out a thick three ring binder stuffed with paper.

“Can you talk?” he yelled, “You run your mouth enough when there’s a microphone around. What is this?”

He threw the binder on his desk and it landed with a hard thud. The contents of the binder had started as notes on scrap paper, calculations on a spreadsheet, and notations on a calendar. It was a college business class assignment gone haywire as my ideas and imagination caused it to fill several spiral notebooks and eventually found its way into this binder…Take an existing company and create a realistic plan for national expansion over a five-year period. Most of my classmates picked restaurants or specialty retail stores. I, of course, chose a wrestling company. The first mistake I made was choosing the one I worked for and the one Jerry Jarrett owned. The next mistake was accidently leaving the binder where one of the boys could find it in the locker room. And that is how I ended up in Jerry’s office…

“It’s just some ideas I have,” I explained, “The assignment was to take…”

Jerry flipped open the binder and said, “I saw the assignment. Take an existing company national with a five year plan. Why did you only get a C on it?”

“My professor said I made too many unrealistic assumptions about the business model I was using for the plan,” I said, “She isn’t a wrestling fan and wouldn’t let me explain why I think this would work. Plus, the assignment was to use a five year plan and I had us reaching a national audience in year three. That was another reason for her to claim it was unrealistic.”

Jerry flipped a few more pages while shaking his head, “You think we need to expand the roster? With the names here?”

“The WWF and Crockett are going to grab all of the name talent,” I said, “We need to play to our strengths and that means being creative while creating new stars. Those names are people under the radar who could be huge. We don’t have Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair or Randy Savage. Because of McMahon and Crockett, we can’t afford a Dusty Rhodes or Andre the Giant. But, we can build up our own super babyface and unstoppable monster. The WWF is going to be unbeatable because of their plans for WrestleMania III. But, where they are now is where we could be in a few years. I think my ideas can close the gap between us and the top promotions to make us a solid number three.”

“I haven’t even heard of some of these guys,” the promoter said, “And what is this about moving our taping our TV show? Our live studio show is legendary!”

I nodded and said, “Yes it is. But, it doesn’t make us any money. And some of our talent is working in other territories on Saturdays. My thinking is that we take what would normally be a spot show in one of our regular towns and make it a TV taping. Wednesday would be best and we can generate ticket revenue and merchandise sales that we wouldn’t get from the live studio show. I think it would generate an extra ten to twenty thousand a month for us, if not more.”

Jerry sat in his office chair and leaned back with a sigh. I could see the gears turning in his head as he thought.

“Some of your storyline ideas are good, but need some work,” he said, “What you suggested for Lawler isn’t anything I haven’t thought of before. The problem is getting one of the top groups to put a World title on him. We broke off from the NWA because they didn’t give us title matches as often as we wanted and they definitely wouldn’t entertain the idea of Lawler winning the NWA belt.”

Again, I nodded and said, “Isn’t that why our relationship with the AWA is better? We don’t have to convince a committee of promoters to give Lawler a run with the title. We only have to convince Verne Gagne.”

“That’s easier said than done, boy,” Jerry shot back, “I didn’t dig deep into this manifesto of yours. But, I saw enough to know that you have some promise. You’re still wet behind the ears, but if you keep your eyes and ears open, maybe you’ll learn something.”

“I don’t understand, sir,” I said.

Jerry opened up a checkbook and started scribbling into it.

“On top of your in-ring appearance fees, I’m going to give you $150 a week to work part-time in the office as my assistant,” he explained, “I saw in your booking plans that you think we should do a big event tied in with the Memphis In May festival. You are on probation until the end of May. If you follow my instructions, do what you’re told, and deliver on your promise, then ninety days should be long enough to see if you are the real deal.”

Jarrett stood back up and handed me my first paycheck. I reached out for it, but the boss wouldn’t let it go just yet.

“Before you take this, I’m giving you some conditions,” he said, “First, we aren’t going to deal with anyone who has legal problems. I don’t want that headache. Also, these guys that street fight in cages…”

I said, “I think it’s called Mixed Martial Arts.”

Jarrett continued, “I don’t care what they call themselves. I don’t want it in my territory. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright,” he said, “These last three are critical to your continued employment with me. You say this plan of yours will take us national in three years? Well, I’m giving you two years to increase our popularity. If it doesn’t happen by then, there’s no way you can take us national. And I’m not going into debt to pay for some of these grandiose ideas of yours. You want to stage a show in the Liberty Bowl? Then you darn well better figure out how to pay for it! Last thing…I don’t see any plans for Jeff in here. If you’re going to start helping to book our territory, you need to understand Jeff’s position on our roster.”

I started to feel my momentum slip away as Jerry looked me in the eye.

“I don’t ever want to be accused of pushing Jeff just because he is my son or he doesn’t deserve it,” the boss said, “I’m not going to be Verne Gagne pushing Greg even though he shouldn’t be at the top of the card. And don’t even get me started on Gulas and his kid.”

“I’m not sure what you’re asking me to do,” I said.

Jarrett let me take the check and said, “Jeff has talent. You know that from working with him for most of last year. Figure out how to push him to the top of the card in a natural way. And it needs to be your idea…not mine. Then, the rest of the boys can’t complain that he’s getting preferential treatment.”

“Understood,” I replied, “There is a lot to do. Where should I start?”

Jerry handed me my binder along with two sheets of paper.

“This is our TV for the week and what we had planned for our next live event,” he said, “Blend it into your booking plan and rewrite the next month’s TV and events. Give me your ideas for the next thirty days and, if it looks good, I’ll approve it. And I want you to amp up the star power on our roster. Let’s see how well you can negotiate with a name talent. Sign someone in the next two weeks who can main event for us.”

I must have looked like a deer in the headlights because Jarrett physically turned me around and kicked me through the door.

“Don’t expect me to tell you what to do,” he barked, “This is your chance to show me what you’ve got. Screw it up and you’ll be selling popcorn instead of being in the ring. Now, GO!”

He closed the door and I looked at the check in my hand. It wasn't exactly a blank check giving me the authority to do whatever I wanted. However, it was a good first step toward running my own company some day.

Hours later I was back in the small studio apartment I was renting. As I flipped through the plan, I found a page with a list of names that I was looking for and reached for the telephone. The only question was whose number should I dial...

*************************************************************

I'll be posting another update with the first TV and live event later in the week. Now, it's time for you to vote on the next twist in the story. As we go forward with the story, keep in mind that I don't want to stretch the limits of believability too much and am trying to stay realistic with what could have really happened at the time, i.e. there is no way Jerry Jarrett would have stolen Ric Flair from Crockett or Hulk Hogan from the WWF.

The boss wants to increase the star power at the top of the card. So, here are the options for you to vote on...

A. Buzz Sawyer (Could we rekindle his feud with Tommy Rich?)

B. Jos Leduc (The lumberjack is a familiar face in Memphis and would be good as either a heel or face)

C. Ken Patera (Would be great to bring in as a face and then have him turn on one of our top heroes)

D. Bad News Allen (Does he just need the right creative push?)

E. Outlaw Ron Bass (Another guy who could be a top heel in the company for a long run)

Whomever gets the most votes will be the worker we attempt to sign to give our main event scene a boost.

MrWolf101 · August 16, 2016

I am really enjoying this set up. I meant to vote for 1987 as the starting year, so I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.

I am not familiar with any of the 5 options (one of the reasons I thought starting in 1987 would be interesting), but I vote for C. Ken Patera as it seems like he will give you more storyline flexibility and be the one to put over the person you select to be your top star.

jayedwards99 · August 17, 2016

Thanks for the support, Wolf! I'm glad you were interested in 1987. I was actually happy that it won the vote because it's my favorite period of wrestling history. So, this should be fun...

jayedwards99 · August 17, 2016

BREAKING NEWS!!!! MEMPHIS PROMOTION BRINGING IN NEW TALENT!!!! BIG ARENA SHOW PLANNED FOR MAY!!!!

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the Memphis-based CWA territory has major plans in the works for a huge show and are currently negotiating with AWA promoter Verne Gagne to have both the singles and tag World titles defended on the show. There are also whispers that CWA promoter Jerry Jarrett has made efforts to bring in talent from the Von Erich's World Class promotion for this event as well.

Other rumors involving the CWA indicate an influx of young up and coming talent. Names that have been confirmed include Steve "Sting" Borden, Big Scott Hall, and Japanese sensation Keiji Mutoh. It seems that CWA is casting a big net looking for diamonds in the rough as they are also bringing in El Texano from Mexico, rookie Steven Regal from the U.K., Brian Pillman, and Cactus Jack Manson.

Meltzer's sources also suggested one or two bigger names could be signed within the next week or two to help bolster the top of the roster. It remains to be seen how the company is going to juggle all of this new talent and still keep their current workers happy.

jayedwards99 · August 21, 2016

Wednesday, March Week 1

A sold-out crowd is on their feet as the multi-colored light grid above the ring comes to life. Flashing green, red, blue, and yellow spotlights buzz the crowd and theme music blares from the arena’s loudspeakers. In the ring, two men stand with microphones at the ready.

The first man says, “Hello again, everybody! Lance Russell and Dave Brown here with you for another exciting episode of Championship Wrestling! Davey, how about this new look for the show?”

Lance’s broadcast partner, and WMC-TV weatherman, Dave Brown smiles and replies, “It’s absolutely fantastic. Viewers have spent decades watching the Championship Wrestling show we would do every Saturday morning from the television studio. As the CWA promotion grows, they are taking our weekly TV show into a new era as well and we will now be bringing you the action from a different great city around the territory every week!”

“This week we are bringing you all of the action in front of a standing-room only crowd in Jackson, Tennessee,” Lance continues, “As the weeks go on, we’ll introduce you to more of the innovations and new talent who are coming into the CWA as part of this new direction. Besides all of the bright lights, the new set here in the arena, music, and other bells and whistles, we’re going to continue bringing you top notch action with the superstars of the CWA.”

Dave glances at his show lineup and says, “That’s right, Lance. And today’s show is loaded with action. We’ll kick things off with The Hunter with his valet, Bambi, facing J.T. Southern. Then, Jeff Jarrett and Billy Travis will be here to take on The Bruise Brothers. We also have two big title matches on the show today. Soul Train Jones will defend the International Heavyweight Title against Boy Tony. And wherever Boy Tony is, his manager Downtown Bruno won’t be too far behind. Finally, in the main event, Tojo Yamamoto’s team of Akio Sato and Tarzan Goto will put their International Tag Team titles on the line against Jay Edwards and Eric Allen, The Wylde Things!”

The crowd cheers in anticipation at this announcement.

“That’s a fantastic way to launch this next phase of Championship Wrestling,” Lance says, “Plus, we’ll hear from ‘The King’ Jerry Lawler and Bam Bam Bigelow. Stay tuned. We’ll be back with all the action right after this.”

Once again, the crowd cheers as the show takes its first commercial break.

===============================================

Any predictions for the first TV taping of CWA's New Era?

And don't forget to vote on which worker we should approach to join our roster. The options were given in an earlier post.

MrWolf101 · August 21, 2016

My predictions for the first show. I think I got all the matches. I know nothing about most of these wrestlers, so these are pure guesses. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

The Hunter

Jeff Jarrett and Billy Travis

Soul Train Jones

Wylde Things (thinking DQ)

Dr_Avalanche · August 21, 2016

I'll put in a vote for Outlaw Ron Bass then. I had to look up some matches just to see who these guys were, and Ron Bass looked like a pretty mean S.O.B. I think he could be an asset.

My picks:

The Hunter

The Bruise Brothers

Soul Train Jones

Wylde Things

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Walk on the Wylde Side

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