Welcome to New York... Again

TCP1 · May 2, 2018

This is a Cornellverse dynasty, which looks to combine some of my older dynasty ideas into one mega-diary. The initial inspiration was BriFidelity and the stylistic choices were based on InfinityWPI. So thank you to both of them for inspiration.

The rain hammered the filthy streets. It was the kind of rain which washed away your sins along with your hopes and dreams.

I ran from shelter to shelter, soaked through and freezing. The bright lights of the lamp posts illuminating the otherwise dark of a night. I was alone in the concrete jungle of the City. Every few steps there was something new to see; scantily clad women, men in hoodies offering everything a young man could want and the atmosphere was punctured with the sound of horns of the endless yellow taxis screaming around the streets.

I pulled a soggy letter from my pocket and checked the address and then looked above. Written in bulbs of lights were the words ‘The Ministry.’

This was it.

I pushed the door open and entered. It was dark, and quiet and sat at odds with the cacophony of sound outside. Ahead rows and rows of foldaway chairs were neatly lined up surrounding a dirty looking wrestling ring. The apron covers read NYCW in blue. In the centre of the ring was an old man, hunched. You could tell by looking at it that he used to be muscular and lithe, but age, as always had reduced him to a shell.

“Hey kid, nice to see you finally showed up.”

“Hello Mr. Vessey,” I said.

“No need for pleasantries, we both know why you’re here. You might as well call me Larry.”

I did know why I was there. Years after graduating and following a successful internship at Total Championship Wrestling, I had been headhunted. Well that wasn’t quite the right word. Fortune, serendipity, luck. Whatever you want to call it, some unknowing force had put me and Larry in the same bar on the same night. I’d been drunk and bragging about how the latest storylines which were keeping TCW in the game had been my idea. It was an exaggeration. Actually, who am I kidding, they were a lie. I was only an intern for godsake. My biggest claim to fame was I’d brought coffee into the meetings where the big decisions were made. But on that night, I’d been feeling good and started bragging.

Larry, a veteran of the sport and the owner of NYCW, a small company in the big city had taken notice and offered me a job on the spot. Tired of having his talent raided by the big three promotions in America, he wanted revenge. I got it. I really did. Busting yourself to stay relevant in an increasingly saturated market wasn’t easy. When he’d offered me the book, I’d jumped at the chance. I told him there was nothing to worry about.

But now I was here, sober and way out of my depth. I’d never so much as booked a single match before, now I had control of an entire roster. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

Larry had handed me the ‘book,’ which in an old school promotion like NYCW was exactly that. A book. A massive book filled with handwritten notes, story ideas and crossed out names. I looked at the list and noticed some names I’d heard about; Cameron Vessey, Matthew Keith, Greg Gauge, Casey Valentine, Oblivion, KC Glenn. Each one had gimmick ideas, story threads and each had a word next to them. TCW, USPW, SWF, Japan, God knows where. It was a list of workers Larry had clearly wanted, but been unable to sign.

The problem with NYCW is that it was old school. The original founder, The Stomper had wanted it that way. An unapologetic throwback to the old ways of wrestling. Clearly defined good guys and bad guys, technical and brawling style matches and simple, yet effective characters. None of this new-fangled high-flying ballet which the people actually wanted. I mean why offer what the people want, when you can tell them.

The company, desperately in need of sustained growth and success had all but given up. They’d banded together with a few other regional promotions to create something called the Confederation of the Territories, where wrestlers were shared and everybody played nice.

From the outside looking in, it was sweet.

And in a lot of ways, pathetic.

Larry liked the old school feel, but hated all the other owners, bookers and frankly, almost everyone in the industry. Even his own son, who he’d been grooming for superstardom and was then surprised when he jumped at the chance.

Larry kicked the door of the broom cupboard, I mean my office. In his hand was a black hood and on his face, a big grin.

“Come on kid, we’ve got to see a Keith about a bunch of dogs.”

...

TCP1 · May 2, 2018

Somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic region…

I was ushered into a room by the strong grip of Larry Vesey and was sat down in a comfortable chair. The hood was still on my head as it had been for the seemingly never-ending car journey which had brought us here. I didn’t know where hear was of course. It was like being in spy movie. Not a good spy movie of course, but one of those straight-to-TV nonsense where the plot didn’t make sense and all the villains were a moustache twirl away from victory.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Shut up kid,” Larry growled.

“Whose the rookie?” said a gruff voice from elsewhere in the room.

The hood was lifted.

I was sat around the table with Larry and five important-looking men and five other not so important. When I say important, I don’t mean in the global, political or social sense, but in the ‘look at me and how important I am’ type of way. These were wrestling promoters. The sort of hard-nosed, carnival-inspired lunatics who presented oiled-up men in pants hitting each other with chairs as an art form.

Each introduced themselves in turn; Cliff Anderson of CZCW, Joaquin Soler of OLLIE, Troy Winner of 4C and the self-appointed leader Sam Keith of MAW. This was a meeting of the Confederation of the Territories. Alongside each owner sat the booker for each promotion; Too Hot (4C), Billy Peers (CZCW), Jay Fair (MAW) and Phoenix I (OLLIE).

I’d read all about them in the ‘book.’ The alliance; designed as a way of keeping their names relevant in a business which had basically passed them by. Each had a noble reason for running an unsuccessful business, whether it was to train the next generation, present something alternative for true fans or to help buoy the failing economy in their respective area. Whatever reason they gave; the uncomfortable truth was that they wanted to be powerful, successful and influential. They wanted to be stopped in the street by strangers and applauded for their business acumen, their financial clout and above all else they wanted to be the owners of the top wrestling promotion in the world.

The powerhouses of SWF, TCW and the new champions USPW dominate global wrestling and a bunch of near-to-the-top promotions are hot on their heels. But for the smaller fish, they needed to work together for now in order to survive and perhaps one day, thrive.

This must’ve been the yearly meetup. It was December after all. The notes in the ‘book’ simply said, ‘Waste of time, don’t care, just a chance for a drink and reminisce about the good old days. Idiots.’

Only, those notes didn’t seem to ring true. Especially not for this particular meeting, they looked tense and as they discussed their various promotions, plans for the titles and who should run what shows on what days, I could tell there was something playing on their minds. Larry told me to sit down, shut up and don’t make a fool of myself.

And other than spilling coffee over myself, I did ok.

Rich plumes of smoke danced through the air and seeped into the custom-made suits of these important men and they all laughed maniacally. Definitely villains.

Even though my heart was pounding in my chest, it really was fascinating to have a seat at the table. Literally, in this case.

Sam Keith was winding down proceedings when there was a single knock at the door. The others looked at one another in surprise. Presumably nobody else knew about this meeting.

“Come in,” said Keith.

The door burst open. In walked a suited man. This was a man not suited to events like this. He wore a suit that was more at home in the boardroom of a multinational promotion. He was tanned, but not orange, his teeth were white, but not glistening white and his shoes were pristine and shiny. This man was everything the others in the room wished they were.

“So it’s true,” he said and walked to the head of the table. “The little people are working together. I always thought it was some running gag. Amazing.”

“Who in the blazes are you?” shouted Larry and he nearly knocked me over as he stood.

“I’m Allen Packer,” he said confidently. “I own Reverie. And USPW and hopefully soon, you lot.”

He pulled five envelopes from his pocket and slid one to each of the big boys at the table.

“It’s 2016 and it’s all about online content,” he said. “You’ve got some, I want it. Here’s a pay cheque for you to go home and stop playing at promoting.”

Sam opened up the envelope and pulled out a cheque. He looked at it and then screwed it up and tossed it on the floor.

Allen Packer laughed.

“Not enough old man?” he said. “How about I double it?”

“I’ve got plenty of money already,” said Keith.

Larry didn’t even open the envelope, he just screwed it up and shoved it in his mouth. He then tried to speak, but his mouth was full of paper. So he raised his middle finger to the newcomer instead and let out a little choked cough.

“OK,” said Packer. “Have it your way. I’ll run you all out of business and then buy your tape libraries for $1 when I’m finished.”

With that he spun on his heels and strolled out of the dark room.

“How the hell did he find us here?” asked Sam. “Who flapped their gums?”

Nobody responded.

“Wha’re we gonna do about zis man? Kill im?” said Soler.

The bookers suddenly looked nervous, but the owners barely looked fazed.

“We can’t,” said Winner. “Too high profile.”

“So wha den?” replied Soler.

“We’ll expand,” grinned Keith. “We’ll get as many promotions in the COTT as possible, unfiy, absorb and eventually force him out the industry. Old school. You can have all the technology you like, but nothing beats good old fashioned wrestling knowledge.”

The others looked at him like he was mad, but nobody presented any other idea. The meeting ended abruptly after that. The hood went back on and I was stuffed back into a car.

Hours later, once I was sure it was just me and Larry, he swore loudly.

“Everything alright?” I said, aware that we didn’t really have a relationship strong enough for such a personal question.

“Plans have moved up,” he said. “We’ll need to be very careful now.”

“And what plans are those?”

“Why do you think I hired you kid?”

I didn’t have an answer better than ‘because I appear more impressive to people when I’m drunk,’ so I remained silent.

“I’m tired of presenting Stomper’s vision of what NYCW is. We’re at war now. And I want to win.”

“With Allen Packer?”

“No with everyone, I want to take them all down. I’m going to reshape the wrestling world, and you’re going to help me.”

I gulped and Larry pulled the car over and removed the hood. We were outside The Ministry once again.

“It’s time to go to work, oh and Welcome to New York City.”

TCP1 · May 2, 2018

Welcome… to New York City… where I’m sure everything would be fine…

Oh God, what was I doing? I had one week until NYCW Rush Hour 2016 and had no idea about the talent, the storylines, the promotion or anything.

I thumbed my way through the book and a few pages in, I found details on the current roster:

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="TpnhFR" data-src="https://goo.gl/images/TpnhFR" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

New York Championship Wrestling

Main Event

Honest Frank (Heel)

Man Mountain Cahill (Heel)

Bulldozer Brandon Smith (Face)

Steve Flash (Face)

Upper Midcard

The Masked Mauler (Heel)

Marv Statler (Face)

Rick Sanders (Heel)

Roger Cage (Face)

Midcard

Tennessee William (Face)

Geoff Borne (Heel)

Andrew Harper (Heel)

Dean Waldorf (Face)

Crockett Tubbs (Face)

Animal Harker (Face)

Dermot O’Logical (Face)

Lower Midcard

Devastating Don (Heel)

Howlin Mad Mort (Heel)

The New York Doll (Heel)

Whitehorse Whittaker (Heel)

Opener

Brutus Milano (Heel)

Freedom Eagle (Face)

Enhancement Talent

Hawkeye Calhoun (Face)

Manager

Cheerleader Nicki (Face)

Fern Hathaway (Face)

Announcer

Rock Downpour (Heel)

Colour Commentator

Ernie Turner (Face)

Referee

Michael Bull (Face)

Road Agent

Larry Vessey (Face)

$250,000 in the bank

Prestige: E-

Momentum: D

Importance: E (Tri-State)

Popularity: E (Tri-State)</div>

Titles:

NYCW Empire Title - Roger Cage (B prestige)

NYCW Tag Team Titles - Southern Stars (C Prestige)

NYCW Tri-State Regional Title - Crockett Tubbs (C- Prestige)

Hall of Fame:

The Stomper (2 x Empire Champion, 1 x Tag Team Champion)

Whistler (3 x Empire Champion, 2 x Tag Team Champion)

Wiley Coyote (4 x Tag Team Champion)

No. of Tag Team Champions:

Wiley Coyote: 4

Old School Principals: 4

The Ring Generals: 4

The Southern Stars: 3

Shark Cage: 2

The Boys from the Yukon: 1

The Stomper and Whistler: 1

Land Mass and the Big Problem: 1

Whistler and Mr. America: 1

American Machine and Steve Flash: 1

No. of Tri-State Champions:

Sammy the Shark: 2

The Masked Mauler: 2

Andrew Harper: 2

Bulldozer Brandon Smith: 2

Animal Harker: 2

Crockett Tubbs: 1

Steve Flash: 1

The New York Doll: 1

Monty Trescade: 1

Travis Century: 1

Nevada Nuclear: 1

Grandmaster Phunk: 1

Lee Wright: 1

Dazzling Dave Diamond: 1

Empire Champions:

Roger Cage: 3

Honest Frank: 3

Steve Flash: 3

Whistler: 3

American Buffalo: 3

Man Mountain Cahill: 2

The Stomper: 2

Joey Minnesota: 2

Paul Steadyfast: 1

Grandmaster Phunk: 1

Black Hat Bailey: 1

Things were stable. Comfortable. Nice. None of that worked in the new world. It was time to be ruthless. But how can you be ruthless with the boys and maintain the illusion of legacy and old school values? The two were at odds with one another. This was going to take some time and effort, not to mention we needed an injection of new talent. We also needed a big storyline to hook the locals to coming back. Finally we needed to keep our best talents and phase out those who were struggling. We also couldn’t spend too much money.

Nice. It was like trying to juggle with lots of knives. Sharp knives. Sharp knives which were also on fire.

TCP1 · May 2, 2018

Welcome to New York… Where Allen Packer spends more in a day than we do in a year.

As part of the new regime, Larry gave me a series of goals to keep me on track. Aside from total domination and eventual war with everyone in the Confederations of the Territories, I had to make sure we didn’t shrink in size, no law-breakers, spot monkeys or cruiserweights.

I immediately checked the books and specifically wrestler contracts. There was also a list of independent wrestlers and their skillsets and estimated ability. What on Earth was Larry playing at?

I called the numbers of the following wrestlers and told them their services were no longer needed:

Man Mountain Cahill

Devastating Don

Geoff Borne

Fern Hathaway

Cheerleader Nicki

Dermot O’Logical

Hawkeye Calhoun

Freedom Eagle

Rock Downpour (I’ll do the commentary)

I was actually proud of myself. In a week I’d contacted various wrestlers from Larry’s list. Signed some up and had some complicated, intertwining stories for the show sorted. Most revolved around out ultra-charismatic Empire Champion, Roger Cage.

He’d obviously heard the rumours of the mega-push I had for him and walked into my office on the day of the show.

“Hey bookerman, how’s tricks?” he said.

“Busy Rog, very busy. Making plans. How can I help the future franchsie player in the new look NYCW?”

“Errr,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck. “So I’m off.”

“What!”!”

He slid a piece of paper over the table. It was a written contract from USPW with his name and signature on it.

“Oh,” I said.

“Sorry bookerman, I’d love to stay, but Mr. Packer made me one hell of an offer.”

“I bet he did.”

“He wanted me to bring the title with me.”

“What the Hell…”

“I said no. I’m around for the next show and willing to do whatever is necessary.”

“Thanks kid.”

“Errr, I’m older than you I think.”

“Gotcha,”I replied disinterestedly. “Thanks old man.”

Damn USPW. Damn Packer and damn this industry. Roger wasn’t the only one either. Other champions from around the country had been signed to contracts. A lame attempt to devalue our titles. Well the jokes on him, our titles are fairly meaningless already.

Oh wait.

We had one show to get the title off our youngest and most charismatic star. We had to find his replacement too. Luckily I was brought here for my creative talents. Sort of. Well, that’s why they thought they’d hire me.

I found an awesome wrestling website which kept me up-to-date with the latest news from the world of wrestling. Sam Keith had accepted a contract with Pittsburgh Steel Wrestling, which further solidified the COTT. Japanese legend Elemental announced his plans to retire and move away from the sport and USPW, not content with stealing Roger also signed Nelson Callum, Greg Black and Donnie J. I crossed out their names from the ‘maybe hire’ list. How annoying.

In other news, Jonnie Perez, brother of Frankie, won the Xtreme Title in CZCW. Good for him. He wasn’t the kind of guy we’d be going for, but I’m always happy to see the future of pro wrestling take the necessary steps.

On the eve of my first big show, I walked backstage and did a quick meet and greet with all the workers old and new. What I saw was a mock court setup with Steve Flash, the only Grand Slam winner in NYCW history as the judge. One of our new guys, the awesomely talented Ernest Youngman was sentenced to buying beers for all the guys after the show for his hand in making the mess. I was worried he was about to be upset, but he laughed it and promised to behave better.

It was time for the show.

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Welcome to New York 1: Rebirth

Sunday, Week 2, January, 2016

The Ministry, Queens, New York City, New York

Attendance: 1,000 (SOLD OUT!)</div>

Roger Cage grabbed his title and as his music started to play, he nodded at the other guys and strutted out from behind the curtain, microphone in hand.

“Hello dudes and dudettes of New York City, it is I, the legend Roger Cage. I don’t have a match tonight, but I’m feeling frisky, if you know what I mean. So I’ll accept a challenge from anyone new and show why I’m the main man.”

Some very funky music plays and someone dressed like a pimp returns to NYCW to a rapturous applause.

“That’s right fools, Grandmaster Phunk has returned! I thought I’d swing by to see you all. Still as ugly and useless as always.”

Crowd boos

“I’m back for the gold, cos a pimp always needs more… Bling! But I know what it’s like in NYC, so I’ve brought some backup.”

Two men slide into the ring behind Roger Cage and deliver a beatdown. Once he’s unconscious, the larger of the men grabs a microphone.

“The name’s Nate DeMarcus, and this here is my boy Curtis Shaw. Phunk brought us here to dominate. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Cos we’re the Harlem Profits!”

(D-)

And thus we set out our stall for the year ahead with a new stable. Losing Cage is a blow, but Phunk should fill the gap nicely until we’re able to reach regional and find ourselves a franchise player.

TAG TEAM TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: Steve Flash and Logan Wolfsbaine defeated Brutus Milano and Austin Smooth and Curtis Shaw and Nate DeMarcus in 7:59; the order of elimination was Brutus Milano and William Jetterson first, and then Curtis Shaw and Nate DeMarcus. (E+)

And starting as we mean to go on, with the Harlem profits having bad chemistry. Fantastic. This would require some further though.

NYCW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Southern Stars © defeated The Boys From The Yukon in 10:05 when Animal Harker defeated Whitehorse Whittaker by pinfall with a Texas Meat-Grinder. (E+)

Need to build up our tag team division, so we’d focus on a triple threat feud between the Southern Stars, the Harlem Profits (maybe) and The Ring Generals.

ANGLE: The Southern Stars cut a promo hyping their upcoming match with The Ring Generals. (D-)

We’ve added young Texan Joffy Laine to the Southern Stars as a mouthpiece. We’ve also renamed him Joffy Pinkerton and given him a cowboy hat. Because he’s a Southerner and we’re in New York. Stereotypes for the win.

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE FOURWAY MATCH: Ernest Youngman defeated Crockett Tubbs ©, Andrew Harper and The New York Doll in 10:23 when Ernest Youngman defeated Crockett Tubbs by pinfall with The Hit. Ernest Youngman wins the NYCW Tri-State Regional title. (D)

Hot shot the title off of someone we don’t like, to someone we plan to push. Ernest carried the match, which is what he should get used to doing for the next year.

ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith cuts a promo saying that once he’s done with Dishonest Frank, he’ll face the winner tonight’s title match. (D-)

SINGLES MATCH: Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Honest Frank in 13:19 by pinfall, illegally using the ropes for leverage. (D)

Wanted Bulldozer to beat Frank at his own game to show that he’s savvy.

TAG TEAM MATCH: The Ring Generals defeated Old School Principals in 10:12 when Dean Waldorf defeated The Masked Mauler by pinfall with a Wheelbarrow Bomb. (D-)

Ring Generals get the win to build momentum. Old School Principals are way past their prime, so will be used to get over the newer teams.

SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure defeated Joffy Pinkerton in 9:59 by pinfall, illegally using the ropes for leverage after interference from the Harlem Profits. (E+)

ANGLE: Roger Cage cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Grandmaster Phunk. (C-)

NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Grandmaster Phunk defeated Roger Cage © in 22:34 by pinfall with a Phunkensteiner. Grandmaster Phunk wins the NYCW Empire title. (D+)

And thus we find a suitable replacement for Cage and set our stall out for the next few months. Bulldozer chasing Phunk for the title.

OVERALL: D-

Pretty good show all in all, happy with the majority of the debuts, especially Logan Wolfsbaine whose gimmick is legendary. He’s got a bright future ahead for sure.

We had a look at the Harlem Profits and decided Nate DeMarcus was the keeper, so we fired Curtis Shaw and brought in a suitable replacement. Crockett Tubbs was also released. Our colour man Ernie Turner signed a PPA with RIPW, who also sent Primus Allen up to the main roster. Elsewhere MAW held their annual Rip Chord Invitational Tournament, which was won by the terribly-named Cheetah Boy.

At the end of the month, the ratings were in and we’d finished last to PSW, MAW and RIPW in the regional battles, which made us look like a bunch of nobodies. Combine that with our awful production values and we really were easy to overlook. At least we lost $4,587.

Next time on Welcome to New York… The territories come into play…

Jon The GOAT · May 2, 2018

As a guy whose been playing with MAW and dealing with stolen stars and the COTT (but a smaller bank account, just 100K) I'm instantly sold on this thread. I'll admit, I'll probably have a perverse joy since your guys picked up every so often.

The shitty ratings thanks to production values suck but odds are you probably aren't going to match RIPW. It'll be interesting to see if you say **** it and have weeklies ahead of having a TV show or if you'll stick to the monthlies.

I'd say you probably used way too many guys lol. With MAW I stuck to about 14 guys per show but again - smaller bank account.

Greg, Bulldozer, Ernest, Logan are all awesome. Hoping to see Ring Generals get a push. Love them.

Anyways, looking forward to the next update

TCP1 · May 2, 2018

Welcome to New York… where we try to rinse our alliance in order to boost our popularity. What else are friends for?

February started with Mario Heroic returning to wrestling. We pinged him an email and were told, politely, to scram. Over in Pittsburgh, PSW held Night of Combat 1 where Ernest Youngman lost his National Title to JD Morgan. No doubt a shot at us. But we had to focus on ourselves before we turned our attention to destroying them. Before Welcome to New York 2, Bulldozer and Ernest became friends and lifted the locker room while Howlin Mad Mort was brought before wrestler’s court and judge Steve Flash for making a mess. I love professional wrestling.

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Welcome to New York 2: Friends to the South

Sunday, Week 2, February, 2016

The Ministry, Queens, New York City, New York

Attendance: 1,000 (SOLD OUT!)</div>

OPENING TRIPLE THREAT TAG TEAM MATCH: Harlem Profits (Nate DeMarcus and Donte Dunn) defeated Old School Principals and The Boys From The Yukon in 7:38; the order of elimination was The Boys From The Yukon first, and then Old School Principals. (E)

We found a replacement for Curtis Shaw and they didn’t suck as a team. They didn’t have chemistry either, but we’ll take no loss as a win.

ANGLE: Harlem Profits cut a promo demanding a match with The Southern Stars for all the bling. (D-)

Grandmaster Phunk continues to pay for himself by carrying the new guys in promo land.

TAG TEAM MATCH: Logan Wolfsbaine and Steve Flash defeated The New York Doll and Austin Smooth in 7:43 when Logan Wolfsbaine defeated Austin Smooth by submission with a Boston Crab. (D)

Another win for the vet/rookie combination and Austin Smooth was off his game again. He probably should be careful about that. I know no one likes to lose, but he should still be bringing his a-game.

ANGLE: Fro Sure cuts a promo saying he wants a shot at Ernest Youngman and the Tri-State Title. (E)

Not the best promo in the world, but we’d put that down to the fact he still needs some exposure in the Tri-State region.

SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure defeated Joffy Pinkerton in 8:01 by count out. (D-)

A win, but also a result which keeps Joffy a little relevant. I don’t really have anything for him to do at the moment, but I don’t want to bury him either.

ANGLE: The Southern Stars cut a promo hyping their upcoming match with The Ring Generals and how they’re about to take the COTT World Tag Team Titles to add to their collection back home on the farm in Tennessee. (D-)

COTT AND NYCW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Southern Stars © defeated The Ring Generals © in 12:43 when Tennessee William defeated Marv Statler by pinfall with a Texas Meat-Grinder after Joffy Pinkerton interfered. The Southern Stars win the COTT World Tag Team titles. (D-)

I wanted to keep the title picture clear as I could and the fact both these teams are face means that the better story currently involves the Harlem Profits.

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Ernest Youngman © defeated Brutus Milano and Andrew Harper in 9:48 when Ernest Youngman defeated Brutus Milano by pinfall with The Hit. (D-)

Standard ‘establish the champion as a fighter’ match. Andrew Harper wasn’t too happy though. Unfortunately for him, Ernest is the man.

ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith cuts a promo saying that he’ll be facing Grandmaster Phunk at Rush Hour in a month, but for now he’s going to beat Honest Frank again, only this time he’ll do it the ‘right way.’ (D+)

SINGLES MATCH: Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Honest Frank in 7:49 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver. (D)

Building up the challenger. Frank wouldn’t be happy with continuous losses, but with his decline in performance due to age, his time as a focal point was at an end.

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk congratulates Bulldozer Brandon Smith on his win and he looks forward to destroying him at Rush Hour. But for now he had some overgrown lunk from South of the Border to beat! His title would be on the line, because to make Bling, you gotta spend Bling! (C-)

He is spectacular on the microphone.

COTT WORLD AND NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Grandmaster Phunk © defeated Nicolas Lopez © in 22:48 by pinfall with a Phunkensteiner. Grandmaster Phunk wins the COTT World Heavyweight title. (D)

Actually disappointed in this one. I expected a loaned talent as good as Lopez to deliver, but he was off his game. Still, it did what it needed to and Phunk becomes a unified champion.

OVERALL: D-

Another solid show which gains us popularity. We discovered after the show that Logan Wolfsbaine had started dating free agent Venus Angeletti, which was good to know for a later date. And NYCW Hall of Famer Wiley Steinway was hanging up his boots. He sent him a nice card.

In terms of our monthly performance we finished last, again and managed to lose $8,201. Deciding to follow Phunk’s adage of spending bling to make bling. We upped our production values, notably our music department. And you know what that means; ENTRANCE MUSIC.

Ernest Youngman – We’re An American Band (Grand Funk Railroad)

Grandmaster Phunk, Harlem Profits and Fro Sure – Mama Said Knock You Out (LL Cool J)

Andrew Harper – Homecoming (Kanye West)

Brutus Milano – The Godfather Theme

Steve Flash – Flash Gordon Theme

Bulldozer Brandon Smith – Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen)

Honest Frank – My Way (Frank Sinatra)

Animal Harker, Tennessee William, Joffy Laine – Blaze of Glory (Bon Jovi)

The Boys from the Yukon – The Lumberjack Song

Old School Principals – No music (old school after all)

The Ring Generals – The Final Countdown (Europe)

Logan Wolfsbaine – All Along the Watchtower (Jimmy Hendrix)

New York Doll – Hey Ho, Let’s Go (The Ramones)

Austin Smooth – Smooth (Rob Thomas and Carlos Santana)

Having done that, we then gave Bulldozer Brandon Smith a pay rise of $80 and prepared for one of our Big Four shows… Rush Hour 2016.

Next time on Welcome to New York… Rush Hour 2016…

TCP1 · May 3, 2018

Welcome to New York… Where the old school not only lives, but thrives

So having looked at the books and done some maths, if we were going to remain competitive AND not go bankrupt, we’d have to trim the fat a little. But first we had a big show to do.

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Rush Hour 2016

Sunday, Week 2, March, 2016

The Ministry, Queens, New York City, New York

Attendance: 1,000 (SOLD OUT!)</div>

OPENING TRIPLE THREAT TAG TEAM MATCH: Harlem Profits defeated The Ring Generals and Old School Principals in 10:09; the order of elimination was Old School Principals first, and then The Ring Generals. (D-)

And with this, the Harlem Profits announce themselves properly into the mix for the titles. The Southern Stars were already in action later, but now we had three teams with decent momentum. The Ring Generals were good enough to bounce back from this if necessary.

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Bulldozer Brandon Smith. ©

I wonder if I should just have Phunk do all the promos for all workers.

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: Honest Frank defeated Brutus Milano and Logan Wolfsbaine in 7:56 when Honest Frank defeated Brutus Milano by pinfall with a Frank-N-Hurter. (E+)

Wanted to give the old boy a win to cheer him up. Also made sure that Logan wasn’t pinned too as I wanted him to organically move up the card.

ANGLE: The Southern Stars cut a promo saying once they’d dealt with hairy weirdos from up North, they’d happily give the Harlem Profits a shot at some gold. (D)

NYCW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Southern Stars © defeated The Boys From The Yukon in 8:02 when Animal Harker defeated Whitehorse Whittaker by pinfall with a Texas Meat-Grinder. (D-)

Thus we blow off the North/South story. I don’t really like the Boys from the Yukon and can’t see how they possibly fit into the new-look NYCW.

ANGLE: Ernest Youngman cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Fro Sure and warned him against trying anything dishonest. He’s a man and expects his opponents to be the same. (D)

I think I might have a little crush on Ernest. He’s everything I want to be.

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Ernest Youngman © defeated Fro Sure in 12:32 by pinfall after using a foreign object dropped by Grandmaster Phunk. (D)

Well, my main man Ernest did warn him, but he wouldn’t listen. I’m a little disappointed in the match, but I’m pretty sure it’s Fro Sure’s fault.

ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Grandmaster Phunk. It’s time he fulfilled his destiny and became the second NYCW Grand Slam winner. (C-)

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: Steve Flash defeated Andrew Harper and The New York Doll in 8:26 when Steve Flash defeated The New York Doll by pinfall, illegally using the ropes for leverage. (D-)

Wanted to keep Flash strong as our transitional top-flight face. Plus Harper was starting to irritate me a bit and Doll is a perennial loser.

SINGLES MATCH: Joffy Pinkerton defeated William Jetterson in 5:54 by pinfall after using a foreign object. (D-)

Welcome to New York, William ‘Cobra’ Jetterson. Yes he brings a snake with him to the ring, yes he’s a rip-off of Jake the Snake and yes he needs to pay his dues.

ANGLE: A video plays hyping Grandmaster Phunk vs. Bulldozer Brandon Smith. (D)

COTT WORLD TITLE & NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Grandmaster Phunk © defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith in 31:35 by pinfall with a Phunkensteiner following interference from the Harlem Profits. (D)

Dammit, I wanted better. Bulldozer barely edged out Phunk in performance, but neither man really delivered the goods.

ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith is being attacked by the Harlem Profits. Seeing the assault, Steve Flash comes running in and fights them both off, saving Bulldozer from a serious beating. (E+)

And thus we move someone new into the title picture. Bad segment though.

OVERALL: D-

Even with the boost to our production values, this was not a great show and all but guaranteed us a last place finish again. It’s almost like the universe wants to make it impossible for us to progress. The day after Rush Hour, Phunk travelled to Canada to lose his COTT World Title to Lightning Lomas. Meanwhile, we totally forgot that Whitehorse Whittaker’s contract was expiring, so he’s gone. He immediately re-signed Animal Harker with a $40 raise. And finally we lost $4,495 for the month, which wasn’t too bad at all.

Time to spend some more.

Next time on Welcome to New York… One of our midcarders goes berserk…

TCP1 · May 3, 2018

Welcome to New York… where our midcarders either love or hate our colour commentators.

So before Welcome to New York 3 we received word that Andrew Harper had beaten up Ernie Turner. We didn’t stand for that nonsense, especially from an underperforming midcarder with no direction. Larry’s son Cameron re-signed with BHOTWG. Fro Sure left GSW after a fallout over money. Fine by us.

So we fined Harper and he become even more unhappy. What on Earth did he expect?

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Welcome to New York 3: Bulldozer vs. Phunk II

Sunday, Week 2, April, 2016

The Ministry, Queens, New York City, New York

Attendance: 1,000 (SOLD OUT!)</div>

OPENING TRIPLE THREAT TAG TEAM MATCH: The Ring Generals defeated Old School Principals and Brutus Milano and Howlin' Mad Mort in 8:10; the order of elimination was Old School Principals first, and then Brutus Milano and Howlin' Mad Mort. (E+)

Yeesh, no chemistry with Mort and Milano. Eurgh, why can I never seem to get good chemistry notes?

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming rematch with Bulldozer Brandon Smith. Apparently he’ll give him one last shot before moving onto the next chump! ©

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: The New York Doll defeated Joffy Pinkerton and William Jetterson in 7:46 when The New York Doll defeated William Jetterson by pinfall with a Punk-N-Nasty. (D-)

So the perennial loser gets a win. Not because that’s what I had planned, but because I accidentally wrote his name as winner instead of Joffy. Still, he seemed over the moon with the result.

ANGLE: Honest Frank cuts a promo saying he’s on a roll (one win) and is going to use that momentum to take the Tri-State title off Ernest Youngman. (D)

Good luck with that old man.

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Ernest Youngman © defeated Honest Frank in 8:17 by pinfall with The Hit. During the match we also had Fro Sure run in and attack Youngman. (D)

You see, Ernest is such a man that he can brush off interference to retain his title. I’m pretty sure he’s single. What a guy!

ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Grandmaster Phunk. It’s time to fulfil his destiny… properly this time. (D+)

NYCW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Harlem Profits defeated The Southern Stars © in 10:14 when Donte Dunn defeated Tennessee William by submission after Animal Harker accidentally went berserk and knocked out his own partner. (D)

Aaand we pull the trigger on the titles. We have a plan for these teams and the titles. A long term plan, one which should culminate at Big City Showdown in December. What do you reckon the chances are it actually works.

ANGLE: After the match, Joffy goes mad at Harker, blaming him for the loss, but Tennnessee William steps in to tell him ‘this is what happens when animal gets too angry.’ (D-)

SINGLES MATCH: Logan Wolfsbaine defeated Andrew Harper in 3:02 by submission with a Boston Crab. (E)

And that ladies and gentlemen, is a burial. Don’t anger your bosses folks.

SINGLES MATCH: Steve Flash drew with Fro Sure in 9:51 following a double disqualification after Ernest Youngman and the Harlem Profits interfered. (D-)

Actually a great result for Fro Sure, plus it ties multiple storylines together.

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk comes down to the ring, he’s ready to send Bulldozer back to the biker park with the rest of the white trash. (D+)

NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Grandmaster Phunk in 27:50 by count out. (D+)

That’s more like it. Bulldozer gets the win, but Phunk keeps the title. Sets us up nicely for a rubber match for the gold.

OVERALL: D-

Oh good grief, will we ever get out of D- purgatory? We fired Andrew Harper and made sure to fine Dean Waldorf for being late. He accepted the fine, improved his behaviour and was happy about it. Good lad. We also let Austin Smooth go, because we’d forgotten about him entirely. Whoops.

We decided to start working on expanding ourselves to another region and to build a base outside of the Tri-State, so next time we’ll launch our first ‘Traditional Tour’ event in New England.

All because RIPW became hostile towards us.

Next time on Welcome to New York… Our first non-Tri-State show…

MisterRomanini · May 3, 2018

Just stumbled at this dynasty and I'm intrigued about where will you take NYCW.

In my opinion, you should give the belt to Austin Smooth - great worker at this stage, still has popularity low enough to not be immediately grabbed by the big ones and, c'mon... his theme song is Grammy-Award Winning 1999 Hit Smooth By Santana Feat. Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

TCP1 · May 3, 2018

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="MisterRomanini" data-cite="MisterRomanini" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45361" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>In my opinion, you should give the belt to Austin Smooth - great worker at this stage, still has popularity low enough to not be immediately grabbed by the big ones and, c'mon... his theme song is Grammy-Award Winning 1999 Hit Smooth By Santana Feat. Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty</div></blockquote> This did not work out, as you may tell from the complete re-write of the shows above and beyond. Austin Smooth does not last long anymore.

TCP1 · May 4, 2018

Welcome to New York… Where we’ll spend every penny of Larry’s money just to make the smallest amount of progress.

Tennessee William’s contract was up, so he got a small raise and pat on the back. Cueball Lynch sadly passed away, while Dan Stone, George DeColt, Larry Wood, Marcus McKing, Razor Valentine, and Eve Grunge all retired. Jay Chord, son of the legendary Rip Chord began renegotiating his contract with TCW and our very own Masked Mauler took Logan Wolfsbaine on as a protégé. You see, we’re like a family. A family of violent lunatics.

On to New England…

NYCW Traditional Tour

Sunday, Week 3, April, 2016

Biker’s Paradise, Boston, New England

Attendance: 207

OPENING MATCH: Fro Sure defeated Logan Wolfsbaine in 8:18 by pinfall with a Sure Thing after Ernest Youngman accidentally hit Wolfsbaine. (D-)

Ally yourself with Masked Mauler, immediately start losing. Decent match though. Poor Logan, only lost because of our other golden boy.

ANGLE: Ernest Youngman cuts a promo saying New England may not know his history with Fro Sure, but basically, they hate each other. (D)

Simple and effective.

NYCW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Harlem Profits © defeated The Ring Generals in 9:44 when Donte Dunn defeated Marv Statler by submission after interference from Grandmaster Phunk. (D-)

Establishing the Harlem Profits as an actual threat.

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Ernest Youngman © defeated William Jetterson in 9:59 by pinfall with The Hit. (D)

Ernest is our hero. We want to make sweaters out of his belly button fluff.

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk has heard the people saying he can’t beat Bulldozer without outside help. That’s bad for his brand. So he’ll face him, one last time. In a cage. At Gang Wars. Time to put up or shut-up. (C-)

SINGLES MATCH: Steve Flash defeated The New York Doll in 5:56 by pinfall with a Flash Bang. (D)

No booking mistakes this time. Sorry Doll.

SINGLES MATCH: Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Rick Sanders in 7:42 by pinfall with a Tombstone Piledriver. (D)

Old School Principals continue to be jobbers to the stars and they do a pretty poor job of it. At least their expensive. Eurgh.

ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith is going do to Grandmaster Phunk, what he just did to Sanders. At Gang Wars, they settle the score. (D+)

NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Grandmaster Phunk © defeated Animal Harker in 12:06 by pinfall with a Phunkensteiner following botched interference by Tennessee William. (D)

Phunk gets the win, Tennessee accidentally hits his partner. Decent little match between the two of them actually.

OVERALL: D-

Of course it was. We came last in all regional battles AGAIN, and lost $25,565 to boot. That’s how we do that. Rick Sanders and Honest Frank each came to us separately with booking complaints, which we basically ignored. And Leftie Wilkes beat Lightning Lomas for the COTT World Title.

In SWF Rogue’s contract came up and they decided not to renew it. We called, he ignored us.

Sounds about right.

Next time on Welcome to New York… A double-header and negotiations on a big name signing…

TCP1 · May 4, 2018

Welcome to New York… We’re the big boys might one day play!

Not much happening, so we roll on the show.

NYCW Welcome to New York 4: The Road to War

Sunday, Week 2, May, 2016

The Ministry, Queens, New York City, New York

Attendance: 1,000 (SOLD OUT!)

OPENING TAG TEAM MATCH: Steve Flash and Logan Wolfsbaine defeated Old School Principals in 9:50 when Logan Wolfsbaine defeated Rick Sanders by submission with a Boston Crab. (D)

How’s the booking there Mr. Sanders?

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming cage match with Bulldozer Brandon Smith. There will be blood! ©

Hmmm, he went off script a bit there, there probably won’t be blood.

SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure defeated Joffy Pinkerton in 7:46 by pinfall with a Sure Thing. During the match we also had Ernest Youngman run in and attack Fro Sure. (D-)

Hey look at that, Fro Sure is becoming more of man and dealing with Ernest’s attacks too. I mean, he’s still no Ernest, but his performances are getting better.

COTT WORLD & NYCW TAG TEAM TITLES: The Southern Stars © defeated Harlem Profits © in 11:45 when Tennessee William defeated Donte Dunn by pinfall with a Devil's Crossroad following interference from Howlin Mad Mort. The Southern Stars win the NYCW Tag Team titles. (D-)

That’s right folks, the Southern Stars are back on the same page, and are once again the unified World Tag Team Champions. As for Howlin Mad Mort, what does he want?

ANGLE: Ernest Youngman cuts a promo saying that he’s considering giving Fro Sure another shot at the title. (C-)

Good promo. Seriously is there anything this man can’t do?

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Ernest Youngman © defeated William Jetterson in 9:41 by pinfall with The Hit. During the match we also had Fro Sure run in and attack Youngman. (C-)

After Fro Sure’s interference, Ernest clocks him and laughs before finishing off the Cobra. He isn’t even scared at William’s pet snake being unleashed on the ring.

TAG TEAM MATCH: The Ring Generals defeated Brutus Milano and The New York Doll in 6:26 when Dean Waldorf defeated Brutus Milano by pinfall with a Wheelbarrow Bomb. (E+)

Rebuilding another tag team for the conclusion of the Southern Stars/Harlem Profits match.

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk comes out to call out Howlin' Mad Mort. Apparently Mort wants a shot at the title. Phunk is just mad enough to accept. (D-)

NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Grandmaster Phunk defeated Howlin' Mad Mort in 8:30 by pinfall with a Phunkensteiner. (D-)

Not a great single showing for the remaining lumberjack. How disappointing.

ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming cage match with Grandmaster Phunk. (D+)

SINGLES MATCH: Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Honest Frank in 22:25 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver. After the match we had Grandmaster Phunk run in and attack Bulldozer. (D+)

Silly Frank. Never complain, just do your job, which in this case was THE job. Good match though.

OVERALL: D-

No comment.

Also, no news, so onto New England we go on the final stop before Gang Wars.

NYCW Traditional Tour

Sunday, Week 3, April, 2016

Biker’s Paradise, Boston, New England

Attendance: 216

OPENING NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Rick Sanders defeated Ernest Youngman © in 5:49 by disqualification after Fro Sure ran in and attacked Youngman. (D+)

There you go, you ridiculous man. You got a win over the golden boy. Now shut up!

ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming cage match with Grandmaster Phunk. (C-)

It’s repetitive, but it’s doing the job.

SINGLES MATCH: Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Fro Sure in 5:55 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver following interference from Ernest Youngman. (D-)

Well of course they don’t click. Why would they? Still, Ernest gets his revenge.

NYCW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Southern Stars © defeated Howlin' Mad Mort and Honest Frank in 7:30 when Tennessee William defeated Howlin' Mad Mort by pinfall with a Texas Meat-Grinder. (D-)

Another poor showing by Mort and Frank adds another L. Yeah so what if I’m feeling vindictive.

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming cage match with Bulldozer Brandon Smith. ©

It’s like being in some weird vortex of continuous promos.

NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Grandmaster Phunk © defeated Joffy Pinkerton in 8:16 by pinfall with a Phunkensteiner. (D)

Building momentum and giving another midcarder a chance to impress. Joffy did ok.

SINGLES MATCH: Logan Wolfsbaine defeated The Masked Mauler in 8:01 by submission with a Boston Crab after blatantly cheating. (D-)

He’s learnt from his master how to cheat. No chemistry notes though, which is a real shame.

MAIN EVENT: Steve Flash defeated Dean Waldorf in 22:38 by pinfall with a Flash Bang. (D-)

Needed a main event, these two stepped in. The results were… ok.

OVERALL: E+

Yuck. Worst show to date. Fortunately this was New England, so it still boosted our popularity.

Before Gang Wars we decided to reduce the roster having lost $26,154. So goodbye to:

Howlin Mad Mort

Rick Sanders

Honest Frank

Across the world a tsunami devastated Japan, which is bad, but in even worse news we came last in all our regional battles. Man Mountain Cahill, Elemental and Dick the Devastator all announced they were retiring. Dean Waldorf re-signed with us for a little more money, Fro Sure and Masked Mauler are now friends (clever boy that Mauler, making nice with all the top youngsters) and Logan Wolfsbaine’s attitude was infectiously awesome.

Then we received word about a new signing, one who just might change the landscape of the scene in unimaginable ways.

Next time on Welcome to New York… Gang Wars, and he arrives…

TCP1 · May 4, 2018

Secret COTT Headquarters…

The meeting room was busier than normal, what with all the new members we had taken in and a heated discussion was taking place.

“While we’re discussing the titles Larry, care to explain what the HELL the deal was with moving the titles exlusively onto your boys?” snapped Sam Keith.

“Yeah I’d love to. This idiot,” he said directly to Joaquin Soler (owner of OLLIE). “He changed the tag titles from the established team of the Ring Generals to some thrown together rubbish. He’s disrespecting the alliance.”

“You’re just annoyed cos your boys lost,” sniped Mitch Naess (owner of PSW).

“You’re damn right I am,” he spat back. “There are plenty of ways to end the match without switching the title.”

“So you send your boys out there to run us down in front of ze dozen people who watch your shows?” sneered Soler.

“They were just words,” said Vessey. "I'll happy show you how I feel in person"

He was fired up and I didn’t blame him. Soler had pulled a fast one and Naess had been playing bitchy mcsnipe throughout the whole meeting. The two had history of course, always playing a game of one-upmanship in the Tri-State region. Their entry to COTT was always going to cause problems.

“Well I don’t see what the problem is,” said Naess. “The Generals were happy to lay down, there really was no need…”

“You’re new here,” interrupted Larry. “So let me spell out a few things. This isn’t the old days, when you were part of a relevant wrestling promotion…”

“That’s enough!” snapped Keith. “Stop it, both of you. This is a confederation and I will not tolerate in-fighting. We’ve got enough problems with Packer as it is.”

“Vhat problems,” said the enormous man in the corner.

“He wants to put us all out of business,” replied Sam. “And it’s nice to see you do speak Mr. Puerto Rican Power. Do you have an actual name I can address you by?”

“No,” he replied.

“I see. Well fine, welcome to the COTT and hopefully you will be part of a long-standing tradition of mutual help for us independent promoters.”

“Yes,” said Power. “Although we did not have much choice. Running a business in Puerto Rico is not easy.”

“Why don’t you branch out a bit?” said Naess. “California is nice.”

“Don’t you drag us into it,” replied Cliff Anderson. “You concentrate on co-existing with your best buddies over there and leave the West Coast alone.”

Naess smirked. I didn’t like him one bit, but it made good business sense to paly nice.

“With USPW in mind, has anyone had any further dealings with them?”

“You mean other than them stealing our Empire Champion,” said Larry.

“Did anyone even notice he was gone?” Naess laughed.

Larry leapt across the table, but the blonde guy with a black beard called Teddy Powell intercepted him. Naess continued to laugh. I rolled my eyes.

“You better take your hands off me Teddy,” said Larry. “I may be older, but I can actually wrestle.”

“Calm down man,” said Teddy. “There’s no need to fight.”

Naess stood up.

“We’re in Sam, for all this. But I am going to single-handedly make it my business to put this chump out of business.”

With that Teddy let go of Larry and left with his boss.

“So,” said Larry once he’d regained his compsure. “I vote to remove PSW from the COTT.”

“That,” replied Sam. “Is not going to happen. You just need to find a way to co-exist. Meeting adjourned.”

In the hallway out of the building, Larry grabbed my arm.

“Kid, I don’t care how you do it, but we are going to run that swine out of business. Spend all the money you want, burn all the bridges. Nothing is off limits. Take em down. Bring *him* in if you have too?”

"You sure boss? The things I've heard about his backstage behaviour... not to mention his price."

"Just do it!"

I nodded.

Next time on Welcome to New York… Cometh the hour...

TCP1 · May 8, 2018

Welcome to New York… Cometh the man... It’s time…

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Gang Wars

Saturday, Week 2, June, 2016

The Ministry, Queens, New York City, New York

Attendance: 1,000 (SOLD OUT!)</div>

OPENING GANG WARS MATCH: Steve Flash and The Ring Generals defeated Brutus Milano, The Masked Mauler and The New York Doll in 21:22 when Dean Waldorf defeated The New York Doll by pinfall with a Waldorf Salad Toss. (D)

Solid opener with the right team winning.

SINGLES MATCH: Logan Wolfsbaine defeated William Jetterson in 7:38 by pinfall while using the ropes for leverage. (D+)

Hell of a match from two of our young stars. This was no chemistry too. Perhaps we should consider a feud for them both? Or more likely, completely forget.

GANG WARS MATCH: Fro Sure and Harlem Profits defeated Ernest Youngman and The Southern Stars in 17:48 when Donte Dunn defeated Tennessee William by pinfall following Animal Harker knocking out his own partner. (D)

Poor Animal Harker, he’s just so clumsy. They can afford the loss and Ernest was kept strong and beautiful to boot. I do love multi-storyline matches.

ANGLE: A video plays with a countdown clock… 30 minutes to go. (C+)

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming cage match with Bulldozer Brandon Smith. Apparently the red neck will never be Grand Slam champion and he might as well forfeit now. ©

CAGE MATCH FOR NYCW EMPIRE TITLE: In a 23-minute epic, Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Grandmaster Phunk in a Cage match in 22:41 by bloodying his opponent, climbing the cage and falling to the floor. The crowd went berserk. (D+)

ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith is celebrating his victory in the ring. Steve Flash, Logan Wolfsbaine and the Ring Generals applaud him from the rampway. Just then, the countdown clock counts down from 10. Everybody stops to watch as it hits zero, the lights go out and Knights of Cydonia blaws over the speakers. The lights come back on and behind Bulldozer is a man in an ornate robe, covered in jewells. Bulldozer turns and is smashed with a cradle piledriver. He grabs a microphone…

“Ladies and gentlemen of New York City… welcome to the JAY CHORD ERA! (C-)

OVERALL: D

That’s right, the son of the legendary Rip Chord signed a PPA contract with TCW, so we swooped in and grabbed him. He’s not all that liked backstage, but he is far and away the biggest star we have. Not only was his arrival a secret, his gimmick is legendary and because of him we came second in the Mid-Atlantic, defeating his dad’s old company MAW. And while we did lose $10k, we also…

Hit Regional!

Suck on that COTT.

Next time on Welcome to New York… The Jay Chord Era has begun…

TCP1 · May 8, 2018

Welcome to New York… Where we hit regional, with half our starting funds and start spending like maniacs to sign-up every hot free agent on the market…

Heading into Welcome to New York 5, we were able to run Pennsylvania Park in Brooklyn, which was a lovely bonus of hitting regional. We had to sign more workers so we didn’t seem amateurish, which seems fair.

Before the show, William Jetterson cooked a lovely BBQ for everyone. What a champ, or was he worried he was going to be further lost in the shuffle?

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Welcome to New York 5: The Jay Chord Era

Sunday, Week 2, July, 2016

Pennysylvania Park, Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Attendance: 1,994 (ohhh so close)</div>

OPENING TAG TEAM MATCH: Logan Wolfsbaine and Joffy Pinkerton defeated The Masked Mauler and William Jetterson in 7:36 when Logan Wolfsbaine defeated William Jetterson by submission with a Boston Crab. (D)

Standard opening tag match to get the youngsters on the card. No chemistry notes though.

ANGLE: Jay Chord is out to cut a promo about how lucky they all are to be in his presence (he’s not wrong). He’s here for one reason, gold! He has a legacy to live up to and that starts tonight. So Bulldozer Brandon Smith better lace up his boots, because “it’s time!” (B-)

Blimey, this guy really is as good as we thought. But can he back it up in the ring?

COTT WORLD & NYCW TAG TEAM TITLES: Harlem Profits defeated The Southern Stars © in 12:05 when Nate DeMarcus defeated Tennessee William by pinfall while using the ropes for leverage. Harlem Profits win the COTT World Tag Team titles. Harlem Profits win the NYCW Tag Team titles. (D-)

Round and round we go, on the longest thought out and planned feud in our short history.

ANGLE: After the match Animal Harker and Tennessee William argue. Then Tennessee William says something that Harker doesn't like, and they start arguing. After some more heated words, Tennessee William challenges Harker to meet him in the ring for a match. Opting to settle things, the Tennessee way, with their fists. (D-)

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: Ernest Youngman © defeated Brutus Milano and The New York Doll in 3:37 when Ernest Youngman defeated Brutus Milano by pinfall with The Hit. (D+)

Great match, almost entirely carried on Ernest’s broad, masculine shoulders.

ANGLE: Flash is out to say, he doesn’t care if you’re the son of a legend, all roads in New York go through him. So if there’s any other new guys who want a spot, now’s the time. Seek and Destroy blares by Iggy Pop and out comes Thom ‘Guide’ Barrowman. (C-)

SINGLES MATCH: Thom Barrowman defeated Steve Flash in 12:48 by pinfall with a Guided Missile. (D+)

That’s right, not just Jay Chord, but Guide too. We were definitely going to go broke, but we’d be the hottest indy in the world when we did.

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk is annoyed at Chord stealing his rematch, but like Flash he announces that he has decided to give some local talent a chance to shine tonight… Monday Night Football Theme plays and out comes… Ross Henry. (C+)

SINGLES MATCH: Ross Henry defeated Grandmaster Phunk in 10:14 by pinfall with an Earthquake Powerslam. (C-)

Boom! Seriously though, these guys are so expensive. But judging by the start, they’re worth every penny.

SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure defeated Marv Statler in 6:16 by pinfall with a Sure Thing after Grandmaster Phunk interfered. After the match we also had Ernest Youngman run in and attack Fro Sure. (E+)

The longest brewing rematch in history continues. Will they ever fight one-on-one again? Probably not.

SINGLES MATCH: Greg Gauge defeated Dean Waldorf in 7:17 by submission with a Proton Lock after blatantly cheating. (D)

Aaaaand we have another new guy. Greg Gauge had been single-handedly carrying MAW on his back for months, so it was time to give him a shot at the big time. And by big time, I of course meant, equally small time. He did ok here.

ANGLE: Bulldozer Brandon Smith cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Jay Chord. He’d finally climbed the mountain and fulfilled his destiny and he wasn’t about to let a silver spoon fed chump take it from him. (C-)

Good fire shown here.

NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Jay Chord defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith © in 25:55 by pinfall with a Cradle Piledriver following interference from Greg Gauge. Jay Chord wins the NYCW Empire title. ©

Boom goes the dynamite. Turns out the silver spoon-fed chump can GO in the ring. Chord is God!

OVERALL: D+

Woo hoo!

Might as well get the title on the hottest thing in pro wrestling right now, plus knowing his history we wanted him as part of our title lineage. In fact his victory boosted the title to B+ prestige. Nice.

Now onto New England once again.

Before the show For Sure organised a videogame tournament. While Brutus Milano was hauled in front of Steve Flash and the wrestler’s court.

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Traditional Tour

Sunday, Week 3, July, 2016

Biker’s Paradise, Boston, New England

Attendance: 300 (SOLD OUT!)</div>

OPENING NYCW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Harlem Profits © drew with The Ring Generals in 4:52 following a double count out. (D-)

Wanted to keep them both strong for a bigger match down the line. I would need a new tag team soon though, I can’t keeping running the same three over and over again.

SINGLES MATCH: Logan Wolfsbaine drew with Fro Sure in 6:30 following a double count out. (D)

Another draw and a thank you to Logan for his tireless work in every show. I mean, it’s not a win, but he’s not quite there yet. Soon though. Maybe.

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Greg Gauge drew with Ernest Youngman © in 12:42 following a double count out. (C-)

These boys bring the goods and I have plans for them both in the future. Obviously Ernest is still my favourite.

SINGLES MATCH: Animal Harker drew with Tennessee William in 7:40 following a double count out after their wild brawl spilled outside. (E+)

Welcome to New York, where every match ends in a draw. Bloodied and battered they shake hands at the end. That’s how men do it.

TAG TEAM MATCH: Ross Henry and Steve Flash defeated Thom Barrowman and Grandmaster Phunk in 5:48 when Steve Flash defeated Grandmaster Phunk by pinfall with a Flash Bang. ©

Excellent chemistry from Barrowman and Phunk. Ooooo, that’s interesting to say the least. Fantastic match to boot. I love our new main event scene.

ANGLE: Jay Chord cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Bulldozer Brandon Smith. (B-)

EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Jay Chord © defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith in 21:55 by pinfall with a Cradle Piledriver. During the match we also had Greg Gauge run in and attack Bulldozer. (C-)

And that’s the exclamation point on Chord’s coronation.

ANGLE: Jay Chord grabs a mic and welcomes us to the Jay Chord Era and along with Greg Gauge, they are the Legacy of professional wrestling. (B-)

OVERALL: D

Seems an overly harsh grade right there. Still we’d moved all the pieces into place before running The King of New York tournament. We managed to lose $34,444 this month, but came second in all battles. We’re progressing.

In other news Professor Nero passed away, YEPW opens in Australia (who cares?) and over in MAW, the Harlem Profits won the Sam Keith Classic Tournament VI. That’s my boys!

So next month, we’d stop the Traditional Tour and focus our single show on qualifiers for the King of New York tournament.

Next time on Welcome to New York… The Road to the Throne begins…

TCP1 · May 8, 2018

Welcome to New York… The home of the hottest young talent in America…

No news, so it was time to organise the first round of the King of New York tournament. The big show in September would feature the final eight, so this month, we had to weed it down to eight from sixteen. Winner of the tournament would receive a shot at the Empire Title in December at Showdown in the City I.

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Welcome to New York 6: Road to the Throne

Sunday, Week 2, August, 2016

Pennysylvania Park, Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Attendance: 2,000 (SOLD OUT!)</div>

ANGLE: Jay Chord and Greg Gauge are out. They’ve only found themselves a new member of the Legacy and they want him to earn his stripes right now… out comes the son of Dan Dalay… Robin DaLay. (D+)

He’s cheap, decent and fits the story. It’s almost too perfect.

KONY QUALIFIER: Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Robin DaLay in 5:27 by pinfall with a Tombstone Piledriver. (D+)

Solid opening performance from the youngster. I was never going to give him the win here, but he held up his end of the bargain beautifully.

KONY QUALIFIER: Greg Gauge defeated Garry The Entertainer in 5:21 by submission with a Proton Lock. (D)

Testing another newcomer, he’s got bags of entertainment skill, but raw in-ring talent. Time to start developing the only way we know how. By jobbing him out to much better workers.

KONY QUALIFIER: Brutus Milano defeated Joffy Pinkerton in 5:37 by submission with an Italian Backbreaker after blatantly cheating. (D-)

That’s right everyone! Brutus Milano, jobber-to-the-stars is into the final eight of the King of New York tournament. Can you say, UNDERDOG!

KONY QUALIFIER: Ernest Youngman defeated Fro Sure in 11:07 by pinfall, illegally using the ropes for leverage. (C-)

And finally, FINALLY, these two hook it up and it goes exactly the same way as before. The main man Ernest Youngman delivers the goods, by cheating. Hey, nobody’s perfect. Good match.

KONY QUALIFIER: Grandmaster Phunk defeated Animal Harker in 6:11 by pinfall with a Phunkensteiner following botched interference by Tennessee William. (D-)

Oh dear, we have ourselves further issues with the Southern Stars. Actually a pretty underwhelming match, but it’s more about storytelling than ratings.

KONY QUALIFIER: Thom Barrowman defeated Tennessee William in 6:23 by pinfall with a Guided Missile. (C-)

Tennessee William immediately suffers at the hands of fate. I mean, it’s not like he stood a chance of getting in the way of Thom Barrowman, but at least he looked spectacular in defeat.

ANGLE: Harlem Profits cut a promo hyping their upcoming final match with The Ring Generals. “Get it done now, or go back to Maine, or wherever the Hell you’re from.” Quite right too. (D-)

NYCW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Harlem Profits © defeated The Ring Generals in 7:39 when Donte Dunn defeated Dean Waldorf by pinfall after using a foreign object. (D)

Not a great match, but a nice full stop on the three-way tag feud which has dominated the year in New York. But where next for both teams?

KONY QUALIFIER: Logan Wolfsbaine defeated The Masked Mauler in 5:46 by pinfall with a Belly To Belly Suplex. (D+)

Master vs. apprentice for the second time. Good match and it seems everything Mauler has taught Logan is paying off. Maybe I should consider tagging them up?

KONY QUALIFIER: Ross Henry defeated William Jetterson in 5:23 by pinfall with an Earthquake Powerslam. (C-)

Another fantastic singles match with absolutely the right man going over. Poor William J, he really is struggling to make a name for himself. Perhaps he needs a tag team partner in the new year too.

ANGLE: Jay Chord cuts a promo hyping up his gloriousness and that he’ll happily destroy the face of NYCW, Steve Flash tonight and twice on Sundays. (B-)

NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Jay Chord defeated Steve Flash in 22:25 by pinfall by using underhanded tactics. (C+)

WOAH! Flash brings the goods against the young upstart and delivers the best match in company history to boot. We’d have to have a rematch of this one I’d imagine. Perhaps at The King of New York event in fact.

OVERALL: D+

BEST. SHOW. EVER.

Around the area, JD Morgan and Land Mass (former Tri-State Champ) retire, while in MAW Bradley Blaze beat Greg Gauge to claim their championship in a doozy of a match. Might need to look to invest in him soon.

In terms of our performance, we came 2nd in both battles, but only lost $4,701. That’s not too bad at all.

Next time on Welcome to New York… The Inaugural King of New York tournament and we discover who’ll be fighting for the gold at Empire City Showdown…

TCP1 · May 8, 2018

Welcome to New York… Where underdogs are underdogs for a reason…

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW The King of New York

Sunday, Week 2, September, 2016

Pennysylvania Park, Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Attendance: 1,939</div>

KONY QUARTER FINAL MATCH: Ross Henry defeated Brutus Milano in 3:47 by pinfall with an Earthquake Powerslam. (D+)

Poor old Brutus Milano. Made it to the dance and is immediately destroyed by the unstoppable former football-playing God. Still, he looked decent in defeat and this is actually his best match ever, although neither man could sell for a damn. Ross Henry is through to the semi-finals to face the winner of the next match.

KONY QUARTER FINAL MATCH: Greg Gauge defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith in 5:58 by submission with a Proton Lock after interference from Jay Chord. (D+)

Poor Bulldozer. The Legacy drop the bomb on the Grand Slam winner and send him out before the semi-finals. From a storyline perspective it works, as he doesn’t quite fit into the main event currently.

KONY QUARTER FINAL MATCH: Thom Barrowman defeated Grandmaster Phunk in 6:19 by pinfall while using the ropes for leverage. (C-)

In a battle of the heels, the one-time tag team partners explode in a… frankly disappointing match. Phunk, like Bulldozer before him is not quite up there with the rest of the main event players, so will probably be scaled back in the coming months.

ANGLE: Fro Sure, who doesn’t have a match, takes time out his busy schedule to run down the talents of Ernest Youngman. He also takes a dig at Phunk’s leadership of the Harlem Profits. INTRIGUE. (D-)

KONY QUARTER FINAL MATCH: Ernest Youngman defeated Logan Wolfsbaine in 10:47 by pinfall with The Hit. ©

Boom! What a match from two of our younger starlets. Huge upsides to both of these guys and it’s now time to escalate the Wolfsbaine push I think.

NYCW TAG TEAM MATCH: Harlem Profits defeated Garry The Entertainer and Joffy Pinkerton in 5:26 when Donte Dunn defeated Garry The Entertainer by pinfall with a Sunny Daze. (D-)

Filler match to control the mood of the crowd before the big-hitting finales. No chemistry, so that’ll be the last time Joffy and Garry team up.

KONY SEMI FINAL MATCH: Ross Henry defeated Greg Gauge in 11:43 by pinfall by Earthquake Powerslam. ©

Another fantastic match in a seemingly endless run of them.

KONY SEMI FINAL MATCH: Thom Barrowman defeated Ernest Youngman in 8:04 by pinfall with a handful of tights. (D+)

And there we go. These two don’t click, which is a shame. But ‘God Among Men’ Ernest Youngman finally gets bested. But it took a handful of tights to get it done. DAMN YOU GUIDE, YOU CHEATING SOB!

TAG TEAM MATCH: The Ring Generals defeated The Southern Stars in 21:25 when Dean Waldorf defeated Tennessee William by pinfall with a Wheelbarrow Bomb. During the match we also had Tennessee William turn on Harker. (D-)

And finally, we do what has been brewing for months. Just as Animal goes for the tag, Tennessee jumps off the apron. He then grabs his guitar and smashes it over Animal’s head to the shock of the crowd. The turn went magnificently and William may now be the most hated man in NYCW.

ANGLE: Animal Harker, bloodied and confused, holds out his hand to Tennessee William who just looks at him in disgust. Joffy Pinkerton runs in to stand between them and then joins William in destroying Animal. (E-)

Yes the rating sucked, but the double turn worked to perfection. We might even have a super-hot new tag team in the making here. Depends on how good William is in singles competition.

ANGLE: Jay Chord cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Steve Flash. (B)

NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: Jay Chord © defeated Steve Flash in 21:51 by pinfall, illegally using the ropes for leverage. (C+)

Another match with these two which absolutely knocked it out of the park. We might need the obligatory third match before Empire City Showdown, just to milk it for what it’s worth.

ANGLE: Ross Henry cuts a promo saying that he came here to win and Thom Barrowman is just another obstacle he’s going to destroy on his way to the title. (B-)

KING OF NEW YORK FINAL MATCH: Ross Henry defeated Thom Barrowman in 20:41 by pinfall with an Earthquake Powerslam. Ross Henry wins the NYCW King of New York title. ©

And thus the main event is set; ‘Glorious’ Jay Chord defends the Empire Title against the rookie phenom Ross Henry. Let’s just say, expectations are sky high!

ANGLE: Having picked up the victory, Ross Henry celebrates in the ring. (B)

OVERALL: C-

A new best show ever.

The card for Empire City Showdown I is taking shape. We’ll likely have; Jay Chord vs. Ross Henry and Animal Harker vs. Tennessee William.

Next time on Welcome to New York… we begin the build to our biggest show of the year. Hearts will be broken, dreams will be shattered and the wrestling world, will never be the same again…

TCP1 · May 9, 2018

Secret COTT Headquarters…

“What the hell are you playing at Vessey?”

Mitch Naess was angry. This wasn’t his normal, calm, bitching, but full-blown rage.

“What’s wrong boy?” growled Larry. “Can’t keep up? We’ll happily buy you out if you can’t handle the pressure.”

Naess snorted with laughter.

“Calm down please,” said Sam Keith. “Larry, I think we’d all like to know what’s going on with your lot in New York.”

“We’re doing what we have to do,” said Larry. “At the end of the day, we’re all working towards the same goal aren’t we? We all want to stop Allen Packer. Well I’m just doing it better than most.”

“But Jay Chord, Greg Gauge, Ross Henry and Guide,” said Keith. “That’s a LOT of money to spend on new talent.”

“It’s Thom Barrowman now,” I interjected. “Not Guide.”

The room went quiet and Keith gave me a stare which told me to keep my mouth shut.

“The kid’s right,” said Larry. “At the end of the day, we’ve made the sort of moves necessary to not only stay relevant, but to progress. To grow. We can’t fight without a competitive product. And let’s be serious here. It’s not like you lot are any better. You’ve all loaned one or all of the above to help boost your shows. Haven’t you?”

The room went silent again, so Larry continued.

“Exactly. So maybe focus a little less on what we’re doing and worry about your own moves. I have no intention of putting anyone out of business except USPW. That is still the goal, and we’re going to do it. Together. So get on board, or get out of our way!”

Sam Keith stroked his beard momentarily.

“OK Larry, we’ll keep going as we are, but as we grow in size and strength, we have to keep an eye on each other. We don’t won’t anyone getting too big for their region do we? All of this falls apart the moment we start turning on one another. This isn’t a wrestling story, this is life. Keep doing what you’re doing, but don’t ever forget where you came from.”

The meeting adjourned and Larry and I walked back to the limousine to take us to New York City. Inside, over a whisky on the rocks, Larry spoke.

“It’s all going perfectly kid, keep it up. Mitch is rattled, I don’t think they can keep up and he refuses to push new stars. As for Keith, well I like him, but MAW are on the ropes too. In a year I suspect they’ll both be gone. They’ve both lost a leg, now it’s time to lean on them until they fall over.”

“You got it boss,” I replied.

Just then his mobile rang and he answered, making sure I didn’t see the name of the caller.

“Yup,” he said. “Yup… yup… I said yes. Exactly like you said. It’ll be fine… Whatever you say.”

“Who was that?” I asked.

“You’re doing a good job kid, but don’t ask questions. You might not like the answer.”

Next time on Welcome to New York… On with the plan…

Curtman · May 9, 2018

The Intrigue! <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Great story you're telling by the way, all solid grabs in terms of talent too.

TCP1 · May 10, 2018

Welcome to New York… THE home of low-grade professional wrestling…

With our biggest show just around the corner, let’s have a look at the brief history of the year, which feuds we’ve got bubbling and who the major players are in each area:

NYCW Empire Title

The biggest story is the emergence of the new wave of NYCW main eventers. It all started at the original Welcome to New York show where former Empire Champion Grandmaster Phunk returned with the Harlem Profits and Fro Sure in tow. He defeated the departing Roger Cage for the title before launching into an extended feud with Bulldozer Brandon Smith. He finally lost the title in a cage match just as ‘Glorious’ Jay Chord debuted. He beat the NYCW Grand Slam winner and future Hall of Famer in his first match and now heads into Empire City Showdown set to face the former NFL star and rookie sensation, Ross Henry. Beyond that, there are a host of new stars like Thom Barrowman and Greg Gauge who could elevate straight into a feud with either man, not to mention both Bulldozer Brandon Smith and Steve Flash. As for Grandmaster Phunk; the Harlem Profits appear to have run out of patience with him and he’s on a downward spiral for his career.

NYCW Tri-State Regional Title

The year started with Crockett Tubbs as champion, but he lost to Ernest ‘The Man’ Youngman, who has held the title ever since. He’s been in an extended feud with Fro Sure, desperately trying to teach him how to be a man. The two have had a couple of matches of which Ernest won both and a recent showdown with Logan Wolfsbaine proved to be a star-maker and could well lead to an extended feud down the line. Fro Sure does however get his last shot at the title at Empire City Showdown to see if he can finally best the dominant rookie.

NYCW Tag Team Titles

The Southern Stars (Animal Harker and Tennessee William) added Joffy Laine as a mouthpiece at the start of the year and not only kept their titles, but added the COTT World Tag Team gold to boot. They were entrenched in a long-running feud with The Ring Generals and the Harlem Profits for most of the year and are currently tied as a record four-time champions. Disaster recently struck as Tennessee William and Joffy Laine turned on their partner after a series of miscommunications and are now looking likely to team up. Animal Harker has begun the search for a new partner to help him, but might well end up in singles competition before the year is out. The current tag team champions are the Harlem Profits who have one last showdown with The Ring Generals left in them before they go looking for stiffer competition.

The Young Blood

The rest of the main roster is made up of young and developing talents. Logan Wolfsbaine has shown time and time again that he can deliver the goods with anyone on the roster and is currently learning a lot from his mentor The Masked Mauler. William ‘Cobra’ Jetterson is on the verge of making a name for himself too, especially as he has a mentor himself in Thom Barrowman. These two in particular could see their stock sky-rocket and be in line for a Tri-State Regional Title shot, if anyone can prize the belt away from Ernest Youngman. Robin DaLay looks to be every bit the star his father was, while Garry the Entertainer has all the tools necessary to be a big star, if he can just find himself a suitable gimmick to carry him through. And finally there’s Brutus Milano, who has the looks to succeed, but still struggles to carry himself in the ring, but after making the final eight of The King of New York tournament, might finally be doing what he needs to in order to succeed.

NYCW Infrastructure

We are bleeding money on a monthly basis and while it would be lovely to expand into another region, at the moment it just isn’t worth our time, unless we reduce our production costs and limit workers for that show to say ten. There is a possibility to run two Tri-State shows a month, but we could easily burn out our audience there, although it would speed up our gain in popularity. Final option is to split the crew in two; Have the Empire and Tag Team Titles represented on Welcome to New York shows and the Tri-State Regional on the Traditional Tour. PSW have upped their production in an attempt to beat us in the regional battles, but our top-loaded cards are making that impossible. MAW are in trouble financially too, but for the time being the status quo remains intact. TCW fell to Cult, but have recently risen back up and are signing their workers to written contracts. We may have to consider signing our guys to exclusive PPA contracts to suffocate the competition in the local area? But that could be dangerous and expensive.

Next time on Welcome to New York… We start loading the card for the biggest show of the year…

TCP1 · May 11, 2018

Welcome to New York… where the veterans pick a youngster and train them in the ways of the ring…

The first bit of news this month is that Thom ‘Guide’ Barrowman has taken William ‘Cobra’ Jetterson as his protégé, mirroring the relationship Masked Mauler and Logan Wolfsbaine have.

Around PSW: Sam Keith has got divorced, which is sad for the head of the COTT. But anything which might throw off his creativity had to be considered good. Their latest event, PSW – Army of One was a prime example of this as it only got an overall grade of D from the dirtsheets. Ernest Youngman meanwhile, won the National Title back for his third reign. Better bookers might’ve just kept the title on him the whole time.

With the seventh Welcome to the New York show on the horizon and our major storylines coming to a head, it was time to look at the roster, notably the wages. They were sky-high and we were still losing money, despite gaining critical acclaim and buzz with every show. We had forced PSW to upgrade all of their production, which was crippling their finances and it felt like all we had to do was get to the end of the year and he could push them into complete suffication.

And who knew, maybe we could actually turn a profit one day?

I tried to put Larry’s phone call to the back of my mind and get on with the next steps in our storylines.

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Welcome to New York 7: Profit’s Fall

Sunday, Week 2, October, 2016

Pennsylvania Park, Brooklyn, New York

Attendance: 1,986</div>

NYCW TAG TEAM TITLE TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: Harlem Profits © defeated The Ring Generals and Tennessee William and Joffy Pinkerton (The New Southern Stars) in 9:47; the order of elimination was The Ring Generals first, and then Tennessee William and Joffy Pinkerton after Animal Harker ran in and attacked them both. (D)

Some sweet revenge for Animal their after his vicious beatdown last time. The feud is bubbling, but I’m not sure the two of them have the chemistry to really make it sizzle.

ANGLE: Joffy Pinkerton and Tennessee William turn the tables on Animal Harker. It’s a two-on-one beatdown again, as the mad simpleton tries his best to fight them off. Seeing the assault, Logan Wolfsbaine of all people, comes running in and fights them both off, saving Harker. (E+)

Maybe the addition of such an awesome young performer might help? Or maybe it’s a waste of Logan? Who knows?

TAG TEAM MATCH: Animal Harker and Logan Wolfsbaine defeated The Masked Mauler and The New York Doll in 7:36 when Logan Wolfsbaine defeated The New York Doll by submission with a Boston Crab. (D)

Well, well, well. My loose plan for Logan and Harker as a part-time tag team pays immediate dividends and they have excellent chemistry. I am already seeing it now, like two Viking invaders, covered in war paint and ready to fight.

ANGLE: Grandmaster Phunk is in the ring talking. Fro Sure strolls down and takes the microphone;

“Classic Phunk! Always chat chat chatting about some thing or another. Never actually doing what is necessary. You were the Empire Champion man, now look at you. Cutting generic speeches about being a bad man, or NYCW’s resident gangsta. You’re nothing. You have no title, you’ve got no street cred and now… you’ve got no support! Get me a ref.”

The Harlem Profits slide into the ring behind Phunk and deliver a Shatter Machine. Fro Sure directs traffic as the three destroy the future NYCW Hall of Famer.

(D-)

Hmmm, actually expected better. So, Fro Sure steps up to the plate. Should be interesting in the future.

SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure defeated Grandmaster Phunk in 12:10 with the Sure Thing. (E+)

Ouch. This was NOT a good match. And in fact, the two are an awkward pairing. Typical. Phunk was very unhappy about the loss too, which is fair. Still Fro Sure did ok and the storyline meant he needed the win here.

ANGLE: ‘Glorious’ Jay Chord is out with Greg Gauge and Robin DaLay. They talk about how little competition there is for their talents in this scummy town, especially Ross Henry. Robin promieses to deal with him later. Greg says he and Jay should have an exhibition match to make sure they’re still fresh, ready for the big event. ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’ by WAR plays over the speakers and Garry the Entertainer interrupts. He says, why not make it a triple threat and chuck that lovely golden belt on the line too. (C+)

NYCW EMPIRE TITLE TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: Jay Chord © defeated Garry The Entertainer and Greg Gauge in 11:31 when Jay Chord defeated Garry The Entertainer by pinfall with a Super DDT. (C-)

Way to go Garry. Delivers big in the promo and wisely allows himself to be carried to a great match by two of the top in-ring independent workers going. Nicely done. He might need a gimmick overhaul though.

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Ernest Youngman © defeated Brutus Milano in 8:28 by pinfall with The Hit. (D+)

Brutus steps up to challenge Ernest, but falls short to the man who looks like he’s carved out of wood with flowing locks like Samson.

SINGLES MATCH: Ross Henry defeated Robin DaLay in 7:31 by pinfall with an Earthquake Powerslam. (E+)

Some truly awful psychology in this one, which really dragged the match down. But Henry unstoppable march to Empire City Showdown continues.

ANGLE: Thom Barrowman is out saying that he’s found a suitable tag team partner for the main event against Flash and Smith. He brings out William ‘The Cobra’ Jetterson, together, they are Serpent Strike. (C-)

TAG TEAM MATCH: Serpent Strike defeated Steve Flash and Bulldozer Brandon Smith in 13:51 when William Jetterson defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith by submission with a Viper Vice. ©

What’s that? Another excellent chemistry note for Barrowman and Jetterson. I love it. That’s now two new tag teams with that note. And thus we accidentally stumble into a far better tag team division than ever before.

OVERALL: D

Ouch, what a horrible rating. Ross Henry and Robin DaLay weighed us down there, which is a shame. Elsewhere Ross Henry was sent on Territory loan to PSW, which was annoying. But in good news, Spencer Spade, RIPW stalwart was finally called up to SWF. That should tank their ratings for a bit.

In the regional battles we came second in Mid-Atlantic and last in New England. Ouch. We also lost $6,982, which wasn’t great. Still a double excellent chemistry note makes this month’s somewhat filler episode a winner in my book.

Next time on Welcome to New York… We go made with Tag Team Madness…

TCP1 · May 11, 2018

Welcome to New York… Where we go mad with tag team action…

That’s right, it’s time for Tag Team MADNESS. Not the catchiest title of course, but at least you know what you’re going to get. It was time to continue building momentum and give our newest tag teams a chance to shine. Plus it would serve multiple storylines heading into the big event in December.

We also decided to see if we could make money by lowering production values and double the number of shows we run in the Tri-State area in the month. But first…

NYCW Welcome to New York 8: Tag Team Madness

Sunday, Week 2, November, 2016

Pennsylvania Park, Brooklyn, New York

Attendance: 2,000 (SOLD OUT!)

ANGLE: Serpent Strike attack Mauler and New York Doll backstage and leave them down and out. (E+)

A simple way to turn Doll and Mauler face, in an attempt to even the divide on our roster. The turns worked out ok actually. Not that it mattered for two enhancement talents like them.

TAG TEAM MATCH: Serpent Strike defeated The Masked Mauler and The New York Doll in 7:43 when William Jetterson defeated The Masked Mauler by submission with a Viper Vice. (D+)

Speaking of which. The two jobbiest jobbers do the job and build some experience for our new favourite team.

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: Ross Henry defeated Brutus Milano and Robin DaLay in 5:46 when Ross Henry defeated Robin DaLay by pinfall with an Earthquake Powerslam. (D+)

Not content with beating just DaLay, he also chucks in Milano for good measure. Henry has been on an unstoppable roll since debuting and is only suppassed in momentum by Logan Wolfsbaine and The Living Legend Ernest ‘My Hero’ Youngman.

ANGLE: Ross Henry cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Jay Chord. (B-)

He can wrestle. He’s popular and he’s entertaining. What a besat. I mean, he’s no Ernest Youngman, but he’s still awesome.

TAG TEAM MATCH: The Mighty Invaders (Logan Wolfsbaine and Animal Harker) drew with The New Southern Stars in 7:50 when the referee lost control and stopped the match. (D+)

That’s right, Logan and Animal are now kitted out in war paint, furry pants and boots and crazy shoulder pads covered in skulls. They are the MIGHTY… INVADERS. Didn’t give them a win, in order to keep the match-up fresh for the coming year. But I am EXCITED about this pairing.

ANGLE: Fro Sure cuts a promo; “Ernest Youngman, at Empire City Showdown we will meet for the last time. I am willing to stake any future title shots for the belt on the line. This is it. One shall stand, one shall fall…” (D-)

Goosebumps… probably.

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Ernest Youngman © defeated Grandmaster Phunk in 10:24 by pinfall with The Hit. During the match we also had Fro Sure run in and attack Phunk. ©

Fro Sure wanted to make sure no one stole the title before he could get his hands on it. Poor Phunk has seen his stock fall and fall and fall. Take note, this is how we treat those who serve us no immediate purpose. Plus he’s the PSW Champion, so always good to job him out.

NYCW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Grand Slam (Bulldozer Brandon Smith and Steve Flash) defeated Harlem Profits © in 7:58 when Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated Nate DeMarcus by pinfall after a double powerbomb. Bulldozer Brandon Smith and Steve Flash win the NYCW Tag Team titles. (D+)

That’s right. The titles have seen their stock fall from C to D- with the Harlem Profits, so we’ve finally switched them onto something of a dream team. There’s an immediate uptick in quality of match. The titles prestige goes up to C- AND we have multiple new, fresh feuds available to us through Serpent Strike, The New Southern Stars and potentially The Legacy. Not to mention The Ring Generals and The MIGHTY… INVADERS! All the titles in New York WILL be important dammit.

ANGLE: Ernest Youngman cuts a promo; “Fro Sure, if that’s your real name. I look forward to destroying you once and for all. Then all everyone will be asking is… Whose Ernest going to make famous next?” (C+)

SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure defeated Garry The Entertainer in 5:43 by pinfall with a Sure Thing. (E+)

And of course they don’t click. How disappointing and a bad match to boot for Garry. Still Fro Sure gets the win and ready’s himself for his last title shot in December.

ANGLE: Jay Chord is out: “Ladies and gentlemen of Pig City. We’re one month away from the biggest match in this company’s history. Former NFL washout Ross Henry gets a shot at me and my GLORIOUS title. It’s a dream match. But like all dreams, it must come to an end and when the bell rings, Henry will realise he’s living his own personal nightmare!” (B-)

He’s great on the mic that lad. What a champ.

TAG TEAM MATCH: The Legacy (Jay Chord and Greg Gauge) defeated The Ring Generals in 25:55 when Greg Gauge defeated Marv Statler by submission with a Proton Lock. During the match we also had Ross Henry run in and attack Chord. (C-)

Solid main event as The Ring Generals don’t need any momentum heading into the big show as they’re already completely tanking as it is.

OVERALL: D+

Solid show and a slow news week leads us straight into our inaugural Old School Wrestling show…

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Old School Wrestling

Sunday, Week 4, November, 2016

Pennsylvania Park, Brooklyn, New York

Attendance: 2,000 (SOLD OUT!)</div>

NYCW TAG TEAM TITLES: All Americans © drew with Serpent Strike in 12:18 following a double count out. (C+)

Wowza. Hello BEST opener ever. Turns out when you put four great workers in a ring together, they spin GOLD. There will obviously be a rematch and it will OBVIOUSLY be higher up the card. Awesome stuff.

SINGLES MATCH: Animal Harker defeated Joffy Pinkerton in 8:07 by pinfall with a Stump Piledriver. (D-)

Animal, with Logan watching his back, destroyed one half of the men who cost him his title. Joffy is a solid player, but the story here is Animal vs. Tennessee, so we’ll play to that.

ANGLE: The match is over and Animal Harker is celebrating. Tennessee William looks angry, and jumps him from behind, beating him down. Logan steps in and challenges the Elvis impersonator. (E-)

Yuck, the story may be great, but these guys lack the star power or overness to carry these sort of segments it seems.

SINGLES MATCH: Tennessee William drew with Logan Wolfsbaine in 13:06 when the referee lost control and stopped the match after interference from Animal Harker and Joffy Laine. (C-)

Good match from Tennessee of all people here. The ending was predictable, but we now have two singles matches to go onto the main card.

SINGLES MATCH: Fro Sure defeated The Masked Mauler in 8:01 by pinfall with a Sure Thing. (E+)

A filler match if ever I saw one, but did it’s job. One of these days I’m going to have to do something with Mauler. I really like the guy, but he’s just so old.

TAG TEAM MATCH: Harlem Boys defeated The Ring Generals in 10:29 when Donte Dunn defeated Dean Waldorf by submission. (D)

The former champs get a bit of their heat back along with a jaunty new name. Feels like with Phunk out the way, it’s time to freshen up his former stable. Poor Ring Generals. They’re good, but have absolutely zero star presence.

ANGLE: Ross Henry cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Jay Chord. He also challenges all members of The Legacy to a Gang Wars match now. He’ll even let them pick his tag team partners. (B-)

Simple and effective again from Henry.

SIX-MAN TAG MATCH: Legacy (Greg Gauge, Jay Chord and Robin DaLay) defeated Ross Henry, The New York Doll and Garry The Entertainer in 8:29 when Robin DaLay defeated Garry The Entertainer by pinfall with a DaLay Down. ©

Wanted to give DaLay a big rub heading into the new year as I have plans, but him being an enhancement talent doesn’t work. Henry does his best, but the Legacy get the last word before Empire City Showdown.

ANGLE: Jay Chord cuts a promo hyping up his upcoming match with Ross Henry. (B-)

Simple and effective here too.

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: Ernest Youngman defeated Grandmaster Phunk in 27:37 by pinfall with The Hit. During the match we also had Fro Sure run in and attack Youngman. (C-)

Ernest really fits in the main event doesn’t he? Just like he fits in everywhere.

OVERALL: D+

Another great show as we roll into December. We won every regional battle, but lost $21,035 in the process. Ross Henry was loaned out once again, but made it up to the guys by setting up a pancake station backstage. Meanwhile Brutus Milano told hilarious road stories. Good lad.

So after a year’s worth of build-up and roster churning and leaking of money, we had finally made it to Empire City Showdown and the card reads like this:

Empire City Showdown I

The Ring Generals vs. The Harlem Boys

Brutus Milano vs. Garry the Entertainer vs. Joffy Pinkerton

The Legacy (Gauge and DaLay) vs. Doll and Mauler

Hardcore Match: Animal Harker vs. Tennessee William

Logan Wolfsbaine vs. Grandmaster Phunk

NYCW Tag Titles: The Grand Slam vs. Serpent Strike

NYCW Tri-State Title: Ernest Youngman vs. Fro Sure

NYCW Empire Title: Jay Chord vs. Ross Henry

Next time on Welcome to New York… Empire City Showdown I…

MisterRomanini · May 12, 2018

Empire City Showdown I

The Ring Generals vs. The Harlem Boys

Brutus Milano vs. Garry the Entertainer vs. Joffy Pinkerton

The Legacy (Gauge and DaLay) vs. Doll and Mauler

Hardcore Match: Animal Harker vs. Tennessee William

Logan Wolfsbaine vs. Grandmaster Phunk

NYCW Tag Titles: The Grand Slam vs. Serpent Strike

NYCW Tri-State Title: Ernest Youngman vs. Fro Sure

NYCW Empire Title: Jay Chord vs. Ross Henry

Theheel · May 13, 2018

The Ring Generals vs. The Harlem Boys

Brutus Milano vs. Garry the Entertainer vs. Joffy Pinkerton

The Legacy (Gauge and DaLay) vs. Doll and Mauler

Hardcore Match: Animal Harker vs. Tennessee William

Logan Wolfsbaine vs. Grandmaster Phunk

NYCW Tag Titles: The Grand Slam vs. Serpent Strike

NYCW Tri-State Title: Ernest Youngman vs. Fro Sure

NYCW Empire Title: Jay Chord vs. Ross Henry

TCP1 · May 14, 2018

Welcome to New York… It’s the granddaddy of them all…

<div style="text-align:center;">NYCW Empire City Showdown I

Sunday, Week 4, December, 2016

Pennsylvania Park, Brooklyn, New York

Attendance: 2,000 (SOLD OUT!)</div>

TAG TEAM MATCH: In a match we’ve seen a few times now, The Ring Generals of Marv statler and Dean Waldorf finally get a win over the free falling Harlem Boys in 8:08 when Dean Waldorf defeated Nate DeMarcus by pinfall with a Wheelbarrow Bomb. It was an open match which could’ve gone either way, but the wily veterans wanted it just a little bit more. (D)

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: In the epitome of ‘get them on the card’ Brutus Milano defeated Garry the Entertainer and Joffy Pinkerton in 7:37 when Brutus Milano defeated Garry The Entertainer by submission with an Italian Backbreaker. It’s been a year of solid growth for Brutus and he looks poised to step up his game in the new year. (E+)

TAG TEAM MATCH: Staking a claim for future tag title glory, The Legacy of Greg Gauge and Robin DaLay defeated The New York Doll and The Masked Mauler in 8:03 when Robin DaLay defeated The Masked Mauler by pinfall with a DaLay Down. With further victories, the Legacy could be on a path to greatness. (D)

ANGLE: Tennessee William comes out with Joffy Pinkerton and his trusty guitar ‘Cheryl.’

“Now listen up here Animal. We’ve been through a lot, but this anger of yours has to stop, you get me? It’s not healthy brother. We always worked best when you did what I say. So do not now and call off this ridiculous match.” Animal Harker’s music hits and with Logan Wolfsbaine by his side, he looks ready for some action. (D)

HARDCORE MATCH: In what can only be considered a disappointing match, Animal Harker finally put the ghost of the Southern Stars demise behind him after he defeated Tennessee William in 13:18 by pinfall with a Stump Piledriver. It was a wild brawl, but with almost a year’s build-up, the former record-breaking tag partners couldn’t deliver on the promise of a game-changing performance. (D-)

SINGLES MATCH: In a follow up, the other half of the MIGHTY… INVADERS, Logan Wolfsbaine defeated Grandmaster Phunk in 8:14 by submission with a Boston Crab. It wasn’t pretty, but the former Empire Champion took his licks like a man. When the dust settled and the INVADERS left the ring, Phunk grabbed a mic and just shouted “I quit!” (D+)

ANGLE: Serpent Strike cut a promo hyping their upcoming match with The Grand Slam. They’re ready for the gold and to prove to the world that they’re the hissingest team of all time. The catchphrase needs work obviously. (D+)

NYCW TAG TEAM TITLES: In a match which didn’t quite live up to the first, The Grand Slam © defeated Serpent Strike in 12:26 when Bulldozer Brandon Smith defeated William Jetterson by pinfall after using a foreign object. The match didn’t feel like the end of the feud, but rather the beginning as the crowd were chanting ‘We want more!’ ©

ANGLE: Ernest Youngman cuts a promo telling the crowd that it’s time for him to make Fro Sure famous. “Buckle up kiddo, it’s time to ride.” (C+)

NYCW TRI-STATE TITLE MATCH: In a good match, the most winningest man in NYCW history, Ernest Youngman © finally defeated his long-time foe Fro Sure in 13:01 by pinfall with The Hit. Fro Sure gave a great account of himself, but in the end, Youngman maintains his incredible streak. (C-)

ANGLE: A full NFL team line the aisle to the ring as the challenger Ross Henry makes his most elaborate entrance to the ring yet. (B+)

ANGLE: Following the challenger, the champion ‘Glorious’ Jay Chord struts down to the ring dressed in a flowing, jewel-encrusted robe. Looking every bit the star he is. (A)

NYCW EMPIRE TITLE MATCH: For almost half and hour, former NFL star Ross Henry and decorated son of a legend, Jay Chord © battle it out. The crowd is buzzing from the first ring bell. Jay Chord lifts the mammoth Henry up into position for a Super DDT, but is surprised as Henry reverses into an Earthquake Powerslam for the win and title. (C+)

ANGLE: Having picked up the victory, Ross Henry celebrates in the ring as confetti falls and the rest of the locker room comes out to applaud. (B)

OVERALL: C-

Best show ever. Beautiful. Expensive, but beautiful. With that we won every regional battle, we lost only $10k and as the year ended, Grandmaster Phunk quit the promotion in disgust over his treatment. Which was fair.

Next time on Welcome to New York… The Year-End Awards Show…

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