What's Going on in Your Game?

[MadsMC]

Currently running an CV97 HGC save, and I'm in the year 2000. 

First feud is between Rip Chord, and Sam Strong. Both are on a part-time deal, only working events now after renegotiating their contract back in December, which signalled a new era to me. They were both involved in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight title, which defending champion Liberty won, The same night, Rip Chord's bodyguards, Savage Fury, lost their title match to the Vessey Brothers, leading to him firing them as his bodyguards, and them attacking him in retaliation. A tag team match was booked, but the only issue was that Rip Chord had managed to isolate himself from every other wrestler on the roster, and none of them wanted to team with him. Strong, however, out of respect for Chord, decided to team with him. At Malice in Wonderland, Rip Chord gave an ominous interview saying that everyone will get what they deserved that night. Obviously, Chord & Strong won the match, but Chord then swerved on Strong, leading to Strong disappearing from TV for a few weeks. Chord explained that he was the better wrestler, had better accomplishments, a better career, etc than Strong, and couldn't let him forget that. Strong eventually returned, and a grudge match was booked for Hollyweird. Strong got himself disqualified after going into an attacking rage against Chord. I'm planning on having two more rematches. One at Where Angels Fear To Tread, where Strong will win, and then a 2 out of 3 falls match at Total Mayhem (season finale) to settle the score between them. This will be the last time that they face each other, until Strong eventually decides to retire as I want him against Chord in Strong's retirement match. After Total Mayhem, Strong will have his fifth, and final run with the belt, a short one, and then drop it back to Cornell, and then I'll have him in a GM role, only wrestling sporadically and at big events. 

The second feud is a mini-feud between Tommy Cornell and Ricky Dale Johnson. Johnson was known as Cowboy Ricky Dale until about a year ago, where he lost his International title to Robert Oxford, and left his hat in the ring, signalling an end to that gimmick. He went on hiatus for a few months, and came back as a tough, no-nonsense Texan, and eventually reclaimed the title. He lost it in a triple threat to Monty Walker, and decided not to have a rematch, as he wanted to focus on the World title. Tommy Cornell has been involved in a feud with Johnny Martin for the last few months. Johnny Martin needed time to heal, so he was gone from television for a few weeks after an injury angle with Cornell. Cornell spent the last two months saying that Martin's career was dead, until Martin returned and got some vengeance on him. Cornell won the match to end the feud. Both Cornell and Johnson staked their claim to be #1 Contender for the World title, and will have a #1 Contender's Match at Where Angels Fear To Tread, The plan is for Cornell to win, and then win the title from Liberty. He will drop it to Strong for a brief run, and then regain it back, and will hold onto it for the remainder of the year, and well into 2001. 

The next feud is with my Cruiserweight Division. Golden Fox is the current champion, and Yosuke Narita is the challenger. They faced off at Hollyweird, where the returning Ramon Paez attacked both of the men and cost Narita his title match. Paez had been injured since July of last year. A rematch between Fox & Narita has been set for Where Angels Fear To Tread, which will also involve Paez and Dark EAGLE. Yosuke Narita is planned to win. 

The next is with my tag team division. The Vessey Brothers have been champions since around November of last year, and have recently defended in a four-way ladder match against The Blazing Flames, Paul Steadyfast & Joel Bryant, and Savage Fury, They recently competed in a non-title tag match, and were attacked soon afterwards by the returning Black Serpent Cult, who have staked their claim for a championship match. The Vessey Brothers are set to retain. 

Now onto the women's division. I've been trying to replicate a 90s view on women's wrestling, and so their matches are mostly rated on sex appeal, they hardly get more than 5 minutes, etc, but I've also been inspired by the early months of TNA's Knockout Division. I have teamed Wanda Fish and Farrah Hesketh up as my version of The Beautiful People, and their first victim is Vixxen. Vixxen wasn't originally supposed to turn face, but the face side of my division was lacking, and until I turn Farrah Hesketh face, it will remain that way. Fish & Farrah were two of the original women before the division, and were seen being friendly in the lockerrooms, and such. It wasn't until a few weeks ago, where they were seen making fun of Vixxen for being gothic, that they actually became a team. They apologisded to Vixxen a week later, and then offered her a makeover the weeek after that. Vixxen refused, and they attacked her, turning Vixxen face. Vixxen attacked them both the week after, and a match was set for Vixxen to face a member of The Beautiful People. Unfortunately for her, they introduced the newest member, Carol Singer, as her opponent, but Vixxen managed to win. All three members attacked her after, and placed a paper bag over her head. (Sound familiar?) They've continued to use their numbers game against Vixxen, but that's all set to change. It is April 2000 currently, meaning that Vixxen's tag team partner, Devil's Daughter, has officially debuted, The Beautiful People are all in for some Wild Times. 

One of my favourite feuds currently is between Eric Tyler, and Buddy Garner. Garner debuted in HGC around June of last year, and has fit in very well with HGC. Despite being inexperienced, he's one of the better performers, and because of that, he's so far been undefeated. Late last year, Eric Tyler tried to teach Garner the backstage ettiquette, and how to respect his fellow wrestlers. In retaliation, Garner knocked him out. Tyler then spent the last few months attacking Garner from behind, and saying that Garner does not belong here, as he is an animal. They've faced off once so far, with Tyler claiming that he wasn't prepared for the match, and that's why he lost, but yet is still ducking Garner and has been throwing anyone and everyone at him to avoid him. Eric Tyler cannot run forever... 

Back to my women's division. In November of last year, a 16-women tournament was announced to determine the very first HGC Women's Champion, and Catherine Quine defeated Wanda Fish in the finals to become the inaugral champion. She first defended in a fatal-fourway against Grace Harper, Katie Petronel and Reese Page, where she successfully retained, and then against Raven Nightfall at the next event. Cherry Bomb has taken exception to Catherine Quine and her title reign, saying that she's a slut who slept her way to the top, which Quine obviously took exception to. Quine vs. Cherry Bomb has now been set for Where Angels Fear To Tread. It's simply another title defense to get Quine ready for her Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong-esque feud with Suzue Katayama. 

As previously mentioned, Monty Walker is the new International Champion. He had spent the last few months feuding with Nemesis, and eventually managed to defeat his longterm rival, saying that it was his first step to redemption. He challenged Ricky Dale Johnson to a title match, which also involved Peter Valentine, and won his first International title. He successfully retained against Peter Valentine at Hollyweird, but was soon attacked by The Untouchables (Robert Oxford, Paul Steadyfast and Joel Bryant). Robert Oxford then laid down the challenge to Walker. Oxford is a former two-time champion, the second most after Ricky Dale Johnson (who has three title reigns). Both of Oxofrd's title reigns were cut short due to injury, so Oxford believes that he should be champion right now. As it goes, Walker is vastly outnumbered, but will soon find himself in the company of The Hype, who has been feuding with The Untouchables for the better part of a year now, and was also a former champion before Oxford took his title. 

A few months ago, Charlie Homicide injured Ronnie V. Pain in a match. Unfortunately for him, Pain's teammates, Painful Procedure (Jack Bruce, BJ Shearer and Randall Hopkirk) have not taken kindly to this. Bruce in particular has been avenging Pain's injury. Homicide seems to be an itch that won't go away, as no matter how many times Jack Bruce has beaten him, he keeps coming back for more. Bruce has to do something emphatic to get rid of Homicide for good. 

Mr Lucha and Mr. Hollywood have been involved in a brutal feud for months now. What started off as disrespect from Mr. Hollywood to Mr Lucha, has now become a very personal, and very violent affair. As of recently, Mr. Hollywood had challenged Liberty to a match after winning the #1 Contender's battle royal at Malice In Wonderland. He warned Mr Lucha not to cost him this match, but Mr Lucha did not seem to heed this warning, and cost him the match, helping Liberty to retain. Mr. Hollywood very quickly became hellbent on destroying Mr Lucha. Numerous brawls have taken place, in the backstage area, in the ring, and even in the parking lot. One thing's for sure, HGC is not big enough for both of them. 

Back to the women's division. Before going after Catherine Quine's women's title, Suzue Katayama has been a one-woman wrecking machine and has destroyed the entire women's division. Due to injury, she could not compete in the tournament, but that did not stop her from being physically active. After every match, she would come out and attack one of the women. Some ran away, some fought back, but she would always attack someone. She made her in-ring debut in January 2000, and absolutely destroyed her opponent, sending a message to every woman in the lockerroom. Joanne Rodriguez eventually took exception to this, being one of the women that Katayama attacked, and has quickly taken the fight to Katayama. A grudge match between the two saw Katayama reign supreme, but we all know that J-Ro won't take that lying down. Will J-Ro be able to stop her, or will she be another name for Katayama to tick off before going after the Women's title?

The final feud is the HGC World Heavyweight championship feud between Liberty and BLZ Bubb. These two are not strangers to one another. For the first two years of his HGC career, BLZ Bubb was an unstoppable and undefeated monster, and held the World Heavyweight title for record-breaking 8 months, the longest championship run that HGC has seen so far. The person who ended his streak and his reign? None other than Liberty himself. Liberty won his first of two World titles from BLZ Bubb after 3 unsuccessful title opportunities. He managed to retain once more against BLZ Bubb to end the feud. Throughout 1999 and the first few months of 2000, the two have stayed out of each other's way. Liberty's main focus had been on Rip Chord, and the World Heavyweight title, while BLZ Bubb had formed a stable with The Demons of Rage and Raven Nightfall, calling themselves the Dark Side. The Dark Side recently feuded with Alex Braun, and Dusty & Sid Streets, with BLZ Bubb defeating Alex Braun to end the feud, and then placed him inside of a coffin. Alex Braun has not been seen since, and Dusty Streets was also injured. BLZ Bubb has now targeted his former rival Liberty, and the World title. Liberty has beaten BLZ Bubb before, but struggled to do so, and that was long before the formation of the Dark Side. With the odds stacked against him, and nobody to help, will Liberty be able to put away his long-time rival once more, or will he eventually fall to the Dark Side? 

Edited July 9 by MadsMC

[Martel123]

Started a new CV save in prep for TEW IX. A local promotion by Damian Carvill. A combination of some of the best unemployed wrestlers in Canada and America.. Some of the latest storylines:

 

-Pacific Champion Conner Threepwood was crowned last month at Proving Grounds, beating arrogant idol Raphael. Air Attack Weasel, who lost in the first round in an upset to Hammer Hadley, is now extremely angry! He got a number one contender spot for tonights show. 

-Phenomenal E looks to become number one contender after seemingly taking out rival Alan Parent last month in a last man standing match! 

-Raphael and Philippe LaGrenier have set there sights on Hammer Hadley, who they see as a threat to take over their main event spot. Can they take him down a notch? Or will the young stud continue his rise to the main event. 

-Eric LaMonica has continued to be sucking up to Damian Carvill, trying to become a sort of sheriff for the owner of Pacific Pro Wrestling. Carvill meanwhile has a problem, The Bad Boys Of Wrestling (Ryan Powell and Shane Nelson) have run roughshot in recent months, trashing the ring and the boss himself. Giving LaMonica more power, LaMonica has used this to bring in a new team, The Tribe! (Ace Youngblood, Roger Monteiro, Wild Red Stallion) 

-Nathanel Casino has run a casino backstage for a while now, and now has Shiva and Dominic DeGraff under him due to debt. Drop Kix has always been a step above Casino's debt, and now is trying to save DeGraff and Shiva from Casino's reign! 

-In a bit of a smaller storyline, Jerry Pepper has made a fool out of himself in the North West, trashing the crowd only to get taken down by another wrestler. Can he get a win? Or will he be the laughing stock of PPW...

[MadsMC]

I decided to open my CWA save back up again and explore it some more before TEW IX. I've been booking a completely different era, company and wrestlers so it took me a minute to get back into it, but let's dive in! 

I have a brand split - NOTBPW and CWA, each with a set of four titles (World, Midcard, Tag, Women's)

NOTBPW:

We'll start off with the NOTBPW World title scene. Aaron Knight had been the champion for 14 months after winning it from Spencer Spade. During his reign, he defeated Mainstream Hernandez, who became increasingly obsessed with beating Knight for the title to the point that he demanded a Loser Leaves stipulation. The match happened, scored a 100 rating, but Knight retained. Hernandez then left the company for 6 months (he was filming a movie) and then shockingly returned when NOTBPW General Manager, Dan Stone Jr. announced that Aaron Knight would have a surprise title defense. Knight faced off against Hernandez, who won the title in his first match back. In order for Knight to get his rematch, he had to agree to another Loser Leaves stipulation. This time, Knight lost and was forced to leave. HOWEVER, Steve DeColt jumped onto this, and signed Aaron Knight to the CWA brand. While Mainstream Hernandez was bragging about getting rid of Knight, Jared Johnson interrupted and attacked the champion, and eventually earned himself a championship opportunity. 

The NOTBPW Scrambler Championship is currently being held by Shooter Sean Deeley, who is in his 'Wrestling Machine' era. The previous champion was Jared Johnson. Deeley had returned from a short hiatus to assist Johnson against The Star Makers (Bobby Star and Jamie Atherton). Deeley was previously a heel, so Johnson was confused as to why he was helping him. Deeley insisted that he had no ulterior motives, but he wasn't taking any BS anymore. The four feuded for over 3 months, until a fatal-four way for the title saw Deeley walk out with the title. Johnson shook his hand, and focused his attention onto the World title. While Johnson may be done, The Star Makers sure as hell aren't. 

The current NOTBPW International Tag Team Champions are Generation Z. They dethroned Rich & Famous and have been enjoying a successful run since, successfully retaining against them twice. Rich & Famous' manager, Ashley Keith, had a tendency to get involved, so Gen Z brought out Penny Ramone to help them out with her. This proved to be ineffective as Rich & Famous defeated Ramone & Generation Z in a 6-person tag team match. After this, Rich & Famous demanded another tag team title shot - Dan Stone Jr. declined and instead decided to put them in the Tag Team Grand Prix, much to the dismay of Rich & Famous. 

The NOTBPW Women's World Champion is Brooke Tyler, who is currently in her second reign. She won the title after beating Alicia Strong, and managed to successfully retain against her in a match that scored a 97 rating. While Brooke was gloating about being the best champion, her former rival Sally Anne Christianson came out and attacked her. SAC won a #1 Contender's match, but unsuccessfully challenged Brooke for the Women's title, but she wasn't done there. She was desperate for another rematch, leading to Brooke saying that she'll have a rematch on one condition - if she puts her career on the line. SAC accepted, and so Brooke will now defend against SAC in a Title vs. Career match. (SPOILER: Sally Anne Christianson is retiring, and so she will be losing the match.)

Other storylines on the NOTBPW brand involve Champagne Lover & Mighty Mo teaming up against The Awesomeness. The Awesomeness have been a pain in the side of Lover for half a year now, but managed to catch the ire of the newly debuting Mighty Mo. Mo & Lover decided to team up to take The Awesomeness out. 

In the epitome of the past vs. the future, Donte Dunn & Tommy Cornell have clashed for several months. Cornell finds Dunn to be disrespectful, while Dunn believes that Cornell is taking the spotlight that younger talents deserve. Cornell vs. Dunn would be a killer match, but we can't know for sure, as Cornell continues to duck Dunn. One day, one way, Dunn will get his hands on him. 

ZWB and Spencer Spade don't like each other. That's pretty much it. 

Laura Flame, Juliet Balconi & Penny Ramone all formed a small alliance a few months ago, but that quickly ended as Ramone kept losing her matches, which irritated Flame & Balconi. They warned Ramone that she should beat Amber Allen or else... Surprise, surprise, Ramone lost to Allen, leading to Flame and Balconi turning on her. Flame & Balconi teamed up on Ramone for weeks, until Allen returned (she was legtimately injured in her match with Ramone) and assisted Ramone. The team of Ramone and Allen defeated their adversaries. A couple months later, Alicia Strong defeated Juliet Balconi, leading to Balconi and Flame attacking Strong. While Ramone tried to save, she was outnumbered. The next week Strong & Ramone defeated Flame & Balconi in a tag match, and to nobody's shock, they attacked Strong & Ramone after the match. Amber Allen tried to come out and save, but was attacked by Rachel Bowen (my avatar, Kate Avatar but renamed). Alicia Strong will team up with Ramone and Allen to face Balconi, Bowen and Flame at Tag Team Grand Prix (I just needed an excuse to put them on this pay-per-view tbh)

 

CWA:

The CWA World Champion is currently Jay Chord, who is in his second reign. He originally lost his title to Ricky DeColt, but maaged to regain it from him the next month. After successfully defending against both Ricky & Jack DeColt, he attacked David Stone, viewing him as a threat to his title. The next week, David Stone was awarded a title shot, and managed to get some retribution on Jay Chord by attacking him after his match. This should be a great feud. 

The CWA Unlimited Action Champion is Mikey James. Around 6 months ago, he was in a feud with Shadrach Badell, which was quite brutal and they would regularly take turns one-upping each other. This was abruptly stopped as Shadrach Badell was injured, and could not compete in his scheduled match with Mikey James. James then focused on gold, and defeated Lenny Brown to win the CWA Unlimited Action title. He's had a solid reign so far, but that all came into question when after defending against Cameron Vessey, a returning Shadrach Badell attacked him and set his sights on his title. Mikey James managed to retain against him once, but when Badell wants something, he gets it. It's only a matter of time...

The current CWA World Tag Team Champions are The Dynamite Express, in their third reign. They won the titles from The DeColt Boys, who were also in their third reign, making them both the teams with the most CWA World Tag Team title reigns. In a so-far 5 month reign, they have defended their titles twice. Their main threat, The Griffin Family, have been cheated out of various championship matches, but will get their opportunity to become #1 Contenders at Tag Team Grand Prix. The Griffin Family recently faced off against The Dynamite Express at Apocolypse, where they teamed up Chris Flynn and Turner Crash to face the entirety of Elite (Christian Price, Giant Brody & The Dynamite Express).

The CWA Women's Champion is Lauren Easter. While she is a former two time NOTBPW Women's World Champion, she has never held the CWA Women's title before. At Ultimate Showdown 2024, Lauren Easter announced her pregnancy and did not compete for an entire year. During her absence, Fuyuko Higa won the Women's title from Joy Ryder, and would have a checklist of every woman on the roster. She defeated every single woman in her 7-8 month reign, and by her final month, she had gotten so bored of the competition, that she defended her titles in open challenges to anyone. At Ultimate Showdown 2025, she competed in her last open challenge, which was accepted by none other than the returning Lauren Easter. Easter defeated Higa in a massive shock, and successfully retained against her, Tiffany Jade & Lucy Stone-McFly over the months. Most recently, she came across the ire of The Queen's Court, and in particular, Nadia Snow. The Queen's Court had picked on Joy Ryder since being drafted to CWA in July. While Ryder was originally outnumbered, Easter offered her support, which did not endear herself to Snow. Both Ryder & Snow have requested title matches, so Easter has decided to defend her title in a triple threat. (I was originally planning on having a Big Time Becks-esque return for Lauren Easter, where she would slowly turn heel, but as Higa worked better as a heel, and the heel side was very strong (Snow, Young, Stone-McFly, Higa, Jade), I decided to keep her as a face, Maybe if she gets pregnant again/injured.)

Other storylines on the brand involve Chris Flynn & Turner Crash against Price and Brody. Chris Flynn was the one who lost his title to Jared Johnson, and had undergone a character change during his reign, becoming paranoid and egotistical. After losing his title, he went on hiatus to find himself again, and so came back as a face, helping Turner Crash, who had been made a victim of Price and Brody. 

The other storyline is a generational feud between Lucy Stone-McFly and The Bloodstone Twins. They have feuded for years, including the year prior where Ruby challenged Lucy for the NOTBPW Women's World title at Ultimate Showdown. These three just can't seem to like each other. Stone-McFly recently acquired the help of Fuyuko Higa (for no specific reason, I just needed an excuse to keep her involved) and the two have constantly been attacking The Bloodstone Twins. At Apocolypse, The Bloodstone Twins teamed up with Lauren Easter and Joy Ryder, to face Stone-McFly, Higa and Queen's Court's members, Deborah Young and Jessica Conroy. Easter's team did win, but their issues were far from over. The Bloodstone Twins will now be facing Stone-McFly & Higa at Tag Team Grand Prix (how fitting) in a Cage match! 

Elsewhere:

-Aaron Knight is doing his own thing. He's going to feud with Jay Chord soon for the title, but for now is building up some more wins after his title loss and brand change. 

-The DeColt Boys have also entered the Tag Team Grand Prix. Looks like they want to be the first 4-time champions. Usually, Ricky DeColt is gone by this time of year filming a movie, so it looks like his Hollywood career is over, Yay for me. 

-Speaking of Hollywood, both Jaime Quine and Missy Masterson are absent because of filming movies. So in storyline, I had Quine quit as she felt as though she wasn't respected enough, while Masterson just had an injury angle. Quine is expected to return after Lauren Easter's triple threat, to set a program between them. They will captain teams for Total Elimination, and then have their championship match at Clash Classic, which Quine will win. God knows if this is going to be a yearly thing like Ricky, so let's just get her championship wins in there while we still can. 

[Pteroid]

Having finally reached the point where we can broadcast ourselves across Oceania as the first company to reach an agreement with Wrestleworld in the region, ZEN likewise took the honor of adding the first show from this corner of the world to the streaming service's catalogue and what a show it was with fierce clashes between heated rivals and easily the greatest match in company history!

The Takeaways

BUSTER VS BRUCE: KARRG CONFLICTED?
Earlier in the year Crime Buster succeeded in capturing Karrg The Conqueror as the result of winning a Crime and Punishment match, trapping the alien in a mobile jail cell in a little wagon. With the Armada in shambles, Karrg the Conquered had no choice but to languish in his prison outside of lucha bouts supervised by Buster until a third party intervened: Bruce Strange. Having lost the Harmony titles, his partnership with the disappeared Mister Hyde, and a bid at the Conceptual title, Strange would appear to declare aliens are basically supernatural and attempt a death sentence upon Karrg. Buster would resist his attempts leading to this match taking place, prior to which Karrg would question his captor on why Buster was standing up for him. Buster would reply he believes in the inherent good of all people and that he hoped Karrg could one day see there's more to life than conquest, an assertion that seemed to resonate with the Conqueror enough that when freed from his jail in the midst of the match by former minion Laguna the Loyal, Karrg sent the fish alien to the back and cheered on Buster from the apron which led to the Enforcer successfully nailing his spinebuster for the win. Post-match Strange furiously attempted to attack Buster with a steel chair but Karrg slid into the ring and dove in front of the strike, giving Buster time to hit a second Spinebuster and toss Strange in the portable cell before dragging his wounded charge to the back.

X-WAR(?) VS GRIDIRON GHOULS: COUNTERFEIT CALIBRE?
Having lost the trust of the entire ZEN locker room with his betrayal to join the Alien Armada, his failure to cut off Crime Buster's dogged pursuit of Karrg led to Man O'War to get kicked out of the stable not long after the last Way of the Warrior. A roster punching bag for much of 2020 afterwards, Manny would out of the blue get a call on his clam shell cellphone from someone he claimed was his old tag partner X-Calibre! Luck would have its way again when early in 2021, Deathwatch Beetle would suffer a "DNA Explosion" (out of kayfabe: Herniated Spinal Disc) and force the Alien Vanguard to relinquish the Harmony belts. Entering the ensuing tournament, many had believed Man O'War had lost his mind until "X-Calibre" appeared to help him defeat Jester and Eraser in the first round of the tournament (nevermind a mysterious individual had paid the latter duo off to lay down prior to the match). Receiving a bye thanks to a Double DQ in bracket-mates' Casual Violence and Sky Kings NEO (Vertigo and Black Flash) own match, the dynamic duo would go on to face and defeat the despicable Guru Vishni's monstrous tag team of Aukland Raider and Maniac Monster to claim their 'Fourth' Harmony tag reign. ...hey has anyone seen Booster Boy lately?

KILLER B VS DEVILFISH: THE DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Way of the Warrior 2020 was a crowning achievement for Killer B, having defeated longtime rival Damian Dastardly in a match where the rudo had put his hair on the line in an attempt to one-up Cyanide in their petty power struggle. In the immediate aftermath B established himself as a threat to ZERO's Master title by going to a double pinfall draw with the champion at Way of the Liar. Pursuing the stoic masked menace all throughout 2020, B would be joined in his efforts by veteran tecnico and former champ in his own right, Devilfish. Initially working well together, the lure of the gold would lead to friction growing but it wouldn't be until B took a pin to Devilfish in a No. 1 Contender four-way at 2021's Way of the Dreamer that things turned sour for the younger tecnico. Initially taking umbrage with the fact Devilfish took advantage of fellow participant Damian Dastardly's focusing on his arm the whole match, Killer B would seem to cool off in time to be the special referee for Devilfish's title match with ZERO but he'd suddenly halt a post Fish Finger Shuffle pin attempt to nurse his 'hurt' arm which would allow ZERO to recuperate and eventually win the match. With Devilfish furious, B would quickly abandon any pretense of being in ZEN for anything but the Master title at this point and fire longtime manager Molly Cuddle to focus on winning the gold. However, the ensuing rivalry would make both men lose out to ZERO in a ladder match and eventually come to a grudge match when B's attempt to stop Vertigo securing a title match would be thwarted by Devilfish. With hatred consuming his soul, B would challenge Fish to a Lucha De Apuesta Mask vs Hair match in order to humiliate and remove the multicolored tecnico as an obstacle. However, this would backfire as a year to the day of his triumph, B would lose to Devilfish in the highest rated match in company history and lose his hair in the process.

F.E.A.R 2.0 VS KALLI AND CO.: RESURGENCE OF THE REVOLUTION
Having notably failed to vanquish Karrg the Conqueror in a cage match at Way of the Warrior 2020, Halloween Knight would be attacked by a now stableless Cyanide (having been forced to disband Skullduggery the night before) at Way of the Liar. Cyanide would reveal his reasons for the assault to be that he refused to be remembered as the weak link in not one but two factions. Pulled into this feud would be Kalliope Woodchuck (eager to help the owner of ZEN) and a now hat-wearing Damian Dastardly (eager to make Cyanide feel even worse), the rivalry would eventually turn into Knight trying to rebuild Cyanide's confidence with Kalliope's help and Damian's displeasure by having Cyanide win rigged matches against the former. Damian, while a d-bag of the highest order, took umbrage with the idea that a bright young prospect like Kalli should sully her win/loss record by taking the fall to a crusty old no-hoper and would try to play devil's advocate and counsel Kalli on how to beat the masked mat masochist. Eventually Knight would reveal his true colors and turn on Kalli, helping Cyanide defeat her anyway and reform the F.E.A.R stable with his old running buddy. Joining them soon after would be HalloWarped whom Knight had convinced to abandon his tag partner Toady and rechristened as Samhain, along with Vortex who would capture the Conceptual Title from the reformed rudo (and Kalliope's beau) Buckminster Snark with help from Cyanide. The four of them would relentlessly hound the unlikely trio of Kalli, Damian, and Buck until Pumpkin Jack (having helped Crime Buster finally bring in Karrg the Conqueror) stepped in to even the odds. The stage was set for a big elimination match at Way of the Warrior, one where this heated feud would meet its end...when out of the blue Killer B -whom Dastardly had taunted by bringing up his ironic fate- took out Damian behind the ref's back and tipped the scales in the favor of ZEN's premiere rudo group. With their first opposition defeated at the grandest stage in all of ZEN, will the Revolution truly succeed this time around?

ZEN MASTER TITLE MATCH
ZERO (c) VS VERTIGO: WHO RULES THE SKY?
Vertigo would spend all of 2020 in the midst of a feud with Skullduggery's component members even after the stable's dissolution. First with Cyanide until the leader of Skullduggery wagered he would defeat Vertigo at Way of the Warrior 2020 or disband the group to one-up Damian Dastardly and was summarily defeated. Afterwards Vertigo would end up in the crosshairs of Casual Violence, who blamed him for the disbanding of the group and hunted him relentlessly, even hiring The Alex Arturro Experience as a manager in the midst of a trap where they pretended to accept Vertigo's guidance as a mentor. ZERO, meanwhile, remained the dominant rudo champion he'd been since he beat Devilfish for the title in November 2019, holding on to the belt by hook or by crook using whatever underhanded and downright brutal means he could manage. Eventually the paths of the former partners would cross when ZERO enlisted The Experience as his manager leading him to come into conflict with the rival of The Experience's other charges. Eventually Vertigo would pin ZERO in a six man tag where the champ had declared through his manager whoever did so would get a shot. However, due to not being in title contention, the champion managed to hold off his defense until Way of the Warrior and forced Vertigo through a gauntlet including foes old (Clown-With-Attitude), current (Lerone Slim), and new (Killer B) but Vertigo would manage to best them all and come face to face with the dominant champ in the main event of the first ZEN event streamed live throughout all of Oceania...

ZERO would go into the match with no backup due to severing ties in violent fashion with Experience Enterprises earlier in the night when The Alex Arturro Enterprises revealed he'd injured his leg when Rekha fell off the ring apron onto it earlier in the night. For the first time since before December 2020, ZERO would be forced to fight mano a mano against the man who knew him better than anyone else on the ZEN roster. A furious high-flying battle ensued but in the end, a sky high Radar Legdrop onto the champion secured Vertigo the win before 1615 screaming Kiwis and 4986 viewers on Wrestleworld. A new era for ZEN had begun, and the possibilities were Sky High.

[dbritton987]

One of my favorite cards that I've put together!  Unfortunately, the crowd was burnt out for the final two matches, a chance I took putting together such a large card.   Otherwise, a big time success.  

TCW Summer Showdown 2022

August 2022 - Attendance: 119,792 - Show Rating: 96

Magnum Kobe defeated Amazing Fire Fly (88)

These two have been rivals ever since the revival of the TCW Cruiserweight Division.  After splitting victories, this rubber match was set for Summer Showdown.  Kobe picks up the big win, and now turns his attention towards the winner of tonight's World Cruiserweight Championship Match.  

Aaron Andrews defeated Rick Law in a Strap Match (94)

One of the hottest feuds currently, these two have become hated rivals for most of 2022 after Rick Law was brutally kicked out of the group he had helped build, The Supreme.  After The Supreme recently ambushed Law and Andrews lashed Rick with a leather belt, this match was set for Summer Showdown.  Unfortunately for Law, he would fall to the numbers game, as Andrews would gain assistance from The Supreme to win.  The team Hard Justice (Marshall Dillon & Sandman Winks) would literally hold Law down, allowing Andrews to touch all four corners and win the match.  This feud is clearly far from over. 

In Eight Man Tag Team Action, Team Lucha! defeated The Sinner Society. (90)

Team Lucha! = Mr. Lucha, Aztec Prince, Masked Cougar, & Tigre Salvaje Jr.

Sinner Society = Scythe, El Jaguar, Dark Nemesis (Ash Campbell), & Killer Shark

This stable war ignited when Scythe attempted to convince Lucha to join Sinner Society.  Trying to take advantage of Lucha's tough times after losing the International Championship, Scythe swears that he senses a darkness in Lucha, and promised to help Lucha obtain that dark power.  After Lucha rejected Scythe's invite, it would lead to violence, but Team Lucha! was there to help their brother against the Sinner Society.  Team Lucha! comes away with the big win at Summer Showdown, but seeing that Scythe was actually laughing after the match, it appears this story is far from over.

In a 2 out of 3 Falls Match, Jay Chord defeated Randy Unleashed (95, Tied for MOTN)

Jay Chord had a rough start to 2022, and he would blame Randy Unleashed for this occurrence.  It was Unleashed who defeated Chord in the Finals of the 2021 King of Kings Tournament, and Jay believed that loss started his streak of bad luck.  So, Unleashed became his target in the hopes of coming out of that slump, and thus this major rivalry came to fruition.  Chord would win their first one on one encounter back at Total Mayhem, but Unleashed won the rematch a month later.  After months of this heated rivalry, it all came to a close at Summer Showdown.  Chord finally finds the redemption he had been seeking, earning the big win over Unleashed, win the match 2 falls to 1.  

In a 5 Man Ladder Match, Spencer Spade defeated Donte Dunn, Keanu Kai (High Flying Hawaiin), Mighty Mo, Princeton Pryce to Successfully RETAIN The TCW International Championship (91)

Once again, Spade let his big mouth get him in trouble, which happens quite often.  TCW General Manager Ricky Dale Johnson was the guest on Spade's own personal talk show, The Supreme Talk Show.  Spade would proceed to insult RDJ, as the GM has had issues recently with the despicable TCW Executive Eddie Chandler and his stable, The Supreme.  Instead of getting angry, RDJ got even.  After reminding Spade that the International Championship was defended in a 5 Man Ladder Match at Summer Showdown 2021, RDJ thought it was a good idea to do it again in Summer Showdown 2022!  And so, the Ladder Match was set, and it even included some of Spade's most heated rivals (Keanu Kai & Mighty Mo).

But, as the past has proven, Spade is very capable of getting out of situations that his big mouth lands him in.  He might do it in tainted fashion, but he does it!  After pushing over a ladder, sending both Kai & Mo crashing out of the ring and through tables set up at ringside, Spade would retrieve his International Championship and make a quick exit. A big smile on his face, Spade would look into the camera and send a message to the TCW General Manager.  "Hey Ricky!  This one is for you!"  

(Spencer Spade is enjoying his first reign as TCW International Champion, now at 71 Days and 5 Successful Title Defenses.  He defeated Mr. Lucha for the Championship on the June 2022 Edition of TCW Saturday Night Showcase.)

Mainstream Hernandez defeated Kill Switch in a Submission Match to Successfully RETAIN the TCW World Cruiserweight Championship (92)

Hernandez and Kill Switch have been heated rivals ever since Hernandez became the Inaugural TCW World Cruiserweight Champion at Total Mayhem.  Kill Switch was apart of the Fatal Four Way where in which Hernandez was crowned, and Kill Switch felt robbed because he wasn't apart of the decision.  Hernandez & Kill Switch would battle one-on-one twice over the Cruiserweight Title, where in which Hernandez won both encounters.  Hernandez barely edged Kill Switch in the first encounter, and would win the second by Disqualification after interference by Magnum Kobe.   After Hernandez accepted Kill Switch's challenge for "one more match," Mainstream would be ambushed by Kill Switch's stable, the Sinner Society.  Kill Switch would proceed to choke out Hernandez with the Rear Naked Choke until he was finally pried off by TCW Officials.

And thus, this Submission Match was set to settle things once and for all.  Despite interference by Sinner Society, Hernandez would defeat the odds and force Kill Switch to tap out to his patented submission, The Pontiac To Home.   This rivalry now settled, Hernandez now turns his attention to his next challenger, and that appears to be none other than the Emperor of the Kobe Empire, Magnum Kobe,  

(Mainstream Hernandez is the Inaugural TCW World Cruiserweight Champion, winning it in a Fatal Four Way at Total Mayhem 2022.  Hernandez has held the Championship for 84 Days with 5 Successful Title Defenses).

In a Triple Threat Tag Team Match, The Keith Brothers defeated The Aegis (C) (Ernest Youngman & Xavi Ferrera) and the Calgary Strike Force (Chris Flynn & Sterling Whitlock) to become the NEW TCW World Tag Team Champions (95, Tied for MOTN)

Representing The Syndicate, Youngman & Ferrera have dominated the tag team division for a year now, and has firmly took their place as one of the best tag teams in TCW history.  But, they recently faced their toughest test to date in Greg & Matthew Keith.  In an instant classic, the Aegis and the Keith Brothers battled to a time limit draw over the Tag Team Championship on recent edition of Saturday Night Showcase.  Meanwhile, the Calgary Strike Force have been one of the Aegis's biggest rivals for the past year, just coming up short on multiple occasions from winning the gold.  As CSF and the Keiths dispute their claims for #1 Contendership, chaos has led to this Triple Threat Match for the Tag Team Championship.

The Keith Brothers would be the team to finally dethrone The Aegis, but they do it in somewhat controversial fashion.  The Keiths would hit Sterling Whitlock with their trademark Spiked Piledriver to pick up the championship victory.  After an entire year of reigning as champions, The Aegis lose their titles without ever being pinned.  While the Keiths celebrate their 1st TCW Tag Title reign, clearly there is a rematch with the Aegis must be in the near future!

(The Aegis's 1st Title Reign as TCW World Tag Team Champions ends after exactly one year.  They defeated the Wild Cats for the Championship at Summer Showdown 2021.  The Aegis successfully defended the Tag Titles 22 times.)

In a Triple Threat Match, Alina America defeated Brooke Tyler & Sara Marie York to Successfully RETAIN the TCW World Women's Championship (89)

It was supposed to be one-on-one match between America & Tyler, two women who are considered to be the pillars of the TCW Women's Division for many years to come.  But, during the contract signing to make the title match official, Sara Marie York made her surprise return.  York had been on the shelf for almost a month after a brutal assault by her rival, Brooke Tyler.  York returned the favor, beating up Tyler before laying Brooke out with her finisher, the Energy Burst.  Then in a surprise twist, York would snatch the Women's Title Match contract and sign her own name under "Challenger"!  Because of such actions, TCW General Manager went ahead and turned the Women's Title Match at Summer Showdown into a Triple Threat Match! 

Once again, Alina America proves why she is considered the best female wrestler in the world today.  America would hit York with her patented Northern Lights Bomb to successfully defend her championship.  Though it was quite the memorable moment for America, it's pretty clear that a one-on-one encounter with Brooke Tyler is inevitable.  

(Alina America continues to enjoy her 1st Reign as TCW World Women's Champion.  America defeated Fuyuko Higa at Total Mayhem 2022 to win the Championship.  She has successfully defended her championship 3 times in a span on 85 days.)

In a No Disqualification Match, KC Glenn defeated Wolf Hawkins to become the NEW TCW World Heavyweight Champion (89)

At Total Mayhem 2022, KC Glenn came up just short from dethroning Wolf Hawkins as World Heavyweight Champion.  He was determined to do it all on his own, just himself alone going to war against The Syndicate.  As courageous as that might have been, Glenn would nevertheless fail to achieve his goal.  Glenn learned a tough lesson.  If he was going to take down Wolf Hawkins & The Syndicate, he was going to need help.  Battling the Syndicate was a numbers game, and they sure as hell weren't going to play fair.

After climbing back up the mountain and surviving obstacles thrown at him by Hawkins and TCW Executive Eddie Chandler, Glenn earned another title match against Hawkins at Summer Showdown.  KC Glenn would even defeat Hawkins's right hand man Princeton Pryce to earn the right to choose the stipulations for the title match.  Glenn didn't want anything fancy.  Glenn decided upon a simple No Disqualification Match.  But...Glenn wanted a Special Enforcer for the match, and that Enforcer would be the TCW General Manager, Ricky Dale Johnson!  

"I'm going to play your game," Glenn told Hawkins.  "I know what's waiting for me at Summer Showdown.  So I'm going to make the battlefield as fair as possible.  And nobody can make it more fair than RDJ!"  

To no one's surprise, the rest of the Syndicate would get involved in the championship match to help their leader.  But, unlike Total Mayhem, Glenn would have allies to come to his rescue.  Sammy Bach & Randy Unleashed.  Two men who had valiantly battled the Syndicate in the past and have fallen to the numbers game.  Bach & Unleashed helped fend off The Syndicate, and as a result left Glenn and Hawkins alone to battle one-on-one.  And that's all Glenn needed to complete his mission.  After hitting the Tuning Up The Sunshine Band twice, Glenn would pin Hawkins to become World Heavyweight Champion for the 1st Time in his career.  

It's been a long road for KC Glenn, and now he stands on top of the mountain in TCW and the wrestling world.  The question is now...what is next?...and can KC Glenn stay at the top of the mountain?

(KC Glenn ends Wolf Hawkins's 5th Reign as TCW World Heavyweight Championship after exactly one full year.  Hawkins defeated Sammy Bach for the Championship at Summer Showdown 2021.  Hawkins successfully defended the championship 12 times.)

Edited July 19 by dbritton987

[619]

I've used the build-up to TEW IX to finally try the ECW 1992 play-through that intrigued me ever since @Hollywood's great dynasty a year ago. I wanted to play as realistically/minimalistically as possible so no bringing future stars in early. With the exception of hiring Damien Kane as The Super Destroyers' handler, I limited myself to the original roster beyond recruiting Tri State-based replacements when Ivan Koloff retired (Mike Sharpe) and Sal Bellomo quit (Tommy Cairo). Which admittedly probably makes a write-up of the save far less interesting 😆

The main year-long thread was the friendship between fairly generic local babyfaces JT Smith and (surfer) Mr. Sandman and their shared ECW Title aspirations, with their determination to dethrone first champion Koloff increased when he injured Mr. Sandman's wife Peaches by knocking her off the apron.

Peaches wasn't happy with two things JT Smith said in interviews: firstly, when he was asked upon his title shot about avenging what happened to her and answered honestly that it wasn't his only motivation, and secondly his disapproval when Mr. Sandman agreed to put his marriage on the line for a rematch with Koloff. The surfer won the title after taking that gamble, and Peaches playfully teased JT for doubting his friend, implying that extra incentive was why he won and JT didn't.

Still, JT Smith became the first ECW wrestler to achieve six singles wins soon after and believed it put him in line for a title shot, but Mr. Sandman was determined to face newcomer Mike Sharpe, who'd attacked him after his latest defence against Tony Stetson. So Smith had to face Sharpe in a contender match and Peaches accidentally cost Smith the win. This created suspicion Smith might turn on Mr. Sandman in his ECW Title defence against Sharpe but he had his back, only for an apparant alliance between Sharpe, Damien Kane and The Super Destroyers to see them outnumbered and Sharpe crowned champion.

Smith and Mr. Sandman handed Sharpe his first loss in a tag match with Kane and, even though JT scored the fall, he told Sandman to take the first shot at Sharpe. However, with JT stretchered out after an attack by The Super Destroyers during his opening match, Mr. Sandman fell to the numbers in a No DQ main event (made after Mr. Sandman caused the night's second DQ in The Super Destroyers' tag defence to try to avenge their attack on Smith).

JT believed he'd finally get his shot at Sharpe for the title, but Mr. Sandman had another idea: get back at The Super Destroyers by taking their titles. They made it a November to remember by doing just that, and a grateful Mr. Sandman told Smith to get the ECW Title off Sharpe at 1992's final show.

They had to defend their tag titles earlier in the night, a fairly routine defence where the most notable moment was Peaches being knocked off the apron again, only to be caught by Smith. The Smith v Sharpe main event saw Mr. Sandman counter The Super Destroyers' interference, only to then hit Smith in the back with his surfboard and cost him the title. He then took Peaches' belt (the Singapore caning of Michael Fay hadn't happened yet so I guess that weapon wouldn't make sense) and whipped Smith for putting his hands on his wife.

It wasn't perfect as a woman coming between two friends is a fairly regressive trope (and apparently 32 segments teasing her turn was too much foreshadowing 😅). But it felt true to the era and promotion and I tried to do it in a way where at different stages it felt like JT and Peaches could unite or JT could turn on both, only for JT to not only show his loyalty but be punished for it when it looked like all had been resolved, as winning the tag titles, performing double duty and saving Peaches proved his undoing. And ultimately it was Sandman's own sadistic streak rather than any Peaches' manipulation that triggered the turn.

This angle would then lay the foundations for ECW moving in a more extreme direction from 1993 onwards and Sandman taking his more familiar form, but I'm guessing I won't get too far with that with TEW IX arriving.