Go Not Gently Into That Coastal Zone

[infinitywpi]

February 2021

 

Oh, hey, we’re in a regional battle. And we placed first out of third, so it sounds like we get a boost for the month. Go, us! So while the AI did a better job than us last year, we’re doing a better job than other companies’ AI. I don't feel quite so bad now.

 

Deadly Deadshot had been working out, becoming more muscular. While we didn’t really care, it -did- show dedication. Does this mean we should use him more? Or less? Or... maybe it's just a thing?

 

Just for fun, let's hire someone new. I go through and look at everyone with good basics, good psychology, and at least decent flying and technical skills. And only the unemployed ones. In the USA. That’s… still a decent list. Hrm. Narrow it down to people somewhat known in the Southwest… ah-ha. There we go. “The Q Man” Quentin Queen. A TCW School graduate who never got signed to the big time, has a great all-around game, and is 27 -- still young enough to want to make a run at the big boys after a couple years in the Zone. We make the offer (for dirt cheap, too).

 

CZCW Vendetta 2021

Pre-show match: Ellie de Grazia, Larry Briscoe, and Juliet Balconi def. Heartbreaker, Eureka LaBelle, and Amy St. James (38).

Your show: Cali Slick def. American Flash (59). Frankie Perez and the debuting Quentin Queen def. Team Red Blood (62). Matt Sparrow retains the Xtreme Title over Skye, Peter, and Zel (44). Inner City Express retain the Tag Titles over Gangster Nation -- who, we now discover, have absolutely zero chemistry (52). In a six-man match Storm Spillane, Kira Lee, and Onslaught defeat CLM, Coleman, and Air Raid Syren (43). Masked Cougar retained the COTT Title over Simon Waves (50). And in the main event, Frankie-Boy Fenandez loses the CZCW Title in a ladder match to Pablo Rodriguez (67).

 

Why the change? Well, Frankie-Boy had gotten contract offers from USPW and TCW, and we’re no fools: When two big names come after you, you don’t stay put. Sure enough, he signed with USPW shortly after Vendetta; we had our first poaching.

 

It wouldn't be our last. (Ooooh, foreshadowing!)

 

On the next Coastal Zone: Backstage trouble begins brewing, and what member of CZCW will leave next? The answer will shock you! (No, that's not a pun, the word 'shock' isn't germane to the situation at all...)

[infinitywpi]

March 2021

 

Storm Spillane is beginning to vex me. Half the time we want to use him, he's working for BGC... and this time, he got injured working for BGC and I reaaaaaally shouldn't use him. I'm trying to like the guy, trying to help him out, but stuff just keeps me thinking "Maybe I should cut my losses."

 

Peter B and Larry Brisco's contracts come up, apparently they got signed for one-year deals; we sign them for another year, just to see if we can make something out of either of them. That, and they're cheap.

 

Miguel Rivera and Bullseye were starting to badmouth each other in interviews. Pretty sure that's a feud nobody's interested in seeing.

 

... and just a few days before our show, Pee-Wee Germain, of all people, hands in his notice. That's gonna hurt. Where can we find a good replacement ref?

 

CZCW Uprising 2021

Pre-Show: Kira Lee & Juliet Balconi def. Onslaught & Eureka (38).

Show: Matt Sparrow retains the Xtreme Title over Bullseye, Quentin Queen, and Simon Waves (53). Miguel Rivera def. Al Coleman (52). Diaz & Tokoeka retain the COTT Tag Titles over International Express (Ellie de Grazia and Peter Broughton) (44). Waylon Walls def. Larry Briscoe (37). Frankie Perez def. Heartbreaker (59). Cali Slick def. CLM (55). The Inner City Express retains the Tag Team Titles over The Enforcers (Air Raid Syren and Zel Quinn) (49). Pablo retains the CZCW Title over Deadly Deadshot and American Flash (57). And in the main event, Masked Cougar retained the COTT Title over Tigre Salvage Jr (63).

 

… Juliet Balconi has a strong connection with the young female demographic who really liked her winning. Well, then. Girl Power it is… also, Miguel and Coleman have great chemistry, as do Waylon and Larry. We’d have to remember that. And we just broke 80,000 viewers!

 

On the next Coastal Zone: We're going to experiment with something... we're pre-booking a match! Next month, Masked Cougar vs Pable Rodriguez, non-title... with the loser putting their title on the line in the rematch at Welcome to the Coastal Zone!

[praguepride]

You know you're in rough shape when your ref up and quits...

[infinitywpi]

April 2021

 

April means Coastal Resort graduates. The first, Zach Huey, we let go out into the world to find something. He's very much a Larry Briscoe-like all-rounder not-very-good-at-anything. The second, Wesley Cooper, we bring on for a year. He's a good striker and has potential in other areas.

 

CZCW Spring Break Bash 2021

Pre-Show: Heartbreaker def. Eureka (41). Bullseye def. Peter B (40). Skye Hermosa def. Onslaught (38).

Show: Juliet Balconi, Air Raid Syren, and Welsey Cooper def. Amy St. James, Al Coleman, and Larry Brisco (33). Matt Sparrow retains the Xtreme Title over Ellie, Quentin, and Zel (50). Deadly Deadshot & Kira Lee def. American Flash & Waylon Walls (51). Cali Slick def. Miguel Rivera (65). The Inner City Express retain the Tag Team Titles over CLM and Simon Waves (50). Frankie Perez def. Tigre Salvaje Jr (74). Masked Cougar def. Pablo Rodriguez to put Pablo’s CZCW Title on the line at Welcome to the Coastal Zone (65).

 

… was that a 74? About freakin’ time I book something awesome.

 

Please welcome our new referee: Elegance, formerly of BSC. She works cheap, and if we let the women mix it up with the men, it only seems fair we have a female ref in there as well.

 

Huh. Wasn’t expecting this; Kira Lee has decided to move on. Well, bummer, we were thinking of pushing her as the most advanced of our female wrestlers.

 

On the next Coastal Zone: We're not in the Grissom? And finally, a surprise title change that -isn't- my fault!

[infinitywpi]

<p><strong>May 2021</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Tonight's show, oddly enough, comes to you not from the Grissom Arena, but from somewhere in San Francisco. That's probably a really good sign, right?</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Welcome to the Coastal Zone 2021</strong></p><p>

Pre-Show: None!</p><p>

Show: California Love Machine & Simon Waves def. Tigre Salvaje Jr & American Flash (55). Coleman & Bullseye def. Skye & Heartbreaker (50). Ellie def. Zel (41). Matt Sparrow retains the Xtreme Title over Storm Spillane (59). The Inner City Express retain the Tag Titles over Team Red Blood (60). In an eight-man match, Team Quentin (Quentin, Syren, Juliet, and Cooper) def. Team Kira (Kira, Walls, Onslaught, and Eureka) (45). Cali Slick def. Frankie Perez (75). Masked Cougar def. Pablo Rodriguez for the CZCW Title to become a dual-title-holder (67).</p><p> </p><p>

Not a bad darn show, if I say so myself. And we had plans, now... Cougar was going to defend the CZCW Title and the COTT Title on every show for the rest of the ye--</p><p> </p><p>

What? Who the hell is Miller Fforde and why did MAW let him win the COTT Title two days ago?</p><p> </p><p>

Dammit, I had plans!</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>June 2021</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Yeah, it's a couple of quiet months, so I'm doing two in one post. </p><p> </p><p>

IPW had Inner City Express win the COTT Tag Titles, so it turns out I -do- have a dual-title act... but what's the point in having them wrestle twice if I don't have any decent tag teams to put up against them?</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>CZCW Surf Slam 2021</strong></p><p>

Pre-Show: Wesley Cooper def. Waylon Walls (30). Skye Hermosa def. Larry Brisco (30). Bullseye def. Peter Broughton (42). </p><p>

Show: Air Raid Syren def. Heartbreaker (44). California Love Machine def. Al Coleman (49). Deadshot, Queen, and Tigre def. Spillane, Rivera, and Flash (63). The Inner City Express retain over the Kings of Extreme (Juliet & Amy) (51). Matt Sparrow retains over Elie De Grazia (44). Simon Waves gets an upset over Pablo Rodreguez (60). And in the main event, Frankie Perez wins the CZCW Title in a triple-threat against Masked Cougar and Cali Slick (64). </p><p> </p><p>

Wasley and Waylon don’t click. Well, that’s one jobber match we won’t see again. Syren and Heartbreaker, though, have great chemistry. Now to decide if we want to build both of them up… and unfortunately, Cali Slick broke a couple of ribs during that main event. </p><p> </p><p>

So, all in all, not a great show, but a good enough show -- and we sold out the Grissom! </p><p> </p><p>

We continue to place first in the regional battles, so I won’t mention it unless it changes.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>On the next Coastal Zone:</strong> We begin rebuilding the tag team division, just in time for another "Aw, ****" moment. Several of them, actually.</p>

[infinitywpi]

Everyone who was expecting one of those "Things just got interesting" months... here we go.

 

June 2021

 

We make an offer to Cali Slick’s partner, Aces high. We need a better tag team division, and this is how it starts.

 

CZCW Battle on the Beach 2021

Pre-Show: Juliet Balcony def. Amy St James, Onslaught, Peter B, Zel Quinn, and Wesley Cooper (35)

Show: Jay Becker def. Storm Spillane (60). Cougar, Coleman, and Heartbreaker def. Syren, Ellie, and Skye (51). Malik Cash def. American Flash (51). Tigre Salvaje wins the Xtreme Title over Matt Sparrow, Quentin Queen, and Bullseye (60). The Long Beach Crew def. Team Red Blood (55). Simon Waves def. Pablo Rodreguez again (60). Frankie Perez retains over California Love Machine (62).

 

Backstage, Miguel Rivera appears to be trying to turn people against Bullseye; Onslaught, Quinn, and Queen have all been giving him the stink-eye tonight, and we’re not sure what is going on here -- but so far it’s not causing any problems.

 

Annnnnnd crap. Someone must’ve grown, because people are getting offers again. CWA has made offers to Frankie Perez, Simon Waves, and Cali Slick… and there’s SWF with offers for Frankie and Simon… USPW for Simon… okay, all three of them now have offers from all three companies. In the end, all three decide to sign with USPW. Wellllllll crap. And hey, Jey Becker just got the same three offers; he’s yet to decide.

 

Oh, and Britney Hollywood has decided to leave as well. No idea if that has anything to do with her relationship to Storm or not.

 

On the next Coastal Zone: It's time for a 'classic Zone move', as we show why sometimes you really shouldn't go to bed right after major events...

[tryker2710]

Oh dear, that's a big raid and some big losses, time to job them out hard

[infinitywpi]

<p><strong>August 2021</strong> (Now on patch 1.02)</p><p> </p><p>

So, we’re losing A) our champion, B) the guy Pablo said he wanted to put over to build as a new star (Simon), C) one-half of our tag champions (Becker decided to sign with USPW), and D) one-half of the only other decent tag team we have. That… that really hurts, no two ways about it. </p><p> </p><p>

… oh, and Juliet Balconi is filming a TV show again. We can say goodbye to her for another four months. Four months. For a cameo. Yeesh.</p><p> </p><p>

We’re also starting to look at some of our gimmicks. Some of them aren’t doing so well. We try tweaking American Flash, Larry Brisco, and Wesley Cooper. Al Coleman was also bad, but couldn’t be tweaked. On the plus side, we have eleven (!!) ‘legendary’ gimmicks. We just won’t touch those at all...</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Wave Of Fury 2021</strong></p><p>

Pre-show: Ellie deGrazia & Larry Briscoe def. Zel Quinn & Onslaught (34). Air Raid Syren def. Amy St James (34).</p><p>

Show: Matt Sparrow & Simon Waves def. Peter B & Wes Cooper (38). Deadly Deadshot def. Waylon Walls (54). Al Coleman & Miguel Rivera def. Heartbreaker & Skye (48). Quentin Queen def. Eureka LaBelle (47). Tigre Salvaje retains the Xtreme Title over Storm Spillane and California Love Machine (47). American Flash def. Bulseye (53). The Inner City Express retain the CZCW Tag Titles against the Long Beach Crew (74). And in your main event, Frankie Perez retained the CZCW Title over Masked Cougar and Pablo Rodriguez (70).</p><p> </p><p>

Oooo, show rating 69. Nice. Almost to that 70 mark! Also: Flash and Bullseye, great chemistry. Did we know that? We do now. </p><p> </p><p>

Hrm. this was unexpected. On his way out the door on his last show with us, Cali Slick stopped me to give me a piece of advice. “Zel Quinn isn’t tough enough to make it in this business, get rid of the kid.” Um… gee, thanks for the advice, but we kinda know that, that’s why he’s a jobber. Either he’ll toughen up, or he’ll quit. </p><p> </p><p>

And that’s that. Frankie, Cali, Simon, Becker, and Britney are go-- oh, hell, I forgot to get titles off Frankie and Becker before they left...</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>On the next Coastal Zone:</strong> Believe it or not: Things get worse, shocking even the player.</p>

[Nightshadeex]

I can't wait until Victor St. Hubbins graduates from the Coastal Resort.

[infinitywpi]

September 2021

 

So, we’ve lost some pretty heavy hitters. And we can’t wait for some of our existing stars to take that brass ring, so we need to bring in some big names. But we don’t want to outshadow our existing people. So… split it up? Two big names, two midcarders to help raise up who we still have. And yes, they’re all getting used at the next show, so we’ll let the suspense build a little bit.

 

We also need to figure out how to assign a manager, since Willow has nothing to do, but that’s another story. (Twenty minutes later) Ohhh, you have to click on their morale, and then you can set the manager. What. The. Hell.

 

Anyway, as part of a ‘total makeover’ for Al Coleman, we’re re-pairing him with Willow… and putting a mask on him. He is now ‘The Constrictor’, a snake-like fellow who’ll crush the life out of you with his submissions.

 

…. OH COME ON! Now Quincy is turning in his notice??? At least we have one more show before we need yet another new ref…

 

Screw it. Tournament time!

 

Reach for the Sky 2021

Pre-Show: Quentin Queen & Bullseye def. Skye & Walls (49). International Express (Ellie & Peter B) def. The Enforcers (Zel & Syren) (37).

CZCW Title Tournament, First Round: Masked Cougar def. Pablo Rodriguez (62). Matt Sparrow def. Tigre Salvaje Jr (56). Malik Cash def. Deadly Deadshot (53). California Love Machine… LOSES to the muthafreakin’ One Man Army (43).

Tournament Break - Xtreme Contendership Match: Aces High def. Miguel Rivera and new signees Coco Malloy and the returning PARADOX (57).

CZCW Title Tournament Semifinals: One Man Army def. Matt Sparrow (53). Masked Cougar def. Malik Cash (66).

Tournament Break - CZCW Tag Title Match: The Submissionaries (Al ‘Constrictor’ Coleman and ‘SPEEDBALL’ MARC SPEED) def. Team America (American Flash & Wesley Cooper) (51).

CZCW Title Match: One Man Army def. Masked Cougar to become the NEW CZCW Champion (59)

 

… okay, I’m a little underwhelmed. But One Man Army was the biggest-name unemployed wrestler who felt like they could fit in with the Zone. Coco (from QAW) would be good for helping lift up our lowercard people, Paradox was here to show how he’d improved since the old days of the Paratroopers, Speedball was coming back home after his TCW stay didn’t work out, and One Man Army was, well, probably the most recognizable name in the Zone now and would hopefully get more eyeballs our way.

 

All in all, I think we’ve done okay compensating for losing so many names at the top of the card, don’t you? I mean, what could possibly happen that could…

 

…

 

Miguel Rivera hands in notice, leaving CZCW.

Tigre Salvaje, Jr hands in notice, leaving CZCW.

Masked Cougar hands in notice, leaving CZCW.

…

FOX ****ING MASK hands in notice, leaving CZCW.

 

Oh, **** me… and with Hardcore Halloween not until the end of next month, it meant we wouldn’t have a chance to get the Xtreme Title off Tigre or do a farewell for anyone else...

 

On the next Coastal Zone: … help?

[infinitywpi]

October 2021

 

Okay. Everything’s okay. This is fine.

 

First order of business. We need to replace Fox. A new road agent and a new color commentator. Preferably the same person to keep finances down, but we’d let Cliff worry about that if it wasn’t possible.

 

Now here’s an interesting batch of new signees for you.

Our replacement Road Agent is: Melody

Our new Referee is: R.M. Stones

Our new wrestlers are: Max Mayhem, Titan, and The Crippler

Our new color commentator is: The mad master of mayhem himself, Phil Vibert!

 

Okay. I think we’ve recovered. Pretty well, too. Some big names we can use to help pump up the rest of the roster. We’ve got a handle on this. No problem. The fact we’ve driven away so many long-time Coastal Zoners doesn’t mean anything…

 

… annnnd before he even gets a single show in, Titan gets hired away by CWA. Well, at least we get one appearance out of him…

 

 

Hardcore Halloween 2021

Pre-show: Ellie deGrazia def. Heartbreaker (39)

Show: Winner goes on to the Xtreme Title match later tonight: Deadly Deadshot def. American Flash, Max Mayhem, and Storm Spillane (63). Malik Cash & Matt Sparrow def. Coco Malloy & Bullseye (52). Paradox def. Peter B, Onslaught, Eureka, and Zel (43). The Crippler def. California Love Machine (55). The Submissionaries retain the CZCW Tag Titles over The Syke Syrens (Skye Hermosa & Air Raid Syren) (59). Quentin Queen takes down the monster Titan (59). Deadly Deadshot defeats Aces High to win the vacant Xtreme Title (58). One Man Army retains the CZCW Title over Pablo Rodriguez (49).

 

That main event… ouch. Pablo broke his toe early on, and it just slowed the whole thing down. Certainly not our best work.

 

On the plus side, what the hell else could happen to us? … well, we placed second instead of first in the regional battle for the first time. We know, we know, we need to get better...

 

On the next Coastal Zone: Have we entered a death spiral, or can we recover?

[Editor6]

September 2021

 

FOX ****ING MASK hands in notice, leaving CZCW.

 

 

Oh my God.

[infinitywpi]

November 2021

 

October-to-November is always fun, just given how Hardcore Halloween and Showdown at Sundown are a week apart. Usually, not much happens; this year is no exception.

 

We do, however, do the math and decide that if we bump ourselves up to the next level of merchandising, we’d make back the money spent to upgrade it in well under a year, so we begin expanding it.

 

Our new Road Agent, Melody, says she wouldn’t mind doing some managing too, so we pair her up with The Sky Sirens to see how it works out.

 

Showdown at Sundown 2021

Pre-show: Onslaught & Wes Cooper def. Eureka and Zel (33).

Show: Sky Sirens def. International Express (39). Al Coleman def. Waylon Walls (57). Marc Speed def. Heartbreaker (56). Coco Malloy & Paradox def. Bullseye & Briscoe (46). The Crippler def. Pablo “Super-Fast-Broken-Toe-Healer” Rodriguez (64). Deadly Deadshot retains the Xtreme Title over American Flash (48). Quentine Queen def. CLM, Titan, Aces High, and Max Mayhem (53). Malik Cash def. Storm Spillane (60). One Man Army retains the CZCW Title over Matt Sparrow (54).

 

… okay, okay. Maybe One Man Army isn’t the right call to have the title…

 

Other than that, the month goes nice and quietly. We renew our contract with WrestleWorld for another year. That’s it. That’s all. Nice and quiet.

 

 

December 2021 (now on patch 1.03)

 

The nice, slow time of year continues on through to our next show.

 

Christmas Cage Chaos 2021

Pre-Show: Amy St. James & Eureka LaBelle def. Briscoe & Quinn (33).

Show: Team America (Flash & Cooper) def. International Express (Peter B and deGrazia) & Sky Sirens (Skye & Syren) (39). Coco Malloy def. Heartbreaker (39). Juliet Balconi & Max Mayhem def. Bullseye & Onslaught (53). Paradox def. Waylon walls (48). Quentin Queen def. Matt Sparrow (63). Deadly Deadshot retains the Xtreme Title over Aces high and California Love Machine (48). The Submissionaries retain the Tag Team Titles over The Crippler & Pablo Rodriguez (62). Malik Cash wins the CZCW Championship from One Man Army INSIDE A STEEL CAGE (47).

 

… I may have just traded one bad choice for a champion for another.

 

Al Coleman cracked his sternum during the tag title match. And he still finished the match and got the winning submission. What a trooper!

 

Hrm. We didn’t notice this last month, but Melody and Air Raid Syren don’t work well together at all. Maybe we should just have Melody manage Skye…

 

… and we finish third out of three in the regional battle. What a way to end the year…

 

Year In Review 2021

 

Your wrestler of the year is Wolf Hawkins.

Company of the Year is TCW.

Match of the Year is Aaron Andrews def. Wolk Hawkins by countout, TCW Destructive Energy

Show of the Year is BHOTWG Everlasting Mission

Young Wrestler of the Year is Flip Simkins

Veteran of the Year is Sammy Bach

Female of the Year is Jamie Quine

Most Improved Company is MAW

Indy Wrestler of the Year is Gemmei Oonishi

 

The State Of The Zone

We have more than doubled our cash reserves. We are working on improving our merchandising. Worker salaries are going up, and viewership is trending slightly down -- but given our last few shows, we honestly can’t blame them.

 

Size-wise, we’re growing quite quickly; with WrestleWorld’s help, we believe. Within two years we should be able to call ourselves ‘Not Small’ with a straight face… provided we stop putting on crappy shows. Fun fact: We’re more over in Canada than we are in half of the US.

 

Our biggest stars right now are Malik Cash, Speedball, One Man Army, and The Crippler, with Al Coleman, CLM, Deadly Deadshot, Sparrow, and Queen in the second tier. Aces High, American Flash, Pablo Rodriguez, and Storm Spillane make up the rest of our best names. Storm is actually on the Power 500 at #451; The Crippler is at #211.

 

On the next Coastal Zone: I really shouldn't've listed who our biggest stars were...

[infinitywpi]

January 2022 (Now on patch 1.04)

 

… okay, that bit where I was talking about our biggest stars, up there? Scratch off two more names. TCW has claimed Speedball (again) and Deadly Deadshot. Well, hell.

 

And to make things more interesting, Cliff decided MMA Crossovers were okay, just don’t hire anyone over the age of 45. Apparently having our biggest name be The 48-year-old Crippler made him feel like we were in danger of losing our youth appeal.

 

Revolution 2022

Pre-Show:

Heartbreaker & Briscoe def. Walls & Quinn (36).

Bullseye def. Wes Cooper (36).

Show:

Paradox wins the Xtreme Title over Deadly Deadshot, Aces high, and American Flash (53).

Sky Sirens def. International Express (40).

The Crippler & Matt Sparrow def. One Man Army & Max Mayhem (59).

Juliet Balcony def. Coco Malloy (37).

Pablo Rodreguz & Quentin Queen def. Submissionaries for the CZCW Tag Titles (64).

Malik Cash retains the CZCW Title over California Love Machine (52).

 

… ooh yeah, we gotta get the title off Cash. He’s off his game in the main event, it’s too much pressure for him.

 

And just for fun, we finish off the month with USPW hiring away backup ref R.M.Stones. Y’know what? Screw it. I’m’a hire someone away from IPW.

 

At least we’re back to winning the regional battle!

 

 

February 2022

 

IPW’s Kurt Lovenkrantz was our new ref. We decide to make it an exclusive contract, just to mess with IPW. Am I being petty? Maybe I’m being petty.

 

Vendetta 2022

Pre-Show:

Waylon Walls def. Eureka LaBelle (37).

Coco Malloy def. Zel Quinn (37).

Show:

International Express def. Amy St. James & Heartbreaker (43).

Max Mayhem def. Larry Brisco (45).

Juliet Balcony & Aces high def. Storm Spillane & Bullseye (58).

The Crippler def. One Man Army (59).

Rodriquez & Queen retain the Tag Titles over CLM & Coleman (47).

The Sky Sirens def. Team America (41).

Paradox retain the Xtreme Title over Marc Speed (63).

Matt Sparrow defeats Malik Cash to become the new CZCW Champion (63).

 

Wait… Max Mayhem lifted Larry Brisco to a halfway-decent match? Someone just earned a push. And that Xtreme Title match was the first time we’ve seen the note “This match deserved better announcing.” Maybe this is a sign we’re actually getting better?

 

GSW brought Al Coleman and Quentin Queen in; we don’t mind that so much. GSW’s cool. They have their style, we have ours, even though we tend to share a good number of names. IPW, now, those guys just rubbed us the wrong way…

 

On the next Coastal Zone: An old-school Zoner leaves, so an old-school Zoner returns for a shot at redemption. Who is it? Place your bets now!

[tryker2710]

I love the irrational hatred for another COTT company, those guys are too friendly, it's time somebody started a little drama!

[infinitywpi]

I love the irrational hatred for another COTT company, those guys are too friendly, it's time somebody started a little drama!

 

They started it! They decided to not like us... but stopped short of declaring war. So we don't like them. Or something. The entire COTT is kinda slowly falling apart...

[infinitywpi]

March 2022

 

OKay, Speedball was gone. Either we put all our ‘Zone Nostalgia’ hopes on Paradox… or… hrm. Should I? Has he learned? Will Cliff let me? Let’s find out…

 

What’s that, Cliff? Comedy wrestlers are okay now? Great, not that I was -- what? No luchadores? Um, Cliff, you know some of our fanbase is here for… for… well, American Flash, and that’s about it… okay, point taken.

 

Uprising 2022

Pre-Show:

Bullseye def. Coco, Heartbreaker, Zel, Cooper, and Briscoe (30)

Show:

Kings of Xreme def. International Express (39).

Max Mayhem def. American Flash (55).

Al Coleman def. Aces High and One Man Army (57).

The returning REMMY SKYE defeats Malik Cash (54).

Rodriguez & Queen retain the Tag Team Titles over Sky Sirens (53).

Paradox retains the Xtreme Title over CLM (52).

Matt Sparrow retains the CZCW Title over The Crippler (62).

 

We’re slowly getting back on track. Although we’re told the show was awesome. Doesn’t feel that way. When was our last match in the 70s?

 

 

April 2022

 

After seeing a news article on her, we make an offer to QAW’s Modesty Pador. Hey, if some unnamed ‘industry veterans’ say she’s a ‘future superstar’, who are we to argue?

 

The new Coastal Resort class: Johnny Freebush, technical flier. Short, ripped, psychotic. Stanley Danzig, high-flying agitator. Danzig has the edge on star quality, stamina and athleticism; Freebush has the edge on skills, but only slightly, and at this stage in their careers, it’s not a big deal. We give Danzig an offer and let Freebush loose on the world.

 

Spring Break Bash 2022

Pre-Show:

Zel Quinn def. Stanley Danzig (21)

Show:

Max Mayhem def. Bullseye (50).

Kings of Xtreme def. Walls & LaBelle (36).

The Crippler def. International Express (45).

Modesty Pador def. Heartbreaker (35).

Remmy Skye def. One Man Army (54).

Sky Sirens def. Team America (34).

Paradox retains the Xtreme Title over Coleman, Aces High, and CLM (42).

Rodriguez & Queen def. Sparrow & Cash to retain the CZCW Tag Team Titles in a ladder match (56).

 

Ouch. We had such high hopes for that show, and the main event in specific. We need to rethink how we’re going about things. So, with that in mind… I’m setting myself some new goals.

 

1) Max Mayhem needs to be brought up to Xtreme-contendership-level ASAP.

2) Pablo is finally getting too old for this. This will probably be his last title run -- and it probably won’t last very long.

3) Try not to piss off One Man Army too much while I’m using him to put people over.

 

MAW swapped the COTT Tag Titles onto James Diaz & Sterling Whitlock; once more, I lament the lack of experienced tag teams on my roster.

 

And we get second in the regional battle. After that show, I’m surprised we’re not third… GSW only had a 49, and IPW beat us by two points, with a 56. Two points. Surely we can improve by two points, right?

 

On the next Coastal Zone: Death Comes For Us All.

[Nightshadeex]

3 words. Leisure Suit Morty (Mad Dog Mortimer).

[infinitywpi]

<p><strong>May 2022</strong></p><p> </p><p>

Our merchandise upgrade is done! We’re now doing worker-specific merch as well; our top three are The Crippler, one Man Army, and Remmy Skye. Following them are Paradox, Sparrow, and Melody. Probably not a good sign when your Road Agent/Manager is a top merch seller.</p><p> </p><p>

Backstage for Welcome to the Coastal Zone was busy, with a video game tournament -and- a poker tournament. And Remmy telling me there was someone he wanted to put over. Which was… unexpected. But we’d think about that for the future.</p><p> </p><p>

Okay, let’s not screw this up… and we do a quick announcement before the show that Paradox has given up the Xtreme Title in exchange for a shot at the CZCW Title tonight.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Welcome to the Coastal Zone 2022</strong></p><p>

Pre-Show: </p><p>

Heartbreaker def. Onslaught and Walls (40). </p><p>

Modesty, Ellie, Danzig, Briscoe, and Peter B def. Flash, Cooper, Eureka, Coco, and Quinn (39).</p><p>

Show: </p><p>

Aces High def. One Man Army (54). </p><p>

Kings of Xtreme def. Storm Spillane & Bullseye (56).</p><p>

Max Mayhem def. CLM (56). </p><p>

The Crippler def. T-Rex for the COTT World Title (58). </p><p>

Sky Sirens def. Rodiguez & Queen for the CZCW Tag Team Titles when Queen and Rodrguez have a miscommunication (51). </p><p>

Remmy Skye def. Al Coleman and Malik Cash in a ladder match for the Xtreme Title (60). </p><p>

Matt Sparrow def. Paradox to retain the CZCW Title (61). </p><p> </p><p>

Remmy cracked his ribs on a stunt bump we had set up for that match, but he still toughed through the end of it. More worryingly, we’re starting to get age-related issues from Sparrow… and our announce team is having trouble gelling. Not the blow-away show we were hoping for… but better than we’ve been doing lately. But hey, things are looking up!</p><p> </p><p>

…</p><p> </p><p>

Dammit, I shouldn’t have said that. </p><p> </p><p>

<strong><em>Rest In Peace</em></strong></p><p><strong><em>

Phil Vibert </em></strong></p><p> </p><p>

At the age of only 48, too. A true wrestling legend for his behind-the-scenes work… and now we have to find another color commentator. The former Helen Wheels, Grace Harper, fits the bill near-perfectly.</p><p> </p><p>

…. What? What now…</p><p> </p><p>

… oh no…. </p><p> </p><p>

… Oh dear god, no…</p><p> </p><p>

<strong><em>Rest In Profit</em></strong></p><p><strong><em>

Clifford S. Anderson</em></strong></p><p><strong><em>

1961-2022</em></strong></p>

[infinitywpi]

June 2022

 

“So, tell me. Why would Cliff give you the job of head booker?”

 

I held up a copy of our financial numbers for the last year and a half.

 

“Right. So why should I keep you on?”

 

I lowered the copy of the financial numbers. Then raised them again.

 

“Man of few words, aren’t you? Well, okay. You can keep your job. But I have a few rules. If we shrink, you’re fired. This is the Coastal Zone I grew up watching to see where the fast and agile competition was coming from, so no Powerhouses… and no more hiring people over, say, 42. And one more thing… in addition to buying the company, I’m also investing in it. One hundred thousand, American. I want you to decide where that money goes. And I want to know where before our next show, got it?”

 

“Yessir, -bleeeeeep-, sir. That's easy. The Coastal Resort. Like you said... we're where the competition comes from, so let's amp up the training.”

 

So… our new owner was the legendary -bleeeeep-. If not for The Crippler, he’d be the oldest person on the roster. The question was, could he hold up for the length of time a Zone main event required?

 

… crap, and we need an announcer, too… and it’s too late to hire someone for tonight… it’s time for Grace Harper’s baptism by fire.

 

… and one of our freakin’ road agents is working elsewhere tonight… hey, Boss, you want to fill in there? Great. Thanks.

 

Surf Slam 2022

Pre-Show:

Walls & Quinn def. Modesty & Danzig (37).

Coco, Bullseye, and Heartbreaker def. Amy, Eureka, and Onslaught (39).

Show:

New CZCW Owner SEAN MC-FREAKIN-FLY def. Aces High (67).

Paradox & Juliet Balcony def. Storm Spillane & Larry Briscoe (50).

Max Mayhem def. One Man Army (53).

Sky Sirens retain the CZCW Tag Titles over Team America and International Express (45).

Remmy Skye retains the Xtreme Title over CLM and Pablo Rodriguez in a ladder match (53).

The Crippler retains the COTT Title over Al Coleman in a submission match (52).

Quentin Queen becomes the NEW CZCW Champion by defeating Matt Sparrow and Malik Cash (63).

 

Yeap. Sean McFly. Of the Canadian McFlys. And he can still go in the ring. Relatively. I mean, he's not really our style, but still.

 

Worrying: Instead of ‘this show raised our popularity in 18 (or 17) regions, this only raised it in 1 region. We may have gone as far as WrestleWorld can take us… (NOTE: After checking finances a few months later, it appears we managed to not broadcast this show somehow.)

 

CMLL and EMLL have both decided they don’t like us, ending their agreements not to steal workers and adopting ‘a hostile attitude’. Oh, great.

 

Okay, so… we need an announcer and another road agent before the next show… let’s see who’s willing to talk to us… hrm… oh. Oh, that would be good. “Babyface” Lee Bambino is our new play-by-play announcer, and our new Road Agent and second Color Commentator is…

 

… the triumphant, returning Fox Mask!

 

And for more good news, Brittany Hollywood and Storm Spillane are getting married!

 

On the next Coastal Zone: New owner, new announce team, it's like a whole new ballgame. How can we screw this one up?

[Remianen]

Jeez, you hit the jackpot! He may not be your style but his popularity and in-ring skill could elevate your entire roster.

 

That's crazy lucky.

 

 

P.S. Push Modesty *cough*

[infinitywpi]

July 2022

 

Willow decided to hand in her notice. With Melody leaving, that would leave us without managers. Somehow, this didn’t seem like as big a problem as some of the things we’ve had to deal with lately.

 

Battle on the Beach 2022

Ellie, Coco, and Briscoe def. Onslaught & Bullseye & Amy and Peter B & Eureka & Quinn (38).

Heartbreaker & Modesty def. Walls & Danzig (31).

Juliet Balconi & Sky Sirens def. CLM & Team America (31).

Remmy Skye retained the Xtreme Title over Sparrow and Coleman (53).

One Man Army, Aces High, and Max Mayhem def. Cash, Rodriguez, and Spillane (49).

The Crippler retains the COTT Title over Sean McFly (57).

Quentin Queen retains the CZCW Title over Paradox (48).

 

… WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NO ANNOUNCER???? Bambino is right there!!!!! Dammit. For the first time, a show lost us popularity…

 

Another COTT Tag Title change, as OLLIE put the belts on Team Dynasty, who were… Velvet Suarez and Antonia Andres? We could probably work with that.

 

Air Raid Syren and Eureka LaBelle had started dating. I’d have to make sure not to match them up again.

 

And yes, that stinker of a show put us last in the regional battle.

 

 

August 2022

 

Juliet left to do another three-month-long cameo appearance. At least she’s getting steady gigs!

 

This is a first… we may be trying to book too many matches, as we’ve hit a point where both our refs are complaining about over-working. So we cancel one of the pre-show matches and begin to wonder if we have too many workers or not enough refs.

 

Wave Of Fury 2022

Pre-Show:

Coco & Briscoe def. Danzig & Quinn (36).

Show:

Modesty Pador def. CLM and Bullseye (36).

The Crippler retains the COTT Title over One Man Army (56).

Al Coleman def. American Flash (56).

Malik Cash def. Storm Spillane (55).

Sky Sirens retain the CZCW Tag Titles over International Express (47).

Paradox def. Pablo Rodriguez (42).

Remmy Skye retains the Xtreme Title over Aces High (57).

Quentin Queen retains the CZCW Title over Sean McFly, Matt Sparrow, and Max Mayhem (61).

 

Wow. Lots of bad chemistry notes there. But, at least we were back to raising our popularity.

 

I think I’ve decided on our problem. Too many stars, too many jobbers, not enough in-between. So, I could spend some time trying to elevate our jobbers… or I could fire some of them and bring in new midcarders. Maybe a mixture of both? Hrm…

 

And it turns out there’s one I won’t have to fire; Zel Quinn has turned in his notice. Maybe Cali Slick was right about him…

 

On the next Coastal Zone: A surprise company connection is made, rats begin leaving the sinking ship, and a surprise personal dis-connection is made.

[infinitywpi]

September 2022

 

… okay, we can’t figure out how to end people’s contracts, so we’ll just keep everyone on the roster until they leave. In the meantime, three new contract offers are sent out: Jackpot Jordan returns to the Zone, with Rob Reynolds and Ricochet Ramone joining us for the first time.

 

… this is unexpected. EILL wants us to take developmental workers from them. I… hrm. Let’s see… they used to send developmental workers to CILL, but apparently that relationship has soured and they’re not on good terms anymore. A chance to be tied to the greatest wrestling company in Mexican history? … sure, let’s go for it. If nothing else, we’ll have new jobbers. And in the future, more stars will be able to say they spent time in the Zone. Plus, it’ll let us get around Sean’s ‘No Luchadores’ policy.

 

… well, that sucks. Amy St James giving her notice? We’re okay with that. Air Raid Syren? There goes our last anywhere-near-decent tag team. Luckily we just hired a replacement, but this isn’t how I’d wanted to swap the titles.

 

… and in more bad news, our new owner Sean McFly just divorced his wife Victoria Stone-McFly. Well, just Stone now, I guess. This is huge news for fans of Canadian wrestling. For us… well, we’re now owned by a man having a divorce-induced mid-life crisis.

 

And Al Coleman says he wants to put over Melody Pador. Twice. Well… okay, that’s certainly doable.

 

Reach For The Sky 2022

Pre-show:

Jobber Battle Royal. If they’re not on the rest of the card, they’re here. Heartbreak wins (48)

Show:

The Crippler retains the COTT Title over Pablo Rodriguez (57).

Paradox & Jackpot Jordan def. One Man Army & Larry Briscoe (46).

Matt Sparrow & CLM def. Aces High & Danzig (45).

Modesty Pador def. Al Coleman (50).

Relentless (Reynolds & Ramone) defeat Sky Sirens for the CZCW Tag Team Titles (54).

Quentin Queen retains the CZCW Title over Sean McFly (70).

Max Mayhem wins the Xtreme Title in a ladder match against Remmy and Cash (70).

 

A 70! Two of them! Been a long time since we’ve gotten one of those. Pity we messed up the order of our main events, but hey, we’ll take it!

 

Another jobber gone: Eureka LaBella has decided to move on.

 

….. And here comes CWA to ruin our fun by hiring away Quentin Queen. Even worse, with Hardcore Halloween’s scheduling, we won’t get another show out of him. Well, there's a title vacated...

 

On the next Coastal Zone: Who's the next 'big name' to leave?

[mistaken]

<p>Marking out so hard right now! to see the return of the costal zone!!</p><p> </p><p>

I literally came in here to see if this very thing had made a return.</p>

[mistaken]

are you playing this on Random Randy Savage as the story teller?

 

So much nostalgia, The Costal Zone is like coming home.

 

and the heartbreak and feels were real when Fox mask left . . . and then came back!