The Cornellverse - A Beginner's Guide

[Jaded]

This one's for you, Kitarzu!

 

Japan

 

Japan is a nation in turmoil, still recovering from the devastating tsunami of 2016, and the seven 'name' federations in the country are no exception.

 

Burning Hammer of the Wrestling Gods, the established giant of the scene, are reeling not just from the disaster but also from other factors. They switched to a Western schedule in 2016, becoming the latest fed to ditch the touring system Japanese fans had been using for years, and this went down extremely poorly. While they switched back fairly quickly, the damage was done with many people seeing CEO Tetsuzan Kaneko as out of touch and dismissive. The loss of stalwarts such as Chuichi Sanda and tag partner Eiji Hamacho, twenty year vet Ken Shimedzu, top star Masaaki Okazaki, seemingly ageless veteran Sanetomo Shiraishi and, worst of all, the legendary Tadiyuki Kikkawa over the past couple of years has added to their issues, and they may be looking over their shoulder for the first time in a while. Of course, there are still big names there - "H-Bomb" Hiroaki Nakasawa has come into his own since Kikkawa left, Kinnojo Horri has received a huge boost from joining the NEO Prime stable, and in the junior division future hall of famer Sensational Dragon can put on some high flying spectaculars, as can newcomer Emerald Angel, who finally left WLW with the smaller fed taking a financial battering. With a mainstream puroresu product showcasing matches of all types, lengthy main events, and a hard-hitting puro style, it's no real surprise that their roster has been so battered - especially working eight shows a month or so. Can their remaining big stars stay healthy for long enough to help them establish themselves firmly as the best in the country again?

 

Pride Glory Honor Wrestling are probably looking like they have a better chance of catching Burning Hammer than they have for years. Sadly that's more to do with the Hammer's slump than because PGHW are really recovering. Founded in 1996, there was over a decade of incredible in-ring action for fans to salivate over with Mito Miwa, Nobuatso Tatsuko (the current company CEO), and Eisaku Kunomasu, who would also star for DAVE in the USA, as leading figures in the fed. Sadly, the trademark PGHW style - emphasising brawling, high impact throws, and submissions - took its toll on these men's bodies, and they were hit by numerous retirements in the early half of the last decade. While few new stars have been created, there are a couple of bright spots - Kozue Kawashima, the face of the company's 'new era', and husband of joshi star Yuma Maruya, is a very marketable star who's one of Japan's most followed social media users. His main rival Masaru Ugaki had a rocket strapped to him when he won both the prestigious Elite Series and Golden Crown within a few months of each other. And 31-year-old Seiji Jimbo, nephew of the company's founder Sadaharu Jimbo, is ever improving and has also won those same two titles recently, positioning him as a major player in years to come.

 

For a few years, World Level Wrestling were seen as the future of Japan. Blending lucha libre with puroresu to create an incredible in-ring product, and adding more fun than could be found in the straight-laced biggest two promotions in the country, they were founder members of Modern Japan, which saw several companies move to a Western style. Then, everything went wrong at once. The tsunami hit them just as hard as other Japanese feds, the fans turned their back on the Western-influenced Modern Japan movement, and, shockingly, it was revealed that their owners were in league with the yakuza. In 2018, the company shut down, with many people assuming it was the end of the road. But not Kaneie Komine. The businessman who took BHOTWG from strength to strength in the 90s was stabbed in the back in 2009 by protege Tetsukan Kaneko. A decade later, he would sensationally return to the sport, becoming the new owner of WLW. With a thirst for revenge, he's trying to chart a course for new heights for the crisis-stricken fed. With the incredibly charismatic Masa Kurata - a graduate of WLW's Project Arkham school, former GCG stalwart Eagle Kawasawa, and tag team Black House at the top of the card, then while it will be a staggeringly tough road to chart, he may just do it.

 

Black Canvas Grappling have outlasted the company they split away from in 2011. Golden Canvas Grappling joining the Modern Japan movement was said by many - most notably five time champion Yoshifusa Maeda - to be an insult to tradition. Maeda set up his own fed which many saw as the 'true' roaring lion company. Treating wrestling as a super serious sport, with long matches and great aerial and technical encounters, and no face/heel divide, BCG have gone from strength to strength, with Golden's collapse showing just how right Maeda was. The men who'll be trying to lead them forward include World champion and future Hall of Famer Funakoshi, a brawler who beat Pistol Pete Hall - one of the world's greatest ever gaijin workers - for the World belt in 2013 and has since added 2 more World title reigns and 3 Grand Prix wins, Mabuchi Furasawa - a controversial signing as he's the son of Hanshiro Furasawa who oversaw GCG's collapse, but one who's settled in well, and "Machine Gun" Bunrakuken Torii, the first man to ever with the Quadruple Crown in Black Canvas.

 

Like PGHW, women's fed 5 Star Supreme Wrestling - the only major joshi organisation - had a period when superb workers led them to huge success. In their case, it was the famous Magic Three of Sensational Ogiwara, Thunder Hike and Crusher Ichihara. Also like PGHW, their hard-hitting matches took their toll on the workers involved, and once all of them were retired, things took a turn for the worse - especially with the ill-fated Modern Japan Movement not working out for them. Potentially, though, things are about to improve. Ogiwara returned to the company in 2015 as owner with a bunch of ideas for building for the future. 2016's tsunami stopped her from getting any real momentum for the company, but while it was touch and go whether they'd survive for a while, they've weathered the storm there and seem to be more stable now. With Hike's student Fuyuko Higa, who gained the name 'Miss Perfection' because of her incredible technical excellence, poised to make the step up to the main event, and join hugely marketable babyface Yuma Maruya and fellow great technician Shiori Jippensha, the push for success may be about to start in earnest.

 

EXODUS 2010 were founded a decade ago and at that time there were far more eyebrows being raised about their finances than those of WLW. Building around controversial star Burning EXILE, fired from both Burning Hammer and World Level, was a risky choice but in the decade since the fed's foundation he's proved to be a great head booker and done a fabulous job of training youngsters up. Other top stars include Tsuneyo Yanagimoto, the only man to win two successive Junior Heavyweight Grand Prix, and flashy aerialist Masao Tsubochi who holds the record for having main evented the most EX2010 shows, although who's always rumoured to be a target for bigger feds. EX2010's famously discerning fans love to see big moves and high-flying spectacles, but like so many other Japanese companies their style is a gruelling one which can leave wrestlers bruised and battered.

 

For 12 years, Pro Wrestling SAISHO performed what was seen as a vital role for PGHW, training youngsters and giving them the chance to wrestle in front of crowds to gain experience and confidence. Nobuatsu Tatsuko disagreed when he took over the bigger fed in 2014, announcing he saw no need for the developmental organisation to continue to drain his finances. Mito Miwa, who many had assumed would be Tatsuko's right-hand man, saw things differently and bought SAISHO, splitting away from Pride Glory Honor to run it as an organisation in its own right. He's proved a successful businessman and while the fed is still small, and finances are on something of a knife-edge, this proved to be a boon in 2016. Miwa's experience of trying to save every last yen, and the cheap contracts his workers were mostly on, left him in a better position to survive the economic slump than other feds were. They even brought in Zeshin Makioka, a star for years in WEXXV, when the hardcore fed went bankrupt, and the brawler is now positioned strongly at the top of the card. Other big names for them include Azumamaro Kita, a talented striker, and all-rounder Lion Genji - the last ever GCG Openweight champion, who could have ended up with a much larger federation but who wanted to work with his hero Miwa.

[Jaded]

Europe

 

After years of Europe being home only to short-lived indy feds, Louis Figo Manico set up Ultimate Combat Ring in 1998. The Pain From Spain was a beloved babyface with a surprisingly good mind for the business and, initially, had some success with the new federation, partly because he heavily pushed himself as the figurehead of the promotion. Manico's biggest issue was that he couldn't decide on the overall vision of UCR - when the SWF and HGC became by far the biggest companies in the Western world, he followed in their footsteps and moved to sports entertainment, with DAVE on the ascendancy he moved to a hardcore style, and as Europeans got more interested in puro, he shifted to a more old-school approach. The constant changes in product left fans bewildered and unhappy, and in 2007 Manico shut the fed down and left the business.

 

From the ashes of UCR came not one but two phoenixes. With wrestlers split on which direction had been the right one to take, English egomaniac Byron decided that what the European countries really needed was the same sports entertainment approach which UCR had originally utilised, but with an incredibly handsome and charismatic main eventer winning as often as possible. No prizes for guessing who he had in mind for that role in European Wrestling All-Stars. Despite other wrestlers side-eyeing the super push he gave himself, it worked, getting him over as a massive babyface and while he'd struggle in a fed aimed more at in-ring action, for the soap opera style product he's promoting his undoubted star quality makes him the perfect lead. Rumour has it that he may finally have decided he's found a worthy successor, in the shape of Bret Heartbreak - his son. Aged only 21, Bret is a decent enough brawler and while it's hard to claim he completely deserves the strong push he's had early on, he's at least not been immediately catapulted into the title picture. The main heels in the promotion are massive Norwegian strong men Bam Bam Johansson and his younger brother Hercules, who like Byron aren't the best in the ring but whose ability to hurl opponents around like rag dolls makes them perfectly suited to EWA.

 

Ali Bloxsome created Ultimate European Wrestling, a Madrid-based organisation which went even harder on old-school style than UCR had at the end of its existence. Promoting respectful competition, great high-flying and technical matches, and an overwhelming focus on the in-ring action, the federation hasn't been an instant success but has grown steadily, if slowly. Englishman Joey 'The Breeze' Beauchamp has been a key reason for that - initially joining as a main event wrestler, he quickly coupled that role with that of head booker, and - never shy to self-promote - had four runs as World champion. While even he can finally see that at the age of 42 he's no longer the person to headline many cards, he's built up some great stars. Ivorian powerhouse Kalu Owusu, who learnt his trade as a midcarder in Japan's short-lived INSPIRE, moved to EWA to become a major star, and headed to UEW after a falling out with Byron, is the lead babyface, although he's the same age as Beauchamp. Rising fast though are Italian giant-killer Marcello Ricci - who shockingly took the World belt a few months ago, becoming one of the few men with a clean pin over monster heel Menace - and 'Stone Cold Killer' Konrad Makinen, an incredible natural athlete who comes up with a stunning variety of innovative moves.

 

Victory Wrestling Association, having just had their 10th anniversary, are the newest fed on the block. While Manico confused fans by shifting styles as the years went on, VWA decided to just throw all of them in there right from the very first show. You'll see brawls, technical mathes, high-flying contests, storylines, hot angles - pretty much everyone will find something to enjoy on their shows, while by the same logic, there'll almost certainly be at least one or two segments that DON'T appeal to each individual fan. After ten years of promoting singles action exclusively, Swiss signing Fabian Schwarz caused them a problem as he was too green to push hard but too popular with the fans and athletic to ignore. To help him improve, VWA teamed him with compatriot Hans Piccard, who'd exploded onto the scene despite a terrible win-loss record by pushing established stars to the limit. The pair are the first ever tag champions and VWA are building a small division around them. Of course, they're still heavily focused on singles action, with South African Landon Mallory having been a massive draw for the past 10 years and still at the top of the card, a five-time European champion. His main rival is former ally Walker Van Cleer, who snapped 18 months ago after years of being seen as the number 2 babyface behind first Sebastian Koller, then Mallory himself. Van Cleer has just begun his 4th European title reign, trading it back and forth with Mallory late last year, but Landon has made it very clear he's aiming to regain the belt soon.

[Jaded]

Oceania

 

Similarly to Europe, for years Australia was a land populated solely by small-time indies running one offs or occasional shows. James J McMinister, a multimillionaire businessman, decided to amalgamate several of those on the East coast to form Australian Pro Wrestling in 2007. For a couple of years the federation proved fairly popular, only to fall victim to its own success when it inspired Australian Sports Network executive producer Tristram Day to create his very own wrestling show.

 

Well, for a certain definition of wrestling, at least. Instead of running TV shows to build up to main events, as is traditional in the Western world amongst the bigger feds, Revolution Australian Wrestling break with convention by running two hour weekly shows which they bill as ALL being unmissable TV. They also break with convention by being a roughly even split between in-ring action and storylines with more in common with Neighbours or Home and Away than the SWF or USPW. Current ones include the Wayne family drama between established star Kerry Wayne and long-lost siblings Kal and Kian, and the feud between boy band new heel boyband LiberTeen and established teen girl favourites Heath Morton and Horton Ravenwood. While wrestling ability is somewhat optional in RAW, that's not to say that nobody has it. Swoop McCarthy, stolen from APW in 2012, has gone on to become the lead babyface in the country and the figurehead of the fed. With the charismatic brawler's contract expiring in 2019, USPW, the SWF, and 21CW were all believed to be counting down the days until it expired, only for him to renew and sign RAW's first ever written contract, tying him to the company until 2025. The deal has made him one of the highest paid wrestlers outside the US, just a shade behind the Cornell cousins, and he seems content to be the very biggest of fishes in a relatively small pond. Also poached from APW several years ago, ex-rugby player Maurice Jackson is RAW's other biggest star and has been feuding with Swoop since last year. With the pair being outstanding self-promoters, this feels like a real ongoing rivalry - not just confronting each other on most episodes but also taking shots and cutting promos via Instagram and Twitter, much to the delight of the top brass at RAW who just see the numbers of followers shooting up.

 

While APW have never really reached the heights they hoped to - mainly due to losing Swoop, Maurice, and later Nathan McKenzie to RAW - their fans will claim that when it comes to actual wrestling, they're clearly superior. That's not to say it's a complete focus on in-ring action - they run a sports entertainment style product with lots of storylines and angles - but you can at least guarantee that if you go to an APW event, you'll spend more time watching stuff happening inside the ring than outside of it. Their big star, who's been there for 8 years and either has decided to stay loyal or just hasn't appealed to RAW, is excellent technician Christopher Gerard, who has superb stamina and athleticism. Current champion is excellent brawler Scottie Hamstead, a big man with a reckless disregard for his own body. Lifelong midcarder Dingo Devine, a very good technician who's just lacking charisma, is also finally near the top of the card with management appreciating his long tenure in the fed when so many have left. They also have a decent tag division, built around the ultra-experienced pairings of current champions Samoan Demolition, wild brawlers, massive powerhouses The Apocalypse, and five-time champions The Duo, a pair of beloved faces who are seriously overpowered by both their main heel rivals but have nevertheless managed to become the fed's most succesful ever team.

 

For those who feel even APW don't take things serious enough, there's the gritty, cheap alternative of Deep Impact Wrestling's extreme hardcore. Small in number but large in voice, fans here are determined to see wild brawls, hardcore action, and big stunts. They're not for everyone - especially not for sponsors, sadly - but they've been going 10 years plus and owner The Comedian has got running things on a shoe-string down to a fine art. Somewhat incredibly, their big star at the moment is Boo Smithson, a career "never quite was" in APW. He has a staggering lack of charisma and is terrible on the mic thanks to a speech impediment; despite this there's something about him DIW fans love. While Boo has the belt, one man always plotting to get his hands on it is former five-time champion Dumfrey Pinn. The boss of Pinn Enterprises, he looks more like the corpulent villain you'd find in the boardroom of a bad movie than a wrestler, but he knows his limitations and uses his size well. Ultra-charismatic and with an ever-changing army of lackeys, he's been a thorn in the side of the main babyfaces throughout DIW's existence, and while he's probably approaching retirement, he could do well as a manager. Also potentially facing retirement, despite being just 30, is the wild brawler "Crazy Blue" Milton Hittlespitz. He's dedicated 9 years to entertaining fans by giving each match everything he has, but the bumps have taken a real toll on his body.

 

And, over in New Zealand, it's what used to be described as the zaniest promotion of all - even if EMLL seem to have stolen ZEN: Art of Wrestling's crown there. The brain child of Halloween Knight, whose skeleton costume makes him one of the most recognisable people in Oceania, ZEN have a comic book lucha style based on big storylines and their in-ring action generally doesn't drain the wrestlers too much, although there's usually at least one big spotfest in a show. With a big focus on Halloween Knight himself and on popular babyface high-flyer Pumpkin Jack, the fed's wild costumes and strong narratives have earned them a lot of fans. The technicos are now trying to save the world, with alien warlord Kargg the Conqueror having been around for a couple of years making a name for himself and then being given a big push which involved the formation of the Alien Armada cult. Long-term fan favourite Man O' War, the Avenger From The Ocean, sensationally turned rudo for the first time last year to become Karrg's right-hand man, and tag team Deathwatch Beetle and Laguna the Loyal are right behind them as they try to conquer New Zealand - and then the world!

 

 

That's all for the areas! I hope newcomers found it useful, and CVerse experts didn't find TOO many mistakes, at least...

[lr10540]

at best all of them but unfortunatly most of the times I completly forget about the Gimmicks so I rarely book around those. But especially abilities and Bios I'd say because e.g. I got Matt Sparrow and his bio says that he seemed to have a nice career but never really got over with the crowd, for that reason I'm kinda using him to put other people over right now. as you can see I can remember him already but most of my other guys I can't really and I wonder if there's something that could help me to remember them by heart better, or something like that ^^

 

I'm not sure that there's really anyway in particular aside from repetition. Once you book the same characters for a set amount of time, those characters become ingrained in your mind like if they real wrestlers on actual television.

 

You could use a notepad, either on your computer or a written notepad to take some notes down. I've done in that the past to remember specifics about particular wrestlers.

[Skallux]

I'm not sure that there's really anyway in particular aside from repetition. Once you book the same characters for a set amount of time, those characters become ingrained in your mind like if they real wrestlers on actual television.

 

You could use a notepad, either on your computer or a written notepad to take some notes down. I've done in that the past to remember specifics about particular wrestlers.

 

Allright, thank you

[Kr0n1k2541]

This is really helpful as I find the Cornellverse super daunting to get my head around and generally just play with real world mods. I might start a save because of the info I got here

[Jaded]

This is really helpful as I find the Cornellverse super daunting to get my head around and generally just play with real world mods. I might start a save because of the info I got here

 

Awesome, that's really good to hear! If you want more in-depth info on any of them, this post has links to promotion-specific tip threads. Some of them are fairly small so far but 21CW, EMLL and TCW (long thread with the key posts for a newcomer being BoredomTM's post 14 and arwink's post 28, probably) all have some brilliant write-ups which might help you too.

[lr10540]

This is really helpful as I find the Cornellverse super daunting to get my head around and generally just play with real world mods. I might start a save because of the info I got here

 

I was literally the same exact way as you, and once I finally decided to just dive in, I can't touch a real world mod anymore.

 

The freedom and creativity playing with non-real people gives you is immense. As I said earlier in this thread (at least I think it was this thread) you can't book Brock Lesnar to play a pimp because you've got 20 years of Brock Lesnar kicking ass and taking names as a monster. It won't feel right, in my experience. Whereas, in the cornellverse, I can book a guy like Remo however I see fit because I don't have a preconceived notion of who he is. Despite his bio, look and skills telling me he's a monster, if I want him to play a pimp, that's what hes playing.

[Kitarzu]

Thanks Jaded.

 

Is it possible to have also the focus on the closed promotions from 2016 to 2020?

[Jaded]

Oh, great idea! I'll get on that later.

[Jaded]

Bumping this, but also, Kitarzu, I'll try and do that thing on closed feds later today!