arlovski Logos

[arlovski]

Given that the mod project I was working on will probably never finish I have decided to release the Logos I have created for it so far to the public. I have not created any Banners yet and currently don't intend to.

 

Feel free to use or edit anything I publish in this thread to your liking under the one condition that if you use these assets for your own mod project you will share your creations with the community as well freely.

 

G Drive Download (png format)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WxRobbie]

These are excellent my dude!

[tormyb]

Such great work! Thanks so much.

[francis86]

Association de lutte quebec! Seem like a good alliance picture for QPW and ACPW

[arlovski]

[InstantlyOil]

These are amazing work! If I have to make these logos one by one I would have spent more time making than playing, so these ready to use logos are a blessing. Altough is it possible to get them all together in one zip file?

[arlovski]

<p><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/file/hver73gndki12bg/arlovski_logos.rar/file" rel="external nofollow">http://www.mediafire.com/file/hver73gndki12bg/arlovski_logos.rar/file</a></p><p> </p><p>

Here you go. Also added the link to the initial post, it seems like it will only be available for 14 days though. If anyone has an account and would like to host the package please feel free to upload it and send me the link.</p><p> </p><p>

Thanks by the way for the kind words I have received so far, I appreciate it!</p>

[brat99]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="arlovski" data-cite="arlovski" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="50086" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/file/hver73gndki12bg/arlovski_logos.rar/file" rel="external nofollow">http://www.mediafire.com/file/hver73gndki12bg/arlovski_logos.rar/file</a><p> </p><p> Here you go. Also added the link to the initial post, it seems like it will only be available for 14 days though. If anyone has an account and would like to host the package please feel free to upload it and send me the link.</p><p> </p><p> Thanks by the way for the kind words I have received so far, I appreciate it!</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Not sure if you use google drive at all, but files, folders, and documents stay there until you get rid of them and you can get shareable links for each to post in your thread (it's what I'm using to "host" my India mod). Just thought I'd share the info with you in case it helps.</p>

[arlovski]

Thanks, I reuploaded it on google drive.

[Bigpapa42]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="arlovski" data-cite="arlovski" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="50086" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Thanks, I reuploaded it on google drive.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Oh, awesome. Thank you kind sir.</p>

[defjamforcutie]

Wow, these are all incredible! Would love to get a sense of the lore and history of your database and these companies if you're willing to share!

[arlovski]

Wow, these are all incredible! Would love to get a sense of the lore and history of your database and these companies if you're willing to share!

 

The project name is Realverse born out of the basic idea, that I would like to create a game world that is supposed to feel a lot like the real wrestling world but takes a few different turns than pro wrestling in reality has. Why I chose this premise and don't just create an add-on for an existing universe such as the Cornellverse or a real world database - because mixing real world databases with created characters feels kind of wrong to me and the Cornellverse as well as other created universes (while I really love all of which I have played so far!) felt to me kind of very strongly directed towards a product war. Companies feel very distinguished and in a way gimmicky in these universes to me. But I would like to create a universe - at least starting out - with a majority of very classical pro wrestling based companies with a strong emphasis on regionality and also give them a chance to succeed or at least survive.

 

The writing is not finished yet, although I already have a good idea about the major companies and partly players in the USA, Mexico, Japan, Germany and the UK. Starting point is January 1980.

 

The database consists of the following eras:

1850 – 1899: The Carnival Era

1900 – 1919: The Platinum Era

1920 – 1946: The Dark Era

1947 – 1960: The Era Of Rediscovery

1961 – 1975: The Golden Era

1976 – 1980: The Era Of Dispersal

1981 – 1985: The Era Of Innocence

1986 – 1998: The Entertainment Era

1999 – 2001: The Hardcore Era

2002 – 2005: The Modern Era

2006 – 2019: The Internet Era

 

For the United States I have made up 8 characters named the Forefathers Of Professional Wrestling marking the change from the catch style to a more entertainment-based approach of pro wrestling. They are all based on existing pro wrestlers in a way, though in some cases they are a mixture of several and the time frame they were active in differs from reality. Some examples that I have already finished:

 

‘The Gentleman’ Elliott Marlowe

'The Gentleman' Elliott Marlowe is one of the Forefathers Of Professional Wrestling. Less is known about his childhood years in Germany - only that he was able to flee before the outbreak of World War II and that he had been a successful freestyle wrestler in his early years. After his departure from Europe Marlowe would find a home in Brooklyn, New York and ascend to pro-wrestling stardom in the Tristate area and later the east coast. Although neither the biggest, nor the toughest guy Marlowe was one of the first pro-wrestlers to have that special something. His devilish good looks, accentuated by his curly hair and a smirky grin that would raise the heartbeat of countless enemies fearing him and dozens of women admiring him made him a mainstay of the east coast pro wrestling scene. Never much of a business man but someone to enjoy life to the fullest Marlowe still needs a regular paycheck and currently works as a consultant for Upper Class Wrestling.

 

Reuben ‘Binky’ Perry

Reuben 'Binky' Perry is a former professional wrestler and actor who suffered from Acromegaly since his childhood, which resulted in skeletal deformations and an intellectual impairment. His unusually big hands became Binky's trademark and led to him using the Claw Choke as a finishing move, a lock where he forces his right hand down his opponent's throat. In pro wrestling Binky acted as a maniacal monster ignoring rules and often attacking opponents even after the bell rang. This behaviour and his iconic appearance were highly unusual during his peak and led him to nationwide stardom. Finally Hollywood noticed Binky and lured him out of the business to bring him to the big screens as a horror movie star - although the movies became a success drugs and false friends left Binky in wreckage. Money- and homeless he returned to the east coast and found a home in Upper Class Wrestling, where he helps with ring crew and janitorial duties and even still does the occasional match.

 

‘The Natural’ Gerrard Cooper

'The Natural' Gerry Cooper was at a certain point considered the best professional wrestler alive by many spectators. He is the longest reigning USPWA World Heavyweight Champion to date and one of the Alliance's figureheads, an original, current booker and owner of the AWA and one of the Forefathers Of Professional Wrestling. Cooper was trained by brilliant catch specialist Steve Augusytn who taught him in the old ways and the art of hooking, making him a highly dangerous shooter as well - an ability Cooper was feared for putting to use if he didn't agree with someone. He is known to love and protect the business as it used to be at all costs and is an advocate for a realistic and serious approach of pro wrestling. Those on his good side regard him highly, those on his bad side at least respect him, although in the past years some have been irritated with a past prime Cooper still keeping himself persistently in the main event picture of the AWA.

 

‘The Superstar’ Charlie Fletcher

'The Superstar' Charlie Fletcher was the first man in professional wrestling to become known for his attire, his antics and his personality rather than for his technical ability. Born in Louisiana Fletcher started out in the southern independent scene with mediocre success before starting to imitate superstars from other entertainment industries. Fletcher would dance in the ring, wear colourful outfits and copy in detail movements, impressions and even specific phrases derived from famous singers and actors. But the people still didn't love him - instead they began to hate him. So Fletcher parlayed the heat into profit and enraged the audience even further by cheating and betraying whenever he could. Eventually thousands went to the arenas just to see Fletcher lose and he became one of the most profitable pro wrestlers in the world and one of the Forefathers Of Professional Wrestling. Since then the roles have changed - aspiring pro wrestlers began imitating Fletcher and surpassed him.

 

‘The Strongest Man In The World’ Donte Matthews

Louisville, Kentucky native Donte Matthews is a former professional bodybuilder and strength athlete who became the first afro-american pro wrestler with name value and a Forefather Of Professional Wrestling. He was presented to the audience as the 'The Strongest Man In The World' accentuated not only by his impressive physique (6'1'', 270 lbs.), but also by his ability to carry and finish off most of his opponents with the Gorilla Press and his powerhouse wrestling style. Even though Matthews' run in professional wrestling was very successful, he never became a USPWA World Heavyweight Champion - just like in bodybuilding contests he remained in second position and received sub-awards only. Matthews has left the business behind a few years ago but is still at 260 lbs. keeping himself in shape even at the age of 55.

 

The other historical focal point I used as a fundament of the universe's US scene is the American Wrestling Association (AWA). I have written a raw version of it's development taking the different eras into account. The following Roddy Piper quote I used because I found it nice and wanted this to be the initial spark of my universe as well (thus another connection to reality), although Roddy Piper wouldn't be part of the game world.

 

“Just picture the Carnival pulls into town, one that looks like Little House on the Prairie, and the covered wagons would come through and there’d be the Bearded Lady and the Strong Man and some animals.

And then there’d be the Wrestler.

And so the night before the carnival on Saturday, there’d be people at the bars. And the people from the carnival would find out who the tough guys were. And they would talk up The Wrestler. And so in the afternoon, the next day, everyone would come down and some local guy would take him on for maybe a nickel or something. And if you won you got fifty cents. And the wrestler would get him in a hold, and there’s a hold called ‘The Sugar Hold’ and it’s a hold in which it makes all the blood rush to your head and blood comes out of your eyes, nose and ears, etcetera.

But he doesn’t pin him.

So the Wrestler would catch him in this hold and slap him on the ribs and it would make the guy scream. Well, the crowd would get so upset and so angry that all of a sudden a guy would jump up and say, ‘I’ll take you on!’ And the promoter would come out and say, ‘Whoa!’ And the Wrestler would let the guy go and the promoter would say, ‘My guy just fought. You come back tonight!’

And they’d all come back that night. But the guy who stood up was part of the carnival. Everyone would come back and pay another nickel.

That’s the answer to when did wrestling begin.”

 

THE CARNIVAL ERA

1850 – 1899

 

The American Wrestling Association (short: AWA) is the oldest known region-based professional wrestling company in the world. It dates back even to the Carnival Era. Founded in the late 19th century as The Bob Sullivan Carnival it was a touring train showcasing the likes of revue and magic shows, oddities, strongman competitions and wrestling along the atlantic coast. Back then the wrestlers would be paid per night on a handshake basis and had to earn their coin occasionally in actual real fights – be it against outside contestants doubting their legitimacy or against rivals within the group trying to claim the spot of one another. The wrestlers of that time were legit sportsmen with an athletic background, yet many of them were past their prime and without a chance to make a living outside the world of fighting – they called themselves hookers, as they could still hold themselves in a real fight. They drew hundreds of people to the fair grounds every night and were cheered and admired like the tournament knights in medieval Europe. Yet their names never really stuck in the minds of the spectators as these men were exchanged on a regular basis back in those days and those who held out would not return to a city for months due to the heavy touring schedule. The Sullivan Carnival wrestlers lived on the train – and those who had wits stayed even when their bones were too old for another fight to work as announcers, referees, as an early form of managers or members of the train crew.

While Bob Sullivan Sr. was certainly an entrepreneur and someone who understood how to earn money with this early partly legit form of fighting showcase, he was never a fan of wrestling. His son on the other hand grew up as one of the young admirers of the wrestlers, often spending the noons to help pitching and lighting the tents, tightening the ropes and even lacing the boots of the guys if he had to. He spent hours beneath the grizzled, but honest and gallow humoured men and learned about their craft and their perspective on things - and in the evenings he would sneak through a hole in the tent that he cut in extra for that purpose to watch the wrestlers fight. Unlike his father he became a true fan of the sport.

 

THE PLATINUM ERA

1900 – 1919

 

Bob Sullivan Jr. took over and remodeled his father’s company to Bob Sullivan Promotions in 1903 still using the train to easily reach most of the east coast but now focusing heavily on wrestling and making Georgia its home region. He instantly reduced the touring schedule and stayed for two months each in six cities along the east coast – Orlando, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington D.C., New York City – and the other way around in the following year. The main roster was cut down to a few guys whose name value was build up by Sullivan and who would soon become regional stars in the mentioned cities. To catalyse this effect Sullivan drove through the cities with a megaphone when his train was in town and announced their shows, rented billboards where he promoted the actual wrestlers with their names and records (setting the focus on the individual rather than the show) and worked closely together with the local newspapers giving them exclusive interviews in exchange for publicity. Sullivan Jr. also invented the wrestler’s parade - the wrestling stars would be driven through the cities on festival cars posing, cutting promos and often drawing thousands of people to the streets who would then receive flyers from the ring crew members with the announcement of the wrestling shows. With this recipe Sullivan Jr. created the first true stars of professional wrestling who would be known by large audiences. Soon people from all over the east coast would be drawn to the big cities to see Sullivan’s wrestling stars.

The iron rule in those days was that the regulars always win against local contenders filling up the roster for a short term in build-up fights and only lose against each other in internal fights. These internal fights were marking the regular wrestlers’ standing in the ranking and would later lead to the introduction of the American Wrestling Championship. The first champion was Louie Gordon, an italo-american from New York and highly popular man in the northeastern area of the United States. He was a long-term servant of the Sullivan family who had already worked for Sullivan Sr.. Although 36 already when winning the title in 1905 Gordon was a 6’0’’ powerful man and a catch veteran feared for his throws. He had both the believability and the star appeal.

Sullivan Jr. and his boys made a lot of money and ignited what would later be known as the Platinum Era of Professional Wrestling. But they would soon be disputed by new forces emerging on the market, as the Sullivan recipe was a success and led to a large amount of imitators all over the United States. Soon new promotions similar to that of Sullivan Jr. rose to fame and created their own championships and stars. A smart business man, Sullivan Jr. evaded confrontation and instead split the cake – he spearheaded the wrestling business and made sure to stay ahead of things but worked together with his new competitors always looking for a way to get the most out of the situation. With inter-promotional fights he made sure that the American Wrestling Championship was considered the major title for a long time and that the second word after wrestling in the United States had to be Sullivan. Besides that Sullivan Jr. also used his income to invest – for example into guests from Europe, where the wrestling scene was extremely strong and popular at that time as well. Bob Sullivan Promotions was the first to showcase fights between the european and american champions. This collaboration would lead to the first World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in March 1907, when then American Wrestling Champion Logan Reynolds from Georgia defeated European Wrestling Champion and Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion of 1904 Porthos Boulle from France in a unification match after 72 minutes and two time limit extensions. The clou: six months later Boulle won that very same match in Paris in order to be promoted as the first World Heavyweight Champion in Europe. Agreements of that sort where still possible back then and became a powerful weapon of Sullivan Jr. to strengthen his position in the wrestling scene – yet they also led to questions from a growing international network of journalists who started to doubt wrestling.

In the course of the next ten years – partly due to the growing disregard of journalists from Bob Sullivan Jr. among other promoters, who felt like they had given them enough share of their earnings in the past years and didn’t need them anymore, now that their guys were highly popular – mudrakers gathered proof, that wrestling was staged. There were various channels (for example promoters trying to harm their competition and disappointed ex members of the scene ) feeding the doubts against the business and leading to much noticed articles on national newspapers that damaged the wrestling business in the United States heavily and led to a decay in attendance numbers. Until 1919 many small promoters left the business and the bigger promoters had to cut down costs and hand out smaller paychecks, leading to an exodus of talent. By the end of 1919 with the retirement of Logan Reynolds professional wrestling in the United States had only a weak pulse left.

 

THE DARK ERA

1920 – 1946

 

Sullivan Jr. reacted by rebranding his promotion to the name it is known by today – American Wrestling Association. He emphasized heavily on the Georgia area from this point on while selling his train and giving up touring to cut costs and finance the following months. Sullivan Jr.’s kingdom lay in shambles – yet he gathered what was left to lay a solid fundament for a new nationwide domination. His plans were to make the profit turnaround in 1920 and to be touring the east coast again by no later than 1930 – but everything turned out differently. Although professional wrestling recovered in the Georgia area and Sullivan Jr. was able to build up a sustainable and state-wide successful company, he would never come even close to the peak of the Platinum Era again. Instead, by the end of October 1929, the Great Crash led the world into an economic depression wiping various professional wrestling companies out and forcing the survivors to cook on a much lower flame.

One of the final influences of Bob Sullivan Jr. to professional wrestling before his passing was the founding of the United States Professional Wrestling Alliance in 1932. Sullivan Jr. knew then that the AWA would never become national again by its own efforts. So he gathered everyone and everything professional wrestling all over the country had left to offer to lay the foundation of the territorial structure – united the promoters and wrestlers would overcome the Dark Era and professional wrestling would thrive again. Only due to the USPWA and to Sullivan Jr.’s pre-cautious business decisions, cost-cutting measures and a significant financial cushion the AWA survived through those difficult years and the later following World War II. Sullivan Jr. became a major stakeholder of the USPWA until he passed away in 1941, declaring his only son Michael Sullivan the heir of the company on his death bed.

During the Dark Era of Professional Wrestling only five major US-based companies managed to maintain a regular output of shows:

- American Wrestling Association in Atlanta, Georgia led by Bob Sullivan Jr. and later Michael Sullivan

- Iron Claw Wrestling in Baltimore, Maryland led by Francis Wiley

- Upper Class Wrestling in New York City led by Aaron Osborne and later Louie Gordon

- Pro Wrestling From The Carolinas in Charlotte, North Carolina led by Leon Schwartz

- Northern Border Wrestling in Billings, Montana led by Dominik Gordon Price

These five players made a pact to control and share what was left of the market between themselves with the means of the USPWA, which all of them had founded and made themselves permanent members of. Other than that they swore, that if professional wrestling should ever recover from its image damage, honoring the secrets of the business would be their highest bidding and that never again would there be outsiders allowed behind the curtain.

Besides the shows of the five mentioned companies other professional wrestling shows were still held across the country on an independent level. The independent wrestling circuit would make the fast re-emergence of professional wrestling in the Era of Rediscovery possible, as there was a lot of talent without a long-term perspective around. This talent pool was complemented by war refugees mostly from Europe with a strong legitimate athletic background.

 

THE ERA OF REDISCOVERY

1947 – 1960

 

When the second World War ended it had been almost 30 years since journalists had opened up to the US public that wrestling was staged. By that point some had forgotten and others had only a vague feeling left that something was odd about this sport. To the broad public professional wrestling had won its mystique back. The war-ridden nation was in need of entertainment in all shapes and forms and with television, a new mass medium celebrated its triumphant progress. This mixture finally smoothed the path for what Bob Sullivan Jr. had dreamt of – professional wrestling becoming a thing again in the United States.

In the course of the late 1940s and 1950s numerous professional wrestling companies were born out of the former independent scene, spreading all over the country. But the major players were the members of the USPWA. The Alliance’s talent was at that time head-above-shoulders of everyone else on the market, not only in terms of skill, but also in terms of marketability and the greatest talent of the independent scene was grabbed up and shared beneath the members. The member companies were perceived superior due to their tradition, name value and promotional experience – but they were also the first ones to arrange their major events or at least parts of them to be shown on television which led to the USPWA now being synonymized with wrestling. Still, the members could not (and did not want to) tour the whole United States – none of them was willing or able to become a national company at that point. So they used their control of the market to add new members to the USPWA. If one company did not agree to their terms then there was usually at least one rival company in the same area. So they picked the second choice and sent their star power there for limited periods of time, scheduling the shows against those of the unwanted competitor until it broke down and left the business. And if the preferred promoter accepted the deal, even better. Former personnel of the USPWA members going home and opening a company were naturally preferred. At the same time the USPWA members would honor the territories of their peers and the rules of the Alliance. This way they could shape the territories to their liking and prepare what would later be known as the Golden Era Of Professional Wrestling or informally the Gold Rush Era.

The style of the Dark Era was heavily influenced by the Catch-As-Catch-Can origins of the Carnival Era, but a gradual change was noticeable. The promoters understood that they had to offer their television audience a more diversified programme to bolster the ratings, so they brought new match types and early forms of wrestling characters into the picture and put more focus on the personalities and individual qualities of their workers. Thus the shift from the Carnival Era, where wrestling was part of the show, to the Platinum Era, where wrestling was the show, to the Dark Era, where the individual is the star of the wrestling show, was completed. As a result the Forefathers Of Professional Wrestling rose to fame and encompassed a set of archetype characteristics that would be imitated and further developed over many years to come. While these slight changes of the setup received general agreement beneath the promoters, it would be the more substantial developments of how to present professional wrestling that would change the business once again and leave plenty of room for dispute.

 

THE GOLDEN ERA

1961 – 1975

 

The Golden Era Of Professional Wrestling started out harmoniously for those already established in the business – the USPWA held the majority of the market shares and built up extensive financial reserves. Pro wrestling broadened its audience and became something to watch for people from every class of society and every age group, as the workers represented a variety of backgrounds. During the 1960s many came to see the wrestlers in the big events that often already featured the finale of a rudimentary storyline. Wrestling shows sold out event and sports arenas across the country. They also remained an integral part of state network broadcasts strengthening the regional ties of the companies. The most popular pro wrestlers were treated like Hollywood stars, staying in the best hotels, eating the most expensive food, driving luxury cars, becoming fashion idols and being accompanied by a whole posse of yellow press photographers. Pro wrestlers began to advertise products and became publicity advocates of companies. More so than during the Era Of Rediscovery wrestling had become a major part of the US entertainment industry as a whole. With the success of professional wrestling rising it became more and more evident even to those, who never had much to do with it nor cared for it, that there is money and fame in this – and where there is money and fame, desires arise.

While the USPWA kept on pushing unwanted competition out of the business, they couldn’t preserve the Alliance from internal disputes. Especially the younger member companies developed a tendency to use more modern formulas of presentation to distinguish themselves from the others and to grow at a faster rate, introducing new forms of angles and segments and further individualizing the appearance of their wrestlers. Slowly but steadily not the legitimacy of a wrestler became the number one factor of his spot on the card anymore, but his presentation, resulting in rivalry on two levels in the USPWA – legitimate wrestlers were now rivaling with in their perception illegitimate wrestlers for championships and card positions, which led to a revival of shoots, and old-fashioned companies were rivaling with modern companies for influence within the Alliance. With the younger companies growing at a faster rate and collisions at the territorial borders imminent the founding members made concessions and initiated a power shift.

Generally it can be observed that longer established companies had a higher tendency to stick to the old ways of professional wrestling than newer companies. Other than that regional observations can be made as well. Especially member companies located in big and often coastal cities with a strong entertainment industry tended to modernize their products, as they had to compete with other forms of entertainment as well – this development was spearheaded by the Californian companies. Meanwhile the southern companies made a name for themselves for being bloodier and rougher but also more diversified than the traditional companies without giving up a realistic approach.

 

THE ERA OF DISPERSAL

1976 – 1980

 

In the late 1970s professional wrestling – after a long and successful period – went through declining numbers in attendance and television ratings. Stars retired, companies changed their products and the broad masses had been overexposed to professional wrestling in general over the past era and partly lost interest, as it seemed as if they had seen all that the sport had to offer. Although no entertainment powerhouse anymore professional wrestling remained a special interest branch of entertainment and a money maker.

At the same time the effects of the late Golden Era intensified – the USPWA members drifted apart into further disagreement and by now, some companies had modernized their product so much that AWA boss and wrestling legend Gerrard Cooper brought up the questions ‘What is professional wrestling? And what does the USPWA even stand for in these days?’. Finally, the CWE (California Wrestling Enterprises) became the first company to leave the USPWA in 1977, when promoter Archie Wright sold it as a whole to Reece Newman’s NBS (Newman Broadcasting Systems). The extremely ambitious and driven Newman renamed the company to California Wrestling Entertainment and made it the first nationally broadcast wrestling program on cable television in the same year, debuting an entertainment-focused product of unprecedented scale. Suddenly there was a new major player on the market that wanted nothing to do with the USPWA and perfected the internal crisis of the Alliance. It is January 01, 1980 and the following is the initial situation of the professional wrestling world today.

 

 

A few notes about the companies in the game:

 

- USPWA: An alliance shaped in the darkest hour of pro wrestling in the USA to overcome the hard times and later on build on what's left. Was the groundwork for the initial members to become major players in the Era Of Rediscovery and The Golden Era, but seems to do more harm than good in January 1980 with it's focus on traditionalism and rigid structures. The AWA is its major stakeholder, though the southern based companies spearheaded by Raging Bull Wrestling, who have gathered a good audience in the past few years with a new style of wrestling (rasslin) gain influence and share a growing discontent with their treatment especially when it comes to the holder of the USPWA World Heavyweight Championship.

- CWA: Deemed by traditionalists an "artificial pro wrestling company" that is destroying the game, as it was created by a television network and is under the control of a broadcast manager who doesn't care about how things were done in the past. They outclass any other company on the planet in terms of financials, grab up and rebrand any talent they can get their hands on and use a lot of gimmicks and angles in their product.

- Dragon Sphere: What I basically wanted to do is turn the Último Dragón into Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid - the latter ones are called in the Realverse Antiguo Dragón and Immortal Dragon (Tsuga Kanezane). They have just become regional stars in Mexico in PFLL in 1980 by facing off in several awe-inspiring and revolutionary matches. While the japanese man began with a strong style based approach (he was sent to PFLL due to being too small for SJPW) the mexican man used classic lucha libre. By the end of the series, both steal each others moves, come up with several new, mix their style and Lucharesu is born which they later use to create their own companies, one of them in Mexico, the other one in Japan. All of that would leave room for the player to bring Kanezane back to Japan and create a junior wrestling branch.

- JWF: First japanese pro wrestling company founded by ‘The Sun King’ Fujikawa Hidetora, a mediocre Judoka from a well situated family who studied Economics abroad in the United States and discovered pro wrestling there. Earned money as a ring crew member, photographer and occasional jobber, went back to Japan without finishing studies but began hosting his own pro wrestling shows. Inspired by Charlie Fletcher he gained heat by acting like a flamboyant jerk and beating up martial artists past prime in staged fights that are presented as real. This works very well for more than a decade before more serious professional wrestlers come up from the company's dojo, the best of them being 'The Supernova' Kagehisa Komatsu, 'Mountain Lion' Ryota Ishiki and 'The Emerald Kaiser' Motoyasu Aizu. All three of them become stars not due to their antics but due to their remarkable style, but don't get a chance to ever reach the main event. So they found their own companies based on their different style schools and eventually surpass the entertainment based JWF by far, which feels outdated in January 1980 in Japan.

- Breunig Promotions: Founded by Sepp Breunig, an austrian Vier-Zentner-Mann whose finishing move is the Fleischklopfer. A mixture of Bonvivant and Falstaff Breunig became popular in the United States in several USPWA companies before returning to his home country Austria and creating his own company. He can be a loveable heavy guy but he is also taken serious as a beast in the ring. What Breunig Promotions do is called Jahrmarkt-Ketschen - they take kayfabe serious, but there's a lot of room for gimmicky characters and the atmosphere at the shows (many of which take place at viktuals markets or beer tents) is funny, omitted and bierselig. This is very much unlike the german scene, where the Ringerverband is taking pro wrestling dead serious and does old school catch shows with no suggestion that anything seen might be staged.

[QFresh]

Chances you have the blank background as well? I'd really like to use your logos for a possible database I'm working on, and I like to keep the backgrounds the same for everything... makes it look cleaner.

 

Thanks a lot if you do.

[arlovski]

 

There it is.

[QFresh]

Beauty!

 

Thanks Bubba

[Munit]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="arlovski" data-cite="arlovski" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="50086" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><img alt="WvlLyMF.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/WvlLyMF.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Stunning</p>

[defjamforcutie]

The project name is Realverse born out of the basic idea, that I would like to create a game world that is supposed to feel a lot like the real wrestling world but takes a few different turns than pro wrestling in reality has. Why I chose this premise and don't just create an add-on for an existing universe such as the Cornellverse or a real world database - because mixing real world databases with created characters feels kind of wrong to me and the Cornellverse as well as other created universes (while I really love all of which I have played so far!) felt to me kind of very strongly directed towards a product war. Companies feel very distinguished and in a way gimmicky in these universes to me. But I would like to create a universe - at least starting out - with a majority of very classical pro wrestling based companies with a strong emphasis on regionality and also give them a chance to succeed or at least survive.

 

This sounds magnificent and ambitious (in the best way). Would love to see it come to fruition one day. Thanks for all the info!

[dvdWarrior]

The project name is Realverse born out of the basic idea, that I would like to create a game world that is supposed to feel a lot like the real wrestling world but takes a few different turns than pro wrestling in reality has. Why I chose this premise and don't just create an add-on for an existing universe such as the Cornellverse or a real world database - because mixing real world databases with created characters feels kind of wrong to me and the Cornellverse as well as other created universes (while I really love all of which I have played so far!) felt to me kind of very strongly directed towards a product war. Companies feel very distinguished and in a way gimmicky in these universes to me. But I would like to create a universe - at least starting out - with a majority of very classical pro wrestling based companies with a strong emphasis on regionality and also give them a chance to succeed or at least survive.

 

The writing is not finished yet, although I already have a good idea about the major companies and partly players in the USA, Mexico, Japan, Germany and the UK. Starting point is January 1980.

 

The database consists of the following eras:

1850 – 1899: The Carnival Era

1900 – 1919: The Platinum Era

1920 – 1946: The Dark Era

1947 – 1960: The Era Of Rediscovery

1961 – 1975: The Golden Era

1976 – 1980: The Era Of Dispersal

1981 – 1985: The Era Of Innocence

1986 – 1998: The Entertainment Era

1999 – 2001: The Hardcore Era

2002 – 2005: The Modern Era

2006 – 2019: The Internet Era

 

For the United States I have made up 8 characters named the Forefathers Of Professional Wrestling marking the change from the catch style to a more entertainment-based approach of pro wrestling. They are all based on existing pro wrestlers in a way, though in some cases they are a mixture of several and the time frame they were active in differs from reality. Some examples that I have already finished:

 

‘The Gentleman’ Elliott Marlowe

'The Gentleman' Elliott Marlowe is one of the Forefathers Of Professional Wrestling. Less is known about his childhood years in Germany - only that he was able to flee before the outbreak of World War II and that he had been a successful freestyle wrestler in his early years. After his departure from Europe Marlowe would find a home in Brooklyn, New York and ascend to pro-wrestling stardom in the Tristate area and later the east coast. Although neither the biggest, nor the toughest guy Marlowe was one of the first pro-wrestlers to have that special something. His devilish good looks, accentuated by his curly hair and a smirky grin that would raise the heartbeat of countless enemies fearing him and dozens of women admiring him made him a mainstay of the east coast pro wrestling scene. Never much of a business man but someone to enjoy life to the fullest Marlowe still needs a regular paycheck and currently works as a consultant for Upper Class Wrestling.

 

Reuben ‘Binky’ Perry

Reuben 'Binky' Perry is a former professional wrestler and actor who suffered from Acromegaly since his childhood, which resulted in skeletal deformations and an intellectual impairment. His unusually big hands became Binky's trademark and led to him using the Claw Choke as a finishing move, a lock where he forces his right hand down his opponent's throat. In pro wrestling Binky acted as a maniacal monster ignoring rules and often attacking opponents even after the bell rang. This behaviour and his iconic appearance were highly unusual during his peak and led him to nationwide stardom. Finally Hollywood noticed Binky and lured him out of the business to bring him to the big screens as a horror movie star - although the movies became a success drugs and false friends left Binky in wreckage. Money- and homeless he returned to the east coast and found a home in Upper Class Wrestling, where he helps with ring crew and janitorial duties and even still does the occasional match.

 

‘The Natural’ Gerrard Cooper

'The Natural' Gerry Cooper was at a certain point considered the best professional wrestler alive by many spectators. He is the longest reigning USPWA World Heavyweight Champion to date and one of the Alliance's figureheads, an original, current booker and owner of the AWA and one of the Forefathers Of Professional Wrestling. Cooper was trained by brilliant catch specialist Steve Augusytn who taught him in the old ways and the art of hooking, making him a highly dangerous shooter as well - an ability Cooper was feared for putting to use if he didn't agree with someone. He is known to love and protect the business as it used to be at all costs and is an advocate for a realistic and serious approach of pro wrestling. Those on his good side regard him highly, those on his bad side at least respect him, although in the past years some have been irritated with a past prime Cooper still keeping himself persistently in the main event picture of the AWA.

 

‘The Superstar’ Charlie Fletcher

'The Superstar' Charlie Fletcher was the first man in professional wrestling to become known for his attire, his antics and his personality rather than for his technical ability. Born in Louisiana Fletcher started out in the southern independent scene with mediocre success before starting to imitate superstars from other entertainment industries. Fletcher would dance in the ring, wear colourful outfits and copy in detail movements, impressions and even specific phrases derived from famous singers and actors. But the people still didn't love him - instead they began to hate him. So Fletcher parlayed the heat into profit and enraged the audience even further by cheating and betraying whenever he could. Eventually thousands went to the arenas just to see Fletcher lose and he became one of the most profitable pro wrestlers in the world and one of the Forefathers Of Professional Wrestling. Since then the roles have changed - aspiring pro wrestlers began imitating Fletcher and surpassed him.

 

‘The Strongest Man In The World’ Donte Matthews

Louisville, Kentucky native Donte Matthews is a former professional bodybuilder and strength athlete who became the first afro-american pro wrestler with name value and a Forefather Of Professional Wrestling. He was presented to the audience as the 'The Strongest Man In The World' accentuated not only by his impressive physique (6'1'', 270 lbs.), but also by his ability to carry and finish off most of his opponents with the Gorilla Press and his powerhouse wrestling style. Even though Matthews' run in professional wrestling was very successful, he never became a USPWA World Heavyweight Champion - just like in bodybuilding contests he remained in second position and received sub-awards only. Matthews has left the business behind a few years ago but is still at 260 lbs. keeping himself in shape even at the age of 55.

 

The other historical focal point I used as a fundament of the universe's US scene is the American Wrestling Association (AWA). I have written a raw version of it's development taking the different eras into account. The following Roddy Piper quote I used because I found it nice and wanted this to be the initial spark of my universe as well (thus another connection to reality), although Roddy Piper wouldn't be part of the game world.

 

“Just picture the Carnival pulls into town, one that looks like Little House on the Prairie, and the covered wagons would come through and there’d be the Bearded Lady and the Strong Man and some animals.

And then there’d be the Wrestler.

And so the night before the carnival on Saturday, there’d be people at the bars. And the people from the carnival would find out who the tough guys were. And they would talk up The Wrestler. And so in the afternoon, the next day, everyone would come down and some local guy would take him on for maybe a nickel or something. And if you won you got fifty cents. And the wrestler would get him in a hold, and there’s a hold called ‘The Sugar Hold’ and it’s a hold in which it makes all the blood rush to your head and blood comes out of your eyes, nose and ears, etcetera.

But he doesn’t pin him.

So the Wrestler would catch him in this hold and slap him on the ribs and it would make the guy scream. Well, the crowd would get so upset and so angry that all of a sudden a guy would jump up and say, ‘I’ll take you on!’ And the promoter would come out and say, ‘Whoa!’ And the Wrestler would let the guy go and the promoter would say, ‘My guy just fought. You come back tonight!’

And they’d all come back that night. But the guy who stood up was part of the carnival. Everyone would come back and pay another nickel.

That’s the answer to when did wrestling begin.”

 

THE CARNIVAL ERA

1850 – 1899

 

The American Wrestling Association (short: AWA) is the oldest known region-based professional wrestling company in the world. It dates back even to the Carnival Era. Founded in the late 19th century as The Bob Sullivan Carnival it was a touring train showcasing the likes of revue and magic shows, oddities, strongman competitions and wrestling along the atlantic coast. Back then the wrestlers would be paid per night on a handshake basis and had to earn their coin occasionally in actual real fights – be it against outside contestants doubting their legitimacy or against rivals within the group trying to claim the spot of one another. The wrestlers of that time were legit sportsmen with an athletic background, yet many of them were past their prime and without a chance to make a living outside the world of fighting – they called themselves hookers, as they could still hold themselves in a real fight. They drew hundreds of people to the fair grounds every night and were cheered and admired like the tournament knights in medieval Europe. Yet their names never really stuck in the minds of the spectators as these men were exchanged on a regular basis back in those days and those who held out would not return to a city for months due to the heavy touring schedule. The Sullivan Carnival wrestlers lived on the train – and those who had wits stayed even when their bones were too old for another fight to work as announcers, referees, as an early form of managers or members of the train crew.

While Bob Sullivan Sr. was certainly an entrepreneur and someone who understood how to earn money with this early partly legit form of fighting showcase, he was never a fan of wrestling. His son on the other hand grew up as one of the young admirers of the wrestlers, often spending the noons to help pitching and lighting the tents, tightening the ropes and even lacing the boots of the guys if he had to. He spent hours beneath the grizzled, but honest and gallow humoured men and learned about their craft and their perspective on things - and in the evenings he would sneak through a hole in the tent that he cut in extra for that purpose to watch the wrestlers fight. Unlike his father he became a true fan of the sport.

 

THE PLATINUM ERA

1900 – 1919

 

Bob Sullivan Jr. took over and remodeled his father’s company to Bob Sullivan Promotions in 1903 still using the train to easily reach most of the east coast but now focusing heavily on wrestling and making Georgia its home region. He instantly reduced the touring schedule and stayed for two months each in six cities along the east coast – Orlando, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington D.C., New York City – and the other way around in the following year. The main roster was cut down to a few guys whose name value was build up by Sullivan and who would soon become regional stars in the mentioned cities. To catalyse this effect Sullivan drove through the cities with a megaphone when his train was in town and announced their shows, rented billboards where he promoted the actual wrestlers with their names and records (setting the focus on the individual rather than the show) and worked closely together with the local newspapers giving them exclusive interviews in exchange for publicity. Sullivan Jr. also invented the wrestler’s parade - the wrestling stars would be driven through the cities on festival cars posing, cutting promos and often drawing thousands of people to the streets who would then receive flyers from the ring crew members with the announcement of the wrestling shows. With this recipe Sullivan Jr. created the first true stars of professional wrestling who would be known by large audiences. Soon people from all over the east coast would be drawn to the big cities to see Sullivan’s wrestling stars.

The iron rule in those days was that the regulars always win against local contenders filling up the roster for a short term in build-up fights and only lose against each other in internal fights. These internal fights were marking the regular wrestlers’ standing in the ranking and would later lead to the introduction of the American Wrestling Championship. The first champion was Louie Gordon, an italo-american from New York and highly popular man in the northeastern area of the United States. He was a long-term servant of the Sullivan family who had already worked for Sullivan Sr.. Although 36 already when winning the title in 1905 Gordon was a 6’0’’ powerful man and a catch veteran feared for his throws. He had both the believability and the star appeal.

Sullivan Jr. and his boys made a lot of money and ignited what would later be known as the Platinum Era of Professional Wrestling. But they would soon be disputed by new forces emerging on the market, as the Sullivan recipe was a success and led to a large amount of imitators all over the United States. Soon new promotions similar to that of Sullivan Jr. rose to fame and created their own championships and stars. A smart business man, Sullivan Jr. evaded confrontation and instead split the cake – he spearheaded the wrestling business and made sure to stay ahead of things but worked together with his new competitors always looking for a way to get the most out of the situation. With inter-promotional fights he made sure that the American Wrestling Championship was considered the major title for a long time and that the second word after wrestling in the United States had to be Sullivan. Besides that Sullivan Jr. also used his income to invest – for example into guests from Europe, where the wrestling scene was extremely strong and popular at that time as well. Bob Sullivan Promotions was the first to showcase fights between the european and american champions. This collaboration would lead to the first World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in March 1907, when then American Wrestling Champion Logan Reynolds from Georgia defeated European Wrestling Champion and Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion of 1904 Porthos Boulle from France in a unification match after 72 minutes and two time limit extensions. The clou: six months later Boulle won that very same match in Paris in order to be promoted as the first World Heavyweight Champion in Europe. Agreements of that sort where still possible back then and became a powerful weapon of Sullivan Jr. to strengthen his position in the wrestling scene – yet they also led to questions from a growing international network of journalists who started to doubt wrestling.

In the course of the next ten years – partly due to the growing disregard of journalists from Bob Sullivan Jr. among other promoters, who felt like they had given them enough share of their earnings in the past years and didn’t need them anymore, now that their guys were highly popular – mudrakers gathered proof, that wrestling was staged. There were various channels (for example promoters trying to harm their competition and disappointed ex members of the scene ) feeding the doubts against the business and leading to much noticed articles on national newspapers that damaged the wrestling business in the United States heavily and led to a decay in attendance numbers. Until 1919 many small promoters left the business and the bigger promoters had to cut down costs and hand out smaller paychecks, leading to an exodus of talent. By the end of 1919 with the retirement of Logan Reynolds professional wrestling in the United States had only a weak pulse left.

 

THE DARK ERA

1920 – 1946

 

Sullivan Jr. reacted by rebranding his promotion to the name it is known by today – American Wrestling Association. He emphasized heavily on the Georgia area from this point on while selling his train and giving up touring to cut costs and finance the following months. Sullivan Jr.’s kingdom lay in shambles – yet he gathered what was left to lay a solid fundament for a new nationwide domination. His plans were to make the profit turnaround in 1920 and to be touring the east coast again by no later than 1930 – but everything turned out differently. Although professional wrestling recovered in the Georgia area and Sullivan Jr. was able to build up a sustainable and state-wide successful company, he would never come even close to the peak of the Platinum Era again. Instead, by the end of October 1929, the Great Crash led the world into an economic depression wiping various professional wrestling companies out and forcing the survivors to cook on a much lower flame.

One of the final influences of Bob Sullivan Jr. to professional wrestling before his passing was the founding of the United States Professional Wrestling Alliance in 1932. Sullivan Jr. knew then that the AWA would never become national again by its own efforts. So he gathered everyone and everything professional wrestling all over the country had left to offer to lay the foundation of the territorial structure – united the promoters and wrestlers would overcome the Dark Era and professional wrestling would thrive again. Only due to the USPWA and to Sullivan Jr.’s pre-cautious business decisions, cost-cutting measures and a significant financial cushion the AWA survived through those difficult years and the later following World War II. Sullivan Jr. became a major stakeholder of the USPWA until he passed away in 1941, declaring his only son Michael Sullivan the heir of the company on his death bed.

During the Dark Era of Professional Wrestling only five major US-based companies managed to maintain a regular output of shows:

- American Wrestling Association in Atlanta, Georgia led by Bob Sullivan Jr. and later Michael Sullivan

- Iron Claw Wrestling in Baltimore, Maryland led by Francis Wiley

- Upper Class Wrestling in New York City led by Aaron Osborne and later Louie Gordon

- Pro Wrestling From The Carolinas in Charlotte, North Carolina led by Leon Schwartz

- Northern Border Wrestling in Billings, Montana led by Dominik Gordon Price

These five players made a pact to control and share what was left of the market between themselves with the means of the USPWA, which all of them had founded and made themselves permanent members of. Other than that they swore, that if professional wrestling should ever recover from its image damage, honoring the secrets of the business would be their highest bidding and that never again would there be outsiders allowed behind the curtain.

Besides the shows of the five mentioned companies other professional wrestling shows were still held across the country on an independent level. The independent wrestling circuit would make the fast re-emergence of professional wrestling in the Era of Rediscovery possible, as there was a lot of talent without a long-term perspective around. This talent pool was complemented by war refugees mostly from Europe with a strong legitimate athletic background.

 

THE ERA OF REDISCOVERY

1947 – 1960

 

When the second World War ended it had been almost 30 years since journalists had opened up to the US public that wrestling was staged. By that point some had forgotten and others had only a vague feeling left that something was odd about this sport. To the broad public professional wrestling had won its mystique back. The war-ridden nation was in need of entertainment in all shapes and forms and with television, a new mass medium celebrated its triumphant progress. This mixture finally smoothed the path for what Bob Sullivan Jr. had dreamt of – professional wrestling becoming a thing again in the United States.

In the course of the late 1940s and 1950s numerous professional wrestling companies were born out of the former independent scene, spreading all over the country. But the major players were the members of the USPWA. The Alliance’s talent was at that time head-above-shoulders of everyone else on the market, not only in terms of skill, but also in terms of marketability and the greatest talent of the independent scene was grabbed up and shared beneath the members. The member companies were perceived superior due to their tradition, name value and promotional experience – but they were also the first ones to arrange their major events or at least parts of them to be shown on television which led to the USPWA now being synonymized with wrestling. Still, the members could not (and did not want to) tour the whole United States – none of them was willing or able to become a national company at that point. So they used their control of the market to add new members to the USPWA. If one company did not agree to their terms then there was usually at least one rival company in the same area. So they picked the second choice and sent their star power there for limited periods of time, scheduling the shows against those of the unwanted competitor until it broke down and left the business. And if the preferred promoter accepted the deal, even better. Former personnel of the USPWA members going home and opening a company were naturally preferred. At the same time the USPWA members would honor the territories of their peers and the rules of the Alliance. This way they could shape the territories to their liking and prepare what would later be known as the Golden Era Of Professional Wrestling or informally the Gold Rush Era.

The style of the Dark Era was heavily influenced by the Catch-As-Catch-Can origins of the Carnival Era, but a gradual change was noticeable. The promoters understood that they had to offer their television audience a more diversified programme to bolster the ratings, so they brought new match types and early forms of wrestling characters into the picture and put more focus on the personalities and individual qualities of their workers. Thus the shift from the Carnival Era, where wrestling was part of the show, to the Platinum Era, where wrestling was the show, to the Dark Era, where the individual is the star of the wrestling show, was completed. As a result the Forefathers Of Professional Wrestling rose to fame and encompassed a set of archetype characteristics that would be imitated and further developed over many years to come. While these slight changes of the setup received general agreement beneath the promoters, it would be the more substantial developments of how to present professional wrestling that would change the business once again and leave plenty of room for dispute.

 

THE GOLDEN ERA

1961 – 1975

 

The Golden Era Of Professional Wrestling started out harmoniously for those already established in the business – the USPWA held the majority of the market shares and built up extensive financial reserves. Pro wrestling broadened its audience and became something to watch for people from every class of society and every age group, as the workers represented a variety of backgrounds. During the 1960s many came to see the wrestlers in the big events that often already featured the finale of a rudimentary storyline. Wrestling shows sold out event and sports arenas across the country. They also remained an integral part of state network broadcasts strengthening the regional ties of the companies. The most popular pro wrestlers were treated like Hollywood stars, staying in the best hotels, eating the most expensive food, driving luxury cars, becoming fashion idols and being accompanied by a whole posse of yellow press photographers. Pro wrestlers began to advertise products and became publicity advocates of companies. More so than during the Era Of Rediscovery wrestling had become a major part of the US entertainment industry as a whole. With the success of professional wrestling rising it became more and more evident even to those, who never had much to do with it nor cared for it, that there is money and fame in this – and where there is money and fame, desires arise.

While the USPWA kept on pushing unwanted competition out of the business, they couldn’t preserve the Alliance from internal disputes. Especially the younger member companies developed a tendency to use more modern formulas of presentation to distinguish themselves from the others and to grow at a faster rate, introducing new forms of angles and segments and further individualizing the appearance of their wrestlers. Slowly but steadily not the legitimacy of a wrestler became the number one factor of his spot on the card anymore, but his presentation, resulting in rivalry on two levels in the USPWA – legitimate wrestlers were now rivaling with in their perception illegitimate wrestlers for championships and card positions, which led to a revival of shoots, and old-fashioned companies were rivaling with modern companies for influence within the Alliance. With the younger companies growing at a faster rate and collisions at the territorial borders imminent the founding members made concessions and initiated a power shift.

Generally it can be observed that longer established companies had a higher tendency to stick to the old ways of professional wrestling than newer companies. Other than that regional observations can be made as well. Especially member companies located in big and often coastal cities with a strong entertainment industry tended to modernize their products, as they had to compete with other forms of entertainment as well – this development was spearheaded by the Californian companies. Meanwhile the southern companies made a name for themselves for being bloodier and rougher but also more diversified than the traditional companies without giving up a realistic approach.

 

THE ERA OF DISPERSAL

1976 – 1980

 

In the late 1970s professional wrestling – after a long and successful period – went through declining numbers in attendance and television ratings. Stars retired, companies changed their products and the broad masses had been overexposed to professional wrestling in general over the past era and partly lost interest, as it seemed as if they had seen all that the sport had to offer. Although no entertainment powerhouse anymore professional wrestling remained a special interest branch of entertainment and a money maker.

At the same time the effects of the late Golden Era intensified – the USPWA members drifted apart into further disagreement and by now, some companies had modernized their product so much that AWA boss and wrestling legend Gerrard Cooper brought up the questions ‘What is professional wrestling? And what does the USPWA even stand for in these days?’. Finally, the CWE (California Wrestling Enterprises) became the first company to leave the USPWA in 1977, when promoter Archie Wright sold it as a whole to Reece Newman’s NBS (Newman Broadcasting Systems). The extremely ambitious and driven Newman renamed the company to California Wrestling Entertainment and made it the first nationally broadcast wrestling program on cable television in the same year, debuting an entertainment-focused product of unprecedented scale. Suddenly there was a new major player on the market that wanted nothing to do with the USPWA and perfected the internal crisis of the Alliance. It is January 01, 1980 and the following is the initial situation of the professional wrestling world today.

 

 

A few notes about the companies in the game:

 

- USPWA: An alliance shaped in the darkest hour of pro wrestling in the USA to overcome the hard times and later on build on what's left. Was the groundwork for the initial members to become major players in the Era Of Rediscovery and The Golden Era, but seems to do more harm than good in January 1980 with it's focus on traditionalism and rigid structures. The AWA is its major stakeholder, though the southern based companies spearheaded by Raging Bull Wrestling, who have gathered a good audience in the past few years with a new style of wrestling (rasslin) gain influence and share a growing discontent with their treatment especially when it comes to the holder of the USPWA World Heavyweight Championship.

- CWA: Deemed by traditionalists an "artificial pro wrestling company" that is destroying the game, as it was created by a television network and is under the control of a broadcast manager who doesn't care about how things were done in the past. They outclass any other company on the planet in terms of financials, grab up and rebrand any talent they can get their hands on and use a lot of gimmicks and angles in their product.

- Dragon Sphere: What I basically wanted to do is turn the Último Dragón into Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid - the latter ones are called in the Realverse Antiguo Dragón and Immortal Dragon (Tsuga Kanezane). They have just become regional stars in Mexico in PFLL in 1980 by facing off in several awe-inspiring and revolutionary matches. While the japanese man began with a strong style based approach (he was sent to PFLL due to being too small for SJPW) the mexican man used classic lucha libre. By the end of the series, both steal each others moves, come up with several new, mix their style and Lucharesu is born which they later use to create their own companies, one of them in Mexico, the other one in Japan. All of that would leave room for the player to bring Kanezane back to Japan and create a junior wrestling branch.

- JWF: First japanese pro wrestling company founded by ‘The Sun King’ Fujikawa Hidetora, a mediocre Judoka from a well situated family who studied Economics abroad in the United States and discovered pro wrestling there. Earned money as a ring crew member, photographer and occasional jobber, went back to Japan without finishing studies but began hosting his own pro wrestling shows. Inspired by Charlie Fletcher he gained heat by acting like a flamboyant jerk and beating up martial artists past prime in staged fights that are presented as real. This works very well for more than a decade before more serious professional wrestlers come up from the company's dojo, the best of them being 'The Supernova' Kagehisa Komatsu, 'Mountain Lion' Ryota Ishiki and 'The Emerald Kaiser' Motoyasu Aizu. All three of them become stars not due to their antics but due to their remarkable style, but don't get a chance to ever reach the main event. So they found their own companies based on their different style schools and eventually surpass the entertainment based JWF by far, which feels outdated in January 1980 in Japan.

- Breunig Promotions: Founded by Sepp Breunig, an austrian Vier-Zentner-Mann whose finishing move is the Fleischklopfer. A mixture of Bonvivant and Falstaff Breunig became popular in the United States in several USPWA companies before returning to his home country Austria and creating his own company. He can be a loveable heavy guy but he is also taken serious as a beast in the ring. What Breunig Promotions do is called Jahrmarkt-Ketschen - they take kayfabe serious, but there's a lot of room for gimmicky characters and the atmosphere at the shows (many of which take place at viktuals markets or beer tents) is funny, omitted and bierselig. This is very much unlike the german scene, where the Ringerverband is taking pro wrestling dead serious and does old school catch shows with no suggestion that anything seen might be staged.

 

This backstory is nothing short of phenomenal! Sad to hear that it might never come to pass, I'd most definitely be interested in playing it.

[arlovski]

Stable logos I created on the fly for my Black Canvas Grappling save - might be useful for others too, so I thought I'd share them.

 

 

 

Bigger version of what the Money Makers logo was supposed to look like.

[arlovski]

Created these two quick and dirty for my diary and share them herewith, in case anyone is interested:

 

[Sisma]

I LOVE the BHOTWG logo! These are all great, of course, but wow.

[arlovski]

Inspired by The Lloyd I decided to give this CAW feature of 2K a try as well and wanted to share the result:

 

 

 

And just for the fun of it:

 

 

[Brighamjessen]

What do you use to create logos? I'm wanting to try my hand at making some and have no idea where to start.

[arlovski]

I am using GIMP and I started just like you with wrestling logos without knowing anything about the program or other graphic programs. I am still pretty much a beginner, but advanced enough by now to get the things done, that I would like to do. There are a lot of great tutorials on Youtube that will help you if you have a certain graphical effect in mind.

 

To recreate my logos what you would have to learn is:

 

- the purpose of different layers and how to use them

- the use of selections in various situations (e.g. to create one or several frames for words)

- the use of gradients

- the use of drop shadows

- the use of paths (to create bended text for example, although this is a bit difficult sometimes with GIMP)

 

These are all very basic features. What I did was just familiarize myself with these and watch Youtube videos repeating the steps explained there one by one. What I would advise you to do is if you have a certain logo for a wrestling company in mind, to just try and recreate it with the tutorials you find on Youtube or if you have nothing specific in mind yet just pick one of the logos in the default database and try to recreate it. I might also be able to answer you specific questions if you didn't find a suitable tutorial.

 

Additionally to this I am using various plug-ins and G'MIC occasionally, if I am aiming for something more complex (e.g. smart sharpening or chisel or carve effects), but this is usually not really necessary for wrestling logos for TEW.

[Stennick]

Any chance you have these logos in PNG format?