OGpistolpete Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 http://i.imgur.com/ZnIEDjM.jpg Welcome to... Wrestling at WAR Wrestling at WAR is an alternate reality scenario based around multiple premises, including but not limited to: Vince McMahon found guilty during the steroid trial of the early 90s, the WWF's and NWA's opponents uniting to form a third legitimate option in the American wrestling scene (see World Star Wrestling), "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan defects to form a fourth-option led by Hogan at the helm, Hollywood Championship Wrestling, "Macho Madness" replaces "Hulkamania" as wrestling's greatest entry into the mainstream during the 1980's... and many more! Throw yourself in the war commencing between the National Wrestling Alliance and World Star Wrestling! OR... take over Rupert Murdoch's threatening Hollywood Championship Wrestling, which attempts to poise itself as the next big thing in professional wrestling! OR... save the World Wrestling Federation from absolute demise, and lead themthrough the Attitude Era and towards future prosperity! OR... try your hand at turning the Dallas-based United States Wrestling Association from a traditional down-south wrasslin' promotion, into the next nation-wide wrestling promotion! OR... take over the regional-sized East Coast Wrestling Association, and mold the ECWA into that talked about indy promotion, and perhaps into something more! OR... ride the coat-tails of Antonio Inoki's International Wrestling Grand Prix and dominate the Japanese wrestling scene with some of the hottest stars of the 1990's! OR... take over for Giant Baba's Japanese Pro Wrestling Association and attempt to revitalize JPWA as Japan's oldest and most prestigious wrestling organization! OR... choose a side in the Japanese shoot-style war, between Tiger Mask's KINGDOM Pro Wrestling and Akira Maeda's Excellence and Revolution through Honor (EARTH) promotion! OR... choose one of the many other promotions at your disposal! It's your choice! Their destiny! Who's side are you on? ... WAW was a TEW2016 mod of mine that was a pet project resulting in a second Beta version I would consider respectably playable. With life providing for its ins-and-outs in the modding scene, I am turning this personal project back on once more with the mission of expanding its wrestling universe and creating a more playable version of the mod than before. My focus this time around will be in regards to the following: - Syncing the conversion of 2016 version to match any changes to the 2020 version of the game. - Building the Japanese wrestling scene up from scratch and providing a full Japanese wrestling scene with full promotions, rosters, independent workers, events, broadcasts, etc. - Polish/revamp American promotions so that they are more balanced and well equipped to succeed upon game start. Study how the game handles running the American promotions and tweak any and all settings where required. Create more interesting independent American promotions to expand the likelihood of players using the mod. - Expand the list of wrestlers available later on in the game. Add more longevity to plays with a strong list of available talent later on in the game further incentivizing long-play throughs. - More customized narratives and planned events to carry out within the universe, hoping to suck in players more into the WAW universe and provide more "meat" to the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idolized Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Glad to see you back and updating this. One of the more creative mods from the past that will be a welcome addition to TEW 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddytorgo1 Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Sounds like a fun alternate history. Looking forward to checking it out once you get it to the stage where you feel it's playable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGpistolpete Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 Glad to see you back and updating this. One of the more creative mods from the past that will be a welcome addition to TEW 2020 Thanks iDOL. Certainly have to admit your iDOM and those old NWA Doms are all inspiration for this! Hopefully it can live up to those expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chikbot Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Oh nice. Glad to see this coming back. One of my fav EWR mods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGpistolpete Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 Thanks Chikbot, glad to hear you were a fan of the EWR version. Quick question for the audience, does anyone happen to have the original logo files that came with the original pic-pack? They were full size company logos one could use to make graphics with. Shot in the dark I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mammoth Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Thanks Chikbot, glad to hear you were a fan of the EWR version. Quick question for the audience, does anyone happen to have the original logo files that came with the original pic-pack? They were full size company logos one could use to make graphics with. Shot in the dark I guess. The link you supplied here is still active, and I presume it's what you're looking for? It's where I found the logo I used in our recent correspondence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGpistolpete Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 The link you supplied here is still active, and I presume it's what you're looking for? It's where I found the logo I used in our recent correspondence. Hmm, did you find a folder with transparent .PNG files and possibly .PSD files of logos for companies and television shows? I know it existed in the past (also on a google drive somewhere) but I could not find the folder. Or did you pull the logos you used from the 150*150 pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mammoth Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Hmm, did you find a folder with transparent .PNG files and possibly .PSD files of logos for companies and television shows? I know it existed in the past (also on a google drive somewhere) but I could not find the folder. Or did you pull the logos you used from the 150*150 pictures? No, sorry. I didn't know those things existed and simply used the 150x150 images that I linked you to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGpistolpete Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 No, sorry. I didn't know those things existed and simply used the 150x150 images that I linked you to. They exist somewhere, I had access to a google drive with them over a year ago, can't remember if it's something I set up or someone uploaded them for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGpistolpete Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 Found it! https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0ByamGL9VUka_V01pemNhM01menc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E.mzo Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 I defo would love some more backstory on the Japanese promotions, can’t wait!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgriff3029 Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 OGpistolpete would you happen to have or know where I can get a copy of the 2016 version? I poked around but couldn't find it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaysin Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 OGpistolpete would you happen to have or know where I can get a copy of the 2016 version? I poked around but couldn't find it. Thanks. The link in the 2016 thread works http://greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=535988 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgriff3029 Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGpistolpete Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 Most playable/up-to-date version is here http://greydogsoftware.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2276133&postcount=115 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGpistolpete Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 I defo would love some more backstory on the Japanese promotions, can’t wait!!!! So I’m fairly well versed in Puroresu history but an alternate Japanese reality has been a bit harder to craft than I anticipated. The main change is Rikidozan isn’t killed, which means his JWA doesn’t fold and Baba is still crowned his successor but the influence of Rikidozan is still loud and clear until he steps away from putting his hands on things in the 80’s to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Therefore, the JWA still has significant power in Japan just based on the legend of Rikidozan. I plan on having him die in the year 1997, which puts JPWA in a whirlwind. Baba will also die soon after and my idea is for Inoki’s IWGP to purchase JPWA from Rikidozan’s wife and create an IWGP around 2000 which has every single significant star in Japanese wrestling at the time, a super promotion. Eventually this will fall apart and an exodus occurs in early 2000’s because there is so much talent to spare. Inoki was surpassed by Baba due to Rikidozan’s choosing, so he still breaks off to create his own promotion which finally takes over as number one in the early 90’s. I’m making the impact of Tiger Mask in wrestling much bigger since he was such an egotistical prick, where he invents shoot-style wrestling and henceforth “Satoryu-ism”. But beyond that, things are still a bit of the same with FMW... no Michinoku Pro, just rolling that talent into IWGP’s junior division... ALWAYS LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS AND CREATIVE IDEAS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splitgoose Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 My favourite mod! You've done an awesome job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGpistolpete Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share Posted October 29, 2020 I guess I'm due for an update. This is a bit lower on my priority list between everything going on in my life plus other interests and hobbies but I still like to pick away at this when I'm in the mood. Going to try to keep putting in a few hours a week if I can, but it's taken me awhile to get all active workers based in Japan imported with contracts set-up, custom biographies written with alternate history in mind, and making sure they are good to go when the game starts in terms of other fields and attributes, but I am very happy to say I am finally complete getting a foundation for the Japanese wrestling world set-up! Still a longways to go but this was a big milestone for me to accomplish (setting up a couple hundred Japanese workers one-by-one is a pretty tedious task!) However, the Japanese scene was overall super scarce in terms of actual talent to have in the game, so next step is a fun one, deciding which gaijin will play the role of touring gaijin with JPWA, IWGP, and the shoot-style promotions! I'm hoping this can help round out the rosters so the game isn't displeased with smaller rosters than it thinks it has. One annoying aspect I am realizing is despite having 8 or 10 workers on the JPWA roster where the worker is both a wrestler and road agent, the game doesn't want to count them as wrestlers in it's "estimated roster counter" which I am worried will cause issues with the AI. Request! My big request from hopefully anybody is to get a logo created for KINGOM Pro Wrestling, one of the two shoot-style promotions based in Japan. Here is the company profile to provide some context: KINGDOM Pro Wrestling can be considered the original pioneer of shoot-style pro wrestling, which emphasizes realistic holds and maneuvers carried over from various mixed martial arts. KINGDOM was formed in 1986 by Satoru Sayama, otherwise known as the original Tiger Mask, who left IWGP following a meteoric rise in the company's junior heavyweight division. Sayama left to pursue his dream in establishing the "shoot-style" of pro wrestling he had become incredibly fond, and developed what he now refers to as "Sayama-ism". The KINGDOM style, or Sayama-ism, bases itself around the use of a variety of MMA-submissions, emphasis on kickboxing-style kicks, and sometimes hardway punches. The rise for KINGDOM in terms of popularity in Japan was almost as meteoric as Sayama's rise, but soon descension hit the organization when, in 1988, star Akira Maeda and other roster members defected from KINGDOM, citing Sayama's unrelenting selfishness, and formed their own shoot-style promotion: EARTH. Also wanted to through in some profiles I've written for some significant workers in the Japanese scene... Satoru Sayama - Owner/Founder of KINGDOM Pro Wrestling (the former Tiger Mask) Satoru Sayama, perhaps more populary known as the original Tiger Mask, is a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter. Sayama made waves adopting the first ever Tiger Mask gimmick in the early 1980's, where he was a star of the IWGP junior heavyweight division. Feeling he had another calling, however, Sayama left IWGP and formed KINGDOM Pro Wrestling in 1986, forming the world's first ever "shoot-style" promotion. With KINGDOM came "Sayama-ism", half a wrestling philosophy that developed shoot-style, half a near cult of personality of Sayama. Controversial, selfish, driven, Sayama is a real character in the world of Japanese Puroresu. In 1996, Sayama is struggling to keep KINGDOM in the hearts and minds of Japanese fans and is doing what he can to bring his promotion back to the top of shoot-style market. Fun fact: Sayama has the distinction of being a competitor (along with Dynamite Kid) in the very first 5 Star Rating awarded for a Match by Dave Meltzer. Akira Maeda - Owner/Co-Founder of EARTH Akira Maeda is a Japanese mixed martial arts promoter a part-time performer who most consider to be the founder of the shoot-style promotion EARTH. Maeda got his start with IWGP in 1980 before jumping over to Satoru Sayama's KINGDOM Pro Wrestling, choosing to follow the path of shoot-style. It was during his time in KINGDOM that his willingness to show his displeasure in the ring became known; he quarreled with Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mask) over the direction of KINGDOM, as Maeda and other wrestlers were reportedly resentful of Sayama's cramming too much creative power. This included booking himself to win all his matches, where others, Maeda included, "jobbed" in the worked matches. In 1988 Maeda left KINGDOM and formed EARTH with other defectors, Maeda the number one star. Since then he has overtaken Sayama's promotion in popularity and continues to become even more involved in backstage activity versus active competition. Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada is a Japanese wrestler who works exclusively in Japan and specializes in shoot-style wrestling. Takada is a big name in shoot-style and is one of the more popular workers of the niche. A graduate of the IWGP dojo, Takada was appointed Antonio Inoki's personal assistant. He was also Hulk Hogan's assistant for his Japanese tours. During that time, he was nicknamed Seishun no Esperanza ("Youth Esperanza"), due to his gutsy and hopeful rookie antics. Takada was one to defect to KINGDOM Pro Wrestling when it first formed, but would depart to join EARTH in 1988 when Akira Maeda led a departure of half the roster. Gaining major popularity in KINGDOM, Takada has become one of the faces of EARTH, a former EARTH Universal Heavyweight champion, GHC winner, and winner of the 1988, 1991, 1992 EARTH World Series titles. Giant Baba - CEO of Japanese Pro Wrestling Association Shohei Baba is a professional wrestler and current operating promoter of the Japanese Professional Wrestling Association. He is best known as Giant Baba, and along with Antonio Inoki, became one of the most famous Japanese wrestlers of his era.. Baba is perhaps best known as the "one and true successor" to Rikidozan, the father of Japanese pro wrestling. At least, in respects to Baba's role as taking over majority of ownership responsiblities related to the JPWA. Baba was the critical piece to JPWA's exit from isolation in the pro wrestling world and the key figure in JPWA's talent exchanges with Western promotions as well as bringing in gaijin workers already contracted exclusively with the biggest promotions overseas. However, many are now critical of Baba's last decade of JPWA ownership and his refusal to change JPWA's ways; specifically his refusal to create a junior division within JPWA despite IWGP's overwhelming success and other aspects of evolving modern pro wrestling. Antonio Inoki - Owner/Founder of International Wrestling Grand Prix Antonio Inoki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Inoki began his professional wrestling career in the 1960s for the JPWA under the tutelage of Rikidozan. Inoki quickly became one of the most popular stars in the history of Japanese professional wrestling. He parlayed his wrestling career into becoming one of Japan's most recognizable athletes, a reputation bolstered by his 1976 fight against world champion boxer Muhammad Ali – a fight that served as a predecessor to modern day mixed martial arts. In 1972, Inoki broke away from his mentor Rikidozan and the JPWA to form his own promotion based around his ideals of pro wrestling: the International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP). Since it's formation, Inoki has led the IWGP from being the bastard off-shoot of the JPWA to becoming an even more popular version of puroresu in Japan. Today, "Inoki-ism" still acts as the guiding light for IWGP. Rikidozan - The Father of Puroresu Rikidozan is known as "The Father of Puroresu" and is and one of the most influential men in professional wrestling history. He was credited with bringing the sport of professional wrestling to Japan at a time when Japan needed a national hero. Rikidozan gave up sumo in 1950 and soon after established himself as Japan's biggest wrestling star by defeating one Western worker after another. He would go on to found the first ever wrestling promotion in Japan, the JPWA, in the 1950s. Rikidozan gained worldwide renown when he defeated Lou Thesz in 1958 in Japan. His signature move was the karate chop, which was actually based on sumo's harite. Rikidozan was the face of puroresu through the 50s, 60s and 70s before retiring from active competition in the 1980s. He has since passed on majority of responsiblities to his successor, Giant Baba, and is said to be in the final years of his life. Also, GIANT SHOUTOUT to Mammoth who has been making custom belts for me, here's a little preview! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mammoth Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 How about this? I just edited the logo for Shooto, which Satoru Sayama started in the 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGpistolpete Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 Hi Everyone, Finally 95% finished with game-start Japan! All the promotions are balanced out, complete title histories, stables, tag teams, events, etc.! So excited for this day to finally be here! Only things I am looking at now are future Japanese promotions, narratives, future scandals, how to make Rikidozan die when I want, and in general getting to push the mod's in-game history in the direction I would like... But running simulations watching the in-game world I am super happy with where things are at and really think this adds significant depth to the game, especially when playing as a North American promotion and having the option to use Japanese workers or entering talent agreements and the like. Also need to work on future Japanese workers, and more future workers in general, which is going to be the next big project. At this point I think I'll be targeting release by Christmas timeframe, hopefully giving everyone a lot of time during their holiday break to dive in and get playing! I think my goal now is to get this mod complete as a historical alternate history, but I have had one crazy idea run through my mind. With how much time I have dedicated into this mod, I'm thinking of creating a super alternate reality version, where it has the same start date and essentially the same starting data, but introducing wrestlers from all different future eras debuting a random points in the game... So think, Kenny Omega debuting in 1997, or the Young Bucks starting off in the WWF in mid-1996, or how about Okada and Naito graduating from one of the big two dojos. I'm really getting more and more interested in having modern-day workers debut in this game world just to draw more interest from players who are more interested in playing with modern day workers... Any interest in this? Also thinking about creating a 2021 database set in 2021 of this alternate history, but this would require me to come up with another 25 years of history to get a 2021 that I don't know if I have the creative juice to handle... Also, anybody good with graphics? Don't have Photoshop anymore, and I might purchase it again for a shortwhile but would love to know if anyone has any time to work on some graphics for this mod... Nothing too crazy I wouldn't think! Also, Huge shoutout to Mammoth once more, who has pretty much completed a custom, realistic belt for every single belt in the game. Just adds so much more depth. Thank you so much Mammoth for all your help, and everybody go check out his mod! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGpistolpete Posted November 18, 2020 Author Share Posted November 18, 2020 A Short History of... HOLLYWOOD CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING Lights, Camera, Action! RUPERT MURDOCH is the definition of mogul. Since the 1950’s, the Australian native has acquired news outlet after news outlet, rising to the top of the world’s news industry. After becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1985, Murdoch could officially own a U.S. television station, starting with the acquisition of Metromedia, a television broadcasting company with stations in six large U.S. cities. This became the foundation for what is known today as the Fox Broadcasting Company, or more commonly known simply as FOX. FOX would begin a meteoric-rise to compete with the Big Three during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, and did so with gritty, original programming that captured the changing atmosphere of the United States as it ticked closer and closer to the new millennium. And with that attempt to capture even more of prime time television’s market share came the creation of a crazy idea: sports entertainment. How could the station combine the elements of the sports they were attempting to buy up through major contracts with the country’s largest sporting associations as well as the company’s knack for providing quality entertainment that appealed to the 18-34 year old demography? Professional wrestling was chosen as that answer. But perhaps none of it would have happened if the pieces had not all fallen into place. Vince McMahon is convicted. And FOX executives see their opening. The mass exodus of WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION wrestlers was ignited like a wildfire, and Murdoch's team was quick to act. The phone calls began, word was swift. Quickly the situation went from, "I have to get out of Stamford" to "I have to get my tape to FOX's people". Not to mention, the media professional wrestling found itself receiving was unlike never before. Although, none of it was good, there was a silent eye on professional wrestling, and FOX’s creation was truly beginning to unfold. Off the heels of McMahon's downfall, FOX scooped up considerable World Wrestling Federation talent. The industry was taken aback when Rupert Murdoch held a huge press conference announcing the debut of HOLLYWOOD CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING, to be starring the likes of SHAWN MICHAELS, his partner in crime KEVIN NASH, and LEX LUGER. Their biggest signing, however, was bringing in HULK HOGAN, who was fed up with his time spent apart of WORLD STAR WRESTLING (a company, he helped put on the map). And when Hogan jumped, it was truly a big deal, as he and the rest of the “big four” went on a primetime media tour to promote the new product, which they both described as the future of sports entertainment... The Big Bang July 17th, 1994. Los Angeles, California. Their first big pay-per-view was a major success in terms of sales, as HCW THE BIG BANG set off the promotion in style on the third Sunday of July, 1994. A cocky but stunning Shawn Michaels would become the first HCW World champion after defeating Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Lex Luger in a four-way main event hyped as 'The Showdown of Stars'. And while the ring-work was sloppy, things felt big. Things felt, really big. Debuting the next night on the USA Network, HCW MONDAY NIGHT HEAT was unlike any wrestling show the world had seen, with a major emphasis on the production quality, smooth flow of the show, and direction to keep the viewer glued to their television; not to mention the big matches on Monday nights. To the rest of the industry, things felt like a coup. The old boys club was a bit shaken, but certainly not defeated. The NATIONAL WRESTLING ALLIANCE hadn't done much to acknowledge any threat or anything that has happened in or around Hollywood Championship Wrestling. On the other side of the street however, World Star Wrestling had taken their jabs at the new FOX-business venture, referring to it as a "joke of a wrestling promotion", with BRET HART taking specific shots at Hulk Hogan who had ditched the company for it. But no matter what anybody said, or didn't say, Hollywood Championship Wrestling was catching on, and history may tell the old-boys club they should have perceived HCW as a threat from the beginning, possessing pockets of wealth greater than what the National Wrestling Alliance has to pool from. Not only that, but HCW presents a wide variety of wrestling matches and styles. From hardcore brawls, to fast-paced cruiserweight action, HCW had done well to provide it all. Along the way, however, like most entrepreneurial ventures, HCW hit a rough-patch of the road, as several factors began to collide in extraordinary fashion. It was reported that FOX was getting sick of the industry's nuances. Executives weren't used to handling the egos involved, the logistics that were required, the travel suffered. It wasn't long before FOX executives were on the hunt for an Executive Vice President of Hollywood Championship Wrestling. Every decision was to lay in the hands on one man. One man, with a vision. ERIC BISCHOFF. The company's current lead announcer, Bischoff was named to the position after relentless pitching of his vision to television company's executives involved in the project. Having previously worked for the NWA on a secondary level, Bischoff took a chance by accepting a contract offer from the yet to debut Hollywood Championship Wrestling. From day one, Eric has been the company's lead announcer, but now, he was its ultimate. Starmageddon '95 July 23rd, 1995. Los Angeles, California. Just for the record, Bischoff's reign seemed to have began around December of 1994. No immediate booking changes seemed to have take place, but his biggest impact became the turn of Hulk Hogan from the childhood hero legend he had become known for, to one of the biggest heels in wrestling history. At HCW's THE BIG BANG, STARMAGGEDON '95, the company's premier equivalent to the NWA's Starrcade and the WWF's WrestleMania, Hogan successfully took the turn when he defeated Shawn Michaels to earn his first HCW World Championship title. But to Hogan, it wasn't about winning the title. He had held plenty of them. For him, it was the principal of the matter. Shawn Michaels had already been teasing a face turn, ever since he won the belt off of Lex Luger, in February, whom had defeated Michaels for it back in November. But after his victory, Hogan didn't begin it like any other reign. Instead, he refused to have his hand rose, and proceeded to spit, chuck, and stomp on the World championship. Taking the microphone, Hogan began ranting on about how much he had put into this business, and how little he had gotten out of it. How much his body had endured, the schedule he was forced to commit to, and how ungrateful all these fans were for it. How they all wanted the "Sexy Boy" to keep the title. How Michaels had already begun referring to the World championship as his title. Well Hogan was going to one-up all of that, and soon enough everyone will be talking about the greatness of "HOLLYWOOD" HULK HOGAN. And after all this, Hogan refused the World championship. Instead, he declared himself, the HOLLYWOOD HEAVYWEIGHT champion, brother. Five months later, Hogan still holds his "Hollywood" championship, and now has one man under his sleeve, Eric Bischoff. Revealed as the Executive Vice President of the organization just a month after his reign, Bischoff played mean towards Hogan, but in reality, slowly fell sway to one of the most capturing personalities in the industry. HCW's December payper-view, Mayhem on 34th Street, Bischoff officially revealed his alignment with Hogan, as the two successfully screwed Lex Luger out of his chance in taking the belt. Now the Bischoff/Hogan alliance has officially begun, and there may not be much the rest of the Hollywood roster can do about it... ***** HCW CHAMPIONS AND TITLES http://i.imgur.com/DWR16mo.jpg HCW HOLLYWOOD CHAMPION 'HOLLYWOOD' HULK HOGAN http://i.imgur.com/tykVy0v.jpg HCW TELEVISION CHAMPION IRWIN R. SCHYSTER http://i.imgur.com/Md58Ajl.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/cWfk9wr.jpg HCW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE NASTY BOYS - BRIAN KNOBBS & JERRY SAGGZ http://i.imgur.com/Cj3BHe4.jpg HCW WEST COAST CHAMPION 2 COLD SCORPIO HCW HARDCORE CHAMPION JC ICE ***** EVENTS & TV HCW MONDAY NIGHT HEAT on FOX 'A' Show - Held on Mondays HCW PARADISE CITY - January PPV HCW HELLBOUND - February PPV HCW DEUCES WILD - March PPV HCW SHOWDOWN IN LOS ANGELES - April PPV HCW SHOWDOWN IN NEW YORK - May PPV HCW BASH AT THE BEACH - June PPV HCW THE BIG BANG - July PPV HCW ONE NIGHT IN VEGAS - August PPV HCW SURRENDER IN SEATTLE - September PPV HCW TOTAL SUPREMACY - October PPV HCW UNCENSORED - November PPV HCW MASSACRE ON 34TH STREET - December PPV ***** MAIN EVENTERS http://i.imgur.com/DWR16mo.jpg HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN Hulk Hogan is one of the most famous pro wrestlers in the world today. Hogan career really took off with the AWA/WSW during the 1980's and was responsible for the AWA's top-tier run after Hogan first won the belt in late 1983. From then on, Hogan was essentially the face of WSW (alongside Bret Hart) and proved himself to be one of the most charismatic workers the industry has ever seen. By 1994, differences in booking, conflicts with the Hart Family, an expiring contract, and a connection with Rupert Murdoch led to Hogan's departure from WSW. He would turn to revitalizing his career by becoming a cornerstone in the establishment of Hollywood Championship Wrestling. Things really took a turn for Hogan in 1995, however, when he turned heel in his title victory over Shawn Michaels, refused the HCW Heavyweight Championship, and declared himself "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. Since then, he has formed an alliance with HCW Executive Producer Eric Bischoff and has become the popular antihero of HCW. http://i.imgur.com/RkpcVrE.jpg KEVIN NASH Kevin Nash is an impressive big man who got his start in the NWA where they failed to utilize his untapped charisma. After receiving a strong contract offer from the WWF, Nash jumped ship and debuted in the WWF in 1991 and was in instant success. Under the moniker of Diesel, Nash quickly became a star. The Baltimore Screwjob changed the course of Nash's career, however, as he would ask for release from his contract immediately following the screwjob pulled over on his best friend Shawn Michaels. Jumping ship to the newly minted Hollywood Championship Wrestling, Nash is clearly one of the company's four pillar stones. Soon forming an on-screen alliance with his best friends Shawn Michaels and Sean Waltman (collectively known as The Kilq), the three have helped HCW and professional wrestling break into mainstream popularity and pop culture relevancy. http://i.imgur.com/ElXomHk.jpg LEX LUGER "The Total Package" Lex Luger is known for his incredible physique and has been a very popular wrestler since his mainstream debut in 1988 with the WWF. Luger quickly became a main player with the WWF and was always a reliable star to fall back on when star power would fade. Luger was one of the media's prime targets for supposed illegal steroid abuse although hard evidence has never surfaced. He stayed loyal to McMahon throughout his trial, but the last straw finally broke with the Baltimore Screwjob in 1994. This led to Luger asking for his release from the WWF and joining up with the start-up Hollywood Championship Wrestling. Luger fit the mold of a top HCW star and has been established as one of the company's four cornerstones. While he has not been able to get his hands on the HCW Championship, he is a central part to the company's booking and is still a popular star today. http://i.imgur.com/KRek0kh.jpg SHAWN MICHAELS "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels is one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling today. At the same time, Michaels is one of the biggest troublemakers as well. His popularity seemed to reach an unfathomable point following the infamous Baltimore Screwjob. Of course, Michaels was departing for the brand new Hollywood Championship Wrestling where Michaels would become the company's franchise face and first HCW Champion. Since then, Michaels has been the center of the show, mostly colliding with Hulk Hogan for supremacy and teaming up with his off-screen best friends Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman, collectivelly known as The Kliq. Michaels has helped HCW make strides to compete with the rest of the American professional wrestling industry, and certainly entering the prime of his career. For HBK, the sky is most certainly the limit. However, it may be Shawn's demons which prevent him from becoming the biggest star the world of wrestling has ever seen... ***** UPPER MIDCARDERS http://i.imgur.com/7RTiYvG.jpg BOOKER T Booker T is one half of the Harlem Heat, a tag team he and his real-life brother have had together since their debut into the world of professional wrestling. Booker T can be called the more charistmatic of the duo, willing to work more on the microphone and seemingly able to carry more of a connection with the fans. He can also be called the better worker and has an incredible amount of athleticism that helps Booker stand-out. The two eventually became the top tag team in the USWA by late 1993 as The Ebony Experience. Come 1994, the two were continuously sought after by all of the major companies, but would settle with the start-up Hollywood Championship Wrestling (most likely due to the money on the table). Since their debut in HCW, the two have become the stand-up tag team. For Booker T, however, he is going to have a tough time standing out as a singles competitor in the future if he remains with HCW... http://i.imgur.com/Md58Ajl.jpg BRIAN KNOBBS Brian Knobbs is one half of The Nasty Boyz, a tag team with Jerry Sags. The two have been fairly successful throughout their careers but have been fairly mercantile throughout, never staying with one promotion longer than a few years. Their most recent stop is with Hollywood Championship Wrestling, where they are a cornerstone of the company's tag team division. However, neither man has ever had much talent in the ring and rely on connecting with the fans to put on a show. http://i.imgur.com/dSI71JL.jpg DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE Diamond Dallas Page got his start with WSW as a manager for a year before gaining acceptance into the Hart Dungeon. DDP would leave the Dungeon before graduating from it after conflicts with trainers, leading to his departure from the company. DDP would work the independents for another year before signing a contract with the NWA. As a member of the NWA, DDP achieved midcard success before again departing from the company in 1994 to join the upstart Hollywood Championship Wrestling. Feeling the company fit his mold as a performer and always looking for greener pastures, DDP joined HCW to a much-more hefty contract and some name recognition already in the bag. Upon arriving to HCW, DDP has become an instant fan favorite and could break into the main event scene given the right booking. However, DDP's booking has been largely inconsistent, seemingly being cut at the knees whenever he seems to gain any momentum. http://i.imgur.com/vGOy9KG.jpg JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD John "Bradshaw" Layfield is an upcoming big man who is a former collegiate football player who got his start in pro wrestling in 1992. Layfield would spend some time in the independents, including a short-stint with the USWA before going on to spend some time in Japan. Returning some Japan, Layfield was offered a contract with HCW where instead of playing his usual Cowboy gimmick, Layfield debuted as John Bradshaw Layfield, otherwise known as JBL. Based off his personal interest in wealth and finance, JBL plays a modern-day Texan stock market wizard, with a financial IQ perhaps greater than his in-ring ability. The JBL character has been a great success and has done well carrying the midcard level. If JBL can continue to grow, he has main event potential down the road. http://i.imgur.com/cWfk9wr.jpg JERRY SAGGZ Jerry Sags is one half of The Nasty Boyz, a tag team with Brian Knobbs. The two have been fairly successful throughout their careers but have been fairly mercantile throughout, never staying with one promotion longer than a few years. Their most recent stop is with Hollywood Championship Wrestling, where they are a cornerstone of the company's tag team division. However, neither man has ever had much talent in the ring and rely on connecting with the fans to put on a show. http://i.imgur.com/POUNnma.jpg MARC MERO Marc Mero is an energetic, charistmatic worker with enough in-ring talent to create a perfect combination of performance and entertainment. Trained by the Malenkos in 1990, Mero got an in with the NWA in 1992, debuting as Johnny B. Badd, a flamboyant character alikened to pro wrestling's version of musician Little Richard. The gimmick caught-on quick due to Mero's energetic work, and Mero quickly became one of the NWA's best supporting babyfaces, although never reaching the pinnacle of the promotion. Mero's entry into HCW was a simple case of perfect timing, as his contract with the NWA was expiring right as HCW was opening its doors. Looking for strong performers with a recognizable face, FOX picked up Mero with a heafty contract and repackaged him under his given name with the nickname "Wildman" applied. Essentially playing the same character he did in the NWA, Mero continues to provide a strong babyface position on the HCW roster. http://i.imgur.com/OsuqQvt.jpg RICK RUDE "Ravishing" Rick Rude is a native of Minnesota and got his start in pro wrestling with the AWA in the mid-1980's. During this time, Rude was someone the AWA could not keep away from the WWF, and Rude signed with Vince McMahon in 1986. From then on, Rude became one of the top heels in the company and would remain with the WWF until late 1992. After achieving a level of success many others only dreamed of, Rude took a year off to rest and work the independents as he saw fit. Entering 1994, it became well known in the industry that Rude was thinking about entering the industry full-time once again. Rude unexpectedly received a message from Rupert Murdoch, who expressed his desire to open up a new wrestling promotion. Rude agreed to a contract, under stipulation, however, that he would only wrestle big events. With that, Rude has been a reliable upper midcarder ever since. http://i.imgur.com/PAkNcAk.jpg STEVIE RAY Stevie Ray is one half of the Harlem Heat, a tag team he and his real-life brother have had together since their debut into the world of professional wrestling. Stevie Ray may not be the more talented member of the tag team, but can certainly hold his own enough to help make their tag team matches some of the most entertaining in the industry. The two eventually became the top tag team in the USWA by late 1993 as The Ebony Experience. Come 1994, the two were continuously sought after by all of the major companies, but would settle with the start-up Hollywood Championship Wrestling (most likely due to the money on the table). Since their debut in HCW, the two have become the stand-up tag team. For Stevie Ray, a singles run in HCW seems out of sight and out of mind for now and will remain relevant as long as he is together with his brother... http://i.imgur.com/hLSkRcI.jpg SYCLOPS Robert Maillet is a Canadian professional wrestler who had never fully committed to the business until signing a contract with HCW in 1995 to fill the role of the company's boilerplate big man. Maillet has a very unique look, standing at 6'10" with a more naturally-built look than body-built. Debuting as the monster known as Syclops, Maillet wheres a white contact over his right eye to imply the use of just one eye, resembling the mythical cyclop-creatures from Greek mythology. The company has done a great job of not allowing his gimmick to hit the cheese-grate, instead describing Syclops as a man who lost the use of his left-eye as a child, resulting in his hermitization as a child. However, as he grew into the monster he has become, now Syclops seeks revenge on the world had banished him to a life of loneliness while growing up. Syclops is the most prominent member of the Dungeon of Doom, holding their most legitimate threat to the HCW Championship. http://i.imgur.com/x2nuNYi.jpg THE ZODIAC Ed Leslie is a veteran worker who got his start in the AWA due to his close relationship with Hulk Hogan. Leslie would find consistent work with the AWA for most of his career into the 1990's, albiet never known for his wrestling ability. By 1992, WSW cut ties with Leslie in attempts to continue to push their product forward, leaving Leslie on the independent circuit until the creation of Hollywood Championship Wrestling. With his best friend leading the charge as the big name to join HCW, Hogan got Leslie a job with the promotion and has since gone through a variety of gimmicks. Entering 1996, Leslie has found one that has seemed to have stuck in his character The Zodiac. Sporting black-and-white face paint and never saying much more than "Yes!" and "No!" , The Zodiac is namesake of the The Taskmaster who controls The Zodiac's every move. http://i.imgur.com/HBvn2p9.jpg X-PAC Sean Waltman may be best known as the 1-2-3 Kid in the WWF where he gained initial fame when he upset Diesel on an episode of Monday Night Raw, essentially the first upset a jobber has ever had over a certified star on a prime time wrestling show. The angle quickly caught on and Waltman engaged with a feud. The two eventually became great friends, as Waltman began hanging around with Nash, Shawn Michaels, and Paul Levesque (collectively known as The Kliq). Following the Baltimore Screwjob, Waltman demanded release from his contract and jumped ship to HCW following both Nash and Michaels. Now calling himself X-Pac, Waltman has become a popular underdog and received a large rub due to his association with both Michaels and Nash. ***** MIDCARDERS http://i.imgur.com/Cj3BHe4.jpg 2 COLD SCORPIO 2 Cold Scorpio is a graduate of the IWGP dojo during the mid-1980's, and wrestled in the IWGP early in his career. Returning to America, Scorpio worked the independent scene, including ECWA and USWA before signing a short-term contract with the WWF. Scorpio was once again a free agent in 1994 before signing a contract with the brand new Hollywood Championship Wrestling to help build their cruiserweight division. Scorpio enters 1996 holding the company's cruiserweight belt, which is titled the HCW West Coast title. http://i.imgur.com/ofMAKwH.jpg BOHEMOND Barry Buchanan is a relatively green big-man who debuted in mid-1995 as a member of the USWA roster after receiving training through the promotion. The USWA's investment in Barry didn't pay off, however, as he was quickly picked up on a written contract by HCW in late 1995. Impressed with his physique and matching the template they were looking for, Buchanan quickly debuted as Bohemond, a follower of the Jackyl and one half of The Proselytes. Yet to speak in front of any crowd, Bohemond is the silent enforcer of the Jackyl's will. http://i.imgur.com/oDE5DEl.jpg GLACIER Raymond M. Lloyd (born May 1964 in Brunswick, Georgia) is an American martial artist and professional wrestler who got his start working the independents. After a short break from the business, Lloyd was approached to join the new Hollywood Championship Wrestling. Lloyd accepted the offer and was repackaged as Glacier, a clear rip-off of the character Sub-Zero from the popular video game Mortal Kombat. While Glacier gets a decent response from the fans, his in-ring work is nothing spectacular and his gimmick does not seem to have much life left in its blood. http://i.imgur.com/tykVy0v.jpg IRWIN R. SCHYSTER Mike Rotunda is a former collegiate amateur wrestler who entered the world of pro wrestling in the 1980's, landing in the NWA where Rotunda was a regular midcard worker for a few years. Following his stint in the NWA, Rotunda left to join the WWF in 1991 where he debuted as Irwin R. Schyster. Known as IRS in a short form, Rotunda played a former IRS tax collector who scolded all who came before him as to not paying their "fair share" in taxes. While the entire concept was on the gimmicky side, it was a relative success allowing Rotunda to remain on the WWF roster before he would jump ship to the upstart HCW where he accepted a higher-paid contract offer. With Rotunda followed the gimmick, as he debuted as Irwyn R. Schyster, able to essentially steal the gimmick from the WWF now entering turmoil following Vince McMahon's incarceration and the Baltimore Screwjob. Rotunda remains a steady midcarder in HCW. http://i.imgur.com/JRyQBNV.jpg MUSTAFA Mustapha Saed is best known as the partner of New Jack and currently works in Hollywood Championship Wrestling. Seizing on the growing popularity of gangster-rap, Mustapha Saed connected with New Jack in the USWA to form The Gangstas, which quickly became the most controversial tag team in the entire industry. The pair were soon offered a contract to join Hollywood Championship Wrestling due to their controversial image and growing popularity. While Mustapha may not be as controversial as New Jack, his image as a psycho-maniac street thug along with his pairing with New Jack will allow him to remain relevant as long as The Gangstas can continue to connect with the crowd. http://i.imgur.com/qeW5JvJ.jpg NEW JACK "The Original Gangsta" New Jack is perhaps professional wrestling's most dangerous man in the business. Seizing on the growing popularity of gangster-rap, New Jack connected with Mustafa Saed in the USWA to form The Gangstas, which quickly became the most controversial tag team in the entire industry. The pair were soon offered a contract to join Hollywood Championship Wrestling due to their controversial image and growing popularity. New Jack himself is forming an individual reputation for being a very dangerous worker in the ring and is the subject of various rumours regarding intentions to legitmately injure opponents in the ring he has personal problems with. http://i.imgur.com/ZP6XCKc.jpg RIO, LORD OF THE JUNGLE Rio, Lord Of The Jungle is a wild brawler who got his big break wrestling in North America with Hollywood Championship Wrestling. After a stint as a male stripper, Williams began training under Killer Kowalski in order to become a professional wrestler. After making his debut in 1992, he began performing on the independent circuit under the ring name Rio, Lord of the Jungle. He would eventually be recruited to join HCW's Dungeon of Doom under the moniker 'The Jungle Lord', where he essentially plays the exact same gimmick he performed on the independent circuit. http://i.imgur.com/bMHYLDO.jpg SIMON Ric Savage is an average big-man who has caught a break teaming with Bohemond as The Proselytes, devoted followers of the Jackyl. Savage has worked the American independent circuit for most of his career, occasionally landing a jobber role with some of the larger companies. Forming a tag team with Barry Buchanan in USWA during 1995 led to his signing along with Buchanan into HCW. Now known as Simon, he has shown some promise but much remains to be seen if he can maintain any sort of mainstream success... http://i.imgur.com/l9SYThw.jpg THE BARBARIAN The Barbarian is known for his diving headbutts, savate kick to the face and incredible strength. Growing up in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling in the mid 1970s. After migrating to the United States, he fell into the world of professional wrestling and eventually received training initially taking the moniker of King Konga in the NWA. Eventually changing his gimmick to that of The Barbarian, he would spend time in different promotions including the NWA and WWF. The Barbarian signed on with HCW later into the promotion's life, brought in as one of the members of The Dungeon of Doom. So far he has found some success but is certainly past his peak in terms of getting much more out of his career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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