jesseewiak Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Before Our Story... So, this is an idea I've been working on a bit over the last few weeks, and I think I'm finally ready to get rolling with it. Basically, as anybody who does this thing we do, you likely have some fantasy booking you did before you found TEW or other games of this ilk. In my case, there's years upon years of companies I've booked on pen 'n' paper, where I've created wrestlers, booked angles, created rivalries, in and out of the ring, and quite enjoyed myself. But, how to bring this into TEW 2020? Lots and lots of work. Basically, what I've done is created _four_ different small feds of various products, created about 80 wrestlers of various skill types, and also imported the vast majority of the add'l characters made by various people on the forums, and also added a few of the companies from some alternate Cornellverse mods, so there's hopefully more of a burgeoning indy scene. The backstory for each company, the 'feel' of the company, and the various rosters will come together as we go. In general, to make sure that the more talented people on the roster don't immediately leave the story, I've added a one year written contact to everyone to more simulate the idea they're not very well known, more than actually having a written contract. The Story Begins... <div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:10px;background: #b3ffb3; max-width:90%; ";"> October 14th, 2019 Five Points Bar Seattle, Washington It was another late night, and as was tradition after another barely promoted independent wrestling show in the Seattle area, and this group of three people were sitting around a table, complaining about booking, the lack of professionalism, and the other vagaries of trying to get a wrestling career kickstarted in the Pacific Northwest. “...it's true though,” Jesse Ewiak said, pointing to his younger and more athletic brother, Frank. “How many times have you come out of whatever disaster of a locker room, told me what the money mark of the month had planned, and within a half an hour, I had a better card written up? I'm not saying this as if I'm Peter Michaels or anything, but I just understand Wrestling 101.” “Sure, man,” the laidback younger brother said, “and I appreciate it, but the reality is, we're stuck in no man's land. It was already tough-as-hell when this was known as the region for girls to wrestle, but now that Triple A is shut down, not only is there nothing going on, there are not even any hotties to hit on after a show anymore.” “As always, you get to the most important things,” joked James Kira, a long-time friend of Frank, who ended up getting close to Jesse, due to their mutual love of wrestling and Formula 1. “He does make a fair point, though, Jesse. It's a dead scene, and we're going to have ended up traveling over to the East Coast or maybe even head up over the border to get a shot with All Canada.” “There is another option -” began Jesse, but James cut him off at the past. “We've talked about that before. There's no damn way that Ariel would go for that,” responded James, looking down at his half-eaten plate of eggs and bacon. “What point is there to having a beautiful, rich wife, if you can't use some of those funds, though,” added in Finn Newman, better known as Youth Gone Wyld to the small crowd at the wrestling show earlier, alongside his sister Ashley, who was bringing over a round of drinks to the table. “We're not talking millions here – look, we've all been to the house in Bellevue. We know she lets you focus on training and trying to get shots with other indies, instead of a full-time job. You could sell her on this, with the idea that you'd actually be around,” Jesse added in, before taking a drink of his Blue Moon. “Let me guess, you'd like to be the bookerman,” said James with a smirk, as he waved over the hulking mass better known as Mandrake, over Reggie Hall to his friends. “Well, yeah. Plus, we'd have a brain trust...of sorts,” Jesse responded, as he moved over to let Reggie in. “So, what the hell are we yapping about,” asked Reggie, as he waved a waitress over. “Dreams of not being at the mercy of idiotic promoters – ya' know, the usual,” said Frank, while finishing his waffles. “You're not actually serious about this, are you,” added YGW. “I mean, there's a hell of a lot of stress that comes with a gig like that.” “I mean, it's not as if my current situation is all roses and wine,” Jesse responded. “If the choice is fighting with other folks like me for technical writing gigs, and reaching out for more creative stuff, or seeing if I can actually draw some money with my ideas, why not try the latter?” “Say I'm tempted by this idea,” James said, pulling back another swig of his stout. “How'd we sell Ariel?” “As I said, nothing huge, to start with,” Jesse responded. “It'd be a modest buy-in, with a promise that we wouldn't come back for any more. If we blow this, we're done. If we really want to drop a big ole' carrot for her, you connect the idea that if this fails, you also give up the dream, find some nice personal trainer gig, and spend the rest of your days having slightly past their prime MILF's flirting with you in their empty houses all over Bellevue and Kirkland.” “I don't think we'd put it that way,” Kira responded, seeming more open to the offer. “Oh please,” Ashley said, finally butting in. “Ariel knows you'd never cheat on her.” “Mainly, because if he did, he'd have to get a real job like the rest of us slobs,” Reggie gruffly said. “I mean, that isn't untrue,” James responded, to laughs from the rest of the table. “Seriously though, it's not like we're hurting and if anything, she's got capital laying around.” “A rough life you live,” Frank said, turning back from his weekly flirt session with the cute brunette waitress, with a grin on his face. “Not all of us can end up marrying a genius that sells out to Microsoft before they're twenty-five.” “Look, Jesse,” James said, turning his focus on him, “If I try to put this to Ariel, she'll want an actual plan. She'll want to know the other people you'll be contacting. She'll want a budget. If you're actually ready to do this, I'm not going to say it's our only shot, but I'm not saying it isn't, either.” After a long look at each other, Jesse said, “give me two weeks, and I'll wow her more than when you came back from that show in New York with diamond earrings.” Frank stood up, clapped Jesse on his shoulder, as he got up, “now, that's my big goddamn brother. Shots? Shots!” YGW got up, to join Frank, while Ashley moved closer to Reggie, talking about a spot in their match earlier, while Jesse brought up his phone, typing something up and showing it to James, who nodded. After all, the night was still young, and there were plenty of stories yet to tell, and plans to be made...</div> <div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:9px;background: #ffa8a8; max-width:90%; ";"> September 17th, 2019 Gray Training Academy Cocoa Beach, Florida It was the middle of fall, but the sun was still shining brightly on the Space Coast of Florida, as Mark Gray looked over the group training in the ring, working with Matthias Pax, the default current trainer, after the previous head trainer took a long-term gig in Europe. The lanky tattooed 26-year-old didn't look it, but he was an utter professional inside of the squared circle, as he put the younger wrestlers through their paces. Gray smiled, thinking of when he was in that ring, before a bad knee, had put him on the shelf before he even had a career of note. He could've rehabbed, but his father moved him over to the business side of things, taking care of both the training school and the various side companies that Thomas had started since retiring from the ring in the early 90's, after a long career of mid-tier independent shows in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. He then heard the familiar buzz of his phone, and read the message, that said – 'Come to the Main Office.' After a moment, he nodded to Matthias, then took the short walk into the modified former grocery store that had become the Gray Training Academy in the past decade. He walked into his father's office, where he was surprised to see Jack Pierce, the former Division I-AA standout, sitting in the office, with him. “Pierce, good to see you,” Mark said. “Surprised though, to be honest. I would've thought you'd never be back here after finishing up your training.” “That's actually why Jack stopped by,” his father said. After stroking his salt 'n' pepper hair, he continued saying, “Jack has been telling me, how difficult it's been to get any ring time. He went up to Mid-Atlantic, but they softly turned him away, and despite his background, Supreme seems set on their own class of guys.” “Nothing overseas,” Mark responded, thinking that one of the Japanese feds would love an athletic heavyweight like Jack. “The tsunami, plus everything else, means it's rough seas, plus every non-Japanese guy with a contract is holding it with dear life,” Jack said, in his straightforward way. He wasn't trying to be stand-off-ish, but when you'd been a God on campus, since you were barely out of elementary school, staring down at the bottom didn't seem that inviting. “That's unfortunate, but I'm confused on why you're back here,” Mark said, sitting down, across from his father. “Well, Jack pointed out that we'd promoted shows before,” Thomas said, posting to a poster of a show from the late 2000's. “Sure, but that was a decade ago, and most of that was sold shows, to get time for our trainees at the time,” Mark responded. “Plus, you remember the reason why we stopped doing it before, Dad.” “Times are different,” his father responded. “Look, we've got a wide-open market, and more importantly, we've developed enough talent in the last few years, that we wouldn't be totally depending on the dregs that made up the indy scene around here even only a few years ago.” “What exactly are you talking about here?” “Nothing large scale, at least at first. Cheap talent, plus a few names, including Jack here to bring in some folks, and we see what happens. The trucking business has been doing well, and we've got some cash to spare, that even if it doesn't work, there's relatively little risk,” Thomas responded. “OK, and nothing personal Jack, what if Eisen or Reviere call up tomorrow?” Jack took a moment and said, “how about this? Draw up a contract. I'll give you a year. Obviously, since you can't pay me too well, it won't be ironclad or anything, but it'll leave an opening that if somebody does come calling, you can have me put somebody over, then decide what you want to do.” “That actually sounds fair,” Mark responded. “Don't sound so shocked. I'm just not a dumb jock,” Pierce said. “OK – I'm sure we can get a decent roster together, just with our folks, but that's not enough,” Mark said, looking over some of the posters, behind his father. “I'll start contacting folks like the hillbillies, Jerome, and well, there is one guy, we'd want on the show, but -” “I know who you're talking about, and no damn way,” Thomas responded. “Look, I know he's a scumbag, Dad, and he's the reason Priest is out in Wisconsin or whatever, but he's also incredibly talented and can help solidify a roster for us.” “Fine, but I want other people on the roster, who can keep control of him. I'll call Kilburne.” “Is he even still working?” “He can be. Plus, I know his business took a dive in the last couple of years.” “Excuse me,” Jack added in, “but who the hell are you talking about?” “Oh right,” Thomas said, with a chuckle. “I forget you don't know all this BS. Mark. Cliff notes, please.” Mark sighed, then began. If Jack OK'd this guy being brought in, it'd mean a lot, but it'd also possibly be a tempest in a damned teapot.</div> <div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:10px;background: #a8c8ff; max-width:90%; ";"> November 2nd, 2019 Castlegate Apartments Green Bay, Wisconsin Archibald Oliver Foster, better known to Midwest independent wrestling fans as Dark Patriot, looked over the agreement one more time, while also nursing a Jack 'n' coke, as he usually did in the morning. It helped with the pain. It'd be a bit of a coup – basically merging three of the small scale independent promotions in the area, to one organization that actually has a bit of notoriety, all under his umbrella. It'd been an easier sell than he expected, mostly because two of the promoters were AARP members, and the other one had gotten the 'sell or leave the house' declaration from his wife, so with a relatively small infusion of cash, Archie had been able to take possession of a well-worn ring, contracts for a decent amount of shows, and of course, contact information for dozens of wrestler, that had wrestled on shows for these promoters over the past few years. For Archie though, there were names on that list he would never call, because even though he'd wrestled for the weirdos, the crazies, and the smarks, he actually cared about the wrestling, which is why if he was going to have a promotion, it was going to be back to basics, without all the BS, all the wildness, and pointless wackiness. He wasn't some hardcore Neroist or anything – after all, he wore a damn American flag mask to the ring, and he'd done a moonsault or two in his career, but after watching a few indy shows, he realized there needed be a promotion where the characters and angles were a bonus, not the whole damn thing. Thankfully, there was one name on that list, that he'd be happy to call – Heinrich, also known as Von Hess, would be an invaluable resource, on who'd be interested in such a promotion, and more importantly, who'd be a troublemaker. Then again, Archie wasn't looking for choir boys, not with what he'd done in the past, even though that was – what, eighteen years in the past? Time for another sip of his drink. Regardless, there were plenty of names on the list, and Archie began to boot up his laptop, to do some additional searching, to make sure none of the people at the top of his list would end up in Rhode Island or Mexico by the time he got to them. It'd be tough. It'd be worth it, though. To bring back wrestling to what it should be.</div> <div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:10px;background: #d2a8ff; max-width:90%; ";"> August 23rd, 2019 Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles, CA Rachel Patterson was waiting in a car, wondering if the future before her, was actually going to happen. After a short wrestling career, that hadn't gotten farther some dark matches at a couple of AAA shows, along with appearing in the background of a few US Pro angles, Rachel had moved on to her actual career – the law. Of course, Rachel had never gone full hog into wrestling, since it sure as hell wasn't going to pay that law school debt, but on the other hand, even her limited experience, had helped her in the courtroom, and quicker than you can say, 'class action,' she'd shockingly been on the winning side of a huge lawsuit, and even though plenty of more senior lawyers had gotten far more than she did, Rachel had gotten a bonus that paid off her loans, and also allowed her to think of something more than the next case. So, she took a leave of absence and began to make some calls. To wrestlers, she'd worked with. That led to calls to other wrestlers. Personel. She even got a three-minute conversation with Allen Packer, while she was visiting with Alicia. Now, here she was, waiting for the two lynchpins of her plans to actually commit to the biggest risk in her life. So, of course, both flights were delayed, which meant both planes would land within fifteen minutes of each other. After waiting a moment, Rachel cleaned off her glasses, took a look at her phone, and saw the first text – 'Plane Land. Please come pick-up.' Doing a quick, slightly illegal turn, Rachel parked, and then headed into the baggage area, looking for her first set of guests, and it was easy to spot them. Even in a place like LAX, three athletic, good looking Japanese women stood out. Especially when one of them had purple hair. Her first name was Aoki, but everybody, including her family, referred to her as the name she'd chosen, while in training – Angel. “Miss Kikuchi, I'm glad to finally meet you in person,” Rachel said, putting her hand out. After a brief handshake, and a signal to the two younger women behind her, she responded, “it's good to meet you, Miss Patterson. I assume everything is going according to plan.” She spoke perfect English, but then quickly turned back to Japanese to give more instructions to the young girls, behind her. “Nothing too difficult to deal with, but unfortunately, another flight I have to meet is due to land in about ten minutes, but it shouldn't be a worry.” “Ramone?” “Exactly. Have you met her before?” “No. It's of no matter. You understand that she's, um, sizzle, no steak?” “Well, I wouldn't put it that way, but yes, she's quite the character, which will be important to draw enough fans to start competing with other organizations.” “As long as she doesn't get in my way, it's of no worry to me, Miss Patterson,” Kikuchi said, barely looking at the person who in theory, was employing her. After another string of Japanese to her young girls, who barely nodded to Rachel, before heading for the Uber, Angel turned back to Rachel and said, “I expect a full six-month plan sent to my e-mail before I put pen to paper. Just because I can't go back to Five Star, doesn't mean I'm without options.” Of course, what Angel was referring too, was the still mysterious circumstance, in how she got turfed out of Five Star, just when she was beginning her ascent. Everything from a real lifeblood feud with Fuyuko Higa to a torrid romance with a J-Pop star had been thrown out into the ether, and in the six months since her last month, Kikuchi had done nothing but continued to train the two young girls, who were coming with her to America, and made a single appearance at a QAW card, where it was reported, that Farrah Hesketh and her argued for an hour about the finish to her match. Needless to say, she didn't make a second appearance. On the other hand, Kikuchi was insanely talented, and even if it was only for a year, Rachel needed someone of her talents to get SPARKLE off the ground. As she looked and saw the Uber drive away, she got another text – 'Yo, plane's here. Got other big news, babe.' Thirty minutes later, Rachel and Penny Ramone were sitting down at a Chili's Two, Rachel with an overpriced margarita, and the underage Ramone, with an oversized root beer float. “ - and that's when I threw the bat at the SOB,” Penny finished. “Now, I guess we should get down to business.” “I suppose it'd be an idea,” Rachel said, with a smile. Compared to Angel, Penny was a revelation, even though they'd also already dealt with three different fans looking for an autograph. “So, you've gotten the general top of the card you'd be working with – obviously, booking plans change, and nobody else on the roster quite has your popularity, but I really think we can build something.” “Rachel, you can stop selling,” Penny said. “You've got me. Well, mostly.” “Mostly,” Rachel responded, with a bit of worry in her voice. “Well, that's the thing. After our last concert in Bern, our manager contacted us about a quick deal over in Asia – it'd be about three months of fun in the sun, or I think the sun since we'd be around the equator. Regardless, we'd be opening for Crackerjack and Mario Joyner, and it'd be a real shot at breaking through -” “What are you saying?” “I'm saying, doll, that I won't be able to come in until the end of March. Unless you can pay up for my entire band to not take the gigs.” “No, no. Of course not. Hmm. That shifts some things.” “Look, I'm not ditching you. It's just, everything – three years ago, I was a teenage girl, singing in front of a couple of dozen guys mostly interested in getting in my pants, and I rushing off to download Five Star shows off the torrents. Now, the band is getting somewhere, and so is this wrestling thing. It's just a weird deal.” “I totally understand – six months ago, I was arguing a class action lawsuit with five dudes my father's age. So, I get change,” Rachel said, taking a long drink of her margarita. “Anyway, I've got a 'secret' gig that we've posted all over Twitter tonight, but I'll leave your name on the list. Worry about everything tomorrow, right,” Penny said, with an impish grin. “Sounds like a plan.”</div> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman74 Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Sounds like a pretty cool idea I'll be following. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesseewiak Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 <div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:10px;background: #b3ffb3; max-width:90%; ";"> January 4th, 2020 Washington Hall Seattle, WA It was a relieving and stressful night at the same time for Jesse Ewiak. Things had moved quicker than he thought, especially after Ariel had agreed to throw in $250,000 to fund the promotion, as long as she got a promise that if this failed, or didn't lead to more opportunities for her husband, that'd be it for him. After all, she'd already made more than enough money, and the ye olde biological clock was ticking. With the money in the bank, the calls went out to various wrestlers, both in the region and in other places, to begin working for the fledgling promotion. The 'Core Five' who'd been at the Five Points that night, along with Ashley, had decided that they'd grow without bringing in bigger indy stars, at least at the beginning. Both in order to save some cash, but also because they wanted to build something of their own. If they wanted to end up jobbing to some guy who just got out of his US Pro or just had a good match down in Arizona, they could work for any of the smaller indy companies, instead of taking that risk. Looking around the locker room though, Jesse was impressed with the roster he'd built, in only a little over two months. <hr> Of course, things started with his own younger brother, Frank. While they were growing up, they hadn't been incredibly close, with Jesse focusing on school, while Frank went his own path, which involved a lot of hell-raising. A love of wrestling kept them close, and when it was obvious that Frank was more athletically gifted, Jesse began to help him out with booking ideas and putting in some side work with his social media and such. Not that Frank was a dummy though, as he was happy to put in his own thoughts, but in all reality, a lot of time, Frank was more interested in hitting on the girl in the 3rd row, or smoking some weed in the car after the show, then going over some booking plans. <hr> After that, probably the most prominent member of the actual roster was Jonathan 'Big Train' Waters. Sitting in the corner of his locker room by himself, Waters was a charismatic menacing big man, who nonetheless had never really caught in a career over a decade long, in part due to his reputation as somebody who didn't want anybody else's input, but also somebody who wasn't afraid to let off the gas if the match wasn't important in his view. On the other hand, he was a master of the 'ten-minute special', where he put it all out there with explosive power moves. <hr> Also on his own, in the locker room, for other reasons, was Christopher Kojima. Unlike Waters, who gave off a 'don't mess with me' vibe, Kojima was a quiet guy, who just kept to himself, and was more likely to be seen listening to a podcast about foreign affairs, while working out, than going out with the boys. Put that beside a full-time gig as a school teacher, and it made sense why Kojima hadn't done much outside of his two home areas (Kanto & North West) in his career. Even in Japan, he's only worked a few small indy shows, in a kind of a joke character, as a super gaijin, even though he's ethnically Japanese. In the ring, Kojima was a solid all-rounder, and never slowed down, but also didn't stand out too much. <hr> Sitting beside our newly signed referee, Elegance, going over a spot he wanted in his match, was Destiny Jones, who was almost all charisma, as in between he was nothing special, especially for somebody nearly a decade into his career, but he'd gotten consistent work in the Oregon and Washington indies, in part due to his side gig as an actual radio gig, but also because he was the type of guy who could get a block of ice over as a fiery babyface, with a three or four-minute heel promo. <hr> Meanwhile, working on a reversal sequence with the young English worker Martin Halley, El Grande Pistolero was probably the man who'd competed in the most matches in this locker room, as even though he was only thirty-one, he was now fifteen years into a career that had spanned tons of small Lucha shows all over Mexico and had received a decent amount of low-level indy work in the United States. He'd settled in the Seattle area running a lucha-themed food truck, and had been happy to join the promotion. In all reality, both Jesse and EGP knew that the end run of EGP's career was coming up sooner than both liked, but they wanted him around to train some folks and help some of the less experienced wrestlers to put together a story. One of those young workers was Halley, who'd recently graduated from the Ewiak Compound – aka, their former warehouse in the SoDo District, who'd come over from the UK to train in part because he wanted a new adventure, and also because he had been dating a girl from Seattle, who promptly dumped him within three weeks of his arrival in Seattle. Tough break for the kid, but he'd put his nose to the grindstone, and even though he had a lot of room to grow, and was likely never going to be a top tier talent, he could wow the fans with aerial abilities and athleticism. <hr> Sitting in a semi-circle toward the front of the locker room was of course, the rest of the 'Core Five', as long with Frank, were James Kira, Youth Gone Wyld, and Mandrake. There had been already tons of jokes made at Kira's expense, including a cardboard belt, with 'Ariel's Husband Champion of the World' written on it, but the reality was, that Kira was talented in-ring, and more importantly, he could cut a hell of a promo, without being any real trouble backstage, always gave 100% in the ring, and kept in-shape all year round. On the other hand, one could argue that Mandrake, the nearly 300 lb muscular heavyweight was the most likely guy on the current roster to end up in US Pro or Supreme sooner or later, but that's only if he didn't get end up turfed out of wrestling before that. It's not that he was some terrible person – he just had a temper, was easy to piss off, and treated the business like a business. The fact that the rest of the 'Core Five' was close to him was more of a side effect of training him, than any close friendship. Inside of the ring, Mandrake was a solid power wrestler, but still had room to grow with only a little over four years of experience. Finally, there was Youth Gone Wyld. YGW was in many ways, his character in the ring. An absolute daredevil, who took crazy risks, was fun-loving, and also enjoyed a bit of the wacky tobacky at times. The limiting factor of YGW was that he wasn't that charismatic on the mic, but with only a little over three years of experience, he could grow into that, while developing the rest of his in-ring skills. <hr> The other trio, sitting close to each other more because there was no other room was a group of wrestlers that Jesse had mentally filed away as 'needed dependable guys.' As a big muscular black guy who enjoyed wearing facepaint, 'Killing Joke' Marcus Baldwin knew how to brawl, and was happy to do so, pretty quickly. In some cases, entirely too quickly. Despite that reputation, he was also talented in the ring, with an impactful style that worked well in the ring, despite not being elite in any one skillset. Baldwin had just finished doing a short run for a small indy company in Japan near the end of the previous year and also wasn't afraid to show off his Japanese skills to anybody who gave him a moment either. On the other hand, if Baldwin's love of facepaint and tendency to be a bit intense was different, Asher was a whole level of weird. As Frank said to his older brother, the first day he came in, 'dude, that guy is either totally insane or incredibly attuned to his character to a level that'd make Heath Ledger flinch.' Regardless, he wasn't afraid to stay deep into his 'urban vampire' gimmick, including basically having no social media, always having weird ideas to drop into his promos, and not caring at all about his political standing within the company, since after all, would a creature of the night care about such things? Meanwhile, despite being only three years in the ring, Asher was solid when the bell rang, and shockingly, had quickly built his own strong female fanbase, within the Northwestern indy community. Hey, whatever floats your boat, right? Originally known as Kenny Dorsett, the last guy sitting in that row of lockers getting ready, he'd been kind of drifting through his training, when he showed up to drop off his payment wearing a full suit since he was heading out to his sister's wedding. YGW had joked, 'you looked like an 80's villain' in that, and from there, the gimmick and character began to take shape. Out was Kenny Dorsett, the son of a Boeing worker, in was 'rich extremist,' Kenneth Madison. Even though Madison still had barely over a year's experience in the ring, and as a result, had a lot of room to grow, he knew how to cut a promo, and had a presence thanks to his muscular build and background as a high school football star. Unfortunately, he was also kind of an ass, as he'd almost gotten his ass kicked by trying to flirt with another worker's wife, openly politicked despite bring a rookie and had a shady background, including some things in high school that were sketchy. It is wrestling, after all. They can't all be choir boys. <hr> Coming in from the chilly outside, was Takayoshi Asakura, our own Japanese punk. After setting a record for getting kicked out of a Japanese dojo in only four days for insubordination, 'Yoshi had managed to get a few gigs on the Japanese indies, before also being pressured to leave his home country. Rumors range from sleeping with a minor Yazuka's underage daughter to throwing sake in the face of Mito Miwa, but whatever, Asakura had shown up in Portland, to work at his cousin's motorcycle repair shop, and then recruited to work in the Northwestern indy scene himself. With only a little over a year of experience, Takayoshi had a lot of rough edges, but his bad-boy edge brought him a lot of female fans, and he had seemingly limitless reservoirs of energy to go full tilt through even long matches, which meant he had a bright future, as long as he didn't end up getting hit by somebody with a wrench after a show. <hr> The next set of people in the locker room, largely keeping to themselves, were three of the tag teams brought into the promotion. Perhaps most importantly, was the arrival of the Emerald Express, the hometown team from Seattle, which meant that unlike the rest of their work, they'd be babyfaces here in the Northwest. Brendan Sanders & Eric Kiley were in many ways, total opposites, both in the ring and personality-wise, as Sanders was a prickly 260 lb powerhouse, while Kiley was a lively technical middleweight, but together, they were a very impressive tag team, that got along well. Beside them were, one of the teams that had been brought in full-time to the area, as they'd done the tour of the smaller indies in the United States, were Double Trouble. The hard-partying, hard-drinking (well, at least Vinny) tag team had gotten a small amount of fame, for their ability as a team, and both men's individual skills. Wilde's a talented young heavyweight, who could do a hell of squash, while Vinny was a hell of a talker while being pretty creative himself when he wasn't three sheets to the wind. Plus, Vinny could actually play the guitar pretty well. Finally, was a team partly shrouded in mystery. Andres Arrabal and Salvador Saez, better known as Los Caudillos, had torn up the Mexican indy scene, especially the border area, with a gimmick even more closely related to the drug wars going on in the area, but either due to issues with other workers, or other things, depending on the story you believed, both Arrabal and Saez ended up in the US, where it quickly became obvious that both men were largely in it for themselves, and weren't afraid to spread acrimony in a locker room to get their way. They also played their characters well and could have excellent brawls with the right team, and if worse came to worse, they could always be let go. <hr> The final grouping of people, were three of the younger people in the locker room, as the trio that formed Instinct quietly were looking at something on the young Norwegian's phone, and laughing. Tor Sparre already had a Viking as hell name, but when he got into wrestling, training down at the Gray Wrestling Academy in Florida, naming himself after the Viking god of vengeance, Vidar. With only two years of experience, Vidar still had a long way to go, but he was willing to learn, a positive presence in the locker room, and looked very scary with his war paint on, even if he was currently showing cat memes to his teammates. Speaking of teammates, the only guy taller than Jonathan Water was Rishu Sarkar, better known as Varaha, named after an avatar of Vishnu, was a quiet Indian guy, who looked menacing as hell, but still had a long way to go to truly know how to work, even though he could currently squash the hell of anybody who stood before him. Then, there was perhaps the most important member of the team – half-Indian/one-quarter Colombian/one-quarter African-American, Shanti Barrios was the vey picture of American multi-culturalism, and it was a very pretty picture indeed. She was in college for broadcasting, before Rishu, who was related to her somehow (Jesse had gotten confused after the third uncle), had dragged her to a wrestling show, where both of them were spotted by Thomas Gray, who was in attendance at the show, and Rishu was trained, with Shanti also learning how to properly be a manager/valet, and she'd begun to work as simply The Goddess. <hr> There were two members of the roster, not currently in the locker room. First, there was 'Fabulous' Frank Roberts, who'd been brought in as a road agent. He had cred from his in-ring career, along with being PSW's road agent in the late 2000s, and had moved to the Seattle area a few years ago after a divorce, so had been sold on coming in to help out with the show, and was currently talking with the production crew on how to shoot the show. The last person was YGW's sister, Ashley, who was currently selling merch, to the fans already in the building, which was probably the job as she was best suited before, as along with being a hard partier like her brother, Ashley wasn't exactly dynamic on the mic, even though she did well as a cheering section for YGW during matches, and even though he'd never say it out loud with YGW in the room, looked good in her usual outfit of athletic shorts and a tank top. With it being ten minutes until bell time, Jesse signaled to the 'Core Five', then cleared his voice to get the attention of the locker room. “Well, guys, and don't worry Shanti, you're included in the guys, this is it. I've already gone over the finishes and timing of everything with all of you individually, and if you've forgotten, it's up on the whiteboard. I'm not about to give you some rah-rah BS Phil Vibert speech....” That's how a new era of professional wrestling in Seattle began. It was time for the birth of Emerald Pro Wrestling </div> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herrbear Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Like the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesseewiak Posted March 2, 2022 Author Share Posted March 2, 2022 <div style="padding: 20px; border: 4px solid #000000; margin:10px;background: #a8c8ff; max-width:90%; ";"> January 8th, 2020 Starbucks Green Bay, Wisconsin The snow was on the ground, and it was freezing outside, but Archie was content. He had a large black coffee, the rent was paid, and most importantly, an e-mail from Rick Sanders, who agreed to serve as the road agent for Great Lakes Wrestling, once it began doing shows. Included was an overview of the entire roster, including Sanders thoughts on their strengths and weaknesses. Archie could've done the road agent work, but between working with the rest of the crew and booking, he simply didn't have the time to do so, plus Sanders had legitimacy thanks to his NYCW run during the early 2010's. He took a sip of his coffe and begin to read... So, I think one thing that stands out with the current roster is frankly, there aren't any big names, even by indy standards, to really draw in a crowd. I realize you're depending on the 'East Meets West' aesthetic, and I agree with it, but you still need names to draw a crowd, and unfortunately, you're a great worker, man, but if you're the top name, we've likely got some issues and will need to build up the rest of the roster fairly quickly. Speaking of that, let's go over everybody, name by name. I've kept tag teams grouped together, as that makes more sense, and I've waited 'til the end to go over the staff, such as it is. “I mean, sure, I never teamed with Masked Mauler Seventeen or whatever,” Archie muttered, as he took a swig of his warm coffee, thinking of the half-empty bottle of bourbon still at his apartment, but shook his head. Thinking about it, he was right. His biggest bit of stardom was wrestling Whistler a dozen times at nostalgia shows, but this also was his chance to change that. AARON WILLIS Light Heavyweight/Powerhouse/5 Years Could be one of our top babyfaces, as his legitimate background at Northwestern, along the in-ring skill he already has only five years in, could really allow him to round himself to a true star. Isn't much of a talker to be fair, but that can be worked on, plus you aren't depending on anybody to be Sam Strong on the mic, right? Archie had to agree with all of that, even though the fact other promoters had let him know that Aaron was a fan of the needle was slightly disconcerting. Not that he had any moral problems with steroids, he just didn't want his new promotion getting into trouble, if Willis screwed up. Paired up with an intense personality, that could cause some issues. ALEJANDRO CALL Lightweight / Technician Striker / 6 Years Why isn't this guy at least working in OLLIE? He looks like a telenovela star, is solid in the ring, and still has a lot of room to grow. If he's not your top heel soon enough, then you're holding on to the top spot for way too long, Archibald. The only downside I can see is that he's not quite developed fully in the ring, but give him some time in between the ropes, especially with other talented folks on the roster, and that'll quickly work itself out. Of course, Rick Sanders didn't know that Alejandro had been caught in flagrante delicto with Manuel Pierto's barely legal granddaughter, and had been cast out of Mexican wrestling quicker than you can say, 'adios', but Mexico's loss was our gain, I suppose. As long as he didn't do anything too stupid. AUSTIN PRIEST Lightweight / Regular / 4 Years Speaking of future stars, you're lucky as hell that everything happened the way it did down South. Priest would likely still be main eventing smaller indy shows down South, and getting some looks from the bigger feds soon enough. On the downside, he's not quite as popular in the Great Lakes yet, but that can quickly be fixed, and as a positive, at least we know with everything that happened between him and his former tag team partner as a shoot, that he's a righteous man. Which is a positive thing to have in a wrestling locker room every so often. Even in Wisconsin, Archie had heard about what happened in that locker room in Alexandria. Hell, the whole wrestling world had talked about it for a week afterward, but that didn't mean both men involved weren't talented as hell, and GLW was just lucky that Austin's fiancee had family in Illinois, so they'd moved to the region, and as a result, Priest was now available to wrestle. BULLETPROOF Lightweight / Technician Flyer / 1 Year Solid rookie, even though he has a long way to go as more of a guy who goes from spot to spot. On the other hand, if you build him up well, an eventual unmasking or face turn could get over pretty well. Other than that, there's not much else to say. Will need to see more. Of course, what Rick didn't know is that even though Brandon Olson, the man behind the mask, could barely drink, he was already known as a tightly wound agitator, but also like Sanders mentioned, he had a whole hell of a lot of potential, which is why Archie had kept him on board. CALLUM MCMANUS Light Heavyweight / Powerhouse / 7 Years You need a big son of a gun like this on a roster, even when more aimed at wrestling like yours is, Archibald. Surprised that Cornell never scouted him while he was wrestling in Ireland, but good for us, I guess. Not the best talker, but really brawls well, and isn't totally lost putting together a match. Likely not a top-of-the-card guy for you, but somebody who will work well, with most of your roster There wasn't much to add about Callum. He was what he was – an intense big Irish guy who could probably kick most people's ass. Not much more to it. DARK PATRIOT Light Heavyweight / Entertainer / 15 Years You know who you are, Archibald, and we both know why you never got your shot, but it's not my place to talk about. Regardless, I had to include you in this list just to be fair. Archie quietly chuckled, as he moved down to the next name on the list. GORIJA SAMSON Middleweight / Impactful / Rookie I don't know long you've got this kid, but use him well while he's here. I wouldn't be surprised to see him eventually in a Pride or Burning Hammer ring down the line, even if he didn't come out of their dojo. Obviously, not a great promo, but again, we're not Supreme, are we? Gorija was a lucky break, thanks to Archie knowing a guy who knew a guy, who told him about a young Japanese rookie, who wanted to go out on his own, so he contacted Gorija, found him an apartment in Green Bay, along with access to the ring, and a gym. Now, the kid was happy as a clam, even though it probably helped that he'd grown up in the north of Japan, himself. JEREMY WENTWORTH III (Is that name a shoot?) Middleweight / Regular / 5 Years I hate to say it because even though he seems like a decent promo, the rest of him is pretty bland. Not fantastic in the ring, but not terrible either. I'm not sure whether he'll ever get higher than being pretty over in your little corner of the world, but you can use him well, while he's there. Unfortunately, Rick sort of had a point, but on the bright side, Jeremy was still relatively early in his career (and to Archie's knowledge, it was a shoot name, just with no III on the end), and still had room to grow. JOHN JOHN MOLINA Lightweight / Striker / 7 Years With his background and obvious appeal to female fans, I'm somewhat surprised that this guy hasn't gotten picked up by one of the bigger companies. He's not exactly incredibly smooth in the ring, but when has US Pro or Supreme cared too deeply about that? Not exactly a talker either, but between his strikes, and that cool as hell 'rana he does as a finisher, you'd think he'd get more shots. I'm sure you can fill me in on what the issues are, especially since he's also bounced around a bit. Unfortunately, the main issue Molina had, was connected to his background as a young boxer, that quit after a series of rough fights. The issue made itself clear in the form of various pills that Molina had gotten hooked on, and even though he wasn't incredibly deep, that combined with his outside interests as a boxing trainer himself, led to limited opportunities for Molina, outside of the Midwest. 'LIGHTNING' VANCE PARKER Lightweight / Technician Flyer / 3 Years Another young kid I hope can grow into this role, as even though he plays cocky well, and I can imagine his act goes over well with some of the women in the audience, he's still not good on the mic, and hasn't fully gotten how to put a match together yet. On the upside though, he is young, and I scrolled to the end of a 20-minute ladder match he had, and it looked like he barely had begun wrestling. Archie didn't have much to add, outside of the fact that part of Parker's issue was that he really enjoyed using Twitter, and had gotten into hot water with it before, at least on the local level, especially when he famously Tweeted – 'QAW is good for one thing – watching it at 3 AM with the sound off.' Now, to be fair, he was only twenty at the time, so hopefully, he'd matured. Slightly. 'MELTING POT' MATTHEW RUIZ-LIN Small / Daredevil / 1 Year First of all, nice nickname. Did the kid think of it himself? If so, I'm most surprised he remembered that descriptor from his history class. Most wrestlers I know barely can remember what they did last month, let alone something from 9th grade US History. Now, the obvious thing is – he's tiny. Like, goddamn tiny, and that's going to be an issue, long-term, even in a business that's changing. On the other hand, he's quite flashy all ready, and he can be taught now to actually work a match, as opposed to hit a series of spots to pop some smart marks. Hell, throw him and Parker in the ring and see how gets tired first. Probably wouldn't be a good match, but it'd be entertaining as hell. 'That sounds about right,' Archie thought, as he finished his cup of coffee, and went to the register for a refill. On the positive side, according to everybody he'd asked, he was also a good kid who was up for anything asked of him. OLEG CASSINI Lightweight / Technician / Rookie Now, this kid has some potential. He already looks like a machine on the mat, and once he learns how to put everything together, he could really be something. The only downside is that he's not the best on the mic, but he can put his character over well, and it's quite the character. Going to guess Cassini is not his given last name, though. Who came up with the Cosmonaut gimmick anyway? If it was the kid, ask him for some more ideas. The good news was, as Archie began his second cup, is the gimmick was Oleg's idea, and yes, his actual last name (Yarmolnik) was not seen as conducive to a successful pro wrestling career. However, he seemed to be a positive influence backstage and was enough of a hustler that he'd already sold a shocking amount of 'Space Wrestling Agency' t-shirts at small indy shows in the area. RYZE Small / Daredevil / Rookie Another small daredevil, but this time, I have literally one match to watch of him, and look – he can do flips well. I don't know what else to tell you with this one, Archibald. I'll tell ya' more when I have more him to watch than an 8-minute match where he did 95 flips in front of 50 people on a show that looks like it was lighted by a blind man. OK, that almost made Archie spit out his drink. But yeah, Ryze, legally known as Peter Arono, had flown to America from New Zealand with a dream, and a bit of a gymnastics background, and even though he had far to go, in his limited experience with the kid, he was impressed with his positive outlook. Then again, if you don't have a positive outlook, how the hell do you get on that plane in Auckland in the first place? TRIPP WALKER Middleweight / Regular / 6 Years I've actually seen a decent bit of Walker, since he started out in the Tri-State, and even did a couple of NYCW dark matches in his early days, but frankly, he seems slightly out of place here. He's good on promos but decent in the ring, which seems the opposite of what you want. However, I can also see the argument that a truly over heel in the type of company you want to run, can't be fantastic in the ring, because otherwise, he'll start getting cheered. I do remember the guy could go all night though, when it came to the bars, though. Has that changed? That hadn't changed, but on the upside, he was engaged to his valet, Donna Dixon, and they seemed deeply in love, and on the same wavelength, so that was a positive. One thing that could be a problem is that it seemed ole' Tripp had a tendency to not put 100% in if it wasn't an important match, but hopefully, that could be worked with. VON HESS Heavyweight / Brawler / 19 Years Be honest with me, Archie. You're just bringing this guy in, because you wrestled him a ton in your early days, and wanted some backup in the locker room in case I didn't sign, right? Outside of the ability to have a decent brawl, and that he's inherently charismatic, there's not much left of him in the ring. I'll defer to your judgment, but I really question why he's on the roster. Sanders had a point, Archie thought. However, despite the evil German gimmick, the guy was well loved backstage, had no problems putting people over, and perhaps most importantly, could still get a decent reaction from the old school fans who remember his runs in the indies during the early 2000's. TAG TEAMS BLACK SUNSHINE Ezekiel Sampson / Javier Jackson Lightweight/Heavyweight Entertainer / Powerhouse 4 Years / Rookie This is a team with some real upside. Ezekiel’s already solid in the ring and can talk like an SOB, plus on his own, he could easily shift to a shit-talking heel, from his current character. The only downside is he seems to be a bit inconsistent, and couldn't scare a baby, but he has a bright future in front of him. But, this Javier kid is a real future star. I was shocked when I found out he's a rookie. OK, once I saw him in the ring it was far more clear, but he's not terrible by any means, and more importantly, he already has a presence and seems to know how to act like he belongs in that ring, even if he's a little sloppy with a suplex, or whatever. With both men, Archie had to nod. The other bit of good news is they seemed to be legitimately good guys, getting along well, and being able to light up the locker room with their antics, and that's sometimes needed in a wrestling promotion. Plus, like Sanders had said, with some experience, Javier could be a top guy, even beyond Great Lakes someday. IOWA STRETCHING CREW Malik Walker / Steven Decker Middleweight / Middleweight Technician / Technician 2 Years / 2 Years So, these guys could be brothers from different mothers, looking at them in the ring. Not surprised they have a college wrestling background, but I am somewhat surprised they were available to pick up. I guess going to a 1AA school in Iowa gets you less attention than letting people assume you went to the actual Iowa. Now, they're both solid in-ring, with lots of room to grow, but if you want them to be more than a mid-card tag team, they're going to need a mouthpiece eventually, as even a wrestling-based crowd wants some sort of character, and I'm not really sure either of them could pull it off. Unfortunately, Archie had to agree with that – Malik and Decker were both monsters in the ring, especially for their experience level and total professionals in the back, but also, they were college wrestlers who'd been talked into joining professional wrestling by a mutual friend, not longtime friends, so sometimes, they acted like athletes trying to win, more than people trying to entertain a crowd, which can work, but you need some charisma behind it, or you end up with a 'boring' chant. SAMOAN WRECKING CREW Siona / Taua Big Heavyweight / Heavyweight Powerhouse / Powerhouse 4 Years / 3 Years These two Samoans have some rough edges, but also a ton of potential, considering their size. Not the best talkers obviously, but their ability to throw folks around with suplexes and slams will speak for them, and lead them to a long-term successful career, and the fact they can either play the badass babyface or heels, is a positive. Outside of that, there's not much to say, as their plus and minuses are pretty obvious. Both Siona and Taua had bright futures in front of them, but Archie wondered if either of them could get over without the other, if necessary. At least he had a little time to figure that out, the unmasked Dark Patriot idly thought, as he sipped another gulp of his coffee. The other positive was that both Samoans were chill dudes, even if they could throw down if necessary. OTHER PERSONNEL DONNA DIXON Very Small / Non-Wrestler / 2 Years Even though I'm assuming she's only here because Walker wouldn't show up without her, I was impressed by her mic skills, even though Tripp doesn't really need her. I'm also sure the way she dresses helps sell some 8x10's during intermission, along with her Instagram posts. Yes, an old man like me can use the 'Gram, as the kids say. I think you're officially old when you say, 'as the kids say.' Anyway, as long as she doesn't cause trouble in the back, I see no problem having her around Since 'Double D' and Tripp were connected at the hip, of course she'd be a part of the promotion, but like Rick said, she wasn't terrible as a manager, and she looked good, so why not? The only real downside was like Tripp, she loved to party, but hopefully, they'd keep the craziness limited to each other. KESSIE LEE WALKER Lighweight / Referee / 3 Years I always enjoy having a former wrestler as a ref, because they seem to get the in-ring part better than a lot of refs who just end up doing the job because they can't actually work. Somewhat surprised you chose a woman concering the traditional aspects of the company, but other than that, she seems like a solid ref.,. Archie understood Sander's confusion, but it wasn't a huge deal to him. As long as she could do the job, she could be a martian for all Archie cared. Then again, an alien ref would be quite the gimmick for someplace like ZEN, the GLW owner/booker thought, while looking over the last person listed. MARTIN THEOCOTT Lightweight / Announcer / 15 Years So, I don't know how well I can really judge announcers, but he seems perfectly fine, from some prior indy work he did, and catching a few of his 'shoot' gigs on television. Obviously, we're not going to get Peter Michaels out of retirement, or anything, so I just hope this guy can carry the load on his own. With that, Archibald closed his email and looked up for a moment. For the first time in a while, his first thought wasn't of the pills or the booze, but rather, what was in front of him. </div> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladjarca Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Well, there's a lot to read with every post, but everything is also really interesting, so it looks worth following for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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