[HYPE] The C'Verse 2023

[Theheel]

Progress Update #3

 

• Total Championship Wrestling has been completed. Their roster has been updated, title histories done, new graduates, new storylines. There have been lots of changes to TCW (and USPW and SWF for that matter). This makes the American Big Three done -- and because they have been completed it also makes the independent scene already vastly different. They've also had a rippling effect on CWA and EILL. I don't want to spoil too much, but I think people are going to be very excited about the North American wrestling scene's evolution.
   
  
• Speaking of the independent scene, several companies across NA have been activated. Their rosters haven't been done yet or title histories, but the independent scene will be much more lively.
  

Work has continued on Japan and the British Isles.

 

You going to bring back AAA? Always felt like they should have found a way to survive.

[Wrestling Machine]

Really curious about how this turn out

[TCP1]

Progress Update #2

 

• The team working on the mod has expanded. I've welcomed aboard CreeperGav, Dalton, and MHero who are all helping work on various parts of the mod. I'm happy to have their help.
   
  
• USPW, SWF, and RIPW have been completed. This means all title histories, roster movements, storylines, etc. have been completed. It also means that for RIPW, several new SWF dojo graduates have been created and put into the game. The rosters for all three companies have been significantly overhauled. I don't want to give too much away because I'm very excited about what's been done with these three companies (and with the US in general). It was important to tackle these first because the happenings in the major companies affect what happens in the lower level companies -- plus with their rosters being so big it was a large chunk of work.
   
  
• TCW, EILL, and CWA have all been started -- as has the North American independent scene.
   
  
• TCP will be happy to know that I have, when doing new title histories in North America (I might go back to India and do it for those titles) been consistent with the format being Wk. ? - Month - Year and even defenses. I can't say I will go back through all of the pre-mod reigns and do that, but it might happen because it's easier than I thought it would be.
   
  
• Next up, TCW will be finished and the North American independent scene will continue to evolve. I plan on activating/creating the North American independent companies as I'm working on TCW.
   
  
• Work will continue in Japan (where some work has been started but not enough to update about) and in the British Isles (where there is a firm plan of what all has happened and what changes will be taking place).
   
  
• We are continuing to go through the graphics as we work -- updating renders, company graphics, belts, etc.. as we get there.
  

 

I also want to give a thanks to KingBison, willr0ck, and London who have agreed to allow some of their graphical work to appear. As well as to Christian_Shane who will be making some work for the mod as well.

 

I am so excited about all of this. And in advance would like to say that I appreciate all the work you guys are doing. I know how tricky mod-work is, but having a tight-knit team is always helpful and I have no doubt that what you'll produce will be fabulous.

[monrapi3]

Extremely excited, and i'm just wondering. I wonder if Phil Vibert finally got a booker job after almost 9 years

[Shianne_EB]

You going to bring back AAA? Always felt like they should have found a way to survive.

 

No; AAA will not be brought back. However, it hasn't been completely forgotten.

[The Sauce Boss]

Excited to see where this goes. Friend of mine intro'd me to the concept and I genuinely enjoy the CV for what it is. Will be watching real close from here on.

[GenMaximo]

Sounds awesome, looking forward to see in what shape QAW is. Good luck with the project!

[Historian]

Progress Update 4

 

• Three independent companies in the US have been completed. One of these companies is a-new-to-the-database all-women's company (which includes several new characters). One of them is RMW -- which has been activated for this mod. RMW features a couple of new characters. The other is MAW. MAW's roster took the most work -- as they had workers on developmental deals and had TCW which would have had three graduating classes before the mod takes place -- so there have been several new workers created for that purpose. All characters have renders. Title histories, tag teams, stables, storylines have all been updated.
   
  
• Work has continued in Japan, the British Isles, and on the American independent scene.
  

[KingAj]

My only question is will the "In-Game" Historian be world champion?

[Historian]

My only question is will the "In-Game" Historian be world champion?

 

No sir. He will not be World Champion. You should absolutely feel free to push that version of me to the moon.

[Dalton]

STATE OF JAPAN IN 2023

Perhaps the biggest story in puroresu in the last three years is the emergence of Black Canvas Grappling as the clear-cut number two promotion in the nation. Built on the back of a renowned feud between Funakoshi and Mabuchi Furusawa known as "The Lion's Keeper," BCG experienced rapid growth that saw them outdraw even BHOTWG on a few occasions. Funakoshi, the embodiment of BCG through-and-through, evolved from a no-nonsense badass to The Lion King as Furusawa attempted to bring down Black Canvas Grappling with his faction, the Golden Guard. They warred across the Kansai region, ending with a final Funakoshi victory over Mabuchi Furusawa to regain the BCG World Championship at BCG The Lion Roars 2022.

 

With BCG's rise came the decline of Pride Glory Honor Wrestling. The retirement of most major stars in the late 2010s was supposed to lead to a new generation of stars taking their place and leading PGHW to new heights. Unfortunately, the likes of Kozue Kawashima and Seiji Jimbo, while just as talented as the previous generations, simply did not draw like Yoshimi Mushashibo and Eisaku Kunomasu. With BCG putting on a similar yet better and fresher product, PGHW's attendance numbers slowly began dropping. In early 2022, Kunomasu would come out of retirement with the goal of reversing PGHW's fortunes, and while that has been relatively successful, the company is between a rock and a hard place. Kunomasu is the top draw and must be treated as such, but his reemergence has been at the cost of the same talent they were trying to build in the first place.

 

Another huge story was the collapse of EXODUS 2010. In late 2021, it was revealed in a bombshell anonymous letter to the Tokyo Sports Press that the story of World Level Wrestling having less-than-favorable involvement with figures in organized crime was planted by EX2010. The anonymous author, who only stated to work in the EX2010 office, claimed the story was crafted to take attention away from EX2010's mysterious finances. After huge blowback, EX2010 closed its doors in early 2022 after not running shows for two months. The EX2010 talent was saved from blackballing, as the whistleblower made it clear that only the office was involved and begged for the talent to be spared from backlash. Burning EXILE on the other hand, he has been blacklisted and will likely never work in wrestling again. WLW acquired the corpse of EX2010 and held unification bouts between champions, with WLW talent going over in every match.

 

So where does this leave Burning Hammer of the Wrestling Gods? They are still the clear number one promotion and the driving force behind the entire scene. BHOTWG remains as reliable as ever to deliver outstanding matches and captivating stories, despite some critics claiming that the product is becoming stale. They are a victim of their own success, as the BHOTWG talent are so talented that a five star match is nothing new. In 2022, the company began a major expansion as they opened a subsidiary in the United States known as Burning USA. KC Glenn, the former Helikaon, and Matthew Keith were to be the figureheads of the expansion as they were becoming very popular in their home country. However, not wanting another challenger in America, offered huge deals to Glenn and Keith to sign exclusively with TCW before Burning USA's first show, leading to it nearly falling apart. BHOTWG went ahead with Burning USA on a much smaller scale, signing non-exclusive agreements with American indie stars and running smaller shows. The company would get its revenge in June 2022 when they signed an American megastar, one who has taken BHOTWG by storm both in Japan and in the USA...

 

As for the rest of the puroresu scene, many more notable events have taken place. 5 Star Supreme Wrestling has seen a rise in popularity, albeit not as quick as BCG's. As of 2023, 5SSW is drawing good crowds everywhere they go and has a strong relationship with the top women's wrestling promotion in America, QAW. This resurgence in Joshi wrestling led to the formation of WINNOW, another joshi promotion that has offered regular work for many of the women working the indie scene. Pro Wrestling SAISHO, somehow and someway, has continued to survive despite their attendances fluctuating like a heartbeat monitor. SAISHO President Mito Miwa sought help from his company he helped build, PGHW, to stay afloat, but was refused due to PGHW's own problems. Miwa, feeling backstabbed by the company he has been loyal to since its formation, instead partnered with BHOTWG, with BHOTWG sending talent to SAISHO to help draw crowds.

[SomeDude]

STATE OF JAPAN IN 2023

Perhaps the biggest story in puroresu in the last three years is the emergence of Black Canvas Grappling as the clear-cut number two promotion in the nation. Built on the back of a renowned feud between Funakoshi and Mabuchi Furusawa known as "The Lion's Keeper," BCG experienced rapid growth that saw them outdraw even BHOTWG on a few occasions. Funakoshi, the embodiment of BCG through-and-through, evolved from a no-nonsense badass to The Lion King as Furusawa attempted to bring down Black Canvas Grappling with his faction, the Golden Guard. They warred across the Kansai region, ending with a final Funakoshi victory over Mabuchi Furusawa to regain the BCG World Championship at BCG The Lion Roars 2022.

 

With BCG's rise came the decline of Pride Glory Honor Wrestling. The retirement of most major stars in the late 2010s was supposed to lead to a new generation of stars taking their place and leading PGHW to new heights. Unfortunately, the likes of Kozue Kawashima and Seiji Jimbo, while just as talented as the previous generations, simply did not draw like Yoshimi Mushashibo and Eisaku Kunomasu. With BCG putting on a similar yet better and fresher product, PGHW's attendance numbers slowly began dropping. In early 2022, Kunomasu would come out of retirement with the goal of reversing PGHW's fortunes, and while that has been relatively successful, the company is between a rock and a hard place. Kunomasu is the top draw and must be treated as such, but his reemergence has been at the cost of the same talent they were trying to build in the first place.

 

Another huge story was the collapse of EXODUS 2010. In late 2021, it was revealed in a bombshell anonymous letter to the Tokyo Sports Press that the story of World Level Wrestling having less-than-favorable involvement with figures in organized crime was planted by EX2010. The anonymous author, who only stated to work in the EX2010 office, claimed the story was crafted to take attention away from EX2010's mysterious finances. After huge blowback, EX2010 closed its doors in early 2022 after not running shows for two months. The EX2010 talent was saved from blackballing, as the whistleblower made it clear that only the office was involved and begged for the talent to be spared from backlash. Burning EXILE on the other hand, he has been blacklisted and will likely never work in wrestling again. WLW acquired the corpse of EX2010 and held unification bouts between champions, with WLW talent going over in every match.

 

So where does this leave Burning Hammer of the Wrestling Gods? They are still the clear number one promotion and the driving force behind the entire scene. BHOTWG remains as reliable as ever to deliver outstanding matches and captivating stories, despite some critics claiming that the product is becoming stale. They are a victim of their own success, as the BHOTWG talent are so talented that a five star match is nothing new. In 2022, the company began a major expansion as they opened a subsidiary in the United States known as Burning USA. KC Glenn, the former Helikaon, and Matthew Keith were to be the figureheads of the expansion as they were becoming very popular in their home country. However, not wanting another challenger in America, offered huge deals to Glenn and Keith to sign exclusively with TCW before Burning USA's first show, leading to it nearly falling apart. BHOTWG went ahead with Burning USA on a much smaller scale, signing non-exclusive agreements with American indie stars and running smaller shows. The company would get its revenge in June 2022 when they signed an American megastar, one who has taken BHOTWG by storm both in Japan and in the USA...

 

As for the rest of the puroresu scene, many more notable events have taken place. 5 Star Supreme Wrestling has seen a rise in popularity, albeit not as quick as BCG's. As of 2023, 5SSW is drawing good crowds everywhere they go and has a strong relationship with the top women's wrestling promotion in America, QAW. This resurgence in Joshi wrestling led to the formation of WINNOW, another joshi promotion that has offered regular work for many of the women working the indie scene. Pro Wrestling SAISHO, somehow and someway, has continued to survive despite their attendances fluctuating like a heartbeat monitor. SAISHO President Mito Miwa sought help from his company he helped build, PGHW, to stay afloat, but was refused due to PGHW's own problems. Miwa, feeling backstabbed by the company he has been loyal to since its formation, instead partnered with BHOTWG, with BHOTWG sending talent to SAISHO to help draw crowds.

 

I am a simple man, I see BCG do well and I am happy.

 

Have any Japanese wrestlers with loyalty jumped ship to another promotion? Perhaps a certain 2nd generation star who's a part of a great tag team in PGHW but never manages to win the big one with Shuji Inukai booking?

[Theheel]

Progress Update 4

 

• Three independent companies in the US have been completed. One of these companies is a-new-to-the-database all-women's company (which includes several new characters). One of them is RMW -- which has been activated for this mod. RMW features a couple of new characters. The other is MAW. MAW's roster took the most work -- as they had workers on developmental deals and had TCW which would have had three graduating classes before the mod takes place -- so there have been several new workers created for that purpose. All characters have renders. Title histories, tag teams, stables, storylines have all been updated.
   
  
• Work has continued in Japan, the British Isles, and on the American independent scene.
  

 

As the excitement builds, I’m really looking forward to this

[GooverDan]

STATE OF JAPAN IN 2023

Perhaps the biggest story in puroresu in the last three years is the emergence of Black Canvas Grappling as the clear-cut number two promotion in the nation. Built on the back of a renowned feud between Funakoshi and Mabuchi Furusawa known as "The Lion's Keeper," BCG experienced rapid growth that saw them outdraw even BHOTWG on a few occasions. Funakoshi, the embodiment of BCG through-and-through, evolved from a no-nonsense badass to The Lion King as Furusawa attempted to bring down Black Canvas Grappling with his faction, the Golden Guard. They warred across the Kansai region, ending with a final Funakoshi victory over Mabuchi Furusawa to regain the BCG World Championship at BCG The Lion Roars 2022.

 

With BCG's rise came the decline of Pride Glory Honor Wrestling. The retirement of most major stars in the late 2010s was supposed to lead to a new generation of stars taking their place and leading PGHW to new heights. Unfortunately, the likes of Kozue Kawashima and Seiji Jimbo, while just as talented as the previous generations, simply did not draw like Yoshimi Mushashibo and Eisaku Kunomasu. With BCG putting on a similar yet better and fresher product, PGHW's attendance numbers slowly began dropping. In early 2022, Kunomasu would come out of retirement with the goal of reversing PGHW's fortunes, and while that has been relatively successful, the company is between a rock and a hard place. Kunomasu is the top draw and must be treated as such, but his reemergence has been at the cost of the same talent they were trying to build in the first place.

 

Another huge story was the collapse of EXODUS 2010. In late 2021, it was revealed in a bombshell anonymous letter to the Tokyo Sports Press that the story of World Level Wrestling having less-than-favorable involvement with figures in organized crime was planted by EX2010. The anonymous author, who only stated to work in the EX2010 office, claimed the story was crafted to take attention away from EX2010's mysterious finances. After huge blowback, EX2010 closed its doors in early 2022 after not running shows for two months. The EX2010 talent was saved from blackballing, as the whistleblower made it clear that only the office was involved and begged for the talent to be spared from backlash. Burning EXILE on the other hand, he has been blacklisted and will likely never work in wrestling again. WLW acquired the corpse of EX2010 and held unification bouts between champions, with WLW talent going over in every match.

 

So where does this leave Burning Hammer of the Wrestling Gods? They are still the clear number one promotion and the driving force behind the entire scene. BHOTWG remains as reliable as ever to deliver outstanding matches and captivating stories, despite some critics claiming that the product is becoming stale. They are a victim of their own success, as the BHOTWG talent are so talented that a five star match is nothing new. In 2022, the company began a major expansion as they opened a subsidiary in the United States known as Burning USA. KC Glenn, the former Helikaon, and Matthew Keith were to be the figureheads of the expansion as they were becoming very popular in their home country. However, not wanting another challenger in America, offered huge deals to Glenn and Keith to sign exclusively with TCW before Burning USA's first show, leading to it nearly falling apart. BHOTWG went ahead with Burning USA on a much smaller scale, signing non-exclusive agreements with American indie stars and running smaller shows. The company would get its revenge in June 2022 when they signed an American megastar, one who has taken BHOTWG by storm both in Japan and in the USA...

 

As for the rest of the puroresu scene, many more notable events have taken place. 5 Star Supreme Wrestling has seen a rise in popularity, albeit not as quick as BCG's. As of 2023, 5SSW is drawing good crowds everywhere they go and has a strong relationship with the top women's wrestling promotion in America, QAW. This resurgence in Joshi wrestling led to the formation of WINNOW, another joshi promotion that has offered regular work for many of the women working the indie scene. Pro Wrestling SAISHO, somehow and someway, has continued to survive despite their attendances fluctuating like a heartbeat monitor. SAISHO President Mito Miwa sought help from his company he helped build, PGHW, to stay afloat, but was refused due to PGHW's own problems. Miwa, feeling backstabbed by the company he has been loyal to since its formation, instead partnered with BHOTWG, with BHOTWG sending talent to SAISHO to help draw crowds.

 

I love seeing BCG triumph and seeing their formula working out in the japanese scene, also glad that SAISHO is still alive and kicking. But sucks for EXODUS... WLW casted their curse on them.

 

I wonder who is the megastar that BHOTWG signed tho...

[Shianne_EB]

Man these guys working on this mod are something else!

[smmccallum]

[Teasenitryn]

This is another mod that looks like it should be amazing and between this, Thunderverse and Lavell’s 2022 mod, hell his 2018 (and some issues notwithstanding the original database isn’t to be sniffed at) there is so going to be much choice. Wishing you guys all the best with this.

[Morti]

Oh man oh man oh man! This is going to get me back into TEW! Good luck with this Historian and co.!

[TCP1]

The company would get its revenge in June 2022 when they signed an American megastar, one who has taken BHOTWG by storm both in Japan and in the USA...

 

Got to be The Ace right? God this whole description was such glory.

 

I am fired up.

[Historian]

Progress Update Number 6

 

I'm sorry for the delay in updates since Dalton's very juice preview of the Japanese scene. But here is an update to hopefully fill you in on what's been going on.

 

• Work on Japan and the British Isles continues. A lot of thought has gone in to expanding the available worker pool in the Isles and we're really excited about continuing to build the world there.
  
• Three more American independent companies have been finished. One of them is QAW, one is OCW (which is active in this dataset) and the other is a new company with logos and belts made by the incomparable willr0ck.
  

 

The work on independent companies allows me to talk about one of the big things we are working on in the mod -- and that is a variety of schedule types. One of the things that has always stood out to me is that unless a company as TV (or a touring schedule), they essentially run one show a month. For companies that are named companies, I expect them to run more regularly, and with the new additions we are working on giving several different schedule options.

 

Most of the traditional independent companies are still the monthly (not all of them), as we felt people were accustomed to those companies running a certain way and we don't want to take away the ability to run monthly schedules for those people that like to burn through a lot of game time by booking 12 shows a year.

 

OCW for instance has two shows a week (and it is part of their narrative structure as to why). The company that willr0ck made for this -- Championship Wrestling from Nashville, has the most ambitious schedule so far. So let's talk about them.

 

 

Their schedule is set up to try and mimic a wrestling territory from days gone by. They have a weekly event (in Nasvhille) but then have touring events (spot shows/live events) that give them the opportunity to run a lot of shows and feel like an old-school territory company. Their titles are also specifically designed to be defended on those spot shows -- the way old territories used to run.

 

I'll be focusing my efforts on Canada now --as the rest of the American independent scene is also going to be dependent on those moves.

 

But to recap, USPW, SWF, RIPW, TCW, MAW, QAW, CWN, OCW, RMW, and CWWC (another brand new company) are all finished. This includes rosters, title histories, storylines, tag teams, stables, etc... Japan has had a lot of work done but isn't done yet, the British Isles has had some good work done and Canada is next up.

[Theheel]

Progress Update Number 6

 

I'm sorry for the delay in updates since Dalton's very juice preview of the Japanese scene. But here is an update to hopefully fill you in on what's been going on.

 

• Work on Japan and the British Isles continues. A lot of thought has gone in to expanding the available worker pool in the Isles and we're really excited about continuing to build the world there.
  
• Three more American independent companies have been finished. One of them is QAW, one is OCW (which is active in this dataset) and the other is a new company with logos and belts made by the incomparable willr0ck.
  

 

The work on independent companies allows me to talk about one of the big things we are working on in the mod -- and that is a variety of schedule types. One of the things that has always stood out to me is that unless a company as TV (or a touring schedule), they essentially run one show a month. For companies that are named companies, I expect them to run more regularly, and with the new additions we are working on giving several different schedule options.

 

Most of the traditional independent companies are still the monthly (not all of them), as we felt people were accustomed to those companies running a certain way and we don't want to take away the ability to run monthly schedules for those people that like to burn through a lot of game time by booking 12 shows a year.

 

OCW for instance has two shows a week (and it is part of their narrative structure as to why). The company that willr0ck made for this -- Championship Wrestling from Nashville, has the most ambitious schedule so far. So let's talk about them.

 

 

Their schedule is set up to try and mimic a wrestling territory from days gone by. They have a weekly event (in Nasvhille) but then have touring events (spot shows/live events) that give them the opportunity to run a lot of shows and feel like an old-school territory company. Their titles are also specifically designed to be defended on those spot shows -- the way old territories used to run.

 

I'll be focusing my efforts on Canada now --as the rest of the American independent scene is also going to be dependent on those moves.

 

But to recap, USPW, SWF, RIPW, TCW, MAW, QAW, CWN, OCW, RMW, and CWWC (another brand new company) are all finished. This includes rosters, title histories, storylines, tag teams, stables, etc... Japan has had a lot of work done but isn't done yet, the British Isles has had some good work done and Canada is next up.

 

This all sounds great. I’ll be curious to see how the Nashville company works with the schedule and the TEW financial engine. Really looking forward to giving this a go.

[AceCodey]

Excited by this, the Isles and Europe have been in desperate need for an overhaul after so many years of stagnation.

[trotter93]

Can't wait for this. There seems to have been a lot of progress made. Is this still expected to be ready at the end of Summer or will it likely be sooner? Also, have you done much work, if any, on future workers - as in YTD beyond 2023?

[sgtsly]

First, just want to say that I am digging this idea and am super excited for when you guys get this done.

 

Second, a huge thanks to the team working on this, because I know it's a HUGE task.

 

Lastly, my one question (or concern), are there parameters being put in place to make sure these local independents don't close after two years because they're losing a ton of money? I find this happens quite a bit with new companies even in the normal database. Also, to confirm they don't go outside of their purpose and start hiring big name wrestlers to huge contracts (thus causing them to lose a ton of money)? Maybe limit their hiring to a certain max popularity level, to ensure they always stay an independent and stick with lower-tier wrestlers? And will other small independents pop up in time?

 

Seriously, thanks again guys, looking forward to this mod!

[Jomosensual]

Can't wait for this. There seems to have been a lot of progress made. Is this still expected to be ready at the end of Summer or will it likely be sooner? Also, have you done much work, if any, on future workers - as in YTD beyond 2023?

 

Based on some chatter I saw, and this could easily be wrong so feel free to correct me if so, the wrestlers from the 2020 YTD mod are included.

 

I feel like i saw that in the discord at least. Very easily could be wrong