The League, Redux: Seasons 8 and Beyond Game Thread

[Derek B]

Is this marketable enough for you?

A two minute video has began to circulate around social media, going viral in certain circles of wrestling fans, people who hate their jobs and people who think they are better at life than they really are.  The host of the "Chatty" Cathy Graham show is full of her usual fake TV enthusiasm, the sort that would put even retail workers to shame.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm joined today by professional wrestler and two time champion of The League, Nuclear Templeton.  You look good tonight in that suit, very different from your usual ring gear"

"This little thing?  You like it?  I like it, it's so marketable"

Nuclear sits in the centre of the guest couch, his muscular heavyweight frame covered in fine Italian materials that we are more familiar with almost seeing his fine Italian friends wearing.  Nuclear smiles at Cathy the way a shark smiles at a fish.

/cut/

Cathy's face tells a story her mouth is trying to avoid, her eyes widening as she finds it increasingly difficult to keep her plastic smile on her face.

"And that's why I left Reno. Once you've watched the light go out of a man's eyes, it really changes you, don't you think Cathy?

"I... uh.... I... yes?"

"Cathy, do you not like my backstory, is it not marketable enough for you?"

/cut/

Cathy lips are pursed, her smile all but gone after what has clearly been a difficult interview.  But she has obligations to fulfil, sponsors to please, questions she's mandated to ask in order to justify having her guests on the show.  Against her instincts, she soldiers on.

"So, Mr Templeton, you've are champion of The League once again, what does the future hold for you?"

Nuclear's shark-like grin bears no shortage of malice as he "cordially" welcomes the question he's been waiting on.

"Wrapping up the interview so soon? I guess time really flies when we're having fun.  The future?  I'm SO glad you asked."

Nuclear pulls himself up from the guest couch, takes an intimidating step towards Cathy who visibly squirms backwards in her chair before Nuclear walks to one of the main cameras, pulling it into an extreme close up, his eyes showing no sign of the false friendliness he has been putting on for the interview so far

"The future is simple.  I am League Champion now, I will be League champion again.  I am the main event whether you want to accept it or not.  I am inevitable.  But the cowards in charge of The League refuse to give me what I have earned.  They hide behind stats and metrics and marketing tricks, and try to claim that others are more worthy while I rain Nuclear hellfire down on them all.  It's just as well that Phoenix retired never to rise again, because now he has a front row seat to be wrecking his marketable toys on my way to another championship.  Because I am the champion, I am unstoppable, I am... The Oppressor"

 

[ShadowedFlames]

THE LEAGUE, FOURTH INTERLUDE PART ONE: HAMMER TO FALL

The Aerie School of Professional Wrestling—Bel Air, Maryland

April 22, 2024, 1:41 p.m. local time

 

“Time!”

Both students in the ring stepped back to their respective corners as I climbed up onto the apron and stepped between the ropes. “Mister Garcia, nice recovery and improvisation. If I was a casual watcher I’d never have expected it. Mister Russell, good on you for being ready to work around it. That’s all for today; same time next week?”

Both young men nodded and left the ring as I remained in the center of it, looking around. The gym was emptier than normal, as the nice spring weather had most people out enjoying the outdoors. Plus things had slowed down a little since The League had begun, and I knew I was to blame for that. What was planned to be a two, maybe three season stint is about to start its fifth season in a month or so as things seemed to just continue to fall The League’s way. The YouTube deal, along with other sponsorships, actually had The League decently in the black. I wasn’t about to stop that momentum knowing that this was really the last dance for this idea under my banner.

In a few hours, the Omega Division crew would descend on The Aerie, and we’d have another round or maybe two of matches as the postseason continued. But my mind wasn’t on what was impending. It wasn’t even on the sudden twists that week fourteen had taken, denying Nocturne and Kichi Hida promotion berths when they seemed to have things under control earlier in the season.

No. My attention was turned to the top part of The League, and more specifically, the two-time League Champion. Here was a man whose bruised ego could smother The League and doom it to perish for good. That interview he was on this morning did The League no favors in the positive media department. Last I checked, telling someone you watched a man die in Reno went out of fashion with the late Johnny Cash. Fates alone only knew what sort of twisted individuals would be watching The League now, hoping to see that happen before their very eyes.

Yes. I have that little faith in humanity as a whole.

This was a situation I was going to have to be careful with. Templeton had put me in a bad spot, and any number of reactions would be devastating for the perception of The League. A hasty reaction would do none of us any good.

Not for the first time in the last few months, my mind wandered to another idea, hare-brained as it was. If Templeton only respects force…why not give it to him?

No. I promised Tori when Carnage shut down for good that I was done. I was done chasing the glory, the spotlight. There were any number of folks who relied on me now to be their mentor, to guide them into the same realm that I had been a part of for over twenty years now. One of them had even made a name for herself in the Delta Division.

My in-ring days were done, and I had no regrets.

My body was on auto-pilot as the two students I had just dismissed left the locker room and left the building. I was alone in a gym, three wrestling rings set up, one surrounded by an old-school steel cage. Everything I could ever want I had within a quarter-mile of me. This school, The League, a friend and kindred spirit, my wife, and our two children. A far cry from the “working poor” life I endured growing up not even a mile from this spot.

Any further ruminations were interrupted by my right-hand-woman entering The Aerie. Marriage and reclaiming her motherhood had done Amelia a world of favors. The brooding, taciturn woman who was our twentieth member of The League in Season Seven was gone, replaced by a woman who lived for her daughter and her hubby. If I hadn’t witnessed the turnaround myself I’d never have believed it.

It’s the look on her face that strikes me a worrisome as she comes to within speaking range. “Will, we’ve got a problem.”

“Look, Amelia, I told you. I’ve got ninety-nine pro—”

“I’m being serious, Will. I sent you a link on your phone. Go grab it and take a look.”

For Amelia to interrupt an attempt at humor…that’s not good. Leaving the ring, I jogged back to my office, grabbing my cell phone off the desk. Several missed emails, a voicemail from an unknown number, and finally the link Amelia had mentioned. A few quick taps on the screen brought the video embedded in the article into motion.

“Yes, Steve, I’m standing outside a hotel here in Newark, New Jersey, and the scene behind me, as you can tell, is unsettled at best. Authorities state that hotel employees were asked to deliver a meal to one of the guests in the hotel, and when no one answered, management went inside to find one person unconscious with multiple bruises, and blood splattered throughout the room.

“Authorities state that 29-year-old William Stennick was rushed to the hospital, and treated for multiple contusions of the face and a grade-3 concussion. He is in serious but stable condition.

“Newark police currently are investigating the crime, and have refused further comment at this time as they attempt to track down persons of interest.”

The normal outro and transition by the newscasters went unheard as Amelia walked into Will’s office. She was first to speak. “How many knew he was in Newark preparing for a flight west?”

“I certainly didn’t. You may have been the only one since you helped set up transportation, right?”

“Yeah. He had been complaining of headaches recently so I offered to set the flights up as a favor to him. Let him get home and have time to recover before next season. But Will…that sounds like someone deliberately assaulted him.”

“It does, yes.”

“…are you thinking what I’m—”

“Not a word, Amelia.”

“But—”

“Not. Another. Word. If you’re going to trust me on only one thing ever, do it now. Head home, talk in person to Terry. All of us in the inner circle—you, Tori, and I—need to discuss things with him in person. Let him pick a place and time and let us know. I’ll explain then.”

She nodded, spinning on her heels and taking off like a shot out of The Aerie. The last time I had seen that look on her face, it was when a gang had beaten her to within a hair’s breadth of her life. She knew I was worried, and had good reason to be. This wasn’t some random act of violence. No…this was sent as a message, specifically to those of us in The League. The fact that most of the damage was focused on the head instead of the body screamed it to me.

Most people wouldn’t know the name William Stennick. He wanted it that way. Most people around here knew him by the name he’d borne to the ring both in Japan and in The League, and now I was going to have to do some creative division manipulation once again. Grade-3 concussions were no joke, and I wanted to give him all the time he needed to recover.

The Beta Division could get by for a season without The Mastodon, especially given the alternative was losing him permanently due to rushing him back.

Biting back an expletive, I sat down at my computer and started looking at the layout of the divisions. I was going to need a few backup plans ready just in case this ended up being the first of a wave of injuries this off-season.

\___(^)___/

Annie’s Playground, Bel Air, Maryland

April 22, 2024, 4:18 p.m.

“You said you needed to see all of us in person, Will?”

“I did, Terry. Thanks, and thanks for thinking of this spot so we can let the kids play while we handle business away from possible prying ears.”

“Do I need to—”

“No. You’re the one I actually want most in this conversation.”

“Will, you’re starting to scare me.”

“Hon, I’m sorry,” I replied, turning to look at my wife. “But this situation may be getting out of hand and I want to try to get ahead of it before we lose everything.”

“It can’t be that bad, can it?”

I shifted my gaze, going between Tori and Terry to her left. “Remember the situation with the Callonis?”

Tori paled a bit and I saw Terry’s shoulders tense up. Amelia didn’t understand the question but saw that it had affected her husband, and turned to me.

“Before your time here, Amelia. Long story short, sometime around 2011, an Italian mob group tried to blackmail me, they alienated my then-wife from me, got her pregnant, and then after their leader was killed by the police while trying to off me, she had a mental break and ended her own life immediately after the divorce was decreed, there in the courtroom. All of that could be traced back to one Italian family of criminals who thought that by blackmailing me, they could make a bunch of money betting on professional wrestling.”

“And you survived all of this?”

“Barely. Tori was the one who had to mentally and emotionally stitch me together. Physically, aside from a flak jacket bruise, I was fine. And somewhere in the midst of all of that, the first six seasons of The League were run, too. I didn’t have a choice but to survive.”

“So how does all of that link to this?”

“I’ll answer that, dear,” Terry chimed in as he squeezed Amelia’s hand. “What Will is very carefully not saying is that he suspects a certain someone’s friends, of Italian origin, to be behind the beatdown that The Mastodon received in his hotel room.”

I knew my face scrunched at hearing it out loud from someone other than me, and I’m fairly certain my face lightened a shade or two as well. Thankfully, Amelia didn’t seem to notice. “So why isn’t he saying it?”

“You never know who might be listening, or where. That’s why he wanted us to meet somewhere public. Less chance of someone overhearing, and in public there’s less chance of someone trying to make a spectacle of things. It doesn’t hurt to be overcautious. Will knows that from experience. Plus this way he can say with a clean conscience that those words never left his lips.”

An uneasy silence settled over the four. A few yards away, Melody was playing ring-around-the-rosy with Elyssa, while Will II tottered along near them. All three were within sight of the elder Will and Tori, the latter of whom never took her eyes off the children.

The silence was broken a few moments later by Amelia again. “So now what?”

“Now we start shoring up our defenses. It may be too late to simply get rid of his manager; that’s a ticket to mutually assured destruction. Same if we do anything to him. But we can prevent The League as a whole from falling under their crosshairs. If we can direct them down certain paths, ones that we’ve prepared and are ready for, we’ll be in fine shape to prevent further problems and maybe even counterattack as well.”

“And how do we do that?”

Something must have shown on my face as Terry and Tori both glared at me. My wife spoke first. “No. You said you were done. You have a family now!”

“She’s right, Will. You can’t think only about yourself. Elyssa, Will, and Tori are going to be affected by this.”

“I know this. But y’all are not aware of the entire story.” That’s when I grabbed my phone and played the voicemail from the unknown number.

A stunned silence followed the minute-long voicemail, finally broken by Tori. “So…that’s it? They’re determined to come after you physically?”

“It sounds like it.”

Tori let out a most-unladylike exclamation. Terry, ever the professional, added, “We have to presume they’re going to be serious about this. We also have to presume that both the local and county police are compromised. We may have to go to the state level, even the feds.”

The words sat sourly in my stomach as I heard them. This would be the certain doom of The League. No one would want to stick around after this. Maybe he had already won.

But, perhaps there was hope yet...

“Or...fine, we still go to higher-ups, Terry. But we play a stalling tactic. We work on agitating them enough that they slip and make a mistake. And then we execute the Rook’s Gambit to perfection.”

“Will, no!”

“Tori. Love, please, listen. They won’t bite any other way. It has to be me. Otherwise, they come after you and the kids to get to me and I will be cold and stiff in the ground before that happens!”

Another long, uncomfortable silence followed before Tori spoke. “You haven’t even wrestled in four years in a competitive match. You’d be no match for him!”

My shoulders shook in a silent chuckle, and Amelia caught sight of it and laughed. “You have something up your sleeve, don’t you, Will?”

“I do. It’s high time I cashed in a few favors. And you forget, hon...what do we collectively own here in town?  Would y'all mind giving me a minute or two alone? Go ahead and round up the little ones, I’ll treat for ice cream at the Arctic Circle. I have a phone call or two to make.”

The group split up—with Tori looking worriedly at me—as I pulled my phone out of a pocket and dialed a phone number from memory. Five seconds later…

“Wilson.”

“Thirteen years ago, I did your department a professional favor, as a personal one to my then-fiancee. I never planned to cash this marker in, not after what it cost Elyssa…but I have to now.”

A pause, then the male voice responded. “It’s about damn time, Mr. Prydor. We’ll be in touch tomorrow. Expect us.”

The call dropped without further warning, and I heaved a sigh. That was one part. Once again, I dialed a number from memory, since it was one of about four dozen numbers I did not want leaked to the public if anything ever happened to my phone. One ring became two, became three before the call connected, to a different voice. “Start talking, it’s your quarter.”

“It’s Will. I need you to spread the word around on the quiet. I need everyone—all five divisions, with one lone exception—to whip me back into fighting shape over the next couple of months. You’re essentially the locker room leader here, that’s why I’m coming to you.”

“Finally going to do something about the top dog, boss?”

“Gonna try. This has gone on too long with me turning the other cheek.”

“All right. Better late than never.”

“I know. Believe me, I’m kicking myself over it.”

“I’ll spread the word. See ya soon, boss.” That call disconnected without fanfare as well.

The dice were cast. The opposition wanted to bring out their big guns, and threaten my family?

It was time that turnabout became fair play. For when the opposition decided to take action, they’d find that nothing they had expected would be the same. They wouldn’t find someone reeling and trying to react to the unexpected.

They would find a fully-prepared and willing-to-fight William Prydor waiting. I may not carry the moniker of The Phoenix any longer, but the same heart still beat in my chest. The same will still burned in my chest.

And those who made the mistake of threatening my heart, my very reason for life?

They would soon come to regret it. For I would see it done.

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

And now, the behind-the-curtain portion of this post.

 

There were some changes to the expected divisions, given the pending returns of Daniel Simmons to Gamma and Erick Gibson to Delta that were not accounted for in the closing weeks of Season Eleven. The addition of Simmons to Gamma meant that Lance Heartilly, who finished sixth in the division, was sent back to Delta to make room for Simmons to return, and Gibson’s return (essentially in place of Sterling Silver) combined with Heartilly’s added drop to Delta meant that Nocturne was also bumped out of Delta due to the glut of PCs in the division.

With the sudden hospitalization of The Mastodon, Nocturne gets that spot back as things open up from Beta and trickle down. The current division structure looks like this, with around a month of the off-season remaining:

ALPHA DIVISION

Nuclear Templeton (defending champion)

George Mastachas

Brandy McDonald

Brian Blackfield

Jean-Paul Ouilette

Mel O’Hallister

Lucas Molina (promoted from Beta)

Christian Priest (promoted from Beta)

 

BETA DIVISION

De’siree Mitchell (relegated from Alpha)

Reverend Johnny Gross

Yoshii Nakamatsu

Billy Norris

Angela Wassermann

Pulsar (avoids relegation due to this event)

Monty Dhillon (promoted from Gamma)

Diego Rodriguez (promoted from Gamma)

 

GAMMA DIVISION

Blood River (relegated from Gamma)

Kichi Hida

Indigo Rose

Big Scott Weathers

Daniel Simmons (returning from bereavement)

Lance Heartilly (retains Gamma position due to this event)

Rock Sheridan (promoted from Delta)

Leon de Ramos (promoted from Delta)

 

DELTA DIVISION

Markus Clay (relegated from Gamma)

Terrance Stevens (relegated from Gamma)

Nocturne (keeps her spot in Delta as result of this event)

Diamond

Scott Stevens

Mickey Steele

George Stevens

Erick Gibson (returning from averting hostile takeover of company)

[ShadowedFlames]

Been slowly puttering away at Omega rounds, in another night or two I should be to the point where I’m ready for another update as I’ll be 2/3 complete. At least, that is the hope. 

Work currently has me mentally run ragged so at night my attention span for League stuff is a bit low. I’ve been barely able to get two rounds of Omega stuff done the last two nights when normally four or five in the norm. This is what happens when you’re down half your staff and for two days you were the only person in a 4-person unit who was actually at work due to a myriad of reasons.

[Eternal Phoenix]

On 4/30/2024 at 12:29 PM, ShadowedFlames said:

Been slowly puttering away at Omega rounds, in another night or two I should be to the point where I’m ready for another update as I’ll be 2/3 complete. At least, that is the hope. 

Work currently has me mentally run ragged so at night my attention span for League stuff is a bit low. I’ve been barely able to get two rounds of Omega stuff done the last two nights when normally four or five in the norm. This is what happens when you’re down half your staff and for two days you were the only person in a 4-person unit who was actually at work due to a myriad of reasons.

You can be sure that we patiently await it.

[ShadowedFlames]

15 hours ago, Eternal Phoenix said:

You can be sure that we patiently await it.

I have it written up, but I spent the weekend either napping or hyper-focused on FF7 Rebirth and trying to finish a near-100% run. (At 107 hours and counting as I’m knocking out side content now.)

Posting this to make myself publicly accountable; Omega update will be posted after work tonight.

[ShadowedFlames]

Season Eleven Omega Standings: After 15 of 23 rounds

1. Rebecca Solomon: 12-3, 11:17.750. Current OVR + 3.36, XP + 1005.09

2. Terra Harding: 12-3, 10:46.167. Current OVR + 3.36, XP + 1005.09

3. Jun Onoo: 11-4, 8:12.909. Current OVR + 2.71, XP + 945.97

4. “Dirty” John Murdoch: 11-4, 11:12.000. Current OVR + 2.71, XP + 945.97

5. Nora Blackfield: 10-5, 13:15.100. Current OVR + 2.06, XP + 886.85

6. Sakura Uematsu: 9-6, 9:59.889. Current OVR + 1.41, XP + 827.72

7. Dan Lewis: 9-6, 10:41.333. Current OVR + 1.41, XP + 827.72

8. Rhys Caddell: 9-6, 11:29.444. Current OVR + 1.41, XP + 827.72

9. D.J. Calypso: 8-7, 8:19.500. Current OVR + 0.77, XP + 768.60

10. Jimmy Anarchy: 8-7, 9:21.750. Current OVR + 0.77, XP + 768.60

11. Apollo Stone: 8-7, 9:48.375. Current OVR + 0.77, XP + 768.60

12. Sin: 7-8, 10:46.286. Current OVR + 0.12, XP + 709.48

13. Otto von Schwarz: 7-8, 13:39.000. Current OVR + 0.12, XP + 709.48

14. Kyler den Boen: 7-8, 13:38.857. Current OVR + 0.12, XP + 709.48

15. Vaea: 6-9, 9:23.167. Current OVR - 0.53, XP + 650.35

16. Selene Luneweaver: 6-9, 10:05.500. Current OVR - 0.53, XP + 650.35

17. The Siberian Nightmare: 6-9, 12:38.500. Current OVR - 0.53, XP + 650.35

18. Vladimir Chavinski: 6-9, 12:40.667. Current OVR - 0.53, XP + 650.35

19. Devil’s Delight: 5-10, 7:05.600. Current OVR - 1.18, XP + 591.23

20. El Tornado: 5-10, 7:39.000. Current OVR - 1.18, XP + 591.23

21. Elyssa Anderson: 5-10, 8:32.600. Current OVR - 1.18, XP + 591.23

22. Joslin Baroni: 5-10, 10:29.600. Current OVR - 1.18, XP + 591.23

23. Sven Ulafsson: 4-11, 11:24.000. Current OVR - 1.83, XP + 532.11

24. Lord Robert Abernathy: 4-11, 11:36.750. Current OVR - 1.83, XP + 532.11

 

Shadowed’s Notes:

I mentioned in the last Omega update that Joslin Baroni should have a better record. That continues to be true as she had three wins taken from her by folks kicking out of an 850+ Chance to Finish in the second trimester. To be fair, she did have one of her own finishers kicked out of as well, so a lot of people kicking out of finishers in the Omega Division this season. With eight matches remaining, if she doesn’t win four of them I will be surprised. By all rights she should be in the 9- to 10-win range at this moment.

Solomon beat Harding in the second round of the rotation, and has kept doing her thing as Harding has stumbled in the second trimester. The former Devil’s Angel has lost to Vladimir Chavinski (round 4), Rhys Caddell (round 5), and to her sister, Devil’s Delight (round 9). Harding lost to Solomon in round 2, then Nora Blackfield (round 14) and Jimmy Anarchy (round 15). The latter was the third-to-last match run before this update was penned.

The top five feature two technical wrestlers (Solomon and N. Blackfield), a daredevil aerialist (Harding), a hulking brute (Onoo), and an old-school cheating heel (Murdoch).

Speaking of Murdoch, it should be noted that he actually won a match with a Fireball. Yes, the ref was down when he used it, but recovered to count the pinfall. I marked out a little in my recliner when I saw the result.

Realistically, it’s the top five who are looking to win the division. With eight matches remaining each, it’s an acceptable stretch to move that to the folks at 9 wins at the moment, but not much lower than that.

BIGGEST SURPRISES: Terra Harding, Jun Onoo, Sin. Terra has been surprisingly consistent for a high-flyer, and does not have the OVR advantage that Sterling Silver did in Omega when she won the division. Onoo has been on a tear this off-season, and I had him solidly at 6 or 7 wins at this point. Sin is the biggest surprise to me, as I expected her to be in the four-to-five-win category. Seven is a pleasant surprise, and I think a lot of that can be attributed to a slight tweak in her finisher, where her double-arm DDT finisher was reimagined to be done with the opponent kneeling and thus opening it up to more people being at risk of being hit with it.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS: Selene Luneweaver, Vaea, Elyssa Anderson. Selene should have been doing decently—she’s a flier like Terra—but she’s had a hard time getting started in matches. With Delta’s ruleset, that’s usually disaster. Vaea feels like he should be doing better—a big, brutish Samoan savage, how can that go wrong?!—but yet the results have skewed in the opposite direction. Anderson is supposed to be a cruiserweight, but has been on the wrong end of beatdowns several times this offseason. Hers may be a stat set that gets respecced next offseason like Devil’s Delight did.

Longest match of the Omega Division: 32:34 in Round 8. Otto von Schwarz def. Kyler den Boen.

Shortest match: 3:38 in Round 9. Devil’s Delight upsets her big sister Rebecca Solomon.

[SeanMcG]

11 hours ago, ShadowedFlames said:

Speaking of Murdoch, it should be noted that he actually won a match with a Fireball. Yes, the ref was down when he used it, but recovered to count the pinfall. I marked out a little in my recliner when I saw the result.

You love to see it 😂

[ShadowedFlames]

121 hours later, I’m finally finished the story and most of the side content of FF7 Rebirth.

Tomorrow is the rest of Omega before going to another game in my backlog to take a breather from Action RPGs (before I debate on going for all the trophies).

The second half of The League’s Fourth Interlude is written, I will post it sometime this week as in-universe the events are happening right now and I’m not about to post something that is future-dated. Doctor Who, this is not.

[ShadowedFlames]

THE LEAGUE, FOURTH INTERLUDE PART TWO: OPPRESSION

Hogan Social Club, Allentown, Pennsylvania

May 10, 2024, 4:11 p.m. local time

 

Just off the major streets of Allentown, tucked away on Jackson Street, a small Irish pub could be found. Normally open to the public, this place was more of a cozy bar, the kind you’d expect to see in an American sitcom or the like. Today, however, the building was closed to the public. One Mel O’Hallister, known for his time in The League, was hosting a wake in the bar for his long-time friend who had succumbed to a heart issue a week after The League’s eleventh season ended.

This was no somber gathering. Far from it. Mel, in his usual manner, had the folks in the bar laughing uproariously at stories of he and his friend from back in the day. Others would chime in with their own stories, and for a spell O’Hallister could put his professional troubles behind him—his increasing struggles in the Alpha Division, the ever-growing threat of Nuclear Templeton, and likely the toughest season yet with the arrival of Christian Priest and Lucas Molina into the division. No, tonight was not a night for the professional wrestler and amateur bar brawler. Tonight was a night for Mel Patrick O’Hallister to pay homage to his friend, and remember him in the way that the Irish are known for.

The wake had started at one o’clock, and was still in full swing when the doors to the bar opened. The noise gradually but quickly died down, as it was understood that those doors were locked. The bar’s owner called out from behind the counter, “Sorry, folks. We’re closed today for a private gathering.”

Of the three men who entered, the one in front, who looked like he could be a body double for George Mastachas, simply shrugged. “We want no trouble. We just want to talk with Mister O’Hallister. We’ll even take the conversation outside so that we’re not disrupting things further.”

“E’en if I knew ye,” Mel called from his seat at the corner of the bar, “which I din’t, I ain’t talkin’ today.”

“I’m afraid that my associates are rather…insistent, Mister O’Hallister.”

“Lads, read the bloody room. Surely ye dinnae think that this ends well for ye, aye?”

The leader of these interlopers took a moment to look around. There were easily twenty or more people in the room, and not a single one was giving them a friendly look. More than half of them looked ready to throw hands at even the slightest provocation. He, as well as both of his counterparts, were rather impressive physical specimens, but even they would be hard-pressed being outnumbered five-to-one.

Besides, there were better places to do this than in public.

“You…have a point, Mister O’Hallister. But rest assured, we will be in touch again soon.”

“O’er me bloody corpse ye will,” Mel said as his attention left the three men. “I’m sure ye can show yerselves the door.”

The room remained silent until the three men had left the bar, and the bar’s owner stepped out from behind the counter to make sure the doors were properly locked this time. Slowly, the conversation n the room picked up again, but a damper had been put on the gathering in general, and everyone seemed to know it. Twenty minutes later, the bar’s owner made the announcement for last call, and within an hour the bar had emptied, save for the owner and Mel himself. There was no worry about drunk driving here, as Mel lived two blocks away and could easily walk himself home, but still Mel found himself hesitant about leaving immediately.

The owner, who considered Mel one of his best patrons if not a friend in his own right, was quick to pick up on it. “You’ve got a look like you know those guys who came in here, Mel.”

“Nay, not them precisely. I know the type, and their bleedin’ accent made sure of it.”

“I normally am good at picking up traces of accents, but I missed theirs.”

“’Ell, Pete. Ye ever seen The Godfather?”

The owner’s eyebrows raised at that. “You mean…?”

“Aye. And while I cannae be certain, methinks I can name their ‘associate’ in one go.”

“Should I call the police?”

“Would nae do any good. They’re likely bought.”

“So what do we do?”

“Ye should probably move stuff into the cellar. The booze, anythin’ that may catch fire that ye want to save.”

“Surely you’re not serious?”

“I am. And me name’s not Shirley ya daft fool. Those men, or more like ‘em, already put another wrestler in hospital. Likely, they’re comin’ fer me next, and ye by way of runnin’ interference when they showed up. Better safe than sorry, Pete.”

“...hmm. Mind giving me a hand then?”

“Reckon I could, aye.”

It turned out, in the end, that Mel had the right idea.

 

\___(^)___/

 

Residence of Mel O’Hallister, Allentown, Pennsylvania

May 11, 2024, 12:31 a.m. local time

 

He knew they would be coming for him, and he was right.

The faint “click” of the back door being opened from the outside was his only warning. He was on his feet in a moment, a stout stick that he occasionally had to use as a makeshift cane in his hand and his back to the wall, ready to strike. The first man in black got halfway through the doorway and was promptly dropped as the small end of the stick got driven into his throat. He staggered back into his companions, and after a second or two to move around him the second man came into the doorway. He was met by an overhead swing of the stick, and a crack as the arm he had raised preemptively to ward off the blow suffered a broken bone. The burly man continued in undeterred, and Mel found himself having to get away from the wall to deal with multiple threats. The third man to enter the room ducked around the second, looking ready to fend off a stick attack, and instead got a kick to the groin for his trouble. The second man took the advantage while the third was otherwise indisposed and connected with a left-handed haymaker. It didn’t seem to bother Mel in the slightest, as the Irishman let off a right to the gut that drove some of the wind from the larger man.

However, this was a distraction. As Mel’s attention was focused on the man with the presumably broken arm, a fourth had entered the room and quickly flanked Mel. A collapsible baton was produced, and connected with the back of Mel’s right knee with enough force that it took Mel off his feet. Even someone as tough and stubborn as O’Hallister had no chance from the ground against multiple assailants.

The last thing O’Hallister heard before the blackness of oblivion claimed him was simply, “The Oppressor sends his regards.”

 

\___(^)___/

 

Article in The Morning Call (Allentown, PA) – May 12, 2024, Main section, page 4

Fire destroys building, leaves seven homeless

Erin Green, exclusive to The Morning Call

ALLENTOWN—a building fire in the 600 block of Jackson Street has left two families without shelter and one business closed.

Police state that the fire was concentrated in the lower floors of the building, home to the Hogan Social Club, a local Irish pub. The fire caused the two families who lived above the business to evacuate. No injuries have been reported at this time.

The Allentown Fire Marshall provided no comment when asked if foul play was suspected in the blaze.

 

Article in The Morning Call (Allentown, PA) – May 12, 2024, Sports section, Front Page (below the fold)

Local wrestler found beaten in residence

Shawn Maxwell, exclusive to The Morning Call

ALLENTOWN—Paramedics were called to the 100 block of South 10th Street in the wee hours Saturday morning, to discover what was reported as a “gruesome sight.”

Police state that 31-year-old Mel O’Hallister, a professional wrestler most commonly known for his time with “The League” in Baltimore, Maryland, was rushed to the hospital after being discovered beaten unconscious in his residence. Medical staff at St. Luke’s Hospital in Allentown treated O’Hallister for three broken ribs, a minor concussion, and soft tissue damage to the right knee. He is listed in serious but stable condition at this time.

O’Hallister has had some success in The League, as he is one-half of the promotion’s former tag team champions during Season Nine, and has competed in the top-most division in the promotion after Season Eight where he has been a tough opponent for many, most notably the promotion’s two-time and currently reigning champion, Nuclear Templeton.

A representative from The League was not available to provide comment as of the time of this article.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Injuries force two more vacancies, changes to Season Eleven lineups

League Commissioner Will Prydor certainly looked like he had seen better days as he released a recorded statement on The League’s official YouTube channel earlier today.

Prydor, who looked like he had been awake the entirety of the night before, issued the following statement.

“Earlier in the offseason, it was reported that The Mastodon would miss this upcoming season after being assaulted in his hotel room while on the way to the airport. Last night, I was notified of two more wrestlers who will be missing the upcoming season, if not longer.

“I’ll start with the more widely-reported story—that of Mel O’Hallister. Mel was savagely beaten in his own home less than forty-eight hours ago, and medical staff inform me that it may take Mel until the fall to fully recover. A loss of one of the competitors in the Alpha Division is already going to cause shockwaves throughout the entire League as people are shuffled to maintain division parity. I had just gotten the revised division rosters to an acceptable point when I was directly contacted by another member of The League. That’s when I was informed of what is now our third injury this offseason.

“Big Scott Weathers was involved in a vehicular accident yesterday evening, and suffered a sprained shoulder and whiplash. Medical staff have advised him to skip the upcoming season, and as I like to believe that I have the longer-term health of The League’s wrestlers in mind, I told him I had no problems with allowing him time to heal up.

“We already had to make one adjustment with a loss in the Beta Division. Now we have spots in the Alpha and Gamma Divisions to contend with, as well, and that Alpha Division spot cascades down through the rest of The League and is going to cause me another headache at the end of next season if Mastodon and O’Hallister are cleared to return. But that is a problem for future me. For the present, the following changes are made to the divisions, barring any further injuries:

“In the Alpha Division, with the person who would have been spared relegation already injured (The Mastodon), the third-place person in Beta is promoted instead. Reverend Johnny Gross will compete in Alpha next season.

“Gross’s spot in the Beta Division will likewise be filled by the Gamma Division’s third-place finisher, as Pulsar has already been saved from relegation to fill Mastodon’s spot in the division. So for the second season in a row, Kichi Hida moves up a division from a third-place finish.

“With Hida’s new promotion, as well as Weathers’ injury, there are two vacancies to fill in the Gamma Division. One goes to Markus Clay, who finished seventh in the division last season, and as such he is granted a reprieve from relegation. That still leaves one spot open, and as established by precedent, last season’s third-place finisher in Delta would fill that spot. Thus, Nocturne is also promoted to Gamma.

“This leaves two holes in the Delta Division that are reserved either for new signings or for top finishers in the Omega Division, the results of which will be disclosed when the preseason officially ends.”

Prydor, in something that seemed out of character for the League Commissioner, then addressed a different issue.

“Finally, I’m going to put this out there in the public for people to know. I normally dislike airing The League’s dirty laundry in public, so to speak, but certain individuals currently employed by The League have taken it upon themselves to try to portray The League in a negative light with their media appearances. I am not of the ‘any press is good press’ mentality, and I for one will be keeping a keen eye and a sharp ear out over the next few weeks and months. It doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie in their first season in The League, or someone who has been here from the jump and should know better. If you do anything that could reflect in The League suffering a reputation hit or even outright closing…I will not hesitate to correct course in whatever manner is necessary. Make of that how you will.”

Season Twelve of The League is currently scheduled to begin on June 7, 2024 from The Aerie.

 

UPDATED DIVISION ROSTERS FOR SEASON TWELVE

ALPHA DIVISION

Nuclear Templeton (reigning two-time champion)

George Mastachas

Brandy McDonald

Brian Blackfield

Jean-Paul Ouilette

Lucas Molina (promoted from Beta)

Christian Priest (promoted from Beta)

Reverend Johnny Gross (promoted from Beta as a result of injury to Mel O’Hallister)

 

BETA DIVISION

De’siree Mitchell (relegated from Alpha)

Yoshii Nakamatsu

Billy Norris

Angela Wassermann

Pulsar

Monty Dhillon (promoted from Gamma)

Diego Rodriguez (promoted from Gamma)

Kichi Hida (promoted from Gamma as result of Mel O’Hallister injury)

 

GAMMA DIVISION

Blood River (relegated from Beta)

Indigo Rose

Lance Heartilly

Daniel Simmons

Markus Clay (avoids relegation due to Mel O’Hallister injury)

Rock Sheridan (promoted from Delta)

Leon de Ramos (promoted from Delta)

Nocturne (promoted from Delta as result of Big Scott Weathers injury)

 

DELTA DIVISION

Terrance Stevens (relegated from Gamma)

Diamond

Scott Stevens

Mickey Steele

George Stevens

Erick Gibson

New Signing #2/Omega Division Champion (as result of Mel O’Hallister injury)

New Signing #1/Omega Division Runner-up (as result of Big Scott Weathers injury)

 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 

Behind the curtain chat time again:

No more injuries/GMPCs taking a rest are scheduled. Just Mastodon, O’Hallister, and Weathers failed their rolls. Admittedly, I had to do the rolls twice as the first time was done before taking Season Eleven’s damages into account. (I flubbed the order of operations.) On the reroll two of the three were added and I decided at that point to make both rolls canon. So three injuries all told, and the divisions listed above will be what we have moving into Season Twelve barring something like a PC wanting to leave and take their character(s) out of The League altogether.

The manner in which two of those injuries I rattled off above were written as designed. I will say no more on the matter, as plans are currently in the works for this to be expanded on during the upcoming season.

Just like I can point to a spot on the map and say “this is where The Aerie is in my version of the world,” I’ve done something similar with Hogan Social Club. It’s a legit place in Allentown and I occasionally drive past it if I’m taking a certain route home from work, but the actual address I use above does not actually exist. I’ve also never been in the building so the physical location and the details I provided are used fictitiously.

GMPC moveset regens have been completed as well. Indigo Rose and Lance Heartilly both got customized movesets that are locked through Season 14, Daniel Simmons got his updated set that he rolled last season, George Mastachas and Blood River also have updated sets, and The Mastodon will get one on his return as well. The biggest task left for me to do at this point is finish TP assignments for the GMPC crew and get them entered in the spreadsheet/game database. But I have like three weeks to get that done.

A June 7 start puts the end of Season Twelve around September 13, which is just in time for me to be dealing with the annual “is my lease being renewed and how much of a rent increase am I getting shafted for?” ritual. (Just in time also for the two-year anniversary of this thread!) As long as nothing drastic changes with my housing situation at that time, a potential Season Thirteen would be starting around the first weekend in November and running into February 2025.

[ShadowedFlames]

General notice for players:

If you’re looking to have a PC’s moveset regenerated, letting me know earlier rather than later would be best.

I have a standing order for one PC’s moveset to be redone, which I intend to manage sometime this upcoming weekend since I still have notes from the last time that still apply. I do not believe I have any others pending but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on that and I’ll add it to the workload this weekend.

EDITED TO ADD: GMPC traits/TP assigning are done and are in both the spreadsheet and database. Aside from PC changes, the last big tasks in front of me are updating my template for current status to reflect this season’s injuries and to actually remember to get missing pictures I need onto my Imgur to use in this thread.

EDIT THE SECOND: The two players/three characters who have already asked for a moveset refresh have updated lists to look over for their approval and the inevitable trimming thereof.

Edited May 19 by ShadowedFlames

[ShadowedFlames]

During the bane of office workers everywhere—the “meeting that should have just been an email”—I’ve managed to finish the schedule.

EP elected to take the scheduling option for his prediction win by skewing Lucas Molina’s matches to be heavily submission-based, and both in the second half of the season. The random draws afterward gave JPO both of his in the opening three weeks to balance things.

The summarized versions:

ALPHA

No Tables or European bouts, otherwise a balanced spread. A critical matchup in week 10 sees Nuclear face Lucas Molina in a Submission match that could have massive ramifications on the League Championship race as the highlight of the eight gimmick matches in the division.

BETA

The random draw was not kind to Angela Wassermann. Both of her gimmick bouts are against Monty Dhillon (Submission, Last One Standing). No Hardcore bouts in this division, and Week 9 looks to be interesting as both a Submission match and a European Rules match are scheduled.

GAMMA

Apparently all of Beta’s Hardcore bouts were given to Gamma. Four of the eight gimmick bouts are Hardcore, and all in the first half. An intriguing match comes in week 10, as the returning Daniel Simmons faces Rock Sheridan in European Rules.

DELTA

Delta is the only division to have at least one of each type of gimmick bout scheduled, only doubling up on First Blood. The RNG elected to tie Scott Stevens at the hip with one of the two currently open spots, as they face each other twice in gimmick bouts (cage and tables). Week 14 hosts Delta’s European rules bout between Terrance Stevens and Erick Gibson.

 

The schedule in its entirety will be released on June 1, at the end of the preseason, at which time the two open spots in Delta will be finalized.

For anyone reading along and debating signing up: the cut off is Friday, May 31 at 9 PM eastern US time.

[Jman2k3]

21 hours ago, ShadowedFlames said:

For anyone reading along and debating signing up: the cut off is Friday, May 31 at 9 PM eastern US time.

Just sign up. It's a lot of fun.

If you like wrestling video games this is for you.

[ShadowedFlames]

Entering the final four rounds of Omega, the top 11 people were still technically eligible to win the division. Realistically, it was more like the top 5. Heading into the twentieth round of competition, the standings were as follows:

Rebecca Solomon held the division lead via a three-way tiebreaker over Terra Harding (2nd) and "Dirty" John Murdoch (3rd) at 14-5. The three each had 1-1 combined records against the other two, so it came down to victory time heading into round 20.

At 13-6, Dan Lewis (4th) held the tiebreaker over Nora Blackfield (5th).

Similarly at 12-7, Rhys Caddell (6th) held the tiebreaker over Jun Onoo (7th).

Sin (8th) had put together a four-match winstreak to break the tie with Sakura Uematsu (9th) at 11-8.

Finally, D.J. Calypso (10th) held the victory time advantage over Otto von Schwarz (11th) at 10-9.

Everyone else was out of the hunt for the division title and as such a shot at making the main roster for Season Eleven.

 

ROUND 20

The first major upset of the week was Sakura Uematsu falling to Lord Robert Abernathy (at the time the last-place wrestler in the division). This was followed up by the first match between two wrestlers still in contention, with Otto von Schwarz finally putting a stop to Sin's win streak. Nora Blackfield put away Jimmy Anarchy in a blistering (for a technicial wrestler) 5:44, only for D.J. Calypso to ruin Jun Onoo's promotion dreams in an even faster 4:01.

Selene Luneweaver upset division leader Rebecca Solomon with a tight Arcane Nimbus (rana pinfall), to the surprise of many. Terra Harding narrowly escaped with a win over Rhys Caddell, Dan Lewis won as well, and in the final match of the round "Dirty" John Murdoch secured a win, officially eliminating Otto von Schwarz, D.J. Calypso, Sakura Uematsu and Sin from promotion contention.

Seven people remain, with Harding having the tiebreaker over Murdoch at the top, as we head into...

 

ROUND 21

Terra Harding opened the round with a hard-fought win over fellow aerialist Joslin Baroni. A John Murdoch win coupled with a Dan Lewis loss put the latter's chances at promotion on life-support, and in the process eliminated Jun Onoo and Rhys Caddell from contention. (Caddell himself would lose later on to Sakura Uematsu to further drive that point home.) It took Rebecca Solomon a bit to get started but she finally managed to submit Otto von Schwarz to remain within striking distance, while in the final match of the round Nora Blackfield had to put in a bit of extra effort to knock off D.J. Calypso.

Going into the penultimate round of the schedule, only five people were in the hunt for at most two transfer spots:

Terra Harding and "Dirty" John Murdoch (16-5) led the division, with Terra having the tie-breaker.

Rebecca Solomon and Nora Blackfield came next (15-6), with Solomon holding the tie-breaker.

Still mathematically eligible, but needing a lot of help, was Dan Lewis (14-7).

 

ROUND 22

Nora Blackfield wasted no time in opening round 22 with a submission victory over Joslin Baroni, in a brisk 6:39. A pivotal match came third in the order, when Lord Robert Abernathy stunned Rebecca Solomon with an implant DDT to score the upset win in just over seven minutes. The next relevant match didn't occur until about 75% of the round was complete, and that was John Murdoch putting himself in control for one of the top two positions with a win over Selene Luneweaver. The next-to-last match saw Dan Lewis' chances be completely eliminated thanks to a stunning sub-five-minute loss to Devil's Delight. Then in the final match of the round, Terra Harding won another battle of aerial wrestlers as she took down El Tornado, which eliminated Rebecca Solomon in the process.

 

ROUND 23

The final round came down to three people vying for potentially two spots.

In the event of a three-way tie, Harding (via victory time) and Murdoch (via head-to-head) would take the top two spots. Nora's only chance was to win, for Murdoch to win, and for Harding to lose...which when looking at the schedule wasn't too unfeasible.

Terra Harding (17-5) would face Otto von Schwarz (11-11).

"Dirty" John Murdoch (17-5) would face Elyssa Anderson (5-17), who was tied for worst record in the Omega Division.

Nora Blackfield (16-6) would be facing El Tornado (8-14), who Harding had beaten in the previous round.

So naturally, these three matches were saved until the end and then held simultaneously in the three rings set up in The Aerie.

Nora Blackfield was done first, having spent only 5:24 to submit El Tornado. She had done her part, and now she turned to watch the action in the other two rings.

Her hopes would be short-lived, however, as five minutes later Terra Harding would come from behind to take down the giant von Schwarz. Harding's win officially eliminated Nora from promotion contention.

The point would be moot three minutes later anyway, as Murdoch took care of his business, though Anderson nearly had him beat on a couple of occasions.

In the end, it would take 18 wins to move onto the main roster, as Harding and Murdoch reach that total, with Harding having the head-to-head tiebreaker. For the second season running, an aerialist wins the Omega Division. Now the question was, could she fare better than Sterling Silver did?

 

FINAL OMEGA DIVISION STANDINGS

(Average Match Length overall: 10:30.871)

1. Terra Harding: 18-5, 10:34.667. OVR +4.88, XP +1517.29

2. “Dirty” John Murdoch: 18-5, 11:01.056. OVR +4.88, XP +1517.29

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

3. Nora Blackfield: 17-6, 11:53.294. OVR +4.23, XP +1458.18

4. Rebecca Solomon: 16-7, 10:44.688. OVR +3.58, XP +1399.06

5. Dan Lewis: 14-9, 11:09.643. OVR +2.29, XP +1280.83

6. Jun Onoo: 14-9, 9:17.929. OVR +2.29, XP +1280.83

7. Sin: 13-10, 10:11.846. OVR +1.65, XP +1221.71

8. Rhys Caddell: 13-10, 11:59.538. OVR +1.65, XP +1221.71

9. D.J. Calypso: 13-10, 8:08.846. OVR +1.65, XP +1221.71

10. Kyler den Boen: 13-10, 12:38.077. OVR +1.65, XP + 1221.71

11. Apollo Stone: 12-11, 9:53.667. OVR +1.00, XP +1162.60

12. Sakura Uematsu: 12-11, 10:03.167. OVR +1.00, XP +1162.60

13. Otto von Schwarz: 11-12, 12:21.000. OVR +0.35, XP +1103.48

14. Jimmy Anarchy: 11-12, 9:42.182. OVR +0.35, XP +1103.48

15. Vladimir Chavinski: 10-13, 12:25.400. OVR -0.29, XP +1044.37

16. Vaea: 10-13, 9:41.400. OVR -0.29, XP +1044.37

17. Selene Luneweaver: 9-14, 11:00.111. OVR -0.94, XP +985.25

18. The Siberian Nightmare: 9-14, 12:12.222. OVR -0.94, XP +985.25

19. Lord Robert Abernathy: 9-14, 10:11.444. OVR -0.94, XP +985.25

20. Joslin Baroni: 8-15, 9:58.250. OVR -1.59, XP +926.14

21. Devil’s Delight: 8-15, 7:06.250. OVR -1.59, XP +926.14

22. El Tornado: 8-15, 7:04.375. OVR -1.59, XP +926.14

23. Elyssa Anderson: 5-18, 8:32.600. OVR -3.53, XP +748.79

24. Sven Ulafsson: 5-18, 10:56.000. OVR -3.53, XP +748.79

 

Next Season’s Omega Division will have 23 participants as it presently stands.

 

The Season Twelve schedule has been entered into the official document, which is found in the second post of the thread, above the current standings.

 

As soon as I finish this post, I'm going to the roster post and updating that with the Season Eleven roster. Any PC changes that I've received before now should be reflected there; please double check me on that as it's all too possible that I missed something. So if you're reading this right after I post (at around 10:37 AM eastern US on June 1), give me a few minutes to actually edit the post before calling me out on stuff. 😛 

 

FINAL DEADLINE FOR CHARACTER UPDATES (TP SPENDING, MOVESETS, ETC.) IS THIS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5 AT 11:59 PM EASTERN US TIME.  After that, characters are locked until the end of Season Twelve.

Also for those interested the League Recordbook (Fastest matches, etc.) have been updated to reflect Season Eleven results and the second-ever regular season 5* MOTY occurrence.

Edited June 1 by ShadowedFlames

[Eternal Phoenix]

For the record, my usual big end of season summary hasn't been done because I've been in Dump Truck Hell for the past month now. My workload has effectively doubled, and I just don't have the energy to do much brain stuff when I go home. 

[ShadowedFlames]

3 hours ago, Eternal Phoenix said:

For the record, my usual big end of season summary hasn't been done because I've been in Dump Truck Hell for the past month now. My workload has effectively doubled, and I just don't have the energy to do much brain stuff when I go home. 

I understand. We’ve been at half-staff capacity for a month, our new hire started last week, and I’m expected to be the primary (almost sole) trainer…and next week we are back to two people only for two weeks—the new hire and me.

The League has been nowhere near the front of my mind recently because by the time I get home, I just want mindless entertainment (whether it be vegging out to YouTube videos, or something a bit more interactive but not as thought-provoking…like Diablo II Resurrected for instance). I’ve had to make conscious effort to get this season ready over the last couple of weeks because everything has been fighting me mentally.

I still plan to get through the season, though a possibility exists that I ease up a little on the effort factor, and revisit things at season’s end regarding a potential Season 13. (After all, the OG League did six seasons under WS2, and the seventh under WS3. We’re close to approaching uncharted territory with seven seasons in a row without a significant breaks.)

 

Formatted card goes up tonight for predictions to begin.

Edited June 3 by ShadowedFlames

[ShadowedFlames]

SEASON TWELVE, WEEK ONE CARD

ALPHA DIVISION

FIRST BLOOD MATCH: (5) Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-0, OVR 518) vs. (3) Brandy McDonald (0-0, OVR 547) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(1) Nuclear Templeton (0-0, OVR 588) vs. (4) Brian Blackfield (0-0, OVR 555) [Career: Nuclear Templeton, 2 - 0]

(7) Christian Priest (0-0, OVR 556) vs. (8) Reverend Johnny Gross (0-0, OVR 510) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(6) Lucas Molina (0-0, OVR 479) vs. (2) George Mastachas (0-0, OVR 560) [First career meeting]

BETA DIVISION

(7) Diego Rodriguez (0-0, OVR 485) vs. (8) Kichi Hida (0-0, OVR 442) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(1) De'siree Mitchell (0-0, OVR 506) vs. (4) Angela Wassermann (0-0, OVR 447) [First career meeting]

(5) Pulsar (0-0, OVR 476) vs. (3) Billy Norris (0-0, OVR 525) [Career: Tied 2 - 2]

(6) Monty Dhillon (0-0, OVR 510) vs. (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-0, OVR 498) [First career meeting]

GAMMA DIVISION

HARDCORE MATCH: (1) Blood River (0-0, OVR 466) vs. (2) Daniel Simmons (0-0, OVR 449) [Career: Daniel Simmons, 2 - 0]

HARDCORE MATCH: (7) Leon de Ramos (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (8) Nocturne (0-0, OVR 415) [Career: Leon de Ramos, 2 - 0]

(4) Markus Clay (0-0, OVR 441) vs. (5) Lance Heartilly (0-0, OVR 431) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(6) Rock Sheridan (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (3) Indigo Rose (0-0, OVR 468) [First career meeting]

DELTA DIVISION

(6) Erick Gibson (0-0, OVR 418) vs. (2) Diamond (0-0, OVR 440) [Career: Tied 3 - 3]

(1) Terrance Stevens (0-0, OVR 437) vs. (4) Mickey Steele (0-0, OVR 409) [First career meeting]

(7) Terra Harding (0-0, OVR 405) vs. (8) "Dirty" John Murdoch (0-0, OVR 405) [First meeting on main roster]

(5) George Stevens (0-0, OVR 393) vs. (3) Scott Stevens (0-0, OVR 397) [Career: Scott Stevens, 2 - 0]

 

CHARACTER UPDATE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 11:59 PM EASTERN US.

PREDICTION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 11:59 PM EASTERN US.

[SeanMcG]

The camera fades in on a dimly lit wrestling ring, the ropes frayed and the mat stained with the battles of the past. The arena is almost empty, save for a few scattered chairs and a solitary spotlight illuminating the center of the ring. The sound of heavy boots echoing on the wooden floor grows louder. "Dirty" John Murdoch steps into the light, his grizzled face and scarred body a testament to decades of hard-fought battles. He wears a faded leather jacket, and his eyes burn with determination.

"Well, well, well... look who's still standin?"

He paces the ring, dragging his fingers along the top rope, eyes glinting with a mixture of nostalgia and defiance.

"You see, some folks are born with silver spoons in their mouths, but not me. I was born with a fist full of grit and a heart full of fight. They call me 'Dirty' for good reason. I didn't get where I am by playin' fair. I got here by scratchin', clawin', and doin' whatever it took to survive."

"For over three decades, I’ve spilled blood, sweat, and tears on this canvas, takin’ on anyone who had the guts to stand across from me. Every scar on this body, every broken bone, every drop of blood spilled… it’s a testament to the life I’ve lived, the wars I’ve fought. They said I was too old, too broken down, that my best days were behind me. But let me tell you somethin', son. You don’t count out a rattlesnake just ’cause he’s got a few more scales. I’m still here! I’m still fightin’! And I’m still the meanest, toughest son of a gun you’ll ever step in the ring with!"

Murdoch steps closer to the camera, his eyes piercing through the lens, as if staring directly into the soul of every viewer.

"To all you young punks out there, thinkin’ you can make a name for yourself by takin’ down an old dog like me, you better think twice. I’ve buried better folks than you, and I’ll do it again without breakin’ a sweat. ‘Cause when you step into the ring with John Murdoch, you’re not just fightin’ a man. You’re fightin’ a legacy! You’re fightin’ every demon I’ve faced, every challenge I’ve overcome, and every ounce of fury that’s kept me goin’ all these years. Simply put, when you're facin' John Murdoch, you're playin' with fire"

John slowly pulls a lighter from his left pocket, as he slyly pulls a piece of flash paper from under his wrist tape - before engulfing the camera's lens into flames of the fireball.

"You're goin' to get burned"

The camera fades out, with the sound of Murdoch's maniacal cackling filling the air, his piercing gaze still visible through the smoke and the flames.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

ALPHA DIVISION

FIRST BLOOD MATCH: (5) Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-0, OVR 518) vs. (3) Brandy McDonald (0-0, OVR 547) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

- Looking forward to see how the new Overall revamp looks for Season 12, going with the more popular Brandy.

(1) Nuclear Templeton (0-0, OVR 588) vs. (4) Brian Blackfield (0-0, OVR 555) [Career: Nuclear Templeton, 2 - 0]

- Backing the champ until otherwise.

(7) Christian Priest (0-0, OVR 556) vs. (8) Reverend Johnny Gross (0-0, OVR 510) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

- Rivalry match to kick off Priest's Alpha debut? Sounds great.

(6) Lucas Molina (0-0, OVR 479) vs. (2) George Mastachas (0-0, OVR 560) [First career meeting]

- Massive opportunity for Molina here against the heir apparent to the title. Win here and he's a contender from the get-go.

BETA DIVISION

(7) Diego Rodriguez (0-0, OVR 485) vs. (8) Kichi Hida (0-0, OVR 442) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

- Diego should be one of the big two here this season.

(1) De'siree Mitchell (0-0, OVR 506) vs. (4) Angela Wassermann (0-0, OVR 447) [First career meeting]

- Mitchell should be a class above. Should.

(5) Pulsar (0-0, OVR 476) vs. (3) Billy Norris (0-0, OVR 525) [Career: Tied 2 - 2]

- Go for the popular one in a coinflip.

(6) Monty Dhillon (0-0, OVR 510) vs. (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-0, OVR 498) [First career meeting]

- Undefeated season again? Doubt it but Monty's still the one to beat.

GAMMA DIVISION

HARDCORE MATCH: (1) Blood River (0-0, OVR 466) vs. (2) Daniel Simmons (0-0, OVR 449) [Career: Daniel Simmons, 2 - 0]

- Picking the record advantage.

HARDCORE MATCH: (7) Leon de Ramos (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (8) Nocturne (0-0, OVR 415) [Career: Leon de Ramos, 2 - 0]

- Same as above, but the match type might throw a spanner into the works.

(4) Markus Clay (0-0, OVR 441) vs. (5) Lance Heartilly (0-0, OVR 431) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

- Bounce back season for Heartilly.

(6) Rock Sheridan (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (3) Indigo Rose (0-0, OVR 468) [First career meeting]

- Rose still one of the top contenders here.

DELTA DIVISION

(6) Erick Gibson (0-0, OVR 418) vs. (2) Diamond (0-0, OVR 440) [Career: Tied 3 - 3]

- The First Lady of the League's too good here.

(1) Terrance Stevens (0-0, OVR 437) vs. (4) Mickey Steele (0-0, OVR 409) [First career meeting]

- STEEEEEEELE JUSTICE to reign supreme.

(7) Terra Harding (0-0, OVR 405) vs. (8) "Dirty" John Murdoch (0-0, OVR 405) [First meeting on main roster]

- Picking the outlaw in the Omega Opener.

(5) George Stevens (0-0, OVR 393) vs. (3) Scott Stevens (0-0, OVR 397) [Career: Scott Stevens, 2 - 0]

- The better Stevens

[Derek B]

Imagine a hype video for The League, every competitor, highlights of high spots, so many people trying to win... but all important compared to the final two shows.  Nuclear hitting the Armageddon Lariat to defeat yet another no hoper and win the League Championship once again.

....

And then a dark shot of Nuclear standing in the wrestling ring of The Nuclear Bunker as we zoom in on his face.  Hr stares angrily down the camera as shadowy figures step in behind him on each side, fine Italian suits barely visible, with very Italian faces hidden by fine Italian hats.  Nuclear growls a warning to the entire roster.

"This. Is. Mine."

 

 

 

SEASON TWELVE, WEEK ONE CARD

ALPHA DIVISION

FIRST BLOOD MATCH: (5) Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-0, OVR 518) vs. (3) Brandy McDonald (0-0, OVR 547) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(1) Nuclear Templeton (0-0, OVR 588) vs. (4) Brian Blackfield (0-0, OVR 555) [Career: Nuclear Templeton, 2 - 0]

(7) Christian Priest (0-0, OVR 556) vs. (8) Reverend Johnny Gross (0-0, OVR 510) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(6) Lucas Molina (0-0, OVR 479) vs. (2) George Mastachas (0-0, OVR 560) [First career meeting]

BETA DIVISION

(7) Diego Rodriguez (0-0, OVR 485) vs. (8) Kichi Hida (0-0, OVR 442) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(1) De'siree Mitchell (0-0, OVR 506) vs. (4) Angela Wassermann (0-0, OVR 447) [First career meeting]

(5) Pulsar (0-0, OVR 476) vs. (3) Billy Norris (0-0, OVR 525) [Career: Tied 2 - 2]

(6) Monty Dhillon (0-0, OVR 510) vs. (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-0, OVR 498) [First career meeting]

GAMMA DIVISION

HARDCORE MATCH: (1) Blood River (0-0, OVR 466) vs. (2) Daniel Simmons (0-0, OVR 449) [Career: Daniel Simmons, 2 - 0]

HARDCORE MATCH: (7) Leon de Ramos (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (8) Nocturne (0-0, OVR 415) [Career: Leon de Ramos, 2 - 0]

(4) Markus Clay (0-0, OVR 441) vs. (5) Lance Heartilly (0-0, OVR 431) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(6) Rock Sheridan (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (3) Indigo Rose (0-0, OVR 468) [First career meeting]

DELTA DIVISION

(6) Erick Gibson (0-0, OVR 418) vs. (2) Diamond (0-0, OVR 440) [Career: Tied 3 - 3]

(1) Terrance Stevens (0-0, OVR 437) vs. (4) Mickey Steele (0-0, OVR 409) [First career meeting]

(7) Terra Harding (0-0, OVR 405) vs. (8) "Dirty" John Murdoch (0-0, OVR 405) [First meeting on main roster]

(5) George Stevens (0-0, OVR 393) vs. (3) Scott Stevens (0-0, OVR 397) [Career: Scott Stevens, 2 - 0]

 

CHARACTER UPDATE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 11:59 PM EASTERN US.

PREDICTION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 11:59 PM EASTERN US.

[Eternal Phoenix]

20k tons of mineral, being dump trucked over from a location at least a half hour drive away, depending on traffic. So probably more. Guess who gets log them, let them in, and let them out? In addition to the normal level of traffic for an industrial plant that ships out product all week? And was built in the 70s, is run by corpo suits (aka cheap ass bastards) and is thusly in a constant state of being repaired or "upgraded" somewhere meaning there are always at least two or three (minimum) different contractors on site? Yes, it's me. Over 100 different vehicles every single goddamn day. At least a third of which will have never seen the place in their lives and thus need instruction on where to go and what to do. I have ADHD and I am an introvert. I am so tired.

 

Moving on, here's some picks without commentary because blehhhhhh. Oh, did I not mention? I'm also the receptionist when people call the plant looking for information or to speak with someone. Who they may not know the name of, because they're salespeople looking to pitch their products and services. So exciting. To be clear, without the dump trucks I love my job. It's pretty great. But the extra 50-60 vehicles per day is killing me, man. The total has broken 80 on a couple of psychotically busy days. 80 dump trucks. In less than 8 hours. Not counting roughly equivalent other traffic. Anyway, how 'bout those picks?

 

ALPHA DIVISION

FIRST BLOOD MATCH: (5) Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-0, OVR 518) vs. (3) Brandy McDonald (0-0, OVR 547) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(1) Nuclear Templeton (0-0, OVR 588) vs. (4) Brian Blackfield (0-0, OVR 555) [Career: Nuclear Templeton, 2 - 0]

(7) Christian Priest (0-0, OVR 556) vs. (8) Reverend Johnny Gross (0-0, OVR 510) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(6) Lucas Molina (0-0, OVR 479) vs. (2) George Mastachas (0-0, OVR 560) [First career meeting]

 

BETA DIVISION

(7) Diego Rodriguez (0-0, OVR 485) vs. (8) Kichi Hida (0-0, OVR 442) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(1) De'siree Mitchell (0-0, OVR 506) vs. (4) Angela Wassermann (0-0, OVR 447) [First career meeting]

(5) Pulsar (0-0, OVR 476) vs. (3) Billy Norris (0-0, OVR 525) [Career: Tied 2 - 2]

(6) Monty Dhillon (0-0, OVR 510) vs. (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-0, OVR 498) [First career meeting]

 

GAMMA DIVISION

HARDCORE MATCH: (1) Blood River (0-0, OVR 466) vs. (2) Daniel Simmons (0-0, OVR 449) [Career: Daniel Simmons, 2 - 0]

HARDCORE MATCH: (7) Leon de Ramos (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (8) Nocturne (0-0, OVR 415) [Career: Leon de Ramos, 2 - 0]

(4) Markus Clay (0-0, OVR 441) vs. (5) Lance Heartilly (0-0, OVR 431) [Career: Tied 1 - 1]

(6) Rock Sheridan (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (3) Indigo Rose (0-0, OVR 468) [First career meeting]

 

DELTA DIVISION

(6) Erick Gibson (0-0, OVR 418) vs. (2) Diamond (0-0, OVR 440) [Career: Tied 3 - 3]

(1) Terrance Stevens (0-0, OVR 437) vs. (4) Mickey Steele (0-0, OVR 409) [First career meeting]

(7) Terra Harding (0-0, OVR 405) vs. (8) "Dirty" John Murdoch (0-0, OVR 405) [First meeting on main roster]

(5) George Stevens (0-0, OVR 393) vs. (3) Scott Stevens (0-0, OVR 397) [Career: Scott Stevens, 2 - 0]

[ShadowedFlames]

Current clubhouse leader for match of the night: 4* affair in the upper half of The League.

That is all.

[Jman2k3]

SEASON TWELVE, WEEK ONE CARD

ALPHA DIVISION

Brandy McDonald

Nuclear Templeton

Christian Priest

George Mastachas

BETA DIVISION

Kichi Hida

De'siree Mitchell

Billy Norris

Monty Dhillon

GAMMA DIVISION

Daniel Simmons

Leon de Ramos

Lance Heartilly

Indigo Rose

DELTA DIVISION

Diamond

Mickey Steele

"Dirty" John Murdoch

Scott Stevens

[Croquemitaine]

We saw a bit of it last season, but I think Season Twelve is where major shake-ups hit the League and the status-quo gets shattered. Two major players (and Big Scott Weathers) are out of play, significant new blood is hitting the upper divisions, while under-performing stars are sinking to more appropriate levels. Competition will be stronger up and down the card, and this could be the most exciting, most un-predcitable season yet!

Except for one thing...

Will anyone, can anyone, stop Nuclear Templeton?

 

SEASON TWELVE, WEEK ONE CARD

ALPHA DIVISION

FIRST BLOOD MATCH: (5) Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-0, OVR 518) vs. (3) Brandy McDonald (0-0, OVR 547)

- Could go either way, but Brandy's had a stronger career so I'll pick her.

(1) Nuclear Templeton (0-0, OVR 588) vs. (4) Brian Blackfield (0-0, OVR 555)

- The champ is the champ.

(7) Christian Priest (0-0, OVR 556) vs. (8) Reverend Johnny Gross (0-0, OVR 510)

- The First Church begins its future in Alpha by putting down its past.

(6) Lucas Molina (0-0, OVR 479) vs. (2) George Mastachas (0-0, OVR 560)

- Toughest pick of the night, and I kind of hope I'm wrong, but Mastachas is the clear #2 wrestler in the League and will get these nods until someone supplants him.

 

BETA DIVISION

(7) Diego Rodriguez (0-0, OVR 485) vs. (8) Kichi Hida (0-0, OVR 442)

- Second-toughest pick of the night, but Diego just might have the tools to slow the buzzsaw down.

(1) De'siree Mitchell (0-0, OVR 506) vs. (4) Angela Wassermann (0-0, OVR 447)

- I expect Mitchell to wreck shop in Beta. If anyone is going to stop her, it isn't Wassermann.

(5) Pulsar (0-0, OVR 476) vs. (3) Billy Norris (0-0, OVR 525)

- Norris has to pull ahead in this race eventually. Why not now?

(6) Monty Dhillon (0-0, OVR 510) vs. (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-0, OVR 498)

- The Hammer moves up... and the Hammer comes down!

 

GAMMA DIVISION

HARDCORE MATCH: (1) Blood River (0-0, OVR 466) vs. (2) Daniel Simmons (0-0, OVR 449)

- Simmons has a lot to prove... and familiarity with bludgeoning tools!

HARDCORE MATCH: (7) Leon de Ramos (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (8) Nocturne (0-0, OVR 415)

- Who looked at these two and thought "They should compete in a Hardcore match!"?

(4) Markus Clay (0-0, OVR 441) vs. (5) Lance Heartilly (0-0, OVR 431)

- Bounce-back season for Heartilly?  EDIT: I swear I did not see Sean's write-up before posting this!

(6) Rock Sheridan (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (3) Indigo Rose (0-0, OVR 468)

- Unless Rose is going to have another disastrous first-half, she should take this.

 

DELTA DIVISION

(6) Erick Gibson (0-0, OVR 418) vs. (2) Diamond (0-0, OVR 440)

- Welcome back, bossman. Now bow down to the First Lady.

(1) Terrance Stevens (0-0, OVR 437) vs. (4) Mickey Steele (0-0, OVR 409)

- Whichever way this goes, someone is going to get kicked in the head.

(7) Terra Harding (0-0, OVR 405) vs. (8) "Dirty" John Murdoch (0-0, OVR 405)

- Johnny's running out of time. He can't waste any by losing to some greenhorn!

(5) George Stevens (0-0, OVR 393) vs. (3) Scott Stevens (0-0, OVR 397)

- Family ties will not slow the Scorpion's rise...

Edited June 6 by Croquemitaine

[Croquemitaine]

10 hours ago, ShadowedFlames said:

Current clubhouse leader for match of the night: 4* affair in the upper half of The League.

That is all.

Too many credible possibilities, but I'm going to guess Molina/Mastachas.

 

[SeanMcG]

10 hours ago, ShadowedFlames said:

Current clubhouse leader for match of the night: 4* affair in the upper half of The League.

That is all.

Would love it to be Priest/Gross III, but my money's on the First Blood between Brandy and JPO

[ShadowedFlames]

Behind the scenes moment—

I have to mentally catch and correct myself every single time I abbreviate Ouilette to JPO.

At my job, it is a completely different thing (Juvenile Probation Office, since they routinely are linked with our child abuse referrals) and if I’m not thinking, I’m finding myself asking “wait, why is Blackfield facing an entire law enforcement office again?”