WWF 1985 | WrestleMania Tales

[Selena]

WWF 1985 | WrestleMania Tales

Hello! Silent follower of the forums for a long, long time here. I've played TEW on-and-off for around five years now and I figured that I'd give writing a dynasty a go. The mod that I am using is called Risky Business (Credit to Matt Shannon) and I'm using the nGo Generations (Credit to justtxyank) picture pack. We're starting with the World Wrestling Federation right at the beginning of 1985. The goal is to eventually make it to WrestleMania 30 (2014) and anything beyond that I'll see as a bonus. I don't believe that Risky Business has a ton of longevity beyond this end goal, but perhaps I will be proven wrong.

Going back and learning about eighties and nineties wrestling is something I envision to be a lot of fun. I chose this time period in question because the prospect of re-writing some of the biggest moments in wrestling excites me, I don't know all too much about names such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Randy Savage to name a few. So learning about them and watching some of the older shows while advancing this dynasty I'm hopeful will be a great experience. This leads me into speaking about the name of the dynasty; WrestleMania Tales. This will be a WrestleMania-centric dynasty, where I'll give updates on everything that has happened in between each "Showcase of the Immortals" but really only spotlight WrestleMania in question. I'm aiming to keep things semi-realistic when it comes to booking shows. You're not going to see Hillbilly Jim headlining shows or winning the WWF Championship — but you're not going to see a cut, copy and paste version of each year's WrestleMania, either. The goal is to loosely adhere to what was happening in real life, but makes improvement where necessary and not be fiercely loyal to every championship reign, match and storyline.

I have made some small changes to the mod in question, most notably removing all of the active WWF champions. We'll be crowning the inaugural set of champions at the inaugural WrestleMania. I just believe there's something poetic about this, as well as it being aesthetically pleasing. But it shouldn't affect anything to a larger scale. I recognise some people will be turned off by that idea and I understand completely. I have also turned minor variance on for this dynasty, meaning some wrestler's ratings and stats will be marginally different in comparison to the regular mod. Maybe we'll see set-in-stone upper midcard talents break the glass ceiling. Or vice versa, a surefire main event talent doesn't quite reach their potential because of this. This could very well be the difference maker and could have a big impact in this dynasty. I suppose you could call it... Risky Business.

All of this aside, I'm unsure what else to say. I'm very excited to play a long-term TEW save and hope that everything holds up. My formatting isn't entirely exceptional and my booking skills may drive a couple of people crazy. But, I hope you'll support me and show this dynasty some love. I could talk all day about TEW and wrestling in general. So if you have any information regarding this time period, or any comments, absolutely feel free to share them. Information regarding the build-up to the first-ever WrestleMania will be out as soon as possible. I am excited to share my WrestleMania Tales. ♡

[Blessed]

best of luck on the diary, well one for making a start! 

 

Interesting idea as well and a focus on Mania will make it fun to see how much things change in 12 months.

[Captain Kremmen]

Good luck and happy writing.

[DinoKea]

This is quite a cool concept, so I'll be interested to follow along

[Selena]

Year One | Road to WrestleMania

With three months between the mod's start date and the first WrestleMania, there wasn't an abundance of time available to fully implement my own vision. But it granted me enough time to ensure that we had all the pieces necessary in place for things to hopefully be a success here. For the most part, the major storylines have stayed the same with some slight tweaks made to the matches in question. Ultimately, I believe these changes will make our first WrestleMania better than its real life counterpart. I'm very gracious to have been presented with a clear top babyface and top heel respectively, taking form in Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper. They're far-and-away the top two performers in the entire company, with André the Giant sitting pretty behind of them. Having vacated all championships before beginning this playthrough, it made sense to deviate from the tag team match involving Mr. T and Paul Orndorff which headlined this WrestleMania in real life, running with Hogan and Piper in a singles match to headline this show. We'll be heavily depending on them to carry this iteration of the show. But we'll get into that further momentarily. I want to clarify that future updates similar to this one will have much more detail, as we'll be covering twelve months of action and storylines, opposed to the three which we're covering here. Let's talk about what's been happening so far in 1985.

The Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection has very much retained a prominent role in the build-up to WrestleMania. In the aftermath of Hulk Hogan's match against Paul Orndorff — which Hogan won via Disqualification following Roddy Piper involving himself and attacking Hogan — Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T, close friend of Hogan, entered the ring to even the odds. Alas, the trio of Orndorff, Piper and Bob Orton proved to be too much, with Piper even assaulting Lauper and kicking her in the head in the midst of the brawl! His actions and subsequent challenging of Hogan to a match at WrestleMania has caught national media attention. Hogan accepted Piper's challenge, on one condition. That neither man has anybody in their corner for the match, so that when Hogan wins the WWF Championship — there'll be no excuses! Meanwhile, Mr. T and Paul Orndorff have split-off into their own rivalry. Mr. T will be making his wrestling debut against Orndorff, and with Bob Orton situated in Orndorff's corner, Mr. T had to find a way to even the odds. Enter Muhammad Ali! Perhaps the greatest boxer of all-time will be situated in Mr. T's corner, ensuring that no shenanigans take place throughout the match. Cyndi Lauper on the other hand has found herself mixed-up in The Fabulous Moolah's business. She, and by extension Leilani Kai, have been terrorizing and feuding with Wendi Richter. We'll see Cyndi Lauper on commentary as Moolah faces Wendi, with the WWF Women's Championship up for grabs.

WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper

Mr. T w/ Muhammad Ali vs. Paul Orndorff w/ Bob Orton

WWF Women's Championship
The Fabulous Moolah w/ Leilani Kai vs. Wendi Richter - Cyndi Lauper on Commentary

Big John Studd continues to profess himself as the "True Giant" of professional wrestling. Along with Bobby Heenan, Studd was successful in immobilizing André the Giant backstage, beating him down and proceeding to shave off his hair. This move forced André off television, during that time Studd has been a dominant force. He and Heenan have been hosting a "Bodyslam Challenge" in which if Studd's opposition can successfully bodyslam him, they'll win the match — as well as $15,000! Much to the shock of Studd, André the Giant returned in the build-up to WrestleMania. He accepted Studd's challenge and dominated their proceeding match. However, as he was about to bodyslam him, André was attacked from behind... By a debuting King Kong Bundy! Big John Studd, Bobby Heenan and King Kong Bundy — calling themselves The Heenan Family, have been a thorn in André's side since, who has resorted to calling in back-up... In the form of Jimmy Snuka! WrestleMania will see a rematch between André the Giant and Big John Studd. This time however, if André is unsuccessful in slamming Studd to the canvas, he'll have to retire from the WWF! Jimmy Snuka and King Kong Bundy will also face on the night, in what will be Bundy's first match in the promotion.

André the Giant vs. Big John Studd w/ Bobby Heenan - André's Career vs. Bodyslam Challenge Match

Jimmy Snuka vs. King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan

Greg Valentine and Tito Santana's rivalry is often underappreciated when reflecting on this time period. Having injured Santana's knee with his devastating figure-four leglock submission, Valentine and friend Brutus Beefcake have dominated the WWF midcard scene for many months, often relying on the other's interference to win against names such as Bret Hart, The U.S. Express and of course, Santana's close friend the Junkyard Dog. But, in the build-up to WrestleMania, Santana returned, sporting a new look and a new submission — the figure-four leglock! Together, Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana have been able to thwart Beefcake and Valentine — collectively known as the Dream Team, and their tactics. WrestleMania will see the WWF Intercontinental Championship on the line as Valentine and Santana do battle, in a Submission match! Beefcake and Junkyard Dog will also look to end their differences in a match against each other, with Valentine and Santana at ringside in what will officially be the opening match at the inaugural edition of WrestleMania!

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana - Submission Match

Brutus Beefcake w/ Greg Valentine vs. Junkyard Dog w/ Tito Santana

Below I will be posting the full card for WrestleMania. I welcome and encourage people to predict on the matches! Overall, I'm pleased with what I was able to put together. Hogan and Piper was the clear choice for the main event from the off, while Mr. T and Paul Orndorff should also deliver given the former's popularity. Orndorff also has the psychology to hopefully create magic there. I'd like to think I've put together a card which keeps in line with what was happening at the time, but on the other hand, improves some aspects of the initial WrestleMania which will give us a better chance at a high-scoring show. A couple of things I am disappointed at, are Big John Studd's in-ring performances (and having awful chemistry with Heenan but that's another issue entirely) as well as the lack of depth in the tag team division. I'll be making some signings to improve that latter issue, though. Speaking of signings, King Kong Bundy and Ricky Steamboat feature on this card, as they did in real life, who I had to sign as they weren't with the promotion at the mod's start date. I'm especially excited for Steamboat's long-term future in the WWF. Feel free to let me know your thoughts and feelings regarding the card, this time period in general, and if I did a good / bad job at putting this post together!

1985 | WrestleMania Card

WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper

André the Giant vs. Big John Studd w/ Bobby Heenan - André's Career vs. Bodyslam Challenge Match

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana - Submission Match

Mr. T w/ Muhammad Ali vs. Paul Orndorff w/ Bob Orton

WWF Tag Team Championships
The U.S. Express w/ Lou Albano vs. Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik w/ Freddie Blassie

Jimmy Snuka vs. King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan

WWF Women's Championship
The Fabulous Moolah w/ Leilani Kai vs. Wendi Richter - Cyndi Lauper on Commentary

Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Ricky Steamboat

Brutus Beefcake w/ Greg Valentine vs. Junkyard Dog w/ Tito Santana

[Dawn]

Hull Kogan
Andre the Giant
Greg Valentine
Mr. T (by DQ)
The U.S. Express
King Kong Bundy
Wendi Richter
Ricky Steamboat
Junkyard Dog

[DinoKea]

My Wrestlemania I Predictions:

WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan def. Roddy Piper

Andre the Giant def. Big John Studd

WWF Intercontinental Championship: Greg Valentine def. Tito Santana

Paul Orndorff def. Mr. T

WWF Tag Team Championships: The US Express def. Volkoff & Sheik

King Kong Bundy def. Jommy Snuka

WWF Women's Championship: Wendi Richter def. The Fabulous Moolah

Ricky Steamboat def. Don Muraco

Junkyard Dog def. Brutus Beefcake

[Old School Fan]

WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper

André the Giant vs. Big John Studd w/ Bobby Heenan - André's Career vs. Bodyslam Challenge Match

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana - Submission Match

Mr. T w/ Muhammad Ali vs. Paul Orndorff w/ Bob Orton

WWF Tag Team Championships
The U.S. Express w/ Lou Albano vs. Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik w/ Freddie Blassie

Jimmy Snuka vs. King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan

WWF Women's Championship
The Fabulous Moolah w/ Leilani Kai vs. Wendi Richter - Cyndi Lauper on Commentary

Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Ricky Steamboat (via DQ)

Brutus Beefcake w/ Greg Valentine vs. Junkyard Dog w/ Tito Santana

[Blodyxe]

WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper

André the Giant vs. Big John Studd w/ Bobby Heenan - André's Career vs. Bodyslam Challenge Match

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana - Submission Match

Mr. T w/ Muhammad Ali vs. Paul Orndorff w/ Bob Orton

WWF Tag Team Championships
The U.S. Express w/ Lou Albano vs. Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik w/ Freddie Blassie

Jimmy Snuka vs. King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan

WWF Women's Championship
The Fabulous Moolah w/ Leilani Kai vs. Wendi Richter - Cyndi Lauper on Commentary

Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Ricky Steamboat

Brutus Beefcake w/ Greg Valentine vs. Junkyard Dog w/ Tito Santana

[Steerpike]

Oh, this is a very exciting idea, especially if you are new to old-school wrestling; hopefully you get sucked in enough to expand beyond WWF. New eyes and such. The presentation centered around WrestleMania each year makes this a breeze to read, and it fits, seeing as it does not seem you want to be heavy on the writing or the intricacies in each show, but rather playing to the big pay-off each year. Now, I will admit, I am not the biggest fan of vacating all the titles. I would have rather seen you work around the title holders (and their egos, cough Hogan cough), but it is as it is. Especially seeing as you seem to be pushing towards crowning workers who were champions anyway (or would be very soon) to which I struggle to see the point of vacating all the titles in the first place.

That being said, I do see how it is in the spirit of the game you are running and how, this being more of a exploratory diary rather than story-driven, it makes sense. Plus, you noted that you have turned on the minor variance option, so having a completely fresh start for potential rising variance makes sense. As I have said elsewhere, I love a good old-school diary so I am definitely going to follow along to see where you take the WrestleMania spirit. Huge push for Giant Gonzalez in the 90s, lets go! 😝

Going to throw in my five cents with the predictions too;

Quote

WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper

André the Giant vs. Big John Studd w/ Bobby Heenan - André's Career vs. Bodyslam Challenge Match

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana - Submission Match

Mr. T w/ Muhammad Ali vs. Paul Orndorff w/ Bob Orton

WWF Tag Team Championships
The U.S. Express w/ Lou Albano vs. Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik w/ Freddie Blassie

Jimmy Snuka vs. King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan

WWF Women's Championship
The Fabulous Moolah w/ Leilani Kai vs. Wendi Richter - Cyndi Lauper on Commentary

Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Ricky Steamboat

Brutus Beefcake w/ Greg Valentine vs. Junkyard Dog w/ Tito Santana

[Selena]

Year One | WrestleMania
Held in Madison Square Garden ( Tri State ) on Sunday, Week 4, March 1985

Gene Okerlund sings The Star-Spangled Banner ( 81 )

Nothing too wild to report on the opening segment. I stuck Gene Okerlund by himself into an angle and he delivered around what I was expecting him to deliver. Supposedly, in real life the WWF had to improvise as the original act they had for this spot no-showed. Makes you wonder who was originally slated to show up.

Junkyard Dog defeated Brutus Beefcake ( 72 )

In the opening match, which featured Greg Valentine and Tito Santana in the respective corners of their allies, Junkyard Dog goes over Brutus Beefcake. I like the aesthetic of he first-ever match taking place at WrestleMania has the babyface winning. I like the optics of Junkyard Dog winning also. He's someone I could see challenging for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in the near future, whereas Brutus' future probably is in the Tag Team division as one-half of the Dream Team. But, that isn't to slander Brutus at all. He's actually second-place in our "Next Big Thing" list. I think that, as well as his friendship with Hulk Hogan, sets him up nicely for the future. If he can meet his potential, I could see him developing into a consistent, upper midcard act.

Mr. T and Muhammad Ali backstage promo on Bob Orton and Paul Orndorff ( 89 )

A nice segment to add some needed heat to the Mr. T and Paul Orndorff match. It featured Mr. T and Lord Alfred Hayes, the interviewer on the night, rated on entertainment while Orton and Orndorff were rated on their overness. I'm expecting this match to be the second-best on the night, with a segment like this adding heat to it, I'm hopeful that it delivers. Mr. T and Alfred Hayes have great microphone and entertainment skills, so I wanted to utilise that. We're very blessed to start off with not one, but two highly rated backstage interviewers / personalities.

Don Muraco defeated Ricky Steamboat ( 74 )

Mr. Fuji involves himself and assists Don Muraco in picking up the win here. Ricky's time will come, he actually outperformed Don on this occasion, but right now his popularity isn't really close to Muraco's and I felt it'd be unfair to hand him the win, of which he'll get plenty of in the coming years. Muraco meanwhile is now set-up in a nice position where he can either continue feuding with Steamboat here, or perhaps fill in for a feud for the WWF Championship or the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Towards the end of the year in real life, Ricky and Mr. Fuji actually fought in a Kung Fu match. I'm deadly serious, look it up. The match was a little disappointing, with Muraco really off his game on this occasion. But on a show where a lot of face characters won, Don winning gives us plenty of wiggle room in the near future.

Wendi Richter defeated The Fabulous Moolah to win the WWF Women's Championship ( 66 )

There's not a ton to say in relation to this match-up. We definitely need to bring some fresh faces into the women's division, while also maintaining some form of realism. But Wendi here was definitely the right call, given Moolah's age. It didn't sit right with me to have Moolah, regardless of how old she is, not wrestling on the first-ever WrestleMania given her legacy and the fact she was still very much an active wrestler. I plan on using her sparingly from here-on-out while bringing in some younger women for Wendi, Leilani and Judy to fight with. Information regarding women's wrestling in this time period is very sparse, but I will try to do my best with the tools at my disposal.

Leilani Kai and The Fabulous Moolah attack Wendi Richter post-match, Cyndi Lauper interferes ( 67 )

Keeping this feud alive for now, switching Moolah out and putting Leilani in. It also features Cyndi Lauper, who was on commentary for the match. But there's definitely more avenues in this one to be explored and I'm keen on keeping Cyndi around as a heater and mouthpiece for Wendi.

Roddy Piper backstage promo on Hulk Hogan ( 100 )

Roddy delivering typical Roddy segment ratings. I threw him and Alfred Hayes together and they delivered our first 100 of the night. Roddy was incredible on the microphone, so it's of little surprise that he gave us such a brilliant rating here. It helps throw more fuel onto our main event fire.

King Kong Bundy defeated Jimmy Snuka ( 69 )

Jimmy Snuka goes down to a rising talent in the form of King Kong Bundy. This helps to establish Bundy as a monster heel in the WWF and Jimmy, given his age, does the job here. With many incredible babyface acts Jimmy isn't exactly a priority for me at the moment. I had to keep him strong, but I wasn't expecting a great match here regardless given Bundy's lack of popularity. Long term I see Bundy as someone who picks up a championship reign or two, I cannot say the same for Snuka, so I am fine sacrificing his popularity for he man who, in real life, headlined the second WrestleMania.

The U.S. Express defeated Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik to win the WWF Tag Team Championships ( 72 )

A fun tag team match with Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo going over the older pairing of Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik. I was tempted to hand Volkoff and Sheik the titles, but, Sheik is in decline, and even with them having great chemistry their performances didn't really compare to that of The U.S. Express, especially Windham. Lou Albano and Freddie Blassie were ringside for this encounter. I see Volkoff and Sheik sticking around for a couple of year, maybe even a feud with Hogan on the horizon. Volkoff and Hogan competed in a flag match sometime after WrestleMania in real life and it could be fun to replicate that in TEW. But yes, given The U.S. Express' age and our general lack of babyface tag teams, it felt good giving them this victory.

The U.S. Express and Lou Albano post-match celebration ( 67 )

Nothing wild to report on this one. People were rated on what you'd expect them to be rated on, segment did around what I was expecting, moving on!

Phil Collins and Philip Bailey sing Easy Lover ( 81 )

Whew, what a segment. What a song! This song featured on the initial WrestleMania in some capacity. I figured I'd take it one step further and have Collins and Bailey sing it live for the people of Madison Square Garden. In actuality, I just put Mr. T and Paul Orndorff into a segment and rated them on entertainment. But keep the mystique of this alive, people! I like the prospect of WrestleMania being a big wrestling show, but also a spectacle in general. I see no reason why this couldn't of happened if WWF didn't want to make it happen, so screw it. Phil Collins at WrestleMania!

Mr. T went to a no contest with Paul Orndorff ( 78 )

On paper, a decent enough match. But I had higher expectations. Taking into account Mr. T picking up an injury, as well as both men being inconsistent, it leaves it up in the air as to what things could have been on another night. The no contest was put into place so neither Mr. T or Orndorff would lose much in the ways of popularity. I also read that Orndorff, Piper and Orton didn't necessarily like the notion of a non-wrestler coming into the business and picking up victories, which is somewhat sensible. So Bob Orton and Muhammad Ali would get involved in things here and it'd break out into a four-man brawl. With Mr. T getting injured, we'll have to switch things up. Orndorff now has heat with the locker-room for botching and injuring Mr. T. I guess he really wasn't happy about facing him. Sorry Paul.

Mr. T and Muhammad Ali attack Bob Orton and Paul Orndorff post-match ( 88 )

Can't have Muhammad Ali featured at WrestleMania without somebody getting knocked out cold, right? Mr. T and Ali win the brawl and stand tall, so even if Mr. T didn't technically win the match he still has the image of beating out Orton and Orndorff, which I am more than fine with. Good little rating for all involved.

Tito Santana defeated Greg Valentine in a Submission Match to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship ( 82 )

What a wonderful rating given both men's popularity. I pulled out all the stops on this one, giving them thirteen minutes and turning on call in-ring. They delivered! I was 50/50 on who should win this one but ended up rolling with Tito. Greg actually outperformed him on this occasion. I just think, in relation to the faces and heels of the promotion, Tito is someone who could be elevated whereas Greg is already kind of where I'd like for him to be. Tito doesn't quite have the same competition as Greg, given Piper, Orndorff, Orton, Studd, Bundy, Muraco... And the incoming Randy Savage, of course. I'm very pleased with this rating. I see Tito having a decent reign before dropping to one of those aforementioned names.

Cyndi Lauper and Wendi Richter backstage promo on The Fabulous Moolah ( 74 )

A short, simple segment to allow the audience a breather between the Intercontinental Championship match and the co-main event. Cyndi gets some mic time, Wendi Richter gets some air time and it continues the feud against Leilani Kai and The Fabulous Moolah.

André the Giant defeated Big John Studd by Stoppage in a Bodyslam Match ( 80 )

The penultimate match of the inaugural WrestleMania sees Big John Studd slammed by André the Giant. Given Studd's lack of in-ring talent, as well as the negative chemistry with Bobby Heenan, this was a simple choice to make. Long-term André the Giant has so much value. At the moment, barring a decline in abilities, I plan on sticking with the WrestleMania III main event of André the Giant and Hulk Hogan doing battle. So it's important for me to keep André the Giant not only strong, but undefeated altogether. The match itself did well enough. I didn't make it excessively long due to both men's stamina issues, and the rating we got was around what I was expecting. I'm going to continue the feud post-WrestleMania, maybe even give André the Giant some time off as I dislike the notion of using him like he is any other wrestler.

André the Giant post-match celebration ( 89 )

Like in real life, André the Giant got to throw some money into the stand following the match. That's a cool visual, with André the Giant celebrating with the fans and some people who paid for seats close to the front getting some of their money back. It puts over André the Giant as a babyface, gives us a great rating and allows Bobby Heenan to snatch the money bag away and high-tail it, indicating that André the Giant's with The Heenan Family are far from over.

Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper video package ( 88 )

Typical hype video package prior to the main event. Hogan and Piper rated on entertainment opposed to overness due to TEW penalizing when both men are rated on overness.

Hulk Hogan defeated Roddy Piper to win the WWF Championship ( 95 )

We are eating good tonight! A really, really great rating, surpassing my own expectations for the match. Given the popularity of both men ( Hogan an 85, Piper an 83 ) I will happily take such a high rating. Hogan wins the WWF Championship, it was never going to be any other way. While the prospect of Roddy Piper sending all of the fans home miserable would instantaneously make him the world's number one villain, I couldn't do Hogan like that. Hogan has a long road ahead as champion, whereas Roddy will be taking a temporary backseat and allowing newer names to rise up the ranks before returning sometime in the future. We have a lot of building to do, the work has only just begun. Awesome match, I expected a 90 at best, so I'm very pleased and it shows how far-and-away these two are from the rest of the roster. There's a gap to be bridged, but I only really see Randy Savage getting close to either man's level in the immediate future.

Hulk Hogan post-match celebration ( 90 )

Hogan, Mr. T and Muhammad Ali close out the initial WrestleMania. That's just an incredible visual. No complaints here regarding the rating or the ending.



( Forgive me for the opening two segments being cut-off, I couldn't screenshot them. )

I'm pleased with how WrestleMania went. Nothing drastically underperformed beneath my expectations, while we had a couple of matches which overachieved. Given we only had three months of build-up to play around with, I think we did the best we could do with the hand we were dealt. Hogan and Piper delivered, big time, it was the best match on the card by some distance and it shows the discrepancy between those two guys and the rest of the roster, telling me that it was the right call to go with this main event. I believe we remained conscious and respectful of what took place in real life while making some slight alterations to improve things here-and-there. Nothing wild happened, nothing too out-of-character, the celebrities which featured had some role to play in the inaugural WrestleMania anyhow, I think we did good. Now, given we went with all faces as champions, we have a job to do in building up some villains to dethrone the heroes. Tito Santana and The U.S. Express especially aren't safe given we have a multitude of acts we could throw into those championship matches. But, obviously, that'll be in another update. Speaking of, I don't particularly know when that will be. I have nine months of in-game shows to play through and no matter how you slice it, it's going to take some time before we hit year two.

Let me know if you liked this. The style, the results, what improvements you'd make. Etc, etc, etc. Thank you very much to everybody who predicted and who has interacted thus far. I'll catch you on the flip side on the next post where we'll cover what happened in the rest of 1985 before moving closer to WrestleMania II. 

[sonny912]

If I may? I recommend signing jim cornette and his midnight express, Dennis condrey and Bobby Eaton. They were one of the nwa's best tag teams during the 80's and cornette manager skills were a big part of that. Having them compete for the wwf would be a big steal for Vince.

And to help with your problem with the women's division, their are two places to look for new recruits, all Japan women's pro and David McClane's promotions glow and poww cause I'm pretty sure those are the only female wrestling promotions during the 80's.

Edited August 19, 2023 by sonny912

[Dawn]

I don't think she's (if these aren't your pronouns let me know) actually signing anyone for the purposes of the diary, it's a diary where everything is simmed up until close to Mania and she writes the Manias around what happened in the game, unless I misunderstood the premise.

[Blodyxe]

I dig the format, first show went really well! Booking WM2 will be a bit of a challenge, but that makes it more interesting imo

[Selena]

9 hours ago, sonny912 said:

If I may? I recommend signing jim cornette and his midnight express, Dennis condrey and Bobby Eaton. They were one of the nwa's best tag teams during the 80's and cornette manager skills were a big part of that. Having them compete for the wwf would be a big steal for Vince.

And to help with your problem with the women's division, their are two places to look for new recruits, all Japan women's pro and David McClane's promotions glow and poww cause I'm pretty sure those are the only female wrestling promotions during the 80's.

Jim Cornette and some of the women in AJW will definitely be looked at in the future. I know that in the early 90's, Alundra Blayze advocated for WWF to sign more women's talent and a couple of girls came over from Japan, including Bull Nakano for example. Whereas Cornette's managerial skills are notorious and he'd be a big help down the line. But, I don't see myself signing Condrey or Eaton in the near future. They never competed in the WWF to my knowledge and I'd like to keep things semi-realistic. We have some good teams cooking, such as the British Bulldogs and the Hart Foundation for example. I'm hopeful they're going to be the pillars of the division for some time when I've built them up, then down the road there's of course Demolition and the Legion of Doom to think about.
 

9 hours ago, Dawn said:

I don't think she's (if these aren't your pronouns let me know) actually signing anyone for the purposes of the diary, it's a diary where everything is simmed up until close to Mania and she writes the Manias around what happened in the game, unless I misunderstood the premise.

You're partially correct, yes. But I'm not simming anything and will be booking through the entire experience. I've already made some signings such as the British Bulldogs, Randy Savage, Miss Elizabeth and Jim Neidhart for example, as well as bringing in Bundy and Steamboat right at the start. It's why I said I couldn't place an estimate on when the next update will be, because I have nine months of shows to get through. But I've already planned ahead a fair bit storylines wise so it shouldn't be overly-tedious and hopefully I'll have something out for everybody soon! ♡