The GSW Thread

[DarK_RaideR]

"I keep it gangsta, and why should change that?"

- Ice Cube, Gangsta rap made me do it, 2008

 

Didn't see a thread made for everyone's favourite hood hardcore promotion, so I decided to make one. With all the discussion about things not changing much in the CornellVerse from 2020 to 2022, I feel like GSW has gone through a few small, but very impactful changes. Before I get into the roster, it took me a while to notice that GSW have now surpassed IPW for good, which is nice.

1. Fro Sure has been plucked by SWF and is grinding it out at RIPW. Not much of a surprise, given how he was already too good for GSW in the previous game and always marked as someone who would, sooner rather than later, depart for the bigger leagues.
2. Cali Slick is still around, but in a more Gatekeeper type of role. He's not in the main event scene, because he's reportedly won everything there is to win and that's made him lose motivation, especially since he wasn't also signed by a bigger promotion like Fro Sure. If you ask me, just the fact that he's still saddled with Aces High would be enough to snuff any fire under him.
3. Omar and Mobstar have stepped up to fill those two slots in the main event scene. I like the Omar update, he was always my chief high flyer in a roster of grounded brawlers and psychopaths, but he'd usually get crapped on by the fans. He's doing just fine now and he adds some much needed variety. Mobstar is an interesting one, because in most of my past games, Dead Men Walking would eventually break up and hand in their notices. He's clearly the more talented (and reliable) of the duo, but instead of just stepping up to the upper midcard, he's broken into the main event scene, having won King of California and openly gunning for the big title.
4. Speaking of which, Boneyard is the champion again. Guess it was the safe choice, given the changes and other options. Love how the title description still says its legitimacy has dipped when held by the likes of Boneyard. Think it's pretty clear the way to go here is give Mobstar a run with the title.
5. Busta Capp is still around somehow, and he's in a torch passing feud with Raheem Stash. This makes absolute sense.
6. BB Colossus has fallen down the ranks due to having been sidelined with an injury. Between that and Boneyard being involved with the title, I don't see them reuniting in the tag ranks any time soon. Chances are BB will still be squashing people in a monster role for a while and unless something happens to give him a drastic boost, he should be worried for his job security.
7. Los Guerilleros are still around, but Mexico's Finest has hung up the boots and leads from the sidelines. He's not so great on the mic, so I mostly see him in a "silent mob boss" role, nodding in approval to make use of his high Menace. MexiCain is the de facto leader for me, since he's the main talker. The third spot has been filled by Guillotine, now going by Guillotine Ayala, so it feels like there's still a lot of mileage left in the group. Especially considering they've taken up the mantle of the company's defenders, against...
8. ...Piggy Bank Records. Yeah, it's a terrible name, a terrible logo and a terrible crew. That part about the invasion angle "not working out as intended" is an understatement. They're led by an obese man who can at least go on the mic, but he has no business working matches, he should 100% become a manager or personality. Their main force is a tag team of TT the Don, who's actually servicable in the ring, and Tongue Twister, which isn't that great between the ropes but can cut a promo, so with some training he might stand a chance. They also have a female valet for some reason, who just stands there looking pretty and she can't even pull that off. This whole project should be first on everyone's chopping block.
9. Rowan Kingmaker is another new guy, pretty serviceable all around with some potential, plus he's said to have street cred, underworld connections and seen hanging out with Brother Grimm. Some storytelling potential there.
10. Papa Swoll is now the West Coast champion, which is a sound choice. Man is the total package and should be the one to go all the way to the top eventually.
11. Old familiar names like Gravedigga, E-Soteric, Tavon Blake Junior and Public Enemy #1 are still around, but not doing much besides existing. PE#1 is said to be finding his footing as a singles wrestler after the retirement of Hard-1, but it's not like the Lone Star Crew ever had the time to set the world ablaze anyway.
12. The vanilla crew is more or less still around, with varying degrees of success. Max Mayhem has kept his job and is your go-to guy if you need someone to take the fall or train the others on the fundamentals. Top Dolla and Noah Nadir have formed a tag team, which seems to be faring better than either of them has ever managed to fare in my saves. Magwitch is gone and taking bookings on the East Coast. I liked the guy despite his flaws, his "psycho clown" schtick provided a nice change of pace on a very hood based roster, but I'm aware most people immediately axed him, hated him and he wasn't going anywhere, so I'm not that mad about how he ended up.

 

Overall, I was initially a bit meh about the changes, but the more I think about it, Adam has hit a sweet spot between mixing things up to feel fresh but not dramatically altering the landscape to the point where it feels like a different experience. The identity of the company remains true to its roots, the roster feels familiar and tweaked at the same time, there's room to change things and stories to be told. Plus I think once you've figured out the financial bits, the road is all but set to launch that weekly TV show on WrestleWorld...

Edited July 29 by DarK_RaideR

[Jaded]

Thanks for that list - I haven’t checked GSW out yet in this version, but seeing that I really want to! Sounds very cool.

[Blodyxe]

10 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

...Piggy Bank Records. Yeah, it's a terrible name, a terrible logo and a terrible crew. That part about the invasion angle "not working out as intended" is an understatement.

This is how I imagined it after reading their bios. Trying to make them a threat to Los Guerilleros might be a fun challenge. 😁

[DarK_RaideR]

1 hour ago, Blodyxe said:

Trying to make them a threat to Los Guerilleros might be a fun challenge. 😁

Nah uh fam. I had Hellech and Pierrot sign with GSW in the previous game, teamed them up with Magwitch and Bizzaro from Mexico and they still weren't half the clowns Piggy Bank Records are. This is a case of "when your order Death Row Records from Teemu". There's no saving this, even with a lineup change. I hate the name, I hate the logo, just can it.

That said, it might be interesting how to fix them, or at least correct course...

Move one, use the editor to make Fat Pad into a manager. Maybe do a story someone smashed his knees with a crowbar and he can never wrestle again, or something. Move two, axe OJ, she's dead weight. Maybe turn that into an angle or spot and write her off. Twister and The Don get desperate. Their team is losing, they're down two members, they're backed against a corner. They start upping the violence, even if they lose matches they still do ambushes and attacks, till they become to big a problem to ignore. Rowan Kingmaker makes it his mission to eliminate them for good. Maybe Brother Grimm asks him to, or he offers to himself in hopes of currying favour with the boss. Maybe it is revealed he was behind the attacks on Fat Pad and OJ all along and now he's about to finish the job. This leads to a tag match, where the losing team have to disband. Twister and the Don lose, of course. Brother Grimm comes out with Big Magic for the victory lap. Kingmaker shakes hands and accepts the praise... then attacks the brass. In a shocking moment, he turns heel and cuts a promo about how he can make kings, but he can also unmake them. He then goes on to lead a new stable, maybe dubbed the Kingsmen or something, and feuds with Grimm for control of GSW, thus completing the circle and replacing Piggy Bank Records. The Don can be his Deputy, with Twister being the runt of the group, unless he hasn't improved, in which case he can get the boot.

But that's just me, you do you

[Nightshadeex]

Are there a lot of GSW guys who weren't in the data for 2020? I'm finding guys who I don't think I've seen before, but their debut dates are pre-2020.

[Blodyxe]

9 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

That said, it might be interesting how to fix them, or at least correct course...

You cooked well ahah. That counts as completing a challenge in my book, even though the changes were drastic.

I would probably book them as a bit of a comedy act, 'fake tough guys' like Prison Dom, who are talking a big game but can't back it up. Threatening people with lawsuits, ducking tough fights because they have label commitments, having bodyguards at all times, private locker rooms and transport. Basically be as annoying as they can be for a tough GCW crowd, then get smacked in the end of the feud, but not too hard. It's not a 'takeover' type of scenario, but they could be an OK midcard group that brings smth different to the table. As I see Fat Pad has 'funny bones', so that works.

My GCW lore knowledge is not too strong, but you could stick BB Colossus with them as an enforcer, putting him at odds with main champ.

Edited July 30 by Blodyxe