DIW's last $2,000: Mr FU has a nephew

[alpha2117]

War Machine 2022
DIW Championship: Shogo (c) v Boo Smithson v Con McReady

No ending ... No ending at all ... a violent mess on the outside that see's none of them able to drag themselves back into the ring and something like a Cage Match next time to ensure that there's a result.  There is money here and whilst DIW traditionally doesn't do Sports Entertainment finishes thats what would make one special.  Prolonging this feud over the next months isn't just smart it's necessary.  DIW needs money and this is it's money feud 

Tag Team Championships: Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney v Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c)

M & M & M & M makes total sense - it also makes total sense for them to split during the match and one to walk out on the other setting up a bitter feud.  Having Nightshade smugly defend a title he never actually won is guarenteed to generate heat.

Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) v The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)

Common sense says Forever Evil need to get back into that tag title picture by getting over 3 of the cultists who dont currently have the tag belts and Devil getting some heat works too.  A Devil v Takulua feud sounds sort of tasty too.  Potnetially awfully botchy but tasty.

Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Tevita Takulua

Pull the trigger on one of these young guys already.  Jake needs to agitate for this - he needs to get his faction over to get himself over and the truth is it's best for business

Bully XL v Jake Thornton

Vaughan cheats ... it's simple but it makes perfect sense. Maybe the next Event could be all stip matches matches to be honest.  I sort of know that putting these two into dog collars chained together and trying to drag each other to the 4 corners feels right and getting them to that point needs a dodgy finish here.  I know Jake for one would be in total agreement of him going over here even if it is tainted.

Tim Burr v Demarcus Lee

Nothing needs to be said.  

 

I love that slowly the inner unpleasantness that is built into Jake's character is seeping out.  

[Tiberious]

DIW Championship: Shogo (c) v Boo Smithson v Con McReady

Cool match with a lot of possibilities, but I think a three way is a great chance for Con McReady to win it in a heelish manner while leaving the door open for one on one rematches. Shogo's great, and I love Boo, but having a champion who can cut a promo seems like it's the right call to make your world title program feel like the most important one in the company. I feel like Shogo could use a manager/mouthpiece to sort of take him to the next level from fantastic in ring guy to complete all round top level guy, but it'll be a lot easier to justify that change in his character and presentation if he loses the title here.

Tag Team Championships: Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney v Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c)

This one is tough because it's hard to predict against a tag team on their very first defense, but Mace and Mayhem are big names to be going up against. I'll still go for Crazy Shade here since a win would really elevate them and while M^4 are individually strong they don't have the teamwork or trust that they do.

Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) v The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)

I know it's probably just an alliance of convenience but I like AusDev pairing up with Forever Evil. I figure the result here probably largely depends on the tag team title match since the winners here make sense as tag team challengers. 

Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Tevita Takulua

One nice thing I only just noticed about Tevita is that he has the Iron Man attribute where he takes less wear and tear from matches, which is pretty great given how rough the DIW style is. Biggest issue with Tevita is a lack of experience, but I think he's such a great prospect that you can justify him winning it here and as champion he'd certainly be able to get into more matches to build that up. I know Tevita can work in Japan, so it might make your life easier if he gets catches the eye of one of their companies to bring in for a tour so he can get more experience/development on someone else's dime.

Bully XL v Jake Thornton

You've already pointed out that Bully XL isn't keeping pace with the rest of your group in popularity, and I don't think our boy Jake is so charitable as to insist on putting over his former partner; though maybe I'll be surprised and Jake will be using this to convince people how selfless of a booker he is while he's still trying to claw his way into more power.

Tim Burr v Demarcus Lee

If a Demarcus falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound? Depending on the ticket sales we may find out.

[AboardTheArk]

DIW Championship: Shogo (c) v Boo Smithson v Con McReady

This is how you keep the money spinning singles matches coming. Shogo vs Boo main events a PPV to set up a challenger. It's Shogo. Con beats his ass then also wants redemption from Boo. By that point Mace is near being rebuilt potentially.
Tag Team Championships: Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney v Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c)

Granted, if they lose Nightshade will say and do something really messed up, but an all star tag team of guys who hate everyone would be a lot more valuable if there was a viable division to put against them, otherwise you're kind of trapping them in the division.
Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) v The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)

The Bat Men aren't long for this world probably
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Tevita Takulua

I think Takulua is about to get into the tag division maybe? Especially with the Burr main event run breadcrumbs, someone who's good and not a top star needs to!
Bully XL v Jake Thornton

Lol, lmao even. To be fair, Jake would rather lose and lock in McMiller as booker than the opposite but he should get both. 
Tim Burr v Demarcus Lee

I think this is pretty self-explanatory.

[DinoKea]

War Machine 2022 Predictions

DIW Championship: Boo Smithson def. Shogo (c) & Con McReady

Tag Team Championships: Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c) def. Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney

Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) def. The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)

Australian Championship: Tevita Takulua def. Gyula Lakatos (c)

Bully XL def. Jake Thornton

Tim Burr def. Demarcus Lee

[christmas_ape]

War Machine 2022
DIW Championship: Shogo (c) v Boo Smithson v Con McReady
Tag Team Championships: Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney v Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c)
Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) v The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Tevita Takulua
Bully XL v Jake Thornton
Tim Burr v Demarcus Lee

 

Again I really like this card and I'm predicting a big night with the two titles changes. It's exciting for the main event scene to be heating up. 

[John Lions]

War Machine 2022
DIW Championship: Shogo (c) v Boo Smithson v Con McReady
On one hand, Con winning this match is a great way to keep some heat for any future bouts between Con and Boo (the rubber match) and Con and Shogo without having him decisively beat either man. On the other hand, I could see holding off on Con's first DIW Championship for a singles match. Going with my gut that this is Con's night but I could conceivably see this go any way (even Boo for a short run and dropping to Con in their rubber match).
Tag Team Championships: Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney v Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c)
I think The Wild Hunt run with the tag titles and especially the loose freebirding they are doing has plenty of legs yet, and I'd be surprised to see Mace and Mulhoney put aside their differences to win this one.
Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) v The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)
Maybe The Wild Hunt clean up tonight but I think right now the frontrunners to dethrone The Wild Hunt are Forever Evil, so unless Devil is eating the pin here I think the cult takes the L here.
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Tevita Takulua
I know that this likely wasn't the original plan, but this seems like the perfect way to put Tevita over with Vaughan's history with Gyula and all the other reasons you mentioned already.
Bully XL v Jake Thornton
Maybe the "selfless" Jake does the job to his former partner but I don't see him laying down for anyone he sees as below him on the card.
Tim Burr v Demarcus Lee
Tim Burr takes on another of the job squad as he works his way back up the card.

[G.B]

War Machine 2022
DIW Championship: Shogo (c) v Boo Smithson v Con McReady
Tag Team Championships: Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney v Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c)
Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) v The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Tevita Takulua
Bully XL v Jake Thornton
Tim Burr v Demarcus Lee

[HiPlus]

War Machine 2022
DIW Championship: Shogo (c) v Boo Smithson v Con McReady - I don't think Con McReady is in the spot to take the title just yet over Shogo. 
Tag Team Championships: Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney v Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c)
Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) v The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Tevita Takulua - I don't think it is time to give up Tevita's loss streak especially to Gyula. 
Bully XL v Jake Thornton - With Bully's dismissal and lack of momentum I see him losing here. Surprising because I always peg Bully as the man to come out better out of the tag-team. 
Tim Burr v Demarcus Lee - I am ready to pop for Demarcus Lee singing Timber again. 

[KyTeran]

DIW Championship: Shogo (c) v Boo Smithson v Con McReady
Tag Team Championships: Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney v Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c)
Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) v The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Tevita Takulua
Bully XL v Jake Thornton
Tim Burr v Demarcus Lee

[Satyr24]

War Machine 2022
DIW Championship: Shogo (c) v Boo Smithson v Con McReady - Boo can't talk and Shogo hasn't done much Con wins and you can rebuild Shogo
Tag Team Championships: Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney v Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c) - can't see 3 titles changes though Nightshade losing after forcing Blood out would be interesting maybe Milton because new leader
Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) v The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus) - Forever Evil need the win after losing their titles
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Tevita Takulua - what's the point of Vaughan at ringside if not to help win matchs
Bully XL v Jake Thornton - Bully is on thin ice if he can't team or get over
Tim Burr v Demarcus Lee - Splat next

[619]

Thanks for all the comments and predictions. I'll wait until after posting the show tomorrow to respond to everything, except to say I can't believe you're all in denial about the fact this whole dynasty has been building to a big Demarcus Lee win to end 2022 😁 Just two small parts today...

---

37: Business
Wednesday 14th December 2022

It wasn’t just in DIW where a lot seemed to be going on inside and outside of the ring in December 2022. Shogo had been called up to his fifth BHOTWG tour of the year, forcing us to move our final show of the year back a day to Saturday.

RAW hadn’t yet made a monster signing in reaction to being forced to fire Swoop McCarthy. Instead, it was APW keeping the local wrestling news sites busy by cutting Brian Rampage, Lothar Prellinger and Warmonger and then hiring Artemis Eyre-Rochester.

USPW were doing what they did best, stealing stars from three competitors: Rocky Golden from domestic rivals SWF, Edward Cornell from the UK’s 21CW and Velocidad from Mexico’s EILL. Speaking of Mexico, OLLIE legend El Critico had just opened the country’s first new promotion since that closure, Fantastic Entertainment Wrestling.

TCW released Benny Benson, Doc Hammond and Tana The Mighty before giving USPW a taste of their own medicine by swiping Sterling Whitlock. 21CW meanwhile had to be raging: they had Cornell drop the title to War Machine before leaving for USPW, only for SWF to take the latter days later. It was strange that they decided to let Adam Matravers go too while all of this was going on.

[619]

38: Tension
Saturday 17th December 2022

After a few shows where animosity appeared to have calmed slightly in the back, everyone seemed to be on edge at War Machine. Most notably, Blitz Simpson riled Slugger up and Australian Devil antagonised Rad Masteroff to the point they had to be separated.

It always seemed to be Simpson and AusDev at the centre of any trouble and, while the former Barracuda added enough value to shows that I understood management overlooking his bad behaviour, I didn’t think AusDev was worth the headaches.

I stayed out of my uncle’s way, not too sure where we stood after our recent argument about Jim Teasdale. However, I was given some indication that he was even moodier than normal when I heard Milton Hittlespitz tell the rest of The Wild Hunt that The Comedian had responded to his invitation to join in with a game of corridor cricket with a stream of swear words.

The only pre-show positive was seeing Rad Masteroff and Lori get out of the same car when they arrived. Clearly they were committed to making the most of their recent opportunity as a pairing.

[alpha2117]

Just now, 619 said:

Thanks for all the comments and predictions. I'll wait until after posting the show tomorrow to respond to everything, except to say I can't believe you're all in denial about the fact this whole dynasty has been building to a big Demarcus Lee win to end 2022 😁 Just two small parts today...

---

37: Business
Wednesday 14th December 2022

It wasn’t just in DIW where a lot seemed to be going on inside and outside of the ring in December 2022. Shogo had been called up to his fifth BHOTWG tour of the year, forcing us to move our final show of the year back a day to Saturday.

RAW hadn’t yet made a monster signing in reaction to being forced to fire Swoop McCarthy. Instead, it was APW keeping the local wrestling news sites busy by cutting Brian Rampage, Lothar Prellinger and Warmonger and then hiring Artemis Eyre-Rochester.

USPW were doing what they did best, stealing stars from three competitors: Rocky Golden from domestic rivals SWF, Edward Cornell from the UK’s 21CW and Velocidad from Mexico’s EILL. Speaking of Mexico, OLLIE legend El Critico had just opened the country’s first new promotion since that closure, Fantastic Entertainment Wrestling.

TCW released Benny Benson, Doc Hammond and Tana The Mighty before giving USPW a taste of their own medicine by swiping Sterling Whitlock. 21CW meanwhile had to be raging: they had Cornell drop the title to War Machine before leaving for USPW, only for SWF to take the latter days later. It was strange that they decided to let Adam Matravers go too while all of this was going on.

Surely any win by Demarcus Lee would be a big win for him ... he could pin Blood Brother and it would be like winning the USPW title for him  

[DinoKea]

Very FEW new companies popping up.

Can't wait to find out what Demarcus Lee has decided on for his finisher

[Wrestling Machine]

DIW Championship: Shogo (c) v Boo Smithson v Con McReady I can see champ escape the three way with the belt, while protecting the not-pinned-or-submitted opponents who'll have another title shot
Tag Team Championships: Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney v Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c)
Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) v The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Tevita Takulua title change incoming! 
Bully XL v Jake Thornton
Tim Burr v Demarcus Lee

[619]

39: War Machine 2022
Saturday 17th December 2022

For the second show in a row, a record crowd filed into Marv’s, with 271 showing up this month to see whether Boo Smithson or Con McReady could end Shogo’s 14-month DIW Championship reign.

Jake Thornton defeated Bully XL
I did consider whether to put my former partner over here to reassure him that there was no malice behind the decision to separate him from The Dog Pound and as he probably needed the win more. However, the priority had to be continuing to present The Dog Pound as a serious threat even in our slimmed-down state, and that meant giving him the courtesy of a 50-50 match but one in which I converted my reach advantage into a decisive win using my Crucifix Powerbomb.

After leaving me to prove myself on my own, Vaughan and Tevita Takulua entered before the Australian Championship match and congratulated me. Vaughan cut a short promo telling Gyula Lakatos this wasn’t personal and it wasn’t about the past, it was about the future and The Dog Pound’s next step was establishing ourselves as top dogs by slaying a big beast and claiming a title.

Australian Championship: Tevita Takulua defeated Gyula Lakatos (c)
Lakatos had defended the gold every month since winning it but finally found himself outmatched by one of only two roster members heavier than him (the other being former champion Tim Burr). In a bout full of tests of strength and power moves, the champion played his trump card first, hitting the Choke Bomb, but Takulua got a shoulder up on two. He went for another, but The Tongan Pit Bull countered and landed his Choke Breaker. Rather than risk the same fate as Lakatos, he executed it a second time before covering for his first career title.

Rad Masteroff and Lori had this month’s interview with Jim Teasdale. Lori confirmed she’d agreed to manage The Free Radical, emphasising it was strictly business as her client looked sheepish. Teasdale asked about her vision for the 22-year-old, to which she deadpanned that his main asset was an undefeated finishing move, so he needed to actually start hitting it. She added that Masteroff started his career as a small part of a big group, and maybe it was time he had an entourage of his own.

Forever Devils (Australian Devil, Creeper and Writhe) defeated The Wild Hunt (Bloodsport, Slugger and Syrus)
In addition to keeping The Wild Hunt’s other enemies in the spotlight, this match was all about Bloodsport. The man responsible for ending Forever Evil’s 11-month Tag Team Championship reign had another impressive flurry late in this contest, launching Creeper and then Writhe over the top rope and then diving on both of them, but he was distracted when he got back to his feet, almost in a trance as he looked out to the crowd. In the ring, Australian Devil slammed Slugger, Dropkicked Syrus off the apron and then scored the win for his team with a Tumbleweed Legdrop.

Milton Hittlespitz, whose Tag Team Championship match was up next, entered without any music to check in on Bloodsport, appearing genuinely concerned as he escorted him up the entranceway.

Tag Team Championships: Crazy Shade (Milton Hittlespitz and Nightshade) (c) defeated Mace Mueller and Mayhem Mulhoney
Mueller and Mulhoney dominated the early minutes, not hesitating to tag one another in to take some shots at their common enemies. There was no sign of Bloodsport during a match he believed he should’ve competed in, but The Bat Man made their presence felt in the final stretch by taking out Mace Mueller with their weapon of choice at ringside before being driven up the entranceway by Forever Evil. In the ring, Hittlespitz honoured his absent stablemate by planting Mulhoney with his Snap DDT, but Nightshade asked for the tag, hitting his Wolf Bite’s DDT while screaming “for my family” before covering the veteran.

Milton Hittlespitz didn’t seem too eager to hang around after the match, but Nightshade encouraged him that they should make the most of their rivals being grounded and so they started putting boots to Mulhoney. The save came from an unexpected source as Blitz Simpson sprinted down the entranceway, taking a swing at Hittlespitz with a pipe and lining up another shot before Nightshade pulled him out of the ring to escape. Simpson helped Mulhoney to his feet, with the 45-year-old doing a good job of selling his bemusement at again receiving help from an unexpected source.

Tim Burr defeated Demarcus Lee
The former Australian Champion used his Tree Slam to stretch his winning streak since losing to Shogo to two. However, he’d probably have to beat more formidable opponents than Blood Brother and Lee before claiming to have fulfilled his objective of earning a rematch.

A Hired Gun perhaps? The three-time Tag Team Champions appeared on the entranceway, with Wez Dobberly gesturing to Lillian O’Donahue to seemingly indicate that he’d like a fight with Tim Burr.

DIW Championship: Boo Smithson defeated Shogo (c) and Con McReady
This was a curious spectacle. The first ever title collision between DIW’s top two stars of the early 2020s, Shogo and Smithson, but their interaction was limited as Angus McMiller was eager to tell the story that McReady should’ve ended 2022 as DIW Champion, but got in his own way. He could’ve challenged for the title in October, but got baited into a rematch with Smithson. He could’ve won that, but he paid for needlessly going after Shogo two months earlier. And here he had the champion beaten like he had in the past for the Australian Championship, laying him out with the Iron Fist but, because his past errors meant this was a triple threat, he was foiled by the third man. Smithson trapped McReady in the ropes and capitalised on the damage he’d inflicted on Shogo while The Wild One frantically failed to free himself, following up with a Fisherman’s Suplex to start his third reign.

After Boo Smithson headed up the entranceway with his DIW Championship, followed soon after by dejected former champion Shogo, Con McReady suffered the indignity of needing help from The Comedian and Jim Teasdale to free himself from the ropes his rival trapped him in. Like at Damage Control, he started taking out his anger on ringside equipment. Teasdale’s attempt to restrain him met instinctive resistance, with McReady turning to catch him with an Iron Fist to his temple. He didn’t clock who he’d hit until The Comedian started yelling. McReady raised his palms apologetically before appearing to decide he had nothing left to lose, catching his boss by surprise with another Iron Fist, storming off with DIW’s Owner and Head of Talent Relations both laid out at ringside.

---

A very tight final prediction round of the year with 5 points for @alpha2117, @christmas_ape, @DinoKea, @John Lions, @Satyr24and @Tiberious and @AboardTheArk, @G.B, @HiPlus, @KyTeran and @Wrestling Machine all only one further back. Shoutout @DinoKea on being the sole Boo-liever, only for it to unfortunately be cancelled out by being the only one to trust in Jake Thornton's good nature.

Points (out of 74 unless stated)
64: @Tiberious
63: @John Lions
62: @DinoKea and @KyTeran
59: @christmas_ape
53: @alpha2117
52: @AboardTheArk (out of 68)
48: @Satyr24 (out of 55)
46: @HiPlus (out of 54)
38: @G.B (out of 49)
35: @Wrestling Machine (out of 43)

Percentages
100%: @Pteroid
87.3%: @Satyr24
86.5%: @Tiberious
85.2%: @HiPlus
85.1%: @John Lions
83.8%: @DinoKea and @KyTeran
81.4%: @Wrestling Machine
79.7%: @christmas_ape
77.6%: @G.B
76.5%: @AboardTheArk
71.6%: @alpha2117

Congratulations @Tiberious: your top score was pressured by some strong challengers, but you managed to stay top throughout. I will try to think of some kind of prize as there were something like 719 predictions in this thread, so it can't all have been for nothing.

Con McReady pickers were probably hard done by as I realise that was the sensible outcome and the one we seemed to be building to: cement the guy you've built up to main event level by beating the top two guys at once. And Boo Smithson was arguably the least appealing candidate given his uneventful year and declining value. However, it just seemed like the result that might create the most future possibilties. McReady doing almost everything right but his wild tendencies getting in the way: does he have to curb his instincts or can he get to the top his way? Shogo going from dominant champion to having a losing record against two of his biggest rivals. And Smithson having to reach beyond his wrestling machine skillset to stay on top, profiting from a weapon and interference to win his McReady rematch and then capitalising on his rival's work to win the triple threat.

@alpha2117 Fun stipulation ideas with both the opener and main event, and it's definitely something to work on as it's beyond unrealistic that a hardcore company just got through a whole year with no real gimmick matches.

@Tiberious Interesting thoughts on what to do next with Shogo. Poor Demarcus falling in the forest, haha.

@AboardTheArk Good point on Mulhoney and Mueller potentially being trapped in a weak tag division. I think that division's rebuild will need to be gradual rather than something that can be quickly fixed.

@John Lions You did mention Boo winning as a possibiity so you weren't far off a perfect score and perfect record predicting 2022 title changes. Regarding Takulua and original plans, it would've potentially been Takulua and Thornton dethroning Ares Death Cult here if Cesar Sionis hadn't walked out, but I think the forced pivot probably worked out better in terms of Takulua benefitting from the solo spotlight and The Wild Hunt story distracting attention from how bare the tag division got.

@HiPlus Interesting insight into Bully XL standing out as the more valuable long-term prospect. Something I should bear in mind to try to encourage me to find something for him rather than showing him Demarcus levels of disrespect.

@Satyr24 Congratulations on such a strong year-end percentage. And I agree that Nightshade stealing the title and then losing it straight away would've been a fun scenario to play out.

[alpha2117]

Sort of thought Vaughan was going to shank Gyula when he said "this wasn’t personal and it wasn’t about the past" .... you actually swerved me by him not doing something to Gyula ... yet!

[619]

40: Statement
Monday 19th December 2022

“DIW are sad to announce the retirement of Aussie wrestling legend Big Jim Teasdale. As The Comedian’s right-hand man and Head of Talent Relations, Big Jim has been a defining figure of our first 13 years and will be welcome back if ever he gets bored of the quiet life.”

My uncle didn’t like to peel back the curtain too much so that was all the statement on the DIW website two days after War Machine said. I later found out, not that it was a surprise, that Angus McMiller would replace him as Head Booker, with Shawn Berringer (Death Ref) stepping up as Head of Talent Relations.

I hadn’t spoken to my uncle directly since our argument. I knew it was better to give him space to focus on what I’d said rather than how I’d said it or if I had any right to. It meant I could position myself as someone just telling uncomfortable truths for the greater good rather than relentlessly pursuing a vendetta, and he could have the clarity of reaching the eventual decision himself, rather than feeling like he’d been pushed into it and resenting me.

It meant I didn’t have a clue how the actual conversation had gone, or even if it had been before or after War Machine. Had my uncle fired him, persuaded him it was time to retire or had Teasdale already realised his time was up? Had McMiller kept quiet or had he told Teasdale or my uncle that I’d floated the idea of him retiring before it became the party line?

None of it mattered too much. The main obstacle to me becoming a long-time decision maker had gone, and any heat would hopefully fall on my uncle and McMiller rather than me.

McMiller didn’t concern me. He’d do a better job than Teasdale in the short term, he’d give me more opportunities to get involved and he wasn’t as revered as a DIW cornerstone so, when I was a credible enough option to run the show, he’d be a lot easier to elbow out of the way than Teasdale.

The only thing that surprised me was how quiet it ended up being: a short website and social media statement. I thought at the very least January’s show would be dedicated to celebrating him.

Instead, his last moment had been selling an Iron Fist from Con McReady, which hadn’t been discussed in our War Machine booking meeting. I guess when him and my uncle agreed his departure, he decided to go out on his back like all the old timers did. And credit to him for that: it was the first good decision I’d seen him make in a long time.

---

Thanks so much for sticking it out all the way through 2022. I think I mentioned earlier in the thread that I'll be out of action for a few weeks now, which is why the second half of 2022 was a bit of a sprint. I've got lots of ideas of what I'd like to do in 2023 and am taking notes to not lose any of it. So I hope to free up enough time to follow up with more but, as I like to write quite a way ahead, there won't be anything for a while.

I'm beyond grateful for the support I've received. I think 12 people contributed predictions and wisdom overall, which is probably double what I experienced on TEW20. And I'm so glad the people who read those came back. I realise I'm really lucky to get that when posting all text with minimal interactivity/reader rewards on account of booking quite far ahead, fairly basic booking, low roster turnover, etc. We didn't even get left millions by a dead stranger to force a bit more excitement into the narrative unlike Alt 2022, haha. So yeah, I just want you guys to know how much it means and how rewarding you have made it, especially the quality, humour and depth of the comments, receiving multiple ideas a show that are better than what I would've come up with but help inspire future ideas. Thanks and I'm already looking forward to hopefully getting caught up on everything I've missed later this month.

Edited Thursday at 12:54 AM by 619

[alpha2117]

It's been great and the emergence of Jake's true malevolent nature over time is great. 

[DinoKea]

Of course it's the match I was least certain on that costs me a perfect week. Title was unachievable anyway, but a shame to lose those bragging rights.

Very surprised nobody else was a Boo-liever though. It felt like the proper DIW booking to give him the championship. It'll be interesting to see where you go with his title reign

[alpha2117]

18 minutes ago, DinoKea said:

Of course it's the match I was least certain on that costs me a perfect week. Title was unachievable anyway, but a shame to lose those bragging rights.

Very surprised nobody else was a Boo-liever though. It felt like the proper DIW booking to give him the championship. It'll be interesting to see where you go with his title reign

I agree on Boo - I was sort of hoping for a non result here and a cage next time but for him to ultimately come out on top.  He's got maybe one great last run in him whilst the other two have years left - well assuming Gyula doesn't get them first.  

[Satyr24]

As always it was a good read, I just wish I hadn't missed the first couple of shows you got lucky this time @Tiberious 😄

do you plan to keep going here for 2023?