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

[Pteroid]

3 hours ago, G.B said:

It was going great until December 23 when APW come and stole Creeper, Writhe, Tim Burr, Mace Mueller and Shogo in one fell swoop and Milton Hittlespitz gave me notice.

I just threw up in my mouth a little reading that.

[Satyr24]

Damage Control 2022
Career v DIW Championship Contendership: Boo Smithson v Con McReady
Unless Boo handed in his notice or stolen by APW he won't be losing

Mayhem Mulhoney v Nightshade
The Leader does what Blue couldn't

Mace Mueller v Wez Dobberly
another Pinn bites the dust

Tag Team Championships: Forever Evil (Creeper and Writhe) (c) v Crazy Blood (Milton Hittlespitz and Bloodsport)
Failing the cult seems more interesting 

Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Bully XL
Champ retains in my failed save it was Tevite Takulua who defeated Tim Burr for the belt

Blitz Simpson v Australian Devil
should make Jake happy

 

[christmas_ape]

Damage Control 2022

Career v DIW Championship Contendership: Boo Smithson v Con McReady

Mayhem Mulhoney v Nightshade

Mace Mueller v Wez Dobberly

Tag Team Championships: Forever Evil (Creeper and Writhe) (c) v Crazy Blood (Milton Hittlespitz and Bloodsport)

Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Bully XL

Blitz Simpson v Australian Devil

[John Lions]

Damage Control 2022
Career v DIW Championship Contendership: Boo Smithson v Con McReady
I think the Con vs Shogo match is a money match that you can let simmer for a little while longer. Boo probably doesn't have many good years left but I can't see him hanging up the boots just yet.
Mayhem Mulhoney v Nightshade
Hindsight, makes sense that Mulhoney beat Milton earlier because Nightshade takes the veteran's scalp here and capitalizes on almost 8 months of yapping by putting his $ where his mouth is and winning.
Mace Mueller v Wez Dobberly
It pains me to do this as Mace is one of my boys, but Wez is likely moving on from being a primarily tag competitor and he needs a win here, even if by many, many shenanigans, to have some legitimacy (same logic with regards to Gyula's win earlier).
Tag Team Championships: Forever Evil (Creeper and Writhe) (c) v Crazy Blood (Milton Hittlespitz and Bloodsport)
Tag team name = tag title win. Since you were planning on having Creeper and Write drop the titles earlier, I can see this being the opportunity to pull that trigger. Given the cult dynamics Milton and Bloodsport don't even need to hold them long, but Forever Evil haven't really had much pizazz as characters so giving them a common enemy to chase rather than walking in as champions might be the better move here. I wouldn't be surprised if Forever Evil retain but I'm not sure where the story goes from there.
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Bully XL
Gyula and Blitz (esp going back to your alt-Cverse diaries) are two guys who have done their best work as a part of a larger group, but as of right now both guys are glaringly alone. I can see them pairing up after what was likely a decade of being at war with each other to fight a new, common enemy.
Blitz Simpson v Australian Devil
Australian Devil's attitude with a guy he KNOWS has pull backstage is writing checks his body is cashing on his bump card. Wouldn't be surprised to see Devil find his way down the card over the next 6 months or so while you milk all of the credibility he has left.

[619]

30: Damage Control 2022
Friday 21st October 2022

For once there wasn’t much backstage drama before the show besides Blitz Simpson irritating people again. The good news continued at the gate, with a 246-person turnout our second biggest crowd.

Mace Mueller defeated Wez Dobberly
The booking team were optimistic about this one, as was I based on the analytics telling me these were the two most popular wrestlers in DIW right now outside of our main event story. I’m not sure what happened but it ended up being the worst received match of Mueller’s trilogy with his former allies. Perhaps fans were bored of the story, or it always opening the show became too predictable. The outcome was too as Mueller put Pinn Enterprises in his rear mirror with another Punt Kick.

We used our not-so-big screen between bouts for the first time in a while. This was my idea to have Jim Teasdale conduct a monthly interview while a bit of ringside maintenance was being performed and make use of his interview skills the greybeard earn his pay. First up was Tim Burr who, after a few harrowing insights into his military years, explained why he hadn’t pursued an Australian Championship rematch with Gyula Lakatos. He noted that he might have been able to use his status as a former champ to jump the queue but he didn’t think he deserved one after two decisive defeats in a row, and he was determined to earn any opportunities rather than have anything handed to him.

Blitz Simpson defeated Australian Devil
In a wild, entertaining but disappointingly professional brawl, Lori was once again distracted by Rad Masteroff, appearing to humour him at first but becoming agitated when he slipped an arm around her. The commotion distracted Simpson, and AusDev flew from the middle rope to drop a chair in his face, only for the former Barracuda to make a very late kickout. The masked man tried to follow up with a Tumbleweed Legdrop, but Simpson used the same chair to block the impact, next landing a Lifting DDT for the one, two, three.

Blitz Simpson called a sheepish Lori into the ring after the match. The fans anticipated a tirade for humouring Rad Masteroff, but instead he thanked her. She’d taken him from tag specialist to one of DIW’s top singles stars, negotiating his first DIW Championship match earlier this year, and he’d always be grateful. However, there was no shame in either of them admitting they’d outgrown one another. Someone on the roster would need her more than he did now he was prepared for anything DIW had to throw at him. They sealed the deal with a fist bump. I didn’t find this hardcore, but Angus McMiller “disliked the optics” of another Con McReady-Jaime G split, and said Lori betraying him for Masteroff would be predictable, whereas this would catch fans off-guard. I wasn’t sure we wanted to surprise our fans by being boring, but it suited my interests right now to let McMiller have this one.

Tag Team Championships: Crazy Blood (Milton Hittlespitz and Bloodsport) defeated Forever Evil (Creeper and Writhe) (c)
We leaned into the curious dynamics of this match. Forever Evil usually had the crowd on their side but 11 months into an unremarkable reign, fans were ready for change and, though in a villainous group, Hittlespitz and Bloodsport were fresh and The Wild Hunt’s most likable members in and out of the ring. There was enthusiasm when, rather than just take a glory tag like in their previous matches, Bloodsport twice saved his senior partner and then got the hot tag and unexpectedly cleared house briefly. It still seemed Forever Evil’s tag experience would make the difference when they turned the tables and condemned the youngest man in the match to Final Damnation but The Bat Men made their presence felt, driving Creeper out of the ring with a double bat attack. Crazy Blue followed with a Suicide Dive as Bloodsport floored Writhe with a Snap DDT to win The Wild Hunt their first gold.

Nightshade emerged for his match, congratulating his family for showing their unity and that nothing mattered more than one another. He wanted to reward them by going it alone and giving them the rest of the night off to celebrate. However, he belatedly asked Milton Hittlespitz to stay on the basis that he’d only taken this match with Mayhem Mulhoney to avenge him, so he wanted him to see it.

Mayhem Mulhoney defeated Nightshade
I don’t think Nightshade had ever been pinned before and yet here, when the stage appeared set for him to beat a two-time DIW Champion, avenge Milton Hittlespitz’s recent loss and assert his position as The Wild Hunt leader, it happened. The 23-year-old called on Crazy Blue for assistance as Mulhoney built his comeback and he slid a chair in, only for Mace Mueller to appear opposite to take it back out from the other side, running round and striking Hittlespitz with it. As Nightshade tried to work out what happened, he turned into a Cradle Powerslam, enough to keep him down for three.

Mace Mueller didn’t hang around, walking up the entranceway with the chair still in hand, taking one glance back at Mayhem Mulhoney having his arm raised. The veteran appeared unsure what to make of the intervention of a man who he’d gone to war with earlier this year at Hardcore Heatwave.

Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) defeated Bully XL
These Lakatos Australian Championship matches don’t tend to be too pretty so I’ll keep it brief. We left Bully XL to take this fight on his own and it turned out he wasn’t quite on The Hungarian Bulldozer’s level yet, being put down by the Choke Bomb after eight minutes.

The rest of The Dog Pound appeared but it was Bully XL rather than Gyula Lakatos that Tevita Takulua and I targeted with the usual dog lead whipping and choking routine as Vaughan screamed that he went into business for himself taking this match, and had to suffer the consequences of losing it.

Career v DIW Championship Contendership: Boo Smithson defeated Con McReady
For the second time on the night, we were left perplexed by a match underdelivering. The opener could be tolerated but this was one of our most consequential main events of the year, with a winner who could usually be depended on to deliver. Anyway, you only really need to know the finish. McReady had Smithson grounded and got the brass knuckles ready for the Iron Fist, only to be confronted by DIW Champion Shogo. The Wild One swung at him on the apron and missed, losing a grip on his weapon in the process, before being driven into the top rope by the champ. This gave Smithson the opening to apply the Crossface Chickenwing. McReady resisted gamely until the Misfit Wrestling Machine decided to turn the Hardcore Hallelujah finish on its head, applying the brass knuckles to his loose hand and walloping his deteriorating foe, taking him out for a three count.

Shogo and Boo Smithson briefly stared each other down after the finish, their War Machine match now set. Con McReady came round in disbelief at what had happened, taunted by fans in the front row and laying hands on one until security intervened (a plant: we used an indy wrestler called Wrecker who’d asked to hang out), before throwing chairs and stairs around the ringside area in fury.

---

Congratulations @John Lions: you're 2/2 for calling both title changes so far and stood alone on each occasion. And again Mayhem Mulhoney defied all eight predictors. I appreciate both of these calls were contentious, but I was intrigued by a night where the underlings all did their jobs but the leader fell short, and the potential fallout from that.

Points (out of 62 unless stated)
54: @Tiberious
52: @DinoKea, @John Lions and @KyTeran
49: @christmas_ape
48: @AboardTheArk
43: @alpha2117
42 (out of 48): @HiPlus
37 (out of 43): @Satyr24
31 (out of 37): @Wrestling Machine
29 (out of 37): @G.B

Percentages
87.5%: @HiPlus
87.1%: @Tiberious
86.1%: @Satyr24
83.9%: @DinoKea, @John Lions and @KyTeran
83.8%: @Wrestling Machine
79%: @christmas_ape
78.4%: @G.B
77.4%: @AboardTheArk
69.4%: @alpha2117

@AboardTheArk No pre-shows just as my head canon is that The Comedian and Big Jim only deliver what's advertised and don't care much for building people up, trying people out, etc. So I really am that bad a booker that I only had Nightshade work once in the first eight months and then job a match everyone thought he should win soon after 😁

@alpha2117 I liked your analysis of Mueller/Dobberly and how it could've set up a cage match and Blitz/Devil leading to an alliance: both probably more interesting directions than what happened. I probably never clarified but, in my head, all DIW matches are no DQ/countout.

@Tiberious Firstly, I owe you a thank you as I was surprised how much this main event bombed but, following your suggestion thread, I now realise this was probably due to a stiffening time decline penalty that you helped get removed, so it'll be interesting to see if Boo Smithson and Mayhem Mulhoney get a slight boost from that. I loved The Midnight Boo-er 😁 The ratings backed up what you said about the Mace Mueller v Pinn pals story needing a bit more flavour. It was mainly to have him looking strong after the Shogo defeat and give some motivation for his next course of action, but there probably should have been a bit more story or struggle.

@G.B Six important roster members gone in the same month, wow: I've never seen anything so awful before. Have you played past it or did you need a break after that? At least now I know not to get complacent after surviving the first 10 months without any raids.

@Satyr24 That win percentage is looking very strong again.

@John Lions Similar to my reply to Tiberious, you're probably right that it would've been more interesting to have Dobberly win here to keep up his recent momentum, rather than have Mueller get through all of his former allies so fast. Not just a winning pick with Crazy Blood but lots of interesting thoughts. Forever Evil character development is definitely required, even more so now they can't just coast on having the titles. I like the idea of Gyula and Blitz teaming up, especially as the tag division needs some new combos, and popped for your AusDev comment too.

Edited September 26 by 619

[619]

31: Split
Saturday 22nd October 2022

I wasn’t delighted about it but I believed it was the right thing to do. We had to kick Bully XL out of The Dog Pound. This wasn’t some political play to position myself higher up the ladder, I would’ve preferred to keep him with Tevita Takulua, Vaughan and I, but it had become unignorable that his popularity wasn’t keeping up with ours, and he was more likely to drag us down than us lift him up.

It was Vaughan’s arrival that really made me aware of the issue. He’d pointed out our awkward tag chemistry. He’d made a few comments about the crowd not buying him. He’d told a story about a man in prison with Blitz Simpson, Chopper Rourke and him who wanted to join them in the ring but wasn’t Barracuda material.

This gave me cover to claim it as some kind of consensus rather than a selfish plot to bring down my former partner. I guess it would’ve been easier to encourage my uncle to let him go than keep him around probably resenting us and badmouthing me, but that would’ve made me look worse, so he’d stay on the roster and, if it was possible to establish him as a solo act, that would be a bonus.

No, the only politicking I did after Damage Control was again initiating a post-show drink with Angus McMiller, expressing my regret that he again didn’t find himself a place on the card. Exaggerating my concern once more that he might be let go if he no longer held sufficient in-ring value, I told him I’d back him up any time he put forward a story idea for himself, even offering to think of one myself.

He claimed that it wasn’t necessary, but I could still sense his discomfort about being past his relevancy peak and not feeling assured of his future as retirement neared. I lightened the mood and earned a restrained chuckle with a jab at Jim Teasdale, telling McMiller that maybe the head booker would factor him into one of his inventive stories like “Boo Smithson has a match this month”.

I knew what I wanted to do next, but I wasn’t sure I was in a strong enough position to pull it off.

[619]

32: Chaos
Friday 11th November 2022

One thing I’d become more aware of as the year had progressed was that our events on even-numbered months tended to be better built in terms of attractive headline matches that had been hyped in advance, with odd-numbered months at times feeling more like setup shows.

November’s Chaos Engine risked a similar fate, so I tried to encourage the others that we should inject a little more chaos into proceedings to try to provide more incentives for people to attend. Incidentally, chaos was also the order of the day at RAW, who had been forced to fire Australia’s biggest wrestling star since Bruce The Giant, Swoop McCarthy, following a sex scandal. APW’s Chuck Everlasting was their first recruit in the fallout.

But back to our more deliberate chaos, it started with inviting APW Grand Slam Champion Dingo Devine back to face DIW Champion Shogo in a bit of an Australian indy dream match to help the Japanese Buzzsaw prepare for his upcoming defence against Devine’s former partner Boo Smithson.

Then we had a mystery opponent element for our co-main event. Since Damage Control, Con McReady had lobbied online to be added to Shogo v Smithson at War Machine, reasoning that as he had won his most recent bout with Shogo and his only true one-on-one clash with Smithson, any DIW Championship match without his participation lacked legitimacy. The Comedian told McReady he’d have to earn it by beating an opponent of Shogo and Smithson’s choosing.

Keeping up the element of the unknown, and tying into DIW’s recent 13-year anniversary, Blitz Simpson’s first outing without Lori in his corner would be against an opponent looking to settle a historic score with the former Barracuda. Elsewhere, Rad Masteroff had been granted an Australian Championship match with Gyula Lakatos and messaged Lori asking her to check it out, promising to keep his hands to himself this time.

Hopefully we’d hyped enough to keep our recent streak of 240+ attendances going, and the more controversial segment I’d struggled to get cleared by the rest of the booking team for the show wouldn’t stop those fans from returning for War Machine.

Chaos Engine 2022
DIW Championship Contendership: Shogo and Boo Smithson’s Chosen Opponent v Con McReady
Shogo v Dingo Devine
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Rad Masteroff
Blitz Simpson v Unannounced Former Adversary
The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip) v The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly)
Tim Burr v Blood Brother

[alpha2117]

Chaos Engine 2022
DIW Championship Contendership: Shogo and Boo Smithson’s Chosen Opponent v Con McReady

Love the concept and KNOW the only sensible booking decision is a win for Con.  Perhaps this is the moment to give Bully XL his chance as a solo act.  He's not without merit or credibility but also expendable. He actually gets more out of just being in the match than sitting on the shelf.

Shogo v Dingo Devine

Human Sacrifice time.

Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Rad Masteroff

I know I will be wrong but honestly the time to pull the trigger on Rad grows ever closer and Gyula is Gyula.  The Con push feels right to help refresh the Main Event scene and Rad in the Australian role would also feel like the promotion was moving forward. 

Blitz Simpson v Unannounced Former Adversary

There are a few people who this could be - most expendable

The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip) v The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly)

Talking of expendable.  The Buchanans are young and right now there to job.  Having say a certain cult attack them post match might be the way to go here.

Tim Burr v Blood Brother

Tim no longer has a belt, Tim is a potential Main Eventer who needs a new direction and momentum, he is facing BB ... this is not a difficult result to predict.

[alpha2117]

Meanwhile a Man has an orgy with 6 Transexual Porn Stars, footage of which leaks to the media and they fire him ... what is the world coming too? 

[Satyr24]

Chaos Engine 2022
DIW Championship Contendership: Shogo and Boo Smithson’s Chosen Opponent v Con McReady
Shogo v Dingo Devine
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Rad Masteroff
Blitz Simpson v Unannounced Former Adversary
The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip) v The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly)
Tim Burr v Blood Brother

[Tiberious]

DIW Championship Contendership: Shogo and Boo Smithson’s Chosen Opponent v Con McReady

No idea who Con's opponent will be, but I can guess the result.

Shogo v Dingo Devine

I like Dingo, but this is just a one off and Shogo is too important to lose here.

Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Rad Masteroff

Rad's new manager can make an instant impact and help him win the belt. 

Blitz Simpson v Unannounced Former Adversary

Not sure who this is since the Barracudas had a lot of enemies, but most of them are going to be a lot less relevant than Blitz. Though now I'm a little worried when I look over the card since Mace Mueller is missing and we have two mystery spots.

The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip) v The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly)

I'll take the Hired Guns here to try to re-gain some momentum. I could see an upset since Angus is getting close to the end of his career and the Buchannons are pretty solid, but I think it's more likely they will be losing for the near future.

Tim Burr v Blood Brother

I could see Tim having a confidence crisis and going on a little slide, but not against Blood Brother.

[KyTeran]

Chaos Engine 2022
DIW Championship Contendership: Shogo and Boo Smithson’s Chosen Opponent v Con McReady
Shogo v Dingo Devine
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Rad Masteroff
Blitz Simpson v Unannounced Former Adversary
The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip) v The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly)
Tim Burr v Blood Brother

[Pteroid]

DIW Championship Contendership: Shogo and Boo Smithson’s Chosen Opponent v Con McReady
I was banking on Con crashing the party of Shogo and Boo's title match to make a statement but this works too.
Shogo v Dingo Devine
Lol and if I may LMAO
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Rad Masteroff
Rad's too down bad to taste gold
Blitz Simpson v Unannounced Former Adversary
If I had to guess I'd say one of the truckers or maybe a Monger? Either way welcome back ya tosser, get stiffed and get out
The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip) v The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly)
Ha. Hahah. And Hah.
Tim Burr v Blood Brother
Lil Bro had a taste of gold but Burr's a different beast. As a sidenote if you dislike the name Crazy Blood, you may look into flipping it and making them 'Blood Crazed' though that may be a touch too dramatic for DIW

Edited September 27 by Pteroid

[christmas_ape]

Chaos Engine 2022
DIW Championship Contendership: Shogo and Boo Smithson’s Chosen Opponent v Con McReady
Shogo v Dingo Devine
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Rad Masteroff
Blitz Simpson v Unannounced Former Adversary
The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip) v The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly)
Tim Burr v Blood Brother

 

I like this card especially for an odd number! 

Enjoyed all the last few posts, feels like Jake's getting more confident with his politicking now. I'm intrigued to see what his next proper play is, part of me will expect it backfire but also the overarching story probably lends itself more to him gaining power backstage. I do feel for Agnus though.

And wow. Swoop getting fired is huge. I'd be interested to know what happens to him.

Edited September 27 by christmas_ape

[G.B]

Chaos Engine 2022
DIW Championship Contendership: Shogo and Boo Smithson’s Chosen Opponent v Con McReady
Shogo v Dingo Devine
Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Rad Masteroff
Blitz Simpson v Unannounced Former Adversary
The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip) v The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly)
Tim Burr v Blood Brother

[John Lions]

Chaos Engine 2022

DIW Championship Contendership: Shogo and Boo Smithson’s Chosen Opponent v Con McReady

I think Shogo wins this one, but I also think the ? is Mayhem Mulhoney - I can't think of anyone else that fits.

Shogo v Dingo Devine

I think the winner here is a no brainer, but I hope Dingo does well enough to potentially earn himself a deal.

Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) v Rad Masteroff

MAYBE Rad wins this one if you want to pass the Aussie title around a bit through your midcard, but I think Gyula holds it a bit longer.

Blitz Simpson v Unannounced Former Adversary

Am I crazy for thinking this might be Mace? I can't think of anyone else that would be a good fit. Maybe Mace is the guy in the main event instead....

The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip) v The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly)
 

Back to the tag division for Wez.

Tim Burr v Blood Brother

Damn Tim is REALLY starting from the bottom here.

Edited September 28 by John Lions

[DinoKea]

Chaos Engine 2022 Predictions
DIW Championship Contendership: Con McReady def. Shogo and Boo Smithson’s Chosen Opponent
Shogo def. Dingo Devine
Australian Championship: Rad Masteroff def. Gyula Lakatos (c)
Blitz Simpson def. Unannounced Former Adversary
The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly) def. The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip)
Tim Burr def. Blood Brother

[619]

33: Chaos Engine 2022
Friday 18th November 2022

A record 265 fans showed up at Marv’s to see whether Con McReady could win his way into the War Machine main event.

Shogo defeated Dingo Devine
Mace Mueller’s four-month run as show opener was over as DIW Champion Shogo instead prepared for his first ever meeting with Boo Smithson by facing Boo’s old partner. With Devine barely working since leaving APW in December 2020, he didn’t throw Suplexes with his usual fluidity, but Shogo guided him through a fun match that Smithson scouted passively, putting the APW Grand Slam Champion away with the Inverted Piledriver that had finished off so many DIW wrestlers this year.

As Boo Smithson checked on Dingo Devine in the ring, Con McReady charged down the entranceway with brass knuckles in place, blasting his recent rival and DIW Champion Shogo with quick-fire Iron Fists and fleeing without giving either the opportunity to respond.

The Hired Guns (Angus McMiller and Wez Dobberly) defeated The Buchanans (Bounce and Flip)
After making a good impression against Crazy Blood, we’d added The Buchanans to the roster, taking the spots vacated by Cesar Sionis and East Coast Panther in June. This wasn’t about them though but building Dobberly and to a lesser extent McMiller back up after recent failed title challenges and defeats to Mace Mueller. They did their job well, with Flip flummoxed by Dobberly’s Full Nelson.

Mace Mueller had an interview screened between matches with Jim Teasdale, who wanted to know why he helped Mayhem Mulhoney beat Nightshade. The New Zealander claimed that in DIW, you’re forever at the mercy of other people’s agendas. Hell, even tonight, he was facing Con McReady in the main event because he’d beaten Boo Smithson for the DIW Championship and taken Shogo to the limit, so he was the man they wanted doing their bidding. Before that he was beholden to Dumfrey Pinn’s whims, hinting he’d have more than two DIW Championship reigns by now if not held back by Pinn Enterprises. So ever since Lillian O’Donahue tried to drag him back into that world, he’d decided to strike first. He’d put his former associates in their place, now his sights were set on The Wild Hunt. As for Mayhem Mulhoney, he didn’t like him, but he could at least respect a man he’d traded DIW Championship reigns and litres of blood with, someone who knew what it meant to fight one on one.

Australian Championship: Gyula Lakatos (c) defeated Rad Masteroff
Lori took Masteroff up on his invitation to check out his match, which gave us a chance to check if the chemistry was right before committing to the partnership. The Free Radical was in the unusual position of having the fans behind him after taking his larger opponent down on multiple occasions, but it seemed to get to his head. After grounding Lakatos with a Spine Buster, he gestured for the Radicalizer, looking to Lori for approval and milking the reaction of the crowd, and the delay proved costly as he was flipped over and then taken out with the champion’s Choke Bomb for the win.

The Dog Pound made it clear we weren’t finished with Gyula Lakatos, with Vaughan directing Tevita Takulua and I in going after the Australian Champion. But after taking him off his feet and trying to introduce the dog leads, my former partner Bully XL charged to the ring with a chain, forcing us to retreat and saving the man he fought last month at Damage Control.

Blitz Simpson defeated Asylum
Simpson’s first ever appearance with no gangmates or manager pitted him against Asylum, who was driven out of the company a decade ago by The Barracudas but fancied his chances at revenge now Blitz was on his own. With this throwback being tied to the company’s recent 13-year anniversary, it was no surprise that it was a more traditional DIW bloodbath rather than a Shogo or Boo Smithson-style match. It ended with Simpson hitting his Lifting DDT onto an unfolded and upright steel chair.

The Wild Hunt entered the ring between matches. The group anticipated a celebration of their first title win, but Nightshade’s expression said otherwise. He was furious that Mace Mueller had denied him the victory they needed to put Mayhem Mulhoney behind them last month. They needed to be shown the difference between family and fragile alliances and that would happen next month when they received a shot at the Tag Team Championships. The Wild Hunt’s bond was strong enough to conquer even a pair of two-time DIW Champions. Milton Hittlespitz and Bloodsport appreciated the show of confidence, but there was more to follow as Nightshade said it was important he led by example so he would be partnering Crazy Blue in the match.

Bloodsport protested that this was the first title of his career, so he couldn’t hand it over without defending it. Nightshade explained that it was a team title, not an individual title. He had to make a hard call giving them the opportunity last month instead of The Bat Men, but it had been the right call and this would be too, and Bloodsport had to do what was best for the family just like Slugger and Syrus did then. Hittlespitz intervened to say Bloodsport won them the match so, if anyone had to hand over a title, it should be himself.

Nightshade appeared moved, saying his willingness to sacrifice his first career title showed why he was already such a leader in their group. However, it was because of that leadership that the two of them had to step up. They’d both promised victories over Mulhoney and failed, so now they had to deliver and win back the others’ trust. Hittlespitz whispered something in Bloodsport’s ear and he reluctantly handed his title to Nightshade, who hugged him and said it would be worth it in the end.

Tim Burr defeated Blood Brother
Not much to report here. This was a bit of a cooldown after the tension of the previous segment. Burr recently stated his intention to win his way back into title contention, and that mission started with a straightforward success over Blood Brother, sealed with a Tree Slam.

Australian Devil appeared at the entranceway to a warm reception. He said Nightshade and Milton Hittlespitz had a match next month, but the other three members of The Wild Hunt didn’t, and there was a team he thought would want a piece of them almost as much as he did. He offered Forever Evil a deal with the devil, and they emerged alongside him and seemed to signal their acceptance.

Con McReady defeated Mace Mueller
Wild Hunt interference was discussed in the booking meeting, but Angus McMiller was insistent that McReady needed to be seen to earn his War Machine main event spot. The finish decided upon to further legitimise McReady without cooling Mueller’s momentum saw the New Zealander block an Iron Fist attempt and instead position The Wild One for a Punt Kick, only for McReady to intercept by going low with the brass knuckles, rolling up his wounded opponent and keeping him down for three.

Though DIW Champion Shogo and Boo Smithson kept out of the match itself, both wanted a piece of Con McReady for his attack earlier in the night so went for him after. Initially, they worked together to bring him down to the approval of the crowd, but McReady managed to sidestep a Shogo Spear and Smithson took the full force of the move. The Wild One retreated smiling as Shogo gave an apologetic shoulder tap to the fallen Misfit Wrestling Machine before raising his DIW Championship.

Yep, just when you thought the standard of my TEW play in this save couldn't get any worse, I managed to tank this rating with too high an angle ratio. I didn't see a warning in the analysis, but that's hardly an excuse given how much time I've spent booking DIW on these games by now.

---

Another high-scoring odd-numbered month. My apologies to the five of you who dared believe this thread had something nicer than Gyula Lakatos as Australian Champion to offer. It's 6 for @John Lions, @KyTeran, @Pteroid and @Satyr24, with 5s for @alpha2117, @christmas_ape, @DinoKea, @G.B and @Tiberious. It looks like there are still four strong contenders to top the 2022 points leaderboard (and five mathematical) heading into the final show, while I can't resist the state-the-obvious commentary line that Pteroid's percentage is going to be hard to beat.

Points (out of 68 unless stated)
59: @Tiberious
58: @John Lions and @KyTeran
57: @DinoKea
54: @christmas_ape
48: @AboardTheArk (out of 62) and @alpha2117
43: @Satyr24 (out of 49)
42: @HiPlus (out of 48)
34: @G.B (out of 43)
31: @Wrestling Machine (out of 37)
6: @Pteroid (out of 6)

Percentages
100%: @Pteroid
87.8%: @Satyr24
87.5%: @HiPlus
86.8%: @Tiberious
85.3%: @John Lions and @KyTeran
83.8%: @DinoKea and @Wrestling Machine
79.4%: @christmas_ape
79.1%: @G.B
77.4%: @AboardTheArk
70.6%: @alpha2117

@alpha2117 Again, some interesting suggestions like giving Bully XL a chance against Con McReady and having The Wild Hunt take out The Buchanans.

@Tiberious You correctly called Mace Mueller for one of the mystery spots. The Asylum appearance was finally answering @HiPlus's page one request for him to make a cameo.

@Pteroid You're right that Blood Crazed would've been better, and I loved "welcome back ya tosser" too 😁

@christmas_ape I'll keep you updated on what happens next to Swoop. Sadly that won't be jobbing to Gyula as he hasn't had enough scandalous sex yet to consider performing in front of 250 fans at Marv's. I really appreciated your booking team comment too, which ties in nicely with something I'd like to do in that regard in 2023 if I get far enough.

@John Lions Yeah, you and Tiberious have got me considering how to figure Dingo in properly at some point given how suited he is to the emerging DIW style and the potential to add depth to the tag division. Good call on Mace making his way back from opener to main event too.

Edited September 29 by 619

[619]

34: Retirement
Saturday 19th November 2022

“Please keep it to yourself as it’s just a rumour so it could be nonsense, but I’ve heard Jim Teasdale is retiring at the end of the year.”

That was how I started my latest post-show chat with Angus McMiller, using this complete fabrication as a justification to discuss what would happen in such a scenario. I told him that if Teasdale did retire, it had to be him taking over as head booker.

He was the one who’d created some intrigue around the DIW Championship again after months of inaction, creating three credible candidates to end the year as champion with several others like Blitz Simpson and Mace Mueller in reserve.

We couldn’t have an outsider who didn’t get it come in and ruin everything he’d been building, so I just wanted to know if he’d be willing to step up if Teasdale was no longer around.

Though he expressed scepticism, recounting all the time he’d spent with the greybeard without the R word coming up, he did concede that he felt like he’d earned the chance if the position ever became available. That was all I needed to hear at this stage.

[alpha2117]

Absolutely loved the Ravening of Nightshade - he's SOOOOO nice to them and at the same time abusive manipulative to them.  It captures that sort of character perfectly.

The reason I suggested attacking the Buchanans is the inherent psychological differences between people like the Dogs and Nightshade's people - the Dogs are all aggression and will attack other big dogs but Nightshade is manipulative - to build his people up he will attack people he sees as weak and easy prey.  In this show you can clearly see that's exactly the way you are treating both groups.  I love the contrast because on the surface in the data they are much the same as each other but in practice you've perfectly captured how different they can be with a little creative thinking.  

One person who probably does need a little work character wise is the champ.  He sometimes almost feels like an afterthought narratively.  He exists to win but even here both Boo and Con got character beats but Shogo simply had his match and somewhat passively got attacked by Con.  I hope that we get some fire in his belly after that attack because I think we can see that a 3 way dance is the likely ultimate end game of this feud and if Boo and Shogo become a little more active in what they do outside the ring I think it's absolute money. 

 

[619]

Thanks a lot @alpha2117. Good point on the two stables starting with similar statures and stats. It was just the fact The Dog Pound had higher menace and Nightshade had the charisma that made me think The Dog Pound fit better as violent thugs and The Wild Hunt more cult-like, even if their name and description didn't quite fit that. You're also right about Boo Smithson and Shogo. They've both spent most of what could yet prove their last prime year in DIW not doing enough so hopefully, even if neither are likely to spend much time with a microphone in the months ahead, the outcome of their War Machine match will at least more clearly define their motivation from that point on.

---

35: Confrontation
Friday 9th December 2022

I’d asked my uncle to stay behind after the final booking meeting of the year for a conversation that would either give me what I’d been angling for or make my position on the roster untenable.

“I’m grateful you let me into your inner circle, and I’ve tried to listen more than I speak, but I’d be failing you as a nephew and the one hoping to continue your legacy if I don’t say this. No doubt he used to be great, and you’re going to hate me for saying it, but Jim Teasdale is holding you back.”

“Let me guess, you should be my head booker?”

“Hell no. I think I’ve done well with what you’ve given me, and I’d like to think maybe I’d earn your trust with that one day, but I know I’m a green kid with way too much still to learn in and out of the ring. But the person I’m learning the most from…”

“Who do you think taught him what to do?”

“I’m not denying Teasdale used to be good and taught Angus McMiller well, I’m just telling you he ain’t taught me nothing. Your top two names, Shogo and Boo Smithson, he don’t know how to book them. They did nothing interesting all year until recently, and that only changed because McMiller had the idea to pair them with Con McReady. He took the main event scene off life support.”

“You think you have all the answers.”

“No, I think you do. There’s a reason you got yourself and McMiller more involved with the booking in the last few years, whereas I heard Teasdale did everything himself before that. There’s a reason you let a kid with no experience like me listen in. I think you know what needs to be done, but maybe you need to hear it from someone else.”

“You wouldn’t have a job right now if it wasn’t for Big Jim.”

“I’m more worried about none of us having a job a year from now because of him. I get it. When it comes to DIW, he’s Hall of Fame. But he’s dead weight at the moment and you’re nearing a point where McMiller is going to hang it up and, if he’s not getting any more responsibility here, he’s going to go join a RAW or APW booking team and then what?”

“I’ve lost better to those circuses and survived.”

“Then why are you so afraid of losing Teasdale? I get it, you’re loyal, and I’m glad as I wouldn’t be here if not, but I don’t think you realise you’ve got the perfect cover right now.

“You what?”

“Everyone knows the company’s in a rough spot financially. Word in the locker room is Teasdale earns almost as much as the entire roster combined. Is he delivering enough to justify that? Anyway, that’s not the point. You’re in a position where you don’t need to tell your friend he’s past it, you can say the other truth: you can’t afford his booking rate, and you respect him too much to underpay him. He gets to believe it’s a financial issue rather than a quality issue, and you let him control the narrative anyway. Let him tell everyone he’s retiring and nobody will be any wiser. Like that time you told everyone Lou Brookmyre had retired and you took his job.”

“Lou did retire, you mouthy…”

“And the company not only survived him leaving, the production got better since? Interesting.”

[alpha2117]

So you really are an evil King Canute.

[G.B]

On 9/24/2024 at 2:10 PM, G.B said:

It was going great until December 23 when APW come and stole Creeper, Writhe, Tim Burr, Mace Mueller and Shogo in one fell swoop and Milton Hittlespitz gave me notice.

Survived this with Tyrant, Hatemonger, SDL, Brute Force and Wrecker...

And exactly 1yr later - I'm firmly sticking my finger up at APW!

After signing and building Brute Force I lose Pax Porter and Gyulas from ADC - there goes my tag titles fued - Some Gangstanators shit going to happen now... of course this occured in the month I decided to split DoW up (some down home apologies coming now)

They're here to take over the world it's Pinky and the Vain... Vain... Vain...

(sorry for jacking your thread @619)

Edited September 30 by G.B

[AboardTheArk]

Hopefully Jake didn't play his cards too soon...

[619]

No apologies needed @G.B. It's insightful to hear how other people are playing the same company and your save sounds more interesting too in terms of the rate of roster turnover and how fast you're progressing. I like that Wrecker found a spot, and I love the Gangstanators callback too.

---

36: Division
Saturday 10th December 2022

Let’s start with the positives. Our War Machine card featured three title matches that had all received considerable build.

The DIW Championship triple threat paired the company’s two biggest stars of the last five years and this post-Comedian and Dumfrey Pinn era, Shogo and Boo Smithson – who had remarkably never fought for the top prize before – with 2022’s rising star Con McReady.

Smithson and McReady had been at war for eight months. The Wild One’s history with Shogo went back even further, defeating the Japanese Buzzsaw for the Australian Championship in March 2020. Shogo and Smithson hadn’t overlapped until the misdirected Spear at Chaos Engine, but fans had long discussed an eventual showdown between two men who redefined the role of DIW Champion.

Was it therefore a mistake that their first meeting had a third element? It was arguable, but Angus McMiller sold it to my uncle and Jim Teasdale that they’d have three hot singles matches still fresh to fall back on in the aftermath, and I tended to agree with his logic. It was pretty rare for a company of DIW’s size to manage to get three people this hot at once, so you might as well capitalise.

The Australian Championship match between champion Gyula Lakatos and The Dog Pound figurehead Tevita Takulua had roots that could be traced back to 2017. That was when Lakatos ended the career of Vaughan, who now provided counsel to The Dog Pound.

The Tongan Pit Bull would probably be seen as favourite to win this international encounter given his unbeaten record in DIW, but he didn’t have the same numbers advantage as usual: we’d kicked Bully XL out of the group and I’d have my hands full taking him on that same night.

The problem was that while our third and final title match offered plenty in terms of story and star power, it would outrage tag team purists. After all, how could you have a fight for the Tag Team Championships between two first-time teams?

It hadn’t been deliberate sabotage that got us to this point but rather bad luck and bad planning. Cesar Sionis left with no explanation just as him and Lakatos were set to regain the titles. East Coast Panther walked out on his team with Australian Devil. Bully XL and I split as I’d been told we lacked natural tag chemistry.

It needed addressing because DIW historically always had a strong tag division, and I had some pairings in mind to try. In the short term, we had to fall back on that story and star power I mentioned to at least offer fans a spectacle.

The Wild Hunt’s leader Nightshade, who had strong-armed the title from his subordinate Bloodsport for this defence, and most famous member Milton Hittlespitz would team for the first time against their year-long rival Mayhem Mulhoney. His unlikely partner in this pairing we were unofficially labelling M&M…and…M&M, Mace Mueller, was fed up with groups holding too much power in DIW.

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