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PGHW: Seize the Moment


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---OOC---

After missing the release of the game while on holiday, I took a while to think what my first dynasty would be. Given the amount of fun I've had with PGHW on the '97 database, I found it hard to connect with any other company. That's why I'm doing a vanilla '22 CVerse run now. That does NOT mean the '97 diary will be ending, in fact it still has a long, long way to go. Right now it's at mid-2002 and will end in June 2006, marking the company's 10 year anniversary. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can see that dynasty here: 

 

Anyway, those who have followed that dynasty, or any of my others know that I enjoy long stories with plenty of character development. That's exactly what I intend with this one. The first few events might be a little all over the place as I get used to the new game, but I've played up to the end of the first Elite Series and haven't messed anything major up yet.

The format will not be like the '97 journal which follows stories individually over several events then has them all come together at a major show. There are benefits and drawbacks of that approach, and I'm going for the more traditional method this time.

Also, there are some rules I am playing without and changes I've made to allow the storytelling to flow without having to fiddle with mechanics that aren't relevant. For those who care, here are the main ones:
- Changed product to Pseudo Sport. Why? No need for major matches to be 20+ minutes, meaning I can use stars who are older than 40 in big matches without their ratings getting killed for stamina.
- Restricted Areas: OFF - so I can sign people for tour contracts
- Crowd Management Disabled - so I can book Japanese-style cards without having to worry about the crowd heat getting messed up.
- I will only terminate contracts of workers if absolutely necessary (like a certain someone who got done for steroids!). Otherwise I will only get rid of workers I don't like when their contracts expire.
- I will also bre refraining from signing lots of new workers. The idea is to focus on the talent already in the company and the homegrown youngsters that are coming through (of which there are plenty, and more coming back from excursion). However, if a massive name or a particularly talented wrestler is available, I will add them.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!

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I can't wait for this! Been looking forward to it since you posted the preview. I re-read and caught up on your '97 Diary recently, and PGHW have historically always been my favourite company in the C-Verse, and I love how you build people, so I can't wait for this to get going!

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On 8/31/2024 at 6:30 PM, CobheadJake said:

I can't wait for this! Been looking forward to it since you posted the preview. I re-read and caught up on your '97 Diary recently, and PGHW have historically always been my favourite company in the C-Verse, and I love how you build people, so I can't wait for this to get going!

Woo! Glad you love PGHW too and thanks for reading the '97 diary - there's a lot of it!

11 hours ago, christmas_ape said:

Loved the tenets and the rules it's laid the foundation of what to expect and there was a couple of really interesting ones. I like DQ/title change one, and about wrestlers addressing the crowd only in press conferences. good luck with this! 

Thanks, that's something I've learned from you - establishing the identity of the company. Really helps focus booking and get attached to the promotion as a whole and not just the cool wrestlers. Some of the rules are a bit limiting (like heavy punishments for interference and post-match attacks) but rules are there to be broken *cough* Magnum Kobe *cough*

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MAIN EVENT singles match for the GLORY CROWN /60

Kozue Kawashima © VS. Seiji Jimbo

Tag-team match for the GLORY TAG CROWN /60

BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi © vs. The Ring Generals (Dean Waldorf & Marv Statler)

Singles match (#1 Contender for the Glory Crown) /30

Kazushige Matsuki VS. SATO

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Akinori Kwakami & Noriyori Sanda, Totoya Munakata & William Hayes VS. Zanshin (Masaru Ugaki, Ryoma Muruyama, Haranobu Kobayashi & Tsurayuki Kamachi)

Singles match for the INTERNATIONAL title /60

Avalanche Takano © VS. Omezo Shikitei

Singles match /30

Eien Miyamoto VS. Magnum Kobe

Eight-man tag-team match /30

KawaHara (Stone Yoshikawa & Yuri Yoshihara) and Team Polska (Cub Balowicz & Pavel Vanzycha) VS. KitoGuchi (Chojiro Kitoaji & Bussho Makiguchi) and Shinji Mihara & Shozo Furuta

Six-man tag-team match /30

Hirotsugu Satou, Matt Blackburn & Nobuyo Hikichi VS. Simon Flemmingway and Hirobumi Takimoto & Tetsunori Yasuda

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On 9/2/2024 at 8:56 AM, Willsky said:

Thanks, that's something I've learned from you - establishing the identity of the company. Really helps focus booking and get attached to the promotion as a whole and not just the cool wrestlers. Some of the rules are a bit limiting (like heavy punishments for interference and post-match attacks) but rules are there to be broken *cough* Magnum Kobe *cough*

That's very flattering but I'd argue you've always done it, PWL for example had a strong identity. 

I think the limiting rules should be a bonus, sometimes the more restrictions there are the easier it is to come up with storylines within them, like you say with some being broken! 

Loved the format of this last post too, I imagine it's quite nice and quick to write but gets across a lot of info, really all the info you could need for a product like PGHW. Truthfully they've always been quite daunting for me and I have struggled to keep up with puro diaries, I think partly just because it can feel like a lot of names I've not familiar with. So this is a good introduction for me, but bear with me if any of picks are silly... 

MAIN EVENT singles match for the GLORY CROWN /60

Kozue Kawashima © VS. Seiji Jimbo

Tag-team match for the GLORY TAG CROWN /60

BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi © vs. The Ring Generals (Dean Waldorf & Marv Statler)

Singles match (#1 Contender for the Glory Crown) /30

Kazushige Matsuki VS. SATO

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Akinori Kwakami & Noriyori Sanda, Totoya Munakata & William Hayes VS. Zanshin (Masaru Ugaki, Ryoma Muruyama, Haranobu Kobayashi & Tsurayuki Kamachi)

Singles match for the INTERNATIONAL title /60

Avalanche Takano © VS. Omezo Shikitei

Singles match /30

Eien Miyamoto VS. Magnum Kobe

Eight-man tag-team match /30

KawaHara (Stone Yoshikawa & Yuri Yoshihara) and Team Polska (Cub Balowicz & Pavel Vanzycha) VS. KitoGuchi (Chojiro Kitoaji & Bussho Makiguchi) and Shinji Mihara & Shozo Furuta

Six-man tag-team match /30

Hirotsugu Satou, Matt Blackburn & Nobuyo Hikichi VS. Simon Flemmingway and Hirobumi Takimoto & Tetsunori Yasuda

Although saying that I actually know more of these above that I thought I would. 

 

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MAIN EVENT singles match for the GLORY CROWN /60

Kozue Kawashima © VS. Seiji Jimbo

Tag-team match for the GLORY TAG CROWN /60

BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi © vs. The Ring Generals (Dean Waldorf & Marv Statler)

Singles match (#1 Contender for the Glory Crown) /30

Kazushige Matsuki VS. SATO

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Akinori Kwakami & Noriyori Sanda, Totoya Munakata & William Hayes VS. Zanshin (Masaru Ugaki, Ryoma Muruyama, Haranobu Kobayashi & Tsurayuki Kamachi)

Singles match for the INTERNATIONAL title /60

Avalanche Takano © VS. Omezo Shikitei

Singles match /30

Eien Miyamoto VS. Magnum Kobe

Eight-man tag-team match /30

KawaHara (Stone Yoshikawa & Yuri Yoshihara) and Team Polska (Cub Balowicz & Pavel Vanzycha) VS. KitoGuchi (Chojiro Kitoaji & Bussho Makiguchi) and Shinji Mihara & Shozo Furuta

Six-man tag-team match /30

Hirotsugu Satou, Matt Blackburn & Nobuyo Hikichi VS. Simon Flemmingway and Hirobumi Takimoto & Tetsunori Yasuda

 

I am rooting for a Takimoto push. And I'm not gonna lie, I think Mihara develops into future ace material.

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MAIN EVENT singles match for the GLORY CROWN /60

Kozue Kawashima © VS. Seiji Jimbo

Tag-team match for the GLORY TAG CROWN /60

BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi © vs. The Ring Generals (Dean Waldorf & Marv Statler)

Singles match (#1 Contender for the Glory Crown) /30

Kazushige Matsuki VS. SATO

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Akinori Kwakami & Noriyori Sanda, Totoya Munakata & William Hayes VS. Zanshin (Masaru Ugaki, Ryoma Muruyama, Haranobu Kobayashi & Tsurayuki Kamachi)

Singles match for the INTERNATIONAL title /60

Avalanche Takano © VS. Omezo Shikitei

Singles match /30

Eien Miyamoto VS. Magnum Kobe

Eight-man tag-team match /30

KawaHara (Stone Yoshikawa & Yuri Yoshihara) and Team Polska (Cub Balowicz & Pavel Vanzycha) VS. KitoGuchi (Chojiro Kitoaji & Bussho Makiguchi) and Shinji Mihara & Shozo Furuta

Six-man tag-team match /30

Hirotsugu Satou, Matt Blackburn & Nobuyo Hikichi VS. Simon Flemmingway and Hirobumi Takimoto & Tetsunori Yasuda

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MAIN EVENT singles match for the GLORY CROWN /60

Kozue Kawashima © VS. Seiji Jimbo

Jimbo is great, but that Kawashima interview you posted makes me think his reign isn't going to be ending so soon.

Tag-team match for the GLORY TAG CROWN /60

BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi © vs. The Ring Generals (Dean Waldorf & Marv Statler)

The Ring Generals are solid and dependable, but they feel like they're the sort of gatekeepers of the division who can make the champions look good and help elevate other teams rather than have a starring roles themselves.

Singles match (#1 Contender for the Glory Crown) /30

Kazushige Matsuki VS. SATO

SATO is a better long term prospect given he's six years younger, but I feel like Matsuki gets underrated and overlooked in general. Neither guy has a real shot at winning the title here, so I'm going with my heart and picking Matsuki to get a main event title program before he gets too old/beaten up to do it and let SATO develop a little more before pushing him up to the top of the card.

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Akinori Kwakami & Noriyori Sanda, Totoya Munakata & William Hayes VS. Zanshin (Masaru Ugaki, Ryoma Muruyama, Haranobu Kobayashi & Tsurayuki Kamachi)

Masaru Ugaki is one of the few people I could see beating Kawashima for the belt, and Haranobu Kobayashi is one of the guys I could see stepping up to the main event in a year or two.

Singles match for the INTERNATIONAL title /60

Avalanche Takano © VS. Omezo Shikitei

Omenzo is a great technical wrestler, but I feel like Avalanche will probably hold that title up until he's outgrown it and you want to push him into the main event mix.

Singles match /30

Eien Miyamoto VS. Magnum Kobe

Eien's another underrated midcarder, but Magnum is awesome and him continuing to win will make his eventual comeuppance all the sweeter.

Eight-man tag-team match /30

KawaHara (Stone Yoshikawa & Yuri Yoshihara) and Team Polska (Cub Balowicz & Pavel Vanzycha) VS. KitoGuchi (Chojiro Kitoaji & Bussho Makiguchi) and Shinji Mihara & Shozo Furuta

KitoGuchi are ratings machines, so it's going to be hard to pick against them.

Six-man tag-team match /30

Hirotsugu Satou, Matt Blackburn & Nobuyo Hikichi VS. Simon Flemmingway and Hirobumi Takimoto & Tetsunori Yasuda

Good learning experience for the younger trio, but I can't see any real doubt in the outcome here.

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On 9/5/2024 at 9:36 PM, christmas_ape said:

That's very flattering but I'd argue you've always done it, PWL for example had a strong identity. 

I think the limiting rules should be a bonus, sometimes the more restrictions there are the easier it is to come up with storylines within them, like you say with some being broken! 

Loved the format of this last post too, I imagine it's quite nice and quick to write but gets across a lot of info, really all the info you could need for a product like PGHW. Truthfully they've always been quite daunting for me and I have struggled to keep up with puro diaries, I think partly just because it can feel like a lot of names I've not familiar with. So this is a good introduction for me, but bear with me if any of picks are silly... 

Thanks! It is a bit wild going into a puro company with a roster full of guys that don't have an immediate character. The top stars are easier to deal with because they have title histories and canon rivalries to work with, but there's often a bloated mid/low card that don't have a fun gimmick to make them stand out. I will be reducing the size of the roster over time and relying a bit more on tour contracts to flesh out shows instead of having loads of guys hanging around that I don't know what to do with. So don't feel bad about not being familiar with some of the names - I'm the same!

Another thing that's tough is that PGHW doesn't have any starting factions, which you'd expect would be commonplace at this point in their history.  I've tried to put a couple together, but they'll probably grow and expand in time as the characters align themselves.

On 9/6/2024 at 11:39 PM, AboardTheArk said:

I am rooting for a Takimoto push. And I'm not gonna lie, I think Mihara develops into future ace material.

I'm excited to book Mihara and see how far he gets. As for Takimoto, he's one of the reasons I changed the product to not penalising matches less than 20 minutes. His stamina is terrible. Even with the different product, he can barely get through a 10 minute match. Saying that, he has agreed in game to improve his stamina, and for now he'll mostly be a tag wrestler until he's ready to do longer main events.

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MAIN EVENT singles match for the GLORY CROWN /60

Kozue Kawashima © VS. Kazushige Matsuki

Tag-team match for the GLORY TAG CROWN /60

BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi © VS. Haranobu Kobayashi & Tsurayuki Kamachi

Singles match /30

Hitomaru Suzuki VS. Masaru Ugaki

Tag-team match /30

KitoGuchi (Chojiro Kitoaji & Bussho Makiguchi) VS. Hirobumi Takimoto & Tetsunori Yasuda

Singles match for the INTERNATIONAL title /60

Avalanche Takano © VS. Ryoma Muruyama

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Eien Miyamoto, Hirotsugu Satou, Matt Blackburn & Totoya Munakata VS. Magnum Kobe, Nobuyo Hikichi, Shinji Mihara & Shozo Furuta

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Idaina Isan (Seiji Jimbo, SATO, Stone Yoshikawa & Yuri Yoshihara) VS. Danny Cavanagh, Reaver & The Ring Generals (Dean Waldorf & Marv Statler)

Six-man tag-team match /30

Akinori Kwakami, Noriyori Sanda & Omezo Shikitei VS. William Hayes & Team Polska (Cub Balowicz & Pavel Vanzycha)

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MAIN EVENT singles match for the GLORY CROWN /60

Kozue Kawashima © VS. Kazushige Matsuki

Tag-team match for the GLORY TAG CROWN /60

BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi © VS. Haranobu Kobayashi & Tsurayuki Kamachi

Singles match /30

Hitomaru Suzuki VS. Masaru Ugaki

Tag-team match /30

KitoGuchi (Chojiro Kitoaji & Bussho Makiguchi) VS. Hirobumi Takimoto & Tetsunori Yasuda

Singles match for the INTERNATIONAL title /60

Avalanche Takano © VS. Ryoma Muruyama

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Eien Miyamoto, Hirotsugu Satou, Matt Blackburn & Totoya Munakata VS. Magnum Kobe, Nobuyo Hikichi, Shinji Mihara & Shozo Furuta

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Idaina Isan (Seiji Jimbo, SATO, Stone Yoshikawa & Yuri Yoshihara) VS. Danny Cavanagh, Reaver & The Ring Generals (Dean Waldorf & Marv Statler)

Six-man tag-team match /30

Akinori Kwakami, Noriyori Sanda & Omezo Shikitei VS. William Hayes & Team Polska (Cub Balowicz & Pavel Vanzycha)

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MAIN EVENT singles match for the GLORY CROWN /60

Kozue Kawashima © VS. Kazushige Matsuki

I like Matsuki more than most, but even I can't really justify him winning the title here. He's not as popular or elite an in ring worker as the last title challenger so I just hope he can hold up his end of the main and not make me look foolish for saying he was underappreciated.

Tag-team match for the GLORY TAG CROWN /60

BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi © VS. Haranobu Kobayashi & Tsurayuki Kamachi

Brute & Bison both feel like they aren't ever going to be able to deliver reliably as main event singles guys outside of short programs with guys who can carry them, but can be solid draws for the tag division. Haranobu seems like an obvious future main eventer with his charisma and star quality presuming he can keep improving in the ring. Kamachi is a guy I really liked in prior editions of the game, but at 35 his window is sort of approaching. I could easily see him turning into a Matsuki level guy where he's a step below the top top guys but can be slotted into main events from time to time; which isn't a bad spot at all. Kobayashi and Kamachi teaming regularly might not be a bad plan since Kamachi's biggest strength is his psychology which is probably the area Kobayashi needs tohe most help in.

I'm going to go out on a limb and pick the challengers here, since it feels like you have some plans for them given they're in Zanshin with Masaru Ugaki and a win here would really elevate them.

Singles match /30

Hitomaru Suzuki VS. Masaru Ugaki

Suzuki is a guy I always liked and would sign in earlier editions of the game where he was a free agent. That being said there are levels to this sport and Suzuki would need binoculars to spot Ugaki in the clouds above him. A good showing here could at least put him in line for a midcard title shot, or perhaps impress Ugaki enough to invite him to his stable, but the outcome isn't in doubt here.

Tag-team match /30

KitoGuchi (Chojiro Kitoaji & Bussho Makiguchi) VS. Hirobumi Takimoto & Tetsunori Yasuda

I really can't pick against KitoGuchi, though the real question is at what point do you pull the trigger on giving them singles pushes as both are clearly good enough to have a run with the Glory Crown if given a chance.

Singles match for the INTERNATIONAL title /60

Avalanche Takano © VS. Ryoma Muruyama

Ryoma is a future PGHW hall of famer, but at 42 he's clearly on the downswing of his career and has no real business winning a singles title. A win over a guy as respected as Ryoma is another big step for building Avalanche's credentials, though the match itself might be a struggle since at this point I'm not sure how well Ryoma can go in singles matches.

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Eien Miyamoto, Hirotsugu Satou, Matt Blackburn & Totoya Munakata VS. Magnum Kobe, Nobuyo Hikichi, Shinji Mihara & Shozo Furuta

I was considering Eien getting his "revenge" on Kobe by beating one of the lesser members his team, but looking it over I'd rate Kobe's teammates quite a bit higher then Miyamoto's so I can't really justify it here. I also really enjoyed the character work you did in the Shinji interview, so I'll go 2 for 2 with betting on the guy who just got a character piece.

Eight-man tag-team match /30

Idaina Isan (Seiji Jimbo, SATO, Stone Yoshikawa & Yuri Yoshihara) VS. Danny Cavanagh, Reaver & The Ring Generals (Dean Waldorf & Marv Statler)

Seiji & Sato both lost big matches in the last show so this seems like an easy way for them to get back on track. Reaver is one of those guys that time really took a beating too, was great back in the day but I had basically forgotten he was still in PGHW. Cavanagh isn't as old, but 38 still isn't young and his knees are shot so I don't really see either guy offering you much going forward. TBH both guys seem like easy choices to let contract expire since you have plenty of vets already and neither are PGHW system guys who you'd want to keep around out of loyalty. Maybe Danny can get one more run in Canada with CWA and Reaver seems like he could maybe do something in NYCW since he's from there.

Six-man tag-team match /30

Akinori Kwakami, Noriyori Sanda & Omezo Shikitei VS. William Hayes & Team Polska (Cub Balowicz & Pavel Vanzycha)

I like Team Polska, but as touring guys they're mostly here to lose and hopefully impress enough to get brought back again.

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Elite Series Predictions

2 wrestlers advance from each group.
Who will be in the Block A Top 2:
Who will be in the Block B Top 2:
Who will overachieve in the tournament:
Who will underachieve in the tournament:

I will be posting four entries to cover the Elite Series block stage. They will be Block A rounds 1-4, Block B rounds 1-4, Block A rounds 5-7 and Block B rounds 5-7. That'll decide which four wrestlers advance to the semi-finals at Night of PRIDE.

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Elite Series Predictions

2 wrestlers advance from each group.
Who will be in the Block A Top 2: Seiji Jimbo, Bussho Makiguchi

Really tough call between the top three. I'd be shocked if any of the other five made it out. Kozue Kawashima is a really tough one to call because you obviously want to keep him strong, but at the same time you need to build up contenders for him and I don't think you'd want to have him win the whole tournament so by that logic he needs to lose at some point.I feel like I'm maybe just picking to be contrarian here, but I'll have Kawashima be the one to not qualify. Maybe a sort of 5 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss record? Idk it kind of feels wrong, but I don't want to just copy Aboard the Ark completely.

Who will be in the Block B Top 2: Masaru Ugaki & Magnum Kobe.

Masaru Ugaki just seems to me like the right guy to win this tournament, and I just love Magnum Kobe too much not to pick him. Unfortunate for Chojiro Kitoaji to not make it through, but he can settle for getting a win over one half of the tag team champions.

Who will overachieve in the tournament: Eien Miyamoto & Omenzo Shikitei

I originally had Eien on the underperforming list, but thinking about it I feel like the expectations for him are extremely low with Shinji being the only one in his block with lower starting popularrity and Shinji being heralded as a rising star. TBH any wins here would be above expectations, and I think he could sneak out a win over Avalanche Takano to setup a title shot. I'm probably wrong and he'll go like 1-6, but I've always like Eien so I'm rooting for him to put in a good showing.For the second choice I almost went with SATO based on the piece you wrote, but I instead went with Omenzo. He's the least known guy in his group and I don't think he's going to win many matches, but I think this is the perfect environment for him to get himself over with the fans on match quality alone. 


Who will underachieve in the tournament: Noriyoshi Sanda, Akinori Kwakami

Underachieving is a relative term since I don't think anyone's expecting the veterans to have great records, but at the same time it's hard to imagine either winning many if any of their matches and with time decline being so harsh the matches themselves might be a bit disappointing. Kwakami has a bit more hope since he's not as old and I could see him potentially beating Avalanche to set up a title shot, but tbh Avalanche just did the whole beat a respected veteran match so I don't think that's particularly likely either.

 

I think my streak of correct predictions is coming to an end on this one.

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