MWA - This Means War! (C-Verse Diary)

[Scapino1974]

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]MWA [I]Firestorm[/I][/SIZE][/B] [COLOR="Sienna"]Live on the Pop! Networ; Replayed on TV Mex[/COLOR] [I]Thursday of Week 4, January 2014[/I] Held at the Laurent Ballroom in the New England Territory 5,000 in attendance - SOLD OUT![/CENTER] Emma Chase seemed a little surprised at who her partner was at ringside: [B]Katharina Stevanovic[/B], formerly of the SWF (and now retired), joined her in welcoming the audience to the show. 1) At the backstage interview set, Chance Fortune addressed Ernest Youngman. He said Ernest talked a good game last night. And Chance agreed with him. They weren’t done. As a matter of fact, Chance wished that Ernest was there right then ... but he’s not. He and Nemesis are off at some shindig for the Pop! Network tonight. But that didn’t mean that the champ was going to waste time. He said that someone got screwed over so he could claim the title ... and that was Jay Chord. That’s the reason why Chance was going to give Jay a title shot tonight! RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]B+[/COLOR] for the hype; [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] for the match announcement 2) Marc du Bois was in the ring with a mic of his own. He explained his actions. He said that he was growing bored “up north” and decided he had had enough. He wanted to come where the hottest talent was to be found, namely the MWA (yes, I wrote his speech). So why did he go after Cameron Vessey? Because he heard what Wanda said, that Cameron was the hottest rookie she ever worked with. Marc said that was an out-and-out lie and she knew it. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“And you know that lying is just bad karma, Wanda. You of all people should know that.”[/COLOR] He went after Cameron to jog Wanda’s memory a little, that’s all. He was cut off by Des Davids coming out to the ring. He said that Marc was old news, yesterday’s phenomenon. If he wanted to test himself, Des was more to step into the ring and show why he was the one to beat in the MWA. Marc invited him to come on down and see what happened. RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]B+[/COLOR] for the hype; [COLOR="blue"]B [/COLOR]for the challenge 3) [B]MARC du BOIS vs. DES DAVIDS[/B] Yeah, I was afraid of that. Katharina couldn’t keep up with the match. On the plus side, she didn’t hamper it either. Marc and Des put on a tremendous brawl that carried them all around the ring until finally, Marc dropped Des with a Marc of Excellence. WINNER: [B]Marc du Bois [/B]in 9:34 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]A[/COLOR] 4) The Gauge Brothers came out to the ring next. Matt got the mic and asked Junior how she was feeling tonight. He said, “You can feel it in your chest, can’t you? That empty, gnawing ache. You know it’s not done between us. You know you want to get into the ring and let your anger loose again. Stop lying to yourself and accept who you really are.” RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] 5) [B]THE HIRED GUNS vs. THE GAUGE BROTHERS[/B] Fumihiro Ota and Hugh de Aske tried to keep a step ahead of the brothers but found that they really couldn’t. Greg and Matt simply shone in the ring. They even took advantage of the fact that they were identical twins by switching without tagging at times. That served their purposes well; when Ota tried to complain, referee Eugene Williams forced him back to his corner, allowing the Gauges to double-team Hugh. In the end, Matt tied up Hugh with a Proton Lock. When Ota tried to break it up, Greg snared him and put him in the Lock as well. Both Ota and Hugh tapped at the same time. WINNERS: [B]The Gauge Brothers [/B]in 9:55 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] 6) Backstage, Mainstream Hernandez was watching on the monitor and he did not look happy. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] 7) Agony’s Bikers appeared on screen and hyped their rematch against Future Threat. They said that Davis and Steven had it all wrong. They didn’t end the match at “On the Rise” because they were scared. They did so because they were bored. And they felt sorry for them too, so they gave them a win without giving up the titles. They said that the gloves would be off at “Destined for Glory.” There they would beat them one-two-three. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] 8) Jay Chord addressed Chance Fortune. He thanked Chance for the opportunity but said it was stupid of him to put his title on the line tonight. He said Chance was going to regret his decision. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] 9) [B]KC GLENN vs. ANGRY GILMORE[/B] KC didn’t seem to know what to make of Angry as the latter strode into the ring. Angry once again strode out illuminated only by a spotlight in full leather robes with arcane music playing. But the minute the bell rang, Angry was all business and took the fight to KC immediately. The rookie tried to keep up but he was in over his head and quickly succumbed to the move Katharina called “Anger Unleased” (formerly known as an Anger Management). WINNER: [B]Angry Gilmore [/B]in 9:36 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] 10) [B]PRIMUS ALLEN vs. THOMAS MORGAN[/B] Yeah, Katharina is drowning. Nostalgia and loyalty is one thing. This just won’t work. Oh well. Primus continued his winning streak by taking Thomas out with a Flying Lariat. WINNER: [B]Primus Allen [/B]in 6:45 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] 11) Serene Jean Cattley, in the interview set, groused about the fact that Bulldozer Brandom Smith attacked him for no reason. He said it wasn’t right, it wasn’t cool, and he wanted Brandon to step up and face him in the ring. And then Smith attacked him from behind, tossing him head-first into the set. He stomped Jean down and then said, [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“You’re on.”[/COLOR] RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]B-[/COLOR] for the challenge; [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] for the attack and response 12) [B]CHANCE FORTUNE (c) vs. JAY CHORD [/B]for [COLOR="Red"]the MWA World Heavyweight Championship[/COLOR] Ick. Bad chemistry. Emma did her best to hype this up as an epic clash between a current and former champion but it really didn’t do much for the crowd. Thankfully it all came to a crashing halt as Angry Gilmore and the Gauge brothers hit the ring and laid out both competitors. WINNER: [B]No one (Draw)[/B] in 12:26 RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]C+[/COLOR] 13) And the show ended with Angry and his minions destroying Jay and Chance. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] [B][U]THE AFTERMATH[/U][/B] And Katharina will be gone by the end of the week. Shame, too. We got a rating of 7.38. FINAL RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] FROM MWA.COM - [QUOTE][U]Quick results from the last episode of [I]Firestorm[/I][/U] [I]Marc du Bois defeated Des Davids [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]A[/COLOR] [I]The Gauge Brothers defeated the Hired Guns [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] [I]Angry Gilmore defeated KC Glenn [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] [I]Primus Allen defeated Thomas Morgan[/I] - [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] [I]Chance Fortune (c) drew with Jay Chord and so retain [COLOR="Red"]the MWA World Heavyweight Championship [/COLOR][/I]-[COLOR="blue"] C+[/COLOR] [B]FINAL SHOW RATING - [COLOR="Blue"]C+[/COLOR][/B][/QUOTE]

[Scapino1974]

[I][SIZE="3"]MWA Notes:[/SIZE][/I] From ProWrestlingHits.com - [QUOTE][B]First Week of Lawsuit Ends with a Fizzle[/B] In spite of the bluster from attorney Adam Copeland, the lawsuit brought against John “Scapino” Otte ended its first week on a very weak note. Things didn’t get much better after the initial bludgeoning of Bart Biggz by attorney Amy Dumas. One by one, Anne Stardust, Leo Davis, Sam Strong, and Farrah Hesketh took the stand, each claiming that Scapino caused fans to desert them when the MWA signed most of its roster to exclusive, written contracts in September of 2013. But Dumas was able to pick apart each claim. She was able to get Stardust and Strong to admit that their attendance figures did not significantly drop. Farrash Hesketh was forced to agree that the decline in attendance was more likely due to the recent economic downturn that’s plagued the nation. And Leo Davis, befuddled as always, seemed stymied when Dumas pointed out that NYCW actually had a spike in September after he lost his workers. It was interesting to note that Richard Eisen did not take the stand. Our legal analysts (such that they are) speculated that it was because Richard was not a part of the Garrison Pact, as it’s come to be known. While the SWF has suffered the most noticeable dip in attendance, it’s likely that Copeland is wisely keeping Eisen off the stand since his hatred for Scapino is well known and would likely color the jury’s perception of him. On Friday morning, Dumas filed for a summary judgment but was struck down by Judge Jacobs, who seemed swayed by Copeland’s argument that while Scapino may not have succeeded in destroying the other promotions, his attempt was still malicious and worthy of punishment. And so the trial will continue next week. Rumor has it the plaintiffs will be bringing in witnesses to testify to Scapino’s malicious streak. It will be interesting to see what they’ve dug up.[/QUOTE]

[Scapino1974]

[I][SIZE="3"]A Risky Gamble[/SIZE][/I] [B][I]Sunday of Week 4, January 2014[/I][/B] It felt good to hold Wanda in my arms again. She had flown into Minneapolis that morning after the house shows were done. I was glad to see her. It had been lonely for me, sitting in the courtroom with no one to back me up. Just having her home was a relief. Besides, I had something to show her. After she regaled me with tales from what had happened while I was gone, I led her to my study. She stepped inside and stopped so suddenly I almost ran into her. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“What is this?” [/COLOR]she demanded. Setting out on a table were posters for something called “GLWA.” She shifted one poster aside and found a t-shirt with the same letters. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“GLWA?” “Great Lakes Wrestling Alliance,” [/COLOR]I explained. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“I took some of our war chest and set up another promotion.” “You did what?”[/COLOR] I nodded. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“It’ll be another child fed for the MWA. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for. The guys in legal say it’s iffy and that whoever takes it over will have the ultimate say.” “I don’t understand. Why would you want another child fed? Isn’t MAW enough?”[/COLOR] I shrugged. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Well, kind of it is. But I got to thinking. We’ve already sent about half a dozen guys down to MAW so Gil can work with them, but then I realized a couple of things. “First of all, MAW’s always been a very traditional place. It’ll be good to teach the guys we’ve sent there how to put together a good story in the ring and improve their in-ring work, but there’ll be a bit of a learning curve when we call them up here into our decidedly more entertainment-based company. “And second, what about the women? I mean, we’ve made it a point to have some of the best women competitors go toe-to-toe with the boys here and I’d like to continue that and maybe even expand on it. But I want a place where I can send the girls to get a bit more experience before we bring them in to face Alicia or Junior or J-Ro. “For example, remember Brooke Tyler?” “Eric’s kid? Come on, she’s only 15!” “No, she’s 20 and ready to enter the business. I’d love to put her in the MWA, but I’d like her to get a little experience first. There are a couple of other ladies with whom I’d like to do the same.” “With the GLWA.” “I’m hoping so. I set it up to be as close to us as it can be. Same emphases, same integrated roster approach. Whoever takes the reins of the GLWA will be basically in the same position I was four years ago. The difference will be I’ll be paying the bills for some of his or her workers.” “But that’s only if they agree to keep working with you.”[/COLOR] I nodded. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“It’s a risk, but it’s one I thought might pay off.” “How much did this cost?” “Two million.”[/COLOR] Wanda’s eyes bugged out. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“You spent two million...”[/COLOR] I nodded again. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“One for the set-up, one for their salaries and operating expenses.” “That’s insane! What if you lose the court case? You’d need all the money you have...” “Look, there’s no way I’d be able to pay all $25 million if we lose. Two million isn’t going to matter one way or the other if Richard succeeds in sticking it to me.” “But if you lose, won’t they seize the GLWA as well?”[/COLOR] I shook my head. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“That’s the reason why it’s something of a gamble. Since it’ll be up to the new owner if he or she wants to work with me, that should shield them from being a part of the lawsuit. If I lose, they’ll be able to keep going.”[/COLOR] Wanda’s eyes lit up for a second. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“... which means you’d have a place to fall back to if everything goes belly up.”[/COLOR] I smirked. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Exactly.”[/COLOR] She nodded thoughtfully, looking over the poster and t-shirt. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“So any nibbles yet?”[/COLOR] My smirk grew broader. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“One. And it should be interesting.”[/COLOR]

[steev42]

Azaria gone already, or were you just wanting to use him on one show? And now I see where your excellent suggestion came from. :)

[Scapino1974]

Nope, Azaria is sticking around. I just wanted to give Katharina a try-out and it didn't work. And yes, the formation of the GLWA is what inspired me. More on that later.

[Scapino1974]

From ProWrestlingHits.com - [QUOTE][B][I]Great Lakes Wrestling Alliance Opens Its Doors[/I][/B] In a shocking move, Scapino Otte opened a smaller version of the MWA. Based out of Chicago, the Great Lakes Wrestling Alliance will follow the same philosophy of entertaining matches with a fully integrated roster. Much to everyone’s surprise, retired wrestler Sheik Mustafa was the one to take control of the fledgling company. He promised that the GLWA would soon be a name to remember in the professional wrestling industry. According to rumors, though, Scapino is not happy with Mustafa. The Sheik refused to make GLWA a child company of the MWA. Sources inside the MWA say that Scapino isn’t quite done yet and will continue to pursue that relationship, but no one is quite sure what the Sheik will do.[/QUOTE] OOC Notes: Okay, so here’s what’s going on. I really did have that thought about having a child fed where I could send female wrestlers. I can’t make an offer to AAA; they declared war on the MWA when I broke our working arrangement back in September of 2013. So I created a new promotion in the editor and imported it into the game. I gave it a starting bankroll of $1,000,000 and took twice that amount out of the MWA’s cash. I then waited to see who would come up in control of the promotion and it was Sheik Mustafa. I then immediately made a parent-child relationship bid. Obviously it didn’t work, so I guess if I want to bring female workers into the MWA, it will have to be straight from the field, not from a development company.

[Scapino1974]

[I][SIZE="3"]A Blast from the Past[/SIZE][/I] [I][B]Monday of Week 1, February 2014[/B][/I] U.S. District Court, Minneapolis I had really hoped I wouldn’t be back in the courtroom. I really didn’t. When Amy explained what it meant for her to file for a summary judgment, I had high hopes it would work. I mean, it was obvious that I really hadn’t hurt any of the smaller promotions by signing workers to written contracts. Sure, many of them had to scramble to find new champions since the people who held titles had to leave, but it also forced them to bring in some new blood. I had hoped that Judge Jacobs would have seen things my way. No such luck. He listened to Copeland’s stupidity that my intent was at the heart of the case and that he had witnesses lined up to prove I had been out to destroy the smaller feds. It was a ridiculous claim but even I was curious to find out who he had dredged up to prove that. You can imagine my shock when Copeland rose and called Daniel “Delirious Dan” Spengler to the stand. Dan didn’t meet my slack-jawed gaze as he entered the courtroom and took the stand. Once he had been sworn in, Copeland took him through his employment history: how he worked for TCW before he got “traded” to the SWF, how he was on the roster for the MWA, how he abandoned us for TCW and was subsequently released, only to wind up back in the SWF, DaVE, and CZCW. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“Let’s focus on your first run with the SWF, shall we?”[/COLOR] Copeland asked. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“How did you leave?” “I was fired ... and sued,” [/COLOR]Dan said. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Sued? By Richard Eisen?”[/COLOR] Dan nodded. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“That’s correct.” “Why would Richard Eisen sue you if he fired you?” “Because of what Scap did to my contract.” “What did he do?” “He converted it to a lifetime contract at $75,000 a month.”[/COLOR] Copeland’s eyes bugged out. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Why would he do that?” “Because he was angry with Richard Eisen for firing him.”[/COLOR] Amy leapt to her feet. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Objection! How can he testify to my client’s state of mind at the time?” “Rephrase the question, Mr. Copeland,”[/COLOR] Judge Jacobs rumbled. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Of course, your honor. Mr. Spengler, did the defendant ever explain why he did that?” “After I came to the MWA, he told me he wished he hadn’t done that to me, that he only made my contract the way he did because he wanted to ‘get back’ at Mr. Eisen for firing him.” “So you were his revenge?” “That’s the impression I got.”[/COLOR] Copeland paced for a few moments. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“It sounds like you and Mr. Otte had some time to talk after you joined the MWA. Did he ever talk about the other promotions?” “Every now and then.” “What would he say about them?” “That he wanted to see them shut down or put out of business after he had taken all their best workers.”[/COLOR] Copeland feigned surprise and turned to our table with a smug smile. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Your witness.”[/COLOR] Amy got up and stalked around the table, glaring at Dan. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Those were his exact words? ‘Shut down, out of business, gutted of all their best workers?’”[/COLOR] Dan shifted uncomfortably in his chair. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Well, no, not exactly...” “Then what were his exact words?” “I ... I don’t really remember. But he did want to see them out of business.” “Why did he want that? What had Anne Stardust, Leo Davis, or any of those others aside from Mr. Eisen ever do to him? Did he ever say?” “Well, it wasn’t like that.” “Then what was it like?” “He just always wanted the MWA to be the best of the bunch. But he would always say that he knew in the end there would probably only be one of the smaller feds that made it to the top.” “Was he happy when he said that?” “Objection!”[/COLOR] Copeland glared at Amy. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“If he can’t read Mr. Otte’s mind for me, he certainly can’t for you either.” “Sustained. Rephrase, Ms. Dumas.” “Yes, Your Honor. Did he [I]seem[/I] happy about it?”[/COLOR] Dan sighed. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“No. He didn’t. He seemed pretty upset at the idea.” “Does that seem vindictive to you?” “Objection!” “Withdrawn.”[/COLOR] Amy did some pacing of her own before she looked up at Dan again. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Mr. Spengler, how would you characterize your relationship with my client?”[/COLOR] Dan’s eyes widened. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“I’m not sure I understand...” “Do you like him?”[/COLOR] Dan’s face closed down. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“No, not really.” “Why is that?” “Because of how I had to leave the MWA.” “And why is that?” “Tommy Cornell took two of us off the roster, Steve Flash and myself. Steve went out with a big bang and on top. Me, Scap jobs out and sends off without so much as a thank you.” “So you’re angry at Mr. Otte because of how you left his company?” “I suppose you could say that.” “So it would be in your best interest to play up his vindictive nature, wouldn’t it? I mean, that would certainly get him back for sticking it to you when you left for greener pastures, right?” “Objection!” “Even after Mr. Otte brought you into the SWF, defended you to Mr. Eisen, gave you a push that you did not deserve based on your skills, and then you walk out on him after he gave you another chance, and you’re the one who feels hurt?”[/COLOR] Dan’s cheeks burned bright red as Copeland slammed a fist on his table. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Objection!”[/COLOR] [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Sustained.”[/COLOR] Jacobs glared at Amy, who straightened the front of her suit. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“The jury will disregard that and you’d better watch yourself, Ms. Dumas.” “Yes, your honor.”[/COLOR] Dan crumbled after that point. I’m not expert, but based on the way the jury was looking at him, I’m pretty sure none of them bought into the whole idea that I was some vindictive S.O.B. If anything, they seemed to think Dan filled that role nicely. As we left the courtroom, I fairly beamed at Amy. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Good job in there.”[/COLOR] She sighed. [COLOR="darkgreen"] “Dan was easy. Tomorrow is going to be the hard one. Get your sleep, Scap. I think you’re going to need it.”[/COLOR]

[theoutlaw321]

I have finally caught up. Skimming over and refamiliarizing myself with this great diary. I am disappointed in myself for ever falling behind. I had honestly forgotten how great a story teller you are Scap. I am sad that I have missed enjoying it for awhile. I can say that I won't let it happen again. Now, I am loving the trial. The whole Adam/Amy/Glen dynamic is great. The action is still top notch. Keep up the great work.

[JonnyV1]

Loving the court trial. And I didn't see Angry Gilmore as the leader of the Gauge's. I thought it might be Junior, throwing us a swerve instead of having someone new come in. And, if you really want GLWA as a child promotion, you could alter Sheik's business stats for the good of the story. Not sure how you would, as I only know how to alter people to accept working agreements.

[Scapino1974]

You know, I'm actually okay with GLWA being independent right now. I'll keep after the Sheik to see if I can bring him on board eventually but I'm not going to worry about that for now. It'll be interesting to see how the computer handles a promotion with an integrated roster. And I'm glad to hear that people are enjoying the trial. I was a little worried when I came up with that storyline that people would be like, :rolleyes: "Get back to the wrestling already!" More to come on that front in an hour or two.

[Scapino1974]

[I][SIZE="3"]It All Hits the Fan[/SIZE][/I] [B][I]Tuesday of Week 1, February 2014[/I][/B] U.S. District Court, Minneapolis Amy had been right. When the full import of what was going to happen hit me, I couldn’t sleep. It felt like I was swimming into the courthouse when I arrived. Amy pulled me to one side and gave me a stern talking to, instructing me to keep a stiff upper lip, no matter what the plaintiff’s witness said. I nodded but I knew it was going to be tough. An hour later, we were seated and Adam Copeland rose to his feet. With a smug smile, he said, [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“I call Howard Barris to the stand.”[/COLOR] My world crashed in on itself as the Rev strode into the courtroom. He glared at me as he took the stand and took the oath, then settled into the chair. Copeland followed his usual tactic. He led the Rev through his career history, through his days as a lowcard worker in the Texas Wrestling League, his tragic days as a victim of Trenton Evenrud in Awesome Max Wrestling, his short run with the SWF that ended with Haim “Sabbath” Tischler’s death, and his time as a color commentator for the MWA. The Rev claimed that he was more than a color commentator, that he was more like my chief advisor, a claim that wasn’t too far off the mark. He started with the Garrison Pact, saying that I never intended to keep my word to the other promoters (which, I hated to admit, was true). As he went on, the stories he spun grew wilder and wilder. According to him, I encouraged my most talented workers to branch out into other promotions so I could later pull the rug out from under them. He even went so far as to say I had bribed folks like Jay Chord and Davis Wayne Newton to keep them silent about the scheme. He spoke of clandestine meetings where I plotted the downfall of the smaller promotions and the SWF. By the time the day wrapped up, the Rev had painted me as little more than a conniving supervillain, something straight out of a comic book, so twisted with hatred and vindictiveness I’d do anything to hurt people. Needless to say, it stung. There were many times where Amy had to poke me in the thigh to keep me from reacting. When it was all over and Judge Jacobs called it a day, I wasn’t sure if I was going to cry or vault the table to strangle the Rev before he could leave the courtroom. Probably both at the same time. As we left the courthouse, Amy whispered to me. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“So have you decided what to do with Gil’s information?”[/COLOR] I winced. As much as the Rev’s testimony hurt, I knew we could refute it easily enough. Just bringing in Jay or Davis to rebut his claims about how I sent them out to wreak havoc would be enough. But if we used what Gil had uncovered ... there was no telling what would happen. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Let me sleep on it.”[/COLOR] Once again, I couldn’t and didn’t. I must have looked awful because Amy actually asked me if I wanted her to file for an extended recess. I shook my head. Better to get it over with now than prolong it. Things started with Amy probing the edges of the Rev’s claims. He stuck to his story, giving the jury a wide eyed stare that oozed innocence. Even as Amy tried to bring up the way the Rev left the MWA, he sidestepped the issue, saying that his ruffled feathers over Ogiwara’s retirement didn’t negate the truthfulness of his testimony. Amy finally turned and looked at me, a question in her eyes. I winced. She didn’t see any other way. I ground my teeth together and nodded. She set her jaw and turned back to the Rev. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Let’s talk about your time with Awesome Max Wrestling, shall we?”[/COLOR] For a split second, surprise flitted across the Rev’s face. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“All right.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Earlier you said that Trenton Evenrud formed Awesome Max Wrestling in an attempt to swindle money from his financiers, you and your fellow wrestlers, correct?” “That’s right.” “Do you know what happened to Trenton Evenrud?” “He was arrested for tax evasion and is currently serving out his sentence.” “To the best of your knowledge, whatever happened to the money he swindled?” “Objection!”[/COLOR] Copeland shouted. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Relevance?”[/COLOR] Before Jacobs could comment, Amy turned to him. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“I’m getting there, Your Honor. I just need a little time.”[/COLOR] Jacobs mulled it over and finally nodded. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“All right. But don’t stray too far.” “Of course.” [/COLOR]She turned back to the Rev. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Mr. Barris?” “Reverend Barris,” [/COLOR]the Rev growled. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“We’ll see. What happened to the money?”[/COLOR] The Rev shifted uneasily in his seat. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Nobody knows. Rumor has it Evenrud got it out of the country. Off-shore accounts, that sort of thing. Shame, too, since so many people lost their shirts in the deal.” “Including you?”[/COLOR] The Rev nodded. Amy frowned. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Weren’t you instrumental in bringing in a lot of talent for Evenrud?” “I wouldn’t say ‘a lot.’” “But weren’t you the one who recruited Isaiah ‘Archangel’ Fischer, Joel Kovach, Chris Gordon, Haim ‘Sabbath’ Tischler, and Thomas Goddard?” “That’s true.” “And it was primarily those five individuals, especially Kovach, who financed the creation of AMW, correct?” “And myself.” “Yes, and you. It must have been horrible when the AMW collapsed. Did you lose a lot of money?” “We all did. Evenrud took us all to the cleaners.” “I see. Then, I’m curious, Mr. Barris, how was it that you were able to buy a $500,000 house with cash shortly after the AMW went under?”[/COLOR] The Rev froze. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“What?”[/COLOR] Amy picked up some papers from the table. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Defense exhibit 15. According to these financial records I’ve obtained, it says that in 1999, you paid cash for a $500,000 house in Mobile. How was that possible if the AMW wiped you out, as you claim?” “I ... uh, I had some money left over...” “You had half a million left over after being low level jobber in the Texas Wrestling League and after you dumped most of your money into the AMW?” “Yeah. That’s right.” “So you must have held on to some more money since you’re planning on buying the MWA after Mr. Otte loses this court case, correct?”[/COLOR] The color drained from the Rev’s face and Copeland shot out of his chair, shouting an objection. Amy ignored him and plucked up another piece of paper and shoved it at the Rev. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Could you please tell me what this is?”[/COLOR] The Rev looked about ready to collapse. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Where did you get this?” “I have my sources. Now answer the question. What is this?” “It looks like a memo I may have sent...”[/COLOR] Amy snatched it out of his hands. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“A memo you sent, soliciting additional funds to buy ‘a soon-to-be-available wrestling promotion,’ one that will require you to raise a grand total of $25 million?”[/COLOR] The Rev’s answer was a squeak. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Yes.” “But according to this memo, you only need to raise another $5 million. Who is this ...”[/COLOR] she consulted the memo. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“... 'silent partner' who gave you the original twenty?” “I ... uh ....” “When’s the last time you spoke to Trenton Evenrud?” “What? Not since ... not since before he was arrested....”[/COLOR] Amy picked up another sheet. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Defense 16, a copy of a visitors log from the Talladega federal prison. Isn’t this your name, signing in to see Trenton Evenrud just six months ago? Why were you going there?” “I ... I ...” “He’s the silent partner, isn’t he? He told you how to access the off-shore accounts where the money he swindled, didn’t he?” “Objection!”[/COLOR] The Rev must not have heard Copeland’s outburst. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“No!” “That’s right, because you already knew how to access them. That’s how you were able to buy your house, wasn’t it? You were a partner to Evenrud’s swindle! You got the wrestlers, he fleeced them, and you both reaped the profits. Isn’t that right?”[/COLOR] The Rev denied it but it was so obvious he was lying. I closed my eyes and groaned a bit. This was what Gil had uncovered. He hadn’t liked what the Rev had been saying about me and so he had his private investigator do some digging. Gil’s investigator found the memo. Amy’s had picked up there and found the rest. Judge Jacobs, who appeared a bit stunned from the drama, cleared his throat. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Let’s bring it back on point, Ms. Dumas.”[/COLOR] Amy blew out a breath before she continued. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“It was your idea to sue Mr. Otte and the MWA, wasn’t it? You knew that if he lost, you and Evenrud could swoop in and buy it so he could pay off the plaintiffs. And then you and Evenrud would be able to ply your scam all over again. Isn’t that correct?” “No, it isn’t.”[/COLOR] But it clearly was. Amy finally snarled in disgust at the Rev and turned away. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“I have nothing further for this witness.”[/COLOR] Copeland looked shell shocked. He staggered to his feet. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Uh ... in light of recent revelations, I would ask for a recess over the rest of the week to ... regroup.”[/COLOR] Jacobs nodded. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“I’d say you’d need it. Court will reconvene next Monday.”[/COLOR] The Rev rushed out of the courtroom and I never got a chance to talk to him. I collapsed into my chair again. I looked across the aisle. Most of the plaintiffs were whispering to each other heatedly. Only one met my gaze. Richard. My eyes narrowed. If he thought I had been gentle before, he hadn’t seen anything yet. --------- Just an OOC note. I'll be out of town for the next couple of days, so there won't be an update until Tuesday or so.

[chris caulfield]

wow massive revelation in the courtcase there.

[Rave Clash]

Scap, I love your writing. Always have. Keep it up, I'm falling in love with this one.

[steev42]

You're not still bitter about the Rev leaving you, now are you? :) I smelled his getting involved, but the extent of it astounds me.

[Wallbanger]

[quote=Scapino1974;302237]And I'm glad to hear that people are enjoying the trial. I was a little worried when I came up with that storyline that people would be like, :rolleyes: "Get back to the wrestling already!"[/quote] For me, both as a reader and a writer, the backstory is as important, if not more so, than the wrestling. The backstory is what makes the main characters compelling. This is outstanding stuff, Scap, just wonderful reading.

[theoutlaw321]

****OUCH****!!!!**** >Me kicking myself again for allowing myself to fall behind on this. ****OUCH****!!!****

[Scapino1974]

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]MWA [I]Blade’s Edge[/I][/SIZE][/B] [COLOR="Sienna"]Live on GNN Total Sports[/COLOR] [I]Wednesday of Week 1, February 2014[/I] Held at McGaw Arena in the Tri State Territory 5,000 in attendance - SOLD OUT![/CENTER] Jason Azaria and Emma Chase welcomed the audience to the show. 1) Angry Gilmore led the Gauge Brothers out to the ring. Angry taunted the whole MWA at once, saying that what they did to Jay Chord and Chance Fortune last week shows how dominant he and his followers are, [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“because Jay and Chance dare not show their faces here tonight, for they know we will punish them again if they do.”[/COLOR] Angry hyped himself and the Gauges as the purest incarnation of rage the world has ever known. He predicted big things for he and his followers. He was cut off in mid gloat by Davis Wayne Newton, who came out and said that Angry may believe that everyone is cowering in the back, but the truth is, they’re all just laughing at him. They just don’t want to bother to stoop down to his level. Davis, though, he wants to let his actions speak louder than words. He dared Angry to face him in the ring tonight. Angry agreed, an insane light shining in his eyes. RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]B-[/COLOR] for the hype and the challenge 2) Serene Jean Cattley came out to the ring and hyped up his match against Bulldozer Brandon Smith, saying that he was going to teach Smith some manners. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] 3) [B]SERENE JEAN CATTLEY (c) vs. BULLDOZER BRANDON SMITH [/B]for [COLOR="Red"]the MWA Regional Championship[/COLOR] Not too bad all things considered. Emma Chase was able to hide some of the awkwardness of the bout by speculating on whether or not Jean was really all that “groovy.” It cracked me up anyway. Jean had to struggle to keep a step ahead of Smith, but in the end, it was clear he had regained control of the flow of the match. He was well on his way to finishing things off with a Mood Swing when Des Davids appeared out of nowhere and Speared Jean. Referee Jez McArthuer immediately D.Q.ed Smith. WINNER: [B]Serene Jean Cattley by DQ [/B]in 10:10 RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]C+[/COLOR] 4) Matthew Gauge strutted through the backstage when he was confronted by Mainstream Hernandez. Mainstream got in Matt’s face and told him to back off. He said that Matt should leave Junior alone. Matt chuckled and said that was all up to Junior. Matt said he was content to let sleeping dogs lie, but if Junior wanted to mix things up with him, that was her choice, not Matt’s. Matt finished by saying he was curious to see what Junior would do when Matt faced Casey Valentine later tonight. He laughed at Mainstream and kept strutting. Mainstream snarled in frustration and stormed away, unaware that Junior came out from around a corner, an odd look on her face. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] 5) [B]PRIMUS ALLEN vs. BRADLEY BLAZE[/B] And the streak continues as Primus puts down Bradley hard with a Running Powerslam. WINNER: [B]Primus Allen [/B]in 7:17 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B-[/COLOR] 6) Ernest Youngman appeared on screen and said that he knew Chance Fortune was gone this week and he said it was a good thing too. He said he was ready to kill him after what he said last week on Firestorm. But Chance gets a stay of execution tonight. Instead, Ernest challenged him to defend his title in two and a half weeks at “Destined for Glory.” RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B+[/COLOR] 7) Aaron Andrews came out to the ring in his referee uniform. Before the competitors could come out, though, Aaron got a mic and addressed Liberty. Apparently Liberty was still making a lot of noise backstage about Aaron’s decision in his match a week or two ago at “On the Rise.” Aaron said that complaining about him wasn’t the solution. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“It’s all there in the rulebooks,”[/COLOR] he said. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“It isn’t my fault if Liberty doesn’t, won’t, or can’t read.”[/COLOR] RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]C[/COLOR] 8) [B]ARTHUR DEXTER BRADLEY vs. CAMERON VESSEY (c)[/B] for [COLOR="Red"]the MWA Rising Star Title[/COLOR] Here’s a pleasant surprise! ADB and Cameron had pretty good chemistry together and it really made for a great match. Cameron seemed pretty sure of himself in the opening minutes and did his best to mock and harass ADB. But ADB didn’t fall for it and remained focused, so much so that pretty soon, Cameron was on the run. Even Wanda’s subtle interference with tripping ADB up at ringside or distracting Aaron didn’t help. Much to everyone’s surprise, ADB took Cameron out with a Samoan Spike DDT and made the pin! WINNER: [B]Arthur Dexter Bradley [/B]in 8:54 RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]B[/COLOR] 9) ADB got his newly won title and celebrated, dancing for joy. But then Aaron got the mic and reversed the decision, saying that ADB couldn’t possibly have won, because according to the rules of .... That’s as far as he got. Liberty charged out to the ring and got into his face. Aaron didn’t back down and the two of them exchanged some really heated words. Liberty finally shoved Aaron, who immediately shouted that Liberty was suspended for a week for making physical contact with a ref. In the meantime, Cameron reclaimed his title and got out of there. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C-[/COLOR] for the reversal; [COLOR="blue"]B-[/COLOR] for the confrontation 10) Mainstream found Junior backstage and said that they were leaving. Junior asked why, didn’t Mainstream want to stay and watch the matches. He said he didn’t and led her out of the arena. By the look of Junior’s face, she didn’t completely buy it. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] 11) [B]CASEY VALENTINE vs. MATTHEW GAUGE[/B] Pretty solid match from these two. It was clear from the get go that Casey was not comfortable being in the ring with Matt. The odd thing was, Matt didn’t seem to be completely in the match. He kept checking the ring entrance and scanning the crowd. Casey was able to capitalize on those moments of distraction but he wasn’t able to put much together to keep Matt down. In the end, Matt finished off Casey with a Proton Lock. WINNER: [B]Matthew Gauge [/B]in 10:42 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B-[/COLOR] 12) Cameron Vessey appeared backstage, clutching his title to his chest. He mocked Marc du Bois, pointing out that he still had his title. His theory was that Aaron Andrews recognized the greatness in him and didn’t want him to lose it. That’s when he turned a corner and found himself face to face with Edward Cornell, who challenged him to a match tomorrow night at Firestorm. Cameron laughed at the idea of Edward wrestling him again but agreed. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] for the hype; [COLOR="blue"]D[/COLOR] for the challenge 13) [B]DAVIS WAYNE NEWTON vs. ANGRY GILMORE[/B] Great match. Davis looked to be on fire but then, Angry seemed unstoppable as well. The two clashed in the ring and around it. Davis pulled out a lot of moves in his arsenal, but it was clear that Angry wasn’t about to go down anytime soon. As a matter of fact, Angry seemed to be getting stronger as the match wore on and he got angrier. That was the reason Emma said he finally managed to put Davis away with an Anger Unleashed. WINNER: [B]Angry Gilmore [/B]in 12:45 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B+[/COLOR] [B][U]THE AFTERMATH[/U][/B] ADB was used too much, but there were enough pleasant surprises in tonight’s show that I didn’t really care. We got a rating of 29.18. FINAL RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] FROM MWA.COM - [QUOTE][U]Quick results from the last episode of [I]Blade’s Edge[/I][/U] [I]Serene Jean Cattley (c) defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith by DQ and so retains [COLOR="Red"]the MWA Regional Championship [/COLOR][/I]- [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] [I]Primus Allen defeated Bradley Blaze [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]B-[/COLOR] [I]Cameron Vessey (c) defeated Arthur Dexter Bradley by reversal and so retains [COLOR="red"]the MWA Rising Star Title[/COLOR] [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] [I]Matthew Gauge defeated Casey Valentine [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]B-[/COLOR] [I]Angry Gilmore defeated Davis Wayne Newton [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]B+[/COLOR] [B]FINAL SHOW RATING - [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR][/B][/QUOTE]

[Scapino1974]

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]MWA [I]Firestorm[/I][/SIZE][/B] [COLOR="Sienna"]Live on the Pop! Network; Replayed on TV Mex[/COLOR] [I]Thursday of Week 1, February 2014[/I] Held at the Lowe Ballroom in the North West Territory 5,000 in attendance – SOLD OUT![/CENTER] Jason Azaria and Emma Chase welcomed the audience to the show. 1) [B]PRIMUS ALLEN vs. GREG GAUGE[/B] Jason said that this was the biggest challenge that Primus faced since he reset his record. Emma snidely said that Primus had always been a loser before his “streak” and now he’d just return to that condition. But Primus made a fight of it. Greg tried Angry’s “get stronger as the match goes on” trick but it was clear that every time he increased in power, Primus was already there and ready for him. In the end, Primus broke an attempted Proton Lock and took Greg out with a Flying Lariat. WINNER: [B]Primus Allen [/B]in 13:43 RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]B-[/COLOR] 2) Primus celebrated his victory but he should have gotten out of the ring first. Greg took his legs out from under him and then slapped him in the Proton Lock, refusing to break it until Primus passed out from the pain. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] 3) Cameron Vessey appeared on screen, confidently boasting that he would once again defeat Edward Cornell and retain his title. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]D[/COLOR] 4) Junior came out to the ring and admitted that she’s been obsessed with Matt Gauge lately ... and she likes the feeling. She’s beginning to feel true strength stir within her, and if that’s what it takes to make her a winner, so be it. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] 5) [B]JUNIOR vs. IZAAK TISCHLER[/B] This match just showed that Junior was feeling particularly angry tonight. It was a great, breath-stealing spectacle, one in which poor Izaak continued his downward slide until finally, Junior put him out of his misery with a Triangle Choke, one she didn’t release until he was unconscious. WINNER: [B]Junior[/B] in 7:45 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B+[/COLOR] 6) Backstage Mainstream Hernandez looked positively sick. Sitting across from him was Joanne Rodriguez. Mainstream poured out his heart to her, saying he didn’t know what to do. J-Ro listened to it and finally, sagely, advised Mainstream that the only way he was going to beat Matt at this game was to offer Junior something that Matt either couldn’t or won’t. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] 7) [B]EDWARD CORNELL vs. CAMERON VESSEY (c)[/B] for [COLOR="Red"]the MWA Rising Star Title[/COLOR] Not too bad of a match. Cameron showboated for most of it, tossing kisses to the crowd and jawing at the people at ringside, that sort of thing. Luckily for him, he was able to back up his arrogant attitude most of the time. Wanda made up for the times he couldn’t. Edward looked well and truly beaten. At least, he did until Marc du Bois hit the ringside area. He quickly knocked Wanda into the ring apron and then shoved her into the ring. When referee Jez McArthuer saw that, he turned and ordered Wanda out of there. While Jez was distracted, Marc slipped into ring and nailed Cameron with a Marc of Excellence. He then rolled out again. Edward recovered his wits enough to put Cameron in a submission move. But since Cameron was out, Jez ended the match. WINNER: [B]Edward Cornell [/B]in 7:49 RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]C-[/COLOR] 8) As Edward celebrated his win, Aaron Andrews charged out to the ring. He got in Jez McArthuer’s face and started arguing with him. While we didn’t have a mic on him, it was pretty clear that Aaron wanted to reverse Jez’s decision based on Marc’s interference. Jez didn’t know what Aaron as talking about and apparently didn’t appreciate Aaron’s recent antics. While the two refs argued, Edward retreated with the title belt. It looked like things would come to blows (Aaron hitting Jez, not the other way around) when Liberty charged out of the crowd. While Emma protested that he was supposed to be suspended, Liberty hit the ring and dropped Aaron with a Liberation Slam. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]D+[/COLOR] for the attempted reversal; [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] for the attack 9) [B]DAVIS WAYNE NEWTON vs. RONNIE V. PAIN[/B] Holy cow! I never saw this one coming. It was simply a phenomenal match. If I had known, I would have saved this match-up for a pay-per-view. Davis seemed to be smarting from his loss to Angry last night. At least, that’s how Jason explained his intense attitude. Ronnie too seemed pretty focused on beating Davis. They brawled in and around the ring before Ronnie surprised everyone by putting Davis down with a Power Chord. WINNER: [B]Ronnie V. Pain [/B]in 6:43 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]A*[/COLOR] 10) Cameron Vessey was tearing up the backstage area, raging about how Marc du Bois cost him his title. Wanda Fish tried to calm him down, but it was pretty obvious he wasn’t listening. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] 11) Des Davids came out to the ring and revealed that he and Bulldozer Brandon Smith had been working together. Des brought him on board to soften Serene Jean Cattley up so he could swoop in and take back his title. His self-congratulatory speech was cut off by Jean himself, who came out and said if he wanted a shot against him, all he had to do was ask. Jean even suggested that they do it right then and there. Des shook his head and said that Jean had unfinished business to deal with first. At that, Bulldozer attacked Jean from behind and beat him down. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] for the speech; [COLOR="blue"]B-[/COLOR] for the challenge; [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] for the attack 12) Chance Fortune came out to the ring and said that he was a little upset with Ernest. He said that once again, Ernest wasn’t here tonight and that Chance would have to settle for wrestling someone else. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“But not when we get to ‘Destined for Glory.’ Then, Ernest, there will be no escape for you. Then it’ll just be you and me in the ring. And I guarantee, it will not end well for you.”[/COLOR] RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]B[/COLOR] 13) [B]CHANCE FORTUNE (c) vs. ALICIA STRONG [/B]for [COLOR="Red"]the MWA World Heavyweight Championship[/COLOR] Emma called Chance insecure since he kept getting matches set up against former Grand Champions. She said it was like he was trying to prove something to himself. Jason countered that it was simply that he was sending a message to Ernest and all comers: he’s better than what the MWA had in the past and he’s willing to prove it. And he certainly did with this match. He and Alicia put on a grand spectacle, the equal of what Davis and Ronnie did and, in some ways, better. I only wish this had been on Blade’s Edge, not Firestorm. Then more people could have seen it. At any rate, after many nearfalls from both competitors, Chance pulled it out with a Stroke of Luck. WINNER: [B]Chance Fortune [/B]in 6:36 RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]A*[/COLOR] 14) Chance celebrated with some fans at ringside and then started back up the ramp to leave the arena. Before he could make it out, though, Ernest Youngman came out of nowhere and attacked him. Before anyone could react, Ernest powerbombed Chance off the stage and into some boxes below. The show ended with Ernest sneering down at Chance. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] [B][U]THE AFTERMATH[/U][/B] Really good show all around. We got a rating of FINAL RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B+[/COLOR] FROM MWA.COM - [QUOTE][U]Quick results from the last episode of [I]Firestorm[/I][/U] [I]Primus Allen defeated Greg Gauge [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]B-[/COLOR] [I]Junior defeated Izaak Tischler [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]B+[/COLOR] [I]Edward Cornell defeated Cameron Vessey (c) for [COLOR="Red"]the MWA Rising Star Title [/COLOR][/I]- [COLOR="blue"]C-[/COLOR] [I]Ronnie V. Pain defeated Davis Wayne Newton [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]A*[/COLOR] [I]Chance Fortune (c) defeated Alicia Strong to retain [COLOR="red"]the MWA World Heavyweight Championship[/COLOR] [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]A*[/COLOR] [B]FINAL SHOW RATING - [COLOR="blue"]B+[/COLOR][/B][/QUOTE]

[Scapino1974]

[I][SIZE="3"]MWA Notes:[/SIZE][/I] [B][I]Friday of Week 1, February of 2014[/I][/B] From ProWrestlingHits.com - [QUOTE][B]MWA on a Roll[/B] The Midwest Wrestling Association, rather than buckle under from recent setbacks, has instead come out even stronger. Wrestling industry experts speculated that being the defendant in a major lawsuit and losing control of their fledgling child federation, the GLWA, would cause the MWA to stumble. But this week has ended quite well. For starters, there was the devastating revelation about Howard “the Rev” Barris while under cross-examination. While we don’t have any idea if the allegations are correct, rumor has it the feds are taking a closer look at Barris, and that probably isn’t good for him. Our sources inside the plaintiff’s camp suggest that this has rocked the smaller promotions, so much so that several of the promoters threatened to pull out of the case if Adam Copeland didn’t rest their case come Monday. We suspect that’s what he’ll do. Moreover, the MWA scored a coup by securing broadcast rights overseas. Both of their shows, Blade’s Edge and Firestorm, have been picked up by networks in the United Kingdom and Japan. Blade’s Edge will soon be showing on Thursday evenings at 10:00 PM on J-Network East and UK Broadcasting Prime. Firestorm will be broadcast on Japanese Sports Vision 2 and UK Broadcasting Digital. This actually gives them a slight edge over rivals TCW, whose two shows, TCW Modern Day Warriors and TCW Squared Circle, only show in the U.S. on America-Sports-1.[/QUOTE]

[Scapino1974]

[I][SIZE="3"]On the Defensive[/SIZE][/I] [B][I]Monday of Week 2, February 2014[/I][/B] U.S. District Court, Minneapolis As Amy expected, Copeland did rest his case early on Monday morning. Apparently her shellacking of the Rev spooked him enough that he didn’t want to risk anything else. Amy had considered resting our case as well, but after exchanging looks with Richard the previous week, I wanted to smash him into the ground and dance on his grave. Maybe I am a bit too vindictive for my own good. Whatever. Amy called her first witness: [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“Preston Holt.”[/COLOR] Even at 70, Preston was a spry individual. He strode into the courtroom and for a second, I could see why he held the California Pro Wrestling Championship four times (although the fact that he was the owner of the CPW didn’t hurt either). He took the stand and smiled at Amy in a grandfatherly sort of way while she helped him review his accomplishments: owner of both CPW and Rapid Pro Wrestling. Once they were done, Amy directed him toward the matter at hand. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Tell me what happened at the end of California Pro Wrestling’s existence.”[/COLOR] Preston smiled sadly. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“That’s something I normally don’t like to talk about. CPW was my baby and I’m responsible for its death.” “How so?” “I didn’t see the changes coming. See, back then, things were different. There was no such thing as national wrestling shows or pay-per-views. Just promoters working different territories, sharing talent and trying to make as much money as we could.” “What changed that?” “Richard Eisen. In 1978, he opened this brash new company, called it the ‘Supreme’ Wrestling Federation, and started making a lot of noise about how they were going to change the way things were done. Well, my colleagues and I thought it was a bunch of bluster. You know, big talk he wouldn’t be able to back up.” “What made you think that?” “He seemed to be making such foolish decisions. Richard offered our workers exclusive written contracts with unheard of salaries. Such a thing had never been done before.” “What did you do to stop him?” “Stop him? Not a thing.”[/COLOR] Preston chuckled. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Blame it on our short-sightedness. There were two things working against us. First, we didn’t realize how deep Richard’s pockets were. We thought that after a few months, he would have spent all his money and been in court, declaring bankruptcy. And second, we didn’t see the whole pay-per-view and cable revolution coming. Richard had and he positioned himself accordingly.” “So what did you think was going to happen?”[/COLOR] Preston laughed. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Like I said, we figured that after a few months, Richard would be broke and we’d be able to re-sign our talent to the old pay-per-appearance contracts. Sadly, that didn’t work out.”[/COLOR] Amy nodded thoughtfully. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“But certainly there came a time when you realized you were in trouble.” “Of course.” “Didn’t you try to sue Richard then?”[/COLOR] Preston shook his head. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“No. That simply wasn’t done. If there was a dispute among promoters, we worked it out ourselves. And besides, this was business, not a blood feud. Richard simply made a better deal and we paid for it as a result.”[/COLOR] Amy moved on to talk about the East Coast Wars. Once again, Preston revealed that part of the problem was Richard raiding the talent of the smaller East Coast federations. That eventually led to all of them merging into the original DaVE. And again, he emphasized that even as Richard pillaged their rosters, none of them considered suing him. Amy smiled her thanks and turned over Preston to Copeland. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Do you really expect us to believe that if you had known what would happen to your promotion back in the seventies, you wouldn’t have sued Richard?” “That is correct.” “Oh, come on! You just said that the CPW was ‘your baby.’ You’re honestly saying that, if you had known in 1978 what Richard was up to, you wouldn’t have even considered suing him to protect your investment?”[/COLOR] Preston faltered. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Well, I can’t say for certain...” “Don’t be ashamed of that, Mr. Holt. It’s perfectly understandable to want to protect something you’ve built, isn’t it?”[/COLOR] A sigh. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“I suppose so.”[/COLOR] [COLOR="darkgreen"]“No further questions.”[/COLOR] Amy glanced at me and shrugged. Not a clean kill. I smiled back. Not to worry. I knew we had the final nail in the lawsuit’s coffin waiting in the wings and I couldn’t wait for it to finish things once and for all.

[theoutlaw321]

Great show Scap. Two A* in one show WOOOOOOOOOO!!! That's what I'm talking about. Still enjoying the trial. Looking forward to the next installment.

[Scapino1974]

[I][SIZE="3"]The Final Nail[/SIZE][/I] [B][I]Wednesday of Week 2, February 2014[/I][/B] U.S. District Court, Minneapolis I could barely contain my nervous energy. Amy and I had planned this ambush from almost the beginning and it would be great to see it sprung. The previous day had been filler. We had brought in Jay Chord, Davis Wayne Newton, and Bulldozer Brandon Smith to counter some of the more ridiculous claims that had been made by the plaintiffs. All three had testified that they had been given a choice as to whether they signed their written contracts. All three had said they believed I wouldn’t be “vindictive” if they hadn’t. And Jay really ripped into the Rev for suggesting that I had somehow sent him or Davis out to sabotage the other promotions. But now it was time for our bombshell. Amy winked at me as she rose from her table. [COLOR="DarkGreen"]“Your Honor, the defense calls Thomas Cornell Senior to the stand.”[/COLOR] Dead silence. Then the reporters started buzzing as the owner of TCW entered the room. As he took his seat, he shot one angry glare at Richard and then another in my direction. I almost laughed at him. I was sure he hated being trapped between Richard and myself, but it felt good to force him into that position anyway. Amy took the time to run through Tommy’s history, his start at the SWF, the infamous match against Nemesis in February of 1997, and his jump to HGC and eventual takeover and transformation of the same into TCW. Once that was done, she brought up the reason why he was there: [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Tell me about Jack Bruce.”[/COLOR] Tommy snorted. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Well, this is what happened. When I came over to HGC, Stallings had managed to sign some pretty big names like Rip Chord and Sam Strong. You know, veterans who were almost ready to retire but not quite. Plus he had snagged some indy circuit stars. But there were some holes to plug and after I took over the company, one of the guys I hired was Jack Bruce, a pretty good wrestler but a relative unknown.” “And you changed that?” “Yeah. After I took over and changed the name to TCW, I had this wild idea. See, Jack and some of the other wrestlers made this little band and after the events, they would go out to the local bars and put on a little show. One night, I came with them and heard what they could do. So I got this bright idea to make the band part of the show. We called ‘em Painful Procedure.” “Did it work?” “Well, not at first. We caught a lot of flack in the dirtsheets over putting a band in a wrestling show. But it caught on since Jack was no slouch. And the girls, they loved Jack. I swear, some of them came to the shows just to hear him sing. The wrestling didn’t matter to them.” “So what happened?” “Jack got more and more over as time went on ... sorry, he became more popular. He was helping me make a lot of money and I was passing on a lot of it to him. I figured we had a good thing going.” “But he didn’t stay with TCW, did he?” “No, he didn’t. See, I had never signed him to a full written deal. I figured his word would be good enough. But then Richard came swooping in and offered him just that. Jack took one look at the number of zeroes in the paycheck and that was it for him. In 2004, he jumped over to the SWF.” “So if Richard stole Jack away, why didn’t you sue him?” “Sue him? Lady, that’s the nature of the business. I got careless and I paid the price. Richard played the game better than me, that’s all.” “So you’re saying...” “That Richard should know better than this. What Scap did isn’t a crime. It’s not even unethical. He was in a position to do something good for his company and he did it, same as Richard did with Jack, same as I’d do if I were in either of their positions.” “Thank you.”[/COLOR] Amy turned to Copeland. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Your witness.”[/COLOR] Copeland stalked around his table and stared daggers at Tommy, who simply sneered back at him. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“You don’t like Richard Eisen that much, do you?” “Gee, I can’t think why that might be.” “Just answer the question.” “Okay, sure. I don’t like him. I wouldn’t invite him to tea. Happy?” “You don’t like him enough you would say anything to hurt him, wouldn’t you? You’d do anything to make sure he’d lose this lawsuit, right?”[/COLOR] Tommy smiled wickedly. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Oh, come on.” “You would, wouldn’t you?” “Look, I’m not going to start a Richard Eisen fan club, but I wouldn’t have to resort to lying in a pathetic lawsuit to get him. I already got him. Past few years since that moron Extreme Deluxe kicked, he’s done nothing but flounder while I’ve rebuilt TCW into something with staying power. Richard may have gotten an early lead but I’m the one who’s going to dance on the SWF’s grave.” “Your Honor, I move to strike as non-responsive.” “So ordered.”[/COLOR] Before Adam could celebrate too much, Amy stood up. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“If I may, Judge?”[/COLOR] Jacobs nodded. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“You don’t like Richard Eisen, right?” “I thought that was the general idea.” “How do you feel about my client?”[/COLOR] Tommy’s grin tightened. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“He’s not exactly my favorite person either.” “Why?” “Oh, let’s see here. He second guessed every decision I made when I took over HGC. So when I dumped him onto Richard, he wound up almost burying my promotion. And, as if that weren’t enough, he stole half my roster in the process and mocked me with Joey Beauchamp.” “He did all that and yet you didn’t sue him?”[/COLOR] Tommy laughed. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Of course not. I knew it wasn’t personal. It’s just business.”[/COLOR] Amy turned to the jury. [COLOR="darkgreen"]“Thank you. The defense rests.”[/COLOR]

[chris caulfield]

Richard Eisien and his lawyer just got told by tommy cornell.

[JonnyV1]

I love the way you played Tommy Cornell in that lawsuit. That's how I've always pictured Tommy.

[Scapino1974]

[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]MWA [I]Blade’s Edge[/I][/SIZE][/B] [COLOR="Sienna"]Live on GNN Total Sports[/COLOR] [I]Wednesday of Week 2, February 2014[/I] Held at Huntsville Fairgrounds in the South East Territory 5,000 in attendance - SOLD OUT![/CENTER] Jason Azaria and Emma Chase welcomed the audience to the show. 1) Nemesis appeared, seated behind his desk. He informed us that due to recent actions, Ernest Youngman and Chance Fortune, who were booked in a title match at “Destined for Glory” were hereby ordered to stay away from each other. No contact or the offender will be suspended. Jason groused that it made sense Nemesis would do that after Ernest took out Chance. Now Chance would have to wait until “Destine for Glory” to get back at Ernest. RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]B+[/COLOR] 2) Also announced was the fact that Angry and his minions would be having some sort of celebration tonight in the ring. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] 3) [B]KC GLENN vs. MATTHEW GAUGE[/B] KC put up a good fight, he really did. Matt actually seemed to be on the run for a little while but then rallied and took KC down and got him to tap with the Proton Lock. Emma observed that Angry’s crew would have even more to celebrate tonight. WINNER: [B]Matthew Gauge [/B]in 8:57 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] 4) [B]EDWARD CORNELL (c) vs. THOMAS MORGAN [/B]for [COLOR="Red"]the MWA Rising Star Title[/COLOR] Not a bad first title defense for Eddie. He and Thomas put on a bit of a technician’s clinic before Edward got Thomas down and tapping. WINNER: [B]Edward Cornell [/B]in 9:04 RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]C[/COLOR] 5) Edward’s post-match celebration was cut short by Cameron Vessey’s entrance music. Edward dropped into a ready stance as Cameron came out to the ring. Cameron sneered at Edward and told him to relax. He wasn’t there to reclaim his title, but that Edward shouldn’t get too attached to it. Edward quickly retreated. He instead addressed Marc du Bois. He said he was sick of Marc already and could see why Wanda dumped him years ago. Wanda didn’t seem to appreciate that reminder. Cameron soldiered on, finally laying down a challenge to Marc to face him. Marc came out to the ring entrance and said he’d love to. Cameron seemed satisfied. Wanda looked sick. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]D[/COLOR] for the challenge; [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] for the response 6) [B]STEVEN PARKER vs. LEAD BELLY[/B] Another good match. Provided we don’t run into any trouble, we might be looking at a pretty good show. Parker seemed out to get some revenge for Davis’s loss last week. Lead Belly too seemed motivated by Ronnie’s excellent win and wanted to put Parker down hard. But Parker proved to be too difficult to pin. As a matter of fact, Parker managed to slip out of an attempted RPM Bomb and turned it into a Future Shock instead. WINNER: [B]Steven Parker [/B]in 9:24 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] 7) Backstage Mainstream Hernandez confronted Matthew Gauge. Instead of berating him, Mainstream actually laughed at him. He said that he finally had Matt’s number. He said he would beat Matt, but just not in the ring. He laughed again and walked away, leaving Matt looking the tiniest bit worried. In another corner of the backstage area, Junior watched the confrontation unfold on the monitors, the same odd look on her face. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] for the confrontation; [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] for the watching 8) Angry Gilmore came out to the ring and announced that the time was coming for his followers and he to celebrate the tremendous strides that they had made in the past weeks. He pointed to the wins that the Gauge Brothers and he had had and how Greg had acquitted himself last week by taking out Primus Allen. And he had just heard word that Sam Keith was working diligently in spreading the “good news” backstage in other wrestling promotions. Angry confidently predicted that many wrestlers across the country would join his quest for enlightenment. So it was time to party. But Angry said that before that could happen, there had to be a sacrifice. That’s why he was daring anyone to get into the ring with him tonight. Jenny Playmate came out and said that Josh Jones was willing to be that “sacrifice,” only that her client would destroy Angry instead. Angry smirked and said he was welcome to try. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] for the open challenge; [COLOR="blue"]C-[/COLOR] for the response 9) [B]JOSH JONES vs. ANGRY GILMORE[/B] Great match! Josh clearly was more of a threat than Angry anticipated, scoring the first fall and keeping Angry down for a solid two count. Any mirth in Angry’s eyes died and he focused on beating Josh. Josh put up a good fight until finally, he wound up eating mat from an Anger Unleashed. WINNER: [B]Angry Gilmore [/B]in 9:41 RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B+[/COLOR] 10) The Gauge brothers came out to the ring to join their leader. They carried with them an earthen jug and several wine glasses. Angry poured a glass and then dumped it on Josh’s back. They then each poured a glass and downed it quickly. Greg finished the ceremony by smashing the bottle over Josh’s head. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, but that changed as Jay Chord charged out of the back and hit the ring, scattering them as he went after each of them. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] 11) Liberty found Nemesis backstage and demanded that Nemesis give him Aaron Andrews in a match at “Destined for Glory.” Nemesis balked, saying that he wasn’t about to put one of his officials in the ring with a wrestler. Liberty insisted, saying that Aaron had a background in wrestling. It’s just that he’s a ref here. Nemesis mulled it over and said he’d think about it. RATING: [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] 12) [B]SERENE JEAN CATTLEY (c) vs. BULLDOZER BRANDON SMITH [/B]for [COLOR="Red"]the MWA Regional Championship[/COLOR] I keep forgetting that these two don’t have good chemistry in the ring! So the show kind of petered out a bit as we hit this match. Smith didn’t seem interested in beating Jean, just messing him up. Jason said that seemed a little odd, seeing as how Smith could potentially walk away with the Regional Championship. Emma countered by saying that Smith obviously knew his role in all this. It was just to soften up Jean for Des Davids. He didn’t do so well in that role. Sure, Jean was left reeling a few times, but in the end, Jean caught Smith in a Mood Swing and pinned him. WINNER: [B]Serene Jean Cattley [/B]in 13:45 RATING: [COLOR="Blue"]B-[/COLOR] 13) After the match was over, Des Davids hit the ring and laid out Jean with a vicious Spear. WINNER: [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] [B][U]THE AFTERMATH[/U][/B] That last match sunk us, I think. We got a rating of 31.55. FINAL RATING: [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR] FROM MWA.COM - [QUOTE][U]Quick results from the last episode of [I]Blade’s Edge[/I][/U] [I]Matthew Gauge defeated KC Glenn [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] [I]Edward Cornell (c) defeated Thomas Morgan to retain [COLOR="Red"]the MWA Rising Star Title[/COLOR][/I] - [COLOR="blue"]C[/COLOR] [I]Steven Parker defeated Lead Belly [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]B[/COLOR] [I]Angry Gilmore defeated Josh Jones [/I]- [COLOR="blue"]B+[/COLOR] [I]Serene Jean Cattley (c) defeated Bulldozer Brandon Smith to retain [COLOR="red"]the MWA Regional Championship [/COLOR][/I]- [COLOR="blue"]B-[/COLOR] [B]FINAL SHOW RATING - [COLOR="blue"]C+[/COLOR][/B][/QUOTE]