MAW: 10 Simple Rules... [Archive]

James Casey

06-07-2008, 06:41 PM

Thanks for the comments, all. I never imagined when I started planning this back in February that I'd be up against such stiff competition. I blame shipshirt, myself...

*

Here I was, my hand on the doorknob of another locker-room door. How many times had I done this, I wondered? I was here, but I could still turn back.

Then the yelling erupted from beyond the door, and before I knew it I was in the locker room, watching Rip – good God, he got old – standing nose-to-nose with some young guy who was venting his frustrations.

Clearly the kid didn’t know Rip that well – anyone who did could see that he was only going to take a few more seconds of this before he ripped the kid’s head clean off his shoulders. One or two of the others in the locker-room clearly knew Rip that well, as they were getting ready to pull the youngster back.

“Hey,” I said casually, limping forward on the cane I’ve had to use of late, and deftly inserting a shoulder between the two men. The youngster paused in mid-flow, surprised by my intervention. Rip blinked twice before a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Good to see you kid,” he said, throwing a meaty arm around my shoulders and giving me a quick, backslapping hug. “Everyone, this guy used to be the best midcarder on the business before I tore his knee in two. And he was my best friend at the time,” he added with a growl aimed in the direction of the formerly furious youngster, who had subsided into silence, although he was still glaring at Rip in an unmistakably hostile manner.

It was easy to ignore that, though. Instead, I was focusing on the murmurs from several of the other members of the locker-room.

“He’s agreed to come down here and look after things for us while I focus on the business side.”

“You’re going to be our road agent?” the youngster asked.

“I am,” I said. “And I suggest you read the Ten Commandments out there. Ignore the eleventh one. Everyone knows Rip can’t tell a story worth a damn.”

This earned a few chuckles, and even the youngster smiled as Rip growled “What eleventh one?”

“I’ll leave you all to get acquainted,” Rip went on. “Oh, here,” he added, passing me a thick envelope. I knew what was inside. We’d discussed this at some length. As I grasped it in my one free hand, the two of us exchanged a long look that lasted a whole second. “Now, show tonight. Let’s make it a good one.”

He strode out of the locker-room. I held up a hand for silence. As the door swung shut, I knew Rip would look for the eleventh commandment.

“Son of a b-“ we heard, before the door closed.

There was a round of laughter.

“Good. Happy workers. That makes my job a lot easier,” I said. “You,” I pointed at the youngster. “Who are you, and why were you yelling at Rip?”

The kid jerked a thumb at himself.

“My name’s Vessey,” he growled. “Cameron Vessey.”

“No kidding? Larry’s kid? How’s your dad?”

Cameron looked nonplussed. “Who the hell are you?”

I smiled. “Yeah, I suppose I ought to introduce myself. My name’s James Casey...”

soulztnrv1

06-07-2008, 06:46 PM

Good job so far

You got a reader.

mad5226

06-07-2008, 07:33 PM

And just like that you've made me completly hate Vessey. Thanks =)

shamelessposer

06-07-2008, 07:39 PM

This diary... is a good thing. And I'm not usually a big fan of MAW diaries.

Jaded

06-07-2008, 07:53 PM

Blah, Vessey would've kicked Rip's leathery old ass ;)

Michael Wayne

06-07-2008, 07:57 PM

Blah, Vessey would've kicked Rip's leathery old ass ;)

only if daddy was there... :p

tizzyt

06-07-2008, 08:35 PM

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk205/BukeTaint/CowBellFever.jpg

G-Prime

06-08-2008, 12:59 AM

I like it so far.

James Casey

06-08-2008, 10:36 AM

Thanks for the comments, all. And we'll see about the cowbell...

*

This wasn’t what I’d imagined, way back when. I’d aimed for the top, moving from England at a young age and taking (and doing) every job going. I was a company man, whichever company I was working for that night. I built up my skillset in training rings with sagging ropes and uneven surfaces, confident that if I was given my shot I could electrify the crowds. I could carry the greenest, most uncoordinated klutz to a watchable match, and I was one of the go-to guys when a big name needed a good win to boost their bonafides.

It wasn’t great money, but I was paying my dues – and I was young, and meeting superstars, and pounding the beers with the best of them.

Well, except for Rip Chord. That guy made it his mission in life to have the best match of the night and the best night of his life, every single night. We were a perfect fit, in every way – we went around the horn so many times, and in so many different parts of the country, that we were able to almost read one another’s minds once the bell rang. Never mind the age or popularity difference – Rip knew me, and I knew him. He’d pulled a few strings to bring me into SWF after he’d ended up facing me on a string of independent cards that he’d appeared on to make up some of the cash that he blew whenever it was in his pocket. I was seen almost as his protégé – if not the man to carry on the Rip Chord legacy, then at least a trusted associate.

Over the years, I’d slowed down on the partying. I’d met a girl, and she’d made me cut back. Rip, on the other hand, met lots of girls – and he was still partying. More, harder, faster – I don’t know how he managed it, but it never seemed to affect his work.

Until, one night... it did.

It was the night before Rip was scheduled to challenge for the World title against Sam Keith, and he’d gone out in front of the fans and asked his old friend – me – to come out and give him a warmup match. I looked askance at the others in the locker-room. That wasn’t what was written on the schedule board. Rip was supposed to be facing Christian Faith in the slot.

Richard Eisen looked across at me.

“Get out there, and get this over with quickly.”

Eisen’s tone of voice suggested that he knew something I didn’t – but, at the same time, he seemed to think I could handle it. I was just coming back from a minor knee injury that had left me on the bench for a few weeks, and I wasn’t sure what was up. I wasn’t ready to go all-out, I certainly wasn’t going to go over Rip the night before a big show, and so my return to TV was apparently going to be a squash at the hands of my best friend. It wasn’t exactly what I’d imagined – I was only at the show because it had come through my hometown. As the door closed behind me, I could hear Sam Keith and Richard heatedly discussing something.

To cut a long story short, Rip was drunk. Something had happened that had made him slip from ‘life and soul’ to alcoholic. As soon as we tied up, I could smell the liquor on his breath. Two minutes in, and Rip stumbled over his own feet – and it took everything I had to sell it like a devastating tackle.

Something popped in my knee, and I knew I was hurt again. I tried to make Rip aware of it.

“Sure, kid, your knee,” he said. Well, mumbled. Slurred, really. For a split second, I relaxed. Then Rip flipped me over, and clamped on a Proton Lock.

Even as my weakened knee ruptured, my first thought was that Sam was going to be furious at the gimmick infringement...

mad5226

06-08-2008, 10:42 AM

Wow...golden back story really man.

Jaded

06-08-2008, 11:07 AM

Kickass back story!

MaxxHexx

06-08-2008, 11:36 AM

good stuff. ill be reading.

Chaoricus

06-08-2008, 12:08 PM

Absolutely. You've got a reader!

juggaloninjalee

06-08-2008, 01:14 PM

I really like this diary so far. The writing is well thought out and executed.

James Casey

06-08-2008, 04:39 PM

Thanks for the comments again. And watch out for the nods to famed diary writers. So far I've worked in J Silver, infinitywpi and Scapino.

As for the backstory... Two more posts (after this one), and then it's an honest-to-goodness show!

That's where it all falls apart :p

*

I’ll say this for Richard Eisen: He doesn’t stint on employee health insurance. I had a private room in a swanky hospital with a full range of cable options – and the SWF pay-per-view pre-ordered for me.

It was with a certain sadistic pleasure that I watched as Rip made his way down to the ring, looking bright and sharp. Sam, on the other hand, was the very embodiment of rage. As Rip turned to jaw at the timekeeper, Sam leapt in with a hard kick to Rip’s knee, dropping my old friend like a sack of potatoes.

Sam laid into Rip, unstintingly, unflinchingly, mercilessly. Within a minute, blood was gushing from at least two gashes on Rip’s head. Within two, Rip was writhing in pain, trapped in a Proton Lock that even from my room I could see had gone from cool-looking submission hold to vicious knee and leg-lock. Sam wrenched on Rip’s legs as the announcers sold the ambush and vicious assault as revenge for Rip’s taunting of Sam with the Proton Lock the previous night.

Everyone in the know – not many, as this was pre-Internet – knew the truth: Rip was gone, Richard Eisen furious with him for his lack of professionalism the night before. Rip had gone over the edge during my absence from the ring, and the previous night had been the worst, but not the first, of his drunken in-ring antics. Eisen had apologised to me for sending me out unprepared – he’d thought I’d known, and would be able to protect Rip from himself. Probably that was why I was in the swanky room now – it was much better than the first time my knee had gone on me.

But then, the injury was much worse this time.

I returned my attention to the screen, to see Sam parading with the belt in front of a muted crowd, who were clearly unsure of what they’d seen. Sam took a moment to lay the boots to Rip, not holding back in his role as enactor of Eisen’s vengeance.

A few days later, Rip’s release from SWF would be confirmed. But first, he’d put over Bruce the Giant in one of the most brutal squashes since, well, his last match – but the title loss was just another chapter in the Strong/Chord wars. Rip’s last ever match for SWF made Bruce an instant superstar. For maybe the first time in his career, Rip gave something back.

He arrived the following morning, having been delayed by eager med students who thought he was there for treatment. His face was a mess – probably the first time in a decade that he hadn’t been mobbed by autograph hunters and groupies wherever he went. He was also walking with a nasty limp that made me feel a shameful surge of gratitude to Sam Keith.

“Hey, kid,” he rasped. Sam had done a number on his throat, as well. No doubt swallowing hurt. At least it’d keep him off the beers for a while.

“Get the ---- out,” I snarled, unable to move because of my knee, but willing myself to rise up and strangle Rip, finishing Sam’s job for him.

“I will. First I wanted to say that I’m sorry. You heard I got canned?”

“You deserve it,” I snapped, slumping back on the pillows.

“Yeah, it’s true,” he said, settling stiffly into a chair. “I need your help.”

“My help!?! Rip, for God’s sake, you tear my knee in half and ask for my help? Where the ---- do you get off?”

“You know they’ve got a whole section ‘round the corner for transplant patients, right?”

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?” I said. I couldn’t think what he was driving at. I didn’t much care.

“No, not now. I need your help with something.”

“You have to be kidding,” I said, but I couldn’t curb my curiosity. “What did you find out?”

Rip told me.

I wouldn’t say that this moment single-handedly rebuilt our friendship, but it did let me cope with being around him right then. And that was important. Rip was worried about his legacy, and over the next few hours, we sketched out the outlines of what we would do when we were both ready to hang up our boots. We had some ideas, not many of them compatible, and by the end of those few hours Rip and I were screaming at each other again.

“Ah, ---- this,” Rip snarled, turning away and lumbering to the door. “I need a drink.”

“Sure, Rip, have a drink,” I spat. “Take the easy way out. Don’t you respect yourself? Or what about the fans? Or the people you’re in the ring with? You come in here, saying you want to build a legacy – but you’re just a bum! Your legacy is going to be Sam Keith beating the ---- out of you, live on Pay Per View! You want to be remembered positively? Do what I spent my life doing, and make everyone you face look good. And don’t do it so you look good – do it for them, Rip. Because no one likes you, do you know that? You’re an arrogant ---- and there’s not one person in the locker-room tonight who’s sorry you’ve been canned. Everything you’ve done in this business, you’ve done it for yourself. That’s why you kept me around all these years, isn’t it? Someone you could trust to help you put on a great match, even when you weren’t on top of your game. Well screw you, Rip. You’ve ----ed up my knee, so that’s history.”

“Hey,” he began, turning to face me for the first time.

“No,” I fired back. “This is my turn to talk. This is my chance to say something that I should have said a long time ago.” I took a deep breath, steadying myself. For all that I hated Rip, I knew that I had one chance to make my point, and maybe salvage some good from the mess we were in. “Go and do something positive. You’re not a young man anymore. No-one’s going to take a chance on you at the top of the card, but your name, and your reputation... You can build the next generation of workers. And you’ll have the same level of respect of a... a Kitozon, maybe. You’ve made some mistakes over the years, Rip, but if you learn from them, if you try to better yourself and everyone around you, then your legacy will be complete. And maybe you’ll be worthy of-“

“Save it for the preachers, kid. You’ve got a future working with them, maybe.”

Rip turned away, and walked out the door.

juggaloninjalee

06-08-2008, 07:03 PM

That is such a good backstory. I love that last section.

Emark

06-08-2008, 07:21 PM

Awesome back story JC, glad to see another great start to a new MAW diary.

Chaoricus

06-08-2008, 07:32 PM

Goosebumps baby! :)

Seriously. Great story!

G-Prime

06-08-2008, 09:36 PM

Awesome backstory.

James Casey

06-09-2008, 04:23 PM

A few days after that, the doctors confirmed that I would never wrestle again. Eisen was quick to offer me a spot as a road agent and I took it. What else was there? Contrary to my beliefs, Rip had offers to work all over the world. I, meanwhile, had no possibility of getting back in the ring again competitively – the knee injury ending my in-ring career when it was just starting to gain momentum.

I claimed on my Lloyd’s of London insurance policy for a career ending injury, and got enough to keep me comfortable. I worked for SWF as long as I could stick it out, but being around a busy locker room full of guys who, increasingly, didn’t know what I’d done... It was tough. Seeing my former best friend go on to further greatness in a fantastic run in TCW made it even tougher. I didn’t want to become bitter, but that was toughest of all.

So in the end, I walked – limped – out of SWF, took my little all and retired to North Carolina, for no reason other than it’d take an idiot to think anyone big in wrestling could come from that part of the world.

A few years went by. The last time I was recognised by anyone was a long time ago. Nowadays I have a small share in an internet sportswear firm that survived the dotcom boom and bust by not going public. It was rocky for a spell, but we made it through, and I get my check in the mail each month, which lets me just putter around the house.

And so ends the story, right?

That’s what I thought. And then, a coupla years back, Rip Chord moved in a little way down the road at Stanley Hall and starting running his damn shows. I’d forgotten all about Mid Atlantic Wrestling, the name Rip had suggested so many years before. He’d reckoned that the region was an untapped market. I thought he was a damn fool. We’d drifted apart over the years.

And then I got a call.

“Just hear me out, kid.

“I need your help.”

*

That was then. This is now.

“Whaddya think of them?”

“It’s a young bunch, and you’ve got a hell of a lot of natural heels, Rip. Even with the guys I suggested, there’s an imbalance.”

“It’s a breeding ground, kid. We build ‘em up, and someone comes along and picks the fruit of our labours.”

I blinked. I’d forgotten about Rip’s tendency to mix metaphors.

“I need to bring in some more guys. The ones we’ve got, they’re good, but we need a little experience. Flash, Ota-“

“We can’t afford that kind of name. Ota’s asking for a grand a show. Flash wants even more.”

I blanched.

“I can think of a few more youngsters who could help,” I said, slowly. “Good kids. But they’re raw – there’s a reason they’re not with the big guys yet.”

Rip grinned, his weathered, beaten old face splitting in two to reveal two rows of perfect teeth. I shook my head. Time was, the rest of Rip was in as good a shape.

We’d all seen better days, I guess.

“Kid, that’s what the company is here for.”

“And I want us to put out feelers to the rest of the industry. See who’s willing to work with us.”

“Not Eisen.”

“No. Richard and you, well, say no more.”

*

I’d been introduced to the roster, although a few key members were running late due to commitments elsewhere. Everything, I was informed, would be fine come showtime.

I sat in my office, checking the e-mails that had mysteriously appeared in my account since it had been set up a couple of days before. Rip had forwarded biogs on the roster, as well as info on the new guys coming in over the next couple of months. I was leafing through the info – some of the guys were due to debut tonight, although the focus was on the tournament – when I heard Rip’s voice through the plasterboard wall between our offices. Someone on the other end of his phone line was apparently sharing some bad news.

“What the hell do you mean, FCW rescheduled their show?”

“...”

“Well, when are they due back?”

“...”

“Well, who is available?”

“...”

“Fine.”

The phone was slammed down, and I counted to three.

“Kid! Trouble!”

*

TotalExtremeWrestling.com has been my homepage for years – I guess I was never able to get away from the business. A story in the bottom corner of the site caught my eye: Steven Parker had signed a written deal with the SWF, leaving the PSW and his National title behind. The Eisens are getting a hot prospect. In another universe, he could have been MAW’s go-to guy, but it’s not to be.

SWF and USPW have both signed new PPV deals as the gap between big and small continues to grow. That’s fine – we’ve got plans.

Chris Caulfield and Eric Tyler have joined Eisen’s empire, too. No doubt a token tag team run lies in their future. Tyler even may get to have a main event match, laying down to Eric Eisen in a battle over the rights to the name ‘Eric’.

Actually, no-one would be that stupid.

*

MAW presents: The Rip Chord Invitational
Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
Plus the Rip Chord Invitational tournament!
Antonio vs. Max Mayhem
Riley McManus vs. Casey Valentine
Thom Morgan vs. Cameron Vessey
The Masked Patriot vs. Jefferson Stardust

With two first round matches changed, and one other match cancelled all together, it wasn’t what we’d promised the fans in advance – but it would have to do.

mad5226

06-09-2008, 05:43 PM

Wow perhaps the best backstory of all time. Let's see how the tourny goes.

Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
He's the champ and has something to prove, although I still don't understand why the belt isnt on Jean

Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
Again they are the champs. But Perez and Shaffer sound like a great tag addition.

Plus the Rip Chord Invitational tournament!
Antonio vs. Max Mayhem
Riley McManus vs. Casey Valentine
Thom Morgan vs. Cameron Vessey
The Masked Patriot vs. Jefferson Stardust

I have Antono and Vessey in the finals, with Antonio winning.

Regis

06-09-2008, 07:04 PM

MAW presents: The Rip Chord Invitational

Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
Champ can't lose on his first defence!

Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
Same reasoning. Plus, they're a real team, with experience.

Plus the Rip Chord Invitational tournament!

Antonio vs. Max Mayhem
Rip's protege, plus he's generally capable of working to a higher standard.

Riley McManus vs. Casey Valentine
Reasons of push and talent, largely.

Thom Morgan vs. Cameron Vessey
Vessey needs to be reminded that he's not the top dog. Thomas Morgan can take him on and go on to be the Cinderella Story of this tourney.

The Masked Patriot vs. Jefferson Stardust
Jefferson isn't that good.

I predict The Masked Patriot to win, because it's Dozer! Dozer is awesome!

Dansc

06-09-2008, 07:58 PM

Great stuff so far!

Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
Plus the Rip Chord Invitational tournament!
Antonio vs. Max Mayhem
Riley McManus vs. Casey Valentine
Thom Morgan vs. Cameron Vessey
The Masked Patriot vs. Jefferson Stardust

D-Lyrium

06-09-2008, 08:24 PM

I rarely do predictions, but that backstory deserves it :p

MAW presents: The Rip Chord Invitational
Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles

Antonio vs. Max Mayhem
Riley McManus vs. Casey Valentine
Thom Morgan vs. Cameron Vessey
The Masked Patriot vs. Jefferson Stardust

Valentine over Antonio
Vessey over Patriot
Vessey over Valentine for the tournament

trypio

06-09-2008, 08:29 PM

Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
I prefer Machine, but the kid should at least be champ a little while longer.

Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
Champs losing on a first show is not done

Plus the Rip Chord Invitational tournament!
Antonio vs. Max Mayhem
Pretty obvious

Riley McManus vs. Casey Valentine
Obvious

Thom Morgan vs. Cameron Vessey
Could go either way

The Masked Patriot vs. Jefferson Stardust
Jefferson is a rookie an Patriot is awesome

Patriot or Antonio to win the RCI.

Jaded

06-10-2008, 01:45 AM

Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
Plus the Rip Chord Invitational tournament!
Antonio vs. Max Mayhem
Riley McManus vs. Casey Valentine
Thom Morgan vs. Cameron Vessey
The Masked Patriot vs. Jefferson Stardust

Vessey over Patriot in the finals to kick off a massive feud.

James Casey

06-10-2008, 06:38 AM

Six predictions, and everyone went for Erik to retain. Jean is sad...

A fairly even split in the tag match, and no-one (well, maybe one) got the final of the tourny right. A lot of love for Cam Vessey, too. Really?

And now... our first show! And we'll see how long I can keep daily updates going :p

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: The Rip Chord Invitational
Friday 26th January 2008

Round 1: Max Mayhem vs. Antonio
A short match to start the show, as we have a lot to do this month. Antonio won with the Italian DDT as Rip sang his praises on commentary.
Winner: Antonio (E)

*

Round 1: Riley McManus vs. Casey Valentine
Riley McManus is one for the future, no doubt, as he was improving by the second, but is really not ready for a big program of his own. Casey, meanwhile, has Rip’s favour on his side, and went over.
Winner: Casey Valentine (D-)

*

Round 1: Thom Morgan vs. Cameron Vessey
Cameron Vessey isn’t quite a Chord protégé, but after two matches where Rip had sung his boy’s praises, Marv Earnest was quick to take Morgan’s side. The banter between the two livened up an okay match highlighted by Vessey’s performance en route to a Vessey Driver for the win
Winner: Cameron Vessey (D-)

*

Jefferson Stardust stood in the centre of the ring, staring dreamily into the middle distance as Kristen Pearce removed his mink coat. Taking a mic, he faced the Stanley Hall denizens.

“All your dreams have come true, for I am here to enliven your dreary lives. Your next Invitational champion, a future number one rock star, and the owner of the most beautiful body in the whole Mid Atlantic. And you lucky people get to see me three times toni-“

He was interrupted by the entrance of The Masked Patriot, who burst out of the dressing room, sprinted down to the ring and tackled Stardust, sending him sprawling and eliciting a shriek from Kristen, who quickly scrambled from the ring.

*

Round 1: The Masked Patriot vs. Jefferson Stardust
Marv and Rip had by now settled into their pattern of face play-by-play/heel colour, which covered up for this mess of a match. I love Stardust’s gimmick, and he and Patriot clicked remarkably well in the ring, which gives us an option for the future. Patriot won through quickly enough to save our blushes.
Winner: The Masked Patriot (D-)

*

Semi-final: Antonio vs. Casey Valentine
For reasons I won’t go into, we followed with a heel/heel match. It worked pretty well, actually. Antonio in particular had a ball out-cheating the neophyte Valentine, before going over with an Italian DDT.
Winner: Antonio (D)

*

Backstage, and the Canadian Blondes trio were in their locker room, Oscar Golden and Flash Savage chatting, their tag team title belts prominent in the foreground, while Huey Cannonball exercised in the background, throwing kicks and chops at his own shadow.

“So, who have we got tonight?” Oscar asked.

“Two new guys. Old Rip wouldn’t say much,” Flash replied.

“Hai!”

“Do we know anything about them?”

“They’re down from Canada, that’s about it.”

“Well, how are-“

“Hah!” Oscar turned to look at Huey.

“Huey, what the hell?”

“Just... don’t. He spent all last weekend-“

“Hi-yah!”

“-weekend watching the Bruce Lee marathon on FX. Now he thinks he’s a ninja.”

Huey turned to face his partners.

“Grasshopper say: Huey no longer. Now I am Hugh Lee!”

Oscar shook his head sadly. ”Whatever, Huey. Just be ready to do your bit, right?”

“Hai!”

*

Semi-final: Cameron Vessey vs. The Masked Patriot
This was pretty standard face/heel fare, with Vessey using shortcuts to counter Patriot’s strength, before tasting a Backdrop Driver to make it Antonio/Patriot in the final.
Winner: The Masked Patriot (D)

*

A video shot earlier today showed Rip Chord in his office with the Blondes’ opponents, Trent Shaffer (in sunglasses and Hawaiian shirt) and Frankie Perez (in baseball cap, bling and Lakers jersey).

“So, kids, you ready to have your match?”

“Totally. It’s, like, no biggie. For real!” Trent replied.

“Yo. Rizzle my bizzle, you mizzle,” said Frankie.

Rip sighed, and shook his head.

“You know that I don’t have to pay you until you actually wrestle a match, right?”

“Word?” Frankie asked, cautiously.

“Yeah, word.”

*

Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
Perez and Shaffer are tidy young stars, and the Blondes are familiar to our fans, which added up to an enjoyable affair. Hugh Lee’s ninja-in brought events to an abrupt end – he appeared from the crowd to distract Perez, leaving him prey to a Canadian Crab.
Winners: The Canadian Blondes (D)

*

The Masked Patriot was backstage:

“No offence, Antonio, but only one of us is this tournament is worthy of winning. That’d be me – the hard-working, honest sonuvagun you see standing here. You’re a goombah, cheating everyone and anyone, and I guess at least you’re honest about it. But tonight, before these hundreds of wonderful Americans, it’s not going to work.”

*

Final: The Masked Patriot vs. Antonio for the Rip Chord Invitational title
Any plans to have these two feud in the future were thrown straight in the bin, as they blew several spots and clearly had no clue how to work with each other. We’d given this time to play out, but after five minutes even Rip was struggling to think of things to say on commentary. To give Antonio his due, he gave his all during the tournament. He’ll be feeling it for the next few days. And that’s about as much as I can bear to say.
Winner: Antonio (E+)

*

With the match over, Rip entered the ring, complete with the trophy. He embraced a tired Antonio, and handed him the trophy. Antonio raised it over his head in celebration as Rip beamed at him like a proud father – one who was also glad the match was over.

*

“Machine” Jean Cattley stared grimly at the camera.

“It seems that the world is passing me by. It’s been two years since I last held gold here in MAW. We keep signing new people, and everyone I’ve beaten sense into moves on. So I guess it’s time for another go-round. Erik Strong, you know me well enough to know that this isn’t personal. But that belt you’re wearing is shorthand for being the best. That’s me – so it’s time for me to wear it again.”

*

Erik Strong exercised his right to reply:

“Jean, you and me, we’ve been MAW a long time. I respect the hell out of you, man. Really I do. So any time you want a title shot, hell, you don’t even need to qualify it. I’m here. But you’re gonna have to accept that I’ll walk out the champion. Tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month, whenever.”

*

Erik Strong (c) vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
A strong performance to end the show, with Cattley even busting out some top rope skills to mark the occasion. The two gave it their all in the night’s longest match, quickly banishing memories of the tournament final. Erik took the duke with a Strongsault in an evenly contested match.
Winner: Erik Strong (D)

Overall: D (It’s all relative – considering how unknown we are, it was a decent performance.)

Regis

06-10-2008, 06:45 AM

Curse you, Antonio! Curse you!

Dozer will have his day!

Apupunchau@optonline

06-10-2008, 08:50 AM

Curse you, Antonio! Curse you!

Dozer will have his day!

He should really go back to Bulldozer Brandon Smith he looks like such a tool under that mask. Have him take of the mask, turn heel and feud in a few great strong style bouts with Frankie Perez.

Regis

06-10-2008, 11:28 AM

He should really go back to Bulldozer Brandon Smith he looks like such a tool under that mask. Have him take of the mask, turn heel and feud in a few great strong style bouts with Frankie Perez.

I'd agree that The Masked Patriot is not a big-name gimmick, but then again MAW isn't a big-name fed. It works well from an in-character perspective - work under a hood while building up the fundamentals a bit more, then ditch the persona once he can be sure that he'll be doing his name justice.

Xlimey

06-10-2008, 11:44 AM

Great job on detail, I will be pulling for you to get MAW to the world stage.

James Casey

06-10-2008, 11:55 AM

I'd agree that The Masked Patriot is not a big-name gimmick, but then again MAW isn't a big-name fed. It works well from an in-character perspective - work under a hood while building up the fundamentals a bit more, then ditch the persona once he can be sure that he'll be doing his name justice.

I'd actually say that the default pic is significantly less of a big-name image than the mask. Something about that pic scares me...

Dansc

06-10-2008, 02:45 PM

I know what you mean, it must be something about that dyed hair and fake "look I'm a face" smile... I prefer the picture with the sunglasses, leather jacket and heel face.

Good show, too bad the tourney final was such a dissappointment.

James Casey

06-11-2008, 07:45 AM

Backstage in MAW

“What the hell is going on?” I barked, as I limped into the locker room after the show.

“It’s Marv,” Antonio said, stepping in front of me. “He and Erik have had a... argument.”

I took a deep breath and focused my attention on Antonio, choosing to ignore for now the signs of a scuffle that the other members of the locker room were doing their best to hide.

“What about?” I asked.

“Marv suggested that the only reason that Erik’s the champ is because of his surname,” Antonio said, with a roll of his eyes.

“Marv!”

Our play-by-play guy appeared in front of me, looking remarkably sheepish.

“Is this true?”

He nodded. I looked over his shoulder at Erik, who was collecting the MAW title from under a bench.

“I was joking, James, I swear,” Marv said, bringing my attention back to him.

“And Erik didn’t get your ‘joke’?” I asked, letting the quotation marks fall into place like lead slabs.

“I guess not.”

“Marv, keep an eye on Valentine and Rip to learn how to make appropriate jokes. They’re annoying, but proficient. Until then, keep your sense of humour for the broadcasts, got it? I won’t tolerate problems in my locker room.”

“You got it, boss,” Marv said, letting out a deep breath.

“Good,” I said. “Happy workers,” I added, to myself as Marv scuttled past as quickly as he could.

*

MAW is growing, apparently. After the RCI, the writers at tew.com have moved us up their rankings of the world’s professional leagues. We’re now 29th of 32, and our Influence (however that’s calculated) stretches even further.

In better news, even with the outlay of the tournament and shipping in one or two of the new signings, MAW turned a tidy $6,500 profit last month. We pulled in 226 people for the RCI by promoting it as a major show, which bumped up prices on advertising and stuff like that. Without the FCW scheduling snafu, we might have pulled even more. Having spoken to Rip, we’ll be doing the same thing for our next few shows as well, with our storylines ready to begin in earnest.

*

“So, who’s ready to deal with us?” Rip asked

“Actually, most people,” I replied. I’d been surprised that so many companies had agreed to working agreements. I didn’t know how often we could bring name workers in – but it was nice to know that the option was there. It’d also keep us safe from outright theft of our roster. “Business is down. A lot of companies see working together as the best way ahead.”

“Eisen?”

“I didn’t ask,” I replied, diplomatically. In fact, I’d put out the feelers to one or two friends I had who were still working in the SWF. They had advised me not to waste twenty cents on the phone call – even before SWF rose to Global, and by all accounts Richard became even more self-confident. “Really, it’s only the very confident companies who have turned around and said no deal to us. Your name still counts for something.”

“For now.”

“Yeah, well...” I said. That way lay a conversation I wasn’t willing to have just yet.

“How’d you find backstage at the show?”

“It’s a pretty good bunch, Rip. I had that thing with Marv and Erik, but...”

“Yeah... I don’t stand for a lot of trouble backstage. Not these days. We had one kid, Stan Manna... Well, don’t get me started. Kid thought the sun shone out of his ass, and we all had to put up with his crap. Casey has his moments, but he’s a good kid. What you saw the other day... He feels like he’s under a lot of pressure, with that name of his.”

“Anything else I need to know?”

“Antonio and Casey, they’re the guys I see as the future of the business, kid. Jean’s been a godsend, but he’s nearly thirty. He’s already stepped down from booking full-time. That’s one of the reasons I brought you in.”

“Well, I think the show went okay. We can do better. I think, ultimately, we’ll have to go on the road if you want the company to grow.”

“We’ll talk about that in time. Right now, one show a month, working with the kids... It’s good times, kid.”

“Yeah,” I smiled. It was nice to be backstage again. And time had healed some of my wounds. “Most of these guys are okay. There’s a lot of leaders backstage. They may not be veterans, but they’ve got good instincts, real potential, and just decent human beings. You can be proud of that, Rip.”

“There’s a lot I’m proud of.” He sighed. “A lot I’m not proud of, too.”

*

Jefferson Stardust popped up on local radio, stating that getting pushed makes him nervous. As much as I like the guy, that’s not likely to be a problem.

James Casey

06-12-2008, 06:39 AM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: All Or Nothing
Friday 26th February 2008

The Masked Patriot vs. Citizen X
A squabble backstage pre-show led to this match between the defender of the truth, justice and the American way, and an anarchist bent on bringing chaos and disorder to the world. A heated match in one way, but X’s dislike of jobbing to a midcarder seemed to put him off. Patriot won with a Backdrop Driver.
Winner: The Masked Patriot (D)

*

Jean Cattley, Casey Valentine and Ricky Douglas stood in the centre of the ring.

“It’s time to conduct some business that The Firm has been slow in tending to,” Jean said. “Cameron Vessey, please come and join us.”

Vessey sauntered out to the ring, looking as ****y as anything. He exchanged gun finger salutes and winks with Casey Valentine.

“Cameron, The Firm is offering you a position among its ranks. Casey has given his testimonial that you would be an asset to the group, and help us maintain our position of dominance in this company. Are you willing to join us, and use your talents to make us stronger as a whole?”

“You bet I am,” Vessey replied, smirking still wider.

“Good. The Firm grows stronger with each passing day. And in order to prove our dominance, we’re issuing an open challenge to anyone who thinks that they can face three of us, tonight, in this very ring.”

*

Thom Morgan vs. Curtis Jenkins
Pre-match, Jenkins paused on the ramp, pointing towards the ring and bellowing “Leeeerooooyyyy!!!!” as loud as he could, before bolting for the ring. Morgan seemed put out by this unusual approach, but was able to snare Jenkins in a Full Nelson for the win
Winner: Thom Morgan (E)

*

Max Mayhem approached The Firm’s locker room, and seemed pleased to find Casey Valentine coming out of the door.

“Kh’pla!” he stated, confidently. Casey turned to look at him, curiously.

“What?”

“I challenge you! Under the rules of the third order of the eight star, I challenge you to single combat.”

Casey appeared nonplussed. “What the hell...? Guys, get out here,” he called.

The door to the locker room opened, and the other members of The Firm appeared.

“Get this freak out of here, would you?”

Without another word, The Firm pounced on Mayhem and pounded him into the floor. In a very short time he was knocked out.

“Don’t come around here, trying to play your stupid kiddy games,” Valentine sneered, looking down at him. “This is a man’s world – no place for geeks or freaks.”

*

Citizen X was stalking the corridors of Stanley Hall, clearly angry with the world around him. He overturned tables, tipped rubbish bins and turned electric fans on large piles of neatly stacked paper that were strangely common in the backstage atmosphere.

After bringing chaos and disorder to the Mid Atlantic, he happened on Masked Patriot, who was chatting with Riley McManus. Without a second’s hesitation, X snatched up a cowbell – where in blazes did that come from? – and planted it hard across the back of Patriot’s head, before resuming his march, stepping over Patriot’s unconscious form as he did so.

*

Max Mayhem, Riley McManus and Kashmir Singh vs. C-V-2 and Ricky Douglas
Mayhem was still suffering from his earlier beating, and was easy prey for the trio from The Firm. Kashmir Singh and Rick Douglas had some good technical exchanges as the face team rallied, but when Valentine planted Mayhem with a Sweet Sweet Heartbreak, the match was over.
Winners: C-V-2 and Ricky Douglas (E+)

*

Backstage, Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer approached the Canadian Blondes.

“Dudes, where’s your one little ninja?” Shaffer asked.

Flash Savage scowled. “Martial arts camp.”

“Fo’ rizzle? Man, that’s whack. You homies gonna be rattlin’ in yo’ boots without yo’ bodyguard, amirite?”

The Blonde stared blankly at Perez, and then turned as one to Shaffer.

“What my compadre is saying is, we weren’t too impressed with the way our match ended last month. We want a rematch. All’s fair in love and war, but what you did just wasn’t cool.”

“A rematch?” Oscar Golden asked. “Well, I guess we can beat you again. But we’re not putting the titles on the line. Your buddy Word Life here might get overexcited and, hah, rap his pants.”

*

Perez & Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes
All four men laid it on the line in this RCI rematch, leaving the Blondes in particular exhausted. The four workers went back and forth, Shaffer showing off unsuspected brawling abilities, while Savage displayed his honed technical abilities in keeping Perez quiet for a surprising spell mid-match. But it wasn’t enough, as Shaffer was able to catch Golden with a Heart Burn to literally upset the champions.
Winners: Perez & Shaffer (D-)

*

Furious at their defeat, the Blondes didn’t give their opponents chance to celebrate, instead jumping them from behind and beating them down, before walking off in high dudgeon.

*

Kirk Jameson vs. Antonio
We say ‘cool the crowd down’ and Kirk and Antonio step things up. I’m not complaining, exactly... Debutant Jameson had arrived in MAW with some fanfare, and Antonio wanted to cut his legs out from under him. He managed, after a fashion, when Jean Cattley appeared at ringside, distracting Jameson and allowing Antonio to nail the Italian DDT for the win.
Winner: Antonio (D)

*

After his distraction proved critical in the outcome of the match, Cattley showed that he wasn’t done by sliding into the ring, picking up the battered Jameson, and planting him with a devastating Mood Swing, before spitting on his fallen foe, and leaving as quickly as he’d arrived, a look of grim satisfaction on his face.

*

Findlay O’Farraday stomped out to the ring, purloining a mic on the way.

“If anyone in the audience wishes to challenge the might of Findlay O’Farraday, step forward, and get your ass handed to you,” he snarled

As O’Farraday smirked and cracked his knuckles in the ring, there was near silence in the arena, but for one young man who made his way to the guard rail and vaulted it easily.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“My name is Joe Benning,” the fan replied.

“A real regular Joe, huh? I guess I ought to warn you – you’re not walking out of here without help. Okay?”

Benning slipped off his shirt, revealing an impressively toned physique, and then slid into the ring. Staring at O’Farraday, he invited a lock-up, but instead O’Farraday pounced. He grabbed Benning and launched him high with a belly-to-belly suplex, before driving a series of hard punches into Morgan’s face and chest.

“Stop it!” Erik Strong stood at the top of the ramp, Heavyweight title over his shoulder. “You don’t pull that kind of crap in my promotion, Findlay.” O’Farraday snarled and pointed at him, raising the mic to his mouth.

“Gladly,” he said. “If...”

“If what?”

“If you give me a shot at your title.”

Strong looked past the ring to Rip Chord, who shrugged nonchalantly as Marv Earnest went ballistic about O’Farraday’s skulduggery.

“I didn’t have anything better to do today, I guess,” Strong said.

As Strong charged down the ramp, O’Farraday tossed Benning carelessly out of the ring, leaving him sprawled at Strong’s feet. The champ paused to check on him, before sliding into the ring as referee Jay Fair signalled for the bell.

*

Erik Strong (c) vs. Findlay O’Farraday for the MAW Heavyweight title
Note to self: O’Farraday can’t quite manage 25 minutes yet. Never mind, this was still a strong match, even if Strong did almost have to slam and clothesline himself in the last couple of minutes. Farraday chucked the champ around the ring at will, but Strong wouldn’t stay down, stinging the monster over and over, breaking him down by millimetres before putting him away with a Strongsault.
Winner: Erik Strong (D-)

Overall: D- (Not as good as last month – but Cattley won’t always be around to see things end on a high)

*

Backstage and the March card in my next post...

mad5226

06-12-2008, 06:57 AM

Good stuff. I will give you mad props if you can give Mayhem some type of gimmick because I got nothin lol.

James Casey

06-13-2008, 11:43 AM

Mayhem is using the Sci-Fi fan gimmick at the moment. His promo time for the next while is a bit limited, though...

*

“What now?” I asked, limping into the locker room again. Once more, Antonio moved to intercept me.

“It’s Marv again,” he said. “He was saying something about how Jez got hired.”

Jez McArthuer was our new referee, after Richard Eisen decided to fire a shot across our bows and steal Jay Fair. And now he was involved in something on his first day in the job?

“Marv!” I bellowed, letting my temper show a fraction. He shuffled into view once more.

“You again,” I said. Marv nodded. “I thought you were going to keep your mouth shut?”

Marv shrugged. “I didn’t think he’d hear me,” he replied, as though that was an acceptable response.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the day’s pay packets. Leafing through them, I found Marv’s. I opened it up, and counted out $150 – a quarter of his salary for the show.

“The orphanage down the road thanks you for your donation, Marv,” I said, scowling at him and the roster in general. Jez seemed deeply embarrassed that something like this had happened on his first day.

“I won’t let it happen again, boss,” Marv said.

I didn’t dignify his reply with a response.

*

A $5,000 profit for February suggested that we were ticking along okay. I wanted to sell-out Stanley Hall by mid-summer, and had a few thoughts in that direction.

*

I knocked on Rip’s door.

“Come in!” he yelled. I limped in, my cane clicking on the floor. “What’s up, kid?”

“Am I not in charge of contracts?” I asked.

“Of course you are,” he said, looking surprised.

“I just got an e-mail saying Antonio’s signed an extension. I didn’t even know we were ready to begin negotiations.”

“I handled that one myself,” Rip said, not avoiding my gaze. “The kid’s under my wing, James, and I wanted to tie him down before he falls head over heels for the first big fed to bat their eyes at him. Besides, I reckon I got a better deal then you would have. A year at $350 a show? It’s a deal-“

“-it’s a steal, it’s the sale of the ----ing century. Yeah, I know. I’d like to be informed in future, okay?”

“No problem, kid. I’ll be dealing with Casey when his deal comes up in a few months, okay? The rest are yours. Knock yourself out.”

I nodded, and turned to leave.

“I thought it’d be an idea to get Antonio under contract, anyway,” Rip said, as I turned the door handle. “What with the big plans you have for him and all.”

I couldn’t argue with that. There was nothing to argue about, really. Antonio hadn’t even asked for a raise. I just hoped that Rip would stick to his word about letting me handle the rest of them.

*

MAW March Madness
Masked Patriot and Joe Benning vs. C-V-2
Riley McManus and Thom Morgan vs. Ricky Douglas and Hugh Lee
Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Max Mayhem vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Kirk Jameson vs. Jean Cattley
Kashmir Singh vs. Findlay O'Farraday
Erik Strong (c) vs. Citizen X for the MAW Heavyweight title

Astil

06-13-2008, 12:06 PM

Masked Patriot and Joe Benning vs. C-V-2
Riley McManus and Thom Morgan vs. Ricky Douglas and Hugh Lee
Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Max Mayhem vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Kirk Jameson vs. Jean Cattley
Kashmir Singh vs. Findlay O'Farraday - DRAW
Erik Strong (c) vs. Citizen X for the MAW Heavyweight title

mad5226

06-13-2008, 05:48 PM

Masked Patriot and Joe Benning vs. C-V-2
Riley McManus and Thom Morgan vs. Ricky Douglas and Hugh Lee
Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Max Mayhem vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Kirk Jameson vs. Jean Cattley
Kashmir Singh vs. Findlay O'Farraday -
Erik Strong (c) vs. Citizen X for the MAW Heavyweight title

Emark

06-15-2008, 01:29 PM

MAW March Madness
Masked Patriot and Joe Benning vs. C-V-2
Riley McManus and Thom Morgan vs. Ricky Douglas and Hugh Lee
Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Max Mayhem vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Kirk Jameson vs. Jean Cattley
Kashmir Singh vs. Findlay O'Farraday
Erik Strong (c) vs. Citizen X for the MAW Heavyweight title

James Casey

06-17-2008, 04:49 PM

Interesting mix of predictions - although everyone going for DWN shouldn't be a surprise, I guess. The longer I can keep him the better, but that probably means very few wins in the near future...

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: March Madness
Friday 26th March 2008

The Masked Patriot and “Regular” Joe Benning vs. C-V-2
I’ve lobbied to change C-V-2’s name – 2CV would be much cooler, complete with entrance in a tricked-out car of the same name. Apparently Cameron Vessey and Casey Valentine aren’t in favour, alas. Too bad... They make a decent tag team. Nothing spectacular, but enough to put down the disparate talents of Patriot and debutant/former fan Joe Benning as Vessey put Benning down with a Flying V.
Winners: C-V-2 (D-)

*

The camera cut to ringside, and Rip announced that tonight’s main event would pit Erik Strong against Citizen X for the MAW Heavyweight title!

*

Riley McManus and Thom Morgan vs. Ricky Douglas and Hugh Lee
Just testing a couple of tandems. Nothing to see hear, apart from Ninja Lee’s spot-on Cannonball Run on Morgan for the pin
Winners: Douglas and Lee (E)

*

Backstage, Erik Strong was arriving for the show. Getting out of his car, he was blindsided by a sharply-suited Antonio, who beat the champ down before Joe Benning appeared and ran him off. Benning helped the champ to his feet and supported him into the arena.

*

Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Shaffer will be great one day, but needs to improve his consistency. Antoio celebrated his new contract with an Italian DDT to put an end to a decent match.
Winner: Antonio (D-)

*

As Frankie helped his partner to the back, the Canadian Blondes appeared at the top of the ramp.

“Take it easy,” Golden warned, as Perez looked ready to attack. “We’re here to offer you a chance at the titles.”

“Yeah,” Savage chimed in. “We’re, uh, really sorry about last month’s beatdown,” he went on, with a crocodile smile. “And hey, you did win the match. I guess you deserve a shot, eh? So, what do you say – next month, at Spring Fever?”

Perez and Shaffer glanced at each other, and then nodded in unison.

*

Max Mayhem vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Debutant DWN made a low key start to his career, acting as crash mat to Max Mayhem. He got in the odd bit of offence, and looked okay doing it before tasting a Moonsault for the Mayhem victory.
Winner: Max Mayhem (E+)

*

Max was quickly granted a reminder of what he was up against – Ricky Douglas and Cameron Vessey jumped the victorious wrestler from behind, with Newton joining in for fun, and once again Mayhem was left lying as The Firm sent out a warning to the rest of the company.

*

Jean Cattley had a mic and something to say:

“They come and go, and still I’m here. Kirk Jameson, welcome to MAW. I don’t suppose you’ll be here long. After the beating I’m about to hand out to you, I wouldn’t be surprised if you leave after tonight.”

Kirk Jameson appeared, and he too had a mic:

“Cattley, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, whether you see yourself as some kind of Alpha Male around here or what... I do know that I don’t like being blindsided, and that I don’t like having to watch where I’m going in case I run into you and your goons. So let’s settle this, here and now.”

*

Kirk Jameson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Jameson was careful to look out for members of The Firm before the match began, but there were none to be seen. We were treated to an enjoyable match between two talented workers, brought to an end when the veteran Cattley planted Jameson with a Mood Swing for the win.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D)

*

With the match over, it was clear that The Firm had been lying in wait. At Cattley’s signal, the other members ran in and a calculated demolition of Jameson began, leaving the outnumbered youngster down and out.

Cattley took a mic, to issue a brief warning.

“Settled? I don’t think so. It’s only over when I say so.”

*

Kashmir Singh vs. Findlay O’Farraday
A filler match to let the crowd cool, this was pretty decent as Singh is a good all-rounder. O’Farraday shows promise, but lacks stamina. Most of the fun in the match lay in Marv and Rip bickering on commentary.
Winner: Findlay O’Farraday (E+)

*
Citizen X was backstage, and stretching ahead of his match with the champ:

“I don’t recognise titles. They are meaningless to my world view. But I do recognise that they drive other people. So when I take your title tonight, Erik Strong, it is not for me – it is to further destabilise this company. It is another step on the road to true, glorious anarchy!”

*

The Masked Patriot was backstage, and looked serious.

“Now, look. I’m all for freedom of speech, freedom of expression, heck, even the freedom to bear arms. But something is wrong with Citizen X. Son, what is your major malfunction? You do not, I say, do not go around beating up innocent folk like you did last month! There is a time and a place for that sort of behaviour, and I thought that we had settled our differences in the ring! Now, it seems that you think your so-called political supremacy gives you the right to do whatever you want, whenever you want. Well, how about I give it a go? You and me pick us some partners and settle this in a tag match next month!”

*

Erik Strong (c) vs. Citizen X for the MAW Heavyweight title
I don’t think I’m on X’s Xmas card list right now, as he wasn’t happy about losing again. But at least he was losing to a main eventer this month. Progress, right? The match itself was good, but again a bit too long as X was puffing come the finish. Strong has great conditioning, and we sold it on commentary as he was able to retain after twenty-odd minutes with a Strongsault.
Winner: Erik Strong (D-)

Overall: D-

Experimenting with colour to highlight speech. I may go with blue as I think it's easier to read on the white background, but let me know if you have a preference.

trypio

06-17-2008, 05:35 PM

Yeah, I think blue is best. Nice show by the way, funny how Jean Cattley and Kirk overshadowed the main event. :)

shamelessposer

06-17-2008, 06:28 PM

a sharply-suited Antonio

Huzzah!

D-Lyrium

06-17-2008, 07:18 PM

Great show, nice to see DWN and Kirk aren't getting the mega-push that the likes of Daniels and Styles used to get in WWE diaries :p

X will just have to suck it up, since his world view obviously wouldn't recognise organised card positions he's clearly not one to talk about who he loses to, right? :p

ThriceP86

06-17-2008, 11:53 PM

Awesome dynasty so far. I love how you're pushing Antonio. You're making me want to play my MAW game now. lol

Jaded

06-18-2008, 01:36 AM

Go Strong Go! Eric rocks :)

Nice show write-up, although I agree blue may be easier to read.

James Casey

06-19-2008, 07:39 AM

Yeah, I think blue is best. Nice show by the way, funny how Jean Cattley and Kirk overshadowed the main event. :)

That's because Jean is awesome - no question :p

Great show, nice to see DWN and Kirk aren't getting the mega-push that the likes of Daniels and Styles used to get in WWE diaries :p

Yeah... I'm trying to be realistic here, and DWN is an ET. I think he's one won match so far.

X will just have to suck it up, since his world view obviously wouldn't recognise organised card positions he's clearly not one to talk about who he loses to, right? :p

Quite - X is a fun person to write for, since he can get away with damn near anything. Including cowbells.

Anyway, backstage stuff and next month's show preview.

*

I poked my head around the locker room door. “Well?”

Antonio struggled to straighten his face, before laughing. “No, we’re fine. We came up with a way to keep Marv quiet this month.”

“Oh?”

“Davis got him telling stories about drinking with Rip, back in the day.”

“But... Marv never drank with Rip. Not back in the day, not now. Rip’s sober.”

“Yeah, but Marv’s so full of crap, he’s just making it up as he goes along.”

I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it again. If it works, I thought, don’t argue.

*

$3,500 profit this month. We used near enough everyone on the last show. I’m sorta okay with that – but I’d like to try and arrange things so that more people appear in matches and not just angles. Well, we’re in the black, so Rip’s happy anyway.

*

MAW Spring Showers
Kirk Jameson vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Max Mayhem vs. Ricky Douglas
Thom Morgan vs. Hugh Lee
Riley McManus vs. Cameron Vessey
Perez & Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
The Masked Patriot and Kashmir Singh vs. Citizen X and Findlay O'Farraday
And Erik Strong and Antonio will choose partners for a tag match!

Blue text works, right?

Phantom Stranger

06-19-2008, 07:54 AM

Yeah, blue text is grand.

mad5226

06-19-2008, 11:04 AM

Nice little write up on Marv, made me smile lol

Emark

06-19-2008, 11:57 PM

MAW Spring Showers
Kirk Jameson vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Max Mayhem vs. Ricky Douglas
Thom Morgan vs. Hugh Lee
Riley McManus vs. Cameron Vessey
Perez & Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
The Masked Patriot and Kashmir Singh vs. Citizen X and Findlay O'Farraday

James Casey

06-21-2008, 03:14 PM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Spring Fever
Friday 26th April 2008

Kirk Jameson vs. Davis Wayne Newton
A straightforward match that saw Jameson going over the rookie in fairly straight order. Some nice exchanges, though.
Winner: Kirk Jameson (D)

*

With the match over, Kirk immediately leapt to his feet, scanning the arena for any sign of an assault by Jean Cattley. But he failed to look behind him, and Newton was ready with a spinning heel kick that took the unprepared Jameson down. As Newton pounded on Jameson, Cattley sauntered down to the ring, mic in hand.

“This is why it doesn’t do to fight back,” he said. “You’re just another target to be knocked down. I proved that last month. This is just the exclamation point. You, and everyone here in MAW should take notice: Not only am I the best wrestler in this company, I have back-up as well. Like the newest member of The Firm, the Triple Threat, Davis Wayne Newton!”

Better late than never, the beatdown was interrupted before Cattley could put the boot in by the arrival of “Regular” Joe Benning, wielding a chair that he used to chase the heels off.

*

Earlier today, Antonio was backstage, a smaller man tagging along behind him, a Bluetooth earpiece on one ear, a Blackberry beeping in one hand.

“Sell Mama Juana,” Antonio said. “It doesn’t work.”

“Sell Juana,” the smaller man repeated. “Yes, seven-eights is good.”

“Antonio?”

The two men turned to see Rip poking his head around the door of his office. “Who’s this?”

“Ah, Rip. Just the man. This is my associate, Raphael. He is my... oh, personal assistant. I’ve decided that, as a champion, I need someone to handle the day-to-day things. You know how it is.”

Rip quirked an eyebrow.

“Can he wrestle?”

“Of course.”

“Good. I’ve just had Erik Strong in here. He was demanding a match with you. I said he could have a tag match, in the main event, tonight. You and Raphael can handle that, right?”

“Of course,” Antonio replied. “It will be a great pleasure to prove my dominance over our so-called champion again.”

“Good, I’ll let him know.”

*

Max Mayhem vs. Ricky Douglas
A match designed to cool off the fans a little – and it did. Douglas is pretty much kept around as he’s quite good friends with Jean. Mayhem did his thing, although not as well as he can, the announcers sold the storyline, and the fans waited for something interesting to happen.
Winner: Max Mayhem (E+)

*

Barely had the referee’s hand slapped the mat for the third time then Cameron Vessey slid into the ring and planted Mayhem with a Vessey Driver.

“We can keep doing this, as long as you want to keep getting beaten. Stay out of The Firm’s business,” he snarled in Mayhem’s ear as Mayhem lay unmoving on the mat.

*

Thom Morgan vs. Hugh Lee
After last month’s tag match, Hugh is on something of a roll. His match with fellow Canadian Thom Morgan was okay for something thrown together to give both men a paycheck. Hugh is having fun with the martial arts schtick – smoke bombs to mask his entrance to the ring, never mind two hundred people watching him walk down the aisle – but resorted to the tried and trusted Cannonball Run for the win
Winner: Hugh Lee (E)

*

Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer were in their locker room, debating what tunes to listen to while they warmed up. Before they could decide, however, they were ambushed by the Canadian Blondes, who used the iPod dock to split open Perez’ forehead. The Canadian duo laughed wickedly as they left their opponent’s laying.

*

Riley McManus vs. Cameron Vessey
Vessey was on the show anyway, so why not give him some match time? And a win to boot, with a Vessey Driver.
Winner: Cameron Vessey (E+)

*

A single spotlight blazed in the otherwise pitch-black arena, illuminating the entranceway as Jefferson Stardust came down to the ring. Stardust’s latest ‘hit’ played over the speakers as he strutted down the aisle, Kristen Pearce sizzling along in his wake.

“Hello Stanley Hall!” he bellowed, throwing up the horns in salute. “I know you’ve missed me,” he added, as Kristen gazed raptly at him. “I don’t blame you. I am the light in your lives, the note in your hearts. You worship me, and I’m comfortable with that.

“Rest assured, all of you – next month, I’ll be back on tour, and you’re all invited to my next gig. In the meantime, my albums are available at all good record stores, or you can buy them direct from my website. Peace out, everyone.”

Stardust left as grandly as he came, and for once Marv and Rip, on commentary, were left speechless.

*

Perez & Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
With Perez and Shaffer suffering from their earlier beating, this wasn’t much of a match. The Blondes dominated, shutting down their opponents’ sporadic rallies with ease, before picking up the win in short order.
Winners: The Canadian Blondes (D)

*

The Masked Patriot came out to the ring.

“Now, I guess last month we saw how good that there an-ar-chist is in a fight. We’ll say no more. Instead, let me introduce my tag team partner, proof that everyone wants to live in this country, my friend Kashmir Singh!”

*

The Masked Patriot and Kashmir Singh vs. Citizen X and Findlay O’Farraday
An old fashioned tag match saw Singh play face in peril, leaving Patriot out on the apron for much of the match. When he got in he ran down O’Farraday and X in short order, pummelling them without mercy. But his eagerness got the better of him, and he missed a corner charge, letting X dump him out of the ring before he nailed Singh with a Flaming Anarchy for the win.
Winners: X and Farraday (D-)

*

“Democracy! Good men! I spit on your beliefs, Patriot,” X rasped into the house mic. “Anarchy is chaos, ever-changing, unstoppable, pure and clean. You cannot halt the movement any more than you can halt the sea. Your country cannot shield you from the coming change. Anarchy will claim this company, claim this country, and one day... Anarchy will be everything we do. And you, Patriot, are powerless to prevent it.”

*

Erik Strong and “Regular” Joe Benning vs. Antonio and Raphael
Raphael is a newcomer to MAW, and on commentary we questioned Antonio’s choice of partner. He did his best throughout the match, but seemed to be in trouble at spots. Antonio picked up the slack, however, and the two were able to do some real damage to Benning. But it was Strong who ended up on the wrong end of an Italian DDT after the referee failed to notice Antonio entering the ring illegally.
Winners: Antonio and Raphael (E+)

Overall: E+ (Ouch. Still, the future looks bright...)

As always, backstage shenanigans and next month's card in the next post...

mad5226

06-21-2008, 04:41 PM

YAY for Shenanigans

James Casey

06-22-2008, 03:55 PM

Davis and Antonio barrelled out of the locker room.

“You’ve got to come quick! It’s going to be murder!” Davis barked, and one look at Antonio’s face said that the kid wasn’t kidding.

We followed them back, Rip’s aging frame moving little quicker than mine. The tableau that greeted us could not have been misconstrued. The giant figure of Findlay O’Farraday was holding Jez McArthuer high in the air by his throat, growling menacingly as he regarded him through narrowed eyes.

“Findlay!” I said, limping forward and rapping him on the knuckles, eight feet up, with my cane. “Put him down.”

Findlay turned his furious gaze on me, and for a moment I wanted to step back. But I’m not as nimble as I used to be. Findlay seemed to take my stillness for authority, as he lowered the purple-faced Jez slowly to the ground.

“What happened here?” I asked.

“Jez cut up Findlay’s shoes,” Riley McManus volunteered. I raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Is this true?” I asked. Jez shrugged.

“Jez, I don’t know what you get up to up in Canada with all those women, but that sort of thing doesn’t fly around here. And why would you try it on Findlay, anyway?” I asked, making to put an arm around Findlay’s shoulders. I could just about reach the bottom of his shoulder blades – and only one of them, at that.

“I just... wanted to fit in,” Jez said, his voice raspy.

“Then just do your job, understand?”

He nodded meekly.

“Good. And Findlay, see if you can work that choke into your moveset, okay?” I asked. Findlay cracked a grin, as the locker room broke out in relieved chuckles.

*

A small profit – about $2,000. We’re considering bringing in one or two more names, but the costs are going up and up each month. We’ll see...

*

MAW Mother, May I?
Riley McManus vs. Jefferson Stardust
Erik Strong (c) vs. Ricky Douglas for the MAW Heavyweight title
Joe Benning vs. Antonio
Kirk Jameson and Thom Morgan vs. Jean Cattley and Davis Wayne Newton
The Masked Patriot and Kashmir Singh vs. Hugh Lee and Curtis Jenkins
Trent Shaffer vs. Flash Savage
Max Mayhem vs. Cameron Vessey

James Casey

06-24-2008, 06:31 AM

Nothing much to report backstage this month, so its two posts for the price of one

*

The doorbell rung at some ungodly hour of the morning, prompting a round of swearing as I rolled out of the bed and crashed clumsily onto the floor. I hauled myself upright and made my way downstairs to find a UPS guy, looking equally annoyed at the earliness of the hour, waiting with an envelope for me. I took it without much more than a nod of thanks, and limped into the kitchen. Slitting the envelope open with a knife, I tipped the contents onto the breakfast bar.

Three masks lay on the surface, empty eye holes staring back up at me.

My phone rang. With a smile tugging at my lips, I hobbled over and picked it up.

“We got them?”

“We got them,” Rip growled. “They’ll be dancing to our tune now, hook, line and sinker.”

“Did you just get done with the contracts?” I asked, wondering about the early hour.

“No, we sorted that out by dinnertime. This is your punishment for making me go over budget.”

I laughed, unable to contain my glee at the new possibilities open to me.

*

Before the show started, Jefferson Stardust approached me backstage.

“Where’s Kristen?” he asked.

“She, ah, her contract ran out,” I said. His jaw dropped. I didn’t blame him – he was short a valet, and the cause for a good 80% of his crowd reaction.

“How did that happen?”

“Rip and computers,” I shrugged. “There was always going to be problems...”

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Mother, May I?
Friday, 26th May 2008

Riley McManus vs. Jefferson Stardust
One for the future here, as the two men work really well together. Of course, neither can carry a match so at times they looked lost – but they made it look good.
Winner: Jefferson Stardust (F+)

*

Backstage, and Jean Cattley was psyching up his tag partner, Davis Wayne Newton:

“Listen to me. I bought you in to The Firm because I know you can handle this. You may be young, but you have the quality to take on the likes of Thom Morgan and Kirk Jameson. And what you can’t handle, the Machine will chew up and spit out, just like always.”

Newton nodded, his game face in place.

The camera moved deeper into the locker room, where Casey Valentine was psyching up Cameron Vessey.

“Today’s the day we put an end to the nuisance factor of Max Mayhem. I gotta admit – I’m starting to feel a little respect for the guy. All these beatings, and he keeps on coming back. It’s either respect, or pity. Now, Cam, remember – beat this guy tonight, and I don’t have to bother with him. Lose, and old Rip might just stick him in the ring with me. Not that I couldn’t beat him – I just have plans for next month. So do it for your old buddy, huh?”

Vessey nodded, and he too looked ready for battle.

*

Erik Strong (c) vs. Ricky Douglas for the MAW Heavyweight title
Yes, the champ is in the midcard. Yes, that means bigger things are happening up top. Yes, Douglas is using The Firm’s momentum to get a title shot. Yes, he lost. Moving on...
Winner: Erik Strong (D-)

*

Backstage, and Antonio is WALKING~!!

*

“Regular” Joe Benning vs. Antonio
A decent match here, as good as a lot of matches we’ve put on so far. Benning showed promise, before falling to the Italian DDT as Antonio sent a message to Erik Strong.
Winner: Antonio (D-)

*

Kirk Jameson and Thom Morgan have something to say:

“Let’s be clear about this. Cattley thinks he’s better than me – hell, better than everyone! And he proves that by... jumping me from behind, with backup?” Kirk asked.

“Heck, that’s not the actions of a confident man,” Thom said. “Whatever issues he’s got, I’m sick of being the target of them. You’ve been given a chance before now by Kirk to walk away, Jean. After tonight, maybe you’ll reconsider.”

*

Kirk Jameson and Thom Morgan vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley and Davis Wayne Newton
The four men put on a decent show, with everyone getting their spell in the limelight. Jameson tried to take out Cattley, but the veteran avoided the attempt and bailed from the ring, leaving Newton at Jameson’s mercy, eating The Bullseye
Winners: Jameson and Morgan (D-)

*

Backstage, and the Canadian Blondes were chatting with a couple of production girls, flaunting their tag title belts. The girls looked mildly amused, but not too interested.

Suddenly, the Blondes were blindsided by Frankie Perez and Trent Shaffer. A brief scuffle ended with the Blondes down and out.

“Trent, gimme a beat,” Perez demanded.

“No,” Shaffer stonewalled.

“Not cool,” Perez pouted. “Freestyle, then.

“Golden and Savage got beat down,
“Got their asses handed to ‘em like a pair of clowns,
“Dey be eating their dinners through a pair of straws
“Gon’ be losin’ their titles soon ‘cos they is just poor,
“Wrestlers! Word!”

Shaffer walked away, shaking his head, leaving Perez to beam winningly at the production girls, who again weren’t exactly overwhelmed.

*

The Masked Patriot and Kashmir Singh vs. Hugh Lee and Curtis Jenkins
Patriot and Singh make an excellent team, to my delight. Lee was busy doing his ninja thing with some cool aerials. Curtis... Well, he tried the Leeeroooooyyy!!!! Forearm, but got caught by Patriot and thrown into a Cal-Cutter from Singh.
Winner: Patriot and Singh (D-)

*

Backstage, Citizen X and Findlay O’Farraday were lying in wait. When Patriot appeared through the curtain, they launched themselves at him, beating him down with chairs, tossing him through a plasterboard wall and, for some reason, nailing him with a cowbell again.

Next, Kashmir Singh arrived through the curtain. Before he had a chance to react, he was also jumped on, and left beaten down in a heap.

*

Trent Shaffer vs. Flash Savage
Consistent performances tonight, as Shaffer gained a measure of revenge in beating up the bruised and battered Savage, before clenching the win with a Heart Burn.
Winner: Shaffer (D-)

*

With Vessey and Valentine in the ring, Max Mayhem came out for the match in his street clothes, limping and using a – my – cane.

“Peace and long life to you all,” he said. “Unfortunately, the beatdowns I’ve received at the hands of The Firm have put me on the shelf. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to compete tonight.”

Vessey and Valentine looked delighted.

“But I was able to find a replacement for tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a big Stanley Hall welcome to former TCW Cruiserweight champion...

“...Fumihiro Ota!”

*

Fumihiro Ota vs. Cameron Vessey
Hmm, I was hoping for something a bit more. Still, for Vessey this was a pretty good match. Ota pretty much obliterated the youngster with his variable offence, en route to a Ninja Strike as Casey Valentine had fits at ringside.
Winner: Ota (D)

Overall: D-

*

Davis Wayne Newton suffered a ruptured spleen in a tag match against Thug Life while working for 4C. It doesn’t significantly affect our plans – but it’s still a shame to lose him for two shows.

*

MAW Summer Showdown
Riley McManus vs. Curtis Jenkins
Joe Benning vs. Antonio
Thom Morgan vs Jean Cattley
Erik Strong (c) vs Raphael for the MAW Heavyweight title
Frankie Perez vs. Oscar Golden
The Masked Patriot vs. ???
Fumihiro Ota vs. Casey Valentine

D-Lyrium

06-24-2008, 07:06 AM

Riley McManus vs. Curtis Jenkins

Joe Benning vs. Antonio

Thom Morgan vs Jean Cattley

Erik Strong (c) vs Raphael for the MAW Heavyweight title
- Still confused as to why this is in the midcard, when guys like Ota and Valentine, who haven't really done much to warrant being there, are in the main event.

Frankie Perez vs. Oscar Golden

The Masked Patriot vs. ???

Fumihiro Ota vs. Casey Valentine

Scapino1974

06-24-2008, 11:29 AM

Wow. Great read so far. LOVED the backstory.

Franchise22

06-24-2008, 08:48 PM

still waiting for yours scap :D

OP good read.

James Casey

06-25-2008, 07:28 AM

Erik Strong (c) vs Raphael for the MAW Heavyweight title
- Still confused as to why this is in the midcard, when guys like Ota and Valentine, who haven't really done much to warrant being there, are in the main event.

Strong is a problem for me, as he spent all my 07 game as an unremarkable jobbing midcarder, managing one or two unremarkable tag title runs with Max Mayhem in a throughly unremarkable team. I do have an idea for him in the long term - but every time I came up with an idea for him, it could just be done better by someone else. A depressing number of his matches exist solely to have the title defended on every show - if I were Strong, I wouldn't think much of my booking skills.

Oh, and praise from Scapino himself? *Giddy* :D

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Summer Showdown
Friday 26th June 2008

Riley McManus vs. Curtis Jenkins
Curtis won a quick undercard match via Leeeroroooyyyy!!! Very few people cared.
Winner: Jenkins (E-)

*

Backstage, Joe Benning and Antonio came face to face, and were soon nose to nose, neither man prepared to back down.

Until Rip Chord wandered past. “Jeez, guys. There’s another bathroom just around the corner. No need to fight about it.”

The two jumped apart, realising that they were right outside a bathroom door.

*

“Regular” Joe Benning vs. Antonio
The two men contested an evenly fought battle, Antonio coming out on top with a vicious Italian DDT
Winner: Antonio (D-)

*

Thom Morgan took a mic before his match:

“Jean, we beat you and Newton last month. And you keep coming back. Are you trying to drum us out of the promotion? Are you that insecure? Whatever – let’s get this started.”

*

Thom Morgan vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Morgan tried his best, but he was outwrestled and out fought by his opponent. Cattley at one point broke off from the match to take a swig of water from Marv Earnest’s jug, before returning to the ring to pound Morgan senseless with a Mood Swing.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D-)

*

“Let me make this clear,” Cattley stated, standing over his fallen opponent. “You keep acting as though you have a chance. You don’t. This is my game, The Firm’s game. You may have a seat at the table, but you don’t stand a chance of winning. The sooner you realise it, the sooner I’ll no longer feel compelled to beat you each and every month.”

*

Backstage, and Hugh Lee and Oscar Golden were prepping for Golden’s match with Frankie Perez.

“Now, remember, you run in if I’m in trouble, right?” Golden said.

“Ninja-in.”

“...whatever.”

“Did you see Ota? Do you think I can get him to teach me some Ninja stuff?”

“You’re not a Ninja.”

“I know – but I’m training. And one day-“

“Whatever. If I’m in trouble-“

“I know! I Ninja in!” Lee practically hit the ceiling in glee.

Golden rolled his eyes, and gave up.

*

Erik Strong (c) vs. Raphael for the MAW Heavyweight title
A straightforward defence for Strong, eliminatin Antonio’s tag partner as Antonio eliminated his. His latest title defence ended with a Strongsault.
Winner: Erik Strong (D-)

*

The announcers took a moment to hype the upcoming match between Fumihiro Ota and Casey Valentine

*

Frankie Perez vs. Oscar Golden
It seemed that Frankie Perez was all set to make this a clean sweep for his side in this thoroughly entertaining contest, but a Ninja-in by Hugh Lee gave Golden enough of a distraction to plant the rapper with a Golden Shower for the win.
Winner: Oscar Golden (D+)

*

“Grasshopper say: Ninja successful – ninja mighty!”

“Huey, can you drop it?”

“Huey no more! Hugh Lee!”

Oscar stopped, and turned to face Hugh Lee, who was practically bouncing off the walls.

“Okay, Huey, seriously. Either drop the schtick, or get lost. Got it?”
Hugh frowned.

“Grasshopper-“

“Enough! Seriously. I’ve had it with you. You don’t possess mystical abilities, you can’t walk on water, you can’t climb walls... Just get lost, okay? Come back next month with your head together, eh?”

Oscar turned to walk away, only to find himself nose to nose with Perez.

“You, us, ladder match, titles,” Perez snarled, in pain either from the match or from not speaking to a rhythm.

“Yeah, whatever,” Golden snarled, clearly still angry with Lee.

*

Rip took up a mic to introduce MAW’s latest signing: Black Eagle!

“And I figure he can fight a guy with a mask of his own: The Masked Patriot!”

*

The Masked Patriot vs. Black Eagle
As big and strong as Patriot is, he’s still a rookie – Eagle dismantled him with relative ease, before putting him away with a New Jersey Turnpike. However, it might have been a different story had Patriot not been distracted by the presence of Citizen X at ringside for much of the match, throwing Patriot off and making him sloppy.
Winner: Black Eagle (D+)

*

Casey Valentine tracked down Fumihiro Ota in the boiler room, where the Ninja was meditating.

“Hey, Ota, listen... We don’t have to do this, right? You don’t want to be fighting Max Mayhem’s battles for him. You know how good I am – how much The Firm frowns on people getting involved in their business. You don’t want that at the start of your career here in MAW. So what do you say you just give tonight a miss, huh?”

Ota picked up a small stick and bonged a small gong beside him.

“Is that once for yes?”

Bong.

“Once for no?”

Bong. Bong.

“Do you ever say anything?”

Bong.

“Once for no, huh?”

Bong. Bong.

“Listen... You name it. Fast car? Women?”

Bong.

“You just want to get in the ring and do that freaky ninja stuff, huh?”

Bong. Bong.

“Fine. We’ll see who the better man is.”

Valentine kicked over the gong and stormed off. Ota calmly righted the gong, and tapped it twice.

Bong. Bong.

*

Fumihiro Ota vs. Casey Valentine
Valentine gave Ota a run for his money, pushing the Ninja all the way. However, the wiley veteran remained on step ahead, utilising his bag of tricks to blind Valentine with some black powder when the referee was distracted, before ending the match with a Ninja Strike.
Winner: Fumihiro Ota (D)

Overall: D

*

Next: Nonsense, July's card, and my six-month review.

soulztnrv1

06-25-2008, 03:55 PM

Eye izz ceereal!

Seckz?

James Casey

06-26-2008, 06:44 AM

Um, thanks?

*

“Tell me,” I growled, as I entered the locker room at a clip for the fourth time in six months.

“It got out of hand,” Antonio said. “Eagle and Ernest were bickering before the show, and then...”

“Eagle decided to live up to his reputation,” Rip said, appearing from the midst of the crowd. He had Eagle’s arm firmly in his grip, twisted up behind his back, and although the newcomer’s face was mostly covered, eh was wincing.

“Talk to me, Eagle,” I said.

“It was just a damn joke, man,” he snapped, trying to break free. No dice. Rip is as strong as an ox.

“Jokes are good,” I said. “Knock, knock?”

“Who’s there?” Eagle asked cautiously.

“Shape up or I kick you in the nuts next time you start something,” I replied. “When you work out a punchline to that joke, you can try being funny again, got it?”

Rip twisted his arm a little further, and Eagle nodded eagerly.

*

“Eagle, Jez, Marv,” I said, leading Rip back towards his office. “Can we fire them?”

“Our commentator, ref, and biggest name? No, but keep thinking on it, kid,” Rip said.

“How’d we do this month?”

“Up three grand. You’re doing okay, kid.”

“I could bring in some bigger names,” I said, thoughtfully. “But we’ve got almost everyone tied up with storylines still. I want them to hit the ground running. Eagle, and Ota were a risk, but they’ll be getting caught up in things next month.”

“You’re doing good, kid. Relax.”

“I just wanted us to be booming. We’re treading water.”

“You’ve settled, right?”

I nodded.

“Good. You’ve had six months. We’ll see what happens in six more.”

He paused.

“Maybe... one more. Make him a good one, okay?”

*

MAW Beach Blast
Fumihiro Ota vs. Black Eagle
Kid Arachnid vs. Ricky Douglas
Max Mayhem ad Riley McManus vs. C-V-2
Perez & Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles in a Ladder Match
The Masked Patriot vs. Jefferson Stardust
Erik Strong (c) vs. Antonio for the MAW Heavyweight title
Plus "Machine" Jean Cattley will be in action!

James Casey

06-27-2008, 06:30 AM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Beach Blast
Friday 26th July 2008

Fumihiro Ota vs. Black Eagle
A blistering opening match saw recent debutants Ota and Black Eagle set an example to MAW’s up and comers. Ota scored the victory with a Ninja Strike.
Winner: Fumihiro Ota (C)

*

Rip announced MAW’s latest signing: Ultimate Phoenix

Phoenix issued an open challenge to face any member of the MAW roster that night. A challenge like that is a red rag to Jean Cattley, who came out and swore to show that, no matter who else comes in, he’ll always be the best in the company.

*

Backstage, and Thom Morgan got jumped by Jean Cattley, who blasted him with a Mood Swing on the concrete floor.

*

Kid Arachnid vs. Ricky Douglas
Arachnid was making his debut in MAW, wearing a black Spider-Man mask, with swirling tattoos across his chest and heavily taped forearms and hands. He showed off some impressive technical skills en route to victory in a somewhat uneven match that didn’t exactly set the world on fire.
Winner: Kid Arachnid (E+)

*

Earlier today, Max Mayhem approached Rip Chord backstage. He opened with a Vulcan salute. Rip raised an eyebrow, curiously.

“Rip, sir, I’d like a match with Casey Valentine tonight.”

“Why?”

“Well, as much fun as it was to set Ota loose on Valentine, it’s still a personal thing. I want to beat him up some myself.”

“Kid, I like the way you’re thinking. Tell you what, grab yourself a partner, and you can make it a tag match, okay?

*

Joe Benning was relaxing backstage when he was jumped from behind by two masked men in sharp suits. The men beat him senseless, before dragging him through the corridors and into the boiler room, where they roped him to a chair. The smaller man began to slap Benning about before they unmasked to reveal Raphael and Antonio. Antonio turned to the camera, as Raphael resumed the beating.

“Erik, be reasonable. I deserve a shot at your title. Give me that match, and I might let your friend go. I think that’s a fair deal, yes? It’s good business, my friend – and believe me, I know good business when I see it.”

*

Max Mayhem and Riley McManus vs. C-V-2
A straightforward back and forth match that saw Valentine abuse Mayhem every chance he got – only for Mayhem to fire back with a string of quick strikes, capped with a Moonsault for the win.
Winners: Mayhem and McManus (E+)

*

With the match over, Mayhem celebrated finally getting some revenge on Casey.

*

Backstage, Erik was hunting for his friend, along with his new manager, Katie Cameron. When he came to the door to the boiler room, he found it locked. He hammered on the door, but there was no reply. Cameron advised him to find Rip.

*

Hugh Lee was, once again, bouncing around the Canadian Blondes locker room.

“I just can’t believe you agreed to this,” Flash Savage said. Oscar Golden looked annoyed.

“Look, I lost my temper. But we get a chance to wipe out these losers once and for all. A ladder match, man! No rules! And we’ve got our ace in the hole!”

He pointed at Hugh, who stopped his routine.

“Ninja in the hole,” he pronounced, before returning to his shadow duel.

“For the last time...” Oscar said.

“Look, forget it,” Flash said. “So long as he does his job...”

Back to ringside, and Rip, Marv and I ran down the six months of battles that had led to this match. Meanwhile, the tag title belts hung fifteen feet above the ring, waiting to be claimed by the winning team.

*

Perez & Shaffer vs. The Canadian Blondes (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
With a ladder on each side of the ring, this was never going to be a technical masterclass. The Blondes entered first, their new manager Ernest Forthdyke-Hume in tow. The challengers followed, bringing with them a pair of very attractive ladies who I named as Jenny Perez (with Frankie) and Dawn (with Shaffer). We’d decided to add a little glamour to the ringside area, and Perez and Shaffer had convinced me to bring in a manager each for them.

Business aside, the match itself was a series of wild spots strung together with some canny storytelling that I’d worked up with the four competitors and the three managers over the course of the day. Ernest tried to interfere on his clients’ behalf, but the girls kept a close eye on him, including dropping him with a double clothesline when he tried to feed a chair to his charges.

The bulk of the action was kept in ring, with two men selling while two men worked, but sometimes it was three or all four of them going at it. Shaffer was cracked in the face with a see-sawing ladder that busted him open. Golden took a punishing drop from a ladder onto the top rope. Savage was sent flying from the top rung of the ladder. At one point, Perez had the belts in his hands, but Golden moved the ladder, before hoisting Savage up on his shoulders. The Blondes then splattered Perez with a stacker belly-to-belly suplex that left both Perez and Savage down and hurting.

With two men down and out, and Shaffer struggling, Golden seemed certain to take the win. He waved to the crowd, calling in Hugh Lee who appeared at the barrier and vaulted it smoothly, before sliding into the ring. Rising to his feet, he unleashed a smoke capsule aimed right between Shaffer’s eyes, but Shaffer had the presence of mind to duck, and it cracked open in Golden’s face, blinding him and doubling him over as he inhaled the smoke. Shaffer used his last burst of energy to clothesline Lee from the ring, before setting up a ladder in the centre of the ring, scaling it to claim the belts and win the match.
Winners: Perez & Shaffer (D)

*

As the new champions celebrated their victory by crowd surfing – as much as you can with two-hundred people, anyway – Golden and Savage tore into Lee, screaming at him in their frustration. Lee tried to apologise, but this seemed to anger his partners even more as they hit him with a high/low clothesline. Golden began to rein down punches on him, before holding him down for a Savage elbow drop from the top. The crowd began to cheer, and the Blondes raised their arms in celebration, but they turned to see Fumihiro Ota on the top rope. He leapt off, and nailed Golden with a kick, simultaneously drilling Savage with a chop. Landing on his feet, he launched into a series of measured blows, disorienting the Blondes and leaving them scrambling for cover. Turning to Lee, he helped the youngster up, and the two shook hands, before Lee bowed to the veteran Ninja, a bow Ota returned to the wannabe Ninja’s delirious delight.

*

Erik came out to ringside, and over the house mic asked Rip to intervene to save Benning.

Rip chuckled. “Kid, I don’t get involved in the personal business of my employees. But Antonio did come up with a suggestion that I think was a good one – defend your title against him tonight, and he’ll set Benning free. So go get ready for your match, kid. You’re on in a few.”

*

Findlay O’Farraday was strutting ****ily through the backstage corridors when he was suddenly launched into the wall courtesy of The Masked Patriot, who speared him in the gut. Patriot pounded the giant with fists and shoulder blocks, before toppling a heavy locker onto him, and whacking the locker repeatedly with a steel chair.

Looking satisfied, he turned to the camera: “That was fun, but tonight I have a match. Now, Jefferson my boy, this rock and roll stuff... Don’t get me wrong, I will fight to the death for your right to enjoy the music of your choice. But tell me, did you ever consider Country and Western? A little Tammy? Some Garth? How about some Johnny Cash?

“You’ve got to know when to hold, know when to fold, know when to walk away, know when to run...”

Patriot walked away, singing as he went. Findlay, meanwhile, groaned in an off-key manner.

*

The Masked Patriot vs. Jefferson Stardust
Stardust had his usual glam entrance, complete with new manager Jakki, and as always looked impressive – right up until the bell rang and Patriot launched himself across the ring in a flying tackle. Stardust did his best, and the two put on an entertaining match, but he was struggling from the off, and while he managed to land some offence, Patriot was just overwhelming.
Winner: The Masked Patriot (D-)

*

Patriot took the mic again:
“With that out of the way... Citizen X, I’ve taken out your lackey. How about next month you and me settle this, like men, in this very ring?”

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
The two veterans gave it their all in this tremendous battle, which saw Phoenix going to the air to counter Cattley’s mostly ground-based offence. It was a closely fought match, brought to an end with a Phoenix Firebird Splash.
Winner: Ultimate Phoenix (C-)

*

As Cattley left the ring, he was blindsided by Kirk Jameson, who launched himself over the crowd barrier. Leaving nothing to chance, Jameson choked Cattley with a cable and blasted him with the ring bell, before promising more of the same if Cattley didn’t meet him in the ring the following month.

*

Erik Strong (c) vs. Antonio for the MAW Heavyweight title
Strong and Antonio tied it up with a lot to prove, and showed that there is definite promise – enough that this feud may be revisited in the future. Antonio arrived with Raphael in tow, but his presence was nullified by Cameron, whose beauty was belied by the easy way she toted a chair. Raphael kept a cautious eye on the blonde woman, allowing the match to go uninterrupted. Strong, meanwhile, showed a new viciousness no doubt related to the kidnap and beating of his friend. This fiery attitude got him into trouble at one point, as he overshot on a flying move that won Antonio a brief respite. He went for Raphael, who guiltily turned his attention back to the match, and tried to find something on his Blackberry. But Cameron was around to that side of the ring in a flash, swatting at the device with the chair, sending Raphael crashing back into the crowd barrier, and Antonio back into the ring, where he ate a DDT, before falling prey to the Strongsault to give Strong the victory, and some piece of mind as Benning appeared from backstage, battered but free to join in the celebrations.
Winner: Erik Strong (D)

Overall: D

Next: More trouble, and big news for MAW...

James Casey

06-28-2008, 11:16 AM

I stared across the desk at Jez McArthuer, who had once again been causing trouble. At least he’d picked a more sensible target this time – Ernest Forthdyke-Hume, manager of the Canadian Blondes.

“I’m getting bored of this,” I said. “I don’t like punishing my own employees for misbehaviour. You’ve only been here a few months, and this is your second time in trouble. Here’s your paypacket,” I said, tossing it across the table to him. He grabbed it in surprise, and looked up at me.

“I’ve taken a quarter of your pay for the orphanage down the road,” I went on. “And I’m sure you’ve heard that we’ve got a new referee coming in this month,” I added. “We can make it two, if needs be.”

He nodded, looking chastened. “I’ll try not to let it happen again,” he said.

“Ask Rip to come in on your way out,” I replied, turning away from him.

*

After seven shows, our first feud had come to a head, and our first turn... well, it wasn’t earth shaking or anything, but it left us with a fairly balanced face/heel divide. Besides, the powers that be (me, Rip) enjoy Huey’s goofy Ninja schtick enough that he’s getting some appreciation from us with a loose partnership with Ota that should help him get over.

We also sat down and worked out the back half of the year. A couple of feuds are winding down, a couple will run for a bit longer, but it was a good time to reassess the roster as well, and see who was coming along. It’s probably not surprising that the main event will be mostly the domain of the newcomers for the next while. Phoenix, Ota and Eagle are among our top earners, so need to be in the inner circle, along with X, Antonio, Erik and Jean. As noted above, the Antonio/Strong may happen again in the future – but it’s a misuse of resources right now to make them the main focus of the shows.

I was slightly worried about a gulf opening up between the top and the bottom of the card, though – the undercard workers like Riley McManus and Davis Wayne Newton hadn’t shown much upwards mobility.

Still, I had an experiment I wanted to play with in regards to that. After a forthright and frank exchange of views, Rip’d agreed to me booking a weekly show – for a one month trial period. Pro Wrestling Hits Magazine had highlighted a recent, well, surge is too strong a word... a recent blip in popularity for MAW in the Great Lakes and South-East regions. So during August we’d be running a couple of small shows in these regions to see how the fans reacted. Strictly undercard guys, however – no-one earning over $150 a night. We’d have to find a cheap, half-decent referee to work the shows as well, but otherwise it wasn’t likely to be an excessive expense.

I hoped.

Yeah, we're going on the road. I admire the pluck of those like trypio (http://67.19.230.90/~arles/forum/showthread.php?t=31996) and mad5226 (http://67.19.230.90/~arles/forum/showthread.php?t=31987) who tried this in their first month...

James Casey

06-30-2008, 11:25 AM

MAW On Tour
Results for August 2008

Great Lakes – Wednesday 3rd
Jefferson Stardust defeated Kid Arachnid - F
Raphael defeated Riley McManus – E-
"Regular" Joe Benning defeated Curtis Jenkins – F
Overall: F+

Okay, slight change of plan. The Great Lakes fans really hated this show. I don’t really blame them. I guess we’ll have to accept a little more expenditure to try and put on a better show.

South East – Wednesday 10th
Findlay O'Farraday defeated Shane Nelson – E+
Riley McManus defeated Jefferson Stardust – F
Oscar Golden defeated Kid Arachnid – E
C-V-2 defeated Max Mayhem and Hugh Lee – E
Antonio defeated The Masked Patriot - E
Overall: E

I think that Shane Nelson is likely to be the last signing for a while – although one of our youngsters will be walking in a couple of shows, alas.

We’re switching to longer shows with bigger advertising, to see if that makes any difference on the backswing of the month.

Great Lakes – Wednesday 17th
Shane Nelson defeated Davis Wayne Newton – F+
Casey Valentine defeated Kid Arachnid – E
Ricky Douglas defeated Riley McManus – E-
Antonio defeated Hugh Lee – E-
The Masked Patriot defeated Cameron Vessey – D-
Oscar Golden defeated Max Mayhem – F+
Overall: E-

Ouch. We’re not going to win over the Great Lakes fans like that. My instincts told me that Patriot/Vessey should have gone on last, but there was more buzz about Mayhem/Golden. I’ll trust myself next time.

South East – Wednesday 24th
The Masked Patriot defeated Davis Wayne Newton – E+
Oscar Golden defeated Shane Nelson – E
Antonio defeated Riley McManus – E
Raphael defeated Max Mayhem – E-
Cameron Vessey defeated Kid Arachnid – E+
Casey Valentine defeated Hugh Lee – E+
Overall: E+

Not a bad end to the month.

MAW Iron
Kashmir Singh vs. Antonio
Kid Arachnid vs. Shane Nelson vs. Ricky Douglas vs. Jefferson Stardust
Perez & Shaffer vs. C-V-2
The Masked Patriot vs. Citizen X
Kirk Jameson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Erik Strong vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Fumihiro Ota vs. Black Eagle to name the #1 contender to the MAW Heavyweight title

Busy month - show next post, aftermath the post after that. Any comments, suggestions or predictions?

gmsubzer

06-30-2008, 06:27 PM

I love reading this so far. But I was wondering if you are using MAW's default Product or did you you tweak it a little bit?

D-Lyrium

07-01-2008, 02:22 AM

So I'm wondering, do we know who this Kid Arachnid is, are we not suppose to know yet, or was I just not paying attention?

smurphy1014

07-01-2008, 03:07 AM

MAW Iron
Kashmir Singh vs. Antonio
Kid Arachnid vs. Shane Nelson vs. Ricky Douglas vs. Jefferson Stardust
Perez & Shaffer vs. C-V-2
The Masked Patriot vs. Citizen X
Kirk Jameson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Erik Strong vs. Davis Wayne Newton
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Fumihiro Ota vs. Black Eagle to name the #1 contender to the MAW Heavyweight title

James Casey

07-01-2008, 05:24 AM

I love reading this so far. But I was wondering if you are using MAW's default Product or did you you tweak it a little bit?

Purely default so far. Considering going up to 90% matches due to weak angles dragging things down, but otherwise exactly as Rip intended :)

So I'm wondering, do we know who this Kid Arachnid is, are we not suppose to know yet, or was I just not paying attention?

:p It's a guy in a mask. If I went around telling you his name, it's spoil the mystery.

I can exclusively reveal, however, that it's this guy: http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jamescasey_photos/Random_Male241.jpg

mad5226

07-01-2008, 06:23 AM

Thanks for the plug man=)

The way you are doing things seem almost perfect. Weekly shows will drain some resources, but you've made enough money you can afford it for awhile.

James Casey

07-01-2008, 10:00 AM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Iron
Friday 26th August 2008

Perez & Shaffer (c) vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
With the Blondes off the radar – for a bit – it was time for Perez and Shaffer to defend their belts against new challenges. C-V-2 stepped up to the plate, and the four put on a fine opening match, capped by Perez catching Valentine in a Perfect Parity for the win.
Winners: Perez & Shaffer (D+)

*

Backstage with Citizen X:

“Patriot, your continued faith in this country bewilders me. Not just that, it offends me. America grows fat while the world around it starves and dies. True anarchy is the natural state of mankind, where all are equal. Democracy is merely a means to ensure the survival of meritless oligarchies, and the continuing enrichment of the powerful few. Tonight I shall destroy you, and it will one day be seen as a key step on the route to glorious, magnificent pure anarchy."

*

The Masked Patriot vs. Citizen X
Patriot tore into his nemesis with barely concealed fury, battering the veteran X from pillar to post. He seemed to have the match won, when Antonio appeared at ringside, distracting the ref. As Patriot tried to get the ref’s attention, X snared him from behind and hoisted him up into a vicious Flaming Anarchy for the win.
Winner: Citizen X (D)

*

X sneered at his fallen foe.

“Perhaps I have been hasty in judging your political system. It seems capitalism has its virtues – the free market has allowed me to retain the services of a powerful ally, one who understands business like few others.”

X pointed, and Antonio surged forward, laying the boots to Patriot before hoisting him up for an Italian DDT.

*

Jean Cattley took the mic before his match with Kirk Jameson:

“I think we’re about done here. Jameson, if you haven’t got the message by now, you will after this match. MAW is my domain – mine, and The Firm’s. You exist here only with our permission. You compete because we do not choose to eliminate you at this time. Jameson, let us be clear – as good as you are, as promising as you may be, it doesn’t matter in this company. All that matters is The Firm.”

*

Kirk Jameson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
This was a barnstorming end to the feud, and overall should have helped Jameson climb the ranks somewhat. Cattley most had the match his own way, but Jameson showed enough fight that the outcome was never quite as clear-cut as Cattley might have liked. In the end, he caught Jameson with a Mood Swing – but it was a close run thing.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D+)

*

Davis Wayne Newton strutted out to the ring:

“It seems like our champ has an empty dance card tonight. You’ve seen what The Firm is capable of tonight. Although Cameron and Casey didn’t win the titles, Perez and Shaffer know that they were in a match. Jean, meanwhile, squashed Jameson as easily as he said he would. And later tonight Ricky will put paid to a whole squad of MAW’s finest. So champ, what do you say? Want to put your title on the line against one of this company’s brightest stars?”

Erik Strong came down the ramp, Katie Cameron at his side.

“Newton, I’d love to face one of the company’s brightest stars – but everyone’s busy tonight. I guess I could fight you, although you’ve done nothing to earn the right. So I have a proposal for you. I don’t like the way The Firm operates. Contrary to your beliefs, this is not your company. If it belongs to anyone – it belong to me, the MAW champion. I think, over the next few months, I’ll make it my business to put The Firm in its place. And while I respect Douglas, Vessey, Valentine and especially Jean Cattley... You I don’t give a damn about. So if you want this title match, I want you to put your career on the line to make it worth my while.”

Newton grinned and beckoned Strong to the ring.

*

Erik Strong (c) vs. Davis Wayne Newton for the MAW Heavyweight championship
Davis Wayne Newton showed considerable promise in this match, and Katie played the distressed manager to a T. Strong, though, was his usual dependable self. Although Newton looked dangerous, Strong was obviously in charge, and came out on top with a Strongsault.
Winner: Erik Strong (D)

*

Newton made his way backstage to The Firm’s locker room, where Ricky Douglas was warming up and the other members were relaxing.

“Where the hell were you guys?” Newton demanded.

“Relaxing,” Jean replied, checking his nails.

“Relaxing? I had a chance to win the title!”

“If you really believe that, you’re crazy,” Vessey replied.

“Yeah, Strong’s too good for you,” Valentine added.

“As for why we didn’t help you,” Douglas went on, pausing from his exercises. “You didn’t clear it with us first. You’re the junior member of this group, Davis. You need to learn your place. It’s not chasing after the big title. It’s watching our backs. Maybe a few years down the line, when you’ve earned your stripes, you’d have been worth a shot at the gold. But now you’ve gone and got yourself fired.”

“But this is The Firm! You can sweet talk Rip, right? Or threaten him or something?”

“Davis...” Jean said, standing up and throwing an arm around Newton’s shoulders. “We could – but we’d only do that if we thought you were worth it.”

“What?”

“Ricky? You want to warm up a bit?”

“My pleasure,” Douglas replied, and as Jean held Newton in place, Douglas fired off a superkick that nearly took Newton’s head off. Valentine and Vessey joined in the assault, before Jean capped it with a Mood Swing through a table.

“Been nice working with you, kid,” Jean said, as he flipped a twenty onto Newton’s body. “There’s your cab fare. Boys, let’s hit the town. Ricky, see you once you win your match.”

The Firm left Newton lying in the wreckage of the locker room.

*

Kid Arachnid vs. Shane Nelson vs. Ricky Douglas vs. Jefferson Stardust
A short match to give these four something to do. Arachnid continues to look awesome, Nelson will fit in fine and Stardust and Jakki make for an entertaining pairing. Douglas, meanwhile, has no real gimmick, no newcomer’s momentum, no gorgeous manager... He just goes out, fights, and in this case wins.
Winner: Ricky Douglas (E+)

*

Backstage, and Antonio was looking pleased with himself, counting his money earned from working with Citizen X. Suddenly Kashmir Singh strode into view and knocked the money out of his hand.

“Oh, I know you think you have a good reason for that,” Antonio said. “But tell me, is it going to be worth it when I kick in your teeth?”

“Well that would be just what I was after,” Singh said, smiling toothily. “You attacked my friend tonight. So I think I ought to drag you out to the ring and beat you – make you earn your money.”

“I don’t often hand out beatings that I’m not being paid for,” Antonio replied. “But in your case, I’ll make an exception. It’ll be good for business when future clients see that I’m prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure their peace of mind.”

Marv, Rip and I took a moment to run down the history of the feud as the two men made their way to the ring.

*

Kashmir Singh vs. Antonio
Kashmir fought bravely to try and avenge his friend, but Antonio showed his RCI winning form in this match, beating the Indian star fairly convincingly with an Italian DDT.
Winner: Antonio (D-)

*

Marv, Earnest and I explained tonight’s main event – whichever one of the three masked newcomers came out on top would earn themselves a title shot at September’s show, Fall Of The King.

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Fumihiro Ota vs. Black Eagle to name the #1 contender to the MAW Heavyweight title
These three may not be standard MAW fair, but they have name value and experience, two things missing from much of the roster’s lockers. Small wonder, then, that they produced MAW’s match of the year so far, a twenty-minute all-out spectacle featuring spectacular dives, elaborate submissions and generally blistering action. None of the three could be put down for a pin, though, and the match reached its time limit with no winner.
Winner: Draw (C-)

Overall: D+

Lots of news backstage this month - more in the next post

James Casey

07-02-2008, 11:37 AM

Davis Wayne Newton has signed with NOTBPW, and left MAW after this show. Good luck to him – and hopefully he’ll return in a few years time. He did one last thing before he left, though...

*

“Who is it this time?” I asked, as I followed Davis down the corridor.

“Jez and Kirk,” he replied. He was already washed and dressed, and ready to go. We’d have taken him for beers, but Rip frowns on it, and Davis isn’t old enough.

“Kirk? The kid wouldn’t hurt a fly if it killed his grandma. What’s Jez done now?”

“He put shampoo in Kirk’s shoes. Filled them right up.”

“Shoes again? What the hell?”

Findlay was holding Kirk in a full nelson several inches off the ground as I entered the room. Jez was nursing a rapidly purpling eye, while Phoenix, Riley and Joe were acting as a barrier between them.

I wasn’t in the mood for eloquence.

“Jez, you screw up once more, at any time while you’re working for me, and you’re fired. Understand?”

He nodded.

*

“Did you hear?” Rip asked, waving a balance sheet at me.

I shook my head. August’s finances were in. I’d avoided looking at them during the month. I knew it would be bad reading – but just how bad I was about to find out.

“We’re out by thirty-six grand,” he said, sombrely. I winced. In my mind’s eye, I’d imagined arguing Rip around to another month of, at worst, twenty thousand dollar losses.

“Maybe next year, kid,” he said, and there was a certain coolness about his tone that made me feel even worse.

*

Apparently Phoenix and Findlay bonded over breaking up last month’s fight – they’ve been spotted out and about, trying to hook up with some of the local girls. Of course, one is permanently masked and the other one is a 6’8 350lb guy, so they’re not meeting with a great deal of success so far...

*

“Boss?”

I blinked. Sometimes it was hard separating fact from fantasy, and hearing our supposed anarchist calling me boss was, well, a little disconcerting.

“Come on in, X,” I said. “I’m just going over the card for next month. How does a title shot, sound?”

“Er...”

“X?”

“I’ve had an offer,” he said, ducking his head in embarrassment. Away from the ring, Citizen X was actually a rather shy, softly-spoken man.

“Who from?” I asked, frowning slightly. We certainly had no problems with our workers taking jobs elsewhere – almost everyone had at least one other contract.

“Rhode Island.”

I froze.

“Pay-per-appearance?”

He shook his head.

“A development deal?”

He nodded, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“Are you going to take it?”

“I think so. Sorry, boss,” he added.

I let out a long breath. “This could have come at a better time – a couple more months would have been favourite. But it’s your career, X, and you have to make the choice you think is right.”

“I could have stayed,” he said. “But be honest, boss, am I a long-term main eventer here?”

I shrugged. It was my turn to feel slightly embarrassed. “I’d not got anything concrete for you after your feud with Patriot,” I said. “That’s got another two or three shows to run on it. The title stuff is scheduled to run into the new year, after that...”

“I can improve up there,” he said. “And get into the big leagues.”

I nodded, and stuck out my hand. X gave it a firm shake. “You’ll be welcome back anytime,” I said. “But I expect we’ll have to get a lot bigger first.”

“I look forward to it,” he said.

“Any idea what we’re going to do to replace you?” I asked.

“Just one – a kid I’m surprised you haven’t picked up before, actually. He’s a good young kid – just the MAW type. He works cheap, too...”

*

“Boss?”

I looked up. It was déjà vu, all over again.

“Oh no,” I said. “Not you.”

“Sorry, boss,” Frankie Perez said, looking sheepish. “WLW called me last night.”

“You’re the champion!” I nearly yelled, before forcing myself to calm down. “Sorry – you’re the second one to move on today.”

“I saw X on my way in,” he said, shooting me a sympathetic smile.

My shoulders sagged. “I had big plans for you, Frankie. You have to do what’s best for you, but I really thought that you could go places with us. I’m disappointed, but I understand. Come back some time, huh?”

“Sure, boss. And thanks for the chance – Mr. Kojima said he’s been watching our stuff here, and he was impressed.”

“Oh, he’s the one watching the streams,” I said, shaking my head ruefully. “Who on earth are we going to get in to replace you, Frankie?”

“I do have a suggestion. Someone you talked to a while back, but couldn’t afford.”

“With you and X leaving, there’s more cash around.”

“That’s what I figured. He’s been out of work for a while, but he’s raring to go...”

*

MAW Fall Of The King
Kid Arachnid vs. Antonio
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
Trent Shaffer & ??? (c) vs. Jefferson Stardust and Raphael for the MAW Tag Team titles
Fumihiro Ota vs. Cameron Vessey
Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
“Regular” Joe Benning vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Erik Strong (c) vs. ??? for the MAW Heavyweight title

Astil

07-02-2008, 12:09 PM

ouch

Kid Arachnid vs. Antonio
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
Trent Shaffer & ??? (c) vs. Jefferson Stardust and Raphael for the MAW Tag Team titles
Fumihiro Ota vs. Cameron Vessey
Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
“Regular” Joe Benning vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Erik Strong (c) vs. ??? for the MAW Heavyweight title

Emark

07-02-2008, 11:01 PM

MAW Fall Of The King
Kid Arachnid vs. Antonio
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
Trent Shaffer & ??? (c) vs. Jefferson Stardust and Raphael for the MAW Tag Team titles
Fumihiro Ota vs. Cameron Vessey
Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
“Regular” Joe Benning vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Erik Strong (c) vs. ??? for the MAW Heavyweight title

James Casey

07-03-2008, 11:18 AM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Fall Of The King
Friday 26th September 2008

The show opened with Rip in the ring.

“Good evening, everyone. Last month I had a great idea for a main event – unfortunately, it didn’t quite go according to plan. No-one won last month, so no-one gets a title shot. That honour was going to go to Citizen X, who did win his match last month, but he recently left the company, having decided that the concept of organised competition did not fit with his political beliefs.

“As for everyone else... We’re going to have us a little fun. The way I see it, Phoenix, Eagle and Ota didn’t win last month, but they didn’t lose, either. Now, Antonio and Jean Cattley won their matches as well. All five men can say they deserve a shot – but first they’ll have to earn it. All five men will wrestle opponents of my choosing tonight. And depending on the results, well, we’ll see who I think deserves a shot afterwards. And the matches begin right now!”

Antonio’s music played, and he came down to the ring. Then Kid Arachnid emerged as his opponent, and Marv Earnest went ballistic on commentary about the lopsided nature of the match.

*

Kid Arachnid vs. Antonio
Antonio kicked Arachnid around the ring, taunting his young opponent and showboating for laughs. But the appearance of The Masked Patriot threw him off, and allowed Arachnid to land a Cradle Piledriver for the upset victory.
Winner: Kid Arachnid (D-)

*

Before Antonio had the chance to react, Patriot slid into the ring and obliterated him with a Backdrop Driver.

*

Casey Valentine came out for his match:

“Phoenix, I’ll make this brief. I’m going to pluck your feathers and use them for a heated pillow. Any dreams you may have of competing for gold here in MAW can just disappear into a puff of smoke – you’re on The Firm’s ground now.”

Phoenix responded:

“I’m not on anyone’s turf, Valentine. Didn’t you know? I’m a Phoenix, and what I do is soar!”

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
Phoenix was as good as his word, spending long periods of time airborne in this match. Valentine tried to keep it on the mat as much as possible, as he had the edge on his opponent if he kept him grounded, but Phoenix was able to use his speed to stay in front for long enough to drop Valentine with the Phoenix Firebird Splash.
Winner: Ultimate Phoenix (D+)

*

Trent Shaffer came out with both tag title belts over his shoulder. Taking a mic, he addressed the crowd:

“So, Frankie had some stuff to do out east, and asked if I minded if he took off for a bit. I was cool with that – but I did need a new partner to hold the belts. So I spoke to some of my friends, and there’s one guy whose music collection is just like mine, which is what’s important, after all. So, dudes and dudettes, allow me to introduce my new partner, Stevie Grayson!”

*

Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. Jefferson Stardust and Raphael for the MAW Tag Team titles
A bit of a thrown together match here, with Stardust and Raphael benefiting from many of the more over competitors otherwise engaged. They didn’t offer much threat to the ‘new’ champs, as this was mainly an exercise in scraping off some of Grayson’s ring rust, but it was still a fairly entertaining match. Capped with a stunning 460 Degree Splash from Grayson to take the win.
Winners: Shaffer & Grayson (D-)

*

The camera cut to the boiler room, where Fumihiro Ota, through clever lighting, appeared to be floating a couple of inches above the ground as he meditated. His peace and solitude was interrupted by the noisy arrival of Cameron Vessey.

“Yo, Ota you freak. We’ve got a match, ninja-man. Enough messing around. You ready to get your ass kicked?”

Bong.

Vessey came around the corner to find Ota still sitting in his meditative pose, with the gong vibrating gently beside him.

“Oh, this gong stuff. Casey told me about it. Look, he’s a hick who got brought up on ninja movies by that idiot uncle of his. Much as I like the guy, he’s pretty naïve. Your whole mystical smoke and mirrors ---- doesn’t freak me out, old man. Get your ass down to the ring, so I can take you out of the title hunt.”

Bong.

Vessey scowled. “Enough clowning. Either get up, or we start this right here. You think you can hold your own against me in a hardcore match?”

Bong.

“That’s what I-“

Bong.

“You little-“

Ota leapt from his pose with seemingly impossible grace, catching Vessey with a rising kick that sent him sprawling. Ota then calmly collected his mat, gong and drumstick, put out the incense burners, and made his way to the ring as Vessey clutched his head and groaned.

*

Fumihiro Ota vs. Cameron Vessey
The crowd really enjoyed seeing the arrogant Vessey get beaten from pillar to post. Although he managed a few brief rallies, Ota shut him down time and again, as he had in his debut match a few months before. Finally he drilled Vessey with a Ninja Strike to get the win.
Winner: Fumihiro Ota (D+)

*

Backstage, and Kirk Jameson was revealed as Black Eagle’s opponent. He claimed to be confident of his ability to compete with the veteran after pushing Jean Cattley to the limit at the last show.

*

Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
This was an excellent match with Eagle and Jameson going back and forth in a barnstorming effort. Jameson dominated the middle of the match, but Eagle was able to gain an advantage by tricking the referee, before taking control and hitting a New Jersey Turnpike for the win.
Winner: Black Eagle (C-)

*

Jean Cattley was backstage, looking supremely confident.

“The Firm is operating efficiently. Unlike our former colleague, Ricky Douglas understood the importance of cohesion in our ranks, and agreed not to enter tonight’s contest, giving me a free run to the title. As for my opponent... I understand that some people take pride in being ordinary. I don’t. I don’t care about being normal, or average... or regular. Joe Benning, you are about to step into the ring with the best in the business. I’m sure that someone like you will insist on doing your best, and I really wouldn’t have it any other way. Just realise that it’s ultimately futile – I am superior.”

*

“Regular” Joe Benning vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Marv was once again angry about the discrepancy in opponent quality here, as Cattley dominated Benning almost from bell to bell, before putting him away with a Mood Swing.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D-)

*

Rip entered the ring:
“Four men won their matches tonight, so next month it seems sensible to have those four men fight each other. So it will be Ultimate Phoenix against Jean Cattley, and Black Eagle against Fumihiro Ota. The winners of those matches will go on to face the champion in a Three Way Dance!

“As Citizen X no longer works for MAW, I’ve spent the last few days trying to find someone to appear in his place. I apologise to anyone who bought tickets for the show hoping to see him. I hope that you’ll agree that the replacement we’ve bought in is more than adequate, and worthy of getting a title shot right from day one. Ladies and gentlemen... Jacob Jett!”

*

Erik Strong (c) vs. Jacob Jett for the MAW Heavyweight title
Jett is a tremendous all-rounder who works for relative peanuts – less than Flash Savage or Kirk Jameson, to pick two examples. He and Strong put on a very good match, worthy of main-eventing the show, with Jett busting out some innovative offence. Strong stepped up to the challenge, holding his own against Jett before scoring with a Strongsault for another successful defence.
Winner: Erik Strong (D+)

Overall: D+

*

MAW Where It All Begins Again
The Masked Patriot vs. Antonio
Shaffer and Grayson (c) vs. Jacob Jett & Findlay O’Farraday for the MAW Tag Team titles
Kirk Jameson vs. Ricky Douglas
C-V-2 vs. The Canadian Blondes
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Black Eagle to earn a place in the MAW Heavyweight title match
A 10-man battle royal featuring “Regular” Joe Benning, Max Mayhem, Hugh Lee, Riley McManus, Shane Nelson, Ricky Douglas, Curtis Jenkins, Raphael, Jefferson Stardust and a mystery entrant
Fumihiro Ota vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley to earn a place in the MAW Heavyweight title match
Erik Strong (c) vs. ??? vs. ??? for the MAW Heavyweight title

Nothing of note backstage this month - straight into the action next post...

EricAdams

07-03-2008, 12:12 PM

Just wanted to say I'm enjoying the crap out of this thread. MAW is my second favorite promotion in the game behind CZCW and it's great to see someone do it justice.

MrOnu

07-03-2008, 01:49 PM

I'm curious to know who's this Arachnid Kid sonner than later. ; He got some pretty good grades so far. A good show, you had many curveballs thrown at you and did a great job.

Generic Heel 104

07-03-2008, 09:22 PM

Just finished reading this thread and wanted to say it's pretty great and I'm looking forward to more updates! Fived and subscribed.

shamelessposer

07-04-2008, 08:42 PM

Kid Arachnid has got to be Ash Campbell.

Actarus

07-04-2008, 08:54 PM

MAW Where It All Begins Again

The Masked Patriot vs. Antonio
Shaffer and Grayson (c) vs. Jacob Jett & Findlay O’Farraday for the MAW Tag Team titles
Kirk Jameson vs. Ricky Douglas
C-V-2 vs. The Canadian Blondes
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Black Eagle to earn a place in the MAW Heavyweight title match
A 10-man battle royal featuring “Regular” Joe Benning, Max Mayhem, Hugh Lee, Riley McManus, Shane Nelson, Ricky Douglas, Curtis Jenkins, Raphael, Jefferson Stardust and a mystery entrant
Fumihiro Ota vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley to earn a place in the MAW Heavyweight title match
Erik Strong (c) vs. ??? vs. ??? for the MAW Heavyweight title

shamelessposer

07-04-2008, 09:35 PM

The Masked Patriot vs. Antonio
Shaffer and Grayson (c) vs. Jacob Jett & Findlay O’Farraday for the MAW Tag Team titles
Kirk Jameson vs. Ricky Douglas
C-V-2 vs. The Canadian Blondes
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Black Eagle to earn a place in the MAW Heavyweight title match
A 10-man battle royal featuring “Regular” Joe Benning, Max Mayhem, Hugh Lee, Riley McManus, Shane Nelson, Ricky Douglas, Curtis Jenkins, Raphael, Jefferson Stardust and a mystery entrant
Fumihiro Ota vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley to earn a place in the MAW Heavyweight title match
Erik Strong (c) vs. Ultimate Phoenix vs. Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title[/QUOTE]

James Casey

07-05-2008, 06:37 AM

In the manner of J Silver, your clue for the day is: Kid Arachnid is in the default database.

Thanks for all the comments and predictions - nice to get some feedback :)

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Where It All Begins Again
Friday 26th October 2008

Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. Jacob Jett & Findlay O’Farraday for the MAW Tag Team titles
This match was pre-booked almost two months ago as Perez/Shaffer vs. X/Findlay, and cleared the last vestiges of both from our plans. A straightforward defence for the champs, as their slick teamwork won out over the individual skills of Findlay and Jett.
Winners: Shaffer & Grayson (D)

*

Shaffer took the mic:
“We may not have the most experience, it’s true. But this is a team for the ages. We’re good enough to hold these belts for a long time, just doing our thing, playing it cool, and being the best.”

*

The Masked Patriot vs. Antonio
A quick match to drop a veil over the now-dead Patriot/X feud – made quicker by the absence of chemistry between the competitors. Antonio did his best, but Patriot eventually came out on top with the Backdrop Driver.
Winner: Masked Patriot (E+)

*

Patriot took the mic:
“Ah guess that now we can put this whole sorry mess behind us. X ran off before I could beat him like a government mule, and ah guess that Antonio wasn’t being paid for tonight’s match. So, X, enjoy life up north – but I’ll say this: If you ever come back, I’ll be waitin’ for you.”

*

C-V-2 vs. The Canadian Blondes
Rip had taken a personal interest in this one, taking back road agent duties as he has something of a personal stake in how well the four perform. I let them get on with it – either result worked fine for me in booking the next few months. Oscar Golden eventually nailed a Golden Shower for the win, which surprised me slightly.
Winner: Canadian Blondes (D-)

*

Backstage, and Black Eagle strode through the corridors, his manager Sienna LeNoir trailing behind him. Passing Ultimate Phoenix, he bumped shoulders with the other man, but kept moving.

“Halt!”

Eagle stopped, and turned around. Phoenix set down his book and stood face to face with his opponent.

“Now see here, citizen,” Phoenix said. “You certainly have the freedom to move around backstage as you wish. But when you interrupt other people in their work and their relaxation, that’s just rude. I might have to think that this match we have here is a good opportunity to knock some sense into you.”

Rather spookily, it was LeNoir who answered.

“It would be a pleasure,” she said, in a husky whisper. “He will see you... on the fields of combat.”

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Black Eagle to earn a place in the MAW Heavyweight title match
This is more like it. Black Eagle brutalised Phoenix from the bell, using downright thuggery at times to beat down his heroic foe. Phoenix fought back, using his high-flying skills – but for once his opponent was every bit as adept as he was. It was an evenly matched battle, but Phoenix’ heroic streak got the better of him when Eagle’s manager, Sienna Lenoir, got up on the ring apron as he was going to the ropes. He slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting her, and ate a New Jersey Turnpike for his troubles.
Winner: Black Eagle (C-)

*

Backstage, and Kirk Jameson was about to hype up his match with Ricky Douglas, when Douglas jumped him from behind, beating him down and pitching him headfirst into a pile of boxes.

*

Kirk Jameson vs. Ricky Douglas
A quick filler match to cool the crowd off a bit. The Firm’s iceman looked strong after his attack, focusing his aggression on Jameson’s wounded head. But Jameson rallied, and after a flurry of offence hit The Bullseye for the win.
Winner: Kirk Jameson (D-)

*

A poor loser, Douglas jumped Jameson after the bell and mopped the mat with him.

*

Before the second qualifying match, Jean Cattley wanted to speak his mind:
“I don’t believe in mysticism. I respect ninjas for what they can do, but I’ve seen nothing to make me believe that Fumihiro Ota is a true ninja. That idiot Hugh Lee has fallen under his spell, and my colleagues Cameron Vessey and Casey Valentine had their moments of doubt – of which they’re very ashamed. No, I just see a man who indulges in psychological trickery to try and unbalance his opponents. I respect that it works, Ota. But it has no effect on me.”

*

Fumihiro Ota vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley to earn a place in the MAW Heavyweight title match
Referee Chad Brent had his hands full with this one, as Cattley and Ota started out just fighting, before Cattley tried to get tricky and bend the rules. Ota retaliated with a smoke pellet that blinded Cattley and allowed the ninja unhindered access to blast him repeatedly with kicks and palm strikes until his vision cleared. He returned with a vengeance, becoming extremely focused and showing just how good a fighter he can be when motivated, matching Ota blow for blow, before dropping him with a Mood Swing to go into the main event.
Winner: Jean Cattley (C-)

*

Rip entered the ring:

“First things first: Tonight’s main event will see Erik Strong defend his MAW Heavyweight title against Black Eagle and Jean Cattley.

“Next, in three months time we’ll be hosting the annual Invitational tournament. Sixteen of MAW’s finest will compete in qualifying matches over the next two months, with the last eight making it through to the tournament proper, which will be held in January.

“And now for tonight’s Battle Royal, featuring a very special guest!”

As the entrants for the Battle Royal made their way to the ring, Marv said that it looked like Kid Arachnid was the tenth entrant, and while Arachnid was certainly a talented youngster, he didn’t exactly qualify as a special guest. But when Arachnid went to enter the ring, Rip stopped him.

“Beat it, junior,” Rip announced. “I’m taking your place tonight.”

The crowd were delighted with the announcement.

*

A 10-man battle royal featuring “Regular” Joe Benning, Max Mayhem, Hugh Lee, Riley McManus, Shane Nelson, Ricky Douglas, Curtis Jenkins, Raphael, Jefferson Stardust and Rip Chord
This was all-out chaos from the start. As Raphael frantically tried to work out a strategy on his Blackberry, Curtis Jenkins bounced around like a powerball, trying to his anyone and everyone with the Leeerrooooyyyy!!!! Eventually he was caught by a mean-looking Ricky Douglas, who threw him over the top rope.

Jefferson Stardust stood in the centre of the ring, while the action went on around him, basking in the attention of the crowd.

Rip was laying his ham-sized fists on everyone and anyone, short jabs as he stood back to back with Stardust in the centre of the ring, laying out anyone who came in range.

Hugh Lee moved around the ring in a low crouch, trying to be sneaky but only drawing attention to himself, and eventually Shane Nelson and Max Mayhem combined to try and drill him with a double powerbomb – only for Lee to trap Mayhem in a headscissors and hurricanrana the both of them over the top rope.

Nelson turned around and was hit flush in the face with a superkick from Douglas that sent him over the top rope in turn, and a second superkick took Joe Benning over the top as well. He dusted himself off and shrugged, applauding Douglas before offering his hand to shake. Douglas hesitated, and Rip seized the opportunity to pitch The Firm’s representative over the top and out of the match.

Rip was quickly jumped on by Riley McManus, who hammered the veteran with a series of hard blows, before Rip shrugged him off. Turning, he stared the youngster down. McManus visibly swallowed, but stood his ground. Rip offered him a handshake, but when McManus took his hand, Rip pulled him in close and launched him over his head in a belly-to-belly suplex that sent McManus soaring over the top rope.

There was a moment’s silence in which Raphael’s Blackberry pinged and his face lit up with delight. He approached Stardust, who was still stood in the centre of the ring, and indicated that they should team up to take out Rip. Stardust shrugged, and they turned to face the MAW owner, who took them out of their boots with a double clothesline. He picked up Raphael by his long blonde hair, and propped him up in a corner, before cracking him over the head with the Blackberry, which shattered. He then pitched the youngster over the top rope, before turning to face Stardust.

Jefferson struck a pose, making Rip raise an eyebrow in bemusement, before booting him in the gut and planting him with the legendary Rip Chord DDT. Stardust was so much dead weight that it took a minute for Rip to get him over the ropes, but eventually Rip stood alone in the ring as the crowd went wild.
Winner: Rip Chord (E+)

As Rip celebrated in the ring, the arena went dark for several seconds. Then the screens around the place all lit up with the same number: 85

“Twelve weeks and one day from tonight,” a harsh, staticky, heavily distorted voice intoned. “Three months, eighty-five days...

“He will make you pay...”

*

Erik Strong was backstage with his manager, Katie Cameron:
“One man, two men or twenty. It doesn’t matter. This is my ring, my company, my title. I’ve beaten Jean Cattley before. He may call himself a Machine, but his gears have shifted. As for Black Eagle, if he can’t speak for himself, I don’t think he can wrestle for himself either. The end of the show will be the same as always – Erik Strong, the Franchise of MAW, retaining my Heavyweight title.”

*

Erik Strong (c) vs. Black Eagle vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
This was all-out war, a half-hour blistering example of MAW at its finest. The story of the match saw Strong striking when he could, and avoiding his opponents as much as possible. Eagle and Cattley managed to work together sporadically, but more often were at each other’s throats as they sought victory for themselves. In the end, though, teamwork told as the heels overpowered the champ, before Eagle nailed a New Jersey Turnpike. However, before he could capitalise, Cattley spun him around and hit a Mood Swing, before hauling Strong up and hitting a Mood Swing on him as well to capture his second MAW Heavyweight title
Winner: Jean Cattley (C-)

Overall: D+

James Casey

07-06-2008, 01:45 PM

This month has not been one of my happier times as booker for MAW - nonetheless, I have another clue for you: Kid Arachnid is active in the game world

*

This month we say goodbye to Jez McArthuer who managed a trouble-free month at the same time as his contract comes due. Chad Brent works for less than a quarter the pay, does nearly as good a job, has no other employers and doesn’t muck about backstage. It’s a no-brainer, and Jez wasn’t exactly given a going away present.

*

The phone rang. I grabbed for it, knocking over my pencil pot on the way.

“Hello? Hello?

“Oh, Huey, it’s you. Yeah, sorry. Something else on my mind. No, four-hundred per is fine. Yeah, we can pick up your travel – you don’t mind sharing a bus from the airport with the others, right? Okay, see you at the show.”

I sat back in my chair. If a watched pot never boils (or ‘cleans itself’, as Rip mangled it), then a watched phone never rings, either.

*

The next day, the phone rang again. I grabbed for it even quicker, sending a full cup of tea flying.

“Hello? Hello?

“What? No, tell Jez to take a hint – he can get back to cutting up women’s shoes for Tamara McFly.

“No, not even if he goes to Pranksters Anonymous.

“No. Just... no.”

*

Previously...

I’d forgotten all about Mid Atlantic Wrestling, the name Rip had suggested so many years before. He’d reckoned that the region was an untapped market. I thought he was a damn fool. We’d drifted apart over the years.

And then I got a call.

“Just hear me out, kid.

“I need your help.”

“I’d say that you have a lot of nerve, Rip, but this goes beyond that. You must have balls of steel – either that, or you think being on the end of a phoneline is enough to protect you. I know where you work, Rip, and don’t think I won’t come down there and stick this cane you gave me right up your-“

“I’m glad you know where we are, James,” Rip resumed. “You’re not too far away, right? Can you come in later this week?”

“-washed-up hack!” I wound down, aware that Rip had said something. “What?”

“To Stanley Hall,” Rip went on, choosing to ignore the vile imprecations I’d spat upon him and his forefathers. “Can you come in on Friday? First thing? I could use your help with the show.”

“Rip, why in the name of all that’s holy, unholy, and everywhere in between would I help you?”

“Because I’ve cleaned up my act,” he said. “Really.”

“Bull.”

“I have.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t blame you,” he said, and for the first time a doubt appeared in my mind. Rip being reasonable? That never used to happen. Rip used to just shout and swear until he got his own way. Bar opening hours, world title reigns, classier rental cars – it was all one to Rip. His way, or no way.

“I’m supposed to just accept that you’re a changed man?”

“You could accept that it’s fifteen years since we talked. A lot can happen in that time. We’ve all passed a lot of water since then.”

I blinked, and decided to push on. “And what Damascus moment happened to you in that time?”

“It was just before, actually. And it wasn’t Damascus, it was Peoria.”

I grimaced. Rip had never even picked up the Bible – unless it was to get it off his bed when the Gideons had been more pushy than usual.

“Peoria?”

“You remember that night in Chicago?”

“How could I forget?” I asked, witheringly.

“Yeah, sorry. But a bit before, while you were on the shelf, we ran a date in Peoria. And she was there.”

“Oh, you found true love?” I asked, still more witheringly.

“No,” he said, with a rough chuckle. “Definitely not. She was just a girl. She’d been there a coupla years before when we swung through, and that night she had some news for me. It messed me up. I was heavy into the drink – you weren’t around to keep me outta trouble.”

It was a weak attempt at humour, and I brushed it aside.

“You don’t get to blame me, Rip-“

“I’m not trying to. That news... it messed me up, but over time, it was my redemption. It made me look at myself. I didn’t like what I saw. You were right, back in the hospital. And I’m trying, now, to make things right. And I need you to help me. To get it ready. To make it all work.”

“Again, why?”

“You have to understand... I haven’t made this public. There’s a lot of good reasons, you know?”

“Rip, you have thirty seconds to tell me what you’re talking about-“

He needed three.

“I have a son.

“Kid?

“James?”

“A what?”

“I have a son. Can you believe it? Me – the poster child for precautions. ‘Safe sex prevents lives’ and all that. But one night, it didn’t work. It was a hell of a surprise, I can tell ya, when I found out.”

“You have a son?”

“Yeah,” Rip chuckled again. “His name is Jay...”

*

The phone rang. I picked it up carefully.

“Hello?” I said, as calmly as I could. The handle of my cane creaked beneath my white-knuckled grip.

“Yes, send him in.”

I tried to calm my racing heart. This one deal could really make a difference.

Rip was banished from the building, at my guest’s request. He’d been insistent about it. I was in no position to argue.

There was a firm knock on the door.

“Come in,” I said, drawing on long-dormant promo skills to sound calm and still.

The door opened, and I bit my lip.

“Hi James,” the young man said, neutrally.

“Hello Jay,” I said, rising and waving my free hand at the seat across the desk from me. “Please come in – we have a lot to discuss.”

*

“What’d he say?” Rip asked.

“Sorry,” I replied, shaking my head. “He’s his father’s son. He wants to go to Japan, and see how they do things over there. I don’t think it helped that he wanted so much money – I offered him a great deal, but he wouldn’t bite.”

“Sorry, kid,” Rip said. “It would have been fun, but Jay’s his own man. And I’ve tried over the years, but he and I never saw eye to eye on much. We both agreed I was a drunk and a lousy father, but that was about it.”

“He seemed kind of bitter,” I said, as tactfully as I could. Rip had cleaned up his act by the time Jay was old enough to know the difference – and a big part of his later career had been spent trying to make sure that he was as available as possible. But Rip would always blame himself for not being a normal dad. And from what I knew of Jay, so would he.

Rip hung his head. We were sitting outside Stanley Hall on the hood of Rip’s truck, enjoying a fine sunset, passing a bottle of Coke back and forth.

“He’s an angry young man. He has great genes. I mean, great genes. His mom was a gymnast – state champion. And he takes after her as much as me. But there’s that resentment that comes from their not being a dad around.”

“She never married?”

“No. She worked all the hours God sent. I helped – but she’d never take more than she made herself. She was stubborn, independent, we never really made peace with each other...”

And then in the summer of 2005, when Jay was just fifteen, his mother was too tired to look both ways when she was crossing the road on her way home from work. It was a sad tale, tragic in its ordinariness.

Rip retired soon after, setting up MAW as something to pass on to Jay one day, someplace where he could be the wrestler he wanted to be, and not just Rip’s son.

That drive was what was taking him to Japan rather than his making his debut at Stanley Hall. A long way from home – but then, Jay Chord probably hadn’t thought of anywhere as home since his mother died.

I was selfishly regretting the missed opportunity to work with a kid who, by all accounts, would be the leading light of his generation. The twin sons of Sam Keith had gone Japanese as well, whereas you’d think Tommy and Sam would have leapt at the chance to sign them up to TCW. Still, I’d hoped I’d get the chance to work with Jay – really, the possibility had been the drive behind me coming to work with Rip.

I wondered if the business always drove families apart. The Stone clan had existed in a sealed bubble for a long time – but they’d splintered as well. Perhaps the egos that came with a career in wrestling were too big for one household.

Whatever, I thought, as I drained the bottle and sent it arcing into a trash can nearby. I had no kids – I had nothing to worry about.

*

MAW Remember November
RCI qualifier: Kid Arachnid vs. Antonio
Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
RCI qualifier: Shane Nelson vs. Black Eagle
RCI qualifier: Kirk Jameson vs. Oscar Golden
RCI qualifier: Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins
RCI qualifier: Kashmir Singh vs. Flash Savage
Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title

I won't do multicoloured text often - but there's a lot of talking in this post, so...

Actarus

07-06-2008, 02:55 PM

I must say, that your last write-up was quite excellent, IMO. Now onto screwing up predictions, a skill I'm rather proud of (not really...)

MAW Remember November
RCI qualifier: Kid Arachnid vs. Antonio
Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
RCI qualifier: Shane Nelson vs. Black Eagle
RCI qualifier: Kirk Jameson vs. Oscar Golden
RCI qualifier: Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins
RCI qualifier: Kashmir Singh vs. Flash Savage
Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title

shipshirt

07-06-2008, 07:11 PM

Thanks for the comments, all. I never imagined when I started planning this back in February that I'd be up against such stiff competition. I blame shipshirt, myself...

Hah, thanks for the shout out but don't blame me ;) Looks good my friend!

Emark

07-06-2008, 08:01 PM

MAW Remember November
RCI qualifier: Kid Arachnid vs. Antonio
Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
RCI qualifier: Shane Nelson vs. Black Eagle
RCI qualifier: Kirk Jameson vs. Oscar Golden
RCI qualifier: Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins
RCI qualifier: Kashmir Singh vs. Flash Savage
Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title

D-Lyrium

07-06-2008, 09:58 PM

Awesome show. Liking how you used the title of it rather literally in ending two of your main feuds (even though neither involved all of the original participants ¬_¬).

Also, hah. I'm pretty sure I just worked out Kid Arachnid. I won't spoil it in case I'm right, but it had nothing to do with the clues. :p If I am right, though, I'm a dumbass for even needing to ask.

Edit: Damn and blast. The post-show shenanigans post dispelled my theory :( But it was so plausible! He debuted in MAW in July, and everything! Bah. I do like the 'things aren't so rosey between them' angle though.

RCI qualifier: Kid Arachnid vs. Antonio
- Since it's not Jay, there's no point. *sulks*

Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
- Way too early for new champions. I'm not a huge fan of "X & Y" tag teams being champions (as opposed to 'The XY's' type teams), but their gimmick makes it work.

RCI qualifier: Shane Nelson vs. Black Eagle
- As much as I like Stylin' Shane, he's just not Black Eagle, is he?

RCI qualifier: Kirk Jameson vs. Oscar Golden
- Jameson is the future of wrestling. Golden is a tag team wrestler who the head booker himself was surprised won a tag match last month. Gee, I wonder.

RCI qualifier: Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins
- Has CJ even had a competitive match yet?

RCI qualifier: Kashmir Singh vs. Flash Savage

Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
- Cattley's beaten Strong, Strong's beaten Cattley, could be anyone's game. But I don't think Cattley will be losing the belt for a while.

d_w_w

07-06-2008, 10:28 PM

The Jay/Rip Chord story was clearly, to me at least, the best diary post that I've read in a diary in a long time. Definitely the best segment I've read since TEW 2008 was released. Excellent, excellent stuff. Very well written.

RCI qualifier: Kid Arachnid vs. Antonio
Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
RCI qualifier: Shane Nelson vs. Black Eagle
RCI qualifier: Kirk Jameson vs. Oscar Golden
RCI qualifier: Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins
RCI qualifier: Kashmir Singh vs. Flash Savage
Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title

James Casey

07-07-2008, 11:09 AM

Also, hah. I'm pretty sure I just worked out Kid Arachnid.

Edit: Damn and blast. The post-show shenanigans post dispelled my theory :( But it was so plausible!

Yeah... not only plausible - but correct, had it not been for shenanigans. And I'm impressed that you dug back into the thread to find his first appearance. Still, needs must, and one lucky worker got a chance they might never have had otherwise - even if things won't pan out as I'd intended.

I'm glad that people dug the Rip/Jay backstory, and are enjoying the writing in general so far. All writers are driven by ego - and me moreso that most, so please keep the comments coming :D

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Remember November
Friday 26th November 2008

RCI qualifier: Kid Arachnid vs. Antonio
Antonio was heavily favoured going into this match, which pitted the #3 seed against the #’14. But Arachnid showed off his considerable skills in this match, as Antonio once again underestimated his opponent. Clearly bolstered by his defeat of Antonio a couple of shows back, he was fast and skilful, and considerably more aggressive than normal, keeping Antonio off balance en route to a shock pinfall win.
Winner: Kid Arachnid (E+)

*

Arachnid celebrated his success, to general indifference.

*

Backstage, and the tag champs and C-V-2 rounded a corner at the same time, coming face to face.

“Dudes,” Trent Shaffer said, neutrally, before attempting to pass.

“I hope you’ve been investing in metal polish,” Casey Valentine said, blocking his way. “I want that gold to sparkle when it’s strapped around my waist.”

“I don’t know about around your waist,” Stevie Grayson said. “We could probably arrange for you to blow it out your ass.”

“Dude,” Shaffer said, looking slightly impressed.

“I suppose we shouldn’t expect anything better from you, Grayson,” Vessey said. “You always were a disappointment. You could have been one of us, you know. Jean was considering recruiting you, but wherever you go, you always backslide. That’s why you’ll lose tonight. You don’t have the edge.”

“I have edge enough to take you down,” Grayson replied. “And I don’t hide behind Cattley’s skirts. I never would.”

“You never could!” Valentine shot back, before realising what he’d implied.

“Come on, dude,” Shaffer said. “You gotta chill before the match. See you monkeys in the ring.”

*

Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
With the Canadian Blondes otherwise occupied, C-V-2 took on Shaffer and Grayson in this entertaining match, which saw the champions retain when Valentine tasted a Heart Burn.
Winners: Shaffer & Grayson (D)

*

Sienna LeNoir was backstage with Black Eagle:
“He has seen those who have been invited. He is not impressed. Those who wear masks like his would try and pretend they are his equal. Those who wear no masks merely betray the fear upon their faces. He is the Black Eagle, the wraith who hunts in the night, the stuff of nightmares, the spirit who rises in the darkness. He will reign victorious over all.”

*

RCI qualifier: Shane Nelson vs. Black Eagle
Bad chemistry + Main Eventer and #1 seed vs. Enhancement Talent and #16 seed = New Jersey Turnpike. Moving on...
Winner: Black Eagle (E+)

*

Kirk Jameson was backstage:
“Oscar Golden... Let’s be honest here, you’re a two-time champion. That’s impressive. But both were tag title reigns. That’s less impressive, at least when it comes to a singles tournament like the Rip Chord Invitational. You’ve got a good thing going with Flash Savage in your corner. But tonight it’s just one-on-one. And without someone to watch your back, you’ll fall at the first hurdle."

*

RCI qualifier: Kirk Jameson vs. Oscar Golden
Back on track with this textbook sneaky heel/heroic face match that saw Jameson come out on top with The Bullseye. Golden showed enough to suggest that he has a future beyond the Blondes, though.
Winner: Kirk Jameson (D)

*

Curtis Jenkins was in the boiler room backstage, looking as though he’d rather be anywhere else.

“Ota?”

Bong. Bong.

“Uh, listen man, it’s time for our match. I gotta do my thing, you know?”

A pipe hissed, and Jenkins yelped, leaping several feet in the air.

“Jeez... Was that you?”

Bong.

“A’right, Listen. This is nothing personal, yeah? I mean, we’re both professionals.”

Bong. Bong.

“Good. So, when I hit you with the Leeerrrooooyyyy!!!...” the word echoed around the boiler room, and Jenkins seemed to draw some strength from it. “We’ll be cool, right? I mean, you’re not going to do any of that ninja stuff if you lose, are you?”

Bong.

“Cool, well I-“

Bong.

“Oh, sh-“

Jenkins rabbited for the door.

*

RCI qualifier: Fumihiro Ota vs. Curtis Jenkins
In a just and fair world, the likes of Ota and Eagle would be working with Jenkins and Nelson to help them improve. In this world, there’s more bad chemistry. Ninja Strike = #2 seed through, #15 seed out.
Winner: Fumihiro Ota (E+)

*

Rip entered the ring, and took a mic:

“We’ve seen four qualifiers tonight, with one more to go. There’ll be three next month – The Masked Patriot against Ricky Douglas, Erik Strong will face Cameron Vessey and Ultimate Phoenix will take on Casey Valentine. I’m sure you’ll all enjoy the sh-“

Once again, the lights went out in Stanley Hall. The screens flickered, and this time the number 57 was displayed.

“Eight weeks and one day from tonight,” intoned the voice, somewhat less distorted than before, but still unrecognisable. “In 57 days, he will be revealed...”

*

Flash Savage was backstage, looking a bit spooked. He warned Kashmir Singh against complacency – he may be a tag team competitor, but he can handle himself one on one as well, unlike Signh, who seems content to be Patriot’s lackey.

*

RCI qualifier: Kashmir Singh vs. Flash Savage
#7 seed Savage was given license to act up a bit in this match, as the pint-sized Canadian played bouncing ball against the brick wall that is Kashmir Singh, the #10 seed. Little by little, both cheaply and fairly Singh was worn down until Savage managed to clamp on a Canadian Crab to advance to round two.
Winner: Flash Savage (D-)

*

Jean Cattley was backstage, chewing gum and strutting towards the ring with the Heavyweight title around his waist.

“It’s not yours, you know,” someone said. “Not for long, anyway.”

Jean turned and found himself facing Erik Strong.

“After tonight, it’ll be back around my waist. I’ll admit that you got the better of me last month, but that was one match with Black Eagle on your side. A second time, with just you and me in the ring? Forget it.”

“I guess you need to rock yourself to sleep at night somehow, so why not use a fairy story?” Jean growled. “I suppose it’s fitting. We began this year facing each other. Now I’ll reach the end of the year free of the ball and chain that you’ve become. And once tonight is done,” he paused, and spat his gum into Strong’s face. “I’ll be done with you, too.”

“Heh-hem.”

Both men turned to find Black Eagle standing in a doorway, with Sienna LeNoir poking her head out of the room beyond.

“He would like to point out that last month he was on the verge of victory. He holds no grudges – this is not a personal matter for him. But as he did not lose in that match, he considers that he is the logical choice for next month’s championship match. So whether it is Jean Cattley or Erik Strong who emerges victorious tonight, consider yourself on notice – your reign will be short for the Black Eagle will claim his triumph as the old year passes.”

*

Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
This was a best of three falls match, as Strong exercised his rematch clause. They went at it for half an hour (mostly by design – the last five minutes were added for reasons explained below) and put on the match of an otherwise unremarkable night.

Strong was focused on regaining his title, Cattley intent on retaining. Strong became more and more reckless, while Cattley seemed to find an inner calm that allowed him to defend himself and hold his own. Strong crashed and burned around the ten minute mark, giving Cattley the lead. But he was unable to put Strong away for good as the youngster showed incredible heart. But his desire got the better of him, and be became still more reckless. Cattley seemed to be biding his time, waiting for the criticial error that came after half an hour when Strong slipped from the top rope through sheer exhaustion. Cattley pounced and, one Mood Swing later, had retained in two straight falls.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D+)

Overall: D

I goofed here, according to our ad department. I’d accidentally promised the fans a 3 hour show, a la Where It All Begins Again and the RCI, which meant that a lot of matches went way, way too long.

*

And your KA clue of the day: He's based in the USA

James Casey

07-08-2008, 02:06 PM

I missed Davis Wayne Newton. The kid would always come and fetch me when there was trouble backstage – now I had to wait to hear the shouting before I knew something was happening.

I limped in to the locker room. Marv Earnest was standing nose to nose with Kid Arachnid, who still hadn’t taken off his mask.

It’s not like we’re in Mexico or anything, I thought irrelevantly.

It was a staredown, and Arachnid had the better of that because of his mask. Earnest was giving it a good shot, though, even despite the mask’s mirrored eyepieces.

“Marv,” I asked. “What now?”

“Why do you always assume it’s me?” he yelled, spinning around.

“Because Jez doesn’t work here anymore,” I replied, letting a hint of exasperation into my voice. “You’ve been doing well, Marv. It’s been months since we had any trouble. Why now?”

“Just a welcoming joke gone wrong,” he muttered.

“A belated welcoming joke,” I said. “Arachnid’s been here for months.”

Marv looked like he was going to carry on, but the look in my eye quelled him.

“Last chance, Marv,” I said. “One more incident, and you’ll be canned.”

Once again, you could see him considering arguing, but he let it pass.

“No more pranks, boss,” he said.

“Good,” I said, as I turned and left.

*

“Thanks for coming down,” I said, as one of our most recent hirings walked to the door.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer,” Jacob Jett said.

“You have to do what’s right by you,” I replied. “I understand. I’ve been there. I was never the long-term hope of a struggling company on the verge of collapse if it didn’t turn its fortunes around, but...”

He laughed. So did I. I was joking, of course. Mostly. I waved him off. He would be incredibly hard to replace, but at least he was off to Japan, where he wouldn’t be strengthening our competition.

*

TCW have risen to International status in the wrestling world, and snapped up Mainstream Hernandez, Frankie Perez and Art Reed, among others. All were future MAW targets, with Hernandez’s signing in particular a big blow. Although we have a trading agreement with TCW, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to afford Mainstream when the time comes.

*

MAW End Of Days
Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio & Raphael vs. ??? & ???
Shaffer & Golden (c) vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
RCI qualifier: The Masked Patriot vs. Ricky Douglas
RCI qualifier: Erik Strong vs. Cameron Vessey
RCI qualifier: Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
Black Eagle vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW heavyweight title

*

And your KA clue for the day: He's an American

Actarus

07-08-2008, 02:12 PM

MAW End Of Days
Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio & Raphael vs. ??? & ???
Shaffer & Golden (c) vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
RCI qualifier: The Masked Patriot vs. Ricky Douglas
RCI qualifier: Erik Strong vs. Cameron Vessey
RCI qualifier: Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
Black Eagle vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW heavyweight title

D-Lyrium

07-08-2008, 09:51 PM

Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio & Raphael vs. ??? & ???
- Antonio's hinted-at megapush seems to have collapsed, and Joe Benning? Lawl. So I'll go for the undisclosed guys.

Shaffer & Golden (c) vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
- As much as I'l love another Canadian Blondes title run, you don't seem to be too hot on them, so Shaffer and Grayson it is. You do mean Grayson, right? ¬_¬

RCI qualifier: The Masked Patriot vs. Ricky Douglas
- Not really sure, I just like him and don't want Cattley to kill him just yet.

RCI qualifier: Erik Strong vs. Cameron Vessey
- He's the former champeen, he has to.

RCI qualifier: Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
- Partly shot-in-the-dark, partly common sense.

Black Eagle vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW heavyweight title
- As with the tag titles, I'd love a Black Eagle reign, but can't see it happening yet. Loving the Sienna stuff though. She's sort of Ravenesque, mixed with 'World of Darkness Tremere Vampire'. Which is cool.

d_w_w

07-08-2008, 10:09 PM

Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio & Raphael vs. ??? & ???
Shaffer & Golden (c) vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
RCI qualifier: The Masked Patriot vs. Ricky Douglas
RCI qualifier: Erik Strong vs. Cameron Vessey
RCI qualifier: Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
Black Eagle vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW heavyweight title

James Casey

07-09-2008, 11:27 AM

- Antonio's hinted-at megapush seems to have collapsed, and Joe Benning? Lawl. So I'll go for the undisclosed guys.

- As much as I'l love another Canadian Blondes title run, you don't seem to be too hot on them, so Shaffer and Grayson it is. You do mean Grayson, right? ¬_¬

Antonio sorta got lost in the shuffle. He'll find his feet - eventually...

As for the Blondes, well, yeah... Tag teams always give me trouble in the game. I pay double the price for a match generally worse than the one that'd be put on by any two of the workers in a singles match. I love tag matches, though, so give me time to get a settled scene and we'll be off...

Proper post soon - I'm trying to stick to a post a day as I'm a bit ahead of the story.

James Casey

07-09-2008, 01:27 PM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: End Of Days
Friday 26th December 2008

Before the triple-threat tag team match started, the mystery team was revealed to be twins named Matt and Greg Gauge. The connection slowly filtered through the crowd, before Marv Earnest confirmed for all to hear:

“That’s Sam Keith’s sons!”

Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio & Raphael vs. The Gauge Brothers
This was a debut match of sorts for all three teams, as Thom Morgan and Joe Benning will be teaming for a while, and Antonio and Raphael will be on/off partners. The Gauges, meanwhile, have the whole tag thing down – blitzing their foes with seamless double teaming before Matt put away Benning with a Depth Gauge.
Winners: The Gauge Brothers (D)

*

Matthew Keith took a mic, but before he could say anything, the Hall fell into darkness once more. This time, the screens displayed the number 29.

“Four weeks, one day,” the voice announced, almost completely free of distortion. “One month left to make your peace. In 29 days, you will see the truth...”

*

Backstage, and Trent Shaffer was explaining to Stevie Grayson just how to go about beating The Canadian Blondes.

*

Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
There was a fair amount of familiarity here, as three of these competitors tangled repeatedly throughout the first half of the year. Grayson proved to be the X factor, however, as the Blondes struggled to contain him, before he escaped their efforts and put Savage down with a 460 Degree Splash.
Winners: Shaffer & Grayson (D)

*

The Firm came down to the ring, three of their members in sharp suits, Ricky Douglas ready for action.

“Mid Atlantic Wrestling can consider itself on notice,” Jean proclaimed over the house mic. “The Firm is in control. Tonight will see the four members of our organisation claim victory in their matches. This is our company, and while we tolerate the presence of others, they should be under no illusion that they exist by our leave alone.”

Valentine, Vessey and Cattley then took seats at ringside as Douglas prepared for his match.

*

RCI qualifier: The Masked Patriot vs. Ricky Douglas
It wasn’t a good start for The Firm. Patriot powered through Douglas’ offence in this short and mostly one-sided encounter, thrashing him from pillar to post as Douglas was able to mount only token offence. Eventually, Patriot crushed him with a Backdrop Driver.
Winner: The Masked Patriot

*

The referee scarcely had time to raise Patriot’s arm before he was run over by a huge black man, who proceeded to tear apart the masked man.

Marv on commentary went ballistic: ”What’s he doing here? He doesn’t work for Mid Atlantic Wrestling. That’s ‘The Rookie Monster’, Primus Allen!!”

Douglas dragged himself upright as Allen planted Patriot with a Flying Lariat. He nodded to Allen, who nodded in return – before nearly decapitating Douglas with a vicious boot to the face. Scooping Douglas up, he bounced off the ropes and flattened him with a Running Powerslam.

Only then did The Firm enter the ring, surrounding Allen as he sized them up. Then Cattley grinned, and offered his hand to the Rookie Monster. Allen, beaming, shook it. The four men lined up together, laughing as they looked down at Patriot and Douglas. Casey Valentine took the mic.

“Ricky, we’ve been trying to think of a way to say this for a while. You’re not a bad guy. You get the drinks in, you’re okay as a bodyguard I guess... But you haven’t won a match since Bill Clinton could be trusted. Really, given the choice between you and Primus Allen here, I think you have to agree that we’ve made the right choice. Have a nice life, Ricky – we’ll FedEx you your stuff, eventually.”

Cameron took the mic.

“Now, we said four wins in four matches, and we meant it. So whatever schmoe backstage thinks that they might have a chance against the Rookie Monster, come on down!”

Kashmir Singh answered the call, as C-V-2 dragged Patriot from the ring, and Cattley kicked Douglas under the bottom rope.

*

Kashmir Singh vs. Primus Allen
This was even shorter and more one-sided than the previous match, with Singh completely overpowered by the dominant Allen, who barely broke a sweat before wiping Singh out with a Running Powerslam
Winners: Primus Allen (E+)

*

Backstage, and The Gauge Brothers came face to face with the champs:

“As we were about to say before we were interrupted,” Matthew led off, ”we want a shot at your titles.”

“Yeah, that’s cool,” Trent said. “See you next month”

“Count on it,” Greg said. “Oh, and one other thing?”

“What?” Grayson asked.

“We’re going to win,” Greg said. “Nothing personal, yeah?”

“No, no problem,” Shaffer said. “We’ve all got to have dreams, my man.”

*

The camera cut to Erik Strong:
“So just like that, my title is gone. But we all know that the Invitational champion is guaranteed a title shot. So the next couple of months I’ll be busy winning the Invitational championship. And then after that, at the first available opportunity, I’ll be cashing in my shot and taking back my title.”

*

RCI qualifier: Erik Strong vs. Cameron Vessey
Strong seemed off his game, having lost his title and been knocked to the back of the line for a rematch in two short months. Vessey exploited this for all he was worth, wearing Strong down before he was able to get his head in the game. As Katie Cameron cheered him on from ringside, Strong mounted a comeback, he was starting from too far behind, and fell victim to a Vessey Driver as the #13 seed upset the #4 seed.
Winner: Cameron Vessey (D)

*

Backstage, and Maked Patriot was being treated in the medic’s room when Primus Allen jumped him once more and thrashed him around the room, before slamming him on a gurney and pitching him, headfirst, into the wall.

*

Ultimate Phoenix had something to say:
“It seems like someone must stand in the way of the dastardly Firm, and who better than a bonafide hero such as myself? Casey Valentine, tonight I face you in the Rip Chord Invitational. But should the unlikely occur and I lose, then I want to challenge your leader, Jean Cattley, next month.”

*

RCI qualifier: Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
For their third – or fourth – match of the night, The Firm circled the ring, with Cameron Vessey and Jean Cattley on either side of the ring, while Allen stood by the aisle. Clearly The Firm had taken offence to Phoenix’ comments. Phoenix didn’t know which way to look, and this distraction cost him dear. Although he fought hard, he constantly double-checked his position in the ring to make sure he couldn’t be caught by one of the outside Firm members, and this allowed Valentine to score another upset, hitting a Sweet Sweet Heartbreak to take the #11 seed through at the expense of the #7 seed.
Winner: Casey Valentine (D)

*

Jean Cattley had the mic once more, but before the fans could get sick of hearing him talk, Sienna LeNoir trailed out to ringside behind Black Eagle.

“Your end is now, Cattley. The Black Eagle has come for you. You can keep your protectors, for they matter not. The Black Eagle will reign tonight, and you will be left to your tiny plans of dominance.”

*

Black Eagle vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW heavyweight title
Ugh. Bad chemistry strikes again. The two workers I was sure could overcome the heel/heel problems that MAW fans have managed to do so admirably – Cattley’s actions throughout the night had built the fans into a cauldron of loathing against him, and Eagle is enigmatic enough to make a passable tweener. But while their performances were excellent, in-ring it just didn’t happen. The timing was off, everything looked stiff and rehearsed – and this after I’d given them clearance to be spontaneous – and while they managed to work with each other, what should have been a classic was just another match, ending with a Mood Swing from Cattley to bring The Firm in to celebrate their triumphal night.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D)

Overall: D

*

Hated to finish on a heel/heel match – I know from the RCI that they never work properly.

Your Kid Arachnid clue for the day: He's an active wrestler (so it's not Rip under there. Or me :p)

MrOnu

07-09-2008, 05:25 PM

I foresee an ego clash in the Firm very soon. Like when Casey doesn't want to job to Cattley, who should win as he's their leader. Or worse, when Casey actually defeats Cattley. Good luck with the Gauge brothers, they usually don't last long in smaller feds.

D-Lyrium

07-09-2008, 06:04 PM

Shaffer & Golden (c) vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
There was a fair amount of familiarity here, as three of these competitors tangled repeatedly throughout the first half of the year. Grayson proved to be the X factor, however, as the Blondes struggled to contain him, before he escaped their efforts and put Savage down with a 460 Degree Splash.
Winners: Shaffer & Golden (D)

GRAYSON, damnit, GRAYSON! Golden wrestle fo' the other team, yo. :p

James Casey

07-10-2008, 06:42 AM

GRAYSON, damnit, GRAYSON! Golden wrestle fo' the other team, yo. :p

Don't know what you're talking about :p

And The Firm aren't the ones with ego issues - fortunately, or otherwise. That accolade goes to someone else on the roster.

*

It was a shame to see Ricky leave. Rip hadn’t been entirely happy about it, but long term, I figured, it’d work out better.

His contract had come up at the wrong time – with the Gauges coming onboard, it was pretty much the case that someone had to go. Ricky is, well, not a very good wrestler. He’s young, and may improve, but working one show a month at most was doing him no good. Primus Allen makes a much better enforcer for The Firm, matches up perfectly with Masked Patriot, and is a hugely promising young star.

As for the Gauges, well, they’re walking proof that genetics is a science. Twins, no less, they’re only a couple of years away from being as good as their dad – and their availability softened the blow of losing out on Jay. Interestingly, Matthew has also signed on with USPW – but not Greg. We’ll have to see if that changes.

*

“How’d we do, kid?” Rip asked, as I watched the ball on TV.

“Well, Phoenix made the top 100. More for his stuff in Coastal Zone and MPWF, but still – he’s an MAW guy. We’re going to have to move the Invitational to the Saturday night. Not my choice, but we need Phoenix, Kirk and maybe Joe as well – they all have other commitments on the Friday.”

“I remember from last year. Now, tell me about last year.”

“Well, MAW is considerably more popular than this time last year. We’re rising in the Mid Atlantic, and we have a foothold in the South East and Great Lakes regions as well.”

“And tell me about the money,” Rip said. “The moolah, the greenbacks, the folding.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yeah, that,” Rip growled. On screen, the crowd was counting down.

“Well, in 2008 we lost $35,000. Now, before you go ballistic, we’d have been ahead except for August. The weekly shows were a worthwhile experiment, but expensive. And this year I expect us to make money.”

“$35,000?”

“Well, no, probably not.”

Rip glared at me, but I stood my ground. The lights were dimmed in the room, and I doubted that Rip could see my white knuckles clenching the handle of my cane.

Slowly, a smile spread across Rip’s face.

“Damn, kid, relax. You look like you’re trying to pass a cinder block or something. We’re not broke. The economy will have to turn someday soon, and when it does we’ve got a fantastic roster, right?”

I nodded, letting out a breath.

“Good. Now, go make hay while the year is fresh and new.”

Smirking now, he headed back to the party, where the MAW gang was counting down the last few seconds of the year. Greg and Matt Gauge each had a girl in their laps, and while half the group were too young to drink, everyone seemed happy. Especially Jenny and Jakki, the girls in question. Across the room, Phoenix – sans mask – raised a glass to me, and I nodded in return.

2008, I decided, was going to be the taster. In 2009, MAW was going to make its mark for real.

Suddenly, I felt lips pressed against my cheek, just as the ball dropped and everyone exploded into cheers and embraces. Looking to my right, I found Katie Cameron smiling sheepishly at me.

“You looked kinda lost,” she said. “And Jacob’s not here, so I had to give someone a kiss as the ball dropped.”

I laughed.

“Thanks,” I said, pulling her in for a quick kiss on the forehead. “Jacob’s a lucky man.”

“Thank you for hiring him. It was fun to work together again.”

“Well, when his tour finishes, he’ll be welcome back.”

“Do you think there’ll be room for him?” she asked.

“Of course. I can always find room for talent. I am the man with the ideas.”

“Including this big storyline I keep hearing about?”

I grinned. “Especially that one. And no, not even you could charm it out of me, Miss Cameron.”

She laughed. “Oh, shucks. You know how to spoil my fun.”

“I’m the road agent. That’s my job. Now, go on and join the others. I have to put the finishing touches to the Invitational before I can enjoy myself...”

*

2008: The Year in Review

Wrestler Of The Year: Johnny Bloodstone – it’s been a far from banner year from NOTBPW, rebounding from the twin departures of the Stone brothers in 2007. But Bloodstone has been a tremendous high point, a year-long run as Canadian champion seeing him take part in over thirty stunning matches.

Young Wrestler Of The Year: Magnum KOBE – The fire-haired WLW stalwart took part in nearly a hundred matches in 2008, showing skills that belie his modest years. His form improved as the year went on, although a mid-summer spell of matches against the Great Hisato and Awesome Thunder, featuring a variety of tag partners on both sides, was the highlight.

Veteran Wrestler Of The Year: Yosuke ‘Awesome Thunder’ Narita – The 43 year old Narita is a WLW veteran who has contributed hugely to its spectacular 2007. Wrestling more than 90 matches, his personal highlight was a stunning November match against Kobe that saw the youngster triumph.

Female Wrestler Of The Year: Sensational Ogiwara - A strong field, but as always Ogiwara is at or near the top. The legend took part in over sixty matches, with a number of strong showings, and capped the year in style with a thrilling victory over Dragon Assassin.

Promotion Of The Year: SWF – Time and again they take their knocks, but after a shabby 2007, SWF returned to the top in 2008 with a stunning piece of booking that Squeaky McClean win the World title. McClean was an inspired choice, retaining against all comers despite his wacky gimmick. The curious absence of Marc DuBois, who dropped the Shooting Star title in June and made just a handful of appearances thereafter, could be the big story of the New Year, however.

Most Improved Promotion Of The Year: TCW – Hollywood reigns supreme, despite the rapid dissolution of The Syndicate being regarded as one of the wasted opportunities of the year. TCW flourished in the second half of the year as head booker Joel Bryant got to grips with things, and a late surge saw them rise to International status once more. They are biting at SWF’s heels as the New Year begins.

Match of the Year: NOTBPW – Johnny Bloodstone def. Dan Stone Jr. in January

Show Of The Year: NOTBPW September Scramble – A far from brilliant undercard (Scottsfield/Cavanagh? A double count-out in Hash/Brown?) was rescued by the almost peerless pairing of Jeremy/Love and Bloodstone/McFly at the top of the card. A pair of stunning battles that both placed in the top five for the MOTY category.

*

Your Kid Arachnid clue for the day: He's a Middleweight

Next on 10 Simple Rules: An RCI preview written by a familiar name - and who is Kid Arachnid?

Showtime4Lajf

07-10-2008, 01:36 PM

Really enjoying this. I never seem to be able to stick with my MAW for some reason, yet I love MAW diaries. I love the backstage segments and the straightforward writing of the cards.

Keep up the good work.

Rocksta

07-10-2008, 03:50 PM

...is Arachnid Jack Griffith?

shamelessposer

07-10-2008, 04:07 PM

...is Arachnid Jack Griffith?

Griffith's too old to fit in with the MAW crowd. Style doesn't seem right either, and with D+ popularity he'd be getting much better ratings in his matches.

James Casey

07-11-2008, 06:37 AM

Jack Griffiths? Well, that'd be telling. I know off the top of my head that he fits a lot of the clues, though...

*

Who is Kid Arachnid?
by Jason Reso

As Mid Atlantic Wrestling gears up for its fourth Rip Chord Invitational, a constant topic of conversation online is the identity of the mysterious Kid Arachnid, one of the quarter-finalists in the Invitational, and the one about whom the least is known. We’ll get to that soon enough – but what about the Invitational itself?

The brackets are as follows:
Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
The Masked Patriot vs. Cameron Vessey
Kid Arachnid vs. Casey Valentine
Flash Savage vs. Fumihiro Ota

So, who’s going to win? Here at PWHits, we all have our favourites. Charles Wright is ready to curse Rip Chord that Antonio’s not in the final eight. Mark Callaway says that he’ll dig himself a grave if Black Eagle doesn’t win. Phil Brooks has put his reputation on the line by going for Flash Savage.

Well, anyone could win – that’s the idea behind tournaments, and generally when you get to this sort of stage the less likely candidates are eliminated. Saying that, Flash Savage is still in there. Phil may have picked him because he’s the most unlikely contender – a worker who’s spent his whole MAW career in tag matches and tag feuds, but he’s the most unlikely contender for a reason.

I don’t see Eagle winning, either – he’s too big a name to benefit from the rub an RCI win should give. He’s there to put someone over – probably in the final.

Vessey? Valentine? The latter is more likely – he’s Rip’s protégé, after all, and Antonio won the tournament last year. Rip can play favourites – even if rumour has it that James Casey has booked the whole thing this year. You have to imagine Rip is favouring his student. And Valentine is better than Antonio – in my opinion, anyway.

The MAW management don’t seem to be behind Kirk Jameson, who has practically zero momentum. I’d go so far as to say that Savage is a more likely winner – but I don’t expect either to make the final. Although Jameson has undoubted talent, it seems that Casey, Chord or both aren’t seeing what the FCW fans see.

Fumihiro Ota seems to be in for the same reason as Black Eagle – he doesn’t need the rub a win would give. If anything. I’d say he’s there to put Savage over. Their styles should complement each other enough to put on a good match, and there’s always the possibility of Hugh Lee (don’t get me started) getting involved somehow, after all.

My choice is Masked Patriot. We all know that it’s Brandon Smith under there. We all know what he’s capable of. We all know that he could be a huge name one day very soon. Why not this weekend? Pull the trigger on a Patriot main event run and MAW will finally have that prominent, dominant face it’s lacked since Mainstream Hernandez moved to Puerto Rico.

But then, there’s the small matter of Kid Arachnid to consider as well...

*

Arachnid made his MAW debut in July last year, and has had a mixed record, winning three of his eight matches. However, the last two of those wins came against Antonio, the reigning RCI champion, and one of MAW’s most featured performers.

Arachnid also shared mic time – sort of – with Rip Chord himself in October. Okay, it was just Rip chasing KA out of the Battle Royal, but it was something. It seems like MAW may be building something with this guy.

So, what do we know about Kid Arachnid? Well, we know that he’s about six foot tall, and is probably a middleweight, allowing for a little leeway given how much of him his costume disguises. He also has some pretty sick tattoos – but those could be temporary. Remember the fake Skull De Bones angle in SWF a few years back?

We know that he uses a pretty generic style – I’d even say carefully so. Nothing about his moves stand out – other than his finisher, a variant of Joey Poison’s Antidote Web. Is it Poison under the hood? I doubt it – Poison is not the kind of guy Rip would be keen on pushing. In all likelihood, it’s just a riff on the Arachnid theme. Those who know their bad 80’s cartoons will recognise the music used for Arachnid as being... inspired by the Arachnaman and his Astounding Buddies theme.

We know that Arachnid is fundamentally sound, as well – which is why I rule out Poison. Arachnid is athletic, and comfortable in the ring. It’s probably not a rookie under the hood – it’s someone who knows wrestling.

Maybe Arachnid is just an avatar – a testing ground for heels to work against faces. With matches against Casey Valentine and Cameron Vessey under his belt, it’s possible that Arachnid was, on those occasions, Vessey and Valentine, working against each other. The size and build would be about right.

My gut feeling says that it’s someone we know under the hood. The unmasking, when it comes, may be a shock to unsettle Jean Cattley before Arachnid unseats him for the MAW title. Or it may be a ploy by The Firm – Valentine and Vessey working under the hood for a reason known only to them.

Maybe it’s just MAW being cheap – saving the cost of a worker by having someone pulling double duty. But then, Rip has never been shy to splash the cash, as the recent appearances of Fumihiro Ota, Black Eagle and Ultimate Phoenix show. Still, if costs have to be cut...

Then again, maybe Ota and the others are under short-term deals, and Arachnid is just an attempt to ride their coattails and set up MAW’s own masked star.

One other thing: 85 – 57 – 29 – 0. The countdown concludes at the RCI. Are we going to have a big debut? Will someone be unmasked? Might those internet rumours of a Mainstream Hernandez or Steven Parker return actually come true?

Hell, maybe it’s all a joke. It could be Shane Nelson, or Thom(as, but that’s a whole ‘nother column) Morgan, or Joe Benning under the hood. Maybe Antonio did something to upset Rip or James Casey, and did the job to the joke character as punishment. Maybe Arachnid is going to get splattered by Casey Valentine on Friday night, and Valentine’s going to get the political megapush that Antonio never quite made the most of last year...

We’ll find out the answer to some, if not all of these questions, at the Invitational. I’ll be watching – and I know that my peeps will be watching with me. See you there!

-Jay

Kid Arachnid’s record to date:
Kid Arachnid def. Ricky Douglas - Beach Blast, 26th July 2008
Jefferson Stardust def. Kid Arachnid - MAW On Tour, 3rd August 2008
Oscar Golden def. Kid Arachnid - MAW On Tour, 10th August 2008
Casey Valentine def. Kid Arachnid - MAW On Tour, 17th August 2008
Cameron Vessey def. Kid Arachnid - MAW On Tour, 24th August 2008
Ricky Douglas def. Kid Arachnid, Shane Nelson and Jefferson Stardust - Iron, 26th August 2008
Kid Arachnid def. Antonio - Fall Of The King, 26th September 2008
10 Man Battle Royal - Did not compete - Where It All Begins Again, 26th October 2008
Kid Arachnid def. Antonio - Remember November, 26th November 2008

*

MAW The Rip Chord Invitational
RCI Quarter-Final: Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
RCI Quarter-Final: The Masked Patriot vs. Cameron Vessey
RCI Quarter-Final: Kid Arachnid vs. Casey Valentine
RCI Quarter-Final: Flash Savage vs. Fumihiro Ota
Shane Nelson vs. Raphael
Kirk Jameson vs. Antonio
Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. The Gauge Brothers for the MAW Tag Team titles
Ultimate Phoenix vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
Plus: The Rip Chord Invitational semi-finals and final!

*

Your KA clue for the day - although if you read Reso's column carefully, you might have got it anyway: KA is a Regular Wrestler.

Predictions, comments and praise are always welcome. Nitpicky comments about misnamed tag teams I'm neutral about... ;) The next show will be up sometime this weekend - I might wait 'til Sunday to build the suspense :p

Oh, and 100+ responses? This is by some distance my most successful diary ever. My thanks to everyone who's taken the time to comment, preidtc and otherwise respond.

Astil

07-11-2008, 03:18 PM

RCI Quarter-Final: Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
RCI Quarter-Final: The Masked Patriot vs. Cameron Vessey
RCI Quarter-Final: Kid Arachnid vs. Casey Valentine
RCI Quarter-Final: Flash Savage vs. Fumihiro Ota
Shane Nelson vs. Raphael
Kirk Jameson vs. Antonio
Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. The Gauge Brothers for the MAW Tag Team titles
Ultimate Phoenix vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title

The Masked Patriot over Black Eagle
Kid Arachnid over Fumihiro Ota

The Masked Patriot over Kid Arachnid

Heel turn for Dozer, as he unmasks himself AND Arachnid.

Actarus

07-11-2008, 03:32 PM

d_w_w

07-11-2008, 07:54 PM

MAW The Rip Chord Invitational
RCI Quarter-Final: Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
RCI Quarter-Final: The Masked Patriot vs. Cameron Vessey
RCI Quarter-Final: Kid Arachnid vs. Casey Valentine
RCI Quarter-Final: Flash Savage vs. Fumihiro Ota
Shane Nelson vs. Raphael
Kirk Jameson vs. Antonio
Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. The Gauge Brothers for the MAW Tag Team titles
Ultimate Phoenix vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
Plus: The Rip Chord Invitational semi-finals and final!

Just guessing about the rest:

Masked Patriot over Black Eagle
Ota over KA

Masked Patriot over Ota

James Casey

07-13-2008, 06:16 AM

You final clue (in white text so you don't guess if you don't want to be spoiled): KA is 21 or under at the start of the game.

And if you follow all the clues (and I've got them right) you will now have four possible workers to be under the mask, all of them connected to MAW in some way. How about that?

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: The Rip Chord Invitational
Saturday, January 27th 2009

A sell-out crowd of 300 people had packed into Stanley Hall for the 2009 Rip Chord Invitational. The hot ticket was the RCI final, which the seeding indicated would involve Black Eagle (#1) and Fumihiro Ota (#2).

RCI Quarter-Final: The Masked Patriot vs. Cameron Vessey
Patriot kept half an eye out for Primus Allen throughout this match, which nearly cost him dearly. But Vessey seemed to overestimate this factor, and ended up paying the price when Patriot nearly snapped him in half with the Backdrop Driver.
Winner: The Masked Patriot (D)

*

Backstage, and Sienna LeNoir approached the locker room of Kirk Jameson, wearing a satiny robe. Entering without knocking, she found him getting ready for his match with Black Eagle. Peeling off her robe, she revealed a miniscule bikini underneath, and proceeded to attempt to seduce him. Jameson was polite but firm in his rebuttal, pointing out in a very earnest manner that he would be glad to spend some time with her – after he won the tournament.

*

RCI Quarter-Final: Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
Jameson pitted his wits against the vastly more experienced Eagle in this match. Eagle may have been annoyed at Lenoir’s failure, but it’s hard to tell – sometimes he’s too implacable for his own good. He did sell Jameson’s offence, but come the end of the match he still looked barely tested as he nailed the New Jersey Turnpike to advance to the semis.
Winner: Black Eagle (D+)

*

Casey Valentine was in The Firm’s locker room:
“Kid Arachnid... It’s all been a fairytale for you, hasn’t it? You’ve beaten Antonio and qualified for the biggest night of the year. I’m happy for you – truly! But it ends now. You’re going up against The Firm, and when that happens, you know you’re going to lose.”

In the background, Cameron Vessey was visible, complaining about his sore neck.

*

RCI Quarter-Final: Kid Arachnid vs. Casey Valentine
Arachnid wasted no time in this match, and was all business in the ring. Valentine seemed somewhat taken aback by this, and on commentary Rip betrayed something of a bias by urging his protégé on. It was all for naught, though, as Arachnid’s surprise progress continued, a Cradle Piledriver taking him through to the next round.
Winner: Kid Arachnid (D+)

*

Flash Savage was up on the roof, wrapped up against the January cold.

“Ota, you weirdo. Today, of all days, you’re not down in the boiler room?”

Bong.

“Great. Where the hell are you?”

Silence.

Savage muttered under his breath, and stalked around the roof until he found Ota meditating on a ledge, shirtless despite the bitter wind whipping through the air.

“Listen, I just wanted to say, there’s nothing personal about this, okay? I know everyone else has tried to make this a personal fight with you, but it’s just about the tournament with me. I don’t care about the ninja thing, although it’d be nice to know how Huey’s doing. I barely see him these days. Is he okay?”

Bong. Bong.

“Oh. Well, good. See you in the ring, okay?”

Bong. Bong.

*

RCI Quarter-Final: Fumihiro Ota vs. Flash Savage
Savage once again used his speed to his advantage in the early going of this match, avoiding Ota’s surgical strikes by inches. But eventually Ota was able to catch him cleanly, and although Savage tried to haul himself back into the match, Ota eventually blasted him with the Ninja Strike to advance.
Winner: Fumihiro Ota (D-)

*

Rip entered the ring:
“Now, my dear departed mother used to say that I had a streak of mischief in me a mile wide. And I can’t deny that. So I think it’s time to mix things up a bit. Tonight’s semi-finals will not be Patriot/Eagle and Ota/Arachnid, as the brackets indicate. Instead, they’ll be Patriot/Arachnid and Ota/Eagle. I like to see how my employees react when the ground shifts under them.”

*

Shane Nelson vs. Raphael
This was just a short match to give the semi-finalists a chance to freshen up, with no other real reason to be here. We pretty much picked out two dependable undercarders to get an extra payday, and happily they had pretty good chemistry, which always helps. Raphael picked up a quick win with the Italian DDT.
Winners: Raphael (D)

*

Backstage with The Masked Patriot:
“Hey Kid Arachnid. I wasn’t planning on meeting you until the final. Funny joke on Rip’s part, huh? Well, no matter. I know that tonight is going to see a good, clean fight – I’d expect nothing less from you after all.”

*

RCI Semi-Final: The Masked Patriot vs. Kid Arachnid
A very good match from these two as the fans got behind both men from the get-go. Patriot seemed more confident with Allen’s non-appearance, while Arachnid was still focused. The match was a back and forth display of good wrestling, with Arachnid having to b smart to stay out of the clutches of the much larger Patriot. It seemed that Patriot might finally get his win as he caught Arachnid with a series of clotheslines, but then Allen made an appearance at ringside. The referee chased him away, but Arachnid seized the advantage with a quick roll-up to advance via pinfall, although Rip claimed that Arachnid had used the tights to hold Patriot down and go through to the final.
Winner: Kid Arachnid (D+)

*

As soon as the bell rang, Kid Arachnid left the ring, leaving Patriot at the non-existent mercies of Primus Allen, who hauled the big man upright long enough to turn him inside out with a Flying Lariat, before getting in his face and talking trash as he lay there, insensible.

*

Backstage, and Fumihiro Ota and Black Eagle were face to face, their eyes blazing over their face masks. They stood motionless, but tensed and ready for action at the slightest sign of movement from the other. Only the intervention of Sienna LeNoir, dragging on Eagle’s arm, separated them long enough that they could make it down to the ring for their match.

*

RCI Semi-Final: Fumihiro Ota vs. Black Eagle
The second semi-final had the crowd buzzing as the two masked rivals came face to face. It was a high-paced, hard hitting affair, with both men narrowly escaping defeat at the last second on several occasions. In the end Ota was able to avoid the New Jersey Turnpike and blast Eagle with the Ninja Strike to reach the final
Winner: Fumihiro Ota (D+)

*

Erik Strong took the mic as he stood in the middle of the ring:
“I’ve lost my title. I’ve lost my shot at the Invitational. These last months haven’t been a career highlight. But I’m still here. I’m still MAW’s number one go-to guy when they want someone brought down to earth. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Primus Allen run around and attack whoever he wants, whenever he wants to. So Allen, get yourself down here now – it’s time you learnt how we do things here in the Mid Atlantic.”

*

Erik Strong vs. Primus Allen
Allen isn’t quite over enough to work this high a match just yet, but the story was sound with Strong showing some of his old focus in bamboozling the Rookie Monster. He avoided Allen’s clutches with some ease, but eventually Allen caught him, and in just a few power moves left Strong reeling. Hobbled and slowed, Strong was easy picking for Allen, who crushed him with a Running Powerslam to take the upset victory.
Winner: Primus Allen (E+)

*

Rip, Marv and I quickly ran down the stats for the Tag Title match.

*

The tag champions came down to the ring, accompanied by Jenny and Dawn. The challengers also had company, a single young woman, slim, her face almost wholly hidden by large glasses. Rip commented that she looked familiar, but wouldn’t say who he thought she was. Matthew Gauge was more informative, introducing her to the crowd as Lisa Bowen.

“Bowen, Bowen...” Marv said. “It rings a bell, but...”

“She’s Runaway Train’s daughter,” Rip said, at last.

Shaffer & Grayson (c) vs. The Gauge Brothers for the MAW Tag Team titles
There were periods during this match that us announcers just had to stop and admire. The brothers took the advantage early, and used their near-telepathic understanding to their advantage. Shaffer and Grayson rallied and impressed themselves, with some clearly well rehearsed combination attacks as Chad Brent wisely let events unfold without too much interruption. In the end, though, the superior teamwork of the brothers told, and Greg caught Trent in a Depth Gauge to crown the new Tag Team champions.
Winners: The Gauge Brothers (C-)

*

Ultimate Phoenix came down to the ring and took a mic:
“Since I came to the Mid Atlantic, I’ve heard an awful lot about The Firm. How they’re the most dominant force in professional wrestling. How they’re the future of the business. How they will rule for years to come.

“I don’t believe in ruling through intimidation, and that’s how The Firm is trying to do things. With Primus Allen attacking whoever he’s pointed at, and Vessey and Valentine mocking good, honest people, I could choose any target. But I’ve always believed in aiming for the top, and that means going after the leader of The Firm – Jean Cattley!”

On cue, Jean appeared at the top of the ramp:
“Phoenix, you’re a faded symbol of a bygone age. You claim to be some kind of hero, but the last person to need a hero was Mariah Carey, and she doesn’t spend a lot of time in Stanley Hall. You need to be shown that standing against the might of The Firm is a fools’ choice, and if that means that I have to beat the realisation into you with my fists, then that’s what I’ll do.”

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
I can only hope that the main event isn’t a letdown. The story of the desperate champ and his simon-pure challenger had the crowd enthralled throughout this match. One by one, The Firm made their way down to ringside to cheer their leader on, and once again Phoenix found himself trapped by them. Although he tried to ignore them, you could tell that he was struggling, and it nearly cost him dear. In the end, he was able to blot out the distractions and score a desperately close near fall with a Phoenix Firebird Splash, but when he went up top again, Cattley caught in on the way down and nailed a modified Mood Swing, the added momentum allowing him to score the title-retaining pinfall.
Winner: Jean Cattley (C-)

*

The production elves earned their pay, as we played a hype video showing off the respective routes to the final of both Kid Arachnid and Fumihiro Ota.

*

Rip Chord Invitational Final: Fumihiro Ota vs. Kid Arachnid
A slight drop in quality for the final, but not a bad match by any means. Both Ota and Arachnid had fought long and hard to reach this point, and both left it all in the ring. They battled back and forth for twenty minutes, asking and giving no quarter as they brutalised one another. In the end, Ota missed a handspring elbow into the corner, and Arachnid was able to catch him with a lightning fast DDT that made Rip gasp, before adding the exclamation mark with a Cradle Piledriver for the win to be crowned the Rip Chord Invitational champion.
Winner: Kid Arachnid (D+)

*

Rip entered the ring slowly, bringing the RCI trophy with him. He shook hands with Arachnid, who stared at him imperturbably from behind the mask. Rip went to hand Arachnid the trophy, but then the lights went out, and he dropped it. I commented that Rip seemed really spooked – more so than I’d ever seen him before.

Oh the screens, a thirty second countdown began as the crowd buzzed. As the countdown reached zero, the voice, free of static and distortion, echoed through the arena: “You must face your consequences!”

The lights came up – but there was nothing different. Arachnid and Rip stood in the centre of the ring, looking around, seeking out whoever the mastermind of the interruption was.

Then Arachnid kicked Rip, hard, in the gut, doubling him over. Wrapping his arm around Rip’s head, Arachnid stared out across the crowd before nailing a picture perfect Rip Chord DDT, driving Rip’s head down and onto the Invitational trophy, crushing it and splitting Rip’s head open.

The crowd was in shocked silence as Arachnid stood up slowly, stomping once on Rip’s head, bloodying him still further, before signalling to the back. The Gauge twins, accompanied by their manager, came down to the ring. The Gauges knelt down on either side of Rip, hauling his head up so that he was looking at Arachnid, who took a mic from Bowen.

“Have you recognised me yet?” Arachnid asked, his voice clearly that which had been interrupting segments for the last several months. “Do you know who I am? The truth you’ve always known?” he yelled. “The consequences you must face? It’s time to pay the piper, old man.”

Arachnid undid his mask, and stared down at Rip, whose face betrayed a mix of anger, frustration, and sadness.

“You know,” Arachnid said softly, as though he were speaking to Rip alone and had forgotten about the mic. “You brought this upon yourself...”

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

He pulled off the mask, and the crowd once more fell into silence.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jamescasey_photos/JayChord.jpg

“...Dad.”

Overall: D+

*

So... Any questions? Did I fool anyone?

Fallout and shenanigans next post, of course ;)

Dragonmack

07-13-2008, 08:11 AM

I can't say I was fooled, as I never tried to guess, but it was an excellent story and great reveal. those are the kind of moments that make wrestling as exciting as it is!

Condors

07-13-2008, 09:04 AM

good stuff

MrOnu

07-13-2008, 10:37 AM

I honeslty had no clue about the identity of Kid Arachnid, but I gotta it was a great story.

d_w_w

07-13-2008, 11:37 AM

Bah! You fooled me, with your Rip/Jay back story.

Good job though, that was a fun write-up. The more I read your diary, the more I want to play MAW. It's rather unfortunate, as I'm not focused enough to play more than 2 games.

Also: I've come to the conclusion that every diary needs a masked worker angle.

James Casey

07-14-2008, 06:40 AM

This was going to go down as one of the key moments in my tenure as booker and road agent for MAW.

“Jay, what the ----?” I snarled.

Jay shot me a proud look. You’d almost think that having Ultimate Phoenix and Riley McManus holding his arms was nothing worth noticing. Across the room, Jean Cattley and Joe Benning were tending to Flash Savage, who was nursing a rapidly swelling eye.

“Things got a bit rambunctious,” Jay drawled. “Sav here thought I was being serious, and we ended up scuffling. Nothing to worry about,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

“Walk with me, Jay,” I said. I felt the locker room‘s eyes upon me. By rights, I should have been going ballistic – a backstage fight was far and above the transgressions of Jez or Marv. Instead I was settling this privately. It wasn’t my usual style, but Jay was young – going crazy with him would likely just make him act up even worse.

“Listen to me, Jay,” I said, as we moved slowly through the corridors. “People know you’re here because of your name. Over the next few months, you’ll be getting equal billing with The Firm. But to keep things going well for the company, I need to know that things aren’t going to kick off backstage, do you understand? You’ve seen the list on the locker room door. You know how we do things in this company.”

He shrugged. “They’re your rules. Dad just took them because he thought they sounded good. They don’t mean anything.”

I bit back my first response. They meant something to me.

“Look, you’re eighteen and in the top program for this company. That’s big. Don’t kid yourself it’d happen in TCW, or if you went to work with the Stones. If anything, you’d be buried there because of who you are. Here you have a chance to really make a difference, and I’d hate to see you mess things up before you have a chance to get going.”

“Yeah, OK,” Jay said, sounding a bit bored. “It won’t happen again, alright?”

He headed off, faster than I could follow. I frowned. Something told me that my problems with the Chord family hadn’t finished with Rip.

*

Housekeeping issues
Jay Chord really did go to Japan rather than sign on for MAW. Fortunately, that was right after his debut in May – I was somewhat disingenuous when I wrote the passage implying that he didn’t join in November. I could have done with Rip stepping in on negotiations back in May, as they really did break down after just two offers. As a result, I sat and stared at the screen for something like a minute as I tried furiously to come up with a way of reconstructing a storyline I’d been plotting for something like six months. Jay’s lack of patience and general selfishness will probably affect how I portray him – offscreen at least. He did sign on in November – and I copied my save game in case negotiations broke down again.

The original plan was to debut Jay as a face under the Kid Arachnid gimmick, with him turning heel during his attack on Rip, who would turn face as a result. When the negotiations broke down, plan B saw Thomas Morgan put under the hood until we could get Jay back – it amused me that I was using a 34 year old Canadian to replace a seventeen year old American, but I figured that if Morgan could use an American patriot gimmick as one of his alter-egos, why not a teenage spider-fan? The switch to the ‘proper’ Kid Arachnid was made prior to KA’s win over Antonio at Remember November. Morgan’s reward is a tag team run that seems likely to bear fruit if he and Benning can develop a persona in my mind. I have some thoughts on that. We’ll have to see.

I did drop a couple of hints along the way regarding the person under the Kid Arachnid hood – the name itself (he’s Rip’s kid, after all) a very subtle one. But then, Rip calls everyone ‘kid’... I think the most obvious one came when Rip replaced Arachnid in the October battle royal. Rip’s precise words were “Beat it, junior.” I half-expected someone to guess there, but at that time it was still Morgan under the mask, and if asked I could have been honest and said, no, it’s not Jay Chord. Anyway, I know that I don’t always read (or, at least, absorb) every word in every diary I read, so I figured there was at least an evens chance that no-one would notice. Having the ‘Who Is Kid Arachnid?’ article written by Jay Reso was another hint, too...

Incidentally, Jay debuts with the Super DDT (A Rip Chord DDT by any other name) in his default move set. He apparently ‘got’ the limitations of the Kid Arachnid gimmick, as he never used it – adding it to the finish of the RCI Final match was strictly artistic license on my part.

Lisa Bowen is a legit worker – but at $500 ppa she’s the most expensive manager I’ve ever come across, and may not be around for long. I couldn’t resist bringing her in, though – she’s talented and fits this second generation stable perfectly.

Oh, and January cost the company exactly $5,001 dollars. I was hoping to break even in February.

*

SWF Supreme TV has fallen to Cult, sacked Peter Michaels, gone off the air in Canada, the States and Mexico and Citizen X has had a single (awful) match since getting called up to the big leagues in October last year. But on the plus side, the too-gorgeous-to-be-true Hannah Potter has signed on for another stint in Rhode Island, and is sure to be called up sooner rather than later.

*

February – All Or Nothing
The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen
Riley McManus and Shane Nelson vs. Antonio & Raphael
Morgan & Benning vs. C-V-2
Max Mayhem and Hugh Lee vs. Jefferson Stardust and Findlay O’Farraday
??? vs. The Gauge Brothers for the MAW Tag Team titles
Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord
Fumihiro Ota vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley

2009 is where things start to click for the company, with Rip and Jay running for some time come. Plenty of twists along the way, of course - this isn't a storylien that could ever run straight and true...

Dragonmack

07-14-2008, 07:08 AM

Bowen is an excellent manager, at least she was for me in 07 when she was running one of my top stables in my 07 nycw diary. But you have to utilize her looks and overness as opposed to her promo skills, as those are merely average.

Actarus

07-14-2008, 11:35 AM

You know, early on Jay did cross my mind, but I eliminated him, because I believe Kid Arachnid debuted in an E+ rated match against...uh...whoever he was up against. I don't associate E+'s with Jay Chord. Jim Force, sometimes, Jay Chord, never. But I guess Morgan was under the mask at the time, so it makes sense now.

The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen
Riley McManus and Shane Nelson vs. Antonio & Raphael
Morgan & Benning vs. C-V-2
Max Mayhem and Hugh Lee vs. Jefferson Stardust and Findlay O’Farraday
??? vs. The Gauge Brothers for the MAW Tag Team titles
Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord
Fumihiro Ota vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley

James Casey

07-14-2008, 02:06 PM

Time to get caught up some - double posts for the next few days as I aim to hit 200 responses by month-end ;)

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: All Or Nothing
Friday 26th February 2009

The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen
Patriot looked confident going in to this match, and as the bell rang charged straight at Allen – but Allen swatted him over the head with a mighty swing of his fist, sending him crashing to the mat. Allen proceeded to overpower Patriot, normally the strongest man in the match, even clotheslining him over the top rope in a move that took him over as well. Patriot mounted only token offence, being completely overwhelmed en route to being flattened with a Running Powerslam.
Winner: Primus Allen (D+)

*

The Firm gathered in the ring, looking as ****y as ever. Casey Valentine took the mic:
“What you’ve just seen is proof that The Firm is complete. We have the MAW champion, the incomparable Jean Cattley, the Rookie Monster, Primus Allen – and it even scares us that this guy is just going to get better and better. And you have C-V-2 who one day soon will claim our rightful place as MAW Tag Team champions.”

Cameron Vessey took the mic:
“One person you don’t see here is Ultimate Phoenix. That’s because he’s at home, boo-hooing on his blog about how hard it is to be a super hero. News flash, bird-boy: You’re not a hero, and there’s nothing super about you. You can’t stand against The Firm. No-one can. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can get on with your miserable life.”

*

I entered the ring. Rip was off selling the beating he’d taken at the hands of his son and the Gauges, and so by default I’d inherited the Authority Figure role.

“Ladies and gentlemen, due to the injuries suffered by Rip Chord during last month’s attack, he is unable to be here tonight. He has asked me to make a number of announcement in his place.

“The first is that next month MAW will be introducing a new singles title – the Traditional title, in honour of the great success stories of the past, and the wisdom that be learned from them. We hope that those who hold the title will one day go on to be the success stories that inspire the superstars of ten, twenty, even fifty years or more time. The first champion will be determined by a battle royal to be held right here in Stanley Hall in four weeks time.

“The second announcement concerns the Tag Team titles. Trent Shaffer and Stevie Grayson have decided that they are not going to exercise their rematch clause – yet. So the first challengers to the Gauge twins will be determined by a series of matches tonight. Whichever team wins their match the quickest will go on to face the Gauge brothers later this evening.”

“Finally, Jay Chord has stated that he will not be exercising his right as winner of the Rip Chord Invitational to a shot at the MAW Heavyweight title tonight. In his stead, the MAW Board of Directors has decided that the other finalist, Fumihiro Ota, will receive the shot.”

*

Riley McManus and Shane Nelson vs. Antonio & Raphael
The first tag match of the night saw the Italian duo looking supremely confident as they came down to the ring. As McManus and Nelson entered, Antonio and Raphael attempted to bribe them with a fistful of twenties. McManus took the money and pocketed it, before spinning into a discus punch that took Raphael down, before shrugging as Antonio looked furious. McManus and Nelson had the better of the following exchanges, but when McManus went to the ropes around the ten minute mark, Raphael pulled the top rope down, sending McManus over and leaving Nelson to the heel teams’ mercy, before Antonio put him down with an Italian DDT.
Winners: Antonio & Raphael (E+, 12:29)

*

A short video aired, showing Fumihiro Ota and Hugh Lee training together. Ota showed off his wall-running skills, while Lee crashed and burned repeatedly.

*

Max Mayhem and Hugh Lee vs. Jefferson Stardust and Findlay O’Farraday
Hugh Lee tried to do some wall running on the huge Farraday early in the match, only to get caught and chokebombed. Mayhem tried his best, but with Lee effectively incapacitated, he was relatively easy meat. Stardust eventually took him down with a Star Burst, as Lee’s comeback was stopped short when Farraday clamped on a Choke Sleeper for the win.
Winners: Jefferson Stardust and Findlay O’Farraday (E-, 10:38)

*

As Casey Valentine stretched, Cameron Vessey faced the camera:
“Some guy who calls himself Regular Joe, and a Canadian who’s twice our age and never won anything. You know, it’s not exactly a terrible challenge in front of us. And while we’re all for second generation stars succeeding in this business, I know the Gauges will understand that there’s two second generation wrestlers who we want to succeed over all others.”

*

Morgan & Benning vs. C-V-2
The Firm duo came out firing in this final timed match. Their superior experience told in the early going, as they employed excellent teamwork and double-teaming. But Morgan and Benning proved to be resilient, coming back with a blistering display of skill that ended when Morgan caught Valentine with a Morgan’s Finest.
Winners: Morgan & Benning (D-, 9:50)

*

Morgan and Benning were confirmed as the quickest winners, but they didn’t have a chance to celebrate before the Gauges slid into the ring and attacked them, starting the match immediately.

*

Morgan & Benning vs. The Gauge Brothers (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
The Gauges had it easy in the early going, dominating the challengers and taunting them. At several points, they seemed to have the match won, only for them to gleefully break up the pin. The brothers laughed with each other, but Morgan rallied and knocked Matthew from the apron and into the announcers’ table. Greg turned in surprise and was caught with a back suplex from Benning. Morgan went up top to hit a Morgan’s Finest, and Benning followed up with a Joe and Behold for the shock win as Matthew slid under the ropes, a second too late.
Winners: Morgan & Benning (D)

*

Before Morgan and Benning could celebrate their victory, Jay Chord ran down to the ring and slid in under the bottom rope, joining the Gauges in beating their opponents down. The Gauges tried to apologise to Jay, but he waved them off.

“Clearly my father was behind this scheme to rob you of your titles. It’s a shame that he couldn’t be here to take action himself, but apparently Daddy dearest has a boo-boo,” Jay cooed into the house mic, before turning serious. “That or he can’t bear to face up to me. That’s a shame. You see, dad, until you walk down that aisle and admit to everyone here what a lousy father you are, were, and always will be, I’m going to take out my father issues on your precious company – starting with your former champion, Erik Strong!”

*

Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord
Jay at first seemed as arrogant as the Gauges at the start of this match, mocking Strong for his recent losing streak. But every time Strong seemed placed to take advantage, Chord stepped up his own game, taunting the former champion with his superiority. Eventually, he put Strong away with the Super DDT.
Winner: Jay Chord (D+)

*

Jean Cattley came to the ring and had something to say:
“It’s ridiculous to think that I can’t operate on my own. I do not need The Firm to back my every move. I’ll prove this tonight when I take on Fumihiro Ota. You see, Ota lost to Jay Chord last month, and while Jay is good, he’s not me. Ota lost – he won’t be any kind of challenge to me.”

*

Fumihiro Ota vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
Despite Jean’s ****iness, he and Ota could barely be split in this excellent match. The Firm stayed away from ringside as Cattley tasted a beating in the early going, before he regained control with a series of leglocks that limited Ota’s striking ability. With Ota hobbled, Cattley was able to enjoy greater success, but had to remain wary of Ota’s guile until he was able to successfully hit a Mood Swing to retain the gold.
Winner: Jean Cattley (C-)

Overall: C- (That’s why Jean has the belt)

*

Next: Yes, the Gauges really did just job to Thomas Morgan and Regular Joe...

James Casey

07-15-2008, 06:25 AM

Short update - main post this evening

*

As much as I hate short title reigns, Matthew Gauge signed on to his third PPA contract shortly before this show and was approached by a fourth company that he turned down when he signed with company no. 3. Greg, meanwhile, has one other contract. The Gauges are hot property and I dislike fudging the titles the way I did with Grayson/Shaffer/Perez even more than I dislike short reigns. The intention was always that Morgan & Benning would get the belts eventually – neither is popular enough to worry about them walking out on me any time soon.

*

I looked down the list I’d prepared, several long hours before.

Jenny ‘Perez’ Playmate had re-signed with us, and would be managing Trent Shaffer and Stevie Grayson, although would be dropping the Perez. Persephone, who had been working as Dawn (her real name) had been set for the cut, but when it occurred to me that circumstances would soon see at least one more team in need of a manager, I decided to keep her around.

Sienna LeNoir had also re-signed. The voice of Black Eagle was too important to let go. Jakki White Trash, who had subbed for Kristen Pearce as Jefferson Stardust’s manager, was superfluous to requirements – because Kristen had agreed to rejoin us. Jakki would now be leaving in the near future.

Duke Hazzard, all $500 per appearance of him, had been informed that he would not be used again for the remaining few months of his contract. He was an old hand, and didn’t take it personally.

Jacob Jett had extended an apology for not coming back to MAW, but it was too soon since he’d left and he wanted to keep exploring his other possibilities. While I admired his willingness to keep pushing himself, I had to wonder about his unwillingness to work with his girlfriend, though – Katie could have led me into a volcano and told me to work a match with the lava.

Not that I was obsessed or anything – but I had enjoyed negotiating her contract extension more than anyone else’s. I made a mental note to avoid temptation.

Finally, Marv Earnest had agreed to sign on again – for a $100 pay cut. He understood that MAW needed to cut costs – and wasn’t about to rock the boat by asking for a pay rise when there was still a lingering distrust of him backstage.

I sighed, and crossed Jett off the list – he was the last one of the group that I’d spoken to

*

MAW March Madness
Riley McManus vs. Primus Allen
Morgan & Benning vs. C-V-2
Mayhem Battle Royal for the MAW Traditional title
Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
Trent Shaffer vs. Jay Chord
Ultimate Phoenix vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title

James Casey

07-15-2008, 04:50 PM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: March Madness
Friday 26th March 2009

Riley McManus vs. Primus Allen
A short, high-speed match that saw Allen decimate his overmatched foe, before putting him away with a Running Powerslam.
Winner: Primus Allen (E+)

*

The Firm were ready once more to talk themselves up, when Ultimate Phoenix’ music interrupted them. Phoenix came out to the top of the ramp, flanked by Morgan & Benning, Kashmir Singh and The Masked Patriot.

“You’re right,” Phoenix said. “I wasn’t here last month. I was busy recruiting. Gentlemen, you see before you The Watch. We will be monitoring you closely to ensure you stick within the rules. For every transgression, you can expect a reaction from ourselves. But we won’t just be watching you – we’re watching everyone. Play it straight, and you have nothing to fear. Try and take advantage of other people, and we will mete out justice."

*

Morgan & Benning (c) vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
Valentine and Vessey looked surprised to have Phoenix and Patriot at ringside for this match, and this clearly threw them. Neither man could manage to maintain their offence, as they were continually looking out for interference. The lack of concentration cost them dearly, to Marv Earnest’s delight, as Morgan caught Vessey with a Morgan’s Finest for the successful defence.
Winners: Morgan & Benning (D-)

*

Backstage, Stevie Grayson was warming up for the Battle Royal.

*

Mayhem Battle Royal for the MAW Traditional title
The rules of match were simple – elimination occurred only via pinfall or submission. All ten men were in the ring at the same time.

The smallest four heels in the match – Jefferson Stardust, Curtis Jenkins, Antonio and Raphael – hid behind the fifth, Findlay O’Farraday, who laid out Shane Nelson and Max Mayhem with hard punches. Stevie Grayson and Hugh Lee staggered the big man with simultaneous dropkicks, and it fell to Masked Patriot to fell him with a running spear.

With their shield gone, the heels had to attack, and Antonio and Raphael targeted Max Mayhem, snaring him in a twin Italian DDT. But before they could make the cover, Hugh Lee hit a Cannonball Run on Raphael to eliminate him from the match, only to taste an Italian DDT from Raphael, with no-one to make the save.

O’Farraday was the target of a triangle of offence. Curtis Jenkins was driving repeated blows to his chest, complete with cries of “Leeerrrooooyyyy!!!” Max Mayhem was nailing him in the back with dropsaults, savate kicks and spinning elbows, while Jefferson Stardust – inspired by the presence of Kristen Pearce in his corner, went low with a chopblock to take the big man down. Mayhem was already airborne, hitting a Shooting Star Press, followed by a Star Burst as Jenkins and Stardust helped hold him down to score the third elimination.

The fourth and fifth eliminations came in rapid succession, as Shane Nelson was caught with a Leeerrrooooyyyy!!! that sent him into an Italian DDT as Antonio scored his second pin of the night. That was the end of his night, though, as Stevie Grayson was on hand to blast him with a 460 Degree Splash as he rolled off Nelson.

The remaining five tangled for several minutes, with Stardust cagily sitting out the action as Mayhem and Patriot sparred, and Jenkins and Grayson exchanged blows. Spotting an opening, Stardust dived at Patriot’s legs and tried to upend him, but Patriot wasn’t to be budged – instead he picked up the much smaller Stardust and hammered him with a Backdrop Driver.

Curtis Jenkins took advantage of Mayhem’s distraction by clubbing him from behind with a Leeerrrooooyyyy!!! that put the sci-fi fan down for the three. Patriot took offence to this, and hauled the beleaguered Jenkins – who had just scored his first victory in over a year – upright and planted him with another Backdrop Driver to eliminate him.

Grayson and Patriot were left alone in the ring. They shook hands briefly, before exploding into action. Grayson was lightning fast, holding back nothing as he tried to down his powerful foe. Patriot retaliated with slower, but harder-hitting, offence that at one point turned Grayson inside out and upside down as he tried to catch Patriot with a top rope leap. But as hard as Patriot fought, he could not put Grayson down, and when Grayson slipped out of a Backdrop Driver, Patriot stumbled and left himself in the perfect position for a Shining Wizard that earned Grayson the honour of the first ever MAW Traditional champion!
Winner: Stevie Grayson (D)

*

Black Eagle was staring into the camera. Sienna LeNoir made her way around her client, and, as usual, began to whisper huskily:
“Kirk Jameson, there are those who say that one day you will be a star. But tonight you will face the darkest light in the heavens. Tonight you will face the man who will outshine you with the night. Tonight you will fall before the Black Eagle.”

*

Kirk Jameson vs. Black Eagle
Kirk Jameson put on a spirited display in this match, tangling horns with the mysterious Black Eagle. At times, he seemed to have Eagle in trouble, but the constant murmuring of LeNoir at ringside seemed to drive Eagle on – at the same time as it distracted Jameson, who asked the referee to have her barred from the ring. The distraction was enough to allow Eagle to down his opponent, and hit the New Jersey Turnpike for the win.
Winner: Black Eagle (D+)

*

Stevie Grayson was putting a shine on his Traditional title belt when Trent Shaffer walked in:
“Dude, big win!”

“Thanks, man. I’m afraid this kinda means that the team’s on the back burner for a while.”

“No biggie. Any time you want to hook it up again and go for gold, it’s cool. In the meantime, we all gotta do our own things – you with your gold, me with Jay Chord.”

“You’ve got a match with him?”

“Yeah. We’re up next. I gotta teach the dude to chill out, man. He’s got all this anger he’s putting out, and you can tell it’s eating him up. A man should just relax. Take what the world throws at him, and just keep on going.”

“Well, if you get Jay to buy into that, I imagine the old man will owe you one,” Stevie said.

“Nah, this is a freebie. Rip’s been good to me – both of us. I’ll be pleased to show Jay how to be cool.”

*

Jay Chord was in the ring and ready to talk:
“How to be cool? Shaffer, you freak, you’re not a surfer, or a Californian, or whatever the hell you think you are. You’re just some pantywaist Canadian who looks up to my father. That’s all the reason that I need to ruin your night. Dad, I hope you’re watching. Another idiot who thinks that the sun shines out of your ass is going to get hurt because you’re hiding someplace. Face me like a man, Dad, and stop letting others pay for your mistakes.”

*

Trent Shaffer vs. Jay Chord
Jay and Trent assembled an entertaining match that allowed both men to showcase their skills. Shaffer looked at home in the ring with Jay, but in the end Jay stepped it up a notch to take the pin with a Cradle Piledriver.
Winner: Jay Chord (D+)

*

Phoenix and Jean Cattley were making their way to the ring when they came face to face with one another. Before the match could start backstage, several workers dived between them, and they were separated until they could meet in the ring.

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
The referee was quick to take action after LeNoir’s distraction proved effective in the earlier match, and C-V-2, Morgan, Benning and Patriot were all banished from ringside. The match itself was a back and forth affair that saw Phoenix trying to keep one step ahead of Cattley, avoiding the champ’s repertoire of holds and locks after they proved so effective against Fumihiro Ota in the last show. Cattley grew frustrated, and although he scored hits, was unable to put Phoenix down – that is, until Primus Allen made his way through the sold-out crowd and got Phoenix’ attention, allowing Cattley to nail the Mood Swing for the win.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D+)

Overall: D+

*

Next: Roster overview and sundries

Thanks to everyone who voted/nominated me in the June diary awards, by the way, and well done to infinitywpi on winning - as well as the Real World and Rookie winners (whose names momentarily escape me :o)

James Casey

07-16-2008, 06:31 AM

Our first profit in nine months. Only $630 – but hey. We’ll take it.

No backstage trouble, either.

Rip was smiling. Jay was behaving himself. Marv was happy, backstage was harmonious...

It was surely all too good to last – but in the meantime, I was going to enjoy it.

*

As there wasn’t much else to do this month, I decided to review our roster:

Main Event
“Machine” Jean Cattley – Heel – The reigning and two-time champion, Jean is probably the most consistent worker in the company. A firm favourite of our fans, his headline role as leader of The Firm should see his entertainment skills finally improve to match his technical ability.

Black Eagle – Heel – The enigmatic Eagle doesn’t talk because of his Noo Joisey accent. Instead, he plays the silent destroyer. A constant threat, his reliance on Sienna LeNoir is something of a pain for us, as it effectively means we’re paying him an extra $100 a show. A big part of me thinks that his contract won’t be renewed. Also works for CZCW.

Jay Chord – Heel – The future of MAW. He’s carrying his half of the family feud beautifully, and apart from nearly sparking out Flash Savage has behaved himself backstage. One of our most over workers, as well. Also works for USPW.

Stevie Grayson – Face – It’s not that I don’t like Grayson – I do. I can just see why he was cut by TCW as well. Flaky in the extreme, he should be a lot better than he is. I’m just grateful that he turns up for shows and has some name value.

Ultimate Phoenix – Face – A consummate professional, talented, versatile, comfortable behind the mic and over to boot. We could do with more like Phoenix. He’s also managed to turn his Comic Book Hero gimmick into something a bit more rounded than it otherwise might have been. Also works for CZCW.

Upper Midcard
Cameron Vessey – Heel – So much potential, such a stupid beard. I’ve tried hinting to Cameron that shaving his goatee would make him look meaner, but he won’t go for it. I think he thinks it makes him look older than it does. But then, being stick thin when your family has specialised in tanks must hurt... Also works for NYCW and CZCW.

Erik Strong – Face – MAW’s franchise is in danger of being its nearly man. He’s nearly as good as our best workers in most skills. He’s a good all-rounder. He’s quite consistent, pretty entertaining... Perfect for the upper midcard, really. Unless he shows a spark in the near future, he may have peaked already.

Greg Gauge – Heel – The next company that makes an offer for Greg, he’ll be gone. With that in mind, we’re getting the most out of him we can – and maybe making him less attractive as we do. A hugely talented worker, and probably too good for MAW right now. Also works for MHW and CZCW.

Kirk Jameson – Face – A talented, but bland, worker with decent technical skills. Should have matched up well with Jean Cattley in their feud last year, but doesn’t seem to have the gumption to carry a feud. Has all the potential in the world – but is a bit lost in MAW. Also works for NOTBPW and FCW.

Matthew Gauge – Heel – As with his brother, is probably too good for MAW. Also works for CZCW and MHW.

Oscar Golden – Heel – The technician of the Canadian Blondes, Golden is promising and has great cheek bones. The Blondes have probably suffered more than most from the recent influx of talent to MAW.

Trent Shaffer – Face – The man with the biggest lips in pro-wrestling is a highly talented flyer who is big news north of the border. If I had to pick someone who’s most likely to be stolen, it would be Shaffer – a little polish and he’ll be a superstar. Also works for 4C and CGC.

Midcard
Antonio – Heel – A constantly evolving character has seen Antonio staying relevant in MAW. Started out as an Underworld hood, before evolving to a Don and now plays a City Slicker who may – or may not – still have ties to his old job. In reality, he’s a decent technician who’s one of Rip’s favourites, and is therefore as untouchable as Elliot Ness, ironically.

Casey Valentine – Heel – Nephew of Peter Valentine, but don’t hold that against him. An entertaining all-rounder, surprisingly adept at brawling in spite of his lightweight frame.

Findlay O’Farraday – Heel – MAW’s resident monster. Beats people up. Enjoys it. Not much else to say, really. Has some natural charisma, and if he ever learns to channel it he could be something pretty impressive.

Flash Savage – Heel – The Blondes’ flyer, Savage’s skills may be more suited to a non-wrestling role as he’s really pretty entertaining behind the mic. Still, The Blondes will always have a place in MAW – so long as they don’t let their wallets do the thinking for them.

Kashmir Singh – Face – Talented, entertaining, powerful, Singh should be a star in MAW. If I didn’t have plans for Masked Patriot, they’d be tearing up the tag division. Also works for NYCW.

Primus Allen – Heel – Really and truly, he does everything Findlay does, better than him, and is four years younger. He’ll get hauled off to one of the big companies at some point. In the meantime, we’ll settle for his being here. Also works for NYCW.

Raphael – Heel – A very talented technician benefiting from working in RIPW. Plays Antonio’s gofer for now, but with a bit of polish (and maybe a manager) he could be going places. Also works for RIPW.

The Masked Patriot – Face – His mask hides his face, which helps. Patriot should be a fearsome force of nature, but he’s really just a goofy lunk with incredible physical skills. Has incredible brawling skills, but his heavy Japanese influence means that he doesn’t fit in all that well with the MAW scene so he hasn’t progressed as well as I’d hope.

Lower Midcard
“Regular” Joe Benning – Face – Another one who’s just kind of there. I have an image of him as Kirk Jameson’s younger brother, as they travelled up from FCW at the same time to sign with us. He’s a decent technician with little in the way of mic skills and is a generally nice guy. We could do with more like him – but more entertaining on the mic, please. Also works for FCW.

Curtis Jenkins – Heel – If I hadn’t spent a lot of time prior to Rip’s phone call playing World of Warcraft, I doubt Curtis would have any gimmick. Instead, his oblivious overmatched idiotic heel schtick is just about amusing enough to keep him employed – albeit mainly because he doesn’t expect much payment.

Hugh Lee – Face – Goofy ninja character has given Hugh a bit more to do than Canadian Blonde run-in boy. His occasional appearances with Fumihiro Ota have helped him get over a bit as well. Occasional tag team with Max Mayhem is in line for a full-time run.

Jefferson Stardust – Heel – His egomaniacal rock star gimmick has a lot of legs, and he plays it perfectly. My personal favourite character in MAW, but he really, really sucks in the ring. Considerable potential – although if you put him and Benning together and split them in two you’d have two prospects with decent skills in and out of the ring – rather than one of each.

Max Mayhem – Face – Feud with The Firm did nothing for his career. Similarly goofy gimmick to Hugh Lee makes a pairing fairly logical. Talented high flyer could do with improving his basics – but regular work will help.

Riley McManus – Face – A good athlete, or so I’m told. Decent technical skills and has time to improve, and is already pretty entertaining. He may benefit from becoming involved in the Watch/Firm feud as a lesser ally to the good guys.

Openers
Thom Morgan – Face – Morgan is talented, charismatic and a champion at last. Success on a grand scale may never be Morgan’s, but his skills deserve something better than match one for a small fed. Time is not on his side, as he’s already in his mid-thirties – but I consider him something of a project and would love to see him on top one day.

Enhancement Talent
Shane Nelson – Face – Nelson is an outstanding talent who has skill to burn. He is one of the most well-grounded workers on the roster, who could carry almost anyone to a decent match. Flying skills are his particular forte, but has underrated entertainment abilities as well.

*

MAW Spring Fever
Stevie Grayson vs. Jay Chord
Morgan & Benning vs. The Canadian Blondes
Kashmir Singh & Fumihiro Ota vs. Cameron Vessey & Primus Allen
Shane Nelson vs. Antonio
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
Erik Strong vs. Black Eagle
The Masked Patriot vs. Jean Cattley

Echo, echo, echo... Is there anybody here, here, here... :p

machinesxe

07-16-2008, 07:19 AM

Stevie Grayson vs. Jay Chord
Morgan & Benning vs. The Canadian Blondes
Kashmir Singh & Fumihiro Ota vs. Cameron Vessey & Primus Allen
Shane Nelson vs. Antonio
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
Erik Strong vs. Black Eagle
The Masked Patriot vs. Jean Cattley

James Casey

07-16-2008, 04:28 PM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Spring Fever
Friday, 26th April 2009

Kashmir Singh and Fumihiro Ota vs. Cameron Vessey and Primus Allen
This was an even match that saw The Firm duo a bit unsettled by their random pairing. Singh and Ota took as much advantage as they could, with Ota using his experience to good effect. But in the end the heels rallied, and Vessey put Singh away with a Vessey Driver.
Winners: Vessey and Allen (D)

*

Max Mayhem and Hugh Lee were backstage, sitting in bean bag chairs, each playing video games.

“What are you playing?” Lee asked.

“Force Unleashed. You?” Mayhem replied.

“Ninja Gaiden. Master Ota wants me working on my skills.”

“Max! Hugh! There you are!”

A long pair of legs walked into frame, and Max, Hugh and the camera all looked up to find Dawn beaming down at them.

“Uh, hi Dawn,” Max asked. “What’s up?”

“You guys,” Katie said. Hugh shifted nervously in his chair, controller in his lap. “You’ve topped an internet poll for most entertaining wrestlers in the company.”

“We did?” Lee asked.

“Yes! People love the way you wrestle, and your personalities. With Jay Chord and The Firm being all serious, people enjoy seeing the two of you goofing around.”

Lee and Mayhem exchanged bemused looks.

“Well, listen, that’s good, but we’re serious wrestlers,” Mayhem said.

“I know – but this gives you an extra dimension. Listen, I was looking to take on some new clients. I was looking to diversify my portfolio into the tag team division, now that Trent and Stevie have gone into singles. What do you think? We can call you the Internet Favourites!”

Mayhem and Lee exchanged glances, and shrugged.

“I guess we are top of each other’s friends lists,” Lee said.

“Excellent! Oh, you guys are so perfect! I’ll talk to Mr. Casey after the show and get you a match for next month, how does that sound?”

“You’ll be managing us?”

“Yes! I’ll be assessing your stamina, measuring your abilities, working you hard in the gym, pushing you to new heights of physical performance-“

“We’re in!” Lee and Mayhem said together. Dawn beamed.

*

Morgan & Benning (c) vs. The Canadian Blondes for the MAW Tag Team titles
Flash Savage started the match with some out and out brawling that really threw Thom Morgan. The champs were kept off-centre for much of the match, as Ernest Forthdyke-Hume directed his team from ringside. The champs managed to rally, and Benning was able to snatch the win with a Joe And Behold, but they looked less than secure in their new reign.
Winners: Morgan & Benning (E+)

*

Antonio was backstage, looking pleased with himself:
“People seem to have forgotten that I was the RCI champion last year. As much as I respect Rip, he didn’t give me much of a chance to make an impression. But Mr. Casey has agreed to give me matches at every show from now on. So today, it’s Shane Nelson. Next month, someone else, and so on. And I think that one day soon it’ll be me against the Traditional champion – or even the Heavyweight champion.”

*

Shane Nelson vs. Antonio
A fairly short match, Nelson held his own for a spell by using his speed to stay out of Antonio’s reach, but eventually succumbed to an Italian DDT.
Winners: Antonio (D-)

*

Backstage, and Casey Valentine barged into Ultimate Phoenix’ locker room:
“Are you ready to quit, yet?” he demanded, as Phoenix calmly laced his boots.

“Why would I quit?” Phoenix asked. “I may have lost last month, but that was one match. My quest is for justice – not titles. It would have been nice to take the belt from your boss, an object lesson of sorts, but it’s not why I’m here.”

“Oh, so you’re on a crusade?”

“If you like. Decency, respect for authority, even basic manners, like knocking before you enter a room...”

Phoenix stood up, and unleashed a knife edge chop that sent Valentine staggering back out the door. “Suit up, junior. You just jumped to the top of my list.”

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Casey Valentine
Phoenix tore into Valentine from the bell, and the youngster looked like he’d rather have been anywhere else. But he got into the match, outbrawling the veteran Phoenix. At one point, he had Phoenix set for Sweet Sweet Heartbreak, but Phoenix ducked the move and caught Valentine with a pumphandle slam to set up the Phoenix Firebird Splash. However, Cameron Vessey made an appearance to distract Phoenix, allowing Valentine to score the win with a quick roll-up. The fans didn’t think much of the finish.
Winner: Casey Valentine (D-)

*

Jay Chord was in the ring:
“Let me tell you all a story. It’s a story about a young boy who grew up, knowing that his father was special. His father was famous – a champion! His father was the greatest wrestler in the world.

“Now, the boy’s father wasn’t always around. But that was okay. His Dad would say that he was working hard, building a future for them. He was making sure that his son would have somewhere to go when he got old enough.

“Except that’s not how it happened. You see, that boy’s Dad was training young wrestlers. He was putting together a promotion. And even then, the boy thought that his Dad was making someplace for him to wrestle when he grew up. He thought that his Dad was missing all that time with him so that they could spend all their time together later.

“But that’s still not how it happened, is it, Dad? You see, when I completed my training – which my Dad didn’t help with – I asked to join the company. Dad said no – he didn’t want his son wrestling.

“So instead I went to Japan, just like my Dad did for years when I was growing up. And out there I came up with an idea. You see, a lot of Japanese wrestlers wear masks, and they never, ever tell anyone their real names. So I came home, made myself a mask, told Dad that I was Kid Arachnid, and when he saw what I could do he signed me up on the spot. And I fooled everyone. And then in January, it was too sweet to finally own up to my own father, to show him how I’d fooled him. How I’d torn his best wrestlers apart to win the tournament. How I’d outsmarted him. And then I put him down and out with his own DDT.

“And since then, nothing. You don’t answer your phone, Dad. You don’t reply to your e-mails. You don’t answer the door when I come around.

“Are you so proud that you won’t admit you were wrong? Or are you scared of the beating I’ll give you again when you step in the ring with me? Because you know it’s coming, sooner or later, I’ll find you – and I’ll give you the beating that nineteen years of neglect have earned you.

“And in the meantime, I’ll give a taster of it to one of your favoured employees – and take the Traditional title for myself, just for ----s and giggles.”

*

Stevie Grayson (c) vs. Jay Chord for the MAW Traditional title
I should have guessed. I’d been anticipating this match since Jay signed on, and it flopped. The two were just on opposite pages, and while they managed to throw together something decent in spite of their lack of chemistry, the end result was disappointing and Grayson’s Shining Wizard was a relief for me.
Winner: Stevie Grayson (D+)

*

After the match, Chord looked furious with himself. But he took his anger out on Grayson, snatching the title belt from him and blasting him in the face with it.

*

Erik Strong came out to the stage:
“It’s been a long time since I was last picked up a win. Since then, the whole of MAW seems to have changed around me. Well, tonight I start to get my head back in the game. I’m issuing a challenge to one of the most respected – even feared – competitors in the locker room. Black Eagle, I want you, tonight, in this very ring!”

*

Erik Strong vs. Black Eagle
Eagle wasn’t happy about the booking for this match, despite everything being done to keep him looking strong. Ultimately, Erik needed a win – and Eagle is our go-to guy when we want a face to look good. I should remember that there’s an addendum: in defeat. Good, in defeat. Anyway, the match itself was decent – even better than average, but Eagle could probably have done more to get Erik over before falling to a Strongsault.
Winner: Erik Strong (D)

*

Masked Patriot was backstage, warming up. Ultimate Phoenix was psyching him up to challenge for the Heavyweight title.

Jean Cattley was in the ring:
“The conveyor belt places another target in front of me to be knocked down – the same as every other challenger I’ve faced in the last year. Patriot may have some new motivation now that he’s drunk Phoenix’s cool aid, but my motivation is the same as it has always been – to be the best damn wrestler in this company. And this proves it!” he said, as he slapped the gold belt around his waist.

*

The Masked Patriot vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
This was a good end to an unspectacular card of action as we trialled a few different combinations. Jean made Patriot look good, selling his power moves like a pro before mounting his heelish comeback. Jean knows exactly how far to push the MAW fans when it comes to cheating, and he did his utmost to make it look like he had escaped Patriot by the skin of his teeth, eventually retaining with a desperation Mood Swing after avoiding a spear in the corner.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D+)

Overall: D

Next: Someone's geting fired...

d_w_w

07-16-2008, 10:20 PM

Nice shows. Sorry I've missed the predictions... I've been a bit busy this week and you're shows come pretty fast!

MrOnu

07-17-2008, 12:22 AM

The Internet favorites, that's a good one.. hehe The Watch/Firm feud should be good, although it may be overshadowed by the Jay Chord story. That's two big storylines for a small company, I hope you don't burn any step with these people and lose them after a massive boost of pop.

James Casey

07-17-2008, 06:35 AM

My big problem with the Favourites is that I ran a game with WWE last year using Chris Hero and Colt Cabana as the Internet Heroes. I decided that Favourites was a better name - but I keep writing Heroes anyway. Ah well...

*

Antonio had fetched me from my office after the show. He’d looked sombre, which had been my first clue about who was stirring things up backstage.

I leaned on my cane in the locker room doorway. Black Eagle looked ready to cause some harm. Marv was sitting on a bench, looking fearfully around as though seeking support.

There was none. All eyes save there’s were on me.

“Marv, is this true? Have you been spreading rumours again?”

“Yes, but-“

“Marv, this is the fourth time I’ve had to discipline you in less than eighteen months. It seems like nothing’s going to work. I’m sorry, but you’ve had your last chance. Pack your things – you’re no longer welcome here.”

“But James, I-“

“No, Marv. No buts. I wish you’d had the sense to keep your head down – but you’re a bad influence backstage. I don’t want to see any trace of you left in this locker room by the time I get back from dinner, do I make myself clear?”

“I...” Marv pulled himself together and stood up. He looked me in the eye, and slid into his announcer’s voice. “I think that you’re being unfair. But it’s your decision. I’ll be gone by the time you get back.”

I nodded, once, and went to find myself something sweet to eat to take the bad taste out of my mouth.

*

Some big moves this month, as Jack DeColt is leaving CGC.

For MAW, we’re waiting on Matthew Gauge to make his mind up about joining UEW or INSPIRE – either would see him leaving us. Meanwhile, Rock Downpour had joined us – another NYCW star on our books.

Jay Chord, meanwhile, has inked a PPA deal with TCW. This is somewhat annoying in that we now have to book around them as well as all the other feds we share talent with, and had been hoping to use Jay as collateral for a future trade deal. Still, the increased exposure he’ll gain should be a welcome bonus for us.

Oh, and Curtis Jenkins has signed a new deal...

May – Mother, May I?
Morgan & Benning and The Masked Patriot vs. C-V-2 & Primus Allen
Riley McManus vs. Curtis Jenkins vs. Jefferson Stardust
Max Mayhem & Hugh Lee vs. Jay Chord
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Black Eagle
Kashmir Singh vs. Antonio
Trent Shaffer vs. Greg Gauge
Stevie Grayson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley

Emark

07-17-2008, 10:22 PM

May – Mother, May I?
Morgan & Benning and The Masked Patriot vs. C-V-2 & Primus Allen
Riley McManus vs. Curtis Jenkins vs. Jefferson Stardust
Max Mayhem & Hugh Lee vs. Jay Chord
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Black Eagle
Kashmir Singh vs. Antonio
Trent Shaffer vs. Greg Gauge
Stevie Grayson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley

James Casey

07-18-2008, 07:37 AM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Mother, May I?
Friday, 26th May 2009
Morgan & Benning and The Masked Patriot vs. C-V-2 & Primus Allen
Three members of The Watch took on their counterparts in The Firm in this opener. Patriot did a lot of his side’s heavy lifting – literally and figuratively – as he pitched the lighter members of the opposition team from pillar to post. But Primus Allen’s intervention turned the tide, as he overwhelmed Patriot, allowing Vessey to hit a Vessey Driver on Morgan for the win.
Winners: The Firm (D-)

*

The Firm’s trio celebrated, and Vessey issued a challenge to the fallen tag champions for next month’s show.

*

On commentary, myself and Rock Downpour explained that the following match would decide who faced Stevie Grayson for the Traditional title at the following month’s show.

*

Riley McManus vs. Curtis Jenkins vs. Jefferson Stardust
Although Kristen Pearce is a fantastic manager, really adding to Jefferson Stardust’s act, in-ring Stardust is still something of a liability. In this match, he wisely stayed out of the way as McManus and Jenkins did most of the work, which we sold as opportunism on his part on commentary. However, he got caught in McManus’ Scorpion Deathlock at the end of the match, only for Jenkins to nail a Lllleeerrrrooooyyyy!!!! to snatch the win and a shot at the gold.
Winner: Curtis Jenkins (E-)

*

Antonio stood backstage:
“In this company, it almost seems like one win is enough to make you a contender – if that. Well, I’m on a hot streak, so I imagine that one day soon I’ll get that title match contract through in the post.”

*

Kashmir Singh vs. Antonio
These two squared off quite a bit last year, and there was a certain familiarity about it – allowing Antonio to avoid a Cal-Cutter and hit the Italian DDT to gain the win.
Winner: Antonio

*

Jay Chord took to the ring:
“I’ve been here a few months now, and since I revealed my not-so-secret identity, no-one’s really given me much of a match. Now, I’m a generous guy, and I believe in giving people a chance when I feel they deserve it – unlike my father. So earlier today I approached the manager of a very promising young tag team and offered her charges the chance to step into the ring with me. After all, I know how much they love it on the internet when a young up-and-comer battles against the odds...”

*

Max Mayhem & Hugh Lee vs. Jay Chord
Mayhem and Lee’s apprehension was well founded, as Jay tore into them from the bell. Rock speculated that Rip would have to be proud of his son’s skills – if they weren’t being used to get at Rip. Max and Hugh put up some resistance when they managed to double-team Jay, but in the end Max was pitched from the ring, allowing Jay to drill Hugh with a Cradle Piledriver.
Winner: Jay Chord (D-)

*

Backstage, and Black Eagle and Sienna LeNoir were communing with the spirit world. Or just getting a buzz off some incense. Something, anyway. Ultimate Phoenix approached and cleared his throat.

“Eagle, I’ve been watching you closely for some time now. It seems to me that you’re a more subtle, insidious kind of evil. You’ve warped the mind of Miss LeNoir, using her as your mouthpiece while you affect a detached air of superiority in an attempt to intimidate those around you. This is just the kind of thing I formed The Watch to take a stand against, and so I challenge you to a match right now!”

Sienna’s eyes flickered open and she looked up at Phoenix.

“He accepts...”

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Black Eagle
Eagle is beginning to get to me. After the show, I asked Rip what was wrong with him. Rip said that Eagle had been complaining about his recent win/loss record.

It’s all a work, for heaven’s sake!

Anyway, despite being booked to go over in what should have been a showstealer, Eagle really dragged this match down. Phoenix was his usual professional self, but honestly, I wish I’d booked him to come out on top. Eagle had the audacity to look proud (so far as I could tell behind his mask) when he took the duke with a New Jersey Turnpike.
Winner: Black Eagle (D)

*

The Gauge Brothers were in the ring. They issued an open challenge to “any two of Rip’s lackeys”. It was answered by Trent Shaffer and Kirk Jameson.

*

Trent Shaffer and Kirk Jameson vs. The Gauge Brothers
And this was the cool-down match. Eagle’s a jerk.

Anyway, Shaffer and Jameson looked eager to hand out a beating for Rip, but their lack of tag experience told against them. The Gauges were able to keep Shaffer isolated for long spells, and when he did make the hot tag, they used twin-based shenanigans to score the victory with Matt scoring the pin with a Depth Gauge.
Winners: The Gauges (D)

*

Stevie Grayson stood in the centre of the ring, Traditional title around his waist:
“You know, I’ve done a lot in this business. Competed at the highest level, been a champion, toured the world... But people are always talking about me in terms of potential. One day, apparently, I’ll be a great wrestler. One day I’ll prove myself. One day I’ll be the number one guy – and not just someone hanging around the top of a company, never quite making that final step.

“I’ll tell you the truth – I’m sick of it. I’m in the prime of my career, and I want to prove it. So I’m calling out the champion. Jean, you’ve shown yourself time and again to be one of the best in the business. You may even be better than me. But I have to know. This isn’t about Rip, or The Firm. This is just about competition.”

Jean came out, looking offended.
“I ‘may’ be better than you? Grayson, I’m offended that you even think it’s in question. You’ve got yourself a match – but remember to be careful what you ask for in future.”

*

Stevie Grayson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
Once again, this is why Jean has the belt. A lacklustre show was saved by this barnstorming main event, with Cattley and Grayson tearing the house down over thirty minutes of non-stop, clean wrestling action. Grayson was busting out his finest high-speed offence, countered by Jean’s patented brand of technical wizardry. The two even took it out onto the arena floor, where Jean bent the rules for the only time in the match, using a camera cable to choke Grayson out.

Back in the ring, the action continued thick and fast, with neither man possessing a firm advantage. But experience told in the end, as Jean was able to counter an attempted Shining Wizard into a Mood Swing to score the win.
Winner: Jean Cattley (C-)

Overall: D+

*

Next: Hello, goodbye...

McShamrock

07-18-2008, 10:35 AM

Absolutely love the whole Jay-Rip Chord storyline! It's got me on the edge of my seat ... keep it coming!

mad5226

07-18-2008, 12:35 PM

Hey man I just got caught back up. I love what your doing with MAW. The Chords' thing was brillent, and I'm really enjoying the Internet Favorites as well.

James Casey

07-19-2008, 03:45 AM

After the show, Rip and I were talking backstage when one of the secretaries ran up to us.

“Rip, Mr. Casey, he’s here. He said that he got in early, watched the show, and he’s ready to talk.”

We looked at each other in surprise.

“Get Jay and Stevie,” I said, as I turned for my office. “We’ll need to speak to them about this as well.”

“I’m on it,” Rip said. “And kid, free license on this one, okay?”

I nodded, wondering how often Rip would say that to me before entering negotiations.

*

Apparently Rip knew something I didn’t – $2.5k profit in May. And there was me worried about using nearly all our big names on one show...

*

Greg Gauge has signed a deal with USPW, which sees him leaving MAW. Matthew Gauge has been approached by INSPIRE (again), RIPW and NYCW – but seems to be happy to stay put.

*

Catherine Quine has left the head booker spot at AAA. I admit I’m tempted – but with Alicia Strong stuck in USPW, my desire to sign on is not as great as it could be.

*

Something’s apparently gone pop in the Mid Atlantic – advance ticket sales for Summer Showdown have convinced Rip to move from Stanley Hall and take a chance in the Delaware Auditorium.

I’m all for growth – but Delaware?

*

MAW Summer Showdown
Morgan & Benning vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
Ultimate Phoenix and The Masked Patriot vs. Jay Chord
Stevie Grayson vs. Curtis Jenkins for the MAW Traditional title
Kirk Jameson vs. Antonio
Trent Shaffer vs. Matthew Gauge
Fumihiro Ota vs. Black Eagle
??? vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title

Showtime4Lajf

07-19-2008, 05:50 AM

MAW Summer Showdown

Morgan & Benning vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
I'm not sure where you're going with this feud, so really this match could go either way, depending on where you're headed.

Ultimate Phoenix and The Masked Patriot vs. Jay Chord
Jay might have an ace up his sleeve, so he's not as alone against the forces of good as it might appear.

Stevie Grayson vs. Curtis Jenkins for the MAW Traditional title
Grayson's doing well. Jenkins is a comedy act.

Kirk Jameson vs. Antonio
Antonio is on a streak and unless you've come up with something for Jameson, he's just too bland to really be pushed.

Trent Shaffer vs. Matthew Gauge
Not knowing how long Matthew is going to stick around, you might as well use him to put someone else over.

Fumihiro Ota vs. Black Eagle
Seing as you are the huge Black Eagle fan that you are after his recent performances, he might not be long for MAW...

??? vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
I sense a change of guard sometime soon, but not knowing the challenger I'm going with Jean retaining.

James Casey

07-20-2008, 05:10 AM

Interesting reasoning - sure you haven't been reading my files? :p

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Summer Showdown
Saturday 26th June 2009
With over 600 fans in attendance at the Delaware auditorium, the noise generated was truly immense when the familiar sounds of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” hit the PA. For the first time in five months, Rip Chord strode out to the ramp and grinned at the crowd.

“Yeah, I’m back. Guess this old body of mine can’t deal with a beating like it used to. As for my prodigal son... I hear he’s been making a lot of noise since I’ve been gone. Well, junior, Daddy’s home now. I’m interested to know what you have to say for yourself with me in the arena.”

*

Kirk Jameson vs. Antonio
Over six hundred fans in attendance and this is what we start with. Oh well... Antonio’s winning streak continued in a relatively even match, culminating in an Italian DDT.
Winner: Antonio (D-)

*

Morgan & Benning (c) vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
Morgan and Benning tried their best, but they were no match for the experienced Firm duo. It seemed like a certainty that the heel duo would take the gold, but Thom Morgan was knocked from the ring and fell across the guard rail. The referee prevented Valentine and Vessey from going after him, and at the count of 10 brought the match to a close, to the disapproval of our fans and the challengers
Winners: C-V-2 by countout (E+)

*

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” hit the PA, and the fans booed lustily as Jay Chord came down to the ring, ignoring the competitors in the previous match as he zeroed in on Rip. He did pause to ask Casey Valentine to stay in the ring, however.

“Hey Dad. Good to see you. Finally decided to come and face your destiny, then? Well? Are we going to settle this in the ring, like real men?”

Rip shook his head.

“No, son. I’m not going to get into the ring with you. Not today, not ever.”

Jay looked furious for a minute, and then smirked slowly.

“All that time that you didn’t spend with me while I was growing up... You were guiding the careers of other youngsters, weren’t you?”

Rip looked nonplussed. “I trained a couple of kids, if that’s what you mean.”

“Exactly what I mean. Now, one of those kids was this man here, Casey Valentine, isn’t that right?”

Rip nodded slowly.

“So, if I was to do this-“ Jay spun and booted Casey hard in the gut, before dropping him to the mat with a Super DDT. He sprung back to his feet and resumed his glaring at Rip. “-would that change your mind?”

“No,” Rip said. “Casey’s old enough to look after himself.”

Jay sneered. “And what about Greg Gauge?”

“What about him?”

“Where’s he, Dad? Someone let him go from MAW this month, didn’t they? He’s off working for Sam Strong now, instead of here, helping me and his brother.”

“You think that I-“

“Yes, I do. You’ve never been one to face your problems head-on, Dad. It’d be just like you to let Greg go. Fortunately, I was able to bring in a replacement – someone who worked for one of your old friends until the old guard got him fired. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a very warm welcome to Darryl Devine!”

*

Ultimate Phoenix and The Masked Patriot vs. Jay Chord and Darryl Devine
Signing Devine was a statement of intent on our part – he slotted right into the thick of things and showed off some impressive skills. For once, Jay took the back seat in the match as Devine showcased what he could do. Patriot at times overpowered him, but Devine never looked in serious danger – Jay stepped in before it went too far. The heel duo were able to snatch the victory when Devine nailed a Devine Dream Drop for the win.
Winners: Chord and Devine (D)

*

Devine took the mic:
“When Jay was looking for allies, he went straight after the next generation, the future of professional wrestling. I’ve seen the future – and it’s me. That scared the old guys in the north-east, and so here I am. Jay convinced me to join with him – it gives me the chance to take out my frustrations on one of the founding members of the old guard, after all.”

Devine smirked, and took a seat at ringside to watch the next match.

*

Stevie Grayson (c) vs. Curtis Jenkins for the MAW Traditional title
A straightforward match that saw Jenkins enjoy a short spell in control, before succumbing to a 460 Degree Splash.
Winner: Stevie Grayson (D-)

*

As Stevie was handed the belt, Devine slipped into the ring behind him. He grabbed Grayson’s shoulder and spun him around, before hitting the Devine Dream Drop on him. He grabbed the belt, and pointed to himself, yelling that he wanted a match with Grayson next month.

*

Matthew Gauge came out to the ring:
“You know, between The Firm and ourselves, it’s getting awfully crowded in this company. I’m sure that The Firm know their place – but there’s a few people who don’t. That Rip Chord doesn’t almost goes without saying – we all know that he fired my brother. But he has a few followers who could do with being taught a lesson. Trent Shaffer tried to stand up for him a couple of times before, and I’m interested in seeing if he’s willing again. What do you say, Trent?”

Shaffer emerged from backstage:
“Dude, it is so on.”

*

Trent Shaffer vs. Matthew Gauge
These two youngsters put on a very strong match that helped rid our fans’ memories of the disappointing early showings. I’d given them free reign to mix things up, with the action flowing freely with nary a rest hold to be seen. In the end, Shaffer took the win in a desperately close contest when he nailed a Heart Burn
Winner: Trent Shaffer (C-)

*

Sienna LeNoir faced the camera, while Black Eagle brooded in the background. I a husky whisper, she said, “Ota... You waste your time training the young... Your time would be better spent improving yourself... The Black Eagle yearns for a true test... That test is not you... That test may not exist... The Black Eagle reigns over all...”

*

Fumihiro Ota vs. Black Eagle
Eagle seems to be over his recent funk – even if he was a last minute replacement for Greg Gauge. Still, beggars can’t be choosers, and he put on a fine showing with Ota that on another night would have been something special. We’d told them to tone it down a little, however, as I’d suspected that the previous match would be a hot one. In the end, Eagle took the duke with a New Jersey Turnpike.
Winner: Black Eagle (D+)

*

Jean Cattley was in the ring, awaiting his match. Somewhat familiar music played, and Jacob Jett stepped out from backstage.

“I heard that there was a big show in Delaware tonight, so I asked Rip if I could come back,” he announced. “I understand that you’re looking for a challenge, Jean, and I respect that. I also think I’m just the person to give you that challenge.”

*

Jacob Jett vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley for the MAW Heavyweight title
The fans didn’t hate Jett for reappearing as a face – I guess he didn’t make much of an impact during his two months as a heel. Anyway, he and Jean put on a good match to round off the show. I think Jean needs a program – the whole “I’m better than you” thing is a bit passé. Still, the match was decent, and Jean retained, as usual, with a Mood Swing.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D+)

Overall: D+

Showtime4Lajf

07-20-2008, 07:33 AM

Interesting reasoning - sure you haven't been reading my files? :p

You know that feeling where it feels like someone is watching you, even though you know nobody's in the room? That's me!

James Casey

07-20-2008, 03:26 PM

Hence the mask? :D

*

That’s what I’m talking about: $4,000 profit in June.

*

Steve DeColt is set to leave CGC, just a month after Jack did a bunk. In our own version of family finance, Jay and I sat down to thrash out a new deal this month as well. He’d come prepared – a professional package explaining how he was a key factor in MAW’s rising popularity, how Darryl Devine was at a comparable level and that Jay should earn a comparable amount, and that as he was on USPW and TCW TV, he was rapidly becoming a household name.

All good points – and really, what was I going to do? Ditch our biggest star in the middle of the storyline that he’s integral to? Anyway, it added up to a monthly damage of $1,500 per, plus 30% of the merchandise and another midcard title run.

The whole midcard title run thing baffles me, to be honest. Jay, Stevie and Eagle all have it in their contracts. Darryl has a low level title run in his contract. It’s crazy – they’re all main eventers, but don’t have the gumption to ask for a main event run.

Maybe they’re scared of what’d happen if Jean found out? Who knows?

*

Haruki Kudo has retired from active competition at the age of 45. Pro Wrestling Hits had a Haruki Day on their website, devoting a whole day to the Japanese legend’s career. It’s remarkable to consider the esteem Kudo is held in – a career spanning almost thirty years in which he held just two titles for a total of five reigns. Mind you – they were the Burning World and NOTBPW Canadian belts. Not bad going... His last match saw him put over Miyamae in a decent effort.

Backstage, Rip and I held our own Haruki Day, screening tapes and DVDs of his greatest matches. Some people watched and learned. Others talked about their new contract. Just saying...

Funny spot of the day involved Primus Allen – who’s a mark in the good sense of the word – nearly losing it and thumping Jay when he wouldn’t shut up. Primus, who’s just taken a $100 pay cut to stick with us, was understandably a bit annoyed when Jay kept going on about his new deal. I just sat and watched – Jay has to learn sometime, and Primus is a lot less likely to take out a contract on Jay than, say, Nemesis.

Just saying...

*

Rip called me late that night – or early the next morning. I never did work out what 2.33am is in the night/morning divide.

“Are you planning on talking to Primus?” he asked.

“What? What about?” I rasped.

“About his run-in with Jay.”

“Primus is doing a run-in on Jay? What?” My mind was fogged. I had no idea what Rip was talking about.

“Wake up, kid,” Rip snapped, and I sat bolt upright in bed, my mind clearing at the speed of light.

“Rip, what are you talking about? Jay’s argument with Primus? Jay was being an ass, and Primus put him in his place. What’s wrong with that?”

“Jay’s my son, that’s what’s wrong.”

“Well, maybe you should slap him down once in a while. The kid’s got your ego, and he’s done nothing to earn it,” my mouth said, before my brain had any say.

I swore silently. Rip and I had had our rough patches in the last year or so, but I’d never gone that far before.

Rip chuckled roughly. “You may be right,” he said, as I let out a long breath. “There’s a big part of me that still wants to spoil him, kid. But I guess that too much spoiling will spoil the broth. Or something.”

“He’s nineteen,” I pointed out, my heart slowing down from about three hundred beats per minute. “He’s an adult – he needs to learn how to behave like one. You asked me to take charge of backstage, Rip, and that includes your son nowadays.”

“All right, kid. It’s your call,” Rip said. “Hey, shouldn’t you be asleep or something?”

His rough laugh was the last thing I heard before I hung up and tried to get back to sleep.

*

MAW Beach Blast
Riley McManus vs. Antonio
Stevie Grayson vs. Darryl Devine
Kashmir Singh vs. Primus Allen
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Matthew Gauge
Internet Favourites vs. C-V-2 vs. The Canadian Blondes
Fumihiro Ota vs. Findlay O’Farraday
Trent Shaffer vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Plus: Jay Chord will be in action

mad5226

07-20-2008, 04:28 PM

Fun phone convo with Rip I could actually see something like that going down in my head.

Primus is a lot less likely to take out a contract on Jay than, say, Nemesis.

Quote of the day lol

Hyde Hill

07-21-2008, 05:32 AM

Riley McManus vs. Antonio
Stevie Grayson vs. Darryl Devine
Kashmir Singh vs. Primus Allen
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Matthew Gauge
Internet Favourites vs. C-V-2 vs. The Canadian Blondes
Fumihiro Ota vs. Findlay O’Farraday
Trent Shaffer vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Plus: Jay Chord will be in action

James Casey

07-21-2008, 06:49 AM

I think mad5226 will like this one...

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Beach Blast
Friday, 26th July 2009

Riley McManus vs. Antonio
So... yeah. Why do I keep opening the show with Antonio again? I really do believe that both these guys show promise – and Antonio can even hold his own in the midcard. But together they’re a recipe for mediocrity. Antonio won with an Italian DDT.
Winner: Antonio (E+)

*

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” hit the PA and Jay and Darryl came down to the ring before the 770 fans in attendance. He offered his hand to Antonio, who shook it cautiously. He tried to leave the ring, but Darryl stopped him.

“I’ve been thinking about what you’ve said over the last while,” Jay said. “And you’re right – as Rip Chord Invitational champion, you should have had more opportunity to show what you’re capable of. You should have had title shots, and title reigns. I guess that’s what comes of putting your trust in Rip Chord.

“You know, I’m almost sorry about this...”

‘This’ turned out to be a Super DDT that Antonio sold for twenty. The camera showed Rip’s face going pale as he watched his first student take a beating from his son.

“You know what I want, old man,” Jay yelled into the mic. “I’ll keep on beating you by proxy until you grow the balls to step up and fight me!”

*

Stevie Grayson (c) vs. Darryl Devine for the MAW Traditional title
After last month’s attack, Grayson wanted vengeance – Devine just wanted a title shot. The two high-flyers went at it tooth and claw, with the more all-round Devine able to fall back on his underrated brawling and technical skills to add extra facets to his high-speed assault. To Grayson’s horror, he found himself outclassed, and Devine was able to hit a Devine Dream Drop to win the Traditional title.
Winner: Darryl Devine (D+)

*

Jay brought the title belt into the ring and strapped it around Darryl’s waist, before raising his ally’s hand in victory as the fans booed.

*

Kashmir Singh vs. Primus Allen
Primus Allen has really got over with the Mid-Atlantic fans, and they’ve bought into his brute force gimmick more than comparable workers like Masked Patriot and Findlay O’Farraday. Kashmir Singh is still awaiting lift-off as far as his career goes – once again he was stuck in the role of Patriot substitute, taking a beating on his partner’s behalf. Allen won with a Running Powerslam.
Winner: Primus Allen (D-)

*

Allen rose to his feet with an ugly sneer on his face, but his expression was changed when he was taken down to the mat by a hard spear from behind as The Masked Patriot nearly snapped him in two. Patriot straddled Allen and rained a series of blows down on him, the Rookie Monster only able to cover up and try and protect himself, without offering any offence of his own.

*

Ultimate Phoenix had something to say:
“History teaches us many things. One of the key lessons is that an evil man can only make it so far alone – he needs allies, support, assistance. The Watch is ever vigilant – and we have noticed that Jay Chord has one inseparable ally. That man is Matthew Gauge, and he must pay for his transgressions as surely as Jay Chord will.”

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Matthew Gauge
Some ideas work better than others. Capable of excellent matches with other people, Gauge and Phoenix just sort of cancel each other out, resulting in an average match not helped by Gauge’s head being elsewhere. He still managed to snatch victory with a Depth Gauge, however.
Winner: Matthew Gauge (D)

*

Rip got in the ring and explained that the following match was a #1 contender match for the MAW Tag Team titles.

*

Backstage, and Fumihiro Ota and the Internet Favourites were sitting in a line, each in the lotus position – although Max Mayhem was struggling to keep his legs folded. Each of the three had a gong in front of them.

“Why are we doing this again?” Mayhem asked.

“Master Ota always does this before a match,” Hugh Lee replied. “It helps focus his mind.”

“Banging a gong?”

“It works for him,” Hugh said.

Gong. Gong.

Ota had tapped his gong twice, and now held up a hand for silence. Picking up a remote control, he turned on the TV.

“And now, the final of American Idol! Will this year’s winner be Marcus-“

Gong.

“-or Jessica?”

Gong. Gong.

Mayhem sighed, as Ota and Hugh stared raptly at the television.

“And for this I’m missing the Eureka marathon.”

*

Internet Favourites vs. C-V-2 vs. The Canadian Blondes
This was actually better than I expected – the three teams found a rhythm that had the crowd at least paying attention to the match as it was going on, if not exactly popping big. The Internet Favourites were out first, crashing and burning as their stereo flying crossbodies saw them caught by their opponents, the four of whom teamed up to hit a double spike powerbomb in a cool visual. The two heel teams then put together a respectable finish that saw Valentine hit Golden with Sweet Sweet Heartbreak for the win.
Winners: C-V-2 (D-)

*

After the match, C-V-2 promised Morgan & Benning that their “pathetic, flukey” reign would soon be ended.

*

Findlay O’Farraday had something to say:
“There’ve been a lot of newcomers in this company recently. Lots of people who think that they’re king----. They don’t seem to understand that the dominant force around here is me. I’ve been ignored for too long. Someone backstage, I don’t care who, get your ass out here so I can send you back on a stretcher.”

Fumihiro Ota came out, and Findlay looked surprised and a little worried.

*

Fumihiro Ota vs. Findlay O’Farraday
O’Farraday is big and mean, but can’t go eight minutes without tiring himself out. That’s just sad. Ota did the best he could with the big guy before nailing the Ninja Strike for an uncomplicated victory.
Winner: Fumihiro Ota (D-)

*

Trent Shaffer was backstage:
“So, it’s like, my old tag team partner has some gold right now, and good for him. Me, I don’t have anything. I think it’d be kinda cool if I won the Heavyweight title, to be honest – I’d be the first person to go from tag champion to Heavyweight champion here in the Mid Atlantic. And that’d be pretty cool.”

*

Trent Shaffer vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight championship
These two put on a decent match that saw Shaffer pushing Jean hard, making the champion work for his title. Jean used his best technical skills to hold back the challenge, but Shaffer was relentless, using his speed to come at Cattley from unexpected directions, until finally it took a Primus Allen run-in and distraction to allow Cattley to nail the Mood Swing and score the win.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D+)

*

It seemed as though the show was over, but as fans started to gather their gear, Jay Chord’s music hit the PA and he made his way down to the ring. Taking a mic, he stared down at Rip at the announcer’s table.

“Come on, Dad. What’s it going to take? That’s two of your p---y students I’ve but down in two months. I keep beating everyone who tries to get in the ring with me. You had to swindle the Gauges out of the tag belts and fire Greg to stop them getting them back. And now Darryl’s taken the Traditional title from Grayson. What’s it going to take?”

Rip stood up, and stared at his son, frustration playing across his scarred and lined face.

“Son, I have to admit that you try me sorely. But I’d be a terrible, terrible father if I got in the ring with you, no matter how much you deserve it. So I won’t.

“But he will.”

Jay spun in place to look up the ramp to where Rip was pointing – but the fan’s had already begun to pop as the first bars of Leonard Cohen’s “Future” played over the PA.

“It can’t be,” I gasped on commentary. “He works for the Eisens!”

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jamescasey_photos/StevenParker.jpg

But it was: Steven Parker had returned to MAW.

*

Steven Parker vs. Jay Chord
Nice to have an idea pay off. This battle between the SWF and TCW stars was a suitably epic encounter – it wasn’t an issue of chemistry or anything like that, just a bruising war between two very talented wrestlers. Both men are talented and possess diverse skillsets, but Parker had the edge in that he could go airborne with some ease, whereas Chord’s strengths are more ground-based. It made for a thrilling encounter that the fans were delighted with, and resulted in Rip’s first strike against Jay as Parker nailed the Future Shock to take the win.
Winner: Steven Parker (C-)

Overall: C-

Steven m-f'ing Parker! And his theme song has got nothing to do with him, really - but Rip insisted...

mad5226

07-21-2008, 08:00 AM

NICE! Parker is a stud, and should really help your ratings. Looks like he's being treated as a face, which means one day we should get to see the Future Vs. Jean for the title. Always great consdiering they were both in the Firm.

One small gripe however, I don't honestly think Rip would ever have Parker back. I mean he released him in 2007 because he felt like he had achieved all he could with MAW. I guess since you're "growing" he might take a different stand, but I'm not sure. I also think "the fans" would've marked even harder if it were Mainstream Hernandez, but that's just me.

And on a completly different note, Internet Favorites are now my favorite tag team EVER! You should push them to the moon...or at least continue to put them in plenty of over the top angles lol...good stuff man

Hyde Hill

07-21-2008, 09:07 AM

Nice show and I scored 8 out of ten lol. Good to see the future back did you get him on loan or ppa? Same question for Devine as in my games SWF generally signs em to written contracts and keeps em or have they fallen to cult or something?
Also on your roster overview a few posts back our favorite Ninja Ota was missing, hes a sneaky bugger so maybe he used his ninja skills to dissapear?

So, it’s like, my old tag team partner has some gold right now

Wierd thing to say when minutes prior he just lost it to the Devine One.

Enjoying the Diary keep up the good work.

James Casey

07-21-2008, 03:48 PM

:o Darn that Ota and his ninja tricks - he's a Main Eventer, and a dependable one, generally.

Some of that ninja smoke of his must have affected Shaffer - either that or the dude's just a bit behind on events :p

Parker's in on a PPA, to whit:

*

After the show, I was the first to shake Steven’s hand – his match with Jay had really lifted an otherwise unremarkable show.

“Thanks God the Eisens didn’t want to re-sign you to a written deal,” I grinned.

“They can’t – the board of directors won’t sanction it until they’re at a bigger guaranteed income. And a lot of the wrestlers wouldn’t go for it even if they did,” he said, looking a bit wary. “Things aren’t going so great out there. I don’t think the SWF is going to fail or anything, but they’re going through a bit of a rough patch.”

I shrugged. “Richard always bounces back. He loves a challenge – and they’re still number one in the world.”

“I hope so,” Steven said. “I mean, I love being here, but running at the top of the tree, even if I’m not at the very top of the card yet... It’s a rush.”

“Yeah. I remember what that’s like. Believe me, we appreciate you coming back – and a few more shows like that one might just...”

I tailed off as several of the wrestlers exited the locker room at once, looking either embarrassed or disgusted.

“What’s up?” I asked Ultimate Phoenix.

“Jay,” he said.

“What now?” I asked, not stopping to hear the answer as I scuttled through the massed ranks of MAW’s finest, all of whom had decided that the corridor was a better place to be than the locker room.

“What the hell?” I asked, as Jay pranced around the locker room to an ever-dwindling audience. He turned and stared at me, apparently unembarrassed that he was wearing nothing below the waistline.

“I’m going to assume that there’s a point to this,” I said, crossing my arms and meeting his gaze evenly. “I certainly don’t see anything for you to be proud of.”

The comment was met with chuckles from the corridor, and a few of the remaining workers in the locker room grinned as well. Jay flushed, but seemed to feel that he might be able to regain some dignity.

Then Rip stuck his head in the door, looked Jay up and down without blinking, and growled, “Reminds me of bath night when you were a baby. Guess not all of you grew up at the same rate, son.”

Jay’s shoulders sagged, and I could hear a couple of thumps as some of the wrestlers lost it and fell against the walls – or even the floor.

“There’s no need to be like that,” Jay muttered, as he grabbed a pair of shorts and pulled them on. I rolled my eyes and left.

*

MAW Iron
Morgan & Benning vs. C-V-2
Erik Strong vs. Matthew Gauge
The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singh vs. Findlay O’Farraday & Primus Allen
Stevie Grayson vs. Black Eagle
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Darryl Devine
Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley

Hyde Hill

07-21-2008, 03:57 PM

Morgan & Benning vs. C-V-2
They had a nice run time to put it on CV2

Erik Strong vs. Matthew Gauge
He wil leave you eventually so rub it of

The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singh vs. Findlay O’Farraday & Primus Allen
Need a win to make the fued exciting and no jsut Primus squashing all

Stevie Grayson vs. Black Eagle
Get grayson and schaffer back for the tag and make Eagle a contender and happy again.

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Darryl Devine
Ultimate Jobbix is better name so far, DD can´t loose on first defense

Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Machine had a good run time for the future vs junior

smurphy1014

07-21-2008, 04:06 PM

MAW Iron
Morgan & Benning vs. C-V-2
Erik Strong vs. Matthew Gauge
The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singh vs. Findlay O’Farraday & Primus Allen
Stevie Grayson vs. Black Eagle
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Darryl Devine
Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley

James Casey

07-22-2008, 06:43 AM

Never let it be said I don't listen to what people say - even if this was written a fair few days ago... :p

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Iron
Friday, 26th August 2009
Morgan & Benning (c) vs. C-V-2 for the MAW Tag Team titles
Over 800 fans in attendance watched these two teams construct a very enjoyable opener. The face pairing played the overmatched card throughout, their lack of experience and lower card position combining to make for an underdog dynamic as they strove valiantly, but ultimately fruitlessly, to hold their own against the cagey Firm duo. In the end, Vessey caught Benning with a Flying V to win the titles.
Winners: C-V-2 (D-)

*

C-V-2 stood over their fallen opponents, pushing their new titles into Morgan and Benning’s faces, shoving them at the camera, and generally being loud and obnoxious.

*

Backstage, Jean Cattley was getting a coffee from the craft services table, when someone cleared their throat behind him.

Jean turned slowly, and sipped his coffee in an unconcerned manner.

“Back again, huh?”

The camera panned around to show Steven Parker a couple of feet away.

“Good to see The Firm doing well,” Parker said. “I knew you’d keep things going when I left.”

“It’s a good group,” Jean said. “And yourself? How’re things up north?”

“I can’t complain,” Parker replied. “I hear you’re calling yourself the best, now.”

“Telling it how it is,” Jean said. “You have something to say about that?”

“I always knew you had talent,” Parker said. “Well, catch you later.”

He walked off, leaving Jean to lean back against the table and sip his coffee again, watching his old partner speculatively.

*

Erik Strong vs. Matthew Gauge
Strong more than held his own against Matthew in this match, showing a strong form as he played to the crowd and Katie Cameron, who cheered him on and got the crowd on his side. But it was all for naught as the match drew to a close, when a third competitor dived into the ring. Standing up besides Gauge, he was revealed to be Greg Gauge, causing Strong to do a double-take. This allowed Matt to hit the Neutron Plex for the quick win, as the Gauges bailed immediately after the bell rang, laughing as Strong looked on furiously.
Winner: Matthew Gauge (D)

*

Primus Allen was taping his wrists backstage when a looming shadow fell over him.

“Can I help you?” he asked, nonchalantly.

“I need your help,” Findlay O’Farraday said, stepping into frame – the cameraman had to pull back to get both on screen at the same time – and taking a seat.

“What with?”

“I used to be feared – like you are. I used to smash people – like you do. I used to be an unstoppable force – like you are. I need you to show me how to get that back.”

Allen nodded. “Yes, yes you do. I will help you – but first you have to help me.”

“Anything.”

Primus grinned.

*

The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singh vs. Findlay O’Farraday & Primus Allen
O’Farraday did his best in this match, but as Allen mostly watched on from the apron, he was gradually worn down by Singh and Patriot, who showed credible teamwork that Farraday just couldn’t stand against on his own. He eventually fell victim to a Patriot Backdrop Driver.
Winners: Patriot & Singh (D-)

*

Steven Parker was outside The Firm’s locker room. He knocked, and when there was no response, he walked in to find C-V-2 in the midst of a huge celebration. Jean was sat in a corner, talking to Primus and Findlay. Parker walked over to him.

“Jean, I want a match.”

“Yeah, I figured you would. I asked Rip to keep the main event clear. I knew you couldn’t be back for long before you’d want the gold again.”

“You understand,” Parker said.

“Of course I do. It’s what makes us the best. It’s what drives The Firm – that unquenchable thirst for glory, and success, and power, and knowing that we are the best.”

“I remember.”

“Of course you do. But you know that the past doesn’t mean anything when we step into the ring. I’ve got no bones with Rip, so if you’re taking his side that’s your business. It’s only an issue when you take against me. But for old time’s sake, tonight will be... friendly.”

“And when I win?”

Jean’s face froze, and then he slowly smiled a feral smile. “After tonight, if you keep trying to take my title, then the gloves are off.”

“I’d expect nothing else.”

*

Backstage, and Greg Gauge was looking very pleased with himself as he strutted down the hall. He was brought up short by someone clapping slowly.

“Really, really well done,” Kirk Jameson said, sarcastically. “Honestly, I don’t know what you and your brother would do if you weren’t identical twins. You’d actually have to rely on your wrestling ability – which is nothing special.”

“So you say,” Greg replied, getting in Kirk’s face. “But how about you meet me out in the ring, and I show you?”

“You’re on!”

*

Kirk Jameson vs. Greg Gauge
Holy... Jameson just may have a future, after all. This was a tremendous match that the two youngsters tearing it up as they threw everything in their arsenals at each other. Gauge seemed to be willing to prove himself, as he worked a totally straight match, but Jameson was able to keep up with him, and eventually caught him with a Kirk-Hold to put him down – only for Matthew Gauge to appear and distract the referee. Jameson was furious, but the distraction was enough to allow Greg to retaliate with a Depth Gauge to snatch the victory. Jameson looked furious as the Gauges backed away from the ring, but then he pointed to himself as though to say ‘I was right’.
Winner: Greg Gauge (C-)

*

Stevie Grayson was backstage and warming up, when Sienna LeNoir found him.

“He feels your rage...” she whispered. “Your despair at having your title taken... He can help you mould that rage... Use your despair... He can make you mighty.”

Grayson still had his back to her.

“Tell your boss that if he can beat me, I’ll listen to what he says. But until that happens, you’re just really annoying.”

*

Stevie Grayson vs. Black Eagle
Hell yeah. Gotta love it when something just clicks – and Eagle and Grayson just click. They were reading from the same page throughout, their exchanges so smooth you’d think they’d worked on the match for weeks, instead of calling it as they went. Eagle used brute force and high impact offence to try and put Grayson down, as Sienna kept up a steady stream of temptation from ringside. But Stevie refused to stay down, and his high-speed attacks finally wore Eagle down and left him vulnerable to a Shining Wizard to give Grayson the win.
Winner: Stevie Grayson (C)

*

Ultimate Phoenix approached Darryl Devine backstage:
“You should know that Jay Chord is just using you,” he said, without preamble. “You are an undeniably talented wrestler, but Chord has caused you to fall to evil. You can be redeemed – forsake him and return to the path of the virtuous. Continue to follow Jay, and you will surely find yourself entering a downward spiral.”

Devine laughed in Phoenix’ face:
“Following Jay has got me gold already, you masked idiot. God, I thought that moving south would get me away from the freaks and weirdoes, but I guess every company has its share. Look, you’ve had your share of lumps of late, so I’ll let you off lightly. Walk away now, and I won’t have to beat some sense into you, okay?”

“You judge your success by gold? Then I shall take your gold from you. Meet me in the ring.”

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Darryl Devine (c) for the MAW Traditional title
Rip and I couldn’t help but grin at each other like giddy schoolgirls as this match shaped up. Two phenomenal athletes went at it tooth and nail in a match that lacked the chemistry of Grayson/Eagle but made up for it in terms of sheer drama and passion as neither man gave an inch or asked for any relief. Devine showed an unexpected aggressive side, tearing at Phoenix’s mask and brutalising him with a series of hard kicks as Phoenix lay propped up in the corner. But Phoenix was able to come back with some slick aerial work. However, the beating had taken its toll, and when he was slow mounting the turnbuckles for a Phoenix Firebird Splash, Devine was there with a Super Devine Dream Drop to take the win.
Winner: Darryl Devine (C)

*

Once again, Jay Chord came out to celebrate Devine’s victory with him. Chord turned, and pointed at Rip, and then at Devine’s gold belt. Taking a mic, he laughed loudly:

“Oh, Dad, I know you. I really, really do. We’ve taken gold. We’ve beaten the best you can offer, and yet... You’ll refuse me again if I challenge you to a match, won’t you?”

Sitting at the commentary table, Rip nodded once.

“Yeah, I thought so. So these last few weeks, I’ve been thinking about how to get you in the ring. And here’s what I’ve come up with: I invade your company, I engineer situations where my allies capture your company’s titles, I win your self-titled tournament, myself and my allies beat anyone and everyone who steps into the ring with us.

“Now, all these thing’s we’ve done. My next brainwave was to go after the people you care about. Now, first I thought about going after your best friend – the guy sitting next to you right now, James Casey. He gave you the idea to start this place, he got you off the booze... but you killed his career, and you barely spoke to him for the next fifteen years. I don’t think you actually care about him that much.”

Rip and I exchanged uncomfortable glances at the commentary table.

“Now, I’ll admit, I made a mistake here. I guess it’s in my genes. I went after Casey Valentine, and Antonio. The two wrestlers trained by Rip Chord. And I thought that the men that Rip spent months with, rather than with his own son-“

“For God’s sake, Jay, listen to yourself,” Rip erupted. “You sound-“

“Shut up! No, you don’t get to talk now, old man,” Jay yelled. “You didn’t care about me, and you didn’t care about them. I should have known – you just took their money, enjoyed reliving your faded glories with them, and probably taught them jack ---- about wrestling.

“So I had to go and find someone that you did care about. At first I thought that Steven Parker would be it – but he’s another naïve fool you use for what you can get out of him.

“No. There’s only one person in the business you ever cared about. One person you put your faith in. One person you gave every advantage to – the way that you never did for me. Greg, Matt, bring him out.”

Rip’s face paled as the Gauge brothers dragged a limp body out from backstage. Long, blonde hair covered the man’s face, even as the brothers rolled him into the ring. All that was possible to make out was that the man had been beaten and bloodied.

“Do you see, Dad?” Jay demanded. “Do you see where your selfishness has led us? Look at his face, Dad!”

Jay wound his finger’s into the man’s hair and hauled him up to face the camera. Beneath the blood and bruises it was possible to make out the highly recognisable features of the two-time Rip Chord Invitational champion...

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jamescasey_photos/MainstreamHernandez-1.jpg

...Mainstream Hernandez.

“Darryl, after you.”

Devine picked Mainstream up and nailed him with the Devine Dream Drop.

“Do I get my match now, Dad?”

“No!” Rip snarled, his face ashen with worry.

At Jay’s signal, Greg picked up Mainstream and planted him with the Neutron Plex.

“Now?”

“No!”

Jay glared at his father, then took his turn. Picking up Hernandez, he drilled him with the Super DDT.

“Now?”

“No.”

Matthew Gauge picked up Hernandez and slowly put him in the Proton Lock.

“You know this one, Dad. You know how much it hurts. Do I get my match?”

“Y... N-no. No.”

Jay screamed in frustration, and then snatched Devine’s Traditional belt from him.

“Last chance, Dad. Or Mainstream gets ten pounds of gold between his eyes. What’s it going to be? Do I get my match?”

“Yes! God help me, yes,” Rip sank back into his chair, looking beaten and down.

Jay grinned a sick grin, and gestured for Matt to release the Lock. Trainers immediately rushed to the ring to help Mainstream to the back. Once he was clear, Rip raised the mic to his mouth again.

“On one condition.”

Jay’s grin vanished, and he stared at his father in disbelief.

“What?”

“You can have your match on one condition. You see, I don’t like what you’ve become, Jay. You say that you want my help – but you’ve done nothing to prove that you deserve it. So maybe I will face you in the ring. But you’ll have to earn it, you little piece of ----,” the fans popped at the cursing, as Rip rose to his feet, the colour returning to his cheeks. “For what you’ve done to me, for what you’ve done to my company and the people I care about, I’m going to make you earn the right to get your ass kicked by me. Next month, the four of you will take on the four wrestlers of my choice in a war games match!”

Jay and his allies went nuts in the ring as Rip smiled wickedly up at them. Security flooded the ring to prevent Jay going after his father there and then, and eventually the ring was cleared for the final match.

Rip excused himself to go and check on Mainstream, and to begin choosing his team for the match.

*

Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
How to cap our best show in ages? Why, that’ll be MAW’s best match ever – at least, under my control. Parker and Cattley tore the house down for nearly thirty minutes, their long and storied history played out on commentary and in the ring as their great familiarity with each other – despite a two-year separation – was evident to all. Mood Swings and Future Shocks were attempted and countered as each man had an answer to everything that the other guy could try. The war blistered back and forth and, refreshingly, The Firm were noticeable only by their absence as the two men blazed back and forth. Finally, after twenty-five minutes of stunning action, the bell rang for a time-limit draw, which sent the fans home from the show buzzing at the action on offer.
Winner: No-one (C+)

Overall: C

Next: ----, unfortunately...

Hyde Hill

07-22-2008, 07:04 AM

Great show man and you do seem to get all the good signings man SWF and TCW must be f ing up.

1PWfan

07-22-2008, 07:58 AM

Every time I hear Wargames, I mark out. It's just so cool.

And now I'm trying to remember if there's ever been a wargames where the faces won...

Dragonmack

07-22-2008, 08:08 AM

Actually the faces won most if not all of the original wargames. Usually either submitting JJ Dillon or Bubba Rogers (aka Big Bossman) as the War Machine.

In fact, the only one i don't remember the faces winning was the 4 horsemen vs the NWo because that is when Curt Hennig turned on Ric Flair.

Candyman

07-22-2008, 09:22 AM

The NWO won the year before that also when "nWo Sting" forced Luger to submit. The real Sting was supposed to be on the other team but didn't trust his teammates so refused to participate in the match, making it 4-on-3. Before that, faces were 7-1 in WarGames.

James Casey

07-22-2008, 04:14 PM

Mainstream is, alas, only a loan signing. I believe Ota went the other way - or maybe Devine. One of them, anyway. Parker, however, is here to say - for as long as it takes Richard to haul his sorry hide back up to National, anyway.

And I love War Games. I'd say the 1992 match was the finest - but am open to persuasion

*

“God damn it!”

Bulldozer Brandon Smith stormed out of the locker room in a fit of rage, nearly flattening me as he passed. Rip looked at me with a crooked eyebrow and let me walk into the room first.

“Jay!” I yelled, barely even needing to look before I reacted. Almost all of the members of the locker room were investigating their shoes, with various degrees of dismay evident on their faces.

“It’s just a little dog dirt, James,” Jay said. I spun in place and brought my cane up, jabbing him in the chest.

“You’re nineteen years old, Jay. And you don’t seem to realise that you’re replaceable. I can think of two ways of cutting short your story off the top of my head,” I said, jabbing him with every second word, but keeping my tone of voice reasonable. “And with a month to plan, I’m sure that I could come up with more. I could suspend you, I could fine you – I could even just let you rot for the rest of your contract. You didn’t even have a match tonight, and it was our best show ever. Either take some pride in yourself, or you find out what I can do when I lose my temper, understand?”

“It was just a joke!” Jay erupted, pushing past me and storming out of the locker room.

“I’ll go after him,” Matt Gauge said, but I barred the door with my cane.

“Leave him,” I said. “He may just be a kid, but I don’t see anyone else acting up. He need’s to sort himself out. If he pulls this kind of thing backstage in TCW, he won’t have time to storm out the door – Tommy will thrown him out so hard and so fast he’ll cross the state line before he stops.

“Hell, maybe he’ll run into Brandon. I take it his shoes were done, too?”

“Yeah – and Brandon has a bit of a thing about dog dirt – I thought he was going to hurl.”

I shook my head, and looked at Rip, who had remained silent through all this.

“I know,” he said, holding up a hand to forestall my comments.

“I don’t think you do,” I said, pointing at him with my cane. My leg was aching, but I’d found that it was an excellent way to keep people’s attention. “He can blow the whole thing if he keeps acting up, Rip. And it’s not fun to come in here every month and wonder what he’s going to have done. Either start to take action with him, or get ready for him to disappear from the shows. I’ll stop booking him – I’m not joking.”

“I know you’re not, kid,” he sighed, and looked around the locker room. Everyone was watching. Wrestlers thrive on gossip as much as anyone else, and this would keep them busy for weeks. “Everyone, I’ll talk to Jay. I’m sorry about your shoes.”

He left, leaving me in a room that, I now realised, stank of dog dirt. Trying not to throw up, I followed.

*

With our last show, MAW have climbed off the foot of the world – CWWF are now the ‘least important’ federation currently in business.

We also did good business last month, with a $4,300 profit, despite Mainstream and Jay being restricted – by necessity – to their big angle and not an actual match.

*

Jean Cattley and Fumihiro Ota have inked extensions. Lisa Bowen has not, as her $500 PPA deal didn’t add up to value for money for MAW. Her last appearance will be at Fall Of The King.

*

Steve DeColt has moved from CGC to NOTBPW. MAW star Darryl Devine has signed on as his successor. With Jacob Jett, Mainstream, Devine and former MAW midcarders Stan Manna and Ryan Turner on their roster, there’s a very familiar feel to CGC these days.

Stevie Grayson, meanwhile, has signed a PPA deal with TCW. More exposure for our guys is good – I keep telling myself. Right until they grow too big for us, anyway.

*

September – Fall Of The King
Internet Favourites vs. C-V-2
Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio & Raphael
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Black Eagle
The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen
Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Rip’s Team vs. Jay’s Team in a War Games match

Hyde Hill

07-22-2008, 05:00 PM

Internet Favourites vs. C-V-2
Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio & Raphael
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Black Eagle
The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen
Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Rip’s Team vs. Jay’s Team in a War Games match

mad5226

07-22-2008, 07:08 PM

WOW...I love how this thing is panning out. Bringing in the old talent, having Jay look like the biggest Prick in the Universe then drawing Rip out of retirement to put a stop to it. I really think this whole thing was been handled perfectly by you my friend. I also really enjoyed the exchange between Parker and Jean. I was afraid you would go to over the top with Parker being a face, or vice versa. I see now it's going to be a slow build into hatred between the two...PERFECT

Astil

07-22-2008, 07:18 PM

Yes, yes, very nice indeed.

TheBrockLock

07-22-2008, 11:57 PM

Not going to lie, I marked out big time when you brought Mainstream back, dissipointing he is just a loan but still what a great show,loving the diary.

James Casey

07-23-2008, 06:30 AM

Thanks for all the comments, everyone. Short write-ups in the main today - the main event gets all the love :D

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Fall Of The King
Friday, 26th September 2009

Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio & Raphael
With over seven hundred fans in attendance once more, these two undercard tag teams exchanged moves and holds for all ten minutes of this opening match, at the end of which the time limit expired and the four men had to make do with a draw.
Winners: No-one (E+)

*

With the match over, Morgan and Benning stayed in the ring.
“We’ve been at the very top, and we lost what we had,” Benning said. “Now we have to learn how to get back up there.”

“We’re big enough to admit that our tag title win was a one-in-a-thousand shot,” Morgan agreed. “We weren’t ready to be champions. So we’re going to make ourselves ready. Next time we get a chance, we’re going to take it. And become champions that the fans of this company can be proud of.”

*

Backstage, and Masked Patriot hyped up his upcoming match against Primus Allen, saying that Rip should watch closely – that his combination of speed, strength and technical knohow made him a perfect candidate for his team.

*

Internet Favourites vs. C-V-2 (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
The Favourites did their best, but they were outclassed by the champions, who entered a dominant showing en route to victory via a Flying V on Mayhem.
Winners: C-V-2 (E+)

*

Earlier today, Stevie Grayson and Ultimate Phoenix approached Rip in turn to ask for a place on his team. Rip listened to each in turn, and promised to get back to them.

*

Backstage, and we saw a montage of Sienna LeNoir approaching a number of people backstage, apparently seeking to recruit them as she had Stevie Grayson the month before. Black Eagle lurked in the background of each shot, appearing implacable and disinterested until he was spun round by Ultimate Phoenix.

“Black Eagle, you and I have never seen eye to eye, and this latest stunt of yours, seeking to recruit others for your own nefarious purposes, is nothing short of vile. I cannot in good conscience allow you to carry on attempting to spread your black influence through this company. Tonight I want to face you one last time – and if I win, you leave these people to live their lives in peace, understand?”

“Your terms are acceptable...” Sienna said, in the foreground, and without looking at Eagle. “He will fight you this evening... and if he wins, then you must leave in his place... and allow him to find his true disciple among those who may be worthy...”

*

The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen
This was a fun power match that finally saw Patriot gain some traction in his ongoing battle with The Firm’s enforcer. For once, the two faced one another on an even battleground, and Patriot’s experience told as he was able to keep one step ahead of Allen, using his underrated speed to minimise and deflect the worst of Allen’s attacks. Findlay O’Farraday tried to cause trouble with a run-in towards the end of the match, but Patriot remained focused, before nailing Allen with an Inverted Piledriver for his first MAW defeat.
Winner: Masked Patriot (D)

*

Earlier today, Trent Shaffer asked Rip for a place on the team. Rip seemed quite enthusiastic about the idea.

As Shaffer walked away, Erik Strong buttonholed Rip and put forward his case. Rip seemed less enthusiastic, but Erik argued his case passionately and Rip promised to think about it.

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Black Eagle in a Loser Leaves Town match
This was a somewhat low-key match – better than average, but these two never quite seem to click when in the ring together. Eagle was at his most dastardly, using low-grade cheating constantly to keep Phoenix off-balance, but the heroic Phoenix was able to overcome his foe’s evil plans and nail the Phoenix Firebird Splash to dispatch the insidious Eagle from the company
Winners: Ultimate Phoenix (D+)

*

Steven Parker came down to the ring:
“Rip, you brought me back to MAW to help defend it against the recent invasion. But you haven’t asked me to be on your team tonight? Now, I know I have my match against Jean, but when that’s done, wouldn’t it be something for you to have the new MAW champion working on your team? You know that it’s the right choice, Rip.”

Rip stood up and said: “Steven, you’d be a fine addition to the team if you didn’t already have a match – hell, you were the first name on my list. But after last month, I figured that you deserved a rematch. Still, if you get past Cattley quickly, you’re a definite candidate for the match.”

“Not that it’s going to happen like that,” Jean Cattley said, appearing from backstage. “The only way that this match is going to be short is if I beat Steven so badly that he surrenders inside five minutes. And I don’t think he’ll be in any state for your match after that.”

*

Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
This was another very good match between these two tremendous workers. Once again, they went back and forth, and while they were holding back so as not to burn out the crowd before the main event, they still put forth a tremendous effort – easily the equal of almost any other match held in MAW since I joined. In the end, they could not be separated, and had to settle for another time limit draw.
Winner: No-one (C-)

*

A short video played as the cage was lowered into place, reminding the crowd about the months-long build-up to this match.

Myself and Rock explained the rules: The match begins with one member of each team entering the cage. After five minutes, a member from one of the teams enters enter the cage, giving his team the temporary handicap advantage. After two minutes, a member from the other team enters to even the odds. Entrants are alternated between teams every two minutes, giving the coin toss-winning team the temporary advantage in the numbers game before giving the other team the advantage with the freshest man and even odds.

Once all eight men had entered the cage, the match truly begins. Both teams fight in the cage for as long as it takes until a member of either team submits or is knocked unconscious. There are no pinfalls, countouts or disqualifications and, of course, use of the cage is perfectly legal.

*

Rip’s Team vs. Jay’s Team in a War Games match
The first men in were Trent Shaffer and Greg Gauge, who tore into one another from the off. The cage was brought into play in the early exchanges, with Shaffer feeling the steel on his back, but for the most part the first period was fought in the centre of the ring.

That changed with the entrance of Darryl Devine, who helped Greg pitch Shaffer into the cage not once, not twice, but three times until Shaffer was busted open. Shaffer ate a Neutron Plex, but as Devine set him up for the Devine Dream Drop, the crowd erupted for the entrance of Mainstream Hernandez, who immediately flew at his nemeses, dropping Greg with a Superkick, and following it up with a piledriver as Shaffer managed to avoid the Drop with a low blow that left Devine doubled over. Shaffer fired off a savate kick, but Devine used Shaffer’s momentum against him, pitching him into the turnbuckles. Hernandez, though, grabbed Devine from behind and hit him with a back suplex, before hauling him upright and hitting Devine with a hard clothesline that carried both men over the ropes and into the unforgiving steel cage.

Mainstream came off the better in the collision, and was ready to meet the next entrant – Jay Chord. Hernandez and Chord circled the ring before locking up, which Hernandez turned into an armdrag that carried Chord to Shaffer’s corner of the ring. Hernandez charged in, but Chord quickly hauled Shaffer up as a shield, making Hernandez pause – and allowing Greg Gauge to drill him with a Depth Gauge. As Chord watched on, Gauge clamped on the Proton Lock as Mainstream grimaced – but the match could not end until everyone was in the ring.

That point came one step closer with the entrance of Erik Strong, who broke up the Lock as Darryl Devine re-entered the fray. For a short spell, Jay’s side had the advantage, with Jay alternating between the Mainstream/Devine and Greg/Erik fights as needed, but Trent Shaffer was able to drag himself upright and nail Jay with a series of hard rights. The three pairs continued to tangle, with no clear advantage to either side – that is, until Matthew Gauge entered and immediately moved to help his team captain. This seemed to upset his brother, who lost focus and got caught with a dropsault from Erik, sending him into Devine. Mainstream took the chance to crash the two heels’ heads together, before catapulting Devine through the ropes and into the cage, splitting his head open.

Greg quickly followed as Strong and Hernandez briefly reunited their tag team to use Greg in a rocket launcher that sent him over the ropes and into the cage. Jay quickly targeted Erik, but this left Mainstream to grab Greg and grind his face against the steel wire of the cage, ripping open his forehead. Greg was only saved by his brother, who dropkicked Mainstream from behind and into the steel cage supports.

This was the cue for the final entrance, as Stevie Grayson joined the fray. With all eight men in the ring, the door was locked, and the match truly began. Grayson made an immediate impact by going after Darryl Devine, knocking the Traditional champion into the cage once more, before targeting Jay Chord, who ate a Shining Wizard that sent him under the ropes and onto the sidelines.

Just like that, the face team exchanged glances and nods. Swinging into action like a well-oiled machine, they quickly went after the Gauge brothers, splitting them apart and double-teaming both at the same time. Greg was caught with a Shining Wizard from Grayson, before Shaffer nailed him with a Heart Burn that left him down and out. The former tag champions shook hands, and then watched as Mainstream hit a Superkick on Matt, setting him up for a Strongsault from Erik.

With the twins down and out, the face’s attention was turned to Darryl Devine, who tried to find solace somewhere, only to find no escape. A Superkick knocked him backwards into a Heart Burn, and Stevie ended the quick demolition with a 460 Degree Splash.

That left Jay, who was hauling himself upright using the cage for support. With his head split open, and blood pouring down his face, he spat defiance at the faces. But if he was expecting sympathy or pity, he received none, for the Mid Atlantic fans had seen him go after too many people they cared for too often since his assault on hs father in January.

The assault was brutal, and had it gone on for too long would have been cruel – but each member of Rip’s team attacked once, taking Jay down and out. Mainstream retrieved a microphone as the others moved into position. Erik clamped on an ankle lock, Trent a heel hook, and Stevie an armbar before Mainstream trapped the fourth limb in a grapevine. Jay cried out in pain as each hold was cinched in and, had he had a hand free, might well have tapped out.

“Don’t worry, Jay,” Mainstream said into the mic. “You still get your match next month. But this is just... payback. For all the attacks. All the arrogant talk and disrespect you’ve shown us and every other member of this company.”

Each man arched back on their holds, and Jay cried out again.

“So, tell me, Jay,” Mainstream said. “Without your friends around to back you up... Just how tough are you feeling right now?”

Strong gave Jay’s ankle an extra twist, causing him to yell once more.

“Have you had enough?” Mainstream asked. “Are you ready to give up?”

He moved the mic in front of Jay’s mouth, and after each man tightened their holds to the point that Jay’s limbs were being bent in the most unnatural way, he nodded his head.

“Say it!” Grayson yelled.

“I QUIT!”

The bell rang, and each of the four members of Rip’s team released their grip on Jay at once. The members of Jay’s team were gradually finding their feet, and gathered around their fallen leader as the cage was raised. Rip left his position on commentary to join his team in the ring, but the mood was not one of celebration. Rip looked down on his fallen son with a mixture of sorrow and pity on his face, as Jay lay on the mat, beaten and bleeding, with their own personal match still yet to come.
Winners: Rip’s Team (D+)

Overall: D+

Next: Backstage, and all the build-up to Rip vs. Jay...

Hyde Hill

07-23-2008, 10:58 AM

Whoohoo great show and glad I was wrong on some of the predictions.

James Casey

07-23-2008, 04:20 PM

I’d been planning the cage match for a long time, in various incarnations. Hell Monkey was nearly a part of it – had I not been able to bring back Greg Gauge, Monkey would have been the fourth member. Originally, before Devine signed, Jean Cattley was nearly the fourth member of the team – but then, I’d considered putting him on Rip’s team due to the long relationship between the two. Phoenix, Ota, Patriot and Kirk Jameson were all considered for the face team – and Parker was set to take part instead of Shaffer until he had that match with Jean at the last show. I just had to follow that one up.

As MAW is only a small promotion, I had to use a certain artistic license to run this match, so it was just a standard 4 vs. 4 match – but that’s okay. Most of the workers wouldn’t have done too well in a hardcore environment anyway.

Oh, and Eagle really is gone. His contract came up, along with the reminder that he was due a midcard title run – a run I had no chance to give him. I’d hoped to get one more show out of him, but I was just a few days short so had to hotshot the LLT match for this show. He may return, as I felt that his gimmick had a lot of mileage left in it. We’ll see.

*

Apparently beating the hell out of Jay keeps him in line – no trouble this month.

*

Trent Shaffer won his second CGC Canadian title two days after taking part in the war games match. He defeated Sean Deeley, who’s always on MAW’s shortlist. The match wasn’t bad, either...

*

October – Where It All Begins Again
Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Mainstream Hernandez and Kirk Jameson vs. The Gauge Brothers
Stevie Grayson vs. Darryl Devine
Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
Fumihiro Ota and Ultimate Phoenix vs. Morgan & Benning
Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singh vs. C-V-2
Rip Chord vs. Jay Chord

Next: Interim

ReapeR

07-23-2008, 04:35 PM

Jay Chord storyline = Goosebumps :D

Excellent stuff you've got going here.

Hyde Hill

07-23-2008, 04:53 PM

Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Mainstream Hernandez and Kirk Jameson vs. The Gauge Brothers
Stevie Grayson vs. Darryl Devine
Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
Fumihiro Ota and Ultimate Phoenix vs. Morgan & Benning
Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singh vs. C-V-2
Rip Chord vs. Jay Chord

kowalewski

07-23-2008, 05:14 PM

October – Where It All Begins Again
Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Trent follows up his War Games win with another victory.
Mainstream Hernandez and Kirk Jameson vs. The Gauge Brothers
The Gauge Brothers beat down the boys from Puerto Rico.
Stevie Grayson vs. Darryl Devine
Devine gets some payback for last month's loss.
Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
This is the internet, who else can I vote for? Internet Favourites
Fumihiro Ota and Ultimate Phoenix vs. Morgan & Benning
Ota and Phoenix take down former champions.
Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Cattley doesn't lose the title yet. Parker is robbed and loses.
The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singh vs. C-V-2
C-V-2 retains thanks to Primus Allen interference.
Rip Chord vs. Jay Chord
I love Rip, but Jay takes out his old man.

Dragonmack

07-23-2008, 05:22 PM

October – Where It All Begins Again
Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Mainstream Hernandez and Kirk Jameson vs. The Gauge Brothers
Stevie Grayson vs. Darryl Devine
Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
Fumihiro Ota and Ultimate Phoenix vs. Morgan & Benning
Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singh vs. C-V-2
Rip Chord vs. Jay Chord

d_w_w

07-23-2008, 09:33 PM

Actarus

07-23-2008, 09:36 PM

Sagitta

07-23-2008, 10:53 PM

Nightshadeex

07-23-2008, 11:44 PM

petecrimson00

07-23-2008, 11:46 PM

Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Mainstream Hernandez and Kirk Jameson vs. The Gauge Brothers
rout for the underdog!
Stevie Grayson vs. Darryl Devine
Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
Fumihiro Ota and Ultimate Phoenix vs. Morgan & Benning
Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singh vs. C-V-2
Rip Chord vs. Jay Chord
this diary is awesome

bitlos

07-24-2008, 05:50 AM

I'm really enjoying reading this diary, it might even inspire me to write my own.
Here's my predictions:

October – Where It All Begins Again
Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Mainstream Hernandez and Kirk Jameson vs. The Gauge Brothers
Stevie Grayson vs. Darryl Devine
Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
Fumihiro Ota and Ultimate Phoenix vs. Morgan & Benning
Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley - Draw
The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singh vs. C-V-2
Rip Chord vs. Jay Chord

James Casey

07-24-2008, 06:28 AM

No predictions, but I'm happy to see Rip doing well. In my very first game after buying the full version, I was simming just to see how the world went when I had a message pop up in March '08 saying there was an opening for a booker for MAW after a change of ownership.

I looked, and Larry Wood was owner after Rip passed away.

:( I must say, in every game I've played as someone else, Rip tends to pass away early. In the games I play as MAW, he seems to stick it out for a good while. I was delighted to make it this far without him popping his clogs, obviously.

*

Thanks to everyone who's commented and predicted so far - I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying the show.

I'll post the show tonight, and after that I'll be on holiday for a week or so - hence the mad scramble over the last week or so to get to this point. I'll probably go back to once-daily updates after that - maybe even less :eek:

I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge shipshirt's awesome '07 MAW dynasty, incidentally. This diary wouldn't be here without him - go check out his CWB (http://67.19.230.90/~arles/forum/showthread.php?t=33709) dynasty to see a few familiar faces.

Anyway...

*

It was nearly two years since I’d signed on to help Rip with MAW. It was fun being backstage again – and enough time had passed that I wasn’t too bitter about being around people who did what I used to love to do.

Saying that, there were moments when I could have walked away without a backwards glance. I’d received a phone call that morning from one of the participants in that night’s matches, stating that there was no way that they were going along with the finish I’d booked.

I was ready to kick some serious arse – the match had been planned for a long time. Now was not the time to try and mess me around.

I slammed through the doors of the Delaware Auditorium, making Hugh Lee jump about a foot in the air and drop his snow cone down the front of his shirt. He gave me one look and got out of my way as I headed for the office that I shared with Rip.

The door opened before me with a crash, and the guilty party looked up at me, defiantly but not without some guilt. I snarled at him, knowing that there was nothing I could do about it – and that anyone who acted up backstage was going to feel the brunt of my anger afterwards.

It was not a good start to what should have been the finest card of my career...

*

Next: Rip vs. Jay. Do I need to say anything else?

mad5226

07-24-2008, 07:08 AM

Did Rip use Creative Control on you? Does he even have Creative Control? Am I just babbling nonstop with no idea what Im talking about?

James Casey

07-24-2008, 01:09 PM

Read and see...

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Where It All Begins Again
Friday, October 26th 2009
Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
Antonio’s impressive run continues – he’s undefeated in several matches. This was his first real top-level test, as former tag champion Trent Shaffer matched his considerable speed against Antonio’s more all-round abilities. The two concocted a decent opener before the record 889 fans in attendance, before Antonio scored his biggest win since taking the 2008 RCI by dropping Shaffer with an Italian DDT
Winner: Antonio (D+)

*

The Gauges were on ripe form, taunting their opponents for lacking the tag team experience and all-round skill that they possessed.

While Mainstream Hernandez grinned ****ily, Kirk Jameson pointed out that there would be no ambushes in this match. No sneak attacks. For once, they had the Gauges right where they could see them.

*

Mainstream Hernandez and Kirk Jameson vs. The Gauge Brothers
---- creative control. All I wanted from this match was the exiting Greg Gauge to put Kirk Jameson over after their match a couple of months back. But Gauge used his creative control clause to block that – and with the weight of TCW behind him, what could I do? The four teams instead assembled a fantastic match that saw Mainstream in particular on top form – but no-one was able to get the decisive finisher to score the win.
Winners: No-one (C-)

*

The Gauges weren’t done, and they tried to jump the face team after the bell. But Mainstream and Kirk were prepared for this, and Matthew was taken down with a double superkick. Greg immediately tried to backpedal, but Mainstream caught him and whipped him towards Kirk, who hoisted him up into the air in a flapjack, only to add further damage with a dropkick as Greg dropped back down. Greg was left writhing in pain in the ring as Kirk and Mainstream left, arms raised in celebration.

*

Darryl Devine paced back and forth, tracing his fingers over the gold faceplate of the Traditional belt.
“Grayson, you’ve said yourself that people expect more of you. Well, I know you’ve peaked. I know that you’ve already gone as far as you could ever expect to. And I beat you at your very best, on the upswing after capturing this title. Too bad for you – you’ll never be that good again, and I get better every day. Tonight will be a short match.”

Stevie smiled humourlessly at the camera:
“Darryl, you’re right. You beat me at my best. But you’re wrong, as well. That was the best I’d ever been – but I’m getting better as well. I’m as good today as I’ve ever been, and tomorrow I’ll be better still. You, well, I saw how good you really are last month – battered and broken and bleeding in the middle of the ring. And that’s an image that sticks with you – I’d say we can expect a repeat tonight.”

*

Stevie Grayson vs. Darryl Devine (c) for the MAW Traditional title
As I’d expected, these two put on a good match, which would have been much better had Stevie not been off his game a bit. Devine had the better of the early going, but Grayson – with Jenny cheering him on and getting the crowd behind him – was able to rally and nail the 460 Degree Splash to score the win and regain the title.
Winner: Stevie Grayson (D+)

*

The Internet Favourites were backstage, kibitzing over how to push Jay Chord in Total Extreme Wrestling 2009. Dawn came in and told them that they were up – and asked if they’d read the briefing materials she’d prepared on the Blondes?

Hugh and Max exchanged a guilty look, and glanced at the encyclopaedia-sized books on the table. They nodded quickly, and Dawn looked sceptical, but led them out of the locker room.

*

Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
A cooldown match – and I’m glad I had it here. With the unexpected bonus of the earlier tag match, we had four hot matches on the card, and I didn’t want to completely burn the crowd out. The managers were the real stars of the match, drawing some heat from the audience as they exchanged barbs with one another – more than the match itself did. The end came when Golden caught Mayhem in a Golden Shower.
Winners: Canadian Blondes (E)

*

Earlier today, Morgan & Benning approached Fumihiro Ota and Ultimate Phoenix backstage.

“Uh, guys?” Morgan asked.

“Excuse me, could we have a moment?” Benning added.

The masked veterans turned to look at the former champs.

“Um... we were wondering...”

“...if it might be possible...”

“...for us to get a match tonight...”

“Why us?” Phoenix asked.

“Because you’re really good...” Morgan said.

“...and that’s what we want to test ourselves against,” Benning added.

Phoenix and Ota exchanged a look, and Ota produced his gong from somewhere. He tapped it twice.

Bong. Bong.

“The gong has spoken,” Phoenix said. “We’ll see you out there, I guess.”

*

Fumihiro Ota and Ultimate Phoenix vs. Morgan & Benning
I should have seen this coming – Phoenix and Ota are singles workers for a reason. Getting past their lack of chemistry, this was a reasonable match that served as further team practise for the former tag champs, who are improving but weren’t quite able to eke out the win – Benning falling to the Phoenix Firebird Splash.
Winners: Ota and Phoenix (D-)

*

C-V-2 were admiring their title belts backstage, and looking pleased with themselves.

“We rule,” Vessey said. “There’s no denying it.”

“None at all,” Valentine agreed. “We rule so much, in fact, that we ruuuulllllle.”

Vessey ****ed an eyebrow. “Don’t be stupid, Casey,” he said. “We do rule, though.”

*

The Masked Patriot & Kashmir Singhvs. C-V-2 (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
This was a straightforward face-in-peril tag match, with the minor quirk of Patriot being the one in trouble, following a Primus Allen distraction that caused him to taste an early Sweet Sweet Heartbreak. He avoided defeat on that occasion, but it knocked down his defences and he struggled to escape from the champions’ honed offence. When he did make the hot tag to Singh, the well-rounded cruiserweight tried to make up for lost time, but he was caught between the champions and relentlessly double-teamed as they used quickfire tags to give them an almost permanent legal five seconds to work together. Singh was quickly worn down, and the champs allowed him to tag in Patriot – but he was far from recovered from his earlier beating, and quickly fell victim to a Flying V as the champs retained.
Winners: C-V-2 (D+)

*

Backstage, and Steven Parker and Jean Cattley came face to face. They exchanged polite nods, as Rock commented on the high respect they had shown for one another.

“This is your last chance. You know that,” Jean said. “Thirty minutes, one winner. You won’t get another shot while I’m champion.”

“I won’t need one,” Steve said. “Iron Man match? Thirty minutes is nothing – this should have been an hour. Don’t get me wrong, Jean, you’ve always been good, and you’ll always have my respect, but this is a young man’s game – and you’re already the wrong side of thirty.”

“Age don’t matter a damn,” Jean said, with a feral smile. “It’s the mileage. And believe me, in the twelve months I’ve had this title, there’s not been a single time I’ve been pushed. I’m glad you’re back, Steven – it’s nice to have someone worth fighting. But you won’t dethrone me – no-one can.”

*

Steven Parker vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title in a thirty minute Iron Man match
Had this been a normal match, it would have been over in double-quick time as Parker blitzed the champion from the off, never giving him a second’s rest as he scored hit after hit, move after move on the way to a Future Shock that gave him a shock lead at 4:43.

Cattley got to his feet looking furious, and the second fall was a much cagier affair. Cattley used his excellent technical skills to blunt Parker’s offence, holding the challenger at bay and slipping in clean strikes of his own that got past Parker’s defences, gradually wearing him down as the two tangled in long chain wrestling sequences that had the fans on their feet. Finally, Parker seemed to gain the upper hand, but as he went for a second Future Shock, Cattley feinted left, leaving Parker to grasp at open air, completely open to a Mood Swing that levelled the scores at 16:32.

For a full minute, the two men stared at one another from opposite corners of the ring, breathing heavily as they regarded one another. With the fans in full voice, the two circled the ring warily, before tying up in the centre of the ring, a lockup that Cattley one with a boot to the gut before he went for another Mood Swing that Parker nearly reversed into a Future Shock. They broke, and this time Jean went for Parker’s eyes, forcing him onto the defensive as he abandoned a technical assault to try and beat the challenger senseless.

But Parker was able to capitalise on the champion’s loss of composure, retaliating with a dropkick to the knee that took Cattley down, and had him limping as he tried to follow Parker around the ring. But Parker grew overconfident, and when he tried to catch Cattley with a telegraphed Future Shock, Cattley responded with an Asiatic strike to the throat that left Parker gasping for air. Cattley tried for a Mood Swing, but his knee buckled, and Parker fell on top for a long two-count.

Cattley was just able to escape from the pinfall, and struggled to his feet. Parker followed him, clutching at his throat, and the two exchanged weary punches in the middle of the ring. Parker gained the upper hand, and when Cattley went for another Asiatic strike, Parker grabbed his hand and twisted it, before using Cattley’s momentum against him to take him through a Future Shock to score the pin at 29:21. With so little time left, Cattley had no chance to retaliate, and Steven Parker became the new and two-time MAW Heavyweight champion!
Winner: Steven Parker (C)

*

The last notes of ‘Ace of Spades’ faded from the PA, and Rip and Jay stood face to face in the ring for the first time.

The two men stared at one another for several long moments, before Rip raised a mic to his mouth.

“Last chance, Jay. We can both walk away here and now, and everything else can be forgotten. If we go through with this-“

“No,” Jay said. “No walking away. No turning the other cheek. I’ve dreamed of this night for nineteen years. Nothing you can say will make me change my mind.”

Rip sighed, and let his head drop.

“If this is the way it has to be, then,” he said, with a sigh. “I think I always knew it was you under that mask, Jay. I guess I didn’t want to admit it. I hoped it was someone else because, deep down, I knew that this day would come eventually, if we were in the same company.

He sighed.

“Ring the bell.”

*

Rip Chord vs. Jay Chord
We deliberately booked this match short to try and counteract Rip’s poor stamina, but he went at it so hard that he was still exhausted. Unfortunately, and improbably, the match suffered from a lack of chemistry. Clearly the Chords’ personal problems had stopped them from working together in the build-up to the match – despite how much both stood to gain from a high quality showing.

This was basically a high-powered, high speed brawl with Jay battering Rip for the first few minutes as his father refused to put up any defence, allowing himself to be split open by Jay’s repeated blows.

Eventually, Jay grew tired of beating on a defenceless old man, and confronted Rip, yelling at him to fight back. Rip stared stonily at Jay, his hands hanging limp by his sides. Jay reared back and slapped Rip once, twice, three times. On the fourth attempt, Rip caught Jay’s hand, and the cameras zoomed in to show the fire burning in Rip’s eyes as Jay suddenly looked cowed.

Rip struck back, the tide suddenly in his favour as he battered his son from pillar to post, following him outside the ring and choking him with a camera cable, before rolling him back into the ring and following him with a chair. Referee Chad Brent got in Rip’s face, warning him against using the weapon, but Rip pointed out that it was his company, and that he made the rules. Raising the chair above his head, he waited until Jay managed to stagger upright, before bringing the chair down on his son’s unprotected skull.

Jay dropped to the mat, the pinfall academic. As ‘Ace of Spades’ played over the PA, Chad Brent raised Rip’s arm unenthusiastically. Rip celebrated like the old days were back, but as a team of EMTs swarmed the ring to tend to Jay, his enthusiasm seemed to fade. He looked at his son being loaded onto a back board, and dropped to his knees beside him. He followed Jay as he was manoeuvred onto a stretcher, and rolled up the ramp, the last image as the cameras faded to black that of a concerned Rip following his son backstage, the curtain dropping behind them.
Winner: Rip Chord (D-)

Overall: D

*

Creative control 2 Head booker 0...

Fallout coming in the next post - which'll be next week or so. Hope you enjoyed the show :D

Hyde Hill

07-24-2008, 01:27 PM

Good show and boooo for bad chemistry, ring rust (i assume) and owners + non wrestler with creative control! Otherwise would have been a c or c+ show! Still nice write up and have a nice week, found the subscribe tool and am now an official abonee hehe.

1PWfan

07-24-2008, 01:40 PM

Personally, I think the main event went the right way. Jay's good, but basically a w*nker who needs to have his attitude beaten out of him, so losing a lot would help him. If I were using him he'd probably be a job-b*tch in charge of helping people improve.

But that's why I'm no good at TEW2008

mad5226

07-24-2008, 06:36 PM

I agree. Im glad Rip went over as well, plus the way it all ended was a nice touch as well. I'm also pleased with how the Championship match went down. I susect Jean slowly turning on his former friend...but Ive been wrong before

Payne

07-29-2008, 09:27 PM

Well, just read the whole damned thing. You've got talent, kid.

I have to say, I KNEW right from Rip/Jay post that KA was Jay. It was too well timed. Or, mis-timed. Too....Coincidental?

Still, I got shivers when he unmasked.

James Casey

07-31-2008, 11:50 AM

Thanks for all the comments - and I wish that I could have had Jay doing the J-O-B a bit more. If he'd signed on as intended, he'd have been losing as KA and himself from day one, to try and keep his popularity down. Alas, 'twas not to be.

(If this weren't a diary game, he'd be jobbing to Max Mayhem - but what's life without drama?)

*

Backstage, I stared moodily at the wall, waiting for someone to say something. Not for the first time, Antonio was the one who approached me. The poor kid looked scared. I supposed that it wouldn’t do my reputation any harm for the roster to be a bit afraid of me.

He didn’t need to speak – I stood up painfully and followed him through the Auditorium’s corridors, passing a number of backstage workers who seemed to share Antonio’s misgivings on sight of me.

The locker room door was shut. Rip’s rather worn looking sheet of ten – eleven – rules hung there forlornly. I hadn’t read them since that first day. Why would I? I’d dictated them to him, years before in that hospital room.

I opened the door. Jay Chord was mid-rant, and spun to face the door with furious anger glowing in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say, or possibly yell, something.

“Don’t even think about it,” I said, quietly. Jay’s mouth closed. Like Antonio, he seemed to be thrown by the look on my face.

My ears pricked up at a familiar sound. Half-turning, I flipped my cane over in my hand to hold the butt end of it. I stuck it out into the hallway, and used the handle to hook Rip around the arm. With a sharp yank I pulled him into the locker room, making him drop the phone into which he was recounting his stunning victory. He squared up to me when he regained his balance, but for once he was cowed by the look in my eyes.

“All of you will do me the courtesy of listening to me,” I said. “This should have been the greatest card that we could put on. It should have seen the height of drama, the finest matches, the continued progression of the workers who make up this promotion... It should not have seen an old man and a spoilt child in the main event. It should not have seen the Heavyweight title match demoted to semi-final status when by any definition of merit it should have been on last. It should not have been spoilt by the fact that a father and son cannot work together. Do we understand?”

The locker room exchanged glances with one another. No-one seemed to want to speak.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. Rip, Jay, you’re not going to be anywhere near next month’s show, do I make myself clear? You’re going to be holed up somewhere, learning about being father and son. If I’m satisfied with what I see on your return, you can expect to find a place for you on this roster.”

“Kid, this is my promotion! Where the hell do you think you get off telling me-“

Rip stopped in mid-sentence. This may have been because I’d pivoted on my one good leg, snatched up a folding chair and swung it around with a crack into the doorframe. Rip jumped back, and Jay looked like he was about to jump me, but the Gauges held him back.

Calmly, I unfolded the chair and set it down on the ground. I put my weight on the backrest and left it there, even as Raphael rather timidly picked up my cane from the floor where I’d dropped it and handed it back to me. When I spoke, my voice was calm, and professional.

“Rip, don’t think for a second that I have the least bit of respect for you. You started this promotion on the back of my ideas, to build something you could hand to your son. Then, then the chance came to finally give something to the business, to help build a legacy, you went out and put on the ----test match of the night – with your own son! And you had to win! You make me sick, Rip. You dragged me back in here on the promise that you’d changed, but you’re as big an egomaniac as you ever were – worse, even, because you’re nearly sixty and you still have to be on top. You did nothing to prepare yourself for the match, and you turned the whole show into a joke. I’m disgusted with you.

“And as for you,” I rounded on Jay. “You little punk. You expect the whole business to be handed to you on day one. I could find a dozen of you in any school, in any town, in any state. You’re here because of your name, Jay. Make no mistake about that. And that name, and the attitude that seems to go with it, is something you’re doing a fine job of living down to.

“Now both of you, get out of my sight, and don’t come back until you’ve got yourself in order.”

Jay looked ready to fight, but Rip took him by the arm and led him away. No doubt that father and son were glaring daggers at my back – but I ignored them and kicked the door shut.

“Those of you who don’t remember the rules can read them on your way out,” I said, feeling myself calm down. “Now, here’s what’s going to happen next month. It’s time for the Invitational again, which means we’re going to run the qualifiers. Four matches on each of the next two shows...”

*

GCG have snapped up Matthew Gauge, thus killing off my planned Grayson/Gauge feud. Oh well...

We tried to bring back Jacob Jett, but couldn’t come to terms on a decent package for him. Ultimately, what he wanted was just a shade too much.

Instead, we’ve snapped up recent debutant, Hugh de Aske, who’s also working for NYCW, so should have a decent knowledge of about half our roster.

*

November – Remember November
Riley McManus and Shane Nelson vs. C-V-2
RCI: Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
RCI: Trent Shaffer vs. Jefferson Stardust
RCI: Erik Strong vs. Antonio
RCI: Kashmir Singh vs. Primus Allen
The Masked Patriot vs. Raphael
Steven Parker vs. Darryl Devine

Nightshadeex

07-31-2008, 12:23 PM

Oh Snaps!

mad5226

07-31-2008, 08:13 PM

November – Remember November
Riley McManus and Shane Nelson vs. C-V-2
RCI: Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
RCI: Trent Shaffer vs. Jefferson Stardust
RCI: Erik Strong vs. Antonio
RCI: Kashmir Singh vs. Primus Allen
The Masked Patriot vs. Raphael
Steven Parker vs. Darryl Devine

Hyde Hill

07-31-2008, 08:47 PM

Riley McManus and Shane Nelson vs. C-V-2RCI:
Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
RCI: Trent Shaffer vs. Jefferson Stardust
RCI: Erik Strong vs. Antonio
RCI: Kashmir Singh vs. Primus Allen
The Masked Patriot vs. Raphael
Steven Parker vs. Darryl Devine

James Casey

08-01-2008, 09:19 AM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Remember November
Friday, 26th November 2009
Riley McManus and Shane Nelson vs. C-V-2 (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
We returned to Stanley Hall for this show, and a sell-out crowd of 300 got into this opening match, which saw the champions shamelessly taunt their opponents – admitted lesser lights in the company. The champs had control for most of the match, although Nelson put on some good aerials mid way through to gain a few moments respite, with Vessey taking the win with a Flying V
Winners: C-V-2 (D-)

*

A nautical theme hit the speakers, marking the entrance of Hugh de Aske, a piratical-looking wrestler who enters the arena aboard a rowboat pushed along by his crew.

If he makes it to the big leagues, his entrance may be a bit more impressive.

*

RCI: Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
Yowza. I knew that we had a good match on our hands here, and gave these two permission to throw themselves into it without restraint... But yowza. The piratical debutant wasted no time making his mark in the company, squaring up to Grayson and attempting to keelhaul him by dominating him from the off. HdA’s brawling style kept the Traditional champion on the backpedal throughout the early going, until he was able to use his superior speed to find a way back into the match. The two fighters went at it without mercy for almost fifteen minutes, before Grayson was able to snatch victory with a Shining Wizard, but de Aske emerged from the match looking like a viable threat to the established MAW stars.
Winner: Stevie Grayson (C-)

*

Jefferson Stardust came to the ring, accompanied by the lovely Kristen Pearce. They entered the ring, and Kristen removed Jefferson’s fur coat. Jefferson had something to say:

“Hello my children. It’s been a while since I had the chance to address you. I’m looking well. For those of you who don’t know, my latest masterpiece is available from my website. Tonight, I begin my challenge for the Rip Chord Invitational. I wasn’t surprised to be invited – how could the tournament go ahead without me? But this year, I know that I will be a success in this ring, as well as in the charts.”

Laid-back beach vibes sounding almost, but not quite, like California Girls by the Beach Boys hit the PA, and Trent Shaffer came down to the ring. He nodded to Jefferson, and took a mic:

“’Sup, Jeff? Listen, big fan of your music, right here. That’s some good stuff – I play it at the right moment, and the girls will run right into my bedroom to get away from the noise. So thanks, man. I really appreciate it. But seriously, this whole thing you’ve got goin’ on with how you’re gonna win the Invitational? Just no, seriously. You have to be honest. Look at the field. Admit that the last time you won a match was half-past-never. Even if you get past me – and it could happen – there’s someone down the road who’ll beat you.”

“Trent, Trent, Trent... I will agree that my success has been limited of late. But every day is a new day. Every match is the first match of the rest of our lives... Why look to the past? We cannot return there, or change what has occurred. We can only affect the future – and the future for me is success, glory and fame.”

*

RCI: Trent Shaffer vs. Jefferson Stardust
A decent match, with Jefferson’s lack of in-ring talent being offset by Shaffer’s abundance thereof. Shaffer picked up the win after some entertaining exchanges with a Heart Burn.
Winner: Trent Shaffer (D-)

*

Backstage, and Kashmir Singh burst into The Firm’s locker room, making a beeline for Primus Allen. He attacked the Rookie Monster without pause, and the brawl that this spawned spilled out of the locker room and into the arena proper. When it reached the ring Chad Brent called for the bell, signalling the start to a match that had already been in progress for several minutes.

*

RCI: Kashmir Singh vs. Primus Allen
Not the first time these two have squared off, nor likely to be the last. Singh put up a spirited showing, including a hugely impressive powerslam on the much larger Allen that earned him a close near fall. Ultimately, however, he was overwhelmed by Allen’s strength as The Firm’s enforcer booked a place in the next round.
Winner: Primus Allen (D)

*

After the match, Allen issued a beatdown on Singh, to add emphasis to his victory.

*

The Masked Patriot came down to the ring for his match. He saluted the crowd from all four turnbuckles, but before he could do any more he was jumped from behind by Antonio and Raphael. Before they could do any real damage, however, he shrugged them off and clotheslined Antonio over the top rope. Chad Brent called for the bell, and the announced match began.

*

The Masked Patriot vs. Raphael
It makes me proud to think of how badly a match like this might have gone when I took over as head booker less than two years on. Both men are competent in-ring, and are capable of putting on an enjoyable match without any of the bigger names around. In the end, Patriot’s righteous anger at being attacked was enough to allow him to score the pin after a Backdrop Driver.
Winner: The Masked Patriot (D)

*

Antonio looked disappointed as he entered the ring, but he shrugged it off and called out Erik Strong.

“Erik, you and I have been dealing with one another since this company was born. We’ve never settled once and for all who the bigger deal is – maybe we never will. But tonight a place at the Invitational is at stake. As a former champion, you know I’ll be doing my absolute utmost to take you down.”

Strong emerged from backstage.

“Antonio, we have been around the block, so we both know what the other is capable of. Take what happened just now – you and your personal assistant couldn’t take out Masked Patriot, even with surprise on your side. Now, I’m not as strong as him – but there’s only one of you, and no surprise on your side. I think the odds might be in my favour. Besides, it’s long past time that I won the Invitational.”

*

RCI: Erik Strong vs. Antonio
With Katie Cameron cheering him on at ringside, Erik took the fight to the former RCI champion. These two old foes have each other well scouted after so long in the same company, and put on a decent match – although they have their limitations as well, which meant that the match didn’t sparkle. Strong took the win with a Strongsault to advance.
Winner: Erik Strong (D-)

*

Darryl Devine had something to say:
“Whoop-de-do, Stevie Grayson took his title back. The only reason I was interested in it in the first place was to get to him. So forgive me if I don’t bother chasing after it again. Been there, done that. No, my eyes right now are on the big belt – so Parker, get out here and get ready to hand over that belt."

Steven Parker emerged from backstage:
“Darryl, I’m impressed. Last month, you lost to Stevie. Some might call that an omen, and avoid challenging a Steven – one who’s still employed up north, incidentally."

Parker grinned wickedly.

“Just kidding, Stevie. But seriously... Darryl, you’re challenging me? Well, I guess it’ll be worth my while kicking your ass. It’s always funny to see you lose.”

*

Steven Parker (c) vs. Darryl Devine for the MAW Heavyweight title
Parker’s first title defence came against a former SWF running buddy, and their passing familiarity with each other contributed to a very good match. For over twenty minutes the action went back and forth, with Devine trying every sneaky trick in the book, as Parker countered with honest workrate. The dynamic was a good one, and the crowds bought into it as the advantage see-sawed back and forth, before Parker hit finally a Future Shock to make the successful defence.
Winner: Steven Parker (C-)

Overall: D+

James Casey

08-01-2008, 03:24 PM

After our recent backstage troubles, I’ve brought in former women’s legend Heidi Brooks as an extra backstage body. She’s highly respected, and seems a decent sort, so we’ll see if she helps calm things down backstage.

*

After the show, I awaited the arrival of Rip and Jay Chord. True to my word, they’d been banned from the arena – and after speaking to Ultimate Phoenix and Heidi, I’d come up with a way around our current impasse.

“Here’s the deal,” I said, before they had the chance to sit down. “I was unprofessional last month in venting my frustrations in front of the whole locker room. I admit that, and I apologise.

“However, you both know that I’m your best chance for making this company something to further your names in this business. If Jay goes to another company full-time, he’ll spend his career paying for your mistakes,” I pointed at Rip, “until everyone you ----ed off is dead – and then he’ll start paying for his mistakes, ad infinitum. On the other hand,” I went on, turning to face Jay, “if Rip tries to run this company, he’ll drive everyone away within two years – the locker room was on the verge of imploding when I arrived, after all.”

They said nothing – I was speaking the truth, but they could hardly admit it.

“This company is the only place where the two of you stand a chance of unchallenged success over the next few years – and that’s purely because I’m prepared to tolerate an awful lot of ---- from the two of you. But that tolerance comes with conditions: The two of you will work together. Personally, I’d like it if you could sort out your problems, but professionally I’ll settle for you being civil to one another. And that’s because, backstage, Rip is now responsible for your actions, Jay.”

“What?”

“I am no longer willing to take charge of your discipline – this is Rip’s company, and he’s your father. I have no right to try and discipline you. Therefore, I’m placing the matter entirely in his hands. I’m hoping that you’ll calm down and become the locker room leader this company needs someone with the surname Chord to be – but I’ll settle for you not being a pain in everyone’s ass.

“Whatever happens, you’re Rip’s responsibility to deal with.”

“Kid, I-“

“This is not open to debate.” My voice was calm and steady, my hands were flat on the desk, and my gaze was fixed on a point somewhere between their shoulders. I was still furious with them, but knew that letting that fact show would be taken as a sign of weakness.

The two men glared at me, and then at one another.

I’d made use of the stick. Now it was time for the carrot.

“But I have some more news for you as well,” I said. “I’ve been looking at our plans for the Invitational, and I’ve just thought of a way to include Jay in it. Listen...”

*

I’m hoping that we’re going to be okay – Jay is now on his own in being a bad influence backstage. With the departures of Marv and Black Eagle, he’s the only disruptive personality in the company – although he is a ‘poisonous presence’, probably because of how angry he is with me. I’m hoping that abdicating my responsibility (read: ignoring whatever he gets up to in the next few months) will make him happy without destroying the backstage atmosphere.

And if he gets out of hand, I can try and fire him – although with his connections backstage, it may be him or me, I guess.

*

Now look, a joke’s a joke, but when Ernest Forthdyke O’Hume, who’s done nothing but manage the Canadian Blondes for the last two years, decides he’s worth a cut of the money his merchandise brings in, then I have to wonder what he’s smoking. We don’t test for drugs in MAW. Maybe we should.

*

TCW have been issued with ratings warnings by America-Sports-1, Canada On-Air and CBA. In unrelated news, Joey Minnesota just won the International title, while Gengis Rahn is the new World champion. Maybe file that one under related news, huh? James ‘Mainstream’ Hernandez won his first All Action title this week, as well.

Tommy Cornell is apparently feeling the strain. With TCW running nine shows a month, he’s only taken part in thirty matches in the last year – well under a third of all possible shows. Free tip, Tommy – more of you on your shows would probably equal less sucky ratings.

*

The MAW Heavyweight title is up to A* prestige, which is something to cheer about at the moment.

*

December – End Of Days
Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
RCI: Kirk Jameson vs. Findlay O’Farraday
RCI: The Masked Patriot vs. Curtis Jenkins
RCI: Riley McManus vs. Darryl Devine
RCI: Shane Nelson vs. Jay Chord
Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Steven Parker vs. Cameron Vessey

Actarus

08-01-2008, 03:30 PM

December – End Of Days

Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
RCI: Kirk Jameson vs. Findlay O’Farraday
RCI: The Masked Patriot vs. Curtis Jenkins
RCI: Riley McManus vs. Darryl Devine
RCI: Shane Nelson vs. Jay Chord
Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Steven Parker vs. Cameron Vessey

smurphy1014

08-01-2008, 03:53 PM

December – End Of Days
Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
RCI: Kirk Jameson vs. Findlay O’Farraday
RCI: The Masked Patriot vs. Curtis Jenkins
RCI: Riley McManus vs. Darryl Devine
RCI: Shane Nelson vs. Jay Chord
Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Steven Parker vs. Cameron Vessey

Hyde Hill

08-01-2008, 04:45 PM

Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
RCI: Kirk Jameson vs. Findlay O’Farraday
RCI: The Masked Patriot vs. Curtis Jenkins
RCI: Riley McManus vs. Darryl Devine
RCI: Shane Nelson vs. Jay Chord
Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Steven Parker vs. Cameron Vessey

kowalewski

08-01-2008, 11:06 PM

Showtime4Lajf

08-02-2008, 03:19 AM

Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
De Aske isn't ready for a win of this magnitude yet. Plus, he's a comedy act.

RCI: Kirk Jameson vs. Findlay O’Farraday
Findlay hasn't got the skill to get you the matches you want for the RCI.

RCI: The Masked Patriot vs. Curtis Jenkins
Patriot is really stepping up and could take the whole tourny.

RCI: Riley McManus vs. Darryl Devine
McManus could also take this one if my somewhat strange prediction for the next match doesn't go my way. Two "Upset Kids" might be a bit much, though.

RCI: Shane Nelson vs. Jay Chord
Something tells me there could be something going on with Jay taking a surprising loss here to set up some sort of storyline. Could just be my imagination is in overdrive.:p

Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Cattley is probably still your best guy and he might be positioned for another rematch sometime soon.

Steven Parker vs. Cameron Vessey
Parker's doing so well right now you probably won't take the belt off him for the forseeable future.

James Casey

08-02-2008, 02:35 PM

Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
De Aske isn't ready for a win of this magnitude yet. Plus, he's a comedy act.

Good logic - exactly the same logic I used. But it's worth bearing one thing in mind: Hugh de Aske in my game is awesome. If I keep him for more than 12 months, I'll be stunned - he's destined for SWF greatness, I think.

Anyway, matches...

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: End Of Days
Friday, 26th December 2009
Stevie Grayson (c) vs. Hugh de Aske for the MAW Traditional title
Like Black Eagle before him, Stevie seems to have a problem losing matches. This was a way to transition the Traditional title back into the midcard – where it belongs after a year of bouncing around among the main eventers. Sadly, the match wasn’t a patch on last month’s effort, as Stevie was off his game and Hugh could only cover so much. He took the win after a Cut Throat Driver, and looked delighted to be the new champion.
Winner: Hugh de Aske (D)

*

As Hugh raised the belt over his head, the arena erupted in a downpour of ticker-tape. Hugh’s rowboat was once more pushed down the aisle, and perched seductively in the stern was a much-changed Sienna LeNoir, now looking thoroughly wench-like in her rags, tags and bandanna. Hugh clambered out of the ring and into the boat, where he pulled Sienna into his arms and they started making out, to the surprise of myself and Rock on commentary.

*

RCI: Kirk Jameson vs. Findlay O’Farraday
I may be guilty of overlooking Kirk Jameson somewhat. He arrived with a lot of promises regarding his potential. Two years in, it seems there may be something to it. He and Findlay really clicked in this match, putting on an entertaining bout that was the equal of our opener. O’Farraday was over-reliant on power moves, allowing Kirk to out manoeuvre him and hit the Bullseye for the win.
Winner: Kirk Jameson (D)

*

After the decision, Findlay screamed in rage. He pulverised Kirk with a lariat, before decking Chad Brent. He charged backstage, scattering trainers and production staff as he ran.

*

RCI: The Masked Patriot vs. Curtis Jenkins
We seem to have hit our level – good, average matches that wouldn’t look out of place a couple of rungs up the promotional ladder. Jenkins may never make it in the big leagues, but he has decent fundamentals, and that’s really all Patriot needs to use as a springboard for a decent match. Patriot advanced with a Backdrop Driver
Winner: The Masked Patriot (D)

*

Before Patriot could celebrate his victory, he was bowled over from behind by Findlay O’Farraday, who smashed the masked man to the mat, and delivered a series of hard kicks, before smashing him into the mat with a choke bomb.

*

Darryl Devine sneered at the crowd as he walked to the ring, and flipped the bird at Riley McManus and Chad Brent as he took the mic to address the crowd:
“This is a joke, right? McManus, just forfeit now, and it’ll save you getting your ass kicked.”

McManus returned the favour, flipping Devine the bird, before poking him in the eye. Chad Brent rang the bell to start the match and, as the eyepoke occurred before the bell rang, McManus was able to continue his attack unabated.

*

RCI: Riley McManus vs. Darryl Devine
Nothing astounding again in this match, as one of our *cough* lesser lights faced off against one of our true superstars, Darryl Devine. Devine recovered from the pre-emptive attack after a few minutes, and took control. He toyed with McManus a little, before putting him down with a Devine Dream Drop
Winner: Darryl Devine (D)

*

Jay Chord came out to an almighty chorus of “You ----ed up! You ----ed up!”. He didn’t take it well, yelling back at the crowd, and getting in the face of one old lady who seemed to be having a particularly good time in cursing someone a third her age.

Good old Heidi.

“Shut up!” Jay yelled, as he took the mic. The fans responded appropriately, the volume increasing still further. On commentary, Rip maintained a diplomatic silence.

“To hell with all of you,” Jay snarled. “I don’t care what you say, or what you think. I don’t even care that I lost – I got to beat up my worthless excuse for a father, and he only won by hitting me with a chair. That’s your hero!

“God only knows why I came back here, but while I’m here, I might as well continue to prove to everyone watching that I’m just so much better than anyone else in this two-bit company.”

*

RCI: Shane Nelson vs. Jay Chord
Normally the fans couldn’t care less about Shane Nelson, but they were eager for him to kick Jay’s ass tonight. Jay played up to it for all he was worth – and he and Shane put on a very good match, with an almost telepathic understanding that it would be nice to think that he might share with some of our main eventers. The ending was never really in doubt, as Jay hit the Super DDT for the win, but Nelson did enough to earn a good reaction from the crowd
Winner: Jay Chord (D)

*

Jean Cattley had something to say. His icy demeanour was in danger of cracking as he paced back and forth in the ring:
“Someone seems to have forgotten that the deposed champion has an automatic rematch clause. Not only did I not get my rematch last month, I wasn’t even on the show. I didn’t get my rematch this month, either – and as another slap in my face, one of my colleagues get the shot instead. At least he didn’t ask for it – I might have had to kick someone else out of The Firm. Instead, I got offered a consolation prize – beating the man I took the title off in the first place. Someone’s idea of a joke.”

Erik Strong appeared, one eyebrow raised:
“Consolation prize? Joke? Jean, please. Listen to yourself. Maybe your attitude is the reason you didn’t get a shot. Or maybe it’s down to the fact that you had three chances to beat Steven Parker, and didn’t manage it once. Whatever – if you need a reminder that the rest of the people in this company are at the same level as you, I’m here to give it.”

*

Erik Strong vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Consistency is good, but improvement is good too. This was the best match of the evening, with a strong showing at ringside from Katie Cameron, as always. The match see-sawed back and forth, as the two workers know each other inside and out, but in the end Cattley came out on top once more with a Mood Swing.
Winner: Jean Cattley (D+)

*

Cameron Vessey hyped up his selection as Steven Parker’s new challenger. Parker interrupted him to explain that he’d requested the match – as a former head of The Firm, he wanted to find out what passed for a member these days.

*

Steven Parker (c) vs. Cameron Vessey for the MAW Heavyweight title
So much for progress. These two had no chemistry in the ring, which really hurt the match. I know that Parker and Valentine, to pick an obvious example, have good chemistry in the ring as I’ve watched them work backstage. For some reason, we never trialled Parker and Vessey. This match was about twenty-five minutes (too) long, none of which was worth describing. A flat end to a good night’s action, sadly.
Winner: Steven Parker (D)

Overall: D+ (Thank you, Erik and Jean...)

*

I don’t know what I did to the MAW fans – maybe they hated the Jay/Rip match as much as I did? Whatever the reason, we’ve just about filled the 300-seat Stanley Hall in the last two months, compared to a near sell-out of the 1000-capacity Delaware Auditorium in October. And this is with business on the up. Strange...

*

Next: Should auld acquaintance be forgot?

Thanks to everyone who nominated me in the diary awards, by the way. I'll be voting for d_w_w (http://67.19.230.90/~arles/forum/showthread.php?t=32966), Rathen4 (http://67.19.230.90/~arles/forum/showthread.php?t=31882) or McShamrock (http://67.19.230.90/~arles/forum/showthread.php?t=33740) as I can't vote for myself :p

James Casey

08-03-2008, 10:52 AM

Over $5,000 profit once more – another few months of that and we’ll be back at the $100,000 Rip handed over to me, two years back. And maybe then I can blow it all on touring shows again...

*

The European League of Professional Fighters has opened in Central Europe. Run by Derrick Merrick, it plans to present a sort of worked/shoot hybrid. Fortunately, they didn’t try running this a couple of years back – there was hardly any MMA-type guys in Europe a while ago. They’ve still picked up Hugh de Aske, though – who’s not exactly going to excel in that kind of environment.

*

“Talk to me, kid,” Rip said, as we reached five minutes to midnight. The MAW New Years’ party was pretty sparsely populated this year – Jay and Ota, for example, were working the New Years’ Eve show for TCW. There were still a few people around, and Rip still wanted to work.

“Twenty-one thousand in profits this year. The MAW title is the most prestigious belt for any company our size, as well,” I said. “The family feud worked wonders at the box office,” I added, as it did me no harm to massage Rip’s ego.

Rip smirked. He’s not stupid – but likewise, he’s not about to object to that sort of thing, either.

“Another year, then, kid,” he said, nodding to me as he walked off. I nodded at his back.

“James?”

I looked around. Katie was there, looking still lovelier than she had the year before.

“Where’s Jacob?” I asked.

“He missed his flight,” she sighed. “Looks like you’re stuck with me again this year.”

I laughed. “I couldn’t choose better,” I assured her, meaning every word. Somewhere along the way, Heidi had noticed how attractive I found Katie, and now spent most of each day teasing me about it. I was hoping that the novelty would wear off soon – that or we’d somehow snatch Hannah Potter away from the SWF. Rumours about me and her I would have no problem with.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t bring him back full-time,” I said. Not that sorry, I added, mentally. Jett’s price had doubled since his last stint with us. Signing him would have had the likes of Kirk Jameson and Cameron Vessey demanding pay parity.

“It’s okay,” she sighed. “He’s happy where he is, I’m happy where I am...”

I grimaced, trying to remember whether Katie had a contract with a Canadian company. I nodded – 4C. She got to work with Jacob when she was up there... but hadn’t he ditched 4C a few months before?

Oh boy.

“You really need to speak to him,” I said, firmly. “There aren’t many people who can make a go of relationships in this business. I’d hate to see one of the good ones founder because of a lack of communication. And I’m sure you’d find work up north if you had to leave.”

She smiled weakly. As the clock struck twelve, we embraced, and I tried to ignore the growing damp patch on my shoulder as her tears spilled freely onto me.

*

The Year In Review:

Wrestler Of The Year: Johnny Bloodstone – A repeat victory for Bloodstone, who continues to be one of the finest wrestlers in the world, and certainly the most consistent. Despite losing 32 of his 65 matches this year, pretty much the only time he dropped below an ‘A’ grade match was when he was carrying Bruce The Giant as his tag partner. Consider that, if you will.

Young Wrestler Of The Year: Emerald Angel – One of the finest masks in the world, and a highly talented youngster underneath it. Angel was consistent all year long, with the odd spark of genius that suggests that the 23 year old could be the next big thing in the Japanese junior heavyweight scene.

Veteran Wrestler Of The Year: Jeremy Stone – Worked an awful lot of matches against Johnny Bloodstone, but even without him across the ring, he still put together some astounding matches with talents as diverse as Owen Love and Marat Khoklov.

Female Wrestler Of The Year: Thunder Hike – With the retirement of Sensational Ogiwara early in the year, this award was wide open. Hike retired after 5SSW’s Demonology tour in August, but during the first eight months of the year she put together a series of stunning performances in over forty matches.

Promotion Of The Year: BHOTWG – Rarely dropping below very good, BHOTWG put on dozens of stunning shows during 2009, to considerable success.

Most Improved Promotion Of The Year: NOTBPW – Sort of a comeback, given how wretched 2007 and 2008 were for the Canadian titans, 2009 saw them make their big comeback to once again take their place as the most prestigious (if not most popular or important) company in the world.

Match of the Year: Yoshimi Mushashibo defeated Eisaku Kunomasu to retain the Glory Crown title, PGHW Amazement Tour in July

Show Of The Year: PGHW Amazement Tour, Saturday 13th August 2009 – Coming off the PGHW Night of Honour, which was also a vastly impressive show, the buzz seemed to lift the performers to yet greater heights the following night.

*

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned, but Rock Downpour and Rip have great chemistry when calling matches. Me, I just play referee when needed, and try and keep them vaguely on track when they go off on a tangent.

Anyway, I figure that this is the reason that Rock took a $200 pay cut when he re-signed with us this month – he’s having too much fun to worry about cash. Maybe he’s bilking NYCW for more money now? I don’t really care - $200 saved is $200 earned. If not more.

*

Johnny Bloodstone is pretty unlikely to threepeat as Wrestler of the Year – he’s gone down with a Shattered Knee that’ll keep him out of the ring for thirteen months. All I can say is that I sympathise...

Showtime4Lajf

08-03-2008, 03:58 PM

Daaamn you, destiny stat!!! ... and... damn Hugh's wrestling skills... and... yeah... he's got a lot going for him...

At least Stevie knows what up. He's the only one who understands... :(

:p

For whatever reason I don't think I've ever seen Bloodstone as the wrestler of the year in my games but it certainly makes sense. The honor does tend to go to Canada or the Orient no matter what, though. Until my push of Ben Williams completes and he sits atop the wrestling world, of course.:p

James Casey

08-03-2008, 04:37 PM

I do have plans for Stevie - and Hugh. Or, at least, someone does...

*

MAW: Where Now?
by Jason Reso

It’s time once again for the Rip Chord Invitational. Once again, your PWHits columnists have made their choices: Phil and Mark have picked Jay Chord to repeat, Charles has gone for Darryl Devine, and I’m plumping for Masked Patriot.

Again.

Look, one of these days I’ll get it right, okay?

But the question in the title is an honest one. We don’t just mean the Invitational (Patriot!), but the question of what MAW is going to do now that the Chord family feud is over and done with.

After having Jay and his cronies dominate the top of the card over the last year, MAW is at something of a crossroads. The Gauges have both moved on. Rip can’t really wrestle again anytime soon.

Or ever, for preference.

Remember November was interesting in that it was a show without the Chords in attendance. MAW fans seemed to vote with their feet – the company was back at Stanley Hall after several months in Delaware.

Jay’s back, and in the tournament, but a win this year couldn’t possibly have the same impact as last year – hence my choice of Patriot. MAW is in need of new faces up top, as Ota and Phoenix have both failed to connect with the fans in the same way that Chord and Devine have. Stevie Grayson is good – but flaky. Patriot has been feuding with Primus Allen for a year now, and surely it’s time to put that feud to bed. And maybe unmask Patriot – let him connect with the fans.

The return of Steven Parker was a welcome boon for MAW, and his series with Cattley was a stormer. But Parker is a natural heel – you can almost see him yearning to steal candy from a baby. He should grow a moustache, wax the ends to a point, and twiddle them idly while considering his diabolical plans.

Erik Strong was tried on top, and wasn’t a hit the way his old tag partner was. Trent Shaffer is stuck about where he was when he debuted two years ago – despite a long run with the tag team title. Stevie Grayson puts in good matches when he remembers too – but that’s not as often as a top guy needs too.

It’s time for Patriot to get the big push.

It might also be time for a little regeneration of the MAW locker room. In his first year in charge, James Casey brought in a lot of new faces. In his second year in charge, there were only a handful of new signings. Disregarding loan deals (Mainstream, Greg Gauge, Jacob Jett) or returns (Parker) only Hugh de Aske has signed to work for MAW since Darryl Devine arrived in spring last year. In that same time, the Gauges and Black Eagle have left. One or two new faces would help freshen up the top of the card, which is much as it was eighteen months ago.

It’s interesting that when Matt Gauge left to tour Japan in November, Casey tried first to sign Jacob Jett, someone who’s made sporadic MAW appearances since Casey first signed up. There’s being loyal, and then there’s being conservative.

Still, word on the MAW website is that Steven Parker’s challenger on Saturday night will be a true newcomer to MAW – not one of the Gauges, or even another Mainstream appearance. Someone new. It’s known that MAW have working agreements with a lot of promotions around the world – Rip’s name carries a lot of weight. There’s a few big names – Eddie Peak in TCW, say, or Mike Watson of INSPIRE – who I could see making a splash in MAW for a date or two. Or how about NOTBPW? There’s a lot of talent up there, and they work a pretty similar style to MAW after all. Anyone who thrives in one would be likely to thrive in the other.

So splash the cash, Rip. Get a big name or two in for the next few months. MAW have risen a long way on the back of the Chords. It might be time to try someone else out to see if they can take you to the next level.

-Jay (not that one)

*

January – The Rip Chord Invitational
RCI: Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord
RCI: The Masked Patriot vs. Darryl Devine
RCI: Trent Shaffer vs. Kirk Jameson
RCI: Stevie Grayson vs. Primus Allen
Plus! The semi-final and final matches of the Rip Chord Invitational, and the MAW Heavyweight, Traditional and Tag Team champions will be in action!

James Casey

08-04-2008, 12:12 PM

We’re back at the Auditorium for this show, with 880 fans in attendance – anyone care to place bets on where we’ll be next month?

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: The Rip Chord Invitational
Saturday, January 27th 2010
Jay Chord opened the show in the ring. He entered a fairly generic promo about how he would be winning the Invitational for the second time – but it seemed that his mind was elsewhere throughout.

*

RCI Quarter-Final: Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord
I don’t think we’ve ever used Jay in the opening match before. We may have to look into it, as he seems to thrive on it. This was Erik’s best MAW match, I believe, ever. Although Jay’s mind still seemed to be on other things, he put on a decent effort, but Erik was on fire, nearly a blur at times as he bounced around the ring, finally scoring the massive upset with a Strongsault. He celebrated as Jay left the ring, looking angry with himself to be out of the tournament so soon.
Winner: Erik Strong (C-)

*

Darryl Devine was much more on form as he promised that Masked Patriot would need to keep his mask on to hide his injuries once their match was over.

As Patriot approached the ring, he paused to have his photo taken with a guy in a snazzy stars-and-stripes mask, with a sign proclaiming him to be Masked Patriot #21. Gotta love our fans.

*

RCI Quarter-Final: The Masked Patriot vs. Darryl Devine
I think we may be on to something with these two, as they put on a very good match – it’s a shame the fans hated the ending as Patriot #21 leapt the barrier and distracted our own Patriot (#20, I guess), allowing Devine to hit the Devine Dream Drop to advance.
Winner: Darryl Devine (D+)

*

Backstage, Trent Shaffer and Kirk Jameson shook hands, and agreed to a fair and friendly contest in their upcoming match.

*

RCI Quarter-Final: Trent Shaffer vs. Kirk Jameson
A face/face match never goes down well with the MAW fans – they’re traditionalists, and don’t like picking sides. At least with heel/heel matches you can boo everyone, right? Anyway, these two put on a friendly and entirely fair match that just lacked that touch of drama that the face/heel dynamic adds. Jameson scored the victory in a mild upset with a Bullseye to advance.
Winner: Kirk Jameson (D)

*

Primus Allen and Stevie Grayson were walking backstage when they came face to face. They stared one another down, but before either man had the chance to act, C-V-2 jumped Grayson from behind, slamming him into a wall and putting the boots to him.

“No need to thank us, Primus, just sticking up for our buddy,” Valentine said, as he slapped Allen on the chest.

“I wasn’t going to thank you,” Allen growled, picking Grayson up with a grunt of effort and carrying him towards the ring.

“Wow, that’s his problem?”

“Pfft, nobility complex,” Vessey said.

“Oh. Where’d he get one of those?”

“Not from us, that’s for sure. Now, where do The Watch hang out?”

*

RCI Quarter-Final: Stevie Grayson vs. Primus Allen
Primus propped Grayson up in the corner as the bell rang, and paced back and forth, waiting for him to show signs of life. Apparently deciding that he might as well make the best of a bad job, he charged into the corner, only for Grayson to avoid the charge, sening Allen chest first into the barely-padded steel bolts. Grayson chipped away at the big man for several minutes as Allen tried to regain his bearings, but couldn’t seem to get him down. In the end, Grayson came off the top, but was caught in mid-air by Allen, who smashed him into the mat with a hard spinebuster to allow him to advance as a night of upsets continued.
Winner: Primus Allen (D)

*

Ultimate Phoenix and Kashmir Singh came down to the ring, keeping a close eye on their rear in case C-V-2 decided to kickstart their match early. Once they reached the ring, Phoenix said that C-V-2’s cowardly attack on Grayson only reconfirmed his belief in the rightness of his quest – and that taking the gold from them would be a fine way to teach them the error of their ways.

*

Ultimate Phoenix and Kashmir Singh vs. C-V-2 (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
This was a back and forth tag team match, as the respective individual skills of The Watch team were pitted against the tag team stylings of C-V-2. The advantage was finely balanced throughout, as no-one was able to take full control of the match, and it seemed that the greater experience of the challengers might be decisive. But in the end the champions were able to sneak out a victory through clever teamwork, as Phoenix unintentionally distracted the referee to righteously report a rule infringement, allowing Vessey and Valentine to gain the advantage on Singh, leading to a Flying V to put Singh down for the count.
Winners: C-V-2 (D+)

*

Darryl Devine came down to the ring for his semi-final match. He assured Erik Strong that the beating wouldn’t be too bad – it’d all be over so quickly that he’d barely feel it.

*

RCI Semi-Final: Erik Strong vs. Darryl Devine
Let’s make things clear – Erik’s carrying his half of the match here, so it’s not just the quality of opponent that’s made his match so far tonight. Nonetheless, it doesn’t hurt. Devine played the arrogant heel to perfection, failing to learn from Chord’s example earlier in the night, allowing Strong the time he needed to break down the ****y Devine’s defences, leading to a Strongsault as Strong advanced to the final.
Winner: Erik Strong (C-)

*

Kirk Jameson came to the ring for his semi-final. He told Primus Allen that he wasn’t intimidated by his lackies – he was ready to fight whatever the odds were.

*

RCI Semi-Final: Kirk Jameson vs. Primus Allen
Once again, a good match was spoiled by the finish as Casey Valentine and Cameron Vessey made their presence felt towards the end of this match. Despite Allen’s protestations, they took up residence at ringside, and while Allen tried to keep Jameson’s head in the game, the youngster was plainly distracted by their presence. Allen again seemed reluctant to capitalise, but eventually he finished Jameson off with a Running Powerslam to go through to the final.
Winner: Primus Allen (D-)

*

After the bell rang, Primus Allen got to his feet called C-V-2 into the ring. He told them in no uncertain terms that he didn’t need their help, that he would win the tournament final without their help, and that if they tried to interfere again, in any way, shape or form, he would make sure that they regretted it – even if he won!

*

Hugh de Aske had a big grin as he entered the ring, Traditional title around his waist and Sienna on his arm.

“Ya-harr! The age old question of who would win a fight between a ninja and a pirate will get answered tonight. And I’ll let you in on a little secret – it’s always the pirate. No code of honour, no fancy pyjamas, just a willingness to get down and dirty, and do what’s necessary to walk away with the booty,” he said, stroking Sienna’s hip and the Traditional title at the same time.

*

Fumihiro Ota vs. Hugh de Aske (c) for the MAW Traditional title
The age old question was indeed answered here. Ota and Aske put on a tremendous show, involving long, fluid exchanges of moves you might think they’d been working on for weeks. Ota was at his most graceful, bounding from mat to ropes to turnbuckles in a series of balletic movements countered by de Aske’s rough and tumble style, the two combining to create an engrossing spectacle that ended far too soon, with the pirate pinning the ninja with a Cut Throat Driver to retain the title.
Winner: Hugh de Aske (C)

*

Primus Allen stood in the centre of the ring. He promised Erik Strong that their match would be a clean one, as The Firm had been warned against any form of interference.

*

RCI Final: Erik Strong vs. Primus Allen
I was slightly worried about this. These two don’t quite sparkle in the ring – but at the same time, they fought at the same point last year and only managed an E+, so there’s clearly improvement taking place. The battle was all about speed vs. strength, as these two exemplify the two styles better than perhaps any two other members of the MAW roster. Strong was doing his best to be Muhammad Ali – floating like a butterfly and, where possible, stinging like a bee. Allen, for once, seemed heavy footed in comparison to his opponent – but his speed was deceptive, and he managed to catch Strong a number of times and mete out punishment. In the end, it came down to who would nail their big move first – and it seemed that Strong had this sewn up as he ascended the turnbuckle for a Strongsault. But as he steadied himself Allen rose to his feet and hauled him off the turnbuckles, before driving him hard into the mat with a Running Powerslam to crown himself the 2010 Rip Chord Invitational Champion!
Winner: Primus Allen (D-)

*

The match over, and a clean victory to his name, Primus Allen celebrated becoming the new Rip Chord Invitational champion. Rip entered the ring, the new trophy in his hands. He handed the trophy to Allen and shook his hand. As Allen raised the trophy above his head, Rip shook his hand to try and get the blood flowing in it again.

*

Steven Parker came out for his match against a mystery opponent. Entering the ring, he took a mic and addressed the crowd.

“This belt I’m wearing carries with it a heavy responsibility. I have to be the best in the company – or I’ll lose the title so quickly I won’t have a chance to blink. And part of the MAW way is that occasionally we get outsiders dropping in to test their mettle. Tonight, all I know about my opponent is that he’s never wrestled here before – not just in the Mid Atlantic, but anywhere in the United States. Whoever you are, welcome – and I hope that we can show these folks a good match.”

A driving Latin beat hit the PA, and a platoon of salsa dancers flooded the entrance aisle. A young man with long, flowing black hair and movie star looks came out and saluted the crowd.

“I thank you, Steven Parker, for your very kind welcome. And to you, the people of Delaware and the fans of this company, I bid you greetings. For those of you who do not know me, I am Champagne Loverrrrrrrrrr!”

He beamed at the crowd.

“I am on my way north to spend some time in Canada. Along the way, I have decided to come here and prove to you all that Mexican lucha libre is so superior to your American wrestling that no-one and nothing can hope to compete against me, let alone your small-town champions in this tiny promotion.”

God bless Champagne Lover. He’s exciting, he’s handsome, he’s charismatic, and he’s quite prepared to have nine-hundred fans baying for his blood. Of course, after some of the crowds he’s competed in front of, I imagine that just being booed is quite a nice change. We don’t allow fans to bring battery acid to our shows, for example.

*

Steven Parker (c) vs. Champagne Lover for the MAW Heavyweight title
This was the longest match on the show, weighing in at over twenty minutes as Parker and his debuting opponent tied up in a thrilling battle – maybe MAW’s best match ever. Parker is a tremendous all-rounder, but Champagne seemed to have him shaded in every area, and even the crowd couldn’t help but be drawn to the ultra-charismatic Mexican. Champagne used innovative lucha libre techniques previously unseen in MAW to keep one step ahead of the champion, forcing Parker to adapt on the fly. But Parker is champion for a reason, and after a thrilling battle that stretched both men to the limit, he was able to catch Champagne in a Future Shock to snatch victory, and retain his title.
Winner: Steven Parker (C+)

*

Parker wearily raised his arms in celebration. But rather than his own music playing, it was Jay Chord’s theme that hit the PA. Jay was, for some reason, carrying a briefcase as he strutted down to ringside and slid into the ring. Taking a mic, he turned to face the announcer’s table.

“Dad, can you join us in the ring, please?”

Rip stood up slowly and climbed into the ring.

“I’d just like you to confirm something for me... I won the Rip Chord Invitational last year, correct?”

Rip nodded.

“And as well as that lovely trophy, which I put to such good use, I was also guaranteed a title shot at any point within the next year, correct?”

Rip hesitated, then nodded, as he looked sympathetically at Parker.

“Well, it’s one year later – and I’m cashing in my shot,” he said, handing Rip the briefcase.

He turned to Parker and booted him in the gut, before dropping him with a Super DDT. Rip bailed from the ring and ordered Chad Brent to ring the bell.

*

Steven Parker (c) vs. Jay Chord for the MAW Heavyweight title
Jay covered arrogantly, and looked horrified when Parker kicked out at two. Slapping the champion across the face, he picked him up and lifted him into a Cradle Piledriver. With both legs hooked, Parker had no chance to kick out a second time, and just like that Jay Chord was the new MAW champion!
Winner: Jay Chord (D)

Overall: D+

Dragonmack

08-04-2008, 12:49 PM

I'm guessing that Jay Chord's title demands from his contract signing just got fulfilled. Still, you know that last match just killed what could have been an easy C- or C show if you had let the Parker-Champagne Lover match end it.

I haven't used Chord in '08 but I always got better results out of him in my '07 diary game. Maybe you ended up with that random 1 in a million game where Chord is actually a bust! :eek::p

Hyde Hill

08-04-2008, 01:01 PM

Hmm I know why Parker lost the title but I ain´t telling. Nice show as always Casey.

James Casey

08-05-2008, 12:54 PM

I'm guessing that Jay Chord's title demands from his contract signing just got fulfilled. Still, you know that last match just killed what could have been an easy C- or C show if you had let the Parker-Champagne Lover match end it.

True. And true. Too often in the game I'm sacrificing ratings for the storylines

I haven't used Chord in '08 but I always got better results out of him in my '07 diary game. Maybe you ended up with that random 1 in a million game where Chord is actually a bust! :eek::p

I hope not - he does seem to be improving as we go along, and his exposure with TCW and USPW isn't hurting...

Hmm I know why Parker lost the title but I ain´t telling. Nice show as always Casey.

Well, you can see if you're right - and thanks!

*

What with everything else going on in 2009, we’d never got around to using Jay’s guaranteed title shot. I could have just given him the shot like normal, but I figured this fit in with his character that much better.

I also figured that it might shut him up backstage – that or push him over the edge from ‘unbearable jerk’ to ‘worth taking out a contract on’.

And I’ve learned to never again book a distraction finish – at least, not in Delaware. Always used to work fine at Stanley Hall, but two in a night was poor booking on my part, even across a three-hour show.

Still, the show came out okay – not brilliant, but okay. And a $7,600 profit is a record for us. We might just turn a real profit one of these days...

*

I was enjoying a warm glow after the show, one part vodka, one part proximity to the MAW ladies (Sienna was still in her pirate garb, which showed off a fair bit more than the ‘creature of the night outfit’ that she wore when Black Eagle was around), six parts satisfaction at a decent show that set the wheels in motion for the next nine months. Jay’s opponents for the next while almost picked themselves – and my only slight concern was whether he’d re-sign with us when his contract came up in a couple of months. If not, the title would move on again. It was a bit annoying, but Primus Allen and Hugh de Aske were rising fast – de Aske was already so hot with the MAW fans I wasn’t sure if I could justify leaving the Traditional belt on him much longer.

Anyway, there were the Parker/Chord rematches to deal with first...

“James?”

I looked up, and smiled at Steven.

“Hey, take a seat.”

He did, looking serious. I quirked an eyebrow at him.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’ve had an offer. From the Eisens. An exclusive deal.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. I set the half-full glass down on the table.

“And you’re accepting it?”

“I have to!” he looked around, and lowered his voice. “I have to. It’s guaranteed money, no moving back and forth, a chance at a big push-“

“I understand,” I said, and I did. He had nothing to feel guilty about. “It’s been a blast having you around – and you know you’ll be welcome back any time. Have you spoken to Dawn yet?”

He nodded. “She understands. She’s happy here, and we’ve got the hang of the long-distance thing.”

“Good for you. Have you told Rip?”

He shook his head.

“Do you want me to?” I asked, shrewdly. He shook his head again, shooting me a wry smile.

“I’ll do it – he’s so happy about Jay winning the title tonight I’m sure he’ll be okay. But James, before I go, take care of yourself, eh?”

I looked at him quizzically.

“Rip’s not the same as he was when I started here. I see a lot of Eisen in him, I wouldn’t dare say it to his face – but you need to be careful.”

I nodded, slowly. It had occurred to me as well – but I’d not given it much thought. Steven obviously had.

“Good luck up north,” I said, rising to shake his hand. He took my hand and gave it a firm shake, before walking over to the Chords.

“Trouble?” Heidi asked, appearing at my elbow.

“Put the feelers out,” I said. “We need some new babyfaces.”

*

MAW All or Nothing
Hugh Lee vs. Hugh de Aske
Kirk Jameson vs. Darryl Devine
Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen
Stevie Grayson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Plus Champagne Lover will be in action, and Jay Chord will make the first defence of his MAW Heavyweight title!

Rathen4

08-05-2008, 12:56 PM

I had a feeling it was coming :(

Hyde Hill

08-05-2008, 02:56 PM

Hugh Lee vs. Hugh de Aske

some talent vs very talented hmmm.

Kirk Jameson vs. Darryl Devine

Feeling some anti Kirk sentiments on the board as so many are using him.

Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio

Old school match and Shaffer is just better.

The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen

DQ win when Firm interfere and Allen turns on them going face! Or is it too early?

Stevie Grayson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley

Stevie needs some momentum back so he can face Jay.

Plus Champagne Lover , if still on loan he looses, will be in action, and Jay Chord will make the first defence of his MAW Heavyweight title!

kowalewski

08-05-2008, 03:58 PM

Hugh Lee vs. Hugh de Aske
Ahoy! Main event off the port bow!

Kirk Jameson vs. Darryl Devine

Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio

The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen.
I disagree with Hyde. I see Masked Patriot #21 continuing his distractions.

Stevie Grayson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley

D-Lyrium

08-06-2008, 07:05 AM

Whew, just got caught up again after being without the 'net for a while. Simply brilliant dynasty man, loving every show. Needs more Blondes, though. ¬_¬

Hugh Lee vs. Hugh de Aske
- You said yourself that de Aske is getting too big for the division, and Lee would be as good a champion as any. Part of me wants to see Lee start immitating de Aske and becoming a pirate instead of a ninja, leading to a de Aske vs. Ota feud ¬_¬ Then you could bring in someone like Evil Spirit to play Ota's new trainee ninja, and Lee would have a ready made feud to :p

Kirk Jameson vs. Darryl Devine-

Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio

The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen
- I can't see Allen losing to Patriot again after winning the RCI, so I'm going for botched distraction victory. Are these two ever going to stop fighting each other? :p

Stevie Grayson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
- Cattley's awesome, and needs to stay relatively hot. Grayson... Grayson isn't.

James Casey

08-06-2008, 12:57 PM

Whew, just got caught up again after being without the 'net for a while. Simply brilliant dynasty man, loving every show. Needs more Blondes, though. ¬_¬

Heh, thanks. And if you can find a way for me to include more Blondes - I do kinda like them, and they are way more experienced than any of my other teams - without them stinking up the card, let me know.

Hugh Lee vs. Hugh de Aske
- You said yourself that de Aske is getting too big for the division, and Lee would be as good a champion as any. Part of me wants to see Lee start immitating de Aske and becoming a pirate instead of a ninja, leading to a de Aske vs. Ota feud ¬_¬ Then you could bring in someone like Evil Spirit to play Ota's new trainee ninja, and Lee would have a ready made feud to :p

The minute Evil Spirit is available, I'm stealing this idea :p

The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen
- I can't see Allen losing to Patriot again after winning the RCI, so I'm going for botched distraction victory. Are these two ever going to stop fighting each other? :p

Maybe... *Cough*

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: All Or Nothing
Friday, February 26th 2010
Hugh Lee vs. Hugh de Aske (c) for the MAW Traditional title
I think that Hugh the pirate is going to be a good signing for MAW. He took Lee’s ninja antics absolutely seriously as Lee set out to avenge his fallen master, and sold the blonde’s offence just the right amount. This made for a great match, with the two going back and forth as Lee sought honour and the title, while de Aske tried to defend his booty. Dawn tried to help Hugh Lee out, but this only seemed to put him off as his slight crush on her made him mishear her advice, allowing the pirate to snatch victory with a Cut Throat Driver. Not a bad result considering this match was mainly booked to allow me and Rock to do bad Hugh/Who? puns.
Winner: Hugh de Aske (C-)

*

Only in a wrestling arena could one man blindside and brutalise another before 892 people (a record, incidentally) without it being common assault. In this case, it was Darryl Devine attacking, and Kirk Jameson on the receiving end, taking a kicking as he came down the aisle before being dragged into the ring for their match. Devine bent over to trash talk Jameson, only to get caught in a roll-up. Chad Brent signalled for the bell, and counted two and three-quarters before Devine broke free, and the match began in earnest.

*

Kirk Jameson vs. Darryl Devine
I was very pleased with how this show was going. This was the RCI final that never was, the two losing semi-finalists putting on a sterling effort that rather made me wish I’d gone with this instead of the original plan. Both men are in line for increased exposure in the coming months, particularly Jameson who’s seemingly emerged from nowhere in recent months. They put on a tremendous show with lots of fast-paced offence and thrilling exchanges. Devine snatched a needed win with a Devine Dream Drop to show that, even without Jay Chord to back him up, he’s still a very talented worker.
Winner: Darryl Devine (C)

*

Earlier today, Trent Shaffer and Antonio were arguing.

At least, Antonio was arguing.

Well, Antonio was pointing out his expensive suit, solid gold wristwatch, snazzy phone... Shaffer was just smiling and humouring him, which seemed to be making Antonio crosser and crosser.

Eventually, Rip Chord happened upon the two of them, and growled that they could settle their sociological dispute the old fashioned way – in a wrasslin’ match.

*

Trent Shaffer vs. Antonio
This match kinda brought things back down to earth. I really don’t know what to make of Trent Shaffer. Two years after he’s signed on with us, and with a lot of other companies chasing him, he’s just not progressed that much. With Stevie Grayson in the main event, it’s almost like the one in the cap got all the mojo from their team – which I never would have imagined. Anyway, he and Antonio put on a decent match, but nothing to compare to the previous efforts. Shaffer picked up the win with a Heart Burn.
Winner: Trent Shaffer (D)

*

Rip entered the ring.

“It was about a year ago that I stood in this very ring and announced the creation of the Traditional title.

“Well, I’m not saying we’ll be making a title every year, but here we are – another title it is. Or titles, in fact.

“You see, I’ve been speaking to Ultimate Phoenix backstage. He’s had a lot of success south of the border, and he’s had a lot of trouble with The Firm over the last year or so. Now, put those two facts together, and you get all the justification I need for the creation of a Trios title for this company – and next month we’ll see The Watch taking on The Firm to determine who’ll be the first ever Trios champions!”

*

The Masked Patriot’s music played, and out came two masked men, each carrying the Stars and Stripes. One was MAW’s own Masked Patriot, the other was the fan who got involved in last month’s match between our Patriot and Darryl Devine.

“Now then, before anyone gets too confused, allow me to give you all a little history lesson,” our Patriot said, once they had entered the ring. “There’s been a long, long history of Masked Patriots in this business. This kid here got a bit excited about maybe being #21. Now, I ain’t done with the mask just yet, but I figure there’ll be a time one day soon when I want to pass it on, so I think I oughta take him under my wing and train him up. And in the meantime-“

“In the meantime, you should forget about ever achieving anything in this business,” Primus Allen barked, appearing at the top of the entrance ramp. The new Invitational champion glowered at the two masked men. “Hiding behind masks... it’s pathetic. But I have a solution for you: We’ve been doing this dance for far too long now, and I’m sick of the sight of you. So here’s the deal – you and me, tonight, and if you lose then you unmask, for good.”

Patriot took a moment to consider, before nodding.

“Okay, son, you’re on,” he said. “If you beat me tonight, then next month I’ll take off this mask, and never wear it again. But this ain’t just gonna be a one way thing, y’hear? Now, if ah’m putting something as important as the legacy of the Masked Patriot on the line, well, I reckon you’ve gotta ante up as well – seems like I remember one of The Firm being booted out of the company a little ways back for getting too ****y, so it seems all kinds of appropriate that you get the same deal: My mask against your career. Have we got us a match?”

Allen smirked, and nodded in turn. “Ring that bell!”

*

The Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen – Mask vs. Career
This match brought an end to this feud. Both men are capable of much more, but they just seem to cancel each other out – at this stage in their careers, both need a little more experience on the other side of the ring. Still, the match didn’t suck – in fact, it was pretty decent as the two exchanged thunderous heavy blows that would have crushed a lesser man. Masked Patriot (#21, not our guy) watched on from ringside, but it was clear in the end that his support for The Masked Patriot just wouldn’t be enough – Allen drove TMP into the mat with an almighty Running Powerslam to score the victory.
Winner: Primus Allen (D+)

*

Jay Chord sauntered down to the ring, looking as smug as anything, Heavyweight title secured around his waist. Taking a mic, he looked smugly around.

“I’ve spent one year in this company, and already I’ve reached the peak. It’s hard, sometimes, being this good – it means that I have a lot to live up to. Rip Chord Invitational champion, MAW Heavyweight champion, the man who retired Steven Parker – oh yes, it’s true. You won’t see that idiot around here again. He had his chance against me, and blew it so badly he slunk away, trying to avoid getting his ass kicked by me again.”

Jay laughed, as the crowd booed.

“I am your champion, and that means I have a duty to defend this title against the finest that the industry has to offer. My first opponent is a Canadian legend, a man who’s given his life to the sport, who’s fought the finest that the industry has to offer, and whose achievements are legendary. And there was once a time that he had a fine run as a masked competitor...”

Duane Stone, anyone?

Of course not – it was Thom Morgan, and the fans let Jay know exactly what they thought of that.

*

Thom Morgan vs. Jay Chord (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
As short as this was, it was pretty ugly. Not a match I’ll be booking again, that’s for sure. Morgan started this battle of the former Kid Arachnids brightly, but after an ugly-looking series of exchanges with Chord he seemed to lose his way, and was easy pickings for the Cradle Piledriver.
Winner: Jay Chord (D-)

*

Rip re-entered the ring

“My son got one thing right, at least. Steven Parker is no longer under contract to this company, and therefore there is no number one contender to the Heavyweight title. I was willing to let Jay choose his own opponents, but I don’t think that even Thom Morgan’s own mother would argue that he was due a title shot. So it seems like I’ll have to take a hand. We’ll hold two matches tonight, and the winners of those matches will square off next month to determine the number one contender. First up, let’s have Stevie Grayson taking on Jean Cattley!”

*

Stevie Grayson vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley in the #1 contender’s tournament
Once again, I was left delighted by the results of this match. We’d put this on in the semi-final match because Champagne Lover did so well last month, but really I’d have been happy with this on last. Grayson and Cattley, who could scarcely be more diametrically opposed personally or in character, have tremendous chemistry in the ring, and with a larger stage and a longer allotment of time could probably produce something truly outstanding. As it was, it was a nearly flawless match pitting Cattley’s savvy against Grayson’s exuberance, the veteran trying to tame the upstart, the flyer trying to stay one step ahead of the technician. Ultimately, Grayson came out on top with a 460 Degree Splash, to the delight of the crowd, but I know that backstage Jean would be just as pleased with the way the match came out.
Winner: Stevie Grayson (C-)

*

Rip entered the ring one last time, but before he could say anything Champagne Lover’s salsa music hit the PA and the charismatic Mexican came down to the ring.

“Now then, Senor Chord,” he said, clapping a hand on Rip’s shoulder. “I know what you’re going to say. You’ve searched high and low, and you don’t have anyone who can compete with me, so you’re going to give me a bye through to the next round. Its very generous, and I agree. I do deserve another shot at the Heavyweight title. I’d even say that I should just be given the shot without having to beat Grayson. That’s how we did it in Mexico, after all – what Champagne Lover wants, Champagne Lover gets. It’s a wonderful system.”

It finally seemed to dawn on Lover that Rip was staring pointedly at his hand. He took it from Rip’s shoulder and let it drop to his side.

“In a funny way, you’re right,” Rip said. “I watched your match last month, and if you’re not as good as you seem to think you are, you’re still pretty good. So here’s the deal – we recently picked up a new signing to replace Steven. Given that you fought Steven last month, you can fight the new guy this month. You may have heard of him: He goes by the name of Double A – Aaron Andrews!”

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/jamescasey_photos/AaronAndrews.jpg

*

Aaron Andrews vs. Champagne Lover in the #1 contender’s tournament
Champagne Lover is welcome back anytime. This was a great way to welcome our new signing, as Andrews was really put through his paces by the crafty Mexican. Even if Andrews hadn’t been a big name by MAW standards, the fans would have been behind him due to CL’s gift for stirring up people’s emotions. I imagine that in Mexico, he must make for an outstanding face.

Anyway, the match was a cut above everything else on the card, with the two wildly talented all-rounders pulling out all the stops in their quest to beat each other. Lover seemed concerned at times, as the worldly-wise Andrews had a counter for many of his lucha techniques, and at one point seemed to be gearing up for the Standing Hot Shot, but at the last second Lover was able to escape, and when Andrews turned, he turned into a Champagne Sunrise that allowed Lover to score the pin.
Winner: Champagne Lover (C+)

Overall: C

Hyde Hill

08-06-2008, 04:46 PM

What the in the name of Ryland are TCW up to in your game letting Aaron Andrews go? A well at least one of my favorite dynasties is reaping the benefits.

D-Lyrium

08-06-2008, 05:18 PM

The minute Evil Spirit is available, I'm stealing this idea :p

*drops his bottle of Hobgoblin*

... Evil Spirit... has a job?! And an exclusive one at that?

How in the hells did he manage that? :p

Also, Aaron Andrews? Wow. Strange world.

James Casey

08-06-2008, 05:20 PM

No question - Andrews is a great signing for us. We benefitted from him being not quite popular enough to refuse to sign with us, at the same time that his contract came up, at the same time that TCW dropped to Cult (for about two weeks) and couldn't offer written deals. A wonderful bit of luck, and with TCW and us having a working agreement, he can't be signed to a written deal now they've gone back up.

Andrews makes me happy - despite looking a bit like Cameron Vessey on 'roids... :eek:

Edit: Spirit is cool - and available - but isn't worth importing from Japan. I think... I may have to check that...

Hyde Hill

08-06-2008, 05:26 PM

Ehm how could TCW go back to National in 2 weeks? Still playing 07 or does the 6 months waiting not count for AI feds?

Aaron Andrews + Daryl Devine + Steven Parker,(for a while) man wonder what great talent wil be released next by one of the big two.

Midnightnick

08-06-2008, 05:28 PM

James Casey

08-06-2008, 05:55 PM

Ehm how could TCW go back to National in 2 weeks? Still palying 07 or does the 6 months waiting not count for AI feds?

Might have been a bit more than two weeks, then :p But it happened right before Andrews became available, so who am I to count?

*

As for Spirit, I've made him an offer and am waiting for him to reply. As I can't imagine I'll get away without stumping up his travel costs, I can't really justify paying him more than $300 a show (plus the same in travel) but if he'll work for that, I might just give D-Lyrium's storyline a try...

James Casey

08-07-2008, 07:43 AM

The phone rang at – I groaned – 3.11am according to my digital clock. I picked it up.

“Rip?”

“Jay got into a shouting match with a fan.”

“Oh God... What happened?”

“The kid was needling him. Jay shot back and ended up in a full-on screaming match.”

“Great. Anything physical?”

“No. Kid?”

“What, Rip?”

“What do I do?”

“You’re his father. Speak to him. Get him to see that he can’t do that sort of thing. Certainly not when he’s company champion.”

“Yeah... yeah, you’re right.”

“And Rip?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“Stop calling me in the middle of the night. Please. Unless it’s something life-or-death, let me sleep ‘til morning. Who pulled Jay off the fan, anyway?”

“No-one. It didn’t get that far.”

“That’s a blessing, anyway. Get some sleep, Rip, and speak to Jay in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay.” I could hear Rip running his hand over his sandpaper-like stubble, and could almost see his eyes tracking over to where his drinks cabinet used to be. “Parenting’s not easy, kid.”

“That’s what they say, Rip. Sleep well, huh?”

“Yeah, you too.”

*

The $7,500 profit from February meant that I had earned MAW a grand total of 183 dollars in profit in the 26 months I’d been in charge. Even banks would give better interest on the $100,000 I’d originally had to play with.

Still, like a true promoter, I was already thinking of a way to spend it – and Rip had been surprisingly easy to sway on the idea. Jay hadn’t reacted too badly to his fatherly approach, and that seemed to put Rip on the upswing, emotionally.

*

Rip and I stared around the assembled locker room – at least, those who were able to attend at fairly short notice. I spoke first.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending. We have a couple of announcements to make. Firstly, effective immediately, we will be trialling extending our shows by a minimum of thirty minutes. We’ll try a two-and-a-half hour show this month, with eight or nine matches instead of the usual seven. Depending on how that goes, there may be room to bump our usual shows up to a full three hours. The October and January shows would then be expanded as well, by a full hour, to become four hours in length.”

Rip stepped forward, and everything else seemed to fade into the background around him. There were times when I didn’t much like Rip, but he had presence – that was undeniable.

“James is right, and that gives us problems and opportunities. The big problem is that we have more airtime to fill. That means matches will go longer, and there’ll be more matches as well. You’ll all need to be in top condition. And those of you who haven’t been on that many shows, this is your chance to get out there and show that when the time comes, we won’t be wrong in not having all our eggs in one basket.”

Rip paused. I’m not even sure that it’s a conscious thing on his part, but whenever he mangles a proverb, he leaves a couple of seconds for people to work out what he actually means.

“We’ve had a good run, financially, in this last year. The kid’s been trying to sell me on another wild idea of his,” he resumed, with a nod at me to show that the kid in question wasn’t his son. “We’re going to look at adding a second show to the monthly schedule – maybe as soon as next month. It’d just be a trial run, but if it’s successful, that’ll mean we’ll run a minimum of twenty-four shows a year.”

My turn again, and I had to cut across a fair amount of buzz from those assembled.

“And if that’s successful, maybe weekly shows reaching out to the Great Lakes and Tri-State areas again. We lost a lot of cash last time around. In a few months, maybe, we might just be able to run this without tanking.”

“You’re serious about this?” Jean asked.

“At the moment, yes,” I said. “This company was created to nurture tomorrow’s stars, and the best way we can do that is by running an intensive schedule that gives people the chance to work as many matches as possible. I can’t guarantee we’ll be able to achieve this any time soon – you never know where the industry is going. I think that two shows a month is achievable, although it might make our profits take a downturn for a spell. But one show a month is just about keeping us in the public imagination. Two shows a month will get us more popularity twice as fast – and accelerate us towards regional and even national recognition.”

“That’s some big plans,” Antonio said.

“I’m not going to try and bankrupt the company,” I said. “We’ll run one trial, probably over the Easter weekend depending on schedules, and if it loses a lot of money, we’ll shelve the idea until we’re better off.”

“Define a lot of money,” Jay growled.

“Off the top of my head, upwards of six or seven thousand dollars at month’s end,” I replied. “About a month’s profits. We can afford to eat that kind of loss for a few months – if the return is worth it. Ultimately, we’re a little restrained by the size of the Auditorium. Until we’re big enough to make a decent profit booking a 2,000 seat venue, we’re just about getting by on the ticket sales from the shows and the sponsorship money – and that’s not going to change much.”

“More matches sounds good to me,” Max Mayhem said, and there was a ripple of laughter.

“That’s the idea,” I replied. “Honestly, the big names like Jay and Aaron are going to get much the same time on each show. Hopefully, though, the extra time can mostly be spent on the guys who need the time to catch up. And sod it, I want a real tag division.”

More laughter. My continually frustrated attempts to build a tag division were a source of considerable humour backstage. The Gauge Brothers had recently rejected negotiations to bring them back into the fold, which I could understand. Quite how Lead Belly and Grease Hogg had managed to work out they were worth $700 – plus expenses! – of our money, though, was beyond me. To compound matters, Cameron Vessey had recently signed with USPW, and would be leaving before the next show came around. I didn’t really want to have The Firm drop the titles yet anyway – which meant that we’d had to draft in a substitute. I wasn’t that worried – the new guy I’d spotted was a highly talented youngster. But doing it this month would have detracted from the image of The Firm at a time when I wanted to boost it, and so meant that another show went by without the tag titles being defended. I had plans to play on that – but booking for a small company had its disadvantages, no question.

*

Darryl Devine has left NOTBPW – to work for us, FCW and CGC. I’m not saying his priorities are necessarily out of whack, but I am extremely glad that he made the choice that he did.

I just don’t necessarily understand it...

*

MAW March Madness
Erik Strong vs. Jefferson Stardust
Kirk Jameson vs. Primus Allen
Internet Favourites vs. Antonio & Raphael
Trent Shaffer vs. Findlay O’Farraday
Morgan & Benning vs. The Canadian Blondes
The Watch vs. The Firm
Stevie Grayson vs. Champagne Lover - #1 contender final
??? vs. Jay Chord
Plus Hugh de Aske will be in action

Hyde Hill

08-07-2008, 09:07 AM

Erik Strong vs. Jefferson Stardust
Kirk Jameson vs. Primus Allen
Internet Favourites vs. Antonio & Raphael
Trent Shaffer vs. Findlay O’Farraday
Morgan & Benning vs. The Canadian Blondes
The Watch vs. The Firm
Stevie Grayson vs. Champagne Lover - #1 contender final
??? vs. Jay Chord
Plus Hugh de Aske will be in action

kowalewski

08-07-2008, 11:16 AM

d_w_w

08-07-2008, 11:35 AM

smurphy1014

08-07-2008, 11:41 AM

Dragonmack

08-07-2008, 05:44 PM

MAW March Madness
Erik Strong vs. Jefferson Stardust
Kirk Jameson vs. Primus Allen
Internet Favourites vs. Antonio & Raphael
Trent Shaffer vs. Findlay O’Farraday
Morgan & Benning vs. The Canadian Blondes
The Watch vs. The Firm
Stevie Grayson vs. Champagne Lover - #1 contender final
??? vs. Jay Chord
Plus Hugh de Aske will be in action

Sagitta

08-07-2008, 10:22 PM

Whats your company's importance rated at? Maybe you're snagging the decent names due to the fact that the company has a decent reputation, even if the popularity isn't there yet.

James Casey

08-08-2008, 06:36 AM

It's not bad, but not awesome. I can only think that mine and Rip's reputations are attracting them - I'm at High for booking, and presumably having Rip as an owner helps with this sort of thing.

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: March Madness
Friday, 26th March 2010
Erik Strong vs. Jefferson Stardust
One of the ideas of having longer shows is to have veterans working matches with younger stars. We may have to rethink including Erik Strong in the former category. This was a below average effort from these two and, in fairness, it’s Stardust’s fault. A record, sell-out, 1,000 fans at the Auditorium deserve to see better matches than this – although we at least had the foresight to keep it short, with Erik going over with a Strongsault.
Winner: Erik Strong (E+)

*

Earlier today, Rip approached The Firm’s locker room and knocked on the door. Jean answered, poking his head around the door frame, and keeping the door as closed as possible. Rip tried to see inside, but Jean moved to block him.

“Yes?”

“Jean, just the person. Listen, something I forgot to say to you last month. The rulebook for the company says that you can’t have double champions. If a champion wins another belt, he’ll have to give it up.”

“I know. So?”

“Oh, you know?” Rip looked surprised. “Well, the thing is, you can’t have Valentine on your side – not without having to give up one of the titles if you win.”

“Yes, I know. We’ve made arrangements.”

“Good,” Rip said, still looking surprised.

“Thanks for bringing that to our attention – three hours before the match. What were we supposed to do – ask Curtis Jenkins?”

“Hey, I came in good faith, kid.”

“The hell you did,” Jean growled. “You wrote the rules, Rip. You were trying to screw us – the same way you have Jay with this bogus tournament where he doesn’t find out who he’s fighting until two minutes before the match. You knew full well about the double champion rule and you even found an excuse to get rid of Cameron so that we had to bring in someone else as Casey’s partner. It’s a good job that I double-checked. But don’t worry – we’ve got it covered. We’re not stupid, Rip. We know you’re still the weaselly sneak you always were – but now you’re trying to pretend you’re on the side of the angels. I don’t buy it – so don’t come around here trying to sell it.”

Cattley slammed the door, leaving Rip looking angrily at it.

*

Kirk Jameson vs. Primus Allen
I was curious about this match, as both men are akin to ripening fruits – in time, they’ll be wonderful. Right now, there’s still work to do. Analogies aside, this was a fairly entertaining match in which Allen was, for once, out fought by his gutsy opponent. Jameson took the fight to The Firm’s muscle, keeping him off balance throughout and never letting him use his fearsome power to get a grip on the match. He eventually caught Allen in a fearsome Kirk-Hold to force the submission out of the monster.
Winner: Kirk Jameson (D)

*

Backstage, Primus Allen was warming down after his match. Findlay O’Farraday approached him and asked him for some more advice.

“Footwork,” Allen said, without looking around. “You’re strong, but you’re slow. You’ve got to learn to move lightly, or you’ll always be vulnerable to a fast opponent.”

Findlay nodded, and walked off, bouncing from foot to foot every few steps.

*

The Masked Patriot’s music played, and he came out to the ring, accompanied by Masked Patriot, both bearing the Stars and Stripes. They entered the ring, and MP took TMP’s flag, as TMP took a microphone.

“The time has come. For three years now, Ah have walked among you, a symbol of the glorious country that I am proud to call home. But now the insidious Primus Allen has defeated me, and with that defeat came a heavy price – I must unmask.

“Before I do so, Ah trust you will permit me to say a few words. Firstly, Ah have spent the last two months training this young man to be my successor to the legacy of this great name. Masked Patriot, I know that you will do myself, and all those who have worn this mask, proud.

“Lastly... Thank you for all the support that you have shown me since I started here. Ah’m just a humble country boy at heart, but a few of you may remember me from my last career. I took the mask and the legacy of The Masked Patriot at first just to disguise myself, in case this wrasslin’ business wasn’t for me, in case I failed, and mah face ended up across all the papers and magazines. But the love that you have shown me, and the feelings that this mask inspire in you, have in turn inspired me. Ah may no longer be masked – but ah promise you, ah will always be a patriot!”

Slowly, and with several deep breaths, TMP removed his mask to reveal the rosy cheeks and slightly sheepish grin of former NFL star “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith.

“Now... It’s time for me to make my debut all over again. If anyone in the back wants a match, Ah’m here and waiting!”

*

“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Hugh de Aske (c) for the MAW Traditional title
If you want someone to go over hot, I’m learning, put them in the ring with Hugh de Aske. Really, the guy’s an out-and-out star. Smith pulled his weight in this match, as the slightly sozzled pirate danced around the former masked man’s charges just enough to stay in the match – but not enough that he could mount a serious offence. Smith looked highly dangerous, and with a little seasoning he could go on to big things, while de Aske further improved his image with a fighting performance against the re-energised former footballer. The match was too close to call, and went to the bell with the fans begging for more time.
Winner: No-one (C+)

*

Antonio and Raphael came down to the ring, Raphael still chattering away on a phone in Antonio’s wake.

“The tag team title situation seems to be up in the air right now,” Antonio said. “Apparently Cameron Vessey has left the company, and that means that Casey Valentine hasn’t got anyone to team up with to defend the title. Now, I have no problems with Casey myself, but this seems like a golden opportunity to win myself some more gold. So Casey, come on out and get ready to hand over the gold. But remember – it’s just business, not personal.”

Instead of C-V-2’s music – which I suppose I should call C-V-1’s music – we were regaled with the Eastern sci-fi stylings of the Internet Favourites, who came down to the ring with Dawn. Dawn took the mic:

“It’s not very nice of you to try and take advantage of another person’s misfortune like that, Antonio,” she said. “It makes much more sense for the four of you to fight it out, and the winner gets a shot at the titles next month.”

“Are you crazy? Next month Valentine might have a partner.”

“Well, I’m afraid it’s take it or leave it, because my boys certainly aren’t prepared to let you try and claim glory without honour,” Dawn said sweetly, as Hugh Lee struck a martial arts pose and Mayhem yelled something in Klingon.

Raphael tapped Antonio on the shoulder, and pointed at the screen of his PDA. Antonio looked at it, and grinned.

“Hell, why not,” he said. “The market’s just closed up – I’ve got myself an extra twenty thousand or so to play with than I did this morning. I can afford to be generous.”

*

Internet Favourites vs. Antonio & Raphael
The MAW tag division is a work in progress, and a small part of me wonders whether snapping up an experienced team like the former Dirty White Boys – or even bringing back Natural Storm – might help. But better to work with what we’ve got. This match was actually pretty decent, all things considered, with a good flow and the over the top antics of Dawn at ringside to live things up when the crowd got a little restless. Ultimately, Raphael nailed Mayhem with an Italian DDT to score the win for his team.
Winners: Antonio & Raphael (D-)

*

Findlay was backstage, working on his footwork, and not looking at all like, for instance, an elephant with a thorn in each of its feet.

Trent Shaffer and his manager Jenny were watching sceptically.

“Dude, I probably shouldn’t bother asking, but what are you doing?” Trent asked.

“Working on my footwork,” Findlay grunted. “Now beat it, you scrawny ---- or I’ll tear your pimply head off your scrawny neck.”

“You know, for a lot of people, that’d be enough to get them angry. But I just let things roll... Anyway, you’re doing it wrong.”

Findlay paused, and looked over at Shaffer.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re doing it wrong – a guy your size doesn’t need to train like a cruiserweight. You’ll just end up hurting yourself. Whoever told you to train like that is an idiot, man.”

Findlay scowled. “He is not an idiot – and just for that, I’m going to show you my footwork – on your face!”

Shaffer had time for a stifled “Not cool!” as Findlay grabbed him and dragged him out of the locker room and down to the ring, Jenny trailing behind and looking helpless.

*

Trent Shaffer vs. Findlay O’Farraday
Jenny tried to rally Trent from the off as Findlay unloaded the big bombs. A series of hard, clubbing blows to the head and chest threatened to knock Shaffer clear unconscious, but as he was rearing back for the knockout blow, Findlay seemed to suddenly remember that he was meant to be working on his footwork, and began to hop around the ring like a kangaroo in need of a toilet break. This gave Shaffer the chance to clear his head and rally, and Findlay’s attempts to get his game plan working were brought to a crashing halt with a Heart Burn.
Winner: Trent Shaffer (D-)

*

Findlay mooched backstage and found Primus Allen again.

“I’m sorry – I suck,” he said, as Allen mixed himself a drink from The Firm’s private bar.

“Well, go work on your balance. See if you can work some flying moves into your repertoire,” Allen said, taking a draft of his drink. “That’d be unexpected.”

Findlay nodded, and walked out dejectedly. Casey Valentine came in, and glanced back at him.

“Are you really training him?” he asked.

“Nah, he sucks,” Allen said, smirking as he downed the last of his drink. “It’s just fun seeing him get the ---- kicked out of him because he’s too dumb to realise how to use his strength.”

*

The Canadian Blondes were backstage, preening and primping before their match.

“Former champions against former champions,” Oscar Golden declared. “This should be good.”

Flash Savage nodded. “And it seems to us, that whoever wins this – and let’s not kid ourselves, it’s going to be us – is all set for a title shot next month, whether or not Valentine finds himself a partner, eh?”

*

Morgan & Benning vs. The Canadian Blondes
The former champion teams put on a reasonable show – albeit one that made me miss the days of the Gauges and Shaffer and Grayson. This wasn’t really any worse than the previous tag match, but given who was involved I’d had slightly higher hopes. Still, the match was watchable, and it was really a lack of crowd interest that hurt it most as nothing the face team does seems to get them over. Still, a victory over a more over pairing can’t hurt – and they managed it here as Golden blew a dive, setting him up for a Joe and Behold to allow Benning to take the win.
Winners: Morgan & Benning (D-)

*

Before the Trios title match, Jean Cattley came down to the ring.

“The Firm is growing in influence – we have the Tag Team champions, the Invitational champion, and the soon to be Trios champions. We dominate this company – and won’t brook any argument on the topic. In order to ensure that we have the right number of people in order to control the company, allow me to introduce the new members of the Firm: First, a former Traditional champion and one of the finest wrestlers in the world... Darryl Devine!”

Devine appeared from backstage, and shook hands with Jean.

“Secondly, one of Canada’s fastest rising stars, Ryan Powell!”

A newcomer to MAW, Powell is in the traditional Canadian mould – talented, fast, and technically sound.

*

The Watch (Ultimate Phoenix, Masked Patriot and Kashmir Singh) vs. The Firm (“Machine” Jean Cattley, Darryl Devine and Ryan Powell) for the MAW Trios titles
It occurred to me recently that this feud had been rumbling along in the background for almost a year, in a low-key manner. It really is time to give it some purpose, particularly as Brandon Smith and Primus Allen are pretty much off-limits from one another unless I want the fans to fall asleep from over exposure to their matches.

This match was pretty good, serving among other things as a low-key introduction for Masked Patriot (#21, lest we forget) in his mentor’s place. The six men took to the largely unfamiliar match format without too much trouble, and put forward one of the night’s better matches. I think, in future, we’ll make the Trios matches fully lucha compatible to separate them from the normal tag matches, but otherwise this was an enjoyable tussle, with all six men getting a chance to shine.

Ultimate Phoenix in particular seemed to enjoy busting out some lucha submission holds and at one point had Powell, Cattley and Devine all screaming in pain as he applied arm and leg locks in a sequence that only required moderate suspension of disbelief. Phoenix paid for his moment in the sun, however, as The Firm seemed to take it as a personal insult and set about targeting him mercilessly. With their leader in trouble, Patriot and Singh lost their cool somewhat and tried to storm the ring, but this just allowed a Firm triple-team to break Phoenix’ resistance, leaving him prey to a Cattley Mood Swing as The Firm claimed the Trios belts.
Winners: The Firm (D+)

*

Stevie Grayson and Champagne Lover were backstage, staring one another down. Grayson was giving Lover the evil eye – but just looked a bit sick. He needs some work on his promo skills, no question.

*

Stevie Grayson vs. Champagne Lover - #1 contender final
Champagne Lover signed off with another quality display. By now, his signature spots were well known by the Mid-Atlantic fans, and they were able to enjoy loving hating his brilliance. Grayson kept up admirably well, utilising unsuspected Technical skills to counter Lover’s tremendous arsenal of holds and takedowns. It was a thrilling match, as both men have great stamina that allowed them to go for nearly half an hour without pause, before Grayson wore down the Mexican star enough for him to succumb to a 460 Degree Splash.
Winner: Stevie Grayson (C)

*

“Bravo, bravo,” Jay Chord announced, coming down the aisle with the title belt over his shoulder. “Really, that was a fantastic match. And now you get the prize of facing me. Ring the bell!”

*

Stevie Grayson vs. Jay Chord (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
Chord shows a certain, er, edge when the title is on the line. He pounced on Grayson as soon as the bell rang and nailed him first with a Super DDT and then with a Cradle Piledriver. Just like that, the match was over – and hopefully not spoiled too much by the dreadful chemistry that these two have.
Winner: Jay Chord (D)

Overall: D (Ugh – Grayson and Chord could bring down a pot den full of hippies on two-for-one day)

*

Next: Will he or won't he...

James Casey

08-09-2008, 05:32 PM

For a change, I’d not become directly involved in the backstage mayhem at the show. Between the end of the Internet Favourites' loss to Antonio and Raphael, and Jay emerging for his title defence, Huey and Jay had become involved in a massive argument. All the witnesses said that Jay had refused to let some trivial matter drop, and eventually Huey had lost his cool. In the big scheme of things, it wasn’t much of a problem, and so Rip had taken him aside for a word about provoking things. Jay had blown it off, but hadn’t thrown a tantrum, dropped his pants, attempted to pick a fight with anyone... Sad to say, I was actually quite pleased with how he took it.

Later that morning, I checked my hair in the mirror. No question, my hair is getting greyer much faster these days.

*

There was another reason that I wanted a mid-April show – Jay’s contract was up for renewal, and he’d studiously ignored any attempts by me to open negotiations. Rip had promised to speak to him, but it was good to have a contingency plan in place.

Just in case.

*

The thing is, Rip had assured me that contract talks with Jay were going well. I was a bit leary – since taking personal charge of matters, Rip had allowed things to drag on. Jay and I were sitting in the canteen backstage at the Auditorium, me frantically running through the night’s running order, he sipping occasionally at a giant slurpee as though the night ahead was not one of the most important of his career.

It wasn’t, I suppose. Just one of mine.

We got ready for the show in silence backstage. Everyone seemed to know that Rip and Jay’s talks had broken down. The locker room was eyeing Jay curiously – and Rip even more so. Rip, meanwhile, was gargling with an alcohol-free mouthwash before taking the mic for the next two-and-a-half hours, looking for all the world as though he had no concerns on his mind.

I wanted to scream at him, demand to know whether Jay had re-signed, or whether he’d be dropping the belt at the end of the night. He only had a few days left on his contract. We wouldn’t have the time to book another show – or the money.

It was an unprecedented experience. It was like calling a real boxing match, or a football match. I didn’t know how tonight would pan out. I had no clue what would happen during Jay’s match. Watching Rip, I had no idea whether or not he even cared – his relationship with his son was, after all, not much to write home about.

As I followed Rock and he through the curtain and onto the ramp, the butterflies in my stomach multiplied again and again and again.

*

MAW April Showers
??? & Kashmir Singh vs. The Canadian Blondes
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Curtis Jenkins
Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio and Raphael vs. Valentine & ???
Stevie Grayson vs. Findlay O’ Farraday
“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Jefferson Stardust
Shane Nelson vs. Primus Allen
Kirk Jameson vs. Hugh de Aske
Internet Favourites & Fumihiro Ota vs. The Firm
Plus: Jay Chord will be in action

petecrimson00

08-09-2008, 07:26 PM

MAW April Showers
??? & Kashmir Singh vs. The Canadian Blondes
Ultimate Phoenix vs. Curtis Jenkins
Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio and Raphael vs. Valentine & ???
Stevie Grayson vs. Findlay O’ Farraday
“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Jefferson Stardust
Shane Nelson vs. Primus Allen
Kirk Jameson vs. Hugh de Aske
Internet Favourites & Fumihiro Ota vs. The Firm
Plus: Jay Chord will be in action

D-Lyrium

08-09-2008, 08:30 PM

??? & Kashmir Singh vs. The Canadian Blondes
- Go, Blondes, go! ¬_¬

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Curtis Jenkins
- When a guy is being used as an in-joke on-screen, he's unlikely to get a win against the leader of the face stable ¬_¬

- Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio and Raphael vs. Valentine & ???
- Dunno who Valentine's partner will be... Jarred Johnson would make most sense probably.

Stevie Grayson vs. Findlay O’ Farraday
- Findlay is turning into a comedy spot.

“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Jefferson Stardust

Shane Nelson vs. Primus Allen

Kirk Jameson vs. Hugh de Aske

Internet Favourites & Fumihiro Ota vs. The Firm

kowalewski

08-10-2008, 12:14 AM

??? & Kashmir Singh vs. The Canadian Blondes
If they can lose to Morgan and Benning, they can lose to Singh and the newbie.

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Curtis Jenkins

Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio and Raphael vs. Valentine & ???

Stevie Grayson vs. Findlay O’ Farraday
I don't think Farraday wins until he snaps he comes to his senses with Primus.

“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Jefferson Stardust
Jobber Stardust bites the dust, err stardust, yet again.

Shane Nelson vs. Primus Allen

Kirk Jameson vs. Hugh de Aske
Aske wins this match, which Rip declares as an impromptu number one contender's match.

Internet Favourites & Fumihiro Ota vs. The Firm
Too powerful for the comic characters to take down.

Plus: Jay Chord will be in action Ahoy matey, there's gold to be won as Hugh steals Jay's booty and then kicks his other booty out the door.

James Casey

08-10-2008, 11:35 AM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: April Showers
Tuesday, 16th April 2010
Jesse Christian & Kashmir Singh vs. The Canadian Blondes
Jesse Christian had contacted Rip a few weeks back to discuss the possibility of making a comeback. I’d been broadly in favour of the idea – despite his advancing years, he’s still a competent worker, and capable of putting on good matches. Still, his attitude didn’t endear him to me – despite being booked positively, having the lion’s share of the match under his control, he still objected to his team being booked to lose. I ignored him – but I can see now that he may be a lot more trouble than he’s worth. Oh, and Flash got Kashmir to tap to a Canadian Crab, for what it’s worth.
Winners: The Canadian Blondes (E+)

*

Ultimate Phoenix came down to the ring:
“Curtis Jenkins may seem harmless and inoffensive, but I assure you that backstage he is an insidious presence. He openly seeks to become a member of The Firm. He has challenged me in an effort to improve himself. He seeks,” here Phoenix consulted a list, “money, fame, fast cars and enough gold to buy an Onyx Netherwing Drake, apparently. These are not the actions of a man who is pure of heart, and so he must be vanquished.”

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Curtis Jenkins
Curtis Jenkins may never amount to much, but he deserves as much a chance as anyone, and taking part in matches against the best that the MAW has to offer won’t hurt his chances. Although he seemed a bit overwhelmed by the match, Jenkins put on a reasonable display, with Phoenix carrying the load in a fairly open match that ended with a Phoenix Firebird Splash.
Winner: Ultimate Phoenix (D-)

*

Backstage, The Firm’s locker room was looking pretty full, and with the Trios titles, Tag Team titles and Primus Allen’s RCI trophy all on display, it was pretty dazzling as well.

Casey Valentine was talking quietly to Jean Cattley.

“Listen, its all well and good you having the Trios titles, but we’re having to share a lot more than we used to. Do we really need the new guys around?”

Jean nodded.

“Strength in numbers. Oh, we’re individually formidable, and I am the best, but The Watch is still after us, and it doesn’t hurt to have additional bodies available for support.”

“Yeah, okay, and I’m not saying that Powell isn’t a pretty decent sort – but Devine?”

In the background, Devine could be seen admiring his reflection in the mirror, Trios belt around his waist, Tag Team title belt over a shoulder and RCI trophy in one hand.

“Well, he wouldn’t have been my first choice, necessarily, but he was available and, really, he needs to be led. He’s always been a follower, and being around Jay Chord didn’t help. He may talk big, but he’s harmless when he’s being controlled.”

“Well, okay,” Casey said. “But if he starts to make trouble...”

“Oh, of course,” Jean said. “Look, I have no qualms about jettisoning dead weight. Look at Newton and Douglas, after all.”

“And Vessey – you didn’t go to bat for him with the Board of Directors.”

“Yes, well, Cameron and I didn’t ever really see eye to eye on certain issues – like exactly how big his cut should be. I prefer my colleagues to be sensible about these things.”

Cattley raised an eyebrow, and Valentine shied away.

“Now look, I only raised the issue of money-“

“Oh, don’t worry. I understand your motivations perfectly, Casey.”

The two stared at one another for a moment, before Valentine broke the look. “I’ll fall into line,” he said. “But I want it noted that Devine’s an ass.”

“Well, if he ever causes trouble, you and your new partner can have first shot at him. Where is he, anyway?”

“He’s in the gym. He’s very committed. Devoted to being the best.”

Jean looked at Casey, and raised an eyebrow again.

“And I guess I’ll be going to join him.”

Valentine upped and left, just as Rip came in.

“Where’s he going?”

“To perfect his teamwork with his new partner.”

“Good. They’ve got a match – they’re defending the titles against Morgan & Benning and Antonio & Raphael.”

“When?”

“Next.”

Cattley and Rip locked eyes, and Ryan Powell nervously shuffled his chair backwards a few inches. Primus Allen said that he was going to go fetch Valentine and ‘the new guy’. Along the way, he collected the tag belt and RCI trophy from Devine, who looked put out until Allen growled at him.

“It’d be a shame to see Casey lose the belts,” Rip said, eventually.

“The new guy’s good. Very committed. He’s a local boy, too.”

“The crowd’d like that – well, if he wasn’t associated with you.”

“Still with the holier than thou act, Rip? I thought you were old enough to know that doesn’t fly – certainly not around here. I’ve known you too long. You may act as though butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth, but I remember how you used to be – and the leopard doesn’t change its spots.”

“Cattley, one of these days I’ll show exactly what sort of man I am. In the meantime, get yourself ready – you and your lackeys have a match coming up, and your shaved gorilla can have one as well, just so you don’t think I’m going too soft.”

*

Morgan & Benning vs. Antonio and Raphael vs. Valentine & Johnson (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
Casey’s partner turned out to be indy stand-out Jared Johnson, a wickedly talented youngster who hails from North Carolina. He’s a technical whiz, and despite almost being twice his age, Thom Morgan in particular seemed inspired to try and match him. But Casey was the star of this match, showing innovation both on the ground and in the air, which was enough to carry his team to victory in a standard tag team match.
Winners: Valentine & Johnson (D-)

*

Backstage, and Findlay O’Farraday was jumping rope. Trying, anyway – every couple of jumps he’d get the rope tangled in his feet, around his neck or caught on a light fitting. It didn’t help that he was getting more and more frustrated with each failed attempt. Stevie Grayson approached him looking angry – but after watching a few attempts he sighed, and shook his head.

“What?” Findlay growled.

“Nothing,” Grayson replied. “I want a match with you. You attacked my friend Trent last month, and as I need to take some anger out on someone, you seem like the ideal target.”

“Fine,” Findlay said, apparently eager to work off some frustration of his own.

*

Stevie Grayson vs. Findlay O’ Farraday
This was a short match but allowed us to establish that Grayson and Findlay work well together. The story was simple, but compelling – Findlay again went against his instincts as he tried to follow Primus Allen’s advice. Grayson stuck with what brought him to the dance – and in this case a 460 Degree Splash was enough to secure victory.
Winner: Stevie Grayson (D)

*

Brandon Smith was already in the ring as Jefferson Stardust made his typically grandiose interest, a single spotlight trailing him down to the ring as his latest song blared over the PA.

“Hello, Delaware. A thousand people, all here to see me. It’s flattering – it really is. Signed copies of my latest CD are available via my website, as always.

“I’m pleased to be here, to liven up your lives with a little Stardust. This will be a moment to tell your grandchildren about – and when you do, remember to tell them that the man who lost to my magnificence was “Bulldozer” Brandon Smi-“

Smith cut the rocker off with a well-placed right hand, setting the match in motion.

*

“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Jefferson Stardust
Smith and Stardust have great chemistry, which I knew, and which helped this match into the ‘average’ category. Another short one, Stardust sold for twenty as the Bulldozer bounced him around the ring, before crushing him with a Backdrop Driver for the win.
Winner: Brandon Smith (D)

*

Backstage, and the massed ranks of The Firm were in their own special locker room. Valentine and Johnson looked triumphant, Allen was spoiling for a fight, and the Trios champions were warming up. Valentine fixed the camera with a firm stare.

“We can keep this up as long as we like. Every man in this room is a champion. Every man knows what it takes to compete at the highest level – even the new guys. In case the Mid Atlantic has forgotten, that’s what The Firm is all about: The finest wrestlers, at the peak of their game. And all others will fall before us.”

*

Shane Nelson vs. Primus Allen
In contrast, these two have no chemistry – but their basic skills let them put together a reasonable match. Nelson’s goal was to stay one step ahead of Allen, stinging and striking as available. Allen concentrated on deflecting as much damage as he could, landing a few big strikes that caused a lot of damage. In the end, Allen’s approach won out in a closely-contested match as he nailed the Running Powerslam for the win.
Winner: Primus Allen (D-)

*

Kirk Jameson came to the ring and issued a challenge to Hugh de Aske for his Traditional title.

The pirate appeared, with Sienna on his arm, and accepted the challenge with a few well-chosen nautical phrases.

*

Kirk Jameson vs. Hugh de Aske (c) for the MAW Traditional title
One of these days, I’ll give Hugh the main event slot and be done with it. In the meantime, midcard aficionados can enjoy matches like this, with Hugh in so much control that even Kirk – a quite experienced competitor, lest we forget – was undone and at times left looking a little like a student on his first day of training. On commentary, we sold it as Hugh’s unusual style. In reality, he’s just an awful lot better. Hugh eventually put Kirk down with a Cut-Throat Driver to manage another successful defence.
Winner: Hugh de Aske (C+)

*

Fumihiro Ota and the Internet Heroes were backstage, getting warmed up for their match. Lee was copying Ota’s moves with a little too much enthusiasm and a little too little grace. Mayhem, meanwhile, was practising Form Seven with a lightsabre.

*

Internet Favourites & Fumihiro Ota vs. The Firm (c) for the MAW Trios titles
Lucha trios matches are conducted under 2/3 falls rules. The Firm, showing remarkable teamwork considering this was only their second outing, really didn’t need that – they dominated from start to finish, with Ota the face team’s apparently only chance of doing any damage. When he took to the air, he was peerless, and therefore The Firm wisely kept him grounded as much as possible. After Powell took Mayhem down with a Canadian Lariat after about five minutes, it was Ota’s turn to taste defeat as he fell victim to a Devine Dream Drop as The Firm made their first defence of their titles.
Winners: The Firm (D)

*

Jay Chord came down to the ring, delighting once more in his status as champion. Taking a mic, he addressed the crowd, the other workers, and the people in charge:

“I’ve played along with my father’s scheme,” he said. “I fought everyone placed in front of me. And I beat them. So I don’t think that we need to have the powers-that-be choosing any more of my opponents – I can do that quite well, thank you. I-“

Jay’s voice vanished, and he looked in some confusion at his microphone.

“Sorry, son. You may think that you’ve beaten everyone you need to – but I kind of disagree,” Rip said, from the announcer’s table. “You see, there’s someone you haven’t fought yet, and you really ought to – he works out west with you after all.”

Aaron Andrews appeared at the top of the ramp as his music played. Jay, meanwhile, pitched a fit.

*

Aaron Andrews vs. Jay Chord (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
For once, Jay was faced with a real threat to his title as Andrews exploded out of the blocks in this highly enjoyable tussle. Utilising a fantastic array of strikes and holds, Andrews dominated much of the first ten minutes of the match as Chord fought desperately to avoid being defeated.

A thumb to the eye and a low blow earned Chord some space, both seemingly unseen by Chad Brent. Chord took advantage with his own attacks, focusing his assault on Andrews back to weaken his offence – and particular his Standing Hot Shot finisher. The momentum see-sawed back and forth, although Jay was more vicious in his attacks, and seemed to cause more damage as a result. Both men attempted their finishers, but neither could manage to land the crushing blow needed to score the win. Andrews tried going airborne, with some success, but his injured back prevented him from taking advantage of the Flying Bodypress that left Jay down in the centre of the ring. Instead, as Andrews struggled upright, Jay hit a Super DDT that would have finished the match – had Andrews not hit with such impact that he ended up rolling halfway out of the ring.

The end eventually came when Chord went for a Cradle Piledriver for the umpteenth time in the course of the match. Andrews somehow contrived to float over, and as he landed on his feet he spun fluidly around, booting Jay in the gut as he turned and hoisting him in turn into a Standing Hot Shot. Andrews dropped wearily on top of Jay to make the cover, hooking the leg as the referee counted one... two...

And then the bell rang, signalling the end of the match, and a time limit draw.
Winner: No-one (C)

*

The crowd looked on in confusion as Rip entered the ring, the ring bell in one hand, the title belt in the other. Andrews confronted him, asking if Rip had rung the bell. Rip nodded, and proceeded to ring it again on Aaron’s skull. Andrews dropped as though he’d been shot as Rip turned to his son. Jay was just coming to when Rip stood over him.

He dropped the bell, and held the belt out to Jay, who took it in disbelief, before looking in even wider disbelief as Rip held out a hand to help his son up. Jay took it, and Rip hauled him upright. Jay looked around in disbelief, first at Andrews, then the ring bell, then his title belt, and finally up at Rip, who cracked a wide smile and opened his arms wide.

Jay beamed, and embraced his father in the centre of the ring as the fans voiced their disapproval. Rip raised Jay’s hand as they turned in a circle, giving everyone in attendance a clear view of the new alliance.

Overall: C-

mad5226

08-10-2008, 12:13 PM

I was waiting for Jay and Rip to get back together but I hate that their feud is over it was golden. Still good show

D-Lyrium

08-10-2008, 05:17 PM

Well, that was a swerve! But a great swerve. Although it is starting to feel even more like Aaron Andrews w/ Ultimate Phoenix vs. Everyone Else, as all the main stars are heels now. The Watch are essentially a midcard rag-tag band of jobbers led by an Upper Midcard guy. I can't even remember who else is in the stable, although I think Morgan and Benning are...

Damn Hugh de Aske though. He ruined my predictions clean-sweep :p I even got the new Firm member right. Le sigh.

James Casey

08-10-2008, 05:23 PM

Damn Hugh de Aske though. He ruined my predictions clean-sweep :p I even got the new Firm member right. Le sigh.

I was suitably impressed by that - did you know when JJ debuts, or just a lucky guess?

And believe it or not - and you certainly wouldn't guess it from the way I book him, but the guy's a flake - Stevie Grayson is the other 'big' name face for MAW.

I could count Ota as well, but the guys rings a gong in his promos. If he was a heel, he'd be champion of everything. Twice. But as a face... Midcarder - despite what the autopush tells me.

And the Watch is Phoenix, Bulldozer, Kashmir, Patriot (the new one) and Morgan & Benning. I won't claim it's the new Dangerous Alliance or anything, but they're all pure of heart.

Kinda...

James Casey

08-12-2008, 12:53 PM

Short update - had I not left my USB stick at work last night this would have flowed better :o

*

Backstage, I pulled Rip aside.

“I take it Jay’s staying, then?” I asked.

“He’s staying – and he agreed to sign on for the same money as his last deal.”

I was impressed, but didn’t want to make Rip’s ego blow up too much.

“So, where do we go from here, kid?” he asked.

“You don’t know?”

“The alliance is Jay’s idea – the rest of it is up to you.”

He grinned, and I couldn’t help but smile as well. I already had a hundred ideas for where to go from here – some of which even involved Rip and Jay working in tandem.

*

You’ll like this. We contacted Adrian Garcia, manager supreme, as a possible hiree to come in and work with The Firm, as a mouthpiece wouldn’t harm them by any means.

Guess how much he asked for?

No, higher.

Higher than that.

Still higher.

No – not quite that high.

$1,500 an appearance, 600 downside. Travel expenses. Merchandise...

For a manager!

We didn’t take him up on it.

*

A massive day in wrestling – 22nd April 2010, Dan Stone hangs up his... boots? Well, whatever, he’s no longer the owner of NOTBPW. Victoria Stone is named as his successor, and I can well imagine that there’s some changes on the horizon. Larry Wood is Victoria’s choice as head booker, in a thoroughly deserved move for one of wrestling’s true nice guys.

*

No predictions this time – it’s all being booked on the night.

James Casey

08-12-2008, 03:23 PM

This ought to please D-Lyrium...

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Spring Fever
Friday, 26th April 2010
The Teen Spirit mashup of Ace of Spades hit the PA, and the near-900 fans in attendance went crazy as Rip and Jay Chord sauntered down to the ring. Rock and I looked at each other in delight – this much hatred for the brand new pairing was a good thing.

“What, you hate me for being a good parent?” Rip asked, with a sneer. “Are you really saying that none of you would help out your own children if you had a chance?”

“You’re the best, pops,” Jay said, as they laughed at the quietened crowd.

“’Why, Rip, why?’ That’s all I’ve heard this last month. And my response is always the same – because Jay is my son. And what he’s said over the last year or so makes sense. I put my own son in hospital six months ago. What sort of responsible parent does a thing like that? And while he was lying there, forty stitches in his head from a chairshot I gave him, I vowed that I would do my damnedest to protect the kid from that point on – and make up for all the ---- he had to put up with from me before that.”

Jay smirked, and took the mic.

“For the slower-witted among you, allow me to point out that my Dad has been guiding my career from the shadows for the last six months. My cashing in my title shot, my defences of my title, my dominance over those that I face... All arranged with my father’s assistance. And really, there’s no way that that’s going to change any time soon. I’m going to be champion of this company for a long, long time!”

As if on cue, Aaron Andrews’ music played, and the TCW star emerged to a booming ovation.

“Very good, well done,” he said. “You had us all fooled, Rip. Well, apart from Jean Cattley, for some reason... But I have to say, I don’t like the way you went about things. You cost me the title last month. I’d say that it’s only fair that I get another shot tonight.”

Rip appeared to give this some thought, before bursting out laughing.

“Get real, Andrews. We’re calling the shots around here. What’s fair or not doesn’t even rate on the scale of how we do things.”

“Actually, Dad, Aaron does have a point. You see, he did do very well last month. I think he does deserve another shot,” Jay said. “I mean, he’s not in my league, so it won’t be a Heavyweight title match. But I think he’d put on a good match against the pirate, don’t you?”

Rip grinned. “Son, you’re quite right. Tonight’s main event will be Aaron Andrews against Hugh de Aske – for the MAW Traditional title!”

The fans popped, although there was a fair spread of boos as people felt Andrews was being screwed. Certainly Andrews didn’t look happy about the match.

“And to make sure we start the show off hot, I think that you should defend your title, son. I’ve lined up an international superstar for you to face. We’ve seen from Champagne Lover’s performances recently just how good the best of Mexican wrestling can be, so at great expense I’ve lined up another of Mexico’s finest – Amazing Fire Fly!”

Little Spanish Flea played, and out came Amazing Fire Fly, a gangly lightweight in yellow and orange ring gear and mask. The fans were not very impressed – although the Chords thought that the music in particular was hilarious.

*

Amazing Fire Fly vs. Jay Chord (c) for the MAW Heavyweight Title
Amazing Fire Fly made his pro debut in this match as the Chord family’s chosen opponent. The young luchador bounced around the ring, at first bamboozling the champion with his flashy assaults, before Chord managed to bring himself back into the match with a series of hard blows that brought him back to earth, before falling victim to a Cradle Piledriver.
Winner: Jay Chord (D-)

*

Backstage, The Watch were gathered in a bare and featureless locker room. Ultimate Phoenix was pacing back and forth, his cape billowing out behind him.

“Phoenix, are you okay?” Brandon Smith asked. “You’ve been pretty... intense these last few months.”

Phoenix paused, and looked balefully at his ally. “We are losing the war, my friend. Evil has spread throughout this company, and we seem to be powerless to stop it.”

“You mean Rip and Jay? What are we going to do – they’re in charge.”

“So we should give up? No – never! I have a plan.”

Phoenix charged out of the room, leaving the others to exchange bemused glances.

*

Jared Johnson came down to the ring.

“Good evening, everyone,” he said. “I’m Jared Johnson – one half of the MAW Tag Team champions. On behalf of my partner, Casey Valentine, and our colleagues in The Firm, I’m issuing an open challenge to any team that thinks they can come and take out titles away."

Ultimate Phoenix’ music played, and the masked star emerged at the top of the ramp.

“Johnson, your challenge is accepted – on behalf of The Watch’s tag team specialists, Thom Morgan and Joe Benning! But not just that, The Watch challenges The Firm tonight! We’ll take you and break you, one by one.”

Johnson’s eyes went wide, but he was spared the task of responding by the music of The Firm’s leader, Jean Cattley. Cattley emerged from the back, and came face to face with Phoenix, the two leaders glowering at one another.

“If you want that, The Firm is ready to give it to you – at a price. If your team ends up on the losing end of our little series, you split up, and quit bothering us.”

“Your terms are acceptable – provided that the same applies to your consortium of desperadoes.”

Jean smirked. “It’ll keep them on their toes. You’ve got a deal.”

*

Kashmir Singh vs. Ryan Powell
The junior stable members kicked off the series with a match that saw an even exchange of offence. Both men are well-rounded workers, and kept things just the right side of interesting, before Singh hit the Bombay Duck for the win.
Winner: Kashmir Singh (D, The Watch leads, 1-0)

*

Backstage, and The Firm were divvying up the remaining members of The Watch for their matches. Devine was adamant that he wanted to face Ultimate Phoenix, and after a brief discussion, he was given the shot in what was set to be the last, and potentially decisive match.

*

Masked Patriot vs. Primus Allen
We’ve seen this match before – sort of. But this Patriot, of course, is not the old Patriot, making this a whole new match. Same result as usual, though – Allen nailed Patriot with a Running Powerslam to continue his recent hot run of form.
Winner: Primus Allen (D, Scores are tied, 1-1)

*

Morgan & Benning vs. Valentine & Johnson (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
This match was all about Joe Benning, who seemed to have taken Phoenix’ pep talks to heart. Whenever he was in the ring, he was dominant, showing new skills and improved control. However, Casey Valentine had also been practising, and a series of hard blows to the face allowed him to score with a Sweet Sweet Heartbreak to retain the titles, and give The Firm the lead.
Winners: Valentine & Johnson (E+, The Firm leads, 1-2)

*

“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. “Machine” Jean Cattley
Smith and Cattley tied up again and again, trying to find an advantage as their respective abilities cancelled each other out. Cattley eventually managed to take Smith down, but Smith would not be daunted, and bulled his way back upright. Smith powered through, pummelling The Firm’s leader with a series of thunderous strikes that left Cattley dazed and prone, and vulnerable to a Backdrop Driver that gave Smith his biggest win to date – and put The Watch on level terms going into the fifth and final match.
Winner: Brandon Smith (D+, Scores are tied, 2-2)

*

Ultimate Phoenix vs. Darryl Devine
This was a suitably barn-storming match, as probably the two most over members of their respective stables waged war for almost fifteen minutes. Phoenix busted out his most spectacular moves, taking huge risks as he tried to convincingly win the fight for his team. But it was a case of one risk too many as a Phoenix Firebird Splash was attempted too soon – and Devine leapt up and caught him with a Devine Dream Drop on the way down, leading to an easy pinfall, and the win for The Firm.
Winner: Darryl Devine (C, The Firm win, 2-3)

*

The series was over, and The Watch had lost. By the rules of the contest, they could no longer work together as The Watch. The six men gathered in the ring, and shook hands.

Five of them did, anyway. Phoenix rolled out of the ring, and was walking forlornly to the back. Brandon Smith followed him, and grabbed his shoulder to turn him around. He was met with a spinning back fist that knocked him to the ground.

Phoenix sprinted back into the ring, rising to his feet as though on springs and taking Morgan and Benning down with a double clothesline. Barely breaking step, he vaulted over the top rope to the ringside area, where he grabbed a chair. Sliding back into the ring, he teed up and smashed the chair across Patriot’s back. Swinging wildly, he caught Singh in the stomach, doubling him over, before bringing the chair crashing down on the Indian’s back. Morgan and Benning tried to stop him, but Benning took a swing across his chest, while Morgan took a glancing blow across his face with the side of the chair that put him down.

Phoenix stood alone in the ring, until Brandon Smith slid in and tried to reason with him. His eyes blazing, Phoenix raised the chair over his head. Smith faced him down, not making any effort to protect himself as he tried to talk Phoenix down. His reward was a wickedly hard chairshot right between the eyes that crumpled Smith up like a paper cup as Phoenix was left the last man standing, his chest heaving as he looked at the carnage around him.

*

Jesse Christian vs. Findlay O’Farraday
This was a short match pitting two power wrestlers against one another as a counter – and comedown – from the previous match and segment. There was a certain thrill in seeing these two monstrous specimens tie it up – even if Christian snatched the win in double-quick time with a Torture Rack.
Winner: Jesse Christian (E+)

*

Aaron Andrews vs. Hugh de Aske (c) for the MAW Traditional title
Mildly disappointing given who was involved, but still a fine end to the show, this match saw the two competitors exchanging high speed, innovative offence for over twenty minutes. Andrews gave de Aske the appropriate respect, but it was clear that his heart wasn’t in the match, and de Aske took advantage on a number of occasions. Eventually, Andrews pulled himself together as the fans rallied behind him, with de Aske utilising sneaky tactics to try and snatch the win. Andrews retaliated and went airborne, bombarding the pirate from all angles with his trademark flying attacks, before snatching the win – and the title – with a Flying Body Press.
Winner: Aaron Andrews (C)

Overall: D+ (Huh. Guess Christian/Findlay counted for more than I thought it would. I’m getting a bit tired of seeing D+...)

Next: New signings, a massage and a possible promotion...

James Casey

08-13-2008, 07:13 AM

Off to see Dark Knight (or Wall-E) tonight, so an early post today...

*

We lost about $7,000 in April. That’s borderline for a sustainable financial investment – and I think that it wasn’t helped by the two shows only being about ten days apart, meaning over a hundred fewer fans at Spring Fever. Unless we can separate them by fourteen days, it’s probably not worth trying again in the short term. Possibly by year end, though, we can look at revising that opinion.

The longer show experiment, on the other hand, seems to be worth repeating. Rip and I have agreed to two-and-a-half hour shows as a standard, with Where It All Begins Again in October, and the Rip Chord Invitational in January a full four hours in length. We may have to consider shipping in one or two bigger names for those shows.

*

I don’t often go in to work on Saturdays – I like my weekends, and there’s not too much going on anyway in a local fed that only runs once or twice a month. The surprise on the face of our receptionist as I entered MAW headquarters was therefore somewhat understandable.

Somewhat – but she looked a bit too surprised. And as I passed her desk, she picked up her phone and dialled a number – four digits, internal – and had a hushed, urgent conversation with whoever was on the other end of the line.

I was only intending to pop into my office and pick up a book I’d left there the day before. Instead I took a detour down the hall, past the kitchen and its ratty collection of mugs, and around the corner to Rip’s office, where his secretary was hustling someone through the door with a guilty look on her face. A look that only intensified as she caught sight of me.

“Good morning, Jenna, what’s going on?” I asked, as I limped forwards. I intensified the limp – Jenna had always felt a bit sorry for me, and I had a feeling that I needed every edge I could get.

“Mr. Chord has some guests visiting,” she said, her eyes on the floor between us.

“Anyone I know?” I asked. “Should I put the kettle on?”

“Um...”

By now, I was standing in front of her, my free hand on the door handle. She stood between me and the door, but I intensified my pathetic look. It’s possible that my lip may have trembled.

“Who’s in there, Jenna?” I asked, releasing the door handle. I’d given her something...

“Mr. Chord wanted it to be a surprise!” she said, unable to help herself.

“That’s nice. I like surprises,” I replied. “What is it?”

“Mr. Casey...” she said, her voice a plea.

“I’m sure they’d like something to drink,” I said. “Tea, maybe. Or coffee, perhaps? Why don’t you go and get that, and I’ll just pop in and speak to Rip.”

“Mr. Casey, please,” she repeated.

I frowned. “Jenna, whatever happens in the next few minutes, I’ll take full responsibility – on my honour. You have nothing to worry about. Rip won’t take it out on you. Now, run along and make the tea – two sugars for me.”

She gave me a pained look, but reluctantly stepped away from the door. I waited until she was down the hall and the clink of cups could be heard, before stepping through the door.

Rip paused in mid-flow, a flip chart open on a trestle beside him. A series of masked faces were displayed on the chart, and a number of recognisable indy wrestlers were gathered around as well.

“Rip?” I asked.

“Hello kid,” Rip growled. “Didn’t expect to see you here. Where’s Jenna?”

“She was in the kitchen when I came past. What’s going on?”

“We’re looking at some possibilities for the new storyline.”

I nodded.

“Okay, what do you have?”

“These guys are all interested in coming in, working a few shows, seeing what happens,” Rip said, a grudging note to his voice.

I limped forwards, looked closely at the flipchart with the masks, names and character ideas. I looked around, and nodded at the wrestlers, one or two of whom I had worked with, years before.

“And what do you want per show?” I asked, pointing at one of them.

“Er...”

“Kid, a word,” Rip demanded, opening the door to his office and pointing inside.

I followed him in, and closed the door behind me.

“New faces are good,” I said, before Rip had the chance to say anything. “Are they all here for the new stable?”

“Not all of them. Some of them. Two of them are here for the tag team spot.”

I nodded.

“Good. Did Jay talk you into this?” I asked, disingenuously.

His features didn’t move, even a fraction.

“This isn’t a contest, kid,” he said. “This is my company.”

“It is – but I’m your head booker. If the guy I spoke to wants more than 700 a show, I hope you won’t hire him. Because I won’t be booking him.”

Rip stared at me for a moment, and then smirked.

“You think you’re such a badass, don’t you kid?”

I clasped my hands on top of my cane. “I’d beat you if it ever came down to it, Rip.”

He shook his head. “Let an old man have some fun, kid. You do well when I keep you on your toes – better, even.”

“You want these guys on the next show?”

“Yeah – you know Phoenix isn’t available. So this is the way to go.”

“Okay – you’re the boss.”

“Good. Remember that, and I won’t have to throw my weight around too much.”

I grinned. “I don’t mind being kept on my toes – the ones that work, anyway. And if you – or Jay – want to bring in new guys, well, that’s your right. But at least let me sit in on the meetings first, huh?”

Rip smirked again.

“I’m just weeding out some of the wastrels, kid. Everything after that is up to you.”

*

Unlike Rip, I know quite well how to operate a computer – being an early adopter of the Internet had always helped me. I was flicking through totalextremewrestling.com when I came across an in-depth profile of MAW – a new feature that gave lengthy analysis on the careers of our workers. Although some of the details were wrong (the writer, for example, assumed that Jay has creative control. He doesn’t – although I’m reasonably willing to accede to his demands when it suits me, or when I couldn’t care one way or the other) it was a pretty decent article.

One of the features they had, which interested me, was worker highlights. Who’s Hot, Who’s Not and so on. For example, Ryan Powell was getting no love from the writers – and fair enough. I haven’t established him as much as I could have done.

High on their ‘Who’s Hot’ list was a name that had been on my mind for a while now. Staring thoughtfully at the screen, I reached for my phone and dialled Rip’s direct number.

“Rip? Hi. I think I know who to program with Jay over the next few months...”

*

“James?”

I looked up, and smiled reflexively at the sight of Katie Cameron standing in the doorway.

“Good afternoon. What brings you down here today?” I asked.

“Jacob,” she said, with some trepidation. I frowned, and then sighed.

“INSPIRE?”

She nodded.

“He asked me to give you his apologies – he was all set to fly down, but they came in for him and...”

“... he had to find out if they could swap his plane ticket for one to Japan. I know. Sorry, love. It would have been great to have him back, but it just seems like it’s not meant to be.”

She smiled weakly, and nodded at the reams of paper on the table in front of me.

“You look busy.”

“I am. We’re booking for four titles, there’s a bunch of feuds getting greater or lesser attention on our shows. Turns, promos, making sure everyone’s running with the right momentum... We’ve picked up some new guys, and the story that goes with them should be a good one. But it means less time available for the guys we already have here... And did you know that Greg Gauge has gone to INSPIRE as well?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “It’s not easy being MAW.”

Katie moved around to my side of the desk and stood behind me. Before I could react, her fingers were digging into my deltoids. I gasped, a little in pain, a little in pleasure.

“Jacob generally needs a pretty good massage after a hard match,” she said, working nimbly through the knots and stiffness.

I shut my eyes, and tried to will away the images of what surely happened next in that scenario. In my mind, it wasn’t Jacob with Katie...

“Thanks,” I managed to grit out. “You need some time to head off to Japan with Jacob?”

Her fingers released their hold on me, and I slumped back in my chair. It felt good – a couple of minutes of work had freed up muscles that hadn’t moved so easily in weeks.

“No, it’s okay,” she said. “We both have our careers, and with my work up north, I’d have to come back pretty much as soon as I got out there. It wouldn’t be worth it.”

I winced. Not worth going out to see her boyfriend? I wanted to ask – but I was absolutely the wrong person to do so, some obscure honourable part of my conscience declared.

“Well, there’s always e-mail and phones and stuff.”

“Exactly,” she replied. “And it’s only until he gets snapped up long-term by one of the big companies, eh?”

I nodded. In so far as I was certain of anything in this business, Jacob Jett’s eventual hiring by TCW or SWF was something I was certain of.

When that might happen, I was less certain of. But I figured it had to happen eventually.

“Well, if you ever need company, give me a call,” I said, the words escaping me before I had the chance to consider them properly.

“You mean that? Thanks, James. It can get a bit lonely sometimes,” she said, beaming at me.

“No problem,” I said, wondering if there was a way I could politely withdraw the offer. “I mean, so long as Jacob won’t mind.”

“Well, it’s not Jacob’s decision to make, is it?” she replied, her dazzling smile vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. “See you at the show.”

She turned and stalked out of the office, in high dudgeon.

“Damn,” I muttered, not for the first time in my life wondering whether a man could ever understand the workings of a woman’s mind.

*

A few days later, my phone beeped. I checked it curiously. I didn’t have many people who might text me. I couldn’t envisage Rip, for example, lol’ing anyone.

I read the text several times before I took it in properly.

Sorry about the other day. Can I buy you dinner to apologise? KC

“Oh boy,” I murmured.

*

MAW Mother, May I?
Masked Patriot vs. Raphael
Shaffer & Grayson vs. Valentine & Johnson
Erik Strong vs. Hugh de Aske
Aaron Andrews vs. Antonio
Kirk Jameson vs. Jay Chord
Plus Fumihiro Ota, Kashmir Singh and “Bulldozer” Brandon Smith will all be in action!

benjacko

08-13-2008, 09:26 AM

Masked Patriot vs. Raphael
Shaffer & Grayson vs. Valentine & Johnson
Erik Strong vs. Hugh de Aske
Aaron Andrews vs. Antonio
Kirk Jameson vs. Jay Chord

D-Lyrium

08-13-2008, 10:27 AM

Man, the backstage stuff is getting almost as good as the shows. :p Also, Johnson was a bit of a guess. I have him in my CZCW game, and realised he was from North Carolina, and the debut date was about right, so...

And yaay, no more Watch :p

MAW Mother, May I?
Masked Patriot vs. Raphael
Shaffer & Grayson vs. Valentine & Johnson
Erik Strong vs. Hugh de Aske

Aaron Andrews vs. Antonio
- Something else to moan about; a former TCW guy who must be in your top three faces, now with the secondary title :p These new guys better be awesome...

Kirk Jameson vs. Jay Chord
- Ooh, I hope this is the new program you were on about in the last post. It could be awesome. But knowing Jameson in this dynasty so far, it probably won't be :p

Hyde Hill

08-13-2008, 05:52 PM

Masked Patriot vs. Raphael

Shaffer & Grayson vs. Valentine & Johnson

Erik Strong vs. Hugh de Aske

Aaron Andrews vs. Antonio

Kirk Jameson vs. Jay Chord

kowalewski

08-13-2008, 10:54 PM

Masked Patriot vs. Raphael
Shaffer & Grayson vs. Valentine & Johnson
Erik Strong vs. Hugh de Aske
Aaron Andrews vs. Antonio
Kirk Jameson vs. Jay Chord

petecrimson00

08-14-2008, 12:57 AM

Masked Patriot vs. Raphael
Shaffer & Grayson vs. Valentine & Johnson
Erik Strong vs. Hugh de Aske
Aaron Andrews vs. Antonio
Kirk Jameson vs. Jay Chord

James Casey

08-14-2008, 06:33 AM

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Mother, May I?
Friday, 26th May 2010
Masked Patriot vs. Raphael
This was a short, high-powered opener to get the fans buzzing for the rest of the night. Raphael tried to buy off the muscular Patriot to start the match, but Patriot swatted the cash from his hand and responded with a stiff lariat. Raphael tried to beg off throughout the match, but Patriot wore him down quickly, putting him away with a Patriot Slam
Winner: Masked Patriot (D)

*

Backstage, Brandon Smith and Kashmir Singh approached Fumihiro Ota in the boiler room.

“Fumihiro, have you seen Phoenix around anywhere?” Smith asked.

Gong.

“No? We are becoming very worried about him – no-one seems to have seen him since last month’s show,” Kashmir said.

Ota shrugged.

“Well, thank you. If you do see him, will you please let us know?”

Gong. Go-

Without warning, all three men were attacked by a trio of masked men. As the masked men beat down the fan favourite trio, Rock noted that they were wearing matching attire – different colours, but the same cut in each case.

Each man was attired in loose fitting trousers and a fitted mask that covered their entire head, leaving only the eyes and mouth visible. One of the men was black, and his attire was pure white. The others were white – one in black garb with purple and green highlights to his mask, the other in silvery grey clothing.

The uniformed trio beat down the faces, hurling Ota into a boiler with a sickening thud, piledriving Smith on the concrete floor and setting about Singh with a lead pipe.

The arena security arrived in force before too much damage could be done – chasing off the attackers as their victims lay beaten on the boiler room floor.

*

Shaffer & Grayson vs. Valentine & Johnson (c) for the MAW Tag Team titles
We may just keep Shaffer and Grayson together for a spell again. They work pretty well together, and the matches are improved as a result of having two quite high-profile workers in the ring. They even helped Casey Valentine out here, as he was able to improve his brawling skills visibly as the match went on, having realised there was no way he could outfly or outwrestle his gifted opponents. Johnson was able to tie up Shaffer and Grayson somewhat, but it fell to Valentine to get his hands dirty, bulling past the popular duo and eventually nailing Grayson with a perfect Sweet Sweet Heartbreak for the win.
Winners: Valentine & Johnson (D+)

*

The camera cut to the treatment room, where Ota was laying shirtless on a treatment table, having ice packed onto his raw back where he had been thrown against the boiler. Brandon Smith was being checked for concussion, and Kashmir Singh was having his knee taped up. Singh glared at the camera.

“Whoever you are,” he snarled. “If you want a fight, then you’ve picked the right three men to start with. The three of you each just earned yourself a match tonight. And even as sore as we are, I have no doubt that we will emerge victorious.”

The door to the room crashed open, and the white clad newcomer charged in, attacking Singh and dragging him out of the room before anyone had a chance to react. The cameraman managed to follow them out of the room, and follow as they brawled along the corridor towards the ring. Getting up close, it was possible to see that the attacker had the word Ricochet printed down one leg of his trousers.

*

Kashmir Singh vs. Ricochet
The brawl eventually spilled into the ring, where Chad Brent signalled for the bell. Ricochet immediately upended Singh with a beautiful takedown, and set to work wearing down the battered Indian’s defences. Ricochet showed commendable technical skills – maybe even on a par with Jean Cattley’s – as he wore down the plucky Singh. As an added twist, he worked at remarkable speed, giving the injured Singh no real chance to defend himself against the onslaught before he was put away with a Cross Armbreaker.
Winner: Ricochet (D)

*

Rip smirked as he entered the ring, the ****y grin on his face seemingly welded in place nowadays.

“Decisions, decisions... I’ve done a lot of matchmaking on the fly tonight. We’ve seen an impressive debut from Ricochet, and I expect that his colleagues Sharp and Toxin – oh yes, I know who they are – will do well tonight, as well.

“Of course, it can’t all be about the new guys. And until they get a few wins under their belts, I’d be out of order to consider them a part of the various title races here in Mid Atlantic Wrestling. So I won’t – tonight’s title shots are all going to established stars. We’ve already seen Shaffer and Grayson reuniting to take on Valentine and Johnson. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes a permanent reunion, at that.”

This earned a mixed response. The fans were pleased that the former champs might be reuniting, but weren’t pleased that neither would be challenging Jay Chord for his title.

“The Traditional Title match... well, tonight I think that shot deserves to go to a young man who shows a great deal of promise. One of my own students, in fact, Antonio!”

The fans were very sure that they didn’t like this – nepotism is an ugly, ugly word.

“And I have a couple of announcements to make regarding my son’s Heavyweight title. Firstly, Erik Strong and Hugh de Aske will square off next to determine who gets to face Jay next month. Secondly, Jay’s opponent tonight is that renowned titan of the ring, Kirk Jameson!”

The fans were really not happy about this – Strong, de Aske and Jameson would be a long way down most people’s lists of contenders, after all.

*

Backstage, Hugh de Aske was standing by with Sienna, and he looked pretty cross:

“Now, Hugh de Aske is a proud pirate, and there are times that being both is not an easy thing to live with. On the one hand, pirate! Any chance I get to get my hands on some gold, I’ll take and thank you very much. On the other hand, this whole deal stinks like a week-old barrel of mackerel. I’ve served under some scurvy old salts in my time, and I know enough to see that Rip has put me in this match because he thinks that his son can beat me – with or without his help. Well, it seems like someone hasn’t been paying attention, doesn’t it, my love?”

He slapped Sienna on the hip, and she giggled.

“For the record, Rip, you’re a lousy deal maker. And when I bury my cutlass in your son’s heart and snatch away the treasure that he values the most... Well, then you’ll understand why you should never underestimate a pirate. Arr!”

*

Erik Strong vs. Hugh de Aske to name the #1 contender to the MAW Heavyweight title
Have I mentioned how much I love Hugh de Aske? I do – truly. Anyway, this was a blistering match that saw the wily pirate hamstringing every effort by Strong to go airborne, while Sienna neutralised Katie Cameron on the outside. Strong struggled on the mat as de Aske threatened to completely overwhelm him, but was able to avoid a Skull and Crossbones attempt, giving him enough of an advantage that he could take control of the match. Hugh fought back to the best of his ability, but Strong was able to maintain control long enough to score with a Strongsault, giving him the victory in an excellent match.
Winner: Erik Strong (C)

*

“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith vs. Sharp
The silver-clad Sharp was all over Smith from the bell, hammering away at the larger man and trying to capitalise on his earlier injury to wear him down. Smith shrugged him off and went on the offence, targeting the masked man and trying to hit him with enough of his high impact offence to put him down. The match was an enjoyable brawl, with Sharp doing his best to match Smith move for move, but eventually coming up short as he fell to a Backdrop Driver.
Winner: Brandon Smith (D)

*

Antonio came down to the ring, looking smug.
“It’s always nice to have my greatness recognised. Only yesterday, I was hailed by the New York Stock Exchange as the fastest rising star on the trading floor. Today, I’m set to become the Traditional champion. Tomorrow, I’ll probably hit a home run for the Mets or something. Its good to be me.”

*

Aaron Andrews (c) vs. Antonio for the MAW Traditional title
Antonio did his best to take advantage of Andrews’ evident distraction throughout this very enjoyable match. The champ kept being distracted by the presence of Rip at ringside, and while Rip professed innocence, he did nothing to make himself less conspicuous, either. Antonio gleefully took every opening offered him as he sought to finish Andrews off, but while the Traditional title may not have been Andrews first choice, he was now loath to sacrifice it too easily. He fought back gamely, outbrawling Antonio with ease and matching the financial wizard’s best efforts to go to the air or take it to the mat, before catching some air himself with a Flying Body Press to score the win.
Winner: Aaron Andrews (C-)

*

After the match, Andrews propped himself up on the top rope, and glared down at Rip.

“I’ve beaten your hand-picked challenger – now give me a match against your son!”

“No, kid. You lost your last match against him – I’m not convinced you deserve another one yet. Keep trying, though – we’ll find you another challenge next month.”

*

Fumihiro Ota vs. Toxin
What could have been... It was clear from the bell that these two were capable of putting together a fantastic match. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen as both men seemed to have their minds elsewhere. This is worth trying again – but in the meantime Toxin took the win with a roll-up.
Winner: Toxin (D)

*

Jay and Rip are clearly related – the smirk on Jay’s face was a perfect replica of Rip’s own smirk. Taking the mic, he addressed his challenger:

“Kirk... I see a lot of promise in you. It’s why I insisted on having you as my challenger this month. I feel like this could be a major step on your career path. But let’s be honest – you’re not going to win.”

*

Kirk Jameson vs. Jay Chord (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
It’s got to be said – Jay hasn’t exactly set the world alight since winning the belt. This was one of his better matches, though, despite being full of Sportz Entertainment shenanigans.

Jay had underestimated his foe, and paid the price as Jameson pasted him all over the mat in the early going. Jay fought back, and went for a desperate Cradle Piledriver – only for Jameson to backdrop his way out of it. As Jay crashed down, his foot caught Chad Brent, sending our ref sprawling. With no back up, there was no-one to count as Jameson nailed The Bullseye, and covered for a count that on commentary I made to at least thirty – and a slow thirty, at that.

Such is the way of things, though, that when Brent recovered and began his count, Chord was by now recovered enough to kick out at an agonisingly slow two. Jameson betrayed his inexperience by becoming frustrated at his near miss, and this allowed Jay to rapidly make up some ground as he nailed a series of big moves. Jameson was able to maintain enough control to clamp in a Kirkhold and try and squeeze out a submission – but Jay was able to make it to the ropes to break the hold. As Jameson vented his frustrations by screaming upwards at the lights, he turned into a boot to the gut, swiftly followed by a Cradle Piledriver as Jay escaped with his title from a match that was a lot more challenging than he clearly expected.
Winner: Jay Chord (D+)

Overall: D

You all went for the same predictions - you all got one wrong. I'm not too predictable just yet :p

D-Lyrium

08-14-2008, 03:40 PM

Let's try and ruin more surprises :D

Sharp... I can't get Silver Shark out of my head. Because of the silver, and the sharp. So I'm almost certainly wrong on that one.

Toxin... Acid would be too obvious.... ... ... or would it? He'd probably have gotten a better match out of Ota though. Has Acid 2 debuted yet? ¬_¬ Almost no clues here, so... meh.

Ricochet... black guy, high chain wrestling and/or aerial and as good as Cattley on the mat. Not ringing any bells, but at least it excludes Xavier Reckless. ¬_¬ The only black guy I can think of that's likely to be available and can match Cattley is Stevie Stoat, and he's unlikely to have been out of work long enough to become available in the US. So unless Arthur Dexter Bradley has been training 24/7 with Cornell or McFly, I dunno. I'm such a failure :p

James Casey

08-14-2008, 04:38 PM

Let's see:

1. Right lines, wrong guy - you might have to trawl the free agent list a little, but you won't need to go too far

2. Interesting thought, but no. As much as I'd love to get Acid - and I would love to get Acid - he's on a written deal with... WLW, I think. One of the Japanese feds, anyway. You're kinda on the right line with the name. Sorta.

3. Not even close :p The day I hire that feckless twerp ADB is the day I hire Big Smack Scott. A little clue: Ricochet is also the name of a Marvel hero (and former Spider-Man alias). They guy under the hood shares his usual nickname with another Marvel hero, who's also spent some time in the Spiderypages over the years.

The true identities of these guys isn't the least bit important, incidentally, they're just three guys I picked up who fit the loose Speed/Technical/Rumble archetypes I was after. If they'd ended up flopping, they'd have been gone after a few shows with no-one any the wiser about their IDs. As it happens, they put on some good matches, so that was a welcome bonus.

A couple of freebies, though: Cannonball Kid was under consideration - but at a starting price of $900 ppa was way above what I was looking for (hence the comment to Rip a couple of posts back). Also, none of the guys has any masked pictures.

And I could tell you - but I like masked workers. And it's fun trying to work this kind of thing out :D Knowing who's under the masks isn't as important as what they can do - which is bring some quality to the MAW ranks.

Dragonmack

08-14-2008, 05:04 PM

I don't really have a clue about the other two, but my money is on Joey Poison being Toxin.

Phantom Stranger

08-14-2008, 05:33 PM

3. Not even close :p The day I hire that feckless twerp ADB is the day I hire Big Smack Scott. A little clue: Ricochet is also the name of a Marvel hero (and former Spider-Man alias). They guy under the hood shares his usual nickname with another Marvel hero, who's also spent some time in the Spiderypages over the years.

The horribly badly-written-of-late Robbie Baldwin, then, which means he was my first guess.

Marc Speed.

Hyde Hill

08-14-2008, 06:30 PM

Sharp= Insane Machine, Toxin= Joey Poison, Ricochet= Marc Speed. My guesses as well

Sagitta

08-14-2008, 08:56 PM

I'm going to venture a guess that Ricochet may be Art Reed, back from Japan.

James Casey

08-15-2008, 06:29 AM

Two dings - no third

Toxin is Joey Poison, a talented speedster and better than average all-rounder. I'm delighted to get him - I was sure he'd be too big for us.

Ricochet is Marc Speed (well done, Phantom Stranger) whose moniker Speedball is shared with a former New Warrior, iirc, whose had his issues elsewhere of late. I'm also pleased to get Speeed, as he was a star for me in my 07 game who never quite made the leap to the top of the card. I always felt bad for never giving him the top spot, so we'll see what happens now.

Insane Machine? Nope - Think East Coast for Sharp's alter ego :p

Phantom Stranger

08-15-2008, 08:26 AM

Ricochet is Marc Speed (well done, Phantom Stranger) whose moniker Speedball is shared with a former New Warrior, iirc, whose had his issues elsewhere of late. I'm also pleased to get Speeed, as he was a star for me in my 07 game who never quite made the leap to the top of the card. I always felt bad for never giving him the top spot, so we'll see what happens now.

I have a soft spot for the guy myself - he's been one of my most reliable tag workers for years, and in a division that really gels for me.

James Casey

08-15-2008, 01:15 PM

The ringing of the phone jolted me from unconsciousness once more.

“Hoozded?” I managed to croak into the phone, as the red blur of the alarm clock’s digits resolved themselves into three digits - 5:02.

“Kid, shouldn’t you be up by now?”

“What? What? Rip? What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, kid. I’m up early for my daily run. Want to join me?”

I stumbled into the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. Feeling a little more awake, I sighed as I put the phone back to my ear.

“Rip, I don’t run much nowadays,” I said, making my way gingerly back into the bedroom, and picking up my cane.

Rip laughed heartily as I made my way downstairs and put the kettle on. I flicked on my computer as well – I figured that as Rip had so kindly awakened me, I might as well get on with my day.

“Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that the kid and I had a bit of a disagreement last night.”

I rolled my eyes heaven-ward.

“What now, Rip?”

“Ahhh, he’d got hold of some stuff off the web and was showing it around the locker room.”

My finger paused over the mouse button, the cursor in turn paused over the ‘Connect’ icon.

“What sort of stuff?”

“Let’s just leave it at stuff, kid.”

“Stuff that embarrasses Rip Chord? Must have been bad.”

Rip emitted a big belly laugh. By the time he’d finished, I’d logged on, downloaded my e-mails and started sifting through them to try and find the genuine ones.

“Well, I tried to have a word with him, but I may have handled it wrong. He blew up at me, and stormed off.”

I sighed. “OK, Rip. I’ll do my best to not tread on his toes for the next couple of months. Out of curiosity, did you ever hit Jay growing up?”

“No, why?”

“Just might have helped, is all. Anyway, go and run. I’ll speak to you later.”

“See ya, kid.”

*

$6k profit this month. With our new hirees, it might seriously be worth considering a three hour monthly show... We’ll see.

*

Of course, it may not be necessary. TCW have risen to Global, and the offers began pouring in. Let’s see:

Alex DeColt – snubbed due to loyalty to CGC

Remmy Skye – signed and no longer available to us

Groucho Bling – signed

Kirk Jameson – snubbed due to loyalty to NOTBPW (not to MAW, but hey...)

Bart Biggz – signed

Shawn Gonzales – signed

Andre Jones – signed

Oh, and...

“Boss?”

I looked up, absently wishing for one of Katie’s massages. But that would mean replying to her text message, and so far I’d been enough of a coward that I hadn’t done that.

“What’s up, Darryl?” I asked, as the blond youngster stood nervously in my doorway.

“Uh... I’m here to give in my notice. Sorry,” he said, quickly, as my jaw dropped.

“What? Why?”

“Didn’t you hear? TCW are recruiting.”

My shoulders sagged. TCW were skating on thin ice. They weren’t offering written deals to our talent, so weren’t strictly speaking stealing them – but at the same time, they quite often approached guys with multiple contracts, and too often those guys ditched their least prestigious employer. Which was us, more often than not.

“Okay, Darryl. Thanks for all you’ve done here. I’m sorry we can’t give you a decent send off.”

I shook hands with him, wanting to wring Tommy Cornell’s neck. But what can I do? We’re a small promotion – it comes with the territory.

When the day comes that Jean Cattley tries to jump ship, then I’ll consider suing. Until then, I’ll just try and make sure we can sustain the odd body blow like this.

*

MAW Summer Showdown
“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith and Kashmir Singh vs. Ricochet & Sharp
Shane Nelson, Amazing Fire Fly and Riley McManus vs. The Firm
The Bailey Boys vs. Primus Allen and Findlay O’Farraday
Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
Aaron Andrews vs. Casey Valentine vs. Jared Johnson
Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord

mad5226

08-15-2008, 02:38 PM

Sucks you're losing Darryl, I don't think you'll ever have to worry about losing Jean though.

Hyde Hill

08-15-2008, 05:50 PM

Bulldozer” Brandon Smith and Kashmir Singh vs. Ricochet & Sharp
Shane Nelson, Amazing Fire Fly and Riley McManus vs. The Firm
The Bailey Boys vs. Primus Allen and Findlay O’Farraday
Baily boys????
Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
Aaron Andrews vs. Casey Valentine vs. Jared Johnson
Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord

Showtime4Lajf

08-15-2008, 06:30 PM

“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith and Kashmir Singh vs. Ricochet & Sharp
They seem to be doing well enough for themselves to deserve a win here to gain more credibility.

Shane Nelson, Amazing Fire Fly and Riley McManus vs. The Firm
Seems like the Firm is facing the Job Squad here...

The Bailey Boys vs. Primus Allen and Findlay O’Farraday
If the Bailey Boys were to be taken seriously you would've at the very least told us who they are... unless you're trying to FOOL ME, and give the "job team" a win because of lack of communication or something!

Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
I dunno... their name suggest that they should be favorites of mine...

Aaron Andrews vs. Casey Valentine vs. Jared Johnson
Andrews inches ever closer to his title shot...

Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
De Aske is on a roll! How could I ever doubt him? :p

Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord
Andrews will likely be the one to dethrone young Chord down the line, which means Strong can't be dethroning him now.

D-Lyrium

08-15-2008, 07:59 PM

[QUOTE=Showtime4Lajf;479890]“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith and Kashmir Singh vs. Ricochet & Sharp
- New guys always win, fact. As for Sharp, I'm still stumped. The best I can come up with is The Wolverine, based on the facts that we need to fill a brawling slot with an East Coast guy who's initial isn't far from S in the list and has some sort of connection to Silver Shark, so I'm guessing either a colour or an animal/fish, and thus, Wolverine. Plus there's the Marvel clue from Ricochet that's stuck in my head. Fairly sure I'm wrong though.

Shane Nelson, Amazing Fire Fly and Riley McManus vs. The Firm

The Bailey Boys vs. Primus Allen and Findlay O’Farraday
- I'm assuming TJ is one of the Bailey Boys, which means they'll lose. Every match. Or else. As far as I know, TJ doesn't have any genuine relations in the game, thankfully, so I guess it's someone who looks a bit like him, and since Stevie Grayson is already in the company, bit stumped there. Crappy Elwood, maybe. Or Mark Smart. Or a new worker. Christan Vars maybe, or Brett Starr. Bugger it, dunno. :p

Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
- Bloonnnnddddeeeessss! Hey, it worked last time...

Aaron Andrews vs. Casey Valentine vs. Jared Johnson
- I foresee some shenanigans with The Firm working together, but then arguing over who gets to pin him.

Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske

Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord
- The two biggest locker-room annoyances in one ring. The backstage area will be loving this.

Hyde Hill

08-16-2008, 06:20 AM

Sharp 2 new guesses Ash Cambell or Brendan Idol. Outside shot Teddy Powell

Dragonmack

08-16-2008, 06:54 AM

My guess for Sharp would be Sayeed Ali

kowalewski

08-16-2008, 07:23 AM

“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith and Kashmir Singh vs. Ricochet & Sharp
Shane Nelson, Amazing Fire Fly and Riley McManus vs. The Firm
The Bailey Boys vs. Primus Allen and Findlay O’Farraday
Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes
Aaron Andrews vs. Casey Valentine vs. Jared Johnson
Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord

James Casey

08-16-2008, 09:37 AM

OOC: I hope Jean never tries to leave - I'd be severely vexed...

And no-one's got Sharp yet? It's not Ash Campbell - who's only just ahead of BSS and ADB on my 'to hire' list. And Teddy Powell has a daft beard :p

Have another clue: He starts out at NYCW.

And the Bailey Boys are TJ and Cheetah Boy aka CB Bailey. I never claimed they were going to be any good - consider them my my Kai En Tai :D

*

Mid Atlantic Wrestling presents: Summer Showdown
Tuesday, 23rd June 2010
“Bulldozer” Brandon Smith and Kashmir Singh vs. Ricochet & Sharp
The masked duo gave the fan favourites a run for their money in this opening match, with each man isolating their opposite number. Ricochet tied Smith up in knots, keeping the patriotic wrestler off his game. When Singh managed to tag in, Sharp was immediately tagged in too, and the brawler kept the Indian star on the back foot. However, the face duo worked their way back into the match, and Smith was able to take Ricochet down with a Backdrop Driver for the win.
Winners: Smith and Singh (D)

*

After the match, Ricochet and Sharp refused to give up, resuming their attack on the face duo with unabated fury. Smith and Singh seemed to be in trouble – until a masked man sprinted down the aisle and slid into the ring, a chair in his hands. The fans popped as they recognised Ultimate Phoenix, who immediately swung for Ricochet.

But at the last second, Phoenix swerved to one side, planting the chair firmly between the eyes of Brandon Smith. Without pausing for breath, he spun and brought the chair around and into the face of Singh. He stood over his fallen foes, and smiled evilly. Taking a mic, he addressed the crowd:

“I have seen the truth. I have seen the light. It hurts, it burns – but I was reborn!”

With a sharp tug, he pulled off his trademark blue and white mask, revealing a black and red one underneath, highlighted with flames.

“I am Firebird!”

*

Shane Nelson, Amazing Fire Fly and Riley McManus vs. The Firm (c) for the MAW Trios titles
This was a straightforward Trios match, with luchadore Amazing Fire Fly trying to lead the charge for the face team, but being left hanging as they were unable to match up to The Firm. Of most interest in the match was the absence of Darryl Devine, with Primus Allen stepping into the role as the third member of the team. It was Allen who scored the first pin, putting Nelson down with a Running Powerslam. Powell scored The Firm’s second straight pin with a Canadian Lariat on Fly to make another successful defence.
Winners: The Firm (D-)

*

Backstage, and Jean Cattley caught up with Casey Valentine.

“Where’s Darryl?” he demanded.

“Darryl’s gone – didn’t he tell you?” Casey replied.

“No. We had to draft in Primus to take his place – and now he’s got to wrestle twice tonight.”

“Huh. Too bad.”

“When did you hear?”

“We were talking a few days ago. He got an offer from out west – I figured he was going to tell you.”

Jean growled, and stalked away. Valentine smirked as he watched him go.

*

The Bailey Boys vs. Primus Allen and Findlay O’Farraday
TJ and CB Bailey were making their on-screen debut here, and mostly got thrown around by Primus Allen in his second match of the night. Despite his remarkable stamina, however, he tired and was forced to bring in Findlay. The gargantuan Findlay towered over the Baileys, but they used hit and run tactics to beat down their opponent, before CB came off the top rope to score a big upset for the youngsters.
Winners: The Bailey Boys (E)

*

Internet Favourites vs. The Canadian Blondes - #1 contenders match
As with the previous match, the MAW fans don’t take kindly to obviously laid out matches, which means that, with neither of these teams having any psych majors on board, the fans lost interest fast. The Favourites won via CtrlAltDel.
Winners: Internet Favourites (E-)

*

Rip entered the ring, trademark smirk in place. “It’s time for the Traditional title to be defended. Now, I’m a big defender of tradition – family values, respect for your elders, that sort of thing. But at the same time, I consider it can be worth changing with the times, as well. So today the Traditional champion will be defending his title in a Triangle match against Casey Valentine... and Jared Johnson!”

*

Aaron Andrews (c) vs. Casey Valentine vs. Jared Johnson for the MAW Traditional title
Neither Valentine nor Johnson seemed comfortable in this match, which we played off as their being unhappy at potentially having to fight each other. This point came with Andrews down for the count, as neither Firm member seemed willing to allow the other to go for the pin. Andrews was able to use this to his advantage, as the tag champs were more and more often at one another’s throats until, finally, Johnson walked into Sweet Sweet Heartbreak, only for Andrews to nail Valentine with a Flying Bodypress to score the win.
Winner: Aaron Andrews (C-)

*

“Enough is enough, Rip,” Aaron barked into the house mic. “I won this title. I beat Antonio; I beat the tag champs single handed... Give me another shot at Jay!”

“Sorry, kid – no can do,” Rip smirked. “You see, to make it fair, it’d have to be title vs. title. And we can’t have double champions – that’s not how it works in this company. So I think you’ll just have to keep defending the Traditional title until you lose it. But I’ve got to say, I don’t think someone who loses their matches is going to be seen as championship calibre, do you? Keep trying, kid. The rules may change – some day.”

*

Backstage, Hugh Lee was standing with Fumihiro Ota.

“Master Fumihiro has no time for people who attack in such a cowardly fashion,” Hugh said, as Ota glowered. "So tonight, Firebird, Master Ota wants to face you in a match and make you suffer for the indignities that you have heaped upon him and his colleagues.”

Hugh turned to Ota.

“Was that okay?”

Bong. Bong.

“Cool. I really liked that ‘indignities that you have heaped upon him’ bit. That was really portentous.”

Bong. Bong.

“Can I learn to speak like that as part of my training?”

Bong.

“Oh... It’s just a natural thing?”

Bong. Bong.

“Well, I’ll just keep practising, eh?”

Bong. Bong.

*

Stevie Grayson vs. Hugh de Aske
With Jenny by his side to get the crowd worked up, Grayson took the fight to de Aske in this excellent match. The action see-sawed back and forth, with neither man able to hold the advantage over the other. Pirate Hugh was quick to pounce on any little chink in Grayson’s armour, but with Jenny marshalling her man from the outside, Grayson was able to fight back, using his speed to outmanoeuvre his opponent before hitting a Shining Wizard for the win.
Winner: Stevie Grayson (C-)

*

Jay Chord came down to the ring, not a hair out of place, the MAW title secure around his waist.

“You know, there’s a lot of people whining and sobbing into their drinks about the intelligent way I’ve conducted myself since becoming champion. They want to see me taking on the biggest and brightest names. Me, I say that the record books don’t show who a champion defends against – just how long he holds the belt for. And I want to set a record. It’s only fit for a worker of my magnificence.

“However, I do admit that there’s one person in the back who I’m itching to beat. That’s the man who was champion when I first arrived here in MAW – Erik Strong.

“After all, when I kick his --- then there can be no question that I am the greatest wrestler this company has ever seen.”

*

Erik Strong vs. Jay Chord (c) for the MAW Heavyweight title
This was possibly Jay’s finest match to date, as one of Rip’s former favourites went after his son with the whole of the Mid Atlantic on his side. The battle between the former and current champion lived up to its billing. Strong battered Jay mercilessly, targeting the youngster’s legs to keep him on the mat and blunt his big attacks, while Jay, for once forced to fight a clean fight, came back with his focus on the challenger’s back. The work paid off, on both parts, with Strong’s Strongsault lacking its usual grace and range, meaning that he only just grazed Jay and took a hard landing. This was just enough to allow Jay to hit a weak Cradle Piledriver – but weak as it was, it was enough to allow him to score a narrow victory.
Winner: Jay Chord (C-)

*

Fumihiro Ota vs. Firebird
If I have a fault as a booker, it lies in being unable to finish a show properly – I’m struggling to remember the last card I booked where the main event was the best match on the card, and that causes a significant letdown. That was very much the case here, as I’d expected Ota/Firebird to be a stunning match – and in fact it was just ordinary. Ota is frustratingly inconsistent, and while I’d planned to revisit this match down the line, I think I’ll reconsider that. Anyway, the match was decent, given who’s involved, but failed to yield a winner as the time limit expired before either man could score the decisive blow.
Winner: No-one (D+)

Overall: D+ (The fans may not have appreciated the length of the main event, either...)