Ring of Fire: The Wheel Turns

[Phantom Stranger]

OOC: This is a continuation of my TEW2007 diary, with a painstakingly rebuilt save to allow me to use TEW2008 (and, obviously, very different chemistries likely to develop. The first few posts will lay out the basic situation at the start of 2013 for Terry Roberts' ROF, so there's no need to get trapped in the original...

New Years Day is a strange thing for me, nowadays. This is the seventh time it's seen me sit down with my boss - Robert Brown, British Samurai, call him what you will but I always slip and end up calling him 'Sammy', which bugs him, but by now he's got fairly used to it - and figure out, at least in general terms, where we go from here. My name is Terry Roberts... and I book Ring of Fire, now the third largest wrestling promotion in the world.



The working day doesn't start until lunchtime, but it has to start when it does; it seems like New Year always manages to fall on a Monday. We broadcast one TV show to the UK on Tuesdays each week and close the week off with a broadcast across Europe on Sundays. Monday, January the 1st, is quite literally the only day when Sammy and I can set aside booking specifics, settle down, and figure how the shape of the year looks before we have to get started on it.

The Main Event
We're blessed with a fantastic assortment of talent across the card, but the heart of the show comes from our champion and his contenders, and always will. Of the following, one will be defending his title at the January PPV - 'Commonwealth Games' - one will be challenging, and barring a sudden change of plans, two will face off head-to-head in the finals of a sixteen-man tournament to claim the Commonwealth Cup.

Don Henderson

When I came to Ring of Fire, Don Henderson was kicking aimlessly around the tag division with Billy Robinson as The Shooters. Astonishing chemistry with Merle O'Curle, then a major player, and a very firm grasp of the basic fundamentals served him well and led to him becoming a credible threat in the upper midcard, feuding with imported legend El Critico - memorably introducing his own belt, the Heritage Championship, and unifying it with the #1 Contendership title. Following that Don trod water for a long time, acting mostly as a tutor for the younger men we were bringing into the roster. But it was pretty clear he was learning himself; four years ago he won the first Commonwealth Cup and became a semi-regular challenger for the ROF Championship. This status continued for a while, with Don never quite getting the big belt - though while we operated a secondary brand he was briefly champion, holding the old USPW World Championship after the buyout. Last year, a shift in portrayal toward "the conscience of Ring of Fire" and a string of astonishing performances culminated when he unseated UK Dragon after a year-long title reign in November. He's made one defence since but looks set to be a worthy champion. He is the only man to have held every title in Ring of Fire.

Art Reed

Art has been with Ring of Fire for only a year, but he'd become a major name in the UK during a multi-year run with our closest competition UKW before then. He was the last man to win the Commonwealth Cup and challenged Don for the title at December's pay-per-view, but his year otherwise has placed him lower on the ranks than others. Don's technical expertise makes Art a very good match, however, which means you can't count him out.

Joey Beauchamp

Three or four years ago Joey Beauchamp was still "The Breeze", the arrogant heel he designed and honed for the departed European promotion UCR, as he transitioned from midcard mainstay in UCR to main event threat in Ring of Fire, winning the Championship after less than a month with the company and holding it for what's still a record number of defences. He has held the Ring of Fire Championship more times than anyone else, and has defended it successfully more than anyone else. Positioned early as an unstoppable warrior, he's shifted over the past two years, becoming, first, an on-screen friend and ally of Davis Wayne Newton (and, latterly, Joss Thompson) in a grouping which is held together by respect but which frequently threatens to fly apart due to ego, and also dropping the 'Breeze' act in favour of "The Perpetual Motion Machine" Joey Beauchamp, acknowledging the respect he has won from our fans by reinventing himself as a less out-and-out heel character.

Davis Wayne Newton

It's impossible to discuss Joey without discussing Davis next. Their friendship was born of rivalry and has appeared on a number of occasions since set to disintegrate back into rivalry; Davis' title record is strong, but not as strong as Joey's, but Davis has the advantage in outside recognition, being a three-time Wrestler of the Year as I write this. "The Triple Threat"has been champion here and in CGC; he has held tag titles here twice as well as in CZCW (teamed with Jim Force) and CGC (alongside Elmo Benson). Along there he had a legendary feud with Hugh de Aske culminating at December's Pay-Per-View when he defeated him in a brilliant, brutal Last Man Standing contest in which the loser lost their job. It's rare to see Davis fail to steal the show if he's on the card, and his win-loss record is extraordinary. Indeed, it's only exceeded by...

Human Arsenal

What possessed Cornell to break the Machines up and job out John for a year, I'll never know - but I couldn't be more grateful. I signed him last January and he went from virtual unknown - and one whose credibility had been destroyed during his singles run in TCW - in the UK to challenging then-champion UK Dragon on pay-per-view in less than six months. He wrestled Dragon solo and in triple threats on three consecutive PPVs and has yet to lose to Dragon or Don with the belt on the line. In last year's Hot 100 his performance beat out his former employer, and he's just re-signed for three more years. With his finishing capacity expanded by the addition of a beautiful submission hold called the Trench Warfare, Human Arsenal looks set to be in championship contention for years to come.

UK Dragon

The man has won titles worldwide. In 2009 he broke his neck and spent a year out of action, returning to Ring of Fire - who he'd left behind by that time - and making an immediate impact - in late 2010, kicking off by challenging Davis Wayne Newton for his title in November. While he lost, that match won Match of the Year. A year later, Dragon challenged Joey, winning the same award - and the title, which he held for a full year of dominance. The 'Year of the Dragon' revitalised the great competitor who seems like he may yet have a chance to enter the Hall of the Immortals before his career ends.

Joss Thompson

The third member of an unofficial power bloc, Joss Thompson's alliance with Davis Wayne Newton started from their CGC connections and blossomed as Thompson found his feet in Ring of Fire's style. By 2012 Thompson was the unofficial leader of the trio and had begun to use 'Bulldozer' Brandon Smith as a fourth member, ensuring his decisions counted. He led a lengthy feud which began when Thompson stole Dragon's mask, leaving Dragon to team up with Billy Robinson while wearing Robinson's old Parasite mask. Though Thompson didn't come out with the win in the end, he cemebted himself as a legitimate threat to any man in the promotion.

Jonathan Faust

Faust, in his second ROF run, looks to have improved and aligned himself more closely with our style, though he's been dogged throughout by chemistry issues. It remains to be seen whether he can overcome them; however, he is at present a greater threat to the ROF Champion than the TV Champion. Of this group, he's the current long-shot threat, and may be replaced on the periphery by one of a number of excellent midcard talent...

Tomorrow (hopefully): The Tag Division

[Phantom Stranger]

The Tag Teams
For the longest time, the tag division was the weakest part of Ring of Fire. Tag matches were too expensive, early on, and with Don Henderson involved in singles title chases I had two halfway-decent teams and three truly, truly awful duos, of whom all six men are long gone (though one of them is working at our developmental promotion nowadays).

And without much attention, the division continued to languish. A brief bright interlude started when I signed the rookie Gauge brothers, but Greg landed a developmental deal to RIPW and Matthew found himself in the singles ranks. A few years later, however, the teams who'd been around had finally begun to gel well, as the advent of a short-lived second brand, PPV time, and so on led me to try and make something of all the titles. Nowadays it's more than just a place to enhance the schooling of bright - and cheap - young rookies and I enjoy the scene. Tag matches are back out of the dark time on broadcast, often on PPV.

The Professionals - Greg Gauge & Ernest Youngman

Current champions are The Professionals, both of whom are relatively new on this run (Greg was brought up to SWF from RIPW and promptly found himself signed back to me - his brother's departure to TCW's midcard had left us with a hole to fill). The team's young and only very newly champions, but both men are good workers who just need exposure to go far. They don't use it often, but the team boasts a tag finisher that looks simply spectacular - Ernest employs the ropes to slingshot the opponent over to Greg, who catches them and almost in the same motion sits out into a piledriver. They call it 'Dead on Arrival'.

The Stunners - Black Eagle and Bulldozer Brandon Smith

Easily the most decorated team in the division - four time champions plus three midcard singles runs between them - the Stunners almost didn't happen. They were originally matched up in CZCW, where they won the titles; I gave them a few battles against our own champs of the time as champion-versus-champion is easy hype, and as such the crowd became vaguely aware of their teaming in its early stages. Three or four months later I needed to transition the belt off a promising young team as one of its members was leaving, and they were the best positioned. A reasonable title run followed, during which they perfected a spectacular finisher spot wherein Brandon, on the top rope, would set Black Eagle up for a powerbomb and launch him as high and far as he could, with Eagle converting the momentum into a beautiful moonsault - they call the move the 'Superbomb Splash'. Five years of regular teaming has allowed them to develop a surprising number of other double-team spots and a tag dynamic very few teams can rival. Their most constant challengers...

East and West - Marc 'Speedball' Speed and Nichiren Amagawa

...another great team who've grown more and more comfortable working together. While not quite at the level of tacit understanding the Stunners revel in, the American and Japanese submission mavens have perfected a style of tag wrestling that can be truly terrifying, taking the 'work a body part' style to its extreme with totally silent, totally focused grim-faced intensity. Between them they boast four phenomenal submission holds which can be used on any part of the anatomy to deliver a tap out. Marc was already known to Coastal Zone fans as the 'Tap, Nap or Snap' threat lingering in their opening bouts; Nichiren has helped him step up to the next level; this youngster is perhaps the best I've ever seen at submissions, and I lost count of the number of times we worked the home of stretching wrestlers that is the Cobra Den. These two will always be a threat to the titles - whenever they don't hold them, that is.

Extraordinary Men - Extraordinario Jr & El Heroe Mexicano

Two very promising youngsters from the lucha libre tradition, the only thing slowing these two down in the tag division is Extraordinario's dabbling in the TV Championship race - a race he's won twice. While Extraordinary Men have only held the belts on one occasion, they've built up a ferocious and well-deserved reputation, gelling well, putting on spectacular matches, and forcing their rivals to fear the Mexican Standoff stereo superkick - the only double-team finisher that can sink you before you know it's happening, giving them a major advantage in our regular multi-team matches.

Dos Phoenix - Phoenix II & Phoenix III

More in the lucha libre tradition, we brought these two in to lend some legendary weight to the division and, since getting over with a new fanbase, they've done just that. While they're yet to win the titles here, they've been on a steady winning streak for the past several months and can be relied on to put on a great show.

Los Leyendas - El Leon & Ultimate Phoenix

For a while, this pair were solid champions and legitimate contenders. Following Phoenix' spinal injury, however, and his fourteen months out of the game, they've struggled to regain that prestige, winning only very rarely.

Pure Perfection - Sergei Kalashnov & Steve Flash w/ Simona Cox
w/
After floundering in singles, these two teamed up in mid-2012 and immediately made a name for themselves by snatching the belts in their first title shot. They held on to them for two months of solid competition before losing out to East and West, and they've yet to stop winning entirely, remaining strong all the way along. A good team limited only by Steve's age, they can expect to stay in the title frame for a while before transitioning to training newer teams.

The Disrespected - Chojiro Kitoaji & Keith Adams

A tough, hard-bitten team made up of men who felt abandoned when former teammates moved on, the Disrespected have a good solid win record, lacking only the fan support to push them to the top.

The Team-Up Marvels - Johnny Highspot & Jonni Lowlife

The longest-running team still in the tag division, these guys are three-time tag champions, but their careers have been stalled of late. Can they overcome the wave of new talent? It seems doubtful, but no one expected their early-2012 reign after three years without gold. They could surprise the fans again...

Tomorrow: The TV Championship scene

[Phantom Stranger]

The TV Championship
The TV title is our secondary singles strap. Unified into it in the past have been the Heritage Championship and Beacon Championship (Hugh de Aske, Beacon Champion, defeated Matthew Gauge, Heritage Champion on PPV and consolidating them, pledging to defend the replacement strap on every broadcast of our then-new TV show Fighting Fit) and, later, the USPW National Championship (Sergei Kalashnov, then USPW National Champion, overcoming Nate Johnson for it shortly after the USPW brand folded and the titles were merged. Thus far, only one of these titles has been re-activated - our developmental fed, Cornerstone Professional Wrestling, uses the Beacon Championship as its main belt.

The TV title is currently defended twice a week; as a result, reigns tend to lead to meteoric rises if the performers are capable of such, or to fizzle out swiftly if they prove not yet to be ready. Recent disappointments include Marc Speed and Black Eagle, both of whom demonstrated that their value lies in their tag affiliations.

British Samurai

As of New Year's Eve, Sammy is the current champion. A former three-time ROF Champion, he's the most decorated wrestler to hold the belt, currently there to lend it some prestige and help tune up the title scene, many of whom are nearly ready to step up and face off with the main event. A former #1 in the Hot 100 rankings, British Samurai is a more than capable champion for the time being. He won the belt from...

Mario Heroic

...himself now a two-time TV Champion. Mario's problem here is, simply, that between title reigns he divides his time between bids for the TV strap and losing to the main event; an extremely credible performer, he scores wins to keep him strong but is too useful in making the main event look good to get a sustained push. This most recent title reign, at nearly two months, is his best yet; it may be time to pull the trigger. Mario's no stranger to the UK crowds; as well as three years with us, he's spent time in Men of Steel Combat, drawing on his old DaVE expertise, and in UKW, our closest rivals. In terms of in-ring ability, he looks to be nearing his peak.

Billy Robinson

Cursed by being 'the other one from The Shooters' next to Don's significantly more prestigious run in the company, Billy has held the #1 Contendership once, the tag titles twice and, since dropping the Contendership to Johnny Highspot very early in my time with the company, went without a title until mid-2012 - a five year lack of gold. When I arrived, Billy had a sound grasp of almost everything to do with technical wrestling; now he can call the match on top of that and spice up his offence with a few quick airborne spots and one or two puro tricks. Billy blossomed while losing steadily, without my paying much attention, but during the theft-of-UK-Dragon's-mask storyline, Billy's old masked identity, the Parasite, saw the light of day as he loaned the champion the mask and tagged up with him on a few occasions. Proving himself in that sequence, a number of Shooters reunion main events, and a wonderful series with Sammy, I gave him the belt in the middle of the year and only took it from him because he was getting too over to be left with it, but wasn't quite on a par with the main event. He's been consistently in the TV Title picture since, has held it again and lost it again, and looks to become a major player, building up quite a fanbase.

Nigel Svensson

The other two-time TV Champion, Nigel came to the belt during a magnificent feud with Extraordinario Jr in which the two men regularly rivalled or outperformed the main event. His tag team - alongside undercard project Crusher von Steinberg - having floundered due to overness disparity, Svensson seized the opportunity and has become another key threat to any TV title holder, with his running knee drive and hyper-extension arm lock developing into truly feared moves.

Petey Barnes

When Petey left the company two and a half years ago he was a three-time ROF Champion, losing his last two matches to Davis Wayne Newton. His time with UKW has not been so kind, despite a brief talent-exchange return in which he became the second Commonwealth Cupwinner, and the fanfare surrounding his mid-2012 comeback has died down as he's proven unable to keep the same pace as the main event's now set. He is, however, still a very sound midcard talent and needs only the TV Championship to equal Don's claim to have held every belt in Ring of Fire - a lot of motivation.

Leo Price

Leo has been another disappointment since his signing; he gasses out at around fifteen minutes and his showings have been lacklustre. He's not yet, however, so weak we can dismiss him from this scene and discard him, though that may come with time. Leo's big claim to fame thus far has been as Art Reed's ally in a feud against now-departed Edward Cornell and...

Daniel Black Francis

Daniel is why I hold out hope for Leo - cursed with a number of the same limitations when he arrived he's buckled down, worked hard, and started to make himself into a credible threat and a dangerous man to cross. If his cardio improves to the point he can work a twenty-minute draw without slowing, he'll have real potential; even before then, he's a strong contender now.

KC Glenn

The youngster here is the TV title long shot, but he's done well since starting, shows consistent form, flies around very well, and is carving out a lot of popularity for himself. Once the trigger's ready, it'll be pulled - the question is whether he'll succeed in claiming the belt before rising past it.

Tomorrow: The Women's Division

[Phantom Stranger]

The Women's Division

Most of the company is already in a position I'm quite happy with, after six years' hard work; the women's division, however, is three years old and limited in that the competitors signed were ones not already stretched by contracts with 5SSW, AAA and the CWWF - so, with a couple of lucky exceptions, they weren't as good as they might have been, and Wanda Fish' late-2012 retirement from active wrestling hurt the division further. Still, they're slowly getting over and developing, and the younger members of the division have solid careers ahead of them...

Huntress Makiko

The current champion, Makiko won the belt in early December from Kristabel Plum during a battle royal featuring the whole division and has retained it twice since in similar situations. She probably has the single best win-loss record in the division and is an extremely solid technical competitor; as such, by Ring of Fire's standards she's a very, very useful worker to employ as a champion, particularly while the division learns.

Kristabel Plum

Kristabel is probably the best of the women wrestling here and has held our title on two occasions. The main strike against her is her own age; with Wanda's retirement just past, I'm back to worrying about how long some of these competitors will stay active.

Jaime Quine

By contrast, Jaime is probably the brightest current hope in the division. She shows a good grasp of storytelling and an excellent all-round moveset which, coupled with fierce chemistry against Wanda, catapulted her to two title reigns, and her youth means I can expect her to still be a major player by the time the division's one I'm happy with. We linked her in kayfabe with Davis early on, though that's fallen by the wayside over time.

Cherry Bomb

I can't even pretend I'm unbiased here. Sherie and I have been involved for a year and a half now, with the news breaking in the dirtsheets on Christmas 2011. She's an excellent performer who's been doing well, but I'm not sure she has a title reign in her future. However, she's a solid fixture in the division and seems to be gathering a following.

Miss Information

The other bias question; this is Sammy's only real wrestling protege, and as such has been with us for years. She's fairly weak by the division's standards, though hardly its weak link, and she's still picking up a number of tricks. I hope to give her a worthwhile career - and of course she's a former multi-time UCR Women's Champion.

Raven Nightfall

Raven was someone I specifically wanted when we started the division, and she's done well for us. Like Cherry, she's good but perhaps not good enough to hit the top; but she's a very solid performer and having her in the division helps keep Black Eagle happy (and vice versa). A solid worker who's probably proudest of the pinfall over Steve Flash she holds from an intergender tag match, and who insisted on returning the favour for the East Coast legend.

Dragon Assassin

She deserves a title run. I'm not sure she'll get it; again, age is a factor, and she's a relatively new arrival. But as a mentor to the younger girls she's been excellent. While she started out very puro in her style, by the time we signed her the 5SSW emphasis had left her gifted in a super junior strategy as well and she's the kind of all rounder we need coaching the younger prospects. Prospects like...

Nadia Snow

Of all my female workers, Nadia has the most UK exposure; she's been managing Don Henderson (and therefore, occasionally, Billy Robinson by proxy) since her 2007 debut. She's just starting to develop into the kind of worker we need and make a real name for herself, but she's got time, and she's put in her dues here. A title run is a very real possibility once she gets her feet under her in the ring...

Amber Allen

Like Jaime, Amber works under a shadow. But that keeps her hungry, and while she's only a recent signing, her performances to date have been very watchable. As she develops a following among the fans I expect her to push, rise, and fly high. A very exciting prospect.

Romi Yamato

Romi's our newest addition, signed on her graduation from the 5SSW dojo to a written contract her. Raw around the edges and essentially unknown, it's difficult to evaluate her potential, but the YouTube video of her work to date convinced me to take a chance on this bright young talent.

Tomorrow: The Undercard & The Staff

[Phantom Stranger]

The Undercard

Dean Daniels

Dean is probably the best member of the roster not in a title chase, and deserves to get involved in one soon; he put in nine months booking our developmental promotion, and between his nine and Bryan Holmes' six, Cornerstone Professional Wrestling has already landed a TV slot. He's just starting to lose some of his pace to age, but likely has quite some time left to him. Unlike...

JD Morgan

The 'Dean of Submissions' is unfortunately slowing heavily, and it's also affecting his skills in other areas. He has a lot to teach, and he's doing it well, but his best days are behind him.

Nate Johnson

A former TV champion, Nate's work has been solid and dependable - he's simply been left behind as the company grows. There's still the chance for him to fight back and have a big run, but for the moment he's one of the younger men on education duty.

Blood Raven

Oy... This is hard. I brought Raven in alongside Groucho Bling, and they were helping to rebuild the tag division before Groucho left, leaving Blood Raven without direction - and that left him losing a lot and turning in weak performances. If there's room at some point he'll likely get another push. For now, however...

Ruud van Anger

Ruud, again, was part of our tag scene, brought in during the brand split. Weak tag partner Jonni Lowlife has since returned to his original team and, again, Ruud is doing little but taking losses, trying to learn, and scoring a very occasional win - something everyone needs at the bottom of their undercard. Just like...

Remmy Honeyman

Crusher von Steinberg

and Capitao Brasil Jr

all of whom have, with varying degrees of longevity, failed to take off thus far. Brasil, who's been with us since his 2007 debut, has shown the least development thus far, and as such looks likely to be the first of them shown the door as we bring in new hopefuls. A couple of developmental prospects look better already.

[Phantom Stranger]

The Staff
Ah, the simplest list of all. Our managers:

Phoebe Plumridge

Double-P's been steadily building her profile with a string of solid performances at ringside for British Samurai. She's fairly cheap and getting over fast enough to be happy with, and Sammy definitely needs the mouthpiece, if only for help.

Wanda Fish

Just after completing her in-ring career Wanda showed up in the corner of Human Arsenal. With a legion of fans already active and a gift on the mic, she's likely to be a very useful addition.

Nadia Snow

She needs work as a manager and work as a wrestler, but she does the job for Don Henderson and has been picking up pace. And Don of all our guys seems to need the help on the microphone.

Simona Cox

She came aboard with The Force and has found herself attached to midcard light Sergei Kalashnov, and by consequence of late is also assigned to Steve Flash. Her boyfriend, Jed High, is on my shortlist of people to investigate re-hiring, so she could well be very useful.

Matthew Morris & Danny Jillefski

The play-by-play duo; Jillefski came in when we bought out USPW to be that brand's mouthpiece. Matthew has been with us since before UCR folded in 2011, and has blossomed; we threw out Justin Blackham and Mitch Naess in succession as they proved unable to cope with the better technical exchanges, but Matthew has just risen as the talent in the ring have developed. I'd trust him to call anything, and Jillefski's no slouch himself.

Terry Roberts

Heh. No, I'm not going to appraise my own performance, either on the mic or the booking team. I do the colour work and occasional interviews to help out the wrestlers. It works, but c'mon - I'm not going to try self-evaluation here.

Optimus

Since his retirement Optimus has been working as a road agent - 5SSW, the shortlived Phoenix Wrestling Company, and ourselves. With PWC out of business and 5SSW not in a position to secure his exclusive services, Optimus has found himself just working for us - and he's been invaluable to a lot of the lower card and women's division. Great stuff, and like myself, he's a key part of the booking committee.

Humphrey Woolsey

If Ring of Fire were the kind of place that gave out gimmicks rather than put up with them, Humphrey would be working a "world's best ref" gimmick - he doesn't get bumped, managers don't distract him, his count is always perfectly on time, and he's intensely clear and distinct about the line between submission and failure to submit. He is, in short, a hundred percent the referee that Ring of Fire needs; I don't think he's even made a count on a dubious pinfall since 2010 - you know the kind of thing, camera shows a shoulder slightly off the mat but the script calls for the count anyway - and that gives him real authority when we run something like a ref stoppage for violent; the fans genuinely trust Humphrey's judgement, and I suspect would if he jumped ship to GAMMA and started working the shoot side of the street. He's been with ROF longer than I have and I'm glad to have him; and he's the third member of our booking committee, along with...

British Samurai

Owner, head honcho, current ROF TV Champion, and someone I'm glad to think of as a friend these days. Sammy is a smart man with a solid grasp of the business; he's also a very strong performer. And yes, I do occasionally find myself kissing his ass.

Tomorrow: Where ROF stands in the world of wrestling.

[Phantom Stranger]

The Business, January 2013

Funny old world.

They're calling the UK wrestling resurgence a Ring of Fire-led phenomenon these days. Ultimately, that's wrong. Two things led to it; Jeff Nova bought 21CW in 2006 and got a TV show on the air and media mogul Jake McDaniels introduced the United Kingdom of Wrestling just before 2007 started. With his financial backing, UKW jumped straight from the bottom of the ladder to the top, putting Ring of Fire down to number four. Out of four.

That's where I came in to Ring of Fire, and that was where the turnaround started for the company. But A number of our bigger names of the time - Merle O'Curle, UK Dragon, Walter Morgan all good examples - took advantage of UKW's opening to get themselves some good TV time. We were worried they'd be offering exclusive contracts soon and struck a deal with UK that would come back to haunt us later.

At the same time, talents we'd later use were being exposed to the world by both of the TV-oriented companies and getting over. We were just running weekly shows in Birmingham in front of twenty to thirty people. In order to keep us ticking over I was forced to take gambles on a lot of rookie talent. People look at Davis, Matthew Gauge, Bulldozer, Extraordinario, Nigel, and others now. They forget all those who went by the wayside; Velocidad, Tigre Salvaje Jr, and others.

Men of Steel Combat did what they always do. They kept their pace careful, stayed off TV, and made enough money to keep going, slowly becoming more popular but essentially in the same place now that they always were. What surprised me was that UKW did the same thing.

We grew, and 21CW grew, but we could use workers who weren't as over, who weren't asking for as much. By the time we both had TV - and in ROF's case, pay-per-view - 21CW was near bankruptcy. I offered them a place as a developmental promotion, and hot-tempered head booker Eric Tyler - yes, the DaVE legend - declared war on us. I don't need to tell you that this shook us a lot, but by this stage we were the (marginally) bigger name, having bought out the failing USPW and resurrected the brand in Europe to boost our popularity over there.

I'll admit I was fairly ruthless, signing away quite a lot of Tyler's best talent - Jonathan Faust, Daniel Black Francis - and toward the end of the war the developmental company we'd set up snatched Luke Cool to a developmental contract. At that point 21CW's sole marketable star was Eric Tyler, and it collapsed in early 2012 at the same time as Luis Figo Manico's UCR, who we'd hurt when we began to secure talent on written contracts, folded.

Never let it be said that Manico is not a smart guy; he knew there was a lot of low-card talent in the UK and that, after the excitement generated by the war and by three competing TV shows, the UK was hungry for wrestling. He wasn't the only one to spot it.

Practically simultaneously Manico launched Championship Wrestling from Wigan and Jeff Nova secured Joey Poison to hold the book for British Professional Wrestling. After nine months, both are showing reasonably well for their size, crawling the lower ranks of professional wrestling companies.

If anything, Gil Thomas was smarter. He saw the work being done in Europe and realised that, at the time, no brand name wrestling company was actually running shows bigger than our house gigs on the continent. He brought a number of indy feds into the fold as the European Wrestling Alliance and guaranteed controversy and publicity by signing Tyler as their head booker. Meanwhile, our own developmental fed has secured itself UK and Europe TV.

Mexico remains as it always was, the breeding ground for talent signed away before it can nurture the local companies to true heights.

In Japan, over the past six years, three companies have folded - the venerable Golden Canvas Grappling in early 2008, the edgy Warrior Engine XXV not long after, and EXODUS2010 at the end of it's 2010 first tour. (Undercapitalisation is a killer.) The remaining companies, however... well, Burning Hammer, WLW, and PGHW look set to begin a nationwide battle for supremacy that promises to produce some amazing wrestling. SAISHO and the Hinote Dojo are doing well for themselves, ticking over in their own home crowds, and 5SSW and INSPIRE are both ready to take on any of the big guys who lose a step in the battle.

Canada remains as tiered as ever; 4C are trapped, CGC are trying to beat down one fed and push up against another, and North of the Border are the biggest phenomenon on the planet, emphasising just how far CGC have to work. The Canadian Women's Wrestling Federation is effectively a separate entity but doing well, with NOTBPW so far having poached none of its stars.

In America... Hoo, boy. The Phoenix Wrestling Company started bright and folded early. AAA and the Babes of Sin City share a champion in Alison Capone, who's evidently improved somewhat. TCW rules the roost, the second biggest company out there, with SWF and DaVE reduced in stature significantly and battling with SWF's own feeder league, among others. It won't take much at all for the place to explode into a thousand little squabbling confrontations. And this, of course, would be the time we've chosen to expand into the country...

[Phantom Stranger]

OOC: And, hopefully, that's the six years of the 07 save summarised for you all. Clear as mud?

Stick with me, guys. Soon, some actual wrestling...

[Jaded]

Awesome summary! Looking forward to reading this.

[Phantom Stranger]

From the website...

ROF: Fighting Fit
On tap for tonight's show comes, first of all, the opening defence for new ROF TV Champion British Samurai, in one of ROF's tougher challenges...

vs. vs.
British Samurai vs. Nigel Svensson vs. Petey Barnes in a one-fall submission only contest!

Following that, two leading lights of the tag division clash...

vs.
East & West vs. The Stunners

Which team will push forward in the quest for a tag title shot? They're not the only tag wrestlers gunning for it, however, as one-half of the ROF Tag Champions faces off with team captains from Extraordinary Men and Pure Perfection in a three-way dance.

vs. vs. w/
Extraordinario Jr vs. Greg Gauge vs. Sergei Kalashnov (accompanied as ever by Simona Cox)

Will Greg prevail, or will a challenger to his throne state their case convincingly?

Two of the best American imports will follow those three men into action:
(w/) vs.
Human Arsenal (managed by Wanda Fish) vs. Mario Heroic

Arsenal showed us convincingly last year just how good he is, but there's still some resentment in the locker room that Wanda Fish threw in with him. Mario Heroic in particular feels slighted, and he'll want to make a statement during this match.

vs.
The Shooters vs. Davis Wayne Newton & Joey Beauchamp

With the question of the title defence at Commonwealth Games still to be settled and the Games coming up, the Champion and his ally look to blunt the momentum of Ring of Fire's two most decorated challengers and turn their challenge aside early. A main event worthy of the name is sure to develop.

[Jaded]

Predictions:

British Samurai vs. Nigel Svensson vs. Petey Barnes
East & West vs. The Stunners
Extraordinario Jr vs. Greg Gauge vs. Sergei Kalashnov (accompanied as ever by Simona Cox)
Human Arsenal (managed by Wanda Fish) vs. Mario Heroic
The Shooters vs. Davis Wayne Newton & Joey Beauchamp

[Regis]

British Samurai vs. Nigel Svensson vs. Petey Barnes
Sammy doesn't loose so quickly. It would be absurd.

East & West vs. The Stunners
Experience will triumph in this case, I think. Eagle and Dozer work well together, and they need to keep on winning. East and West are, though good, one step below them, I think.

Extraordinario Jr vs. Greg Gauge vs. Sergei Kalashnov (accompanied as ever by Simona Cox)
Never bet against Extraordinario. Sergei can eat the pinfall.

Human Arsenal (managed by Wanda Fish) vs. Mario Heroic
Mario isn't on Human Arsenal's level, plain and simple. Human Arsenal is a star. Mario is a solid upper-midcarder.

The Shooters vs. Davis Wayne Newton & Joey Beauchamp
The Shooters are a real tag team. They've got experience and the champion on their side. Davis and Joey are good, but Don and Billy can work this type of match better.

[Phantom Stranger]

ROF: Fighting Fit
Tuesday Week 1 January 2013
Coventry City Stadium (Midlands, UK)
4095 in attendance
RATING: 0.43

British Samurai vs. Nigel Svensson vs. Petey Barnes for the ROF TV Championship in a Submission Only Contest
Over the past year we've been developing this Ring of Fire speciality, a one-fall submission only three man match – in which, obviously, you have to put one opponent down for long enough that your other challenger can be made to tap. They tend, obviously enough, to the frantic, which suits Petey most of the three even if a submission stipulation doesn't help the high flyer much. Sammy demonstrated his usual mildly weak selling, but that's OK; that's why we have Phoebe in his corner. She can make a clothesline (or, say, the Future Shock cutter Petey favours as a finisher) look like death just standing at ringside and reacting, and that's pretty much exactly what she did here, particularly at the finish, when Petey scored with that Future Shock, Sammy went down, and Nigel swooped in with a tactic he's used for these matches before; his running knee drive often scores pins, and with that to a standing opponent he can apply the hyper-extension armlock to his heart's content and get a submission on the other. Petey was ready for it, though, using the ropes to flip over him; Nigel, not to be outdone, hit the ropes and came off to lay Petey out with the knee on his second attempt, but the extra time had given Sammy what he needed to recover, spiking Nigel with a DDT before applying the Samurai Stretch to Petey for the submission.
British Samurai defeated Nigel Svensson and Petey Barnes when he made Petey Barnes submit
RATING: B

Backstage, Davis Wayne Newton catches up to Don Henderson and asks for the title shot at Commonwealth Games. Don refuses, telling Davis there'd been no reason to push for a Loser Leaves Town stipulation except to just get rid of a good competitor in the departed Hugh de Aske - the coward's way out - and as such he wasn't going to just let Davis have a title shot; Davis would have to earn it. Considering Don's usual promo troubles, this was good...
RATING: B

East & West vs. The Stunners
This too was very solid; pleasantly all four men showed real improvement in the ring and yet somehow it was never more about four men trying new tricks than telling a good story in the match. They took it to the time limit with a reasonably performance; all four men likely benefit from this one.
East and West drew with The Stunners when the time limit elapsed
RATING: B

Backstage, Davis gets into an argument with Joey Beauchamp after making a comment about 'just having to win the Cup'. Joey takes the position that the Cup was for him and Joss Thompson to fight in for their shot, and that Davis should have argued harder for the Games title shot.
RATING: B-

Extraordinario Jr vs. Greg Gauge vs. Sergei Kalashnov
One half of the tag champions finds himself between two other team captains, and this was a doozy. Both Extraordinario and Sergei have issues with the champion, and they let him have it early on; that said, that broke down fairly early on when Sergei went for a shock roll-up pin on Extraordinario. Greg capitalised on the standoff, sending Extraordinario to the floor with a massive clothesline before systematically dissecting Sergei for the Proton Lock. Unfortunately for him, he didn't see Extraordinario roll back in in time to avoid the devastating Siempre Peleando spinning leg lariat, and Sergei's leg gave out before he could break up the three count at 14:40, giving the Extraordinary Men representative a win over the tag champion.
Extraordinario Jr defeated Greg Gauge and Sergei Kalashnov when he pinned Greg Gauge
RATING: B

Don catches Human Arsenal just before Arsenal goes out to the ring and offers him the title shot at Commonwealth Games as Arsenal is, to date, the only ROF wrestler undefeated in matches for the championship. Arsenal accepts to a big pop.
RATING: B

Human Arsenal vs. Mario Heroic
And this was great; Arsenal and Mario's chemistry has long been a major factor in their matches, and it came through here as strongly as ever. Arsenal took advantage of the contendership momentum, but truth be told he needed it a little as he wasn't quite on all cylinders tonight; nonetheless his onslaughts looked terrifying and it's to Mario's credit that he held the man off as long as he did, and it looked for a while like he might make the time limit; but the Ammo Dump came down and the third count was made at 18:55, giving Arsenal a solid win and a lot of credibility going in.
Human Arsenal defeated Mario Heroic by pinfall
RATING: A

The Shooters vs. Davis Wayne Newton & Joey Beauchamp
What a main event! Davis was perhaps a little less active than he might have been, his timing a little off, but ultimately the storyline woven backstage explained that away in the eyes of the fans. This rapidly went from technical wrestling to fast-paced high-impact work, the kind of thing spot monkeys dream their matches look like. Joey tried the Breeze Block on both Don and Billy Robinson at different times and failed to score the pinfall both times; desperate, he broke out something we don't often see from him in a 450 splash on the champion after a blind tag saved Davis from the Scottish Deathlock submission, followed by Joey's imitation of stablemate Joss Thompson's Clean Cutter to lay the champion out ready. Best match of the night, and hopefully enough to keep our forward momentum going.
Davis Wayne Newton & Joey Beauchamp defeated The Shooters when Joey Beauchamp pinned Don Henderson
RATING: B+

Joss Thompson then joined Davis and Joey in the ring as Davis stared in disbelief at Joey; the three men stood over Don Henderson's form, obviously furious with each other, as the show went off the air.
RATING: B-

Well, probably a good enough show to keep us going, certainly. We need to pick up a bit more forward momentum, however.
OVERALL: B

[Phantom Stranger]

Again, on www.ringoffire.com...

Sunday's the time for European Showcase. Broadcasting this time from the Parc des Sports in Paris, Ring of Fire continues the path to the Commonwealth Games. In action tonight:

vs.
Huntress Makiko vs. Jaime Quine for the ROF Womens Championship

The newest champion defends her title against two-time champion Jaime Quine. Will age and experience win out over youth and guile?

w/ vs.
British Samurai (w/ Phoebe Plumridge) vs. KC Glenn for the ROF TV Championship

The mandatory title defence this time sees the Samurai pitted against a young man tipped for the top and hungry for his first taste of gold. Will the three-time ROF Champion retain, or will Glenn's rise to the top start tonight?

vs.
Los Leyendas vs. The Disrespected

In a continuing effort by the tag division to prove themselves worthy of a title shot, two great teams clash tonight. El Leon and Ultimate Phoenix have the experience advantage and are better known to our European fans, but Chojiro Kitoaji and Keith Adams have separately held more Ring of Fire gold. It should be a close-run thing.

vs. vs. w/
El Heroe Mexicano vs. Ernest Youngman vs. Steve Flash

In the mirror to Tuesday's tag triple threat, Steve Flash holds the clear experience advantage, and, despite the capabilities of both young men, the skill edge might be his too. But following Sergei's failure to score the fall on Tuesday, both of his opponents will be eager to cut off Pure Perfection's hopes of a title shot for the moment, and El Heroe Mexicano knows that two falls over the tag champions would give Extraordinary Men the straightest of paths to a match for the gold. This match will be important to all three men...

vs.
Art Reed vs. Jonathan Faust

The Commonwealth Cup is ever closer, and the top contenders are rushing to pick up momentum, get the measure of their rivals, and demoralise the competition before it begins. It's Canadian technique honed in DaVE against English technical skill with the mind games born of 21CW as Art Reed collides with Jonathan Faust.

vs.
Joss Thompson vs. UK Dragon

Joss Thompson's allies scored a big win over the current champion in tag competition on Tuesday, and the Complete Package hates to be overshadowed. On Sunday he faces the last champion with no allies on either side to get in the way or make excuses, and both men can only have one goal in sight... the Commonwealth Cup and the title shot that comes with it.

[Regis]

Huntress Makiko vs. Jaime Quine for the ROF Women's Championship

British Samurai w/Phoebe Plumridge vs. KC Glenn

Los Leyendas vs. The Disrespected

El Heroe Mexicano vs. Ernest Youngman vs. Steve Flash

Art Reed vs. Jonathan Faust

Joss Thompson vs. UK Dragon