SWF -- This Means War! (diary)

[Scapino1974]

INTRODUCTION

The phone jolted me out of my deep sleep. Rolling out of bed, I shambled over and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, kid! This is Tommy! How ya doin'?"

Even in my sleep-deprived state, I could easily recognize the voice of Tommy Cornell, the owner of TCW and my boss. I glanced at the clock.

"Mr Cornell, it's three in the morning!" I grumbled, then realized that, given our recent problems, respect might work better. I sighed. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey, I just wanted to call and wish you good luck!"

I frowned. Good luck for what? Before I could ask him any questions, he continued.

"... Because you're fired."

I closed my eyes. I should have seen this coming. I was a referee in Hollyweird Grappling Company when Cornell took it over. I was one of the few staff members that he kept on, although I suspect he regretted that decision. I was perhaps a bit too outspoken about how I thought he should run the promotion, especially when Cornell made himself TCW World Heavyweight Champion. My being let go was inevitable, I guess.

"But don't worry, you already got a new job."

"I do?" I asked.

"Yeah, you're gonna go to work for Richard Eisen. You're his new head booker."

My head swam. I had to be dreaming! Everyone in the business knew that Eisen was looking for a new head booker for SWF, but why would he hire a lowly, outspoken referee? It didn't make sense!

"He's expectin' you to be there in a week, buddy. Maybe you can take your high-falutin' ideas and see if they work!"

With a laugh, Tommy hung up, leaving me to stare at the receiver in absolute bewilderment.



The week flew by quickly. To add insult to injury, Tommy had me barred from TCW headquarters, making it impossible for me to collect what few belongings I had there. To make matters worse, most of my friends wouldn't talk to me for fear of reprisals from the head office. Thankfully, Robert Oxford, a really stand-up vet at TCW, filled me in on what happened.

Apparently Tommy and Richard Eisen wound up playing poker against each other at some big media party. Both of them were pretty trashed, and at one point, after the other players had folded, Tommy suggested that they make a personal bet. If Tommy won the hand, Eisen would be forced to take me on as his head booker. I don't know what Eisen's stipulations were, but it really doesn't matter. Turns out Tommy had a royal flush and Eisen had been bluffing. Hence the 3:00 phone call, hence my new, baffling career.

In hindsight, it makes sense. Tommy and Eisen hate each other. I suppose that's what happens when you own the "Big Two" wrestling promotions. Tommy saw this as a way to get rid of a thorn in his side (me) and use it to bring down his worst enemy's company.

At the end of the week, I met with Richard Eisen. My first impression of him was that most of the rumors were true. He seemed like a pompous jerk, but apparently he was going to stand by the bet. How could he not when it was witnessed by all those people?

"Kid, welcome to SWF," he said, shaking my hand with a fake smile. "Over the next couple of days, I'll be giving you some business goals I want you to meet. Take a day or two to familiarize yourself with our product, but keep in mind, the first TV show you're going to book is coming up in two days."

I swallowed hard but nodded.

"Good. Oh, and one other thing. This is just between you and me, and if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I'll deny it. But one of your 'unofficial goals' is to make sure we beat TCW at everything we do. What do you say? Want to stick it to Tommy Cornell?"

A feral grin tugged at the corners of my lips. "Sir, it would be a pleasure."

[Scapino1974]

Getting to Know You

After my meeting with Mr. Eisen, he took me down to the training facility to introduce me to the workers. He did his best to hype me, downplaying my very limited experience and saying how Tommy Cornell insisted that I was a man with "big ideas." Unfortunately, I could tell by the looks that most of the roster gave me that they didn't buy it.

I introduced myself to each of the workers. They were all polite. Well, everyone except Calamari Kid, Jumbo Shrimp, and Lobster Warrior. They had apparently heard about why I was there and grumbled about how SWF had to take in a "reject from a second-rate company." I took it in stride, but realized that they might cause problems later.

Thankfully, Mr. Eisen was very helpful that first day. He helped me organize the roster, making a list of our workers and highlighting the faces in green and the heels in red:

MAIN EVENTERS:
Christian Faith
Enygma
Eric Eisen
Runaway Train <-- Current Heavyweight Champion
Skull DeBones
Steve Frehley

UPPER MIDCARD
Elmo Benson <--- One half of the Tag Champs
Enforcer Roberts
Jack Bruce
Joe Sexy <--- North American Champ
Remo
Rich Money
Sam Keith
Squeeky McClean
Texas Pete

MIDCARD
Angry Gilmore
Black Hat Bailey
Jumbo Shrimp
Lobster Warrior
Warlord Agony
Warlord Pain

LOWER MIDCARD
Brett Biggz
Freddie Datsun
Groucho Bling <-- Other Half of Tag Champs
Robbie Retro

OPENERS
Calamari Kid <-- Shooting Star Champion
Flex
Pecs

ENHANCEMENT TALENT
Andre Jones
Bart Biggz

After looking this over, I started planning out my first storyline. It would be a little tight, but it would be a tournament to determine the Number One Contender for the Heavyweight Title. It's not that Runaway Train was a bad guy or a bad champ. He's great in the ring. He's just dull as a brick when he's on the mic.

I also put Richard Eisen on the booking committee and made Chief Two Eagles our sole road agent. Eisen wanted to be a road agent as well, but I made him our Authority Figure. When he asked me why, I pointed out that the smarks in the audience knew he owned the company anyway. We might as well take advantage of that.

[Scapino1974]

Finding More Workers

One of the problems I inherited was that SWF's roster was too small. While we had enough announcers, color commentators, and refs, we needed more people to fill in the gaps in the roster. I started sending out negotiation requests to everyone I could think of. I would have liked to gone after some of the wrestlers at TCW, but unfortunately, they all had written contracts and so weren't going anywhere.

Thankfully, while I was debating who to call, Joe Sexy popped into my office.

"Hey, I hear you're trying to find some new workers. I've got a few suggestions. Have you heard of the Survivors?"

I frowned and shook my head.

"They're a group of six workers. Been through a bunch of indie shows, made appearances in a bunch of bigger promotions. A few years ago, some of them tried to start their own promotion, but it went belly up. These six are the only ones who made it out with a penny to their name, hence their group name. You might want to look them up."

I grabbed a pencil and paper and asked for their names. Joe gave them to me:

Archangel, Chris Gordon, the Rev, Joel Kovach, Sabbath, and Devorah Triton.

I thanked him and said that they would all be at the top of my list of people to call.

[[SIDE NOTE: These six are characters that I created, so I figured I'd better explain where they came from]]

[Nightshadeex]

You're not using the updated data, I see?

[Scapino1974]

SWF Supreme TV
Week One, December 2005
Held in the Medium New England venue

Dark Matches

1) FLEX & PECS vs. THE BIGGZ BOYS

Notes: Thankfully, the hot crowd helped the boys out here. Chief Two Eagles did a good job scripting the match.

WINNER: Flex and Pecs in 7:36
RATING: B-

2) ANGRY GILMORE vs. ROBBIE RETRO

Notes: Angry and Robbie put in a stellar effort. The crowd was surprised to see this good of a match before the show went live.

WINNER: Angry Gilmore in 7:36
RATING: B+

LIVE SHOW

1) The show started with Richard Eisen coming out to the ring. He addressed the crowd and informed them that SWF was entering a new era (that comment made me a little nervous), and in keeping with that new start, he was announcing a tournament to determine the Number One Contender for the World Heavyweight Title.

RATING: A* (and he wonders why I want him as an Authority Figure!)

2) A video montage played showing Runaway Train, the current holder of the heavyweight title. The man is a monster in the ring. Thankfully, the video didn't include any footage of him talking!

RATING: A*

3) ERIC EISEN vs. SAM KEITH (Tourney match #1)

Notes: What is wrong with these two? There were a few times when both of them no-sold each others offense! That ain't good! On the plus side, the crowd was into the action.

WINNER: Sam Keith (by cheating) in 7:57

RATING: B+

4) ANDRE JONES & THE LORDS OF WAR vs. THE UNDERWATER UNION

Notes: The Union looked horrible out there, just as I hoped. They got buried!

WINNER: Andre and the Lords in 7:49

RATING: C

5) STEVE FREHLEY vs. SQUEEKY McCLEAN (Tourney Match #2)

Notes: Another good match! Steve and Squeeky really did some phenomenal work, and the crowd got behind them the whole way.

WINNER: Steve Frehley at 10:11.

RATING: B+

6) Joe Sexy is taking his North American Title belt for a walk, flirting with the girls backstage, when he bumps into Freddie Datsun. Freddie mumbles something under his breath about Joe. Joe takes exception. Soon, the two of them start arguing. Freddie challenges Joe to a match to settle their differences. Joe agrees, but refuses to wrestle in New England. He insists they do it next week.

RATING: B

7) JACK BRUCE vs. ENFORCER ROBERTS (Tourney Match #3)

Notes: As planned, the two went after each other and wouldn't listen to the ref. Things got so bad, the ref had to call the match. Unfortunately, these two don't have any chemistry. I'll have to keep that in mind.

WINNER: Nobody at 10:40

RATING: B

8) Groucho Bling, Elmo Benson, and Jessie (their manager) appear in a movie parody skit. It was thrown together at the last second, mostly because I didn't have time for them to have a tag match, but the crowd seemed to be into it.

RATING: B

9) Rich Money is backstage with his tag partner, Remo. He encourages him in his next match, saying that if Remo can beat Skull DeBones, they're going out on the town, and that he'll pick up the check. Remo likes that idea! And so did the crowd.

RATING: B+

10) SKULL DeBONES vs. REMO (Tourney Match #4)

Notes: Skull came out of this looking very dangerous. He dominated Remo the entire time. Unfortunately, some of the fans took that as no-selling moves, but for the most part, the crowd loved it.

WINNER: Skull DeBones at 5:54

RATING: B+

11) Runaway Train comes out to the ring and takes the mic. He says he doesn't care who wins the tourney. He doesn't want to wait until Christmas Clash (the next PPV) for a match. He'll take on anybody from the locker room right now!

RATING: A* (Huh. Maybe the boy isn't as bad on the mic as I thought)

12) Enygma came out and rambled a bit about tradition and values. It didn't make a lick of sense, and the crowd didn't like it. Train, just by standing in the ring, looked better. Thankfully, Enygma came to the point and accepted the challenge.

RATING: A*

13) RUNAWAY TRAIN vs. ENYGMA for the World Heavyweight Title

While they didn't sell each other's moves well enough, they really put on a spectacular match. The only downside was that the announcers didn't do a good enough job. Thankfully, the crowd in the arena didn't care.

WINNER: Runaway Train at 6:56

RATING: A

14) Train celebrates his win, hoping up on the ropes and showing the crowd his belt. Then Skull DeBones rushes in and attacks him from behind! The two wind up brawling for a few moments, but Train eventually rolls out of the ring and retreats to the back. Skull must really want that title bad!

RATING: A*


FINAL NOTES

I was able to sneak into the crowd and listen to the fans as they left the building. Much to my surprise, they were slightly upset! They wanted more storylines!

SHOW RATING: B

THE AFTERMATH....

After the show was over, the Underwater Union members came to me, absolutely livid about how they were buried by their opponents. I couldn't help but smirk as I informed them that they were all fired, saying, "Maybe I am a reject from a second-rate company, but now you're all rejects from a first-rate one. What does that say?"

Richard Eisen was a little concerned, but I explained to him that their "underwater" gimmick felt more suited to USPW than SWF. I'm not sure if he agreed, but he said he'd let me make that call.

[Scapino1974]

What updated data? Didn't know there was any.

[Scapino1974]

FILLING IN THE HOLES

In the aftermath of the show, I found out that TCW had a B+ rated show the same night as us. Not good.

During the week, I did my best to plug the holes in our roster. I tried to hire unemployed workers as much as possible, but if I stumbled across any that were employed elsewhere but were good workers, I offered them a written contract and stole them away from their promotions.

So now, we've added the following:

UPPER MIDCARD
Archangel
Joel Kovach
Sabbath
The Rev

LOWER MIDCARD
Nevada Nuclear

OPENER
Aristocrat
Chris Gordon
Mainstream Hernandez

ENHANCEMENT TALENT
American Elemental
Darryl Devine
Derek Frost
Melody Cuthill

Since we needed a few more managers as well, I hired Nicole Kiss and Emma Chase (stole them, actually). Hopefully they'll help give our company a boost.

I also hired Curt O'Malley and Devorah Triton to be road managers, and hired Chloe Dean and Willow to be backstage workers.

With that done, I started planning out more storylines. Melody Cuthill will feature prominently in one. So will Emma Chase.

[KaySeeDubya]

I've read this from top to bottom. Very, very good stuff man.

[derek_b]

Check out the CornellVerse site (linked from the Grey Dog mainpage) and you can find updated TEW2005 files. SWF has an entire batch of 10 new workers that you might find pretty dang useful. 4 tag teams, 1 manager and the future legend that is Marc DuBois. There are also some other newcomers to the game spread out, but I won't tell you about them all.

And there's updated pictures for some workers too.

Derek B

EDIT of DOOM: I'll keep reading this methinks, to see how you ruin my favourite CornellVerse promotion

[Scapino1974]

Oh, okay. I downloaded the updated data, but I'll admit, I'm hesitant to use it for two reasons:

1) If I install it, will it screw up my game? I kind of suspect it won't, but I'm still pretty inexperienced in using this.

2) If I install it and it adds the new players to my roster automatically, I'll have "too many" workers. Even though I fired Underwater Union, I was able to replace them all with new hires.

Any thoughts?

Oh, and as for ruining TCW, that's perhaps a bit of unfounded boasting. Don't know if I can pull it off, but I'm sure gonna try!

[Scapino1974]

Before the next televised show, Richard Eisen called me into his office.

"Just thought I'd let you know, we may have some new wrestlers coming in."

I blinked, surprised. I mentally ran through the roster as it now stood. True, it was a little bottom heavy and a little top heavy, but I figured things would even out over time.

"Um, okay," I said. Really, what could I say? Eisen was the owner. If he wanted to bring in more talent, he could.

But on with the show.....

SWF Supreme TV
Week Two, December 2005
Held in the Medium Mid-Atlantic Venue
(the go-home show for Christmas Clash)

DARK MATCHES

1) THE BIGGZ BOYS vs. ANDRE JONES & AMERICAN ELEMENTAL

Notes: If Brett Biggz keeps performing like that, he'll never get over. He seemed to have his head in the clouds. Thankfully, the excited crowd covered for it.

WINNER: The Biggz Boys at 7:43

RATING: C+

2) CHRISTIAN FAITH vs. SABBATH

Notes: I had to see if Sabbath could perform as well as I had heard. He's supposed to be a good Rumbler, so I threw him into a dark match with Christian to see if it was true. Was it ever! Even though Christian and Sabbath didn't click, they still put on a match that brought the crowd to its feet! Not only that, but I paired Sabbath with the Guru, and that seems to work pretty well!

WINNER: Christian Faith at 7:34

RATING: A


LIVE SHOW

1) Richard Eisen starts the show once again, coming out to pat himself on the back. He points out what a genius he is as a wrestling promotion owner, stating that with just two days left until our next Pay-Per-View, Christmas Clash, he had the brilliant idea to create a tournament for the Number One Contender. He reminded the audience of the action we saw last week, and reminded everyone that tonight, we'd see the semi-final match, that being Steve Frehley vs. Sam Keith. The crowd was eating out of his hand the whole time.

RATING: A

2) ERIC EISEN vs. REMO

It was a short match (only 6:28). Eric seemed a little off throughout the whole thing, so much so that both wrestlers started no-showing. Eventually, Eric got control of the match and was about to finish Remo off. That's when Remo's partner, Rich Money, charged into the ring and tried to attack Eric with a chair. Eric managed to wrest the chair from him, but the ref saw him with a weapon and called for the bell.

WINNER: Remo by DQ

RATING: B+

3) After Rich Money and Remo cleared out of the ring (mostly to avoid getting hit by a livid Eric Eisen who still had the chair), Eric grabbed a mic and challenged them to a match at Christmas Clash. Not a handicap match, though. He would have a partner, only he wasn't saying who.

RATING: B

4) STEVE FREHLEY vs. SAM KEITH (#1 Contender Tourney Semi-Finals)

Again, we're having a problem with the selling! But in spite of that, Sam and Steve put on a killer match, so much so I was worried that the rest of the night wouldn't go okay. The crowd was on fire by the end when Steve pinned Sam with his patented Frehley's Comet.

WINNER: Steve Frehley in 11:28

RATING: A

5) Backstage, Skull DeBones was watching the match. He said that it was a good match and Steve should be proud of how well he did. But he also pointed out that because of the draw last week, he doesn't have a semi-final match to compete in. He'll be going into the finals later tonight fresh while Steve will probably be pretty tired. It's not fair, Skull comments, but then, neither is life sometimes. He's positive he'll be the Number One Contender at the end of the night, and he's going on to win the title from Train at Christmas Clash.

RATING: A*

6) ENYGMA vs. ANGRY GILMORE

Unfortunately, my announcers have been absolutely horrendous for the past three matches! I'm thinking I'll have to replace them, but one of them is Jerry Eisen, Richar'd son! Yikes! But another superb match, one that got the crowd roaring at times.

WINNER: Enygma by submission at 9:24

RATING: A

7) Angry Gilmore is living up to his name! He looks pissed as the ref raises Enygma's hand in triumph. Finally, when he can't take it anymore, he jumps Enygma and beats him down.

RATING: B+

8) The Guru leads his tag team, the Lords of War, to the ring. He throws a few choice insults at the crowd, then turns his attention to High Concept, the tag team champs. He says that Elmo Benson and Groucho Bling are silly little boys who don't understand the harsh reality of life, but that his clients would be happy to teach them at the Christmas Clash.

RATING: B

9) JOE SEXY vs. FREDDIE DATSUN for the SWF North American Championship

It was a good match. No spectacular, but then, Freddie needs a little more work to make him better. But Joe came out looking okay, and that's what counts.

WINNER: Joe Sexy at 8:26
RATING: B

10) Angry Gilmore is walking backstage, laughing about beating down Enygma when he runs into Chris Gordon (one of our new hires). Chris, wearing his yellow Spiderman mask, looks rather odd, but he berates Angry for his cheapshots on Enygma. Angry tells him to mind his own business and Chris doesn't get a word in edgewise after that, making him look rather bad. Richard Eisen comes along and suggests that if they have a problem, they should solve it in the ring. Maybe at Christmas Clash?

RATING: B

11) Ana Garcia is interviewing High Concept and asks them what they think of the challenge made by Lords of War. Elmo and Groucho start ripping on Warlords Agony and Pain, but for some reason, the crowd just doesn't seem to care. They accept the challenge, though, and will defend their titles at Christmas Clash.

RATING: B-

12) A video package plays, showing highlights from the Number One Contender Tournament. It ends, hyping the showdown between Steve and Skull DeBones.

RATING: A*

13) STEVE FREHLEY vs. SKULL DeBONES to determine the Number One Contender for the SWF World Heavyweight Championship

More poor selling from the workers, and the announcers are still having trouble! But they both put in a great effort!

WINNER: Steve Frehley at 9:49

RATING: A

14) Steve Frehley can't believe that his hand is raised in triumph, but he runs from post to post, leaping onto the top rope while the crowd cheers. Skull rolls out of the ring, looking absolutely stunned.

RATING: A*

15) Steve continues to celebrate but then, out of nowhere, Runaway Train charges the ring and attacks him from behind. Steve can't even defend himself as Train beats him to the mat, then stands over him, holding his title high.

RATING: A*

At the end of the show, the announcers hyped the matches we'll see in two days' time at the Christmas Clash Pay-Per-View:

A) Melody Cuthill will make an appearance. This announcement bombed, as I expected. People were asking each other "Melody who?" But if all goes as planned, they'll know who Melody is soon! (F)

B) We'll also see Angry Gilmore take on Chris Gordon. Again, the crowd really didn't care. They got a little quiet at this point (C-)

C) We'll also see Almighty Dollar take on Eric Eisen and a mystery partner. That got the crowd popping again! (A)

D) ... only to crash. They don't seem to care about High Concept taking on the Lords of War! (C+)

E) But then, they want to see Steve Frehley take on Runaway Train for the title. Biggest pop of the night! (A*)


POST SHOW

Once again, I snuck into the crowd to see what people thought. There was a mixed reaction. People still didn't think that we had any hot storylines to follow and I admit, these first two shows didn't have much. But once the half-dozen workers that I"ve hired get free from their contracts, we'll be ready to hit the raod running!

OVERALL SHOW SCORE: B

[derek_b]

If you download the data, it will go into a data folder and not your game folder. The two are completely seperate. Only any games you start in future will be affected by the new stuff from the download.

Assuming you haven't done much more that you've already written for the diary, it might be good to check out the new guys you get. There are a lot of new workers who graduated from the SWF training camp, all of which I'm sure you could work wonders with.

You could just import them into your game, but it wouldn't be the same as starting a game with them. For one thing, there wouldn't be any relationships between the workers you import and the tag experience and other factors would never exist (unless you put them together).

Whatever you do, I'll still be reading.

[Scapino1974]

As I was entering the arena, butterflies were fighting each other in my stomach. My first Pay-Per-View. The criticism of the fans from the previous two Supreme TV shows were ringing in my ears when Eric Eisen flagged me down.

"Have you heard the news?" he asked.

"What news?"

"TCW's last show only rated a C+. We did better than them in the ratings and we had a better show! Congrats!"

With that, Eric disappeared to get ready for his match. I smiled. Things were getting more interesting.

SWF CHRISTMAS CLASH
Week Two, December 2005
Held in the Very Big Great Lakes Venue

DARK MATCHES

1) THE BIGGZ BOYS vs. FLEX AND PECS

What can I say, these guys do good work in the dark. I'll maybe have to bring them onto the show, but for now, they did okay. Well, everyone except Brett. His head just wasn't in it. Maybe the fact that we had a crowd of 24,800 in attendance distracted him.

WINNER: Biggz Boys in 7:01

RATING: B-

2) FREDDIE DATSUN vs. ENFORCER ROBERTS

A good match that helped boost the crowd before the PPV officially started. They didn't even mind the fact that Enforcer blatantly cheated at the end.

WINNER: Enforcer Roberts at 7:44

RATING: B+

THE PAY-PER-VIEW

1) We started the show with a video hyping the Main Event. Steve looked like the underdog I want him to. Train looked dangerous, demolishing his opponents. The crowd popped in a big way for this!

RATING: A*

2) Richard Eisen comes to the ring entrance and talks about how he has a major announcement to make. SWF has signed Melody Cuthill to an exclusive contract, and she's going to make her first appearance tonight in a fatal four way house-of-fun match for the Shooting Star Title. Melody came out and tried to play up to the crowd, but since they didn't know who she was, it kind of fell flat. That seemed to throw her off, but she made her way to the ring.

RATING: C

3) MELODY CUTHILL vs. AMERICAN ELEMENTAL vs. THE ARISTOCRAT vs. DARRYL DEVINE for the SWF Shooting Star Title

As I watched the monitor, one of the backstage workers asked me what Melody was doing out there. "You know that the Shooting Star Title can only be held by men, right?" I paled at the news. I didn't know that.

But the match itself was okay. I suppose the problem was that there was little build up and these were all lower card workers. The crowd enjoyed the high flying action, but they also weren't too happy. Chants of "Where is CK?" started up almost immediately. I knew I had forgot something! In my rush to get rid of Underwater Union, I forgot to have Calamari Kid drop the title to someone. Oops. All in all, a passable match. Hopefully the rest of the night will go smoother!

WINNER: Darryl Devine at 9:33 to win the title

RATING: C-

4) Robbie Retro is walking through the backstage area, flirting with girls who think his gimmick (that of a 70s Disco Dancer) is funny. Out of nowhere, he's blindsided by Nevada Nuclear, who beats him down and then disappears again.

RATING: C-

5) ANGRY GILMORE vs. CHRIS GORDON

The crowd was getting restless. Thankfully, Chris Gordon, while maybe not the most well known wrestler, is a good all-arounder, one who can have a good match with just about anyone. He and Angry turned in a decent match. Angry dominated for most of it, punishing Chris pretty badly. Then Enygma ran in and tripped up Angry from the ring apron, allowing Chris to gain the upper hand long enough to make Angry submit to the Web.

WINNER: Chris Gordon at 7:19

RATING: B+

6) After the Almighty Dollar came out to the ring for their match, Eric Eisen came out and revealed that his partner for the evening was none other than the Archangel!

RATING: B

7) ERIC EISEN & THE ARCHANGEL vs. ALMIGHTY DOLLAR

This got the crowd's attention again! A great match.

WINNER: Eric and the Archangel at 12:36

RATING: A

8) Warlords Pain and Agony are backstage with maniacal grins on their faces. They taunt High Concept, saying that Elmo and Groucho are going to learn a lesson in pain. They just spoke with Richard Eisen, and the boss has agreed to make their upcoming title match a ladder match!

RATING: B

9) Speaking of the boss, he's on his cell phone, bragging to someone about what a great show they put together. The door to the office bangs open and Skull DeBones rushes in. Skull is livid about what happened on Tuesday night. He claims that he's a better wrestler than Steve Frehley and that Steve can't possibly survive his match with Runaway Train. Skull demands that Richard give him the title shot instead of Steve. Richard refuses, pointing out how Steve overcame great odds to win, such as beating both Sam Keith and Skull on the same night. But if Skull is so anxious to wrestler, he can take on Christian Faith later tonight. Skull, clearly angered, storms out of the office.

RATING: A*

10) And speaking of the champ, he has the mic. He holds aloft the title belt and boldly predicts that it's going nowhere. He warns Steve to not even leave the locker room tonight since nobody survives a collision with a Runaway Train!

RATING: A*

11) Joe Sexy, the North American Champ, is in the ring. He strikes a few sexy poses that gets some of the female fans screaming with delight. He even offers to show some of the prettier ladies at ringside a good time after the show. But first, down to business. He's such a good wrestler, he says, he's willing to take on anybody. He'll even put the title on the line.

RATING: A

12) Joel Kovach, a brawler who incorporates martial arts in his repertoire, comes to the ring. He says that he just signed a contract with SWF and figures that the best way to start his career is by taking the title away from Joe. Joe, who's jaw dropped when he saw who his opponent was, freaks out and tries to explain to Ric Young, the ref, that he was just kidding. Ric Young calls for the bell.

RATING: A

13) JOEL KOVACH vs. JOE SEXY for the SWF North American Title

Much to my horror, it became clear very quickly that Joel and Joe don't work well together. Their styles just didn't match up. Thankfully, the announcers were able to cover the miscues and the crowd was so into the action, they didn't really mind. Joe was able to use enough underhanded tactics to beat Joel.

WINNER: Joe Sexy at 13:52

RATING: B+

14) HIGH CONCEPT vs. LORDS OF WAR in a LADDER MATCH for the SWF Tag Team Title

The boys did well, but you could tell it took a lot out of them. The Lords of War were especially exhausted and could barely move. I suspect they were happy when Elmo and Groucho climbed the ladder and pulled down the tag belts in the end.

WINNER: High Concept at 17:12

RATING: B+

15) Steve Frehley visits Christian Faith in the locker room. He says that he heard that Christian is in a match with Skull. Christian agrees. Steve pats his friend on the back and says that he knows Christian will do a great job. He even drops a hint that he'd be willing to name Christian the Number One Contender after Steve wins the title tonight. Christian laughs and thanks his friend for the offer, but says that he'll want to earn that honor.

RATING: A*

16) CHRISTIAN FAITH vs. SKULL DeBONES

Skull stormed out to the ring, clearly unhappy that he was in this match. He put on some good offense, which Christian quickly countered. The tide turned quickly again and Skull got a little ****y. He paid for it, though.

WINNER: Christian Faith at 7:01

RATING: A*

17) Skull stares at Christian in disbelief. He can't believe that he lost so quickly! Christian shrugs at him, then walks over and offers his hand to shake, saying, "You put up a good fight, Skull!" Skull doesn't shake hands with Christian. Instead, he rolls out of the ring and storms to the back.

RATING: A*

18) STEVE FREHLEY vs. RUNAWAY TRAIN for the SWF World Heavyweight Title

Train dominated the match in the early going, pounding Steve into the ground. There were a few moments when Steve got in some good offense, staggering the larger man, but every time, Train turned it around. Train finally set Steve up for his finisher, but Steve reversed it and the momentum shifted. Train couldn't stop Steve and finally, Steve had the big man down. He quickly covered for the pin. Ric Young started the count, but before his hand could come down the third time, Skull DeBones rushed into the ring and kicked Steve in the back of the head! The cover was broken and Ric Young called for the bell.

WINNER: Steve Frehley by DQ at 23:32

RATING: A*

19) Runaway Train recovers, seeing Skull DeBones attacking Steve Frehley. He doesn't seem to know what's going on, but he joins in the attack right away. The two men beat down Steve for a few minutes, but then Christian Faith rushes to the ring with a chair. The minute he slides under the bottom ropes, Skull and Train bail. Christian yells at them as they retreat back to the entrance, then helps Steve up.

RATING: A*


THE AFTERMATH

Thankfully, no one recognizes me. I stood by the main entrance to the arena and listened in as the crowd filed out. A lot of them were complaining about how few storylines there were. A few complained about Melody and Darryl Devine. But overall, everyone seemed pleased. Several people said that they would be sure to come to a show when the SWF came back to the Great Lakes region.

FINAL RATING: B+

[Scapino1974]

FIXING THE ANNOUNCERS

The day after Christmas Clash, I was seated in my office, looking over the figures for my first two weeks of being SWF's head booker. All in all, it wasn't so bad. At least, I didn't think so. Especially with a pay-per-view with an attendance of 24,800 fans and a buyrate of 352,455 and two A* matches to boot!

There was a knock at my office door. I glanced up and saw Devorah Triton standing in the doorway, a timid smile on her face. I couldn't help but smile as well. Devorah was a steal as far as I was concerned. She couldn't wrestle and she was only 17, but she had an innate gift when it came to backstage work. She was a natural when it came to booking and she understood putting together a match well enough to be the youngest road agent in the business.

"Hey, boss, I hate to interrupt...."

"No problem, Dev, what's up?"

"I think I may have found a solution to your announcer problem."

I winced. Over the past three events, I was plagued by poor announcing. Jerry Eisen, Duane Fry, and Queen Emily did an okay job for most matches, but when a high caliber match went on, things just broke down.

Devorah held up a video tape. "This is from a pay-per-view that took place a year ago."

I slipped it into the VCR and hit play. I winced when I saw Calamari Kid duking it out with some cruiserweight I didn't recognize. Devorah chuckled at my reaction.

"Pay attention to the commentary."

I closed my eyes and listened. I recognized Jerry Eisen's voice ... but the other two, a man and a woman, weren't that familiar to me. I looked at Devorah with a frown.

"That's Peter Michaels and Ana Garcia. They're still on the roster. You just didn't assign them as an announcer or color commentator."

I blushed. This would hopefully solve that problem.

[Scapino1974]

SWF SUPREME TV
Week Three, December 2005
Held at the Medium Mid South Venue

DARK MATCHES

1) AMERICAN ELEMENTAL vs. MAINSTREAM HERNANDEZ

I wanted to see how these two openers would work against each other. That, and I wanted to see how Mainstream would do. I know he was hot in MAW, but could he hang with the big boys? The crowd didn't think so. Even though Mainstream lost, there were a few calls of "Boring!"

WINNER: American Elemental in 7:52

RATING: C-

2) THE REV vs. SABBATH

This got the crowd's attention. The Rev is an old veteran and actually trained Sabbath, and you could tell that they were used to working together. The crowd was at the edge of their seat the whole time as Sabbath and the Rev tossed each other around. They even jumped out of their seats when Rev hit Sabbath with the Crucifix Slam.

WINNER: The Rev at 7:56

RATING: A

LIVE SHOW

1) The show started off with a video package of highlights from Christmas Clash. The video featured action by Archangel, Joel Kovach, Joe Sexy, Eric Eisen, Skull DeBones, Christian Faith, Steve Frehley, and Runaway Train.

RATING: A

2) We start the match with newcomer Melody Cuthill in the back. She thanked Richard Eisen for bringing her into the SWF and said that she intends to make a splash, starting with Black Hat Bailey. She ripped into BHB, making fun of his accent and the fact that he hadn't had a match in who knows how long.

RATING: C

3) DARRYL DEVINE vs. CHRIS GORDON for the SWF Shooting Star Title

Maybe Chris got hurt in his match with Angry Gilmore a week ago. Maybe he thought he was going futher up the card. Whatever the reason, he missed a few obvious spots tonight. Thankfully, the hot crowd and good announcing covered for it.

WINNER: Darryl Devine in 8:55

RATING: C+

4) Joe Sexy is walking his title again, doing his schtick with hitting on the ladies when suddenly, Nevada Nuclear comes out of nowhere and runs him down. Sadly, you could tell that Nevada didn't hit Joe that hard. Joe did his best to sell the weak attack, but by the time Nevada scampered away, laughing maniacally, the crowd had lost interest.

RATING: C

5) The Biggz Boys approach Richard Eisen backstage. They ask him if they could possibly have a match against Flex and Pecs so they can show what they're capable of. Eisen makes a big show of looking thoughtful, then agrees with their request. He says that it won't happen tonight, but he'll book it for the next show.

RATING: C+

6) Before Richard can get back to whatever it was CEOs do when they're backstage at a wrestling show, Steve Frehley runs up to him. Steve complains about what happened at Christmas Clash. He had Runaway Train pinned and would have won the title if Skull hadn't interfered. Speaking of the Devil, Skull joins the conversation and mocks Steve Frehley's cry-baby attitude, saying that he had his shot and that meant Skull should get a crack at the title since he truly deserves it. Then Christian Faith interjects himself into the argument, pointing out that he actually beat Skull at the Clash, so wouldn't that make him the Number One Contender? The three wrestlers break into an argument before Richard Eisen cuts through the noise with a piercing whistle. He says that the best way to figure this out would be in a triangle match later tonight. Steve and Christian seem okay with this, but Skull clearly doesn't like the idea.

RATING: A*

7) Angry Gilmore is in the ring with a microphone. He calls out Enygma, clearly upset over the latter's interference in his match against Chris Gordon at the Clash. When Enygma comes out, Texas Pete jumps him from behind. While Enygma is tied up with him, Angry joins the fray and beats on him until Enygma manages to escape. I thought it was a good segment, but the crowd wasn't as into it as I had hoped.

RATING: B

8) ERIC EISEN vs. RICH MONEY

The announcers reminded the audience of how Eric and Rich had a tag match at Christmas Clash. They also explain that Eric requested another chance to prove himself, so here's his chance. It was a straightforward match that got the crowd excited again.

WINNER: Eric Eisen at 9:47

RATING: B+

9) Archangel comes out and thanks the fans for accepting him last week at the Clash. He says that he's excited to be a part of SWF, and he's even more excited to reveal his new manager ... Emma Chase! Emma comes out and waves to the crowd, but she didn't look too well. Maybe it was indigestion. Emma was a big name in three different promotions, after all. I hope it's not stage fright!

RATING: A

10) ANGRY GILMORE & TEXAS PETE vs. ENYGMA & JOEL KOVACH

The announcers had to fill in the gaps, explaining that Richard Eisen made this match after the attack on Enygma. It was a great match overall, one that the fans really enjoyed. I know that Enygma wasn't too pleased with the results, but I tried to explain to him backstage that he had to trust me on this.

WINNER: Angry and Tex at 7:48

RATING: A

11) Runaway Train goes to the ring and takes the mic. He holds up the title belt and says that he promised that he was going to remain Heavyweight Champion, and what he said came true. He then went on to talk about how everyone wanted his title, alluding to the upcoming triangle match. He said he didn't care who won the match, because he'd destroy whoever it was. He then called for a challenger to come out and face him. He didn't want to wait to defend his title.

RATING: A

12) RUNAWAY TRAIN vs. JACK BRUCE for the SWF World Heavyweight Title

Train dominated the match, eventually tossing Jack out of the ring and then driving him through the announce table. Jack was out. Train gloated over his fallen form as the ref counted to 10.

WINNER: Train at 8:09

RATING: B

13) After Train's exit, officials helped Jack to his feet and led him back to the entrance. As they did, Skull DeBones came out for his match. Skull taunted Jack for losing, saying that when he (Skull) faces Train for the title, he wouldn't look so pathetic.

RATING: A

14) STEVE FREHLEY vs. CHRISTIAN FAITH vs. SKULL DeBONES to determine the Number One Contender for the SWF World Heavyweight Title

These three put it all on the line for me, and I couldn't be happier with the results. Before the match started, Richard Eisen came out and said that he was imposing a 15:00 time limit on this match. If they couldn't get it done in that time, they didn't deserve a title shot. Lots of near falls, lots of impressive spots, but nobody pinned anyone in the time limit.

RESULTS: Draw

RATING: A*


POST SHOW

The fans left the arena buzzing about what they saw. It was easily an A rated show, and many of those who were on the fence said that they would keep an eye on SWF in the future.

Even better news was the fact that TCW's "Total Wrestling" did nowhere near as well as us. It only rated B-. Yes! I know that that won't drive TCW out of business or ruin them, but if we keep putting on better shows, that has to hurt Tommy in the end.