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#32
04-24-2006, 04:16 PM
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Coastal Zone Dreamin'
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November 2007 With Valiant now safely extracted from the Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship Title Series storyline, we re-start the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series, this time with Brent Hill, Remmy Skye, Plague, John Maverick, and Valiant. We started the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series a week after its Xtreme sister because we're going to handle things a bit differently. Instead of running the preliminary matches for each series in the Weekly show and the title matches in the main show, we'll run preliminary matches for one and the title matches for the other in each show. That way we get a better mix. And CZCW will always have a title-deciding match near the end of our shows. Plus, we can end each show with matches from our best and hottest wrestlers and the most compelling competition. We also announce the formation of a new tag team, High Fliers II (Jacob Jett and Insane Machine). They start life as the title holders, having won it last month before their pairing was given a name. I send an aide to handle the exit interview for Rolling Johnny Stones who is leaving CZCW for greener pastures, or so he says. No matter, he's not important enough and I need to work on the line-up for this month's shows. I want to make a habit of beginning and ending on high notes, so this Weekly show starts with matches in which marquee Main Eventers take on the top contenders from the Midcard. They should be able to put on credible matches and I can get a feel for who might be ready to step up and join Valiant. In this case, John Maverick takes on Frankie Perez and Plague takes on Jacob Jett. The Coastal Zone Futures tournament continues, with matches between Frankie Dee and Joss Thompson and Oscar Golden and Joe Simmons. High Fliers II will defend their title against Face Time and Insane Machine will battle Marc Speed for a chance at Frankie Perez. The evening ends with a match to decide the Coastal Zone Xtreme Champion and the first matches in the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series. ---------- CZCW November Weekly The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 618
---------- Oscar Golden defeats Joe Simmons in the Coastal Zone Futures Tournament, without incident. Joss Thompson was not so lucky. Fernando Elwes showed that the grudge is not limited to Steven Parker when he came to the ring and caused Joss Thompson to lose his match to Frankie Dee. Unfortunately for Thompson, the referee did not see a thing, so Thompson is not awarded a rematch and gets his first loss in the tournament. So far it's not clear whether our fans are taking to this new theatrical type of wrestling, or whether the lower card wrestlers are just boring them. I vow to press ahead and see where this takes us, until it really starts to hurt the bottom line. High Fliers II defend their title from Face Time, marking the first time Face Time has been without the title for more than 2 weeks since they originally won it! Marc Speed gets past Insane Machine, but is unable to defeat Frankie Perez for the title. John Maverick and Plague put on a barn-burner, but Remmy Skye and Valiant fall all over each other in the ring and close off the evening on a down note. Hmmm, did I make a mistake with Valiant? Or maybe it's time to say goodbye to Remmy Skye who has never really been much of anything or very much in my plans. We'll keep an eye on those two for at least a few weeks. In time for the Thanksgiving Feast, it's decided that Face Time and High Fliers II need some company, so we add another tag team to the lineup. NATO, which is made up of Valiant and Jack Giedroyc, will get a chance against Face Time to get them started. Looking ahead to the Futures tournament matchups, if history is any guide, Steven Parker had better be on his guard when he takes on Frankie Dee, and Fernando Elwes should do the same when he takes on Duberry Excess. I expect some fireworks this week. The Xtreme Series starts a new round, with matchups featuring Marc Speed v Insane Machine and Jacob Jett v Jack Giedroyc. The evening ends with John Maverick taking on Valiant. The winner gets a chance at Brent Hill and his title while the loser stays in the ring to take on Marc Speed (so the winner can catch his breath). ---------- CZCW Thanksgiving Feast The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 456
---------- Crappy attendance seems to go hand-in-hand with CZCW's better show ratings. I'm getting tired of fewer people watching our better efforts! Brent Hill and Frankie Perez open the evening with a rollicking match that has me wondering how long I should keep Frankie Perez in the Midcard area of the federation! The remaining midcarders also hold up their end of the bargain, posting solid matches against each other, with Insane Machine and Jacob Jett advancing from the preliminary matches. The Futures tournament does not fail to disappoint, when it comes to fireworks, although it continues to throw sub-standard matches into the mix. Steven Parker is jumped by both Fernando Elwes and Michael Gallagher, but manages to beat both of them off and still defeat his actual opponent, Frankie Dee. Michael Gallagher escorts Fernando Elwes to the ring for his match, and remains at ringside to protect him. While there, he provides Fernando Elwes with an "assist" against Duberry Excess. The referee spots it and disqualifies Elwes in a match that, it is decided, will count against his record, dropping him to 0-2 and probably destroying his chances in the tournament! The Coastal Zone Futures standings now look like this: Group 1
Group 2
NATO open their account at CZCW with a win against Face Time. Then Valiant surprises everyone when he grabs the mic and calls out the High Fliers II, impugning their manhood and demanding a title shot on the spot. Jett and Insane Machine can’t ignore the challenge; they agree to an impromptu match, but the title will not be at stake. It's a good decision by High Fliers II, since NATO blitzes them to post their second win. The evening ends with three great matches. Valiant and John Maverick have as good a match as CZCW has ever seen, with Valiant eking his way past Maverick to get a title shot against Brent Hill! While Valiant rests, Maverick stays in the ring, and he and Marc Speed continue the momentum with another great match. Then Brent Hill and Valiant take to the ring for a long, exciting, see-saw battle in which Brent Hill is just able to retain his title, while Valiant serves notice that he is a force to be reckoned with. At our end-of-the-month wrap-up meeting, Cliff shows me profits of $13,365 this month and a bank account that is practically bulging, with over $100K in reserve. Next month: As my second year with CZCW comes to a close, a position opens up in Mexico and Cliff wonders if this is the end of the line? Last edited by daveyk : 04-24-2006 at 05:34 PM. 
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#33
04-25-2006, 02:02 PM
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Coastal Zone Dreamin'
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December 2007 Holiday cheer is in the air around CZCW as Cliff hands out bonus checks to everyone for a job well done this year. When he comes into my office and gives me a pat on the back he notices an email in my Inbox from Mexican Hardcore Wrestling, who are looking for a new booker. He doesn't say anything, but I can tell he's a little worried that I might be considering applying. I am considering it. But, things at CZCW are trending in a very positive direction and who knows what kind of mess I will find at MHW? So, after a couple day's consideration, I delete the email, tell Cliff not to worry about my leaving, and settle down to the business at hand. Two major names are up for contract renewal and no question about re-signing them: Insane Machine and Plague. Both men are integral to events here at CZCW, both have done well for us in the past. And both are in our plans for the future. Both are worth what they are asking for and I find myself with an increasing budget, anyway. Given that, we're abandoning self-imposed budget constraints on worker costs at shows. At our present rate, I believe I can afford to use whoever I like for each show and still maintain a healthy profit. So it's down to work on the Weekly show lineup. The Future's tournament has only one match, the last match in Round 2 of the group stage, between the feuding Joss Thompson and Michael Gallagher. Both men are 0-1 in the tournament, so the loser will probably not be advancing, which should make for some bad blood inside the ring. High Fliers II, in an act designed to enrage NATO, extend a title shot to the unheralded team of Kashmir Singh and Frankie Dee, rather than to NATO who defeated them in a non-title match last month. In the Xtreme Title Series, Jacob Jett tries to get past Insane Machine to get a return shot at Frankie Perez and the title he lost several months ago. And the Costal Zone Championship Title Series starts off a new round, with Plague taking on Valiant and John Maverick taking on Remmy Skye. As an added bonus, the losers of these matches will face off against each other as part of the show's thrilling climax. ---------- CZCW December Weekly The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 655
---------- One of CZCW's largest crowds ever are treated to an evening they won't soon forget. Upsets are the order of the day in the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series, as Plague and Remmy Skye advance. The Coastal Zone Futures Tournament match up results in a draw because all pretense to the match between Joss Thompson and Michael Gallagher is abandoned in favor of wholesale chaos when both Fernando Elwes and Steven Parker enter the ring. Similarly, the Tag Team Title match is abandoned in chaos when NATO come to ringside. High Fliers II abandon their match with Kashmir Singh and Frankie Dee inside the ring in favor of an impromptu match up against NATO outside the ring. Eventually High Fliers II are counted out inside the ring and NATO applies a fairly severe beating outside the ring, with Jett dragging his partner to safety. Valiant grabs the mic and demands a title shot, right then and there. Instead of High Fliers II, however, Face Time answer the call, feeling that they are being pushed aside despite their extensive title credentials. A brawl ensues between the two teams, with NATO prevailing. At that point order is restored in time for the ending to the evening. Insane Machine brushes aside Jacob Jett to earn his shot at Frankie Perez. John Maverick and Valiant, once again, put on a thrilling match. Frankie Perez defeats Insane Machine to retain his title. And Brent Hill and Marc Speed close out the evening, with Brent Hill continuing to dominate the CZCW and provide entertaining matches while Marc Speed acquits himself nicely against the Champ. With the holidays barreling towards us, there's barely time to catch our breath before we have to schedule our final show of 2007. The Futures tournament is, once again, trying to complete the second round of matches, with a repeat of the abandoned match between Joss Thompson and Michael Gallagher. With the feud between the two sides gaining in acrimony, this match could be as chaotic as the first one. High Fliers II continue to thumb their noses at NATO, extending a title shot to fellow heels Fernando Elwes and Michael Gallagher, rather than facing NATO. The Xtreme Title Series starts a new round, with everyone once again vying for their chance at Frankie Perez. And in the Championship Title Series, Plague and Remmy Skye battle for the chance at ever-dominant Brent Hill. Plus lots of other matches designed to either improve wrestlers, keep people happy, or just entertain the fans. ---------- CZCW Is Comin' To Town The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 405
---------- Once again, poor attendance for our second show of the month. Marketing needs to answer some questions about this next month. Upsets are not the order of the day in the Xtreme Title series, as favorites Jacob Jett and Marc Speed advance. The Costal Zone Futures Tournament match up results in another draw when both Fernando Elwes and Steven Parker enter the ring yet again. At this rate, we may never finish the tournament or get past this single match up. A whole month gone by, and the standings have not changed since last month, since no matches have been completed. Group 1
Group 2
High Fliers II dismantle Elwes and Gallagher to retain their title, and immediately announce to the crowd that they will extend a title shot to the winner of a 5 match series between NATO and Face Time. The evening comes to a climax with Plague advancing past Remmy Skye, but losing to Brent Hill, who retains the Coastal Zone Championship Title. Our profits for the month are $9,776, lower than last month because we used our best wrestlers in every show, but still very healthy. So I bid farewell to 2007 and look forward to 2008. Last edited by daveyk : 04-25-2006 at 02:13 PM.
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#34
04-25-2006, 02:12 PM
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I just love the way this is written! The tone is great. I hate CZCW, but this is so well written, that I just have to follow it.
Good stuff!
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#35
04-26-2006, 04:57 PM
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Coastal Zone Dreamin'
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January 2008 What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, we had just started turning healthy profits of over $2K/month through judicious use of wrestlers, but the cost of achieving financial stability was dissension in the ranks. Nine wrestlers were unhappy, and 7 of those left the federation in the months to come. Of course, of those 7 departures, one was later re-hired (Steven Parker) and only one caused any kind of impact (Snap Dragon). And we had yet to figure out how to run two shows a month and maintain profitability. This year, we are running 2 shows a month with profits of around $10K/month, using all of our wrestlers, and there is practically no unhappiness in the ranks. Of course, I want to branch the CZCW out of the Southwest, where we have been locked since our inception, but with all signals currently green (and Cliff happy) we will bide our time on that goal. The only issue currently plaguing me is why attendance drops off so sharply for our second show every month. I don't know whether this is just a fact of life (people don't want to see that much of CZCW) or whether something in our booking strategy is causing the problem. At any rate, I set myself the goal of optimizing for attendance in the upcoming months. The new year, as always, brings with it the Annual Awards.
I also take a look at the state of our federation to start the new year, to make sure no changes are necessary.
Brent Hill has admirably filled his role as the "star" of the CZCW since we hired him and John Maverick has added some fire to the top of the ticket as a serious rival for Brent, while Plague is always able to throw in a good match or two also. Valiant, who we pegged early on to be one of our rising stars, has done just that and is now playing with the big boys and doing a great job at it. Frankie Perez, our other star of the future, is holding down the fort in the middle of the card, with solid support from Marc Speed and Jacob Jett. There's lots of bad blood in the lower card, with Oscar Golden and Steven Parker slowly emerging from the pack as the most interesting pair of wrestlers. Despite the fact that I haven't paid too much attention to it, I seem to have lucked into a good situation in the tag team department, with three credible teams, all capable of entertaining the crowds. For sure, if profits continue to stay at this level (or even increase), I'm going to add some talent upgrades this year, throughout the organization. But, all things considered, I'm fairly happy with where we are now. Except for that attendance problem... I arrange an off-site with Marketing to discuss the issue and possible solutions. During an early session, one of the interns meekly suggests that perhaps we should consider advertising the marquee matches in advance to let people know what they are going to see before they come to the show. The silence around the table after this suggestion is made is uncomfortable, to say the least. From the look on his face, it's clear the intern believes he should have kept his mouth shut. From the look on the face of our Senior Marketing Manager and most of the professional Marketing staff, they are embarrassed they didn't suggest this idea first. I am hoping that everyone can tell from my expression that I'm wondering what they are doing with their budget if not advertising our shows in advance. From that point onward, the off-site is devoted to developing a Marketing plan around this revolutionary idea. I duck out early, go back to the office, and start planning for the first Weekly show of 2008. We still have to get through the match up between Michael Gallagher and Joss Thompson, so that match is scheduled and it is arranged that Plague, John Maverick, Valiant, and Remmy Skye will guard the ring to insure that no one interferes. Under the assumption that we can finally get through that match, the next match in the tournament is also scheduled, with Oscar Golden taking on Fernando Elwes. Face Time and NATO square off for the first match in their best-of-five to decide who gets to face High Fliers II for the title. The Xtreme Title Series wraps up the current round, with Marc Speed and Jacob Jett fighting for their chance at Frankie Perez. And the latest round of the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series gets underway, with John Maverick taking on Valiant and Remmy Skye taking on Plague. ---------- CZCW January Weekly The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 818
---------- Wow! 818 people show up and I don't know whether to attribute that to the new Marketing strategy or to the lagging effects of our increased popularity. Marketing, of course, takes all the credit for the increase and I let them bask for now. Unfortunately, the show is not one of our best. The highlight of the evening is the match up between John Maverick and Valiant, two wrestlers who put on a great show every time they meet. Plague and Frankie Perez also put on a good show for the fans, but beyond that mediocrity is the watchword. Saved from outside interference, Michael Gallagher polishes off Joss Thompson, who is not happy about it, his chances in the tournament now ended. He gets his revenge later, however, when he trips Fernando Elwes during his match with Oscar Golden, causing him to lose and sending Oscar Golden through to the semis. It's scant revenge, however, since Elwes had already been eliminated. Face Time are in superb form against NATO, handing them their first loss since joining forces, and taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Jacob Jett earns another title shot, but Frankie Perez maintains his stranglehold on the Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship Title. Finally, Remmy Skye and John Maverick win their preliminary matches in the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series. And so we approach the New Year's Mayhem show with anxious anticipation. Will we see the typical drop-off in attendance? Or will it hold steady at around 800 people? Could I dare hope for an increase? Whoever shows up, they should get a treat. There's a guaranteed Coastal Zone Championship Title match up between Brent Hill and either John Maverick or Remmy Skye. Brent Hill is looking to make his 15th consecutive title defense! Our best midcarders are in the ring together for a new round of preliminary Xtreme Title Series matches. NATO and Face Time renew their best-of-five series. High Fliers II look to stay in good form with a title defense against Oscar Golden and Joe Simmons. Who knows what'll happen when allies Steven Parker and Joss Thompson take each other on in a Futures tournament match up? Duberry Excess and Joe Simmons take each other on in the Futures tournament, the winner advances, the loser is eliminated. All that, plus much, much more! (Apparently I've been proofing our Marketing materials too much lately.) ---------- CZCW New Year's Mayhem The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 872
---------- Attendance is up, and once again Marketing is quick to take the credit. I'm concerned, however, because suddenly our performances are down. I finally get the butts in the seats that I want, and we're giving them thoroughly mediocre shows. Sure, we're still increasing our popularity by exceeding expectations a little. But we're missing out on the viral word-of-mouth Marketing that two truly great shows could have given us for free. OK, while everyone else at the office is popping Champagne, I will just work a little harder. In the Future's tournament, Steven Parker and Joss Thompson entertain the folks, but then Joss Thompson lays down for Steven to insure that he goes through, since Joss has already been eliminated. Duberry Excess gets by Joe Simmons to advance to the semi-final also, although this match was not as entertaining. With just one match to go, the standings look like this: Group 1
NATO even the score in their best-of-five against Face Time, while High Fliers II defeat Oscar Golden and Joe Simmons fairly easily to retain their title. Jacob Jett and Insane Machine get past their opponents and will look for a chance to de-throne Frankie Perez next month. Remmy Skye, our perennial underachiever, surprises everyone with an upset of John Maverick, but is unable to capitalize on the opportunity, and Brent Hill defends his title for the 15th time. With attendance figures like this, I am eagerly awaiting a look at our monthly financials, and am not disappointed. Total profits of $22,197! About twice what we had been seeing in the previous few months. Our bulging bank account and the promise of a steady stream of increased revenue gets my mind working... Next month: it's time to start spending Cliff's money. Last edited by daveyk : 04-26-2006 at 05:04 PM.
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#37
04-27-2006, 01:41 PM
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Costal Zone Dreamin'
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February 2007 It's time to start using CZCW's financial stability to my advantage. But after careful reflection and consideration of a number of different possible scenarios, I decide to keep the changes relatively small. No huge spending spree on new wrestlers. Don't fix what isn't truly broken at this point. Incremental changes so no one month has the potential to send us into a death spiral. To start things off, I decide to give myself a little present and make my own life a little easier while improving things here at CZCW. Brent Hill has acted as Road Agent for CZCW for all matches that he isn't involved in. But when he's involved in a match, or absent from a show, it requires me to shuffle things around and find a suitable replacement. More than once I've been caught running a match without a good Road Agent. So the first outlay of cash will be to sign a full-time Road Agent for CZCW. After scouring the wires for someone who is available and will work for us, we locate and hire Luis Montero a Road Agent out of Mexico. He costs us almost $2,000 per show, which makes him the highest paid CZCW worker (aside from Cliff), so he'd better be worth it. For starters, hopefully a dedicated Road Agent is just the tonic CZCW needs to pull us out of our slight performance slump. Beyond his role as a Road Agent, Luis addresses two other needs for CZCW. First, he provides locker room leadership, which, I am reminded after every show, is lacking here at CZCW. Second, he is fluent in Spanish, which means I can now expand my inquiries for new talent to include Spanish-speaking wrestlers without them getting too lonely in the locker room. Since we don't do many interviews or promos here at CZCW (the fans get restless every time we attempt something of the kind) it doesn't much matter what language the wrestler speaks, so long as they can be kept happy. The only other personnel news this month is that Kashmir Singh is leaving CZCW. I wasn't even aware he was still here. Then it's down to the real business of planning our shows. And I'm going to make one incremental change here as well. We're going to pull back on our habit of using multiple wrestlers multiple times every night to stretch the value of our appearance fees. More appearances for everyone, fewer matches each appearance for everyone. Hopefully that will help stave off any further personnel problems from the wrestlers we care about, and may increase the fan's happiness. It's worth a try, and the extra expense shouldn't prove too troubling. With that in mind, I set the schedule for the February Weekly. The final match up in the group stages of the Future tournament pits Michael Gallagher against Frankie Dee, with the winner advancing to the semi-final. Jacob Jett and Insane Machine battle for their shot at Frankie Perez and the Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship. NATO and Face Time take a 1-1 tie into the 3rd match of their best-of-five while High Fliers II continue with a tune-up match against Steven Parker and Joss Thompson. Finally, the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series kicks off another round. ---------- CZCW February Weekly The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 813
---------- Another large crowd, but our performance slump continues. We squander yet another opportunity for word-of-mouth advertising by not sending all 813 people home to tell a friend about CZCW. In the Futures tournament, Fernando Elwes insures that Michael Gallagher advances, even if he doesn't, by interfering from ringside against Frankie Dee. That ends the group stages, with the following results: Group 1
Oscar Golden v Duberry Excess Steven Parker v Michael Gallagher (Should be a doozy, filled with bile and hatred.) NATO get by Face Time yet again, and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. High Fliers II retain their title against a pair of lesser opponents. Jacob Jett gets by Insane Machine and yet another shot against Frankie Perez who, up until now, has looked unbeatable. Jett shatters that aura of invincibility with a commanding performance. At the end of the evening, he is being feted as the new Coastal Zone Xtreme Champion! John Maverick and Valiant advance in the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series, and one of them will get a chance to follow in Jett's footsteps against Brent Hill. But people are still complaining to me about a lack of locker room leaders. What a bunch of babies, apparently one isn't enough, they need two people to hold their hands. Well, that will just have to wait. So we head into the Valentine's Day Massacre show, looking to improve our performance. I call an all-hands meeting and lose my cool a bit, in an effort to motivate everyone. For the older guys who won't respond to intimidation from the boss, I end with an appeal to their sense of professionalism and a challenge to continue building on their own success in and out of the ring. In an effort to shake things up and provide incentive for everyone to exceed expectations, I allow the Futures wrestlers to start off the evening, a slot usually reserved for marquee wrestlers. Privately, Joss Thompson, Michael Gallagher, Fernando Elwes, and Steven Parker are told, for the sake of the prestige of the title, to maintain their composure and that any interference will be frowned upon. I throw a rare 3-way match up into the mix, sending Plague into the ring against High Fliers teammates Jacob Jett and Insane Machine. Face Time and NATO are at it again, of course, with Face Time looking to stave off elimination. High Fliers II take part in yet another title defense/tune up match, this time against Duberry Excess and Oscar Golden. The Xtreme Title Series starts a new round, with a new champion and Frankie Perez involved in the preliminary match ups for the first time. And John Maverick and Valiant look for a chance to de-throne Brent Hill. ---------- CZCW Valentine's Day Massacre The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 596
---------- It's like a perverse uncertainty principle...I can either have good attendance and a mediocre show or poor attendance and a good show. But I can't have both at the same time. In the Futures tournament, Duberry Excess and Steven Parker dominate the opening matches, taking 1-0 leads. And everyone is on their best behavior. The same cannot be said about High Fliers II who invade the ring when it looks certain that NATO are going to storm past Face Time and win the series at 3-1. Instead, NATO find themselves distracted and harried on all sides, eventually losing the match to Face Time and necessitating a deciding 5th match. Later in the evening, High Fliers II defend their title. In a highly positive development for CZCW, Joss Thompson hints at his hidden possibility in the ring in a high-tension, high-excitement match against John Maverick. Thompson loses, but you might want to remember where you were when Joss Thompson made his first serious statement in the ring. Frankie Perez announces his intention to regain his title by throttling Jack Giedroyc. He'll need to get past Marc Speed next month, but certainly looks on-target for a chance at revenge against Jacob Jett. And in the two best matches of the evening, John Maverick fights his way past Valiant, then defeats Brent Hill to claim the title of Coastal Zone Champion from its perennial holder! Given the signing of Luis Montero and our heavy use of wrestlers, it's not surprising that our profits drop to $11,472 for the month. But it's a sign of the times that nether I, nor Cliff, are at all concerned. There's more than enough in the bank and more than enough coming in to continue down the path we're on. Next Month: Can Frankie Perez and Brent Hill re-claim their titles? And who will be the tag team champion when the dust settles? Last edited by daveyk : 04-27-2006 at 01:47 PM.
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#38
04-28-2006, 09:42 AM
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Quote:
I'm really feeling this!
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#39
05-01-2006, 02:28 PM
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Coastal Zone Dreamin'
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March 2008 (Note: I made a transcribing error in my notes for last month's journal. It turns out that I had the result of the match between Brent Hill and John Maverick backwards! Brent Hill remains champion this month. I corrected last month's journal for anyone who comes to this later on. Apologies.) As I get into the office to start the month of March, I'm feeling pretty pleased despite the driving rainstorm outside. For once, there's no one needing a raise or a new contract this month, so I figure I'll be able to focus all my energies into getting the best possible lineups into our two shows. Cliff has other ideas. He thinks the time is right to go after sponsorship deals, since CZCW is starting to make a name for itself. So he loads up my schedule with meetings involving every possible sponsor he can think of. I politely suggest that he handle the discussions himself, but he believes the sponsors want to feel they will have some input on the creative front to insure product placement. So they need to meet me and get a good vibe from me. I spend most of the early part of March bouncing from meeting to meeting, talking with fat men sporting comb-overs about the natural synergy between whatever their business is (auto-body shop, rental center, pizza parlor, sports bar) and the CZCW brand of wrestling. It's painful, and not just because I realize that our current demographic is apparently a bunch of people with whom I wouldn’t want to attend a party. More incentive to increase our popularity and increase the breadth of our demographic. In between and during meetings, I scribble down the lineup for the March Weekly Show. Most of it is fairly easy. The match ups in the Costal Zone Championship Series are pre-planned (Plague/Valiant, Remmy Skye/John Maverick). Frankie Perez takes on Marc Speed for a chance at a return match for his recently lost title. NATO and Face Time meet in the deciding match of their best-of-five, with the winner getting a title shot later in the evening when High Fliers II assume they will be tired. And the Coastal Zone Futures Tournament semifinals continue. I add two filler matches to the evening and make sure everything is ready to go. Did I mention that Cliff invited 10 potential sponsors to come to the show in order to impress them with our product? If not, that's probably because he forgot to mention it to me until the last minute, meaning we had to scramble to find them ringside seating. ---------- CZCW March Weekly The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 797
---------- Our potential sponsors can't help but be impressed by the 800 people in attendance, but if any of them actually know anything about wrestling they will be taking their sponsorship money and running in the opposite direction at the sight of this dismal performance. The two filler matches I came up with stink to the rafters, dragging the show down by their weight along with some other dreadful stuff. It probably didn't help that everyone came expecting to see Frankie Perez get a chance to win the title back, only to have him lose to Marc Speed in the preliminary match. Marc went on to beat Jacob Jett and claim the title for himself, but both he and Jett did not put on a championship effort, ending the show on a serious down note. In the Futures tournament, Duberry Excess surprises everyone by jumping out to a 2-0 lead on Oscar Golden, although by the end of the match, most of the fans were probably averting their eyes. Michael Gallagher evens his series with Steven Parker in a passable match up. NATO pulls off the effort of the evening, defeating the two best tag teams in CZCW in the same evening to win their best-of-five and the Coastal Zone Tag Team Title in the same night. The matches are solid, if unspectacular. The Coastal Zone Championship Title Series is the lone bright spot. Two matches, two performances at the level we expect. And the good news is that Valiant and John Maverick, two of our better performers, are the ones advancing to next week. The next morning I'm waiting in Cliff's office. None of the 10 sponsors agreed to a deal. I suggest that Cliff handle meetings with sponsors for the rest of the month and let me focus on the upcoming March Lions show. Bring sponsors to that one, I tell him, and we'll impress them enough to get them to open their check books. And I'll make sure we have seats set aside ahead of time. He agrees. Once again, I call the troops together for a meeting. I tell them about the sponsorship deals in the works and what's at stake. Then I lay out the evening for them. The Future semifinal matches continue. I have a little chat with Duberry Excess and Oscar Golden about their sub-standard performances to date, then ask them to spend some extra time with Luis Montero before the show. Marc Speed is the latest Coastal Zone Xtreme Champion, and the four wrestlers gunning for his crown will take on each other. Face Time tries to rebuild their title bona fides with a match up against Joss Thompson and Duberry Excess, while NATO graciously extends a rematch to High Fliers II. Finally, John Maverick and Valiant go after each other with the winner given a chance at Brent Hill and his title. I try to provide a better pair of filler matches also, giving both our champions (Marc Speed and Brent Hill) matches against lower-level opponents, in Brent's case against the up-and-coming Joss Thompson. ---------- CZCW March Lions The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 630
---------- Attendance for the second show of the month continues to show a dip, but 630 people is nothing to sneeze at. And the performance is bound to impress the sponsors sitting in the prime seats at ringside. Given their performance to date, I arrange with Cliff to take the sponsors back stage for a private "tour" during the Oscar Golden/Duberry Excess match, so luckily only the paying fans have to watch that one. Golden pulls a match back, though I'm not sure more matches in this semifinal is a good thing. Steven Parker pulls ahead 2-1, as he and Michael Gallagher put on another credible show. Joss Thompson and Duberry Excess provide fodder for Face Time, but little in the way of entertainment, despite the fact that they seem to work well together. Maybe some more practice and we'll have something. High Fliers II are unwilling to go quietly into the night, and surprise everyone by regaining their tag team title from NATO, just when it looked like NATO might be ready to go on a run. Frankie Perez continues to struggle, losing to Insane Machine in his preliminary match, and will have to wait yet another week. Jacob Jett, on the other hand, wins his match and keeps his hopes for the title alive. But it's the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series that blows the rafters off the joint. Valiant and John Maverick put on the first "B" rated show in CZCW history and then John Maverick follows that up with a solid performance against Brent Hill to win the Coastal Zone Championship. And apparently that's enough to impress the sponsors because the next day Cliff shows me three signed sponsorship deals, which by month's end have inflated our total profits to $30,650. Next month: Some love for the tag teams.
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#40
05-01-2006, 02:41 PM
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Looking at Maverick and Valiants last few match ratings, I'd say you've got a strong pair to build around!
Edit: Sucks that your attendance dropped for that second show though. Especially since the rating improved.
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#41
05-02-2006, 06:23 PM
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Coastal Zone Dreamin'
***************
April 2008 Despite a few blips and bumps, things have been progressing fairly well. The Main Eventers and Upper Midcarders are all pretty well tied up with their respective Title series matches, building interest and providing anchors for each show. And the Lower Midcarders are busy with the Future Title Tournament. Some interesting and useful information has come out of all of these events, such as the intense level of competitiveness between Valiant and John Maverick, which we'll have to build on. But it's time to turn my attention back to a project which has remained on the back-burner since I took over at CZCW: the tag teams. There was one abortive attempt to form up a whole series of tag teams, mostly taken from the lower level guys, and try to make something out of that. But lack of chemistry, lack of ability, and attrition caused an end to the experiment. In the meantime, mostly in order to get a few guys more match work, I've blundered into a trio of tag teams (NATO, Face Time, High Fliers II) that all work well together and have generated some interest from the fans, almost by accident. So this month, I fill out the roster with a more stable and reputable group of teams to compete against our main trio. Plague and Maverick are paired as an all-star team called Full Force. I figure they will provide a fairly serious challenge for any of our teams (based on skill alone) as they develop popularity and experience for themselves. Joss Thompson, a wrestler just looking for an opportunity, is paired with Duberry Excess as a team called Excess Energy. I want to make sure that Thompson gets match time in as much as possible while I wait for a chance to give him a good run as a singles wrestler. Finally, Steven Parker tells me that he has lots of experience in another fed with a wrestler named Ricky Turner as The 'A' Alliance. Ricky Turner, it turns out, is available for hire, so we get a lower card team with instant credibility and name recognition for a reasonable price. I don't really have any specific plans yet for the tag teams, other than to mix and match things up and see what starts to develop on its own. Later in the year we'll try to form a cohesive plan for these teams. With a full complement of 6 tag teams to play with, and no other personnel matters to suck up my time this month, I settle into planning for our April shows. First up is the April Weekly. John Maverick is the new Costal Zone Champion, and his four rivals will be at each other's throats for a chance to topple him before he becomes as ensconced in that role as Brent Hill did. Brent, in particular, is not happy about having lost his title and is looking for revenge. Pity Remmy Skye who has to face him in the preliminary match. Jacob Jett and Insane Machine are looking for a chance at the newly-crowned Coastal Zone Xtreme Champ, Marc Speed. The best Frankie Perez can do is watch, while he challenges Plague in a meaningless filler match. Steven Parker can close out his series against Michael Gallagher and Oscar Golden and Duberry Excess renew their interminable semifinal, with Duberry leading 2-1 and everyone hoping he wins tonight and puts us out of our misery at having to watch them. Finally, High Fliers II extend a rematch to NATO, over the strenuous objection of Face Time who feel they should get in on the title picture. ---------- CZCW April Weekly The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 884
---------- A familiar story for the Weekly show: good attendance (threatening the 900 mark!) but an average show. I guess I should be happy, each of these shows increases our popularity in the Southwest. But I'd like to see C+ shows become the standard for CZCW. In the Future semifinals, not only are Oscar Golden and Duberry Excess dreadful yet again, but Oscar evens the series at 2-2, forcing another match up. Steven Parker, by contrast, closes out Michael Gallagher at 3-1. In the Xtreme title series, Jacob Jett restates his claim by defeating Insane Machine and Marc Speed to recapture the Costal Zone Xtreme Championship. Jett is surging where Frankie Perez is faltering. Brent Hill dismantles Remmy Skye and Plague gets by Valiant. As thrilled as I would have been to see the possibility of another Valiant/Maverick match, the prospect of a nostalgic match up between bitter rivals Plague and Brent Hill, recalling CZCW's early days (with a subsequent match up against John Maverick) is decent comfort. Face Time's bitter feelings about being left out of the title picture for three straight shows spill into the ring, disrupting the title match between NATO and High Fliers II. When the dust settles, NATO has absorbed too much of a combined beating, and High Fliers II are confirmed as champions, while Face Time retreat to the locker and NATO mutter darkly about recrimination. A summit between the tag teams is called to attempt to restore order and dignity. High Fliers II will refrain from any further title defenses until we can establish a pecking order among the challengers. To start things off, Face Time will take on Full Force while NATO will square off against Excess Energy in the Spring Break Bash. Oscar Golden and Duberry Excess close out their semifinal, with the only good news being that this is guaranteed to be their last match. The challengers to the Xtreme Title series start off the final round in that Series, with everyone wondering just how far Frankie Perez has sunk. And Brent Hill and Plague tangle with each other looking for a chance at the Coastal Zone Championship Title against John Maverick. ---------- CZCW Spring Break Bash The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 547
---------- A familiar story for the second show of the month: a drop-off in attendance and an above-average show. I suppress the rising bile and vow to just be happy that we're still making progress. Oscar Golden completes his improbable comeback from an 0-2 deficit in a match where, even more improbably, I'm not wishing I could rip off my own head at the end. So, after months of effort, it comes down to Steven Parker and Oscar Golden in a best-of-seven series for the Coastal Zone Futures Title. Face Time and NATO demonstrate that they are the clear favorites to take on High Fliers II, with solid matches against Full Force and Excess Energy. I'm particularly pleased that the Full Force match up went so well, based largely on the skill of Full Force. Over time, they may actually develop enough popularity and awareness to become a force in the tag team scene at CZCW. Frankie Perez shrugs off his doubters with a commanding performance against Insane Machine to get himself back on track to regain the Xtreme Title. His next assignment is to get past Marc Speed, and after what happened to him the past two weeks, he probably won't be looking past Marc. At any rate, we're guaranteed a match up involving two former champions vying for the Xtreme Title next month. In the evening's premier matches, Brent Hill and Plague remind everyone why they were such a popular rivalry, adding another great performance to their stellar history together. But the strain of getting past Plague proves too much for Brent Hill, who stumbles at the finish line and loses a championship match to John Maverick for the second month in a row. CZCW's financials remain strong this month, with profits of $29,909. Next month: The Xtreme Title series comes to a close while the Futures Tournament Final begins.
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#42
05-03-2006, 06:39 PM
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Coastal Zone Dreamin'
***************
May 2008 After two blissful months without any personnel matters to attend to, May requires me to evaluate two of our wrestlers and make a decision. At first glance, it seems like an easy decision to re-hire Fernando Elwes and Steven Parker. Both have been a part of the Coastal Zone Futures Tournament, and Parker is one of the participants in the final. Not re-hiring him certainly seems like madness. But, seriously, what does CZCW have to show for all the effort it's poured into the younger wrestlers? A steady stream of dreary matches that have been a drag on the rest of each evening. I haven't even got some of the ancillary positive benefits I was hoping for, like marketable matches for our Midcard wrestlers to keep them looking dangerous, since a lot of those matches have been flaccid also. And when Steven Parker tells me how much he is expecting in a raise...well, I almost make a decision right then and there to chuck the two of them onto the street and be done with it. I decide to reflect on the matter, however, and get back to them. In retrospect, it's probably not their fault. I mean, what did I expect when I put two wrestlers that CZCW identifies as its worst into the ring together week-after-week? And, without a steady diet of decent wrestlers to go against, these poor guys have not improved. The fact that I dangled a title at the end of a string did garner some public interest, but was, in essence, just asking too much. So I decide the fault is actually mine. There are just seven matches between the Futures wrestlers to go and the rest of the guys who were involved are able to work freely. So I arrive at the office the next day, pull Steven Parker and Fernando Elwes into my office in turn and re-sign both of them. Just as quickly, I shoo them out and turn my attention to the shows. The Weekly show marks the end of the Coastal Zone Xtreme Title Series. Jacob Jett is the latest champ after a roller coaster 4 months which saw a different champ each month. Frankie Perez and Marc Speed are the challengers, both looking to end the series with the title around their waist. Steven Parker and Oscar Golden start their Coastal Zone Futures Title best-of-seven. The Coastal Zone Championship Title series, having started a month later, starts its penultimate round. Maverick holds the title, having made his first defense last month. The May Weekly will see two early tag team matches, and a "match to be announced" which will ultimately decide who gets a chance to take on High Fliers II for the championship at the end of the night, as we continue to try to get mileage out of the tag teams. Between all that, we sandwich a pair of matches between Lower card wrestlers and Midcard wrestlers, as our training regimen for the lower card commences. And, as a "thank you" to our fans (and a way to increase Plague's sagging morale), Plague and John Maverick spice up the last part of the evening with a non-title match up between two of our best stars. ---------- CZCW May Weekly The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 774
---------- No one should be surprised looking at the attendance figures and the show's quality, least of all me. I should be getting more sanguine about it by now. Hell, I can probably roughly predict the attendance and perfectly predict the show's quality for our upcoming Mother's Day Mayhem show. Steven Parker and Oscar Golden allow me to breath a small sigh of relief by putting on a credible match, which Steven wins to take a 1-0 win. It won't win any awards, but at least it doesn't look like a slow, grinding, spirit-crushing repeat of the Duberry Excess/Oscar Golden debacle. After Face Time and The 'A' Alliance win their tag team matches, a decision is made that we can't decide between the three top tag team challengers, so we just throw everyone in the ring together and let them sort it out. NATO emerges victorious over both Face Time and The 'A' Alliance, then seizes the opportunity and defeats High Fliers II later in the evening to regain the Coastal Zone Tag Team Title. The filler matches (with the obvious exception of Plague/Maverick) are nothing to write home about, and probably the deciding factor in the evening's overall rating. On a positive note, it does look like the younger wrestlers can show some improvement when given a chance to learn from the pros. In the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series, Brent Hill and Valiant beat back their opposition, and it looks like no matter how things turn out at the Mother's Day Mayhem show, this Series should provide the fireworks we expect from it. The evening's biggest news is that Frankie Perez shakes off the lethargy that overtook him for several months and storms his way back into possession of the Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship Title, bringing the curtain down on this Series with a tremendous match against Jacob Jett. But, for all the positives, I find myself fighting off a rising tide of depression and hoping for a Mother's Day miracle...or at least an unexpected result from the show that will allow me to shake off the lethargy I'm carrying around. Without the Xtreme Title Series to guide the booking for the evening, I use the opportunity to search for good pairings and to prop up the little bits of sagging morale within CZCW. Many of the wrestlers who find themselves uninvolved in a Title Series match find themselves in the ring against a young wrestler. Steven Parker and Oscar Golden have their second match in the Futures best-of-seven final. NATO, still feeling bitter about events from month's past, extend a title shot to The 'A' Alliance, rather than the recently defeated High Fliers II or perennial challengers Face Time. Frankie Perez and Jacob Jett reprise last week's excellent match with a title rematch. And Brent Hill takes on Valiant, with John Maverick and the Coastal Zone Championship Title waiting in the wings for the winner. ---------- CZCW Mother's Day Mayhem The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 571
---------- No Mother's Day miracle materializes, and the show does exactly what I expect. We see several good efforts, including an unexpectedly rousing tag team match up from outsiders Full Force and Excess Energy. Oscar Golden levels the Futures best-of-seven at 1-1. Frankie Perez and Jacob Jett are unable to catch lightning in a bottle two shows in a row, though Frankie does defend his Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship Title. Brent Hill defeats Valiant, but his mental block against John Maverick seems to be growing as he loses a title match to Maverick for the third month in a row. Doubt may start creeping into Brent's mind if this trend continues. Profits are down to $23,487 in May, still more than healthy. All signs are positive for CZCW. Attendance insures that we will make money every month while retaining the freedom to use our wrestlers at will. Each show is increasing our popularity, as a general rule. So why does it feel like we're in a rut and need to reinvigorate things? I look back at where CZCW was a little more than a year ago and see some parallels. We've come to an end of the Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship Title Series while the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series ends next month. Interest in both Title Series is fairly high and we can build off the momentum with a few of our better wrestlers benefitting in the upcoming months. We've established John Maverick as serious rival for Brent Hill and found a rivalry-in-waiting with Valiant. We've got three very good tag teams who have been trading the title back and forth for a while, with three other tag teams just waiting for their chance. Despite disappointing early returns, we have a solid crop of youngsters just waiting to be used. So, once again, it seems like a perfect time to make changes. Instead of hoping for that miracle, we're going to go out and make it happen. Next month: Busting out of that rut!
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#43
05-10-2006, 04:11 PM
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Coastal Zone Dreamin'
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June 2008 After long and careful consideration of the problems facing CZCW (attendance, performance consistency) as well as the strengths it now has (steady revenue, cash reserves), I decide to make a few moves in an effort to break us out of our current rut. The first two involve changing our show schedule around. Two shows a month is too few, given our situation. More shows will increase the rate of our popularity expansion and should have either a neutral or positive effect on the bottom line. It's almost certainly not going to push us into negative territory, so this is a no-brainer and we expand our schedule to 4 shows a month. In addition to that, we pump up the volume on our main show every month. Prior to this we've been pretty much billing all our shows equally. Now it's time to highlight the main show. We're running 3 small weekly shows each month (weeks 1, 2, 4) which are 1 hour long. The main show will be a more medium-sized show (at least compared to the big guys...from my perspective it's a large effort!) that will run 2 hours long and be booked into a larger venue, Grissom Auditorium. Hopefully that will drive more people to the main show where most of the action and best matches take place every month. With scheduling changes behind me, I need to deal with a single personnel issue this month. Our referee, Pee Wee Germain, is up for contract renewal this month. He's done steady work for us to date, and CZCW is certainly grateful for his help. But, we can do better. Bret Graveson is available to be hired by CZCW, and while his refereeing skills are just about the same as Pee Wee's (maybe a little better) he does bring locker room leadership qualities that Pee Wee doesn't. Alongside Luis Montero, CZCW would have all the leadership it needs to keep things under control backstage. So, a decision is made and Pee Wee Germain is out, Bret Graveson is in. All of CZCW's wrestlers are excited as we go over the booking for the first show...most of them are seeing a chance to increase their pay for the month by being involved in an extra show or two. (At least a few are equally glad to be doing one show a month someplace other than the beer-soaked environs of The Snake Pit.) I'm hoping that excitement will translate into better, more consistent performances as well as increased attendance. The first show, booked into our standard venue at The Snake Pit, will feature only three matches that are pre-determined. Steven Parker and Oscar Golden are tied at 1-1 in their best-of-seven for the Futures title. Brent Hill, Plague, Remmy Skye, and Valiant are all involved in preliminary matches in the Championship Title Series. Beyond that, Face Time attempt to rebuild their credentials with a match against Full Force while Frankie Perez gives Marc Speed a return shot at the title. ---------- CZCW June Weekly 1 The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 841
---------- We pull a healthy number of people for the show and keep them entertained with a solid show. Steven Parker goes up 2-1 in the Coastal Zone Futures final. The tag team match up proves once again that Full Force are a useful team for getting solid matches while we build up their credibility and experience as a team. Frankie Perez defends his Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship Title, although the match is marred by the appearance of Jacob Jett at the end to challenge Frankie Perez, insult Marc Speed, and demand another title match for himself. The crowd, typically, boos Jett out of the arena for daring to do something other than wrestling. I know this will happen in advance, but sometimes you just have to tell a story. In the evening's dual main events, Plague and Brent Hill advance in the Championship Title Series, and will get their chance for the title at the main Surf Slam show. The second show for June is our second weekly show and will begin to test the power of our scheduling changes. If form holds, attendance will drop off to the mid 500's. If attendance is well above that mark, we'll know our experiment is working. As for what the folks will be coming to see... Steven Parker takes his 2-1 lead and attempts to put a stranglehold on the final series against Oscar Golden. After Jett's intrusion last week, Frankie Perez decides to just climb into the ring with both of them and settle things once-and-for-all with a three-way title match. The High Fliers II stay in practice this week with a match against the 'A' Alliance. And Brent Hill headlines the evening, with a match against Remmy Skye. Brent's a little upset about having lost his title, so I don't want to risk having him sit out a show, and he's our most consistent headliner anyway. ---------- CZCW June Weekly 2 The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 780
---------- Attendance figures are above expectations and I'm cautiously optimistic that the new booking strategy is working. The performance quality dips a bit, but that's partly due to who I booked to be at the show, with the match between Jack Giedroyc and Ricky Turner serving to improve the men's morale, but not exactly exhilarating the fans. Joss Thompson continues to prove that he is capable of having solid matches against wrestlers in the upper ranks of CZCW, with a solid performance in losing to Insane Machine. The 'A' Alliance and High Fliers II, on the other hand, disappoint everyone with a distinctly sub-par performance. Steven Parker races out to a 3-1 lead against Oscar Golden, and each match in this best-of-seven from now on has the potential to see a champion crowned. Brent Hill makes short, but entertaining work of Remmy Skye. And Frankie Perez silences his rivals and his critics by defeating both Jacob Jett and Marc Speed to retain the Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship Title. And so we move on to June's main show, CZCW Surf Slam at the Grissom Auditorium. There are two attendance variables in our experiment here: we've increased the size of the show and increased the size of the venue. At least once in CZCW's history increasing the size of the venue led to an increase in ticket sales (apparently some folks will come to a larger venue that wouldn't come to the smaller one). So we'll be watching the attendance figures for this show with keen interest. Since this is the main show of the month, everything is up for grabs and everyone is in the mix. All of our big-name tag teams are in action. Steven Parker has a chance to become the first ever Coastal Zone Futures Champion with a win over Oscar Golden. NATO, who have been idle for a few weeks and watching the results of other tag team matches extend a title shot to Face Time. Frankie Perez decides to emphasize the point he made last week and extends a three-way title match to both his main competitors for a second week in a row. Finally, Plague and Brent Hill will go after each other, with the winner getting a shot to de-throne John Maverick. ---------- CZCW Surf Slam Grissom Auditorium (SW) Att: 929
---------- Success! Almost 1,000 people show up to watch the CZCW and they see the type of performance to which CZCW aspires. Now if they all go home and tell their friends... The Coastal Zone Futures Championship belt is at ringside for the match between Steven Parker and Oscar Golden. Parker looks supremely confident until, just before the match starts, Fernando Elwes and Michael Gallagher come to ringside and take seats to watch the match up close. Despite the distraction, Steven Parker dominates the match until Fernando Elwes initiates an arguement with referee Brent Graveson about something, allowing Michael Gallagher to club Steven Parker in the head with the title belt, unseen. That's as close as Parker comes to the belt from that point on, as Golden makes short work of the now groggy Steven Parker to draw a match back. Face Time enter their match against NATO with supreme confidence, but it isn't enough as NATO defeat Face Time yet again, to retain their Coastal Zone Tag Team Title. Frankie Perez, once again, establishes his dominance in the Midcard with a title defense in a three-way match against Marc Speed and Jacob Jett. And Brent Hill, now clearly wrestling with fire in his belly, blazes past Plague in the first match of the evening and John Maverick in the last match of the evening to regain the Coastal Zone Championship Title he clearly believes is his. Thus ends the Coastal Zone Championship Title Series. As I arrive at work for the final week of June, the malaise that had been settling over me is lifting along with my spirits. Attendance and performances have been good all month, and our experiment seems to be working. Our title series' have both completed and the Future title will be decided in one of the next two shows. Most every wrestler will be available to me to create a new series of narratives for our fans. The landscape is open to allow my creativity to run riot. Step one begins now. Frankie Perez is going to undertake a major series of Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship Title defenses against all comers. The push (which has been in the plans since I began more than 2 years ago) starts this month with a title defense against Insane Machine. Of course, we still have to crown a Coastal Zone Futures Champion, and Steven Parker gets his second shot to become the first-ever champion against Oscar Golden tonight. Steven looks a bit shaken after his experience the last match, but he is certainly talking as if he's going to rise to the challenge. NATO, fresh off their defeat of Face Time show no fear in taking on their other main rival, High Fliers II with the Coastal Zone Tag Team Title on the line. Valiant has been doing yeoman's service and is still a major force for the future. At some point, we will settle him and John Maverick into some sort of story and take advantage of their blistering chemistry. For now, however, Valiant needs to gather some momentum, since his push into the Upper card ranks led to a series of defeats against the likes of Brent Hill and John Maverick. He gets a match against up-and-coming Joss Thompson (I am also feeling around for someone with chemistry with Joss who I can use to push Joss at some point) and a title shot against Brent Hill in the same evening. ---------- CZCW June Weekly 3 The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 463
---------- With everything trending positive all month, I was blindsided by the drop-off in attendance this week. Well, the scheduling experiment is deemed a partial success, but it's back to the drawing board apparently. Still, the show is a good one... Steven Parker quails at the site of Fernando Elwes and Michael Gallagher at ringside once again. Although they take no part in the proceedings, Parker spends most of the match more concerned with waiting for the other shoe to drop than his opponent. Oscar Golden easily walks over him to even their final series at 3-3. NATO, once again, prove themselves the dominant tag team force at CZCW, defeating High Fliers II in an exciting match for the Coastal Zone Tag Team Title. Frankie Perez starts his series of title defenses off with a win, pushing Insane Machine to the edge and keeping him there all evening. Valiant takes out Joss Thompson early in the evening and gives a good account of himself against Brent Hill, although he is not able to break through and claim his first CZCW title. ----- There's just one thing left to discover this month...how much did our new schedule impact the bottom line? Four shows means a lot of wrestlers and Grissom Auditorium is 4 times as expensive as The Snake Pit after all. As it turns out, however, I was right in thinking that it could be done without impact, as our profits remained solid at $30,010. Still, further optimization is needed to maximize our efforts. Next month: Major news from CZCW! Last edited by daveyk : 05-10-2006 at 07:34 PM.
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#44
05-16-2006, 05:59 PM
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Coastal Zone Dreamin'
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July 2008 I spend a long time staring at our figures over the last several months, trying to make sense of things, and suddenly, the answer seems crystal clear. So clear, I don't know why it didn't occur to me previously, except to say that I am as dense as a bag of hammers. I've always been aware that the attendance is always highest for the first show of the month and then drops for each successive show. So, obviously, we need to put our largest show first! So we juggle our show schedule for July so the first show is the medium-sized Battle on the Beach, booked into Grissom Auditorium. After that, we run 3 weekly shows, each small, each booked into The Snake Pit. I can already anticipate that I will be better off dropping the 4th show, since it will see an attendance drop-off into the 400's. But for the first month we're going to be aggressive, and see what happens. As the staff scrambles around to re-arrange the show schedule, I meet with Valiant about a new contract. I'm a little worried, since he hasn't yet seen the kind of push he deserves and he definitely qualifies as the best wrestler at CZCW to never have held any singles title. But Valiant is surprisingly accommodating and we re-sign him with no trouble. Joe Simmons is re-signed at the same time. He's cheap, I have no compelling reason to dismiss him, and I don’t have time for the termination paperwork or the exit interview anyway. With high hopes, I set to work creating a compelling show for our Battle on the Beach. Once again, being the main show, everything is up for grabs, and everyone is in the mix. Steven Parker and Oscar Golden have the final match in the Coastal Zone Futures Championship Title tournament, one of them will be crowned the first-ever champ tonight. NATO continue to take on all possible challengers, with a defense against The 'A' Alliance. Frankie Perez graciously extends a title shot to Joss Thompson, who is attempting to emerge from among the lower card wrestlers and find a place higher up in the roster. And Brent Hill offers a title match to the winner of a bout between Valiant and John Maverick earlier in the evening. ---------- CZCW Battle on the Beach Grissom Auditorium (SW) Att: 1,741
---------- Almost 1,750 people turn out to watch CZCW, the largest crowd in our history, by far. The noise is deafening and the excitement backstage throughout the show is palpable as everyone gets a feel for what is, hopefully, the future. What's more, the performance level rises to the level of the crowd, which is lucky for me since I would have suffered and aneurism if we'd finally drawn this size crowd and then put on a mediocre show. I was definitely a little worried at the start when none of our first three matches offered anything other than serviceable entertainment. In the 4th match, however, Face Time and Full Force pumped up the crowd to get things rolling, with Face Time continuing to assert itself as the top contender to NATO. The Futures Title Tournament rubber match is chaos. Fernando Elwes and Michael Gallagher are, once again, at ringside to intimidate Parker. Joss Thompson has had enough, however, and leaves the announcer's table to attack the both of them. That turns out to be a miscalculation, however, as he gets worked over outside the ring by the two men. Parker is forced to come to his rescue, while Oscar Golden is unsure exactly what to do. In the end, the fracas spills back into the ring and in all the commotion, Oscar Golden manages to pin Steven Parker and is crowned the Coastal Zone Futures Champion. NATO make an unsurprising defense of their title against The 'A' Alliance, who do nothing to indicate that they deserved the title shot they were granted. Joss Thompson gives a good account of himself against Frankie Perez, bolstering his case for promotion, despite the fact that Perez defends the title fairly easily. Thompson is not quite there yet and there are quite a few guys well ahead of him, but he is an exciting youngster who bears watching. John Maverick and Valiant engage in yet another barn-burning match, with Maverick emerging as the victor. He is fired up for a title shot against Brent Hill, looking to recapture the title that was his briefly, but is unable to wrest the title away in the end. ---------- I spend most of the rest of the following week in meetings outside the office, which has been happening frequently for the last two months. So much so that people are starting to talk. Most of them believe I am in discussions about a job at a different federation. The truth is, however, that CZCW has been prowling for one hot-shot hire. It occurred to me as I considered our problems and possible solutions that all of our existing wrestlers have popularity in the Southwest that is exactly on par with CZCW. That makes sense of course, since the two have gone hand-in-hand since I began growing CZCW's popularity. So, as part of my recent shake-up, I decided to bring in a wrestler whose popularity when he walks through the door exceeds that of the CZCW. Someone so popular to start with that CZCW can ride his coat tails a bit, and possibly even use as a springboard to expand CZCW nationally. Two caveats complicate the search: I won't break the bank and I need to find someone who will actually work for CZCW. Plus, I wanted to keep the news as secret as possible until we announce it with a splash to our fans. Hence, meetings outside the office. I spent a good deal of June talking to JD Morgan, who is unemployed, despite his popularity. I'm not thrilled with his skills, which are less than most of the wrestlers on our roster already. But I figured since he was unemployed he would come cheap and be willing to work. Unfortunately, however, we are never able to come to terms...he's just asking for too much given what he has to offer and considering that he's unemployed. By last month's end, JD was still unemployed and wouldn't even take my calls. So the latter part of June and the beginning of July were taken up with locating another wrestler who matched our needs. And we find our man, finally, and get him signed for even less than JD Morgan was asking. Hell Monkey joins CZCW. I wish I could have signed him in time for the Battle on the Beach, but negotiations took longer than expected. The plan is to unveil Hell Monkey for the first time at the first July Weekly, with Cliff doing the honors and announcing that he will be getting an immediate title shot against Brent Hill that evening. Those two events bookend the show. In between, we're starting the Coastal Zone Futures Title Series, which will involve Oscar Golden, Steven Parker, Fernando Elwes, Michael Gallagher, and Joss Thompson battling each month for the Coastal Zone Futures Title, using exactly the same format as was used previously for the other two Title Series. Finally, Frankie Perez defends his Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship against Marc Speed. ---------- CZCW July Weekly 1 The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 780
---------- Attendance is pretty much where we'd expect it and the performance is a good one. The crowd, as always, is less than thrilled when someone is talking instead of wrestling, but despite that, the introduction of Hell Monkey creates a buzz. Brent Hill, it should be said, is not pleased that Hell Monkey is given an immediate title shot, feeling that he should have been forced to spend some time proving his worth before he gets a chance. And in Hell Monkey's first ever match at CZCW, Brent Hill manages to narrowly defeat him to retain his title. In the inaugural match of the Coastal Zone Futures Title Series, Steven Parker defeats Joss Thompson. Frankie Perez continues to look as formidable as ever, dispatching Marc Speed with relative ease to retain his own grip on the Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship. ---------- Back at the office between shows, I re-arrange the roster a tiny bit to make room for Hell Monkey. Remmy Skye is dropped into an Upper Midcard role, which is a better place for him anyway, although he might not agree with that.
The folks from Marketing are clamoring for my attention all day, and when I finally manage to give them a few minutes, they tell me that their recent marketing studies show that our recent run of good form and the introduction of Hell Monkey combined to push us into another strata of popularity in our home region. That's good, since that means ticket prices can withstand an increase. The lineup for the second July Weekly will feature Hell Monkey against Brent Hill yet again. Brent maintains that Hell Monkey is receiving excess consideration and should be forced to "prove" himself before being given a title shot. (Apparently Brent is forgetting his own introduction to CZCW back at the start of my tenure). His plea falls on deaf ears, however, and the match is arranged, although Hell Monkey will also wrestle early in the evening against Jacob Jett as a tune up. Fernando Elwes and Michael Gallagher take each other on in the Futures Title Series. Rounding things out, High Fliers II battle the oft-forgotten (for good reason) tag team Excess Energy and Joss Thompson continues to step up in rank a bit, with a match against Insane Machine. ---------- CZCW July Weekly 2 The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 615
---------- Attendance is down significantly, and what's more, Marketing tells me that our fans are complaining about the hike in ticket prices, as if they weren't the ones who set the new price, the weasels. Could the ticket price be a factor in the low attendance? Or is this just the standard steady erosion of fan support we always see as the month drags on? Worse, despite two excellent matches involving Hell Monkey book ending the evening and the fact that the match between the two Futures Title Series contenders is uncharacteristically watchable, our performance is just mediocre overall. The largest part of the blame belongs to Excess Energy who are unentertaining against High Fliers II... unless, of course, you want to blame me for creating the unholy pairing in the first place. In the matches everyone came to see, Hell Monkey dispatches Jacob Jett, who responds very well to a chance against a wrestler of Hell Monkey's stature, but falls to Brent Hill who is making a case that reports of his fall from the CZCW summit were greatly exaggerated. ---------- A "brainstorming" meeting with Marketing is apparently required to take the obvious decision that ticket prices should be lowered to address our fan's concerns. While listening to suits with MBA's spew jargon for an hour, all I can think is that this is time spent which I'm going to regret on my deathbed. Besides which, given my prediction of an attendance drop-off for the fourth show in July, I'm anticipating and dreading another meeting with this batch of Cassandras sometime next week. Oh well, at least I manage to jot down my notes for the third July Weekly while pretending to pay attention. Hell Monkey, after having the quick route to the title blocked by Brent Hill, will take the longer route and prove himself against all comers, starting this week against Plague. Joss Thompson continues his run against top tier opponents with a match against John Maverick this week. Fernando Elwes and Steven Parker match up against one another in a match that's certain to be anything but civil since the stakes involve the winner gets a Futures Title shot against Oscar Golden at August's Wave of Fury show. And after a week off, both NATO and Frankie Perez are back in action for their respective titles, against perennial contenders High Fliers II and Jacob Jett. Could Jacob Jett dethrone two champions in one evening? ---------- CZCW July Weekly 3 The Snake Pit (SW) Att: 468
---------- The attendance drops just as we expected and the fans are still moaning about ticket prices. The fans who choose to come out are rewarded with fairly good evening, starting with an electrifying match between Joss Thompson and John Maverick. Maverick is just too much for Thompson, but Thompson continues to impress the fans and myself with his ability. In a Futures Title series brouhaha, Michael Gallagher gets involved first, followed by Joss Thompson leaving his announcing table, the referee is knocked silly, and when the dust finally settles, Fernando Elwes wins the chance at Oscar Golden. Jacob Jett goes 0-2 on the evening, losing the Tag Team Title to NATO and the Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship to Frankie Perez. Hell Monkey is a whirlwind in the ring, proving too much for Brent Hill's long-time nemesis, Plague, and taking the first step towards another chance at Brent Hill. ---------- Since the outcome of the "emergency" meeting with Marketing about ticket prices and attendance is a foregone conclusion anyway, I tell Marketing to hold their brainstorming session without me and send someone to my office with the outcome. While I'm waiting, Cliff brings me the monthly financials. Despite hiring Hell Monkey, CZCW turns a profit of $45,094 and our bank account broke the $300K barrier! My reverie about hiring an army of Hell Monkeys away from the big federations is interrupted by a Marketing drone who timidly knocks on my door and announces that they decided the best course of action is to...wait for it...lower ticket prices. Next month: CZCW starts to find its stride. Last edited by daveyk : 05-16-2006 at 06:19 PM.
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05-17-2006, 05:16 PM
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Coastal Zone Dreamin'
***************
August 2008, Week 1 Note: A change in format here. With the number of shows I am running and the overall pace of things, a month-at-a-time recounting is too much to write at one time (and, I imagine, too much to read at one time). So from this point, I'm going show-to-show instead. The first order of business for August is pre-ordained after looking at last month's attendance figures. The fourth show is cancelled. We're going with one main show and two weeklies until something happens to change my mind about that. We'll see this month what affect that has on attendance. Plus we decrease ticket prices again...they are only $2 higher than they were when Marketing first suggested we hike them due to our increased popularity, so hopefully this is the lowest we have to go. The second order of business is likewise fairly easy, with Plague and Insane Machine looking for new contracts. Plague won't be getting much of a sniff at the title anymore, with Hell Monkey, Brent Hill, and John Maverick ahead of him in my priorities. But he is able to be entertaining against all three of those guys, so he's needed as fodder for them. Plus, I still think his tag team, Full Force, may emerge eventually into the top tier. So, Plague gets a new contract. Likewise, Insane Machine won't be getting anywhere near a singles title anytime soon. But he's a staple for both Midcard and Main Event matches and is part of one of our top three tag teams, High Fliers II. So Insane Machine also gets a new contract. The Wave of Fury show starts off with a treat for the fans, pitting our two title holders against each other. Both Frankie Perez and Brent Hill have been fairly unassailable recently and, even though no titles are on the line, both men will be looking for some serious bragging rights. Hell Monkey begins the process of building towards a chance for the Coastal Zone Championship with a match against perennial punching bag Remmy Skye. Oscar Golden takes on Fernando Elwes with the Coastal Zone Futures Championship on the line. Fernando is still smarting from his poor showing in the original tournament and is looking to establish himself as a viable contender. NATO make another defense of their tag team title against Face Time. And our two re-signed wrestlers are given title shots. Frankie Perez defends the Coastal Zone Xtreme Championship against Insane Machine and Brent Hill defends the Coastal Zone Championship again long-time rival Plague. ---------- CZCW Wave of Fury Grissom Auditorium (SW) Att: 1,775
---------- Despite the fact that fans are still moaning about the ticket prices, they turn up in droves for the show. I begin to wonder if I should even bother reducing ticket prices, since there hasn't seemed to be any impact on attendance even when the fans complain. Brent Hill and Frankie Perez get the evening off on the right foot with an entertaining see-saw match, in which Brent Hill eventual comes out on top. The Futures Title Series match once again devolves into mayhem. Michael Gallagher accompanies Fernando Elwes to ringside for "moral support." The tables are turned when, in an act of cold-hearted revenge, Joss Thompson engages in a shouting match with Michael Gallagher, distracting him, Elwes, and the referee long enough for Steven Parker to rush in un-noticed and knock Fernando Elwes senseless. From that point, Oscar Golden has a cakewalk of a defense against a near-helpless opponent. Though the disgusted look on his face as he leaves the ring suggests that Golden is starting to tire of these antics tainting his title. NATO prove too much for Face Time yet again, retaining their tag team title. Frankie Perez fares better in his singles title match, dispatching Insane Machine and retaining his title. Hell Monkey breezes past Remmy Skye with a clinical demolition that suggests he is dead serious about getting back at Brent Hill in the future. In the present, however, Brent Hill remains dominant, defeating Plague in their title match. Next Week: Raising up Joss. Last edited by daveyk : 05-18-2006 at 05:52 PM.
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