Chachins

Big debut for Misawa and Kobashi. They can do all their talking in the ring. These guys just put the tag division in RAGE on notice. Ultimate Survival sounds like it will be a fun wild card kind of thing to watch. I like the consolation prize for the 4 guys that don't win the belt, that is a nice addition! Any time Buff Bagwell is on the losing end of things is fine in my book. Big show coming next week, and the main event was great, with Triple H giving a rub to Dean Malenko, who deserves it. But what on Earth is Flair doing here, and why did he show up then?

This sounds like a fun show to watch, with our first interpromotional event. Money International really intrigues me as a tag team. Aguayo and Jannetty would be a fun combination to watch, and once they developed some chemistry, might just be the dark horse team in Can-Am to carry the division. Speaking of tag teams, 37 minutes of Hardyz vs. Triple Threat sounds kind of epic. Quick RIP shout-out to Kamala! And it seems like Tommy Dreamer is really being positioned as a top guy in Can-Am, winning the main event at this show against worthy competition.

I love how you are telling the storylines for your matches and competitors in this way, building up towards your shows. It is kind of ingenious, once we get to the show, we already know everything we need to, so you can just do your match write-ups. It's an interesting approach.

I was curious about your first show, because you set a high standard with your unique use of posters and graphics, which has been stellar and attention grabbing. But now we come to what really matters ... the substance of your shows. And you matched that standard with flying colors! I am not the biggest fan of hardcore and extreme wrestling (although I did host a hardcore division in a former federation I wrote for that got pretty extreme) but I like your use of it here. I thought in the Pain/Anderson match, waiting until the end to introduce the barb-wire whip was a great choice. I have no clue who Maunakea Mossman is, but from reading the match, he is my new favorite wrestler in BCP. I kind of hope Justice Pain takes out Konnan. I just never liked him that much, but I grudgingly admit he got great heel heat with me on this show, so what he is doing is working. Loved the show of sportsmanship between Dr. Death and Nakanishi to close out the show. Great debut for BCP and the future here is wide open for sure!

Pretty exciting kickoff show! I have always thought Scott Norton was so underrated and could be pushed as a monster. So I hope he is not being built up to just get squashed by Goldberg in round 2, but I am curious to see where this thing goes. Dutch's Double are a good combination of guys, Enos and Cade were talented enough workers but kind of suck on the mic, so pairing them with Dutch who is a freakin' genius on the mic was a great move. The tournament looks pretty off the hook. My picks for the first round are Goldberg, Onita (although I struggled a bit with this one), RVD and Norton. RVD/Styles will be the match of the entire tournament, I bet. That kid might not be ready yet, but he is something special.

This was a fun debut for Grind Time. I was a little confused at first on whether Bryan Danielson was a face or heel since he was facing Finlay but cut a heelish promo first, but I got plenty of clarity as he seconded his mentor. They should make for a really great combination to watch wreak havoc on Grind Time. I picked Raven to win and felt Eddie getting the duke was a little bit of an upset. I like unpredictability. I also like how you are setting the stage for the Memphis/Chicago feud between what is becoming almost like a faction warfare situation. Memphis pulls out the win here, we'll see what happens in their home turf. I do like that you protected an older Lawler here by making the match hardcore, as I think in 2000 he would have a hard time keeping up with Corino.

This was a really entertaining card from a pure mat watching perspective. You have a slightly similar style of match writing to my own, telling the story moreso than emphasizing every move in detail. It makes the matches easy to read and follow. A few highlights for me from this show: Tully is the perfect mouthpiece for Brock. I can't wait to see how far this young stud will go under his tutelage. I'm still unfamiliar with (but slowly learning) a lot of your competitors, but I really think I would have enjoyed seeing the Yamamoto/Naruse match. Stiff and two guys putting on their working boots. This Suzuki-gun faction is powerful and growing. They are slick about picking their spots and making sure they are the ones standing in the end. Picking on Ken Shamrock is kind of a foolish thing to do, but so far so good. I can't wait to see their eventual reckoning when the sides get evened up (if they do!) I also got into the main event, I know nothing about Volk Han but I have always really enjoyed watching the Russian Sambo style. Great show!

As the other fledgling promotions begin to air shows and reveal information as to who they have signed and what talents they will be pushing, there is still an air of mystery over who will be the flag bearers for Pacific Northwest Wrestling. It is said that Vince McMahon was emphasizing talented individuals rather than known main event stars. Expect more upper mid card type names to be pushed, as Vince has a long and star studded history of creating superstars from midcard talents. It is also rumored he has signed a number of his own former WWF stars as well as several of the upper mid card types from the former WCW, and there is some talk of a possible long term angle that would push the WCW guys against the WWF guys. Nothing is set in stone, but the germ of an idea is there. It is said McMahon smiled broadly when it was bought up at a recent booking meeting, and he assigned a couple of his most trusted writers to flesh out an outline of how it might go.

Wow, a lot happened since my last check-in with Can-Am Pro. The tag title tournament was fun and I am curious to see how many of these teams stay together, if any (outside of the champs, of course!) I find the Hardcore Holly stuff intriguing, since he lost his match against Terry Funk amidst the tag title tournament. So to my thinking, if he does get favorable treatment, Funk might not be too thrilled about that. It seems like you are subtly positioning Terry Funk as a top guy as he has been doing a lot of winning so far. Stephanie is also someone being positioned pretty prominently. But has she lost her meal ticket? I am really interested to see if Rhino is serious or if this is part of a bigger plan of some sort. And of course, perhaps most importantly, I can't wait to see Dreamer and Douglas explode. I hope you slow build this, it could be a major event.

I like your format of piecing your show together one day at a time. It builds intrigue and gives your viewers something to look forward to each day, which would also build anticipation. I also like that you are sticking to the traditional various styles that are taken so seriously over in Japan. As I mentioned on another writer's show thread, I look forward to learning the personalities and styles of a lot of these names I have heard but know substantially little about.

I have to say my money is on William Regal to win the tournament. But we'll see. A lot of interesting matchups!

Word out of Seattle is that a lot of the talent were a little shell shocked to hear that there would be a $0 gate for the Pacific Northwest Wrestling kickoff show. Apparently a lot of the talent have contracts involving a portion of gate receipts. Nobody is jumping ship, according to sources, but a little rumbling has begun, wondering if Vince McMahon is being overconfident. Some have even stated it almost feels like the feeling surrounding the first Wrestlemania where it was largely considered a make or break show for the WWF at the time. Preliminary reports have suggested that the tone of PNW is going to reflect the "attitude" era of the last days of the WWF, but with more of an emphasis on the in-ring product than staged vignettes. McMahon's vision is to take the drama and personality that was exhibited with a lot of the interview segments and vignettes and have the talent translate that to their matches. He stated that in a number of cases, the art of storytelling in the ring was sacrificed for shock value while the talents tried to tell the entire story through backstage shenanigans. While there will still be a number of backstage segments, they will have a more realistic tone, rather than octagenarians giving birth to hands. While the PNW shows will primarily be live, the first few are going to be taped and aired later, as Vince wants to have full control over the outset of the programming to set the tone his way. He has a support staff and a number of big names helping with booking and creative, but as is his way, Vince is still judge, jury, and executioner for any and all ideas. He retains final say over everything that goes on.

Really great stuff here, your use of that amazing poster and the set up for your tournament makes Beach Club Pro such a strong promotion. Like LowBlow, I am not that familiar with a number of your competitors, so I plan to enjoy learning who they are through your writings, which to this point are rich in detail.

Interesting way to crown a champion, for sure, and I love Foley as the commish. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE gauntlet matches, the anticipation of seeing who is next, the reaction of the guy in the ring to seeing it, priceless stuff rife with drama. I do believe that crowning your champion in a gauntlet match gives you a lot of opportunity to have guys stake claims to their positioning in it to try to angle (no pun intended) for a title shot. Kurt Angle was the hottest thing in wrestling in 2000. What a prize you have and a chance to position him as your flagship guy.

I liked the intense opening between James Mitchell, Sabu, and Steamboat. Great way to kick things off and set a tone for the rest of the show. I agree with LowBlow, I like what happened between Spike and Vader, curious to see where each character goes from here. I am going to also agree with the two gents above me about the Mysterio/Liger draw. I assume this means a double elimination from the tournament? If that is the case, I am going to differ from said two gents and put my money on Tajiri being a darkhorse to win this thing. This was a really fun first show, I like the wrestling style in this promotion, a lot of action and fun matches.

Pretty exciting opening show! I am curious what the Ultimate Survival is going to be (not to mention who will be participating) and Triple H vs. Undertaker is pretty huge. I'm not a huge fan of letting the fans pick the contenders, but they got this one right. I like the subtle reference to Triple H possibly being behind Steve Austin's injury, be curious to see if he addresses that at all and what it would do to HHH's confidence in the title match. The main event was fun, but damn, Big Vis is getting a big push it seems. He is certainly a monster. Glad to see Scott Steiner is every bit as annoying in Rage as he was in WCW. I hope Mark Henry wipes the mat with him, but we'll see! Great start to Rage, Bischoff, Ross, and The Dream are the perfect guys to lead this type of fed into it's future!

The following is from yesterday's press conference in Seattle, Washington, featuring Vince McMahon. Vince enters with a big grin on his face and struts to the podium like he owns the place. Or more like he owns the entire world. Vince: Hello everyone, welcome, glad to see you all came out. Before we get to the questions, I am here to confirm the rumors are true. In the wake of the sports entertainment industry imploding upon itself, I am going to be starting a new company based here in Seattle called Pacific Northwest Wrestling. Our mission statement is to do what I do best, bring the best of the worlds of entertainment and athletics to an untapped but rabid fan base here in the Pacific Northwest. I have acquired a license and was able to salvage most of my equipment and personnel to be able to put on professional wrestling extravaganzas like this area has never seen. You all know that I know how to put asses in seats, to coin a phrase. I put 93,000 asses in seats in Detroit at Wrestlemania III when Hulk Hogan bodyslammed Andre the Giant. I not only am the man that put sports entertainment into the mainstream, but I created or had a hand in creating nearly every memorable character that you all love to cheer or jeer. I may no longer have the World Wrestling Federation, but I did not lose any of my gumption. In fact, I am more determined than ever to re-establish my brand and to once again give rise to the greatest industry in the world. Now then, I'll be happy to take a few questions. Reporter 1: Mr. McMahon, there are rumors going around that several other wrestling organizations are sprouting up. Many of them are featuring stars from the WWF. Do you have any comment on them, and how many of your stars are you bringing here? Vince: I have no comments on what other organizations are up to. I am not involved with any of them. I don't need to flex my muscle, I think you all know what was happening between the WWF and WCW. I will give that other organization credit, they gave me a run. But I took what they were doing and improved upon it to the point that I was, once again, dominating the industry. As for the talents I have signed, anyone I wanted is here. The future of the wrestling industry now resides in the Pacific Northwest. Competition is good for business, so I welcome the other organizations to put on their shows and do their thing. Reporter 2: Vince, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were your top stars when the WWF collapsed. Will they be joining you here? Vince: No comment, I will not be revealing the names of any of the talent, so please refrain from wasting our time with those types of questions. Suffice it to say, only the top talent will be here in the Pacific Northwest. Reporter 3: When can we expect our first show, and what can we expect from it? Vince: Expect the unexpected. As I stated before, I have most of my personnel from the WWF imported here with me, as far as production people go. While our product will not be quite up to the level that the WWF reached, we will be putting out a quality program, with production values that are cutting edge and far above industry standard. This is no bingo hall operation. This seems like a good time to end this press conference with a major announcement. Our first show will be emanating from Keyarena on Sunday, August 16th. Now, you may all be thinking it seems arrogant to book a first show for a new company in such a large arena. Here is the thing. You want to go to the show? You won't be buying tickets online. They won't be available through Ticketmaster or any other venue. Because this is going to be a free show for anyone and everyone who wishes to attend. You heard that right, we will not be charging a penny. First come, first served, we will fill this arena until it's standing room only and the fire marshall threatens to shut us down. See you on the 16th!

Great stuff, Rodman is the perfect guy to set the tone you are looking for.

I love it. I am still amazed you corraled Kurt Angle, The Rock, and Sting for the top of your card. Not to mention Foley later on (you snagged him right around the time I was thinking about it!) Awesome intro from down under, you have the guys to come storming out of the gate.

First off, I love your format. Idk why, but match times are important to me and I like that you included them in your summary at the end. This was a great show, and way to kick off the first show of the Millenium Project! I am still unfamiliar with a number of your competitors but I can get an idea of who they are from the match descriptions. Finally, the Suzuki Army made a pretty big statement here. They seem like a take no prisoners type of outfit. I can't wait to see how they shake up the foundation of U-Cosmos! Great first show!

Wow, very well done, my friend. I don't have the technical knowledge to do what you did here, but I love it!

Pacific Northwest Wrestling is rumored to be structured similar to the old WWF. Vince McMahon is the first and last voice in everything. It is reported he intends to work with his talent closely and welcomes their input, but retains the ultimate say in how things are going to play out. It is also rumored that he will resume with the evil Mr. McMahon character on screen. There will be a press conference in the next few days coming out of Seattle, the presumed home base of PNW, and the inaugural show will be announced, and word is that Vince may or may not be in character for that. Thus, there is some speculation that what is presented at the press conference may be dubious information geared to get the fans thinking in a certain way. It is additionally rumored that he will have a major accouncement regarding that inaugural show which will completely shock everyone and could lead to a record turnout. There was a lot of snickering from so-called industry experts at McMahon holding his very first show, which will be featured as a television special throughout networks in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada (and may be available elsewhere) in Keyarena, but supposedly, McMahon is guaranteeing a sellout crowd. This could also be more brand positioning and perception creating on his part.

I love this, you are taking the same tact as me ... building a little mystery and intrigue. You have talent coming in from all over the world, it gives Pro Wrestling Outlaws a global feel already. I like how you are putting together a puzzle right before our eyes. Can't wait to see what the press conference is all about!

After reading this piece, I think Larry Zbysko is the absolute perfect choice for your figurehead. He has always been a "take no shit" type, even as a WCW color guy, and he has just the right attitude for what it seems like you are going for. You did well pitching the diversity of your roster, while singling out Goldberg as the obvious centerpiece. But will he get the title in the tournament, or will one of the talented upstarts find a way to get past him? This will be a fun one to read!

Great opening statement! As a native Clevelander, I LOVE the blue collar mentality. The open challenge penalty rule is a really interesting one, it will separate the gutsy guys from the cowardly ones. I would suggest putting in an injury contingency or something of that nature so guys can't just challenge someone who is unable to compete in order to get them out of title contention. But I like the idea and think it gives you a chance to create a lot of spontaneously memorable moments of incredible triumph or catastrophic failure. As LowBlow said, reach out for any advice or with any questions. I've been at this for a bit myself, with a history with LowBlow in fact, and we are always about lifting each other up and keeping this thing going strong. I have limited experience with SirEdger but all the work I have done with him in these things has been positive, I would suggest he is the same way. My best piece of advice is don't pressure yourself. I have had some really amazing federations fall by the wayside because I set a schedule and expectation I was unable to meet. It took the fun out of writing the shows for me when I felt under the gun. So I have learned to pare down my shows to something I can accomplish without too many bells and whistles. It's still hard work ... a Grind, if you will ... but ultimately fun and rewarding. So welcome to the world of fantasy booking and writing! I can tell from your intro you are more than ready!