Booking 101: Tim's NWF

[TDalton]

I'm going to give this a shot. Don't know how long or often I'll post, but what the heck. I'll probably list results with some brief notes needed to understand or further the stories to be told.

Welcome to the NWF, my Legends fed that runs in the Buffalo, Cleveland & Pittsburgh territory formerly promoted by Pedro Martinez in the 70's.

GENERAL BACKGROUND: I run 52 cards in a year. There are no PPV's (old school) but there are three major shows (Steel Belt Clash, Summer Showdown and Superbowl of Wrestling). No one has entrance music (old school) and flashy tag-team names are avoided wherever possible. I don't run a lot of "special" matches, which is what makes them special when they do happen. Very rare usage of my own bootlegs, usually as an "added attraction" on the big shows. I'm currently integrating the Legends Fever guys.

I'm going to start with Card #188 which was the 2006 Summer Showdown on August 11,2006. Going into the show, here was the basic layout:

Nick Bockwinkel
The Vachons
Bobby Heenan, manager
The top rulebreaker group. Bockwinkel had been the top fan favorite, but was lured to the dark side by Heenan. Bockwinkel is the current NWF Champion, and has gotten all he can handle in recent months with challenges from Ted DiBiase and Giant Baba. Mad Dog and Bockwinkel were formerly bitter rivals, but Heenan seems to be keeping the peace.

The Crusher
Iron Mike & Ted DiBiase
Top fan favorite group, with Ted no longer doing the Million Dollar Man schtick, and adopting the "I teamed in Japan with Stan Hansen" type persona. Ted brought in Crusher to aid in the fight against the Heenan Family. He is making his debut at Summer Showdown.

Rikidozan
Dan Severn
Richard Hutton

Antonio Inoki
Bruiser Brody
Jimmy Snuka

Giant Baba
Antonino Rocca
Ilio DiPaolo
This is kind of my All Japan (Baba) versus New Japan (Inoki) feud. Rikidozan has come in as a peacemaker and wants to unite Baba & Inoki. Rikidozan will not wrestle his countrymen, but will take on anyone else. Rocca and DiPaolo (the local hero) have proven to be two of the most popular men in the NWF.

The Sheik
Sabu
The Sheik entered the NWF in November 2005 and has not been pinned or submitted in singles or tag-team competition. He won the North American Title from Giant Baba, and has defended against Bruiser Brody (2 matches) and Bobo Brazil (3 matches).

Don Leo Jonathan
Yukon Eric
After a prolific rulebreaker run in the NWF, Jonathan left having held the North American belt three times. His second reign was a record setting 36 cards long. He recently returned as a fan favorite with Yukon Eric. Their tag-team hasn't done well, and now Jonathan has become determined to be the man to end The Sheik's unholy reign of terror!

Flying Redheads
Lyons & Bastien just lost the tag-team belts to the mysterious Masked Executioners two weeks before Showdown. The Redheads beat Lou Albano's Dream Team for the titles and had a nice run before Albano got the belts back with his latest duo.

Masked Superstar
Executioner #1
Executioner #2
Yes, Lou Albano has become the NWF's version of Darkos (a little GWF reference). He uses Superstar as his singles threat and enforcer, but still concentrates on tag-teams. If you must know, the Executioners are secretly Killer Kowalski & Nikolai Volkoff. The Executioners are the 4th Albano managed team to hold the tag titles.

S.D. Jones
Virgil
I was going to use Virgil as Soultrain Jones and steal Chad's gimmick of "The Jones Boys" but didn't. My undercard good-guy team currently paired against...

The Riviera Playboys (Buddy Rose & Koko Ware)
Sherri Martel, manager/valet
This is the rare "no goofy tag-team names" exception. I just like the dynamic of the undercard bad-guy team with Sherri. Named after a local band from Rochester, NY.

Justin Credible
Chris Candido
Candido managed by Tammy Sytch
Team has been around for a while, but it seems like there is a lot of internal strife lately. Tammy only comes to the ring when Candido is involved.

Bobo Brazil
Bobo is active part-time in the NWF, mainly to support the good guys in their efforts against the rulebreaking teams..

That's about it. Next post will be Card #188 - Summer Showdown 2006!

[Minotaur]

This is pretty cool.....

52 cards a year....is there a set time for your 3 supercards?

Myself, I am not too happy with how i am running my legends, and I am going to reboot, just using the original 24 with a select 8 other wrestlers, mostly limited Edition cards.

I want to establish something to dictate a time line....but not sure as to how to do that with the game when there really isn't a time line....

But, this looks really good.....I might have to....borrow it....or parts of it....for my set up.

Chris

[TDalton]

Event timing:
Steel Belt Clash (Buffalo) - mid April
Summer Showdown (Cleveland) - August
Superbowl of Wrestling (Pittsburgh) - last show of year

I usually date the shows on Friday nights, which is when the NWF would run The Aud here in Buffalo for their weekly shows.

[swarm]

damn reading this makes me want to play legends...this is great stuff Tim...

When I do, it will be based on the UWF...Dr. Death vs. Sabu is going to be the first Main Event I ever run...

[gwffantrav]

swarm said:

damn reading this makes me want to play legends...this is great stuff Tim...

When I do, it will be based on the UWF...Dr. Death vs. Sabu is going to be the first Main Event I ever run...

Swarm, gotta say I'd love to see some of your creative stuff you could come up with in Legends

[TDalton]

Card #188 - SUMMER SHOWDOWN - 8/11/06
Municipal Stadium, Cleveland

1. S.D. Jones & Virgil b Riviera Playboys
Second straight tag win over the Playboys for Jones & Virgil. Jones pinned a bloody Rose with a power body slam.

2. Larry Zbyszko b Iron Mike DiBiase
DiBiase has had good luck against the Heenan Family. but got pounded in this one. Zbyszko's Piledriver ended it.

3. Masked Superstar b Bobo Brazil
Bobo was back to help out former tag partner Bastien in his battle with Albano's group. Superstar loaded his mask late in the match and Bobo's Coco Butt backfired on him and Superstar hit the Spinning Neckbreaker for the win.

4. Special Attraction: Domenic DeNucci & Tony Parisi b Justin Credible & Chris Candido
Local favorites DeNucci & Parisi got the win in a long match that saw several breakdowns in the teamwork of their opponents. Parisi pinned Credible with the Cannonball. Credible & Candido argued after the bell and Candido decked Credible. They started exchanging punches, with Credible getting the better of things until Tammy blindsided him with the Singapore Cane. Credible wound up KO'd and sustained a 4 card injury.

5. The Crusher b Butcher Vachon
Crusher's debut against Heenan's enforcer. Butcher has had surprising singles success but got steamrolled. Heenan was livid at the outcome and was yelling at Butcher after the match. It looked like Butcher was going to pop his manager when Mad Dog arrived and calmed both men down. Odd to see him as the voice of reason.

6. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka b Dan Severn & Richard Hutton
Rikidozan's shooter guys didn't quite have enough to beat Inoki's wildmen. Severn took Brody apart early but couldn't finish him. Snuka carried the load from there, and eventually pinned Severn with a piledriver.

7. Antonio Inoki b Antonino Rocca
Inoki came in needing a big win and got it with the Octopus Hold. Inoki is still looking for a match with Baba despite Rikidozan's attempts to bring them together. The three were rumored to be meeting the day after the show.

8. Steel Cage Grudge Match: Ted DiBiase b Mad Dog Vachon
Exact opposite of what you would expect, as DiBiase dominated tha action. Vachon was wearing the crimson mask and was pinned after repeated face slams into the cage. By virtue of the win, DiBiase gets a title shot at the winner of the main event.

9. Handicap Match: Flying Redheads b Executioners & Lou Albano
Redheads made it look like size doesn't matter with a big win over the tag champs and their manager. Lyons turned things around on Albano and Bastien planted him with the Atomic Drop for the three count.

10. North American Championship: The Sheik ddq Don Leo Jonathan
This one broke down quickly, as do most of The Sheik's matches. Within minutes, the referee lost control and called for the double DQ as both men fought into the crowd and back to the dressing room.

11. NWF Championship: Nick Bockwinkel b Giant Baba
After a recent DQ decision over the champ, Baba was looking to win the big title for the first time. No such luck as Bockwinkel and Heenan used every dirty trick in the book. Inoki came out and sat at ringside, which distracted Baba even further. Bockwinkel won with the Sleeper, and then downplayed his upcoming title defense against Ted DiBiase, who he said has gone from "riches to rags." Baba and Inoki exchanged some harsh words on the field, but Rikidozan stopped things from getting out of hand.

[Slymm]

Nice card Tim. Your setup is really easy on the eyes. Look forward to more.

Slymm

[canadianpittbull]

Yeah this is very cool! Awesome work!

[Chad Olson]

Having followed Tim's NWF since it's beginning, I can tell you he runs an awesome fed. The Sheik's run with the US title has been a lot of fun to watch! And Bock's the main man, what's not to love?

[Shon Maxx]

I like the idea of using bootlegs mostly as special attractions. I might borrow that idea since I still enjoy using some of my bootlegs, but I'd prefer to keep the main focus on the LOW wrestlers.

Take care,

Jay

[Cory Olson]

I have to second my brother's comments and say that Tim's fed is always great to read about. I've been so surprised by the Sheik's reign of terror, and this is without the Abdullah Farouk card!

Jay, I agree with you in keeping the focus on the LOW guys. I use bootlegs too as special attractions, but like to keep the official guys as the main players.

[TDalton]

Card #189 - 8/18/06
Convention Center - Niagara Falls, NY

1. Playboy Buddy Rose b S.D. Jones
Jones looked good until he started chasing Sherri around ringside. Rose plowed him into the guardrail, then beat him with the half Boston crab.

2. Justin Credible b Chris Candido
Former partners, now enemies! Candido looked tough but spent a lot of time playing to the crowd, thinking Credible's injury made him an easy victim. The ref was putting Tammy out of the ring when Credible hit the Singapore Cane for the win.

3. The Crusher & Iron Mike DiBiase b Larry Zbyszko & Butcher Vachon
Match was actually the backdrop for some post-bout fireworks. After Butcher got pinned by the Bolo Punch, Heenan cut a promo that ripped Vachon, then fired him from the Heenan Family! Vachon belted Heenan but was attacked by Zbyszko and beaten down. Mad Dog was not at the arena.

4. Giant Baba b Richard Hutton
Other than his losses to Bockwinkel, Baba has had a banner year. This was a good bout but saw Hutton land badly on a second rope kneedrop and get cradled.

5. Antonio Inoki b Dan Severn
Another good win for Inoki, who escaped the Wakigatame and hit two straight Enzuigiris for the win (and yes, that is the proper spelling of the move).

6. Don Leo Jonathan & Yukon Eric ddq The Sheik & Sabu
Insane brawling bloodath! Oddly, everyone but The Sheik was a bloody mess. Crowd was intense for the Jonathan/Sheik confrontations. After numerous warnings, the ref had to call the bout, as it was completely out of control.

7. Rikidozan b Bruiser Brody
Brody is the only man to get a win over Rikidozan, but the Chop Master got his revenge this night. Word has leaked that Rikidozan's talk with Baba & Inoki has led to a tag match with the duo facing Severn & Hutton at the next show!

8. Jimmy Snuka b Antonino Rocca
These two high energy grapplers seem to trade wins back and forth. Tonight was Snuka's advantage, as he won with an over the knee backbreaker.

9. NWF Tag-Team Championship: Flying Redheads dq Masked Executioners
Big rematch for the tag-team titles saw the aggressive smaller challengers control most of the bout. Both Executioners appeared to be bleeding through their masks. Just when it looked like the Redheads would regain the belts, Executioner #2 used a low blow right in front of the referee to get DQ'd intentionally.

Next show is #190 from Chad Olson's favorite NWF arena - The Floral Hall in Dunkirk, NY! The main event is a rematch for the North American Title as The Sheik defends against Don Leo Jonathan! Giant Baba & Antonio Inoki debut as a tag-team, Yukon Eric faces Sabu and in a big tag battle, the DiBiases take on Heenan Family members Nick Bockwinkel & Larry Zbyszko! Also, will Mad Dog Vachon be at the show, and how will he react when he finds out his brother has been fired??

[Slymm]

Another real nice card Tim.

Very nice flow to your fed, I really enjoy reading the results.

-Slymm

[Chad Olson]

tdalton said:

Next show is #190 from Chad Olson's favorite NWF arena - The Floral Hall in Dunkirk, NY!

Also, will Mad Dog Vachon be at the show, and how will he react when he finds out his brother has been fired??

Where is the Floral Hall? I expect you to find it for next year's trip to Jamestown!

I think Mad Dog will be OK with his brother being let go. As he used to say, it's dog eat dog!

[TDalton]

Thanks to all for the kind words, but now it's time for...

Card #190 - 8/25/06
Floral Hall - Dunkirk, NY

1. Riviera Playboys (Rose & Koko) b S.D. Jones & Virgil
The Playboys finally get their first tag-team win after two losses to Jones & Virgil. Rose nailed Virgil with a Bombs Away for the fall. Sherri Martel is now claiming that this is the first in a long line of victories that will lead to the tag-team titles.

2. Masked Superstar b Billy "Red" Lyons
Fast paced match with surprisingly little interference by Albano, who has been concentrating on the Executioners vs. Redheads feud. Superstar hit the Spinning Neckbreaker for the win.

3. Chris Candido dq Justin Credible
Candido evens the score in this battle of ex-partners, but not exactly as he'd planned. After sneaking in couple of Singapore Cane shots behind the ref's back, Credible went to the well one time too many and got busted for the DQ.

4. Antonino Rocca & Ilio DiPaolo ddq Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka
Despite taking a lot of punishment, Rocca & Ilio hung tough, and the crowed was wildly behind them. Turned into a great brawl that saw Snuka & Ilio get DQ'd for simultaneously throwing the ref to the mat as they were fighting.

5. Red Bastien b Executioner #2
Red was on fire, using his speed and agility to thwart the attempted power moves of Executioner #2. Lyons, Executioner #1 and Albano were all ringside. Lyons blocked attempted interference by #1, and Red buried #2 with the Atomic Drop for the win.

6. Giant Baba & Antonio Inoki nc Dan Severn & Richard Hutton
The big debut of the Baba/Inoki team never got started as the duo started arguing about who would start the match. This led to a heated exchange in Japanese, and then some pushing and shoving. Both threw up their hands and left the ring for the no contest.

7. Yukon Eric b Sabu
These are the tag partners of the men in the main event. Eric seemed snake bit in singles, but got a breakthrough win against Sabu with the Kodiak Krunch. Eric used his mass to negate the aerial tactics of Sabu.

8. Nick Bockwinkel & Larry Zbyszko b Ted & Iron Mike DiBiase
With Bockwinkel's next title defense against Ted DiBiase, this was a grudge bout. It was originally scheduled as Bockwinkel teaming with Mad Dog Vachon, but Mad Dog was nowhere to be found. Could this have anything to do with brother Butcher being fired by Heenan on the last show? Zbyszko substituted, and played a big part in the finish, holding Ted's leg from outside the ring as Bockwinkel scored a jaded win after a piledriver. It was announced that Bockwinkel's defense against Ted on the next show would be a "best of three falls" match. DiBiase has previously won both the NWF Title and United States (now North American) Title under those stipulations.

9. North American Championship: Don Leo Jonathan dq The Sheik
Their last meeting saw a crazy double DQ and this time got just as wild. Jonathan owned him until the Syrian madman got out of the ring. The finish saw Sheik drag the mic cord into the ring and choke Jonathan with it. The ref tried to break it up, but Sheik had no intention of stopping, so the DQ was called. Officials and security had to pry the two apart. Jonathan's quest for his 4th NA Title reign continues!

Card #191 at The Aud sees the Buffalo debut of hometown hero Ilio DiPaolo as he takes on Playboy Buddy Rose! Other matches already signed include The Crusher against Larry Zbyszko, Yukon Eric & Don Leo Jonathan squaring off against The Sheik & Sabu, the return of Mad Dog Vachon and the big title bout with Nick Bockwinkel (boo!) defending against Ted DiBiase!

[TDalton]

AUGUST 2006 RANKINGS

NWF: NICK BOCKWINKEL (C)
NA: THE SHEIK (NA)
1. Giant Baba (1)
2. Don Leo Jonathan (9)
3. Mad Dog Vachon (2)
4. Rikidozan (5)
5. Masked Superstar (6)
6. Bruiser Brody (3)
7. Antonio Inoki ( - )
8. Ted DiBiase (4)
9. Justin Credible (10)
10. Antonino Rocca (7)

TAG: MASKED EXECUTIONERS (C)
1. Flying Redheads (1)
2. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (3)
3. Ted & Iron Mike DiBiase (2)
4. The Sheik & Sabu (4)
5. S.D. Jones & Virgil ( - )

NWF Notes: The Sheik currently has a streak of 21 singles matches without a pinfall or submission loss. I think my all time records from the GWF days were Chaos (30), Colossus (26) and Thantos (25). Pretty good company.

[Slymm]

Tim, your fed looks really good dude.

Just a quick question, how long (or how many matches, cards etc.) do you keep a feud going for? Do you have any rules of thumb that you go by?

You have a nice "program" style to your booking, the matches don't seem to just be thrown together from each and every direction.

Peace!

Slymm

[TDalton]

I actually general storylines booked out 6-8 months in advance. I use that as my guideline, but if there is a feud that needs more time or has been overdone, I adapt on the fly. If a feud develops based on match results, I let it happen

For example, the Bockwinkel - DiBiase feud was originally slated for a couple of months. I was going to bring back the Destroyer as Dr. X to go after Bock, but the DiBiase stuff developed slower and needed a lot more time to run its course, so I scrapped the Dr. X idea for potential use in the future.

[stephenvegas]

Tim,

I am glad you are posting your results because your fed is really awesome with lots of great ideas in terms of both storylines and posting styles. Your previous post about the history of your fed's title was great. I might have to something similar about the lineage of my titles in my Legends fed thread as I accumulate more months of game time.

Stephen

[TDalton]

Card #191 - 9/01/2006
The Aud - Buffalo, NY

1. Flying Redheads dq Masked Superstar & Lou Albano
Superstar had Lyons in trouble early on, but the Redheads made a big comeback and were in control until Albano waved to the back and had the Executioners run in for the DQ. Big brawl with Bobo Brazil coming out to even the sides.

2. Justin Credible b Chris Candido
Credible won with That's Incredible to take the lead in the battle of these former tag partners. After the bell, Tammy slapped Credible. He retaliated and was setting her up for That's Incredible when Candido drilled him and went to work on his injured shoulder, adding 4 cards to the existing injury..

3. Antonio Inoki b Richard Hutton
Hutton has a tough guy rep in the NWF rings, but has had a bad string of luck lately. Inoki showed some toughness of his own and hit the top rope kneedrop for the win.

4. Giant Baba & Rikidozan dq Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka
Looks like talks between Baba and Rikidozan have opened up despite last card's Baba/Inoki tag-team fiasco. The match got out of hand when Brody & Baba were outside the ring. Brody kept body blocking Baba into the guardrail and ringpost for the DQ. Rikidozan announced he will team with Inoki on the next show, and try to get the Baba/Inoki team together for Card #193.

5. Mad Dog Vachon b Iron Mike DiBiase
This was Mad Dog's first appearance since his brother Butcher was fired by Heenan. Rumor has it that Butcher has landed in one of the Texas territories. Mad Dog didn't look happy, and just demolished DiBiase. Although Heenan came to ringside with Vachon, Mad Dog walked right by him to the locker room after the bout.

6. Larry Zbyszko dq The Crusher
Two fairly new arrivals to the NWF traded back and forth until Mike DiBiase, who Zbyszko had been slamming on promos, interfered for the DQ.

7. The Sheik & Sabu b Yukon Eric & Don Leo Jonathan
Yet another wild encounter involving The Sheik! Crowd was off the charts for the Sheik/Jonathan confrontations. Yukon missed a splash and got caught in the Camel Clutch for the finish.

8. Playboy Buddy Rose cor Ilio DiPaolo
Ilio's debut in hometown Buffalo almost caused a riot. He dominated the entire match, taking Rose apart. Finish was crazy , as both men were outside the ring. Ilio lunged at Rose, who sidestepped, causing DiPaolo to go headfirst into the ring post and get knocked silly for the countout. Ilio recovered after the bell and chased Rose all over the building.

9. NWF Championship: Nick Bockwinkel b Ted DiBiase (Best of 3 Falls)
DiBiase was the master of the 2/3 Falls stip, having won both the NWF and United States (now North American) titles that way. Ted had stated that if Bockwinkel could beat him, he would leave the NWF. Bockwinkel & Heenan's original gameplan was to attack DiBiase's left arm, which is critical in the application of the Cobra Sleeper. When DiBiase came to the ring with a heavy brace on his left arm, they went to Plan B which was working his neck instead. Bockwinkel won the first fall while continually choking on the ropes and then snapping DiBiase's neck back. He took the second fall with the Bockwinkel Sleeper to retain the title. While DiBiase is under no formal obligation to leave the NWF, it is believed he will live up to his word and leave for St. Louis next week.

Holy cow - what a show! It'll be tough to top, but there's a great card lined up for the Akron Armory next week! The main event will be the Masked Executioners defending the NWF Tag-Team Titles against the Flying Redheads in a Texas Death Match! Also signed for the show is a tag bout with The Crusher & Iron Mike DiBiase taking on Mad Dog Vachon & Larry Zbyszko. In addition, Bobo Brazil faces the Masked Superstar, Rikidozan and Antonio Inoki square off against Antonino Rocca & Ilio DiPaolo, and much more!