naiwf Domination '09 (for TEW 08)

[naiwf]

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over--

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

"A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes

Vince McMahon's is easily the most compelling story in the history of North American pro wrestling. Lesser men than he would have packed up their bags and called it a career when his grand vision, the original WrestleMania was a colossal bust on March 31st, 1985, but that was not an option for Vince. When the World Wrestling Federation went under later that year many assumed we'd seen the last of him, but that simply wasn't the case. It took him nearly 3 1/2 years to return, but when he did (with Donald Trump as his new backer) he almost staged the greatest comeback in pro wrestling history. With Trump's cash on his side, McMahon bought his way back into the NWA, and caught a tremendous break as NWA: NY's arrival coincided with 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden's neck being "broken" in a storyline with Jake 'The Snake' Roberts.

McMahon was still adamant that "Sports Entertainment" was the key to the future and he all but threw large sums of money at well known wrestlers such as former NWA World Champions Theodore Maximillion DiBiase III, 'Superstar' Billy Graham & Roberts himself when his deal with NWA: Texas expired. McMahon added a few NWA: Texas and/or NWA: Southern States legends like Harley Race & 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes whose contracts were open or expiring in order to procure some more talent, banking on the idea that their star power could cover up for the fact that he was going to need some time to eventually create his own recognizable characters. Once he had a decent sized roster, McMahon then embarked upon coming up with some truly wild gimmicks, with the idea that "Bigger is Better!". While this style didn't pay immediate dividends, McMahon didn't have to rush anything as he knew Trump would wait to see a return on his investment.

By the time 1991 rolled around Vince went about continuing his plan to pilfer workers coming up to the end of their deals, and finally started to make some real noise when he managed to get The Road Warriors to sign a 2 year deal in the midst of a push to the NWA World Tag Team Titles. The tag division heated up when McMahon paired together two workers who had been recently repackaged as Ray Traylor became known as The C.O. (Corrections Officer), and 'Fabulous' Jacques Rougeau became his Canadian equivalent of sorts, as he was now known as The Mountie. In a highly controversial move, one episode of NWA: NY's Saturday Night Showdown ended with these two savagely beating the only black members of the roster, Ron Simmons & 'Playboy' Butch Reed. The extent of their facial "injuries" was so bad that the duo ended up wearing masks to cover their faces. The former NWA World Champions then added a female manager by the name of Nancy Dauss who appeared on TV as Woman, a dominatrix type character who led the newly renamed Doom out to the ring on chain linked leashes. Whether or not Vince intended for this to look like two huge black men being treated like animals or slaves by a petite white woman, no one knows for sure, but their racially motivated feud with the two law enforcement characters was one of the shining examples of what Vince's mind could come up with as it was a hot button topic for quite some time. McMahon seemed to be right when he said "no publicity is bad publicity" as ratings were up almost on a parallel level with criticism of the product at the time.

The product continued to enjoy high ratings and suffer from bad taste as vignettes began airing of a character with supernatural powers rising from a grave in a scene straight out of a bad horror movie. There is no real reason that The Undertaker should have ever succeeded, but Vince apparently could do no wrong at this time as he also struck gold with a 600 pound sumo wrestling prince (Prince Anoa'i), an evil tax man (I.R.S), a piss poor knockoff of Al Pacino's Tony Montana character in Scarface ('The Diamond Stud' Ramon Martinez, later shortened to just The Diamond Stud), and McMahon's most asinine character of that era, a pornstar known as 'The Total Package' Lex Luger. Amazingly enough, these characters were viewed as a more fun alternative than what NWA: Texas was presenting, even after they officially changed their name to WCCW.

With his army of weird characters and insistence on pushing the limits of taste, McMahon came oh so close to putting WCCW under in 1994. Ironically, it was McMahon's own style that came back to finish him for the second time as WCCW tried to steal some of their thunder by adding a bunch of outlandish gimmicks to midcarders. Some say that McMahon dropped the ball when he had the chance to sign Paul Wight, but didn't think he would get over when it was clear that he was always going to be compared unfavorably to a true legend in the business, the giant known simply as Andre. History reminds us however that Wight, now known as The Giant, was largely responsible for saving WCCW, and putting McMahon out of business. Sadly, NWA: NY dying a slow agonizing death was much more damaging to McMahon's psyche than the WWF's abrupt demise had been a decade or so earlier.

The jumps away from NWA: NY were slow and innocuous at first as former manager Diamond Dallas Page left The Diamond Stud's side and went on to star in the WCCW tag ranks. McMahon also lost ground when he was also unable to sign "can't miss prospect" 'The Protoype' Paul Levesque, a man whose gimmick and physique would have fit perfectly with Vince's vision. It was around this point in time where McMahon's top homegrown stars began to notice that not only was WCCW paying their wrestlers more for working less dates, but that they were also starting to put NWA: NY further and further behind in the ratings war. March 1998 was the beginning of the end as the wildly popular and successful Dwayne Johnson & Hugh Morrus followed the allure of cash and working on a bigger stage when they jumped ship to the "enemy". When those two achieved even greater notoriety as The Rock & The Laughing Man, the writing was on the wall. It didn't take too much longer for The Diamond Stud, Lex Luger & Prince Anoa'i to follow suit with their names and gimmicks intact for the most part. With five of his top 10 workers gone in just a few months NWA: NY was hanging on by a thread, that was finally snipped when The Undertaker appeared on a 1998 episode of WCCW Monday Nitro just one day after winning his 5th NWA: NY Heavyweight Title, despite the fact that his contract expired that Sunday night. With Kevin Nash now working for WCCW and his top title in shambles, Vince McMahon's dream died. Again.

NWA: NY continued to promote shows, but everyone knew that they'd lost the battle except for McMahon and Trump, a man who had shown no interest in the NWA: NY product as long as it was turning a profit. When revenues hit an all time low, the two had a huge blow up, with Trump pulling his funding early on in 1999. With no money left to pay his workers, McMahon promoted his final event at the legendary Madison Square Garden on March 28th, but even though everyone knew this would be the last show by the company and tickets were basically 1/10 the price they had been when NWA: NY was at its peak, Vince was only able to sell roughly 1,500 of the 19,763 tickets available. The final match was basically something McMahon probably should never have done, but still has a place in history as Matt Hardy met real life girlfriend, and on screen ally, Nora Greenwald for Hardy's NWA: NY Heavyweight Title with Hardy winning at 12:19, although it gave Greenwald the honor of being the only woman ever to Main Event a PPV anywhere in NWA Worldwide. While the show was well received critically because everyone who had stayed loyal to Vince gave it their all, McMahon knew there was no chance he would ever be able to become involved with pro wrestling again, and sadly took his own life with a single gunshot wound to the head in one of the MSG offices as he couldn't stand failing as spectacularly as he had twice. McMahon's death stained WCCW's victory, but ultimately was forgotten about by the end of the year as he hadn't been one of the more popular promoters thanks to his questionable tactics and behavior over the years. McMahon is survived by his wife Linda, son Shane (who now works for Trump), and daughter Stephanie (the only one of his heirs who joined the business) as she currently works as a backstage interviewer/part time announcer in NWA: Memphis.

----------------------------------

NWA: NY version 2.0

Common sense would dictate that a company that collapsed less than 5 years after its peak wouldn't be worth much, but Donald Trump is not a man who often takes no for an answer. Hot off of the heels of a successful run with NBC's The Apprentice, Trump got the itch to get back into the wrestling game in the middle of 2005. So he enlisted the help of his longtime personal friend 'Hollywood' Hogan and the two eventually managed to convince enough people in the industry that they could make it work as WCCW was starting to struggle to keep everyone happy when NWA Americas emerged. The major issue that NWA: NY had to deal with this time around is that there were very few big names they could sign since almost everyone of signficance was already tied up to longterm written deals.

This forced Hogan to bring in people who were largely past their prime (Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, Randy Savage, Rick Rude & Shane Douglas), those who had been blacklisted for the most part (The Outcasts aka Amy Dumas, Raven & Tommy Dreamer), or workers who were around near the tail end of NWA: NY's first stint (Dustin Rhodes, Jerry Lynn, Mark Henry & Sean Waltman). The strategy worked to some degree as they drew audiences who were nostalgic for the wrestlers they grew up watching, but Trump's biggest move was opening up his wallet and signing 'The Fallen Angel' Christian Daniels away from NWA: Memphis a few weeks after he became the NWA World Cruiserweight Champion for the third time. With Daniels on board, they started making major moves in terms of ratings and Trump continued to collect champions through questionable means by stealing away NWA: Tokyo's 'Cactus' Jack Foley as well.

With that duo in place and the development of some young cruiserweights, namely Jack Evans, Spanky & Teddy Hart, the promotion started to become known as the unofficial home for the NWA World Cruiserweight Title even after Daniels dropped the belt and moved up to NY's Heavyweight ranks which was becoming much younger as all of the "old guard" was phased out. It was becoming clear that NWA: NY was on it way back, but their arrival was "complete" so to speak when they snagged two of the brightest young stars in all of NWA Worldwide when they signed both Brock Lesnar & Randall Orton away from WCCW. The two were upset with the lack of upward mobility available in WCCW and wisely decided to jump ship in the middle of 2007. Along with Daniels, Lashley and their cruiserweight division they have pretty much helped carry NWA: NY into contention with WCCW for the # 1 North American branch and to some extent the top of the heap in NWA Worldwide although NWA: Tokyo makes more money since they have almost zero expenses given that they don't travel overseas and have great TV deals in place.

The history of NWA: NY's Championships and major feuds (since the rebirth)

2006

From the December 2005 restart NWA: NY seemed to be a hodgepodge of things old, new, discarded and undiscovered. There really was no rhyme or reason to the roster except that Hogan and Trump needed bodies and they went for some with name value, and others who could be marketed based on their look or talent. Although Hogan was well past his prime he became the first Heavyweight Champ in the new NWA: NY, but his reign was short as a trio of workers who had been blacklisted reappeared in vicious fashion. Raven, Tommy Dreamer & Amy Dumas savagely beat Hogan at the end of the PPV where he won the title and stalked Hogan for a full month until he decided he'd had enough and offered them all jobs if they could beat him and his two most trusted allies, Randy Savage & Jake 'The Snake' Roberts in a Six Person tag match in March.

Of course, Roberts turned on Hogan and joined The Outcasts after they won the match and were now officially "employed" by NWA: NY. With Roberts now at their side, the beatings continued and Raven eventually took Hogan's belt and then made him retire a few weeks later when he successfully defended the title in a match that saw Hogan put his career at stake. Raven's run at the top was quite successful but he eventually lost control of The Outcasts as Roberts was phased out of the group (and later the promotion) after a phantom "injury" and Dreamer got jealous that Raven was in the spotlight and the fact that Dumas was always at Raven's side. Although Dreamer challenged for the title a few times he never won it. He did however injure Raven's ribs in a brutal title defense and set him up to eventually drop the title to rising star Lashley who had achieved some recognition in NWA: Mexico City but burst onto the scene within months of his arrival in New York.

2007

Lashley seemed to be almost unstoppable as he knocked off one opponent after another with an incomparable mix of power and speed, but the "rookie" was not quite prepared for the mind games he would have to deal with as 'The Fallen Angel' Christian Daniels decided to move up in weight class and pursue the Heavyweight Title. Daniels' plan was brilliant as he hired muscle to do his dirty work for him and was one step ahead of Lashley at every turn leading up to their first actual match in late January. Daniels used Lashley's aggressiveness against him and wore the bigger man down before ultimately beating him for the title. Daniels's stock would soar from that point as his ability to wrestle and cut amazing promos brought him into contention for the NWA World Heavyweight Title by the middle of the year. Although Daniels dropped the NY Heavyweight Title back to Lashley he became just the third man in the history of Worldwide to win both the NWA Cruiserweight & Heavyweight Titles in his career (The Great Muta & Eddie Guerrero being the others) when he defeated WCCW's 'The Canadian Crippler' Chris Benoit on August 19th.

WCCW was teetering on the edge of internal collapse when Daniels won the title, but they were dealt a heavier blow later that month when Brock Lesnar & Randall Orton opted not to re-sign with WCCW and instead went to the competition where they assumed they would be able to finally emerge from the lengthy shadows of superstars like Benoit, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Paul Levesque, Steve Austin & The Rock. They were correct as they did their own spin on The Outcasts arrival from a year and a half earlier as they were brought in with Tammy Sytch, the original WCCW diva who was a HUGE star in the '90s before falling on hard times. The trio bashed WCCW whenever possible and quickly became fan favorites because they spoke so negatively about the competition. Lesnar eventually won the NY Heavyweight Title from Lashley just a couple of days before the year ended, and the strain on the partnership of the former Evolution members became evident as Lesnar became more and more cocky with each passing day.

2008

Lesnar eventually turned on Orton and put him on the shelf with a horrific beatdown in late January on the same day that Spanky finally became the NWA: NY Cruiserweight Champion ending an almost 21 month deathgrip that Jack Evans & Teddy Hart had over the belt which also became entangled with the NWA Cruiserweight Title which was undisputed from StarrCade '06 to StarrCade '07. In an ironic twist, both Lesnar and Spanky lost their belts on May 25th as Orton got revenge for his former ally's betrayal in the best way possible and Carlos Colon Jr. spat in the face of WCCW by proving that cutting him from his DSW developmental deal was a mistake. The symmetry of championship reigns continued as both titleholders were once again upended on the same day on October 26th with Daniels reclaiming the title that launched his career, and yet another DSW dropout claiming the Cruiserweight Title as Mike Mizanin aka The Miz blossomed into a surprisingly competent worker after spending most of the last two years working with and against some of the best workers in the world.

NWA: NY's finish to 2008 was a spectacular one as they were involved in two of the biggest matches at Starrcade '08 where Brock Lesnar lifted the NWA World Heavyweight Title from his former Minnesota Stretching Crew tag team partner Mr. Benjamin, who had done the impossible as he became the first ever Triple Crown winner when he won that title from Daniels earlier in the year. Lesnar's promo after winning the belt drew a few hundred thousand hits by the end of the year as he tore into Eric Bischoff saying that he never would have had the chance to be "THE MAN" in WCCW because he wasn't in his 40's yet like the rest of those "broken down has beens!". Earlier that evening, Teddy Hart became a 2-time NWA World Cruiserweight Champion when he took the title from Spanky and stated that his goal was to "reunify my belts!" sending a clear message to The Miz that he wanted all of the gold once more.

NWA: New York Heavyweight Title History

4/23/89 - 1/28/90 Theodore Maximillion DiBiase III (won an 8 man tournament to become the inaugural champion)

1/28/90 - 6/24/90 'Superstar' Billy Graham

6/24/90 - 8/26/90 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes

8/26/90 - 7/28/91 Theodore Maximillion DiBiase III [2]

7/28/91 - 11/24/91 Hercules

11/24/91 - 3/22/92 The Barbarian

3/22/92 - 11/29/92 The Undertaker

11/29/92 - 5/23/93 Prince Anoa'i

5/23/93 - 11/28/93 The Undertaker [2]

11/28/93 - 7/4/94 Prince Anoa'i [2]

7/4/94 - 11/27/94 'The Total Package' Lex Luger

11/27/94 - 1/29/95 The Diamond Stud

1/29/95 - 11/26/95 The Undertaker [3]

11/26/95 - 7/28/96 Dwayne Johnson

7/28/96 - 11/24/96 'The Total Package' Lex Luger [2]

11/24/96 - 7/27/97 Hugh Morrus

7/27/97 - 2/22/98 Dwayne Johnson [2]

2/22/98 - 6/28/98 The Undertaker [4]

6/28/98 - 9/27/98 'Lord' Steven Regal

9/27/98 - 9/28/98 The Undertaker [5] (title vacated the next day when The Undertaker left the company)

10/25/98 - 1/24/99 Jeff Hardy (won an 8 man tournament for the vacant title)

1/24/99 - 3/28/99 Matt Hardy (promotion folded)

---------

1/22/06 - 4/23/06 Hollywood Hogan (won an 8 man tournament to become the first champion after the restart)

4/23/06 - 9/24/06 Raven (def. Hogan for the title, and subsequently forced Hogan to retire in a title vs career rematch)

9/24/06 - 1/28/07 Bobby Lashley

1/28/07 - 7/22/07 'The Fallen Angel' Christian Daniels

7/22/07 - 12/30/07 Bobby Lashley [2]

12/30/07 - 5/25/08 Brock Lesnar

5/25/08 - 10/26/08 Randall Orton

10/26/08 - current 'The Fallen Angel' Christian Daniels [2]

NWA: NY Cruiserweight Title History

4/23/06 - 10/22/06 Jack Evans (won the title by recovering it from above the ring in a match against Sean Waltman, Spanky & Teddy Hart)

10/22/06 - 8/26/07 Teddy Hart (became the self proclaimed "Undisputed" Cruiserweight Champion as he also won the NWA World Cruiserweight Title on 12/16/06)

8/26/07 - 1/20/08 Jack Evans [2] (lost the NWA World Cruiserweight Title to NWA: Memphis' Johnny The Body on 12/17/07)

1/20/08 - 5/25/08 Spanky

5/25/08 - 10/26/08 Carlos Colon Jr.

10/26/08 - current The Miz (won the title thanks to an assist from Christy Hemme)

NWA: New York Tag Team Title History

1/27/91 - 10/27/91 The Road Warriors (Hawk won a 20 man/10 team battle royal where the winning participant and his partner would become the inaugural champs)

10/27/91 - 3/22/92 The C.O. & The Mountie

3/22/92 - 8/23/92 Doom (Ron Simmons & 'Playboy' Butch Reed)

8/23/92 - 11/29/92 - The Road Warriors [2]

11/29/92 - 3/28/93 Money Inc. (Theodore Maximillion DiBiase III & I.R.S.)

3/28/93 - 8/29/93 Doom [2]

8/29/93 - 12/11/93 The Powers of Pain (Hercules & The Barbarian)

12/11/93 - 5/29/94 The C.O. & The Mountie [2]

5/29/94 - 11/27/94 The New Blackjacks ('Blackjack' (Kendall) Windham & John 'Blackjack' Bradshaw)

11/27/94 - 3/26/95 Team OMEGA (Matt Hardy & Gregory Shane Helms)

3/26/95 - 8/27/95 The Smoking Gunns

8/27/95 - 3/24/96 The Hardy Boys

3/24/96 - 11/24/96 The Acolytes (Ron Simmons & John 'Blackjack' Bradshaw)

11/24/96 - 1/11/97 OMEGA Team (Gregory Shane Helms & Kid Dynamo (Shannon Moore)

1/11/97 - 7/27/97 The Hardy Boys [2]

7/27/97 - 3/29/98 The Acolytes [2]

3/29/98 - 11/29/98 The Hardy Boys [3] (titles abandoned)

[naiwf]

NWA: Texas/WCCW: Where Legends Are Born

NWA: Calgary/Canadian Stampede is often regarded as the gold standard by which all NWA Worldwide branches should be measured due to its consistent excellence, the highly quality talent they produced, and the number of great matches that NWA: CS wrestlers put on over the years, but the fact is that no one manufactured bigger name stars at a greater clip than World Class Championship Wrestling which was known as NWA: Texas until 1991. WCCW has seen more than its fair share of upheavel over the years as it was a traditional Southern Style promotion in the '60s, '70s and '80s, changing direction slightly in 1982 when Richard (Flair) Fleihr became its head booker. Fleihr was widely perceived to be one of the most talented men in pro wrestling from his 1972 debut until he broke his back in three places in a 1981 plane crash. At the time of the accident, the first 'Nature Boy' of the modern era had already been a 7-time NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion and was well on his way to becoming the greatest wrestler of all time, but his career was cut short after a failed attempt at rehabbing his back post surgery.

A 6'7 inch tall, 302 pound mountain of muscle from Venice Beach ended up inheriting Flair's spot as 'Terrible' Terry (Bollea) Hogan adopted some of Fleihr's gimmick before becoming Hollywood Hogan, one of the most hated men to ever step into the squared circle. Hogan's initial run at the top of NWA: Texas ended after just a year when he jumped to Vince McMahon's WWF. However, McMahon made the tragic mistake of attempting to market Hogan as an American hero by the name of Hulk Hogan. Not only did the gimmick draw immediate ire from fans who thought the Hollywood character was better, but Marvel Comics won a lawsuit claiming copyright infringements over using the name "Hulk". The royalty included $100 per wrestling match featuring Hulk Hogan, 0.9% of the gross on Hulk Hogan projects, and 10% of any money the WWF received from Hulk Hogan appearances (or 10% of Bollea's money if the WWF didn't collect a fee). Naturally when WrestleMania bombed, Hogan ended up losing his shirt as his WWF contract was largely based on the success of major events. Hogan promptly jumped back to NWA: Texas in '86, but Fleihr and others no longer trusted him to be the face of the promotion and instead went in another direction as 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden became the man that was chosen to carry the company into the NWA Worldwide era.

While Borden was not the technical wrestler that Flair had been, he had an unmatched charisma and the new 'Nature Boy' ended up becoming the most popular wrestler in the world for more than a decade as he always showed respect to the fans, his opponents and most importantly the business that had made him a star. Although Bret 'The Hitman' Hart was the inaugural NWA World Champion, it was Borden that brought a legitimacy to the title as he went on to hold it a staggering 6 times, far more than anyone else. Ironically, Borden's dominance of the World Title from the mid '80s to mid '90s ended up creating the only other recognized World Title in NWA Worldwide's illustrious history as Borden was elected the first WCCW World Champion in July 1991 (while in the midst of his 3rd reign as NWA World Champion) when the company was purchased and renamed by multi-billionaire Ted Turner. The main reasoning behind this decision to allow a "rival" World Title was that Turner's superstation TBS was able to give the NWA its major entrance into the national television market.

It didn't take long for other TV and PPV deals to follow, with StarrCade '93 (headlined by Borden dropping the NWA World Title back to Randy 'The Macho Man' Savage a year after taking it from him) being the first PPV offered in the comfort of one's own home. After 1994's monumental Hart/Borden feud, 'The Nature Boy' spent some time trying to break into Hollywood, but ultimately failed at becoming an action star before making one last run as NWA World Champion in '96. After dropping the title to 'The Canadian Crippler' Chris Benoit on 6/28/97, Borden finished out the last few months of his contract by trying to make a star out of Paul Levesque, a man who struggled with the lofty expectations he carried with him for nearly five years before fully realizing his potential. A lesser man would likely have ended up becoming a footnote in wrestling history, but Levesque is determined to be seen as being on Borden's level before his career is over.

With Borden gone to NWA: CS and Levesque taking a break in early 1998, WCCW lost a bit of steam as the majority of the top stars in NWA Worldwide were working elsewhere with Eddie Guerrero making his name in NWA: MC, Steve Austin carrying NWA: HC to unseen heights and Chris Benoit opting to tour Japan rather than settle down with WCCW. At this point in time Flair was stripped of the book, meaning that someone else would decide WCCW's direction for the first time in over 15 years as a man named Eric Bischoff took over. Bischoff truly proved to be someone willing to go the extra mile as he courted stars from all over, eventually bankrupting upstart NWA: NY which had been WCCW's main rival in terms of national exposure for the last five years. He then lured the bulk of their stars over and turned WCCW into the epitome of "Sports Entertainment". With the arrivals of superstars the likes of Dwayne Johnson, Hugh Morrus, The Undertaker, The Diamond Stud, Lex Luger & Prince Anoa'i on the scene, the years between 1999 and 2001 in WCCW revolutionized the business as a whole as Bischoff was able to succeed where McMahon had failed 13 years earlier as he claimed the expired copyright to WrestleMania and created a rival to StarrCade's importance with a blockbuster card on June 25, 2000.

Levesque eventually went to NWA: CS to hone his skills against the greatest wrestlers in the world, and when he returned (midway through 2003), shortly after Bischoff pulled off a major coup by signing Kurt Angle he held the majority of the biggest stars in the world all on his roster. While many thought this would lead to the end of many NWA branches, it turned out to backfire on Bischoff as he now had more big names than he knew what to do with. It was this dilemna which led Bischoff to the realization that he needed more TV time and the ability to spread his talent around. It isn't really known whether Bischoff contacted NWA: Hardcore City's Paul Heyman or if it was Heyman that started the talks, but when they struck an agreement to co-promote events it was perhaps the most significant behind the scenes deal in NWA Worldwide history. Less than a month later, the head of NWA: Memphis Jerry Jarrett joined in creating the NWA Americas brand. While WCCW was the cornerstone of the Americas brand, everyone involved benefitted from the deal as there was a more balanced spread of the best talent, and each branch still held its own unique style while moving forward. The "super branch" also carried with it the added bonus of drawing in some of the best workers from the other NWA Worldwide affiliates who wanted the chance to capture the NWA World Titles which were all firmly in the possession of NWA Americas.

However, the NWA Americas experiment did not work as NWA: Mexico City's Konnan waged a vicious war on Eric Bischoff's WCCW during the last half of 2006, eventually forcing NWA: Hardcore City & NWA: Memphis to go back to running shows on their own. While NWA: HC did better than WCCW right after the split, they lost a lot of momentum when they were splitting their TV taping schedule with NWA: Memphis who gained the most from the brief Americas ordeal. Things started to spiral downward for Bischoff on the day that WrestleMania VII was set to take place with a Main Event of Chris Jericho vs The Rock for Jericho's NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In the months leading up to WrestleMania, Bischoff taunted Konnan's promotion and tried to get his headline superstar Eddie Guerrero to leave Mexico City on that night, as his handshake contract was set to expire as soon as NWA: MC's summer blockbuster Triplemania was over. Knowing that Guerrero coveted the NWA World Title Bischoff offered Guerrero a title shot as soon as he showed up, but this attempt failed as it was Jericho who no showed Bischoff's event and appeared at Triplemania instead!

Guerrero ultimately won the title by pinning Jericho and was declared the NEW Heavyweight Champion of the World . . . but this unexpected title change sparked a major controversy the next morning when Bischoff threatened to pull WCCW out of NWA Worldwide if The Rock was not declared the new champion since he was scheduled to meet Jericho that night, in Bischoff's mind Jericho forfeited the title by not showing up. The NWA Executive Board was split on this issue and while they tried to come to a resolution, BOTH Konnan and Bischoff decided to go with their guy being the "undisputed" NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Ultimately the Board decided that each promotion would have their man (or anyone who beat them) recognized as champ until StarrCade '06where the two would unify the belt(s). As expected, both owners threatened to have their man no show at StarrCade because they were wary of being double crossed which led to the inclusion of 'The Canadian Crippler' Chris Benoit into the match as he was the rightful # 1 contender to the title. Benoit won the title by pinning both men and once again became the hottest free agent in the world.

WCCW then managed to do what it did best, and slaughtered its main rival with a devastating 1-2 punch within two weeks of the conclusion of StarrCade. Sources indicate that Bischoff GAVE NWA: Los Angeles the money and incentives it needed to lure Guerrero away from Mexico City as he had no use for Eddie, but just wanted to spite Konnan for all the trouble he had caused. He then threw a boatload of money at Benoit to guarantee that the Canadian would sign with WCCW, and let The Giant and his hefty contract go to Mexico City, just in time to execute the killshot. With Guerrero gone and Benoit spurning his offer, Konnan was building Mr. Benjamin up as the heir to his Heavyweight title and once he was on the verge of capturing it, Bischoff swallowed his pride and offered Benjamin "the biggest contract in the history of NWA Worldwide" in June of 2007. Benjamin signed it and left behind both his girlfriend and tag team partner (Melina & Ron Killings) as he felt he had no other choice. With the top of his cards decimated by Bischoff's scheming, Konnan eventually took his foot off of the gas pedal and stopped warring with the much larger and more powerful WCCW.

Bischoff was on top of the world again . . . for about 2 months. With Mexico City finally behind him, Bischoff now faced an old, familiar rival as the reborn NWA: NY started to make moves in the ratings and most importantly in developing "A" level talent. In a bit of a shocker, 'The Fallen Angel' Christian Daniels career took off and he ended up beating Benoit for the NWA World Heavyweight Title on August 19th giving NY control of the top title for the first time in its existence. Bischoff was livid and lashed out at anyone who crossed his path, and rumor has it that WCCW was teetering on the edge of internal collapse when they were dealt a heavier blow later that month when Brock Lesnar & Randall Orton opted not to re-sign with WCCW and instead went to New York where they assumed they would be able to finally emerge from the lengthy shadows of superstars like Benoit, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Paul Levesque, Steve Austin & The Rock.

Bischoff's mental state was said to be "the worst anyone had ever seen" from him in his 10 years as the driving force behind WCCW and he made another political power play when he again threatened to pull WCCW from Worldwide unless one of his men took the title from Daniels. The Executive Board seemed to cave in as Mr. Benjamin won the belt and became the first NWA Triple Crown winner in April '08. Bischoff calmed down and seemed to be making amends with some of his employees, but another titanic outburst was set to take place later that year. At StarrCade '08, one of Bischoff's few failures came back to bite him as Brock Lesnar defeated Benjamin, reclaimed the title for NWA: NY and tore into Bischoff saying that he never would have had the chance to be "THE MAN" in WCCW because he wasn't in his 40's yet like the rest of those "broken down has beens!". That shoot video brought an incredible amount of attention to NWA: NY who now possessed both the NWA Heavyweight & Cruiserweight World titles, leaving Bischoff with nothing as Heyman and Hardcore City had the Tag Team Titles.

Although WCCW has the legacy and the resources to get back on top, many in the industry wonder if Bischoff is suffering from burn out as he is so personally invested in everything WCCW does. Others believe it is time for the company to make a change at the top because Bischoff has "lost it", and needs to be removed for the betterment of the promotion. There was a time when no one could have foreseen an NWA: Texas without Fleihr in charge, but we know that he was replaced by Bischoff, who changed things so drastically that Fleihr is but a distant memory to many modern fans. It may just be time for history to repeat itself though, as WCCW may need to make a leadership change after a man who was synonymous with its success for over a decade is slowly losing ground due to a failure to change its ways and identify who the next big star will be.

----------------------------------

The history of NWA: Texas/WCCW's Championships and major feuds

1985

NWA: Texas was the second official member of NWA Worldwide, and always promoted itself as such although executives technically signed on later in the same day that the now defunct NWA: Southern States (Florida & Georgia) branch did. In any event, the early days of NwA: Texas were largely shaped by the tag team divison which may have been the richest in NWA history boasting such names as The Road Warriors, The Original Midnight Express, The Rock n' Roll Express, & The Minnesota Stretching Crew at the top of their cards. They also had the benefit of being able to slowly groom 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden to be a national star as he handled the NWA: Texas Heavyweight Title for the 3rd time, while Theodore Maximillion DiBiase III split his time between his NWA: SS home, and NWA: Texas which gave him the exposure necessary to contend for, and eventually become just the 2nd ever NWA World Champion.

1986 & 1987

Dibiase's 1st NWA World Title run lasted throughout all of '86 (when he won NWA International Wrestler of the Year honors), as he, Hogan, Borden and NWA:SS stars Harley Race & 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes largely shared top billing in singles action throughout the entire South, though the rivalries between those men were often upstaged by one of the best feuds of the era as Rick Rude & Ricky Steamboat brought a completely different sense of style and flair to events. Another Rick, Martel, and Chico Santana joined the tag team ranks as did the hard hitting duo of Stan 'The Man' Hansen & Bruiser Brody, and a very undersized pair of high flyers, Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty aka The Midnight Rockers. No one would have ever guessed that the lesser talented, 6 foot tall, 180 pound Michaels would ever go on to become NWA World Champion some 13 years later, but then again history has shown that just about anything could happen in the early days of NWA Worldwide, especially in Texas. Fleihr's brilliance as a booker was evident as he was somehow able to successfully juggle the on and off nature of a shared World Champ in DiBiase, Borden's ascent to the top, 'Hollywood' Hogan's return, and the impressive tag team roster with a skill that some say hasn't been matched at any time since.

1988 & 1989

Borden finally rose to the pinnacle of pro wrestling when he defeated DiBiase for the NWA World Title at StarrCade '87, and held it for over a year before losing it to the psychotic Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, a man who inspired fear in those who opposed him, as well as many fans. It wasn't until years later that drugs were revealed to largely be responsible for Roberts' deranged character as he was in and out of rehab in the early '90s. However, this two year stretch saw him as the most hated man in the business, and ultimately led to one of the nicest stories of the time as Arn Anderson left behind his tag team career after Roberts "broke" Borden's neck with a DDT on the concrete in their title match. Anderson's mission to stop Roberts was thought of by most fans of the era as an inspirational story of friendship that only intensified when Anderson suddenly turned on Borden after dropping the title to him at StarrCade '89.

Anderson and Borden wrestled many a match after this time, but Anderson preferred his role as a secondary character and never was in the World Title picture again, though his career as a tag team specialist took off again shortly thereafter with another Anderson, Ole. Jannetty's run as NWA World Cruiserweight Champ came to an end with the arrival of perhaps the most innovative wrestler of the era, 'Super Fine' Scotty Stein(er), a powerhouse who could fly with the best of them. Stein was so talented that he ended up dropping the Cruiserweight Title because Fleihr knew he could easily join the ranks of NWA: Texas Heavyweight Champs, and he did just that.

1990 & 1991

After making him prove his loyalty over the last few years, Fleihr finally had confidence in 'Hollywood' Hogan again and pushed him heavily as the # 2 man behind Borden. Hogan eventually claimed his first NWA: Texas Heavyweight Title and went on to feud with NWA: SS star Randy 'The Macho Man' Savage, a man who was like a brother to him behind the scenes. The two went on to make a lot of money for both territories and ended up launching themselves into the NWA World Heavyweight Title scene as a result. The tag ranks were growing a bit stale as many of the top tag teams didn't stay in any specific region for long with almost all of them spending time in Texas, NWA: SS and even NWA: Tokyo which has largely been relying on gaijin tag teams ever since The Titans of Terror (Bam Bam Bigelow & Super Vader) had made their stamp on the wrestling world in the mid to late '80s. The loss of the crown jewel squad, the Road Warriors hurt the most, leading to Fleihr coming up with a tandem that essentially ripped off the Road Warriors' character and style, as Demolition came into being shortly after the name change to WCCW. While the initial response to Ax & Smash was weak, the duo ended up becoming the hottest act in American tag team wrestling within 8 months after their arrival.

1992 & 1993

With Hogan and Savage's elevation, Borden took a bit of a demotion from the national spotlight, but again saved the territory with his 5th run as NWA: Texas Heavyweight Champion selling out shows throughout '92. 'The Nature Boy' went on to unify the NWA: Texas, NWA World & WCCW World Titles at StarrCade '92 and that feat still remains historic as he is the only man to hold the United States version of the 'Triple Crown' of pro wrestling. Borden ended up losing the Triple Crown piece by piece and things were not looking good as the singles ranks had not created any new stars in years. Some argued that the branch had too many singles titles, which eventually led to WCCW Owner Ted Turner officially abandoning the NWA: Texas Heavyweight Title, shortly after it was won by relative newcomer to the region, Sid Vicious in a move that did not endear him to diehards who had followed that particular belt for nearly 30 years! Borden ended up going to Canada shortly after this, and many were unsure how much longer the Texas territory would be significant when its top name, and top title disappeared within 6 months of each other.

1994

This was the year that WCCW nearly went under as Borden was gone, Hogan went to Tokyo, DiBiase retired and the tag ranks were in shambles. Fleihr basically was forced into shifting gears as he did his best to try and create stars on the fly, by trying to make names out of perennial midcarders and tag team wrestlers like Shawn Michaels who became a cocky punk by the name of 'The Heart Break Kid', and Rick Martel dubbing himself 'The Model'. While both were elevated, neither set the world ablaze, and Sid Vicious ended up becoming the top name in the promotion despite his relative lack of overall skills. With NWA: NY catching fire with crazy gimmicked wrestlers like The Undertaker, The Diamond Stud, I.R.S., 'The Total Package' Lex Luger & Prince Anoa'i on their roster WCCW was dying a slow death until they were saved by a 7'2 400 pound Giant! This 23 year old rookie burst onto the scene by winning his first 173 matches, ultimately taking the WCCW World Title in the process. The threat of his streak being ended was enough of a draw to pull WCCW back ahead of NWA: NY, although the two branches did battle until WCCW's inevitable win five years later.

1995 & 1996

'The Nature Boy' returned after his Canadian and Hollywood excursions, and was the man to end The Giant's undefeated reign of terror, but eventually dropped the WCCW World Title back to the monster as Fleihr realized Borden was aging and that he could make anyone who beat The Giant a star. Borden put over The Giant, and then didn't appear much on WCCW TV until he ended up losing the NWA World Title for the 6th and final time. Michaels, Martel and Vicious climbed back up the ranks after their first pushes stalled. The unlikely tandem of Diamond Dallas Page (formerly the manager of NWA: NY's Diamond Stud) & Rigor Mortis added a spark to the tag division despite Mortis' similarities to NWA: NY's Undertaker. Demolition's 5 year run in the promotion came to an end as they decided to end their careers in Tokyo where the touring schedule was easier to handle. Fleihr received his second blue chip prospect in WCCW's renaissance when Michaels convinced him to sign 'The Protoype' Paul Levesque, who started his 1996 run as a former bodybuilder that claimed he was the prototype for the modern wrestler.

1997 & 1998

With Levesque's massive musculature, and surprising agility he quickly became a factor in WCCW as well as the national scene, but the youngster couldn't handle the pressure and nearly suffered a nervous breakdown after claiming his 1st WCCW World Title late in '97, defeating The Giant, who had now only lost two matches in his career. The 28 year old Levesque was widely regarded as a good guy behind the scenes, and caused a dip in morale in the lockerroom when he had to take some time away from the business after dropping the title to his buddy Michaels. Levesque's departure left a huge hole in the top of the card, and that's when Ted Turner's longtime assistant Eric Bischoff devised a plan that saw him oust Fleihr from his position and irrevocably shift the balance of power when he was able to lure Dwayne Johnson & Hugh Morrus away from NWA: NY when their contracts expired in March of 1998.

The incredibly charismatic Johnson was then repackaged as The Rock, a brash character who referred to himself exclusively in the 3rd person. His feud with The Giant provided many comedic moments, and a few standout matches as well. Bischoff then had the presence of mind to soften The Giant's character a bit and used him primarily as a fun loving big man instead of an unstoppable juggernaut. He gave that role to the 6'2 280 pound bruiser who now called himself The Laughing Man, and the two former pro football players took to their new characters perfectly. The Laughing Man. With a revitalized top of the card and increasingly improving ratings, WCCW continued to pilfer talent from NWA: NY as The Diamond Stud, Lex Luger & Prince Anoa'i (Yokozuna) made their way to WCCW by the end of the year with their characters and names intact thanks to all three working under those identities prior to signing on with the New York based promotion.

The Undertaker was no more, but the man who played the character ironically dealt the deathblow to NWA: NY when he left with the NWA: NY Heavyweight Title in his possession as Kevin Nash appeared sans make-up on a 1998 episode of WCCW Nitro despite Vince McMahon's foolish effort of keeping him by allowing him to win the title despite the fact that Nash's contract ended the day after he won it. Bischoff really stuck it to McMahon by mocking The Undertaker gimmick by hiring a masked man to follow Nash around, calling him The Pallbearer. Surprisingly, the fans took to them and they became a dominant tag team which had originally started off as an inside joke.

1999 & 2000

Levesque's return in early '99 gave WCCW yet another monster star on the roster as they continued to roll with the former NWA: NYers, Michaels, The Giant and their tag division on fire. So when the year was coming to an end and vignettes of "The Millenium Clock" suddenly began to appear, no one knew exactly what to expect, though common thought at the time was that Kurt Angle would be the man to appear at the end of the countdown. Needless to say when 'Superstar' Steve Austin showed up instead of Angle at 11:07 PM at the conclusion of a special WCCW Friday Nitro on December 31st, 1999 the wrestling world was in a frenzy! With Nitro back on its regular Monday schedule, the January 3rd, 2000 edition set a record with a mindblowing 10.3 rating as everyone was salivating at the chance to see the biggest star in the industry on the top rated wrestling program in the US. Austin's arrival was nothing short of a windfall for WCCW which was shattering previous marks for PPV buys and revenues as well as TV ratings by wide margins.

June 25th 2000, saw Bischoff present WCCW WrestleMania I, and The Rock/Austin Main Event broke every possible PPV mark as the buyrate was nearly 1 full point higher than the record set at StarrCade '94 when 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden & Bret 'The Hitman' Hart waged their epic battle which saw Hart became NWA World Champion for the 2nd time. However, it was not all good news for the promotion though, as Angle did end up spurning Bischoff's advances citing that more TALENT was in Canada and that was where he wanted to be.

2001 & 2002

Levesque left to join NWA: CS with Bischoff's blessing at the end of the year because Austin was still white hot, and he knew that would buy him some time. WCCW TV saw the formation of the mammoth team of The Giant & Prince Anoa'i, who were possibly the first ever comedic duo of men who could legitimately break any wrestler in half as they were billed as weighing "nearly half a ton!". Austin, Rock, Michaels and The Laughing Man carried the promotion for a while before fans began to hunger for some new stars just to shake things up. Their requests were answered when WCCW bore witness to a new generation of the Minnesota Stretching Crew as Shelton Benjamin & Brock Lesnar entered the promotion in early '01, ultimately defeating the colossal duo of The Giant & Anoa'i establishing them as one of the best teams in the world. Their pairing didn't last very long though as seeds were planted from early on that Benjamin was the more talented member, but Lesnar was more marketable. It was during their initial feud that Benjamin adopted some of the traits of the militant black soldier gimmick that has made him a star to this day.

Also coming into the fold at this time was Randall 'The Vandal' Orton, a 3rd generation star who got over thanks to his "Vandal TV" segments which saw Orton pull pranks on other wrestlers, and expose certain things to the public in a pseudo shoot style. "Vandal TV's" most memorable segment was one where the very chaste Nora Greenwald was seen slipping into a shower where she then engaged with Matt Hardy in a passionate kiss. Internet fans had known that the two were a couple since their meeting in NWA: NY in 1998, but WCCW's less savvy fans were stunned to see Greenwald in this different light. Almost instantly, the two became huge fan favorites and ended up teaming up for quite some time, even capturing the WCCW Tag Titles for a two week run as their romance was a huge story. Nora pinning the nearly 500 pound Giant because he didn't want to hurt her despite catching her in the midst of her front flip cannonball finisher from the top was one of the most memorable images of 2002, at least until 2 weeks later when Greenwald showed her tremendous heart and desire to be perceived as an equal to the men by taking a Bansai legdrop from the 600 pound Prince as they reclaimed the titles!

2003 & 2004

Levesque eventually returned towards the middle of '03, and set his sights on the WCCW World Title, but this time he came with back up, an imposing bald headed genetic freak known simply as 'The Animal'. Levesque used 'The Animal' to get back on top of WCCW, but his time there came to an end when a "Vandal TV" segment saw Levesque bragging to an off camera friend on a cell phone that 'The Animal' was just "another moron with a million dollar body, and a five cent brain!". Levesque tried to deny it, even going so far as to claim that he was set up, but 'The Animal' didn't buy it and put Levesque through the announce table in a segment that turned the big man into a monster babyface overnight. Bischoff wisely held off on 'The Animal's' push to the top though and paired him with Orton as both casually changed their characters over time citing an Evolution that was happening in the business.

Orton, the newly renamed Dave Batista, and soon to be ally Lesnar then went on to become one of the top drawing stables in the history of WCCW as Orton won his first WCCW World Title, and the Batista/Lesnar team won the Tag Titles. They later went on to feud with former rivals Levesque and Benjamin. The Rock later joined the mix citing that it was HE who was the most important 3rd generation star in the industry. While The Triple Threat/Evolution feud singlehandedly powered WCCW through this two year stretch, it also caused some frustrations in the locker room as other stars like Austin, Michaels, The Laughing Man, The Giant and mid '03 acquisition Kurt Angle began to grow upset with their relative lack of TV time and PPV exposure.

2005

To this day, no one knows whether it was Bischoff or Paul Heyman that initiated talks which began NWA Americas, but we do know that Bischoff's motivation arrived in the form of a near exodus, the likes of the one he had orchestrated about 5 to 6 years earlier from his bitter rivals in NWA: NY. With most of his top stars coming to the ends of their huge deals the NWA Americas alliance saved WCCW from falling into disarray, though Bischoff didn't really do much to spread his talent around in its brief existence. That is primarily the reason that Americas failed, although most will tell you that Bischoff's focus on eliminating NWA: Mexico City was more significant. Rumor has it that Heyman & Jarrett repeatedly went to Bischoff in hopes of procuring some of his talent for their shows and they were routinely denied. Bischoff's inability to "play well with others" and the stigma of being nothing more than a talent hoarder with a huge checkbook was what ultimately ended NWA Americas as no one ever got the chance to see if it was Bischoff's mind or Turner's money that made WCCW the cornerstone in NWA Worldwide.

2006 & 2007

Eric Bischoff finally ran into forces greater than himself as he very nearly had a nervous breakdown thanks to his war against Konnan leading to NWA Americas falling apart, the infamous "Chris Jericho Doublecross" AND NWA: NY returning all within the span of 6 whirlwind months between December 2005 and the conclusion of WrestleMania VII in June of 2006. While Bischoff was able to rebound and ultimately slap Mexico City's advances away, his focus on "killing the competition" left him wide open to internal revolts. The television product became increasingly stagnant as the WCCW World Title went from Levesque to Austin to The Rock, three men who had largely been carrying the promotion since 2000. The petty nature of Bischoff's reaction to getting double crossed by Jericho, when he was trying to get Eddie Guerrero to do the same thing to Konnan also saw fans become hostile to Bischoff's product.

In an effort to freshen things up, Adam Copeland was finally given his big push to the top, though he was only able to win the title AFTER The Rock had defended it against Chris Benoit moments earlier. The fans didn't love the execution of this "Money in the Bank" idea, but it was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back for both Orton and Lesnar who had grown tired of never getting the chance to be put on the same level as guys like Austin, Levesque & The Rock. When WCCW finally lost control of the NWA World Heavyweight Title to NWA: NY, Bischoff really started to become difficult to work with as he absolutely refused to go in a new direction and was adamant that one of his "megastars" (or one of his world famous tantrums) would bring the title back to his promotion. Seeing the writing on the wall, Brock Lesnar & Randall Orton left for NY, and Bischoff was on the verge of trying to stop a mutiny.

2008

If there was any hope that Bischoff was going to change directions, it was quickly erased as Benoit and Jericho became first time WCCW World Champs though neither had much of a reign to speak of as "The Big Three" were still all over the TV product. When The Rock tore his right bicep that was when Bischoff finally had to think on the fly and bit the bullet. He put his ego aside and gave Mr. Benjamin a legitimate chance to carry the promotion. And that's exactly what he did. Benjamin had an 8 month reign as NWA World Heavyweight Champ to complete The NWA Triple Crown, and in the midst of that he was also the WCCW World Champ for 5 months. With ratings stabilizing, Benjamin dropped the WCCW World Title back to Jericho who had been cutting one amazing promo after another for the majority of the year and it seemed as though Bischoff finally realized that he needed to get away from the stars of the '99-'01 peak period if he wanted to handle the emerging threat from New York.

Everything was going great until StarrCade '08 when Brock Lesnar defeated Benjamin for the most prestigious prize in Worldwide and it became evident that the NWA Executive Board saw NWA: NY and not WCCW as the way to go forward in 2009. Bischoff has not been seen since the day after StarrCade and many believe that he's no longer able to use the threat of pulling WCCW out of Worldwide to his advantage as the leadership have finally grown tired of being held hostage by Bischoff and his demands. WCCW still has the most star power in NWA Worldwide, but it is aging and unless Bischoff (or someone else) does something soon, we may just see NWA: NY put WCCW out of business this time.

WCCW World Title History

7/4/91 - 3/21/92 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden (awarded due to his status as the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion)

3/21/92 - 8/22/92 Rick Rude

8/22/92 - 12/19/92 Randy 'The Macho Man' Savage

12/19/92 - 7/24/93 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden [2]

7/24/93 - 11/20/93 'Hollywood' Hogan

11/20/93 - 2/19/94 'The Heart Break Kid' Shawn Michaels

2/19/94 - 6/25/94 Sid Vicious

6/25/94 - 10/30/95 The Giant

10/30/95 - 12/21/96 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden [3]

12/21/96 - 11/15/97 The Giant [2]

11/15/97 - 4/25/98 'The Prototype' Paul Levesque

4/25/98 - 9/26/98 'The Heart Break Kid' Shawn Michaels [2]

9/26/98 - 5/24/99 Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)

5/24/99 - 2/26/00 The Laughing Man

2/26/00 - 6/25/00 The Rock [2]

6/25/00 - 6/24/01 'Superstar' Steve Austin (this was the record setting WCCW WrestleMania I Main Event)

6/24/01 - 10/28/01 Paul Levesque [2]

10/28/01 - 12/22/02 'Superstar' Steve Austin [2]

12/22/02 - 6/23/03 The Rock [3]

6/23/03 - 3/28/04 Randall Orton

3/28/04 - 8/12/04 Shelton Benjamin (vacated due to injury)

9/26/04 - 6/26/05 Kurt Angle (def. Orton in the finals of a 16 man tournament)

6/26/05 - 12/17/05 The Rock [4]

12/17/05 - 6/25/06 Paul Levesque [3]

6/25/06 - 12/31/06 'Superstar' Steve Austin [3]

12/31/06 - 6/24/07 The Rock [5]

6/24/07 - 10/28/07 Adam Copeland (won a title shot earlier in WrestleMania VIII and cashed it in to defeat The Rock after an epic match with Chris Benoit)

10/28/07 - 1/27/08 'The Canadian Crippler' Chris Benoit

1/27/08 - 6/28/08 Chris Jericho

6/28/08 - 11/22/08 Mr. Benjamin [2] (Benjamin retained the NWA World Heavyweight title and won Jericho's WCCW World Title at WrestleMania IX)

11/22/08 - current Chris Jericho [2]

NWA: Texas Heavyweight Title History

1984 - 4/27/85 'Mean' Gene Anderson [3]

4/27/85 - 11/30/85 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden [3]

11/30/85 - 12/14/85 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes [2]

12/14/85 - 3/23/87 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden [4]

3/23/87 - 7/25/87 Harley Race

7/25/87 - 12/19/87 Rick Rude

12/19/87 - 12/17/88 Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat

12/17/88 - 6/17/89 Rick Rude [2]

6/17/89 - 2/17/90 'Super Fine' Scotty Stein

2/17/90 - 1/26/91 'Hollywood' Hogan

1/26/91 - 9/21/91 Rick Rude [3]

9/21/91 - 2/20/93 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden [5]

2/20/93 - 5/22/93 'Super Fine' Scotty Stein [2]

5/22/93 - 6/15/93 Sid Vicious (title abandoned)

NWA: Texas/WCCW Tag Team Title History

1984 - 10/19/85 The Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk) [3]

10/19/85 - 3/22/86 The Original Midnight Express ('Loverboy' Dennis Condrey & 'Ravishing' Randy Rose) [2]

3/22/86 - 9/20/86 The Midnight Express ('Sweet' Stan Lane & 'Beautiful' Bobby Eaton) [2]

9/20/86 - 6/27/87 The Road Warriors [4]

6/27/87 - 9/26/87 The Rock n' Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton)

9/26/87 - 12/19/87 The Original Midnight Express [3]

12/19/87 - 9/24/88 The Minnesota Stretching Crew (Arn & 'Mean' Gene Anderson) [2]

9/24/88 - 12/17/88 The Road Warriors [5]

12/17/88 - 6/24/89 The Titans of Terror (Bam Bam Bigelow & Super Vader)

Note: Bigelow & Vader won both the NWA World Tag & NWA: Texas Tag Titles, while retaining the NWA: Tokyo Tag Titles at StarrCade '88

6/24/89 - 10/21/89 Stan 'The Man' Hansen & Bruiser Brody

10/21/89 - 4/28/90 Rick Martel & Chico Santana

4/28/90 - 12/15/90 The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty)

12/15/90 - 9/28/91 The Andersons (Arn & Ole Anderson)

9/28/91 - 2/27/93 Demolition (Ax & Smash, lost the titles when they were DQ'ed in a match that would allow the title to change hands on a DQ)

2/27/93 - 6/27/93 The Andersons [2]

6/27/93 - 3/21/94 Demoliton [2]

3/21/94 - 7/4/94 Rick Martel & Chico Santana [2]

7/4/94 - 9/25/94 The Andersons [3]

9/25/94 - 2/26/95 Harlem Heatwave

2/26/95 - 8/27/95 Demolition [3]

8/27/95 - 3/24/96 Diamond Dallas Page & Rigor Mortis

3/24/96 - 7/28/96 Demolition [4]

7/28/96 - 12/30/96 Harlem Heatwave [2]

12/30/96 - 5/25/97 Diamond Dallas Page & Rigor Mortis [2]

5/25/97 - 10/26/97 The Diamond Stud & Lex Luger

10/26/97 - 2/22/98 Harlem Heatwave [3]

2/22/98 - 12/7/98 Diamond Dallas Page & Rigor Mortis [3]

12/7/98 - 12/6/99 Kevin Nash & The Pallbearer

12/6/99 - 6/25/00 The Diamond Stud & Lex Luger [2]

6/25/00 - 1/28/01 Kevin Nash & The Pallbearer [2]

1/28/01 - 3/26/01 Diamond Dallas Page & Rigor Mortis [4]

3/26/01 - 10/29/01 The Giant & Prince Anoa'i

10/29/01 - 3/4/02 The Minnesota Stretching Crew (Brock Lesnar & Shelton Benjamin)

3/4/02 - 11/11/02 The Giant & Prince Anoa'i [2]

11/11/02 - 11/25/02 Matt Hardy & Nora Greenwald

11/25/02 - 7/27/03 The Giant & Prince Anoa'i [3]

7/27/03 - 3/21/04 Evolution (Dave Batista & Brock Lesnar)

3/21/04 - 11/1/04 The World's Greatest Tag Team (Kurt Angle & Shelton Benjamin)

11/1/04 - 3/27/05 Evolution [2]

3/27/05 - 3/28/05 (Rob) Conway & (Lance) Cade

Note: Conway & Cade won the titles on a Sunday PPV, and were then challenged by Angle & Benjamin at the start of Nitro the next night. WGTT ended up winning the titles, making Conway & Cade the shortest reigning NWA: Texas/WCCW Tag Team Champions to date!

3/28/05 - 9/29/05 The World's Greatest Tag Team [2]

Note: WGTT were stripped of the titles when Benjamin turned on Angle on an episode of WCCW Nitro the day after they lost the NWA World Tag Titles to The Dudley Boys. Although they won the match that night on Nitro and defended their titles, Benjamin injured Angle with an assist from NWA: Memphis star 'The Suntanned Superman' Ron Killings. By NWA Worldwide rule, failure to defend a title within 30 days leaves the titles vacant and this was the first day outside of the 30 day window.

10/23/05 - 1/22/06 The Black Panthers (Mr. Benjamin & 'The Suntanned Superman' Ron Killings, won an 8 team title tournament)

1/22/06 - 10/16/06 Kevin Nash & The Pallbearer [3] (Nash was injured during the match with Doring & Haas leading to an unexpected title change)

10/16/06 - 10/29/06 Doring & Haas

10/29/06 - 6/24/07 Evolution [3]

6/24/07 - 11/23/07 Conway & Cade [2]

11/23/07 - 1/27/08 The Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark)

1/27/08 - 9/28/08 The Royal Alliance ('King' Booker Jenkins & 'Lord' Steven Regal)

9/28/08 - current The Quebecers (Franky & Rene Dupree)

[naiwf]

NWA World Heavyweight Title History

1/26/85 - 9/28/85 Bret 'The Hitman' Hart (won an 8 man title tournament)

9/28/85 - 12/13/86 Theodore Maximillion DiBiase III

12/13/86 - 9/19/87 'Superstar' Billy Graham

9/19/87 - 9/19/87 Andre*

Note: This match was originally to take place at StarrCade '87, with Andre serving as DiBiase's henchmen because the millionaire couldn't beat Graham. The giant was only champion for roughly two minutes though, as he was promptly ordered to lay down following his victory, and pinned by DiBiase who had weeks earlier announced that he had a contract stating he would be the first man to face the winner of Graham/Andre. At the time, most fans did not understand the intricacies of DiBiase's well executed plan, but the fact is that Andre was not going to be able to last another three months with his health fading as it was, so Fleihr and DiBiase concocted a scheme to put the belt back on DiBiase, the man who was going to feud with Borden regardless. Fleihr turned out to be correct as Andre was hospitalized a month later, and died of a massive heart attack 3 weeks before StarrCade, which was wrestled in his honor. Andre's passing also catapulted Borden into the national spotlight earlier than expected, but he was more than ready for the task as his legacy would soon show.

9/19/87 - 12/19/87 Theodore Maximillion DiBiase III [2]

12/19/87 - 3/25/89 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden

3/25/89 - 7/22/89 Jake 'The Snake' Roberts

7/22/89 - 12/16/89 Arn Anderson

12/16/89 - 9/22/90 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden [2]

9/22/90 - 3/22/91 Theodore Maximillion DiBiase III [3]

3/23/91 - 12/21/91 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden [3]

12/21/91 - 6/27/92 'Hollywood' Hogan

6/27/92 - 12/19/92 Randy 'The Macho Man' Savage

12/19/92 - 3/19/94 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden [4]

3/19/94 - 6/18/94 Randy 'The Macho Man' Savage [2]

6/18/94 - 12/17/94 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden [5]

12/17/94 - 9/23/95 Bret 'The Hitman' Hart [2]

9/23/95 - 6/28/97 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden [6]

6/28/97 - 12/20/97 'The Canadian Crippler' Chris Benoit

12/20/97 - 6/27/98 'Superstar' Steve Austin (vacated due to injury)

8/29/98 - 12/19/98 'The Heart Break Kid' Shawn Michaels (won a 20 man battle royal to determine the new champion)

12/19/98 - 7/25/99 The Rock

7/25/99 - 12/18/99 The Great Muta

12/18/99 - 9/23/00 The Giant

9/23/00 - 12/22/01 Kurt Angle

12/22/01 - 6/22/02 'The Canadian Crippler' Chris Benoit [2]

6/22/02 - 1/25/03 Chris Jericho

1/25/03 - 7/26/03 Kurt Angle [2]

7/26/03 - 12/20/03 Paul Levesque

12/20/03 - 4/30/04 The Rock [2] (vacated due to injury)

6/27/04 - 12/18/04 'Superstar' Steve Austin [2] (won a 16 man title tournament at WrestleMania V)

12/18/04 - 8/29/05 Paul Levesque [2]

8/29/05 - 12/17/05 'Superstar' Steve Austin [3]

12/17/05 - 6/25/06 Chris Jericho [2]

6/25/06 - 12/16/06* Eddie Guerrero

6/25/06 - 12/16/06* The Rock [3]

Note: Guerrero won the title when he pinned the champion after Jericho betrayed WCCW and chose to appear at Triplemania 2006 instead of WrestleMania VII. This unexpected title change sparked a major controversy the next morning when Eric Bischoff threatened to pull WCCW out of NWA Worldwide if The Rock was not declared the new champion since he was scheduled to meet Jericho that night and Jericho forfeited the title by not showing up. The NWA Executive Board was split on this issue and while they tried to come to a resolution, BOTH Konnan and Bischoff decided to go with their guy being the "undisputed" NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Ultimately the Board decided that each promotion would have their man (or anyone who beat them) recognized as champ until StarrCade where the two would unify the belt(s). As expected, both owners threatened to have their man no show at StarrCade because they were wary of being double crossed which led to the inclusion of 'The Canadian Crippler' Chris Benoit into the match as he was the rightful # 1 contender to the title.

12/16/06 - 8/19/07 'The Canadian Crippler' Chris Benoit [3] (defeated both Guerrero & The Rock in a Three Way Dance at StarrCade to end the controversy)

8/19/07 - 4/27/08 'The Fallen Angel' Christian Daniels

4/27/08 - 12/20/08 Mr. Benjamin

12/20/08 - current Brock Lesnar

NWA World Cruiserweight Title History

12/21/85 - 7/19/86 Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat (won an 8 man title tournament)

7/19/86 - 12/13/86 Curt Hennig

12/13/86 - 6/25/88 'Flyin' Brian Pillman

6/25/88 - 3/18/89 Marty Jannetty

3/18/89 - 5/20/89 'Super Fine' Scotty Stein

5/20/89 - 7/22/89 Ron Garvin

7/22/89 - 3/24/90 - The Great Muta

3/24/90 - 12/15/90 'Super Fine' Scotty Stein [2]

12/15/90 - 12/21/91 The Great Muta [2]

12/21/91 - 9/22/92 Eddie Guerrero

9/22/92 - 9/18/93 The Great Muta [3]

9/18/93 - 12/18/93 Hayabusa

12/18/93 - 7/23/94 Eddie Guerrero [2]

7/23/94 - 8/27/94 'The Franchise' Shane Douglas (title vacated when Douglas dumped the title in the garbage on an ECW (soon to be Hardcore City) show

12/17/94 - 9/23/95 Hayabusa [2] (won a 20 man battle royal to determine the new champion at StarrCade '94)

9/23/95 - 5/18/96 The Great Michinoku

5/18/96 - 8/24/96 Mr. JL (Jerry Lynn)

8/24/96 - 12/21/96 Allen Sarven (Al Snow)

12/21/96 - 12/20/97 The Great Michinoku [2]

12/20/97 - 5/16/98 Mr. (Alex) Wright

5/16/98 - 10/24/98 Allen Sarven [2]

10/24/98 - 12/18/99 Hayabusa [3]

12/18/99 - 7/22/00 Super Spicy Man (Christian Daniels)

7/22/00 - 12/16/00 Jeff Hardy

12/16/00 - 9/22/01 The Great Michinoku [3]

9/22/01 - 2/16/02 Jeff Hardy [2]

2/16/02 - 5/18/02 Christian Daniels [2]

5/18/02 - 12/21/02 The Ultimate Dragon (Brandon Silvestry aka Low-Ki)

12/21/02 - 7/19/03 American Dragon

7/19/03 - 12/20/03 Shelton Benjamin

12/20/03 - 11/13/04 Christian Cage (vacated due to injury)

12/18/04 - 12/20/04 The Great Michinoku [4]

Note: Michinoku won a 20 man battle royal to determine the new champion at StarrCade '04, but broke his right wrist during the match and promptly vacated the belt two days later as he was forced to have surgery that put him out of action until June of 2005.

12/20/04 - 5/15/05 'The Suntanned Superman' Ron Killings (awarded the title due to finishing 2nd in the StarrCade '04 battle royal)

5/15/05 - 12/17/05 Christian Cage [2]

12/17/05 - 7/23/06 Christian Daniels [3] (Daniels left NWA: Memphis for NWA: NY shortly after he won the title, causing a major controversy)

7/23/06 - 12/16/06 The Great Michinoku [5]

12/16/06 - 8/26/07 Teddy Hart (became the self proclaimed "Undisputed" Cruiserweight Champion as he was the NWA: NY Cruiserweight Champ when he won the belt)

8/26/07 - 12/17/07 Jack Evans (won both titles from Hart)

12/17/07 - 7/27/08 Johnny The Body (won the NWA World Title from Evans, but not the NY version since he was on the Memphis roster)

7/27/08 - 12/20/08 Spanky

12/20/08 - current Teddy Hart [2]

NWA World Tag Titles History

6/22/85 - 12/13/86 The Titans of Terror (Bam Bam Bigelow & Super Vader) (won an 8 team title tournament)

12/13/86 - 10/24/87 The Original Midnight Express ('Loverboy' Dennis Condrey & 'Ravishing' Randy Rose)

10/24/87 - 12/19/87 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes & Harley Race

12/19/87 - 12/17/88 The Road Warriors

12/17/88 - 9/23/89 The Titans of Terror [2]

Note: Bigelow & Vader won both the NWA World Tag & NWA: Texas Tag Titles, while retaining the NWA: Tokyo Tag Titles at StarrCade '88

9/23/89 - 5/19/90 The Minnesota Stretching Crew (Arn & 'Mean' Gene Anderson)

5/19/90 - 12/15/90 Ron Simmons & 'Playboy' Butch Reed

12/15/90 - 5/25/91 The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael P.S. Hayes & Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy)

5/25/91 - 3/28/92 The Road Warriors [2]

3/28/92 - 12/19/92 Stan 'The Man' Hansen & Bruiser Brody

12/19/92 - 12/18/93 Demolition (Ax & Smash)

12/18/93 - 8/27/94 The Thrillseekers (Lance Storm & Chris Jericho)

8/27/94 - 12/17/94 Harlem Heatwave (Booker & Stevie Ray Jenkins)

12/17/94 - 9/23/95 Demolition [2]

9/23/95 - 12/16/95 Stan 'The Man' Hansen & Bruiser Brody [2]

12/16/95 - 12/21/96 Harlem Heatwave [2]

12/21/96 - 7/26/97 The Thrillseekers [2]

7/26/97 - 2/21/98 Diamond Dallas Page & Rigor Mortis

2/21/98 - 8/29/98 Marty Jannetty & 'Super Fine' Scotty Stein

8/30/98 - 3/28/99 The Hardy Boys

3/28/99 - 8/29/99 Kevin Nash & The Pallbearer

8/29/99 - 3/18/00 The Hardy Boys [2]

3/18/00 - 12/22/01 The Dudley Boys

12/22/01 - 8/24/02 The Rockers ('The Heart Break Kid' Shawn Michaels & The Rock)

8/24/02 - 12/21/02 The Acolytes (Ron Simmons & John 'Blackjack' Bradshaw)

12/21/02 - 12/20/03 The Dudley Boys [2]

12/20/03 - 2/21/04 Dean Malenko & Rob Van Dam

2/21/04 - 9/18/04 The World's Greatest Tag Team (Kurt Angle & Shelton Benjamin)

9/18/04 - 3/26/05 The Dudley Boys [3]

3/26/05 - 11/20/05 The World's Greatest Tag Team [2]

11/20/05 - 4/23/06 The Dudley Boys [4]

4/23/06 - 1/21/07 The Last Dragons (American & Ultimate Dragon)

1/21/07 - 8/26/07 The James Gang (Brian & Jamie James)

8/26/07 - 4/27/08 The Latin American Xchange (Hernandez & Homicide)

4/27/08 - 8/17/08 The Last Dragons [2]

8/17/08 - current Degeneration X (Alex Shelley & CM Punk)

[naiwf]

I've finished writing the bios for all of the promotions and updated pretty much everything that needs to be handled in terms of text. I still need to work on the title lineages and checking to see how the TV shows will work, but I also need to reformat my hard drive some time this week. I've backed up all of the files on a removable drive and will get to work on everything once I fix my computer. I'm still looking at the end of the month as the time I'll have everything sorted out, though I still need some help with the logos and maybe a couple of other graphics.

[Gameover112]

any update on this?

[naiwf]

I just reinstalled TEW 08 on my computer yesterday and haven't done anything with it. I'm thinking that I'll probably be done by July 1st when I can release this version for '08 and rerelease the original scenario for '05 which will be freeware by then.

The only thing I may not have are good logos for all of the feds since 2008's picture size seems to be larger than 2005's.

[naiwf]

NWA Women's World Title History

March 1986 - October 1986 Wendy Richter

October 1986 - July 1987 'Sensational' Sherri Martel

July 1987 - December 1987 Jacqueline Moore

December 1987 - January 1989 'Sensational' Sherri Martel [2]

January 1989 - July 1989 Rockin' Robin

July 1989 - October 1991 'Sensational' Sherri Martel [3]

October 1991 - June 1992 Rockin' Robin [2]

June 1992 - March 1993 Lisa Moretti

March 1993 - December 1993 Madusa Miceli

December 1993 - July 1994 Lisa Moretti [2]

July 1994 - February 1995 Terri Powers (Tori)

February 1995 - October 1995 Debbie Combs

October 1995 - December 1996 Lisa Moretti [3]

December 1996 - July 1997 Leilani Kai

July 1997 - December 1998 Madusa Miceli [2]

December 1998 - July 1999 Nora Greenwald

July 1999 - November 1999 Terri Powers [2]

November 1999 - May 2000 Nora Greenwald [2]

May 2000 - October 2000 Amy Dumas

October 2000 - December 2001 Nora Greenwald [3]

December 2001 - December 2002 Trish

December 2002 - March 15, 2003 Nora Greenwald [4]

Note: She was fatally injured in a match at the 2003 Living Dangerously event, and was later named NWA Worldwide's immortal Women's Champion as the belt was permanently retired at StarrCade '03

----------------------

2004 WCCW Diva Search

WINNER - Melina Perez (employed as a manager/wrestler by NWA: MC) The 2004 WCCW Diva Search winner became a huge star when she subsequently posed for Playboy magazine. This bilingual star manager promptly turned heel when she joined up with the Black Panthers. Stayed in Mexico City even after Mr. Benjamin left

2nd place - Maria Kanellis (employed as a valet by NWA: MC) Maria was in the 2004 WCCW Diva Search competition and after finishing second, she still ended up securing a contract. Her hot body and willingness to ask silly questions landed her a job as a backstage interviewer, but she left for Mexico City when Konnan was looking to fill up his TV time with sponsor driven bikini contests.

3rd place - Stacy Keibler (quit the business) Stacy was the clearcut favorite to win the 2004 WCCW Diva Search and was so disappointed by her 3rd place finish that she left the business and is now a cheerleader for her hometown Baltimore Ravens.

4th place - Christy Hemme (employed as a manager/wrestler by NWA: NY) Christy Hemme finished 4th in the 2004 WCCW Diva Search and earned a job by going to DSW and paying her own way to train. This energetic redhead became a major name in NWA: NY's revival when she was paired up with Jeff Hardy.

---------------------

2005 WCCW Diva Search

WINNER - Sarieha (employed as a manager/valet by WCCW) Known by fans as 'The Syrian Sexpot', Sarieha won the 2005 WCCW Diva Search and quickly gained fans due to her issue of Playboy. Was never able to fill Melina's role once she left and has largely stayed around simply because Bischoff is a fan.

2nd place - Valentina (employed as a manager/valet by NWA: LA) Valentina used to wrestle on the West Coast before catching the attention of Eric Bischoff and competing in the 2005 WCCW Diva Search. A 2nd place finish was good enough to get her a contract, though her role was never established. It was a no brainer for her to leave for NWA: Los Angeles when it opened.

3rd place - Shelly Martinez (employed as a manager by NWA: MC) Shelly finished 3rd in the 2005 WCCW Diva Search and opted not to sign a contract as she hoped to get a bigger break in Hollywood. It never happened, but she did manage to end up dating Konnan for about a year and her time in NWA: Mexico City made her a household name in Mexico as she was pushed almost as heavily as anyone in the company. Did a handful of guest spots on Mexican telenovelas.

4th place - Jennifer Thomas (quit the business) Jennifer Thomas' background in track & field, bodybuilding, and fitness modeling enabled her to be involved in the 2005 WCCW Diva Search. Her 4th place finish earned her a contract with DSW, but she didn't improve and was let go. Was deleted from the database in the upgrade.

---------------------

2006 WCCW Diva Search

WINNER -'Rockstar' Roni Jonah (employed as a manager/valet by NWA: M) Jonah is from Vancouver but made a name for herself when she won the 2006 WCCW Diva Search. Her Playboy issue outsold the previous winner (Sarieha), but she ultimately ended up in NWA: Memphis to be with her real life boyfriend Johnny the Body as soon as her one year deal expired.

2nd place - Milena Roucka (employed as a manager/valet by WCCW) She was the runner up in the 2006 WCCW Diva Search and trained with DSW for about 6 months before being called up to the roster. Once the winner ('Rockstar' Roni Jonah) left, her role became even more significant.

3rd place - Sosay (employed as a manager/valet by WCCW) Competed in the Diva Search under her birth name Jennifer Elaine Kaiser. Ended up being repackaged as a wannabe popstar who took on the nickname Sosay. Hasn't accomplished much, but her looks pretty much keep her on the roster.

4th place - Chrissy Rivera (employed as a manager/valet by NWA: LA) This fiesty 4'11 dynamo did really well for herself finishing in 4th place despite not having the same build as the three women who beat her out. Was a natural fit with NWA: LA where she is associated with Hernandez & Homicide in the LAX. Is a key part of NWA: LA's opening highlight package thanks to her ankle breaking top rope double stomp on Fire Ant which ultimately helped her team regain the tag team titles.

---------------------

2007 WCCW Diva Search

WINNER - Eva 'The Diva' Torres (employed as a interviewer by WCCW) The 2007 WCCW Diva Search winner was a dancer, model and actress before taking part in the annual Diva Search. Has been used as a wrestler on a few occasions, but is primarily a backstage interviewer and company spokeswoman because her in ring skills are almost nonexistent.

2nd place - Melody (employed as a manager/valet by WCCW) She knew 'Rockstar' Roni Jonah before Jonah got involved in the business. Decided to try her hand at the Diva Search the following year and did suprisingly well finishing 2nd.

3rd place - Foxxy Dreams (on maternity leave) had already been involved in the wrestling business for quite a few years, but got her big break when she competed in the 2007 WCCW Diva Search and finished 4th. Recently took some time off to have a baby, but will be looking for work again since wrestling is in her blood.

4th place - Krissy Vaine (employed as a wrestler by LLPW) Krissy is perhaps the only woman in the history of the Diva Search to turn down a contract offer because she wanted to be a wrestler instead of a backstage interviewer, or valet. Her insistence on being allowed to wrestler ultimately led to WCCW pulling their offer and potentially getting her blackballed from the major promotions as she has only been able to find work with LLPW.

---------------------

2008 WCCW Diva Search

WINNER - 'Beautiful' Barbie Blank (employed as a manager/valet by WCCW) The 2008 WCCW Diva Search winner was only 21 when she claimed that honor. During the process she was the sweet, kind, girl next door but gradually transitioned into the arrogant "Mean Girl" style character she plays today. Is one half of 'The Beautiful People' with runner up Allison Wonderland who turned her to the "dark side".

2nd place - Allison Wonderland (employed as a manager/valet by WCCW) She was almost the exact opposite of Barbie Blank as she was bitchy and catty towards everyone else involved in the Diva Search. The fact that she was so over the top with her bitchiness carried her to second place and she eventually got her way by corrupting Barbie who she is now her partner in 'The Beautiful People'.

3rd place - Lacey Von Erich (employed as a manager/valet by WCCW) Many people assumed that the latest Von Erich would win this year's competition but her lousy backstage reputation cost her the $250,000 contract. She still managed to sign on with WCCW though because Bischoff was high on her ability to get over in the future.

4th place - Noel Harlow (employed as a manager/valet by NWA: Detroit) Noel Harlow was known as being unafraid to mix it up in the indies, but finally got a break when she was part of the 2008 WCCW Diva Search where she finished 4th. Was able to parlay that into a steady gig with NWA: Detroit.

[Gameover112]

Glad to hear things are coming along good again, i seriously really can't wait for this as i loved the TEW 05 version. thnx for your hard work.

[naiwf]

Note: I'm just finishing up the WCCW title lineages and then I will have just about everything done. I will probably spend the next week or so testing everything out to make sure the game is playable.

------

Since I'm almost done now, this is the post that probably has the most actual info you may need. Here are the major changes to prominent characters from around the world. The name they are listed under is the one you probably know them as, the promotion is the one they work for and then there's a brief bit of info about them.

CHARACTER/GIMMICK/NAME/POPULARITY/SKILL CHANGES

Allison Danger (NWA: NY) - Allison Corino was her brother's manager/valet in NWA: Tokyo for years, but left to make a name for herself

American Gladiator Crush (WCCW) - When the show was cancelled Gina Carano turned to pro wrestling when Bischoff offered her a huge contract

American Gladiator Justice (NWA: FL) - Justice Smith, a Tough Enough dropout, went onto a career as an American Gladiator before returning to pro wrestling

Angelina Love (NWA: FL/SHIMMER) - Angel Williams never became one of the Beautiful People, that gimmick went to Allison Wonderland & Barbie Blank

Bam Neely (NWA: NY) - (Justin) Bam Bam LaRouche is a 6'7" 275 pound bruiser who was obviously inspired by the legendary Bam Bam Bigelow

Big Show (NWA: MC) - The Giant's 173-0 streak saved WCCW from going under years ago and was largely responsible for them winning the war with NWA: NY

Bill Demott/Hugh Morrus (WCCW) - The Laughing Man is one of the biggest stars in the business, massively over thanks to a Goldberg like skillset/charisma

Bobby Roode/Rude (NWA: CS) - claims to be 'Ravishing' Rick Rude's nephew, has the porn star 'stache and ladies man gimmick

Brutus Magnus (NWA: Memphis) - Gladiator Oblivion portryas a similar character to the one he did on the UK version of the American Gladiators show

Carlito (NWA: NY) - Carlos Colon Jr. was a blue chip prospect, but couldn't cut it in DSW. Stuck with it and is a big piece of NY's Cruiserweight division

Chris Masters (NWA: LA) - Chris Mordetzky seemed to have everything going his way until he was arrested for a DUI on the morning that he was to wrestle on his first WCCW PPV. Reinvented himself as 'The Masterpiece' Chris Masters in LA

CM Punk (NWA: HC) - has had a major alcohol and drug problem which led to him being passed over for years, is part of Degeneration X with Alex Shelley

Daffney (NWA: NY) - Shannon Ward struggled to make it in the business, but found her spot on the reborn NWA: NY roster

Dolph Ziggler (NWA: FL) - 'Slick' Nick Nemeth was part of The Spirit Squad in NWA: FL, but eventually turned on the team and is poised to be a singles star

Ekmo Fatu/Jamal/UMAGA (NWA: D) - Has worked under a series of different names including Ekmo, Ekmo Fatu, Fatu, Jamal and now UMAGA.

Ezekiel Jackson (NWA: D) - Big Zeke is a Suge Knight style mobster in Detroit

Franky The Mobster (WCCW) - is Rene Dupree's "cousin" Franky Dupree

Gregory Shane Helms (NWA: Memphis) - never became the Hurricane, is a babyface in the mold of the original Hardy Boys

Hollywood Hogan (NWA: NY) - became a star, but not anywhere near the level he was because he chose the WWF and was punished for it

Jack Swagger (WCCW) - Jake Hager worked his way to WCCW by going through their DSW developmental territory

Jamie Noble (NWA: Memphis) - Jamie James is a key member of the confederate quartet, The James Gang with "cousins" Brian, Kid & Lacey Mae in Memphis

JBL (NWA: HC) - John 'Blackjack' Bradshaw debuted as part of The New Blackjacks with 'Blackjack' (Kendall) Windham in NWA: NY in '94. A decade plus later he's still kicking ass as part of The Acolytes with Ron Simmons

Jesse (DSW) - Ray Gordy is training in DSW.

Jillian Hall (NWA: D) - is her old Macaela Mercedes character, never went blonde or under the knife for new boobs

John Cena (NWA: Memphis) - Johnny C-Note is part of Memphis' Jersey Boys. Is more of a stereotypical Italian, less wiggerish

John Morrison (NWA: Memphis) - Won TE III and appeared a couple of times on WCCW programming. Things didn't work out and he was released, only to sign with NWA: Memphis and join The Jersey Boys as Johnny The Body where he is on the verge of superstar status

JTG (NWA: D) - J.P. Money is one of Big Zeke's "associates" (read: dealers)

Jushin 'Thunder' Lyger (NWA: Tokyo) - a jobbing generic Jr. Heavy in Japan who is more famous for training Michinoku, Nakamura & Tanahashi

Justin Credible (NWA: FL) - PJ Polaco left his name behind when he was let go by NWA: Hardcore City

Kane (WCCW) - The Pallbearer wears Kane's old mask but has always been a top face thanks to his association with The Undertaker/Kevin Nash

Kevin Nash (WCCW) - was the Undertaker

Kid Kash (NWA: Memphis) - Kid James is a key member of the confederate quartet, The James Gang with "cousins" Brian, Jamie & Lacey Mae in Memphis

Low Ki (NWA: HC) - The Ultimate Dragon carries himself like a thug today, but got famous as a masked wearing "big little man"

Maryse (NWA: MC) - 'Fabulous' Marie Rougeau got her start working in NWA: Mexico City as LuFisto's cousin

Matt Hughes (NWA: D) - this MMA superstar left the UFC for pro wrestling when he realized he could make more money and have a longer career

Mick Foley (NWA: NY) - 'Cactus' Jack Foley, wrestles full time

Mickie James (NWA: Memphis) - the old school Alexis Laree, refused a deal with WCCW and was blacklisted for years because she didn't want to get a boob job. Was eventually signed after Daizee Haze left for Detroit.

Mr. Kennedy (NWA: D/NWA: FL) - Ken Anderson is a Midwest indy veteran. Appeared as an enhancement talent on a few occasions at WCCW events over the years

Muhammad Hassan (NWA: D) - Mark Copani didn't like the racist character he was given and quit DSW before going on to become a star in Detroit.

Nick Dinsmore (WCCW) - not a retard

Orlando Jordan (WCCW) - renamed Orlando Garnett, now known as O.G. aka an "original gangsta"

'Pretty' Paul London (WCCW) - failed at his chance to become a model, wrestles only to make money

Portia Perez/Xtasis (NWA: MC) - worked as a masked luchadora in NWA: MC before losing her mask to Melissa Anderson

Primo Colon (NWA: NY) - Eddie Colon teams up with his real life brother Carlos Jr.

Raisha Saeed (NWA: MC) - Melissa Anderson is arguably the best American female worker alive. Has become a major star in NWA: MC

Randall 'The Vandal' Orton (NWA: NY) - part Alex Shelley's videotape gimmick, part GTV, a well liked babyface with potential to be the face of NWA: NY

Rikishi (NWA: Memphis) - Fatu plays the character he did in The Headshrinkers

Rosey (NWA: D/NWA: FL) - Matt Anoai plays the character he did in 3 Minute Warning

Samoa Joe (NWA: Memphis) - old school, barefoot style Samoan ala The Headshrinkers

Santino Marella (NWA: CS) - Anthony Carelli is one of the few bright spots in NWA: CS where he is on the verge of becoming the biggest star they've had since Benoit left years ago

Sarita (NWA: MC) - Sarah Stock/Natasha Graves has been incredibly busy in recent years as parts of the NWA: CS & LLPW rosters before signing on with NWA: MC where she has been involved in storylines both with and against Christian Cage since 2006

Stephanie McMahon (NWA: Memphis) - lovable face due to her father's passing

Sting (WCCW) - 'The Nature Boy' Steve Borden retired, but was essentially Ric Flair's character after Flair retired in 1972, the top star in the history of the business. Was brought in as a road agent recently

Steve Austin (WCCW) - blond haired technical master, a mixture of his WCW persona with his WWF popularity

TAKA Michinoku (NWA: MC) - The Great Michinoku is basically as successful as the real Liger

Taylor Wilde (NWA: MC) - Shantelle Taylor was brought in during the tail end of the 'Fabulous' Marie Rougeau/LuFisto feud

The Messiah (NWA: HC) - 'The Innovator of Violence' William Welch lost part of his thumb in a barbed wire match that made him an icon in hardcore wrestling circles, a heel Tommy Dreamer for the most part

The Undertaker (NWA: Tokyo) - Mark Calloway is a generic biker who was never able to make it big

Tito Ortiz (NWA: MC) - is arguably the biggest star in Mexican wrestling since his debut, one of the most over workers on a global scale

Triple H (WCCW) - Paul Levesque was 'The Prototype', is a well liked and respected career long babyface

Vladimir Kozlov/Oleg Prudius (NWA: Memphis) - was brought in to be his "brother" Alex Kozlov's bodyguard

Yokozuna (WCCW) - still alive and known as Prince Anoa'i, think of a mixture between his old character and King Haku, a career long babyface too

Juvy, Mr. Aguila & Psicosis still have their masked wrestling characters

ACTIVE HERE/NOT IN THE REAL WORLD or INACTIVE HERE/ACTIVE IN THE REAL WORLD

2 Cold Scorpio (NWA: MC) - (El) Scorpio is getting up there in age, but is still a valuable part of the Mexico City roster

Al Snow (DSW) - is the head trainer for DSW, the WCCW Developmental territory

Bas Rutten (WCCW) - Rutten is an excellent color man who surprised many when he left PRIDE for WCCW Nitro at the end of '05

Bobby Lashley (NWA: NY) - still active as a wrestler

Brock Lesnar (NWA: NY) - still active as a wrestler

Chris Benoit (WCCW) - still alive, selfish, manipulator who led to the demise of Canadian wrestling by leaving the fed that made him a star for no reason

Chris Candido - still alive, but never was involved with Tammy Sytch

Curt Hennig (NWA: MC) - still alive, a manager/road agent

Eddie Guerrero (NWA: LA) - still alive, shocked everyone when he left NWA: MC for Los Angeles where he is now a partial owner as well as an active wrestler

Finlay (LLPW) - David Finlay is a road agent in LLPW.

Josh Matthews (NWA: Memphis) - ended up becoming a wrestler instead of an announcer

Lance Storm (NWA:CS/NWA: LA) - Storm came out of retirement

Lita (NWA: NY) - Amy Dumas's chairshot killed Nora Greenwald. Riddled with guilt she wasn't seen for years, but her part in NWA: NY's Outcasts made her a bigger name than ever and helped NWA: NY compete with WCCW

Mafia (NWA: NY) - Dan Maff is an active wrestler

Molly Holly - Nora Greenwald died in the middle of a match with Amy Dumas

Monty Brown (NWA: Memphis) - The Alpha Male is a former NFL player who came to prominence as a friend of Ron 'The Truth' Killings in NWA: Memphis

Randy Savage (NWA: NY) - color commentator/road agent

Rick Rude (NWA: NY) - still alive, a manager

Road Warrior Hawk (NWA: Tokyo) - still alive

Shane Douglas (NWA: NY) - wrestles full time, never became an announcer

Shelly Martinez (NWA: MC) - manager who is amongst the biggest stars in Mexico

Tammy Sytch (WCCW) - Sunny's looks, with Tammy's well known drug problems, got hot again

Taylor Matheny (NWA: NY) - got into the wrestling business to be closer to her husband Brian Kendrick aka Spanky

Taz (NWA: HC) - wrestles full time, never became an announcer

Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy - still alive

Test (NWA: Memphis) - still alive

Trish Stratus (DSW) - Patricia Stratigias is a trainer for DSW, the WCCW Developmental territory

Vince McMahon - committed suicide

Brian Pillman & Owen Hart are also still alive but retired

Edited June 21, 2009 by naiwf

[naiwf]

Just wanted to get in a brief update. I've been testing the scenario out and I'm having some trouble getting a few of the TV deals correct. I'd really prefer to not handicap people who play some of the larger promotions (NY, Memphis, Hardcore City) by putting them in a situation where they will lose their TV deal(s) by the end of January, but everything else seems to be going well except for some relatively annoying retirements. I should have everything sorted out by the 1st although some of the logos are outdated and the person who said they would help me never came through on that. If little things like that don't bother you, then it should be playable from the get go.

[naiwf]

I'm still playtesting this and I've almost got it where I want it, but NY is being a major pain in my ass because it's not growing and is supposed to be the 2nd most important promotion in the US according to the backstory. All of the other major promotions are pretty much as I had envisioned. I'll give it a few more tweaks to see if I can get NY right, but either way this will be released by next Friday at the absolute latest.

Edited June 28, 2009 by naiwf

[naiwf]

http://rapidshare.com/files/250082134/NAIW...ion_09.rar.html

After a bunch of tweaks and almost a week of trying to fix it, I still couldn't figure out what was wrong with NY but I'm assuming that they're having difficulties because they're at war with WCCW. The game is going to be hardest with them for that reason, but every other major promotion should have growth opportunities within the first few months. I realize that the logos aren't perfect, but I did the best I could with what I had. If there are any complaints, feel free to let me know and I'll see what I can do. Having said that I decided to just upload what I've got rather than wait until later in the week.

[Gameover112]

Downloading now ill leave some further feedback later. Thanks for your work.

[EddieG]

Is there another download link for this as the rapidshare will only allow premium mmbers to download it. "It's out of free slots"

[LJC]

Any news on this for 05 Naiwf?