Post by Stevie Wants A Drugging on Feb 22, 2013 17:21:06 GMT -6
Hi, i'm Stevie. I run Kingdom of Japan Pro-Wrestling. I'm making this thread because KJPW has recently partnered up with EXODUS. And will soon begin a working agreement that will see EXODUS stars traveling across the ocean to compete for Japan's #1 pro-wrestling organization. This post will tell you a little about myself, and about what you can expect from KJPW; namely if you intend on working KJPW shows.
Like I said, my name is Stevie. Though any derivative of "Steve" is fine. It's a pleasure to meet you all. Hopefully you're as excited about working with me as I am working with you.
I'm a slave to this game, like probably a lot of you. I spend more time thinking about it than I'd rather admit. Of course, my interest in eWrestling is only an extension of my love for pro-wrestling. I was a Hulkamaniac growing as a little kid, but later found myself getting into other styles and cultures including lucha and of course, Japanese pro-wrestling. The later of which significantly struck a chord with me. I saw a lot of it through WCW's working relationship with New Japan in the 90's, and later WWE's brief deal with Michinoku Pro (ironically never seen the famous Barely Legal match that made so many people fans of Japan.) The match for me however that changed what pro-wrestling was to me. That match was the October 2000 bout between Kensuke Sasaki and Toshiaki Kawada. I feel like this is already reaching tl;dr territory, so I'll spare the back story, other than it's the 2000 equivalent of Triple H representing WWE as its champion against Sting representing WCW. It was a big deal at the time, and the Tokyo Dome sell out no doubt reflects that.
Anyway, while I've been eWrestling for over 12 years (never not-depressing to admit that), I've been doing Japanese eW for over a decade of that. I won't go into all of the stupid stuff I've done, BUT for the sake of understanding KJPW and the billions, upon billions of pre-existing wrestlers, promotions, championships, factions we reference, You need to at least have a very basic history lesson.
Like traditional eWrestling, Japanese eWrestling has existed since pretty much the advent of the Internet. You can find posts on Usenet groups of some of the earliest promotions we acknowledge in our universes' canon. They're filled with consistancy/realism problems, like a lot of people starting out. But regardless, these handlers at the time worked hard to simulate a real-life Japan; with wrestlers traveling between promotions to spark heated rivalries. Company's became very competitive with each other, and this actually garnered them some readers. Enough so that a few people even covering the universe in a web magazine. Again, it's rough; but it shows you the dedication they had for fleshing out this universe.
Like every other facade of eWrestling, "E-Puro" had its ups-and-downs in activity. In 2001, George Wessel seemed to create the last "big/major" E-Puro group; the Japan Pro-Wrestling Association. The promotion used Genji Yamato as a figure-head, who Wessel handled in many of the bigger feds before it. He had other well-known (in the universe) characters as well, such as Ryo Inoue and "The Superstar" Jason Ramsey. The JPA didn't last long, but it did inspire some friends of mine to try their hand as a Japanese e-fed, which led to them recruiting me to handle in it. We initially treated it somewhat as a joke. They were heavily into Toryumon JAPAN/Michinoku Pro, so they basically just wanted an excuse to write Bad Engrish and little guys doing flips and brainbusters. After the first tour though, we felt like we had something special; and we all put forth a better effort. This became Burning Spirit Pro-Wrestling. We were co-existing alongside another group they were fans of called Oita Pro-Wrestling (Note: You can read the Oita archive here. Oita was ran by Jeff Casey, who handled a lot of characters in the E-Puro groups that existed before. Both groups, along with a handful of smaller groups operated by friends of Casey regularly referenced these past groups, and pretty much became the inception of modern E-Puroresu.
The vital change that took place around this time; and the most important reason you need to know all of this, is because the big difference between Oita Pro and BSPW was the fact that Oita was ran and operated by one man. Most of the characters were Casey's, or specially invited characters from one of Casey's friends. Because of this, Oita was 100% booked; essentially an angle fed. This simple shift from promo-to-booked fixed the biggest hurdle fedheds had when it came to realistically writing for a Japanese fed for competitive handlers who cared little for building up big matches, and were more obsessed with simply winning their matches -- regardless of whether or not it make logical sense. Soon, BSPW moved completely from an rp-fed to being completely booked, and from that point on, almost every promotion in our universe was booked in order to put on big dream matches and supercards you sometimes see in real-life Japan. In 2007, the handful of groups that were still active formed an Interfed of sorts, called BATTLEFUSION. This was the last huge period of activity for E-Puro, and was actually a lot of fun to experience. We had some good bookers/writers, and we came up with some pretty big matches/storylines. The only OFFICIAL member of BATTLEFUSION that appear to be somewhat active is Battle Angels Japan; a joshi fed. However, they only seem to post every few months.
After closing the group I ran from 2002-2012, I started KJPW earlier this year. It's essentially the only group active in our universe, and thus the only promotion in existance (though with growing relations with other groups with their own mythos, we're not playing this up so much anymore, as I want to acknowledge as a many feds as possible.) Regardless, the the state of our universe's Japan reflects having no pro-wrestling company's actively touring. Wrestling is cold, yet there's a substantial need for it among thriving diehards. None of the major TV networks are carrying pro-wrestling any longer; forcing KJPW to sign a deal with real-life #4 terrestrial TV network TV Tokyo. It allows KJPW a modest beginning, while allowing for room to grow if I so desire down the road. Still, attendances outsides of Osaka and Tokyo is low. While part of it reflects our pension for procrastination and inactivity, It's also a personal philosophy of mine that it's much more fun booking a fed struggling to fill that 2,000 seat hall; so that when they finally do, it's a very big deal.
Well that wasn't basic at all, was it? That was a lot of imaginary shit that never happened, but yet here I am detailing them as if I'm Dave fucking Meltzer. I feel silly even writing more than a paragraph on this, BUT regardless; it is for a reason. There is a pre-existing narrative we've been using for well over a decade. While mirroring the real world in some ways, such as the recent tsunami disaster, this is a completely original universe made up of hundreds of fleshed out characters with REAL (well, relatively) history. Most of the titles and tournaments we reference actually exist, and took place.
So with that out of the way, I'M LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO COME TO JAPAN! There's no commitment, other than possibly writing a news blurb once a tour. However, keep the fact that KJPW is COMPLETELY BOOKED in mind.
As part of our deal with EXODUS, I want to see a variety of different wrestlers come over. However, keep in mind that you are coming over representing EXODUS; not joining KJPW. And by that, I mean you should expect to be booked as such. It's never, EVER my goal to bury anybody, or make anyone look inferior; unless its a guy of my own. So don't think I'm just looking for colorful foreigners to put over my bland Japanese boys in black trunks. You'll likely win more matches than lose, as it's beneficial for both KJPW and EXODUS to keep each other mutually strong. However, you're not likely to become the focus of KJPW; as harsh as that is to day. That is not to say that somebody couldn't end up as a strong heel champion, built up for a rising star ready to have the trigger pulled on.
I guess it all depends on how I like your character, and where we go from there.
If you tour with KJPW, we will work around your EXODUS dates unless your office specifically (and publicly) gives your character time off to realistically make the travel. KJPW tours typically two weeks on, two weeks off. Currently, we're running a limited schedule of 5-6 shows a month, but we're going to be running our first full series of eight shows in May to build up our first huge Supercard event. We would love EXODUS to play a big part in this event, of course.
The EXODUS/KJPW relationship will officially begin on 03/15 with a simple trios match. I need three brave souls to face the best talent KJPW has to offer... And by best, I mean three rookies competing in their fourth legitimate match. Without overtly spoiling the result, it's pretty safe to say that given the hierarchy of Japanese wrestling, the more experienced foreigners will likely best the rookies. So, you can look forward to looking good in front of the impressionable Japanese audience. This initial booking is JUST for this show, however. I haven't put together my next tour yet, so I'm not exactly sure where I'm going. When I have things better outlined, I'll post back here with more information. For now, shoot me a reply if you're interested in working this upcoming shot.
"GAME OF KINGS ~ 1st ANNUAL EMPEROR'S CUP Final Round
March 15, 2013
Tokyo - Korakuen Hall (2,100)
1. Opening Match ~ KJPW vs. EXODUS: Shinji Uchikawa, Tsutomu Nishioka & Yutaka Awano vs. X [EXODUS], XX [EXODUS] & XXX [EXODUS]
Like I said, my name is Stevie. Though any derivative of "Steve" is fine. It's a pleasure to meet you all. Hopefully you're as excited about working with me as I am working with you.
I'm a slave to this game, like probably a lot of you. I spend more time thinking about it than I'd rather admit. Of course, my interest in eWrestling is only an extension of my love for pro-wrestling. I was a Hulkamaniac growing as a little kid, but later found myself getting into other styles and cultures including lucha and of course, Japanese pro-wrestling. The later of which significantly struck a chord with me. I saw a lot of it through WCW's working relationship with New Japan in the 90's, and later WWE's brief deal with Michinoku Pro (ironically never seen the famous Barely Legal match that made so many people fans of Japan.) The match for me however that changed what pro-wrestling was to me. That match was the October 2000 bout between Kensuke Sasaki and Toshiaki Kawada. I feel like this is already reaching tl;dr territory, so I'll spare the back story, other than it's the 2000 equivalent of Triple H representing WWE as its champion against Sting representing WCW. It was a big deal at the time, and the Tokyo Dome sell out no doubt reflects that.
Anyway, while I've been eWrestling for over 12 years (never not-depressing to admit that), I've been doing Japanese eW for over a decade of that. I won't go into all of the stupid stuff I've done, BUT for the sake of understanding KJPW and the billions, upon billions of pre-existing wrestlers, promotions, championships, factions we reference, You need to at least have a very basic history lesson.
Like traditional eWrestling, Japanese eWrestling has existed since pretty much the advent of the Internet. You can find posts on Usenet groups of some of the earliest promotions we acknowledge in our universes' canon. They're filled with consistancy/realism problems, like a lot of people starting out. But regardless, these handlers at the time worked hard to simulate a real-life Japan; with wrestlers traveling between promotions to spark heated rivalries. Company's became very competitive with each other, and this actually garnered them some readers. Enough so that a few people even covering the universe in a web magazine. Again, it's rough; but it shows you the dedication they had for fleshing out this universe.
Like every other facade of eWrestling, "E-Puro" had its ups-and-downs in activity. In 2001, George Wessel seemed to create the last "big/major" E-Puro group; the Japan Pro-Wrestling Association. The promotion used Genji Yamato as a figure-head, who Wessel handled in many of the bigger feds before it. He had other well-known (in the universe) characters as well, such as Ryo Inoue and "The Superstar" Jason Ramsey. The JPA didn't last long, but it did inspire some friends of mine to try their hand as a Japanese e-fed, which led to them recruiting me to handle in it. We initially treated it somewhat as a joke. They were heavily into Toryumon JAPAN/Michinoku Pro, so they basically just wanted an excuse to write Bad Engrish and little guys doing flips and brainbusters. After the first tour though, we felt like we had something special; and we all put forth a better effort. This became Burning Spirit Pro-Wrestling. We were co-existing alongside another group they were fans of called Oita Pro-Wrestling (Note: You can read the Oita archive here. Oita was ran by Jeff Casey, who handled a lot of characters in the E-Puro groups that existed before. Both groups, along with a handful of smaller groups operated by friends of Casey regularly referenced these past groups, and pretty much became the inception of modern E-Puroresu.
The vital change that took place around this time; and the most important reason you need to know all of this, is because the big difference between Oita Pro and BSPW was the fact that Oita was ran and operated by one man. Most of the characters were Casey's, or specially invited characters from one of Casey's friends. Because of this, Oita was 100% booked; essentially an angle fed. This simple shift from promo-to-booked fixed the biggest hurdle fedheds had when it came to realistically writing for a Japanese fed for competitive handlers who cared little for building up big matches, and were more obsessed with simply winning their matches -- regardless of whether or not it make logical sense. Soon, BSPW moved completely from an rp-fed to being completely booked, and from that point on, almost every promotion in our universe was booked in order to put on big dream matches and supercards you sometimes see in real-life Japan. In 2007, the handful of groups that were still active formed an Interfed of sorts, called BATTLEFUSION. This was the last huge period of activity for E-Puro, and was actually a lot of fun to experience. We had some good bookers/writers, and we came up with some pretty big matches/storylines. The only OFFICIAL member of BATTLEFUSION that appear to be somewhat active is Battle Angels Japan; a joshi fed. However, they only seem to post every few months.
After closing the group I ran from 2002-2012, I started KJPW earlier this year. It's essentially the only group active in our universe, and thus the only promotion in existance (though with growing relations with other groups with their own mythos, we're not playing this up so much anymore, as I want to acknowledge as a many feds as possible.) Regardless, the the state of our universe's Japan reflects having no pro-wrestling company's actively touring. Wrestling is cold, yet there's a substantial need for it among thriving diehards. None of the major TV networks are carrying pro-wrestling any longer; forcing KJPW to sign a deal with real-life #4 terrestrial TV network TV Tokyo. It allows KJPW a modest beginning, while allowing for room to grow if I so desire down the road. Still, attendances outsides of Osaka and Tokyo is low. While part of it reflects our pension for procrastination and inactivity, It's also a personal philosophy of mine that it's much more fun booking a fed struggling to fill that 2,000 seat hall; so that when they finally do, it's a very big deal.
Well that wasn't basic at all, was it? That was a lot of imaginary shit that never happened, but yet here I am detailing them as if I'm Dave fucking Meltzer. I feel silly even writing more than a paragraph on this, BUT regardless; it is for a reason. There is a pre-existing narrative we've been using for well over a decade. While mirroring the real world in some ways, such as the recent tsunami disaster, this is a completely original universe made up of hundreds of fleshed out characters with REAL (well, relatively) history. Most of the titles and tournaments we reference actually exist, and took place.
So with that out of the way, I'M LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO COME TO JAPAN! There's no commitment, other than possibly writing a news blurb once a tour. However, keep the fact that KJPW is COMPLETELY BOOKED in mind.
As part of our deal with EXODUS, I want to see a variety of different wrestlers come over. However, keep in mind that you are coming over representing EXODUS; not joining KJPW. And by that, I mean you should expect to be booked as such. It's never, EVER my goal to bury anybody, or make anyone look inferior; unless its a guy of my own. So don't think I'm just looking for colorful foreigners to put over my bland Japanese boys in black trunks. You'll likely win more matches than lose, as it's beneficial for both KJPW and EXODUS to keep each other mutually strong. However, you're not likely to become the focus of KJPW; as harsh as that is to day. That is not to say that somebody couldn't end up as a strong heel champion, built up for a rising star ready to have the trigger pulled on.
I guess it all depends on how I like your character, and where we go from there.
If you tour with KJPW, we will work around your EXODUS dates unless your office specifically (and publicly) gives your character time off to realistically make the travel. KJPW tours typically two weeks on, two weeks off. Currently, we're running a limited schedule of 5-6 shows a month, but we're going to be running our first full series of eight shows in May to build up our first huge Supercard event. We would love EXODUS to play a big part in this event, of course.
The EXODUS/KJPW relationship will officially begin on 03/15 with a simple trios match. I need three brave souls to face the best talent KJPW has to offer... And by best, I mean three rookies competing in their fourth legitimate match. Without overtly spoiling the result, it's pretty safe to say that given the hierarchy of Japanese wrestling, the more experienced foreigners will likely best the rookies. So, you can look forward to looking good in front of the impressionable Japanese audience. This initial booking is JUST for this show, however. I haven't put together my next tour yet, so I'm not exactly sure where I'm going. When I have things better outlined, I'll post back here with more information. For now, shoot me a reply if you're interested in working this upcoming shot.
"GAME OF KINGS ~ 1st ANNUAL EMPEROR'S CUP Final Round
March 15, 2013
Tokyo - Korakuen Hall (2,100)
1. Opening Match ~ KJPW vs. EXODUS: Shinji Uchikawa, Tsutomu Nishioka & Yutaka Awano vs. X [EXODUS], XX [EXODUS] & XXX [EXODUS]