World Wrestling eXcellence: The Rise to Prominence

[Agent_XX4]

I will be starting a diary based on and EWR data file I found online. I will be controlling the WWX promotion and leading it's rise up the ranks of the wrestling world. Here's a bit of back story on everything:

The McMahon family's private jet went down over the pacific ocean on August 29, 1997, killing everyone except for Shane McMahon, who announced that he would take an indefinite hiatus from wrestling until a time that he felt he was ready to return. Shane, being the only living member of the McMahon family, handed the reigns of the World Wrestling Federation over to former WCW owner Ted Turner, who had been recently fired due to a sexual harrasment lawsuit. Turner's hiring took a huge hit on the WWF's reputation and following. Television ratings, merchandise sales, and overall morale in the comany drastically decreased, leaving the WCW practically unopposed.

Then ECW exploded onto the scene. By getting better television time slots, Eastern Championship Wrestling gained more exposure and better ratings. In his famous quote from 1998, ECW owner Paul Heyman said, "ECW is not for the casual wrestling fan. ECW is for the die-hard, no-nonsense, no-bull****, beer-drinking, mother-f*ckers that society calls 'Degenerates'. We won't conform to your rules. You'll conform to ours." Apparently, the fans conformed. ECW was now undoubtedly the number two promotion in the world.

In 2000, Shane McMahon decided that it was time for him to return to the wrestling buisness. Shane wanted to return to the WWF, but in the coldest move in wrestling history, Ted Turner declined. Ted stated that the WWF was his, and that Shane McMahon should have 'read the fine-print when he signed the WWF over to him'. Out in the cold, Shane still had the urge to put on a great wrestling show. That summer, Shane announced that he would produce the 'most excellent wrestling shows in the world'. Shane created the World Wrestling eXcellence, a promotino that mixed sports-entertainment with pure wrestling talent. The fans re-embraced Shane. His (and his company's) popularity skyrocketed nearly overnight. Shane's first signing for WWX was Hulk Hogan, but Shane was once again shown nothing but heartbreak. Hulk blew off his first appearance, and then blasted the WWX, calling it the 'worst promotion he'd ever worked for'. The fans turned on Hogan, suddenly despising him for his horrible act on Shane. Suffice to say, Hulk's WWX contract was quickly terminated.

Another big occurence from 2000 was the "Benoit/Guererro Training Camp". Fans voted for the worst wrestler of the past decade, and that worker would be sent to a month-long training camp with Chris Benoit and Eddie Guererro to build their skills. The fans spoke, and much to Ric Flair's dismay, David Flair was voted the worst. After a month-long hell, David Flair emerged a vastly better worker. David got a major push in WCW before being injured in a match with his father. David was released a few months later.

In 2001, the "X Wrestling Entertainment" was born. Owner Bill Watts said that it was an attempt to 'destroy the WCW'. The fans didn't quite embrace the XWE, but it gained a somewhat cult following. Its main draws were Jerry Lawler and Ultimate Warrior, but other than those two workers, their depth was laughable.

In 2002, a young woman with a dream set out to accomplish it. Dixie Carter founded "Dynamic X Pro Wrestling". DXP billed itself and an alternative to the WCW's repetitiveness and promised some great quality matches. Much like the XWE, it gained a cult following but never really caught on.

Throughout the early to mid 2000s, independent wrestling promotions thrived. The largest of them, Ring of Honor (ROH) had a great following but no financial backers, and filed for bankrupcy in 2005. It looked dark for ROH, but the NWA was there to save the day. They bought Ring of Honor, and NWAROH has been headlining bingo halls across the northeast to this day.

Although some great events happened during this span of time, some rather unforunate things occured too. Rick Steiner passed away from a heart attack in 1999. Chuck Palumbo, Danny Doring, and Roadkill passed away from a car wreck on their way to a WWX event in 2001. Konnan died from a stab wound after being mugged after a show in Tijuana, Mexico in 2003, and William Regal passed away from a heart condition in 2008.

But, from the ashes, the wrestling industy thrived. Wrestling was no longer looked at as a 'violent event'. It was looked at as entertainment. Although families were now a larger part of wrestling, the industry never conformed to them. Wrestling reached a new apex that had never been seen before. 2009 marked a new, exciting time for the industry, as more and more new promotions were popping up.

The NWA, after growing quite well finacially after NWAROH boomed opened up two more territories in 2009. NWA Anarchy Wrestling opened in North Carolina and NWA Wrestling Rebirth opened in New York. NWA Anarchy focuses on a mix of old-school workers and talented young stars, and is run by wrestling legend Don Muraco. Muraco signed some of the best second-and-third-generation stars in the industry, such as the Hennig family, Teddy DiBiase, David Flair, and Dustin Rhodes, Jr. Expect D.R.Jr. to recive some major pushes, as Dusty Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes are the NWA-A's head writers.

Of the two new NWA promotions, NWA Wrestling Rebirth is obviously the bigger of the two. Based out of northern New York, NWA Rebirth is home to a large number of very talented workers. After deciding not to renew his contract with the failing ECW, Chris Benoit signed with the NWA to wrestle for this upstart company. Benoit should have his hands full while at NWA Rebirth, having to tangle with the likes of Chris Candido, Taz, Vordell Walker, Adam Pearce, and many more. NWA also has a working agreement with Shane McMahon's WWX, so you will also see the likes of Justin Credible, Brian Kendrick, Jonathan Nitro, and the Undertaker. NWA-R has all the pieces to be a very popular promotion, but whether they can make it all the way is yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, up North, Canada's Stampede Wrestling was failing horribly. Owner Ross Hart decided it was time to retire, so he handed reigns of the falling company over to Bret "The Hitman" Hart. But there was one problem: Bret was still in contract with the WCW. Bret asked for his release, but was denied, causing some major tensions between Bret and Eric Bischoff. Things escalated to such a point that Bret lost it one night, punching Eric directly in the face. Needless to say, Bret was immediately released. But Bret didn't leave empty handed, as Owen Hart simply left with him. He was fired a few days later for not showing up for a WCW Nitro event. Stampede Wrestling is now anything but failing. It's the home to practically the entire extended Hart family, as well as some of Canada's most promising young talent. Can Bret take this Canadian favorite and turn it into a worldwide sensation?

Back in the U.S., Chikara officially announced it was opening its doors on September 25, 2009. Owner Mike Quackenbush said it was his gift to the wrestling community. Chikara's first event was held on October 31, called Halloweed Ground. In the main event, Jimmy Jacobs defeated Chikara owner Mike Quackenbush to become first ever Chikara champion. Also at the event, The Colony defeated Cheech and Cloudy to become the first Chikara tag team champions. A few days after Hallowed Ground, Mike Quackenbush announced that foreign star CIMA was headed to the Chikara ring. Heading into 2010, Chikara looks to emerge as a wrestling power. They have a great roster full of talent, such as Erick Stevens, Human Tornado, Chuck Taylor, Necro Butcher, Disco Machine, Sicodelico Jr, and many more young guns. Can you take this young promotion and make Mike Quackenbush's dream a reality?

During a time when young promotions were thriving, one of the "big guns" was slowly dying. Eastern Championship Wrestling went from mainstream sensation to shady competitors practically overnight. Two of their major players, Chris Benoit and Justin Credible, left the promotion for seemingly "greener pastures", and Paul Heyman seemed to be losing his edginess. While ECW fell, they are still one of the biggest promotions in the world. They brought in more young, fresh talent and continue to produce good quality shows, and they hold in their hand a shining ace, one of the most promising young talents to ever emerge in the wrestling world, Alex Shelley. Plus, ECW still held on to their mainstays, like Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, Raven, Shawn Michaels, Taz, and Christian Cage. ECW is not far from where it was. ECW is only a few steps away from even surpassing where it was just a year ago. The pieces are there. All it needs is a talented head booker.

The unopposed number one during this time, WCW, thrived to an an all-time high. Kurt Angle defeated Goldberg for the WCW title at Starrcade 09 to a sold-out Madison Square Garden. WCW was practially unopposed on a worldwide front as well, as they were greeted with sellouts in Ireland, Britan, Germany, Australia, and even Japan in 2009. Take the reigns of this megapower, and see just how much farther you can take them. The wrestling world is at your fingertips. Reach out and take it.