Same basic format as my 1996 Draft. Major difference is limiting this one strictly to WWF & WCW because I didn't know any other promotions existed in real time. Sure, SMW and "Japanese Wrestling" were rumored to exist, but I wasn't entirely convinced they were real things. Due to the smaller talent pool, this draft will only have 4 promotions rather than 6, and 16 rounds rather than the 18ish from last time. Keep in mind I am looking at this largely from a 1993 perspective, though I did make the occasional concession.
======================

The Rosters

*Draft takes place roughly in August-September. Double picks after Round 8 as is the norm in fanfic drafts

Promotion #1

1. Lex Luger
2. Undertaker
3. Ludvig Borga
4. Sid
5. Ricky Steamboat
6. Jerry Lawler
7. Razor Ramon
8. 2 Cold Scorpio
9. Maxx Payne
10. Paul Orndorff
11. Adam Bomb
12. Road Warrior Hawk
13. Harlem Heat
14. Smoking Gunns
15. Shane Douglas
16. Barbarian

Promotion #2

1. Hulk Hogan
2. Ric Flair
3. Rick Rude
4. Mr. Perfect
5. Davey Boy Smith
6. Lord Steven Regal
7. Dustin Rhodes Tatanka
8. Bam Bam Bigelow
9. Scott Norton
10. Ice Train
11. Men On A Mission
12. Headshrinkers
13. Johnny B. Badd
14. Paul Roma
15. Heavenly Bodies
16. Rock and Roll Express

Promotion #3

1. Vader
2. Bret Hart
3. Shawn Michaels
4. Cactus Jack
5. Doink
6. Tatanka Randy Savage
7. IRS
8. 1-2-3 Kid
9. Crush
10. Giant Gonzalez
11. Bob Backlund
12. Bobby Eaton
13. Texicans (Tex Slazenger & Shanghai Pierce)
14. Young Lions (Marcus Bagwell & Erik Watts)
15. Owen Hart
16. Chris Benoit

Promotion #4

1. Sting
2. Yokozuna
3. Steiners
4. Hollywood Blondes
5. Barry Windham
6. Randy Savage Dustin Rhodes
7. Arn Anderson
8. Ron Simmons
9. Quebecers
10. Marty Jannetty
11. Rick "The Model" Martel
12. Nasty Boys
13. Robbie V (RVD)
14. Diesel
15. Mr. Hughes
16. Van Hammer
==================
*Round 1 cards should be posted tomorrow night.

Holy shit some stacked rosters!

Major difference is limiting this one strictly to WWF & WCW because I didn't know any other promotions existed in real time. Sure, SMW and "Japanese Wrestling" were rumored to exist, but I wasn't entirely convinced they were real things. Due to the smaller talent pool, this draft will only have 4 promotions rather than 6, and 16 rounds rather than the 18ish from last time. Keep in mind I am looking at this largely from a 1993 perspective, though I did make the occasional concession.

I like it this way. It feels like I'm taking an old magazine or notepad and getting in real time thoughts instead of revisionist history that rings hollow.

Mind you if I was re-booking 1993 I would shamelessly draft AJPW, NJPW, EMLL, SMW, USWA and not spare a second thought.

First off...Ctrl+F Shockmaster

Alright, with the first pick of Promotion #5 give me THE SHOCKMASTER!!!

Or maybe not. 1993 would be the most difficult year to draft, that is, if you aren't Baker. Lex Luger #1, I could have called that in my sleep. It's proof positive that this draft is legit because my generation was raised to believe that Lex was box office poison and the WWF picked up the wrong WCW late 80s muscle bound prospect.

No Bret in the first round was a shocker. I know the WWF went in a different direction, but I could have sworm he was the people's champion in 1993. I know you're in Team Lex, but I would have thought for sure that Bret would have got a begrudging #1 pick. Not that I could really argue with the other choices. Hulk was still Pro Wrestling, Vader had the career year and between Sting and Bret, Sting always seemed like the better prospect. Ludvig at #3! Of course, I know exactly where I am right now. Woah, no Ted Dibiase? I nearly thought Jannetty had been duped but there he is #10 in Promotion 4. I thought 🤯 was going to get an angry phone call at 12:00am again from the Midnight Rocker. Doink was one of the first names I looked for, I'm glad he's at a well deserved #5. That's 1993 Pro Wrestling right there. Robbie V! Ordinarily I would call BS, but I could definitely see him becoming the talk of little lunch. The Hollywood Blondes at #4 is a steal. Pretty tough to pick a promotion, although #4 is looking extremely stacked.

I love Big Pete 's comments and actually intended on addressing many of the things he brought up during "Breaking Kayfabe" segments of my show writeups. So we are once again largely on the same page.

I went through the drafting process 5 times until I was finally satisfied with the way things turned out. First time was a mess for a variety of reasons. It usually is. And that's ok! Because it gives me an idea of what I have to work with. Second time I ended up having too many heel tag teams and not enough credible heel singles wrestlers. But now we're getting warmer. Thought I had it the 3rd time until realizing I accidentally picked Lawler twice. 4th time was even better than the 3rd. Until I saw Maxx Payne was double booked. D'oh! Then I finally I got something worth posting on the 5th try.

As for those wrestlers Pete mentioned....

Shockmaster- Was actually picked 3 or maybe even 4 times during the rough draft stage. I went with Giant Gonzalez in Round 15 and Shockmaster in Round 16 all those times with the intention of doing a freak show match. On my final foray I upped Gonzalez to the 10th Round (turns out he was the credible heel I had long been searching for) and paired him with a new opponent. This left poor Shockmaster on the outside looking in.

Lex Luger- Was the only logical choice for #1. Furthermore, Luger would be my #1 draft pick without hesitation from 7/4/93 to Wrestlemania 10. Depending on exactly when this draft took place, Luger was about to embark on a 31 month title reign pwcom.proboards.com/thread/3365/rebooking-lex-lugers-wwf-run or fixing to win the Rumble and finally dethrone Yoko at Wrestlemania 10 to begin a title reign "only" lasting 24 months. Next Hulk Hogan, baby!

Bret Hart- I was (in)famously the low vote on Bret in those days. By this point I had finally started buying into him as a top level guy due to winning KOTR and having a heated feud with Lawler. But he still wasn't automatic $$$ like Luger, Hogan, or even Sting. Bret's overall draft position throughout the process went #6 twice, #8 twice, and #9 once. The #9 (3rd Round) pick was half cheekiness/half super sincerity. Fwiw Bret was picked one spot after Borga in that go around.
Bret=Meh. Borga=Money!- 1993 Baker

*I started writing one of the first round matchups last night. But my heart wasn't really into it (chalk it up to the perils of a Gambler-free world). Then I kept having to deal with a series of annoying distractions. So I put it on hold for the time being. But here is what was intended to be a preemptive explanation of my "wacky" Borga and Robbie V picks....

Sept 26, 2020 3:09:08 GMT Baker said:

8. Lex Luger vs. Ludvig Borga- Vacant World Championship Match- For months Luger & Ludvig have been on a collision course with destiny in this classic story of the unbeatable American hero against the dangerous foreign menace. Something has to give in what 1993 Baker (and friends) thought was a likely future PPV main event, and a match which I personally would have completely bought into as the Wrestlemania X main event.

1. Robbie V vs. Mr. Hughes- Timeless story of speed vs. power.

Breaking Kayfabe: Robbie V (RVD) is NOT a revisionist pick. I was into him in real time. Even way back in '93 his style was unlike anything else in mainstream wrestling.

Now I'm not saying I was an early smark. Far from it! It's just that some workrate guys like Scorpio & Robbie V hit with me. Others like Benoit, Owen, and 1-2-3 Kid missed. Time for another installment of Breaking Kayfabe....

You may have noticed Owen & Benoit going in Rounds 15 & 16. That's because 1993 was a long way from 1996. Both Owen & Benoit were forgettable low card fodder in 1993. I completely forgot about Benoit for two years the second he disappeared from tv, while the still active Owen was in the running for WWF wrestler I was most likely to forget existed. If anything, drafting them at all is a revisionist conceit. Never thought about it 'til now, but Kid was just a poor man's Robbie V. Kid was all kicks and flips. Well, barefoot karate master Robbie V had cooler kicks and cooler flips. Kid is not a revisionist pick though, because, unlike Owen & Benoit, he actually did receive a strong (albeit unbelievable) push. 

Marty Jannetty- 10th Round feels right. He was a fluke IC Champ who was already getting squashed on PPV (by Ludvig Borga!) a mere 3 months after holding the title. For years I thought Marty was the weakest IC Champ in WWF history and liked to just pretend that whole mistake never happened. Marty finishing #13 in the 1993 PWI 500 is one of the most "lol PWI" moments ever. Same can be said for Owen, who was basically just the Aldo or Holly of 1993 if Aldo or Holly happened to have a famous brother, finishing an absurdly high #37 in that very same PWI 500.

Scott Norton & Ice Train- I'll save their "Breaking Kayfabe" segment for their upcoming clash of the titans.

Ted Dibiase- Easily my biggest mistake of this draft. Hear me out....

Heel teams greatly outnumbered face teams in this draft. Getting to an even number of face and heel teams, or even whittling it down enough to run just one heel vs. heel Battle of the Bullies, was easily the biggest challenge this draft provided. This is largely due to WCW having a lot of "proper" heel teams while their face teams largely consisted of two singles stars randomly paired together for a few months here and there. Sure, I could have picked Thunder & Lightning, the Cole Twins, or the Zenk/Johnny Gunn duo. But the first two are too obscure even for me, and I (sadly?) wasn't yet into the future Sal Sincere. So I did a little cheating in order to get enough face teams to make this work. First I recycled the fictional Young Lions team of Bagwell & Watts from my ancient 1993 WCW fanfic project. Then I made a revisionist conceit by drafting the Rock & Roll Express. And finally I dropped Money Inc. for just IRS after picking them as a team multiple times in various Round 7's.

My logic being Dibiase was injured and done at Summerslam 1993. That's roughly when this draft takes place. So while it's a little hard on Teddy Wrestling, it does follow the rules I set for this project.

Only it didn't. Because I've used injured and inactive wrestlers before, including this very draft. D'oh!

I had intended on explaining all this in a Breaking Kayfabe segment during IRS' match description. I also planned on using Dibiase as Irwin's manager while explaining I may bring Dibiase in during the next round with no "penalty." 
====================
Breaking News!

Promotions 2, 3, and 4 have been wheeling and dealing behind the scenes. Now they're set to make the biggest 3 way trade since the Colts, Rams, and Bills got together way back in 1987. Here is their proposal....

Dustin Rhodes will go from Promotion #2 to Promotion #4
Tatanka will go from Promotion #3 to Promotion #2
Randy Savage will go from Promotion #4 to Promotion #3

But no trades can take place until being approved by one of the two newly appointed Wrestling Czars. See, the Clinton regime wanted to appoint a Tsar to oversee the wrestling industry. But there was a heated internal debate over whether it's spelled Czar or Tsar. So they compromised by having both a Wrestling Czar and a Wrestling Tsar. The Wrestling Czar is America's "Aussie Asset" Big Pete while the Wrestling Tsar is "The Pittsburgh Pensmith" 🤯 . One of you must approve or deny this proposed trade. It need not be unanimous. We are legally obligated to obey the first Czar/Tsar who responds.
====================
Likely no show writeups tonight. I rambled on far too long about The Process and now I await words from The Czars.

Trade approved!

And glad I got the underrated, underused Tsar spelling!

*Edited the rosters in the OP after Wrestling Tsar 🤯 approved the proposed three way trade.
====================

Promotion #1 vs. Promotion #4

Promotion #1

1. Harlem Heat vs. Smoking Gunns- Two up and coming tag teams looking to make names for themselves.

2. Shane Douglas vs. Barbarian- Classic confrontation between an athletic, technically sound good guy and a monster(ish) villain.

3. Adam Bomb vs. Road Warrior Hawk- Battle of athletic big men.

4. Too Cold Scorpio vs. Maxx Payne- Two of the brightest up and comers from the former WCW promotion lock horns in this new fed.

5. Razor Ramon vs. Paul Orndorff- Two cocky customers clash in a match between New Generation and Golden Age WWF.

6. Ricky Steamboat vs. Jerry Lawler- Lawler had been mercilessly mocking Steamboat and his family on commentary. This lead to Bonnie Steamboat and The Little Dragon appearing as guests on a special episode of The King's Court. Bonnie just wanted answers from her family's tormentor. What did they ever do to incur the wrath of The King? Lawler wasn't interested in debate. Instead of answering questions, he spent the entire interview hitting on Bonnie. Bonnie eventually slapped the horndog Lawler to massive applause and laughs from both the crowd and The Little Dragon. An irate Lawler then clenched his fist. Yet we will never know whether The King intended to strike a woman or a 6 year old child because Ricky Steamboat charged the ring at that very moment to pummel The King. Jerry Lawler has awoken The Dragon and now he is fixin' to pay. Yet one can never completely count out the crafty King...

7. Undertaker vs. Sid Vicious- Ex-Skyscrapers battle for the first time ever in a 305 Live extravaganza.

8. Lex Luger vs. Ludvig Borga- Vacant World Championship Match- For months Luger & Ludvig have been on a collision course with destiny in this classic story of the unbeatable American hero against the dangerous foreign menace. Something has to give in what 1993 Baker (and friends) thought was a likely future PPV main event, and a match which I personally would have completely bought as the Wrestlemania X main event.
========================
Promotion #4

1. Robbie V vs. Mr. Hughes- Timeless story of speed vs. power.
Breaking Kayfabe: Robbie V (RVD) is NOT a revisionist pick. I was into him in real time. Even way back in '93 his style was unlike anything else in mainstream wrestling.

2. Diesel vs. Van Hammer- Some feuds transcend their time and place to go down in history. Hatfields and McCoys, Guelphs and Ghibellines, and Hamilton vs. Burr are just a few examples of well-known historical feuds. The time has now come to add a new one to the list- Diesel vs. Van Hammer....

It started, as most great rivalries do, over an arm wrestling match. Hammer had the man previously known as Vinnie Vegas on the verge of defeat. That's when The Vin Man attacked. And something epic had begun...

Hammer defeated Vinnie Vegas so thoroughly in subsequent matches that the big man left town, changed his name like he was a member of the witness protection program, and even changed his side profession from Vegas thumb breaker to truck driver. Yet the gambler-turned-trucker did not run far enough! For the wrathful rocker Van Hammer has finally tracked down his lifelong nemesis. Buckle your seatbelts, boys and girls. Because this war for the ages is destined to have more twists and turns than the Starks vs. Lannisters.

3. Marty Jannetty vs. Rick "The Model" Martel- These two are similar in a lot of ways. Both are athletic veterans who came up through the AWA and achieved great success in tag teams. The major difference being one is a good guy and the other a villain. Will it be good or evil which prevails?

4. Quebecers vs. Nasty Boys- #1 Contenders Match- The veteran Nasty Boys look to derail the momentum of relative newcomers The Quebecers in a match with tag title implications.

5. Ron Simmons vs. Arn Anderson- Ron Simmons was on top of the world just one year ago. He has struggled ever since after incredibly becoming a forgotten man in his old promotion. Now he's looking to turn his career around. Yet to do so, he must pull off the always-difficult task of besting wily and dangerous veteran, Arn Anderson. 

6. Barry Windham vs. Dustin Rhodes- Grudge Match- The Two Tall Texans were tag team champions one year ago. Their partnership ended when Barry Windham turned on his protege for Dustin's alleged lack of killer instinct. They were all set to have a feud for the ages. Yet both men ended up embroiled in other wars before a blowoff could occur. Yet we here at Promotion #4 have not forgotten. And now we bring to you a big blowoff match one year in the making.

7. Steiner Brothers vs. Hollywood Blondes- Unified Tag Title Match- The Steiners were champions of one major organization and the Blondes champions of the other. Rick & Scott are the best good guy team in the business. Austin & Pillman the best bad guy team in the business. At last the question will be answered- Who is the greatest tag team in the world?

8. Yokozuna (c) vs. Sting- World Title Match- The only thing bigger than Yoko's monster year is his monster girth. He's won Royal Rumble, retired legends, and survived Golden Boys. Now he faces his toughest test to date in the popular, charismatic, and athletic Man Called Sting.  

Strikethrough treatment to see what catches The Eye of PI!

Sept 27, 2020 23:14:19 GMT Baker said:

*Edited the rosters in the OP after Wrestling Tsar 🤯 approved the proposed three way trade.
====================

Promotion #1 vs. Promotion #4

Promotion #1

1. Harlem Heat vs. Smoking Gunns- Two up and coming tag teams looking to make names for themselves.

2. Shane Douglas vs. Barbarian- Classic confrontation between an athletic, technically sound good guy and a monster(ish) villain.

3. Adam Bomb vs. Road Warrior Hawk- Battle of athletic big men.

4. Too Cold Scorpio vs. Maxx Payne- Two of the brightest up and comers from the former WCW promotion lock horns in this new fed.

5. Razor Ramon vs. Paul Orndorff- Two cocky customers clash in a match between New Generation and Golden Age WWF.

6. Ricky Steamboat vs. Jerry Lawler- Lawler had been mercilessly mocking Steamboat and his family on commentary. This lead to Bonnie Steamboat and The Little Dragon appearing as guests on a special episode of The King's Court. Bonnie just wanted answers from her family's tormentor. What did they ever do to incur the wrath of The King? Lawler wasn't interested in debate. Instead of answering questions, he spent the entire interview hitting on Bonnie. Bonnie eventually slapped the horndog Lawler to massive applause and laughs from both the crowd and The Little Dragon. An irate Lawler then clenched his fist. Yet we will never know whether The King intended to strike a woman or a 6 year old child because Ricky Steamboat charged the ring at that very moment to pummel The King. Jerry Lawler has awoken The Dragon and now he is fixin' to pay. Yet one can never completely count out the crafty King...

7. Undertaker vs. Sid Vicious- Ex-Skyscrapers battle for the first time ever in a 305 Live extravaganza.

8. Lex Luger vs. Ludvig Borga- Vacant World Championship Match- For months Luger & Ludvig have been on a collision course with destiny in this classic story of the unbeatable American hero against the dangerous foreign menace. Something has to give in what 1993 Baker (and friends) thought was a likely future PPV main event, and a match which I personally would have completely bought as the Wrestlemania X main event.
========================
Promotion #4

1. Robbie V vs. Mr. Hughes- Timeless story of speed vs. power.
Breaking Kayfabe: Robbie V (RVD) is NOT a revisionist pick. I was into him in real time. Even way back in '93 his style was unlike anything else in mainstream wrestling.

2. Diesel vs. Van Hammer- Some feuds transcend their time and place to go down in history. Hatfields and McCoys, Guelphs and Ghibellines, and Hamilton vs. Burr are just a few examples of well-known historical feuds. The time has now come to add a new one to the list- Diesel vs. Van Hammer....

It started, as most great rivalries do, over an arm wrestling match. Hammer had the man previously known as Vinnie Vegas on the verge of defeat. That's when The Vin Man attacked. And something epic had begun...

Hammer defeated Vinnie Vegas so thoroughly in subsequent matches that the big man left town, changed his name like he was a member of the witness protection program, and even changed his side profession from Vegas thumb breaker to truck driver. Yet the gambler-turned-trucker did not run far enough! For the wrathful rocker Van Hammer has finally tracked down his lifelong nemesis. Buckle your seatbelts, boys and girls. Because this war for the ages is destined to have more twists and turns than the Starks vs. Lannisters.

3. Marty Jannetty vs. Rick "The Model" Martel- These two are similar in a lot of ways. Both are athletic veterans who came up through the AWA and achieved great success in tag teams. The major difference being one is a good guy and the other a villain. Will it be good or evil which prevails?

4. Quebecers vs. Nasty Boys- #1 Contenders Match- The veteran Nasty Boys look to derail the momentum of relative newcomers The Quebecers in a match with tag title implications.

5. Ron Simmons vs. Arn Anderson- Ron Simmons was on top of the world just one year ago. He has struggled ever since after incredibly becoming a forgotten man in his old promotion. Now he's looking to turn his career around. Yet to do so, he must pull off the always-difficult task of besting wily and dangerous veteran, Arn Anderson. 

6. Barry Windham vs. Dustin Rhodes- Grudge Match- The Two Tall Texans were tag team champions one year ago. Their partnership ended when Barry Windham turned on his protege for Dustin's alleged lack of killer instinct. They were all set to have a feud for the ages. Yet both men ended up embroiled in other wars before a blowoff could occur. Yet we here at Promotion #4 have not forgotten. And now we bring to you a big blowoff match one year in the making.

7. Steiner Brothers vs. Hollywood Blondes- Unified Tag Title Match- The Steiners were champions of one major organization and the Blondes champions of the other. Rick & Scott are the best good guy team in the business. Austin & Pillman the best bad guy team in the business. At last the question will be answered- Who is the greatest tag team in the world?

8. Yokozuna (c) vs. Sting- World Title Match- The only thing bigger than Yoko's monster year is his monster girth. He's won Royal Rumble, retired legends, and survived Golden Boys. Now he faces his toughest test to date in the popular, charismatic, and athletic Man Called Sting.  

Voting P#4 on the absolute dream match strength or Steiners vs. Blondes, and Sting/Yoko being a preferred version of Lex/Lugvig.

Promotion #2 vs. Promotion #3

Promotion #2

1. Heavenly Bodies vs. Rock and Roll Express- Tag Title Tournament Match

2. Johnny B. Badd vs. Paul Roma- Winner is declared the undisputed Prettiest Man In Wrestling

3. Men On A Mission vs. Headshrinkers- Tag Title Tournament Match

4. Scott Norton vs. Ice Train- The future Fire & Ice collide in what is bound to be a HOSS FIGHT for the ages.

Breaking Kayfabe: Yeah, the whole "future Fire & Ice explode!" thing was a revisionist concession, but an even bigger revisionist move was waiting all the way to the  9th & 10th rounds to select these hosses. For I was into both guys in real time. Norton was only around for a few weeks in the Spring but he left a lasting impression....Enough to be booked as a top star in my action figure leagues for the next two years. I thought he was destined to be the next Vader. Ice Train came around later in the year and stuck around longer. I thought he was money as well. Big, jacked up, powerhouse good guys like Ice Train still ruled wrestling, and I had him pegged as the guy who would be wrestling Vader in PPV main events throughout 1994. 

5. Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow- The undefeated Native American superstar takes on the always tough Bam Bam Bigelow with the winner surely in line to challenge for a championship.

6. Lord Steven Regal (c) vs. Davey Boy Smith- TV Title Match- This Battle of Brits features the timeless story of arrogant aristocrat vs. heroic man of the people.

7. Rick Rude (c) vs. Mr. Perfect- US Title Match and a low key dream match between two future Hall of Famers and ex Heenan Family members from Minnesota.

8. Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair- Vacant World Championship Match to determine the undisputed Greatest of All Time. Let's face it. This 80s dream match is still the biggest match possible in 1993. Promotion #2 succeeds where real life WWF failed by giving the biggest match wrestling has to offer the spotlight it deserves.
================
Promotion #3

1. Texicans (Slazenger & Pierce) vs. Young Lions (Bagwell & Watts)- Pro Wrestling 101 story of big ugly brawling bad guys vs. young athletic good guys. 

2. Owen Hart vs. Chris Benoit- Don't be surprised to see the two young low card Canadians deliver the sleeper match of the night.
Breaking Kayfabe: See my lengthy post from last night.

3. Bob Backlund vs. Bobby Eaton- The two veteran Robert's seem to be on the downside of their careers. Yet one big win here on PPV could potentially turn their luck around.

4. Crush vs. Giant Gonzalez- The Hawaiian powerhouse faces what is literally his tallest test to date in the monstrous 8 foot Giant Gonzalez.

5. IRS w/ Ted Dibiase vs. 1-2-3 Kid- Strong good guy vs. bad guy story with the underdog Kid taking on arguably the biggest jerk wrestling has to offer in IRS. Money Inc has been mocking Kid (and Razor) ever since Kid upset The Bad Guy in that dead promotion up north. IRS is out to prove Kid is a fluke who could only beat "that loser" Razor, while Kid is determined to prove that lightning can indeed strike twice. 
Breaking Kayfabe: See my lengthy post from last night about the Ted Dibiase boner.

6. Doink vs. Randy Savage- The dastardly Doink was pranking poor children sitting at ringside. Savage left the announce booth to confront Doink and tell him to pick on somebody his own size. So Doink did just that by pranking Savage the following week. An enraged Macho Man immediately quit his cushy commentary job and challenged the evil clown to this match. Has Doink bit off more than he can chew or will wrestling's trickster have the last laugh by pulling one over on the legendary Macho Man? Why not tune in to find out?

7. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Bret Hart- Intercontinental Championship Match- Bret Hart reached the top of the mountain less than one year ago. Yet "The Hitman" is so enraged by the cocky Heartbreak Kid that he is taking a "step back" to regain the IC Title with hopes of humbling HBK in the process. 

8. Vader (c) vs. Cactus Jack- No DQ World Title Match- This match is months in the making in a rivalry which dates all the way back to their series of brutal bouts in the spring. The first saw Cactus Jack upset the seemingly unbeatable Rocky Mountain Mastodon. Alas, poor Cactus paid for it in the rematch when Vader powerbombed him straight into the hospital. But now Cactus Jack is back! He's out for blood. And he's out for gold. This match won't be for the faint of heart. Yet you won't be able to look away from the beautiful brutality which is bound to ensue. 

Okay so this entire project is going to be a learning experience for me because 1993 is a year I'm only vaguely familiar with. These rundowns are just my impression.

Promotion #1
Harlem Heat & Smoking Gunns is actually a relatively strong start. Heat were actually pushed quite strong early on, even finding themselves in a Wargames match so they weren't exactly a rookie tag team while the Gunns worked a couple of PPVs themselves. Douglas/Barbarian doesn't seem like much chop, Shane was obviously a prospect but it was about a year before he was anything more than just a good hand in the tag division. I feel like once you had seen one Barbarian match, you'd seen them all as well. I think I need some dressing on Bomb and Hawk, maybe a nuclear strap match or something otherwise I'm getting pretty antsy on the fast forward button. Card placement really hurts Scorpio/Paynee. If that was #1 or #2 I'd be into it, but we're half-way through the show, they could have a great match, but I'm just waiting for the stars to hit.

Orndorff/Razor is giving me those Dibiase/Razor vibes. I'd probably swap it and Steamboat/Lawler over which I feel would kickstart the card and is one of the best matches of this entire round. Did they ever work one another? I picture a real classic with both guys knowing how to work the crowd to perfection. Undertaker/Vicious wouldn't be pretty, but that's as big a match as you can get in 1993, the promos would be great and I think Sid reacting off Taker infront of a hot crowd would work a treat. I'm just picturing Sid Powerbombing Taker, teeth clenched barely keeping himself upright on the ropes only for Taker to sit up, Sid turns around, jumps in fright and starts yelling no no no! and gets pissed off the Undertaker dared not to sell his move. God I love Pro Wrestling.

Borga/Lex is admittedly kind of weak but I'm curious to see which way it's going to go. Rumours circulating that the booker is a mega fan of Borga, but then Lex is the guy and Lex never really got his moment. Does Lex win, only for that no-good Jerry Lawler to form his own court like the Apter mags rumoured?

Promotion #4

Robbie V vs. Hughes I picture as this short but sweet opener. V gets some nice moves in, but Hughes with his size ultimately overwhelms the rookie wrestler. Diesel/Hammer went from being one of the most forgettable matches of the bracket to one of the best due to the build. LOL Nash changing his name to avoid embarrassment, amazing. I can't wait to see who else gets roped into this, I suspect plenty of shenanigans. SummerSlam 1992 vibes with Martel and Jannetty just a good solid match with Martel who still had something to offer and Jannetty who really should have meant more in 1993. I could never be a fan of either tag team, but I reckon Quebeccers and Nasties would be a surprisingly good brawl. Like a lot of Nasty Boys matches, I'd get into it in spite of myself. Even in that TNA 2010 run everyone turns their nose up, their match against Team 3D was surprisingly good and not the embarrassment everyone thought it would be.

This card is deep. I still bought Simmons as a top guy until 1998 when he happened to be upstaged by some guy called The Rock. It doesn't matter who or what you put Arn with, he just goes good with everything and this is perfectly placed. On reputation I suspect Windham/Rhodes would be a really good match, Dustin was really starting to find his feet around this time and Barry could still go. However I'm not overly familiar, so I sort of see it as a 7/10 a perfectly fine marquee match for 1993.

No mucking around here, straight to the Steiners and the Blondes. I don't believe they ever faced off and the closest we got was a S. Steiner/Bagwell vs. Blondes match from 1992. Blondes were a bigger deal in 1993 and this would have been a classic. Meanwhile Sting/Yokozuna was one of those dream inter-promotional matches of the day that really does scream '93. I think they'd work better together than Lex did since Sting just had so much fire and could was more high octane. I still get the feeling Yoko holds on here, establishing him as a threat while Sting builds himself back up.

TL;DR

Promotion #4 > Promotion #1

Sept 28, 2020 11:31:51 GMT Big Pete said:

I think I need some dressing on Bomb and Hawk, maybe a nuclear strap match or something

Undertaker/Vicious wouldn't be pretty, but that's as big a match as you can get in 1993, the promos would be great and I think Sid reacting off Taker infront of a hot crowd would work a treat. I'm just picturing Sid Powerbombing Taker, teeth clenched barely keeping himself upright on the ropes only for Taker to sit up, Sid turns around, jumps in fright and starts yelling no no no! and gets pissed off the Undertaker dared not to sell his move. God I love Pro Wrestling.

Does Lex win, only for that no-good Jerry Lawler to form his own court like the Apter mags rumoured?

That's settles it. Pete would do a better job than me with this project.

Pete and I like Lawler/Steamboat for the same reasons. Their paths sadly never crossed in real life.

Nor did the Blondes ever wrestle the Steiners in real life. The Blondes didn't become an "official" team until the Steiners left for WWF and I had no idea that Blondes vs. S. Steiner/Bagwell match existed.
====================
Promotion #4 has defeated Promotion #1 by a 2-0 margin.

Promotion #4 steals Lex Luger & Undertaker

I have big plans in mind for Promotion #4's next outing. You won't want to miss this one. It's looking like P4 will be tough to beat.
===================
Still no votes on Promotion #2 vs. Promotion #3. 

Strikethrough treatment to see what catches The Eye of PI!

Sept 28, 2020 3:38:34 GMT Baker said:

Promotion #2 vs. Promotion #3

Promotion #2

1. Heavenly Bodies vs. Rock and Roll Express- Tag Title Tournament Match

2. Johnny B. Badd vs. Paul Roma- Winner is declared the undisputed Prettiest Man In Wrestling

3. Men On A Mission vs. Headshrinkers- Tag Title Tournament Match

4. Scott Norton vs. Ice Train- The future Fire & Ice collide in what is bound to be a HOSS FIGHT for the ages.

Breaking Kayfabe: Yeah, the whole "future Fire & Ice explode!" thing was a revisionist concession, but an even bigger revisionist move was waiting all the way to the  9th & 10th rounds to select these hosses. For I was into both guys in real time. Norton was only around for a few weeks in the Spring but he left a lasting impression....Enough to be booked as a top star in my action figure leagues for the next two years. I thought he was destined to be the next Vader. Ice Train came around later in the year and stuck around longer. I thought he was money as well. Big, jacked up, powerhouse good guys like Ice Train still ruled wrestling, and I had him pegged as the guy who would be wrestling Vader in PPV main events throughout 1994. 

5. Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow- The undefeated Native American superstar takes on the always tough Bam Bam Bigelow with the winner surely in line to challenge for a championship.

6. Lord Steven Regal (c) vs. Davey Boy Smith- TV Title Match- This Battle of Brits features the timeless story of arrogant aristocrat vs. heroic man of the people.

7. Rick Rude (c) vs. Mr. Perfect- US Title Match and a low key dream match between two future Hall of Famers and ex Heenan Family members from Minnesota.

8. Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair- Vacant World Championship Match to determine the undisputed Greatest of All Time. Let's face it. This 80s dream match is still the biggest match possible in 1993. Promotion #2 succeeds where real life WWF failed by giving the biggest match wrestling has to offer the spotlight it deserves.
================
Promotion #3

1. Texicans (Slazenger & Pierce) vs. Young Lions (Bagwell & Watts)- Pro Wrestling 101 story of big ugly brawling bad guys vs. young athletic good guys.

2. Owen Hart vs. Chris Benoit- Don't be surprised to see the two young low card Canadians deliver the sleeper match of the night.
Breaking Kayfabe: See my lengthy post from last night.

3. Bob Backlund vs. Bobby Eaton- The two veteran Robert's seem to be on the downside of their careers. Yet one big win here on PPV could potentially turn their luck around.

4. Crush vs. Giant Gonzalez- The Hawaiian powerhouse faces what is literally his tallest test to date in the monstrous 8 foot Giant Gonzalez.

5. IRS w/ Ted Dibiase vs. 1-2-3 Kid- Strong good guy vs. bad guy story with the underdog Kid taking on arguably the biggest jerk wrestling has to offer in IRS. Money Inc has been mocking Kid (and Razor) ever since Kid upset The Bad Guy in that dead promotion up north. IRS is out to prove Kid is a fluke who could only beat "that loser" Razor, while Kid is determined to prove that lightning can indeed strike twice. 
Breaking Kayfabe: See my lengthy post from last night about the Ted Dibiase boner.

6. Doink vs. Randy Savage- The dastardly Doink was pranking poor children sitting at ringside. Savage left the announce booth to confront Doink and tell him to pick on somebody his own size. So Doink did just that by pranking Savage the following week. An enraged Macho Man immediately quit his cushy commentary job and challenged the evil clown to this match. Has Doink bit off more than he can chew or will wrestling's trickster have the last laugh by pulling one over on the legendary Macho Man? Why not tune in to find out?

7. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Bret Hart- Intercontinental Championship Match- Bret Hart reached the top of the mountain less than one year ago. Yet "The Hitman" is so enraged by the cocky Heartbreak Kid that he is taking a "step back" to regain the IC Title with hopes of humbling HBK in the process. 

8. Vader (c) vs. Cactus Jack- No DQ World Title Match- This match is months in the making in a rivalry which dates all the way back to their series of brutal bouts in the spring. The first saw Cactus Jack upset the seemingly unbeatable Rocky Mountain Mastodon. Alas, poor Cactus paid for it in the rematch when Vader powerbombed him straight into the hospital. But now Cactus Jack is back! He's out for blood. And he's out for gold. This match won't be for the faint of heart. Yet you won't be able to look away from the beautiful brutality which is bound to ensue. 

P#2 spanks P#3

Sept 29, 2020 0:04:01 GMT 🤯 said:

Strikethrough treatment to see what catches The Eye of PI!

Sept 28, 2020 3:38:34 GMT Baker said:

6. Doink vs. Randy Savage- The dastardly Doink was pranking poor children sitting at ringside. Savage left the announce booth to confront Doink and tell him to pick on somebody his own size. So Doink did just that by pranking Savage the following week. An enraged Macho Man immediately quit his cushy commentary job and challenged the evil clown to this match. Has Doink bit off more than he can chew or will wrestling's trickster have the last laugh by pulling one over on the legendary Macho Man? Why not tune in to find out?

Aww man. This one hurts. Doink vs. Savage was among my favorite bouts of this draft.

Sept 29, 2020 0:53:11 GMT Baker said:

Sept 29, 2020 0:04:01 GMT 🤯 said:

Strikethrough treatment to see what catches The Eye of PI!

Aww man. This one hurts. Doink vs. Savage was among my favorite bouts of this draft.

If it's any consolation, it hurt the most to strikethrough. I think it was tainted by applying a "real time lens" with poor old 1993 Macho Man feeling so... poor and old. And then Doink potentially suffering from the post-Matt Borne stank.

Honestly, I was probably a little over critical on P#3's card. Both are solid, and spank wasn't a fair word to use.

I think I was just that hyped by the 1-2 combo of Hogan/Flair for the first time ever, and Rude/Perfect. So good. A Bret/HBK rehash from Survivor Series 1992 wasn't blowing my skirt up, and in a real time lens Vader/Cactus Jack probably would've been scary intimidating to 7 or 8 year-old me.

Promotion #2

Starting off with the sure fire opener of the entire round, the good ol RnR Express taking on the Heavenly Bodies in a match that died a death at Survivor Series but would work in most territories around the time. The placement here is crucial, just a fun solid opener that isn't expecting me to love it like that aforementioned SS match. I don't have a ton to say about those mid-card matches, I'd be keeping a close eye on the Badd match since he was one of those guys everybody had an opinion on whether it be good, bad or indifferent. I also feel word of mouth on Norton would have got me into that hoss match, although I see it as a total Norton annihilation. I know who the booker is and all, but surely a Norton/Hogan match is on the cards?

Second half of the card is just awesome. Flair/Hogan sort of seems to be the worst time to be happening since in real-time Flair sat out most of the year, while Hogan was trying his hand at movies and TV. It would go onto be the biggest feud of 1994, but I thought the stage was set much better that year. Rude/Perfect would be great since I could just see those two working that angle (dare I say) perfectly. It was a real shame what happened to Hennig arund this time and his match with Bret is my 1993 MotY pick. Regal/Smith is one of those matches I've seen pop up a few times and it looked awesome. I love it when Davey can just flip around like he did with Owen and he looked good considering how jacked he was.

Such a strong card considering Bake didn't have to go all Kenny Rogers on us to sell the show.

Promotion #3

Kicking us off, we have Bagwell when he still had potential of becoming one of the biggest stars in all of Pro Wrestling getting booked into this textbook match. One of those matches where I could picture it all in my head with the Texicans just picking the young guys apart, one of the young guys showing impressive backbone, only for some under-handed tactics to screw them over. The Young Lions are better for the run and we're off and running. Owen/Benoit is a nice nod to Benoit's run in 1993 where WCW was really starting to put together a nice Light Heavyweight division. Then we've gone the other end of the spectrum with Eaton/Backlund. I'm intrigued just because of who's in it and in a third match on the card deal it's a pretty good sign. Also gives the promotion room to grow.

I expect a valiant performance from Crush, but a short and sweet deal where Gonzales goes over as he wreaks havoc on that mid-card. IRS was still fairly prominent around this time, which should make him perfect fodder for Kid. I like the set-up here and it's a nice way to potentially introduce him, unless that no good Money Inc starts paying off some of these heels. Savage/Doink is definitely a better throwback than Savage/Repo Man. I could see this being surprisingly good with Savage bumping his ass off, selling all the tricks before making a big comeback. Also love a match where I can't pick a winner because Doink always seems to be that great showman performer who could pull a rabbit out of the hat, or get the last laugh even if he does lose.

I like the role reversal here for Bret-Shawn. Both guys were really coming into their own around this time and while they weren't quite big stars just yet they were clearly the next cab off the ranks. I'd be keen to see how Bret puts this together because I couldn't see him winning, but he'd find the right way to work the match to get both guys going where they needed to.

Nice shot at redemption for Vader-Jack who looked destined to have that great ***** match in WCW but just fell short because of over-booking or whatever else. Vader was huge around this time and while Foley didn't quite have the year he was on track of having, he still showed enough around this time that he was capable of putting together something special. I'd say it's the match I'd want to see, but it would probably be the worst marquee match of the lot.

Well, I think I may have just talked myself into #3 here. #2 was fine and all, but #3 gives me greater hope for the future.

Promotion #3 > Promotion #2

Bring on the tie-breaker.

Upon further review, I wish to unstrike Doink/Macho and even IRS/Kid. I also want to not only officially retract my spanks comment but also totally reverse my vote (in part for forgetting how terrifyingly awesome 1992-1993 WCW Vader was). My vote now goes to P#3!!!

Sept 29, 2020 21:07:49 GMT 🤯 said:

Upon further review, I wish to unstrike Doink/Macho and even IRS/Kid. I also want to not only officially retract my spanks comment but also totally reverse my vote (in part for forgetting how terrifyingly awesome 1992-1993 WCW Vader was). My vote now goes to P#3!!!

Aye aye aye. PI pulling a Jeff by switching his vote changes everything I've been working on. I mean, it makes my job easier, but still. 

PI's switcheroo means Promotion #3 defeats Promotion #2 by a 2-0 margin. 

I'll worry about steals later and hope to have the Final posted on Thursday night.

Results

Promotion #3

1. The Texicans cheat to defeat The Young Lions

2. Chris Benoit pins Owen Hart with a Dragon Suplex following interference from Benoit's occasional partner, Bobby Eaton. 

3. Bob Backlund pins Bobby Eaton when Owen Hart gets payback from the last match by distracting "Beautiful" Bobby.

4. Crush beats Giant Gonzalez by disqualification. Crush makes his own save and challenges the 8 foot giant to a rematch.

5. IRS defeats 1-2-3 Kid with help from his manager, Ted Dibiase.

6. Randy Savage survives every trick Doink throws at him before pinning the evil clown clean with his patented flying elbow drop.

7. Shawn Michaels wrestles Bret Hart to a double countout. HBK retains the IC Title. Bret had Michaels trapped in a Sharpshooter on the floor and chose to continuing inflicting damage as payback for Shawn's months of dastardly deeds rather than break the hold to beat the countout. Michaels quit multiple times but, of course, submissions don't count outside of the ring.

8. Vader retains the World Championship by defeating Cactus Jack in a bloody and brutal No DQ Match.

*Promotion #3 steals Hulk Hogan & Ric Flair from the defeated Promotion #2.
===================
Promotion #4

1. Robbie V uses his speed, athleticism, and educated feet to upset Mr. Hughes.

2. Diesel finally defeats his arch rival Van Hammer after a mysterious man appeared at ringside to undo the turnbuckle pad. Hammer punched the interloper, but that left him open to Snake Eyes on the exposed turnbuckle. I get this nagging feeling the Diesel/Hammer war is far from over. Here is a photograph of Diesel's mysterious benefactor...

Who is this Mystery Man? What is his relationship with Diesel? Hopefully we will soon get answers to these questions and more.

3. Rick "The Model" Martel cheated to beat Marty Jannetty.

4. The Quebecers defeated The Nasty Boys in what has to be considered a mild upset.

5. Ron Simmons pinned Arn Anderson following a Spinebuster of all things.

6. Barry Windham pinned Dustin Rhodes with an Implant DDT after hitting a mule kick low blow to halt a Dustin backslide attempt.

7. The Steiner Brothers defeated The Hollywood Blondes in a Dream Match to become Unified World Tag Team Champions.

8. Sting pinned Yokozuna to win the World Championship. All the good guys came out to celebrate with The Stinger. 

*Promotion #4 steals Lex Luger & Undertaker from Promotion #3.

Breaking News

Our crack team of detectives have been hard at work in uncovering the identity of Diesel's mysterious benefactor. Here is what they discovered...

-The mystery man is known only as "The Gambler." Nobody knows his real name. Nor has anybody been able to uncover where he originally came from.

-What we do know is he's big in Las Vegas. Yet even there he remains shrouded in mystery. Some say he is a mogul who owns half the casinos in Vegas. Others claim he is merely a champion player of cards. A few people even claim he was the mysterious "Casino King!" The Casino King is, of course, so legendary they once made a NES game about him. Still others say he was a champion player of cards who bought half the casinos in Vegas with the money he won in tournaments. This "Gambler" remains a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Could that shrouded figure on the left be The Gambler in disguise?

-Multiple sources have said Diesel (née Vinnie Vegas) used to break thumbs for The Gambler in Vegas. The two are said to be thick as thieves. 

-These sources also claim it was The Gambler who got Diesel the job as a trucker once the Hammer feud became too hot to handle. 

-It has been confirmed that Diesel spent most of his time as trucker doing the infamous Texarkana to Atlanta beer run.

-Diesel is now going by the name Vinnie "Diesel" Vegas in a mash up of his two identities.

-Some sources have said Diesel & The Gambler are looking for a feud good men to expand their empire. In short, they are looking to start a Clique...
==================
Breaking Kayfabe: I checked out The Gambler's cagematch profile during the height of Gamblermania a few weeks back and saw he started working WCW house shows in September 1993. Well, you just know I had to do it. And let's face it. Gambler/Vinnie Vegas is a natural pairing.

The Gambler wrestled a guy called "The Ace" a few times. This Ace is so obscure he doesn't even have a cagematch profile*. But I'm just going to pretend WCW intended to bring The Ace and The Gambler in as a pushed tag team, with The Ace being the "Diesel" to Gambler's "Shawn." Only The Ace couldn't hack it so he quit wrestling, leaving the poor Gambler condemned to a life of jobberdom. Dammit, Ace! Why'd you have to suck?

*The Gambler also worked a lot with a guy called "Big Bad John" when he was exclusively working small Georgia house shows early on in his WCW career. Big Bad John would later become Maxx Muscle. So could this mysterious Ace be another incarnation of Maxx Muscle/Big Bad John? That's my new working theory.
==================
I'll admit my interest in this project has waned. So I will give no predictions on when the Finals will be posted. Somebody remind me if I don't get to it in a week. 

The Finals

Promotion #3

1. Texicans vs. Young Lions- Multiple stipulation rematch. Marcus Alexander Bagwell was the 1992 Rookie of the Year. Texicans & Erik Watts are neck and neck in the running for 1993 Rookie of the Year. And we have just received confirmation the winner of this match will receive the award. But wait. There's more...

-If the Young Lions lose again, they must break up their team
-If Shanghai Pierce is pinned or submitted, he must unmask.
-If Tex Slazenger is pinned or submitted, he loses his hair. 

2. Bobby Eaton vs. Owen Hart- Owen is out for revenge in this battle of veteran flyer vs. young flyer to determine who flies the highest. 

3. Chris Benoit vs. 1-2-3 Kid- These two up and comers will give us a little glimpse at the future of wrestling.

4. Bob Backlund vs. IRS w/ Ted Dibiase- The wholesome Backlund meets the villainous IRS in the purest battle of good vs. evil on this (or any?) card. 

5. Crush vs. Giant Gonzalez- No DQ Match- Last time the big Hawaiian met the bigger Argentinian it ended in a DQ. This time there must be a definitive winner. 

6. Cactus Jack vs. Doink- The two oddest individuals in this promotion seemed destined to become either great friends or mortal enemies. There would be no in between. Looks like "mortal enemies" has won out. Each man is the only one who truly understands the other, and neither man likes what they see. Will the brawling style of Cactus Jack prevail? Or will the scientifically rough stylings of evil clown Doink come out on top in this battle between masters of the mind games? 

7. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Randy Savage- IC Title Match- After surviving the challenge of former 2 time IC Champ Bret Hart, HBK started gloating about being "the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time." Well, the Macho Man has something to say about that. And now Randy Savage has challenged Michaels in an attempt to regain the title many say he made famous in the first place. 

8. Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair- Flair is still smarting from losing a World Title to Hart almost one year ago. This is his chance to even the slate. Expect a long, grueling bout filled with top notch technical wrestling.

9. Vader (c) w/ Harley Race vs. Hulk Hogan w/ Jimmy Hart- World Title Match- Vader has run roughshod over two promotions as an unbeatable monster heel champ. Hulk Hogan has made a career out of slaying "unbeatable" monsters. Making this classic showdown between an irresistible force and an immovable object a natural matchup.
Harley Race, having history with Hogan, is back in Vader's corner looking to get some revenge for what Hogan did to him in the 80s. Hogan countered by bringing Jimmy Hart in as his manager to neutralize Handsome Harley.

Promotion #4

*An irate Van Hammer challenged Vinnie "Diesel" Vegas to one last contest for all the marbles. But not just any contest. Hammer challenged Vegas to the most grueling contest in all of professional wrestling. A challenge so rarely seen it's very name evokes awe from fans and trepidation from wrestlers. Hammer challenged Vegas to a...

QUADRANGLE~!

Here are the rules....

-It will be a 2 out of 3 Falls contest
-The first contest will be a King of the Road Match. This never before seen match was Diesel's choice. Hammer & Diesel will do battle in the back of a moving truck! Whoa!
-The second contest will be a Guitar On A Pole Match. This was Van Hammer's choice. Hammer likes guitars and knows how to swing one. And I guess he's also good at climbing?
-If needed, the epic Hammer vs. Vegas war will end the way it began- in an Arm Wrestling Match. 
-But wait. There's more. The loser of this Quadrangle will then have their head shaved! Will Hammer lose his long luscious locks, or will we see Diesel's mullet maimed? One thing is certain. The loser of this epic rivalry will never be the same.
=============
Some Wise Guy- Umm....I actually count 5 stipulations. So shouldn't it be called a Quintangle?
Everybody Else- Shut up, math boy.
=============
Van Hammer vs. Vinnie "Diesel" Vegas- QUADRANGLE: Stage One- King of the Road Match- Technically takes place on the pre-show Free For All so fans in attendance at the arena don't get bored. These two mortal enemies will wage war in the back of a moving truck as the truck takes them to the arena. Diesel's manager, The Gambler, will NOT be in the truck. The Vin Man will have to win this one on his own.

Marty Jannetty vs. Mr. Hughes- Classic battle of speed vs. power, experience vs. youth.

Rick "The Model" Martel vs. Robbie V- Old guard vs. young up and comer with the athletic Model meeting the even more athletic Robbie V. V's bare feet may have graduated from Harvard and Yale, but one can never count out the crafty Model. 

Hollywood Blondes vs. Nasty Boys- #1 Contenders Match- Culture clash here with the cocky, technically proficient, Hollywood pretty boys against the ugly, rough and tumble brawlers from blue collar Allentown with a shot at the Tag Titles hanging in the balance.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson- Latest chapter in the timeless Rhodes vs. Andersons forever feud.

Van Hammer vs. Vinnie "Diesel" Vegas- w/ The Gambler- QUADRANGLE: Stage Two- Guitar On A Pole Match- Whoever climbs the pole to retrieve the guitar gets to use it as a weapon. No shenanigans here. The wrestler who fails to shimmy up the pole and retrieve the guitar can NOT use it as a weapon. They will be disqualified if they do.

Barry Windham (c) vs. Ron Simmons- Western States Heritage Title Match- Windham pulled the Western States Heritage Championship out of the mothballs when he defeated fellow Texan Dustin Rhodes at our last big show. Ron Simmons has been deemed #1 contender. 

Steiners (c) vs. Quebecers w/ Johnny Polo- Province of Quebec Rules Match for The Unified Tag Team Titles- Oh yeah. I forgot to mention the Quebecers new manager Johnny Polo debuted to help them beat the Nasty Boys at our last big show. And now the posh polo player tricked the dimwitted Steiners into accepting a Province of Quebec Rules Match. Sure, the Steiners are better than the Quebecers in nearly every way, but don't be surprised if Jacques & Pierre pull off the upset with the rules in their favor.

Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer vs. Yokozuna w/ Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji- Casket Match- Undertaker immediately targeted the gargantuan former champion upon his arrival to Promotion #4. In fact, he came here solely to rid the wrestling world of the dangerous ex-Sumo. One thing lead to another and this match has been given the rarely scene Casket Match stipulation. And wouldn't you know it? Caskets seem to be the one thing Yoko fears.

Van Hammer vs. Vinnie "Diesel" Vegas w/ The Gambler- Quadrangle: Stage Three- Arm Wrestling Match- This is how it all began...



And it ends here...

Quadrangle: Stage Four- The Hair Cutting Ceremony- The loser of the QUADRANGLE between Van Hammer & Vinnie "Diesel" Vegas will have their head shaved.

Sting (c) vs. "The Narcissist" Lex Luger- World Title Match- Life was good for The Stinger. He had just won the World Title from the hated Yokozuna. All the other good guys joined him in a celebration that lasted nearly 24 hours. Towards the end of the party, Sting's sometimes partner and greatest friend in the wrestling business, Lex Luger, made a surprise appearance. The other wrestlers parted to let Lex congratulate The Stinger....

Swerve! Luger knocked Sting out with a running forearm smash nobody saw coming. The other wrestlers were too shocked to do anything other than check on Sting. Lex escaped unscathed....

Lex explained his actions the following week. Lex had done all the right things. For months he shook hands with every fat, out of shape American male he came across. He hugged millions of gross, ugly American women, and kissed just as many stinky babies. Then he defeated Ludvig Borga for America. But how did America react? With yawns. Because all they wanted to talk about was Sting finally taking the World Championship from Yokozuna. That was the final straw for Lex. Umm hello! Luger beat Yokozuna BEFORE Sting! Yet everybody just chooses to ignore that.

Luger has had enough. No matter what he does, Sting always gets the credit. Luger spent years softening up Ric Flair. Sting swoops in and takes the title from an exhausted Slick Ric. Then Luger beats Yokozuna. Yet Yoko keeps the title on a technicality. Once again Sting swoops in to finish the work Luger started. Lex spends months riding around America on a really big bus to drum up fan support. Yet STILL those out of shape American idiots like Sting more.

Well, enough is enough. Luger is done shaking hands with fatsos, hugging uggos, and kissing gross bambinos. Luger has embraced his true nature. Flexy Lexy has put away the Stars and Stripes and replaced it with the Aluminum Foil Cape. Lex Luger has once again become THE NARCISSIST~!



And he's fixing to prove once and for all that he is a better man than Sting.

So P#3 has the better 1-2-3 match lineup with HBK/Macho, Hitman/Flair, and Hulk/Vader... But P#4 absolutely CRUSHES it with the writeups and especially the beautious booking of Diesel/Hammer.

I popped so hard for the Diesel/Hammer match. Forget the **** 3/4 Cactus/Vader and all the other really good matches, I felt like a kid watching Warrior run out at Wrestlemania VIII and save the Hulkster. True story, I went onto CageMatch.com and supposedly there was a Gambler/Dave Taylor match from Worldwide circa 1999 where Gambler actually won! Naturally such a momentous occassion was captured on DailyMotion, except I was bamboozled. Taylor won with his float over suplex crotch pin peace sign rubbish and our man was foiled. Boo! Somebody needs to acquire his USWA Tapes stat so we can see The Gambler run roughshod on the tag division.

Once again, all cards went off the table when the Gambler appeared. It was like Gene Parmesan from Arrested Development, you got me and now I'm all giddy. Then to go over the top, we get Vegas/Hammer 4 times in one night. Good card from top to bottom. If you had have told me that this was the first marquee Sting/Luger match I would have believed you. I had no knowledge of Superbrawl 1992, which this seems loosely inspired by. When did Lex pair up with Harley? Was it right after the 91 GAB debacle?

Promotion 3 is great and top to bottom is my preferred card, I especially like the Cactus Jack/Doink match, I think Foley would have fun with it. However, Vegas/Hammer is the match that's captured the hearts, souls and imaginations of all the young Americans (and wannabe Americans) out there.

Yes! Big Pete comes through. I was literally just about to tag you because I was getting antsy to move on. You beat me to the punch by 6 minutes.

LMAO the exact same thing happened to me in regards to Gambler/Taylor a week or two ago. What a tease! Don't think I've been that gutted since Hogan regained the title from Taker at Tuesday In Texas.

Finding footage of The Gambler in USWA is my new holy grail. 

Lex joined forces with Harley during GAB 91. Iirc Harley came out late in the match to give Luger advice which lead to his victory .

Any similarities in the build for this Sting/Luger match and their '92 Superbrawl bout is purely coincidental. I have no idea what the build for their real life match was, and don't recall ever seen that match. 

I'm glad you put over Cactus/Doink. That, Doink/Savage, Steiners/Blondes, and Rude/Perfect were my favorite non-Hammer/Diesel matches of this project.

I'm also glad my Hammer/Diesel gamble (hehe) paid off. I thought it might be overkill. To avoid this, I wanted to hint that all their segments would be under 5 minutes, but decided against it because I didn't think it would be fair to P3. 
=============
Promotion #4 defeats Promotion #3 by a score of 2-0. 

I'll post steals and hopefully results later. Spoiler Alert: The Hammer/Diesel stuff is going to blow your minds. Then I hope to be back in a few days for the grand finale of the 1996 Draft Champ vs. the 1993 Draft Champ. I'm not sure the internet can withstand that much Gambler.

Oct 6, 2020 16:14:18 GMT Baker said:

Finding footage of The Gambler in USWA is my new holy grail. 

Success!

And OMG this isn't just any footage. This is Gamblermania running wild. You guys have to see this... 

Disappointed The Gambler's partner wasn't some guy named High Roller.

Oct 6, 2020 20:34:06 GMT 🤯 said:

Disappointed The Gambler's partner wasn't some guy named High Roller.

Or a masked enforcer character named Pokerface.

Struggling with the Finals. I've hit a wall on both cards. Still not sure what I'm doing steal-wise either. Playing with a few different ideas. Also toying with dropping a handful of wrestlers from both promotions. Another idea is to go the System-lite route. System taught us everybody loves a Royal Rumble. Might this not also apply to Battle Royals? 

My biggest problem is I only care about the Gambler, and Gambler-adjacent stuff. Everything else bores me. The Gambler is too over. Nothing else matters. On the bright side, I know exactly what I'm doing with The Gambler, and those in his orbit. I had The Gambler's stuff all mapped out before either draft was over.

Oct 8, 2020 1:01:06 GMT Baker said:

Struggling with the Finals. I've hit a wall on both cards. Still not sure what I'm doing steal-wise either. Playing with a few different ideas. Also toying with dropping a handful of wrestlers from both promotions. Another idea is to go the System-lite route. System taught us everybody loves a Royal Rumble. Might this not also apply to Battle Royals? 

My biggest problem is I only care about the Gambler, and Gambler-adjacent stuff. Everything else bores me. The Gambler is too over. Nothing else matters. On the bright side, I know exactly what I'm doing with The Gambler, and those in his orbit. I had The Gambler's stuff all mapped out before either draft was over.

Book a Jericho cruise, but on a riverboat casino, like that one Mel Gibson movie.

Results

Quadrangle: Stage 1- Vinnie "Diesel" Vegas defeats Van Hammer in a King of the Road Match to take a 1-0 lead. This was short and ugly. Diesel was at home in the back of a moving truck while poor Van Hammer was stumbling and bumbling all over the place due to his lack of 'truck legs.' Diesel hit a Hard Punch a little over a minute in. Hammer fell awkwardly on his right arm after being temporarily knocked out. Diesel covered for the easy 1-2-3, putting Hammer at a disadvantage for the rest of the night.   

Marty Jannetty pins Mr. Hughes after a superkick. Hughes used his size and power. Jannetty countered with speed and technique. That played into the finish when Jannetty caught Hughes with a superkick after dodging the big man's charge in the corner.

Rick "The Model" Martel defeats Robbie V by submission with a Boston Crab. The Model may have finally solved the riddle of Robbie. Martel avoided V's educated feet and simply moved out of the way when the martial artist took to the air. Including the finish stretch when Martel rolled away from a V moonsault  which lead to a SPLAT and Martel's match winning Boston Crab. 

Nasty Boys defeat Hollywood Blondes in a #1 Contenders Match. This has to be considered a mild upset. The Blondes were in complete control until an unfortunate series of miscommunications. Most notably during the finishing stretch which kicked off when Pillman accidentally punched Austin, causing a chain reaction that ultimately lead to Austin being pinned. The Blondes had a heated argument after the bout but did seem to leave on good terms...

Arn Anderson defeats Dustin Rhodes with good old fashioned cheating. A low blow and a handful of tights! My word! Methinks the Rhodes vs. Andersons forever feud is far from over...

QUADRANGLE: Stage 2- Van Hammer defeats Vinnie "Diesel" Vegas- w/ The Gambler in a Guitar On A Pole Match. Hammer entered with his injured right arm all wrapped up. Diesel & Gambler quickly put their plan into action. Diesel jumped Hammer with a Hard Punch to his injured arm. Vegas then simply smothered the rocker while The Gambler shimmied up the pole to grab the guitar. Sinister as can be, but you have to admit it was a clever plan. Diesel held Hammer for Gambler to blast with the guitar. No! Van Hammer ducked at the last split second. Gambler wallops Diesel instead! The big man is out cold. Hammer quickly dispatched of the befuddled Gambler and turned around to pin the unconscious Diesel in a little over a minute. The Quadrangle is now tied at 1 with each man having won his specialty match. 

Ron Simmons pins Barry Windham to win the Western States Heritage Title. This was a solid meat and potatoes match which saw Simmons ultimately prevail with a Spinebuster.  

Quebecers w/ Johnny Polo defeat Steiners in a Province of Quebec Rules Match to win the Unified Tag Team Titles. Quebecers made the most of the ludicrous rules which eventually enraged Rick Steiner enough that he lost his head and started whacking The Quebecers with the very hockey stick they brought to the ring. Rick was disqualified. Meaning The Quebecers were the neeewwww tag team champions according the absurd Province of Quebec Rules this match was wrestled under.

Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer defeats Yokozuna w/ Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji in a Casket Match. The two big men...tried stuffing one another into the casket. Yoko looked to have the match won early until Paul Bearer raised the urn, which seemingly raised Taker from the dead. Taker then landed a flurry of offense which culminated with Yoko being stuffed into the casket.

Quadrangle: Stage 3- Arm Wrestling Match- Van Hammer defeated Vinnie "Diesel" Vegas w/ The Gambler in an arm wrestling match for the ages. Hammer came in with his arm wrestling arm still taped up from his nasty fall in the truck. He grabbed the mic to tell the fans he was less than 100% and only with their support could he ever hope to overcome big Diesel. Yet the Vin Man was not at 100% either. He was wearing a bandage on his forehead due to The Gambler's earlier inadvertent guitar shot. The two warriors went back and forth for nearly 5 minutes before Van Hammer dug deep to finally slam Diesel's hand down on the table and win the Quadrangle 2-1. A mighty roar went up from the crowd. What a performance from Hammer! What guts! What fortitude! This all time great feud was finally over. And now Diesel must suffer the ultimately indignity of having his mullet maimed...

Quadrangle: Stage 4- The Hair Cutting Ceremony- Diesel was near tears as he sat in the same chair he arm wrestled in whilst waiting for Van Hammer to do the deed. But wait! The Gambler grabs the mic....

The Gambler is upset. He grudgingly admits Hammer played his hand to perfection while Diesel & The Gambler did not. It happens. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Yet there is one thing The Gambler cannot allow...

For it was his own mistake that may very well have cost Diesel the Guitar on a Pole Match, and ultimately the Quadrangle. The Gambler cannot live with himself knowing his ineptitude has caused the rape of his friend's locks. Furthermore, The Gambler claims to have seen the future. His own time will come. He's sure of it. Just wait until 1996, he says. Diesel's time will come too, claims the Gambler. One day soon Diesel will be a World Champion. Then the big man will change the industry forever. That's a sure bet. There will also come a time when Diesel becomes famous for his hair. The Gambler will not jeopardize his friend's future. In that distant future, during the twilight of Diesel's career, long after he has revolutionized the industry, and won World Championships, his hair will be all he has left. Whereas The Gambler's future is not reliant on his hair. Plus, as he freely admits, The Gambler is already losing his battle with male pattern baldness. You gotta know when to fold 'em...

So The Gambler studied the NWA rulebook looking for a way out. Alas, he could find no out....no loophole with which to save his friend's hair. So he looked deeper. And there he found it in the Marquis of Queensbury Rules handbook from which all pro wrestling rules ultimately stem. There it states "The Hair vs. Hair Match stipulation is sacred. To weasel out of a haircut is to invite a lifelong ban from Professional Wrestling. In all cases, hair must be cut. However, it is acceptable for a willing third party to take the loser's place and receive the haircut in his or her stead during the aftermath of a Hair vs. Hair Match." So, with a heavy heart, The Gambler offers up what remains of his own hair.

Diesel is taken aback by The Gambler's noble gesture. He is near tears as he embraces his friend and mentor. Van Hammer is kind of pissed, but there is nothing he can do about it. The Marquis of Queensbury Rules are law. The Gambler sits in the chair as Hammer humorlessly rids The Gambler's head of its few remaining hairs.

Sting (c) retains the World Title when he forces "The Narcissist" Lex Luger to submit to his Scorpion Death Lock. The two lifelong friends turned enemies really left it all on the table in this epic encounter which saw Sting do more flying than usual while Luger opted for pure power. Time and time again The Narcissist looked to knock Sting out with the dreaded loaded forearm. Yet time and time again Sting dodged, ducked, or countered. The finish came when Sting went to his usual ending ritual of a Stinger Splash followed by the Scorpion Death Lock. Luger had no choice but to submit, once again coming up just short against the man he can never quite surpass....
=========================
And with that, the Finals are set. It's been a long and winding road, but in the end it comes down to Gambler vs. Gambler...Promotion #4 from 1993 vs. Promotion #1 from 1996.

*I'll start a new thread for the Finals. Hope to have it posted sometime this weekend. However, I've a lot going on the next two days. So it might have to wait until Monday. 

Loved the Quadrangle and swerve ending.

Also love we'll be getting heel Gambler who's just perhaps seen the first glimmer of babyface light vs. full-on babyface Gambler.

Popped hard for the Gambler stepping up and taking one for the big man. Also doesn't surprise me that somebody who mastered the art of parlor tricks can also read tarrot cards and has an amazing eye for the future. Does Gambler's clairvoyancy mean his whole gimmick is a lie? Or is it just a Rainman level knowing the odds at all time? A sixth sense and he's merely carrying out god's will?

The crazy thing is, the rest of the show was filled with just as many surprises. The Nasty Boys going over the Hollywood Blondes? On PW? The balls! I also had my own premonition and feel Promotion 3 is going to get that Undertaker vs. Sting dream match we've always wanted. But what becomes of Luger? The Hammer? And Jannetty?