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Post by tg01 on Aug 31, 2024 19:53:59 GMT 1
From as far back as I can remember, I knew that one day I wanted to be a wrestling promoter. After all, it was in my blood. While I never met him, it all began with my great grandfather in 1915 and continued with my grandfather who managed to build a territory based out of “the World’s Most Famous Arena,” a legacy that would be continued and built upon by my father. At one point I thought I would be the next to carry on the mantle with that company. Time and circumstances have made it quite clear that it is not meant to be, and so, much like my ancestors I set out into the unknown. Now I am not focused on a company’s legacy, but my personal legacy, and the legacy of my family. It is time for something new, and so I present this book which will take you behind the scenes of the birth and rise of the….
Prime Wrestling Federation
Shane McMahonPWF Owner and Operator(OOC: This dynasty is based around some thoughts I have been kicking around all year, but didn't want to get into a dynasty with. That was until TEXIX became a thing, and I will admit I was quite excited about the new features and wanted to try it out. This is based on the RWC January 2024 mod that I have partially converted over, mostly focusing on the wrestlers who will be involved with the PWF. So consider this a bit of a test as I work through the new game, and hopefully will be able to carry on my 2006 dynasty when the 2006 mod is fully converted. My intent is to try and keep it as realistic as possible so you will not see me get ahead of the current date, but will use current events like contracts ending etc. to form the world that the PWF exists in. The only exceptions will be some major signings that will be explained as we go along.)
2024 Archive:
January 2024 PWF TV #1-#4 |
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Post by tg01 on Aug 31, 2024 21:34:57 GMT 1
January 29, 2022. A date that will forever be etched in my mind. Making my in-ring return in the annual event known as the Royal Rumble, I was feeling incredibly jacked and looking forward to putting on a good show. While I had helped in the production of the Royal Rumble the past couple of years, this was the first time where I would also be competing in the match. Entering at number 28 I managed to eliminate one wrestler, before I was eliminated shortly after. But that was just the beginning of a painful emotional journey. The Rumble match was universally panned, with fans and critics calling it “boring,” “lacking in star power,” and “disappointing.” And a lot of that blame was being aimed squarely at me from people who were not behind the scenes. There were rumours about how much I was trying to showcase myself, that I was on some sort of ego trip to look better than the full-time wrestlers in the match. This led to a confrontation with my father over the match, and my eventual dismissal from the company. At first, I was incredibly angry and bitter about the situation. But then it led to some self-reflection and I realized that maybe there was an element of truth to it. Perhaps I had gotten too wrapped up in looking good that I had forgotten what was important. After some painful discussions with my wife, Marissa, I realized that maybe it was time to leave the in-ring action behind, that it was time for me to look at remaining behind the scenes. But with how things were shifting, it soon became apparent that there was not a place backstage for me in the company that my family had created from the ground up. If I was going to have a chance to show that I had changed, to show what I felt I could do, that I was going to need to look for opportunities elsewhere.
Wrestling is going through probably it’s biggest boom period since that fateful in 2001 when the Monday Night Wars officially came to an end. While there may not be as many people watching as there was in those peak years of attitude, the money that is out there is higher than it has ever been. This has led to television deals that are mind boggling, wages that far surpass any other point in time, and multiple companies that are showcasing a vast degree of talent. With my contract up, I began to put out some feelers through friends, seeing what sort of interest might be out there in having me join some of these companies. The responses I got were varied: some had no interest, others were curious about me taking on a wrestling role, one was curious if I would be willing to provide some business support, and one even offered to sell to me! With all of these different options before me I began to think about what I really wanted. And I soon realized that while I wanted to continue in the wrestling business, that I was not willing to take a step back. For too long I had my career in wrestling dictated by my father, and then by other members of the family. While they were willing to listen to my ideas, at times, it also felt like sometimes they were merely paying me lip service in an attempt to placate me. I realized that now was the time where if I was going to actually make my own legacy, I needed to set out on my own. Success or failure, whatever came next it was going to be all on my shoulders…. |
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Post by tg01 on Aug 31, 2024 22:40:43 GMT 1
I was going to start my own wrestling company. There the decision was made, and I knew now what my future was. With my focus now shifted, I sat down and began to write out a list of where I needed to begin. I thought about where my families’ company had succeeded, when compared to others, and what strengths I wanted to focus on to make sure that this new company would stand above others. My list included making sure that this new company had great teams when it came to production, merchandise, and advertising for our events. While talent is the most important element of a wrestling company, they will only ever be able to take a company so far if there is not an infrastructure in place that can help them to shine. This is an area where I have seen other companies struggle, and how it is hast limited their ability to grow even with amazing rosters. My intention was to try and find a mix of building teams for each of these departments made up of experienced pros, and some young up and comers who can bring new ideas and visions to help our company into the future. I began by sitting down and looking at my contact’s list and reaching out to a few people that I trusted to get some ideas for people to reach out to. During this process, that took several months that took me away from my family which I thoroughly apologize for, I was able to come up lists of people to reach out to and I began to make some phone calls. Confession time, during these phone calls I did not want to reveal what I was working on lest information got out to the industry that I was not ready to share yet. For this reason, I may have led some people to believe I was calling on behalf of my former employer’s, I didn’t outright lie, but definitely did not reveal the truth either. Again, I offer my sincere apologies for this subterfuge now to all who are reading, and I hope you can understand.
During this lengthy process I kept a wary eye towards my family’s company, and the many behind the scenes dealings that resulted in my father first stepping down in the summer of 2022. I will admit to being surprise that he would ever walk away from the company that he been a part of for so long. This served to reinforce my recognition that it was time for me to go my own way and form my own destiny. Slowly but surely the pieces were coming together as I had managed to make the right connections and knew who I wanted to have work for me in developing my own company. What was not a surprise, was how my father managed to force his way back into the company in 2023. With the buildup to the biggest show of the year coming, I was a bit surprised when someone reached out to ask if I would be willing to make an appearance. Recognizing this as a bit of an olive branch, I did not want to turn it down. But I was very careful about only signing a contract, and a lucrative one, for a one-off appearance. I did not want to be tied down again, especially as I started to develop a plan for my new company to take off in 2024. The big question that remained in front of me though was where was my new company going to be shown? And this is where I needed to really get creative and think outside of the (cable) box….
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Post by tg01 on Aug 31, 2024 23:39:13 GMT 1
Where to air our programming? This became one of two main focuses as the year 2023 wore on. In 2010 I worked with the company, then known as, China Broadband Inc. to work to bring digital services and video-on-demand/pay-per-view services to China. Through this process I became connected with some important people in the television industry. And while there was a chance of getting on traditional TV via broadcast or cable, I was looking towards the future. Trends are showing that more and more people are “cutting the cord,” and moving to utilizing the various streaming networks out there. That was the future, and that was what I wanted to be part of. My initial feelers went out to Netflix, but I soon found out that was not going to happen. At first, I was confused why they wouldn’t even take a meeting, but it was then let slip to me that they had already been approached by another “major wrestling company.” It didn’t take much to put together that this must be the company I used to be affiliated with. This seemed like another move by the aggressive new management and ownership. It also signalled that I was onto something, and gave me some possible leverage I could use in my favour. With this bit of knowledge in my back pocket I approached the team at Amazon looking to bring my company to the air internationally through their services. At first there was very little interest, but through persistence it appeared like the door may be cracking open….I just needed to figure out how to force it open….
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Post by tg01 on Sept 1, 2024 3:31:09 GMT 1
The End was the Beginning. As I struggled to make my pitch to Amazon to get my new company televised, fate would strike not once, but twice. When Tony Khan first announced his big plan of running Wembley Stadium, no one could have guessed how big it would turn out. Whatever the final number was it really didn’t matter. What mattered was how big the show was, how many people attended, and the money it brought in. The images from the event were enough for me to make my case for just how popular wrestling was around the world. But that was not enough. But that was not the only memorable event to occur that night as wrestling fans are aware of. The seeds had been planted a year previously during a backstage fight that has grown in legend and been given the name “Brawl Out.” News started to come out that there was a divide backstage and the close relationship between Tony Khan and the wrestlers who had been so critical to the formation of AEW was no longer the same. When news came out that their contracts would be coming out around the end of the year, speculation began to run rampant that they may actually jump ship. Quickly I reached out to some people I knew had the ears of this elite bunch of wrestlers. I was not about to tamper with contracted wrestlers, but I did let it be known that I was willing to pay each of them far more then they were being offered by either company. Other promises around hiring friends and family members may have been put out there as hypotheticals, but at first, I heard nothing. Later I would find out that my interest, and the fact that a third option may soon be real, was enough to cause them to pause before making a final decision. In fact, I was told that if I had not come along when I did that it is very likely that they would have signed contract extensions in the beginning of August 2023. But they wanted some more time to think about it, think about their future, and consider their legacies.
Which brings us right back to Wembley and an event where everyone was trying to go all in. Just when it seemed like maybe things were going to settle down, and everyone was going to be on the same page to celebrate their biggest event, backstage chaos ensured again. Details don’t really matter, but what matters is the fact that a rift had already been formed a year earlier, and now it was widening, and I intended to take full advantage of that. Once again, I couldn’t offer anything official, but I let a well known and respected agent in the world of wrestling know that I wanted these men “at almost any cost” to help with the formation of my company, building on their experience from 2019. I wanted them to know how important I thought it was for them to join me, and how much I wanted to have their backs. I don’t know what finally made them make their decision, but imagine the surprise of the wrestling world when it became known in late September 2023 that the Jackson brothers, Kenny Omega, and Adam Page had decided to not resign with AEW. Immediately most people were speculating that this meant they were on their way to the enemy. But whispers were beginning to get out there that maybe, just maybe, something big was on the horizon…. |
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Post by tg01 on Sept 1, 2024 4:09:59 GMT 1
Prime; adjective; to have the highest quality; excellent. While nothing was officially in writing, I now had confidence that when their contracts came up at the end of the year/early in the year 2024 that I now had the cornerstone pieces to form my company. Pieces were falling into place as I prepared my final pitch for Amazon. What I had not shared in previous meetings was just how determined I was to end up on Prime. This included the fact that I had purchased a building in Virginia near their Amazon HQ2, and it was currently being retrofit to serve as a great place to film wrestling from. With these carrots dangled, I finally got Amazon to bite! The door was open, and now the negotiations began. I will admit that I did not get everything I wanted, but I got enough. A guarantee of one hour a week as part of their “live” event programming. We also worked out an agreement where our PPV events would be shown exclusively through a new tier of Prime Plus that would focus on showing high tier programming. Additionally, I was given the opportunity to have two ½ shows shown on demand each week that would allow us to hype up our weekly show. They loved the idea of having our wrestling shows taped near their headquarters which eventually led to an agreement where I agreed to an exclusive deal to film our TV shows there for the first two years, and in exchange they agreed to pay for the naming rights of what would become the AWS Arena. Things that I was not quite about was the one-hour length for our shows, I was really hoping for two hours. Additionally, part of the deal was that we could only have four PPV events in our first year, with the possibility of expanding this to six in future years if they performed well enough. By the time all the financials were all agreed upon we were deep in November 2023, but it was well worth it when we agreed on a ten-year agreement, with opt outs available in year 4, 5, and 8. I could not be happier as I now knew what our home was going to be for programming. But before we could send out a press release and finally make the big reveal to the world the question became, what is going to be the name for this new company?
When I had begun this venture, I came up with three different names that I thought reflected what I was hoping would represent the company that I wanted to run. Through a shell corporation I had those three names trademarked. Not knowing which direction, I was going to go had caused me a few headaches long the way, especially when it came to ordering our Championship belts. Not knowing what the name was going to be meant going generic with the title belts, but it had been my desire that each belt would be stylized differently enough that they would be distinctive and stand out, even without a big company logo being a part of them. Unfortunately, my partners at Amazon, and it certainly felt like that is what they were at this point, did not like any of the names I picked. Back at ground zero I was not sure how I was going to proceed, until someone on their end reached out to me with an idea. Immediately I fell in love with the name and it’s obvious callbacks to my families legacy, but also of the partnership we had forged. But I had some big concerns, such as what would happen if our deal fell apart and we ended up leaving Prime Video? Once again lawyers were involved and agreements were made, more money exchanged hands, and it became official. Effective November 1, 2024 we had our name and the word went out. Coming January 4, 2024, exclusively to Amazon Prime Video….we were the Prime Wrestling Federation! |
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Post by tg01 on Sept 3, 2024 21:46:28 GMT 1
The Roster Part I. When I realized in 2022 that I would be starting my own company, I realized that I was going to need to work hard to assemble a roster worthy of getting people’s attention. I also realized that I was going to be competing against a few world powers in order to try and get the best talent. This meant two things. One, I was going to need to have a big talent budget if I was going to have any hope of convincing wrestlers to join this new company over one of the more established brands. Second, I was going to need to put the work in to try and identify some diamonds in the rough. I began to travel the world, taking in wrestling events wherever I could, looking to establish relationships with some of the other wrestling promoters out there. These relationships would be invaluable in the future when it came to signing some talents that had more than one promotion they called home. Even before the Elite came on board, I found my first talent in Japan. When I heard in March of 2023 that KAIRI was a free agent, I immediately sought to have a meeting with her. This led to several meetings with her, her representatives, and the man who was then the executive producer of World Wonder Ring Stardom aka STARDOM. One of the things I was trying to understand was why STARDOM wrestlers did not seem to have the same crossover opportunities with AEW that their male peers in NJPW seemed to have. I soon realized that wrestling politics was not an exclusively American thing. This laid the foundations for a financial opportunity where I was able to make a deal to support STARDOM financially, and in exchange I was able to convince KAIRI to become our first signing. It also meant that we would be able to do some talent exchanges to bring STARDOM competitors to what would become known as the PWF. Although I would find out as 2024 began that not everything was exactly as it appeared…
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Post by tg01 on Sept 3, 2024 22:19:20 GMT 1
The Roster Part II. With the announcement of the official debut of the PWF in January 2024, it was time to put my focus on finalizing the initial roster. This was a task that received a boost after a couple of days in September 2024 when the company I used to work for made some surprise releases. These were wrestlers who I had worked with in the past and who I knew could be huge assets to the PWF. As we got closer to 2024, I was able to reach out and began to get commitments that would bring a majority of these names into the fold. These surprise releases were not the only boon to my company, as a few big names on the independent scene made it known that their contracts were coming up as 2023 came to a close and they would also be looking for their next place of employment. Additionally, thanks for my new elite friends I was able to get some other unexpected names aboard. Wrestling talent was not the only talent I was worried about though as I also needed to hire some referee’s and the talents that could give voice to our new company. One of the things I was looking for was some diversity which I felt was represented in the signing of Artemis Ortygie, Nick Shin, and Stephan Jose Alers Flores, but I still felt like were missing something. I realized that I wanted one experienced referee who could lead this brand, but where to turn? And that’s when I realized the answer was right under my nose, but could I convince him to return to the job after he had publicly stated he had retired? It took some convincing, but I was overjoyed when Mike Chioda finally gave in and agreed to come on board as our senior referee.
Putting together our broadcast team also involved some arm twisting. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to have Mauro Ranallo as our play-by-play man, but I was not sure if he legally could do it, even if he wanted to. I approached him and again, he was hesitant, especially after his past experiences. After some promises, some in writing, I was able to get him to at least give it a try, but first we had to ascertain if he could do it with the various contracts he had in place for MMA. The lawyers were in charge of that, and we soon realized that as long as we didn’t get in the way of his MMA gig, we were fine to have Ranallo on board. Joining him on the commentary team was D’Lo Brown adding his experience from his time on the table in Impact wrestling. The final piece of Alicia Atout who I had always thought was amazing in what she had done online and in MLW, and I knew she would be a big asset backstage as an interview, but also in putting together episodes of PWF Preview (our new 1/2 hour hype shows). I was very happy with the way the roster was developing, but I still felt like we were missing one big piece, one star above others who would be able to draw in old and new fans alike. Someone with experience, a superstar known around the world. I just wasn’t sure who that was going to be yet… |
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Post by tg01 on Sept 3, 2024 23:29:46 GMT 1
Backstage help. With the talent pool growing almost by the day as the end of 2023 approached, it was time to assemble those who were going to help me run this thing. One of my first calls was to an old friend named Scotty. While it’s true he had not always been the best influence in my life, something that had resulted in us drifting apart, I believed that Scott Levy has one of the best minds in wrestling. Getting him to agree to help put the product together, both as part of a booking team and as a road agent, was a great start. Next I wanted to start to focus on our women’s division as I wanted to make sure this division would be ready from day one, and be able to grown as we grew. Looking around the world of wrestling it did not take long for me to realized that the perfect person to lead the division was Mickie James who quickly agreed to come on board as the Creative Director and Head of Female Talent for the PWF. She would not be working with this division alone though as she had called upon an old friend, one Lisa Marie Varon, to help her with the agenting in the division. This team was not done there though as they set to work trying to convince some very important names to join the division. Imagine my surprise when they managed to get me on the phone with two wrestlers who I never thought would be open to joining the PWF in a million years. But after talking over plans, and yes finances, we were able to sign two very important names that I think are going to set the PWF Women’s division up for great success.
Another division that I wanted to make sure was emphasized as a division that I planned on calling the flight division. I won’t lie, it was modelled after the popular Cruiserweight division of the 90s. Hoping to recreate the excitement and high flying of that division I made a couple of phone calls. The first wrestler to agree to help agent this division, and take an active part in, was Paul London. I was not surprised that I could not get a hold of the second person, as I know he had been quite busy in Hollywood the last few years. But I was quite pleased when Chavo Guerrero Jr. did return my call and was eager to be a help however he could. This actually led to a very important phone call that would lead to one of the signings I was more excited about. A couple other wrestlers agreed to take on a wrestler-coach role and to help agent, but there was one last person who I hoped would be willing to set aside history and to take an active role in forming this company. He was a man who I had always looked up to, someone who had really looked out for me when I was new in the business, working as a referee. And while his tenure had ended quite badly in 1997, Bret Hart was someone who I wanted to talk with. When he didn’t hang up the phone after he agreed to talk, I thought maybe there was a chance. As things developed it became apparent that while he could never appear on screen for us, there was a chance he could help us out. Finally he agreed to be a consultant, working from home and being willing to video chat with the booking team, and watch matches to provide some constructive criticism to wrestlers who were willing to work and learn from him. The team was coming together and I began to realize that we might have something special developing… |
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Post by tg01 on Sept 3, 2024 23:41:46 GMT 1
Countdown to launch. The month of December brought some more surprising phone calls, leading to some unexpected signings, and the picture started to become clear. A lot of work had gone into getting the PWF ready to launch, but it soon became clear that the work was just beginning. And while I want to focus on the future, I also know I cannot ignore the past. When my father was removed from the company he had led to such heights of success, a lot of people came to wonder what this might mean for me. After all, as there were new owners now, maybe I would be welcomed back more permanently? In fact, I will admit that this news actually caused a few of the investors I had brought in to help finance the development of the PWF wonder about my loyalty. It took some convincing, but I believe most buy into the fact that the PWF is where my loyalty lies now. While it doesn’t mean I want the company that my brother-in-law is in charge of creatively to fail, I also have no intentions of going back. That ship has sailed for many reasons. Least of all the fact that I have used the majority of my own funds to gain the leverage to get the PWF off of the ground, and I have no intention of throwing my money away. As December came to an end and I saw the final edited cuts for our debut episodes of PWF Preview I became more and more excited about the future, and couldn’t wait to bring the PWF to wrestling fans all over the world. As has become quite the popular expression lately……let’s go!
(And with that the background comes to an end....up next in the next day or so....the first month of the PWF!)
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