Stories from TRCW (Texas Regional Championship Wrestling)

[teoblaze]

This may be peculiar for a first post, but I've been playing this game non-stop since I discovered it, and I registered specifically so I could share a few stories that happened in my Federation over my first playthrough so far. If there are any more I would be glad to post them, but I wanted to share these with a community who would understand them. I have added a bit of creative license to simulate the actual results: 

Story 1: The Strutter Curse

The scene: Jet Set Strutter has been champion for countless months. He has fended off challenges for a record 18 title defenses, including no less than 5 separate attempts from Dicky Thunderbird. Thunderbird has the crowd behind him, and they want nothing more than to see him dethrone Strutter, but every time, despite 5-star efforts, he comes up short by a matter of centimeters. This has led to what fans call the Strutter Curse, that as good as Thunderbird is, and as many stars as their matches get, he can't manage to pull off the big one. Finally, at the last show of the year, Strutter loses his belt, but it's not to Thunderbird. Fan support for long-time hero Arizona Chance (foil) has seen him finally climb to the top of the mountain to win his second World Championship, dethroning him in the main event. 

Chance's good fortunes are not long for the world though, as 2 weeks later in an impromptu World Title Challenge from Iron Mask, the long-time heel steals the belt after a shock injury! Iron Mask had long been seen as one of the more underrated heels on the roster, but the fans hated to see him steal the world championship out from Arizona Chance like this. With Chance out, there was no better option to challenge Iron Mask than perennial contender Dicky Thunderbird! The match is set, Thunderbird seeking redemption for failing to unseat Strutter against one of the most reviled men on the roster who literally put their hero Chance into the hospital. (At this point I would like to mention the Battle Royal this year is also a Scaffold match. In my mind there's a scaffold over the entire ring with a hole in the middle they dump people down to a crash pad below).

Dicky Thunderbird overcomes interference from Copper Commander, and through heart and grit alone claims his second world championship, unseating Iron Mask in a thrilling match. All that's left to do is for the new champion to watch the main event, the Scaffold Battle Royal between 20 of the highest rated men. Thunderbird joins at ringside and watches as man after man is tossed down through the center trapdoor to the crashpad below. Valedictorian, Flawless One, Ace Arcadium...suddenly, at the end, a surprise return! The final entrant is Arizona Chance, making an early recovery from injury! It comes down to Chance and Dr. B, who are standing toe to toe, but the wily chance avoids a charge that sends B to the floor below! He's won, he's won! Except...He took his eye off the ball. Clinging to the scaffold still, just out of view of the camera, is....

Jet Set Strutter. The former champion has been feigning an injury, and off near the edge of the contraption, but he springs to life just in time to shove the celebrating chance through the hole! Thunderbird, the newly minted world champion, can only look on in horror as standing victorious in the battle royal, the new #1 contender for his belt...Is Jet Set Strutter.

Two weeks later, Thunderbird is worried. He wants to prove to the world that the Strutter curse is a myth. He challenges Strutter to a non-title match at the end of the weekly show. With nothing to lose, Strutter happily agrees. Despite a 5-star performance from both men, the match ends with a double countout after Strutter attempts to walk up the ramp, saving his real tricks for the Title match.

So it all comes down to this, one month after the battle Royal. Dicky Thunderbird defending his World Championship, the belt he chased for so long and failed to claim from Strutter over and over again, against the man he could never beat. Not only that, but it's now a falls-count anywhere match.

And ladies, gentelmen, I kid you not. After all of this, with everything on the line, with Dicky Thunderbird holding his World Championship against the man who he could never manage to unseat...

He breaks the curse. Your winner and STILL world Champion, Dicky Thunderbird.

I had to stop playing the game right there and take a break to absorb it all. I did not fudge any results, it was decided entirely by the game, but right up until that moment I was expecting the Strutter curse to stay strong. Thunderbird would eventually lose the belt to Slashmaster, but the feud continues and Strutter/Thunderbird regularly face off in all variety of matches. The difference is, they now compete as equals.

[Thumper Moore III]

Very cool intro story! I like that it’s not episodic— it feels more like a retrospective that Brian Zane would do. Good job with the writing and I’m looking forward to more!

[teoblaze]

Thank you, friend! I actually wasn't planning on posting another one so quickly after the first, but darned if I didn't have another story come up this morning. Truthfully, it is a story that has been going in my head for awhile, but it finally hit its peak. As this story is being told, I acquired the regular version of its protagonist, then the alternate version, and finally the foil version. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...

Story 2: A Star is Born

Meet Starboy. Starboy has been with TRCW since literally day 1. He was not only the first Television Champion, but he was the face of the first major rivalry when he succesfully battled The Piranha for the title, losing it before reclaiming it to triumphant applause. 

But as the years went on, more and more people began getting attracted to the company, and Starboy just didn't have the...star power he once had. Not to suggest that he didn't work hard, but he just couldn't measure up when it came to people like Jet Set Strutter, Ace of Spades, Slashmaster or Chicano. It got to the point where Starboy, despite being a fan favorite and dark horse for the company, rarely got bookings. He had hit his ceiling, or so it appeared. Truth be told, Starboy was getting frustrated. He lost his Television Championship to Ace of Spades in what many viewed as a squash match, and to add insult to injury, Ace later turned face! Ace Arcadium became not only the new hot babyface, a role Starboy had once fillled, but he was doing so with the same gimmick! Techno future, it just stung.

Now of course Arcadium had undergone a bit of a career renaissance, since he lost the Television Championship and had a brief flirtation with the World Championship, the simple fact was that as more and more heels began crowding the card, he realized that the people needed someone to fight them off. Thus, Arcadium was born. He dominated the TV Title scene, winning the belt back in an emphatic way and battling numerous people. He was in the conversation for the greatest Television Champion of all time and his reign had only barely begun. Then, in the distance, came the match that would define him.

Dark. Invader.

This monster of a performer not only was a physical match for Ace Arcadium, but he was a devious, cheating son of a gun to go with it. Not only did he win the Television Championship, ending Ace's spectacular reign, but he managed to retain it in the rematch. This all happened in the eyes of the first champion...Star Boy. And when he looked up at Dark Invader holding that Championship over his head, he knew that he was on the wrong team. Enter...Death Star Boy.

Yes, that's right. Almost immediately, Star Boy turned on the fans and allied himself with the new Television Championship. Though Invader would not have an ironclad hold on the belt, he was always in the conversation, and after all, if he couldn't hold the Television Championship, wasn't this the next best thing?

It all came to a head a few months later. After a few trades of the belt, it was all going to be settled as Ace Arcadium challenged Dark Invader for the TV Title in...a scaffold match. Not only that, but even though Death Star Boy was in the corner, he was forbidden from climbing the scaffold, under penalty of termination. It was all going to be settled in this match.

Note: Though the result is the same, this part of the story contains some creative license.

Arcadium was going wild, he was slamming Invader onto the scaffold, teasing a plummet time and time again. Though he did not want to admit it, Invader had come to appreciate Death Star Boy's assistance, to the point where his own skills had diminished. He was in trouble, and about to not only lose his championship, but be sent plummeting off of a high scaffold. Then, even with the threat of termination, Death Star Boy realized what he had to do. Without warning, he scaled the scaffold in seconds, just as it looked like Invader was going to be finished off, and tried to attack Arcadium. Arcadium turned around to face his attacker, full of adrenaline and wrath, and Death Star Boy realized his mistake. He barely had time to yelp for mercy before Ace grabbed him, hoisting him over his head in a body slam! He was going to toss Death Star Boy out of his life once and for-




Shove.




Arcadium knew what happened as he felt his feet slip over the edge, but he could scarcely believe it. Here he was, holding Invader's ally, his staunchest friend, and Invader had sacrificed them both to win that championship. He tried to hold on, but it was too late. Death Star Boy's eyes grew wide with surprise as he felt himself falling with Ace, looking up to see Invader smiling, celebrating his victory. The man he had hitched himself to, who he had risked his career for, had shoved him off with Ace to protect his belt.

Death Star boy was injured. The comissioner approached Ace to ask if he wanted to terminate Boy's contract, but the Champion showed mercy, allowing him to continue. Thankfully, even though there were minor injuries, Ace had landed safely. Death Star Boy, however, would be out for an indefinite period of time.




2 months later, Dark Invader is still Champion. He issues an open challenge at Summer Smash, he wants to face anybody, any man, woman, or child who he has not already defeated for the Television Championship. He is the greatest man to hold the belt, after all. He beat Ace Arcadium, and nobody even remembers who was champion before that. The fans faces sink, as they realize that there's noone out there who can unseat him now that Ace has failed.

The curtain is Drawn at Summer Smash. Invader walks happily to the ring, and...

You're reading that right. No joke, after I wrote Death Star Boy out of the story, Foil Star Boy became available in the shop. I could think of no showdown more fitting, no match more capable of capturing the history of this story, a story that had gone since Day 1, than this. 

And the kid did it. He reclaimed the Television Title, the belt he had made famous.

The critics be darned, that's a 5-star match if ever there was one in my book.

[Another 8MWR Tag Champion]

Love your work Teo 👌

As always.






And Dark Invader Vs Starboy deserved a better rating.

[teoblaze]

Hoo boy, been awhile, hasn't it?

I've been playing the game non-stop,and truth be told I've settled into the 90's a bit more. I do have quite a few stories to share, but suffice it to say I'm really nailing down the roster for what will essentially be a reboot.

With THAT said, the general arc moving forward is that the company's focus has shifted slightly towards more of the "Sports entertainment" and/or Early WCW vibe (Pre-Hogan). O'Hooligan is holding down a slot as a main eventer (but not World Champion) and holding interview segments on a weekly basis, and an influx of Luchador and Japanese talent has been slowly balancing out the more traditional character-driven feuds.

Granted this is all in my imagination, but I hope to have some more stories for you guys soon, including the continuation of a few stories mentioned here!

[teoblaze]

Alright here we go. This story is true and no Screwjobs were used to influence results.

This story is called: never cage a pirrahna.

The 90s have come and with it there has been a massive shakeup in TRCW. Some names have left while others changed gimmicks. In response, there was a massive roster cut, with over 100 active names trimmed down to less than 50. Anyone who did not fit the new image of TRCW was left for free agency.

One of these names that was lost was star boy. Due to creative burnout, he no longer wanted to play the character and asked for his release. This was a blow to be sure, but it also spelled trouble for who else but his longtime rival.

See, their feud had been a cornerstone of early TRCW, and he had always had it to fall back on despite his limited ability. But with no star boy and a roster desperate to scale back, Pirrahna was in trouble. He even offered to reinvent himself as a babyface, but management just wasn’t interested without any rival to play off of. When push came to shove, he just couldn’t offer the company what his competition could, and he was cut.



Fast forward several years, and the roster has evolved, Ronny Believer is defending the world championship against Suicide, and O’Hooligan has become the Ace of the company thanks to his wild interviews and matches.

And this new roster is looking for spots to fill out it’s gaps due to injury. So they decide to put up contracts on the line for any interested party. And wouldn’t you know it, but Star Boy came back with a new gimmick AND tag team. Scrambling for someone to show off their new acquisition against, who should they call on but the Pirranha, who loses a singles tryout match against Power Boy without any managers.

The next week, an elimination tag match is announced, the Power Racers vs Pirrahna and any free agent he can find. If he fails to do so, it will be a handicap match. Any wrestler still standing gets a guaranteed contract. Things look bad for Pirrahna at first, until he reveals his mystery partner...TROGLO.

That’s right, the reinvigorated troglodytes reform and take on the power racers! Wham! Boom! It’s exciting, it’s tense, it’s...an 0-2 loss for the Troglodytes.

Oof.

Flash forward to the end of the month, the battle Royale, and everything looks good. The PR are scheduled to make their official debut in the match. BUT WAIT!! Power boy is in the ring, and Power racer is attacked!! That’s right, despite not being under contract, Pirrahna not only is in the match,

But hand to god, he gets runner up, going the distance to be eliminated by Big Bad Doctor.

It was a gutsy move, and almost turned the entire federation upside down, but on that night, Pirrahna proved that he still belonged.

Welcome back P, TRCW won’t make that mistake again.