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ruderrocket · 06-27-2008, 10:15 AM

PRIDE: Professional Wrestling, The Sport

Note: Sorry for the long backstory, probably not needed, but hey, I had a blast writing it so I guess it was worth it. I hope you enjoy, and I am just going to try and have fun writing this one, instead of going for longevity.
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Oh times, they are a changing. Those days when professional wrestling was once treated as a respectable sport....are fading away. World Wrestling Entertainment, the promotion that is seen by the public as the representation of the entire business has been under constant scrutiny by the mass media, due to the use of steroids in the company, a problem not helped by the actions of one of the top contemporary professional wrestlers, Chris Benoit, who not only killed himself, but murdered his wife and child. While several other alternatives have been attempting to go mainstream, the most notable of them being Total Nonstop Action, none of them have managed to revitalize the business. With the first decade in the twenty-first century coming to a end, all hope seems to be lost for the once strong industry....or is it?

PRIDE. Five initials that have the potential to lift the falling business of professional wrestling back onto its feet. PRIDE was the brainchild of the infamous booker, the man who is arguably the cause for one of the most influential promotions in the history of professional wrestling, the innovator, Paul Heyman. After his departure from the WWE, Heyman began dabbling in the up-and-coming sport of Mixed-Martial Arts. However, after a failed attempt to take a controlling interest of MMA company Strike Force, Heyman had no choice but to focus on his other projects. Yet, despite the failure in getting into the MMA business, another idea had been rooted in his head. A idea that no, did not have anything to do with Mixed-Martial-Arts, but his old love, professional wrestling.

Due to his experiences in the Ultimate Fighting business, Paul had a chance to see the quick rise of popularity in the UFC. A business that was once jeered by the media and politicans as "human cockfighting" had now, with some adjustments, swiftly became accepted into mainstream culture. With the Ultimate Fighting Championship spearheading it, MMA was on the rise. And Paul Heyman was going to take advantage of it.

The concept was simple. PRIDE would present one event a month, showcasing its talent. Instead of focusing on "sports entertainment", the company would emphasize the wrestling aspect of it all. Sure, storylines and all that would still come into play, but in the end, the primary part of the promotion would be the wrestling. PRIDE would promote itself as a sport, and with luck will eventually be treated as one. However, execution of the concept would be easier said then done.

Paul's first step was to secure talent. He needed to differentiate PRIDE from other promotions that emphasized wrestling, such as the several Puroreso promotions in Japan and ROH in North America. How you ask? He wanted to give PRIDE the "big time" feeling. Contrary to his other creation, Extreme Championship Wrestling, PRIDE Wrestling would be marketed not JUST as a legitimate form of wrestling, but as a MAINSTREAM form of wrestling. With that vision in mind, Paul E. began contacting several contacts in wrestling, big names that were out on the free market. However, there just weren't ENOUGH names on the free agency to form a successful company. In a effort to get more names, he began negotiations with the "big two" in American professional wrestling, the WWE and TNA.

After several filters, Paul finally got a face to face talk with Vince McMahon, and needless to say, the tension was palpable. Nevertheless, Paul. E pitched his heart out in a effort to persuade Vince that co-promoting with PRIDE would be mutually beneficial to both promotions. While PRIDE would get the name-value that would help in giving spotlight to the promotion, the WWE would be able to give some of their wrestlers some much needed legitimacy by participating in a promotion like PRIDE. However, even with his masterful pitch, the answer he was met by was a big, resounding NO,straight from McMahon. Justifying his decision by saying that Heyman's project was to much of a financial risk, Vince sent Heyman out of the building with a negative answer.

With no luck in the WWE department, Paul's next objective was to try and get TNA on board. While he expected them to agree to at the very least a working agreement, he was met with ANOTHER negative answer. After talking to some contacts in TNA, he found out that TNA management, and Dixie Carter specifically did not want to provide assistance to a possible competitor. With both the WWE and TNA denying his offer, Paul Heyman was resigned to having to work with a limited roster.

The day after getting his answer from Total Nonstop Action, Paul Heyman got a message....from TNA. The message was sent by Dixie Carter and requested further negotiations. Shocked at the sudden turnaround, Paul once again contacted his friends in TNA and learned that the locker room had been told about PRIDE, and several top stars, including Kurt Angle himself had fully supported it! In fact, Angle was so set on working for PRIDE, that he threatened to sit out the rest of his contract and walk out of TNA if the company didn't agree to work with Heyman. Faced with the possibility of their biggest star leaving the promotion, Dixie Carter and the rest of the management capitulated and Heyman left TNA headquarters with a huge grin on his face. In one meeting, he had secured not just the service of Kurt Angle, but wrestlers like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Alex Shelley, all of whom wanted another platform to showcase their skills.

But the good times would not stop for PRIDE, no, their streak of luck continued with two HUGE signings. In a attempt to draw some MMA fans to the promotion, Paul Heyman offered former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion and controversial figure Tito Ortiz a contract and after hard negotiations, Paul managed to sign not just Tito Ortiz, but his girlfriend and the infamous "Queen of Porn" Jenna Jameson, a amazing self-promoter who would act as Tito's on-screen manager. However, Jameson was NOT the second huge signing, no, the other signing was a man who while was currently a MMA fighter, had been more famous for his endeavors in professional wrestling. Thats right, Brock Lesnar! Lesnar was one of Heyman's first choices for signings, but was tentative to agree to a contract without insurance. However, once he heard his good friend and training partner Kurt Angle had joined up, Lesnar finally decided to sign it and return to the sport he grew famous in.

With a roster FULL of talented wrestlers and a one-year PPV deal with several major PPV outlets like iN Demand and tge Dish-Network, PRIDE was ready to roll into 2008 and revive the once-proud but now fallen sport of professional wrestling.

Emperor DC · 06-27-2008, 10:18 AM

Hey mahn. I remember our few conversations back during the BTB Cup a few months back. You seem a cool cat and I see you love pure professional wrestling, just like me. Hope you stick with this project, you would be a great addition to the section.

ruderrocket · 06-27-2008, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emperor DC

Hey mahn. I remember our few conversations back during the BTB Cup a few months back. You seem a cool cat and I see you love pure professional wrestling, just like me. Hope you stick with this project, you would be a great addition to the section.

Thanks for the kind words man, means a lot from a booker of your skill. Yeah, I have a soft spot for the sport aspect of professional wrestling, so I am actually really enjoying writing this project. Well anyways, thanks again for the kind comment.

brian kendrick's b · 06-27-2008, 10:36 AM

This seems pretty amazing, and nothing like I have ever seen. I like how you have really tried to drag the sport part back into wrestling by making it seem like a good, hard, legitimate compotition. The TNA stuff was interesting, and I am wondering who will get involved besides Angle.

The long backstory was great btw, it really provided some details that people would usually skim over, such as the perfect speech from Heyman, yet still getting rejected by McMahon.

All in all, it looks great.

**Aerts** · 06-27-2008, 10:58 AM

I ain't gonna lie to you. I was sceptical before reading this. But after reading the backstory, I'm intrigued to say the least. This could turn out to be a top project in the BTB section and I hope you make it work.

ruderrocket · 06-27-2008, 10:06 PM

Just a bit of news here, to lay the foundations for the first show and that type of stuff. The card should be posted in a couple of days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRIDEwrestling.com/news

Ladies and gentleman, we here at Pride Pro Wrestling are happy to announce that our first show has officially been scheduled! Thats right, after weeks of hype, a date and name of the event has been tentatively made. As of last night, Event Alpha, PRIDE's inaugural show, is scheduled to happen on January 20, 2008. The event will be held in the MGM Grand Arena, tickets for it are out now! PRIDE management has HUGE plans for Event Alpha, including a star-studded main event, details of which have not been given. The full card will be announced in several days, and we have been told that it is stacked. Event Alpha will be available on all major pay-per-view outlets for a cheap price, so make sure to watch!

In other big news, PRIDE management has secured a one-hour monthly TV special with New's Corporation subsidiary, the Fox eXtended network. PRIDE and FX have been in negotiations for several weeks, and after long negotiations, FX has agreed to air the undercard of all PRIDE events. The way this will work is that the special will air in the same day as PRIDE's Pay-per-views, only a hour before the event begins. The special will showcase some of the talent that we're not able to wrestle in the main card, and is a welcome addition to PRIDE's list of assets.

In other news related to Event Alpha, we are happy to announce that we here at PRIDE have signed a broadcasting team to call our PPV events. As of last night, we have signed the duo of Dave Prazak and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan to separate six-month deals. Prazak has been a mainstay in several independent wrestling promotions for years, while Heenan's track record as both a manager and a color commentator are legendary. Also Michael Buffer has been signed to be the ring announcer for Event Alpha, with no word being given whether the agreement with him is long-term or just a one-off deal.

TheApex305 · 06-27-2008, 10:48 PM

The Backstory is wonderful, and I'm really intrested here.. This seem's to be VERY good.. Good luck, with this project man..

dave_1906 · 06-28-2008, 04:28 AM

hey fella i like the whole sport concept it great and cant wait to see the roster and the annouce team is great the brain is ace and ive seen bits of dave prazak and he's great as well. hope this goes far and good luck fellA. ILL BE READING