[OOC] The Money and the Miles: A Pro Wrestling RP

[ZeusTheMoose]

1996, a pivotal year in the history of professional wrestling.

Global Pro Wrestling, the number one wrestling organization in the world, is a shell of its former shelf. Jack Flanagan, owner and promoter of GPW, is believed to be out of touch with modern audiences, and GPW struggles to remain relevant within contemporary popular culture. This struggle is perhaps best personified by the GPW World Heavyweight Champion, Max Power. Once a beloved hero to millions, and the star on which the entire company was built, Max Power is now seen by many as a stale and outdated relic from the 1980s, unable to adapt to the changing times.

However, on the horizon there stands a new generation of stars, ready and willing to lead Global Pro Wretling into a new era. For these young wrestlers, tumultuous times have led to opportunity, and all signs point to 1996 as the year in which opportunity will be seized. The only question remains: who will be the one to seize it?

THE RULES

This is an RP based on the cutthroat world of professional wrestling. Each player will take on the role of a different wrestler in GPW and roleplay their life both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Players will naturally form alliances, backstab one another, and attempt to politically maneuver their way towards the coveted top spot in the company. I will roleplay as the promoter, Jack Flanagan, as well as some of the other wrestlers within the company. As the promoter, I will ultimately be in charge of who wins and who loses matches, who will receive pushes and who will not. Remember though, this RP is not just about "being the best." It's about having a well-developed character. Even if you're playing one of the lower tier wrestlers, you can still have a compelling character and a compelling story to tell behind the scenes.

I want this RP to be as dramatic and as realistic as possible. The wrestling industry, despite the glitz and glamour presented on television, can be a pretty dark place. Life on the road is tough, and countless wrestlers have fallen prey to the many demons of the business. Always remember that in the world of wrestling there are only two things that are truly real: the money, and the miles...

CHARACTER SHEET

Insert a photo of your wrestler at the top of the character sheet. Since this is a realistic RP, please try to use real pictures rather than animated or hand drawn images.

Name:
Hometown:
Height:
Weight:
Entrance Music:

Alignment: Babyface or Heel.
Gimmick: This is your character's on-screen persona.
Personality: This is what your character is like behind-the-scenes, or in "real" life.
Biography: A short description of your character's hsitory, how they first broke into the business, how they landed a spot in GPW.

Wrestling Style: Are you a powerhouse? A brawler? A high flier?
Finishing Move: You can have one or two. Try to differentiate from the other characters.
Common Moves: List up to ten of your most commonly used moves. Make sure the moves make sense given the size and style of your character. A 7 foot tall giant isn't going to be doing a flying headscissors takedown.

Post your character sheet in the OOC section first, then once it is approved you can move it to the Characters section.

[Sarge]

Rabid Rob Reynolds

Name: Connor O'Malley a.k.a 'Rabid' Rob Reynolds
Hometown: Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 257lbs
Entrance Music: Bark at the Moon - Ozzy Osbourne

Alignment: Tweener - Typically heel, but often plays the face role in feuds against other heels.

Gimmick: 'Rabid' Rob Reynolds might have been a normal member of society once. Nobody knows, since nobody knows anything of his past before he wandered out of the wilderness into the small town of Mackenzie, British Columbia. A social outcast with minimal vocabulary and a vicious temper, 'Rabid' Rob found work doing the only thing he knew how to do: Fight. Those crazy Canadian bastards shoved him in a wrestling ring each week and watched him tear his opponents to shreds. And now he's here in GPW, looking to do one thing and one thing only: Dominate!

Personality: Contrary to his wrestling persona, Connor is a pretty laid back character who prides himself on his cool head and good sense of humour. Fond of practical jokes and self-depricating humour, he isn't happy unless the whole backstage crew are chuckling at one of his many japes. Despite his outwardly happy appearance, Connor has suffered from alcoholism in the past, and has especially had trouble keeping his drinking under control since his divorce last year.

Biography: Born to a low-income family, his father was a mechanic and his mother had previously been an air stewardess, who lapsed into a severe depressive cycle when she lost her job after she had Connor and his younger brother, Thomas. The alcoholic spiral into which she threw herself ended up taking her from Connor's life before his eighth birthday, as she passed away of acute kidney and liver failure. Connor's father threw himself into his work, leaving Connor and Thomas to look after themselves for twelve hours a day. They passed the time in the usual ways: School, riding bikes and playing ball games. But the one time a week when they got to spend time with their father was when the three O'Malley boys would sit down on a Friday night and watch wrestling on the local TV station, broadcast from a small regional wresting company a few miles down the road called 'FGCW' or 'Fort George Championship Wrestling'.

When they were old enough, both Connor and Thomas went to tryouts for the FGCW and ended up training alongside their childhood heroes, the wrestlers whose national recognition was practically zero, but to Connor they were like gods. He listened to every piece of advice, followed every training regime and did everything the promoter and the veteran wrestlers told him to do and it wasn't long before he was getting involved, first by ring announcing, then by refereeing and occasionally playing the 'plucky newcomer' when they needed someone for a monster heel to squash. Finally, on his 19th birthday, he was rewarded with his first proper match and went on to become a mainstay of the FGCW undercard.

After a few years of not really going anywhere, Connor decided it was time to re-invent himself. He stopped performing under his own name and instead came up with the persona of 'Rabid' Rob Reynolds, the Wildman of British Columbia. He grew his beard out, stopped cutting or combing his hair and started painting himself with mud before every match. He changed his fighting style from that of a high-flying technical wrestler to more of a brawling powerhouse and went from playing the babyface to playing the badass monster heel. Although some of his fellow performers were skeptical at first, the rebranding turned out to be a massive hit with the audience and it wasn't long before 'Rabid' Rob Reynolds was headlining events and challenging for the top titles.

Unfortunately, it was around this time that he caught his wife in bed with another member of the FGCW roster, who he proceeded to beat the crap out of and had to be dragged off the man by four local policemen. Although the charges were eventually dropped, the company severely reprimanded both of the wrestlers and Connor fell out of favour with the promoter and the other higher-ups. His pending divorce and his increasing alcoholism finally caught up with him when he was booked to challenge for the FGCW Tag Team Championship at a television taping, but showed up so drunk that he passed out on the ring apron before his partner could even tag him in. The match ended quickly and as soon as he sobered up he was dragged into a room with the FGCW chairman, who fired him on the spot.

Now, having heard of the troubles happening at GPW, Connor has decided that a change of scenery is just what he needs to clear his head. He placed a call to Jack Flanagan, sent a couple of his old TV tapes over to GPW headquarters for them to look at, and was eventually called to come in for a trial. The rest, as they say, is history.

Wrestling Style: Brawling powerhouse.

Finishing Move/s:
'Howl at the Moon' (main finisher) - Vertical Suplex Slam, usually transitioned directly into a pin
'Wolfbite' (submission) - Crossface Half-Nelson Chokehold

Common Moves:
Double Underhook DDT
Multiple clothesline variants
Powerbomb
Powerslam
Multiple suplex variants

[Avanhelsing]

Working on mine soon. I think I will make some bisexual guy.

[ZeusTheMoose]

@Sarge Looks great, go ahead and post it in the Characters section when you get the chance.

Really liked the bold and yellow and I hope others follow your lead and format their sheets in the same way.

[geminironin]

Mike Blaze

Real name: Michael Richardson
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Age: 24
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 152 lb.
Entrance Music: Rage against the Machine - Know Your Enemy

Alignment: Face
Gimmick: An anti-authority hellraiser that competes for beer money, thrills, and the cheers of his fans. Mike does surprisingly little singles competition, often preferring to team up with other faces who are outnumbered or outmatched. He has no problem bringing foreign objects into a match, but only against opponents who "deserve it."

Personality: Mike is the kind of guy whose gimmick came from his real life. When not wrestling, he can usually be found at local punk clubs, or anywhere else he can have a great time and get into trouble. He's easy enough to get along with, but hates when people try to rein him in or keep him from doing what he wants, when he wants. His behavior could spell trouble for him in the near future, since it's a matter of time before he takes something too far.

Biography: Mike got his start in a backyard hardcore promotion called Garbage Pit Wrestling, and started jumping between other hardcore feds when it was shut down by a lawsuit from GPW. He managed to gather a small following among other punks, and recently got picked up by GPW itself when they decided to bring in some "extreme" talent to get the hardcore fans watching their shows.

Wrestling Style: Extreme high-flier, occasional hardcore brawler.

Finishing Move: "Blaze of Glory" - shooting star press through a table

Common Moves:
-Flying elbow/leg drop
-Missile dropkick
-Running bulldog
-Atomic drop
-Suicide dive

[TheTrueGod]

Matt "The Fox" Emeralds

Name: Mat "The Fox" Emeralds
Hometown: Newark, New Jersey
Height: 6'1
Weight: 192 lbs
Entrance Music: Motörhead - Hellraiser

Alignment: Heel (can turn face though in dire situations)

Gimmick: Growing up in the mean streets of Newark, New Jersey, Matt had to invent his own ways to win and come out on top. Using his sly, cunning tactics to survive. He grew up poor, often having to steal many things, and never getting caught. Matt will do whatever it takes whether it be by skill, cheating, or just outsmarting his opponents, earning him the name, The Fox. Matt carried his cunning ways into the ring as he resorts to dirty ways to win. Whatever it takes to climb the ranks to success.

Personality: Matt is not the evil trickster he is in the ring. Matt's really just a normal guy who grew up in a bad neighbourhood, trying to earn good money and do what he loves. Wrestling. Matt is an alright genuine guy who enjoys hearing any advice he can get, and giving any advice he can give. He's an all around average guy. He tries his hardest to get along with everyone else. He stresses over little things and it usually ends with him messing up due to trying to do good.

Biography: Matt did grow up in a bad neighborhood, his family living on very little. Matt grew up watching wrestling as it was one of the few shows on and he fell in love with it. His life was focused around wrestling from there on. When Matt was 16 he started working to pay for training.

Matt learned much in his old trainer Jimmy Balowski's garage ring. Balowski got in contact with a couple of local wrestling promotions to get Matt set up when he was 18. Matt trained at the promotions some more, learning the ins and outs of the indies. He decided to pause wrestling for a bit and get through college, where he got a Bachelor's in Engineering.

Matt returned to the ring in a couple of promotions being a jobber for most of his 1st year back. Matt decided he needed to change it up and one day at a big show being watched by multiple recruiters, Matt went off the script and hit one of the top faces with a bat. He then continued to shoot a promo talking about his resentment for the companies negligence to his talent. This one over the recruiters and landed him in bigger promotions.

Matt was mildly successful and won a couple of Singles titles in his indy run, becoming known for his sly trickster style. One day he got contacted from GPW that he was invited for a try out. Matt went and nailed it, landing him a spot in GPW

Wrestling Style: A Fast Paced, Brawler esque style. (think Tyler Black/Seth Rollins)

Finishing Move/s: The Emerald Fusion (Brain Buster)
(top rope dive) - Flying Fox (moonsault with a spin during dive)

Common Moves:
-Superkick
-Float Over DDT
-Pele Kick
-Springboard Roundhouse
-Neckbreaker
-Enziguri

[ZeusTheMoose]

@geminironin Mike Blaze is approved, the only change I would make is to your finisher. The Blaze of Glroy can just be a shooting star press, it doesn;t have to always be through a table. Makes it more versatile.

@TheTrueGod Matt Emeralds is approved, go ahead and move him into the Characters section as well.

[alexfangtalon]

Name: Alex "Razorblade" Hill
Hometown: Rockingham, North Carolina
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 231
Entrance Music: Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi

Alignment: Face
Gimmick: He is an underdog and opportunist. He prefers to be in multi-man matches or team ups which is where he thrives. He will help anyone who asks him. He tells the fans that he was just like them. A fan who wanted to be more. He will often say that if they try hard enough they can to. He stands up for the weak and aims for the top dogs. He has a chant that he often uses, "There's no need to fear. The Underdog is here."
Personality: Despite being super warm and nice to the fans backstage Alex is very closed off to others. He is somewhat anti-social but loves putting on his persona. He wishes he was more 'friendly' but doesn't know how to be. He truly does care for the fans and his co-workers even if it doesn't seem like it.
Biography:Alex didn't grow up in harsh conditions. He was a normal average fan like he says and wanted to be more. He grew up in an area with a lot of other kids who loved wrestling. They all would often gather together and have their own 'promotions' before gathering near a TV to watch the pros. Alex was one of the better kids in the area.

As all the kids grew older they all realized only a few of them were good enough to potentially live out all of their dreams. Eight kids in number gave up their individual dreams to help support the three best of their group, Alex being one of them. For the next two years they helped the three train and then one day they set up a dark match with a distant promotion. A 3-on-3 tag team match. They new blood lost horribly, but surprisingly the manager of the company signed two of the kids to join the CWA, Carolina Wrestling Association. For the next few months the two new guys were a dominant tag team and the more veteran teams didn't like them. They kept hassling the two inside the ring and out. It all culminated in a match between Alex and his partner against three members from various teams. Alex and his partner were doing well in the unscripted match until Alex's 'friend' hit him in the back of the head with a chair. Apparently the guy couldn't take the harassment and abandoned Alex and left the show for good.

After the horrible loss Alex started his Underdog Gimmick. Fans started eating it up. One guy betrayed vs the world. CWA's records were going through the roof. Then the company fell flat due to constant lawsuits from past competitors because of constant injuries. Alex started roaming from place to place in various indy scenes. The little reputation he had built in CWA was dwindling until an old veteran of GPW saw Alex perform and took the young guy under his wing and showed him the ropes of the big leagues. Alex trained harder than he ever had and when the vet thought he was ready he called Jack Flanagan to set up a trial match. Alex did better than ever before and signed a contract a few days later. And the rest is yet to come.

Wrestling Style: Fast paced brawler/opportunist (Imagine the resiliency of Dolph Ziggler combined with the opportunistic ability of Edge)
Finishing Move: Butterfly Suplex, Razor's Edge(Imagine Kaitlyn's Lotus Lock but putting the feet on the shoulder blades)
Common Moves: Spear
Diving dropkick
Bicycle Kick
Hurricanrana(I can't spell for crap)
Side Kick
Lionsault over the ropes
Shining Wizard
Spider Suplex

[Sarge]

facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1020383256..

@alexfangtalon

Don't post links to Facebook, bud. Unless we're friends with you we can't see your pictures.

[geminironin]

I was wondering, shouldn't entrance themes be from 1996 or earlier? It feels like having more modern songs is a bit out of place.

[Sarge]

I was wondering, shouldn't entrance themes be from 1996 or earlier? It feels like having more modern songs is a bit out of place.

@geminironin

Yeah, I have to agree. If we're making everything else era-appropriate, the music should be too.

[Avanhelsing]

I will post mine soon.

[alexfangtalon]

I'll fix my entrance song then. Also I can't figure out how to put my pics in otherwise. I've tried multiple things but can't get it to work. Any idea.

[TheTrueGod]

Oh, better fix my theme then!

[TheTrueGod]

@alexfangtalon Also just press image and then link the photo's url (the photo not the FB post)

[geminironin]

Man, I just realized I even ripped off Punk's hometown. Swear that was unintentional.

[Hey Im Jordan]

ahhhh crap, am i too late?

[Stekkmen]

Sweeeet.
I'm unna make my character in...
uh
a few hours here

[ZeusTheMoose]

@Sarge I agree as well. It's 1996. If your entrane music was released after 1996 then it doesn't make sense to use it. For all intnts and purposes, it does not exist.

@alexfangtalon Looks fine, but I would probably change the picture in all honesty. Try to use a picture of an actual wrestler or at least an adult that looks like he could be a wrestler.

@Universorum You're not too late, we want to have as big a roster as possible.

I'm going to add a new character to the roster as well, the current reigning GPW International Champion. As we continue more NPCs will be added, and if you guys have ideas for NPCs to just pad out the roster feel free to send them to me and I might use them. Some NPCs will obviously just be one-off characters that we mention in posts but some could become recurring and be given a profile of their own.

We'll start the actual RP soon, probably not today just because I've got to do some stuff with the bae and whatnot. But hopefully in the next couple of days.

[Hey Im Jordan]

@ZeusTheMooseexcellent i'll figure it out soon