The official wrestling sim topic

[Evil Vito]

I could find ways to carry it through my March and April large events since they’re not PPVs, I don’t have to go full bore. But I can’t remember if there’s a limit where Sophie’s gonna be like “OK, the crowd has CENA NUFF of this feud”

[M-A-G]

Nah, I left my Carmichael/Fleming feud on 3.0 at 15 vs. 17 feud points, respectively and it was fine. You only really get shit if you overuse people on one show. It may be different for 4.2 but the safe bet would be to check what Sophie says when a feud is at 7 points per party.

[Evil Vito]

That makes a lot of sense now I think about it - I always used to do WWE brand split games and found whenever I had a brand-exclusive PPV, whatever major feud I had on the other brand would suffer. That led to me largely disregarding the feud system entirely, but good to know that minor feuds you can still get away with it.

[Evil Vito]

End of month notes:

Lance Archer, QT Marshall, Pres10 Vance, Riho, and Sting all have 3 months left on their deals, all have been extended.

Don Callis, Karl Anderson, and Thunder Rosa all inform me that they're increasing their per appearance rate by 10%.

The following birthdays occured this month: Lance Archer (44), Shawn Spears (40), Brian Cage (37), Serpentico (37), Penta El Zero Miedo (36), Aaron Solow (32), Santana (30), Ricky Starks (27), Terrell Hughes (26), Terrence Hughes (26), Baron Black (23), Shawn Dean (23)

Around the wrestling world: Gangrel, Kevin Matthews, Phil Atlas, and Yuki Ishikawa have announced that they will retire in a month.

---

PWInsider news:

AEW is not yet ready to migrate to a monthly PPV model. Right now, officials are happy keeping it to one big PPV event per quarter: Revolution in February, Double or Nothing in May, All Out in August, and Full Gear in November. The fear is that monthly PPVs will drive down demand and make those events feel less special.

But recognizing the demand for content to supplement Dynamite, AEW will be holding monthly special events meant to help bridge the gaps between PPV months.

The first such event, Blood and Guts, will be held on Saturday, March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

The Prudential Center was meant to receive a special Blood and Guts edition of Dynamite on March 25, 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down and moved Dynamite permanently into the Daily's Place in Jacksonville, FL.

Now that the vaccines have come out in rapid speed since February and the world is ready to resume normalcy, AEW decided to give the fans in New Jersey the show they missed.



Blood and Guts was meant to center around a War Games-style match featuring the Inner Circle and The Elite. When plans had to be cancelled, this match instead turned into a Stadium Stampede match in an empty TIAA Bank Stadium at Double or Nothing 2020, bringing the conclusion of the longstanding Inner Circle/Elite rivalry.

As most members of the Elite have gone their separate ways, it is not yet known who will compete in this Blood and Guts match, if it will be centered on a stable or if it will feature makeshit teams encompassing multiple storylines at once.

[M-A-G]

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito End of month notes: Lance Archer, QT Marshall, Pres10 Vance, Riho, and Sting all have 3 months left on their deals, all have been extended.

You're keeping Sting until the bitter end?

Don Callis, Karl Anderson, and Thunder Rosa all inform me that they're increasing their per appearance rate by 10%.

Is that a thing in 4.2, where a worker just arbitrarily decides you're paying them more money. I think Sonya Braddock would be the only who'd be able to get away with that in my game...Jenna Kyle, too, under the right circumstances....

The following birthdays occured this month: Lance Archer (44), Shawn Spears (40), Brian Cage (37), Serpentico (37), Penta El Zero Miedo (36), Aaron Solow (32), Santana (30), Ricky Starks (27), Terrell Hughes (26), Terrence Hughes (26), Baron Black (23), Shawn Dean (23)

El Zero Miedo is quite the roundabout way of simply saying 'The Brave'.

Around the wrestling world: Gangrel, Kevin Matthews, Phil Atlas, and Yuki Ishikawa have announced that they will retire in a month.

Holy hell, Gangrel?!?! And I was giving shit to poor Sting and Chris Jericho?

---

PWInsider news: AEW is not yet ready to migrate to a monthly PPV model. Right now, officials are happy keeping it to one big PPV event per quarter: Revolution in February, Double or Nothing in May, All Out in August, and Full Gear in November. The fear is that monthly PPVs will drive down demand and make those events feel less special. But recognizing the demand for content to supplement Dynamite, AEW will be holding monthly special events meant to help bridge the gaps between PPV months. The first such event, Blood and Guts, will be held on Saturday, March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The Prudential Center was meant to receive a special Blood and Guts edition of Dynamite on March 25, 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down and moved Dynamite permanently into the Daily's Place in Jacksonville, FL. Now that the vaccines have come out in rapid speed since February and the world is ready to resume normalcy, AEW decided to give the fans in New Jersey the show they missed. Blood and Guts was meant to center around a War Games-style match featuring the Inner Circle and The Elite. When plans had to be cancelled, this match instead turned into a Stadium Stampede match in an empty TIAA Bank Stadium at Double or Nothing 2020, bringing the conclusion of the longstanding Inner Circle/Elite rivalry. As most members of the Elite have gone their separate ways, it is not yet known who will compete in this Blood and Guts match, if it will be centered on a stable or if it will feature makeshit teams encompassing multiple storylines at once.

Blood and Guts? I mean, that's a bit extreme from a marketing perspective, no? I don't think even ECW or XPW went that far. Also, we demand sources for these wild rumors and allegations! And how does any of this tie into how much heat Lana has in the locker room?!?

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by M-A-G You're keeping Sting until the bitter end?

Thanks to the deep pockets of the Khan family I'm not hurting for money, so I don't think there's much harm in keeping a few non-wrestlers around for use in angles now and then provided they're over enough to boost whatever they're involvement and charismatic enough to talk.

Funny enough, in my 2015 WWE game I was planning on bringing back the brand split and had the idea of Sting as SmackDown GM. AEW has no formal on-screen authority figure, Tony Khan is acknowledged as the guy who makes decisions but he has no on-screen involvement. I prefer it that way in real life, BUT in terms of a game I think being able to do authority angles now and then might be beneficial, could be a route I go.

Is that a thing in 4.2, where a worker just arbitrarily decides you're paying them more money. I think Sonya Braddock would be the only who'd be able to get away with that in my game...Jenna Kyle, too, under the right circumstances....

Only for people on Open contracts where they can work for up to 3 promotions at a time on a pay per appearance basis, I don't remember if Open contracts were a thing on earlier games. As WWE I imagine all of your workers are on exclusive Written contracts.

Technically nothing is stopping me from signing Rosa (NWA) or Callis/The Good Brothers (Impact) to full time deals other than trying to keep something mildly realistic at the moment, especially as Callis is an EVP at Impact.

That said, Open deals are great for simulating working relationships between companies, and much like real life I think I'll soon be working out a deal to borrow talent from New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Blood and Guts? I mean, that's a bit extreme from a marketing perspective, no? I don't think even ECW or XPW went that far.

True story: on AEW's first ever show, Double or Nothing in May 2019, Cody and Dustin Rhodes had a match and it was essentially a tribute to Dusty complete with turning into an 80s NWA style bloodbath after Dustin bladed juuuuuust a bit too deep.

A few months later, Vince said on an investor call "WWE is not going to do blood and guts of things of that nature that our potential competition is doing, and I can't imagine TNT would put up with that kind of content"

Fast forward to March 2020, AEW announces a special Blood and Guts edition of Dynamite live on TNT.

[M-A-G]

Well I do keep Ian Moore around despite being 53. He has a 97 charisma rating and still has high stats as far as his work rate is concerned. It'd be quite the boost for another promotion to snag him, which is why I don't let him go. I could use him for the authority figure role but Benton is a sentimental favorite. As a side note, I wonder what kind of world the wrestling industry would be if every billionaire in the country just decided to form their own promotion just for shits and giggles.

Yeah, all of my guys are under written contract. I've essentially devastated the market with how stingy I am with my talent. Even the Japan tours are barren. I only mention Braddock because in the game's canon she's capable of tossing me through a wall if she doesn't get her payout.

Vince will always be his own worst enemy whenever it comes to the stuff that comes out of his mouth. I think the biggest shock to me in all of that is TNT would even have a wrestling show on air after all of this time. Like, what motivation would they have?

[Helmsphere]

Time to give Gangrel that last great run.

[M-A-G]

SmackDown!: May 18, 2040

Opening Match: Nigel Gallagher and The British Infection vs. Jerome McDougal and The Millennium Rebels
This is the Brits along with the newly arrived Nigel Gallagher against the crew of Aaron Ramsey in a bit of an extension of what went down on Raw. 6-person tags are always a fun way to kick off a show and this is no different. Aaron Ramsey earns his keep here by taking advantage of the inexperience of Nigel to allow him to fall victim to McDougal's treachery. The heels get the win here via shenanigans. ****1/2, 88% overall.

Backstage, Marc Fury is making his way to ring for his scheduled match. However, Hugo blindsides him and just batters him all over the place. The destruction continues apparently.

Second Match: Haven vs. L.A. Xander
I feel like Haven has been getting the shaft recently so I figure I give him a strong win here. Of course I immediately blow that up by having Zed Jones attack him afterward. Zed doesn't look to happy about what Haven did last night as he beats up Haven. ****1/2, 93% overall.

Third Match: Jason Sorola and Romeo Valiente vs. Martyn LaSalle and Ozzy Mandias
Intersecting two different rivalries here as we got some awesome cruiserweight action here. Ozzy and LaSalle get a countout win when Valiente decides he's having too rough of a night. ****1/2, 93% overall.

Backstage, Faith Connors comes across Jenna Kyle. Faith says that she's not exactly sure how to feel about last night. On one hand, she guesses she should be thankful that Jenna was there for her but on the other, she kind of blew it by getting disqualified. Now they both have to contend with a four way at Judgment Day. Jenna tells Faith to back off because she's not in the mood. Yeah, she screwed up but she doesn't owe Faith anything when it's all said and done. Jenna claims she'll find a way to win anyway because she is the Queen of Queens.

Faith lowers her head and sighs. "What happened between us?" she asks. "How did we get here? After all we've been through are we still here at this place just sniping at each other? Look, Judgment Day and how last night ended aside, if I'm being completely honest with you, teaming up was actually....fun. It was a brief glimpse into how things used to be between us before it all went to hell. Can't we at least TRY to get somewhere near there again?"

Jenna gets face-to-face with Faith and simply says, "I don't know. But I sure as hell won't be thinking about that at Judgment Day", before taking her leave.

Fourth Match: Billie Padgett, Emma Edwards, and Eclypse vs. Jamie Roderick, Lauren Franklyn, and Sarah Moore
Giving some of the underutilized women a showcase here while also giving a strong win for Billie Padgett. She hits Moore with the Red Hook for the pin. ****1/2, 91% overall.

Fifth Match: WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Demiras vs. Zachary Vale
This was supposed to be Marc Fury facing Vale here but Demiras volunteers to step up after Fury got destroyed earlier. Demiras needed a win here after all Hotbody has put him through. Speaking of which, Hotbody screws up a run-in and Demiras capitalizes on it to get the pin on Vale. ****1/2, 90% overall.

Backstage, Naomi Bailey meets up with Hannah McCormick and they take turns taking pot shots at Faith and Jenna. They both feel each of them deserve to be called Queen of Queens.

Sixth Match: The Dillingers vs. The Academy
A way to provide a hot tag team match while also continuing the feud between Kyle Jacobs and Salvatore Scabbia, who gets involved here to help Randy Ellis get the win over Joey Dillinger. Kyle Jacobs runs in to get a piece of Scabbia as things continue to heat up ahead of their match at Judgment Day. *****, 95% overall.

Backstage, Butch Fleming wants to rip into Noah Carmichael. Judgment Day is such an appropriate name for next Sunday. The sin of turning your back on Butch Fleming has consequences. Dire consequences. Brutal consequences. A man can get very creative when he has a year to think about the people who have wrong him.

MAIN EVENT: No DQ, Seth Von Kamp vs. Moses McKay
This will hopefully be the final confrontation to settle things between these two. It's a wild brawl in an extension of the bloody encounter they went through at Backlash. Things come to an end when Seth Von Kamp hits the Collapse of Society for the pin. *****, 95% overall.

Overall show rating: 89%

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by M-A-G Sixth Match: The Dillingers vs. The Academy A way to provide a hot tag team match while also continuing the feud between Kyle Jacobs and Salvatore Scabbia, who gets involved here to help Randy Ellis get the win over Joey Dillinger. Kyle Jacobs runs in to get a piece of Scabbia as things continue to heat up ahead of their match at Judgment Day. *****, 95% overall. MAIN EVENT: No DQ, Seth Von Kamp vs. Moses McKay This will hopefully be the final confrontation to settle things between these two. It's a wild brawl in an extension of the bloody encounter they went through at Backlash. Things come to an end when Seth Von Kamp hits the Collapse of Society for the pin. *****, 95% overall.

[M-A-G]

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito

That's going to haunt my nightmares for a long time.

[Evil Vito]

Collapse of Society is a friggin great finisher name.

[M-A-G]

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito Collapse of Society is a friggin great finisher name.

I came up with it after I decided his character should be some kind of anarchist that wasn't too high on American decadence. He was a heel then but it eventually evolved into just being disruptive. It's a shame I don't have a move to go with the name but in the year 2040 I imagine everything has been invented already as far as wrestling moves go.

[M-A-G]

Raw: May 21, 2040

We're six days away from Judgment Day! We've got a pretty loaded card so far but we're missing a Women's Title match and a Unified Tag Team Title match. Sonya Braddock is out here apparently to address that as she throws shade on Vivian Merrick. Sonya says she is always willing to put her money where her mouth is but expects anyone trying to step up to her to do the same. She calls out Vivian Merrick to the stage so they can hash out a deal.

Vivian slowly but surely answers the call in a huff. She has no problem throwing down when the time is right but says that things are going to be done on her terms. This is what Vivian proposes: a six-person match at Judgment Day, with Vivian teaming up with her Unified Tag Team champions, The Future Foundation facing off against Sonya Braddock and the Play Pals. Here's the catch: if Sonya's team wins, Sonya remains Women's Champion and the Play Pals can get their title shot. If Vivian's team wins, Vivian is the new Women's Champion. Sonya boasts about not needing the help but as long as it gives her a chance to shut Vivian up, she'll take it. It's on!

First Match: Quentin McDaniels vs. Mathias
This is Quentin's first appearance back after his brutal I Quit match at Backlash. Although I have to say it's quite the oversight on my part to have the LOSER of that match back into the thick of things quicker than the winner. Anyways, McDaniels makes the most of his return by securing a hard fought victory after hitting the Great Depression. ****1/2, 91% overall.

Second Match: The Play Pals vs. The Wolves of Wall Street
Well, the Play Pals have something to look forward to at Judgment Day and they need a strong showing here to prepare for that 6-person match. Both teams here just blow away the crowd with a hell of a performance that ends when Haywood locks in the Rage Quit on London for the tap out. *****, 95% overall.

Backstage, Kerry Cemenko and the Unified World Champion Noah Carmichael are being interviewed about tonight's match against their respective opponents, Xavier Cross and Butch Fleming. Cemenko is all about knocking self-absorbed jerks down a peg or two. Who knows? If he's impressive enough, he might even be in line for the Unified World Title. Carmichael tells Cemenko to hold his horses. Surviving tonight is crucial in order to own the night this Sunday. Butch Fleming may be all hot and bothered and fueled by a year's worth of bitterness but Carmichaels knows him better than anyone. Let tonight be the opening act for Judgment Day.

Third Match: Jenna Kyle and Faith Connors vs. Hannah McCormick and Bobbi Jo
Jenna and Faith are forced together here by order of Lisa Benton. This is a bit of a preview of the Queen of Queens match this Sunday. Once again, Jenna and Faith work well together here despite themselves. It's all for naught though as Naomi Bailey smacks Jenna down when they get face-to-face on the outside for the DQ. They brawl for a while before officials come out to get some control. *****, 94% overall.

I'm almost afraid of what's going to be produced in that four way come Judgment Day.

Backstage, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Demiras is up in arms over Michael Hotbody, his challenger this Sunday for the title. Jordan wants to compliment Hotbody for being slick. Hotbody thought he had a plan that was going to give him an easy route to the championship. Hotbody hoped if Jordan was mad enough, furious enough, and maybe just crazy enough, Jordan would end up screwing himself out of the title. Well Hotbody accomplished the first part and it's going to end up biting him in the ass.

Fourth Match: Clubber Harris and Chris Collins vs. The Wasteland
Haven't really had Collins and Harris doing much so screw it. Let them get a win here. Maybe they'll gel enough to where I get recommended they stay a team which would be interesting. Collins gets the pin on Duke after the Fall From Heaven. *****, 96% overall.

It's time to sign the contract for the Intercontinental Title match between Brandon Reigns and his former mentor, Jake Connelly in the middle of the ring. Reigns tells Connelly that this his last chance to back out of this whole mess. Nobody will think any less of him if he does. "It's like everyone keeps talking about, Jake Connelly is the man. He's the myth. He's the legend. Main event after main event. WrestleMania after WrestleMania. Championship after championship. What exactly is there to gain by taking part in this insanity at Judgment Day? Oh, I think I know. It's your wounded pride, isn't it? The mighty ego of The Vision, Jake Connelly, can not stand idly by after it has been bruised, is that right? This is all just an act of vanity. You know it, I know it, and everyone watching knows it. You'll get your Hall of Fame induction. You'll get your name etched into the record books until the end of time as one of the greats. You'll get some fancy schmancy cushy production job. So ultimately it all comes down to vanity and the reality is, for someone like you, with what you're looking to put on the line when you sign that contract against someone like me, that is easily the stupidest motivation to have."

Connelly stares a hole into Reigns as the champion wraps up his little speech, not the least bit amused. He takes his own mic and addresses his adversary. "It's funny that you mention vanity because quite frankly, vanity is a pretty stupid motivation for what you did two weeks ago. Now, it can definitely be argued that you are overdue as far as being the top guy is concerned. But if there's one thing I've learned doing this after all of these years, the biggest obstacle to where you want to go is yourself. You see YOUR ego couldn't bear pondering over whatever mishaps or errors in judgment you might have inflicted on yourself so you got yourself a nice little excuse wrapped up and packaged as Jake Connelly standing in your way. Well, I'm going to grant you your wish." Connelly pauses to sign the contract. "I am now officially in your way! And make no mistake, Brandon; the mishap you're going to have at Judgment Day, it's all going to be on me."

Reigns looks a tad apprehensive but ultimately puts his name on the dotted line. "It's your career. Don't worry. I'll make the end of it very memorable." With that, he whacks Connelly with the clipboard and we have a brawl on our hands. Connelly looks to have the upper hand and sets up for the Vision Impairment but Reigns counters with a shot to the face with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Reigns takes his leave as Connelly is down and out.

Fifth Match: WWE Cruiserweight Champion-Elect Michael Hotbody and Zed Jones vs. Shawn Dangerson and Josh Turmell
Hotbody and Jones have their hands full this Sunday and they have themselves an impressive outing here. Hotbody hits Dangerson with the Hot Ticket to pick up the win for his team and to BUILD MOMENTUM! Haven appears on screen and threatens Zed Jones by suggesting Judgment Day will be a wake up call inviting him to the beautiful hell that is in store. ****1/2, 91% overall.

Sixth Match: Kyle Jacobs vs. Lonny Richards
Jacobs is looking to BUILD MOMENTUM for Judgment Day as he's got Salvatore Scabbia in his sights. Richards uses this match to try to get himself over and dominates for the most part. The end comes when Scabbia drags Kyle out to smack him around for the DQ. Richards is still in the ring trying to gain his bearings when Caleb Greene makes his return to try to get a measure of revenge on his former partner. We've got a double brawl on our hands! ****1/2, 92% overall.

MAIN EVENT: WWE Unified World Champion Noah Carmichael and Kerry Cemenko vs. Butch Fleming and Xavier Cross
It's the last Raw before Judgment Day so naturally all four men are interested in making an impact to gain some measure of an advantage. It's not so much a tag match as it is a clashing of stubborn, uncontrollable forces. Ultimately, Cross uses one of the Unified World Title championship belts to KO Cemenko and he gets the pin for his team. Fleming uses the other belt to lay out Carmichael on the outside. Both the heels play to the crowd as they head up the ramp in victory. *****, 94% overall.

Overall show rating: 91%

[M-A-G]

Ugh, I have A PLAN, Jenna! Geez. Now go hop into my executive washroom and think about how much stress you're giving me and how you're going to relieve it when I join you....

[Evil Vito]

Jenna and Faith as a regular team would make the world implode upon itself.

[Evil Vito]

Although it does bring up a point - you have such a loaded women's roster, you legit could pull off a women's tag division so they have more than one title to fight for. Or a women's equivalent to the IC title or something (maybe Queen of Queens crown is sorta like that)?

[M-A-G]

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito Although it does bring up a point - you have such a loaded women's roster, you legit could pull off a women's tag division so they have more than one title to fight for. Or a women's equivalent to the IC title or something (maybe Queen of Queens crown is sorta like that)?

Perhaps but my issue with Faith and Jenna is that they're both already over as fuck as singles so I don't know why the game would think slapping them together to prepare them for a singles future is the way to go. I could see myself doing that for the rest of the women although that would fuck up Night of Champions something fierce. I'd have to look at doing something like that down the line. I do remember running an all-ladies PPV where it was a special tag team tournament for some one-off award. It was pretty boss.

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by M-A-G I do remember running an all-ladies PPV where it was a special tag team tournament for some one-off award.

Three-way with the boss?

[M-A-G]

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito Three-way with the boss?

Well AJ was one of the winners....

[Evil Vito]

[Evil Vito]

Still formulating ideas but I simmed an extra day to get to my next TV and WWE, having finished their purge, are now starting to hire workers again. And they hired the following three wrestlers on the same day:

Alberto El Patron (Del Rio, rehired)
TJP (rehired)
Marty Scurll

So that's a potential violent sex criminal, a misandrist, and a guy ROH fired because he was outed as being a sex pest toward underaged girls in the UK

RIP to WWE's PR department that day

[M-A-G]

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito Still formulating ideas but I simmed an extra day to get to my next TV and WWE, having finished their purge, are now starting to hire workers again. And they hired the following three wrestlers on the same day: Alberto El Patron (Del Rio, rehired) TJP (rehired) Marty Scurll So that's a potential violent sex criminal, a misandrist, and a guy ROH fired because he was outed as being a sex pest toward underaged girls in the UK RIP to WWE's PR department that day

Jesus Christ, five years away from the business might as well be 50.

[M-A-G]

It is nice to see the PR department move on from that whole "Is Hogan saying he's a racist mean he's a racist?" storyline.

[M-A-G]

Superstars: May 24, 2040

Opening Match: Conner Buchanan vs. Doug Michaels
Buchanan is another guy in whom I'm losing faith but if I drop him now I just know he's going to get picked up and be used to boost some other promotion. I'll have to suck it up I guess. Regardless he helps out tremendously here by putting on an excellent performance. Buchanan with the pinfall win after the Borderline. ****1/2, 92% overall.

Tania is out to join us to discuss her woes with Billie Padgett. She's proud to be able to say that she stands as her own woman. She had a partnership before and sadly that didn't turn out so well. Suddenly the music of Romeo Valiente hits and he swaggers his way out to confront Tania...or more accurately ogle Tania up and down. He suggests that maybe she just hasn't come across the right partnership yet. Being tied to someone like Romeo Valiente can do wonders for somebody as well put together as Tania. Tania rebukes him by pointing out how tremendous it was to watch Riott lay out Valiente at WrestleMania a few years back. Valiente is hot and angrily claims that Riott was an idiot and demands that Tania answer if she's an idiot. Things look pretty intense here but fortunately Ozzy Mandias runs in to pull Valiente away. Valiente cheap shots Ozzy with the mic and lays the boots to him. He issues some verbal threats as he takes his leave.

Backstage, Vivian Merrick and The Future Foundation want to let everyone know about the complete lack of fear they have for the Play Pals and Sonya Braddock. Vivian feels that she is overdue as far as being the Women's Champion goes. The Play Pals are also in that group of people who have had their day in the sun. They may be enjoying their little renaissance after being reunited but the Future Foundation has that name for a reason.

Second Match: Alexander Piero vs. Miles Shawcross
Piero continues to BUILD MOMENTUM and adds to his streak here. He scores the pin after hitting the Flashpoint. ****1/2, 92% overall.

Third Match: Naomi Bailey, Hannah McCormick, and Bobbi Jo vs. Lzzy Ryd, Phoebe Hanson, and Jamie Roderick
I love slapping the women together in some hot sweaty multiple-body action. The two participants in the Queen of Queens match are showcased here and McCormick shows her dastardly ways by using the tights on Ryd to score a cheap pinfall win. ****1/2, 92% overall

Backstage, Brooke is with one of her clients, Salvatore Scabbia. WrestleMania was a night that Scabbia will never forget. What should have been yet another milestone on his road to total dominance ended up being the catalyst for a new, more dangerous Salvatore Scabbia. Judgment Day is where it all comes back on track and Kyle Jacobs joins the pile where he belongs.

Back to the ring it's time for another edition of the Hot Button with its host, the WWE Cruiserweight Champion-Elect Michael Hotbody. This time he tells the press pool that it's not about him and that he wants all questions to be directed towards his special guest for tonight's edition, the Cruiserweight Champion himself, Jordan Demiras.

Demiras saunters out not looking amused in the slightest. Hotbody assures him that he's not looking to get physical and that tonight is all about being FAIR AND BALANCED! Hotbody even offers Demiras the podium and encourages him to field a question. Everyone is curious about what's on the mind of the champion! Hotbody goes to the press pool and offers one of them the mic so a question can be asked.

"Yes, Mr. Demiras. Is it true that you deliberately got yourself disqualified at Backlash to keep your title because Hotbody was just too much for you handle?"

Hotbody offers his own reply. "Oh, that's a really good question and that's absolutely true. Look at him! Look at him! He's not even denying it! Your silence speaks volumes, oh, great champion of ours! Let the record show that he doesn't deny it! Alright, next question...."

Hotbody picks another person as Demiras looks exasperated. "Yes, Mr. Demiras, how good do you feel about your chances this Sunday at Judgment Day?"

Hotbody again decides to answer. "Oh, he's nervous. Very nervous. The only thing stopping him from completely breaking down is that he knows he got saved by our biased boss, Lisa Benton by making things Falls Count Anywhere! It's a sham and he knows it! That actually leads to another question that somebody said they had. Yes, you!" Hotbody moves up to the front row to another 'reporter' as Demiras continues to look on with a miserable look on his face. He tries to say something but gets cut off by Hotbody who insists that this is the real question that needs answering.

"Yes, Mr. Demiras, is it true that you provided sexual services for Lisa Benton in exchange for her making your match Falls Count Anywhere because you needed saving?"

Hotbody tries to answer this one as well but Demiras is disgusted and has heard enough. He flips the podium over and makes a beeline for Hotbody. The press pool, however, blocks him which allows Hotbody to get some cheap shots in while Demiras is restrained. Hotbody grabs the Cruiserweight Title belt and taunts Demiras with it which allows the champion the change to break free and lunge at Hotbody. The press pool and security do their best to separate the two as we go to break!

Fourth Match: Nigel Gallagher vs. Tom Foley
Gotta get some awesome cruiserweight action in here. This is mainly a showcase for Nigel as I want to gradually start getting him more over. He gets the win here after nailing the Union Smack. ****1/2, 87% overall.

Backstage Cameron Harper is walking down the hallway until Hugo decides that he's found his next victim to demolish. Harper is left down and out as the carnage continues from Hugo.

Fifth Match: Faith Connors vs. Eclypse
Jenna Kyle is shown watching from backstage. This is a classic David/Goliath affair with Connors using all of her light-footed knowhow to gain the upper-hand on the dominating Eclypse. Connors escapes a Fade to Black and uses the opportunity to land a Mirror's Edge for the pin. *****, 95% overall.

MAIN EVENT: Jason Sorola and The Academy vs. Martyn LaSalle and The Dillingers
Fun, fun, fun all around. The faces are all cruiserweight underdogs so of course they trade-off playing face-in-peril. Brooke is once again the X-factor here as she distracts Ben Dillinger long enough for Randy Ellis to land Today's Lesson for the pin. ****1/2, 90% overall.

Overall show rating: 87%

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by M-A-G Hotbody again decides to answer. "Oh, he's nervous. Very nervous. The only thing stopping him from completely breaking down is that he knows he got saved by our biased boss, Lisa Benton by making things Falls Count Anywhere! It's a sham and he knows it! That actually leads to another question that somebody said they had. Yes, you!" Hotbody moves up to the front row to another 'reporter' as Demiras continues to look on with a miserable look on his face. He tries to say something but gets cut off by Hotbody who insists that this is the real question that needs answering. "Yes, Mr. Demiras, is it true that you provided sexual services for Lisa Benton in exchange for her making your match Falls Count Anywhere because you needed saving?"

this is brilliant

[M-A-G]

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito this is brilliant

Notice how he didn't say 'no'....

[OssMan]

Nice M-A-G! Keep it up!

[Evil Vito]

Boss at my last job was pretty damn hot and only like 2 years older than me. Married with kids and all that but, can't lie, the 'ol "sleep with the hot boss all the way to the top" fantasy entered my mind a couple dozen times.

In other words, good job Demiras

[M-A-G]

I imagine Benton more cute than hot but she's probably one of those types like Cristina Scabbia that ages like fine wine.

Needless to say this is all Hotbody just being as big of a douche as possible. I'm now envisioning him dressing up as Demiras and pulling a Bill Clinton "I did not have sexual relations..." schtick. Yeah, it's 2040 but the classics never go out of style.

[M-A-G]

SmackDown!: May 25, 2040

It's the go home show for Judgment Day. I usually tend to keep it easy as far as matches and building up heat for the PPV goes.

Opening Match: The Wyldhearts vs. The Young Bloods
I'm going to need to blow-off the feud the Wyldhearts have with the Agents of Change so that I can start getting them ready to be title contenders. Anyways, a strong opener here where the faces take advantage of Stephen Q. Sterling screwing up some interference that allows Blaine Bellamey to score a pin on Sully Lane.****1/2, 93% overall

We get a video package that showcases the four women that will be competing in the Queen of Queens match this Sunday. It's done individually and in chronological order when each of them won the Queen of the Ring tournament starting from Faith's underdog victory in the first during her rookie year, to Jenna's back-to-back victories in consecutive years, to Hannah's surprising wins over the previous winners on her path to the crown, and finally to Naomi's crushing and dominating force in the recent tournament. It all comes down to who is going to want it the most this Sunday.

Second Match: DJ Stokes vs. Miles Shawcross
OK, I know this is a case of me using someone who is supposed to be on the chopping block but the problem with continuing the game on 4.2 is that the contract situation for the workers is completely different. That being said I can't do my usual trick, at least not yet, of renegotiating a contract of a worker I want to fire so that I sign them to the max amount and then firing them so that no other promotion is capable of hiring them. So unfortunately some of these guys are going to have to stick around for a bit. They still have their uses though as Stokes does the job for Shawcross here. ****1/2, 91% overall.

Third Match: Zed Jones and WWE Cruiserweight Champion-Elect Michael Hotbody vs. Haven and WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Demiras
Not so much a match as an outpouring of raw emotions here as Demiras is still pissed over Hotbody's disgusting comments from last night concerning Demiras and Lisa Benton. It's quite the brawl that ends when Demiras just loses his shit on Zed Jones and gets DQ'ed. The chaos continues as we go to break. ****1/2, 93% overall.

Jake Connelly gives us a promo to talk about his match with Brandon Reigns at Judgment Day. Reigns isn't here tonight but Connelly knows the reason why. It's not out of fear. Reigns is using this time to really reflect. Whether he wants to admit it or not, Reigns will be going up against the biggest name he's ever faced in his career. It's a career that Reigns is reviewing right now, either in his mind or watching it on a screen. A career like that can not, WILL NOT, be ended by someone who has no respect for it. Reign needs to prepare to have even more of Connelly's career to reflect upon when Connelly wins the Intercontinental Championship.

Fourth Match: C.J. and Arianna vs. Lauren Franklyn and Sarah Moore
You know, seeing this makes me think that there's credence to that whole 'women's tag division' idea. The faces get the win here after a pretty even bout that ends with Arianna and C.J. fucking up a double team. ****1/2, 91% overall

Fifth Match: The British Infection vs. The Millennium Rebels
Jesus, these guys all have chemistry. The heels get the win over the Brits when Jerome McDougal smacks Exley with a chair behind the ref's back. Nigel Gallagher comes down to help chase everyone off. *****, 94% overall.

Butch Fleming comes out to rag on Noah Carmichael. For a whole year, he's been thinking about what's going to go down on Sunday. He wants to be clear, however; it wouldn't have mattered who was champion when Fleming made his return at Backlash. They would have suffered his wrath no matter what. It just happened to be sweet cosmic justice that he returned to see the two people he hates the most duking it out over a prize neither of them deserve. This Sunday was meant to be and there isn't a damn thing Carmichael can do about it.

With that, Carmichael's music plays and he comes out looking he's going to try to do something about it but Fleming must be busy because he takes the back door and takes his leave.

Speaking of people who want to talk championships, Sonya Braddock is backstage eager to rip on Vivian Merrick. Merrick deserves praise for stepping up but she'd better make the most of this shot. Boasts can only take you so far.

Sixth Match: Kyle Jacobs vs. King Kavovit
God, I need to change that name and repackage him or something. Anyway, this is a showcase for Jacobs as he heads into Judgment Day against Salvatore Scabbia. King can't quite make the count back into the ring giving the win to Jacobs but Scabbia himself comes down to rain on the parade by attacking Jacobs and locking in the Omerta until he passes out. ****1/2, 93% overall.

MAIN EVENT: Kerry Cemenko, Martyn LaSalle, Ozzy Mandias, The Play Pals vs. Xavier Cross, Jason Sorola, Romeo Valiente, and the WWE Unified Tag Team Champions The Future Foundation
OVERBOOKED CROWDED MAIN EVENTS REEK OF AWESOMENESSITY! I love how spell check doesn't call me out on 'awesomenessity'...well, capitalized at least. The faces get the win here after a hot affair when Ozzy pins Valiente after the Blizzard of Oz. ****1/2, 92% overall.

Overall show rating: 90%

See you at Judgment Day!

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by M-A-G Second Match: DJ Stokes vs. Miles Shawcross OK, I know this is a case of me using someone who is supposed to be on the chopping block but the problem with continuing the game on 4.2 is that the contract situation for the workers is completely different. That being said I can't do my usual trick, at least not yet, of renegotiating a contract of a worker I want to fire so that I sign them to the max amount and then firing them so that no other promotion is capable of hiring them. So unfortunately some of these guys are going to have to stick around for a bit. They still have their uses though as Stokes does the job for Shawcross here. ****1/2, 91% overall.

Yeah, 4.2 cleans up a lot of the exploits like that. Guys who are happy with the contract terms won't negotiate, and free agents don't always agree to the same rate they left their last employer for. Having said that, your roster is so loaded throwing another promotion a bone every now and then shouldn't hurt you too much.

Not so much a match as an outpouring of raw emotions here as Demiras is still pissed over Hotbody's disgusting comments from last night concerning Demiras and Lisa Benton.

The fuck is wrong with you Demiras? I'd want everyone to know I was banging Cristina Scabbia.

Fourth Match: C.J. and Arianna vs. Lauren Franklyn and Sarah Moore You know, seeing this makes me think that there's credence to that whole 'women's tag division' idea. The faces get the win here after a pretty even bout that ends with Arianna and C.J. fucking up a double team. ****1/2, 91% overall

Yep, I'm normally against adding titles unless a division is deep enough to justify it but I think it's really doable here, that or an IC-level women's belt. So many options.

MAIN EVENT: Kerry Cemenko, Martyn LaSalle, Ozzy Mandias, The Play Pals vs. Xavier Cross, Jason Sorola, Romeo Valiente, and the WWE Unified Tag Team Champions The Future Foundation OVERBOOKED CROWDED MAIN EVENTS REEK OF AWESOMENESSITY! I love how spell check doesn't call me out on 'awesomenessity'...well, capitalized at least. The faces get the win here after a hot affair when Ozzy pins Valiente after the Blizzard of Oz. ****1/2, 92% overall. Overall show rating: 90%

Ah that match would be such a fun trainwreck, I do love mixing feuds into tag matches and I'll probably be doing more of that down the line. Nice way to get everyone work without giving anything away for the PPV.

[M-A-G]

JUDGMENT DAY, BABY!!!: May 27, 2040

Pre-Show Match: The Wyldhearts and The British Infection vs. The Agents of Change and The Millennium Rebels
I GIVE THE MIDDLE FINGER TO SURVIVOR SERIES!!! Anyways, I got two sets of dueling tag teams here, all of them extremely talented so they get the task of getting the crowd into the mood. Mission accomplished as the faces get the win with Robbie Greer scoring a pin over Clayton North. ****1/4, 89% overall.

Judgment Day Opening Match: WWE Women's Champion Sonya Braddock and The Play Pals vs. Vivian Merrick and WWE Unified Tag Team Champions The Future Foundation
The faces need to win here if the Play Pals are going to earn themselves a shot at the tag team titles. The men get most of the work done here as Vivian is cautious about Braddock. However it comes down to the two women and despite Vivian's craftiness, the Women's Champion is just too much as she lands a Left Hand of God to get the pin. ****1/2, 92% overall.

Second Match: Falls Count Anywhere, WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Jordan Demiras (c) vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion-Elect Michael Hotbody
Hotbody wants to let everyone know that Zed Jones aggravated a nagging injury on SmackDown! and won't be able to join him here right now but he is getting looked at and will valiantly try to make his match against Haven. With that out of the way, Demiras uses the stipulations to his advantage to just absolutely ravage Hotbody for everything he's said and done for the last few weeks. Hotbody keeps running away but nothing seems to be able to save his ass as Demiras is fighting like a man possessed. They eventually make it to the backstage area near the garage. Hotbody crawls over to the rear of an ambulance and pleads his case one more time but Demiras moves in for the kill when suddenly the back door of the ambulance bursts opens smashing Demiras' face. WTF? IT'S ZED JONES! He was in the back of the ambulance! Demiras is down and Hotbody uses this opportunity to climb the ambulance and hit Demiras with the Hot Ticket! He gets the cover...AND THE PIN!!! We have a NEW Cruiserweight Champion! He immediately grabs the belt and runs all over the place triumphantly, even going back out to the ringside area and doing laps. He runs to the back and tracks down and finds Lisa Benton in her office and jumps on her desk, just completely rubbing it in her face and kicking stuff off in celebration. Security comes in to try to get him out but HE WILL NOT BE DENIED!!! He breaks free and just goes wild all throughout the arena. *****, 94% overall.

Third Match: Xavier Cross vs. Kerry Cemenko
A far cry from the cruiserweight action from before but these guys are still over enough to get an awesome match here. Cross takes advantage of Cemenko missing the Curb Stomp and hits the Cross Cutter for the win. *****, 97% overall.

Fourth Match: Zed Jones vs. Haven
Jones is obviously fine and is thus good to go here. Unfortunately, Lisa Benton doesn't take kindly to the deception orchestrated by him and Hotbody so she makes this match No DQ. Oh, and since Hotbody went crazy with his celebration spilling outside the arena, he's locked out. This is a brawl you'd expect from two hosses. Sure, I'm giving Jones some good exposure and making him threatening and what not but he's not in Haven's league. Haven gets the win after the Sting of Solace. ****1/2, 92% overall.

Fifth Match: Queen of Queens Fatal Four-Way: Naomi Bailey vs. Hannah McCormick vs. Faith Connors vs. Jenna Kyle
This is one fall to a finish. Hannah's tactic is to hit and run while Naomi just overpowers everyone. Jenna kind of defaults to the second face in this match as she and Faith look to come to some silent understanding that they have a better chance of succeeding if they team up. They get the upper hand to the point where the two of them can duke it out amongst themselves. The end comes when Naomi suckers McCormick into a false sense of security and hits her with the Bail Out to score the pin. Naomi gets the win and now gets to face Sonya Braddock at Night of Champions. ****1/2, 96% overall.

Sixth Match: Kyle Jacobs vs. Salvatore Scabbia
Winner gets an Intercontinental Title match at Night of Champions. This is the cap on the feud between the two that began before WrestleMania and both are eager to get back on track after losing the Intercontinental Title. Jacobs ultimately proves that he is not a fluke and manages to break Scabbia's Omerta and hits a surprise Legacy Bomb for the pin. ****1/2, 91% overall.

Seventh Match: WWE Intercontinental Title vs. Career
Brandon Reigns (c) vs. Jake Connelly
A match totally designed for Reigns' benefit. I don't do that WWE happy ending BS when it comes to legends hanging it up. They get their ass beat and humiliated in M-A-Gland. It's no different here as Reigns locks in the Iron Reign and gets THE CLEAN TAP OUT WIN to retain and send Connelly packing as far as in-ring competition goes. *****, 96% overall.

MAIN EVENT: WWE Unified World Title
Noah Carmichael (c) vs. Butch Fleming
Another difference from the real world, crybabies on Twitter don't get fed. That's proven here as after one hell of a brawl, Quentin McDaniels of all people comes out. It looks like he's trying to help...CARMICHAEL??? We'll never know as Fleming causes Carmichael to clash with the chair in McDaniels' hand allowing him to hit the Slaughterhouse Special for the pin and the title. He then proceeds to take the chair and just murders Carmichael's body with it in the name of GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP! Fleming takes his title as all of the SJWs go crazy on all of the message boards in utter disbelief that Fleming would be rewarded. Meanwhile, Noah Carmichael merchandise sales see a bump. *****, 97% overall.

Overall show rating: 95%

[Evil Vito]

Oops, I didn't see Judgment Day there as I worked on my Dynamite

Originally Posted by M-A-G JUDGMENT DAY, BABY!!!: May 27, 2040 Pre-Show Match: The Wyldhearts and The British Infection vs. The Agents of Change and The Millennium Rebels I GIVE THE MIDDLE FINGER TO SURVIVOR SERIES!!! Anyways, I got two sets of dueling tag teams here, all of them extremely talented so they get the task of getting the crowd into the mood. Mission accomplished as the faces get the win with Robbie Greer scoring a pin over Clayton North. ****1/4, 89% overall.

With your roster the way it is I imagine trying to find guys to warm up the crowd shouldn't be too hard, just walk down the hallway and point to the first few wrestlers you see.

Come to think, a Lethal Lottery tag tourney with legit pulling names out of a hat or using a randomizer is something I've thought of doing eventually.

Judgment Day Opening Match: WWE Women's Champion Sonya Braddock and The Play Pals vs. Vivian Merrick and WWE Unified Tag Team Champions The Future Foundation The faces need to win here if the Play Pals are going to earn themselves a shot at the tag team titles. The men get most of the work done here as Vivian is cautious about Braddock. However it comes down to the two women and despite Vivian's craftiness, the Women's Champion is just too much as she lands a Left Hand of God to get the pin. ****1/2, 92% overall.

Juice Robinson of NJPW has a move called the Left Hand of God too, it's a great finisher name. I imagine Braddock's looks more deadly.

Second Match: Falls Count Anywhere, WWE Cruiserweight Championship Jordan Demiras (c) vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion-Elect Michael Hotbody Hotbody wants to let everyone know that Zed Jones aggravated a nagging injury on SmackDown! and won't be able to join him here right now but he is getting looked at and will valiantly try to make his match against Haven. With that out of the way, Demiras uses the stipulations to his advantage to just absolutely ravage Hotbody for everything he's said and done for the last few weeks. Hotbody keeps running away but nothing seems to be able to save his ass as Demiras is fighting like a man possessed. They eventually make it to the backstage area near the garage. Hotbody crawls over to the rear of an ambulance and pleads his case one more time but Demiras moves in for the kill when suddenly the back door of the ambulance bursts opens smashing Demiras' face. WTF? IT'S ZED JONES! He was in the back of the ambulance! Demiras is down and Hotbody uses this opportunity to climb the ambulance and hit Demiras with the Hot Ticket! He gets the cover...AND THE PIN!!! We have a NEW Cruiserweight Champion! He immediately grabs the belt and runs all over the place triumphantly, even going back out to the ringside area and doing laps. He runs to the back and tracks down and finds Lisa Benton in her office and jumps on her desk, just completely rubbing it in her face and kicking stuff off in celebration. Security comes in to try to get him out but HE WILL NOT BE DENIED!!! He breaks free and just goes wild all throughout the arena. *****, 94% overall.

Bah gawd Zed Jones pulled a Buff Bagwell with the fake injury and popping out of the ambulance! Hotbody is a wonderful prick. And I saw he'll now be called the "Former Cruiserweight Champion-elect" I hope his moniker just keeps getting longer and longer.

Third Match: Xavier Cross vs. Kerry Cemenko A far cry from the cruiserweight action from before but these guys are still over enough to get an awesome match here. Cross takes advantage of Cemenko missing the Curb Stomp and hits the Cross Cutter for the win. *****, 97% overall.

"A far cry from the cruiserweight action before".......5 star 97% overall

Fourth Match: Zed Jones vs. Haven Jones is obviously fine and is thus good to go here. Unfortunately, Lisa Benton doesn't take kindly to the deception orchestrated by him and Hotbody so she makes this match No DQ. Oh, and since Hotbody went crazy with his celebration spilling outside the arena, he's locked out. This is a brawl you'd expect from two hosses. Sure, I'm giving Jones some good exposure and making him threatening and what not but he's not in Haven's league. Haven gets the win after the Sting of Solace. ****1/2, 92% overall.

Serves Zed right for making me remember Buff Bagwell exists.

Fifth Match: Queen of Queens Fatal Four-Way: Naomi Bailey vs. Hannah McCormick vs. Faith Connors vs. Jenna Kyle This is one fall to a finish. Hannah's tactic is to hit and run while Naomi just overpowers everyone. Jenna kind of defaults to the second face in this match as she and Faith look to come to some silent understanding that they have a better chance of succeeding if they team up. They get the upper hand to the point where the two of them can duke it out amongst themselves. The end comes when Naomi suckers McCormick into a false sense of security and hits her with the Bail Out to score the pin. Naomi gets the win and now gets to face Sonya Braddock at Night of Champions. ****1/2, 96% overall.

Naomi getting the win is a twist I wasn't expecting. Love the heel trying to buddy up with the other heel only to inevitably turn on them when it is most convenient to do so. Stupendous match as expected.

Sixth Match: Kyle Jacobs vs. Salvatore Scabbia Winner gets an Intercontinental Title match at Night of Champions. This is the cap on the feud between the two that began before WrestleMania and both are eager to get back on track after losing the Intercontinental Title. Jacobs ultimately proves that he is not a fluke and manages to break Scabbia's Omerta and hits a surprise Legacy Bomb for the pin. ****1/2, 91% overall.

Nice capper on the feud, I love the flurry of breaking out of a finisher at the end just to hit one yourself. Great drama.

Seventh Match: WWE Intercontinental Title vs. Career Brandon Reigns (c) vs. Jake Connelly A match totally designed for Reigns' benefit. I don't do that WWE happy ending BS when it comes to legends hanging it up. They get their ass beat and humiliated in M-A-Gland. It's no different here as Reigns locks in the Iron Reign and gets THE CLEAN TAP OUT WIN to retain and send Connelly packing as far as in-ring competition goes. *****, 96% overall.

I mean that's the way it should be. It's fine to give the legend a nice showing (and holy fuck, 5 stars 96% overall is a hell of a way to go out) but you're always supposed to go out on your back.

MAIN EVENT: WWE Unified World Title Noah Carmichael (c) vs. Butch Fleming Another difference from the real world, crybabies on Twitter don't get fed. That's proven here as after one hell of a brawl, Quentin McDaniels of all people comes out. It looks like he's trying to help...CARMICHAEL??? We'll never know as Fleming causes Carmichael to clash with the chair in McDaniels' hand allowing him to hit the Slaughterhouse Special for the pin and the title. He then proceeds to take the chair and just murders Carmichael's body with it in the name of GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP! Fleming takes his title as all of the SJWs go crazy on all of the message boards in utter disbelief that Fleming would be rewarded. Meanwhile, Noah Carmichael merchandise sales see a bump. *****, 97% overall. Overall show rating: 95%

That's the way it had to go down, sitting out for a year was punishment enough, you can't bring him back just to have him lose. There's clear ratings with these two and I generally think the heel being chased makes for a more engaging story to tell.

95%, holy hell. That puts *insert your favorite real life PPV here* to shame.

[M-A-G]

The fuck is wrong with you Demiras? I'd want everyone to know I was banging Cristina Scabbia.

I mean, I'm convinced....

[M-A-G]

Might as well do an update on the championships considering what went down at Judgment Day. Only two new champions but everyone else seems to have a direction for Night of Champions.

WWE Unified World Champion: Butch Fleming (4th reign), def. Noah Carmichael at Judgment Day. Possible rematch for Night of Champions?

WWE Intercontinental Champion: Brandon Reigns (4th reign), retained against Jake Connelly at Judgment Day. Next defense versus Kyle Jacobs at Night of Champions.

WWE Unified Tag Team Champions: The Future Foundation (2nd reign). Next defense against the Play Pals, probably on the next Raw.

WWE Women's Champion: Sonya Braddock (5th reign), next defense versus Naomi Bailey at Night of Champions

WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion-Elect Michael Hotbody (first reign), def. Jordan Demiras at Judgment Day. Next defense? Whenever he fucking feels like it!!!

[M-A-G]

I should look into that Juice Robinson. I mean, that's just an awesome name.

Zed wasn't faking anything. I mean, he was being checked out, he heard a commotion outside of the ambulance and popped out to see what the hubbub was. It's too bad Demiras is such a klutz. I really should try to make Hotbody's name as annoyingly, stupidly long as possible, though.

[M-A-G]

Yeah, Naomi got the duke here because she only had one match with Braddock and I wanted to extend that feud because I have other things in store for Connors and Jenna. Namely, a blow-off match that may or may not finally cause a certain someone to return to the side of good and may possibly lead to a team up???

[M-A-G]

Raw: May 28, 2040

It's the Raw after Judgment Day and the road to Night of Champions begins. There are two matches scheduled so far as the result of what went down last night. Time to see where all of the champions end up.

Speaking of which we're opening with the NEW Unified World Champion, Butch Fleming who made the most of his return to PPV after being gone a year. He takes the mic and addresses the crowd.

"I....TOLD....YOU! Did you really, truly believe that a year's absence was going to be enough to blunt my edge? Did you honestly think that all of that time away gave Noah Carmichael some sort of advantage? I ALWAYS have the the advantage! You want to know why you people wanted to believe I'd fail? It's because you're so stupid that you're not able to learn from history! I went more than THREE YEARS with NO ONE being able to beat me! The few losses I ended up with I can count on one hand! And the so-called 'men' that can claim those empty, hollow victories? They're back in their place where they belong BECAUSE I DON'T COWER AWAY AND I PUT THEM THERE! Crossing me is the ultimate sin for anyone dumb enough to consider it. Which brings me to one other individual that I am demanding come out here right now and face the music. QUENTIN MCDANIELS! i'm not asking you, I'm ORDERING YOU to get in this ring now!"

Quentin McDaniels makes Fleming wait a bit but eventually the man joins us and steps into the ring with an intense glare towards the champion. Fleming continues his tirade this time directed at his former City Slickers stablemate. "Quentin, I'm only doing this because you and I go way back so I'm going to give you a chance to be straight with me. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING OUT THERE IN MY MAIN EVENT LAST NIGHT?!?!"

McDaniels raises his own mic and furiously gives his response. "Let me get something straight here, I'm out here on my own accord. You don't order me...."

"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION, QUENTIN! I'm not in the mood for any backtalk and I sure as hell don't care about your feelings. What the hell were you doing at Judgment Day in my match? Because it looked to me like you wanted to help Carmichael keep the title."

"You really want to know, Butch? Truth be told, I was just going to sit back and enjoy the show at Judgment Day but then there was something you said last week that got me thinking; you said that no matter who was in the main event at Backlash you were going to come down and attack them. I have to ask would that have included me? You see, just one month before Backlash, I was in the main event of WrestleMania and it just as easily could have been me defending the Unified Title at Backlash. So I'll ask again, would you have included me in your little temper tantrum against the world?"

"Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that? I ask the questions around here! I am the Unified World Champion! I am your God damn superior!"

"Wake up, 'boss'! I know being gone a whole year can leave you behind on current events but in case you haven't noticed, the City Slickers aren't a thing anymore. The brilliant idea of The Integration also isn't a thing anymore. I did fine without you by my side and I sure as hell can be just fine with you right in my face. I deserved another crack at Carmichael. Hell, I could the one that takes that title away from you and send you packing for another year. Maybe more depending on how willing you are to piss me off."

Fleming chuckles at this incredulously. "If you want to start with your own visions of grandeur, I hope you took a long hard look at what I left of Noah Carmichael last night. Remember, you're no different than him. I know you just as well and I know you can't measure up to me. There's barely anyone back there that measures up to me as far as deserving a title shot goes!"

Almost on cue the lights dim and the eeriness sets in as Haven makes his way to the ring. He gets in the face of Quentin McDaniels and has words for him. "Wallow in pity as long and as deep as you wish. The truth is simply this: your chance came and went. Fear not, though, for sanctuary beckons the Unified World Title as there is another who is far more deserving." And with that, Haven turns his glare to Fleming and simply growls, "ME!" He then grabs the champion by the throat furiously. However, McDaniels doesn't take kindly to Haven's apparent disrespect and attacks from behind. Soon, Haven is laid out by McDaniels and Fleming.

Backstage, Romeo Valiente demands that Ozzy Mandias stay out of his business. Valiente has been treating the rookie with kid gloves but he warns that he's not sure how much longer he's willing to do so.

First Match: Moses McKay and King Kavovit vs. The Tokyo Titans
Thought I'd never get to a match, huh? Well, it's a doozy so there is that. McKay is in rebuild mode and he leads his team to victory with a well-placed Mass Effect on Wu to get the pin. *****, 94% overall.

Backstage, Naomi Bailey reaches out to Sonya Braddock who, unfortunately, isn't here tonight. Naomi hopes the champion was watching the Queen and Queens match last night. Naomi also invites her and everyone to witness her re-coronation on SmackDown!.

Second Match: Seth Von Kamp vs. Steve Hayes
I debated hard about what to do with Von Kamp next but unfortunately I had to set him aside and have him tread water for a bit while I let some other things unfold. There is something in store for him, I assure you, it's just that he's got to stutter for a bit. He can still get some wins, though, and he does so here after a solid match that ends with a pin after the Collapse of Society. ****1/2. 92% overall.

Third Match: Faith Connors and Phoebe Hanson vs. Hannah McCormick and Bobbi Jo
McCormick is HOT after losing last night and she's keen on taking things out on Faith. Jenna Kyle watches from the ramp while the announcers speculate what might be on her mind. The end comes when both Faith and Bobbi Jo stumble into Jenna and it looks like Jenna tries to take a pound of flesh from Faith but Bobbi gets the raw end of that deal allowing Faith to hit the Mirror's Edge for the pin. Did Jenna really mean to do that? *****, 94% overall.

Backstage, Kyle Jacobs is proud to say that he shoved all of that fluke talk up the asses of all of the naysayers. It's only too bad that last night's joy was tempered a great deal by having to watch the end of a legend, Jake Connelly, at the hands of Brandon Reigns. Reigns has made his bed. Now Kyle Jacobs gets to mess it up all over again.

Fourth Match: Michael Haywood vs. Julian Merrick
These two tag team specialists have a date with destiny as The Play Pals earned a shot at the tag team titles. Both men show their determination to show the other up but Rick Hilton pulls Merrick out when the water starts getting too hot. Haywood gets a countout win here. ****1/2, 92% overall.

Fifth Match: Billie Padgett and Carmella Costello vs. Tania and Frankie
The poor faces don't get last names. They don't need them, though, as Frankie causes Carmella to collide with an interfering Brooke and hits the Frankie-Stein for the pin. ****1/2, 91% overall.

Sixth Match: Lonny Richards vs. Caleb Greene
The former partners finally get to try to settle things. It's another David vs. Goliath situation as Greene pulls out all of his cruiserweight craftiness and agility to hang with the powerhouse in Richards. Lonny's manager, Nathan Quinn, proves to be the deciding factor as he distracts Greene long enough for Richards to slap on the Dragon Sleeper and Greene passes out. ****1/2, 92% overall.

FINAL SEGMENT: The Mega-Super-Happening-Hip-Cool-Awesome-Hot-Dance Party-Celebration-Fiesta-Electronica-Dubstep-Fresh-Funky-Award Ceremony-Extravaganza to Commemorate the NEW WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Former Cruiserweight Champion-Elect Michael Hotbody
Hotbody is in full giddy mode tonight as the ring is filled with apparently party guests of his selection. We're all here to take part in this momentous occasion and bear witness to the elevation to legendary status by Michael Hotbody. He overcame the impossible! A biased boss in Lisa Benton! An unfair match stipulation! A sex-crazed, insecure weak FORMER champion in Jordan Demiras! Hotbody wants to dedicate this special event to Zed Jones, who is recuperating after Haven UNJUSTLY REAGGRAVATED Zed's health problems. He feels bad about Jones being in the wrong place at the wrong time last night. All Zed was trying to do was get some measure of rest after being worked on in the back of that ambulance and then he heard the wild commotion coming from Demiras and his hormones! All Jones was trying to do was take a peek outside to see what was happening and that sexual deviant Demiras went all klutzy again! But it's all OK because what's important is right here, right now! Demiras is banned from entering this exclusive party as all of Hotbody's guests have been personally vetted! The audience is also banned from dancing and if there are people seen dancing during the party THEY WILL BE EJECTED!!! They are only here to observe and reflect on what a loser Jordan Demiras is and what a great cruiserweight champion Michael Hotbody will be! Now with that said, LET'S DANCE!!!

The lights dim but the ring lights up with various spotlights and God awful electronic club music plays. Everyone in the ring does their thing but Hotbody just goes completely wild. After a while, he looks into the crowd and takes the mic again and asks for the music to be lowered because he SEES PEOPLE DANCING! Hotbody declares that he will immediately start ejecting people and any further blatant rule-breaking will cause that person to be PERMANENTLY BANNED FROM ALL FUTURE HOTBODY EVENTS!!! He then tries to get things back on track when one of the party attendees smashes a record over Hotbody's head!!! The attacker removes some of his party attire...IT'S JORDAN DEMIRAS!!! He managed to sneak in! He rains some more fury on the fallen Hotbody but the party security pulls him off! We go off the air as Demiras desperately tries to get him some more!

88% overall show rating.

[Evil Vito]

It goes without saying that the matches on your shows are always going to deliver the good with how talented and over everybody on the card is. But the segments on this show were dope as hell.

The opening segment, bringing up past stable histories? Is that even allowed in WWE if it happened more than 2 months ago? Heels actually arguing with each other and making valid points before briefly reconciling just to beat down the face is a great wrestling trope I enjoy. Helps give some edge to the characters that yeah, the heels do beef on one another buuuuut they're dicks and will always delight in beating down the face above all else.

Main event segment is just brilliance. Hotbody might be the MVP of the company at this point. Kenny Omega in AEW gets an obnoxiously long ring intro from Justin Roberts listing all of his previous accolades and i totally see that in Hotbody's future as well.

My favorite thing about segments like that, sorta like wrassling weddings, is you KNOW the face is going to show up somewhere to interrupt, it's just a matter of working out how they'll sneak their way in. Great feud.