Smathis' History of the LWF

[smathis]

Smathis' History of the LWF

Welcome everyone to my first ever reboot. I'll go over a few things that are going to make this fed a little different for me and share a link or two.

I've been playing LOW since 2003 and kept the same continuity throughout. In the past, I'd carried my fed along with me through various booking approaches and tectonic shifts in how I played and enjoyed LOW. But the continuity was really dragging me down. And it had reached a point where my options of who to bring in to what and when felt restricted by this long history.

So with fresh eyes and a lot of hindsight, I'm rebooting my fed completely. And here are just a few things that are going to differentiate this fed from my last one.

I've broken up the entire roster into historical groupings so I can start at the beginning with Gotch and Hackenschmidt and play out through the end with Danielson, RVD and McGuinness.

I've also given wrestlers a "career" rating to reflect them wrestling throughout several eras. So someone like Dusty Rhodes is going to go from the late 60s, early 70s all the way into the 90s. This basically translates into a rating that allows them so many "seasons" in the LWF before they start to break down and need to consider hanging up the boots.

Wrestlers' careers will progress. And their careers can end. The timelines are condensed. So there's the possibility that a Vintage guy could face a guy from the 60s. But guys can, and will, retire. They can also be hurt so bad they're forced to quit wrestling.

This allows me to run with some historical feuds that I've always wanted to see. Things like Killer Kowalski against Yukon Eric -- which never came to much beyond a mid-card feud due to the talent level on the LWF roster. Which is another thing that the "historical" aspect allows me to do -- spread out the top dogs in the LWF.

This will also give some of the mid-card and lower-card guys breathing room. Instead of every title shot being about Lou Thesz and Frank Gotch and Harley Race, there are a lot of guys in the hunt now.

As for scheduling and all, I'm hoping to do at least one card a month. A "season" will be somewhere around 12 cards. And I'd like to do 1 or 2 seasons a year. We'll see how that pans out.

Like my last fed, I'm going to continue with the World Tag Grand Prix, Legends Cup and LegendsMania. Neither the World Tag Grand Prix nor the Legends Cup will be featured at the beginning of the fed but they will be introduced in a later season.

More information coming soon. But, for now, here are a couple of links…

• Title History
  
• Series of short articles on booking this new fed
  
• Some bootlegs I made that MIGHT be making an appearance in the near future
  

[smathis]

I'll be releasing more roster information soon. But the LWF will kick off with a 16-Man Tournament for the LWF World Championship.

There will be a tag-team division. It will be known as "Australian Rules" or "Team Rules" division.

All championship matches, at this point, will be best 2-out-of-3 falls. All tag matches at this point will be tag elimination matches. That will change over time. But it's how this party is getting started.

For those familiar with my previous fed, the format for this one will be the same. Short, concise writeups interspersed with news, events and quotes from interviews to help build the matches.

And we'll start it off with...

[smathis]

Frank Gotch Headlines 16-Man Title Tournament

"Shooter" Frank Gotch put his best foot forward yesterday for the 16-Man World Title Tournament for the new Legends of Wrestling Federation. The tournament will feature the biggest stars in the world of wrestling with such luminaries as George Hackenschmidt, Stanislaus Zybyszko, John Pesek, Strangler Lewis and "The Solid Man" William Muldoon.

Gotch: "I'm looking forward to winning this tournament and showing the world that I am the greatest wrestler of all time. I don't think there's a man in this tournament that I haven't beaten. And I'd expect to do more of the same and take that title."

Joining the ranks of the seasoned veterans of the mat game are rising stars Lou Thesz of St. Louis, Missouri, and Killer Kowalski.

Thesz: "This is a great competitive opportunity. I think this tournament will be a valuable learning experience for me and I'm hoping to just stand toe-to-toe with the greatest wrestlers in the world."

[wildfire]

This is a fantasic idea! Looking forward to see how it turns out.

[Crimson Cross]

This will be a very interesting & fun fed to follow Smathis, it'll be interesting to see how your Fed flows through the ages of wrestling your going by and I'll be reading along for sure...

[smathis]

Thanks CC & WF!

Hackenschmidt & Zybyszko Want Shot at Gotch

Hack: "Frank is exaggerating when he says he's already beaten the opponents in the 16-Man Championship tournament. Without Ad Santel, there's no way Frank would've pinned the Russian Lion. I don't know what the lineup will be in the tournament but I'm looking forward to meeting Frank Gotch face-to-face without having to look over my shoulder for his cronies."

Zybyszko: "Sure, Frank pinned me. After I extended my hand in sportsmanship, he threw me to the mat and received a fast three count at the Chicago Coliseum. I wrestled him to a draw the year before that. And he has refused to face me since. That's the kind of wrestler Frank Gotch is. What do you call it in America??? ...A weasel. I only hope I get him in the tournament. "

[smathis]

Tourney Matches Released, New Team Wrestlers Sign!
Today the LWF released more news about it's upcoming 16-Man Tournament for the LWF World Championship.

It's going to be a 4-Card event. 15 matches in all! And each match will be the best-of-three falls. Other signings to the event include Jim Londos, the Terrible Turk, Killer Kowalski and Don Leo Johnathan.

Frank Gotch will be kicking off the event against Ilio DiPaolo. Other matchups include Strangler Lewis against Stanislaus Zybyszko and William Muldoon against the Terrible Turk.

The most controversial inclusion in the 16-Man tournament is "Bloody" Buddy O'Brien, who will be facing "The Russian Lion" George Hackenschmidt.

O'Brien: "I don't care about no rules and I don't care about no tournament. All I care about is hurting that guy across the ring from me. And I don't care how I have to do it."

The LWF also announced a separate tournament that will be contested by "team" or "Australian" rules. Both tournaments will come to a head at the stellar 5th event of this inaugural season of the LWF.

Some teams that have been announced to compete are: Henry Irslinger & Pat O'Connor, Jim Londos & Ilio DiPaolo, The French Angel & The Terrible Turk and the upstart team of John Wisniski & Herman Rohde.

Rohde, a young fella from Camden, NJ, claims a clean win over Strangler Lewis -- a participant in the 16-Man Tournament for the World Title.

Rohde: Yeah, I beat Lewis fair and square. He denies it but what can you do? It happened and I'd do it again if he'd ever set foot in the ring with me.

Rohde is a scrappy, athletic young man whose signature move is a leg grapevine he calls the "Figure Four".

[marktaggart]

Nice idea. This is a way to get around the problem some people have with story and timeline progression as it pertains to LOW.

[smathis]

Thanks, Mark T.


LWF01 - 16-Man Inaugural Tournament for the LWF World Championship Qualifying Round

• Frank Gotch def. Ilio DiPaolo in two straight falls
  DiPaolo starts the match with a size advantage but Gotch’s mat skills prove to be the equalizer. Frank Gotch quickly takes the first fall after an Iowa backdrop followed by a Gotch Toehold. DiPaolo taps. Then Gotch finishes the match in the second straight fall by locking Ilio in a grinding hammerlock. DiPaolo submits and Gotch takes the second fall.
  
  
• Yukon Eric def. Killer Kowalski in two straight falls
  These two bitter rivals face each other once again in a tournament for the greatest prize in the mat game. Kowalski and Eric tear into each other during the first fall with no man wanting to submit. After a brawl in the turnbuckle, Yukon locks Killer in the Kodiak Krunch. Yukon Eric takes the first fall.
  
  Kowalski gets mean in the second fall and the two men brawl around the ring. The ref gets it back into the ring until Kowalski charges Eric with a roaring forearm that flings him over the turnbuckle. Both men brawl at ringside until Eric gets the upper hand. Back in the ring he locks Killer in another Kodiak Krunch for the win.
  
  
  
• George Hackenschmidt def. Buddy O'Brien in two straight falls
  Hack will sure have his hands full with “Bloody” Buddy O’Brien. O’Brien comes down to ringside taunting the fans and even gets into a tussle with the ref after Hack has him checked for foreign objects. Apparently the ref didn’t check hard enough because O’Brien is disqualified in the first fall for rubbing soap in Hackenschmidt’s eyes.
  
  Hack is ready for O’Brien’s tricks in the second fall. O’Brien goes in for an eye gouge and Hack lifts him up for a series of backbreakers. O’Brien has nowhere to go after that and Hack finishes him off with a powerful Russian Bear Hug.
  
  After the match, the ref tries to help O’Brien to his feet but O’Brien berates him, claiming he didn’t give up. The crowd jeers at O’Brien as he walks gingerly to the locker room.
  
  
• Strangler Lewis def. Stanislaus Zybyszko
  A quick series at the start ends with Lewis getting the upper hand. Zybyszko ducks out of the ring for a breather but Lewis isn’t done with him. Lewis comes out ringside to haul the big Austrian back in. The referee disqualifies Lewis and awards the first fall to Zybyszko.
  
  Things get ugly in the second fall. Both men engage in fisticuffs and Lewis denies wrongdoing when a whip into the turnbuckle drives Zybyszko’s head into the steel post. Zybyszko is busted open for the duration of the fall and tempers flare. The referee disqualifies Zybyszko after Stanislaus drags Lewis out of the ring and slings him into the guardrail.
  
  The referee tries to calm things down for the final fall. Zybyszko is locked in the Strangler’s Headlock for a long time but finally breaks free. Lewis takes the fight outside the ring again and bust Zybyszko’s wound back open. He locks in the Strangler’s Headlock until Zybyszko passes out.
  
  Strangler Lewis wins the third and decisive fall.
  
  
• Frank Gotch, Yukon Eric, George Hackenschmidt and Strangler Lewis advance to the Quarterfinals!
  

[smathis]

LWF01 - 16-Man Inaugural Tournament for the LWF World Championship: Qualifying Round

• Don Leo Johnathan def. Pat O Connor in two straight falls
  O’Connor has a tough time with the Big Mormon. Don Leo controls the entire first fall before locking O’Connor in the Mormon Swing. O’Connor taps out of the first fall.
  
  O’Connor gets a better showing in the second fall but the big man just overpowers him. Don Leo takes the second fall with the Mormon Swing as well.
  
  
• John Pesek def. Lou Thesz in two straight falls
  Pesek comes out in a hurry, locking Thesz in his patented Tiger Man Toehold to take the first fall. The young, promising grappler Thesz looks to make good on the second fall but winds up in a fireman’s carry slam. Pesek covers for the pin. Tough luck for the newcomer but he looked good out there.
  
  
• The French Angel def. Jim Londos
  In a battle of Beauty against the Beast, it’s the French Angel’s brawn that takes the first fall after he locks Londos into his feared Bearhug.
  
  Londos puts up a fight in the second fall. When the Angel needs a breather, he ducks out of the ring. The referee awards Londos the second fall because of the French Angel’s refusal to return to the ring after the count of ten.
  
  Londos again puts up a fearsome fight in the third fall but it isn’t enough. The French Angel uses his superior strength to manhandle the Greek Adonis, pinning him after a series of menacing palm strikes.
  
  
• William Muldoon def. Terrible Turk by Disqualification
  Muldoon throws the Turk to the mat but the Turk grabs Muldoon and rolls out of the ring. The two brawl outside the ring until the referree disqualifies the Terrible Turk. Muldoon is awarded the first fall.
  
  The Terrible Turk uses his size advantage to get the better of Muldoon but is disqualified again for an illegal chokehold.
  
  The Terrible Turk goes on a rampage after the match and attacks Muldoon, finishing off with a full body splash from the top rope in an attempt to end Muldoon’s career. The locker room empties to pull the Turk off The Solid Man.
  
  Muldoon has to be assisted from the ring. It's not pretty, folks!
  
  Muldoon is injured for 5 cards!
  
  
  
• Don Leo Johnathan, John Pesek, The French Angel and William Muldoon all advance to the Quarterfinals! But will Muldoon be able to wrestle despite his injuries at the hands of the Terrible Turk?
  

Coming Soon

• The Qualifying Round of the LWF Team/Australian Rules Tournament...
  
• Followed by the Quarterfinals of the LWF World Championship Tournament