The History of Joint Promotions

[stu]

A brief interlude...

Decided to have a little fun with one of my all-time favorite wrestlers, the "Sensational" Sonny Ownes (created by Dale Blomquist). Sonny is in my own personal Hall of Fame, having become one of the icons in my bootleg fed (AAW). Just a great and fun character, and quite successful too.

Inspired by the 5 Labours of Chris Jericho from AEW, I gave Sonny Owens the 3 Trials of Flair. In this series of AAW Title matches, Owens will take on 2 variations of the immortal Nature Boy (GQ Stratus and Solar Flair, from GWFZ fame), and will conclude by facing the Nature boy himself, Ric Flair. Let's see how Sensational Sonny does!

"SENSATIONAL" SONNY OWENS (4 AAW World Title Reigns, 70 Title Defenses)

*1st Trial of Flair: GQ Stratus b. Sonny Owens (c) with an abdominal stretch after wearing out the champion with a number of Stratus Sphere Locks (***). Great rivalry between these 2, with Stratus becoming a Hall of Famer on his own. Stratus had Owens' number tonight though fans, just wearing the champion out, and picks up a World Title defense of his own.  Stratus has made a habit of big wins, and this one is no different; there is magic in that card of his!


*2nd Trial of Flair: Solar Flair b. Sonny Owens (c) with a Figure Four (**3/4). Not as good a bout as the one with Stratus, and Owens goes down again, this time to Solar Flair (just a platinum hair removed from Ric Flair himself). While this rivarly isn't as old as Owens-Stratus, it does have some heat to it. Usually the champion fares better, but he just couldn't get a jump on Solar Flair in this one (and Solar Flair picks up a World Title defense). Owens is 0 for 2 so far in the Trials of Flair...


*3rd Trial of Flair: Sonny Owens (c) DQ Ric Flair (****3/4). This was heading to MOTYC status, but the DQ ending denied it that. But what a bout! Ric Flair just wore Owens out for the first 2/3rd's of this contest, but Owens staged an incredible comeback, and nearly pulled it off with a TITAN CUTTER out of nowhere to almost get a pinfall! What a contest! Flair did cut about every corner that could be cut, while Owens gamely wrestled a more scientific style, only resorting to brawling when he simply had to fight fire with fire! Owens picks up a World Title defense in this one, although not a clean win....still, prevents him from getting shut out in the Trials of Flair!


So, yes, Sonny Owens goes 1-2 in the Trial of Flair, and that was fun Joint Promotions' fans....I may do more themed title tours in the future! 3 rematches will be on the horizon for Sonny as well, as he needs revenge against each "Flair"! Thanks for reading along fans!

[stu]

Aw heck...let's keep going....because themes are fun!

Let's see how Bruno Sammartino's most recent WWA Title tour fared, as he faced 3 historically significant foes. We'll call this Bruno's Bookend Tour (as he beat Rogers for the WWWF Title in real life, lost it to Koloff, then lost it again to Superstar Graham):

BRUNO SAMMARTINO (4 WWA World Title Reigns, 96 Title Defenses):

*Nature Boy Buddy Rogers b. Bruno Sammartino (c), figure four grapevine (**1/4). When Rogers lost the title to Bruno back in 1963, he lost it rather quickly...no 5-star match that one! But, in this match, Rogers gains a bit of revenge, defeating Bruno handily, and gaining a World Title defense for his own record!

*Bruno Sammartino (c) b. Ivan Koloff, Italian Backbreaker (**1/2). Bruno bounced back quickly, defeating Koloff with relative ease after surviving some early power moves to start the bout! Bruno gets a bit of revenge for losing the belt "in real life" to Koloff, winning in resounding fashion!

*Superstar Billy Graham b. Bruno Sammartino (c), Superstar Bear Hug (**). Sammartino has owned Graham...just owned him...in WWA competition, but not in this one. Graham really dominated this match, taking out some frustrations on Bruno and recording a World Title defense for his own record!

*Bruno Sammartino (c) b. Nature Boy Buddy Rogers, Italian Backbreaker (**1/4). Bruno gains a measure of revenge in this return bout, submitting Rogers to his fearsome backbreaker, and putting the arrogant Rogers away with relative ease in this one! One thing about Bruno...when he loses, he's very tough to beat in return bouts (as witnessed by his total of 96 World Title defenses). Good heat, good feud!

Bruno goes 2-2 in this World Title tour Joint Promotions fans, with a return bout with Superstar Graham on the horizon. Fun stuff from the Abruzzi strongman!

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(Way ahead of where I left off posting, so picking back up with Card 30 folks, still in Season 32):

*AAW: Luther Diggs (c) d. "The Savior" Trent Davis with Lights Out (**1/2). Trent Davis was part of the old WGX sets done by Promoter Wayne years ago...great sets. Fun character, great heel, and has had some success in my AAW.
*AAW: Peerless Paramount DQ Luther Diggs (c) (**1/4). Some good history between these two, both created by Dale Blomquist. Paramount is another fun heel, and likes to give "The Showstoppa" fits!

(LUTHER DIGGS: 2 AAW World Title reigns, 76 career defenses)

*AAW: Sonny Owens (c) d. Solar Flair, Sensationalized (**1/2). Owens gets some revenge against Flair for the defeat during the "Trials of Flair"!
*AAW: Ric Flair DQ Sonny Owens (c) (**). Nothing settled between these two folks, as the match deteriorates into Fist City pretty quickly!

(SONNY OWENS: 4 AAW World Title reigns, 71 career defenses)

*WWA: Ric Flair (c) d. Ricky Steamboat, figure four leglock (***3/4). This was a return bout from card #26, which saw Steamboat defeat Flair. Great action in this one, see-sawing back and forth...pretty realistic Flair-Steamboat bout to be honest!

(RIC FLAIR: 4 WWA World Title reigns, 81 career defenses)

Main Event:

*GWF: Omega (c) d. Big Van Vader to retain the GWF World Heavyweight Championship, sleeper hold (**1/2). This was another return bout, this time from card 12, which saw Vader destroy Omega. This time, the tables were turned, as Omega executed a flawless maneuver to get behind the behemoth, and lock on the sleeper hold. The fans went absolutely bonkers for this, as most were not predicting good things for the great GWF champ after Vader just ate him alive during the last bout. Great heat, this one's a Feud of the Year candidate to be sure!

(OMEGA:  6 GWF World Title reigns, 124 career defenses)

That'll do it for this card Joint Promotions fans! Sorry to skip ahead, but I just don't get around to posting as often as I crank out results...but, I will sincerely try to continue to post the happenings of my fed when I can!

[stu]

Hello folks!

Been away from posting this project with regularity for a bit, as I've been travelling some, and have fallen behind on posts. But, hope to rectify that situation shortly.

Thought I'd give a general update as to what I'm working towards next with this particular wrestling world.

My Big 3 of the GWF, WWA, and AAW continues to march merrily along, with title tours going on for wrestlers in each fed. I'm considering, however, expanding the member promotions of my umbrella organization a bit. I've always been intrigued with the notion of trying to set up a territory-style world, or at the very least, a world with multiple (i.e., more than 3) wrestling promotions working in a spirit of cooperation.

But, what's always prevented me from doing a project of this scope is keeping up with all the titles, etc., and making sure I didn't fall behind in one territory at the expense of another.

In establishing this title tour method of playing, I may have finally given myself an answer on how to do this. With this model, I'm simply keeping records on multiple wrestlers'/ tag-teams' title defenses over a career. So, if I wanted to segment my cards into more narrowly defined territories, I could simply establish champs in these new territories, play a series of matches with them, and when they get stale or are losing too much, establish new champs. Bingo...problem solved (of keeping it simple for my feeble head).

The reason I am looking at establishing more promotions is, well, I've got a bizmillion cards and I want to use them! That, and there are certain card categories I wish to break apart a bit. For example, my WWA has been my legends fed for all legends cards, be they official or bootleg. But, I'm experimenting with segmenting this out a bit, and having my WWA be my legends fed for official LOW cards, and having the NWA become a new member promotion, which will be the fed for my legends bootleg cards.

Also am interested in separating out my COTG-inspired bootleg fed, dividing it further between COTG-inspired bootlegs (which would remain as AAW), and keeping the GWFZ cards separate, as another promotion. And, finally, am toying with having the GWF be the home for the more modern COTG wrestlers (i.e., color), and the black and white COTG wrestlers would have their own fed (the more modern wrestlers are pretty tough stat-wise for the black and white cards to keep up with at times!).

All in all, I could wind up with 7 member promotions under the Joint Promotions umbrella. Key word there is "could"...I could scrap plans for this altogether.

But, I'm excited about the possibilities. As to whether or not I create a touring Joint Promotions World/Grand Champion...well, that's mighty tempting too. I mean, I'm always a sucker for matches the likes of Godsend vs. Lou Thesz , and a touring World Champ model would do this!

More to come folks, as I just wanted to outline some possible new member promotions, and again, will try and keep up with my posting on a slightly more regular basis. Thanks for your fine patronage!

[stu]

Couple of other items, just so I can memorialize my thinking on this, if nothing else!

What determines if a wrestler receives a "World Title" tour career record, or a secondary title tour career record?

For the COTG world, I look to my traditional feds, when I was playing in a traditional way. If a wrestler was a World Champion in my GWF, then he is credited with being a World Champion in this model, and his tour record consists of his World Title defenses.

Same holds true for my LOW world.

But, how do I determine a new wrestler's designation, such as a Bob Backlund? Well, my rule of thumb is if that LOW debuting wrestler was a World Champion in real life (holding a belt with a real claim to that mantle), then they will be designated a World Champion in my WWA. If they were a career secondary/regional champion, then I tend to slot them as secondary champs for their career record....BUT, will allow them to move up to World Title status if they are a highly successful secondary champ in my fed.

Same principles apply for debuting fictional wrestlers, only I have to make the call as to their status in that world based upon how they are presented in the GWF, and their card stats. But, its not real hard to tell that Siege is a World Champ when looking at his card! Tempest on the other hand...well, right now I have him designated as a secondary champion for his tour record, but that could be subject to change, as he's winning a fair amount.

Just more useless trivia, but I've now got a record of it (for my feeble brain at least)!

[stu]

Nick Bockwinkel WWA World Title Tour (3 WWA World Title Reigns, 77 Title Defenses)

*Nick Bockwinkel (c) b. Dick Hutton, Figure Four (***1/2). Hutton had some chances early on in this one, even locking on an abdominal stretch, but Bock was accompanied by Bobby Henan in this one, and he ensured his wrestler was not going to be topped this evening. Boo, boo!

*Nick Bockwinkel (c) b. The Destroyer, Figure Four (*3/4). Not much of a match, as one might have hoped for given these two giants! But, Bockwinkel was in rare form for this one, and quickly dispatched his masked foe!

*Nick Bockwinkel (c) DQ Thunderbolt Patterson (**1/2). Well, Thunderbolt certainly stood up to the champ tonight, and ensured that he take him seriously! Bock was in big trouble too, reeling from a few well-placed Patterson punches, and when the action spilled outside, managed to get himself disqualified to save his World Title! Boo, boo!


Well, our current WWA World Champion has made some new friends in Hutton and Patterson, so look for potential rematches between these combatants soon! Up next, more World Title Tour action from the champions of the member promotions of Joint Promotions!

[stu]

(Let's check in with our GWF World Champion, Godsend, and see how he's faring defending his coveted belt...)


Godsend GWF World Title Tour (6 World Title Reigns, 165 Title Defenses...and yep, that's the current record!)

*Godsend (c) b. Bloodline with Hell's Threshold (***1/2). Godsend's battles with the Omega family are legendary (well, at least in my corner of the universe), and his battles with Bloodline are very reminiscent to me of Flair-Steamboat. This one didn't disappoint, going back and forth several times before the champ put Bloodline away!

*Godsend (c) b. Terry Taylor, Speak of the Devil (****). This has been a fun feud, with the quintessential babyface hero Taylor coming to the GWF to compete in a talent exchange, and battling with Godsend in a series of matches...and battling well, as heck, he almost won this one! Godsend shows an incredible ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and when he took the bout outside the ring, he was finally able to regain control, and finished an exhausted Taylor off! Another solid bout between these 2!

*Godsend (c) b. Star Warrior, Hell's Threshold (***1/4). Godsend once again finds himself embroiled in another great bout by a member of the Omega family, this time the legendary Star Warrior. Good bout, albeit not their absolute best...there have been some 5-star matches over the years fans! Tensions will always remain high between Godsend and the Omega family because at its core, its a battle for control of the GWF!

Thanks for following along Joint Promotions fans! We'll continue to bring you the exploits and title tours of our member promotions' champions!

[stu]

(Alright Joint Promotions fans, let's check in with our current AAW World Heavyweight Champion, and see how he's faring in his latest reign...)

"Showstoppa" Luther Diggs AAW World Title Tour (3 AAW World Title Reigns, 83 Title Defenses)

*Luther Diggs (c) b. GQ Stratus, Showstoppa Slam (***). Long-standing rivalry between these 2, with this match going to Diggs in a relatively short, but fast paced, bout! Always a fun rivalry, between arguably the "face" of AAW in Diggs, and also arguably the all-time heel of AAW in Stratus.

*Rick Furey DQ Luther Diggs (c) (**). Fireworks aplenty in this one, leading to tensions boiling and resulting in a big ol' brawl outside of the ring...which led to the DQ! Furey, managed by long-time GWF manager Reynard B. Guile, certainly wanted to show he was a player, and to some extent, did so in this one...there WILL be a rematch!

*Czenzor DQ Luther Diggs (c) (**). Well, another DQ after the match deteriorated into a Pier 6 brawl. Diggs is a world-class brawler, and is not afraid to mix it up when his opponents want to go to Fist City! He wasn't in the mood to put up with any of Czenzor's antics in this one fans, and sent him packing with a big old right cross!

*Rick Furey b. Luther Diggs (c), Furey of the Wild (**). Well, well, well...match consisted of 3 moves! A big ol' 3-move by Diggs to start the bout, and a pin attempt...followed by a missed deathjump by Diggs, followed by Furey of the Wild....followed by the 1-2-3! Furey gets his first AAW International Heavyweight Title win (secondary title), and we've got a feud between these 2!! More to come!


Let's take a peak, as we've got a little time, at an AAW World Tag-Team Championship bout fans...

Boys From Mecatoid AAW World Tag Team Title Tour (1 AAW World Tag Team Title Reign, 3 Title Defenses)

*Mr. Vega & Chet Dudebro (from GWFZ) DQ the Boys From Mecatoid (c) (**). Fun little brawl, which went to a DQ early, but it will certainly result in a rematch! Vega and Dudebro are tributes...in my opinion at least...to Morrison and the Miz, and were a lot of fun to use. Boys from Mecatoid use the Freebird rule, as any 2 of them can compete in a match!


Fans, the action in Joint Promotions keeps heating up, and we'll continue to bring you the championship title tours of the respective member champions! Stay tuned!

[stu]

Hello Joint Promotions fans! Let's check in with our newly crowned (well...new to you folks...I crowned him a little while ago...still kinda stink at posting regularly!) AAW World Heavyweight Champion "Sensational" Sonny Owens, who has regained the belt!

He's going to be facing, in keeping with his last themed tour, the 3 Trials of Jericho, in which he will face Y2K of GWFZ fame (a Jericho tribute made by Eric Konecne I believe), "Wildcat" Cody Christian (another Jericho tribute from Dale Blomquist's bootlegs...man, miss that guy's cards!), and lastly, Chris Jericho himself! How did Owens fare? Wait no more...

"Sensational" Sonny Owens AAW World Title Tour (4 AAW World Title Reigns, 78 Title Defenses) 

*"Wildcat" Cody Christian b. Sonny Owens (c), Wildcat Trap (***). Good bout, unfortunate outcome for Owens. Owens has shown, over the years, incredible resilience in battling from behind, but in this match, he just couldn't stay on offense. So, 0-1 in his Trials of Jericho!

*Y2K b. Sonny Owens (c), Fast Forward (***1/2). Another good bout, between 2 old rivals. But, Owens just couldn't stay on offense again, and was probably hurt by the fact his has an agility-based choice move on L2O which kept getting reversed by the lightning quick Y2K. 0-2 in the Trials of Jericho!

*Chris Jericho b. Sonny Owens (c), Walls of Jericho (***1/4). And yet another good bout, but guess what?? Yes, Owens couldn't stay on offense, again being hurt by his agility-based choice move....which he KEPT rolling....and when trying desperately to stay on L3O as he was already behind, kept losing control.

Well, sad news for Sensational Sonny Owens fan, of which I am a BIG one! He's one of the all-time greats in my wrestling world, but all time greats can go on cold streaks, and Sonny's on one (between this and his 3 Trials of Flair, he's 1-5 over his last 6 matches). 0-3 in the Trials of Jericho, but that means he's got 3 revenge matches on the horizon, and you can bet I'll be rolling them out soon...and maybe, if I can get my act together, I'll post 'em here as the 2nd Trials of Jericho !

Thanks for reading along fans, as the history of the Joint Promotions World Champions keeps on going!

[stu]

And we are back, with the 2nd Trials of Jericho for the Sensational Sonny Owens! Let's get to it fans!

"Sensational" Sonny Owens AAW World Title Tour (4 AAW World Title Reigns, 79 Title Defenses)

*Wildcat Cody Christian b. Sonny Owens (c), Wildcat Trap (***). Well, Sonny had his chances early on in this one, but couldn't put the Wildcat away! Cody Christian certainly seems to have Owens' number right now, and in the post match interview, said there was no way Owens could ever match up with him...them's fighting words folks!

*Y2K b. Sonny Owens (c), Code Cracker (***1/4). Sonny's having good bouts on this tour, but is failing to come up with any W's. He's too good to stay down for long though, so eventually, he's going to break through. Y2K looked pretty strong in this one, and notches his 12th defense himself as an AAW World Heavyweight Champion.

*Sonny Owens (c) b. Chris Jericho, Sensationalized (***1/2). We look prophetic, as Owens did indeed finally bounce back with a win over the real Chris Jericho, notching his astounding 79th AAW World Title defense in the process! Good back and forth, and it looked like early on that Owens was about to lose his 6th straight to these "Jericho's", but he did show that incredible Owens' resilience, and pulled the win out!


Well, Owens has feuds now well established with Cody Christian and Y2K. Christian is an especially difficult match up for Owens it seems, and Christian apparently knows it from his earlier comments! Stay tuned, as "The Sensational One" tries to even the score with both, and stay tuned in general for more championship action from Joint Promotions!

(I will get back to my GWF and WWA soon folks...just enjoying the bootleg action at the moment in AAW!)