March 29, 2024

SRG Universe Teams With New South

The brands present Winter Warz Rumble in Westville, NJ on Dec. 11.

SRG Universe Inc., a New York-based gaming company, has another ace up its sleeve.

The creator of Supershow the Game, a pro wrestling collectible card game, will be unveiling its latest set of cards this Saturday at Winter Warz Rumble – New South Pro Wrestling’s first foray up north. SRG Universe is co-promoting the event in Westville, NJ as part of the release of the New South Brawl 2-Player Box Set, featuring the top stars of the Hartselle, AL-based promotion.

“The fans in the Philadelphia area can expect an amazing experience,” says Dump Sanders, co-owner of New South Pro Wrestling. “As an ECW fan and historian, I can’t wait to bring our product there and show them why we are the indie wrestling company that is the #BestInTheSouth.”

Competing throughout the South for the first half of the last decade, Sanders had grown discouraged with his career, as well as the overall landscape of indie wrestling. In 2015, he was ready to hang up the tights, but his friend Brandon Williams talked him into promoting. According to Sanders, the first show was a fundraiser for a little girl who needed help with medical bills. “We got such great support that we kept going and changed the game in the South,” he says.

The stacked card this Saturday features a blend of New South’s top names and familiar faces to fans in the tri-state area. Adam Priest, who’s appeared on AEW Dark and Elevation several times this year, defends the New South Heavyweight Championship against A Very Good Professional Wrestler. Veteran grappler Cabana Man Dan will take on Boomer Hatfield of CHIKARA fame. Two participants in this year’s ECWA Women’s Super 8 will clash as Damaris Dawkins meets ECWA Women’s Champion Gabby Ortiz. In intergender action, Pretty Empowered (Kenzie Paige and Ella Envy) put the New South Tag Team Titles on the line against Jordan Oliver and Ellis Taylor of Young, Dumb N Broke.

And then there’s the Winter Warz Rumble – New South’s take on the Royal Rumble.

“Our Winter Warz Rumble match itself will be filled with thrills and surprises,” Sanders says. “We are stoked! Saturday can’t come fast enough!”

This Saturday is equally important for SRG Universe, which launched a year before New South. As the legend goes, Steve Resk, a wrestling collectible card gamer, felt the games he played were becoming too complicated for his friends and family to join in. So, he developed the “Lead, Follow Up, Finish” engine that would power Supershow the Game. Players build 30-card decks and roll their dice every turn to try and play their own “Finish” card. When that card hits, the player does a “Finish” roll and their opponent gets three breakout rolls (simulating the 1-2-3 count in wrestling) to match or beat the finish roll.

Joining forces with John Calace to form SRG Universe, Resk launched the first Supershow Kickstarter in 2014, with six more to follow year after year, building the roster of playable wrestlers to over 400. Along with the many independent wrestlers available to choose from, players can create their own characters in the game. Currently, some of the big names to have cards include Rob Van Dam, Sami Callihan, Danhausen and Colt Cabana.

The man responsible for recruiting wrestlers to license their name, image and likeness for Supershow the Game is Griff Briggs, co-owner and chief operating officer at SRG Universe. A lifelong gamer, the Clarksville, TN native has nearly 15 years’ experience in the industry, specializing in growth, merchandising and marketing. In addition to pitching wrestlers on signing with the company, Briggs also books booths at conventions, reaches out to promotions for potential collaboration and ensures products are delivered to the warehouse.

Despite historic supply chain disruption in the United States this past year, Supershow the Game hasn’t been impacted because it’s manufactured almost 100% domestically. Briggs credits WonderPress, a small, family-owned printer in Chattanooga, TN, for contributing to the game’s success.

“It’s all about relationship-building,” Briggs says. “Whether sending emails or approaching people at shows, you have to remember it’s always a no unless you ask. Our main focus is to not only secure them for our game, but to give back to them in some way. These independent wrestling aren’t always making a ton of money, so we give them another opportunity to market themselves.”

In addition to New South, Briggs has built relationships with MLW, Impact Wrestling, Catalyst Wrestling, House of Glory and other promotions throughout the country. It’s quite the Rolodex for someone who admittedly wasn’t much of a wrestling fan growing up, aside from playing WCW vs. nWo: World Tour on Nintendo 64.

However, his wife Jennifer, more commonly known as “Belle,” is the true wrestling fanatic in the family. A WWE diehard, she grew up watching every WrestleMania alongside her father. As the lead graphic designer for Supershow the Game, it was actually her idea to co-promote an event with New South during PAX Unplugged, a gaming convention in Philadelphia from Dec. 10-12.

“We fell in love with Dump Sanders and thought more people need to know about New South,” Briggs says. “There’s a little bit of pride in bringing these southern guys and gals up north. Even if there’s only 50 people in the seats, we’re putting this show on to get exposure for both brands, and more importantly, to give back to our fans.”

As you can expect from a product that combines gaming and pro wrestling, it has quite the hardcore fan base. Supershow the Game is popular in the U.S. and Canada, with players from as far away as New Zealand among its active community. In 2019, SRG Universe hosted its own convention, drawing about 150 fans to Cincinnati, where attendees played for three days straight. Attendees also got to meet and play with Callihan, Brian Cage, Tyler Breeze and Shawn Spears. SRG Universe also sponsored the first Chris Jericho cruise, where Callihan won a tournament to become the first Supershow the Game Champion.

“My personal white whale I haven’t been able to secure is Orange Cassidy,” Briggs says. “I met him at a GCW show right before he signed with AEW. But one of the coolest guys I know is Effy. We secured him a couple months ago and had him at our booth to meet fans and sign autographs. My wife thinks he’s amazing.”

The New South Brawl 2-Player Box Set will be available for purchase in person and at a later date online for $40.

Winter Warz Rumble takes place Dec. 11 at Superkrazee Wrestling Venue on 1030 Delsea Drive in Westville, NJ.

For tickets and more information, visit supershowthegame.com.

You can also watch live on IWTV.

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