Wrestling Card Game Reaches Funding Goal

There have been many pro wrestling card games over the years, but they’ve always put you in the shoes of a wrestler. A Kickstarter campaign is underway to flip the script, funding a card game that puts you in the shoes of Paul Heyman, Giant Baba or even Mr. McMahon.

Book It! The Wrestling Promoter Card Game allows you to run your own promotion, choosing your company’s distinct style, developing local talent and even sabotaging rival promotions. The object is to put on the best show you can with the resources at your disposal. At the end of the game, the player with the highest reputation as the most well-known and popular indie promotion is the winner.

“For somebody like me, a smark who has known the inside of wrestling for so long, pro wrestling matches are cooperative,” creator Paul LaPorte told Corrigan’s Corner on Team LeftJab. “One thing that is competitive is different promotions. They’re competing for talent, money and fans.”

Due to the death of kayfabe as well as the internet providing instant access to the formerly guarded inner workings of the business, fans today are more interested in what’s happening behind the scenes rather than in the ring. LaPorte has tapped into that curiosity by injecting elements of simulation games like Extreme Warfare Revenge, the booking modes of WWE’s 2K series and his own experiences in the industry, of which he’s played various roles over the past decade.

His friend Scott Fellows went to wrestling school and paid his dues at IWS (International Wrestling Syndicate) in Montreal, where Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn cut their teeth. LaPorte was able to help out by setting up the ring and working security, developing an even deeper appreciation for the industry. “Whenever I wanted to go to a show after that, I wanted to be involved in some way. It wasn’t enough for me to just sit in the crowd,” LaPorte said.

Since then, he has done commentary, helped book Fellows’ Truly Independent Wrestling in Massachusetts, and even served as the promotion’s on-air general manager. Fittingly, it was while preparing to hang out with his fellow wrestling colleagues that LaPorte conceived Book It! The Wrestling Promoter Card Game.

“I was getting ready for a camping trip with some friends of mine who are independent wrestlers,” LaPorte said. “We’re all kind of nerds and we’re all into card games and board games. It dawned on me that I should make a game for us. I sat down with pen and paper and came up with some loose rules. We played on the trip and everybody had a great time.”

You start off by selecting what kind of promotion you’ll run: strong style, hardcore, sports entertainment, etc. Then you’ll choose which city and venue will host your events. Arguably the most fun part comes when selecting which indie wrestlers you’ll hire out of a pool of 60 awfully familiar characters like Jack Love and Andy Phenom. “I was able to make a lot of fun, colorful characters based off of wrestlers I’ve been a fan of in real life,” LaPorte said. “People will be able to recognize who those characters were inspired by.”

With the help of artist Alex Mahoney, who has done merchandise designs for The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and other stars, as well as wrestling influencers like Superkicking It with Kelsi, LaPorte’s game has drawn quite a buzz since debuting at WrestleCon in New Orleans.

“I don’t believe pro wrestling is something just for 30-year-old white guys,” he said. “Kelsi is a great representation of the inclusiveness. I’ve played with wrestlers as well as people who have never watched wrestling and both enjoyed it.”

With 14 days to go, the Kickstarter campaign has already reached over $22,000, surpassing its $18,000 goal. Besides helping bring this game to fruition, backers have a couple interesting incentives for supporting this project. By pledging $500 or more, you’ll be able to go backstage at Truly Independent Wrestling, attend a wrestling class as either a student or spectator, sit in on a writers’ meeting, watch the show backstage from a monitor, and celebrate afterward with a night on the town.

But wait…it gets better. Two backers have the chance to pledge $1,500 or more, which earns them every wrestling fan’s dream: putting somebody through a table. “I will drive to wherever they are in the continental U.S. and they can put me through a table,” LaPorte said. “I’ll be providing the table and bringing one of my wrestlers with me to oversee it and make sure I don’t die.”

The Kickstarter ends the first week of May and the plan is to ship out the game to backers by October or November.

You can support the Kickstarter here.

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John Corrigan

Editor-in-chief John Corrigan has covered pro wrestling for nearly a decade, reporting for Wrestledelphia, The Philadelphia Daily News, The Temple News and others.

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