The Wrestling Estate Fantasy Draft
11 companies. 12 rounds. History in the making.
In August, we had a fantasy draft roundtable that drew a huge response on Twitter, fueling endless debate about which wrestler from each major company would make a great first round selection.
Jack Goodwillie let the fantasy draft concept germinate, pondering how we could do it even bigger and better. Last month, he figured it out:
What if all the top wrestling companies in the world got together and said, “let’s blow the whole thing up and start from scratch?”
Eleven companies will then rise from the ashes, having a draft to determine how the best talent in the world will be divided up for the foreseeable future. Before the draft, everybody must establish a few things (this can probably be submitted with draft order pick). You will need a name for your fictional promotion, a direction for your product (sports entertainment, strong style, puro, all-women, all-men, intergender, LU style, all-cruiserweight, etc.), up to 1-3 announcers, and an optional authority figure. Announcers and authority figures are on open contracts and can be used freely in this world. In other words, multiple promotions can have Jim Ross.
The draft will be conducted through email – 12 rounds. As far as the talent pool goes, all active wrestlers are available. Part-timers are usable, semi-retired wrestlers are not. (So Brock Lesnar and John Cena are fair game, Triple H, Undertaker and HBK are not.) For the purposes of this simulation, we will assume Roman Reigns does NOT have leukemia and Joey Janela’s leg is NOT broken. Some wrestlers can be taken as tag teams, but the caveat is that you have to use them in the same match.
At the end of the draft, we will also have a bonus 13th “legends” round, where you can draft one legend to appear on your show in any way you see fit. The only rule here is that the legend has to be in their present-day form, so you can’t get, for instance, Shawn Michaels from 1997. You won’t be able to draft Chris Jericho, though, as he will be able to appear on any of your shows without having to use a draft pick on him, kind of like as he does in real life, almost like a free space in bingo.
At the end of the draft, you will then submit a “2-3 hour” pay-per-view card to show how your talent would work together in your fictional wrestling company. We’ll run Twitter polls to let readers vote on who has the best roster and who created the most entertaining PPV.
Here is the draft order:
Anthony Mahalis
Pick #: 1
World Wrestling Syndicate (WWS)
Description: Sports Entertainment, but better.
So, the idea of sports entertainment is good in theory, but WWE has done a mediocre job of delivering. That’s where the World Wrestling Syndicate comes in. Some people complain there are too many storylines, not enough pure wrestling. Well, we are going to change that. There will be stories told, but they will make sense, not end abruptly and absolutely will not overshadow the wrestling. We here at WWS are fully invested in the fans having a great time. Forget the PG nonsense and constantly scrutinized, proofread promos. The wrestlers will speak from their hearts – they won’t have to go over a script. I will be running the show and have final say in booking, but I won’t have a team of yes men diluting the product. My first order of business is the hiring of Sheriff Austin to make sure the ship runs smoothly.
Commentary Team: Good Ol’ Jim Ross and Corey Graves
Calvin Gibbon
Pick #: 2
Champagne Championship Wrestling (CCW)
Description: Gold and diamonds everywhere. Champagne Championship Wrestling and the Champagne family bring you the world’s most glamorous, charismatic and tough male and female wrestlers. Our booking philosophy is based on the brilliant minds of Dusty Rhodes and Bill Watts. It will be an updated and modern southern-style promotion based out of New Orleans. No Superheavyweights allowed. Only the most glamorous men and women are allowed with a strict under-280lb. weight cap. Our men and women need to fly. Expect a lucha indie style with down-to-earth booking and storylines. There will be three championships and one yearly tournament cup to compete for: the Champagne Woman’s Championship, the Platinum Men’s Championship, the World’s Greatest Tag Team championship and the yearly Champagne Family International Intergender World Cup.
Commentary Team: Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves
Authority Figure: Eric Bischoff representing the mysterious Champagne family.
Juan Bautista
Pick #: 3
Global Championship Wrestling
Description: This will be a showcase of some of the best wrestlers from around the world. Some will embody athletics, others will be big and strong and the rest will be of their own creation. There will be marquee shows throughout the year featuring PPV events and tournaments.
Commentary Team: Joe Rogan, Mauro Ranallo, Eddie Bravo
Authority Figure: Billy Corgan
Sam Gladen
Pick #: 4
Deep South Wrestling (DSW)
Description: Established in a Texas border town, DSW takes the lucha libre philosophy and tradition, marrying it with the hard-striking ground-style of southern wrestling. Nothing is too hardcore for this promotion. Booking focuses on dream matches crossing international lines. AJ Styles and Bandido? Daniel Bryan and Pentagon? Anything is possible in the Deep South.
Figurehead: Fritz Von Erich
Announce Team: Nigel McGuiness and Jim Ross
Steven Jackson
Pick #: 5
International Association Wrestling (IAW)
Announcers: Mike Tenay, Renee Young and Colt Cabana
Authority Figure: William Regal
Description: Seven continents around the world wanted it and now they have it. International Association Wrestling pits the world’s greatest wrestlers against one another in matches of revolutionary skill, contrasting styles and unique stipulations. The roster for IAW is chosen entirely by fans, which is then facilitated by IAW officials. Men and women can face each other in IAW and to stop any foul play, not only are there two officials on hand (one in the ring and one on the outside), but there are three rules all IAW wrestlers must follow:
Respect your opponent, the officials and fans.
Only use foreign objects in matches which allow them to be used.
Do not try to purposely injure your opponents.
If any of these rules are broken, this will result in immediate disqualification and possible banning from IAW. Plus, announcers have the authority to alert officials to the use foreign objects when needed, but are unable to count pin-falls or clarify submissions.
IAW has three championships: IAW Singles Crown, IAW Tag-Team Crown and IAW Trios Crown.
Anyone can hold these championships, but they come at a cost. If you win a championship, you must agree to defend it in every match you compete in going forward. The more times you successfully defend a championship the more opportunities you have in the bank to stay in IAW. Title defenses are worth two wins as opposed to one non-championship win, which is worth one. Also, in the case of tag team belts, it is only the wrestler who is pinned/submits who loses their belt, meaning their crown holder partner will then have a new partner for the foreseeable future, thus resulting in the breaking up of tag teams and rapid creation of new ones. After all this, if your loss average gets to be higher than your win average, you are immediately out of IAW. Wins and losses really do matter as you only get one chance in IAW, so you need to make it count.
IAW runs shows all over the world and each year a different country is picked to host IAW. Much the same as the Olympics, this can add an extra dimension to home-field advantages and intrigue. As you can see, IAW is all about presenting the best pro wrestling in the world. But it is more than that. IAW is about celebrating and innovating the diversity of pro wrestling for everyone in a fair and equal form. The fans wanted it, the wrestlers needed it and IAW has it!
Neal Wagner
Pick #: 6
Anarchy Wrestling
Announcers: Tony Schavone, Steve Corino, Don Callis
Authority Figure/Matchmaker: Nigel Mcguiness
Description: Anarchy is sports-entertainment, Crash TV and pro fucking wrestling done right. Coming to a town near you, Anarchy presents the best storylines and annual events including tournaments, specialty matches and five big shows a year to bring storylines full circle. The biggest thing will be the anticipation for the shows. Let the stories build and build. It may be June and the main event for the PPV in November would be made and there’s still another PPV in between. Title matches will be set in advance based on *card subject to change* who the title holder might be and what happens leading to the event. There won’t be any week-to-week, day-by-day storylines. Everything will be done year by year. We will present an annual War Games, World War 3 and G1-style matches! There won’t be count outs or disqualifications. There must be winners or both men better be knocked the fuck out. Welcome to the new era of wrestling. Welcome to the best wrestling on earth. WELCOME TO ANARCHY!
Chad Gelfand
Pick #: 7
Pro Wrestling Association (PWA)
Announce Team: Mauro Ranallo and Mark Henry (Fantastic talker, Hall of Fame pro wrestler and brings a legitimate sports background having competed in the Olympics)
Description: We have a sports-like feel with a season and playoff format. The season would span five months from April – August with the big show being at the end of August. We’d need a pretty large roster to pull this off, but there’d be six “teams” in the league comprised of 10 wrestlers. You would have one heavyweight, one middleweight and one cruiserweight, two tag teams and three women’s wrestlers. There’d be a draft to choose the wrestlers before the season and after the inaugural season there’d be free agency and another draft where up-and-coming wrestlers could be selected to replace whomever the team may lose in free agency.
There would four teams that get into the playoffs occurring in July. The teams that get in the playoffs are the ones that have the most collective wins as a team. A heavyweight wrestler could have 10 wins and carry their team to the playoffs, even if someone else on his team only had a few wins. The team as a whole would still make the playoffs.
The titles that would be fought for at the big show would be as follows: Heavyweight Championship, Middleweight Championship, Cruiserweight Championship, Tag Team Championship, Women’s Championship, Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Sam Namo
Pick #: 8
Gotham Championship Wrestling (GCW)
Description: Wrestling the way it should be! No count outs, No DQs and every match has a decisive winner. Fewer storylines with more great matchups and a vest for the unexpected. Most importantly, this New York-based promotion will be less for the G-rated crowd and more for the adult audience.
Announcers: Paul Heyman & Vince Russo
Jack Goodwillie
Pick #: 9
World Series of Wrestling (WSOW)
Description: Based out of Las Vegas, Jack Goodwillie found some high-profile investors by way of MMA fighter/businessman/pundit Chael Sonnen to fulfill his unique idea for a wrestling promotion. WSOW tours around the Las Vegas strip, with only one belt mattering: The King of the Strip. With wrestling serving as the city’s latest and greatest show/tourist attraction, The King of the Strip makes appearances all around Sin City, and will require a charismatic, yet talented champion to legitimize the belt and interact with fans and tourists. There will also be a tag team championship to quench the thirst of tag fans, but no secondary title, as WSOW serves as a battleground to a.) Determine the best professional wrestlers on the Las Vegas strip, b.) To make its combatants rich and c.) Settle the most personal issues.
Commentary Team: Joey Styles and Matt Striker
Authority Figure: Chael Sonnen
Jenna Leigh
Pick #: 10
Sparkle Women Superstars
John Corrigan
Pick #: 11
SHOOT
Description: The name says it all – a promotion blending the best of MMA and pro wrestling. We’re promoting sport rather than entertainment, emphasizing athletic backgrounds, fighting technique and most importantly, wins/losses. If UFC can do pro wrestling better than WWE, we’re copying Dana White’s recent booking methods and reinventing the wheel.
Commentary Team: Mauro Ranallo and Matt Striker
Authority Figure: Paul Heyman
The first round of the draft starts Monday.
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