Aside from my bi-weekly “CHIKARA Chronicles” and occasional DVD reviews, there has not been much more that I have contributed to the Pulse Wrestling team since joining this summer. However, I am determined to finally pull something new out of my back pocket. With that taken into consideration, welcome to the first ever “Pulse Wrestling Fantasy Draft”.
General information
Nine writers (including myself) registered to participate in the draft. 25 draft choices are eligible, including 23 wrestlers or managers, two commentators, and one general manager. Only active wrestlers are permitted to be drafted for the “wrestler” part of the roster. In other words, one is free to draft Rob Van Dam or Mr. Anderson, but not Ric Flair or Jeff Hardy. “Inactive” does not mean injured, so guys like Edge or Tyler Black are completely eligible. It should be noted, though, that retired or inactive wrestlers can be used as general managers and color commentators.
If someone wants to draft a tag team, then writers have that option. To do so, though, one is essentially giving up their next draft pick. For instance, if I wanted to draft the Motor City Machine Guns as a team in round one, I could by saying the following: “my promotion selects Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, the Motor City Machine Guns”. When round two comes around, though, I would be skipped. Also, just because a team is currently not together does not mean that writers cannot reunite them. For example, someone can draft Paul London and Brian Kendrick or the Latin American Xchange, but not Harlem Heat, as Stevie Ray is retired. I would also add that faction tandems, such as D-Generation X and the the Power Trip do not count as a team.
Trades can be made once the draft is over, but under somewhat thin circumstances. General managers and commentators cannot be swapped between promotions. In order for a company to properly function, at least one general manager and two commentators must be present. Also, to keep things fair, every promotion must have a minimum of 20 individuals on their rosters once the draft has officially come to an end. For instance, who wants to see someone throw five guys away just to acquire John Cena?
Once the drafting portion has ended, the writers must produce a debut show. Readers will vote for their favorite shows and those with the highest amount of votes will advance to round two and so forth. Round three will be between the two writer finalists and they must create one pay-per-view show for the readers. The winner of round three will ultimately be declared the first ever “Pulse Wrestling Fantasy Draft” champion. If things still sound a bit confusing, more information regarding voting will be posted later on.
Draft order
Below is the draft order and promotions that each represents. This order was chosen completely at random on a shuffling website.
1. Big Andy Mac – International World Class All Star Professional Championship Wrestling Global Alliance and Grappling Arts Federation Unlimited
2. Aaron Glazer – Pro Wrestling Company
3. Mark Allen – Prime Championship Wrestling
4. Steven Gepp – Generic Wrestling Promotion #25
5. Raffi Shamir – Just Pro Wrestling
6. Grey Scherl – Real Ass Pro Wrestling
7. Anthony Perillo – Full Force Wrestling
8. Michael O’Mahony – Lost Art Wrestling
9. David Brashear – New Generation Wrestling
Round #1
Big Andy Mac of International World Class All Star Professional Championship Wrestling Global Alliance and Grappling Arts Federation Unlimited (IWCASPCWGAAGAFU) selects Bryan Danielson.
Calling Bryan Danielson one of the best wrestlers in the world is not just a clever nickname. He truly is one of the best in ring performers going. He also has ever improving microphone skills and one of the most impressive resume’s of any American Wrestler not in WWE. He may not be the most well known, but he is a great wrestler to build a company around thus IWCASPCWGAAGAFU will make him one of the backbones of our company.
Aaron Glazer of Pro Wrestling Company (PWC) selects John Cena.
Cena is the biggest draw in both merchandising and gates in American wrestling. He’s an extremely hard worker who has no problem lying down to make a new star. He’s not my favorite, but Cena adds instant credibility to all the proceedings of my company, ensuring we’d make enough to stay afloat, and with the right opponent, like Michaels a couple years back, he can put on great matches. So now I have a potential star maker who will set the tone with his hard work in the locker-room and will do enough business to keep my company afloat, letting me focus elsewhere.
Mark Allen of Prime Championship Wrestling (PCW) selects Randy Orton.
Orton is the quintessential heel for the era. He oozes an aura of someone who isn’t afraid actually be a heel and doesn’t try to be the “cool guy.” He has the look, aura and charisma that screams “top guy.”
Steven Gepp of Generic Wrestling Promotion #25 (GNW-25) selects Chris Jericho.
As someone who is good on the mic and great in the ring, who can do the technical matches or the spot-fests, he is an asset to any wrestling organisation. He is also apparently some-one willing to do anything to get the story across. And he is not too old that he will break down quickly. Plus, as an added advantage, he can do his own music.
Raffi Shamir of Just Pro Wrestling (JPW) selects CM Punk.
For a long time the management of JPW called CM Punk overrated. But the last six months proved that he is far from that. Punk has been putting excellent performances on the mic and in the ring against a variety of opponents. He proved that he is more than capable of being a top heel and after a lengthy run in that role, he will also be able to be a top face for any promotion.
Grey Scherl of Real Ass Pro Wrestling (RAPW) selects Edge.
Despite being off on injury, Edge has proven himself over the past several years that he is not only the best heel in the WWE, but in the entire industry. He’s the kind of heel that you build a company around. And hey, it makes RAPW Rated R.
Anthony Perillo of Full Force Wrestling (FFW) selects Rob Van Dam.
Regardless of his noted recreational marijuana usage, Van Dam may be one of the best all-around athletes in professional wrestling history. As the first person to ever win both, the WWE Championship and ECW World Heavyweight Championship, my words in the first sentence are proven to be more than clear. Before leaving the WWE, Rob was easily one of the company’s top talent. With that said, FFW will look to make Van Dam into a big star of their promotion, just like the WWE once did.
Michael O’Mahony of Lost Art Wrestling (LAW) selects Jack Swagger.
Swagger is a main eventer in waiting. Great skills, a legit background, and a superstar look make The All-American American the closest thing to a next-gen Kurt Angle. This is exactly the kind of performer the upper-tier of the LAW roster will be built around. Swagger has all the ingredients to be a headliner for years to come.
David Brashear of New Generation Wrestling (NGW) selects Samoa Joe.
The Samoan Submission Machine Samoa Joe is a name that strikes fear into all who know him. With technical expertise added to his size and power, Joe is a well-rounded wrestler who doesn’t win matches – he dominates them. There is no doubt that Samoa Joe will prove a threat to anyone who holds the NGW heavyweight title. And when Joe captures the belt, who will be able to dethrone him?
Tune back this weekend into the “Pulse Wrestling Fantasy Draft”, as five more draft picks from each respective company will be made. Also, feel free to leave comments below. Questions about the draft in general? Agree or disagree with our first round picks or explanations? Let us know and maybe we can explain each of our individual picks a bit more thoroughly.
- Anthony Perillo
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All undrafted free agents get to fight it out in the Kace Wrestling League. :D
I think this is a great idea that will spark some heated debates. To start some right now, I have to say that Swagger and RVD were horrible Choices to be gin this draft. Swagger has no Mic skills and is too new to build a whole new company around. RVD has a moveset that is so routine you can set your watch to it. For every great RVD match, you can count four that were uninspired. Those two organizations appear doomed from the start.
Wow, AJ Styles slipped to the second round? Somebody is going to get a true steal here.
As an American human, I eat this draft s*** up. The only thing better than watching is participating.
Chris Jericho was the best choice of this list hands down. Can’t wait to see who picks up Morrison.
RVD? Is it 2002? First round?
First, this is an awesome idea, and I can’t wait to read more.
With that said, it seems to me that your first round pick would have to be someone who is a huge draw, yet brings some wrestling legitamacy to your organization. I feel that some of that was missed in this draft, probably because of the IWC bias.
Guys I would have expected to see in the 1st round:
AJ Styles (TNA champ, awesome all around)
Shawn Michaels (Still enough gas in the tank to carry a federation for a few years, and at his best can do it all)
Dark Horses for the first round:
HHH – He sells merchandise, is a huge draw, and if you have a single sister, he makes a great son in law.
Christian – as a late 1st rounder, he wouldn’t be bad. Great heel, decent on the mic, and good overall wrestler. Has plenty of experience being in the main event.
Hornswoggle – Ok, just making sure you are paying attention.
Guys who should not be in the 1st round:
Jack Swagger – not even in the league of the other guys in the top 10 – He would be a good early 3rd rounder
RVD – Um no, not even at his prime was he good enough to center a federation around. I love RVD, but not until the 4th or 5th round (at the earliest).
Samoa Joe – I know the IWC loves him, but he’s more of a middle to late 2nd rounder. A bit of a reach, but still a solid guy to have.
I would say that depends on what the ethos and aims of your promotion are. After all, this being the IWC, maybe some of us simply want to develop a sweet indie promotion and aren’t necessarily swinging for the fences.
That’s the beauty of doing the draft a pick at a time and then running the shows. You can see what each writer is going for and then how they execute it.
You also have to remember that this is a draft, and that even if I’d had a shortlist of a hundred guys from which to pick twenty-five, I’d have been lucky to get seven or eight of them. Four guys I’d have definitely picked went in the first round.
You start out thinking about all the great guys you’re going to get, then you realize that a draft situation means you have to be more strategic, and then you start thinking more seriously about the kind of promotion you want to build instead of just looking for the biggest names right out of the gate. Who works for what you want to do?
For what I want to do, Swagger is perfect.
Actually, LOLWUT, I knew that I’d have the first pick of round 2 as well. Joe and the wrestler I picked that round were at the top of my list, so it was just a fifty-fifty shot of which one went in round 1 and which was round 2. You’ll see what I mean when you check out the second installment.
1) Danielson is clearly The Man, as far as the IWC seems to be concerned at present. The real question is whether Danielson would actually be able to succeed where a number of others have already failed (leaving the ‘E with the same six or so guys at the top of the card for God only knows how long).
2) Cena would be my pick if I were the #1 pick in all this. I think he is the one wrestler you could build a wrestling league around and effectively play him both ways (sometimes at the same time). If I were heading a fed, I’d start Cena as a face, but if it’s clear he’s getting the same reactions he’s getting in WWE, I turn him, at least vis-a-vis those who hate him. It’d be basically “Those in the Chain Gang, get on my back and we go forward. Those who aren’t can go to …”
And if you need a “face of the league” to go beyond the wrestling and actually speak for the league (press conferences, news, etc.), there’s your man.
3) I make no secret. I do not like Randy Orton, and I find his attitude repugnant. That said, if you can control him backstage, you’ve got your top man and your top heel. He’s clearly effectively (at least before his loss to Cena) on the top of the card for the foreseeable.
4) Jericho almost has too much heat (which see some of the incidents he gets into from time to time), but he’s clearly the most versatile person on the top line. He can go both ways (clearly preferring heel), he interviews about the best of anyone not named John Cena, and can do anything from comedy to coward to technical.
5) CM Punk is riding his IWC rep here. He’s already established that he’s NOT ready to carry a brand at this point — TWICE. He probably needs a good education as to how to be The Man before he deserves this kind of selection. I don’t like him on the top line.
6) If there’s one guy in the wrestling business I despise more than Randy Orton, it’s Adam “Edge” Copeland, who basically was a mid-card tag-team specialist before he took one of his rivals and screwed his girlfriend from him. THAT took him to the top of the card.
I don’t like this pick because I’m not sure he can be trusted backstage (neither personally nor physically). He comes across as injury-prone, on top of all the other issues.
7) RVD…. Real tough call. It’s clear you’ve got drug issues with this guy, and almost certainly still do. You’d be sending a message as to what kind of federation you would have with this guy on top. Could he be trusted to be The Man when it’s clear that he was given, essentially, 2/3 of WWE to be The Man of and dropped the ball essentially immediately on being handed such?
Not only that, but how much has this guy wrestled post-WWE??? Is he in “game shape”, or has a little too much 4:20 worked his way into that too? I don’t like this pick either.
8) Jack Swagger is a victim of the fact that people in the WWE no longer can trust the young guard (which see the likes of RVD, CM Punk, etc. and so forth) and have left the main event scene alone for the better part of the 2000s.
I like the pick, if, for no other reason, he should be in the position CM Punk is now. He should be That Guy (probably with Kofi Kingston as well with his situation with Orton) who basically is the next guy that the WWE looks at to try again with another youngster at the top of the card.
9) Samoa Joe… The IWC’s darling from TNA’s inception. I can see the pick, but the problem I have is that I am not sure that he is capable of actually being The Man going forward, and, to me, your #1 draft pick is The Man.
Ok, here are some quick thoughts:
1. Danielson HAD to be the first pick. The guy is a hall of hame type worker, mic skills are better than most people think and is a money draw.
2. I hate Cena, but a good pick. The guy is going to help you make payroll and get your name out there.
3. RVD? Sorry, that’s a wasted pick. I love RVD, but that’s like bringing any vet in. Yes, a amazing talent, but he hasn’t worked a full time scheduel in a long time and he has been out of the top 3 companies for a long time. Unless you are going all high fliers, its an outdated pick.
4. If I had a late 1st round pick, Desmond Wolfe would be a name on my board. He has been good for years and with the right moves, could be a center piece.
5. Swagger is a ballsy pick, but I like it. Its banking on what’s to come and in this biz, if you can snatch up a big star before they break, you can print cash.
Love this idea.