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Bigpapa42 · 02-08-2009, 11:58 PM

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The Background

What is the Supreme Wrestling Federation? What is the CornellVerse? What's the point of all of this? As you read this, you might be asking yourself all of these, and understandably so. Here's some explanation that may help.

First off, this is a game I am playing on Total Extreme Wrestling 2008. The CornellVerse is the default fictional database that comes with the game, and the Supreme Wrestling Federation (SWF) is one of the promotions in that fictional universe.

Why go with a fictional game with fictional characters? Because of the freedom it allows you, quite simply. Rather than taking established characters from the real world and adapting them to what I want to do, I can take whatever character the game gives them and expand upon it to a large degree. But its more than that, as the CornellVerse is far deeper and detailed than most "fictional databases" that may come with such games. It has an entire history - which you can read about on this
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
- and a feel all its own. And the reason its called the "CornellVerse" is that the single greatest worker is a British wrestler by the name of Tommy Cornell, who is the world champion and owner of Total Championship Wrestling, the #2 American promotion.

One thing to keep in mind is that this universe is not intended as a "slightly fictionalized" version of reality, where all the workers and promotions are obviously intended to represent world world counterparts, with minor name changes. You can often find some similarities between the real world and the CornellVerse, but they are rarely direct.

Now the Supreme Wrestling Federation is the dominant promotion in both American and the world. The owner, Richard Eisen, revolutionized wrestling in the mid 1970s when he introduced Sports Entertainment. He took the SWF to a dominant position in the business very quickly, ending the territorial system that had existed previously. Supreme had dominated since then, not really facing a true challenge until the upstart TCW came into being in 1996, and it has been chasing the SWF ever since. That might sound a bit like the WWE, and the arcs of two promotions and their respective owners are about as close you get in the game. But the SWF is not the WWE.

This is actually a repost of a diary I am doing on the Grey Dog forums. I'm going to post everything from that diary over here to bring this up to date. The diary starts in March of 2008 and is currently in July, so there's quite a bit to get through. I will also mention that I encourage questions - so if you want more detail on anything about the game or the diary, let me know.

The Set Up

It is March 2008. Richard Eisen's Supreme Wrestling Federation has dominated the American wrestling world for three decades. A decade of challenge from Total Championship Wrestling (formerly Hollyweird Grappling Company) has not toppled Supreme for its pedestal. However, many in the wrestling continue to question whether SWF can possibly maintain its dominance. Even moreso, there are those who question whether the Sports Entertainment approach can remain relevant in the ever-changing environs of popular culture.

The Sports Entertainment approach is what separated SWF from the territorial system masses from the start. The presentation of the spectacle as a spectacle. Much as Hollywood evolved the basic concept of an entertaining film to create the epic blockbuster film, Richard Eisen evolved professional wrestling into Sports Entertainment. The dominance of SWF has taken more than just the creation of Sports Entertainment, though, as this approach has been continually adapted to stay current with contemporary American pop culture. Much like Hollywood and the music industry, SWF's approach to staying current with popular culture has actually resulted in the promotion affecting and creating popular culture at times.

Perhaps the greatest success of Richard Eisen and SWF has been that as a marketing machine. As effectively as any major corporation out there, Eisen and Supreme have sold SWF as a brand. Since the early 1980s, Supreme has excelled at myth-making. Everything possible has been slapped with a memorable, from the promotions superstars being branded as Supreme Legends on down.

The newest attempt at myth-making for the Supreme Wrestling Federation may be its most risky. After signing a new legion of talented young wrestlers to join the young talent already on the roster, the promotion has launched what it has dubbed Generation Supreme. With a major marketing and ideological push behind Generation Supreme, there is a great deal riding on the shoulders of the SWF youth movement. As part of this new approach, the younger workers of the promotion will even take a role in booking the world's biggest wrestling promotion. If the approach fails, it could spell disaster for Eisen and his promotion.

The Vision of the SWF

Just further clarify the earlier statement that the Supreme Wrestling Federation is not just the World Wrestling Entertainment that happens to be based in the CornellVerse... I have used the WWF/WWE for the basis for how I imagine the SWF to be, but its really just taking elements from different eras of the WWF/WWE. Even taking some elements from WCW and the old territorial promotions. There is some stuff that is meant to be subtle homages to the old school - and some of it not-so-subtle...

What I've tried to do is go with primary storylines that would appeal a broad audience. Most of the stories have a relatively simple basis, so as to appeal to the average fans and young fans. At the same time, many stories have are meant to have a bit more subtle depth that would appeal to the smarks. I am trying to do the same with some of the characters. Take the Jack Bruce character for example - the over-the-top "Show Time" hype for the fans to love, but layered with him being a bit disrespectful and condescending at times, which makes him seem a bit more "real" to the type of fans who looked for that.

I do realize that comedy is a key element of SWF, based on the product settings. I try to incorporate humor, but not in a grossly overt manner. I would rather have bits of humor mixed in, through the announcers and a few wrestlers with some amusing aspects to them, rather than entire characters there just for laughs. Well, outside of Jerry Eisen, anyway.

My booking style tends to run along my preferences - lots of tag teams, lots of stables, and lots of managers. I don't do quick title changes (other than with the low level titles, which is the point of them) and I don't do frequent turns or character changes. I try to avoid the "what happened last week doesn't matter at all" mentality. Which isn't to say I have absolute continuity, but that's really the goal. I try to avoid really ridiculous gimmicks, unless its truly creative. And yes, I'm working on a few of those.

It is probably worth noting that the brand split was not something I planned from the start. I often end up with a bloated roster after signing too many workers, so I decided that I would only sign workers that I could decide on a role for in the SWF, even if they were going to development first. The only problem with that was I did not end up getting rid of anyone (besides Big Smack Scott but that wasn't even really by choice). I figured on getting rid of some "dead wood" off the roster but found everyone relatively useful. So I decided to go with the brand split. It provides a chance to have slightly different visions of the SWF. Plus I don't think its something anyone is doing in a TEW 2008 diary for the CornellVerse (that I've noticed). Hopefully the brands will grow to be more distinct - that's the plan at least.

Another thing I will mention is that I use my B show (Generation Supreme) a great deal. For one, that means that some of the guys who don't seem to do much other than job on the main shows (Enygma, Enforcer Roberts, etc) usually get regular wins on there. For another, it means there are guys (and girls) on the B show that don't get on the main shows for some particular reason. They might be essentially trainers (Steve Flash), they might be "dark match" jobbers, or they might be guys working towards their debut (did this with Badd Kompany, for one). What the means is that the roster on this page is never quite accurate. Now that I have the full second show and brand, some of the relatively forgotten workers such as Engyma and Death Row will be getting more screen time and possibly even storylines of their own. They are not about to become the focus, but they will be less ignored.

__________________________________

The information on the front page here, I intend to keep current with the roster, title-holders, etc. This might make things easier for readers to keep track of those things.

Almost all of the images have been taken from the game or from the GDS site. All credit goes to the creators. Special credit to Hakk99 for proving the pay per view logos and to ReapeR for the custom championship belt renders.

02-08-2009, 11:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
Bigpapa42 Newish Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 2,533 vCash: 500 Rep Power: 123 Awards Showcase Total Awards: 4	Supreme Wrestling Federation: Generation Supreme To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. The Background What is the Supreme Wrestling Federation? What is the CornellVerse? What's the point of all of this? As you read this, you might be asking yourself all of these, and understandably so. Here's some explanation that may help. First off, this is a game I am playing on Total Extreme Wrestling 2008. The CornellVerse is the default fictional database that comes with the game, and the Supreme Wrestling Federation (SWF) is one of the promotions in that fictional universe. Why go with a fictional game with fictional characters? Because of the freedom it allows you, quite simply. Rather than taking established characters from the real world and adapting them to what I want to do, I can take whatever character the game gives them and expand upon it to a large degree. But its more than that, as the CornellVerse is far deeper and detailed than most "fictional databases" that may come with such games. It has an entire history - which you can read about on this To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. - and a feel all its own. And the reason its called the "CornellVerse" is that the single greatest worker is a British wrestler by the name of Tommy Cornell, who is the world champion and owner of Total Championship Wrestling, the #2 American promotion. One thing to keep in mind is that this universe is not intended as a "slightly fictionalized" version of reality, where all the workers and promotions are obviously intended to represent world world counterparts, with minor name changes. You can often find some similarities between the real world and the CornellVerse, but they are rarely direct. Now the Supreme Wrestling Federation is the dominant promotion in both American and the world. The owner, Richard Eisen, revolutionized wrestling in the mid 1970s when he introduced Sports Entertainment. He took the SWF to a dominant position in the business very quickly, ending the territorial system that had existed previously. Supreme had dominated since then, not really facing a true challenge until the upstart TCW came into being in 1996, and it has been chasing the SWF ever since. That might sound a bit like the WWE, and the arcs of two promotions and their respective owners are about as close you get in the game. But the SWF is not the WWE. This is actually a repost of a diary I am doing on the Grey Dog forums. I'm going to post everything from that diary over here to bring this up to date. The diary starts in March of 2008 and is currently in July, so there's quite a bit to get through. I will also mention that I encourage questions - so if you want more detail on anything about the game or the diary, let me know. The Set Up It is March 2008. Richard Eisen's Supreme Wrestling Federation has dominated the American wrestling world for three decades. A decade of challenge from Total Championship Wrestling (formerly Hollyweird Grappling Company) has not toppled Supreme for its pedestal. However, many in the wrestling continue to question whether SWF can possibly maintain its dominance. Even moreso, there are those who question whether the Sports Entertainment approach can remain relevant in the ever-changing environs of popular culture. The Sports Entertainment approach is what separated SWF from the territorial system masses from the start. The presentation of the spectacle as a spectacle. Much as Hollywood evolved the basic concept of an entertaining film to create the epic blockbuster film, Richard Eisen evolved professional wrestling into Sports Entertainment. The dominance of SWF has taken more than just the creation of Sports Entertainment, though, as this approach has been continually adapted to stay current with contemporary American pop culture. Much like Hollywood and the music industry, SWF's approach to staying current with popular culture has actually resulted in the promotion affecting and creating popular culture at times. Perhaps the greatest success of Richard Eisen and SWF has been that as a marketing machine. As effectively as any major corporation out there, Eisen and Supreme have sold SWF as a brand. Since the early 1980s, Supreme has excelled at myth-making. Everything possible has been slapped with a memorable, from the promotions superstars being branded as Supreme Legends on down. The newest attempt at myth-making for the Supreme Wrestling Federation may be its most risky. After signing a new legion of talented young wrestlers to join the young talent already on the roster, the promotion has launched what it has dubbed Generation Supreme. With a major marketing and ideological push behind Generation Supreme, there is a great deal riding on the shoulders of the SWF youth movement. As part of this new approach, the younger workers of the promotion will even take a role in booking the world's biggest wrestling promotion. If the approach fails, it could spell disaster for Eisen and his promotion. The Vision of the SWF Just further clarify the earlier statement that the Supreme Wrestling Federation is not just the World Wrestling Entertainment that happens to be based in the CornellVerse... I have used the WWF/WWE for the basis for how I imagine the SWF to be, but its really just taking elements from different eras of the WWF/WWE. Even taking some elements from WCW and the old territorial promotions. There is some stuff that is meant to be subtle homages to the old school - and some of it not-so-subtle... What I've tried to do is go with primary storylines that would appeal a broad audience. Most of the stories have a relatively simple basis, so as to appeal to the average fans and young fans. At the same time, many stories have are meant to have a bit more subtle depth that would appeal to the smarks. I am trying to do the same with some of the characters. Take the Jack Bruce character for example - the over-the-top "Show Time" hype for the fans to love, but layered with him being a bit disrespectful and condescending at times, which makes him seem a bit more "real" to the type of fans who looked for that. I do realize that comedy is a key element of SWF, based on the product settings. I try to incorporate humor, but not in a grossly overt manner. I would rather have bits of humor mixed in, through the announcers and a few wrestlers with some amusing aspects to them, rather than entire characters there just for laughs. Well, outside of Jerry Eisen, anyway. My booking style tends to run along my preferences - lots of tag teams, lots of stables, and lots of managers. I don't do quick title changes (other than with the low level titles, which is the point of them) and I don't do frequent turns or character changes. I try to avoid the "what happened last week doesn't matter at all" mentality. Which isn't to say I have absolute continuity, but that's really the goal. I try to avoid really ridiculous gimmicks, unless its truly creative. And yes, I'm working on a few of those. It is probably worth noting that the brand split was not something I planned from the start. I often end up with a bloated roster after signing too many workers, so I decided that I would only sign workers that I could decide on a role for in the SWF, even if they were going to development first. The only problem with that was I did not end up getting rid of anyone (besides Big Smack Scott but that wasn't even really by choice). I figured on getting rid of some "dead wood" off the roster but found everyone relatively useful. So I decided to go with the brand split. It provides a chance to have slightly different visions of the SWF. Plus I don't think its something anyone is doing in a TEW 2008 diary for the CornellVerse (that I've noticed). Hopefully the brands will grow to be more distinct - that's the plan at least. Another thing I will mention is that I use my B show (Generation Supreme) a great deal. For one, that means that some of the guys who don't seem to do much other than job on the main shows (Enygma, Enforcer Roberts, etc) usually get regular wins on there. For another, it means there are guys (and girls) on the B show that don't get on the main shows for some particular reason. They might be essentially trainers (Steve Flash), they might be "dark match" jobbers, or they might be guys working towards their debut (did this with Badd Kompany, for one). What the means is that the roster on this page is never quite accurate. Now that I have the full second show and brand, some of the relatively forgotten workers such as Engyma and Death Row will be getting more screen time and possibly even storylines of their own. They are not about to become the focus, but they will be less ignored. __________________________________ The information on the front page here, I intend to keep current with the roster, title-holders, etc. This might make things easier for readers to keep track of those things. Almost all of the images have been taken from the game or from the GDS site. All credit goes to the creators. Special credit to Hakk99 for proving the pay per view logos and to ReapeR for the custom championship belt renders.