I wrote this up with vague plans to run a Season of it at some point, and I liked it enough to publish it. This is designed for use with The World Wide Wrestling RPG, second edition.
Reach: Regional
Supports: Devoted Following, Social Media Expertise
Struggles: Junior Partner, In Debt
PNWage Wrestling is a wrestling promotion based in Tacoma, WA that runs shows throughout the Pacific Northwest. Their events take place as far north as Vancouver and as far east as Spokane and Boise. Their signature is hard hitting, realistic bouts with a heavy dose of humor in the storylines. They also keep fans happy and interested by regularly featuring wrestlers from Japan and Europe.
They were purchased last month by True Japan Pro Wrestling, the largest Japanese promotion. TJPW wants to expand into the US; PNWage Wrestling was slowly going broke. The promotion is about to be renamed True US Pro Wrestling, much to the chagrin of many. This will happen at the next major event, Maximum Pressure, which will be broadcast through TJPW’s streaming service and PPV affiliates.
The name change only intensifies concerns that the promotion’s unique culture will be overwritten by TJPW’s needs. TJPW wrestlers have often been featured at PNWage Wrestling events — but will the promotion be able to continue booking wrestlers from other promotions which aren’t affiliated with TJPW? Will the homegrown wrestlers be overshadowed by TJPW stars? There’s plenty of upside to this change, but most wrestlers and fans will need to see it before they believe it.
Championships
Pacific Wrestling Heavyweight Championship: This is the top title of PNWage Wrestling. The lineage traces back to territorial titles from decades past, at least if you count an exhibition match concocted specifically to facilitate that claim. There’s a rumor that it’s going to be merged with the TJPW US Title. That rumor is accurate.
Pacific Wrestling Oregon Territory Championship: This is the promotion’s secondary title belt; it can only be defended within Oregon. PNWage Wrestling once talked someone in the Oregon state government into claiming the Boise Egyptian Theater as Oregon property for a night, though.
Pacific Wrestling Tag Team Championship: The Tag Team Championship are highly prestigious in PNWage Wrestling, on par with the Heavyweight Championship. These belts feature in main events quite often.
The Fan Belt: This title started out as a rib, but took on its own life thanks to fan reaction. Challengers for this belt are booked by the fans via social media quizzes; match outcomes are determined in the usual manner. It’s considered an outlaw belt, so title matches are never a main event and are often one-offs outside the normal show structure.
Characters
Fisherman Jack: “From the mean docks of Seattle… it’s Fisherman Jack!” Fisherman Jack is the Pacific Wrestling Heavyweight Champion: They’re a highly skilled technical wrestler, with a nasty submission finisher called the Tangled Line. They take great glee in heelishly mocking their opponents who fail to escape it. With the rumored impending merger of the belts, Jack’s worried they’ll be relegated back to the midcard they recently escaped.
Black Block: “Raised in the people’s city of Portland, Oregon, bringing mutual aid to the squared circle… Black Block!” Black Block, holder of the Fan Belt, is a masked brawler working an anarchist gimmick. He makes a good faith effort to be serious about it, in part because the man under the mask is embarrassed by his wealthy background. He’s come under some fire from real antifa, although others support him because a high profile face might help get the message out.
Rachel Castillo: “Fighting out of the legendary Queen’s Dojo in Victoria, Canada, it’s the two-time Pacific Wrestling Tag Team Champion, Rachel Castillo!” Rachel went solo last year when her partner, Kyle Cooper, stabbed her in the back mid-match. He joined up with their opponents, the Lake Monsters, and has been hiding from her challenges “as a pure tag team wrestler” ever since. Rachel needs a partner to challenge him, but nobody’s lived up to her standards yet.
PRIME: “Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, it’s the True Japan Professional Wrestling United States Champion and official representative of TJPW, the one, the singular, PRIME!” PRIME is a high-flying junior, trained in the TJPW Dojo and consistent threat to win the TJPW Jr. Heavyweight belt. He joined the PNWage Wrestling tour when the acquisition was announced. Everyone assumes he’s going to be winning the Pacific Wrestling Heavyweight Championship at Maximum Pressure, but that’s months away.
Caroline Olsen: PNWage Wrestling’s ring announcer and accountant. She’s beloved by fans and wrestlers alike. At the moment most of her attention is on paying off a certain chunk of debt that she couldn’t tell True Japan about, since it’s owed to organized crime. Maybe some off the book shoot matches with a betting pool would bring in enough cash?
Other Wrestler Names
Use these as you see fit! Any or none of them might exist in your PNWage Wrestling.
Sweet Spokandy, Orca, Curt Giorgi, Just Jane, Yoshio, Emmi Juhola, Gunnar Lang, Orochi Hagiwara, The Ballard Brawler, Yukiko Kawabata, Blue Phantasma Sr., Alvi Juhola, Freight Train, Axe Anderson, Pike Powell, Microfight, Alex Legend, Sandra Jones, Sumac, Ten Ton Trevor.
Other Tag Team/Faction Names
As with the list of wrestler names, use these as you see fit.
The Nordic Connection, Deep Waters, The Future, Strong Fighting Squad, The Boise Boys, Cascadians United, Yesterday’s News, Wall of Thorns, Eurostrong, Totality.
Events/Shows
Maximum Pressure: PNWage Wrestling’s signature event, occurring in September in Seattle to catch the back to college crowd. This is where the year’s storylines kick off. All the belts are featured on this show, except of course the Fan Belt.
The Oregon Trail: every January, PNWage Wrestling runs a month long single elimination tournament. All shows take place outside Oregon except the finals. The winner earns the right to challenge the current Pacific Wrestling Oregon Territory champion.
Portland Pugnacity: In March, the Oregon Trail winner main events this show against the current Pacific Wrestling Oregon Territory champion. In recent years this show has taken place outside, at Walker Stadium.
Custom Move
Declare Your Side: Each player can use this Move once, including during a match. When you stand up for either the TJPW style or the PNWage Wrestling way, roll +Real.
- On a 10+: Your words connect with the audience. Take the 7-9 result, and in addition, pick one:
- Gain +1 Audience.
- Gain +1 Heat with a wrestler who has Declared for the other side.
- On a 7-9: You’ve certainly given them something to think about. Book a match with a wrestler who has Declared for the other side (or a TJPW NPC, if you Declared for PNWage Wrestling); double all gains or losses from Finishing Moves for both wrestlers.
- On a Botch: You come across as petulant, or worse, contrived. The opposition looks great in contrast. The Creative immediately books a match for you with a wrestler who has Declared or is affiliated with the other side; that wrestler’s gains and losses from Finishing Moves are doubled. Also, pick one:
- Give a wrestler who has Declared for the other side +1 Heat with you.
- Lose 1 Audience.
Usage
This promotion was written to be used in a one Season game of World Wide Wrestling. Run your first episode under the shadow of the True Japan Pro Wrestling news. The last episode of the Season is, of course, Maximum Pressure. TJPW plans to merge the Pacific Wrestling Heavyweight Championship with the TJPW US Championship at Maximum Pressure, eliminate the Fan Belt, and rename the promotion.
The players have the power to interfere with these plans by Booking the TJPW US Championship off PRIME, capturing the Pacific Wrestling Heavyweight Championship and rebooking the finish of the title merger match, or any other clever plan they come up with. Make sure the players know this; you don’t want them assuming they’re helpless, because that’s no fun.
Maximum Pressure is a couple of months away. If you want a full Season of 8-10 shows, assume that Maximum Pressure is three months away and PNWage Wrestling runs relatively frequently for an indie promotion. (Possibly this is why they went broke.) On the other hand, it’s completely reasonable to assume they run once or twice a month, in which case you’ve got 2-4 shows to work with before the big PPV.
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