Boards PW Draft 2020 - Official Picks & Write up thread

16 new promotions have been formed after the dissolution of the traditional powerhouses in sports entertainment all of which were looking for their own edge to make them the premier wrestling provider. Some went the hardcore route, some adopted the Puroresu approach, while others tried to recreate the attitude era. Perhaps it was naivety, perhaps hubris but the chairman of the BWA (Bounty Hunter) thought he knew how to make it so that his product was the one that incorporated a little bit of everything under one roof, but he also knew his plan would not go smoothly.

Why?

Well because it saw him bring back to the world of wrestling the one and only former Chairman of the WWE Vince McMahon!

You could hardly blame him for going for the tried and tested route to success and bringing in the man who masterminded the destruction of the wrestling territories before defeating WCW in the Monday night wars... except Bounty Hunter had heard the criticism of McMahon in recent years and fearing that perhaps the Wrestling Observers best booker & Promoter from 1999/2000 was losing touch with the youth of today and what modern wrestling fans wanted, he decided to pair him with a younger, more dynamic counterpart in the form of the former Executive Vice President of AEW Cody Rhodes!

McMahon in particular was not happy to find out that he would be sharing power in the BWA and although the roster they put together was arguably the best of all the promotions in this years draft it was very easy to see which wrestlers each had recruited during the draft process. McMahon had his big beefy boys like The Ultimate Warrior, Lex Luger and John Cena who all had big runs in his former promotion while Cody has leaned more towards his family (Dusty/Goldust) or generally those without huge WWE/F ties (Tanahashi, Aja etc).

These wrestlers clearly had their own loyalties to the men who brought them in as well and the divisions in the roster were clear for all to see as was the deterioration of the relationship between Vince and Cody. Many would argue that Rhodes already held some resentment from how he departed the former WWE chairmans old promotion and his time as Stardust, others believed that his refusal to discuss trades before executing them (in particular trading away WCW Icon Sting) was a major blow to their working relationship and some even suggested it was Vince's recruitment of people like The Ultimate Warrior who made incredulous comments in the past that Cody strenuously disagreed with that lead to things coming to a head between the two. Obviously they did not help, nor did the amount of money Vince spent recruiting his half of the roster

The Company Vince began to keep backstage probably didn't help things either with none other than the 45th President of the United States Donald Trump stopping by on several occasions. It was during one such visit that the world was treated to the return of Goldust's (although that was only revealed later) GTV hidden camera segments including one where the two of them were making lewd comments about Cody's wife but suggesting that he (Cody) was at least doing better for himself than his father ever did whilst referencing Sapphire (the woman Vince paired Polka Dotted Dusty with) and then making fun of his moniker "The American Dream" saying that it was low standards like that that made it so that Trump had to make America Great Again and proclaiming Lex Luger to be his idea of a real American Dream.

This was not the only time GTV backstage footage made an appearance and almost every time it was Vince and his cohorts being caught in the act of something dodgy backstage that was being shown. Cody tried to ignore this behavior and do his utmost to make the best of his power sharing situation but every time another one of these segments aired Superstar Billy Graham would come running up to him trying to curry favor by reporting on McMahon and bad mouthing him at ever possible opportunity.

A man like Cody had shown in the past (Stardust) that he can take a lot without lashing out but eventually McMahon's behavior and in particular his derogatory words towards Cody's brother and father were just too much and what started as a heartfelt promo where he talked about why his father donned the Black and Yellow - "He did it to feed his family. He did it to provide his family a roof, groceries, education, transportation, he did it because he wasn't a goddamn petty B@stard like you Vince!... turned into an epic in ring rant from which there was no going back. He tore Vince to shreds mentioning everything from The Steroid scandal, how many wrestlers were on Cocaine and other drugs under Vince's watch in the WWF, ring boy / female employee accusations of sexual assault before rounding it all off by accusing of him of covering up Nancy Argentino's death and telling him "You're an out of touch Carny f*ck!".

As one would expect Vince wasn't going to just take that and blew his lid himself and the two began to brawl in the ring before they eventually had to be separated by their respective sides of the roster. Perhaps unsurprisingly these two no longer felt they could even begrudgingly work together and in true wrestling fashion it was decided that the only way to decide who would run the show moving forward would be with a match. Cody laid the challenge down for McMahon to face him at Wrestlepalooza with the winner taking control and Vince accepted on one condition, that the match be NO HOLDS BARRED!

...Let's re-wind a little however as before the people pulling the strings went at each other physically they were tasked with putting together the BWA's biggest show of the year which this year will once again be emanating from Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House" with it's Record attendance: 115,109 (although technically that was exceeded by the attendence at last years BWA's Wrestlepalooza PPV) and now we will focus on their plans for the BWA World Championship and other titles

Vinnie Mac The self proclaimed "Genetic Jackhammer" tried to take center stage once more upon his arrival in the promotion as he announced he was stripping all former BWA champions of their titles saying that it would be a fresh start for the promotion. He wasn't shy in saying who he envisioned as his new champions and faces of the BWA either naming 1 The Ultimate Warrior, 2Lex Luger and 3 John Cena.

1.With The Ultimate Warrior he cited the Warrior award he had put in place in the WWE which he stated was for those who have "exhibited unwavering strength and perseverance, and who lives life with the courage and compassion that embodies the indomitable spirit of the Ultimate Warrior." He then called him the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time.

Cody however finds the idea that the warrior award was ever even made given some of bigoted statements the man has come out with in the past incredible but more importantly states that nobody should be just handed a title in the BWA. However instead of a my way or the highway approach which he believed will not work with McMahon he suggests an alternative option, an Intercontinental title tournament! This way McMahon can give Warrior a chance to prove him correct and himself the greatest IC champ of all time by winning a competition which will only be open to wrestlers who have won the Intercontinental championship at least 2 times before, like the warrior himself.

McMahon agreed to this and that each man would get to pick 2 competitors, the tournament brackets can be seen below and Spoiler alert ( :Pac: ) so can the other competitors but their match ups will be explained further later.

2. With Lex Luger McMahon talked him up by agreeing with his good friend Donald Trump, saying that he should not only be the face of the BWA but of the entire country. He even went as far as to announce that each week in the build up to Wrestlepalooza VII, the promotions flagship show BWA Monday Night Raw would be emanating from a different stop on Donald Trumps 2020 "Keep America Great" Tour and that the Donald would be travelling to and from his rallies with The True "American Dream" Luger in none other than the Lex Express.

Cody does address how McMahon continues to get his digs on on his father and gets quite emotional when talking about how his dad Dusty Rhodes epitomized the American dream. He talked about how "the son of a plumber" did not have a typical wrestler's physique as far as Mr McMahon was concerned and perhaps he did look more like a "common man" than the narcissist Luger but that despite this he had worked harder than anyone else in the industry and became a star, nay a Legend. That Cody said was the real American Dream and then he shocked everyone in the arena by introducing Dusty who made his way out from the back and not only got a standing ovation from the crowd but also challenged Luger to a match at Wrestlepalooza!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9py4aMK3aIU

3.Finally he came to John Cena, the man Vince said was the last true superstar in professional wrestler, the last real needle mover and the man who he plans on crowning the world champion so as to break Ric Flair's record as a 17 time world champion proving that not only is he the greatest but that the BWA (or "My promotion" as Vince refers to it) has the champion of all champions in it, leading the way! He then introduces Cena who after an initial welcome to the BWA pop gets his usual mixed response including "Let's go Cena, Cena Sucks" chants

Cena comes out and acknowledges the boos, even saying that it's the fans right to boo them but says they shouldn't boo McMahon. No matter how much of a crazy Ol B*stard he is the man shows Hustle, Loyalty and Respect more than anyone of them could ever know. He says that Vince is the hardest working man their industry has ever seen, that he has shown incredible loyalty to the people who were loyal and hustled for him and that he (Cena) could not respect him anymore for all he has done for Pro Wrestling. He also says that he couldn't agree with him more about one thing, that...."The Champ is Here!"

So without further adieu Mr McMahon produces a satchel from which he pulls out a title belt, and not just any, it's the Spinner Belt! It's at this point that the fans (who previously were unsure how to react to Cena bigging up McMahon) begin to boo! Vince then begins to address Cena but before he can make any kind of presentation McMahon is of course interrupted by his former AEW counterpart Cody Rhodes!

Given that the Dr of Thugomonics is standing right in front of him in the ring Cody speaks directly to him and says that a man of Cena's stature should understand what it means to earn your place in a promotion and to fight for what is theirs and the right to call themselves the best and re-iterates to Cena his belief that nobody should be just handed a title in the BWA, especially not when we already have a BWA World Champion!

This takes the leader of the Cenation a moment to process but Cody elaborates further reminding him and everyone that although it's been a few years since the BWA won the draft that this promotion was leading the way long before John Cena or Vince McMahon arrived on the scene and that just like in that draft winning years main event, last years BWA Roster was lead by a global superstar and one he (Cody) was happy to welcome back to the company...

Hiroshi Tanahashi's music hits and out comes the man who despite Mr McMahon trying to reboot the company in his own image brings with him the original (non new spinner design) BWA World championship. The two (Tanahashi/Cena) have a staredown after which Tanahashi cuts a promo in very simple English (he has been in the promotion long enough that it's no bother now) that cuts straight to the point while borrowing liberally from the man standing opposite him in the ring.

John... For Years people have called me "The John Cena of Japan" so I know these people are not serious when they tell you you can't wrestle (Small you can't wrestle chants break out as Hiroshi smirks before continuing) because you don't get to have won a record number of championships, be they my IWGP heavyweight championship record or yours without being good in the ring but you need to know something... big pause... I am better than you!

Actually let me put this in words you would understand, You can see me, (lifts up his BWA title) the champ is here, so if you wants some come get some!

He then drops the Mic and turns to leave the ring.

But before he can an enraged looking Cena grabs his arm, turns him around and at great speed hits him with an Attitude Adjustment. Then the last image of the night with the show going off the air is Cena holding aloft the spinner version of the BWA title and stating aloud "Your time is up, my time is now".

From that point on it was clear that these two were on a collison course for this years Wrestlepalooza but we will return to their story again briefly later...

It should come as no surprise that McMahon & Cody once again disagreed with who should lead the way in the tag and womens divisions but some might find it odd that NWA/WCW alumni The Fabulous Freebirds were Vinces choice when the Rhodes family historically had long standing links to those promotions but Michael Hayes and Vince were tight and Ol Vinnie Mac was bustin a move to badstreet USA with the men he called his next BWA tag champions when they were interrupted by (Cody's choice) a team we later found out would challenge them for said tag titles and a team Vince had previous with... Demolition!

Demolition remind the world that their reign with the WWF World Tag Team Championship was the longest reign any team ever had with the tag team championship in WWE history until 1 thing happened... they sued Vince! Then Vince handed that claim to fame to another team but now they were here in the BWA to prove a point to Vince and to everyone, that they were still the best team in the world!

Meanwhile as far as the women were concerned Vince and Cody actually believed they were on the same page for once!

...How wrong they were :pac:

This was due to the fact that Cody was once again using the NJPW terminology and suggesting they have an ace in their womens division and that he had lined up someone he thought Vince would approve of because it was someone that he once brought into his own federation to challenge for his top female prize that along the way eliminated all her competition for that spot. This pleased McMahon who thought Cody was talking about the same person he too had contacted about fighting in the BWA this year and the person who debuted unexpectedly during his BWA Diva search recently.

The segment was going perfectly and Donald Trump who he had helping Judge it due to his Ms Universe experience was loving it. He had even whittled it down to a final 3 hotties in skimpy outfits after a ridiculous "Talent competition" when things took a turn during a "politics" themed round as the contestants were asked the question who is your favorite politician but the answers of Bernie Sanders and Michelle & Barak Obama lead to Trump rolling his eyes and McMahon giddily introducing his new ace of the womens division Shayna Baszler who proceeded to rag doll them before 1 by one making them tap out! What a debut she looked indestructible as the segment seemed like it was about to end with her posing on the ramp until someone grabbed her from behind and back suplexed her onto the ramp... it's Aja Kong!

Clearly Aja was who Cody had actually been talking about and the two were immediately set on a collision course for Wrestlapalooza with a lot of the highlight packages reminding people about their short stints in the WWE where Aja Kong eliminated every one of her opponents in a survivor series match by herself and Shayna did likewise in an elimination chamber match.

Elsewhere "Superstar" Billy Graham had kicked up his anti-McMahon agenda a notch after feeling his running to Cody telling him about Vince's antics was not getting the desired results and so he started his own podcast (the highlights of the weeks cast we were treated to on BWA Raw) on which he would moan about Vince's behavior, mostly focusing on his relationship with Donald Trump and how the BWA should not be giving so much air time to such a deplorable figure, especially not in an election year when the company should remain impartial so as not to alienate many of it's fans with politics.

He then started talking about how he had a buddy that was president of the united states but not wanting to be a hypocrite wasn't going to have him on his show. That said he kept bringing up this person and eluding to who it was while running down Trump & McMahon and after a while it became apparent that he was talking about former American President Barak Obama. Despite this clearly annoying McMahon & Trump the duo didn't believe Graham even knows Obama nor do they believe his claims which come later that Barak will show up on Raw in the build up to Wrestlepalooza. Instead they take the pis$ out of Superstar and Vince has his entrance theme changed to the following as a rib.

Billy Graham however is not the only BWA wrestler to hit the airways talking politics as Bob Backlund makes a number of advertisements aimed at Donald trump in an attempt to get him to make him his Vice-President! Backlund is incensed when he hears Graham say that Trump isn't half the president nor man that Barak Obama is and goes straight to Vince McMahon and demands a match vs Graham at Wrestlepalooza, he says he will shut up the anti-McMahon & anti-Trump rhetoric coming from The Superstar and prove to the president what a valuable asset he could be to him. McMahon happily books this match but even Vince is shocked when Trump after inviting Backlund to join himself and Luger on the Lex Express "Keep America Great" tour says that if Bob wins his match at the PPV will get his place on the ticket as Trumps VP!

The BWA Raw that Graham claimed Obama would make an appearance on also turns out to be the show where the Wrestlepalooza contract signing for Lex Luger's match vs Dusty Rhodes is to be singed on. Dusty cuts a great promo on what it means to be an American in the modern world but finds himself interrupted by Vince McMahon who notes that the contract Dusty just signed is actually for a special guest referee match and that the referee would be none other than this man... as he introduces Donald Trump!

Luger, Trump (with Backlund by his side) all start laughing maniacally as Lex also signs the contract but there is one last Gotcha left as Cody informs them that they too did not read the contract close enough and introduces the man who he says will be the Special Guest ring enforcer... President Barak Obama! Shock but also a deafening POP follows and the crowd seem even more into it as he announces he will not only be involved in one Wrestlepalooza match as he says he will also be in the corner of his friend "Superstar" Billy Graham at the PPV!

Having just focused on Bob Backlund this BWA Wrestlepalooza preview takes a backstep for a moment and focuses on where Mr Backlund made his first appearance in the BWA this year and his first address to Donald Trump... on Adrian Adonis' talk show segment "The Flower Shop".

We are then shown some of the highlights of The Flower Shop in recent weeks including when Jerry Brisco on behalf of his boss Vince McMahon debuted the new BWA 24/7 championship which he claimed for himself only to have Yokozuna come out and destroy him and after a big Bonzai drop take the championship for himself.

In subsequent weeks some brave souls including Yoko's former Foreign Fanatic confidant Crush and Freebird member Buddy Roberts tried to catch the big man unawares and steal the title away for themselves but both men failed. Adonis actually then had them on his show to discuss this even quipping that if he had tried to take on Yoko instead of them he'd now be the champion. They also talked about two other matters however, first the on going Trump Vs Obama situation in the BWA on which both surprisingly agreed that they wanted to see Obama come out on top and then the fact that both mens' teams were also currently feuding over the tag titles. The latter matter lead to the segment ending in a brawl.

The following week however another "Flower Shop" segment took place but this time under the order of Vince McMahon. Host Adonis' guests were once again Crush & Buddy Roberts but this time they were joined by Jerry Brisco who initially seemed like he was there to represent Vince by informing everyone that the segment would not end in the same manner as last week again this week unless they wanted to anger the boss again. When Adonis questioned what he meant by again... Vince appeared on the Titantron to answer for himself! He said that they had all embarassed him on his own show, Cursh and Roberts with their political opinions and even Brisco with his horrible debuting of his (McMahon's) newest title. McMahon says they will pay for their actions, including Adonis who hosted the whole thing and that as a result of their foolishness at Wrestlepalooza they will have to go 1on1 with the monstrous Yokozuna!

Later Cody Rhodes both explains how 4 wrestlers can go 1on1 with Yoko but also ensure that the scales are somewhat balanced for these wrestlers who it seemed were being punished for simply having an opinion by making the match officially a Gauntlet match and stating that it would be the main event of the Wrestlepalooza BWA pre-show and that whoever survived it would walk out the BWA 24/7 champion.

The IC Tournament competitors explained...

as eluded to earlier Cody had taken offense to the idea that The Ultimate Warrior was the greatest IC champ of all time but he was not the only Rhodes to do so, his brother Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust, a known supporter / advocate for LGBTQ rights as highlighted below was not a fan.

He used the fact that Warriors personal feelings towards that community were out there for everyone to find (as shown here with his "
Queering doesn't make the world work" comments)

He used this knowledge to get under Warriors skin and using his own trademark style of mental warfar through provacative actions based at Warrior who simply did not know how to deal with Goldust. Would Warrior be able to overcome his own issues and defeat Goldust and prove Mr McMahon right that he is the Ultimate Intercontinental champion? or would Goldust be able to not only stand up for whats right but also prove his own might and advance to the final of this IC title tournament?

However if people thought McMahon backing Warrior was bad, they might want to take a seat before the full lengths he went to so that a "Cody Rhodes guy" didn't take home the gold here are fully exposed as Vince was heard quipping "nobodies Perfect" to his buddy Donald Trump while organizing a pardon for none other than Chris Benoit! Blaming CTE Trump seemingly found a way to justify this and suddenly the former WWE Chairman had his 2nd horse in this tournie race. Once again however this was someone that McMahon's counterpart Cody Rhodes strongly disagreed with saying that under no circumstances should Benoit be given a BWA contract beyond Wrestlepalooza (apparently Vince had already given him one for this match) and even made it a stip for his Semi-Final match up that if Benoit did in fact lose he would not only lose the match but also his 2nd chance at wrestling (his contract). Then finally while referencing Mr McMahon's "Nobodies perfect" comment he went out of his way to organize a trade to bring into the company for this particular match...

The recap show ends with a reminder of how the final show in the build to the PPV (the card of which is listed below) went down. Where all night rumors had been swirling about a John Cena heel turn. rumors which John himself addressed at the end of the night. It happened as Vince McMahon joined by Donald Trump found himself flanked by all his recruits to the company and choices to lead the brand forward including Lex Luger, The Ultimate Warrior, Chris Benoit and in the center of them all Cena himself who openly mocked the rumors saying he was the same man he had always been, that he wasn't going to turn to the dark side and be some sort of new bad version but that he would would become something new, the new BWA champion!

However standing directly opposite from them were Cody Rhodes with Barak Obama by his side as well as his father Dusty Rhodes and brother Goldust as well as Mr Perfect and in the middle of all of them Hiroshi Tanahashi who responds to Cena saying " John, you say you will never be the bad guy... look who you stand beside and realize... you already are the bad guy!" at which point all hell broke loose with everyone attacking each other only for security, masses and masses of security, to eventually separate them all while BWA officials remind them to save it for this Sunday and the announcers hype them finally settling things in the ring!

Although subject to change the following is the card for the biggest PPV of them all BWA Wrestlepalooza

Who is the Ace of the BWA's mens' division? Who will be the face of the promotion?