JANUARY
1963
The stage was set. In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Buddy Rogers would defend the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Lou Thesz. Tensions had been rising between the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, owned by Vincent J. McMahon and co-ran by Toots Mondt, and the rest of the NWA, as McMahon rarely allowed Rogers to wrestle outside of the Northeast Territory. Not to mention, Rogers was unwilling to pay a $25,000 deposit as champion. This all lead up to January 24, 1963, when in a controversial One-Fall Decision, Lou Thesz reclaimed the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. In protest, McMahon, Mondt, and the CWC would leave the NWA alliance, officially forming the WORLD WIDE WRESTLING FEDERATION.
Alongside the WWWF and McMahon were top-draws Gorilla Monsoon, Bobo Brazil, Boris Malenko, Killer Kowalski, Johnny Berend, The Fabulous Kangaroos, and The Magnificent Maurise. It seemed like the Italian-American hero Bruno Sammartino was also going to be making his way to the new company, but in this world, plans change. Sammartino would receive a heavy offer from the NWA to come to the Mid-West territories, where he was promised super stardom. Faced with the idea of staying loyal to the Northeast, but with the risk of playing second fiddle to Rogers or going to the Mid-West where he'd be less known, but has the potential to rise without any competition, Sammartino made his decision. Sammartino would arrive at NWA St. Louis on February 5th, 1963, challenging Lou Thesz after a victory against Al Torres. The WWWF officially lost out on a potential phenomenal asset for the company.
It seemed the WWWF was about to put Buddy Rogers to the plate and make The Nature Boy the top star for the new company, now being the only star vying for the top spot, but tragedy struck. An unexpected heart attack hit Rogers in February, forcing him to go into an early retirement. Plans changed because while he was billed as the WWWF Champion, he never had a belt and wasn't an official champ. Within a month, Vince had lost two of his biggest potential stars and needed to quickly pivot to his already existing roster for a replacement. But, a savior would come his way.
The American Wrestling Association also had their issues with the NWA, and being based in Minnesota, they were in close proximity to the WWWF. Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo would form a business relationship with McMahon and Mondt, as it seemed the two were going to help propel the other. The future, once bleak, was now looking up for the WWWF as they were set to crown their first champion ...
INFORMATION
You may be confused on the concept, so I'll explain it a little here. This booking is going to be a complete rebooking of the WWWF/WWF/WWE World Championship, in a world where nobody who held the title IRL won it. This a little bit of a hard task, as some of the biggest names in wrestling history have held this belt, so in this universe, some of the silver-league players will be granted the opportunities they never got.
This will require a good bit of scenario manipulation, as seen with Sammartino leaving the Northeast and Rogers' heart attack happening earlier than IRL, only by a couple of months. Basically, the goal is to try and create a fun, unique, and credible history using only stars who never got the shot they deserved.
And before we get there IRL, I'll clear things up. Wrestlers who only won the World Heavyweight Championship, Universal, or any other world title belts in the WWE are illegible for this, as those aren't the actual WWE Championship.
I've had this concept in mind for a bit and I'd like to try it out, gives me a major opportunity to do research of my own into wrestling history and give some of my boys opportunities that they never got IRL. So, I hope you guys end up enjoying it!
1963
The stage was set. In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Buddy Rogers would defend the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Lou Thesz. Tensions had been rising between the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, owned by Vincent J. McMahon and co-ran by Toots Mondt, and the rest of the NWA, as McMahon rarely allowed Rogers to wrestle outside of the Northeast Territory. Not to mention, Rogers was unwilling to pay a $25,000 deposit as champion. This all lead up to January 24, 1963, when in a controversial One-Fall Decision, Lou Thesz reclaimed the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. In protest, McMahon, Mondt, and the CWC would leave the NWA alliance, officially forming the WORLD WIDE WRESTLING FEDERATION.
Alongside the WWWF and McMahon were top-draws Gorilla Monsoon, Bobo Brazil, Boris Malenko, Killer Kowalski, Johnny Berend, The Fabulous Kangaroos, and The Magnificent Maurise. It seemed like the Italian-American hero Bruno Sammartino was also going to be making his way to the new company, but in this world, plans change. Sammartino would receive a heavy offer from the NWA to come to the Mid-West territories, where he was promised super stardom. Faced with the idea of staying loyal to the Northeast, but with the risk of playing second fiddle to Rogers or going to the Mid-West where he'd be less known, but has the potential to rise without any competition, Sammartino made his decision. Sammartino would arrive at NWA St. Louis on February 5th, 1963, challenging Lou Thesz after a victory against Al Torres. The WWWF officially lost out on a potential phenomenal asset for the company.
It seemed the WWWF was about to put Buddy Rogers to the plate and make The Nature Boy the top star for the new company, now being the only star vying for the top spot, but tragedy struck. An unexpected heart attack hit Rogers in February, forcing him to go into an early retirement. Plans changed because while he was billed as the WWWF Champion, he never had a belt and wasn't an official champ. Within a month, Vince had lost two of his biggest potential stars and needed to quickly pivot to his already existing roster for a replacement. But, a savior would come his way.
The American Wrestling Association also had their issues with the NWA, and being based in Minnesota, they were in close proximity to the WWWF. Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo would form a business relationship with McMahon and Mondt, as it seemed the two were going to help propel the other. The future, once bleak, was now looking up for the WWWF as they were set to crown their first champion ...
INFORMATION
You may be confused on the concept, so I'll explain it a little here. This booking is going to be a complete rebooking of the WWWF/WWF/WWE World Championship, in a world where nobody who held the title IRL won it. This a little bit of a hard task, as some of the biggest names in wrestling history have held this belt, so in this universe, some of the silver-league players will be granted the opportunities they never got.
This will require a good bit of scenario manipulation, as seen with Sammartino leaving the Northeast and Rogers' heart attack happening earlier than IRL, only by a couple of months. Basically, the goal is to try and create a fun, unique, and credible history using only stars who never got the shot they deserved.
And before we get there IRL, I'll clear things up. Wrestlers who only won the World Heavyweight Championship, Universal, or any other world title belts in the WWE are illegible for this, as those aren't the actual WWE Championship.
I've had this concept in mind for a bit and I'd like to try it out, gives me a major opportunity to do research of my own into wrestling history and give some of my boys opportunities that they never got IRL. So, I hope you guys end up enjoying it!
