IWA Gauntlet
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to another edition of the IWA Gauntlet, a quarterly ‘magazine’ that brings you a comprehensive rundown of ALL of the IWA’s Commissioner Champions as well as various aspects of IWA history and other fun stats and figures. This quarter, we’re bringing you a few new additions to the PBM Wrestler’s Hall of Fame as well as our first-ever induction into the brand-new Contributors HOF. We also have another small class of inductees lined up for the Winter 2021, which will be available in the next edition of this magazine. Be sure to catch the link for the online vote that allows YOU to be part of selecting the final wrestler that will be inducted in that class! Even though I’m always excited anytime we publish a new edition of the Gauntlet, truth be told, it’s the next issue that has me really excited because there is going to be A TON of goodness packed into that one. In addition to the second round of 2021 Wrestler/Contributor HOF inductions, we will also bring you the 2021 Class of PBM Managers HOF and the launch of the Stables HOF. We’ll have the 2021 IWA Year in Review + Annual Awards. We’ll have Historic Ranking, Majors Leaders, and ALL of the 2021 Annual Rankings. We’ll have the complete title lineage for all of the Commish Champions. It’s going to be jam-packed and you won’t want to miss it! That’s about it from me this time. Please dive in and enjoy!! Respectfully, Tommy Zulu SINGLES CHAMPIONS WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS 1. Penny Punk 1. Joe Boring COH Women’s World Champion IWAR World Champion 2. Barb Dwyer 2. Mike Drake IWAR Women’s World Champion COH World Champion 3. Sabre 3. Wonderful Wally Brown Steel Interfed Women’s World Champion GRL World Champion GRL Platinum Champion 4. Jeannie Briggs EG Hellfire Champion 4. Lugubrious Loren Ordure Steel Interfed World Champion 5. Lady Wildcat Warrior UVU Women’s Champion 5. Huntress EG Next Level Champion TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS 6. Kevin Savage 1. White Claw Outlaws Mike // Derek FAL Southern Heritage Champion IWAR World Tag Team Champions 7. Bulk Brogan 2. Half-Man // Half Amazing IWAR Revolution Champion GRL World Tag Team Champions 8. Punk Rock Mike 3. American Bulldogs BRL Global Champion Steel Interfed World Tag Team Champions AWL Unified Tag Team Champions 9. Senor Lucha IWL World Champion 4. Good Brothers COH World Tag Team Champions 10. Barry “Take-a-Knee” Stevens UVU Champion 5. JG Brenner // Dr. Savage EG Legion of Cyber Champions 11. “Redwood” Jack Widowmaker 6. Threebirds DXL Extreme Champion IWL Unified Tag Team Champions 12. Kenny Gunderson 7. Punk Rock Mike // Agent 26 DKW Samurai’s Honor Champion BRL Global Tag Team Champions 13. Lex Stevenson 8. #1 Fan of ?? // FB III from the CDC FSL World Champion DXL World Tag Team Champions 14. King Achilles 9. MTG // Big Thad AWL Great American Champion UVU Tag Team Champions 15. Hitman Francisco Rosario 10. Cowboys Kavana // Hard Castle ICA Men’s Universal Champion ICON Tag Team Champions JULY 2011 AUGUST 1989 The Syrian Assassin (managed by Sly Smith) did In an effort to end single-manager domination of what few wrestlers have done throughout the multiple leagues, the IWA announced it was history of the IWA by winning his second IWA moving from a 70-hold format to the 90-hold World Title. format that it still uses today. Making the feat all the more impressive is that this The IWA announced several other game play was the Assassin’s second World Title in less than changes to include monthly battle royals, a year’s time (having previously won it in Fall customized finishing moves, Ringside Reports, 2010) AND his manager went on to win the World formatting bulletins in booklet form, and asking Title again (#7 overall for Sly) the very next cycle!!! managers to limit trash talk to 100 words or less. Credit: Matt Riley via BRL #500 History Magazine SEPTEMBER 2011 The IWA announced the opening of the Lone Wolf League (LWL). This is the first league in which the IWA would enforce a limit of one wrestler per manager, and it would go on to become one of the toughest leagues in the history of the game. Some of the most notable wrestlers to ever compete in the IWA raised the bar on competing both creatively and strategically through their performances in the LWL. The league, currently in a rebirth stage, has been run by some of the best minds in the game, to include Matt Riley, Jamie Davis, Gemil, Sean Grady, and Peter Houston. Credit: Matt Riley via BRL #500 History Magazine If you would like to submit an IWA history moment for the next issue (October - December), please email it to [email protected] PWI is a network of leagues intended to imitate our memories of professional wrestling growing up! The network includes: FSL – based on 80s/90s WWF UCW – based on 90s/00s WWE, WCW, ECW This December, wrestlers from all 3 leagues CAW – cage-style MMA fighting compete in different contests for prize money, free matches, and an opportunity to challenge for any title in the PWI Network! COMING THIS NOVEMBER!!! TUNE IN WEEKLY! COMING THIS DECEMBER!!! COMING THIS JANUARY!!! PWI PRIZES PWI MATCH DEALS Each PWI banks the majority of its Commissioner • Take 3 free matches in anytime you Prizes each cycle so that it can issue larger, more submit Trash Talk for a PWI league! meaningful prizes for things like: • If you take the $12 match deal, you can also send a wrestler against the 10 • Annual Money in the Bank PPV regional champions AND enter a wrestler • Legends of the FSL, UCW, CAW into the league Battle Royal for free! • Wrestler/Team of the Year PBM HALL OF FAME CLASS OF SUMMER 2021 Jack Bruening Inducted Summer, 2021 Major Companies: IWA Jack Bruening (commonly known as Johnny B) is the grandfather of it all. He started the entire world of PBM fantasy wrestling in 1985 when he created the Imaginary Wrestling Association (IWA) based out of Willowick, Ohio. The IWA has undergone many different changes over the years, constantly adapting so that its business could continue to thrive. In its original conception, the IWA was a creative outlet for players around the globe in which managers would spend hours upon hours handwriting trash talk that included promos, sneak attacks, and ongoing storylines to engage their opponents in riveting fantasy (and, sometimes real-life) feuds. In fact, during the early days of the game, strategy selection often took a backseat to storyline development because several players followed Johnny B’s philosophy that the real game was won through the Trash Talk section, not on the title page. The game underwent major metamorphosis in the mid-to-late 90s in which several managers began connecting with one another over the phone or via pen pal letters. This led to what has become commonly referred to as ‘the game inside the game’ where the actual players of the game became the primary focus rather than the wrestlers that they created. Stables were no longer used for wrestling storylines, but instead became massive armies of hundreds of wrestlers whose only focus was to win Report Titles for their collection of managers. This shift in the game resulted in a new-level of heat between players that included double-crosses and plenty of real-life drama. By the time that Jack passed from cancer in 2006, the game had already begun to drift from being the wrestler-focused game that he had envisioned when he first created it, but the IWA was still a thriving business that continued to serve as a creative outlet for many (just in a different way). Over the years, several other games have come and gone, each with its own nuance to try and separate it from others, but at their core, they were all birthed from the passion and innovation that fueled the game that Johnny B. created in 1985. Whether you’re a fan of the IWA or any of its successors, we all owe a debt of gratitude to Johnny B for decades of entertainment! Mike White Lightning Moore Inducted Summer, 2021 Manager: Mike Moore Major Companies: IWA HOF Inductions: IWA Hall of Fame (Inductee #930) BRL Hall of Fame Record: (1,792-618-139), $3,684,000 *23 From the late 80s until he retired in 2016, there were few (if any) names more recognizable in the fantasy wrestling squared circle than that of Mike White Lightning Moore (or MWLM for short). A mainstay in two of the IWA’s most legendary leagues (BRL & QPL), MWLM captured the hearts and affection of fantasy wrestling fans around the world as he became the “babyface” face of the IWA. His popularity was reflected with awards such as 1994’s Most Popular & Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year and also led to some pretty historic feuds with other top superstars such as Mad Dog Dick Jackson and Jumping Joey Magnolia, amongst others. In addition to the trash talk section, Moore also did plenty of talking inside of the ring. He finished his career ranked as the #10 BRL wrestler of all-time. He retired into the IWA Hall of Fame from the Lone Wolf League (LWL) in July 2016, concluding a major chapter in IWA history and bringing closure to one of the most well-known names in fantasy wrestling history.