MDE Stepping Down

[Jim Houston]

I've taken the decision to step down from booking FPW. I think this has been coming for a little while now as we've been dwindling with numbers and with engagement and I don't think it's worth the time that goes into it given the very small number of active participants we have left and the difficulty with finding and retaining new members. I've really loved running FPW for the last three years and think that we've managed to tell some great stories with some really high-quality matches written not just by me but by many of you as well. This has genuinely been a big part of my life for that time and, until recently, the fairly significant time commitment had been worth it. If anyone else wants to continue to run FPW, I will happily hand over the reigns. I'll check this page for the next few days, so if you guys decide on someone new, then I can give them admin rights. I doubt I'll remain as an active handler if this place continues as I'll try to find other places to let out my creative energy.

Particular thanks to Lee, who always contributed such great ideas for the Bishops and was a huge part of crafting the Jerry Bishop arc that would have essentially lasted three and a half years before being finally resolved. Also to Marilee, who also contributed a number of great ideas and was always receptive to whatever was planned for her characters or the ones she seemed to inherit from others. Equally to noname, who was always on hand to write such great matches, and who became the real driving force promo-wise with both Mason and The Queendom over the past year or so.

I'll lay out my plans below for what would have happened as far as I've booked so you guys have some closure for where certain characters were going. I had some ideas up to December 2021 and I'm really sad not to properly see them through. I'll lay out each match for each big show and how we were getting there etc.

Evacuation:

• Revolution-X b. The Dogs of War- The two teams were to trade wins on the previous two editions of Freedom Fighters before Revolution-X get their first big win of their time in FPW.
• The Silent Assassin b. Johnny California- The Silent Assassin challenges California on Freedom Fighters #3 after California's attack the previous show. He wins the match fairly comfortably to continue his strong run.
• Bobby O b. Kincaid- Bobby wins a competitive match and the two then shake hands, a new-found respect between them. Hints of Bobby turning heel are put to bed by this match.
• Freedom Championship- Danica Jane b. Clutch McCloud (c)- Clutch finally accepts the match with Danica after she beats Russ and convinces him that he can wrestle against her even if he can't face any other woman. She wins the match clean and Clutch raises her hand after the show. This begins Clutch's acceptance of inter-gender wrestling as a positive and a resulting face turn as he realigns with Danica.
• Marcus Allen Jones, Jace Mason and Aaron Williams b. The Queendom- The match is a long one and a good one. Marcus, Mason and Williams win clean with a pin from Mason (after Marcus sets him up) on either Lopez or Donovan. After the match, Armondo, Parker and Si attack the three of them again and just manage to avoid security.
• Tag Team Championships- MDE and Jerry Bishop b. The House of Berry and Bo (c)- MDE and Jerry win the belts in slightly dubious fashion, Jerry pinning Berry again after Botiatus seemingly has Jerry beat but MDE pulls the official out of the ring. Botiatus stares down Jerry and it's clear that he's still after a shot at the FPW Championship.

Charge of the Light Brigade:

• The Silent Assassin b. James Saturn- The Silent Assassin challenges James Saturn after Saturn beats Robert D Jackson on his return. The Silent Assassin then beats Liz Karlson before defeating James Saturn in a competitive match to continue his undefeated streak.
• Dead Man's Chest Qualifier- Bobby O b. Kincaid- Bobby and Kincaid both suffer losses on Freedom Fighter shows (to Marcus Allen Jones and Jace Mason respectively) before Bobby defeats Vanessa Scott and Houston announces that the two will have another match to qualify for the Dead Man's Chest Match, which Bobby wins.
• The Guardians of Strong Style b. Revolution-X- The Guardians of Strong Style return with a win over The Suplex Sweethearts. A Revolution-X interview suggests that they'd like the chance to face GOSS before RJ Tudor picks up a win over Masa Tchyukiro. Houston sets the match and GOSS win a closely-fought match. They offer Revolution-X a show of respect after the match.
• Freedom Championship- Artemis Evans b. Danica Jane (c)- Clutch and Danica suffer a loss together to Lopez and Donovan, leading to Evans claiming a shot at the Freedom Championship and defeating Russ Bolt to tempt Jane to accept. Evans wins the match fairly comfortably.
• Tag Team Championships- The House of Berry and Bo b. Jerry Bishop and MDE (c)- Bo and Berry claim their rematch as soon as they can. Houston agrees and says that whoever gets the pin gets a shot at the FPW Championship at Dead Man's Chest. If Jerry gets the pin, Houston chooses an opponent. Jerry and MDE show their frustration as MDE defeats Berry and the two teams brawl on the final Freedom Fighters show before Charge of the Light Brigade. The match goes long but finally Bo and Berry connect with a Checkmate-House Call combination. Berry lets Bo get the pin and Jerry is pinned for the first time in well-over a year.
• Six-Man Deathmatch- Marcus Allen Jones, Jace Mason and Aaron Williams b. Armondo, Parker and Si- with the month of shows taking place in England, Lightbody, Armondo, Parker and Si invade the opening of Freedom Fighters #4. Houston comes out and admits that they'll never stop without a reason. He agrees to let them wrestle Marcus, Mason and Williams if they sign a contract which states that they get full-time FPW deals if they win but they have official restraining orders if they lose. The three of them force Houston to agree to a deathmatch. In the build-up, Marcus beats Bobby, Mason beats Kincaid and Williams beats Clutch, the three of them mostly showing unity, although there are clearly a few cracks between Marcus and Mason after Mason took what Marcus felt was his pin at Evacuation. The match is absolutely brutal, but Marcus, Mason and Williams finally come through it. Marcus finally gets the pin to seal the victory and takes the plaudits as Mason gives him a look in the background.

Dead Man's Chest:

• Dead Man's Chest Match- Masked Man b. Jace Mason, Bobby O, Aaron Williams, Marcus Allen Jones, Berry Bishop, Jackson Banks and The Silent Assassin- several qualifying matches happen on the two shows before the show. Mason beats Danica, Marcus beats Clutch, Banks beats MDE, Williams beats Lopez, Berry Beats Saturn, The Silent Assassin beats Takahara and a masked man wins a battle royal. Houston refuses to allow the masked man to enter the match and he doesn't appear at first. During the match, Bobby costs Aaron Williams a victory and the tension between Marcus and Mason comes to a head, the two of them brawling very aggressively. After a big ladder bump, the masked man appears and climbs the ladder to claim the Dead Man's Chest. Later in the show, he enters Houston's office and Houston is about to lay into him, but he raises the mask, his back to the camera, and Houston replies, "Oh, it's you," before closing the door.
• MDE b. Danica Jane- after each of them fail to qualify for the DMC match, they meet backstage and MDE is in a foul mood. After an argument, the match is set. MDE forces Danica to tap out and keeps the hold on until Clutch and Russ force him off her.
• The Queendom b. The Guardians of Strong Style- The Queendom set up this match with an attack after Takahara loses his DMC Qualifier against The Silent Assassin. They win a hard-fought match and signify that they want a shot at the Tag Team Championships.
• Freedom Championship- Artemis Evans (c) b. Clutch McCloud- after Clutch beats Thea Donovan, he lays down the challenge to Evans for the Freedom Championship, which she accepts. Evans retains the title in a hard-fought match.
• FPW Championship- Jerry Bishop (c) b. Botiatus- the two men have a very hard fought match which Jerry is just able to win. At the end of the match, Jerry gets on the mic and ticks off all of the names that he's beaten, declaring that, "At Judgement Day III, the FPW Championship... will not be defended." As he stands in the ring laughing, Jim Houston emerges and announces that Jerry will defend the FPW Championship at Judgement Day III against a man who Jerry has never managed to beat: the winner of the Dead Man's Chest match, who has just earned an FPW contract. The man comes out, hands the Dead Man's Chest to Houston and removes his mask to reveal Graham Baker.

Judgement Day III:

• MDE b. Clutch McCloud- Clutch picks up wins over Go Shihei and James Saturn before challenging MDE, disgusted with how he treated Danica Jane. The two have a short match which MDE manages to win.
• Revolution-X b. The Guardians of Strong Style- Tchyukiro gets a win over RJ Tudor on Freedom Fighters #10 before Banks beats Takahara the following week. The match is set the week before Judgement Day III. Revolution-X win a hard-fought match and they and GOSS show respect for one another after the match.
• Tag Team Championships- The Queendom b. The House of Berry and Bo (c)- The Queendom defeat The Baxter Brothers on Freedom Fighters # 9 and then challenge Bo and Berry, who accept the challenge. Donovan picks up a dirty win over Botiatus the following week before Berry beats Lopez the week before Judgement Day III. The Queendom get a clean win over The House of Berry and Bo to win the Tag Team Championships. After the match, Berry and Bo shake hands and amicably separate as a team.
• Freedom Championship- Artemis Evans (c) b. The Silent Assassin- Evans retains the Freedom Championship against Jackson Banks on Freedom Fighters #9 before The Silent Assassin puts out a video challenge. A series of videos and interviews follow before Evans costs The Silent Assassin his undefeated streak at Freedom Fighters #12. Evans manages to retain in a match which cements her as a top-level in-ring competitor.
• Aaron Williams b. Bobby O- Aaron Williams challenges Bobby O after the Dead Man's Chest match and his grievance dates back to their Free-1 match. Bobby happily accepts and both give interviews about 2021 being their year to reach the very top. Bobby teams with Marcus Allen Jones to defeat Williams and Jace Mason, meaning he picks Williams' opponent for the week before Judgement Day III. Williams wins that match and then goes onto defeat Bobby O in a hard-fought match where we see Williams being a bit more aggressive than normal. The two share a handshake after the match.
• Marcus Allen Jones b. Jace Mason- Marcus opens Freedom Fighters #9 and claims that Jace Mason is the only reason why he didn't challenge Jerry for the belt. He explains that he hasn't been able to beat Mason and isn't sure which of them is better, before challenging Mason to a match at Judgement Day III to find out. Mason accepts. Mason defeats Bobby O the next week and then Mason and Bobby defeat Marcus and Williams in a match to let Marcus choose Mason's opponent for the week before Judgement Day III. Mason wins that match but goes on to lose a match of the year candidate to Marcus. The two shake hands after the match and the fans chant for Marcus to challenge for the belt.
• FPW Championship- Jerry Bishop (c) b. Graham Baker- Jerry beats John Grimm and then Liz Karlson on the first two shows after Dead Man's Chest to send a message to Baker. In return, Baker challenges his old rival MDE to a match, but the match never happens as Jerry and MDE jump Baker and beat him down. On the final show before Judgement Day III, the two sign the contract for the match, Baker taunting Jerry for never having been able to beat him, while Jerry focusses on how much better he is than when they last faced one another, but clearly fearing Baker. Jerry once again manages to anger the fans by overcoming Graham Baker, leading to a loud chant for Marcus to finally come and take the belt. 'Hall of Fame' hits, but Thalia Columbina comes out and she and Jerry share a loud laugh before 'Hall of Fame' hits again and Marcus comes out to a monster pop, laying down the challenge for the End of Year Awards show.

End of Year Awards Show:

• FPW Championship: Marcus Allen Jones b. Jerry Bishop (c)- Marcus finally ends Jerry Bishop's reign of terror and ends the year with the fans invading the ring and parading him on their shoulders as Jerry slinks away in the background.

2021:
I only had two specific threads planned for 2021 and was going to ask everyone what they wanted for their character before planning anything else. I would probably have had Revolution-X win the All Star Tag Team Classic and get their big title win. I'm not sure who the Free-1 winner would have been, but if I had to say who I'd have given it to now it would probably have been Artemis Evans, because that would probably make the most sense for the story laid out below.

• FPW Championship- Jerry Bishop disappears after losing the belt to Marcus and MDE steps in to challenge Marcus. Marcus retains as Berry wins the Young Lions' Cup. Marcus retains at the next show against Berry and then again at the All Star Tag Team Classic and Dead Man's Chest against undetermined opponents. At the last big show before the Free-1, Jace Mason challenges Marcus and looks set to get his big moment where he finally is crowned for real. However, after a Mason's Hammer, Aaron Williams comes down and takes his shot from the Dead Man's Chest, pinning Marcus for the belt. This kind of turns him heel as the fans see him having stolen Mason's moment but he doesn't see it that way and doesn't play into a more heel role, essentially staying as the character he's always been. The Free-1 winner loses to Mason along the way and, as Williams retains against Marcus in the re-match, Mason wins the Free-1 shot from the Free-1 winner, potentially earning him a bit of heat as well (depending on the winner of the Free-1) to make the Mason v Williams match a bit more spicy. At Judgement Day IV, Mason beats Williams to get his proper crowning moment and the two reconcile at the end.
• Jerry Bishop and MDE- After MDE, now with Thalia Columbina as his manager, fails to reclaim the FPW Championship from Marcus, he goes after Berry in order to get Jerry's attention and to lure him back to FPW as MDE realises that without Jerry, he's no longer relevant. After beating Berry at the All Star Tag Team Classic, he faces her again at Dead Man's Chest, keeping her locked in the Chelsea Smile just as Jerry used to, at which point Jerry does make his return, charging down to the ring and standing between the two of them. While Jerry keeps them apart, he doesn't lay a finger on MDE, nor does he meet Berry's eyes. On the next show, he opens the show already in the ring and lays out a challenge to MDE, making clear that he sees how MDE manipulated him for so long. MDE, however, reveals that he has a clause in his contract which stops him from ever having to face Jerry as he wanted to ensure Houston couldn't drive a wedge between them that way. MDE continues to avoid having the match even with Jerry determined to thwart him at every corner until he accepts. He finally accepts when Jerry (still not quite able to meet Berry's eyes or speak to Dasha- he essentially becomes a Sting-like character who appears and disappears without much trace) finally puts his career on the line. Jim Houston announces that, while he can't force MDE in a match with Jerry, he can change a stipulation after MDE agrees to a match, and he makes it so that MDE also has to put his career on the line. In the weeks leading to Judgement Day IV, MDE does everything he can to get under Jerry's skin, including an attack on Dasha Banks, but the two don't have any physicality whatsoever. Finally, at Judgement Day IV, the two meet in a hellacious match. Near the end, with the official down, Thalia enters and starts to beat Jerry down, but Dasha Banks and Berry come to make the save. MDE grabs Dasha and she low-blows him, giving her the final victory over him after so much psychological torture. After Jerry wins the match, the three of them share a moment where Jerry and Berry truly reconcile and Jerry and Dasha finally get together.

So that's it. That's how I would have booked FPW until the end of 2020 and the two major threads in 2021. Obviously new characters joining and some disappearing might have meant a different direction but all things being equal, that's where it would have gone.

As I said before, it's been a pleasure working with you guys on this for the last three years and I wish you all nothing but the best. There are plenty of other eFeds out there to join for those of you who want to continue and are only active here at the moment so best of luck if you take your characters elsewhere. Hopefully we'll run into each other again somewhere down the line one way or another.