Hot Coldman
Banned
Tonight's the night. On Tuesday the 13th of May, 2014, the world of Video Game Championship Wrestling comes to a head once again. Every feud will be settled. Every mystery will be solved. Every title is on the line. When the titans of VGCW step into the ring tonight, they will be making history with every strike, suplex and submission they can muster. Jobbers will be jeered, and kings will be crowned. For one night only, join the masters of virtual wrestling for a epic feat of machismo, heart and passion.
This is END GAME 7.
VGCW Twitch Channel
The show begins at 11PM GMT, 6PM Eastern or 5PM Central. To find out the time in your region, click here
What is VGCW?
For the uninitiated, VGCW is a livestream of the game WWE 2K14, hosted on Twitch by the user "Bazza87" (better known as simply Baz, Bazza or Baz McMahon). It revolves around CPU vs CPU matches, where the wrestlers are custom designs built within the game's Create-A-Wrestler tool. The catch is that all the CAWs are based on classic video game characters - Bowser, Ganondorf, Solid Snake, Phoenix Wright, Little Mac and so on. Alongside this, VGCW uses WWE 2K14's story creation tool to craft its own very bizarre, very memorable storylines involving these characters and the federation they wrestle in. Everything you'd expect to see in the WWE appears here - title matches, tag-team bouts, triple threat matches, cage matches, Royal Rumbles, TLC, Money In The Bank... It's all here, accompanied by a rocking soundtrack of classic video game tunes and remixes (oh, and the occasional Final Countdown).
Since its origins in Autumn 2012, the VGCW has exploded in popularity, with a peak of over 4,000 viewers in early 2013. Since then the show has settled into an average audience of roughly around 1.5k viewers every week - impressive for a bunch of AI vs AI matches in an ugly-ass wrestling game with frankly no polish whatsoever. It's testament to how exciting the writing and the drama of VGCW can be, and with the CPU combatants left to their own devices, there's truly no way of telling who'll come out on top in any match.
End Game is the show's "PPV" event (except it's totally free), where all current storylines are resolved and all titles are up for grabs. It's always the perfect example of how exciting and unbelievable the VGCW can get, and this time round the stakes have never seemed more important.
THE BOOKING
"THE POKEMON CHAMPION" RED vs "REAL EAGLELANDIAN" NESS
This is a showdown straight from the history books! Way back in Season 1, in late 2013, Ness and Red - then in his "Ash Ketchum" guise - were thrown into an I Quit match, in which the loser would forfeit their position as a VGCW superstar. Ash would win, evolve into his current Red form and then go on to topple Guile for the title of Casual Champion - a title he held onto through more defences than any other wrestler.
Ness, however, was forced to quit the federation. Nowadays, Red is back to being just another wrestler in the VGCW, but suddenly Ness is back on the scene, with a brand new look and a desire to prove himself to a new generation of VGCW fans. Can Red bring back the strength of his glory days? Or is Ness simply too nice to lose? My money's on Ness here: Red just doesn't have it any more, sadly.
"PEOPLE'S CHAMP" WALUIGI vs FRANK "GRAY FOX" JAEGER
FOR THE CASUAL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
Waluigi has had a hell of a season. He's fought hard to become the two-time Casual Champ, despite the efforts of Dracula to keep the belt out of his gloved hands. Despite being unmasked as one of the envious Ring Rangers, the crowd is still 100% behind him, loyally chanting "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH" whenever Waluigi's signature theme music kicks in. Now he must defend his title for the first time, against the Cyborg Ninja himself, Gray Fox. No-one's quite sure if Gray Fox is good or not, with some humiliating defeats and some surprisingly displays of technique since his resurrection in a new robotic body. Either way, Waluigi's defended this belt in the past, and he's no doubt itching to do it once again. I believe he can pull it off this time too. All together now: "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"MAYOR OF EARTH" MIKE HAGGAR vs "THE FAIRY"TINGLE
TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS
A rivalry no-one saw coming; the former VGCW Heavyweight Champion, Mike Haggar, going toe-to-toe with the VGCW's creepy wrestler since Woody - Termina's most reviled peddler of maps, Tingle. Beginning in a dark match following an unusually short episode of VGCW, in which Haggar overcame a surprisingly strong showing from Tingle in an Inferno match, Tingle's show of surprising strength and fortitude would pay in a rematch the following episode, resulting in a win for Tingle. With each wrestler having taken a win over the other, it all comes down to this match, here at End Game 7. Personally, I've got Tingle pegged to win, as Haggar has always had difficulty pulling out a win where it matters, and the opportunity for utter humiliation here should ultimately prove too distracting for him to concentrate on getting the two pins he needs to leave with dignity.
M.BISON & SAGAT - SHADALOO vs VEGETA AND NAPPA - THE SAIYANS
FOR THE CO-OP CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
Eternal favourites with the crowd, the Saiyans cinching a win here tonight would make a lot of people happen, with it being so long since the Badman or the Baldman had a title around their waist. In Nappa's case, he's never held a title, and given that he's been a beloved member of the VGCW roster for so long, this is a crime that must be fixed. Unfortunately, Shadaloo aren't much interested in justice; indeed, having only claimed the belt from Game Centre FU - for a long time the only name in the VGCW Co-op Championship fight - and with the threat of dismissal hanging over them, they know tonight that failure isn't an option. I'm not sure who I can see winning this, but Shadaloo have certainly turned some heads by crushing the previous champs seemingly out of nowhere, so I'll make a reluctant bet on Bison and Sagat walking home the champs.
-THE BETRAYER- ILLIDAN STORMRAGE (w/ Gary Oak) vs "BAD NEWS" KEFKA
NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH
The most boring wrestler in the VGCW has benefited greatly this season from the presence of the obnoxious Gary Oak as his manager. It's a move clearly inspired by Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman in the WWE, but damn it, it works. It's successful in more ways than you'd imagine: Illidan, already an extremely powerful wrestler who crushes most of his opponents like flies, now has Gary interrupting the ref every time Illidan is about to be pinned or put into a submission hold, making him virtually unstoppable. I fear Kefka is going to need some outside interference of his own if he wants to make good on his promise to clip Illidan's wings tonight.
"THE ROGUE SOLDIER" GUILE vs "THE KING" DUKE NUKEM vs "THE DORK LARD" GANONDORF
3 MAN HELL IN A CELL
Guile is a treacherous scumbag who deserves to being buried through the ring. That is all. Duke to win. Ganon, go home.
THE RED RING RANGER vs either DAN HIBIKI, JIMMY LEE, BIMMY LEE, SEIFER ALMASY, FUJIN or RAIJIN
All season long, the masked Ring Rangers have been terrorising the VGCW world with backstage assaults and demands to shake up the main event scene. However, given that the RIng Rangers are naturally all mid-card wrestlers, their plans haven't been so successful, with all but the Black Ring Ranger being unmasked. However, the mastermind behind it all, the Red Ring Ranger, is now making his move, ready to unmask and face one of the 6 wrestlers hunting him down, in a one-on-one contest tonight at End Game 7.
With the two forces working for the authority - the Dan-led P.R.A.T.S, and Final Fantasy 8's Disciplinary Committee squabbling over who should be dealing with the Rangers, time will tell if Boss Red is actually presented any opponent by the end of the night. Maybe this is the night Dan completes his face turn? All I know is that it's probably not Fujin fighting tonight.
And the main event...
SCORPION vs PROTO MAN
FOR THE VGCW CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
This is the one we've been waiting for. Scorpion, possibly the most beloved wrestler in the VGCW, a mainstay since Season 1, the slayer of Illidan Stormrage earlier this season... and he's never held the VGCW Championship belt. Tonight, this may well change. For the first time since 2012, Scorpion challenges the current VGCW Champion to a title match at the climax of End Game 7. Proto Man earned the title fairly, but his reign as champion has been fairly uneventful, and although he's face through and through the VGCW Universe is all too aware of his chequered past. E-tanking, glitch-bombing... as one of the most legitimate warriors in the VGCW, Scorpion is no doubt prepared to show Proto Man the true meaning of kombat. With the crowd behind him, the yellow ninja looks poised to be victorious. Scorpion is done testing his might: tonight, he's testing Proto Man's.
Of course, there's also the matter of Sonic the Hedgehog's promise to cash in his money in the bank tonight...
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Those 8 matches are reportedly joined by an additional 2 matches, the details of which are shrouded in secrecy. Could we see a new challenger on this night of nights?
END GAME 7 in the press:
A Chat With VGCW'S Baz McMahon: Giant Bomb's Alex Navarro talks with the man behind it all, Baz McMahon, in a 40-minute conversation about tonight's bookings, the history and the future of VGCW, as well as Baz's own history with wrestling as a whole. Worth a listen!
Twitch Weekly #7 w/ djwheat: A brief promo spot for VGCW and End Game 7 from Twitch Cop and noted VGCW fan "djwheat". You can taste the excitement!
Other useful links:
The VGCW Wiki
VGCW Standings Doc
VGCW Twitter Page
VGCW GAF Thread #3
VGCW YouTube Archives w/ chat - #1; #2
Happy marking out, folks! (And thanks to Bazza for the banner!)
