UWS - You really can have it all

What is the UWS?
The Underworld Wrestling Syndicate is a new style of e-fed. Designed for maximum functionality and minimum downtime, the UWS (if successful) should help redesign the e-fed industry.

The UWS, or Superfed as it has been called, is a single wrestling federation with any number of internal wrestling divisions. These divisions act as autonomous feds in their own right. Wrestlers will be on the UWS roster, but will be contracted out to any single division at any given time in their career. Some divisions may be more hardcore than others, while some may take an old-school approach to wrestling. The divisions will have their own titles, and their own sanctioned matches.

Where the UWS differs from so many other "banner" feds is that the divisions are free to interact with each other. Angles will span divisions, and at each UWS pay-per-view event, the #1 contenders from each division will face off for the UWS Unified World Heavyweight Title. The Unified champion will represent the best of the best in the UWS. As the UWS grows, we expect it to grow and sign new divisions.

The Show
The UWS works on a bi-weekly card system. Because angles and strats can span divisions, communication between the division heads is very important, and a two week span between cards should make for a better show, in addition to reducing (hopefully eliminating) late cards. The primary show, UWS Blackened, will be held on Friday nights. Each fortnight, one of the presidents will post a schedule for the upcoming week, giving RP and strat deadlines.

Each division will present a number of their own sanctioned matches in the UWS Arena. As the UWS grows, it may become necessary to split the divisions off into their own arenas, in which case wrestlers will choose which arena they are attending on any given card night. (not a concern right now)

Some matches will be sanctioned ahead of time, but the UWS will often feature unsanctioned or booked-on-the-fly matches.

Dark Matches
In order to give newcomers and rookies a decent shot, UWS will often employ dark matches. Dark matches will not be fully written matches, and will mostly feature lower-card or new wrestlers. The UWS has access to a unique and revolutionary wrestling simulator program developed by Colin Martin. (ahem) Instead of simply deciding winners for dark matches, the matches will be simulated using SimPromoter (ver 1.0.3 Alpha). The results for the match will be provided as an external link on the show itself. This is an experimental system, so it may change as weeks go by. (check back for any changes in the rules)

Dark match winners will be determined by the the division presidents based on RP value, the same as any other match. The ending of the simulated match will be "fudged" to ensure the right outcome. As such, Dark Matches wilcl count against win/loss records the same as any other match.

The Divisions

LWA
After many episodes of Saturday Night Chaos, the LWA has been dormant for quite a long time. Surfacing occasionally to do one-shot PPVs, the LWA has returned as a division in the UWS. Although anything can happen in the LWA, expect a more old-school approach to wrestling, with more emphasis placed on action in the ring than backstage.

OWF (Outlaw Wrestling Federation)
Sporting a booking-on-the-fly style, the OWF is a more hardcore and over-the-top version of what wrestling can be.

Titles
The UWS currently has the following titles sanctioned:
LWA Heavyweight Championship
OWF Heavyweight Championship
UWS Unified World Heavyweight Championship

Titles may be added or removed over time to keep a good balance. The Unified titles will normally only be defended at PPV events. Primarily, the #1 contenders for the UWS World Heavyweight Title will be the curent LWA, and OWF Heavyweight champions. The unified champion will represent the best of the best and will be very competitive, to say the least.

Contracts
Firstly, all UWS wrestlers are members of the UWS wrestling federation. One fed, one website, one roster. But, in addition to this global membership, wrestlers may hold a contract to a particular UWS division. These contracts are signed when the handler of the wrestler and the president of the division both agree. Without the acceptance of both men, a contract cannot be signed. For example, if a new wrestler "Bo" arrives in the UWS, he decides to come in as a free agent. Without a contract, Bo will have a hard time getting matches sanctioned, and may be relegated to dark matches. If Bo proves himself, he may get a "Contract Request" email from one or more of the division presidents. These requests will usually have a deadline attached. If Bo decides to take up the OWF president on his offer, he signs a contract and wrestles primarily for the OWF. Division presidents have free reign to sanction matches featuring contracted wrestlers.

Signed contracts are for life, with some exceptions. When a wrestler retires from the UWS, his division contract is also nullified. Also, once a wrestler has signed a contract with a division president, the president now holds all the cards. Wrestlers are not given permission to cancel their own contracts. The division president may cancel the contract at any time (meaning the wrestler becomes a free agent), and can also trade the wrestler's contract to another division president. So, even though Bo has signed with the OWF, he may still find himself without a contract, or contracted to the LWA. If a wrestler is stuck in a contract that he doesn't like, he's got a few options to get out of it. A) He can try and convince the division president to cancel his contract. B) He can convince another division head to steal the contract out from under his current master. This requires the concensus of the wrestler as well as the new division president. So, if a wrestler is good, there should always be another division head who is willing to take him.

Contracts are primarily angle-fodder. Wrestlers will usually be contracted to the division that they prefer. But, in order to keep all divisions in the UWS competitive, some wrestlers may be forced to divisions that are lacking in talent. As with everything, the hardest workers get all the perks. The logic is simple. The division heads will want the best wrestlers in the UWS. So, if a wrestler is good, he will be able to pick and choose which division he wrestles in. If not, he will have to work with the division that takes him.

A word about title-holders and contacts. Presidents will normally only sanction matches between their own wrestlers. (they will both agree on sanctioning cross-division matches) But, they also hold the rights to sanction title defenses for their own division titles. If, say, Bo becomes LWA Heavyweight Champion, but is under OWF contract, the LWA President still has full control over Bo's title defenses. Since the LWA President would prefer that an LWA wrestler held the LWA title, Bo may find himself faced with some very tough matches early on in his title reign.

This may all seem very complicated and unnecessary, but it will make more sense once you see it in action. In any event, if you have any contract related questions, post them on the OOC board or email one of the presidents.

Roleplays
All wrestler roleplays (RPs) will be placed on the UWS RP board. Because wrestlers from different divisions will be posting on the same board, it's imperative that wrestlers use the correct posting name. Since a president is only required to read RPs from his own division, it should be clear who posted the RP by the name on the message. In the case of masked or mystery wrestlers, handlers should post under a given pseudonym that the division presidents are aware of.

For feds that include on-the-fly booking, wrestlers should RP every week unless the president has been informed that they would be taking time off. If a wrestlers posts RPs up to a certain quality level (as determined by the president) he will be guaranteed to have a match on the next card. So, instead of groaning on the boards that your wrestler never gets a match, prove yourself by roleplaying in advance, and you may just find yourself scoring a win against an unprepared competitor.

The UWS will have to enforce a strat and RP deadline. (to be posted each week on the announcements board) No strats or RPs received after this date will be accepted, although they will count for the next available card, if appropriate.

Roleplays will be given a value by the president of the division in which the match takes place. In the case of Unified title matches, all presidents will come to a consensus to the winner of a given match. Quality counts over quantity. Humor, originality, character development, angle development, wit, writing style/quality, tone/setting, spelling/grammar, message layout, intelligence, and cool-factor all contribute to the value of a specific RP. (and much more, no doubt) The UWS will also feature a roleplay clinic to help wrestlers develop their RP style and polish up on the fundamentals of roleplaying. Keep in mind that roleplays are subjective. But, if a handler ever feels that he deserved a win and didn't get one, send off your concerns to one or more of the UWS presidents.

Strats
As with match results, the usage of strats will be directly related to roleplaying. Interview strats (or in-rings) will count towards winning your match the same as if the wrestler posted the same interview on the RP board, except it will appear on the show instead. In some cases, in-rings will be more effective than posted RPs. A maximum of one in-ring interview can be sent for each card. (with some exceptions) Interference strats, on the other hand, will cost. In the same way that a match is determined by RP value, strats will also be determined. If a wrestler has not RPed, then his strat WILL NOT be used for the show. When it comes to strats and counter-strats, again RP value will be used. For example, if Bo sends in a strat in which he wants to attack Reggie with a bowling pin. Reggie also sends in a strat in which he runs over Bo with a forklift. The wrestler who had higher RP value for that week will be the one who is successful in his attack.

Outside interference strats WILL NOT determine a match result. If Bo and Reggie are sanctioned for a match and Louis decides that he's going to interfere in the match and cost Bo the title, the winner of the match will still be determined by RP value. If Bo out-RPed Reggie, he will win the match regardless of what Louis said.

Epilogue
These rules are not etched in stone, and will be tweaked as the fed grows. Check back for any changes, and if there's anything that you think hasn't been covered, just send an email to the Prez, or post your query on the OOC board.