NJPW

The most shocking moments of Wrestlemania 41

This weekend Wrestlemania 41 took place. Being a two-night event, Wrestlemania remains one of the biggest wrestling events in the world, alongside AEW’s All In and NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom. With sixty-three thousand attendees over its two days, it is a celebration of wrestling and its history that many people did not want to miss. And we also want to dedicate a small space to it. Because Wrestlemania is legendary. And what happens here always holds a special place in the world of wrestling. That’s why we are going to talk […]

This weekend Wrestlemania 41 took place. Being a two-night event, Wrestlemania remains one of the biggest wrestling events in the world, alongside AEW’s All In and NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom. With sixty-three thousand attendees over its two days, it is a celebration of wrestling and its history that many people did not want to miss. And we also want to dedicate a small space to it.

Netflix DOWNLOAD

Because Wrestlemania is legendary. And what happens here always holds a special place in the world of wrestling. That’s why we are going to talk about the five biggest moments of this forty-first edition of the event. One that has had its ups and downs, without a doubt, but that fans will recognize has been tremendously special due to some of the title changes and the special appearances that no one expected.

Yeet to the heavyweight

Gunther has been the undisputed heavyweight champion for months. No one has been able to overshadow him, and for very good reasons. His blend of a tremendously powerful style with precisely calculated movements in the ring makes him practically unbeatable. That is, until he encountered his unexpected match in one of the former strongmen of the Tribal Chief.

Jey Uso managed to defeat Gunther after just over fifteen minutes of fighting by submission, becoming the second person to defeat the now former champion in this way. The first was Ilja Dragunov, which places Jey Uso in a more than notable position for his new reign. Considering how high Gunther has set the bar, he will have to work hard to maintain it.

Tiffany Stratton retains her crown

Tiffany Stratton arrived at Wrestlemania with a duty: to keep the WWE Women’s Championship belt. And it wasn’t going to be easy. In front of her was Charlotte Flair, one of the most decorated champions in the history of the company, who may have gone overboard with her on the way to this match. Something that has been noticeable in the ring.

After almost twenty minutes of fighting and with Stratton losing a tooth along the way, she managed to defeat the daughter of the legendary Ric Flair in a titanic duel where she has established herself as one of the strong women in the company. How long will it last? We don’t know. There are great competitors who will undoubtedly go after her title, but after a victory like this at Wrestlemania, it is undeniable that Tiffany Stratton’s value has skyrocketed.

The least expected heel turn

In the triple threat between Seth Rollins, CM Punk, and Roman Reigns, anything could happen, but let’s be honest: we all expected that the one who would lose would be Seth Rollins. Pinning Punk or Reigns? That’s not going to happen, right? Well. Unless Paul Heyman decides to turn his back on CM Punk and ally with Rollins, securing him a victory in a match lasting just over thirty minutes.

The end of the first night was intense, unexpected, and full of emotions. It wasn’t the best match of the day, nor can it be said that it was a great match, but at least we can state without a doubt that it created an interesting situation that could take us to many different places. That heel turn by Seth Rollins and Heyman teaming up with him, turning their backs on both Reigns and Punk, is something we didn’t see coming. And we are eager to see what consequences it has.

Iyo Sky does it again

The women’s world title has revolved around the conflict between Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair. These two women have only had eyes for each other and the possibility of tearing each other apart at the slightest opportunity. Which, without a doubt, has been a mistake. Because the fight was not just between them, but it had a third leg to the stool: Iyo Sky, the champion before and after the fight began.

Achieving a great victory at Wrestlemania, she continues to show that the women’s division in WWE remains the most interesting part of WWE today. And that Iyo Sky continues to be one of its greatest assets. Something we never doubted for a second, but this Wrestlemania has confirmed it once again.

The seventeenth

John Cena against Cody Rhodes was supposed to be a classic. Unfortunately, it won’t be. As a match, it hasn’t been what we expected, and it hasn’t helped that the build-up to it hasn’t been the best. Also, the intervention of a Travis Scott, who should have been The Rock, could have made things much more interesting for the future. But let’s be honest. John Cena with his seventeenth world title in the last year of his career feels right.

We would have preferred it to be different. Better. That doesn’t change the fact that it is what it should be. John Cena is a legendary wrestler, very beloved by a large part of the audience, and it feels right that he is the new world champion. Quien consiga vencerle y retirarle, será un héroe y conseguirá un enorme push. Will they know how to capitalize on this in WWE? That remains to be seen. What is certain is that seeing John Cena as champion again feels good. And it’s because John Cena is the eternal champion of the company for a good reason: he is liked a lot.

Netflix DOWNLOAD

Feasting on Glory: Unraveling the Cake-Filled Extravaganza of Japan’s Month-Long Wrestling Tournament

G1 Climax is a tournament that lasts a whole month, sponsored by NJPW, where technical quality and a very generous number of fights go hand in hand.

For fans of puroresu, Japanese wrestling, summer is the happiest time of the year. With many major events happening during this period, it’s hard not to find at least one or two weekly shows that suit your tastes. But among these, there is one event that stands out among all. For its quality, consistency, length and longevity, it is one of the most celebrated and respected events in wrestling worldwide. We are talking about the G1 Climax.

What is G1 Climax?

The G1 Climax is an annual tournament that has been held since 1974 in New Japan Pro Wrestling (hereafter NJPW), Japan’s largest wrestling federation. It is considered the most prestigious tournament in the company, in all of Japan, and probably the world. The winner of the G1 Climax, also known as the Grade 1 Climax, becomes considered one of the company’s top wrestlers and, as such, becomes a priority to challenge the current holder of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, NJPW’s highest award, equivalent to the title of World Champion or Heavyweight Champion of other federations.

What are its origins?

With half a century of history, it is logical that the G1 Climax has gone through different stages throughout its history. Created in 1974 under the name World League, it took its inspiration from another annual tournament, the World Big League, which was a very similar tournament created by the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance and would be held from 1959 to 1972, following the federation’s closure in 1973. The name World League would remain until 1977, when it would change to MSG League, a name it would keep from 1978 until 1982, when it would change to IWGP League from 1983 to 1988. IWGP being the name of the governing body of NJPW, the International Wrestling Grand Prix.

FITE - Boxing Wrestling MMA APK DOWNLOAD

This will only have two exceptions. In 1989 they would have a World Cup Tournament, where wrestlers from countries of the Soviet Union would participate, and in 1990 the tournament would not be held. In 1991 the tournament would have a rebranding, being renamed G1 Climax, changing its focus to, instead of giving prominence to the big superstars, use it to elevate its future stars, such as those known as the original Three Musketeers, Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto. Three wrestlers who have become wrestling legends, in part, thanks to G1 Climax.

What is its structure and how has it changed?

Although its structure has changed over time, generally the G1 Climax has consisted of a four-week tournament of between ten and sixteen people with a league system with two groups, where the top two from each group go through to decide the champion with single elimination bouts. With a maximum of thirty minutes per bout in the group stage, wins give 2 points, draws 1 point and losses none, which adds a strategic point to the whole. And while this has been the system that has been maintained for virtually the entire existence of the G1, with the exception of a few cases where they have been single elimination tournaments, but this has changed since last year’s edition.

Since G1 Climax 32, the 2022 edition, the tournament has become a four-block tournament to accommodate between 28 and 32 participants. Everything else remains the same, except that the bouts in the group stage will now last a maximum of twenty minutes. This should add dynamism to the tournament, as there are now many more participants.

What is the prize for winning it?

As a tournament that even in its current iteration is now in its thirty-third installment, it stands to reason that there have been changes in the implications of winning the tournament as well. While for decades winning the G1 Climax meant getting a chance to face off for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, it wasn’t until 2012 until this prize was formally introduced. In the most curious way possible.

The winner of G1 Glimax 22, Kazuchika Okada, in addition to the honor of having beaten his opponents, got a briefcase containing a certificate allowing him to compete for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship during Wrestle Kingdom, the equivalent of WrestleMania for NJPW and held at the Tokyo Dome every January 4. But this had a bit of a twist. It meant that Okada also became a candidate for other wrestlers to challenge him for his certificate to fight the then champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi. A certificate he managed to successfully defend twice in October and November 2012.

FITE - Boxing Wrestling MMA APK DOWNLOAD

In fact, there are two constants in the G1 Climax certificates. Virtually no one has ever lost them and virtually no one has ever successfully redeemed them. The only person to lose the certificate since it has existed was Kota Ibushi, on November 7, 2020, in a fight against Jay White that would lead to him having to defend, successfully, both the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP International Championship against White at Wrestle Kingdom 15. Similarly, only two people have managed to successfully redeem their certificates. Hiroshi Tanahashi, who managed to defeat Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 13, and Kazuchika Okada, who defeated Shingo Takagi at Wrestle Kingdom 16 and Jay White at Wrestle Kingdom 17.

Who is fighting this year and who are the favorites?

This year, with 32 people entering the tournament, the stakes are particularly high. There are a lot of big names, there are some big favorites and some crazy balls that no one knows what to expect. That doesn’t detract from the fact that, from each block, there is a group of people to follow more closely, as they are the clear favorites to take home the prize.

Block A is the junior block and, ironically, the reigning heavyweight champion, Sanada. That makes Sanada one of the most obvious favorites, but there are three other favorites – the newly declared new Three Musketeers – Shota Umino, Yota Tsuji and Ren Narita. All three still have a lot to prove, but with the G1 Climax being the place for youngsters, this is certainly their chance. The B-block is the group where no one would want to find themselves. Kazuchika Okada is a four-time G1 winner, one of the most dominant champions in company history and one of the favorites to win it all. But in this block there is also Will Ospreay, the perennial favorite and the great western promise who comes from defeating Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door; an important detail, because Kenny Omega is the only westerner so far who has managed to be crowned G1 champion.

FITE - Boxing Wrestling MMA APK DOWNLOAD

In Block C we have the veterans and hardest hitters in the world. It’s hard to pick favorites in this block, but Tomohiro Ishii is a beloved veteran and right hand man to Kazuchika Okada who has never given less than an absolutely excellent fight in the G-1 Climaxes, so hopefully this will be no exception. Meanwhile, Eddie Kingston has just been crowned Strong Openweight champion and is getting more attention at his parent company, AEW, so it’s important to keep an eye on him. The D block would be easily defined by calling it the favorites block. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito are among the favorites to take the tournament along with Kazuchika Okada, but to underdog the likes of Zack Sabre Jr, one of the best technicians in the world and who is having an absolutely excellent year as the first ever World Television champion, would be a grave mistake that no one should make.

When is it issued?

The G1 Climax 33 starts on July 15 and concludes on Sunday, August 13. There are events practically every day, with the exception of some particular dates. The only rest days are July 17, 20, 22, 24, 28, 29 and 31, as well as August 3, 4, 7 and 11.

How can I see it?

To watch G1 Climax, as well as all of NJPW in general, the best way is to subscribe to the njpwworld streaming service. With live broadcasts, delayed broadcasts, archive of its entire historical catalog, commentary in English and Japanese. The first two days, July 15 and 16, you can watch for free, and then you can watch everything for only 999 yen per month, something like 6.40 euros at the exchange rate. An excellent price to enjoy the best wrestling in the world in a tournament that promises to be magical.

Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.

Get Ready to Pin Down the Basics: Your Complete Starter’s Guide to Wrestling

The world of wrestling can seem intimidating from the outside, but don’t worry: we explain everything you need to know to get started.

Wrestling is more alive than ever. Thanks to the internet, smaller federations, and consistent growth over the years, this blend of sport and theater has established itself as a legitimate form of entertainment in popular culture. However, like many forms of popular culture, it can be challenging to know where to start when it comes to watching wrestling. That’s what we’re going to clarify here. We’ll explore the main federations, what sets them apart, where you can watch their content, and who their top stars are. The rest is diving headfirst and catching up because it’s all about diving headfirst and filling in the gaps gradually.

FITE - Boxing Wrestling MMA APK DOWNLOAD

WWE

If we have to talk about wrestling, it is essential to start with WWE. The company led by Vince McMahon is one of the oldest and most well-known in the world, having established in the minds of many what wrestling is. Not for nothing, legends like Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and John Cena emerged from here. Based in the USA, with strong ties to Saudi Arabia, it has an international roster but a distinct style: prioritizing spectacle over sport and catering to a family-friendly audience.

Currently, their top star is Roman Reigns, who holds the company’s highest title: the Undisputed Universal Champion. He is also part of The Bloodline storyline, still unfolding, and considered one of the greatest stories ever told in WWE.

Apart from Roman Reigns, other prominent current names in WWE include Gunther, the current Intercontinental Champion, and Asuka, the Raw Women’s Champion. While there are other big names in WWE like AJ Styles and Seth Rollins, it is these three, along with some of their female wrestlers such as Bianca Belair or Iyo Sky, and the Raw Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, who continue to showcase the best of WWE: a perfect blend of well-developed personal conflicts and excellent wrestling.

AEW

Being a young federation doesn’t mean it can’t compete in wrestling, as demonstrated by AEW. Founded and led by Tony Khan, AEW was established on January 1, 2019, and aims to be the opposite of WWE. While McMahon’s company prioritizes entertainment over wrestling, Tony Khan’s company puts wrestling above entertainment. This doesn’t mean there are no stories and promos; they do exist and are very good, but they are developed less through conversations and more through what happens in the ring.

It’s difficult to define who is currently at the top in AEW, but it’s not unreasonable to say that it’s MJF. Real name Maxwell Jacob Friedman, he is a technical prodigy with astonishing acting skills. At just 27 years old, he has become the AEW World Champion in a federation known for having some of the best wrestlers in the world. It’s no wonder his iconic phrase is “I’m better than you, and you know it.”

In any case, AEW is the federation where wrestling is the most important aspect. Here, you can find a mix of professional wrestling, classic wrestling, indie wrestling, and puroresu, with some of the best wrestlers in the world calling AEW their home. Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Chris Jericho are among the names regularly competing here. Additionally, with talent-sharing agreements with AAA and NJPW, and a constant focus on providing opportunities for young talent, AEW showcases numerous other great wrestlers on their shows, such as Adam Page, Jay White, El Hijo del Vikingo, and Katsuyori Shibata. This solidifies AEW as the current home of wrestling.

FITE - Boxing Wrestling MMA APK DOWNLOAD

AAA

We can call it wrestling, we can call it lucha libre, and it may seem like we’re talking about the same thing, but not exactly: lucha libre has its own identity, and that is well known in AAA. Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, also known as Caravana Tres Veces Estelar, is led by Marisela Peña Herrada and is characterized as, if not the most important, certainly the most well-known wrestling federation in Mexico. With a history dating back to 1992 and business relationships with numerous international companies, AAA is the home in Mexico for most wrestlers with international aspirations.

If someone stands out in AAA, it’s El Hijo del Vikingo. Trained by King Vikingo, he won the AAA Mega Championship on December 4, 2021, and has successfully defended it since then on seven occasions against some of the best wrestlers in Mexico. Furthermore, his recent appearances in the United States, particularly in AEW, where he competed against Kenny Omega, the former AAA Mega Champion, and other wrestlers, have only elevated his status as a superstar.

AAA indeed has multiple stars of importance beyond El Hijo del Vikingo, and one who has shined the most in the past year is Fénix. By unifying the AAA World Heavyweight Championship and the Latin American Championship, he became the first Triple Crown Champion in the company’s history. Other wrestlers such as El Cuatrero, Dralístico, and Bandido are also prominent names who have excelled in the federation, showcasing the immense talent and deep-rooted love for a purely Mexican wrestling style within AAA.

In Japan, where they have puroresu (professional wrestling), the largest promotion is called NJPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling). With a style they define as Strong Style, characterized by open-handed strikes, elbows, and more realistic-looking moves influenced by MMA, NJPW offers a much more technical and realistic approach compared to the more fantastical and acrobatic world of lucha libre. It’s no coincidence that the company was founded by Antonio Inoki, a man who popularized wrestling and MMA in Japan. Currently, NJPW is led by Takami Ohbari, who has expanded the company’s international relations, particularly with AEW and AAA, albeit to a lesser extent with WWE.

Choosing a single name as the main face of NJPW is literally impossible. At the very least, we would have to highlight Sanada, Will Ospreay, and Kazuchika Okada, also known as The Rainmaker, as the three pillars on which the company stands. These three men belong to three different factions, each with a distinct style, but they share one thing in common: all three could be considered the best professional wrestler in the world, and it would be difficult to argue against it.

Indeed, NJPW thrives on the battles between factions, which sets it apart from other promotions. CHAOS, Bullet Club, United Kingdom, Los Ingobernables de Japon, Just 5 Guys, House of Torture, and now even the Blackpool Combat Club, previously only present in AEW, are constantly in conflict. There are constant betrayals, wars between groups, and internal power struggles within the factions. Unlike other promotions where the focus is often on individual members, in NJPW, the destiny of the group and the subgroups within them are of utmost importance. This unique emphasis on faction dynamics gives NJPW a distinct identity within the world of professional wrestling.

FITE - Boxing Wrestling MMA APK DOWNLOAD

Stardom

Stardom has undoubtedly proven that wrestling is not just for men. While AEW and WWE have a solid roster of female wrestlers, only Stardom has provided them with a platform where they can shine just as brightly as their male counterparts. World Wonder Ring Stardom, founded and directed by Rossy Ogawa, is a women’s-only puroresu promotion. As a sister promotion to NJPW, it embraces a similarly hard-hitting style of wrestling and incorporates group-based storytelling. However, unlike NJPW, the spotlight here is solely on the women.

Currently, the reigning queen of Stardom is undoubtedly Tam Nakano. Holding both the World of Stardom Championship and the Wonder of Stardom Championship, the leader of the Cosmic Angels exhibits a visually stunning and surprisingly hard-hitting style. She seamlessly combines classic wrestling techniques with her own technical prowess, making her a particularly skilled wrestler whose matches are enjoyed for the grace and subtlety of her movements.

Apart from Tam Nakano, Stardom can proudly boast of having some of the best female wrestlers in its roster. Names like Giulia, Mina Shirakawa, Natsupoi, Kairi, and Mayu Iwatani easily stand among the top wrestlers today, regardless of gender. This makes Stardom a promotion that is truly worth following. Not only does it provide excellent women’s wrestling, which unfortunately remains relatively rare even in 2023, but it also delivers outstanding wrestling overall. Stardom sets a high standard for the quality of its matches and showcases the incredible talent and skill of its wrestlers.

Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.

Think you could run WWE? Fire Promoter lets you try

Fire Promoter brings an immersive new aspect to this top-notch wrestling game.

For the last several years, wrestling fans have been baffled by Vince McMahon’s booking decisions for the WWE. From dropping storylines for no discernible reason, to burying fan favorites, and giving mega pushes to unpopular superstars, many fans wonder just what goes on inside the eccentric billionaire’s head.

Those who truly think they could run a promotion better will be pleased to know that Fire Pro Wrestling World’s Fire Promoter DLC has finally been released. Fire Promoter has been hyped up by fans to be the natural successor to the acclaimed GM Mode from the old Smackdown vs Raw games. After numerous delays, Fire Promoter is here at last. Fortunately, it lives up to the hype. But how does it work?

What is Fire Promoter?

Fire Promoter has players taking control of a brand new wrestling promotion with the goal of becoming the most popular brand in the world. The mode is not a sandbox storytelling device like WWE2K’s Universe mode, but rather a game where the player competes against rival AI promotions to build the most successful wrestling business.

Fire Pro Wrestling World Download Now

Fire Promoter includes a few dozen fictional promotions and hundreds of fictional wrestlers to play with, though these can be substituted with real wrestlers and promotions through Fire Pro’s built-in community creations system. For example, in my playthrough, I chose to play as AEW going up against WWE, NJPW, TNA, CMLL, AAA, Progress, and Ring of Honor. For each promotion, you set the number of wrestlers and free agents, as well as their style. WWE’s flashy and aggressive style fits the “Showman” style for example, while NJPW’s focus on technical in-ring action suits the “Strong” style. Choosing a style for your promotion is important as it determines which wrestlers want to work with you and which promotions will seek you out for partnerships.

Initially, you start with only six wrestlers, though you can enter a cheat code to start with as many as you’d like (hold L1 + L2 while choosing your difficulty and the number of wrestlers). The amount of money you start with depends on the difficulty you choose as well. Rival promotions, especially top ones, start with significantly more money than you do to show that they’re already established. Once you’ve set up your difficulty options and starting roster, you’re ready to go!

Building your roster

The roster-building aspect of Fire Promoter is one of the most dynamic and fun parts of the mode. You can view which wrestler is in which promotion, as well as which free agents exist in each territory (America, Japan, Latin America, and Europe).

To build up your army of talent, you have two main options. First, you can pay scouts to search for undiscovered talent in each territory. You have multiple scouts at your disposal, each one specializing in a certain territory and style of wrestling. If your scout successfully discovers a wrestler they will appear as a free agent in their respective territory. These discovered free agents are eager to be signed, so be sure to pick them up quickly before another promotion snatches them up.

The second option you have is offering contracts to wrestlers directly, whether they be free agents or talent at competing promotions. Whether or not the wrestler actually accepts is dependent on a number of factors. Obviously, the amount of money involved is a big factor, and lowballing their signing bonus hardly ever works for anyone bigger than a mid-card talent. Additionally, the talent is more likely to sign with you if their wrestling style matches your promotion.

Why every wrestling fan needs to play Fire Pro Wrestling World

Read Now ►

Lastly, wrestlers who are already signed to competing promotions have trust levels. If their trust level is high, then they are less likely to leave and sign with you (no matter how much money I offered, the Undertaker refused to leave Vince’s side). Signing wrestlers from other promotions will anger them, causing them to be less likely to want to work with you for crossover events.

Once you actually have your wrestlers, it’s up to you to keep them happy. Wrestlers have different popularity levels in different territories, and they can win over the crowd by winning often, gaining titles, and putting on high-quality matches. As wrestlers get more popular, they will often demand more money or bigger pushes, and it’s your decision as to whether they’re worth the hassle (Bray Wyatt is a huge money-guzzling primadonna in my game, but he’s so popular that I’m forced to oblige).

On the flipside, wrestlers who are fed up with low wages or lower-card matches will sometimes storm into your office demanding change. If they get pissed enough they’ll leave for the free agency. Additionally, there are random events that can affect a wrestler’s reputation. For example, in my game Kurt Angle was involved in a hit and run, causing him to be fired by WWE and allowing me to scoop him up.

Keeping talent happy and booking them right will make sure they stay with you. Be sure to put on good matches to keep them popular, in addition to enhancing your roster with hot free agents.

Here comes the money!

Much like in life, in Fire Promoter you need to spend money to make money. For the first few months, your promotion will almost certainly lose money until you build some momentum. Fortunately, you have many other sources of revenue besides ticket sales. You can produce various kinds of merchandise to sell, which provides a nice supplementary income. Be careful about when you produce merchandise and how much of it you make, however. Merchandise sales really pick up after huge events, so if an event goes poorly or you accidentally manufacture too much merch, it’ll sit on the shelves, costing you a ton of money. At the beginning of my game, I manufactured small amounts of T-shirts and towels for my events, the profits of which definitely saved me from going under before I gained momentum.

The 10 best games on PlayStation Now

Read Now ►

As your promotion becomes bigger, you’ll have the opportunity to sign deals with sponsors and broadcasters, both of which rake in tons of cash. Sponsors will give you money to plaster their logo all over your ring. More lucrative sponsors often come with stipulations that you must follow. For example, one of my biggest sponsors was a pharmaceutical company. They doled out the cash on the condition that I never set up hardcore matches or deathmatches. Sponsors can also offer small benefits, such as a clothing company reducing the cost of producing T-shirts or an energy drink company making your wrestlers heal from injuries faster.

Getting broadcast deals can make or break your promotion. Starting from local television all the way to international broadcasts, these deals will bring in a ton of money and exposure to your promotion. The flipside is that you must cater to their often picky demands, such as having every single event of yours get above an 80% rating.

Putting on a show

The most important part of any wrestling promotion, obviously, is putting on a show. Successful events in Fire Promoter are determined by the amount of money they bring in and how well they go over with fans (displayed with a percentage).

To pull off an event you must carefully arrange the card, from the main event all the way to the lower card. Put your most popular wrestlers in the main event, switching them up every month or so for some variety. By taking a rising mid-card wrestler and putting in the main event, you can make him go over by putting on a good match. It also helps to put title matches in the main event, as they bring in more spectators. There are a variety of match types to choose from, including tag matches, 6 and 8 man tag matches, cage matches, various deathmatches, and MMA fights.

When running through the event, you can choose to play a match (either by taking control over a wrestler or watching the AI fight it out) or sim a match altogether. Note that you cannot outright choose who wins the match, so if you’re really banking on a specific wrestler to win a match, be sure to play as them and whoop the AI’s butt. To ensure highly rated matches, try to keep the fight as even as possible to keep things exciting. Longer matches tend to do better, so pace out the match and have things gradually escalate. Take down your opponent with a finisher for extra style points.

How to break a bad habit

Read Now ►

You can approach other promotions for crossover tournaments (they can also approach you). In these tournaments, each promotion is forced to put at least one of their title belts on the line. For these events, you want your wrestlers to look good, not theirs. Instead of focusing on good matches, feel free to lay the smackdown on the AI’s candy ass and steal their titles away. Having more titles increases the prestige and popularity of your promotion, so these crossover tournaments are very important. If an AI takes one of your titles away, loan wrestlers to their promotion or attempt to put on more crossover tournaments with them to get it back.

Outside of the ring, you must keep track of other factors in setting up your event. To make your promotion look popular and successful, you must fill out the venue whenever possible, so it’s better to get a full house in a small arena than an emptier crowd in a larger arena. The amount of people who attend your event depends on the match card, the ticket price, and the advertising. Lower ticket prices mean more people, but obviously lower profits. By taking advantage of popular talent and well-built match cards you can get away with higher ticket prices. Additionally, advertising makes a huge difference in attendance. Filming TV commercials or starting social media campaigns bring in huge crowds but also burn a hole in your wallet, so balancing venue, advertising, and ticket pricing is key.

Fire Promoter is an extensive mode that rounds out the already excellent gameplay of Fire Pro Wrestling World. It could use some polish; crashes happen, so save frequently. Also, the mode explains itself poorly, so hopefully this article clears things up. Other than that, it is certainly worth the $20, and with additional features and tweaking, may end up being the best wrestling sim mode ever.

Why every wrestling fan needs to play Fire Pro Wrestling World

Discover why this could be the greatest wrestling game ever made.

With the rising popularity of New Japan Pro-Wrestling in the West, it’s a great time to be a wrestling fan. While fans have grumbled about the WWE for years, NJPW’s increasing western fanbase has breathed new life into the pro-wrestling industry. When it comes to wrestling video games, the only real choice fans have is the WWE2K series, which, while fun games in their own right, are relatively safe and homogenized yearly entries, leaving many fans yearning for some variety. If you’re a NJPW fan, a WWE fan, or even someone with just a passing interest in wrestling, you need to give Fire Pro Wrestling a try.

Why wrestling fans need to play Fire Pro Wrestling World

Don’t be put off by the game’s 2-D presentation, Fire Pro Wrestling World is a complete package full of limitless customization and exciting, technical gameplay.

Endless customization

The insane amount of customization offered by Fire Pro is the series’ most celebrated feature. The wrestler creator feature has the most depth out of any character creation mode we’ve ever seen (including Soul Calibur, WWE2K, and Saints Row). You can mix and match hundreds of parts, body types, and clothing options to make kind of wrestler you can dream up. You can layer and color parts as you please, allowing you to create an insane amount of detail for your wrestler.

Beyond their appearance, you can fully customize a wrestler’s moveset, from their basic strikes and grapples to their explosive finishers. You can also put the finishing touch on your wrestler by tweaking their AI. By messing with a wrestler’s AI, you can give them personality and flair. For example, you can make a heel wrestler use illegal strikes when the ref isn’t looking and taunt after every big hit. The AI system is surprisingly simple to use, given the amount of depth that it offers.

In addition to customizing your wrestler, Fire Pro also lets you customize pretty much every other aspect of the wrestling experience. You can create your own rings, and upload any image you want to be used as the mat. You can upload custom music to be played during matches, entrances, and victories. You can design title belts to be used in your dream promotions.

You can even create your own referees (our favorite is Fair Bear, a literal bear in a referee uniform). People who enjoy customizing their games will get a huge kick out of Fire Pro, and Steam Workshop compatibility adds thousands of player-created wrestlers, rings, and promotions to download.

Build Your Dream Roster

Here we see Mario fighting Bob Ross, Deadpool, and Bane, among others

Given the thousands of wrestlers available to download on the Steam Workshop, the roster possibilities are endless. There are hundreds of recreations of famous pro wrestlers, including today’s top talent like John Cena and Kenny Omega, in addition to the superstars of yesterday like Ric Flair and the Ultimate Warrior. Most of these wrestlers were created by super dedicated fans, so they each have painstakingly accurate movesets and AI traits.

Fans of both the WWE and NJPW can mix downloaded/created WWE stars with the official NJPW stars included in the DLC to create impossible dream matchups. Ever wanted to see Okada take on Cena, or Tanahashi fight the Undertaker? The possibilities are all there. Fire Pro also lets you create custom promotions with factions within them, allowing you to simulate real promotions or create your own story.

In addition to real wrestlers, the Steam Workshop features thousands of wrestlers based on fictional characters and real people, allowing you to create some truly hilarious and bizarre matchups. Seeing things like Homer Simpson get RKO’d by Thanos and Bob Ross hurling Mike Tyson out of the ring never gets old. One of the best tag matches we’ve had so far was pitting the cast of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” against “Seinfeld” (Team Seinfeld won, with Kramer hitting Charlie with an unbreakable submission). If you like games with player-created characters like Soul Calibur or MUGEN then you’ll have a blast with Fire Pro even if you don’t care about real pro wrestling.

Simple graphics, fantastic gameplay

Fire Pro’s gameplay perfectly simulates the drama and pace of a real match

Most wrestling games don’t understand the basic appeal of a pro wrestling match. The reason well-done pro wrestling matches are so appealing is that they are scripted affairs that combine theatrics and pacing, which, combined with colorful personalities and storylines, creates an exciting and dramatic match. Most wrestling games just set out to be fighting games, where the player’s objective is simply to beat up and pin the other, without any regard for match pacing or drama. Fire Pro’s gameplay alleviates this by focusing on putting on a good show that resembles a well put together wrestling match.

Strikes and grapples are divided into small, medium, and big attacks. At the beginning of the match, only small attacks are effective against an opponent; attempts at bigger moves like finishers are met with automatic reversals. As the match progresses and each wrestler takes more damage, they become more susceptible to medium and big attacks, simulating the rising stakes and bombastic finishers of an actual pro wrestling match.

The game offers a wide variety of options for each wrestler beyond their moveset of strikes, grapples, and submissions. Players can run into the ropes to use devastating lariats, dropkicks, and more. They can also climb the turnbuckles to unleash high-flying moonsaults and brutal elbow drops. Wrestlers can also fight outside of the ring, where they can sometimes use weapons and other underhanded tactics to gain the edge.

At the end of every match, you’re shown a score based on how much the audience enjoyed it, encouraging players to create dramatic and varied fights. There are plenty of match types for you to play around with, including cage matches, battle royales, and even deathmatches.

For players interested in a story mode, the NJPW DLC allows you to take control of a custom Young Lion in training working their way up to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Along the way, the player can allocate points into various stats and attributes, as well as choose their stable and the path their character goes down. This mode has a surprising amount of depth, and is a great merge of Fire Pro’s gameplay and a story-driven wrestling RPG.

Ready to jump in the ring? You can download Fire Pro Wrestling here.

Have you tried Fire Pro Wrestling World? How do you think it compares to WWE2k? Let us know!