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JOHNNY B SAYS
Manager Anthony Ibrahim of Kansas, known to friends as "Tony Flair," passed away on April 3rd at the age of 53. Friends and co-workers described him as a sweet guy with tons of passion and personality, and his letters to us over the years always reflected that. His humorous trash talk and Supreme Dalek drawings doubtlessly brought smiles to the faces of many fellow players.
In addition to humor, Tony had a gift for playing music and cooking, and his wrestlers were a force to be reckoned with in the ring. He led nWo: Evil Wonder Woman (WUL) to the Rough House Wrestling Championship in the June and August cycles of 2001, then to the Ladies' World title in February of 2004. That same cycle, his nWo: Maren Jensen (WUL) took the Ladies' U.S. belt, and nWo: Yancy Butler (WUL) won the Ladies' National Championship! In the Winter 2005 cycle, Yancy brought home the Ladies' World honors, and Maren the U.S. strap. By January of 2007, all three had set up shop in the FFL, and ended in a three-way tie for the National title! The following cycle, Evil Wonder Woman was edged out for the U.S. Championship, but Tony didn't give up on her, and she won it the very next cycle! She finally entered the IWA Hall of Fame in the Summer cycle of 2008 as DX: Evil Wonder Woman (IIL).
Tony claimed the King of the Ring crown in the December 2007 cycle with DX: "Mr. Chyna" Tony Laurer (IIL), then again in the Winter cycle of 2008 with DX: Triple H (NAL). "Mr. Chyna" moved to the WSL, and picked up third place for the Buried Alive title at the 2011 Specialty Championships. Four cycle later, fans at Imagimania XXVI: World Conquest looked on as DX: Riptide (PKL) took home the Africa Championship, and DX: "The Franchise" Tony Flair (PKL) won second place in the battle for North America. DX: Stephanie McMahon (PKL) became our champion of California, Delaware, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Texas, and West Virginia in the 2012 State Wrestling contest, and "The Franchise," then in the ALL, won the Inferno and Singapore Cane titles at that year's Specialty Championships, and also came in second for the Buried Alive strap and third for the First Blood title. Tony ended 2012 by coaching Stephanie to third place for the Hangman's Noose honors at Imagimania XXVII: Dirty Dozen Redux.
Stepping into the ring himself, DX: "Innovator of Arrogance" Anthony Ibrahim (PKL) narrowly missed winning the King of the Ring title in November of 2013, but promised fans he would one day wear gold. He managed BWE: "Cool Fire" Shaun Cassidy (NAL) to the Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wyoming titles at the 2014 State Wrestling Championships, then later that year, Tony moved him to the PKL and saw him take second place for the Buried Alive honors and third place for the Texas Bullrope belt during the Specialty Championships. The "Innovator of Arrogance," then part of the IX stable, made good on his word at the end of the year by securing the Butcher Knife title and coming in third place for the Icepick Championship at Imagimania XXIX: Fright Night! Deciding to call the BRL home in 2015, he picked up the Illinois, Louisiana, and Maine State titles, and finished in third for the Buried Alive title at the Specialty Championships.
In 2016, DX: Anthony Ibrahim-Jensen (GWL) won the Arkansas, California, and South Dakota titles at our State Wrestling Championships, and the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs gold at the Specialty Championships, in addition to coming in second for the Lumberjack title. His in-league winnings included nine regional titles and three battle royal victories, while the following year saw him take home the league championship, the TV title, and 13 regionals. He retired into our Hall of Fame in the Fall cycle of 2018, having collected another league TV title, four regional belts, and two battle royal wins earlier in the year.
Adding "Superstars" Shaun and Anthony Cassidy (GWL) to his pool of talent, he led Anthony to third place finishes for the I Quit and Texas Bullrope titles at the 2018 Specialty Championships, then coached Shaun to victory in the Alabama, Delaware, New Jersey, and North Dakota play-offs at our 2019 State Wrestling Championships -- and in doing so, helped raise $777 for fellow manager Jim Ripka, who was recovering from a stroke. He also guided Anthony to the SHL International title, and helped both win several league belts, TV titles, TV tag straps, regional belts, and battle royals.
Anthony Ibrahim really seemed to understand the spirit of the IWA -- creating wrestlers, managing them through the ups and down of a career, and eventually enjoying the prestige of having them qualify for retirement. Before his death, he had taken a new trio under his wing, and was beginning their journey in the GCL. Although his passing is a terrible loss to the game, it's a great source of comfort to us knowing that he held on long enough to witness his team of Shaun and Anthony Cassidy being inducted into our Hall of Fame last cycle.
Rest in peace, Tony Flair.
Players who are new to the IWA sometimes believe the hold values on the back of their bulletins will be used the following cycle, when they were actually used to determine the results in that very bulletin. But what if we did publish the hold values for the upcoming cycle in advance? That's what vote #4 is all about!
This is an online-only vote, since we would be posting the "values from the future" on our website. The sole purpose would be transparency: we would upload an encrypted file for each federation weeks before using the hold values contained within it, and release the password after processing all the leagues in that federation. Players could then verify that the hold values in the bulletins always match those we posted weeks earlier, well before any strategies were even a twinkle in some carefree manager's eye. (Naturally, we would be utilizing strong passwords and military-grade encryption to protect the files.)
Why didn't I do this sooner? I wish I had thought of it sooner -- years sooner, in fact! We have always locked the hold values for all six federations in place before beginning a new cycle, but that practice has occasionally caused problems, such as forcing us to restrict inter-league matches to the same federation, or incidents where the values for a later federation were inadvertently published in the bulletin for a league in an earlier federation. At least the timing of my idea isn't so bad, considering that one of the many benefits of our new bulletin system is that it's now basically impossible for hold values to be leaked early. That means we should never need another emergency redo, as we did with last year's Stablecade, so the values posted in advance should always be usable.
In other Stablecade news, it's back! Fill out the form and send it in with your matches for the upcoming Spring cycle, then it's off to the races!
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES -- engraved plaque
"The Ladies' Man" Nick Dendekker of Canada
F-IT: "Amazingly Hot" Angela Sweetheart (FFL) 1,000-434-86, *21, $2,489,100
F-IT: Hired Killer (WEL) 1,005-333-62, *22, $2,676,100
F-IT: Missy the Vampire (MDL) 1,081-446-93, *25, $3,236,000
F-IT: Stacey the Vampire (MDL) 1,141-389-85, *28, $3,818,800
WORLD, U.S., KING OF THE RING
World Champion
COT: Pit Boss (KHL)
Steven M. Shotliff of Minnesota; 501; $250,000 + 75 free matches or a real wrestling belt & 25 free matches, 10 free matches for KHL managers next cycle
U.S. Champion
VIRUS/RWS: Sugrag Hcaz (CSL)
Michael Drake of New Jersey; 501; $100,000 + a large plaque or 25 free matches
King of the Ring
SOS: Omega Man (QPL)
"The Smooth One" Jeff Manning of Ohio; $50,000 + a large plaque or 25 free matches; 275 KotR total; hold positions were 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15; battle royal hold positions were 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14
FEDERATION TITLES -- $50,000 + 25 free matches
Iron Federation Champion
SOS/ORDER: Plague (EEL)
Randall Angel from the Republic of Texas; 500; edged VIRUS/RWS: C.W. Drake (CSL), COT/ICE: Barbarian King (BOL)
Steel Federation Champion
VIRUS/Luniz: Wall Knutzz (MUL)
Mitchell Johnson of Michigan; 500
Gold Federation Champion
COT: Pit Boss (KHL)
Steven M. Shotliff of Minnesota; 501
Diamond Federation Champion
TBABIT: "Sweet Talking" Trevor Geiger (NAL)
Seth Brubaker of Ohio; 501
Bronze Federation Champion
BNC/ORDER: Swordfish Tim (GRL)
Joseph Glen Clark of Washington; edged DOD/ORDER: Blade the Vampire Hunter (LNL), SOS: Seniram Eht Nioj (AEL), VIRUS: Big Bad Momma Shatterday (IGL)
Jade Federation Champion
IMT/GOAT: The Grappling God Gerald Robinson (WEL)
Gerald Robinson of Tennessee; manager held title 3 cycles in a row; 501; edged COT: Young Gab (GCL), SOS: Hacksaw Hamilton Leatherface (JDL), "Evil" Eli Manning (TGL)
SPECIALTY TITLES -- $25,000 + 10 free matches
American Champion
IMT/LPPF/DOD: Sir Gunther Kinderwacht (ASL)
"Dr. Pain" Mark Duchaine of Vermont; 500
Asiatic Champion
TBABIT: "Sweet Talking" Trevor Geiger (NAL)
Seth Brubaker of Ohio; 501; edged Young Gab
Elite Champion
COT: Young Gab (GCL)
Chris Stevens of Texas; 501; 60 free matches or a real wrestling belt & 10 free matches
Hardcore Champion
SOS/ORDER: Plague (EEL)
Randall Angel from the Republic of Texas; 500; edged VIRUS/Luniz: Wall Knutzz (MUL), The Skull of Death (LBL)
Metropolitan Champion
Trevor Geiger
NATIONAL, IWA-WIDE REGIONALS -- $25,000
National Champion
IMT/FRM-16: IMDKV Grappler #2 (JDL)
Dixie region; edged TBABIT: "Neutral" Ned Nelson (NAL)
IMT/FRM-16: Lord of Violence (PKL)
Big Marchand from the Diamond District; 501; a large plaque or 25 free matches; Northern region
Atlantic Champion
DB: Anvil Krauss (YJL)
Shawn McAbee of Tennessee; 499; edged TBABIT: "Reticent" Frank Du Pont (NAL), IMT/LPPF: The Mighty Deadhead (XPL), SOS/ORDER: Beast Boy (EEL), IMT/FRM-16/RC: Moonshine Marauder (JDL), EDGE/GiFt: Billy Asyn-Mei (TGL), IMT: Death Stalker (IGL)
Central Champion
Vax Zine (MML)
Tom Cottrill of Ohio; 500
Eastern Champion
ARMY/IMT: "Worst of the Worst" Simon Dresnok (XWL)
Donald Henry of Illinois; 499; edged McCafee (MML), EDGE/GiFt: ROOOOOCKS (TGL), IMT/LPPF: Becker (PKL), ARMY/IMT: "El Chapo" Felix Beltran (AAL)
Mountain Champion
EDGE: Mr. Obvious (NDL)
Jeff Annable of Canada; 500
Pacific Champion
IMT/FRM-16: IMDKV Grappler #1 (JDL)
Big Marchand; 501
Prairie Champion
IMT/LPPF: "Mad Dog" Maurice Duchaine (LSL)
"Dr. Pain" Mark Duchaine of Vermont; 500
Southern Champion
IMT/FRM-16: Elaborate Saboteur Drone (PKL)
Big Marchand; 501
Western Champion
Rakim (PKL)
"The Game" from Parts Unknown; 501
LADIES' TITLES
Ladies' World Champion
NGAA: Mara O'Connor (MDL)
S. Daniel Stunes of Iowa; 501; $50,000 + a plaque or 15 free matches
Ladies' U.S. Champion
VIRUS/VD: Nasty Patsy (LLL)
Frank Jay Belcher III of Michigan; 499; $25,000
Queen of the Ring
America
499; 271 QotR total; edged IMT/LPPF: Mistress of the Underworld #4 (FFL; lesser overall total)
Ladies' National Champion
SOS: Masked Dimepiece II (LLL)
Hamilton Ortiz of New York; 501
Ladies' Tag-team Champions
SOS: Monique & Vivian Blood (RWL)
Robbie "Blood" Pawelek of Texas; 516
Ladies' U.S. Tag-team Champions
COT/FLOW: Ladies Sin & Malice (NML)
Wade Reinhard of Pennsylvania; manager retained titles
World Six-woman Champions
SOS: Ashley Anderson, Betty Bazooka, Jaguar Jenny (LLL)
Hamilton Ortiz; 521
U.S. Six-woman Champions
COT/FLOW: America, Freedom, Lethal Lori Reinhard (VUL)
Wade Reinhard; retained titles
TAG-TEAM TITLES
World Tag-team Champions
EDGE: Chad Bro Chillington & Petey LaFlame (COL)
Caleb Crawdad of Florida; manager held titles 5 cycles in a row; share of $50,000 + 15 free matches
EDGE: Mr. White & Mr. Blue (CZL)
Jeff Annable of Canada
TBABIT: Steve & David Hewghes (AAL)
Seth Brubaker of Ohio
VIRUS/Luniz/W: B.O.D. Kane & Undertaker (IGL)
Mitchell Johnson of Michigan
Top Contenders
5. OOP: "Lightning" Lance Brown & LPPF/T-SANITY: The Dying Breed (GRL)
IMT/GOAT: Vlad the Impaler & Assassin 42 (GWL)
7. SOS: Rash & Second Sierra (OSL)
previous champions
LPPF/T-SANITY: "Suicidal Crank Yankers" Cammie Smith & Spoonie Luv (IIL)
9. Jacques & Ray Renot (HLL)
10. COT: Best of the Best II & V (MUL)
EDGE/GiFt: Chicken Peter & EDGE: Peter Pringle (WDL)
12. EDGE: "Mr. Dark" Randall Flagler & EDGE/GiFt: Billy Asyn-Mei (TGL)
VIRUS: F.B.III from the C.D.C. & Proctology (DXL)
14. COT: Buford Blackwood & Hugh Mungus (GCL)
last of the teams with 516
U.S. Tag-team Champions
EDGE: Jack Tupp & Hal O'Pena-Bidness (COL)
Caleb Crawdad; manager held titles 5 cycles in a row; share of $25,000
EDGE: Rob Slayer & Ric Passion (CZL)
Jeff Annable; 516; edged VIRUS/VD: Sandy Cheeks & Mrs. Douchea (IGL), EDGE/GiFt: Dee Snuts & Curtis Sea (WDL), TBABIT: "Road Trip Buddy" Phil Lee & EDGE: "Queen City" Char Lot (OSL; missed titles by point flow last time), EDGE: "Light" Dwight Harrington & EDGE/GiFt: Billy Asyn-Hymn (TGL), VIRUS/Luniz: Mitchell "The Butcher" Johnson & VIRUS: Dr. F.B. (DXL), ARMY/IMT: "El Chapo" Felix Beltran & "El Sicario" Oscar Leyva (AAL)
SIX-MAN TITLES
World Six-man Champions
EDGE: Bradley, Benjermin Logan, Mister GFY (AEL)
Caleb Crawdad of Florida & Geoff Silva of Massachusetts (GFY); Crawdad held titles 14 cycles in a row; share of $50,000 + 15 free matches
EDGE: Candy Land, Connect Four, The Game of Life (IGL)
Jeff Annable of Canada
VIRUS: Gweedo, 3-D, VIRUS/Luniz: "The King of Swing" M.J. (MUL)
Frank Jay Belcher III & Mitchell Johnson (M.J.), both of Michigan; Belcher held titles 7 cycles in a row, Johnson retained titles
IMT/FRM-16: Soldats Moufette, Mangouste, Branche de Cheval (JDL)
Big Marchand from the Diamond District
IMT/FRM-16/AFUN: Dog Barrett, Bad Marchand, Sly Spallone (LPL)
Big Marchand and Don Million of Boston, MA
SOS: Lil Italy, Lion Ted Cruz, "Sure Thing" Will Dew (HSL)
Derek Tuttle of Florida
SOS/ORDER: Ares Royal, SOS: Los Blood, Mike "* Collector" Cook (EEL)
Randall Angel, Robbie "Blood" Pawelek, both of Texas, Michael Cook of Kentucky
Top Contenders
8. SOS: Derek, Isaiah, Isabella "The Ninjas" Tuttle (KHL)
last of the teams with 521
9. LB: Cowboys Black Jack Kavana, Sexton Hardcastle, F.L. Slobberknocker (ASL)
10. EDGE: Worst Canadian Mooseriders Nickelback 4th, Molson 5th, Rush 6th (NDL)
ranked #8 last time
LPPF/T-SANITY: Shadow Walker, TM: "The Project" Sam McMillan, "Mister Mayhem" Saiga Genisys (XPL)
U.S. Six-man Champions
VIRUS/Luniz: Chin Knutzz, VIRUS: Yur Papa, "The American Dream" Dirty Toad (MUL)
Mitchell Johnson (Knutzz) & Frank Jay Belcher III; retained titles; Belcher held titles 7 cycles in a row, Johnson 3 in a row; share of $25,000 + 10 free matches
EDGE: "Cr*p!," Tiggle Byrds, Ludwig van Gruesome (AEL)
Caleb Crawdad & Geoff Silva (Gruesome); Crawdad held titles 14 cycles in a row
NME: Dominant Factors War, Greed, Anarchy (HLL)
~TZ~ of Virginia
SOS: World Champ Mike Cook, Blood Purple, SOS/ORDER: Dragovic Kasun (EEL)
Michael Cook, Robbie Pawelek, Randall Angel; 521
TOP 10 LEAGUES
1. BRL (1,398 matches) 485.528
2. NWL (976 matches) 472.694
3. EPL (920 matches) 489.714
4. NAL (892 matches) 493.961
highest average strategy total (active wrestlers only); 10 free matches for managers next cycle
5. RWL (710 matches) 491.488
6. IWL (704 matches) 484.813
7. UNL (696 matches) 490.276
8. CWL (666 matches) 491.791
9. IGL (659 matches) 492.044
10. BBL (598 matches) 491.424
TOP 20 MANAGERS -- 2020
1. Gerald Robinson 1115
2. Caleb Crawdad 830
3. Frank Jay Belcher III 655
4. Matt Yunick 455
5. Jeff Annable 435
6. Mitchell Johnson 425
7. Michael Drake, Seth Brubaker 365
9. "The Game" 340
10. Steven M. Shotliff 315
11. Kyle Devlin 310
12. Randall Angel 305
13. Michael Eaves 295
14. Derek Tuttle 290
15. Brad Norman 280
16. Big Marchand 255
17. Donald Henry 235
18. Michael Cook 230
19. Robbie "Blood" Pawelek 215
20. Jeremy Nace 170
TOP 20 STABLES -- 2020
1. SOS 1400
2. VIRUS 1250
3. IMT 1170
4. EDGE 1060
5. GOAT 795
6. COT, TAMMY 455
8. ORDER 445
9. LUNIZ 425
10. PERFECT 400
11. BNC 390
12. TBABIT 365
13. RWS 355
14. FRM-16 255
15. LPPF 250
16. ARMY 235
17. VD 210
18. GIFT 190
19. AR15 155
20. DOD 105
TOP 20 STARS -- active wrestlers only
1. IMT/LPPF: Wonderful Wally Brown (GRL) 183
2. IMT/LPPF/DOD: Sinister Steve Stryker (ASL) 173
3. IMT/LPPF/DOD: Sir Gunther Kinderwacht (ASL) 157
4. IMT/LPPF/DOD: Nightmare Sam Hell (ASL) 129
5. LPPF/T-SANITY: Misfit Messiah (NAL) 123
6. LPPF/T-SANITY: Medieval Tymes (GRL) 121
7. IMT/LPPF/DOD: Lord of Illusions (ASL) 120
8. VIRUS/RWS: Mike Drake (HWL) 114
9. IMT/LPPF: Mark the Master Duchaine (GRL) 111
10. IMT/LPPF: Buda von Blitzen (NAL)
IMT/LPPF: Inferno (GRL) 105
12. IMT/LPPF: The Executioner (XPL) 104
13. VIRUS/RWS: Mike Drake (CSL) 102
14. Executioner (LBL)
IMT/LPPF: Arson (GRL)
IMT/LPPF: Diabolical Jerry Savage (NAL)
IMT/LPPF: The Mighty Deadhead (XPL) 100
18. IMT/LPPF/DOD: Bruiser Brett Brown (ASL)
IMT/LPPF: Deadly David Death (GRL)
IMT/LPPF: Killer Kenny Stryker (PKL)
VIRUS: Outlaw Tony Taylor (EHL) 98
LIST OF LEAGUES
Iron Federation
Black Ops, Center Stage, Extreme Existence, Generation Next, Hardcore Wrestling, Heroes and Legends, Main Event, NEVER Puroresu, Quantum Pro, Unknown Wrestler, Vixens United, Xtreme Poison, Yellow Jacket
Steel Federation
American Wrestling, Gorgeous Amazon, Hired Assassin, Intense Impact, Louisiana Purchase, Louisiana Swamp, Mobsters' Underground, New Blood, Old School, Vicious Valkyries, World Domination
Gold Federation
All Star, Battle Royal, Blood Bath, Continental Wrestling, Danger Zone, Global Wrestling, Independent Wrestling, Knight's Honor, Masked Mayhem, Mystic Diva, New Wave, Ninja Dojo, Snake Venom, Western Trails
Diamond Federation
Action Packed, Evil Clown, Femme Fatale, Flying Aces, Lethal Brawling, Native Sensation, Night Falcon, No Man's, Non-stop Action, Saber Tooth, Wicked Warz, Xtreme Wrestling
Bronze Federation
American Extreme, American Outlaw, Brass Knuckles, Celebrities Only, Elite Prestige, Extreme Hardcore, Grim Reaper, High Rollers, Hot Shots, Iron Glove, Living Nightmare, Revolution Wrestling, United Nations
Jade Federation
Atomic Age, Combat Zone, Deluxe Wrestling, Global Championship, Jade Dragon, Lone Wolf, Lovely Ladies, Psychotic Killer, Super Hero, True Grit, Wrestlers Elite, Zig Zag
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