Burning Spirit Pro Wrestling Rules

Last Updated: July 25th, 2003

[WHAT IS BSPW?]
[HOW BSPW WORKS]
[GENERAL RULES]
[TOURING & SHOWS]
[STORYLINES & FEUDING]
[CHAMPIONSHIPS & TOURNAMENTS]
[MISC.]
[STAFF]
[CLOSING]

[WHAT IS BSPW?]

Burning Spirit Pro Wrestling (or BSPW) is an e-wrestling group ("e-fed") that simulates the sport of puroresu (Japanese wrestling). BSPW was started over two years ago, for simply something to do over a chat client. Originally BSPW was never meant to be a "real" e-fed (which shows, if you read our horrible early cards), and was just run for the enjoyment of myself and a few others. After a few months the staff at the time decided to see where we could go with it, and put up this website. Today BSPW is one of the top e-puroresu groups out there, and is the home to many of today's best e-puro "wrestlers" and handlers. We've gone through several changes over the past couple of years, including changes of staff and writing styles. Despite that, it is the general opinion that today BSPW is the best it has ever been, with several quality shows just in the past few months alone. If you're interested in a laid back, low-pressure e-fed, BSPW just might be the group for you.

[HOW BSPW WORKS]

Burning Spirit Pro Wrestling is run differently from your traditional e-wrestling (or even e-puroresu) group. Rather than roleplays, we now use a simple "media" system, which not only saves our handler's time, but serves to further create a realistic puroresu experience. The system is as follows...

In real life puroresu, wrestlers are constantly working the Japanese media. Magazines, newspapers, television...anything, really. In BSPW, it is your job as a handler to recreate this tradition for your wrestler. It is your job to get the word out on your wrestler, by sending in articles, interviews, promo/roleplays, or anything else of that nature you feel like doing.

The fun of BSPW is watching as your wrestler develops into a star, or watching him struggle to keep that top position. Our handlers write news updates based on their wrestler's current situation. YOU decide how involved you will be in BSPW. If you decide to be inactive for a little while, you will not be punished. However, if you decide to be consistently active, your wrestler will grow in rank.

There is NO set amount of how many pieces you can send in on your wrestler, or when you must get them in. However, please note that he won't get very far if he is inactive in the "media". The more hype that goes into your wrestler and/or his match(es), the more "over" he will get. The more over he gets, the bigger push he receives in the group. On that note, however, if your wrestler is in news every day, saying the same old things, people will just stop caring about him. Overexposure is just as bad (or worse, in some cases) as underexposure.

An update can be anything you want it to be. An interview, a traditional roleplay/promo/flash, a public appearance, comments on recent matches/tours...anything (within reason) counts, as long as it has to do with your wrestler! Like in real life, your wrestler can constantly be doing promotional work for himself (or BSPW as a whole), and the more he does the more popular he will become.

While this system can be a little confusing at first, it is much easier than doing a weekly roleplay, and a lot less time-consuming. However, if you WOULD like to do traditional roleplays, those count as well.

Matches are decided by taking into consideration how consistent you are with your updates (or roleplays, or both), and the quality OF your updatates/RPs/etc. Sometimes, current feuds and storylines (as well as basic booking logic) will come into play as well.

Updates can be sent to us either by e-mail, at BurningSpiritPuroresu@hotmail.com

There are NO deadlines in getting updates in, nor are there any limits to how many you can or cannot do in a set time period (though doing more than on a day, or one every day could certainly overexpose your character).

We understand that this system is not for everyone, and that some of you may want to stick with a traditional e-fed. That said, we invite anyone who may want to try it out to give BSPW a try. Any questions can be answered by emailing us.

[GENERAL RULES]

No e-fed is without its general rules. BSPW is no different. Ours are...

1. Anti-Ethnic/racial/religious content will NOT be tolerated in BSPW, so keep them out of your updates. There are no second chances on this rule. Profanity, however, is allowed, but please use it only to a certain extent.

2. E-wrestling is nothing more than a game. Do NOT allow your ego or desire to "win" come in the way of your enjoyment, or the enjoyment of others. Sometimes people forget that everyone is in this just to have some fun. Please don't let that happen to you! That said, if you aren't having fun, please tell us! Fun is the key point to e-wrestling. If you want something changed, we're always open to suggestions, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact us at any time.

3. Do not expect to come into BSPW and suddenly become a huge star, regardless of who you are and what other groups you may be from. It takes hard work and a lot of time to be built up. We have to know you're in it for the long haul and will not skip out on doing your stuff before we begin to push you very far. Be patient, do your stuff, and have a good (and pushable) character, and no doubt you'll get your chance to shine.

4. If you lose, don't complain. I cannot even begin to explain how important this rule is. Everyone wins and loses; don't take it too hard!

5. Both whining and complaining will not be put up with here. If you have a problem, please let us know in a polite, mature manor.

6. Not really a rule, but this should go here as well. Burning Spirit Pro Wrestling is based on Japanese wrestling (or puroresu), so don't expect to see many over-the-top angles here. The storylines here serve to fuel the MATCHES, as opposed to the American style, where matches take a back seat to crazy storylines. So when pitching a storyline, please do not expect anything along the lines of "sports entertainment" to be used!

[TOURING & SHOWS]

Unlike a normal e-fed, Burning Spirit Pro Wrestling makes use of the Japanese system of "touring", as opposed to weekly live shows broadcast on television. The types of shows we run are...

House Shows: Untelevised events (or "house shows") are common on tours. These events will receive a small writeup, and will have little to no impact on stories in BSPW.

TV Tapings: BSPW have two "TV" outlets, Samurai! TV (their main show, a weekly (during tours) one 1/2 hour show) and GAORA TV (one taping per tour, two hours long). These "TV Tapings" will receive a larger writeup, with more detailed play-by-play in the matches.

Pay-Per-Views: Unlike American groups that run monthly (or weekly, for NWA) pay-per-views, BSPW's PPVs are limited to huge shows only (such as anniversary shows, big rallies with title matches, etc). BSPW's PPV "outlet" is SkyPerfecTV! Pay-Per-View, which broadcasts many PPVs for Japanese wrestling in real life as well. SkyPerfecTV! Pay-Per-View writeups will receive a more detailed version of the TV Taping style.

Stand Alone Shows: A stand alone show is (as the name implies) a show that stands on its own; it is not a part of any tour or series. Some of these (if not most) will be lighthearted shows with little to do with actual stories, but just our roster going out there and putting on matches. On occasion, stand alone shows will play host to title matches, and are usually always taped for TV.

[STORYLINES & FEUDING]

This is e-wrestling, so of course BSPW will have storylines. However, BSPW is not a "show-Puroresu" group, so you won't find many WWE-style angles here. Instead, here in BSPW storylines will compliment the matches; not the other way around.

A storyline feud is started when two or more handlers come together, and plan out a story together. For these feuds, you MUST know where the feud is going, from start to finish. Once your storyline is planned out, we will start running it. Please note that if your story would hurt other ones going on, we will have to wait for them to end before starting yours.

Another kind of feuding is simply through the matches. If your wrestler starts to mix things up with another, feel free to send in various updates regarding that wrestler. This feud goes through the matches, so generally will not hurt other storylines.

[CHAMPIONSHIPS]

Like most e-feds, Burning Spirit Pro Wrestling have championship titles to be fought over. Our titles are...

Golden Crown Championship: The biggest prize in BSPW, the holder of the Golden Crown is an example of fighting spirit and technique. The Golden Crown is mainly kept in the heavyweight division, but is open to challengers of all weight classes.

Revolution Championship: Burning Spirit Pro Wrestling's Revolution (junior) division championship, a belt/division that constantly plays hosts to some of the most exciting matches in BSPW. The Revolution championship is open to wrestlers 225 pounds and under.

GC Tag Team Titles: The GC Tag Team Titles are (obviously) BSPW's tag team championships, held by the top combination in BSPW. The titles have only been around for a few months now, debuting in November 2002.

[MISC.]

We have a gaijin limit here in BSPW. It's not a set number, but once we feel we have enough, we will stop taking applications for full time gaijins. Gaijins are still welcome to freelance, however.

"Gimmick" names are very uncommon among the heavyweights in (mainstream) Puroresu. If you have a heavyweight character, you're much more liable to get a push if you use a real name. There are some exceptions of course (within reason), like if it fits your character. For an example: We have a wrestler named "MAMMOTH" Furiano. "MAMMOTH" is a gimmicked name, but it fits his character, which is a big powerful heavyweight, very well. But if his name was something like "The Boulder", that would seriously hinder his chances of getting a push, because that kind of name isn't something I personally could imagine headlining a mainstream Puroresu show without looking very odd. So, in short, if you have a gimmicked heavyweight, make sure the gimmicked name doesn't look too...gimmicky. If you have a name in mind but aren't sure how well it'll go over, feel free to email us (address at the bottom).

On the other hand, if you have a junior heavyweight, a gimmicked name is fine. With our junior ("Revolution") division, we try to emulate "Lucharesu" (a mix of Lucha Libre and Puroresu). Gimmicky names and outrageous characters are a normal thing in Lucharesu, so it's perfectly fine, and won't affect your chances.

A note about "tweeners". Being a tweener here in BSPW is not a very good thing, as a lot of your push depends on reaction. Is your character someone the crowd could get behind? Is he someone they would hate (in that good, heel kind of way)? Or is he someone they just won't care about? Being a tweener, or switching from heel to face and back often, will get you absolutely nowhere here. It could seriously hurt you if you already are "over", or it could prevent you from GETTING over as well. So pick which you are, face or a heel? We don't have anything like that in our join form, because we expect it to show through the wrestling. If your character has sneaky, underhanded moves, he's a heel. If he chokes/pulls tights/uses ropes illegally/low blows/etc, he's a heel. But if he does stuff like the above and then a lot of flip-flop and flashy moves, the "crowd" would be conflicted on rather to cheer or boo.

When thinking up a moveset, make sure each move fits your character. I don't want to see a 400 pound guy doing Firebird Splashes, a 170 pounder powerbombing heavyweights, or anything like that. Also, don't just mix famous puroresu moves. That won't get you anywhere. Have a good balance of small and big moves so our writers actually have something to work with. If your moveset is full of head drops and huge moves, how should we know what to make your character do at the START of a match? Often times we have to just guess, which can anger some people. So please make sure you have a good balance to your moves.

And finally, I feel I have to address this, as it has been asked numerous times in recent months. If you have a gaijin character in another group and want to bring him into BSPW as an angle to help get him over in your current group, the answer will be NO. BSPW currently works with (in one form or another) four groups: Oita Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling FURY, Project BATTLE*DREAM and P*WIN (the latter of which being the only North American group we have interest in at the moment). Other than that, we are currently not interested in being used as a part of another group's angles.

More Coming Soon.

[STAFF]

Name: Koji Tanaka
Age: 40
Birthdate: May 11th, 1963
Position: BSPW Owner, CEO, Head Match Maker, Acting President & Television Commentator

Koji Tanaka, at age 40, has invested everything he has into Burning Spirit Pro Wrestling. And from a financial standpoint, that seems to be a lot. A former shoot fighting prodigy, Tanaka made history when he became the youngest signed wrestler to the "SHOOT FC" promotion at the age of 19.

Tanaka's career with SHOOT was sadly cut short in only his second fight, when his ankle was shattered via an ankle lock. While injured, Tanaka took the time to get into the family business; "T-MEDIA", a company that deals with promotional ads and press releases for various organizations. Together with his father Yoshito, Koji Tanaka has made T-MEDIA into a successful, multi-million dollar company. Realizing that he was making money, and seeing no reason to keep him on their payroll, SHOOT terminated their contract with Koji Tanaka. His ankle fully healed some 7 months later, but Tanaka had lost his passion for the fight, and was now a full-time member of "T-MEDIA".

Years past, and T-MEDIA grew and grew under the guise of Koji Tanaka. His aging father stepped down, Koji now in charge. In 1997 T-MEDIA reached a new highpoint, now estimated to be worth 16.5 million dollars (American).

As time wore on, Koji Tanaka had started becoming more and more interested in the sport of Puroresu. The sport intrigued him in the way that the competitors interacted with the crowd, and how the crowd (and sometimes wrestlers) truly had a passion for the sport. Over time, Tanaka developed that passion as well, and considered numerous times opening his own promotion. Finally he took a chance, and on December 16th, 2000, plans for Burning Spirit Pro Wrestling were announced.

Sadly, only around 10 reporters showed up to that first press conference. Some blame this on Tanaka's anti-traditional beginnings. Instead of bringing in natives and building his own stars, Koji Tanaka turned to America, bringing in gaijins to hopefully draw. Indeed, BSPW's first show on May 29th featured only one Japanese wrestler, a rookie named Kanji Sakaigama.

Another problem of BSPW's were horrible ticket sales. In the days before their first event, BSPW had only sold 80 tickets, and the tickets weren't going up at all. Seeing the bad sales, Tanaka panicked a bit, and wound up papering the crowd. This "papering" tradition continued for quite some time, until it leaked out into the media.

The press responded horribly, and criticized Tanaka for being a "fake", and comically labeled BSPW "the gaijin group". The fans were outraged as well, and quickly it became clear to that BSPW was sinking fast. Thankfully for BSPW Tanaka realized this, and more natives were brought in, and finally BSPW seemed to be getting into a steady groove, producing quality shows.

Instead of papering the crowd, Tanaka used his connections he had gained through T-MEDIA to get the word out on BSPW. More fans came, and BSPW began signing bigger names. For awhile, however, BSPW still suffered. The worst seems to finally be over, however, and BSPW is considered a legit member of the Japanese Puroresu scene.

Learning from his mistakes, Koji Tanaka is an excellent business man, and knows exactly what he wants and how to get it. He is known for treating his wrestlers well outside of the ring, yet worrying more about expensive equipment and production values during shows. Like any promoter, he has his ups and downs, but seems to have grown nicely into his role as the owner of a professional wrestling organization.

Name: Yoshihiro Fujinaka
Age: 60
Birthdate: December 29th, 1942
Position: BSPW President Of Talent Relations, Match Maker & Ring Announcer

Yoshihiro Fujinaka is a veteran of the world of Puroresu. He has been a ring announcer for some 30 years, and brings great experience to BSPW. In BSPW, Fujinaka-san is in charge of taking care of the talent, making sure they are comfortable, get to where they need to be, and other things like that. He also helps Koji Tanaka with making matches, lending a hand when and where he is needed. He is respected by all in the locker room, and loved by the fans as a ring announcer. His advice to Tanaka-san is crucial, as he is the only member of the BSPW staff who knows the ins and out's of Puroresu.

Name: Koichi Yukiguni
Age: 29
Birthdate: March 17th, 1974
Position: BSPW Head Of Public Relations & Television Play-By-Player Announcer

Koichi Yukiguni seems to be Koji Tanaka's pet project. He met Tanaka-san via T-MEDIA, where he was hired on as a writer (for press releases and such). When Tanaka formed BSPW and was looking to his own T-MEDIA staff to make up the staff of BSPW, Yukiguni was the first man Tanaka picked. Originally Koichi was just a play-by-play man, but when Adam Saunders (former head of public relations) quit the company in November 2001, Koichi Yukiguni took over the job. Koichi is thought of as a good play-by-play man, and adds a lot to BSPW's television shows.

Name: Yoshiyuki Okano
Age: 37
Birthdate: November 20th, 1965
Position: Head Referee

Yoshiyuki Okano is a 10 year veteran referee. He was working for the small indy group Victory Japan when he was picked up by Tanaka-san, and now works as BSPW's head referee.

Name: Hiroyoshi Tangara
Age: 27
Birthdate: January 29th, 1975
Position: Referee

Hiroyoshi Tangara is the young trainee of Head Referee Yoshiyuki Okano. He was brought by Okano into BSPW, and is currently going into his third year of being a referee.

Name: Yusuke Aijima
Age: 22
Birthdate: October 20th, 1980
Position: Press Member

Yusuke Aijima is the newest addition to BSPW's press staff. He comes from Koji Tanaka's T-MEDIA group, and interviews several of BSPW's stars on a regular basis. He is also in charge of helping Koichi Yukiguni with press releases to the public.

[CLOSING]

We hope that this rulebook wasn't too long, and that nobody has any trouble following these rules. BSPW has always been a laid-back e-fed, and is all about fun. If you're a member and aren't having fun, tell us! We're always looking to improve.

For our current members: If you'd like to request anything (a storyline, changes to your profile, etc.) you can either e-mail us (burningspiritpuroresu@hotmail.com) or post it at the forums and we'll get to it as soon as we can.

Thanks,
The Staff Of Burning Spirit Pro Wrestling