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The Story So Far... |
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Into the light Creed Championship Wrestling first began life in Indiana in the early 1960s. The proprietor of this small yet ambitious company was an idealistic young man named Silas Creed. Creed hoped to become a great architect and innovator in the stagnant placid field of professional wrestling. Creed had grown up in St Louis as the only son of a wealthy European banker. At an early age, Creed became fascinated by the athleticism and theatre of professional wrestling. Indeed, the youngster was spoilt in St Louis. It was the hottest pro wrestling territory in the country and Creed was able to see the greats of the sport on a weekly basis. Watching mat legends like Lou Thesz up close inspired Creed so profoundly that his course was set. He wanted nothing else than to promote his own company. The show hits the road Initially funded by his father, Creed Championship Wrestling opened for business after the shrewd Creed had snapped up a small territory in Indiana from a down on his luck promoter. Creed immediately knew which direction to take his fledgling promotion in. Creed was tired of archaic promoters trying to push pro wrestling as a legitimate sport. Creed knew full well that pro wrestling would never be able to compete with the likes of pro and underground boxing if it was being promoted as "real". Creed wanted to use pro wrestling's notoriety of being "fake" to his advantage. Why not admit that what we do is an illusion, that what we do is a show? So Creed set out to do just that. Success and loathing Without having to worry about convincing fans that what they were watching was "real", CCW was able to let everything hang out. As a result, this sent out shockwaves throughout the wrestling community. On one side, CCW's over the top flamboyance and fresh approach amazed and entertained audiences throughout Indiana. On the other side, Creed was almost universally loathed for his ideas by the alliance of promoters around the country. Traditionalists thought Creed was undermining everything that pro wrestling was and in the long term, doing the sport irreparable damage. Creed wasn't complaining. He knew he'd found the right formula to elevate pro wrestling to the next level. He knew his peers were either too set in their ways to understand what he was trying to achieve or too jealous of his foresight and increasing bank balance. Underdogs and pariahs The CCW roster relished the challenge that Creed set them. For the first time ever, Creed's workers were encouraged to be themselves, to add their own creativity to how they performed in the ring. Some wrestlers added elaborate theatrics or comedy to their routines. Others broke their shackles and showed their tremendous athletic skills to the fullest of their ability. CCW attracted a strong cult following in the Indiana area. Many wrestlers around the country privately supported what CCW was doing. Many performers were tired of their static acts and wished that they had the chance to express themselves as their colleagues in CCW did. But still, the national alliance of traditionalist promoters ostracized Creed and CCW. This presented many problems for Creed. His exciting branch of entertainment was selling out high school gyms and bingo halls all over Indiana. CCW was making decent but not spectacular amounts of money. The promotion needed to expand but couldn't. The Establishment were doing an effective job of freezing CCW out. Creed's patch was small and his peers had the power to keep it that way. Siege tactics Not only did Creed suffer but so did his workers. Wrestlers came across the problem that once they'd worked for CCW, they were effectively blacklisted. People were struggling to find work just because they had done some work for Creed. This was part of the Establishment's attempt to rid themselves of this upstart Creed. They knew that if they could scare wrestlers away from CCW by making sure that they would not be able to find work elsewhere, then soon enough, Creed wouldn't have a roster. The Establishment just had to sit back and patiently watch CCW implode. Obviously not having the cream of the crop in CCW hurt Creed but the master promoter also proved to be a master spin-doctor as well. Because the North American pro wrestling community treat CCW like lepers it made Creed's men that much more determined to succeed. CCW was deemed to be full of rejects and rookies who couldn't make the grade. But these so called "rejects and rookies" had a point to prove leading to the CCW roster became a close-knit and hard working unit. The roster relished their underdog status and became fanatical along with Creed in their attempt to overcome the Establishment's tyranny. Attitude adjustment As the years passed, and the war between CCW and the rest of the country continued, CCW remained a small, regional promotion. Successful, cutting edge but unable to expand. Creed was starting to grow tired and frustrated. He lived CCW twenty-four hours a day and was beginning to wonder whether or not all his hard work and sacrifice had been worth it. Creed needed more than just a successful regional promotion. He needed a bigger payoff to show for all his dedication. Either he received the critical acclaim he deserved or considerable financial reward. Something to show for the blood, sweat and tears he had given to the business. Times change As the old guard of the Establishment slowly started to fall away to be replaced by new promoters, others perception of Creed as a promoter slowly began to change. The new blood coming in to the business began to hold Creed in great esteem and embrace his ideas. Creed was seen as a great innovator and businessman. Creed's ideology began to catch on a big way as other promotions began to use CCW as a model, mimicking it to great effect. Creed all at once became an elder statesman in the pro wrestling community and along with this power came his opportunity to expand his product. And that he did. For the first time CCW was able to promote shows outside of Indiana. The promotion began touring North America from top to bottom. Finally, in Creed's mind, he was being treated with the respect he felt he deserved and his prestige and bank balance began to swell. Greed and apathy CCW was becoming a national promotion as it toured the country and even began to appear on several regional television stations. Creed had gone from being cutting edge to being mainstream in just a few short years, despite the fact that CCW was running shows in exactly the same format. Creed was starting to wallow in the adulation of his contemporaries. Success was making the master promoter lazy. Creed began to lose interest in the day to day responsibilities of CCW and just worry about his income. His once dynamic and creative mind was stifled by apathy. Consequently, interest in his workers also began to dwindle. Creed once had the reputation of being one of the best people persons in the business. Wrestlers always knew that they could talk freely with Creed, especially in regard to the creative freedom in the ring and improvement of CCW's shows. Now though, greedy middle did all Creed's work. Falling down Creed sat back and became a distant fat cat. CCW was on the verge of competing with the three national wrestling powers, the AWA, the WWF and the all-powerful NWA. Instead of putting in the additional work and sacrifice to play with the big bows, Creed shifted in to cruise control. CCW slowly became stale and lost its impetus. Instead of Creed realising his mistakes and putting his foot back on the gas, the promoter blamed his workers and started to treat them like slaves. The CCW roster were forced to work more and more shows and perform more and more dangerous spots in an effort to regain lost ground on the major promotions. As a result, CCW slipped in to mediocrity. Creed was still making money but his performers were growing less and less content with their lot. CCW ceased to grow, ceased to evolve. The workers would do their bare minimum and sit out their contracts, eager to leave the stagnant CCW in search of better employment. This had the effect of CCW's roster growing slowly weaker and weaker. Word was out about what kind of boss Creed was. The only workers who wanted part of CCW were the ones that couldn't find a place elsewhere. CCW had slipped in to dark days. The Golden Age The mid 1980s came. Vince McMahon's WWF caught the world's imagination, spearheaded by Hulkamania. As the WWF began to eat up the smaller promotions and blow it's opposition out of the water, pro wrestling became huge. Never before had so many people watched or cared about the mat sport. The business was starting to draw real money. Desperate to save his sinking ship, Creed dived head first on to the gravy train. Creed tried to copy McMahon's every move but the more he tried to steal the WWF's ideas, the more CCW resembled a broken down, dying relic. CCW was on the brink of collapse. Creed had thrown away his stroke and CCW had crumbled from being a national power to being just another struggling regional outfit. The money stopped coming in and Creed was forced into a drastic rethink. His solution was simple. To combat bankruptcy, CCW would have to offer something that no other promotion did. Creed's answer was extreme violence. Bloody renaissance By the late 1980s, CCW was nearly dead. Creed had driven away the promotion's disillusioned stars. Creed had destroyed his reputation. Creed had betrayed CCW's loyal fans. Creed had to start from scratch. Promoters up and down the country had learned the hard way that copying the WWF was pointless. For a promotion to survive, they would have to offer something distinctly different from the WWF's glamour. Creed began to substitute wrestling for violence. Gone were suplexes and deep arm drags. In came barbed wire and steel chairs. CCW found a niche and began to catch on once more. But the people coming to shows in Indiana were not the ones who had been watching CCW since the 1960s. Creed's new CCW appealed to a different audience… A new breed of fan was emerging. Fans who were ignorant of history. Fans who didn't care for elaborate storylines and unbelievable characters. Fans who only wanted blood. Creed did not disappoint. The blood flowed. The injuries mounted. And the wrestling had all but vanished… Thrown to the lions Workers didn't last long in CCW: it was just too dangerous. Creed was demanding too much from his over worked roster. His wrestlers were forced to perform more and more outrageous sports to keep the bloodthirsty fans happy. Soon Creed was having difficulty recruiting new works. Again, Creed had a solution. Who needed properly trained wrestlers to but on an entertaining show? Anyone who was willing to be smashed in the face with a flaming two by four wrapped in barbed wire would do. Injuries became even more prolific as the quality of the roster grew worse and worse. But still the maniacal fans loved every second of bone breaking, career ending action. CCW had come full circle. The promotion had again established a cult following. The unscrupulous Creed was making money again and slowly growing in power. This is Extreme A small number of insiders heralded Creed as the saviour of pro wrestling for his new interpretation. He was being hailed as the man to lead the sport in to the next century. The first man to realise that violence was the way forward, not over the top characters with infectious catchphrases. Most though, abhorred Creed's ideas and saw CCW as "garbage wrestling", only one step above a backyard promotion. CCW was simply concentrated violence. Athleticism and storytelling had been mercilessly discarded to be replaced by bloodlust. Enter Paul Heyman. Heyman's ECW territory was doing very well for itself. Very, very well. Heyman had taken a small insignificant promotion and put it on the map as a rival to both WCW and WWF. Heyman was the leader of the Hardcore Revolution that was changing the landscape of professional wrestling forever. Creed loathed Heyman and was jealous of his achievements. ECW was everything that Creed wanted CCW to be. But Heyman had beaten Creed to finding a formula to combat the might of WCW and the WWF. ECW soared as CCW stood still. Blood was not enough. Blood was not the answer. ECW had taught Creed this. Creed had to look for a different answer. Realisation Heading into the twenty first century, CCW was stable. It had established a cult following for its ultra-violent product and was able to make ends meet. It even had a regional cable television deal in Indiana and had enough funds to put out the occasional pay per view show. Creed had a developed a foundation again but he realised how unpopular he and his ideas were within the pro wrestling community. Creed hated being treated by his peers with such a lack of respect while relative newcomers like Heyman were receiving all the plaudits and glory. Creed was not happy with his lot and so began to scheme. End of days The date of CCW's sixth pay per view was December 31st 2000. "Riot Shotgun 2k" was t be held at the Century Centre in South Bend, Indiana - the spiritual home of CCW for nearly forty years. The main event would be an "Exploding Dumpster Match" for the promotions highest honour, the Creed Championship Wrestling United States Heavyweight Title. The challenger and number one contender would be "the Professional Judas" Ryan Valentine, a former two time champion and well known favourite worker of Silas Creed. The Champion would be Horrorshow, Creed's young nephew and for the last three years, CCW's biggest punching bag and fall guy. One night earlier, Horrorshow had miraculously beaten the previous champion for the title in a controversial decision by the special guest referee, one Ryan Valentine. After a violent and bloody encounter dominated by Valentine, "The Professional Judas" emerged as champion again. Little did anyone know then that Valentine could well have been CCW's final US Champion. Creed vanished that night, during the main event. He took his money and ran. To where, no one knew. Without a trace, Silas Creed left everything and let go. Blood
is thicker…
It didn’t take long for Dutch
"Bomber" Callahan and Erik Neidman, two men collectively known as
"The Blood Brothers" in the pro-wrestling industry, to realise that
something was very wrong. Creed wasn't returning his calls or emails and
couldn't be found in any of his usual haunts. Callahan and Neidman were worried. For some
time, the two veteran wrestlers, both of whom had turned professional almost
twenty years earlier, were having to do more and more work behind the scenes of
CCW to make sure that things ran smoothly. Despite only being contracted to
wrestle for CCW, because of Creed's increasing apathy towards the day to day
operations of his company, The Blood Brothers (so dubbed because of their
entwined careers and reputation for working so effectively together), had
increasingly taken it upon themselves to ensure that CCW survived without
Creed's guidance. The Blood
Brothers had been with CCW for most of their careers and had long been
recognised as the promotion's locker room leader. As a result of Creed's costing
cutting, they'd in effect become CCW's head roadies, trainers and bookers as
well. In truth,
both men relished the chance to help CCW. Callahan and Neidman had been appalled
with Creed's careless treatment of his workers for some time and with Creed'
seemingly paying so little attention to his company, at least they could ensure
that CCW's workers were not instructed to put their careers (and sometimes
lives) at risk on a nightly basis. From
the flames
After a week of silence from Creed,
CCW was only a few days away from its next show. The CCW roster was extremely
unhappy that the company's promoter was nowhere to be found. As a result of
this, many of CCW's wrestlers refused to work the upcoming show fearing that
they wouldn't get paid. Many performers were still owed money already and the
thought of putting their well being on the line for nothing wasn't particularly
appealing. With
Callahan and Neidman working around the clock, CCW was able to put on the show.
Yet, many of the promotion's top stars refused to appear on the card that night.
Indeed, many performers had walked out on the company, refusing to work unless
Creed reappeared and they were paid what they were owed. Out of
loyalty to the Blood Brothers and the fans, a dozen or so wrestlers remained
with CCW vowing to stick around for as long as possible: to be the best
professionals that they could be. Despite
the lack of resources and a tiny roster, Callahan and Neidman were able to
continue the CCW legacy in the mysterious absence of its owner. Against all
odds, something strange began to happen. The Blood Brothers abandoned Creed's
policy of extreme violence and constant bloodshed. Instead, Callahan and Neidman
encourage the tiny, yet close-knit roster to show their natural athleticism and
charisma in their ring work. Over the
weeks and months, with a mixture of the Blood Brother's shrewd guidance and
imaginative booking added to the roster's unbelievable work ethic and desire to
entertain the fans, CCW had escaped Creed's bondage and was flying free. The
company was doing well enough to break even and true pro wrestling fans had
replaced the bloodthirsty rednecks that had been the mainstay of CCW's recent
violent history. The workers in CCW were again able to enjoy the freedom to
perform and to entertain without the constant shadow of Creed looming over them.
But still Callahan and Neidman were worred: just where was Silas Creed and why
had he disappeared? The
Master Plan
Everything
had worked perfectly for Creed. His departure confused everyone, even his
closest workers. No paper trails. No clues. No one understood a thing. Creed had
planned this operation for months. His great escape. On to new horizons and
profitable opportunities. Creed wasn't blind. He knew that despite all the
sacrifice over the decades, CCW was dead and soon it would merely be a curious
footnote in the history of North American pro wrestling. But Creed himself
didn't feel quite ready for the history books yet. As amazing a creation as CCW
had been, Creed knew that he had grander constructions ahead. Creed was
convinced of his destiny. Creed felt his fate. He would succeed again. He would
achieve success without parallel and go down as the single greatest (and
wealthiest) pro wrestling promoter in history. In a few short years, Heyman and
McMahon would be put in their rightful places. The
Pot of Gold
Creed left the States as quickly as
he could: it was conquered territory. What Creed needed was fresh, untouched
pastures to begin his new creation. Creed travelled the world - Canada, Mexico,
Australia, Japan, Europe - in the attempt to find his "Pot of Gold".
Creed had never lost his skills as a shrewd and often brilliant entrepreneur. He
knew that his abilities and experience would enable him to find that golden
opportunity that would lead him to greatness and fortune. End
of the Rainbow
After countless false starts around
the world with wrestling promoters and television executives, Creed was
beginning to feel less than his super confident self. Struggling
for funds and inspiration, Creed attended a big NWA show being held in the south
of England. Creed had yet to come to Great Britain while touring the world. From
the beginning, he'd ruled the United Kingdom out, knowing that it was firmly in
the clutches of Vince McMahon's control. The WWF was as popular in the U.K. as
it was anywhere else in the world and had been for a very long time. Creed felt
that the U.K. would hold no opportunity whatsoever. His only reason for
attending the NWA was to catch up with an old contact… When
you least expect it…
Conscious that he might be
recognised, Creed attended the show incognito. After a successful meeting with
his contact, an American journalist and photographer (whom Creed had sworn to
secrecy regarding his latest dealings and disappearances from the States),
before the wrestling proceedings began, Creed was introduced to an English
satellite television producer by his journalist friend. The producer worked for a new
satellite television company called Channel Z. Knowing of the success of the WWF
in the U.K., Channel Z had sent the producer to the NWA show to gain more
information on the viability of producing a pro wrestling show. The company had
a policy of showing as many "extreme" sports as it could in an attempt
to attract the disaffected youth of the nation, tired of being force fed the
same old programming on terrestrial television. Included already in the Channel Z
line up were extreme programmes like "Special Forces" and the
"X-Games". While watching the NWA show with
the producer, Creed impressed the Channel Z employee with his keen insights,
shrewd financial know how and seemingly unlimited store of pro wrestling
knowledge. The producer was excited that he might have stumbled across someone
who could help Channel Z create a popular and profitable show. Creed was invited by the producer
to London to discuss his potential role as an advisor to Channel Z in their
attempts to release a weekly pro wrestling show. Without ever letting on his true
background, Creed posed as an American businessman and accepted the producer's
invitation of a trip to Channel Z's HQ in London. Deal
with the Devil After several lengthy meetings with
Creed, Channel Z's Senior Television Executive, Anthony Long, was convinced that
not only could pro wrestling enhance Channel Z's ratings but that Silas Creed
was the man with the experience, enthusiasm and creativity to run the operations
of the show. Creed had impressed Long after the
many intensive hours they'd spent together running through concepts and
financial forecasts. The English man was prepared to put things in writing and
commit a small portion of Channel Z's not infinite budget to Creed and a new pro
wrestling promotion that Channel Z would exclusively own. Although Creed was delighted to
have convinced Long into offering him a job as "Head of Pro Wrestling
Operations" for Channel Z's latest venture, Creed pushed for more. Offering to invest his own private
funds into this project, Creed refused to accept Long's offer unless he was the
fifty per cent owner of the new promotion. After weeks of back and forth
negotiation, Creed and Long were finally in agreement. Both sides would stake
equal amounts of money into the new pro wrestling promotion and Creed would have
fifty per cent ownership of the company with Channel Z owning the remaining
half. Long was not particularly happy
about this compromise. He wanted Channel Z, through his representation, to be
the sole owner of this new promotion. Unfortunately, the television executive
had no alternative. Long knew Creed would walk away from Channel Z if he wasn't
able to achieve at least fifty per cent ownership of this new company. The
Silver Lining As was Anthony Long's nature, he
was quickly able to concentrate on the bright side of this compromise. Even if Channel Z were to be sole
of owners of his new wrestling organisation, he knew that the satellite
television company stood, in the very worst case scenario, to lose very little
money on what was potentially a great risk. As a result of Creed putting up half
of the capital to get the show on the road, Channel Z now stood to lose even
less. On the other hand, Long knew that
he'd potentially stumbled on to something very big, something that could turn
Channel Z into a major player in the United Kingdom. Despite Long's ignorance regarding
pro wrestling, he certainly knew how the world of television worked. The
ambitious executive had cultivated quite a reputation within the industry as
being a man who knew how to make money. Long's knowledge of the financial world
was certainly the key to his success so far. And he fully intended to go from
strength to strength. Silas Creed was certainly somewhat of a gamble but Long
was an expert in stacking the odds in his favour. Supply
and Demand Creed had highlighted one very
crucial factor in producing an English based wrestling promotion: the British
were used to a diet of the WWF, WCW and ECW. British fans were used to seeing
the very best in pro wrestling on their screens, hence the reason why British
pro wrestling wasn't already plastered over every television station. Creed promised Long to give the
British audience exactly what they wanted: American pro wrestling. Long had been expecting Creed to
recruit a roster of wrestlers who were predominantly British. Creed laughed at
the very idea. Creed voiced his intentions to fill the roster with pro wrestlers
intimate with the American style. Creed had absolutely no respect for European
wrestlers. To him, they were simply "wannabes" and
"amateurs". Creed demanded that Long authorise
a substantial budget to pay for an experienced and talented roster. Again, Creed
agreed to match any amount that Channel Z put on the table. Creed promised that
he'd be able to assemble a first class work force in no time at all. After much heated deliberation,
Long met Creed's wishes, but not before protecting Channel Z (and himself) with
Creed's signature being clearly printed on several legally binding documents. Long was already becoming wary of
Creed but the Channel Z Executive was well schooled in the arts of defending his
interest through bureaucratic and judicial means. Despite his trepidations in
dealing with the American, Long firmly kept one thing in mind: Creed held the
key to a potential goldmine. The Prodigal Father Creed left England and headed home
armed with a healthy amount of Channel Z's money. Creed was overjoyed at his
unexpected success across the Pond. Not only had he purchased fifty per cent of
a pro wrestling company that was guaranteed Satellite air time, he'd also
managed to convince Channel Z to pay a large sum of money over to him to
construct a roster that already existed! Despite his lengthy exile, Creed
knew that he was still the owner of Creed Championship Wrestling in Indiana. He
still had in his possession, more than a dozen contracts for wrestlers who still
technically worked for him. Legally, he could force CCW's workers to again work
for him over in England. It was over a year since Creed had
been in the United States. In his time away, Creed had been keeping a very close
eye on what was happening in America. He knew exactly what had been happening in
CCW. He'd anticipated that the Blood Brothers would keep things ticking over
nicely. Creed knew that Callahan and Neidman better than they knew themselves. Out of the blue When Silas Creed walked through the curtain and down the aisle during a CCW Tag Team Championship match in Connersville, Indiana between the Blood Brothers and Title Challengers, the Marked Cardz, Dutch "Bomber" Callahan and Erik Neidman were surprised to say the least! After no contact with CCW for over a year, Creed just walked back as if he'd never been away. Using his powers as the company's owner, Creed ordered the Tag Team Championship match to be immediately brought to an end: Creed had a very important announcement to make. As Creed took centre-stage in the middle of the ring, he ordered CCW's roster from the locker room. In front of every one of CCW's workers and two hundred loyal fans, Creed announced the reason for his long absence. He had a found a new home for the promotion. CCW was relocating. CCW was moving to England! Fans and wrestlers alike gasped in
amazement at Creed's unbelievable reappearance and announcement. CCW security
had their hands full as the Blood Brothers and several others tried to get their
hands on Creed as he was quickly escorted from the ring. After the bombshell A meeting was arranged by Creed to meet the CCW locker room representatives, Callahan and Neidman. Creed made sure that he had plenty of security personnel present for the encounter. Naturally, the Blood Brothers were furious with Creed and demanded answers for his disappearance and amazing announcement a few nights earlier. Creed was his usual charming self. He told his most loyal of employees that it was none of their business where he had been and what he'd been doing. He again reiterated that CCW was relocating and its contractually obligated roster was coming with it. It was then that the Blood Brothers played their trump card. If Creed wanted to talk about contractual obligations, then that was fine: they brought the small matter of over a years worth of pay that the entire CCW roster was owed. The gambit didn't work however. Creed saw it coming. The calculating promoter explained to the veteran wrestlers that everyone had already been paid. Before he left the country, Creed had set up separate bank accounts for each and every one of the wrestlers he had tied to a contract. On the twenty-eighth of each month, payment had been made to each of his employees. Creed validated his explanation with the relevant paperwork. Creed was gracious enough to explain to the Blood Brothers his arrangement with Channel Z in England. Callahan and Neidman were outraged by Creed's dealings and mistreatment of his hard working and incredibly loyal roster. The Blood Brothers knew that Creed
had them over a barrel. Despite wanting to stay in Indiana or at leas the
States, they knew that legally Creed could, and would, force them to work over
in Europe. The CCW locker room leaders decided to call Creed's bluff. A piece of the action Callahan and Neidman stood firm, despite Creed's intimidation. They made it quite clear that they would not be relocating to England and neither would any of the CCW roster. When Creed threatened to sue each and every contracted worker who didn't relocate, the Blood Brothers remained solid and wouldn’t budge. For the first time in the meeting, Creed was on the back foot and both Callahan and Neidman knew it. The Blood Brothers hammered home their advantage. They agreed to negotiate with Creed to find a compromise. The sly promoter knew that he had to be careful. The Blood Brothers had enough influence with the workers of CCW to convince them not to relocate. Also Anthony Long had given Creed a strict deadline and considerable funds to construct an experienced and talented roster. Backed in to a corner, he decided to listen to the Blood Brothers demands. Knowing how much he'd bent the law in the last year, Creed was fully aware of how dangerous (and time consuming) taking legal action against his contracted workers would be. Callahan and Neidman wanted just two things in return for the CCW roster's relocation. Firstly, they demanded a piece of the action for ALL of Creed's contracted wrestlers. Each worker would be allowed to terminate their current contract with CCW and negotiate new terms and conditions. Lastly, the Blood Brothers insisted on meeting Channel Z's Senior Executive, Anthony Long, without Creed being present. Creed was outraged! Although he'd agree to let his work force dispose of their current contracts and negotiate new ones, the idea of Callahan and Neidman meeting privately with Anthony Long was out of the question! Again, Creed's most experienced workers stood their ground. Despite his best efforts, Creed couldn't sway Callahan and Neidman into reconsidering their demands. The veteran promoter had been backed into a corner. If he didn't let the Blood Brothers meet with his business partner at Channel Z, Anthony Long, he knew that the CCW roster wouldn’t relocate despite the threat of legal action. Yet on the other hand, Creed knew full well that if Callahan and Neidman met with Long, the Channel Z executive would learn a lot about him that Creed did not want him to know. Reluctantly, Creed conceded.
Arrangements were quickly made for the Blood Brothers to travel to England to
meet with Long in London. The truth hurts It didn't take much time for Callahan and Neidman to confirm Long's growing suspicions about Silas Creed. The Blood Brothers took great pleasure in enlightening Long about CCW's turbulent history and the type of man that Silas Creed is. Despite Creed's flaws,
Callahan and Neidman did admit one thing to Long: Creed knew how to make money
and to survive. Given the chance, he'd definitely be able to make a new
promotion in the United Kingdom a success. Channel Z would just have to be very
careful in their dealings with the veteran promoter. He was certainly not to be
trusted under any circumstances. Great risks, great rewards Long had known that this venture had been a risk from the start. That was why he'd been shrewd enough to not commit too much of his company's resources into this project. Despite the risks though, Long's
instincts were telling him to follow things through. Channel Z needed something
special to climb the ladder of success in the world of digital satellite
television. An American pro wrestling promotion could do just the trick. But
Long wanted a little more protection against the unscrupulous Silas Creed. The safety net After several hours spent with Callahan and Neidman, Long devised a plan that he felt would give Channel Z just a little added protection. When Long proposed his plan to the Blood Brothers, they were delighted. They agreed to talk with the rest of the CCW roster back in Indiana and see if they would Long's proposal as attractive as they did. It came as no surprise to Callahan or Neidman that the CCW workers were more than happy to accept Channel Z's proposal. All that remained now was to inform
Creed of the arrangements. The dotted line Creed knew he had no choice. If he didn't accept Long's proposal, the deal was off. Long had agreed with the Blood Brothers to make each and every member of CCW's roster a partner in the promotion. Channel Z were to give up give up five per cent of its ownership of the promotion to the CCW roster. Creed had to the same. If he didn't, then Channel Z would terminate all dealings with him. Instead, Channel Z would offer Dutch "Bomber" Callahan and Erik Neidman jobs with the new promotion as wrestlers AND joint heads of wrestling operations. Creed signed his name to the bottom line. He knew he'd been bested this time. Channel Z and Creed both controlled forty-five per cent of the new promotion. The remaining 10 per cent was the property of each member of the roster. The wrestlers had unanimously voted for the Blood Brothers to be the custodians of the ten per cent. Anthony Long knew how difficult it would not be for Creed to make life difficult for Channel Z or the wrestlers. With only 45 per cent control, Creed would need the aid and support of either Channel Z or the roster to make things happen. No one could make a move without the support of another faction. It's time once again... As the roster relocated from the USA to England and as Channel Z made preparations for its latest television endeavour, Silas Creed found it difficult not to be amused. Long and the Blood Brothers thought they'd got one over the old campaigner. Not so in Creed's eyes. Creed had achieved everything that he had wanted to. He was the top main in a new wrestling promotion. The world was again his oyster. No satellite television company or group of pro wrestlers were going to get in his way. Once more, he was headed to the top. His entire life had been a build up to this opportunity. No one was going to stop Silas Creed from showing the world that he, not Vince McMahon, was the greatest pro wrestling architect in the history of the industry. No one. And despite all the concessions that Creed had been forced to make to appease Anthony Long and the Blood Brothers, one of Creed's stipulations remained in place. The new promotion wouldn’t called Channel Z Championship Wrestling as Long had wanted. This promotion would be called Creed Championship wrestling. And Creed would stop at nothing to make Creed Championship Wrestling the single greatest promotion in the entire world…
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