The Re-Imagining of: Joe Gomez, The Renegade, and Jim Powers

[Dandy 0]

Maybe you guys will like this idea, and maybe you won't. I was talking to Kamala and he brought up this trio. I had an idea that I thought would have been better for the trio than what WCW did with them. To be honest, pretty much anything would have been better than what Kamala reminded was their big angle: they had a vignette were they were running shirtless on a beach. Yep, that was it.

 

Anyway, feel free to start your own threads, or if everyone prefers, we can just edit the name of this thread and different wrestlers, teams, or factions can be re-imagined here. Let the Tim Burtoning begin, as we now re-imagine the trio of Gomez, Powers, and The Renegade.

 

The Re-imaging of Joe Gomez, The Renegade, and Jim Powers

 

I would have them in some videos just being candid and talking about their careers. They would be two minute clips or such where they talked about their struglles in the wrestling business. They are journeymen wrestlers that struggle to pay their bills each month, but they stick it out in the wrestling business because they love it and have the dream of making it big. They share an apartment together to save on expenses, and they all sleep on mattresses on the floor. They talk about having oddjobs outside of wrestling to help pay for the gym memberships, tanning, eating right, and travel expenses so they can just break even. They have no retirement to look forward to, no savings, etc. They would mention their real names, why they chose their ring names, etc. I would have them really show how hard it is in the wrestling business, but not be jealous of the success that others have. They talk about how they can't hold down regular jobs and wrestle as well, due to the touring schedule of the business. I think the fans would eventually start to get behind them after four weeks of vignettes or so.

 

During this time, the trio wrestles in singles and tag matches on the shows, but never pick up the wins. They put up good showings, but just can't pull out the victories. The announcers are kind of rooting for them as the lovable guys that just can't seem to catch a break. After the vignettes stop, an uppercard face or a manager has sympathy for the guys and takes them under his wing. They allude in interviews to learning new things that they believe will turn their careers around. During their next several weeks of matches, members of the trio pick up a couple of wins here and there. They don't go on a winning streak or anything, but for the first time, they are experiencing some wins and youc an see it on their faces.

 

After a couple of months of this, Jim Powers leaves the group to align himself with the nWo. He doesn't immediately turn on his buddies or jump them, he just leaves them unannounced by running out to assist a top heel, who has recruited him after seeing his desire to make it to the top. Powers will be used as a "hitman" for the nWo, as they want him to brutalize any and all faces he has matches with, whether he wins or not. Powers is riding high for the first time in his career, and success breeds confidence. He has a powerful new finisher (taught to him by the mentor of the group he was with), and he takes out some faces with it in group beatdowns.

 

While this is going on, Gomez and Renegade start picking up some wins as a tag team. They start to gel as a team and they are having success as well. Powers is sent to recruit them to the nWo, but they turn him down. Powers feels guilty for leaving his teammates, but he reminds them of all those nights they talked about making it big and this could have been his only shot. The other two guys say they think they will try to make it on their own, as they don't want to sacrifice their beliefs just to make it to the big time.

 

Powers is then instructed by the nWO to take out Gomez and Renegade for turning them down. You can see in his face that he is reluctant to do that to his friends, but the nWo members start to question his loyalties. He agrees to do it. Powers goes to jump the guys, and has second thoughts. He tells them that he was sent to make an example out of them. Gomez and Renegade say they are glad he couldn't go through with it. They turn their back, and he jumps them. After they are laid out, Powers has a look of guilt on his face and walks off.

 

Fast forward a month, and Gomez and Renegade are feuding with Hall and Nash for the tag straps due to their recent success and the nWo having them beat down. Hall and Nash keep attacking them after their matches with other teams, and the big blowoff at the PPV for the titles is coming up. Powers fails to take out the mentor of the team, and is thrown out of the nWo after a vicious beatdown. During the tag match, Gomez and Renegade are making a big comeback after Hall and Nash controlled the match. A fellow nWo member is coming out to provide interference, but Powers and the mentor prevent him from doing so. Hall and Nash are distracted, one of them is knocked out of the ring, and the other is pinned after a tag finisher. Gomez and Renegade get the tag belts, Powers is their bodyguard, and they have a mentor/manager looking out for them.

 

 

Summary

All of this would take place over a several month time frame to allow the characters to develop. They would not be the focal point of any show, and wouldn't be above mid-card. I would have Hall and Nash get the belts back from them rather quickly, and have them team just be a competitive team from there on out. They are above jobber status, but they aren't a threat to the nWo or the tag belts while Hall and Nash have them back. I think it would be a fairly interesting angle, and fit into the all-encompassing nWo angle that was going on at the time.

[Zack Malibu 0]

Alex Wright was a part of that vignette as well. It appeared they were going to be doing some type of Baywatch-esque gimmick. IIRC they even had an 8-man against the Horseman or the Dungeon of Doom on a summer edition of Nitro.

[King Kamala 0]

As I told you earlier on AIM, I really dug this idea and I'm surprised (and mildly worried) that you put this much thought into fantasy booking a storyline involving Jim Powers and Joe Gomez. I've always wanted to see a journeyman tries to work his way up in the world of wrestling storyline played completely straight. I'm not sure if that's ever happened- at least not in WWE/F or WCW.