FWA's Biggest PPV of the year is in two weeks. Now would be a great time to get involved!
theFANTASY
WRESTLING
ALLIANCEproudly presents
BACK IN BUSINESSXVIIILive from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, USA.
Saturday 10th August and Sunday 11th August.
NIGHT ONE.FIRST MATCH | 1/60.Michelle von Horrowitz vs.
Shawn Summers.
Singles Match.Match Writer: supinesnake/CBK.
Although technically still undefeated at Back in Business with a 5-0 record, few will forget the circumstances of her ‘victory’ in 2023. Jon Snowmantashi brutalised Dreamer at the end of their one-sided opening contest, and eventually had her beaten after a pair of massive Hailstorms. The kaiju elected to leave the ring, though, and was counted out in an act that some commentators have likened to denying von Horrowitz the warrior's end that she craved, and that Snowmantashi felt she hadn't yet earned. What followed was a period of absence and uncertainty… but not, we've since learned, before visiting a certain Der Basterd in his Mexico City hotel suite. CCTV footage from the corridors of said hotel has been the basis of this heated program between MvH and Shawn Summers.
Much of this rivalry has been developed from afar, with Shawn Summers refusing to appear on Meltdown (a show he feels is beneath him), and Michelle von Horrowitz banned from appearing on Fallout (at the behest of Der Basterd and his team). Summers, along with perennial hanger-on Rupert Watkins, has sought to justify his actions in relation to the airing of the video tape, whilst Dreamer has attempted to get as Summers through interactions with former associate Trevor Ocean. All came to a head on Meltdown XLII, when MvH abandoned her scheduled tag team match alongside Ocean in order to engage Summers - who was watching on from the TD Garden's sky box - in an all out brawl. The stage is set for the opening contest of Back in Business: a position that Michelle has now occupied three years in a row.
SECOND MATCH | 1/60.Tommy Bedlam vs.
Brooklyn Steiner.
Singles Match.Match Writer: Tommy.
Tommy Bedlam disappeared from FWA screens at the Fight Night event back in March, where he was forced to vacate his FWA X Championship due to injury, shortly before he was scheduled to defend it as part of the King of the Deathmatch tournament. Brooklyn Steiner also had a period of elongated absence from FWA television, although he did make a return in May's Carnal Contendership match, impressing during that contest and falling just short of qualification for the Golden Opportunity Steel Roulette.
Steiner has had his hands busy regardless, though, having been the victim of frequent attacks by a masked assailant. This man turned out to be none other than ‘The Cowboy' himself, setting up this enticing contest for Night One of Back in Business XVIII. Jon Russnow has made it clear that Tommy Bedlam has not been medically cleared to compete, but that wasn’t enough for Brooklyn Steiner who challenged The Cowboy to an unsanctioned match. Bedlam agreed to the match, and the two are slated to face off, but it won’t be in an FWA ring. In what’s sure to be more of a fight than a match, Tommy Bedlam and Brooklyn Steiner have both vowed to beat the other senseless in an unsanctioned contest.
THIRD MATCH | 1/30.Trixie Bordeaux [c] vs.
Aaron Harrows.
X4 Semi-Final. X Rules Match for the FWA X Championship.Match Writer: Gip?
The X4 returns for its third incarnation, after a break at 2023’s Back in Business XVIII in Mexico City, as three new hopefuls line up to try and take the FWA X Championship from Bellatrix Bordeaux. Trixie won that title at the King of the Deathmatch, outlasting fifteen other competitors in order to win the belt that was vacated when Tommy Bedlam relinquished it due to injury. Amongst the field of sixteen that competed at an undisclosed location in Japan in KODM3 were the three wrestlers who will also enter the X4: Aaron Harrows, Vengador, and Johnny Johnson, the man that Trixie defeated in the tournament final.
Trixie Bordeaux’s history with Aaron Harrows predates the King of the Deathmatch tournament, with the two actually teaming together as part of 2023’s Buddy Bowl tournament. The tandem, known as ‘Two Wrongs Make A Right’, made it to the final of that one-night tournament, but wouldn't reprise their partnership until last week on Meltdown XLII, when they overcame the team of Johnny Johnson and Vengador (the other half of the bracket). Between those two tag team matches, though, they have faced on three other occasions: firstly, in the second round of the aforementioned King of the Deathmatch tournament, then again on Meltdown XLI as part of a trios match, and finally in a singles match where Aaron Harrows impersonated Spooder-Man and scored a win over Trixie. This makes them 1-1 but Aaron Harrows will hope to best Trixie in their rivalry with a win…and a championship alongside it. Not if Trixie will have anything to say about it though who will be looking to keep her X-Championship in what will be a brutal battle and there will be no rest for the weary because whoever wins here will have to defend the championship the very next night.
FOURTH MATCH | 1/30Nova Taylor vs.
Sawyer Xavier.
Singles Match.Match Writer: Beavie.
The Path to Back in Business has been a bumpy road for these individuals professionally and personally. Sawyer Xavier, after improving from the previous year's Carnal Contendership, lasting over 20 minutes before elimination, he has been back to his underdog ways, fighting from underneath with a defeat in his FWA Television Championship match against Kleio De Santos on Meltdown XL, then Tommy Bedlam preventing his tag match from taking place on Fallout 041, with the 'make good' triple threat on Meltdown XLII resulting in defeat. But he has drawn attention from one woman you wouldn't want: Keres.
For many months, the woman known as "Princess Nova" has been either absent mentally or physically from FWA television, with Keres taking her signature Tiara away. We began to see videos from "Motherbird Rehabilitation Ranch" and many fans assumed that Nova was seeking help and we begun to see her as her true self for the first time in FWA, Nova Taylor. But as the world began to unravel, we found out it was just another part of Keres' TORN Universe, part of Nova's 'punishment.' Nova relented, and Keres has given her a mission at Back in Business, see what Sawyer Xavier has in him. The intentions of the Daughter of Demise are unknown as of now, and with Keres calling for Nova's 'rebirth,' we don't know what Nova will be heading to New York, Nova's first singles match in over a year. Of all the challenges Sawyer has stood up against in his career, this might be one of the most unpredictable as he and the FWA fans await what games Nova and Keres will be playing at the biggest show of the year.
FIFTH MATCH | 1/30.
Kleio De Santos [c] vs.
XYZ.
Singles Match for the FWA Television Championship.Match Writer: supinesnake.
In a feud that spreads across two years, we will see once again Kleio De Santos take on XYZ at Back in Business. What started as Kleio feeling spurned by the former in 2022 has turned into a vendetta long drawn out.
Since losing to XYZ at Back in Business XVI, Kleio had managed to form her own stable The Coven, all the while XYZ would lead his own group The Menage. But with inner conflicts for both groups -- including Kleio being booted from hers and XYZ's comrades skeptical of his long-lost mother's return to his life -- will either be able to stay focused in this rematch? And who was the unknown person Kleio talked to about destroying XYZ's spirit once and for all? Will that person -- or their plan -- emerge at Back in Business?
Both with singles wins over the other, who will win this tiebreaker now with Kleio's FWA Television Championship on the line?
SIXTH MATCH | 1/30.Johnny Johnson vs.
Vengador.
X4 Semi-Final. X Rules Match.Match Writer: Tommy.
The other semi-final match in this year's X4 tournament sees Johnny Johnson and Vengador competing for a chance to challenge for the FWA X Championship in Night Two’s final. Both men entered the recent King of the Deathmatch 3 tournament, but with vastly different results. Vengador was unable to make it out of the first round, and has since been on an arc of redemption. Johnny Johnson, on the other hand, managed to make it all the way to the tournament final, where he was finally defeated by Trixie Bordeaux, so close and yet so far from the FWA X Championship.
Since then, Vengador and Johnny Johnson have found themselves teammates, though reluctant and uncomfortable ones. On Meltdown XLI, they teamed with fellow challenger Aaron Harrows against former Trios Champions in the Ravenwood Sisters and Trixie Bordeaux. It is Bordeaux that all three will hope to take the X Championship from in New York City, but it was the Coven who triumphed on that night..the same was true three weeks later on Meltdown XLII, but this time Aaron Harrows joined her in a winning effort over Vengador and Johnson. With this pairing on the losing side of things in both of those tag team preludes, they will each be looking to rebuild momentum and hope to challenge the winner of Bordeaux and Harrows for the X Championship on Night Two.
SEVENTH MATCH | NIGHT ONE MAIN EVENT | 1/60.Randy Ramon and
Danny Toner [c] vs.
FTN (
Alyster Black and
Chris Peacock).
Tag Team Match for the FWA World Tag Team Championships.Match Writer: Man.
The main event of Night One will see the FWA World Tag Team Championships defended in this slot for the second time in history. Three years ago, Danny Toner and Randy Ramon faced each other as part of TxR and Golden Rock, respectively, in what is still acknowledged as one of the greatest matches in the history of the FWA. However at Back in Business XVIII they walk in as champions to defend their championships against the FWA Tag Team of the Year for 2023, Chris Peacock and Alyster Black; FTN. This match is about so much more than the championships that will be up for grabs in New York City, though.
Toner and Ramon, longtime rivals, both acted as mentors of sorts to Chris Peacock when Peacock first joined the FWA but the revelation of Peacock’s true nature since ascending the ranks to main eventing consecutive Back in Business main events has caused the champions to realise that they had created a monster. Then throw in the one person who seems to accept Peacock for his many flaws, Alyster Black. A rival of both Ramon and Toner for many years over the tag team and world championships and someone. The webbing of relationships between these four men are complex and tight but the battle lines have been drawn and only one team can walk out with the championships and the bragging rights.
NIGHT TWO.FIRST MATCH | -/–.Tr1ck or Tr4sh (
Juan Tothrefor,
Trash Mammal, and
Halloween Knight)
[c] vs.
The Undisputed Xperienx (
Jackson Fenix,
Nate Savage, and
Xperienx Xtacee) vs.
The Lumberjacks (
Doug LuPone,
Dan LuPone, and
Lucy LuPone) vs. ?? vs. ?? vs. …
Trios Battle Royale for the FWA Trios Championships.Match Writer: Man.
After picking up the FWA Trios Championships from the Coven, the team of Juan Tothrefor, Trash Mammal, and Halloween Knight - known collectively as Tr1ck or Tr4sh - have proceeded to run roughshod over the FWA Trios division, taking all comers and reigning supreme with the gold. On Fallout 042, they surmised as much, and upped the ante by announcing the second annual trios battle royale, a year on from the contest that saw the very championships they now hold won for the first time.
Have Tr1ck or Tr4sh bitten off more than they can chew by challenging the FWA Trios division in its entirety? Will a version of the Coven - whose attention is already divided between championship defenses and a bloody civil war - return in an attempt to triumph like they did last year? What makeshift teams, of current FWA stars or perhaps returning ones, will throw their hat into the ring in Night Two’s opening contest? Will I run out of unanswered questions before this second paragraph is sufficiently long?
SECOND MATCH | -/–.Kleio De Santos and
Trixie Bordeaux vs.
Blair Ravenwood and
Celestia Ravenwood.
Jailhouse Blues Match.Match Writer: Sully/Welshy.
Not too long ago, The Coven had been one of the FWA’s most dominant factions, raking up championship gold seemingly for fun. The Trios titles, X title, and TV title all fell into the hands of this band of outcasts… but, like pretty much every great team or faction in the history of professional wrestling, it would not last forever. Blair Ravenwood, believing that she alone was truly worthy of leading the group, began manipulating the threads of dissension that had been slowly brewing between Trixie Bordeaux and Kleio De Santos, and once she had disposed of Kleio’s loyal ally, Ethel, finally, along with her sister Celestia, Blair had turned every member of The Coven against it’s leader. Finally, Blair could overthrow Kleio… at the Carnal Contendership match, with all four women in the ring, looking set to band together and dominate the field, Blair, Celestia and Trixie betrayed and usurped their leader. Beating her down, and dumping her out of the CC, and of The Coven as a whole… finally, Blair could take up the throne as The Coven’s leader.
… except, Trixie, off the back of winning the FWA X Championship and becoming “Queen of the Deathmatch”, had assumed that she was to take Kleio’s place as leader, and thus, Blair realised that, in order to take the throne of The Coven, Trixie too had to go. At Fallout 041, with Trixie at the mercy of Vengador and Johnny Johnson, Blair and Celestia left Trixie for dead. Finally, The Coven was Blair’s to rule. Much to her annoyance, however, Trixie had survived her assault at the hands of Vengador and JJ, and, with a vengeful Kleio in the shadows, no doubt waiting for the moment in which she could enact her revenge and reclaim the throne, Blair knew that she had to end Kleio and Trixie once and for all of her throne were to be truly safe. And so, after Trixie and Kleio had beat each other to a pulp, Blair and Celestia emerged like vultures to end Trixie and Kleio’s careers, but the two champions were not dead yet. After a chaotic brawl, Trixie and Kleio had managed to fend off Blair and Celestia, thwarting their attack. In her attempt to put an end to Trixie and Kleio, Blair had inadvertently brought the two warring Queens together.
THIRD MATCH | 1/60.Bryan Baxter [c] vs.
Katsu vs.
Cyrus Truth vs.
Mike Parr.
Four-Way Match for the FWA North American Championship.Match Writer: Dubb.
Bryan Baxter fell just short of making history and breaking Mike Parr’s record as the longest reigning champion with the FWA North American title, only to fall just one day short after being dethroned by ‘the Prodigy' himself. Since then, the championship passed to Chris Peacock and then back to Bryan Baxter, who began his second reign by dethroning Chris Peacock in the gauntlet match on Meltdown XLI. It's not rest for the wicked, as Jon Russnow announced that Baxter would defend his newly re-won championship at Back in Business against three challenges: the aforementioned Parr, along with former champion Cyrus Truth and Katsu, hungry upon her return.
Baxter has had run-ins with all three of the other participants in this match-up. As well as Parr dethroning Baxter and ending his nearly-historic first run, Cyrus Truth has had his own run-ins with the big man and the rest of the Friendship Wrestling Alliance recently. The Exile unsuccessfully challenged Jeremy Best for the World Championship at the Carnal Contendership. Katsu, meanwhile, felt the blunt force of Baxter during an interaction with Best, with the masked woman on the end of the Baxter Driver for her troubles. Truth and Katsu may have triumphed over Parr and Baxter in a tag match last week on Fallout 042, but this four-way match - where all allegiances are off - promises to be a very different prospect.
FOURTH MATCH | 1/60.Elizabeth Rose vs.
Gabrielle.
Garden of Eden Match.Match Writer: AON?
Elizabeth Rose and Gabrielle have fought twice previously in the Fantasy Wrestling Alliance, but their relationship pre-dates even those meetings. Rose, then known almost ubiquitously as Lizzie, was a one-time protege of Gabrielle in the Ground Zero competition, and this mentor-student relationship spilled out into the ring two years ago at Back in Business XVI. Lizzie Rose got the better of that affair, triumphing over Gabrielle and sparking a long period in the wilderness for the Hall of Famer.
A lot, of course, has changed since then. Lizzie is now Elizabeth, thanks to the malignant influence of Eternal, into which Rose was fully absorbed last year at Back in Business XVI. Gabrielle has since returned into the FWA fold, and returned the favour at Winter Wasteland 2023, where she was able to defeat Rose and even up the series between the pair. Now, the two will return to the grandest stage of them all for the third in the series, a decider in the feud that is old as Elizabeth Rose's FWA career. And there is no brutal way to decide this feud that in a Garden of Eden match: the very contest that turned ‘Lizzie’ into ‘Elizabeth’ to begin with.
FIFTH MATCH | 1/60.??.
[c] vs. ??.
X4 Final. X Rules Match for the FWA X Championship.Match Writer: Jimmy.
The X4 comes to its conclusion on Back in Business’ second night, with the final match that will also, of course, take place under X Rules. That means that the two participants who step into this match will have already been in one gruelling, no holds barred contest… and then they'll have to do the exact same thing all over again! Night One's semi-finals see champion Trixie Bordeaux defending against Aaron Harrows, and Johnny Johnson going one on one with Vengador. The winners of each contest will face off here in the hopes of leaving New York City with the belt around their waist.
SIXTH MATCH | NIGHT TWO MAIN EVENT | -/–.Jeremy Best [c] vs.
Krash.
Cremation Match for the FWA World Championship.Match Writer: Dubb/Wolfie.
One year ago, Night One of Back in Business XVII ended with Krash finally burying Jeremy Best in the two's instant classic main event, a Buried Alive match that will live forever in the memory of anyone who saw it. Jeremy Best didn't stay buried, though, much to the FWA Cosmos’ chagrin. He returned in order to climb to the very top of the mountain, unseating Alyster Black in order to become the FWA World Champion at Winter Wasteland. Since then, whilst Best was busy defending his title against Cyrus Truth, Krash made his eventual return in the Carnal Contendership match, competing for the first time since Mexico City's match with Best. Almost inevitably, Krash triumphed in the thirty person battle royale, setting up a dream main event rematch, only this time on Night Two rather than Night One.
However, much to the surprise of the fans and his closest friends, Krash seemed reluctant to take on the match. Reluctant to once again step into the ring against the man who has caused him so much emotional torture over the past two years. He semed to be electing to turn down both another shot at Jeremy and the FWA Championship. Meanwhile, Jeremy has been using his free time to look to continue to add to the Friendship Wrestling Alliance with the opening of the Friendship Wrestling Academy. With his methods of training looking to pry on those who may be down and out, open to deception and put through similar emotional torture as Krash himself went through the six months he was under Jeremy’s captivity.
A heart to heart with Cyrus Truth seemed to open Krash’s eyes to what needed to be done. Not only did he sign the contract, but he destroyed the Friendship Wrestling Academy before it could truly exist. He prevented others from suffering the same way he did. Last year wasn’t enough. Krash wants to not just defeat Jeremy but take everything from him…
Promo deadlines:
Sunday 28th July at 23:59PM Pacific Time.
Which is Monday 29th July at 03:00AM Eastern Time.
Which is Monday 29th July at 08:00AM British Summer Time.
Which is Monday 29th July at 17:00PM Australian Eastern Standard Time.
No extensions.
GLHF!
