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Promotions
The "Wrestling MPire" is a global network of 9 talent pools - 7 of which are major promotions. Your career begins in the least glamorous of these, the "Wrestling School", where you must toil against your fellow students with no reward but the opportunity to improve and get scouted. Every win you deliver brings you closer to getting a contract offer from one of the major organizations. As tempting as it is, you are advised to bide your time when choosing your first job. Almost all of the organizations like to tie you down with long term contracts and rock bottom pay. With a little improvement you can rise above "slave labour" and command a salary that will actually produce an income! Another important reason to be patient is that all of the promotions are completely unique, and some may suit your ambitions better than others:

Federation Online is a small but controversial organization that thrives on pushing back the boundaries of wrestling. Extremely violent matches and outrageous characters are commonplace here. However, what the show lacks in respectability it makes up for with a relaxed working environment - where most employees are given the freedom to develop their own gimmicks...

All American Wrestling is the most successful wrestling show in the world, and takes great pride in its hard earned reputation. It boasts the largest roster and is filled with the biggest names - all of whom have come to find their fortune.

United Kingdom Wrestling is one of the less popular brands, where wrestlers enjoy a slightly more relaxed working environment on their way to bigger things. What the roster lacks in sparkle, it tends to make up for in passion...

Rising Sun Puroresu is a highly respected Japanese promotion that boasts the most talented workers in the wrestling world. Competition is fierce, but much can be learned from the skills on display.

Maple Leaf Grappling is an old-fashioned Canadian organization, which prides itself on delivering the highest standard of wrestling in North America.

Super Lucha Libre is a high-flying Mexican outfit, which favours the more energetic wrestlers. The competition isn't exactly terrifying, but the fast-paced style can take its toll on sluggish athletes.

Strong Style Wrestling is a shoot-fighting league, where the toughest wrestlers in the business pride themselves on proving that they can fight for real. Most of these matches are a fight to the knock-out inside an octagon cage.

Wrestling School is where young kids and old veterans hone their skills in an attempt to get signed to a major promotion. Any wrestler who is fired will end up here.

Hollywood is where some of the more famous wrestlers have moved onto to more lucrative opportunities elsewhere in the world of entertainment. They earn a lot to work a relaxed schedule for the cameras.

You must keep a close eye on the developments of each promotion, because they evolve as surely as you do. Their popularity, reputation, and rosters fluctuate from one week to the next. Their business philosophy may also change, influencing what kind of deals they will offer.


Contract Negotiations
When the time comes for contract negotiations, the booker will present you with their proposal and you may then make any changes you'd like before submitting it back. Naturally, if they don't appreciate your demands they may ask you to reconsider - but their patience is limited and will eventually result in the termination of the meeting. This battle of wills can be a game in itself! The 2 main factors to consider are the payment and the contract length. Most bookers want you hooked in for as long as possible, so that they get their money's worth from you. If you don't want to make such a commitment, you must expect to receive a lower salary. Inversely, if you propose a longer contract you are within your rights to expect a pay increase. For most wrestlers, all the money in the world isn't worth a long contract - because the freedom to jump ship can be priceless.

The salary is much less flexible than the contract length. Far from a matter of taste, the amount you earn reflects how valuable or experienced you are. In the cynical world of show business, it's important to note that talent plays second fiddle to popularity. Until you make a name for yourself - which can take a very long time - bookers will be reluctant to treat you well. This is especially true of students, who can only expect to make the minimum wage for their first job. On the other end of the scale, it's possible to negotiate an exceptionally high salary if you become an indispensable part of the company - such as a title holder. Even rival promotions will be willing to pay more for a decorated wrestler.

You always have the option to negotiate your payment as an "Advance" rather than (or in addition to) a salary. By taking a pay cut on a weekly basis, you are entitled to make up the loss in one lump sum. As a rule, it's hard to negotiate (or even calculate) your full worth in such terms - but it does make many wrestlers feel better off in the short term. However, those that can't be trusted to manage their finances are strongly advised to accept being drip-fed a weekly wage!

Small Print
The most life-altering parts of the contract may be the 3 clauses that the booker would love you to miss. The first, and most pertinent, is the level of creative control that you're entitled to. You may do as you like on the independent circuit, but once you're employed you become the property of the promotion! Unless you negotiate creative control, you'll have to go along with every hare-brained scheme that the booker comes up with - from what you should be doing to how you should look when you're doing it. This is the ultimate case of "paying your dues", but once you've become a major player in the company you should be trusted to guide your own career.

The second clause refers to your performance in the ring. Bookers like to implement a system whereby you only get paid when you win. This keeps their young wrestlers hungry for victory and keen to improve. It also means that they can usually cut their wages bill in half! If you feel what you do is of sufficient value to get paid no matter what then you should fight for a better deal. Even if you're not talented enough to warrant unconditional pay, you can always "buy" that privilege by offering to work for less money in general.

The final clause deals with your health cover. Wrestlers can expect to be injured with alarming regularity, but this time out of the ring could go unpaid if you fail to negotiate a decent health policy. Naturally, bookers are reluctant to be so generous - not least because they want to encourage a safe wrestling environment! Once you've proven yourself to be such a wrestler, however, they should feel obliged to take care of you. Reckless wrestlers, on the other hand, will seldom earn that privilege.

Once a contract is confirmed, you are tied to that company for the agreed number of weeks. It's not set in stone though. Bookers may have second thoughts along the way and ask you to reconsider the contract (or terminate it altogether). They cannot do so without your consent, but if the unhappiness is mutual then you may appreciate the excuse to leave! Your contract can also be bought out by rival promotions (although these offers are much rarer than those you would get as a free agent). The most natural way for a job to end is when the contract has expired and you're talking to the booker about a renewal. If a new contract cannot be agreed upon then you will be released back to the independent circuit, where you can bide your time for something better.


Finances
Whether you like it or not, money is of the utmost importance to the career of a professional wrestler. For a start, life isn't free! If you're 18 years of age or older, you're responsible for "lifestyle costs" - which is a simplified summary of the money you need to get by each week. Regardless of your situation, your living costs have a minimum of $100 - which means you may find yourself struggling to get by in the early days of your career. Don't think life gets any easier when you make it big though, because your standard of living increases with your income! When you're making thousands of dollars each week, you suddenly crave better food, better hotels, and better transport, etc. As a general rule, 5% of all the money you own (or are capable of earning) is frittered away on your lifestyle.

Other costs include the amount of money you spend on your wrestling exploits. If you have access to your image, for instance, you'll be charged for any adjustments you make - ranging from music and lighting to various costume choices. These aesthetic changes normally constitute a one-off fee - except for weapons, which must be paid for every time they're used (that'll teach you to throw it into the crowd!). Behind the scenes of a wrestling show, there are countless other ways to subsidize your income - and spend it. Over the course of a year, you will occasionally find yourself talking business with the booker or your fellow wrestlers. Any money exchanged at these junctures will be considered "under the table" and may not show up in your financial report.

Getting into debt is a worrying experience and must be avoided at all costs - especially if you're facing unemployment. While you're employed by one of the 6 major promotions, you can scrape by in minus figures on the assumption that you'll return to your feet. In school, however, there's no such safety net. Tuition eats into your income - it doesn't support it! Once all the money's gone and you've got no source of income, that's the end of your wrestling career and time to get a real job.


Attributes
When all is said and done, it's your body that brings in the money - and it's a complex cocktail of statistics. In terms of success, the most important factor is your "Popularity". This goes up with each win and down with each loss (depending on the circumstances of the contest). However, quite how far it goes up depends on the promotion you're working for. Each promotion has a "glass ceiling", whereby your popularity cannot far exceed that of the company. You simply cannot achieve - or even maintain - worldwide fame unless you're working for the premier organization. Don't ask what you can do for your promotion, ask what your promotion can do for YOU!

The remaining statistics are more physical than emotional:
STRENGTH indicates a wrestler's ability to inflict damage and perform power moves.
SKILL determines how likely you are to execute or counter moves successfully.
AGILITY governs how fast your movements are and how far you can jump.
STAMINA indicates how quickly a wrestler recovers health during a match (and after each week).
TOUGHNESS is how fazed a wrestler is by blows and how likely they are to submit or be injured.

Training
All of the above fluctuate throughout your career, and can of course be honed in the gym. You can choose to sacrifice 25% of your health to a specific course of training. You then have a limited amount of time to make it as productive as possible by reaching up to 3 levels of progress - which directly affects how many points the statistic improves by (if at all). You can either choose to participate in the process or let the CPU do it for you automatically.

In addition to specific training, you can also spend your time and energy going through the motions in a "sparring" session. Not only is this an ideal environment in which to practice and get used to your character's moves, but it's also an effective way of improving your overall skills. After each short session, several of your attributes may have improved.

Whichever method you choose, training is only applicable for younger wrestlers that have yet to reach their "physical peak". Around the age of 40, a wrestler's body stops responding to exercise and must make the most of what it's got. Even at the beginning of your career, you do not have the power to perfect your own attributes. You must assign a limited number of points to create your ideal starting point, and then gradually sculpt them into the character you want them to be.

Personality
Behind those physical attributes, there are a couple of mental statistics that indicate your personality. Your "Attitude" and "Happiness" are a subconscious record of your experiences and how you've responded to them. Although they tend to fluctuate alongside your successes and failures, they are more acutely tested by your choices in meetings. Regularly choosing the most dishonourable or controversial course of action will deteriorate your attitude at a rapid rate - whereas consistently choosing the honourable path will restore it. That may be of no consequence in the ring, but it can very easily affect your opportunities backstage - and even those with future employers. Likewise, your happiness deteriorates every time you agree to a humiliating course of action and improves every time you look out for yourself.

Relationships
As your skills evolve so too does your relationship with the people around you. There are countless ways to make enemies inside the ring, but there are also friends to be made backstage. Every now and then somebody will extend the hand of friendship (however questionable their motives) and it's up to you to shake it. Doing so will give you a useful ally both in and out of the ring. More importantly it opens the door for a career on the Tag Team circuit. If news of your relationship reaches the booker then he might very well propose that you give team play a try! Assuming you have the power to do so, you can even form a team yourself by approaching the other wrestlers in your locker room. Committing to a team isn't taken lightly though, so don't be surprised to hear a lot of objections from even the greatest of friends.

Managers
Similarly, it's also possible to hire a manager of your choosing. For an agreed percentage of your weekly earnings (with a minimum of $100), you can arrange to have a helping hand at ringside for your matches. They also assist you backstage by attending training sessions (where you should notice a definite improvement in your performances) or setting up business meetings for you. However, as with recruiting tag team partners, there are very few occasions when someone would agree to play second fiddle to another wrestler. Until you're significantly more successful than the character in question, you may find it hard to convince them to join your entourage.

Faces vs Heels
The most significant factor in relationships is your "allegiance". Wrestlers fall into one of 2 categories: Faces (good guys) and Heels (bad guys). You will often have the chance to change your stance by either accepting the booker's advice or by forming friendships with other wrestlers. Your allegiance is no empty gesture either. Heels are jeered mercilessly by the crowd, whereas Faces enjoy the cheers. It's important to note that such reactions are not always indicative of "Popularity". A wrestler's job is to elicit the biggest response from the crowd - be it positive or negative. Even the most evil of characters can still be the star of the show! The most important aspect to allegiance is that bookers see the Face-Heel divide as an ongoing war. Faces are primarily booked to fight Heels and vice versa, so your stance decides which side of the roster you compete against and which one you socialize with.

Shows
A wrestler's schedule consists of a TV taping each week - building to a spectacular "pay-per-view" event at the end of the month. On these rare nights, wrestlers are expected to pull out all the stops to entertain the biggest audiences of the year. PPVs draw in the crowds like no other show, and the boosted revenue brings with it a cash bonus for the wrestlers. There are even rarer shows though, which bring in even bigger audiences. Charity events, memorial shows, and inter-promotional showdowns may all occur throughout the year and unite the industry for one special night. What makes these events even more interesting is that they often pit wrestlers from different companies against each other.

Further Reading
I regret that there is more to this game than I could ever explain here, so I hope you enjoy figuring some things out for yourself! Or you may want to join the debate on social media where any curious questions will be answered by myself or other players: