Fantasy wrestling is an umbrella term representing the genre of role-playing and statistics-based games which are set in the world of professional wrestling. Several variants of fantasy wrestling exist which may be differentiated by the way they are transmitted (through websites, message boards, e-mail, postal mail, face-to-face, etc.), the method in which the storyline is determined, (via roleplay, "angles", strategy- or statistics-based systems, etc.) and how the roster is composed (are characters created by the players, are real wrestlers "imported" into the game, etc.).
Fantasy wrestling's roots lie in the play-by-mail wrestling games often featured in professional wrestling magazines that became prominent in the mid-to-late 1980s during one of professional wrestling's boom periods. By the late 1980s, fantasy wrestling games had started to appear on the internet. In the early 1990s, the advent of national bulletin board services like Prodigy, AOL, and Compuserve allowed players to use e-mail and bulletin boards to more easily trade information and post roleplays. As technology progressed and the internet evolved, fantasy wrestling enthusiasts took advantage, using websites and newsgroups to connect and build broader communities for gameplay.
History and progression
Creation of character(s) In order to begin fantasy wrestling, one must create a custom character. Some people will elect to use pro-wrestlers over their own, custom characters; this can be either allowed or rejected by the administrator of the federation. Usually, one will decide the following: physical appearance (height, weight, sex; these can be copied through "renders" - images of pro-wrestlers - or through their imagination/CAW mechanics through wrestling games), moveset (style, signature moves, finishing moves, etc.), fan reaction (heel or face; booed or cheered), and entrance music. Once this is all decided, the character is named and the player can begin to promo in the federation. Some players create multiple characters, either for choice for playing or to freshen the experience/start new.
Play-by-mail
Early versions of the game began in the 1980s using play-by-mail formats. Based on the moves and any strategies applied the adjudicator would then decide the outcome. Play-by-mail leagues often included a 'pay to play' model where handlers paid a fee per match and/or 'strategy' applied. The later expansion into email was a natural progression, often using the same mechanics as the pbm format.
Internet email play
In the late 1980s, e-wrestling got started on the Internet, played by email and often advertised via Usenet, including rec.games.pbm and rec.games.frp. The early games followed the model of a simplified role-playing game with "combat systems" of varying complexity, resolved by the Federation Head, or "Fedhead." The role-playing aspect was significant and the fast turn-around of email allowed for collaboration in the creation of "promos" and the formation of tag-teams and "stables" made up of multiple players. The term e-wrestling was coined about this time, probably by Scott Baxter, since there were enough federations active to require a collective noun. By 1989, there was enough activity for a dedicated Usenet group, rec.sports.pro-wrestling.fantasy, to be created.
Email play persisted, as was still common enough in 1995 to rate the occasional mention in annual reviews, although not always favourably.
Online bulletin boards
Fantasy wrestling expanded in the early 1990s with the rise of nationwide message boards based on PRODIGY, AOL and Compuserve. Originally connected to message boards focused on professional and amateur wrestling, fantasy wrestling's popularity caused specific subforums to be created on PRODIGY's Wrestling BB and AOL's Grandstand. The games based on the online boards had some differences from the federations operating on the Internet via email and Usenet. Many stat-based systems found ways to integrate roleplay as a factor into determining match winners, paralleling similar developments in some of the Internet email federations. Eventually, roleplay became the primary factor for many leagues.
The Web
As the previously isolated message board services began to connect to the Internet, the disparate communities began to overlap, and much of the activity began to migrate to the World Wide Web. The use of roleplay and promos became a larger factor in the operation of many leagues and determining results.
