Global Backyard Wrestling News

From Bywpedia

Revision as of 10:30, 16 January 2011

Global Backyard Wrestling News
Details
Acronym	GBYWN
Established	2006
Creator	Cam
Key People & Other roles	Cam (Pres./Champs Manager) D.Miller (Scout Commish./Exec. of Advertising) Joe Randa (Admin) Shooter (Admin) Sic Ric (Admin) Devin Bliss (Admin) /Federations Listings Manager) Mojo (Graphics Manager)
Type of site	Forum
Formerly	Global Backyard Wrestling Nation Backyard Wrestling News
Advertising	Facebook
Federations under banner	80+ (Active)
Current status	Active
External links	GBYWN Website

Global Backyard Wrestling News (GBYWN) is a globally outreaching, backyard wrestling social, media-sharing online forum community devised and created by Cam in 2006 and is currently being operated by a set of administrators.

Through some doubt, the community rose from scratch to heightened popularity beginning in 2007 eventually surpassing top competitor such as Backyard Wrestling Link. Attributed much to its early success was its 24/7 operation and attractive multi-featured urban-like community. Multiple backyard wrestling federations have been integrated varying in style and quality and given entitlement to promoting their videos within.

GBYWN has been viewed to an extent as a controversial community that currently remains as the highest commercialized backyard wrestling site with over 1000+ registered members and generally seen by a handful to be the modern and preeminent backyard wrestling social online following.

History

Origin

In early 2006, Shawn Kozone (only known by that name then) opened a wrestling site called Wrestlezone 4000 in which did news coverage on professional wrestling companies, some time before the site would be hacked. Kozone became aware of backyard wrestling, but however, held no initial interest until Dreadvenom (The Frank) of Backyard Wrestling Association directed him to BWA, the only federation Kozone would know of for the time being.

In March 2006, Kozone, operating site 321wrestling, engaged in competition with his friends' more successful site, 365wrestling, having a rivalry of Freewebs wrestling sites. He would later after disposing his site and taking a hiatus, allegedly return in June to overthrow his friends with his new 500wrestling website. Meanwhile, his backyard wrestling interest heightened after discovering promoted federations on The Frank's National New Age Alliance (NNAA) webpage, inspiring the foundation of his own federation alongside his brother City Boy, and friend, Wild Wyatt known as Brutal Backyard Wrestling (later turning into Carolina Xtreme Wrestling).

In September 2006, after folding 500wrestling, Kozone adopted the nickname Cam abbreviated from actual name, Cameron. Cam gained ownership of the regarded biggest wrestling site on Freewebs, 123pin. Now highly fond of backyard wrestling, he formed a backyard wrestling Freewebs affiliate sub-site, Backyard Wrestling News (BYWN). This site was incorporated to 123pin without the expectation of succeeding, but when the subsite began surpassing the status of his most successful wrestling site, he immediately terminated it for BYWN.

Backyard Wrestling News (2006-2007)

BYWN ran moderately, but at times declined to mere visitation and with Cam determined, this fuelled the need to develop and mass advertise it on the internet. Cam provided quick consistent updates and promoted it across countless freeweb wrestling sites pulling in many backyard wrestlers and federations as the guestbook began hosting frequent conversations. Interviews, ranking and competitive community features including "Federation of the Week" and "Federation of the Month" took implementation which assisted to grow interest in BYWN. Federations well received by Cam at that time included Championship Wrestling Association, Extreme Wrestling Alliance, Backyard Wrestling Association, In Your House Wrestling Alliance, Revolutionary Household of Wrestling and many more.

Not easily succeeding with a non-professional website receiving some accusations and criticism of being of "bland and unprofessional nature", BYWN underwent outlook modification for further attractiveness as changes were made giving it an urban, hang-out-spot feeling, continuously offering a guestbook, chatbox, embedded videos usually of selected videos of the week, and additional rap music themed in the background for a brief point.

The regulation then was to join the community and stay participating for promotional benefits as opposed to just only visit to promote, where applicants were granted full accessibility to promotional rights which was later for a time earned through a money system feature called "GBYWN Dollars" as well as "federation qualifications". Also in January 2007, an opposition was faced in the arrival of a community known as World Backyard Wrestling (WBYW) attempting a rivalry but BYWN already had a stronghold. Subsequently, Cam realized the potential for worldwide outreach to backyard wrestlers and federations and renamed Backyard Wrestling News as "Global Backyard Wrestling News".

Global Backyard Wrestling News (2007-present)

The Beginning of Championships, Controversy, and Rivalry with Breakfall.net

Photo snapshot of the GBYWN Forum.

While the Backyard Wrestling Link was a leading force, GBYWN continued its advancement in gaining community popularity assembling several federations under banner. 2007 was a notable year for the community getting much notice and federations such as Trampoline Championship Wrestling, 2KW, Allied Wrestling Syndicate, and Kick Ass Wrestling joining the alliance. It would be around this time a small Freewebs forum board was soon introduced which was infrequently used to the guestbook and chatbox parts of the website.

In June 2007, backyard wrestler Cassias Chaos claimed himself the GBYWN Champion. Statements were proclaimed that he brought the idea up for the site to have a champion. In July 2007, a new and exceptionally high profile, user-generated, social backyard wrestling network website called Breakfall.net (BFN) stemmed from a discontentment with the backyard wrestling community and based around the Australian backyard wrestling scene. Boldly, Cam contacted the website founder Chris Cryptic sending him a notification of a pending community rivalry which went lightly received.

Both sites battled for visiting numbers where Breakfall led the race periodically having more resources and being steps ahead with technology forcing GBYWN in need of a table-turning strategy while experiencing plaguing issues with some of its members that were eventually banned. The competition further ignited when "The Cheese Kid" Steven Alvarez stated that he intended to develop a GBYWN video game, where quickly thereafter, Cam restricted the game to featuring backyard wrestlers that were forum members only. Many of the banned members defecting to Breakfall, who felt they had BYW seniority, made their complaints known influencing Steven Alvarez to no longer want to create the game.

Toward the end of 2007, the banned members were allowed back into the community. In April 2008, a new Forumotion forum was opened. Subsequently, defamatory activities became a natural tendency, perpetrated and reflective in the entire deletion of topics, posted obscenities and other provocations prompting the borderline closure of the site. Notable reasons for such behaviour were contemption for the "GBYWN Power 25" feature and having been banned.

Meanwhile, Breakfall proceeded to lampoon the community and its "GBYWN Dollars" idea. However soon enough, their own webmaster Jonathan Bravata began to no-show his duties with maintaining the site. The situation deteriorated in the malfunction of the registration code disallowing new members to sign up. Opportunistically, the competition was beated out to the high maintainance activity and advertisement awareness coupled with new interactive features of GBYWN while Breakfall was stuck in a rut. Eventually, Backyard Wrestling Link even faded out from existence. Gradually, such conflicts in GBYWN that were problematic were resolved, particular features discontinued, and the forum was revamped with the addition of a portal, and chatbox, later defeating the purpose of having the main website.

An aim towards more standardization in relation to the wrestling quality of posted media has been sought after for some time, leading to videos with lack thereof, being overlooked for more established yarders and federations. This inevitably led to some citing the social territory as controversial and accusing many people of "playing favorites" and "forming a large clique" that comment on their own videos.

In 2009, GBYWN procured a professional domain at thegbywn.com.

Global Backyard Wrestling Nation (2009-2010)

The Global Backyard Wrestling Nation logo.

GBYWN established themselves as a global alliance and as did Battle Born Wrestling which its Chairman Rad Hazard operated. In November 2009, after a plan had been within talks between Cam and Hazard, Hazard exclusively broke the news on the first episode of his reincarnated Backyard Wrestling Weekly series that both entities - one a forum community and alliance of its own (GBYWN) and the other a territorial federation alliance (BBW) - would fuse for the result of becoming "Global Backyard Wrestling Nation". This meant that Cam retained his presidency and that Hazard would be the Chairman of the Board by handling championship affairs and other alliance-related duties.

Federations soon began being inducting into the GBYWNation alliance on Backyard Wrestling Weekly. Over a course of episodes for the first time ever, the GBYWN End Year Awards 2009 was featured in a media presentation. The forum itself was converted to the new name only shortly, however, as Cam reverted the community back to "Global Backyard Wrestling News" based partly on Hazard himself wanting the alliance differentiated from the community as well as Cam's decision. As a result, it was made that "Global Backyard Wrestling Nation" refer to the alliance side of the agreement.

By late 2010, Hazard had effectively established himself as the "Chairman of the Board of Directors" of the GBYWNation federation alliance which reached lengths in causing some confusion between the two GBYWN's being the alliance and the forum. Hazard sanctioned over 30 GBYWN championships across the Nation, and while a wildly fun idea in theory, became a hindrance abroad as many titles lacked defenses and overall prestige and value, even so much that very few holders became disinterested and vacated their belt. This went unbeknownst to Cam because of his brief hiatus, but upon his return, met his disapproval citing the championship operation as a "corrupt system". When negotiations were brought to a deadlock between Cam and Hazard, both parties agreed to once again utilize two separate alliances with Cam reactivating the GBYWNews brand while Hazard continued his GBYWNation brand under a new name, the Global Backyard Wrestling Alliance (GBYWA) in order to differentiate the brand's initials from one another.

Features and Challenges

The GBYWN Promo Challenge 2010 banner.

GBYWN has utilized a number of features, add-ons and interactive challenges in maintaining a socially active virtual community allowing members to enjoy their stay besides conversing, sharing media and promoting. A few features incorporated into the community had only precipitated disputes between yarding members, who cited its operation as “unjust” and “inaccurate” leading to its disuse. This goes coupled with the fact that it weighed in too heavy on the hands of GBYWN President, Cam, who was generally responsible for its updates.

Site features

• GBYWN Backyard Simulation Wrestling Game: Was a fantasy wrestling game which allows one to become a GM and manage bookings of events in their fantasy league that appear in typewritten results involving backyard wrestlers from various real-life backyard wrestling federations.
• GBYWN Dollars: Stands for a money system, which was once implemented to reward unofficial dollars to those representing their federations who partook in community games, contests and activities the eligibility to purchase promotion or a right. It has recently been brought back and is being used as a reputation scale, whereas, posts made by all in the community are approved or disapproved on a "+" or "-" vote that arise and decrease reputation within.
• GBYWN Music: An archive of free music for backyard wrestlers composed by Jake Xinn and Fatality.
• GBYWN Pro Wrestling Game: Was a game that rewards points for casting predictions on pro wrestling bookings.
• GBYWN Cribz: Was a feature that allowed members to record videos based on their personal living.
• GBYWN Columns: A blogging feature used for members to publicize and discuss feelings.
• GBYWN Gazette: A monthly news column covering global notes, news, and updates in backyard wrestling. The column is published by Dee Miller.
• GBYWN Power 15: Was a ranking system to chart the top backyard wrestlers. Feature was changed back to GBYWN Power 25.
• GBYWN Power 25: Was a ranking system that promoted ascension on grounds of victories and popularity more than ability and eventually stirred controversy in the community leading to its discontinuation.
• GBYWN Slam of the Week: Was a weekly video clip from Cam's YouTube channel featuring the most dearing spot posted on the site during the week.
• GBYWN Video of the Week: A weekly ranking that selects the top video of the week.
• GBYWN Wrestler of the Week: A weekly ranking that selects the top wrestler of the week.

Challenges

• GBYWN Spring Challenge: This is the biggest annual competition in GBYWN occurring around spring, permitting any and everyone involved within to partake. The concept behind the competitive feature is that participants record and submit a match of any kind that must be full-length, which will be judged by special personnel of the community known as "Big Bros" upon review based on varying factors such as wrestling ability, psychology, match flow, and overall entertainment value. Previously, decisions were only made solely by Cam.
• GBYWN Tag Team Challenge: Was a challenge which was based on Tag team matches. The best tag match is rewarded.
• GBYWN Promo Challenge: An annual challenge that emphasizes competition on promo skills. The best promo is rewarded.
• GBYWN Talent Show: Was a contest that allowed participants to showcase any ability in or outside of backyard wrestling.
• GBYWN Head 2 Head (H2H): Was a weekly challenge which placed backyard wrestling federation videos against one another competitively for votes issued to the better video based on opinion.

BYWTube

BYWTube Logo.

In wake of action taken by copyright owners requesting mutation and/or removal of videos containing infringement on YouTube, backyard wrestling videos have become victimized as a result for possessing unpermitted borrowed material from various bands and music artists. As a back-up source, Cam created Backyard Wrestling Tube (BYWTube) on a custom social media-sharing network, Ning, that steadily gained membership.

However in May of 2010, Ning announced that membership would require a monthly fee to continue service. By the end of summer, BYWTube was not invested in and eventually ceased in operation.

Federations

Main article: GBYWN Federations

Over 200+ distinctive backyard wrestling federations have aligned themselves with GBYWN since 2006. With the fact that several promotions have shuttered, there are still a very abundant amount of organizations still running today with GBYWN including 2KW, Indiana Championship Wrestling, Elite Wrestling Association, 2 Xtreme Wrestling Syndicate, War Zone Wrestling, and several more.

Championships

• Any territorial championship is required to be defended and contested in not only the federation the holder wrestles for, but also in other federations in the geographical territory of regions the title is bound to. National and world championships are not expected or required to be defended or contested in full capacity of its boundaries due to being farfetched for backyard wrestling, and are rather just the top championships that represent the alliance.

Defunct championships

• GBYWN North American Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN North American X-Division Championship
• GBYWN England X-Division Championship
• GBYWN New England Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN World Pure Championship
• GBYWN World Strong Style Championship
• GBYWN West Coast Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN New England Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN Northeast X-Division Championship
• GBYWN Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN Great Lakes Tag Team Championship
• GBYWN Gulf Coast X-Division Championship
• GBYWN Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship
• GBYWN Midwest Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN Midwest X-Division Championship
• GBYWN Mid South Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN West Coast Tag Team Championship
• GBYWN West Coast Hardcore Championship
• GBYWN Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN Mid South Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN South Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN Mid-South Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN Deathmatch Championship
• GBYWN Women's World Championship
• GBYWN Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN United States Heavyweight Championship
• GBYWN United States Tag Team Championship
• GBYWN United States X-Division Championship
• GBYWN Spain Championship
• GBYWN Michigan Heavyweight Championship (later became the NBYWA International Heavyweight Championship)
• GBYWN Pacific Coast Championship

Awards

Main article: Global Backyard Wrestling News awards

External links

• GBYWN site (Original)
• Current Official GBYWN Website & Forum
• GBYWN YouTube Channel
• GBYWN Facebook
• BYWTube