HERE COMES THE MONEY: TEWIX MOD HUB & GUIDE
In March of 2001, Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation purchased its competition, World Championship Wrestling, and the company effectivley died overnight, with only remnants of what it was taking part in the ill-fated "Invasion Angle" that lasted less then a year. Since then, people across the wrestling world and fandom have spoken about how they could hav done better. Well now is your chance with the Here Comes the Money mod for Total Extreme Wrestling IX, which explores one such possible alternative.
Shane McMahon now owns WCW. But there is no fantasy-based familial strife between Vince & Shane. Shane wanted the opportunity to build his own legacy and has purchased WCW with his father's blessing to help achieve it. The other catch is the WCW that Shane acquires is very much based on the Invasion angle.
Everything in wrestling history remains identical up until WrestleMania X-Seven. Shane defeated Vince, vowed to rebuild WCW stronger than ever, and announced his real WWF departure. The big challenge? The roster Shane has to rebuild WCW with, is the same roster WWF had to do the invasion with. Major stars like Goldberg are locked down on TimeWarner contracts, so WCW has a massive uphill battle of rebuilding its own image, and its own stars.
The mod comes with a fully interactive WCW.com for you to navigate and give you background and inspiration as you enter the "What If?" world the mod creates. Useful for people to get their bearings of the talent and branched timeline the mod is based in. Please use it! The "split point" from the real timeline is WrestleMania X-Seven, where Shane cuts a post-match promo, leaving the WWF.
WCW Story Lineage: Reading Order
Get completely up to speed with the full narrative context surrounding Shane McMahon's purchase of WCW. Follow these archives in chronological order to understand the timeline prior to May 1, 2001:
The starting roster reflects the realistic handcuffs faced by WWF during the Invasion. While top-tier star power is thin, you begin with major foundational names anchored by Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Buff Bagwell, and yourself, Shane McMahon.
For a full interactive snapshot of the active roster, visit the WCW.com Superstars page.
For a full interactive snapshot of the WCW Champions and title lineages, visit the WCW.com Championships page.
User Character: You ARE Shane McMahon
The database omits default user characters by design so you can play directly as Shane McMahon. No consideration to playing as anyone else has been made. You CAN, but the mod if designed for you to be Shane himself as Owner & Booker of World Championship Wrestling.
Booking Strategy & Road to The Big Bang
Patience Before Television: Resist the urge to bring back WCW Nitro immediately in May 2001. A more realistic and effective strategy is to utilize the entire month of May to build your roster, iron out contracts, and establish storylines.
Focus all your momentum on building up to WCW The Big Bang pay-per-view at the end of May. Re-launch Nitro immediately following the event, entering the weekly TV war with a fresh, organized, and stacked roster. Note: Nitro is set to be taped & broadcast live on Wednesday in this data. The Monday night wars were over. You can change the day of Nitro yourself if you wish.
Top Available Free Agents & Recoverable Talent
ECW Refugees
Extreme Championship Wrestling has officially closed its doors, leaving a deep pool of world-class refugees available on the open market. Chief among them is Rob Van Dam, who represents an absolute must-sign target in all playthroughs due to his explosive overness and in-ring skill.
Other Notable ECW Refugees: Tommy Dreamer, Steve Corino, Sabu, The Sandman, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Little Guido, Nova, Super Crazy, Kid Kash, Mikey Whipwreck, Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger, CW Anderson, Balls Mahoney, Chilly Willy, Jazz, Danny Doring, and Roadkill.
Former WCW & WWF Talents
A mix of seasoned veterans, midcard staples, and flashes in the pan are immediately available to flesh out your divisions:
Key Available Names: Scott Hall, BG James (Road Dogg), Konnan, Terry Funk, Devon Storm (Crowbar), Daffney, Nelson Knight (Viscera), Tylene Buck (Major Gunns), Pierre Carl Ouellet (PCO), Lenny Lane, Lodi, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels.
The Indy Scene
While I for one think it's kind of cheaty, you can pull a Nostradamus and pillage the about-to-explode independent scene with many future stars already active in 2001:
Notably Names: CM Punk, Low Ki, Amazing Red, Colt Cabana, Prince Justice (Abyss), James Storm, Chris Harris, Bobby Rude (Bobby Roode), Monty Brown, Rob Conway, Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin, Doug Basham, Damaja (Danny Basham) and many more!
Hiatus & AOL Time Warner Contract Targets
Keep a close eye on the market as the months progress. Numerous marquee names are currently sitting on hiatus—primarily due to lucrative AOL Time Warner buyout deals—and cannot be signed immediately on Day 1.
High-Priority Targets Returning Later: Main event icons like Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, Rey Mysterio Jr., Scott Steiner, and Sting will eventually become available and should be treated as high-priority contract targets. Lower card veterans like Glenn Gilbertti (Disqo), Big Vito, and Norman Smiley will become available much earlier in your save.
Broadcast Deals & Network Requirements
Securing a major cable television deal is vital for WCW's survival, but major networks come with specific production requirements and offer distinct tradeoffs:
- FX: Requires high investments in Production Quality upgrades.
- Fox Sports Net: Demands higher investments in Broadcast Production.
- E! Network: Expects top-tier investments in Music Rights / Production.
Note: FX, FSN, and E! offer subtle variations in coverage areas and distinct allowed content levels. Alternatively, PAX offers the largest total coverage area, though it restricts content levels heavily. If you prefer a reliable baseline without complex network demands, negotiate with WGN.
Active Database Alias & Real-Name Directory
Wrestlers in the database appear under their May 2001 period-accurate or pre-copyright names. Use this directory to find future stars active in your game:
Global Promotion Directory (61 Active Companies)
USA (33)
Canada (5)
Mexico (5)
British Isles (4)
Japan (12)
Europe (2)
Why are so many major wrestlers on hiatus or missing at start?
In real life, top stars like Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, and Rey Mysterio Jr. were under massive guaranteed contracts guaranteed by TimeWarner. WWF only bought out the WCW contracts of talent on smaller deals, then actually renegotiated each one, while few larger stars took buyouts from TimeWarner and signed new deals with WWF as well like Booker T & DDP. Most top names opted to sit at home and draw full salary for doing nothing. Additionally, Jeff Jarrett was explicitly left out due to severe personal heat with Vince McMahon, while Rey Mysterio was advised by Jim Ross to sit out, heal up, and sign a full-value contract later in 2002.
Why didn't WWE take on all the big contracts?
Taking on the contracts would mean taking on every aspect of it. Creative control, limited dates, let alone the large guarantees. Imagine Vince McMahon trying to explain to Steve Austin or The Rock that Goldberg was going to come into WWF, make 2x as much money and work a third of the dates. The locker room would have exploded. Not to mention the way WWF structured their contracts was completley different then WCW. All WCW talent who did end up in WWF, ended up renegotiating new contracts to fit the WWF style of deal, most at a very small percentage of the guarnatee their WCW deals would have had. Ultimately, there was no way WWF could have brought on the deals of guys liek Goldberg, Nash, Hogan, Steiner and more.
Why didn't WWE just wait for those Time Warner contracts to expire in 2002?
Waiting would mean putting the WCW brand "on ice" for over a year, killing any immediate momentum from the buyout narrative. Furthermore, in 2002 AOL Time Warner proactively approached wrestlers to negotiate lump-sum contract settlements, an outcome WWE could not reliably predict in mid-2001. WWF had toyed with keeping the WCW brand alive as a show, but for several reasons, decided not to, which is covered in the next point.
Why wasn't WCW given its own standalone TV show in 2001?
Networks were unwilling to pay rights fees high enough to cover production costs and large contract guarantees. Furthermore, WWE's exclusive broadcast agreement with Viacom prohibited launching new wrestling programs on rival networks. Viacom was willing to offer an 11 PM–1 AM Saturday night slot on TNN, but ultimately WWF decided not to persue that. WWF did toy with trying to turn one of its existing shows into WCW as well, but again, Viacom put a halt to it, saying they had a deal for "WWF SmackDown!" not "WCW Nitro".
Purchase Total Extreme Wrestling IX
The Mod is made for play with Total Extreme Wrestling IV. The game made my Adam Ryland and distributed by Grey Dog Software. Purchase the game!
Download The Mod & Graphics
Download the mod data and graphic pack for the mod on the top nav bar or check out the official forum post to download them and interact with myself and other players.
How To Install A Mod Data & Graphics
Follow this handy guide made my Adam Ryland himself.