History Characters / UniversalWrestlingFederationGAME

* DownerEnding: Died peacefully on 11th December 2016, he was 76 years old.

* NamesTheSame: Not to be confused with a younger luchador who has also used the name better is better known as Satara.

* NamesTheSame: Not to be confused with the British wrestler of the same name.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Kingpin Wrestling, another shoot style group based in Southern California, which also faded into obscurity after a few years of operation.

* IHaveTheHighGround

* {{Determinator}}[=/=]MadeOfIron: He suffered a concussion during his IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title match with Wrestling/JoeyRyan which was a quarterfinal in the ''IWA Mid-South: 2007 [[Wrestling/{{TPE}} Ted Petty]] Invitational Tournament'', September 29, 2007. Despite that, he managed to ''win'' the match, and, ultimately, the tournament that same night.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: For most of guys wrestling at the first show.

* BadassCrew / UrExample: The first American-based shoot style promotion.

* DarkerAndEdgier / FingerlessGloves: Had a few Vale Tudo style fights on their cards in 1995.

* BadassMustache / PornStache

* RedOniBlueOni: The rational, scientific Blue to Eddie Kingston's Red. That said, as his RoaringRampageOfRevenge against GEKIDO showed, he could also be a case of BewareTheNiceOnes[=/=]YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry. It's not that he and King are NotSoDifferent, just that they'd get angry for different reasons.

* AlohaHawaii: From Honolulu.

-->''"The shoot-style GAME promotion in Los Angeles continues to run at Yoahan Plaza in Los Angeles in Japan-town with bi-weekly shows, next one being 7/16. From our reports, some of the matches are definitely shoots with the guys getting busted and bruised up, and some of them are worked shoots. Those who attend have been extremely complimentary."''
-->-- Dave Meltzer

-->''"GAME was born in Feburary, 1994, when Grant Miller was standing at the bus stop in Los Angeles and the concept of running a legit wrestling promotion for shoot wrestling, submission wrestling and strong-style wrestling (which is not "real" wrestling but professional wrestling) struck him in the head. The idea was so exciting that he could hardly contain himself, and busily wrote down on a pad of paper the thoughts that came pouring in. From Feburary until April, Grant worked on finding a location to run the first event, which turned out to be a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, which had a large upstairs banquet room. Kurt Brown, a fellow training partner with Grant in both shoot wrestling and professional wrestling, helped him secure the talent for the first show, which was made up of mostly professional wrestlers and some amateur wrestlers. The event was held on 4/22/94, with a paid attendance of roughly 100 people. A writer for the magazine "Karate International" was in attendance, as well as former celebrity professional wrestler Dr. Jerry Graham, who wrestled in the Lancashire style of wrestling. The first event had two submission matches (no striking), and two shoot wrestling matches (kicking and open palm striking permited). The rest of the matches were strong style matches, which means that they were "worked", with a pre-determined winner. But the strong style matches emphasized hold for hold moves, with stiff blows. The next event was held on 6/18/94. The success of the April card allowed Grant to solicit Yaohan Shopping Plaza to rent to him their large third floor area. The June 18th card saw the introduction of two kickboxers, Makoto Muraoka and Terry Iwakura, both of whom trained at the Benny the Jet Center. The June 18th card had more shoot wrestling matches than strong style matches. There were no submission matches. This event drew 150 people. The third card was held on 7/2/94, and was sponsored entirely by Yaohan Plaza, so there was no admission charged. This was one of the most brutal cards GAME has had, which featured a shoot wrestling match where Makoto Muraoka broke his opponents check/nose area with a devastating round-house kick, a Vale Tudo match (punching with gloves permitted), and other shoot wrestling matches where Terry Iwakura and Makoto Muraoka shined. They were featured the following Monday on the local Japanese news stations newscast. This event brought attention to GAME as being a "legit organization with matches that are extremely brutal with the fighters really getting busted up at times." Grant Miller had been adapting his rules for the shoot matches to follow the rules Pancrase Japan had been using. The last event in 1994, and in California, was held on 9/12/94. This card is memorable as the event where UFC promoter Art Davey came to scout the talent, and chose Dan Severn to compete in the next UFC (and we all know what happened there). This event was held in Chinatown again at the restaurant, as a special event to return the favor they gave to Grant for allowing him to get GAME started there in the first place. The event sold out quickly for the 125 tickets that were put up, and it was a standing room only crowd. The event saw a brutal middle weight shoot wrestling tournament, where Makoto Muraoka and Terry Iwakura beat themselves out of further competition by hammering on each other for four brutal rounds (which Iwakura won), and Kurt Brown won the title by beating two opponents. Dan Severn and Al Snow, who were scheduled for a strong-style match, degenerated into a shoot/strong style match, with Al Snow taking it to the larger Severn, but Severn did beat him in the third round, impressing the UFC promoter in attendance. Grant Miller then moved to Pittsburgh, Pa., and set up the promotion there. The first event in Pittsburgh was held on 8/27/95, at the Martial Arts and Sports Complex. This event saw a middle weight shoot wrestling tournament, and Dan Severn faced Geza Kalman in a strong style match, as Kalman was scheduled to appear in UFC in two weeks, and did not want to risk a chance of injury prior to his UFC debut. The event was held in conjunction with the grand opening of the complex, and drew roughly 300 people, which was the largest GAME crowd to date, albeit they all didn't come for just the event. December 2, 1995 was perhaps the worse event GAME has ever had. Black listed by the local martial arts community as running a "UFC" style event, many of the scheduled competitors did not show, as well as having a small turnout by fans. This was held in a high school in northern Pittsburgh, and was the first time GAME did not use a boxing ring for their matches, as they were held on the floor on wrestling mats the school has. This event saw GAME change to "submission wrestling only", as Grant did not have a boxing license and bond to run a "shoot" wrestling event (where kicks/open palm strikes are allowed). While the rules for the event were clearly written and given to the area martial arts schools, still the negative impression was given to GAME. 1996 was the rebound year, as GAME came back to run again at the school in February, 2/24/96. Thanks in large part to Jim Chianese of C.T.S. (a Jeet Kune Do/Trap Fighting school), new life was pumped into GAME, and the spirit of open and friendly competition between schools was achieved. This event saw Leonardo Dalla Costa, a 2nd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and trained by Renzo Gracie, make his appearance and dominated all his matches. The second event in 1996 was held on May 4th, where martial arts schools from New York, Washington D.C., Maryland and Pittsburgh came to compete. The event saw the Costa school dominate in the light weight and junior heavy weight categories, but were surprised by the Pitt University wrestling leader Phil Stroffolino in the middle weight division, where he went undefeated and secured the title."''
-->-- The History of GAME, from their defunct website

-->''"GAME was born in Feburary, 1994, when Grant Miller was standing at the bus stop in Los Angeles and the concept of running a legit wrestling promotion for shoot wrestling, submission wrestling and strong-style wrestling (which is not "real" wrestling but professional wrestling) struck him in the head. The idea was so exciting that he could hardly contain himself, and busily wrote down on a pad of paper the thoughts that came pouring in. From Feburary until April, Grant worked on finding a location to run the first event, which turned out to be a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, which had a large upstairs banquet room. Kurt Brown, a fellow training partner with Grant in both shoot wrestling and professional wrestling, helped him secure the talent for the first show, which was made up of mostly professional wrestlers and some amateur wrestlers. The event was held on 4/22/94, with a paid attendance of roughly 100 people. A writer for the magazine "Karate International" was in attendance, as well as former celebrity professional wrestler Dr. Jerry Graham, who wrestled in the Lancashire style of wrestling. The first event had two submission matches (no striking), and two shoot wrestling matches (kicking and open palm striking permited). The rest of the matches were strong style matches, which means that they were "worked", with a pre-determined winner. But the strong style matches emphasized hold for hold moves, with stiff blows. The next event was held on 6/18/94. The success of the April card allowed Grant to solicit Yaohan Shopping Plaza to rent to him their large third floor area. The June 18th card saw the introducation of two kickboxers, Makoto Muraoka and Terry Iwakura, both of whom trained at the Benny the Jet Center. The June 18th card had more shoot wrestling matches than strong style matches. There were no submission matches. This event drew 150 people. The third card was held on 7/2/94, and was sponsered entirely by Yaohan Plaza, so there was no admission charged. This was one of the most brutal cards GAME has had, which featured a shoot wrestling match where Makoto Muraoka broke his opponents check/nose area with a devasting round-house kick, a Vale Tudo match (punching with gloves permited), and other shoot wrestling matches where Terry Iwakura and Makoto Muraoka shined. They were featured the following Monday on the local Japanese news stations newscast. This event brought attention to GAME as being a "legit organization with matches that are extremely brutal with the fighters really getting busted up at times." Grant Miller had been adapting his rules for the shoot matches to follow the rules Pancrase Japan had been using. The last event in 1994, and in California, was held on 9/12/94. This card is memorable as the event where UFC promoter Art Davey came to scout the talent, and chose Dan Severn to compete in the next UFC (and we all know what happened there). This event was held in Chinatown again at the restaurant, as a special event to return the favor they gave to Grant for allowing him to get GAME started there in the first place. The event sold out quickly for the 125 tickets that were put up, and it was a standing room only crowd. The event saw a brutal middle weight shoot wrestling tournament, where Makoto Muraoka and Terry Iwakura beat themselves out of further competition by hammering on each other for four brutal rounds (which Iwakura won), and Kurt Brown won the title by beating two opponents. Dan Severn and Al Snow, who were scheduled for a strong-style match, degenerated into a shoot/strong style match, with Al Snow taking it to the larger Severn, but Severn did beat him in the third round, impressing the UFC promoter in attendance. Grant Miller then moved to Pittsburgh, Pa., and set up the promotion there. The first event in Pittsburgh was held on 8/27/95, at the Martial Arts and Sports Complex. This event saw a middle weight shoot wrestling tournament, and Dan Severn faced Geza Kalman in a strong style match, as Kalman was scheduled to appear in UFC in two weeks, and did not want to risk a chance of injury prior to his UFC debut. The event was held in conjunction with the grand opening of the complex, and drew roughly 300 people, which was the largest GAME crowd to date, albeit they all didn't come for just the event. December 2, 1995 was perhaps the worse event GAME has ever had. Black listed by the local martial arts community as running a "UFC" style event, many of the scheduled competitors did not show, as well as having a small turnout by fans. This was held in a high school in northern Pittsburgh, and was the first time GAME did not use a boxing ring for their matches, as they were held on the floor on wrestling mats the school has. This event saw GAME change to "submission wrestling only", as Grant did not have a boxing license and bond to run a "shoot" wrestling event (where kicks/open palm strikes are allowed). While the rules for the event were clearly written and given to the area martial arts schools, still the negative impression was given to GAME. 1996 was the rebound year, as GAME came back to run again at the school in Feburary, 2/24/96. Thanks in large part to Jim Chianese of C.T.S. (a Jeet Kun Do/Trap Fighting school), new life was pumped into GAME, and the spirit of open and friendly competition between schools was acheived. This event saw Leonardo Dalla Costa, a 2nd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and trained by Renzo Gracie, make his appearance and dominated all his matches. The second event in 1996 was held on May 4th, where martial arts schools from New York, Washington D.C., Maryland and Pittsburgh came to compete. The event saw the Costa school dominate in the light weight and junior heavy weight categories, but were surprised by the Pitt University wrestling leader Phil Stroffolino in the middle weight division, where he went undefeated and secured the title."''

* BadassCrew: The first American shoot style group.

* UrExample: The first American-based shoot style promotion.

!!!Jeff Osborne
-->''"Jeff Osborne likes to say he survived MMA. That may seem funny to hear from a man with 23 years in the game, but the way he figures, there are thousands of others who weren’t so lucky. Fighters, coaches, promoters — flameouts who lost it all betting on a bloodsport to propel them into society’s one percent. But not him. He endured in a space where few others could. And whether people realize it or not, his mark on the sport is forever indelible, broad bold strokes upon the canvas of modern MMA."''
-->-- Shaun Al-Shatti, writer for https://www.mmafighting.com.

* TheApprentice: To Scott "Bam Bam" Sullivan.
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Has competed in 3 MMA fights, one in his own promotion.
* BadassBeard
* CombatCommentator: Has worked as one for the UFC.
* IKnowKarate: As well as UsefulNotes/MuayThai and UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu.
* RedBaron: "The Godfather of North American Women's MMA".
* StartMyOwn: Founded [=HOOKnSHOOT=] after he bought over GAME.

* SpinOff: Went on to become [=HOOKnSHOOT=].

* IKnowKarate: A Kyokushin black belt.

* IKnowKarate: A black belt and also knew a unspecified kung fu style.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: In its beginnings, the wrestlers were several Southern California based indie Lucha Libre style wrestlers, with one of their shows held in a Chinese restaurant of all places.

* IHaveTheHighGround
* UnknownCharacter: Not much is known about him.

* IKnowKarate: A Kyokushin UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} black belt. He was also a UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} black belt and trained in UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} under Benny "The Jet" Urquidez.

* CombatReferee: A long time referee for California based indie wrestling.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: In its beginnings, the wrestlers were several Southern California based Lucha Libre style wrestlers wrestling in a Chinese restaurant.

!!!Kurt Brown/Vandal Drummond/R.U.R. 2000

* IHaveManyNames: Has wrestled as Vandal Drummond, Jimmy Cyclone, Lucky Pierre, Dr. Alquima, Caveman Wellington, The Abortionist, Telly Evangelist, The HIV Kid, The Squeaker, R.U.R. 2000, El Roboto Sattva, Yom Rippur, Rocking Jerry Brown, El Paparazzi, and Donkey Show Dominguez.

-->''".@DougWilliamsUK is one of the classiest, professional and knowledgeable people I have had the honor to work with. Congratulations on a career well lived and the impact you have had on the business. #muchrespect"''
-->-- Wrestling/EricBischoff (@EBischoff) September 30, 2018 on Williams' retirement.

-->''"I owe Doug Williams my eternal gratitude. British Wrestling and British Wrestlers owe Doug Williams their eternal respect. Wrestling owes Doug Williams their eternal gratitude.#ThankYouDoug"''
-->-- [[Wrestling/{{Magnus}} Nick Aldis]]

* {{Ambadassador}}: For British pro wrestling.
* TheApprentice: To Andre Baker and Dino Scarlo at NWA UK Hammerlock.
* BashBrothers: With Wrestling/{{Magnus}} in Wrestling/{{TNA}} as the British Invasion.
* TheChessmaster: Is now the matchmaker of the German Wrestling Federation.
* CoolTeacher: Was a trainer at Wrestling/AlSnow's Wrestling Academy in London, England and also was a trainer for Ohio Valley Wrestling.
* DoNotCallMePaul: His real name is Douglas Clayton Durdle.
* GuestFighter: From NWA UK Hammerlock.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: A 1992 British judo champion in the 72kg weight class. He later learned UsefulNotes/CatchWrestling.
* TheMeanBrit: From Reading, Berkshire, England.
* RedBaron: "The Anarchist", "The Human Torture Device", "The Ambassador of British Wrestling", "Mr Brexit", "The Finest Thing in Life", "Made in Britain", "Indestructible".
* SuplexFinisher: His Chaos Theory finisher is a roll-up into a bridging German suplex.

* DontCallMePaul: His real name is Douglas Clayton Durdle.