Name: Crusader X
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 190 lbs
Hometown: Resides in San Antonio, Texas (real hometown unknown)
Music: Governed by Contagions - At the Drive-In
Entrance description: When the blast of feedback at the start hits, the lights go out on the main stage. If there's a screen, a black X on a white background goes up on it and flickers a bit. Once the guitar riff kicks in, CRUSADER X, also in black on a white background, appears onscreen. When the lyrics kick in, a spotlight flicks on and shines on the center of the stage. In it is X, standing with his back facing the crowd and his arms crossed above his head in an X. As he makes his way to the ring with an exaggerated stride, he high fives every fan he possibly can on the way there. Once he gets to the ring, he climbs every turnbuckle and poses with the X. After he climbs the last one, once the "THAT'S the way the guillotine claps" lyric hits in the chorus, he backflips off the turnbuckle, lands on his feet, and stares into the camera.
Physical Description: Olive skinned. Well toned but not overly muscular. Gear is a pair of white tights with black accents (Xs down the sides), a black belt, and black kneepads. His boots are tall, again white with black accents His mask is a typical rounded mask with an open jaw area without any tassels or frivolous things on it. It's white with a black X in the middle over his eyes. Think Cyclops from the X-Men comics's later look with the helmet.
Wrestling Style: High Flyer primary, Technical secondary, Striker tertiary
Finishers: Cross Canadian Ragweed if face/Parasite's End if heel (Canadian Destroyer, with theatrics, those being him throwing up his arms in an X symbol; often preceded by the running Canadian Destroyer; think the running Destino followed by a regular Destino, but with Destroyers instead)
X-Clutch (Koji Clutch)
X Marks the Spot (Corkscrew Moonsault)
X Marks the WHAT (Double rotation moonsault; USED VERY RARELY; SUPER FINISHER)
Signature Moves:
Solve for X (Crucifix bomb)
Parasite's Bane (Springboard flipping reverse DDT; Stylin' DDT basically)
Poisoned Frankensteiner
Running Canadian Destroyer
Code Red
Multiple cutter variations (Jumping, rolling, springboard, diving)
Superkick
Thrust kick to the head of a seated opponent
Dropsault in the corner
Tequila Sunrise
Sleeper Hold
Surfboard Stretch
(The above three can finish matches, especially if an injury is involved, but the X-Clutch is his primary submission hold)
Moveset: Diving tornillo
Asai Moonsault to the outside
Tope con Hilo
Suicide dives
Fosbury Flop
Overhand chops
Multiple kicks (Low and high roundhouse, pump)
Dropkick
Multiple pinning combinations (Basically, if you can think of it, he can do it)
Multiple neckbreaker variations (Regular, jumping, swinging)
Multiple hurricanrana variations (Normal, Frankensteiner, short)
Multiple armdrags (Regular, springboard, rope walk)
Strengths:
Very fast and agile
Impressive vertical leap
High lower body strength
Extensive high flying knowledge and ability
Formidable counter wrestler; good at staying a step ahead
Can take a lot of punishment… as long as it's not to his head
Deep llave style submission knowledge Formidable technical grappling skill
Hard kicks
Weaknesses:
Weak Non-Kick Strikes
Lack of Power; Low upper body strength
Lack of Size
Weak chin (Can easily be bested in striking exchanges or by other moves that target the head)
Pride (Thinks his way of wrestling is the best and can sometimes forget that he isn't invincible)
Showboating (Crusader loves the fans and loves getting their attention, to a fault)
Quirks/Eccentricities:
Crusader is a reasonably intelligent competitor when it comes to mat grappling and picking his spots for high impact high flying moves. However, if he gets fired up and over-confident, or, especially, if he gets angry or is facing an opponent he despises, he has a tendency to choose the route that will cause his opponent the most pain or embarrass them the most. This can lead him to go high risk without thinking it through fully. And again, he can be goaded into strike exchanges or (god forbid) even try to start one himself if his opponent can worm their way into his head.
Dos and Don'ts When Writing Your Character:
DON'T have him use power moves. He's small and not particularly strong for a wrestler.
DON'T have him win standing strike exchanges unless it's with a kick or if there's a very good reason for it.
DON'T have him accept interference in his matches. He thinks that this practice is a blight on professional wrestling and a tactic used by "parasites".
DON'T have him cheat, bully the ref, or use weapons unless he's facing an opponent who he believes leaves him no choice. He prefers to use his hands and feet and beat opponents on his terms instead of "lowering himself to their level". DO have him express regret if he ever does these things.
DON'T have him insult or act rude to the fans unless he turns heel. Crusader genuinely loves the fans. In his mind, he does what he does for them. He's trying to make wrestling a better sport FOR THEM. Something would have to break him to change this.
DO have him bump like mad, especially for larger opponents. He is light and easy to fling around.
DO have him forge alliances and friendships. He believes that strong bonds between wrestlers are key to a better future for the sport.
DO have him protect his identity and the details about his past. A Mask vs. Mask match would be massive deal for him.
DO have him take losing hard, especially against those directly opposed to his ideals. Not "throwing tantrums in the ring" hard, but have him be melancholy and hard on himself.
DO have him go high risk, do wild things in the ring, and pull off impressive counters on the mat and in the air.
DO have him be outspoken about his values and ideals to the point of causing friction with others.
DO make him suffer. Both physically and mentally. Put him through the wringer. Have him lose, steal matches from him, etc. Challenge his beliefs and make him question them. Push him to his limit and beyond. I've tried to make him the kind of character that thrives in adversity.
Beliefs, Values, and Desires:
Crusader's core belief is a simple one: Professional wrestling is a great sport being held hostage, perverted, and sucked dry by "parasites". These parasites come in various forms. They are shady promoters who exploit wrestlers for money and encourage bad behavior with no concern for their health and safety. They are wrestlers who engage in this bad behavior, such as cheating, interference, wanton violence, and degradation of their opponents. They are the older, more tenured wrestlers who could have stopped this perversion of the sport but instead indulged in it… and now think that they're above their peers simply for being veterans despite contributing more toward the sport's corruption than anyone else. They are deathmatch wrestlers, who he thinks throw away the purity and competitive spirit of wrestling in favor of sick, cheap thrills. They are the podcasters, the talking heads, the journalists, the ex-wrestlers and ex-promoters who blast unspeakable filth about modern wrestlers onto the internet and profit off of an audience of people who love to see hard working competitors get hurt and fail. They are the people who believe that size, look, and "marketability" are the most important traits in a wrestler before skill, before talent, before drive and conviction. They are the people who believe that his modern high flying style is a perversion of wrestling and not a pure expression of it… especially if those same people also encourage cheating and interference. They are the people who believe that wrestling shouldn't evolve and should stay the same… forever. These people are his ontological enemies. He will never compromise with them. The evolution that these people are trying to prevent? This evolution is his goal. He loves titles, he loves the fans, he loves the glory, he loves the competition, and he fights for those things, but more than anything, Crusader fights for a day when professional wrestling can be a sport free of corruption, exploitation, and unsportsmanlike behavior. A day when it can be a true contest of strength, agility, and endurance, and not a contest of how low you're willing to sink.
But he's gonna have to break a whole lot of eggs to make that omelette. And how far is he willing to go to break those eggs? One way to find out.
Backstory:
If anyone, in or out of the wrestling business, knows the true identity of Crusader X, no one has come forward. He shows up to locker rooms in his mask, leaves in his mask, is never in public with other wrestlers without his mask, and doesn't remove his mask until he's alone in his home or his hotel room. All that's known of him is that he lives somewhere in or near San Antonio, Texas. About as much is known about his past before becoming a wrestler. This is by design. Simply put, he doesn't like to talk about it. When asked about it in an interview, he said: "My past? My past is a nightmare. I woke up from that nightmare a long time ago. I'm all about the present and the future. Especially the future." And boy, does he love to talk about the future.
What is well known about Crusader X is his history within wrestling. After training in a prominent lucha libre school in Texas and then traveling to Japan to train alongside various junior heavyweight veterans, X debuted in Mexico in a tag team with another anonymous masked wrestler, Crusader Y. They began wrestling all over the Mexican, Texan, and Southwest US indies in mostly losing efforts before establishing their home base in San Antonio indie promotion L3 (Limitless Lucha Libre), eventually working their way up and winning their tag team championships after about a year. Their notoriety grew and lead to them picking up a high profile upset win in one of the largest promotions in Mexico. It was the break of a lifetime. This win earned them a contract, and the team began to gain popularity due to X's high impact high flying offense and Y's impressive displays of power and explosive hot tags. At the same time, the corruption they would witness in this promotion and others would even further solidify their radical beliefs about the integrity of wrestling. After about a year and a half together in the company, the Crusaders became locked in a rivalry with Los Vagabundos, consisting of lucha libre legend Vagabundo and his son, Vagabundo Jr., a high-flying prodigy not entirely dissimilar from X. During this time, the Crusaders began to become outspoken about their vision for pro wrestling's future, which put them at odds with Los Vagabundos, a family who had historically thrived on wanton violence and cheating. During a brutal match between the two teams, Y would suffer a career ending neck injury at the hands of Vagabundo. Furious, X challenged Vagabundo to a Mask vs. Mask match. Vagabundo, who was 4-0 in Apuestas, laughed in his face but accepted his challenge out of respect for Y. X would defeat Vagabundo after a bloody brawl and claim his mask, but upon it being handed to him, X tore the mask in half, threw it into the crowd, and walked out as the crowd pelted him with trash. An enraged Vagabundo Jr. recklessly challenged X to an Apuestas match of his own to defend his father's honor, despite his father begging him not to do so. X accepted without hesitation. He hated the idea of potentially strangling a promising career and was saddened to lose the support of the fans, but Vagabundo Jr. had chosen the path of the parasite. If X was truly going to cleanse professional wrestling of corruption, this was as good a place to start as any.
The day of the match came, and fans were buzzing. None of them were prepared for what happened when the bell rang. The heated, lightning-fast exchanges of seemingly impossible high flying moves and counters were unlike anything they'd ever seen, even between other high flyers over the years. The fans grew louder and louder, completely blown away at what they were witnessing.
In the end, X was victorious and claimed Vagabundo Jr.'s mask. Defeated but undeterred, Vagabundo Jr. vowed to take this loss as a start to a new chapter, to wrestle honestly, and to one day get to a place where he could defeat X without shortcuts. This time, X took Jr.'s mask respectfully. He walked out of the building with his head held high. Despite the tragic end of his partner's career, his mission was bearing fruit.
Little did he know how much fruit it would bear.
Clips of key moments from his match against Vagabundo Jr. blew up on social media, gaining millions of views and thousands of shares. Fans from all over the world, even those who weren't familiar with lucha libre, were abuzz. What WAS this match? Who were these guys? Was this the birth of a new generation of professional wrestling?
Immediately, both men were swamped with offers from various promotions around the world. Vagabundo Jr. would choose to remain in Mexico. Crusader X, however? His contract was coming up in a couple months… and he decided that it was time to find an even larger platform to hone his craft and spread his message.
The first offer that came in was an offer from GLOBAL.
X would accept the offer immediately.
With its Hollywood backing, its place on a streaming platform, its fresh clean slate free of the kinds of thorny inner workings found in most older promotions, and its promising roster filled with storied competitors and parasites alike? This could just be the perfect platform for X to take his message… GLOBAL.