Nook, Inc. Presents… Animal Crossing Smackdown!

Hello everyone!

This article is not about wrestling!

Usually, this time of the year, I’d be talking to you cool cats and kittens (forgive me) about the G1 Tournament in New Japan or the NXT Takeover/Summerslam combo that’ll come around over the summer. But as of now, we’re all still kind of picking up the pieces of the pandemic. Or, depending on where you live, still fighting through the pandemic.

The area I live in has lifted the quarantine rules as of last week, but it’s not like any good bars, restaurants or movie theaters are open. So as of now, I’m still stuck at home, same place I’ve been since mid-March. And what have I been doing with my time?

Mostly playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Island bachelor pad!

With my favorite wrestling only just coming off hiatus, I’ve been forced to dive into my other vice, video games. At first, I had no intention of playing. My wife and son both had islands and the whole thing looked juvenile to me. But when I saw what you could do with an island…the cool stuff you could build and make…and a real-time stalk market (no, not stock, it’s not a typo)… I got hooked REAL quick. I never thought I’d get into a game like this, but it’s actually a stress reliever for me. Most of the other games I frequent involve a lot of PvP, so playing a game where I’m developing a deserted island is a bit more relaxing than what I’m used to. It’s a fun change of pace and doesn’t leave me full of regret, unlike my normal gaming habits.

Lookin at you, Bungie. Lookin right at you.

So, technically, no, this article is not about wrestling. It’s about wrestling fandom within Animal Crossing. As it turns out, if you look hard enough, you can find plenty of custom creations and even in-game material that’s tailor made for wrestling geeks like myself. Within two weeks, I found one corner of a boxing/wrestling ring. And, promptly, never found another corner. Fortunately, the ACNH community is awesome and I was able to source the other three corners.

From there, I collected outfits, I built my stadium and started collecting custom designs. And let me tell you, custom designing has brought in wrestling memorabilia from every era. People are making shirts for Bullet Club, nWo, Los Ingobernables de Japon, and even some old WWF Attitude and ECW. My wife actually made an LWO shirt (Because she loves Eddie Guerrero more than she loves me and I’ve come to peace with that). She put it in a shop on my island, and now, everyone of my villagers wears that shirt.

All of them.

 

All the time.

And there’s my lovely wife. Oh, and another LWO shirt.

But I’m not writing this to just talk about myself. Like I said, the ACNH community is a great place and they’re doing some pretty cool wrestling themed stuff on their island. So, with permission, I collected a few that have made the rounds on Reddit. If you play ACNH, you’ll understand the time that goes into creating these. If you’re into wrestling, you’ll like how clever some of these are. And if you’re not into wrestling or video games, I’m not 100% sure how you ended up here, but I’m glad to have you and I hope you keep an open mind!

This first one is from /u/cowkong. The pictures don’t do it justice. This is Buscemi Stadium and, besides the nice pavilion, it has multi level seating, a “Titantron” (Flat screen TV), studio lights, an entrance ramp, TV camera and ring bell. That’s not even to mention the wrestling tights and luchador mask. Check out the video here.

 

The flooring is awesome and I love the seating arrangement. This is the kind of place where I would like to fight Quillson. He’s a smug duck that thinks way too much of himself and he needs to be taught a lesson.

 

This duck is ruining my island.

The next one is from /u/amorningofsleep:

This is White Claw Colosseum…not my drink of choice, but you gotta take sponsorship’s where you can get them. Again, the pic doesn’t do it justice. You need to go here to check out the video, and I’m told the arena is even more built up since this was posted. I really dig the entrance and the use of folding chairs…because what is pro wrestling without folding chairs?? This one has a custom ring apron and I dig the speakers too. This is the kind of place that I would want to have a street fight with Antonio. I have no issue with him, he’s my best friend on the island. But we have a friendly rivalry and I think we could put on a good show here.

Let’s go, brotherrrrr!

/u/gotroot801 has a room in his house with a wallpaper that actually simulates a fight night crowd. But that’s not the feature. The feature is the Ribera Steakhouse jacket (that means nothing to non-wrestling fans, but feel free to reach out to me for an explanation). My man here is completely decked out in Tex “Sex” Ferguson wardrobe. That’s a good look, hoot! (Again, shoot me a message, I’ll explain my carnie talk).

Brother me softly.

/u/MundaneHymn might have my favorite concept for a room. It looks like a basement wrestling gym. No dojo, no “Performance Center”…just concrete, a ring, and some gym equipement. The lucha masks and Bullet Club shirts are a huge plus. This reminds me of Stu Harts famous “Hart Dungeon”. This is the place where they beat some sense into you before letting you in on the big secret that wrestling is scripted. This is where you become a hardened prizefighter! This is…wait…is that a shower in the corner? With no barrier or stall? Just an…open shower? Yeah, I’m gonna politely decline the use of that. But everything else is cool.

Last one is a doozy. /u/SoupsMcGoops also has a wrestling room, but he took it one step further. STEEL CAGE! He’s decked out in a full costume, the teddy bear is wearing an nWo shirt, Jerry Lawlers crown is in the background…what more could you ask for?

A few minutes in “Hell in a Cell”, and Tom Nook might finally start being honest about those Nook Miles…

I have every intention of getting back to normal next month and politely annoying all of you into watching my favorite fake sport. Until then, I leave you with this image of my own personal wrestling creation. Welcome to Kimura Memorial Hall.

#FlowersForHana

 

See y’all next month.

 

Alex Watts

Alex is a lifelong sports fan and writer that has (against the better judgement of several producers and program directors) appeared on ESPN Radio and CBS Sports Radio. He lives in Washington D.C. with his wife, 1 child, 1 cat and an unhealthy amount of video game consoles.

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