I. INTRODUCTION

Welcome to SUMMIT!

This is a hack of WWF Wrestlemania 2000 that brings characters from Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 and WCW/nWo Revenge
into the roster, replacing 18 characters in the existing roster, most of which were either very low on the card
or, generally speaking, weren't actually wrestlers. There is a story to this hack, in spite of the original game
not exactly having one, which you can find in the "THE STORY SO FAR..." section.


II. WHAT'S CHANGED

Well, a lot actually. I'm going to try and list them all, but in the course of putting together the hack, even
I've lost track of what exactly I did. So here goes nothing:

The roster now includes the following:
- Kevin Nash (WCW)
- Scott Hall (WCW)
- Scott Steiner (WCW)
- Bret Hart (WCW)
- AKI Man (WCW)
- Manami Toyota (WCW)
- Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW)
- Akira Taue (AJPW)
- Stan Hansen (AJPW)
- Hiroshi Hase (AJPW)
- Jun Akiyama (AJPW)
- Satoru Sayama (UFO)
- Bas Rutten (UFO)
- Naoya Ogawa (UFO)
- Don Frye (UFO)
- Atsushi Onita (FMW) -> Unlockable
- Masato Tanaka (FMW) -> Unlockable
- H (FMW) -> Unlockable

You will notice that some of these guys, especially the VPW2 guys, use fighting styles that aren't in WM2K, which
only features the standard 'pro wrestling' style. That brings me to my next change: the restoration of the shoot and 
hybrid fighting styles for use in WM2K (mostly). Sayama and AKI Man both use the hybrid fighting style, and therefore will
use the combo meter instead of Strong B grapples. The rest of the UFO guys are all shoot fighters, so they can do most of
you would expect them to do in their VPW2 incarnations.

With this roster also comes a number of move changes. Things like Razor Ramon's super Razor's Edge, Hayabusa's Phoenix Splash,
Scott Steiner's tackle strike, and many more moves now occupy slots that were either previously unused by existing roster
members, or were used by roster members that are no longer in the game. Misawa, Akiyama, Onita, and H all have super specials
as well (only front, as back moves are quite limited). 

Aesthetically, the backgrounds and textures remove as much of the "WWF" branding as possible, making it resemble something
closer to what the beta version of Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 looked like. This isn't a perfect 1:1 translation of course, but
the inspiration is there.

The story mode dialogue has now been changed to reflect the narrative of the story. Your player character is now gunning to
take all of the WWF gold by the time they reach Wrestlemania, effectively taking control of pro wrestling on behalf of the
promotion that they represent. There is no reason you couldn't have X-Pac representing the UFO, or Val Venis represent 
AJPW if you wanted, but the idea is that on your way to the summit, people are going to try and stop you from getting to the
main event of Wrestlemania. They'll have their own reasons for doing so, and it'll be up to you to teach them a lesson.

For guys like Cactus Jack, their dialogue has been rewritten to reflect things that they have actually said in promos. Those
with a strong knowledge of pro wrestling history may recognize where some of these lines come from, and to that I say: neat!

New Edit mode items have also been brought in, which I will let you explore on your own. I hope this will allow you some level
of creativity, but I do want to caution that WM2K is extremely limited relative to later games. Practically everything
in terms of both moves and costume items is used up by an existing wrestler, making it pretty darn hard to find creative ways
to include new stuff.

I forgot to mention to this point that the WCW guys, most of the AJPW guys, and a couple of FMW guys have their theme music
in the game now, in low quality loops, just like you remember them being!

I think that should just about cover it. I'm not being coy when I say this, but if I forgot to mention anything, I'll let
you find out for me!


III. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

This is a bit of a misnomer. At the time of writing, none of you have played this hack yet. This is just what I think you would
logically ask once you've had some time to play the game.

Q. Why didn't you include Hulk Hogan, Sting, [someone else I wanted], etc. in the hack?

A. Honestly, my threshold for tolerance comes down to the weirdest moves. A big limiting factor for VPW2 guys is that one
chop that most characters have that isn't in WM2K, and bringing it in would force me to change someone else's weak strike
which would just lead to a lot of moveset changes in general for something so small. For Revenge characters, it's 100%
likely that I didn't include your favorite because they have THAT backdrop suplex. It's a unique move that didn't make it
to the post-Revenge era, and bringing it in would take a move slot that I couldn't afford, because I brought back the VPW2
back suplex instead. There are other reasons for omissions that I'll get into in other parts of this section.


Q. Why are there combo moves in the Back Special section?

A. When AKI made WM2K, they dummied out both the shoot and hybrid wrestling styles. The shoot style actually has been known
to exist for 15-20 years, give or take, but the hybrid style was only found this year (2022). The issue with this style though
is that combo moves aren't strikes, but grapples. Each move has a unique 'sell' animation to go with the strike and the style
itself exclusively uses moves from the Back Special list. As a result, moves like the Burning Hammer and the Scorpion Death
Drop have been replaced by combo strikes.


Q. The combo style's pretty cool, but I notice when they reverse one of the strikes, I do a hip swivel. What gives?

A. It's a bit of a technical question, but I'll explain it as best I can. While the hybrid style calls Back Specials, combo
moves themselves are NOT the same as Back Specials. The inconsistency in move formats is to blame for this specific glitch.


Q. Why can't I armbar or choke people as a shoot fighter?

A. This is another technical issue. The game will not recognize the move even if it exists in the moveset. You could actually
use a memory editor to change one value to bring the functionality back for each shoot fighter, but it'd be emulator only.
This is a technical issue that would take assembly to fix, so it's beyond me.


Q. Why do shoot fighters have a sleeper as their back finisher?

A. Similar to the hybrid fighter thing, the automatic back move that the game defaults to calls only weak back grapples. So
far there has been no way identified to change it to call strong back grapples.


Q. Why aren't the movesets of WCW guys completely accurate?

A. I made compromises in certain cases. I know it seems inconsistent, but generally speaking, if a move existed in Revenge
as a weak back grapple in Revenge, but a strong back grapple in WM2K, I would allow that, and maybe switch the strong move
for its weak equivalent. It's personal, subjective code I adopted, but I stand by it. AKI Man and Manami Toyota are the only
characters where certain liberties had to be taken. In Toyota's case, it's because her moves are two generations behind, so
some hybridizing between World Tour and VPW64 was necessary, as well as some logical shifts to accomodate her in the world
of WM2K. AKI Man is partially my interpretation due to some moves not being accessible in WM2K. For what it's worth,
both of them are 'guest' characters, and have no bearing on the story.


Q. Why isn't Misawa a hybrid fighter?

A. There are a total of five slots for combo moves, so to have just one wrestlers with it would require the removal of five
Back Specials. This sacrifice was made for Satoru Sayama, as well as AKI Man (who uses Sayama's combo moves in this game).
However, he is still accurate, as his moveset was taken from WWF No Mercy, where his moveset, as well as others from VPW2,
is converted to the 'pro wrestling' style, and hidden in the ROM.


Q. Why do Misawa, Hase, and Akiyama have weird fourth costumes?

A. Echo fighters! They're each referencing an AJPW wrestler that's not in this hack.


Q. How can I create CAWs of shoot fighters and hybrid wrestlers?

A. I didn't enable the menus, but my advice would be to clone base characters and change their moves accordingly. Frye,
Ogawa, and Rutten are full on shoot fighters with the mount. Sayama is a hybrid fighter with a mount instead of a pin.
AKI Man is a hybrid fighter with the ability to pin.


Q. How do I do a super finisher?

A. Once you reach special status, complete a taunt, and the flashing symbol will change to the super special logo from VPW2.


Q. Does the old Gameshark code to unlock all characters still work?

A. Yup!


Q. Why is Bas Rutten in the UFO? He never fought for them.

A. Valid point. There were rumors on Japanese news sites at the time that Rutten was going to come to the UFO camps to train around the year 2000. This, of course never came to pass, although he would later wrestle for NJPW, which makes narrative sense for this hack. In the end it did serve the story better, given Rutten's history with Shamrock -- it gives Pancrase more of an indirect presence. On this topic though: NJPW is not in this hack because of limited roster slots and the aforementioned difficulty with adding the VPW2-specific chop that most NJPW guys have to this hack.


Q. How come Hayabusa, AKI Man, and Sayama all use Misawa's diving attack taunt?

A. The honest answer is that there is only one slot for such a move in the game from the movelist, and Misawa was the first non-shoot fighter I added to the roster. His accuracy took precedence over a LOT of things. It didn't occur to me til much later that Hayabusa, AKI Man, and Sayama would be stuck with his taunt. I know it makes more sense to have them use the Tiger Feint, and for Misawa to ALSO have it because he was Tiger Mask II, but I rationalized it as "Vanilla WM2K has the tiger feint anyway, so why not keep this move in SUMMIT so it can be a bit different?". Hope that makes sense.


IV. THE STORY SO FAR...

Following the events of Wrestlemania 14, Shawn Michaels disappears from the WWF. In his absence,
Stone Cold Steve Austin emerges as the champion and the face of the organization, much to the 
consternation of one Vince McMahon.

The night after Shawn Michaels' mysterious exit, his former right-hand man Triple H assumes command of
Degeneration X, and in doing so, declares it an army: his vehicle for conquest not only in the WWF,
but the entire world of professional wrestling.

One month later, the DX Army invaded WCW Monday Nitro. They lay waste to an unassuming locker room in
front of the world before making their exit, and in doing so, opened Pandora's box. The boundaries of
professional wrestling were irreparably broken. The two companies began a merciless, bloody feud on
North American soil.

Attempting to temper this feud from across the globe, Giant Baba deploys a small team of AJPW wrestlers to
end the conflict before it escalates too far. This attempt at peacekeeping is markedly unsuccessful.

Suspiciously, Shawn Michaels re-emerges months after the invasion, providing no context for his exit, nor
returning to the ring. With friends on both sides of the very real war between the WWF and WCW, his
inaction bore questions on where his loyalty lay.

Any doubt would seemingly be washed away, as he assumed the role of WWF Commissioner, joining Vince
McMahon and spearheading the corporate arm of the fight against WCW. However, without warning, he
mysteriously disappears yet again when he is needed most.

With all three rosters depleting gradually, both Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, and Giant Baba sought an exit;
a clear definitive contest that would determine a victor, ultimately absorbing the collective history and prestige of
all involved organizations. A Summit.

The announcement would take place imminently. 

However, ever power-hungry, Vince McMahon makes one crucial alteration to the announcement: while the victor
of the Summit would ultimately absorb the other competing promotions, this Summit was not between the WWF,
WCW, and AJPW exclusively. This Summit would be open to the world, with the continued existence of all competing
promotions on the line.

As for where it would take place, McMahon guaranteed himself the ultimate advantage by declaring it to be
on the Grandest Stage of Them All: Wrestlemania.


WCW Story

Vince McMahon's attack on WCW throughout 1998 proved to be a decisive advantage for the WWF. While the WWF
had suffered losses to their undercard, several events have handicapped the southern promotion in their
bid to take the Summit. While the two nWo factions briefly united to combat the threat, trusting the WCW
came far too late for a united front to form a meaningful resistance. Pillars of the WCW roster such as Goldberg
and Booker T were overwhelmed by infighting with the newly united nWo and outside pressure from the WWF.
However, it was a key betrayal in the form of the former Giant, now the WWF's Big Show, that proved fatal
to the nWo. From the ashes of a great roster, only a select few have regrouped under the WCW banner to ensure
that they take their revenge:

Kevin Nash -- Once Vince McMahon's handpicked champion and former leader of the nWo Wolfpac. He openly agrees
with Vince McMahon's notion of combining the world of pro wrestling under a single banner so long as he stands atop
it.

Scott Hall -- Kevin Nash's partner in crime and an upper midcard fixture in both the WWF and WCW. He believes that
in a world where Kevin Nash is busy sitting on the throne, he himself will be too busy counting cash.

Scott Steiner -- A brutal tag team specialist without a tag team. Prior to the initial battles between WWF, WCw, and AJPW
in 1998, he had been embroiled in a blood feud with his brother, Rick. However, an ambush from Kawada and Taue of the
Holy Demon Army on both Steiners left Rick hospitalized. Scott, bruised in blood and in ego, has a score to settle.

Bret Hart -- Barely removed from the events of Survivor Series 1997, the Excellence of Execution has very little loyalty
to the concept of WCW, but has everything to gain from destroying the McMahon empire. However, his sights aren't only
set on taking the summit to end Vince's bid to control professional wrestling. In the shadows, the Hitman knows the
Heartbreak Kid is waiting to make his move... and Bret Hart will be the man that beats him to the punch.

FMW Story

Michaels' disappearance from the WWF was, of course, by design. Although he had an appreciation for wealth,
wealth had a shifting definition in the eyes of the Heartbreak Kid. On some days, it meant that he was the 
best wrestler on the planet, and on others, it meant being in total control of his own destiny. Recognizing
the opportunity that the Summit presented, it took on a far more vengeful definition -- one where he would be able
to right the ultimate wrong and take back what he felt he unlawfully lost at Wrestlemania 14.

Michaels recognized that this would not be an effort that he could undertake alone, but any allies he would
have been able to rally North America were, for all intents and purposes, decimated during the ongoing inter-
promotional war. Thus, in secret, he builds a quiet link between himself and the Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling
organization. The clash in styles could not be greater, with Michaels'flash and flair running directly counter to
FMW's ongoing identity crisis where bloody tradition was combatting a cultural invasion of WWF-style sports
entertainment. Michaels saw this as an opening to rally together this disorganized group of bloodthirsty combatants
into a group that he could use as his muscle.

Gaining consensus, he brought FMW's best into the mix:

Atsushi Onita -- the innovator of the death match, and FMW's founder. While he saw through Michaels' ploy to bring
FMW together, he nonetheless saw this as his own chance to even the score with Vince McMahon, who broke his promise
to bring barbed wire explosion matches to the USA. But does "Mr. Liar" have other motives?

Cactus Jack -- mysteriously appearing in FMW not long after Michaels managed to unite the warring factions, it is
unclear what his actual motive is. While it is common knowledge that he and Mankind share the same person, it is
unclear at this point if they share the same mind. If they do, he poses a great mutual threat to both the WWF and to
Michaels' united FMW.

H -- the former Hayabusa, and FMW's ace. Although he has repeatedly been bested by Onita, Michaels knows that his
high-flying style poses an advantage, as he has no equal in the WWF. H fights solely for the survival of FMW and 
willingly joins the fight knowing that, under the surface, everyone is fighting for their own gain.

Masato Tanaka -- FMW's other ace, and H's on-and-off friend and rival. With his strong arsenal of power moves and
a comparable set of skills to AJPW's Mitsuharu Misawa, Michaels views Tanaka as a backup plan that could be effective
should anything happen to H or Onita. Tanaka, having been a champion in the USA in his own right, believes he can prove
otherwise and show that he is the only ace FMW has.


AJPW Story

As news of the Summit spread throughout the world, it became clear that this posed dangerous implications
to the balance of pro wrestling. Giant Baba was no stranger to partnerships with the west, with a longstanding
friendship with Bruno Sammartino, a legend from the WWF's past. However, even Baba recognized that no one man should 
determine the fate of professional wrestling. The King's Road style demanded pure excellence in the ring, being
descended from the great Rikidozan himself and carrying forth the traditions passed on by early excursions
by legendary Western legends. This was not the only history at risk of being washed away, and Baba knew it. He
would have to win the Summit and prevent the amalgamation of pro wrestling into a single entity.

However, Baba did recognize that, as great a competitor he was, his age posed a massive liability if he could not
compete with the likes of pro wrestling's best. Being prudent, he sent an alpha team to bring the fight to WCW,
hoping to take advantage of the turf war between the WWF and WCW to end the conflict quickly. Toshiaki Kawada,
Kenta Kobashi, Jumbo Tsuruta, Steve Williams, and Terry Gordy all suffered injuries in the crossfire, leaving Akira
Taue as the only survivor from this initial team. Recognizing how dire the situation had become, a beta team was 
formed; a team equal in strength, but thrust into an even higher stakes situation.

Mitsuharu Misawa -- the Emerald King of Heaven, the man who defeated Jumbo Tsuruta, and the undeniable present
of King's Road. Baba trusts him with the task he himself cannot carry out without question.

Akira Taue -- the Ruby King of Heaven, Jumbo Tsuruta's successor, and a man determined to prove his place among
his legendary peers. While he is loyal to Baba, Taue secretly hopes that he can prove himself to be Misawa's
superior along the way. The lone survivor of the alpha team following the events of WCW/nWo REVENJI.

Stan Hansen -- a wild cowboy from the West, carrying with him in equal parts a brutality that would rip through
any weak links in the chains of the competition, and experience that would counsel his team's strategy in Baba's
stead.

Hiroshi Hase -- using a version of Baba's swing, his strategic edge is in identifying the holes in the style of
the WCW locker room, carrying with him his experience fighting them as a member of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Jun Akiyama -- heir apparent to the King's Road style, and the uncrowned Sapphire King, this is perhaps the greatest
opportunity he has to preserve the future that he is to inherit.


UFO Story

Where Giant Baba sought to preserve pro wrestling tradition and ensure the survival of all styles, Antonio Inoki
saw a chance to redefine pro wrestling in his own image. Why manufacture entertainment when the fight itself,
the contest to determine the strongest, was what made professional wrestling a spectacle in the first place? Sharing
a similar train of thought as his sibling student, he organized a tournament of his own, although this one would
take place between his tried and true New Japan Pro Wrestling elite and his newly formed contingent of shoot fighters
in the Universal Fighting-Arts Organization.

Rather unanimously, the shoot fighters obliterated Inoki's pro wrestlers. Only the strongest would be able to take
the Summit, no matter how few men made up his team. However, Inoki did require someone to lead them -- Inoki himself
could not fight at the Summit, honoring his retirement a year prior. Thus, his team was formed:

Satoru Sayama -- the legendary junior heavyweight, and a former champion in the WWF in his own right. Although Sayama
spent the majority of the 1980s and early 1990s innovating his own martial art, Shooto, his return to professional
wrestling at this point in time allows him to guide the UFO contingent through combatting the different styles
they will encounter on the road to the Summit.

Naoya Ogawa -- Inoki's pride and vision for what pro wrestling should be. An olympic medalist in Judo, Ogawa is
single-minded in his goal to destroy the status quo. Whether this is his own belief or a product of Inoki's 
weaponization of his talents is unclear.

Bas Rutten -- a former UFC champion and King of Pancrase, Rutten was rumored to be a participant in the early UFO
training camps. It is clear that while he competes for UFO to be the 'best', being the best has very little to do
with the stakes the Summit poses. Instead, he has a score to settle with Ken Shamrock, who he has never successfully
defeated in battle.

Don Frye -- a member of both New Japan and the UFO, Inoki handpicked Frye to participate in spite of his losing to Ogawa,
as he recognized Frye's potential while competing against him in his retirement bout. Frye has not forgotten this loss,
and although he has no problems fighting for money and glory, one can only wonder whether his retribution will come at
the wrong time for the UFO.