Stephen Thomas has spent the last two years trying to prove himself again. After returning from a years-long stay as a castaway on an island, he took over the CSWA, ousted his former business partner, Chad Merritt, and decided to show that the aging company’s woes could be overcome. For a while, it looked like he had succeeded; the UNIFIED World Title was revived in a tournament featuring champions from across the world. CSWA17, the last big Anniversary show, went off with only a minor hitch or two.

A hitch that has become known as the “Hacker.” But more on our mysterious friend later.

With Troy Windham as the UNIFIED Champion, Thomas began to make plans for the ‘next big thing’ in the CSWA. He decided to go back to the company’s roots and bring back the “PRIMETIME POOLJAM” Tour, taking the entire company aboard a cruise ship along with a few hundred fans. But the Tour ran into “unforeseen circumstances” during the winter of 2006, its PRIMETIME episodes airing only sporadically on U-62 throughout the summer.

The Tour became known as the CRUISE of DECEPTION and could end up costing Thomas everything. Having to pay for a cruise ship that he no longer has possession of, paying out insurance claims to the various fans that were aboard, Thomas is finding that running the business side of the CSWA alone isn’t as easy as he thought it was.

Especially not when you have an unseen enemy trying to bring you down.

The company is in debt for the first time in years, their television deal with U-62 is in danger of being pulled at any moment, and time and money are both running short. With the CSWA’s future in serious jeopardy for the third time, Thomas has come up with a make-or-break idea. GOLD RUSH.