Wikipedia

WMAC Masters

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WMAC Masters was a live-action show featuring the choreographed martial arts fights. It was created and licenced by 4Kids Entertainment. WMAC stands for the World Martial Arts Council, where the best martial artists compete for the ultimate prize, the Dragon Star. The Dragon Star is a gold trophy that looks like a shuriken surrounded by a dragon, it is proof that the martial artist is the best in the world. The show lasted for 2 seasons. The first season was hosted by Shannon Lee, the daughter of the late martial artist, Bruce Lee, and the sister of the late actor Brandon Lee. Come season 2, Shannon was gone from hosting and the show focused on fantasy rather than real-life issues.

Quest for the Dragon Star

Preliminary Matches & Battledome Finals

In most episodes, it begins with 4 combatants, 2 of them fight in 2 separated matches. They fight in the Battlezones against ninjas. After a short melee with the ninjas, depending on your health gauge, the fighters will fight each other until one of them is the victor. (In rare instances, if the fighters fight each other long enough that there is no winner yet, the ninjas will re-emerge.) The two combatants who win their respective preliminary matches will face off in the "Battledome". The match lasts 3 minutes. Despite interference from the ninjas, if the fighter pushes his opponent into the cage wall, the fighter will get points. The higher the points, the better chance of winning. In case of a tie, the fighters will compete in sudden death. The winner will receive the opponent's "Ki-Symbol" and have them placed on the Dragon Belt.

Ninja Challenges & 4-Man Battledome Finals

In other episodes, 6 combatants took part in what was called a "Ninja Challenge." One at a time, they would compete in separate battlezones against a group of ninjas in 45 seconds of time, and at the end they receive a score. The 4 top-scoring combatants move onto the Battledome in a 3-minute free-for-all match with the same rules as the regular matches (that is to knock your opponents into the cage wall in order to score points), with the winner receiving 3 Ki-Symbols (one from each of the defeated opponents). This kind of Battledome match has no ninja interference, but Sudden Death rules still apply in case of a tie at the end of the match.

Dragon Star Matches

Once you receive Full Dragon Belt (which takes about 10 Ki-Symbols to do), you will compete for the Dragon Star. In the Dragon Star championship, the champion and challenger fight on a rotating pedestal. If you move out of the pedestal, a "Violation" will be called and a ninja will come in for each violation and increase your handicap. Once the opponent (and every last ninja) is thrown off the pedestal, the combatant left standing is the Dragon Star Champion and will have proven to be the greatest Martial Artist in the world. Then the preliminaries start again until a new contender for the Dragon Star emerges, and so on, and so forth.

NOTE: In Season 2, following the controversy which involved a ninja knocking off both The Machine and Superstar in their Dragon Star match, a Dragon Star rematch between the two was called with different rules. It took place in a battlezone (in this case, the Subway Station Battlezone), where the fighters had to fend off large numbers of assorted ninjas (aside from taking each other on), and try to be the first to place their Ki Symbol into the Dragon Star replica that holds compartments for the Ki Symbols. This match wasn't without its obstacles however, as occurences like earthquakes and floods would take place. This is the only time in which a Dragon Star match would follow this type of format. The Machine emerged victorious in this battle.

Battlezones

There were many different Battlezones for the fighters to compete in, whether they were for Preliminaries or for Ninja Challenges. However, in Season 2, only 5 of these would be used. These battlezones included:

  • Ghost Town
  • Doom City
  • Mayan Mystery
  • Dark Alley
  • Pressure Area
  • Subway Station (used only for the Dragon Star Rematch)
  • Stone Valley*
  • Nuclear Nightmare*
  • Danger Dock*

NOTE: In Battlezones such as Mayan Mystery and Danger Dock (which had water), if a combatant was knocked into the water during the match, he or she would automatically lose the match. 

 *Not used in Season 2.

Ninjas

There were many different types of ninjas that appeared in the show, most of them specific to a battlezone, although they would appear in other places, including the Dragon Star matches. Here are the different kinds of ninjas that appeared:

  • Ghost Town - Ninjas dressed in black garb with a skull-like mask on their faces. They always appear in the Ghost Town Battlezone.
  • Kabuki - Ninjas in black garb with a white-faced, red-cheeked mask on both the front and back of their heads. They mostly appear in the Doom City Battlezone, although they have also been seen in the Stone Valley Battlezone.
  • Black - Ninjas covered in traditional black garb. They appeared in various battlezones throughout the two seasons, including the Dark Alley. They are more frequently used for the 2-man Battledome finals.
  • Red - Ninjas covered in red garb. They seldom appeared in battlezones, but they did appear once in Dark Alley, and also in the Subway Station during the Dragon Star rematch.
  • Cammo - Ninjas covered in camoflauge-colored garb. They usually appear in the Mayan Mystery Battlezone.
  • Hazard - Ninjas dressed in black garb with 2 green stripes and red stripes, and on their face they wear biohazard-like masks. They were introduced in Season 2 and appeared in the Pressure Area battlezone.
  • Jukido (Hooded Ninjas) - they are friends of Warlock (who is a member of that group) who haven't appeared in any battlezones. They once ambushed Warlock's brother, Wizard, and gave him a beating until he was saved by Tiger Claw. Only one of these ninjas officially appeared in a WMAC Masters competition, that being the Dragon Star match between Red Dragon and Warlock. These ninjas are covered in black garb with a hood on it; the hood is placed over a red-masked face that also seemed to have a black bandanna over the eyes.

Special Match: Mixed Doubles

On one occasion in Season 2, a male combatant would team up with a female combatant to take on a another male/female team in what was called a Mixed Doubles match. In the lone case, Superstar had teamed up with Lady Lightning in order to take on the team of Tracer and Chameleon. Superstar and Lady Lightning were Team Yellow, while Tracer and Chameleon were Team Red. The match took place in the Doom City battlezone, where they also had to fend off a group of Kabuki Warriors. It was just like a regular preliminary match, but there would be only one health gauge for each team, meaning that the two members of each team were competing as one. Team Yellow emerged victorious, and for their victory, they received the Ki-Symbols of their defeated opponents (Superstar getting Tracer's Ki-Symbol and Lady Lightning getting Chameleon's).

Past Dragon Star Champions

(In order in which they have held the title until someone beat them for it)

Male

  • Turbo
  • Olympus
  • Superstar
  • The Machine
  • Red Dragon

NOTE: Yin Yang Man was also a contender and he challenged Turbo for the title (hence the reason that Yin Yang Man was starting on his second Dragon Belt when the series started), but Turbo defeated him. Similarly, Warlock was a contender who challenged then-champion Red Dragon, but Red Dragon won the match.
Female

  • Lady Lightning
  • Black Widow
  • Chameleon (if that is, the Dragon Star were to ever be found after being stolen)

NOTE: Black Widow is the only ever champion, male or female, to have willingly relinquished her Dragon Star, which then caused 3 competitiors - namely, Lady Lightning, Princess, and Chameleon - to be automatically eligible to compete in a Dragon Star match.

Ki-Symbols

Each WMAC Master has a Ki-Symbol. A Ki-Symbol is the reflection of the soul of the combatant. For example, Herb Perez's Ki-Symbol is "Olympus" because he won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Tae Kwon Do. The Ki-Symbol reminds us of the mask of a Luchador because of the heart and soul of a person.

Cast of Characters

Note: Although his ki-symbol is "Tracer", Tracy Swedom's real name is Michael Foley.

Martial Arts Disciplines

  • The Machine - Kickboxing
  • Turbo - Shorin Ryu
  • Panther - Wushu
  • Yin Yang Man - Wushu
  • Red Dragon - Karate
  • Wizard - Kung Fu
  • Princess - Wushu
  • Chameleon - ?
  • Bam - Wushu
  • Mouse - ?
  • Warlock - Kung Fu
  • Tsunami - Kung Fu
  • Cyclone - ?
  • Black Widow - Hapkido
  • Superstar - Kung Fu
  • Star Warrior - Kung Fu/Wushu
  • Olympus - Tae Kwon Do
  • Baby Doll - Kickboxing
  • Lady Lightning - Kenpo
  • Kid Carmichael - ?
  • Tiger Claw - Shorin Ryu
  • Tracer - All Martial Arts
  • Great Wolf - Karate

Season 1 synopsis

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Season 1 involved personal storylines of the WMAC Masters. In the first episode, we were introduced to the masters themselves, and Hakim Alston talked about how he earned his namesake, "The Machine". Throughout the first season, they talked about the highs and lows of the masters, from the feud between Johnny Lee Smith (Tiger Claw) and Jamie Webster (Great Wolf) due to a broken promise, to Hien Nguyen (Tsunami) overcoming the odds and winning 3 Ki-Symbols for his once-empty Dragon Belt. However, the biggest shocker was at the end of season 1 when Hakim Alston and then-Dragon Star champion Ho Sung Pak (Superstar) got knocked off the rotating pedestal by a ninja during the Dragon Star match between the two. Which began season 2....

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Season 2 synopsis

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Season 2 begins where season 1 left off. A masked ninja took out both the Machine and Superstar in the Dragon Star match. However, if both masters were thrown off the pedestal, no one wins the Dragon Star. This became a problem throughout the World Martial Arts Council. To make matters worse, Larry Lam (Warlock) made a pact with the newest master, Tracy Swedom (Tracer) and joined a cult called "Jukido". Jukido was a group of martial-arts masters who wanted to steal the Dragon Star for their dark, evil purposes. During the investigation, some of the masters were accused of being the masked ninja, including Ho Sung Pak's brother, Ho Young Pak (Star Warrior). But all of them were cleared. Another master, Mike Chaturantabut (The Wizard), was also involved. Although he has the red dragon mark of Jukido, he actually denounced that group and left it, and was brothers with Warlock (who according to Wizard only pretended to leave Jukido). During the Dragon Star championship, Chris Casamassa (Red Dragon), who was the Dragon Star champion, was facing Warlock. During the match, a hooded ninja from Jukido (who was one of the ninjas that came in during a violation in the match) came to Warlock's aide and fought against Red Dragon. But, Red Dragon won nonetheless and retained his title. Then, Jamie Webster (Great Wolf) was having horrifying dreams and visions about the Dragon Star either disappearing or being a fake and the role Jukido would play in this. At the end of season 2, after defeating both Mer-Mer Chen (Princess) and Kristine Rodriguez (Lady Lightning), Sophia Crawford (Chameleon) won the Dragon Star. However, the Dragon Star was replaced with red dragon crest of Jukido, to which Great Wolf responds "I knew it, I just knew it." The notorious group Jukido has succeeded in stealing the Dragon Star, not only by Tracer and Warlock, but by, of all people, Hien Nguyen (Tsunami).

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Cancellation

Due to low ratings and low prices on the action figures, WMAC Masters was cancelled after 2 seasons. There were no plans for the third season. The fate of the Dragon Star remains in the air.

The Dragon Star

The Dragon Star represents the greatest martial artist in the world. The 8 Points of the Dragon Star represented the 8 points on how a true martial artist would live. The 8 Points are: Discipline, Courage, Forgiveness, Compassion, Honor, Wisdom, Loyalty and Respect.

In Season 2, members of Jukido would be banned by the WMAC for not following the Code of the Dragon Star, but some members managed to infiltrate the competition. At the Season 2 ending (presumably the series finale), Hien Nguyen (Tsunami) steals the Dragon Star and brings it to a rooftop building where Michael Foley (Tracy "Tracer" Swedom) and Larry Lam (Warlock) were awaiting a helicopter. The WMAC has discontinued all competition until the Dragon Star can be recovered.

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