1. Personally I always hated when a gimmick was changed like you describe. I had one that really bothered me on my mind when I started to respond but that has since slipped away - you know how old age is BG - but even a slight change like Ricky "Hangman" Harris to Black Bart on TBS really irritated me. Of course it has been done the way that you're thinking of doing it - Serge had Stephen Pettipas completely break kayfabe and renounce his Sheik Ali gimmick on one of the Canadian TV shows and say that he now wanted to be known by his real name. Either way you're not going to get any heat here like you would over yonder.
 
1a. (I guess) not really - Perhaps it's because this league is younger or it's just the way that things are done here but we've never built up a history like the WCFL has. Also as you know most of the time the continuity wasn't there from one promoter to another IRL. Going back to Black Bart and the whole Ole to Crockett switch they would bring guys like Dick Murdoch in who had had great runs in GCW and act like they were completely new to the TBS viewers.
 
2. ?? I would guess that if there was some kind of superstation in Canada that carried other promotions that they are recognized here. WWF is on USA Network and GCW is on TBS for our U.S. promotions.
 
3. The rivalry was built in from the beginning thanks to Serge, Trester and Topo. It was one of the things that made NWAC different than WCFL. The original war had Serge with the IWA feuding with the NWA promotions. That didn't last long and the rivalry switched to the AWA and NWA.

My replies in bold/italics
 
Hopefully not stepping on toes, rocking a boat or just being out of line, but I find these "thinking out loud" sessions can be productive.
 
Plus the new guy still feeling his way.  I'm not the lurker type, so until joining, I spent less than two hours here.
 
Three items to start.
 
1.  How do you feel about continuity?  I am specifically thinking of running a worker in a heel gimmick (bogus foreigner, no mask) here but two years ago he was a face under his normal name.
To me, it depends on how long your promotion has been vacant. For example, if you have say...Dino Bravo and he was a heel in Georgia. That will not affect him being a face in his home country Canada because Georgia wrestling does not hit Canada. So it really depends. I think if you take over a recently promoted place, keeping the heels and faces as they were until you can facilitate a storyline change is a better idea.
 
Do you think it necessary to research earlier promotions in your area?
I have gone back and read every promotion I have ever run, right from the first page here to the last person who wrote their last show. This way I can keep things in line and see what has transpired throughout the years. I think it is needed.
 
2/  Slightly related - TV coverage.  Are we sticking to a premise that Maple Leaf TV is the only TV wrestling in Ontario?  No WWF or Stampede other than what you get on a border station?  My preference is that is the way to go even if it conflicts with real life.
It was set up that since in 1982 there was no specific Canadian sports network (like now), the TV stations that picked up the WWF, Maple Leaf Wrestling and Stampede (as well as Vancouver run by Al Tomko) were on whatever little station they were on. (For example WWF was on CHCH, Stampede was on CHEX, and Vancouver was on CKVR, at least in the town I grew up in). There was no specific thing like TBS or the lot.
 
3.  Can someone advise of any post that describes the AWA / NWA split, rivalry or whatever it is?  I think it is brilliant just on the basis there can be an assortment of "number one's".
 
As was said, it was started as IWA Vs the NWA, but changed to how it is. What it is, is the AWA and NWA are rivals. You can do the war cards where both promoters get an extra pick. What that is, is where an NWA promotion can do a card against an AWA promotion for territorial rights (over who can promote a specific town) or to just see who can put on the better card. It is voted on by the readers. It used to be where the winner would get an extra first round, but was switched to both get an extra pick between the 2 and 3 rounds. There are not too many, but something that can happen more in the future (hopefully).
 
BTW, I respond well to "shut up".  Both ex-wives were funny that way...