Booking Glory-Chapter 130: Favor For Evelyn
<November 13, Longham Wrestling Arena, Longham City>
Rob felt an undercurrent of tension seeping into every corner of the arena as he passed through the corridors. Hushed whispers and harsh mutterings filled the corridors, creating an atmosphere akin to a volcano about to erupt. He could already feel it affecting him already.
Turning around the corridor, he came face to face with the door of the women’s locker room and halted his steps. For the first time since he took over the women’s division, he felt a bit hesitant to enter. It wasn’t apprehension per se, but there was a subtle sense of anxiety in his heart. He didn’t know what awaited him behind those doors and for a moment, it made him pause.
Behind those doors were people whom he was responsible for; whom he had power over; whom he once thought to be his supporters in his aim to revolutionize this industry. He had considered them to be his friends, accomplices and even fellow coconspirators. But, he wasn’t sure of it anymore.
Events of last week had made it clear that he was naive to think such things.
It was not just Marie’s decision to walk away that made him think like that. The tension in the locker room last week, the divide he had felt between him and the women, and how they seemed hesitant to discuss things in his presence. Those things made him realize that no matter how much he wished and acted like a friend, he would always remain as someone from management to the wrestlers.
And the subtle distance between management and workers can never be bridged. No matter how he tries, it was inevitable for the divide to be present, at least in their hearts.
He knew neither he nor the women in there were to blame for that. It was the nature of their positions that caused the divide to exist. Your butt decided your perspective. Until he had power over their trajectories, the divide will always exist.
And Rob was coming to realize that he liked to have that power.
So, that’s that.
When he took over the women’s division booking, he had initially considered them to be mere puppets to realize his vision. But, as the interactions grew, he had unknowingly tried to bridge the gap between them.
The events of the last week was a wakeup call to him. A booker can’t be affected by sentimentality. A booker is like an author. Just because an author has a favorite character he couldn’t make the plot favor that said character without reserve. All characters must serve the plot.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t be a decent human being. He could be their friend outside, but in there, he must be the booker. The women behind the door haven’t forgotten it. It was only he who had forgotten it.
And now, it was time to rectify that mistake.
Taking a deep breath, Rob braced himself and walked into the locker room. The lively conversations inside petered out immediately as soon as they heard him enter. It only made Rob firm up in his heart further.
"Ladies," Rob greeted the women in the locker room with a professional smile, causing them to greet back. He noticed that Marie didn’t. She merely stood with a defiant look in her eyes.
It looked as if she was expecting him to say something about her decision. And from her stiff posture, it was clear she was ready to defend herself.
But, Rob wasn’t here to pick on her choices. He had a show to put together. And he wouldn’t waste time with bringing up unwanted things. Marie had made her choice. He didn’t want to harp on about the inconveniences her choices had made for him.
So, he ignored her and addressed the other women in the locker room first.
"Last week we put in motion some things," Rob began with a small smile, "but I am afraid that we need to scrap those plans due to some recent events. But, worry not, our 40 minutes for the PPV is still on. That means, apart from the Dacey-Diana match that we are going to put out, we still have one other match we need to build towards."
"Due to recent changes in our roster," Rob paused slightly, not wanting to address the elephant in the room yet, "ahem... Mr. Gibson feels that we can’t go with the original plan. So, we need to revamp our build and make adjustments to our plan."
There was some shuffling and some uneasy glances exchanged at his words.
"Worry not," Rob cut in quickly to ensure that he didn’t distract them and spoke on, "that is my job and I will plan around that. But, it will take some time and I can’t come up with something quickly. So, we will be putting out emergency measures this week."
"For this week, Dacey and Diana’s story will continue, but without Diana’s presence. I initially planned to have Diana return this week, but we need to change it up a bit," Rob said, causing Diana to let out a displeased snort.
Rob could only shoot her an apologetic look for that. But it was clear that he needed to do some damage control after the general meeting.
After learning about Marie’s buyout two days ago, Rob had been trying to find some way to salvage things. After much consideration, he felt that keeping Diana in reserve this week might work out well. Instead, he wanted her return to be delayed due to the injury angle.
In fact, the story between Dacey and Diana already had enough interest from the crowd. There was no need for both of them to be present and doing some things each week. However, he could not simply keep both of them in reserve.
For the TV ratings, he needed at least one to be present. After mulling over things for a bit, he decided to play the injury angle for Diana’s absence and let Dacey work this week, as it made things logically sound.
Moreover, he needed extra time to showcase other women and build them up as well. Marie’s departure only made it even more important to build other women urgently. And showcasing them was the best way to build these women.
"For this week, we will have three segments. One backstage segment and two matches. In the opener, Alanna will be taking on Leia tonight. You have 7 minutes. Leia will be the one going over in that match," he said as he looked at the duo, causing them to nod and accept.
"The second will be Dacey’s backstage segment. Joselyn you will have another run in with Dacey backstage. It will be timed for 2 minutes. So, it will be short and direct to the point. It is to set up a match between you and Dacey next week," Rob explained. "I will give you two more details later."
"The third one will be a match between Evelyn and Marie," Rob said, causing everyone to pause. Marie’s eyes narrowed, even Evelyn looked a bit apprehensive. "It will go for 11 minutes and it will be the match before the main event."
"Now, Leia and Alanna can go over and discuss what they want to put out. I only have one requirement. Stick to your characters. Alanna should use the ropes more and the finish should involve a top rope maneuver," Rob dismissed the duo after giving them some final instructions.
"Dacey, Diana, Joselyn, you guys wait over there for me," Rob pointed to the side. "I will come over after discussing what I want with Marie and Evelyn’s match."
The trio moved to the side giving enough space for Rob to discuss things with Evelyn and Marie privately. As Rob looked over, he saw Marie watching him with a suspicious look. Evelyn stood beside her with a blank face.
"As for your match," Rob began calmly, "I have two possible endings in my mind. Marie, I will leave the choice to you. As this is your last show, I will take your input on how you want to go out."
Rob’s words surprised the duo. Rob watched as Marie’s eyes widened in surprise a bit before a complex emotion appeared on his face. Evelyn, while surprised, held her silence and awaited Marie’s response.
"What are my options?" Marie asked after a few moments in a controlled tone.
"Before I present your options, I want you to know that I can’t afford to have Evelyn’s momentum stymied tonight. I mean, you will understand that, right?" Rob asked solemnly. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
Marie grit her teeth and gave a jerky nod.
"With that said, I have two scenarios. Option A, we can use a normal ending with Evelyn going over. But, you can use most of the 11 minutes to shine and put out a good performance," Rob said slowly.
"What’s the other one?"
"Option B is different. It will play into Evelyn’s character setting. However, I assure you that you will gain more impact with that," Rob said calmly, causing the duo to narrow their eyes.
Seeing that he had got both of their attention, Rob went on to explain what he had in mind. He laid out clearly what he wanted the duo to do in the ring during their allotted time and his reasoning for going in that direction as well.
Rob had always preferred to keep things open with the wrestlers. He had always explained the reasons and what he wanted to achieve with them openly. He didn’t want to give any wrestler false impressions and let them assume things. He had always felt that explaining the reasons and his goal will make the wrestlers accomplish it more effectively. So, this time he did the same as well.
"This way, you will be doing a huge favor for Evelyn on your way out," Rob said after he explained stuff. "It will also help me smoothly transition into the next few weeks leading up to the PPV. It is your call how you want to go out."
Marie bit her lips as she thought things over. Evelyn didn’t urge her. Rob also waited patiently.
Rob’s initial plan after learning about Marie’s news was to simply not use her tonight. But, he felt that such a thing didn’t bring any kind of closure to Marie’s booking in the last two weeks. In the last two weeks, Rob had booked Marie strongly hoping to build her up for the upcoming PPV. To simply ignore her would be a waste in his books.
Rob didn’t want to do that. Moreover, he didn’t have much roster depth in the women’s division. So, he didn’t want to waste the one night he had Marie available for work. Thus, he hatched this last minute plan to use Marie’s presence to the greatest extent possible.
"Let’s go with option B. I owe the girls at least that much," Marie sighed after some time. "I will do it for the girls."
Rob smiled and simply nodded.
*****
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