Booking Glory-Chapter 20: Dacey’s Promo – Part 2

<September 4, Longham Wrestling Arena, Longham City>

<5... 4.... 3... 2... and we are a go!>

Boom!

The pyros went off and the opening music for the show played causing the crowd to cheer in enthusiasm.

"Welcome to this week’s edition of <Fyre> and we are live from the Longham Wrestling Arena, Longham City. This week, we are featuring a plethora of matches for you to watch and enjoy!"

"And don’t forget, we will be hearing from Dacey Surestone in regards to her actions this past Saturday on <Break Out>!"

"You mean, she has the gall to come out here and stay in front of the people after what she did this past Saturday?"

"Yes, absolutely shameless, I say. What she did to Dacey was such a heinous act that had never happened in the history of pro-wrestling."

"And don’t forget she ruined the moment for both the fans and the entire women’s division. That was a history-making moment!"

"Absolutely, the first ever Triple Threat Match in the history of pro wrestling! And this woman had ruined everything the women’s division has worked for a long time!"

"Here’s what happened last Saturday on <Break Out>! Let’s take a look!"

The titantron played the highlights of the first ever Triple Threat Match following that. From the entrances of the three wrestlers to the thrilling finish, the highlights were displayed causing the crowd to erupt.

Rob frowned from the Control Pit as he sat listening to the opening intro. He found something in the back of his head niggling as felt something was not right. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was.

He looked to the side and found Mr. Gibson and Robin sporting pleased smiles on their faces. As he looked around more, no one seemed to think that there was something wrong. This made him doubt his intuition a bit.

So, he put the worry to the back of his head and concentrated on the highlights that were being telecasted.

Dacey was going to come out next. This segment was really important for Rob as it would determine whether his approach was right or not. So, with anticipation bubbling up inside him, Rob watched the monitor like a hawk.

The crowd watched the entire highlights package with relish. And when Dacey appeared they started booing. Rob smiled hearing the crowd boo when Dacey attacked Diana.

The boos were especially prevalent when Dacey delivered a Heavenly Rotation to Diana. It was clear to the crowd that Dacey was disrespecting Diana by attacking her with Diana’s personal finisher.

And when Dacey delivered the Facebuster on the belt to Diana, the crowd winced collectively. What followed was some unseen footage of medics carting off a bleeding Diana to the back.

By now, the crowd was truly riled up. Rob relaxed a little as his worry didn’t affect the crowd much. And, when the titantron turned blank, the crowd was truly stoked for this week’s episode of <Fyre>.

Just then, music blared and the crowd looked around in confusion. The music started with a guitar riff and what followed was a Rock song with a rebellious attitude.

Rob watched the crowd try very hard to determine whose music it was and fail. It gratified him. He wanted this exact effect. He had fought a hard battle with Mr. Gibson to purchase the rights for this song.

"Looks like your idea once again bears fruit, Rob," Mr. Gibson said from the side causing Rob to smile in reply.

"Yeah, till now the response is good. The crowd isn’t bored yet. Your idea of letting the music play for a minute without anyone exiting the curtain was really novel," Robin nodded along. "Let’s hope that the price we paid for this is worth it."

"We needed to do this. There needs to be a change in how we present Dacey," Rob spoke reiterating his arguments once more. "The rebellious theme fits her character well. Who knows, the crowd might just get hooked to the song soon."

"I doubt it," Robin shook his head. "Anyway, it’s time for the reveal. We will see how they respond to Dacey’s entrance."

"I am betting the crowd is going to boo her bad," Mr. Gibson said enthusiastically.

"The worse the better," Rob muttered in reply to that.

"Let’s hope Dacey is able to handle the negativity," Robin once more poured cold water on everyone’s enthusiasm.

Rob shot him a stinkeye and focused his attention on Dacey’s entrance.

*****

After her discussion with Rob, Dacey arrived at the proper mindset she needed for the heel. She knew that while she needed to show off, she shouldn’t be flamboyant like the usual wrestlers. She needed to come off as cool at this moment.

So, when the cue was given for her to emerge, Dacey took a deep breath and slowly made her way out of the curtain with a sexy strut to her walk.

The moment she emerged, she heard the crowd who were in confusion start to boo loudly. The boos were so loud that it almost made her turn around and walk back into the curtain.

Her heartbeat was so loud that she began to hear it despite the loud booing. She felt the time around her slow and panic began to settle in her. She had never seen a crowd react so negatively like this before.

"There will be times when you are just nervous. Regardless of your experience and skill, the crowd has a way to unsettle you. At those times, pause a moment, take a deep breath, and exhale. Continue that until you begin to feel normal," Mr. Gibson’s advice when she debuted for the first time began to ring in her ears.

Dacey did exactly as Mr. Gibson said. She paused in the entranceway and took a deep breath and exhaled. She did it a couple of times before she could control her racing heart.

*****

"See, I told you. This is going to be a disaster," Robin said in dismay as they watched Dacey pause at the entranceway.

"Not necessarily! Let’s see how she handles the next few moments. We can still salvage this," Rob said a little unwillingly.

Mr. Gibson remained silent. On the monitor, it looked like Dacey was struck dumb. She stood there frozen on the spot for a few moments. One of the basic ideas ingrained in the wrestlers was to never freeze.

They needed to make at least small movements to make sure that the presentation wasn’t sloppy. For a wrestler to freeze, it would create a very embarrassing and awkward scene on live television.

"Look at her eyes," Mr, Gibson said suddenly causing Rob and Robin to concentrate on the monitor. "Zoom in on her face. She is scanning the crowd."

The camera operator immediately zoomed in on Dacey’s face. Dacey’s eyes roved around the crowd. From this angle, it looked like Dacey was scanning the crowd. This alleviated the embarrassing situation earlier.

"Good, she has the presence of mind to not stay frozen," Mr. Gibson said a little proudly.

After all, Dacey was his student. Seeing her recovering from her mistake quickly, brought him immense pride. Once more, he was happy that they had chosen Dacey for this role.

*****

Once she felt normal, Dacey threw the crowd’s reaction to the back of her head and began to walk towards the ring with a sexy strut. As she strutted, she heard a few young males present in the front row whistle in appreciation.

This brought back her confidence a little.

Dacey rode on that confidence and walked to the ring in a carefree manner. She didn’t rush towards the ring. She didn’t pander to the crowd. She just walked to the ring as if she owned the damned thing.

This was one of the tips Rob had given her. He told her to walk towards the ring like she owned the damn thing. He told it would create a cool effect. She hoped that he was right.

*****

"That walk is wonderful," Mr. Gibson praised looking at the monitor.

"It has a little sexy vibe to it. It would generate good ratings," Robin agreed eyeing the monitor.

"She could have done better. She didn’t look around the crowd, she is just walking toward the ring. She should have interacted with the crowd a bit," Rob was the only one who was not satisfied.

"You should be happy she is at least able to do this," Mr. Gibson snorted from the side. "After that blunder at the entranceway, I am afraid she doesn’t want to look at the crowd anymore."

"It would ruin the promo," Rob frowned a little. "Tell the helper down there to remind her to interact with the crowd a bit."

"And zoom in on her ass as she climbs the ring. If she is going to strut, we might as well use it well," Robin said causing Rob to nod.

Mr. Gibson merely frowned a little but shrugged it off.

*****

Dacey entered the ring and stood there for a moment posing. Her music turned off and the crowd’s booing increased in volume. It was almost too much for Dacey. Luckily, she didn’t pay them any attention at that moment.

She was sure that she will be overwhelmed if she paid the crowd any attention. Right now, all her thoughts were on finishing this segment and walking back to the locker room as soon as possible.

She walked towards the ring and motioned for the microphone. The helper there handed her the microphone and whispered in her ear.

"Rob asks you to interact with the crowd a bit," the helper whispered and ran back.

Dacey felt like cursing Rob in her mind. She didn’t want to interact with such an unruly crowd. Their boos were already overwhelming her. While she expected some negative reaction, the sheer intent of their animosity was something truly unexpected for her.

Her palms and back were already sweating. She didn’t know if she could even finish this promo, and Rob wanted her to interact with the crowd. Dacey felt as if the entire crowd was just a moment away from stoning her.

It made her feel very anxious. Even during her debut, she didn’t feel this much pressure.

*****

"We need to do something," Rob said anxiously as he watched Dacey’s facial expressions through the monitor.

Beside him, Mr. Gibson and Robin had displeased looks on their faces. Robin’s face was very unsightly. Mr. Gibson had a displeased look, but there was also some disappointment in there.

"Tell our men present in the crowd to chant <Why Dacey Why?>" Rob said as a sudden idea popped into his head.

He only hoped that the crowd picked up on the chant and Dacey had enough presence of mind to use that as an opening.

Mr. Gibson didn’t say anything. He merely watched the monitor without taking his eyes off Dacey. It was as if he was willing Dacey to perform through the monitor with just his eyes.

*****

Dacey felt everything was too much. She didn’t know how to cope with the sheer amount of negativity thrown at her. She felt as if she was on a public trial where the entire audience was braying for her blood.

While she had prepared herself mentally to be booed, the force of negativity that was exuding from the crowd was something that she couldn’t possibly prepare for. She felt as if her throat was clogged. The mere idea of opening her mouth before these people frightened her.

Let alone cutting a scathing promo.

She just stood there and let the crowd boo her. She didn’t know what to do anymore. While she intellectually knew that she should speak, her mind was blank at this moment.

*****

"Look at her, she is speechless! I knew such a scumbag like her would get her just due from this crowd."

"That’s right. People of Longham City are not going to stand for someone like Dacey Surestone to pollute the holy ground of a wrestling ring."

"I am telling you, they are going to boo her out of this building."

"Has it ever happened before?"

"Not in my memory. Looks like Dacey Surestone will be the first to receive such treatment from the fans."

"I can’t wait to see her booed out of this building."

"This is just her just desserts!"

Rob’s face blackened as he heard the commentary team join the crowd and roast Dacey over the pit.

He now realized what that niggling worry on his mind was. The lack of a heel commentator!

Heel commentators are something very vital to the show. He had seen countless moments that have been saved by them in his previous world. Whenever the crowd gets too rowdy and the performer inside the ring is overwhelmed, a heel commentator could save the moment by supporting the heel inside the ring.

This not only adds more color to the commentary, it also creates a diverse effect for the broadcast. Having a heel commentator and face commentator argue in commentary made some interesting moments for live television.

Also, the heel commentator by role supports the heels. This mitigated fans’ hatred for the heels in general and also provided a brand new point of view for the fans to see from the heel’s perspective.

It added more entertainment elements to the show. Which, in turn, helped the ratings for the show. Countless instances of JR and Jerry "The King" Lawler arguing in commentary flashed past Rob’s mind.

However, there was nothing to be done regarding this. After all, this world didn’t even have the concept of heels before he introduced it. So, it was only natural that the role of heel commentator was also absent.

And if he was being objective, he would also appreciate what the commentary duo was doing down there. They were saving the broadcast at this moment. With Dacey frozen, their antics in the commentary were helping in keeping the viewers glued to the screen.

However, it wasn’t helping the actual situation with Dacey one bit. And, it made Rob feel more and more pressured sitting and watching the fiasco happen right in front of his eyes.

Beside him, Robin was shaking his head in disappointment. Rob knew that Robin would pin this fiasco on both him and Dacey when the show ends. This would hurt his credibility a lot in the upcoming months.

Mr. Gibson also looked as if he lost hope in Rob’s ideas. The crowd’s reaction was really severe and Rob knew that if something didn’t happen in the next few moments, both he and Dacey would have a severe black mark on their career due to this.

This agitated him a lot. He didn’t know how to help Dacey from here. If he was in the ring, he could try to salvage the situation using some well-used heel tactics. If Dacey had enough presence of mind, she could do it too.

He had provided her with enough tips to tackle the current situation. All she needed was to get in the proper mindset and then she would be able to deal with the volatile crowd easily.

However, it was easier said than done.

Just as Rob was beginning to despair, he heard the chants from the crowd.

"Why, Dacey Why!?"

"Why, Dacey Why!?"

"Why, Dacey Why!?"

In the beginning, it was sporadic. Only the LWC personnel present in the audience were chanting it. But, somehow, the chant picked up steam very quickly. Soon, the entire arena was chanting the same thing.

As that was the question many in the crowd had, it was easier sentiment to latch on to. Add that with the knock-on effect from the crowd, and the chant soon spread like a wildfire with the entire arena chanting it.

"Yeah! Why Dacey Why!? Why would you do such a heinous act?"

"Look at her, looking tongue-tied. I tell you, she has no answer to this crowd’s question."

Just then, Dacey spoke into the microphone causing the entire crowd to turn silent.

"You wanna know why?"

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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You can also check out my other book <Demon Immortal> and see if it is to your liking.

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