Booking Glory-Chapter 34: Debut on Live TV - Part 2
"I have to say you have some guts to walk around in front of me..." Evelyn hissed. "...after you got pinned and cost me my chance at making history," Evelyn said getting into Selena’s face.
Selena didn’t back down but stared back at her.
"You know, if I were you, I would pack my bags and get lost. Because, I am this close to snapping and beating the shit out of you for causing me to lose out on an opportunity to make history," Evelyn spat angrily.
"Ah, Evelyn, it wasn’t just me who lost on <Break Out>. You lost too," Selena replied cooly with a smile.
"I didn’t get pinned..."
"But, you lost. You see, that’s the beauty of the Triple Threat Match. You don’t need to get pinned or submitted. And you won’t be taking on one opponent either. Just like it happened to me. It took both you and Diana to take me out. If it was one on one, I would whoop both your asses anytime anywhere."
"Tch," Evelyn snorted. "Yeah right! Let me make one thing clear to you bitch," Evelyn got into Selena’s face. "If it were one on one, I would break you in half."
"And I can drop you to the ground with a single punch," Selena retorted not backing down.
By now, both of them were very close to each other. Their eyes were on fire and they were staring at each other angrily.
"Just like I did the last time you ran your mouth at me," Selena added posturing with her arm.
Evelyn looked as if she wanted to go right there. But, she smirked taking a step back and looking at Selena sardonically.
"You are just a loser. I don’t have time to waste on you," Evelyn shook her head.
"What’s the matter bitch? Afraid I will drop you once more?" Selena taunted.
"I ain’t no coward, you sleazy little bitch. It was you who butted in my business with Diana. It was you who intruded and put yourself in that match. It was you who lost the match and caused me my shot at history," Evelyn said pointing and pressing her finger on Selena’s face.
Selena angrily batted Evelyn’s arm away and looked at her angrily.
"You know what, I am tired of your bullshit. Let’s end it once and for all. Next week, you and me. One-on-one. In the middle of the ring," Evelyn said pointing at the camera while staring down Selena.
"You are on bitch," Selena shot back. "I am gonna drop you like a sack of potatoes. And when I am done with you. I am going to go ahead and find Diana."
"You are dreaming," Evelyn snorted and walked out of frame.
Selena watched her go with fire in her eyes.
The titantron slowly faded to black. The crowd who had been silent till now began to discuss animatedly what they had heard just now.
"Wow, that was intense," Dallas plugged in on commentary.
"I admit, it was indeed intense Dallas. Both Evelyn and Selena look like they have some unfinished business and they want to settle them in the ring, next week," Irvin announced.
"Indeed, there is some bad blood between those two," Rob agreed. "But, I am afraid that Selena has bitten off more than she could chew."
"So, you don’t fancy her chances?" Irvin asked.
"Did you look at Evelyn there? She was fuming. She was right though. It was Selena who got pinned on <Break Out>. Evelyn should not be dealing with a loser like Selena now. She should be concentrating on looking forward," Rob said disharmoniously.
"It was a Triple Threat Match. Anyone could have gotten pinned. And it took both Evelyn and Diana to take down Selena," Dallas chimed in from the other side.
"All I am hearing is excuses Dallas. She got pinned clean in the middle of the ring. One, two, three, boom. There you go! Now she is back there making excuses for her defeat," Rob said displeased.
"It could have been Evelyn as well. You have to admit, it was a pretty close match all around. All three of them were close to getting pinned throughout the match. But, it was Diana who emerged victorious due to her grit, determination, and experience," Dallas said in reply.
"I think you are giving Diana way more credit than she deserves Dallas. She was just lucky that time. In fact, she actually stole Evelyn’s hard work at the last moment," Rob said shaking his head.
"You can’t say that Rob," Irvin cut in smoothly, "that was the nature of the match. There were multiple times either Evelyn or Selena spoiled Diana’s hard work as well throughout that match."
"Excuses, Irvin. All I am hearing is excuses!" Rob said adamantly.
"Well, let’s leave that aside for now. The first match of the night is going to begin and we haven’t seen her perform in a long while now."
Alanna’s music hit and she came out with her new look. It wasn’t exactly Lucha style with mask and stuff, but she had designed it too like a happy-go-lucky girl. So, the colors were all bright and she had a big smile on her face.
Rob immediately pounced on that.
"What is she wearing?" Rob asked outraged. "This is an outrage Irvin, I am telling you. Did she think she is at some party? Look at her smiling and waving to these morons like a high schooler."
"Well, I for one think her new look suits her," Dallas chimed in from the other side.
"No one asked your opinion Dallas. I don’t take fashion advice from someone who is wearing such a stupid T-shirt," Rob argued back with venom. "Your opinions are becoming more and more irrelevant these days. No wonder LWC had to hire me."
"Keep talking kid," Dallas said menacingly. "When I get my hands on you, you won’t be doing any more talking. Enjoy it while it lasts."
"I can run circles around you, old man. Unlike you, I am young and spry. And I won’t stop to take a breather every 100 meters," Rob said grinning ear to ear as he knew the camera was now on Alanna.
Dallas shot him an unimpressed stare.
"Guys, guys, let’s all calm down and do our job here," Irvin piped in as the voice of reason as usual. "Dallas, what do you think about Alanna’s new change?"
"As I said, it suits her. Until now, I always felt that something was missing from her. Looking at her now, I now know what it is. I am sure such a change can only be inspired by a change in mentality."
"And you think this would help her?"
"Definitely, for wrestlers mindset is always important. Before you come out here, you need to be in the proper mindset first. Until now, that has been lacking in Alanna. Now, she doesn’t have to worry about presenting what was surely not her to the people. She can now concentrate on just wrestling and being the best version she could be."
"Rob, I can see you making faces over there. From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like you are a huge fan of Alanna’s new makeover," Irvin shifted the topic to Rob,
"Correction, Irvin. Not just her change. I never liked her. She can change how she dresses and the way she walks, but at the end of the day, she is still her. And when that bell rings, you will know what I have known all along that she doesn’t have that decisive it factor," Rob said mercilessly.
He was being partially truthful here. Unless Alanna’s character became something huge like Bayley’s hugger version, he didn’t see her bringing the crowd into the arena. That would mean that she would never be the top dog in the women’s division.
"Well, that was a really different perspective from Dallas’s normal ones," Irvin jibed as the next competitor came out.
Joselyn Rivers made her first appearance on national TV to a lukewarm response. She was tall and had a strong figure. While she didn’t look like a power-type wrestler like Fiona, it was very evident that she had strength in her body.
Being her debut, she was obviously nervous. But, she held it together admirably as she waved at the crowd and made her way into the ring. Rob nodded seeing her not making any major mistakes.
"This is Joselyn Rivers from Break Island, Sommerville. She has been training for over a year and now she has had her dream come true. In her very first match, she is going to wrestle a brand new Alanna Spears. Can she overcome the odds and cinch the victory? We will see," Irvin introduced Joselyn next to Rob.
"Well Dallas, Rob, who do you think will win this match?" Irvin asked as the two wrestlers squared off.
"My money is on Alanna. While her attire may be new, she is definitely not a newbie like Joselyn. She has an abundance of experience which is something Joselyn doesn’t have. And I am sure it will play a decisive factor in the match," Dallas said as the two women circled around each other trying to get a feel inside the ring.
"I am gonna go with Joselyn, Irvin. She has what not many people have. A hunger. A hunger to win. Look at her eyes, they are hungry. This may be her debut, but I am sure Joselyn is going to do everything in her power to go home with a W," Rob said.
"Interesting take, Rob. We will see how things turn out. They start off with a collar and elbow tie-up after circling each other a few times and Joselyn overpowers Alanna easily," Irvin began his play-by-play commentary. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Words were exchanged and it looks like Joselyn is talking trash to Alanna. They lock back in, and this time Alanna does the smart thing and kicks Joselyn’s knee. Alanna moves in with some hard hits to Joselyn’s abdominal region."
The match progressed with both wrestlers taking time to let the other person shine a bit, before cutting the momentum off. There was good back and forth for a bit as they exchanged counters to each other’s move which had the crowd invested in it a bit.
As an opener, this match was good. It didn’t bore people and it didn’t drag for too long. Alanna shined while executing those Lucha-style counters that had the crowd roaring in appreciation for a bit.
Then Joselyn would use her power to break Alanna’s momentum and take control of the match. Some of her shots were stiff, but Alanna took it gamely. She sold them well putting over Joselyn’s power.
Joselyn dominated the middle section of the match as she started working over Alanna’s body. She showcased her wrestling skills a bit. And the final moments of the match were all Alanna.
It began with Alanna countering a powerbomb attempt with a hurrincarana. She worked the crowd a bit and followed up with some rope moves. In the end, she did a modified Slice-Bread and finished off by going to the top rope.
Alanna’s Moonsault was really a thing of beauty and she executed it perfectly. The crowd really appreciated her effort and when she won by pinning Joselyn, the crowd was happy.
"Well, what did I say, see Alanna’s the one with the win," Dallas needled at the end of the match.
"She got lucky there. If Joselyn was a little bit more experienced, she would have never been there for Alanna to hit that Moonsault. She would have just rolled out of the way and let her crash and burn," Rob shot back immediately.
"As I said, experience matters folks. In this sport, it is the experience that counts. Those split-second decisions can be the difference between a win and loss," Dallas said addressing the crowd at home.
"Not for long, once Joselyn’s got some matches under her belt, she will be a force to reckon with," Rob addressed the people with his own take leading to two different points of view.
"Regardless, Alanna picks up the win. Like Dallas said, the new change in mindset is helping her out a lot and I am sure she would like to ride this momentum for as long as possible," Irvin rounded out the segment by addressing the crowd.
By now, both the wrestlers had vacated the ring and a small gap was left in programming to let the crowd settle down a bit.
The show moved on and the other wrestlers came out to perform following that match. Now that he didn’t have to watch very attentively, Rob gradually got into the role of a color commentator.
He and Dallas squabbled like an old married couple leading to some very hilarious moments. Their exchanges were barbed, with vicious insults coming out of their mouths, but never crossing that metaphorical line.
Meanwhile, Irvin performed his duty as the play-by-play commentator and occasionally rounded out their spats. Just when it looked like the verbal argument would escalate to the physical level, Irvin would pipe in and change the topic.
There were some occasions when Rob went on and on about how stupid a certain wrestler was behaving. He derided any form of fan interaction and tried to urge the wrestlers to not pay attention to fans.
He also criticized showboating and shot some very unpleasant remarks about the crowd throughout the show. The commentary table never earned as boos as it was earning before this.
In this way, the show moved gradually to half-time.
The next segment was Dacey’s promo. Rob hoped that Dacey didn’t get stuck this time as well. While he and Dallas could make it look good, it was imperative that Dacey cut a very scathing promo on the T-shirt tonight.
There were several plans to push merchandise based on that promo and neither Dacey nor LWC can afford a fuck up like last week. So, Rob was really worried by the time Dacey’s segment came around.
He knew if Dacey once more struggled, Robin would push that his booking idea was totally untenable and would try to shut it down. With no prior example, the idea would be considered too risky for others as well.
While LWC can generate audience reaction with this booking, the integral part was the wrestler’s performance. For a moment sitting there, Rob wondered whether he chose the wrong person to carry forward his idea.
As Rob was mulling about the possible consequences of another botched segment, Dacey’s new music hit, silencing the crowd for a moment. The crowd went silent for a bit and the next moment they erupted in a frenzy.
Dallas took off his headphones and looked at Rob.
"Kid, I have never seen the crowd react like this for a person who isn’t a top star. If she can handle this, we will have a top draw on our hands," Dallas said seriously causing Rob to lick his lips. "If she can’t, we need to cut her off TV for a long while. We can’t have the crowd reacting this way for a long time. People will start to genuinely hate her if she can’t deliver."
At that moment, Rob knew that this segment would determine the fate of his idea. This was the make-or-break moment and Rob knew exactly how to steer this away. He didn’t reply to Dallas, he turned and looked at the monitor and prepared for his role seriously.
*****
A/N: Hey folks!
Make sure to add this book to your collection and vote with your power stones to show your appreciation for this work.
You can also check out my other book [Demon Immortal] and see if it is to your liking.
Reviews and comments are truly appreciated.
