Booking Glory-Chapter 46: A Change In Schedule

"Mark, are you sure you want to do this?" Robin asked his brows furrowed.

"Robin, I am sure. This is not much of a change from what we were planning to do initially. I have thought long and hard about this. I needed a change. And after seeing the kind of response the women’s division is having, I think I needed to a little bit more edge to my character out there," Mark said solemnly.

"But..."

"I know what you are worried about. I have already had a talk with Marshall. He is fine with this. In fact, this benefits him more than me. He needed some traction in LWC. My new change will provide him with that," Mark looked Robin in the eye and said seriously.

"Ok, ok, if Marshall is fine with it, I have no problems," Robin said a little uneasily.

"Robin, we can’t keep losing the crowd to the women’s division. LWC has always been dominated by the men’s division. And I will not allow it to change under my watch," Mark said assuaging Robin a bit.

"I have been making note of what is happening. And I feel the key to Rob Williams’ booking is that he stokes the edgier side of the crowd. If we can do that and still maintain the traditional booking methods, we will get more response than him," Mark said clapping Robin’s back.

"Hmmm, you may have a point there. And you are right; Marshall hasn’t gotten the traction we expected when he joined. So, we need to step things up a bit," Robin relented with a sigh.

"That’s exactly what I thought. You told me I will be in a program with veterans for the next three or four PPVs. So, I thought about how to make it more edgy. And bam! This option opened up to me. It will also give me a nickname of sorts, right?" Mark said further trying to win over Robin.

Robin merely nodded in reply.

"So, how did you come up with this idea? Had any help on that front?" Robin asked nonchalantly after a while.

"Nah, didn’t have much help from others. Talked to Dacey and Diana a bit and formed up this idea based on what they were doing," Mark said shrugging.

"I heard you were talking to Rob Williams last week?" Robin asked arching his eyebrows.

"Pfft," Mark guffawed. "Don’t talk to me about that loser. I only took him to grab a beer. He was such a green boy. He started spilling all his tricks after a single night of hanging out. The plan I already had in my mind only got perfected after listening to him whine for an hour."

Mark said shaking his head. Robin smiled upon hearing that.

"So, what do you think about him?" Robin asked.

"Nothing much, he has some strange ideas. But thinks that alone would be enough to see him rise. Kind of naïve, in my opinion. Who here doesn’t have ideas aplenty?"

Robin nodded smiling.

"Once people catch up to his ideas, he will be no longer useful. You should take note of his style, Robin. It might come in handy for you sometime," Mark said patting Robin’s back.

"I will," Robin nodded a little relieved. "You do what you need to do. I want the match between you and Marshall to become a marque match. It should overshadow the match between Dacey and Diana."

"It will be hard; we will be at either end of the spectrum. Theirs in the opening slot, and mine at the main event. So, not much of an overlap. I can assure you that the main event will be satisfying to watch."

"That’s enough for me. I am facing more and more pressure. So, I will need your help to combat that." Robin said patting Mark’s shoulders.

"Don’t worry, we are old friends," Mark said smiling.

"Fine, just make sure you don’t get on the bad side of Marshall. He is really unpleasant to deal with. He will only be here for a month or two. So, don’t antagonize him in that time."

"Aren’t you going to offer him a contract extension?" Mark asked curiously.

"I was planning to, but his merchandise sales haven’t been that great. If it improves by the time we are done with <Last Stand>, I might offer him one," Robin said a little unhappily.

"Make sure you tell him that. I am sure he made a lucrative deal with LWC when he signed on. If he extends that, he will be able to get a good paycheck," Mark chuckled.

"I can’t say that to him, Mark," Robin smiled. "I am an LWC official. I need to look out for the company’s welfare."

"Come on, Robin. We have been friends for long. Don’t pull that crap with me. Fine, if you can’t do it, I will do it myself. After all, as the champion it is my duty to encourage wrestlers to give their best, isn’t it?" Mark said smiling.

Robin merely smiled but didn’t reply.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask you a favor," Mark said looking around furtively.

Robin glanced around and saw no one.

"I want to reschedule our segment to the opening act. I don’t want to be in the main event tonight," Mark whispered in Robin’s ears.

"You sure," Robin asked furrowing his brows. "If I am not wrong, Dacey and Diana are scheduled to open tonight."

"Exactly," Mark stressed. "Don’t take this wrong, they both are hot right now. The crowd simply loves them. Whatever they put out, will have an impact on the follow-up segments. And when I talked to Rob last week, he said he had something special planned for tonight."

Robin frowned as he listened to Mark’s statements. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Whatever it is, I don’t want to get caught up in its impact and lose my momentum. I need to make an impact tonight. And following up on that would not be much good," Mark whispered hesitantly. "But, if schedules change... if you can catch my drift?"

Mark wagged his eyebrows suggestively. Robin looked thoughtful hearing Mark’s words.

"I will see what I can do," Robin said at last looking up at Mark speculatively. "It would be better if you can inform Marshall as well."

"Don’t worry, I will handle Marshall. He will see the advantage in my idea as well," Mark answered confidently.

Robin merely nodded at that.

"Mark, I have a piece of good news for you. Breeze TV is now keen on renewing the contract. And they might even offer some endorsement opportunities or small roles if they are pleased with someone’s performance."

"I haven’t told anyone about this. Make sure you grab hold to this and put out a great performance. Don’t muck it up during this time," Robin said looking seriously into Mark’s eyes.

Mark nodded solemnly.

"I understand what you are saying. If I can transition into a TV star, it will be a big leap in my career as well. Don’t worry, I will not muck it up," Mark said sincerely.

"Good, then I hope you surprise everyone out there tonight," Robin patted Mark’s back and moved away.

Mark watched him go with a secretive smile on his face.

*****

"Robin, you can’t be serious!!!" Rob said in exasperation.

He, Robin, and Mr. Gibson were currently in a conference room. They had mere hours to go live and Robin was now suggesting a change in the schedule. It would muck up a lot of plans.

"Hear me out, Rob," Robin said patiently looking at them both. "According to the market analysis I just got back, the most awaited segment for tonight is the Dacey-Diana confrontation."

"That means, a lot of people will be watching the show to see them face off. And, if we go as per the original schedule, we will have them as the opening act. That is like giving away the advantage we have worked for weeks."

"I suggest, let’s put them in the main event. It will keep the viewers hooked to the TV for the entire show. If we put over the upcoming segment a bit on commentary occasionally, people will not tune in to other channels and be on our channel. We will also be able to give a good platform for the women."

"Consider this an appreciation from us for the great efforts you and the women have put in for the last few weeks. You have done what you promised, it is time LWC paid back. Think of this, the first time ever women main-eventing a show in LWC. That alone has a good hype value," Mr. Gibson stated from the side.

"You agree with this change?" Rob asked surprised.

He had thought that Robin was just proposing the change now. But, it was obvious he had already got Mr. Gibson on board before informing him. It made him feel a little uncomfortable.

"Obviously, it will keep the ratings high and it will also provide a big platform for them to perform in. It will increase the interest in their match as well and we will be able to sell more tickets. You do realize that <Last Stand> is just two weeks away right?" Mr. Gibson asked in return.

"Yeah, I understand, but..."

"No buts, Rob. You need to learn to adapt to the situation. We feel that it is the right time to build this match to the next level. And we are providing that platform to you. All you need is to use the opportunity to the fullest and generate enough interest in the match and sell tickets," Robin stated from the side causing Rob to turn to look towards him.

It was clear that both Mr. Gibson and Robin had already decided. They were merely informing him, not asking for his opinion. Rob felt a little uncomfortable. The change in the schedule didn’t bother him, the manner it was done was what bothered him.

Even if he was the one in charge of the women’s division, it looked as if his opinion didn’t matter here. They were merely informing him of their decision and expecting him to carry it out.

Rob knew no amount of argument could sway these two men. Rob had prepared the segment based on being an opening slot. But, if it was the main event slot, then he needed to change it dramatically.

You need to put out different kinds of segments on different spots. What may work in the opening slot, might not work in the main event. There were a lot of differences between the two spots.

But, before that, he needed to know what he had to work with. As the segment was going to be the main event, the timing of the segment and its importance to it will also differ. He needed to know the basics to plan better.

"Fine, but, if we are putting them in the main event, how long will they have to work with?" Rob asked them.

"The main event cannot be short, it would need to go at least 20 mins straight," Robin stated unequivocally.

"20 mins, but the segment I prepared was only for 15 mins. If we add 5 mins of showtime suddenly, we need to change a lot of the content as well," Rob said frowning.

"That is your job as a booker, Rob," Robin said promptly shutting up any argument that Rob could come up with. "Make sure they are ready for it. Consider this a test as well, we need to see if the women’s division is capable of carrying the main event segment."

Mr. Gibson merely nodded from the side. It was clear to Rob that Mr. Gibson’s attention was all on the potential rating boost. To Mr. Gibson, ratings are the only things that mattered these days.

He couldn’t fault Mr. Gibson either. With Breeze TV’s deal hanging over LWC’s head, it was only natural that Mr. Gibson was worried about it. This deal would be the deciding factor between LWC remaining afloat and sinking. So, it obviously had more of Mr. Gibson’s attention.

Rob let out a sigh.

"This will disrupt my plan a lot, I will need to discuss with the wrestlers and see what can be added to their segment," Rob said massaging his brows.

"See to that it is done, and good luck," Robin smiled a little and patted Rob on the back.

Seeing this, Mr. Gibson beamed and patted Rob’s back as well, before the duo left. Rob couldn’t help but frown at this sudden disruption to his plans. He would have to go over the entire content and see how to change it.

If he put everything in at tonight’s segment, then he would have nothing for next week’s and would be forced to put out a lame go-home segment right before PPV. It would stem the momentum that had been building for weeks.

Rob was now in a pickle. He needed to either find a new angle or make sure that tonight has enough content while also keeping something in reserve. And he was also supposed to be on commentary soon.

He really didn’t have enough time for this.

*****

<October 2, Longham Wrestling Arena, Longham City>

"Hello folks, welcome to yet another weekly television of pro wrestling extravaganza. We are joining you live from Longham City. And this week’s edition of <Fyre> is promising to live up to the standard set by last week’s show."

"Joining me on the commentary table are Rob Williams and Dallas Moonbyte. We have a truly outstanding line-up waiting for you tonight," Irvin spoke his usual spiel welcoming everyone to the show.

"After what happened last week, Dacey Surestone and Diana Wharton will come face to face inside the ring tonight in our main event. For the first time ever, two women will be main eventing an LWC show," Dallas said hyping up the confrontation.

"Let me tell you, folks, there is bad blood between these two. And after Dacey’s actions in the past few weeks, Diana will be out for blood tonight," Dallas continued hyping the segment.

"Bad blood or not, Diana Wharton chose the wrong person to pick on. The Goddess isn’t afraid of anyone. If Diana isn’t careful, it would be her blood that will be pooling on that mat, right there," Rob chipped in with his heel gimmick commentary.

"Before we get there, ladies and gentlemen, we have yet another clash of monumental proportions waiting for us tonight. The current LWC World Champion, Mark Weather, has some words for Marshall "The Headsmasher" Jones," Irvin piped in.

"I am not surprised, their team-up last night didn’t exactly end on a good note. They lost the match due to flaring egos and the champion was pinned right in the middle of the ring because of their irrevocable differences," Dallas said explaining the situation a bit.

"Like I said, Jones was just a deadweight for Mark Weathers throughout the match. He didn’t pull his own weight properly, and as a result, the champion got pinned clean in the middle of the ring," Rob snorted from the side.

"Whatever it may be Rob, we don’t need to wait for it for long. In fact, it begins now," Irvin said.

Just as Irvin’s speech ended, the music of Mark Weathers started playing...

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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