Booking Glory-Chapter 48: It’s Your Fault!

The moment Rob heard the crowd’s reaction to Diana’s music he knew that this segment was going to be epic. The crowd was truly invested in the segment. It was one of the most important ingredients in creating something great. And having it present, Rob knew that if the performers did good, this segment was going to be epic.

Rob watched as Diana made her usual way into the ring. Diana had been out for over three weeks. And last week she had merely rushed into the ring to save Joselyn. So, her entrance took some time as she pandered to the crowd and played up to them.

Diana slowly made her way into the ring and got a microphone in her hands. She looked around at everyone present with a small smile on her face. The crowd absolutely adored her as they started chanting Diana! Diana! Diana!

Diana took it in good grace and she posed a bit with her championship before clearing her throat. The crowd went silent waiting eagerly to hear her speak. They know that there must be something important for her to be in the main event.

"When I came out here last time, I wanted to prove myself as a fighting champion. And to that effect, I challenged the entire locker room backstage. And I wasn’t disappointed. There indeed were a few takers, and boy, oh boy, didn’t we go on to make history!!!"

The crowd roared in approval.

"Whether it was Evelyn or Selena, they brought their A-game to <Break Out>. They gave me one hell of a fight. But... But, in the end, I prevailed. Even with the odds stacked against me. Even with less than one-third of a shot at success. Even with facing two opponents instead of one. Even with being considered as an underdog heading into that match... I prevailed."

The crowd once more started chanting Diana! Diana! Diana! Diana rode out the chant with a smile on her face and gracefully acknowledged the crowd by raising her championship belt.

"I prevailed..." Diana shouted. "I prevailed the war with two of the absolute best this business had to offer. I beat the odds and stood at the end of the match as still the LWC Women’s Champion!!!!"

The crowd was truly riled up by now.

"Me, Evelyn, and Selena, we all put our bodies on the line. Went to war. Tore up each other. And goddamnit we made fucking history," Diana said impassionedly causing the crowd to cheer.

"And then what happened? Dacey Surestone happened..." Diana said scowling at the crowd.

The crowd booed loudly letting their opinion out.

"Dacey Surestone attacked me from behind and took me out. She made me get 14 stitches right across my head. She put me out of action for three weeks..." Diana said softly into her mic.

Diana’s tone modulation was perfect at this moment. The crowd ate it up like it was a delicious meal. They were entirely behind Diana at this moment.

"I know you are all eager to see Dacey get what she deserves. I know you are all eager for me to get my hands on her. I know you are all eager for me to confront her. But, I say, not yet..."

The crowd mumbled in confusion hearing Diana’s words.

"Now, no one would begrudge if I were to go after Dacey after what she did to me. Trust me, there is still a lot of unfinished business between me and Dacey. But... but... before that, I want someone else out there. Someone, who owes me an explanation! Someone, who owes everyone in the back an explanation! Someone who owes each and every one of you here an explanation... Andrew Gibson!"

The crowd was truly confused at this point. They didn’t expect Diana to go after Andrew Gibson instead of Dacey Surestone. Before they could wrap it around their head, Diana started calling out Andrew Gibson.

"Andy, I know you are out there. I know you are listening from the back. I want you to come out here and give me an explanation. Trust me, Andy, you won’t like it if I had to head back there and find you."

The crowd started mumbling now. They all knew Andrew Gibson. He was the owner of LWC and he was the person in-charge in LWC. No one expected Diana to call out Andrew Gibson like this on live TV.

Silence emanated as Diana waited for Andrew Gibson to emerge from the back. She waited patiently inside the ring for a minute or so. Meanwhile, the crowd’s whispers were increasing in intensity.

They were expecting a confrontation between Dacey and Diana. But, Diana was now calling out Andrew Gibson, the owner of LWC. This change of events both excited and intrigued them.

"You know what Andy, we don’t have time for this. I am coming back there now and I will get my answers out of you one way or another..." Diana stated and threw the microphone down.

She started walking towards the ropes and the crowd realized that Diana was serious about getting answers. Just as she was exiting the ring, Andrew Gibson appeared at the entranceway.

Diana slowed down and backed into the ring. She stood there in the center waiting for Andrew Gibson to come in. Andrew Gibson looked panicked as he made his way to the ring. He looked decidedly uncomfortable to be confronted like this.

The crowd started whispering seeing Andrew Gibson look uncomfortable. They didn’t know why Diana was picking on Andrew Gibson, but they understood there was a story behind it. And seeing Andrew Gibson’s panicked form only confirmed their thoughts.

Andrew Gibson stepped into the ring and started speaking without a microphone. It looked like he wanted to calm down Diana and bring her backstage for a private talk. The crowd didn’t like that one bit. They started booing.

However, luckily for the crowd, Diana wasn’t having it either. She directly spoke into the microphone and put Andrew Gibson on the spot.

"No Andy, the time for dealing behind closed doors is long past. And it is now time to lay this out in the open. But, before I start, I want to say this. Andy, I respect you a lot. You are one of the few figures in this industry that has more than earned that respect from me."

"You have built this company and given these fans what they needed. You have given opportunities for wrestlers like me to shine and make a name for ourselves. You have given us a goal and helped us fight for it. You are a man, unlike many others. For that, you will always have my respect."

The crowd started cheering for Andrew Gibson as he grimaced and smiled at them as Diana extolled his virtues.

"Not just that, personally, you have helped me out a lot too. When I came out here looking to etch my name in the annals of history as a fighting champion, it was you who came up with a way and gave me an opportunity. Because of you, I am now, the one and only person to win a Triple Threat Match in the entire history of wrestling," Diana said causing the crowd to erupt once more.

"You gave me a shot at fulfilling my wish. You gave me a shot at creating history. You gave all the women out back a shot at making an impact. And I respect you for that..." Diana said pausing.

The crowd roared in approval at Diana’s words. But, their roars quieted upon hearing her next words.

"But, it is what happened after that... that is where my gripe with you is. You gave us a chance at creating history and someone else smudged that historic moment by stamping all over it. And you, Andy, have a very close connection with that someone."

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about Dacey Surestone. For those of you who don’t know, Mr. Andrew Gibson here is the mentor and coach of Dacey Surestone. You could even say that Dacey Surestone is his protégé..."

Diana’s words were like throwing a bomb in the crowd. It went off causing countless whispers and the looks toward Andrew Gibson became decidedly unfriendly by the moment. The crowd was looking at Andrew Gibson accusingly by now. They started booing harshly towards him.

"Look, I don’t know whether you had anything to do with that. I don’t know whether to trust you now. And the respect I have for you is dwindling quite rapidly for every second you stand there trying to calm me down. I want answers, Andy. And I want them now. Tell me, god damn it, tell me you had nothing to do with it," Diana hissed causing the crowd to boo loudly.

"Look, Diana," Andrew Gibson spoke after a while causing the crowd to silence themselves. "Look, I promise you, I had nothing to do with it. It is true that I was the one who trained Dacey. It is true that I was the one who mentored her. However, I had nothing to do with her latest actions."

The crowd booed as if they didn’t believe Andrew Gibson’s words. Andrew Gibson looked around agitatedly and turned towards Diana.

"I swear, I swear on my heart, I had nothing to do with it. I didn’t even know she was going to be in at <Break Out>. And I definitely didn’t know what she had planned to do," Andrew Gibson stressed again.

Diana looked doubtful. The crowd was also doubtful. They didn’t seem to trust Andrew Gibson much.

"Say..." Diana dragged her words a little looking around and shaking her head. "Say, I believe you for now. Then, my next question is, why hasn’t LWC taken any action against Dacey Surestone until now? For God’s sake, Andy, she just tried to end the career of another wrestler just last week!"

Diana asked the one question many in the crowd were having but never thought to ask out loud. While those who were in the business or those who knew about the workings of a wrestling promotion knew that it was all a work, those watching at home and hardcore fans who believed everything was real didn’t really understand why Dacey was allowed to roam around.

Andrew Gibson licked his lips and looked a little unsettled. He tried to talk away from the microphone but Diana was having none of it. He looked around and saw the crowd booing him.

"Well, that’s the thing," Andrew Gibson said looking around uncomfortably. "What Dacey did, I mean, what Dacey did is not exactly wrong..." the crowd started booing hard upon hearing that statement. Diana looked pissed hearing it.

"You are kidding me, right? You are telling me that there isn’t anything wrong with how Dacey Surestone attacked me?" Diana screamed in Andrew Gibson’s face.

"Look, look, Diana, calm down! I am not telling what she did was right. I am not telling what she did wasn’t wrong... from an ethical standpoint. However, legally... legally, Dacey Surestone didn’t do anything wrong. Due to that, LWC can’t take any action against her..." Andrew Gibson said slowly causing the crowd to boo loudly.

Diana looked exasperated and she started shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe the words coming out of Andrew Gibson’s mouth. She looked at Andrew Gibson in disappointment as the crowd started booing loudly.

"Look, Diana, I understand your anger. I understand everyone’s anger out here. I understand where you all are coming from. In fact, as her mentor and trainer, even I am not impressed by her actions. I have been trying to talk some sense into her and ask her to apologize..."

"...its just that she isn’t answering my calls. And whenever she speaks to me, it is through her lawyer. Even during that debacle with the T-shirt, she never met me directly. She is only using her lawyers to get in touch with me."

Andrew Gibson said helplessly as he tried to explain his predicament. Diana looked so done with this situation and was almost on the verge of walking out. She started shaking her head as Andrew Gibson tried to talk to her out of the mic. The crowd was booing hard by now.

As if to add fuel to the fire, Dacey’s music hit and she emerged from the curtain with an unreadable look on her face. There wasn’t any swagger to her walk. She was looking directly at Andrew Gibson as she emerged and she was holding a microphone in her hands.

The boos started increasing in volume, but Dacey didn’t look like she minded it one bit. She walked purposefully towards the ring. However, she stopped halfway down the ramp and spoke into the mic.

"You aren’t impressed with my actions?" Dacey asked with obvious venom in her voice that sent the crowd into silence. "You aren’t impressed with my actions?" Dacey modulated her tone to sound as if she was actually surprised by the audacity of that statement. "You have got to be kidding me, Andy. You, of all people, have the balls to come out here and point fingers at me."

Dacey hissed with venom causing Andrew Gibson to look up in surprise. He looked flabbergasted by how Dacey was behaving toward him. He looked around in confusion to see everyone was looking at him and Dacey now.

Everyone in the arena could sense a storm coming. Even Diana wisely stepped back allowing the mentor and mentee to face each other.

"You know, it is funny that you of all people actually stand there and act disappointed in me," Dacey spoke to the stunned Andrew Gibson as she slowly walked towards the ring. "If anything, it is me that has the right to be disappointed with how you have been acting for the past year. And even then, I didn’t come out here in the open and air your dirty laundry, did I?"

Dacey spoke venomously as she walked up the steps. Her eyes never left Andrew Gibson. She didn’t even spare Diana a glance. All her attention was focused on Andrew Gibson at the moment.

The crowd was eating this drama up. They waited silently to hear what Dacey had to say. They were eager to hear more about this situation. Dacey had been refusing to speak about it for weeks and now someone has pried open her mouth and the crowd was eager to listen to it.

"No, no, no... It is you that have disappointed me for a long time. It is you that abandoned me for a long time. It is you that turned your back on me," Dacey hissed stepping into the ring.

"Dacey, I have been trying to contact you the entire month. You never got back to me," Andrew Gibson said in an anguished tone. "I really don’t want to do this here in front of all these people. But, you have left me no choice. You never answered my calls and now here we both are..."

Andrew Gibson stated, throwing his hands in the air.

"Oh, now you call me? Now you try to be in touch with me? I am supposed to be your protégé right? When was the last time you took time out of your busy schedule to talk to me and listen to me before this month?"

Dacey shot back angrily causing Andrew Gibson to look dumbfounded.

"In fact, this is all your fault. You abandoned me. And I had to figure out a way for myself. And now that I have figured out a way for me, you come here spouting your bullshit about how this isn’t right or that isn’t right."

Dacey spoke angrily getting in Andrew Gibson’s face.

The crowd and Diana looked on stunned as a true emotional drama seemed to enact itself inside the ring. Dacey looked as if she was on the verge of a breakdown and Andrew Gibson looked flummoxed by everything that Dacey was saying.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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