Booking Glory-Chapter 58: Rob’s Reluctance

Rob closely watched his bosses agonize over how to take the next step forward without damaging the foundation they have built till now. After a long while, Mr. Gibson opened his eyes and looked at Robin...

"If that is the case, we will see how <Last Stand> goes and check with Breeze TV on how they stand. I need this TV deal to be extended. We will accommodate them as much as we can without compromising our core values," Mr. Gibson said with a tired sigh.

"Then, you will have to be prepared to bring in some famous wrestlers. They will be the lynchpin for the negotiation. I am not saying this to scare you, Andy, but this is the truth. We need Breeze TV, they don’t need us. They can just offer the same contract to any other mid-tier promotion and they will happily sign it," Robin said warningly.

"I understand," Mr. Gibson said closing his eyes.

"Then, I can assure you that I can talk them into signing an extension sooner. It is a good thing that tickets for <Last Stand> have sold out already. And we need to be prepared to book a new venue as well. Whether we sign the TV deal or not, we need to put the next PPV in a bigger venue."

"I have been thinking about it as well. The other bigger venues in Longham City are too big for us to fill in confidently. Right now, LWC Arena can seat 1500 people. If we squeeze in, we can do 200 more. But, the next biggest arena has a seating capacity of 4,500. It is a big leap," Mr. Gibson said rubbing his brows.

"Even with the extreme stipulation, it will be hard to more than double our attendance rate. We need at least to sell 3.000 tickets to break even. That too because we are Longham City natives and have all the necessary equipment with us," Mr. Wolfe frowned.

"That’s nearly double our usual numbers," Rob noted a little helplessly.

"Exactly why we are leery of booking a bigger arena," Mr. Gibson grunted.

"But, we can’t continue this either. We need to come up with something," Robin said massaging his head. "If we don’t show Breeze that we are willing to improve our product, they will not be that eager to sign an extension."

"Didn’t they say if the ratings improved they will sign the extension?" Rob asked confused.

"Ratings," Robin shot an annoyed look at Rob and spoke tiredly, "are only one factor. In fact, they are the minimum threshold for them to even consider signing an extension. But, if we need to cinch it, we should provide them with proof that we can do better numbers."

"You do know that Breeze is basically doing a test run with LWC right? What they ideally want is AWF. But, AWF is contracted with The Moonlight Network. So, they are exploring other options. They chose us because of a recommendation from Steven Rush and they knew Andy has been with AWF for a long time."

"And if we don’t start delivering bigger numbers and driving more advertisers, they will pull out. Ticket sales and merchandise give nothing to them. They need ratings and advertisements. And apart from Mark, we don’t have anyone that will bring advertisers to them."

Rob patiently listened despite Robin’s tone and nodded in understanding. This was a new aspect that he hadn’t considered previously. It made him aware of how important ratings were for a TV deal. But, even if ratings are good, it is the advertisement that cinched the deal. And for that, a star is essential.

"We need to come up with something," Mr. Gibson grunted. "And we need to do it now. If not, we will be caught flatfooted later. So, I am open to listening to any ideas you three might have."

"Like I said, bringing in stars is the only way to go. Maybe one good star might be able to boost the ratings as well as put butts in seats in a bigger venue. We need to seriously look into it," Robin immediately said causing Mr. Gibson’s face to harden a little.

"Our finances can’t support it, Robin," Mr. Wolfe said massaging his head a little irritatedly. "We can’t afford a star at present. We need to come up with some other tactic."

"Then, I don’t know what else to tell you," Robin sighed. "Apart from that, I can’t think of anything else. Maybe you could as Rob if he has any of his crazy ideas would work. But, I doubt it. We need a bigger boost and for that, we need star power."

Rob merely shot an irritated glance at Robin. He didn’t reply to Robin’s barb. He knew that he shouldn’t stick his neck out at this moment. This was way above his pay grade.

Did he have ideas to turn the situation around? Yes, there were a lot of them floating around in his head. He had seen the evolution of wrestling in his previous world and all the hard-won knowledge and lessons they learned were imprinted in his mind.

He can casually come up with an idea that could be the game changer. Especially the WWF/WCW Monday Night Wars is a literal goldmine in the sense of crazy ideas that worked and entertaining characters and storylines. If he wanted, he could just throw one of them out and amaze them.

But, that is the thing. He should feel like saying it. And after what happened last week with the sudden change in schedule, Rob wasn’t that eager to share his ideas. Last week had been a wake-up call.

Until then, he had always thought that Robin was the only one that was against him and that Mr. Gibson was in his corner. But, for the schedule to change that close to the show and disrupt all his plans, meant that there was more to it.

And it was clear from Mr. Gibson’s actions that he only cared for the ratings and the money they brought in. Maybe he was being harsh with Mr. Gibson, but his mind was warning him to be cautious these days.

So, Rob didn’t feel like contributing to this discussion. As he had learned recently, he was only in charge of the women’s division. And women’s division only. So, whatever happened with LWC as a whole was not his responsibility.

Hence, Rob kept quiet and waited for Mr. Gibson to talk.

"Unless it is on the level of the Triple Threat Match, nothing is going to work," Mr. Gibson said rubbing his head tiredly.

Rob almost felt like scoffing. Triple Threat Match was just a small blip in what could possibly be achieved with pro wrestling if these men opened up their minds a little.

The problem was that they were conditioned to think in a linear fashion and had a very traditional mindset. They refused to be creative and always wanted to be safe. They didn’t want to take some risks and try out something new.

"So, Rob, do you have any ideas?" Mr. Wolfe turned and asked Rob.

"Off the top of my head, I don’t have any ideas as of now. But, I can come up with something if it is really needed," Rob decided to be generic in his response.

He knew that the only reason these men treated him better was that he brought some unconventional ideas. They thought that he was in his creative prime and wanted to get the most out of him.

If he revealed that he wasn’t willing to share it with them or didn’t have anything to contribute, they would not be kind to him. His place in LWC was not that safe until now for him to be lax.

So, he didn’t want them to think that he couldn’t do it either. He wanted them to ask him and then he would take some time to provide it. That way, his value would be preserved and they couldn’t take his ideas for granted either.

"Work on it and get back to me before <Last Stand>. We need a proper plan to approach the next PPV. Right now, what is the status of the division? Especially, the top wrestlers in them?" Mr. Gibson asked looking around.

"I have no issues. The story with Dacey and Diana will continue. I am also planning to put Evelyn and Selena into an intense storyline as well. So, I have everything covered for the next PPV."

"Things are not that good with me. You need to tell me who the next veteran to face Mark will be. You told me you will deal with that. Marshall’s contract will expire in two weeks, if we need to sign an extension, you need to let me know in advance," Robin grunted causing Mr. Gibson to wince.

"With Marshall gone, we won’t have any program for Mark either. That leaves the main event spot empty. I have some plans for the other spots. I presume, Rob will want the opening spot again," Robin asked looking at Rob,

"It would be better if we have more time. I want to put out two matches on the next PPV. Evelyn and Selena. Dacey and Diana. So, an opening spot and another slot would be nice," Rob tried pushing the envelope a little.

"We will see," Robin squinted. "I can’t sacrifice my programs for added time to women’s division. I need to put out enough matches to satisfy the men’s division as well."

"Then, why don’t we increase the duration and raise the price of the tickets a little?" Mr. Wolfe asked curiously.

This sent the room into a contemplative silence. Rob was inwardly ecstatic hearing that statement. He was going to suggest exactly the same thing. However, Mr. Wolfe beat him to it.

"Do you think it would work?" Mr. Gibson asked Robin.

"We can increase half an hour without any issues. We are currently putting out 2 hours of programming for PPVs. We can easily increase another half an hour without tiring out the audience," Robin said scratching his chin in thought.

"But, the question will be, how will we fill it? Sure, Rob’s women’s division can have one more match if that is the case. But, we can’t expect them to go for half an hour. They can at most do a fifteen to seventeen-minute match. We need to book another match for the remaining time," Robin concluded with a contemplative look on his face.

"It will also give more talents the platform to showcase their abilities," Mr. Wolfe said from the side. "And if we begin half an hour early, or fifteen minutes early, the timing would also sit well with fans in general."

"That’s doable. We can put it in the plans. Women’s division can have two matches in the next PPV," Mr. Gibson said tapping the table. "Are you sure you can put a compelling match?"

"Positive," Rob replied affirmatively.

"Hmmm, then good. We will deal with the other match later. We can just put a throw-away match to fill the time. A tag match would be good. It would showcase more talents that way as well."

"Noted," Robin said nodding along. "Still, it doesn’t negate the fact that we don’t have a clear idea about our main event. I think it would be better to extend Marshall’s contract till the year-end. That time our next PPV will also be over and we will have a clear idea of the TV deal as well."

"But, Marshall... Marshall is a headache, to be honest. I heard he got into an argument with Rob as well," Mr. Wolfe said looking over at Rob.

"That’s small stuff," Rob shrugged. "It isn’t anything important."

"We all know that some wrestlers have a bad temper," Robin smiled waving it off as well.

"Whatever, we will see how his main event at <Last Stand> with Mark pans out. If his performance is satisfactory, we will extend his contract till the year-end. And I will put pressure on those old bastards as well. They are being too greedy. They think we are rolling in money and want to take a big chunk out," Mr. Gibson said scowling into the distance.

"Andy, once again I am advising you to go for talents that are hot now. Instead of arguing with those old coots, we can spend more money to get a guaranteed star," Robin said shaking his head.

"If things don’t pan out, I will have no other option apart from that either. It’s just..." Mr. Gibson sighed.

Everyone present there knew what the problem was. LWC couldn’t afford a lucrative contract big enough to attract popular wrestlers. That was the biggest sticking point of LWC’s development issue for a while now.

"I understand, but we can’t lose this TV deal, Andy," Robin said relaxing back.

"I know, you don’t need to tell me how important it is," Mr. Gibson sighed and relaxed as well.

The tense atmosphere inside the room relaxed a bit. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"So Rob, how’s commentary treating you these days? Enjoying them?" Mr. Wolfe turned the topic to something neutral.

"It is going well," Rob said with a small smile. "I enjoy bickering with Dallas on air. He always threatens to beat me up though."

"Maybe, we should book you both in a program," Mr. Wolfe chuckled.

"Not for me. I already have enough responsibilities. I can’t add training to that as well. And I haven’t been in the ring for years now. Same with Dallas," Rob shook his head to indicate that he wasn’t interested.

"Come on, it would be hilarious to watch. I bet the fans will love to see Dallas whoop your ass," Mr. Wolfe needled further causing Rob to give him a mock scowl.

"I will run circles around that old man," Rob mock-sneered causing Mr. Wolfe and Mr. Gibson to crack up. Even Robin chuckled a bit at that.

"You keep telling that, but you are always eager to chat with him backstage," Mr. Gibson snorted.

"Well, he does have a lot of knowledge for me to learn," Rob said scratching his head in embarrassment. "His experience has helped me deal with a lot."

"True, don’t waste the opportunity. That old bastard is one of the most experienced professionals in this industry. He has seen it all. Learn well from him," Mr. Gibson nodded causing Rob to give an acknowledging nod.

"Speaking of the industry, did you hear about the turmoil in AWF?" Mr. Wolfe asked eagerly.

"Who hasn’t?" Robin scoffed. "They say Steven might quit the company soon."

"I can’t even imagine an AWF without Steven. He was their ace," Mr. Gibson shook his head in disbelief.

"AWF is big now. And they can even let Steven go without feeling too much of a sting. It wasn’t like how things were in the 80s. In the 80s, firing Steven would be considered a brain-dead decision. Now, not so much," Robin shook his head.

"Still, AWF without Steven... I don’t know..." Mr. Wolfe shook his head as well.

"Politics," Mr. Gibson spat in contempt. "I am telling you that AWF is going to regret it sooner or later."

"Has it been confirmed that Steven is exiting AWF?" Rob asked curiously.

While he had heard the rumors, he didn’t know the exact details. And the nature of the news was itself a big shock to many people. So, no one has been able to confirm it yet.

This was also a huge warning sign for Rob. If someone who can call the wind and rain like Steven Rush was being fired, then it meant no one was truly safe in this industry. Things can change at any moment.

"It is all but confirmed. But, they are doing all that they can to keep it under wraps. Letting go of Steven is not a small thing. It will even affect their share prices," Robin replied to Rob’s question.

"The main reason for Steven’s release is that they didn’t want turmoil in the company. With Gary being appointed as the new CEO, things would turn awkward for both Steven and Gary in the company," Mr. Gibson grunted.

"Yeah, Steven and Gary had never seen eye-to-eye. They are polar opposites. While they make one hell of a team, they could never be bosom buddies, or even buddies, period," Mr. Wolfe commented from the side.

"It will be a huge loss to AWF," Robin sighed.

"If I know Steven right, he is going to have a backup plan for this as well," Mr. Gibson grunted. "The man is like a fox. He has countless holes he could use to escape any kind of predicament."

"True," Mr. Wolfe chuckled. "Soon, AWF may find themselves outplayed by Steven."

"Ha ha ha... The old coot will definitely do it," Mr. Gibson chuckled along as well.

"Well, anyway, we all have our missions for this week. Let’s get going about it. And Rob, do think of anything that could be used to help us. It would be better if you could come up with something like that Triple Threat Match," Mr. Gibson said after controlling himself.

"Will do, Mr. Gibson," Rob said nodding along.

"Good, then let’s get cracking..."

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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