Booking Glory-Chapter 78: Undercurrents

"Steven, are you sure we need him?"

Mr. Wagner asked with a frown on his face as he watched Rob disappear into the horizon.

"Willy, trust me, that kid is special. It is not that we need him in our camp. It is more of we need him neutralized if we want our vision to succeed," Steven said letting out a sigh.

"Do you think a kid like him could pose any danger to our plans? Seriously, Steven, I think you are overestimating his worth. What we need to concentrate on is how the other top promotions are going to react when they hear about our intentions," Mr. Wagner said shaking his head.

"You know, Willy, it is always the unpredictable that will truly trouble you. You have managed a lot of businesses, but you have never managed people at their core. The people who work under you are merely slaves in a sense. The true danger comes from people like him, people who have a vision and are willing to fight for it," Steven said with a soft smile.

Willy Wagner squinted his eyes hearing that. It was clear that he didn’t understand what Steven was trying to tell. Steven chuckled seeing his expression.

"We know how the top promotions will react. I have already told you how they will fight back and what to do to offset their attacks. We have a perfect plan for that and if everything goes well, this time next year we and AWF will be the only ones that will be left standing," Steven said lighting a cigarette from his pocket.

Steven took a leisurely puff and spoke once again.

"The thing with top promotions is that if you have enough money, we can truly rattle them. They never focus on creating stars. They only think of exploiting the stars that are already there. They lack a long-term vision to be precise. What happens when you take away those stars from them?" Steven asked conversationally.

"They would have lost their money printing machines. They will need to create more stars to recoup that loss. Even then, they will have a tough time for a few months," Mr. Wagner said smiling a little.

"Exactly, we already have roped in several top stars for our plan. These stars are humans and they only look at money. Throw enough money at them; they will cave under that onslaught. But, is creating a star that easy? It needs time, an organic buildup of a fan base, and sustained popularity among the masses. It can’t be done within a short period of time," Steven said taking another puff.

"I get it," Mr. Wagner smiled, "Taking away that star power will impact their revenue. Which, in turn, would make them concentrate on creating the next star for their promotion. That would take away their attention from us. It gives us enough time to execute our other plans."

"Exactly, without enough cash flow, they can’t be a problem for us. So, if things went well, we would have neutralized everyone apart from AWF. As for AWF, I have left a few surprises there for Greg. In the next three months, AWF will be riddled with backstage tension, scandals, and a lot of other stuff," Steven said with mirth dancing in his eyes.

"Are you sure it will be enough to keep them occupied?" Mr. Wagner frowned a little.

"Don’t worry," Steven smiled brightly. "The backstage tension is expected, so they would be prepared for it. However, the scandals that will be leaked will be a huge blow to them. They have no idea about it. Only Roger and I know about it. We have already bought Roger’s silence."

"That’s good," Mr. Wagner nodded. "That leaves only the middle-level promotions posing a threat. But, I am not worried about them. They don’t have the resources to fight us."

"I don’t even consider them as problems," Steven snorted. "If any of them make an issue, we can just poach their stars. It will be a warning to everyone else as well."

"Do we need those many stars?" Mr. Wagner frowned.

"Realistically, we don’t. But, we are going against AWF. AWF has been in the industry for a long time and has a solid fan base. While poaching these stars is in part to neutralize other top promotions, there is another reason for it," Steven said taking a puff.

"With stars, come their fans. This way, we would be drawing fans of different stars to our product. We can easily establish a fan base without doing much. And this fan base is essential to go toe to toe with AWF."

"I understand all this Steven. The question I am asking is how is this kid a threat to us?" Mr. Wagner asked once again.

"Simple Willy, I know how everyone else will react. But, I don’t know how that kid will react. I can anticipate the moves of my fellow bookers, but that kid’s brain is wired differently." Steven said taking a long puff. "That makes him an unpredictability. And any unpredictable variable..."

"... is a disaster waiting to happen," Mr. Wagner finished the sentence grimly.

"Precisely," Steven said smiling a bit. "And he is also the only other booker I have seen that has more ideas in his brain. Most of the bookers follow the already established route. In the already established model, star power is paramount. So, by taking away their stars we have already beaten them."

"And his proposed model doesn’t rely on star power much..." Mr. Wagner said as if he realized a crucial aspect. "That is why you wanted me to meet him and talk to him about booking. You wanted me to know firsthand, didn’t you?"

Steven smiled and nodded as he flicked the cigarette away.

"We can never allow this model to flourish. With our model, as long as we have the stars under us, no one could realistically challenge us after we reach the top. The same couldn’t be said for the other model," Steven said in a serious tone looking at Willy Wagner.

"Right now, it is gaining a foothold in LWC. And LWC has risen in status as a result. It will not be long before someone else decides to copy it. Or worse, hires that kid to compete with us. Right now, he is not widely known in the circle due to LWC’s status. But, it won’t remain the same for a long time," Steven said gravely.

"If such a thing is a problem for us, why did you even give him an opportunity to get into the circle? Couldn’t you have blocked him out?" Mr. Wagner said frowning a little.

"I miscalculated," Steven said sighing. "I didn’t expect Andrew Gibson to be that desperate enough to give the booking of an entire division to an untested newbie who is not even six months into the circle. I expected Andrew Gibson to keep him as a backstage helper for a year or two."

"That way, after the kid learned some basics I can swoop in and offer a job at our promotion after a year. This would effectively put the kid under our control and we can use his ideas to gain an edge over AWF," Steven said grimacing.

"Ah, that made sense..." Mr. Wagner said nodding. "Good plan."

"Indeed, but fate plays us all for fools. Not only did the kid earn a booker’s position, but his bookings were also obviously a success as well. It has increased the confidence of the kid," Steven scowled.

"It is easy to convince someone who hasn’t tasted success that their idea isn’t worth much compared to someone who has tasted it," Mr. Wagner nodded understanding Steven’s mood.

"In that case, why don’t we rope him into our promotion with a more lucrative offer? We can give him the same position he has in LWC. I don’t think that the kid would object to it," Mr. Wagner asked in confusion.

"That is why I am telling you that you don’t know people," Steven shook his head. "Didn’t you listen? We can never allow that model to flourish. Stars are our biggest bargaining chip. We can’t make them obsolete. We need to make our promotion the place where all the stars gather," Steven said looking up at the night sky.

"Still, I don’t get why we can’t use both his model and the established model together. If that is the case, then our promotion will have something unique to our name as well," Mr. Wagner asked once more.

"What if some other promotion takes inspiration from his ideas and tries it out as well? We can’t obviously ban them from taking inspiration, can we? That means there is a chance for one of the big promotions we fucked over to turn over. It also means another avenue for stars to explore if they aren’t happy with us," Steven said looking at Willy Wagner hard.

"Willy, our aim is to make our promotion like those big sports tournaments where all the talents in the world gather. Each sport has a peak and we are going to make our promotion the peak of our sport. This would make the stars reluctant to leave us. But, it won’t be the same if another promotion out there has a possibility of turning over as well, will it?" Steven asked passionately.

"Hmmm, I get your point," Mr. Wagner said rubbing his jaw. "But, it is clear to me that kid wouldn’t accept our offer. Unless we give him the same position as he has in LWC," Mr. Wagner shrugged.

"I noticed as well," Steven said frowning. "I thought offering him a commentary position and tying him to us would work. We could have then used his ideas to create special programs once or twice a year. It thought it would keep him satisfied. But, it looks like he has grown comfortable in being a booker in a short time."

"Don’t worry about him much," Mr. Wagner smiled clapping Steven’s back. "Leave it to me, I know how to handle arrogant geniuses like him. I will take care of him. To be frank, that kid is too naïve. He already fell for our trick, didn’t he?"

"Well, he hasn’t been in the circle for long," Steven smiled back. "I think it is time he realized this industry is not as nice as he thinks it is."

"Exactly," Mr. Wagner chuckled. "And he is not even the target of our plan. He is just mere collateral damage now."

"I really want to see their reactions tomorrow," Steven chuckled as they both made their way back into the bar.

*****

Rob sat sipping beer in his house as he went through the conversation he had with Mr. Wagner and Steven Rush in his mind. He felt as if he had overlooked some aspect during that meeting and it was making him unable to sleep.

He didn’t know what it was exactly. But, something about the way Steven’s tone changed multiple times during the conversation put him on edge. Especially, the last part where Steven tried to persuade him to be a commentator and how forceful he was about it.

Steven Rush, of all people, must know that a booker would never relinquish that power. If he was someone in his sixties, that might have made some sense. But, he was the youngest booker in the industry and why would he waste his future doing commentary?

People normally went from commentary to booking, not the other way around. As an established veteran booker, Steven must know this. So, it baffled Rob furthermore why Steven was trying to persuade him to be a commentator. It just didn’t add up at all.

As he sat sipping his beer, he also realized that the landscape of the wrestling industry was going to change soon. Willy Wagner was no ordinary man. He is rumored to be one of the richest men in the entire country. His entry into the pro wrestling industry is going to send shockwaves for sure.

A lot of people are going to be shocked. This was like a big shark entering a small pond. The various fishes that have been living arrogantly are going to get eaten soon.

He had seen the exact same thing happen with WCW in his old world. When WCW had formed initially, it disrupted the whole industry and created a huge change. Only constant mismanagement and backstage politics made the promotion unprofitable.

But, with someone like Steven Rush in the fold, Willy Wagner would be able to navigate these troubled waters safely. So, an irrevocable change in the landscape was both imminent and certain.

The kind of money Willy Wagner would be able to throw around was no joke.

However, Rob also felt that the turmoil was also good for him and LWC. With all the top-tier promotions duking it out in the upcoming months, it would be easy for LWC to grow steadily under the radar.

By the time the confusion cleared, LWC could have grown to a stable level that it would have its own large fan base. If that were to happen, then LWC doesn’t need to worry much about other promotions poaching their talents or creating some form of problems for it.

As for choosing the commentary gig that Steven and Mr. Wagner offered him, Rob didn’t even waste one second on it. He knew that it would be a foolish thing to do. It is already a miracle that a promotion was willing to give someone like him a chance at being a booker, why would he waste such an opportunity?

He didn’t have a ton of experience like the other bookers. Most bookers worked backstage for years before they would be trusted to book a program. It was the norm of the industry.

However, LWC offered him a booker position when he was only six months into the industry. That was a rare thing. Moreover, he had now established himself as a competent booker with LWC women’s division.

It would be foolish of him to throw away that and go after a commentary gig. While he liked doing commentary, it wasn’t his first priority. If he was asked to choose between the two, he would gladly give away his spot on the commentary team without much hesitation.

If he chose commentary now, then it would be hard for him to get back into the position of a booker. It would take years, if not decades to return to his role as a booker. So, it was a no-brainer for Rob.

Just as Rob was thinking about how to take advantage of the turmoil that was going to envelop the wrestling industry soon, his phone started to ring. Rob was surprised to hear it ring as no one actually called him at this time, to be frank.

It was nearing midnight and this call was the first one he had received after 10 o clock. Intrigued, Rob picked up his phone and saw who was calling him at this time.

It was Todd.

Rob was once more surprised to see his name. Todd never called him unless it was something important. Wondering what Todd wanted to talk to him about at this time in the night, Rob attended the call.

"Hello, this is Rob Williams," Rob spoke into the phone.

"Hey Rob, sorry to bother you at this time. But, I have been hearing some rumors going around in the circle. Just wanted to clarify them with you," Todd’s voice came from the other end.

"Seriously, Todd, is this the time for you to confirm rumors? Can’t you call me sometime in the morning?" Rob asked frowning a little.

"Nah, can’t wait for long. By morning it would be too late. The story would have already broken," Todd said urgently.

"Listen, is it true that you met with Steven Rush and Willy Wagner?"

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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