Booking Glory-Chapter 12: History In The Making

Boom...

It was as if the floodgates have been thrown open in the LWC arena. 800 or so audience present in the arena boiled over the moment Andrew Gibson walked into the curtain.

By now, the crowd went absolutely bonkers as they realized the significance of this announcement. Even though Longham City was the mecca of wrestling, one doesn’t get to see history made often.

As the crowd went wild with discussion, the three competitors inside the ring slowly left the ring. But, no one really cared about it at that particular moment. The crowd was in a frenzy as they discussed this new type of match LWC has introduced.

As the show progressed, LWC personnel keenly felt the change in the crowd. They were unusually enthusiastic regarding the matches. The reactions wrestlers garnered were as if they were on a PPV.

It has to be noted that this was only a weekly show. To have such a reaction was something the LWC personnel didn’t even think about. Even Rob was caught off-guard by the crowd’s enthusiasm.

To explain it in a plain manner, it was as if someone poured gasoline on a campfire that was about to putter out. As the segment was put in the opening slot, the carry-over affected the entire show.

A 90 minutes show will always have its ups and downs. Usually, the first few segments were only used to warm up the audience and get the crowd going. So that, when the main event time came, the audience will be invested in the show.

Normally, having an explosive first segment might backfire. One can’t expect the crowd’s enthusiasm to be always high throughout the 90 mins. Hence there will be some segments that will be given away to cool down the crowd and revitalize them when it was needed.

A typical women’s division segment would be used for this purpose. With a match spanning 10 to 12 mins. The crowd would be dead for the initial 9 mins and will only begin to respond in the last three minutes when the high impact and final moves were busted out.

Sometimes, due to a lazy finish, the crowd would not even respond during the end. This 9 to 12 mins of conserved energy will then burst out during the main event making the show look more imposing.

That was how the bookers have always used the women’s division in this world. A typical match between the female wrestlers was considered to be a warm-up of sorts. But, when Rob used the same women’s division to create a historical moment, the enthusiasm boiled over to the remaining segments unexpectedly.

By the time the show ended, the information regarding the match spread like wildfire throughout the city and many people were eager for <Break Out> tickets to begin selling.

Even the main event featuring top wrestlers didn’t garner as much interest as the opening segment featuring three female wrestlers. This was unprecedented. It made Mr. Gibson and Rob quite happy.

"The response we have received was something that we haven’t prepared for. This kind of interest in a match is like a double-edged sword. I hope you can navigate the aftermath well, Rob," Mr. Gibson spoke cheerily as they waited in a conference room for the TV ratings of the show.

"I understand Mr. Gibson. I gotta say, even I didn’t expect this much enthusiasm from the fans," Rob said with a smile causing Mr. Gibson to chuckle.

"This is just the response from Longham City. They are just happy to see something new," Robin poured cold water causing Mr. Gibson to shoot him a stinkeye.

"True, but we can extrapolate the reaction of the fans all over the country based on this reaction," Mr. Wolfe said calmly. "No matter what, we have stirred up the still pond. Next week, a lot of fans will be tuning in. We need to have something prepared for them to whet their appetite."

"I agree," Rob nodded. "I am waiting to see the ratings to determine how to go about this. Frankly, I am struggling with picking up one of the two options. One is like a traditional build-up, but with just a tweak. The other is to go absolutely bonkers."

"I suggest you go with the first option," Robin said stonily causing the other three to raise their eyebrows. "While we may have created some interest, doing something outrageous would backfire on us. So, we need to build this steadily."

"But, there is only one more week till the PPV," Rob said with a frown on his face. "This way, I can’t build a proper momentum."

"We all have to work with what we got," Robin replied stoically causing Rob’s eyebrows to twitch.

"Robin, why don’t we hear what he has to say first and then decide," Mr. Gibson interjected smoothly causing both to look at him.

Rob nodded his head in gratitude at him and spoke to the gathering.

"My traditional idea is to create a five or six minutes promo and air it during next week’s show. That way, we won’t overexpose the wrestlers and keep enough interest in the match at the same time.

But, this won’t be a normal promo. I want the whole women’s division and some veterans to be included in this. I want to create a promo on their thoughts about this match in general."

"Good," Mr. Wolfe nodded in agreement, "this will both differentiate the match from the rest and also keep enough interest on the match heading into the special event."

"And having experienced veterans weigh in will add more legitimacy to the match in general," Robin said his own thoughts.

While Robin may be at loggerheads with Rob, it was just his personal dislike for Rob. When it came to professional matters, as a veteran in the business he knew the ins and outs of the business very clearly.

"What about the other option?" Mr. Gibson asked eagerly.

"My other option is to end the show with the three of them having an all-out brawl in the ring. It will showcase that none of them are willing to back down and are very invested in the match.

This will create an empathy effect that the crowd will buy into. Heading towards the PPV, with just three days to go, having them brawl will show their impatience to make history and also put it firmly in the minds of people watching at home that something monumental will happen at <Break Out>."

"By an all-out brawl, I don’t mean to let them fight each other in the ring. It will start with a promo, followed by an interruption, and then will snowball into a fight with each other.

They will only fight for a minute or so before backstage personnel will rush into the ring to separate them. Despite the separation, they will be raring to go at each other."

"Ha," Robin snorted, "no matter how much interest this segment generated, we can’t let them have the main event spot."

"But, this novel idea might just work wonders Robin," Mr. Wolfe said as he immersed himself in thought.

"Even though, it will mean changing the card. That is not worth it," Robin refused vehemently.

"Hmmm, Robin makes a good point. We have sold the tickets promising the fans a tag team main event. We can’t just change it on a whim. If we had built it for a long time, we might take a gamble. I can’t allow it just based on this week’s reaction," Mr. Gibson let out a resigned sigh.

Rob also felt that putting the women’s division at the main event wasn’t something that could be done easily. If all it took was one segment to earn the main event spot, then that spot will become really cheap.

"Ah, I was really looking forward to seeing such a thing," Mr. Wolfe said with a wistful smile.

"Me too," Mr. Gibson said shaking his head.

Just then, a knock was heard. Mr. Gibson straightened up and bid the employee enter the room. The employee made his way in with a report in his hands. He immediately passed the report to Mr. Gibson and left the room.

Rob waited anxiously as he saw Mr. Gibson peruse the document with furrowed brows. The more he looked at it and remained silent, the more Rob’s anxiousness grew.

"Sigh, it looks like the segment didn’t earn much TV ratings," Mr. Gibson said with a wry smile on his lips. "On the contrary, the other segments had seen a small rise in the viewership."

Rob felt a little disappointed to learn the fact. He was sure that the TV ratings for the segment might have been good. But, from the looks of it, it was just normal.

"Don’t knock it, Andrew," Mr. Wolfe said shaking his head.

"You see this," Mr. Wolfe pointed to the segment immediately following the women’s segment. "Look at the sharp rise in ratings here. Apart from this, there hasn’t been another sharp rise in the ratings before the main event. This shows that the segment had an impact."

"True," Robin concluded, "not many people were aware of the segment when it first aired. And your appearance and announcement can only be calculated for a few minutes.

The sharp rise is a direct response to your announcement. I assure you, when the next week’s show airs, there will be a lot of people waiting for the follow-up of your announcement."

"Ha ha ha... Looks like we picked up gold, you guys. We need to build it properly," Mr. Gibson said boisterously causing the other three to smile.

"Still, I insist that the main event spot can’t be given. If you have any other ideas, tell them," Robin said with a small smile.

"I wish I had any other ideas. I don’t want to overexpose them before the PPV. Their fight should happen at <Break Out>," Rob said shaking his head.

"Tell me," Mr. Wolfe leaned forward looking Rob in the eye, "if we were to go with the crazy option, how much time will you need for the segment?"

"Desmond!" Robin said anxiously only for Mr. Wolfe to motion him to be patient.

"It can range from a seven-minute segment to anywhere under it. The key is how long is the promo going to be. The brawl will at most last for a few minutes," Rob said as he started envisioning the segment.

"What if we cut the promo short and jump straight into the brawl?" Mr. Wolfe asked curiously.

"Then there is no need for them to be in the ring," Rob shook his head in denial. "They could just brawl backstage in that case. I want them to brawl in front of the audience. That will rise the interest in the match. Brawling backstage won’t have the same effect."

"Hmmm," Mr. Wolfe hummed as he fell into thought.

"Interesting analysis," Mr. Gibson said scratching his jaw as he too fell into thought.

"What if..." Mr. Gibson said with a strange gleam in his eyes, "what if we combined both the ideas?"

"What do you mean?" Mr. Wolfe said looking up sharply.

"Simple, if Rob is worried that his crazy idea might not have much impact if we can’t execute it properly, we will just combine them. Say, a promo followed by this brawl he is telling us about," Mr. Gibson said with a cunning smile on his face.

Rob fell into thought as he imagined whether it would get the desired effect. It was clear that Mr. Gibson wanted to reach the maximum effect without compromising the integrity of the show.

Old ginger is still spicier.

Rob couldn’t help but praise the man in his mind. It was clear that Mr. Gibson wanted the best of both worlds. And it might actually work. The problem of overexposure through the traditional route is minimized, but the foundation of traditional promotion is also retained.

Add the crazy element Rob thought of, it might even produce a compound effect. This would both maximize the buildup and create the unique selling point Rob had been pursuing.

"In that case, we will air the promo at the beginning. But, instead of following it up with the brawl, we will put the brawl in some other segment so that it would look like there is a proper buildup and it is not rushed," Rob said slowly as his thoughts came to halt.

"Good, that would do it," Mr. Gibson concluded with a smile.

"The key thing is to grasp the length of the brawl segment. We can’t let them brawl for seven or eight minutes. We would end up overexposing them. The response to breaking them up should be swift to lend credibility to the angle," Rob said his thought loud causing Mr. Wolfe and Mr. Gibson to nod in agreement.

"But, it can’t be short either. We need the audience to get into it. If it ends up too short, we can’t hook the audience in enough. We will have wasted this idea in that case," Rob concluded looking at them.

"In that case, grasping the length of the segment is the essence of this segment," Mr. Wolfe nodded in agreement.

"A five-minute segment should suffice. It would give enough time for all three of them to appear and get a few shots in before we send personnel to break them up. Let’s say two to three minutes for them to brawl and we send in people after that.

Once they are separated, they still try to get at each other despite the obstacles. Then, they will be carted away from each other," Rob explained the plan in short precise sentences.

"Make it seven minutes," Robin who had been silent till now spoke up causing others to look at him.

"It will be too long in that case," Rob refuted.

Having more time is not always better. He knew that well.

"What if you add a short promo in the ring at the beginning? It is still the same idea you had. However, instead of putting it in the main event slot, we will put it in the slot before the main event.

That way, the crowd will be pumped and the following main event can ride off it to gather a greater response," Robin said with a calculating gleam in his eyes.

Rob paused as he took in Robin’s words. It could work. It could create much-needed hype and also serve the show in a wholesome manner. He could see gears turning in Mr. Gibson’s eyes too. The sheen of excitement there told him how much it appealed to him.

"That could work," Mr. Wolfe nodded. "Even if the crowd needed to cool off a little, the length of the main event could tank that very well. This way, the show will also feel more whole. We will have provided the promised main event and also built up a promising match."

"Good, then Rob, I will leave the details to you," Mr. Gibson said with a tone of finality causing Rob to nod and leave the room.