Booking Glory-Chapter 128: Hypocrites? Righteous Individuals?

November 10, Monday...

"Let me get this straight. Seven! Freaking Seven! Seven wrestlers have opted to buy out their contracts," Rob said with a blank face as he stared at Mr. Gibson and Mr. Wolfe. "And Marie is one of them."

"Yes," Mr. Gibson replied in a clipped tone.

Rob stared at the duo in shock. He didn’t know what to say at this moment. The moment he entered LWC building this morning, he was asked to meet with Mr. Gibson. Never did he expect to receive such a news from the duo the moment he sat down.

The news was like an unprotected chair shot to his head. It left him dazed, unable to even think properly. He really didn’t know what to do at this moment, causing him to parrot out the same information said to him back at them.

Rob wanted to rage. He wanted to curse. He wanted to flip the table and shout at the duo. But... but... One look at Mr. Gibson’s barely restrained angry visage and Mr. Wolfe’s defeated countenance took the wind out of his sails.

Rob took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He didn’t speak. Neither did Mr. Gibson nor Mr. Wolfe. Silence reigned in the room as Rob chewed the news in his mind.

This was bad. This was really bad. He didn’t think the situation would worsen this quickly. While he had expected wrestlers to leave, he didn’t expect them to leave all at the same time. And especially not this soon.

Rob rubbed his forehead tiredly trying to think through the implications of this news. He had expected desertions to happen slowly over the course of this month. But, the en-masse desertion really left him reeling for a bit. He knew neither Mr. Gibson nor Mr. Wolfe were prepared for this.

Letting out a long breath, Rob asked, "What about contract renewals? Anyone?"

Mr. Wolfe grimaced and shook his head, causing Rob’s heart to plummet to the depths.

"I have tried to be generous with the rates, within reasonable limits, however most of them feel that staying in LWC was a risky endeavor and didn’t want to commit," Mr. Wolfe sighed.

Mr. Gibson gritted his teeth as Mr. Wolfe spoke. Rob could hear it very clearly. It was evident how angry Mr. Gibson was.

"Was no one willing?" Rob asked, unable to believe what he heard. "Is our situation so dire?"

"No," Mr. Gibson spat. "We are financially quite comfortable. The problem is that no one seems to believe it."

"You can’t fault them Andy," Mr. Wolfe said tiredly from the side. "Robin’s public resignation has already created the perception that we are financially unstable. Unless we make our accounts public, we can’t convince anyone."

"Bah," Mr. Gibson snorted. "Have you heard about any promotion doing such a shameless thing? I still want to walk with my head up in the industry. I won’t be doing something like that."

"Then, we can do nothing about it," Mr. Wolfe said wearily. "No matter what we say, most wrestlers will not believe it."

"So, we can do nothing about it then," Rob said in defeated tone.

Mr. Wolfe smiled wanly and shook his head.

"Rob, most wrestlers don’t know the inner workings or financial status of a promotion. Only the top tier stars might be able to glean something based on merchandise sales and other aspects that are related to their own personal invome."

"For ordinary wrestlers, especially in low tier promotions like ours, those are far off things. As long as they get their pay, they are content enough to show up and wrestle."

"That’s why what Robin did was so effective," Mr. Gibson grit his teeth. "His sudden departure and the way he did it sent a signal. It caused most people in the industry to believe our situation is precarious. Moreover, ZWC announced their bankruptcy last friday."

"Combined with the prior perception, it really made people panic," Mr. Wolfe huffed irritably. "Some of the wrestlers even think they are helping us out."

"What? How did they come up with such ludicrous notions?" Rob asked in bewilderment.

"If our situation is truly dire like many believe," Mr. Wolfe spoke in a tired tone. "Then, wrestlers buying out their contract would alleviate our financial burden a little at the least."

"Oh!"

Rob understood what Mr. Wolfe was getting at. Each and every wrestler was an asset to a promotion. If a promotion went bankrupt, these assets would lose their value and become insolvent. However, if the wrestlers bought out their contract before a promotion announces bankruptcy, the fine for contract breach maybe able to help the promotion fill a little of the needs to keep the promotion running.

So, in a strange way, these wrestlers who are walking out could actually become a lifeline for a promotion. However, the situation here was the exact opposite.

LWC only had about 30 wrestlers. With 7 walking away, the situation already became precarious. Not to mention the remaining 8 wrestlers who are yet to renew their contract. That was half of LWC’s roster.

"Self righteous hypocrites!" Mr. Gibson sneered. "They are acting all high and mighty as if they truly care about LWC. Desmond, do you really think they are doing this out of their good hearts? Don’t be naive!" Mr. Gibson admonished Mr. Wolfe.

"They are all selfish bastards who are acting as if they are doing us a favor. The fact is they don’t want to take a risk. They are just cowards who run away when the going gets tough," Mr. Gibson bit out angrily. "Don’t put them on pedestal."

"Most of them who ran away could only be in lower mid card at best. They all don’t have much potential to stand out on their own. Unless someone gives them a determined push, they can never see the main event scene."

"However, their current market value is inflated. After appearing on TV for the last year continuously, their market value has soared. They are just capitalizing on their inflated market value and LWC’s current situation to land the fattest contract of their life. They aren’t saints. Don’t make me laugh!"

Rob felt that he had to agree with Mr. Gibson on that. However, he didn’t feel angry towards those wrestlers. They were only doing what they felt was best for them. There was nothing wrong with that.

"Mark my words, after they couldn’t hack it wherever they go, they would move to backstage position or fade away from this circle. I have seen a lot of people like them," Mr. Gibson grunted irritably.

Mr. Wolfe didn’t reply. He merely sighed as if the world around him no longer made any sense. Rob could feel the weariness oozing out of Mr. Wolfe clearly.

"Is there any chance of retaining a few key stars in the main event scene? Maybe, we can offer them some extra incentives like a year long reign as a champion or increased merchandise?" Rob asked after a few moments of silence.

"Hah, as if," Mr. Gibson snorted.

"I have tried," Mr. Wolfe said in a tired tone. "I have been at it for the past week. I have tried to offer them such things, but their appetite is really big. They are asking for exorbitant rates and some of the conditions are downright ridiculous for their current status."

"That bad, huh?" Rob asked in surprise.

"They are asking the priveleges of top stars in top tier promotions. I mean, not the ones in main event scene. No, they asking for similar priveleges akin to top stars who could fill arenas with their presence alone. Even if I agree, Andy surely won’t," Mr. Wolfe sighed.

"These bastards think I am some stupid greenhorn. For such things, I may be able to poach someone who is a genuine top star in a mid tier promotion in normal times," Mr. Gibson sneered.

"But, this isn’t a normal time eh?" Mr. Wolfe retorted. "What we need is to tide over the next few months first, Andy."

"That doesn’t mean that I am going to allow those bastards to swindle me blind Desmond!" Mr. Gibson shot back angrily.

"You! Forget it," Mr. Wolfe sighed. "The thing is Rob, there is a big misunderstanding present that is making it hard to renew the contracts of our top talents. And no, I am not talking about the perception of our financial stability."

"What is it?"

"Look, only very few people know that Breeze deal is not going to be renewed. Most wrestlers think the Breeze deal will be still on for next year. So, they look at the rates we offer and think we are downplaying their value."

"In reality, we are already offering the best deal we could based on our knowledge. They see our offer and feel disrespected. Meanwhile, they are getting substantial offers from other promotions. So, this combination is making it hard for negotiations to continue. If we could..."

"What? We could what? Reveal that Breeze is not going to renew the deal?" Mr. Gibson cut in irrtably. "That would only firm up their decision to leave. And that kind of news won’t stay hidden either. We can’t afford such an information leaking out. More people will leave after that."

"I know, I know. I understand that. I am just explaining to Rob why we aren’t able to retain even a single main event talent. Look Rob," Mr. Wolfe looked at Rob and explained further. "Like Andy said, their current market value is inflated. But, only we see that. Other don’t. Or they don’t even care about it and only want to poach them. So, the offers those main event talent receiving are quite substantial. In fact, it is a miracle we retained Diana in the first place."

"Yeah," Mr. Gibson grunted.

"Even for that, we need to thank you. Right now, we are looking at a gutted main event scene and a scarce midcard talent at the end of this year," Mr. Wolfe said in low tone. "We need to prepare for that. We can only count on some of the trainees growing up quick and shining once they come up at this juncture."

"That’s..." Rob didn’t know how to put it.

The situation sounded more and more dire. Assuming such a thing in his mind was one thing, but to hear it being spoken aloud by someone else was something else. Rob didn’t know what to say.

Rob felt that the situation was spinning out of control already. He didn’t know if there would be anything left of LWC when this storm blew over at this rate. Talks of relying on trainees was already being brought up. If that didn’t scream desperation, he didn’t know what else did.

LWC could not absolutely go under. While Mr. Wolfe told him that the situation of relying on trainees would only occur at the end of the year, Rob wasn’t assured. In just ten days, things have become already this dire. He didn’t dare to imagine what it would be like one month later.

It looked more and more like he needed to intervene soon. His earlier plan of picking up the pieces after everything settled down didn’t look promising right now. He was afraid that if he didn’t do something, LWC might not survive until this year end.

"Fine, just tell me something," Rob sighed and looked at Mr. Gibson squarely in his eyes. "I don’t want half answers. Just give it to me straight," Rob spoke in a serious tone.

Mr. Gibson’s countenance changed into a heavy one hearing Rob’s tone. Rob felt that he had Mr. Gibson’s undivided attention at this moment.

"Will LWC be able to survive at least until the end of this year?" Rob asked bluntly.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

Make sure to add this book to your collection and vote with your power stones to show your appreciation for this work.

Support me at patreon.com/kkephemeral