Booking Glory-Chapter 13: The Build Up

August 28, Longham Wrestling Arena, Longham City.

Few minutes before the show...

"Hey man, did you come to last week’s show?" Jason asked a fan who was located nearby.

"Nah, man. I missed it. I heard old Gibson dropped a bomb. Oh my, what a bomb it was..." the other fan replied in an excited tone.

"Ya, that was right out of the left field. I had no clue that something like that was going to happen," Jason said enthusiastically.

"Can you imagine, in three days we will be seeing history made!!!" the fan stated with equal amounts of enthusiasm.

"Isn’t that cool though? It is almost like when they introduced women’s wrestling. How long has it been? I have been feeling that things have gone a little stale over the past few years. Just when I thought about giving up, old Gibson smacked me in the face with this," Jason said wistfully.

"Then you have to thank someone else," another fan who was standing nearby butted into the conversation.

"Oh! What do you mean?" Jason asked eagerly.

"Do you think an old horse like Gibson could whip something like this? I am not badmouthing Gibson or anything. It’s just that if he had something like this, he would have presented it sooner," the fan said a bit authoritatively.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. This would have been a great match in the last PPV card. That card was so lackluster," Jason said shaking his head.

"Well, according to my sources, they have handed over the women’s division to some young guy named Williams. It is said that he impressed the higher-ups with a lot of his ideas. He had been on trial run for the past six months," the fan said in a confident voice causing Jason and the other fan to listen in.

"Oh, why haven’t they given him the chance until now?" Jason asked in confusion.

"Well, the sources say that the guy was a greenhorn with no experience in the industry. But, he did have some great ideas. So, Gibson put him on trial for a year to see if he is good," the man replied.

"So, what changed? Why did Gibson give him a chance before the trial period?" Jason asked.

"Well, apparently, Breeze has not been happy LWC due to constant decline in ratings. So, they gave LWC an ultimatum. With no other choice, Gibson decided to gamble on the new guy. Good thing it paid off," the man shrugged his shoulders,

"We will have to see how they will follow up," the other fan said shaking his head. "If they don’t follow up properly, it would be a huge waste of such a great idea."

"I agree," Jason nodded in agreement. "Just imagine if they had used this idea for the Heavyweight title instead of some lame title like the Women’s Championship. Just imagining it gives me goosebumps."

"Heh, we will have to wait and see. My sources say that the Williams guy has several plans to revamp the entire women’s division. They say that this is a part of a longer plan. I don’t know how it is possible or what the Williams guy is cooking up. Apparently, the entire women’s division has been on buzz lately."

"Hmmm, we will see," Jason nodded thoughtfully. "Anyways, I am Jason."

"Todd, Todd McCarthy," the man replied in a smooth manner.

"You are Todd!!? My god! I read your columns regularly. I am a huge fan of yours," Jason cried in excitement.

Todd merely smiled.

"It is nice to meet you, Mr. McCarthy. I am Logan. A native of Longham City. I have been following your works for a long time," the other fan introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you too Logan," Todd replied by shaking both their hands.

"Mr. McCarthy, do you think this Williams guy can bring some change into the industry?" Jason asked curiously.

"After last week’s show, I did a bit of digging about this Williams guy. From what I understand, the guy has some outrageous ideas about booking. They were so outrageous that Roger of AWF threw him out of the building when he came to interview," Todd said with a small smile causing Jason and Logan to look gobsmacked.

"I am not that surprised that he pissed off Roger. Roger is a staunch traditionalist. Speaking of any change in front of him would invite trouble. However, the interesting bit of news is that Steven of AWF was also present in the interview panel.

It was due to his strong recommendation that Gibson hired this guy, even though he was a greenhorn in this business," Todd concluded causing Jason and Logan to hop in excitement.

"You mean Steven Rush, the one who introduced tag team wrestling and women’s wrestling," Jason asked eagerly.

"Exactly that Steven Rush. So, according to my analysis, these must be that Williams guy testing some waters. No matter how good he is, Gibson won’t give him unlimited control right off the bat. So, we can expect some crazy stuff to be done in the upcoming months," Todd said causing Jason and Logan to nod.

"I mean, if this was what he proposed, Roger might not have thrown him out of the building. He must have said something outrageous for Roger to react like that," Todd analyzed to Jason and Logan. "Anyway, we will see how this develops."

Jason and Logan nodded in agreement and looked over to see the pyros going off. The moment the show began, the lights in the arena were switched off causing the crowd to rumble in anticipation.

Just then, the titantron lit up with words.

August 21, Longham City...

The words were followed by the video of Diana Wharton making her way to the ring in slow motion. The background commentary spoke about how Diana had become the LWC Women’s Champion.

A few snippets of Diana’s promo were aired and it was followed by Evelyn and Selena’s interruptions. Then came Andrew Gibson’s announcement regarding the history-making Triple Threat Match.

The screen went black.

A few shots of the crowd erupting in discussion and the faces of the three competitors as they digested the news were shown. Diana had a grave face. Evelyn was smirking. Selena looked determined.

The screen went black once more.

A video featuring the take of various wrestling veterans on the match’s importance and analysis followed. It was followed by backstage interviews of other women’s division members was shown.

It was followed by Diana, Evelyn, and Selena talking about their careers and history. They talked about how important this match was to them and how psyched up they were for this match. They expressed their determination to win the match.

This was interspersed with various training montages of the trio as they went about preparing for the match. The video ended with Dacey Surestone frowning and wishing the winner a good night.

The screen went black once more and lights came on.

The commentators began hyping the importance of the match and asked the viewers to tune in coming Sunday to watch the PPV as they introduced what other matches were on the PPV.

It was followed by them introducing various matches for the night and analyzing who would win the matches in a routine manner. Then, music blared and the show began.

Meanwhile, Jason, Logan, and Todd were discussing the promo video that aired at the beginning.

"It kind of gives a big fight feel," Jason said causing Logan to nod. "They have done the promo well. It almost looked like a movie trailer. Only a bit longer."

Logan chuckled at Jason’s statement. However, Todd looked to be deep in thought.

"Mr. McCarthy, you seem to be thinking about something," Logan asked amicably.

"Hmm, that ending was a bit interesting," Todd said in an offhand manner causing Jason and Logan to look up in surprise. "Anyway, just call me Todd."

"Mr. McC... Todd, what do you mean? You said something about the ending," Jason queried eagerly.

"Don’t you think it’s a bit odd to end the video with Dacey Surestone. She is not even in the title picture. If anything, including Dacey seemed a bit extra," Todd said massaging his jaw.

"Maybe they wanted to end with a sexy chick," Jason chuckled. "Dacey is one hot chick after all."

"True, true," Logan chuckled in response.

"I don’t think it’s just that simple. Something tells me that something is different about it," Todd said with a bit of interest gleaming in his eyes.

"Oh, but what could it be? The match is next week. And it is already advertised. You are just overthinking it, Todd," Logan shook his head.

"Maybe," Todd relented, but it didn’t seem like he was convinced, "Anyway, I kinda felt a bit let down. The promo was good, but something seemed to be missing."

"It was a decent attempt. After all, they don’t have much time to build up this match. In my opinion, they should have waited to build this match for the next PPV," Logan said shaking his head.

"Yeah, it kind of feels like they wasted a good idea," Jason also concurred.

"I am afraid they are in a hurry to increase the ratings," Todd reasoned. "As I said, Breeze is breathing down on their neck to increase the ratings. Unfortunately, LWC doesn’t have the necessary roster depth."

"True, but their efforts have been decent. They haven’t truly bored us yet. And now this new thing with the women’s title has only rekindled the interest a bit," Jason agreed with a nod.

"Anyway, we will see," Todd said as the trio turned their attention towards the ongoing match between two openers.

Time passed by and only half an hour remained in the show.

"Apart from the opening, the rest were just meh," Jason commented as he saw yet another average match come to an end.

"You can’t expect everything to be great Jason," Logan shook his head beside Jason.

"This was a decent card. And if the main event is good, it would be an above-average show," Todd analyzed standing beside them.

"Meh, last week’s show was better in my opinion. The crowd was really into it," Jason said shaking his head.

"That’s because of the opening segment. The crowd was really hyped up because of it," Todd refuted immediately as he had analyzed the show well. "If you remove the opening segment, the rest was really average."

"Is that so? I didn’t feel that way. The crowd was very enthusiastic throughout the show though," Jason replied in confusion.

"I didn’t refute that. I only said that the show was average. But, the crowd was unusually fired up last week," Todd clarified.

"Huh, anyway, my point still stands," Jason replied with a smile to which Todd nodded along.

Just then, Diana’s music blared. The crowd grew silent for a moment before erupting into cheers. Jason, Logan, and Todd exchanged looks. They could see the eagerness in their eyes too. The trio was now eager to see what this new segment contained.

They cheered along with the crowd as Diana played to the crowd and riled them up. The cheering only subsided when Diana took the microphone in her hands.

"Last week, history was made. For the first time ever, the women’s championship will be defended against not one challenger, but two challengers," Diana spoke causing the crowd to cheer.

"The first ever Triple Threat Match..." Diana paused letting the crowd cheer once more. "I gotta say that the pressure on me is huge. I am at a distinct disadvantage heading into the match."

Diana paused once more letting the crowd soak in the information.

"This Sunday, I can lose this championship that I have worked all my life for without even getting beaten. I don’t even need to be pinned or submitted to lose this title. It is really unfair..."

Diana mumbled causing the crowd to sympathize with her a bit. She stood in the ring, lost in thought, as she eyed the title she was holding. It created a sort of sympathy for her among the crowd.

"Nevertheless, I am a fighting champion," Diana said in a strong tone causing the crowd to cheer. "No matter the odds, I am the LWC Women’s Champion. And after Sunday, I will still be the LWC Women’s Champion."

Her voice rose with each word as she ended her speech in a resounding tone filled with confidence and determination. It caused the crowd to erupt in cacophony as they cheered her on.

"Whether it be Evelyn or Selena, I will promise you this. They will have to step over my dead body to get their hands on this title. For I will shed every drop of my blood to hold on to this title come Sunday."

The crowd was really into it by now. They expressed their support for the champion by cheering her on more and more as the champion made her promise to the crowd. The reaction was something magical.

Todd stood there in the crowd and watched Diana speak with such determination that it brought him goosebumps. His eyes couldn’t stray from her at this moment as he felt something deep in him burn. It ignited his blood and pumped it through his body at breakneck speed.

"I will do whatever it takes..."

Just then, music blared and Evelyn stepped out of the curtain with a mic in her hands.

"Hold on, hold on. Nah, Nah. I don’t think I can agree with that Diana," Evelyn said making her way to the ring.

Initially, the crowd was a bit irritated by the interruption. But the next moment, they realized whose music it was and began to clamor in excitement. They just couldn’t wait for Evelyn and Diana to fight each other.

When they saw the microphone in Evelyn’s hands, the crowd truly boiled over as they realized Evelyn was not going to sit on the sidelines letting Diana say her piece.

"You see, this Sunday, it will be me that is going to make history. I don’t care if I have to break your bones or knock Selena’s lights out, I will do whatever it takes to become the first ever wrestler to win a Triple Threat Match.

There is nobody, I mean nobody, on this damn planet that is going to stand in my way," Evelyn growled as she made her way to the ring and stood face to face with Diana.

The tension grew as the champion and the challenger stood face to face. It looked as if a fight could break out at any moment. Diana and Evelyn began mouthing off just like last week before music blared once more.

And this time it was Selena that came out with a mic in her hand.

Todd couldn’t take it anymore. His blood was boiling like never before. He couldn’t wait for Sunday for this match to happen. It was clear that none of these women wanted to give up a chance at making history.

By now, Selena was in the ring too. As a three-way standoff began, Selena spoke.

"Just like the both of you, I too have a chance to create history this Sunday," Selena was calm unlike raring Evelyn or determined Diana.

The contrast in her temperament gave her a unique magnetism inside the ring at this moment. It reeled the people in as they waited for her to continue.

"You see, this match is not just about that championship. This match has transcended it. This is a shot at making history. And I will be damned if I let such a chance slip through my fingers," Selena said in an increasingly stubborn tone causing the audience to once more boil over.