Booking Glory-Chapter 23: Future Plans

"You are telling us that our commentary team is unsatisfactory?" Robin asked angrily looking at Rob.

It was the weekly meeting after <Fyre> that happened every week. The day after the show was aired, it was customary in LWC to sit and review yesterday’s show.

And this particular meeting has been nothing but hell for Rob till now. Robin targeted the segment of Dacey for a long while and began listing the deficiencies it had showcased.

All Rob could do was sit there and let Robin berate him for not performing as expected. Rob didn’t mind it much as he felt the segment was not bad. Furthermore, the segment had the impact factor working for it.

If anyone who saw yesterday’s <Fyre> was asked what you remember the most, they would reply that it was the moment Dacey Surestone flipped off the entire Longham crowd.

As far as impacts went, there was not anything better in the entire show. Even the main event looked lackluster compared to Dacey’s segment. And the main event was something Robin had meticulously booked to showcase his skills.

However, it didn’t create much impact or a talking point among the crowd. It was just another generic match in the long list of matches that LWC has showcased recently.

It was clear that Robin was taking out those frustrations on Rob. From a technical standpoint, the segment that Rob booked was indeed bad. There were a lot of errors and muck-ups in it. But, it was also the segment that created an impact on the whole show.

So, Rob wasn’t worried much. He merely grunted and took the reaming to assuage Robin’s wounded pride a bit. Not that Rob was a machoist, but he did indeed have an ulterior motive to sit there and let Robin go off.

After Dacey’s segment, it became clear to Rob that creating a heel commentator was paramount if he wanted to progress the storyline between Dacey and Diana further.

At the minimum, it would prevent fiascos like what happened with Dacey from happening. The installment of a heel commentator also added a lot of value for the TV audience.

With that in mind, Rob waited out Robin’s lecture on how to properly guide talent as a booker. He was hoping that Robin would settle down a bit when he proposed the inclusion of heel commentators.

He didn’t worry much about Mr. Gibson or Mr. Wolfe as they were relatively open-minded and would be glad for the addition. However, Robin was someone who stood opposite to Rob a lot. And this wasn’t a change that only affected the women’s division.

Hence, it would need Robin’s approval as well. A heel commentator would be present throughout the show and they need to work with the established veteran commentators to bring a sense of conflict on-air. So, having Robin’s support for this was something important for Rob.

Alas! Despite his intentions, it looked like Robin was dead set on opposing everything Rob proposed on general principles. The moment Rob started talking about the need for a new commentator to be added, Robin once again went off on a rant.

"Let me tell you, a greenhorn like you has no business in poking your nose in the workings of LWC. The commentary team we have is absolutely top-notch. In fact, they even saved that disaster of a segment you booked. And you have the gall to tell us that you are not satisfied with our commentary team?" Robin frothed in his mouth.

Rob let out a huge sigh. He raised his hands to calm down Robin a bit and looked at Mr. Gibson and Mr. Wolfe.

"Let me make this clear, Robin. I am not faulting them. I am merely telling you that we need to add a bit more variety to what we are doing with the women’s division," Rob tried to explain patiently.

"What? You want women on commentary?" Robin asked sarcastically.

"You know what, Robin, I think that’s a great idea too. However, I am not proposing that. What I am proposing is something that will add a lot of value to our programs if done right. If you will just let me explain, then we can all get a move on," Rob replied a bit heatedly causing the atmosphere in the room to lower.

"Enough!" Mr. Gibson said in a tired tone. "Let him explain, Robin. We can discuss this once he finishes his piece."

Robin let out a displeased snort in response to it. Rob shook his head and turned to Mr. Gibson and Mr. Wolfe. It was clear to him that Robin would not be on-board with the idea. So, there was no use in trying to convince him.

"During Dacey’s segment, I noticed that the commentators we have tend to be more traditional in their approach. Not that it is bad, but now that we are trying to do new things, we need to change it a bit to better add on to what we are putting out," Rob said focusing his attention on Mr. Gibson and Mr. Wolfe.

"What I am trying to tell is that we need a heel commentator along with the regular ones. The regular ones can act as the face commentator, while the heel commentator will act in support of heels we are going to put out there," Rob spoke in a concise manner.

"Bah! We are not even sure that this heel thing will work with wrestlers. Adding a commentator is just extra load," Robin snorted from the side.

Rob deftly ignored him and continued.

"According to my vision, a heel commentator will support the heels. He will sing their praises and justify their actions by twisting right and wrong. Meanwhile, the face commentators or regular ones will try to talk sense into the heel commentator by telling him that he is obviously wrong."

"What this gives us is another unique product for LWC. It would also set us apart from other shows out there. We can even have an on-air rivalry between the two commentators while they will be supporting two different competitors in the ring. This not only helps with the women’s division, we can also use this for the entire show."

"The heel commentator’s primary function would be to take the heat off the heels inside the ring. Imagine, if there was someone constantly diverting the heat the crowd had during Dacey’s segment, then we might have not been in such a terrible situation," Rob said imploringly looking at Mr. Gibson and Mr. Wolfe.

"We should have never been in that situation from the start if you have instructed Dacey properly," Robin once more griped from the side.

Mr. Gibson and Mr. Wolfe looked thoughtful as they tried to wrap their heads around Rob’s suggestion. To them, this looked novel and it didn’t have many risks. And if what Rob promised occurred, it would only be an additional benefit.

"Can you give us an example?" Mr. Gibson said at last leaning forward.

"Hmmm let’s say that Dacey is out there cutting a promo, the crowd is going to boo her constantly. However, if there was a guy who was on commentary who agrees with Dacey constantly and argues in favor of her, it would at least divert a bit of their attention."

"While this may not be much help with the live crowd, the TV audience is entirely another matter, isn’t it? Take a normal match, for example, say a wrestler is trying to work the crowd, but a disharmonious voice pops up telling that he is being a fool pandering to the crowd and he should go for the pin," Rob said looking around.

"This would create an irritating character who always stands against the fans. And if the regular commentators oppose him constantly, it would create a sort of on-air rivalry as well. Compared to two men just describing the moves in the ring, we can create some interesting content playing off on each other with this rivalry."

Mr. Gibson looked really intrigued by now. Mr. Wolfe was a little doubtful, but he too seemed as if he wanted to give it a try. Robin, on the other hand, didn’t look interested one bit. He was constantly shaking his head in denial.

"I am just worried that it would disrupt the established dynamic between our commentators," Mr. Wolfe said after a while.

"Yeah, that needed to be considered as well. We can’t interfere as we please with their work. We need to have the commentary team’s input on this," Mr. Gibson spoke with a thoughtful frown.

"You guys are forgetting a basic requirement. Who is skilled enough to perform this role? And even if they are skilled enough, will they be willing to do such a role? After all, this role would garner heat throughout the show, isn’t it?" Robin said irritation etched across his voice.

"Instead of doing something that might disrupt the established working partnership, you should concentrate on honing the talents you are booking. This is a risk that is not needed," Robin said looking at Rob.

"We are already trying something new. While I agree that not everything has gone as we envisioned, the response so far has been good. Hell, it has even exceeded our expectations. So, what’s the harm in trying this out?" Rob countered back without restraint.

Robin merely scowled and looked away.

"No matter what, we need to discuss this with the commentary team. I will ask Dallas and Irvin to come in tomorrow. We can discuss this with them and see what they think. If they are up for it, we can give it a try," Mr. Gibson said in a final tone causing both Rob and Robin to nod.

"Even then, we need to work on the dynamic. And you need to convey your intentions a bit clearer. What you said till now was not clear enough," Mr. Wolfe said looking at Rob.

Rob nodded in acknowledgment. While he instinctively understood what the role was, he needed to be a bit more clear while expressing what he wants the other person to do. If not, there will be a lot of confusion in the process.

"Moving on," Mr. Gibson said shuffling the papers in front of him. "I am happy to announce that our ratings have reached a new high for this week’s <Fyre>. The segment with Dacey has recorded a new high for LWC. Even though Dacey almost ruined the entire thing, the response for the segment was pretty good."

Everyone smiled hearing the statement. Despite the differences in creative, everyone present here wanted LWC to do better. No matter which segment it was, it would be good for LWC as a whole.

"Looks like the carry-on effect from <Break Out> is indeed good," Robin said nodding along.

"Indeed so," Mr. Wolfe smiled happily, "we created enough interest among the fans causing them to tune in for this week’s show. And the idea of opening with Dacey paid dividends."

"True, the ratings for the entire night were 0.7 high. And two segments had more than 1 point increase in the ratings. Dacey’s and the main event," Mr. Gibson said laughing. "Robin, we need to implement the other idea. How is your talks with famous wrestlers."

"Difficult," Robin frowned a little. "What we are offering is barely above the market rate. Asking them to sign a long-term deal with such a low salary is difficult to accomplish."

"I see," Mr. Gibson nodded thoughtfully. "As of now, we can’t afford too much. We need to make sure that we have enough in reserve to see through this year of broadcast. The penalty fee is not something we could afford."

"I have a suggestion," Rob piped in causing the other three to look at him. "If we can’t hire them for long-term, we can hire them for the short-term. We will do one program with them and we can book it for the World Title."

"Hmmm, that is an avenue worth exploring," Mr. Wolfe said thinking hard about how to accomplish it.

"Here’s my idea," Rob said enthusiastically. "We will hire them for a month or two and run a program for the World Title. That way we will get enough value out of them and also create new hotspots for the main event. We will book our champion to take on all comers and win."

"There is a problem with that," Robin sighed from the side. "Not many influential and famous names will be willing to do that. They will want to be the ones to go over."

"We can’t have that," Mr. Gibson shook his head. "If we are booking for the World Title, then it would land the belt with them. Then, we would have to shell out a lot to get back our own title."

"What if we go for some famous midcarders?" Rob asked.

"If they are famous enough, they wouldn’t agree to lose to someone from our company. It would hurt their market value. Unless we pay enough, they wouldn’t go for it."

Robin said shaking his head.

"And if they aren’t famous enough, the prestige of our title will go down," Mr. Wolfe smiled sardonically causing Rob to nod in agreement.

This was the World Title. The most prestigious title that LWC had. And reducing its prestige would reduce LWC’s value as well. So, unless it is a last resort, such action was inadvisable.

"What if we bring in some old-timers?" Mr. Gibson asked suddenly.

"You mean old legends," Robin frowned not liking the idea much.

"It is just a temporary measure. Now that the women’s division has more eyes on it, we will move the women’s title to the semi-main event spot. Try to bring in young ones who are a little famous for the Diamond Championship. Meanwhile, we can try to raise the prestige of the World Title by bringing in some old legends," Mr. Gibson proposed.

"That way, Diamond Championship’s prestige would drop a bit," Robin frowned.

"We have to give something Robin," Mr. Wolfe said with a wan smile on his face. "We can’t always have everything. If Rob’s program works well, people won’t even notice the change in Diamond Championship’s card position."

"I am confident in giving a very interesting storyline. I have plans for three months in the pipeline," Rob assured from the side.

Robin still looked reluctant.

"Robin," Mr. Gibson called making him look up, "find some talented youngsters and offer them a shot at Diamond Championship. With how our ratings are now, you will be able to land some good ones with the money we are offering."

"Meanwhile, I will ask around and see if any of those old coots are willing to show up for a program. I have some favors that I can cash in. They would obviously ask for a high price. But, I will talk with them and see what could be done."

"Rob, your only job now is to make sure that the program with the women’s title garners enough attention. No one should notice the card position of Diamond Championship going down," Mr. Gibson said seriously.

"I will," Rob said nodding along.

"The next PPV we are going to put out is <Last Stand>. It will be in two months. So, we need to make sure that the card for this PPV is good enough. We had a good outing with <Break Out> and I want to follow it up with it," Mr. Gibson said looking at both Robin and Rob.

"Have you decided on the women’s division match?" Mr. Wolfe asked Rob.

"Yeah, we will be going with Dacey vs Diana. I am planning to pit them thrice. So, you don’t need to worry about the women’s division for some time," Rob replied.

"Booking them thrice in a row," Robin frowned. "Won’t the people get bored?"

"No, there will be an underlying story that will connect the three matches. This way, there will be a natural progression and escalation of the fight between them. Dacey will go over with the title at the end. And Diana will be left in the wings after that. I have someone else for her to feud with after her program with Dacey," Rob explained.

"No, I don’t want to risk it. Let’s keep it at two," Mr. Gibson said after listening to Rob. "Two matches means you have four to five months to build their story. It is enough. Trying too much will sour the audience. I don’t want anything to go bad with this."

Rob frowned a little. This would change his plans but was not something impossible. Anyway, he had four to five months to work with. So, it wasn’t a bother.

"I will see what can be done," Rob said finally.

"Good, in that case, the Diamond Championship is left to Robin and I will take care of World Title," Mr. Gibson said enthusiastically. "Let’s get cranking and put out another banger in two months."

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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