Booking Glory-Chapter 44: Diana’s Return - Part 2

As Diana sprinted towards the ring, the crowd went nuts all over the arena. This return of Diana from storyline injury has been long-awaited. And Rob had to even postpone it for a week later due to unforeseen circumstances.

The crowd was already very eager to see Diana return and listen to her side of things after that heinous attack by Dacey at <Break Out>. And the situation currently couldn’t be any more ideal.

Dacey Surestone was well poised to injure another wrestler, just like what she did to Diana. And she has been antagonizing the crowd for weeks now. The crowd was eager to see someone shut her up.

Initially, they had put their hopes on Joselyn, but Dacey had defeated her and was even planning to take her out permanently. Dacey was like this huge villain at this moment.

And Diana returning to rescue Joselyn from Dacey’s clutches is just the ideal hero entrance many people crave deep in their hearts. So, hearing Diana’s music alone was enough to send them into a frenzy.

When Diana actually came out of the curtain and ran towards the ring, it just ignited the long-suppressed emotions inside each and every one of them. The crowd felt their blood pumping and they rose up to cheer the return of their hero in a wholesome manner.

Cheers echoed across the arena as the crowd started chanting Diana’s name over and over again. Diana entered the ring like she was on a rescue mission. There was no fanfare or playing to the crowd. She just ran directly to the ring.

Dacey, who had already seen Diana coming, got out of the ring and started angrily pacing outside looking in Diana’s direction. Diana entered the ring and found Dacey already on the outside.

She went in her direction and started threatening her. Dacey mouthed off from the outside but refused to enter the ring. She walked around the ring as if she was looking for an opportunity.

Diana warily followed her inside the ring. Seeing this, Dacey lost her shit and started kicking the steps and threatening to enter the ring. Diana stood ready for her to enter the ring.

However, just as it looked like Dacey would enter, she backed off and walked towards the entranceway. Dacey kept mouthing off as she made her way back to the entrance stage.

Diana slowly backed off and turned to check on Joselyn who had just sat up. She consoled Joselyn and kept an eye on Dacey’s whereabouts all the while. Diana’s actions were realistic enough that the crowd believed them wholeheartedly.

Dacey stood at the entrance stage and looked at Diana helping Joselyn stand up in the ring. She mouthed off a few more times and left the stage through the curtain. Diana raised Joselyn’s hand to show her appreciation for the new talent and the crowd ate it up like it was a delicious dish.

Diana and Joselyn posed for a bit and even hugged it out, causing the crowd to go nuts. Throughout the segment, from Diana’s entrance to the final posing, the crowd was cheering constantly.

They were happy that Diana looked alright and was in good shape. They were happy to see her in person. They chanted her name over and over showing their appreciation for her.

Diana took it in with the champion’s poise. As experienced as she was, this was really novel to her as well. Never had a crowd been cheering for her mere presence like this. She almost broke character and cried seeing it.

This was once in a lifetime experience for her.

While she might receive the same kind of cheer in the following weeks, the first time was really special. Diana now truly believed in the vision that Rob had painted for her.

She knew when she and Dacey came face to face inside this ring; the excitement of the crowd would blow the roof. Just their confrontation alone was enough for the crowd to go nuts.

And they hadn’t even thrown hands at each other yet.

Diana soaked in the cheers with a bright smile and posed for the crowd. As she made her way back, she paused and gave out a few waves, and hugged the children in the front row.

The crowd truly loved it. They absolutely adored her. Rob sat watching this from commentary and he couldn’t help but smile. However, the words that were coming out of his mouth were contradictory and venomous.

"She absolutely had no right! No right! No right to interfere in the Goddess’s business like that. The Goddess was doing the right thing by teaching Joselyn Rivers a lesson. She warned Joselyn before the match and she was only carrying out her promise," Rob seethed.

"Well, it became Diana’s business when Dacey attacked her at <Break Out>, Rob. And right now, she was looking to injure yet another wrestler. No one is going to sit and watch. Especially a locker-room leader like Diana," Dallas rebutted.

"Diana should have minded her own business. She shouldn’t come poking her nose in the Goddess’s business at all. No wonder, the Goddess taught her a lesson at <Break Out>."

"If Dacey is as unpleasant as she is here backstage, it is really a wonder that no one had taken her to the task until now," Dallas snorted.

"All I am saying is that Diana is a busybody. She pokes her nose where it doesn’t belong. And as I said, actions have consequences. She was really lucky that the Goddess didn’t end her career at <Break Out>!"

"No one here is begrudging Diana for getting involved in Dacey’s business tonight. Not me, not Irvin, not the wrestlers backstage, and definitely not them," Dallas said pointing at the crowd who were cheering wildly.

"Well, I mind it. And obviously so does the Goddess. Let me be clear Dallas, Diana has done something she shouldn’t have done. And it will come to bite her in the ass."

"Diana will worry about it when Dacey has the courage to face her head-on. Tonight, she once more proved that she was a coward. She didn’t dare face Diana in the ring and slithered off like a snake."

"While I admit that the Goddess has a snake-like flexible waist, I warn you not to disparage her Dallas. What Dacey did today wasn’t cowardly. She was smart. And it is called strategy," Rob inverted black and white.

"The Goddess has been in a grueling match, teaching respect to that upstart Joselyn Rivers. Meanwhile, Diana is all fresh and well-rested. The Goddess decided that discretion is the better part of valor and retreated."

"Such unfairness didn’t stop Dacey from attacking Diana after a far more grueling match at <Break Out>, did it?" Dallas snorted.

"That’s Diana’s fault for not being aware of her surroundings. She obviously let the victory get to her head and she was in la-la-land, making it easy for the Goddess to attack."

"You saw how the Goddess remained humble and even alert despite decimating Joselyn Rivers. That’s called situational awareness, Dallas. I wouldn’t expect someone old like you to know about it."

"Call a spade a spade, Rob. Dacey Surestone is a coward. Nothing more, nothing less," Dallas said shaking his head.

"Hmmph, we will see who the coward is when the Goddess decides to take care of Diana once and for all. Diana may be the champion, but she doesn’t hold a candle to the Goddess’s prowess inside that ring," Rob said snootily.

"Guys, guys, let’s calm down here. Tempers are flaring here gentlemen and ladies. The situation between Dacey and Diana has gotten more tricky now. We will see how this pans out after the break," Irvin piped in announcing the ad break.

*****

Rob sat backstage listening to the employees discuss tonight’s merchandise sales. Apparently, Dacey’s T-shirt was still the hottest moving product among the merchandise. It was followed by Mark Weathers, who was the current LWC World Champion, and interestingly enough Diana.

Diana’s T-shirts have seen a rapid rise in sales compared to last week’s. Rob figured that with the following two weeks of programming, Diana’s sales figures will see a rise once more and then stable out.

Dacey’s, on the other hand, didn’t look like slowing down. Rob wondered if he should Dacey’s new shirt that was in pipeline soon or let the fervor for this one rage on a bit longer. If he did push the new shirt out, then there was a chance that the sale might split between two shirts.

It would hinder both the new shirt’s momentum and extinguish the fire the old shirt was on. While there still remained a month for it to happen, Rob was wondering if he should postpone it until a bit later.

Rob also noted that Marshall Jones’ T-shirt wasn’t moving as much as LWC expected it to move. LWC was going to play the long game to recoup their investments in this.

The problem was the contract Marshall Jones signed was not for long. He would only work for LWC until <Last Stand>. It probably meant that the investment LWC put in for his merchandise will take a hit.

Rob also realized another worrying thing. As much as he was pushing the sales and revenue in the women’s division, the men’s division was hemorrhaging more money as of late. And it didn’t look like it will stop soon.

It would mean that the LW C accounts might not get a good look at the end of this financial year. The investment LWC put in the men’s division was the biggest. That made it imperative that they found a way to salvage it soon. Or else, despite the success of the women’s division, LWC might sink.

Rob had a few ideas on how to go about it. However, he knew that Robin would never agree to him putting his nose there. So, he could only wait till Mr. Gibson saw it fit to give him some more responsibilities.

As Rob mulled over these things, someone sat beside him. Rob turned and looked over to see Mark Weathers, the current LWC World Champion looking at him with hesitation in his eyes.

"Mark, what’s up?" Rob asked jovially.

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask something. If this isn’t the right time, then I will come by later," Mark Weathers said relaxing.

"Nah, it’s fine. I am just taking a rest and hearing these guys go over the sales figures," Rob said gesturing to the other employees who had looked over.

"Oh, all right. I have been meaning to speak to you for weeks. Unfortunately, you don’t frequent the training center as much as you used to."

"Sorry about that. I have been pretty busy these days. As you know, I am in charge of the entire women’s division. So, I had to run around a lot. I am still here in the office. But, I don’t have much free time to drop by there."

"Your presence is missed, I assure you that. You used to deal with newbies a lot. And without you, some of the new signings are like headless chickens. They have been making messes left and right," Mark chuckled.

"Mark, the training center will be there for a long time. It doesn’t matter if I come there or not. It is their responsibility to learn stuff," Rob chuckled along.

"Say that to the ones who think they are the next big thing," Mark snorted.

"Yeah, they are a pain in the ass to deal with," Rob smiled reminiscing about a few encounters of his own.

"Whatever," Mark shrugged. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you for some advice. How do you think I can improve my game?"

Rob looked at him surprised. He didn’t expect Mark to ask him of all people. If Mark wanted, there will be a line of people telling him how to do something in LWC.

"Don’t look at me like that," Mark snorted. "I have seen what you have done with the women’s division. Not just me, a lot of people have noticed. You have made the women’s division rise out of obscurity just in a few weeks. Not just anybody could do that."

"Thanks, I guess," Rob said scratching his head. "But, I am not sure if I am the right guy..."

"Stop there," Mark motioned him to stop. "Do you think I lack people who want to advise me and cling on to me as I rise? No. I have plenty of such people out there." Mark said motioning to the locker room.

"What I want is a critical analysis of me and my presentation in the ring. You have a unique way of going about it. I have talked with Dacey and Diana. And they have told me that you gave them a lot of useful suggestions. Frankly, for someone who has just been in the business for less than a year, that is impressive."

"Very few people actually know what to do out there. Most of us are just scrambling around blindly trying to find out what works and what doesn’t. Some find it and they rise up above others."

"Others don’t and they stay mediocre. I am at the stage in my career, where I need a little push to be more popular. Help me out here," Mark said looking seriously.

"I do not have any template for quick success Mark. If that is what you are after, I am afraid I will disappoint you. However, what I can do for you is to put things into perspective," Rob said agreeing.

"Answer me this," Rob started. "What do you think is more important out there to become big?"

Mark remained silent for a few moments before finally answering, "Talent?"

"No," Rob shook his head. "There are many talented wrestlers who can put out clinical classics on a weekly basis out there. But, are they all that big? No."

"Then?"

"The Crowd! The crowd is the most important thing. If you take any wrestler who had made it big, you can see one common thing among them. They won over the crowd. The crowd liked to see them."

Mark Weathers nodded as if he understood what Rob was getting at.

"It may seem simple, Mark. But, trust me, it isn’t that easy. My goal has always been very simple, to get the crowd behind the program I am putting out. You could say that almost all the bookers have the same goal. But, where I am different is how I approach it."

"To me, what is happening out there is a story we are putting out. Two guys fighting over a belt or something else. It is as simple as that. So, how do I make it interesting? I simply made the crowd want to see one person get beaten up by the other person."

"All I have done till now was towards that. I made Dacey a despicable person. In opposition to her, I positioned Diana as a heroic leader. Who doesn’t want a hero to beat up a villain? It is as simple as that."

"But," Rob paused lifting his finger. "But, if I go out there this week and say so and so is the villain and so and so is the hero and let them fight, how do you think it will work? It won’t. The crowd needs time to believe in what I am saying. So, I take weeks to build towards that."

"So, changing the narrative is all that is needed?" Mark asked in confusion.

"Sure, if you are a booker. But, you are a wrestler, aren’t you? What does it matter if the story is interesting if it doesn’t bring you any good? What a booker wants and a wrestler wants aren’t always the same thing. Sure, a good story is needed. But, to you as a wrestler, your priority always has to be making the crowd fall for you."

"How do I do that?"

Rob scratched his chin thoughtfully. He did have plenty of ideas. But, none of them suited Mark as a whole. What Mark needed now was a gimmick. A gimmick that sets him apart and makes him look interesting compared to others.

"This might take a while. You free now?"

"Sure, is it fine here? If not, where do you want to go?" Mark asked.

"Well, we are all done for the night. I will stop by the women’s locker room and come back in half an hour. Let’s meet up at the entrance. We will go grab a beer and discuss it somewhere."

"No issues. I will be there," Mark said rising up. "I will go pack my stuff and meet you at the entrance in half an hour."

Rob nodded and got up as well.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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