Booking Glory-Chapter 76: Willy Wagner

"So, Steven, now that you are going to step out of AWF, what are you going to do next?" Rob asked trying to change the topic.

"Me?" Steven laughed. "Oh, I do have plans. Plans that are bigger and better. In fact, I didn’t call you down here to reminisce about our work, I am afraid that I have an ulterior motive."

Rob felt a niggle of worry in his heart hearing Steven speak, but he hid it well and chuckled along with Steven.

"Stop joking Steven," Rob shook his head. "What in the world could someone who is not even in the industry for a year bring to you?"

"Ah, that is where I beg to differ, you see. I see a lot of potential in you. And I want to provide you a platform to showcase it to the world," Steven said sipping his drink.

"With all due respect, Steven, I think I already have one such platform," Rob smiled shaking his head.

"What? You are talking about LWC? Come on, Rob. We both know that LWC is merely a stop in your journey to greatness. Don’t act as if it is your destination. We both know that you will grow bigger than LWC sooner or later," Steven said shaking his head.

As much as Rob agreed with that last statement, he didn’t want to verbalize it. So, he opted for a half-truth.

"Steven, I have never treated LWC as a stop in the journey," Rob replied.

And it was true. Rob had never treated LWC as something that he could get rid of as soon as possible. Provided, the motive for doing so is that he wanted to make LWC bigger and transform it into a top-tier promotion. Still, he had given his everything for LWC not holding back much.

"Is that so?" Steven asked raising his eyebrows a little. "In that case, what would you say if I offered you a stage that is comparatively bigger than LWC?" Steven asked looking curiously at Rob.

Rob didn’t know how to answer immediately. He knew that LWC was not that big of a promotion, all things considered. However, it was the ideal one for him to test out his ideas and hone his skills as a booker.

However, a bigger platform with a wider audience was tempting as well. That way he would have more opportunities to shine. But, was it necessary for him at this point in time?

That was the big question here, wasn’t it?

He still had programs that he was passionate about in LWC. If his passion for booking was eroded after some time in LWC, then it may be the ideal time to search for a bigger platform.

However, that wasn’t the case here. His current atmosphere was ideal for him. It let him show his expertise in a clear manner. While there is some issue with Robin and his employment contract, it isn’t something that would make him leave LWC. So, Rob already had an answer to his question.

"Steven, I am very happy with where I am right now, I don’t think I would be changing my mind any time sooner," Rob said with a soft smile.

The warmth in Steven’s eyes dimmed a little hearing that. Rob noticed that Steven didn’t like his answer much. But, the old man was professional enough to merely shake his head and lean back in his seat.

"Don’t knock stuff before you have even heard my offer," Steven said looking at Rob. "In fact, I think it would be better if you know the full story."

"Regardless of what you may say, Steven, I am happy with my current position at LWC. I don’t think anything would change my mind at this point. I have clear stories that I want to tell and have the complete freedom to do so as well, currently," Rob shook his head and sipped his drink.

"Well, hearing us out wouldn’t harm you either, does it?" Steven asked jokingly.

Rob almost shook his head before he registered Steven’s words correctly.

"Us?" Rob asked in confusion.

"I have talked a lot about you to a friend of mine. He was really eager to meet with you. So, I took the liberty to invite him over as well. He will be here any minute now," Steven said smiling.

Rob felt a bit of unease in his heart, but he couldn’t obviously make a scene for such a simple gesture. So, he could only swallow his feelings and look at Steven a little disgruntledly.

Just then, the door to their private booth opened and a tall man with greying hair walked into the room. The man’s stride had confidence oozing out of it. He walked in as if he owned the entire building.

"Speak of the devil," Steven chuckled getting up.

Rob rose up to greet the individual as well. The man reached Steven and gave him a hearty hug with a bright smile, before turning towards Rob. Rob didn’t know who this was, but the man felt vaguely familiar for some reason.

The man extended his hand and Rob shook it out of courtesy. The man’s grip was strong for his age. There was some vigor to it. Rob felt as if he was under scrutiny the moment the man laid his eyes on him.

"Rob, meet Willy Wagner," Steven smiled proudly beside the man. "You might have heard about his accomplishments in the business field. But, what you might not know is that he is a great personal friend of mine and above all, a great enthusiast of pro wrestling."

The moment Rob heard the name Willy Wagner, he realized why the man felt so familiar to him. Willy Wagner is a business tycoon who had his fingers in almost every industry that is doing well in the market. He is a legendary figure in the business circuit just like Steven was in the wrestling community.

It is rumored that he had more than sixty million dollars of assets. And he is also one of the very few successful business sharks existing in the country at this moment.

"Willy, this is Rob Williams," Steven introduced Rob back. "I have talked to you about him a lot."

"Indeed," the man gave off a charming smile and shook Rob’s hands. "Steven has high praise for you, young man. It is not often you hear Steven sing praises of someone repeatedly."

"It is my pleasure to meet someone like you, Mr. Wagner," Rob smiled and replied.

"No, if Steven is right about you, I would say it is my pleasure to meet such a young genius," Mr. Wagner patted Rob’s hand and disengaged the handshake. "Come, let’s relax. No need for formalities, we are just friends here."

Steven chuckled and sat down with a smug look on his face. Mr. Wagner took a seat near him and looked at Rob pensively. Rob sat in his seat and looked at the duo curiously.

"Forgive me, Mr. Wagner," Rob said trying to ease the atmosphere a little. "I wasn’t expecting to meet you here. Steven didn’t inform me."

"Don’t worry about that," Mr. Wagner waved his hands nonchalantly. "It was me who asked Steven to keep it as a surprise. So, Rob, is it? Steven here tells me that you are one of the most promising young ones he had seen in a while. I have to say that is quite an accomplishment to have Steven speak so highly of you."

"Thank you, Mr. Wagner," Rob said politely. "I don’t think I am worth such praise from Steven."

"And humble too, good," Mr. Wagner said nodding. "So, did Steven tell you why I wanted to meet with you?"

"No, I was just getting into that part when you arrived," Steven cut in smoothly. "As I said Rob, Willy is very passionate about pro wrestling. He had been a fan for a long time. Even before I met him, to be precise."

"It is hard not to," Mr. Wagner chuckled. "I was born here in Longham City. How could anyone born here not have an interest in wrestling?"

"Indeed," Steven chuckled along. "This city is the biggest paradise for pro wrestling."

Rob nodded in agreement as well. The fact was well documented. Apart from Longham City, no other city in this country had such a huge following for pro wrestling. That is why Longham City is referred to as the Mecca of Pro-wresting in this world.

"I grew up watching wrestling. In fact, pro wrestling shows were my usual weekend haunts when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I grew up and had to take care of my business. That had really cut into my free time and with it the time allocated to wrestling shows as well," Mr. Wagner shook his head a little sadly.

"Do you still follow pro wrestling Mr. Wagner?" Rob asked curiously.

"Whenever time permits," Mr. Wagner smiled a bit. "If you ask me whether I was on top of things, I would say no. But, I do dedicate some time every month to catch up on some shows like the ones AWF put out."

Rob nodded politely as he understood what Mr. Wagner was getting at. There was a time in his previous life when he had lost touch with pro wrestling for several months after he got busy with his job. But, that didn’t mean he lost his love for pro wrestling in general.

It is just that life happened and he had other priorities at that time. Even then, he would catch up on things that made huge waves just to keep in touch. Eventually, he once more managed to follow pro wrestling every week once he got things in his life into order. So, he completely understood Mr. Wagner’s predicament.

Rob knew that being a businessman had high demands on a person’s time. There is a saying in his world. While others calculated profits in regards to the work put out, businessmen calculated profits in regards to the time they spent on it.

"Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any of the shows you were on," Mr. Wagner said politely as he poured a drink for himself.

"Well, he isn’t in a top-tier promotion. So, I doubt you would have seen him," Steven said shaking his head. "Even then, you won’t see him wrestle."

Steven said mischievously.

"Oh, why is that?" Mr. Wagner asked pausing in the consumption of his drink.

"Rob, here is a booker/color commentator for LWC. He is not a wrestler per se," Steven chuckled causing Mr. Wagner to turn and look at Rob in a strange way.

Rob felt as if something wasn’t adding up. Steven had said that Mr. Wagner had wanted to meet him. But, Mr. Wagner didn’t even know what he did. While he could understand him not paying attention to LWC, he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Mr. Wagner didn’t know that he wasn’t a wrestler.

"Forgive me, Mr. Wagner," Rob said politely. "I am curious how you got to know about me."

"Oh, I can understand your confusion," Mr. Wagner chuckled at Rob’s question. "I and Steven talk sometimes over the phone regarding pro wrestling. He once told me about how he was sure that you would become a bigger star in the future. I was curious and asked if I could meet with you. Obviously, I mistook you for a wrestler. But, I have to say, being a booker at your age is more impressive than being a wrestler."

"Thank you," Rob said politely and smiled at him, despite not believing that pile of horse shit.

Rob knew that Mr. Wagner here knew who he was exactly and what he did. If not, a businessman like him wouldn’t take time out of his schedule to meet him. However, both Steven and Mr. Wagner seemed to be dancing a peculiar song and dance.

So, Rob didn’t want to expose them at this moment. He wanted to see what these two powerful men wanted with him. He knew that the topic will come up sooner or later. So, he decided to be patient and wait for that moment.

"Did you say LWC? I have been hearing good things about them lately," Mr. Wagner asked looking at Steven.

"True, they have been tearing things up lately," Steven nodded back sipping his drink. "Guess, who is the reason behind it?"

"It wouldn’t be you, would it, Rob?" Mr. Wagner asked curiously.

"I am afraid Steven is exaggerating. I am merely responsible for the women’s division at LWC," Rob said modestly.

"And the women are the ones that made LWC the talk of the town in the past two months," Steven chimed in smiling at Rob.

"The women’s division? I can hardly recall LWC having a women’s division, to be honest," Mr. Wagner said intrigued.

"Exactly, he was the one that brought them to the map. He had done some interesting things with them, to be honest," Steven replied with a sly smile on his lips.

"Oh, I am curious now. What did you do?" Mr. Wagner asked Rob.

"Nothing much, to be honest. I merely changed the way we traditionally tell a story. I introduced the concept of good guys vs bad guys. Good guys, in this case, are what I call faces. They would be repeatedly harassed by the bad guys, who are called heels. Instead of going a challenger vs champion route, I booked the story as faces vs heels," Rob explained succinctly.

"Faces? Heels? Interesting... Can you elaborate on how you go about it a bit?" Mr. Wagner asked.

By now, Rob was well-versed in phrasing the things he wanted to introduce or explain in a simple, but effective manner. So, he talked to Mr. Wagner about his idea of creating an interesting story to go along with matches and how they would, in turn, make things interesting for the audience.

The trio chatted with Steven chiming in from time to time to give his own bit of wisdom on things. They chatted well into the night and Rob found that Mr. Wagner was genuinely interested in the concept he was telling. He asked all the right kinds of questions and listened to his and Steven’s explanations patiently.

"I can see how this is a really good concept. If this can be done with established stars, I am sure the company would rake in a lot of money," Mr. Wagner said sounding impressed.

"Not exactly, there is a drawback to this model as well," Steven said sipping his drink. "If an established star suddenly becomes a bad guy, he will lose half his fan base at the minimum."

"But, that is only in the short run, isn’t it?" Rob countered, by now he was really into the discussion. "If it is booked properly, the heel will in turn amass a following of his own and can even win over some of his haters with his performance. Not to mention, people will turn up to see his antics and their results. Overall it is a win-win for both the talent and company in the long run."

"Only if it is booked properly," Steven said wagging his fingers. "If it is fumbled, you lose a lot of fans for nothing."

"Agreed," Rob had to give him that. "But at the same time, there will be an increase in the fan base for the company as a whole right?"

"Ha ha ha... you got me there, kid. I had to admit, you sound very confident about this idea. And I can see why you feel that way too. You have hones this model to perfection in your mind. That is why I am telling you, Willy, we need to bring him on board with our venture."

"I agree, I don’t think I can be at ease with someone else operating this model. Maybe, in time, other people might grasp the technique. But, for now, he is only one," Mr. Wagner said nodding along.

"Ummm, sorry, I am a bit lost here. Can you tell me what this is all about? And what exactly is the venture you both spoke about?" Rob asked butting in.

He knew that it was the right time to see what these two old foxes wanted with him.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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