One Week Earlier
HWA’s full corporate staff of nearly 40 had been summoned to this ambiguous early morning meeting. Dark faces entered the room, many with lowered heads, and few made eye contact as she came in. She knew that the very first thing she would need to do is to dispel any rumors, and put everyone at ease.
(Wisdom): Good Morning everyone, thank you for all being on time. Let’s get right to it then…first I’d like to say that nothing is wrong, jobs are not at jeopardy, and we are not shutting down. I’ve heard various whispers the past week since this meeting was announced, none of which are true. We have been unable to make any announcement official or unofficial until this time so thank you for your patience. Before I begin, I must remind each of you of your non-disclosure agreements. What is said in this room, does not leave our offices.
The mood in the room turns from gloom to confusion as Wisdom takes a breath before continuing, with a slightly proudful smile.
(Wisdom): Butch and I have just finalized a deal with CBS. HWA is returning to mainstream operations.
The room bursts into cheers, claps, some jumping out of their seat…others remaining seated and still apprehensive. Wisdom’s smile broadens at the excitement.
(Wisdom): What does this mean to each of you and to us? First, Butch and I want to thank each of you for taking this journey with us these past years. Some of you were with us from the very start and others of you came along after 2015. We rely on each of you to do what you been that has kept this company not only afloat, but brought us to a point of stability and now elevated ourselves to the first steps of this monumental return. It’s important to say that this deal with CBS is not like deals you see from other promotions. Their involvement is largely restricted to hosting our shows, utilizing our media library, and mediating our relationship with potential sponsors. No one is going to be subject to wearing CBS t-shirts, their name and logo is not going to be plastered on everything we do, and they have very little input in our operations or production. However, they are a major outlet, and we will be subject to a set of standards befitting CBS’s global reputation. Meaning, each of us must step it up a notch. There’s going to be more work, but many more rewards. We expect to relaunch merchandising, we’ve partnered with AXS to manage ticket sales, we’ll be updating our production equipment that has remained fairly the same these past years, hiring some new staff for key positions…cameramen, designers, musicians, the list goes on.
Hands start going up with questions, but Wisdom motions for them to hold their thought as she finishes.
(Wisdom): We have one week before CBS makes this announcement, and from there its going to be full speed ahead. In 2015 when we all but closed the doors on HWA many of you remember we were fighting to just survive. We have some very busy and long days ahead of us and this time we are fighting to prosper and to shine like never before. This is the biggest comeback in wrestling history. No company that went under has returned one a scale as this big as HWA is preparing to do. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done, and all that you will do in the coming weeks. I guess you guys have some questions so let’s hear it.
Wisdom begins pointing to individuals to take questions.
(Staffer): With the company growing, if we wanted to change positions is that possible?
(Wisdom): The short answer is yes. Butch and I want to remind each of you how much we support your professional goals. You all know very well our commitment to our talent and to you. A better you, makes a better us. If there is something you wish to transition to and you’d like the opportunity to express of even develop your skills in that area we will support it.
(Staffer): Does this mean a lot of the old superstars will be coming back too?
(Wisdom): I honestly don’t know. You know, this is a very, very different company than when any of them were last here. I don’t know if anyone will want to be a part of this vision or not, but we have toyed with the idea of at least having a full on HWA reunion show and inviting everyone in our long history to return. If anyone decides to come, see what we are about today and stick around after, then we will welcome them to do so.
(Staffer): Where are the wrestlers at, shouldn’t they be hearing this too?
(Wisdom): They are all in the performance center with Butch having a very similar discussion. What this means to them is quite a bit different than what it means to you. This young talent has no idea what it means to be part of a large organization, they are about to be thrust into the public eye in ways they may have dreamed about but could never actually know what it means until now. There’s media and conduct training, I mentioned merchandise…many will be thinking about what they want to put out there and even new ring gear, they’re going to be making a considerable amount more of money and we have financial advisors coming in to support them, and many other things they are going to need to know and consider personally and professionally.
(Staffer): When are we going like…live with everything? Are we doing new shows, are we going to have pay-per-views?
(Wisdom): We have not set a date yet to relaunch any shows. I can tell you that Butch and I talked about it and CBS executives agreed that “Havoc” should remain our mainstay show. There is a legacy there, and we want to continue it as well as some of the previous PPV names.
(Staffer): We’ve been doing fine all these years. I thought you guys were happy, why do we have to go and swing open the corporate floodgates? What if this blows up in our face and we’re really in the hole and really have to shut it all down permanently?
(Wisdom): I won’t lie to you, this almost didn’t happen. Butch and I went back and forth over this, we argued, we debated, we brainstormed and finally we reached a consensus. You know, in 2015 we had a very similar conversation…whether or not to keep going. When everything went south we though, what is the point in operating a wrestling promotion when you can’t be the best? At the time we couldn’t be the best anymore, we couldn’t even be good. When we pulled back all the layers what remained was our love for this business. It didn’t matter that we were small, it didn’t matter that we were reduced to a Youtube channel, it didn’t matter that the company was broke. As most of you know I was pregnant with our son David in 2016, can you imagine he’ll be 6 later this year? You’ve all seen him running around the place.
Wisdom starts to get teary eyed.
(Wisdom): Those of you who are parents know what it means for your child’s well being to be your top priority. You might call Butch and I in some regards “has-beens” but you have no idea how good it felt for our daughter Evina to finally live life like a normal child. There was no media staking out our house at all hours of the day every time she looked out the window or wanted to go out and play, no one at school pointing at her with “I saw your mommy’s boobies on tv.”
The room laughs bringing a brief chuckle to Wisdom as she wipes her right eye.
(Wisdom): Seriously, you’re right…we were happy. Probably, happier than we’ve ever been in the business. The fan approaches slowed and ceased, I could go to the mall and shop and sure, I got a stare or two at times but not so much as a “can I get your autograph?” came may way over time and I found myself liking it more than I ever thought I would. But, deep down…anyone who has been in this business will tell you…if that spotlight isn’t on you, if the roar of a crowd isn’t ringing in your ears, hell if you’re not aching or in pain in some part of your body…there will always be a small space in you with something missing.
Wisdom clears her throat.
(Wisdom): It was few months back in the performance center, I guess it was like any other day with the guys doing some drills and training. As he often does, Butch had pulled up an old match and had been showing the guys a few specific moves he had them working on learning and perfecting…I don’t remember which ones. Anyway…they had seen the footage and went out to the ring to train. David being the investigative little boy you all know him to be had wandered into the observation room where they still had the television on with the show replaying. Coincidentally it had gotten to a point where Butch was in the ring with AC James…I think it was The Other Side ppv, can’t remember which year, but David walked in on this to see his dad on screen getting assaulted and blood pouring from his nose. (Pointing) I think you Susan called me from the office to tell me to hurry over there. I ran down the hall thinking he had took a fall or something fell on him. He wasn’t supposed to be in the performance center as you well know. When I got there, Butch already had him scooped up in his arms but he was inconsolable. I looked at Butch, then over his shoulder and saw the television with the end of the match taking place. We’ve been very protective of what the kids see, they know what we do and Evina understands it much more now than she did when she was David’s age. They get to watch some of the old matches but not all of them, and certainly not the violent ones. All David saw was his father on the screen in pain and blood and his little mind couldn’t process it. Butch was remorseful that they hadn’t shut the tv off, but David had never wandered in there before…it wasn’t anyone’s fault. We had a long talk with him about it, and after he knew that daddy was ok, he seemed much more at ease and back to normal, or so we thought.
A few weeks after this incident, even after taking measures to make sure he didn’t sneak over there our little genius found a way and got himself into the performance center yet again. Butch was in the ring having a training match with one of the guys and here comes our son. He climbs himself up on the stairs, trips on the rope into the ring just as Butch…and I think was Kevin, were getting back to their feet. He runs in between them, balls his little fists up and hits Kevin in the shin. They look down and there’s David yelling “Leave my daddy alone.”
Wisdom smiles as they chuckle, again wiping a tear from her face.
(Wisdom): The guys all laughed, but for Butch I think the world just froze in that moment. It was such an amazing moment, but he looked around the small room and there were no fans, there were no big and bright ring lights, there was no referee, there were no seats, no smell of beer and cheap concession food, there was nothing but a few wrestlers, some trainees, four walls and a sweat stained mat. If this same scenario had played itself out just a few years prior, there wouldn’t have been a person in their seat, there would be a viral meme of David all over the internet, the roar of the arena crowd would have been deafening, the lights blinding, the smells overwhelming. It was…….sad. It was sad because our little company wasn’t a great big company anymore and those weren’t experiences David could have. Those are the things in that hole inside of us that are missing. Butch was so proud of him. Fearless, just like his dad. He thought his dad was being hurt again and he was going to stop it, so there he went.
Like I said, we were happy, but this series of events with David changed us. Those holes seemed to become a lot deeper and a lot harder to ignore. Deep down we both would have given anything for him to experience all of the very best parts of HWA as it was before. Maybe in some ways we felt like we had robbed our children from really knowing a major part of ourselves in the name of protecting them. David became too curious, wanting to imitate any and everything he saw even if was from an inanimate poster in the hall. His dad became more of his hero than he had ever been before. Still, while we did share a bit more…we kept as much as possible from he and Evina. Then down the line we get a call from CBS. Of the many, many things we talked about was what this meant to our family, first and foremost. I don’t have to tell you that as much as it might hurt, Butch has walked away from that ring many times before for the perseverance of our families wellbeing. I wasn’t too keen on the idea myself at the start, but there was that hole and as the days and weeks went on, as the negotiations continued we’d look at one another Butch and I, and I think we saw one another, saw through each other. He looked into me and saw how much I adore Evina when she gets hold of my Manolo Blahnik’s and struts down the hallway at home like mommy. I looked into him and saw the overwhelming pride and joy when David comes into the gym at home and tries to imitate him doing pushups or squats and they go to the kitchen after and Butch makes them both protein shakes so they can stay “big and strong”…David’s of course is chocolate milk, but he thinks it’s his “powtween power.”
To get back to your question, even if it blows up in our face, even if we find ourselves right back here where we began small and in the shadows…for that period of time that it lasts for our family, all together for the very first time in this way…its worth every bit of it. But, No, we’re not going to fail. We’re going to rise! HWA will rise again, but we’re not going back to the old HWA. We’re not throwing away all the work we’ve done. We’re not saying now that we’re back in the spotlight…let’s do what we did before. This company was ruined before and not by us. We’ve resurrected wrestling in that little ring of ours. We’ve stripped away the drama and the violence, the chaos and mayhem to provide the very essence of what this business is...the greatest competitive sport in the world. We’ve busted our asses to rebuild our reputation from the gutter it was in and we’ll be damned if we rinse and repeat to see it all unfold again. This ladies and gentlemen we’re not changing anything…we’ve been doing fine. What we get to do now is show the world and we couldn’t ask for more.
Another burst of cheers sweeps the room. Wisdom comes from behind the podium to shake everyone’s hand and offer hugs. In the back of her mind she wonders and hopes that Butch’s meeting is going equally as well although he has a much tougher crowd to deal with.
Back at the edge of her bed, she brings herself out of reminiscing.
Wisdom looks over at the clock again and its now 4:40 a.m. The kids are still sleep of course, Butch is at least pretending to be she thinks, and the nanny will be coming around 6:00 a.m. It gives her some time to hit the gym, hop in the shower and prepare her notes for the interview with Gayle King. There was also an official HWA announcement she had to think about. She would connect with Butch later on this as they had a few ideas floating around in their head. Its best they do it together she thought, maybe a video instead of a press release, there would be plenty of those in the coming days as it was. In any event, it was done…CBS had broken the news. She gets up off the bed and walks into the restroom. Cutting the lights on she brushes a few tendrils of her hair in place and stares at herself in the mirror. It seems like forever that she stares as if she’s looking at another person waiting to speak. A smile broadens on her face and to the woman in the mirror looking back at her she says “Let’s Go Bitch!”
Message Thread
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