He had already put out several fires earlier in the week with the reinstatement of Luna Rain Draconis however the surprise visit of Antonio Romano to his office, his revelation about the origin of his other personality, the Dream Master - an entity Butch was no stranger to - and some far-fetched notion that this involved some sort of supernatural force and only the previous HWA owner had the means to reverse. Butch hadn’t given it much thought or credence since but it still irked him a bit, especially after seeing footage of Maniac’s lawyer, Mr Darryl Hammond accusing Butch of not being cooperative.
Having let the dust settle for a few days and with Wisdom having taken some of the load off his plate, including the announcement of the Helloween Harvest card, Matt’s withdrawal from the triple threat match between he, Sean and Jeremy as well as Vanessa’s resignation from her position as co-commentator, Butch felt it was high-time to now let everyone know his position on matters he could address.
Butch was sitting standing in front of his desk, leaning back on the wooden edge, hands and arms behind him, palms laid out flat on the flat surface, supporting his weight. He picked up a bottle of water next to him and took a long drink before replacing it back down. As he collected himself, the head of the camera crew finishing the set up of their equipment in his face spoke up.
(Crew Head): Mr. Parker, we’re ready when you are, sir!
Butch looks up and nods in acknowledgement.
(Butch): Thanks, Jerry. I’m good to go.
Jerry nods and motions to the crew to roll, counting down with his fingers from three and when he gets to one, he points to Butch to signal him to begin.
(Butch): Ladies and gentleman, fans of HWA and staff members alike. It has been a tumultuous few days for the HWA family both in front and behind the cameras. As my wife announced earlier this week, Hall of Famer Vanessa von Richtoven tendered her resignation earlier this week following the repeated incidents involving Erica Martinez. Speaking of Ms Martinez, whilst the company takes any accusation of sexual assault and misconduct extremely seriously, as personal friends of Hans and Vanessa von Richtoven and the sequence and pattern of events that have transpired involving Ms Martinez, I can confirm we will be supporting the von Richtovens through any legal process required to bring this matter to a conclusion that suits their circumstances. I have known Hans for over twenty years and I can attest to his incredible moral compass and character and will be happy to do so in any official legal capacity. However, given the injunction from Ms Alred, Ms Martinez will remain an active member of the HWA roster with full pay and benefits as per the terms of her contract.
Butch takes a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing.
(Butch): On to several other matters. As many fans and fellow superstars may have seen, HWA superstar, Matthew Miller has filed a grievance through our Human Resources Department as well as taking legal action against HWA employee Mandy Banks for slander. Whilst an internal investigation is ongoing, I can confirm Miss Banks will not be filling in for Mrs von Richtoven as play-by-play commentator for Havoc alongside Jason Thatcher. Miss Banks will be restricted to limited duties pertaining to specific media tasks that Co-CEO Mrs Parker will assign to her until the legal matter has been fully dealt with by the appropriate parties. I’m also aware Maniac and Miss Banks have chosen to involve their own attorney and have made their own official complaints regarding some issues they have with both myself and Mrs Parker. I’m curious to the testimony given to Mr Hammond by Maniac given the purpose of Mr Romano’s meeting with me was to procure information regarding the location of former HWA Owner and Majority Shareholder, Senester in regards to how to rid his psyche of the entity known as Dream Master and no such conversation took place regarding any intent on seeking legal counsel.
Butch sighs. He looks weary. So many of these matters to address plus what had been going on between him, Wisdom, Brandi and Cody. He was already facing a torrent of abuse online for “invading” WWE and trying to balance that, being a family man and dealing with this. It was certainly not ideal for all these issues happening at once.
(Butch): As I’m sure everyone is aware too, Mrs Parker and I also received an official letter of complaint from another long-tenured and well-respected member of the HWA family in Jason Thatcher. As we saw at Havoc, HWA superstar Maniac physically assaulted Mr Thatcher in an unnecessary and heinous act. Maniac, aka Antonio Romano is an official member of the HWA active roster of competitors, and, as such, is prohibited from laying his hands on HWA personnel. Therefore, Maniac slash Mr Romano will pay Mr Thatcher the full extent of the damages equal to the financial cost of the items damaged by him when he assaulted him on Havoc. In addition to this, Maniac slash Mr Romano and any of his other personalities, is prohibited from coming within twenty feet of Mr Thatcher. Any breach of this condition will result in the immediate and indefinite suspension of Maniac without pay. Maniac’s statement regarding Mr Thatcher personal feelings towards Miss Banks do not hold any clout. Mr Thatcher not liking Miss Banks does not give Maniac grounds to lay his hands on him.
Next, I will circle back to Mr Miller. Many will have seen or heard of an interaction that took place between him and Mr Jeremy Branson, another member of the active HWA roster. Mr Miller has gone on record to apologize for this. However, I would like to go on record and say there is no rule that prohibits fellow roster members from being in a relationship with each other, irrespective of creed, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Our Academy’s security footage is in place for the protection of everyone and I am satisfied no rules or regulations were broken or violated.
Again, Butch allows for a few moments of silence before continuing.
(Butch): Now, I understand Stu-E Price has been quite vocal regarding certain goings-on that have been happening as of late. Stuart, I can assure you that neither myself, nor Wisdom have any personal issue with you. The fact that you would even view a match with Hans von Richtoven at Helloween Harvest as punishment for having an opinion is tantamount to lunacy. I would have expected a competitor of your nature to be relishing the prospect of facing someone like Hans in a setting such as one of the HWA’s most popular pay-per-view extravaganzas. I also thought you knew me better than that. Clearly I was wrong. Stuart, I do not expect you to be a complacent “Yes” person, in fact, I implore any member of the roster, if they have any questions or concerns, to bring them straight to myself or Wisdom so we can sort them accordingly in the best way possible. I’ve already made my stance clear regarding your personal opinions on the HWA Academy and what it represents and whilst I think your assessment is both ignorant and completely wide of the mark, given you’ve never set foot in the our Academy yourself, to punish you for having an opinion would be ludicrous on my part. If I wanted to punish you for having an opinion, I could have just left you off the Helloween Harvest completely and let you stay at home.
Conscious that he may be going off on a tangent, Butch stops.
(Butch): My final announcement today is that as of a few days ago, Academy talent, Luna Rain Draconis has had her indefinite suspension lifted. Her father, current HWA superstar, William “The Dragon” Draconis, Luna Rain and myself spoke at length several days ago regarding the circumstances that led to Luna’s suspension in the first place. I am confident based on this conversation, that Luna understands my reasons for taking the action I did and is keen to get back to training so that she can join her brother and cousin in being part of the main roster here in HWA. That’s all for me, thank you for watching everyone, and I’ll see you all in Norfolk!
The scene fades to black.
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