Rob sat in his newly allocated office space as he mulled over the records of the women's division. The more he read, the more he understood the situation regarding the women's division.
LWC had 13 female wrestlers contracted under them. In that, five of them were trainees, who had just joined the company in the last year. While they had good potential, they weren't ready to be inside the ring yet. So, naturally using them in his program wasn't a viable option.
That left 8 readily available wrestlers for him to work with. So, Rob focused his attention on those eight first. He divided them into various types to gain an understanding of what he had to work with.
There were two submission specialists on the list namely Evelyn Carter and Diana Wharton. Those two had solid in-ring skills with a good reputation among the fans. In fact, Diana Wharton was the current LWC Women's Champion. This alone was enough to prove her skills.
Diana Wharton had all the makings of becoming a ring general. She had ample experience and a good presence of mind. She was also able to dictate the pace of a match when needed and had a very high evaluation among LWC officials.
She also had an athletically toned physic that wasn't too buff. It made her an ideal material to put the title on. Her cheery face had conquered a large number of fans in Longham City and she was one of the most popular members of the roster.
However, her mic work was only average.
It wasn't entirely her fault. The standards for promo in this world aren't very high and only a few were able to have the natural charisma required to get over in this world. In fact, this aspect of pro wrestling has been largely ignored in this world.
In Rob's evaluation, Diana had all the makings of a great babyface. With a little bit of polishing and a targeted storyline, he had the confidence to make Diana the new face of the women's division in LWC.
On the other hand, Evelyn Carter was a bit worse in Rob's opinion. While her looks were average, her face wasn't the right kind to make her a good babyface. In fact, Rob was wondering if she could make a great heel.
With her fierce appearance, Evelyn Carter could be the kind of heel that took no shit and whooped everyone's ass. Her temperament would also suit such a character.
But to develop her to such a level, would take time. He needed to craft a character that gradually became overbearing and dominating for it to work. So, Rob put her on the long-term development list.
Then came the four generic wrestlers by the name of Alanna Spears, Marie Dawson, Leia Boumont, and Selena Sanchez. Among them, both Alanna and Selena could be categorized as main-event material. Marie and Leia will need a long time to rise to that standard.
If he performed a targeted push towards them, they had a good chance to rise. But, as of now, Rob didn't have the luxury to plan their development. So, he had to leave them alone for now.
Among Alanna and Selena, Rob chose Selena to concentrate on the immediate future, leaving Alanna to be used as a backup when this program was over with.
He couldn't use everyone on a single program. Mr. Gibson had given him a year. So, he needed to pace himself and provide quality programs one after the other. This way, he would prove his consistency and have a good base to expand further.
So, keeping a few potential good stocks in reserve made more sense. And then there was the one and only powerhouse type of wrestler Fiona Greenthorn.
Her physical aspects were good and she had the innate power advantage that powerhouses usually possessed. She could be an interesting matchup to a number of other female wrestlers if booked properly.
All in all, this mix was good and he could make great programs with them. Despite all their advantages, Rob felt that there was something missing among all of them. But, when he saw the details of the last person, his eyes couldn't help but shine.
Dacey Surestone – 27 years old. Had a hot body and a great in-ring presence. Just seeing her made him feel that she had what it takes to be a great star. There was an in-built arrogance in her temperament.
However, she didn't have great success in LWC. For one reason or the other, she had never managed to break into the championship scene. She was like an unpolished gem in Rob's eyes.
The moment Rob laid his eyes on her profile, he knew she was the one on whom this entire program will hinge on. As his eyes roved over the details mentioned in her profile, the confidence to use her grew more and more.
Dacey Surestone wasn't that great in the ring. She had been in the business for less than two years. She was one of the legacy disciples of Mr. Gibson. Once upon a time, Mr. Gibson had high hopes for her. But, an untimely injury and a string of botches in consecutive matches lowered her value tremendously.
Even though her injury had been cured and her performance after that had not been bad. She didn't have that one match that could turn her life around. Most of her matches were average and her skills in the ring were not good enough to change an average match into a classic.
So, she had been held down on the card ever since LWC had gone on-air. She hadn't been given enough time to shine on TV and the female wrestlers in general had less time to shine. So, a multitude of reasons had held her down.
But, in Rob's eyes, these things made her the perfect fit for the storyline he had been planning. Her identity as Mr. Gibson's disciple made it more meaningful and gave whole new rhetoric for him to work with.
With his mind made up, Rob collected his information and made his way toward Mr. Gibson's office.
By the end of that meeting, Mr. Gibson was smiling so brightly that Rob wondered if his teeth were hurting.
*****
Dacey Surestone entered the LWC training center as usual with a determined gait, hoping to prove herself as a worthy wrestler who had been personally trained by Mr. Gibson.
Her life had been tumultuous for the past few years. Marrying her high school sweetheart was a dream come true when she was 19. But, no one had told her that such marriages didn't often have fairy tale endings.
Two years after their marriage, the whirlwind of love was long gone and both she and her sweetheart were stuck in a loveless marriage trying to make ends meet. She even took up a job as a waitress to make enough money for them.
Like all things, things came to head when she caught him cheating on her in her very own marriage bed. Words were thrown around and fists flew. Within six months she became a newly divorced 22-year-old trying to find her way in life.
Lost love, heartache, and a cheating husband were a perfect recipe for depression to set in. Her parents were entirely unsympathetic to her plight and told her it was her fault to marry that asshole despite their protests.
To compound that, the bastard's parting words were like knives lodged in her heart. She couldn't bring herself to care anymore for anything in the world. So, her life took a monotonous tone as she went to work, made enough money, drank a lot, and wasted her life.
While her depression wasn't severe, it did have an adverse effect causing her to not care about much and go through her life in a drunken haze. Two more years rolled around, there weren't many changes in her life.
When she was 25, she heard that her ex had married and settled down with a beautiful girl. It made her wonder if the problem was truly with her. That was the first time she came out of her haze.
Determined to not let the bastard win, she decided to move away from her hometown and came to Longham City. Her life in Longham City wasn't great initially, but the city's professional wrestling culture did make an impact on her.
Soon, she became a regular at wrestling events and became passionate about it like the rest of Longham City dwellers. During one such event, she came by a poster that advertised LWC.
LWC was just a training center at that time. So, in a bid to do something with her life, Dacey joined the training program. She didn't know what she was actually doing there, but the training gave her a much-needed direction in her life. So, she clung to it and worked hard.
Soon, she had the appreciation of Mr. Gibson. Mr.Gibson helped her to channel her inner rage and frustration and made her focus on her life more. He arranged for her to wrestle in other promotions.
The first time she wrestled in front of a crowd, she was very nervous. But, to see so many people watching her performance kindled something strange inside her. She felt like a star at that moment.
So, she put in more effort and trained more. Her career as a pro wrestler looked as if it would soon pick up. But, suddenly out of nowhere, she suffered an injury. Despite Mr. Gibson's advice she continued to wrestle as she didn't know what to do without it anymore.
Due to her injury, she became sloppy. Botches appeared frequently on matches causing others to complain about her. But, it wasn't anything big. So, she didn't care about it much.
Then, one day, she was treated with cold shoulders and closed doors out of nowhere.
Initially, she thought that she had blown her career. It led to even more frustration and anger. Her insecurity issues once more popped up causing her old drinking problem to flare up.
Luckily, Mr. Gibson was there to help her through it. She learned that it wasn't her problem, but it was Mr. Gibson's old enemies moving in the background. When Mr. Gibson proposed that he would be putting out his own show to help his students, she was incredibly moved.
On Mr. Gibson's advice, she took time off to heal from her injury. And when she returned, she learned that LWC had landed a TV deal. She was immensely happy for her old mentor and vowed to be one of the cornerstones of LWC.
Unfortunately, things didn't improve more personally for her. The time left for female wrestlers to be on the show was pitifully low. With more people present, all vying for the same spot, the opportunities given to her were not that many.
Even then, she preserved and worked hard. She knew that the best way to repay her mentor was to showcase her talent and earn more TV time legitimately. Her goal had never wavered in the past six months. It was to become the LWC Women's Champion. And she was ready to do whatever it took to accomplish that.
Just as she entered the dojo, Mark Ryswell, one of the trainers in the training center, found her.
"Dacey, stop whatever you are doing. You are needed to report to Rob. Go see him," Mark said causing her to be confused.
"Rob?"
"Yeah, Rob. He is the one in charge of booking the women's division now. Don't dawdle," Mark said seriously.
"What? You aren't joking, right? He can't be more than twenty-two," Dacey said in confusion.
"Hey, don't look at me. I am not the one making decisions. Diana, Evelyn, Selena, Alanna, and Fiona are already there. You are the only one missing from the list he sent," Mark shrugged his shoulders.
Dacey was even more confused by now. She didn't know how to react to this. Sure, she knew Rob. He was a helpful handyman who can be always found beside Mr. Wolfe backstage. She even had a good opinion of him. But, she never thought he would land such a position this soon.
It is a well-known fact that bookers are usually above 30 years of age and had more than a decade of experience. While Rob was courteous and meticulous, he didn't have enough experience to take on such a position.
A bad feeling welled up inside her as she wondered whether the higher-ups had given up on the women's division. If that were so, it would be disastrous for her. Even then, appointing Rob as the booker made no sense.
Letting out a huge sigh, Dacey made her way towards the room she was asked to go. It was on the same level as Mr. Gibson's. Having been to Mr. Gibson's office several times, she made her way quickly to the meeting room.
The moment she opened the door, he saw her fellow wrestlers standing there with trepidation. She couldn't fault them much. Any change in a booker would have serious repercussions on the wrestlers. So, they were right to be worried.
While she didn't know what to expect from someone as young as Rob taking the mantle of being the booker, she knew that she was going to find out about it now. So, there was no use in squeezing her brain over it.
The moment she took her place, Rob began his speech.