Fiction Fragment Friday
This weeks story is for all the wrestling fans out there. It is not my typical story in that it lacks any form of science fiction to it. I have tried to make it as approachable as I can for people who do not know anything about the wrestling industry.
“One more time. One more time. One more time.” The chants filled the arena the moments after Axel Krane hit the power bomb against the turnbuckle on his opponent. Nico Storm lay there flat on the mat, completely at Axel’s mercy.
“One more time? What the hell is going on out there? Don’t they know he’s the heel?” A man in an immaculate business suit was swinging his arms around wildly in frustration. The tiny room behind the curtains at the top of the ramp had little space for the number of employees in it. Screens, sound equipment, and headsets filled the tables lining the walls. This made it extremely difficult for the producers and engineers to avoid the angry executive.
“I don’t think they care, sir.” Myren’s voice was weak with a hint of shakiness to it. Never a man for confrontation, being around an angry senior executive was one of his worst nightmares. It didn’t help that Gavin Creed was known for firing people on the spot who annoyed him.
“They don’t care? THEY DON’T CARE!! They’ll care about what I tell them they’re supposed to care about. I’ve spent a lot of money and six months building up Storm. Rags to riches story. Fought his way back from homelessness, only to rise to the top and get his title shot. He’s one of them.”
“Ye..Yes sir, but see, they know that’s not true. Storm is your nephew and has a social media presence. People follow him and see the kind of cars he drives.”
“I made him shut that down when I came up with this gimmick. Plus, we changed his name.” Creed had a clear look of confusion on his face. He could not understand why the crowd was cheering for his heel to hurt his face.
“Well, sir, there are podcasts and YouTube channels that tell people all about what goes on behind the scenes now. The fans are more informed than they used to be.” Myren cowered back from his boss, afraid that anything he might say would be enough to cost him his job. Everyone backstage knew that Gavin Creed was out of touch and anytime he got involved in creative directly it did not bode well for ratings.
“Ok fine, they know his gimmicks all bunk. That doesn’t explain this though.” He pointed to the screen where Axel hit the move on Storm for the third time. The crowd was on their feet cheering. “They know Storm is supposed to be the hero. You don’t see them going to a movie and cheering on the bad guy.”
Myren took a moment to compose himself. With Creed grasping to understand, he had a unique opportunity to influence future storylines. “I don’t know why they don’t seem to like Storm, but Krane is extremely talented in the ring. We don’t let him talk much, but when he does, he is great on the mics too. The modern fan thinks they understand how all this works. They feel smart and appreciate skill.”
“Explain Riot then.”
“Fair point sir. Ricky Riot is still really new and not that great in the ring. What he does do well though is make very funny songs about his opponents. We hardly ever put him in actual matches, so they don’t realize he can’t make it through a match without a botch. In his defense though he is putting in a lot of work at development and they seem to be noticing it.”
“So what am I supposed to do about this? Storm is supposed to win the title next weekend and keep it for a year.”
This was the chance to pitch his story, but doing so walked a very fine line of insulting a family member. “Well, sir, have you thought about turning Storm heel before or when you give him the belt? Anyone who listens to him speak for more than a minute knows he is kind of egotistical. Lean into that. They want to see him get hurt make them really hate him.”
“Are you trying to say that my nephew is unlikeable?”
“Well sir, I mean.” He paused to compose himself again. No guts, no glory, he thought. “You know what sir. Yes, I am. He is the most hated wrestler in the locker room and we get more complaints about him from fan events than anyone else.”
Creed looked at him with an expressionless face, making Myren fear he was about to be unemployed. Then, to everyone in the room’s surprise, Gavin Creed started laughing. It was a deep laugh and he had to catch his breath afterwards. “You got an enormous pair on you, don’t you kid? Don’t you think I know better than anyone that my nephew is a putz. Let’s just say that my sister knows things I would rather the press not.
Axel Krane came through the curtains and into the backstage area followed by chants of his name coming from the crowd. “Man, do you hear them out there? It’s insane.” He had come in full of energy, but his face dropped when he saw Creed standing there.
“Oh, I heard. The question is what are we going to do about it?”
“You know me boss. Whatever’s best for the business.” Axel did have a reputation of being willing to go out of his way for anyone or anything, if it was best for the company.
“That, my boy, is the right answer.” He turned to Myren. “I’m putting you in charge of tweaking Axel’s character. I want a plan in my inbox by noon tomorrow. He’s already over, so don’t screw that up. He’s going to get screwed out of the title on the next two Pay-Per-Views before taking it from Storm.”
That was when Nico Storm came through the curtain, limping in pain. “Did you hear those idiots? Demanding I go through that damn turnbuckle bomb four times. My back is gonna hurt for a week. Ungrateful jerks.”
“Nico, Nico, Nico. Come with me to my office. I’ve got some plans to tell you about your character. We’re going to make you the most hated heel this business has ever seen.”
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