Toward the Halloween Battle... 2
“Ha! Unbelievable. Pairing Charina with Charlotte? Have they completely lost their minds?”
With a sharp clang, Natasha—watching Smash Down at home—hurled the beer can she had been drinking against the wall the instant the matchup she had been waiting for was announced.
“That bitch! How wide did she spread her legs? How else could this even be possible? A rookie who’s only wrestled three matches?”
Even after Smash Down ended, the matchup flashed again as a brief highlight chart.
“Ha! I should’ve crushed her early. I held back for nothing, just watching the room.”
With a heavy thud, Natasha flung the remote against the wall as well, venting her rage. Afterward she sat chewing on her thumbnail, lost in thought.
Monday morning, the looks I got from the wrestlers gathering at TPA were far from friendly. They had known I was preparing something, and they had expected me to compete—but no one had imagined my opponent would be Charlotte Flair. The push clearly left a bad taste in their mouths. I understood well enough, yet it barely registered with me.
Jane Kim had already said she couldn’t take the dead weight over to WWO. Of the wrestlers sitting out this Halloween Battle, maybe only Taina or Natasha stood any real chance of surviving. And Natasha might not make the jump anyway; the other side wasn’t exactly eager to welcome her.
“GM! Once Halloween Battle’s over, book me a title match for the championship.”
“No. Impossible.”
Voices drifted from the corridor. It was the GM and Natasha.
“Why the hell not?”
“Then why are you clinging to a belt that’s about to disappear? You think holding the title guarantees you a spot on ‘The Live’?”
“…….”
Hit dead center, Natasha had nothing to say.
“You really think Mikael, Anne, and Elizabeth are locks for ‘The Live’ just because they’re champions?”
“Of course. They’re the champions.”
“Wrong. If they look terrible at this PLE, even champions can get cut. Being champion doesn’t automatically get you there. Performance matters. Got it?”
Natasha refused to accept it and raised her voice.
“Then why was I left out? Do I look weaker than Elizabeth or Olivia? Weaker than Charina or Selma?”
Plenty of other wrestlers were listening in the hallway, but neither of them cared.
“‘Performance’ depends on who’s looking. But one thing’s certain.”
“What?”
“The Smash Down roster said they don’t want to work with you.”
What? He was saying it right out in the open? The GM was burying her completely.
“Wh… what did you say?”
“You saw the list yourself, didn’t you? Every single one of them has worked with you before. That means they’ve all been shot by you. And during the battle royal this time you kicked people multiple times, right?”
Wow. That woman really was insane. She had actually kicked people in front of everyone? Some kind of anger-management problem?
“I try to book you and every single person refuses to wrestle you. What am I supposed to do? If you want matches that badly, go over to Law and beg them to make one yourself!”
Without waiting for an answer, the GM strode out of the corridor. I, along with every other wrestler who had been watching, scrambled inside to get out of the way.
If the Smash Down talent had said that, Law would be the same—and word had definitely already reached WWO’s top brass. Confirmed. Natasha was not going to WWO.
After that, Natasha smashed the trash can in the locker room and vanished somewhere, never reappearing.
Our Thursday show filled the absence with matches involving the no-shows, a non-title bout between Elizabeth and Anne, and a non-title match between Mikael and Luke, then finished with something like a send-off ceremony in the ring. The ceremony hadn’t been planned; it was thrown together at the last minute because Natasha never showed.
Donna and Share took the mic first, then each wrestler grabbed it in match order. Then it was my turn.
“Charina. Your opponent isn’t soft. You confident?”
The crowd roared.
— Charina! Ura!
I scanned the cheering seats after the GM’s question, then raised a single index finger to my lips and quieted them.
“Shh!”
A few repetitions and they seemed to recognize it as my signature gesture; the arena fell silent in an instant.
“Charlotte Flair! I’ll grant that she’s famous. But I don’t think she’s stronger than Dorothy or Anne. And at the end of the day, she’s just a goat—G.O.A.T. I can’t lose to a mere goat. It’s not like she’s a buffalo.”
Laughter rolled through the crowd.
“Hmm. Lina, your teachers are goats too.”
“If a goat weighs over a hundred kilos, isn’t that a monster? The Dudley Boys are monster goats. And real mean ones at that!”
The GM made an incredulous face and gestured to the ring announcer.
“Give the mic to the Dudley Boys over there.”
The mic was passed to the Dudley Boys, who had been watching from behind the commentary desk.
“We raised our student wrong. The way she talks, she’s turning into Bibi.”
“Devon! She’s still got a long way to go compared to me. Lina! When you say stuff like that, throw in some swearing. An F-word or two!”
That closed out the Thursday show. Friday morning we headed for Chicago.
A small conference room at WWO headquarters. Gathered there were John Michaels—back at the main office after a long stretch away—CCO Paul Levesque, CEO Stacey McMahon, and Senior Vice President of Human Resources Danny Bantrell.
“Have we roughly sorted the wheat from the chaff?”
At Paul’s question, John nodded.
“Looking at the voting so far, our eyes and the fans’ eyes aren’t that different. So there shouldn’t be much backlash.”
John passed documents around the table. The front page was stamped with large red letters: TOP SECRET.
“Read them carefully. These are the WWO and TPA rosters plus the release list. If anyone has objections, speak up.”
John rose, checked that the door was locked and the blinds fully drawn, then opened his laptop. On the screen appeared “WWO Improvement Plan.” Monday: Law. Thursday: NEXT. Friday: Smash Down. Wednesday was blank. NEXT and the blank brand had swapped days.
Danny, flipping through the papers, looked at John.
“There’s no name for the new brand here. Nothing about how you’re going to run it either!”
“I left the new brand name out on purpose.”
John drew out the pause until Stacey laughed.
“John. Don’t cut a promo even in here. You and Paul both—it’s a habit.”
“I’ve been like this my whole life…”
“Well, I don’t do it in meetings. John, just say it. What’s the new brand called?”
“Hmm. Everyone’s waiting. Perfect. The new brand is WWO REBELLION!”
Both Paul and Danny smiled in satisfaction.
“Rebellion! Solid name.”
“Fits the situation perfectly. Revolt, resistance.”
John then laid out the operating plan. Law and Smash Down would stay largely as they were—powerhouses and technicians. Rebellion would be built from wrestlers who were neither pure rookies nor full veterans: strong in-ring performers whose mic work and promos still needed polish. NEXT would remain the experimental ground for rookies.
“Is NEXT only broadcasting in Florida?”
“No choice there for now… Paul, instead we can carve out about ten minutes before each brand’s show and run NEXT highlights. Once the money’s there we can negotiate a Wednesday slot with a network.”
“Hmm. Fine.”
“Using the old TPA arenas, even NEXT can draw two thousand fans, so the in-ring quality should improve.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“For GM, let’s leave Karl Overdia in place for the time being. We’ll reassess later.”
“Good.”
“Agreed.”
“Then what’s left is talent movement?”
“How do we build the Rebellion roster?”
At Paul and Stacey’s questions, John tapped the documents with a finger.
“First we check whether anyone on Law or Smash Down wants to move voluntarily. Empty spots get filled from NEXT and parts of TPA.”
“We’ll need to lock in the champions first.”
“Right. That unlocks everything else.”
Paul stroked his chin, scanned the papers again, and spoke.
“Gunther or Troy McIntyre would work. Offer them the title and they’ll go.”
“Heh. They’d hold it for a year.”
“Depends who goes. For the women’s side, Nadia Jackson would be ideal.”
John shook his head.
“Nadia’s off-limits. I have a use for her.”
“Oh? Where?”
John’s mouth curved into a one-sided smile—the same look he used to wear when he was cooking up something underhanded.
“Olivia and Nadia. I’m making them a tag team.”
“A tag team? A two-hundred-forty-kilo tag team? Hahaha! Kids are going to die out there. Hahaha.”
“Not bad at all. The tag titles’ prestige will skyrocket.”
Danny, who had been listening quietly, cleared his throat.
“Ahem. I agree with putting Nadia in a tag team. But shouldn’t we still give TPA at least one title holder? We can’t give them a men’s belt, so how about making Dorothy Oswalt champion?”
“Not a bad idea, but Dorothy belongs on Law. Let’s wait and see who actually wants to move first.”
“Fine.”
They sorted the futures of the TPA and NEXT talent in short order. Unless someone committed a catastrophic mistake at the PLE, the decisions were as good as final. When the dust settled, only five names remained: the Inquisitors, Selma, Charina, and Natasha.
“The Inquisitors have to go to NEXT. As singles they might be ready, but as a tag team they’re still short on experience.”
“Agreed. But they’re siblings—shouldn’t we keep Selma with them?”
“Tying Selma to them feels off. I watched the three-on-three practice footage. She’s improved a lot.”
John described what he had seen.
“She was extremely respectful toward the veterans. Strong backstage chemistry is a real asset.”
“Then send her to Rebellion with Charina.”
“Lina to Rebellion? Feels like a waste… She’s the one drawing a flood of ad inquiries for TPA.”
Opinions split, but the consensus that a rookie had no business going straight to Smash Down or Law carried more weight.
“All right. Rebellion for now. Rebellion isn’t small-time anyway, so it’s not a bad landing spot. If she shines we can call her up as early as next year.”
Last remaining name: Natasha Blancherd.
“Cut her. Personality hasn’t changed a bit.”
“That bad?”
“Smash Down talent is actively avoiding matches with her. Booking becomes impossible.”
“I thought we could use her because she works well as a heel!”
“John. Do it. I don’t need a troublemaker in my locker room.”
Once Stacey sealed it, John immediately drew a red line through the name “Natasha.”
After the meeting, Paul returned alone to his office and was double-checking the lists when his phone rang. He glanced at the name and answered with mild surprise.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah. You seem pretty busy. How have you been?”
“As you can see… What’s this about?”
“I… my contract with EAW ends in November.”
“You wouldn’t come when I asked before.”
“…….”
“Knowing your personality, it must have taken real courage to call. Charlotte’s going to be thrilled. Drop by before the contract ends. We’ll talk face to face.”
“Th… thank you. I’ll call again soon.”
“Good. You made the right call. Talk later.”
“Yes.”
Paul hung up and briefly pictured Chris Jacob, still grinding it out over at EAW.
“Jacob’s contract is winding down too, I hear… Hmm. Should I give him a call?”
He lifted the phone for a moment, then set it back down and returned to the work in front of him.