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After finishing her victory celebration in the ring, she headed for Gorilla Position.
It hadn't drawn quite the same reaction as when she'd used the item Spotlight, but Spot Call still got a pretty solid response.
Somewhere between using nothing and using an item, maybe?
She stepped into Gorilla Position to the cheers and applause of the backstage crew.
Asuna was waiting for her without even wiping the green paint off her face—eyes slightly glazed over.
"That was the best! You did amazing!"
"You were incredible too, Asuna! Outstanding."
"I'd love to go at it again sometime. A little longer…"
"Yes. Let's do that."
After exchanging greetings with Asuna, she also briefly greeted Paul and the others.
"Charina. No match next week. But you need to come to Law in Philadelphia for a ring segment. Try working with Miyu then."
"Yes. Understood."
"Good work. Go on."
With Paul's words, she left Gorilla Position alongside Asuna.
Heading toward the women's locker room, they found Sayuri and Miyu Sky waiting for them in the hallway.
The two first congratulated Asuna in a rapid stream of Japanese. The only words she could pick out were hontoni sugoi—truly amazing—and saikou!—the best!—but looking at the three of them, everything seemed fine.
"Asuna-unnie said to look forward to it, and she was right. That was really fun. I'm so looking forward to my match with you."
Miyu said it with her signature cute smile.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. And they said I should stop by the Philadelphia Law show briefly and work a segment with you, Miyu."
"Yeah. I heard. Should we exchange contact info in advance?"
"Yes. Let's do that."
Having the peculiar experience of being surrounded by three tiny Japanese women as she walked, she found a crowd of wrestlers waiting—Lisa Rayple, Vicky Lynch, Stephen Baker, and more. Since Asuna was the most senior among the women's division, it seemed they'd come out to greet her.
— Clap! Clap! Clap! —
"Asuna! What did you eat by yourself—or with Sayuri? How did you go back five years?"
"Hmm. Asuna! I'd rather you go after Lisa's belt than mine."
"She was always this good. The booking just hasn't been great lately."
Asuna's expression brightened considerably under Lisa and Vicky's praise. Watching them, she quietly slipped away toward her own locker room.
After all the matches ended, she put on the black half-sleeve tee WWO had given her and attended Rico Guerrero's memorial service. Quite a few legends were present, so the TPA wrestlers ended up taking seats off in a corner.
There was only one real surprise.
When Stacey McMahon read the eulogy, Casey Levesque was standing right behind her—together with Paul.
"That's Stacey's daughter, right?"
"Yeah. The second daughter."
When she answered Selma's question, Dorothy and Michael picked up the thread.
"She looks pretty young. But the fact that she's at a place like this means she works for WWO, right?"
"Probably. Considering Stacey McMahon started working at sixteen or seventeen, it's not even that early. Whoever ends up dating her is going to be Paul's successor."
"Michael! Is that what you're thinking right now?"
"A little? I'm a married man, so it doesn't concern me!"
Indeed, a few of the younger-looking male wrestlers on Law were glancing at Casey. Even if it never went as far as marriage, if they could just get storyline-linked with her, landing a push and becoming a Secondary Champion would be a piece of cake—that was probably the idea.
They chatted a bit, but not enough to spoil the solemn atmosphere, and once the memorial ended, they headed straight back to their lodging.
The day after successfully wrapping Monday's Law show, Paul Levesque was looking over the ratings sheets for each match with a satisfied smile.
Tyna, who'd been a bit of a mess last time, got a solid 2.5 this time, and Dorothy and Michael also came in at 2.5 to 3.0. Even Selma, who'd been in a squash match against Lisa Rayple, got a respectable 2.5.
And Charina and Asuna's match—one outlet gave it 3.5, another 4.0. The storyline had gotten good reviews too, but the assessment of "Asuna's revival" particularly pleased him. The consensus was also that if the match had gone a little longer, the scores would have been even better.
— Beep —
When the intercom buzzed, he immediately pressed the button.
"What is it?"
"We've received a call from Korea's HK Motors."
At his secretary's unexpected words, Paul couldn't help but ask back. They had signed official sponsorships with HK Motors in 2018 and 2020, but that had been seven years ago. Seven years with no contact, and now this sudden call.
"Huh? HK Motors? Why would they—"
"Yes. It's regarding a sponsorship. They say they want to speak with you directly."
"Put them through."
"Yes."
"Ahem!"
Paul set the receiver aside, cleared his throat, and opened his mouth.
"This is Paul Levesque, CCO of WWO."
"Hello. I'm Lee Dong-il, team leader of the PR department at HK Motors headquarters in Korea. Just call me Charles."
"Yes. Charles! I heard this is about a sponsorship inquiry."
"That's correct. We've sponsored with our U.S. branch twice in the past. Are you aware of that?"
He hadn't been CCO at the time, but Victor McMahon had been tied up with legal proceedings, so he and Stacey had handled it together.
"My wife and I oversaw it personally back then."
"Ah! So you handled it yourself—that makes things easier. Glad to hear it."
Just as Paul was about to ask why they were calling and get to the point, Charles spoke again.
"Is the rumor true? Did WWO really acquire TPA?"
"I thought this was about a sponsorship partnership. Does that matter?"
"Yes. It matters. We want to package it together with Charina's advertising. Unlike the previous U.S. branch deal, this time Korea headquarters wants to sign Charina as a Global Brand Ambassador."
— Crack —
How hard had he been gripping it? The ballpoint pen in Paul's hand snapped clean in two.
"Global Brand Ambassador?"
"Yes. So please tell us. Did you acquire TPA?"
"And if we didn't?"
"Then we'd proceed with an advertising contract with Charina alone. With WWO, we'd look at short-term sponsorship tie-ins later for PLEs where Charina is likely to appear—WrestleMaster, Summer Clash, and so on."
This Charles fellow was speaking rather arrogantly. Still, compared to a global corporation like HK Motors, WWO was a corner shop. But this time, the one holding the knife was Paul Levesque—himself.
"That's correct. We acquired them. But this is under embargo—we're holding the story for a set period. I'd appreciate your discretion."
"Haha! We know how that works. This is excellent news. I thought as much. Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"Would a meeting tomorrow be possible?"
How far was it from Korea to here—and he was talking about arriving in a single day?
"Actually, I'm in Atlanta, Georgia right now. I'm calling from the HK Motors plant in Georgia. Depending on what you said, I was going to decide whether to head to Orlando or to WWO."
"Have you spoken with TPA as well?"
"Not yet. But we do have a history with WWO, don't we?"
"In that case, how about two o'clock tomorrow?"
"Understood. We'll see you tomorrow, then."
The moment he hung up, Paul hit the intercom again.
"Yes."
"Charina! Bring me Charina's TPA contract. Right now!"
"Understood, Mr. Levesque."
The following afternoon, with the head of legal counsel present, he received the two visitors from HK Motors. One was Charles—the PR team leader Lee Dong-il—and the other was an American attorney HK Motors had brought along.
After brief introductions and handshakes, they took their seats.
"What we want, first of all, is Charina's TV and print advertising, plus billboards. And as Brand Ambassador, we'd like Charina and WWO executives to use our company vehicles for official appearances and for commuting."
"That's a given. We did the same before."
Charles nodded at Paul's words.
"Since you personally oversaw both previous deals, this conversation is easy. And this time, we'd like to operate vehicle booths—something we didn't do back then. We want to set up HK Motors booths at every brand's venue, including Law and Smash Down."
"We're not the ones covering the cost, so no problem."
"I assume I don't need to explain brand exposure and jumbotron placements before the show, during intermissions, and at the end?"
Paul nodded at Charles's words.
"Beyond that, we'd just need Charina and a few other champions to post promotional content on social media once in a while. And we'd prefer Charina to win a fair amount. Our chairman was extremely pleased when she started rolling through the Japanese wrestlers."
"She's a rookie, but we'll show some consideration. Having a Brand Ambassador lose—that kind of negative image isn't good for anyone."
"Hahaha. Thank you for understanding."
After that, Charles and the attorney laid out the scale of the deal. As a brand partnership, it was ten million dollars annually. On top of that, Charina's modeling fee was set at two million dollars a year—twice the one million the food company Pomonai had offered her for advertising.
Compared to the billion-dollar, ten-year deal with Saudi Arabia, it was nothing. But a sponsorship contract built around a single wrestler like this was unprecedented in WWO history. Charina had brought in the kind of deal MLB made when Japanese or Korean players arrived on the scene.
"The contract terms are excellent. There's just one problem."
"What kind of problem?"
Paul let out a short sigh and spoke.
"Charina is currently on a one-plus-one-year contract. The first year ends in July next year."
"Is Charina planning to leave WWO?"
"Nothing like that."
"We can't sign an Ambassador for a mere six months. We want a minimum of two years."
"CEO Stacey McMahon is scheduled to meet with Charina this evening. Why don't you rest at the hotel we've arranged for you tonight, and we reconvene tomorrow morning?"
The attorney and Charles exchanged a few whispered words, then nodded.
"That works. Let's do that."
"Team Leader Erickson will escort you to the hotel."
"Thank you."
The moment they left, Paul called Stacey and filled her in on everything that had happened.
"Leave it to me. I'll get an early re-signing done one way or another."
"Alright. I'm counting on you."
Paul hung up with Stacey and leaned all the way back in his chair.
Even when Asuna had been crushing her brand, even when Miyu Sky had set the wrestling world buzzing as the "Genius of the Sky," there had never been a contract like this. And Charina—who hadn't even worked that many matches for WWO—had brought one in.
They hadn't even started selling her merch yet. Just how much money was this kid generating in a single month…?
Thinking of the Asian players in MLB, it was certain more advertising would attach itself going forward. Charina was nothing short of a goose that laid golden eggs.
"Hmm. Maybe we should run a show in Korea sometime? Tie it in with Japan? When was the last time we went to Korea? We did go once, a while back…"
Paul instructed his secretary to dig up the old records, then read through the contract one more time.
Author's Note — Green Mist
Green Mist works the same way as blading for blood. You keep capsules in a small pouch in a pocket or inside your gear. When you need it, you put one or two in your mouth, bite them open, and spit. It's just water mixed with food coloring.