Contract Renewal
After speaking with her husband, Stacey received the contract by email and reviewed it.
"Whew. All I can say is, that's incredible."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
Becky, her secretary, asked while driving.
"I'm talking about our Charina.
I've spent thirty years in the wrestling business and heard every kind of contract story there is, but this is a first. I'm honestly a bit stunned."
Without even realizing it, Stacey had started calling Charina "ours."
"If I may be so bold, could I know what this is about?"
"Ah—right. You said you'd become a Charina fan too, didn't you?"
"Yes. After watching her match against Charlotte in person, I became a fan.
We're both women, but she was just so, so cool. I was completely captivated."
Becky had been helping her for years, yet she had never once claimed to be a fan of anyone. This time, though, she said she had become Charina's fan—that she had fallen for her. The daughters had fallen for her too, and so had Stacey herself. It was never easy for a female wrestler to win the love of female fans, yet Charina had pulled off that difficult feat. And none of them—not Stacey, not her daughters, not Becky—were lesbians.
"You'll hear about it anyway, so I'll tell you. Just keep your eyes on the road."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Here's what happened..."
Stacey gave Becky a rough rundown of the situation.
"Wow! Is this the first sponsorship deal of its kind?"
"That's right. Even Jack Cena and Berserker Dagan never had anything like this.
I never dreamed we'd land a deal that only Asian top stars in MLB usually get."
"That makes sense. I understand it was the same with Ichiro in the past, Ohtani now, and Korea's Ryu.
That's why MLB teams deliberately signed Japanese and Korean players.
Just by bringing them in, they could recoup the investment right away."
The words "deliberately" and "recoup the investment" sharply piqued Stacey's interest.
"Is that so? Pull over for a minute."
"Pardon?"
"Park the car and explain it to me in more detail."
"Understood."
Becky had majored in sports marketing, so she knew this territory well. According to her, when a team brought in a player, companies from that player's home country often came along as sponsors. In other words, part of the acquisition cost could be covered by broadcast rights and sponsorship fees.
"At minimum, broadcast rights and a one-to-two-million-dollar annual billboard usually come with them. It's a guaranteed profit.
And if the player does even a little well, they get elevated to national hero status. The ads pour in."
"National hero? They're not developing countries—is it really that intense?"
"It's not just Korea. Japan is the same.
They're countries that love stars and heroes almost as much as America does."
Stacey gave her a look that said, keep going.
"HK Motors is probably looking to lock in first-mover advantage in Korea.
But if the player's performance doesn't keep up—if they don't appear on TV—the sponsors can pull out like the tide going out."
Listening to Becky's explanation, Stacey understood just how important this contract was. It wasn't a simple sponsorship deal. This could be the starting point of a relationship with Korea itself as a nation.
"So our little darling is the one who brought in this huge deal. Right?"
"Exactly. Four months since her debut—no, just one month since she came to WWO—and she's already at this level. In a year, or even half a year, every Korean company might come running.
Naturally that means competition with American companies, so her market value will skyrocket.
And we have free rein over a wrestler's results, don't we?"
That was true as well. If WWO put its mind to it, keeping a champion title for two or three years was a piece of cake. They could even arrange a hundred-win streak, or two hundred.
"From here on, sponsors and ads will only keep attaching themselves—they won't fall off.
Plus Charina is only twenty, and she barely wears makeup.
She's only going to get prettier from here."
Compared to Westerners, whose looks were often fully formed by their late teens, East Asians matured much later—usually not until their mid-twenties, she'd heard. And Charina's makeup for regular matches versus big events was completely different. At big events, she was far more beautiful. Something about Korean-style "idol" makeup? Anyway, that was the case.
"Becky. If it were you, how would you contract with Charina?"
"Pardon?"
"Don't you speak English?"
Becky stammered slightly, then answered.
"Ah... no, ma'am. The question just came out of nowhere. Um. If it were me, I'd go big."
"How big?"
"I'd match her to female S-tier rates and lock her into a long-term deal.
Even if she gets injured, that face isn't going anywhere.
She can still cut promos from a wheelchair."
Stacey burst out laughing at Becky's words.
"Puhahaha! What did you say? Make her cut promos from a wheelchair?
Wow, Becky. I thought you were the gentle type, but you're even more ruthless than I am."
"If she's S-tier, her salary is several million dollars. Shouldn't we put her to work somehow?
Charlotte and Vicky have both stepped into the ring in casts plenty of times."
"True. They have. A long-term contract, huh...
But she doesn't seem all that greedy for money.
She's already living in a really nice place..."
"Who doesn't want money? Even if they claim they don't, it's usually because they don't know how to spend it."
Listening to Becky, Stacey's mind cleared completely. She now knew exactly how to approach the conversation with Charina.
"Becky. Enough—let's go. Drive."
"Yes, ma'am."
They had pulled over briefly, but still arrived on time for the appointment. Following the restaurant manager's lead, Stacey entered the private room alone.
"Hello, ma'am."
As Stacey stepped in, Charina rose from her chair and greeted her. Given the occasion, Charina was wearing a clean two-piece suit Stacey had never seen on her before.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No. I only just arrived myself."
"Let's sit, then."
"Yes."
Stacey ordered a fine dining dinner course.
"You should dress like that more often. You're much prettier this way. It suits you."
"I only go between home and the arena. I never have anywhere to wear it."
I should pay more attention to her wardrobe later. So fans can fall for a different side of her on the way to and from work!
While waiting for the food, they made small talk, and Stacey finally asked something she had always been curious about.
"Do you really not have a boyfriend?"
"I got married six months ago."
"What?!"
Stacey nearly screamed. At that, Charina quickly clarified.
"I got married. To wrestling—six months ago! Heh!"
It was just a joke. She felt like she had been played by a green kid. Normally she would have been furious at such an absurd joke, but how could she get angry at "I married wrestling"? With that kind of resolve, Charina probably wouldn't run off to that damn Hollywood.
"Whew! Don't joke like that even as a joke. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I'm sorry."
"Still, 'married to wrestling'—that was cool.
We've got a lot to talk about, but better to eat first, right?"
"Yes. If it's important, I might choke on my food."
"Alright. Let's do that."
The two of them enjoyed the course meal while chatting about Sayuri and Asuna's matches, and other wrestlers' bouts. Before long the dessert arrived, and Stacey gradually steered toward the main topic.
"Lina, you signed a 1+1 year deal with TPA in July, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Let's scrap that and sign a new contract."
It was the kind of news that would shock any wrestler, yet Charina didn't so much as flinch. She was so sharp she might have seen it coming.
"Did you see this coming?"
"A little. Sitting alone with me at this hour, in a quiet place—there's not much else we'd be talking about."
"Fair enough. I practically taught you that myself. Well? Any thoughts?"
"It's better to be honest, right?"
At Charina's question, Stacey simply nodded.
"I don't know if you'll get angry, but I'll be honest.
Um. Right now, I don't really feel the need to re-sign.
I know my popularity is rising.
Once I officially join WWO, it'll climb even higher, and later my market value should go up too, don't you think?"
It was a reasonable argument anyone could make.
"I suppose so. Then by next summer, where do you think your market value will land?"
"I'm only a first-year, so champion is tough—but at least High Mid Carder, don't you think?"
"Do you know what a High Mid Carder's salary is?"
"Around seven hundred thousand to a million dollars, right?"
She's done her homework. This kind of info is hard to come by—who told her?
Then Stacey remembered Dorothy Oswalt, Jane Kim, and Adolf Ziegler. Plus she was close with Mick Foley—she might have heard it from that side.
"That's about right. Around that range.
So if I offer you more than that, will you sign?"
"Pardon?"
Stacey had no interest in beating around the bush.
"Seven years at two and a half million a year!
Merchandise percentage at the top tier—five percent.
I don't know if you know this, but two and a half million puts you in the top ten among WWO's female wrestlers.
A five percent merch cut? Across men and women, only a handful get that."
Until a moment ago, Charina's expression had been calm. But this time, her poker face cracked. Her eyes went wide, her mouth parted slightly. Her face flushed a little red.
"Surprised?"
"Yes. Really surprised."
"Well? Feel like signing the contract?"
"Whew! Just a second. Give me five minutes—no, three minutes to think."
"Go ahead."
Charina closed her eyes and took deep breaths.
In... out... in... out...
In the private room, only the sound of Charina's deep breathing could be heard. Watching her, Stacey thought it was remarkable that someone so young could compose herself like that.
How much time passed?
Charina opened her eyes and moved her picture-perfect lips.
"Could we shorten the term and lower the salary?"
"What do you mean? How much lower?"
"Around three years, and drop the salary to about one and a half million?"
"You're not planning to run to another promotion—so Hollywood?"
What Charina said next was something Stacey had never imagined.
"No. Jack Cena came to see me a while back.
He said if I want to become an Icon, I shouldn't even look at Hollywood until I'm close to being one.
Even without that, I never had any interest in Hollywood."
Jack Cena! A wrestler whose loyalty to WWO ranked alongside the Deadman's. But she hadn't known he was giving advice like this behind the scenes. Stacey felt a surge of gratitude toward Jack Cena, but set it aside for now.
"Then why do you want to shorten the contract?"
"I'm afraid if I make too much money, it'll break my drive to improve."
This kid's answer was a masterpiece.
"Hahaha! Wow. You really are...
In my whole life, I've never met anyone like you—and I don't think I ever will again."
"......"
"Money? The more you make, the more you want.
On tour, you'll get so exhausted you'll want to stay in the finest hotels, and before long you'll want a private jet.
Alright! How about four years at two million? For the record, we need at least four years."
"Why four years?"
Since she would know the moment she signed the contract, Stacey laid it out immediately.
"Korea's HK Motors has offered WWO a sponsorship deal. It has to be at least two years, and there's a condition.
You. They want you as their global brand ambassador."
"HK Motors? Why them?"
It must have been unexpected—Charina's eyes went round.
"I only heard it over the phone, so I don't know the full details. But they've partnered with us twice before.
Then you caught their eye, and they cast you as their ad model.
The ad fee you're getting is excellent too—two million a year.
Oh, right. I'll also change the ad revenue split from the TPA deal. You get eight, we get two!
You know how big a benefit that is, right?"
At the words "eight to two," Charina shot up from her chair. With that, Stacey was certain Charina would sign.