“I guess if you put it like that...”

“How else could we put it,” the head executive continued, “you just offered us the most insulting deal in the history of this fucking sport. Here's how this is going to go: yeah, you've got an impressive candidate. Apparently, he's done all kinds of great things, whatever, great. But we're sure as shit not going to just throw money at your client without him giving us anything.”

The agent chewed his tongue. “Okay, so how about this – Mr. Mason can fight a preliminary match, free of charge, and you can see what you've got here. Deal?”

“And then you want the exorbitant per-match salary and the bonuses and the endorsements?”

“Well, yeah...”

Shaking his head, the executive had a chuckle in his voice as he replied, “Not a chance. Here's how this is going to work. Yeah, we'll make him fight a preliminary trial-fight. And then we'll call you. And guess what? We're not paying your client a dime, even if he gets in to this tournament. If he comes out and wins it, we'll talk – but we're just flat out not going to deal with some washed-up has-been who thinks he's fucking Ric Flair. Outsider Wrestling Federation isn't in the business of giving welfare to some douche who used to be a big swinging dick. This is 2009, not 1999.”




“So, what do you think?”

“It's a risk.”

“We're not in the kind of business that can sit around and stay the same, let other organizations pick up top end talent while we just pass on it because of risks, are we?”

“Maybe.”

Pause.

“How much weight do we put into this letter? What if she's telling the truth?”

“That's enough for me to say no, to be honest.”

“You've made it pretty clear how you've thought from the start, though. You want nothing to do with the guy, but he's clearly got some talent. Think of the publicity – worst case, a guy like Jessie Williams or Trent Steel comes out and beats a former When Worlds Collide champion? Think of how credible they'll be after that – we'll be able to prove exactly what we've been trying to show for the last five years.”

“We're doing fine. I don't see why we need to take the risk.”

“Let's just give him a shot. I think the upside is far greater than the risk.”

“Maybe. But don't be surprised when he sticks a knife in our back the second the tournament is over.”

“I'll take my chances.”