Author Topic: Setting New Standards  (Read 856 times)

Offline London Underground

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Setting New Standards
« on: November 25, 2022, 06:48:07 AM »
This came around a lot fucking quicker then I expected. I didn't think I'd be getting back in the ring for about six or seven weeks, but here we are and I gotta smash the daylights out of the wife of an employee. Wait, is she still her wife? I lost track of that shit a long time ago. We have a rule in the Golden Ring Casino, don't bring your home shit to work, it's not good for business and it ain't good for me if I gotta listen to people bitch all day about their partners or whatever. It gives my arse a headache and I am not interested in that at all. Anyway, you might wonder what the hell happened. You might be asking how London Underground ended up back in SCW when our time was done, our end goal was reached. Funny you should be wondering that, because obviously, you're about to find out all the little details on what made us return when we had already done what we wanted from America. It was never about wrestling for us, was a means to an end and that end was met, but here we are and business is business. Sadly for Seleana Zdunich, business means smacking up that pretty blonde face. Such a shame... or not. - MP



"Something needs to be done." Daniel Morgan's voice can be heard saying.

Inside the boardroom of The Golden Ring Casino, Daniel Morgan sits at the head of the table, dressed as usual in a dark suit and tie with a white shirt underneath the jacket. To his right sits Osbourne, the bigger of the two men, wearing a silver suit and white shirt, opened at the collar. To his left, Charlotte Elliot, dressed in what only can be described as a power suit and next to her, Mackenzie Page, dressed a lot more casually in blue jeans and a black sleeveless shirt.

"I know we've been hit with a lot of hardships like the rest of the world." Daniel tells them as his eyes move between the other three. "Covid wiped out a lot of business thanks to rules. Economical issues took money out of people's pockets and this poxy war has bumped prices up to unlivable. We're feeling the pinch because people can't spend in here what they don't have."

"And now is the time where the UK is screwed and sending money back home, gets us a little extra." Charlotte adds.

"And there in lies the problem." Daniel says as he looks around. "The silly government over there has driven the pound down to the point where every dollar we send back, means more pounds at home, it's simple."

"So what's the problem?" Mackenzie asks as she looks at Daniel.

"The problem is we don't have many legal dollars to send home." Daniel explains. "When Casino profits were booming, we could slip in the less then clean money with it and not raise an eyebrow. We could secretly funnel more home disguised as Casino profits. It's a bit hard to do that when profits are becoming a little bit slimmer. It's not so easy to hide the extra income when it's meant to look like it's coming from the Casino."

"We could open the doors to charity events." Charlotte suggests. "Local community stuff to pull the people in the door, get some good will back and hope they spend their money in here when they see that it's a good place to be."

"Charity needs to start beginning at home." Daniel said with calm look on his face. "We won't rule that or anything out."

"What about tourist specials or shit like that?" Mackenzie says. "Prove you're from abroad, get some free perks or something like that?"

Daniel looks at Mackenzie, his finger running across his chin.

"Problem is that would take a lot of world wide advertising." Daniel says to her. "We're talking getting it to every country which is, outside the Internet, going to cost an arm and a leg to begin with."

"We could cut down on the work force." Charlotte suggests but Daniel immediately shakes his head.

"That would be the absolute last resort." Daniel tells the group passionately. "We worked too hard with these people to let them go. You three did extensive checks on each and every one of these people before they were hired to make sure there was no connections to certain law enforcement agencies and to make sure there were no rotten eggs in that basket. We know we're gonna have good days again, and getting rid of them to slowly rehire new people if these become unavailable, means a lot more hassle. We stood with them through Covid."

Daniel turns his eyes around the room.

"We stood with them when we couldn't open, when we were digging in to Casino reserves to allow them to put food on the table." Daniel tells the group. "More importantly, they stood with us, they're good people. They're not the scumbags we deal with on the quiet, they're good, hardworking, honest people. They can barely survive now, sacking people ain't gonna help them."

"We need to come up with something." Charlotte reminds Daniel. "Even the shops can't afford the rates here and dropping on us like flies."

"And we can't keep covering their arses." Mackenzie adds.

"We can not." Daniel agrees. "People can't spend what they don't have. We get by, we cover costs, just not enough of the money getting back home which was the plan from day one."

"We could go back to wrestling." Mackenzie says as she looks away from the group.

A silence fills the room as Daniel and Osbourne share a look of raised eyebrows.

"Really?" Daniel says with a sceptical tone.

"She might be on to something." Charlotte quickly says.

The eyes of the room rest upon Charlotte's face.

"When we were in SCW, this place was rammed." Charlotte says thinking back. "You couldn't move for people wanting to see us, or wanted to see people from SCW. People were spending money while looking for selfies of SCW people because they knew when we was in Vegas, after the shows, so many would come and hang out here and blow money on things. It put them on the tables, it put them at the bar, it put them at the shops. Since we've been off the screens, less wrestlers have come here, less fans have and business has took a hit."

"It took a hit when Mark Cross fucked off to Japan and no one was drinking the expensive stuff." Mackenzie says with a snort.

"That too." Daniel adds.

"But my point is SCW was free advertising." Charlotte says looking at Daniel. "We had to be down there on the Casino floor more because of SCW instead of here in the office. It was a good cover for what we really did and it drew in enough people wrestler hunting, that we made serious money, it was our salad days."

Daniel taps his chin as he looks towards Osbourne, who slightly nods in approval.

"Those days were our money days." Daniel agreed. "Sunday night when the shows were down the road, was our busiest times."

"And they can be again." Mackenzie says, a smile on her face knowing her idea is being considered. "All we need to do is get back in the ring and kick some people in the face, start circulating again to get wrestlers back to the casino, current wrestlers that are on TV, that will draw the people in. Fuck, you know what the SCW roster used to spend in here alone after a show? Between needing to fuel up after a show, the booze for the pain, all those funky cocktails Dani used to come up with and sell at mad money and them dropping serious bunce at the tables, we made a bomb out of them. That's without the fans coming in and buying them alcohol."

Daniel looks down the table, his mind in thought.

"And that got them dropping money at the tables too." Charlotte says. "You remember that night that guy dropped well over a thousand, just to sit at a card table with Fenris."

"The fucking idiot didn't even know how to play cards." Mackenzie adds with a smile. "He just wanted to be sitting next to Fenris."

"I guess it could pave the way to get a few SCW related events hosted here again." Daniel muses. "We did alright with the Covid era supercards."

Daniel taps his fingers on the table in thought before looking around the table.

"Alright." He concedes. "But it's all or nothing. Four or none. Who's up for trying to return to SCW?"

Daniel looks around the table to see Charlotte and Mackenzie raise their hands. Daniel looks towards Osbourne, who just gives him a surly nod of his head.

"Well, it looks like it's happening." Daniel says with a half smile. "I'll arrange a meeting with Christian and sort something out."

"No need." Mackenzie says as she stands up. "I'll go deal with it now."

Mackenzie nods towards her boss before taking off towards the door. Daniel's face turns confused and looks towards Charlotte.

"Go with her." Daniel tells her. "For Christian's own safety if he doesn't bite on this. We know his negotiation style is to act like he don't care, while doing happy dances inside, we don't want that to set her over the edge. I mean if he goes missing, that one will be hard to cover up."

Charlotte smiles and stands up and moves towards the door that Mackenzie left through, leaving Daniel to look at Os.

"When you woke up this morning, did you think this was gonna happen?" Daniel asks him

Osbourne slowly shakes his head before shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess we better get back to work." Daniel says. "Has anyone seen Nick? Seriously, has anyone seen Nick?"

Osbourne shakes his head firmly as the camera fades.



"I want to see Christian Underwood now!" Mackenzie's tone barks out.

SCW Headquarters in Las Vegas is where we pick this up as Charlotte and Mackenzie stand in front of a reception desk, where a young blonde woman sits behind the heavy looking oak desk in front of a computer.

"Do you have an appointment to see him?" The woman asks.

"No." Mackenzie quickly snaps back. "I don't need one."

"We're Christian's business partners to some extent." Charlotte adds to ease the tension. "SCW has a shop in The Golden Ring Casino and we own said Casino."

"I'm afraid Mr Underwood is busy right now." The receptionist says, not making eye contact with either woman in front of her.

"No he isn't." Mark Ward can be heard saying as he walks through the office door. "He's sitting in there looking at Grumpy Cat memes."

Mark's voice grabs the attention of the three ladies as he casually walks towards them.

"Good to see you ladies." Mark says as he gives a polite nod.

"You too." Charlotte says politely. "Do you have a minute?"

Hot Stuff shakes his head as he looks towards them.

"Sadly not." He says "I'm off out to head to your old stomping ground, The GO Gym, to have a look at their latest class, see what's going on there and if anyone is improving or worth giving a shot to, but Christian is in his office, I know he has no one to see for a while and he really is looking at memes. You know where it is, just go through."

"Thank you." Mackenzie says before looking at the receptionist. "That's how ya fucking handle people."

Charlotte and Mackenzie move past Mark and through the door. A smile passes his face, a smile of satisfaction as he knows that Christian is in for a surprise, before walking out of the camera shot. Charlotte and Mackenzie reach the door of Christian Underwood and Charlotte knocks on it.

"What?" Christian yells out.

Taking that as a sign to enter, Mackenzie opens the door and walks right in with Charlotte.

"What the..." Christian stumbles out. "What are you doing here? I don't see an appointment. I'm a busy man."

"The Grumpy Cat memes can wait." Mackenzie says as she takes a seat in front of Christian.

"How did you k.... Never mind." He says with a sigh. "Still, what are you doing here?"

"We're here to talk business." Charlotte says as she takes a seat next to Mackenzie. "We're here to see if we can help each other out."

Christian leans back in his chair, clearly intrigued by the thought.

"Oh....?" He says with a questioning tone. "Go on."

"Business is shit for us both and it's time to change that." Mackenzie blurts out as Charlotte rolls her eyes at her bluntness.

"What makes you think business is bad for us?" Christian asks.

"Have you seen your current champions?" Mackenzie says sarcastically. "I watch your show and unless they're booked to wrestle, none of them show up. If that's good business for you, your championships and ratings, then I don't want to see bad business."

"What are you trying to say?" Christian asks.

"Let's put the cards down on the table." Charlotte says. "Things are not rosy in the garden of SCW, nor do we have sunshine in The Golden Ring Casino. You've seen the numbers, the SCW store in the Golden Ring is barely making money. That might be because you haven't had new merch in a long time, or it might be because getting people through the doors is a problem right now."

"This is what happens when you hire Crystal to run events." Christian says with a smirk.

"She's actually bringing money in." Charlotte says.

"Shitty seedy bachelor parties, but it's money in." Mackenzie adds.

"Hmmm." Christian snorts. "Seems about her level."

"The fact is, we need people through the door." Charlotte says. "You need people through our doors to boost profits in the shop. Without people being there, we all go home broke."

Christian leans forward in his chair, his hands arched in front of him.

"And where do I, and SCW fit in to this?" He asks.

"You put us back on TV." Mackenzie says firmly. "Rehire us, we'll actually show up and work. You get the roster boosted up, we get back in the game and people flock back to the Casino, because we'll be more visible."

Christian huffs and turns his head for a second before looking back at the two in front of him.

"And what makes you think we want to hire you back?" Christian says, thinking he has the advantage or leverage over two women talking about coming back to work.

Mackenzie leans partly over the desk, a serious look on her face.

"Cut the shit Christian, do you think we're blind or something?" Mackenzie says with a firm tone.

Christian jolts his head back in surprise as his eyes meets hers.

"We've seen your roster get worse and worse." Mackenzie states. "It's piss poor. You're leaking talent like a burst water main. Fuck, even Mark mentioned going to the GO Gym to look at people. You think rookies are gonna drag you out of this mess? Of course they're fucking not. It's no secret that your supercard dream match was a let down, it's no secret that people are sitting at home and earning while offering nothing. If they all came in to work when they're not booked, it's different, but they don't and you're asking why you'd want us?"

Charlotte clears her throat and looks at Mackenzie before looking back at Christian.

"What we're saying is you get all four of us back." Charlotte starts. "Which is an instant boost to all your divisions at every level. Daniel and Os can wrestle at any level, we can wrestle at any level. Your male, female, male tag, female tag and mixed tag divisions all get a boost instantly with four people. You get people who will work and push the limits higher."

"And you won't have to deal with watching the same people all the time." Mackenzie says with a snap. "I'm starting to lose track of where some people end and some people start. It's all fucking generic bullshit week after week."

Christian leans back in his chair.

"And you get out of this?" Christian asks.

"Essentially, advertising." Charlotte replies.

"And money." Mackenzie adds.

"Us being back on the box for you." Mackenzie starts. "Means people will come back through the doors, the more that do that as wrestling fans are going to drop by the store and buy from the SCW shop. I mean it would help if your designers would design more for the people on the roster now, but it will put them in the right place. You make money, we make money, you get a boost to a roster that's lacking and we all go home happy as a pig in shit."

Christian waves his finger.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you have a way with words?" Christian says sarcastically.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you don't look a day over fifty five?" Mackenzie fires back, equally sarcastically.

Christian couldn't help but smile at Mackenzie.

"It's an interesting idea." Christian admits. "Are you guys still in wrestling shape?"

"Do you really wanna find out right now?" Mackenzie says with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"What she means is we're in good shape." Charlotte interjects. "We still hit the gym, and we often help Gabriel and Odette with their students when we're needed."

"Yeah, Os teaches them how to cut promos." Mackenzie says with a roll of her eyes.

"We all add different things to training being very different so we get called upon to help people out at the gym." Charlotte says, getting things back on track. "So we're good to go."

Christian runs his hand over his chin as he looks at the two.

"Well, you have my interest." Christian tells them. "So let's talk about the finer details of this and see if we can come to an arrangement..."



"And we did come to an arrangement." Mackenzie's voice is heard saying.

The scene fades in to the ring of the GO Gym where Mackenzie sits in the middle of the ring. The building sounds empty and seemingly after normal gym hours.The lights are dimmer then usual and Mackenzie looks down the camera in front of her.

"I just didn't think I'll end up in the ring so soon." She admits. "But something to do with whiny little bitches and card changes have brought things forward to the point I am gonna be there to fuck shit up. Telling ya Seleana, you must have really pissed someone off to end up getting put in the ring with me on my return and you can thank whatever dick bag that decided to push card changes, because it's on them that you're in this situation and in serious fucking danger."

Mackenzie breathes deeply.

"The irony of it all is last week, Crystal got her arse handed to her by someone who is seen as a little cutie on the roster." Mackenzie says firmly. "A proper banging fan favourite, who looks like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth and something switched in her head where she went full pelt potty and smacked the shit out of her. Now I'm not a little cutie, I'm not a proper banging fan favourite, I'm far from that shit. I'm a person who seriously loves kicking the shit out of people, it's almost a hobby, so imagine what I'm gonna do to you. It's been a while since I've had the chance to do this so there's a lot of wrestling anger inside of me. It's not a bitter angry, it's not an I should be the biggest thing in wrestling after beating Mikah and Crystal when they were at the top of their game. This is just anger, pure, unadulterated wrestling anger where I want to prove something right away."

She grits her teeth.

"This ain't a pity hire." Mackenzie says firmly. "This is a good business hire, because we have something they want, they have something we want, but just because we've been out of the ring for a while, doesn't mean a damn thing. Do you think for a second that we haven't worked bollocks off to get ready for this return? Shit, I met Christian a month ago, we've known for a while and not one member of London Underground has skipped a beat, not one of us have missed a training session in this ring right here. Not one of us have just brushed it off like it's nothing. We have worked for this return and mine has come a little sooner then most, but I'm ready, Seleana."

Mackenzie stands up.

"And I get to set the standard." She says with a slight smile. "I get to show everyone new what we're all about, I get to remind everyone who remembers who we are, what we're all about. This puts you in a fucking bad spot Seleana, because you're just the one that has to get hurt to remind the people what we're all about, you're the one who has to get the granny smashed out of you, just to let people feel that we're back. They're gonna feel fucking everything through their screen, they're gonna feel every punch, they're gonna feel every kick, they're gonna feel everything you're gonna feel and it's gonna suck for everyone. Some people return and they look like they're nothing like they used to be, they look like they're a shell of the person they once were but that's not happening with me. I'm coming back better, I'm coming back hitting harder, I'm coming back to put you out of your misery."

She leans on the ropes.

"And it really has been miserable for you Seleana." Mackenzie says with a slow shake of her head. "What happened to that woman who shocked everyone by beating Alicia Lukas and becoming the Bombshell World champion? What happened to that person who won the Bombshell Roulette title and put herself through hell? Look at you now compared to then. It's as fucking different as night and day. It's like someone replaced you with a cheap copy and now you're just awful. There's no spark, there's no fire, there's nothing, just a shell of who you used to be and a piss poor shell at that. That's you Seleana, gone from someone to no one since I last stepped in the ring on the big stage, in front of the camera, but I haven't slid and that's gonna be a serious problem for you. I've got better since I stepped out, and you're gonna see that. You've got a whole lot worse since I stepped out of the ring, do you see how this is gonna go based on that shit?"

Mackenzie touches her ear as if to listen.

"Real fucking bad." She says with a smirk.

Mackenzie leans on the top rope.

"I'm not gonna be one of those people who come back, half arse it and end up losing." Mackenzie says with a determined tone. "I'm not going to be lazy as fuck and expect to get something I shouldn't, I've put in the work, I've made an effort, I've trained every fucking day since I met Christian. I am not coming back to flop like a jelly fish, I'm just not one of those people. I might not have known till Monday that I will be back soon, but I've worked every single day to be ready for this and I will keep working till my fist meets your face Seleana and it's going to do that repeatedly. These are not idle words because I always mean what I say, and I always do what I say and this ain't any different."

She shakes her head.

"When I say I'm going to hurt you, then I mean it. When I say you're not gonna be doing well after this match, I mean that too. When I say I'm coming back to set the standard of who London Underground are, and what SCW should be all about, I mean it and you are just getting caught in the cross fire." She says with a slightly evil looking smirk. "You're cannon fodder sweetheart and that's a huge, huge problem for you and your well being because by the time I'm done ripping at you, you're gonna wake up on Monday morning and wonder if this is still the life for you. You're gonna be doubting your career choice, you're gonna be doubting your past, present and future cause I'm not coming to just get back in the swing of things, I'm coming to pick up where I left off. I left off beating the everlasting shit out of people just in case you don't remember, but on Sunday, it's all gonna come flashing back to that little head of yours."

She taps the side of her head.

"It's gonna come back to everyone's pretty little heads after Sunday." She says with another half evil smile. "It's gonna be something the whole bombshell division needs to watch. It's what every bombshell champion needs to watch. I don't give a fuck what level of champion you are, this is going to be me, showing you that shit is about to hit the fan. That division is about to get shaken up and twisted about and it all starts with what I'm gonna do to you Seleana. You're the one who gets to help me prove my point on how shit is gonna change around here. It's gonna be harsh on you, it's gonna be rough on you but guess what?"

She shrugs her shoulders.

"I don't really give a shit." She says with a grin. "Couldn't care less who was in front of me, coulda literally thrown me anyone at all but it's you Seleana and now, well, now you're the one who has to be that example. It's shit for you, it's gonna be shit for your family to help you recover after this one because we all know, you're not pulling off any surprises, you're not gonna shock the world, you're gonna get completely and utterly fucked up in this one."

Mackenzie takes two steps backwards.

"I'll see you on Sunday." She says pointing down the camera. "Someone better give Bella a call and tell her that her ambulance service will be needed again this week, because Seleana.... You're fucked!"

And with that, Mackenzie turns around and walks away as the cameras fade to black.
>

Twitter: @DanielJMorganEE