Promo: Monday Morning

[chirs3 0]

This was supposed to be up earlier, but I am-

 

-... I mean Joseph Peters is a lazy moron. Yeah. Not me, him. Cause I didn't write this or anything...

 

...

 

Seriously though, this should've been up earlier. So just pretend it was. Problem solved!

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Flesher, but Mr. Peters isn't here right now."

 

"Yes he is."

 

Lauren the generic secretary smoothly pulls an index card out from one of the desk drawers, and begins to run down the bullet-point list.

 

"I'm sorry, uh, he's... in a meetin-"

 

"No he's not."

 

...

 

"He's at a lunch wi-"

 

"It's 5:00 in the evening."

 

...

 

"He's at his daughter's birthda-"

 

"April 14th."

 

Through the door, one can hear Peters muttering "Good lord..." Lauren takes one last look at the index card, then throws it in the trash.

 

"Screw it. Go on in."

 

Tom smirks and passes through.

 

"Look," Peters says as he stands up and begins to launch a shtick he's now perfected, "I know you're concerned after what happened with Bruce Blank, but I assure you-"

 

"Hey, Joe."

 

And now Peters looks up-

 

"-oh. Tom. Hey. I thought- a lot of the wrestlers have been coming by since I suspended Bruce, and I thought- never mind."

 

Looking very relieved, Peters sits back down, and attempts to straighten out his mess of a desk.

 

"Look, I've got... a lot of work to do here - the sponsors, some of them, they're coming to Lockdown... and I have to figure out what we're doing with the Hardcore title, now that we've suspended the champion, and- what I mean is... whatever you're here for, can it wait?"

 

"It might have been able to, before you told me the sponsors were planning a visit. Do they have more rules they'd like to add? A ban on schoolboy rollups, maybe? They do look pretty perverted. And that name - that's just asking for trouble."

 

"I don't know what they want," Peters sighs, "just that they want to take a more 'hands-on' approach."

 

"Lovely."

 

Peters leans back in his chair, sighing again.

 

"So what can I do for you, Tom?"

 

"Your phone's unplugged."

 

"Oh, that... as you've probably been made aware, Lauren's not really good at lying to people. It's easier to dodge all the phone calls this way."

 

"Ah."

 

"So... what is it you wanted?"

 

"I just wanted to see what your plans for Lockdown were."

 

"My plans?"

 

"Like you told Bruce a while ago - either our ratings continue their fall off a cliff 'til we get cancelled, or we say 'fuck the sponsors', lose them, and get cancelled. So what's it gonna be?"

 

"Right now, it's looking like #1."

 

"... well that's depressing. No grandiose plan to save the day?"

 

"I wish," Peters chuckles, with very little humor. "The closest thing I've got to that is Blank's suggestion of 'Find some new sponsors.' As if it were that simple."

 

"It might be. As much as I'd like to be rid of Blank, Joseph... and believe me, I'd love to be rid of him... there's just an element of the fan base that considers him marketable, for some reason. I know, I don't fully understand it either." Flesher shakes his head and sighs. "Some people's kids, eh?"

 

Peters raises his eyebrows. "You're babbling."

 

"No, you only think I am. I'm actually rambling."

 

"Either way, you're not helping," says Peters.

 

Flesher smirks. "Joe, do you remember who the wrestlers used to appeal to when Brian or Stevens used to try to screw us over? Sure, Brian and Mark owned a lot of the stock in the company, but..."

 

Peters rolls his eyes and groans. "The Japanese bosses?"

 

"The Japanese bosses."

 

"But the Japanese bosses don't -"

 

"Exist anymore," Flesher says, nodding. "They sold off their stock when the SWF's parent company went public. But that's not the point. The point is that regardless of how bad things look, there are other resources."

 

"Other resources?"

 

"I don't like him, Joe, but you have to remember that one of my previous colleagues has been quite entrepreneurial in his post-SWF endeavours."

 

"You don't mean..." Peters smiles, assuming Flesher is joking.

 

"Joe, give Robert a call. I'm sure he'll have some ideas."

 

"Even if I did," Peters replies with some caution, "do you really think that would be enough?"

 

"Well, all by himself, maybe not, but he knows the right people. And from there... well, just call him. And as for the Hardcore Title, if we can find some new sponsors, you won't have to suspend Blank."

 

"Very true."

 

"I know, it's one of the holes in the plan." Flesher sighs. "Nonetheless, it'll keep the SWF afloat until you can find someone to take the strap off him."

 

"Mm."

 

"Anyway," Tom says as he heads for the door, "just call Robert. Best-case scenario, we end up saving the show. Worst case... we crash and burn anyway."

 

"That's awfully optimistic."

 

Flesher just grins, then disappears through the doorway. Peters leans back in his chair, thinking...

 

"... what the hell. Why not?"

 

He picks up the phone chord off the ground and plugs it back into his pho-

 

*riiiiiiiiiing*

 

-scratch that. He gets up and uses the payphone outside the arena.

 

Fin.

Edited January 19, 2006 by chirs3

[Longdogger_Pete 0]

Robert... Robert...hmm.

 

Nope. Not ringing any bells.

 

I suppose I should know this. But I don't.

 

At least it ain't Stubby.

[Toxxic 0]

Gotta be Bobby Riley, surely.

 

Edit: J3 thinks it's Frost. If I could be sure his first name is Robert, I'd agree with him.

[muzz 0]

Interesting promo, simple and to the point. I can't imagine why it would be Riley, since after all, he was on a commentators wage for so long.

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

 

The Memphis Eel.

Edited January 19, 2006 by Justice

[Secret Agent 0]

Of course it's Frost. He gave it away!

[Longdogger_Pete 0]

Yes, Frost's first name was Robert.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Frost would totally be the coolest! Err... no pun intended...

 

He should come back just so that he could appoint the Eel as his figurehead "GM."