One Fall
** All employees of the Global Wrestling Association will be allowed to renegotiate their contracts with Revolution Wrestling.
Further details about this breaking story will be posted on Revolution.com in one hour (8pm eastern). These details will include an announcement regarding the final broadcast of GWA Burn and what we can expect to see.
“Holy shit,” Joey said quietly.
“I know,” said Jade.
They sat in silence, staring at the computer screen, taking in the monumental news.
“Well Baby, it looks like we’re going back to work,” Joey said.
“Maybe,” said Jade.
“What? You don’t think we’ll get a call?” said Joey.
“It says Duke is expected to have an important role in the new organization. I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Yeah, it’s too bad he’ll still be around, but I think things will be different. I can’t imagine him having any sway with Max Zeffer.”
“We’ll see. I wonder what’s going to happen to everyone. Revolution can’t roll over everybody’s contracts.”
“I know,” said Joey, feeling a twinge of guilt. Despite his anger toward the promotion, its president, and its veteran wrestlers, Joey still felt guilty for the recent demise of the GWA. There was no question that he would be blamed. First he kicked the world champion in the head, then he created a mess in the locker room, then he dropped the torch he was given to carry. In just over a month, the GWA had lost its biggest stars and its creative direction.
But his guilt wasn’t caused by any loyalty to the current incarnation of the GWA. Two weeks away from that septic tank had taught him one thing. It deserved to die. And good riddance.
Furthermore, Joey was convinced that the promotion was headed for failure sooner rather than later. He had just sped it on its way.
Still, the guilt was there, and it came from a deep, hurtful place. It was rooted in his childhood and his memories of what the GWA once was. Growing up, Joey had watched the GWA every Saturday morning, admiring stars like Shane Walker and Red Jackson. He admired the crafty storylines of Gene Harold and Larry Jenkins, and although he didn’t know it at the time, he admired the locker room discipline Duke had instilled.
All of that was dead now. Maybe it had died long ago.
“Sweetie, you know this isn’t your fault, right?” said Jade, reading Joey’s feelings exactly.
“I know, well, it’s a little bit my fault,” he said.
“It’s not your fault at all Joey. There is much, much more here than Goliath getting injured.”
“Well, yeah. There’s also Crusader leaving, Jumbo and I missing a prime time show, the locker room in chaos. All of that is my fault.”
“Stop it. Crusader was asked to do the job to a future star. It’s tradition. It’s part of the business. If he can’t handle it, then he doesn’t deserve to be doing this. And your incident with Jumbo started well before you were even working here. You just finished what he started.”
Joey laughed, thinking it was ridiculous to say he finished anything. He landed one punch before getting knocked out cold and sent to the hospital.
“I’m serious, Joey. The GWA was doomed when Gene Harold and Larry Jenkins went to Revolution. Our storylines went to shit and Revolution’s became great. Then Shane Walker retired and Red Jackson went to the competition. They got replaced with egomaniacs like Goliath and Crusader. Then a little clique of veteran wrestlers started running the locker room like their own little racket. Joey, you’ve got to admit, our company was a mess.”
Joey nodded silently. Of course Jade was right. The GWA was falling apart well before he arrived. If only he’d known when he joined. Had he started in Revolution things would be completely different.
He thought back to the time when the choice was his to make. Wrestling for the Southeast Wrestling League, it was obvious to him and everyone around him, that it wouldn’t be long before the big boys came calling. He should have decided back then to weigh both promotions against each other, and hold out for the offer from the better one. Two years ago, it wasn’t as obvious that Revolution was going to take over the wrestling world. They were an upstart promotion wrestling in small arenas who had won a television contract through the force of Max Zeffer’s wallet. The GWA was still the ultimate goal. Bigger arenas, bigger names, a long, prestigious history.
But it took only a month before Revolution had Gene and Larry. Soon the Internet declared Revolution the more interesting promotion. Then Lucifer came onto the scene. But Joey was young, and the GWA came calling first. Duke himself showed up at an event in Nashville and found Joey backstage after the show. Duke Correlli, the most powerful name in wrestling, walked right up to Joey at an indy show and offered him a contract.
And then it all went haywire almost right away. Two months in the development territories, one dark match before Burn and it was already time to do a program with Jumbo on television. Of course the locker room would hate him. Of course the promotion would rip apart at the seams.
But if he hadn’t gone to work for GWA, he would never have met Jade.
They spent the rest of the morning in the throes of the news. Slowly, all the other wrestling web sites began posting the story that had broken on Wrestlingdailytribune.com. At half past ten, Revolution.com put up a press release, confirming the story and all the details. All GWA contracts would be up for renewal with the new company.
At noon, GWA.com posted an open letter from Duke to the fans:
To the loyal fans of the GWA,
It is with mixed emotions that I announce the end of The Global Wrestling Association. On the one hand, I feel sadness at the end of an era. I founded the GWA in 1971, raising it from the ashes of the Philadelphia Wrestling League. We offered a new kind of wrestling, specifically marketed for television with a nationwide strategy. We were the first to win a nationwide contract on cable television in 1981. Between 1981 and 1983, we bought out six regional promotions to quickly become the single dominant force in professional wrestling. Thinking back on this time, the challenges, the risks, the exhilaration, I am sad that it has to end.
The 1980s and the 1990s belonged exclusively to the GWA. Many upstarts tried and failed to catch us. During this time, we were the very first organization to put on a nationwide pay per view television event. We sold out arenas across the country. GWA Burn became the number one rated show on cable television. Our hard-knocks, unforgiving style of entertainment forever changed the landscape of cable TV.
But quietly, when we weren’t looking, things changed. A new game in town, under the tutelage of a young and focused financier, landed its own television contract. With courage and tenacity that remind me of myself twenty years ago, Max Zeffer systematically assembled the most talented people in the business to finally offer a suitable alternative to my own product.
And now, at age sixty-two, I must concede defeat. Revolution Wrestling is the new home of cutting edge wrestling entertainment. Therefore, I have sold the rights to the GWA name, library, and talent to my vanquisher.
To all the long-time fans of the GWA, thank you. Thank you for letting me entertain you like no one else has. Our current journey ends here, but I’m certain a new one will begin before the ref calls for the bell.
Sincerely,
Michael “Duke” Correlli
At twelve thirty, the phone rang. Joey and Jade were on her front porch, eating turkey sandwiches she had prepared. Jade rested her plate on her chair before going inside to answer the phone, which had been ringing all morning. Family and friends of them both were eager to hear their take on the day’s big news. When Jade came back outside with the cordless receiver in her hand, her eyes were wide with anticipation.
“It’s for you,” she said, handing Joey the phone.
“Who is it?” Joey mouthed as he took the phone.
Jade didn’t say, answering only with a hand wave
that indicated Joey was to get on the phone immediately and find out.
“Hello?” Joey said into the receiver.
“Hello, Joey. This is Max Zeffer.”