Quitters
All it takes is for a conversation to get things moving along...
TLC: Tables Ladders and Chairs
Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland, Ohio
Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn were having a conversation, before they heard a door knock. This stopped their conversation about the future plans for the WWE. The two of them looked at each other, before Vince shouted, "Come on!" he granted them permission to enter his office. As the door opened, a smile formed on his face, when he saw one of his favorite Superstars, John Cena on the other side of the door. There was nothing that John could ever do wrong, "John!" he smiled as he went over to greet the face of the company with a hug and handshake, "How have you been doing?"
John formed a fake smile on his face, knowing that Vince's happiness of seeing him will soon change when he brings Colby Lopez and Daphne Consuelos into his room, "I've been great, sir. How have you been doing?"
"I've been doing great!" Vince was oblivious to the hint that John tried to give his boss as he had a hand on John's back, moving him closer to his desk, "Now, what can I do for you? Do you want the WWE World Heavyweight Championship back? If so, then I feel like there is something that we can arrange for you! Dunn!" he yelled at Kevin Dunn, whose head popped right back up after hearing the sound of his boss' voice, "PUT THE TITLE BACK ON JOHN, DAMMITT! I DON'T PAY YOU TO SLACK OFF!"
"No! No! No!" John had hesitation on his voice because that was not the reason why he wanted to confront Vince about, "I do not want the title back. When I said that I wanted the younger talent to shine, I meant it. Look, the reason that I came to you is because Daphne wants to have a serious conversation with you and I'm here to back her up. Do you want to talk to her?"
Vince was silent as he took a deep breath, "Is she going to be yelling at me?" he asked as John chuckled at his question.
"No, she's done with yelling at you. She just wants to express her feelings about a certain matter with you in a mature and civil manner. I hope that the two of you can have a conversation like you're adults." John said in the calmest way possible as Vince rolled his eyes.
"You sound a lot like Hunter right now," he muttered under his breath and nodded, "Okay, bring them in." he agreed as John gestured for Daphne, who had Colby right behind her, having her back at every step.
"Hi Vince," Daphne said, looking restraint, but she felt confident that Vince was going to see things her way. She stared at Vince's red tie for a moment as she then looked right back at her boss, "I like your tie. I could never get Colby to wear anything—"
"Alright Daphne, cut the crap already. What do you want to tell me?" Vince said, his voice got stricter, which made her take a step back, thinking about what she wanted to say. Honestly, she had what she wanted to say all planned out, but with Vince getting into his corporate ways, she started to get a little worried of how this conversation was going to end.
"The entire locker room thinks you're out of touch," Daphne wasted no time, but to get to the point of their conversation, "They believe that the WWE will be a better place if Hunter were control of the storylines like he is at NXT. When you sat at the Stone Cold podcast a while back about not being out of touch, all of us did not believe that at all because what you thought was popular back then is not what is working in this modern day and age. People are smarter thanks to technology, but instead of worrying about what the numbers on social media are, they think that you should be worried about the state of RAW and Smackdown. RAW and Smackdown are sick. Our roster is very thin. Our midcard championships are being treated like shit. You don't give a shit about the other Divas and backstage politics are so horrible that people are afraid to lose their jobs. Also, what you view as the next face of the company being is not what people want."
"Daphne, something that you need to get is that it all goes down to dollars and cents. We focus on the people that are making us a lot of money. For example, John Cena is one of the top sellers, when it comes to his merchandise. This is why he is the face of the company. Why would I want to give up the same formula that has made me money in the past? Look, if I did not take advantage of The Rock in his prime, I would have lost a lot money. If I did not manage to use Hulk Hogan in his prime, I would have lost a lot of money. Why would I want to stop using someone like them in exchange for someone that sponsors do not see representing the WWE? Do you honestly think that Bryan Danielson is face of the company material? How about Jonathan Good? Nick Nemeth? Or even Colby over here?" Vince pointed at Colby, when he was giving his explanation.
Colby exchanged a look with Vince, trying to hide the hurt in his eyes. Did Vince not believe that he could be the face of the company? "If you give me or any of those other guys an opportunity to shine, perhaps, they could go in your list of people that have made you a lot of money. The issue with you is that you never give guys like myself a chance to shine and if we ever do shine, it is under your terms. Whenever one shines on their own without you or Dunn's help, you cannot stand it and you do your best to crush that momentum. It happened with Zack Ryder, Claudio and if Bryan comes back, it will obviously happen to him because you cannot stand to see someone that you did not create get bigger pops than the guys that you created."
Daphne held back Colby as she got in front of him again, so that he could not say anything that he might regret, "We are not saying these things to pick a fight with you Vince. But, you don't listen. That is your biggest issue. The WWE is not going to get better unless you step down from creative control in the WWE. Your ways are not going to be received nicely with the IWC. Perhaps, the loyal WWE Universe people that don't know that all of this is scripted, but the smarks that claim to know more than what we know."
"Look Vince, you might not be liking what we are telling you, but do you want us to continue telling you that you are doing a bang up job? We know what is being said backstage and these are just the little problems that people have issues with. So, hear it from us rather than a talent that just had enough. We have nothing, but absolute respect for you, Vince, but we feel like your ways our outdated and if someone like Hunter were in control, then people might take us seriously again." John explained as Vince stood there, taking in all the responses from his talent.
To Vince, he did not think that his ways were outdated or that he was out of touch. He just thought that it was getting difficult to please WWE fans today. He thought the fans were never happy with anyone in the top of the company, "I disagree with what the three of you are saying. My ways are not outdated and I am in touch of what is happening in the WWE. The three of you are wrestlers, so get a back bone and take the difficulties of this company like an adult. Nothing in life is going to be easy. If you don't like what I am doing with this company, then," Vince snatched the Divas Championship from Daphne's shoulder and snatched the golden Money in the Bank briefcase from Colby's clutches and pointed at the door, "Leave. You wouldn't be the first one that left the company due to unhealthy working conditions."
"You fired Phil on his wedding day. He really did not quit the company, but can you afford me to walk away again?" Daphne questioned as she crossed her arms across her chest, "What do you plan to do without the Divas Champion? Give April a call so she can hog the spotlight again? Give the title to a Bella? Look, I am not going to walk away again because I'm going to continue fighting for what I believe in. I want to fight for all of the Superstars and Divas and sure, you can bring as much NXT talent to the main roster and tarnish them, but you will never take away their spirits." Daphne argued passionately.
"That's good to know, but I want to prove to everyone that I am not out of touch and that I still run things here. So, the three of you are in matches tonight, so good luck with them…" Vince said as he gave back the title and briefcase to the respected owners. Daphne smirked and turned on her heel as Colby and John followed her. The conversation did not go her way, but it was not going to stop her from achieving what she wants.
"So, are you going to change the Royal Rumble plans?" Dunn asked as Vince smirked and looked at the producer.
"Nope, I'm going to show them all that I am not out of touch." Vince responded.
Oh no! This can't be good! At what measures will Vince go to prove to everyone that he is not out of touch? Will they be received well to the Superstars and Divas? Will John, Colby and Daphne get punished for speaking their minds or will the locker rooms receive the punishment? Anyway, thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter! I finally got to 100 reviews and it is thanks to all of you for making it happen! :) It makes me feel like I am doing sometimes right! Please favorite, follow and review! :)