A Round Table Discussion

[CaptainL]

"If you're slowing down," Eiji pointed out, "I think that just proves my point. You look at the guys who wrestled in the old days, and they had careers that lasted decades longer than any of today's big stars - because they weren't the ones treating this as some circus trapeze show; they knew the basics and how to pace themselves, and that was enough for them to succeed! Now, you have guys who need to retire early because their knees are dust by the time they're 35!"

"That's still longer than Chigusa Nagayo's first run, if you think this is anything new," Haruka muttered to herself with a roll of her eyes, hoping that Eiji was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to catch her calling out his hypocrisy. Regardless, Eiji calmed down either way, clearing his throat and collecting himself.

"...but you do raise a good point. And I think the outlook you've got is what the youngsters of today need to hear. Hopefully, you'll be able to get that through to them, and we can start challenging these fans' expectations before this turns into some demolition derby." He did, however, grumble to himself at Jonathan's comment. "Fucking Claire Dumbass..."

After that, Eiji cleared his throat again, standing back up from his seat. "Regardless, I think you boys have nothing but good things to offer us, and any partnership we want to discuss with USPW is only going to bring good things to both of our companies. I'll make sure an announcement about that goes out - but until then, anything else you'd like to add?"

[Pegasus]

“Yeah, I got something to add. You said you want these young wrestlers to understand my outlook….well, you’re the journalist. Put it out there. My contract with LAW says I can have any match I want provided it can be approved by upper management. The Young Lionesses want to prove they belong here and want to be put on the main roster? I’ll give them something they can be taught and I’ll do it in the place I know best. Put this as the front headline….I challenge Sheila Chihara and Meiyun Lai to a 2-on-1 Handicap Match,” Jonathan declared.

“Are you even sure they’ll accept wrestling a guy in the ring?” Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Or accept the fact that you are willing to place yourself at the disadvantage? I don’t know how well they would take it or if they would see it as not taking them seriously one-on-one,” William added.

“In my mind, it’s not about personal feelings on intergender wrestling. I’m a big star. They can prove they belong to me,” Jonathan stated. “Get ready, Mr. Matsumoto, you want change, you better fucking believe I’ll give to ya!”

[CaptainL]

With everyone agreeing to the plan, Eiji and Haruka went to work taking notes, sure that they had a new article for LAW Magazine coming together. As someone who had followed the wrestling world for years, Eiji knew a thing or two about how promotions operated, and he knew that - even if it might not have been as exciting for the fans - the addition of people with impressive resumes in backstage roles was just as valuable to a company as the signing of a new wrestler, if not more. Jonathan, Ryan, and William certainly had plenty of experience in the wrestling business, and they knew the ins and outs well. They had seen plenty that they could impart to new trainees, and they had the name value to back up their decisions. If that could lead to the strengthening of a working relationship between LAW and other companies, the promotion could only grow its audience and offer its talent new venues to work, as well as providing opportunities for excursions for LAW's Young Lionesses to help broaden their horizons. All of this, Eiji thought, offered plenty of material for an article to cover.

Of course, even if they might have been taking a part-time role, the three veterans still intended to take to the ring once in a while - and speaking of the Young Lionesses, Jonathan already had a match in mind! As soon as he announced his plans, Eiji jumped up in his seat, thankful he wasn't drinking anything at the time so that he didn't spit it everywhere. "You WHAT!?"

Haruka, on the other hand, knew an eye-catching headline when she saw one, and she flashed a thumbs-up at Jonathan, jotting his words down over her notebook. "Oooh, that's gonna go on the cover if I have anything to say about it!"

In the meantime, Eiji calmed down, clearing his throat and straightening his tie. "Er...yes, right. Sorry about that. I just wasn't expecting you to issue a challenge here and now...but, you know what? It sounds like a good one. In wrestling, if you're gonna get in the business, you need to make a strong impression, and this will definitely do the job. Tells folks right away you're not fucking around, and that you've still got it in you. And I think it'll do the girls good, too - they're headstrong types, both of them, so it's about time they had to face a stronger opponent to show them what is and isn't going to fly, if nothing else will. Maybe if it works well, we could even consider sending them your way...even if it's just to get 'em out of our hair," he added with a grumble at the end.

[Pegasus]

The trio of guys would shake hands with both reporters as they took their leave with Jonathan being reminded about the damage to the door and he notified Will that he would look into his bank account. Eiji and Haruka would no doubt want this free time to start writing their article on this discussion with the boys and have it in their next publication. Jonathan versus Sheila and Meiyun….two of the top prospects coming out of LAW….an interesting showdown for sure in the future.

THE END!