Vignette 46: Consternation

How the mighty had fallen... that was the one sentence Vince was tired of hearing. He'd heard it so often in the part couple of months it was driving him literally insane. Every sports reporter, internet and otherwise, was taking pot shots at him and using that one trite and tired quote: How the mighty have fallen... And they were right... he had fallen. Naturally, his disgrace of a son had pushed him off the pedestal he'd worked so hard to climb up to but now there was no way of denying that the WWF was nothing like it had been in the mid-nineteen nineties... it was now a hollow shell of what it had once been.
"We are at 65% attendance," JR told Vince as they stood backstage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
"Of course. NWW is on tonight."
"Yeah. Chyna and Madusa are going up against Matt Hardy and Billy Kidman for the number one contender spot for the tag belts."
"All right. Anything else?"
"Rocky..."
"Jumping ship?"
"No... but he wants more time for his acting career. He was offered a role on Andromeda. It's not a weekly thing, just a recurring role, like ten times a year."
"Has he mentioned jumping to NWW?" Vince asked harshly.
"No. He would like us to see what we can do for him."
"Then fix it. He can't leave us. He's our only big superstar who still draws a crowd."

Vignette 47: Lowballing

"They are offering more money Shane, a lot more money."
"True. But what I'm offering, they can't give you."
"What's that?"
Smiling, Shane pulled a poster out from under the desk and showed it to Rocky, grinning widely.
"You play hardball Shane. But I'm loyal to your father."
"Are you sure he's half as loyal to you?"
Rocky looked down at the poster of himself with the Andromeda crew, in full Nietzschian regalia, a small NWW hologram logo in the lower left hand corner.
"It's worth thinking about, wouldn't you say?""

Part 48: Highballing

"Now I know my son can't offer half as much money."
"I know."
"And he can't give the mainstream recognition that The Rock has."
"I know that too Vince."
"So why even humor his delusions of grandeur?"
"Because he's still a friend."
"See, that's your mistake right there, thinking of him as a friend. Contract negotiations are about business, finance, about making the right choice for your family and your career."
"Careers."
Vince smiled affably as Rocky and nodded, "Quite right. You have more than one, don't you?"
"Yeah. You should know, you're an executive producer in all of my projects."
"The way you say that... are you catching heat for my involvement in your movie career?"
"No... and even if I did, wouldn't make any damn difference."
"You sure about that?"
"Yeah. See Vince, you and I will agree on a whole bunch of shit but when it comes to this decision, I don't think it's all head or all heart. It's both. It's about my careers, that's head. It's about my life, that's heart. I have to make sure my heart and head are at piece with my decision, no matter what it is."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"That I have some more thinking to do."
"Eventually, you're going to have to make a decision."
"I know. It's just that I don't know what that decision will be."

Part 49: Joint Confusion

Rocky sat in his living room, a NWW contract in one hand and a WWF one in the other. On the coffee table in front of him sat the contract tying him to Andromeda. That contract was signed, sealed and ready to be promptly delivered.
Just then, his daughter crawled into the living room in front of his wife, quickly moving to him, pawing his bare feet. Rocky reached down and picked her up, his heart rejoicing at the sight of her toothless grin as he threw her up in the air. Putting down the contracts, he played with her until she fell asleep in his arms.
"Baby girl loves her daddy," his wife said as she sat down next to him.
"I know... I love her too."
"Nothing on the contracts yet?"
Rocky shook his head, "I am truly torn between loyalties here. There's Shane on one end and his dad on the other. And I owe them both so much but..."
"Don't forget what you owe to yourself."
"You think I should just say to hell with both of them and see if Andromeda can't find me a more constant role."
"You want to act sweetie, you've told me so hundreds of times. Why miss that opportunity?"
"But I want to wrestle as well. Why miss that opportunity?"
"You just have to figure out which one you want more."
"I want both."
"One day in the near future, you're going to have to teach our daughter that she can't have her cake and eat it too... and when you do, she'll be able to turn around and throw this decision in your face."
With a gentle kiss, his wife got up and walked out of the living room, leaving Rocky to pick up both contracts and read them over again, looking for the flaw that might help him make his decision.

Part 50: Final Decision

"It took me a while but I now know where I want to be and how I want to live. Today, I make this choice, not for whoever offered me the most money or for whoever the opportunity to pursue the life I have outside the confines of this ring. I didn't even make this choice for myself... I didn't even make it for my lovely little daughter. I made this choice for the entity that has stood by me throughout all this time." Rocky took off his sunglasses, the tears in his eyes visible to all. He took a deep breath before going on. "Today, I take a step forward into the unknown, I want the people to know how grateful I am to them for making me the icon I am today. So know, even when he is on Andromeda, the Rock is your champion, the People's champion. When he is in this ring, the Rock is your champion. And when the Rock puts the future of his wrestling career in this McMahon, the Rock remains your champion. So Shane-O, my boy, though having you as my friend for many years has been very nice, you couldn't offer me the money your father offered me. And knowing that made my choice easy. Knowing that only one McMahon understands what the Rock can be outside the wrestling ring made it easier. And Vin-man, I only have one last thing to ask you... write me and tell me how the fall from grace goes? Shane and I are curious."
Grinning outrageously, Shane McMahon came into the camera's frame. He shook hands with his latest employee before turning to the camera, and his father because he knew full well that no matter where Vince was, he'd be watching.
"Dad, I'm not doing this to make you proud, even if I'm sure that you are, I'm doing this to show you what a real brand extension is all about."
With that, all of the NWW roster came out from behind the curtains, piling into the ring. They placed themselves in the ring, the tallest wrestlers up in back and the shorter ones in the front. Shane knelt in front of them, flanked by Rocky and Hunter, all three of them a large NWW sign for the company's first group picture. Vince's competition had finally arrived.

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