(Vince McMahon's Music hits and he proceeds to the ring)
Vince McMahon: Ladies, gentlemen, children, it's with much remorse that I must bring this news to you this evening. In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, I had been contacted by someone with interest in purchasing my great company. While some have tried before, nothing has ever come of it because we value our own much more than anyone else ever could. However, this mystery buyer was persistent, and in the end, we could not pass up the financial security to our family from the lucrative offer that was handed over to us. The billions of dollars we received will set my children, and their children, and my great great great grandchildren up for life.
This mystery buyer is someone who had told me that he loved this company, but had been very disappointed with the direction we had taken in recent years, and believed with this purchase, he would have the ability to turn the company into his image, while satisfying the fans and our need for financial security. As I depart this ring for the last time, I must thank you for the memories, but all good things must one day come to an end, and I believe this to be a new chapter in my life, and the lives of each and every one of you. With that said, I now introduce you to Mr. James Smith, the new owner of WWE.
(Mr. James Smith comes down to generic music, shakes hands with Mr. McMahon who exits the arena to a standing ovation from a shocked audience).
Mr. Smith: First, I must thank Mr. McMahon for all of his positive contributions to growing interest in professional wrestling in the United States and throughout the world. Without him, there would be no WWE to purchase. With that said, as I have watched the company I grew up loving turn more and more into a circus, prior business moves afforded me the money and success to dive into such an entity, and try to turn it into my image of what professional wrestling should be. You see, Vince thought this was entertainment, but any 12 year old in their back yard didn't want to act out stories like it was a soap opera, but wanted to perform the moves of a professional wrestler in their backyard, on a trampoline, in the swimming pool, wherever they had the chance to do so safely. In recent years, the brand became more about driving the story forward, and less about the events inside of the ring.
This is where I would like to see things change. Before considering such a purchase, I spoke to a team of statisticians on trying to develop a system that was sustainable long-term. The goal of such a system would be to reward wrestlers for great matches, and use this rating system to determine the title picture as opposed to a forced storyline that may or may not make sense. There was nothing worse than seeing a wrestler go 0-4 in a month, only to have a miracle win to steal a championship. This to me never made sense, and never will. It goes against everything we grew up knowing about sports, that in order to be the best, you need to consistently beat the best. Changes will be coming, and with that said, I would like to invite our champions down to the ring.
(Music hits and John Cena - WWE Champion, Wade Barrett - Intercontinental Champion, The Shield - Tag Team Champions, and A.J. Lee - Divas Champion come to the ring separately. Mr. Smith takes time to shake each one's hand, and share a quick, private word.)
Mr. Smith: Thank you all for coming down here. I wanted to make this official to end all rumors, you are all my current champions. However, in order to stay there as I stated earlier, you must earn it. In my organization, there is no such thing as wrestler's with special contracts or privileges that allow them to miss three months but come back into the title picture. There is no special right that allows a famed wrestler to fight just once a year for a sacred event. No one is that special. Granted, it doesn't help my brand to run every wrestler into the ground, so the younger fighters may go more than the older ones, but they also need the seasoning.
Each one of you will learn what it means to be a fighter in my promotion, tonight. In a gala of sorts, I want the best of my company to be showcased to the world. I want these shows to be known more for their fighting, than just trying to fill time with corny skits and shows meant to attract a small segment of the population.
(Cena waves for a microphone)
Cena: Mr Smith, first on behalf of all wrestlers here, welcome. But, there are a few questions we do have for you. What is the name of "your" promotion? What is our schedule like? And when do we know our opponents for important fights? I mean, you seem to be changing a whole lot about how we do business around here. Some people might not be able to handle it.
Mr. Smith: John, I can understand your concern, but as I've said, there will be no one too sacred here. You and Punk have expressed concern about this in the past, how you can't just expect to show up and be in a main event or major pay-per-view. If you fight and wrestle well, you can find yourself there.
I've talked to most wrestlers and have offered significant bonuses to all of the locker room that will go into affect tonight. If that can't persuade you to work my way, I don't know what will, but let me tell you this. I want to keep the three show structure. Raw, I want that to highlight the best of the company as it has predominantly done the past few years. Every episode of Raw should be like a mini Pay-Per-View without the Championships. Superstars will appear mid-week, a smaller card meant to highlight fighters from our mid/low-card picture, and lastly, Smackdown will appear at the end of the week, again used largely for mid-card fighters trying to see who is ready to highlight the bigger shows.
As for your championship fights, I can't determine that, only your opponent can. For example, if there is a fighter that is having a dominant month, we can make a call that they deserve a title shot. Many times though, we see ourselves having a "Number One Contenders" match, although much different from the past. Again, fighters need to earn their spot in these. You may know your opponent 6 days in advance. We feel this is in the best interest to add drama to every match, win if you want to advance.
(Triple HHH's music hits and he stands by the jumbotron)
HHH: First of all Mr. Smith, who are you trying to call out here? My sister and I have done everything right by this company, and you come here and are forcing us to fight to stay? Have you witnessed what I have done?
Mr. Smith: HHH, you do me no good in a suit any more. Your silly shenanigans fit with what we used to do, but that direction is changing. I want you here, I want you as part of the company, but I'm not going to gift you a fight every 3 months and let you collect a steady paycheck. I'll pay you well, but you earn your spot.
HHH: Listen Jim, you don't know the amount we have sacrificed. You come in here talking a big game, but you hurt the legends. You expect Undertaker, Sting, these guys are older, you want them fighting every week? Do you want to kill their legacy?
Mr. Smith: I'm not forcing them to fight. Listen, it does me no good to wheel out the older, experienced fighters three times a week. It's not good business to see a worn-down, barely standing 'Taker battle Luke Harper on a random episode of Smackdown. But like I said, no one is special, and that includes you.
(HHH begins to move towards the ring, and Cena steps in front of Mr. Smith)
Cena: Look Hunter, you might not agree with this direction, and I agree it might be an adjustment, but I agree that we need a change. I've long advocated for this, you used to advocate for it. Now you have your seniority and don't want to give it back, but we used to talk about needing change and now we have it. We have someone not just considered with ratings or network viewers, but someone who really wants us to be fighters and not entertainers. I'm ready to move forward with this system. I hope you are too.
(HHH stares down Cena, and leaves the walkway. Cena shakes hands with Mr. Smith, and leaves the ring. The other champions follow his lead).
*I want to cut this one here, will return to Raw in the next post.
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