DownNDirty Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 My name is Beau Cambridge. This is my private journal as I venture into this insane endeavor. I hope to one day share this journal with others as a success story. If not, I suppose I'm just writing to myself and this will never see the light of day. Where do I begin? I'm just an average 31 year old that had a promising football career cut short by a bad knee injury. They say in 10 years they'll have the medical technology to properly repair it to where I could have remained competitive. Oh well, always a day late and a dollar short I suppose. I've been in banking since I was in college. I guess I developed a niche for being able to identify problems and had graduated to a Special Assets Manager by the time I was 28. Not bad for a country boy from Tennessee. I 've got a knack for numbers and making things work within the confines of the system. Perhaps that's why Greg Gagne called me one Sunday afternoon in January. How did he even find out about me? I've had a couple of articles published as it pertained to distressed properties and strategies to get banks out of bad situations. I've been a lifelong wrestling fan, it's a closet addiction. I tried talking to some of the VP's at the bank about my passion for wrestling and they looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out my ears so I've learned to keep my mouth shut and watch wrestling on the weekends. It's been my escape from the corporate grind and the monotony of the day to day crap you would imagine that you have to put up with when you deal with foreclosures, bank repos, and that line of work. Sure, I was named one of the top 100 banking executives under the age of 40 in the Southeast but why would Greg Gagne care? I watch wrestling to escape the real world but I don't know the first thing about the inner workings of a wrestling organization. All I know is for some reason I called Greg back 2 weeks ago and said yes I will come and help you all out. Maybe I just needed the escape and a change of pace. I'm positive of one thing: This will be the biggest challenge of my entire life and if I fail I will fail hard and drag some great people down with me. Greg Gagne believes that it will take someone like me to turn things around in the AWA. He said I can learn on the fly and with my ideas he thinks I can be an adequate booker. But, most importantly, he says he needs my business savvy to keep the doors open. Apparently, the AWA is struggling to compete in today's market. I honestly don't know how I'm going to turn things around. I'm still beside of myself that somehow I was contacted. One thing I do know is that I'm walking into the locker room today to address my roster. What am I going to say? Will these guys even take me seriously? At least standing 6'4 and still being in decent shape maybe they'll have some level of respect for an ex college football athlete. Another thing I do know is that I'm not going to be starstruck or let anyone cloud my judgment. I'll make the best decisions for the company and feelings are going to have to take a backseat. My job is to keep these guys getting a paycheck. I hope to God I can succeed. My next diary entry will detail my locker room address. Hopefully I won't just be a grease stain on the wall when the wrestlers get through with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownNDirty Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 I heard Verne Gagne talking to the wrestlers, workers, and personalities of the AWA before I emerged from behind the door. I could tell there was a very strong sense of uneasiness in the air when I opened the door and went to the podium. I peered across the audience as I approached the stage. Mostly what I saw was guys looking at me like, “who the hell is this idiot” or, “oh great, let me pack my bags now.” I expected as much. What else should these guys think? I mean I've never been in the business a day in my life and now I'm coming in to run the show. Their show. What puts groceries on their table. Here's a rundown of my initial address to the locker room: “Ladies and Gentleman, my name is Beau Cambridge and I have came to the AWA to become the head booker of your wrestling organization. I come to you from the banking industry. Weird crossover I suppose but quite frankly this organization has been losing money and the bleeding needs to stop immediately. Some tough decisions will have to be made over the coming weeks and months. I'll be honest and tell you that I'm sure these decisions will not make everyone here happy. Some of you may have to seek employment elsewhere. If you want to walk now there's the door. I do hope that every single one of you will give me a chance to show you my direction and vision before you judge me though. Sure I'm a banker but I'm a wrestling fan as well. I've watched all of you perform your art in front of thousands of people. Everyone sitting here is here because they have a passion for the business or because they think this business can make them a ton of money or both. I want to see this thing succeed and we will start from right now. I'm not into all of that rah-rah bull$(#t so I'll save that for someone else. I do believe in keeping a positive attitude and hard work. Maybe some of you have the philosophy that while the early bird gets the worm the second mouse gets the cheese. Screw that. I come from a cutthroat business and the only way you can get ahead is hard work and dedication. You can kiss my ass all you want but that won't do you a lick of good unless you can back it up with hard work. The Gagne's have trust in me and since you all also work for them you will have to trust me too. You may not agree with every decision I make but I assure you right now that every decision made is for the good of the company. I will not tolerate any employee getting into trouble. Discipline will be firm, fair, and consistent. I don't care if you are the guy cleaning up the puke in aisle 3 or the guy main eventing. We are going to have a good wrestling product for the fans and get our audience back. We are going to start making money and turning a profit once again. The Vince McMahon's of the world aren't going to squash us like a bug without one hell of a fight. You don't have to like me, you just have to believe that this is going to work and get on board or get off of the train right now. I will be speaking with each member of the roster privately over the next couple of days. Thank you for your time.” Well, you can imagine how that went over. Some were taken back, some rolled their eyes, others had no idea what to think. But thankfully no one called my bluff and walked out. Sure, some of these guys will be getting pink slips sooner rather than later anyhow but until I can sort everything out I didn't want anyone walking out that door and starting things off on a really bad note. I'm not so sure that Verne trusts me at all. I'm convinced that this was entirely Greg's idea and at least I do have one of the Gagne's in my corner. Unfortunately, the Gagne that runs the entire show is the one that don't trust me yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownNDirty Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 <p>My first booked card is upon me. I don't know what direction I want to go in as far as some of the storylines go. One thing I am sure of is that Verne Gagne wants WRESTLING and by God wrestling I'm going to give him and the fans. I'm going to try and elevate some guys that need it, get rid of others that don't fit my style, and see how things shake out. </p><p> </p><p> My main goal right now is to provide good wrestling matches without spending an arm and a leg on talent for each show at first. It's painfully obvious to me that we need to do some roster trimming and maintenance but I would like to get through my first big show in late March before I make any big changes. </p><p> </p><p> Sure, there's guys on my wish list but I have to be careful and make the right decisions for the organization. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> AWA All-Star Wrestling will be headlined this week by Curt Hennig vs Sgt. Slaughter. I'm hoping to start things out with a bang and have a good, hard hitting matchup between Hennig and Sarge. Also on my first card I've got Buddy Rose and Doug Somers taking on the Top Guns, Leon White vs Steve O, and a preliminary bout between Jake Milliman and Nacho Berrea.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownNDirty Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 <div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">AWA All-Star Wrestling at the Omaha Civic Auditorium and Music Hall in Nebraska</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p> </p><p> Announced crowd is 1,094. </p><p> </p><p> Prelim contest: Jake Milliman pins Nacho Berrea in 5:06 to a whopping F rated match that has turned the crowd into psychotic lunatics hurling insults at the workers. Thank God for small favors and this match took place before many people even realized the card had started. </p><p> </p><p> As we open the show Sgt. Slaughter comes out and says he's going to mop the floor with Curt Hennig tonight in the Main Event. Segment rating B-</p><p> </p><p> In the opening TV contest of the Cambridge booked AWA the Baby Bull Leon White decimated Steve O in 6:33 with a Powerbomb. White never let up and completely hammered Steve O punishing him for the entire contest. Segment rated E</p><p> </p><p> Rod Trongard is in the ring telling Nebraska that next week Shawn and Marty, the Midnight Rockers, will be on hand. Apparently they didn't give a flying crap because the segment got a D-</p><p> </p><p> Buddy Rose and Doug Somers toppled the Top Guns in 16:25 when Buddy Rose pinned John Paul following a Las Vegas Jackpot. The match apparently brought the crowds mood down. John Paul was off of his game and exhausted by the end of the 16 minute contest. Really? I'm going to have a talk with that moron and if he don't get ass in gear he can find somewhere else to wrestle. Segment rated D-</p><p> </p><p> In the Main Event of the evening Sgt. Slaughter wins over Curt Henning via countout. Hennig was rammed into the barricade at ringside and knocked out cold 26:23 into the match. Sarge laughed as he gladly accepted the countout victory. The segment only got a D rating but it was said to feature great action. </p><p> </p><p> The Final Rating for the show was a disappointing D-. </p><p> </p><p> Not the start I was looking for exactly but I have a better card planned for tomorrow's A show. Hopefully the fans will be more into tomorrow nights card or Mr. Gagne may not be so happy with his new hire.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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