The two hurriedly left the lounge, turned into Rufeng, arrived at the parking lot outside the stadium, and got into a stretched Lincoln luxury car.

There were two people sitting in the car, one of whom Quinn knew was Mike Watson, who was also a famous wrestler and was known as the "King of Bomb Wrestling".

Bai Quinn once carefully studied his "bomb throw" skills through a video recorder in Randy's small living room.

Mike Watson is an independent player and a member of the New York Independent League. He not only plays in the NWA, but also makes guest appearances in the WWF, WCW and other leagues. At this time, he also appeared in the car for unknown reasons.

Another guy wears a baseball cap with "ECW" printed on his head. His long hair is tied behind his head. He is in his forties. He has a fat face and a big nose. When he smiles, his eyes narrow into slits. He looks very cunning.

, naturally it is the general manager of ECW - Paul Heyman.

Seeing Randy and Bai Quinn, Paul Heyman smiled broadly and greeted loudly: "Sledgehammer, you are finally here. Have you told the young man our plan?"

Randy obviously preferred to be called his stage name "Sledgehammer". While nodding in greeting, he clasped the fat hand extended by Paul Heyman with both hands. Because of his excitement, Randy did not pay attention to controlling the strength when shaking hands. Bai Quinn noticed

Paul Heyman's eyebrows twitched rapidly a few times before returning to normal.

The luxury car did not start, it was still parked in the parking lot, and there was Mike Watson in the car. It was obvious that Paul Heyman had other arrangements after talking with their master and apprentice.

Taking advantage of Paul Heyman's opportunity to introduce Mike Watson to his master and apprentice, Bai Quinn secretly looked at his future "boss".

Paul Heyman is about forty, loves to laugh, and is very talkative. He talks most of the time, praising the old veteran Sledgehammer Randy, and then praising the now popular Mike Watson, complaining about the poor organization of NWA.

The ability fills the luxury car with a joyful atmosphere.

Mike Watson stretched out his big hand and patted Bai Quinn on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "I watched your game, kid. The first half was quite satisfactory, but the second half was messed up. Fortunately, you adjusted in time, and the result was still good.

...I saw you used bomb slams twice, do you like bomb slams?"

Bai Quinn blurted out, "Yes, Mr. Watson, my finishing move is the cross bomb throw. I am your wrestling fan..."

Paul Heyman suddenly laughed and patted the strong arm of Mike Watson beside him, "Haha, Mike, let me just say that the last flying shoulder was a Shoot (a performance accident). This kid's flying shoulder movement was not standard."

, let me think about it, more like a rugby tackle, aiming at the waist, rather than the opponent's chest where the opponent can catch the ball better..."

Then he turned to Bai Quinn and said: "Boy, the bomb throw is exciting, but it is not suitable as a finishing move for people like you. Your movements are flexible, explosive, and tall, so you are more suitable for impactful finishing moves. If

Let me package you, and I will replace your finishing move with a flying shoulder. Although your flying shoulder movement is not standard, it is more explosive. Are you really a football player? A quarterback? "

Hearing this, Randy nodded slightly, but Mike Watson, famous for his "bomb drop", crossed his arms across his chest and said nothing.

In fact, Randy's suggestion was the same as Paul Heyman's, except that Bai Quinn originally liked bomb throws more, so his finishing move was determined to be the "Cross Bomb Throw."

"Yes, sir, I was the quarterback of our high school football team..."

"Paul, little Quinn was once the MVP of the high school football league in the greater New York area..."

Paul Heyman laughed and said: "No wonder your 'microphone ability' (referring to a wrestler's speech ability) is not bad. The quarterback uses his brain. If you want to unite the players, you must be good at oral skills..."

Bai Quinn smiled awkwardly, saying that the "microphone power" belonged to the original owner. It's hard to say how much he inherited.

Suddenly, Paul Heyman changed the topic, stared at Quinn Bai opposite him, and asked: "Boy, join us and work with me! I will sign an exclusive contract with you!"

Lao Mei was so direct. He proposed to sign an exclusive contract without negotiating any conditions. Bai Quinn didn't know how to answer for a while.

Seeing that Quinn's reaction was not strong enough, Paul Heyman had to elaborate on the conditions for recruiting him:

"I'll let you offend me at the beginning. You will play Raven Raven's follower, and your weekly salary will be 275 US dollars. During this period, if you are arranged to participate in competitions, the bonus will be calculated based on each game.

According to the development of the plot, you will be made a regular employee within half a year, with a lower weekly salary of US$125, but a guaranteed number of games, 30 games per year, and a bonus of US$1,500 for each game.

TV pay-per-view programs like ‘Hardcore Paradise’ are not included, well...if you are popular and qualified to participate, I will give you US$10,000 per TV pay-per-view show based on B-list standards!

Think about it, how much can you get for a game in NWA, $1,000 or $1,200? Their A-list doesn’t even have a chance to be on TV..."

Paul Heyman obviously said the wrong thing. Mike Watson next to him is an A-list player in the NWA.

Randy took over the conversation with a slight embarrassment, "QB got 2,000 US dollars for this match. ECW specializes in hard-core wrestling. It's easy to get injured and the risk is relatively high..."

Randy has already boasted a lot about Quinn's income.

In fact, in the game just now, Bai Quinn got less than 600 US dollars.

The NWA alliance paid him $1,000 in cash!

However, the New York Independent Wrestling Alliance has to charge management fees. After all, Bai Quinn is still affiliated with others, and the personal insurance for the competition is still paid by others, and the 401K paid on behalf of them (equivalent to the commercial pension insurance in the United States) is also deducted. In addition,

As an agent, Randy also received some hard-earned money, which was agreed upon by the master and the apprentice.

Paul Heyman rolled his eyes and emphasized: "Oh, it seems that NWA has high expectations for you, but this is my income after deducting 401K. As far as I know, NWA doesn't care about this. They like the old-school style.

(implying tax evasion, cash payment). Think about it carefully, this is a salary of at least 50,000 a year. As for insurance...Randy, you know the rules (if you want insurance, buy it yourself)..."

Bai Quinn's eyes widened when he heard the word "50,000". Although he has forgotten how much his annual income will be in 2021, he definitely should not be able to reach 50,000 US dollars a year.

Otherwise, why would my little heart be beating so hard!

And according to the memory left by the original owner, since graduating from high school, he has been doing odd jobs while learning wrestling from Randy. The income from odd jobs is 8 US dollars an hour, and he earns more than 2,000 US dollars a month. If he hadn't received a special salary for poor families,

The SNAP food stamps and the money he earned from doing odd jobs were not enough for him to eat.

People who work out eat a lot and spend a lot of money!

Every muscle in the body needs a green knife to maintain it!

Bai Quinn ignored that before becoming a full-time employee, his income was still not enough to support himself, and he still needed to do odd jobs to earn money.

Moreover, according to Paul Heyman's so-called industry rules, insurance must be purchased by the players themselves, and most wrestlers will not purchase insurance for their bodies.

"The guaranteed 30 games is still too few. Paul, you need the QB to sign exclusively, which means he can't go elsewhere..." Randy is still insisting on bargaining, hoping to increase the number of guaranteed games.

There are many guaranteed shows, and ECW adheres to the principle of not using it but also wasting it. It will give Bai Quinn a lot of exposure opportunities, which is good for newcomers to become famous.

"I can increase it to 60 games, but accordingly, the bonus for a single game will be reduced to US$1,000." Paul Heyman winked slyly at the master and apprentice, "Sledgehammer, this is business, I am a businessman...

"

60 games, although it is faster to become famous, but more games means a greater chance of injury. Wrestling is not a "safe" sport.

ECW arranges at least eight pay-TV competitions every year. As long as he can participate in five of them, plus a guaranteed income of more than 50,000, Quinn can earn an annual income of 100,000 US dollars!

At the peak of his career, Randy also earned hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, but that was the income of a handful of people at the top of the industry and cannot represent the majority of wrestlers.

The B-list and C-list who serve as "blue-collar" tools in the wrestling industry are those who have signed with the major leagues but cannot compete in the main event and are not qualified to compete for the championship belt. They can only support the "big names"

The average annual income of mid-level players is US$50,000 to US$80,000.

The "bottom" independent players who make up the vast majority of professional wrestlers generally find it difficult to support themselves with income. They have to rely on other part-time jobs or selling some homemade souvenirs to increase their income. The most common ones are T-shirts with personalized patterns.

This is also the reason why Randy and Bai Quinn hope to sign in the major leagues. Once they enter the major leagues, at least they won't have to worry about making a living.

In particular, the "exclusive signing" model proposed by Paul Heyman guarantees players' basic income and eliminates the need to move among multiple leagues to seek opportunities.

Oh, the stage performance income other than the basic weekly salary will also be deducted from Randy's manager's commission. The specific ratio can be discussed privately between the master and the apprentice.

The minimum annual income of US$50,000 can make Bai Quinn live a good life. You must know that the median annual household income in the United States in 1995 was only more than US$40,000!

Bai Quinn is a single man. He has enough food for one person and the whole family is not hungry. He does not need to consider the expenses of raising children. Most of his income is cash. If he is willing to make do with it, he can continue to live in ultra-low-rent public housing designed for low-income families.

Then even housing expenses are saved.

The public housing management department in East Harlem is almost inactive. "High-income" people who earn tens of thousands in cash a year are not uncommon in public housing areas, and the management department has not seen them kick them out. As long as their wealth is not exposed, they can

They have been poaching capitalist corners in public housing.

Once the wealth is exposed, it is better to move out as soon as possible. The gangs in the neighborhood have a more sensitive sense of smell than the public housing management department. Maybe someday a gangster with a gun will come to your door to "collect taxes."

"We can sign for five years first, and ECW will have priority to renew the contract after five years..."

Paul Heyman's voice was like the devil's whisper, breaking through the last line of defense between the master and the disciple. The two looked at each other, and they could see each other's excitement and enthusiasm in each other's eyes.

Bai Quinn was about to agree, but was interrupted by Mike Watson, who had been sitting aside and watching with cold eyes.

"Wait a minute, Paul, you just told me that ECW is starting to prepare a weekly live TV show, but you don't seem to have told this kid how much remuneration he will get if he participates in the weekly live TV show..."

Paul Heyman's eyebrows twitched violently again, but he immediately slapped his forehead, acting as if he suddenly understood.

"By the way, I forgot. We in ECW have regulations that the bonus for weekly live TV shows is double the basic bonus. If you accept the condition of 30 games of 1,500 US dollars per game, the bonus for weekly live TV shows will be

The prize is $3,000 per game!

Boy, have you thought about it? My time is very tight. Mr. Watson and I have something to discuss later. My assistant is outside. We have negotiated the terms. You can sign with him as soon as you get off the car. Next week you

Will appear in the ECW arena.

I heard that you trained at Sledgehammer for a year. It was very hard, right?

It’s all over now, you’ll be a wrestling star soon…”

Mike Watson's words were like a wake-up call, waking up the excited Bai Quinn. The smiling Paul Heyman was not as kind as he looked.

This smiling fat man obviously planned to use information asymmetry to trick him.

In everyone's perception, ECW is a league that holds at least two stadium games every week, but these games are not broadcast live on TV. Only some highlight clips are provided to TV stations to sell tickets for the league to increase sales.

Only the ECW pay-per-view matches eight times a year will be fully broadcast on the TV station, so Randy and Bai Quinn have never considered how to calculate it if Bai Quinn participates in a weekly live TV program.

Salary.

Now in the entire American wrestling world, only WWF and WCW have weekly live television programs.

WWF is the live broadcast of RAW programs on the US (American cable network) prime time every Monday night, while WCW is arranged by its big boss, media tycoon Ted Turner, to be broadcast live on Turner Television Network at 6 p.m. on Saturdays.

Whether or not there is a weekly live TV program is the most important difference between the first-tier league and other minor leagues. Even ECW, the top brand in the second-tier league, still does not have a weekly live TV show.

The two were immersed in the joy of signing a contract and forgot to consider whether their remuneration should be increased accordingly if ECW also held a weekly live TV show.

After all, Randy is a veteran in the industry, and he immediately figured out the cause and effect: Paul Heyman originally wanted to cheat Quinn on the contract details. After ECW joins the live broadcast program in the future, he can completely require Quinn to be on weekly TV according to the contract.

The live shows were cheap jobs, and Mike Watson knew that ECW was going to have a live TV show and kindly reminded them.

Maybe Mike Watson appeared here because he was invited by Paul Heyman to discuss signing an exclusive contract with ECW. In order to dig out the slightly famous Mike Watson, Paul Heyman broke the news that ECW was going to launch a weekly live show.

Tell him.

Paul Heyman originally thought that the negotiation with Randy Quinn's apprentice was a trivial matter, so he did not avoid Mike Watson during the negotiation.

Bai Quinn said that he is a fan of Mike Watson and likes "bomb wrestling", so he won his favor, so he warned him at the critical moment.

However, Paul Heyman's reaction was also very quick. After being exposed, he immediately said that the bonus for the weekly live TV program would automatically be doubled according to the standards of ordinary programs. It was just that he forgot to mention it. It seemed that he was still optimistic about Bai Quinn and wanted to do it very much.

Recruit him under his command.

The conditions offered by ECW were indeed good, but after calming down, the master and apprentice reacted in the same way. Bai Quinn offered to discuss it with Randy in private.

The two plan to talk alone about whether to join ECW or wait for other better opportunities.

Paul Heyman acted very magnanimously, "No problem. I'll just talk to Mr. Watson first. Don't go too far. When I'm done, I'll ask my assistant Harry to call you...think about it."

Well, I believe WCW will not offer a higher price than mine, Randy you know..."

Mike Watson also said: "Boy, you have good strength. You can try practicing the one-arm bomb throw. It will be very impactful."

"Thank you, Mr. Watson!" Bai Quinn thanked him.

Paul Heyman took off his ECW baseball cap, revealing the top of his head with sparse hair, and shouted into the cab of the luxury car: "Harry, turn down the air conditioning temperature, it's really too hot..."

Randy cheered: "August is the hottest season in New York..."

Bai Quinn pushed open the car door and took one foot out to get out of the car. However, after looking back and seeing Paul Heyman's sparse head, his hand slipped and his foot went soft and he rolled out of the extended Lincoln.

Randy quickly covered it up, "Little QB had a hard time in today's game. He was probably too tired..." He got out of the car with a smile and went to help his apprentice.

Bai Quinn was lying on his back on the still warm parking lot ground, with a weird smile on his face and ecstasy in his heart.
Chapter completed!