After Raul comes back inside...

After Raul has answered as many questions for the police as possible, and has had some of the lawyers he used to work with begin to handle some of the insurance agents and others, Raul went back to his locker room, showered, and changed into a black three piece suit, with a white shirt, silver and black tie, and black wing tips. He heads to Mrs. Winslow's office.

The hallways are filled with wrestlers having angry discussions about the announcement Brandon made at the pay-per-view, and as Raul works his way through the crowd, he found himself struggling to not become emotional.

As Raul walks into the GM's office, he notices that several other wrestlers are already talking over each other in Mrs. Winslow's office. Raul looks at the secretary and shrugs his shoulders sympathetically, knowing that the ringing phones and invasion of wrestlers is going to make her day incredibly difficult.

Raul waits for a break in the phone calls, and says quietly:

Will you let Mrs. Winslow know that I'm here? I'd like to speak with her when she has a chance.

Raul sits down in a chair, and listens to the yelling coming from the office and the constant noise in the hallway. He feels a throbbing starting in his forehead and gently massages his temples.

This is going to be a long day he mutters to himself as he shakes his head in disbelief.

Raul looks up at Powerhouse and nods a hello.

Raul: Congratulations on your title defenses - those matches have been fun to watch. Not sure how long this line will take. There sure is a lot of yelling coming from behind those doors.

Raul stands up and stretches a little.

Raul: So what are your thoughts on the draft? If the roster gets split 50/50, some people are going to end up going to the RIOT brand show that haven't been part of RIOT before. What are you guys going to do if one of you gets drafted?

the discussions among the various wrestlers present screech to a halt as eunice winslow enters the room. gesturing to everyone to lower their voices, the old woman begins to speak.

"you're all probably wondering what's going to happen now and where will you go. brandon pierce has made it very clear that this isn't a case of ufw giving in to riot. not when ufw spent a lot of money buying the name and trademarks of riot to use....any way ufw sees fit."

she throws a glance at several riot wrestlers present, though her voice and gestures remain calm and evenhanded.

"one thing i need to clarify is that i can facilitate your inquiries to brandon and the ufw board, but i'm not in a position to decide on the specifics of this split nor on who goes where. everything is in the hands of the ufw board of directors."

"what i can tell you is that the terms of your current contract will be honored regardless of which show you go to."

"if you have any questions, feel free to ask them now. i will answer as best as i can."

the old woman responds.

"there will be championships for contention on both shows. the united heavyweight champion and the united tag team champions will be able to compete on both shows. i am not sure about the status of the united middleweight and united international champions, but both will certainly be able to compete on at least one of the shows."

"while this situation is certainly going to be an uncertain one, it is also a time of great opportunity. it is a time when you can step up and get yourself noticed, regardless of which show you will end up in. if you are just going to sit on your behind and whine about waiting long enough, then someone else hungrier than you is going to swoop in and nudge you aside. that will not change regardless of which show you end up in."

Raul looks with concern at Mrs. Winslow -

Actually - I am really not concerned with which show I wind up on or the details or what happens. I'm sure either show will have people I like working with on it. I'm more concerned about you, Mrs. Winslow. You doing ok with all this? It's crazy around here.

Some of the other wrestlers hoot and jeer at Raul for showing concern. Raul shushes them and then continues.

Seriously - no one's going to accuse you of being easy to get a long with, but you worked hard to do what you thought was right. Are you going to land on your feet coming out of this?

the old woman appears amused at the reactions paul stevens was receiving from the other wrestlers.

"you assume too much, power house. perhaps dank buddha hit you on the head harder than any of us have realized."

"as for me, i will continue to handle the day-to-day at ufw as general manager. the board of directors have decided that riot will get its own manager. i am not going anywhere."

Raul shakes his head at the continued snickers comign from some of the other wrestlers.

That's good to hear, Mrs. Winslow. Well - I better get going. Thanksgiving day tomorrow, and I'm going to head back home over the season break and check in with my family. I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving.