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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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Sandro stepped out of the vehicle, dressed in an impeccably tailored, casual designer suit. He didn't have his girls with him for this trip, this was a strictly professional, highly confidential executive audit. He adjusted his dark sunglasses as he walked through the glass double doors of the building, immediately bypassed by a high level executive assistant who guided him directly up to the main boardroom.
To the public, Sandro was a top tier superstar signed exclusively to the WWE and, also more or less shareowner of the company through , Jack Zhang and Nexum Core. But behind closed doors, through a complete, airtight business deal made by Nexum Core, Sandro was the primary financial savior and shadow owner of TNA.
After all, Sandro's vision for TNA was subtle, but highly profitable and brilliant. TNA become the permanent, undisputed number two promotion in the United States wrestling landscape.
By controlling the top promotion from the inside as its biggest on screen star, and quietly funding the second largest promotion from the shadows, Sandro was effectively establishing a total, absolute monopoly over the entire American professional wrestling industry.
The heavy oak doors of the boardroom swung open, and Sandro walked into the room, removing his sunglasses.
Sitting around the polished mahogany table was the core brain trust of TNA. At the head of the table sat Dixie Carter, sporting her signature bright smile but looking slightly anxious.
Next to her was the founder of the company, the King of the Mountain, Jeff Jarrett, looking sharp but holding a thick stack of creative reports. Surrounding them were the senior members of the TNA creative and booking teams.
The moment Sandro entered, the entire room stood up instinctively. The power dynamic in the room was a fascinating study in professional respect. Sandro was significantly younger than almost everyone in the room. He had only been actively involved in the professional wrestling business for roughly three years. By all traditional locker room logic, he should have been viewed as a novice.
But Sandro's reputation as an absolute, unprecedented creative prodigy had spread like wildfire through the inner circles of the business. They had watched him single handedly revolutionize the presentation of Florida Championship Wrestling and the partnership that was made with TNA, creating the Forbidden Door pay per view.
They had watched him engineer the rise of the Undisputed System, turning young talents into immediate, high drawing main event stars. His wrestling mind was universally recognized as one of the absolute sharpest, most forward thinking assets the industry had ever seen. When Sandro spoke about booking, psychology, or demographic trends, veterans with thirty years of experience sat down, opened their notebooks, and took notes.
"Good morning, everyone," Sandro said smoothly, offering a warm but authoritative nod as he took his seat at the center of the table. "Please, sit down. I know you've all been working incredibly hard while I've been enjoying my time off. I'm here today to look over the numbers, evaluate our current trajectory, and see exactly how well the creative team has been executing the long term structural ideas I laid out for this company."
Dixie Carter leaned forward, her jewelry clinking against the wood. "Sandro, it's wonderful to see you. I can tell you right now, the energy backstage has been incredible. The talent is motivated, and the formatting changes you suggested have really streamlined our television tapings."
Jeff Jarrett slid a thick, bound leather folder across the table toward Sandro. "We've got the full quarterly breakdowns right here, kid. We've structured the divisions exactly around the three core pillars you pitched to us during our last session in Nashville. I'll admit, some of the boys were hesitant at first, but the metrics don't lie."
Sandro opened the folder, his sharp eyes immediately scanning the analytical data, the ratings breakdowns, and the merchandise revenue charts. He leaned back, tapping his fingers against the leather case, ready to dive into the core of the meeting.
"Let's start with the franchise," Sandro stated, his voice dropping into a focused, serious register. "Give me the comprehensive report on the AJ Styles project."
Jeff Jarrett cleared his throat, pulling out a specific subset of creative booking sheets. "AJ is currently our reigning and defending TNA World Heavyweight Champion. As you requested, he's currently locked in a very bitter, highly physical main event feud with Bobby Roode. The matches have been absolute television classics, and the buy rates for the upcoming Impact Plus specials are showing a very steady upward trend."
Sandro nodded slowly, reading through the future booking scripts. The "AJ Styles Project" was the single biggest, most controversial creative idea Sandro had ever handed to TNA, and it was the absolute lynchpin of his long term plan to secure the promotion's permanent status as the elite alternative.
Sandro's core philosophy regarding AJ Styles was built on a deeply psychological understanding of the wrestling audience. In 2011, AJ Styles was universally recognized as the absolute heart and soul of TNA. He was the franchise player, the "Phenomenal One" who had carried the company on his back since its very inception.
But Sandro knew from his past life that if a franchise player stays in the exact same environment for too long without a fundamental, earth shattering shift in their career trajectory, their character will inevitably become stagnant. The audience grows entirely too comfortable with them, the promos become repetitive, and the booking begins to run in circles, and also that AJ have much more to get outside of TNA.
To prevent this, Sandro had pitched a highly complex, incredibly long term narrative arc for Styles that had initially caused massive, frantic objections behind the scenes.
Sandro's blueprint called for AJ Styles to be placed into a wild, high stakes series of crazy, instant classic matches and highly volatile storylines over the course of the next year.
Throughout 2011 and moving deeply into 2012, AJ would become a frantic target of the booking team. He would win the TNA World Heavyweight Title, only to lose it in heartbreaking fashion a few months later. He would then be driven down into the X-Division, capturing that championship in an absolute showcase of athletic brilliance, only to drop it back to a rising star.
Sandro wanted Styles to constantly bounce between the absolute mountaintop of the main event scene and the desperate trenches of the mid card, winning and losing both titles separately several times over the course of the year.
The intentional creative instability was designed to slowly, methodically wear down the on screen character of AJ Styles, painting a picture of a legendary warrior who was slowly losing his grip on the company he built.
According to Sandro's script, the grand climax of this trajectory would begin to manifest in late 2012 or early 2013. A mysterious, incredibly powerful, shadow dwelling figure would suddenly arrive in TNA storylines.
This nameless, unrevealed figure would begin to actively, malevolently manipulate TNA matches behind the scenes, specifically targeting AJ Styles. Every time AJ would get close to reclaiming his glory, this hidden puppet master would pull the strings, forcing referee distractions, strange match stipulations, and sudden roadblocks.
The story would build to a definitive, high stakes final match in early 2013. The structural stipulation would be simple but terrifying, If AJ Styles lost the match, he would be contractually forced to leave TNA forever.
And according to Sandro's master plan... AJ Styles was going to lose.
Kayfabe wise, it would be written on television as a tragic, heartbreaking exit of the company's greatest icon. But in stark, real world reality, AJ Styles would actually be leaving the promotion because Sandro had a massive, incredibly ambitious plan for him on the global stage. Sandro was going to quietly orchestrate a move for Styles to jump across the ocean to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Sandro knew with absolute certainty that sending a hungry, motivated, slightly older AJ Styles to Japan would completely reinvent his career.
It would allow him to cast off the clean cut franchise image, develop a darker, far more dangerous, international edge (secretly preparing him to eventually lead a future the dominant faction the Bullet Club), and establish him as an absolute, undeniable global drawing card.
Then, years down the line, when AJ finally made his grand return to the American mainstream, his star power would be ten times greater than it ever could have been if he had simply stayed comfortable in Nashville.
When Sandro had first pitched this idea to the TNA board months ago, the pushback had been immediate and severe. Dixie had practically gasped at the notion of losing her biggest merchandise mover. Jeff had argued that writing AJ out of the company would alienate their core, traditional fanbase. Even Styles himself, during a highly confidential private meeting with Sandro, had shown deep defensive hesitation, entirely unsure of why he should leave his comfortable home to go wrestle a stiff, grueling style in Tokyo.
But Sandro had utilized his immense powers of persuasion, his financial leverage, and his unmatched reputation to completely break down their defenses. He had sat down with AJ and meticulously explained the long term business of star making.
"If you stay here doing the exact same thing for the next five years, AJ, you will become a nostalgia act," Sandro had told him firmly. "But if you trust my mind, if you let me tear your character down to the absolute bedrock, send you to Japan to conquer a completely different culture, and return as an international outlaw... you won't just be a TNA legend. You will be an absolute, global wrestling icon. And TNA will benefit because your absence will create a massive, wide open void in the main event scene. It will force this creative team to cultivate and build a brand new top talent to step into that exact spot you left behind. It forces the company to grow."
Sandro's brilliant wrestling mind and undeniable track record had ultimately won them over. The objection had turned into absolute compliance.
"The progress is looking incredibly smooth, Sandro," Jeff Jarrett continued, pointing to the reports. "AJ is fully committed to the current feud with Roode. We are pacing the title changes exactly to your calendar. The fans are completely locked into the match quality, and they have absolutely no idea that the rug is going to be pulled out from under them next year."
Sandro smiled, satisfied, and turned the page of the folder. "Excellent. Let's move on to the second pillar of the reset. Give me the status on Samoa Joe and the X-Division."
A senior member of the creative team stepped up, pulling out the tracking data for the mid card television segments. "Samoa Joe is currently our X-Division Champion, Sandro. Following your exact directive, we have completely abandoned the standard, high flying, multi man spot fest format for his title defenses. We have returned him entirely to his absolute roots as an unstoppable, cold blooded killer."
Sandro nodded his head in firm approval as he read through the match times and injury reports from television.
In Sandro's analytical view of the business, the X-Division was the unique selling proposition of TNA. It was the division that had originally put the company on the map with its famous motto, It's not about weight limits, it's about no limits.
But over the last few years, the division had slowly lost its distinct identity, devolving into predictable, repetitive matches filled with independent wrestlers performing high risk moves without any real story or emotional weight, other than when he win it during his tenure at FCW, during the first heart partnership with TNA.
Sandro's solution was to completely inject absolute, raw intensity back into the title picture by using the most dangerous athlete on the roster, Samoa Joe.
Sandro had ordered the creative team to make Samoa Joe the single most dominant, terrifyingly brutal X-Division Champion in the history of the company to date. He didn't want Joe trading holds or engaging in competitive, twenty minute back and forth contests with smaller cruiserweights.
Instead, Sandro wanted Joe to systematically brutalize every single person who dared to step into the ring for a title defense.
The instructions were explicit, Joe was to treat his opponents like fresh meat. He would deliver incredibly stiff, bone crunching kicks, throw opponents half-l way across the ring with devastating muscle busters, and lock in the Coquina Clutch until his challengers literally went unconscious in the center of the ring.
Sandro wanted the X-Division title to feel less like a lightweight trophy and more like a dangerous prize that required wrestlers to risk their physical health just to challenge for it.
"The crowd reaction to Joe has been massive, Sandro," the booker explained. "The fans are starting to view the X-Division with a real sense of danger again. When Joe's music hits, the arena goes completely quiet because they know they are about to see a legitimate, hard hitting execution. He's elevating the prestige of the title simply by making it look exclusive and terrifying."
"That's exactly the psychology we need," Sandro stated coldly. "The champion should always make the title feel important through dominance, not just length of possession. Keep Joe on this path. I want him to look entirely invulnerable moving into the summer."
Sandro turned to the final major section of the quarterly report, his eyes locking onto the data sheets for the women's roster.
"Now, let's talk about the Knockouts," Sandro said, his tone turning highly focused. "Tell me about the execution of the division's competitive reset."
Dixie immediately smiled, her eyes lighting up. "This is probably our absolute biggest success story of the month, Sandro. The ratings for our television segments involving the Knockouts have spiked by nearly fifteen percent since we implemented your formatting changes."
Sandro reviewed the television quarter hour metrics, confirming Dixie's enthusiasm.
During the year 2011, mainstream women's professional wrestling in the United States was largely treated as an afterthought or a brief, comedic bathroom break segment. In the broader industry, female performers were frequently placed into short, heavily restricted matches that prioritized visual aesthetics over athletic capability.
But Sandro had a radically different, highly progressive vision for women's wrestling, a vision he had already successfully tested during his developmental days in Florida Championship Wrestling and was currently actively integrating into the WWE main roster through his girlfriends, AJ Lee, Nikki Bella, and Alexa Bliss.
Sandro wanted the TNA Knockouts Division to become the absolute vanguard of the first true, legitimate revolution of women's wrestling in North America.
He had instructed the TNA creative team to completely throw out the traditional booking tropes. He didn't want catfights, he didn't want jealousy storylines, and he absolutely banned any form of gimmick matches that degraded the athletes.
Instead, Sandro demanded that the Knockouts Division be presented with the exact same level of serious athletic respect, competitive drive, and sheer physical brutality as the male heavyweight division.
He wanted the women of TNA to engage in hard hitting, highly competitive, and deeply intense matches. They were encouraged to work a stiff, physical style, utilizing complex submission holds, high impact suplexes, and heavy, concussive strikes. Sandro wanted the storylines to focus entirely on championship hunger, professional respect, and athletic dominance.
By restructuring the division to focus on pure work rate and intense, physical storytelling, TNA was successfully offering a product that could not be found anywhere else on American television. The hardcore wrestling demographic was responding with absolute loyalty, tuning in to watch the Knockouts main event episodes of Impact based purely on the expectation of high caliber match quality.
"We've shifted the entire formatting of their segments," Jeff Jarrett added, pointing to the production notes. "We're giving them the longest match times on the show now, right next to the world title picture. The women are pushing themselves harder than ever because they know they aren't being restricted anymore. It's giving our television product a completely distinct, highly professional edge that sets us apart from anything else on the market."
Sandro quietly closed the bound leather folder, leaning back into his leather chair as a profound sense of absolute calm and creative satisfaction washed over him.
The three major reports, the strategic paradigm shift of AJ Styles, the terrifying dominance of Samoa Joe in the X-Division, and the athletic revolution of the Knockouts Division, were all being executed with meticulous, flawless precision.
There were dozens of smaller reports remaining in the folder regarding tag team developments, merchandise distribution, and international television syndication deals, but these three core pillars were the absolute foundation of Sandro's master plan. TNA was functioning perfectly as the elite, highly profitable, and completely stable number two promotion in the country, gatekeeping its position with absolute security while never posing a true threat to the McMahon empire.
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Name: Alessandro Zhang
Age: 21 (2011)
Birthplace: Orlando, Florida, USA
Brand: WWE - RAW
Wrestling Style: Mixed Of All Styles
Faction: The Undisputed System
Championships History: 1x FCW Tag Team Champions, 1x FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion, 1x TNA World Heavyweight Champion, 1x TNA X Division Champion, 1x WWE United States Champion, 1x WWE Champion, & 1x World Heavyweight Champion
Other Achievements: 1x Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale Winner, 1x Mr. Money In The Bank, Youngest WWE Champion, PWI Top 500 (No.1) - 2010, & 1x KOTR (2010)
Wrestlemania Record: 2 - 0 Main Event: 1 - 0