FINISH THE S

When the cameras are off and nobody’s watching, Vickie Hall says you find out who that person really is. It’s why Jonathan-Christopher remains committed to the love of his life. It’s also why they coined the phrase Amazing Life Partner because, when you dissect the title, Vickie really is amazing, she is his partner in crime and, above all else, he’s committed to her for life.

Pins and needles feeling, every time they touch. After the doors are closed, the cameras are off, and the fans in attendance have long since gone home, magic is on display! Sure, others will speak poorly of their relationship. Jonathan-Christopher is no dummy, he has ears to hear, eyes to see, and a brain to comprehend.

“Why is he with her!?”
“What a manipulative bitch!”
“She is a narcissist.”

No. She is none of these. She has a dream and heaven forbid she wants to achieve it. He had a void in his heart and a massive one. It was never filled in his younger years until she came along. She gave him time. Listened. Actually talked to him. Took his hand and allowed his confidence to grow.

He’s failed. Many times. He failed in his very first match within the initial Almasy Tournament. This has been a paramount fracture, an overly traumatic experience. It doesn’t matter how terrific a wrestler [REDACTED DUE TO PTSD] was, or how many championships that man collected during his career. It mattered less Jonathan-Christopher had only a handful of matches to his name and zero victories. Anyway you slice it, it was a misfire.

And yet she stood beside him. She encouraged him with love. She provided support and, at times, she also told him what he didn’t want to hear. Because love isn’t just pampering your partner, it’s not coddling them every single second. Sometimes real partnership… real love… a true and honest commitment… means you have to push your significant other.

Perhaps tell them something they don’t want to hear. Particularly if it’s in their best interest.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Her screech is like nails on a chalkboard. If ears could bleed, they’d gush out liters of blood. For such a tiny girl, boy does she have a ferocious voice, made for a woman ten times her size. If Vickie weighs ninety pounds soaking wet, her voice box has to be at least twenty percent of her mass.

The doors are closed, the LOVE CONVOY locker room is empty. Darin Zion and Tristan-Crispin Gladhappy have been excused. Nate Colton, on the other hand, unwelcomed and banned for the rest of eternity.

The world works in mysterious ways and what Jonathan-Christopher felt, what he thought he had between himself and Nate The Great…

It wasn’t an honest friendship. It wasn’t what he has with Vickie.

“I HATE NARCISSISTS!!!”

Jonathan-Christopher sits solemnly in the corner of their locker room, as Vickie paces back and forth frantically. Sometimes her hands pull out tiny patches of wild blonde hair. Other times, she scratches and claws at the crimson mask on her cheeks, which has all but dried and crusted.

This is Nate Colton’s handiwork, and another reminder for Jonathan-Christopher to remember what he has with Vickie. The true commitment they share, the tender loving nature she provides-

“WHAT IN THE FRESH HELL WAS THATTTTTTTT!?”

Vickie’s no longer spouting out thoughts aimlessly. Jonathan-Christopher realizes she’s staring directly at him. She’s frothing at the mouth, literally, as a collection of saliva bubbles around her lower lip. Drool spills onto the floor but if Jonathan-Christopher accepts his partner at her best, he’s also going to be there for her worst. In love, it’s only fair.

“Unacceptable!” She snaps, more spit rolling out of her mouth and onto the ground. “You embarrassed me in front of EVERYONE!!! Our biggest match… the grandest stage… you let him get away with making a mockery out of our LOVE CONVOY!!!”

Breathe, Vickie. Oh god, please breathe. Jonathan-Christopher wants to provide her counselling, the type he received last year when the trauma was too tough to handle. He wants to reach out and hug her. To hold her tight, tell her it’s all going to be ok-

“That was a PATHETIC showing! Control your god damn headbutts!” She snaps, her beady eyes nearly popping out of her head. “And don’t get me started on that handshake-low blow! We never agreed on that kind of behaviour! We were supposed to provide Nate with NO FALSE HOPE!”

So loving, so wonderful. It kills Jonathan-Christopher to see her go through a breakdown.

“Stand up,” she demands. “AND GET OVER HERE NOW MISTER!!!”

He grows tense, but he does. He can only imagine what she’s going through, since he’s never seen her this shook before. He scurries to her and reaches out for her hand-

SLAP!

She rocks him across the face.

“And what the LIVING PISS… is this!?!?”

Vickie snatches a collection of papers off the top of the scouting report folder reading ‘NATE COLTON’. At first, the tiny woman thought these sheets should be inserted into the appropriate subsections but then, upon closer inspection, she scans the documents. They are not in her handwriting.

They are in his.

She starts to mumble the words on the paper. “You won’t be getting your flowers, I ain’t extending my hand, find different locker room showers, just hope you haven’t been banned.”

The world stands still while Vickie Hall is on pause.

“What the… AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Like a Regina George temper tantrum, she stomps her feet, throws her hands up and down as the papers fly around the locker room. Her quaint little forehead becomes flush.

Finally, after what seems to be eternity, PRETTY PINK© leans down and picks up the papers in order to confirm what she saw.

“You… wrote motherfucking song lyrics when you should’ve spent your time looking over the SCOUTING REPORTS I MADE FOR YOU!?”

Vickie tilts her head, praying into the ceiling. Tears are rolling down her face. She takes a deep breath, lowers her gaze and stares at the man across the way.

She slowly starts to rip the lyrical pages apart.

“I scout for you. I cheer for you. I put myself in HARM’S WAY for you,” she glances down at the pieces of paper fluttering to the floor. “And this is how you repay me!?”

Jonathan-Christopher can’t answer. He has never felt a panic attack with such intensity. Fight or flight? How about the other F, frozen. Deer in headlights. Dear in headlights.

She closes her eyes, pushing away the remaining tears queuing on her corneas.

“Seriously, do you even love me anymore!?”

JCH can feel his heart hammering out of his chest. This is far beyond the anxiety he felt after any previous loss. It more resembles the torture from last summer, when Vickie required a break. It’s a chapter in Hall’s life he has never spoken about. Never plans to, either.

“Of- of course I love you, baby,” he squeaks out. “With all my heart, you are my everything.”

No longer in the middle of her meltdown, Vickie Hall marches to their locker room table, picks up a folded sheet of paper and then storms back, shoving it HARD into Jonathan-Christopher’s chest. She escorts herself out but not before declaring a final thought, as JC opens the paper to reveal the brackets for the upcoming 2023 Almasy Tournament.

“Then fucking prove it.”

— — — — —
FINISH THE S
A true love s
An honest friendship
Winning this tournament will fix everything
— — — — —
The Young Family Manner
Minot, North Dakota
August 19, 2015
10:10

Reed Young is extremely passionate about wrestling, it’s been well over an hour and he hasn’t stopped talking about it. Vickie, on the other hand, remains at the large oak table behind them, reading the newspaper at her own pace while merely chiming in from time to time, giggling at her father’s sense of wrestling wonder.

Oh, Reed is a dreamer. Vickie told Jonathan-Christopher this very fact before they arrived at the Family Estate. Young has tried his hand through various wrestling promotions over the eighteen years Vickie’s been alive. It goes well beyond those eighteen years, too. Reed is pushing forty but his father before him and his father before him… etc, etc, the line of Young wrestling promoters is long and drawn out. Reed has always wanted to be the most successful one.

…Has he? Some would argue yes. Others, of course, would say no. For a brief period at a very juvenile age, Reed was in charge of the extremely successful organization ‘Action! Wrestling’. It may or may not have housed an Avalon or two, a Harmen or three, a Flying Frenchie or four, and other household names in the current wrestling landscape. Nevertheless, it was an easy company to run if your pockets are endless.

Since this time, however, Reed hasn’t been able to reach half the success he did with A!W. Why? Vickie won’t say, so Jonathan-Christopher is left to theorize, based on the preambles he’s listening to.

The boy is no detective, he’s honestly not sure but to the best of his capacity, JCH believes the extremely passionate wrestling promoter has an incredible amount of ideas! Throughout the past hour, Reed has specifically said he’s an “idea’s man”. It’s Young’s moniker to live by.

But this is where it stops, at the contemplation process. It doesn’t seem to go any further.

“…Then BOOM!!!! We add three more ropes to our squared circle which means we add three more turnbuckles. A six roped ring, allowing our talent to bounce off at a faster speed, a better pace and, overall, a more thoroughly entertaining product!”

Honestly, Jonathan-Christopher is only beginning to understand the basic ins and outs of wrestling. It took him weeks to apply an appropriate headlock. Certainly, it doesn’t help when Vickie would show him, then they would simply giggle the headlock off, snuggling with each other throughout the rest of the night. Or even use the maneuver “inappropriately”.

“Hey!” Reed Young beckons, in a rather friendly manner. He smacks Jonathan-Christopher across the knee cap and catches his attention. “Please don’t sleep on me!”

“You’re boring him, father,” Vickie pipes up from the back before adding, “you’re boring me.”

Reed nods. He seems like a very easy-going man and it’s hard for Jonathan-Christopher not to find him amusing. JCH hasn’t had a solid male role model since his father left years ago and never came back.

“I apologize, Jonathan-Christopher,” Young says as humbly as his voice can convey. “I love the world of wrestling and you look tremendously athletic!”

“Oh, daddy,” Vickie rolls her eyes and sighs, standing up from the table and wandering over to the living room where they converse.

“We’ve done enough talking,” Reed catches himself at the end of this sentence. “I’ve done enough talking.”

The father’s thick, bushy, oversized eyebrows move up and down while he studies the boy.

“Let’s have some fun! I have a wrestling ring in the basement. Actually, I have five, haha. What do ya say we put those incredible knees to the test, son?”

Vickie interjects. She stands between both of them but directly in front of her father.

“Not again,” she mumbles, as she spins around and waltzes towards her loving new partner. She rolls her eyes, leans forward and whispers into Jonathan-Christopher’s ear.

“You don’t have to go down there,” she states passionately, as if releasing the pressure from his shoulders.

JC looks into her ever-loving eyes. They glisten; he feels it.

“It’s okay, baby,” the kid replies, as he leans to his left, seeing Reed Young in plain sight and nods to the father. “I’m more than happy to go.”

Reed winks… and can’t help but allow the most delightful demeanor to emerge across his face.

“Thattaboy! Hell of a spirit you have, son. You picked a good one, my princess!”

Reed springs up from his chair and loosens his arms.

“A real good one.”

— — — — —

REAL RESULTS Fitness (Gym)
Las Vegas, NV
September 25, 2023
07:11

Dan Celetti is a decent man. He knows the ins and outs of powerlifting and how to stay in shape. Dan and Jonathan-Christopher met back in early 2022. They had the same workout regime over the early mornings, every morning. Though the times they meet up in today’s world are far and few between. With PRIME on the road, JCH is forced to frequently find local establishments so Celetti and Hall only see each other once or twice a week.

This morning Jonathan-Christopher hasn’t said a word. It’s not like Hall to be this mute. Yes, Dan is known to carry the conversation but Jonathan-Christopher is at least able to provide some colour commentary.

Today is nothing but gray and silence.

The reality? Jonathan-Christopher feels it. He feels it burn. His mind keeps pulling him into the original Almasy Tournament but he knows he shouldn’t go there. He also knows telling himself NOT to think about something is counterproductive. He learned this when he was institutionalized. You can tell yourself not to think about something but, ultimately, you are thinking about it. A very brutal trap.

“I’m sorry you lost to Nate,” Dan decides to break the silence. He watches PRIME and he’s grown into a major fanatic. It’s not every day you befriend a professional athlete. Truth be told, Dan is quite proud of Jonathan-Christopher. It’s clear Hall isn’t the most skilled man out there but he definitely pours his heart out inside the ring.

“It’s okay,” Jonathan-Christopher responds, head down, staring at the weights in front of him, although he hasn’t picked up a dumbbell or barbell since arriving.

Celetti pats Jonathan-Christopher on the shoulder.

“The way I see it, there was nothing on the line,” Dan says, knocking out a few wrist curls with a fifty pound weight. “You’ve got a tremendous chance to make a dent next week!”

You know, this isn’t a bad perspective. There would be no better way to make it up to Vickie. The couple haven’t spoken much since leaving Soldier Field.

“Is he new?” Celetti interrupts JC’s train of thought, as Hall counters with a perplexed facial expression. “Your next opponent, is he new?”

Jonathan-Christopher shakes his head no. “Other promotions. Minor promotions. Used to wear a mask.”

“You sound like you really know your stuff,” Celetti states with a chuckle but can’t help feeling like he said something wrong when he finishes his last wrist curl and makes eye contact with Hall.

Jonathan-Christopher closes his eyes. “I really don’t. It’s Vickie, she knows her stuff. She’s got me well trained for this match.”

Hall was going to stop there… but continues.

“A part of me wants to walk down the ramp alone. Wrestle by myself. I’d love to prove that I can win this tournament without Vickie. Show her everything she’s done for me has worked.”

A warm smile crosses Dan Celetti’s face. He stands, rests his right hand on Jonathan-Christopher’s shoulder and pulls up the fifty pound dumbbell with his other arm.

“Then we got work to do, my man.”

Jonathan-Christopher really appreciates it. He awkwardly returns the smile and takes the dumbbell.

“‘Cause you ain’t losing in the first round this time.”

No. He isn’t.

More specifically, he can’t.

— — — — —

Can you hear me, God? It’s me, Jonathan-Christopher.

Oh boy, I was doing so well, too.

I love her. I’ve said this so many times, I would hope you’d know by now. I feel terrible for what happened between Nate and I, and I feel even worse for letting down Vickie.

If I could change it…

Thus, I cannot.

However, this is my opportunity, so thank you for that. Last year you gave me [REDACTED]. This year you’ve chosen a much easier opening bout.

I’ve come a long way since the start of 2022. I can finally PROVE IT!

In my rookie year, I didn’t know why you kept punishing me. I am a good man, who is loved deeply, and also loves. Yes, I received the brunt of the Ultra Violence aftermath. It’s okay, I can endure. While others see anger and resentment, I see a hurt and wounded soldier, who felt like the world was against her.

There will be no additional songs to sing or lyrics to re-write. Vickie said I have to smarten up! Therefore, I will only spend time in the gym, studying her personalized scouting reports and existing as the most complete wrestler I can. I will make her proud! All I ask from you, God, is a tiny bit of leeway. Let me unravel a marvelous story and show you the magnificent people who pulled me from a merciless childhood!

Please God, be with me. Please God, help me! I guess you are, since you’ve provided a weaker opponent. Invest in me and I won’t let you down, as I pull my Amazing Life Partner back up and I’m given the strength to re-emerge as her savior and champion.

The world she’s always dreamt of. The chance she lawfully desires. To stand at the top of the mountain. To give her the Hallmark moment!

Let’s go on this journey together, God. You won’t be disappointed.

And neither will she.

— — — — —

WAIT! Can you hear me, Rich? It’s me, Jonathan-Christopher.

Vickie says I’m lucky, I’ve received a first round bye!

Regardless, there can be no excuses. I have recently witnessed an entirely new side of my ALP and it has taken me a full week to recover. In many ways, I haven’t. I will need to defeat you in order to start the true recuperation process.

You are new here but allow me to provide context. My forever woman… she dreams of being the most successful wrestling manager in the world! Consequently, I have to be the most successful wrestler. It didn’t start out great, but she was patient. Awfully patient.

I found progress. I pinned high profile athletes. Nate was the only one who got away and it briefly tore down her world.

But God has given me another opportunity. Thank you, big guy in the sky!

Almasy Tournament, II.

I could go real far…

I will definitely have to!

Do not take it personal, Rich, but Jonathan-Christopher is at the highest level of motivation EVER. Nobody will stand in my path. Vickie says this is THE opportunity to prove that I love her.

Every word I speak and everything I say, it comes back to her.

She IS my life.

She IS my passion.

And as a result, you are in her crosshairs.

I’ll go easy on you, I won’t make you suffer. If you have a loved one, too, please tell them I’m sorry. I hope your journey isn’t as rocky.

But you are a first round bye since there is no other option.

Welcome to PRIME, it’s unforgivingly harsh.

And soon enough, so am I.

— — — — —

Epilogue

Hall Penthouse Suite
Las Vegas, NV
September 25, 2023
11:00

A full morning at the gym, it went better than expected. Jonathan-Christopher feels sharp. Dan and JC had one of the best sessions to date!

Now, however, Jonathan-Christopher sheepishly walks out of the building elevator, towards the Hall’s penthouse front door. Gym bag in hand, he almost forgot what he and his Amazing Life Partner have recently been through. Yet, with each step closer to the door, he recalls in a much clearer picture.

Prove it. Oh, Jonathan-Christopher wants to prove it badly! That’s why there will be no more song lyrics, no silly business whatsoever. Nonstop go, from now until the bell rings, he is swallowed into the pits of professional wrestling. He may even have the courage to ask her to stay behind the curtain-

“HONEY!” The door shoots open as Vickie bursts through and wraps her arms around him! “I missed you SSSSOOOOOOOOOOO much!”

JC looks up, over her shoulder and his eyes go wiiiiiide with shock.

The cameras. The once idle cameras on their living room floor, now rolling, red lights on, shoved directly into his face.

“Oh my adorable little tickle monster!” She declares, hugging him tightly. “Did you hear!? ESPN and my father are starting the ‘30 For 30’ documentary on us! A Rise to The Universal Title! The Journey to the Center of the Almasy Bracket!”

The cameramen… three of them in his face. One even takes a moment to pull his head from the viewfinder and give an energetic thumbs up.

“They’re following our every move, throughout the whole ordeal! Isn’t it divine!?”

It’s something, alright.

“Oh gosh golly, I have butterflies when I think of this journey! Maybe you can compose a new song about it!”