Adam Ellis
“FINE!”
*SLAM*
Shaking his head and exasperated with his wife who’d just slammed the bedroom shut, Adam Ellis picked up a pillow off the floor and drug a blanket to the couch inside the living room of their palatial house trailer just outside of Greenville, Texas. The pillow got thrown down onto the couch with force.
“This day sucks,” was Adam’s only commentary about what just happened.
He then lay down on the couch and covered himself up in the blanket.
It’s Adam and Ginny’s first major fight since they got married. Thankfully, the soundproof walls built into the trailer squelched the loud voices shouting back and forth for the better part of an hour.
The typical growing pains a young marriage has to work through… but just not tonight.
How did we get to this particular point of time?
Let’s see, shall we?
Friday Night. March 24th– Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas
Backstage.
It’s been a pretty good night. Adam won his match against Violet Samuelsson. Ginny got her hands on Vickie Hall. Adam got his hands on Jonathan-Christopher Hall for the first time since JCH knocked him out with the ‘Love-Knux’ several weeks ago.
After the show, Adam’s cell phone buzzed.
“Who’s that?” Ginny asked.
Adam glanced at the phone.
“Hmm,” he said. “I wonder why Ray McAvay is calling me?”
“Dont know.” Ginny shrugged. ‘Guess you should answer.”
“Guess I should.”
Adam hit the green button on the phone to take the call from the owner of Missouri Valley Wrestling.
“Adam. Ray McAvay.”
”Hey Ray. What’s up?”
“Congratulations on your win tonight. You’re looking better.”
“Oh. I’m sure Charlie Blackwell will let me know on Monday all the things I did wrong.”
“Probably. Hey, the reason I’m calling is this. I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’re trying to improve your promo work.”
Yes, that is true. Adam’s been told backstage that he struggles a bit with his promos and he should add a little more panache and sizzle to his in-ring presentation.
“Um… yeah.”
“I have a proposition for you. This will give you a little practice at cutting promos and this one should be easy for you.”
Color Adam intrigued.
“Who am I cutting a promo on?”
“Lee Best.”
.5 seconds later…
“Honey,” he said to Ginny. “Can I go to…” He asked Ray. “Where am I going?”
“Evansville, Indiana.”
“…Evansville, Indiana?”
At first blush, Ginny did not look overly enthused with the idea.
“Ah thought we were gonna go house hunting?” was her response.
“Tell her it’s important.”
Adam moved the phone away from his mouth. “Ray said it’s important.”
“No no. Don’t tell her *I* said it was important… say *it’s* important.”
“Oh. He did, didhe?” Nope. Ginny was NOT happy about the idea.
“Rookies.”
“I s’pose you won’t be back for church on Sunday?” Ginny asked… knowing already what the answer would be if her husband embarked on a trip up north for the Missouri Valley Wrestling show in Evansville tomorrow night.
Adam found himself in between the proverbial rock and a hard place. This was a tough one. What would he rather do. Piss off his wife? Piss off Lee Best. Then he realized that it would be an all-or-nothing proposition because the only way to piss off Lee Best is to go to Evansville which also would piss off Ginny to no end.
Of course, Adam could go with the safe option. Stay at home. Don’t piss off Ginny but with the added feature of not being able to piss off Lee Best.
“Ray, when does my plane leave?”
“HMMMPH” Ginny folded her arms and tapped her foot on the floor to express her disapproval of Adam’s choice.
Well, suffice to say that Ginny was, even MORE, upset with Adam when she found out that she would have to drive Adam’s Volkswagen Jetta back to Greenville, Texas because Ray booked a late flight out of San Antonio to Evansville for him.
And Ginny became even more infuriated with her husband when she got picked up for going 90 in a 70 on Interstate 35 headed northbound… because in a Jetta, you might be going 90 but it feels like you’re only going 70 and Ginny wasn’t used to it.
Saturday Night. March 25th– The Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana
It’s a hot, rabid crowd in Evansville, Indiana, exhibited by the “MVW… MVW… MVW…” chant that echoed all over the Ford Center.
In the ring, MVW Men’s Champion ‘Redneck’ Bill Dickinson raised his arms in the air after pinning John O’Reilly in the main event after hitting his patented Southern Fried Powerbomb.
Referee Davey Keels handed Dickinson the MVW Men’s title belt to put an end to the show.
Or was it?
Normally, at that point people would be streaming into the aisle towards the exit… and some do.
But when Adam Ellis suddenly appeared on stage. Many of them suddenly do a quick U-turn and come back in.
Soon, a chant starts…
ADAM ELL-LIS (CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP)
ADAM ELL-LIS (CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP)
But it’s Dickinson’s valet… one Sunny O’Callahan… who spoke to the crowd first.
She stepped forward and positioned herself between Ellis and Dickinson. Then Sunny told the MVW fans that The Alabama Gang were taking their match the next night against Dan Ryan and Jatt Starr not just seriously but… VERY SERIOUSLY. She added that R.G. Jenkins and Mark Hendry are getting ready for the fight of their lives… the FIGHT OF THEIR PRO WRESTLING LIVES.
How did the fans respond?
RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Once Sunny is done with her spiel, she introduced Adam and directed the Evansville crowd’s attention to him. Adam stepped forward to speak. He knew what he wanted to say… the bullet points of what he wanted to get across to the fans.
Could he do it?
“Thanks, Sunny. You know, for eight months Lee Best has carried on this shadow war with MVW over what happened last August when I was offered the opportunity of a lifetime and something I’d worked for since high school- earning a big boy pro wrestling contract. Lee Best didn’t offer me that opportunity… but Lindsay Troy did and I have no regrets about signing with them. In PRIME, you don’t get title shots just because you’re part of the owner’s alliance. In PRIME, Lindsay Troy doesn’t try to take titles off people just because she doesn’t like them. In PRIME, wrestlers don’t literally kill the other wrestlers in the ring… literally. Wrestlers don’t set other wrestlers on fire. Wrestlers don’t crucify their opponents and they don’t try to blow up their rivals- in their apartments or anywhere else- either.”
Adam lowered the microphone for a second to survey the crowd’s reaction. “Good,” he thought to himself. “I seem to be doing okay.”
So he continued.
“Now if you like that kind of thing, then HOW is definitely the wrestling company for you. My personal experience with HOW was positive. I worked with John Sektor and I learned a lot from him. BUT… but, what I saw on last week’s Chaos was a disgrace. A bunch of over-aged ‘men’ banding together, trying to relive their college fraternity days, complete with wearing matching varsity letter jackets and hazing other wrestlers… I mean… giving out swirlies and peeing on the plebes… wonderful.”
Adam shook his head to drive the point home even further. Then he wrapped up his remarks.
“Lee, I just want to say this… thank you. Thank you for confirming that I want to be a pro wrestler.”
RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
“Thank you for confirming I DON” T want to be a sports entertainer.”
RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
“And thank you for confirming that I made the right decision to sign with PRIME.”
RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
“I hope the Alabama Gang tears your Final Alliance a new one tomorrow night.”
He dropped the microphone and the crowd rose to their feet and gave Adam a standing ovation. “Mission accomplished,” he thought to himself.
Ellis pumped his fist in the air just as Sunny brushed past him on the way to the ropes to finish up her part of the segment.
The best part about it ? This was a house show and knowing Ginny’s disposition towards Sunny O’Callahan, Adam thought she wouldn’t see Sunny sharing the same ring with him- which was a good thing..
Sunday March 26th– Adam and Ginny’s Trailer in Greenville, Texas
Already disgruntled over the fact that Adam wouldn’t be coming home until super late tonight because he went on to Paducah, Kentucky for the big MVW house show featuring the HOTv Tag Team title match between the Alabama Gang and HOW’s Final Alliance (Dan Ryan and Jatt Starr), Ginny simmered on the couch watching the HOW Chaos show.
Joe Bergman cut a promo filmed at the world-famous Turf Pub in Wrexham, Wales about his recent loss at March to Glory to Dan Ryan in Manchester, England and the reason he stayed in the UK afterward. Then he played a YouTube video from the night before in Evansville.
“Adam,” Sunny’s voice said, putting her arm around her before she stepped back so Adam could do his promo.
“SONAFUH BITCH!”
Her eyes flashed with anger and the words literally just flew out of her mouth without any due thought… immediately, she put her hand over her mouth and contritely gazed up at the ceiling.
“Sorry Lord…”
Early Monday Morning-March 27th– Adam and Ginny’s Trailer
Four o’clock in the morning.
Adam quietly opened the door and let himself into the trailer. He tossed his travel bag on the kitchen table and hung up his coat.
The sun would be up in just a few hours. Hopefully, he could catch a little sleep before he drove to Dallas and reported to The Sportatorium to start training for the big Culture Shock Battle Royal.
Adam slipped off his shoes and kicked them under the kitchen table. The plan was simple. Sneak into the bedroom without waking Ginny up and he would be home free.
Of course, the second Adam thought that was THE moment the light turned on in the living room and there she was… standing… waiting… just waiting.
“Nice promo. How’s Sunny doin’?”
Adam’s jaw dropped.
“Yeah. Ahh saw your lil’ video and who you were in the ring with.”
‘Oh crap… she saw Sunny put her arm around him,’ Adam thought to himself. He knew Ginny wasn’t just mad… she was not just really pissed… she wasn’t even just infuriated… Ginny had reached… ***EXTRAORDINARY INFURIATED*** status.
*CUE AIR RAID SIRENS GOING OFF*
DEFCON ONE.
DANGER… DANGER WILL ROBINSON!
If looks could kill, police officers would be drawing a chalk outline around Adam on the floor.
So with a stupid grin on his face, Adam tried to defuse the increasingly tense and dangerous developing situation.
“Hi honey.”
Without missing a beat, Ginny reared back her right hand that just happened to grip Adam’s pillow from the bed…
“Dontcha honey me!”
…and chucked at his head. Adam ducked and the pillow flew gloriously through the air and into the kitchen where it landed harmlessly on the floor.
Monday March 27th– The Sportatorium- Dallas, Texas
Adam made it through the early morning without any further drama with Ginny and drove into Dallas.
‘This can’t get any worse’ he thought to himself.
Then Charlie Blackwell and Adam watched the video from Friday night’s match.
(Adam Ellis vs. Violet Samuelsson- ReVival 25)
…Ginny Van Lear apparently takes exception to Violet’s hand placement on the pinfall, and angrily slaps the mat.
Ginny Van Lear: WATCH WHERE YOU PUT THOSE HANDS, MISSY!!
Ellis is unable to ignore his wife’s outburst and, distracted, he tries to calm her down from inside the ring. But he turns his back on Samuelsson and that proves problematic.
“All right,” Charlie snarls after pausing the video. “What have I been saying about keeping focus, Adam?”
The response is a non-verbal sheepish nod of the head from Adam.
“I thought so.”
Charlie restarts the video.
… Violet tries to grab him from behind. Ellis instinctively pivots and throws a forearm behind him. It connects hard with Violet’s face and sends her to the mat!
“That was good,” said Charlie after stopping the video. “Very good counter.”
Then he restarted the match.
Ellis immediately looks stunned at his actions. So he checks on Samuelsson out of concern for his opponent. Unfortunately for him, Violet shrugs off the blow to the face and uses the opportunity to pull him into a small package.
Nick Stuart: Samuelsson with the SMALL PACKAGE!
One!
Two!
Thr–NO! Almost had him!
Richard Parker: Ellis got lucky there. For many, a single mistake, like letting your guard down, can make or break a match.
Charlie stopped the video again.
“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?”
“I… I…” Adam stammered.
“Please explain to me why after you delivered a nice forearm shot to Violet Samuelsson that put her flat on the mat… ready to be pinned… instead of working towards a potential pinfall… YOU CHECKED TO SEE IF SHE WAS OKAY?!!”
“Um… ah… “ Adam had no answer.
“Let’s go on….”
Ellis is still favoring the knee as he sits up off the mat, but by the time he looks up to find Violet, she’s already charging at him off the ropes. He barely gets his hands up in time before the Shining Wizard sends him sprawling back to the canvas. Ginny grabs her head in despair.
Nick Stuart: THE CROSSOVER connects! Violet Samuelsson is in complete control now!
Richard Parker: The rookie just made one mistake too many.
“YOU THINK, RICHARD?” Blackwell yelled at the screen. Charlie stood up from his chair. “ROOKIE MAKING MISTAKES… HMMM… THERE SEEMS TO BE A PATTERN HERE!”
“But I won the match,” Adam finally protested.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass if you won the match, Adam.” Charlie turned the video monitor off and fought the urge to Bobby Knight a nearby chair across the ring. “Come on! You keep making these… dumb… mistakes in matches and it ends up costing… or almost costing… your matches.”
“I’ll do better, Charlie.”
Blackwell glared down at his twenty-two-year old trainee.
“Adam. Look, I know all about the story with you and Ginny. It’s a nice story. Two young kids in love. The complete opposite of that fake Hallmark Journey bullshit Vickie Hall is peddling. And I get that Ginny’s proven she can kick both Darin Zion and Vickie Hall’s ass and that’s great. But then Ginny shoots down a balloon inside an arena and there’s a big to-do about it. Hell, she’s got Richard Parker ducking under the table whenever she comes out and Lord knows how much PTSD Matt Mills has over the incident. BUT… and I want you to listen to what I am about to say here… BUT, what is your goal here.”
“What do you mean?” Adam responded.
“Do you want to just be known as one half of a really cute young couple… one of which just happens to be a promising young wrestler. Or do you want to become a champion?”
This cut a little deep to Adam.
“Of course, I want to be a champion,” he tersely replied. “This has nothing to do with Ginny-“
“She’s a sideshow that invariably distracts you during key parts of your matches.”
“This has nothing to do with Ginny,” Adam said, adamant that his wife was not the problem.
“Oh really, meow? All right, meow… get back in the ring and let’s go work on things, meow?”
Adam gave Charlie a ‘weird’ look. He thought he heard what he thought he heard him say… but he wasn’t sure he heard what he thought he heard him say.
Blackwell clapped his hands. “Hurry up meow. Come on! We’ve got work to do.”
Ellis stood up and methodically began towards the ring, still trying to figure out what Charlie was up to.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Blackwell went on. “Is there somethin’ funny here, boy?”
“No,” Adam said while climbing up onto the apron.
“Good. All right meow, now where were we?”
One foot through the ropes, Adam finally broke down and asked the question on everybody’s mind.
“What in the blue hell are you saying meow for?”
“Oh. Am I saying ‘meow’?” Yes, Charlie Blackwell is a HUGE Super Troopers fan.
“YES!”
“Let me get this straight,” Charlie kept going, knowing just how much he was getting under Adam’s skin. “You believe I am actually saying meow.”
“YES! You are slipping meow randomly into your sentences. WHY?”
“Don’t overthink it, boy,” Charlie said. “What make you think I’m slipping meow into everything I’m saying to you… meow.”
“Because you keep saying ‘meow.’”
“Do I look like a cat to you, boy?” Charlie said.
“Well, no.”
“Am I jumping around all nimbly-bimbly from tree to tree?”
“Of course not. But-“
“Am I drinkin’ milk from a saucer?”
“No! But-“
“Do you see me eatin’ mice?”
“Hell no, but-“
“Then why do you think I’m saying something stupid like meow?”
“YOU KEEP SAYING IT OVER AND OVER!” Adam finally blurted out.
“And you’re actually paying attention to what I’m saying,” Charlie retorted. “Because you’re focused on what I’m saying. I’m telling you this is how you should be focusing on your matches.”
Charlie walked up to the edge of the ring.
“Adam,” he said with a little hesitation. “Maybe… maybe it would be better for your career if you left Ginny at home and wrestled without her in your corner.”
Adam’s mouth opened but it took a couple of seconds for the words to come out.
“Wh… what?”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Wrestle? Without Ginny in his corner?
“Look. I get it,” Charlie continued, trying to gently get the point through Adam’s head. “I totally understand because I was there once, Adam. When I wrestled at Dream Wrestling Federation, my wife Kenzie was my manager. She wasn’t very good. Kenzie once got me disqualified in a match because she clocked my opponent with a book… aptly titled… ‘The Idiots Guide to Being a Wrestling Manager.’ After that, I had to make a hard choice. I love her dearly and still do. But we had to separate our marriage from my job in order for my career to progress. All I am saying is that you may have to make the same decision, that’s all.”
“Ginny’s not like Vickie Hall,” Adam said, stoutly defending his wife.
“Oh hell no. Vickie Hall is an evil succubus spawned from the bowels of hell.”
“That seems a little harsh.”
“Trust me, Adam. Vickie Hall is going to devour poor Jonathan-Christopher and spit him out when she’s done with him.”
“Again, that seems harsh.”
“Hallmark Journey, my ass. More like Hallmark Journey to Hell.”
“All right,” Adam finally said. “If you’ll shut up about Vickie Hall sucking the soul out of Jonathan-Christopher Hall and dragging her poor husband down into the pit of eternal damnation, I promise I will think about what you’ve said here.”
“Good. Because guess who WON’T be worrying about their spouses, sig others, or the what-not when they’re in the ring at the Culture Shock Battle Royal? Abe Lipschitz. Anna Daniels. Arthur Pleasant. Brandon Youngblood. Coral Avalon. Darin Zion. Eddie Cross. FLAMBERGE. Hoyt Williams. Jared Sykes. Kenny Freeman. Kohime Mori. Matt Ward. Mike McGee. Mortimer Knightingale. Mushigihara. Nate Colton. Ned Reform. Nova. Paxton Ray. Rocky De Leon. Sage Pontiff. TAL. Tony Gamble. Tristan-Crispin Gladhappy. Tyler Adrian Best. Violet Samuelsson. And whoever the hell else ends up being in the match.”
Charlie took a deep breath after rattling off all the names.
“Think about it.”
Monday Night March 27th – The Brass Rail – Greenville, Texas
Adam walked through the door into the Brass Rail. On the way back from Dallas, he’d received a phone call from the bartender that Ginny was there and possibly a little drunk.
He saw Ginny’s head down on the bar.
“Are you her husband?” the bartender gruffly said.
“Um… yeah?”
Adam walked over to Ginny.
“How long has she been here?”
The bartender added, “Since about three o’clock this afternoon.”
It was seven o’clock. Adam saw the half-empty shot glass in front of Ginny.
“Just how many did she have?” he asked.
The bartender chuckled. “She finished one and then started the second one.”
Ginny’s head popped up.
“That shure has a bigger kick tha’the sacramental wine th’serve at Daddy’s church.”
And then she passed out.
Adam scooped her up the chair and turned to the bartender. “Thanks for calling me.”
“You’re welcome. You take care of her now.”
Adam nodded back.
“Don’t worry. I will.” And with that Adam turned and carried Ginny towards the exit.