Jonathan-Christopher Hall
He exits the Smoothie King Center absolutely distraught exhilarated! In his hometown, with the crowd against him LOVING HIM and his Amazing Life Partner, he walked in there as the follower sensitive, independent, wonderfully emotionally mature person he was meant to be and he ate delivered a beating for his troubles because he is so skilled and resourceful but also because she is giving him so much encouragement, too! He sets up his opponent for his finisher and he doesn’t connect plants it perfectly in the middle of the canvas! He has been practicing for so long and it didn’t show totally pays off! He rolls FLAMBERGE over and he hooks the leg, the crowd watching in bated breath.
ONE.
TWO.
THREE!
Glorious.
His Woman of Wonder leaps into the air with a fist full of passion and joyous adoration! Confetti falls from the rafters, in PRETTY PINK© of course, as there is no other colour to express a magical moment like this!
She races into the ring, leaps into his arms and tells him how proud she is of hi-
FULL STOP.
Enough is enough.
Jonathan-Christopher Hall lost. The above “recollection” didn’t happen, just like he and Darin Zion didn’t win SurVivor or how Hall didn’t move on from round one of the Almasy Tournament.
OR how Jared Sykes and Justine Calvin defeated Hall and Zion for the Tag Team Championships two months prior.
No. They aren’t the “forever” champions. 2Become1 lost. The act of pretending the opposite result happened is wearing thin.
Paper thin.
You can’t go around trying to erase the past. Worse, you can’t try convincing yourself of a different reality, either.
Is this going to happen every single time Jonathan-Christopher is defeated? Wrestlers lose, Mr. Hall. Hayes Hanlon won the Universal Championship on the biggest PRIME event possible and followed it up by having his dreams crushed almost immediately thereafter.
TWO SHOWS AFTER.
How’s that for a journey?
The current world champion is 8-4-1. That means he’s lost four times, technically five.
PRIME example… Brandon Youngblood, a name Hall shutters upon mentioning. Brandon Youngblood is terrifying. Literally. Brandon has fifty pounds on Hall and a whole career of wrestling experience. Youngblood hits hard, too hard. The veteran knows the ins and outs of every corner. He’s a ring technician, a beast who’s seen it all. In contrast, this is only Jonathan-Christopher’s second year of wrestling. The titles Brandon has achieved, the hall of famers he’s pinned in the center of the ring…
And Youngblood has lost plenty.
When Jonathan-Christopher forces himself to act like he’s won, it isn’t realistic. It sets up false hope. It’s convincing himself of something that doesn’t exist.
A loss is not the end of the world. Wrestling doesn’t work in absolutes.
HONESTLY neither do Hallmark Journeys. No one lives happily ever after until they go through a struggle. Hallmark events have ups and downs associated with them, that’s what gets you invested in their stories. Life is not a montage of giggles while collectively cooking dinner together or holding hands running through large, open fields picking daisies with each other. There are setbacks, a time where both parties are separated in some way, whether it be emotional, physical or both.
Redemption is part of any story, wrestling is no different.
The HARD reality: Jonathan-Christopher lost to Brandon Youngblood, Jared Sykes and FLAMEBERGE since he’s not a good wrestler. He defeated Adam Ellis, Tapioca Puddings and Bobby Dean thanks to receiving outside assistance.
No more sugar coating these losses or steering the narrative. It’s time Jonathan-Christopher took it on the chin.
There will be no movie introduction to today’s story. It goes without saying this is a true love story and an honest friendship.
It’s time Jonathan-Christopher didn’t run away from the context in front of him. Instead, he should embrace it. Right?
Much easier said than done but he’s going to give it a try!
REALITY from two weeks ago:
As Jonathan-Christopher set FLAMBERGE up for a double underhook facebuster, he realized his grip wasn’t tight enough, simply because he wasn’t good enough. Julien was too skilled, too tough, too resilient. These are qualities JC wished he would have, but he doesn’t. So he was pushed away by the man in the ring. He was discombobulated. It’s almost as if this was a metaphor in his relationship. He’s hooked into a move, a submission move. If Hall knew more about wrestling, if he really loved wrestling like she did, then maybe he would know what the hold was. Instead, he was locked into… something and it hurt.
Really fucking badly.
He tapped, almost immediately. He couldn’t take the physical pain and his mental pain was already at a push.
FLAMBERGE’s hand was raised. Meanwhile, Jonathan-Christopher quivered on the ground, his eyes looking towards the outside of the ring and the disapproving, ultimately disappointed face of his wife, Vickie.
He tried hard, this was true. He might not love wrestling but he put in the effort. Christ, he almost connected with his finisher on Julien. How’s that for starters?
But FLAMBERGE won.
Jonathan-Christopher lost.
And wrestling moves on.
Now, with all this being said: Was that so hard to consider?
Apparently, however, it is…
— — — — —
Hall Penthouse Suite
Las Vegas, NV
March 12, 2023
07:00
Jonathan-Christopher is resting outside their bedroom door. Even though there is a demand to keep PRIME on the road, Vickie immediately fell in love with the bright lights and big nature of Las Vegas, so they recently purchased an apartment a short walk from outside the strip. It was a daring maneuver, given Jonathan-Christopher’s introverted personality traits and his preference for a quieter environment, like the one they were going to start in Louisiana beforehand. Nevertheless, he would obviously subscribe to her thoughts. Her dreams were his dreams now and they had to become a reality.
On the other hand, Vickie also enjoyed the hustle and bustle of a wrestling promotion consistently being on tour. The lifestyle of a rockstar was, perhaps, even more appealing than residing in a mecca of entertainment. Living out of a suitcase, traveling week-after-week on the road, experiencing the culture and individualisms of each majestic city. It sounded divine. In reality, by living in Vegas and spending a few days on the road they could receive the best of both worlds, as Vickie has hopes to grow her own personal brand further. Las Vegas is a good starting point.
Ultimately, Vickie makes the call to keep the Hall’s road trips to each ReVival a short one. They are required to come back to Las Vegas as soon as possible after each event, so Jonathan-Christopher can have more time to hone in on his wrestling craft. It’s one of the reasons the Forever Man is resting outside their bedroom door this morning. He knows Vickie is inside, sulking. Sure, during ReVival 24 it didn’t seem like there were any problems between them. Vickie, front and center, took the microphone and proceeded to tell the PRIMATES that Jonathan-Christopher, Tristan-Crispin and Darin are enrolling in the Culture Shock battle royal. Further, Darin was given space to unleash his newfound aggression, an anger which has helped him achieve his first singles PRIME win and move on in the Alias Title Tournament.
Ouch.
There’s that word again, tournament. It has deep, traumatic properties attached to it. It has been said over and over how Jonathan-Christopher lost in the first round to Brandon Youngblood and how, in many ways, he’s never been able to fully recover from it.
You would think JC would have been able to move forward by now. Healthy people move forward, he learned this in recovery. You cannot change the past. Accept and understand. Lord knows most of the wrestlers who lost in that tournament have either accepted or forgotten about it entirely. In fairness, a small handful of talent didn’t get over their losses but they DID move on… by moving on out of PRIME altogether.
Jonathan-Christopher can’t do that and he is triggered significantly when the word tournament is mentioned.
Back to the initial point. Vickie stood in front of the camera and declared her crew fit and ready for battle. She said the LOVE CONVOY has done nothing but win since returning from their summer hiatus. This is not true. Jonathan-Christopher lost. TCG has had a couple of unsuccessful bouts, as well. There’s been victories sprinkled across but it’s not what Vickie speaks.
Or demands.
Inside their bedroom, the Vow of Virtue knows his Amazing Life Partner is struggling. She’s at a loss for answers on how to empower Jonathan-Christopher further. FLAMBERGE was a tough opponent, if not near impossible for Hall’s abilities. The couple have also gone the length to piss off Lindsay Troy so of course they’re going to suffer in booking.
Believe it or not, these are circumstances Jonathan-Christopher is aware of. Be that as it may, JC is unable to bring these notions towards her.
Additionally, inside the bedroom he knows Vickie is attempting to lay out plans for her real intentions – to get the LOVE CONVOY back in the swing of things, to occupy any lasting second of television time allotted to the Hall’s. It’s a multilayered scheme, if Jonathan-Christopher is being truthful. He isn’t sure he fully grasps it himself but in layman’s terms he believes it breaks down to something like this:
-Victories inside the squared circle
LEADS TO
-A more prominent position on television
LEADS TO
-Greater opportunities for Vickie to explore, perhaps even beyond the wrestling ring
Before last summer, they tried the hard-nosed LOVE CONVOY way. Picketing, hot tubbing, shouting for attention… but it didn’t seem to catch on. Jonathan-Christopher isn’t 100% sure what Vickie is up to, she won’t tell him until plans are finalized, but he knows it’s something incredibly important to his ALP.
And the clock is ticking on implementation.
For now, Jonathan-Christopher sits outside his lover’s door. He mildly rocks back and forth but he refuses to go back into that unstable mental period. It’s the disposition that put him in the institution to begin with and unwound any potential progression they made early last year.
Some could say Jonathan-Christopher is in the doghouse but the Timid Tiger would never believe this because Vickie has never said this to him directly.
“Sweetie,” she announces, interrupting his train of thought as she pokes her head out of the bedroom door for a brief moment. “You can come in now.”
Jonathan-Christopher hurries to his feet. What she wishes for is his desire and he doesn’t want her growing impatient! The Alpha Dream Boat knows he tends to drag his feet a little so he scurries into the bedroom as quickly as possible and takes a seat at the edge of their bed.
“Jonathan-Christopher, my love,” she closes the bedroom door behind her and paces into the bedroom. “That was quite the victory against FLAMBERGE two weeks ago and we have to keep the LOVE TRAIN a-running.”
The Folsom native wants to open his mouth re: Vickie’s previous statement, as he’s spent the past few days doing nothing but think of the reality in front of him.
Yet he keeps his mouth shut as Vickie stands directly in front of him. She’s short enough that she’s almost on eye-level with her ALP but leans forward ever-so-slightly to make sure she is on the exact level.
“Your wrestling still needs work.”
It’s a hard shot; a deep cut. His heart hammers in his chest and skips a couple of beats while doing so. He starts to sweat, a pins and needles feeling is flowing up and down his body. Yes, he wanted to speak about his recent loss but he was hopeful to do so in a constructive way. Now Jonathan-Christopher isn’t so sure he’s going to be able to say anything at all.
“You barely won,” she states. In reality this is likely Vickie’s way of explaining a loss without verbally recognizing it. Jonathan-Christopher can’t help but wonder why- why does this need to go unexpressed-
Full stop. She’s right, his wrestling needs work. He’s a terrible wrestler, he knows this. He just wishes she wasn’t so direct-
Full stop. Let her speak, Jonathan-Christopher. Shake your head yes and show her you’re listening intently.
“Sage is very talented, very young.”
Pretty Pink© continues talking but Jonathan-Christopher is caught up in that first sentence. His heart skips more beats. Sage is young. He’s good looking, has nice hair, confidence. Jonathan-Christopher has seen Sage briefly here and there. Jonathan-Christopher is terrified of Sage.
Does this mean if he loses Vickie would leave him for Sage? She said Sage is talented and young.
Back to Vickie. Jonathan-Christopher tries to refocus.
“…He’s also unstable and reckless.”
There we go. Hall’s mind slows down and his heart begins to regulate. No way Vickie would be interested in someone who is unstable and reckless.
“Here, my buttercup.” She stands upright and hands over a pretty pink© envelope, complete with Sage Pontiff’s scouting report.
“You’re going to the gym and you’ll have to work very hard over these next two weeks because we have to win again, my dear,” she states sternly. “Things are building up to the real Hallmark opportunity, the Culture Shock battle royal.”
There it is again, pressure. Stress. Anxiety. A big moment, a moment Jonathan-Christopher hasn’t been able to capitalize on yet.
Full stop, AGAIN. He’s getting better at this. In the inpatient facility Jonathan-Christopher learned to block intrusive thoughts when they arrive by halting his entire thought process.
Battle royal is later, Sage Pontiff is current.
Vickie slowly wanders towards their bedroom night table. She has numerous papers scattered throughout. Some look like floor plans, others a step-by-step direction of ideas Jonathan-Christopher isn’t privy to yet. Vickie eyes the documents with a sense of passion… longing… hoping to be able to pull these pages from off the nightstand and execute them into reality.
She looks at her Amazing Life Partner with desperation. It’s almost as if she acknowledges the Forever Man’s recent wrestling setback.
“I just want my fruitopia,” she says with a glisten in her eyes. Jonathan-Christopher thinks she means utopia and has confused the fruit-flavoured drink long since discontinued in the United States with the word she desires. “My dream of becoming the best wrestling manager in the world!”
Jonathan-Christopher clutches the Sage Pontiff scouting report in his hands with a new sense of frustration.
“I’m off to the gym, my dear,” he states sternly, watching a passion in her eyes further ignite. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
— — — — —
Homewood Health
Inpatient Unit
New Orleans, LA
August 20, 2022
08:15
[events leading up – last scene]
[[STILL BLOCKED FROM MEMORY]]
— — — — —
No one sees your struggles
No one sees your pain
But everyone sees your mistakes
Can you hear me God? It’s me, Jonathan-Christopher.
FUCK YOU.
You heard me. I asked you to let me beat Adam Ellis and you did because he’s merely a kid and could afford the loss. So next I asked you to let me beat Julien Lavigne. He is scary and maybe he would over-extend himself or look past me, therefore, I could get the fluke victory. I don’t watch sports but I’ve been told teams can often think past an opponent if they don’t think the opponent is good. Vickie says it’s a “trap game”.
THANKS FOR THE TRAP WIN, ASSHOLE.
FLAMBERGE could afford the loss, too but apparently you enjoy him. Yeah, he’s great, whatever. He’s a future Universal Champion. I couldn’t have beaten him? Seriously? He never would’ve noticed the blemish on his record!
You’re bias. Is it because you don’t like me or you don’t like her? I said I would’ve told Vickie we won’t masquerade as Tag Team Champions anymore. I would have stood up for this and I won’t lie to you, God. I was going to do it, I had planned to speak to her after the match.
I know it’s not right, saying we’ve won when we haven’t. It’s unfair to Sykes and Calvin, they were the better team at Colossus. I have no issue coming clean if you can help me out further.
You thoroughly destroyed me when I lost to Brandon Youngblood at the start of PRIME’s revival. What a kick to the gut that was. Couldn’t let me fucking win a few rounds. If I did, Vickie wouldn’t be so disappointed in me! I think she’d understand I was making progress. Everything has come unglued since that moment we walked into PRIME.
Why can’t I defeat a really good wrestler?
Now you present Sage Pontiff. He thinks he knows all the answers to my problems. You’re going to let a guy like this beat me?
He asked me, and I quote, “when have you pushed yourself and gotten what you dream of? Never, right?”
I HAVE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE YOU STUPID FUCKING PRICK SHE IS MY LIFE BLOOD AND EVERYTHING I NEED TO SURVIVE IN THIS WORLD I HAVE BEEN SO BLESSED AND SO LUCKY TO HAVE A WOMAN WHO CARES ABOUT ME SO MUCH AND WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR ME THIS IS SO HARD TO FIND AND I HAVE IT AND I NEVER WANT TO LET IT GO AND I THINK ABOUT HER ALL THE TIME AND SHE IS EVERYTHING TO ME I HAVE NOTHING ELSE I DON’T WANT ANYTHING ELSE I ONLY WANT HER TO BE HAPPY BECAUSE SHE MAKES ME HAPPY TOO YOU RIGHTEOUS FUCKING DBAG.
I hear what people say. I’m not an idiot, God.
Sage, since you’re on the outside looking in you think you can tell me what’s right, wrong and show me the way?
I have everything I’ve ever dreamt! I am wrestling for my love because she doesn’t have everything she wants!
She wants to be the manager of the best wrestler in the world.
I am trying!
I am asking for help. I am a good man who wants to do right by his woman. You’re like the rest of them, judging me. You think I’m on the wrong path.
It’s the right path.
It’s the ONLY PATH GOD DAMMIT!
Every single one of you are hypocritical fucks. You look down at me and think my relationship is a struggle but go nitpick at yours and you’ll find real dead weight out there.
Vickie loves me.
She NEEDS me.
I love her.
I NEED her.
This is love!
I don’t know wrestling but I am working hard to learn. Through the 12 step program and my nervous breakdown over the summer, I’ve recognized I can’t do it alone and I have to lean on a higher power to help me.
That’s why I turned to you, God.
YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO HELP ME YOU STUPID DUMB FUCK.
I need to beat Sage Pontiff. Please let me beat Sage! I swear to you I’ll be good. I apologize for the outburst of passion but it’s the fear and anxiety of my relationship coming through.
Okay, you win God. I’ll talk to Vickie again and we will drop the tag team championship stuff, okay???
I need momentum to walk into the Culture Shock battle royal. This is where I can finally fix what happened in the Almasy Tournament [[TRAUMA]]. I can start from scratch and Vickie can have her Hallmark Journey she so deserves!
Beating Sage also means I will be in a great frame of mind for the big event. I won’t be down, I’ll be feeling good and confident and my hard work will be paying dividends. I also won’t need to gloat about a victory I DIDN’T EARN because I will have earned this one with your help!
Let me walk down the right path with my Amazing Life Partner. If everyone else would let me win I can show the world what a truly incredible and special relationship we have.
EVERYONE ELSE IS WRONG.
They aren’t in the relationship, I am.
I LOVE MY MARRIAGE.
Fine. Give me the victory vs. Sage and you can even have me lose the battle royal. I won’t ask you to let me win that, I promise.
A victory against Sage puts us on a good path. He’s a decent wrestler and he has some great victories already.
I’m not a bad man, God. I only want what’s right and I need need NEED to show Vickie I am progressing inside a wrestling ring. I can’t keep having setbacks.
Thank you for considering my plea.
Please let me win, I’ll be happy with that and Vickie will have her fruitopia.
Thank you,
Jonathan-Christopher Hall