Post by Patrick Jones on Jun 11, 2016 22:59:46 GMT -6
The Fate of the Gods does not seem very consistent. For the inaugural edition in 2015, Patrick Jones was in the final match. He walked out of that match with gold around his waist. Now, the man from Louisville, Kentucky, cannot even find a place on the main card, much less in the main event. Just over a year will have passed between editions of the show, yet Jones has long ago made his descent down the pecking order of VoW. No one is more cognizant of that descent than Jones himself. Of course, some within the locker room will whisper (or maybe not even bother whispering) about what the mounting failures mean for Jones and maybe even his place in such a highly competitive promotion like Visionaries of Wrestling. Whatever his status with the company is, Jones and management have never bothered to address those rumors. Would metaphorically coming full circle by losing the opening pre-show match of Fate of the Gods II after winning the main event of the original Fate of the Gods be enough to force those rumors to be publicly addressed?
Any negative possibilities do seem a bit overly dramatized considering the carrot in front of Jones. Sky Sangue, Ryan Omega, or possibly the VoW Board of Directors clearly have some level of faith if they are giving him a chance to qualify for Quest for the Case. Maybe that will be the poetry of it all. Perhaps, the former Zero Gravity champion will see a revival begin where possibly the biggest event of his wrestling career already occurred. Such is the nature of wrestling, and especially a place like VoW. Competition for titles, placement on the card, and even a roster spot is so fierce that any member can succumb to the rigors of the job.
How close to the end might a man be if he has failed to win 15 of his last 19 matches? Some of those were multi-person matches where Jones did not actually lose the match, but he still did not accomplish his objective for the match. In fact, his last win on PPV was the Fate of the God main event with 5 straight defeats on VoW’s biggest stages. To make it more depressing, PJ is yet to win in 2016, earning his last victory December 14th against Joanna Thade. A record like that certainly has to put any future relationship with the employer at risk, no matter how amicable the feelings are between employee and employer. It may well be this Quest for the Case qualifier is the last chance for Jones to get anything near what he expects from future contract discussions. A business manager would certainly be worried about such talks that may come in the not-so-distant future.
In St. Paul, John Cruxton is starting to make these connections. The concerning W/L record combining with an unknown length to PJ’s contract has caught his attention. Flipping through a few documents before him, John shakes his head with a bemused look upon his face. The fact he is not worried is certainly comforting for the man seated across the table from him. His client and friend quietly watches Cruxton work. Somewhat surprisingly, being silent does not seem to be bothering Jones. While no one would accuse PJ of having the motor mouth of a Ryder Blade or Jamo, his friends, past or present, would all attest to his privately talkative nature and habit of filling empty silences quickly.
Instead of talking, Jones seems to be awaiting a conclusion from Cruxton. As each page is flipped, the Louisvillian cocks his head left then right trying to quickly skim the page for any quick details about what his manager is reading. He seems to tire of this exercise, probably not able to glean much information, and sits back. The waiting is starting to get to him a bit judging from his movements as if trying to get comfortable. His gaze shifts from celiing to the opposite wall to the blank television screen before finally moving to a limited view out of the window. Having fully scanned the simple but accommodating hotel room, Patrick has seemingly run out of objects to study. With no other options left, he retrieves his phone from his pocket and starting tapping away on it.
With no immediate information about his personal situation forthcoming, PJ decides to check on the professional side that he can handle. All three of his opponents had made their comments public, something Jones can respect but rarely does unless asked to do so by VoW or one of the interviewers personally. He is not shy, but Jones knows that his opinions are not exactly the most respected or sought after by fans or the roster. As such, he tends to keep his thoughts to himself and his friends. In other places, PJ may have been unable to hold his tongue, but VoW rarely presents him with a situation too despicable or infuriating to publicly ignore, even if plenty of events have caused him to vent privately.
Not wanting to disturb Cruxton’s work, Jones removes a pair of earbuds and inserts them to start listening to the comments from the other Visionaries who will challenge him for a place in the Quest for the Case match. A few moments pass while Jones watches and Cruxton leafs through more papers. Finally, John looks up and waves a hand between PJ’s face and the phone screen to get his attention. The sudden movement causes Jones to jump a bit, but he quickly pulls it together and sets the phone down.
“So…how bad is it? Anything in there that means I need to worry? Any clauses about losing streaks being fireable offenses?”
Jones gives his typical silly grin, but his eyes belie some concern.
“Technically, no. Your job is not in jeopardy just by the terms of your contract. However, I cannot imagine you getting nearly the same terms if you don’t figure out a way to impress soon.”
“And soon means…?”
Cruxton takes a moment to flip to a specific page and hands it across the table. He points to a specific spot on the paper for PJ to check, and the wrestler clicks his tongue before looking up again.
“Soon soon. Alright. Well, I guess I better start like…yesterday.”
“Yeah, you should definitely figure out a way to do something BEFORE your contract expires. Just winning on that night will probably not have much effect. And since your paycheck effects how big my 15% is, I would greatly appreciate you picking up a few victories personally.”
Jones rolls his eyes but smiles.
“Hey, just ask Beatrice how easy this match is. Or maybe ask Jamo about how he’s going to win WITH A TORN FREAKING KNEE LIGAMENT! Or we could…well, I’m not sure what to say about Katalina. The dominatrix thing doesn’t really apply to how she approaches matches.”
Cruxton just shakes his head while Jones keeps trying to figure out something witty to say. Maybe he’s the one who is truly Zoned Out. That is NOT good when his future seems to be heavily at stake with upcoming results determining how nice his life can be going forward.
