Post by Patrick Jones on Jul 16, 2016 23:00:18 GMT -6
The life of a wrestler can be all-consuming. Even as laid back as Patrick Jones typically is can struggle with balance. The VoW schedule of running bi-weekly shows can help, but there are still many things to fill a wrestler’s time when they are not performing in front of a live audience. Obviously, hours upon hours of training go into every match, or even into just getting a touring company to invest the money into you by signing a wrestler to a contract. Jessica E. Mathis has learned this lesson and finally gotten her shot with VoW on a trial basis. After a show, the next obvious drain on time is medical attention. Simple singles matches still often leave a wrestler with bumps, bruises, and that one little issue that makes us wonder if it might be more severe. Whether that is a nagging joint pain or whatever small but persistent ailment, they can distract even the most hardened veterans. Jamo should be well acquainted with that struggle after his career full of hardcore matches. Meanwhile, most wrestlers are trying to keep up a certain image to play to their fans or to hide any potential weakness or personal struggle from competitors. Leo Dempsey has felt the sting of harsh, sometimes unfair, labels throughout his life.
Fans of any sport seem to always focus on the glitz and glamor of the show, game, or final event in whatever form it may take. The day-to-day struggles often get glossed over and dismissed flippantly as part of the job. They ARE part of the job, but cleaning toilets is part of a janitor’s job yet a normal person still feels pity that another human deals with other humans’ fecal matter all day. In no way do wrestlers deal with anything that disgusting. The point is that just because something is “part of the job” does not mean it is easy or does not drain a person. How many people would volunteer to go to sleep most nights and wake up most days feeling sore from either working out or being in a match? Who in their right mind wants to spend time getting medical treatment almost every week? Why would anyone put their self in front of millions of people to be judged, often with no more information than is gleaned from maybe an hour of exposure every week?
This is not a call to pity wrestlers though. The ones in VoW and most other companies are more than fairly compensated for their efforts. Simply understand that the life of a competitor is not always glamorous. Sometimes, people need to step well away from their job and even from most of civilization. Just having an event off may not be enough. The proximity to it all, especially with social media and 24 hour news coverage, makes it hard to fully check out even when not at the arena. Deciding he needed to get away from it all for real, Patrick Jones decided to connect with an old friend and take a trip to Alaska on a whim.
“It just never stops, does it?”
“No, no it doesn’t. I just keep losing.”
The second comment comes from the familiar voice of Patrick Jones and is followed by the sound of a light thud and then laughter from Jones and a woman. They are standing at the railing of a cruise ship. Behind them, typical party music is playing with people standing around and chatting while enjoying the cool evening and good company. Jones is holding a glass containing a dark liquid, most likely Pepsi and Jack Daniels. Jenny’s glass appears to contain water…but maybe not?
“Damn, Jenny, maybe you should get in the ring.”
His companion is none other than Jenny Pezzini. The cousin of Dave McDave, a former stablemate of PJ’s who has been missing for a number of years, has been one of the few friends to stay loyal since the end of TEW. The two have intermittently tracked down leads on the disappearance of McDave to no avail. This time though, Jones had invited her on the trip with him to get away from normal life. He follows his previous suggestion with one more thought out.
“Actually, your cousin would probably kill me if he ever found out I let you get in a ring.”
Jones smiles wryly, of course reminiscing inside his own head about the big, bearded former world champion. Jenny giggles a bit, probably at the idea of McDave using PJ like a lawn dart.
“I thought this trip was to get away from wrestling. Don’t you ever shut it down?”
Jones gives a short laugh and drops his head for a moment. He lifts back up and takes a drink from his glass.
“I wish I could. It’s pretty much all I have done since I was 16. Even when TEW went under, and I got a ‘real’ job, it was all I could think about. You saw what my love for the sport did. I joined a company that I hated pretty much everything about from the top down. Even still, I put my head down and fought my hardest purely because it’s what I wanna do. Sure, I let my mouth get me in trouble, but I can only take so much before what I really think is coming out.”
Miss Pezzini smiles knowingly, her 5 plus years of knowing Jones has made her well aware of this fact.
“Then why are we here? If you can’t get your mind off of it, why get away?”
“Because this is far away from it as I have been since I joined NEW. Trust me, it was time to have a week where I was not poring over every bit of tape for an opponent or training more than is probably healthy to try and get that one move down to pure instinct. I think I confuse people with how relaxed I stay yet how dedicated to my craft I am. Now, it’s clearly not an approach that is working out all that well, but it’s what keeps me from going crazy while staying in peak shape. Now, I think the ship is doing some show about a circus of Jews or something.”
Jones starts to walk away from the rail. Jenny just stares at his back as he takes the first 5 steps then follows, the weird phrasing finally clicking in her mind.
“Cirque Bijiou means ‘circus of jewels’! It has nothing to do with Jewish people!”
The smirk on Patrick’s face suggests he was well aware of the real translation but could not resist making the joke. Jenny likely knows this too. However, the other cruisers who hear Jenny yell, but did not hear Jones make his comment, are likely wandering if the British woman has some deep seated anti-semitism.
Luckily, as the trip went on, PJ was able to relax a bit and let the beauty around him take him away from the rigors of his professional life. Although, he may have let himself go a bit much one night talking to another cruiser in the lounge. It is a good thing no one else had to share the stateroom with him while he vomited the contents of his stomach into the toilet. Outside of that, his trip left him feeling refreshed and ready to get back into his passion. He was ready to throw himself back into competition with the same vigor as ever, but his batteries may be just a bit more fully charged. Of course, then he got a letter from VoW upon his return. Cruxton delivered it to him on the morning of Saturday, July 16.
After answering the knock on his hotel door, Jones happily greets his friend.
“Hey, John! Joining me for breakfast?”
Cruxton smiles slightly but shakes his head.
“Have you stopped eating since you got back? It’s like you didn’t eat on the boat, and I know those things stuff you full of all you can eat.”
Patrick grins sheepishly, thinking about the rough night and morning where he lost most of the food.
“Yeah, uh, just kickstarted my appetite…or something.”
The trailed off finish to the sentence piques Cruxton’s interest but he lets it slide.
“Well, I have a letter here from VoW. It says you messed up the form when submitting a new entrance theme a few weeks back. What’s with that?”
Jones groans and puts his head in his hands. He had been told about the mix up but never fixed it. Of course, that meant “I Won’t Back Down” had been playing for weeks when it was supposed to be “Not Listening”.
“Shit...thought I got it sorted out. My bad. I hope it didn’t bother you, John. I’ll handle it. Thanks for reminding me. It’s not like either of the 3 people I’m facing this week would know the difference. Two of them are new here and have likely never seen a match of mine, and Jamo…well, he’s Jamo. I don’t know what goes on in his head.”
“You would lose your head if it wasn’t screwed on, Jones.”
“It’s why I have you. Now if only you could get me to win!”
The teasing comment causes the two men to smile as they part. Jones is off to get more food while John…well, what does Cruxton do in his spare time now?