Scapino1974

Hey, guys, sorry to keep you waiting. I wanted to wait and see if the missing posts returned. I think they have, but I just started sorting through it and some of the older posts are really messed up right now. As in, I think I'm going to have to redo them. Good news, I have all the posts saved and so it's just some cutting pasting. Bad news, it'll take me some time to get the back-editing done so that it's readable for guys like Clarity (hey, dude!). So the story will continue. We just neeed to take a little bit of a break to get everything cleaned up apparently.

Well, the good news is this: I have all of the posts still. I've been writing this diary in a program called Scrivener, which allows me to save everything I've written and keep track of it all. So if worse comes to worse, I can repost all of the missing posts. It'll be pokey and annoying, but it can be done. Still hoping to save myself the extra labor. LOL!

Just testing this. It seems like several months worth of posts have disappeared since the forum update.

QAW Titan Clash #117 Sunday of Week 1, April 2023 Held in Club X (North West Region) I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to act. The news that Sarah shared with me hit the public almost immediately. I hadn’t had a way to actually warn Ace that Farrah had signed Abigail. I had tried calling him all week to find out what had happened when he learned but he wasn’t returning my calls. I couldn’t blame him. I just hoped that he didn’t blame me. I mean, it wasn’t my fault. I had no idea it was happening. And why would I have found out? I didn’t have any stroke in QAW. And when I arrived at Club X, I was convinced I had even less than I thought I did. The girls in the locker room shied away from me when I walked through the door. Their conversations when quiet as I walked to my locker. Everyone treated me like I was sick or dying or in mourning or something. I shot a few looks at them, trying to convey that they were annoying me, but they didn’t seem to care. Kira Lee, bless her, broke the ice by coming over and sitting down next to me while she tied up her boots. I appreciated the gesture, but it didn’t do much to thaw the situation. Finally, Jackson came over to go over what was happening. “Hey, Grace,” he said. “I’m sure you saw you’re up against Raquel and Mariana tonight for the Shockwave. Raquel’s going to retain, but Farrah wants you to get some good licks in, so about halfway through the—” My frustration boiled over. “Is that supposed to be an olive leaf after what she did?” Jackson winced, then grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to a quiet corner of the room. “Look, I get why you’re sore. You’re in a tough spot, working for Farrah and being partial owner of RFW. But so far as Farrah is concerned, none of this is personal.” “Really? Signing Ace’s girlfriend to an exclusive written contract isn’t personal?” Jackson held up his hands. “Now hold on. It’s not like Farrah kidnapped Abigail. She could’ve said not interested. She could have walked away. But from what Farrah told me, when she contacted Abigail, she was more than interested. So what does that tell you about this?” “But…” “Look, this is the way things work in the business. The smaller promotions share workers only so long as they need to. QAW is in a position finally where we can started locking in the most talented workers. Farrah sees something in Abigail that she really likes. I agree with her judgment. So the offer was made. But Abigail is the one who accepted. “Now I get why you’re bent out of shape. Your friend is probably hurting right now and you’re hurting too. And I can’t say you’re wrong to feel that way. I get it. Everyone here gets it too. So you’re once again facing a hard choice. You can decide that what Farrah did is unacceptable to you and you can walk. After all, we don’t have you on a written contract so you’re under no obligation to wrestle for QAW. And while that’s not the choice I would take, it’s definitely on the table. “Or you can recognize what this was: a business decision that’s not personal. It sucks. But if you can think that way, you still have a home here at QAW. So what’s it going to be?” I ground my teeth. I hated that what he said made so much sense. I wanted to be angry at Farrah for what she did, but Jackson was right. It made good business sense to lock in talent to exclusive contracts. Ace and I often daydreamed about doing just that with guys like Fro and Papa Swoll and some of the ladies too. And Abigail didn’t have to take the contract. So I wasn’t really angry at Farrah, I guessed. Well, I was, but that wasn’t fair. I sighed. “Fine. I’m sorry.” “No need to apologize, Kil,” Jackson said, patting me on the shoulder. “We’re all allowed to be mad here. We good to go?” I took a deep breath and nodded with a grim smile. Good to go. But I couldn’t wait for All In. Abigail was going to learn the hard way not to mess with my friend.

Friday of Week 1, April 2023 “Ace. You have to do it.” Freddie’s quiet words snapped me out of my reverie. I was having my usual Zoom call with the road agents prior to All In. Freddie, Tamara, and Puerto Rican Power stared at me from my computer screen. We had made it through most of the card already and most of it was pretty by-the-book, all things considered. But then we got to the second-to-last match: Grace fighting Abigail for the title. Obviously, given that Abigail was leaving the RFW, she wasn’t going to win the title on her way out. But Freddie, Tamara, and Power all seemed to think that the best thing to do in this situation was to have Grace bury Abigail. Not just beat her, but break her. Humiliate her. Make her look like a loser before she left. And I just couldn’t agree to that. I couldn’t do it. In spite of what she had done, I just couldn’t… “Ace, it’s traditional,” Tamara added. “It’s part of the business.” “Everyone knows it,” Power said. “Everyone expects it.” But would Abigail? If this was anyone else, I wouldn’t hesitate. But did I want to slam that door shut? I mean, yeah, she was with Stephen now (the thought of which made my blood boil), but what if she realized she had made a mistake? What if she came back to me? Would she even want to if I did this to her? “Obviously we can’t force you to do it,” Freddie said. “You’re still the boss and we work for you. And no one blames you for being conflicted. I would be too. So whatever you want to do, we’ll do. But you have to make a decision.” I did, didn’t I? I finally nodded. “Do it.”

From RFW.com… *** And hey, thank you so much for all of the kind words. They've been really encouraging to me. I'm sorry I've had to slow down a little in releasing these shows. Lots of stuff going on, lots of balls in the air. I'll try to keep updating two or three times a week from here on out.

Monday of Week 1, April 2023 I had no idea what I was going to say or what I was going to do. I thought, by the time I reached Abigail’s apartment, I would have figured it out. But so many thoughts were warring in me as I made the drive. When I finally spotted the oil refinery just south of Inver Grove Heights, my personal landmark to remind me that I was almost to the Cities, I realized I had to come up with something. So I forced myself to organize my thoughts. Abigail had betrayed me in two different ways: as an employee and as my girlfriend. Well, I didn’t know for sure about the latter, I realized. That picture didn’t mean anything. The asshole in the picture could be a friend or a relative I hadn’t met yet. Whoever took the picture may have misunderstood the situation. I may have as well. I couldn’t jump to conclusions until I heard what she had to say. But signing with QAW? An exclusive, written contract? Okay, yeah, QAW was bigger than us and could afford to do that. But why hadn’t Abigail said anything to me about it? This wouldn’t have been a snap decision. Hesketh would have made an initial offer. Abigail would have thought about it, maybe talked to her parents about it. Maybe there would have been some back-and-forth on pay. But to not talk to me at all? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the QAW contract was more evidence that she was cheating on me. Why else wouldn’t she have talked to me about this? We were supposedly building toward some sort of future together, and here she walked away from RFW without so much as a warning? I mean, if she had talked to me and then decided to go to QAW, it would have still stung, but we could have figured it out. But to leave without… As I turned the corner onto the street where Abigail lived, I shook my head to clear it. The questions still circled like waiting vultures, but at least he’d be able to feed them answers soon. I walked up to her apartment building and buzzed her number. There was no answer. I frowned and glanced at my watch. So far as I knew, she didn’t have class right now. Should I text her? Call? Try to figure out what was going on? No, it felt better to confront her without warning. So I sat down on the front stoop and waited. I think I was there for close to two hours. A few of Abigail’s neighbors passed me into the building, and the looks they gave me confirmed some of my worst fears. Worry, pity, surprise. They knew. They knew something was wrong and they felt bad for me. Finally, as my stomach rumbled and I considered leaving my stakeout for some dinner, I heard Abigail’s bright laughter. I stood up and looked around, then spotted her down the block. She was with him, the man in the picture, and he had his arm around her waist. They stumbled toward the apartment, both of them smiling and trying to stay as close to each other as possible and… Then Abigail spotted me. The smile on her face froze, turned brittle, and then the color drained from her face. The man noticed me as well and his face turned stony, determined. I recognized that look. He was ready to fight. Abigail whispered something to him and he nodded, never looking away from me. But he stayed where he was, his arms crossed and his gaze sharp. Abigail approached me, not cautiously but warily. “John,” she said. I decided not to say anything. I crossed my arms, unintentionally mimicking the other guy’s posture. “I suppose you saw the news,” Abigail said. I quirked a brow. That was it? That was all she was going to say? But I held my tongue. She was the one who needed to explain herself, not me. She sighed. “This isn’t…I didn’t want…why aren’t you saying anything?” “What am I supposed to say?” I asked. “Good luck with your new job and hey, you two make a cute couple? Is that what you’re hoping for?” She winced. “This isn’t what I wanted.” “Really?” I spat the question. “That’s what you’re going to say?” “Well, what do you want me to say, John? What?” “Is he why you didn’t come down for Valentine’s Day?” I stabbed a finger at the other guy. He bristled and looked ready to jump in, but Abigail waved him back. “His name is Stephen,” she said. I swallowed a growl. I could hear the p-h in the way she said his name, but what galled me more was the gentleness, the affection I heard in her voice. The same that she had used when she said my name when we first started dating. “He’s our neighbor,” she continued. “Moved in a couple of months ago. And…well, he noticed me and I noticed him and…” “Who did the ‘noticing’ first?” I asked. She looked down. “He did.” That was some comfort, I supposed. But not much. “He was really sweet and nice and when I told him I had a boyfriend, he did back off but we kind of kept flirting. And then…well, something happened the night before I was supposed to come down for Valentine’s dinner.” Cold sluiced through me but I ignored it. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, John. I really didn’t. But something’s felt…off between us since Christmas. At least, it felt that way to me. You said we were moving toward…something. And I was okay with that, but maybe I wasn’t. And when I was with Stephen, it felt so…right. So natural. The way it’s supposed to be.” My stomach twisted and I felt like I might throw up. Or go over and bodyslam Stephen into a nearby parked car. Either way would make me feel better. “And I was torn. John, I love you. I do. But I’m not sure if that’s enough for me anymore. I wasn’t sure what to do and I was…well, I was looking for a sign as to what I should do. And that’s when Farrah Hesketh contacted me with the job offer.” She fell silent and I saw how the pieces fell into place for her. An accident with Stephen, questions about what to do, and then an offer that would completely disentangle her from me. It all added up so perfectly. Or at least, it probably did for her. So what now? I mean, I could make a big deal about this. She had cheated on me. I could probably take out my frustration on Stephen; based on what I saw, I could take him easily and mess him up pretty badly. But what would that solve other than getting me arrested? Abigail had made her choice. And it wasn’t me. “Fine. Good luck at QAW. But don’t forget: you still work for me until the end of this month.” Her mouth popped open but I didn’t care what she had to say. Instead, I brushed past her and walked over to Stephen. He straightened up, uncrossed his arms and made fists. I wanted to laugh at him. He was probably trying to look intimidating, but the overall effect was laughable. So I stopped with three feet between us and glared at him. “You got a real winner there, Stephen.” I spat his name like it was poison. “Hope you do better with her than I did.” And with that, I went back to my car. Abigail called my name but I ignored her. Better to just go home and put out the next show’s card. I had a feeling it was going to be a fun one.

Monday of Week 1, April 2023 “Midwest Medlectron, please hold…Midwest Midlectron, please hold…” I kept repeating the phrase, punching button after button. For some reason, half the sales force had called in sick. So had their usual receptionist so, lucky me, I got the call to come in so I could put people on hold one after another. Actually, it wasn’t all that bad. The night before, I had gone over the books and RFW was doing okay. We had stopped the bleeding, at least for now, and made almost four grand in profits. We still had a long ways to go to make up for the massive hit our financials took, but all in all, things were looking up. “Hey, Ace.” My head snapped up at the quiet greeting. Much to my surprise, Jack Pryde stood in front of me, wearing a loose jacket and a pair of sunglasses. Trying to go incognito? I doubted that anyone in the office would recognize him. “You got a minute to talk?” I kept putting people on hold, one after another, then sighed. I punched in a different code and rang Marjorie, my on-site supervisor. “Can I take a quick break?” I asked. Marjorie sighed but gave me fifteen minutes. I hit the buttons that would send all the calls straight to voicemail (that’s where they were all winding up anyway) then slipped out of the receptionist desk and led Jack back out of the office. I braced myself for a mildly sexist joke about me being a receptionist, but he didn’t say anything. That told me it was definitely serious. “What’s going on?” I asked. He frowned. “Look, I’ve been with you since day one, right? You know where I stand with the company and I definitely appreciate the push you’ve been giving me, Billy, and Mark lately.” Oh no. Was he leaving? Not a massive crisis, but I’d have to readjust my plans, such as they were. “But lately, things backstage have been getting kind of…well, tense.” “With who?” I prompted. He winced. “Just about everyone. Chip and Hangman and Quentin in particular, though.” I frowned. Quentin could be prickly, but Chip? And Hangman was a stand-up guy so far as I knew. “What happened?” “That’s just it! I don’t know! I heard that Chip was going to be in town, and I thought that maybe I’d buy him a beer, y’know? I figured at some point, the Foundation might feud with them and it’d be good to be on good terms with them. But he flat out refused. I don’t get it, man, and it’s really bugging me.” I started to say something, but my phone chirped. I grimaced and pulled out it. A text from Grace. I didn’t bother reading it, tucking my phone back in my pocket. “And you didn’t do anything to—” My phone chirped again. I grunted and looked again. Another text from Grace. This time, the wording of the text caught my eye: Call me! “Sorry, man.” I unlocked my phone and pulled up the texts. Grace’s first message was a link to an article on TEW.com with the comment Have you seen this yet? I frowned. I hadn’t had a chance to check TEW yet; my usual routine for the first day of the month was to post the upcoming card in the evening and then get caught up on what I missed. But if she thought it was important… I clicked the link and scanned the headline, which… I stumbled backwards and slammed into the wall, ice slicing through me. “Ace? You okay, man?” I stared at the headline, my mind going numb. QAW Poaching Talent from RFW I forced myself to keep reading… I handed the phone over to Jack so he could read it. My mind kept spinning. Was this why Abigail hadn’t come to Valentine’s Dinner? Was it because she was in talks with Farrah Hesketh? “Uh…Ace?” Jack said. “Who’s this?” He handed my phone back to me. He had pulled up a picture that had been posted with the article. It was of Abigail and had obviously been taken recently; she had gotten her hair cut before the last All In and she had the new style in the picture. It almost looked like a paparazzi photo, because she didn’t seem to be aware that her picture was being taken. No, she was too busy laughing with…laughing with… …laughing with some guy I had never seen before. She hung on his arm, and he smiled at her and it was so clear from their body language that this wasn’t just two friends out on the town. This was a lot more than that. I shut down the phone and slid it back in my pocket. “Ace? Are you okay?” No, I wasn’t. Not even a little. But I knew what I had to do. First, I would finish talking to Jack. I didn’t know where the hostility was coming from, but I’d talk to Chip and Hangman and everyone and see what I could learn. Second, I would let Marjorie know that one more person was going to go home sick today. And third, I wouldn’t actually go home. Instead, I had to take a trip to Minneapolis. Because I needed some answers myself.

QAW Titan Clash #115 Sunday of Week 3, March 2023 Held in Colorado Springs, CO (Mid South) A few nights later, and I hadn’t heard anything from John about how he and Abigail were doing. I assumed that meant that everything was going fine. At least, I hoped it did. Me, I actually won a match for once. Kira Lee and I took on the Pact and defeated them pretty soundly. I liked Kira. She was a sweet friend and she definitely got me in the ring. *** QAW Titan Clash #116 Sunday of Week 4, March 2023 Held in Tuscon, AZ (South West) And I managed to round out the month with another loss, but at least this time, it was in a title shot! Jackson barely said anything to me as he handed out the assignments. He skedaddled (as he would have put it) out of the locker room as soon as he was done. It turned out that Raquel Alvarado was going to take on Darkness Cat and me for the QAW Shockwave title. That was cool, even if it did come out of left field. Cat, Raquel, and I worked with the road agent to put on the best match we could and, even though it was a loss, I thought I did pretty good out there. Sarah Taylor was waiting for me by the locker when I got back. I started to make a joke with her but the expression on her face made me stop short. “What?” I asked. “Not here, but after the show, you and I need to go get a drink,” she whispered. “I’ve heard something and you need to hear it too.”

RFW All In Thursday of Week 2, March 2023 Held at the Civic Center in Rochester, MN (Mid West Region) Broadcast on WrestleWorld (29,605 viewers) 644 in attendance When I arrived at the Civic Center, I was surprised at what I found. Someone had spent some time hanging up cartoons all over the lockerroom. At first, I thought maybe one of the backstage worker’s kids got loose and tried to make the lockerroom more attractive. But then I got a better look at the drawings and realized two important things: whoever drew those pictures had some pretty good skills, because they had drawn some pretty awesome caricatures of all the wrestlers. I flagged down Grace and motioned toward the pictures. “Who?” “Kate.” She jerked a thumb toward DupliKate. “Thought we might need a morale boost for some reason.” Huh. I found the picture of me and started laughing. She had drawn me as a stern dictator, glaring out of the picture. But she also drew Grace standing behind me with a wink and an impish grin, getting ready to pants me. “We should have her do our merch,” I said. “You really want to sell t-shirts of me pantsing you?” Grace countered. Okay, maybe not. But still, it had the intended effect on me. *** Martin, Curt, and MC Motormouth welcomed the audience to the show. 1) Things kicked off with Allie Perks and Joy Rider coming out to the ring. They got on the mic and started ripping into Alice Pellerton and Marie Punnen. “The way everyone’s behaving, you’d think that the only person in the women’s division was Grace Kil!” Allie said. “Don’t get me wrong, Grace is phenomenal and I wouldn’t want to go up against her,” Joy said. “But Allie and I were thinking: we can fight too. So we’re thinking that Alice and Marie should strap on their big girl boots and come out here so we can show them why we’re no slouches either!” Sure enough, Alice and Marie headed out to the ring for the impromptu match. RATING: 37 2) ALLIE PERKS & JOY RIDER vs. ALICE PELLERTON & MARIE PUNNEN While the crowd kind of perked up for this one, sadly, Allie wasn’t up to the task. She looked a little lost and flailing in there. When it came time for her machine-gun punches, it was pretty obvious that Alice had to direct traffic in the ring. Joy tried to make up for the difference, riling up the crowd as best as she could. But it was clear that Alice and Marie weren’t playing around. In the end, Marie put Joy down with a Scissor Kick. WINNERS: Alice Pellerton & Marie Punnen in 12:47 RATING: 38 3) Backstage, James Diaz appeared in a darkened room. He laughed, a sinister sound, and confidently predicted that tonight was the night. “The Monster’s Court will claim the glory that is rightfully ours. I will take on this so-called ‘Stuntman’ and humiliate him in front of you all. And then the RFW Championship will be mine!” RATING: 42 4) PAPA SWOLL vs. DUSTIN DEUCE Papa Swoll seemed to be back to business as usual. He was laid back and somewhat carefree as he greeted the fans at ringside. Dustin came out, looking focused and angry. The match was surprisingly good. Swoll didn’t seem too put out by Dustin’s intensity. Instead, he simply dealt with the offense as it came and didn’t let Dustin get him too riled up. Eventually, it looked like Dustin might have finally worn Papa down, but then, out of nowhere, Swoll hit the Pounce to end the match. WINNER: Papa Swoll in 12:06 RATING: 40 5) The camera caught up with Fro Sure and myself backstage in the middle of a heated argument. “Fro, listen to me. It’s time to let it go. Yes, you had the title for a long time. You are an awesome champion! But you don’t have the title anymore. It’s time to move on, to find a new challenge,” I said. Fro snarled at me and got into my face. “You think it’s as simple as that, Ace? Just let it go? Well, this ain’t a Disney movie and those kind of sappy kids songs don’t work here. You will never understand what it’s like to hold that title. You’ve never had gold. You don’t know how amazing it is.” I bristled. “Hey, I may not have ever been the RFW Champion, but that doesn’t mean I can’t recognize when a friend is struggling with some unhealthy behavior. Fro, I’m worried about you.” “Worry about yourself, Ace. Because you and me, we’re gonna settle this in the ring!” RATING: 55 6) TEXAS HANGMAN, ROGER MONTEIRO, & JAY SILVER vs. THE FOUNDATION The crowd was merciless to Jay Silver as he made his way out to the ring. There were a lot of jeers and insults about him being a bargain-basement Jason Momoa, some complete with signs. Curt Meritt seemed to be particularly pleased with that reaction. Maybe the hostility was why Jay’s team struggled. But whatever the cause, Mark, Jack, and Stallion had this sewn up pretty much from the beginning. It was clear that they had been working out their strategy beforehand and were working as a unit. In the end, Wild Red Stallion took out Jay Silver with a Lakota Cutter (and surprisingly, the crowd seemed to be on Stallion’s side for it). WINNERS: The Foundation in 11:41 RATING: 33 7) Grace appeared on screen with a grim smile. “I should’ve seen it coming. That’s probably what everyone’s saying. Selina Svelte and Talia Quinzel helping me? Saving me? Offering to work with me? It’s so transparently obvious that they were going to stab me in the back at some point, right? “Well, yeah. It is kind of obvious. And it should have been. But here’s the thing: I’ve always believed that people are worth believing in. There’s a reason why my name is Grace. It’s what I’ve always been encouraged to show people. Give them a chance to show that they’ve changed. “And maybe that wasn’t a wise thing in this case. Maybe that was a bit naive. But my eyes have been opened now. And it’s time for them to learn what happens when you stab me in the back. Selina, Talia, this ends tonight.” RATING: 33 8) PARTY ON! © vs. MINNESOTA AWESOME for the RFW Tag Team Championship A pretty standard match, given that both teams are faces. Lots of cooperation, lots of fun spots, and after Charlie put Perry down with a Corner Cutter, the two teams came together to celebrate in the middle of the ring. WINNERS: Party On! In 15:02 RATING: 40 9) But as the celebration went on, it was interrupted by Puerto Rican Power’s entrance music. He came out to the ring apron and said that the party was over. “I’ve been really puzzled by Sherry Smart. At first, I thought she was just a run of the mill con artist who somehow made her way backstage and ingratiated herself to Charlie and Chip. You know, ride their coattails and fleece them of their hard-earned money. “But then she kept going out to ringside, almost like she was a manager. But according to the paperwork I saw, the RFW doesn’t really employ managers. So what was her deal? “Imagine my surprise when I found out that Sherry originally signed a contract to be a wrestler! But, as near as I can tell, that’s not what she usually does. “So we’re going to fix that. Sherry, you have a match right now with Ruby Reece!” RATING: 21 10) SHERRY SMART vs. RUBY REECE Minnesota Awesome vacated the ring, but Party On! stuck around as Ruby Reece headed for the ring. Sherry seemed on the verge of panicking, but Chip and Charlie took turns trying to calm her down and get her to focus (although Charlie looked a little upset when Chip spoke to her). Once the bell rang, it was clear that Sherry’s head wasn’t in the game. Martin covered for her by saying that it was clear that the “poor dear” was scared out of her mind. Ruby didn’t seem all that worried about her. She toyed with Sherry and knocked her around, not showing her a lot of respect. But then, Sherry looked to ringside and her face went grim. She nodded once to herself and then, much to everyone’s surprise, started fighting back. Chip and Charlie exchanged surprised looks, but Charlie looked upset. Ruby tried to fight back, but Sherry actually overwhelmed her for a second and finally put her down with a move that MC Motormouth identified as the Public Jawbreaker. WINNER: Sherry Smart in 12:17 RATING: 31 11) Ruby looked positively stunned as the ref held up Sherry’s hand. Then Ruby exploded off the mat and attacked Sherry, beating her down. The ref tried to regain control, but Ruby ignored him. So Charlie rushed into the ring. Ruby spotted him coming and bailed. Charlie chased her back to the ring entrance, but when he turned back to the ring, he discovered that Chip had gotten into the ring with Sherry and was comforting her. She clung to him, sobbing. Charlie’s face fell, then his expression turned absolutely furious. RATING: 38 12) As soon as the ring was cleared, Sarah Taylor came out to the ring. “What a night, right? So much drama! So much craziness. So much…unprofessionalism. This isn’t the way a company should be run. That’s why I’m so grateful that Puerto Rican Power has taken control in his firm, yet soft, grip.” She went on like that, extolling Power’s business acumen, but somehow, everything she said was loaded with innuendo and double entendres. The crowd ate it up and Sarah played into it, getting more and more flustered (which only led to her saying worse and worse things). Finally, she stomped her foot and said, “Enough! I know who’s to blame for all of this! Abigail Thompson! She’s carried a chip on her shoulder against Grace Kil for years now and it’s high time someone knocked it off her shoulder.” RATING: 75 13) ABIGAIL THOMPSON vs. SARAH TAYLOR The crowd kept jeering Sarah for her speech and that seemed to rattle her. I don’t know what was really going on with her, but she seemed to be a bit off her game. But here’s the thing: Sarah Taylor off her game is miles better than most people on their game. She did a good job, giving Abigail one of her best matches yet, even if the whole thing did end with Sarah putting Abigail down with a Newton’s Cradle. WINNER: Sarah Taylor in 14:21 RATING: 55 14) JOHN “ACE” HART vs. FRO SURE Martin did a great job of hyping up this match as a fight between old friends. And that’s how Fro and I tried to play this. While he had no problem taking the fight and unleashing his aggression on me, I did my best to simply block his offense and try to get him to calm down. When it became clear that he wasn’t going to back down, I fought back, although reluctantly. In the end, Fro simply was too angry to be reasoned with and I couldn’t really stop him, so he put me down with the Sure Thing. WINNER: Fro Sure in 14:41 RATING: 61 15) GRACE “DIAMOND” KIL vs. THE UPRISING Selina and Talia came out to the ring first. They laughed at Grace as she came out to the ring, mocking her and generally having a good time. Grace simply got into the ring and stood there, her face stoic, but there was a fire in her eyes. That fire exploded the moment the bell rang. Before Selina and Talia could regroup, Grace was on both of them, fighting both of them at once. She actually wound up clearing the ring and then stood in the center, glaring at both of them while they tried to recover. It was all downhill from there for the Uprising. Grace kept the fight on them and wouldn’t let up until she finally took Talia out with a Diamond’s Edge. WINNER: Grace “Diamond” Kil in 14:37 RATING: 61 16) In the locker room, Original Sinner rallied Dreadnought and Masked Mauler, saying it was time to “help” Stuntman get ready for his match. They slapped each other on the back and roared a bit before heading to the door… …only to discover that the door was stuck shut. They slammed against it and pounded, demanding to be let out. The camera jumped to outside the locker room to reveal that Stuntman had barricaded the door closed. He turned to the camera and said, “Thanks, fellas, I feel ready for my match now for sure!” RATING: 25 17) STUNTMAN © vs. JAMES DIAZ for the RFW Championship James seemed genuinely surprised as Stuntman made his way out to the ring. He tried to shake off the shock, but it was clear he was a bit too shook up. James did try to take the fight to Stuntman, but it was clear he wasn’t quite ready to face the champ when Stuntman was ready for him. In spite of James’s attempts, Stuntman finally put him down with a 450 Degree Splash. WINNER: Stuntman in 15:19 RATING: 44 *** Once the show was over, I made sure to pump up Papa Swoll, Dustin Deuce, and Abigail for their hard work. Abigail wouldn’t quite meet my gaze and she hurried out of the locker room after everything was done. That was weird. We hadn’t really been able to talk since Valentine’s Day. Our “rain check” was still there, but she didn’t seem to be in a hurry to claim it. That bugged me, but I figured it was better to give her some space. I did notice that Stuntman was jawing with some folks after the show was over. They kept looking over at Jack Pryde as they did. I wondered what that was about also, but figured it wasn’t anything I should worry about yet. FINAL RATING: 46 Quick results: From RFW.com...

From RFW.com...

Sunday of Week 4, February 2023 At least the bleeding had mostly stopped. A month earlier, when it had become clear that we couldn’t sustain the higher production values, I had made the hard decision to return all of the equipment and downgrade the production back to what it was before we hit “small.” I had hoped to recoup the investment but it turned out I hadn’t read the contracts closely enough. We were out a lot of money and it would take a while for us to get back to where we had been. Things hadn’t returned back to normal quite yet, unfortunately. In February, we lost $4,206, bringing us down to $56,792. That really worried me. We couldn’t meet the production level targets financially, but if we were going to start suffering financial repercussions for not having the right level of production values due to fans avoiding us, we were going to be in trouble either way. I wouldn’t panic—not yet—but I was worried we had hit the point where we’d start so slide. At the same time, I realized we’d have to keep our workers as happy as possible. That meant giving raises to Alice Pellerton, James Diaz, and Mark Latrell. Mark sent his request to me with some overly friendly references about how he needed the money to keep Grace happy. Whatever, man. We just need people to wrestle. By the time I was done doing the finances for February, I really wondered if I should step out. I mean, we were doing okay. But it felt like we had hit a plateau. Hopefully we’d pick up some momentum again soon.

QAW San Antonio Invasion Friday of Week 3, February 2023 Held in San Antonio, TX (Mid South Region) I limped back to the locker room after the match against Raquel Alvarado and Millie the Minx. Not only had I lost (well, technically, Millie and I both lost), meaning that Raquel retained the Shockwave title, but I think I had tweaked my knee during the match, the one I had injured almost a year earlier. I didn’t think I needed to see a doctor. I was still able to put weight on it and I figured I’d have to take it easy for the rest of the night, but it was enough to send a pang of worry through my chest. Maybe I’d talk to someone about slipping out early and… “Kil! You’ve got a visitor!” Kira Lee shouted. I frowned. A visitor? Who on earth would be—? Kira pointed behind me. I turned just as Mark enveloped me in a huge hug. I stumbled a little and winced as my knee twinged in protest. “You were amazing out there, babe!” Mark said. “You really should have won that title! That would have been so cool.” “Yeah, I suppose.” I pulled out of his arms and tried to steady myself, keeping my expression neutral. I didn’t want him to see how worried I was about my knee. “So listen.” Mark stepped closer. “I’ve already talked to Hesketh about this. I figured, since it was Valentine’s Day a few days back, you and I could hit the town. I figured I’d stick around for the next couple of days until after the next Titan Clash, and…” He kept talking, painting this incredible picture of the two of us spending time together. Seeing the sights. Riding together from San Antonio to the West Texas Coliseum on Sunday. The sort of thing that someone might do with their significant other. And it sounded nice. I mean, I tried to spend as much time with Mark as I could. But every weekend, I was on the road with QAW. We had become experts on calling and texting each other. I could honestly say that I had never known someone as intimately as I knew Mark. And him surprising me like this was…well, it was so sweet. But in that moment, I wrestled with a pang of annoyance. With my knee aching, all I wanted was to head back to my motel room, get a bag of ice, and spend the night binging Netflix. I probably would have done the same thing the next day if I could have. But he was here. So I screwed on a brave smile. “Where to first?” *** QAW Titan Clash #111 Sunday of Week 3, February 2023 Held in the West Texas Coliseum (Mid South) Thankfully, my knee stopped hurting by Saturday night. It didn’t help that Mark had insisted on finding a nearby nightclub for drinks and dancing. I tried to lose myself in the moment on Friday evening, playing through the pain, holding him close when I could or putting in as much energy into my dancing as I could for the faster songs. And the drinks helped blunt the pain a little. But by the end of the night, when we made it back to my motel room, I was grateful to just collapse into the bed and claim I was too tired to do much of anything else. The next day, we played tourist in San Antonio. Mark had never been, and while I had with QAW, I hadn’t spent the time to see anything of interest. So off we went to the River Walk, to the Alamo, to everything we could cram in in just one day. Through it all, my knee protested but the dull ache eventually went away by the time we made it back to the hotel room. And the next day, we made the drive to the West Texas Coliseum. I had to kick Mark out of the locker room so I could get ready and, as much as I hated to admit it, I was grateful for the breathing room. Jackson raised a brow as I sighed in relief, but he gave my marching orders: I was going to team up with Kira Lee and Skye Hermosa to take on Darkness Cat and Anderson & Snyder. Since Anderson & Snyder were the tag champs, they were going to win, although reading between the lines, I think Jackson was getting ready to switch the titles to the Skye and Kira. I was just along for the ride. And we had a decent match all things considered. I did my best to ignore the very vocal fan in the front row. Mark meant well, but it was a little distracting to have him keep shouting his love for me through the whole match. *** QAW Titan Clash #112 Sunday of Week 4, February 2023 Held in the West Texas Coliseum (Mid South) The next week, I braced myself for a surprise guest again. On the way back to Minnesota, Mark had gushed about how awesome the weekend had been and he kept talking like we were going to make it a regular thing. I worried that I had picked up a travel companion for all my future shows. But Mark didn’t try to sneak into my luggage and, when I arrived at the Coliseum, there was no one waiting for me. I didn’t like the fact that they had me in a match with Kira Lee, losing to the Pact. But you know, it felt normal to do so. And that was okay with me.

Saturday of Week 2, February 2023 Apparently she would miss it. I frowned as I stalked around the kitchen. I had gotten everything set up an hour earlier: the candles, Mom’s best china, the soft jazz in the background. Sure, it was maybe a bit cliche, but I had never really done something like this before and I wanted everything to be just right. I hadn’t shared this with anyone, but I had been taking a cooking course for the past couple of weeks. I had some extra time on my hands, and I figured that a really great homecooked meal would be a great Valentine’s Day present for Abigail. Actually, I had more than just the meal planned for her. My gaze skipped over the table to the present I had wrapped and hiding under the nearby credenza. Inside were a few documents that I had printed out. One was for a lease on an apartment in the Twin Cities, close to where Abigail went to school. Another was a new employment contract with a firm up in the Cities. I had found a new job that paid slightly better. And the third was for a number of educational opportunities I had been mulling over. I figured it was time to head back to school and finish my education. All of this was supposed to communicate one thing: I wanted to get my future back on track. Yes, Royal Flush Wrestling would always be important to me and I wasn’t about to give that up. But I wanted to move forward again. Establish a life. And work toward that with her at my side. Yeah, I suppose I could have gone with jewelry. Maybe even make my sister’s night and give her a ring. But I didn’t think either of us were ready for that step yet. This felt like the right move, the one that would show Abigail that I meant what I said at Christmas. I wanted to be with her. So where was she? She was over an hour late at this point. I ran through the kitchen and checked the food. All of it had been done a half hour ago; I had tried to time everything so that she would arrive just as the smells would fill the house and she could help me put the finishing touches on everything. I snared my phone and looked at it. I had sent her numerous texts, none of which she had read. I had tried calling her folks to see if they had heard from her; they hadn’t. I didn’t want to panic. There could be plenty of reasons why she wasn’t here, but to miss all of those texts? To not check in with her folks? What was she— As I checked my messages, I saw all of my texts to her change from “delivered” to “read.” And then the phone jangled in my hand. It was her. “Abigail?” I asked. “Where are you? Are you okay?” “I am,” she said. “John…I’m sorry. Something came up. I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it tonight.” “What’s going on?” I asked. “You know…you know Stacy?” Her roommate? “Sure.” “H-her…her boyfriend just dumped her and she’s not taking it too well. She’s really got no one else to talk to about this and I’m not sure I can leave her on her own. I’m sorry. I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble.” I turned a slow circle, looking at everything I had prepared: handmade garlic bread, a Caesar salad, a fettuccine alfredo, and a carrot cake. All stuff that Abigail loved. “I guess not,” I said. “Look, I’m really sorry. Rain check, okay?” Oh, sure. Yeah. I’d just have to get all the ingredients to start over again, try to convince my folks to give me run of the house for almost a full day, and… “Yeah, okay.” “Talk to you soon.” And with that, she hung up. I sighed and went back into the dining room. I switched off the music, blew out the candles, and grabbed a plate. I hoped Mom and Dad liked the leftovers. Because in that moment, I was not at all hungry.

Sorry, everyone. July has gotten away from me and it'll be another week or so before I can post an update. I promise I won't leave it on a cliffhanger (even a small one).