Scapino1974

Go Big or Go Home Saturday of Week 4, September 2021 “So how are Quentin and Fro doing?” Grace asked. I shrugged. “Fro’s doctor is insisting that he stay out of action for the next month or so. Quentin supposedly will be good to go next month. At least, that’s what his doc is saying.” “That’s surprising,” Grace commented. My reply was drowned out by a sudden roar from the Gopher fans. I winced. How had Grace talked me into this? I wasn’t even much of a football fan to begin with. Actually, I knew full well what had happened. Grace and Mark hadn’t been able to make it to the last All In due to some early coursework, so to “make it up to me” (her words), they invited me to come up to the next home game at the U. Abigail couldn’t make it due to some family commitments, so I found myself a third wheel to Mark and Grace, surrounded by maroon and gold, trying to pretend like I cared about who won or lost. I didn’t even know where Bowling Green was, for crying out loud. I tried to make the most of it. While Mark was off with his friends at one point, I tried to fill Grace in on what she missed, but our conversation kept getting interrupted by either the crowd or by Grace herself. Apparently Mark had taught her a lot about football, which led to running commentary from her about how the coaches were messing things up. Given that the Gophers were beating Bowling Green, I couldn’t understand why she was so worked up. Once the crowd settled down, she asked, “And how’s Abigail?” “Okay. She’s taking a government course and she’s really getting into—” One of the Bowling Green players fumbled the ball and a Gopher dropped on it. The crowd went wild and Grace jumped to her feet, screaming her excitement. “—porcelain dolls shaped like horror villains. She keeps posing them around my car and it scares the hell out of me,” I finished. Grace eventually sat down again and Mark made his way back to us. “Did you see that play?” Mark shouted. “That was amazing!” He and Grace kissed. I frowned. Why had I thought this was a good idea again? I mean, I liked the idea of hanging out with Grace on paper and I had made my peace with the fact that Mark would be there. But this just felt…wrong still. I knew I had to get used to the “new normal,” whatever that might be. Didn’t mean that I had to be thrilled with every part of it. “You good, man? You need me to get you something?” Mark asked, socking me on the shoulder. “I think I’m good.” I wasn’t all that hungry. I mean, the snacks looked nice, but man, they were overpriced. “I’ll go get you something.” Grace patted my knee and worked her way down the row to the aisle. Mark settled in next to me. That wasn’t awkward at all. Well, he probably didn’t feel that way. He was too into the action, shouting abuse at the other team or encouragement to the Gophers. When we finally got a small break in the action, I decided I would try to play nice. “So do you miss it?” “What, football?” He sighed. “Just about every day, man. You ever have your entire world get ripped away in a moment?” I almost answered, but I realized that he wouldn’t want to hear whatever I said. After all, he was part of the reason why my expectations with Grace were so up-ended. “That’s what it feels like. I had a path, man. I had a plan. Do my thing here at the U and then hope for the best when the NFL Draft came along. And if that didn’t quite pan out, maybe head up to Canada or over to Europe for a few years to get my feet under me. Maybe go west to the XFL or something. But when I got injured, when they said I shouldn’t play again…that just broke me.” He offered me a smile. “That’s why I was so happy to get in the ring for you. Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate it, but I wish I could have more matches, y’know?” Oh, sure. I’m sure a lot of the guys felt that way. But we couldn’t just throw everyone into the ring all the time. Still… “I’ll see what I can do.” “I appreciate it. Mr. RFW, right?” He fell silent for a bit, then added. “So what’s this Grace tells me about some sort of broadcasting contract?” I snorted. “Yeah, WrestleWorld. It’s a good opportunity, but I’m really not sure we can afford it,” I said. “I don’t want to run the RFW into the ground just to get us wider coverage.” “I suppose that’s not the best idea.” Mark frowned. “But you know, there’s something my econ professor said last year that stuck with me: ‘To make money, you gotta spend money.’ Maybe look at what you’re doing as an investment in the RFW’s future, y’know? We get more fans, we get more interest, and that will help us grow bigger and reach more people. It could completely juice our growth, man.” I frowned. Maybe it was the chilly air. Maybe it was the sheer boredom. But what Mark was saying…kind of made sense? I mean, my stomach lurched at the thought of burning through all of our savings, especially if we went into the red. But this was a way for us to start growing larger. Who knew how many people would tune in if they could see All In every month? “I’ll think about it.” Mark nodded and patted me on the shoulder. I tried to get into the rest of the game, but I couldn’t. I wanted to get home. I wanted to get on the phone. I had a deal to make.

Hey, weird request, but can someone please post a comment here? I don't care what, but for some reason, the forum isn't showing me the show I posted this morning. I have no idea if I'll be able to see this post when I make it. So I'm hoping if I can get someone to say something, that'll clear the digital logjam or whatever it is. EDIT: Never mind. This post did the trick. Weird.

All In (September 2021) RFW All In Sunday of Week 2, September 2021 Held at the Civic Center in Rochester, MN (Mid West Region) 219 in attendance The locker room was buzzing a little as I stepped into it. I had to check in with Linda and the Four-Clap Posse to see how we were doing. I had expected a drop in attendance since we started charging for tickets again and it looked like that had happened. Not as bad as I feared, but still, we would have to work to make up the lost ground. But I was confident that we would. It felt like we were on an unstoppable upward trajectory. All we had to do was maintain course. I looked over the assembled workers. Once again, Freddie had pulled Charlie Corner, Pepper Pelton, and Jerry Pepper into one corner and was having a mini-seminar. Sounded like they were discussing match psychology again. I had to smirk. Looked like Freddie had put together some disciples there. Huh. That was an interesting idea. I’d have to let that one roll around for a while. But I didn’t have time to think on that too much. It was time to kick things off. *** Martin and Curt welcomed everyone to the show. 1) Unfamiliar music hit and... ...Too Hot came out to the ring! He rolled into the ring and basked in what little pop he got from the crowd. He then got on the mic and said that he had been hearing some big things about RFW and he had to come and see it for himself. He had heard that our champ had a love of dancing and hey, he did too. So he was thinking that maybe he and Fro Sure should at least have a dance off later on. And to warm up, he’s gonna show the crowd what he had to offer. He called for some dance music. Instead, Quentin Queen’s entrance music hit. He came out and ripped on Too Hot for showing up to relive his glory days. “You may have been too hot for Canada, but you’re back in the U.S. now. And beleive it or not, this isn’t So You Think You Can Dance. This is Royal Flush Wrestling. Fro Sure may have indulged your stupid dancing, but I’m not going to. Instead, I’m going to come down there and break both your legs so you never dance again.” Too Hot’s smile disappeared. “You know what, junior? That sounds just fine to me. A lot of guys have tried to keep me from doing my thing for years. I’ve got the time. I think it’s time for you to learn a hard lesson." RATING: 42 2) CHARLIE CORNER & FLYING PATRIOT vs. THE SCOFIELD INDEX For some reason, the crowd really got into this match, although it wasn’t necessarily because of the wrestling. Charlie and Patriot were both struggling in the ring, allowing the former tag champs to run circles around them. Pepper eventually put us all out of our misery when he and Jerry dropped Patriot with a Carolina Reaper. WINNERS: The Scofield Index in 12:44 RATING: 29 3) Texas Hangman came out to the ring, looking extremely grim. He said that he had been doing a lot of thinking lately, and he said that the RFW has a major problem: James Diaz. “James seems to be carrying a chip on his shoulder lately and he seems determined to make everyone else pay for it. But that don’t sit right with me at all. “For whatever reason, James has been runnin’ wild the past couple of months and allowed to stick his nose in where it ain’t needed or wanted. Since no one else seems ready or capable to do something about it, I will. “Back in the day, when the law was paralyzed and wouldn’t do what was right, honest folk would sometimes have to take the law into their own hands. And tonight’s one of those nights. James, get your affairs in order, because tonight, you’re facing the Hangman’s justice.” James came out to the ring and he tried to play it off like he wasn’t concerned at all. But his delivery, when compared to Hangman’s, fell kind of flat. Martin tried to play it off that James was simply too nervous about the possibility of facing someone in a fair fight. RATING: 29 4) TEXAS HANGMAN vs. JAMES DIAZ James did seem cautious as he got into the ring. Hangman looked positively menacing, towering over James. James feinted at him a few times to test his reflexes. Hangman tried to lock him up, but James slipped out of it every time. Eventually the two men clashed in the ring and Hangman made good on his promise when it came to punishing James. Hangman tossed James around the ring and seemed determined to not just beat him, but break him. But then, as Hangman tried to set James up for a final Choke Slam, James twisted around the Hangman and somehow managed to get the bigger man in the Asian Thumb Spike. Hangman tried desperately to get free, but James wouldn’t let go. Hangman eventually fell to the mat and passed out. WINNER: James Diaz in 12:07 RATING: 36 5) The Uprising, Selina Svelte and Talia Quinzel, came out to the ring. They reminded folks that they were the dominant force in the RFW and that the other ladies in the back were fooling themselves if they thought that they were match for them. “Maybe we need to remind them who we are, Talia. Did you notice that Abigail Thompson tried to jump in line last month and take Grace’s title?” Selina asked. “I did,” Talia said. “I think we need to remind her how the food chain works here. There are bottom feeders like her…” Selina said. “…and apex predators like us. Abigail, find a partner and get out here now.” RATING: 34 6) ABIGAIL THOMPSON & JOY RIDER vs. THE UPRISING Abigail came out with Joy. While Joy did her usual shtick, jumping around and hyping up the crowd, Abigail looked nervous but determined. She walked down the ring entrance with Joy, not really responding to Joy’s repeated attempts to get her to bounce around as well. Once the bell rang, Abigail and Joy were all business and this turned out to be a pretty good match. Talia and Selina did a pretty decent job of selling Joy and Abigail’s offense for a while, but they slowly but surely turned the tide in their favor before Selina got Joy in a Prawn Armlock and got her to tap. WINNERS: The Uprising in 13:33 RATING: 47 7) WILD RED STALLION vs. DREADNOUGHT Once again, the crowd got into this match even though, in wrestling terms, things were kind of off. Stallion was struggling throughout the match, which Martin tried to play off as Stallion once again trying (and failing) to prove that he can go it on his own). In the end, Dreadnought put him down with a Dread Bomb. WINNER: Dreadnought in 9:59 RATING: 23 8) Dreadnought wasn’t done. He put the boots to Stallion and beat him up some more to punctuate the loss. RATING: 15 9) SABRINA WELLS vs. RUBY REECE This turned out to be an interesting match. Curt pointed out that Sabrina and Ruby were actually tag team partners in other companies before they came here. And their familiarity with each other showed through in this match. They were able to duck each other’s offense for quite a while until Sabrina surprised Ruby with a Super Kick. WINNER: Sabrina Wells in 13:28 RATING: 34 10) TOO HOT vs. QUENTIN QUEEN The crowd was pretty hot for this match as well. Too Hot whipped them up and did some dancing and goofing around as he made his way to the ring. But once Quentin rolled in, the goofiness was gone. We let Too Hot get in some good licks, and Quentin did a pretty decent job fighting back. But toward the end of the match, Too Hot botched a move that sent Quentin face-first into the ring post. You could tell that Quentin was really hurt as he staggered away, clutching his face. But Quentin powered through the pain and caught Too Hot in a Q-Ball. WINNER: Quentin Queen in 10:10 RATING: 35 11) Quentin quickly rolled out of the ring and headed to the back, his hand over his cheek the whole way. Too Hot eventually got up off the mat and shrugged off the loss. He once again called for his music, but before he could start dancing, James Diaz hit the ring and put Too Hot in the Asian Thumb Spike. He held him there until people rushed out of the back and pried him off of Too Hot, who had passed out. RATING: 26 12) FRO SURE © vs. THE MASKED MAULER VII for the RFW Championship Masked Mauler has really been gaining some traction with the fans lately, so I figured I’d throw him a title shot and see what happened. Maybe not the best idea. Fro and Mauler did a great job building some heat in the early going of the match. Mauler looked like a genuine threat, ignoring some of Fro’s offense and battering the champ around the ring. But just as Fro was starting to get some momentum going, Mauler botched a move and Fro hit the mat hard. He clutched at his shoulder and looked like he was in some serious pain. Mauler seemed surprised by this and faltered a bit in the match. But then, before anyone could really react, James Diaz came in and attacked Masked Mauler. He knocked the big guy off his feet and put him in an Asian Thumb Spike. The ref immediately called for the bell. WINNER: Masked Mauler VII by DQ in 21:04 RATING: 40 13) As soon as the match ended, James released Mauler and then went after Fro. Fro tried to step into the fight, but the ref stopped him and kept the two from truly brawling. RATING: 34 *** I waited as Freddie looked over Fro. Quentin sat next to him, holding an ice pack to his cheek. “I’m pretty sure that Quentin has a fractured cheekbone,” Freddie said. “As for Fro, he’s going to be dealing with some chronic shoulder pain for a while.” I growled. “Too Hot?” Freddie grimaced. “Already left once he collected his pay.” Well, that was that, I guessed. But I turned back to the others who had gathered around to hear the prognosis. “I have to say, I’m not happy. Two of our workers got injured tonight. We can’t have that happen.” I looked over at Mauler. “Larry, you need to do better. I was seeing if you could handle a main event push right now, and I gotta say, I’m questioning that right now.” Mauler grumbled something but Dreadnought shot him a look, silencing him. “I do want to thank both Fro and Quentin for fighting through the pain. I know that can’t have been easy. I want both of you to get to the hospital and see what’s really going on. If you need time off, we’ll make sure you get it.” With that, people started shuffling away to clean up the locker room. But I couldn’t help but spot the look that Abigail gave me. My stomach twisted. This was exactly the sort of scenario she was worried about. And I had let her down. FINAL RATING: 40 From RFW.com:

Moving On Friday of Week 4, August 2021 It was remarkable how ordinary life had become in the matter of just a month or so. Oh, sure, there were still some lingering sore spots. Abigail and I spent the rest of our summer talking on the phone a lot, working through some of our issues. By the end of August, when she moved back in with her aunt and uncle, I think we had sorted through most of it. She did keep making jokes about how, if I started acting up again, she would demand a rematch against Grace. I laughed with her, but I was a bit worried about where that might take us. The ring I had bought her was stashed in my desk. We both knew it was there, but neither of us really talked about it anymore. I had come to realize that my impromptu decision to propose was born out of stress and desperation. Not a great foundation for a marriage. As for Grace and me, well, things were still a bit tenuous there. Reverend Kil proved true to his word. He never overtly objected to my presence in Grace’s life. Just like when Mrs. Kil had me over for dinner, Reverend Kil made himself scarce whenever he knew I was going to be around. I suppose he figured that if he wasn’t around, that would make things easier. It didn’t. If anything, it made me more nervous, like the other shoe was going to drop at some point. But he couldn’t avoid me when Grace moved back to the U. This time, Grace invited me to come help her pack up and I did. Reverend Kil was cordial to me the whole time, but he didn’t say much aside from greeting me. But I was able to laugh and joke with Grace like it was old times until finally, her folks loaded up and headed for the Cities. And things were looking up at RFW as well. We had made $6,675 in August, bringing our accounts up to $73,549. And Grace and I had made a major decision: we were going to start charging for tickets again. We had almost cracked 300 for attendance. We knew we’d take a hit, but we wanted to build up our financial reserve some more because, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to get on WrestleWorld. We’d have to do some major upgrades to do this, but maybe, if we were bringing in ticket sales again, that would be enough to cushion the blow. And so, as the fall of 2021 started, I settled in for what I figured would be a normal run. James Diaz was establishing himself as the Son of the Monster and generating some heat with our fans. I had some ideas about where to take some of the other feuds. Little did I realize, an even bigger surprise was lurking right around the corner…

All In (August 2021) RFW All In Sunday of Week 2, August 2021 Held at the Civic Center in Rochester, MN (Mid West Region) 291 in attendance There was a tension in the air. At least, I felt it. I’m not sure if anyone else did. Freddie had gathered Charlie Corner, Pepper Pelton, and Jerry Pepper, taking them off to one side. I drifted past them and heard that he was trying to give tips to Charlie and Jerry on how to sell an opponent’s offense, while he was explaining the finer points of psychology to Pepper. They seemed fine, for the most part (although Charlie looked a bit in over his head). Then Fro came over to me and socked me on the arm. “This is your solution? You put Grace and Abigail in the ring together?” I rubbed the sore spot. “Abigail wanted it. And Grace agreed.” He stared at me, then snorted and walked off, muttering something about white people under his breath. Tamara found me next. Thankfully, she didn’t punch me, although from her expression, I suspected she wanted to. “Are they ready?” I asked. “As much as they can be,” she said. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” So did I. *** Martin and Curt welcomed the audience to the show. 1) JOHN “ACE” HART vs. JAMES DIAZ As I made my way to the ring, Martin reminded people about how James had made himself a nuisance recently. “And I think John Hart has taken that personally,” Martin said. “I suspect that he’s hoping to put an end to the James Diaz situation right now.” “Except this isn’t just anyone we’re talking about,” Curt countered. “James Diaz is the Son of the Monster. And he’s shown that he isn’t going to back down from anything. I wouldn’t count him out yet.” Once the two of us were in the ring, we tore into each other. Martin said that if we kept after each other like this, we’d wind up burning out in the first few minutes. Only neither of us could really put the other one down. At least, not for long. It was very clear that I was out to really punish James, and I spent some of the time shouting abuse at him as I tried to get him to stay down. But James remained silent, simply kicking out of pinning predicaments and firing back as he could. Out of nowhere, I hit the Ace of Harts and tried to pin him, but James kicked out not once, but twice. I hit another Ace of Harts on him and, while he was struggling to keep up, he managed to kick out again. I started getting more and more frustrated, which Martin said was stupid on my part. “Sending a message is one thing, but no one’s gonna get it if you lose the match, kid.” Finally, I managed to hit the Ace of Harts a third time. I staggered to James and tried to make the cover. Only he came back to life and caught me in the Asian Thumb Spike. I struggled to get free, but then I passed out. WINNER: James Diaz in 24:57 RATING: 47 2) While paramedics came out to retrieve me, James got on the mic. “You see what happens when you oppose the Son of the Monster? You see, Hart? This is my ring. This is my house. And Fro Sure? You’re next!” RATING: 19 3) SHERRY SMART vs. DUPLIKATE Ouch. This one hurt us. Sherry, on her way out to the ring, tried to tell the fortune of a few of the fans, but no one seemed all that interested in what she offered (or even her, really). The real problem was with DupliKate. Seeing as her gimmick is to copy the other person’s moves, that proved difficult since Sherry really doesn’t have that many of her own. It was mostly a bunch of awkward moves, with DupliKate imitating Sherry a second too late. In the end, Kate put Sherry down with a move Curt identified as the Cracked Mirror. WINNER: DupliKate in 11:34 RATING: 14 4) CHARLIE CORNER vs. ORIGINAL SINNER Charlie looked like he had taken some of Freddie’s advice to heart. He really did his best to sell Sinner as a powerhouse threat. Sinner, though, didn’t really live up to his side of hte match. He stumbled through a lot of it until Charlie put him down with a Corner Cutter. WINNER: Charlie Corner in 10:02 RATING: 24 5) Wild Red Stallion came out to the ring. He sheepishly admitted (in a somewhat hesitant, stumbling way) that he hadn’t had much luck going solo. So he thought he would try the tag scene again. Only not with Texas Hangman. Instead, he wanted to see how he did with Roger Monteiro. Roger came out to the ring and took the mic. He said he was honored to give this a shot with Stallion. He spoke of the connection they both had since they were both members of a First Nation (since Stallion is from the Lakota tribe and Roger is Ioway). He spoke of how they would show people what two men connected to their heritage would be able to do. RATING: 21 6) WILD RED STALLION & ROGER MONTIERO vs. THE SCOFIELD INDEX Unfortunately, Pepper didn’t really listen to Freddie (apparently). He was all over the place. But then, so were Roger and Stallion. As much as Roger tried to keep Stallion focused, it was still clear that Stallion had something to prove. He was clearly trying to show that he could handle this challenge on his own. He refused to tag in Roger a few times when he should have and, as a result, Jerry and Pepper were able to put him down with a Carolina Reaper, allowing Pepper to get the pin. WINNERS: The Scofield Index in 16:17 RATING: 31 7) PAPA SWOLL vs. QUENTIN QUEEN Martin reminded everyone that last month, Quentin shot off his mouth at Papa Swoll and, as a result, the two of them have a match tonight. This match proved to be similar to James’s and my match. Papa Swoll was clearly trying to teach Quentin some manners and, in the early going of the match, he managed to dominate Quentin pretty easily. He knocked him around the ring and laughed off the few times Quentin managed to rally and fight back. But Quentin reminded everyone why he had been our first champ. He managed to rally. Swoll tried to stop his offense with the Pounce, only to have Quentin duck it and then hit him with the Q-Ball. WINNER: Quentin Queen in 14:02 RATING: 38 8) Abigail Thompson came out to the ring with a mic. “Hello, everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Abigail Thompson. But I’m not surprised if you don’t know that. I believe the term most people would use for me is ‘curtain-jerker.’ Yeah, I get thrown into a match now and then, but can any of you remember what one of those matches are?” She waited, and while a few people shouted some suggestions, she laughed them off. “Okay, so some of you were paying attention. Thank you! But I’m not here in the RFW to just be remembered by a few people. By the end of tonight, I want people to remember my name. I want them to know who I am. And so tonight, I’m challenging Grace Kil for the RFW Championship. What do you say, Grace?” Much to my surprise, the crowd seemed to be behind Abigail. There was something about the way she talked to them and interacted with them. And the crowd only got hotter as Grace’s music hit. She came out to the ring entrance with a mic of her own. She studied Abigail before she said two words: “You’re on.” RATING: 57 9) GRACE “DIAMOND” KIL © vs. ABIGAIL THOMPSON for the RFW Women’s Championship What on earth? I mean, I could tell that Grace was doing a lot of work to carry this match and she really sold Abigail’s offense, but Abigail really stepped up her game as well. Much to my absolute shock, she actually took some risks, leaping off the top rope a few times to try to take Grace out. But as much as Martin cheered her on, as much as Curt grudgingly said that Abigail was proving herself, it was clear that Grace still deserved to hold the title. She managed to knock Abigail out of the air and then, before Abigail could recover, Grace slapped her in a figure four neck-lock. Abigail fought to get herself free, but Grace demanded that she tap out now. Abigail started to fade, so she tapped. WINNER: Grace “Diamond” Kil in 10:14 RATING: 54 10) FRO SURE © vs. DREADNOUGHT for the RFW Championship I think the crowd was a little burned out from the women’s championship. I mean, Fro did his best to get them pumped up with his entrance, but it was clear that the crowd was still trying to figure out what to call Grace’s submission move. Dreadnought came out, clearly focused on trying to take the champ out. And he did a pretty decent job knocking Fro around. But Fro managed to maintain control through most of the match, kicking out when he needed to and avoiding unnecessary showboating. In the end, he put Dreadnought down with a Sure Thing. WINNER: Fro Sure in 16:50 RATING: 48 11) Dreadnought rolled out of the ring and retreated up the ramp. Fro started his usual post-match celebration, but then James Diaz vaulted the security rail and took Fro down by sweeping his feet out from under him. Before the champ could react, James put him in the Asian Thumb Spike and held it until Fro passed out. RATING: 27 *** The locker room was buzzing when I made it back there. I called them together, and I congratulated James for being so intimidating. I tried to reassure Stallion that he was doing a good job too. And I heaped praise on Abigail for the way she cut her promo and how well she did with Grace. A few of the wrestlers complained, but I think most of it was good-natured. After I was done, though, Abigail walked over to Grace. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments before Grace spoke. “We good?” Grace asked. Abigail’s gaze narrowed, and then she laughed. “We are. Thanks for that.” “Anytime you need it.” The two of them hugged it out. I considered asking them what that was about, but decided against it. No way I wanted those two teaming up against me. FINAL RATING: 47 From RFW.com...

A New Fight Friday of Week 1, August 2021 Upside: Abigail and I were on good footing again. Not engaged, not heading there just yet, but we were solid and looking forward to another year at RCTC. Upside: Reverend Kil had indeed backed off. Grace called me more often, we were able to hang out a couple of times, and Mrs. Kil even had me over for dinner once. Granted, Reverend Kil was off at a church meeting, but it felt nice. Like old times. Downside: Now that the embargo had been lifted, Grace had the crazy idea that we should go on a double date together. Don’t get me wrong, Mark was fine. The guy’s a little too public with his affection sometimes, but nothing that made me worry for Grace or her safety. And the movie Grace picked was fine, a romcom so vanilla and generic I saw every plot twist coming from the first five minutes. But for some reason, although Abigail and I were fine, and Grace and I were fine, there was still a weird tension in the air all night. When we had dinner together, Mark did most of the talking, with Abigail and Grace interjecting comments once in a while. I tried to get the two of them to open up, talk to each other, but they didn’t. Even though we weren’t supposed to talk during the movie, I still felt the tension. And afterwards, when we all said goodnight to each other, I gave Grace a hug and Abigail even hugged Mark, but Grace and Abigail basically nodded at each other before we went our separate ways. I tried to get Abigail to talk as we walked back to my car, but she seemed lost in thought. I finally fell silent as well. As we drove back to Cassidy’s house, I worried that another fight was brewing. “Hey, John?” she finally said, an odd tone in her voice. “Yeah?” “Have you finalized the card for the next All In?” Weird question. “Not quite yet.” “Do I have a match?” “No.” “Does Grace?” “Not yet.” “Good.” She looked at me, a fire burning in her eyes. “Give me a title shot.” Okay… So a fight was brewing, just not with me.

Confrontation Saturday of Week 4, July 2021 I don’t know why I put this off for so long. Once Abigail and her family left, I had driven home, trying to work up my courage to finally have this talk. But when I made it home, I chickened out. At the time, I said it was because I was too emotionally wrung out to have another hard talk. But now, as I sat across the street from the Kil’s house, I knew the truth. I didn’t want to have this talk. I was too scared. Old fears, old threats, deeply ingrained in my mind, proved so hard to overcome. But I had to do this. I had waited too long. The walk to the front door felt like it lasted for miles. But it also felt like I stood at the door in the span of two heartbeats. I flexed my fingers, screwing up my courage, and rang the doorbell. After a heart-wrenching wait, the door opened and Mrs. Kil looked up at me in surprise. “John? What are you doing here?” I swallowed hard. “Is Reverend Kil here?” She stared at me and, for a moment, I wondered if she hadn’t understood me. But then she nodded slowly. “He’s in his study. Just a moment.” She stepped back inside. I took a shuddering breath and waited, although I did glance over my shoulder just to make sure I had a clear path to retreat if I had to. But before I could actually move, Mrs. Kil came back and motioned for me to come inside. I knew the way. When we were kids, Grace and I were forbidden from ever entering Reverend Kil’s study. Of course, that meant that we tried to sneak in as often as we could. When we were kids, Reverend Kil’s study felt like the lair of an evil wizard or some sort of supervillain. That feeling hadn’t gone away as I stepped through the door. Three of the walls were covered with full bookcases. He had a large wooden desk shoved up against one wall looking through the only window. The few empty spots on the walls were covered with religious paintings and icons. He was seated in a plush chair, a leather folder open in his lap and a pen in his hand. He set all of that aside and fixed me with a hard stare. “Hannah told me you wanted to speak with me, John. Please. Have a seat.” He motioned for a nearby chair. I settled into it. He studied me for a few moments. “I must say, I am disappointed you came over here,” he said. “I thought I had made my feelings about your continued…presence clear.” “You did, sir. But I’ve been thinking. So far, you’ve done all the talking. You haven’t given me the chance to speak. And doesn’t the Bible say something about being quick to listen and slow to speak?” His gaze narrowed. “It does indeed.” “And I’ve listened so far. I’ve listened to everything you have to say. But shouldn’t that go both ways?” He steepled his fingers, his head tipped to one side. “Very well. What’s on your mind?” I took a deep breath. “Sir, you’ve known me pretty much my whole life. And yes, I know that I haven’t always made the best decisions. And sometimes, those decisions have gotten Grace and me into trouble. But you have to believe me, I never intended for her to get hurt. And I definitely don’t want to hold her back. “But this is the thing, sir: I love your daughter.” He stiffened in his chair and his face twisted into a snarl. I quickly held up my hand to stop him from speaking. “Not like that. I love her like a sister. And I think she loves me the same way.” Once I said it, I regretted the phrasing, but I had to keep going. “I’ve tried to respect your wishes for the last year, sir. I really have. But it’s been killing me. It feels like you’ve torn out a part of my heart. “Now I can’t promise that I’ll never make dumb choices, sir. As a matter of fact, I’ve made some doozies lately. But I want to assure you: when it comes to Grace, I don’t want to ruin her future. I think she’s going to do some amazing things. I just want to be able to see it as her friend.” I leaned back in the chair and opened my hand. “Now I realize that I’m not your favorite person in the world. I have to be honest, while I understand some of your concerns, I think you’re overreacting. Tell me, what were her grades like this year?” He pursed his lips, but then said, “They were…adequate.” I fought to keep from smirking. I had learned how to decipher Reverend Kil’s way of thinking a long time ago. “Adequate” likely meant a 4.0 GPA. “I’m not going to derail that. I wouldn’t want to. All I’m asking is this: can you give me a chance to prove it?” The floor creaked behind me. I turned and saw that Mrs. Kil was lurking in the half-open doorway. Her eyes glistened and she offered me a small smile. Reverend Kil studied me, his face inscrutable. But then, finally, he nodded. “Very well, John. I appreciate your candor in speaking with me. And I also appreciate what you have said. I withdraw my objection to your friendship with my daughter. And I am…sorry for any pain I may have caused you.” Wait, had he just apologized to me? In all my years of knowing him, Reverend Kil had never done that for anyone. For a second, I wondered if I should press my luck, tell him about how amazing Grace was in the ring, invite him to our next show. Nah. That would be the height of stupidity, and I was pretty sure I had used up my fair share over the past few weeks. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to finish my preparations for tomorrow.” He picked up the folder and set to work again. It was a dismissal, but I didn’t care. I considered offering him my hand, but he had already turned his attention back to his work. Some other time. As I left the room, Mrs. Kil gave my arm a squeeze and then a pat on my back. I walked a little taller as I headed for the front door… …only to nearly collide with Grace and Mark. “Ace!” Grace said, her gaze shooting over my shoulder toward her dad’s study. “Wh-what are you doing here?” “Just got done having a chat with your dad,” I said. She stumbled back a step. “And?” “I think we’re good.” Her mouth popped open. I glanced at Mark. His expression was unreadable, but then he smiled and gently punched me on the arm. “Well, I don’t want to interrupt you two,” I said. “Call me later?” Grace nodded and I walked out of the Kil house, my head high. Now all I had to do was keep the RFW going, get ready for classes in the fall, and see how long I could keep things the same. But after talking to Reverend Kil, I figured all of that would be easy enough.

Aftershock Friday of Week 3, July 2021 Time had frozen. Abigail stared at me, her mouth open, her eyes wide. I held my breath and waited. Then she laughed. She stumbled forward and took the ring from my trembling hand and looked at it. She laughed again, a nervous giggle. “John…” She whispered. “No.” Now I was frozen. No? But…but that wasn’t what she was supposed to say! This had been step one of my plan: show my commitment to Abigail. Cut through my confusion and make the choice. The better choice. The right choice. So how could she say “No?” “But…I love you and—” She laughed and knelt down, touching my cheek. “And I love you too. But I’m not going to marry you.” “Why not?” “Because I’m nineteen. You’re only twenty! We’re too young to be talking about this right now.” She pressed the ring back into my hands. “Why would you do this in the first place?” “Well…we fought. We argued. And you said you were worried that I didn’t love you and I wanted to…” Oh, God, why was I crying? “I wanted to show you how much I love you and so I got this ring and I came out here and…” She laughed again and hugged me, kissed me. “You’re an idiot.” The words were harsh, but her tone was music. She rose and pulled me to my feet and steered me back toward her house. This time, though, she threaded our fingers together and squeezed my hand. “It was a fight, John,” she said. “I was…well, I’ll admit. I was jealous. I am jealous of Grace. I’ve only known you for a year now and I wish I had known you as long as she has. And you were so angry and I just kept feeling worse and worse…” “I should have been more sensitive to that,” I said. She shrugged. “Maybe. But how many times have you listened to me complain about my friends and never complained? Grace is your oldest friend. It’s…well, it’s a little weird to me, but if she’s important to you, then she’s important to me.” I kissed her. Unlike the last time we kissed, this time it felt right. Comforting. Like things were one step better in the world. As we approached her house, I spotted her parents and siblings working on loading their van. We lingered at the end of the driveway. I held up the ring again. “You sure you don’t want this?” Her eyes widened and she shoved my hand down, shooting a look toward her family. “Put that away right now. I love you, but if my dad saw you with that, he’d either shoot you or take you out for a beer.” “And your mom?” She smiled. “She’d probably spend our entire vacation crying. Look, I’m not saying ‘no’ forever. Just not right now. Hang on to the ring and…we’ll see. Just…don’t do anything stupid until I’m back from Wisconsin, okay?” I pocketed the ring and followed her up the driveway. Her dad roped me into carrying luggage out of the house so he could pack it in the back. We chatted as we worked. Abigail’s older brother, Mel, helped us, but he seemed content to let me “bond” with his dad. After about a half hour, we had everything squared away. Abigail’s dad shook my hand. Her mom hugged me. And Abigail gave me a kiss that caused Mel to hoot a little before she punched him in the arm. Then they pulled away and left me with a ring in my pocket and the harder conversation yet to come.

A Leap Tuesday of Week 3, July 2021 I knew I couldn’t keep going on like this. I couldn’t. For the previous two nights, ever since my talk with Fro, I couldn’t sleep. What he said kept ricocheting through my mind. As soon as I would start to drift off, I would picture Abigail. Or Grace. Or Mark. Or Reverend Kil. These living ghosts haunted the realm between sleep and wakefulness, needling me with memories. The way Abigail and I fought. The condescension whenever I saw Reverend Kil. My continuing unease around Mark. That strange twist in my stomach when I thought of him being with Grace. And the questions that Freddie had asked me, that Fro had peppered me with. What were my feelings? I flipped over in my bed, that question assaulting me. Memories bubbled through my mind: when Grace kissed me in middle school to see if we were something more. The strange disorientation I felt when we danced at prom. How good it felt to have her head on my shoulder while we discussed where she should go to college. But then there was Abigail. Remembering how bowled over I was the first time I saw her. How excited I had been when she found me at the prom. The delicious energy that shot through me the first time we kissed. The long talks we had about everything and nothing. The pain—her pain—that echoed in me even now when we fought. A sigh rattled through me. It really came down to my feelings for Grace. Did I love her? Freddie had asked me that a year ago. And now Fro had confronted me with the same question. The more I considered it, yeah, I did love Grace. Definitely as a friend. But was there more? Did I want there to be more? I don’t know how long I wrestled with those questions and feelings, but somewhere around three in the morning, I had an epiphany. The sudden clarity cut through the emotional noise. And I knew. I knew what I had to do. *** Friday of Week 3, July 2021 My palms were so sweaty, I was convinced that the steering wheel would slip through my hands. Well, that and the fact that I was severely sleep deprived didn’t help matters any. After that first horrible night, I had come up with a plan. A multistep plan, one that would hopefully set things right, bring some balance back to my life. Or, at the very least, pull me out of this weird emotional quagmire. But even with that plan in place, just the thought of carrying through with it had been enough to keep my nerves firing day and night. I pulled up to her house and parked across the street. I don’t know why I did. Maybe to give me a little buffer before I put my plan into motion. If I had pulled into the driveway, someone would have seen me, maybe come out to investigate. Here, I could pretend to be anonymous for a little while longer. Take a few deep breaths. Hope that I said the right things. Bracing myself since I knew I wouldn’t. One more breath, and I forced myself out of the car. Headed up the sidewalk to the porch. But as I approached, the front door opened. Her dad stepped through and paused when he saw me. “John? What are you doing here?” My mouth went dry, so I swallowed hard and said, “Good to see you, Mr. Thompson. Is Abigail here?” His smile faded, chased by confusion, but he nodded. “Uh, sure. I’ll go get her.” He stepped back inside and I stayed outside, rubbing my hands on my jeans. I knew I was doing the right thing, but that didn’t make this any easier. Somehow, it made it worse. My stomach felt like it was trying to crawl up my throat to escape. If Abigail’s dad hadn’t seen me, I probably would have chickened out. But I was committed now. Couldn’t back down. Then Abigail stepped onto the porch, her expression unreadable. “Hey.” I tried to speak, but it came out as an indistinct croak. “H-hey.” “What are you doing here, John? I mean, I’m…well, I’m glad to see you, but my family is going on vacation, remember? Leaving for the Dells for a week?” Oh, that was right. She had told me, but that had been before any of this broke loose. “I hope…” I swallowed again. “I don’t think this will take long. Can we…can we go for a walk?” She rubbed her arms as if cold, but she nodded once, sharply. “Let me tell my folks.” A few minutes later, we started down her street. We walked side by side, close but not too close. She must have sensed my unease and kept her distance. That was probably for the best. My thoughts had gotten all twisted into knots and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to say what I needed to say. “Look, John…” Abigail finally said. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that we fought. I was being jealous and petty and…” “No, you were right to be upset,” I said. “I haven’t been fair to you. At all. I was frustrated about…well, so much and I took it out on you and I shouldn’t have. That wasn’t fair to me and…I have to make things right.” She nodded, sniffled a little. “I think I understand.” “No, I don’t think you do.” I turned to her. “I’ve been thinking a lot about…well, Grace and me. And you and me. And how everything got so…so complicated. But a few nights ago, I came to a realization. I suddenly understood. And I know what I have to do.” Grace closed her eyes and nodded. “I wish you would have done this before I went on vacation, John.” “I couldn’t do it any earlier,” I said. She frowned, tipping her head at me. “What?” I took a deep breath, knelt down right there. And I pulled out the ring that had been jangling in my pocket the whole drive to Albert Lea. “Abigail Thompson, will you marry me?”

For Sure, Fro Sure Sunday of Week 2, July 2021 Fro wouldn’t let me escape, even after we left the Civic Center. Not that I tried that hard. I mean, when we got out of the locker room, I tried to make excuses, say that I was okay, and that we didn’t have to bother, but he wasn’t having it. He basically steered me to his car and drove us to a nearby Applebees. He ordered himself a beer and a lemonade for me. Once we had our drinks, he fixed his gaze on me. “All right, man. Spill. What’s going on?” I didn’t intend to share, but with that prompt, the story came spilling out: Grace hiding the RFW from her parents, her dad’s attempt to break up our friendship, the way we had drifted apart over the past year, my unease about her relationship with Mark, my jealousy over how Reverend Kil accepted Mark and continued to freeze me out. Fro listened to my rambling story quietly, taking only the occasional sip of his beer. Once I wrapped up my litany of complaints, Fro remained silent for a few minutes. He took a long drink of his beer. Then, with a sigh, he leaned back and said, “Okay, before we get into anything else, I have a couple of questions. You and Abi: you still together? You good?” “Yeah. Well…we did kinda have a fight the other day about all of this. But yeah, we’re still together.” At least, so far as I knew we were. We hadn’t really talked for two weeks, which was killing me. Fro’s gaze sharpened and he leaned forward. “Do you wanna be?” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Ace…c’mon, kid. Do I have to spell it out?” “Apparently.” He shook his head. “Are you in love with Grace?” My head snapped back as if I had been super kicked. “What? No!” “Are you sure?” “Why would you even ask that?” He laughed, and then ticked off the reasons on his fingers. “You’re upset that she still hasn’t told her parents about the company. You’re angry that her dad is, in your own words, trying to break you up. You’re freaking out because she was keeping secrets from you as well. You’re obviously jealous about her dating Mark. Why do you think Abi was so angry with you? She thinks you’re in love with Grace and, if I gotta be honest, so do I.” “That’s ridiculous.” “No, it’s not. These sorts of things happen all the time. Look, I’m still playing the field right now, but I gotta tell you, when I finally choose to settle down, I really hope she’s not just my wife and lover, but she’s my best friend also. You and Grace, you’ve been tight for so long, I think you two could be something amazing if you both wanted that. And I think that’s why Abi got so upset with you. Your words to her have been ‘I love you,’ but your actions and attitude are screaming something else. “And look, if you really aren’t in love with Grace, that’s fine. But if that’s the case, then you have to realize that there are going to be some new boundaries in your friendship that you have to accept. Her parents like Mark better than you? That’s probably good, because if Mark and Grace go the distance, he’ll be part of their family in a way you never could be. She doesn’t want to tell her folks about something or keep a secret from you? That’s her business.” I started to object to that last one and Fro held up a hand to cut me off. “I’m serious, man. Even if she was your woman, she wouldn’t be yours to control, right? Yeah, maybe keeping secrets aren’t the healthiest thing in a relationship, but are you expecting to approve everything she does in her free time? “I mean, suppose she catches the attention of Allen Packer? Or Steve DeColt? Some big promoter rolls up and throws a ton of money at her. You gonna forbid her from signing the contract and moving on to bigger things?” I bristled. “Of course not!” But even as I said the words, my stomach twisted. That could happen. Grace was easily one of the best wrestlers we had on the roster. Even better than me, turned out. We had been riding on her skills and popularity for the past year or so. While that was good for us, that also couldn’t last. Eventually Grace would get an offer from someone else and move on to a bigger promotion. “Look, I don’t wanna bust your chops on this, kid, but you gotta pull your head out of your ass. Near as I can tell, you’re playing both sides of this. Unintentionally, maybe, but all you’re doing right now is making yourself and Abi miserable. You gotta stop that right now and figure out if you’re lying to everyone, including yourself, about how you feel about Grace.” He studied my face for a few moments, then sighed. “Now I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. So I’m getting some appetizers or something. You hungry?” Not even a little bit. So I wound up sitting there, nursing my lemonade, as Fro chowed down on a burger and I wrestled with the question Fro had dropped on me.

All In (July 2021) RFW All In Sunday of Week 2, July 2021 Held at the Civic Center in Rochester, MN (Mid West Region) 262 in attendance 1) My entrance music hit and I strode out to the ring. I’ll admit, I would have hoped that the crowd would have been more on my side, but they seemed somewhat apathetic to seeing me. “Welcome to another All In, folks. You know, we keep getting requests to take this show on the road. Why not travel over to Wisconsin or maybe down to Iowa? Why not head over to Sturgis next month and put on a show for the bikers? Well, we’re not doing that. Why would we ever leave Rochester? We have the best fans right here.” That got a little more of a pop. Still not as big as I wanted. “Now most of you know that I’ve been here since day one. As a matter of face, Jack Pryde and I kicked off the RFW revolution right here in this ring. The first time that bell rang, I could feel it in my chest. I could feel the way my blood boiled within me. This was going to be something good. And you know what? That feeling has never left me. “I’ll admit, not everything has gone the way I planned. I had hoped that I would have won the RFW Championship in that first tournament, and that didn’t happen. When the RFW first opened our doors, we didn’t have womens wrestling and now…I mean, I know why you all came here tonight, right?” A few people started chanting Grace’s name. “That’s right. But in spite of those surprises, one thing has remained the same: every time that bell rings, my heart starts pumping. I feel that same excitement. And I’m bound and determined to give you all my best. Every time I’m in this ring, I promise you, I’m going to give it my all. “And I want to make good on that promise tonight. Now I’ve got no problem with Fro Sure as a person or as a champion. But a champ is only as good as his challenger and you know what? I’m feeling like seeing if our champ is up for this challenge. What do you say, Fro? You. Me. Tonight. Title on the line.” Fro’s entrance music hit and he came out to the ring entrance. He made some crying noises and pretended to swipe some tears from his eyes, but it was clear that he was teasing, not mocking. “Ace, man, what you said there. It moved me. It was just so…so…” He pretended to break down crying, then started laughing. “No, seriously, what you said makes sense. I think a lot of the guys in the back would agree with you. What we have here is something special and we want to give the fans the best show we can. “And you know what? I’ve been watching you, kid. I’ve seen the fire in your belly. I’ve seen the way you fight every time you’re in that ring. So let’s do this. Let’s see who the real champ of RFW is.” RATING: 55 2) PAPA SWOLL vs. MARK LATRELL Fro and I got out of the way so his tag partner could make his way to the ring. Papa sauntered down the entrance and spent some time glad-handing with the fans. He even stopped to take some selfies with a few of the front row fans. When Mark made his entrance, he strutted out to the ring, once again wearing a shirt that proclaimed himself “Mr. RFW.” He made it pretty clear from his attitude that he wasn’t about to pal around with the fans, although he did stop to take a selfie with one of the front row people. But then he stole the girl’s phone and tossed it away from her. As great as their entrances were, this match kind of dragged. It was clear that Papa was doing most of the heavy lifting while Mark struggled to keep up with him. Mark did his best to play up the fact that he was a cocky heel, overly confident in his ability and chances. He tried to pin Papa several times, but he was lazy about it and grew more and more frustrated each time Papa kicked out. Papa finally took control of the match, tossing Mark around the ring before finally putting him down with the Pounce. WINNER: Papa Swoll in 15:23 RATING: 28 3) Quentin Queen interrupted Papa Swoll’s post-match celebration. “Stop the music! Knock it off! Can you believe the garbage that Fro and Ace were spewing earlier. ‘Oh, it’s all about the fans.’ ‘It’s such an honor to wrestle you.’ I’m going to go into diabetic shock if those two keep that kind of garbage up. “Look, it’s this simple: everyone here is out for themselves. They want to prove that they’re the best. And Ace? We all know he isn’t, because I beat him for the championship in that tournament. As for Fro? He spends more time dancing than fighting. He doesn’t deserve that strap at all.” Papa Swoll got on the mic and cut him off. “Better watch what you’re saying there, Q man. Someone might take offense to it.” Quentin snorted. “Oh, please. You’re just as bad. Swoll, what’s your record here at RFW? You haven’t held any titles. You haven’t even come close. So until you have a few more tally marks in your W column, you’ve got nothing to say to me.” Swoll glared at him and then said, “Okay. If that’s the way you want it.” Swoll then dropped the mic and rushed the ring entrance. He caught Quentin by surprise and the two of them started brawling in the ring entrance area. Backstage folks rushed out and pulled the two of them apart so the show could continue. RATING: 42 4) SHERRY SMART vs. RUBY REECE Once again, Sherry came out with a few divination tools. She settled herself in the middle of the ring and started to do a reading to predict her future… Only to have Ruby Reece interrupt the proceedings and kickstart the match. Sherry struggled to keep up as Ruby knocked her around the ring. The crowd really ate it up for some reason, but it clearly wasn’t because of the action. Ruby finally put Sherry down with a Head Kick and got the pin. WINNER: Ruby Reece in 11:39 RATING: 29 5) Grace came out to the ring to a pretty good pop. I have to admit, I was a little jealous as she smiled and waved at the fans and then waited until they had settled down. “So tonight, I have a title defense against Talia Quinzel and you would think that I would be nervous. Talia’s a tough competitor and she’s making quite the name for herself all across the U.S. She is fierce, she is strong, she is something else entirely. “But I’m not worried. You know why? Because Talia’s just a glorified sidekick. Oh, sure, she’s beaten me once or twice, but not when it’s counted. I still have the women’s championship and this title isn’t going anywhere. “So Talia, let’s get this over with so I can put you down and show everyone why you’re not as big of a threat as you think you are.” RATING: 47 6) CHIP MARTIN vs. JAMES DIAZ James came out with fire in his eyes, but it was pretty clear that Chip didn’t see him as much of a threat. That changed once the bell rang. James was all over Chip and didn’t let up for a moment. James absolutely destroyed Chip, and Martin and Curt did their best to cover up for the face that these two just didn’t click at all. Chip managed to rally once or twice, but it really didn’t matter, because in the end, James got Chip down with an Asian Thumb Spike. WINNER: James Diaz in 14:54 RATING: 19 7) Garry the Entertainer came out with his ventriloquist puppet and started a quick routine. It basically consisted of Garry trying to figure out why Zippy turned on him when they had such a good thing going while the puppet resorted to increasingly vulgar insults about Zippy. While Garry tried to restrain the puppet at first, he eventually let the puppet do the talking, then shrugged, and said that Zippy should come out and face him. RATING: 23 8) GARRY THE ENTERTAINER vs. ZIPPY DEVERELL I asked Garry and Zippy to put on a comedy match and, according to Freddie, this was perfectly timed to give the crowd a breather. Problem was, it went on too long. Garry capered around the ring for a lot of it, clearly trying to prank and annoy Zippy as much as possible. The crowd enjoyed laughing at Zippy as Garry kept pulling prank after prank on him, but finally Zippy apparently had enough and launched a blistering assault that smashed through Garry’s defenses and finally put him down with a Spinning Bulldog. WINNER: Zippy Deverell in 11:23 RATING: 28 9) FLYING PATRIOT & ROGER MONTEIRO vs. DREADMASK © for the RFW Tag Team Championship This turned out to be a much better match than I anticipated. Patriot and Roger turned out to be a pretty decent combination, but the champs proved to be better. Once again, Masked Mauler was the MVP for the match, carrying his team to victory when he got Roger to tap with the Iron Claw. WINNERS: Dreadmask in 9:44 RATING: 35 10) GRACE “DIAMOND” KIL © vs. TALIA QUINZEL for the RFW Women’s Championship The crowd really popped when Grace returned to the ring. Grace took a page from Papa’s playbook and spent some time shaking hands and hugging fans at ringside. She even found a group of young girls who enthusiastically took a group selfie with her. Once Talia made her entrance, the match was on. It was pretty clear that Grace’s words earlier had lit a fire under Talia. She was particularly fierce, laying into Grace with a flurry of blows that actually took Grace off her feet. That gave Talia the advantage through the early part of the match. She spent several minutes just punishing Grace, ignoring opportunities to pin her. “That’s going to turn out to be a mistake,” Martin observed. “One thing I’ve learned about our women’s champ: you never count her out until she’s out. So long as this match is going, Talia’s in danger.” The challenger clearly didn’t feel that way. As Grace lay on the mat, trying to recover, Talia shouted some abuse at Grace’s fans. But then, when Talia finally started to pin Grace, Grace kicked out and started to rally. It was sloppy at first, as Grace clearly was trying to shake off the cobwebs from the beating. But the momentum quickly shifted to Grace and she started fighting back in earnest. Talia stopped messing around and tried to pin Grace repeatedly, but she could never get much past two. Finally, as Talia tried to set up a Spinal Trauma, Grace blocked the attempt and turned it into a Diamond’s Edge. WINNER: Grace “Diamond” Kil in 19:47 RATING: 52 11) FRO SURE © vs. JOHN “ACE” HART for the RFW Championship The crowd was still pretty hot as Fro and I went out to the ring. Once again, Fro took his time to get to the ring, stopping to dance with some of the fans at ringside. One of them pointed to me in the ring, so Fro laughed and got into the ring with me. He waved off referee Parker Terry and motioned for me to show off my dance moves. I did my best, I really did. But it was pretty clear that I’ve got no moves when it comes to the dance floor. The crowd hooted at me and Fro laughed good-naturedly. He showed off a bit more, then handed the title out of the ring and motioned for the match to start. We put on a pretty good show, if I do say so myself. Martin hyped up the fact that you could tell that we really respected each other as competitors. At one point, I nearly got a pin on Fro. He broke the attempt and rolled out of the ring, then smiled and applauded for me. A few minutes later, Fro almost pinned me and so I did the same for him. In the end, we had battered each other pretty good and you could tell that we were both struggling to keep fighting. I managed to hit an Ace of Harts on Fro and I tried to make the pin. He kicked out and clambered to his feet. I tried to hit him with the Ace of Harts again, only to have him hit me with the Sure Thing for the pin. WINNER: Fro Sure in 15:22 RATING: 55 12) As soon as he was declared the winner, rather than start a celebration, Fro came over and offered me his hand. I took it and he helped me up. I lifted his hand in victory and he gave me a hug. Then we started a celebration of our own. Fro showed off his dance moves and even encouraged me to try again. The results were laughable. But then James Diaz charged the ring, carrying a baseball bat. He went after Fro first, taking out the champ’s legs and them pounding on him for a bit. When I tried to fight back, he hit me in the gut and then clubbed me over the back. He then took turns smashing Fro and me before he tossed down the bat, glared at the crowd, and rolled out of the ring again. RATING: 34 *** Afterwards, I gathered the locker room together and gave props to Grace and Talia for their excellent match, and I thanked Fro for the good back and forth with me, both in our promo and our match together. I spoke a few more words about how appreciative I was for everyone’s efforts and then we set about cleaning stuff up and heading home. But before he left, Fro grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. “Hey, Ace, I’m not trying to be nosy here, but…is everything okay between you and Abi?” I stared at him blankly for a bit. “What? Why would you ask that?” “Well…she’s not here.” “I didn’t book her for tonight.” “Yeah, but even on nights when she’s not in the ring, she usually comes here to hang out with us. But she’s not here tonight. Everything okay with you two, man?” I tried to keep it together, but I think I must have failed. My eyes started burning and my throat constricted. Was I going to cry? That was stupid! I hadn’t cried in front of other people for… I couldn’t even remember the last time. He looked around the locker room and ushered me to one corner. “Hey, it’s all right. Tell you what. Why don’t we get finished up here and we’ll go out and talk about it, okay?” I wanted to turn him down, but the words wouldn’t come out. So I nodded. Fro quickly packed up his stuff, put his arm around my shoulders, and walked me out of the locker room. The last thing I saw as the door shut was Grace watching us leave, a concerned look on her face. FINAL RATING: 52 Quick Results:

Hitting the Fan Wednesday of Week 4, June 2021 “So have you heard anything from him?” Abigail asked. “At all?” I sighed and shook my head. She made a soft, comforting sound and rubbed my shoulder. If I was really honest, it felt a little…silly. Here I had hoped that, with Grace moving back home, somehow Reverend Kil would change his opinion about me. Maybe relax his ban on us seeing each other. And when he learned that Grace was dating Mark, I was sure that my friendship would look better by comparison. But that hadn’t happened. Grace and I were still able to text each other once in a while. And we had been able to spend the last show together. But that had been it. I was still persona non grata to the Kil family and that wasn’t about to change anytime soon. I had known that Grace and my relationship would have to change at some point. How could it not? But I didn’t want it to be like this. It didn’t help that Abigail had moved home for the summer as well. She had tried to convince her parents to let her stay in Rochester but they didn’t like that idea at all. The fact that Cassidy had moved home probably factored into that, but still. Suddenly we had gone from seeing each other almost every day to resorting to phone calls or Facetime or texts. It just wasn’t the same. When she drove out here from Albert Lea, I should have been ecstatic. But for some reason, I was in a funk and just couldn’t pull myself out of it. Part of it was related to our finances. Oh, sure, we had made almost $1,800 this month, bringing our account to almost $62,000. And in some ways, we were making some good progress. As angry as Big Smack Scott had been at losing to James, I thought it worked out pretty well. We did have to pay Scott $1,600 for the appearance, but I figured that was money well spent to start building James as the Son of the Monster. But in some ways, it felt like the RFW had stalled out. Sure, we were gaining a little bit of momentum every month, what with the audience for our shows growing in dribs and drabs. But I felt like we should have grown faster. I did have a way to maybe accelerate our growth. The other day, a rep from WrestleWorld got in touch with me about putting our shows on their broadcast service. That would allow people all over the U.S. and Canada to be able to see our shows. Only we had some major hurdles to clear first. We weren’t quite popular enough yet. And we’d need to upgrade pretty much everything: our production values, our broadcast quality, and our music. While I couldn’t say for certain, I was pretty sure that would eat through our profit margin pretty quickly. Would that be worth it? We had a bit of a warchest we could— Abigail nudged me. “John? You with me?” I shook my head and smiled at her. At least, I tried to. I think I could only muster an anemic grin. “Sorry. Just…a lot on my mind.” “More stuff with Grace?” she asked. I shrugged. “Some of it.” She fell silent. Then she cleared her throat. “Maybe…maybe you two not spending time together isn’t such a bad thing.” My head snapped around. “What?” She sighed. “Look, I love Grace. She is a sweetheart and I always have a blast with her in the locker room. But sometimes I wonder, John. Are you dating me or her?” I gaped at her. What did that mean? “I mean, I moved back home a few weeks ago and it seems like all we talk about anymore is how you can’t talk to Grace, how you can’t see her, how unfair that is.” She wouldn’t look at me. “So who have you missed more this month? Her or me?” “That’s ridiculous! I’ve missed you a lot,” I said. “You have a funny way of showing it. I drove an hour to see you, and yet all you’ve done is mope and whine about Grace. What am I supposed to think?” “Look, I’m sorry if I’m not feeling all that great tonight, but—” “This isn’t just ‘not feeling great,’” Abigail said. “Do you want to even be with me anymore?” “How can you ask that? I love you!” “And I love you too.” Tears glistened in Abigail’s eyes. “But I really don’t know if you feel the same way.” “I do!” I touched the necklace I had given her on Valentine’s Day. “I love you as much as ever.” She didn’t buy it. What should have been a fun evening together turned into a hard talk about our relationship and our future. I don’t think either of us enjoyed it. I know I didn’t. At the end of the evening, we kissed good night, but it felt hollow. Something we did out of habit more than anything. And when she left, I felt even worse than when the night started.

Yeah, my skills with PowerPoint are unmatched. LOL!

Okay, so this is what I came up with... I put together these galleries of anyone who's been in a ring. No pictures of Reverend Kil, for example. I tried to group the tag teams together.

Hey, quick question for everyone: When I started this diary, I basically resurrected my style from my previous diaries with a few minor tweaks (mostly due to forgetfulness on my part). I know that there's a wide variety of diary styles right now, and while I can't switch to some of the more labor intensive styles, are there any tweaks that would make this a better read? I'm thinking mostly in the way I present the shows. I can't promise I'll make changes, but I'm curious if it's working still. Thanks!

RFW All In Sunday of Week 2, June 2022 Held at the Civic Center in Rochester, MN (Mid West Territory) 249 in attendance Martin and Curt welcome the audience to the show. 1) Once again, Grace’s entrance music kicked off the show for us. She came out to the ring and played to the crowd. “It is so good to see all of you again tonight. I love being home in Rochester, and I love all of you. “But you know what I love just a little bit more?” One of the fans shouted a marriage proposal to her. Grace laughed it off. “Hey, buy me dinner first. And no, that wasn’t an offer. Because here’s what I love: being your women’s champion. I can’t tell you how long I dreamed of being able to do this. Because for years, I looked up to women wrestlers. Belle Bryden. Alicia Strong. Vixxen. All of them. I wanted to be like them. I wanted to show that I could go toe-to-toe with anyone in the squared circle. And now, I get that chance every month here at RFW. “And all of you make it worth it. All of you—” Unfamiliar entrance music interrupted her and a towering woman stepped out to ringside. Martin shouted that this was Ruby Reece, a six foot tall dynamo who came up in the old AAA promotion. Ruby sneered at the crowd for a bit before she got on the mic herself. “Oh, please. I’ve heard all of this crap before. ‘It’s such an honor.’ ‘I do it for all of you.’ ‘You’re the real champions!’ What a load of garbage! “Here’s the nasty truth: honor doesn’t matter. The opinion of the fans doesn’t matter. All that matters is if you can go in the ring. And I’ll be honest, Kil, I’ve seen some of your matches. And you know what? You’ve been lucky. You’ve been lucky that a serious competitor wasn’t here. But I’m here now. So what do you say? You and me. Tonight. Title on the line.” Grace smiled, a feral snarl. “You’re on.” RATING: 40 2) JOHN “ACE” HART vs. DUSTIN DEUCE Dustin and I kicked off the show with a pretty decent match, all things considered. I think the crowd was already pretty psyched from Grace’s back-and-forth with Ruby. I left this one up completely to Freddie. He had us in a pretty decent match where Dustin took early control. I tried to fight back and, for a while, it looked like I might pull through. But then Dustin regained his momentum and finally put me down with the Deuces are Wild. WINNER: Dustin Deuce in 14:25 RATING: 45 3) ABIGAIL THOMPSON vs. SHERRY SMART vs. SELINA SVELTE vs. TALIA QUINZEL Martin explained that this match was originally booked to determine who would face Grace for her title next month, but maybe it would be to see who would face Ruby next month instead. Three of the competitors did okay, but it was pretty clear that Abigail was feeling the pressure. Curt tried to explain it away by saying that it was because Abigail was “flying too close to the sun” so soon in her career. But she proved to be kind of the weak link in the match until Talia put her down and pinned her with a Spinal Trauma. WINNER: Talia Quinzel in 23:47 RATING: 36 4) GARRY THE ENTERTAINER vs. CASSIDY BLAINE Cassidy came out to the ring, looking like he was ready to tear someone in half. He jawed at the crowd a little and tried to rile them up and get them booing him. He didn’t exactly succeed. But then Garry came out, wearing a pair of oversized pants held up by a suspender with a colorful fake flower on one suspender. He clambered into the ring and did a few somersaults and cartwheels before capering over to Cassidy. He stuck out his hand to shake and, when Cassidy tried to do so, squirted him in the face with the flower. Cassidy didn’t appreciate the humor and attacked Garry before the bell could actually ring. Cassidy rained down blows as Garry tried to not only defend himself, but get out of his clown pants as well. But once Garry got free of the pants, he brought the fight to Cassidy. The two exchanged blows throughout the ring. While Cassidy tried to stay focused, Garry continued to tweak and poke at him, encouraging the crowd to laugh as Cassidy got more and more frustrated. Just as Garry was setting Cassidy up for a fall, though, Zippy Deverell rushed in and tripped Garry up while referee Parker Terry’s back was turned. Cassidy quickly took advantage and rolled Garry up into a small package. WINNER: Cassidy Blaine in 9:51 RATING: 36 5) THE SCOFIELD INDEX vs. DREADMASK © for the RFW Tag Team Championship The champs really looked dangerous in this match, especially Masked Mauler. It’s pretty clear that he’s the powerhouse of Dreadmask and he really took the fight to Jerry and Pepper. In the end, he hit Jerry with a Piledriver and got the pin. WINNERS: Dreadmask in 13:20 RATING: 35 6) Much to the audience’s surprise, veteran wrestler Big Smack Scott strutted out to the ring. He waved and blew some kisses to the fans, not all of whom seemed all that excited to see him. “Hello, all you beautiful people!” Scott said. “I know what you’re thinking: what is Big Smack Scott doing at RFW? Well, I gotta tell you, I’ve been hearing some great things about Royal Flush Wrestling. This is supposed to be a hot, up-and-coming promotion, right? Well, how can you be hot and up-and-coming with Big Smack Scott? “So that’s why I’m here. I’m here to take control of the ship. I’m here to take the RFW Championship from that clown, Fro Sure, and then I’ll lead RFW to glory. I’ll—” That’s as far as he got. James Diaz rushed the ring and slammed into Scott, beating him down. James was followed by referee Quincy Jargon and the bell rang. Apparently we were going to have a match! RATING: 37 for the challenge; 24 for the attack 7) BIG SMACK SCOTT vs. JAMES DIAZ Scott took a lot of abuse in the opening moments of the match, and part of that was because he was still in his civvies. But James took care of some of that, tearing him out of his jacket and shirt. Scott eventually rallied and tried to fight back, but it was really no use. James knocked him around the ring for several minutes before he put him down with the Asian Thumb Spike. WINNER: James Diaz in 8:01 RATING: 37 😎 GRACE “DIAMOND” KIL © vs. RUBY REECE for the RFW Women’s Championship Martin wondered how Grace was going to handle this challenge. “Ruby Reece towers over Grace, which means she has superior reach on her.” “But her center of gravity is higher than Grace’s as well,” Curt pointed out. “I wouldn’t count our champ out just yet.” In the early moments, Ruby mocked Grace for being that much shorter than her. She even did the whole hold her back by her forehead thing. Ruby laughed at her, until Grace threw herself into the ropes and used the momentum to take the taller woman down. The crowd really got into it. It was pretty clear that Ruby was going to rely on power to try to put Grace down and, in some ways, was stronger than Grace. So Grace switched up her offense and relied on speed, hitting Ruby and then dancing out of her range. In the end, Grace was able to dodge Ruby’s Head Kick finisher and then caught her in a Diamond’s Edge. WINNER: Grace “Diamond” Kil in 12:27 RATING: 50 9) Fro Sure made his way out to the ring and got on the mic. “You know, I’m kind of upset at James Diaz right now. Big Smack Scott comes to town and wants to mix it up with little old me? That would have been a fun match, right?” The crowd didn’t seem quite as sure about that pronouncement, but Fro Sure took it in stride. “But I guess that means that my dance card’s empty tonight. No big deal, though! So long as we have some time, Mr. DJ, hit my music and let’s see which one of you has what it takes to unseat me as the RFW Dance Champion!” While Curt and Martin debated whether or not Fro could just name himself the Dance Champion of RFW, Fro got a couple of people out of the audience and into the ring to start a dance contest with them. But as a few of our fans showed off their moves, suddenly the dance mix was interrupted by Quentin Queen’s entrance music. Quentin stormed out to the ring. Fro quickly got the fans out of the way as Quentin got in his face. “This? This is how you spend your time? Big Smack Scott was right! RFW needs a new champion, one who understands how important it is to be champ.” “And I suppose that’s you? Q-Man, we’ve been there and done that. If we had them, I bet some fans would have the t-shirt. Why don’t you just head on back to the lockerroom and let us have our fun out here.” Quentin hauled off and slapped Fro. Fro stood in the middle of the ring for a second before rubbing his jaw. He then threw down the belt and slapped Quentin right back. And with that, a title defense was on! RATING: 40 10) FRO SURE © vs. QUENTIN QUEEN for the RFW Championship The audience really got into this one as well. While a lot of the fans were obviously siding with Fro, we had some Quentin Queen fans shouting for the challenger to get the title back as well. The momentum see-sawed back and forth. Quentin even managed to hit Fro with the Q-Ball and made a pin that lasted “two-and-three-quarters.” But then, a wobbling Fro managed to catch Quentin with a Sure Thing. WINNER: Fro Sure in 14:59 RATING: 47 *** I gathered the workers together. I thanked Talia, Quentin, and Dustin for their hard work. And then we set to work cleaning stuff up. FINAL RATING: 45 Quick Results:

Monday of Week 1, June 2021 I should have stayed away. Logically, I knew I should. Just because we ran into each other three months ago, just because we had acted all friendly, that didn’t mean things were fine between us. There was no truce. There was no new understanding. And yet, even though I knew all of this in my head, when the day finally came, I decided to risk it and head over to her house anyway. I arrived at Grace’s house just as she and Mark pulled up. Mark gave me a huge pat on the back like we were old buddies, but Grace shot me a worried look. She likely had the same thoughts I did: I was supposed to stay away from her. Fade into the background. That had nearly happened over the past few months and we were determined to make sure it didn’t happen again. So on the one hand, it was good for me to be there. It was a first step for us back to normal. But at the same time… Poking a bear was never a good idea, especially in its own cave. “You ready for this?” Grace whispered. “The better question is, is Mark?” I whispered back. “Do your parents…know?” Her mouth pursed into a thin line and she shook her head. “So far as they’re concerned, Mark is just a friend from here who happens to attend the U with me.” I glanced at Mark. He had already started pulling some of Grace’s boxes out of the back of his car, stacking them on the sidewalk. He paused long enough to shoot Grace a particularly smitten look. It actually took me by surprise. I would never have expected such a human expression from Mark Latrell. “Does he know that’s the story?” I asked. “I made it as clear to him as I could.” She offered him a shaky smile and a tiny wave. The door to her house opened with a bang and I jumped as if it had been a gunshot. Mrs. Kil hustled onto the front porch. Her face lit up and she waved. “Grace! Welcome home!” She hurried down the front steps and enveloped Grace in a huge hug. She turned and snared me in the hug as well. I thought about resisting, but when Mrs. Kil is hugging, she’s a force of nature you can’t ignore. And you know, it felt good. Like Grace and I had stepped back in time to when we were younger, when life wasn’t nearly so complicated. Back when Grace and I were friends and that was it. “Hannah!” Reverend Kil barked from the front door. Mrs. Kil gave me one more squeeze and then released me. She turned to Mark. “And who is this?” “Mark Latrell, Mrs. Kil. Good to see you again.” Mark strode forward, his hand extended. “Again? We’ve met?” Mrs. Kil shook his hand. “I went to school with John and Grace,” Mark said. “Graduated the same year. Now Grace and I attend the U together and—” Reverend Kil snapped something in Korean. Mrs. Kil retreated back up into the house. Grace had frozen and Mark looked petrified. I braced myself for what I knew was coming. Sure enough, Reverend Kil stalked down the stairs. He glared first at Mark, then hit me with a withering stare that could have stripped paint off my car. “Grace, when you said you were moving back home today, you didn’t say you would have help.” Reverend Kil’s voice carried an accusatory tone. “I…that is…” Grace shot a desperate look at me. My mind raced. Yes, she had invited me to come help in the hopes that we could bury the metaphorical hatchet, but from Reverend Kil’s attitude, he was looking to do so with a real one. What could I say? He’d see my presence here as an affront, a deliberate provocation, and— Mark strode forward, his hand outstretched. “Reverend Kil, I’m Mark Latrell. I’m sorry that we’re meeting like this, but I’m a friend of your daughter’s from college.” Reverend Kil regarded Mark’s hand like it was toxic. "Oh? Why has she never mentioned you before?” Mark seemed to chew on Reverend Kil’s words for a moment before he stood up a little taller. “Because she was worried about how you would react when you heard the truth.” Grace’s eyes widened and she started to say something, but Mark held up a hand to cut her off. I took a step forward, but Mark shook his head. “Excuse me?” Reverend Kil asked, his tone icy. “Reverend Kil…Grace and I have been dating for the past couple of months. She’s been nervous to tell you about this because…well, you’re just a little bit intimidating. Which I respect, by the way. A man has to stand up for himself and his family.” Reverend Kil’s face twisted into a frown. I suspected he was about to unleash the wrath of God on all of us, maybe the whole block just to be sure. “But here’s the thing: I really care about your daughter, sir. She means the world to me. And I personally believe that if you care deeply about someone or something, you shouldn’t hide it. You shouldn’t lie about it. That’s why I want to be honest with you.” “I see.” Reverend Kil tipped his head back as if he wanted to study this odd specimen from a new angle. “So tell me, young man. What are your intentions toward my daughter?” Mark chuckled. “If you’re asking if we’ll be heading down the aisle anytime soon…well, no sir, we’re not. We’re both too young to be thinking about that right now. Instead, we’re just enjoying each other’s company, getting to know each other better, and seeing where this might take us. That’s all.” Much to my shock, Reverend Kil nodded thoughtfully. “I appreciate your forthright attitude, young man.” “Mark, sir.” He held out his hand again. Reverend Kil shook it, then motioned toward the house. “Hannah was just about to start lunch. Would you care to join us?” I gaped at him and then looked to Grace. She seemed just as shocked, but she quickly covered it up with a smile. “What about John, Daddy?” He turned to glare at me, almost as if he hadn’t noticed I was there at all. “He may help you carry in your things, but then I’m sure he has his own girlfriend to attend to, yes?” That sounded like a perfectly reasonable suggestion, but I could easily smell the dismissal. I considered arguing, but Reverend Kil had already turned away and was ushering Mark into their house. I sighed and went over to the pile of boxes and picked some of them up. Grace joined me. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’ll work on him.” I almost laughed. Why bother? It was clear that, so far as Reverend Kil was concerned, I had been replaced. And I wasn’t sure which hurt more: that it was Mark Latrell that did it or that Grace seemed fine with the whole thing.

Thursday of Week 4, May 2021 “Glenn, this design is amazing!” Even though I couldn’t see Glenn, I was willing to bet he was blushing. “You really think so? My professor thought it was too over the top…” “No, that’s why it works!” I said. Glenn was taking a graphic design course in college and, for his final project, had decided to do a whole bunch of concept art for RFW. He had spruced up our logo (which, admittedly, needed it since I had cobbled it together on my own). He had designed covers for DVDs so we could start selling our old shows at events. But by far, the best thing he had created was a t-shirt for the company. There was a wrestling ring with a giant hand in the middle of it. The hand held a royal flush, but instead of the usual face cards, there were silhouettes of male and female wrestlers. And surrounding the ring were piles of poker chips. “I’m going to start putting these on shirts immediately, if you don’t mind.” "Go for it.” Glenn hesitated. “Hey, Ace, I gotta go. But thanks, man. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.” “Likewise. See you soon, okay?” I hung up and then went back to the accounting software. I deliberately didn’t do my usual ritual, if only for my own peace of mind that I wasn’t turning superstitious. Thankfully, things still turned out okay. We had made $2,792 in May, bringing our warchest to $60,056. Our wages had dropped thankfully, and we had finished upgrading our merchandising. I was tempted to start the process again and keep pushing that, but I realized that might be pressing our luck. Once I was satisfied with the numbers, I set to work crafting a memo for everyone in the company. Tamara had suggested that I start doing this just to keep everyone up-to-date on what was happening. I explained what our financial situation looked like. I also broke the news that I had released Marie Punnen from her contract. It wasn’t due to a bad attitude or anything like that. Marie also wrestled for QAW. For the past couple of months, QAW had held their events the same night as ours, and Marie had prioritized them over us. Understandable, but still. I also tried to write some encouragement. I had heard some rumblings that both Talia Quinzel and Quentin Queen were irritated with me. I couldn’t figure Talia out, but Quentin made sense. He hadn’t been at the last show at all. As a former champ, he probably took that personally. I also broke some unfortunate news. I had done some looking at joining the Confederation of the Territories. I figured it would be good for us to make nice with the other smaller promotions. But for whatever reason, they wouldn’t talk to us and, as near as I could tell, it was because of Phoenix I at OLLIE. He had blocked us for some reason. Weird. I wrapped up the memo and attached Glenn’s new shirt design. Once it was sent, I leaned back in my chair and took a deep breath. Summer was almost upon us. And I couldn’t wait to see what came with that.

RFW All In Sunday of Week 2, May 2021 Held at the Civic Center in Rochester, MN (Mid West Territory) 237 in attendance Before the show started, I pulled Fro aside and asked him about the independent shows. He was really enthusiastic about it all until I casually mentioned that I might want to check that out. He said that, as an owner/booker, I probably wouldn’t be welcome at the shows. Which seemed really unfair to me, since Grace was able to compete, but hey, he wasn’t the one making the rules, so what could we do? *** Martin and Curt welcomed the audience to the show. 1) Everything kicked off with Grace’s entrance music. The crowd went as wild as two hundred-some odd people could get as she made her way to the ring. Once in the ring, she lifted the belt over her head and went from post to post, trying to rile up the crowd even more. “It is so good to be here in Rochester as your new RFW Women’s Champion!” she crowed, then waited for the crowd to simmer down again. “I want to thank all of you for your support. Some of you have been with us from day one and it means so much to me that—” Her speech was cut off by Selina Svelte and Talia Quinzel. Selina waited for the crowd to settle down as well before she tore into Grace: “Get over yourself, Kil. No one’s that impressed. So you’re champ. Big deal. Anyone can be lucky one night. But to hold on to the belt? That will take a whole lot more than what you have, little girl. “See, here’s the thing: I don’t think you realize how isolated you are in the locker room. Oh, everyone’s nice and polite to your face, but you’ve wound up burning a lot of bridges without even knowing it. You’ve got no one to watch your back when you need it, and we’re going to prove it.” Talia took the mic. “Because Selina and I are a team. We’re the Uprising! I’ve got her back, and she’s got mine. We’re in this together and we’ve got our sites set square on you.” “So here’s what you’re gonna do,” Selina added. “Take your little bow, then go backstage and polish up that trophy and take a few pictures of it. Because when we’re done with you, you’re not going to be able to hold on to it for long. “Oh, and if you can, try to find a partner for later on tonight. Because you have an Uprising to quell.” RATING: 39 2) THE HOT TAGGS vs. DREADMASK © for the RFW Tag Team Championship A surprisingly good match, but that was thanks to the hard work of Masked Mauler. He really stepped up his game and made it clear that he was the true threat of Dreadmask. I mean, Dreadnought did okay and he definitely looked better in the ring than Kalder. But Masked Mauler actually made me sit up and take notice in the backstage area. I realized that maybe I had done him a disservice by throwing him in a tag team just because both guys wore masks. As I contemplated what to do about this, Dreadnought hit Kalder with an Onrushing Terror and then got the pin. WINNERS: Dreadmask in 12:20 RATING: 35 3) The tag champs got on the mic and boasted about how the RFW should feel relieved that a true tag team had claimed the straps. “Not a pair of clowns,” Dreadnought said. “Not two guys who have the same name,” Masked Mauler added. “Not two hicks from Idaho,” Dreadnought said. Masked Mauler shook his head. “Montana.” “Like it matters.” Dreadnought held up the gold. “We are the greatest in the RFW. And this gold isn’t going anywhere.” RATING: 24 4) WILD RED STALLION vs. PEPPER PELTON Curt and Martin really tried to play up the idea that Stallion was still trying to prove himself as a solo wrestler. “Sometimes a man has to walk a thousand miles before he really understands himself,” Martin opined. “And sometimes, a man has to realize he’s just wasting his time. Ours too,” Curt countered. I wish I didn’t agree, but I kind of did. This match really brought a hot start to crashing halt. The wrestling wasn’t all that great and the match kind of dragged in the middle. It was pretty clear that Stallion was trying to put Pepper down quickly, but Pepper seemed just as determined not to lose either. “Probably still smarting from losing the tag titles,” Martin suggested. In the end, Pepper proved the better competitor by putting Stallion down with a Fisherman’s Suplex. WINNER: Pepper Pelton in 13:29 RATING: 18 5) Stallion looked absolutely devastated, slumped in one corner of the ring. Even when referee Parker Terry tried to get him to leave, he wouldn’t budge or even acknowledge that Parker was there. Texas Hangman finally came out to the ring without his entrance music or any fanfare. He clambered into the ring and knelt down next to Stallion, whispering something to him and trying to coax him out of the ring. Stallion finally shoved him away and then stalked out of the room. RATING: 29 6) TEXAS HANGMAN vs. MARK LATRELL Hangman waited for Mark to come out to the ring. Mark strutted out there, doing finger guns at the crowd. He was wearing one of our new RFW t-shirts and had apparently decided to scribble the word “MR.” above our logo. I hope he had paid for the shirt. We really couldn’t afford to give those away. The match itself was okay. If you knew what you were watching for, you could tell that Hangman was taking it easy on Mark, who was still getting a feel for things in the ring. But Hangman did a decent job of selling Mark’s offense. Things see-sawed back and forth before Hangman ducked an attack by Mark and swiftly caught him by the neck. But before Hangman could Choke Slam Mark, James Diaz hit the ring with a baseball bat. He clubbed Hangman in the knee, sending the big guy tumbling down. Mark seemed excited about this until James smashed him over the head with the bat. Referee Quincy Jones called for the bell and ended the match, but when James threatened him, he bailed. WINNER: No one (Draw) in 14:17 RATING: 29 7) James spent a few moments hitting both men with the bat before tossing it aside and getting a mic. “I am sick and tired of sitting backstage with nobody giving me the respect I deserve,” he said. “Don’t you morons know who I am? I am the Son of the Monster. My father, Raymond Diaz, is a god in Japan. And I’m already seen as the Second Coming. These fools at the RFW don’t understand what they have in me, so I’m going to show them why they should never have underestimated me and why they definitely shouldn’t have left me on a shelf!” I came out to the ring with a mic of my own. “James, you’re an excellent competitor, I’ll give you that. But you have to dial it back a little, man. If you’re that great, the way you prove it is by winning in the ring when it counts, not messing up someone else’s match.” “I don’t need advice from you,” James shot back. “What I need is a victim. So if you’re so sure I’m not a big deal, get in here and prove it!” RATING: 25 8. JOHN “ACE” HART vs. JAMES DIAZ There was something about wrestling James that just clicked for me. I don’t know what it was. I could read his intentions about five moves ahead and I think the same was true for him too. We just got each other as competitors. And the crowd seemed to pick up on that too. We put together a really sweet match. I focused on trying to put James down quickly and early while James was clearly determined to hurt me as much as possible. I tried several times to put James away with an Ace of Harts, only to have him duck and dodge the attempts. In the end, James blocked another Ace of Harts and then hit me with the Asian Thumb Spike, putting me down and pinning me. WINNER: James Diaz in 12:32 RATING: 43 9) GRACE “DIAMOND” KIL & SABRINA WELLS vs. THE UPRISING Apparently Grace had convinced Sabrina Wells to join her in the ring. I wouldn’t say they were besties or anything. Sabrina seemed mostly focused on getting her hands on Selina. “Which makes sense, if you think about it,” Martin said. “Two months ago, Selina attacked Sabrina and stole her spot in the tournament for Grace’s title. If that hadn’t happened, there’s every possibility that Sabrina would have the belt tonight.” Curt tried to blame Sabrina’s anger at Selina for her performance int he ring. She was really struggling, but Grace looked every inch a champion. And the Uprising showed why they were such great tag partners as well. Curt explained to the audience that Selina and Talia often worked as a tag team overseas. In the end, in spite of a spectacular performance that really got the crowd rocking, the Uprising dropped Sabrina with a move Martin identified as the Rising Tide and then Talia got the pin. When Grace tried to intervene, Selina intercepted her and the two wound up brawling outside the ring. WINNERS: The Uprising in 14:40 RATING: 49 10) JAY SILVER vs. ZIPPY DEVERELL It was inevitable that the crowd would crash after that match. They just couldn’t work themselves up enough to care, especially since Jay was off his game and these two really didn’t seem to get into what they should have been doing. In the end, Zippy put Jay down with a Spinning Bulldog. WINNER: Zippy Deverell in 13:18 RATING: 16 11) Zippy sneered at the crowd, especially as one of the fans yelled at him to tell a joke or something. But then he failed and fled the ring as Garry the Entertainer chased him backstage. RATING: 20 12) FRO SURE © vs. PRIME TIME JACK PRYDE for the RFW Championship I kind of feel bad for Fro and Jack. They went out there and really gave it their all in this match. And Martin and Curt really played it up at the announce table as well. But the crowd might have been too burned out from earlier in the evening. And it seemed like kind of a foregone conclusion that Fro would eventually hit the Sure Thing and pick up the pin, which is exactly what happened. WINNER: Fro Sure in 11:51 RATING: 40 13) Once the match was done, Fro refused to leave the ring. Instead, he got the music playing and started a dance contest, even pulling some of the fans out of the crowd to compete against him. This got the audience worked up again as Fro declared one little girl the winner. RATING: 44 *** Once the show was done, I gave my usual pep talk. I thanked James for being patient with me. I encourage Jay to do better next time, and I also hyped up Sabrina as best as I could. Mark seemed a little rankled by the end of the talk, but Grace whispered something to him that seemed to cheer him up. After I was done, Grace took a step closer to me. “We still good?” she asked. I nodded and smiled. “Great work out there, by the way.” "Thanks.” “So… ‘Mr. RFW?’ What’s that about?” “Oh, that.” She laughed. “That was Mark’s idea. We were spitballing some ideas—” “Is that what kids are calling it nowadays?” I asked. “Gross.” She wrinkled her nose. “Knock it off. We were discussing some ideas for his character. He really liked the idea of being a ‘franchise player,’ the embodiment of the company. Best of the best, that sort of thing.” I shivered. No way I liked the idea of Mark representing my company. Our company. I meant “our.” Grace chuckled. “See? You get it. Let’s just see what happens.” I shrugged. “Okay. Text me when you guys get home, okay?” “Will do, Dad.” That wasn’t funny either. FINAL RATING: 41 Quick Results:

Monday of Week 1, May 2021 There was really only one way to handle this. So many questions had been gnawing at me and I couldn’t escape them any longer. Maybe I could have sent them all by text, but I knew that that would only open the door for misunderstandings and further problems. That left me with only one option: I borrowed Dad’s car again and drove up to Grace’s dorm. I kept rehearsing what I wanted to say to her all the way up to Yudof. The fact that I still needed Siri’s directions to find my way there just stoked my mood even more. After almost a year apart, I should have known every twist and turn of the highways and roads up to Grace’s door. But even though I knew that I had made this drive several times, it felt so unfamiliar, so alien, I might as well have been driving it for the first time ever. Even as I parked near the dorm and made the supposed-to-be-familiar walk to Yudof, it still felt unreal. The strange disconnected feeling popped the moment Grace opened her door. When she saw me, she looked confused. I risked a peek behind her. Didn’t look like Mark was over. I probably would’ve lost my nerve if he had been. “Ace?” she asked. “What are you doing here? Is everything all right?” “We need to talk,” I said. She stepped aside to let me in. As I stepped through the door, it struck me again how distant I felt from her. Before graduation, I would have been able to walk through Grace’s room with my eyes closed and pointed to where everything was. But as I stood in her tiny living room/kitchen, I realized I didn’t recognize anything there. Was the furniture college issued? Was the poster hanging over the couch hers or her roommate’s? “What’s going on?” she asked, her voice laced through with uncertainty. I turned to look at her. My rehearsed speech and demands evaporated in a moment. So I kicked off with the only thing I could think of: “Big-Time Independent Wrestling?” Her eyes widened for a split second, then she shrugged and tried to look casual while doing it. “So?” “Seattle? Louisville? Where, if I read correctly, you wrestled against Joanna Silver? I thought we weren’t comfortable bringing her into the RFW.” “She’s actually a sweetheart,” Grace said. “And not that bad in the ring, all things considered.” I gaped at her. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” “What’s there to tell?” she asked. “I’ve done a handful of independent shows. I figured it was a good way for me to keep my skills sharp and do some networking with other wrestlers. Like Joanna. Or this one girl named Amy St. James. And hey, I got to wrestle a veteran from AAA named Christina Charlston. That was pretty cool.” “But why didn’t you tell me about this? I only learned about it when I was doing some digging through TEW’s records.” Now she looked particularly confused. “Why would you be doing that?” “I saw that Mark had wrestled a match against Fro and I got a little confused. That led me to do some digging.” “You were trying to do some digging about Mark on TEW? Why would you do that?” She sounded genuinely offended. “What gives you the right to dig into my boyfriend’s life like that?” Her what? “Since when is he your boyfriend?” “I told you all of this,” she said. "After the fact, sure. But I only found out about it after I caught you two—” “You ‘caught’ us? What are you, my dad?” she shot back. I bristled. “No, I’m not. But that raises a good question. Does he know about you and Mark?” “It’s not really any of his business who I’m seeing,” Grace said. “You really think he’s going to accept that? Or are you two planning on putting everything on hold when you both move home at the end of the month?” Grace fell silent but she wouldn’t meet my gaze. I felt like I had been punched in the chest. That had been the plan: she’d spend the summer at home. Hopefully Reverend Kil would have forgotten about his stupid demand that we stay away from each other. And we could have things like old times again. That was still the plan, wasn’t it? “Grace?” I prompted. She tapped a fist against her thigh. “I was…well, I was thinking about getting an apartment up here for the summer.” “With Mark?” I couldn’t quite keep the venom out of his name. She frowned at me. “Maybe. I thought you were cool with him.” I had said that. And I shouldn’t have been surprised that he had told her. But that just caused a deeper ache to open in my chest. “I…I am,” I said. “I’ve known you too long to be fooled by that,” Grace said. “Okay, so what if I’m not? That guy’s a jerk, Grace! Always has been.” “Not anymore, he’s not,” Grace said. “And if he’s such a jerk, why’d you give him a job then?” “Because you asked me to!” I shot back. “Oh, sure. Blame me!” “I’m not blaming you!” I had to take a step back. I was on the verge of yelling and I really didn’t want the neighbors eavesdropping. “I just wish you would have told me about him. About the two of you. Grace, you’re my best friend. I didn’t find out about you dating Mark until after I gave him a spot on the roster.” That took her by surprise. “That can’t be right.” “It is, though. You didn’t tell me about Mark. Just like you didn’t tell me about these indie wrestling shows. What else have you been hiding from me?” Grace took a step toward me. “I’m not hiding anything.” “But you are!” I said. “You’re supposed to be my best friend, and it feels like…like we haven’t seen each other for more than a couple of hours at a time for months. Longer than that. I feel like I’m…like I’m losing you.” She stared at me, then scoffed. ”It’s not like that at all.” “It feels like that to me. It’s like…like we maybe don’t fit anymore.” “Ace, that’s ridiculous. I’m still the Diamond to your Ace. We’re still Grace and John. That’s not going to change.” But even as she said it, I kind of felt like it already had. Worse, it felt like Grace’s dad had won, at least a little. Our friendship had faded. We hadn’t intended to let that happen, but it was the truth. “And it’s not like you’ve shared everything with me either. I didn’t know how you felt about Abigail until she came to the show in December. I don’t have any idea who your relationship with her is even going.” Really well. The answer almost slipped out of my mouth, but I swallowed it. That wasn’t the point and it wasn’t important. Fixing whatever this was…that was why I had come here. “I don’t like that there were secrets between us,” I said. “There weren’t! Not…not really. I just…” She sighed, her shoulder slumping. “I started doing the indie shows back when I was still at the announce table because you weren’t giving me a chance to wrestle. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. And Mark, well… I was worried that, if you found out about us, you’d react like…like…this.” Ouch. I looked down at my feet, as if the right thing to say were written on my shoes. No such luck. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but it’s pretty obvious that I did.” She took a step toward me. “It’s not that I’ve been trying to hold stuff back from you. It’s just…different now. We don’t see each other every day at school. And it seems like we’re not texting as much anymore. I suppose I assumed we were kind of…growing apart.” “Just like your dad wanted,” I whispered. Silence fell between us. I finally looked up at her. Tears glistened in her eyes. My words must have hurt her more than I intended. “Maybe,” she said. “But that’s only true if we let it be. John, you mean too much to me to let you just fade away. And maybe we’ve been too relaxed, too casual about our friendship. But if we’re intentional about staying together as friends…there’s nothing we can’t do together.” There it was. Grace’s old bluster, the tone and attitude that I had heard and seen so many times when we were growing up. It was just enough to bolster my feelings, make me feel better about coming here in the first place. “I promise. No more secrets between us,” she said. “About Mark or wrestling or anything. You?” “Well, I haven’t been invited to any indie shows. And I’ve never thought about Mark in that way before…” She slugged me on the arm, enough to hurt, but it felt good all the same. She hugged me tight. “Now I’m starving. Ethiopian?” she prompted. I motioned toward the door. As we left, she slipped her arm in mine and we walked together. For the rest of that afternoon, things felt right. Things felt normal. But as I drove back to Rochester, that feeling of normalcy faded. And I started to realize something: good intentions aren’t always an antidote to the slow march of time. When Grace moved to Minneapolis, I had worried that things would change. We had promised that they wouldn’t. But they had and we were only just realizing how much.

Saturday of Week 4, April 2021 I think I was developing a nervous tic. Or I was experiencing the beginning of a ritual. But at the end of the month, as I entered the last of the receipts into my accounting software, I took deeper and deeper breaths until the final one was entered. The I positioned my mouse over the final calculation button. Then I closed my eyes, braced myself, and clicked. As the computer did its work, I counted to fifteen. Why fifteen? I figured that way, if the computer had any last minute adjustments, I wouldn’t get tripped up by them. At fifteen, I blew out my held breath and gingerly opened my eyes. Then I skimmed the screen from the top down to the bottom line. We were at $57,264. We had made $1,254 through May. With a nod, I tapped my hands on the edge of the desk and leaned back with a loud sigh. Yeah, I might be developing a ritual. So why the change? We normally made a whole lot more than that. I dug through the numbers and easily found the culprit: the amount we paid the workers had doubled. I had probably called in too many of them this month. I’d have to be more careful going forward. We still had a margin, sure, but if I got sloppy in my booking, we could eat through that cushion really quick. Still and all, we hadn’t had a month in the red yet. A few minor injuries, a growing audience base, and some serious buzz about the women wrestlers… Not too shabby for a pair of beginners. But as confident as I was that we were doing a good job, I think I needed some validation. I logged onto TEW.com and started poking around, looking for posts or comments about RFW. There wasn’t much, unfortunately. We were still mostly a Mid West thing. Apparently buzz was starting to build about what we were doing. Some of the TEW message boards had posts about previous All Ins, with people inviting folks from surrounding areas to come check us out. That was interesting. As I worked, I decided to get a little more specific. I did searches for my name. Not surprising, there wasn’t much. Just the initial announcement from a year and a half earlier about the founding of the company. I checked Grace’s name. I found a little more there, including a few posts that would make Grace distinctly uncomfortable. There was one fan on the boards who really appreciated Grace’s abilities and attributes (and focused a lot of time on the latter). Nothing that raised huge red flags, but I took a screenshot for two reasons: first of all, if this did turn out to be a psycho, I’d want proof. And second, if this turned out to be a socially-awkward fan without a verbal filter, this would be fun to show Grace and watch her blush. I tried searching for the names of some of our other workers. Some, like Fro and Swoll, turned up a lot of results. That didn’t surprise me; they did work for other promotions and so were doing their time at other promotions. But I noticed something weird under Fro’s entry. According to TEW, he had defeated Mark Latrell in a match. I frowned. We hadn’t had those two wrestle a match yet. And even stranger, this match had happened…that week? On Thursday? A little digging cleared it up. A group had held an independent show in Wyoming and Fro and Mark had wrestled there. So had the Taggs. Why hadn’t I known about these shows? I did some more digging. As it turned out, just about everyone on my roster had worked these independent shows. That made sense, I supposed. I mean, we weren’t paying them enough for them to be exclusive. The Taggs especially seemed to be fixtures at the independent shows. Again, that made sense. We hadn’t given them a lot of work. The only people who hadn’t done these shows was Cassidy and Abigail and… I frowned. Could I say the same thing about Grace? I did a search on her name. And much to my surprise, a half a dozen independent shows popped up. She had wrestled at an independent show in Rochester (how did I not know about that?), Knoxville, Louisville, Seattle, and Philly. I leaned back in my chair, my stomach sinking. Why hadn’t she told me about this?

RFW All In Sunday of Week 2, April 2021 Held at the Civic Center in Rochester, MN (Mid West Region) 219 in attendance Martin and Curt welcomed the audience to the show. 1) Grace came out to the ring to a great deal of fanfare. Martin commented that it seemed like a lot of the audience had made an assumption about how the title match tonight was going to go. Curt said no one should discount Selina yet. “So here we are,” Grace said. “Over the past few weeks, we’ve been holding matches to determine who the best female wrestler is here at Royal Flush Wrestling. Most of us have taken that seriously, but I can think of one competitor who decided to get to tonight via—shall we say—unorthodox means. “But tonight, none of that matters. Selina and I are going to meet in this ring and we’re going to finally put to rest the question of who the better wrestler is. And from what I’m hearing, everyone here knows how this is going to end. It doesn’t matter how aggressive Selina is. It doesn’t matter who violent she gets. In the end, I’m going to hit her with the Diamond’s Edge and then pin her for one…two…” Selina’s music interrupted Grace’s promo. Selina came out to the ring entrance and glared at Grace before she got a mic herself. “I’m gonna stop you right there, ‘Diamond,’” she said. “Yeah, everyone has drunk the Kool-Aid here. They’re all convinced that tonight’s going to be the hometown hero winning the brand new women’s championship. But that’s just not going to happen. “You’ve been lucky so far, Kil. I’ll give you that. You’ve won some, but you’ve lost some as well. And I’ve beaten you in the—” “Not when it counted, Selina,” Grace shot back. Selina tensed, and she glared at Grace. “Watch yourself, Kil. I’ve got no problem going down there and putting an end to you right now!” Grace didn’t say anything. Instead, she tossed the mic aside (much to my consternation; that was a rental!) and motioned for Selina to bring it. Selina spiked her mic as well and rushed the ring. As the crowd cheered, the two tore into each other. At first, it looked like Selina might overwhelm Grace but soon, it became clear that Grace was simply shrugging off the blows and was slowly gaining ground. When Grace started to set Selina up for the Diamond’s Edge, Selina bailed out of the ring and escaped into the locker room. Grace looked frustrated, but she spent a few moments hyping up the crowd. RATING: 43 2) JOHN “ACE” HART vs. MARK LATRELL As Mark and I made our way to the ring, Martin said this was going to be an interesting match. “Ace has been a cornerstone of RFW since the company started,” he explained. “And Mark is one of our newest hires. He’s definitely athletic—he played football for the U, after all—but a wrestling match was a different kind of athletic contest entirely." I was actually surprised at how vocal the crowd was in support of Mark. If I had to guess, some of his friends from the U had come down to cheer him on. And he did play football here in Rochester as well. If I had to guess, the crowd was kind of split between the two of us. Since Mark was still something of a newcomer, I took it easy on him in the opening moments of the match. Martin called it a “teaching clinic” at the table, theorizing that I was testing Mark to see what kind of competitor I was facing. Mark countered my moves with textbook precision, finishing the series of moves by kicking out at two when I tried to pin him. Then Mark shoved me, hard, daring me to take it up a notch. I frowned. He looked pretty sincere and that hadn’t been part of the plan. So I did as he asked and started going after him for real. Mark fought back, but it was clear that he was suddenly overwhelmed by my offense. Once again, he kicked out at two. He smirked at me and again, I couldn’t tell if he was acting or if his expression was genuine. A shiver rolled across me. The match continued and we kicked up the intensity again. Mark surprised me at how well he did. Nothing spectacular, but I had worried that I would have to carry him through most of the match. He did all right, although there were a few times I had to be careful in how we did things. The crowd got into it as well, cheering us both on. Curt speculated at one point that maybe there was some tension between us from our days in high school, as if that explained what was happening in the ring. In the end, Mark dropped into a three-point stance and tried to go for a Spear, but I dodged out of the way, allowing him to ricochet off the turnbuckles. I then caught him in an Ace of Harts and pinned him. WINNER: John “Ace” Hart in 17:19 RATING: 45 3) The Kings’ entrance music hit, and Papa Swoll and Fro Sure swaggered out to the ring. Once again, they engaged with the crowd, encouraging them to dance and sway along to the music. After encouraging a party atmosphere for a few minutes, they motioned for folks to simmer down. “Look, I know that everyone is excited about the big match between Grace and Selina later tonight, right? It’s almost like everyone forgot that there already is a champ here at RFW!” Fro patted the title belt at his waist. “What?” Swoll said. “Fro, don’t tease me like that!” “Sorry to say it, Papa, but it’s true. And you know what, I’m good with that. I get it. I’m excited for the main event tonight as well. Enough so that I made it clear that I didn’t want to defend my title tonight.” Some of the crowd started to boo him, but Fro motioned for them to quiet down. “Not because I’m backing down from the fight. I just don’t want to steal Grace or Selina’s thunder, get it? Tonight should be about them and what they’re doing. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in a title defense. No sir. How about you, Papa?” “For sure, Fro Sure,” Swoll said. “So this is what we came up with. Fro won’t defend the Championship tonight, but we think that Dreadmask should defend theirs. Whaddya say, boys? Think you can dethrone the Kings?” RATING: 36 4) CHIP MARTIN vs. CASSIDY BLAINE I intended for this to be sort of a break in the action, so I left it up to Freddie to book the match. I have to say, I’m surprised how this all turned out. For starters, Chip and Cassidy wound up really clicking in the ring. It was clear that they had a good read on each other and that helped them put together a really engaging match. What surprised me more was that Freddie chose to put Cassidy over. He got Chip to tap out after putting him in a Figure Four leglock. WINNER: Cassidy Blaine in 12:37 RATING: 30 5) JAY SILVER vs. COCKROACH CARTER Now the crowd could take a break. Jay and Cockroach did the best they could, but the match kind of dragged. Jay finally put us all out of our misery by hitting Cockroach with an AG Driver. WINNER: Jay Silver in 12:29 RATING: 18 6) ABIGAIL THOMPSON vs. TALIA QUINZEL Talia made her entrance first and Martin worried that she looked really upset. “Can you blame her?” Curt said. “I think she was probably hoping to be in the title match tonight and instead, she has to break in the new girl.” Speaking of whom, as Abigail made her way to the ring, she looked more than a little nervous. As Abigail walked down the aisle, Talia stood in the middle of the ring, beckoning her forward with a feral look in her eyes. That caused Abigail to hesitate outside the ring. When she finally started to climb into the ring, Talia stomped her foot in her direction. Abigail jumped off the ring apron and retreated a few steps. Referee Parker Terry ordered her to get into the ring and forced Talia to back up. Abigial made it into the ring and still looked pretty shaken. Then the bell rang and Talia feinted toward her again. Abigail flinched, so Talia laughed at her. Talia spent the first few minutes toying with Abigail, daring her to punch her or kick her. Abigial obliged and hit Talia with all she had. Talia would take the hit and then spend a few moments mocking Abigail for the attempt. Finally, Talia apparently decided she had had enough and launched a withering offense that simply overwhelmed Abigail. She finally put Abigail down with a Spinal Trauma. As Parker raised her hand in victory, Talia sneered down at Abigail and then strutted out of the ring. WINNER: Talia Quinzel in 12:07 RATING: 40 7) JOKERS WILD vs. THE HOT TAGGS And the show came to a screeching halt again. The wrestling in this match was awful, and I’m not entirely sure why. Garry seemed out to prove something. Martin speculated that he was probably still hurting from losing the title so quickly after winning it. “The Scofield Index held the tag championship for almost a year but the Jokers lost it on their second defense. If I were in their boots, I’d want to show that was a mistake as well.” If Garry felt that way, it was pretty clear that Zippy didn’t share his feelings. Garry had to constantly hype Zippy up and there were a few moments where the Jokers got into an argument at ringside after Garry tagged Zippy in. The Taggs didn’t seem all that concerned by this chaos; they just focused on whoever was the legal competitor. Garry finally managed to get an offensive streak going. She was working Wolfie over pretty well but, in the process, referee Quincy Jargon got ran over and momentarily knocked out. The Taggs took this opportunity to double-team Garry for a few moments. Garry finally managed to break away and tried to tag in Zippy, only to have Zippy drop off the corner before he could. Garry followed him out to ringside and got in his face, only to have Zippy toss him into the security railing. Zippy then rolled his partner back into the ring, allowing the Taggs to hit him with the Montana Slammer just as Quincy roused himself. Quincy crawled over as Wolfie made the pin and counted to three, leaving Martin to wonder what that was all about. WINNERS: The Hot Taggs in 13:22 RATING: 28 8. THE KINGS vs. DREADMASK © for the RFW Tag Team Championship The Kings made their entrance and once again did their best to rile up the crowd by encouraging them to dance to their entrance music. The party stopped once the champs made their entrance. The match itself really got the crowd worked up. Fro Sure proved why he’s the champ right now, shining brightly in this match. Dreadnought really paled in comparison. As a result, it looked like the Kings might walk away as the new tag champs. But then Dreadmask managed to isolate Papa Swoll from Fro Sure and work him over. The tag champs coordinate their efforts to really beat down the big guy and keep him from tagging in Fro. Fro strained and shouted to try to get Swoll to tag him in, but every time Swoll tried to break away, Dreadmask kept him away from his corner. Finally, Swoll managed to get in a counter, but the effort left him lying on the mat with Masked Mauler. As the crowd shouted encouragement and Fro stomped on the mat, Swoll rolled over and crawled inch by inch toward Fro. Fro extended his hand, straining to get him… Only to have Quentin Queen vault the security rail and yank Fro off his perch. Fro dropped to the floor just as Swoll swung a hand through the space where Fro had been. Unfortunately, referee Parker Terry was too busy checking on Masked Mauler to see what happened. Swoll bounced out of the corner just as Mauler made the tag to Dreadnought. Dreadnought came into the ring, kicked Swoll in the stomach, then dropped him with a DDT. He rolled him up into a small package and used a handful of tights to make sure he stayed down. WINNERS: Dreadmask in 14:43 RATING: 45 9) Selina Svelte came out to the ring. She got a mic and said, “All right, Kil. No more games. No more near misses. time for you to come out here and get what’s coming to—” Grace didn’t need anymore encouragement. Instead, she charged the ring, rolled in, and the two women started brawling before Parker Terry could call for the bell. RATING: 26 10) GRACE “DIAMOND” KIL vs. SELINA SVELTE for the RFW Women’s Championship The crowd didn’t sit down for the entire match. They roared their approval as Selina and Grace tore into each other. It became very clear from the get go that Selina wasn’t interested in just pinning Grace. There were several times when she could have easily pinned her and probably gotten the win. Martin observed that Selina looked like she was trying to punish Grace and take her out of competition entirely. “Not that much of a surprise, really,” Curt said. “Selina once called Grace a cancer on the wrestling industry. She probably sees this as a mercy killing.” Whatever the case, Selina kept up the brutal punishment and it looked like the assault was working. Grace appeared dead on her feet and could do little more than just accept the punishment. Eventually, Selina just started toying with her, knocking her around and blocking her weak punches and kicks. Then Selina repeatedly put Grace in the Prawn Armlock, getting Grace to scream and and writhe. But Grace simply wouldn’t tap out. After a brutal eternity, Selina seemed ready to finally pin Grace and end the match. But Grace kicked out at two. Selina punched her a few more times, only to have Grace kick out again at two-and-a-half. And then Grace came back to life, catching Selina by surprise at how vicious her assault was. The crowd roared their approval as Grace tossed Selina round the ring. Only Grace didn’t seem interested in just pinning Selina either. Even after she hit Selina with a Diamond’s Edge, she didn’t make the pin. Instead, she kept up the assault (“Returning the favor,” as Martin put it). Finally, Selina was left lying in the middle of the ring and Parker started a ten count. Selina twitched a little at eight, but she never made it up as Parker made it to ten and called for the bell. WINNER: Grace “Diamond” Kil in 23:51 RATING: 48 11) Grace went from post to post, celebrating her win with the crowd cheering her on. Parker helped Selina to her feet and tried to help her out of the ring. At first, Selina looked really confused about what happened, but then, as reality dawned on her, she started to rage. She charged over to Grace and attacked her, dropping her to the mat and locking her in a Prawn Armlock. Grace screamed in agony and tried to tap out, but Selina wouldn’t release it. Parker tried to order her to do so, but she wouldn’t listen. Finally, half the locker room had to come out and pry her off of Grace and get her backstage while Fro, Swoll, and I helped Grace out of the ring. RATING: 27 *** There was an electricity in the locker room. The workers applauded for Grace and Selina as they came in. Fro led a cheer for them as well. I finally motioned for them to settle down. “Selina and Grace are definitely our MVPs tonight, no doubt. You guys capped what I think is one of our best shows ever and I’m guessing our fans are really going to talk about this one for a while. “I also want to thank Talia for her hard work tonight as well. You came across as particularly dangerous and I really appreciate what you did.” There was some good-natured grumbling from the boys. After all, everyone knew that Abigail and I were together. Some of them probably saw through what I was doing, but I didn’t care. Speaking of Abigail, as everyone drifted away to get cleaned up, I hurried over to her. “You still doing okay?” She winced as she packed up her things, but she smiled. “You were right. That was a lot of fun! And Talia really did take good care of me. I just know I’m going to feel this in the morning.” “Well, if it would help, I could always give you a massage or something. Help loosen up your muscles a little bit…” She laughed. “Yeah, I bet you could. I’m fine, John. Really. I’m not going to quit just yet.” That was a relief. “Give me a few moments and I’ll take you out for some dessert.” “Even better.” It didn’t take long to get everything squared away. I checked in with Lisa and her Four-Count Posse to make sure that she was good too, and then Abigail and I headed out to the parking lot. As we left, I spotted Grace and Mark. He had her pinned against his car and… Okay, as “good” as I was with them being together, there was no way I could stomach seeing them like that. Abigail squeezed my hand. “C’mon, Ace. Cheesecake. Let’s go.” I led her to my car, but suddenly, I wasn’t all that hungry. FINAL RATING: 45 Quick Results

Ah, that would be an obstacle to this.

Saturday of Week 2, April 2021 Even though my birthday was earlier in the week, Abigail threw me a party the night before All In. The guest list was…interesting. She had invited about a dozen people from RCTC, people we knew from our classes who were cool enough. But she also invited everyone from RFW who was going to be at the show the next night. Freddie and Tamara had bowed out (although from what it sounded like, Freddie had to twist Tamara’s arm to make her do so), but we still had over a dozen wrestlers show up. At first, the two groups didn’t mix, with our classmates giving the wrestlers odd looks. But as the snacks and drinks started flowing, the two groups started mixing. That was mostly thanks to Cassidy. It was his house, after all. He acted as the catalyst, introducing people and getting them to talk to each other. Within an hour, the groups had pretty much merged. At one point, Fro and Swoll were trying to show Miles Simpson from my English Lit class how to do some dance moves. Given that Miles was the quintessential nerd, I figured that this was going to be a disaster. And it was…at first. Toward the end of the evening, Miles had gotten the hang of it and had actually attracted the attention of some of the girls. He looked ecstatic and Swoll and Fro looked absolutely delighted. I plopped down on the couch next to Grace, who was nursing a drink and watching as Miles dance with Cynthia Johanson. The way those two were grinding on each other, I suspected they’d be leaving in the same car. “I have to say, Ace, this is not what I expected at your birthday party this year,” Grace said. “Oh? What were you expecting?” I asked. She shrugged. “I thought that maybe we’d open a few bottles of a fine port, smoke large pipes, and discuss the circumstances that led to the Crimean War.” I stared at her blankly and she laughed, kicking me in the knee. “I’m kidding, you goof. This is great.” “It does seem like everyone’s having a good time, doesn’t it?” I glanced around the room. Jay Silver and Cockroach Carter had parked themselves on Cassidy’s Stallings Rig, where they were challenging all comers to take them on in an endless stream of tag team matches. As near as I could tell, they were winning maybe half the time, but they didn’t seem to care. Wolfie, Kalder, Garry, and Zippy had pulled Abigail and some of her friends into a lively conversation, one that seemed to consist of each one trying to one up the other on the craziest moves they had ever performed in the ring. From what little I could hear, they were either exaggerating to impress the girls or I’d have to have a talk with them about holding back at our shows. Through it all, Cassidy flitted from knot to knot, joining in, joking with people, encouraging everyone to have a good time. The most surprising thing, though, was Mark. Grace had insisted on bringing him along. I couldn’t exactly say no. They were dating, after all. I just worried that Mark would show up with his entourage of jocks and assholes. But to my surprise, he hadn’t. And he hadn’t tried to hijack the party, my other fear. Instead, he had blended in with the crowd and gone along with whatever fun there was to have. He had taken on Jay and Cockroach with a number of different partners. He had tried his hand at dancing with Swoll and Fro (it delighted me to no end to see that Miles had better dance moves). And then he wound up in a deep conversation with Selina and Talia. He seemed very attentive as the ladies explained a series of wrestling moves, using hand gestures to illustrate body positions and maneuvers. Grace must have noticed me watching Mark. She nudged me again. “Hey, thanks for letting him come. And for giving him a spot on the roster. It means a lot to him. And me.” “How’s his knee?” It seemed like the polite thing to ask and besides, I wouldn’t want him to blow it out during a show. “Okay, I guess. He’s been working on rehabbing it. His doctors apparently aren’t thrilled about his new endeavor, but so long as we take it easy on him for a few months, we should be fine.” Mark laughed at something that Talia said, a genuine, infectious laugh. “So how did this happen in the first place?” I asked. “You…him… I mean, how?” She laughed. “I wouldn’t have guessed it either. But we’re in a couple of classes together and he lives two floors down from me. We just kept bumping into each other. Then we wound up at a party a mutual friend threw and we wound up chatting. He apologized for the posters, I did the same about prom, and suddenly, hatchet buried.” I frowned. That seemed…convenient. Still kind of unlikely. “So I started going to the home games and I sort of…well, I became his cheerleader in the stands when he actually made it off the bench,” she said. “And then he got injured.” She grew quiet. Was she…was she crying? No, not really, but she looked close to doing so. “It was horrible, John,” she whispered. “Watching the trainers get him off the field and… I just couldn’t stand it. And then, when he came back to Yudof, he looked so broken. Literally and figuratively. He kind of fell apart. Didn’t want to talk to his friends, didn’t want to go to class. It broke my heart.” Not a surprise. Grace always had a big heart. “So I started after him. Making sure he got to class. Making sure he did his assignments. Making sure he went to the appointments. And one night, while we were studying, one thing led to another and…” She shrugged. Huh. When she put it like that, it made sense. Sounded really sweet, even. Old rivals, turned lovers? Who wouldn’t like that story? But something about it still left me just the slightest bit queasy. Grace patted me on the knee. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d better go chat with Selina a little. We’ve got that title match tomorrow night, after all, and we want to do maximum damage to the Civic Center’s roof, right?” I groaned and motioned for her to go. She went over to the corner and joined the conversation. When it became clear that she and Selina had taken over, both Talia and Mark drifted away. Talia went to challenge Jay to a match on the Rig. Mark… He started to wander over to me. I tensed as he sat down next to me. He looked me over, his expression grim. “Okay, Hart. Let’s have it out. Are we cool?” Nothing like the direct route. I considered the question. He did work for RFW now. And Grace vouched for him. That counted a lot for me. Apparently Mark wasn’t going to give me the chance to think about it. “I know how I behaved when we were in high school. And yeah, I was a total jerk. Grace has helped me see that. She’s amazing, man. I should never have messed with you guys so much. I really regret that. “But here’s the thing: I think Grace and I have something really cool here. I wanna see where this goes. But I know how much she respects your opinion. You could poison this whole thing with just a word or two.” Mark leaned forward. “So I need to know. Are we cool?” I tipped my head and pursed my lips. “We are,” I lied. His face lit up. “Excellent! I knew this would work. Next time you and Abby get a chance, we should all hang out! I know a couple of places around the U that aren’t that picky about IDs.” Oh, that sounded just heavenly. “We’ll have to see.” He nodded, then leaned forward. “But hey, do you mind if we switch gears for a sec? I noticed that I don’t have a match tomorrow night.” “Neither do I,” I pointed out. “Oh. Yeah, well… Look, that Talia chick? She was telling me about how cool it is when you’re wrestling in the same show with your significant other. And I kinda wanna see what she’s talking about. Is there any way that I could sneak onto the card?” I frowned. This wasn’t the right time to figure that out. The card was already pretty full as it was. Not only was Selina and Grace going to determine who won the Women’s Championship, Dreadmask was going to defend their titles against the Kings. And I had decided to really fill the card. “Well…” I said. Mark held up his hands. “Look, I get it. I’m still the new guy and it’s a big ask.” I sighed. I had really wanted to have the night off. And the schedule wasn’t so full that I couldn’t find a few extra minutes. “All right, you and me. We’ll do the opening match together.” He lit up again. I actually worried that he might kiss me. “Thank you so much, man! I really appreciate it!” He bounded off the couch and rejoined the party. I watched him go, then shook my head to clear it. Not what I expected for tonight at all. Then Abigail joined me. I started laughing. Apparently I wasn’t going to have to move from this spot at all. “Hey, you,” she purred. “Enjoying the evening?” “It’s been…unusual, to say the least.” I caught her up on what had happened so far. “Hey, if Mark wants to wrestle, he can have my spot!” Abigail said. “I’ve been talking to Talia, like you suggested, but I’m still really nervous.” I caressed the side of her face. “Get a room, you two!” Fro shouted. The other party goers laughed as I reddened. Abigail snared my hand. “That’s not a bad idea.” That got Cassidy’s attention. He turned to his cousin, worry plastered across his face. Abigial, though, didn’t seem to care. She took me by the hand and led me out of the living room. But instead of heading to a bedroom, she ducked into her uncle’s study. I frowned. “What’s going on?” I asked, my mouth suddenly dry. She smiled. “That was mostly just to stir the pot. Uncle Steve and Aunt Terry made it very clear what was and wasn’t allowed at the party.” Oh. I have to admit, I felt a mixture of both relief and disappointment. Abigail had insisted on certain boundaries in our relationship and my parents had taught me that no always meant no, without question or exception. But still… She grabbed the front of my shirt and kissed me hungrily. “That doesn’t mean we can’t take a break from everyone else for a little while. C’mere.” And suddenly, any disappointment I might have felt vanished.

Saturday of Week 4, March 2021 Abigail stared at me for so long without saying a word I worried I had somehow gotten frozen in time. Then, after what felt like an eternity, her head twitched to one side and her gaze narrowed. Was that a good thing? I couldn’t tell. “Excuse me?” she finally said. I took a deep breath. “I thought maybe you would want to join RFW as a wrestler.” She leaned back in the couch and set aside her science textbook. “I thought that’s what you said. Why would you ever think I’d want to do that?” My mouth went dry. When I came up with this idea, it had all made so much sense. Abigail used to watch professional wrestling with her siblings. Her mom had a dozens of AAA DVDs, which she had watched religiously for years. She was a huge mark for Wanda Fish. And she was so athletic, it wasn’t funny. She had done gymnastics for years and years and she was bound and determined to keep me in shape. We went running almost every day and she constantly outpaced me. She was seriously considering going up to Duluth to run the Grandma’s Marathon in June. While she’d need to learn some of the basics, I had a feeling she would do fantastic in the ring. And it had made so much sense. At least, I had convinced myself that it did. But now that I had actually asked her, now that I was seeing how she reacted, I suddenly wasn’t so sure. “Because…” I groped for the right words. “…because I think you’d be great at it. Look at how Cassidy is doing.” “He’s had three matches!” Abigail said. “Just three! And sure, you threw him into a title defense match and he did okay, but there’s a lot that could go wrong. I mean, weren’t you just telling me how Garry got injured and that caused you all sorts of headaches?” I winced. I had complained to her about how Peter injured Garry, how that led to a rushed decision to move the titles over to Dreadmask. I think it was going to prove the right decision overall. Masked Mauler especially was starting to get over with the audience. It seemed right to put a title on him. “So you want me to risk getting injured?” she asked. “You won’t!” "You can promise that?” I clenched my jaw. No, I suppose I couldn’t. We had been doing this for over a year so far and we’d been lucky. Two significant injuries to speak of. Impressive for a group of mostly rookies. But I couldn’t guarantee that situation would last. If we brought in another Peter Crockett, we could have serious trouble. Abigail sighed, but she leaned forward and took her hands in mine. “What’s this really about, John?” I couldn’t answer that question because I didn’t know how. Ever since I found out about Mark and Grace…part of my brain just couldn’t accept the idea of the two of them together. It just felt wrong for her to giggle with him or hug him or kiss him or… I suppressed a shudder. Nope. Wasn’t going to think about that at all. “I dunno,” I mumbled. “I just thought it might be fun for you and I to work together like that. That’s all.” Once again, her gaze sharpened and she studied my face. I wasn’t lying to her, not really. I did think it would be a lot of fun to have her in the lockerroom and it would give us more time to hang out and be together. She sighed. “I must be out of my mind. Okay. I’ll give it a try. I mean, Cassidy won’t shut up about how awesome this is. He’s been talking about going to one of those independent wrestling shows and working a few matches just to get some more experience.” I sat up straighter. “That is so awesome! And I promise, I will do everything I can to make sure that you don’t get hurt.” “I hope so, John. Because I’m trusting you with a lot right now.” She picked up her book again. “So let’s get back to studying for now.” I tried. I really did. But after faking it for a little while, I pulled out my laptop and checked our finances. We had made $3,451 this month, bringing out account to $56,010. We had gotten another $1,000 in sponsorship, but I decided to turn around and send that as a bonus to Quentin. He was getting a bit mopey ever since he lost the title. But by the end of the night, I felt good. Okay, really. Perfectly fine with the way things had turned out. Sure, Mark was wrestling for RFW and yeah, he was dating my friend. But now my girlfriend would be there too. So why shouldn’t I feel all right with how things turned out? Perfectly acceptable.