CHAPTER 10
Joey stacked his styrofoam plate with barbecued chicken and moved on to the potato salad. More so than the big crowds or the big pay checks, the real perk of wrestling for one of the majors was the backstage catering before the show. The Texas-style barbecue at the Alamodome before tonight’s non-televised show in San Antonio wasn’t the most extravagant meal, but it was good enough to bring out most of the performers and staff for a late lunch.
This Friday-night show was the first time the GWA locker room had re-convened since Joey’s tournament victory on Monday. Joey had flown to San Antonio from Memphis, where he had spent his days off fishing and drinking with his brother Mark. He was glad to return to the tour. The time off had been agonizing. He feared what the locker room might have said in his absence, and wanted to be in the thick of things in case his social standing backstage needed some damage control.
He topped off his plate with a roll, grabbed a lemonade, and scanned the tables set up across the loading dock in a makeshift cafeteria. As he looked at all the little cliques of wrestlers sitting together, and wondered which table would invite him to sit, he felt like he was back in junior high, trying to stake out his place on the popularity chain.
He saw Shane sitting at a table of veterans, and considered pulling up a chair next to him, but Crusader was also sitting at that table. Joey and Crusader hadn’t spoken a word since their match ended on Monday night. There was an empty chair at Jumbo’s table, but it was just Jumbo and his wife – that didn’t seem like an appropriate place for Joey to go either. Goliath was sitting with Duke, Joey would be accepted at that table, but sitting there would send the gossipers swarming that Joey was hanging out with the top brass again. There were several empty tables, he could sit at one of those. Of course, doing so might make him come across as aloof.
At the very back of the room, against the brick wall, Safire stood up, tossed her trash, and left, leaving Jade alone at a table. That was the one. Joey went straight for Safire’s vacated chair.
“Mind if I sit here?” he said.
“Fine by me,” said Jade.
From behind Jade, Bandit Thompson turned and watched Joey sit down. Joey ignored him.
“Did you get some potato salad?” said Jade. “There’s something spicy in it. It’s really good.”
“Yes, I got a good helping. How were your days off?”
“Not too bad. Yours?”
“They were fine. I went home to Memphis.”
“Do you have a woman back home?”
“No. I haven’t had a girlfriend since high school. Tried dating a few times since then, but the travel and the schedule, well, you know.”
“Yes, I do. Well, now that you’re a big star, maybe more dates will come your way.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
His mind shot back to the morning before, on the lake, in a rented fishing boat he’d paid for. Mark had been pushing for a fishing trip for weeks. After an hour of awkward pauses and forced conversation, Mark dropped a bomb. He needed money. He’d taken out a second mortgage on his house the year before and was in no place to pay it. He had eighteen thousand in credit card debt. If he didn’t get things under control he was going to have his car repossessed. After an hour of awkward financial talk, Joey agreed to give Mark ten thousand dollars, banking on good sales of his new T-shirt and a few pay per view performances that could spike his income. Mark didn’t seem to believe that Joey Mayhem, the superstar wrestler, was only making forty thousand dollars before incentives this first year on his contract.
Jade broke Joey’s daydream. “What, are you looking for someone who loves you and isn’t starstruck?” she said. “Cause you’re not gonna find anyone like that anymore.”
Tell me about it, he thought.
“Do you speak from experience?” he said, wanting to turn the conversation back on her. Thus far, his relationship with Jade had been one of him talking and her listening.
“Oh yeah. You can ask anyone in here and you’ll get the same story. There aren’t a lot of storybook romances in professional wrestling. We’re all married to our careers, and anyone who comes along learns quickly that they play second fiddle to the squared circle. People who really love you won’t put up with it forever. The people who stay are the ones who love what you give them, money and freedom. If you can accept that you’re forever a sugar daddy now, at least you won’t feel guilty.”
“That’s good advice. I’ll take it to heart,” said Joey, trying to sound empathetic. He stuffed a dinner roll in his mouth.
Jade grinned and put her fork down.
“Kid, you’re too nice to be where you are,” she said.
Joey let the compliment pass, acting like his mouth was too full to respond.
“So, I saw on the board that you’re doing another match with Bret tonight,” said Jade.
“Yes. Same program as last week, and the week before.”
“Be thankful for that. I think it’s good for you right now.”
“How’s that?” Joey knew the answer to his own question, but he asked anyway. It was good for him to continue wrestling with Bret on the house shows because it wasn’t threatening to anyone. He and Bret had both been low mid-carders just a month ago. Now Joey was a main-eventer, and there just happened to be a main event slot open on the house shows since Branson was injured. Joey had suspected that he might replace Branson in his matches against Zombie, further solidifying him as a top player in the company. He was glad that wasn’t happening.
“I think you know why it’s good for you,” said Jade. She was smiling at him, telling him without words that now, with half the locker room within earshot, wasn’t the time to talk about backstage politics.
Joey nodded and changed the subject. “I see that you’ve got another mixed tag match tonight,” he said.
“Yes,” She lowered her voice, “It’s shit, but we do what we have to.”
Jade’s match tonight was a tag match in which she and Danny Jackson, a sound wrestler with a boring character, were going up against Safire and Lord Mayberry. On the house shows, mixed-gender tag team matches like this were common. The women’s division in the GWA wasn’t known for great wrestling. It was there strictly for sex appeal. On television, there were all sorts of things the women could do (usually requiring them to wear next to nothing and humiliate themselves), but on the house shows, the women’s matches quickly killed the crowd. Hence, they were often stuck with the men in a tag team match not at all related to any stories currently brewing on television. Worse, the men were often wrestlers who couldn’t get over with the crowd without the help of a sexy woman. For a woman like Jade, a decent wrestler with a lot of experience, the mixed tag model was an insult. But unless Duke began hiring actual wrestlers to populate the women’s division, the mixed tag matches were a necessity.
“I was thinking,” Joey began, not sure why he was bringing this up, “I believe you still owe me a date.”
Jade smiled. “Our dinner with Shane last week didn’t count?”
“It could if you want it to, but I was hoping to take you out after one of the shows this week.”
Jade looked down at the table and thought for a minute.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea Joey,” she said.
“Why’s that?” he asked, feigning ignorance of the answer.
Jade’s demeanor became more serious. “Do you know about me? Do you know about my reputation here?” She looked around to ensure no one else was listening before she continued in a lower voice. “You’re just breaking into the big time and the way I see it, you already have some political problems. You might not want to start something with the company skank right now.”
“The company – what are you talking about? No one thinks of you like – ”
Jade held her hand up both to interrupt Joey and let him know he was speaking too loudly.
“Joey, I have a lot of history in t
his locker room,” she said, leaning in closer to him. “I’m not ashamed of any of it. There are things you have to do if you’re going to make it as a woman in this business. Thankfully those days are in the past for me now. But I’ve been around here a long time and I know how things are and I know how I’m thought of around here. Take it as a compliment that I want to protect you. It’s not just the locker room stuff either. As soon as you and I are seen out together someplace those Internet kids will go hog wild. And next thing you know they’re saying you became the GWA champion because you slept your way to the top. And ten years from now, when you’re the biggest name in the business, you’ll have this black cloud over you, and you’ll wish you could shake it. These are all things you have to think about now. The choices you make right now will define you and your career.”
Joey leaned in even closer.
“You know, Jade, the more you talk like this, the more I’m determined that we’re going out tonight.”
“Oh, that’s just great kid,” she said. “Now I’m your rebellion against the system. To hell with them, I’ll show ‘em. I’m taking out the whore.”
“Why do you call yourself those names?”
“Enough – ” Jade raised both hands in surrender. “Why don’t you think about it some more? We’ll be seeing each other all week. If you’re still interested – ”
“I’m still interested,” Joey interrupted. “Unless you have other plans, real other plans, I’m taking you to dinner after the show tonight.”
Jade sighed and threw her hair back. “Okay Don Juan. I’m on first tonight, so I’ll be in my hotel room early. I think we should leave from there. I can see you’re keen on telling the world that we’ve got a date, but I still think some discretion might be in order. I’m in room 218 at the Hilton right next to the arena. You can pick me up.”
“Great, I’m staying there as well. I’ll be there after my match is over.”
“You’d better take a shower.”
“Of course I’ll – ”
“And you’d better take me someplace nice, and come dressed up.”
“We’re gonna have a great time.”
Jade chuckled, then stood up from the table. “Alright stud. See you later.”
“Good luck in your match tonight.”
“Good luck in yours too,” she said.
Joey watched her leave, finished his food, and headed to the locker room.