The early evening right before Uncut 142.

We see a 1950s-style sign that reads “Memory Lane” outside of a bustling retro-chic diner. Parked right in front of the diner is an old-fashioned white Rolls Royce that can only “belong” (as it’s no doubt swindled from some sleazeball) to one woman -- Teri Melton.

Teri stands outside of the diner, not wearing her usual flashy silver gown. Instead, she’s wearing a black pillbox hat with black veil netting over her eyes, a more subdued silver necklace, with an even more subdued black dress in a rare look where she does not try to show off her curves. 

Walking from the side, wearing thick-framed black Buddy Holly, a tour T-Shirt for 90s/00s indie band Spoon and skinny black jeans, is JJ Dixon. He sees Teri and approaches apprehensively. She stares at him, too. It’s clear they haven’t talked in a few weeks.

Finally, Teri is the one to smile.

Teri Melton:
Hello, JJ. It’s good to talk again.

He can’t help himself. He smiles, too. They walk into the bustling restaurant. An older guy behind the counter sees Teri and he, too, smiles. He walks around and gives her a big hug. His name tag reads “Nat.” And he, somehow and of course, knows her.

Nat:
Ms. Melton! It’s been a while! Do you want your usual seats at the counter?

Teri nods yes. They sit down and grab two oversized menus and cups of coffee. As they sit, there’s a guy dressed as a young Paul McCartney standing with an acoustic guitar standing on a small stage. He speaks in a very forced, bad British accent.

Paul McCartney Impersonator:
So, I think you all might know this song. I’d love it if you want to sing along with me...

He starts playing the beginning to “Hey Jude.” There’s some applause from the singer as he begins -- 

Hey Jude... Don’t make it bad...
Take a sad song... and make it better...

JJ Dixon:
So... yeah, this is awkward. I guess we have a lot to talk about.

Teri Melton:
Well, yes... but I want to tell you something else, first. Something I’ve never told you. Or really anyone. 

Teri sips her coffee.

Teri Melton:
You told me a lot about your childhood. You, your sister and your mom. And how it wasn’t good.

We see a flashback via a handheld camera with low video quality. We see a rundown apartment complex in the Channelview neighborhood of Houston. A 10-year-old, shaggy haired JJ is carrying a box much bigger than him down the steps of the second story into an already overstuffed banged up old model car, with his younger sister teary eyed in the backseat, holding a pink Care Bear. JJ’s mom, in her mid-20s and wearing a skimpy pink top and low-cut jeans is storming down the steps, with a tatted up biker looking guy in a wifebeater tank top screaming at her in the background. 

Biker Guy:
You’ll come back! Just like you always do! 

JJ’s mom gets in the driver’s seat JJ shuts the trunk and buckles up.

Young JJ:
Where are we going now, Mom?

JJ’s Mom:
I don’t know.

And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain
Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders... 

Teri Melton:
But I never told you about, well... 

The flashback now shows a younger Teri in the back area of an arena, with various recongizable faces of CSWA wrestlers from the early 00s (Hornet, Mike Randalls, Troy Windham, etc.) walking in the background with smiles on their faces. Teri’s face is the exact opposite. Despite her beauty, it just shows her exhausted and broken down.

Teri Melton:
I was just so sick and tired of everything with wrestling. I was sick of being told I didn’t matter. I was as big of a name as anyone there. But I wasn’t making anywhere near the money I should have been. I was sick of being called “Melons” and forced to objectify my body. I was sick of being considered arm candy... even though I was damn good at my job. 

We see Teri leading the way with WildStar and Tsunami (the respective fathers of JP Reeves and Raiden) holding their CSWA World Tag Team Titles over their heads with cocksure walks.

Teri Melton:
I had just about had it. I had those guys in my corner. And the only other guy in the promotion I could count on was Zoltan. We were good friends -- best friends -- right from the beginning.

A variety of Karate Kid-style novelty photo booth-style pictures of a Teri and a younger Zoltan (former bodyguard/trainer/mentor in Your Uncut Gems) are now shown.

Teri Melton:
He was my rock. He was my confidant. He was the one I trusted the most. We thought we were in love And, well, we decided to get married. In Vegas. 

There’s a celebratory photo of them in a convertible - you guessed it - white Rolls Royce smiling as they exit some tacky Vegas drive-thru wedding establishment, with a “Just Married” sign in the back.

Teri Melton:
It was perfect. The CSWA was in one of its really lengthy down periods. I was over it, anyways. We were really looking to settle down... and then I got some news. The best news I’ve ever had.

So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin
You’re waiting for someone to perform with

Teri Melton:
I was pregnant. No one in wrestling at the time was good with money. We put down everything we had in the estate in Hollywood. We wanted something grand... but also something with a lot of room for our baby boy.

Teri, busting out of her stomach, is laughing as Zoltan proves himself incapable of assembling a crib.

Teri Melton:
When he came, it was the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. 

 Teri is beaming with pride, sitting in the hospital bed, holding the baby wrapped up in blankets. Zoltan is right behind them, and leans down, kissing her on her forehead.

Teri Melton:
I can’t tell you how happy I was. Every day... every hour... was a blessing. I didn’t mind not sleeping. I didn’t mind changing diapers. I loved it all.

Teri and Zoltan are on the floor applauding and laughing as the baby boy, in zip-up pajamas, takes his first wobbly steps. 

Teri Melton:
And then... he had a fever. A cough. A really bad one. I knew it was something awful right away, and not some routine thing. And the doctor told us the news...

Tears now fall down her face at the diner.

Teri Melton:
Cancer. A rare one.

JJ Dixon:
Oh my god.

Teri looks up at JJ.

Teri Melton: 
There is no god when you hear that news.

Teri cradles the young boy in her arms, holding him tight, as Zoltan looks on with vacancy in his eyes.

Teri Melton:
There’s nothing a parent won’t do to help their kid. To save their baby. But then you learn along the way that the world is not set up to help. Doctors only pretend to care -- you’re a number to them. Insurance companies do anything to not have to pay for chemotherapy and hospital stays and everything else. I spent more time on the phone screaming at people about bills and appointment times --

Teri is roaring mad on a phone as a more distant looking Zoltan holds the young boy.

Teri Melton:
Then with my son when he was sick. And then...

Teri’s weeping at the diner.

Teri Melton:
He was gone.

JJ can’t say anything. He just puts his hand gently on her shoulder.

And don’t you know that it’s just you, Hey Jude, you’ll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder

Teri Melton:
There’s nothing worse. A part of yourself leaves with you. It never comes back. And I blamed myself. Could I have done more? Did I not care enough for him? Was I what they said I was -- a bad person, the worst person in the world -- and this pain was what I deserved?

The current Teri crying morphs on the video into the younger Teri crying.

Teri Melton:
There was, is, always will be anger. Because, well, the way the system’s that are in place work is just to hurt people like us. They made it impossible to help my son. They took time away from him. They didn’t tell us until afterwards that there was a clinical trial, but our insurance company wasn’t ready to clear it until it was too late. And that’s when I realized the whole damn world works that way, unless you aren’t the one on top of the pyramid. 

Teri’s eyes at both the current time and in flashback both burn with rage.

Teri Melton:
I shut down. I couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t do anything.

Teri lays in bed, her face down in a pillow, as Zoltan looks on concerned.

Teri Melton:
And what I was going through... the grief, the depression... it lasted for years. Zoltan tried to help, but I pushed him away. I didn’t think I deserved his love. Or anyone's love. I thought I let him down. I thought this was all my fault. So... he left. And I couldn’t blame him. I wanted him to, even

Zoltan is carrying a box out of the estate.

Teri Melton:
One day, I finally woke up. In a mental hospital. I don’t know how I got there. But I was finally able to talk about this. About all of this. I was put on medication. I found a therapist who actually listened. I still talk to her, actually.

Teri is laying on a couch, crying as she gets it out and an anonymous female therapist is taking notes.

Teri Melton:
And then, I woke up. I rekindled my friendship with Zoltan. I found my mission. I wanted to do more than return to stardom. I wanted to rewrite my narrative, to show the world that I am the best damn manager who ever lived. I wanted to grab the power that ‘they’ have to rewrite the rules on using what ‘they’ took from us! I... I came back to claim the spotlight! 

We see Teri looking in a mirror, putting on red lipstick, her hair in her 1920s-style flapper curls and wearing one of her silver gowns as Zoltan stands in his Reservoir Dogs suit behind her. She finishes applying the lipstick. A spotlight appears on Teri to black out the rest of the scene aside from her and the mirror. A devilish smirk on her face, with an aura appearing around her, and she mouths the words “Teri Melton! Is Ready! For Her Closeup!” for the first time.

Teri Melton:
I spent years planning and preparing for that moment. I discovered you in BRAZEN. And while I know we did not have the most traditional starts in our partnership -

Footage of Teri jabbing a lit cigarette in the eye of Nikki Synz without JJ knowing in their first pairing together.

Teri Melton:
I realized that I did not just want the spotlight for me. I wanted it just as badly for you. Because when we were doing our scams and schemes --

From the Uncut match where Teri seduces the timekeeper to steal his hammer, tosses it to JJ, who then tosses it to Cristiano Caballero as JJ falls down and Referee Mark Shields believes Cristiano hit JJ with the hammer, leaving him vulnerable to Sunset Boulevard while Teri cooly blows on her nails and counts “1-2-3.”

Teri Melton:
And especially when you started to realize how talented you are, when you arrived as a star --

Teri, with tears in her eyes, hugs and exhausted JJ as the Madison Square Garden crowd is giving him a standing ovation after his Ironman match with against MV1.

Teri Melton:
Was the first time I felt happy... truly happy... in years. Because I think of you not just as my client. Not just as my protege. And not even as my friend. But...

Teri is looking at JJ right in his eyes.

Teri Melton:
As my son.

Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better...
 

Teri Melton:
I’m so, so, so deeply sorry if I hurt you. If you felt like I was being too extra, as the kids say. And you know I mean this because I don’t apologize for anything. I love you.

JJ doesn’t say anything for a few seconds while the singer plays in the background.

JJ Dixon:
I... I feel the same about you. But, like... in reverse. And, I’m sorry for not talking to you about how I felt, and for not calling you when you were in the hospital. You know I mean this, because you taught me to never apologize for anything. I love you, too. 

They now both are welling up in their eyes.
 

Teri Melton:
That’s why I more than anything else want you back in Your Uncut Gems. And Caitlyn, too. Because even though we haven’t hit it off... she has just as much potential as you did. She just needs someone to unlock it for her.

JJ sips on his refill cup.

JJ Dixon:
I don’t know, Teri. I mean, the past few months have been so difficult. Here I was, my career finally on some traction. And I lose to Nathan friggin’ Eye. And Arthur Pleasant. My shoulder craps out on me. All of the stuff happens with Tabitha and her doofuses. But I also met Caitlyn, and... 

Teri Melton:
And you fell in love. And you don’t want her to get hurt.

We see JJ and Caitlyn, their backs opposed to each other, at the Cleveland hospital.

JJ Dixon:
Especially because of your feud with Tabitha... We’re caught in the middle, and I don’t know where me and Caitlyn are right now.

Teri Melton:
Well, I have advice for you. I’ve broken more hearts than I’ve had mine broken. But I’ve had my heart broken. So... make sure she knows how you feel, and go get her back. By any means necessary.

Remember, to let her under your skin
Then you’ll begin to make it better better better

Teri Melton:
I mean, maybe not by any means necessary literally.

JJ Dixon:
Yeah, I got you. 

The check arrives. Teri and JJ both stand up and head out without even looking at it, of course. Nat stands in the background, shaking his head. Teri’s done this to him before and he should have known.

Teri Melton:
But either way -- if you want to ,come back, or if you want to sit this out... I’ll support you. The thing I want more than anything is for you to be happy. 

They pause as they stand at the door.

JJ Dixon:
Thank you. You’re the first person to ever tell me that. 

Pause of appreciation.

JJ Dixon:
Hey... you didn’t tell me... what was your son’s name?

Teri smiles at JJ, and then she breaks down crying. She throws her head into his shoulder, and he holds her.

The guitarist gets to the rousing, final part of the song. The rest of the patrons join in, and loudly.

Na na na na na na
Na na na na
Hey Jude...

Na na na na na na
Na na na na
Hey Jude...

Na na na na na na
Na na na na
Hey Jude...

We see a gravestone in a cemetery. There are flowers and pictures of Teri, Zoltan and the child together. It’s clear Teri goes there a lot. The camera zooms in on the name.

Jude Joseph Melton. 

(You’ll note those first initials.)

They walk out, and as the door shuts, the music stops. 

Teri just stares at it blankly while JJ is clearly pissed. 

The Rolls Royce has four flat tires. 

It’s clearly intentional.

Teri Melton:
Are you sure you want to stay in the middle? 

More Propaganda | View Madame Melton's Biography