#seth when i catch you (but actually wwe creative)

[samijey]

WWE trying to re-write their own continuity with this new "Sami's been doing everything for Roman and it's messing his focus on himself" bullshit as if his main motivation for helping Roman wasn't made crystal clear multiple times

but sure Roman is "his boy" and that's why Sami's been helping him recently sure sure sure

want to motivate Sami to care more about himself rather than helping others? maybe even tease a heel turn? that's a good story to tell and Sami obviously still loves Roman (and believes it's mutual), but saying his main investment is on protecting Roman when that's absolutely not the story they've been telling is reeeeal annoying

[balorclubbabe]

Jealous

Seth Rollins/OC (smut): You and Seth have always been flirtatious with each other, but you’re waiting for him to make a move and ask you out. As things move along though, you discover that Seth has a tendency to get jealous and an even worse tendency to never want to admit it. (Includes: so much smut)

Ahhhh I’m so unbelievably happy that this is finally done. (Seth is still Intercontinental champion so that goes to show how fucking long this has taken me oops) For the life of me I cannot believe how long this ended up being. Thank you in advance for reading and I hope you like it! 

Tagging the lovely: @1dluver13xx @racingandreigns @nothinginlifebutgreif @godlymissbalor and @never-sawft-princess

A huff of breath escaped my lips as I stood before one of the many tables in catering, eyeing over my options. The selection for the night wasn’t particularly expansive, so I decided on the not so exciting option of a pre-packaged salad. Besides, my nerves seemed to be suppressing my appetite.

As I went to grab a bottle of water, I could see from my peripheral someone moving closer to me from the left. “Hey you.”

My heart fluttered slightly at the voice. “Hey Seth. What’s up?” I turned to face him.

Seth Rollins is someone that I’ve had a massive crush on for I couldn’t tell you how long. I mean, how could you not? Besides being insanely good-looking, he was an absolute sweetheart who never failed to make me laugh.

I don’t know what you could classify us as though; definitely more than friends, but nothing had happened besides some playful flirting on a pretty consistent basis. A couple of weeks ago we had gone out to grab a cup of coffee, just the two of us and I had thought maybe, just maybe, he was going to ask me out but all I got was a kiss on the cheek and the promise of, “We should do this again sometime.”. Since then, the flirting had continued as usual, but that was really it. He hadn’t been acting any differently around me, so I wasn’t sure how to approach the whole situation.

“I caught the end of your interview with Owens. You did great.” He was smiling at me. “I mean, you always do great, but that was definitely one of your best yet.”

I tried to fight off the flushing of my cheeks and returned the smile. “Kevin carried most of it if I’m being honest. He’s great at pretending to be obnoxious. But thank you.”

Seth chuckled, “Yeah. He is.” A brief silence settled between us as we stood there, when Seth grabbed a bottle of water for himself. “I’ll catch you later?”

I nodded, “Yep. Good luck with your match.” And bumped my hip into his ever so slightly as I brushed past him, hoping he’d notice my sort of subtle attempt at flirting.

We parted ways, me heading to take a seat with Nia and Alexa, while Seth walked back to the other side of the room to finish his own meal, sitting down with Roman and Dean.

Alexa leaned closer to me once Seth was out of earshot as I took my seat. “Ooooh what’s happening later?” She was half-whispering, a look of excitement on her face. “A date?”

I rolled my eyes at the short blonde. They were seated fairly close to the catering tables, so it came as no surprise that the pair was able to eavesdrop on my conversation. “I wish. I have to interview him for a segment later, that’s all.” I frowned, suddenly having even less of an appetite as I idly stabbed my fork through my salad. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Seth only sees me as a friend at this point.”

“Oh please, anyone with eyes could see that he’s into you.” She gestured over her shoulder with a nod of her head towards Seth’s table. “He’s clearly not trying to be subtle.”

“I thought so too Lex. I mean after he asked me to get coffee that one time I thought…I don’t know, maybe he’d ask me out.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe I’m reading too much into all of this? I mean, friends go and get coffee together all the time.”

Nia arched a brow, interjecting. “Hold up, you’re seriously waiting for him to ask you out? Girl, do you know what year it is? Just ask him out.” She made it sound like a breeze; I always admired her confidence in situations like this, but I wasn’t so sure I could ever muster up the courage to be so assertive and straightforward.

I laughed, “Believe me, if I had any idea what was going on in that head of his, I would totally consider it.” I pointed my fork in both of their directions. “Emphasis on consider.”

Shortly after I continued picking away at my dinner, my dear friend and fellow wrestler Zack Ryder entered catering. “Hey ladies, what’s going on?” and made himself comfortable, plopping down in the empty seat to my left.

Zack was one of my longest and closest friends, to the point where I’d consider him more like a brother. We had known each other way before WWE and thankfully ended up on the same brand this time around.

“Not much. Oh hey, great match by the way. Are you done for the night?” I quickly posed the question, hoping Nia and Alexa wouldn’t choose to let Zack in on our prior conversation. Mainly because I knew how prying Zack could be with this kind of thing.

“Oh girl I know you’re not trying to just change the subject like that.” Nia shot me a look before turning towards Zack. “Help us out here, Ryder. Don’t you think she should ask Rollins out?”

Zack sipped his protein shake, a giant grin spreading across his features. “Ooooh so you like Rollins huh?”

I shushed him, hurriedly clamping my hand over his mouth. Zack was naturally loud, he couldn’t really help it, but I still didn’t want the entire arena to hear him. “Shhhh!” My eyes darted around the room for a few seconds, relief flowing through me when I saw that Seth remained enthralled in conversation with Roman and Dean, having not heard Zack’s outburst.

Unfazed by my actions, Zack licked my open palm, immediately causing me to retract my hand. “Ugh not cool, Ryder.” I whined, hurriedly wiping my now sticky hand off on the front of his tank top.

“Sorry.” Zack laughed, draping his arm over the back of my chair. “They have a point, though. You should ask him out. What's the issue?”

“Hmm I don’t know, maybe completely embarrassing myself?” I mumbled. Why the hell did everyone make it sound so easy? I couldn’t be the only person on the planet to think asking someone out was hard. Was I just being a baby about this? “Zack please drop it? He probably doesn’t even like me as anything more than a friend.” I let out a sigh, my confidence once again tanking. “Who’s to say I’d even have a chance at all?”

“Hey come on, none of that.” Zack was smiling, but I knew his words were serious. Any time I would feel down about myself, Zack was usually one of the best people to cheer me up. I never knew how one man could be so optimistic so often. “You’re a total catch. Rollins would be a complete idiot to not realize how awesome you are.”

“Thanks Zack.” I smiled and gave his arm a squeeze, a sign that I appreciated his kind words. “Just do me a favor and don’t go screaming it to everyone in catering next time.”

Zack grinned, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. “Aww you love me and you know it.”

I glanced up again, wanting to triple check that Seth hadn’t overheard our conversation. I was met with the sight of his back as he walked out of catering, while Roman and Dean continued to eat. I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he probably had to rush off to get ready for his match.

I had just finished sitting in hair and makeup, adjusting the bottom of my dress so it smoothed down at my legs. I was rehearsing the upcoming segment in my mind; Seth was supposed to come backstage after his match with Ziggler, IC belt slung over his shoulder which would prompt me to ask who he thought his next challenger could be. Afterwards, he had a very short window of time before he was supposed to head back out in order to sit ringside with commentary during the main event, robbing me of another opportunity to try and be with him alone.

Meanwhile, Zack was lingering about, grinning at me as I checked my makeup in the handheld mirror one of the girls had let me borrow. “You excited for your interview?” I could tell by the look he was giving me that he was really asking if I was excited to be near Seth. And of course, like the nosey big brother-type he was, he just had to be front row for when it all went down.

I rolled my eyes playfully, “Oh be quiet. I don’t want to hear another word out of you.” I placed the mirror down on the table behind the cameras, affirming to myself that I looked presentable.

Zack laughed, “I’m kidding. It’ll be fine, just relax.” I couldn’t tell if he was referring to the actual interview this time or my impending conversation with Seth that I’d been hyping myself up for.

“Easier said than done,” I mumbled. I could see Seth coming down the hall as camera crew quickly hurried me into the proper position. I gave myself a final once over and took one final deep breath.

Zack shot me a wink and gave me a thumbs up before stepping back behind the camera guys, ready to watch the interview along with a couple of crew members and one of the writers for creative.

The cameras began rolling almost immediately, panning towards a sweaty Seth with a cocky grin spread across his face after I introduced him as “and still the Intercontinental Champion”.

As I held the mic towards him so he could speak, I tried to keep my eyes from wandering over his well chiseled chest. God he was so attractive it wasn’t even fair. There was no way in hell a guy like that could really be into me, right? I did my best to keep my focus on his words though; Seth proclaiming that he was a “fighting champion”, open to any challengers who thought they could take his title.

The cameras cut on the quick segment and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Besides the usual nerves that would settle in when the cameras turned on, Seth standing so close to me certainly wasn’t helping my anxiety.

Zack wrapped an arm around my shoulders, giving me a brief squeeze before releasing me. “Great segment, as always. You’re a natural.”

I could tell exactly what he was trying to do by his not so subtle over the top tone. Ever the wingman, Zack was giving the opportunity for a guy, in this case Seth, to take the bait and join in on the conversation. This would usually be followed by Zack running off. He’d done this several times at bars, sometimes against my will, mainly so he could pat himself on the back for trying to bag me a date.

My eyes drew to Seth who had a scowl on his face, “Yeah. Great work. Really.”

Before I could say anything else he abruptly made his exit, heading back towards his dressing room.

“Hey don’t sweat it, he has to rush back out there in a little bit.” Zack spoke quickly after seeing the frown form on my face. “Just grab him after the show. It’ll give you time to figure out exactly what you wanna say.” I took his words into consideration despite trying to fight off the disappointment I felt in the pit of my stomach.

I briskly made my way down the hallway, seeking out The Architect. The show had ended about half an hour ago and I hadn’t seen him since his quick exit after the segment we filmed. I knew he tended to take his time at the end of the night, meaning it was safe to assume he hadn’t left the venue yet.

Instead of running around backstage like an idiot, I figured my best bet was to ask someone, and luckily, the next person I happened to bump into was Renee Young. And I knew where Renee was, Dean had to be somewhere nearby.

Renee was out of her interview clothes, having changed into a pair of leggings and a comfortable looking hoodie, most likely belonging to Dean. “Hey girl. What’s going on?” She smiled at me as I approached her.

“Nothing much. Hey is Dean in there?” I motioned towards the dressing room that she had been lingering outside of.

“Yep! Just waiting for him to change so we can head out.” Renee frowned, probably noticing the anxious look on my face. “You ok?”

I paused before answering. I was ok…right? “Yeah. I just needed to ask him something really quick. Promise I won’t keep him too long.”

Before Renee could respond, Dean exited his dressing room, luggage in hand. “Hey. What’s up?” Dean gave me a friendly smile as he shrugged on his leather jacket, planting a kiss on his wife’s cheek.

“Hey Dean.” I did my best to return his smile. “Have you seen Seth around?”

Dean rubbed his chin. “Yeah, he just went over some stuff with Hunter so he should be heading to his dressing room. Don’t think he left yet.” He frowned, sensing that something was wrong. “Everything good? You seem…off.”

“I don’t know.” I finally let out a sigh, leaning against the wall. “I feel like he’s upset with me, but I don’t know what I did wrong or if I did anything wrong.” Dean and Renee had some knowledge of my feelings for the Kingslayer, but I’d be lying if I said I had ever been this obvious about it with them. At this point though, I was desperate. Besides, I knew I could trust the two of them to keep a lid on things.

Dean shook his head, “Don’t know if it’s any consolation but he hasn’t said anything to me about it.” and leaned against the wall as well, “I know it’s none of my business, but mind if I give you some advice?”

I nodded. “I’m all ears.”

“If I’m bein’ honest here, I think your best bet is to just be straight up with him.” At this point it really did feel like everyone was giving me the same words of wisdom, but I let Dean finish regardless. “Just go right up to him and say, ‘Hey, what the fuck is your problem, Rollins?’”

Renee lightly slapped her husband’s arm. “Maybe not those exact words.” before adding her own two cents. “But I agree. Best to be upfront about this sort of thing, you know?” She shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe it’s nothing after all.”

I let out a laugh at Dean’s brazen words but nodded, “Yeah, I may paraphrase a little bit, but thanks you guys. Wish me luck.”

I bid the couple a goodnight before hopefully going to find Seth. It wasn’t until I turned a corner that I saw him, heading towards his dressing room from the opposite side of the hallway. He was out of his ring gear and wore a pair of jeans and a dark hoodie, hair tied up in a messy bun. For a split second, he looked at me, or in my direction, before continuing his venture to his dressing room. That was all I needed to confirm my suspicions at that point; he was trying to avoid me.

“Seth wait up.” I sped up my pace to catch up with him before he could shut himself inside his dressing room. I knew that if I didn’t catch him now that I’d have to wait until the house show tomorrow. That is, if I even saw him there.

“What?” he practically spat, finally turning around to face me.

Ok I could deal with tired or a little moody, but he was being a straight up asshole right now. “What the fuck is your problem?” I hadn’t meant to say it quite like that, but I knew Dean would be proud at the very least.

He looked taken aback before quickly shifting into annoyance. “Are you being serious? My problem?”

“Yes I’m serious. Look, if you’re not interested in me anymore just fucking tell me so I can stop wasting my time. Because right now you’re acting like a dick for no reason.” I was trying my best to keep my voice from rising in volume, thankful no one was around to hear the two of us argue.

“Oh I’m sorry, didn’t realize I was wasting your precious time. I’m sure Ryder won’t be too mad at me.” He rolled his eyes, scoffing.

Wait…what? What the hell did he mean by that? “What does Zack have to do with any of this?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Look I’m not stupid, ok? I’ve seen the two of you together, how you’re always with each other every goddamn second. For fuck’s sake you two were all over each other in catering before in front of fucking everyone.” Seth sounded positively bitter, seething as he spoke. “And you really wanna talk about wasting time? Well you shouldn’t have wasted mine if you were already fucking seeing someone.” I could tell this was something that had been on his mind for quite a while.

Yet, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. It all made sense now. The attitude, the short, rude responses? “You seriously think I’m with Zack?”

He frowned, eyebrows furrowing. “What? Why is that funny? You guys aren’t…together?”

I shook my head, “No, we’re not anything. Not even a little bit, Seth. We’ve known each other a long time, that’s all. He’s one of my best friends.” I gave him a look. “Just a friend.”

Seth blinked slowly, the realization of what was going on suddenly dawning on him. “Jesus Christ I’m a fucking idiot, aren’t I?” He let out a groan.

“Yeah. That sounds about right.” Despite the fact that it was all just one big misunderstanding, I still didn’t quite forgive him yet for being such an asshole. “I don’t understand why you couldn’t have just talked to me about this, Seth.”

“God…fuck I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been such a dick.” He ran his hands over his face, letting out a long sigh. “I just thought we were really…sort of hitting it off and I was getting ready to ask you out, like officially, but I thought I fucked up and missed my chance.”

My façade broke and I couldn’t help but allow a small smile to show on my face. I was still annoyed at his behavior, but admittedly, hearing him confirm that my crush wasn’t one-sided was definitely a step in the right direction for me. “So…did you still want to ask me out?”

Seth’s eyes shot up from the ground to meet mine, clearly surprised by my change of tune. “Of course! It’s just…ah shit I had something really nice planned too.” He frowned again. “Was gonna take you out to this diner nearby after the show. According to Dean and Renee they got the best cheesecake in town and I remember you saying that’s your favorite dessert, so I thought we could…ugh god damnit I’m so stupid.”

I honestly couldn’t believe he remembered such an insignificant detail that I must have mentioned to him months ago. I think I had been bitching about how lacking the dessert table in catering was. I’ve always had a bit of a sweet tooth, but if I was going to have a cheat meal, then I certainly wasn’t going to waste it on subpar cheesecake.

Even though it was something so small, the thought he put into trying to set up our “date” pretty much melted away the rest of my irritation towards him. “Well I’d still be up for trying the best cheesecake in town. If the offer’s still on the table?”

I saw a slow look of relief cross his face. “Yeah. Yeah definitely. Just have to pack my things and get the keys to my rental.” He went quiet for a moment. “You…wanna ride there together? I got a car to myself tonight.”

“Sounds good. I’ll let Alexa and Nia know that I have a ride.” I could tell that Seth was still a little uneasy just by the cautiousness he spoke with. As if he were afraid he’d say the wrong thing. In an attempt to quell his nerves, I briefly took his hand and gave it small squeeze, offering him a smile. “Text me when you’re ready to go.”

I tried to play it cool as I walked away, instead of jumping up and down with joy. I managed to hold it together until I was out of sight, trying to calm myself down before my last-minute, unplanned “date”.

The brief car ride over to the diner was slightly quiet, but comfortable nonetheless. Seth and I chatted and made small talk pretty much the entire way there, and I could tell he was feeling less and less anxious by the minute as he drummed his fingers along the steering wheel.

When we sat down at the table inside the small, vibrant diner, it’s as if we hadn’t skipped a beat, falling into conversation easily, cracking jokes at each other mixed with a healthy amount of flirting. Also as an added bonus, it turns out Dean and Renee were correct because holy shit that was some of the best cheesecake I’d ever eaten in my life.

After our dessert, we drove back to the hotel, silent again as he walked me up to my room, which was on the other end of the hallway from his own. Seth had his hands in the pockets of his jeans, finally breaking the comfortable silence. “So…I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

I smiled at him, “Yep, I’ll see you tomorrow.” We both stood there, unmoving, me waiting for him to walk back to his room and him most likely waiting for me to retreat into mine.

I could tell he felt like he was still slightly treading on thin ice, carefully considering all of his actions and words. “Listen, I was a fucking dick today and I feel awful. So feel free to tell me to go fuck myself but…” He paused, breathing slowly out his nose. “Would it be ok if I kissed you goodnight?”

My face flushed at his words, but I nodded, my smile unable to leave my face. “Yeah. I’d like that.” I did my best to remember the words of confidence that Zack and the girls had bestowed upon me, trying to give myself a bit of a mental pep talk. It’s just a kiss. It’ll be fine. Just relax. You’re an adult, you can handle a kiss.

He moved towards me, hands finding their way carefully around my waist as mine came to rest against his chest. Still, he hesitated, only leaning forward when I titled my head up, our lips finally pressing together.

The kiss wasn’t too long or too intense, pretty standard for what you’d expect a first kiss between two people to be. Yet my heart felt as if it were going a mile a minute.

Seth pulled back slowly, smiling still. “Goodnight.”

I bit my bottom lip, bidding him a goodnight and retreating into my hotel room, trying to contain my excitement as I hurriedly texted both Nia and Alexa, knowing they’d want the full detailed report of my evening.

A couple of days after our date, Seth took me out to dinner and was able to work up the courage to finally, “officially” ask me out. Soon after that, we went public with our relationship, much to the delight of our friends, especially Alexa and Nia, who took nearly every chance they got to let a few “I told you so’s” slip.

I was backstage at Raw, watching the ongoing match on one of the many monitors on display; Zack was in the middle of a heated match against Mojo, one of his first televised ones in a while. Zack had mentioned to me earlier in the week that he wasn’t thrilled with the matches he’d been booked for recently, feeling as if he wasn’t given the opportunity to show his full potential. Zack was usually the one to, well, hype me up if I was down, but lately it seemed as if he was stuck in a rut of his own.

This match, though? I could tell Zack was definitely getting his groove back. He was pulling off moves that I had never even seen him try, which explains his gym routine being more intense than usual over the last week or so.

I hurried to the gorilla to meet him as soon as he pinned Mojo for the three count, practically throwing my arms around him the second he stepped backstage, despite the fact that he was sweating profusely. “Zack that was incredible! You both did amazing!”

“Aw thanks!” Zack chuckled, squeezing me tightly. “Glad all my hard work finally paid off. Here’s hoping this’ll get me to the main event soon enough.”

I planted a kiss on his cheek, pride swelling through me at how happy he looked with himself. “I’m so proud of you, seriously. That was a great match.” and released him so that the others in the gorilla could move to congratulate him and Mojo on a match well done.

As I turned around, I saw Seth, leaning against the opposite wall maybe 10 feet away, looking none too pleased. I brushed it off though, smiling as I approached him. “Hey you. Excited for your match?”

His arms were folded across his chest. “Yeah. Sure.” He said rather curtly, his eyes looking past me rather than at me.

“Babe is everything all right?” My eyebrows knit together in concern as I placed a hand on his upper arm.

“Perfectly fine. Why don’t you go congratulate Ryder a little more, though?” The tone of his voice was cutting as he lightly jerked away from my touch. “I’m sure he’d just love that.”

My concern quickly faded away as I realized what Seth’s problem was. Don’t get me wrong, dating him was beyond wonderful; he was funny and sweet, and all around a fantastic boyfriend. But in the few months we had been together, I discovered that sometimes he could get jealous, to the point where it would cause fights between us. Usually it wouldn’t be so bad, hell I’d even go so far as to call it healthy- but lately it seemed to be happening more and more frequently.

“Really Seth?” I couldn’t hide the annoyance in my voice. “This again?”

“What do you mean this again? Sorry I’m not okay with my girlfriend practically throwing herself at another guy right in front of me.” He rolled his eyes.

“I mean this again as in I thought we went over this. Zack is one of my best friends, and that’s it.” What made the fights even worse was that probably half the time they would be about Zack. Why does he keep texting you? Does he really need to talk to you that much?  That, and about a dozen other different complaints that I could rattle off. “You’re really jealous because I wanted to congratulate my best friend on his match?”

“Jealous? Please.” Seth, still very visibly annoyed, scoffed, as if the idea were really that ridiculous. “I don’t get how I’m the bad guy here. You could’ve congratulated him in a way that didn’t involve you being all over him.”

“You know he’s seeing someone right?” I raised an eyebrow at him, my hands now resting on my hips. “Because it’s not enough for me to go ruining my own relationship, but apparently I’m also trying to ruin someone else’s, right?” My words were practically dripping with sarcasm, but I couldn’t help it. I was beyond the point of caring if me dishing an attitude back bothered him.

Seth let out a huff of breath, muttering out a “whatever” which translated roughly to “I don’t want to talk about this anymore”. That was definitely the worst part of the fights; most of the time, Seth would realize that he was being a little ridiculous, but instead of admitting it, he’d stop talking all together, making the entire fight drag on much longer than necessary.

Usually I’d just let him have time to himself to think it over, but I was over him doing this. And when we’re at work no less. I didn’t exactly want our co-workers getting an in-depth glimpse into our relationship. “Yeah, whatever. I’m done talking about this.” Brushing passed him, I headed towards my dressing room, doing my best not to stomp my feet in frustration on the way there. If he wasn’t going to talk this out like an adult, then I certainly wasn’t going to push it. Especially not here.

After a few seconds I heard the sound of quick footsteps behind me. “Where the hell are you going?” Seth had hurried after me once I rounded the corner, away from potential prying eyes and ears.

“I’m getting my stuff and I’m going to the hotel for the night.” I didn’t bother turning around to face him as I continued walking. His match was next, and I had planned to stay and watch as I always did, but right now I didn’t want to deal with him being like this.

“Babe don’t-”

I stopped and turned around once we reached my door and held my hand up, signaling for him to stop. “No Seth. I’m not doing this right now. Not here.” I knew it probably wasn’t the best idea to go too long without talking about this, but this was a conversation that I didn’t want to have at work. “And for the record, you don’t see me getting like this with any female friends of yours. Funny how it only applies to me, huh?”

I hadn’t meant to sound so harsh as I said it, but it was true; we both had friends on the roster of the opposite sex, but I’d never gotten jealous over him talking or hanging out with any of them. Yet if someone like Finn ever said so much as “hello” to me in passing, it would usually lead to another argument between Seth and I.

It was silent between us for a few seconds in the empty hallway, Seth clearly having no idea what to say. We had bickered about this before, but I think he could tell that this time around I was truly fed up with his actions, not so willing to just let him brush it under the rug like he usually tries to do.

I took a deep breath, squeezing my eyes shut (mainly to keep the tears at bay) before looking at him again. “I’m getting a ride back with Nia and Alexa. Good luck with your match.” And with that I closed and locked my dressing room door behind me. Seth was truly stubborn in many ways, and I knew he didn’t like leaving situations like this unresolved, so it was only a matter of time before we’d end up talking about this, but now was not the time.

Alexa and Nia had finished their respective matches for the evening but hadn’t left the arena yet. Thankfully they had room in their rental, so I packed my things and met with them in the parking lot.

“Thanks for giving me a ride, guys. I seriously appreciate it.” I piled my things in the trunk and settled in the backseat of the van.

“No problem girl.” Nia, who was behind the wheel, glanced back at me before starting the ignition. “Sooooo are you gonna tell us what’s going on? Your texts were a little vague.”

I let out a sigh, “Seth and I got into a fight...again. Lately it feels like if another guy so much as looks at me, he gets upset. Usually it passes after a little bit, but I think this was the worst fight we’ve had yet.”

Alexa turned around to face me from the passenger seat, frowning. “Was it about Zack again?”

My phone buzzed, and I glanced down to see a message come across my screen. Speak of the devil, Zack had texted me, no doubt wondering where the hell I went off to. He of all people knew that I usually stayed the entire show unless I was really tired.

You left already? Is everything ok?

I typed out a quick response before answering Alexa.

Yeah. I’m riding back to the hotel with Alexa and Nia. Tell you about it later.

I knew Zack would be worried, but I didn’t feel like going into detail about this whole situation with him just yet. Especially over text. “Of course, what else?” The girls were well aware of the fights that Seth and I would have, so this wasn’t new information to them. “I just thought this would’ve stopped by now, you know? And when I try to talk it out with him, he pretty much shuts down on me.” Another vibration, Zack, who is no doubt the fastest texter I’ve ever known.

Alright. Here if you need anything. :)

“I know it’s frustrating to try and get through to him when he gets like that, but he needs to realize that this isn’t something that is going to get better if it’s ignored.” Alexa spoke softly. “You need to really sit him down and make sure this is a two-sided conversation; it can’t be just you trying to fix it.”

I nodded, “I know. It’s just…I’ve never walked away from him like that. And now I’m wondering if I took it too far.” I hurriedly wiped the corners of my eyes before any tears could fall. I was never the type to let a problem sit and stew for too long, especially something like this, but Seth could be so damn frustrating when he got like this.

Alexa squeezed my hand comfortingly as Nia spoke. “You have every right to be upset with him, especially since this is something you two have talked about more than once. There’s nothing wrong with giving each other some space to think.” She paused, before adding, “I’m almost positive he’s doing his fair share of thinking right now.”

We pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, each of us grabbing our bags and heading up to our floor. I politely declined their offer for an impromptu girl’s movie night, which I would normally be up for, but I was suddenly feeling more exhausted than I had thought.

Alexa pulled me in for one last embrace, with Nia following suit. “I promise it’ll all work out. Rollins is stubborn as hell, but he’s crazy about you. Just give him time.” Nia nudged my arm playfully before letting go of me. “And if you need the two of us to straighten him out, we can do that too.”

I giggled, bidding the pair a goodnight before settling into my room. A part of me wanted to turn on Raw and tune into Seth’s match, which would just be starting, but I decided against it. Stripping out of my clothes, I threw one of Seth’s shirts on and crawled into bed. Initially, I was going to wait up for him to get back so we could talk, but my eyes felt heavy and before I knew it, I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

I don’t know how long it had been since I had dozed off, but I stirred awake awhile later at the sound of the room door creaking open. I could tell Seth was trying to be as quiet as possible as I heard faint rustling on the other side of the room, which was probably him changing for bed.

I kept my eyes closed, hoping I’d be able to fall back asleep. Shortly after I felt a warm body crawl under the covers next to me from behind, followed by a pair of arms wrapping around my midsection. “Hey princess. You awake?” Seth whispered.

I almost wasn’t going to answer and pretend to be asleep, but I mumbled out an “mmhmm” as he adjusted so that his chest was pressed against my back.

I felt the warmth of his breath on my neck as he nuzzled into me, his stubble tickling my skin. “Sweetheart I am so fucking sorry. About everything.” He paused for a second before continuing. “I know I get upset over this kind of shit way too easily. But that’s something I need to deal with. It’s not fair that I take it out on you.”

I stayed silent, still conflicted over the whole situation. Again, a part of me wanted to be petty and ignore him, but I knew the sooner that we had this discussion, the better.

“Fuck baby, please say something? Anything? What do I have to do to make this better?” I could hear the frustration in his voice as he pleaded. I could tell just how bothered he was by my lack of response.

Finally, I flipped over on my other side to face him, seeing the hurt in his eyes as I sat up. “It means a lot to me that you apologized but…this isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation, Seth.” I took a deep breath, trying to fight back the tears that I already felt coming on. “How am I supposed to feel knowing that my own boyfriend doesn’t trust me?”

He was still laying down, adjusting so that he was on his back, rubbing both hands over his tired-looking face, “Sweetheart that’s not true. Of course I trust you. It just gets…hard for me to watch other guys be so close to you.”

“Seth, I love you, I really do. But I don’t want this to be an issue anymore.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair, my eyes shifting away from him. “If you really did trust me like you say, you would trust that I wouldn’t let anything, or anyone jeopardize what we have.” I paused for a moment, choosing my words carefully. “I’m with you for a reason, Seth. But if I don’t have your trust like you have mine, I don’t know how we can ever move past this.”

When I met Seth’s gaze again, his eyes were wide. “Wait. What did you just say?”

I was about to get annoyed at him for not listening to what I had said and tell him to fuck off and go sleep on the floor, but then the realization of my words dawned on me before I could. To be honest, they were out of my mouth before I even realized it. “Oh shit.”

Seth scrambled so he was sitting up, the light from the moon shone through the window, showing me just how surprised he looked. “You love me?” He asked the question as if he could hardly believe what I had said was true.

I closed my eyes briefly before exhaling through my nose and nodding. “I do.” It wasn’t that I was afraid of him not returning the sentiment, but this wasn’t exactly how I pictured this conversation going. Admittedly, I’d felt this way for a while, but was never quite sure how to bring it up to him.

The brief silence between us felt as if it lasted an eternity, and I was starting to think that this was the beginning of the end. As I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes once again, him saying my name broke through the quiet of the room. “Baby girl look at me. Please?”

I sniffled, hesitating. I didn’t want things to end like this. I didn’t want the gentle, awkward way he was probably going to say that he wasn’t ready for us to use the “l-word” with each other. That it was too much, that we moved way too quickly for the time we had been together. That maybe we would’ve been better off as just friends instead.

The panic within me quickly subsided however, when Seth’s fingers brushed my tears away, tilting my chin upwards so that my eyes met his. “Hey. Please don’t cry.” He scooted forward to gently grasp my face between his warm hands. “I love you too. More than anything. So much that it fucking scares me sometimes.” He paused, sighing. “Maybe that’s why I get like this; I’m so afraid of losing you. You’re the best god damn thing to ever happen to me.”

I placed a hand over one of his, feeling a small smile break out on my face. “Seth you’re not losing me. I promise, I’m not going anywhere.”

He let out a breath, nodding before pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I’ve been such a fucking dick tonight. Let me make it up to you.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant until his mouth moved lower, stopping at my collarbone, causing me to shudder. “Seth-”

“Please, baby?” His lips were warm and wet against my skin, mouthing over the spot he knew drove me absolutely crazy. “Let me show you how much I love you. Show you just how much you mean to me.” He bit down gently, soothing the now marked area with his lips and tongue, while his hand wandered down my back, groping at my ass.

I bit my bottom lip, trying but failing miserably to hold back a grin. “Well how can I say no to an offer like that?”

I could feel him smirk against my neck, “Lay down for me, princess.” I obeyed, falling flat on my back as Seth kissed me deeply and slowly, his thumbs hooking in my panties before sliding them off my legs and tossing them away. I inhaled sharply as his fingers finally brushed against my wetness, providing me with some relief. “Shhh don’t worry, I got you.” Seth chuckled before lowering himself, adjusting until he was in between my legs. “Going to make you feel so damn good, sweetheart.”

A loud moan escaped my lips as he easily slipped a finger inside me, followed by a second one as his other hand squeezed my thigh. Sometimes it felt like he knew my body better than I did, knowing exactly where and how to touch me. I hadn’t even realized just how aroused I was until his hands began to wander.

“Look at you, princess.” I heard him chuckle before leaning forward, delivering a slow, sloppy lick to my clit, causing me to nearly jolt off the bed. He held me still though, pumping his fingers in and out of me so agonizingly slow I thought I’d go crazy. “Already so fucking wet for me. I love that I can get you like this.”

“Only you.” I managed to get out as fingers curled inside me, drawing another moan from my lips. His digits were moving in just the right way as his hot breath washing over my most sensitive area sent a shiver up my spine. One of my hands entangled itself into his dark hair, letting loose the bun he had piled atop his head.

“Oh yeah? Well lucky me.” He mumbled before moving in again, his tongue burying itself in between my folds. It traced zigzags over my clit, alternating speed and direction whenever I’d let out a moan or buck my hips against his warm mouth.

I let out a desperate sounding whine as he continued to devour me, eyes never leaving me as he did so. He always got off on watching me come undone because of him, the noises I’d make because of him. He also loved ordering me to keep my eyes open, so I can see exactly what he was doing to me. “Oh fuck Seth, please!”

“You gonna cum for me?” His mouth was still pressed up against me as he spoke, the vibration causing me to jolt. He chuckled again, clearly not needing a verbal response, “Fuck yeah, you are.”

He continued his actions with fervor, setting a harsh pace as I came against his mouth with a loud cry, my back arching off of the bed.

He didn’t stop though. Even with my thighs squeezing around his head as his beard roughly brushed against me with every lick. “Again.” His tone was rough and demanding, drawing another moan from my lips. “Cum for me again, baby girl. I’m not stopping ‘til you do.”

I was already beyond oversensitive, so it only took a few more harsh strokes of his tongue and his fingers scissoring inside of me before I was crying out again, my second orgasm running through me like a freight train. Having released his hair, my fists wrapped themselves up in the white sheets beneath me as I did my best not to suffocate him between my legs.

Finally, he moved back up, his beard and chin coated with my arousal, a cocky grin spread across his face and he pressed a long kiss to my lips, allowing me to taste myself. He was always so damn pleased with himself after making me cum once, but twice? Seth Rollins called himself “the man” for a damn good reason, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

“God I just love the noises you make for me.” He unceremoniously tore his shirt that I wore up over my head and threw it nearly halfway across the room before our lips hungrily met again.

I kissed him back eagerly, my fingers fumbling between us before they found their target: the waistband of his basketball shorts. I couldn’t help but whine as he shook his head, grasping my wrist gently and pressing a kiss to my palm. “Another time, sweetheart. I’m not done making it up to you yet.”

I whimpered in protest, arching my body against his, feeling just how hard he was and hoping he’d cave in. “I don’t know, I think letting me suck your cock would be a pretty good way of making it up to me.”

He growled, nipping my bottom lip. “God damn I love it when you say such naughty things.” He smirked, shaking his head slowly. “But not tonight, baby.”

“Seeeeeeth.” I didn’t care that I was reduced to begging; I was desperate to touch him, taste him, something- but he wasn’t budging. In a last-ditch effort, my free hand wandered down in an attempt to touch him again, but he quickly grabbed my other wrist, pinning them both above my head.

“I’m not going to have to tie you up, am I princess?” He raised an eyebrow at me, anticipating my response. “Unless that’s what you want tonight?”

Usually I’d welcome the idea of him restraining me, but tonight I needed to touch him, needed to feel his skin underneath my hands, and I didn’t want to risk that being taken away from me. “No.” I let out a small huff. “I’ll be good.”

He switched to holding my wrists above my head with one hand, an easy task considering how much larger his hands were than mine, “You sure about that?” His free hand pushed his shorts down, far enough so that his cock sprang out, so rock hard that it almost looked painful. I subconsciously licked my lips when I saw it, and he took notice. “Oh this is what you want isn’t it, baby? You want this cock inside that tight pussy, don’t you?”

I nodded furiously, biting my bottom lip as he grasped himself at the base, rubbing his tip up and down against my folds, coating himself in my arousal. Thankfully it seemed like he wasn’t planning on teasing me for the rest of the evening, and after a few seconds he sunk into me completely, causing my eyes to nearly roll to the back of my head as I practically sobbed out his name. I flexed my fingers, digging my nails into my palms, hoping he’d let me touch him soon. I wasn’t sure I could survive the torture of being restrained while he fucked me tonight.

It felt like an eternity before he decided to move again, rolling his hips just the right way as he drew himself all the way back out before immediately driving his entire length back in up to the hilt. “Ugh shit you feel good.” He buried his face in my neck, sucking and biting wherever he saw fit, not caring that he was definitely marking me up a decent amount. “Never gonna get enough of how fucking tight you are.”

Finally, he released my hands, allowing me to wrap my arms around neck while his hands grasped onto my hips, angling himself so that he could thrust into me almost effortlessly. He let out a low grunt against my skin with every movement, his grip on me only tightening, which probably meant some minor bruising in the morning. “Fucking shit baby. Going to give you exactly what you need.”

As a lover, there were times where Seth would switch between methodically slow lovemaking, and rough, fast-paced fucking. And don’t get me wrong, I was a huge fan of both for different reasons, but as far as him giving me exactly what I need? The day had taken an emotional toll on the both of us and I honestly just wanted him to fuck me so hard that we both forgot about it.

And apparently, I didn’t even have to ask for it. Seth suddenly halted his movements, and before I could complain, threw both of my legs over his shoulders, allowing him to drive even deeper inside of me, brushing against my core with every pump.

With an unrelenting grip on my thighs, he picked up the pace again, bottoming out with each and every thrust. And I knew he had to be tired from his match earlier, but he sure as hell wasn’t letting it show. It felt like he was pouring every ounce of strength into holding me in place while his cock drove into me over and over again.

“Fuck Seth-!” I gasped out, as his movements effectively cut off whatever expletive or noise was about to come out of my mouth.

“That’s right, princess.” His movements began to get more and more frantic as he fell out of his rhythm, and I could tell he was agonizingly close to his climax. “God damn, you feel too good. Not fair you have me ready to cum so soon.” I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as a smirk spread across his lips. “Looks like I’m going to have to fuck you a few more times tonight to really make it up to you.”

One of his arms unhooked from around my leg, only to move between us, circling my sensitive bundle of nerves at a much harsher pace than before, desperate to bring me to another climax before he reached his first. “Think you can give me just one more, baby girl? Think you can cum for me one more time before I fill you up?”

I nodded frantically, biting my bottom lip so hard I swore I could’ve drawn blood. I felt my third orgasm of the night roll over me, my fingernails digging into his shoulders as my head fell back into the plush hotel pillow, a string of wordless moans and noises escaping me as he practically began to drill himself into me.

“That’s right baby, fuck here it comes, gonna fucking fill you up so good.” The rest of his words drifted off into a growl under his breath. He let out one last loud groan as his hips stuttered, emptying himself inside of me.

Pushing his now frizzy and sweat-dampened hair out of his face, he released my legs, setting them back down onto the mattress before collapsing next to me.

I let out a breath, feeling my heart rate starting to gradually slow down. Safe to say, that was one of our most intense lovemaking sessions to date, with both of us lying there worn out and well-fucked.

“Hey.” Seth suddenly rolled me over, pulling me close to him so I was laying on top of him, our skin sticking together. “I know I said it before, but I really am sorry.” He kissed me again, this time softly. “You were right, I was jealous. A stupid, jealous asshole.”

I returned the kiss with a smile, “I forgive you. Thank you for apologizing.”

“I promise I’m going to do better. Not just for you, but for the both of us.” He squeezed my hand, pressing a kiss against my wrist. “I love you so fucking much, and I’ll do anything to make this work.”

I smiled at him, trying to keep myself from tearing up again. At the end of the day, that was all I ever wanted for the both of us.

He kissed me again, standing up and heading towards the bathroom. “Gonna jump in a shower. Wanna join me?”

“Maybe.” I let out an exaggerated moan as I cracked my back, shooting him a flirty smile. “Only if you promise to scrub my back after leaving me so sore.”

I heard him cackle from beyond the cracked bathroom door, “Oh sweetheart, if you think you’re sore now, just you wait. You’re not going to be able to walk to the car tomorrow when I’m through with you.”

I heard the sound of water running and just as I stood up to join him, a knock sounded at the door. I raised an eyebrow; who the hell would be at our door so late? Hopefully not someone from a neighboring room or hotel security complaining about all of the noise Seth and I had made.

I hurriedly gathered Seth’s t-shirt and my panties and threw them back on. I peered through the peephole, seeing that it thankfully wasn’t a disgruntled hotel patron, but Zack. He was definitely more of an early bird, so him being awake and at my door this late was odd to say the least.

Thinking that something could possibly be wrong, I hurried and opened the door to greet him. “Hey, everything ok?”

He folded him arms across his chest, clad in a plain black t-shirt and a pair of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pajama pants. “I should be asking you that. You weren’t answering your phone and I got worried.”

“Ahh shit, sorry Zack.” I frowned, suddenly feeling a little guilty. I had completely forgotten I had promised to talk to him later, and it was now technically way beyond later. “I left the venue and ended up turning in for the night earlier than I thought.”

“Now you’re lying to me? I’m hurt.” He grinned, gesturing to my neck, where some very visible hickeys were now scattered. “Unless Rollins is a vampire that feeds on you while you sleep?”

I felt my face flush, playfully slapping his arm. “Shut up. Isn’t it past your bedtime anyway, grandpa?” Fuck, how was I going to explain this to the girls in make-up? Maybe I could go with a scarf tomorrow? Or a turtleneck?

He laughed, holding his hands up in defense. “Hey, you said you’d tell me what was going on later and it is later. But judging by…” he again used his hand to gesture to my entire face/neck area in a circular motion. “You seem to be doing just fine.”

I opened my mouth to give him a brief explanation of my texts from earlier, but Seth’s voice interrupted me before I could. “Water’s warming up, princess. Hope you’re not too worn out because I’m gonna bend that cute ass over and-”. Seth’s words cut off as he stepped out of the bathroom (thankfully with a towel around his waist) his eyes going wide after seeing that we were no longer alone. “Oh uh hey Ryder.” He awkwardly scratched his beard. “Sorry man, didn’t hear you come in.”

“Sorry bro, I was just leaving. Didn’t mean to interrupt your night.” Zack chuckled, turning to leave, “I’ll talk to you in the morning, we can grab breakfast if you’re not too worn out. That goes for you too, Rollins.”

Trying desperately to hold back my hysterical laughter, I bid my friend a goodnight before closing the door once again.

Seth let out a loud sigh, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “I guess it’s a good thing I decided to put a towel on.”

“Hey at least he didn’t see you naked.” I laughed. “My fault though. Forgot to text him earlier and wasn’t expecting him to come by so late.”  

Seth didn’t speak for a second, before shrugging his shoulders. “No worries. He wanted to check up on you. That’s the type of person you should be friends, you know?”

I opened my mouth to respond but decided to say nothing. It made me happy that he was already seemingly more open to Zack. Breakfast tomorrow could also be a promising step in the right direction. Hell, maybe the two of them would end up as friends. “So…what were you saying about that shower?” I asked coyly, tracing my fingers over his forearm.

“The ‘scrubbing your back’ part, or the ‘bending you over and fucking you’ part?” He leaned his head forward, his lips pressing against my skin again. “Because I could go for both.”

“Hmm,” I pretended to be mulling it over, but I think he knew I had already made up my mind. “I think I like the sound of both too.”

“I told you sweetheart,” He paused, giving my ass a light slap guiding the both of us to the bathroom. “I still have a lot of making up to do for tonight.”

[frankbelloriley]

top ten wrasslin’ matches of 2018

So before I get into this, I’m gonna lay down some ground rules--well, more like tell you the rules I gave myself and those rules are 1) did it make me laugh a bunch and forget about how stupid the world is? (which is the basis for every one of these kinds of lists really) 2) would I show this to someone who had never seen wrestling before? and 3) one (1) match per episode/pay-per-view with one (1) exception for a good reason With that in mind, I’m going to get some honorable mentions out of the way:

Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho for the IWGP US Championship, and the Fatal Four Way for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship between Marty Scurll, KUSHIDA, Hiromu Takahashi, and Will Ospreay from Wrestle Kingdom 12-- they’re all really good and fun and worth checking out, but another Wrestle Kingdom 12 match is going on this list

The other two Chris Jericho NJPW matches versus Tetsuya Naito and EVIL--not on this list literally only due to the “one match per ppv” rule, but they’re all very fun, Chris Jericho is delightfully dickish and you should watch them in order to see Chris Jericho become a progressively more goth dad (he out gothed a dude named “EVIL” (all caps theirs, not mine) that’s how goth Chris Jericho got)

As much as it pains me and as much as it is a testament to what good wrestling there was in 2018, none of the Johnny Gargano-Tommaso Ciampa matches (1, 2, 3, which I can’t find online and whatever) are on this list (my favorite is probably their second match), and neither is Velveteen Dream-Tommaso Ciampa which rips (can I interest you in a fight between a Prince inspired wrassler who refers to himself in the third person and whose act became a giant subtweet of Hulk Hogan against just the biggest asshole in the world?). There is only one Johnny Gargano match on here, and if I’m writing a list of the best character arcs in 2018, the list goes Gargano’s redemption only to succumb to the dark side, Kazuchika Okada’s existential crisis after losing the championship, and Becky Lynch becoming The Man in that order. Becky’s arc really only started four-five months ago and much of it was spent by creative trying and utterly failing to get the crowd to boo her, and Okada’s arc was, by design, slow and frustrating after he lost the championship, but Gargano basically started the year as Luke Skywalker getting his hand cut off and ended the year as Kylo Ren yelling at a ghost on the salt planet, with every character turn making sense. It’s fascinating.

Speaking of, no Aleister Black-Johnny Gargano at NXT War Games 2 match which might be as pure a classic wrestling story as there is, second only to the Gargano match that is actually on here. (In real life, Aleister Black hurt his leg, so in story, they explained it that he got attacked in the parking lot by an unknown person, so the mystery of who attacked him would go on for months (coincidentally the same amount of time it would take someone to recover from an injury like Aleister Black’s) until Johnny Gargano fessed up to the act by kicking him in the face, so now Aleister is seeking justice. Wrestling is delightfully extra.

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs Asuka TLC match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship (no link, couldn’t find)-- whew (not “woo” in this house we boo the woo) Asuka was finally Asuka again (her first and last ppv matches in 2018 (this and against Charlotte at Wrestlemania) are super great and everything else is super not), Becky Lynch continued being the actual greatest, and I literally do not know how Charlotte Flair did not end up in the hospital after this. It’s not making the list for how the match ends in bullshit fashion even though it ends perfectly in character with consistent story logic (a pleasant fucking surprise from WWE especially considering, again, the rest of Asuka’s year)

None of the Shayna Baszler-Kairi Sane matches (can’t find NXT Takeover Brooklyn 4, but I found Evolution and NXT War Games II) (NXT was really good this year), which is a shame because all of which are great, but my personal favorite is on Evolution, and another match beats it out. As I’m writing out the list, I realized there aren’t a bunch of women’s matches, but that’s because WWE’s creative ideas for its women’s division was garbage until the Becky Lynch turn happened in August and got a crowd reaction they super didn’t want and tried to change until they were finally forced them to lean into it. However, Evolution was easily the best main roster WWE ppv.

Nothing from All In literally only because that show is for Wrestling Fans, and this list is supposed to be a “if you’ve never watched wrestling in your life” list. All In is good good fun, but if you show it to someone who’s never seen wrestling before, they’re gonna ask why are there dick druids, and you’re gonna have to explain that Joey Ryan, a dude who wrestles with his dick, came back to life after being murdered and the number one suspect was the guy from Arrow (really). Get into wrestling, then watch that PPV.

Good god, that’s a lot of honorable mentions. Anyway:

10. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens, an open Intercontinental Championship Challenge on Monday Night RAW, August 27th - this is just a really fun wrestling match between two talented guys who were stuck in other feuds that were prolonged needlessly in 2018, and it was just fun to see these guys branch out, do something different, and tear the house down against each other like, “oh yeah, these two are really good at what they do, I almost forgot.”

9. Andrade Cien Almas vs. AJ Styles - Smackdown Live on September 18--Like Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins, AJ Styles was stuck in bad storylines that meant to make him look like a strong champion but ended up making him look like a plot armored goober. Here we have the story of the cocky upstart Almas taking the veteran champion Styles to his absolute limit with a finish that is smooth as hell.

8. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Will Ospreay, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship at NJPW Dominion on June 9th - Spoiler for the number two entrant but this is where I’m breaking the “one per ppv rule” because Hiromu Takahashi has a broken neck and no one knows if he’ll ever wrestle again, so this might be his swan song. (He doesn’t break his neck in this match, I wouldn’t introduce him like that) These are two dudes who flip with zero caution to themselves with some incredible flippy shit. Watch it and pray for Hiromu to make a full recovery.

7. Six Man Ladder Match for the NXT North American Championship with Adam Cole, Ricochet, Velveteen Dream, EC3, Killian Dane, and Lars Sullivan - Okay, so, about this. Excepting Killian Dane and maybe Lars Sullivan, everyone here has had a better match elsewhere this year (Lars probably had a better match against Keith Lee, Adam Cole had his best match against Ricochet, Ricochet and EC3 had their best matches against Velveteen Dream, and Velveteen Dream had his best match against Tommaso Ciampa), but everyone gets a moment to shine here, and this is the NXT introduction of Ricochet who is basically a flippy videogame cheat code who is made out of some sort of alien substance. At one point the two large men Lars Sullivan and Killian Dane toss Ricochet across the ring to each other like they’re playing fucking catch. It’s hilarious and maybe the fifth most insane thing that happens here. If someone was to come up to me like, “I know nothing about wrestling, what should I watch to find out if I like it?” I would probably show them this.

6. Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii,  G1 Tournament Match - I’m laughing just thinking about this match. I don’t think anyone would call Tomohiro Ishii the best wrestler in the world, but I love him with my heart. Kenny too, but a boyish giggle comes out of me every time Tomohiro no sells someone slapping the utter shit out of him and he says (presumably) something like “that it?!” (I’m a fan of this gif of Pete Dunne slapping a no-selling Tomohiro for Pete Dunne shaking his hand afterwards. Physical comedy!). Anyway, the story here is Kenny Omega has gone 6-0 in this tournament, Ishii (who he has a competitive history with) has gone 0-6 in the tournament, so Kenny takes him for granted and when he realizes his opponent won’t go down that easily, it’s too late. It’s quick, it’s fast paced, and very fun.

5. Meiko Satomura vs Mercedes Martinez, Mae Young Classic Quarterfinals - I had no idea who these women were before the Mae Young Classic, but I loved Meiko with her first match in it, while Mercedes was just, you know, fine. But this? Wheeew. Two veterans giving it their all, and if you don’t turn into a Michael Scott crying gif after when they show each other respect, we ain’t the same.

4. Johnny Gargano vs Andrade Cien Almas, NXT Takeover: Philadelphia -  Going with this one because it’s the most newbie friendly match, it kicks off Johnny Gargano’s year storyline at the finish, and Andrade Cien Almas is really really good at his job. It’s a simple “good guy versus arrogant heel” match, and Andrade comes out to a masked mariachi band as his entrance.

3. Kota Ibushi vs Cody Rhodes, Wrestle Kingdom 12 - there are probably better matches from Wrestle Kingdom 12 but this is my list so fuck you but this is the match where pro wrestling finally clicked with me after starting to watch it because of GLOW. Folks, this is a 20 minute Jackie Chan fight with Kota as the daffy Jackie Chan-like hero and Cody as Anime Biff Tannen. It is fast, has some wild acrobatics, and it is funny as hell.

2. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega, 2/3 Falls Match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (Part 1, Part 2), NJPW Dominion on June 9th - If the last one was a comedy, this is an epic. This thing last an hour and a half, and it goes by in a flash. The entire Okada-Omega series is basically wrestling’s Lord of the Rings, and this is its Return of the King. The only reason it’s not number one because of the match’s lack of follow through in the months since, but man, this is great.

1. Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair, Last Woman Standing Match at Evolution (start at 29:45 then watch the end here)- *types then deletes a bunch of unintelligible vowels* Okay, so this is the first match that really took advantage of the NXT Horsewomen since their call up in a good long while and it rules. I’d say Bayley, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch had been given nothing for 2018 until August, but “nothing” would be a step up in some cases *cough* group therapy *cough* *cough* Nia Jax injuring every single one of them plus others and the only reason she still has a job is that she’s The Rock’s cousin *cough* Charlotte had her Wrestlemania match against Asuka, but this? This is mean, this is rough, this is the story of a girl, no this is the story of two former friends wanting to throw the other through a table. When pro wrestling is bad, it’s “what the fuck am I doing with my life watching this shit” bad, and when it’s good, there is nothing like it. This is the latter (not the ladder, but there are those here).

[placetobenation]

These are unprecedented times around the World.

The coronavirus has impacted us all. Our everyday routines have been turned upside down with a virus that has spread around the World and forced so many changes to our day-to-day lives. Things like going to school and work, or going to the store or just hanging out at your local hangout are no longer commonplace. There’s now a “should I go” thought before moving forward.

Sports, pro wrestling and the sports entertainment community are not exempt during this pandemic. Most every major and collegiate sporting event has either been canceled, postponed or suspended for the time being. There’s no concrete date on when the NBA, NHL, MLS, and MLB will play their next games. The NCAA Tournament has been canceled as well as the rest of the XFL season.

So, what’s the fate next for the wrestling world? Well, first up was Smackdown Friday Night. Originally scheduled for Detroit, Michigan, it was moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Florida as the city of Detroit had barred large scale events for the time being. Fans, for the time being, are not being allowed to attend the Performance Center. Ironically, NXT broadcast live from the WWE Performance Center with fans this past Wednesday because of a scheduling conflict at Full Sail University. The WWE has already announced that Monday Night RAW will also be televised from the Performance Center instead of in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as originally scheduled.  

Friday’s broadcast was indeed unique with Triple H joining Michael Cole on commentary giving a bit of levity after his open to the show welcoming the WWE Universe to the Performance Center. Triple H’s line about Asuka “blending in with the crowd” before attacking Alexa Bliss stands out. It harkens back to the time after the 9-11 attacks on America back in 2001 where SmackDown was the first live event in the country. The difference here is that there was a live audience. More on the show comes below in our SmackDown section.

WWE’s Live Events for this weekend in Toronto and Youngstown, Ohio were also canceled.

The WWE isn’t the only wrestling company affected by the outbreak. AEW’s Dynamite show this Wednesday in Rochester, New York has been moved to its home base in Jacksonville, Florida due to that city’s ban on events. It’s Blood & Guts show in Brooklyn, New York on March 25th will not take place due to the Prudential Center being shut down for a month.  Ring of Honor has canceled its 18th Anniversary Past & Present show for this weekend.

As of now, WrestleMania is still a go for the city of Tampa, Florida for April 5th but I’d be shocked it moves forward. Rumors of a move to June or July are out there. I can’t see any way that the city of Tampa nor the state of Florida allows such a large gathering to take place especially with so many fans flying into the city from around the Country and the World. It’s probably only a matter of time before the announcement of its postponement comes out.

It’s a very fluid situation as news changes not only day-by-day, but hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute. We are in the infancy of the virus here in the United States while other countries are ahead of us in its stages. The United States is still getting a handle on testing, so at this point, there’s no real figure on just how many have really been infected by the virus. Reports are that it could be up to 70-150 million that actually catch the virus.

All we can really do is be vigilant. Provide yourself a little social distancing. Do your best to avoid situations in which you may come in to contact with someone who may have the virus. Wash your hands. Cough and sneeze into your elbow. If you’re sick, stay home.

Be safe and stay well.

Now, with all that having been said, there’s a ton of wrestling news to get to.

The WWE and former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski are reportedly close to signing a deal that would see Gronk debut on SmackDown on March 20th, per Ryan Satin of WWE’s Backstage. Gronkowski reportedly could appear at WrestleMania, if it happens, and wrestle a few matches during the year.

Matt Hardy’s now a free agent! Rumors abound as to his next, non-independent gig. Will it be a return in a new form to WWE or NXT? Could it be as The Exalted One in AEW? Or possibly could Hardy come back to Impact Wrestling or Ring of Honor? The answer could come soon!

STAR OF THE WEEK

Shayna Baszler – How could it not be Baszler! Shayna eliminated all five of her fellow competitors in the Elimination Chamber Match to earn her WrestleMania showdown with RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch in what could be match of the night in Tampa, if it happens.

ELIMINATION CHAMBER RESULTS

The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) defeated Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins

Daniel Bryan defeated Drew Gulak

United States Championship Match: Andrade defeated Humberto Carrillo to retain title

Elimination Chamber Tag Team Title Match: The Miz & John Morrison defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E), The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso), Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado), Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler and Heavy Machinery (Otis & Tucker) to retain titles

No Disqualification Match: Aleister Black defeated AJ Styles (The Undertaker interference)

RAW Tag Team Title Match: The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) defeated Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy

3-on-1 Intercontinental Championship Handicap Match: Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro defeated Braun Stroman with Sami Zayn getting the pin

Women’s #1 Contender’s Elimination Chamber Match: Shayna Baszler defeated Asuka, Natalya, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan and Ruby Riott

No real shockers here as the WWE ramps up to shore up the WrestleMania card. The biggest news comes in  the form of The Undertaker causing AJ Styles to lose again, setting up their match on the biggest stage. Match of the night sleeper – Daniel Bryan over Drew Gulak in a mat classic.

RAW

RESULTS

Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Angel Garza

Bobby Lashley defeated Zack Ryder

Drew McIntyre defeated Erick Rowan

Non-Title WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) defeated Natalya & Liv Morgan)

24/7 Championship Match: Riddick Moss defeated Cedric Alexander to retain title

Aleister Black defeated Seth Rollins (DQ)

Seth Rollins, Buddy Murphy & The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) defeated The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) & The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)

.@EdgeRatedR just gave @RandyOrton an RKO!#RAW pic.twitter.com/wguH0ucMLS

— WWE (@WWE) March 10, 2020

Anybody else find it odd that Edge was back so soon, so healthy? I was kind of disappointed. Beating up MVP and an RKO to Randy Orton doesn’t cut it for me. A red-hot angle took a meandering step this week and needs to ramp it back up this Monday to get back on track.

The QUEEN of

is on

#Raw @NatbyNature pic.twitter.com/PqNAGNmuDP

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) March 10, 2020

I would’ve thought Natalya and Liv Morgan might have gotten a non-title match win over The Kabuki Warriors to set up a future triple threat match at WrestleMania, but we’ll have to wait on that one.

Just like that, @riddickMoss RETAINS his #247Championship over @CedricAlexander!#Raw #RiddickRegimen pic.twitter.com/aSnZvcZuAb

— WWE (@WWE) March 10, 2020

I still don’t get the appeal of Riddick Moss defending the 24/7 Championship in traditional form each week. So far, it’s been vanilla with a title that needs to stand out for its creativity and unpredictability.

Why does the WWE keep having their men’s tag team champions lose on TV right after getting the tittles? Seems like a pattern with The Miz & John Morrison and now The Street Profits.

NXT Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair needs a personal connection and emotional investment to take it to the next level. Otherwise, it’s just another title match. Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler has it. Ripley vs. Flair doesn’t. Although, very impressive thigh heel figure-four post leg-lock by Flair on Ripley on NXT Wednesday.

The grip of ROYALTY.#WWENXT #WrestleMania @MsCharlotteWWE @RheaRipley_WWE pic.twitter.com/UfHqPQDkWq

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) March 12, 2020

NXT

RESULTS

NXT North American Championship Match: Keith Lee defeated Cameron Grimes to retain title

NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Ladder Match: Mia Yim defeated Dakota Kai

Kushida defeated Raul Mendoza

NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Ladder Match: Tegan Nox defeated Deonna Purrazzo

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne) defeated The Undisputed ERA (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) to retain titles

I wasn’t expecting much this past Wednesday night with NXT coming from the Performance Center. It basically looked like a smaller Full Sail. Ironically enough, it became the forerunner to SmackDown there as the coronavirus has changed many plans this week.

A good, solid show with quality wrestling to advance the current storylines. Some questions…

Tick-tock apocalypse – is this Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux?

Who kidnapped Raul Mendoza?

The BroserWeights are doing their best to be on par with The Undisputed Era and It’s become a fun feud, one I hope doesn’t end with TUE loss.

Looks like it’s more Damian Priest and Dominik Dijakovic for North American Champion Keith Lee, who seems to be in the mode of gathering wins these days against opponents he should beat.

.@FinnBalor has his passport, but where will he go with it?#WWENXT @WalterAUT pic.twitter.com/7SCGZ6KYUw

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) March 12, 2020

Irony – Finn Balor shown with his passport out just moments after President Trump announced a travel ban to America from European countries, with the United Kingdom being exempt.

IT DIDN'T HAVE TO END LIKE THIS!!!

#WWENXT @JohnnyGargano @NXTCiampa pic.twitter.com/jT0My00leb

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) March 12, 2020

Ciampa vs. Gargano is always going to be good. It’ll be interesting to see how they keep in fresh through Tampa and beyond. Amazing romp wrecking each other through the Performance Center to up the ante is a good start!

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Sasha Banks & Bayley defeated Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross

Daniel Bryan defeated Cesaro

Jeff Hardy defeated King Corbin

.@WWEAsuka crashes #Smackdown to attack @AlexaBliss_WWE & @NikkiCrossWWE! pic.twitter.com/pjtZyVgEae

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) March 14, 2020

The WWE is never afraid to stand out and be ahead of the curve when it comes to national events. As we mentioned, they were the first live gathering of people after the 9-11 attacks on America back in 2001 with a live edition of SmackDown. Now, 19 years later, they are the only “sport” on tv Friday night broadcasting live on FOX from the Performance Center without a crowd due to the coronavirus.

How am I doing?? #Smackdown pic.twitter.com/4dJwi01pvs

— Triple H (@TripleH) March 14, 2020

Kudos to Michael Cole and Triple H for bringing some fun and an escape for the WWE Universe for a few hours after a very trying week for most. Love the inside stuff and shots back and forth. Triple H to Sami Zayn – “You’ve (Zayn) turned irritating into an art form.” Classic!

Unfortunately, due to travel complications, Paige did not make her scheduled appearance, but Bayley and Sasha Banks made the most of it, mocking her before beating up on Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross, with help from Asuka. It looks like Cross & Bliss might be getting their Women’s Tag Team Title Match after all.

“@Goldberg went to @GeorgiaFootball so IDK if he’s smart enough to operate a bulldozer.” – From the former @GeorgiaTechFB defender @wweromanreigns pic.twitter.com/wdy0sfmO9i

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) March 14, 2020

Loved the Roman Reigns interview with Cole. A nice shot at Bill Goldberg’s IQ by playing football at the University of Georgia and his “part-time” status by Reigns gives the feud a little backstory.

With the unusual circumstances, it was fitting that the WWE chose to show the Elimination Chamber Tag Team Match from this past Sunday’s PPV. Way to showcase a very good match for those who don’t have the WWE Network.

"You broke me @JohnCena, but The Fiend put me back together." – @WWEBrayWyatt #Smackdown. pic.twitter.com/cPFHt1esf2

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) March 14, 2020

The best was saved for last though! John Cena and Bray Wyatt gave us a true reason to want to see them fight again. Stripped down to the basics, face-to-face and easy to understand. Cena thinks Wyatt isn’t the future. Wyatt says Cena broke him. The Fiend awaits next for John Cena. Let him in!

WrestleMania Card

WWE Championship Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre

Universal Championship Match: Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler

John Cena vs. The Fiend/Bray Wyatt

NXT Women’s Championship Match: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair

The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles

Parting shots:

Mojo Rawley confirmed Rob Gronkowski coming to the WWE and SmackDown next week.

Be vigilant and safe everyone! Be kind to each other!

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots and Red Sox fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND!

[tweeted-co]

John Cena Answers Wrestling Questions From Twitter

hello I'm John Cena doing my best Lance Russell and welcome to wrestling support at sea-cocks three four eight four interesting would love to hit someone over the head with a folding chair like they do in wrestling matches how does this person always end up being okay that's a fair question here's the honest answer the people aren't okay it is a steel folding chair and you get hit with it it hurts like a swarm of killer bees devouring your soul it hurts when you think we get up and we're okay we're not bruises breaks tears we are trained professionals and this is our job to actually do this I don't know why anyone would want to do it for recreation so leave that stuff to us next at lives 93 I wonder if John Cena still owns this costume I never owned that costume I didn't own the wig I didn't own the gold chain I didn't know the jacket it was lovely I wish I had because I would walk around most of my days with this this is one of the most attractive photos of me ever taken whoever does own this costume if you are in the business of renting it I I have some money and I I may want to may want to rent it for private or public time franchise creatively spelled with a pH 19 who currently is the best wrestler in the world well we're in a business of accomplishment and championships of the height of that accomplishment so right now I would say a combination of Alexa bliss Charlotte Flair Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles those are our four top tier champions they are the four best in the world at get to be fit John Cena with exclamation point what is a revenge like I've never heard of it before I did see it on the WWE website in the live tour what's that god bless so after a big event where you have a very important match there are winners and there are losers but we never stop our we have our Super Bowl on Sunday and we don't take an offseason we have a television the next day so then we go out on tour and call it a revenge tour which if you were a loser in that important match it's kind of like you get another chance with not as many people watching and headwall my roommate and I drew you do you like it please respond I do like it the proportions are realistic the shape of the skull and the attitude as a smile on my face in both occasions that's also realistic and it seems as if I have a mason jar in my pants on one of them so I frequently walk around with a mason jar in my pants and they were very realistic to that as well at em Leigh Hearon why the dudes on wrestling have no body hair it's so weird they are so shiny and smooth yeah it's a turn-off to metrosexual well the laws of attraction are different for everyone technically there is a reason for no body hair if you have long leg or arm hair someone can grab it to picture someone grabbing your hair which is why I keep my $6 fade the way it is that hurts and if you're covered in oil people can't grab you which is why guys tend to wear small outfits as well now you can be as judgmental as you want but when you're in the thick of it and someone is trying to break you in half you want to have every single advantage you can I advantage in 90s fashion and I don't use oil but I do man scape from the eyebrows down I wear jean shorts just because people are scared by the very presence of a grown man wearing something from the 90s a velociraptor how do WWE wrestlers even get hired they have to show up in costume give their audition directly to Vinnie Mac that would be Vince McMahon people have different paths how was I hired I was sought out by WWE recruiters I was wrestling in small town flea markets and outdoor barbecues in front of minimal people and was seen and someone said hey would you like a chance at wrestling in front of larger crowds to which I said absolutely but for different folks they have different paths you have people like Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey that have been successful in other ventures and have found their way to WWE so it's different for everybody has there ever been in an audition where people show up in costume and talk directly to the owner of the company absolutely @ TJ hunter 90 what age is appropriate to use your son to practice WWE moves hash tag SRS if you have a son and you are thinking of using him to practice your WWE moves I would suggest leaning more towards counseling as a parent instead of asking me that question at f80 fries how do wrestlers come up with their wrestling names for example Seth Rollins you would think that that's his real name but it's not my process was very complex you see the name John Cena is not my real name my name is dick hammer Busch and it's a very difficult government name to use because of the connotation it provides so in thinking of a fake name they thought of John Cena simply eight characters two syllables throw some trumpets behind it that it just works why don't I use dick hammer Bush because that is just not who I am I'm John Cena at blue MD what's it like in a cage match it's like trying to escape a cage or win a match at this same at TFC hooligans 69 I prefer DFC hooligans 68 oh you won when one is training to become a wrestler how beneficial would it be to you as a wrestler to also study a particular martial art I'm going to say beneficial but not for the reason you're thinking because studying a particular martial art will also expand your horizons you also get a good awareness about how the body moves and the principles of basic martial arts it kind of gave you stuff you can take with you outside of the mat so yes all good but for reasons different than you may see at the highwayman 84 under which one he likes at set mace what is it like to work with Vince McMahon what is he like as a person he is unbelievable it's fantastic to work for Vince McMahon because he demands the best of everyone who he works with and I say with because you were treated like a part of the family and he demands the best and that's one thing but he gives you his absolute best every single day and that's another it's been an honor to sit under his learning tree for almost two decades at UT T Rob what is the most dangerous move in wrestling with this emoji next to it they're all dangerous I think the most impactful one ever designed is a move that I've created that I did not think would catch on we're simply where you wave your hand in front of your face and say you can't see me now I know out there the wrestling purists are going to pull their hair out but think of this my friends has there ever been another performer to wave his hand in front of his face and be given an actual superpower think think to yourself how many times you've seen on your precious internet pictures of myself another human being and you write comments of like but there's no one over your shoulder Rob how did you take a picture with John Cena this has made me invisible top that so interweb I always love chatting wrestling WWE and sports entertainment with you so I'm John Cena and thank you for watching wrestling support

https://youtu.be/-EueYot6TZ4

[itsjaybullme]

A Brief History of WWE 'Monday Night Raw'

Courtesy WWE.com

Twenty-five years ago, the very first episode of Monday Night Raw was broadcast on television. While sports entertainment was already a huge industry by 1993, most shows were pre-recorded, showing highlights from matches that happened days or weeks earlier. Raw, however, was revolutionary—the first episode broadcast live from New York City’s Manhattan Center.

On the 25th Anniversary of Raw, we look back at the show’s legacy, alongside quotes from iconic superstars like Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, and Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

The Monday Night Wars and The Attitude Era

For the first few years of its life, Raw enjoyed successful ratings, but the show didn’t really come into its own until it had some serious competition. Starting in 1995, Raw went toe-to-toe with WCW Nitro, and the two shows shared a heated rivalry. In order to compete against WCW’s beloved talent like Hulk Hogan, Sting, and Kevin Nash, WWE tried something new: “The Attitude Era.”

[RELATED1]

During The Attitude Era, WWE went out of their way to push the envelope in ways that had never been done on primetime television, from the vulgar, beer-chugging “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s rivalry with Vince McMahon to Triple-H and his crotch-chopping D-Generation X teammates going so far as to actually “invade” a WCW event. This era is notable for introducing a number of now-famous superstars, including Austin, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Angle, and Foley.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE superstar and current VP of Talent, Live Events and Creative at WWE: “It's hard for me to not look at the Attitude Era and say how great it was, for us as performers, for the company [and] for the fans. Prior to the Attitude Era, we would talk in the locker room and be reminiscing, [saying] 'You ever think it'll get as big as it was in the '80s?' And [then] six months later, everywhere we turned, it was sold out and people were going crazy. But when I look back at that time...I go, 'How could that era have not been a success?’ You had Sean Michaels and the Undertaker and Brett Hart. And you had Hulk Hogan at some point. You had Mick Foley, Rock, Austin, DX, me…you just had so many just legendary, unbelievable performers."

Mick Foley, WWE Hall-of-famer and former superstar "Mankind": “I don't know if it was like a dramatic departure from what WWE had been doing. I think the characters became more believable, more relatable. And I think a key thing, more so than the word 'Attitude,' was that you had four or five characters all hitting their stride at the same time. And we played off each other really well. We pushed each other. There was a definite competition among each other, and we all seemed to bring out the best in one another. So it was a competition and a camaraderie, and I think it was more the chemistry of those top five or six guys than any one word.”

[RELATED2]

Kurt Angle, WWE Hall-of-famer and current WWE Raw General Manager: “We were able to say and do things that you normally don't on TV and I thought that was kind of cool. I was able to stretch my character a little bit better. You know, it was just a lot of fun. There were things I said that, if we said it today, gosh, we'd get in trouble! [Laughs] But it was a lot of fun.”

The often-discussed turning point in the Monday Night Wars was something that no one could’ve seen coming. When Mankind (Mick Foley) won the WWE Championship in a surprise victory on Raw, the results were leaked early on WCW Nitro. Instead of helping WCW, the plan backfired spectacularly, as 600,000 viewers changed the channel to see Mankind finally get his due after years of being the underdog.

Foley: “I'm always flattered by it. I never expected it, because I just didn't see myself as a WWE title guy. I saw myself as a guy who set up people for title runs, not as a guy who got one. And so I never put much importance in it, I didn't realize how important it was until the moment I held that championship in the air. So it was highly unexpected, and it was just something that our fans really embraced, and kind of took on an added importance when WCW gave away the outcome to our show. And instead of staying away from WWE programming that night, people flocked to it. Overnight, my image changed, among wrestling fans to some degree, but changed dramatically within the business, as to what my importance was as a performer.

[RELATED3]

“The momentum really seemed to be in [WCW]’s favor, and they made a tactical error, and paid for it. And I think they underestimated how much stock the wrestling fans put into the hard work that I had put into the business for a long time. I think it really meant something to people to see that hard work being rewarded.”

“Ruthless Aggression”

When WWE finally bought WCW in 2001, it was time to change gears. Vince McMahon declared “Ruthless Aggression” the new era of Raw, and introduced a new superstar to face off against Kurt Angle—John Cena. Granted, the John Cena introduced in 2002 isn’t quite the John Cena we know today. (He touted “A degree in Thuganomics” and wore a Master Lock necklace), but his rise to stardom was swift. Soon, he became the “face” of WWE much in the same way as Austin and Hogan were in the past. 

The era also highlighted a number of technical performers, including Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and (perhaps most famously) Brock Lesnar, the now-current Universal Champion. Says Angle, “I liked the “Ruthless Aggression Era, that’s when we switched from characters to wrestling. I really enjoyed the [breadth] of my athletic ability in that era.”

The Women’s Revolution and the “New Era”

In the early 2010s, WWE’s developmental divisions got a huge overhaul. Rebranded as NXT, the league cultivated a number of now-famous talents, including Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Finn Balor. After a few years of Raw and its partner show Smackdown sharing WWE talent, McMahon reinstated the “brand split,” with each show having its own set of superstars. Notable superstars currently on the Raw brand include Reigns, Lesnar, Samoa Joe, and, of course, Braun Strowman. Strowman’s meteoric rise to stardom started in 2016, and his mind-blowing stunts on Raw have garnered millions of Youtube views.

[RELATED4]

The men’s division wasn’t the only part of Raw to get a huge facelift. In 2016, the “Divas” division got officially rebranded to the “Women’s division,” thanks to a combination of fan demand and the massive popularity of “The Four Horsewomen”: Charlotte, Bayley, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks. Banks makes it clear that she wanted to change the division from the very beginning.

Banks: “For me, that was always the goal. It's so crazy, when I was getting signed, I was heading down to Florida Championship Wrestling, [a pre-NXT developmental brand]. They were still doing bikini matches and I remember just being so terrified [about them.] And I went out and I bought so many swimsuits. I'm not a model. I'm not a diva. So when I got actually signed, the first thing they said [was], ‘We’re not doing those matches anymore.' And my heart was so happy. I was like ‘Thank you, Jesus!’ [laughs]. I had all my receipts and I returned those bathing suits right back.”

Levesque: “I think the world is in complaining state of mind about a lot of things. I feel like the era we're in now, I feel like we're sort of on the cusp of wildness. When I look at the talent base this year, when I look at the talent we have on the roster…Man, it's deep. Is it fire on every single cylinder yet? Nope. But it's right near there. And when it does, I think it's just gonna explode again. The current era, all these things are happening right now. Raw, Smackdown, NXT—you just have all these crazy, great things happening. That's never existed before. And I felt like this was gonna be one of those eras that sneaks up on you. Listen, when the Attitude Era was happening at first, it's not like we all thought, ‘Oh, isn't this magical?’ It was just crazy time frame. And you look at it later and go, ‘Boy, I didn't realize how special that was.’”

Angle: “Back in the Attitude Era it was all about character. Nowadays, it's about what you can do in that ring, and that's what the fans demand these days. They want a legit world-class wrestler in that ring that can put on a four- or five-set match. The demand has changed, and you've got to really be able to roll with that demand. A lot of people ask me, 'What is the best era of wrestling?' [It’s] right now."

Foley: “I don't catch it every week like I used to, but in a way that's fun, because I'll turn on the TV and I'll be like, ‘Whoa, when did Jason Jordan get be so entertaining? Or, ‘Wow, this Elias character is not only moving up as a character, but his songwriting skills are becoming more adept.’ And then I'll say, ‘When did Drew Gulak become fun to watch?’ Every couple weeks there are surprises in store for me. I still enjoy it. I think it's a credit to the show that they can take somebody who is watching every week, and give them something to look forward to every Monday. And then for people like me, and literally millions of other people, it's just nice to know it's there so that when we go by the channel, we find ourselves gravitating towards it.”

The Future

So what’s next for WWE Raw? It’s hard to say, especially with cable TV facing the cord-cutting era. But Levesque has made it clear that Raw will survive by adapting with the times, just like it did for the past 25 years. “Monday Night Raw has been on the air for 25 years. I know that we're just getting started. I know that 25 years from now, no matter what format it's in—where it lives, and where it exists, and whether it's arriving through a new chip that's directly in our head—we'll be there.”

WWE celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Monday Night RAW on January 22 with a star-studded show featuring current superstars and past legends. Check your local TV listings.

from Bodybuilding Feed https://www.muscleandfitness.com/athletes-celebrities/news/brief-history-wwe-monday-night-raw via http://www.rssmix.com/

[thestanfordfiles-blog]

Raw 4-17-17

Braun Strowman came out and again said that he wants more competition “or else”. i really hope that they have a plan to meet that demand. if not then they are wasting Braun. they have had other especially large superstars (andre, big show, etc) and they have found ways to make them very intimidating but yet not unbeatable. ideally they should have someone be able to beat him with a particular type of offense- best bet would be something new we haven't seen before. if they just have roman beat him with a series of spears and superman punches at Payback then they are stalling two careers- roman’s and Braun’s.

the first match was samoa joe vs jerico. this is actually an interesting match-up. i am not as familiar with samoa joe but wwe has done a good job building him up prior to his debut on raw by taking up his exploits on nxt. jericho has been in the wwe for a long time. he is still a great athlete and performer- even better than some  of the younger/newer stars. they did a great job playing off one another. just too bad that they cut if short to have joe and seth run promos on each other. that said, both joe and seth do excellent promos. they are entertaining, compelling and believable. 

anderson and gallows were supposed to go against r truth and gold dust (golden truth) but golden truth got attacked by braun. so instead they faced enzo and big cass. [side note: anderson and gallows were pretty entertaining on the WWE network original show, Road trip. ] anderson and gallows fit well as tag team heels. as for enzo and cass- they are pretty entertaining, but i cant help but think that enzo might be holding cass back. cass seems like he could make a run as a singles competitor. he is big but still very athletic. the problem is that i don't think enzo could work as a singles competitor unless they were going to use him to shake up the cruiserweight division. it just seems like cass is always having to save enzo and that enzo doesn't really match up to many of the other tag team competitors. i would hate for enzo to get lost in the shuffle as he is a very entertaining character. maybe there is a way to make enzo more effective and hold up his end a little more. as a fan i realize that enzo isn't just getting beat up- he is using skill to sells those moves. 

i recognized fit finlay as one of the people that went to check on golden truth after the Braun attack. so i decided to try to find out what other wrestlers still work for WWE in other capacities. it was interesting to see that there are quite a few retired wrestlers still with wwe. most are producers or road agents, while some are trainers etc.

Miz and Maryse were up next with Miz TV. The Miz is by far my favorite heel in quite a while. he is so polished with the way he sells his promos. His new rivalry with Dean Ambrose is fantastic. not only are they both entertaining but creative came up with a great storyline- issues over a class of styles. Miz being the modern prestige hungry wrestler and Dean being the gritty fighter.

Braun attacks another wrestler (looked like Kalysto) and now we have a match set for Braun vs the Big show (who didnt like the attacks on his fellow wrestlers).

crusierweight match: TJ Perkins v Gentleman Jack Gallagher, with neville and austin aries ringside. Both TJ and gentleman jack  have interesting personas and great in-ring styles. a lot of what they do is unique. things like when tj catches himself between the top and middle ropes or his head spin maneuver. it was actually pretty interesting the reaction that TJ got when he dropped gentleman jacks umbrella, shows that people are buying into gentleman jack’s character, to which the umbrella is important. i get why neville makes sense as the cruiserweight champion because he has established himself so well before they brought the cruiserweight to a more prominent position. however i am a little lost why they pushed austin aries so fast so quickly. he is pretty good with promos but i am no overly impressed with his in-ring work. he isn't bad but compared to the other cruiserweight, he just doesn't seem to stand out. yet somehow he very quickly became the number one contender and had a match at wrestle mania.

after the cruiserweight match, they showed a promo for an upcoming singles match between jeff hardy and cesaro. the promo included pictures of each competitors tag partner and i have to say that i HATE matt hardy’s new style, especially the goofy bug eyed look he has in that promo photo. Jeff came back with his same intense rocker style and next to that matt just looks ridiculous. they need to give him a make-over. my only guess on what he is doing is that he is keeping some of his style from the previous wrestling promotion what he was working for. 

promo: apollo crews and titus oneil. apollo and Titus both need the same thing- a better persona. they are both very athletic and great in-ring performers. titus needs to find something that is a more natural fit so he can sell it better. the whole titus brand concept is terrible because he cant sell it and it is just goofy. as for apollo- he isn't memorable because he doesn't seem to have any persona at all.

promo- hardy and cesaro/sheamus. the hardyz are definitely best in action vs on the mic. in particular matt doesn't even seem to be able to say certain words-- its LADDERS. I'm not being hard on mat because i don't like him. in fact i am tough on him because i think that he can be so much better. they just need to polish him up a bit. regarding cesaro and sheamus- i have to admit that i didnt get them as a tag team when they first got together but now i think they are a great team. i love that they came out with matching outfits at wrestlemania and continue to use that gear. they also play off each other well- cesaro the gentleman who helps soften some of sheamus’s rough edges.

number 1 contenders fatal 4-way match mickie james, alexa bliss, sasha banks & via jax-- this is an interesting match-up. fatal 4ways are great because they opportunities to more superstars and also provide more action & storyline options. for instance, alexa bliss wins by pinning sasha but only because sasha had been taken out just prior to that by nia jax. so even though alexa wins it still leaves it open that sasha could be able to beat her 1:1. they didnt really do it this match, but one things i like about the larger women’s matches is that they typically will add moves that include  more than two competitors, like a power bomb- suplex combo. that is very impressive.

kurt hawkins-- i don't get his persona, his get-up...really anything about him. then they have him face finn balor who is a top superstar- why?! my best guess is that they are trying to get finn back on tv but want to warm him up to things after his injury. cory refers to finn as “james deam cool, john wayne tough”. they really do come up with some cool creative concepts on wwe.

they showed actor dule hill in the audience then showed a clip of his new movie. i wish that i could attend a wwe event for work, lol.

promo: jerico. jerico is so great on the mic because he commits fully and also does a great job infusing comedy into his promos. i love when he calls the interviewer by the wrong name. haha and then when he uses alliteration just to be goofy- “weird wandering wayfarer”.

promo: bray wyatt. im not a fan of bray wyatt. i get what they are going for with the “eater of worlds” idea. i just don't think he portrays that effectively. for all his talk, he doesn't come across as intimidating and he isn't that spectacular in the ring. his finisher, sister abigail, is pretty lame looking to me. that is one of those moves that i would like to have done to me, just to see what it is really like. maybe its more effective than it looks. all that said- the house of horrors match sounds interesting. I'm looking forward to see what they come up with for that.

promo: alicia fox, dana brooks & emma. alicia fox is just annoying. dana and emma though should make an interesting rivalry. I'm looking forward to seeing a match between the two of them.

the next match was jeff hardy v cesaro. i love that they put this match together. not only do they have different styles (jeff the high flyer, and cesaro an athetlic strong man) but they are also two faces. this is a rivalry to show off skill vs a rivalry of face v heel. i think they missed an opportunity. although i typically think that cesura’s swing isn't a great move, it would have been cool to have jeff  swing out of it or up into another move. also it wasn't great that you could clearly see cesaro move into position for jeff’s moves. that just goes to show that since you don't pick up on that often, how well superstars do to setup moves so well typically. what was really great about the match was that they didn't mess it up with tag partner interference. they even ended the match with handshakes. you don't see that often and it was a great way to keep the face v face theme.

while getting ready for the braun v big show match, michael cole mentioned that david ortungo was out making a movie. i didn't even notice he was missing and honestly hope he doesn't come back. he really just got in the way with his commentary.

the braun v big show match was really great. they did a lot of moves that you wouldn't see when they are against other superstars. they took a body slam, suplex, choke slam & power slam. they even broke the ring with a superplex and sent the ref flying. it was a really good main event.

[gabekidd]

Paradigm Shift

Characters: Kenny Omega x OFC x Jon Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose)

Summary: In the cold war between WWE and AEW, Hannah McMahon has a foot in both worlds: she's climbing the ranks in her father's company while also dating Kenny Omega. But as more disgruntled wrestlers leave WWE for AEW - including a certain lunatic fringe - Hannah faces an impossible choice: fight for her family or for love?

Note: Featuring my OFC, Hannah McMahon. Takes place within the same universe as a couple other fics I wrote over on FanFiction. I’ll be cross-posting this over there, as well.

Part 1/?

Chapter One: Cheaper Than Therapy

Sunday, April 21, 2019 Davenport, Iowa

“Alright, alright—everyone raise your glasses!” The table grew quiet as Colby called for attention, and everyone reverently raised their shot glasses and drinks in toast. “I’ll try to keep this short and sweet,” he started. “Tonight was The Shield’s Final Chapter, and I’m not gonna lie: it’s bittersweet. When The Shield debuted at Survivor Series 2012, in those god-awful turtlenecks, I had no idea that it would become one of the greatest stables in WWE history and, in my very biased opinion, all of wrestling. Those first two original years not only shaped who I am as a wrestler and person, but gave me a sister and two brothers in Hannah, Joe, and Jon. And no matter what we’re going through or where we’re working, I know they’ll always have my back, and I’ll always have theirs.

“So here’s to Jon, who’s going off to greener pastures. We wish you nothing but success in all your future endeavors. And here’s to The Shield, the greatest faction this side of DX.”

“To The Shield!” the table proclaimed, and after clinking glasses with everyone around her Hannah McMahon kicked back her shot. She twitched unpleasantly as the Jack Daniel’s burned down her throat; it’d been awhile since she’d drank hard liquor, but tonight called for it.

Just over an hour ago in front of less than 12,000 fans in Moline, Illinois, The Shield had wrestled their final match. Hannah had fought back tears as she’d raised Seth, Roman, and Dean’s arms in the ring for the last time; truly, it had felt as if she were closing not just a chapter, but an entire book in the anthology of her life. The Shield was what had brought her to WWE TV after years of refusing to become an onscreen character. It had been her creative outlet for all her backstage frustrations; it had molded her philosophy on the business; it had made her a stronger person, both in front of and behind the camera. It had given her love; it had given her pain. And even though the show had been a beautiful send-off for the group, it would take more than just a final match for Hannah and the rest of them to adequately close that chapter. So here they all were, just over the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa, where they could all pour one out for The Shield at Colby’s favorite hometown haunt.

“Hannah! What do you want? I’m buying.”

She snapped out of her reverie at the sound of Baron Corbin’s voice. Most of the other wrestlers on the card had come out to celebrate—either because they were good friends with Colby, Joe, and Jon, or just because they enjoyed a good time. “Oh, I’m good,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m gonna head out here in a little bit.”

“What?” Joe whipped his head around when he heard that. “Six and a half years of history and you’re only gonna have one shot? I’m disappointed, Hannah. As I recall, the very first time we went out drinking together you rode a mechanical bull on Bourbon Street.”

Bayley’s eyes lit up at that. “Are you serious?! Okay, I have to hear this story.”

“No, you really don’t,” Hannah interrupted before Joe could elaborate. “All you need to know is it was Bourbon Street. And a lot has changed in six and a half years, Joe.”

“Yeah,” Fergal—a.k.a. Finn Balor—said from next to Hannah. “Now instead of staying out drinking with us she wants to get to the hotel so she can have phone sex with Kenny.”

Everyone within earshot either gaped in shock or burst out laughing. Hannah backhanded Fergal’s shoulder. “We don’t have phone sex!” she proclaimed in disgust.

“Bullshit. You two’ve kept up a long-distance relationship for over a year, you must be doing something.”

Hannah’s entire face burned bright red. What she did behind closed doors with her boyfriend was no one’s business. “Well, you’re an asshole, and I think I’ll take that drink now.”

“That-a girl,” Joe grinned.

“I’ll get it,” Fergal said in consolation as he got up from the table. “You know I’m just teasing you, Hannah.”

“Uh huh,” she muttered; but when he returned with her favorite beer all was forgiven.

The night continued on, friends and colleagues reminiscing about the past and wondering about the future, and one by one people closed their tabs and headed out to the next town, until there were only a handful left at the bar. It was nearing midnight when Hannah finally decided she should hit the road herself.

“Are you sure you don’t want to crash at my place?” Colby asked as she stood from the table. “My guest room is only 20 minutes away.”

“Thanks but no thanks. I’m gonna let you two,” she suggestively wagged her finger between Colby and Becky, “have the house to yourselves. Besides, you know I like my midnight drives. They’re cheaper than therapy.”

“That I do know,” Colby grinned. “Come here.” He wrapped her up in a hug, and suddenly Hannah felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes again. While her relationship with each of the guys in The Shield were unique and special in their own way, her friendship with Colby was beyond. Colby was her brother, her partner in crime both on and off-screen, and the best friend she’d ever had. Now that The Shield was officially disbanded, she didn’t know if they’d ever get to work together on TV again—and, deep down, that was what really got her.

“Okay, I’m gonna start crying again,” she forced a smile as she pulled away and wiped her eyes. “I gotta get out of here.” She turned to Becky and gave her a warm hug. “See you at the next one.”

“Drive safe, alright?” Becky said. “Send us a text when you get to the hotel.”

“I will,” she said, and with another wave she went up to the bar to settle her tab. Jon was there ordering another drink. “Planning on closing the place down?” she asked.

He sent her a crooked smirk. “When have you ever known me to do anything else, Hannah?”

“Fair point. Renee’s driving, I hope?”

“Yeah, but we got a hotel here. She’ll go to Des Moines in the morning.”

Hannah gave a silent nod as she handed the bartender her card just as the other barkeep set Jon’s drink in front of him; but he didn’t make a move to take it. He just stood there, watching her.

“What?” Hannah finally asked.

“You know I’m going to AEW, right?”

The bluntness of his tone caught her off-guard, but the statement itself didn’t. “Please,” she dismissed. “Of course I know you’re going to AEW. What kind of dumb fucking question is that?”

They locked eyes across the bar—and then both let out a wry laugh. “That was a dumb fucking question, wasn’t it?” Jon grinned.

“It really fucking was.”

Their shared smile lasted a few seconds longer, but soon enough a lull fell between them, as it always inevitably did. Over the years there’d been far too many words left unsaid, and they’d pooled up like a vast gulf separating shores. When the bartender brought Hannah her receipt, she all but jumped to sign her name and split. But then Jon said something that really did catch her off-guard.

“I’m gonna miss you, Hannah. Really. You always stood up for me.”

Hannah fiddled with the pen in her fingers. “Well, I just wanted you to be happy and succeed. Same as I want for everyone in this company. And I’m sorry it didn’t work out. For you in WWE, I mean,” she quickly added.

Jon flashed that smirk again. “No worries, boss. We had a good run.”

Crimson involuntarily blossomed across Hannah’s cheeks. Knowing Jon, he’d fully intended the double entendre behind that statement. She scribbled her name on the receipt. “Well, I’m heading out—”

“Hannah! Are you leaving?”

Hannah momentarily closed her eyes at the sound of Renee’s peppy voice. She really needed to go. “Yeah, I gotta get to Des Moines. I think I need the drive to unpack tonight, honestly.”

“Oh my God, I know,” Renee empathetically intoned. “The Shield was like your wrestling coming of age story!”

“That’s… actually a really good way of putting it,” Hannah agreed.

“Well, even though tonight was the end of something special I’m excited to see what you’ll do down in NXT. I really think the show will benefit from having you as GM.”

Hannah couldn’t help the puzzled look that crossed her face. Why did Renee have to be so nice? It would be so much easier to just ignore her if she wasn’t so nice. “Thanks, Renee. That means a lot.”

Suddenly her phone buzzed in her hand—it was a text from Kenny. “Gah, I really should go,” she said, and after a second’s hesitation she gave Renee an awkward hug goodbye. She turned to Jon. “Good luck, Moxley,” she quipped; and before she knew what was happening, he pulled her into a hug.

Every muscle in her body tensed. It’d been what felt like a lifetime since they’d touched like this. It was something foreign that had once been familiar, and that made it all the worse. “Maybe I’ll see you around,” he said into her ear. It sent goosebumps down Hannah’s neck, and she had to pull away.

“See you tomorrow,” she said to Renee, and she walked as quickly as she could out of the bar and to the illuminated parking lot where her rental sat. She dialed Kenny as soon as she climbed into the SUV. He answered on the third ring.

“Hey, baby.”

Hannah relaxed back into the driver’s seat. Hearing Tyson’s soft voice floating through the speaker immediately put her at ease. “Hey. You haven’t been up waiting on me, have you?”

“Well, technically not; I’m up playing video games. But you know I can’t sleep until I know you’ve made it to the next stop.”

“I know,” she said apologetically. “I’m leaving Davenport now; I should be in Des Moines in about two and a half hours. I honestly probably should have left here an hour ago.”

“Why?” he sounded surprised. “Is everything okay?”

She sighed. “Yeah. Tonight was just… emotional. The Shield was like my version of Bullet Club or The Elite, you know? And now it’s over.”

“I know. But it was time. You’ve all outgrown it, and now you’re each going on to do more amazing things. And from now until the end of time everyone will look back at The Shield as the thing that first put four incredible performers on the map.”

Hannah’s smile risked splitting her face in two. God, she was in love with this man. “How do you always know exactly what to say?”

“It’s a preternatural gift, I can’t explain it.”

“Well, thank you. And you’re right. But nostalgia’s a hell of a drug.”

“That it is. But don’t you worry; in two more days I’ll put you through a strict detox program.”

Hannah bit her lip at the thought. After SmackDown’s show in Lincoln, Nebraska on Tuesday she’d make the short two-hour flight to Winnipeg to spend a few days with Tyson before she had to be back on the road Friday. That was how they’d managed their time together ever since he’d left NJPW in January: splitting their free days between his place in Canada and hers in Connecticut, or wherever was most convenient. It could be stressful at times, and Hannah lived out of a suitcase—but it was the same for any other pro wrestler who maintained a relationship with someone outside the business. The only difference was that Tyson was in the business; he just worked for a different company. A rival company. But they both chose not to think about that.

“Oh really? And what will you prescribe, Dr. Omega?”

“I have a few pretty intense regimens planned,” he said, and Hannah couldn’t help herself—she let out a laugh. “What?”

“Back at the bar Fergal accused me of wanting to leave early so I could go have phone sex with you. I told him we don’t do that, but this is sure starting to sound like it.”

“Please, this is barely phone foreplay. Besides, Fergal doesn’t have any room to throw stones about phone sex.”

“Yeah, don’t wanna know,” Hannah quickly said. “But I’ll be counting down the days until Tuesday. I’m excited to finally get to spend some time with you in Winnipeg again. I feel bad that you’ve mostly been the one traveling to see me the last month.”

She could almost hear him shaking his head through the phone. “Don’t. You’ve been really busy and I haven’t. And if the roles were reversed, I know you’d travel to see me.”

“I would,” she said, and in that moment her heart swelled with joy. She was so lucky to have found someone as understanding and supportive as Tyson. It made all the difference. “Well, I’m on the highway now, so I’ll let you get back to your game. I’ll text you when I get to the hotel.”

“Ok. Drive safe and listen to loud music.”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

Hannah ended the call, her soul a million times lighter. She turned up the radio and focused on the road ahead, the past in the rearview mirror. As she’d told Colby, midnight drives were cheaper than therapy.