Over the Barrier
I'll likely never forget the following experience. Monday Night RAW had once again come to the Arena where I lived. Fortunately, my Dad was able to get tickets for it this time. Four to be exact. One for me, one for my Mom and one for him. Plus an extra one so I could bring a friend. It would be my first (and probably last) time at a live wrestling event. My excitement continued to grow with each passing day. The anticipation was nearly painful. Finally, December 15 came around
I sat in the living room trying to read to make the time go faster. A little after six-thirty, there was a knock at the door. It was Lindsey, the friend I'd invited. She was practically bursting with excitement. We weren't close friends, but she was the only friend I had who was as into wrestling as I was. I took her upstairs to show her the poster I had made to hold up at the RAW. It was a large orange one that read:
I'm in the C Nation
and in this nation,
we LOVE Fruity Pebbles.
It was in reference to the super-hot wrestler John Cena. His fans were considered members of the Cenation. The fruity pebbles thing was a nickname Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson had given him when they were having a feud before their match at wrestlmania. The nickname stuck, so I thought it would be good to use.
"Nice." said Lindsey, smiling when she saw it. She showed me the poster she'd made. It was a medium-sized white one that said 'I 3 U John Cena!'
I smiled. "Well, that's right to the point."
She nodded enthusiastically. "I can't believe we're actually going to this! It's going to be awesome!"
"I know right!" I replied.
We left around seven for the arena. It was a half-hour drive, but it seemed to take hours, with how excited I was. We finally arrived to find the parking lot so over-crowded that we were lucky enough to find a spot. When we finally did, it was five minutes to eight, which was the time the show was supposed to start. We hurried into the building and handed in our tickets. We had seats in the front row. With two minutes left, Dad led us over to the merchandise stand where they were selling all kinds of WWE stuff. I got a black, John Cena T-shirt that said RISE ABOVE HATE in large, red white and blue lettering and Lindsey got a John Cena T-shirt and arm band with her money. My Dad got himself a John Cena hat and my Mom a T-shirt.
I checked the time as we headed toward our seating area and was alarmed to see that it was now six minutes after eight. We'd missed the opening show! When we got through the door to our seating area, we were met by the loud, amplified voice of CM Punk. He's another wrestler I liked in general, but lately he'd turned into a pretty bad guy. I could see him standing in the middle of the ring as we made our way down the narrow arena steps to our seats. His title was clutched in one hand and a microphone in the other. He was spouting his usual crap about how he deserved respect and no one was giving it to him. He'd started saying that stuff just recently and had become very nasty about it.
We finally reached our seats and were settling down into them as CM Punk said, "For weeks now, I've been trying to get people to say one thing, and it's not that hard. It's simply the truth. I'm the best in the World." People interrupted him with resounding boos. My parents, Lindsey, and I joined in. "Shut up!" Punk yelled, causing people to boo louder. "You all know it's true and I'm going to get one of you to admit it."
I watched as he scanned the audience with his eyes. He seemed to be looking for someone. His eyes suddenly fell on my face, and he pointed right at me. "You. Get up here." he said. I stared at him in wide-eyed shock. Was he really talking to me? I pointed to myself questioningly. "Yes, I'm talking to you blondy." he answered, beckoning to me with his hand. I couldn't believe it. He wanted me to get in the ring with him? Was that even allowed?
Apparently it was, as I noticed two WWE officials coming over to help me over the dark security barrier. I glanced at my parents and Lindsey. Their expressions ranged from shocked to excited smiles. "Go on." said my Dad, a huge grin on his face. I nodded and heaved myself up and over the barrier, with a little help from the officials. I took timid steps toward the ring. When I was just some inches away, I looked at one of the officials and asked what I was supposed to do.
"Just go with whatever he says or does and you should be fine." he answered with a reassuring smile.
I smiled shyly back. "Ok." With little help, I was able to pull myself into the ring by sliding under the bottom rope. It was so weird. I'd seen this very ring on TV hundreds of times, and now I was actually in it. It was surreal.
Once I was standing upright in the ring, CM Punk waved me over. "Come on over here." he said in a friendly voice. I did what he said. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was more nervous than I'd ever been in my life. When I was in reaching distance, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I felt the blood rush to my face. I'd had a crush on CM Punk for a while. "So, what's your name?" he asked, smiling slightly and holding the microphone to my mouth.
"Michelle." I answered, startled when my voice reverberated throughout the huge arena.
"Well Michelle, that's a nice name bytheway, you see the respect I'm showing you?" I nodded, since he didn't hold to the microphone to my mouth to answer. "Now, I want you to show me the same respect. Being a member of the WWE Universe, I want you to tell these people that I'm the best in the world. Tell them the truth." He held the microphone to my mouth and waited for me to say something.
I hesitated, trying to think of something good to say. Of course I liked CM Punk, having read his tweets on twitter, but I didn't think he was the best wrestler in the world. I could think of several others who were much better. I was pretty sure no one thought he was the best in the world. So I said, "Um...I like you and think you're a great wrestler...but you're not the best in the world, so I can't say that. It would be lying." I'd decided to tack on that last sentence at the last minute. I was surprised at my own courage. There was no way he wouldn't get angry about this. As it turned out, I was right.
He stepped away from me, a look of anger on his face. "Are you serious?!" he yelled into the microphone, making me jump. "Do you know what I could do to you right now?" I shook my head, recoiling a step. I knew he was acting, but his anger scared me a little. "I'll give you another chance. SAY I'M THE BEST IN THE WORLD!" He held the microphone out to me.
"No!" I yelled into it, flinging the word at him. The audience responded to this by chanting Daniel Bryan's (another wrestler) catch phrase. "No! No! No!" resounded around us.
CM Punk let the micophone drop from his hand with an echoing thump, and advanced toward me, a scary look on his face. All I could do was back away, and hope someone came to my rescue. Sure enough, John Cena's music played and he himself ran down to the ring. I smiled as CM Punk retreated to the far side of the ring, standing right next to me. I tried to edge away, thinking it was time to escape, but Punk grabbed my arm, shaking his head slightly and mouthing the words, "Not Yet." I glimpsed a smile before he turned an angry look on John Cena, who was in the ring now, microphone in hand.
"Punk, you've taken this respect thing too far." he said. "Just let her go."
Punk's grip on my arm tightened slightly, and he shook his head. "No! Not until she tells everyone the truth!" he replied. I think only John and I were able to hear him though, since he no longer had a microphone. The noise of the crowd surrounded us.
"You want her to tell the truth? She just did! You're good, but not the best. Now let her go!"
I expected Punk to do what Cena said, but he continued holding my arm, a determined expression on his face. "I won't." he replied, shaking his head. I glanced at my parents and friend in the audience. My Dad looked concerned, my Mom looked like she wanted to jump over the barrier and come after me, and Lindsey just looked excited
"Alright Punk, you win." said Cena. I looked at him in surprise. He continued, "Why don't you just let her come over to me, and I'll tell her what to say. She'd probably listen to me better than you."
There was a long pause, where all you could hear was the babble of the crowd, then Punk nodded and let go of my arm. He smiled when I looked at him. "Good job." he said, just loud enough for me to hear. I smiled at him briefly, then took two uncertain steps toward Cena, pretending to still be scared. Everything happened quickly then.
"Run!" yelled Cena, right before he charged at Punk. I immediately slid out of the ring and, with help from officials, climbed back over the barrierto take my seat, which is where I stayed for the rest of the night. Some exciting things happened that night, but none as exciting as my experience in the ring with John Cena and CM Punk.