After Monday Night Raw, March 30, 2015
Roman
Damn it! Roman hurled a metal chair against the backstage wall in a fit of frustration. He knew that his little temper tantrum wasn't particularly professional, but the sound the chair made as it collided against the cement block wall was cathartic nonetheless. His body and his pride were still bruised from his match with Brock Lesnar, and now he was furious that Seth had managed to escape yet again. The only reason Roman had joined Randy Orton's team tonight was to get his hands on the new WWE World Heavyweight champion. After all, there was no love lost between him and the Viper. He still vividly remembered the beatdown Orton had given him the night Seth had betrayed the Shield. The Viper changing alliances did nothing to erase the bad blood between the two. Roman was willing to be civil with him for one night, though, if it meant gaining some measure of revenge on his former brother for screwing him over the night before. However, the sell-out had run away… again. Forget the Future of the WWE, Seth should nickname himself the Master of the Getaway.
Roman picked up the chair and threw it against the wall once more, exasperation coursing through his veins. He would never have predicted that Seth would turn into such a coward. The little weasel had always been more than happy to meet danger head-on when they were together in the Shield. But then again, even in his anger Roman had to acknowledge that Seth running away tonight probably had less to do with being afraid and more to do with picking his battles. That had been something Seth had always stressed to Roman and Dean: you should pick your spots carefully. There was no need to attack carelessly, when you could instead ensure your success through scrupulous planning.
Roman wondered just how long Seth had planned before deciding on this particular method to cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase. Knowing the Architect, Roman doubted it had been a spur of the moment decision. He had probably been working on this plan ever since Roman had won the Rumble along with five or six contingency plans. After all, Seth was always thinking about five steps ahead of everyone else in the room. Roman had been completely shocked when Seth had appeared in the middle of his match, and he was pretty sure that Brock had been equally surprised. Hell, from the look of things even Paul Heyman was caught off guard, and Paul was just as much of a schemer as Seth. Roman had been prepared for Seth to show up after the match was over, but he had never even considered that Seth would cash in during the match. It had never been done before. Roman hadn't even realized it was a possibility until it was happening.
Regardless of how many backup plans Seth might or might not have come up with, Roman was convinced that the way the cash-in had occurred had been Plan A. It simply accomplished too many things that would have been important to Seth to be a second (or third, or fourth) choice. Seth was able to successfully cash in without having to beat Brock Lesnar directly. He got to have a truly memorable WrestleMania moment. He was able to steal the spotlight from Roman and Brock. And perhaps most importantly, by cashing in in the middle of the match rather than after it was over, he was able to prevent Roman from possibly winning the title before he did.
Ever since Seth had destroyed the Shield, he had declared that they were now competing in a race to the top. Roman had never taken the idea of them racing very seriously, but now that he had lost, he was forced to admit, at least to himself, that it wasn't because he thought the idea of them racing was stupid or petty. No, he had never taken it seriously because he had always known that he was going to win the race. Even before they broke up, Roman had been on the path to be the breakout star of the Shield. He had been poised for a run at the top, and Seth's betrayal did nothing to change that trajectory. Even though Seth had often talked about the three massive egos that made up the Shield, Roman had never really considered how his ascent might affect the other two. If he had bothered to consider it at all, he guessed that he would have assumed that Seth and Dean would have been happy to just be in his corner and back him up as he worked to earn the ultimate prize.
That line of thinking seemed pretty stupid now. Seth had been never happy to stay in the shadows. He had worked to be Ring of Honor champion, FCW champion, and NXT champion. Of course, he would be determined to be WWE champion as well. And that goal would be really hard to achieve if it was his buddy holding the belt. In the end, Seth had been willing to sacrifice their brotherhood to be the best, and he had now achieved his goal. He had won.
But things hadn't worked out so bad for him either, Roman thought as he walked to his locker room to change. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was not really sure that he would have been able to beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. However, now Brock was out of the way indefinitely, and Roman knew without a shadow of a doubt that he could beat Seth Rollins. Seth might have managed to win the WWE World Heavyweight championship first. He might have won that race. But now it would be Roman's pleasure to shove Seth off the mountain and take his place at the top.
Dean
Dean had had every intention of driving straight to his hotel room after Raw but somehow he found himself driving aimlessly down nearly empty streets instead. As he drove, the same thought kept circling through his head over and over again: he hadn't stopped him. Dean had vowed that he would never let Seth successfully cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase. But he did. And it wasn't just because he was beat up from his match. Though he was battered and bruised, Dean had watched the main event, and he knew that he could've stopped Seth if he had really wanted to. But when the time came, he had found that he didn't really want to. He had realized that he was over it. Seth did what he did; they had battled it out; and now he was done. In fact, if Dean was really being honest with himself, rather than being mad at Seth for his actions, he actually admired him a little bit.
Dean knew that some people would think that he somehow owed it to Roman to be in his corner, that he should have somehow prevented Seth from ruining his friend's chance at the title. But Dean didn't buy it. In his mind, he didn't owe Roman anything. Roman was a big boy. He knew as well as Dean did that Seth was carrying the briefcase. If Roman was worried, if he wanted Dean's help, then he damn well should have asked for it. They could've stuck together more after Seth sold out, but Roman hadn't wanted to. Roman had made it very clear that he wanted to do things on his own, and Dean had been more than willing to let him.
Though Roman, Dean, and Seth had all been very close, Dean and Seth had had a special connection. They had shared not only a similar journey but also a deep passion for professional wrestling; after all, nobody toils for years in the indies if they don't love it. Even so, they approached the business very differently. Whereas Dean had always assumed that he would make it based on his talents alone, Seth had never trusted that his abilities would be enough to guarantee success. It wasn't that Seth lacked confidence. It was just that he was always looking for an angle, a way to get ahead. If he couldn't out-wrestle you, then he was going to out-scheme you instead.
The Shield had been one such scheme. Seth was never content to just wait to get noticed; he was going to make you notice him. And the Shield did exactly that: it got them noticed. Dean knew that people liked to accuse Seth of being cocky, but he was pretty sure that it had actually been him and Roman that had been the cocky ones. They had thought that they were so good and so talented and so cool that that they would just naturally rise to the top. They had been complacent. But Seth never could stand to tread water. The Shield was able to dominate Team Hell No? Great. The Shield was able to put out the Undertaker? Awesome. The Shield was able to destroy Evolution in a clean sweep? Cool. Now it was time to top it.
So Seth did the next logical thing and turned on his brothers. The Architect had become tired of only being known as one of the Shield; he was ready to be noticed as an individual. So he stole the spotlight for himself. Dean would readily admit that he hadn't understood Seth's motives at first. He had been too hurt and angry. But now, driving around dark city streets, it all made sense. Seth hadn't hurt Dean and Roman just for the sake of hurting them. It was just that he wanted to make a name for himself, and he wasn't going to let anyone, not even his brothers, stand in his way. Dean kind of wondered if he had been more like Seth, if his career over the past few months might have turned out differently.
Dean had always thought that Seth needed him and Roman. He had thought that was why Seth had designed the Shield in the first place. So, when Seth betrayed them, Dean had waited for him to fall on his face. He had waited for Seth to fail and come crawling back, sorry and broken. But he didn't fail. He succeeded again and again, and at WrestleMania he managed to once again steal the spotlight. Dean simply couldn't hate him for that. But he did hate admitting that he had had it backwards all along. Seth had been fine after leaving the Shield. He hadn't struggled at all. No, it had been Dean who had struggled ever since, losing pay-per-view match after pay-per-view match, losing again and again when it really mattered. Dean realized now that it had never been Seth who needed Dean; it had been Dean who needed Seth all along.
But that was all going to change, Dean vowed as he finally steered the car in the direction of the hotel. He was done losing. He was done being second best. Seth may have won the race to become WWE champion, but that didn't mean that Dean had to sit back and accept defeat. He loved Roman - Roman was his brother - but he was ready to put him on notice; Dean was coming after the belt, too. He was no longer content to put on great matches and entertain the crowd. He wanted some respect. And if he had to step on Roman's toes to get it, then so be it. Because Dean knew one thing for certain; he could beat Seth. He had done it before, and he could do it again. Seth had better get ready, because Dean Ambrose was coming after him.
Seth
Seth lay back on the hotel bed, his body completely exhausted but his mind still humming with excitement. The past couple of days had been a whirlwind of activity. Between flying to New York right after his historic title win, appearing on the Today Show, flying back to California, and wrestling on Raw, he had yet to have any time to let the reality of his accomplishment sink in. He was the new WWE World Heavyweight champion. All of his carefully constructed plans had worked out absolutely perfectly.
Seth knew that now that he had won the title many would be asking him if it was all worth it. Was it worth it to destroy the Shield to be champion? Was it worth it to betray his brothers to be champion? Was it worth it to sell out to the Authority to be champion? Glancing over at the championship belt glittering in the moonlight on his bedside table, the answer was a definitive, resounding yes. Seth had had only one goal in mind when he began wrestling, to be the best, and he had been willing to do almost anything to achieve that goal. He had climbed to the top of every promotion he'd ever been a part of, Ring of Honor, FCW, NXT, and now the biggest, most prominent organization of them all, the WWE. To say that he was proud of himself would be a massive understatement.
Seth's pride couldn't even be dampened by critics like Jon Stewart who claimed that he had yet to achieve anything on his own, that he had needed help every step along the way. Seth knew this argument was bull shit. Did people like Jon Stewart think that the help Seth received had been some kind of happy accident? Did they think that people helped Seth out of the goodness of their hearts? Of course not! Seth had worked hard to develop those relationships, plotted tirelessly to figure out how best to manipulate those around him so they would be willing to do his dirty work and that took just as much effort and skill as anything he did in the ring.
Granted, sometimes his machinations backfired. Though Seth had conceived of the Shield as merely a vehicle to gain attention and notoriety in the WWE, he had grown to truly care for the men he had called his brothers. There had been a time when he had doubted whether he would really be able to carry out his original game plan of backstabbing and betrayal. In the end, though, Dean and Roman had made it easier for Seth. They began the take the idea of their brotherhood a little too far, casting Seth in the role of the little brother who needed protecting and taking care of. Between themselves they jockeyed for position, but they seemed to take it for granted that Seth posed no threat to their dominance. Well, Seth had proved them wrong. Not only had Seth become the WWE champion; not only had he beat his 'big brother' to do it; but he had done it first. He had won his self-declared race to the top.
Despite everything, he still cared for his former Shield brothers. He had worried when Dean landed badly on a ladder during his match. He had cringed as Brock beat the living hell out of Roman. Seth had never really wanted to hurt Roman or Dean. He had just wanted to prove himself to them. Of course, he knew that all that would be a lot more convincing if he hadn't almost crushed Dean's skull on a cinder block. Seth would be the first to admit that that altercation had gotten a bit out of control. The problem was that Dean had refused to take their feud seriously. He had insisted on joking around with slime, mannequins, and hot dog carts, and if their was anything that Seth couldn't stand it was being treated like a joke. So he had forced Dean to take him seriously. Yes, he had been too extreme, and yes, if he had it to do over again, he would probably do it differently, but what was done was done. He couldn't change it. All he could do was look forward.
Luckily, the future was looking especially bright. Seth's biggest obstacle, Brock Lesnar, had conveniently eliminated himself from the title picture. Seth still couldn't believe his luck in how the Beast had completely flipped when Seth had refused to fight him tonight. Did Brock really believe that the belt would have changed hands if Seth had agreed to the match? When Seth cashed in successfully at WrestleMania, he not only gained the title, he gained champion's advantage as well. And Seth fully intended to use that advantage to his benefit. If he had allowed the match to continue, Seth would have had no qualms about getting counted out or being disqualified in order to retain his championship. The Beast could throw all the tantrums he wanted, the belt was going to stay in Seth's hands.
Randy Orton and Roman Reigns would be harder to avoid, though. And, unless Seth missed his guess, Dean would be gunning for him as well. Seth sat up and reached over to the bedside table to retrieve his belt. It really was his now. Brock's side plates had already been removed; it had been personalized just for him. Well, they could certainly try to take his title, but they would soon find that it was a difficult task. Seth was tough, talented, and smart. And besides that, he knew each of them very well. He knew their strengths and weaknesses. Randy might think he had the edge since he beat him at WrestleMania, but Seth had been distracted then. His mind had been preoccupied with plans for later in the night. When he and Randy faced off again, Seth would be focused. And Seth knew that he could beat Roman and Dean as well. They were evenly matched, but with the belt on the line, Seth had the edge. Seth hugged the belt to his chest and returned it to his bedside table. He smiled as he drifted off to sleep. Life was good on the top.