Chapter One: Return and revenge
An explosion rocked the building. Instantly, screams filled the air, giving the place the feel of panicked frenzy. But the explosion wasn't destructive; the screams weren't from terror. And as they died away, a new sound prevailed: music. A Green Day song blasted through speakers, with the entire crowd of thousands of people singing along:
I beg to dream and differ
From the hollow lies
This is the dawning of
The rest of our lives
On holiday!
A teenager marched out into full view of the crowd, which was in fact, an audience. Her audience. They went crazy, stamping, screaming, clapping, hooting, hollering and making general fools of themselves. The teen was an eighteen-year-old girl. Her blue hair and tattooed arms stood out prominently. And even without those features, one glance told anyone that she was entirely different from other eighteen year olds. Because she was.
She was currently the youngest member of roster of professional wrestlers. Her name was JJ.
She smiled at the crowd's reaction to her appearance. Scanning the audience, she noted that more than a few fans were holding up signs proclaiming their allegiance to her. She smiled again, and focused on the task at hand.
She was standing on a stage. From that stage, a wide ramp led down to an open, circular area, separated from the crowd by a low wall. In the center of that area was a wrestling ring; a square platform raised several feet off the ground, and surrounded on all sides by three ropes set one above another. JJ started towards it.
She paused about halfway down the ramp as the ring announcer, Lillian Garcia, introduced her to the crowd.
"The following contest is scheduled for one fall. Introducing first, from Dallas, Texas, JJ!" As JJ reached the ring, she stopped. She looked around the crowd for a moment or two. Then without warning, she snapped her feet together and threw her arms straight out to her sides. Perfectly in synch with these motions, another pyrotechnic blast issued from the stage. JJ climbed up onto the edge of ring, and, using the top rope as a springboard, vaulted into it. She grabbed a microphone. The multitude of fans was buzzing in anticipation. JJ was known for delivering powerful, yet amazingly funny dialogue.
"Wow," she said. "Oh, my gosh. You guys have, like, no idea how cool it is to be here right now. It is, like so totally, completely awesome! This is, like, my favorite city, like, ever!" She spoke with an obviously fake valley girl accent. "Seriously, it is, like, so great to be here in…" she paused and glanced at a referee who was waiting for her to finish talking. JJ made a face and took a deep breath. "Here in…New York?"
No!
"I mean, uh, New Jersey?"
No!
"Philly?"
No!
"Pittsburgh?"
No!
"Washington DC?"
No!
"Fargo?"
The crowd paused, slightly confused. Then responded, No! It was an old game that JJ played in almost every town she visited. It was also a trick to get the audience on her side, by making them laugh.
"Okay, let's see. I already said New York and New Jersey, which are obviously not popular here…oh, wait! I totally know it this time! Is it…Boston?"
Cheers and applause filled the air.
"Yeah, I was just playing with you guys. You knew that, right?" She peered suspiciously into the crowd. "Okay, for real now. As you're all probably aware, WWE hasn't been to Boston in quite a while—"
Boo!
"Yeah, I know, it really sucks. And, if you recall correctly, the last time I was here, which was the second to last time Raw was in Boston, wasn't one of my proudest days. I mean, that whole situation with Triple H, and the cage, and—oh here, just take a look at this, if you don't remember." She motioned to the infamous TitanTron that hung above the stage. A video clip began to play.
Lillian Garcia's voice once again filtered through the speakers in the arena, this time as a voice over.
"The following contest is a steel cage match schedule for one fall! The only way to win this match is by pin fall, submission, or escape from the cage either through the door, or over the top. Introducing first, JJ! And her opponent, from Greenwich, Connecticut, Triple H!"
Images began playing in a slideshow style. A short clip of the match would play and fade out, immediately followed by another short clip taken a few seconds later. It went on like this for about twelve clips. Then, the screen went dark, and all the lights in the arena turned off. It remained lightless for several seconds until—
BAM!
A loud blast of some dramatic music accompanied the new footage. It showed JJ taking a flying leap from the top rope and hitting triple H with a high cross body. Triple H recovered quickly, picked JJ up, and threw her into the side of the cage. He then proceeded to choke her with the middle rope, and kick her in the right knee.
Most of the WWE fans knew that JJ had had medical problems regarding that knee. It had been injured in a soccer game when she was only nine, and she had continuing problems with it. Triple H's kick sent her into a blinding white-hot pain. But he didn't stop there. He began an assault on her already injured joint with a series of moves that included a version of the figure-four leg lock, chop blocks, and what seemed like an infinite amount of vicious kicks.
JJ screamed in pain and cursed her opponent, calling him every name in the book. He stood triumphantly over her, although the match wasn't yet officially over. He didn't even have the decency to pin her. H walked towards the door, leaving her in a position where she could have pursued him if it weren't for that damned knee. The only thing that was keeping her in the match at that point was the fact that she hadn't yet allowed Triple H to walk out. And now she couldn't do any thing to stop him. He stepped down from the ring, and the bell rang, signaling the end of the match.
But, of course, it wasn't really over. The damage Triple H had inflicted upon JJ wasn't debilitating enough. She would recover and return to seek her revenge within two months time if he simply walked away now. He reached under the ring and pulled out a sledgehammer.
The next few images were still frames, the actual footage being too violent to show. But any viewer would realize what had happened. Triple H had hooked JJ's leg under the top turnbuckle—a position known in the wrestling world as the Tree of Woe. Then, the sledgehammer had been driven into JJ's knee. This was the point where Triple H finally walked away, leaving JJ to be assisted from the ring, and taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital.
Those fans that had followed the story online knew that she had been forced to obtain reconstructive surgery on the knee. The joint had been reinforced from the inside through the miracles of modern medicine, but JJ would always wear a brace to protect it whenever she wrestled. The video ended with an image of the ambulance driving away, siren wailing, and then it faded out.
JJ stood in the middle of the ring with her hands on her hips. It was her first night back on Raw. The recovery from surgery and the physical therapy had taken nearly a year out of her career, and she was still back much earlier than anyone would have expected. Now, she wanted her revenge. But, there was hitch.
"See, this is where the problem occurs," she explained to the fans. "When that incident occurred, Triple H was decidedly not the most popular person here in the WWE. However, in my absence, he and that scalawag friend of his, Shawn Michaels, have gone and reformed the legendary Degeneration X."
The crowd roared in approval. JJ shook her head.
"No! See that isn't a good thing. Well, in some ways it is, but in this context it isn't. You know why? Because I like DX. But, I somehow need to make Triple H pay for the pain he caused me, because I was gone for almost a year, and I'm not even cleared to compete for another three weeks, and this whole situation has really messed up my entire life!" She was yelling now, frustrated. She took a deep breath.
"But it is okay. I managed to convince all the doctors and whatnot that I'm ready to go, and I signed this match tonight. So, I guess the real question is: Triple H…Are you ready?" She grinned.
That phrase, along with the all-time classic "Suck It" was a DX trademark. The crowd wasn't quite sure whose side to take. Some fans were applauding JJ's sudden and dramatic return, while others were jeering the fact that she would be facing an increasingly popular member of the best tag team on Raw.
"No, Triple H! I said, are…you…ready!" She was enjoying herself now. Mockery was another tactic of hers to get her opponents fired up. Angry people were almost always more entertaining than relaxed ones.
Are you ready?
The crowd cheered even louder when DX's music hit than they had when JJ appeared. Lillian announced the arrival of JJ's opponent.
"And her opponent, from Greenwich, Connecticut, being accompanied to the ring by Shawn Michaels, he is one half of Degeneration X, Triple H!" Triple H and Shawn Michaels both approached the ring in their normal fashion: Triple H marching forward determinedly, and Shawn dancing and prancing his way down the ramp.
Stepping into the ring, Triple H grabbed a microphone and faced the audience.
"Are you ready?"
The crowed roared.
"No, Boston, I said—"
"Wait a minute!" JJ interrupted him. "I asked you first, Triple H!" Triple H stared at her. Did she really dare interrupt him? He took a couple of steps towards her. She was only five foot seven; miniscule when compared to him. He knelt down to look into her eyes.
"Shut up."
JJ grinned sheepishly. Triple H didn't return the expression, just stared hard at her. After a few seconds, JJ's smile faded and she looked down at the floor before stammering, "y-yes sir."
"As I was saying, Boston, are…you…ready!"
Once again, the spectators roared their approval.
"Then, for the thousands in attendance. For the millions watching at home. And," he pointed to JJ, "for you, JJ. Because you really need to start acting like you got a pair."
"But I don't!" JJ protested
"I said shut up."
"Okay."
"Let's get ready to suck it!"
Shawn Michaels then took the microphone from Triple H. "And if you're not down with that, then we have got two words for you!" He thrust the microphone heavenward and allowed the audience to finish his sentiment:
Suck it!
Michaels exited the ring, while the referee approached both competitors and explained that he wanted a good clean fight. Both JJ and Triple H had the thought 'yeah, right' flash through their minds. Then, the bell rang, and the match began.
Backstage, after the match, Triple H was talking with Shawn Michaels.
"Yeah, I know, I didn't expect her to come on that strong either," he said.
"I thought for sure that knee of hers would slow her down," Shawn responded.
"So did I."
"She did really well for her first night back."
"Yeah. I kind of feel bad about beating her, though."
"Well, we both know that she is one hell of a competitor, and she knows that when it all comes down it, getting the 'W' is all that matters."
"Right."
"And if she has a problem with that, she can address it with you directly—"
"With a steel chair?" A new voice cut in." Triple H spun around, saw JJ holding the chair like a baseball bat, and ducked before she even swung. JJ laughed. "Dude, chill out. I know you only did what you had to. We are even. All I wanted was the return match." She laid the chair on the ground and flashed him a smile.
"We are even?"
"We are even."
Triple H grinned. "Well, all right, then. JJ, if I can tell one thing about people, it is whether or not they can make it in this business. And let me tell you, that you're going places. And," he added as he draped an arm around her shoulders in a friendly manner, "With a little assistance from good ole Degeneration X, you can shoot straight to the top."
JJ feigned excited interest. "Really? You would do that for me? Golly Triple H, you sure are one swell guy!"
"No, I'm serious. It is a trade kind of thing…you help us with something we want to do, and in return, we help you with something you want to do."
"What could I possibly help you two with?" JJ asked dubiously. At this, Shawn began laughing. JJ just looked at him. He smiled. "Whoa! Wait just a minute—"
"Not that," said Triple H, giving Shawn an elbow in the ribs. "Believe me; what I have in mind is going to be fun for everyone." As he said this last part, Jonathan Coachman came strolling around the corner, and gave the three of them an odd look as he passed. "Walk and talk, JJ, because the walls have ears," Triple H added and steered her and Shawn off down the corridor.