Monday Morning, 9am
Philadelphia, PA

"So what's the plan today, D?" Eva asked with a smile as she put her duffle bag down beside the ring.

"I'm pretty sure you're due to get back on TV soon, so I want you to wrestle a mock match so you can shake off alot of the ring rust you've got." I explained as Eva scrunched up her face and looked around.

"Against you?"

"No, my baby cousin's here. She's just being extra and wanted me to give her an intro." I replied before raising my voice slightly. "Which I'M NOT DOING!"

"Boo, you suck D." Katarina as she walked into the room pouting. "I only had one request."

"Oh please, you had like 10. Now get in the ring." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. Katarina is my younger biological cousin from my mother's side of the family and in younger everyday fashion, she always manages to get on my nerves. Consistently!

"I don't think we've actually met, I'm Eva." Eva smiled, holding her hand out to Katarina once the two were inside the ring.

"Katarina." She replies glancing at Eva's hand. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Eva said with a little bit of hesitation in her voice.

"Kat, be nice." I called out, she smirked as her and Eva locked up with Kat, with Kat roughly pulling Eva into a side headlock.

"If I take it easy on her now, how do you expect her to be ready to face someone Charlotte? Or Becky? Or even Lana at that?" She replied as Eva struggled.

I sighed in annoyance. She was right, but I didn't need her brutalizing Eva Marie for no legitimate reason.

"Ok, I get your point. But my goal is to help her get back INTO the ring, not never make it back in again." I replied, as she simply ignored what I said and kept going

10 minutes went by and Eva managed to play possum and beat Kat, which no doubt infuriated her.

"What she needs is tough love, you taking this Detrick Approach isn't what she needs." Kat said popping to her feet before turning to Eva.

"That was smart, always keep them on their toes, and be prepared to steal a win if you have to." Katarina smirked evilly. "Ready to go another round?" She asked as Eva nodded

The next day in El Paso, Texas

Detrick's house

"How you feeling Eva?" I asked answering the phone, fully expecting the redhead to be in immense pain. Maybe, just maybe, calling Naomi to wrestle with her would've been a better idea.

"I'm actually pretty good, a few bruises but I'm good." Eva replied happily. "Seriously, I feel like with you helping me, I have a chance at becoming champion really soon."

"That's what our goal is. I'm gonna do my best to try and make you one the best, if not the best woman on the roster." I smiled. When Carono bought her to me, I wasn't really excited but things quickly turned around.

"Thank you so much! I've gotta go, Nikki & Brie are here. Bye!" She replied hanging out.

"You act like you're one of the girls." Chavo joked as I put my phone away. I rolled my eyes as I sat down on my couch. Chavo definitely was one of my favorite cousins. When I first had gotten adopted, Chavo was one the first member of the Guerrero family to accept me right off the bat. Since then, he's always been like a big brother to me, mentoring me and looking out for me.

"Why did I invite you here again?" I joked shaking my head as Sin Cara walked into the living room.

"Because you missed your family maybe?"

"Weren't you just home for months?" Sin Cara asked.

"Hm, sounds like I wasn't homesick then." I smirked as Chavo rolled his eyes. He wordlessly turned on the tv and started to watch the first thing sports related he found.

I went on instagram and posted a pic from yesterday with the three of us after training captioned 'Good Cop, Bad Cop, but it gets the job done'. As if it was some sick joke, Becky had posted something right before I did…..a picture of her cuddled up with her new boyfriend, MMA fighter, Luke Sanders.

It wasn't the best break up, and neither of us handled it the right way. There was just something about actually seeing her move on bothered me. We're not together anymore, so technically I have no right to be upset, but seeing her with another guy...it just irks me.

"You okay?" Sin Cara asked lowly. I snapped out of my thoughts and nodded quickly, locking my phone.

"Yeah, just didn't really expect it, that's all."

"If it's meant to be, it'll work itself out." Sin Cara replied putting a hand on my shoulder.

Smackdown Live
July 25th, 2017

I set my duffle bag down in the Usos locker room and started doing some stretches before I made it to the arena. Daniel had sent me a text saying I'd be facing Chad again.

"Hey Uce." Jey said flopping on the couch."How was your hot training session?"

"You know one of them is my cousin right?" I asked disgusted.

"I'm joking, relax." He chuckled." She getting any better?"

"Yeah, she actually pinned Kat." I said proudly. "She cheated, but she did it."

"You sound like a proud father." Jey commented, making me laugh.

"Can I talk to you about something since Jimmy's really anti-Becky?" I asked sitting on the floor to stretch my back some.

"Correction, I'm also anti-Becky...but I can understand where you're coming from, so go ahead." Jey replied cracking open a bottle of water.

"I thought if I stayed away from her it wouldn't be as hard, but between Charlotte asking me to go talk to her, and now this picture I saw on Instagram.I...I...just don't know how I should feel." I explained with a sigh. "How do you handle seeing the woman you love be with somebody else?"

"It's still pretty fresh, and it doesn't help that you got injured not too long after, so you didn't really get the chance to deal with it head on." Jey said, rubbing his chin thinking. "My advice to you man: Option one, you can either go and have a real conversation with her, one where she doesn't get the chance to run off because it's getting too deep for her to handle. Or option two, you start dating someone else. If Becky really is 'The One', it'll work itself out. If she isn't, then you're giving yourself the chance to find her."

"You're right." I say standing up." Thank you."

"No problem Uce, just make sure your head is on straight for your match later on."

"Always." I smile heading out, formulating my plan in my head.

Becky & Charlotte's match was third on the card after Kevin Owen's promo about his US title win two days ago, and Baron vs Shinsuke.

I had less than an hour to find her and talk to her.

A few minutes later, I changed into my ring gear: Half black, half white jean shorts with a Mexican flag decaled on the right side of them, black knee pads, white black and gold Air Jordans with white soles, black elbow pad on the right arm, and white wrist tape on both arms. To top it off, I put on my 'Lucha Warrior' hoodie, and headed out the door. Before I even got 5 steps towards the women's locker room I heard Jimmy call out.

"Uce! Don't do it!"

I stopped in my tracks and turned to face him. Jey's claim about us being so close we had telepathy was starting to sound very real.

"Do what?" I asked, feigning innocence.

"Talk to that ginger-headed she-devil."

"How long have you been holding on to that joke? It's been a while how." I replied subtly looking at my watch.

"I can get you dates with some very nice girls who won't run off and rebound without having the full story." Jimmy said as I walked away

"If this doesn't work out, I'll let you."

"Fine, good luck man." Jimmy said before I headed my own way.

"Hey hermano, check out Kevin's promo. He's calling you out." Kalisto said stopping me. I huffed in slight annoyance as he led me to the monitors.

"Detrick Cyrus says his first order of business here on Smackdown Live is getting back his title that he never lost? Good for him. Then head to Monday Night RAW because the Intercontinental Championship isn't here anymore. THIS is Smackdown Live, I'M the United States Champion, and I've got a powerbomb for him and everybody else who thinks they're going to take this away from me."

"I'll address him later. I've got something I have to do." I replied shaking my head. "Thanks bro."

"No problemo man." I walked off, trying to find Becky, because I really wanted to have this conversation with her before my rematch with Chad. I literally kept searching everywhere in the arena until I finally got to the Women's locker room. I knocked on the door, hoping that Becky would answer, but instead I got Lana.

"Detrick? What are you doing here?" She asked in her fake thick accent. We all knew it wasn't real, but she still kept it up. Force of habit probably.

"Is Becky here?"

"Nope, no she isn't." She replied quickly with a tight smile. "I think she's somewhere with Charlotte."

"Yeah she is." Charlotte's voice called out from somewhere in the locker room followed by the sound of a quick scuffle. Lana cringed before opening the door all the way up, revealing the woman I was looking for, holding Charlotte in a tight headlock.

"Can we talk Becky?" I asked as she slowly let go of Charlotte and walked out the locker room, making sure to shut the door behind her.

"Uh can we talk somewhere else? I'm pretty sure all the girls have their ears pressed against the door." Becky asked

"No we don't." Naomi's voice came out in a slight muffle.

"Yeah come on." I led the way to a deserted part of the hallway.

"So what's up?" She asked, looking anywhere but at me.

I sighed softly. I had this conversation in my head hundreds of times. I thought I knew exactly what I was going to say to her, but now that we're here, in this moment, my mind just went blank. I think I just needed to be honest and speak from my heart.

"I hate the way things between us ended and I hate the way things are right now. I shouldn't have to chase you down or corner you to have a conversation with you, Rebecca." I watched her fidget for a second before looking up at me. "We were friends before everything happened. Good friends, and I don't understand why it should be any different now." I looked into Becky's dark brown eyes. I'd known this girl for years before I'd even made it to WWE. Working the Independent circuit together, hanging out before and after shows, even me coming to see her matches when she first got hired by WWE. So much had changed between us in the last year, and it honestly killed me just how everything changed.

"It's just hard ok? I admit I lashed out at you without getting the entire story and I'm wrong for that. It also didn't help you were spending so much time with Eva." Becky admitted.

"I'm her trainer. There was nothing going on between me and her, except trying to make her a better wrestler. Besides, I see her the same way I see Naomi, or Charlotte. I just thought it would be nice to have someone who isn't biased help me pick out a ring for you. Plus, she was married at the time, so she definitely understood what I was trying to do."

"Charlotte knows me really well. Why didn't you just ask her to help you pick it out?" Becky pointed out.

"Because she's your best friend. She can't keep a secret about you, from you. If I had asked Charlotte, she would have told you, had an entire sketch of the ring drawn out, gave you the price, the store that I got it from, the person I talked to, and when I planned on proposing all before I even dropped her off. The same goes for Naomi."

"What about-?" I cut her off quickly.

"Kat would've picked out the ugliest thing she could find. I don't even know why you would suggest her." She let out a small chuckle.

"You're right. I guess I can see your reasoning." She replied awkwardly. We both just stood there, the next few moments in complete silence. Everything has been cleared up, and yet there's still a void left between us. I decided to break the silence.

"So where do we go from here? I mean I still have feelings for you, and I don't know you feel but-" Becky put her hand in front of me to stop me from talking.

"Detrick, I have a boyfriend, and I really do care about him. Look I know what we had was special, and I don't regret one moment I've had with you….but I don't think we're good for each other. At least not romantically. I think it's best that we stay friends." She told me, looking straight into my eyes, with a soft but serious expression.

I won't lie, I kinda saw that coming, but a part of me just hoped that maybe we could work things out between us. I mean, I wanted her to be happy, but I couldn't help but think it should be with me. I realized that I'd been spacing out, again,because Becky was waving her in my face, trying to get my attention. Back to reality I guess.

"Oh sorry, I spaced out for a second. What were you saying?" I said, a little embarrassed. Before she could respond, a stagehand came up to me.

"Hey Detrick, your match is up in 2 minutes. You need to get to guerrilla." The stagehand said before walking off. I looked at Becky, but before I could say anything else, she walked off. I sighed as I head off towards my match. Gable entered the ring first, I took the next few seconds to gather myself before a stagehand gave me the cue that it was my turn now.

Invincible - MGK

"And his opponent from El Paso, Texas weighing in at 228 pounds, Detrick Cyrus!"

The match starts off with me and Gable going into a collar and elbow tie up, both us trying to get the power advantage. Chad ends up getting behind me and putting me on the mat with a waist lock takedown, keeping me grounded. He wrestles me down and keeps me down, with me struggling and trying to get myself off the mat.

I end up overpowering him, and get to the ropes. The referee starts the count and Gable lets go of me at 3 and backs off. I regain my bearings, getting ready to lock up again. Me and Gable lock up again, this time gets directly behind me, and attempts a back suplex, but I reverse and flip behind him. I put him into a headlock and put pressure on his head.

He pushes me on the ropes, and then throws me off, and tries to clothesline me but I hang on to the opposite ropes. He charges at me, only to have me sidestep and throw him over the ropes. I run towards the ropes, only to springboard and flip to the center of the ring.

The crowd is loud and clapping loudly for the way that this match, and we were just getting started. This was not gunna be anything like the squash match we had just 2 nights before. I surprised him Sunday, but he had 2 days to recover, and he was more than prepared to give me a fight now.

I waited for Chad to get in the ring, while he was on the outside, trying to collect himself. I went to the nearest corner and used of of the signature taunts by resting myself over the ropes. That got the WWE Universe worked up even more, and they started chanting "Let's go Detrick!", which was music to my ears.

Me and Gable locked up again, both of us, trying to get the advantage. He gets the advantage, getting my in an armlock before grabbing my waist & slamming me to the ground. We roll around for a bit, but he ends up lifting me into the air, possibly for a German Suplex! I had to act quick, so I decided to elbow Gable in the face. His grip was starting to loosen, so I took the chance to Wheelbarrow myself and catches him with a Victory Roll.

I heard the referee count up to two before Gable pushed me off of him. Both of us got back up to our feet, but I was the first to move. I leaped onto his shoulders & manages to hit a hurricanrana which sent Gable out of the ring! However, I knew that this wouldn't keep him down for long, so I had to act fast! When Chad was almost up, I ran the ring and leaped clean over the ropes, crashing onto him!

After that, my adrenaline was beginning to rush. I was getting hyped up, so I tried to get the crowd as hyped as me. I picked up & threw Chad back into the ring before climbing to the top rope. The crowd was cheering because they knew what was coming, and chanted "Eddie" "Eddie" "Eddie". And then, I made the fatal mistake of not paying attention because while I wasn't paying attention, Chad got up and hits me with a top rope Belly-to-Belly Suplex! From that height, the attack was painful and it knocked me for a loop! Chad, wisely, went for the cover.

I'll give him credit, Gable's great! I don't even know how, but I managed to get my arm up just before the count of three! And I could tell that Chad was shocked as well, while getting a little bit desperate. Because the next thing I see is him climbing to the top rope! Soon, he leaps for a Moonsault, and time seems to slow down. Soon, I found myself rolling out of the way at the last second as Chad lands on his feet! I pull myself up and caught Chad with a Superkick as he ran towards me! I went for the DKO (Fireman's Carry dropped into a roundhouse kick to the head), but unfortunately when I lifted him onto my shoulders, Gable manages to roll onto the mat, grab my ankle, and put me in the Ankle Lock!

My God did that hurt! It felt as if Gable was trying to rip my entire ankle off of my leg! I had to get to the ropes as quickly as possible! Yet, when I was just a fingertip away, Gable pulled me to the center of the ring! Now I was in serious trouble because at any moment, my ankle would shatter! In fact, deep down, I even considered tapping! I mean, I literally just came back from an injury, and the last thing I needed right now was to be out again. I then realized that there was something I can do: I rolled onto my back, tripping Gable in the process, grabbed his leg, and put him in the Tequila Sunrise! Now it was Gable who was struggling to break free, and he was screaming in agony. It sucks that I did not let up, though, because now I was in the zone. I wanted him to feel the pain I still feel in my ankle. However, and I should've suspected this, Gable rolled onto his back and went for a Small Package!

I don't know how he managed to pull that off, but I knew that I had to quickly kick out, which I did. He got back to his feet, and I surprised him, and the crowd, with the 915 (Trouble in Paradise). Unlike before, I didn't underestimate Gable, nor did I waste any time. I quickly lifted him onto my shoulders and hit him with the DKO, which connected this time. At that point, I knew it was over, so I went for the pin.

"One.….two...three!"

The bell finally rang and the match was over. I stood up, with the referee raising my hand in victory. As Gable got to his feet, I extended my hand as a sign of respect of sportsmanship. He took it and we both shook hands, exchanging a few words of complements before he raised my hand in victory to the crowd.

I went and grabbed a mic from ringside and for a moment, I just stood there, soaking in the fact that I was finally back in the ring. The crowd was cheering loud, letting me know that I was missed and my return was going the way I had hoped.

"WWE Universe! It is great to back here on Smackdown Live. Now I've seen there's alot of changes here on Smackdown Live: Shinsuke Nakamura is here on Smackdown, Smackdown now has the women's MITB briefcase, and Jinder Mahal is WWE Champion. But I wanna focus on the smaller things before we get to that." I look out to the crowd and hear them cheer loud, then continue.

"Kevin Owens. He says he's got a Powerbomb for me and anyone who wants to take the U.S. title from him. Well guess what? It's gonna take alot more than a pop-up powerbomb to keep me from reaching my goals. And my goal is to be United States Champion. And if you think you can stop me, you've got another thing coming. In this ring, I'm a warrior. And a warrior fights until the very end. I'm not afraid of you Kevin. I'm coming for you and that title. Viva la lucha." I say as I throw the mic behind me, and roll out of the ring and slap hands with the WWE Universe, as they cheered for me as Invincible played in the background.

About 20 minutes, the show had ended and there was a huge swerve that kind of intrigued me. The main event consisting of Kevin Owen's, Chris Jericho, and AJ Styles for the United States Championship ended with AJ Styles becoming the new U.S. Champion. This was definitely something I didn't see coming, but also presented a new opportunity. I'd always wanted to face AJ Styles in WWE and now I had the opportunity to, and as a bonus, it'd be for the United States Championship. Things were getting very interesting.

"So uce, how'd it go?" Jimmy asked as I climbed into the backseat of the rental. After the show, we all decided to share a rental car because it's easier on gas and I liked riding with all of them. Jey rode shotgun, while Naomi was already asleep in the back.

"She wants me to move on." I sighed.

"We can find you a nice girl. Smackdown live has some Baddies." Jimmy grinned at me in the rear view mirror.

"Uce." Jey warned before I could say anything.

"You don't want a Smackdown live girl? Cool, NXT has some good choices too. We can even find someone from RAW. You want me to text Sasha?" Jimmy asked. I groaned internally. That was a can of worms I definitely didn't want to open up.

"I'll pass." I replied, sliding on my headphones, tuning out everything around me, looking out the window. I definitely had alot to think about, and this was gonna be a long ride to think.