Chapter 7: Hungry Are The Hounds
"These masks make us look like beasts Seth. Nice work," Roman complimented, studying the vicioius dog masks Seth Rollins had manage to whip up over WrestleMania weekend. They redefined what a vicious hound truly looked like.
"Thanks man. They don't call me the Architect of the Shield for nothing!" Seth bragged, while lacing up his boots for their upcoming match. The Shield were completely in the zone and hyped up for their match. After all, it was the night of WrestleMania 30, and they wanted to put on a show that would leave an imprint on each and every fan's memory of what they did.
"It's remarkable, considering you can't build a statue to save your life," Dean griped, "but still, these masks look pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself." Roman shook his head and snickered as Seth threw a pair of ring gloves at Dean. "Like you've ever crafted any type of masterpiece in your lifetime Dean," Seth quipped before Roman calmed down.
"Alright guys, let's stay focused here. We've got some old timers to destroy. We need to show the world that the Shield are the new symbol of excellence so tonight let's send a message boys," Roman proclaimed as the trio all donned their new hounds masks. They all disappeared through the curtain just before AJ could come and knock on the door. The Black Widow sighed to herself. Times were rough lately indeed.
The Shield vs Kane & The Outlaws
The Shield immediately interrupted the New Age Outlaws' entrance, deadset on getting revenge on the legendary tag team for taking them out weeks ago as well as Kane. They leaped the barricade and immediately attacked the opposition, flying left and right like a pinball in a pinball machine.
Roman pumped his fist and hit his signature Superman Punch on both Road Dogg and Billy Gunn, sending them sprawling outside the ring. Just as the duo got to their feet, Seth and Dean both came flying out at them directly with sick Suicide Dive attempts. The crowd popped huge as Seth screamed like a rock star, enthralled with the enthusiasm and passion of the WrestleMania crowd. Dean almost lost it as well, getting caught up in the moment.
However, Kane met the both of them on the outside of the ring with massive uppercuts to the head. Rolling into the ring, Kane grasped the throat of Roman, but the powerhouse powered out of the Big Red Machine's grasp with ease. Not to be outdone, Kane hit Roman with another uppercut. However, Roman bounced off of the ropes and used the momentum to trounce Kane with a Superman Punch, followed by his vicious Spear.
Road Dogg and Billy Gunn emerged from the outside immediately, attacking the Samoan with a two on one advantage. That would not be the case for long as Dean clobbered Road Dogg from behind, hitting his newly named finisher Dirty Deeds, as Seth hit the Blackout on Gunn. The three hounds looked at each other, a grin spreading across each of their faces.
Roman looked up to the center of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, and howled loudly. The Shield weren't just going to beat the Outlaws, they were going to utterly destroy them as well. Dean and Seth both picked up Road Dogg and Billy Gunn and set them on each side of the powerhouse's arms. As Seth positioned Billy and Dean positioned Dogg, the trio launched forward with a new never-before-seen move, the Double Triple Powerbomb.
Once Seth pinned Billy Gunn, the crowd roared with the approval, chanting 'believe in the Shield!' Roman couldn't help but let a huge smile cross over his face. Once again, he had garnered another WrestleMania victory on the grandest stage of them all, and this time it was at WrestleMania 30.
Backstage
Roman stood looking at the plasma TV screen in shock alongside a couple of others; still overcome with shock. How had the Streak been broken? And by Brock Lesnar of all people? That type of honor wasn't bestowed upon anybody and what made Brock so special to be the one to break it? Roman wouldn't question the Deadman's decision, but it was still at most a head scratcher.
"Now that's an injustice," Dean yelled, kicking a couple of boxes over as Kofi scoffed. "Hey, watch it man!" Dean flicked off the Ghana native, who rolled his eyes and went back over to comforting some of his fellow superstars who were still teary-eyed over the dark deed that Brock Lesnar had committed on this evening.
"Wow. I can't believe the streak is over," Roman said quietly to himself. "I had always dreamed of getting the honor to face the Deadman at a future Mania," he added quietly once more. The look of shock could be seen across the faces of every superstar backstage. Roman continually stared at the screen as he saw the Deadman stand up, looking at all of the fans. Although some were very unhappy, they all gave a round of applause and a standing ovation to the Deadman, who at this point, had seemingly delivered his final curtain call. Roman found himself clapping for Taker as well, completely out of respect.
"Congrats on a well done career Undertaker. We'll see you in the Hall of Fame one day," he said, bowing his head in a moment of silence.
"I wish he would have got his revenge on you and the Shield and buried them alive," came the voice of one cocky and confident AJ Lee, fresh off yet another successful title defense. This time, the Black Widow managed to somehow beat 13 divas in one single match to retain her title. Hell, she was closing in on 300 days as champion now.
"Me too. Guess it won't happen now though so you can leave with your broken dreams," Roman said, making AJ glare. "Hey, no need to get nasty with me like that. It's just wishful thinking," AJ said, shrugging as she stared at Roman from behind.
"If you're here to apologize, you can go in the other direction with that crap," Roman sounded off, before AJ could speak another word. "Guess you like testing the waters before you fully commit to somebody, am I right?" he inquired.
"Hey, knock it off! Look, I'm sorry and I don't know what came over me, but things happen. I get caught up in moments a lot and I have trouble controlling my desires sometimes," she said, taking a seat next to him on the crate. Roman still didn't bother sending a look her way. She tried to place her hand into his, but he gave it a warning squeeze and she quickly withdrew her hand.
"Look I said I'm sorry okay?!" she screeched, starting to get crazy upset again. "You should be telling that to your fiancee CM Punk. If you're lucky, maybe he won't walk out on you like I'm about to do right now," Roman sounded off, getting to his feet. "See you."
Roman walked off down the corridor, allowing the maniac in AJ to burn wild once more. "You act like it's all my fault! Just for this, I'm going to torture Tamina like you could only begin to imagine!" she screeched, causing Roman to pause and then shake his head. "Tamina's a big girl. She can handle you herself and besides, it's not like you guys are exactly on the same page anyway," Roman said, and then quietly chucking up a deuce sign, departed from view.
Instead of screaming, AJ did the opposite. She curled up into a ball and sobbed to herself. She had ruined everything that was brewing between them. What started as an innocent game of flirtation could have turned into so much more, but then she thought back to that day when Punk had proposed to her. It was completely unexpected, and quite frankly the most exhilarating moment she had ever experienced in her life. Would she really throw away all that they had just for a flirt game with Roman Reigns?
Her mind was too clouded and confused to make any sudden judgment calls at the very moment; for now all she had to worry about was one thing, and that was her 'baby', her precious Divas championship. Well, that and Tamina for now at least.
Two Days Later, After Main Event
It had been about two days since Roman had last spoke to AJ and for him, the less he saw of her the better. What had happened between them was a huge mistake over WrestleMania week, and it wasn't something he planned on duplicating another time. After all, his father Sika and his uncle Afa had passed on some knowledge about getting involved in other people's business, and there was always a right time and place to do so, but AJ's was not the place to be in.
Helping Daniel Bryan though? The Shield made that their business. It was always the group's mission to serve up justice wherever they saw fit, and right now, there was no bigger injustice in the WWE than the Authority. Roman had informed both Dean and Seth about how Triple H confronted him and asked the powerhouse to betray the rest of the Shield and join up with the Authority.
The very notion of that angered Dean to the core, causing him to kick over multiple boxes in complete anger and assault some of the backstage security before Roman and Seth got him under control once more.
"I'm gonna tear that big nose off his face, and shove it somewhere he used to sticking things," Dean angrily spat. Roman chuckled as Seth scratched his head in confusion. "You mean like a burial site?" he asked quizzically, causing Dean to roll his eyes. "Of course Sethlock Holmes. What the hell did you think I meant?" Dean sarcastically responded.
Seth threw his half-eaten sandwich upside Dean's head, prompting a chase of revenge as the sadistic Ambrose pursued the two-toned Rollins. Roman shook his head as he watched them flee towards the gorilla position.
As he walked, the attention of a certain blonde reporter caught his eye. "Well hey there baby girl," he subtly teased as the reporter turned around. Yup, it was Renee Young alright.
"Hey Roman, how are you?" she said, flashing a bright smile at the Samoan. "Eh I guess I've had better days," he said, beginning to unravel the tape on his wrists as the Canadian watched on. "I don't know, you seem to be having a good time to me," she said confidently with a smile. "I mean, you guys finally beat the Wyatt Family and you completely obliterated the Authority at WrestleMania. Then you speared the COO of the company!" she said, nearly jumping out of her high heel shoes.
"Easy now Renee, or you might start giving people the wrong idea about us," he grinned, wiping the post-match sweat off his forehead as he got a burst of laughter from her. "Right okay Roman, whatever you say," she said with a slight grin. "I'm sorry, what's my name?" Roman purposely asked.
"ROMAN REIGNS! ROMAN REIGNS! ROMAN REIGNS!" she said loudly and proud at that. "That's my girl," Roman smiled, as he put his gloves into his pocket, but on second thought, pulled one of them back out. "Here, take this glove. That way if anybody ticks you off, you can just give them a Superman Punch," he said cooly.
"I shall wear it proudly," she said in a jokingly serious tone, placing it in her purse. "I'll see you around Roman," she smiled, as their eyes locked for a few moments, before she finally headed off in the other direction.
Roman gripped his vest as he watched her leave the arena, just as Dean and Seth finally arrived back. "Aww man, come on don't tell me you hit on her without us man! That's not cool!" Seth complained as Roman smirked.
"Just face it, you guys can't touch me when it comes to women," Roman said, heading in the other direction. It felt good to be free, doing the things he wanted to do for a change. If only it could truly last.