December 30, 2011

Punk was glad that the year was almost over because the last week had been hellish. It had all started at Madison Square Garden when the security guard wouldn't admit him to the arena. The guard was convinced that there was no way Punk could be a wrestler, much less the WWE Champion. He finally got into the arena when Otunga of all people had been walking by and had to diffuse the situation because Punk was one second away from beating down the security guard and showing him exactly what a WWE Champion was capable of. He bet Otunga and Laurinaitis were laughing their asses off somewhere over that one.

None of this would have happened had John been with him but John was so wrapped up in Ryder's welfare that Punk thought he was fast becoming an afterthought in John's life. He was so sick of Zack fucking Ryder. He was always around; meals, locker rooms, tagging together, hanging out in their hotel room till all hours of the night. Zack was the biggest cockblock that he had ever met because his constant presence had brought his and John's sex life to a halt. John seemed more interested in cosseting Ryder than violating his all too willing body. The only reason he hadn't grabbed Ryder by his spiked hair and tossed him into the hallway was because he seemed to lessen the severity of John's recent emotional downward spiral. Apparently Punk's disposition was not conducive to lightening John's mood and that wasn't the best feeling in the world, Zack Ryder doing something that he was apparently incapable of.

After New York they had been to Pittsburgh, Washington D.C. and Hartford. Kane was a problem that didn't seem to be going away anytime soon. He had been attacking John during his matches. Even though Punk had suffered repeatedly at the hands of the Undertaker he wished the guy would cut short his time off and put a handle on this psychotic brother.

Not that it really seemed to matter these days but the majority of the guys seemed pretty supportive of him and John's relationship, even the guys that they frequently faced off against were keeping their mouths shut. It seemed that the old school wrestling code of silence was still in effect. Punk hadn't seen anything on the dirt sheets on the internet or anywhere else. Punk knew it was only a matter of time before someone slipped to the wrong person but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

It also didn't help that his vision of a new Era in the WWE had crashed and burned in a matter of weeks. He was ready to strangle Ryder, Beth had a giant hematoma on her face from a leg drop from Alicia Fox, Evan of all people had been suspended for a wellness violation, and it seemed that the proximity to the Heavyweight Championship had turned Daniel into a jackass. Kofi was floundering without Evan and Punk seemed to be a ratings killer. The only person not swimming in a sea of suck was Cody but he doubted that would last much longer because the Rhodes family was rapidly edging towards a meltdown.

The strangest thing above all was his matches with Ziggler. They were taking place in a steel cage so Vickie and Swagger were taken out of the equation but Ziggler didn't seem to be particularly bothered by it. For some reason Ziggler would not stop talking in the ring. He would have Ziggler in a hold and the man would start having these one sided conversations. Of course everything he said was vaguely insulting but for some reason Punk would sometimes find himself answering back. Their back and forth exchanges in the ring were far more sarcastic and entertaining than anything that they said when they had a microphone in hand. Ziggler was proving himself more and more his equal with every match they had but at least Punk was coming out on top and somewhat redeeming himself from his recent loss in the ring to Ziggler.

It had been an awesome six months but it seemed like things were on the decline and Punk had no idea how to turn it around.

January 2, 2012

Monday Night Raw

Punk, John and Ryder entered the arena and sought out a road agent to find out what was in store for them that night. Punk's Championship match with Ziggler was a done deal but when Punk found out that he had been demoted from the main event he was incensed but could not show it because it was John taking his place in the main event in a 3 on 3 Tag Team Elimination Match with Show and Ryder against Swagger, Mark Henry and Kane. John seemed to be pleased to find out that he would be taking on Kane in a match. John couldn't match Kane for mind games but seemed confident he could take Kane in the ring.

They made it to the locker room and started to change into their gear. John and Ryder chatted amiably while dressing while Punk was still seething inside from being ejected from the main event. Punk didn't even try to insert himself into their conversation because he knew that amiability was a personality trait that had never been used to describe him. They made their way to the monitor bay and were immediately approached by another road agent that relayed to John that it was time for him to open the first show of the New Year in the ring. He felt like some useless also-ran with John main eventing and opening the show. It seemed like being the Champion didn't mean a damn thing and even though John was the one benefitting from Punk's slide down the ladder it still don't stop him from being so jealous that his teeth hurt.

The Raw signature came on the screen and although it had never bothered him before the signature ending with John saying "The Champ is Here" felt like an affront to his skill and position in the WWE. The show started with John's music playing through the arena and John entering to a mixed reaction. John was all smiles and dimples and Punk knew damn well that he hadn't put that look on John's face. John made his way to the ring and grabbed a microphone. John started talking, pulling out his usual John Cena shtick. John said that one of his resolutions was to wear less underwear. Before his mind could start wrapping itself around that very welcome prospect Ryder started cackling from a seat over.

"I can't believe he really said it!"

Apparently John had perfected his gags with Ryder at some point meaning Ryder knew John was opening the show ahead of time when Punk had been left in the dark. That was just wonderful. John continued by saying that he had banned his father from television and that he was going to beat the Rock at WrestleMania which would no doubt be the main event. He might as well toss the belt to Ziggler and walk away instead of being in some meaningless mid card match. It didn't look like he would be getting his WrestleMania moment this year.

John trotted out the "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect" speech and then defended the crowd that had turned against them, telling them that they were entitled to feel how they wanted about him but it wouldn't change who he was. Either John had some sort of drastic change of heart recently or he had gotten one hell of a pep talk from somewhere. Punk didn't need to exercise his mind very much to guess who had been behind that talk. John called out Kane who responded with what sounded to Punk like a prerecorded voice over and then fire erupted from the turnbuckles.

John's response to this was cut off when a graphic cut in promoting the Championship match he had later on in the night with Ziggler. With the way his week was going he could only imagine how that was going to turn out. Ziggler had beaten him last week with the help of Laurinaitis. No doubt Laurinaitis was going to make a return appearance tonight.

The graphic was again cut off with the hopefully the last of those freaky video clips announcing that "The End Begins Tonight." The entire roster was gossiping like school girls over who was behind the clips. He really hoped it was the Undertaker because the other most likely option didn't bear thinking about. The last thing he needed to deal with was Chris Jericho.

The only thing that lightened his night was seeing Miz run like a scared puppy into Laurinaitis' office because he was afraid of Truth ambushing him tonight. Laurinaitis didn't seem particularly bothered that Miz had a mentally unhinged stalker. Miz kept showing up every couple of minutes looking to hire a bodyguard and failing miserably. What he didn't know was that Truth was following him every step of the way. At least someone would get what was coming to them tonight.

Wade Barrett came out next, gloating over the fact that he had pushed Randy down a flight of stairs and badly injured him. He didn't realize how much he missed Randy because if Randy was here he would no doubt have zero problems shaking John's fangirl loose. One look from Randy and Ryder would be running from the hills. He really didn't want to be Barrett when Randy eventually recovered and returned to kick his ass all over Smackdown.

Josh Mathews seemed to be getting ready to interview someone but when the camera panned to the side all that was in the shot was feet. Ziggler was doing headstands again. He probably picked that trick up when he was a male cheerleader in the Spirit Squad. At least he didn't have anything that embarrassing on his resume. Even though Vickie was at his side Ziggler seemed to be more than capable of talking for himself. Ziggler should really think about ditching her. She might have had her uses when he was starting out but her continued presence just made him look weak. Although Ziggler was talking about beating Punk later that night he couldn't help but laugh when Ziggler called the children of Tennessee illiterate. He still didn't have anything on him though; he was the one after all that once told a fan that he hoped their parents died. He couldn't really get away with that anymore. He liked to think that he could say whatever he wanted whenever he felt like it but he was in the WWE and there were limitations on what he could say. He kind of missed the indie days when he could say and do whatever he felt liked. He would love to see Laurinaitis have a conniption fit if he dropped the f-bomb on live TV.

It was finally time for his match. He walked to the arena entrance and found Ziggler and Vickie waiting there already. He stared Ziggler down waiting for him to enter the arena so he could follow and get this match started. Nothing was happening. He looked at the tech in the gorilla position that was staring at him like Punk was going to go off on him at any minute.

"What?"

"Mr. Laurinaitis said that you were going out first."

Punk was pissed. He was the Champion; he should be going out last. He wasn't going to pitch a fit with the competition watching so he entered the arena with a very large chip on his shoulder and even the screams of the raucous crowd couldn't mask the embarrassment at having to play second fiddle to the #1 Contender.

Ziggler and Vickie entered the arena with Ziggler's usual theatrics. Ziggler finally entered the ring and Punk handed over the title over to the official. They locked up and apparently Ziggler was feeling chatty again.

"You're going to end this match on your back."

"Do you know your roots are showing? I'd say you need a new bleach job but I would really prefer it if you drank the bleach instead of putting it in your hair," and Punk took Ziggler down to the mat. He went for the pin knowing Ziggler was going to kick out; he was mainly doing it just to drive his point home.

The match went back and forth, both men pulling out all the stops to try and get the 3-count. At one point Ziggler whipped Punk across the ring into the corner, the turnbuckle cover coming off as he rebounded. He fought back, hitting Ziggler with a high knee in the corner and then signaling for the GTS with Ziggler laid out in the middle of the ring. Before he could set Ziggler up Laurinaitis was making his way to the ring. What now?

Punk took the opportunity to GTS Ziggler but he countered. Punk threw Ziggler to the mat and locked in the Anaconda Vise. He could feel Ziggler furiously hitting his arm, tapping out to the submission maneuver. Punk jumped up, thinking he had won the match but Laurinaitis had the official distracted who hadn't seen Ziggler tapping. He was glaring at Laurinaitis when Ziggler tried to attack him from behind. Punk side-stepped Ziggler who slammed into Laurinaitis on the ring apron. Punk took his opportunity and set up the GTS again. Ziggler fought out of it and sent him hurtling toward the ropes. Instead of rebounding he flew over the top rope and slammed into the floor, stunning him.

He was pretty out of it and could hear the official counting him out. He tried to get back in the ring but couldn't move fast enough and he was counted out. He couldn't figure out who to glare at more, Laurinaitis walking back up the ramp or Ziggler running around the ring like an ass with his belt in his hands. He finally decided on Ziggler who had jumped the barricade when he saw him coming and took off with HIS belt.

Punk stalked up the ramp and stared down the tech in the gorilla position.

"Show me the end of the match."

The tech hesitated.

"Now!"

The tech cued up the end of the match and there was Laurinaitis, pulling down the top rope so Punk went flying out of the ring instead of rebounding like he should have. He took off down the hallway to Laurinaitis' office. He barged in and found him with Otunga. He tore into Laurinaitis for costing him the match. Laurinaitis was denying it but the smirk on his face told Punk that he had known damn well what he was doing. Laurinaitis twisted the knife in deeper when he set up a Championship match vs. Ziggler at the Royal Rumble with himself as guest referee. Punk saw red.

"You shut your mouth; let me explain something to you. This guy right here is going to come in real handy because if you screw me out of the title at the Royal Rumble you're gonna want to sue me because I'm going to be in jail. Guess what I'm going to be in jail for…animal cruelty because I'm going to beat you like a bitch!"

Punk stormed past the monitor bay and headed for the showers. When he had changed and went back to the monitor bay he found John still sitting with Ryder. He slumped down into his seat and looked at John who was staring at him like he had lost his mind.

"Beat him like a bitch, huh? You do realize we have a PG rating don't you?"

"We can't all be squeaky clean like you. If any of your fan's ears are bleeding it's not my fault, they should all be in bed by now anyway."

John went to grab Punk's hand that was clinched into a fist resting on his thigh but Punk snatched his hand away.

"Phil…what…"

Punk unclenched his fist and grabbed John's hand.

"It's nothing...I'm just pissed about Ziggler and wondering if I'm ever going to get my belt back and what shape it's going to be in when I do get it back."

Punk looked past John to Ryder who was looking at John's and his clasped hands with an odd expression on his face. He would really have to keep his eye on Ryder. Was he suffering from a case of severe hero worship or was it something else altogether?

It was finally time for the main event. Punk watched as Ryder and John, joined by Show, walked toward the arena entrance. Instead of the main event starting that creepy promo cut back in. There were only a few options on who the man returning was and Punk could deal with any of those options but it was the creepy girl from The Shining that really worried him. He could manhandle a guy but Punk had decided after last year's Royal Rumble that GTS-ing a girl was beyond the pale.

The feed cut to the arena and the camera was doing this moronic shaking thing. The lights went out and the arena was black until there were lights in an all too familiar configuration at the top of the ramp. Great…Jericho was back…fuck his life, really.

The audience came unglued and Jericho made his triumphant return to the WWE. And then it went on…and on…and on. Punk estimated that Jericho had been prancing around the ring like a show pony for about for about ten minutes. Punk braced for impact when Jericho cut his return promo…and then he didn't and the fans were not pleased. The deafening cheers were turning to scattered boos as Jericho made his way backstage. What in the living hell was wrong with Jericho?

The main event started sans Kane which made the bout a handicap match. Show and Henry managed to get themselves eliminated when they started a brawl outside of the ring which involved a steel chair. Punk got a perverse thrill when Swagger had Ryder in the ankle lock. John finally tagged in and eliminated Swagger, winning the match.

All of a sudden Kane's pyro and music went off and John jumped from the ring to confront Kane. What John couldn't see was Kane bursting from beneath the ring and grabbing Ryder, pulling him into the hole. Punk didn't really know nor care where Kane was taking Ryder, but John returned to the ring and made the save. Kane disappeared and then fire erupted from the hole Kane had created. The pyro guys were lunatics and were in sore need of a psychological evaluation.

Ryder could be John's damsel in distress but CM Punk was more than capable of showing Kane exactly what happened when you fucked with his boyfriend. Punk thought he was being pretty devious. The minute Kane had tore through the ring apron a plan formed in his head. A plan that disregarded everything that John had told him regarding Kane. He moved his bag into another locker room so that when John returned from the ring he would just assume that Punk had already left. When he returned to the hotel room he would straight up explain where he had been damn the consequences.

He waited out of sight for Kane to emerge from under the ring and then followed him down the hall. He thought he was being pretty stealthy. That was clearly not the case when Kane abruptly turned around and pushed Punk into a dead end hallway. Punk fell to his knees from the force of the shove but was quickly back on his feet, not only to defend himself but to put a hurting on the guy that had tried to set his boyfriend on fire.

"Isn't this foolishly romantic. I had intended to pay you a visit eventually but you've just delivered yourself to me. You are the last piece that will set John's hate free."

"Do you know that you do the worst Darth Vader impression that I've ever heard?" Punk said nastily.

"You're going to pay for every word that comes out your mouth."

"And why do you feel the need to wear two masks. I don't know how you could have possibly gotten uglier since Henry inducted you into the Hall of Pain or have you taken up welding as a hobby?"

"With every word you're just digging your grave deeper."

Punk sprung forward to attack Kane but his momentum was too fast to halt when he saw Kane grab an object from the packing crate in the hall and slammed it into his stomach. The breath was knocked out of him and Kane took advantage of him being momentarily stunned and closed his hand around Punk's throat, slamming him against the wall, making breathing even more impossible than it had been before. He felt himself being lifted up, only the tips of his boots grazing the floor.

"It's a shame Cena isn't here to see you like this. The look on his face seeing his love struggling to even get a breath out, that would be so satisfying. Then again, you're not the one Cena is playing the gallant hero for, that would be Ryder. Maybe you're not the one that will cause Cena's downfall."

"Fuck…you…" Punk forced out but Kane only squeezed his had tighter around Punk's neck.

"I grow tired of your useless words," and Kane brought his other hand up, covering Punk's mouth and nose. Punk struggled to breathe but soon his vision was starting to gray out and there were pinpoints of light dancing before his eyes. All he saw was black when he slid to the floor.

Punk was awoken suddenly when he felt water being thrown in his face.

"What the fuck!"

"It looked so fun when you did it to del Rio I thought I'd try it out for myself."

Punk looked to the side and found Ziggler sitting next to him holding the now empty water bottle.

"Have you been doing sit-ups next to my unconscious body or something?"

"It's not really showing off when there's no one to see it."

"What are you even doing here and why the fuck are you still wearing my belt?"

"I was taking the Championship on a test drive through the arena and found you here like this. I kicked you in the side a couple of times and thought about scrawling obscenities on your forehead but I couldn't find a marker."

"No one wants a Dolph Ziggler autograph do they?"

"That's all going to change after the Royal Rumble when I beat you."

"Keep dreaming."

"I think that it's you who is living in a fantasy world. I've got multiple wins over you and I'm not the one that was lying half dead in an out of the way corridor. You looked like you were ready for someone to draw a chalk outline around you."

"Give me back my fucking belt."

"Nah, I think I'll hold onto it for a while."

"It'll only make you look foolish since it's my name on that belt and not yours. You'll never see one bearing the name Dolph Ziggler so continue to look pathetic if that's what you want. You can't beat me without Laurinaitis doing your dirty work."

"Laurinaitis can stay the fuck in his office for all I care. I'm more than capable of doing my own dirty work."

"How admirable, yeah, you'll make a great Champion, having to resort to cheating to get a win."

"How hypocritical of you Punk, when I know damn well that you are entirely familiar with the concept of cheating. Just because you've gone soft doesn't change your past and if I remember correctly wasn't it you that gave del Rio a GTS on an exposed turnbuckle. You're not anyone's shiny Champion are you? Maybe that's why the ratings are tanking, no one likes a fraud."

"Says the guy who needs a posse to escort him to the ring. If you needed a cheerleader couldn't you have chosen a little better than Vickie? Then again, you know all about cheerleaders don't you?"

"Oh a low blow that I haven't heard a million times before. I don't need Vickie grabbing at your ankles and Swagger prancing around outside the ring, I'm your equal skill-wise Mr. Best in the World and you damn well know it."

Punk stood up and just glared at Ziggler until he got to his feet as well.

"Give me my goddamn belt."

"But it looks so good on me."

Punk grabbed the edge of the belt from behind Ziggler's waist to snatch it away but Ziggler caught the other end. They tugged it back and forth like children fighting over a toy until they both head a metallic clang and they both looked down. One of the plates on the side of the belt had fallen off and fell to the ground. Ziggler immediately released the belt.

"Nevermind, you can have your broke ass belt. Good luck with your craft project. I don't want a belt that's held together with superglue."

Punk grabbed the piece of his belt off the floor, "I am beyond done with this conversation."

"Go home to your boy scout of a boyfriend, we'll be seeing each other again," and Ziggler walked away.

Punk stood in the hallway for a few moments not wanting to spend anymore time with Ziggler than absolutely necessary, because he had stashed his things in the other locker room where Ziggler would have been dressing. He walked the way he had come and entered the locker room he had left his things in. His bag was lying on the floor and had obviously been rifled through. He searched through his things and realized that the kick pads he has worn that night were missing. Fucking Ziggler and his sticky fingers.

Punk arrived at his hotel room and paused in front of the door. He could hear Ryder's voice from the hallway. Perfect. Punk entered the hotel room to John and Ryder laughing which seemed pretty off for two guys that had almost been chargrilled.

"Where have you been?" John asked cheerfully. He obviously wasn't very worried that Punk had pulled a disappearing act.

"Oh you know, stalking people, getting choked out in abandoned hallways, the usual."

"Tell me you didn't do what I think you did. Tell me I'm wrong and you didn't do what I expressly told you not to do."

"No can do. I did exactly what you told me not to do. I don't always roll over and follow commands like a pet."

"Zack, could you…"

"Ryder doesn't have to leave; you're going to tell him everything I say anyway."

"I told you to leave Kane alone and what do you do, you go after him and start something and get yourself choked out."

"He tried to flambé you. I'm not exactly going to give Kane a pass after he tried to light my boyfriend on fire.

"I don't care if he broke both my legs, I told you not to get involved."

"Well, that's the last time I will, you want to go through this alone I'll keep out of it. Wait, what am I saying, you'll have Ryder there with you, it's nice to see that you have some semblance of loyalty left. It's just not to me is it?"

"Phil…I don't understand…what are you saying?" John said, obviously hurt by Punk's venomous words.

Punk felt instantly guilty at the look on John's face. It wasn't John's fault that his professional life was on a fast track to hell. Laurinaitis and Ziggler were the ones responsible, John wasn't intentionally trying to take his spot but that didn't change the fact that it was exactly what was happening.

"Ignore me, I'm just in a bad fucking mood," Punk said, hoping that was enough to diffuse the situation. John still looked confused and upset but he just nodded.

Punk walked over to the desk and pulled out his damaged belt and the piece that had fallen off during his and Ziggler's childish version of tug of war.

"Dude! You broke your belt!"

"That is fucking it; I am so out of here. Have fun picking up the pieces, that's what you're good at right," Punk yelled at Ryder grabbing his bag and stormed out of the room, leaving his belt and John behind.

AN: I know I've been gone for a while but real life has been hectic and I really wanted to perfect the Ziggler/Punk dialogue. This chapter is longer than usual because I wanted to make up for my absence. Hope you enjoy!