Chapter 10: War Torn
To say that the last month or so had been a war for the Shield would have been a complete understatement. The black-clad, justice dealing trio had been embroiled in a bitter rivalry with the power hungry Triple H, the sadistic Randy Orton, and the intense Batista, better known as the group Evolution.
These three were out to teach the young upstarts a lesson in who was truly in charge. However, the Hounds of Justice were willing to show they were just as much bite as they were bark. Throwing down a challenge to face Evolution at the upcoming special event Extreme Rules, it would be that exact venue where the Shield would make their mark and prove that the Shield was here to stay.
Complete with brutal brawling, death defying leaps from the top of railings, their match had all the makings of an extreme classic. While Dean and Seth took both Hunter and Randy out deep into the crowd of rabid fans, Roman and Batista, two ferocious beats themselves, threw down in the ring to ultimately determine who would win this match and claim victory for their team.
Batista seemed to have the upper hand at first, nailing a huge Spinebuster on Reigns. The Animal played to the fans, shaking the ropes and roaring at them to antagonize them even more. "I'm the past, present, and future! I am Evolution! Deal with it!" he yelled, but as soon as he finished gloating, Batista was met with a high flying impactful punch from Roman Reigns, better known as his signature Superman Punch.
This time, Roman pumped his shoulders, shaking the ropes, and howling to the sky as the fans chimed in with him in unison. "Ooooo-ahhhhh!" the Samoan powerhouse roared, as he reset his sights on Batista. As the Animal slowly came to, he turned around and finally realized what was happening. Roman connected with a bone crushing, emphatic spear for the pin and the final 3 count.
Finally, the Shield had defeated the top main event superstars in Evolution and proved themselves worthy of their title. Roman made his way into the crowd, as he picked up Dean and lifted him on his shoulders, and helped up Seth as well. The brotherhood of the Shield was still strong, and was still intact for sure.
As the Shield expected though, Evolution was far from done with the hounds. The next night on RAW, the hounds were decimated by the vengeful faction, with Hunter chalking up the Shield's victory to a major fluke. The war was far from being over.
Now that the Shield were in England along with the rest of the WWE roster, they were performing nearly every single night, but tonight was one of the rare nights on the tour that they were able to have off, and nearly half the roster spent it at William Regal's brand new pub opening, honoring the occasion.
"I would like to thank everybody who kindly allowed me to bash their heads in for a living, so that I could earn my keep and open up this fine establishment," Regal announced, as everybody gave him a warm round of applause. "Thank you everybody! And for a grand opening night-only special, all drinks are on the house!" he said, causing Sheamus to leap up for joy. "Now yer talkin' fella!" he cheered.
Roman Reigns finally walked into the bar, still wearing the effects of his match with Randy Orton earlier in the night when they clashed inside a steel cage and the Samoan Thor walked away the victor. Tonight, he was in an unwind mode, looking to finally catch a breather and have a couple of drinks.
Lately his mind had been so focused on ripping apart Evolution that he didn't even have time to consider his personal life. Things had been so different since...since he and AJ Lee had pretty much had that final, fateful scene together. AJ hadn't even been with the company since the night after WrestleMania 30, and though he would never admit it to anyone, he kind of did miss having her presence around. Too bad he didn't have time to brace himself for a shocker.
"Hey everybody, the Walkout is on TV! Take a look!" Dolph Ziggler called out, as Regal turned up the volume on TV. Roman turned his attention to the screen to see them showing coverage of a Chicago Cubs game, and who exactly did he see?
The Second City Saint himself. The man who had left the WWE on a sabbatical on his own terms to do what he wanted to do. CM Punk. Fed up with the company and their games, the Straightedge superstar set out to do what he wanted to do. What exactly Punk said next got Roman's attention.
"That's my fiancee AJ Lee. We're getting married next month," Punk said with a grin, turning around waving back at AJ with a coy grin across his face. "Hi honey!" he said with a certain Chicago charm, as AJ couldn't help but look giddy with joy. She waved back with just as much enthusiasm.
"I guess AJ's off the market now for sure," Dolph commented aloud, fondly recalling the days of their relationship they once had. "Oh well, that chick is too crazy anyway, so best of luck to her," the cocky blonde superstar said, laughing aloud. "Eh, I'm sure he'll make her more happier than you ever could Dolph," Seth retorted, making a few guys in the bar laugh.
"What do you know about making someone happy Seth?" Dolph asked, to which Seth smirked and pulled out his phone. "This is what I know," the Architect of the Shield said, showing off pictures of his supermodel girlfriend. "I know so much that they call me a genius. Brain power," he said with a wink, making Roman chuckle.
"I see what you did there Seth," Roman said, making Dolph give off a sarcastic laugh and vibe. "Ha ha ha, and tell me big guy, who exactly have you hit up lately? Tamina?" Dolph retorted, making Roman stand up and tower over him like an angry god. "Don't diss my family like that you little punk. You know I won't hesitate to break you in half," he warned, before turning around and heading back to his seat.
"You should know better than that Dolphin," Dean quipped, finishing his second shot of whiskey. "The Shield destroys anyone and anybody." Feeling defeated, Dolph backed off a bit and leaned more towards the end of the bar table, but not before getting in one final quip. "You mean the Shield destroys people? Or do you mean Roman Reigns destroys people?" With that, Dolph turned his attention to a conversation with friends the Miz and Zack Ryder.
"Pay him no mind boys. I'm sure he forgot exactly who the Shield is, on account of that serious concussion he got last year," Dean said, as Seth and Roman nodded in agreement. "Enough with that blonde beachrag, we need to talk about what we're gonna do with Evolution."
"That's right," Seth agreed. "They just made our rematch at Payback a no holds barred match with an elimination stipulation in effect. They really want to destroy us," he said.
Roman grinned at the challenge. "I almost feel sorry for them, if they think that stipulations like those are gonna work in their favor. If that beatdown last week they gave us was their best shot, then they're gonna have some major problems on their hands," he said, gripping onto the upper echelons of his shirt.
"You know that's right big man," Seth said, giving his buddy a high five. "You alright Roman? You look distracted or something," he surmised, judging by Roman's inability to make facial contact with his Shield brothers.
"I hope you're not still lovestruck by AJ," Dean joked, but the look Roman and Seth gave the crazy Ambrose suggested the issue was more serious than it seemed. "Look man, she's getting married, and pretty soon, she'll be CM Punk's problem, not yours. She's gone forever," he simply said. Seth punched Dean in the arm hard, clicking his tongue at Dean's choice of words.
"She won't be gone forever smart guy. She's still gonna be here working with us, which will make it even big Roman here to focus," Seth explained. "Roman you have to get her out your head though man. We can't beat Evolution without you, so we need you to focus."
"Don't worry about me guys. I handled Batista's ass at Extreme Rules right? A little girl trouble isn't gonna deter me from achieving success that we're all destined for," Roman said. "Atta boy!" Dean said, prompting everyone in the pub to look at him like he was crazy. Although he was, Dean waived them off. "Go back to your drinks people," he sardonically stated.
"Tell you what Roman. We're gonna be in Florida soon, and I have this pretty cool friend who serves me free coffee that I want you to meet. She also works down in NXT. I think you might like her," Seth said with a grin. Roman nodded in agreement. "Alright sure man, I'm down with that."
"Excellent! I'll show you to her once we get off of this European tour," Seth said, as both he and Roman turned their attention to Dean, who was trying to sneak to the back of the pub and steal some extra bottles of whiskey for himself. "Let's go guys," he said, handing a bottle to each of them to hide in their jackets. "I don't want Regal dealing out justice tonight," he said, as the trio walked out the bar with the whiskey intact.
AJ Lee stared out the window of CM Punk's two story apartment view window, gazing at the unbelievable scenery that was the city of Chicago. She couldn't believe that Punk had lived here all of his life, and more over, she wished she had moved here sooner. "The Windy City is quite the scene," she said with a smile, as she ran her eyes over the nearby park. "Ain't it? My pride and joy," Punk grinned, coming up to AJ from behind and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I've been here for so long, I don't think I could ever leave this city honestly. So many memories here," he said, closing his eyes to bask in the Chicago glory of the sun. AJ slightly giggled as the whiskers of Punk's facial hair tickled the sides of her neck, sending chills up her spine. She really savored this feeling; very few other guys had the charm and personality it took to impress and make her feel this way.
Upon Punk's request, AJ had talked to Vince about getting some time off. Whether it was an act of desperation on the part of Vince, or just complete understanding, Vince immediately cleared any issues on the table, allowing AJ to take off as much as time as she needed, without having to worry about gaining any heat on her. Although Punk may have been at odds with the company, AJ was always appreciative of the fact that Vince was very understanding.
Punk placed a few kisses onto AJ's lips, earning a small laugh from the petite diva as she returned the favor, while he stroked her hair. When they broke apart, AJ eyed Punk in a curious way, a look that Punk himself was very familiar with. It was the same look that harpened back to the days of their storyline together from 2012. It was that very year where Punk knew that deep down he had felt something for young AJ.
Given, he was in a serious relationship with Lita at the time, but the more he hung around AJ, the more of a magnetic attraction the Second City Saint began to feel towards her. It all came to a head at, ironically, the European tour the WWE had gone on in November, when some stalkerish-type people were able to capture photos of Punk and AJ spending some time together, captured oddly from the rooftops of London. The pictures seemed to clarify that these two were more than just friends.
Over the next few months, Punk and AJ's truly began to bloom and blossom, making Punk feel for her the way he had never felt about any of the other Divas he had dated in the past. AJ Lee was completely different in every sense of the word and the Second City Saint knew for sure that was something that he wanted to keep forever. So he did what he thought was the right move; something nobody ever thought he would do for the rest of his days on this earth.
He proposed to AJ Lee. And she happily accepted.
AJ planted a lingering romantic kiss on her soon to be husband's lips, closing her eyes and reopening them with a brand new sunshine smile on her face. She was getting married, and not just to anybody. She was getting married to the self-proclaimed Best In the World. Both his and her world.
"I love you Phil," she said, wrapping his arms around her man tightly as he whispered her back the same words.
"I love you too April," he said. Everything was going to be okay. Or was it?