Rough Around the Edges

KDOH: In the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak across the world, I have found myself immersed in the world of new ideas including the new opportunities of being able to watch NXT and stuff and decided, I am gonna change things up a little bit so here is the child from my migraine written brain. If you like it, I will continue so hope you like it. This takes place in a world where COVID-19 hasn't affected the world.

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Introduction

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Jonathan Goode Point of View

Date: Sunday 26 January 2020

Night of the Royal Rumble

They say a single moment defines a person's life, a person's career. A first impression is the very essence that establishes a person's identity, especially when it comes to the world of Wrestling. The WWE was my home for many years, and before that NXT and FCW were the places that defined my identity.

But I was never allowed my control. Idea after Idea got shot down, act after act I had to play and yet the fans loved me. Dean Ambrose, the lunatic fringe. It's who I was. I lived and breathed his name, yet it never felt like I had control of who I was. It was easier to deal with when the people you loved were there. I got married to a beautiful woman with so much life and potential, Renee Young…

But the moment I wanted to fight for my dream the way I had helped her fight for hers, she was not there. I was sick of stupid gabs and idiot storylines… I wanted to be the hardcore badass I knew I could be, the one I knew that I could make Dean Ambrose. But the one person I wanted to help me fight, let me walk away from everything and she left me.

I don't really remember when my contract expired but I remembered when my marriage to Renee did. It was easy and clean, she signed without hesitation and I couldn't… but it ended and she moved out of our home and headed to New York. I didn't like the big extravagant house so I sold it and rented an apartment in an area where people kept their heads down, didn't mention my name, just leaving me in peace.

Instead of leaving and going to AEW, I stayed in my apartment, worked out in my home gym there and trained. Colby Lopez and Joe Anoa'i came to visit me a lot and I went and saw them and trained with them. I needed the time, after dealing with a lot of personal issues, time seemed to help. I never expected though to get a call the night before Royal Rumble from good old Hunter Hearst Helmsley himself and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley.

They wanted me back.

They told me that they had some plans, they were making changes and looked at my requests and were willing to negotiate a new contract. They wanted to bring the Lunatic Fringe back but creative didn't control what I did or said anymore. I got to choose now what I wanted to be. Heel or face, tweaner badass who didn't care about shit. I got to chose how I showcased my identity. There were some requests in terms of my character management but they were ready to meet them. They would tell me where I was going but I'd create the journey myself.

And where would it all begin…

The Royal fucking Rumble.

I would be returning to the Royal rumble… and I would be winning…

The closest I'd ever gotten was the last two… but I was fucking winning and hell was I making a fucking entrance that would shake the roof off the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

The entrance is so good it's WrestleMania worthy. I was just too far encompassed with excitement that I nearly blabbed and told Colby and Joe but I was sworn to not tell anyone a thing. It was meant to be a surprise.

And boy it was.

I arrived on a beautiful custom Dean ambrose logo marked Harley Davidson, custom leather jacket with every symbol that represented my wrestling story and of course the newly designed Dean Ambrose Lunatic fringe shirts. The shirt had an awesome design of my anarchy symbol with barbed wire designs, two hands crossed to make an X forming firsts with tape on them, in the knuckles was the words ride or die on them.

It looked so insanely good I could have wept like a fangirl. They let me share my ideas to create it, to recreate my identity. One thing that wouldn't change was my music only the engine sound would be made using my bike and my entrance would be unlike anyone else had seen before.

Lucky number 30 today was where I got to be reborn… Would I have liked to have started earlier so I could have lasted longer and proved my dominance, of course, but number 30 was a special number… and it was mine. As I arrived through the back entrance, Stephanie and Hunter were waiting for me, proud and excited smiles on their faces. "Was the ride smooth?" Hunter asked.

I nodded with a smirk, "Road like a dream… what number has gone out?" I inquired with nothing but genuine curiosity.

"Twenty-five. Edge just made his Return at twenty-one. The house was insane." Hunter said with an excited smile. "Absolutely no one suspects out plans. This is all under the books. Not a single leak. It's gonna be the biggest surprise since John Cena's return at 30 after recovering in four months from injury." He said with a sigh as he glanced over and saw a young brunette on the phone, dressed in her referee gear. "A lot has changed… One of those things is that girl there. Calliope Quinn, first-ever Female WWE referee. She made her start in life as a wrestler and changed to referee in NXT and now WWE. She will cover a lot of matches of yours in the future. More opportunities to show how strong her work ethic is."

I nodded but frowned as I watched the way she moved and went away. Something was off about her, sadly I didn't have time to go see her besides I'm not allowed to anyway cause no one could know I was here. I flicked up the hood of my torn sleeveless hoodie and out on my shades and headed to the bike and drove it to where my start point was. I could see the cameraman at the ready, I could hear the sound of the buzzer going off for the number 30 and there was silence people were waiting.

I revved the bike and turned round the corner, driving forward, I could hear the murmur of the crowd watching the screen, I could feel the energy. I drove through the curtains and did a donut and stopped, hearing some of the gasps nearby, some people knew but the moment I pulled my glasses and flicked my hood off, my familiar engine roar leading into my music played as I looked up and everything erupted…

The audience felt deafening, I felt their voices shaking in my bones as they cheered for me. They missed me. They didn't expect me. They got me. Dean Ambrose. The Lunatic Fringe and I smirked like the twisted mother fucker that Dean Ambrose was and I dismounted the bike and wrenched off my sleeveless hoodie and my leather jacket revealing my shirt and I marched straight down to the ring, shaking and twitching like only how the lunatic did and I entered the ring. After almost a year… I was finally in a ring again and I was gonna fucking shine.

I stared at the face of my brothers, Oh how shocked their faces were as I stood before them, a smirk on my face and a cheeky playful look in my eye. They looked just about ready to cry for me as I beat my chest like I used to and the crowd roared as I sprung to action and eliminated the Cesaro from the ring…

It was amazing…

The roaring applause as I faced Drew McIntyre, a fan favorite, someone I used to know as an air playing guitar buddy, the man who tried to make sure for a storyline that Dean Ambrose did not return.

I did and I eliminated him and I stood tall as the arena chanted my name as the bell rung. "The winner of the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble and Main Eventing Wrestlemania, DEAN AMBROSE!" The tear and emotion in my eyes, on my face, in my heart as I fell to my knees and felt my friend, my brothers for a moment break their stories and embrace me in the ring.

"So fucking proud." They both whispered as they helped me to my feet and raised me on their shoulders as I pointed at the Wrestlemania sign. Dean Ambrose was back and he was going to be better than ever.

I was handed a Microphone and I took it and stood in the ring whilst my brothers headed to the back, "Surprise." I said with a hearty chuckle as fans cheered and chanted my name. "I'm back obviously and I just won the bloody Royal Rumble!" I said with emphasis and felt myself choking up, "I walked away last year, not sure where I was going in this industry. I had calls from other promotions that wanted me, but I stayed away but now I am back cause this crazy sonofabitch is back. The Lunatic Fringe is back!" I said as I dropped the microphone and headed to the back with a beaming smile on my face as the fireworks went off for me as I headed to the back.

As soon as I was backstage, I was embraced by my brothers. "You sneaky sonofabitch!" Joe said as he hugged me and swung me around. "I fucking knew you were hiding something from me." He said as he set me down.

"Sorry, brotha. I was sworn to secrecy." I said with a cheeky smile. "I almost broke last time you visited," I said with an emotional tone. "God I can't wait to start traveling with you crazy SOBs again." I genuinely was looking forward to it because I would be challenging Bray Wyatt aka The Fiend for the Universal Championship and Seth was gonna be moving to Smackdown where Roman was, since Seth's followers from his current storyline as a Monday night messiah were turning on him and he had a match with Kevin Owens that would decide Seth's fate on whether he moves to Smackdown or not. Trips and Stephania were still undecided but I would be appearing on Raw tomorrow to issue my champion challenge.

Congratulations were being thrown at me and the smile on my face couldn't be wiped off.

I won the fucking Royal Rumble. I was getting a main event match at Wrestlemania.

As I walked with my friends to the locker room I stopped and noticed that girl again. Calliope I remember Hunter calling her. She was on her phone again, a tense look on her face. She had no idea I had stopped to watch her. She had these soft doe brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. She looked like she was going out, a simple blue knee-length dress with these ballet flats and light make-up. She

"You honestly think I am ever going to tell anyone… You are bloody nuts. I could lose my job if they found out. You know how taboo that story is." She whispered heatedly. "Honestly you think I want anyone to know my secret. And no I do not need a boyfriend cause then I have to tell him too and like that I am not okay with. I love my job and I am fine being on my, but what would people in the WWE and the dirt sheets think and say about me if they found out that I am-" Her eyes locked with mine and she froze, her body tense and her nerves obviously on edge realizing I was watching her.

She glared something fierce at me as she ended her call, "It's rude to listen on people's fucking conversations." She said with a heated glare as she stormed forward and shoved her way passed me, "Stupid nosy fucking asshole."

"Wait I was just-" I was trying to apologize but she raised her hand and gave me the middle finger throwing me off completely. I won't lie, it caught me off guard but it was quite something for someone of her slim figure. She wasn't as tall as me, and yet she told me off and I kinda felt bad but now I was curious. She obviously had a secret, a big one obviously that she didn't want people to know …

I had secrets too but like… It wasn't my business. If I saw her next time I'd apologize for being nosy.

But at the same time… What was Calliope Quinn's big secret?

KDOH: So here we are, the start just in the mind of Dean Ambrose. Gods I miss this man but hey this is a start. I encourage everyone to stay safe with this outbreak and stay positive. If you like this concept and story idea, leave a comment or a follow. After two weeks if I think it might be worth it, I will write the next chapter but hope you enjoyed it guys.