(January-June, 2002)—Flashback!!!
I followed Crystal and the security guard under the entrance ramp, back to the locker rooms. It was during a commercial break so there wasn't much action in the ring.
A month earlier, Crystal and I were going behind the curtains for the first time. Tonight, in New Jersey, we didn't expect to go back for a second time. The security guard had come up to us after The Rock's match and said The Rock had asked for us to meet him in the locker room.
From a stage-like door next to the entrance ramp, we entered a long hall. The guard told us The Rock was in room number four, and then returned to the open arena.
As soon as the guard was gone, Crystal turned to me. "This has got to be a dream."
I laughed. "Well, it's your dream. I wouldn't be back here on my way to The Rock's room."
"No, you'd be going to the DX locker room." She said, as we continued down the hall, reading the painted numbers on the doors.
"Shauna?" I heard my name behind me.
Crystal and I stopped and turned around to see Road Dogg walking toward us.
"Now, we're in your dream." Crystal whispered next to me.
"Oh, it is you." Road Dogg said.
"Um, yeah…" I said, trying to remember his real name. "Brian."
"And you remembered my name? That's cool."
"Yeah. And this is my friend, Crystal." When Crystal and I had gotten backstage before, we'd split up, so she hadn't met Brian.
"Nice to meet you." Brian said, shaking Crystal's hand. Then he turned back to me. "So, how'd you get back here again?"
"The Rock remembered her from last month." I explained.
"Are you going back to see him, too?" Brian asked.
I looked at Crystal. "Not if I don't have to."
"You don't have to." Crystal smiled, probably thinking about being alone with The Rock.
"Great." Brian said. "Then come back with me. The taping is over in about twenty minutes, maybe we can hang out after."
I turned to Crystal again. "I've got my cell phone, call me if anything happens. Otherwise, I'll be back to our hotel later, okay?"
"Sounds good." She said and started back down the hall.
Brian smiled and slipped an arm around my lower back. "Come on." He said leading me down the hall in the opposite direction of Crystal.
A couple hours later, Brian and I were sitting in the hotel room he was sharing with X-Pac, who introduced himself as Sean. Brian and I sat on his bed while Sean sat on his.
"So, you don't hang out with Triple H, Chyna and Billy Gunn after a taping?" I asked.
Brian snickered. "No."
"Actually, Monty—Billy Gunn—usually travels with his wife. Their kids live with his sister." Sean explained.
"And Triple H and Chyna?" I asked.
"Hunter and Joanie." Brian corrected me and laughed. "They have special plans after shows."
Triple H had been my favorite Superstar for the last two or three years. I'd known he and Chyna were more than friends, so Brian's answer held no surprise for me. But he'd called Triple H Hunter. His real name was Paul Levesque.
"Why do you call him Hunter?" I asked.
"I don't know, just always have. When I first met him it was Paul, but then we started with Hunter." Brian said.
"I usually call him Asshole." Sean laughed.
I smiled. "Why?"
"It's like a nickname that stuck. A couple years ago, fans hated him and would chant, 'asshole' when he came out. It's a weird thing we do. He calls me 'kid.'
My cell phone ringing interrupted our conversation. Sean handed me my purse off the foot of his bed. I found my phone and answered it. "Hello?"
"I'm not coming back to the hotel tonight." Crystal's voice came through the phone.
"Really?" I laughed. "So, you're having fun?"
She giggled. "Yeah, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, okay?"
"Okay, be at least semi-good."
She laughed and we hung up. I put the phone back in my purse.
"She's not coming back tonight, is she?" Brian asked.
I smiled. "No, I guess not. But I should be getting back."
The three of us stood up. "I'll drive you back." Brian said as I put on my coat.
"Okay." I agreed.
"We have to hang out again." Sean said and hugged me.
When Brian dropped me off, he said the next Monday they'd be in Cincinnati, Ohio. He could get me back before Raw started and I could stay in the locker room throughout the show. He'd call me with details in a few days.
Before I got out of the car, he asked, "Do you have a boyfriend or anything?"
I smiled. "No, actually. Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering." He laughed. "So, I'll see you Monday?"
I did go to Ohio Monday and for the next few months, I saw Brian more and more. After a month, we were telling my mom that we were more than friends. Thankfully, Road Dogg has always been one of her favorite wrestlers.
But after six months, something happened. Brian lived in Connecticut and I lived in Michigan with my mom and her boyfriend, even though I was twenty years old.
One night, Brian called my house, which was completely normal. It was a Thursday and Smackdown had just ended. Normally, after Smackdown I'd be on the phone with Crystal, but she was in Miami helping The Rock (Dwayne) move out of the house he shared with his wife.
"Did you watch me tonight?" Brian asked on the phone.
"Of course." I said. He and Billy Gunn had fought the Hardy Boyz for the tag team belts and won them.
"Well, I'm not exactly calling about that."
"Why are you calling then?" I started to wonder if I should worry.
"I want to talk to you, but since I like you so much I'm coming to see you tomorrow."
"Sounds really good. What time?" It'd been two weeks since I'd seen Brian.
"I've got a signing until two. I'll come over to your house, okay?"
I agreed and the next day, Brian and I were watching TV in the living room. He'd been there for almost an hour, and hadn't said much.
"So, what's wrong?" I asked.
He turned to face me. "We live pretty far apart."
"It's not too far."
"Yeah, but I travel a lot too. So it's really hard to find time to see you."
Suddenly I realized what he was getting at. "No." I whispered.
He nodded. "I'm really sorry, but we've got to break up."
I tried to talk, but couldn't. I was too shocked to even cry. I really like Brian. He was a good friend. I was really good friends with Sean, too, so it'd be hard to be around him, mostly since it was usually the three of us hanging out.
"We'll still be friends." Brian said putting a hand on my knee.
"Everybody always says that."
"No, see, Joanie left Hunter for Jericho last week. She's leaving DX in a few months. I've talked to Hunter, who talked to Vince, and the pay-per- view after Chyna leaves, you'll have a place in our locker room. It'll look like we've replaced Chyna already." He explained.
"So, I'll be traveling with you all the time?" I asked, confused why he'd broken up with me and now he was contradicting himself.
"No, actually you won't. You'll be there one night a week. Within a year, though, you'll be there every night."
"But we're breaking up because we never see each other?"
"For now. I never said we couldn't get back together."
Brian and I never got back together. I became better friends with Sean and moved in with Hunter around the time I got into the DX locker room. But I've learned Brian will always be there for me.
I followed Crystal and the security guard under the entrance ramp, back to the locker rooms. It was during a commercial break so there wasn't much action in the ring.
A month earlier, Crystal and I were going behind the curtains for the first time. Tonight, in New Jersey, we didn't expect to go back for a second time. The security guard had come up to us after The Rock's match and said The Rock had asked for us to meet him in the locker room.
From a stage-like door next to the entrance ramp, we entered a long hall. The guard told us The Rock was in room number four, and then returned to the open arena.
As soon as the guard was gone, Crystal turned to me. "This has got to be a dream."
I laughed. "Well, it's your dream. I wouldn't be back here on my way to The Rock's room."
"No, you'd be going to the DX locker room." She said, as we continued down the hall, reading the painted numbers on the doors.
"Shauna?" I heard my name behind me.
Crystal and I stopped and turned around to see Road Dogg walking toward us.
"Now, we're in your dream." Crystal whispered next to me.
"Oh, it is you." Road Dogg said.
"Um, yeah…" I said, trying to remember his real name. "Brian."
"And you remembered my name? That's cool."
"Yeah. And this is my friend, Crystal." When Crystal and I had gotten backstage before, we'd split up, so she hadn't met Brian.
"Nice to meet you." Brian said, shaking Crystal's hand. Then he turned back to me. "So, how'd you get back here again?"
"The Rock remembered her from last month." I explained.
"Are you going back to see him, too?" Brian asked.
I looked at Crystal. "Not if I don't have to."
"You don't have to." Crystal smiled, probably thinking about being alone with The Rock.
"Great." Brian said. "Then come back with me. The taping is over in about twenty minutes, maybe we can hang out after."
I turned to Crystal again. "I've got my cell phone, call me if anything happens. Otherwise, I'll be back to our hotel later, okay?"
"Sounds good." She said and started back down the hall.
Brian smiled and slipped an arm around my lower back. "Come on." He said leading me down the hall in the opposite direction of Crystal.
A couple hours later, Brian and I were sitting in the hotel room he was sharing with X-Pac, who introduced himself as Sean. Brian and I sat on his bed while Sean sat on his.
"So, you don't hang out with Triple H, Chyna and Billy Gunn after a taping?" I asked.
Brian snickered. "No."
"Actually, Monty—Billy Gunn—usually travels with his wife. Their kids live with his sister." Sean explained.
"And Triple H and Chyna?" I asked.
"Hunter and Joanie." Brian corrected me and laughed. "They have special plans after shows."
Triple H had been my favorite Superstar for the last two or three years. I'd known he and Chyna were more than friends, so Brian's answer held no surprise for me. But he'd called Triple H Hunter. His real name was Paul Levesque.
"Why do you call him Hunter?" I asked.
"I don't know, just always have. When I first met him it was Paul, but then we started with Hunter." Brian said.
"I usually call him Asshole." Sean laughed.
I smiled. "Why?"
"It's like a nickname that stuck. A couple years ago, fans hated him and would chant, 'asshole' when he came out. It's a weird thing we do. He calls me 'kid.'
My cell phone ringing interrupted our conversation. Sean handed me my purse off the foot of his bed. I found my phone and answered it. "Hello?"
"I'm not coming back to the hotel tonight." Crystal's voice came through the phone.
"Really?" I laughed. "So, you're having fun?"
She giggled. "Yeah, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, okay?"
"Okay, be at least semi-good."
She laughed and we hung up. I put the phone back in my purse.
"She's not coming back tonight, is she?" Brian asked.
I smiled. "No, I guess not. But I should be getting back."
The three of us stood up. "I'll drive you back." Brian said as I put on my coat.
"Okay." I agreed.
"We have to hang out again." Sean said and hugged me.
When Brian dropped me off, he said the next Monday they'd be in Cincinnati, Ohio. He could get me back before Raw started and I could stay in the locker room throughout the show. He'd call me with details in a few days.
Before I got out of the car, he asked, "Do you have a boyfriend or anything?"
I smiled. "No, actually. Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering." He laughed. "So, I'll see you Monday?"
I did go to Ohio Monday and for the next few months, I saw Brian more and more. After a month, we were telling my mom that we were more than friends. Thankfully, Road Dogg has always been one of her favorite wrestlers.
But after six months, something happened. Brian lived in Connecticut and I lived in Michigan with my mom and her boyfriend, even though I was twenty years old.
One night, Brian called my house, which was completely normal. It was a Thursday and Smackdown had just ended. Normally, after Smackdown I'd be on the phone with Crystal, but she was in Miami helping The Rock (Dwayne) move out of the house he shared with his wife.
"Did you watch me tonight?" Brian asked on the phone.
"Of course." I said. He and Billy Gunn had fought the Hardy Boyz for the tag team belts and won them.
"Well, I'm not exactly calling about that."
"Why are you calling then?" I started to wonder if I should worry.
"I want to talk to you, but since I like you so much I'm coming to see you tomorrow."
"Sounds really good. What time?" It'd been two weeks since I'd seen Brian.
"I've got a signing until two. I'll come over to your house, okay?"
I agreed and the next day, Brian and I were watching TV in the living room. He'd been there for almost an hour, and hadn't said much.
"So, what's wrong?" I asked.
He turned to face me. "We live pretty far apart."
"It's not too far."
"Yeah, but I travel a lot too. So it's really hard to find time to see you."
Suddenly I realized what he was getting at. "No." I whispered.
He nodded. "I'm really sorry, but we've got to break up."
I tried to talk, but couldn't. I was too shocked to even cry. I really like Brian. He was a good friend. I was really good friends with Sean, too, so it'd be hard to be around him, mostly since it was usually the three of us hanging out.
"We'll still be friends." Brian said putting a hand on my knee.
"Everybody always says that."
"No, see, Joanie left Hunter for Jericho last week. She's leaving DX in a few months. I've talked to Hunter, who talked to Vince, and the pay-per- view after Chyna leaves, you'll have a place in our locker room. It'll look like we've replaced Chyna already." He explained.
"So, I'll be traveling with you all the time?" I asked, confused why he'd broken up with me and now he was contradicting himself.
"No, actually you won't. You'll be there one night a week. Within a year, though, you'll be there every night."
"But we're breaking up because we never see each other?"
"For now. I never said we couldn't get back together."
Brian and I never got back together. I became better friends with Sean and moved in with Hunter around the time I got into the DX locker room. But I've learned Brian will always be there for me.