Chapter 32: The Raw Before 'King of the Ring'
~Sam's POV~
It's been a little over a month since everything that has been happening. I have two full weeks before I graduate and I can't wait. And I have had a full three weeks without any tutoring. Kellie told me that I had finished everything and I have already met all the credits that I need to graduate. Therefore, I don't need to be tutored anymore. I have been focusing a lot on training, doing autograph signings, photo shoots, interviews and such. I can feel my body ready to explode right now. I haven't gotten the chance to go home since a little over a week and a half ago and I miss being home. I already told Paul that I wanted to go home, but I can't right now, not since the King of the Ring is coming up on Sunday and I'm the chosen Superstar to help advertise King of the Ring. Vince allowed me to have time off after Raw on Monday. It's basically the right time for me, since I'm graduating the following Friday. After Monday, I'll be flying back home to Canada and getting everything situated with the graduation and I can't wait. "Babydoll?"
"Yeah, daddy?"
"Your match is up in a half an hour."
"Ok," I said as I looked at my watch. I had just finished changing into my wrestling attire. Now I was ready to go get my face done. "I'm going to go and get my face done."
"All right, I'll see you after your match," Paul said.
"Bye, daddy," I said as I left the locker room. I went over to Mary who did my face while Liz did my hair. I had an inter-gender match with Undertaker against Lita and Matt. Jeff was going to be color commentating while we were in our match. Let me tell you ever since there had been a security guard with Amy personally; she has been avoiding me like a plague. I tried to be friends with her and everything possible, but she didn't want anything to do with it. Twenty minutes later I was done and had only ten minutes 'til match time. I decided to go over to the gorilla position and watch the previous match from there. When I got there, it was Edge and Christian against Road Dogg Jesse James and X-Pac (otherwise known as New Age Outlaws). They had a couple of minutes before their match ended. Mark, Amy, Matt and Jeff had come and joined me to watch the remaining minutes of their match. Mark had stood behind me and allowed me to lean on him, as I usually do whenever we are around each other. Finally Edge and Christian picked up the win and were heading backstage. First, Adam and Jason came back and we all congratulated them on a job well done. Then Jesse and Sean came back and we did the same thing to them. Then the stagehand had told Matt, Jeff and Amy to get ready to go on. Jesse, Sean, Adam and Jason wished us all luck before heading to their locker rooms for a shower and to change. Once they left, Mark noticed that I bounced my head to their music. I always laughed whenever Mark put his head on the top of my head to make me stop bouncing to the music. I always knew that he was smiling at me, but refused to show it. A stagehand gave us the signal and we were ready to go. The match itself lasted about 18 minutes before I picked up the win over Lita. I rolled out of the ring as Mark had pulled me up the ramp with him. I glared at Lita as I walked up the ramp and went backstage. Paul was there waiting for us. I jumped into his arms as I squealed, "That was so much fun!!!"
Paul and Mark laughed. "I'm glad that you had fun, babydoll."
"Is your match up next?" I asked as I pulled back.
"Yeah, it is," Paul responded.
"Who are you going against?"
"Against me," a voice said.
I looked up and smiled. "Hi, DJ."
"Hi, sweetie, how are you?"
"I'm doing good. How are you?"
"I'm fine," he said.
"How come I don't get a hug?" I asked innocently.
"C'mere," he said as he opened his arms. I immediately jumped into his arms and squealed. All of the guys laughed, even Matt and Jeff when they saw me jumping into DJ's arms. I looked at Amy and I thought I saw a whisper of a smile. I might have been wrong, but that's what it looked like. After Paul had to go for his match, I immediately ran to our locker room to watch his match. Jeff had come in moments later to watch it with me. About half an hour later, Paul had won the match, Jeff left the locker room after giving me a kiss, and I went to the shower area to take a shower. 10 minutes later, I heard the door open and heard loud chattering. I washed my face off and grabbed a towel and stood by the entrance of the shower. I looked around and saw Paul being angry about something and Shane McMahon was trying to calm him down. I left them alone and finished my shower. 5 minutes later, I came out, Paul seemed somewhat calmer, but still pissed. I knew better than to listen to their conversation. I got my clothes and went to the changing area to put on some clothes. After I did, I wrapped the towel around my hair. I walked back to where I put my bag and looked for my necklace.
"Samantha, I was wondering if I could speak to you for a minute?" Shane asked.
"Yeah, sure," I said as I found the necklace and put it on. I sat down in the chair that Shane had pulled for me. "What's up?"
"There's been a slight change in your match with Amy at King of the Ring," Shane started off. "Please believe me when I say that I have tried to change it, but Amy decided to back out and have someone else wrestle against you."
"What?"
"Samantha, I'm so sorry. I've tried to change it. I did everything that I could do to make it even for you especially since you are still new to the business."
"Shane, who's replacing Amy?" I said; my voice was ready to break.
"It's going to be Joanie (Chyna)," he said as he put his head down.
"What. how. why?" I said; tears were forming.
"Samantha, I don't know why. I don't know the whole story. All I know is that Amy had something to do with this."
"Did you talk to Vince?"
"Yes, but he couldn't do anything about it."
"What do you mean?" I said as I cried.
"In Amy's contract, she can pick one match where she can back out and have someone else replace her. She picked this one, knowing that she was going to lose her spot with Team Extreme," Shane explained.
"No, there has to be something that can stop this."
"I'm so sorry, but there isn't anything. I read and read your contract and there's nothing there that can prevent it."
"Couldn't you like add a clause or something?"
"I suggested that to my dad and the lawyers. they said that there is no possible way to do so," Shane said as he saw the tears on my face. He put his hands over mine and held them in his. Ever since we met, we became close friends. I consider him as a brother. He was one of the few guys that I have allowed into my heart. I make friends easily, but when it comes to my past. only certain people know. Men were such a big problem for me since several men tried to use me and break me. The only guys that know me, besides Adam and Jay, were Jeff, Matt, Paul, Mark, Shawn Michaels, Shane and his father, Vince. I knew that I could count on Shane for anything.
"No, there has to be something that you can do. please, Shane," I begged. Shane stayed quiet as he tried to control his tears. The towel came off and I cried some more. "Daddy, tell me that we can do something." Paul didn't say anything. all he did was look away from me. I got fed up and started screaming, "She can't do this to me. both of you know this. You both know that I was going to win in the end. She knows that I'm the one who's taking her place. she can't take that away from me. She can't take away what I've worked for during the past two months. This is all her fault!!! She tried to destroy my life before and she's still doing it!! There's no possible way that I'm going to do this. If you or Vince don't do anything about it, then. then. then." Shane came over to me and cupped my tear-streaked face.
"Then what?" Shane asked softly.
"Then I'm going to quit!!!" I shouted.
"Samantha, no, please, don't quit. You have to stay strong, please. If you quit, you're only going to let Amy win the battle. Don't let her win. you're right, this is all her fault because she tried to take your life away from you, but you have to prove to her that she's wrong. You do not want to go through life thinking, 'What if I could have beaten her? What if I stayed and fought?' Do you want to go through life thinking like that?" Shane asked.
I stood there, not knowing what to say, "I.I. I don't want that."
"Then Samantha, you have got to try. I promise you that you will make it through and that you will win. Remember that Vince can make it any kind of match you want," Shane said. I stood there, looking at Shane and taking in what he told me.
"Vince can make it any kind of match I want?"
"Yes, he can." Shane started to say, then got the idea. I looked at him and we smiled at each other. We both knew what the other was thinking.
"Let's go talk to Vince," I said as Shane nodded his head in agreement. Shane and I walked out of the locker room with Paul hot on our heels asking what was going on. Shane and I looked at each other and laughed. We got to Vince's locker room in record time and knocked. We opened the door as soon as we heard him call us in.
"What's going on?" Vince asked as he saw all of us walk in together.
"Dad, I told Samantha what had happened with the change and Samantha had accepted it on one condition," Shane said.
"What's that?"
"You make it any kind of match she wants and Joanie and Amy have to accept whatever Samantha decides," Shane said proudly. We made eye contact and smiled. We looked back at Vince and he was suspicious of the kind of match I wanted.
"I can do that. now what's the match that you want it to make, Samantha," Vince asked. I told him when he asked and when I finished, he was wide-eyed as well as Paul, "Are you sure you want that kind of match?"
"Yep, as sure as I'll ever be," I said, standing strong.
"Ok, we'll do it your way," Vince said.
"Great, oh and another thing. I want papers to be drawn for this ASAP and have Joanie and Amy sign it. I will sign it as well," I said.
"Fine, no problem. I'll have it ready tomorrow for all of you to sign. We'll air it on SmackDown tomorrow night and be ready for it on Sunday."
"Great, thanks Vince," I said, smiling.
"You're welcome. Now get on out of here both of you. Shane, I want to talk to you," Vince said firmly.
"Oh-uh, someone in trouble!!!" I said in a singsong voice.
"Ah!! Get outta here!!!" Shane shot back as I left laughing.
Once we left Vince's office, Paul said, "Are you sure your up for that type of match?"
"Yeah, I am. Dad, this is something that I need to prove not just to Amy and Joanie, but also to myself. Please understand why I told Vince that I wanted that kind of match. Please be on my side," I said as I looked at him with a heavy sigh.
Paul looked down at me and gave in, "You know that I can't argue with you when you look like that."
I smiled, "I know and you love me for it."
Paul laughed, "Don't I always?"
"Always!" I retorted back. We headed for our locker room and got ready to go back to the hotel and turn in for the night.
~Sam's POV~
It's been a little over a month since everything that has been happening. I have two full weeks before I graduate and I can't wait. And I have had a full three weeks without any tutoring. Kellie told me that I had finished everything and I have already met all the credits that I need to graduate. Therefore, I don't need to be tutored anymore. I have been focusing a lot on training, doing autograph signings, photo shoots, interviews and such. I can feel my body ready to explode right now. I haven't gotten the chance to go home since a little over a week and a half ago and I miss being home. I already told Paul that I wanted to go home, but I can't right now, not since the King of the Ring is coming up on Sunday and I'm the chosen Superstar to help advertise King of the Ring. Vince allowed me to have time off after Raw on Monday. It's basically the right time for me, since I'm graduating the following Friday. After Monday, I'll be flying back home to Canada and getting everything situated with the graduation and I can't wait. "Babydoll?"
"Yeah, daddy?"
"Your match is up in a half an hour."
"Ok," I said as I looked at my watch. I had just finished changing into my wrestling attire. Now I was ready to go get my face done. "I'm going to go and get my face done."
"All right, I'll see you after your match," Paul said.
"Bye, daddy," I said as I left the locker room. I went over to Mary who did my face while Liz did my hair. I had an inter-gender match with Undertaker against Lita and Matt. Jeff was going to be color commentating while we were in our match. Let me tell you ever since there had been a security guard with Amy personally; she has been avoiding me like a plague. I tried to be friends with her and everything possible, but she didn't want anything to do with it. Twenty minutes later I was done and had only ten minutes 'til match time. I decided to go over to the gorilla position and watch the previous match from there. When I got there, it was Edge and Christian against Road Dogg Jesse James and X-Pac (otherwise known as New Age Outlaws). They had a couple of minutes before their match ended. Mark, Amy, Matt and Jeff had come and joined me to watch the remaining minutes of their match. Mark had stood behind me and allowed me to lean on him, as I usually do whenever we are around each other. Finally Edge and Christian picked up the win and were heading backstage. First, Adam and Jason came back and we all congratulated them on a job well done. Then Jesse and Sean came back and we did the same thing to them. Then the stagehand had told Matt, Jeff and Amy to get ready to go on. Jesse, Sean, Adam and Jason wished us all luck before heading to their locker rooms for a shower and to change. Once they left, Mark noticed that I bounced my head to their music. I always laughed whenever Mark put his head on the top of my head to make me stop bouncing to the music. I always knew that he was smiling at me, but refused to show it. A stagehand gave us the signal and we were ready to go. The match itself lasted about 18 minutes before I picked up the win over Lita. I rolled out of the ring as Mark had pulled me up the ramp with him. I glared at Lita as I walked up the ramp and went backstage. Paul was there waiting for us. I jumped into his arms as I squealed, "That was so much fun!!!"
Paul and Mark laughed. "I'm glad that you had fun, babydoll."
"Is your match up next?" I asked as I pulled back.
"Yeah, it is," Paul responded.
"Who are you going against?"
"Against me," a voice said.
I looked up and smiled. "Hi, DJ."
"Hi, sweetie, how are you?"
"I'm doing good. How are you?"
"I'm fine," he said.
"How come I don't get a hug?" I asked innocently.
"C'mere," he said as he opened his arms. I immediately jumped into his arms and squealed. All of the guys laughed, even Matt and Jeff when they saw me jumping into DJ's arms. I looked at Amy and I thought I saw a whisper of a smile. I might have been wrong, but that's what it looked like. After Paul had to go for his match, I immediately ran to our locker room to watch his match. Jeff had come in moments later to watch it with me. About half an hour later, Paul had won the match, Jeff left the locker room after giving me a kiss, and I went to the shower area to take a shower. 10 minutes later, I heard the door open and heard loud chattering. I washed my face off and grabbed a towel and stood by the entrance of the shower. I looked around and saw Paul being angry about something and Shane McMahon was trying to calm him down. I left them alone and finished my shower. 5 minutes later, I came out, Paul seemed somewhat calmer, but still pissed. I knew better than to listen to their conversation. I got my clothes and went to the changing area to put on some clothes. After I did, I wrapped the towel around my hair. I walked back to where I put my bag and looked for my necklace.
"Samantha, I was wondering if I could speak to you for a minute?" Shane asked.
"Yeah, sure," I said as I found the necklace and put it on. I sat down in the chair that Shane had pulled for me. "What's up?"
"There's been a slight change in your match with Amy at King of the Ring," Shane started off. "Please believe me when I say that I have tried to change it, but Amy decided to back out and have someone else wrestle against you."
"What?"
"Samantha, I'm so sorry. I've tried to change it. I did everything that I could do to make it even for you especially since you are still new to the business."
"Shane, who's replacing Amy?" I said; my voice was ready to break.
"It's going to be Joanie (Chyna)," he said as he put his head down.
"What. how. why?" I said; tears were forming.
"Samantha, I don't know why. I don't know the whole story. All I know is that Amy had something to do with this."
"Did you talk to Vince?"
"Yes, but he couldn't do anything about it."
"What do you mean?" I said as I cried.
"In Amy's contract, she can pick one match where she can back out and have someone else replace her. She picked this one, knowing that she was going to lose her spot with Team Extreme," Shane explained.
"No, there has to be something that can stop this."
"I'm so sorry, but there isn't anything. I read and read your contract and there's nothing there that can prevent it."
"Couldn't you like add a clause or something?"
"I suggested that to my dad and the lawyers. they said that there is no possible way to do so," Shane said as he saw the tears on my face. He put his hands over mine and held them in his. Ever since we met, we became close friends. I consider him as a brother. He was one of the few guys that I have allowed into my heart. I make friends easily, but when it comes to my past. only certain people know. Men were such a big problem for me since several men tried to use me and break me. The only guys that know me, besides Adam and Jay, were Jeff, Matt, Paul, Mark, Shawn Michaels, Shane and his father, Vince. I knew that I could count on Shane for anything.
"No, there has to be something that you can do. please, Shane," I begged. Shane stayed quiet as he tried to control his tears. The towel came off and I cried some more. "Daddy, tell me that we can do something." Paul didn't say anything. all he did was look away from me. I got fed up and started screaming, "She can't do this to me. both of you know this. You both know that I was going to win in the end. She knows that I'm the one who's taking her place. she can't take that away from me. She can't take away what I've worked for during the past two months. This is all her fault!!! She tried to destroy my life before and she's still doing it!! There's no possible way that I'm going to do this. If you or Vince don't do anything about it, then. then. then." Shane came over to me and cupped my tear-streaked face.
"Then what?" Shane asked softly.
"Then I'm going to quit!!!" I shouted.
"Samantha, no, please, don't quit. You have to stay strong, please. If you quit, you're only going to let Amy win the battle. Don't let her win. you're right, this is all her fault because she tried to take your life away from you, but you have to prove to her that she's wrong. You do not want to go through life thinking, 'What if I could have beaten her? What if I stayed and fought?' Do you want to go through life thinking like that?" Shane asked.
I stood there, not knowing what to say, "I.I. I don't want that."
"Then Samantha, you have got to try. I promise you that you will make it through and that you will win. Remember that Vince can make it any kind of match you want," Shane said. I stood there, looking at Shane and taking in what he told me.
"Vince can make it any kind of match I want?"
"Yes, he can." Shane started to say, then got the idea. I looked at him and we smiled at each other. We both knew what the other was thinking.
"Let's go talk to Vince," I said as Shane nodded his head in agreement. Shane and I walked out of the locker room with Paul hot on our heels asking what was going on. Shane and I looked at each other and laughed. We got to Vince's locker room in record time and knocked. We opened the door as soon as we heard him call us in.
"What's going on?" Vince asked as he saw all of us walk in together.
"Dad, I told Samantha what had happened with the change and Samantha had accepted it on one condition," Shane said.
"What's that?"
"You make it any kind of match she wants and Joanie and Amy have to accept whatever Samantha decides," Shane said proudly. We made eye contact and smiled. We looked back at Vince and he was suspicious of the kind of match I wanted.
"I can do that. now what's the match that you want it to make, Samantha," Vince asked. I told him when he asked and when I finished, he was wide-eyed as well as Paul, "Are you sure you want that kind of match?"
"Yep, as sure as I'll ever be," I said, standing strong.
"Ok, we'll do it your way," Vince said.
"Great, oh and another thing. I want papers to be drawn for this ASAP and have Joanie and Amy sign it. I will sign it as well," I said.
"Fine, no problem. I'll have it ready tomorrow for all of you to sign. We'll air it on SmackDown tomorrow night and be ready for it on Sunday."
"Great, thanks Vince," I said, smiling.
"You're welcome. Now get on out of here both of you. Shane, I want to talk to you," Vince said firmly.
"Oh-uh, someone in trouble!!!" I said in a singsong voice.
"Ah!! Get outta here!!!" Shane shot back as I left laughing.
Once we left Vince's office, Paul said, "Are you sure your up for that type of match?"
"Yeah, I am. Dad, this is something that I need to prove not just to Amy and Joanie, but also to myself. Please understand why I told Vince that I wanted that kind of match. Please be on my side," I said as I looked at him with a heavy sigh.
Paul looked down at me and gave in, "You know that I can't argue with you when you look like that."
I smiled, "I know and you love me for it."
Paul laughed, "Don't I always?"
"Always!" I retorted back. We headed for our locker room and got ready to go back to the hotel and turn in for the night.
