Chapter 19: Cheap Shot, Cheap Talk, Cheap Shock
It was now July and the day was Independence Day. RAW and Smackdown was in Sacramento, California for a supershow and John and Nicole had already planned to go to Folsom Lake for the fourth of July fireworks.
Nicole, Delancey, and Rochelle were in the catering room talking. Delancey has become really good friends with Rochelle since they've met in Anaheim, California.
"So, Delancey, how was your Playboy photo shoot?" Rochelle asked.
"It was fun," Delancey said. "It was a little nerve-wrecking but I kept my cool."
"Sure you did," Nicole said.
"I did, Nicole. If you posed for Playboy, you would go crazy."
"Would I?"
"Yeah."
Delancey and Rochelle laughed.
"Well, I know that Shelton can't wait to get his hands on the issue when it comes out in a couple of weeks," Nicole said, "but Rochelle, have you spoken to Dave since last Monday?"
"Well, he and I have spoken during the Smackdown taping and I believe Dave and I have some things in common," Rochelle said. "I just don't know what."
"Well, you should definitely hook-up with him like right now," Delancey said.
"Delancey, come on. I've known the guy for just a day. At least, give me a chance to find out things about him."
"Alright, we won't push you," Nicole said.
"Besides, if I wanna have a boyfriend, I want the kind of relationship you have with John Cena. I mean, what do you and John have in common?"
"Well, he and I are both Tauruses, we like baseball, we like listening to hip-hop, we're both interested in fitness, we're from states that start with the letter M, I mean, Massachusetts and Missouri do mesh well, and we're both wrestlers."
"Well, I just have to figure out what Dave and I have in common and hopefully, I'm good to have him in my life."
"You just have to work at it," Delancey said. "I remember when I told you that when I broke up with Edge at Survivor Series last year, Shelton came to me because he wanted the chance to be with me and he couldn't wait long. Hell, he already knew things about me."
Rochelle nodded her head.
"Yeah. I really do want to work at it," Rochelle said. "I also hope that my soon-to-be relationship with Dave wouldn't turn to be abusive and almost deadly like it was before back to my father."
"Rochelle, Dave is not like that," Nicole said. "He probably doesn't know about your past but whether he knows or not, he'll never be like that. He seems really interested in you and I know for a fact he wants to get to know you better."
Rochelle nodded her head again.
Later, RAW was on and John was the guest of Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel.
"Tonight, we are not going to see any cheesy deck chairs, or stupid palm trees," Chris said onto the microphone. "I was watching the Cabana earlier and I saw Hulk Hogan, a true superstar as my guest. But there is no bigger star on RAW than myself, but I got the next closest thing. Ladies and gentlemen, and Jericholics of all ages, would you please welcome the WWE Champion, John Cena!"
John's entrance theme plays and he comes out from the curtain with Nicole following him. Nicole was wearing a white collared button-down backless midriff tank top, black pants, a black necktie, and a black hat with her hair curled. John and Nicole walked down the aisle and they get into the ring. John grabs a microphone, sits down on a chair, and Nicole stands next to him.
"I'm back on the Highlight Reel," John said. "Thanks for having me. And it looks like Sac Town is excited tonight!"
"The crowd is excited and so are you," Chris said. "You are doing great, look at you. You're the WWE Champion, have a hit album, getting ready to film your second music video, and has a concert coming up in two weeks with the lovely Nicole Mitchell as the opening act. As everybody knows, I'm the first Undisputed Champion, I have three hit records, done five music videos, and played hundred of concerts including the Download Festival in England where I played in front of 50,000 fans. Let's see the footage, shall we?" He then played footage of his appearance there on the Jeritron 5000. "Now that is how a real rock star does it."
"Well, this is a pretty one sided interview, and you have a lot of good things going, so good luck," John said and he and Nicole went to leave but Jericho pulled him back.
"Wait a minute," Chris said. "What does good luck supposed to mean?"
"What do you want from me?" John said. "I said congratulations."
John and Nicole tries to leave but Chris again pulls John back.
"Is that supposed to mean something?" Chris said as he took off his sunglasses. "I want to remind you who it is you're talking to. I have reached legendary status in the 15 years I've been in this business and I'm a much bigger star than you are, Cena. And the only reason people don't realize that is because of what you have and I can take that from you anytime I want."
"So that's what this is about," John said. "The WWE championship. You have done it all, but I can see it in your eyes, hell, I can feel it. You're nothing without the WWE Title." The fans chanted "CENA!" "Listen to them, Chris. That's why you come out here every week and says that you're Chris Jericho tooting your own horn. You're the first to tell everyone that you're on top of the world. Allow me to be the first to tell you that you're an asshole. You come out here everytime telling everyone the exact same thing. Yo, man, wake up. These people ain't stupid. It's all about real recognizing real. I remember, all of you remember when RAW really was Jericho. But now Jericho is cheap. You see, you've taken every single thing you've done, the Highlight Reel, your championships, everything and covered it in a big bag of cheap sauce. Y2J, homie, I look at you and see Y2Cheap."
Chris looked down and then slapped John. Nicole then stepped away from John and he tackled Chris down, hammered away on him, and both men traded right hands. John then took Chris down with a shoulder block and Chris backed out of the ring. The referees came down and escorted Chris to the back and then John ran out of the ring, took a blow up hand from one of the fans, got back in the ring and did a middle finger salute with it. Then John and Nicole went to the back.
"Alright, now it's getting personal," Nicole said. "Jericho is now really getting to you to get the WWE title."
"Hey, when he attacked me from behind last month and I gave him a beatdown, I said I was gonna make it personal," John said.
"Well, Jericho's been out of it since he started bad mouthing Shelton for the Intercontinental Championship. He really needs to let go."
"He needs to. So you excited about accompanying Hulk Hogan to ringside?"
"Yes! Yes, I'm so excited about that. And of course, Delancey will be joining me because with what happened with Shelton and all that. She needs some excitement for tonight, especially with her being Sgt. Slaughter's assistant for the Bikini Bootcamp competition."
"She definitely needs that."
Then it was time for the tag team match between Kurt Angle and Carlito versus Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels.
Earlier, Hulk Hogan was a guest on Carlito's Cabana and after Kurt Angle and Carlito made derogatory comments about his 16-year-old daughter Brooke, Hulk attacked them and found himself the victim of Kurt and Carlito before Nicole, Delancey, and Shawn Michaels came to his rescue. Then Shawn went to General Manager Eric Bischoff and demanded a tag team match.
Carlito's entrance theme plays and he comes out from the curtain and walks to the ring. Then Kurt's entrance theme plays, he comes out from the curtain and walks down to the ring. Then Shawn Michaels' entrance theme plays and he comes out from the curtain and does his usual thing with the pyro. He walks down the ramp and gets inside the ring and Hulk's entrance theme plays and he comes out from the curtain with Nicole and Delancey following him. Delancey was wearing a green camouflage jumpsuit, a patriotic bikini top, and a green camouflage cap. The crowd goes nuts as the three walked down the aisle and get inside the ring. Hulk, Nicole, and Delancey were pumping out the crowd and Nicole, Delancey, and Shawn got out of the ring as the referee called for the bell.
Hulk and Carlito started things off with a tie up and Hulk shoved him down to the mat. Carlito tagged in Kurt and he and Hulk tied up and Hulk shoved him down to the mat too. Hulk wrenched the arm of Kurt and then tagged in Shawn but Kurt got a knee to the gut and right hand. But Shawn came back with an arm drag and then an arm bar. Kurt pulled Shawn down by his hair and tagged Carlito, who walked into another arm drag and an arm bar.
Shawn tagged Hulk and Hulk hit a big right hand. He then hit a clothesline to knock Carlito down. Hulk slammed him and sent him into the boot of Shawn and tagged him in again. Carlito grabbed Shawn by the hair and got him in his corner and tagged in Kurt. Kurt sent Shawn to the corner and kicked away at him but Shawn came back with some chops to the chest. Shawn hit a boot in the corner and then a clothesline. Carlito came in but Shawn knocked him down and then tossed Kurt to the outside. Hulk came in and tossed Carlito out.
Carlito tags in Kurt is in control of Shawn in the corner and went for a belly to belly from the top, but Shawn knocked him down and hit the elbow from the top. Shawn started to tune up the band but Carlito distracted him and then Kurt went for a cheap shot but Shawn caught him with some chops. Carlito then hit a knee to the back on the apron, and Shawn walked into a belly to belly from Kurt for two. Carlito tagged in and hit a chop to knock Shawn down before stomping him. Carlito choked Shawn in the ropes and then distracted the referee allowing Kurt to his an elbow to the throat on the apron.
Kurt tagged in and hit a back suplex on Shawn for two before sending him to the corner and tagging Carlito in. Carlito distracted the referee and Kurt choked Shawn with the tag rope. Shawn battled both men out of the corner, but Carlito took him down with a suplex for another two before tagged Kurt back inside. Kurt hit a snapmare into a bear hug on the mat as the fans got behind Shawn. Shawn fought out and went for a dropkick but Kurt held the ropes and the mocked Hulk before locking in the Ankle Lock, but Shawn kicked him away. Kurt went for the Angle Slam, but Shawn reversed into a huge DDT and both men are down.
Kurt tagged Carlito, and Shawn got the tag to Hulk. Carlito backed off, but Hulk unloaded with right hands and then took him down with a big boot. Kurt then charged at Hulk, but Hulk back dropped him to the outside and then scored with the Leg Drop on Carlito for the victory.
Nicole and Delancey got into the ring as they raise the hands of Shawn and Hulk. They celebrated their victory in the ring and Hulk asked Nicole and Delancey to pose with him and Shawn. They agreed and went to pose with them. As Hulk, Nicole, and Delancey celebrated in the ring, Shawn out of nowhere nailed Hulk with Sweet Chin Music! Nicole fell down on the mat and Delancey was in the corner in shock as Shawn stared down at Hulk who was out cold and then the crowd went silent. Shawn then left the ring and Nicole and Delancey went to check on Hulk. The referees came down to help him and Nicole and Delancey left the ring to let the referees do their job. They went to the back.
"Okay, what just happened?" Delancey said. "Please tell me what just happened was my imagination."
"I'm afraid it wasn't," Nicole said. "Just last week, Shawn tagged with my boyfriend and Hulk Hogan; now this week, right in front of us on the fourth of July, he kicks him in the face. This...I can't believe it. I can't believe he did this. Why?"
"I don't know, Nicole. I don't know."
Later, Smackdown was on and it was the Divas match between Melina and Rochelle. This was Rochelle's wrestling debut and Nitro and Mercury weren't allowed at ringside before, during, and after the match because they would try to do something for Melina to win the match. Nicole and Delancey were in the back as Melina was standing in the ring waiting for Rochelle to come out.
"Alright, Rochelle," Nicole said. "This is your wrestling debut. Are you ready?"
"Yeah. I am totally ready," Rochelle said. "I'm doing this for Michelle because Melina is gonna get what she deserves: a good old-fashioned ass beating. She better pray I don't hurt her worse."
"Well, you go out there and show Melina that you're a diva not to be messed with," Delancey said.
"Thanks," Rochelle said. "Wish me luck."
Rochelle then walked away and when her entrance theme, "A Thing Called Love" by the Darkness played, she came out from the curtain.
"And her opponent, Rochelle Kennedy," Tony Chimel announced.
Rochelle wore a black midriff tank top with blue suspenders, and black pants. Rochelle walked down the ramp and got into the ring. Rochelle then posed in the middle of the ring and the referee then called for the bell.
Rochelle and Melina locks up and Rochelle gets Melina in a fatal chokehold. Melina elbows Rochelle three times in the gut and hits a bulldog slam for a two count. Melina yells at the referee as Rochelle knocks down Melina after she turns her back. Rochelle kicks on her several times before picking her up by the hair and tossing her across the ring several times. Rochelle knocks her over and then steps on her hair pulling her arms before giving her a double dropkick to the back of the head and pinning her for a two count. Rochelle gets a boot on Melina a few times and she tackles her and slams her head off the mat. Rochelle again throws Melina by the hair across the ring. Then Rochelle kicks her in the gut and picks her up for a power slam. Rochelle then picks Melina up and goes for her finishing move called Traffic Jam which is a bulldog slam. Then Rochelle covers Melina 1...2...3.
"Here is your winner, Rochelle Kennedy," Tony announced.
After the bell, Rochelle gets up and the referee raises her left arm in the air. Then Rochelle looks down at the unconscious Melina and smiles at what she did. She then gets in her face and says, "This is what happens when you screw up." Rochelle then leaves the ring and walks to the back to where Nicole and Delancey saw her match.
"Alright, Ro-ro. Great job," Nicole said as she gave Rochelle a high five.
"Thanks," Rochelle said. "Ro-ro?"
"Yeah. Ro-ro, your new nickname," Delancey said as the three divas laughed. "That was awesome. You sure showed Melina."
"Hey, I hope she learned her lesson and hopefully her little boyfriends won't put their hands on another diva again."
"Rochelle," Dave said coming forward. "Great job out there. You sure are tough."
"Why, thank you, Dave. I've watched you in the ring a lot of times and you're tough as well. You are the Animal."
"Well, I got my match with Christian, so I'll talk to you later."
"Okay."
Then Dave walked away with Rochelle seductively looking at him.
"I think I figured out one thing you and Dave have in common," Delancey said.
"What's that?" Rochelle said.
"Both you guys are animals," Nicole said as the girls laughed.
After Smackdown was over, John and Nicole were in their hotel room getting ready to go to Folsom Lake to watch the fireworks. John was already dressed and he was waiting for Nicole. Minutes later, Nicole opened the door and came out of the bathroom. She was wearing a blue spaghetti strap tank top, denim jeans, black flip-flop sandals, and her hair curled.
"Wow. You are looking more beautiful as always," John said.
"Thanks," Nicole said as she smiled.
"So, you ready?"
"Yeah, let's go."
Nicole grabbed her jean jacket, put it on, and she and John left the hotel room.
About thirty minutes later, the two arrived at Folsom Lake. They got out of the car and walked over to the beach area. The two found a shady spot where they wanted to see the fireworks alone together. As John and Nicole sat down on the blanket which Nicole set down, John had his arm around Nicole and she put her head on his shoulder as they watched the fireworks.
"It's so beautiful out here," Nicole said.
"Yeah and it's so quiet," John said.
"My family and I used to sit in the backyard back in St. Louis to see the fireworks. And now, this year, I'm doing it with you. I find this fourth of July to be romantic."
Then John leaned in and kissed Nicole. Then he pushed her down onto the blanket and went to kiss Nicole again. John then moved to her neck and started to kiss there until Nicole pushed him away and looked at him.
"What's wrong?" John said.
"I don't think we should do this here," Nicole said. "I mean, there may be some people here and we don't wanna get caught."
"Well, not a lot of people are here and nobody can see us. Besides, we're not gonna have sex here. We're just gonna make out and we can really do it when we get back to the hotel."
"Wow, this fourth of July is romantic. You always have such good ideas."
"I know."
Then John went back to kissing Nicole. After a few minutes, he moved to her neck and started to kiss there. Nicole loved the way John was kissing her neck and it caused her hands to grab and squeeze his butt. John felt that and he looked at her and smiled. John kissed Nicole's lips again and he went to take off her jean jacket. While John was still kissing Nicole, he had his right hand under Nicole's tank top and grabbed her breast. Nicole moaned as she took her right hand under John's shirt to feel his back. John pulled away from Nicole and looked at her with a smile.
"I betcha you wanna leave right now, huh?" John said.
"Yeah," Nicole said. "I think the fireworks just set off a flame for both of us."
"I heard that."