WWE were very cautious when it came to concussions. If Sonya hadn't been sure of that before, she definitely was now. Although she had felt pretty much back to normal a few days after Charlotte had kicked her in the head, WWE's senior doctor's decision had been that she would be restricted to light training only for a month.
Light training only meant a couple of hours a day at the Performance Centre, running the ropes and taking the most basic of bumps. It also meant no wrestling, and definitely no televised appearances. It therefore also meant not traveling with Mandy and Zelina when they were on the road working NXT live events.
Being away from Mandy had been the hardest part of the whole thing. At night, with only her necklace with the rose coloured heart pendant to keep her company, Sonya had felt incredibly lonely. That loneliness had given her a renewed appreciation for Mandy, and for their relationship. She considered that there was only one true love out there for a person, and hers was Mandy. She knew that without even a shadow of doubt.
"I love you, Mandy. I'm so glad that month is over," Sonya said. They had just arrived at Full Sail for a night of TV tapings. Sonya's return to action, she had been told, would at long last be taking place during one of the three episodes to be taped.
"I love you too, baby," Mandy said. "And I'm so glad you're back. It was tough, but we got through it."
Leaning in, they exchanged a delicate but passionate kiss. With that, it was time to head inside. They fetched their bags from the trunk and made their way into the building. When they entered the locker room, they found most of the other women had already arrived before them.
Charlotte Flair happened to be one of the closest women to the door, standing in conversation with Becky Lynch. As the person who had inflicted the concussion that had put Sonya on the injured list, Charlotte was quick to approach her and offer a smile. "Sonya. Welcome back. I'm glad you're back to full fitness."
"Thanks, Char," Sonya said warmly. They had texted each other enough times over the past month for Charlotte to be sure there were no hard feelings over the incident. Sonya's stance all along had been that accidents happened in the ring, it was as simple as that. Charlotte had not meant to kick her in the head, so what would have been the point in giving her grief about it?
Moving over to her locker, Sonya received smiles and greetings from most of her colleagues. The NXT roster were something of a family, meaning that anyone who was injured was missed by all until they returned.
Once Sonya had been welcomed back by everyone, Zelina walked over to join her two teammates. "Great to have you back, Son. It hasn't been the same without you."
Sonya smiled. "Thanks, Z. Listen, there's something that's been on my mind while I've been off. I wanted to talk to you about it in person. That night after the rumble, apparently you wanted to come to the hospital to see me, and I told you not to bother. I want to apologise for that, if I seemed rude or dismissive of your friendship. You know I appreciate you. Honestly, I don't even remember saying it. I only know it happened because Mandy told me."
"You were concussed," Zelina said in an understanding tone. "I've had a concussion myself. I know how messed up it makes you. I didn't take any offense, believe me. I'm just glad you're healed up and back with us. Come here." She offered a hug, and Sonya embraced her.
"I love you, Zel, I want you to know that. Mandy and I both do."
"Absolutely," Mandy said. "You're such a good friend, and a valuable mentor. Like Sonya said, we appreciate you."
Releasing Sonya's embrace, Zelina gave one of her broadest smiles. "That means so much to me. I couldn't be happier to be working with you guys. And Sonya, I know we've chatted on the phone and I've already said this, but again, I'm so proud of what you did in that rumble match. It was a performance that should be remembered for a long time to come."
"Thank you," Sonya said humbly.
Sasha Banks approached the group and addressed them in an abrupt manner that they were not unaccustomed to from her. "About tonight, then. We'd better get together and work something out."
"Oh, uh, we haven't had a chance to look at the formats yet," Mandy said.
Sasha looked impatient, but she didn't snap at them. "Let me save you the trouble. At Takeover New York, it's going to be Bayley and I against the two of you."
"Oh, man!" Sonya cried in excitement, delighted to hear that the Golden Gloves were going to have their first ever Takeover match.
"Awesome!" Mandy said at the same time.
"Yeah, and we're working on the build tonight," Zelina said, apparently having read her format before Sonya and Mandy arrived. "As you know, last week Mandy lost to Bayley, but beat the crap out of her with a chair after the match at my instruction."
"Yep," Sonya acknowledged.
"The first episode we're taping tonight, I beat Mandy," Sasha said, sounding like she figured she was entitled to do so. "Afterwards, she goes after me with a chair. Bayley comes out for the save, then Sonya, you make your return and lay her out."
"Sounds good to me," Sonya said. As the conversation continued, she found herself wondering what kind of reaction she would receive when she came out. It would be the first time fans got to see her since her headline-making performance at the Royal Rumble. It would be interesting to see if they cheered her based on what she had done that night, or booed her because she was a heel.
Upon reflection, Sonya told herself that while cheers would be flattering, she was supposed to be a heel. Boos were what she needed to hear, and if she didn't get them initially, it was her job to make sure she changed that as soon as she possibly could.
After dominating a large portion of her match with Sasha Banks, Mandy Rose found herself locked in the Bank Statement, right in the middle of the ring.
Frantic, Zelina screamed into the ring and pounded on the apron, imploring Mandy to make it to the ropes.
Yelping in pain, with Mandy's hands locked together over her face, Mandy strained in an attempt to crawl across the canvas towards safety. But it was no use, the hold was locked in too well. Taking the only option she had, Mandy tapped out against Sasha's hands.
As the bell sounded and the fans cheered, Sasha released the hold and got up to celebrate her win.
Holding the side of her neck to sell the hold she had been in, Mandy rolled out under the bottom rope on the side of the ring where Zelina was standing.
Far from wanting to console her teammate, Zelina had lifted up the ring apron to search for a weapon. She produced a black steel chair and held it out towards Mandy. "Get back in there and make her pay," she ordered angrily, her words and furious expression captured by the cameraman who was getting a close up of them.
Mandy looked equally as angry after losing a match that she had been in control of. She snatched the chair without hesitation and re-entered the ring. Brandishing the chair, she started to sneak up on Banks, who was standing on the middle turnbuckle facing the crowd, arms raised in victory.
Seeing Mandy in the ring with a weapon, the crowd tried to warn Sasha to the danger behind her. But it was to no avail. Banks remained oblivious until the chair slammed into her back. Her music stopped playing, and she slumped from the ropes into the ring.
With the first blow dealt, Zelina now got into the ring, yelling instructions and encouragement to Mandy, who started hammering away with the chair, crashing it into Sasha's stomach and back as she rolled around in agony, doing her best to cover up against the attack.
The fans were booing the cowardly attack, but the boos abruptly changed to cheers. Bayley came sprinting down the short entrance ramp and slid into the ring. Zelina was first in the firing line, taking a clothesline. She quickly got back up, only to receive a dropkick.
Too late to save her manager from being attacked, Mandy instead prepared a swing with the chair. As Bayley got up from delivering the dropkick, Mandy swung the chair at her. With lightning quick reactions, Bayley raised a boot and succeeded in kicking the chair out of Mandy's hands.
Before Mandy could react to being disarmed, Bayley wrapped her arms around her in the positon to deliver her Bayley to Belly finishing move.
That was when Sonya was given the cue to run through the curtain. Running at full speed down the entrance ramp, she barely had a chance to take in the cheers that went up when the fans saw her for the first time since the Royal Rumble. How much of the reaction was due to her performance that night, or how much was due to the fact that she was making a return, she didn't know. What mattered was that she got them booing her as soon as possible. She didn't think it would take long.
Bayley delivered the Bayley to Belly to Mandy, taking her out of the equation. Zelina had rolled out to the floor, while Sasha lay out cold in one of the corners. Sonya slid into the ring and stood up, right behind Bayley as she got up from delivering her finisher.
"That's what you get!" Bayley shouted at Mandy, totally unaware that danger lurked right behind her.
Sonya pounced, wrapping an arm around Bayley's throat and locking in the Devil's Grip. To date, no one had ever escaped the brutal chokehold.
Flailing around, Bayley sold desperation perfectly as Sonya dragged her down to the mat, wrapping her legs around her victim to complete the entrapment. Sure enough, boos began to come from the fans.
Making it look like she was strangling the life out of her victim, Sonya appreciated the pathetic gasping sounds Bayley made as she acted like she was fading into unconsciousness. She really was a special talent Sonya thought, finding herself wondering how much longer she would be lucky enough to have Bayley to work with and learn from. Someone that talented, that experienced compared to everyone else in NXT, and someone as over with the fans as she was had to be heading to the main roster soon. Perhaps Hunter Helmsley would be getting a visit from Ms Bliss, the harbinger of call ups.
After about thirty seconds in the chokehold, Bayley had made a convincing job of completely passing out. Sonya relinquished the hold and got up, surveying the carnage around her as Mandy used the ropes to help her get up.
Commanding the centre of the ring, Sonya faced the hard camera and pointed to her hair, which was of course up in a ponytail. "I'm back! Hair's up, it's time to square up!" she shouted. A mixture of both cheers and boos came from the crowd.
With Mandy back on her feet, Zelina rolled back under the bottom rope into the ring, looking worse for wear. Nonetheless, both Sasha and Bayley were lying out cold in the ring. It was a significant moment of dominance for the Golden Gloves.
Looking satisfied with what she saw, Zelina assembled Sonya and Mandy for the now familiar Golden Gloves pose. "This right here is what we do!" Zelina yelled as Sonya and Mandy posed with their fists up, glaring eye to eye. It was an excellent way to end Sonya's return segment.
A/N: Many thanks to everyone who reviewed last time. Apologies for the lack of updates, but I was on vacation. I'm glad to be back, and my creative batteries are recharged!
Sonya is also back and feeling fresh, and on her way to her first match at an NXT Takeover event!
Before we get that far, we're going back to Orlando Veterans Retreat to see how things are progressing there. By now, there will be more veterans registered with the charity. Who would you like to see there? Leave names of wrestlers that haven't been used so far in the story in a review, and I'll use the best suggestions.