Walking into the locker room before Smackdown, Sonya and Charlotte had no idea what to expect. The Raw and Smackdown episodes after Wrestlemania were always the craziest of the year, featuring returns, debuts and who knew what else.
One thing that could have been left as a surprise for the fans had already been revealed to the world the previous afternoon. Due to a match stipulation at Wrestlemania, Paige had been required to stand down as General Manager of Smackdown. In a short video published to Twitter on WWE's account, Vince McMahon and Lita had been shown in the Chairman's office. McMahon had announced that effective immediately, Lita was the new Smackdown General Manager. He had added the news that Paige would be joining the commentary team on Raw, with Renee Young moving to Smackdown.
With that being the case, Sonya wasn't surprised to find Renee standing in the locker room, talking to Mandy Rose.
"Hey, Renee," Charlotte said in greeting as the two champions approached their lockers.
Renee turned around and smiled in greeting. "Oh, hi, Charlotte. Sonya, how are you?"
"Really good," Sonya smiled. "Welcome to the A show," she added as a weak attempt at a joke.
"Thanks," Renee smiled. "I just found out they're changing to two person commentary teams as of tonight, so it's going to be me and Corey over here, with Cole and Paige on Raw."
"Changes, changes," Charlotte said excitedly. On Raw the previous night, in addition to a couple of NXT call ups, several Smackdown roster members had moved over to Raw in what had been branded a superstar shakeup. Becky Lynch had been the one woman to make the move, a fact that saddened Charlotte. One of her close friends was now going to be working a different schedule to her. "I wonder who we're getting in place of Becky?" she said.
"We've got Bayley," Mandy revealed. "She's already here somewhere. Not sure where she's gone."
Sonya couldn't help smiling at the news. It was impossible not to like Bayley, and she deserved a fresh start after being used poorly on Raw for a couple of years.
"Good for her," Charlotte said, equally as pleased for the likable Bayley. "Let's hope they do something with her this time. And the same for Becky. They better not kill what she's got going on right now."
"No chance," Sonya said. "They sent her right after Ronda last night. That's what everyone's been waiting to see."
"Room for a lady, ladies?" a different voice asked in an English accent. A travel case crashed down onto the bench in front of the locker beside Sonya's, making Sonya jump.
The group of friends all looked at the new arrival, speechless for a moment. Apparently, Lucy Thorne was now on Smackdown. Standing nearly six feet tall, Thorne had a background in boxing, and had been on the verge of joining UFC before she had been poached by WWE and sent to train in Florida. Now, after a couple of years in NXT, she had seemingly been moved to the main roster. Her reputation preceded her, both as a hard-hitting performer in the ring who was popular with the fans, and as a pain in the ass in the locker room who wasn't popular with her colleagues. By all accounts, Lucy didn't care all that much about the former, and not at all about the latter.
"Friendly bunch in here, aren't you? Fuck me," Lucy said sarcastically, referring to the silence that had greeted her arrival.
"Uh, hi," Sonya ventured, looking up slightly at the taller woman. Lucy's height and fairly muscular build made her similar in physical appearance to Charlotte, apart from the fact that she had dark brown hair. WWE had done their best to make her seem even more imposing in the ring thanks to the look they had opted to give her character: Black boots, pants and shirt, with body armour and leather gloves competing the outfit.
"You're on Smackdown then?" Charlotte said.
"Nah, I just thought I'd show up and see how long it would be before anyone noticed. I've got my money on three weeks. Oh, I saw Hunter on my way in here, by the way. He wants you in his office." The cutting sarcasm and the news had both been directed at Charlotte. With that, Lucy set about unpacking her things, seeming to have no interest in further chit chat with her new colleagues.
With a slight shake of her head and a glance at Sonya, Charlotte headed for the door, not wanting to keep Hunter waiting.
"Well, congrats on the call up," Renee said to Lucy.
Lucy looked at her for a moment, seemingly trying to decide if that had also been sarcasm. It appeared she found that more likely than kindness for whatever reason. Detecting no sarcasm, she merely nodded an acknowledgement and resumed unpacking her case.
"So, who are you going to be traveling with?" Mandy asked for the sake of making conversation.
"There are three of us," Lucy said without looking up. "My echo, my shadow, and me."
"You're going to travel by yourself?" Mandy asked disbelievingly, thinking that there was nothing she would rather do less.
Lucy glanced at her and raised an eyebrow slightly. "It's something we have in England called humour. But yes, if I have to, I'll travel by myself. I like my own company."
"Right," Mandy replied, giving the side eye to Sonya, who chose to say nothing.
Meanwhile, Charlotte had just entered Hunter Helmsley's office and took a seat in front of his desk. As always, she had been afforded a warm welcome. Hunter had also congratulated her on her Women's European Championship win.
"Thanks, Hunter," Charlotte said. "I'll do my best to carry it well and make sure it means something."
Hunter nodded. "I know you will." With that, he leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk, ready to move on to the reason he had summoned her to the office. "We've got a couple of NXT call ups joining Smackdown tonight."
"Yeah, Lucy Thorne already showed up," Charlotte reported. Her tone conveyed the fact that she wasn't exactly delighted about the fact.
"Problem?" Hunter enquired.
"I think everyone knows what she's like," Charlotte said carefully. "I'm certain you do. She walked in without a polite or pleasant word to say to anyone and started being sarcastic when anyone spoke to her."
"Yes, she can have a bit of an attitude," Hunter agreed. "You'll find her professional to work with in the ring or when laying out matches, but she can be difficult to speak to on a personal level. That's actually the reason I had you come in. You're my leader in that locker room, Charlotte. I want you to take the new girls under your wing, so to speak. Make sure they settle in okay, and do what you can to get Lucy to interact with the group."
Charlotte's eyes widened slightly. "I appreciate you considering me a leader, but how am I supposed to do that? I've spent a couple of minutes talking to Lucy and it's already obvious to me she's not going to be interested in being a part of the group."
"I want you to give her more than a couple of minutes. We see all kinds of characters in this business, Charlotte, and we can't write someone off like that. If that had been the case, I don't know how many of the greatest names in our business would have had their asses kicked out of the door before they got a chance to make it big. Hell, I might have even been one of them at one time. Like I said, I want you to mentor these girls. I understand you and Sonya travel together. Maybe you could have them join you?"
The last thing Charlotte wanted was two other people traveling with her and Sonya, but at the same time she realised the importance of being asked to take this on. Being considered the locker room leader by management was no small feat or responsibility. For that reason, she felt like she couldn't really say no. "You keep mentioning two people," she said instead. "Who is the other one?"
"Of course, sorry," Hunter said, seeming baffled for a second that he hadn't already provided that information. "Valentina Ferreira is the other call up."
"Woah," Charlotte said instinctively. She felt the need to quickly justify the reaction. "I mean, she looks like some talent, but it's kind of… early."
Valentina had only been on NXT for about a year, so far as Charlotte recalled. The Mexican native was a babyface with a high flying, technical style. She portrayed an easy going, friendly character, who could nonetheless give as much as she got in the ring. It wasn't Valentina's ability that Charlotte had concerns about, it was her lack of experience. Charlotte guessed she could only be twenty four at most, and with only a year in NXT, putting her on the main roster already seemed like a big jump.
"I understand why would say that," Hunter allowed. "But Val has been wrestling for a lot of years. She was experienced before she came to us. We're delighted with what we've seen of her, and we felt we were short of babyfaces on Smackdown. That's why we've brought in Lucy and Valentina, and Bayley is coming over also, to replace Becky."
"Yeah, I heard that," Charlotte smiled. "I haven't seen her yet tonight, but I'm glad she's here. But back to Valentina, you want me to mentor her as well?"
"Yes, I do. Again, make sure she settles in okay. Make sure she integrates with the group. And if she needs any help with anything, make sure you're there for her. She's quite shy, so see if you can bring her out of her shell a bit."
Charlotte managed a laugh. "So you want me to bring Val out of her shell and put Lucy in it?"
Hunter smiled, appreciating the humour. "Yeah, something like that."
"Alright, I'll do it," Charlotte agreed. "On one condition, though."
Hunter raised his eyebrows. "Which is?"
"You tell Lucy about traveling with us. I'm not going to have an argument with her about it. Tell her she's traveling with us, and remind her to tone down her attitude."
Hunter nodded. "Done. I'll speak to her in a bit."
"Okay, thanks, Hunter." Even as she said it, Charlotte thought that on this occasion, he ought to have been the one thanking her. Still, it was the professional thing to have said.
"Sure. I'll be taking a closer interest in the Smackdown women's division from now on, so let's take it to the next level together."
Charlotte nodded as she got up to leave. On her way out of the office, she wondered what that parting comment was supposed to mean. Had Hunter been dropping a hint that he was now booking the women's division? That was the impression she had. If so, she wouldn't be complaining about it, that was for sure.
Someone who probably would feel like complaining was Sonya, when she found out the news that she was going to have two brand new travel companions. So much for the days where they had been able to travel when they wanted, how they wanted, and kiss and cuddle whenever they felt like it.
Walking back into the locker room, Charlotte saw that Lucy Thorne was now not in the room, Bayley was back in, and Valentina Ferreira had arrived. Typically, Bayley was talking to the new arrival, who even at first glance looked daunted by her new surroundings.
Valentina had already changed into her ring attire, consisting of a simple sports bra and shirt combination, this one maroon in colour. Her character's trademark was to always have a flannel shirt tied around her waist, apart from when she was actually wrestling of course. During her entrances, she would also wear a brightly coloured duster cardigan.
Charlotte decided that her first course of action should be to break the news to Sonya. "I've got bad news or bad news," she said as she approached her girlfriend, who was sitting on the bench in front of her locker. Charlotte sat down next to her.
"Oh. I guess I'll go for the bad news then," Sonya said dryly.
"Hunter wants me to mentor Valentina and Lucy."
"Christ," Sonya muttered. "I guess the last part of that was the bad news. Val seems nice. She introduced herself and shook hands when she came in."
"Yep," Charlotte said. "It's the other bad news you're really not going to like. Hunter managed to get me to agree to let them travel with us."
To Charlotte's surprise, Sonya laughed. "Come on, Char, you've got to admit that's funny. I'm surprised Vince doesn't want to put cameras in the car. What a group that's going to be."
"I thought you'd be pissed off."
Sonya gave a philosophical shrug. "Where would that get anyone? I understand why you felt obliged to say yes to Hunter when he asked you, so it is what it is. Besides, who better than us to get to know Lucy?"
"You want to get to know her?" Charlotte asked, now even more surprised.
"Human behaviour interests me. I stood there and said nothing while you and Mand were talking to her before. She's a curious one for sure. Often, people that act that standoffish from others are doing it as a defence mechanism of some kind. I get the impression Lucy's never had any friends, doesn't know how to make them, and is used to living without them."
Charlotte was intrigued. "I guess that makes sense, and yeah, you could be right. Hunter is going to speak to Lucy and tell her she's traveling with us. I told him I wasn't having an argument with her about it."
Sonya chuckled. "Why don't you mentor Valentina, and I'll take on Lucy? It feels weird to say that, since I'm pretty sure she's a year or two older than me."
"Girl, you've got yourself a deal," Charlotte said, only too happy to snap her hand off. "Just don't tell Hunter about it. And don't worry about the age thing. It's experience that matters, and you've got much more than Lucy has."
"As if I would tell Hunter," Sonya said.
Charlotte smiled. "I know you wouldn't. I'd better go introduce myself to Valentina." She got up and walked over to the Mexican soon-to-be debutant, who was talking to Bayley in Spanish.
"Here's Charlotte," Bayley said in English, with a smile and an introductory hand gesture.
Valentina turned around and smiled shyly. "Hello, Charlotte," she said pleasantly in accented English as she offered her hand. "Call me Val."
"Nice to meet you, Val," Charlotte said, accepting the handshake. "If you need somewhere to change, there's room next to Sonya and I."
Although Valentina had already found herself a locker, she obviously appreciated the offer. "Yes, thank you," she said, stepping over to retrieve her things.
Lucy Thorne walked back into the locker room at that moment, and went back to her locker just as Charlotte also went back over there.
"Lucy, could you move your stuff down a space, please? Valentina is coming in here next to Sonya."
Charlotte had pretty much expected to be told to fuck off, but that wasn't what happened.
"Yes, boss," Lucy said with more than a hint of sarcasm, but she did start moving her things as requested. It showed that while she liked to use sarcasm often, she wasn't out to be argumentative on her first night on the main roster.
Valentina brought her case and her gear over, thanking both Charlotte and Lucy multiple times for giving her the locker.
"Sure thing," Charlotte thing said easily. "Anything you need, anything I can help you with, all you have to do is ask."
"I appreciate it," Val said sincerely.
Charlotte nodded. "Who are you planning to travel with?"
"I was thinking about asking Bayley. I haven't done it yet, though. Do you think she would be okay with it?"
"I don't know. But if you'd like, you're more than welcome to travel with Sonya and I."
"Really? Thank you, that would be great," Val said, obviously relieved to have one weight off her shoulders.
"What's your opinion on donuts?" Sonya asked, making it perfectly clear what the required answer was.
"I love donuts," Valentina said with a laugh, her nerves receding quickly.
"Then we're going to get along just fine," Sonya said, offering and receiving a high five.
"Okay then," Charlotte said. "Now that's sorted out, I guess it's time to find out what we're doing out there tonight."
A/N: Thank you to everyone who left a review on the previous chapter.
What did you make of the changes we learned about? Lita is Smackdown GM. Graves and Renee are the commentary team. Bayley is on Smackdown, and we have two NXT debutants. What do you think of Lucy and Valentina?
Lastly, what do you think is going to happen on the Smackdown after Wrestlemania?
Leave your thoughts in a review!