There had been little time for celebration for Seth after his victory because he was required to be in New York for a TV appearance first thing on Monday morning. WWE had fixed him up with a private jet for both legs of the journey, which was at least something to take some of the sting out of the huge inconvenience and the many hours of travel. The reality was that he had wanted to do nothing other than enjoy getting very drunk with his girlfriend, his two brothers and the rest of his colleagues at the annual post Wrestlemania party. Being WWE champion brought a new set of responsibilities, however, so that would not be happening. His face was now the face which represented WWE to the world.
At least there was one thing to take his mind off of the party he was missing: Ronda was travelling with him. He looked up as she returned to her seat beside him in the private jet's cabin. She had brought two glasses of champagne with her, and she handed one to him with a smile. He could never help himself being struck by how beautiful that smile was. It seemed to be made even more so in a way by the fact that it did not happen terribly often. Ronda was a very serious person in all aspects of life, but Seth felt that over the two months they had been together, he was starting to have an effect on her, helping that side of her personality to change ever so slightly.
"There's a bottle of this back there. We're going to drink it all," Ronda had said to accompany the smile. "I love you, and I'm so proud of you. No one deserves to be WWE champion more than you do. Congratulations," she concluded, raising her glass slightly to toast him.
"Thank you, Gattina," Seth smiled back, even though he was thinking that maybe Roman deserved the title more than he did. The whole thing with how his close friend was being treated by the fans was a travesty. Nonetheless, he was the champion and Roman was pleased for him, so he was damn sure going to enjoy it, however long it lasted. With that in mind, he raised his glass and savoured the taste of the champagne as he drank.
They chatted away for several minutes as they consumed their drinks before setting the empty glasses aside for the stewardess to refill. Ronda yawned as she set her glass down and it made Seth join her in that strangely infectious way that yawns seemed to spread. She leaned over towards him and he put an arm around her, holding her against him as she rested her head on his shoulder. A little purr of satisfaction came from her as Seth looked over at his WWE title belt which sat on the seat opposite him.
The sight sent his mind drifting back to a conversation he had once had with Chris Jericho backstage at a Raw event in whatever city it had been, he could not remember. What he could remember was Jericho saying that he thought Seth would be WWE champion one day and then moving on to share amusing stories about when he had been champion himself and had to take the title belt through airport security, facing a lot of questions and a lot of idiotic security personnel who insisted on trying it on and taking photos with it, despite the delay they were causing in doing so. Even with this inconvenience, which could be considerable at times, Jericho had been very clear on one thing, which was to never let WWE transport the belt around for you - an option that was available. No, Jericho had told him to always keep it with him and to be proud of having it. Not many people could say that they were the top man in the business they worked in, but right now, Seth could say exactly that. He was the WWE champion. It was still yet to properly sink in.
"A refill, sir?" the stewardess whispered, bringing him out of his thoughts.
As he turned his head to look at the young woman, he noticed that Ronda had quickly fallen asleep with her head resting on him. It had been a very long day, and he felt tired himself. "No, thank you," he whispered back. As the stewardess walked away, he rested his own head lightly against Ronda's. Within moments, he was asleep as well.
The next morning, the atmosphere in the cabin on the return journey had been a lot different. A good night's sleep had revitalised Seth and Ronda, and they had both been hyped to get back to San Jose and Raw to find out what the plan was for the show. They had been told that they were expected to be two of the biggest stars on the show from this point forward, but nothing specific had been mentioned as yet. Not only was it going to be Seth's first appearance as champion, it was also going to be Ronda's debut as a wrestler. There were also big plans for Roman and Dean, which both Seth and Ronda knew about as they had been present when the idea was pitched to the two men. Every year the night after Wrestlemania brought big changes to WWE, and this year would certainly be no exception.
When they arrived at the arena, they were requested to go immediately to the production office. Briefly, they stopped off at what for the first time was their own shared locker room. For Seth, the fact that he was no longer sharing with Roman and Dean for the first time since debuting on the main roster felt very strange.
"Excited?" Seth asked Ronda with a broad smile as they approached the production office.
"Yeah, and nervous," she replied. "There's only so much that training can do for you. I've got to deliver out there now. I've not learned that much offence yet, either. I don't think I can put on a very long match, but Hunter was insistent that I debut tonight. I guess I should be honoured by the fact he wants to throw me right in at the deep end, but it's a lot of pressure."
"You'll be fine," Seth assured her. "In fact you'll be great, and you're debuting in front of the best crowd of the year. We get all the Brits in the night after Wrestlemania. They're real hardcore fans, and they're kind of crazy. You'll love the atmosphere out there." With that, he gave her a quick kiss and gestured to the office door. "After you."
When they walked inside, they saw that not only was Hunter waiting for them, Vince and Stephanie McMahon were also in attendance. Hunter and Vince both greeted Seth first, passing on congratulations once more on becoming champion. Stephanie just sat nearby, seemingly not wishing to be a part of the upcoming conversation. Ronda glanced over and noticed Stephanie scowling back at her. Whatever Stephanie's problem was, it was starting to get under Ronda's skin big time. Her attention was brought back to Hunter as he greeted her.
With the pleasantries out of the way, Hunter began the meeting by talking Seth through who he was going to be feuding with on his first run as champion. Seth liked the plan and agreed to it without suggesting any changes. Next, the discussion moved on to the opening segment for the night's show, which would involve both Seth and Ronda. They both agreed to this plan also, particularly Ronda, who was surprised by what her involvement was to be. Talk about making an impact, she thought.
"That brings us on to you, Ronda," Vince said, joining the discussion for the first time. "Now, as you know, there is a lot of backing behind this 'give Divas a chance' movement, and we're on board with it. We'd be stupid not to be at this point. So, you're going to be the driving force to take this forward for us. We know from the guys in Orlando that you've not learned a great amount of offence yet, but we know that you can put in a good performance, given what we want you to do. This armbar thing you've got is all well and good, but we have plenty of people with submission finishing moves already. I want you to have a finish that can beat people by three count instead, so what you're going to use is the Clothesline from Hell. You're the biggest, strongest woman we have right now, and you're going to use that to your advantage with this move. You can make it look very impressive, I'm sure, and you'll start in that opening segment we just discussed. You'll throw that damn clothesline as hard as you can, and make it look good."
Ronda noticed that nothing that had just been said had been a question, so it was lucky in a way that she liked the idea of having a powerful clothesline for a finish. She knew that if she used the armbar primarily then people would have to escape from it at times to make matches more exciting, which was kind of stupid because the reality was that if she got the armbar on someone in a real, unscripted contest, it would be over in seconds. "Okay, I like that," she said. "I can't promise that whoever I wrestle won't get hurt though, because I'll sure hit them hard if I give it all I've got."
"Good," Vince grinned. "That's what I want you to do. Everyone's been hit hard before, trust me."
It surprised Ronda that it was Stephanie who spoke next, standing up and walking slowly over as she did so, and delivering news which surprised Ronda even more. "So, AJ quit last night. She's retired. Ironic that she tried to make me look bad on Twitter over this 'give Divas a chance' thing and then quit when we're actually doing it. She must spend too much time listening to her idiot husband, I guess. Either that or she's angry about people being pushed too quickly without deserving it." The barb was obviously directed at Ronda.
"Steph," Hunter warned gently.
Ronda finally realised what Stephanie's problem was. She did not like the fact that she had been on the Raw roster so quickly, without going through NXT first. "Well fuck you, Steph," Ronda thought. "You don't get a say in the matter, do you?" Stephanie now stood close to Ronda as though she expected her presence to be intimidating. It was not, not to Ronda.
Hunter continued, trying to get the meeting back on track. "So, with AJ gone, we've had to change our plans somewhat. Paige is also due time off for filming, so we're going to be short of talent at the worst time in the Divas division, even with you on board Ronda. For that reason, in the very near future we are going to bring through three or four of our best talents from NXT, and they are going to be in a storyline with you. Before that happens, we need to put the title on you, so you're going to beat Nikki tonight."
Ronda's mouth dropped open slightly as Seth turned and smiled at her proudly, a little surprised himself. "I'm going to be the champion?" she asked, regretting it and feeling stupid even as she said it.
"Yes," Hunter smiled. "I told you last night that you guys are the stars now, and I meant it. You're going to be given proper storylines, and you're going to get time on the mic the same as the guys do. We mean it when we say we're giving Divas a chance, but it's up to you to make sure it comes off, okay? If the fans don't get on-board, we'll have to revisit the whole thing. But as they're the ones asking for it, I don't see it being a problem."
It was obvious to Ronda that she was deliberately being put under pressure, but she was fine with that. Pressure was something that she thrived under, not something she was afraid of. She had no experience of talking in front of a crowd, but she would give it her best shot when given the chance. It would be one of those things that needed to be learned as she went along. "Thank you guys," she said. "I'll prove to you that you're right to back me," she said, addressing Hunter and Vince. "Or wrong not to," she added coldly, looking Stephanie in the eyes, pleasingly seeing a hint of anger in them.
The meeting was wrapped up a couple of minutes later, and Seth and Ronda left the office. "That fucking woman," Stephanie growled viciously. "I don't know who she thinks she is. I was tempted to slap that stupid mole off her face."
"I don't think that would be a good idea," Hunter grinned as Vince chuckled.
"He's right, just calm down," the older man urged his daughter. "I know you think she played us, but we don't, so drop it."
Stephanie said nothing more, but she had no intention of dropping her issue with Ronda, especially now that she was being given the Divas title too. It was too much to bear, and her husband attempting to make a joke out of her anger made it even worse.
"I spoke to Nikki and Brie," Ronda announced to Seth as she walked back into their locker room a little later in the afternoon. "We fixed up the match. Luckily, they're both fine with me. They said we've been friends since I started here, and that's not going to change now because Hunter decided to put the title on me right away. After all, it's not like I asked for it. Nikki told me that as she's got to lose, she wants it to look good. She wants me to hit her as hard as I can with my clothesline."
"Rather her than me," Seth joked as he pulled on his trademark black t-shirt with the yellow SR logo.
"Asshole," Ronda grinned before walking over and kissing him. "When do the people with backstage passes come in?" she asked next. "I'm looking forward to seeing Maggie. I'm so pleased that they managed to raise enough money for her legs. She's such an amazing girl, isn't she?"
"She is," Seth agreed. "You know, I was thinking about her earlier. I know they're going to want to come up with a new t-shirt for me soon. I might have Maggie design it for me. Some of those drawings you showed me on her Instagram were incredible."
"You can have someone design your merchandise for you?" Ronda asked, surprised that WWE didn't insist on doing it themselves.
"Yeah. Obviously you have to get it approved before they'll use it, but yeah, you can have your own designs done. Hey, you could get her to do one for you too. If she wants to, obviously."
"I'll think about what I'd like," Ronda said, her mind already going to work on exactly that.
"Let's go, they'll probably be backstage already," Seth said as he picked up his title belt and put it over his shoulder. Out in the hallway, they linked arms and Seth smiled as he said, "Think about this time tomorrow. We'll both be champions."
Ronda smiled as they walked, but did not say anything. She knew that she had not earned a run as Divas champion and that she was lucky that Nikki Bella had not taken the order to drop to her the wrong way, which would likely have also ended their friendship. However, she also knew that she had to get the attitude of not deserving the title out of her head because she needed to act like a champion, both inside and outside of the ring.
After asking a couple of crew members where the fans who had backstage passes were, they found them down at ringside. Maggie and Martin, her father, were part of the group of eight fans. Wade Barrett and Kane were there, showing them around ringside and the commentary position. Barrett and Maggie were separated slightly from the rest of the group. As Seth and Ronda approached, Maggie was laughing at something that Barrett had just said.
"Someone's happy," Seth smiled. Both he and Ronda knew that unlike the character he played, Barrett was a nice guy who liked to make time for the fans.
"She will be when she sees you," Ronda said, hanging back a little so that Seth could approach Maggie first.
As Seth walked over, Maggie had her back to him. She was wearing jeans along with yet another shirt matching the one that Seth had on himself. It was the only thing he had ever seen Maggie wearing. "Here's your man now," he heard Barrett say to Maggie.
The other fans noticed the presence of Seth and Ronda at the same time. They all hurried over to talk to him. "Give me a minute, guys," he asked. "I'll chat with you all, but give me a minute with Maggie here first, okay? She's a personal friend of mine." The fans were happy to fulfill his request, and in any case Ronda stepped in, attracting their attention, especially the guys.
"Hey," Maggie greeted Seth, beaming like a Cheshire cat. "It's the champ," she added. They exchanged a hug and although they had only met a handful of times it had a slightly different feel to that of a hug between a wrestler and a fan. It was closer to a hug that might be shared between friends, or even by an uncle and a niece.
"You enjoy the show last night?" Seth asked, releasing the hug.
"Come on, you know I did," Maggie laughed. "I knew you were cashing in. It was so great. I lost my voice from screaming, and Ronda came back too. Please tell me she's going to wrestle? That would be epic. And you just said we're friends," she babbled.
"You know I can't say anything on things like that," Seth reminded her. "And we are friends."
"You can't say, but I can see it in your eyes. You're no good at hiding things, Seth. Ronda's going to wrestle. Oh my."
Rather than answer her, Seth diverted the conversation by asking Ronda to come over and join them. She finished posing for a picture with one of the fans, then walked over. She greeted Maggie with a smile. "Hey Maggie, great to see you again. I'm really pleased for you that you, uh..."
"Have legs?" Maggie helped out.
"Yeah," Ronda smiled. Seth made his excuses and walked over to speak to Martin and the other fans as he had promised, leaving Ronda to face any awkward questions from Maggie but Maggie had realised that she had let her excitement get the better of her and was not going to repeat the error. In any case Ronda spoke first. "Maggie, we were talking about you earlier and your amazing artwork. We're likely to need new merchandise designing soon and we'd like you to do it for us. If you're interested of course."
"You want me to design you a shirt?" Maggie asked, eyes widening.
"Yeah, I don't know what I want on it yet but I'll let you know. Seth will be needing a new one too."
"I'd love to," Maggie beamed. "It's always been something I've wanted to do."
Seth and Ronda spent another few minutes talking with the fans, including Maggie and her father, before making their excuses and heading for the back. Seth had gotten Maggie to send him her phone number in a private message on Twitter so that he could contact her when the ideas for the new shirts were finalised. He had explained that WWE would not pay her anything for her work, but he would make sure she got paid for her time personally, would shout her out on Twitter and Instagram too. Maggie had been overjoyed at the opportunity, saying that she would gladly do it for free and repeating that this was the kind of thing that she had always wanted to do.
As Seth and Ronda made their way up the entrance ramp towards the back, Maggie had no idea that Seth was saying almost the same thing to Ronda that she was saying to her father. "Maybe if I do a good enough job with this for Seth and Ronda, WWE will give me more work doing it? You never know."
"If Maggie comes up with something really good for us, maybe I could speak with Hunter and see if they can give her a job in whatever department designing merch would fall into?" Seth was suggesting to Ronda at exactly the same time.
"Good idea," Ronda agreed. They reached the stage and she paused to look around the arena that would shortly begin filling up with fans. "Next time we walk up this ramp, it's going to be so crazy," she said, shaking her head slightly at the thought of the reaction that Raw's opening segment would get. "I can't believe Hunter is going to put me over like that."
"Start believing it, because it's going to happen real soon," Seth smiled. "Let's go find Roman and Dean, we have a bit of spare time to spend with them." With that, they disappeared through the curtain. The wildest Raw of the year would be starting in an hour.