CONTROL ME

Chapter 3
Win Some, Lose Some

Hey kids! It's time for another special edition of RAW! What makes this special edition more special than the other special editions of RAW? A special WWE Draft, of course!

That means we're going to have another draft that will supposedly shake things up in the company. Don't they realize that no matter who they send in from SmackDown, I'll always be there to make an example out of them? You all saw what happened at Extreme Rules. I left the arena, still the WWE Champion. Morrison replacing Truth didn't matter. The fact that it was a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match didn't matter. Cena's involvement didn't matter. I pinned Morrison's cold shoulders down to the mat for the three-count and won the match; thus, successfully retaining the WWE Championship.

I didn't just win a match, though. I won a battle. Earlier that night, Maryse and I were watching the show on the flat-screen monitor in my locker room. When that Wade Barrett lost his Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules, I could see the look of immense disappointment on her face. The way she crinkled her nose, her cheeks tightened, her head pulled back... It's as if any potential she saw in him that night in Atlanta got completely shattered at the sound of the bell.

"Well now," I began with a chuckle. "That was pretty sad, don't you think?"

She shrugged her shoulders, acting as if the match didn't affect her one bit.

"He had a good run," she replied. "C'est la vie."

I looked down at the title around my shoulder and smirked. I covered her bare shoulders with my arm and pulled her in closer.

"Babe, I had a good run too, but at least I'm not losing my title a month after winning it."

As she let out a soft giggle, I placed my precious championship on her lap. I took her by the hand and placed it on the M-shaped logo fixed at the center. She took one look at me and fixed her gaze upon my eyes.

"Unlike Wade Barrett, I'm a winner," I proclaimed.

"Et j'aime un gagnant."

I didn't know what she just said but it must've been a good thing. I felt her soft lips on mine and we shared a kiss that would've sent men and women everywhere in a fit of jealous rage. While she smeared her lip gloss all over my cheek, I had my eyes on the screen. I watched as Wade Barrett stormed backstage and blasted his other Corre members. That was just delicious.

That was Extreme Rules. One man lost his title, another man kept his. And I was that other man.

After that night, I erased Wade Barrett completely from Maryse's memory.

But the next day, the sneaky bastard just manages to scribble his name back.

Maryse and I stood behind the RAW roster, perfectly placed in the shadows. The two brands were segregated in one area. I could see Wade Barrett at the corner of my eye, donning a bright blue SmackDown shirt. Not a single title belt in sight. He seemed to have distanced himself from The Corre as those three other misfits were nowhere near him. We have our differences but we were both focused on the action shown on the screen in front of us. It's John Morrison going against Cody Rhodes. Unfortunately for RAW, we had R-Truth fucking things up for us. He cost my old buddy, Morrison, the match and cost the whole roster a draft pick. Whatever. The profile shots of the members of the RAW roster flashed on the screen. Here's hoping R-Truth will get drafted. We would then learn that the newest member of the SmackDown roster was none other than…

Alex Riley?

I made a mental spit take. My protégé and confidant was now an enemy of my brand. Technically, I'm still his employer. I'll definitely be seeing less of him, though. I watched A-Ry sulkily march towards me, wearing the SmackDown shirt. I could feel his pain, having to transfer to the B-Show and having to deal with a life without me. As a sign of consolation, I firmly placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Just remember the things I've taught you," I said.

The guy tried to go for a hug. Instead of reciprocating however, I simply sent him along to the opposite side of the room. I'll admit it. I feel less protected now that A-Ry's gone but I know I can handle myself just fine. I'm The Miz, of course. I'm awesome.

Throughout the night, I've seen familiar faces come and go. Who knew a simple shirt could automatically be the indicator of a superstar's loyalty to the brand? What a bunch of fickle flip-floppers.

We've reached the fourth draft pick of the night and my brand won the privilege to add another member to the roster. Whoopee. You know what? I don't really care. I'm sure whoever goes from SmackDown to RAW, I will still assert my dominance over them as their locker room leader. I snapped out of focus and looked down at the title over my shoulder. I paid no attention to the roulette on the screen. It was only until I heard a commotion from the other side that I discovered the newest member of the roster. I turned my attention from the title to the SmackDown side and watched the ginger hick, the big scary black guy and the bearded lady argue with the tall British guy. Maryse was watching this scene, too. The screen informed us that Wade Barrett has been drafted to RAW. I could hear a distracting guffaw coming from CM Punk's general direction.

"This should be interesting," Maryse commented, watching Wade approach the gorilla position to expose himself to the crowd.

The news didn't please me at all. The guy was a bad hat, I just know it. The way he eyed Maryse at the catering area… Add the lust for my title, too. Must he take everything I love away from me? Well, I'm not gonna stand back and let that happen. It's time to take matters into my own hands. As a certain group of Italians would say, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

I invited Maryse to join me at the gorilla position to meet RAW's latest acquisition. Wade emerged through the curtains, looking down upon his brand new red shirt. When he lifted his head, he stopped at his tracks at the sight of me and Maryse. I put on the most welcoming smile I could muster up that night and extended my arm for a warm handshake.

"Welcome back to the A-Show, buddy."

"That's Wade Barrett to you."

Geez, what a total man-bitch. Didn't like him at all. But I had to swallow my pride.

"Duly noted, then."

Wade took one look at my angel before walking off but I wasn't going to give up without a fight. I linked my arm with his own arm and managed to slow him down. It caught his attention alright. He stopped and snapped at me.

"What do you want, Miz?"

"As the leader of the RAW locker room, I'm only trying to help you out here. Think about it, Wade. You didn't make a lot of friends during your whole stay here on RAW. You had your little clique on SmackDown but now that you're drafted, you're back to where you started from. I don't know with you, Barrett, but I know I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. It's a new era, after all."

I could sense him staring down my prized possession. Just to add salt to his wounds, I stroked the gold plating with my fingertips.

"This is all very intriguing but I'm not sure what you're getting at here. So we make amends and forget about our past troubles. A noble act of mercy. But what's in it for me? What's Wade Barrett going to get from striking a friendship with The Miz?"

I chuckled.

"Direction, Wade. Stick with me, and I will make damn sure that your career will keep flourishing here on RAW. You can do the legwork but I can pull some strings to make sure your efforts won't be wasted."

"Perhaps my efforts would be rewarded with a shot at that title, eh?"

He had a serious deadpan expression on his face. I tightened my grip on the title until he let out a half-hearted laugh.

"Well, I appreciate the welcoming committee, Miz. I honestly do. Looking forward to working with you in the future."

How I wanted to slap the smirk out of his mouth. He walked away from the scene, using his old SmackDown shirt as a towel. I had a bad feeling about this.

"I like him," Maryse said.

I had a really bad feeling about this.

Author's Note: It's about time I updated, I know. And I know the draft came before Extreme Rules but this is my projected schedule for the WWE. Plus, it's more logical to have the draft after the PPV anyway. Now let me have it. What do you guys think so far?