NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Whoever thinks that Roman Reigns should turn heel and become the next Paul Heyman guy, raise your hand! *Raises my hand* I really think that's the way to go. If Lesnar's supposedly leaving after Wrestlemania, then who's Paul gonna latch onto next?
To everyone reading and reviewing, a big fat THANKS! The support means the world to me, and I hope I can do the Daniel-Bryan-joins-the-Wyatts storyline justice. I'm rewriting just two, three weeks of WWE history this time around, so it's a little easier than a year's worth or a decade's worth.
BTW, the RAW taping won't be a flashback in this chapter because it will happen in real-time.
DISCLAIMER: Please see the previous chapters. Dialog between the Wyatt's and Daniel after the match is from the backstage promo between them on Old School RAW.
Chapter Four
I thought the weekend of one-on-one time was just what I needed to nudge Daniel firmly over to our side. And from the looks of things, it seemed to work. During that weekend back on the compound, he had quite a few questions about my newest pet project. What books to read. What lessons that needed to be learned. Even how to teach them. When that weekend was up, I assumed that Daniel Bryan would be an excellent Plus One.
Yeah, the boys and I stuck Daniel with tons of daggers in our efforts to bring him to our side, and he still managed to stay on his feet. You gotta admire that kind of courage. The WWE Universe chose him as their champion, just like he chose them as his followers. They were moths gathering around a giant flame. But I believe that in his pursuit of glory, Daniel lost sight of who really was controlling the fire. It wasn't him. It wasn't his fans. It wasn't his fiancée. It wasn't the Authority. It wasn't me, my "sons" or even Abigail. It was something much bigger.
So when we arrived in Baltimore late Sunday night, my expectations were at an all time high. Daniel Bryan was destined for great things, a true transformation, a new path and a new life, and he was eager to accompany us on our journey. Which was why I questioned Erick and Luke's behavior on Monday night. I chalked up our loss as a miscommunication between the boys. Luke thought he had the legal tag. So did Daniel. They'd gotten their signals crossed. We'd work on that and make sure it didn't happen again.
Well...if I only knew then what I know now.
Abigail often said to me, "The world's an evil place. You gotta get them before they get you, because a rattlesnake's skin is the same color as the leaves. That's how I managed to survive. I got the best of them before they got the best of me."
I should have paid closer attention to those words. Because if I had, then my boys and I wouldn't have gotten bit so hard.
~~~ANGEL~~~
"Your face, my Thane, is like a book where one may read strange things...To deceive everyone look like everyone else. Be welcoming: show welcome in your eyes, your hand, your tongue. Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it. We must provide for… him that's coming. And you must leave tonight's great business to me. Business that will shape the rest of our lives."
No Sweat Shakespeare, Macbeth Modern Translation: Act 1, Scene 5
"...My mom would take the cinnamon rolls that you get in the grocery store that you take out of a can and bake, and she'd layer them in a bundt pan with butter and chocolate chips and put all that in the oven. On Sunday morning, the whole house would smell like cinnamon and chocolate," Jay recalled at breakfast Monday morning. He, Bray and the others were at a Perkins restaurant not far from the hotel the roster was staying at enjoying breakfast. Beneath a backdrop of some upbeat adult contemporary music, the air was thick with the fragrance of freshly brewed coffee and cinnamon rolls and speckled with bits and pieces of conversation.
"Kinda reminds me of when my dad took me cross-country when I was nine," Luke chimed on, as he refilled his coffee cup, then Jay's. "There's this big truck stop in Colorado, near Loveland, and they serve sweet rolls that are almost as big as a dinner plate. Dad bought one, and between the two of us, we polished that sucker off. I swear I was licking cinnamon and icing off my fingers the entire day," The boys chuckled at that visual.
Bray refreshed his own cup, and then added milk. "It kinda interests me that so many of our life experiences are food-related. Either you're making something or you're eating something." A pause, as he took a sip from his coffee. "Speaking of which, Daniel here makes a pretty decent cheese omelet."
Daniel shrugged. "It wasn't anything earth-shattering. I'm part of this family now. Might as well start pulling my weight. And speaking of family, I think that when the time's right, the whole world's gonna see this family for what they really are." he added. He waited a beat, and then lifted up his full coffee cup. "In fact, I know this is kinda cheesy, but I wanna propose a toast."
A grin crossed Daniel's lips. "To the Wyatts. May they all get everything they deserve."
"I'll drink to that," Bray nodded, clueless to the double meaning. The boys chuckled but lifted their cups and clinked them before tucking into their breakfasts.
As Daniel ate, he thought back to the mini devotional that Bray had held in their hotel room earlier in the morning.
Luke and Erick had knelt on the hotel room floor earlier in the morning, letting Bray's words sink into their minds. Jay sat cross-legged on the floor, his attention complete and undivided, his eyes shining. He looked like a Moonie in the middle of a religious experience.
Daniel sat cross-legged on the floor as well, next to the blonde veteran, carefully schooling his expression so as not to betray his boredom and disgust. The sermon rolled off of him like water off the back of a duck;
"When I was young, I learned that the world can be dark and scary. You take things for granted, and you're lulled into a false sense of security. Then some event happens that catches you completely off guard, and you're left flailing around in the dark. Darkness is cold. Darkness is scary. And while you're stumbling around lost and terrified, you're desperate to find some help, some comfort, some truth, some light.
"But darkness is necessary, because if you don't have darkness, then the light can't shine. Well, if you're trapped and lost in the darkness, that light is as close as any prayer. All you gotta do is say, Lord, help! Turn on the lights! I need Your light! If you haven't figured it out by now, it's the light of the Lord. He is the light that shines brightest in the dark, and His light will never go out."
Pretty words, Daniel had thought in disgust. He'd heard enough of Bray Wyatt's pretty words that weekend to last him the next five-hundred years. Nothing but pretty words. Sooner than you think, I'll show the world what a group of mindless minions you really are.
We'll see if those pretty words will help you then.
~~~ANGEL~~~
RAW Taping 1/6/14
Baltimore, Maryland
"We're here," announced Bray, lighting his lantern. The Wyatts' entrance music began and the lights were very, very dim.
"Daniel Bryan is a Wyatt family member," announced JBL, as the Wyatts' entrance music slithered through the arena. The lights were very, very dim, and it was almost impossible to make out the four shapes approaching the ring. "And there's no stopping the Wyatts now."
"I'd like to see what Daniel Bryan looks like, Bradshaw," Michael Cole said. "How he's gonna act tonight."
"You'll see him, Michael."
"Well...where is he?"
At the entrance ramp, Erick gave Daniel a nudge forward. "Come on!" he hissed loud enough for only Daniel to hear. "Get a move on."
Daniel shuffled towards the Wyatt's patriarch. The dim light revealed his full beard, shaggy hair, and blue jumpsuit that he'd worn the night he was taken. He gazed into Bray's eyes like a man possessed before he followed his new "brothers" to the ring. The Usos and Mysterio would go up against Erick, Luke and Daniel, with Bray watching them at ringside. Jay was in Vince McMahon's temporary office discussing plans for his return to active competition in the WWE, but he would watch as much of the match as he could once his meeting was finished.
JBL grinned. "There he is."
"Wow, this is surreal," Michael Cole said, shuddering.
JBL was unfazed by Cole's creeped-out behavior. "You know, I think Daniel Bryan made the right decision."
"Yeah, JBL, but somehow I can't believe that Daniel Bryan has joined the Wyatts," Cole said in dismay. "I mean, I understand the reasons why, I guess, but...I just, I just can't see him with this group."
"Michael," JBL pointed out, "If you had the holy hell beaten out of you by somebody day in and day out, you'd do things you thought were unfathomable at one time too."
Cole nodded; he couldn't disagree with that statement. "Daniel Bryan said last week, You were always right. Telling that to Bray Wyatt," he explained to the viewing audience, as Bray eased his muscular frame into the rocking chair that was situated right next to the ring. "No matter how many matches I've won, how hard these people cheer for me, the machine wouldn't let me win."
When the lights turned back on, Bray was situated in his rocking chair at ringside. Luke and Erick were behind him, and Daniel stood right next to Bray.
The fans shouted NO! NO! NO! as Daniel leaned over to hear Bray whisper in his ear.
"Don't be afraid, Daniel," Bray reassured him. "These people are insignificant. Their opinion means nothing." Daniel flinched inwardly but kept a poker face as he listened to the encouragement and took his place on the ring apron.
He sighed as the audience attempted to start a Daniel Bryan chant that died quickly once the match started. As Michael Cole stressed to the TV audience that Daniel was a fighter, and a dragon, and that he'd make the right decision, Jimmy and Luke tangled up at the start. However, they quickly headed to their corners, though not before Luke decided to taunt Jimmy.
"Knock yourself out," Luke mouthed, as he tagged Daniel in.
Meanwhile, JBL, played Devil's Advocate as Rey Mysterio stepped in to face the Wyatt's newest member. "Well, anybody out here in the WWE Universe would have done the same thing if they were in Daniel Bryan's shoes. Besides, he fits right in! Look at him, he looks like one of them! What's the difference between him and these other guys!"
Daniel stepped into the ring to square off against Rey, which resulted in a nice, although short-lived pop of cheers from the fans. This is gonna get sad, he thought to himself. His eyes locked with Rey's, and even through the mask, Daniel could catch the questioning look on his opponent's face. Sorry, buddy, Daniel mouthed before he floored Rey with a vicious right hand. He followed up by picking up Rey by the back of his shirt and delivering more hard rights and a high knee. He bounced Rey off the ropes and delivered a hard knee that knocked the masked luchador right to the mat.
From his comfortable spot in his rocking chair, Bray looked on and grinned.
At the broadcast table, Cole commented on Daniel's new viciousness and demeanor. "Even his facial expressions are different tonight!"
Eventually, Rey managed to launch Daniel through the ropes and out of the ring. The newest Wyatt gathered his wits as Bray shouted at him to get back in the ring. "Go get 'em, Daniel!" Before Daniel could regather his wits, Rey dove through the ropes and plancha-ed him to the floor. When Luke and Erick tried to intervene, the Uso's vaulted the ropes and plancha-ed them as well. After the Wyatts recovered their wits, they returned to the ring to prevent a count-out. Deciding that he needed a breather, Daniel tagged in Erick. Rey decided he needed to catch his breath as well and tagged in Jey Uso.
Erick wasted no time, putting Jey in the vicious vice grip he'd placed Cody Rhodes in nearly a week ago, before lifting him up for a Fallaway Slam. After Bray berated his charges for wasting so much time, Erick tagged Daniel back in. The newest Wyatt kicked and punched away relentlessly at Jey, who was trapped in the Wyatt's corner.
A chorus of YES! YES! YES! rang in Daniel's ears. Even after joining a group as odd and crazy and (from all outward appearances) evil, his fans were still trying to back him. It made his heart twist slightly.
Letting the chants roll off of him, Daniel stretched Jey out between the ropes and then bounced himself off the ropes from the opposite side to administer a hard kick to Jey's back, which sent the Uso tumbling out onto the arena floor.
Bray's eyes sparked merrily as he watched his boys take the Uso apart. So far, they were working like a well-oiled machine.
Erick got the tag, and he tossed Jey back into the ring like he was a rag doll. A few stomps and punches, and Erick Irish whipped Jey into a neutral corner. He rushed at Jay, who attempted a Superkick between Erick's eyes. It missed, but Jey was undaunted as he rushed the big man. Erick tried picking Jey up, but Jey managed to leap-frog Erick and plant a Superkick beneath the big man's chin.
Erick went down like a shot, dazed, and so did Jey. However, Jey found it in him to climb to his feet and stagger back to his corner to tag in Rey.
Mysterio wasted no time. He hit Erick with a Hurricanrana that set up a 619. Jimmy Uso got the tag off the 619 but missed a splash when Erick rolled out of the way. Luke stretched out his hand to tag in, but before Erick could reach, Daniel tagged himself in and stepped through the ropes.
"What the hell are you doing, Daniel?!" Luke exclaimed, as he stepped in to confront the newest Wyatt. "He was reaching for me, not you!" An argument broke out between Luke and Daniel, with the referee in the middle trying to keep the peace.
"One of you! Get out!" the referee snapped. For a single crackling second, Luke looked like he was going to deck Daniel. Recognizing the volatility of the situation, Daniel decided to step back between the ropes and onto the apron.
Luke charged towards the Uso's corner like a bull, taking Mysterio out with a thunderous right hook. He attempted to set Jimmy up for a power bomb, but Jimmy caught Luke with a rollup for a very important win.
The Wyatts were thoroughly embarrassed, and they chased the Usos and Rey out of the ring before they had a chance to celebrate. Once the winners were out of the ring, Erick and Luke turned their attentions towards a nervous-looking Daniel. For a moment, it looked like Luke and Erick were going to dismantle their new "brother," but Bray rushed into the ring to break up the fight before it had a chance to start.
"Boys! Calm down! Don't do anything you're gonna regret!" Bray ordered his "sons." A loss wasn't the way that Bray wanted the debut of his newest family to end with, but he'd sort everything out once they were backstage. It was a miscommunication, he thought to himself, as he and his boys watched the Usos and Rey leave the ring. We'll just have to improve on our teamwork next time we're out here.
I mean, he's chosen to be part of this family, so he wouldn't dream of driving a wedge between us all, right?
~~~ANGEL~~~
Oh the games people play now
Every night and every day now
Never meaning what they say now
Never saying what they mean
While they wile away the hours
In their ivory towers
Till they're covered up with flowers
In the back of a black limousine
-Joe South, "Games People Play"
"What the hell was that all about, Daniel?" Luke demanded loudly, in the locker room following the match. "I had the legal tag, and then you put yourself in the ring! I was the legal man!"
Erick crossed his massive forearms. "We had that match won, and you pull a stunt like that?!"
"Erick! Luke! Come on! Let me explain! I wanted to join this family. I came here to learn, to be transformed! From a man...into a monster. I know I came here to learn, I can also teach! Because unlike either of you, I've been a been a Tag Team Champion!"
"So you're implying that we don't know how to work as a team?" Erick growled, the tone in his voice threatening.
Daniel flinched as Erick drew closer; the look on his face spelled trouble, and he had to soften his tone. "Hey, calm down," Daniel wheedled, as Luke held Erick back. "I was Tag Team Champion with Kane. A man as big as either of you. So let me contribute. Next week, let me team with you, Harper. Or let me team with you, Rowan."
"That won't be necessary, Daniel," Bray interjected, his voice firm. "Because next week, you'll be teaming with me."
Daniel grinned. Erick and Luke looked uneasy.
"Teaming with you, Bray?!" Erick's eyebrows arched in surprise. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"You guys got your signals crossed tonight," Bray explained. "It's not easy when you have a new member of the family. You have to adjust. We all had to adjust when Jay joined the fold. Daniel's no different. We just have to relearn how to work together." He paused. "Daniel didn't come to us shrink-wrapped. He wants to learn and be transformed from a man into a monster.
"I spent an entire weekend studying with him," Bray continued, as Daniel looked on and beamed. "Eating meals with him. Walking around on the compound with him. I didn't see or feel or hear anything that made me think he has an ulterior motive. You heard him admit on national TV that I was right. No matter how many matches I've won, how hard these people cheer for me, the machine wouldn't let me win. They were his words, boys.
"Daniel didn't join this family so he could drive a wedge between us. He joined to become one of us. And being part of this family isn't all sunshine and roses! Sometimes we screw up. We argue, we fight. We do stuff to each other that we hate. But at the end of the day, we love, and take care of, and look after, and do for each other. We work together! Because we're a family."
Erick and Luke gazed at each other, then glanced at Daniel, and then stared down at the floor. That was definitely true. They were family, not by blood, but they were family all the same.
Erick was the first one to speak up after a tense silence. "Bray's right," he said, glancing up. "We're a family. And we just have to relearn how to work together."
Luke met Daniel's gaze and held out a large hand. "Sorry I blew up at you."
Daniel nodded and took Luke's hand to shake. "Apology accepted," he said, the bland smile on his face easily concealing his duplicity. This game's gonna be fun, he thought.
~~~ANGEL~~~
In Vince McMahon's temporary office, Jay was playing a similar game with his boss.
"The way I figure, Jason, this will allow us to re-introduce you to the WWE after your prolonged illness," Vince McMahon explained, as he lay out some plans for Jay for the next few months. "The Elimination Chamber's a great place to show off a few spots. Then we'll set you up with a run for the IC Championship against Big E. Langston. You'll be a five-time champ in that department. That's pretty prestigious."
Jay nodded and smiled slightly. "That's great, and I appreciate that. But I know you, Vince. You'll throw me a bone once in a while to keep me and the fans quiet. What will convince me that this time will be any different?"
A year ago, Jay would have jumped at the opportunity to hold a championship again. But that was a year ago, and Jay was a whole different animal now, and he could easily sense where this was leading. Vince gave off the aura of some smarmy used car salesman or some lowlife scammer bilking money out of a senior citizen with a fixed income. Two kinds of people that Jay couldn't stand. "So what's Big E's pet project? Movie? TV show? Action figure? New Twitter account?"
"Pet project?" Vince cocked an eyebrow. "There's no pet project involved here. Why would you think that?"
"Well, Vince," Jay pointed out. "Last time you gave me a chance to compete for that championship, you made me drop the strap to Mizanin on the 1000th RAW episode, all because he was promoting a movie."
Jay narrowed his eyes and continued. "It hasn't failed. I get a bone, and then someone with a pet project takes it away. Remember 2011? I became World Champion after Edge left. How long did I hold it? Two days! Two days! And one of those days didn't count, because you were too busy celebrating The Rock's birthday on RAW. Then you make me drop the championship to some undeserving third-gen guy on national TV. Just so you could promote him coming back to Smackdown."
"Jason, you knew Randy was switching rosters at the time. I had to make sure the ratings stayed solid."
"Okay, Vince. You have TV ratings to worry about, and I get that. But was it necessary to have him announce to everyone in the audience that HE was the new champ? That HURT, Vince! Almost as much as that God-awful blue dot storyline. Boy, am I glad that never got off the ground! I never got a chance to prove how worthy I was. I never got a chance to carry Smackdown on my own! And how many world championships has Randy Orton held? Ten? Eleven?"
"Be reasonable, Jason," Vince said, in an effort to placate the blonde veteran. "I made sure you had another title run after Money In The Bank that year—"
"It was a lousy one!" Jay snapped, cutting Vince off abruptly. "I looked like a complete and utter tool at Summerslam that year, just to make Orton look good! My rematch on the Smackdown after was a joke, too!" He paused, and then fixed Vince with an ice cold stare. "When did you decide that your superstars had to arrive in the WWE shrink-wrapped?"
When Vince didn't answer, Jay continued. "When did it suddenly matter that they had to belong to a family with prestige and history in order to make it here? And when did it suddenly become important to give a strap to the guy that's only coming in part time or promoting a movie or the diva who's on a reality show and is more important for her scenic qualities? That shouldn't matter, Vince. They should all work as hard as the guy who won an essay contest to get into this business, or the guy who spent his last quarter's tuition money to train in the ring."
No response. Jay took that as a good sign and pressed on. "I was in the ring working matches when Orton was still in middle school, and when Batista was cutting his teeth in WCW! My friends and I drove across frozen lakes in Canada in the dead of winter to perform in front of maybe thirty, forty people in a school gymnasium at a First Nation's outpost, and earn barely enough for gas money to get back home. I had bill collectors in my phone because of the debts I took on trying to make it in this business.
"I sacrificed, and I busted my butt, and I took every opportunity I could to better myself. But that kind of sacrifice doesn't matter anymore, at least to you. You had to have your precious third-gen golden boy as your face of the WWE, so you trample all over someone who's busted their butt for this industry for the better part of two decades!"
Jay sat back in his chair and folded his arms, his gaze flinty. Vince's eyes were equally hard, as he and Jay stared each other down. The silence that followed almost hurt. Jay heard a toilet flush in the distance, and he hoped that his sudden outburst hadn't flushed his career.
Finally, after what felt like hours (it really only was a minute or two) Vince nodded his head. "Okay. I'll let that slide because you're obviously upset."
Jay stared at his boss incredulously. It was often said behind Vince McMahon's back that he was the Devil incarnate, and the blonde veteran could almost see the horns on Vince's head.
The words, I'm not upset. I just told you the truth, and you just can't handle it, stayed in Jay's head. Vince McMahon just didn't get it. Either that, or he did, and he was too afraid of change.
Just like the masses, Jay thought, and suddenly, Bray's words made even better sense. The masses want to silence and destroy people like us because we terrify them with the idea of change, which is firmly rooted in truth. Truth makes the masses stop and think. Are they living in truth, or are they living a lie? Truth brings change, and that change brings truth.
Yeah. I'm not upset at all. It's about time Vince gets a taste of the truth.
A sly look crossed Jay's face, and he locked eyes with his shady boss. "You know, Vince. It's not me being upset. It's me telling you the truth, and apparently that's difficult for you to face. You insist on forcing the same superstars down everyone's throats, while there are dozens of talented guys ready to go out and prove themselves and win over some new fans.
"The truth is, you wanna keep everything as it is, because you're afraid to make a move that could cost your company some money. Would you rather take a few chances and lose a little money in the beginning, or stay right where you are and lose a lot at the end? Because that's what'll happen if you keep doing what you're doing. The fans will get burned out and find another place to spend their money."
Jay got up from his seat. "Don't get me wrong, Vince. I'm happy that I'm returning to the ring, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep myself relevant. But things are gonna change, and change quickly. Mark my words." With that parting shot, he headed for the door. "I'll see myself out, Vince."
Vince shot a glare fully loaded with darts at Jay's back. The nerve of that man! Assuming that Vince didn't know what was best for his company anymore! Accusing Vince of pushing others and promoting pet projects at his expense! Well, so much for Reso's push, Vince thought acidly as he reached for his cell phone to make a few phone calls. I never liked that creepy little bastard anyway.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: To me, this chapter was a bit disjointed. Writing kayfabe is not easy, but I hope I made it work. I don't know if Vince dislikes Jay Reso in real life, so a lot of the dialog between the two of them was from how I perceive their working relationship, mixed in with a few of my opinions on how Jay's been treated the past three or four years.
The truck stop I mentioned is Johnson's Corner, home of gigantic cinnamon rolls and awesome fried chicken dinners (shameless plug).
Also, I have a VERY important announcement. I will no longer accept Guest reviews. In some of the stories I've read and critiqued, anonymous readers will log in as a guest and bash the story, the writer, or both, with impunity. To me, that's a form of cyberbullying, which is something I WON'T tolerate, and something I WON'T permit. It only takes a few minutes to create an FFDN account, and if someone's got issues with my work, I'll be glad to engage in discussion via private message. I don't bite, and I'll always accept concrit.
REVIEWS = LOVE