A Different Outcome, starring Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and Triple H

Chapter 2: It's Time to Play a Game, Once Again

RAW

January 7th, 2002

New York, NY

Backstage, unbeknownst to anyone in attendance or those watching at home, Triple H was backstage in his locker room, preparing himself for the moment when he would step through the curtain and walk down to the ring and officiate his return to the World Wrestling Federation. After suffering a torn quadriceps tendon in May of last year and being sidelined for eight months, he was currently unsure of whether he would receive a standing ovation after being absent from WWF television for such a long period of time, or if he would be booed out of the building as he was on many occasions before.

While he was sitting on the couch, he placed his hands on his face and thought deeply about what he was going to say the moment he would raise a microphone up to his face.

"Should I state how great it is to be back and see the fans? Should I act the way I did before and kick the ass of a major face, like Austin or The Rock? Ugh, I don't know… I've got to think of something…"

Hunter's train of thought was interrupted when his wife, Stephanie, entered the room, which caused him to stand up. He didn't expect to see her, and he couldn't help but smile at her presence. However, she noticed him in his state of concentration and expressed deep concern. She never liked seeing him debating over a tough decision, no matter what it relates to.

"Honey, are you alright? Is there something wrong?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Oh, it's no big problem, I was just thinking about what I'm going to say when I return tonight, and I haven't come up with anything," he calmly replied.

Stephanie placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Listen, you've got nothing to worry about. You'll be fine."

He kissed her and smiled back. "Thanks, Steph, I really appreciate that. It's nice to see someone hasn't changed."

She cocked an eyebrow in confusion and her eyes widened as she removed her hand from his shoulder. "What do you mean, Hunter? What do you mean I haven't changed?"

"Don't take it the wrong way, Steph, it's not an insult; I'm just saying that a lot of people have changed since I came back, and you're still the same way you were before I left, which is a good thing," he stated.

"Well, why wouldn't I still be the same? I'm still your loving wife and always will be, you know," she winked. "Oh, and speaking of loving, I have a surprise for you…" She stated in a playful manner.

Hunter raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You do? What is it?" He pondered.

She smiled. "I'm going to head down to the ring and hype the fans up for your return. I'm sure it'll fill their spirits with excitement, and I'd say," Stephanie lowered her head as she looked at her vintage watch, "that it's time to instill that excitement right now."

Hunter and Stephanie shared a deep kiss which lasted for a rough minute. When they finished, Stephanie exited the room and headed out to the ring, but not before waving good-bye to her husband.

…

After RAW returned from a commercial break after showing a brief recap of what happened during the triple main event at Vengeance, "My Time" boomed throughout all areas of the arena as Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley walked out onto the stage, and, believed it or not, was actually being cheered! Not a single person in the arena was booing her, and it even shocked her to the point where the positive reception forced a smile to grow across the bottom of her face. The smile on her face was not the typical arrogant smirk of a heel that said 'I'm better than all of you', which was what she usually expressed; it was instead a natural, happy smile instead of a forced one. Once she stood in the ring and raised her arms in the same manner she always did, the cheers became even louder to point where it made her entire body shake. When she motioned for the timekeeper to hand her a microphone, she expected the crowd to boo since they most likely expected her to speak in her high-pitched, screechy voice that she used whenever she was happy about something and she also expected to hear raging 'slut' chants directed toward her. As it turned out, she did receive chants that sounded similar to what she believed them to be, but they did not consist of 'slut'; instead, they were 'Steph' chants. The crowd was chanting Stephanie's name! They were chanting her name! Not a single person in the arena was calling her a slut!

Stephanie took a deep breath and began to speak into the mic. "Well, I'll be honest with you guys, I certainly wasn't expecting this," she stated with a smile. Some wolf whistles could be heard coming from the males in attendance, as Stephanie was a flawless individual when it came to looks, "and I was going to fill your bodies with excitement, but you guys seemed to have already done that for me." The fans kept cheering for Stephanie as she continued to speak.

"Usually, whenever I'm out here, I'm either bragging about something I feel proud of, or I'm seen complaining either about something that doesn't exactly go my way or someone I don't like, but tonight, that isn't going to happen. Instead, I'm going to announce the return of a certain Superstar, here in the World Wrestling Federation. Tonight, I'm going to announce the return of a man who has been out of action for the past eight months. Tonight, I'm going to announce the return… of my husband, the Game, Triple H!" She announced in a non-squeaky voice. If it was even possible, the crowd became even louder than before, and 'HHH' signs could be seen all throughout the crowd and the entire arena was filled with 'Triple H' chants. As Stephanie lowered the mic away from her face, the entrance the music of a WWF Superstar started booming, but it wasn't the entrance music of the man she wanted out here. It was the entrance music of the man she hated more than anyone else in the WWF.

It was the entrance music of Chris Jericho, as he, the man who defeated The Rock and Stone Cold in the same night at Vengeance to unify the WCW and WWF Championships and become the first-ever Undisputed Champion, slowly and arrogantly made his entrance down the ramp, wielding both championships belts on his shoulders like shields as he received endless, merciless boos from the crowd, plus an added bonus of an ice-cold stare, courtesy of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. She truly despised the man due to the treatment he received from her during the past months when the Invasion was at the peak of its mountain, with him constantly poking fun at her breast implants and referring to her as a 'dirty, filthy, disgusting, brutal, bottom-feeding, trash bag ho'.

However, Jericho was a fan favorite back then, and Stephanie was hated very much. Now the tables had turned, and Jericho's insults weren't appreciated anymore; they were getting old, especially because he never came up with newer material.

During the entire time that it took the Undisputed Champion to enter the ring, the Billion-Dollar Princess never took her eyes off of him for as much as a second, but it didn't affect him in the slightest bit because he wasn't paying attention to her as he forcefully grabbed the mic out of Stephanie's hands and circled around her at a fast, pacing rate.

"What's wrong, Stephanie? You appear to be upset," he said as Stephanie continued to stare a hole through his face, pronouncing Stephanie's name in a mocking tone. "Oh, were you planning on announcing the return of your husband, Triple H, tonight? You know, I'm surprised he had the balls to show up tonight, considering what happened to him the last time he showed his face around these parts. Roll the footage!"

Footage was shown from the edition of RAW from the previous year when Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H defended their Tag Team Championships against Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. It immediately cut to when Triple H tore his quadriceps tendon in the ring, and immediately cut to when Jericho placed him in the Walls of Jericho on the announce table, and he had no choice but to submit to the hold.

After the replay was shown, Stephanie was expected to look upon Jericho with even more disgust than before, but instead, a large smirk spread across her lips as she forcefully swiped the mic out of his hands, much like how he did the same to her.

"Oh wow, I'm so scared!" Stephanie shook her head. "You have got to be kidding me, Jericho. Do you realize what kind of mistake you just made? The Triple H shown in that clip from last year is no longer with us. The Triple H that will return tonight is bigger and even stronger than before, and he'll have no problem making you his little bitch, and I'll have no problem doing the same to you… right now." She yelled and dropped the mic as the crowd exploded in excitement.

Jericho made an attempt to place Stephanie in the Walls of Jericho, but she dodged the move and hit him with a low blow and slapped him across the face. Once Jericho was knocked out Stephanie motioned her hands for Hunter to come out, and appropriately, "The Game" by Motörhead was the only thing that could be heard as Triple H ran out to the ring and gave an unconscious Chris Jericho a Pedigree. Once he was done, he nodded his head toward his wife, who effortlessly picked up Y2J and gave him a Pedigree of her own.

Triple H picked up the mic, ready to speak his first words in the WWF in eight months.

"Just in case you've forgotten, let me tell you just who in the hell I am! I am The Game, and you can bet your ass I'm back!" He yelled as the crowd roared in approval. "And I am the guy that will, tonight, officially enter the Royal Rumble! And I-"

Just when the bad things seemed to be over, Kurt Angle came out on the entrance ramp to "Medal" with an irritated expression on his face and a microphone in his hand.

"Who the hell do you think you are? A quad injury kept you out for eight months, eight months! I won an Olympic gold medal with a broken, freaking neck! So you come out here for your big return, Triple H's big return… well if anyone deserves this time, right here, right now, it's me, so you're on my time, pal!" He spat out as he received "Asshole!" chants in-between sentences.

He continued. "And I'm glad you're out here, to hear my major announcement, because it's even bigger… than your big return. It's something that everyone's been waiting for! And my major announcement is… that I, Kurt Angle, will also enter the Royal Rumble, my first-ever Royal Rumble!"

Angle wasn't done. "And you wanna know why I didn't enter the Rumble last year, Hunter? I think you know. It's because I was too busy pinning your ass to the mat, what you think about that?"

Triple H's response wasn't a verbal once, but instead a physical one in the form of a spear that sent Angle's back falling to the mat as he was hit with several fists to the face courtesy of The Game after being grounded. Triple H taunted and removed his shirt, showing how much bigger he had gotten in terms of muscle while he was gone. As Angle staggered to his feet, Stephanie snuck up from behind and hit him in the jewels with a low blow and Triple H knocked him unconscious with an even more powerful Pedigree than what he gave to the Undisputed Champion.

Triple H and Stephanie celebrated in the ring to a standing ovation and headed backstage as RAW came to a close. It appeared that the McMahon-Helmsley Era was back... with a vengeance.

…

I'm really sorry that this chapter came later than expected. I was originally planning on uploading this chapter on Friday, but I was too busy to do anything, not to mention that time had managed to get ahead of me. I'm also sorry if I portrayed Stephanie and Hunter as superfaces in this chapter, and if I was repetitive with my word choice when it came to describing the crowd's reactions to every occurrence.

As for the next chapter, I'll try to get it up within a week, but I'm currently unsure of the event and date that it will start on.