Author's Note:
Hey howdy hey, y'all. I know you've all been waiting eagerly and patiently for the next installment of the story, and today, you have it. As for what happened on RAW, the meat of the rest of the card for WrestleMania got fleshed out, as well as featuring a potential match that I have been wanting to see booked for months. I don't know how it will, either as part of the tag match with Hell No vs Ziggler and Big E, or as a standard singles match, but it looks we may be getting Kaitlyn vs AJ after all. :)
Also, Taker got some soup bones in on Punk, Chris Jericho will be taking on FAG-I mean- FAAAAAAAN... DAAAAAAAN... GOOOOOO... and The Rock and John Cena had a very heated Q&A segment, which may plant the seeds for a change in Cena that we have been waiting to see for years now.
So, for now, enjoy this latest chapter of Love, Honor & Glory, and Happy Easter, everybody! :D
Love, Honor & Glory
Part V
Chapter 4 - Telling Off the Show Off
Four days later
Friday Night Smackdown - February 1, 2013
Valley View Casino Center - San Diego, California
Back Area
AJ spent the better part of the last few minutes skipping mindlessly in the halls, killing as much time as possible before her scheduled match with Layla was to be held. In the past few days since Monday, she had wondered what everyone else would react or say to her after yet another relationship went down the drain. She feared her reputation would garner even more negative attention, in addition to the amount of hateful tweets and posts she was receiving, which consistently badmouthed her, called her every name in the book, and slandered her in every way possible.
But, much to her surprise, she was not avoided at all; in fact, some of the other members on the roster actually strive to make contact with her, talk with her, and offer support for her in any way, shape, or form. She had even begun to mend the broken relationship she had with her on-again, off-again, now on-again once more best friend, Kaitlyn. AJ really treasured that specifically, because through it all, no matter how many times they might have gotten into arguments, slapped each other around and caused catfights-even though most of it was AJ's doing-at the end of the day, they were Chickbusters through and through.
AJ was clearly pleased that people wanted to talk to her again, whether it was to ask how she was doing, what move would be best to test out, or to simply discuss the latest new games and comics, she welcomed it with open arms. Still, she was a bit surprised of how suddenly this had broken out. Maybe it might have been the result of the conversation she had with Cena on Monday night, and that he then talked positively about her to everyone else, encouraging them to engage with her, and convince them that despite everything, AJ was still a good person that could be trusted. If that was the case, she would be grateful and thankful that John took to those measures, which helped her get back in good graces with everyone that she knew in the locker room.
Well, almost everyone. She did wish that one of those people had been Punk, but alas, he had not been seen or heard from since Vince's announcement on RAW, staying in his tour bus and keeping to himself like a brooding, sulking teenager. Oh, how she wished he could have opened up to someone, anyone; and more specifically, she'd wish that he opened up more to her. Because believe it or not, even though she regained Kait's trust and friendship, it was still one more person's companionship she missed the most, and that was his.
As for the hateful tweets? Well, as crass, rude, and immature that they were, AJ merely laughed at those who were critical of her actions, as well as those who were slut-shaming her just for the sake of slut-shaming. She also noticed that some of those detractors happened to be nothing more than die-hard fans of Dolph's, who would take his side no matter what, even though she knew who he really was: a self-absorbed, arrogant spazz who thought he was either Ric Flair, Mr. Perfect, Billy Gunn, or Shawn Michaels, or even a combination of the four. She would not have put it past him to come up with such a thought.
As she rounded the next corner, aimlessly skipping to whatever location she felt like going to, with her eyes blissfully closed, not having a care in the world, actually feeling relief and a sense of freedom, she felt her body make solid contact with another person, bringing her to a screeching halt and almost knocking her to the ground. Luckily, she was able to maintain her balance.
"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was..." she started to say before instantly stopping, immediately recognizing who she had bumped into. It was absolutely the very LAST person on this planet that she wanted to see at this moment right now.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
Shit. Not him. ANYONE but him.
"Oh... good to see you too, Dolph..." she forcibly faked herself into saying with a tight convoluted smile plastered on her face.
"I know it's always good to see me. Hell, I experience that every morning I look myself in the mirror," he brashly stated.
Man, what a pompous douche, AJ thought but did not say. Her parents always told her that if you didn't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all, even if someone was as big of an asshole as Dolph was.
"So, what's life been like without me? Heartbreaking, I know. Hopefully, you didn't have another nervous breakdown like you did when Daniel Bryan dumped you. If you did, then maybe someone should make a call to that little mental ward that's in your stupid little comic books-Arkham Asylum, was it?-and let them they had another patient on the way."
God, his arrogance was so annoying. And she also didn't appreciate that jab at her love of comics. This was different from a guy like Punk, who may have sounded cocky when said what he said, but the difference being that not only did he meant it, but he backed it up just about every single night on the mic, and especially in the ring.
"You know, for the record Dolph, my life has been going quite fine, thank you very much. I wish I could say the same for your chances of being World Champion, but I think we all know that's not the case. And as for my comics and you making fun of them, you shouldn't be talking, considering that you're a single dream house away from being a part of a massive Ken Doll recall," AJ quipped, taking immense joy in seeing Dolph's face immediately flare up in irritation.
"Keep it up, Short Stuff. Keep it up," Dolph quickly retorted. "But you won't be making those smart ass jokes once I enter the Elimination Chamber, and become the new WWE champion. In fact, not only will I win the WWE Championship, but I'm gonna use that to springboard myself into having the best year of any superstar in WWE history."
The look on AJ's face as Dolph made that bold proclamation spoke one of a combination of both perplexed and surprised. She knew Dolph to be very self-confident, but she didn't know that he was seemingly delusional as well. Before she could respond, Dolph merely continued on.
"Who knows, maybe somewhere down the line, me and Big E will team up and show those two goofballs Kane and Bryan how a real unit works together, and we beat them and take those Tag Team straps for ourselves. And I'm not stopping there, because I even bigger aspirations than that. Because even though my last Money in the Bank briefcase was wasted-no thanks to you-I gonna make sure that this time everything goes right when I win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a second consecutive year!"
AJ wanted to roll her eyes at what he was saying, but she chose to listen to whatever else he had to say before responding.
"And then, when the time is perfect, and the opportunity presents itself, I'm gonna cash in on whatever scrub is holding that Big Gold belt, beat him, become World Heavyweight Champion, but not only that, become the Undisputed WWE Heavyweight Champion of the World, and forever cement my place in history as simply the best damn thing to ever step foot in this ring!"
After Dolph finished his lengthy and boastful monologue, there was a brief moment of silence. Then, out of nowhere, a sound began to resonate and reverberate throughout the empty halls. That was the sound of AJ laughing. She couldn't help it. After hearing all the crap that Dolph was spewing, she had no choice but to burst out in giggles, which then progressed into flat out howling and and near cackling, as she convulsed in absolute hysterics. She then placed a hand on the wall to keep her balance up, as she was starting to feel dizzy and woozy from all the laughter she was producing. It took awhile, but finally AJ was able to calm down, take a breath and compose herself before speaking, much to Dolph's relief as he was getting very irritated at AJ's disrespectful reaction.
"Oh. Whoo! Oh, God. Please excuse me, I needed that laugh," she said. "But I find it absolutely HILARIOUS that you think you're gonna try to accomplish any of those things this year, considering the fact that you haven't had such a hot start to it. I mean, when's the last time you won a match? Any match? And it doesn't matter whether you were by yourself, or if Big E and I got involved, you haven't proven a damn thing to me, or to anyone else for that matter, that you're ready to take that next step into super stardom."
Dolph so wanted to really give AJ a piece of his mind, but the only thing he could is glare at her with those piercing blue eyes of is as AJ continued on.
"Thing is, Dolph, what you have done so far this has been very, very, very under whelming. And you know what else I think? I think that despite all your talk, and all your proclamations, you'll never be as great or as accomplished as some of the other guys in that locker room, whether it's guys like Daniel Bryan, John Cena..."
She paused, stopping to have a devious and smug smirk break across her lips as she said the next name, knowing that it would further infuriate Ziggler to an even higher level.
"Or not even C... M... Punk."
Dolph was absolutely fuming on the inside, looking ready to erupt at AJ for what she said, but he took a moment, exhaled deeply, and tried his best to brush off what she said.
"Oh, please," he scoffed. "Those three losers are you best you can come up with to try and discourage me? I can run circles around that bearded troll gnome Bryan, and Cena wishes he had the moves I could do, if he only knew how to do them."
Now AJ had no choice but to roll her eyes at that statement. While things between her and Daniel did not end well, she would be a fool not to recognize his submission skills and technical ability, personal feelings aside. And as for Cena, even if he did not return back to her the feelings she had for him, she still admired and respected his hard work, tenacity, heart, and dedication that he had to this business. And since AJ did not like what Dolph had said about those two, she certainly would not like what he would say next.
"And as for Punk? Please. What has that tattooed freak accomplished, besides being a whiny little crybaby over not getting his precious little 'spot' in the company? What has he accomplished, besides doing nothing but bitch and moan until he got what he wanted? What has he accomplished-?"
"First of all, you peroxide wearing asshole, don't you ever talk about Punk that way in front of me like that," AJ suddenly snapped, which caught Dolph completely off guard. "Secondly, what has he accomplished? How about a Tag Team title reign which you say you're gonna do, which I highly doubt? Or how about his period as Intercontinental Champion? ECW World Champion? A three-time World Heavyweight Champion, a two-time Money in the Bank winner, doing something successful twice what you couldn't even do once, and that's cash in successfully. And to top it all off, he is the current reigning, defending, and undisputed WWE Champion, a claim that he has held for now 439 days, and counting. Hell, I'll even go further and mention that he's a former ROH World Champion as well."
AJ really let Dolph have it. Again he was surprised at what AJ was stating, mostly due to the knowledge and facts about Punk's title history that she was dropping on him. For AJ, it was no surprise, since that due to her being the fan that she was in addition to being a performer, she would know the list of noteworthy accomplishments that some of the best ever in this industry had done. And who the hell was he to question and disregard what Punk had done in his career? Especially when his resume sure as hell couldn't hold a candle to it.
"And as for you, Dolph? Well, you've had reigns with the IC and United States straps that anyone barely remembers, a Tag Team title reign that you ended up sharing with five guys, while wearing a stupid, ridiculous, and might I say, hideously green cheerleader outfit."
Dolph's eyes flared intensely at that last remark, incensed at the nerve AJ had, bringing up his humiliating and embarrassing days as a member of the ill-fated Spirit Squad.
"And as for your reign with the World title?" the tiny brunette spitfire said open-endedly. "If it wasn't for records and notes on and all over the internet, I would be saying, 'what World title reign?' seeing as though it lasted about the length of someone drinking a quick cup of coffee, before Edge speared your sorry ass to reclaim it!"
Dolph had enough it. No one was gonna insult his career and mouth off to him that way. "Now listen to me here, you little-"
"Shut up, I'm not finished!" AJ spat, stunning the Show Off in such a way that even AJ herself had to second guess what was happening here. Was she really acting like this, saying these things with emotion and vigor, in way that only be described as... a pipebomb? Before she could think it over, she blazed on, giving Dolph an unrelenting, and well deserved, tongue lashing.
"You, Dolph Ziggler, are without a doubt... unquestionably and unequivocally... the most self-centered... obnoxious... arrogant person I have ever met. And not to mention... you're the biggest loser, as well."
Dolph stood in silence, completely shaken and rattled by AJ's harsh words. He hated to be called a lot of things, but a loser? That was something that struck a nerve with him, and that AJ exploited greatly.
"In fact Dolph..." she kept talking, which made Dolph mercifully wish this was over already. But AJ was not done. This douchebag prick had hurt her, and she was going to make damn sure that by getting everything off her chest, he would be hurting as well.
"If you turn the page to where the word 'loser' is located in the dictionary, your big ol' mug would be the sure shot picture for the definition."
With everything out in the open now, AJ waited a moment before Dolph could try and formulate sentences, words, to try and counter what she unloaded upon him. After a few seconds, he finally responded.
"Say what you want about my career compared to those other clowns," he said, with a barely noticeable quiver in his voice, his confidence all but destroyed by AJ's tirade. "I'm pretty sure they couldn't be up to stuff with me, in how I perform with you in the sack."
It wasn't much, but he needed something, anything, to salvage his losing argument, and he figured that might have done it. But once again, the haunting and taunting sound of AJ's mocking laughter broke that façade, and shattered that hope permanently.
"Oh, sweetheart. You think that? Do you really honestly think that? I'll have you know that someone was putting a skip into my step long before I ever came into contact with you, Ziggy Boy."
If his pride wasn't hurt before that, it damn sure was now. Questioning Ziggler's talents was one thing, but questioning his manhood? That hurt worse than any left hook liver shot to the body. After delivering the figurative proverbial knockout shot, AJ stepped closer to Dolph, getting right in his face, making sure that these parting words, making sure that he would always, always, remember this.
"So, in case you haven't noticed by now, Dolph, I'm over you now. I can stand up for myself, be my own woman, be the kind of woman I've always wanted to be, and I'll do it without you holding me back. So I bid you adieu, Mr. Ziggler, because when it comes to you and me ever having a connection again, or your chances of ever becoming a success in this business? I think of only two words to describe it..."
She turned her head slightly, her finger on her bottom lip as her face was strewed in pondering thought and concentration, thinking of what to say last. Then, with an evil smile, the cruel delicious ironic thought of what to say came to her immediately.
"Oh, yeah, that's right: 'Show... Off'.
And with that, following a sarcastic wink and a satiric blow of a kiss to him, AJ turned and quickly skipped in the opposite direction, leaving Dolph Ziggler behind in the dust, and in the past, once and for all.
Author's Note:
Ahhh. Man, didn't it feel good to see AJ tell Ziggles off like that? I hope you enjoyed that. I know I did. :)
If I can, I'll try and post a new chapter every week. But with my school schedule, we'll see what happens. Either way, fav, review, follow, and I'll catch ya next time!
#HappyEaster
#PunkleeNation
#ZiggLeeCanBlowMe