okaaaay so. hi. my first wrestling fic on here since i created this new account. i should mention before you guys start reading that i'm absolutely in love with Seth Rollins as a gimmick, but i don't know him (or any of the other wrestlers mentioned) personally or at all, so none of this is actually based off of his actual personal character... in that way im kinda disclaiming from everything ok
also, i use their actual names for this, because with this story i kinda wanted to differentiate the character from the person, so in case you don't know, Seth Rollins irl is Colby Lopez (i try to describe other characters how they look, so hopefully you'll figure out the other names - Roman Reigns' nickname is apparently Joe? so i use that, Ambrose is Jonathan, Dolph Ziggler is Nick Nemmeth, etc etc)
i wanted to try and keep this as reasonable as possible given that at the moment the divas division is getting quietly more and more kick-ass :')
would love some feedback on this so i know that i'm not just writing it for myself lmao, and don't fret, if you think you've read something exactly the same, i've posted this on AO3, so you can also find it on there as well.
enjoy :*
She's respected. In the line of work she's in, it's really all that she can care for. Somehow she causes more trouble than she anticipates, somehow it gets cleaned up. And she can also rip a mean promo; somehow her words are harsher, straighter, more hard-hitting than what she thinks they can be. She doesn't work in pairs, she works alone, fights her own battles, bows down when she loses (not that it happens very often). Never gives up.
Possibly that's why Vince likes her so much; she doesn't say yes to often, stays true to her character and what her character stands for - John Cena's is all about hustle, loyalty, respect, Randy Orton's is all about anger management, unpredictability, Triple H's is all about being the ring leader, the game maker, the king. And her gimmick is all about the strength of a lone wolf.
The commentators constantly refer to her as 'the reckoning' - at least, that's what her submission finisher is called: it's an adapted version of a kimura lock, something that'll work upright and on the ground. Her finisher is a variated running reverse DDT, using the turnbuckles as a launch pad to flip over her opponent and drive their head and back into the mat. In correlation with her gimmick, it's called The Bite.
She's respected - and the diva's champion - for a reason.
"And tonight, Cole, we welcome The Wolf back to the ring!" JBL says, eyes wide with anticipation. "She's been out on injury leave for the past couple of weeks due to a broken wrist, but tonight she's going to join us for the Diva's Battle Royal championship contender match."
"I'm so excited, JBL!" Cole exclaims "It's been a while since she's shown her face, especially after that cross-arm breaker Nikki Bella used on her."
"It'll be interesting to see what her attitude's going to be like tonight, Cole - we know how unpredictable she can be."
When Ary Hale's music hits, the screams and cheers that echo are almost ear shattering. It starts off with white noise and blends into the song which sings 'daughters of darkness' loudly around the arena. And when Ary Hale hits the ramp, the screams get louder.
"I get goosebumps every time she does this," JBL murmurs.
There's a red hoodie covering her face and then the arena is shrouded in darkness as she flicks her head back. Black kohl lines her dark eyes and they're staring dead ahead, her arms outstretched either side of her body, as the lights come flickering back on.
"Every frickin' time."
The sleeveless hoodie that she's wearing drapes under the armpits, her toned shoulders and arms shown off in the large holes. The black sports bra and shorts that she's wearing compliment her tanned skin nicely, and her dark brown hair is pulled back into a sleek pony tail. She's wearing her black wrestling boots with white leg warmers pulled halfway up her calves and there's black tape around her wrists, though one side is more heavily taped than the other, and she looks fierce.
She makes her way down the ramp, holding her diva's belt high in the air, and slides into the ring with a microphone in hand. Lifting it to her lips, she doesn't get a word out before the crowd start chanting "arrrr-ryyyy" over and over again. She tries to keep the smirk off her face, wraps an arm around her stomach to rest her elbow on, and puts the microphone under her chin as she waits for the chanting to die down.
As the air settles, Ary does a small turn to survey the arena. "I've missed you too," she coos into the microphone and then cracks a smile as the audience cheer for her.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Ary muses, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth. "You all know exactly why I'm here, and I don't owe anyone an explanation as to my two month absence - thank you, Nikki Bella, really."
Ary moves to the ropes facing the ramp, grips the top one and leans into it. "But let me tell you something, divas. Whoever wins tonight? I haven't wrestled in two months and you can be damn sure I'll look forward to utterly dismantling everything you stand for. This is my ring and you're just walking on borrowed time."
She lets the microphone hit the floor and drops and rolls out of the ring, sauntering over to where Cole and JBL where sitting at the announce table.
When she sits and adjusts the headset that's placed on her head, she turns to JBL and Cole who are smiling at her.
"Thanks for joining us, Ary," Cole says through a wide-mouthed smile.
"Thank you for having me."
"So Ary, talk us through your recovery - we've all missed your presence here on Raw."
"Two months worth of getting the flexibility back into my wrist, I guess. Strength work, lots of throwing and catching, a bit of resistance training. It's a broken wrist, boys, there's nothing breath taking about it."
They both laugh a little, and then, one after the other, divas make their way out to the ring. Ary says nothing during this time and clinically watches the females dancing around in her ring. It's only when the match begins that Ary visibly settles.
"Tell us, Ary, who's worthy of a match?"
Alicia Fox is the first to go, over the ropes and landing harshly on her side. Cameron is next, Eva Marie the next.
Ary hums and ponders the question as she watches the action in the ring. "I've beat all these wrestlers on my own, Cole." She chuckles as she looks over at Michael and then a sly grin forms on her lips. "I'd like to go against one of the boys, honestly. Heath Slater would be a push over…"
JBL laughs, then says, "Seriously, though! Any of those divas up there worthy of a championship match?"
"I guess we'll have to wait and see."
The ring is down to four divas - Naomi, Paige, and the Bella twins. Predictable, really. Within seconds Brie Bella is over the top rope and Naomi is following her, crashing to the ground with a loud impact.
So Ary stands, drops the headset on her chair and slides into the ring, unnoticed by the other two divas who are pre-occupied with each other.
"What on earth is she doing, Cole?!"
She stays down on one knee and waits until Paige has Nikki Bella right across from her at the opposite turnbuckle. And then she stands and screams Nikki's name at the top of her lungs. The two stop, turn to look at Ary.
Paige is the first to run at her, but doesn't take into consideration that Ary is standing that close to the ropes that she can just use Paige's momentum to throw her out - which is exactly what she does.
The bell rings, but neither Nikki or Ary move. Nikki does a good job at not looking scared, but Ary can see the caution in her eyes. There's a microphone thrust into Ary's waiting hand and then she lifts it to her lips, slowly inching closer to the waiting diva.
"Big bad wolf's gonna get you, Nikki," she almost sings. She looks around at the crowd who aren't louder than a rush of whispers. When she locks her eyes on Nikki once more, they're a burning flame. "I'm going to enjoy breaking you."
"Ary is not happy, Cole."
The crowd screams as Ary launches a kick into Nikki's stomach, grabbing her arm as she keels over, and falls back onto the mat. With a hand locked around her wrist and her arm looped through Nikki's, Ary powers her way into the Kimura lock.
The diva howls and screams and kicks and punches, but Ary doesn't let go, her face twisting with effort to keep Nikki's arm in place.
"She's gonna break Nikki Bella's arm if she goes any harder!"
When Ary finally releases Nikki, she grabs the microphone and hovers over her writhing body.
"Let me tell you one thing, Bella," Ary snarls down at her, "I'll hand it to you, you're good - but I'm better."
By the time Raw finishes, Ary has changed back into a pair of long black jeans and some sneakers. Ary Hale is very different off screen than she is on screen - she's talkative, smiley, always creating trouble.
When she finds Paul, she launches herself at his back. He laughs and his hands come around his back to tickle her, and she drops and smiles when he turns around.
"Look who we have here," he chuckles as he pulls her into a hug. "How ya' going, Princess?"
"Much better now that I'm back," she answers easily. He throws an arm over her shoulder and they walk back towards the meeting area. "I'm digging this new storyline Vince has given me."
Paul laughs and nods, "You have Steph to thank for that. She has other ideas in mind but wants to talk to you about them so she doesn't overstep the lines of your character."
Ary shrugs and smiles as she meets the gaze of Nick Nemmeth who offers her a wide-mouthed grin. She looks up at Paul and fakes a frown. "You know, I don't really like your character anymore. He's a bit of an asshole."
A bark of laughter escapes Paul's mouth and he gently shoves her away from him. "I take that very personally, you know."
She just winks at him and walks over to Nick to give him a big hug, and as she greets the rest of her friends, she notices one in particular missing.
"Have you seen Colby?" Ary asks Nick, frowning as he shakes his head. Ary hums again and sinks down into her chair, eyes searching the gathered crowd for Stephanie McMahon. She notes in her mind to go see her after the match, interested in what she wanted to do for her character.
"Alright, alright," Vince called over the murmuring of the crowd. "Let's get this thing started."
He runs over the viewing rates, the reception to the current feuds, conveniently leaves out any mention of the divas, and the upcoming pay-per-views. "Remember, if you guys have any ideas, let us know."
He pauses for a little and then locks eyes with Ary. "And if you haven't noticed, Ary Hale is back with us this week. Fully recovered, I believe, so don't go easy on her."
The crowd laugh and a few smile at her, but she only looks up at Vince as he continues talking.
"The Diva's Division is getting a lot more recognition thanks to Nikki and Ary's feud and that's the way we want to keep it going."
Ary smiles and lifts her hand to point at Nikki who winks back at her.
When Vince finishes and the room slowly starts to empty, Ary is still searching for Colby. She frowns, lets it go, stands up and is about to leave when there's a hand on her shoulder. She looks back over her shoulder and Randy Orton is staring down at her.
"Hey," she smiles brightly as she turns to face him. He smiles back at her and then gathers her up into a hug, and Ary is hesitant, but slowly returns it. The last time she had seen Randy had been when she'd slapped him - and she doesn't know why he's hugging her, but he is.
"Been a while since I've seen you, squirt," he says affectionately as he sets her down. He's so tall that his lips are in line with her head, so she steps back to look up at him.
With a frown, Ary says, "I'm forgiven?"
Randy shrugs, a small smile on his face. "I kinda deserved it, didn't I? Plus, I missed beating your ass into shape."
Ary snorts and turns, knowing that he'll follow her out of the room. "My ass is perfect just the way it is, thank you very much!"
She glances over her shoulder and coughs as Randy eyes her body off and then looks back up at her with a disinterested shrug. "It's okay, not too great."
They banter as she walks him to his tour bus, cussing each other out and laughing at snide remarks. She's known Randy since she decided that professional wrestling was her calling, and the old friends barely get a breath in while they gush news to each other.
"So, no, Vince told me to stay in Cincinnati while my wrist healed and not to worry about keeping up with you guys, but now I gotta deal with this stupid jet-lag which isn't that great," Ary's saying, "and on top of that I can't find my stupid boyfriend any where to let him know that I'm back…"
Randy watches as Ary looks around pointedly again, the sides of her lips turning down. "He'll be around somewhere, causing trouble… as usual."
Ary smirks and looks back up at him. "So this storyline between you two? You're delivering some of your best promos. Like, ever. Seriously, keep it up."
"Being angry agrees with me," he laughs, running a hand over the soft regrowth on his head. He nods back at his tour bus, saying, "I better get going. We got a long drive to the hotel and I need to freshen up, get some sleep."
Ary smiles and bids him goodbye, turning on her heel to walk back into the building. She grabs her phone out of her pocket, types up a text and sends it off to Colby.
To: Colby Lopez
Message sent at 11:43PM
Hey you, I'm going to go talk to Stephanie, message
me when you get the chance, was kinda hoping to
party crash on your bus for the trip up to Iowa. xx
When Ary finds Stephanie, there are dark bags under the older ladies eyes and a phone to her ear. She's leaning against a stage pack-up box and looks tired as hell. She sends Ary a soft smile and points to her phone, mouthing 'hotel' and rolls her eyes.
Her phone buzzes in her pocket and Ary smiles as she reads the message.
From: Colby Lopez
Message Received at 11:52
Sounds like a plan to me, Princess. Gotta pack up
my gear from tonight and I'll meet you out back,
yeah?
Ary doesn't respond, just puts the phone back away and listens to Stephanie bicker with the person on the other end. She sits herself up on the box and gently swings her legs back and forth, and almost ten minutes pass before Steph is saying a tired thank-you and hanging up the phone.
"I swear to God these people live to make my life misery," she laughs, her head falling onto Ary's arm. She sighs deeply and looks up at Ary, soft smile on her lips. "What can I do for you, my favourite person right now?"
Laughing, Ary hops down off the box and hugs the other woman. "I was gonna ask what you had in mind for my gimmick but I think that can wait until tomorrow."
"You know me so well," Steph sighs, almost in relief. "I really need some sleep right about now."
Ary gives Stephanie another hug and says her goodbyes, and then starts moving towards the back of the arena, humming softly to herself. Her bag is slung over her shoulder and she's making good time before an arm snakes around her waist. She squeals happily as Colby pulls her against him and then loops her arms around his neck, pushing her lips against his.
"Hey, baby," he murmurs against her mouth, smiling into the kiss. "I missed you, too."
"Okay, you two, break it up! Some people here are lonely and pathetic," Joe cries, who had turned the corner seconds before. His hands are over his eyes as he pretends to gag and Colby rolls his eyes before gently setting Ary on her feet.
"You two are so separate from who your gimmicks are it's insane," Ary muses, glancing at the long-haired samoan and then at her half blonde boyfriend. She runs her hand through the fluffy bleach blonde hair and smiles as Colby pulls a face at her. "This is cute when it's down, you look like Rogue from the x-men."
Colby smiles back at her and gathers her back into a hug. "Oh how I've missed you and your nerdiness."