Sunday 7th April
Wrestlemania week had been a chaotic affair; full of signings, meet and greets, interviews and appearances. Alexa felt like she hadn't had a moment to catch her breath all week and was pretty much running on empty by the time the big day rolled around.
The Hall of Fame ceremony had been held the previous evening but she had been scheduled to do a signing with the guys instead. She had been devastated that she hadn't been able to attend, especially since Trish was being inducted. Although she missed out on that, she had been able to make it to the Hall of Fame after-party; which meant she had been able to see her old friend and congratulate her on the induction as well as her newly announced pregnancy.
The best thing about the week, though, was getting to experience Jon, Joe and Colby's first Wrestlemania with them. Obviously, Colby and Jon had been there last year but this was their first official one. She had been there for all their appearances and it was just really amazing for her to be there, knowing how far they had all come.
''Uh... excuse me?''
Alexa glanced up from her phone, her gaze landing on two women she had never seen before. ''Hey...''
''Oh! I'm JoJo and this is Eva. We're new.'' The smaller one beamed at her excitedly, holding out her hand. ''It's so great to meet you, I'm a huge fan!''
''Well, thank you.'' She shook both women's hands politely. ''It's nice to meet you both too. Is this your first show?''
''Yeah.'' Eva nodded, a small smile on her face. ''It's pretty crazy.''
''I think it's awesome!''
Alexa laughed at JoJo's enthusiasm before she glanced over at the other woman, her eyes narrowing slightly. She didn't know what it was about her, maybe she was just nervous or something, but she was getting a weird vibe from Eva.
''We better go, Jo, I'm sure she has to get ready for her match and stuff.'' Eva said, starting to drag the younger woman away.
''Yeah, okay.'' JoJo gave her an awkward wave as she walked away. ''Good luck!''
Shaking her head in amusement, Alexa glanced over to the TV monitor in the corner; Mike and Stuart 'Wade Barrett' Bennett had just started going at it for the Intercontinental Championship. Knowing that Jon, Joe and Colby were up after their match, she quickly zipped up her bag and headed down the hall to Gorilla.
The trio were stood by the monitor bay, waiting for the security guys to arrive and escort them through the building to where they made their entrance. Randy, Stephen and Paul were hanging around a few feet ahead of them, talking amongst themselves.
She had to admit, it was beyond weird that her friends and boyfriend were involved in a storyline with her ex-boyfriend. But, as much as an asshole as Randy could be, she knew he was nothing but professional when it came to working in the ring.
''Hey guys.'' She grinned, coming to a halt beside them. ''Thought I'd come and see you before you head out.''
''Shouldn't you be getting ready for your match?'' Colby questioned before taking a swig from his water bottle.
''They've bumped our match up, we're not going out until after the Undertaker/Punk match.'' She told them with a shrug, slinging her arms over Joe and Jon's shoulders and nodding her head to the two-toned man. ''Get in here.''
Rolling his eyes, Colby did as she asked and stepped forward, hooking his arms over the two men's necks. ''What exactly are we doing?''
''Well, I was going for a group hug but it's turned into more of a huddle...'' Alexa trailed off. ''This is going to sound super corny, and I'm sorry, but I just wanted to tell you guys that I'm really proud of you and-''
Colby groaned, cutting her off. ''Oh my God...''
''Shut up, man.'' Joe shot him a look before smiling at her. ''Let her finish.''
She stuck her tongue out at the man opposite before speaking. ''Go out there and kick some ass, show everyone how fucking amazing you are... This is just the start and I want to bet you all fifty bucks that in a couple of years, the three of you will be at the top and headlining Wrestlemania. You're all awesome and I love you.''
''We love you too baby girl.'' Joe leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. ''And, you know, we probably wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you.''
''Yeah, you're pretty awesome.'' Colby nodded, removing his arms from the two men so he could wrap her up in a tight hug. ''If it wasn't for your Big Boss Man idea, we might not have even been called up yet. We'd still be rotting down at NXT.''
''Don't be stupid.'' She mumbled, pulling away from him. ''I just planted the seed, you guys earned this.''
''Shield, this way!''
''We better go. Thanks, Lex.''
''Yeah, we'll catch you right after your match.''
''Love you, babe.''
Her cheeks flamed red as Joe and Colby planted quick kisses on her cheeks, Jon giving her a chaste kiss on the lips before the trio headed off.
''Have fun, guys!''
''How are you not nervous?''
Alexa paced through Gorilla, her eyes fixed on the screen where they were showing highlights from the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Howard Finkel standing in the ring as he introduced the new Hall of Famers on the stage; Mick Foley, Booker T, Trish Stratus, Bob Backlund, Donald Trump and Bruno Sammartino.
''I'm just not.'' Celeste just shrugged, leaning against the wall as she stretched out her leg. ''But, I swear if you do not stop pacing, I'm going to punch you in the face.''
Alexa stopped her movements with a sigh, smiling weakly at her friend. ''Sorry.''
''Why are you so nervous?''
''I don't know, maybe because there's over eighty thousand people out there.'' She drawled sarcastically. ''And because there's a lot of pressure on us to do well. Stephanie and Paul convinced them to put us on the card, she actually fought for us to have this match, I really don't want to let them down.''
''I-''
''And we're pretty high on the card, in case you didn't notice. And we're following a pretty fucking epic match that Mark and Phil just put on. And-''
''Alright, alright, I get it.'' Celeste blanched. ''Jesus, now I'm nervous.''
The Hall of Famers were starting to make their way backstage, Mick gave Alexa a pat on the back as he passed before Trish appeared in his place, grinning at her.
''Hey!''
''Hey.'' She gave her a quick hug. ''You look amazing.''
''Thanks. You look badass in all your gear!'' The blonde stated, looking over the riot gear the other woman had on. ''You two ready to go out there?''
''Sure...'' Alexa bit her lip, sharing a nervous look with Celeste.
Trish laughed, noticing the small exchange. ''Lex, remember what I told you before your first match here?''
''Uh... you told me to make sure that my boobs were taped in good...'' She raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Trish shook her head with a small chuckle. ''After that, I told you to just go out there and have fun. Once you're out there, the adrenaline will kick in and the nerves will disappear. It doesn't matter how many people are in the crowd. At the core of it all, however you're doing it, in front of however many people, it's the same. You're telling a story and interacting with the crowd.''
''Two minutes ladies.''
''Good luck.'' Trish gave both women a hug before leaving them alone.
Alexa jumped up and down, swinging her arms back and forth as she started to pump herself up. ''We're going to kill this.''
Celeste grinned and headed to the curtain as her music started to play. ''See you out there.''
Wrestlemania
''And the challenger, from Juárez, Mexico... Sierra!''
The Latina sauntered down to the ring to a heavy chorus of boos, smirking as she looked around at the jeering faces.
''I think Kaitlyn had better kiss the Diva's Championship because the mood Sierra's been in recently... doesn't bode well for the champion.'' Michael spoke into his headset. ''The 'Shieldmaiden' looking to regain the title she lost all the way back in November.''
JBL laughed. ''I think Kaitlyn's reign is going to come to an end tonight and she knows it, look at her face!''
The woman in question was watching Sierra climb into the ring, apprehension clear in her eyes as she handed the belt to the referee.
''She has a right to be scared!'' King cried. ''That one's been going around, attacking Diva's for months! Who knows what she's capable of?''
Ryan Tran, the referee assigned to the match, raised the Diva's Championship belt in the air with both hands before signalling for the bell.
As soon as it sounded, Sierra flew at Kaitlyn, battering her in the face with elbow forearms. The champion was too surprised to even think about fighting back; all she could do was raise up her arms and attempt to ward off the blows.
Sierra drove her into the corner, continuing to pound away at her opponent until the referee had to step in and forcefully pull her away. Shooting a venomous glare towards the referee, she stepped backwards, holding her hands up in surrender as Kaitlyn started to regain her composure.
The two-toned woman ran towards her with a snarl, Sierra expertly ducking underneath her outstretched arm and grabbing the other; twisting it up painfully behind her back. Kaitlyn managed to struggle out of the hold and turned it back on her opponent.
''Nice counter by Kaitlyn.'' Michael commented.
Mimicking Kaitlyn, the challenger spun out of the hold and swung the champion around toward the corner in an Irish whip. The other woman used her strength to her advantage and reversed the momentum, turning so Sierra was the one headed for the corner.
Her back connected with the turnbuckle and she winced as Kaitlyn ran towards her, intending to hit her with a shoulder block. She bent down at the last second, reached for Kaitlyn's legs and lifted, sending the women sailing over the top rope.
The crowd booed as she landed with a hard thud; her face screwed up in pain as her hand clutched her back.
''Sierra needs to get her back in the ring, she can't win the title by count-out.'' JBL stated matter-of-factly.
As if hearing the man's comments, Sierra dropped down to the canvas and rolled out of the ring, moving over to where the other woman lay. She reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair, roughly yanking her to her feet before shoving her back into the ring.
Kaitlyn charged at her sloppily as she entered, the two women locking up in the middle of the ring. It looked as though the champion was going to win the battle of strength until Sierra suddenly stopped fighting against her and pulled her forward; hitting her with a hard knee to the stomach. She vaulted herself off the ropes and hit a swinging neckbreaker before going for the cover, only managing to get a two count.
''Well, Kaitlyn seems to be having some trouble gaining some momentum here.'' Michael observed. ''Sierra's been in control for the entire match, so far at least.''
Grabbing Kaitlyn by the wrist, Sierra dragged her up to a vertical base, only to knock the woman down again with a short clothesline. She dropped down and rolled the champion over, burying a knee in the small of her back and locking her fingers together underneath her chin, stretching her back as far as she could.
''Smart move by Sierra, focusing on Kaitlyn's back there.'' JBL commented, a proud tone to his voice.
''It is.'' Michael agreed. ''Just a few moments ago we saw Kaitlyn dumped over the top rope and she landed right on her back, Sierra obviously using that to her advantage right now.''
The crowd started to rally behind Kaitlyn, clapping their support as she tried to get out of the hold the other woman had her in. After some manoeuvring, Kaitlyn managed to wriggle her way up but found herself still trapped in a headlock. She reared her head back, connecting hard with Sierra's face before dropping to her knee, reaching back and pulling the Latina forward; flipping her over her shoulder.
The crowd cheered as Sierra landed one the mat with a thud, her face contorted in shock as she quickly tried to scramble to her feet. Kaitlyn grabbed her as soon as she was upright, hitting her with several forearms to the face, before slinging the woman into the corner, running towards her and ramming her shoulder into her gut.
''Kaitlyn fighting back here!''
Hooking her arms around Sierra's waist, the champion lifted her up to straddle the top rope; the crowd cheering as she climbed up in front of her, knowing what was coming. The champion applied a front face lock to Sierra, draping the woman's arm over her shoulders before grabbing onto her hips.
''This could be devastating for Sierra!''
''Of course it could be, Michael!'' JBL scoffed. ''She's about to get superplexed from the top rope!''
Before Kaitlyn could go through with the move, Sierra started to fight back, delivering a few hard clubs to the woman's back with her free arm. Kaitlyn's grip on her opponent loosened under the blows and she soon found herself crouching down, both hands on the top rope as she tried to keep her balance.
Sierra planted her hands on the other women's back and pushed off the top rope, sailing over Kaitlyn's body and landing on her feet behind her.
''Whoa!''
She kept her head in between Kaitlyn's legs, reaching up to grasp her around the hips before stepping away from the ropes, carrying the woman with her.
''Uh-oh!'' King cried. ''This is bad for Kaitlyn.''
''The champion in a vulnerable position- whoa! Powerbomb!''
Sierra hit the woman with a powerful sit-down powerbomb in the centre of the ring, immediately going for the cover.
''Shoulders down and- Kaitlyn just barely kicked out before the three!''
The crowd let out a roar as the woman kicked out, Sierra letting out a scream as she pulled at her hair in frustration. She got to her feet and stalked over to the corner, climbing up to the top rope with a steely look on her face.
''Sierra! Going for the DeltaWave.'' Michael cried. ''And- Oh!''
Kaitlyn rolled out of harms way as Sierra plummeted to the mat, landing with a loud thwack. She had no time to recover with the other woman quickly pulling her to her feet and hoisting her up onto her shoulders in a fireman's carry.
The crowd cheered as Kaitlyn extended her arms ready to drop Sierra down onto her knee, only for the other woman to gather her wits and counter; planting her with a hard DDT.
''Oh my God!''
This time when she went up top for her finisher, Kaitlyn remained motionless in the middle of the ring, unable to move out of the way. She rolled over and hooked Kaitlyn's leg, the referee appearing at her side instantly, his hand slamming down on the mat. 1...2...3.
''We've got a new champion!'' JBL shouted happily.
''Sierra, winning her second Diva's title!''
The crowd were jeering as the bell sounded, Lillian Garcia announcing her as the new Diva's Champion as the referee handed her the pink and silver butterfly belt. Sierra practically snatched it from his hands as she rose, crushing it to her chest as a grin spread across her face.
''That's two wins for The Shield here tonight.'' Michael pointed out.
''Urgh.'' Jerry groaned. ''That's two wins too many.''
''They won their matches fair and square.'' JBL leapt to their defence. ''Sierra earned that Diva's Championship.''
Sierra had climbed to the top rope, and from her six-foot-high vantage point, she hoisted the title belt into the air proudly.
A/N - So, Alexa finally got her Wrestlemania moment. Next chapter's going to where the drama starts! Can't wait to see what you all think!