May 19, 2014
The good news is, Sheamus is no longer the United States champion! Finally. That belt just makes him look awful. Looked better on me. But I guess it looks okay on Cesaro, too.
I really don't mind who the champ is as long as it's not whoever beat me for the title.
The bad news is, Daniel Bryan can't be world heavyweight champion anymore. He had neck surgery and I guess the title can't be held by a guy who can't defend it by the week. Makes sense. Stephanie acted so honorable and offered him the chance to come to Raw next week and surrender the title to her.
Wonder who's next up for that thing?
Oh, who am I kidding? I want it more than anything.
Until then, I really need to focus. I thought Evolution might have backed off after the Shield didn't even get a match on Friday. Nope. They're still up to trickery. Seth got his rematch against Batista, but the Shield was banned from ringside. Trips said only official personnel could be there—and he made himself and Randy Orton the special guest ring announcer and timekeeper for the contest. Seth was like, "Okay, but let me introduce my special guest commentators…" Us! Ha, aren't loopholes great? Roman and I were on the prowl. We weren't going to let Hunter and Orton ruin this for Seth. He said he wasn't going to make any mistakes tonight. We believed it.
Do you know what torture it is, watching your best friend get beaten down right in front of you, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it? I don't think there's a worse feeling in the world.
On some level I was begging Trips or the Viper to get involved so it could be a free-for-all and I could tear him a new one.
Careful what you wish for, Ambrose.
Because of course Hunter interfered. He knocked Seth off the turnbuckle as he was gearing up for a dive. That was it for me. The Game was on. I wailed on him. Orton grabbed me and threw me over the German announce table. Roman tried to get him back for me. But Randy grabbed hold of a chair and struck Roman to the ground. What is it with these assholes and chairs?
But I was NOT about to let Orton get away with hitting Roman like that again. I came "flying across the announce table", in the words of Cole, and tackled him to the ground. Trips grabbed me and threw me into the steel post. I hit my head three or four times in that process, and my vision was blurry and blackening. Seth tried aiding me, God bless him, but Hunter slugged him in the face. That's what finally ended the match. Seth "won", but it was a DQ and therefore meant nothing. Batista Speared him to the mat. He still wasn't finished with Seth and I was desperate to get in there. Triple H tried holding me back, constraining me then attempting a Pedigree, but I flipped him onto the table and charged onto the apron to help Seth. Batista knocked me right off the apron and I hit the barricade. Roman was in the ring by that point and Speared Batista. He pulled Seth to his feet. I hurried back into the ring to join my brothers. We were ready to triple powerbomb his ass. Hunter tried entering the ring. I knocked him off, but it was just a distraction—Orton moved in and rescued Batista from our wrath.
Seth was INFURIATED. He hit the mat face-first in his anger. He wanted a fair win against that beast, and it had been stripped of him again. He was hurt. Physically as well. He couldn't even stand up as Evolution retreated. I think Batista's Spear damaged one of his ribs. I was livid on his behalf.
Afterwards, though, was my personal favorite part of the night.
It was the car ride back to the hotel. I sat in the backseat with Seth to make sure he was holding up alright. Roman drove. He always drives. Not sure why. But we were doing what we always do: going over the match step-by-step to find out what we did right, and what we did wrong.
"I can tell you one thing we did perfectly," Roman said. "Work as a team."
"Irony, since the Shield was banned from ringside," Seth said with a wince on his face. His ribs were hurting him.
But Roman was right. I'd protected him and protected Seth at some point during the match. Roman had protected Seth and protected me. Seth had us by his side the entire time, no matter how close or far we were.
And after Roman brought that up, we didn't feel like talking about any mistakes we made. It felt good knowing that, for the first time in a long time, we had a true team match. Again, irony, one-on-one with the Shield initially banned from ringside.
We're on our way.
I see a bright future for the Sierra-Hotel-India-Echo-Lima-Delta.
May 21, 2014
We're staying in London for a couple of days. Hunter told us we had nothing, again, on Smackdown, but why fly all the way to England for one Raw and then turn around and head home? The boys and I had a day of rest yesterday, and today we played tourists. We visited the Globe Theater, Westminster Abbey, and the Churchill War Rooms. I might not be the biggest history buff, but THAT was really cool.
Tomorrow we're hitting up the London Eye and Buckingham Palace.
Roman insisted we order fish and chips for lunch today. It's a staple of England, I guess.
I asked them if they wanted to go to the London Zoo.
Seth said sure. But he's not feeding any giraffes this time.
May 22, 2014
He fed the giraffes. They're much nicer here than they are in the States.
Turns out the place has a walk-through spider exhibit. I told Seth and Roman the only way they could get me through that was to literally drag or carry me.
So they did. Through the entire thing. Jerks.
Ten days until Payback. Vengeance is ours, thus sayeth the Hounds of Justice.
May 23, 2014
We ended up staying for Smackdown anyway.
And regretting it. It was boring.
We had to watch our backs around the arena for Evolution. Seth swore to channel Roman and Spear anyone who tried to make a move on us. He walked with an arm around each of our backs.
I love Seth. He protects us. I'd give anything for the guy.
Roman too, sure. Of course. Love the guy. He's my family and I've got his back.
I don't know what makes Seth so special.
He's my weak spot.
May 24, 2014 (technically, since it's after midnight)
We're flying home now. We caught the red eye. Seth was grumpy about it. Airports suck, fans at airports suck, and late nights at airports at the risk of running into fans suck.
He's asleep on my shoulder. Roman's asleep on his. Makes it hard to write but I wouldn't trade this for the world.
May 25, 2014
Sunday should be the day of rest but we used it to transport ourselves immediately to Knoxville for Raw. Just as I suspected, the time difference is messing with our heads. Roman and Seth are bickering a lot. I don't even know what about anymore. I blame the exhaustion.
It's Sunday evening now and I plan to sleep for at least the next twelve hours.
One week till Payback.
May 26, 2014
DID I MENTION I HATE EVOLUTION?!
It was just supposed to be a contract signing for the no-holds-barred elimination tag team match. That was it. No matches, no tag teams, no title shots for the Shield tonight—or Evolution. A CONTRACT. SIGNING. But I knew, I should have known it wouldn't be that simple. We knew from the start and I should have trusted my gut.
We came out, Seth leading the way, during Michael Cole's introduction to the process. Thanks, Cole, but we got this. They know what it's about. I stole his microphone and told the crowd that tonight IS historic (oh, shit, forgot to mention, Memorial Day and all that. I'm a bad patriot. Happy Memorial Day.) I told them tonight's the last night everyone's gonna see the Shield and Evolution in the same ring on Raw. Roman threw a chair out of the ring. Then another, while I PROMISED the audience Evolution was going to be eliminated.
Roman carried on with eliminating the chairs from the ring while Seth took over. He mentioned this thing with Evolution "has gone way past the six of us sitting across a table from each other signing a silly piece of paper." I got rid of the last chair, and Roman got rid of the table. Not a normal contract signing on our watch, I guess we sort of asked for what happened to happen.
That doesn't change my hatred for them.
Evolution came out looking all smug. Hunter took the reigns. He told the audience if we signed the contract, it would be the last time anyone saw the Shield on Monday Night Raw. He can't come up with his own material, so he stole my trash talk. He tried taking us back to the good old days, praising our team for what we were when we first signed with the company. Thanks, Trips, I'm flattered, but I know we were great and we're still great, and we'll always be great. Then he went on about how it's over for us and he's going to send us into obscurity, blah blah blah. He asked us if we were sure we wanted to sign the contract.
I wanted to look him in the eye and say, "Well, what the hell do you think?"
Seth signed first. I got so pumped about signing it that I dropped the pen. I heard Seth chuckling not at me, but for me. He was absorbing my energy. I scribbled my name and handed it off to Roman. He was a bit calmer than I was. Calmer and more aggressive. He signed the contract and threw the clipboard at Hunter's feet. This didn't please the bossman. Orton signed the contract, Batista signed the contract, Hunter signed the contract. He told us, flinging the clipboard back at us like it was supposed to be the ultimate low-blow, "You're gonna be nothing but a statistic."
Roman told him to shut the fuck up.
And to get in the ring, and fight.
I was stoked. Confused, but stoked. Alright. One more little brawl before Payback couldn't hurt, right? Get a few practice swings in?
Hunter chomped down on the bait.
Evolution stepped onto the apron. Roman was in the middle, and I stood on his right. Seth felt too far away from me. I sensed if they were going to target any of us, it was going to be him. I almost wanted to look to Roman and tell him to watch out for that. But I didn't want to drop any hints Evolution's way.
We stared each other down, down, down.
Then it was on.
The explosion was so sudden and so brutal that I didn't even know who I was fighting. It started with Batista, and seconds later I found myself throwing Triple H over the ropes. I watched in complete awe as Seth took Trips and Orton out with a rolling senton over the top rope. My boy.
But then things went south. Batista hit me with a clothesline. Roman took him out with a Superman punch, but while he waited for Batista to get to his feet so Roman could Spear him, Triple H pulled a sledgehammer from under the ring and rammed it into Roman's gut. Roman hit the mat.
Seth and I were PISSED. OFF. Together we cornered Hunter and drove him to the mat with fists. But Evolution came swarming back. Orton RKO'd Seth. Batista knocked me off my feet. Randy rolled Seth away from me as I reached towards him.
But Seth wasn't the one to be concerned about right then. It was Roman, balled up in the corner, as Triple H stood before him with his famous sledgehammer. I wanted to help him. Protect him. But I was weak. Orton pulled me up and twisted my head in Roman's direction, barking in my ear, "Watch this!"
He forced me to witness Triple H striking Roman with the sledgehammer. Roman rolled out of the ring in agony.
"You son of a bitch!" I told Evolution.
I saw Batista leave the ring and meander towards Roman, joined by Orton. I crawled forward. "Don't you dare," I tried, but Triple H was using his sledgehammer on Seth and me now to ensure neither of us could get to Roman. Then he left us behind. Now the three Evolution members were on the ground, on their feet. Roman was still sprawled in front of them. I looked over to Seth. His face was twisted with pain. His body was jerking. Something was wrong.
"Seth," I gasped. Something felt broken in my chest. It hurt to breathe. Damn that sledgehammer. "Seth, we have to…Roman…we have to…"
I glanced out of the ring and my breath caught in my dried throat.
Evolution was setting Roman up for their very own hideous version of a triple powerbomb.
"NO!" I screamed. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
But it was too late. Evolution raised Roman into the air and smashed his figure through the announce table…
AND THEN THEY PUT THEIR ARMS OUT AND FISTS TOGETHER OVER HIS BODY!
Then left us there to take care of ourselves.
I tugged Seth alongside me until he was able to move for himself. Together we assisted getting Roman to his feet. It took a while. He might have thought he was down for the count. The three of us pathetically made our exit behind a crowd of disappointed onlookers.
Goddammit, I hate Evolution. They are the worst thing to ever happen to this company. They're twisted and brutal and just immature in the way they carry business out. They messed with the wrong faction. The Shield is unyielding. Forged from iron. Unstoppable.
And they'll pay. They will all pay.
I am counting down the days to Payback. If I were any lamer, I'd have it down to the hours…
Alright, I am that lame.
140. More or less.
May 27, 2014
The Shield is tired.
The Shield is a little scuffed up after last night.
But we're not out of the game just yet.
So suck it, Evolution. Suck it, Triple H.
I thought for sure I was the last one to wake up today since I slept so late. But it was 11:45 in the morning and Seth and Roman were still passed out. Seth and I somehow ended up in the same bed again, but we didn't strip or even drink, so no worries there. Roman was flat on his belly atop the blankets, arms and legs spread out, taking up all the space on his very own bed. Seth was curled up in a ball under the comforter. Funny how he and Roman are such opposite sleepers. I didn't want to move. My body still ached after last night's face-off. Like a hangover without the hell of a good time the night before.
So I just laid there for a couple of hours, bored, restless, but unwilling to move. Housekeeping knocked on the door and I shooed her away. Guess we'd have to stay another night since we missed checkout.
A break from the airport wouldn't be so bad.
The Shield is down. This is us, down. Sleeping in until way past noon, refusing to move, refusing to acknowledge the misery of last night, a sign we are weak. But Evolution needs to understand something.
We are still a team.
We are family. Brothers.
And that's something they'll never get the meaning of.
We may be down, but we'll get up again.
You can knock us around, but you cannot keep us grounded.
And that is exactly what I want to tell them on Friday at Smackdown.
That is what I want to prove to them on Sunday at Payback.
After all, actions speak louder than words.
May 28, 2014
We're on the flight to Atlanta. Seth and Roman don't want to talk about Monday.
I'm okay with forgetting about it.
I mean, it's all about the future, right?
Can't afford to live in the past. Too damning.
May 29, 2014
Seth's been very distant since Monday, very reserved and in obvious pain. But he won't talk to me about it. I think he's getting sick again.
Which really sucks, because Sunday is fast approaching and we still have an episode of Smackdown to push through. Who knows what Evolution has planned for us after that hellish skirmish on Monday?
I wonder if we're even on the show. Or if Hunter chooses to make us suffer more by taking us out of the program completely.
He has too much power.
Just rang up the bossman. Funny how passive aggressive he acts over the phone, like he knows everything he did but, like Roman and Seth, completely refuse to address it.
"Nope. You got nothin'," he told me. "Get some rest. You'll need it for Sunday."
"You can't keep holding us off the program just because you haven't scheduled a way to screw with us, Hunter. We can have our time without your boys getting in my way."
"Has nothing to do with Evolution, Ambrose. The program is booked. I have Cesaro and Kofi Kingston, Big E and Titus O'Neil, Sheamus and King Barrett, Bo Dallas and Xavier Woods…"
"Give us something," I demanded. "We've worked our asses off here. We deserve it."
He let out this long sigh like scheduling matches wasn't part of his freaking job. At last he caved to my insufferable request.
"You can have a dark match. Off-the-air, the Shield versus the Wyatt family. How does that sound?"
Not good enough, Trippers. "The Shield wants airtime."
"I just told you, there's no matches for—"
"It doesn't have to be a match. Just cut us a few minutes to talk about Sunday. That's it."
Another irritating, prolonged sigh. He really hates me. That's okay, because I really hate him.
"Fine."
"Thanks so much. See you Friday."
The call ended.
I don't know what this will do for my team. But I have to do something.
May 30, 2014
Two days. Two days.
Smackdown went well, I guess. The Shield kicked the crap out of an ill-prepared Bray Wyatt and Co. Obviously they weren't ready for a match against us after focusing so heavily on their own rivals. I'm not even sure who they're facing at Payback. Cena? No clue. I've been way too busy focusing on more important matters, like the Shield's match.
We didn't get long to talk on Smackdown, so we used every minute efficiently.
Seth started us off with a classic saying: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And we're stronger and hungrier than ever before, after what happened Monday. Triple H set up a video recap on the TitanTron to get us emotional. I broke into anger and told Evolution they have no idea who they're dealing with. These bastards can hit us with sledgehammers, and we don't care. I asked how crazy Evolution is willing to get on Sunday, because the Hounds are going to make it ugly.
Seth declared to the Universe that the end of Evolution would be extinction. Roman came in to wrap up, saying Evolution put him through an announce table on Monday but the Shield is going to put Evolution through every table they can find on Sunday. Believe that.
And believe in the Shield.
This world better.
Evolution better.
Because we're not going anywhere.
BELIEVE THAT!
May 31, 2014
Seth admitted he's scared.
I was shocked to hear him say it. It wasn't even a team meeting or an assembly of the Hounds to finalize our strategies for tomorrow. He pulled me aside at the airport while Roman was buying our tickets and said, "I'm scared of what's gonna happen."
I told him who was he and what had he done with Seth Rollins? It wasn't like him to stress out over a potential loss. He's the positive one.
"They're brutes," he said. "They just keep coming."
"And we'll keep defending. That's the way it works."
"I'm just tired of working so hard, to have it mean absolutely nothing. You know?"
I did know.
I knew something had been bothering him. It was really getting to him and I hadn't realized just how much.
I can't wait for tomorrow just so it can be over. We're going to destroy Evolution.
Watch out, Rosemont. The Shield's in town.
June 1, 2014
I can describe this night in one word. Ouch.
But my God, what a freaking victory it was for the Shield.
We made our entrance after Evolution. The crowd highly favored us. Seth did a front flip over the barricade. I guess he was feeling a little more confident by that point. Which was awesome. I told him he had nothing to worry about. I had his back.
The bell rang and all hell broke loose.
Roman got out of the ring immediately with Batista. I had Orton in the corner. Seth was in Hunter's face. Eventually it morphed into the match it was supposed to be: two members on the apron, one in the ring with an opponent.
It didn't last long.
Seth had it out with Batista, and I mean HAD IT OUT. Those two have been teeth-at-the-jugular with one another for weeks. But Rollins fought at the absolute top of his game and I was so proud of him. I still am. He's an acrobat out there, a ballerina. He knows what he's doing and he's fantastic at it.
Then I started getting my ass handed to me. First Batista, then he handed me off to Orton, then of course the Game wanted to play. I managed. I dealt. Hunter especially got to taste my wrath, grumpy old fart. Roman got back in and hit everyone. Seth jumped in and helped him out. It was chaos. Sides kept shifting to who had the advantage.
Roman was thrown through the table, and Evolution attempted a mockery of our symbol again. I thought, "HELL NO, hell no." And jumped them from the table, bowling them all down.
Seth was into jumping them from up high as well. It's how he operates. It's hard to remember who learned it from who, because we both do it and we both do it well.
When the chairs came out, the Shield was struggling again. We were beaten, thrashed, and forced against the metal surfaces via Pedigrees. I was out for a little while. When I came to, I realized Roman was in the ring ALONE with all three members of Evolution. They were pinning him to the steel steps and slugging him with a chair over and over and over. He was fighting back, but not well. He did his best.
They left Roman to suffer and turned their attention onto me. Take us out one by one. A decent strategy, albeit infuriating considering they know we're strongest when we're together.
But then Seth…of course it was Seth.
Seth saved me in the most badass way I'd ever seen him move.
He came flying OFF THE TITANTRON into Evolution and myself. Tackling them, saving my ass. It was amazing. I was shocked he didn't break his neck with that kind of stunt. I've said it dozens of times tonight and I'll say it again: thank God for Seth Rollins.
Seth and Batista were in the ring alone, both men exhausted, both men tortured with great pain, but neither one willing to stop fighting. Roman jumped in the ring and Speared Batista, then let Seth have the pin.
Batista was eliminated.
Randy RKO'd Seth but Roman and I got revenge on his behalf—and with chairs. I Dirty Deeds'd his giant voices-filled head right onto that chair and pinned him. Randy Orton was eliminated.
Hunter was pissed.
He tried executing a Pedigree on me and Roman came out of nowhere with a Superman punch. The sledgehammer got brought in at some point—can't even remember when now, just remember seeing it towards the end of the match—but we couldn't be stopped. We came back, full-fledged, itching for revenge. Thirsty for it. Craving it.
Roman Speared him one last time and moved in for the pin.
The Shield had done it without suffering a single casualty. Evolution was destroyed.
And together, WE put our arms out and WE put our fists together because that is OUR thing and anyone who uses it without our permission should be sued.
Seth was trying not to cry. I could tell. He was taking in his breaths all aggressively through his nose like an animal, but his eyes were glistening and his lip was trembling. It was the greatest victory our team had ever had.
The plan was to go out and celebrate if we won, but none of us were up for that after the match. We were too tired, too sweaty, too damaged. Instead it was better to come back to the hotel and just rest up for tomorrow. But we didn't even make it to the lobby before we all just stood there and hugged each other, laughing, celebrating within ourselves and within each other. People were staring but I really couldn't have cared less.
I can't remember the last time I was THIS happy.
Raw tomorrow. Aftermath should be interesting.
I have the weirdest feeling Evolution isn't quite done with us yet.
Bring it.
June 2, 2014
I'm broken.
June 3, 2014
I don't get it.
Why?
After everything we've been through?
June 4, 2014
Son of a bitch. I'll kill him.
June 5, 2014
I woke up last night sobbing. I must have been having a bad dream. I can't remember what it was now, but I'm pretty sure it involved a chair to the back.
Roman shook me awake and just hugged me until I cried myself back to the world of nightmares.
June 6, 2014
He didn't even say why he did it. Couldn't be bothered to explain his motives.
I hate him so much.
June 7, 2014
Come back. Please. I miss you.
June 8, 2014
So Seth's gone. I think it's for good.
We had to address it at some point. Couldn't ignore it. I knew he was there and I knew he was listening tonight. I spelled out in great detail exactly what I'm going to do to his face. His nose is gonna be by his ear. I said ear because he's only gonna have one left. I'm gonna rip his dirty, stinking hair out by the roots and stuff it in his mouth. There'll be plenty of room where his teeth used to be.
The pain. It was too real. I can't…
I mean I've been thrown through tables. Hit with fists and feet and full bodies. I've been flung over the top ropes and my head hits the floor in my fall. I've had concussion. Broken bones. Blood loss. I've been knocked unconscious. I've been tied up. I've been ganged up on.
But nothing. Nothing. Nothing ever hurt this badly.
Watching Seth just attack Roman out of nowhere…Roman's body slumped over the ropes…and I just stared at Seth like, "No…not you…anyone but you…"
The question was why.
The answer was who freaking knows!?
He pulverized us with the chair. Then handed it off to Orton and let him finish us off. Then Hunter stood over us with Batista's replacement, I guess, Seth Rollins at his side. (Batista got fired earlier in the night but who cares.)
I'm staining the pages with tears. Handwriting might be a little cluttered because I can't stop shaking.
I just need to know. That's it. I need to know.
Why?
Was it me? Roman? Was it both of us?
WHY? SETH, DAMMIT, WHY!?
June 9, 2014
I don't need him.
June 10, 2014
I lied. I do.
I miss him so much.
June 11, 2014
He's not coming back, is he?
June 12, 2014
Our hotel has a portrait of a giraffe hanging over the bed. I smashed it with my fists until my knuckles were bleeding.
June 13, 2014
I don't even know why I pulled this thing out.
There's nothing left to say.
A/N: Was this one tough to write. I had to watch several Shield matches leading up to Seth's treachery and my heart was just aching for the greatest faction to ever exist in the WWE. I thought about carrying this on a little and depicting the feud that followed between Ambrose and Rollins. What do y'all think? Let me know!