Last week had seemed promising. Yeah, Mike had lost to Rey, but he didn't let it get to him, focusing instead on celebrating what had seemed like Alex Riley's big break through- the easiest way to gain attention, by getting a victory. Of course some idiot naysayers would claim it to be nothing but a fluke but Mike and Alex had agreed a long time ago that winning by any way necessary meant, sometimes, taking advantage of a situation. Mike was equally proud of his former protégé and certain that, given the opportunity, he could do it again easily.
But that was last week, and this was this week. Not only did AJ Lee announce- over Twitter- that Mike would be facing Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental title at Summerslam, but Alex was once more ignored like last week had never happened. The kid had become basically nothing more than a pawn in Jericho and Dolph's pathetic little game of one-upmanship and it annoyed the former champion beyond belief.
Mike shakes his head, hands flexing. For a GM who he had thought would perhaps have the sensibilities that her predecessors hadn't, she sure was making a lot of the same mistakes. "I knew she was crazy, I didn't know she was stupid too," he mutters, staring blandly at the monitor as Piper's Pit drones on and on and on. Jericho had been voted to be on the show, and it was a train wreck- Piper was rambling over everything being said, yelling random things and not making a whole lot of sense.
"What?" Alex asks suddenly, appearing out of nowhere and startling him. "Talking to yourself, Mike? Or do you too have a Lil' Jimmy now? I'm not standing on him, are I?"
Mike turns and grimaces at him, rolling his eyes as he remembers back to the Awesome Truth days and how truly ridiculous it had been, pretending to be on Truth's side for those weeks. "Oh please, I would retire myself if I ever lost it that badly."
"Geez, what is with Piper tonight?" the younger man finally asks after a few more moments of watching Ziggler and Jericho both look confused and a little aggravated with the legend who still keeps talking over all of them- including Vickie, which, trust even the local loud mouth, Miz knows how difficult that can be.
"I don't know but it's time to put a stop to it." Mike grabs a mic and turns for the gorilla, quickly heading out. As he passes by the tech team around the gorilla position, he almost has to laugh- they too look disturbed by what's going on in the ring. He announces that he's taking over Piper's Pit, even tries to take the microphone away from Roddy when he reaches the ring but the Irishman fights him, the two of them eventually ending up in a tug of war over the equipment.
Finally punches are thrown and Roddy stops being relevant, the three men fighting amongst themselves up to the commercial break. Yet another match is made through Twitter as AJ Lee, it's announced over the titantron, tweets that Miz vs Dolph vs Jericho will start... next!
He glowers at the screen, shaking his head. My matches deserve to be announced on TV, not on some website! I deserve better than this! Most socially active GM... ugh, what a joke!
The match goes back and forth, all three of them taking ridiculous amounts of damage. Miz hits hard on the outside, and then they all chain up for a superplex off of the top, Mike taking the worst of it of course. It all ends when he's dumped unceremoniously to the outside and Ziggler gets the upperhand on Jericho, pinning him. Mike's not sure how, he doesn't really care. Holding his head, he gingerly makes his way back up the ramp and blinks, surprised to find Alex isn't waiting for him there.
He winces and continues on his slow, torturous way, finding the locker room that they had been sharing this evening. It's dark and quiet inside, only the soft murmur of Alex's voice and a faint glow coming from Mike's laptop. Curious, Mike slips inside and catches the tail end of Alex's comment. "... I guess people were right and last week will just be seen as a fluke, if I can't even get on TV again to show that I'm more than just a cheap roll up victory..."
Mike's breath seizing in his throat at the pure emotion in Alex's voice, all he can do is listen as, yep, Morrison responds quietly. "Look, man, it's a tough business, no one knows that better than I do. Just keep doing what you're doing, someone will hopefully notice some day and if not... well, just know that it's obviously not from your lack of trying, right? I heard the audience response last week, people still love you. If the WWE's too blind to see it, well, that's on them, not you."
"I know you're right," Alex replies with a sigh. "It's just... it sucks."
"I know. Trust me, I definitely do. Just hang in there, huh?" Alex nods and John shifts, the Skype screen freezing for a moment before catching up to real time. "So... Mike's match is done, is he lurking around there somewhere that I can't see?"
Mike and Alex both blink at once, blue eyes locking as he's finally spotted, Alex grinning sheepishly as he realizes. "Uh, hope you're ok with me borrowing your laptop for a minute, Mike."
He rolls his eyes good-naturedly and drops next to Alex, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as he stares at the computer curiously. "Well, what do we have here. A rogue Morrison on my computer screen," he teases. "What's up?"
John shrugs. "Nothing really. Alex and I decided to critique your match together. Hope you don't mind."
"Ha-ha," he snaps. "Obviously it was rated A for Awesome, right?"
"Well, on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being tonight's Piper's Pit and 10 being our WWE title match last year, I think we agreed it was a 7. Right? Seven?"
Alex chuckles, swatting Mike away as his fingers begin digging into his arm in aggravation at Morrison's teasing. "Yeah, something like that."
"Anyway, I'm glad I have you both here," John says after a few minutes. "With Summerslam on the horizon-"
"Or Sumerslam," Alex interrupts, unable to stop himself as he thinks back on the "Did You Know?" title card from earlier in the show. "Whoever did that needs a proofreader."
"Yeah, Sumerslam," John laughs. "Anyway, so since you both will be in LA, I'm thinking we should hang out when you two are free this weekend. It's been too long, and I still owe Mike those fireworks, right?"
Mike smirks. "Hey, that's right. You do. But I can do you one better." He nudges Alex, grinning when his friend looks over at him, curious. "Come back to LA with me early, and someone..." He raises an eyebrow at John. "...will comp us tickets to his standup show on Wednesday night."
"Oh of course, look at this- the big time movie star, hitting me up for free stuff. Yet again." John sighs, his lips twitching. "Fine, fine. If I must."
"Damn straight you must." Mike laughs when John glares at him, turning to look at Alex. "Soooo, you in?"
Alex hesitates for only a second before nodding. "Hell yeah, I'm in."
Mike's smirk turns into a pure, pleased grin. "Great!" A few days in LA, spending the time with his two best friends, before Summerslam Axxess and the pay per view itself, sounds like the perfect way to unwind, especially for Alex. His disappointment-tinged words continue to echo in Mike's mind as they figure out the rest of their plans for the next few days. I wish I could do more to help him, he sighs. But I can barely help myself right now.
Even so, before the show ends, he finds himself back outside of AJ's locker room. The easiest way to make sure your suggestions are at the forefront of someone's mind is to make sure that they see you often- not enough to become annoying, but just enough to be a little nudge. A reminder. He knocks quietly and puts on his most confident smirk as she urges him to enter.
Her eyes light up as she sees him and she stands, looking somehow even smaller in her business suit. "Oh, hello, Mike," she greets him, hands behind her back as she shifts from side to side, a dreamy kind of look on her face. "How are you?"
"I'm better now," he says quietly, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. Marine Homefront had definitely had its advantages, he thinks, acting for all he's worth. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine," she says, a small blush spreading across her face at his actions. "Is there something you needed from me?"
Yeah, matches not announced on Twitter... Alex being used properly... there's a lot of things I need, he thinks, relieved when his emotions apparently don't register on his face, her bright, gleaming smile still fresh on her face. "Do you remember what I asked you a couple weeks ago?"
"Yes of course," she responds, blinking up at him.
"I'm not trying to seem pushy," he tells her, leaning in just enough that she can feel his warmth. "I'm just really interested in knowing if it can be done. If it's possible."
She smiles up at him, growing even pinker at his closeness. "Well, of course, if the board agrees, anything can be done. I've already begun discussing it with them. I'm not sure how long it will take, exactly, for a decision to be made... Everything is happening so quickly- we have Summerslam, and Saturday Morning Slam, and they're still trying to get WWE Network off of the ground... there's a lot going on, but I promise you, we haven't forgotten you or your request. When I know, you'll know. I'm doing everything I can to speed this along." She rests a hand on his upper arm and squeezes gently. "Please be patient."
He nods. It's a believable answer, for the most part. A lot is going on. Even if the skeptic in him hates it, he knows he has no choice but to tread carefully and accept this- especially if he's going to achieve his goals at the end of it. "Alright, I will. Thank you for keeping up on this for me, AJ." He takes her hand and pats it a moment before easing it to his lips, eyes locked on hers as he gently grazes a kiss along her knuckles. Releasing her slowly, he turns and slips out of the door, leaning against it like it had taken all of his energy just to do that. And, in a way, it had.
He knows if he makes the smallest mistake, says even one word out of line, he may lose his best opportunity. And so he accepts the matches against Mysterio, and the grueling triple threats, and various other things that an Intercontinental champion of his caliber shouldn't be degraded into doing. If all goes well, it'll be worth it in the end.
Alex is waiting for him at the rental car and he grins over the top of the vehicle at him, pausing by the passenger's side. "LA, here we come!"