Miz loses to Sin Cara. Alex blinks at the TV screen as it happens, not sure why exactly that sticks with him. But apparently it isn't important to just him as, while he watches, there's a confrontation in the back between Miz, Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes- Sin Cara injecting himself after awhile, pointing meaningfully at the title snug across Mike's shoulder like that's the only way he can possibly lay claim to the thing.
Teddy makes his presence felt after a bit, announcing that at Night of Champions, Miz will face all three other men in a fatal four way for the Intercontinental title. Alex winces, knowing that that's pretty much the worst odds any one man could have in a title match. He had competed in one, after all, for the United States title last year... it had been impossible to keep track of everyone, even try to figure out a good strategy to keep any kind of momentum going, the match's dynamic shifting at the smallest thing. He feels for his former mentor, even more so when he slams into the locker room and sits down heavily, his jaw working viciously. "Mike-"
He holds his hands up, obviously a temporary plea for silence as he tries not to completely lose it. "Dammit," he finally hisses, closing his eyes. "Dammit, dammit, dammit." He takes a deep breath, releasing it like it's the only thing keeping all of this tension within him- Alex can't help but wonder if it's something he picked up from Morrison- before turning to look at the younger man. "Well, isn't that fantastic?"
Alex smiles mirthlessly at the sarcasm in his voice. "I'm sorry, man. Last minute title match announcements suck- then for there to be three other guys..." He squeezes Mike's shoulder, feeling as some more tension leaves him. "But I'm sure you'll be fine. If anyone can make it through this, it'll be you."
"Thanks." They sit quietly for awhile, listening as Smackdown continues around them, before Mike's phone beeps. He reads it, his smirk only growing as he snaps it shut once more. "John," he explains to Alex, leaning back against the wall. "Just repeating basically what you just said." He chuckles as Alex looks offended.
"Guess I need to talk to him about stealing my lines," he grouses in an overly exaggerated tone of voice before nudging Miz's knee. "So speaking of Morrison... I heard a podcast with him and the Curtainjerks guys... is it true that you spent over four minutes counting his hip revolutions at a house show years back?"
Mike's face turns an interesting shade of red, eyes wide and lips parting in shock. Alex laughs as he dives back for his phone, obvious by how fast he's typing that the text he's sending is full of caps locks cursing towards his former tag partner.
That Sunday, Alex watches from the back as the US title #1 contendership battle royal carries on without him. He's not sure why he was overlooked for it but he's still happy for Zack Ryder as he fist pumps back up the ramp, grinning widely as he makes his way back to the gorilla position. "Hey, man, congrats," he tells him, fist bumping him when he reaches him.
"Thanks, bro!" he exclaims, eyes gleaming with pleasure. It amuses Alex that, no matter what kind of victory Zack gets, the guy always treats it like it's Christmas morning anew.
"Good luck later," he calls after him as he dashes off to, who knows- lord it over Curt Hawkins or something like that, probably. He turns his attention back to the monitors- Miz's match is first up once the preshow ends and he hopes beyond hope that his former NXT pro has some good luck heading his way this evening as well.
The ending to the match is confusing and it almost seems like Sin Cara's won at first but no- Miz stands tall and pulls the unwanted mask from his face, an egotistical grin overwhelming his face as he's handed the Intercontinental title. He still has the mask in hand as he meets up with Alex, laughing as he drops it into a nearby trash can. "Well, looky there," he says smugly. "Even Sin Cara blinding me with this damn mask couldn't keep me from success!"
Alex laughs with him, shaking his head as they look over at the discarded colorful mask. "Congrats, man."
"Thank you, thank you." He shifts the title onto his shoulder before clapping Alex on the back, leading him down the hall. "What do you say to some catering? I'm starving."
"You haven't ate since Friday, have you?" he asks needlessly, knowing that Mike gets like that when there's a worrisome challenge on his horizon. Mike stays quiet and he sighs, walking a little faster. "C'mon then."
The next night, Alex stands outside of AJ's office, his head tilted as he tries to hear what's happening inside. Mike had left him here before ducking inside, not wanting to add to her paranoia by inviting him along for their conversation. He has his suspicions anyway, watching as various people go this way and that. He hadn't been sure what the backstage energy would've been like after the past week's Raw, but everyone seems to have rebounded nicely. It's good to see.
He's about to wander off elsewhere- not sure exactly how long Mike's going to be in there with her, or what is going on on the other side of that door, or if he'd even want to know- when the door is opened, Mike coming out with an unhappy grimace on his face. Oh boy, Alex thinks as he shuts the door behind him, his expression only growing more annoyed the further away he gets from AJ's office. "What'd she say?" he asks after a moment, struggling to keep up with the champion as he storms down the hallway.
"Get this," he says, rounding on the younger man once they're away from the busiest part of the hallway, standing close to the exit. "I was all but begging her for some news on what the board had to say. She looked me in the eye and said things were at a standstill, that she hadn't heard anything since the last time we talked." He stews quietly for a long moment, picking anxiously at non-existant lint on the straps of his title belt. "Can you believe that? Then... she has the gall... to suggest that, instead of dwelling on this all night, since she doesn't have a match scheduled for me, I start a talk segment tonight."
Alex frowns at him, obviously not following this logic too well either. "Wait, so- she can't give you what you really want and thinks that a talk segment will make it all better?"
Mike scoffs, scraping his fingers through his hair. "She's trying to distract me. So I mockingly suggest to her that we name it Miz TV." His eyes gleam as A-Ri shakes his head, recognition dawning on his face. "Yeah, and she doesn't even catch on, in fact she loves the idea. So now... that's what I'm doing tonight. AJ apparently also thinks it's a good idea that Booker T be my first guest."
Alex laughs awkwardly. "God. You sure know how to pick 'em, Mike." He just rolls his eyes in response before walking outside to get some fresh air and wait till later, when his show will be. The younger man follows, content to stay quiet and just be for a little while.
Mike handles it as well as he can, not even letting on that this is really bad deja vu for him, and once he introduces Booker T out, he doesn't have a lot to say until he calls out Ryback, who quickly sets to demolishing the furniture in the ring, chairs and couches going flying this way and that. Alex's eyes widen as he watches, wondering what exactly Mike is thinking when he walks towards the ring instead of away from it, just barely dodging the second couch as the monster superstar slings it out towards the entrance ramp, the Intercontinental champion looking as unsettled as Alex is feeling when he just barely jumps out of the way.
"Good God," Alex mumbles as Mike quickly returns to the backstage, pushing him in front of him as he heads for the exit, not interested in the slightest in hanging around for any reason, unable to shake the paranoid feeling as if Ryback is already storming towards them, ready to attack. "You know you're supposed to move away from the rampaging monster in the ring, not towards him, right? Do John and I have to re-train you in survival skills or something?"
"Just walk," he orders tightly, only stopping long enough to grab their bags, slinging Alex's to him, before he continues on, never so relieved as he is when he's finally safely in the rental car heading back to the hotel.