After his resolution on Monday night followed by WWE granting him an Intercontinental title match against Wade Barrett at Wrestlemania, Mike is still riding high as he commentates Main Event that Wednesday, but even his good mood's not quite enough to keep him from bickering off and on with his former NXT rookie, Daniel Bryan, who is guest commentating through Kane's match. It's not too long before familiar theme music plays and he sits up a little straighter in his chair as AJ comes out, skipping around the ring and distracting from what's happening inside. Daniel, however, moves quickly and cuts her off twice, keeping her from disturbing Kane from the match any further. Mike watches closely, remembering the scene outside of the trainer's office from Monday, but Daniel doesn't touch her.
When his tag partner wins, she retreats towards the entrance ramp and Daniel heads into the ring to stand alongside his co-champion, both of them staring down at her as she coyly tilts her head. Mike watches until she leaves before turning to Cole, forcing his attention back onto his job for the evening. With Wrestlemania looming, and his newly granted match at the forefront of his mind, he hasn't quite decided what he wants to do, but he knows that it'll come to him, how best to make things easier. Make it so she doesn't look at him like he's the foulest thing she's ever seen whenever they come in contact with each other. Or outright ignore him...
He falls quiet as Cole begins talking about what Ricardo has gone through the past few weeks with his ankle injury, barely able to watch as the clip from Monday is played, remembering the pain in the ring announcer's eyes and Del Rio's own desperation as the younger man had barely been able to stand straight even with their assistance. He wonders how the last week before Wrestlemania will treat the two men, if they'll even be in one piece leading into Sunday.
That Friday, Mike and Alex are lurking around in the halls, staring at the board listing all of the matches and segments for the evening. Miz has no match scheduled, but his eyes immediately go to the Barrett match later on in the show, against Jericho, and his lips tug upwards again. "Hey, Alex-" he's about to say when another, unfortunately familiar voice cuts in, completely derailing his train of thought.
"Hello, Miz." The two men turn slowly around, faces blank as they find John Laurinaitis staring back at them, that old, stupidly smug grin yet again on his face. The cause of so much of Miz's anger and disconcertment last year, someone who he hadn't thought of for months, now standing before him, looking like nothing had changed. "I'm glad to see you."
Mike's hands tense into fists as he peers at him suspiciously, jaw tight. He has no powers. He has no powers. He has no powers... right? His glance flickers towards Alex before he faces the past authority figure of Raw and Smackdown, People Power now a dirty saying that haunts some of his nightmares. "What are you doing here, Laurinaitis?" There is no respect there, no sign of subserviency. It's not like it was before, when he'd won the man his power and gotten nothing but dead air in return. His return to something close to relevancy had only come when AJ had been granted the title of GM for Raw, and Booker for Smackdown.
If Laurinaitis notices the cold snap in Miz's voice, he doesn't address it or seem that affected, the grin on his face only growing as he steps forward and wraps his arms around Mike and Alex's shoulders, the younger man looking awkward and almost ill at the abrupt proximity of the much-hated former General Manager. "Teddy Long was kind enough to grant me some time to come and say hello, convince the WWE Universe that I haven't forgotten them, that People Power lives on!" Mike's just opened his mouth, unable to keep his long-withheld anger deep inside, when John disengages himself from them both and looks out towards the gorilla, at where The Rock is speaking. "In fact, I think I'll go say hello right now! Great seeing you two again." He grins even wider, it taking everything in Miz to not punch his gleaming teeth right out of his jaw, before jogging away to head out and interrupt the champion.
Alex shudders as he rejoins his best friend, shaking his head. "I think I need a shower now."
"Me too." They watch a monitor, grimacing as Laurinaitis drones on and on about this and that, the eventual Rock Bottom that comes only making it somewhat worth it. "He waited too long to shut him up," Mike sighs, scraping his fingers through his hair in aggravation. "What is Teddy smoking?"
"Good question." Alex stares at the match listings briefly once more and shakes his head. "C'mon, man. Let's get some air. You'll have time to get back for Barrett vs Jericho."
"Fine." Mike drapes an arm around Alex's shoulders, trying to ignore the thought that Laurinaitis' grimy arm was there barely ten minutes earlier while he follows him outside. "I'll protect you from those mangy squirrels."
"Oh, haha. You're never going to let me live that down."
"Nope, neither will John." Smirking through A-Ri's grousing, Mike takes in the brisk late-March air and darkening sky, his inner exasperation after running into Laurinaitis so unexpectedly easing bit by bit. "Thanks, Alex."
"No problem." They're still sitting out there, quiet and thoughtful, when the exit door slams open and a tall form, hunched over in embarrassment walks right past them without noticing. When the person rushes past a light glowing off the side of the building, it's obvious: Laurinaitis is making a quick, painful get away following his embarrassing "return". It takes everything in Mike not to burst out laughing until the obnoxious man is in his car and out of hearing range.
Once he's calmed down, he feels better about going back inside and Alex follows, wanting to see how things go with Barrett's match. Mike is content to sit and watch at ringside, scoping out Wade for their upcoming match, as Jericho and Barrett go back and forth, though he wishes that Jericho wins- and there it is again, his and Jericho's careers yet again intertwined by a need to see the same end result. So, when Barrett comes out of the ring and starts arguing with him, Mike has no shame in distracting him and giving Jericho a moment to recollect himself- during which Wade pays by eating a Codebreaker and a pin.
Amused, he stops off at catering with Alex afterwards, only freezing momentarily as he spots Dolph sitting at a nearby table, idly thumbing through tweets on his phone. Mike's eyes automatically scan the room until they come to a stop on AJ Lee and Big E. standing at the end of the line, his lips twitching up. "Come on," he mumbles to Alex. The two men approach the line, ignoring anyone else who might've been heading there ahead of them, making sure to stand behind the girl and her enforcer. While trying to ignore Laurinaitis, he'd had little to stare at but the match board, so the fact that there's an intergender tag match with her and Ziggler vs Daniel and Kaitlyn coming up soon is seared into his brain. He's not sure if she's aware that he's there or just ignoring him as she tends to do more often than not anymore, but he finally takes the plunge. "Intergender tag match tonight, huh?" She freezes, grows tense, but he takes a breath and continues on. "I remember another intergender tag match, not all that long ago. Do you remember it, AJ?"
The one where he'd first noticed her, before she'd become GM and he'd screwed everything up. They'd only shared a glance that night, really, but it'd been enough. He just always sucked in the follow through. She still says nothing and he's about to try something else when she reaches the front of the line and takes what she wants from the table. Big E. follows suit, both well versed in Dolph's likes and dislikes by now, and then quietly turns to return to their table. She pauses while side by side with Miz, however, and says in a falsely sweet voice, "I only remember Goatface and I destroying your team that night."
He's pretty sure if her hands hadn't been full of food, she'd have gone skipping delightfully away from him. When he watches the match later on, he wonders if perhaps his words had distracted her enough that it'd caused her to lose.
Monday, Miz commentates again. This time Barrett is competing against Zack Ryder and, though Miz wonders if perhaps he can recreate the circumstances of last Friday and help Zack to get out an upset victory against Wade, it doesn't happen: they do argue a bit but Zack's offense just isn't enough against the angered Brit and he gains the win. It doesn't worry Mike, however. He gets the honor of kicking the show off on the preshow- to some, would look like a demotion or something unimportant, but he sets the tone of Wrestlemania by being in the very first match, and he's determined to make it a memorable one.
But for a brief while after that, his focus diverts from Wrestlemania. Del Rio's been challenged to a match by Zeb Colter, of all people, and it's so clearly a trap. So certain that something bad will happen, he and Alex wait by the gorilla to watch, just in case they're needed like they were last week. Both breathe a sigh of relief when Alberto urges Ricardo to go backstage and wait through the match, the young man reluctantly limping his way back through the curtains but... "Where is he?" Mike demands, confused when the ring announcer doesn't appear on their side. "He isn't-" But sure enough, he is, as the audience reacts and Del Rio turns to find Ricardo has made his way back to ringside, yet again insisting that he be allowed to stay with his employer.
"That's... not going to end well," Alex mumbles as Alberto attempting to convince him to return where he'd be safe waiting with them is interrupted by the bell ringing, the match officially starting. For a brief moment, things seem ok, but sure enough, Swagger quickly chases across the ring and corners Ricardo, pushing him down as he loses hold of his crutches. Alberto tries to help, dropkicks the xenophobe through the ropes, but Colter has one of the wayward crutches and he swings, striking Del Rio with it and making the match go by DQ. Alberto is incensed, obviously, and corners Colter yet again but Swagger regroups, attacks and clips the Mexican aristocrat's knee, sending him to the mat writhing in agony like after Main Event a few weeks back.
From there it's just a melee as the two men crack both crutches on every inch of Del Rio that they can reach. Ricardo crawls onto the apron at some point in the madness, possibly trying to find a way to help, when Swagger spots him and rams him onto the floor below. He's not seen again throughout. Swagger and Colter finally finish and leave, the camera locked on Alberto as he struggles to his feet, clinging to the ropes and spitting out strained Spanish words. Mike and Alex step back when referees and the trainer help the two to the back, Ricardo's head lowered as he lets the men surrounding him guide him, barely reacting when Mike rests a hand on his shoulder on the way by.
"Damn," Alex breathes as they get a look at the multitude of welts quickly forming across Del Rio's back. "That's not good."
"No... no it's not." Mike shakes his head grimly. Wrestlemania is only six days away, and he has to wonder what shape those two will be in for it.