Main Event that week, Mike is all alone. Alex isn't there, yet again back in Florida for NXT responsibilities, and it takes him only a little bit of wandering the arena to realize that Ricardo isn't there, either. Or just hiding from him very, very well. He does, however, run into Josh, who he hadn't seen since last week's mess of a Main Event. "Hey."
"Oh. Hey." Josh glances up from his paperwork for a moment before returning to it. "Competing tonight, huh?"
"Yeah. Hey, have you seen Ricardo around tonight?" he asks, glancing down the hallway almost as if he thinks he'll magically appear.
Mathews blinks behind his glasses. "Oh, you haven't heard. He's not here tonight." Miz stares at him blankly and Josh explains further, "I'm... commentating with Wade Barrett?"
He can't keep track of all of the thoughts flooding his mind, worried and feeling almost... ill with anxiety. It's hard to fix things any further with a man who's not around. "He's... not? Do you know why? He sick or something?"
"No, it seemed like a mutual decision between him, Del Rio and WWE themselves for him to not continue on as commentator." Josh returns to his papers, barely blinking when Mike walks off without another word spoken, his eyes dark with discomfort.
Mutual decision, he thinks, frowning. Ricardo had been his selection, he'd hoped it'd help with the younger man's self-esteem issues, but now... One week and he'd offended the younger man, hurt his feelings, and ... he suspects that Del Rio had interceded and convinced his best friend it wasn't worth it. Not that he blames him, Josh nor Mike had been all that kind in the end when it came down to it. He sighs and, unable to do anything about it all right now, turns his focus to his upcoming match.
Despite how short of a contest they'd just had on Monday, Cody Rhodes gives him a run for his money tonight, the match drawing on and on, Mike's focus split between his opponent and Wade Barrett on commentary, until finally he locks in the figure four and achieves another victory. After a brief staredown with Barrett, who wisely doesn't move from behind the table, Mike returns to the back and wanders around, grimacing at how quiet and dull things feel without Alex or Ricardo there. He feels almost lonelier than he had both times he'd been stuck in Canada, filming those movies.
Needing time to think, he's relieved to return to his hotel and flop down on the stiff mattress, staring blankly at the ceiling until sleep claims him painfully slowly.
On Friday, Mike shakes his head as he stares up at the building, leaning back against his rental car. "Hey, Alex," he greets his former protege after answering the ringing phone.
"Hey Mike. Just wanted to tell you, I'm gonna be hanging around Florida until Payback. I'll see you in Chicago, man."
Mike frowns, beginning to wonder about all of the time Alex is spending at home or NXT. "Everything ok, kid?"
"Oh, yeah. I promise. Just... have some errands and stuff here to do before I get ready for some lumberjackin' Sunday," he says, and Mike swears he can hear the smile in the man's voice, hinting that things are ok. It's just so out of character for him to not be at an event.
"Alright," he says, finally deciding to let it go, not wanting Alex to feel badly. "As long as you're there for when I walk away Intercontinental champion." He knows it's less than likely with two opponents, but he knows that giving up won't do him any good. He'll fight and fight until that white belt is back around his waist where it belongs.
"Of course, Mike! I wouldn't miss it."
He does smile at this. "Ok, Alex. See you in Chicago." He hangs up and ventures towards the building, almost wary of what he'll find waiting for him, especially with this being the first Smackdown that Dolph will be back at, AJ and E in tow. After checking the match board, which has nothing for him, he grunts and continues onto the locker room. His eyes fall immediately on Ricardo and Alberto in the corner, talking quietly to each other in fast Spanish, Ricardo nodding and interjecting now and again to whatever his employer is saying. It's only after Mike's dropped his bags near a bench and approaches them that they fall quiet, turning to look at him. Del Rio's expression turns dark and grim as he lays eyes on him, Ricardo seeming hesitant and almost wary of him, Mike not that surprised that things still aren't perfect. After how badly things had fallen apart, he doesn't blame them.
"Hey," he decides to try anyway, catching Ricardo's eye despite Alberto's attempt at shielding the younger man from him. "How's it going?"
"It, it's fine," Ricardo says, barely speaking above a whisper.
"We were talking," Alberto tells him coldly. "Some of us actually have matches tonight."
Mike blinks, then swallows, trying to keep his temper in check. After how he'd treated Ricardo, the things he'd said, well. He supposes he'd deserved that little dig. "I get that, man, I just wanted to say hi. I'll leave you two to finish getting ready." And he does, going back to his things and half-listening as they continue talking on in Spanish. His four years of Spanish in high school honestly had failed him quickly, but he can catch a bit here and there, and what he garners from it only adds to his discomfort with the whole situation.
Even so, he watches the tag team match, Del Rio and Jericho coming out on top against Big E and Dolph, Ricardo announcing them both the victors. He doesn't see them for the rest of the night, which is ok as his attention turns quickly to his own drama, Axel and Barrett in the ring for their match when Wade begins to suggest that they not compete tonight, risk injuring either of them so soon to the match on Sunday. Before either of them could agree to wiggle out of this contest, Mike interrupts, not seeing the point of his having to wrestle twice in one week while both of them gets away with what little they'd done on Monday.
It ultimately works, the two men facing off as Miz stays close to make sure they see this thing through, somewhat unsettled as Axel beats Barrett. Not wanting either of his opponents to go into Sunday with too much momentum, he dives into the ring and Skullcrushing Finales the third generation superstar, leaving them both laying as he looks around at the crowd with a smirk.
Saturday night, there's a house show in Bloomington, Illinois leading to the event, and he stares up at the Cellular Coliseum with a small grimace before getting out of his car. There's a crowd of cheering people and he wanders over to them, signing autographs and taking pictures for as long as he can before security drags him back into the building, trying to keep things running on schedule. He smiles half-heartedly as he enters the building and almost runs directly into- AJ.
She tilts her head and blinks at him, Big E by her side as always. He can see Dolph from here, but the bleach blond seems unconcerned, his arms crossed over his chest as he waits. He'd overheard that Dolph had arrived while he was signing autographs and such, but hadn't paid it much attention until this moment. His best guess is that he'd mentioned it to AJ and she'd camped out here, to do... or say... whatever it is she thinks might be relevant to him.
But it's not, his cool blue eyes barely pausing for a moment on her before he walks past, shoulders tensing when Big E. tries to block his path. "Move," he snaps warningly, eye to eye with the enforcer. He considers using his suitcase to slam into him, ram his way past, but before anything else happens, Dolph clears his throat and E. does move aside then, the two men staring at each other as Mike walks past him, the disdain between them visible even from miles away. He's relieved to be out of their eyesight, ducking inside of the locker room and closing his eyes as he leans against the door, clicking it shut behind him.
When he opens his eyes, he finds Ricardo leaning over his bag, wrestling gear spread out before him. Curious, he ventures closer and looks over his shoulder. "Hey, Ricardo."
The younger man jerks and looks up, smiling vaguely. "Oh. Hola, Mike."
Not sure where Del Rio is, he sits down across from him and stares down at the various things scattered between them. "What's with all of this?"
Teeth flashing in a quick grin, Ricardo clears his throat. "Well, El Patron and I've been booked in a tag match tonight against Big E. and Ziggler. I'm trying to figure out to wear. Do you think this'll be alright?" He rests his hand on a t-shirt with a cartoon version of himself and Del Rio on it, and a pair of orange Zubaz.
Mike stares at it, smiling slightly. "Yeah, man. That'll be fine." He hears Del Rio's voice out in the hall as he talks with a tech, quickly standing so as not to gain more of Del Rio's ire. "Good luck tonight, though I doubt you'll need it."
"Gracias, Mike." After a moment, he looks up, eyes dark with some unreadable emotion. "Hey, Mike? You... you really were a good friend. I know things didn't work out the way either of us hoped but... I don't blame you."
Miz blinks, not sure why he's saying such things, but decides not to question it right now, when they both have matches to get ready for and Del Rio will interrupt at any moment. "I tried," he mumbles. "I know the commentary thing was kind of a bust, but we'll try to figure something else out, yeah? I'll see you later." He smiles and moves away just as Alberto enters the room, glancing suspiciously at him before joining his best friend and resting a hand on the back of his head, ruffling his hair.
He doesn't realize that night what exactly Ricardo's odd words entail, his own two out of three falls against Cesaro ending in his success, just for The Shield to make their way down and attack him until Team Hell No and Jericho run down to pull the save, his steps awkward and painful as he stumbles back to the locker room to catch his breath after the exhausting match and beatdown that had followed. He scrapes together the energy somehow and makes his way back to gorilla, watching through the curtain as Del Rio and Ricardo compete against Ziggler and Big E a little later, smiling when they walk away with the victory after Ricardo takes Big E out with a splash to the outside, opening Dolph up for the armbar.
He's only a few feet away when the two men make their way backstage, Ricardo going on about a Zubaz Strong sign he'd seen in the crowd, glancing over his shoulder in time to spot the grins on their faces, Del Rio patting the younger man on the arm as they make their way back to the locker room. Underneath the happiness lays some strange emotion for both men and it only adds to Mike's worry but he's tired and he's sore so he leaves, wanting nothing more than to beat the storm that's pounding down on Bloomington and get some much needed sleep before Payback.
He grows to regret that decision the next day. He'd had the first non-pre-show match, thinking for sure that the title is his when Axel comes out of nowhere and pins Barrett while he's locked up in the Figure Four, becoming new Intercontinental champion just moments before Wade was going to tap, Miz is sure of it. His night only grows worse when, directly following that, he runs into AJ again and she laughs right in his face, skipping out to compete for the Divas title. Alex is nearby, staring at him sympathetically, before leading him back to the locker room where they watch the off-balanced girl and Kaitlyn go at it, the match going back and forth until finally AJ gets the upperhand and wins... Kaitlyn tapping to her Black Widow submission, relinquishing claim to the butterfly belt, watching through tears as her former best friend skips away with what had once been hers.
But the horrible night is far from over. Ricardo's words return to Miz as he watches the World Heavyweight Title match, Del Rio attacking Ziggler again and again... and again... ignoring referee and doctor alike as he snaps the other man's head back repeatedly with kicks to the skull, all signs of the Del Rio that Mike had slowly gotten to know through Ricardo the past few months virtually gone, AJ watching on tearfully alone, since Big E had gotten ejected from ringside, as Del Rio pins Ziggler and regains the title that had been taken from him only a little over a month ago. Although he cares very little for Ziggler, some of Del Rio's initial offense making him glad, the brutality of the attack had made all of them a little uncomfortable, Mike biting his lip as he looks over at his former NXT rookie.
As Ricardo hugs Del Rio desperately, the title belt pressed to his back as Alberto struggles not to lose his balance and send the younger man down with him in their excitement and his breathlessness, and Del Rio's message to the crowd asking for their support afterwards, all Mike can think is, Ricardo... knew this was the plan. He was saying goodbye last night. It's the only thing that makes sense, it all hinting towards Alberto leaving everything he'd been doing for the past few months behind and returning to his less likeable self, taking Ricardo with him. He swallows and kneads his forehead, shaking his head at the thought. Alberto's attempts at being a better man had begun when he'd saved Ricardo during an edition of MizTV and... What if my being so mean to Ricardo on commentary had led to this somehow? Or at least had a hand in it? How much of this is my fault? he wonders, grimacing.
All directly involved in end of the World Title match aren't seen for the rest of the night, Mike left in a haze of his own disturbed thoughts as he and Alex wait to go out and be lumberjacks during Cena and Ryback's match. It goes as well as can be expected, all of them knocked over when Cena splashes them in an attempt to get at his opponent, but ultimately Ryback wins the fall, and they return backstage, Mike ignoring Big E. whenever he gets too close to him. Not to mention Axel and Barrett, far from even wanting to think about that infuriating situation at this moment.
After a night of restless tossing and turning in his hotel bed, he and Alex make their way to Raw, the younger man only speaking now and again, visibly trying to give Mike time and space to work through his wayward thoughts, not wanting to annoy him further when he's running on little to no sleep. Del Rio and Ricardo start the show off and things seem normal, Ricardo with his bucket and the green and red bowtie, until they notice- Alberto has a black scarf on for the first time in weeks, and... he explains that they'd fought and fought for the crowd, who had turned on them chanting USA! USA! for a xenophobic man such as Swagger, and dammit all if it doesn't make some sort of sense, Mike staring at his hands as he reflects on how horrible it must've been to see the crowd's approval turn to the man who'd broken his best friend's ankle and attacked him brutally with a crutch. So Alberto had decided to fight for himself, and...
It's some kind of relief when Punk interrupts, until he ignores Del Rio's attempts at refusing a match between them, turning to Ricardo and taunting him. Mike watches closely as Alberto steps between the two, snapping at Punk in defense of his ring announcer, relieved to see that, perhaps this version of Alberto at least won't treat Ricardo as poorly as he had before he'd made attempts at being a better person. Once the match is made and the ring is cleared for the next, Alex looks over at his friend. "Are you alright?"
Mike shrugs with a soft sigh. "I guess so. It's just... weird how quickly all of this happens." He picks at his fingernail. "Saturday, I was talking with Ricardo, thought everything was normal and then... 24 hours later, Del Rio was champion and..." Alex stares at him for a moment before wrapping an arm around him, squeezing his shoulders. "Nature of the business, I guess, huh?" he smiles wanly.
"Yep," Alex nods, the two of them deep in thought side by side until Mike has to leave.
Miz's only contribution to the show is commentary during Curtis Axel vs Sin Cara, trying to return his focus to the Intercontinental championship, unable to fight his belief that the belt truthfully belongs to him. When he returns to the back, Alex is still waiting for him and they watch the rest of the show, AJ claims that Dolph isn't there tonight quickly proven to be a lie when Ricardo assists Del Rio away from the match against Punk, his employer not seeming to mind as it goes by count-out until Dolph comes out of nowhere and dives onto the Mexican aristocrat, attacking him even as Ricardo and referees try to pry the two apart, Alberto finally stumbling away to safety.
Mike still isn't sure what to feel about everything going on, but nonetheless breathes a little easier when it all seems to end, the focus turning to Punk and Lesnar in the ring. Ricardo may not seem to consider the two of them friends any longer, but the last thing Miz wants to see is something happening to the ring announcer.
"You ready to leave?" Alex asks after a moment. Mike nods, looking forward to getting at least a few hours of sleep before returning to California in the morning. Hopefully.
After another long flight, he sits in his car outside of a familiar apartment complex around noon and digs around in his things, pulling out a keyring. Going upstairs, he stops in front of a particular door and knocks a time or two before unlocking it, venturing inside. Looking into the living room, he comes to a stop and lets his arms drop to his side. "Everything's going wrong, and it's all my fault," he mutters.
John Morrison stands from his couch and looks at his former tag partner, frowning. Moving closer to him, he drags him into the room and urges him to join him where he'd just been sitting. "What's going on?"
Mike takes a breath once he's settled, stares at him, and finally begins talking, each word feeling like a small weight off of his chest as he feels relief at having his best friend to unload on for the first time in a few weeks, things so busy after filming Christmas Bounty had concluded that they hadn't talked much. As soon as he finishes, he stares at the man and shakes his head. "What the hell do I do now?"