This is to notify you that, due to inclement weather, Main Event will be taped at 3 PM today, instead of the scheduled 7 PM. Refunds will be-
Mike sighs and shakes his head, closing his email app and looking out at the early Ohio morning. One plus of Main Event being rescheduled means he can do commentary for it, and can make his media responsibilities of attending a basketball game with one Dolph Ziggler. Not that he's looking forward to that, necessarily, but he's loathe to miss any scheduled appearances he's supposed to make, so this works for him. He's still leery of commentating but Smackdown had gone alright, and besides it helps him sell this thing he and Maryse have going, so he sucks it up and does it.
As Alicia and Aksana face off with the Bellas, he distractedly talks about his upcoming "wedding", not mentioning Maryse by name once through the whole thing. All he can think about is which of the divas in the ring could be most likely to spread these rumors about him, to ruin their relationship and take her focus from being diva's champion.
Unfortunately, he can't tell. Not yet, anyway.
After Del Rio's match against Sin Cara concludes, Mike leaves for the basketball game, meeting up with Ziggler on the outside. They stare at each other as they approach the building, shaking off their equal disdain for each other and putting on a business-like persona while they greet the mascots to the teams and throw the basketballs around, The game itself is fun, and Mike actually manages to forget most of his woes, thankful that Dolph keeps his comments to himself... at least, that is, until they're heading for the parking lot hours later.
"So, you and Maryse, huh?" he calls out from his car, spinning his keys obnoxiously. "It's a major step up, I'll give you that."
Mike closes his eyes and leans his forehead against the frozen exterior of his own vehicle, trying to keep his temper in check. Can't say too much and risk ruining everything, but yet... "Shut up, Dolph," he finally mutters.
"You work fast though. You were hot and heavy with AJ one minute, then engaged to Maryse the next. Were you two-timing her? Maybe trying to use her being champion to get yourself a higher place in the card?" Dolph smirks. "I see how well that worked out for you- about as well as it worked out for me, actually."
Mike grits his teeth. Wants desperately to storm across the parking lot, grab Ziggler by his ugly bleach blond hair and see just how far he could go with his concussion, but his determination to get answers for AJ, not risk the tentative lie he has going with Maryse just because of the annoying man, holds him in place. He takes in a deep breath, releases it, and slowly gets into his car, slamming the door so violently that the whole car rattles. He starts it and leaves quickly, ignoring Ziggler even as he drives past him, somehow just knowing that he's laughing the entire time.
Smackdown is difficult. AJ is there, and so is Wade Barrett, and a number of other combustible elements, which is to be expected this close to the Rumble. But Mike is thrown by much more than that when he realizes he actually has a match- against Brodus Clay but still... a match. Not a MizTV segment, not commentary, an actual legit wear-your-gear-and-go contest. He's been out of the ring for so long, he's almost hesitant to go against such a large man from jump, but he swallows his uncertainty down and goes.
He doesn't get to absorb the moment for long, however, as he's only just entered the ring and faced off with Brodus when Wade Barrett's music hits and he closes his eyes in exasperation as the thick British accent disrupts everything, encouraging the fans to chant "Miz is awful", which slowly builds in the arena, fueling Miz's anger until he defeats Brodus, immediately rushing from the ring to the podium where Wade is leering down at him, demanding he come down. When Barrett refuses, Mike, beyond frustrated between what's happened on Monday, and now here, tries pushing the thing over.
As this fails, he looks up to find Wade taunting him with the new gavel that Slater must've come through with, a smug look on his face. Everything fades from his focus when he storms backstage, seething, just to come face to face with- AJ herself, Tamina by her side, and the Divas title hugged close to her chest, pointedly looking away from him. He gapes and takes a step towards her just for Tamina to once more intervene, staring him down until his shoulders sag and he turns away, knowing that now is not the time. She has a match against Cameron coming up and he won't risk ruining it for her too.
He's relieved to notice Ricardo and Alex nearby, joining them as the divas match begins. The three of them watches it through to the end, AJ eventually winning and allowing Tamina to come in and try to rough Cameron up some more. Naomi, however, takes advantage of the champion's distraction and rag-dolls her around the ring before momentarily pinning her to the mat, as if trying to prove that she can pin her whenever, wherever. Mike bites his lip and winces as AJ and Tamina beat a hasty retreat, the girl looking less than stellar even in victory. He's all too aware of what small moments like this could do to one's selfesteem, especially when they're champion and the weight of the world is already on their shoulders... he hopes it doesn't bring her more trouble in the long run.
But he has his own issues to focus on as Alex and Ricardo appear to have their heads together a lot of the night, whispering whenever they think he's not watching, trying to look innocent as he tries to figure out what they're doing. So after he runs out for the customary pre-Rumble brawl along with Del Rio and a number of other men loitering around backstage, he's not that surprised to find them waiting for him as soon as he once more returns backstage, breathless and a little frustrated, but anticipating the Royal Rumble all over again. His eyes narrow as he looks between the two men, raising his hands. "Fine, now will you tell me what you two have planned?!"
Alex and Ricardo exchange glances before grabbing him by either arm and dragging him down the hall, ignoring his sputtered protests. He quiets as soon as they arrive outside, the cold air nipping at his bare flesh, but he quickly forgets it as they drag him towards a particular rental car that he suspects he knows the owner of- "Guys, no," he hisses, trying to stop them, but they ignore him, pushing him out of sight nearby. When the arena door opens and a glum looking AJ exits, followed by Tamina, his suspicions are confirmed. More so when a familiar yell breaks through the night air, Mike hitting his head against the stone wall behind him. "Oh God."
"SQUIRREL!" Alex's voice echoes through, causing Tamina to pause and look around, eyes narrowed, even as AJ continues on to her car. "Help!" The enforcer approaches the yelling, whether it be to knock the man out for his stupidity, or to actually help by chasing the creature away- if there is a creature, anyway...
Either way, Mike appreciates the opportunity, however ridiculous it is, and he waits until AJ is at the driver's door before he shows himself. "Sweetheart," he greets her, examining her as she freezes and stares up at him, wide eyed and vulnerable. "It, it's ok. I just want to talk."
She releases a huff and tries again to unlock her car with shaking hands, eyes shutting tight as he reaches out and cups her hands, absorbing her trembles. "Let me go."
"No," he whispers back. "I can't do that, I never have been able to do that." She looks back up at him and he smiles sadly, broken by the pain in her gaze. "Please, just... give me a minute?"
"There's nothing you can say that I would want to hear," she says dully. But the fact that she's not fighting to get away emboldens him and he tugs her closer, pulling her into his warmth and resting his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently.
"I'm an idiot," he tells her softly. "Ricardo told me about the rumors and I made a stupid, thoughtless joke about it. I meant nothing by it, but the damage was done. I hope with time you'll forgive me, but AJ, the timing is awfully convenient. You were in a good place, we were strong as a couple, and you were about to become the longest reigning diva's champion and all of these rumors start circulating and trashes it all?" AJ says nothing and he licks his lips anxiously, beginning to doubt that he's going to be able to get through to her. "The only reason I've continued to claim that I'm marrying Maryse is because I want to get to the bottom of who began the rumors. Find out who exactly is trying to sabotage your career. I don't blame you if you don't believe this, but please try to keep what I'm saying in mind in the immediate future. I'm doing it for you, sweetheart, because I love you and I want you to be happy and successful." He kisses the top of her head, holds her close for one moment longer, before painfully pulling away.
Alex eventually is rescued from Tamina by Ricardo and the two regroup with Mike, who stares at them quietly for a long moment. "Thank you," he mutters to them before ducking into his rental car, beyond anxious to leave already. Holding AJ for that short amount of time had been heartbreaking and reaffirming all at once, bracing him for the Royal Rumble.
The arena is a bustling mess the day of the Rumble. New faces, or returning ones, mix in with the usual cast of characters and Mike double-takes as he walks by someone he thinks is from NXT, rocking back and forth on his heels outside of Vickie's locker room with a number of others while he waits to draw his number. He steps back as the door opens and Del Rio comes out, the two of them staring at each other as he shuts the door decisively behind him. "What number did you get?" he smirks, glance flickering down to his clasped fist.
"As if I would tell you, Miz," he sneers back before brushing past him, shoulders tense and rigid as he heads for the locker room. Ricardo is already at the Spanish commentary desk, and Alex is back home in Florida, so it's just them backstage for the few hours leading up to the rumble. AJ hadn't been given time on the card, so she's not at the arena either... He swallows as he sees the empty locker room that had been set aside for her just in case she had come despite the lack of a planned match, remembering all of the times they'd stayed there the last few months. How nice it had been to have a safe haven to go to, away from all of the other competitors.
He sighs tiredly and wanders the halls, finally finding a monitor set to the Spanish version, listening to Ricardo discussing with the other two commentators about Orton vs Cena, swallowing as he realizes that the match is winding down, it'll be time for the Rumble match itself soon. His career being far beyond dismal lately, he knows that the Rumble would be a great way to put things back on track, but with twenty nine other men, he's also too aware that that can often be difficult. But he had won the Money in the Bank and cashed it in to become WWE champion, even with everything working against him from the Anon GM on down, so he doesn't want to entirely lose hope...
When it's finally his turn, he's #18 and he races to the ring, immediately wading into the men still in the ring. He fights, keeping his head down and just doing what he can to last for as long as he can, but Harper snags him before he can even blink and sends him over. It's not until he's backstage, breathless and sore, that he realizes an entire twelve minutes had passed since he'd raced to the ring. He'd outlasted quite a few guys, but it's still frustrating. Those eliminated are long gone, those still waiting to enter the match standing near the curtain, eyeing each other suspiciously. As Mike trudges back down the hall, he catches Del Rio's eye again but this time he merely nods at Ricardo's former employer before moving on, wanting nothing more than to put all of this behind him. Again.
He watches, slowly getting dressed, as Del Rio comes out at #27, and is eliminated by Batista less than three minutes later after a failed enziguiri. He winces and pulls his shirt over his head, peeling some remaining tape off of his wrists while he watches the last couple of competitors enter the match- Rey Mysterio is #30, which means Daniel Bryan hadn't been placed in it at all, and he shakes his head in some disbelief at that ridiculous oversight.
Alberto has just stormed into the locker room, spitting angrily to himself in Spanish, when Kane reappears and grabs Punk, eliminating him so abruptly from the match that it leaves everyone stunned. His rampage against the straight edge superstar doesn't end there, however, as he lifts Punk for a chokeslam- sending him straight through the Spanish announcer's table, Ricardo and the other two men scrambling away from the space yet again in the nick of time. Alberto is frozen, glaring at the TV, until Kane takes his leave, Punk still collapsed in the wreckage of the table as doctors and trainers rush to check on him. Before panning away, the camera just catches sight of Ricardo, Marcelo and Carlos slowly collecting themselves and trying to continue to do their jobs even without the table before panning back to the action in the ring. Mike and Alberto both release a relieved breath, glancing over at each other and shrugging the moment off.
When Batista wins a short while later, neither Mike or Alberto are all that surprised, and both are relieved to exit the arena as soon as Ricardo's freed from commentary duty, Miz following them to the parking lot, lost in thought.
AJ is at Raw. He can feel it in the air long before he even sees the girl, and it takes his breath away. A certain energy to the air that wasn't there for the Royal Rumble. He wants to see her, continue their conversation from Smackdown, but his parents are at the event again and he'd procured backstage passes for them both so he takes them on a tour before the show, introducing them to a couple of the guys he thinks will be less stressful for his mom- memories from Orton's beatdown still fresh in her mind- or less of a reason for his father to grow even more disdainful of the life his son leads now.
Zack, of course, greets them enthusiastically, his Long Island ways causing his father's eyebrows to raise, but Mike's mom appears to be humored by his goodnatured hyper attitude, and even obliges him in a quick tutorial on how to fist bump as Miz laughs, glad that Ryder had been the first they'd bumped into. He accompanies them as Mike shows them the locker rooms, bypassing the diva's locker room entirely, and AJ's personal locker room, though he can tell when his mom's eyes wander in that direction that she knows who's inside of it. When she notices him looking at her, she smiles comfortingly at him and walks a bit faster to half-hug her son as they continue on.
They stop at catering, Mike noticing immediately that they've got cake on hand for Sheamus' birthday, so he leads his mom to the line and they all get a slice of it, the four of them wandering over to a free table and sitting down to enjoy the dessert before the show begins and his parents will need to be taken to their seats. They're almost done when Ricardo enters, Alberto at his side with a grim look on his face after his own Royal Rumble loss- which looks like it'd been more disheartening to him than Mike's. After all, he had had lucky #27, and hadn't been in the match half as long as Mike managed. "Hey, Ricardo," he calls out to the former ring announcer, shaking off these thoughts. "Come join us, man."
Alberto lurks behind him as Ricardo changes direction and walks over to their table. "Hola," he greets them all with a smile.
"Hey, bro," Zack says, forking up the last few crumbs of his cake.
"Hello, Ricardo," Mike's mom smiles at him, his father echoing the sentiment between bites.
Mike snags a couple of chairs and drags them over, raising his eyebrows at Del Rio as he reclaims his own seat. Ricardo takes the seat next to Zack, so Alberto hesitantly sits down next to him, Mr. Mizanin on the other side of him. "How's it going?" Mike asks the ring announcer once they're all settled semi-comfortably, leaning back in his chair slightly.
"It's going alright. Did you see the board tonight? You have a match, Mike." Miz looks clueless and Ricardo coughs, explaining more thoroughly. "Against Ziggler. They're calling it a battle of Cleveland."
Del Rio sneers and Mike looks over at him, eyebrows furrowed as he tries not to show how ridiculous he finds this idea to be as well. "Oh brother."
Finally his parents finish their cake and the show is about to begin, so Mike exchanges hurried goodbyes with Zack and Ricardo before leading them to a security guard to help them to their seats before making his way to the locker room to get ready for his match. He's just finished digging everything out and changed into his trunks when he hears a familiar entrance theme, groaning vaguely as Barrett's thick accent bites through the silence of the locker room, mocking his match with Dolph later on, calling them both losers and adding that Cleveland is just full of the same.
He stews before going out to locate the obnoxious Brit when he's instead called over for an interview with Byron Saxton. He's barely thirty seconds in when Dolph Ziggler himself interrupts, telling him that he's in his head and he'll win... but unlike most of their other encounters over the last few weeks, he doesn't seem as arrogant or condescending towards Miz, his words more mocking than actually mean. So once the interview wraps up and Dolph walks away, Miz follows him.
"What was that?" he demands, more than a little tense as he stares at his upcoming opponent. "Are you high?"
Dolph turns around and smirks at him. "Not last I checked. Well, Miz, I can see why you might be confused, so I guess between AJ proving me right and the fact that I'm about to beat you in a little bit, I just don't feel like kicking you while you're down. Until our match anyway. Take advantage of it." Mike is still staring at him, eyes icy and disbelieving, so finally he shrugs and loses a bit of the cockiness. "Fine, truthfully, Zack's been on my case about mocking you. I've never really liked you, but he seems to value his friendship with you. And besides..." He truly looks like he's in pain now but he soldiers on, surprising even Mike with what he spits out next. "I hate to admit it but we do have a fair amount in common; we're both from Ohio, we've both had relationships and breakups with AJ, the list goes on."
"So what are you saying?" Mike demands, still trying to determine his sincerity, his suspicions over the smallest thing overwhelming to the point of unbased paranoia due to the rumors that had led to his and AJ's break up.
Ziggler winces and hesitates for a few long moments before taking a step forward, ignoring Mike tensing up defensively, before he holds a hand out. "Truce?"
Mike almost wants to laugh at the absurdity of the moment, after everything they'd been through the last year, but as he weighs the situation, he finds that he does believe Dolph- something in his gaze leaning Miz into believing that he honestly means what he's saying. "I guess," he mutters, meeting him halfway and shaking his hand solidly. "Truce."
Not long after that odd situation, it's time for their match and Mike rushes out, leaping half-over the barricade to hug his mom before returning to the ring. He wants so badly to make up for the dismal showing they'd all seen from him the night Orton had brutalized him so badly, but although he puts up as best a fight as he could against Ziggler, eventually the Show Off walks away with the victory.
He's barely left gorilla, still in a fog over walking out defeated in front of his parents yet again, when he spots the platinum haired man in the middle of an interview, talking up his win, and for whatever reason, his feet lead him in that direction. He's glum at the loss, and bemoans it until Ziggler interrupts him, crazily enough trying to cheer him up- when Zack makes his presence felt again, divebombing the interview and telling the other two that they need to go party, his arms snug around both of their shoulders, clearly glad to see that his suggestions have been working, with two of his friends now actually in the same place without trying to outright kill each other. Mike is a slow sell, especially when Zack suggests they find hot women to hang out with, but he somehow finds himself taken in by their enthusiasm and suggests they go to his father's sandwich shop, which the other two agree to as long as he shows them how to make a RomanBurger. His father may not care for the business that Mike's in, but he definitely appreciates new customers...
"Wait," he laughs once they're off screen, the ruined interview segment over, pulling away. "My dad has a no shirt, no shoes, no service rule, so I need to... y'know, get dressed and stuff. I'll catch up with you guys in a little bit." Mike turns away from Zack and Dolph to go back to the locker room and get ready to leave, when he nearly runs right into AJ Lee, whose match is a little later in the card. He stares down at her, swallowing heavily, but before he can say anything, she brushes past him. It's instinctive when he reaches out and grasps her arm, stopping her midstep. "Wait," he beseeches her softly.
"Go back to your new best friends, Mike," she says coldly. "Have a good time laughing at my naivety."
But her voice cracks halfway through this sentence and he closes his eyes, drawing her in close to him once more. "No," he mutters. "I would never laugh at you." He's all too aware of the fragile ground his and Maryse's plan is on, especially if he keeps running into AJ like this, but this portion of the hallway is deserted between matches and all he wants to do is stay with her, make up for the time they've already lost. Common sense tells him that there's absolutely no time for such things, however, so he holds her for only a moment longer before pulling away. "I miss you so much, sweetheart." She looks so confused, sad and vulnerable that he can't resist, leaning down to kiss her, his fingers cupping her trembling jaw as she breathes into him, unable to keep herself from kissing back.
"I miss you too," she whispers as he turns away from her and it takes everything within him to walk away from her, when all he wants to do is scoop her up and hide away in the safety of her locker room for the rest of the night. Alas, she has her match and he has to keep pretenses up so he puts one foot in front of the other until, when he looks back over his shoulder, she's not standing there any longer.