Anything

Chapter 1

The professional wrestling world was set on fire again.

Jon Moxley had returned, and Dean Ambrose was dead.

Was this really happening? Was this real? She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming and shut her eyes, feeling the small zip of pain rush up her arm. Delilah had to take a deep breath and stood from the bed in her hotel room, wincing since she'd had a hell of a match earlier that night. Currently, she was on the Independents and working for Impact Wrestling, alongside her brother, Sami Callihan, but she wasn't just a valet to the ring. She was also a professional wrestler and could kick ass and take names with the best of them in the women's division.

Sami currently had a group within Impact called Ohio Verses Everything – The oVe. It was a group that consisted of everybody born and bred in the state of Ohio and included the Crist brothers – Dave and Jake, along with Madman Fulton and of course, Sami and Delilah. oVe had taken everything by storm the moment they stepped foot into Impact and they'd been making a name for themselves ever since, telling WWE and any other wrestling organization to stick it.

Sami had tried being in WWE and was known as Solomon Crowe in NXT – WWE's developmental brand. The company wouldn't allow him to be himself, however, trying to make him portray a character he wasn't comfortable with. Sami was more than just a cruiserweight and that was all WWE saw him as. He'd been champion in multiple Indie companies, but WWE never gave him the chance he'd been searching for. Same with Delilah and she had DOMINATED the women's division in NXT, but they held her back because she wasn't what they were looking for.

She wasn't a 'brand'.

When it came down to it, that was all WWE cared about was 'branding'.

That wasn't what TRUE professional wrestling was!

Sami and Delilah both were released in 2015 and went back to the Indie scene to try to save their careers. They wound up going to Impact Wrestling – It used to be called TNA, but the company went through a huge change in management and whatnot – and Sami started the oVe. It was perfect because every single person in the group was legitimately from Ohio. There was one more Ohio man to add to the group, if he was interested, and that was Jon Moxley, who was Sami's former tag team partner in a company called CZW, as well as other Indie companies. They were tag team champions together in several organizations and known as the Switchblade Conspiracy.

Rumors had been circulating for months about Jon Moxley leaving the WWE.

He was known there as Dean Ambrose and had made a huge name for himself, along with a lot of money. The man was a legend in the Indies and how WWE treated him was completely wrong and unjust. Forcing him to change his name, forcing him to be somebody he wasn't. He had torn his triceps in late 2017 and was gone out of action for eight and a half months, finally returning in September 2018, one week before the Summerslam pay-per-view event. And immediately, WWE began dumping all over him just like they did before he got injured. Jon deserved better, but he had to ride his contract out and he did that…and now Dean Ambrose was no more.

Dean Ambrose was dead.

Jon Moxley had returned and Delilah could not stop watching the video on the Twitter, not surprised when her brother immediately shared it to social media.

Jon had been their friend, their confidante, somebody to look up to in the Indies and when he went to WWE, Delilah knew he would never be truly happy there. It took the man seven and a half years to come to the realization he just wasn't meant to be in the WWE and now he was out of that prison, just like the video showed, and forging a path of his own to blaze across professional wrestling. Sami had sent out a tweet 'Switchblade. Conspiracy.' a few weeks ago.

Had Jon listened?

One could only hope, but there was also AEW – All Elite Wrestling, a new wrestling organization lead by the Rhodes family, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and a man named Tony Khan,who'sfather owned the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars and he was a co-owner of the team – on the horizon as well, which Sami was contemplating leaving Impact for. They had accomplished a lot in the short amount of time they had been in Impact and Sami had been talking about giving oVe a fresh start. Not to mention, all the Indie companies were integrated these days, so the wrestlers weren't just LOCKED DOWN to one specific company. It gave them a chance to really make a name for themselves in various companies, get their names out there further, even though it was very hard work, a lot of travel and little sleep, and also strenuous on the body.

Delilah looked at her phone, seeing Sami tagged her in the video she had already watched several times and smiled, liking and retweeting it. Not even a minute later, her phone rang. "Yes, Sami?"

"We have to get him here! We have to bring him back and get him in the oVe, Del!"

Jon had been part of a group called the Shield in WWE for years – YEARS – and it had really dictated his career, so she didn't see the man jumping into a group right out the gate. "That's not going to be easy, Sami. And you know why." They knew all about Jon's history and everything WWE had put him through because of the Shield. "Let him come to you. Don't pressure him and don't push him. You know how Mox is."

True, his sister made a lot of sense and Sami took a deep breath, nodding. "Okay – okay, if he goes to AEW, we're following. I've already decided oVe needs a new stage, new competition, and a new beginning."

"Did you talk to the others about this?"

"They're all onboard, are you coming with us or not?"

"Now you know I've never been one to turn down new opportunities, Sami."

Sami smirked, loving the fire his sister had and knew she would thrive in AEW alongside oVe. "Excellent, Cody and Brandi have called me several times already, so I'll give them the green light."

"Wait until tomorrow. It's late. Go to sleep." She hung up, plopping back down on the bed, and watched that video on Jon's Twitter again, leaning her head against the headboard.


Jon was high.

Not on drugs or anything like that.

He was way too old and a bit wiser than that. No, he was high on being FREE. That video, something he had thought about since before his contract expired, was a metaphor for his run with the WWE. It hadn't been all bad, not really, but eventually, everything had outweighed his love and passion for the business, and he never cared about the money. Not that he didn't TAKE it because he liked the big paychecks, but it hadn't mattered in the end.

McMahon thought he could buy Jon back, but he learned the hard way that Jon couldn't be bought.

The company he had dreamt of working for all his life had not been anything like the company he had eventually joined. The WWF of his youth had been watered down; it had become so bloated without real competition that it had gotten lazy and, instead of focusing on actual wrestling and great storylines, it had branched out into reality television crap, activism, everything that made no sense to him. Well, some of it had, but this was professional wrestling and the WWE had totally abandoned its roots.

So, the prison metaphor.

He had escaped the cage that had once been his dream job and now…now he was back. Moxley was back and the very, very watered down, pathetic Dean Ambrose wasGONE!It was time to return to his roots, to himself…and Jon was going to do things HIS way. He smirked, snorting a bit at that. Maybe he'd send Vince a gift basket. Even Jon wasn't arrogant enough to ignore the fact that without those nice paychecks he had been systematically banking for years, he wouldn't have been able to flip the bird and do things his way.

A basket wrapped in barbed wire…maybe some dice. Everyone loved dice. Lots of gold glitter.

His sense of humor had also returned.


Everybody thought Jon was taking time off because he was burnt out from the wrestling business.

Some even thought he was retiring.

Not Delilah. Not Sami. They knew him better than most – they had all come up through the wrestling business together, starting out as teenagers and working their way through the Independents. People thought WWE was the be-all, end-all, but they were wrong. In this day and age, with social media, it was possible to become a bonafide wrestling star and to get one's name out there to be recognized. Back in the day, it was a lot harder to do because there weren't platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, etc.

Nowadays, it was very easy to become an Independent wrestler, be successful, and make a lot of money, if it was done right. That was why Delilah and Sami had left WWE developmental when they were told they would never be anything more than cruiserweights and she wasn't cut out to be a champion of any kind. That had lit a fire under both of them something FIERCE and they were currently proving WWE, and all their critics, wrong. And now Jon Moxley was doing the same damn thing, only he was telling WWE to stick their money and PG-rated garbage up their asses.

On the contrary, he wasn't out to prove anyone wrong because he had done that already. Jon was out to get back to doing what he loved. What he enjoyed. Leaving behind his buddies had been…great, actually. He loved Joe and Colby, but they were company men through and through and they had badgered the hell out of him for leaving. He wasn't surprised at all when he received a few text messages from Sami. Also, Jon hadn't missed the Switchblade reference his buddy had made not so long ago on Twitter either. He didn't usually USE social media, but that didn't mean he didn't pay attention, he just didn't usually air his personal life for the world to know.

Sami, Sami, Sami…and then there was Delilah…someone Jon hadn't seen in ages.

"Damn it, why isn't he answering me?"

"Would you leave the man alone? For fuck's sake, Sami, maybe he doesn't WANT to be bothered right now." Delilah chastised, busy pumping her legs up and down with weights, strengthening her lower core as well as her legs. They were in the gym working out and Sami would NOT get off his cell phone. "If you don't get off that damn thing in three seconds, I'm going to break it. This is not the time for your phone, you need to get your work out in."

"Shaddup, you're not my Mom!"

Christ, sometimes Sami acted like such a child and she pinched the bridge of her nose before going back to focusing on her workout. Truth be told that video had been on the forefront of her mind – the official announcement of Jon Moxley's return. Delilah lost count how many times she watched it, but kept her thoughts and feelings to herself, knowing better than to wear her heart on her sleeve. The fact Sami kept texting the man, and he hadn't responded back…Sami needed to leave him alone and let him find his own way. If he wound up in Impact or AEW, great! Something told her he was going to AEW, but then again, Jon Moxley was unpredictable and had been from day one.

"You know, it wouldn't KILL the guy to-" Sami groaned, shaking his head. "I know he's gotten them, even he's not that tech illiterate."

"That's pretty rude, I'm actually pretty damn tech savvy." Jon just chose to ignore it and pretended it all sucked balls. Privacy was a legitimate thing and since he had been living in Hell's Goldfish Bowl for the past almost eight years – WWE and their personal life policing policies – being MIA from everything for a bit had been GREAT.

"Jesus!" Sami fumbled to catch his cell when he dropped it, his eyes widening and let out a breath of relief when he snatched it up. "You're. An. Ass!"

"Nah bro, I figured with as much as you've been blowing me up, I'd just come say hi and maybe give you a reach around." Jon's icy blues narrowed ever so slightly in wicked amusement. "You know, since you're acting like a jilted prom date."

Jon was here?!

Jon Moxley was standing in this gym, looking as only he could look in the best shape of his life. Delilah's jaw dropped when she heard his voice and she pushed up on the leg press to lock into place. "I told you, Sami. And he's right, you do." She added with a smirk, giggling at her brother growling at her, calling her a 'know-it-all bitch' and she just blew a kiss at him in return. "Proud to be one,brotha, and don't you forget it!"

Her deep light brown eyes finally moved to Jon and Delilah felt her heart start pounding a little harder in her chest. She must've looked a mess being all sweaty from her workout, which she had been on the verge of finishing anyway, with her silver hair pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head. Her natural hair color was dishwater blonde, but she had her hair dyed every couple of months silver, loving the color and how it made her stand out in the ring.

"I'll leave you prom dates alone."

"Man, shut up, Del!" Sami couldn't believe Jon was here either and immediately did their handshake before colliding chests in an embrace. "Welcome back to the real world, brother."

"The real world smells like swamp crotch and bodywash. Axe is for college frat boys, Callihan." Jon remarked without missing a beat, slapping his friend on the back before his eyes shifted to Delilah, raising an eyebrow. "Not you, doll." He walked over to stare down at her, reaching out a hand and helped her up to her feet, fingers locking around her wrist. Her heart was going a mile a minute, he was feeling her pulse. But then again, she had just been working out. "You look like a fun, hot mess."

"Don't flirt."

"Eat me, you have any idea the RULES I had to follow?"

"Believe me, you're not the only one who was sucked into that whole PG-rated world. Though, NXT wasn't that bad. Paul actually did a pretty good job running it."

"Yeah sure, until he told us we wouldn't amount to anything in this business." Delilah muttered, feeling a rush of warmth go up her arm at the mere touch from Jon. God, he still had those damn electric blues that reminded her of lightning, especially when he had adrenaline pumping through his veins. "Thanks…" She had to break the eye contact and gently removed her wrist from his hand to move to stand next to her brother, planting her forearm on his shoulder.

Jon always unnerved her with his eccentric ways and, not to mention, he was a bit of a manwhore back in the Indie days. Delilah wondered if he'd go back to being a womanizer since that was part of his character, but then again, this was a different time period. Women these days were outperforming the men in the ring, so she didn't know if the womanizing would fly.

Her guess was no.