Vengeance Is Mine
Summary: A little mayhem. But HHH did ask for it!
Rating: PG
Written By: Beth
Email: [email protected]
Three months. In the grand scheme of things that probably wasn't so bad.
Hell it beat my twenty minute title reign by a long shot. I knew I had a lot to be proud of.
Being the first Undisputed Champion in WWF history was nothing to sneeze at.
And beating the top two guys to accomplish it, wasn't bad either.
Losing the title was something I knew was going to happen eventually.
Hell, I
even figured it would be to good old HHH......or as I not so kindly refer to
him....Huge Horrible Honker.
The second he made his grand and glorious return
I knew that my days as Champion were numbered.
The writing was on the wall
so to speak.
And in letters three feet high.
In spite of having held numerous titles in more federations than I can remember,
I had never lost a title like this one.
I wasn't sure if he could handle it in a graceful
and professional manner.
But after a couple of long, enlightening conversations
with Dwayne Johnson,
I realized that losing a title doesn't necessarily sound the
death knell for your career.
After all Dwayne had won the WWF Championship six times.....and he'd lost it
six times.
A fact he wasn't all that thrilled to hear when I pointed it out.
But his
point was well taken.
So I was ready to job my title. I was more than a little
annoyed that it would be to Hunter.
But I could live with it.
That was until I read
his interview.
You see Wrestlemania, aside from being the biggest wrestling event we
stage...is also the largest media event.
You can't walk three feet without
somebody sticking a microphone in your face or snapping your picture.
It can
wear you down.
But knowing that our sport is alive and incredibly healthy makes
it bearable.
I had done quite a few interviews myself,
so when I heard rumblings about what
Hunter had said, I took very little notice.
It was only when I realized that some of
the guys
were going to great lengths to keep me from seeing it that I gave into
my curiosity.
Now I've known for a long time that HHH has a very...healthy....ego.
Nobody loves Hunter more than Hunter does.
But I guess that's part of his charm
Most of the interviews he does are typical Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
All big talk
and self promotion.
But every so often he slips.
He lets his real feelings and
opinions slip through.
And his brain doesn't seem to house that little cluster of
cells that tells you to shut your mouth before you get yourself in trouble.
As I sat
and read what he had to say,
nothing much stuck out as all that newsworthy.
And then he mentioned me.
It's typical to run down your opponent.
But it's always clearly understood
backstage that there's a line you never cross.
You never let your personal
feelings enter into it.
Kayfaybe is sacred.
I guess Hunter forgot this.
But
somehow I doubt it.
His words were meant as a direct shot at me.
And God bless
him....he didn't miss.
I'm paraphrasing here, but basically what he said was that I
wasn't quite as good as the other top level stars.
He couldn' put his finger on it,
but something was missing.
He was sure that I' find it though....and then, watch
out!
A notch below everyone else?
I was just the first Undisputed Champion damn it.
My first reaction was anger.
I had worked damn hard....in places he had never
heard of..... just to get where I was.
My second was disbelief.
In all my years in
the business I had never bad mouthed anyone.
It was the quickest way I knew to
have an entire locker room turn against you.
My third and most telling reaction
was resignation.
After all it wasn' my girlfriend doing the booking.
I didn' hold
the secure spot in the company that he did.
People who knew I had read the article were waiting for me to explode.
But I was
determined to remain professional.
At least until after Wrestlemania.
So I went
through with the match as planned.
Hunter won his titles, I was once again
without a belt
and in my mind I had absolutely nothing to lose.
The RAW after Wrestlemania is traditionally one of the best.
Luckily for me the
bulk of the attention was on Hulk Hogan
and his passing of the torch the
previous night to The Rock.
It had been a rare moment...one that helped me get
through
what had turned out to be my Wrestlemania from hell.
Backstage,
people were still buzzing about the two icons going face to face so hardly anyone
noticed when I came face to face with Hunter.
He was trolling the hallway for admirers,
Steph appropriately two steps behind,
when he spotted me.
Never one to miss an opportunity, he said to no one in
particular.
It must be nice to have a real champion carrying around these belts.
I know he thought he was being charmingly sarcastic.
But even Big Show...who's
as dense as a forest knew a shot when he heard it.
Hunter finally met my
gaze...oh who am I kidding...it was a glare.
Oh hey Chris. I'l bet you got here a
lot earlier
not having to lug these heavy things with you.
Steph let out a nervous
giggle.
But being a child of the business, even she knew he was dangerously
close to crossing the line.
I could feel my fists clenching.
I hadn' really slept since Friday night.
So to say
my nerves were stretched a tad thin was an understatement.
My own little cluster
of brain cells told me to just walk away.
But I wasn' in much of a listening mood.
I silently prayed for Hunter to continue. I wanted him to say just one more
thing....anything really.
And the big fool didn' let me down. I just wanted to
thank you for keeping my titles warm.
That was good enough for me.
The punch was so fast and so hard that he was
flat on his back before anyone even realized that I had swung at him.
If I close
my eyes I can still
see those belts floating through the air,
the lights glinting off
their highly polished surfaces.
The sound of Hunter and fifteen pounds of metal
and leather hitting the concrete was most satisfying.
Of course there was a mixture of screams, shouts, gasps and I swear I heard
someone say, Nice shot.
Hunter immediately scrambled to his feet,
clutching
his jaw and furrowing his brow.
A smart man would have run like hell.
So what
did I do? I stood there and laughed.
All I could think of was a promo The Rock
had done with him.
He had questioned Hunter as to why he always had his face
all squwunched up.
I finally knew what that word meant.
"re you crazy?"he yelled.
"ot at all,"I replied coolly.
In fact I don' think I'e
ever felt so sane.
You know what you'e problem is?
You'e jealous, he
bellowed.
I �m better than you.
I've always been better than you.
Hell, I'm better
than every damn guy here.
I stood there silently, content to let him dig his own
grave.
"I was going to apologize for what I said.
But the hell with you.
You're
second rate....and you always will be.
The silence was deafening.
I let his words hang in the air for a bit....just for
effect. Then I spoke.
"That may be Hunter.
But I'd much rather go through my
career being second rate than sit by and wonder if it was my talent...or my
girlfriend.... who got me where I am."
Talk about having a death wish.
People
have since sworn to me that they saw smoke come out of his ears.
I'll never
know because at that precise moment, Shane McMahon appeared from
nowhere and got a grip on Hunter, dragging him down the hall.
At the same time
I felt two arms get me
in a vise like hold and pull me in the other direction.
After we were several rooms apart, the arms loosened.
Turning quickly I saw that
it was Dwayne.
"You can thank me later," he said with a rare smile.
I was about
to berate him for sticking his nose in...but he was probably right.
Vince would
tolerate one punch....but only one punch.... at the golden boy.
In spite of his
relationship with his only daughter, he wasn't all that fond of him.
"If I leave you
here...will you promise to behave?" he joked.
"Yeah, I promise," I mumbled,
rubbing my suddenly throbbing knuckles.
He took one more critical glance at me
and shaking his head,
walked out of the room.
I flexed my fingers just to make sure I hadn't
turned my hand into a maraca and
then I finally smiled.
My first real smile in what seemed like weeks.
Jerky was
back....and boy had I missed him
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