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kenneth-omega · 2 years

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The Fear of Falling in Love

// Part 1 // Part 2 //

A Kenny Omega Short Fic

**EDITED 27/08/2022**

Pairing: Kenny Omega x Female Reader

Summary: You’re a family friend of The Young Bucks who, like Matt and Nick, also became obsessed with wrestling from a young age. During Kenny’s absence from screen you were sourced into AEW by the Bucks and brought into the Undisputed Elite faction. Following the recent fall out between Adam Cole/reDragon and the Bucks over the upcoming Trios tournament you finally get to meet the great Kenny Omega. You eventually become locked into a storyline that starts out fun and harmless but soon turns sour at the prospect of real feelings being hurt and relationships tarnished.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO A TAGLIST IN FUTURE PARTS WHEN THEY’RE POSTED PLEASE LMK

Warnings: some swearing, kenny being a little flirty bitch, ethan page being the best shit stirrer (ILHSM)

Word count: 2.8K

A/N: Part 2 of this mini fic I’m constructing is finally up! 💖 Bare with me y’all I know it’s a slow burn but you know the saying, treat ‘em mean, keep em keen 🤪

For Reference:

“All Ego” Ethan Page is Julian

Cori “The Alpha” Dacre is Y/N

Post-breakfast led to a workout in the gym with Ethan, before you both grabbed some quick lunch back at the hotel’s catering and went your respective ways back to your rooms to shower.

Having washed off the sweat and gym grime you’d gone to Twitter, curious to see what everyone was talking about in the lead up to tonight’s Dynamite episode.

Of course the number one topic of interest was Kenny’s return.

You’d seen the Bucks’ recent video of Being The Elite, with the little teaser of Kenny’s theme music at the end giving you excited chills when you first watched it.

That was four hours ago, as now you sat in an Uber on route to the Charleston Coliseum, ready to meet up with the Bucks. Being EVP’s, they had a few other jobs to sort before this evening and had headed down a couple of hours before yourself.

C: 5 mins away.

You text the group chat that contains you and the Bucks, announcing your soon-to-be arrival.

A thumbs up emoji in response. You toss your phone onto the seat beside you, bouncing your legs up and down nervously. Why were you so jittery? You were trying to convince yourself that it couldn’t be anything to do with Kenny, although maybe you were feelings some pre-match nerves for him. It was understandable, but you felt as though you didn’t deserve to be nervous.

Although you’d not seen him training, you knew that Matt and Nick had recently been working this match out with him and neither of them had seemed to hint towards Kenny not being ready to return. You trusted the man’s judgement.

The Uber came to a slow crawl in front of the arena, where there were a few avid, dedicated fans already stood outside the doors of the venue.

You weren’t opposed to meeting fans, on the contrary, you actually loved it and loved meeting such a variety of interesting people. However today you really needed to get inside and ready for the show, which would only be delayed if you were to get out here and potentially risk being recognised.

Politely you ask the driver to continue around the side, where the production trucks and loading bays would be. Here, you could silently head into the building, knowing that security would be manning the side entrances.

You thank the driver, promising to tip him extra as a gesture of appreciation, before heading through the doors at the back of one of the loading bays. Inside there are two security guards stood in the corridor as you predicted, who stop you for identification. You pull out an AAA pass that you keep on your person.

Satisfied, the guards let you pass unbothered, so you shrug your rucksack a bit more securely onto your shoulders and continue on.

C: Where you guys at?

N: Just finishing up a small meeting with TK, head to locker room 6A it’ll have a sign on it!!

You ask another guard nearby where room 6A is, unable to see any signs along the corridor you were walking down that would help you understand where you needed to be.

She directs you up some stairs to the next floor and sends you left, heading further towards where the main area of the venue is.

Finally you spot a door with a piece of paper Blu-tacked to it which states in bold black letters: ELITE DRESSING ROOM - BUCKS, OMEGA & ALPHA.

You can’t help a little smile form on your lips as you read the sign. Turning the handle you find it unlocked, noting that the lights are on, which means someone’s inside.

“Matt? Nick?” You call out confusedly, unable to find anyone sat in the room. Their bags are strung up on some hooks to the far left, so you know they’ve been here already.

There’s the sound of water rushing in the bathroom which stops soon after you call out for the Jackson brothers. You knock timidly on the bathroom door, hoping you don’t startle the occupier. The door opens quickly enough that in the blink of an eye the ugly shade of blue paint is replaced by a broad chest covered with a zip up AEW hoodie. Craning your head back you find Kenny, a smirk perking up on his lips when he sees you standing in front of him.

“Just me, unfortunately.” He jokes, leaning forward slightly, his shoulder resting against the doorframe. The subtle movement brings his body closer to yours.

You force words out this time, not wanting a repeat of earlier today for fear of seeming unprofessional and fangirlish. Although that’s all you felt like when you were around him.

“Nothing unfortunate about it!” You reply, a little too cheerfully. His smile only widens at your remark, showing you a pearly set of teeth as he finds great humour in how you seem to be scrambling for words.

Unable to take his unwavering gaze any more, you turn away and walk over to the other side of the room, feeling the pressure on your chest lift. You felt ridiculous, unable to act normal around someone you’d never met before yet had idolised for so long.

You’d not had nerves this bad since your first time debuting on Dynamite.

Taking a seat on one of the worn leather couches, you pull out your phone, glancing over to see Kenny still stood in the doorway, although he’s also looking at something on his phone.

A ping from your phone pulls your eyes away from the man stood across the room from you, finding a text from Ethan.

E: U @ the venue already? x

You roll your eyes at his texting, but can’t help a little humoured snort come out. You clap a hand over your mouth in embarrassment, eyes instantly shifting to Kenny whose head had popped up at the sound. The pout was gone and he offered you a genuine smile this time.

“How cute.” He comments, before going back to his phone, walking over to the other leather couch opposite the coffee table in front of you as he texts someone. You find warmth radiating in your cheeks at his comment, cursing yourself internally for getting worked up over something so stupid.

You scold yourself and shoot Ethan a text back.

C: Yeah, just sat with Kenny waiting for Matt and Nick x

Ethan’s next reply comes through not even a minute later.

E: JUST sat? thought u were 2 nervous lol x

You scowl at his message, tempted to ferociously stick your finger up at your screen in response. You decide against it, not wanting Kenny to notice and start asking awkward questions that you definitely weren't calm enough to answer with a convincing lie.

C: Fuck off, also not to be grammar police but your spelling is 💩

E: Ur chicken 💩 for being 2 scared and stop trying 2 change subjects

C: I’m changing subjects by ending this convo lol, bye J x

E: Bye chicken 💩 x

His last response brings a smile to your face. You’ve always appreciated Julian’s humour and how easily he can turn your mood around.

“Texting a boyfriend?” Kenny asks earnestly, although you note the hint of curiosity in his voice as he looks over the top of his phone at you.

You can’t help but laugh at his question. “Not quite.” You reply, not wanting to feel as though you’re openly advertising yourself as single. You knew Kenny didn’t really have much of a love life, but you’d be damned if you’d make him think that you were trying to actively throw yourself at anyone who was available.

His eyebrow raises with interest. “What does not quite mean? Are you friends with...”

“No!” You shout, immediately feeling embarrassed at the volume you used. “It’s not like that at all. Just friends.” You assure him, although you’re not sure why you feel the need to. What does it matter to him if you’re seeing someone or not?

That same smirk appears on his unfairly attractive lips again and you can tell he’s enjoying winding you up, although you can’t detect any malice behind it.

“I’m only messing, you don’t need to feel so wound up around me. I’m not that scary am I?” He asks you, his head tilting slightly in question like a dog’s would, his body language relaxed and not at all intimidating.

You let out a heavy sigh. “No, sorry.” You apologise, feeling sheepish for the overreaction. He shakes his head, standing up and moving over so that he’s in front of you. Once again, you have to pull your head back just to be able to make eye contact with him.

“Don’t apologise, I get nervous too.” He offers you a hand in polite gesture. You take it, ignoring that same electric feeling you get whenever your skin seems to make contact with his. He pulls you forward in your seat, bending down and resting his hand on the couch armrest, his curls tickling your cheek as he brings his mouth level to your ear. You can smell his aftershave, a welcoming scent that reminds you of back in Canada. It makes you feel slightly homesick.

“I won’t bite, unless you ask me too.” The sensation of warm air lightly brushing over your ear and neck sends the most delicious tingles down your spine, a familiar warm sensation pooling in the bottom of your stomach.

There’s the tell tale sound of Matt and Nick approaching, the two of them talking loudly to who you assume to be Brandon. Kenny retreats back to his seat, much to your chagrin, with a shit-eating grin on his face. As he sits down the door opens with the Bucks and, you guessed it, Brandon appearing, all seeming chipper and excited.

---------

You’re finished dressing up for the night, wearing a subtler version of your ring makeup and having styled your hair in a way that you like which is casual but cute. The jeans you’ve styled with an off the shoulder top and leather jacket have a BTE patch embroidered on one of the back pockets and you’ve sneakily Tippex-ed an omega sign on the other.

As you bend down to tie up the laces on your trusty Dr Martens you hear a chuckle behind you. Peering over your shoulder you see Kenny pulling out his gear for the evening, his gaze fixed on the symbol you’ve drawn on your backside.

“My eyes aren’t on my ass Omega, keep them up here.” You gesture to your face, standing up straight and giving him the most coquettish smile you can muster.

He grins at your words. With an amused shrug he turns his back on you, pulling off his hoodie so you can’t get a clear view of his body. You do get a view of his back and can see the muscles shift as he runs a hand through his curls. He’s not lost much of his physique in his time off and you have to praise him for that.

You catch Matt’s eye as you go to leave, noticing the wicked grin on his face as his eyes flick back and forth between you and Kenny.

You decide to go find a TV somewhere quiet to watch tonight’s show alone, feeling the need to clear your head before you go out in front of the ravenous crowd.

The show goes well, with the Danielson/Garcia storyline progressing and providing a sweet moment where the crowd chants for Garcia instead of booing him. Punk calls out Hangman unnecessarily, which you find to be out of order, knowing full well that Adam isn’t here tonight to defend himself.

You give a small cheer for Mox when he comes back out later on to call Punk out again, interrupting Tony Nese’s entrance.

Whilst Toni and Kilynn battle it out in the ring together you take this as a good point to stroll towards the backstage area near the tunnels. You’ve had well over an hour to relax and unwind, which you feel has done you the world of good.

As you approach, you spot Don Callis stood a way off with Kenny. The Bucks are nowhere to be seen yet, so you stand around on your phone. You eventually feel a presence and look up to see Kenny stood beside you, fiddling with the tape around his wrists. He’s decked out in a sleeveless, duster-like jacket, with a black compression top on underneath. A precaution, perhaps?

Then you spot the shoulder brace protecting his left side.

“Are you sure you’re ready to wrestle?” You ask him, concern laced into your tone. He doesn’t answer, still struggling with a bit of tape that’s dangling off his wrist. You stand in front of him and grab his arm, tucking the end of the tape in so that it’s secure. With no further distraction he’s forced to look at you.

“There’s no question about it. Besides, this is all just kayfabe for the audience. I feel great.” He assures you, although you can sense his true feelings in his voice. You search his eyes, but all you can see right now is worry. Someone who is scared of doing the one thing he loves the most and screwing it up.

You can hear Le Faccion Ingobernable’s theme hit in the background and know that very shortly you’ll have to go out there with the Bucks.

“Be careful out there. I’d rather you walk back here a winner than us have to carry you back.” You tell him, a fuzzy feeling spreading in your chest when a soft smile spreads across his face, his eyes twinkling with a newfound passion.

“I dread to think what the AEW’s mighty Alpha would do to me if I wasn’t careful.” His tone is playful once more, and you can’t see any hint of those pesky nerves that you feel all too often. Come to think of it though, you didn’t felt nervous around him at all right now, something which you take joy in, as you finally feel relaxed in his presence. Maybe it’s the humbleness of him, that sudden realisation that Kenny Omega is not the god-like character you see him as onscreen.

---------

You could’ve killed him following that barrier spot. Careful, is what you had asked for and this was his idea of it?

Part of you felt like a mark for getting so worked by Kenny’s impeccable selling of each injury and every spot, yet every single strike or move that connected with his body made you cringe.

At the end of the match, following a slight struggle to get the One-Winged Angel, Kenny got the pin and it was finally over. You could breathe easy again.

Remembering that you were still on air, you slid into the ring and knelt beside him, placing a hand on his side where you could feel the bandages wrapping up his torso underneath his shirt.

The Bucks beckoned you to leave the square, knowing the turn on Dragon Lee that was about to take place in the ring. You both slid out and stepped away, one of your arms wrapped around his waist as Kenny leant on you, his “good” arm wrapped around your shoulders. As you closed the distance to reach Matt and Nick, Kenny turns his head and buries his face into your hair, obscuring his lips, from the camera.

“I’m okay.” He mutters to you.

It’s all you need to quell the worry that has sat in your stomach for the past 25 minutes.

Although you know he was only doing so to hide his face, you can’t help but feel a wave of goose bumps erupt at the nape of your neck from the feeling of his lips brushing your ear. You have to mentally slap yourself in order to not lose focus on your current task of acting it up for the camera.

You don’t see the Hammerlock DDT that Andrade enacts on Dragon Lee, but you hear the confused shouts of the crowd and finally see the live feed on the screens go off.

The show is over. But not quite.

Nick runs to the ring, hoping to defend Dragon and in doing so warding off Andrade and Rush. Matt helps Dragon out of the ring and you watch as he manages to hobble off backstage. Kenny moves back towards the ring, his arm leaving your shoulders and instead grabbing your hand, bringing you along with him. His hold never breaks as he helps you up the steel steps.

Matt is sat on the ropes, creating a gap for you to slip through and Kenny follows suit, having retrieved a microphone from Justin Roberts.

You stand in the ring as Kenny addresses the crowd in earnest regarding his return to wrestling. You stand quietly, unable to stop the infectious smile that is plastered across your face as you listen to him.

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banannabethchase · 10 months

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Their first kiss for *googles aew wrestler generator* Matt Jackson and Isiah Kassidy, apparently. (permission to completely change the pairing if needed BUT you MUST use the generator to do so. https://spinthewheel.app/rrCZph7oEU (and of course you may edit it to remove absolute no-go names))

Project Connection

I think you may have created a monster here. I don't know what this is but it exists!

Isiah's been sad.

Matt - it's not exactly that he's noticed or anything, but he's used to enthusiasm, moaning, chaos, all that jazz from Isiah. But he's been muted lately. Matt can only imagine how miserable he'd be if he were separated from Nick for as long as Marq Quen has been gone. He decides to be a good person about it.

"Hey," he says, grabbing his lunch and plopping down next to Isiah in catering. "How are you?"

Isiah looks around, then back at Matt. "Uh. I'm fine, I guess. Am I in trouble?"

Matt frowns. "Trouble? Why? Did you do something?"

"No." Isiah shrugs, moving his salad around on his plate. "You main eventers just don't typically hang out with midcarders, is all."

Matt lets that sink in a little bit. Isiah's right. Matt hates it, but Isiah's right. "Well," he decides. "That needs to change, doesn't it? No cliques in AEW. EVP decree."

"Calling yourself an EVP doesn't really help the situation," Isiah says, but there's a smile on his lips that wasn't there before.

Matt and Isiah manage to create a group of wrestlers who are injured or their faction partners are injured and hold a team building zoom activity weekly. Isiah's excitement when he sees Marq Quen is worth every frustrating phone call and confusing tech glitch. After the third meeting, Tony Khan claps him on the shoulder and congratulates him on such a great work culture support idea, but Matt shakes him off.

"This is mostly Isiah's idea," Matt says. He wishes Isiah were here for this conversation. "Without his ideas, this would be dead in the water."

Tony nods, considering. "Well, good to know. I'll have to thank him, too."

"Matt!"

Matt has three seconds to turn around before Isiah's springing into his arms with glee, linking his legs around Matt's back and causing him to stumble into the wall. "Oh! Hi! Yes?"

Isiah grins at him, then slowly slides to the ground. "Tony gave me a raise or promotion type thing," he says, beaming. "Told me I was doing a great job with Project Connection, and wants me to do a few formal hours weekly to make it a real thing!" He yanks Matt in for a hug.

Matt's only human and Isiah is a very huggy person. It's not either of their faults, how Matt has acquired the most embarrassing crush on the guy, but it feels a little unfair either way. "That's amazing, Isiah," he says, trying to keep his smile under control. "You deserve it."

Isiah looks either side down the hall, and then, to Matt's thrill, steps in closer. "Tony told me you gave him my name," he says. His voice is different than Matt's ever heard it. Soft, almost. None of the humor or frenetic energy. It makes Matt's heart race. "Thank you."

Matt nods, unsure what to do with his hands. He thinks Isiah can hear his heart race. "Of course," he decides to say, his voice breathier than usual. "It's your brainchild. You deserve all the credit for building it."

Isiah smiles and leans in, kissing Matt so gently his knees almost give out from under him. "Thank you," he says again.

Matt's left there against the wall, the world spinning around him, and congratulates himself for seeing in Isiah back in the day what the world knows now.

#Sarah I'm feeding you to a megalodon #in which sara writes #wtf i like wrestling now???#MattIsiah #Matt Attrackson #I don't evne know #What #HOW

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thewrestlerdotcom · 2 months

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AEW Revolution 2024 Review

Last Sunday was AEW Revolution 2024, which is the first Pay Per View on the calendar for All Elite Wrestling. This show was headlined by Sting's Last Match, as the legend hanged his boots after a 30 year career.

The show was an all timer with a lot of great action on the card but I'll take focus on some of my favorite matches that was on the show.

Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson for the AEW Continental Crown Championship:

This is the third time that Kingston and Danielson has faced off against one another in AEW, and both men have a long history with each other. This match was truly more than a Championship match but it was also match that was built on respect. Danielson doesn't Kingston and the last two times they've faced off against each Kingston and Danielson have split the series. Eddie looks to prove himself in a brutal and hard hitting match where he ultimately gets the victory.

Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita:

Some people consider Will Ospreay as the greatest Wrestler in the World today, and I am one of those people. In this match Will Ospreay makes his official AEW debut after signing as a free agent against Don Callis Family faction mate Konosuke Takeshita. This match was more of a exhibition than a match with a story behind it, and both men provided some great action and athleticism, with this match truly shining as the match of the night.

Darby Allin & Sting vs. The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championship:

What more can I say about this match? An epic conclusion to the career of The Icon. This match had Sting and his partner Darby defend the World Tag Team Championship against AEW's bad guy EVPs Matthew & Nicholas Jackson. Sting came out with his sons also dressed as past versions of his looks, and we got to see a hardcore match. Including Darby Allin jumping off a ladder into some glass. The match capped off a memorable night and one of the best AEW ppvs in recent memory, as well as a great send off to Sting.

#aew #aew revolution #sting

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jjasportstudio · 2 months

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#pro wrestling #wrestling #sport #news #aew #jja sport studio #jan-jaap abbink

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let-me-love-you-loki · 2 years

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Nowhere To Run-Ch.7

A/N: Here are the songs that are referenced in this chapter. Ignore the fact that they are songs from two different and OLD Fozzy albums. All That Remains and Painless.

Chapter 7

Wednesday morning was quiet. Tara was back—thank God—which meant I didn’t have to go ringside again. I worked backstage with ease, my headphones in as I tacked up signs outside of dressing rooms. As I went through the list in my hand, I was surprised to find that Jericho had his own room away from the rest of the Inner Circle. It was just down the hall, but it still felt odd.

Of course, anyone else would have thought it was strange that a star like him shared a dressing room with the rest of his faction.

Afterwards, I made sure each room was stocked with water, towels, and a menu for the day’s catering. I helped wardrobe get things lined up. I taped the paper with the match card near the monitors for Tony, on the stairs by each of the tunnels, at each seat at the commentary table, and down by the time-keeper’s area. I couldn’t help but look at that table and remember the last week.

Before I knew it, it was the time when most of the wrestlers started showing up. I rushed through the night’s rundown, making a mental list of everything that I needed to do. First things first, I needed to take that mile walk and pick up the regular jolt of caffeine for the Inner Circle. As I made my way to the back exit, I knocked on the door of the EVP dressing room. Matt Jackson opened up.

“Coffee run?” I said with a smile.

He grinned. “Oh you wonderful person, you.” He rattled off an order, patiently waiting for me to write everything down on my phone. Two more orders followed—one for his brother and another for Kenny—with the same patience. “Are you okay with all that yourself?”

“I’ll manage. Give me twenty minutes.”

The door at the end of the hall opened and Jack stepped through. He was in a white t-shirt, jeans, and flip-flips. His hair was pulled back and he had his glasses on. When we saw each other, we grinned.

“Hey…” I called happily.

Jack’s smile got even bigger. “Did you know I look like my dad?” he teased. He propped his bag against the wall and yanked me into a big bear hug. He kissed the side of my head roughly. “Good day so far?”

I thumped him playfully in the chest with my fist. “So far. But I’ve only run into Matt and you. No one of trouble has showed up yet.” I wiggled my phone at him. “I was just on my way to the coffee shop for the weekly Inner Circle order. Plus the Bucks and Kenny.”

“How in the world are you going to carry eight coffees, Kat?” Jack queried. He held up his hand, not even giving me a chance to respond. “Answer, you aren’t. I’m going to go with you.”

“Aww, thanks, Jack,” I said sweetly, lifting up on my toes to kiss him on the cheek.

***

Jericho was convinced that the universe was damned and determined to continue shoving the reality of Kat Prince and Jack Perry in his face. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be one of the first to show up on a Wednesday night. He’d asked Tony Khan for a private dressing room that night so that he could get some other stuff done while he waited for the show to start. He’d planned on recording some stuff for his podcast. If he had time, he wanted to start in on some new lyrics for a new album for Fozzy.

He’d stepped out of his dressing room only to be slapped in the face by the sight of Kat and Jack laughing in the hallway. Of course, he showed up just in time to see Kat press a kiss to his cheek. He saw red when he realized that Jack had his hand possessively on the small of her back.

A moment later, their hands were interlinked and they disappeared out of the doorway that led to the back entrance of Daily’s place. Jericho looked at his watch. It was about time for their Wednesday coffee. Seemed like Jack was going to keep her company.

Jericho sucked in a breath through his teeth and stepped back into his room, doing his best not to slam the door closed. He clenched his fists at his sides and tried to focus on something else. Anything else.

With a huff, he sat down at the table with a pad of paper.

***

“So you walk down here every Wednesday, get coffee for Jericho and his crew, personally mix his coffee, carry it all back, and you never get anything for yourself?” Jack asked as we strolled back through the Jacksonville heat. He carried a four-cup carrier in one hand and a coffee of his own in the other. “And you pay for it out of your own pocket?”

I shook my head. “I keep the receipts, trust me. Tony Khan pays me back at the end of the month. And it’s hard to carry five cups without spilling them. Six would be too much.”

“Have you eaten today, Kat?”

I glanced up at him from the corner of my eye. His face was contorted in worry and concern. I weighed whether I should lie or tell the truth. Apparently waiting so long to answer was enough of a giveaway.

“We’re going straight to catering when we get back. Jericho and his crew don’t own you, Kat.” We stopped at a crosswalk and he looked over at me, bumping me gently in the shoulder. “And do me a favor. Watch my match tonight?”

The light turned green. I nodded with a smile. “I promise.”

***

Jericho went to meet with the Inner Circle to talk through a promo that they were supposed to shoot in the ring. As he walked the hallway, he couldn’t help but play chords and notes in his head. Two sheets of paper were tucked into the side pocket of his gear bag, lyrics to songs that he felt burning within him.

Earlier that night, Kat had delivered their coffee like usual. Everything they could have needed was already laid out and prepared in their dressing rooms. She’d done everything without seeing a single member of the Inner Circle. Jericho wondered if she’d rushed through her match prep for them so she could get away from them… from him.

He passed by a bank of monitors, surprised to see Kat standing there. She had her hair in a ponytail that draped over her shoulder. He could see her twirling the end of it in her fingers. Jericho looked at the clock. There were a few minutes to spare. Even though he knew it wasn’t the best of ideas, he crossed the room and stepped into the spot beside her.

“What are we watching?” Jericho asked quietly, crossing his arms as he stood there.

Kat jumped a little before she turned to look at him. “Jack asked me to watch his match tonight.”

Jericho was once again overcome with that sensation that he was going to be sick. He clamped his teeth shut, the muscles of his jaw bunching. His entire body felt hot all over.

The sound of Tarzan Boy burst through the arena. The audience erupted, shouting out the lyrics and waving their hands in the air. Jack Perry strutted through the face tunnel and stopped at the top of the ramp. He paused for just a moment before continuing toward the ring, the camera just a few feet in front of him.

Jack looked right into the camera and grinned. Even without sound, it was clear what he was saying. He waved with his fingers and leaned in, a grin on his face. Hey Kat. Then he put his fingers to his lips and blew a kiss at the camera. That’s for you.

Jericho closed his eyes. He was certain he was going to vomit everywhere. There was no denying it anymore. Jack Perry had made it abundantly clear that there was something between him and Kat Prince. It was on national television.

***

“You gonna watch my match tonight?” Jack asked as he sat beside me on the wall outside Daily’s place almost a month later. It was a question he’d asked each week, every time he had a match on Dynamite.

I rolled my eyes. “Are you going to blow kisses to me on camera?”

He shrugged, a mischievous grin on his lips. “Maybe.”

“Are you trying to make everyone think we’re dating? Because it seems like that’s the word going around backstage.” I thumped him in the arm.

“It’s not such a bad idea, you know,” he said seriously. “Us dating.”

We looked at each other, eyes meeting for a brief moment. It took only a second for both of us to burst out laughing. I leaned my head against Jack’s shoulder as we tried to catch our breath.

“We tried that before, remember?” I gasped. “It was so weird.”

Jack made a face. “It wasn’t that weird.”

“Okay, maybe it wasn’t. But we’re much better as friends, aren’t we?”

He threw an arm around my shoulders and kissed me on the temple. “And that’s why I’m looking out for you when it comes to Jericho.”

I elbowed him in the ribs. “Maybe you could look out a little less?”

***

On a rare day off, Jericho sat with his fellow members of Fozzy. He’d brought his gear bag and tossed the two pages of lyrics on the table between them. “Rich, see what you can do with these. I want them on the next album.”

Rich Ward, the platinum blonde guitarist for Fozzy, looked at Jericho with a sigh. “Seriously? It’s slated to go out in six weeks!”

Jericho glanced at the other members of the band, all of whom watched him. They’d follow his lead. “Then we’d better get work.”

The lyrics made the rounds, each member looking them over. PJ sat back as he handed the sheets over to Frank. “Who is she?”

Jericho should have known better than to think that his bandmates wouldn’t pick up on the subtleties of the lyrics. He leaned back and sighed. “It doesn’t matter.”

There was no point denying it.

#nowhere to run #chris jericho #chris jericho fanfiction #fozzy #aew #aew fanfiction #jack perry #jungle boy #jungle boy jack perry #kat prince #ofc #oc #may/december romance #multi-chapter

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hellopopculture · 2 years

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Top 20 Wrestlers of 2021 (Part 2)

Description: 2021 was one of the strangest years in recent memory as far as Pro Wrestling is concerned. The pandemic era in general has seen a lot of changes and to a certain degree the business and the products produced in it have not completely gotten back to normal. If you had told me in 2019 we would have Bryan Danielson & CM Punk at the same company and a heel Roman Reigns would be one of the most over guys in the WWE, I would've argued it down, I wouldn't have been able to fathom it but here we are.

10. Cody Rhodes-As an Executive Vice President of AEW and also a wrestler, Cody Rhodes was always going to be a prominently featured member of the roster. He was already one of the biggest stars in the business before Dynamite launched though so that spot was earned, not given. Now in his mid-30's he's in the veteran position and can lend some of his credibility and knowledge to the up-and-comers in the business. The stories he's involved in would have you believe that he's a selfish, egotistical, gloryhog, bordering on a complete heel turn but I believe Cody has found a way to bring "kayfabe" back from the dead and help others in the process. Cody was the one who said "there are no heels or babyfaces in AEW". He seems to want there to be blurred lines between what are usually considered good actions and what actions are traditionally considered bad in Pro Wrestling. With each match he became more and more unglued, some times cheating, some times taking his anger out on the wrong people, but he maintains that he is the good guy and that he won't turn heel because of the fans. They cheered him when he began creating this alternative for them and for wrestlers alike and now they hate him because they think he wants all the credit or that he yearns for validation.

Cody's 2021 started off with a big tag team match with his wife against Shaquille O'Neal and Jade Cargill. Jade was new to the company, and nobody had really seen her work yet and Shaq was...well, Shaq. Although the match turned out better than anyone expected it to be and was the definite talk of that episode of Dynamite, it was the build-up to that show prior that the fans started to turn on the Rhodes couple. Cody's Nightmare Family stable at one time consisted of his real wrestling family (Himself, Dustin & Brandi), QT Marshall (his friend and Co-trainer in the Nightmare Factory) and his students (Aaron Solo, Nick Comoroto, Anthony Ogogo, Red Velvet, Brock Anderson & Big Shotty Lee). As fans started to feel that Cody was an over-the-top, Superman babyface that buries his opponents and needs to be the center of attention, he entered a feud with QT who had, had enough of it. When he defeated QT, the Nightmare Family split into two factions, the other being "The Factory". Shotty, Velvet and Brock stuck by Cody while Solo, Comoroto and Ogogo left with QT. Cody would go on to face off with Anthony Ogogo at Double or Nothing and I think this is where the tides turned completely. Cody would struggle to get positive reaction following this, because many fans felt he buried his opponent by beating him in his first ever match.

The high point of the year would come in the form of reclaiming the TNT Championship from newly crowned champion, Sammy Guevara after he used his power as an EVP to have Tony Khan make the match before anyone else could challenge for it. It was short lived though, because he ended up catching COVID-19 and being out for a week.

At this point, a lot of fans have become so exhausted with Cody that the idea that their feelings are being manipulated doesn't seem possible in their minds, but that's what made his role in all of these stories and angles great. Different people are going to get something different out of it. On one hand QT could be right about Cody and on another he could just be bitter that he's not as big a star or that the spotlight isn't on him. On one hand Cody could be burying Ogogo by beating him in his first match and on another he could be giving a guy he helped train the biggest match of his career. It's all left up to our perspective. Today, we know that Cody made his way back to WWE so we will never know where his AEW stories were going and while that may not have been fun for Cody to have to fight the crowd in every arena I was anxious to see how he would come out of it. I guess the solution was returning home.

9. Big E-The Muscle of the New Day; like WALTER, should probably be higher on this list considering the year he had but as his reign came to a close I think we already realized that WWE was never fully invested in him as a World Champion. It more seems that he was a transitional champ or that they gave it to him as a "Thanks for staying loyal and holding it down", type of thing but they never intended to make him the face of any of their brands. Despite that, he still had one hell of a year considering that he's mainly spent the better part of his career in a tag team.

To start he was the Intercontinental Champion feuding with the likes of Apollo Crews & Sami Zayn after he was split up from the New Day in the draft. Until he won the WWE Championship, that was his biggest accomplishment as a singles competitor. He would drop the IC title to Crews @ WrestleMania 37 due to interference from Commander Azeez but in June he would defeat Crews to qualify for the Money in the Bank match, that he would go on to win. Securing the MITB contract would make him the first Black competitor in WWE history to achieve that honor. He briefly lost the briefcase to Baron Corbin but won it back at SummerSlam. By September, Big E would switch brands as he cashed in his contract to face Bobby Lashley for his WWE Championship.

E's Championship run didn't start off so bad. He was appearing on popular black outlets like "The Breakfast Club" which is rare for a Pro Wrestler. He appeared in promotional material for the Deontay Wilder & Tyson Fury where he announced both fighters and he and his New Day Brother's appeared in a Netflix interactive film called "Escape the Undertaker" with the WWE Legend.

When it was time to build E's rivalries and make something of his reign, that's where he kind of stagnated. He didn't have a single heated feud the entire time he was champion. Outside of Dolph Ziggler, he didn't really have any chemistry or history with many of his opponents. It all felt like WWE had no plan for what this title run would be.

What they can't take away from E though is the fact that he is one of two World Champions in the New Day. How many 3-man tag teams or trios have ever had that. They may have done this individually when they broke up or turned on each other but New Day has had so much success and they're still together. E lost his title to Brock who was actually supposed to face Roman Reigns at Day 1 so maybe this reign would have been a little longer, but who knows. All we know is when it's all said in done New Day will arguably be the greatest tag team WWE ever produced. 8. Tetsuya Naito-Although Los Ingobernables de Japón is a heel stable, Tetsuya Naito started becoming this beloved underdog in the late 2010's. Unable to best the previous Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi) and discarded by the fanbase years ago, Tetsuya Naito returned to Japan from Mexico to try and claim everything he was denied in his first run but he continuously came up short. The rise of Young Lions like Kazuchika Okada & Kota Ibushi just added insult to injury as they were and continue to be a constant reminder of what the “Stardust Genius” could not achieve. By 2018 things were falling into place for Naito. He was scoring major victories; he had won over the fanbase in both Japan and in the West and his LIJ stable was getting more and more over with the fans. The main event of Wrestle Kingdom 12 was bittersweet for him because he was supposed to main event against Okada in 2014 @ Wrestle Kingdom 8 but the fans actually voted him out and the match was replaced with the IWGP Intercontinental Title Match between New Japan Musketeer, Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi who were more popular at the time. Closing in on 40 yrs old, it was time for Tetsuya Naito to cement his legacy in New Japan Pro Wrestling and he started by defeating Switchblade, Jay White at Night 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 14 & then Okada the following night, making him the first person to hold both the IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championships at the same time. Those titles are very difficult to win alone, sometimes you have to win a whole tournament to even get a chance to challenge for the title and the champions are usually so dominant that most challengers go home empty handed for long periods of time. Being able to capture the two top titles in the company at the same event isn’t just history but it’s a feat that really belongs to only Naito. While he would go on to lose both titles to EVIL, I think he at this point in his career has embedded himself in the identity of NJPW

in this era. His 2021 wasn’t as eventful as his 2020 but he remained in the mix in deepest talent pool in Pro Wrestling today.

7. Hangman Adam Page-It was clear from the time AEW launched that they had big plans for Hangman Page. He was the first challenger for the Heavyweight Championship and he was one of the few talents to win gold early on, becoming tag champion with Kenny Omega. As a member of The Elite and one half of the tag team champions Hangman began to make it clear that he wanted to go out on his own, teams and stables weren't for him. He wanted to accomplish bigger and better things and he didn't need any help doing it but early in 2021 after the passing of their leader, Brodie Lee...the Dark Order became enamored with Hangman Page. By this time Kenny Omega had moved on from the tag division and on to the Heavyweight Championship and would also conquer AAA and Impact for their top titles.

Hangman would work with the Dark Order for a while, but he would also embark on a downward spiral which involved excessive drinking. He began to lose confidence that he could win the big one and that was made even worse when he lost his ability to challenge Kenny for the title again as a stipulation of their match at AEW Homecoming. He would take paternity leave at this time and in his absence, there was influx of talent including main eventers like CM Punk, Adam Cole & Bryan Danielson which led many to believe this was the last we had seen of Hangman's chase of the main title.

Since Hangman couldn't challenge for the title upon his return, he won the Casino Battle Royal at Dynamite's 2nd Anniversary show which gifted him a shot at Omega once more. At Full Gear he defeated him to become the 4th AEW Heavyweight Champion. Proceeding his victory, he would take on one of the major AEW signings that fans claimed would prevent him from becoming the champion (Bryan Danielson) and actually defeated him, proving that Tony Khan's faith in him as maybe the ace of the company hadn't subsided.

6. Kazuchika Okada-Following the departure of his biggest rival, Kenny Omega and the decline of his stable Bullet Club, the new Ace of NJPW has struggled to maintain his buzz outside of Japan and he's taken a backseat; in terms of interest, to guys like Shingo Takagi, Kota Ibushi & his former right hand, Will Ospreay as they have begun to ascend to the top within the company. When the brand new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship was relinquished by Will Ospreay due to a neck injury, it would be Shingo to claim the top spot by besting Okada @ Dominion. Okada wouldn't return to prominence again until 2022 @ Wrestle Kingdom where he got his win back from Shingo but before then he would dominate the G1 Climax tournament winning for the third time and instead of carrying the briefcase he carried the original IWGP Heavyweight Title one last time; a title that for many NJPW fans of this era has become something you associate with Okada on sight. Whenever I picture that title, I picture it around his waist much like I used to with the Intercontinental Championship and Shinsuke Nakamura. This may not have been the best year for Okada but he's still firmly holding on to his spot as the ace. He's still the man the others will have to surpass to be viewed as the one carrying the flag for the company.

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darkesttimelinejeffparker · 3 years

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8. What existing faction would you want to become a part of?

Man @dancingwithsilhouettes should feel very proud about making me a convert here because my answers would probably please her.

The Pinnacle feels like they're going to be hot for a while now. Tully is such a GOAT and MJF is truly so talented. Man, they even sold me on FTR hard. It was the right move for all of them and I think it would be fun to heel it up with this group. That being said, I would 100% stab them all in the back a couple of months in.

Dark Order is a serious contender here if they can make up and work things out, which I really hope they do because I feel like they still have a lot of room as they currently exist. I get that all factions get a time where it's the right move to call it quits and work on new things, but there's still so much storytelling to do here. And because they're generally so funny and because I like to think that I am funny, too, I feel like I can add a little Je ne sais quoi to their BTE segments, too.

I think it would be fun to be a part of the Elite, too, just because holy shit there's just so much to learn from everyone who's a part of that group. But at the end of the day, my end goal would probably be to liberate Cutler from having to do what Don and the guys say, low blow Don, and help Britt Baker's boyfriend steal the Bucks from Kenny before going to get brunch with Britt.

A fun note, if we're going with the exasperated corporate lady who starts off working for Tony, that's a character that would probably make the most sense supporting the Elite -- as the EVPs, a character like that should keep the company's best interests at heart while also being 210% done with their shit all the time.

#ask box: answered

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dalekofchaos · 3 years

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My hopes for WWE & AEW in 2021 and things I hope changes for WWE and AEW in 2021

Hopes

WWE

Roman Reigns stays dominant and reigns supreme as the Tribal Chief

Keith Lee wins the Royal Rumble, joins The Hurt Business and brings the WWE Champion to the Hurt Business

Naomi returns and joins The Hurt Business and dethrones Asuka to take home the gold

The Hurt Business DOMINATES Raw

Bianca Belair wins the Royal Rumble and dethrones Sasha Banks at Wrestlemania

The Riott Squad win the Women’s Tag Team Champions

Unify the men’s Tag Team Championships

Unveil a new Title and give us WWE’s very first Television Championship. It should be styled similar to the NWA and WCW’s TV belts, but on the sideplates it should include USA and Fox on the plates. Shelton Benjamin or Ricochet should be the TV Championship

Big E reigns supreme as Intercontinental Champion and finally gets to face Roman for the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania 38

Rhea Ripley gets called up and goes to Smackdown

Mercedes Martinez dethrones Io Shirai and becomes NXT Women’s Champion

Karrion Kross reclaims the NXT Championship

Anyone but Johnny Sameface as NXT North American Champion

Queen Of The Ring. The amount of female talent available on Raw, SmackDown, NXT and NXT UK is quite something. It's clear that this is the richest women's division in WWE history. They really should do something with all those workers. The 'Mae Young Classic' tourneys have been fine, but people would trip over themselves to see a fully-fledged 'Queen Of The Ring' epic staged across multiple nights. If booked correctly, this tournament could help establish a new contender for top titles. If she isn't Champion by then(though she should be) the perfect person to become Queen Of The Ring would be Bianca Belair! Bianca Belair would have unparalleled credibility for her 'StrongEST, FastEST, ToughEST' mantra if she whipped a bevy of skilled workers to become the first 'Queen'. WWE could also get creative by linking the event in with Charlotte Flair's nickname and spinning off into a feud between her and the winner afterwards.

Form Full-Time Female Tag-Teams and keep them around. The Women’s Tag Team DIvision is a mess. Keep creating makeshift Tag Teams and breaking up established tag teams and your tag team division is dead. The current champs and their predecessors haven't even been "proper" full-time duos - Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler were shoved together awkwardly in the summer, and they've since been replaced by the unlikely Asuka and Charlotte Flair combo. This cannot be allowed to continue. It's damning that WWE don't have more fully-formed pairings ready to go. The Riott Squad are perhaps the only actual twosome who are presented as a tight-knit collective weekly. Other than that, who is there? Considering the belts have been around for a few years now, that's unacceptable. The IIconics split, so did Sasha Banks and Bayley, and the scene is littered by 'odd couple' tandems like Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce, and Billie Kay teaming with the likes of Natalya or Tamina when it suits.

Ensure NXT is treated like a proper third brand rather than a quasi-development league for Raw and SmackDown. NXT has been on USA Network for over a year now, but it's still very much behind both Raw and SmackDown as a priority. Need proof? Look at the way Keith Lee was handled when he was "called up" after SummerSlam 2020. The former NXT Champ had to start all over again, and he's had several teething problems on Monday nights. It'd be nice to see WWE move away from positioning NXT as a 'feeder' for the other two shows. Changing someone's gimmick when they leave makes the brand look less-than, and there's simply no need for that anymore; NXT should be an equal to Raw and SmackDown, not a development league. Sadly, it still comes across as that. Lee's stop/start plight and the (mis)fortunes of others like Aleister Black and Ricochet should be a lesson to WWE. Some workers are better off rocking the black and yellow, not the red or blue.

AEW

Darby Allin becomes AEW World Heavyweight Champion

Adam Page costs Kenny the title and Page gets revenge and DESTROYS Kenny

MJF destroys the inner circle from within and when Jericho realizes what just happened, that’s when MJF and Wardlow destroys Jericho

Which is when we get a Sammy Guevara babyface turn and we get MJF vs Sammy

Arn Anderson turns on Cody

AEW’s Four Horsemen is formed. MJF, Shawn Spears and FTR with Tully and Arn managing as the JJ DIllon mouthpieces

Darby Allin and MJF feud for the title

The Women’s Division is improved. The girls get more time to shine on Dynamite. Your champion actually appears(shocking, I know) and build feuds and stories for your women’s division. There’s still some time to do what’s right for your women’s division, but the only thing that remains to be seen, does the powers that be of AEW even care?

Get a new title design for the Women’s Championship. It looks like a toy for a child. It’s plastic, not gold. It should be as big and beautifully designed as the men’s titles. It should be as big as the NWA’s title or even the WWE’s title. The title is symbolic as to how AEW treats it’s own women’s division and that needs to change with a fresh new design.

Sign Thunder Rosa. It may not fix everything with the women’s division, but it gives you your needed star power. Tony Khan should be begging on his hands and knees to sign Thunder Rosa in 2021 after her time with the NWA is up, his women’s division is getting their asses kicked by what his EVP refers to as a “developmental brand”

If you can’t sign Thunder Rosa. My solution is Push Anna Jay and Britt Baker as the top face and heel of the women’s division and either of them dethrone Shida.

Changes

WWE

Leave whatever that monstrosity of a creative team they have for RAW is. Let the Wrestlers dictate what they want their characters to be. Ditch the scripted promos. Let promos feel organic and real. Let the wrestlers be characters who feel real and genuine. Get rid of a “Creative” that isn't creative and let the wrestlers be creative and let them be free of terrible creative.

Get rid of the Gimmick PPV. WWE has ruined gimmick matches by turning them into themed PPVs. none of these matches are organic or special anymore. The matches themselves are great but are booked to fit a theme of a pay-per-view, when they should be used organically at the height of feuds. no one cares about the name of PPVs, so i don’t understand why WWE does this. the only one that actually works is MITB, because it makes sense as storylines reset after Mania.

Scrap the Brand Warfare/Brand Supremacy. WWE should scrap the tired brand warfare format at Survivor Series and move away from Raw vs. SmackDown completely. Booking around a calendar has become company law in WWE over the past decade or so. Perhaps McMahon always formatted things this way really, but it's more glaring now that gimmick bouts like Elimination Chamber, Hell In A Cell and Money In The Bank have their own pay-per-views. Survivor Series, with it's played out Raw vs. SmackDown vibes, also needs a rethink. "Brand warfare" is boring now, and it has been for several years. Although 2020's event was fun, it's nonetheless true that the month-long build to Survivors feels like a repetitive slog fans are forced to sit through every November. Hopefully, 2021 will change that. It is possible to book traditional elimination bouts without some sort of false show loyalty - WWE did this almost every single year until the first brand split in 2002. Their over-reliance on Raw vs. SmackDown is plain lazy. Survivor Series should be revolved around great rivalries between stables/factions. It’s really not that hard. Or at the very least if there IS a Smackdown vs Raw themed Survivor Series, at least add a damn reward. Give the brand a head start in the Rumble,, give the winners of the match number one contenders for their brand’s respective titles or ANYTHING better than just “brand supremacy lol”

Get rid of the 24/7 title. It has run it’s course. R-Truth is funny, but even he can’t make it work anymore.

Stop. Breaking. Up. Tag Teams. Stop killing your Tag Team Division. For the love of god just stop!

Cut Akira Tozawa’s ninja bullshit. It’s not funny, it’s annoying

Kill Retribution. It’s complete garbage. It has been consistently terrible ever since Retribution began. Mustafa Ali cannot save Retribution, he’s trying but no one can save it.

Stop the 50/50 booking

Stop rewarding Nia Jax, the living botch machine for injuring her fellow wrestlers

Stop pushing Lars Sullivan. Absolutely no one wants him.

They should cut raw to 2 hours because 3 hours is unbearable

Stop the overreliance of part time wrestlers. I don’t want to see Goldberg being pushed at the expense of today’s talent and I don’t want to see Goldberg period. I don’t want to see Brock Lesnar return at the expense of today’s talent. I don’t want to see Legends return. Push your current fucking wrestlers and make stars. You idiots!

Do not rush Becky Lynch back to the ring, she just had a baby. I read the reports that Vince wants Becky back by Wrestlemania. That is a terrible decision

Stop killing pushes because Vince changed his mind

Enough with “creative has nothing for you” if your “creative” has nothing for a certain wrestler, then they are not creative. Either let the wrestlers appear on the show or release them if you don’t want them anymore, it’s simple as that.

Do. Not. Put. The. Title. On. Goldberg. Goldberg should not have beaten Bray Wyatt's 'Fiend' for the Universal Title at Super ShowDown in February - that was a huge mistake, one that set Bray back and felt totally unnecessary. In 2021, WWE should outright avoid any temptation to repeat the trick and give ol' Billy another go-around with one of the top titles. If anything, Goldberg's only purpose should be to play victim for a quick Roman Reigns squash. Get through that elusive match then turn Bill into a company ambassador. He doesn't need to pretend it's still 1998 all these years on.

AEW

Leave the overabundance of spots just for the sake of spots and enough with the false finishes. Jim Ross was right, like it or not, the spots for the sake of spots and the false finishes need to end. This is my major problem with AEW and why I can’t stand The Elite in general. Everyone just needs to get their shit in. Everything looks fake. No one can look strong or credible and we have to see garbage Indy wrestlers and the spot monkeys make everything look fake and phony. The champions never look credible and everyone is on the level of job guys. This needs to change

Stop leaving your Women’s Champion off the show. It is downright insulting how dirty they are doing Hikaru Shida. She deserves as much time to shine as the other champions deserve.

Stop putting the NWA Women’s Champion as more of a priority than your own Women’s Champion

Enough with Brandi. Why is the women’s division given absolutely 0 screentime and barely anytime to develop their stories, but Brandi is ALWAYS THERE! Everything has to be about her. When a feud between Cody and Shaq was close to happening, of course it had to be about her. She’s turned heel/face as much time as the Big Show. I’ve grown tired of Brandi Rhodes. Stop shoving that attention whore down our throats. WE GET IT! You wanna be Stephanie so bad!

Enough with Cody’s big dramatic midlife crisis entrances. We get it, you wanna be Triple H SO BAD!

Stop the petty bullshit shots at WWE. It was fun at first, but it’s getting annoying. This is Eric Bischoff giving away the results and “That’ll put butts in the seats” level of petty bullshit. AEW had the fucking nerve to tweet a fan’s post saying they did a better tribute for Brodie Lee than WWE. HE JUST DIED! AND YOU ARE MAKING IT ABOUT YOUR FUCKING RIVALRY? GROW THE FUCK UP!

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