La Arquitecta

Chapter 72

The atmosphere backstage was electric. Arguably, more so than Zelina had ever experienced in her WWE career. Tonight was the night that the new era got underway. It was almost time for Monday Night Raw, the night after the Royal Rumble.

"Hyped up, muñeca?" Seth asked her. They were standing near to Gorilla, while Seth waited to go out and open the first Raw of the Thorne era, when he would announce that he had been drafted to the red brand as the first pick of the 2019 WWE draft.

Zelina looked up her man adoringly. "Yes I am, Mr Royal Rumble winner."

Beaming, Seth liked that title a lot. It had been an emotional moment for them the night before when he had gotten one of the biggest triumphs of his career. He was now guaranteed a main event spot on the grandest stage of them all, and, they hoped, a title run to follow. "I could get used to being called that," he said happily.

"I'm so proud of you, baby," she told him, as if there was any doubt about it after the previous night. She hadn't held back in showing her love for him when they had gotten back to the hotel.

"And tonight you make your return," he smiled. "Are you excited?"

"Of course! I've not appeared since the first week of December. It's nearly February. I was ready to go out of my mind!"

"Let's hope the fans are the ones who go out of their minds when you go out there. It seems to have leaked out that you're coming back as a manager, and people seem hyped for it. I've seen a lot of speculation going on about who your client might be."

Zelina returned the smile. "They seem hyped in general. I'll give Thorne all the credit in the world. That girl knows what she's doing."

"It was a clever touch she pulled out at the press conference," Seth acknowledged.

Thinking back to it, Zelina nodded. Lucy had used the occasion of the official announcement of her takeover to talk directly to the fans, telling them to communicate with her and tell her what changes they wanted to see by using the Twitter hashtag make wrestling great again. The tag itself could maybe have been thought out better, but the idea behind it was a good, if crafty one, in Zelina's opinion.

"It was clever," she said. "She was able to go through and find people suggesting changes that she already wanted to make, and have it appear like she was going to do it on behalf of the fans. A lot of people will have fallen for it. Free positive PR for her and the company."

"What were some of the things she replied to again?" Seth asked. "I remember someone saying they wanted pyro bringing back was one of them."

Zelina nodded. "Right. And she put, 'Done.' The one that stood out for me was the guy who said 'We want a Wrestlemania in England.'"

"And she put that thoughtful looking emoji thing," Seth remembered. "So we might be getting an English 'Mania. I'd be down for that. Imagine what the crowd would be like!"

"I guess it would explain why no venue has been announced for next year yet. Maybe she's working on it."

They heard JoJo out in the arena, telling the live audience that Raw would go live in thirty seconds.

"Here we go. I'd better get in there," Seth said, meaning Gorilla.

"Okay. Enjoy, baby." Zelina give him a little peck on the cheek, being careful not to get lipstick on him.

"I will. Love you."

"Love you, too." Zelina stood there smiling as he walked off. She decided to stay where she was and watch the show's opening on the TV they had been standing next to. After all, it was the first of a new era.