Flames

Stomping Grounds 2019, part 1

Wrestling was a combination of so many things, and Seth figured that was why some wrestlers never really got over. They could be insanely athletic, but if they had no personality, no charisma, then their characters floundered and ended up becoming random pieces of trivia when you watched old pay-per-view DVDs. Who was that guy again? I don't remember him at all. But a personality could only get you so far too. You needed to have a combination of both, the athleticism and the artistry, to get ahead, to say nothing of luck and support. Of course, if the McMahons decided to push you, your combination of attributes didn't matter much, but Seth had always prided himself on doing his best.

If you knew what to look for, there was a beautiful artistry in what they did, achieving violent ends with remarkable restraint. He had been on a rampage for the entirety of RAW, seeking out anyone who might consider being Baron Corbin's special referee and then bashing them with a chair. It was hard to make a chair shot look artful, but as the night progressed, it felt like he was writing goddamn poetry. Eric Young and the rest probably didn't feel the same way, of course, but it was nice to let loose. It had been a while since he had been a full heel; it was far more fun to operate in the nebulous grey zone.

As he patrolled backstage, Becky was there right on cue, eyes shining with pride. She loved seeing him do what he did best, and the look she gave him—slyly just out of the camera's angle—was a clear invitation for later. Glancing down at the chair in his hands, she gave him a cocky smirk. "Do what you need to do," she said with a nod. As she continued on her way, Seth could feel her gaze on his back all the while, steady and hot.

Continuing on, Seth's thoughts kept returning to the idea of a heel turn. There were so many ways to spin it, from him being desperate to keep his belt to being the arrogant asshole who demanded praise for freeing the belt from Brock Lesnar. If Becky went heel too, they would have to be careful to not be too much like Miz and Maryse, but Seth didn't think that would be hard. Besides, judging from some of the pictures from the MTV Awards, they could pull off the villain couple look quite well.

On the way back to their hotel, Seth showed the pictures to Becky. "Feel like going heel?" he asked. "If they're going to complain about us being together, might as well give them something to bitch about, right?"

Becky reached over and flipped back and forth between the pictures. "Then they'll just put us in a feud against Miz and Maryse once she's cleared," Becky pointed out. "We don't want them tying our storylines together forever. Then we'll never get anything done . . . unless they make Mixed Tag belts." She stopped on the gif of them cackling, her not-so-secret favourite.

"I'll have to fight Sami for the honour of being your partner, then." Laughing, Seth kissed her head and moved his phone out of her reach. He didn't keep a lot of personal photos on his phone anymore for security reasons, but he had a few candids of Becky. "Or do you only do Mixed Tag with fellow gingers?"

Raising an eyebrow, Becky pointed at her very brown roots. "I mean, if you want to go ginger, be my guest, but then you'll have to do something with the beard or it will look really awkward." When the hotel came into view, she straightened up and sighed. "I just want to fight someone new. After Lacey, they'll probably choose Alexa, and then Heyman will probably get Ronda to come back and it's going to be more of the same. All that work leading up to Wrestlemania feels like it was for nothing."

"Hey. Don't think like that." As the car started to slow, Seth gave her hand a quick squeeze. "Women main-evented Wrestlemania for the first time ever. For months, people were talking about your match. Don't underestimate that."

"I know." At least Becky waited until the car stopped to open the door; last time she hadn't and she ended up scraping the door on the curb. "The work never stops, right?"