Cuts Heal In Time (CM Punk)

Chapter 43: Broken Referees

Raw July 9th

Monday Night Raw opened with AJ began who delivered an impassioned address to both the WWE Universe and Punk. She assured Punk that she was "completely in control of her mental faculties at all times." Then she broke down into tears saying that nobody has ever cared for her like he has and that he fills her with "passion and desire." 

An uneasy Punk fidgeted nervously in the ring, and AJ shocked everyone by dropping to one knee and asked for his hand in marriage.

Before he could respond, however, screams of "NO! NO! NO!" echoed throughout the arena and Daniel sprinted down to the ring. He begged Aj not to marry Punk and to believe that he never truly stopped caring for her. Then he one-upped her by dropping to his own knee and proposing.

Punk and Bryan's back-and-forth threatened to erupt into physicality when the familiar "beep" and blinking lights of the Anonymous Raw General Manager greeted the WWE Universe for the first time in nearly a year.

 The Anonymous GM proved he hadn't lost a step when he placed them into a Mixed Tag Match: Punk & AJ vs. Bryan & Eve. 

AJ assured her two men that "everything happens for a reason" and that she was sure she'd be leaving Denver with her future husband in tow.

-----------------------------------

"Some people like to say that I'm cocky," Bella spoke into a microphone, as she rolled Layla out of the ring with her foot after a quick victory, "I can't disagree with them. But I don't think it's a bad thing. I mean, with a track record like mine, it's hard not to be. But despite what you all may think, I want to be proved wrong. I come out here every week and tell you all that: I'm the best in the universe and that no one will ever beat me. But I want so badly for someone to take me to the edge and hurl me over the cliff. I want to be beat within an inch of my life. I want to be pushed and feel like my title can be taken from me at any moment. But honestly, I don't feel that way. You divas in the back let me come out here every week and say whatever I want to say with no repercussions," she chuckled, "Does it not anger any of you in the back that I can say with confidence that none of you threaten me in the slightest?"

Bella shook her head, "People have warned me that it's lonely at the top. However, I happen to disagree. My baby right here," she pat the championship belt perched on her shoulder, "I named her Jade jr. after my best friend back home- my baby keeps me company. So I'm never lonely. But even though I'm not lonely, I'm bored. It gets boring at the top. It gets boring being so damn good that you feel like you're losing some of the passion and fire that you had when you were the underdog."

Then Bella heard a pretty familiar song.

It was the entrance music of Tamina Snuka who walked down the ramp with a microphone in her hand.

"Hey Tamina," Bella waved, "Uh you kind of interrupted me."

"You said you want a challenge? Someone to push you to the edge?" Tamina asked as Bella nodded slowly, "Then fight me this Sunday at Money in the Bank."

The crowd cheered, as Tamina got in the ring.

"You?" Bella chuckled.

"You know Bella, you have no respect for anyone in the back and that's fine- I get it. But I am better than every other diva back there, so I advise you to think before you disrespect me."

"Respect is earned not given," Bella said stepping up to Tamina, "What have you done to earn my respect?"

"Good question," Tamina said stepping back. Then she super kicked Bella out of nowhere, knocking her over. The crowd reacted to the impact. Bella held her nose as she began to taste blood.

She looked up to see Tamina with a smirk on her face, while she was still down covering her nose.

Bella stood up and removed her hand to reveal a severely bloody nose. Tamina's eyes widened momentarily before she began smirking again.

"That cheap shot was supposed to earn my respect?" Bella growled with a twinge of amusement as she wiped some blood off of her face. Her nose was bleeding profusely. It was definitely broken, "You can hit hard, I'll give you that. You honestly might've just broken my nose. But Tamina, you could break every single bone in my body, and you still wouldn't have my respect."

The crowd cheered as Bella took one more step towards Tamina, "The only way you could ever earn my respect is if you pry my championship from my cold, dead, hands." 

Bella held her championship up in front of Tamina, before throwing the microphone at her feet and rolling out of the ring with a smirk on her face.

She looked Tamina up and down from the top of the ramp, before thrusting her now bloodied belt in the air once more.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Bella was in the trainer's room, getting her nose checked out when Punk burst through the door.

"Jesus Bella are you okay?" he asked, looking worried.

"She's fine, just a broken nose," the doctor said, causing Bella to fake pout.

"Are you okay?" he asked once again, looking at Bella.

"Of course," she sent him a small smile, despite the crazy amount of pain she was in. The adrenaline from being in front of the crowd had just worn off, so she was now feeling every bit of pain she couldn't feel while in the ring.

He gave her an uneasy look before turning his attention back to the doctor, "Does she have a concussion?"

"Well we tested her symptoms. No nausea, fatigue, or dizziness, which is a good sign. I checked her hearing, vision, reflexes, balance, and memory, which were all good. She hasn't shown any signs of mood swings just yet, but she hasn't been in here for long. Uh, she does have a headache, but that's understandable, considering her nose just broke," he chuckled to himself, "If you want to be sure, you can take her to the ER for a CT scan, but I don't think that's necessary. I'd say, keep an eye on her tonight," he looked at Bella, "try not to go on your phone or watch tv for the next 48 hours, and see how you're feeling over the next couple days."

She held her thumbs up, but Punk said, "Come on, I'll take you to the ER."

"Punk, you heard him. I don't need to go."

"We should make sure, though."

"I'll be fine," she assured him, "besides you have a match. You're in the main event."

"It doesn't matter. It's just a match with Aj."

"I'll be fine," she repeated herself, "I can wait in your locker room."

"Do you want me to carry you?"

"Jesus Punk, I'm okay," she said hopping down from the exam table, only for her legs to momentarily give out.

"Okay come on," Punk motioned for her to get on his back.

So she hopped on his back and leaned her head on his shoulder while he carried her to his locker room

----------------------------------------------------------

The main event was unsurprisingly dramatic, as Punk and AJ teamed up to face Daniel and Eve. The match began with more exciting back-and-forth between Bryan and Punk until the Divas tagged in. Eve initially had the upper hand, but Aj managed to take over.

With the match on the line, Bryan, declared his love for AJ by refusing to let Eve tag him in, allowing AJ to secure the roll-up and the victory.

After she secured the win, he proposed once again and offered to elope with AJ then and there. 

Punk grabbed the mic and said that he refused to lie to AJ to claim her favor as guest referee and that he wouldn't be marrying her in the hopes of keeping his title.

Aj didn't take too well to his declaration, delivering a wicked slap across his face. 

Daniel grinned and spread his arms imploring AJ to "come home," and Aj, seemingly distraught, staggered toward his embrace. However, instead of embracing him, she slapped him as well, screaming "YES!" and leaving both champion and challenger wounded and befuddled.