golden;

twenty-eight;

building blocks

x
9 months later

Isn't it crazy how quick time flies?

It only felt like yesterday when I was drafted to Monday Night Raw, and tonight, on the grandest stage of them all, I'm competing for the Raw Women's Championship.

It only felt like yesterday when I first began training in FCW, now look where I am, who I've become.

And now it was only a matter of time. Seconds, in fact, as I stood on the top turnbuckle, waiting for Bayley to get to her feet. To say I was tired was an understatement; I've eliminated Sasha and Charlotte, but it took ages till I finally got their shoulders down for the 1-2-3.

Bayley staggered to her feet, the crowd erupting into a mixture of boos and cheers as I beckoned her to look at me. As soon as she turned around, I delivered a blockbuster, and transitioned into the armbar.

"Tap Bayley!" I yelled repeatedly, yanking on the arm more each time. She refused, and tried to crawl to the bottom rope. I stomped on her fingers, trying to manoeuvre her back round. Just as I thought of letting her go, I heard the sound of her hand hitting the mat repeatedly- and everything went blurry.

The crowd cheered wildly as I layed motionless on the floor. I barely had an any energy left, but in that moment, I knew it was worth it. Everything was worth it leading up to this point. Every gym session that went on until the early hours of the morning, every hour I was at the performance centre, perfecting my craft and technique. Every blood, sweat and tear I put into the business was now all worth it as I got to my feet and was handed the Raw Women's Championship.

I raised it proudly in the air, my vision going cloudy and a lump beginning to form in my throat. The crowd cheered, some chanting "You deserve it!".

I rolled out of the ring, and raised my title in the air one last time as fireworks went off around the arena. I walked up the long ramp with the title over my shoulder, trying desperately to hold back my tears till I got behind the curtains.

I couldn't hold them back anymore. As soon as I passed the curtain I buried my face in my hands and cried, a sense of relief and a sense of pride wash over me. I could feel Nikki hugging me by the scent of her expensive Chanel perfume.

"I'm so, so proud of you." She said, choking up as we pulled apart. She wiped some mascara off my cheeks and squeezed me one last time.

Hunter, Regal, Stephanie, Ashley, Nattie, Rami, Victoria and many others came over to congratulate me. Once I thanked everyone, I walked over to the locker room to change into my normal clothes.

I took a second to head into catering and grab a bottle of water. I rested my championship on the table and grabbed a bottle, undoing the lid and taking small sips. I peered around, watching personnel rush past, superstars walking back and forth. My attention turned to inside catering, to find Mercedes and Fergal sitting down on the table on the opposite side of the room. Mercedes looked beat up, probably upset that she didn't win. Fergal wasn't really saying anything, just looking sympathetically at her.

He'd changed since his shoulder injury. A lot more quiet, conceited, and kept himself to himself. He was like that before, but even Rami said to me that he wasn't himself. He constantly looked in deep thought, as if he wasn't in the room but somewhere completely different.