EPISODE 22 KAYFABE

The next few months were a battle to stay hot while on the road to Mania. I ran the risk of being overexposed by being on both shows, coupled with the nonstop appearances I had once sought after so badly. The thing that had gotten me over in the first place was that people sympathized with me being overlooked. How long would they stay with me now that I was clearly being backed by the company? And would they care to see us in the main event of WrestleMania?

As enticing as our match had the potential to be and as popular as the story had been, there were several other viable options that made sense.

For example, Kofi Kingston, who had been with the company for ten years, was gaining even more popularity with the crowd. It was Kofi Mania! That man is one of the kindest and most genuine people you could ever meet. It was impossible not to root for him. And with him about to get a well-earned title shot at Mania against Daniel Bryan, that could very easily make sense as a main event.

There was also Colby versus Brock Lesnar. Lesnar was a well-tested main eventer and a proven draw. Colby was the best wrestler in the world, who has arguably had the biggest Mania moment in recent history when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase in the main event of WrestleMania 31; he was beloved and respected by the crowd.

Nothing is guaranteed.

To bolster my anxiety, my dad started to take a turn for the worse. They had put him on an experimental medication and every side effect they could possibly warn him about was affecting him. His liver function was rapidly decreasing and the doctors let him know that unless that improved, there was no way he could travel.

My mom also made a point about insurance. In America he would not be insured, while in Ireland he was completely covered by governmental health care.

I didn’t want him to miss this. Maybe that was self-serving. Maybe he wouldn’t care. I just wanted my dad to get out the other side. The guilt of not being able to be there for him if anything went wrong was consuming me.

I would be given the opportunity to win my way back into the WrestleMania match at the next Fastlane PPV. It would be me versus Charlotte once again, and if I won, the match at Mania would turn into a triple threat. Only this time I had the added obstacle of being on one leg. Though I had already beaten her on one leg before, at the Royal Rumble. I could do it again.

Only in the story, I couldn’t. She picked me apart by going after my “bad” leg relentlessly. The odds were insurmountable and it would take a miracle for me to pull out a victory.

Well, either a miracle or a little pouty angel in the form of Ronda Rousey to come down and interfere. If Charlotte were to lose via disqualification by way of Ronda interfering on her behalf, then I would be back in the match.

Ronda came down, bulling as ever like the human weapon she is. However, she hit me with a laughably weak punch to make her point that she was doing this as a way to get me in the match. Where she was really hoping to destroy me.

I rolled to the corner as they made the announcement: “Winner by disqualification, The Man, Beeeeeeckyyyyyyy Lyyyynch!”

I laughed as the audience cheered. We were getting closer to the main event of WrestleMania, where it would officially be a triple threat match between Becky Lynch the RAW women’s champion, Ronda Rousey, and the SmackDown women’s champion Charlotte Flair—and the winner would take all. I just needed to stay healthy and relevant until Mania.

The latter being the harder of the two.