We're fast forwarding to SummerSlam 2002.
This is where Triple H makes his first appearance in this story. And stuff is about to go down.
August 25 2002
John just arrived at the Nassau Coliseum for SummerSlam.
He didn't have a match tonight. He came just to watch the show. But also because he found out that Brock Lesnar was challenging The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) for the Undisputed WWE title. And it's the main event.
He walked through the hallway till he found Brock's locker room.
He knocked on the door. He heard footsteps and then the door opened.
"John! Hey dude!" Brock says as he and John hugged.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just thought I'd come by and wish you good luck for your title match against The Rock." John said.
Brock gave John a small smile. "I appreciate it John."
"How are you feeling right now?" John asked.
Brock lets out a sigh. "To be honest, I'm a bit nervous. I mean, I've only been in WWE for five months, and now I'm already in a World title match against one of the top guys in the business."
John placed a hand Brock's shoulder. "Hey man. Don't worry about it too much. You just go out there and be the unstoppable beast you've always been. And you got my support no matter what."
Brock took a deep breath and smiled.
"Thanks man. I needed that. I appreciate it."
"No problem bro. I should go. I'll let you get back to getting ready for your big time match."
"Thanks. I'll see you later."
John walked around till he found a TV to watch the event. He grabbed a folding chair and sat down as the match between Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio was starting.
An hour went by before he started getting hungry.
He took out his chicken sandwich and started munching on it as he watched the Intercontinental Title match between Rob Van Dam and Chris Benoit.
As he was eating and watching the match he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He looked up and was surprised to see Dave Bautista.
"Hey Dave!" John said as he got up and hugged him.
"Wasn't expecting to see you here." Dave said.
"Just thought I come to show some support for Brock."
"Oh. Cool. Man I'm jealous. He's getting a World title shot already."
"Hey. Someday we'll get our chance." John said.
"Yeah. Still I'm happy for Brock." Dave replied. "Me too."
"I got to get going. See you later John." Dave said before leaving.
The next match was the grueling non-sanctioned match between Triple H (Paul Levesque) and John's childhood idol Shawn Michaels (Michael Hickenbottom).
John still couldn't believe Shawn was having his first match in over four years since he injured his back which led him to retire early. No one was sure if he would wrestle again.
The match was brutal. It was a bloody bout. Quite literally.
Shawn looked to hit Hunter with the Sweet Chin Music, but Hunter caught him, and looked to hit the Pedigree, but Shawn caught Hunter off guard and got him in a bridge pin and he got the pin fall victory!
John was stunned. He didn't expect the match to end the way it did.
Unfortunately Shawn didn't get to celebrate because Hunter nailed him in the back with a sledgehammer, and Shawn was on his knees.
But Hunter wasn't finished. He stood next to Shawn, giving him a death stare.
Then he brought the sledgehammer down on Shawn's back again and he collapsed to the ground!
Hunter raise his arms in victory.
John cringed. But in a good way.
He realized he needed to use the bathroom. He knew he had time before the next match starts. So he quickly went to the nearest restroom.
After he was done he left the bathroom.
He was walking back when he heard someone call his name. He turned his head and saw a blonde woman smiling at him.
"Oh. Hey there." John greeted.
"I'm Melanie. I work backstage." she says.
"You're John Cena right?" she then asked.
John was a bit surprised. "Yeah. How do you know who I am?" he asked.
"I saw you take on Kurt Angle last month." Melanie said.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Even though you didn't win, you left a helluva first impression in my opinion."
"Thank you. I do appreciate the compliment."
"I also wanted to ask you something." Melanie says as she walks up to him.
"Okay. So what if it?"
She then gave him a flirty smile and placed a hand on his arm.
John was feeling a bit nervous.
"I was wondering... If you would like to-"
"Excuse me!"
Meanwhile
"The event is doing good mom." Stephanie says to her mother on the phone as she was walking towards her dad's office.
She stopped when she saw John Cena talking to a woman.
Wait. John is here?
"I got to go. I'll talk to you later." she said before hanging up.
She was surprised to see John here. He didn't have a match tonight or anything. Not that she minded he was here. She couldn't help but smile a little.
She immediately recognized the lady, who is one of her dad's stage workers named Melanie.
Stephanie couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, wondering why Melanie was talking to him.
They're just talking. There's nothing wrong with that.
But then she sees Melanie touching John's arm. Stephanie was starting to get a little mad.
Okay I've had enough of this!
She started walking towards the pair.
"I was wondering... If you would like to-"
"Excuse me!"
Both John and Melanie turned to see Stephanie.
"Oh. Hey Stephanie." John replied. He was blushing a little.
"Is something wrong Miss McMahon?" Melanie asked.
"You're being paid to monitor the stage area. Not to flirt with wresters." Stephanie stated.
"I wasn't flirting with him. I was just-"
Stephanie interrupted. "I don't want to hear it! The main event is coming up and I want you to make sure everything goes well for Dwayne's and Brock's entrances! So get back to work!"
Melanie looked a bit rattled. She nodded at Stephanie. "Yes ma'am." she replied before leaving.
Stephanie calmed down a bit before giving John a smile.
"Sorry for snapping there. It just that SummerSlam is one of WWE's prestigious Pay Per View events. We want to make sure everything goes well."
John lets out a sigh. "It's okay."
She immediately hugged him. "I didn't know you were here." she says.
"I came to support my OVW buddy Brock." John explained.
"Oh. That's cool."
John looked into Stephanie's eyes as they held each other, and gets lost in her beauty. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach.
Without thinking he starts to lean forward. But before their lips touched she immediately pulled away from John.
John looked at Stephanie, feeling guilty.
He opened his mouth to say something but Stephanie pretended to look at her watch.
"Shit! I just remembered I need to meet my dad. I'll see you later." she says before leaving.
He immediately went back to his spot to watch the rest of the show.
John was trying to pay attention to the match between The Rock and Brock, but he still felt guilty about what happened. He really hoped Stephanie wasn't mad.
Meanwhile the match was pretty entertaining.
And John's jaw dropped when he saw Brock get the pinfall victory.
John got and started to walk over to Brock's locker room to congratulate him.
But as he was walking he felt someone grab his arm.
Before he could see who it was he was met with a punch to the face.
Meanwhile
"Well I glad Paul is all right." Vince McMahon said to her daughter Stephanie.
She let out a small smile. She still felt a bit uneasy from what happened between her and John.
Her father noticed her daughter looked a bit off. "Hey darling. You okay?" Vince asked.
Stephanie looked up at her father. "Yeah sorry. Just the match Paul had kind of took the energy out of me."
Vince placed a hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "Why don't you two take tomorrow off."
Stephanie looked at him again. "Really? You sure?"
Vince smiled. "Yeah. You two deserve a break. Just be sure the both of you show up for the two o clock meeting on Tuesday."
Stephanie gives her dad a hug. "Thank you dad. I'll be sure to call you and mom tomorrow." she says before leaving his office.
She kept replaying the scene from a little bit ago. And several thoughts swam through her head.
That was the second time he's tried to kiss me!
Does he have feelings for me?
Am I falling in love with him?
No! I can't be falling in love with him!
I shouldn't be having feelings for him.
But he makes me feel so wanted. And he's so handsome! That face. God I just want to-
No! Stop it!
I can't be with John.
Even if I had feelings for him I'm dating Paul.
Speaking of which I should go find him Hope he's doing okay.
She was walking around the arena but stopped when she heard someone screamed "YOU STAY AWAY FROM STEPHANIE! YOU HEAR ME YOU PUNK?"
She immediately recognized the voice.
What the hell is Paul doing?
She turned a corner, and she saw Paul standing over John, who was on the ground with a hand on his face.
She immediately walked up to Paul and grabbed his arm.
"Paul! What the hell did you do?" she yelled.
Paul looked. "What? I saw what he tried to do to you! You think I was going to let him get away with it?
Stephanie was mad.
"And you really think this was the best way to handle it?"
Paul huffed. "Whatever. Let's go. We're leaving." he said grabbing her hand.
But she pulled her hand away. "I can't just leave him here! He needs medical attention!"
"Why do you care about that loser?"
"He is not a loser. He's the future of this company." "And I'll be damned if I allow people to gang up on random wrestlers." "Just go back to the hotel and cool off. We'll talk about your actions later."
"Fine! I'm leaving. You can stay and play nurse." he huffed before leaving.
She turned her attention to John. Her heart nearly dropped when she saw he had a bloody nose.
"Oh my god John. Are you okay?" she asked, clearly worried.
"Yeah. I'm okay." John tried to get up, but he felt a bit dizzy.
She got down on her knees.
"No no! Don't get up. I don't want you to fall down." Stephanie instructed.
She immediately grabbed her walkie talkie.
"This is Stephanie McMahon. I need some medical personnel near the entrance of the arena."
Sorry it took me awhile to work on this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.