Daniel Cleveland watched the action on the TV monitor in his personal dressing room. Two women were in the ring, wrestling for the Champions' Wrestling Federation's women's championship.

It was nearing the end of Wrestlemania 49. The massive crowd that filled the New United Center in Chicago was anxiously anticipating the main event of the night: His main event.

The match had been hyped for weeks upon weeks as the fight of the year. The match was a three-way free-for-all fight: himself against two of his biggest long-time rivals, Rob Nickels and Ricky Ulrich, the World Heavyweight Champion. All fighting for the richest prize in wrestling, the world heavyweight title belt that now rested on Ricky Ulrich's shoulders, but, he was convinced, was soon to be his.

He should be warming up for his match, but he had a vested interest in the current contest. The woman challenging for the title, Nichole Naomi, was his girlfriend of a year and a half, and it meant the world to her that he saw her win the championship belt for the third time.

They'd been going now for almost fifteen minutes, and both women were noticeably beginning to tire. They exchanged forearm blows to the face in the middle of the ring. One of them had to give out soon.

He stood up and began to stretch. The screen faded into the background as he turned his focus inward, mentally reviewing his two opponents.

Rob Nickels was one of the few competitors on the lower end of the heavyweight scale, like himself. He was also a member of the backstage and on-screen group called the Heels, who named themselves so after the term once used to describe scripted villains in pro wrestling, back before the unscripted CWF took over the WWE as the number-one wrestling organization in North America. He certainly fit the category of a Heel; a scriptwriter couldn't ask for a better villain character than Nickels. He consistently demonstrated a callous hatred for fellow wrestlers and fans alike, and did whatever he wanted to get his way. He was also known for being somewhat of a whiner when things didn't work out as he planned. And with his shaggy hair always hanging over half his face, and his skinny appearance, he just looked like a mean guy.

Ricky Ulrich, on the other hand, looked like a very nice guy, at least at first glance. With a six-pack body that made all the women jealous, he looked like the picture-perfect champion. But he, too, was a member of the Heels, and as the current champion, he was their de facto ringleader. He shared many of Nickels' ugly qualities, in addition to being perhaps the most stuck-up, arrogant person Daniel had ever met. To Ulrich, nothing was immoral or dishonorable, as long as he thought he could get away with it. His actions day in and day out repulsed Daniel to the core. If there were ever a man he could hate, it would be Ricky Ulrich.

His chances in this match, he knew, were not good. Ulrich and Nickels, despite being part of the same faction, were two very different people, but they did share one thing in common: A long rivalry with Daniel and a hatred for him that he couldn't understand. Each one would certainly be more motivated to beat him than to beat each other, and that could only work to Daniel's disadvantage.

He was snapped from his thoughts by a loud crash coming from the TV. Nichole had just taken Stephanie Aiden, the current women's champion, down from the top rope in a superplex, flipping her over her head while falling backwards, causing Stephanie to crash hard into the mat from about six feet in the air. She crawled over to cover the champion in a pin attempt. The referee counted to two, but Stephanie forced her shoulders off the mat before the count of three, which would have resulted in a pin.

Nichole and Stephanie had had their own rivalry for months now. With their sharply contrasting personalities, it was inevitable that any two women like them would probably have conflicts. Nichole was one of the gentlest, sweetest, quietest and most respectful women he'd ever met. Intensely devoted to her Christian faith, she never failed to credit God for her stellar talent, and she never showed outright hostility even towards her worst enemy. She was always modest in her speech, action and dress, currently donning a full loose wrestling outfit that exposed nothing beyond her arms and shoulders.

Stephanie, on the other hand, was a combination of Nickels and Ulrich's personalities combined into one. One of the top-level members of the Heels, she always dressed in complete black, and usually tried to show as much of her pale white skin as she could on a PG-rated show, to the delight of the audience. Ever since women's wrestling started to be showcased as a real athletic competition rather than just the audience's weekly eye candy, most of the women had stopped trying to be objects of lustfulness, but not her. On top of that, Daniel couldn't remember the last time a kind word had come out of Stephanie Aiden's mouth. Her constantly vulgar, lewd and hostile behavior was the sharpest contrast to Nichole that Daniel could think of. For months she had been spitefully calling Nichole a boring goody-goody and a religious hypocrite, labels that were frequently stuck onto Daniel as well. He could identify with every bit of frustration Nichole felt with Stephanie.

The "Diva of Darkness," as play-by-play broadcaster Paul Koss liked to call her, raked her sharp fingernails over the face of Nichole, scratching at her eyes like a cat. When Nichole bent over and covered her face, unable to see, Stephanie grabbed her in a front face lock, basically a headlock applied from the front. Daniel knew what was coming next. The women's champion jumped on top of the middle rope and spun 180 degrees, landing on her back on the mat while hanging on to the facelock, driving Nichole face-first into the mat. Her finishing move, the Tornado DDT. She turned Nichole onto her back and crawled on top of her, pulling her leg in towards her chest, making it harder for her to escape. However, Daniel knew the leg hook was entirely unnecessary, as Nichole didn't even move while the referee counted to three to count the pinfall. Stephanie Aiden was still the women's champion.

Daniel sighed, unimpressed with Stephanie's dirty tactics. Raking an opponent's eyes was illegal, but unfortunately tolerated by most referees. Once upon a time, Stephanie would have been immediately disqualified for pulling such a stunt, but the officials had realized a while ago that they couldn't control the Heels' cheating ways. He knew Nichole would be sorely disappointed in herself, no matter how she lost. Worse, he would have to wait to console her until after his own match. Now that the women's championship match was over, the world title match couldn't be more than five or ten minutes away.

Sure enough, as Daniel took a swig of water, there was a knock on his door. "Come in," he called, expecting a stagehand to tell him it was time for him to come out for his match.

Instead, it was two female wrestlers who entered the room. He greeted them warmly and invited them in. "What are you guys up to?" he asked.

"We just wanted to wish you luck," said the shorter one, Sarah Crittenton. Her bright, genuine smile lit up the room, and nearly made Daniel forget about the defeat he'd just witnessed. Sarah's presence was always an encouragement to him. They had grown up together in Cleveland, Ohio, and had been best friends throughout childhood. However, being on separate brands, they rarely got to see each other, except at pay-per-views like this one.

"We know you'll kick butt out there," declared the taller, leaner woman to Sarah's right, Lisa Davis. The spitfire young rookie spoke boisterously, balling her hands up into fists. She was Sarah's frequent tag-team partner and friend, somewhat of a protege to the veteran. With her constant enthusiasm and perpetually competitive spirit, she already knew how to push Daniel to do his best.

"Thanks, guys. This is huge for me. Ever since they promoted Slam's title to the official world title, this has seemed like so much bigger. I've been the Slam champion three times, but never the world champion. I think it's time that changed."

"That's the spirit," Lisa affirmed.

"Well, no matter what happens," Sarah said calmly, "we're rooting for you."

"We believe in you!" Lisa shouted, half jokingly, but her sentiment was completely sincere.

"I appreciate it," Daniel replied, smiling. He embraced his two friends, grateful that they'd gone out of their way to pump him up.

"Dan Cleveland, you're up next." Now a middle-aged, goateed stagehand was waving him into the corridor.

"We'll be watching," Sarah said.

Daniel nodded at the two women and stepped out into the corridor. Ricky Ulrich's muffled entrance music began blasting throughout the arena. As Daniel ascended the metal stairs to the ground floor, the heavy metal tune became clearer. Once it stopped, Rob Nickels' entrance music began to play.

"One minute," someone told him as he approached the stage. He tensed up, waiting for the current music to stop and his own to begin.

Daniel was pumped. It had been a million times that a match of his had been hyped as the match of his career. This was the first time, however, that he truly believed it. Tonight he had the chance to be called the best in the world. He prayed a brief prayer. He knew his destiny was set, no matter what the outcome. He was ready.

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Jack Jaskolski sat on a leather couch in his dressing room, fuming. He couldn't believe he'd lost his shot at the belt. That shiny golden belt that hung over Ricky Ulrich's shoulder meant everything to him, and he wasn't getting his hands on it anytime soon.

He'd wrestled in the first match of the night, the long-standing traditional Money in the Bank match. The goal was to be the first wrestler to climb a ladder and reach a briefcase, inside of which was a contract to face the world champion at any time within the next year. He had been so close.

But it had been Josh Rankin, one of those goody-two-shoes, always-pander-to-the-fans guys, who had grabbed the briefcase first. Just lucky, he knew. Because of Rankin, it was going to be quite some time before he got his hands on that title belt again.

As a new song began to play, the final challenger emerged not from the curtain, but from the far side of the stage. He stood still as a platform slowly raised him up onto stage level. This was a man Jack knew very well, but wished he didn't.

Daniel Cleveland walked alongside the edge of the stage donning a blindingly bright white robe, adorned with red crosses hanging over the edges of the sleeves and the ankles. He also wore a large one around his neck. What a show-off. He'd probably never touched that robe until now, just to be sure it was as squeaky clean as possible. He knew it was supposed to represent something about him being free and cleansed from his sins because of Jesus Christ. Why did he have to parade it around like he was so much better than everyone else? It made Jack sick, and it made most of his fellow Heels sick as well, even some people who weren't Heels.

As he began to walk down the ramp, the slow, sad song that had been playing changed to a faster song, Cleveland's normal entrance music. Halfway down the ramp, Cleveland dropped to his knees and raised his arms in the air, mouthing what Jack guessed was some sort of prayer, while fireworks went off in the background. Also a copycat, he thought. Cleveland borrowed that routine from the legendary Shawn Michaels, a wrestler from the 1990s and 2000s who was also a Christian. But a much more respectful and honorable one than the man entering the ring.

Cleveland posed on the ropes, going to each of the four corners and crossing his arms, holding one of them vertically and the other horizontally, forming a "T" shape. Looked just like a cross. Jack wished that either Rob or Ricky would knock him down from the top rope right at that moment. It would certainly be funny at the very least.

Seeing Daniel Cleveland in the ring tonight maddened him most of all because it brought back memories of last year, at this same time, back at Wrestlemania 48 in Philadelphia. He had been the one in that ring with the championship belt around his waist, and Daniel Cleveland had taken it from him that night. Since then, he had never touched that belt again. It should be him that was in that ring, fighting for that title, not Cleveland. But there was nothing he could do about it. No matter who won this match, he was not getting a chance at the title tonight, or any night soon. Or at least that's what it seemed.

At that moment, he made a decision: He was determined to take that money in the bank briefcase back from Josh Rankin. It was going to be his.

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Daniel stared directly into the eyes of the World Heavyweight Champion. Even as Ricky Ulrich handed the belt over to the referee, and the referee displayed the belt to each side of the audience, Daniel did not break his gaze from the champion.

"It's not up to me what happens tonight," Daniel said.

"Oh, but it is up to me. You're not winning my title," Ricky shot back.

"We'll see about that."

The bell rang, and the three parties circled each other. Trying to be as quick and sudden as he could, Daniel turned and nailed Rob Nickels with a somewhat light right hand to the jaw. He turned toward Ricky and hit him with one as well. Whipping back to his left, he hit Rob with a couple of fists to the face, then turned around and backhanded Ricky right in the chest with a perfect chop. He delivered a mule kick to Rob's knee with his left leg and drove his forearm into Ricky's face, following it up with a right hand. Turning back toward Rob, he gave him a quick kick to the gut and a right hand to the temple, but finally Ricky was able to recover in time to nail him in the back.

Instantly Daniel panicked, wanting to avoid the double-team that would inevitably come from the two fellow Heels. Before he could react, though, they were right on top of him and knocked him down to the mat. Pain shot through his back as he felt several kicks connect with his ribs and spine. He rolled onto his back to protect it, and saw that his opponents were staring each other down. He tried to back toward the ropes, hoping to pull himself up, but his movement turned their attention back on him. When they approached, he kicked with both his feet, hitting both of them in the knees. He then was able to pull himself up and back into the corner, where he chopped an oncoming Rob in the chest. That left him open for a right-hand punch from Ricky to his temple. Ricky grabbed Daniel by the hair, compounding the pain as he hit two more punches to the face. Rob returned to the action, and they switched to his stomach, pelting him with kicks. He was hardly able to breathe as the kicks struck his ribs and abdomen, causing more pain with each successive blow. He had no defense against this—he would just have to wait it out.

He hit the floor outside of the ring hard on his back as Ricky threw him out. And now his two opponents were coming toward him outside of the ring. There was no way he was letting that happen. As quick as he could, he rolled back into the ring and tried to stand up, but collapsed back to the mat, wincing as the kicks were still having their painful effect on his ribs. He had to use the ropes in the corner to pull himself up, but once he did he was able to hurl a chop in Rob's direction, making contact, and then the same to Ricky. A kick to the gut from Rob caused him to double over, and he instinctively reached out, grabbing his long shaggy hair. He threw him into the corner and held onto his hair, pounding him with several punches in anger before Ricky clipped the back of his knee. Daniel went down to one knee as pain shot through his leg, but he grabbed Rob by the waist and lifted him up to the top rope. Rob used his forearm to strike the back of Daniel's neck. He recoiled, but did his best to absorb the blow and lift Rob up to his shoulders. But then there was Ricky again, clipping the same knee and saving Rob, this time sending waves of pain shooting through Daniel's entire right leg and causing him to go down to the mat again. It was only three minutes into the match and he already felt like he was slipping, losing control.

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Broadcasters Paul Koss and Mark Waller witnessed the action from their commentators' table at ringside, informing their worldwide television audience of every move.

"There's that knee again," Paul Koss pointed out. "That's Daniel Cleveland's one weak point is that knee."

"Both of those knees," Mark Waller corrected.

"Yes, you're right, Daniel's had problems with both of his knees during his career, and opponents rarely fail to exploit those injuries."

"Cleveland may not have a chance to get back in this thing. Nickels and Ulrich could effectively eliminate him and make it down to just the two of them," Mark pointed out.

"They could, but eventually there has to be dissension. They are both so hungry for that title and will do anything to win it, there's bound to be some conflict between the two."

"Yeah, well, what's that they say? 'My enemy's enemy is my friend'? That could ring true in this case."

"Well, it's not looking good for Cleveland here, we'll see what happens."

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Daniel's right knee was being attacked again. Rob pulled him by the hair to his feet and Ricky held his arms back as Rob punched him a few times in the forehead. Using a sudden burst of energy, despite the pain in his face and his knee, he delivered a quick kick to the gut with his left foot and it connected with Rob's ribs. Rob bent over, surprised at the quick blow, and Daniel used the chance to wriggle out of Ricky's hold and throw a wild chop, hitting his chin instead of his chest. Daniel turned around and nailed an unsuspecting Rob with a right hand, sending him into the corner. He tried to throw Rob out of the ring to make it one-on-one, but Rob held onto the ropes and stayed on the apron. Daniel had to move toward Ricky, and Ricky was ready with a punch of his own that connected with Daniel's jaw. That stunned him and sent him back to the ropes, right in front of where Rob was on the apron. Dazed, he didn't know what to do now, but he was able to make out Ricky charging at him to knock him out of the ring, and he ducked. He rolled over twice to get away from Ricky and noticed Ricky had stopped, and Rob on his back on the outside. He had just what he wanted--Ricky had accidentally hit Rob off the apron, and they both knew it.

While Ricky was looking down at the floor, Daniel saw his chance! He scampered over behind him and rolled him up with an inside cradle, pinning his shoulders to the mat--one, two, no! Daniel felt Ricky slip just out of his grasp. Now on the offensive, he approached Ricky, who had gotten up and backed into a corner, but he didn't expect him to stick his hand out and jab a thumb into his eye. He suddenly saw what seemed like a flash in his right eye, which was temporarily blinded from the poke. Ricky then hit a hard right hand to the jaw, knocking Daniel back down to the mat.

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"Ricky Ulrich seems to be in firm control here," Mark observed. "Cleveland can't seem to mount any offensive here."

"Well, Ricky needed that thumb to the eye to gain the advantage--"

"Hey, it's no disqualification. Anything's legal."

"Granted. But I'm saying it's not a clear indication of who's going to win this match."

Ulrich reached back and hit Daniel hard with a chop. "Hey! Ulrich with a chop to the chest in the corner, and that looks like it stung!"

"Ulrich throwing a couple of rights and lefts, and grabbing the hair, a hard right hand to the forehead!" Koss yelled. "Hey, look who's getting back in the ring!"

"There's Rob Nickels, and he ain't happy!"

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For once Daniel was grateful that Rob had entered the ring. Rob spun Ricky around by the arm and got right into his face, asking what that was all about, knocking him off the apron. Ricky said it was an accident. Rob said something along the lines of, that was convenient, wasn't it? Daniel couldn't hear every word, because his jaw was hurting and he was pretty sure he'd have a deep bruise under his left eye tomorrow. However, he certainly saw Ricky lay into Rob with a hard right hand, knocking him back to the adjacent corner he was in. The double-team was over!

Rob and Ricky were now at each other's throats. Rob started to duck and cover his head, but when Ricky started to step back, Rob nailed him with a punch to the eye. Rob hit another punch, and then his strange uppercut that looked like the inside of his elbow was hitting his opponent's chin. Ricky was staggered back by it, though, and went into the corner.

Daniel felt a surge of energy as Rob clotheslined Ricky over the top rope. As Rob approached him, he surprised him with a quick kick to the stomach. He grabbed Rob's head and slammed into the corner turnbuckle, and without hesitation, unleashed a flurry of fast chops to the chest.

When he moved in for another attack, suddenly he saw a pair of hands grab Rob's head. Ricky Ulrich had moved back in. After a brief battle, Ricky somehow managed to give Rob a massive suplex over the top rope, and Rob took a very hard landing on the outside of the ring. Daniel felt a guilty rush of hope. Could one of his opponents be eliminated?

----------

"That was a pretty hard fall there by Nickels, and he's not moving. I think we may need to get some medical help out here," Mark said.

"He very may well be out of this match," Paul Koss concurred.

"Ulrich gets met coming back in with right hands by Cleveland! Cleveland now gaining some momentum with punches to the face!"

"There's a chop..." Mark called.

"Cleveland sending Ulrich to the ropes, oh! Kick to the face by Ulrich!"

"Oh wow, I think that caught Cleveland right in the nose; he could have a broken nose there."

"Let's check out that kick again on instant replay, folks."

The guys in the back put on the instant replay, and Paul watched the kick solidly connect with Daniel's mouth and nose. However, he missed what Mark saw next.

"Oh, a huge clothesline, P.K.! Cleveland may be out! Cover!"

"Whoa, one, two, and Cleveland kicks out!" Paul couldn't contain his relief. "I was watching the replay and didn't see that clothesline."

"Look at Ulrich, with those punches to the face while Daniel's down. He is not happy now."

"What's Ulrich looking to do here?" Mark asked as he turned Daniel over onto his stomach.

"Well, he's going to go after that left knee, that's what!" Paul declared as if it was obvious. "Daniel Cleveland has had problems with that knee over the course of his career," he reminded the viewers. "Ulrich with an elbow drop on the back of the knee, and now Ulrich is in firm control."

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Daniel's left knee was being twisted like a pretzel. He couldn't help but yell out in pain as Ricky tightened the submission hold. He turned his entire focus on just getting to the ropes. After struggling in the hold for what seemed like several minutes, he kicked Ricky in the side with his free leg, allowing him to wriggle free of the hold and grab the ropes. That wasn't the end, though. Ricky, seemingly calmly, walked over to the ropes and stomped Daniel's prone ribs. He kicked Daniel again, and then again, and just when it seemed like the blows wouldn't stop, Ricky suddenly got tackled away from him!

Rob had come into the ring, recovered from the suplex he had taken to the outside several minutes ago. Daniel couldn't see what was going on, but he could hear that Rob and Ricky were fiercely fighting. He rolled to his side in time to see Ricky laying into Rob with right hands in the corner and Rob coming back with a low blow. He was more than happy to let them go at it for a couple minutes as he recuperated. He rolled outside the ring, just to be sure. Rob put Ricky on the top rope and they fought up there for a minute, trading punches to the gut. Ricky hit a punch to the face, momentarily knocking Rob off balance, but Rob regained control and hit a massive superplex off the top rope! Daniel could feel the ring rattle where he sat, but he quickly saw Rob cover Ricky on the other side of the ring. One, two, but Ricky kicked out, thankfully. Daniel breathed a sigh of relief as he crept around the ring. Rob smashed Ricky with several forearm shots to the face, and then covered him again, putting his feet on the ropes for leverage, but Daniel bumped his feet off the ropes. He then mustered all the strength he could and pulled Rob to the outside.

Daniel dodged an attempted baseball slide by Ricky and nailed him with a right hand. He followed up with a chop, leaning him back against the security barrier that separated the fans from the ring. Setting Ricky up for a suplex on the outside, Daniel lifted him up to flip him over his head, but felt a pair of sharp right hands to his ribs. He released the hold and stepped back, holding those ribs that had already taken their share of kicks. Looking up, he saw Ricky reach back and swing with all his might. No! But Daniel ducked and caught Ricky by the legs. He lifted Ricky up and dropped him back-first on the security barrier.

He dropped to a sitting position out on the floor, wincing in pain which surged throughout his entire body. He had to catch a breather. But there were no breathers at Wrestlemania. After just a few precious seconds, he spotted Rob rising to his feet and stumbling toward him. Daniel readied himself and threw a punch, which landed on Rob's shoulder, missing its target. Rob answered with a punch to the forehead. Daniel switched strategies and kneed him in the gut. With a glance behind him, he grabbed Rob by the arm and slammed him as hard as he could into the steel steps that led up to the ring, shoulder-first. Not waiting for Rob to fall, he drove a hard knee right into his nose. He dropped to his knees after the blow, stopping to catch his breath. Immediately he noticed the red spot on his white knee-length tights. Rob's nose was bleeding profusely. He knew this was his chance, and he grabbed Rob around the waist and tried to lift him back into the ring.

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Suddenly, though, Ulrich came up from behind and threw Daniel hard into the security wall. His spine connected with the wall and he went down. Ricky then threw Nickels into the ring and quickly made a cover for a two-count. "Oh, that was so close! Ulrich might have had this won!" Paul Koss exclaimed. He looked at the timekeeper's clock, which read sixteen minutes. This match seemed to be winding down to its conclusion, a relatively short match for a Wrestlemania main event.

"That's not going to keep Daniel down for long though, look, he's already getting back in the ring," said Mark.

"Ulrich catches him, though, and now stomping away on those ribs," replied Paul. Ulrich got down on his knees and started hitting Cleveland's back with several hard forearm blows.

"Cleveland now turning to his back," he said, "but Ulrich meets him there with an elbow drop to the stomach. Cover! One, two, no, kickout!"

"Come on now, P.K., you didn't think an elbow drop was going to keep Cleveland down, did you?"

"I should have known better, Mark. What an exciting match!"

"Oh ho, and it's about to get more exciting. Where is Ricky going?"

"Ulrich going to the outside and he's looking under the ring for a weapon, Mark! This is a no disqualification match, anything goes. He can use whatever weapons he wants."

"And so can the other two competitors. Oh, Cleveland and Nickels have now spotted each other. Cleveland with a hard right hand!"

"Cleveland is aware of Ulrich on the outside, and he's going for him, but there's Nickels from behind! A hard blow to the back and now throwing Cleveland out of the ring!"

"P.K., this could be what decides it now. Oh look, Ulrich grabbing Nickels' leg--"

"But Nickels gets free with a stomp to his hands!"

Mark chuckled. "Pretty clever stuff, huh?"

"Indeed, Mark. Now Nickels throwing ULRICH into the steel steps, Ulrich hits knees first and flips over! Oh wow! What a match!"

"Wait! Cleveland from behind with a German suplex on the floor! And we saw that fall Nickels took to the back of the neck earlier, that's gonna aggravate it all over again!"

"You might be right, Mark. All three men are down on the outside."

-----------

Daniel knew he had to be the first one to get to his feet. He knew that could very well decide the match. He forced himself to rise to his knees. Now he had to choose--which opponent was the weaker one? Which one would he have the best shot at pinning at this point? He looked to Rob, and he looked to Ricky. He thought Rob was the best chance now. He got to his feet, walked over to Rob, and rolled him into the ring. First, he laid Rob out on his back over the apron and elbowed him right in the chest. He then rolled him into the ring and covered. One, two, no! Rob kicked out. That was fine--Daniel had been expecting it. He threw a few punches into Rob's face, further bloodying his already bloody nose.

Daniel pulled Rob up to his feet, not knowing exactly what he wanted to do. As he pulled Rob to his feet, he didn't expect at all the finger that came right at his eyes in the next second. Rob literally dug into his face and raked his eyes as hard as he could--both of them. Daniel was blinded for a second and didn't see the right hand coming at his face. He didn't see the second, either. All he could do was try and get hold of Rob with his legs, maybe find him and take him down that way. He feared there was permanent damage to his eyes. He was so exhausted, though, he couldn't panic. His goal was the title. He had to pin a man. After a third right hand grazed his nose when he turned away from it just in Paule, both his legs found Rob's, and he was able to give him a drop toe hold. However, that was only temporary as Rob punched him in the face, this time in the bridge of the nose, and began to choke him. Whoa! There was no disqualification, how was he going to get out of this!?

Daniel, within a split second, decided that it was no DQ--he could do what Rob had done. So he reached up and raked Rob's eyes as hard as he could. He knew he didn't get as much as Rob got, but it was enough. Rob let go and took a couple steps backwards. Daniel was just now beginning to see clearly again, and he went for a punch, but Rob had the wherewithal to duck it in time. Rob punched Daniel in the stomach and whipped him to the corner. Absorbing the blow to his stomach, Daniel saw an opportunity, and hoped Rob would charge at him. The guy did charge at him, and Daniel knew exactly what to do. Even in his exhausted state, he moved out of the way at the last second. Rob tripped, falling to his knees, then got back up to his feet after hitting his face on the second turnbuckle. Daniel wrapped his arms around Rob's waist and popped his hips, lifting him completely over his body in another German suplex. Time for a couple more. He rose to his feet and hit a second suplex, and then struggled up again and hit a third. He stayed down on his back for a few seconds after that, knowing he could now get some rest, but then he realized his goal was not to rest but to pin somebody. So he quickly scampered over to cover Rob. One, two, thr--no! Daniel kicked himself inwardly, because he'd given Rob enough time to recover and kick out.

Daniel slowly rose to his feet and lifted Rob up with him, preparing to hit his finisher, which he called the Capital Punishment. With Rob bent forward, he lifted his arms up and linked them with his own. He prepared to jump into the air and land on his knees, driving Rob's face into the mat in the process. However, he never saw Ricky, and the chair connecting with the side of his head, until he was down on the mat seeing stars.

He fought unconsciousness, but forced himself to stay aware. His head throbbed, but he was still aware. But still, Daniel couldn't help but think this might be it. His run might be over. He was lying prone on the mat and Ricky had only to get one more good move in and he could be pinned in a second. What was he thinking? That wasn't the way to go. Ricky pulled him up to his feet, and he got ready. He still had a little bit left in the tank. Ricky whipped him off the ropes, and he ducked a clothesline. Now there was only one thing he could do as he came off the other side of the ring ropes--he threw his entire body at Ricky with all his might, putting his forearm out in front of him, and flew right into Ricky.

The flying forearm connected full force, and Ricky went down. The crowd had popped hugely--Daniel heard their screams while lying on the mat. He knew exactly what they expected him to do. So he put his arms behind his head, reached back, and leaped up with all the force he could muster. Seeing Rob coming at him, he ducked a right hand, lifted him up and then set him back down right onto his knee. He then knocked Rob to the mat with a right hand. He kicked Rob in the ribs as he rolled out of the ring. Daniel turned back toward Ricky, who was just getting up, and lifted him up and scoop slammed him. This could be it! He climbed up to the top rope and measured the leap he was about to make. After a second of hesitation, he leapt off the top rope, landing his elbow right on Ricky's chest.

Rising off the mat in a painful daze, Daniel also felt a surge of adrenaline. This was it! Daniel was going to do it! He shook off the cobwebs from the hard chairshot to his head, and went to the corner where Rob was opposite of, to prevent Rob from stopping him. He stomped his right foot on the mat once. Twice. A third time. He was tuning up the band, as it was called, for a side kick to the chin, known better by its original name, Sweet Chin Music. He stamped the mat two more times until Ricky got to his feet, and then went for the full-force kick.

He stretched his right leg as high as it could go, aiming for Ricky's chin. Putting all the force he could into it, he thrust his foot forward and sideways.

CRACK! The kick connected with Ricky's jaw, and Ricky went down on his back. The crowd erupted, and Daniel was fully ready to cover and pin Ricky for the three-count.

But Daniel didn't see Rob slowly rising to his feet until he had grabbed him by the head, directly in position for his finishing move, the RKO. Rob leaped up into the air, and landed on his back while holding Daniel face-first toward the mat. Daniel's face impacted the mat with full-force as the RKO connected.

Daniel's forehead smashed into the mat, and his nose did as well. Pain shot through his entire body and he almost involuntarily rolled over halfway to his back. For a moment he barely knew what had hit him, but within a split second it occurred to him that he was going to be pinned, and that meant losing the match and his shot at the World Title. He kept his body in an ever-so-slight motion as he now saw Rob roll him to his back and cover him. In one smooth, fluid motion, he kept his legs moving, and with nearly every bit of energy left in his tired body, he kicked into the air, and lifted his right shoulder off the mat.

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"OH MY GOSH!" Paul Koss exclaimed. "Daniel Cleveland just kicked out of the RKO!

"That deadly finisher, that move that strikes as quickly as a snake, couldn't finish off Daniel Cleveland!" Mark nearly screamed into his headset.

"Nickels is incensed!"

Now a furious Nickels slowly backed away from Cleveland, right into the corner opposite him, and crouched in a sprinter's position. The look on his face was pure evil. "Oh no, we've seen this before," said Paul, with a tone of urgency. "If the RKO wasn't enough to win, this will be."

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Daniel got a quick glance over at Rob, who was backing up to the corner and crouching in a sprinter's position. He was halfway out of it, but he had the wherewithal to know what Rob was going to try and do. When he saw Rob out of the corner of his eye coming for him, he ducked, completely flattening himself on the ground. Rob's foot missed his head, and he rolled to his back in time to see a great sight: Ricky had come back into the ring, still quite out of it from the superkick he had received just about thirty seconds before. He was having a hard time keeping his balance, but Rob charged right into him, and Ricky grabbed him and quickly hit the Rickroll--a face-first drop on the mat from a standing position. This was right near the ropes, and Rob rolled out of the ring.

It seemed that had taken everything out of Ricky, and Daniel crawled over to him. He knew exactly what he had the chance to do now. He was pretty sure it was academic at this point. The RKO had not affected his thought process. Ignoring the shock waves of pain that coursed through his body, he slowly rose to his knees, and grabbed Ricky in a front face-lock. As he rose to his feet, he hooked Ricky's left arm, then his right, in his own. He then finally got to a full standing position, and jumped up in the air. Landing on his knees, he drove Ricky's face full force into the mat. Right in the middle of the ring.

Rolling Ricky onto his back, Daniel hooked Ricky's right leg and covered him. One. Two. THREE! That was it!

For a moment he barely realized what had happened. As soon as the referee's hand hit that mat a third time, everything that he'd been keeping held in check came to the surface, and he dropped to the mat in severe pain. But through that pain, the man in black and white reached out his hand and helped him to his feet.

"That was a hell of a match, man," he said. "This is yours. Congratulations." And with both hands, he carefully presented to Daniel the World Heavyweight Championship.

Daniel had done it. It was amazing. He had won the World Title. He fell to his knees and uttered a quick, but completely sincere prayer: "Thank You, God." God had granted him the gift he had desired. He had granted him the strength and endurance to get through this match, and the ability to win it. He couldn't believe it.

The colossal crowd had erupted in a standing ovation as soon as the referee's hand hit the mat for three. As the ref gave him the title belt and raised his arm in victory, Daniel raised the title belt above his head.

After proudly displaying the belt to the raucous crowd, he looked toward the entrance ramp and saw several people walking down it. These weren't enemies—they were friends. Among them were Sarah, Lisa and Naomi. One by one, they each came up and congratulated him. The only people missing were the Heels.

Daniel felt as if he was about to cry; he was so amazed that he had won the title. He knew he had a chance, but...it still seemed so surreal.