Cult of Personality

RODDY PIPER'S OFFICE

Rowdy "Hot Rod" Roddy Piper was admiring a framed poster of himself when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!"

Edge was seething as he approached Piper. "I want a match against John Cena-tonight!"

"Whoa, hold your horses there! Are ya sure you wanna do this? I mean, let 's face it, you haven't been in competition against-well, anyone-for the past few weeks, what with The Big Show getting his butt kicked by Hogan; I thought you might wanna take it easy for a while."

"That's crap!" Edge's nostrils flared. "You know as well as everyone else does that John Cena is still holding MY title, and I want it back-tonight!"

Piper nodded. "Okay, you want a match with Cena tonight-you got it. But it won't be for the title. That's gonna happen at Wrestlemania in a couple of weeks. So, tonight, you, Edge, will get a warm-up match against Edge-along with his partner, Stone Cold Steve Austin!"

Edge was flabbergasted. "Austin? That guy's a lunatic!"

For the first time Piper became serious. "Well, buddy, it's either you in a handicap match against Cena and Stone Cold, or you don't get your title shot at Wrestlemania. So, which is it gonna be?"

Edge fumed, but in the end, he said, "OK, Piper-have it your way. I'm still gonna kick his ass." Then he stormed out of the office.

Piper chuckled. "This is gonna be a fun night!" he said.

THE ARENA PARKING LOT

Vince McMahon's limousine pulled up. Vince got out, followed by Eric Bischoff and Mick Foley. Vince seemed confident despite what had happened the week before. A commentator approached him.

"Mr. McMahon! Roddy Piper just made a match with Edge against both John Cena and Stone Cold Steve Austin! What is your reaction?"

Vince sneered. "Piper may have been made a co-General Manager by my wife, but we'll see who has the real authority tonight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get ready for a major announcement."

THE N.W.O. LOCKER ROOM

Hogan and Stone Cold were conferring with Triple H while they awaited the arrivals of Shawn Michaels and John Cena. "First of all, Stone Cold, I just wanna say again-welcome back, brother!" Hogan shook Stone Cold's hand.

"Well, hell, did you think I was gonna stay away while Eric Bischoff is around? I got a score to settle with that little weasel, and with Vince."

"Just remember, we have to stay on our toes. Vince and Eric may be idiots, but that doesn't mean they can't…"

Triple H was interrupted by a commotion outside the door. The three of them rushed outside to find Shawn Michaels and John Cena fighting off Edge-along with Kurt Angle and Kane!

Stone Cold pulled Cena out of harm's way as he went after Kane, while Hogan and Triple H joined Shawn in going after Angle and Edge. As they were driven away, Kane called back, "We'll see you in the ring!"

Triple H helped Shawn to his feet. "Well, I guess we got our first message from Vince."

Michaels wiped some blood from his mouth. "Then I guess we'll just have to respond, won't we?"

IN THE RING

Vince and Eric, followed by Foley, strutted into the squared circle. "I'm sure you all saw my little 'message' I gave to Shawn Michaels and John Cena!" The crowd responded with boos. "But that's not the only thing I have to say tonight. As you may now, my wife, Linda, made Roddy Piper Eric Bischoff's co-General Manager last week." The crowd cheered, which Vince shrugged off while Eric frowned. "What my lovely but, quite frankly, inexperienced wife forgot was that I still have the other fifty per cent of the WWE empire. So, with that in mind, I have decided to create a new organization, one that represents the high standards of the WWE that, in my opinion, the N.W.O. does not represent. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the enforcers of what I call…The McMahon Corporation!"

Vince gestured towards the ramp as Kane and Angle made their way to the ring. Both had looks of grim determination on their faces. As they joined Vince, Angle was the first to speak.

"What I've got to say won't take long!" This was greeted with a round of cheers, followed by a chant of "What?"

"As the first half of Mr. McMahon's enforcement team, it will be my duty to deal with the N.W.O. with my three I's-Intelligence, Integrity, and Intestinal Fortitude!" The crowd chanted "What?" again. Angle, however, was determined to continue. "As your Olympic Hero, this is going to be my way of upholding WWE values, by whatever means necessary!"

The crowd booed as it became Kane's turn. "Stone Cold Steve Austin…you think you know pain? You think you know sacrifice? I'm going to show you the meaning of pain-and I'm going to enjoy doing it!"

Vince smiled broadly as he took the mike. "They'll make a great team, won't they?" When the crowd booed, Vince scowled, but added: "And as far as Piper goes-there's not a damn thing he can do about it!"

RODDY PIPER'S OFFICE

Roddy shook his head as he watched Vince on his TV monitor. "Nothing I can do, huh? Boy, you are so wrong there, Vince! Just wait until the main event!"

There was a knock on his door, and Randy Orton entered. "I just saw what happened to Edge!" he said. "The N.W.O. had no right to treat him that way! I want a piece of Shawn Michaels!"

Piper thought about it. "Well, since Edge is gonna have his hands full, I guess there's something I could do. How would you feel about a tag-team match against Michaels?"

"What are you talking about?" Orton demanded. "I'm not getting suckered into some handicap match against Michaels and Triple H!"

Piper looked surprised. "Who said anything about you going against Triple H? No, man, what I was thinking of, out of the goodness of my heart, was a tag-team match between you and a partner against Shawn Michaels. That'll help even things out, won't it?"

Orton grinned. "Now you're talking! I know a couple of guys I can get right now…"

But then Piper interrupted him. "Sorry, pal, that's not quite what I had in mind. Ya see, your partner in this handicap match has a handicap of his own. In fact, his name is-Eugene!"

Orton stared at him. But then a slow smile appeared on his lips. "Okay, Piper, have it your way. Eugene it is." He walked out.

Piper shook his head. "That guy's got something up his sleeve-aw, Eugene'll be okay. I'll just have to keep my eyes on things."

IN THE RING

Triple H was battling it out with Mick Foley in the first match of the night. Foley went after the Game with all the dirty tricks he knew, but Hunter held firm. Finally, Hunter was able to deliver the pedigree to Foley for the one, two, three. But even as he was celebrating in the ring, he was attacked from behind by Kurt Angle. Angle was able to take advantage of the Game's distraction by trying to get him in his infamous ankle lock, but Triple H was able to get out of it just in time as Stone Cold and Shawn Michaels came racing down to the ring. Angle was able to roll out and get away, but not without Shawn Michaels pointing at him.

Stone Cold grabbed the mike while Michaels helped Triple H to his feet. "I told ya, Vince-we weren't just gonna sit back and let you get away with this kind of crap! As far as Kane goes, if the Big Red Freak wants to fight old Stone Cold, then he can stop his whining and get his ass down in the ring. And that's the bottom line, because Stone Cold says so!"

IN THE RING-THE TAG TEAM MATCHES

Edge came down to the ring with Lita, but they didn't look happy. The usual arrogance was gone from Edge's face. He knew what he was in for as he stepped into the ring.

"This is so unfair!" he said to the crowd. Not surprisingly, they weren't very sympathetic. "I mean, come on! It's two against one, even if it is against that broken-down has-been, Stone Cold Steve Austin!" The crowd cheered Austin's name. "You don't think I can beat Austin? I'm the Rated R Superstar! But this isn't right! Cena's still wearing my WWE title!"

As if in response to hearing his name, John Cena and Stone Cold appeared at the edge of the ramp. Edge glared at them as they came down to the ring, and the match was on.

From the beginning Stone Cold and Cena had their way with Edge. The former champ's frustration became evident as he nearly got several submissions from Cena only to have him get out of them each time. Finally, the time came when it was just him and Stone Cold. Austin responded to Edge's pleas for mercy by giving him a Stone Cold Stunner that left Edge seeing stars. As he limped out of the arena, helped by Lita, Austin turned his attention towards Kane.

"I hope you were watching that, you crazy bastard, because you're next! Now, somebody throw me a beer!"

IN THE RING-RANDY ORTON AND EUGENE VS. SHAWN MICHAELS

Randy tried to ignore Eugene as the mentally challenged wrestler waved at the crowd. "Hi, everybody!" he called out. Randy was the first man in as Eugene waited at ringside as Shawn Michaels made his entrance. Michaels was clearly amused by the sight of Randy teamed up with Eugene. Eugene eagerly waved at Shawn, who waved back. Orton grimaced in disgust.

"You just stay there!" he told Eugene. "Let me handle this!"

Eugene cringed. "Okay, Randy. I'm gonna stay right here!"

And he did, as Shawn went after him, until Shawn delivered some sweet chin music to Orton. All the while, Orton had kept reaching out for a tag from Eugene, who stayed where he was.

As Michaels celebrated in the ring, a dazed Orton confronted Eugene. "Why didn't you tag me like you were supposed to?"

"Because you told me to stay where I was, Mr. Orton," Eugene sincerely replied.

Randy groaned…

IN THE RING-THE MAIN EVENT

Hogan and Foley were going at it in the middle of the ring, while Stone Cold and Angle went after each other on the outside and Triple H pummeled Big Show in the corners. Vince's intention had been to send out Angle to help Kane, but things weren't turning out as planned. Stone Cold grinned at the thought of Vince fuming in his office as he delivered a massive stunner to Kane while Triple H and Hogan both gave leg drops and pedigrees to the Big Show and Foley. Shawn Michaels ran into the ring and gave some more sweet chin music to Angle. But things took a sudden and surprising turn as Big Show was able to recover and seize Michaels in his infamous choke slam. Michaels went down as Hogan and Triple H double-teamed him, but the giant stood his ground, picked up Triple H, and heaved him over the top rope. That allowed Kane to turn his attention towards Austin while Big Show fought Hogan. Hogan went after Big Show with a face rake, but that only seemed to make Big Show angrier as he and Kane got Austin and Hogan in simultaneous choke slam holds.

They were about to deliver them when The Rock appeared as if from out of nowhere and ran down to the ring.

The Rock was able to distract Kane while Hogan got free from Big Show's grip. Big Show went down with a boot to the face while Kane received a Stunner, which was followed by the Rock giving Kane a taste of the People's Elbow.

Kane and Big Show struggled back up the ramp as The Rock faced Hogan, Hunter, Stone Cold, and Michaels, who had joined them in the ring. Then he turned to face the crowd…

"Finally…The Rock has come back to Monday Night Raw!"

TBC!