To say that Dean Ambrose was ready for Money in the Bank would be an understatement. He'd been anticipating this rematch for weeks now. Finally, after two and a half years in WWE, it would be his shining moment to have his name plastered onto the WWE Championship.
Of course, his shining moment would have been two weeks ago, had it not been for Seth and his authority buddies.
"Stop pacing," Roman said. Dean turned his attention to Roman, who was sat on one of the locker room benches watching as his best friend walked in frustrated circles. "You're gonna overthink yourself."
"Well, you know what, there's a huge possibility that this could be my last title shot for a while, and I really don't want it to go to hell," Dean stated, "and despite the fact that the hobbits and Kane hate Seth right now, you know mommy and daddy are going to do whatever they can to make sure princess stays champion." He was now running his fingers through his knotted hair repetitively.
"Running around in circles isn't gonna help, if anything it's gonna end up with you running into a wall," Roman said, standing up and placing a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Just calm down. Title matches should not be this stressful. You literally have nothing to lose and everything to gain."
Hearing Roman's words made Dean's anxiety start to lower. He was right. Seth was the only one in real trouble tonight, because if- when Dean beat him tonight, he'd be dropped by his precious Authority at the drop of a hat.
Now that he thought about it, Dean didn't know what he was more excited for: winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and becoming the new face of WWE or watching Seth's face as his world crumbled down around him.
"Can't wait to punch him in his stupidly large nose," Dean responded at last, rubbing his palms together in a menacing manor. Roman moved his hand to pat him on the back.
"That's my boy," Roman said, making his way towards the door. "I've got to go try and get ready for my match. I'll talk to you later?"
"Yeah, sure," Dean muttered, "and you better be holding a briefcase when you get back." Roman let a smile sneak to his lips before walking out the door.
Once he had left, Dean went right back to pacing.
Despite everything that Roman had said, he knew this was it. If he screwed this up, he'd be hopeless. He'd be wouldn't have another title shot for months and months on end for as long as the Authority remained in power. This ladder match was his last shot, and he planned to not let it go to waste. He'd bit and scratch and claw until that title was around his waist.
And more importantly, out of the slimy hands of his backstabbing former teammate, Seth Rollins.
"I've been waitin' for this moment ever since you won the title at WrestleMania."
"The future is history."
"Not to put any added pressure on you, but the weight of the entire company rests on your shoulders tonight."
"Should Dean Ambrose do the unthinkable and become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, well, we'll have no one to blame but you."
"This is what you wanted, right? To stand on your own two feet?"
"Show them why I chose you."
"Show them all!"
Other people's words repeated themselves over and over again inside his head, getting louder and louder until each phrase felt like its own individual bowling ball bouncing around in his skull.
Seth didn't want anyone to see it, but he was terrified. Terrified and nervous. If tonight went wrong and he didn't win, he'd have nothing. Stephanie and Triple H would surly disown him as their chosen one, and he knew for a fact that there were lines of superstars waiting to get their hands on him due to the cocky, arrogant attitude he had adopted in the past year. But worst of all, he would have no title. He'd be shoved to the bottom of the pyramid and would fade into the nothingness of World Wrestling Entertainment.
He refused to let that happen. Absolutely refused.
Right now, his beloved championship was hung above the ring, ready to be claimed by the winner of his and Dean's ladder match. This would be simple, as long as he remembered Dean's weaknesses and hid his own.
Dean was a risk-taker. He'd do anything to make sure Seth didn't come out of this with the title. Which meant all he had to do was exploit his addiction to thrills and make sure it led to Dean's own demise. Seth could do that. No problem.
But what if it wasn't enough? What if Dean played Seth at his own game? Dean loved mind games, he could easily bring that out and use it against him. Then Dean could win! Dean could take everything away from him if this wasn't planned out correctly, then Dean would be champion and Seth would be nothing.
Well, fine then. Seth would just have to take this to the next level. He could use Dean's tricks on his opponent. He was better than Dean, he could outsmart Dean and reclaim what was rightfully his.
Seth was going to have that championship back in his arms. And he didn't care what he would have to do in order to make sure that it happened.
"The following is a ladder match, and it is for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship!"
This was it. It was go time.
"Now in this match, the first superstar to climb the ladder and retrieve the title will be declared the winner, and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship!"
There goes the music. It's time.
Dean began his leisurely walk to the ring, making sure to let the crowd know that he was ready. He was hyped, fit, qualified, and fixed on making sure his fingers would be wrapped around that title by the end of the pay-per-view.
The crowd was completely behind him as he walked through the ropes, their minds also set on watching him pound Seth Rollins's face into the ring. Saying a few last minute prayers to the late American Dream, he anxiously awaited the arrival of his opponent.
Not long after, Seth began his own tread to the ring. His facial expression was dead set, but his body was a jumble of nerves. His eyes connected with Dean's as he paused for a brief moment on the ramp, and he silently hoped that Dean couldn't read his uneasiness.
The closer he got to the ring, the more Ambrose began to taunt him. Slipping through the ropes, Seth stopped in front of his challenger and they both tilted their gazes upwards to look at their prize.
"Introducing first, the challenger, From Cincinnati, Ohio, weighing in at 225 pounds: Dean Ambrose!" The Ohio crowd erupted in cheers for their native as Dean pointed upwards towards the Championship, indicating that it would soon rightfully be his.
"And his opponent, from Davenport, Iowa, weighing in at 217 pounds, he is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Seth Rollins!" As boos projected from the crowd, Seth plastered a cocky grin on his face. He proceeded to remove his shirt as the bell rang, signaling the start of the match.
The two circled each other briefly, looking the other up and down, before locking up. Dean began with the upper hand, easily taking Seth off guard and tossing him around the ring. But once Dean made the slightest mistake, Seth took over the match, tossing Dean out of the ring and making his way over to the ladders. Dean then took advantage of Seth's ignorance and regained control over his opponent.
The match remained back and forth until Dean was finally able to retrieve a ladder and place it in the ring. Once set up, both men attempted to grab the title, only to result in the ladder being used as a pure weapon. Chairs were then brought into the mix, which exposed Ambrose's unsteady knee.
Yes, Seth thought to himself, finally, a weakness.
Seth began to target he knee at any cost, dead set on depressing Dean's strength and adrenaline as much as he possibly could. "Come on, Ambrose. You gonna climb with one leg, huh?" He could see how Dean was hurting. His knee had to be a mess of blues and purples by now.
He has to be done. He can't possibly have much fight left, He can't. At this realization, Seth set the ladder back up and climbed to the top, ready to grab his title.
Until Ambrose pushed the ladder down.
Despite the setback, Seth was still absolutely determined. He set his eyes hack on Dean's knee, only for Dean to regain the upper hand until the playing field was even.
Both men were tossed out of the ring by one of Ambrose's clotheslines, sending them in the direction of the ladders. Seth managed to quickly make his way back to the ring, but Dean took a slower route and grabbed another ladder. He slid the ladder under the ropes just as Seth threw the current ladder at him, thankfully missing as Dean gained control with a clothesline. As Seth lay on the ground, Dean took this opportunity to set the ladder up in one of the corners of the ring, only for Seth to throw him through the ropes once he was finished. Both men fought into the crowd, Seth eliminating Ambrose for a bit and making his way back to the ring.
Once back behind the safety of the barricade, he pulled another ladder out from under the ring, angling it on the announce table before Ambrose made his way back and threw himself at Rollins. With Rollins on the mat, Dean grabbed Seth's ladder and pushed it into the ring, using all his strength to adjust the ladder into position to give him the opportunity to grab the WWE Title.
Then, Dean began to climb. Very slowly, until he finally reached the halfway mark. His body felt wasted and beaten, but he could gather enough strength to do this. He could gather enough strength to finally have the title, to finally feel like everything in his life was worth it. Right before he reached the top, he felt someone, Seth to be exact, tug on his legs, sending him back to the ground as Seth took a blow at his knee once more and Pedigree'd him into the ring. Rollins took this as his opportunity, slowly beginning to climb the ladder himself.
Like Ambrose, it was a slow process. Seth just continued to push himself, he could do this. He could prove every person wrong, show that he was strong and worthy of the championship. Just a few more steps-
Then, as if it was déjà vu, Dean grabbed him by the ankles and yanked him to the floor, giving him a Dirty Deeds and knocking him down. With the little stability he had left in his body, he grabbed onto the ladder and began to gradually pull himself up. But the time that it took him to make it to the top was also the time it took for Seth to regain his vigor, and Seth began to climb the ladder right behind him.
The two were both reaching for the title, their fingertips brushing against the metal details, clawing at each other in an attempt to grab the belt. They were a tangled mess of limbs, fighting dangerously high off the ground, trying to get a strong enough hold on the championship, until Seth finally managed to get a firm grasp on the title, wrenching it off the cable it was attached to.
Without the support of the cable, both men plummeted backwards. As they fell, Seth's head snapped harshly against the ladder set up in the corner of the ring, plunging him into complete darkness before the ending bell even rang.
The first thing that Dean could comprehend once he hit the ring was that he lost. He'd lost his one opportunity at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. And he'd lost fairly. There was no interference, no disqualification, he'd simply, flat out, lost.
But then he realized, if he lost, that meant Seth had won. Why wasn't Seth's music playing? Why was everything completely silent?
Dean turned his head to the right and quickly understood why the whole arena was in dead silence.
Seth was lying on his stomach facing Dean, eyes closed and lips slightly parted, title lying right next to him, with blood all over the back of his head. Turning his head slightly upwards, Dean looked at the ladder perched in the corner, seeing a crimson stain on the metal from where Seth's head had connected with it.
Doctors and medics started rolling into the ring, giving Seth all of their attention. Dean could barely make out what they were saying.
"His pulse is alarmingly low."
"There's been a large amount of blood loss."
"It's bad."
"We need someone to get a stretcher out here so we can move him!"
Suddenly, Dean felt a hand on his shoulder. He flinched before turning to face one of the medics. "Are you ok, sir?"
"Y-Yeah," Dean shakily responded, "yeah, I'm fine. W-What happened?"
"When you and Rollins fell off the ladder, he fell much farther than you and hit his head on the ladder in the corner," the medic stated. "He hit his head pretty hard, he's in very critical condition."
Dean slowly nodded his head in understanding as the medic stood up and made his way over to Rollins. Ambrose could see that a stretcher was being brought out and the support staff was currently trying to stabilize Seth so they could move him.
Dean had set that ladder up. If he hadn't have set that ladder up, then Seth would be ok. Sure, Dean hated Seth to his core, but he never wanted this to happen. This was bad. This was really bad.
Seth was now being placed onto the stretcher and was quickly being rolled to the backstage area. Dean tried to steady himself enough to follow after him, but he simply didn't have the strength anymore. His legs gave out the second he tried to stand, and he was left on his knees in the middle of the ring, watching as Seth was wheeled away.
As you can see, I decided to combine chapters 1 & 2, just because I felt that they went better together as one chapter. I'm trying to write longer chapters, because chapter length has always been something I've struggled with and I'd like to improve in that.
Anyway, chapter 2 will hopefully be posted soon!
- vicesandconverse