Judging by the look on her face, Stephanie McMahon couldn't quite figure out how she had ended up in the position she currently found herself in. It was the night after Survivor Series, and she was in the ring at the start of Raw, about to hand a resignation letter to her father.
The person standing just behind the curtain that separated the backstage areas from the arena was watching on the monitor. Stephanie's stupidity was worth a shake of the head. What had she been thinking, talking her brother into putting their Commissioner positions on the line at Survivor Series? Only an idiot would do something like that without a backup plan, and a backup plan to that backup plan. But not Stephanie, apparently. She had gambled, Raw had lost, and now she was out of job, much to the delight of the fans.
"Steph, this isn't easy for anyone," Mr McMahon said. The truth, of course, was that it was only tough for him and his daughter. No one else would be sad to see Stephanie go, including the person watching the monitor. The opposite, in fact. In one person's misfortune lay opportunity for another. That was the way of the world.
Eyes closed, looking like she might be about to cry, Stephanie handed the sealed envelope to her father, thereby confirming that she had stepped down as Raw Commissioner. At least she was a woman of her word.
Even better, as far as the person backstage was concerned, was the fact that Kurt Angle had also chosen to leave his job, citing in his resignation tweet (since apparently that was an acceptable way of conducting official business) that as he had been appointed while Stephanie was Commissioner, he felt it was right for him to go, so as to allow whoever was incoming to make as fresh a start as possible.
"Thank you," Vince said with a sigh as he accepted the envelope, while everyone else in the arena started chanting "Yes!".
With that, it was time for Stephanie to take the walk of shame. She left the ring and climbed down the steps. It took that long for the inevitable chorus of 'Na Na Hey Hey' to start raining down on her. Predictable or not, the person watching the monitor had to smile.
Even more amusing than the song was the fact that Stephanie had chosen to walk up the ramp, not down the side of it. She would be walking back through the curtain any moment now.
Sure enough, the curtain opened and Stephanie walked backstage, looking very upset. Her expression quickly changed when she saw who was there. Her nose did that strangle wrinkling thing that seemed to happen to it sometimes as she looked down at the other person.
"What are you doing here?" Stephanie demanded.
"Taking your job," came the simple yet cutting reply.
Stephanie looked horrified by the thought, but it was none of her business anymore. She stormed off, maybe before losing it all together.
It struck the person Stephanie had just spoke to in that moment that no matter how good a General Manager or Commissioner was in WWE, their tenure always ended in failure. This was definitely not a time for thoughts like that, though.
Out in the ring, Vince had started having a set-to with the fans about them disrespecting his daughter. He was only making things worse by raging, so he gave up and moved on.
"As you all know, after Survivor Series last night, Kurt Angle also chose to resign his position as Raw General Manager. For that reason, and with time being of the essence to have some sort of authoritative structure in place, I have decided that Raw will indefinitely proceed without a Commissioner. I will shortly be announcing a new General Manager, and that General Manager will have full rights and privileges to run Monday Night Raw, in conjunction with Constable Baron Corbin."
Corbin's name was booed by the fans. The person waiting to be announced tended to agree. It would have been better if Corbin had also gone. But no, he was made of sterner stuff than that - sterner stuff than Kurt Angle.
Vince rambled on for another minute or so, before finally getting to the point. "Ladies and gentlemen, the new General Manager of Monday Night Raw... Zelina Vega!"
Behind the curtain, Vega delighted in the boos that she heard in reaction to her name and her new theme music. As if she cared what those idiots thought of her. The exact opposite was true. They could boo her all they wanted, and it would make not one iota of difference to her. That was what set her apart from people like Angle. She had no intention of giving 'the people' what they wanted. She would be running Raw they way she wanted, and those who didn't like it? They could wipe their asses with their opinions.
Vega walked through the curtain, the booing intensifying as she emerged onto the stage. She made sure to convey her contempt with her facial expression. I'm simply better than these sub-humans, she told herself, dismissing them all out of hand.
On her way over to the entrance ramp, Vega happened to set eyes on the commentary team for a second. It seemed like the three morons sitting there were losing their minds over her appointment. While she had to admit that on first thought, it might seem like it came from left field, Vega knew why Vince had shaken her hand on a deal earlier in the day, regardless of whoever else might have applied for the position. She had what so many people these days lacked: A spine. Back in the day, Vince had possessed one of his own, so she imagined that was why he respected the quality in her.
Vega made her way to the ring. It didn't escape her attention that McMahon didn't bother to hold the ropes open for her to enter. Asshole, she thought, hiding it behind a gracious smile as he offered her his hand.
"Don't screw this up," he said as they shook.
Inspirational words if ever I heard any, Zelina thought dryly. "I don't screw up," she said as he handed over his microphone.
With that, the Chairman left the ring, and Vega's music faded out. She found herself standing in the ring, alone, in front of an arena full of twelve thousand idiots, who were booing and jeering her. No, not an arena, she corrected herself. Her arena. She ran this place now. There hadn't been much time to prepare a speech, so she let fly from the hip.
"The McMahon era is over," she proclaimed definitively. "The Angle era is over. This is my show now, and it will be run my way, by my rules. Things are going to change around here. People who are sitting there backstage considering themselves at the top of the tree here on Raw? They may now find themselves at the bottom. People who feel they have been unfairly held back? They will be given a chance to impress me. And people who have been hogging the main event spotlight for way too long? I'm turning your spotlight off. I'm talking to you, Roman Reigns," she added.
Yes, of course you love that one, Vega thought as the fans suddenly erupted, cheering her. Naturally, she hadn't said it to garner a reaction from the sheep. She had said it because it was important to stamp down her authority right from minute one. People like Reigns and the rest of The Shield thought they were above authority; thought they could do what they wanted, when they wanted. Well, no longer.
"Vince McMahon gave me this job," Vega went on, "because I told him to his face that I would take much of what his daughter had done these past few years and throw it in the trash. I think part of him liked that. But whether he liked it or not; whether the men and women back there like it or not; whether you people like it or not? You all need to realise the one simple truth that's now staring you in the face: The Vega Era has begun."
Zelina dropped her microphone, and whoever was responsible in the production truck had the good sense to hit her music right away.
All in all, it had gone very well, she thought as she left the ring and headed for the back. Stephanie had resigned without kicking up a fuss, Vince had confirmed her appointment without any last minute second thoughts, and she had been able to make her opening address without anyone having the temerity to interrupt. Frankly, she had expected that to happen, but she was happy that things had turned out differently.
Moments later, Vega was backstage, on her way to what was now her office. She soon saw that she wasn't going to finish the journey uninterrupted. Baron Corbin, Raw's Constable, was standing in the hallway waiting for her, and of course, as always seemed to be the case, there was a cameraman there ready to capture their first encounter for the audience.
Naturally, Vega had known she would have to allow the Constable to introduce himself to her at some point. He could have at least given her a chance to get into her damned office, though! And what kind of title was Constable, anyway? That was going to have to change, she decided on the spot.
"Zelina, let me be the first to congratulate you," Corbin offered as she approached him. What surprised her a little was that his smile and the sentiment sounded quite genuine. She had expected him to kiss her ass, and she would have seen through that right away.
"Thank you, Baron," she replied, opting to be gracious.
"I wanted to assure you that I'm delighted to be working with you as Constable. I'm glad Kurt Angle has gone. Boy, am I glad. Anyway..."
Vega's fiery temper had already been triggered, and she found herself pointing a finger all the way up at him. "Get something straight in your head," she snapped. "You do not work with me. You work for me. And you are no longer Constable Corbin. It sounds like something from a badly-written comic book. You can be Deputy General Manager or something, but you are no longer Constable. Am I in any way unclear?"
"No, Zelina. I mean, ma'am. I mean, boss," Corbin floundered. He had been taken aback by the volley he had received. Oh well, Vega thought, at least everyone knew where they stood now. She decided that while she was on a roll, she would demonstrate her ability to delegate. She barked out an order for Corbin to go and find a certain superstar, and bring them to her office.
As Corbin hurried off to do as he had been told, Vega continued along the hallway and entered her office for the first time. Well, this was still Angle's office, really. Although he had quit the night before, the backstage crew, in absence of other instruction, had setup the office as if nothing had changed. For some reason, Kurt had always liked to stand in the corner of the room, in front of a monitor. What was wrong with the man?
"No, this won't do at all," Zelina muttered to herself, looking at the sparse and pitiful furnishing with a shake of her head. She opened the door again and barked at the nearest crew member. "You. Over here."
"Yes, ma'am. How can I help?" the young guy asked, hurrying over.
Vega ushered him into the office and encompassed it all with a sweeping hand gesture. "Next week, I want none of this crap, you hear me?"
"Yes, ma'am. How would you like it?"
"I want a leather couch. A big one. A comfortable one. I want a coffee table, and on the coffee table, I want a selection of fine food and wine, and I mean vegan food and wine, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," the parrot said again.
"And I want a better monitor than that piece of trash. Get me a big one, and have it put on the wall."
The guy nodded. "Anything else, ma'am?"
"Coffee, and quick about it," Vega instructed, deciding she had no more additions to demand for the office at the moment.
The crew member rushed out of the door so fast that he nearly collided with Corbin and the man Vega had summoned, who were about to enter.
"You wanted to see me?" the new arrival asked. His tone was pleasant enough, but he did look intimidating as he towered over Vega. She supposed that was because they had at one time definitely not been on the same page. But that had been on NXT, when she had only been the manager of Andrade Almas. Now she was the manager of a whole brand, and that meant things were a lot different. Besides, Almas has unfortunately been left behind on Smackdown, and there was nothing that could be done about that for the time being. Shaking off the irrelevant train of thought, Vega addressed the man in front of her.
"Yes, I did want to see you. What I have to say is quite simple. I don't want Roman Reigns as Universal Champion on my show. You're the champion I want. I assume you don't have a problem with my line of thinking?"
A cocky smile appeared on Drew McIntyre's face. "No problem at all," he assured her.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this first chapter? This is my attempt in literally years to write a story entirely in kayfabe, so feedback would be much appreciated.
After what the new GM has said and done so far, how do you think the rest of her first night on Raw might unfold? I'd love to get your thoughts, so feel free to leave a review. Be as creative as you like! :)