Authors Note: Ladies and gentlemen this is my very first story in called "Unleashing the Hounds." It stars The Shield, Paul Heyman, and Jessicka Havok. It takes place in 2001/2002 and I sincerely hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1: Starting from the bottom.
His name was Paul Heyman and the situation he was in was rather interesting in both the buildup and the moment itself. It had been a while since he was soundly fired from his position as a broadcast commentator in WWF and replaced by that crown-wearing hack Jerry Lawler. However Vince, perhaps in a sign of respect...or mercy gave Paul Heyman the position of talent scout to boost the WWF's fledgling emphasis on younger stars. However Paul needed to bring someone that impressed Vince like his favorite scouts, Jim Ross and John Laurinaitis were doing right now or else he'd be out of a job and he didn't want to test Vince's patience.
That's why he was backstage in an Ohio Valley Wrestling show which was the lead developmental territory for the World Wrestling Federation, watching the live feed on a big screen TV in his private locker room while Vince McMahon was on the phone, talking to him in regards to his status as a scout…as well as him being on uneasy ground."
"I'm telling you this Paul. I expect good results from all of my employees, especially ones I almost fire from the WWF completely," Vince said to which Paul replied in understanding, "I understand sir. You're looking for new talent and I'll find some, don't worry," he said as he tried to keep cool in the proverbial hot seat.
"You better Paul or you know what words I'll be saying to you next and don't expect any mercy from me after I say it," Vince said which made Paul gulp in worry. Vince gave his goodbye and then ended the little call.
Once the call was over Paul took a deep sigh after that experience of a call. He was already not bringing in results as a scout as it was. He needed someone to keep him in Vince's good graces after everything that was happening in the WWF right now. What was a scout if he couldn't bring in any prospects after all?
It's times like this where he almost regretted loudly and proudly supporting ECW during that dammed failed invasion.
Paul ended the call on his cellphone as the match between Randy Orton and Shelton Benjamin ended and he watched the hype-up for an upcoming match between Rico Constantino, The Prototype, and Bull Buchannan against Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and the lone diva Jessicka Havok which were known as The Shield and the four-person team immediately caught his attention. He heard about The Shield and their success in OVW and he was a personal fan of theirs.
The only thing better than one prospect was a group of prospects. With thoughts with The Shield swirling around in his head He watched the TV patiently, curious on how the team would fare.
The Shield was rebellious, dishing out justice on their own terms and their own means. They were heels but there was nobody quite like them to the point where some fans even cheered them. Such a mysterious goal combined with such athletic and powerful wrestling skills would make them a fitting part of the World Wrestling Federation and the direction that they were going. Plus they were due for a new, young, faction anyway.
"Oh this is gonna be good," the portly talent scout said as he watched the upcoming match from the comfort of his couch. He was going to give it his total attention. He wondered if The Shield was going to win.
Meanwhile in the backstage of the arena OVW's booker Jim Cornette saw the group walking the halls en-route to the tunnel doors "Nice to see y'all are on time. You're on in five minutes."
"Got it, thanks Mr. Cornette," Jessicka said as she walked with her teammates, her hand in Dean's. Despite The Shield's image as young, wild, rebellious wrestlers that dished out their own form of Justice they did show respect to those that gave it.
"I like him," Seth said with a smile as he stretched in place, loosening up a bit before their match. Dean however had his head in the game already, "Me too but Cornette's the last person I'm worried about right now, especially since I heard there's a scout in the crowd tonight."
His teammates gave the Lunatic Fringe curious looks. Was he serious about the scout?
"There's a scout here?" Roman asked his teammate, "Who is it man?"
Dean shrugged a bit, "That I don't know. But I do know that it's a guy from WWF and I heard he's desperate for new talent."
Jessika chuckled as the combined entrance music of Rico and The Prototype ended, "Desperate huh? Then let's give this mystery scout something to look at then?"
"I hope he's not lying. We've been here for too long for my taste," Seth said as their theme music played. Sure they were all eighteen years young but nobody wrestling there had plans on being a part of the development territory for too long. The sooner they got called up to the World Wrestling Federation the better.
"SIERRA! HOTEL! INDIA! ECHO! LIMA! DELTA! SHIELD"
Then Special Op Played after their trademark battle cry, signaling their entrance to a loud yet partisan crowd. However they didn't come from the entrance like normal wrestlers did. They came in through the crowd, something that wasn't being done by in WWE at the time. Jessicka was leading the team and was followed by Dean, Seth, and Roman behind her with cold intent in their eyes as they stepped their way to the ring. Jessicka was at ringside, playing the role of bodyguard and enforcer while the men wrestled.
"Let's have a good match, man" said The Prototype, offering a handshake to Dean in sportsmanship. He shook it with a smile, "Thanks, you too."
Then the two teams went to their respective corners, planning who was going to compete first. Both teams sent out their biggest, strongest, guns. The 18 year old Roman Reigns was set to face off against hardened veteran Bull Buchanan. The fans buzzed with the curiosity of seeing two big men compete first.
"You're way outta your league here boy!" Bull taunted as soon as he stepped into the ring, staring a hole through the young Anoai. He was at one point on the WWF roster, fighting alongside the Big Boss Man and a member of the infamous faction "Right to Censor." He was a worthy opponent for the powerful cousin of the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.
"We'll see about that. Let's go!" Roman replied with loud confidence in his voice. He was ready to start things off against the veteran big man.
They threw strikes at each other to open things up. Punches, kicks, elbows, before Roman and Bull locked up. They pushed each other from corner to corner of the ring until Bull transitioned the grip into a headlock.
Big mistake.
Roman lifted Bull up for a clean back suplex. That displayed his power and put on a show for the fans, Rico and The Prototype, and the spectating scout that was soaking all of this up backstage.
Roman and Bull put on displays of steady-paced but noticeable strength with slams and suplexes, including a strong underhook suplex by Reigns. But power alone wasn't going to wasn't just displayed as soon enough both big men had their respective full of action from the physical combat with Bull taking the majority of the damage. Soon enough the athletic members of their respective teams were brought in. Rico Constantino soon squared off against Seth Rollins.
"I'm up against the weirdo? Great," Seth said with a little smirk with some sarcasm in his tone. Rico was flamboyant, vibrant, and rather odd as a wrestler. There wasn't anybody in OVW like him but Seth stayed cool. There wasn't anybody like him either.
"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful Sethy," Rico eagerly teased teased as the match began with him prancing around the ring.
And obviously there wasn't anybody like Rico either.
There were times when Rico's flamboyant nature often through opponents off of their game, which it did for a while in this case. He would leap into Seth's arms to 'attempt' a Lou Thesz press, whenever Seth got him in a waistlock he'd bend over which would cause Seth to instantly and instinctively break the hold or blow kisses at him. Needless to say the daredevil of The Shield had no problems disposing of Rico outside of the ring and have Jessicka knock him around with a clothesline and a shoulder charge while he and Dean distracted the referee. That was when Rico knew that the time for fun and games was over and started actually fighting Seth.
They moved around the ring almost like cruiserweights with quick and fast holds and catch-as-catch can wrestling. The action was soon brought to a dramatic drop in tempo as Seth dodged a roundhouse kick by Rico and countered with a quick step-up enzuigiri that floored the Las Vegas native as the crowd popped from the impact. Now both men were in a crawl to their respective corners and Dean Ambrose was chomping at the bit, begging to be tagged in
"TAG ME!...TAG ME!" he yelled from ringside as Seth crawled over slowly…slowly to his corner until his hand touched Dean's just in time as The Prototype's hand touched Rico's. Now The Prototype and Dean were the legal men and business picked up with the crowd popping to prove it!
Dean hooted in excitement as he entered the ring and immediately started raising hell. He ducked a charging prototype and threw punch, after punch, after punch before hitting a quick DDT on the hunched over Prototype.
Bull entered the ring to beat on Dean with a chop block to the back of his knees but was quickly dispatched with a missile dropkick by Seth Rollins. The West Newbury native thought he was safe as he crawled by the ropes but he was wrong as Roman charged outside of the ring and hit him with a running boot, keeping him down.
Then there was Rico who thought he was going to make the save against a recovering Dean by running into the ring from his corner but Dean was prepared by sidestepping him and Jessicka low-bridging him over the top rope and to the floor.
And just when it seemed like the house was cleared and all was well The Prototype snuck up from behind Dean, trying to attempt his finishing move the Protobomb. However Dean countered it smoothly into a Dirty Deeds, driving the Massachusets-born wrestler headfirst into the mat.
"ONE! TWO! THREE!"
Special Op played loud and clear in victory while the fans cheered. They were still hyped from the fast-paced burst of action and happy that their favorite team won.
"The winners of the match, THEEEEEE SHIIIIEEEELD!" the ring announcer declared.
Paul watched the match with the intelligent interest of a scout but with the joy of a fan and the smile on his face proved it.
"Now THAT was fun!" he grinned as The Shield was declared the winners of the match to the cheering Kentucky crowd. That was when Paul had a bright idea that he couldn't wait to put into action. He left the privacy of his Dressing room and went in route to the entrance hall in waiting for the young team.
"Vince is going to love them!" Paul said to himself as he hastily walked, "they are just what the WWE needs and I can't wait for them to get back here!" he said with excitement in his voice. It was as if he just struck recruitment gold as a scout.
"Well that was fun," Jessicka smiled once she and her teammates made it backstage after a successful win, the Lunatic Fringe's arm draped around her waist.
"We came, we saw, we kicked ass. Now it's time to relax," Roman smiled as they walked the backstage hallways.
"And wonder just why are we in the the development territory," Seth replied. He knew he and his teammates had in-ring skills, mic talent, and looked great so it baffled him to why were they not called up to compete with the big stars
"We'll get there soon enough man. I know somebody up in Stamford's got to be watching us," Dean said to try and ease Seth's mind"
"Or someone much closer to you..."came the voice of a very certain New Yorker, "My name is Paul Heyman, talent scout for the World Wrestling Federation and you are just the people I've been meaning to see."
The Lunatic Fringe's jaw dropped "You gotta be shitting me!" Dean exclaimed. Was Paul Heyman really the scout they've heard about, "You're the scout I've been hearing about?!"
"Dude I'm huge fan of you, I love ECW!" Seth praised. The Iowa-born wrestler loved the devil-may care style of a hardcore athlete, "are you really the scout?"
"Yes I am and I want you four to be my prospects." Paul said as-a-matter-of-factly
All four of the Shield members had looks of awe on their faces. Someone was giving them the chance to leave Ohio Valley Wrestling and make an impact to the WWE. This was too good to be true!
It went without saying that the Hounds of justice were reasonably excited for this but one person, that person being Roman Reigns, wasn't nearly as zealous about this news as his comrades with a rational question in mind
"Wait a minute. Are you sure you want to recruit us, four eighteen year olds that have only been here a few months?" Roman asked. "What plans does Vince have for us?" He wanted to be sure that they were actually wanted.
Paul was cool, calm, and ready to answer to Roman's logical question.
"It's actually simple Mr. Reigns, nothing yet. However Vince knows you and your teammates have a dynamic and style that isn't done by anybody else in the WWF right now. The APA don't fight like you four fight, The Dudleys don't fight like you four fight, even the awesome Brothers of Destruction don't fight like you. That's because you all aren't a team or even a stable you're a unit and that's why I want to bring you to the WWF."
"Paul, you're gonna make us blush with all of this praise," Dean smiled, "but you're right. There's nobody in wrestling like us."
"Believe that," Roman said with a proud smirk.
"We're kind of a big deal," Jessicka grinned with pride. She was eager to boast about her team to the former ECW owner
"Exactly on both points," the thirty-six year old talent scout nodded, "so do you accept my offer?" Paul asked. All of the conversation was over, time to get a formal yes or no to his recruitment question.
"Hell yes we accept it," Roman eagerly said. All of his doubts were erased as he spoke on behalf of his teammates who were also in agreement. They were happy to accept the recruitment offer, "We're in."
"We just gotta pack up first," Seth said excitedly, "we gotta get our bags. We'll be right back."
"No problem, take your time," Paul answered the two-toned youth, "I have to make a call while you're gone."
The hungry eighteen year old wrestlers left Paul and walked back to their locker room while he took out his cellphone and called Vince's business number. He just struck gold up here in Kentucky and he couldn't wait to show it off.
"Hello Mr Mc'Mahon it's Paul. I got some great news," Paul said with a smile as he began his conversation with the Chairman of WWE. Things were looking up for both Paul Heyman and The Shield. It would only be a matter of time before the Hounds of Justice were unleashed on the WWF.
To be continued.
And there you have dear readers, my very first story. Read, review, follow, favorite, give me some creative and constructive feedback and I'll make it count in the next chapter!
Sincerely, Light Whitening