Edge walked with a purpose. Also, for the first time in months, he walked without some form of entourage by his side. Edge breezed passed fans and co-workers until he reached the office of the SmackDown General Manager. Large men dressed in matching event security shirts were blocking the doorway. Edge sighed in exasperation when the uniformed guards simultaneously moved in front of him.
"Hold on sir," one security guard said.
"I have a right to see my wife. Move." Edge said simply.
The security force looked at one another. One by one they reluctantly stepped aside. They had been ordered to protect the area, but he was the woman's husband. Edge flung the door open without so much as a parting statement to the security. Vickie quickly stood up from her office chair. Edge closed the door behind himself.
"Reverse the decision" he said in a calm but noticeably annoyed tone.
"Excuse me?"
"Reverse the decision, Vickie" Edge said more sternly.
"No" Vickie said just as firmly in response.
"The Big Show wasn't supposed to be in that match! It was supposed to be Kane! Christian and I never agreed to wrestle Undertaker and Big Show. Give us our belts back and reverse the decision. Now!"
"You would have wrestled Kane if Gangrel hadn't attacked him. I promised a tag team title match and I delivered a tag team title match. The decision stands. If you have a problem with it, maybe you should earn the titles back instead of coming to me to hand it to you. Again."
"You listen to me Vickie! You'd be nothing without me! NOTHING! This all started because you sent me to Hell. Well in case you've forgotten that was supposed to make us even. I'm willing to forgive you for the trip to Hell. After all, I found my friends there. I'm even willing to forgive you for the Big Show. But I will not let you ruin my career. When we got married you promised to love, honor and obey me. I've had enough of this. You either join the Brood tonight or suffer the consequences."
"You're willing to forgive me?" Vickie said. She followed up the question with a sarcastic laugh. "I think you're the one with the bad memory. I sent you to Hell because you cheated on me. And I don't know how many times I have to tell you that Big Show and I are just friends. And as for your career, you wouldn't have a career if it weren't for me. I spent the last year of my life giving you title match after title match. You would be nothing without me!"
Edge grabbed Vickie by her hair. "Listen to me-"
Edge didn't get a chance to finish his statement. The Big Show burst through the closed door and grabbed Edge by the throat. Edge lost the grip on his wife. He was rougly pressed up against the nearest wall. Vickie stumbled backward, let out a terrified scream and watched as Big Show choked the life out of her estranged husband.
"You leave her alone!"
Security rushed into the room. With some difficulty they managed to force apart Big Show and Edge. The weakened Edge clutched at his throat. He coughed violently as the guards pushed him back out of the office.
"Are you okay?" Big Show asked.
"Yes, I think so" Vickie said.
Big Show placed his hands on Vickie's shoulders, steadying her still-trembling body.
"Don't worry Vickie. I'm taking out the Brood tonight. Once and for all."
The Brood's ECW victory was still fresh on everyone's minds heading into Armageddon. "If Undertaker and Big Show couldn't beat the Brood in a Six-Man tag, what makes them think they can do it when it's a Handicap match?" Matt Striker asked as the Brood came out to the ring first. Big Show followed them and lastly, Undertaker. The match began with Edge and Undertaker resuming their heated feud from earlier that summer. Gangrel and Christian remained in their corner while Big Show took up enough space for two men in his. A low blow from Edge allowed his team to gain the advantage.
Christian was tagged in next. He continued the beating where Edge had left off, but the Undertaker soon mounted a comeback. "The Phenom" sent "Captain Charisma" flying across the ring with a right hand. This gave Undertaker the chance he needed. He tagged out to the Big Show while Christian tagged in Gangrel.
Show and Gangrel had both claimed a pinfall victory over each other in the recent past and both men were eager to avenge the loss. They wrestled back and forth with neither one holding a true advantage for very long. Gangrel tagged back out to Edge. He couldn't wait to start assaulting the man he believed had stolen his wife away. "The Rated R Superstar" punched Big Show until his hand became worn out and very possibly injured. The beating put the seven foot monster on his knees. Edge began to stomp him further into the mat; his foot continuing the beating his hand could no longer deliver.
Vickie Guerrero could take no more. She knew this would happen. She put aside her professionalism and emerged from the backstage area. "You see what you've done?" Edge said to his wife. Both of Edge's partners reached for a tag. They didn't want Edge wrestling while he was distracted by Vickie at ringside. The result would surely be a loss for their team. Edge didn't make the tag. As long as Big Show was in the ring Edge wanted to be there too. Vickie's presence was only fueling Edge's rage.
Vickie bit into her fingernails as Edge's boot connected with her friend's face. Big Show managed to make out Vickie's frowning face at ringside through his blurred vision. Unfortunately for Edge Vickie's presence was also inspiring the Big Show. The image of her concerned face was all it took for Big Show to mentally shut out the pain he was in. His hands grabbed Edge's foot. Show powered himself back up onto one knee. Vickie smiled. Show strained momentarily, but finally sat himself up on both knees. Vickie's smile widened. Big Show finally overpowered Edge and returned to his feet. He whipped Edge across the ring by his trapped leg. Vickie clapped her hands together. Big Show smiled down at her. He was okay.
Big Show didn't stop there. He lifted Edge over his head and promptly dropped him to the mat. Show's famously large hands blasted Christian and Gangrel for good measure. The other members of the Brood entered the ring despite the referee's protest. Big Show hit them when they weren't the legal men in the ring. If he was going to break the rules then they were too. With all three Brood members now going after Big Show, the Undertaker decided to join the ruccus as well. Despite a one-man advantage the Undertaker and Big Show managed to successfully hold their own against the Brood for the most part. Big Show channeled the spirit of the late Andre the Giant and tossed all three opponents out of the ring individually, starting with Gangrel and ending with Edge.
The Undertaker rebounded off the ropes, ran across the ring, and launched himself like a three-hundred pound missle over the top rope. He landed on all three Brood members before everyone crashed to the floor in a heap of seemingly dead bodies. The referee began the ten count, but a countout victory wasn't good enough in the Big Show's eyes. He wanted to finish the feud once and for all. Big Show exited the ring, grabbed Edge by his long hair and rolled him back inside the squared circle. Big Show re-entered the ring and signalled for the chokeslam much to the delight of Edge's wife.
In a desperate attempt to avoid defeat, Edge grabbed the referee by his shirt and threw him in the way of Show's large hand. By the time Show managed to move the official out of the way Edge had recovered just enough to put all his energy behing executing a massive spear. Big Show didn't go off of his feet as a result of the move, but he did fall backwards into the ring ropes. The steel cables with very little padding around them became tangled around Big Show's arms. The giant was helpless.
The rest of the Brood once again ignored the referee's orders and came into the ring. They began pummeling their enemy three against one. The Undertaker was unable to help. He was still down on the outside; his suicide dive sapping all of his strength. The referee threatened disqualification if Gangrel and Christian didn't exit the ring. They didn't listen. It was no longer about winning and losing for the Brood. Sensing this, Vickie Guerrero entered the ring.
"Stop!" she pleaded with her husband. "Leave him alone!"
Edge wasn't listening either. He could no longer hear words. All he could see was red, and all he wanted to see was red blood pouring out of the Big Show's skull. Edge noticed Guerrero communicating with the official. She was probably going to use her authority to stop the match. No. Edge wouldn't allow her to save her little boyfriend. He'd warned her what would happen if she didn't obey.
With malice and forethought, Edge speared Vickie right in the middle of the ring.
An enraged Big Show screamed. He struggled to break free from the ropes but was unsuccessful. The Undertaker finally made it back into the ring, but the damage to the SmackDown General Manager had already been done. The referee called for EMT's to come to ringside. They moved Vickie to the safety of a stretcher as fast as they could while the Undertaker brawled lawlessly with the Brood. More WWE officials ran to ringside. They quickly freed Big Show from the ropes. They didn't want two WWE superstars in the hospital tonight.
Big Show went straight after Edge. He too was now seeing red and cared about nothing but vengenace. Big Show's hand found Edge's throat for the second time that evening. This time no security guard was going to pull him away. He choked Edge until Edge appeared ready to turn blue, then delivered a chokeslam that made the ring shake. Big Show kept up the chokehold after delivering his finisher. The referee made the three count. Technically Edge's shoulders were on the mat and the hand on the throat counted as a pinfall attempt, but Big Show wasn't attempting to win a match anymore. The victory was obtained for the Show/Undertaker team, but it was hollow and not without a heavy price.
Edge gouged Big Show's eyes, forcing him to release the choke. Edge rolled out of the ring and stumbled back up the ramp. He wasn't out of the woods yet. Big Show left the ring in hot pursuit and chased Edge to the backstage area out of the view of WWE cameras. Back in the ring the Undertaker disposed of Christian with a chokeslam of his own.
Gangrel attempted to charge the Undertaker. He was stopped by a hand bursting upward through the ring mat. The hand grabbed Gangrel by the ankle and tripped him. The hole grew larger as the hand became a fully-grown arm. A smiling Kane finally burst through the hole. The returning superstar laughed maniacally as he dragged a struggling Gangrel down into the hole toward a layer of Hell only Kane was familiar with.
This left Undertaker and Christian alone in the ring. Undertaker picked up Christian and gave him a tumbstone piledriver for good measure. The lights in the arena went black. The Undertaker's music played as the defeated Christian rolled out of the ring. The Undertaker posed as the Armageddon pay-per-view went off the air. Just as promised the Brood had been defeated. Despite the odds being against them, the Undertaker and the Big Show were victorious.
But the war was far from over.
To Be Continued
