Corruption, Deception, Insurrexion by P. Dizzle tha Prime Legend Champion
Associative Disclaimer: Except for a few references to a little inspiration from "Between Friends" by start-a-revolution, this story is completely fictional and original.
Proprietary Disclaimer: I own absolutely none of the "materials", including CM Punk, and McMahonism. Everything unfortunately belongs to Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
Rating: T
Summary: The end of John Cena's friendship with his secret crush at the hands of her boyfriend becomes the catalyst to a war which shall shake the foundation right off of Raw. A story of love, betrayal, wrestling, corruption, redemption, and……… McMahonism!?!?!?
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a/n: Captain R, a lot of people don't like Bischoff. Not knocking against you in any way, but I've got John Cena (who in kayfabe was the guy Bischoff worked so hard to get rid of until he got fired) practically working with Bischoff in a manner of speaking. If that's the case, then Joey Styles can certainly introduce Bischoff, especially if it's against Vince. He was the perfect source, because of the anti-McMahon thing, and that ultimately special shoot he had back a couple weeks. And as for the match, I just felt like I needed to immediately establish Punk as an awesome wrestler. It's only business. Oh, and glad to see your story's updated, it's lookin' pretty good right about now.
Oh and btw, thanks alot adamamy425 for letting me use your opinion on Matt Hardy for this. Everybody else, you'll see what I mean when Edge speaks.
EDIT: I feel kinda stupid about having thrust Edge's Rob Zombie entrance theme onto CM Punk, so I changed it to "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage, the song he uses in ECW anyway. Oh, and there's no point in having had CM Punk go blonde again at first so I'm removing that. So he's had his black hair look and his real-WWE ECW theme the whole time now according to changed facts. Captain R, I would've gone with "Miseria Cantare" or another one of his old themes except I could never find "Night Train" by the Bouncing Souls and all the other songs didn't really impress me for some reason, but that's my decision and my opinion, so no worries there I hope…
Chapter 7: Some Bodies Gonna Get a Title Shot
Date & Show: August 7, 2006 WWE Monday Night Raw
As soon as the WWE introductory video ended, we could hear the music of "Shane-O-Mac" Shane McMahon, as the Money came out doing his dollar-dollar/Shane-O-Shuffle dance to a mixed reception of cheers and boos. After doing the dance, the casually suited Shane walked down the ramp in a serious tone, straightening out his suit a little bit as he went. He entered the ring via the steps and ropes, and began to do his dance again, receiving a few pops for his efforts. However, those pops, those cheers, did not mean these people did not know that Shane was evil. In fact, after the music died, he was booed as he got a mic and prepared to speak.
"I could go on a big long promo about how McMahonism was disgraced by all the Insurrexion rebels. But I have a better idea, tonight and in the future. I'm just gonna keep this short and sleek. John Cena, I want you out here right now," Shane demanded, immediately sparking some cheers, as the Chain Gang audience was going to see its lead representative go out there and probably kick some ass. As "Know the Rep" came on, out came Cena, with his Chain Gang soldiers in tow, both in the form of the three Superstars backing him up, and the thousands of fans cheering. Cena wasted no time sparking the crowd, however, and walked straight towards the ring right off the bad, slid into the ring, got a microphone, and got in Shane's face.
"A'ight, McMahon boy, what's the matter? Why'd you want me out here?" Cena asked.
"I wanted you out here to show you your next opponent on the Path to Summerslam. So here's the way we're doing this. Your Chain Gang is going back to the locker room, unless Hardy and Michinoku back there want to give up their tag team match against Edge and Shelton Benjamin tonight," Shane first replied to Cena's immediate confrontation, leading to the opposite of what happened when Cena came out. The Chain Gang wrestlers retreated, and the fans booed. Afterwards, Shane continued. "Now, as for the opponent. Here's a bit of a special fact: I called somebody over from Smackdown to be a Raw Superstar for one night only so that they could come out and be your opponent. If you beat him, and only if you beat him, you get to face CM Punk at Summerslam in 20 days for the right to be with Maria for 24 hours and leave creative control of the relationship between the three of you in her hands. If you win at Summerslam, and Maria's decision on Raw is favorable towards you, then you have the opportunity to face the WWE Champion at Unforgiven. So, you can get Maria and the WWE Title back and out of McMahonism if all luck holds up, but as unbelievable as this sounds, you won't be thinking that once you see what I've got cooked up for ya. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you, the one-night-only Raw Superstar… "the World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry!"
As "Some Bodies Gonna Get It" by Three 6 Mafia played on, Mark Henry came out in his usual slow, no-nonsense, cold demeanor. Boos filled up as Henry continued his walk, even to the point where he stopped at the edge of the ramp to say some words to the fans about how "some bodies gonna get their ass kicked." He made his way into the ring via steps and ropes, in his usual slow, angry, focused tone. The rap was much more hyper than him, but at the same time it fit him perfectly because of the tough demeanor. Shane was smirking the whole time, even giving out an evil laugh and hopping up and down to the beat several times, as John Cena was thinking, for some reason or another, that "you've gotta be kidding me." When Henry was in the ring, Shane McMahon came to him and whispered something to his ear, possibly instructions on how to defeat John Cena, before coming out with a smile on his face and getting a steel chair. He set the chair down at ringside so as to find himself a personal seat before the bell rang.
Anyway, Henry and Cena, back in the ring, were in a staredown as the bell rang. Cena, taking on just about any challenge, ran off the ropes and tried to hit Mark Henry with a flying shoulder block. However, the big man exerted his power and threw his weight around right from the start, throwing Cena down by the head as he was flying at him! Henry looked down at Cena for awhile, then smiled a dark smile, and the fans realized that now Henry was thinking in full mode about the Three 6 Mafia song that was his entrance theme, as if he wasn't in that mode before getting that music, let alone now. Henry picked up Cena, and with one right hand, knocked him down like a rag doll. Mark picked up John Cena, irishwhipped him, and met his return with a big boot to the face. Wait… Mark Henry dished a big boot? Anyway, after the big boot, Henry then ran off the ropes to the side of the fallen Cena, then returned to give him a huge splash. However, he didn't stay on for the cover, for one of two reasons; either he figured Cena would kick out and didn't want him to get any kind of life, or he figured Cena would be done and wanted to punish him some more. Instead, he mounted himself atop Cena and hit him with several powerful right hands. The fans were already beginning to boo, seeing signs of Mark Henry trying to maim, cripple, injure John Cena. This was no favorable sight in the middle of this ring. Henry got up, then thumped his chest and talked some trash to the fans, giving them even more reason to jeer him. Shane McMahon, meanwhile, got up out of his seat in furious reaction to the boos, and immediately started jawing at some of the fans, saying that instead of booing Mark Henry, they should be bowing down to McMahonism for bringing "such an awesome superstar to Raw for one night only".
Back to the match, Henry picked up Cena, irishwhipped him, and went for a clothesline on him, but Cena ducked and stopped, then allowed Henry to turn around before hitting a few right hand on him. After the right hands came a missile dropkick, which only succeeded in backing Mark up a step. Cena got up, Henry charged at him, Cena took him down with a drop toe hold, hanging the World's Strongest Man by the throat/neck area on the second rope, as if in 619 position. Cena ran off the other side, then jumped at Henry for a body/rope guillotine charge like Haas and Benjamin used to do. However, Mark didn't move, so John Cena did it again. Still didn't budge him, so Cena figured he'd deliver some more back pain, but this time Mark Henry tossed Cena by the neck and upper chest all the way to the outside, almost to the ramp! Henry then came down to the outside, approached Cena, then caught him into the apron and rammed him back first onto the apron, after which Henry took Cena and rolled him into the ring. Cena tried to get up, but he couldn't, because he was in a great back pain at the moment. Henry picked him up, irishwhipped him, and charged at him for a body avalance. However, Cena was able to reverse this by putting a boot up to Mark's face, or so he thought. Henry saw it coming, stopped, thrust down Cena's leg, and still avalanced all his body weight into the guy anyway, forcing John down. Henry then facewashed Cena with his boot several times, invoking boos among the crowd for the disrespect. Henry picked up Cena once again, and lifted him up in a military press, which he very quickly changed into a back body drop at its highest point. With all these high power moves, how could Cena possibly come back to win this match? He was getting the crap pounded out of him.
Though the answer looked like it was that he couldn't, the final answer did not come yet, as when Henry made the cover, John Cena kicked out. The World's Strongest Man finally scooped up Cena, but before he could slam him back down for the World's Strongest Slam, Cena managed to shake his way out of it, then kicked Henry in the shin a few times before finally getting him in the corner and deciding to throw bones at him. Once he finally stopped, he walked away a few steps to pose, then ran back at him for a clothesline. However, this one failed to move Henry, so he went to the other corner, then ran right back for a Stinger Splash, but with one hand, Henry slammed him right back down. Things were not looking good for the Untouchable Chain Gang Leader. However, he did get right back on one knee when Henry came to him, then managed to hit him in the gut a couple times so he could have time to get back up. Cena then got on the apron, and as Henry came towards him, executed a hangman's neckbreaker. Cena quickly got into the ring as Henry had his back turned, and flipped over him for the Throwback! After this, he bent down to Henry and did the you can't see me taunt, ran off the ropes, brushed his shoulders off, and dropped the fist in the Five Knuckle Shuffle! Cena then covered Henry, trying to hook the leg, but the Mean Dude With a Bad Attitude powered out of it like Cena was nothing. Henry finally go up, and Cena tried to set him up and lift him in for the F-U. However, Mark, with a stiff shot to the back with a right hand, forced Cena to let go. He then scooped Cena into his arms, then slammed him in the World's Strongest Slam. Henry covered Cena. 1… 2… 3.
"Here is your winner, the World's Strongest Man, Mark Henry!"
Henry pinning Cena just about meant that the Doctor of Thuganomics has no chance in hell of picking up Maria after Summerslam. Shane McMahon entered the ring with open arms and a huge smile on his face. He exuberantly shook hands with Mark, as the boos followed the entire area. Shane offered to lower the ropes for Mark Henry to leave the ring, which he did. Shane, however, stayed in and got a mic.
"Looks to me like somebody got their ass kicked," Shane taunted at the slain thug, based on the song of his conqueror. "Hey, Cena! Next time you assume you've even got a chance at taking Maria from CM Punk, you'll know that he's not the only one that wants to keep her away from you! You know why, John? Because, quite frankly, we don't want you being with Maria in any way, shape, or form. Because, quite frankly, you're not worth it. You're too focused on having the sweet, little, innocent, stupid kid brunette around you so you can feel like… well, really, like a kid. You're afraid to grow up! We're trying to help Maria! To toughen her up! To give Maria the ability to let everyone know she's not stupid! You're pathetic, Cena! (insert boos) Basically, what I'm trying to say on behalf of Punk and every other McMahonist in that locker room, is that quite frankly, you're not worth Maria because as a man, you're worth nothing!"
Shane's music came on in the place of Henry's, and he looked down on Cena with disgust in his face towards John. Shane then walked out of the ring, and got prepared to leave the arena, until he got tripped by something underneath the ring. Falling down almost headfirst, Shane was down long enough for the person to come out of the ground. Turns out, the person was… Rob Van Dam! Van Dam took advantage of Shane's fall by going on the apron, with his back facing the ring, then firing a Five Star Frog Splash on Shane from the apron to the outside floor! RVD's music came on, and the man looked down on Shane a little bit, before walking up the ramp and to the back.
The rest of the Chain Gang by now was in the back, in their locker room, as Victoria was getting herself warmed up for the upcoming matchup against Lita.
"Victoria, maybe you ought to chill out a little. You don't want to wear yourself out before the match even starts," Matt Hardy suggested.
"I'm fine," she shot, seemingly a little angry. This was about the one thing that they wouldn't like about her; how pretty much antisocial she seemed when focused on an upcoming match.
"Maybe we should leave her alone," Taka suggested. Matt looked at him with a gaze, telling the Japanese one to remain silent at the moment.
"I know for a fact that Edge is gonna be in Lita's corner out there tonight," Matt said.
"Let me guess: you want to be in my corner and have my back? Sure, go ahead," Victoria replied in acceptance to his apparent offer, still stretching in one of a number of stretches. "All I know is I want to win this one. And can you believe the crap that just happened out there with John Cena having to face Mark Henry?"
"This crap is why we are here. So this crap can stop," Taka proclaimed, as Shawn Michaels burst into the room.
"Hey, you guys!" he exclaimed, calling for their attention. "Now, Victoria. Has he (points to Matt) offered to have your back in this match yet? Cause I would think he did, considering that's Lita you're facing."
"Yes, he has," Victoria said, seeming a little bit irritated about that.
"Good," Shawn answered. "Cause I want in on this one, too! I predict that Edge and Mick Foley are going to be out there with Lita. Therefore, it's either both Matt and Taka or Matt and myself going out there with you tonight."
"I wanna go," Taka said silently.
"You wanna go?" Shawn repeated, to which Taka nodded, a good confirmation. "Good. I'll be in here to wait for Cena. As for you guys, it's time to head out! The match is next."
"It's next? You've gotta be kidding. McMahonism must have planned this all along so Lita could be so much more ready than Vic-"
"Don't assume that I lost my focus!" Victoria burst in the middle of Matt's statement. "John wouldn't want me to lose my opportunity to take care of my business just to cheat into his. If you're worred about me facing Lita now, I'm still ready to beat her."
"Good. Now go!" Shawn ordered them.
"Have patience. We are going now," Taka said to Shawn, before turning to the others. "Come on."
With the Pride of Japan leading the way, the Chain Gang left Shawn Michaels in their locker room, so that Victoria could go out there and rule in her match against Lita. Speaking of the match, Lita also came out in her first entrance music theme, "It Just Feels Right", and in one of her white ring outfits, with her boyfriend and their leader (Edge and Foley) right behind her. Lita flicked her long hair one little bit at the stage before walking down the ramp, being flanked by Edge and Mick. She then slid into the ring, got on her knees, then to her feet, before pointing with the old Hardy Gunz signal to Edge and Mick. Victoria's music soon got the people cheering, as she came out with Matt and Taka at her sides. At the stage, Victoria bent down momentarily and came back up with her arms high in the usual manner she did it with in the past before aligning with Torrie and Candice. (the latter part causes us all to say "thank god it's over) In a black ring outfit she probably wore before, Victoria also went on the apron and jumped over the ropes, then faced the fans and raised her arms high in her trademark manner once again, prompting the fans to cheer once more. Victoria and Lita looked at each other as her music died out, and then the bell rang for Lita's first match in a long time, and Victoria's first match since breaking away from Candice. Each woman had two men to watch her back, and things were seemingly even.
Lita immediately came up to Victoria talking trash, then slapped her in the face. She still wouldn't stop talking, making no realization of the fact that this action infuriated Victoria until Victoria suddenly turned around and tackled her down. Victoria pounded Lita's head into the mat several times until the referee made her let go. After that, she picked up Lita, irishwhipped her towards the ropes, and used a flapjack on her. Victoria then screamed out to the fans, signaling for them to scream (cheer) back, seeing that she had control of the action. Lita was trying to crawl out of the ring to generate some space, but Victoria quickly grabbed her leg, then pulled her back fully in before Lita turned around and kicked herself free. However, she didn't get back to crawling out, she got back up on her feet and quickly clotheslined Victoria, taking control in the action. Lita waited for her for to get up, before hitting her with a neckbreaker. Lita covered Victoria. 1… 2… the Vicious Vixen kicked out. Lita thought she was getting a little pep back in her step, so she ran off the ropes as Victoria got up, then leapt up in the air to rap Victoria's head between her legs, after which she took her down with a hurracanrana. Lita then looked back, seeing Victoria down and knowing she caught her perfectly. It made her smile a kind of confident smile that she hadn't smiled about herself in a good long while. Lita then got up top, then leapt down for another hurracanrana, but this time Victoria caught her and turned it into a powerbomb!
Victoria looked at the crowd, then got a little jumpy seeing Lita sitting down in the corner, after which she caught Lita with a dropkick to her head straight into the post! Victoria made the cover. 1… 2… nope! Kickout by Lita. How the heck that happened, we will never know. Victoria still tried to pick up Lita, but Mick had the referee distracted and Lita was able to come away with a low blow. As Victoria went down hard, Lita rolled her over on her back and got a jackknife cover pin on her, Foley finally backing off conveniently at that point. 1… 2… Victoria kicked out! Lita, before Victoria could get up, then decided to drag her closer to Edge and Foley, then locked in a side leglock. This time, Edge came to his girlfriend and helped her gain leverage by grabbing one of her hands and dragging back just enough so that she could stay in control. It was just at that point that… Triple H came out of the crowd, kicked Mick straight in the nuts, and then set him up for a Pedigree on the concrete floor! Edge saw Triple H as well, and immediately ran out of the area. Trips didn't even notice Matt and Taka until about a couple of seconds after he passed them, but then made sure to return their thumbs up as he continued the chase with Edge. Anyway, now Victoria was able to take over the match. She broke free from the leglock, then as both women got up, ducked one of Lita's clotheslined, then hit her with a right hand which knocked Lita down. After that came a series of clotheslines, then a scoop slam to Lita, then Victoria irishwhipped her, and gleefully met her return with her twisting sideslam, the Spider's Web. Victoria then stalked away at Lita in typical Matt Hardy fashion, then as Lita began to get up, Victoria set her underneath, then got her in and hit her with the Widow's Peak! Victoria made the cover, hooked the leg, 1, 2, 3!
"Here is your winner, Victoria!"
The fans liked that very effective announcement, but Candice Michelle came past the Chain Gang to try to attack Victoria. Unfortunately for Candice, all Victoria needed to do was sidestep her and throw her down by the hair, and she fell hard and rolled out. Matt and Taka came into the ring on each side and raised Victoria's arms in… victory.
Backstage, Shawn Michaels and John Cena were hanging out in the DX locker room instead of the CG room, and they were obviously laughing and smiling about what just happened. Rob Van Dam and Trish Stratus were not in the arena tonight.
"Oh ho ho ho! Candice couldn't even lay a lick on her!" Shawn said in jubilee.
"Yeah, homey, but the best part was: Lita was actually thinkin' she had a chance at goin' back to her roots to win this. She's busy sluttin' out for Edge, that ain't gon' work anymore," Cena replied, adding to the joking session. "Hell, she lost the match the minute Triple H took out Edge!"
"He's runnin' around the hall, scared," Shawn assumed. They could then hear Edge's voice screaming, "Whoa, get the hell away from me!"
A couple seconds after this saw the entry to the DX locker room of Triple H… with a pipe in his hand!
"I think we sent the message to Vince McMahon," Trips said with a smile on his face.
"What message?" Cena asked, finally beginning to get confused.
"That if he thinks we're ready to accept him, or anyone, as the lord, master and god of this great business, then he's got another thing comin'," Trips and Shawn answered simultaneously.
"Oh, that one," Cena recalled. "I kinda guessed that, even though you never said nothin'."
Vince McMahon suddenly got into the DX locker room, and he had a smile on his face.
"Hey, John Cena! Welcome to the concept of not getting any!" Vince taunted with a mocking laugh. "But seriously, I came to you about an offer. Even though you've been ripped off the path to Summerslam, meaning you don't get Maria or the WWE Title this way, I decided to come to you and give you a chance."
"A chance?" Cena asked, befuddled as the Degenerates. "What are you talkin' about?"
"A chance to defeat CM Punk anyway," Vince explained in vague detail.
"Actually, I don't like him, but I hate the strain our lil' fight's puttin' on Maria, so I don't know if…"
"You wanna keep being a WWE Superstar?" Vince finished rashly, putting words in Cena's mouth. Cena, Shawn and Trips looked very pissed off at this point.
"Wait, what was that?" Trips demanded. "Are you saying that if he doesn't go through with his match, he gets fired?"
"If he doesn't go through with the match against CM Punk at Summerslam, and win, then John Cena will be fired," Vince explained. "Ria's little JC will be no more, and nothing will stand in the way of CM Punk, or in the way of McMahonism, completely reaching Maria's heart and toughening her up to become one of the greatest women wrestlers of all time! Punk and Maria will be the greatest couple in professional wrestling history, even beyond you and my daughter, Triple H!"
"Hey, don't brush that idea in my face. I don't think any couple in history can surpass what I had with your daughter. We ran a regime, ran the company, and unlike Matt Hardy vs. Lita, our break-up feud was actually interesting, and people actually liked it," Trips countered. "No knock on Matt Hardy, John, but you've gotta admit, people would rather see me and Stephanie, either together or feuding again, than more of this Matt/Edge/Lita crap."
"Hey, that Matt/Edge/Lita crap is part of our cause against McMahonism," Shawn reminded him, seeing as John wasn't even listening to Triple H. "Besides, something tells me it's not about Matt getting back at Edge and Lita anymore. I think now it's about getting through them to get back at (points to Vince) this guy."
"SHUT UP!" Vince commanded the two, before turning to John. "So, Mr. Cena, what will it be? Are you gonna fight CM Punk at Summerslam, or will you quit?"
"Easy. I ain't lettin' Ria get sucked into your little plot, and I got a lot more career to go. I'm fightin' this one all da way," John replied. "Now either get out or I will knock you out!"
"And… I got the message across now, so I think I'm gonna leave. Good luck getting fired by CM Punk at Summerslam, and I'll see you at my office begging for your job back," Vince said as he backed out of the room.
"OUT!" an irate Cena yelled in fury, scaring off Lord McMahon. Cena was now seething at this point, and Shawn and Trips weren't too happy about this either.
Come main event time, Edge and Shelton Benjamin were already in the ring, with Edge's music on. Strangely, he was also holding some kind of paper in his left hand, as well as a microphone in his right hand.
"Cut the music, cut the music right now!" Edge announced, getting a bad reaction from the crowd as a result. "In my hands, I have a letter that was submitted to me from a fan of Lita and myself. A very special fan of ours, I believe her little pseudonym is adamamy425. Before you start asking if I care about fans, as in am I gonna go out of my way for them, I've been through doing that since my groin tear in 2004. (insert minimal boos) But anyone who appreciates me as I am, even as a proud McMahonist, (insert boos) then you're welcome to be an Edgehead as much as you want, and I will gladly recognize their letters. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna go out of my way for the rest of the world, so hate me if you want, because I hate this arena. (insert boos) Anyway, let me read adamamy425's letter before I forget all about it." He then took off his shades and leaned back in the corner nearest him, after which he began to read.
" 'Dear Edge,' " he read. " 'Hi. I'm a very big fan of yours, and of Lita's, and I'm a little bit disturbed about the fact that Matt Hardy still can't get over the fact that he got dumped for being the loser that he is. (insert minimal boos) I remember one time when I wrote my personal opinion on Matt Hardy, and I hate him right now, because he's gone right back to whining, which is exactly what I hated him for back last year in the first place. Anyway, here's my thoughts on Matt. I think you'll like it.'
'Matt Hardy- in this soap opera triangle that never should have happened. He lost all of my respect-not that he cares but I don't care because I have a right to a opinion- when he let this all be public knowledge. If he was a man, he would have taken this up with Adam - Edge - and Amy - Lita - in private. He felt that it was our need to know that Adam and Amy sinned and wanted sympathy from this whole situation because he was done so wrong. No relationship is perfect and he handled it poorly if she went to the arms to another man.' True that. (insert minimal boos) 'When he was fired from WWE that was his chance to get away from the situation and move on to get a better life and job, but instead he had to act like a 3 year old and bitched and moaned about being fired from a situation he created. He didn't cheat - that we know of - on Amy but he let it be known. WWE simply had nothing for him because what could he honestly come back too? Nothing and by that time they were in the process of cutting people that had just as much talent as he had. He came back and got shipped right off to Smackdown and went to no one land where he belonged. And now, he's back on Raw, and sure I can appreciate the Chain Gang, but whatever John Cena was thinking bringing Matt Hardy back to whine and bitch all over again, that was the stupidest decision of the entire Insurrexion.'
'I know that you probably won't read this, or that you maybe might not even consider this important at all, but this is what I think about Matt Hardy. Personally, I hope you come out there each and every week and kick his ass until he leaves so that we can finally be rid of the complaining chumpstain that is Hardy. Sincerely, adamamy425, the #1 fan of Edge and Lita. P.S. You should also take the WWE Title.' (insert boos)
That was a nice touch, adding that "chumpstain" piece in. But unfortunately, that word's kinda exclusive to me, especially when it comes to addressing someone that didn't come up in the letter, and that would be my childhood friend, the man I called brother a bit much in 2000 and still do from time to time. Oh, and speaking of which, pal; if you're listening to me down south, congratulations on being the only bell-to-bell champion in that… 5-man challenge match in the history of your company. Sure, I would have taken the title from you if I were there too, but the next best thing's pretty damn fine with me. Anyway, the combination of Matt Hardy and Taka Michinoku needs to hurry on out here so that Shelton and I can kick some ass like the Most Pure Athlete in the World Today that is Shelton, and the Rated R Superstar that is… me."
Immediately after these comments, Matt Hardy's music came on, and out came Matt and Taka Michinoku, rushing out into the ring, all set to fight. Shelton and Edge immediately high tailed it from the ring, allowing Matt and Taka to pose for just one second, after which they called for Edge and Benjamin to get back into the ring. The two obvious heels took their time getting in, after which the bell finally rang. Matt was pretty darn jumpy, practically begging Edge to start the matchup against him for his team. But the Rated R Superstar saw that as all the reason he needed to make Shelton start the match instead, which calmed Hardy's mood just a tick.
Matt and Shelton quickly engaged in a grapple, which was followed up by a Hardy headlock on Shelton. Shelton backed his way into the ropes and pushed Matt off into an irishwhip. Matt came back with a shoulder block on Shelton, knocking him down. Hardy leaped over him and ran off the other ropes, then Shelton got up and gave Hardy a hurracanrana! Shelton looked over to Taka, pointed to him, and said, "That's how you impress on Raw." Taka thought about getting into the ring, but realized it was not the wisest course of action. It would actually prove unnecessary, too, because when Shelton turned back to Matt Hardy, Matt was able to get him with a few rights and lefts, followed by a discus punch. Shelton came towards Matt in a cross body lunge, but the elder Hardy dodged it and let Shelton fall on the canvas, then roll his way out of the ring. Once he got up on the outside, Taka took advantage by taking him down with an Asai moonsault. Edge rushed into the ring after Hardy, only to be sent over the top just like that. Taka got into the ring, and he and Matt Hardy posed to the fans, being fully confident in their abilities. At this point, the show reached commercial break.
Once the action returned, we saw Matt Hardy going down as Shelton Benjamin ran and jumped over him, followed by Matt getting back up and trying to hit arm drag, which was countered by Shelton into an arm drag of his own. Shelton took advantage of the downed Hardy by getting in an armbar on him. Edge now started becking to get into the match, so Shelton dragged Matt back to their corner so Edge could tag himself in. Shelton kept holding on as Edge got in the ring, allowing the Artist of Awesomeness to get a few kicks. Shelton let go of Matt, and got back to the apron, while Edge ran off the ropes to hit a dropkick to Matt's side. Hardy fell out of the ring as a result, allowing Benjamin to stay in the action, stomping Hardy a few times before letting him back into the ring. Edge distracted the referee so as to render him oblivious to this, and the fans all jeered at the sight before them. Edge, picked up Matt by the head slowly, then changed the pace with a quick inside cradle. The referee counted. 1… 2… Matt barely kicked out, and the fans were thankful. Edge allowed Hardy to pick himself up at the corner, following which he quickly hit a running shoulder thrust on Hardy, crushing him between the shoulder and the steel post. Matt doubled over when finally given the chance.
Taka Michinoku then became resourceful at this point. He took out two weapons from underneath the ring and threw them in, which distracted the referee twofold (getting the weapons out of the ring, and telling Taka to stop). Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels came out of the crowd, which distracted Edge and Shelton, who by now basically thought that this was the DX M.O. against them tonight. While Edge was busy looking at Michaels, Taka came into the ring as the referee was harassing him in order to dropkick Edge over the top. Taka then left back to the apron and became a civil human being immediately, just in case the ref was planning to disqualify him for this. But Edge hung on to the rope, and managed to flip himself back into the ring. Angry, Edge decided to come after Taka, who he knew was responsible for this. But before he could reach him, Matt Hardy used the school boy cover on him! 1… 2… Edge stiill managed a kickout. Shawn went back on the other side of the railing and proceeded to go to the back.
Edge got up first before Hardy, who just took quite a bit of pain. Edge picked up Hardy and irishwhipped him into the heels' corner, but while that was happening, Taka had tagged himself in, and was waiting for the opportunity to strike. Matt springboarded himself backwards over the running Edge, then dropkicked him into the corner. Matt started to get up, but, seeing Taka, stayed on his knees and signaled for his Japanese partner. Taka ran towards the scene, and used Hardy's back as a trampoline to splash into Edge's head and chest, their own equivalent of the Poetry in Motion. Immediately after feeling the boot come off his back, Matt got up, kicked Edge in the midsection, and hit him in the Twist of Fate! As Matt rolled out of the ring, Taka made the cover. 1… 2… No! Shelton went down and pulled Michinoku away from Edge!
Shelton Benjamin decided to stomp on the Kaientai Kid a few times on the outside, before picking him up and sending him into the steel steps. Seeing what was going on, the ref admonished Shelton instead of counting out Taka, as Shelton put Michinoku into the ring right after that anyway. Matt, who was ticked off at the sight, decided to attack Shelton with a lunging double forearm to take him down on the outside. Meanwhile, Edge just gained some recovery time, but Taka was still the first man up. Taka hit a missile dropkick on Edge, followed by a clothesline, followed by a jaw breaker and a jackknife hold pin. 1… 2… Edge just barely kicked out! Taka then decided that it was time to finish the action. He set up Edge in suplex position, which quickly turned into Michinoku Driver position. However, Edge managed to land the other way on his feet, then picked up Taka and hit him in a back breaker. Shelton went around the ring to Taka's corner to take Matt off the apron, then hit him with a sidekick to the chin. I might as well say superkick. In the meantime, Edge stalked away at Taka in order to go for a Spear. When Edge finally saw his opportunity and ran for the kill, Taka managed to move out of the way! Taka then got Edge in a backward rolling clutch cover. 1… 2… 3! Shelton tried to come into the ring to break it up, but it was too late.
"Here are your winners, Matt Hardy and Taka Michinoku!"
Taka immediately scattered from the ring as his music came on, and went over to his partner's side. Matt accepted Taka's helping him up, and the Chain Gang partners walked up the ramp, but not without the referee quickly trailing them to raise their arms in victory. Edge and Shelton were not happy about this in the least. Both men were already jawing away at their conquerors, severely pissed about the situation. They would be even more pissed off when General Manager Eric Bischoff came out to the arena.
"Alright!" Eric started. "Edge, I can tell that you want a chance to pick yourself up off this situation. Look who you just got pinned by! Taka Michinoku, a Japanese cruiserweight! Someone who egotists like you, your clan of McMahonists, and your master and god Vince McMahon, would assume to have no chance in hell against a man the caliber of the Rated R Superstar! Well, here's how it's gonna happen, Edge. Next week on Raw, our main event is gonna be the Meeting of the Money in the Bank! It'll be the first ever Mr. Money in the Bank, "the Rated R Superstar" Edge, against the second ever Mr. Money in the Bank, "the Whole Damn Show" Rob Van Dam!"
Bischoff's announcement rocked the house as his music came on. Eric smiled at the scene before him, with Edge looking dumbfounded and stunned.
"Oh, and as for this match? This match, unbeknownst to both of you, was an opportunity to get a title shot next week at the World Tag Team Titles! Therefore, next week, it will be Matt Hardy and Taka Michinoku against Mr. McMahon's other disciples of sorts, the World Tag Team Champions, the Spirit Squad! (insert cheers) And an added stipulation to that match is as follows: Kenny Doane and Mikey Mondo, the ones who acquired the titles from Kane and the Big Show, have to be the ones to defend the titles next week! (insert cheers) If any other members of the Spirit Squad are seen setting foot in the arena, then they will be fired! And if Kenny and Mikey lose the Tag Team Titles to Matt Hardy and Taka Michinoku, then every member of the Spirit Squad outside Kenny will be fired!"
Did we just hear that correctly? The Spirit Squad's tag team titles, and their jobs, are on the line? Matt and Taka looked at each other and smiled at the opportunity. They've got the chance to not only take the World Tag Team Championship away from the Spirit Squad, but to essentially get rid of the Spirit Squad! Edge and Shelton looked completely stunned back inside the ring, while Matt and Taka were all smiles at the opportunity. Look what Eric Bischoff has done! He's swiped the momentum straight out of the arms of the House of McMahonism!
a/n: Sorry for the long wait, peeps. I've just been caught up in other fanfiction projects and stuff along with this one. But anyway, I think the goodness of this chapter should be enough to compensate for the error of my ways. I think I'm already getting back on track with this one. I might even add another chapter to Evolution.
That's it for now, though. See ya round, peeps!
-P. Dizzle.
