Again, thank you for the reviews so far!
- A last minute big tag team match ... perhaps one that should have been on a pay-per-view ... for the World Tag Team Championships put Randy and Matt on edge, wondering if they can retain their gold.
- Last time, Matt made a promise to Randy to make the right decisions concerning his future. When the gang gets back home, will Matt be able to follow through?
We're in the double digits when it comes to chapters now! Here we go!
Randy was following the six-man tag match very closely; if Dave, John, and Eric won, it meant that Jericho would be gone from RAW for good and he would have one more shot to destroy Jericho at Unforgiven in the Elimination Chamber. Matt, on the other hand, could have cared less; he had taken the time to stuff his gym bag with everything soft he could find to create a makeshift punching bag. After hanging it from the ceiling, Orton was delivering to it a rapid volley of punches and kicks.
"So much for your central nervous system being fried, eh?", Randy yelled back to Matt while still keeping his eyes on the match.
"It's amazing what a little adrenaline can do to your system. But I'll probably pass out on the drive back to the hotel."
"Better not use it all right now punching that bag. Don't you want to interrogate Camilla when she gets back?"
"Oh, don't worry about that", came Amy's voice, interrupting the conversation. "I'm going to make her wish she could keep that libido of hers under control. You know she did this because you stopped having sex with her, right?"
Matt delivered one powerful roundhouse kick to the improvised punching bag before answering. "Yeah ... I know. She did it purely out of spite. And I know what's going on in her little mind. She thinks the sex is completely separated from the main part of what was our relationship. Maybe in her mind it is ... but mine ... no. I was not brought up to be a 'ladies man' ...", Matt glared over at Randy, "... completely the opposite, in fact. Sex is an intimate part of an intimate relationship. I don't want into the details of what I think about it because this one over here ...", Matt pointed to Randy, "... will give me a hard time about it for a while."
"Well ... here's what I want you to do, Matt", Amy began. "You try as best you can to put this in the back of your mind for now. I know it may be hard for you, but I've been waiting to let the little tigress that I've been keeping in a cage on that little wench for a long time now."
Randy looked strangely at Amy, his eyes . Matt looked over and said, "It's a metaphor, dummy."
Amy giggled a bit before continuing. "She's going to be coming for me at Unforgiven. I can feel it. Especially when she finds out that you know about her now. She still has her rematch clause, and she'll use it when she finds out she no longer is welcome with us. You did sign a prenuptial agreement, right?"
"Yep. I'm safe there."
"Just let me handle her for now. You guys go about your business."
Matt motioned to Randy to follow him, and each grabbed their respective belts. Randy's eyes were on the monitor even as his body left the room. The pair decided to wait just behind the curtain; their match was supposed to be right after the current one.
"They better win that match. That way, Unforgiven can be a send off for those two little pricks."
"What about Jeff?", Matt asked. "I wouldn't want him to leave."
"Why not? I still don't 100 percent trust him after the crap he put us through."
"You know ...", Matt said after shaking his head, "... you've got serious trust issues. You know how many times you've flip-flopped on trusting people?"
"Well ... I just follow my gut when things like this happen. And sometimes, your gut can be wrong. I was wrong in the case of Camilla being faithful, and I was wrong, at least so far, in the case of Dave not going berserk on us again."
"At least I know I can trust you."
As the two approached the curtain, Dave, John, and Eric all came out from behind it. Dave was clutching his eye, John his back, and Eric his stomach. Each man had a look of disgust on their faces. Collectively, the brothers' shoulders sunk down in disappointment.
"You lost?!", Randy semi-whined. "How in the hell ..."
"Chill, Orton!", Dave exclaimed, the volume of his voice making everyone jump. "They cheated. Jericho used some brass knuckles on me and knocked me out cold when the ref had his back turned. Hardy then rolled me up." Dave removed his hand from his eye to reveal a nasty shiner. "Hardy was acting just as underhanded as Christian and Jericho were."
Matt's head tilted to the side. "Say what? I thought Jeff was past that."
"Apparently not", added Randy, flashing a 'I told you so' look over to his brother. "So ... everything's cool between you guys? You didn't have any trouble working together out there?"
"Of course not, bro!", John said sarcastically, then rolled his eyes. "Of course we did! I just want Sunday to get here and leave. This tension between us guys isn't helping any. I think it's pretty damn amazing that we've managed to remain so tight over the last few months considering what's happened."
Eric and Dave nodded in agreement.
"Well, I think it's time you guys went to get patched up", added Matt. "We'll get this ship back on track when we clean the clocks of whomever walks to the ring tonight."
"It's nice to have a match that's not against someone you want to rip the head off of", Randy added. "We'll finally get to show everyone out there how we operate when we're not hell-bent on destroying our opponents."
Eric, John, and Dave all wished the brothers good luck before walking back to recover from their match. Randy and Matt continued to the curtain and stood behind it, waiting for their cue to go onstage.
"Who do you think it could be?", Matt asked. "The Dudleys? Test and Steiner? Hell, even RVD and Tommy Dreamer might come to challenge us. I hear ever since we won the belts, they've been itching for a real match."
"I don't know. I've heard that the Hurricane has tagged up with Rosey from Three-Minute Warning. Now Rosey's wearing this dumb superhero outfit too. Plus, Benjamin and Haas want a shot at us too."
"It's like the whole locker room wants a shot at us. Of course, we wouldn't have it any other way, right?"
"Of course! This is only the start."
'Burn in My Light' started to play, and the brothers walked out onto the stage.
"The following contest is a Tag Team Turmoil match and it is for the World Tag Team Championships!", Lilian announced to the world.
The normal Orton pose was cut short. Both brothers looked at each other, each with eyes wide open and eyebrows raised to the rafters.
"What the hell is a Tag Team Turmoil match?", Matt asked.
"Sort of like a Gauntlet match. Two teams start out. The team that wins faces another team. This continues until all the teams have competed. Last one standing is the winner."
"So ... we have to go through 2 or 3 teams?"
"Maybe even more than that."
"Holy shit ...", Matt thought as they walked into the ring. He could see Lilian mouth the words "I didn't know" as Randy turned around to face the stage. There was no Orton posing on the turnbuckle tonight; it was highly likely that the brothers would lose their championships if they didn't take every single man that walked down that ramp seriously.
Matt could see a different look on Randy's face as the first team walked down the ramp. Randy was blocking out all the noise in the arena: the crowd roaring, the theme music, even Lilian's voice. His fists clenched, along with every single muscle in his arms. Randy looked to be grinding his teeth and increasing his rate of breathing, freaking Matt out a little.
"They're mine", thought Randy to Matt. With Randy acting the way he was, Matt stepped out onto the apron. He finally realized who their opponents were: La Resistance. As soon as the bell rang, Randy lunged at the man on the apron, knocking whomever it was off. Randy threw a stiff punch to the stomach, bounced off the ropes, and delivered an RKO! Randy ran over and extended a hand for a tag, surprising Matt. A moment went by, Matt not moving because of the swift strength Randy displayed. Snapping to attention, Matt made the tag, and Randy rolled out of the ring to stop the outside man from interfering. The younger Orton scrambled over to the top turnbuckle and launched himself in the air with his Somersault Leg Drop!
"1, 2, 3!"
Not a minute had passed and one team was already eliminated. Randy slid back in the ring and slapped Matt on the back.
"Dude ... you looked like you were going to rip his damn head off!"
"I just psyched myself up. That's all. You should do it too."
Another familiar team started to walk down the ramp. Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley. Not to be outdone, Matt launched his own early assault, leaping up and over the top rope in a suicide dive! Orton crashed straight into Bubba Ray, missing D-Von, who had dodged that human bullet. Randy followed suit ... sort of. He threw himself down in a baseball slide, aiming for D-Von. D-Von, however, dodged this as well, and drug Randy out to the floor by the feet, causing Randy's head to bounce off the floor. Matt had sprung up to his feet to defend Randy, but D-Von met Matt with a vicious clothesline, sending Matt's head bouncing off the floor as well! Bubba Ray had gotten to his feet as well, and both Dudleys picked up Matt and rolled him into the ring. D-Von signaled for the 3-D while Orton was stumbling to his feet, and the Dudleys successfully hit their finisher!
"1, 2, th..."
The count was interrupted by a diving older brother. Randy pulled himself to his feet and slid into the center of the ring, just barely stopping the count in time. The ref pulled Randy off of the pile and forced him back into his corner while D-Von brought Matt over to his corner, starting a volley of punches to the chest and stomach. Bubba Ray made the tag in and tossed Matt overhead with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Bubba Ray tagged D-Von back in, and D-Von executed a standing splash, crushing Matt's upper torso. Randy watched in agony as his brother struggled to breathe, and reached his hand out, calling out to Matt to make the tag. D-Von tagged Bubba Ray again, and this time Bubba Ray carried a limp Matt all the way over to a turnbuckle. Lifting him up to the top, Bubba Ray looked to be setting up a superplex.
Matt, however, had different plans. As Bubba Ray was climbing up, Matt threw a simple uppercut to the chin, dizzying his opponent, who then fell to the mat. A groggy Matt lowered himself to the mat, stumbled over to his brother, and made the tag! Randy came in and swooped down on Bubba Ray like a hawk, striking each appendage with a strong stomp.
"You alright?", Randy thought to Matt while stomping on Bubba Ray's ankle.
"I'm fine ... just give me a few seconds. My chest is killing me ..."
Randy maneuvered Bubba Ray to his feet and whipped him to the ropes for a clothesline, but was reversed! As Randy bounced off the ropes, his brother slapped his back, counting as a tag. Randy ducked Bubba Ray's clothesline, immediately turned around, and threw a wicked-sounding punch to Bubba Ray's temple. This sent Bubba Ray stumbling right into an MKO from the younger Orton! D-Von stepped into the ring to stop the count, but Randy was there to stop that.
"1, 2, 3!"
BREAK THE WALLS DOWN...
Randy and Matt looked at who was coming down the ramp in disbelief; Chris Jericho and Christian were coming towards the ring.
"They just ... no way ... no fucking way ...", Matt thought.
"To hell with it. Give this everything you've got."
Jericho slid in the ring, and Matt immediately went to work, tripping Y2J up and locking in a half-Boston crab. Christian didn't seem too interested, standing in the corner like he was just watching the match up close instead of actually participating in it. Randy was reaching for a tag so much that his whole body was teetering over the top rope with his arm outstretched. Matt leaned back as far as he could without releasing the hold and managed to reach Randy.
"Stay there. I'm putting this son of a bitch out."
"What? What the hell are you ..."
But Matt realized what was going on when Randy seemed be lining up for the same kick to the head Batista received not too long ago. Matt held on tight as to keep Jericho in place when ...
SMACK!
The crowd collectively reeled back, hearing that awful sound resonate within the arena. Jericho's body immediately went limp and Matt let go of his leg. Randy flipped Jericho over and nonchalantly put only his boot on Jericho's chest for the cover. Matt immediately looked behind him at Christian, who actually had a big grin on his face.
"1, 2, 3!"
After the count was over, the whole arena quietened as everyone turned their focus to Jericho. The ref signaled for someone to come help, and a stretcher was momentarily rolled down the ramp. Randy, in another act of vengeance, shoved Jericho out and under the bottom rope, much to the delight of a clapping Christian. For a moment, Matt was a little shaken; Randy could have done a lot more damage to Jericho than he meant to. The bell was rung, and Lilian announced Randy and Matt as the winners of the match. Christian hopped off the ring apron and slowly followed the stretcher up the ramp, his hands folded on his chest and his head up high.
"You ... you alright?", Matt asked Randy, a little apprehensive about provoking his brother.
"Yeah. I'm actually feeling pretty good right now. You used that makeshift punching bag ... I used Jericho's head. All better now."
"Dude ... you could have ended his career."
"And? He should have known what he was getting himself into. Stuff like this is common in the business. You should get used to it. You're still having feelings like this?"
"Well ... yeah. It's hard to go from being a little goody-two-shoes to being someone like you. I was brought up differently."
"Don't worry. I'll shape you up."
By this time, the stretcher was out of sight. Randy and Matt had been handed their titles, but Christian was still at the top of the ramp.
You think you know me...
Edge's theme song rang out across the arena, and a moment later, applause and cheers erupted from the WWE fans. Christian embraced his brother and the duo spun around and pointed straight at the Ortons.
The Ortons made their way back to the locker room, still a little lightheaded from their match. They had just turned the corner and had seen the locker room door when Camilla came flying ... literally ... out of the door. Acting on instinct, Matt started to run over to Camilla's side, but his stride turned into a stop once he realized what he was about to do. Amy walked out of the room as well; apparently she had used the Women's title belt as a weapon against Camilla.
"She's all yours", Amy said with a grin on her face. Camilla looked up to Matt, a giant bruise starting to form above her eye.
"What are you waiting for?!", she half-screamed to Matt. "Do something!"
"You know what, Camilla? I'll do something. Something I should have done a long time ago. But first, I'm going to ask you one question, and its probably the last question I will ever ask of you. Who was your boyfriend that you were having fun with in his shower?"
Camilla's eyes widened and she looked straight down to the concrete. She looked straight back up, and Matt now knew that he needed no more confirmation. "Matt ... I ... we were ... I just ... you never ..."
"You're scared for him. You've seen how I can get angry and you don't want that happening to him." A short pause, then a chuckle from Matt. "Find your own way home. Rent your own damn apartment. If you want your stuff from the house, you come and get it yourself. The divorce papers will be in the mail."
"Divorce?!", Camilla piped out. "But ... I don't ... Matt, I can't ... I don't want ..."
"I don't know what excuse you're going to pull out of your ass this time, but I won't have any of it. I guess you finally cracked from me holding out on you. I told you to go to counseling for it, but you refused. And look at what happened. You have problems. Get them fixed."
Matt promptly turned around and entered the locker room. After Randy followed him in, Camilla's bag was forcefully tossed out and the door locked. A moment passed by, and Camilla got up, picking up her bag in the process. The door suddenly opened and Matt stood in the doorway, his glare transfixed on Camilla. For just a moment, Camilla had a smile on her face, thinking that Matt had a change of heart. Instead, Matt tossed something at her, which she barely caught. Matt turned around, closed, and locked the door once more. Camilla looked down at what she caught.
It was Matt's wedding band.
Whew, that took a little while!
- With a new threat to their tag team championships on the horizon, how will Randy and Matt respond to the challenge?
- Unforgiven is only six days away! Who will emerge as the World Heavyweight Champion: Batista, Eric Barringer, or John Cena?
- The Elimination Chamber match at Unforgiven has now become even more complicated with the new pairing of Edge and Christian. Can Randy hold onto the Intercontinental title? Or is it time for the belt to be around another's waist?
Thanks for reading! Let me know how I'm doing!
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