UPDATE: Hey everyone. Thanks so much for sticking with me as the story goes on! With my work schedule, sometimes I can only get in a chapter a week, but I will try to get more. Thank you for your kind feedback. Enjoy!
The fans began their fevered chanting of "USA!" yet again as Titus O'Neil slid into the ring and stood tall, staring holes into the burly Bulgarian in front of him. Heath Slater couldn't join his partner in standing toe-to-toe with Rusev and the luscious Lana, seeing as he was trying to lift himself up in the corner, wiping blood from his teeth after he attempted to fell the undefeated Russian sympathizer on Smackdown!.
"Get out of here before you get hurt!" Lana said in her exotic yet grating voice.
"You're going to try me?!" Rusev shouted in his thick accent, slapping his hand across O'Neil's chest.
O'Neil instantly retaliated, shoving Rusev to the mat with ferocity, the USA chants giving way to approving cheers from the crowd.
"You damn right I am!" O'Neil roared, pacing to the corner and helping Slater up as Lana went to attend to, and quell the fury of, the hero of the Russian Federation.
Yelling and cursing, the foreign duo retreated as Slater Gator posed for the crowd to the delight of the people.
Lana and Rusev came through the curtain in a huff, and in doing so, bolted straight into Sami Zayn, who was warming up.
"Oh, crap! Sorry, Sam," Lana said, the Florida native no longer disguising her voice.
"Geez, you're sure in a hurry," Zayn replied, brushing himself off. "Can't blame ya. Great segment!"
"Thanks," Lana said. Rusev, still catching his breath, gave Zayn a thumbs up as the two left.
A few moments passed as Zayn gave props to Slater Gator as they returned from the ring. A backstage agent pointed to Zayn and the well-traveled grappler began to kick up his heels. A mix of guitar strums, drum beats, and blaring horns sounded as Zayn trotted outside to the stage. The raucous Chicago crowd voiced their approval voiced their approval for the recent callup from NXT.
"Here comes our most exciting newcomer, Sami Zayn!" Michael Cole said as a beaming Zayn slapped hands with fans at ringside.
"This kid's gonna be even more special than he already is. I can't wait!" JBL added as Zayn slid into the ring, jogging to the beat of his ska-style entrance theme.
The elation was short-lived, for as soon as Zayn turned to face one of the cameras, the Titantron flickered and the arena plunged into blackness. The giant screen now showed Bray Wyatt standing before a similarly colored backdrop, fedora in hand.
"Much like you, man who wears many nations," Wyatt said to the young Canadian, referencing the many images of world flags on his tights. "I just can't sit down."
Wyatt tilted his head up, a wicked grin barely visible in the darkness. "It's a tragedy that you have to be in my world tonight, Samuel. But you are of little concern tonight. Tonight, I have something to say to my old friend Dean."
"My brothers go out on their own accord, simply taking my lessons and acting of their own free will. Sure, blame the teacher when the students do so well! You know all about that, don't you? It's only by foolish luck that you survived their onslaught. Talent can only go so far. Remember that, Dean."
Wyatt paced back and forth before stopping abruptly. "You said I didn't listen, man!" he yelled, throwing his arms out. "I did listen! I listened to Abigail! And her voice has never been clearer than it has been now."
The lights flickered again as the screen went black. When they came back on, Wyatt was already in the ring and putting the boot to Zayn. He pounded and pounded away at the young wrestler, backing him into a corner despite the referee trying to pull the big man off of him.
Wyatt slapped the hunched-over Zayn right across the face and then turned to shove the referee. The madman's eyes widened as both of his victims struggled to get up. He then ran to the other side of the ropes, bounded off of them, and hurled his entire body at the referee, nearly crushing him.
The audience gasped as Wyatt rose to his feet, letting out a guttural yell. He left the ring and lifted the ring skirt up, reaching for a steel chair. He then came back up to face Zayn, who had gotten up from his assault. Zayn was trembling from head to toe in anger, teeth bared and fists up in a fighting position.
Wyatt, with a similar look on his face, tossed the chair down and screamed, "Come on!" Zayn rushed forward and struck Wyatt with a hard right fist across the face. The Eater of Worlds fell to the canvas while Zayn took to the top rope. The international sensation leapt to strike again, but was caught by the throat by a recovering Wyatt. With Zayn in his clutches, he whirled around and hit Sister Abigail on the steel chair.
Taking a couple of seconds to breathe, Wyatt kicked Zayn's limp form off of the chair, picked up the weapon, and slammed it off of the victim's body again and again.
"Come on, Dean! It's all you!" Wyatt cried, facing the entrance ramp. He kneeled over to cradle Zayn's head in his hands. "Don't you get it, Samuel? It's all him..."
And then the arena plunged into blackness again.