State of Takeover: Cause That's How I Roll! by Instant Classic Superstar Pac
Disclaimer: I own nothing, and this is not linked to any of my other stories.
Rating: T
Summary: Right as she declares unfinished business, Captain Charisma suddenly returns and is talking to her. The result is the first seed of a new Coalition set to turn the world upside down. (Christian, Maryse, Tomko, Morrison, Miz, and an eventual pairing.)
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NOTE: Told you the next update wasn't gonna take as long as the last one did. Now, ladies and gentlemen, get ready to enjoy the action.
Chapter 11: Solutional Glory
Event Date: Monday, October 13, 2008
Location: Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA
Not too long after Christian's Coalition started walking off for the tunnel position - just a couple minutes, as a matter of fact - the theme song "Priceless" hit the speakers, and out came the multi-generational superstar unit of the same name: the naturally coolly arrogant Ted DiBiase, the strutting rogue Cody Rhodes, and the menacing Manu. As the three walked down the ramp, they were jeered by a good section of the crowd or two. Once down the ramp, Ted got on the apron and to the near right turnbuckle, while Cody and Manu (Cody running first) went up the steel steps and crossed the ropes to enter the ring, before approaching DiBiase. The World Tag Team Champions DiBiase and Rhodes held their belts up in the air while Manu raised both of his arms up in between them, arousing the jeers a bit further, before the music faded out and DiBiase went off the turnbuckle into the ring.
Travis Tomko's theme, the edited "Screwed", came on shortly afterwards, and the crowd erupted into a sea of cheers as the trio of Tomko, John Morrison, and the Miz, complete with Maryse and an army of cheers behind them. They all quickly went about doing their poses on the stage, before Tomko led the way down the ramp, Miz and Morrison flanking him on either side and Maryse in the back of them all. Miz got up on the apron and stuck his leg out cockily, while Morrison and Tomko went up the steel steps, before they all crossed the ropes to enter the ring. Each man went to a turnbuckle, and while Miz decided to simply shoot off at the mouth full of confidence, Morrison did his usual arm theatrics except finishing it off by pointing to the crowd, and Tomko did his normal crowd point into momentary strong pose routine, before they all came down and met up in their corner.
As the music faded out, with both teams in meeting up in their corners and deciding on starters, the bell was officially rung to start the match. Tomko and Cody Rhodes were the men decided for their teams to start the match. The two men circled around for a brief time, before locking up in the center of the ring. Tomko, clearly having the power advantage, backed Rhodes into a neutral corner and let go with a clean break after the referee's disqualification count got to two. After taking the ref's admonishment, Tomko went back after Rhodes, only to be met with a thumb to the eye and an immediate dropkick to the knees, taking him down face first. Rhodes then got back up and got behind Tomko to pick up the Problem Solver's right leg and smash it down into the ground. After repeating this action a couple of times, Cody rolled over Tomko and covered him. 1, 2, Tomko easily kicked out.
Rhodes then quickly got up and walked towards Tomko, who picked himself up in the corner, then hit Tomko with three right hands and tried to irishwhip him, only for Tomko to reverse it and meet Cody's return by picking him up sideways and hitting a sidewalk slam. Tomko then got up, his right leg making it just a little difficult, and tagged in John Morrison, who slowly approached Rhodes and waited until the second-generation superstar got up. Morrison then went for a clothesline, which Rhodes quickly ducked before kicking him in the midsection as soon as they turned around and going for a vertical suplex. Morrison escaped and landed on his feet behind Rhodes, then reached behind him and hit a neck breaker. Morrison then got up, picked Rhodes up by the head, and hit him with a couple of forearms, before shooting him off the ropes and going for a dropkick, which Cody avoided by holding onto the ropes on the other side, and then flipping over for a jackknife pin cover on Morrison, who kicked out after two. Morrison and Rhodes both quickly got up, following which Johnny ducked a clothesline from Cody and quickly maneuvered into a Russian legsweep. Johnny then got up and dragged Cody by the leg towards the Coalition corner, where he picked up Cody by the head again and tagged in the Miz.
Miz came into the ring and kicked Cody in the midsection, following which he and Johnny got behind Cody and both picked him up belly-to-back and slammed him face first into the ground. Johnny then left the ring as Miz covered Cody, who managed a kickout after two. Miz then went to pick up Rhodes once again, but the Prince of Pro Wrestling (as his tights once said) managed to jerk his arms away and hit Miz with a rear mat slam, before dragging him over to the Priceless corner and tagging in Ted DiBiase.
Ted then kicked Miz's arm loose which Cody was holding, as Cody went to the apron and Ted dropped a knee onto Miz's arm. Ted then covered Miz, who kicked out after two, before dragging him to the center of the ring and locking in an armbar. After about ten seconds, DiBiase let go of the arm and got up, only to hit a falling fist drop on that same right arm of the Miz. DiBiase then entered a mount position and started punching away at the Miz's face, following which he went for a cover with a forearm in Miz's face. Miz kicked out after two, favoring his right arm a bit as he tried to pick himself up. DiBiase then got up, picked up the Miz, tagged in Manu, and got off a snap mare, following which Manu came in and sharply kicked the seated Miz down on his back. Manu covered Miz, and again the Chick Magnet kicked out and favored his right arm. Manu picked up the Miz, then wrench his right arm and painfully holding the position until he was able to get behind the Miz and hit him with a good backdrop suplex. As Maryse looked on concerned for her team, the son of Afa the Wild Samoan then hooked the leg of the Miz for a cover. 1, 2, kickout by the Miz.
Manu then ran off the ropes and dove for a head butt drop on the Miz's arm, which worked, before working the Chick Magnet into a light armbar. Maryse started screaming words of encouragement at the Miz, telling him that he could do it, while Ted and Cody were watching from their side and Ted shouting instructions to Manu to keep the armbar locked in. Michael Cole and Jerry "the King" Lawler, who'd spent much of the time they were supposed to be calling the match talking about the ingenuity and brash arrogance involved in Christian's Coalition, finally now noted that the attack on Miz's arm was possibly a way to keep in check the second portion of his Reality Check finisher combo. About half a minute into the hold, the crowd started to get behind the Miz, which Maryse used to her advantage, starting a "Let's Go Miz!" chant and pacing it by hitting the ring apron. Though it didn't draw in the entire arena, it caught on quickly, which Miz built off of in order to fight his way to his feet and use his left arm, which was actually the main arm he used to strike opponents, to deliver a jawbreaker to Manu to force himself loose. As Manu staggered and shook the cobwebs from that happening, Miz picked himself up using the ropes, just in time for Manu to recover from the jawbreaker and start charging his way. Miz then used his good arm to low-bridge the ropes, causing Manu to fall over to the outside, to which the fans actually cheered for the Miz. Miz then walked over to his corner and tagged in John Morrison, who quickly seized up Manu as he raised up and ran to hit the Samoan Storm with a baseball slide under the ropes. Morrison then went to the apron damn near next to DiBiase and Rhodes and got up on the turnbuckle on the side away from them, waiting a few seconds so that Manu could get up before leaping backwards to take him down with a high moonsault!
Ted DiBiase then seized up Johnny and waited for him to get up from that so he could crash down on him with a double axe handle, only to find himself caught in mid-air and rammed into the ring post by Tomko! The Problem Solver had seen Ted's move coming and come around to intercept it! Cody, however, was able to come down and shove Tomko shoulder first into the same ring post from behind once DiBiase fell to the floor and out of the way. Rhodes followed Tomko around the post and into the ring, then tried to hit him with a group of right hands which backed him into the corner but didn't faze him considerably. Tomko eventually responded with a huge shove knocking Cody flat on his ass, to which the Son of the Dream quickly got up and rushed right into a big clothesline by the Problem Solver! As Tomko got up, Miz came back into the ring and told Tomko to shoot him towards Rhodes, who was now getting up in the corner. Tomko agreed and, after going to the opposite corner, irishwhipped Miz in Cody's direction as he performed his leaping rope seat clothesline into the corner on Cody and it connected. However, he wasn't able to get out of the ropes to help Tomko capitalize, because Manu, who just recovered from that Morrison moonsault while Johnny and Ted were fighting on the outside, just pulled Miz out of the ring, picked him up, and rammed him into the apron. In the ring, Tomko had Cody hoisted up on his shoulders upside down, but Manu slid in and hit Tomko from behind to force Cody free. Manu then tried to choke Cody on the top rope, but after a second and a half, Tomko elbowed him away.
As Tomko turned around, the two big men now engaged in a fist fight of their own. DiBiase was able to get up on the aprn briefly and hit Tomko from behind before getting pulled back down by Morrison, giving Manu an opportunity to irishwhip Tomko, then to trap him in and get him with a powerful belly to belly side suplex. Manu covered Tomko now. 1… 2… Tomko kicked out! On the outside, DiBiase was able to thrust his knee into Morrison's gut, briefly stunning Johnny so that Ted could send him into the ring. DiBiase went in after Morrison, but as Manu got Tomko in the corner to start punching him, Morrison was able to get enough room away from Ted until he suddenly picked himself up and spring boarded off the ropes to catch Ted with a major leaping roundhouse kick! Cody got up and tried to kick Morrison in the gut, but Johnny caught the kick, shoved his boot down, and caught him with a spinning heel kick! Manu now tried to shoot Tomko into the opposite corner, but Tomko reversed with enough force that Manu bounced off said corner staggering forward, then knocked Manu straight down with a boot to the chest. Tomko then let out a lion-like roar, hinting that he was ready to finish this thing.
DiBiase, however, was able to turn him around and drag him shoulder first into a steel ring post, before getting up, ducking a Morrison clothesline, and catching Johnny with a backdrop suplex. Miz now found his way back into the ring, and DiBiase quickly got behind him and executed a cobra clutch legsweep, before going for the cover. 1… 2… Morrison jumped to break it up at the last second! Johnny got himself up, but right in the middle of DiBiase and Manu, who both got up at the same time as well. Fortunately for him, before they could decide to pounce, Tomko got himself out of the corner and recovered enough of his bearings to clothesline DiBiase from behind. Manu then charged forward, Morrison ducking him and Tomko sending him out of the ring over the top rope. Morrison then got to Rhodes, kicked him in the midsection, and tried to give him the Moonlight Drive. However, Cody maneuvered his way out of it and kicked Johnny in the gut to try to go for his flowing DDT, the Shaman of Sexy countering the same way Rhodes did just a moment ago. As soon as they both turned, Johnny caught Cody staggering into the corner with a European uppercut. Johnny then looked at Tomko and told him to get ready, before setting Cody up on the top rope and standing up on the second rope. Johnny suddenly jumped and delivered a frankensteiner which sent Cody rolling… right across the shoulders of Tomko on his back! Tomko then fired with his Argentine neck breaker finishing move, as Johnny left the ring and Maryse, of all people, pulled at DiBiase's leg to hold him back from getting involved as the goat-bearded one made the cover on Rhodes. 1… 2… 3!
"Here are your winners, John Morrison, the Miz, and Travis Tomko!"
Tomko's music came back on, as Maryse and Morrison both put their arms up in celebration at ringside, before coming over and joining the Miz to help him on his feet. Tomko, meanwhile, picked himself up and raised an arm up in victory at the nearest turnbuckle, before coming down and joining his Coalition partners. The referee came down to join in as well, so as to participate in the raising of the arms which had everybody celebrating. Backstage, Christian and Josh Matthews were watching at the monitor, Christian with a wide grin on his face.
"How do ya like them apples, kid?"
"You really think Tomko's gonna be ready for Batista and Jericho tonight?" Matthews questioned now, having good reason to after seeing that match.
"Trust me. He's Tomko. Add the extra conditioning from the past few days, he'll be way ready to go," Christian assured him, to which he nodded tentatively. "Now go ahead, kid. Scoot out. Vamoose. Go do your job somewhere else, okay?" Not wanting to draw the ire of the Show Stealer, Josh Matthews scampered off.
The Coalition members by now had just reached the top of the ramp, and now they all managed to turn around towards the ring and raise their arms once more to the adulation of the crowd, while Team Priceless recollected themselves in the ring.
With a few midcard matches and/or vignettes done and over with, at around 10:11 PM, Batista was doing squat thrusts in his locker room to get ready for the big main event tonight, when suddenly, somebody knocked on his door.
"Come in," Batista called, only to find himself disappointed, or at least braced for a heated confrontation, when he found Chris Jericho coming through the door to face him.
"What do you want?" the Animal immediately decided to skip to the chase.
"Batista, I know that you don't like me, and, quite frankly, the fact that I'm actually approaching you here right now kinda makes my skin crawl," Jericho began, allowing Batista to know right away they weren't pretending to be friends.
"Feeling's mutual," the Animal replied in understanding of the enmity between the two. "So I'm assuming you're coming to me about our match with Tomko and Christian tonight."
"Correct," Chris announced as if hosting a very mundane portion of a game show. "At Cyber Sunday, we have a match against one another, with a special guest referee which could possibly be Christian, for the World Heavyweight Championship. Tonight, we have a tag team match together against Christian and his… 'Problem Solver'. Now, you and I both know we can't trust Christian, or anybody else in that poll to be the special guest referee, as you made perfectly clear to me tonight. But I was actually thinking, while his 'Coalition' was having their little six-man tag team match, since we can't trust any of the potential referees, why don't we combined our forces just for tonight to make an example out of Christian?"
"An example, huh?"
"Yeah, an example," Jericho repeated again. "So that all of the referees, especially Christian, and even that false man of God, Shawn Michaels, realize that what they're getting involved in is not something that they can just toy around with for their own personal amusement. You and I are going to be facing off for the World Heavyweight Championship, the most prestigious title in the history of our industry. If you and I can combine our forces to make mincemeat out of Christian and Tomko, all the referees will be forced to realize that by manipulating the outcome to fit their own desires, they would be desecrating a match worthy of this title that I hold on my shoulder."
"I see your point," Batista decided to cut him off while showing agreement. "I see your point. All four of the guys on that poll can't be trusted by either one of us, so beating the crap out of Christian and his big goat-bearded, tattooed, bald-headed bitch, we scare all of 'em straight."
"Glad to see we're on the same page," Jericho stated.
"I said, I see your point. I never said anything about trusting you any more than I trust the referee options!" Batista suddenly cut in with a major bass in his voice. "So if you're serious about putting our differences aside tonight, then we should get the job done tonight. But if we don't, and it's because you double-crossed me, then I will rip you apart! Got it!?"
"You really should realize that I am an honest man, and of course I am serious about this," Jericho tried to reassure Batista, insisting on what he'd been saying ever since his mutual attack on the Jeritron and Shawn Michaels in May along the way.
"Good. We have an understanding. Now get out," Big Dave commanded, much to Jericho's surprise. "I need to get ready." In response, the Ayatollah threw on a smarmy smirk and left the locker room, closing the door behind him. Batista simply shook his head and then went back to his squat thrusts.
Backstage, the guys from Team Priceless were walking through the back, when they suddenly came across none other than the Legend Killer himself, Randy Orton.
"Congratulations. You've lost yet another match, this time against a team where one man was competing in jeans, in his first match back in the WWE, and with another match on his plate later tonight," Orton disparaged the multi-generational trio before him.
"What the hell do you want, Randy? You haven't even competed in a match here tonight," Cody retorted, not in the mood to hear Orton trash talk him.
"Well, I have the more than valid excuse that I'm injured. I sure as hell wouldn't have blown that match if I had been healthy and taken any one of your three places," the Legend Killer insisted, cold and confident in every word. It honestly shook the Priceless guys almost to their very core to be spoken to this way. "Now the view of the target on your backs has been refreshed, because every tag team on Raw not only now has a reason to laugh at you, but also now has a reason to see that you can be beaten. That is the worst situation that you could possibly put yourselves in as champions. I don't expect your title reign to go into November." He then walked away without even giving them time to retort, as if absolutely sure that he was correct and they knew it. And even in Ted DiBiase's mind, he may not have been that far off.
With only minutes before the main event, while the Raw fans just got finished being treated to the comical ramblings of Santino Marella following the man's Beth Phoenix-assisted defeat of Finlay, Maryse was actually in a conversation with Katie Lea.
"Yea, so you might want to think about what I've just told you, hun," Katie suggested.
"Certainly. I'll see you backstage at Cyber Sunday?" Maryse offered.
"Fabulous, darling. I'll be searching for you in Phoenix," Katie accepted with assurance. "Stay sinful in the meantime, darling. Someone of your various talent can't be tied down to simply dancing to the beat of Christian's drum."
"I will be venturing to accomplish my own goals, you know," Maryse retorted as if to remind her.
"As I'm sure you will. See you at US Airways," Katie Lea finally said her farewells, before walking off away from Maryse. The French-Canadian Beauty just stood there and nodded, apparently in contemplation of what she and Katie Lea just talked about.
"Hey, what were you guys just talking about?" John Morrison's voice suddenly came from behind. Maryse turned around, her facial expression making it clear she was a little annoyed.
"Hey, don't sneak up on me like that," she of course chastised the Guru of Greatness. "And just so you know, Katie Lea and I were just talking about my career goals."
"And those would be…?" Johnny asked in interest.
"To be known as the sexiest, most scandalous, most talented, and greatest Divas Champion of all time," Maryse proudly answered that question. "Did Tomko and Christian send for me?"
"They're about to leave for their match, so I figured I'd volunteer to get you back in the room to watch," Johnny replied. "Now if you wanna get there in time to wish them luck, you're gonna have to hurry."
"Fine, let's go," she quickly offered, walking past him and leading the way to the Coalition locker room, where Tomko was in his ring tights and gear, and Christian in his covered underneath the gold and white Captain Charisma jumpsuit.
"Hey Tomko, you got your wind back, right?" Christian asked as he put the hood of his jumpsuit over his head.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Tomko answered as he checked over his pads. "
"Good," Christian saud with a smile coming on. "Because tonight, after we beat Jericho and Batista, everybody on Smackdown's gonna know that the Christian Coalition is the new faction to send shockwaves through Smackdown with an iron fist.
"And even if Vickie Guerrero can't stand us, that little mob she ran, I think its name was 'La Familia', ain't got nothin' on us," recited the Miz, who was also in the room with Christian and Tomko. "Hey, speaking of which, do you guys think she's watching?"
"Of course she's watching. Whether she likes us or not, she's our boss and we're representing her show," Tomko reminded him.
"All the more reason you and I are gonna go out there and get the job done," Christian chimed in, before turning towards the door, which at that point finally chose to open, leading to the entry of John Morrison and Maryse.
"So where were ya the whole time when I came back here?" Christian questioned the Canadian Siren.
"Talking with a friend," Maryse deadpanned, not finding reason to indulge her leader in those details.
"Well, now that you're here, you can make sure Tough Enough and Real World over here pay attention to what Tomko and I do out there," Christian stated her assignment in clear reference to John Morrison and the Miz.
"Hey- hold on a second, man, that's not fair. I was the one who had to get her for you so she could remember to watch the match," Johnny protested, apparently taking offense to Christian's method of encouragement.
"Johnny, relax, I'm just kidding," Christian backed off. "Anyway, you guys tuned in?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it. We're set to watch, and not just to see what you do, but to have your back, too," Miz reinforced for the group.
"Perfect. Tomko, let's go do this thing," Christian instructed him, finally heading out the door.
"Ass-kickin' comin' up," Tomko announced as he followed suit. Johnny watch them, as if waiting for them to be out of earshot, before closing the door once they were finally far enough.
"Ten bucks says they lose," Johnny surprisingly predicted.
"Dude! You really wanna bet against Christian and Tomko when they're on a roll and we're in the same group with them?" Miz questioned his better judgment.
"Are you confident enough that you'd agree to ask Frankie's parents if you can go out with her if they lose?" Johnny suddenly challenged, an outrageous challenge to say the least.
"That is so far outta line…" Miz stopped the burst of outrage that was no doubt coming, taking a deep breath to calm down at the offensive idea that Morrison just tried to bait him with. "I'm just gonna say, I'm voting Christian and Tomko."
"Yes, now if you guys could please just shut up, we're about to see it," Maryse admonished both bickering boys as she had already grown tired of their little argument. Amazingly, it successfully shut them both up.
Some three minutes or so later, "Just Close Your Eyes" came blaring on the arena loudspeakers, and the crowd gave one of the biggest standing ovations of the night. As Christian and Travis Tomko came out, dressed and set to compete, Christian thumped his chest a couple of times and then turned around to walk backwards with his arms stretched, during which Tomko patted his shoulder and talked him up a bit. As he turned back around mid-ramp, Christian put his arms up in the CC symbol while Tomko high-fived a few of the fans. They both came into the ring via the steps and the ropes, and as Christian went to the far left turnbuckle, Tomko took the near right. Christian took off his hood, pointed a kiss, and said some words to the peeps, while Tomko did his double crowd point into a strong pose. The two came off at around the same time and high-fived mid-ring, before Christian went to the turnbuckle Tomko was on just a second ago and unbuttoned his vest to show his chest before flashing the CC sign once again, while Tomko leaned on the ropes near where Christian was and sreamed out that it was Tomko time. As the music faded, the whole entrance was given a very good reaction.
Saliva's "I Walk Alone" quickly followed suit, leading to another standing ovation from the crowd. As soon as the music picked up, Batista came out, and walked across both sides of the stage to thump his chest and pump the crowd, following which he crouched and did his Gatling gun routine, invoking the huge pyro guns behind him. Once he got up and the pyro stopped, Batista took a quick stride down the ramp, to and over the ropes, and through the ropes to get in the ring, before getting on his favorite turnbuckle and raising his arms high with a roar, then flexing his muscles downward. He then went over to the opposite turnbuckle and thumped his chest some more while screaming "Who's the man!".
The music faded out as he went down, and was quickly replaced by the countdown tunnel that signaled the coming of Chris Jericho, leading to the synchronized pyro runining along the titantron screen, leading to the "Save Me" version of his theme song. At the usual point, Jericho finally walked out, and as he went straight through the stage and down the ramp, he had on a smug smirk and allowed his head to bob, showing his arrogance amidst the chorus of boos. His face coming a little serious as he came up the steps and through the ropes, before putting down the World Heavyweight Championship in his team's cornr and quickly getting in Batista's face to berate Big Dave as if he was the commander of the team. The music faded out in the middle of it, prompting Christian and Tomko, who had left the ring during Batista's entrance, to get back in. As Christian got in the ring, Batista put his arms up as if conceding to Jericho, though not without a laugh, and retreated to the apron. Tomko stayed at the apron on his side, prompting the bell to ring with Jericho and Christian getting in each other's face.
Christian stood in front of Jericho and allowed the Ayatollah to berate him about righteousness and about how Chris was always better than him in the past so of course he was better than him now. Eventually Christian was able to find a chuckle out of all of Chris's posturing, which Chris took an offense to and replied with a slap to the face of Christian. After taking a few seconds to reel over what just happened, Captain Charisma retaliated by laying a striking slap of his own strong enough to lay Jericho down! Chris quickly scampered his way up into a corner, and Christian took advantage, advancing towards him and hitting him with a flurry of right hands to the face, adding a few left handed body stomps in the middle and a couple stomps to the gut in the end for good measure, before giving a clean break to the center of the ring and thumping his chest to posture to an approving Peepulation sect. Christian then came back over Jericho's way, and the World Champion gave a boot to Christian's chest to double him over and back him up. Jericho walked up to Christian, straightened him up, and hit his chest with a knife edge chop. Chris quickly followed up with a couple of forearms, before trying to irishwhip Christian. Captain Charisma reversed the move and met Jericho's return with a big back body drop. He then got to Jericho as the first Undisputed Champion got up in the absolute wrong corner, issuing him a right hand and a kick to the gut before tagging in Travis Tomko.
As Tomko came in the ring, he and Christian irishwhipped Jericho, and Christian intercepted his return by going down for Jericho to hurdle over him - right into a Tomko clothesline! Tomko went for the cover. 1… 2… Jericho kicked out and it already seemed a miracle. Tomko, however, quickly followed up by picking up Jericho and ramming him into his and Christian's corner, where he turned around and proceeded to reach behind and strike Jericho with several left and right elbows. Jericho kept enough wherewithal to get Tomko with a thumb to the eye as soon as he turned his body around, then tried to run off the ropes on the opposite side to do something, only for Tomko to get his wits back at the exact right time and to lift him way over his head and instantly drop him gut-first into his knee for a huge stomach breaker! As Jericho rolled around and favors his midsection in pain, much to what was actually the laughter of Batista, Tomko shouted to pump the crowd and walked Christian's way with a grin, tagging in a confident Coalition boss.
Christian took a slow but focused stroll Chris Jericho's way, picked up the Ayatollah by the head, then punched him a couple of times, before running off the opposite ropes presumably to try to knock him over with a clothesline. Jericho somehow was able to counter into a flapjack landing Christian neck first into the top rope, staggering him big time. Chris took advantage, running off the ropes behind Christian and coming back with a clothesline to the back of the head. He then covered Christian, who kicked out after two. Jericho picked up Christian now, though Christian jerked his hand away and hit a couple right hands, before running off the ropes in front of Jericho, but the World Champion caught on and sent him flipping down with a kitchen sink knee to the gut. Jericho then dashed Tomko's way and gave him a cheap shot out of the ring, to which Tomko responded by dashing back up the apron and trying to storm through the ropes. This distracted the ref long enough for Jericho to get down on Christian and choke him for a good few seconds. Jericho then dragged Christian by the arm into his team's corner, where he tagged in Batista, who came into the ring and actually instructed Jericho to "let go, I've got this".
Jericho did so and retreated, allowing Batista to pick up Christian and turn him over into the corner, where he proceeded to ram his shoulder into him multiple times. Batista then shot off Christian with an irishwhip, but Christian was able to not only hold on to the ropes, but get down and slide out under the ropes, recollecting himself on the outside. This idea actually turned out to be a mistake, as Jericho immediately came down, dashed around ringside, knocked Christian down with a cheap shot from behind, and successfully ran away from Tomko as soon as the Problem Solver made chase. As Christian slowly picked himself up, Batista came over and reached down over the ropes to grab him and get him up into the ring.
No quicker did Batista manage to get him up on the apron than Christian immediately got him with a hangman, then slid into the ring and hit him with a quick Russian legsweep. Christian took the opportunity to punch Batista's head on the ground for a good flurry, before getting back up and pointing straight at Jericho to talk some smack. Christian then came back to Batista, who was now on his knees, only for Big Dave to suddenly lift Christian upside down on his back, before falling backwards to drop him in a mountain bomb. Batista then waited for Christian to start getting back up, before running off the ropes in front of him and coming back to kick him right in the face, knocking him back on his back. Batista then went straight to Jericho and tagged him in with a sharp tag to the chest, leaving Jericho a little flabbergasted as Batista just went straight to the apron without a care in the world. Chris furiously came into the ring and pointed an accusing finger at Batista, before seeing Christian starting to move. Jericho then ran off the ropes and executed a senton to Christian's midsection, following which he hooked Christian's leg for a cover. 1, 2, kickout by the Man of the Peeps. Jericho quickly got up and helped Christian pick himself up, before sending Christian through the upper ropes to the outside of the irng. Chris then took the opportunity to get up in Batitsta's face and gesture with his arms out while talking trash to the big man at the same time. Batista responded with a crowd-erupting slap to Jericho's face! Jericho immediately tried to retaliate, but Batista ducked, and the two ended up pointing fingers in a shouting match as the show went to commercial break.
Once back from commercials, we saw Jericho taking an advantage on Tomko, chopping his chest a couple of times, before trying to irishwhip him. Travis countered, of course, only for Jericho to duck his big boot return greeting, get him down on his knees with a forearm shove him behind, and position him throat/neck first on the second rope.
"Shut up, parasites!" Jericho shouted at the fans as he walked off, before he stepped up his pace and ran off the ropes in order to attack Tomko's back with a body guillotine. Jericho then tried to cover Tomko, only for Christian to come in and break it up after one. Jericho picked up Tomko, but the Problem Solver jerks him away and tried to go for a right hand. Jericho got behind him, then tripped Tomko's legs out from underneath him, sending the Problem Solver falling face first. Jericho then tagged in Batista with a hard tap to the chest, for which Batista looked at him like a crazy fool for a second before coming in. Batista came over Tomko's way and quickly came down to issue him multiple furious rights to the back of his head, the flurry only stopping once the referee finally grew some balls and decided to start a DQ count for him. Batista then got up and picked up Tomko by the head, before attempting to irishwhip him. Tomko was able to not only counter, but pull back Batista to get him with a quick clothesline!
The two took long enough to get up that the crowd ended up starting a Last Man Standing count, which ended up at three by the time the two men stirred and at five by the time they actually both got up to their vertical bases. Tomko and Batista both got up at the same time, and Tomko hit Batista with a right hand. Batista hit Tomko with a right hand. Tomko fired back again. So did Batista. One more Tomko right hand. One more Batista right hand. And finally, Batista took the advantage, irishwhipped Tomko, and hit Tomko with a scoop power slam. Batista covered Tomko again, and the Problem Solver managed a kickout after the count of two. Batista then picked up Tomko and shot him off into the Batista-Jericho corner, following up by hitting a clothesline which shook Tomko to his core and sent him taking a seat in the corner.
Jericho then tried to tag himself in right then and there, but Batista saw it coming and stepped aside to dodge it. Jericho then questioned Batista, only for Batista to tag him by putting a hand on his shoulder. Yet another partner-astounded-at-the-audacity-within-a-tag moment ensued, before Jericho ran off the ropes the other way and came down on Tomko's chest with a lower dropkick. Jericho dragged Tomko to get him on his back, then covered him. 1, 2, and Tomko got a foot on the bottom rope. Jericho got up in the referee's face and complained about it after the ref told him what happened, and this gave Tomko enough time to get up. However, Jericho turned around in time to be able to jump on Tomko's back, using this position to try and get the big man in a sleeper hold. Tomko tried to move around and do something, but could never quite collect his bearings before his legs gave in on him a little bit. He ended up down on one knee, Jericho able to get ground under his feet and tug and pull even harder on the neck of Tomko. At this point, Christian began to get a little inspired, turning to the crowd and announcing that he was going to start a Tomko chant.
Christian did exactly as he said he was gonna do, starting the chant and banging the top turnbuckle in his corner in order to lead the crowd in its beat. Soon the entire crowd was chanting the name of Tomko in hopes of getting the longtime Coalition enforcer back up on his feet. Sooner than later, this was starting to reap some benefits, as Tomko started feeding off the crowd in order to get himself back up to a vertical base, then back his way into a neutral corner hard to force Jericho to let go. Tomko, of course, crashed to his knees in pain, but was still able to crawl evel closer to his boss, until finally, right as Jericho got up, he made the tag.
Christian then came into the ring, and he and Jericho charged after one another, Christian firing a clothesline. Jericho bounced back up, only to receive a clothesline of his own. Batista, who's just managed to get in the ring, had a clothesline of his own sidestepped by Christian. Jericho got back up, got shot off into a corner by Christian, staggered forward back into Christian's direction, and ended up being lifted for a big back body drop, but landing in Batista's arms set for a power bomb. Batista had enough awareness to recognize that it was his partner and let go, but that was barely saying much of anything, and it didn't matter much as Jericho was quickly caught from behind by Christian and slammed diwn into a falling inverted DDT. Batista then charged after Christian, who was able to back his way into the ropes, which he quickly low bridged to send Batista over the top. Big Dave, however, managed to hold on and land on his feet on the outside, where he collected his breath a little bit. Christian turned back around to Jericho, who then proceeded to kick him in the midsection, shoot him off into a corner hard enough for him to bounce off, then run off the ropes behind him and hit his patented bulldog. He quickly got right back up and executed his springboard lionsault on Christian for a cover! 1… 2… kickout by Christian! Jericho then waited for Christian to get back up and tried to take him down by the legs in order to turn him into the Walls of Jericho, but got nowhere with the second step as Christian kicked him backwards into the ropes, knocking Batista off the apron he'd just gotten back on!
Jericho then took a missile dropkick from Christian, who went for a cover of his own. 1, 2, kickout by the Savior Self! Jericho and Christian both got up, and Jericho ended up kicking Christian in the midsection, before getting him with a double underhook into a backbreaker. Jericho then covered Christian, who kicked out after two yet again! A shocked Jericho now looked at the referee in total frustration, before getting back up at around the same slow, pained pace as Christian. At this same time, Batista was getting back in the ring, and Christian was in his line of fire. Out of the corner of his eye, Christian saw Batista getting set for a spear, and as soon as both he and Jericho were up and the Animal charged, Christian pulled Jericho in the way and ducked, allowing Batista's spear to hit Jericho! After a moment of shock which was much approved by the fans, Batista turned in Christian's direction to try to hit him now. But Tomko had gotten in the ring now and punched Batista in the back. Christian, on his knees, turned around and punched Batista in the midsection now. Before picking himself up and teaming with Tomko to send Batista out of the ring. Tomko then retreated to his team's corner at the apron as Jericho picked himself up, then staggered backwards right into Christian… who now had Jericho caught, twisted, and slammed in the Unprettier! Christian rolled Jericho on his back and got the cover. 1… 2… 3!
"Here are your winners, Travis Tomko and Christian!"
Lilian Garcia's proud announcement resonated as Tomko got himself back into the ring and struggled to help his victorious leader back on his two feet. Once they were both back up, the referee came in between them and raised both of their arms in victory. While Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole at the announcer's table finally noted the genius behind Christian's latest conquest of Chris Jericho, the crowd were on their feet in huge support of Captain Charisma and the Problem Solver. However, speaking of feet, there was somebody else who just dashed into the ring behind Christian and Tomko, that someone else being "the Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. And as soon as Christian lowered his arms and turned around, he was caught the victim of Sweet Chin Music! The music abruptly stopped, and now Tomko turned as well, then tried to charge a clothesline at Michaels only for Shawn to duck and hit him with Sweet Chin Music as well!
"Nobody's gonna stop me from doing what I gotta do!" Michaels shouted down with a pointed finger at Tomko and Christian, before performing a DX chop just for good measure. No sooner did that crowd-scream-inducing moment happen than John Morrison and the Miz came rushing down the ramp and into the ring themselves, to which Michaels calmly left the ring and simply walked away up the ramp without looking back. Had he looked back, he would've seen John Morrison yelling that he was gonna get him for this. The Showstopped had actually gotten up on the stage and was almost gone behind the curtains…
…until suddenly, a glass shattered into "I Won't Do What You Tell Me".
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin's theme music just erupted the arena!
As Miz, Morrison, and even Michaels stood frozen in shock, having not heard anything of whether he was coming all night, the Texas Rattlesnake made his way out to the arena and actually walked a step past Shawn Michaels before he stopped and gave him a good long glance. Once that glance was done, Austin was already asking for Steveweisers. Thinking there was no threat involved, Michaels tried to walk away, only for Austin to turn him around and crack the beer can over his head! He then beat away at him in a furious assault of right hands in the mount position, before getting up and stalking away at Michaels, beckoning him to get up three times before Shawn could actually fully do so. Once he did raise up and turn around, however, HBK was rendered victim to a Stone Cold Stunner! Austin merely dusted his hands now, before his theme song came back on and he started asking for more Steveweisers. He would indulge in emptying out the materials inside many a beer can into his own belly for about five minutes with the Christian Coalition watching all of it in the ring, though only the first 26 seconds of Stone Cold's latest one-man beer party would find themselves recorded on-air.
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A/N: Yeah, Jericho's still the World Heavyweight Champion at the point I'm still at. Shows how much I've fallen behind, huh? And if the direction for Cyber Sunday wasn't made obvious before, it's sure as hell obvious now.
-Pac.