Author's Note: Typically, I usually update bi-weekly. But in honor of this Saturday being the second leg of the Triple Crown in horse racing and with this chapter being one of two parts, I'm feeling rather generous and am posting a week ahead of schedule. I hope you enjoy it.
Mid October 2016, ROH TV
Creative had agreed to the pitch of adding Shannon Storm to The Young Bucks and Adam Cole's "Elite Club" stable and just wrote her in, extending their feud with "The House of Truth." Since Donovan Dijak turned face and left the House of Truth, "Mr. ROH," Roderick Strong, returned to the H.O.T. after dropping the Ring of Honor World Television Title to Dalton Castle. Roderick teased a heel turn during his mini feud with Bobby Fish of Redragon earlier in the year, and his assistance in a previous match on ROH TV to help Jay Lethal win a number one contender's match-securing another shot at Adam Cole-cemented that turn. Dijak was over as a face now. Ring of Honor wanted Roderick to help Joey Daddiego grow more in the ring, so decided to put Roderick in the tag team division. Roderick had no problem with that, but insisted instead of turning Joey face, have him complete his heel turn since "The House of Truth" was already assembled. That was what occurred.
Adam Cole and Shannon Storm with the Young Bucks faced Roderick Strong and Taeler Hendrix with Jay Lethal and Joey Daddiego in the television main event. The Bucks and the rest of the H.O.T. was at ringside while Truth Martini was on commentary. The match was already in progress for about thirteen minutes, and the finish was soon approaching.
"'Truth, what do you think of this 'Elite Club' faction?" asked commentator Kevin Kelly.
"Are you kidding me right now Kevin Kelly?" Martini asked arrogantly. "You have Truth Martini joining you out here on commentary and that's the juiciest question you can come up with?" He continued with his patented, grim laugh. "The 'Elite Club' is full of talent, especially the one they've added with the hooters, but they're not 'The H.O.T.' They don't follow the Book of Truth, and they don't have the hoopla that we possess."
Taeler had the upper hand in the match against Shannon and tagged in her partner, Roderick Strong. With Roderick now in the ring, Adam Cole wanted to enter in Shannon's place. But before Shannon crawled completely over to her side of the ring to tag him so the referee could admonish the switch, Joey Daddiego slid in the ring and with the referee's back turned, picked up Shannon, and powerbombed her.
"You wonder sometimes why there aren't two referees," said Corino who was a fan of both teams, but especially of Cole and The Bucks. "Daddiego drilled Storm with that powerbomb."
"You gotta' be kidding me!" Kelly shouted "He's not even a part of the match. The referee is blocking Cole from coming to the aide of his partner instead of maintaining order with the outside interference! Why are Daddiego and Lethal even out here?"
"Excuse me Kevin Kelly," Martini began again in his deep, antagonizing voice. "Just where in the hell do you get off telling 'The House of Truth' when and where they don't belong? The Bucks are out here and you're not talking about them!"
"Well yeah, that's because they haven't interfered in the match. The H.O.T. has," Kelly retorted.
"Nonsense Kelly. I don't call it interference. I call it following the Book of Truth," Martini said following another one of his infamous laughs. "If Adam Cole and Shannon Storm can't tough it out and compete, well I guess we know what else doesn't measure up."
Adam Cole managed to slide past the referee and enter the ring, but before he could reach Roderick Strong who was taunting Shannon, he was intercepted by Jay Lethal who slid in the ring, and connected with the Lethal Combination, Lethal's backbreaker/DDT combo. Cole rolled out of the ring.
"Come on ref, this is getting out of hand," said Corino. "You've got the stripes. If you can't maintain control, you need to call for the disqualification."
"Is this Ring of Honor, or Ring of Complaints?" asked Martini. "All the 'Elite Club' is doing is delaying the inevitable. They need to accept defeat now because that's exactly what's going to happen when Strong and Daddiego take the Tag Team Championships from The Young Bucks, and when Lethal gets his Ring of Honor World Title back from Cole at the next Pay Per View."
Roderick got Shannon up for his vertical double knee backbreaker, but she she escaped his grip, launched herself in the air, and landed on her feet. When this happened, Roderick walked right into double superkicks from Matt and Nick Jackson. Matt and Nick were wearing their faction's latest shirt, which was a black tee with words, "The Elite" written in white capital letters surrounded by four silver golf clubs with Adam, Shannon, Nick and Matt's initials for a slick finish. The back of the tee shirts had the number two at the shoulder blades, with a spoon full of sugar in the center. It was one of ROH Wrestling dot com's top sellers. The Young Bucks were Kliq and DX marks-as was Shannon-so instead of shouting "Too Sweet," or "Suck It" to the crowd, they each pointed one of their hands to Shannon's crotch and shouted "Suck her!" The crowd erupted in excitement as they left the ring.
"I've gotta' go boys. It's been a pleasure. But the H.O.T. needs me," said Martini who dropped his headset and approached the apron. Before he could even approach it, Adam Cole, who now recovered from Jay's Lethal Injection nailed Truth Martini with the Shining Wizard shin kick to the outside, and The Young Bucks nailed another set of superkicks to Lethal and Daddiego who tried to come to Martini's aide.
"It's total chaos and pandemonium here in Ring of Honor!" yelled Corino as the fans cheered wildly. "The fans are loving the superkick party as am I! Roddy's back up...as is Shannon Storm...is she gonna...no way! Weather The Storm on 'Mr. ROH!' "
The audience rose to their feet as they saw Shannon lift Roderick for the Weather The Storm, and shouted "Elite Club, Elite Club, Elite Club!" Adam climbed back to the apron, and Shannon made the tag to him. While Adam was measuring Roderick, waiting for him to stand, he looked out to the crowd holding his index finger on each hand up and shouted, "Adam Cole Bay Bay!"
"Shannon finally gets a tag to Adam," said Kelly with relief. "Roddy's out from the WTS. He can just cover him now...no...Adam gets him to his feet...Florida Key! Bridges out...one, two, three!"
"Ladies and gentlemen your winners of the match: Shannon Storm and Adam Cole, 'The Elite Club!' " Bobby Cruise announced for the fans, while Todd Sinclair raised each of their hands acknowledging the victory.
As the fans applauded the match and everyone in "The House of Truth" remained down selling their beatings, Adam and Shannon joined The Young Bucks outside the ring and they all walked over to Corino and Kelly. Matt Jackson grabbed the headset off of Steve Corino and placed it on Shannon's head. She wrapped her arms around Cole and the Young Bucks.
"Hey girl, tell them how great we are," said Nick Jackson who didn't have a headset, but because he was close to Shannon, his voice was picked up on the microphone of her headset.
"This club isn't just elite. We are too, damn, sweet!" said Shannon and the rest of the members of the stable all smiled and raised their hands in the air doing the Wolfpack gesture. Shannon removed the headset and dropped it back on the table and repeated the gesture to the fans as the episode of ROH TV went off air.
November 18th, 2016
Shannon was having an excellent time at Ring of Honor for the past three months. The locker room was great: there was a nice balance of independent talent who were chomping at the bit to finally get signed to a prominent North American company, seasoned veterans who returned to ROH from TNA, as well as some of the original ROH faithful. The talent exchange program with Pro Wrestling Guerilla was stronger than ever and the company was in preliminary talks of starting an East Coast talent exchange program with either Combat Zone Wrestling or Chikara Wrestle Factory. Shannon got to experience quite a bit of television time as she was member of a stable with a top singles star and top tag team.
But in addition to the "Elite Club's" feud with "The House of Truth," she also started an individual program with the 125 pound, undersized, extremely thin, crowd favorite Brandel Littlejohn, who competed as "Cheeseburger." Cheeseburger had been in a feud with "Brutal" Bob Evans last autumn, and had been on a losing streak ever since. He was growing strong in that beloved underdog role to that of Mick Foley, Spike Dudley, and Daniel Bryan. Tonight, at the "Survival of Fittest" Pay Per View at the Turner Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, they would have a singles hardcore match where the winner would be declared "more man than the other." Shannon had been cutting promos for the past month and a half berating Cheeseburger's manhood and pride, and defeated him numerous times in singles, and tag competition, thus causing him to challenge her to this forthcoming match.
Although it was a gimmick match by design, it served the purpose of getting Littlejohn the payoff of finally winning a match. By not only winning a match-a Pay Per View one at that-snapping his losing streak, it would give him the momentum he needed to solidify himself in that top underdog role on ROH's roster. Will Ferrara was chasing him for that spot. Littlejohn had no problem having a hardcore match with Shannon, and she had no problem putting him over. Shannon was the heel. What she loved most about being one was selling-making people look great as you put them over-creating a star in the process. Sure, she loved wins when they came, but any great heel would tell you it's the dirty work you enjoy the most. Coming up with creative ways to make the opponent look good, or innovative ways to "barely sneak by" with a win as a villain-the stuff that fans under appreciated-she loved.
Thirty Minutes until the Match
Shannon left the locker room area after finishing her chewy harvest berry granola bar from Cascasdian Farms. Founded in 1972, the company prided itself on creating the best organic, whole grain bars. This particular one that Shannon ate had raisins, cranberries, and blueberries, providing a much needed blend of fiber, protein, carbs, iron, and a limited amount of vitamins A and C. She walked down one of the hallways. She was bored from watching the Pay Per View back there, so came through the hall to get a vibe from the rest of the boys and girls checking out "The House of Truth" and Young Bucks finish, doing their thing. While she was there, Maria Kanellis, wife of Michael Bennett, walked by. Bennett had a match coming up against Donovan Dijak in between the tag title match and Shannon's match with Cheeseburger. Shannon was doing some lunges when Maria spoke to her.
"So is this supposed to be a stepping stone for you?" Maria asked with a condescending tone as she chewed gum.
"Excuse me?" Shannon questioned back, not distracted from her lunges.
"Oh don't play dumb," Maria commented shaking her head. "You're using your time here to get to the WWE. The grass isn't always green on the other side. They don't treat women right there. I would know."
"Is it that women aren't treated well, or some of the women hired there couldn't work?" Shannon asked in arrogance, matching Maria's pretentious tone, showing no intimidation in her implications, as she switched doing lunges on the other leg.
Maria ignored Shannon's interrogation. "I don't know why you'd bother though," Maria said with a shrug. "They had Ronda Rousey run through the rest of the Divas when she was the least deserving of them. What makes your pussy any different?"
Maria then smirked at Shannon and walked away, looking for her husband. Shannon had gone several months without thinking about Ronda Rousey. It touched a nerve with her because Maria was correct in Ronda's undeserving pushes, but was out of line with the random tirade. Shannon was fine where she was and would continue her journey wherever path it lead her to.
First Donald Trump won the United States Presidency two weeks ago, now what the fuck is her problem? I've never had heat with her before. She's just probably trying to start shit. And for what? She's out of here in two months anyway. I heard about her and Bennett's contract with TNA. Taven returns next month. I wonder if he even likes her, or just put up with her shit when "The Kingdom" was still together. Whatever, I've got business to take care of.
"The following contest is a Fight Without Honor Match!" ROH announcer Bobby Cruise shouted into the microphone and the volume of the fans' cheers increased. "Which simply means, this match will have no count outs, no disqualifications, and falls will count anywhere! The only way to win is by pinfall or submission. Per the added stipulation agreed upon the two participants, whomever is victorious must then retrieve the microphone and declare to their opponent that they are 'more man than the other.' "
Shannon made her entrance first and then Cheeseburger who entered the arena with a shopping cart of weapons that included a kitchen sink, 2X4 strip of wood, trashcan, cement block, and a shovel.
"Kevin Kelly, it was Cheeseburger who issued this challenge to Shannon Storm. But why is he coming to the ring second?" asked Steve Corino in disbelief. "Maybe he had second thoughts?"
"Oh no Steve, I don't think he's changed his mind for a second!" Kevin Kelly said excitedly. "Look, he's bringing out a shopping cart full of goodies, and he's parking them at the bottom of the entrance ramp, near ringside. The young man came prepared!"
"What the hell is this?" could be heard from Shannon, who yelled out to Littlejohn as she raised her eyebrows and pointed to the shopping cart he left down the aisle during his entrance, while receiving a warm welcome from the crowd. She of course was aware of the weapons beforehand, but was selling confusion to the audience.
"Fans as a reminder," Corino began seriously, as if he were to warning the crowd about a pending, legitimate threat to their own safety. "This is a Fight Without Honor match. There will be no handshake. There will be no countout. There will be no disqualification. Falls count anywhere, and there's a possibility the action will be very close to the ROH crowd. We ask you respect the athletes, and don't disrupt them from competition."
"And the bell sounds...Storm races to Cheeseburger, grabs him in waistlock and raises him above her head trying to adjust him on her shoulders...Weather The Storm attempt...no, Cheeseburger wiggles off as Shannon tries to put him away early," said Kelly who kept up the pace calling the action. "Storm charges for a clothesline, but Cheeseburger slides between her legs...she turns around into an armdrag…and another armdrag...a third deep armdrag by Cheeseburger!"
"Cheeseburger's taking Shannon off her game right now," Corino said compellingly. "We all know they're fighting without honor. And Shannon saw that shopping cart full of toys, so I'm sure wrestling Cheeseburger, and not fighting him was the last thing on her mind. She's gotta' regroup to slow the speedster down."
Littlejohn whipped Shannon into the ropes and on the return, she ended up catching him in a sleeper hold.
"Oh as much as Storm would probably love to get a submission victory tonight, I'm not sure the fans would enjoy seeing their beloved Cheeseburger go down this way," Kelly said in disappointment, hoping the match wouldn't end as quickly as it began. "Oh he's fading...he's fading...the ref may have to call it...Storm's loosening her grip on the sleeper, but why? Oh, Whirlwind to Cheeseburger!"
"That was intentional Kevin! She put him to sleep, then woke him back up!" Corino said with a laugh. "She loosened the grip from the sleeper to get some separation from Cheeseburger. Just as he was about to go out, wham! She hits him with that running jumping knee/enziguri combination. Good Lord, the smack to the side of his head was sick!"
Shannon grabbed Littlejohn by his tights and threw him out of the ring through the middle rope. As he sailed through, he extended his legs and arms as if he was doing a dive of his own, so he could connect going face first with the shopping cart that was parked less than five feet away from the ring at the bottom of the ramp. When his body collided, it forced the cart to roll backwards a bit, and the crowd wooed at the sound the collision made. Shannon then picked up Littlejohn and held him sideways, where his head rested against her forearm, and her other hand was between his legs clenching his buttocks. While holding him in this position she slammed his back against all four ring posts twice, before returning to the front of the ring, dropping him to the floor a few feet away from the shopping cart.
"Now is when the party begins!" Shannon said, pointing her index finger downward as she shouted at the crowd, walking to another side of the ballroom.
"Maybe this was the strategy of Shannon Storm all along, huh Steve?" Kelly directed at his broadcast partner as he grimaced at the smacking noise of the ring post connecting to Cheeseburger's body. "Torture and punish the man, delaying the inevitable. She is one of the more physically imposing women on the roster. She may not have the twenty seven inch pythons of Hulk Hogan, but she's got a serious gun show of her own that may be half of that."
Shannon taunted the crowd some more before making her way back to Littlejohn. When she did, he made his way to the cart and pushed it forward, driving it straight into her abdomen, and all of the weapons fell out except the cement block and sink.
"Oh Cheeseburger may be finding his break now," Corino remarked as Shannon bent over in pain. "Cheeseburger charges at Storm...but she bodyslams him into the cart! I guess I spoke too soon!"
With Littlejohn in the cart after being body slammed, Shannon turned his body so that his head was no longer resting near the handle of the cart, but the lower half of his body. She then pulled his leg through the carrier seat of the shopping cart while his head rested against the kitchen sink inside the cart.
"What on God's green Earth is she doing?" Kelly asked in irritation. "She had an opening...oh my! Storm Shield through the damn shopping cart! That's dangerous!"
"Yeah Kevin, dangerous, effective, but most important very legal," Corino corrected Kelly. "Remember anything goes in a Fight without Honor. The referee's only job is to count a pinfall or call for a submission. And he can make that call in the ring, out the ring, in a parking lot, wherever! Remember the last time we saw Shannon do something like this was in her debut match against MisChif through the ropes. She must really like doing submissions in strange places."
While Littlejohn was in the cart, screaming in pain, Shannon dangled off the handle portion of the cart, continuously doing sit ups to increase the magnitude of pressure on the hold. It was a testament to the leg strength in her quads, hamstring, and glute muscles relying solely on her lower body to support her weight as she hung on a mere portion of the shopping cart.
"Cheeseburger, do you submit?" asked referee Todd Sinclair, to which Littlejohn shook his head ferociously. "Can you continue?" Littlejohn, with his eyes closed shut, nodded to confirm he would indeed go on. Moments later, he clenched and shook his fists in an effort to engage the fans who started chanting, "Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger!" Shannon rose for one last sit up and Littlejohn bit her scalp gently, but she sold it like it was more severe. She broke the hold and fell to the floor.
Littlejohn, still in the cart, sat up and rubbed his legs while Sinclair removed the sink from the cart, dropping it to the floor. He then leaned his head backward in the cart while Sinclair removed the cement block from the cart to the floor. The gesture to the audience looked as if Sinclair was aiding Littlejohn's safety, preventing Shannon from causing anymore damage to him with the two weapons that remained in the cart while he was still stuck in it; but really, Sinclair removed the items because he knew they were going to be used later at some point in the match, so provided an assist to the two wrestlers.
While Littlejohn prolonged his time stuck in the shopping cart, Shannon picked up the cement block and carried it to the ring, pushing it under the bottom rope. She repeated the same steps with the 2X4 strip of wood, and the shovel. The noise in the arena, which quieted down after Shannon released the Storm Shield became loud again, which befuddled Shannon. When she turned around from the apron to retrieve Littlejohn she found her answer. He climbed on top on the cart and delivered a diving clothesline to her.
"Well that's certainly a bright way to escape from the cart," said Kelly with a smile on his face. "Down goes Storm! They nearly made contact with that trashcan."
It was as if Kevin Kelly was in Shannon's ear because moments later when the crowd thought she was crawling to get away from Littlejohn, she removed the trashcan lid from the can itself. As Littlejohn made his way over to her and grabbed her hair, she hit him in the crotch with the lid, buying herself enough time to grab hold of his arm.
"Ahh, there she goes again!" shouted Corino. "Shannon just inserted Cheeseburger's little arm through the handle of the trashcan lid, and has applied the Kimura Armbar. I don't know about you man, but it's sexy to me how she's so consistent with these innovative applications of submissions. She just pounces on people like a mosquito, and is so relentless at breaking down body parts. It's very hot."
"Well I'm a married man and won't speak on that Steve," began Kelly who looked on intently at the action. "All I know is that Cheeseburger can't grab the ropes. We're outside. Even if he had the ropes, there would be nothing he could do about it as this match cannot end in a disqualification."
"Please don't tap, Please don't tap, Please don't tap," was the chant the audience started as they were unsure if their hero would survive.
"Aaah!," Littlejohn screamed at Shannon. It wasn't a scream of pain, more like a primal roar of determination as his eyes widened and he began delivering kicks to Shannon's chest, shoulder and head. She released the hold and they remained on the floor for several moments. After about two minutes, Littlejohn shook off the pain from his arm and removed the trashcan lid from it, tossing it down closer to Shannon's face.
"Cheeseburger helps Shannon to her feet and I don't think it's to take her out on a date," Corino said humorously. "Swinging neckbreaker on the trash can lid...Shannon doesn't even have an opportunity to brace for impact as Cheeseburger makes our first cover of the match...Sinclair flops down for the count...one...two...and Storm kicks out!"
"Shannon Storm gets back on her feet but Cheeseburger delivers the Shate' palm strike taught to him by Japanese great, Jushin 'Thunder' Liger," Kelly remarked as the crowd participated in calling the move as they saw Littlejohn's hand signal for it. "The Young Bucks got the job done tonight...Cheeseburger's trying to play the role of spoiler and make 'The Elite Club' one for one...Oh and she hits the back of her neck on the lid as she goes down!"
Littlejohn attempted to make another cover but just as he crawled atop Shannon she jabbed a thumb to his eyes, preventing him from doing so. Still on the floor, Shannon rolled over grabbing her neck with both hands and rubbed it. Littlejohn eventually got up, grabbed the trashcan, and raised it in the air to work the crowd. He climbed over the guardrail and raised it in the air once again. The fans slapped their hands against it, and encouraged him to kick Shannon's ass. Littlejohn noticed Shannon was finally crawling down the ramp making her way towards the ring, so he climbed back over the guardrail with the trashcan and entered the ring. The shovel that Shannon pushed in the middle of the ring hung outside a little bit, and Littlejohn wanted to take advantage of it. Shannon continued to crawl and he placed the trashcan on the handle of the shovel.
"I have to say Steve, I am surprised. Cheeseburger made the challenge and Shannon accepted, but to be honest, I thought it was a mistake," Kelly remarked to Steve who turned to him in anticipation of the point he was trying to make. "I thought this match was going to be all Shannon, but no one has had firm, commanding control of it."
Littlejohn climbed to the top rope and once he saw Shannon's head underneath the metal portion of the shovel, leaped from it delivering a leg drop to the trashcan that was positioned on the handle. This caused a see-saw effect where the shovel connected with the right side of Shannon's head, busting her open instantly.
"Fuuuck!" Shannon yelled at the impact. She felt the side of her head and knew it was a fairly significant gash after touching the blood, and repeated the swearing: "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" It hurt, but that was what they wanted. This was no blade job. He found a sweet spot, and got her good.
"Oh God, he's put a hurting on her now," Corino said with a contorted mouth, illustrating the queasiness by the sight. "Look at that cut extending from about the temple to the eyebrow. She's gonna' need some help when all's said and done."
When she pushed the shovel completely inside, the fans got a good look at the damage and chanted, "ECW, ECW, ECW!" The commentators did not protest or ignore it. They took it as a compliment as they respected the legacy of Extreme Championship Wrestling, and were honored that their reception mirrored the now defunct promotion.
Littlejohn grabbed the back of his leg, caressing his hamstring at the impact of delivering the leg drop to the trashcan. While he put a considerable dent in it, it wasn't completely ruined. Shannon slid in the the ring and took advantage of the pain Littlejohn put himself in by piledriving him on the trashcan, completing destroying it at this point.
"Piledriver! Piledriver on Cheeseburger!" Kelly exclaimed. "It's eerie Steve that Shannon's wearing red and black gear tonight, because as the blood continues to pour down her shredded epidermis, she looks like the villainous 'Two-Face' from the Batman series after delivering that blow."
"But the devil's never looked so good! Hell hath no fury like a woman busted open Kevin," said Corino who played off of Kelly's dark analogies selling Shannon's viciousness as the match progressed. "There's something about seeing your own blood that takes you to another level. Oh man, she collapses before she could make the cover. Another break for Cheeseburger!"
Littlejohn kicked the trashcan out the ring and headed towards the top rope again. As he climbed to the top Shannon looked to her left from the corner of her eye. Littlejohn descended from the the top turnbuckle to deliver a frog splash, and momentum changed again.
"Frog sp-no! Something split! Can we get a replay of that?" asked Corino, who gasped as Shannon at the last possible second reached to her left for the 2X4 strip of wood and placed it against her knees, which connected with Littlejohn's abdomen and split completely in half after delivering the frog splash. Shannon hurriedly pushed the wood out of the ring as the sawdust faded, and lazily flopped an arm against his chest.
"Cover...one, two...Shannon covers again hooking the leg this time, one, two...Cheeseburger kicks out again...Shannon hooks both legs...one two…" said Kelly. "Shannon now with a forearm to the bridge of his nose...and Cheeseburger kicks out for a fourth time!"
Shannon sat up, wiped some blood off her face, and reached for the middle rope to help her stand. Littlejohn got to his feet at this point, so when she turned to him she grabbed hold of his waist, and raised him in the air to apply the bear hug.
"Oh Storm with the bear hug now, smart strategy," said Corino who appeared finished channeling his inner Jerry "The King" Lawler with the superficial comments about Shannon. "With that hold, sure she could get the submission victory if Cheeseburger quits. But what she mainly cares about is eliminating the oxygen supply to his lungs. Every second she squeezes him, she's doing damage to Cheeseburger's ribs and kidneys. The longer she keeps it in, the harder it is to breathe from his nose, and he'll have to breathe from his mouth."
The crowd started clapping repeatedly trying to get Littlejohn back in the match. They watched him suffer through his third submission now with this hold, and wanted to see him make a strong comeback. He did not reach down to his waist to release himself from Shannon's grip. He instead delivered forearms to her face. With so many kicks to the face, in addition to her laceration, it didn't take many for Shannon to relinquish her grip, and drop him to his feet. Littlejohn ran the ropes, but Shannon caught him and delivered a spinning spinebuster on the cement block. The block didn't break, but Shannon managed to get back to him to attempt a pin.
"Another kickout at two!" Kelly exclaimed. "She's tried to make him tap. She's tried to pin him, but neither has worked Steve...Oh Cheeseburger just DDT'd Storm on the same cement block his back just became friends with!" The block broke this time as Littlejohn carefully got closely near it to have his forearm smash it in pieces because Shannon already agreed to get stiffed in the head with the shovel. Enough of the cement did connect with her head though to knock her out for a few seconds and reopen the cut. He remained on his back to buy her some time. Moments later, he grabbed her legs and when she got her shoulder up at two, it reassured Littlejohn that she gained her faculties back as her instincts returned. He climbed out the ring to stall some more, as he wanted to guarantee Shannon was indeed "back" in the match. When he returned, Shannon who was now resting on her stomach, felt him kneel and pull the shovel from underneath her. When she sensed him nearby, she mumbled, "Thirty two" to him.
"Look at Cheeseburger with the shovel and he's measuring Shannon," said Corino who raised his eyes in skepticism. "Why is he taking practice swings on the ropes? Son, you better do what you're going to do and soon! This isn't Major League Baseball. It's Ring Of Honor, and you're in a fight brother!" When Shannon rose again and turned, Littlejohn charged at her with the shovel, but she ducked, raised him to her shoulders, and delivered Weather The Storm. Littlejohn dropped the shovel on the impact.
"She's gonna' do it! A pitch perfect WTS...the hay is in the barn Steve as she makes the lateral press immediately," said Kelly. "One...two...oh my god! It's not over. How many people have kicked out of the WTS?!"
"Holy Shit! Holy Shit! Holy Shit!" emanated from the crowd who absolutely lost their fucking minds at the moment. Shannon went ballistic pulling the scrunchy out of her ponytail, and ran her fingers through her hair with her mouth wide open before she pounded the ring canvas repeatedly with her taped right hand.
Littlejohn on his knees, grabbed hold of the shovel once again, and when Shannon spotted him, she rapidly crawled to the opposite side of the ring and on her knees, plead for forgiveness, not unlike "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. Still with the shovel in his hand, he turned to the crowd and they shouted to him, "Take her Out, Take her Out, Take her Out!" He obliged and struck each of her legs with the shovel. Shannon got up, but he caught her arms. Then she fell to her knees, and he hit her back repeatedly.
"Shit, Shit, Shit, Oh God, Fuck, Fuck! Aaah!" Shannon yelled at Littlejohn who didn't hold back the velocity of his swings. Littlejohn hit her twice on each arm, twice on each leg, and twenty four times across the back. She remembered Sheamus hitting The Big Show a week before the 2012 TLC Pay Per View with thirty one chair shots, so wanted to outdo them by at least one. The first ten shots to the back hurt the most, the last fourteen became a constant burning sting. Midway through the last fourteen, she could feel the shovel tear through the back of her tank top and into her skin. So Shannon now had cuts to both her back and head. Though the gash to her head was significantly deeper, the cuts to the back weren't, and the blood dried rather soon. No matter how loud she cried out, how hard she gritted her teeth through the mouth guard, how much her feet kicked out to block the suffering, it didn't make the pain or marks on her back disappear any faster.
The fans cheered emphatically, not just for the fact that Littlejohn followed their orders of "taking Shannon out," but that he did so with such ruthless aggression.
"Just pin her dammit!" barked Corino in support of Shannon. "Come on Cheeseburger! You've hit her thirty two times! You have her beat! I know you think she's a bitch Burger, but show some damn mercy!"
Littlejohn rolled out of the ring with the shovel and tossed it on the floor, narrowing his focus on the kitchen sink referee Todd Sinclair removed from the shopping cart after Shannon applied the Storm Shield Indian Deathlock on him. He squatted down to pick it up, stumbled a bit with his balance carrying it, before finally pushing it through the bottom rope. Once in the ring, he pushed it in the nearest corner. Shannon could be seen adjacent from Littlejohn, lying on her stomach with her head turned to the side, and her mouth opened slightly sucking wind in exhaustion.
"Steve he deserves retribution!" Kelly bellowed with passionate sympathy. "This is for all the bullying, the name-calling, the embarrassment, the losing streak! Tonight's Cheeseburger's night to seek revenge and take back his pride! We may be a month from winter but he's got a storm in the ring that needs to be out of his life!"
Littlejohn powerbombed Shannon twice on the kitchen sink. As he drove her on it, she made sure to elevate her head and neck area to avoid the knobs. Littlejohn did not pin her however. He decided at the very last second to get her back in position and execute a running "Razor's Edge" Scott Hall powerbomb on the sink. Shannon let out another painful growl as the final powerbomb hit right on that cut to her back, and literal tears fell from her face. She knew that she was doing a hell of a job and that it was almost over, but she still felt like a victim of a car wreck. Littlejohn pulled her off the sink, got the three count, and his music started to play. He exited the ring and announcer Bobby Cruise handed him the microphone. He tapped the ROH logos on the guardrail, climbed on top of it where the crowd proudly embraced him, and shouted, "Shannon Storm, I am more man than you!"
Shannon's eyes were closed as she just remained on the mat taking in the moment of the raucous crowd who then chanted, "Burger's Over, Burger's Over, Burger's Over!" Shannon was in pain, but smiled through it.
That's what I wanted. That was best for business. You're welcome buddy.
Ninety Minutes Later
Following her match, she didn't want to be numbed, so the medical staff backstage gave her a large leather belt to bite as they applied fifteen stitches to her head and covered it with a patch to address the gash she sustained as a result of a shovel to the face. She also received some gauze and tape across the area of her back that was lightly cut.
It's not uncommon for some people to hang around a little while backstage after a show concludes. Nor was it unusual that every talent didn't always stay to watch an entire show after they finished their own matches. Some talent would shower, exit a venue immediately, and settle in the hotel of the next town. Others would remain where they were to rest, and have an early bird departure the next morning. After Shannon got taken care of medically and showered, she decided to head upstairs to the Turner Ballroom's gym area for a quick workout. It was fifteen minutes before Lethal and Cole would finish their main event, so if anyone needed to see her she was still in the building at least. She'd been tossed into barricades, guardrails, and steps before, even took a chair shot, but this was her first real hardcore match. Shannon was in an excruciating amount of pain that warm wraps weren't quite relieving her quick enough at the present time. Every wrestler who tried DDP Yoga said they had results. Chris Jericho specifically, said he felt even better when completing the workouts-especially when he did them consistently-before and after matches. With the digital version downloaded on her smartphone, she tapped start, slipped the phone through her wristband sleeve case, inserted her earbuds, and went to work.
Shannon did an hour's worth of yoga when a large six foot three man with a solid frame and slight pudge of stomach that hung over his waist entered the room. This man, who was dressed in a navy blue workman's suit left unzipped a few inches beneath the collar, was Mike Knox, the facility's head janitor. He was aware that Ring of Honor rented their venue for the Pay Per View, and he was making sure each room was left in the same condition it was before the talent arrived. He was in charge of locking up the building when everyone left.
"Maintenance Man! Maintenance Man coming through and locking up soon!" Knox shouted, swinging his keys as he made his way through the halls and eventually to the room where Shannon was. Shannon couldn't hear him with her earbuds in. Dallas had her focus at the moment as she continued to painstakingly follow his various yoga positions.
"Maintenance Ma, oh what do we have here?" He asked aloud, realizing the occupant was both unaware and female. "Looks like I'm going to get a two for one special: a check, and some action," he added, licking his lips with a grin before he closed the door behind him.
Knox walked further in the room, but kept a reasonable distance away as he creepily stared at Shannon who currently was executing a one-legged squat lung pose. As she held the position for several moments, her athletic shorts started to ride upwards, and he began rubbing his dick through his workman suit. Once she released the pose and stood up straight, presumably a rest break as DDP gave the introduction to the next exercise, Knox zipped his suit down some more-not completely down to step out of it-but enough to grab hold of what he needed to perform the obvious task on his mind.
Knox finally walked over to Shannon, grabbed her by her waist with one hand, and she instinctively attempted to turn to him. However as she tried to pivot, he simultaneously wrapped his hairy forearm around her throat preventing her from doing so. Shannon assumed at this point she was the very last person around so attempting to yell would be ineffective. She lost track of time doing the yoga workouts because she really wanted to relieve the tension in her body. If anyone was there, they likely would be in the parking lot, if not already at their hotels. Shannon tried to shift her weight to escape Knox, but he tightened his grip around her neck, which hindered her ability to breathe. If he squeezed any tighter, he'd probably crush her larynx.
Shannon's earbuds popped out of her ears as well as the head jack port of her phone before falling to the floor. As Knox shuffled his body through Shannon's attempts to break free, he ended up backing up and stepping on them, crushing them instantly.
"Quit protesting sweetheart," Shannon heard Knox remark with his warm breath against her ear, and untamed beard tickling her cheek as her head dangled to his right shoulder. He undoubtedly had the leverage with a complete foot advantage of height on Shannon. "So you're a wrassler huh? Well there's nothing fake about this dick, and I plan on stretching you all over these benches." He lifted her in the air as his nipples pressed against her back. His left hand that held her waist ventured down to her shorts and pushed aside the cotton material of her panties.
Knox started to aggressively finger Shannon; and she began to lose consciousness the longer she remained choked in his right arm. Sure this man was six foot three, around 270 pounds, and there might have been a decent chance even without seeing him enter the room, once he did, that she could have pulled off a hell of a flee attempt on any other day. Not only was Shannon at disadvantage in not spotting Knox and the height disparity, she was weakened from the match she had earlier. Yes, she was stitched, wrapped, and doing yoga afterwards, but she wasn't a superhero. She couldn't just perform a mind trick and be at 100% to combat a rapist.
Fortunately, Shannon's "fight or flight" instincts engaged her somewhere in the subconscious. Before she completely passed out, she raised her left leg backward and kicked him deep in the balls. She wished she still had her ring boots on instead of sneakers to hurt him more, but it wasn't like she had an option to retrieve alternate footwear at this particular moment. Knox finally dropped her, releasing his grip, and crouched over in pain. Shannon panted heavily once on the floor, and crawled around to another area of the gym. She had no particular destination of the gym to be. Her current goal was to get some distance away from Knox to get her breathing back to normal. The next was to shake out the cobwebs as the loss of oxygen supply didn't just affect her lungs with breathing, but her brain's ability to focus.
"You bitch!" Knox yelled as he massaged his manhood. "I am going to give it to you so fucking hard now. You'll be in tears when I'm finished! I'm unloading all I've got in you! Every single drop!"
Mike Knox charged at Shannon, and whether it was luck, or an angel placing their hand on the situation, when she spotted him through her peripheral vision, she was on the floor in front of a rack of weights. She grabbed an 80 lb dumbbell and struck him in the head. Knox fell to the floor, and she struck him again with the dumbbell.
"You sleazy, cowardly, motherfucker! Fight me now you bastard," Shannon shouted at the man before climbing on top of him. She grabbed a handful of his greasy, chestnut brown hair with her left hand, and delivered twelve consecutive, unpadded, elbow strikes to his face with her right arm. Blood begin to splatter in her face-and some was already on her hands and elbow-but it wasn't her own. A significant puddle of blood began to form a small lake down the floor. Seconds later, Shannon heard footsteps approach the room, so she got off of Knox and grabbed the dumbbell again, bracing for another attacker.