Chapter 21: No Chance
"Tonight," Vince announced, a gleam in his eye. "Here in Greenville, South Carolina we will see her in action."
"Her who?" CM Punk asked curiously. He added, "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes, Mr. Punk," Vince smiled. "As you no doubt suspected, you will be involved in the King of the Ring tournament tonight."
"Good. Good—that's great," Punk nodded.
Vince frowned. "That's all."
"Come on, what do you really have up your sleeve?" Punk inquired suspiciously.
"That...is none of your business."
"Isn't it?" Isabella snapped, approaching from behind.
"What are you doing here?"
"I want a match," Izzie demanded. "Tonight. You're all about giving people opportunities when they don't really want them – why not give someone something they've actually earned for a change!"
Punk hid his smile, amused at Isabella's boldness.
"Who are you again?" Vince frowned.
"Done," William Regal approached from behind. "She's earned it don't you think, Vince?"
The two men exchanged glances.
"Of course, if that's what you want," Vince suddenly changed his mind.
"Just tell me when and where," Izzie said firmly.
"It'll be announced," William Regal assured, waving her and Punk off. "Be ready."
Even through the darkest days
This fire burns always
This fire burns always
Teddie found herself grinning giddily as CM Punk made his way to the ring. There was no doubt in her mind that she was fast developing a deep crush on her newfound friend. She blushed as Punk climbed the ropes and held up the briefcase before pointing at her with the other hand. He was unabashed and didn't care what the crowd thought—something that made Teddie admire him all the more.
She dropped her camera to clap loudly and held up both hands, shaping her fingers like a V in a vulcan salute, her thumbs extended. The hand signal was an ancient symbol of blessing and luck among the Jewish people, and although it was said to be remarkably hard to recreate without positioning your fingers with your other hand, Teddie had no problem with the gesture.
Oh yeah
Wooooo!
I can slap a tornado
I can dry up a sea, yeah
When I live for the moment
There ain't no (r'ain't no) with me
Punk made a face as Matt Hardy emerged from the gorilla. None of the wrestlers were aware who their opponents would be that evening and every match was a surprise.
Teddie wondered what Izzie was thinking about the match up. Her friend was no doubt watching backstage. While Matt was good friends with Izzie, however, he and Teddie only tolerated each other. This was due in part, perhaps, to Teddie's close relationship with Punk, who Hardy obviously considered a very real threat, even as he was aggressively preparing for his upcoming match with MVP.
It was an intense match up but in the end, Punk managed to roll up Matt for the 1-2-3. Teddie smiled at Punk as he slid out of the ring, but wondered exactly how much the match had taken out of him. Matt Hardy wasn't Teddie's favorite wrestler, but he was definitely a talented competitor and Punk had held nothing back to defeat him.
Teddie felt something beginning to gnaw at the pit of her stomach. Was it trepidation? She instinctively knew something wasn't right.
"And from India, weighing in at 420 pounds, the Great Khali!" Lilian Garcia announced, as the giant made his way to the ring.
Teddie frowned. "I feel sorry for whoever has to fight him," she muttered, glancing down at her camera and adjusting the settings.
Bagpipes suddenly sounded and Teddie's head snapped up.
"And making his way to the ring, representing Smackdown, from Belfast Ireland weighing in at 233 lbs, Finlay!"
"Oh my God..." Teddie breathed, feeling a chill run down her spine. She wouldn't wish Khali on anyone, particularly someone who had come to play as important a role in her life as Finlay. Always, in the back of her mind, she was aware that Finlay was 49 years old and no longer in his prime. Or so they said, anyway. Teddie noted his fearless and undaunted expression, and the taunt muscles in his shoulders and arms gleaming in the pale light. She couldn't quite agree.
As they approached the ring, Finlay patted Hornswoggle's shoulder protectively, and looked over at Teddie. Pointing at her with his shillelagh, he shouted over the music.
"Stay out of the way, okay?"
Teddie simply nodded, knowing by now that it was no use to argue with the Irishman.
From the start it was a mismatch. Khali completely dominated by power alone, although Finlay displayed extreme resilience. Hornswoggle made the mistake of trying to distract Khali at the wrong time by making an appearance with the shillelagh and Finlay recovered in time to usher his son out of the way.
This, however, gave Khali the break he needed to get Finlay at close range and with a huge right hand, Finlay was down once again. Teddie bit her lip hard, as she watched Finlay hold his head, writhing in pain. As Khali climbed out of the ring, she lowered her camera. What was the punjabi giant up to?
"Hey – Khali no!" the referee yelled, to no avail.
"I thought Khali was going after Hornswoggle but this may be worse!" Larry the King Lawler exclaimed as Khali pulled Finlay deeper into the corner.
Seizing Finlay's left leg, Khali proceeded to pound it against the steel ringpost. Referee Charles Robinson signaled for the bell, but Khali paid no heed. Even as Lilian Garcia announced that he had been disqualified, Khali continued his assault on Finlay.
Finlay tried desperately to roll away from Khali, but was unable to get his leg back under the ropes in time. Khali seized it and continued to beat the knee against the ring post.
Hearing Finlay's moans of pain, Teddie began to get desperate. She noted that Hornswoggle was nowhere in sight. Dropping her camera, she looked desperately around for the confiscated shillelagh. The intensity of her alarm surprised even herself.
Well...it's a Big Show!
It's a Big Bad Show to tonight!
Teddie breathed a sigh of relief as the Big Show's titantron blasted throughout the arena. Khali's attention was immediately drawn away from Finlay and toward the Big Show who was walking down the entrance ramp and toward the Indian giant.
Well, it's a Big Show!
Making the most of the distraction, Teddie slipped in front of Khali and into the ring beside the referee. Charles Robinson had managed to roll Finlay out of the corner and was questioning him to the extent of his injury. Finlay was moaning in pain, shielding his knee with his hands.
Big Show looked at Teddie for a moment and she knew he wasn't there to hurt her or Finlay. He was there to make a point to Khali. Referee Charles Robinson, remained suspicious, however, keeping a close eye on the giants as they confronted one another.
Before exiting the ring, Big Show glanced back over his shoulder at the fallen Finlay and Teddie kneeling by his side.
Teddie caught his eye and mouthed the words, "Thank you."
Big Show acknowledged her with a small nod before exiting the ring and heading backstage.
"Finlay," Teddie's voice was edged with concern. "Are you ok?"
Finlay covered his face with his hand as Hornswoggle slipped into the ring. Several referees were already running down the entrance ramp to help out.
Teddie timidly touched Finlay's shoulder. "You alright?"
It seemed a long couple of minutes before he nodded. His hand still covered his face, a habit Teddie had noticed he had when he was troubled or in pain. She touched the back of his hand gently.
"I'm coming back there with you," she said softly. "I need to know you're alright."
To Teddie's surprise, the referees seemed to accept her presence and worked around her and Hornswoggle as they attempted to assess the damage. Eventually they rolled Finlay out of the ring and began to help him up the entrance ramp.
Halfway up the ramp, William Regal's music sounded and he appeared dressed in his wrestling gear. He waltzed past them, glancing at the wounded Finlay, but essentially ignoring their presence otherwise.
"And his opponent for this match...Hornswoggle!" Lilian made the announcement without a smile.
Surprised, Hornswoggle looked up at his father for clarification. He began shaking his head. Finlay glanced over his shoulder in disbelief. Pulling his son closer to his side, he attempted to continue their exit.
Teddie glanced back over her shoulder and was horrified to see that Regal had slipped out of the ring and was stalking Hornswoggle. She stopped dead in her tracks, petrified, and not knowing what to do as William Regal dragged Hornswoggle and tossed him back into the ring. Regal faced off against Hornswoggle just long enough for the audience to realize the size difference and Hornswoggle's trepidation before he charged, swiping Hornswoggle off his feet and immediately applying the Regal stretch.
Hornswoggle began tapping almost before the submission hold was applied, fear written across his face. Beside her, Teddie noticed Finlay shoving the referees aside and trying to get back to the ring.
Finlay dragged himself across the ring to his son's side as Teddie ran around the side of the ring. Hornswoggle was holding his neck and whimpering, but other than that Teddie noted that he appeared to be fine. She slipped back into the ring on Hornswoggle's other side.
William Regal took a couple steps toward them and Finlay used the ropes to rise. Although he could barely stand, he planted himself in between Regal and Hornswoggle and Teddie.
Regal attacked suddenly, with a vicious kick to Finlay's injured knee. The Irish wrestler fell hard, groaning and writhing in pain.
Teddie had had enough. She jumped to her feet, positioning herself now in between the predator and the prey.
"What is wrong with you!" She screamed at Regal. "What is wrong with you?!"
Regal paused long enough to glance back over his shoulder and sneer. He didn't even bother with an answer as he exited the ring.
Ignoring his own pain, Finlay crawled to his son's side and began to talk to him.
"Not a brilliant night thus far for the, uh,...the Finlay clan," JR observed, not sure how to label the trio presently in the ring.
"The Finlay clan?" Jerry the King Lawler chuckled. "I'm not quite sure what it is we're seeing here, JR! We noticed this photographer before when CM Punk pointed her out earlier tonight, but now she's associated with Finlay? I'm not sure what's going on!"
JR simply shook his head. "I don't know, King. But what we do know, is that Finlay will now be facing William Regal for the King of the Ring semi-finals."
"Finlay—Finlay!" Teddie kneeled in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Get off that knee! I got Hornswoggle. He's going to be fine—just a little sore and scared is all."
When Finlay paid her little heed, Teddie pushed on his shoulder, forcing him to shift his weight toward his good leg. "Get off that knee," she repeated. "Right now."
Finlay finally rolled onto his side and Teddie began talking to Hornswoggle. The little guy was mostly scared, and it appeared that a few muscles in his neck were probably pulled. Other than that, he seemed fine. Finlay watched the interaction with glazed eyes and a face of pain. The referees on hand stood back, seeming to understand that Teddie was better able to reach through to them better than they.
After several agonizing minutes the referees were able to help Finlay and his son backstage. Teddie also accompanied them. In the back of her mind she wondered if she would get in trouble for leaving, but right now that didn't seem important.
After another hard and grueling match up, CM Punk had managed to defeat Chris Jericho and proceed to the King of the Ring semi-finals. As he prepared to head backstage, he was stopped in his tracks by a familiar titantron.
No Chance...that's what you've got
Up against a machine too strong
Pretty politicians buying souls from us are PUPPETS
Who'll find their place in line
But tie a string around your finger now boy
'cause it's, it's just a matter of time
'cause you've got...
No chance...
No chance in hell, (you've got)
No chance…
No chance in hell, (you've got)
No chance…
No chance in hell, (you've got)
No chance…
No chance in hell!
The crowd booed as Mr. McMahon strutted down the entrance ramp.
"Wait, wait, wait!" McMahon ordered. "CM Punk, I know you think you've advanced to the finals, but I have an announcement to make. Ladies and gentleman, your finalists (whoever they may be) will be facing off against a surprise opponent tonight."
"What the...!" Punk shook his head indignantly. After enduring the Walls of Jericho longer than any other superstar, he was sweaty and tired and his lower back was killing him.
"And now," McMahon continued, "Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the first opponent...Isabella Cena!"
I think this a record chapter as far as length goes! Most of my chapters are around 3 or 4 pages – this one is 6! Anyway, the next chapter will be the most climatic of all, I think. :) It occurred to me that I'm probably writing this story too fast, but I'm having such fun with it that I can't really help it! :)
Hope you enjoy it! I've been looking forward to writing the King of the Ring tournament ever since I first saw it a couple weeks ago!! ;)
Shout Outs:
SBMFanatic: More developments in this chapter – the next one will really climax!
x.Hardy.at.Heart.x: This chapter is just the beginning—the next one will be packed full of surprising twists!
JCJF.lover: Matt is quite the matchmaker for this story, yes! Lol...I have class tomorrow, hopefully I'll survive though! :-p
XinnLagjin: What do you think of Vince now? ;)
Inday: Izzie's very smart, but she also knows how to mind her own business—a very admirable quality that I don't have! :)