Chapter: Twenty-Five: More Contenders
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Raw was live from Tucson Arizona, and right off the bat John Cena's music hit. The former WWE Champion made his way out to the ring and was met by his usual mixed reaction from the crowd.
"Well, last week, Jonathan Coachman made a decision," started John Cena, "Jonathan Coachman booked WWE Champion Machetti versus the new Number One Contender Randy Orton for the WWE Title." Cena paused and the fans cheered, the last time they saw a Machetti v Randy Orton match, it was a Street Fight, and was Machetti's very first WWE title defense.
"Now, when I was champ," continued Cena, "I was always saying, IF YOU WANT SOME…" Cena broke off there and the fans finished his catch phrase with COME GET SOME! "Well now, I'm not the Champ, I'm not even the Number One Contender. Now I could do two things, first, I could stand here and complain that the reason that I'm not Number One Contender is because," Cena changed his tone to a whiney one before continuing, "Jonathan Coachman hates me! He didn't even let me have a match last week, I was screwed out of another chance at regaining my title."
Cena's voice went back to normal as he continued, "OR… or, I could DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I think I'll have to change the old saying though," Cena turned and then glared at the TitanTron, "Machetti, I know you're back here tonight, and I've got to tell you… I WANT SOME, SO I'LL COME GET SOME!" The fans cheered loudly as got out of the ring and started heading up the ramp, Cena appeared to be determined to get a piece of Machetti tonight.
But suddenly, entrance music hit, but it wasn't Machetti's, instead it was Carlito's theme. Carlito Caribbean Cool came out from the back and stood at the top of the entrance. "Cena, Carlito's glad you're out here. Because you're going to be the special guest on the new and improved, 'Carlito's Cabana.'" Cena looked confused as some staff guys followed Carlito out to the ring and immediately started setting up the ring.
Cena shrugged then got back into the ring and sat down in one of the beach chairs. Once the Cabana was set up Carlito got a mic and sat down in a chair across from Cena. "Cena, Carlito needs to ask you something, what makes you deserve to be the Number One Contender? Carlito remembers that in his first match in the WWE he beat you for the United States title."
"Carlito, that was three years ago," responded Cena, "back then Brittney Spears was still hot, Michael Jackson was a little less creepy, Abe Lincoln was wrestling a bear, and Lindsay Lohan was doing her first line… of dialogue."
"Say all you want Cena, but Carlito has your number, and if anyone deserves to be number one contender, it's me..."
Misterrrrr Kennedyyyyy
Carlito was suddenly interrupted by Ken Kennedy's theme music playing. Raw's resident loudmouth came out from the back and quickly joined Carlito and Cena in the ring. "Carlito," said Kennedy, "last week, you ran away from Bobby Lashley. You're pathetic. This may be your segment, but this is MY ring! And I'm tired of being overlooked since I arrived on Raw. You don't deserve to be the Number One Contender, neither does Cena, and neither does Randy Orton. The real number one contender should be… MISTERRR KENNE…"
Kennedy was suddenly interrupted when Riot Time hit. The WWE Champion Machetti came out from the back and stood on top of the entrance ramp. "What the hell," started Machetti, "are you three under the delusion that you can decide who gets to be Number One Contender… with out me? Come on, I'm the champ, I think I should have some sort of say in this. Look, Randy's booked in a title match at SummerSlam, but it doesn't say anything about matches happening before that. So instead of creating problems like you three, I'm going to create solutions."
Machetti paused for a moment and stared at the three wrestler in the ring, then turned to look at Kennedy specifically, "Kennedy, you think you're so much better than Carlito? Then why don't you prove it? Tonight you can face Bobby Lashley in a singles match. I faced Lashley at the Great American Bash, I know what he's capable of, even if he isn't at one hundred percent. Kennedy, if you can beat him, then maybe you do deserve to be Number One Contender."
"Alright you're on!" snapped Kennedy, "and after I beat Bobby Lashley in the middle of this ring tonight, I'm coming for you Machetti, so you' d better be ready!"
"I'm looking forward to it," answered Machetti with a smirk, before turning to Carlito, "now I'm sorry Carly, but I have no idea what you were thinking, when you claimed you deserved to be Number One Contender…"
"Are you mocking Carlito!" snapped Carlito, "Carlito has always been one of Raw's top superstars. Carlito has waited patiently for the last three years, now it's Carlito's turn!"
"Is that so?" questioned Machetti, "listen Carlito, if you think you're one of Raw's top superstars, then maybe you should face one of Raw's top superstars."
"Now that's what Carlito's talking about!" exclaimed Carlito.
Machetti smirked and turned to Cena, "Cena, why don't you meet fight Carlito later tonight? You've always been one of the top guys, if Carlito thinks he can hang with us, let him prove it, tonight. And once that's over, maybe I'll consider facing one of you guys for the title."
"Alright," replied Cena as he yanked Carlito's mic away from him, "there's just one thing 'champ' the three of us all have matches tonight, what are you going to be doing?"
"Me?" questioned Machetti, "well you know, now that I've seen the three of you out here claiming you're worthy of being Number One Contenders, and the ACTUAL Number One Contender is busy tonight, I think I'll go check out that locker room and see if there's anyone else back there who thinks they should be a contender. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go shake up the show some more."
With that Riot Time hit once again, and Machetti headed to the back, completely oblivious to the three superstars in the ring that were glaring at him and mouthing that they'd face him next week.
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When Raw came back from the commercial Machetti was shown walking backstage when he came across Mickie James, Maria, and Candice Michelle. "Hey Machetti," exclaimed Maria as she ran up to him and gave him a hug. "We've got our six diva tag match up next, do you want to come down to ringside with us?"
"I was just out there," replied Machetti, "are you sure you need me?"
"Well Mickie and I won last week, and now that we have Candice on our team, those other three won't stand a chance!"
"Don't worry," Mickie answered for Maria, "we'll be able to handle this. Come on, let's get out there." Mickie grabbed Maria's hand and pulled her off screen, leaving Machetti alone with Candice.
"Aren't you going to go with them?" Machetti asked the Women's Champion.
"I'll catch up," she answered as she approached Machetti looking a little uncertain, "I just wanted to thank you for making sure I was okay last week."
"Oh, don't worry," Machetti said with a smirk, "I'm just glad I was able to stop Umaga before he hurt you."
"So am I," agreed Candice as she slowly walked up to Machetti with an unreadable expression on her face. Candice turned her head and looked to the side to make sure they were alone, then she suddenly grabbed and kissed him right on the lips. Machetti was taken completely by surprise allowing Candice to push him up against a wall as she continued to assault Machetti's lips with hers. Then as quickly as she had started, Candice pulled away, "Thanks," Candice said simply, then she ran off, leaving an extremely flustered WWE Champion behind her.
The cameras quickly cut to the arena, where Melina's theme music hit. She and her team came out from the back and headed down to the ring. It was time to start the six-diva tag team match.
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As soon as the match ended Machetti came out from the back and rushed down to the ring. Machetti quickly slid under the bottom rope and crawled over to Maria to check if she was okay. Her pretty face had just been slammed hard into the mat with a double facebuster from Melina and Beth. Melina, Jillian, and Beth headed to the back victorious while Machetti checked on Maria while occasionally shooting glances at Candice who was standing nearby.
But suddenly Santino Marella's theme music hit. Machetti stood up and glared at the entrance ramp as Santino came out from the back, with a mic in his hand. It looked Santino had something to say, but before he had a chance to say it, Raw went to a commercial.
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When Raw came back Machetti and Santino were alone in the ring, while a referee stood in between the two of them in an effort to restrain them. During the break Machetti had made sure that Maria and the other divas were out of the way, just in case this got messy.
"Machetti, if you are looking for an opponent tonight. I want to face you. I does not even have to for the title. I will prove that I deserve to be here in the WWE when I beat you, the WWE Champion, in the middle of the ring."
Machetti suddenly reached out and snatched the mic away from Santino. "You think you honestly think you can beat me?" questioned Machetti, "I've been kicking your ass for a while now, and quite frankly I'm starting to lose interest. So save yourself the humiliation, and get out of here before you get hurt."
As a response, Santino pushed passed the referee, then shoved Machetti pushing him backwards a few steps. "So that's how its gonna be huh?" asked Machetti, "alright, I guess I'll have to teach you this lesson again." Before the referee even had a chance to ring the bell, Machetti pushed him out of the way, then charged at Santino and drove his arms into Santino's chest, shoving Santino backwards just as Santino had just done to him. The only difference was that Machetti had added momentum from running forward, so when he shoved Santino, Santino fell backwards and landed on his ass.
Santino quickly got up and yelled at the referee to ring the bell, he was furious. The referee didn't know who he was angrier with, Machetti for pushing him out of the way, or Santino for yelling at him. So the ref simply shrugged then called for the bell, this was going to be an actual match. Santino quickly charged at Machetti, but Machetti suddenly dropped down and caught Santino with a drop toe hold, causing his face to go crashing down to the mat. Machetti quickly rolled across Santino's back, then slapped him on the back of the head before backing off and getting back to his feet.
Machetti leaned back against the ropes and smirked at Santino, Santino shot up to his feet and ran at Machetti, but Machetti dove down to the mat, and rolled passed Santino, causing Santino to run into the ropes. Machetti quickly jumped up and caught Santino in time to launch him through the air for a hip toss. Santino came crashing down with a thud, but shook it off and quickly got back up to his feet. Santino once again ran at Machetti, but Machetti caught him with an arm drag, sending him back down to the mat.
Santino got back up and stalked over to Machetti and stood in front of him, then went to shove Machetti again, but this time Machetti was ready, and when Santino went to push him, he simply stepped back, causing Santino to stumble forward. Machetti quickly raised his hand then slapped Santino across the face while he was off balance. Santino stumbled backwards while Machetti stood where he was and shrugged.
Santino held a hand to his face where Machetti and slapped him and glared at Machetti. Santino quickly reached out and grabbed Machetti's arm, then whipped Machetti into the corner. Santino then charged at the corner and ran at Machetti full speed, then jumped up into the air when he got close, looking for a crossbody. But Machetti suddenly grabbed Santino's sides and lifted him up, while dropping down to the mat, causing Santino's face to slam hard into the top turnbuckle pad as he came down.
Machetti let got of Santino and watched as he bounced off of the turnbuckle and staggered back into the middle of the ring. Machetti quickly capitalized and jumped up onto the middle rope, then launched himself at Santino, grabbed him, then swung around and planted him with a vicious tornado DDT. Machetti got off of Santino and got back up to his feet, then Machetti raised his arms into the air and walked over to the ropes and was met with a surprisingly loud cheer from the fans.
Machetti slowly lowered his arm then turned around and leaned back against the ropes while he watched Santino slowly push himself up off of the mat and get to his feet. Santino turned and glared at Machetti, who pushed off of the ropes and walked into the middle of the ring.
Santino then held his hands up in front of him and called for a lock up. Machetti stared at Santino, then shrugged and brought his hands up to Santino's for a lock up. Santino tried pushing Machetti backwards, but the two wrestlers were similar in size and matched in strength, so Machetti managed to prevent himself from going anywhere. Santino realized that he would need a lot more power if he was going to push Machetti.
So while maintaining the lock up, Santino stepped back a few steps, then rushed forward and went to push Machetti with the added momentum. But Machetti saw Santino coming and in one motion pulled his hands away and stepped to the side, causing Santino to stumbled and fall forward on his face. Machetti quickly jumped up and did a front flip, then came crashing back-first down on top of Santino for a standing senton. Machetti then rolled off of Santino and got back up to his feet.
Santino glared up at Machetti from the mat then pushed himself up off of the mat. But before getting up to his feet, Santino quickly reached out and grabbed Machetti's arm, then while still on he knees, popped his hips and launched Machetti over his head with a arm drag. But while he was flying through the air, Machetti managed to maneuver his legs underneath him, then landed on his feet.
Then in one fast movement, Machetti jumped up into the air, spun one hundred eighty degrees, and then drove his feet into Santino's face for a spinning dropkick, knocking Santino onto his back, while he came crashing down on his. But Machetti was immediately back up on his feet, then he ran at Santino, jumped up into the air and did a back-flip, then came crashing down with a standing shooting star press.
But instead of going for the pin, Machetti rolled off of Santino and got back up. Machetti glanced down at his opponent then walked to the corner. Machetti stopped for a moment to give the announce team a thumbs up, then went to the corner and pulled himself up onto the second ropes so he could sit on the top turnbuckle pad. Machetti then watched from his 'seat' as Santino slowly sat up and got back up to his feet. Santino turned and glared at Machetti, who pretended to look at a watch on his wrist and asked, "Are we almost done?"
Santino suddenly ran at Machetti and jumped up onto the middle rope, then he grabbed Machetti arm, jumped backwards off of the ropes, while launching Machetti over his head for a middle rope arm drag. Machetti came crashing down to the mat and while Santino got back up to his feet, and finally found himself with the upper-hand in the match up.
Santino quickly turned around and climbed back up onto the middle rope, then kept climbing and got up onto the top rope. Santino turned around and saw Machetti pushing himself up off of the mat with his back to him. Santino waited until Machetti was on his feet, then launched himself across the ring at Machetti as he turned around, CROSSBO… NO! MACHETTI CAUGHT SANTINO! Machetti smirked as he held Santino up in front of him, then hit the Machete's Blade, ONE… TWO… THREE! That's it!
Riot Timehit as Machetti smirked down at Santino and got back up to his feet. Machetti quickly left to get a mic, then came back and stood over Santino. "You were the one who wanted to have a match, I just hope that getting your ass handed to you was a learning experience." Machetti then dropped the mic on top of Santino and left the ring. When Machetti was half way up the ramp, he turned around and raised his arms into the air, and was met with another surprisingly loud pop from the fans.
Machetti walked backwards the rest of the way up the ramp, then turned around and headed to the back. The night was still young, and he had something else he needed to do.
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The main event had just ended. Halfway through the match Randy Orton had come down to ringside to watch. But when Cena went for the Five Knuckle Shuffle Orton jumped up onto the ring apron. Cena turned around and started arguing with Randy, allowing Carlito to sneak in and hit Cena with the Backstabber for the upset win. Carlito took a second to get over the shock of actually winning, then got an apple and spat it in Cena's face.
Carlito then left, leaving Orton on his own, with Cena down in the ring. Orton slid into the ring then backed away from Cena and waited for him to get up to his hands and knees. He had already taken out Sgt. Slaughter earlier, if he took out Cena now then there would be no doubt that he was the Number One Contender. But suddenly, Riot Time hit. The fans exploded with a loud cheer as Machetti, Paul London, and Brian Kendrick came running out from the back.
Chaos Inc. sprinted down the ramp then slid into the ring. London and Kendrick checked on Cena while Machetti stood in front of Orton and held his WWE Title up in front of him. Orton stared at the title for a moment, then grinned at Machetti and gestured to his waist, signaling that he was going to be wearing that very belt, very soon. Orton then left the ring and headed up the entrance ramp.
Orton stopped halfway up the ramp and glared at Machetti, who walked over to the ropes and stared right back at Orton. "I'm ready for you!" yelled Machetti, as London and Kendrick got up and stood beside him, "just wait until SummerSlam, let's see you try that on me!" And with that the logo flashed and Raw went off the air.
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Yeah… I don't like Santino very much.
'Till Next Time…
Peace!