And now it's the night of NXT and the SmackDown tapings. Now Stef and Mike had went on the Asia tour with Raw. So I had to play the pro for tonight.
"This double elimination has be worried. No one likes you apparently." I say, tapping my fingers on an equipment crate.
"That may be true, but I'll make it through, I hope." Alex tries to reassure me.
"I hope so too. I wish Mike and Stef were here. It's not the same without them."
"I know. They're in Asia, but at least we're not far from his place, and he left us the keys to it so it's not like we have to go back to a hotel after the night is over."
"Right. Well you've made it this far, you've got to make it to the finale."
"It lays in the hands of the pros and Universe. We'll see what happens at the end of the night."
"Of course." I nod.
"Now it looks like you're needed out there...pro." He grins, giving me a quick kiss.
I smile back after the kiss and I head out of the curtain and take my seat on the stage as we all wait for the show to start. After sitting there for a while it does indeed start, like it always does. A video package plays of last week where Jon had gotten eliminated, and then talking about how tonight is going to be a double elimination, where only three rookies will remain. After that was the show's intro.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your remaining NXT rookies."
"Husky Harris."
"Kaval."
"Michael McGillicutty."
"Alex Riley."
"Showtime Percy Watson."
"Ladies and gentlemen, as you are aware, tonight we will have a double elimination. Which means that, by the end of tonight, three of you will be one step closer to our season finale in two weeks and once step closer to becoming the WWE's next breakout star. But the pressure is on. So we'd like to give you an opportunity so speak your mind. We're gonna give you one minute to talk about anything you want with the exception of why you should not be eliminated. So Showtime Percy Watson, why don't you step forward. Why don't you...tell me what your topic is."
"3-D."
"Topic is 3-D, very interesting, go right ahead. You got one minute go."
"Okay look here. Now I didn't say Double D, 'cause that would take a little long, you know what I'm sayin'? A little more than a minute, you know what I'm sayin'? But here. 3-D is this. The way I live my life. Desire, determination and dedication. Desire, you got to know what you want. And you've got to be dedicated to your craft baby, you've got to put the time in, you know what I'm sayin. And you got to be able to go get it. And you better believe that Showtime Percy Watson has desire, determination, dedication to win season 2 NXT, you better believe that baby, you know what I'm sayin'! Oh yeah!"
"Okay then." I shake my head.
"Thank you Showtime. Alex Riley let's keep this moving, what's gonna be your topic?"
Before he could even talk, everyone or almost everyone boos. I scoff.
"Really? Well this will help you guys out, my topic is Alex Riley. Now I know that my behavior this year on NXT might not have uh...come correct with the WWE Universe and I...I can't help but thinking maybe I made a mistake on the way I approached this contest being ranked 5th tonight. I mean maybe...maybe I shouldn't have picked on poor little Kaval all season. I mean listen, he could barely even defend himself in real life."
I snicker.
"And maybe...maybe I shouldn't have thrown a rabbit's foot at a guy named Lucky Cannon. I mean, that's a little disrespectful and Lucky if you're watching, don't worry about not having the job thing man, the world needs plenty of bartenders."
"I'll have to apologize to Charity for that one." I say to myself through my laughter.
"And Matt, I definitely shouldn't have called you a nerd...on national television. Actually...actually you know what? That was pretty funny actually. I don't regret that one. But what I'm trying to say here is, I guess what I'm trying to say, that if I didn't do these things then I wouldn't be...I wouldn't be uh..." He trails off and before he can continue the buzzer sounds.
"...well I wouldn't be Alex Riley. You-" He stops when the mic is taken away.
"Thank you Alex Riley. Michael McGillicutty, what's your topic?"
"My topic is my competition behind me."
"Alright, you got one minute, go."
"First of all let's look at Percy Watson. I mean, I'm confused. Are you smiling? Or are you scared? I think you're scared. No you're scared. And then take a look here. We got Kaval. The man that says, it's not about the size of the dog in the fight, it's about the size of the fight that the dog brings, duh-duh-duh-duh! Have you ever seen a chiuaua in a fight? It's not good. We got Husky Harris. Sorry buddy, but I'm winning this thing. And then we have Alex Riley, the David Otunga of NXT 2."
"Oh don't you dare compare him to that loser." I mutter.
"The guy talks a lot, but he can't wrestle for a lick. Ladies and gentlemen, you're looking at the winner of NXT. You're looking at the most talented rookie in this competition. And you're looking at a future WWE Heavyweight Champion."
"Psh." I scoff as the buzzer goes off.
"Kaval please step forward. What's your topic?"
"Hey Matt, I'm just gonna have some fun tonight. The topic is going to be NXT. Alright, behind every great man is a great great woman. The problem for them is, I got two of em'."
I roll my eyes.
"You supposed to be chosen huh? The pick of the litter. Except I'ma be the hottest trending topic running Twitter. Get get her, boy is set. I'm gonna go far because what I do is leaving people standing in awe. Showtime you're too kind. Riley you just whine, and Joe, I mean Michael, you'll be a star in no time. But Husky's breaking molds and breaking all labels, but what he breaks best are called buffet tables. So go ahead, call me rookie, find out what I'm packing. Because I'm the only reason for some total nonstop action."
"Husky Harris, you got one minute big boy, what's your-" Striker gets cut off when the mic gets taken from him.
"Cowboy boots."
I raise an eyebrow.
"You see cowboy boots, if you grew up in the south like I did, well then you know that if you don't have a pair of cowboy boots, you just ain't tough. Naturally for me, I always had a pair of cowboy boots. You see these pair of cowboy boots right here? Check it out, get a nice little close up. These were Barry Windham's championship cowboy boots. When I put these on, I turn into something different, I turn into a monster, I turn into the army tank with the ferrari engine. You may know this, you may not know this, but the devil wears cowboy boots. What a coincidence, so do I."
"Booooo."
"Okay we've heard from the rookies...actually there's one thing I failed to mention to you guys. You know we're having a double elimination tonight right? We're gonna have our first elimination...right now actually. Just so you know, many of the WWE Superstars are on a blockbuster tour of Asia, but they have sent in their absentee ballots. So in conjunction with you the WWE Universe, you've been voting all week on , let's find out who will be eliminated.
"Not Alex, not Alex, please not Alex." I hope and pray.
The scanning stops and I hear the buzzer and look up to see that it's Percy who's been eliminated.
"Oh thank god."
"Ohhhh! Perc, man, you know what? Why don't you take this time, address the Universe, address the pros, show's yours man."
"Well first of all, I'd like to thank all of you out in the WWE Universe for all your support, you know what I'm sayin'. For all your votes for Showtime Percy Watson baby, you know what I'm sayin', thank you, oh yeah! And secondly, I want to thank my man right here. My pro, my mentor, Mr. MVP. I've learned so much from that man, I really appreciate it. The hardest working man in the business right there. Right there man. Hey, you know I can't be angry, I can't be bitter, because I have worked hard each and every day of my life to get to where I am. And I'ma continue to do so. So I guess now I'm gonna take this time to evaluate myself and continue to get better. But I'll tell you what. Showtime Percy Watson's gonna continue to have fun, he gonna continue to have a good time baby, you know what I'm sayin'? 'Cause best believe if you got the dime, I got the good time. Let me hear ya', one more time, let me hear you say it baby. Uh uh uh, oh yeah! Thank ya'll."
"One more time for Showtime Percy Watson! Let's not forget we got one more elimination coming later on tonight. Who's gonna be the WWE's next breakout star?!"
All men stay in the ring and talk with Percy, before deciding to get out and head to the back. Seeing as I was playing the pro for tonight, I had to stay out on the stage for now while Alex headed to the back. Kofi however had left the stage and headed to the back with McGillicutty. It got boring sitting out on the stage, so I decided to take out my phone and start to text Alex, figuring he'd be back in the locker room. I stayed talking to him while the first match had begun, Michael coming out with Kofi.
"The following contest is scheduled for one fall. Introducing first, being accompanied to the ring by Kofi Kingston. From Champlin, Minnesota. Weighing in at 230 pounds, Michael McGillicutty!" Jamie, the guest ring announcer introduced.
Just wish you were back here with me.
I know Alex. But playing the pro, I have to stay out here. But good news, I know you have a match, so once that comes around, I can leave and head back there where you are and accompany you to the ring like always.
Can't wait. Hope my match comes soon.
Me too.
"And his opponent, from Long Island, New York. Weighing in at 214 pounds, Zack Ryder!"
In the end, it was Zack hitting the Rough Ryder on Michael to pick up the win over the rookie. I make last minute notes about the match on the clipboard that was provided to me, while texting Alex. After a bit, going backstage, Kaval was with Michelle and Layla.
"Get fired up Kaval, get fired up Kaval, get fired up Kaval, yayyy." Michelle and Layla sing.
I roll my eyes and mock them.
"You ready Kaval? Ready to win?"
"You're gonna do this right?"
"You're gonna do this, 'cause we're winners."
"That's what we are."
"Okay on three, ready? One, two, three, win!" Michelle says and then they cheer him on until Michelle stops her.
"Lay, real talk? Is there something you want to tell me about the two of you?"
"No why?"
"Uh, what do you mean why? That kiss two weeks ago, you know what I'm talking about."
"Oh no, that was nothing. That girl was just gross."
"She was gross, but there was something there."
"No, I was helping him out."
"Lay, that was like way more than helping out. That was like extra credit, like you attacked him, I thought I was gonna have to pull you off of him."
"No Michelle, I'm a passionate person. It meant nothing."
"Sure, you'd tell me."
"Yeah, but he is kinda cute."
"He is cute and you know, you'd kinda be cute together."
"You know when I close my eyes, and I just like to listen to his voice." She says, opening her eyes and walking away.
"That's just weird Lay." Michelle states, and Husky walks through the doorway behind her, stops and smiles at her.
"Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by again?"
"Uh...you should walk by again." She says disgusted, walking away.
"Ooooh burn." I snicker.
"That's alright. After I beat your little boy tonight, then you'll see it my way." He calls after her.
It's shortly after that where that match had begun, out walked Cody and Husky to the ring first.
"The following contest is scheduled for one fall. Introducing first, being accompanied to the ring by Cody Rhodes, from Brooksfield, Florida. Weighing in at 300 pounds, Husky Harris!"
I roll my eyes and go back to typing on my phone. Then LayCool's music goes off and they walk out with Kaval.
"And his opponent, being accompanied to the ring by LayCool, from Brooklyn, New York. Weighing in 183 pounds, Kaval!"
"Good luck to you." I mumble to myself.
At the end of a hard-fought match, it was Kaval hitting the Warrior's Way to pick up the win over Husky. Since Alex's match was the third of the night, it was coming up next. So I took my clipboard with me and headed to the back to join Alex so we could go down to the ring together for his match.
"Finally, my match is next."
"I know. Took forever right?"
"Exactly. I believe we're getting the motion to go out."
And with that, they play Mike's music, since that's the music Alex goes out to with him all the time. We get into the ring, because we would have to wait before we're introduced. It's a short time after that when the match is introduced.
"The following contest is scheduled for onefall. Introducing first, accompanied by Kalena, from Washington DC. Weighing in at 251 pounds, Alex Riley!"
They then replay what Alex did on Monday, helping Mike deal with Daniel on Raw last night. I smirk as I cross my arms across my chest. Once Mike's music fades, Kofi's hits and he walks out with McGillicutty.
"And his opponent, being accompanied to the ring by Michael McGillicutty. From Guyana, West Africa. Weighing in at 223 pounds, Kofi Kingston!"
As he's getting into the ring, Alex removes his vest and hands it to me. He gets a kiss from me, before holding the ropes open for me to get out of the ring. I do so, standing ringside to cheer him on.
"You got this Alex!" I cheer from ringside.
The bell rings and Alex goes right for the lock up, and pushes Kofi into the corner. The ref gets a one count, before backing up and taunting Kofi. That causes Kofi to go at him with kicks to both legs, getting Alex backed up into the opposite corner. Kofi sends him into the corner he came out of and Alex comes off as Kofi runs to him and Kofi ends up hitting the middle turnbuckle with his shoulder. Alex takes advantage and then goes for the cover, Kofi kicks out at two.
"That's alright, show him what you've got!"
"Hey, stop giving him pointers! You're not his real pro." McGillicutty yells to me.
"And you're just a rookie!" I yell back. "So I would shut up." I add.
Alex gets him in a hold, but Kofi gets to his feet and out of the hold. Kofi tries to get away, but Alex slams him back onto the apron. Alex goes over to the corner and hops up to the top and sits there. He jumps from the middle rope, only for Kofi to lift his feet so they connect with his jaw.
"Come on Alex!" I yell.
Alex tries to fight back, but Kofi overpowers him and gets him into the adjacent corner.
"Get him off ref!" I scream, and he listens actually, pulling Kofi off.
Once Kofi goes back, Alex goes for a clothesline, but Kofi ducks and keeps knocking Alex back down. He knocks him down again with a flying clothesline. He runs around in a circle around Alex and hits the Boom Drop. He then signals for the Trouble in Paradise.
"No no no no no."
When Alex turns around, it connects and Kofi pins Alex.
"Here is your winner, Kofi Kingston."
I sigh, waiting for Kofi and McGillicutty to move away from him for me to slide into the ring and go to his side.
"Are you alright?" I ask concerned, checking him.
"I'll probably have a headache..."
"Then let's get you to the back and I'll give you some aspirin." I say as I help him to a sitting position.
He nods and then I help him get to his feet and exit the ring, helping him to the back. While we're in the back, Striker is in the ring with Cole and Josh.
"Alright, I'm here with Michael Cole Josh Matthews. Guys, you sit behind the desk every week, you know these rookies better than anybody. Real quick, Michael, who should win and who should be eliminated and why?"
"Well Matt, impact means...and I quote. It means the ability to affect change. Who has affected change, who has made the most impact, who should win Season 2? That's easy. Alex Riley should win Season 2. Now who's made the least amount of impact? Who should be eliminated? Well it's the person who has...no charisma. It's the person who uh...well coming into tonight, had a worse record than all the eliminated Season 2 rookies. And it's the person who's an internet creation, who is an internet darling, just like Susan Boyle was. Although as we learned tonight, Susan Boyle sings much better. The person who should be eliminated, Kaval. And when he's eliminated, he should take with him, this. That very unimpactful stare."
"I couldn't agree more." I nod.
"Thank you Michael. Josh, same question to you. Go ahead."
"Okay. Now that the Michael Cole show is over, I know it's not the popular thing to do and a lot of people disagree with him every week on Monday Night Raw, but I gotta agree with you Cole. I think you're absolutely right. With what we saw tonight from Kaval, and what we saw from the other NXT rookies, I do think Kaval should be eliminated. And I think Alex Riley should win NXT."
"Two for two." I kiss Alex's cheek.
"Alright, there you have it. Tonight, someone's going home."
"Well the elimination is up next, gotta be out on the stage. See you out there?" I ask.
"Of course." He kisses me quick before letting me go and I head back out to my chair on the stage.
Shortly after, Husky, Alex, Michael and Kaval all went down to the ring and stood on the outside.
"Alright the time is upon us. Rookies, you've given us everything over the last 11 weeks. You've given us everything mentally, physically, emotionally. Whomever remains here tonight, will be one step closer to being the WWE's next breakout star and once step closer to earning a championship match live on pay-per-view. Let's not forget that our season finale is in two weeks. But before we get there, one of you will be eliminated. Let's find out who's going home."
I mumble to myself that Alex stay and after the long drumroll, the buzzer goes off on Husky.
"Hah! Yes!" I jump out of my chair in happiness.
Cody however gets out of his chair shocked. "What? How dare you? How dare you-all of you! Pros?! Hah. Zack Ryder, yeah you're a pro, good luck in your future endeavors pal. And Layla, you're so busy just wanting to make out with NXT rookie, you're a real pro! And you people, yeah you should really have a say in this. Oh yeah yeah. It's only fitting! It's only fitting that I would say this in one of the laziest parts of the country! You people stand outside the fire, you have no idea what it's like to be a pro!"
"Cody, Cody-"
Then Husky and Cody get into an argument.
"Husky, hold up, your time is coming and I'm telling these people why." Cody states, turning to Alex. "You? Make an impact, I dare you! Miz? Yeah he's awesome. But you? You're awful."
"Psh, real original." I scoff and roll my eyes as he moves onto McGillicutty.
"And you. You wanna be Mr. Perfect Jr so bad that you can taste it. Well you know why you don't go by Mr. Perfect? Because you don't deserve it. And Kaval. Hahaha, Kaval-" He says as he starts to attack him. That causes a fight to break out. MVP, Kofi and Zack go running down to help. I'm the only one who remained on the stage, until I felt it sage to walk down to be with Alex. Layla and Michelle yell at Husky as I stand by Alex's side. Husky eventually gets up and walks to the ramp to be with Cody. Alex mockingly says 'bye' to Husky as he and Cody walk up the ramp.
The had ended there and we all made our way to the back so they could set up for SmackDown which would be taping soon. Once we get to the back, I almost jump on Alex in happiness because he's made it another week.
"I'm sooooo happy! Just have to make it through next week and you're in the finale! I'm sure Mike and Stef are proud of you. Especially Mike. I'm gonna text them and tell them. Let's get back to the locker room so you can change in the meantime."
He nods and we head that way while I text Mike and Stef, telling them that Alex made another week. When we get there, he goes into the changing area and gets changed back into his street clothes, and we head back to Mike's place for the night since we're not needed for SmackDown. I would've had a match, but most of the Divas went overseas
Since Mike and Stef were overseas in Japan, they had to do a lot of media to promote WWE. But not only that, they had live events to do as well, which Stef was a part of. They had another show tonight, so their day was busy.
"I really wish we were back in the states for NXT. I wonder how Alex did."
"I believe I can tell you. Kalena just texted me. Alex made it another week."
"He did?!"
"Mmhmm."
"One step closer to the finale! And being the winner of NXT. This is great."
"All he has to do is make it through next week and then it's onto the finale."
"And I'm sure he'll be able to do that. Depending on the crowd...and the rest of the pros."
"Right. Well we have some hours to kill before the show. See the sights?"
"Of course."
And with that, they got back into the car and drove around the city to see all the major sights.
Kind of made this chapter short. Didn't realize until the last second that most of the Raw superstars had gone overseas to Japan during the week of this episode of NXT. And considering I don't know what the match results were, depending on if there was a show or not at the time, it just gets confusing on what to write. So I know this was short, but I had to do it. And I know there wasn't much of Stef and Mike, but I'll be sure to put more in other chapters. Like I said, just got confusing to write considering the situation.