Tuesday Night Smackdown – May 29th 2018
After a video package to recap what had happened at Payback, Smackdown went live with Renee Young back on commentary.
"Welcome, everyone, to Tuesday Night Smackdown. Renee Young alongside Jonathan Coachman and Corey Graves."
The Vega Cartel's music hit, firing the crowd up straight away into aggressive booing.
"Here they come!" Graves exclaimed as the team walked through the curtain. "Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe, the Smackdown Tag Team Champions. Bayley, the Smackdown Women's Champion. Seth Rollins, the WWE Champion. And at the front, their leader, the woman who destroyed you at Payback, Renee, Zelina Vega."
"Destroyed," Renee scoffed. "She beat me, Corey. She didn't destroy me."
"That's not how it looked to me when she had your head bouncing off our table like a rubber ball."
"Can we leave the bickering for a moment?" Coach cut in. "We should probably be talking about the fact that, as Corey just described, The Vega Cartel managed to scrape their way out of Payback with their championships intact."
"Barely," Renee grumbled. "Bayley got herself disqualified against Carmella for refusing to break a submission hold, and Seth Rollins managed to steal a pin on Finn Balor after AJ Styles hit him with a Phenomenal Forearm."
"You're either the champion or you're not," Graves said.
The Cartel were in the ring and Bobby had fetched a microphone for Zelina. She had a triumphant announcement to make when their theme music faded out. "I came, I saw, I kicked Renee Young's ass!"
"Yes!" Graves exclaimed, laughing delightedly while the fans howled their displeasure at Vega.
Renee made no comment.
"I did exactly what I said I was going to do at Payback," Zelina went on, then moved over to stand in front of her prize tag team. "Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode did exactly what I said they were going to do." She moved on to Bayley, with the boos still raining down. "Bayley did exactly what I said she was going to do." She moved on to Seth, who was greeted with even louder disapproval. "Seth Rollins did exactly what I said he was going to do. I said they would all leave Payback as champions, and here they stand before you. Get on your feet and applaud them!" she ordered the crowd.
"Yeah, that'll work," Renee said sarcastically over the latest boos.
Looking around the arena with utter contempt, Zelina said, "Just what I'd expect from the inhabitants of a hole like this."
A small group of fans began the second obscene chant in as many weeks to be directed at Zelina, such was the heat she had with the audience. "Fuck you, Vega!" could be faintly heard over the booing. More people began to pick the chant up, and it was soon clearly audible.
Before Zelina could respond, Joe gently took the microphone from her. "Shut the hell up and show some respect!" he roared at the crowd, firing them up even more.
"The atmosphere's getting nasty in here," Coach observed. "The fans utterly despise Zelina Vega and her cartel."
"They're not the only ones," Renee muttered.
Having stopped the excessively abusive chant, Joe deferentially handed the microphone back to Zelina.
"The only piece of bad news at Payback," she continued after a moment, "was that WWE's board of directors inexplicably decided to vote in favour of keeping Stephanie McMahon in her position as Smackdown's commissioner."
The crowd began to cheer, then Stephanie's music hit and they roared their approval.
"Speaking of the commissioner, there she is!" Renee called out as the boss entered the arena. "Stephanie McMahon has the backing of the board of directors, and she has managed to come to terms with Daniel Bryan so that they'll put their differences aside and work together as a management team."
"I was surprised to see that, quite frankly," Coach said. "But it had to be a big boost to Stephanie's hopes of ridding Smackdown of The Vega Cartel. We know that has to be her primary aim."
"McMahon mentioned killing the snake by cutting of it's head," Graves reminded everyone. "That was a direct threat to Zelina Vega, and I admit, I'm concerned by it."
Stephanie entered the ring, immediately being crowded by the cartel members in an attempt to make her feel uncomfortable. "Back off!" she ordered them, not intimidated in the least. "Vega, I'm here to talk directly to you. You can have your little minions stand down, unless you want me to start firing them?"
Zelina gave Stephanie a glare that might have killed a lesser person, but with a simple hand gesture, she had the cartel members step back. They moved around to stand behind their leader. "What do you want, McMahon?" she snarled. "My people jumped through all your little hoops at Payback, and they emerged unscathed. I even wrestled the match you put me in, and won. Yes, you can add being a wrestler to my significant list of accomplishments now," she proclaimed with a sickening level of arrogance.
Stephanie smiled, her eyes gleaming as she wagged her finger in approval of that final sentence. The gesture seemed surprising, at first. "You know, Zelina, I actually agree with you. You were impressive in your match against Renee Young, and you won! You're a WWE superstar now!" The warmth in Stephanie's voice was contrasted by the coldness in her eyes.
"Where's she going with this?" Graves asked warily, while Zelina was shown starting to look a little less sure of herself.
"And you know what that means?" Stephanie went on in that same overly-warm tone. "It means I'm going to put you in another match!" The noise in the crowd rose noticeably.
"Uh oh," Coach said, without any hint of sympathy for Zelina.
Suddenly, the faux warmth vanished from Stephanie's voice, being replaced by cold menace. "You see, you gambled big when you engineered that no confidence vote against me, Zelina. You gambled big, and you lost. I now have the full backing of the board of directors, and that put me in a strong enough position to get on the phone to my brother after Payback and negotiate a trade."
"A trade?" Renee echoed, puzzled.
Zelina now looked openly nervous about whatever news she might be about to get, as did the cartel members behind her. "What are you saying?" she asked cautiously.
"What I'm saying is that you, Zelina, will be competing in three weeks at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, and your opponent will be Tuesday Night Smackdown's newest signing..." She pointed towards the entrance while a lot of the fans got to their feet in anticipation, all looking in that direction.
Bad Reputation by Joan Jett began to play, sending the crowd into meltdown.
"Oh my God!" Renee screamed in delight. "Stephanie McMahon has signed Ronda Rousey! Rousey and Vega! I can't wait to see that!"
"No. No. This can't be happening," Graves protested.
"It is," Coach confirmed as Ronda strode out onto the stage, to another roar from the crowd. She had her game face on, despite the incredible reaction she had gotten.
Zelina was shown looking like she had seen a ghost, or maybe the Grim Reaper. She was staring at her next opponent in abject horror. Behind her, Seth could be seen with his head in his hands.
"Vega looks like she just wet herself," Renee said gleefully. "In three weeks, she's going to be in the ring with the undefeated Rowdy Ronda Rousey, the baddest woman on the planet!"
Ronda had walked briskly to the ring. She stepped through the ropes and accepted Stephanie's offer of a handshake while Zelina backed away between Seth and Bayley, literally hiding behind her cartel.
"Where's Zelina gone?" Stephanie asked after Ronda's music faded, pretending she couldn't see her. "Oh, there she is. It's okay, Zelina, you can come out," she said as if she was talking to a scared cat hiding under a bed. "Ronda's not going to hit you, are you, Ronda?"
Ronda shook her head to confirm she would not, so Zelina reluctantly stepped forward again, still looking terrified. The cartel members looked ready to jump in and save her at the first inkling of any violence.
The crowd cheered as Rousey took a step closer to Vega. The difference in both height and physique between the two women was stark. Loving the idea of the match that Stephanie had announced, the fans started chanting, "Ronda's gonna kill you!"
"These people are sick," Graves objected strongly.
"They're just stating a fact," Renee countered smugly. "Vega's going to get what's coming to her this time. It's fantastic!"
"Oh, there's just one more thing I forgot to mention," Stephanie said once the fans had settled down a bit. "I said that it will be Zelina Vega versus Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank, but I forgot to say that it will be a lion's den match."
The crowd erupted again as Coach shouted, "Vega locked in the lion's den with Rowdy Ronda Rousey? That's legalised murder!"
"Zelina, think of something, quick," Graves pleaded.
In a state on panic, the cartel had defensively surrounded Zelina. They appeared to trying to convince her to refuse the match, although Stephanie had presented it as an order, not an option.
"I don't know what the debate is about," Renee said. "Vega's not going to be able to talk her way out of this one. The match has been made."
While the discussion continued, Stephanie and Ronda were shown glancing at each other with quizzical expressions on their faces.
Vega was laying the law down to her people now, but what she was saying couldn't be heard. With nothing to react to, the fans started chanting, "Ronda Rousey!"
Once Zelina was done with her little speech, the cartel parted ways and she stepped forward towards Stephanie and Ronda.
"When you're ready, Vega," Stephanie said sarcastically, looking at her watch.
"Shut up and listen to me," Zelina barked at her. The fans booed, so she repeated herself for their benefit. "I said shut up and listen to me!" The reaction, of course, got worse.
"What's wrong with these idiots?" Graves said.
Vega gave up on trying to shut them up, so she just said what was on her mind. "Okay, McMahon, you want me in the lion's den with her?" She pointed at Ronda. "You want to sign Rowdy Ronda Rousey specifically to try and take me out? Fine. I'll step into the lion's den at Money in the Bank, but if I'm going to risk it all by doing that, so are you. This place is only big enough for one of us."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Renee wondered as Vega paused for a second.
"I'll fight Ronda, but I want a stipulation added," Vega said. "And that stipulation is that if I win, Stephanie, you resign as commissioner of Smackdown."
Stephanie and Ronda both laughed at that idea, along with the fans. "Let me get this straight," Stephanie chuckled. "You want me to agree to resign if you can beat Rowdy Ronda Rousey in the lion's den?"
"That's what I just said," Vega snapped.
"Alright, since that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, you've got a deal," Stephanie said, grinning. "However, I wasn't born yesterday. There will also be a second stipulation: If any member of The Vega Cartel comes within fifty feet of the lion's den during the match, I'll fire every single one of them on the spot. If you want me gone, you'll have to beat Ronda without any of your little puppets helping you."
"I don't know about this, Zelina," Graves cautioned.
"Alright, you've got your match," Zelina snarled, her ego possibly taking over. "After Money is the Bank is over, we'll finally be rid of you for good, and I will put my name forward to succeed you as commissioner. Then it won't just be The Vega Cartel on Smackdown, it will The Vega Era!"
Taking Stephanie by surprise, Ronda snatched her microphone and addressed Zelina. "You want to stop worrying about Steph, and start worrying about me. For the past two months, I've been watching you every Tuesday night and all I've wanted to do is take this fist and smash you right in the face with it."
The fans cheered their approval of that vision as Ronda stood there with her left fist clenched. Zelina looked at the fist and gulped.
"After I'm done with you, and the paramedics drag your ass out of the lion's den, we won't be talking about The Vega Era, we'll be talking about the Vega in ICU Era, and that's if you're lucky. By the time Money in the Bank is over, The Vega Cartel will be without a leader." Ronda dropped the microphone and her music hit as she and Stephanie left the ring.
Zelina was shown, looking for the second time like she had seen a ghost after hearing Ronda's threat.
"I think Vega's just realising what she's got in store in three weeks," Renee said. "She's going to be locked in a cage with Rowdy Ronda Rousey, the most dangerous female cage fighter in the world, and she's going to have no one to help her. It's going to be brutal. It's going to be savage. Vega is going to get mauled, and Ronda has promised to take her out for good. I can't wait. If I wasn't already on commentary, I'd buy a ticket to see it."
Graves countered, "But if Zelina can somehow, some way, get a win over Rousey, Stephanie McMahon has to resign as Smackdown's commissioner. At least we've got something to fight for."
"We?" Coach mocked. "We? What, are you on the Vega payroll now, Corey? Maybe you can get the top job after Money in the Bank, because we'll have seen the last of Zelina by the time Ronda's done with her."
Earlier that night
Zelina had arrived for Smackdown excited to see what was going to be next for her, and also for Seth and the rest of their group. When she had looked at her copy of the script for the show, she had been surprised. The section for the opening segment simply said, 'Vega Cartel – McMahon in-ring segment re Money in the Bank match.'
"That's nice and specific," she complained, showing the script to Bayley and Sonya Deville, her two friends in the women's locker room.
"Does it mean the Money in the Bank ladder match?" Bayley wondered.
"If so, which one?" Sonya added.
"I assume it means a match for me," Zelina said. "After all, they had Steph make that threat to me last night about doing something that would make me wish I'd never signed for Smackdown."
"It's a shame we're all heels," Sonya said. "I'd love to go at it with either of you guys."
Zelina had to agree. Since Sonya had joined Smackdown, the higher-ups had done away with her MMA fighter gimmick; a decision that had come as a surprise to everyone. She now played a security guard type of character, wearing body armour and carrying a police baton, which she often used on her opponents during or following matches. Older fans would have seen similarities to The Big Boss Man's heel character from the attitude era.
"With your new character, it's more likely they could add you to the cartel," Bayley thought out loud.
"That won't happen," Zelina said regretfully. "I remember Hunter saying a few weeks ago that there won't be any additions to the group for the foreseeable future. Plus we couldn't fit another member on the bus, anyway."
"That's true," Bayley admitted. Including Elena, the bus currently carried six people, with four bunks and a double bed available to sleep them.
"Shame, but at least they're pushing me," Sonya said with a smile.
"Guys, I'm going to go find out what the deal is with this," Zelina said, brandishing the script. "It makes me edgy not knowing what I've got to get ready for."
"Okay. Come back and let us know," Bayley said, before continuing the conversation with Sonya.
Feeling irritable, Zelina left the locker room. "Vega – McMahon segment," she muttered to herself. "Who would type up a format with that little info on it?"
Heading towards Hunter's office, Zelina got about halfway there before she saw the boss walking towards her. "Ah, Zelina, perfect," he said with a smile of greeting. "I was just coming to find you. I see you've got your format."
For what use it is, Zelina thought. "Yeah. I was coming to get some more info," she said politely.
"Exactly why I was coming to get you. Follow me."
"Okay," she replied uncertainly as he turned and led the way back towards his office.
"The reason there's not much detail on the format is that the decision on which way to proceed was only made this morning, and the formats had already been produced."
Zelina felt worried again. Last minute plans could often turn out not to be good plans. For it to have gone this way, there likely had to have been disagreement on the booking team, and that was not good either.
"I'm happy to say that the idea I was pushing for is the one that's got the go ahead," Hunter was saying.
That seems to be happening quite a bit lately, at least where I'm concerned, she thought. It was no secret by now that Hunter was very high on her as a talent, and she owed him a lot of gratitude for the way she was being pushed. Apparently, the push was about to continue in some way. Whatever was going on, she forced the irritation over the format out of her mind, reminding herself of how lucky she was to be in the position she was in.
Hunter reached the door to his office, pushed it open and stood there holding it open for her to go in before him. "Come in and meet your next opponent, who joins Smackdown as of tonight."
Walking into the office, Zelina stopped in her tracks when she saw Ronda Rousey, of all people, casually standing in front of her, beside Stephanie McMahon. She felt the sensation of her head spinning, the same way it had when she had first been told about The Vega Cartel. Surely Hunter and Stephanie were about to laugh, revealing the whole thing to be a rib?
"Hi, Zelina," Ronda said in a friendly manner, offering her hand.
Zelina realised she must have looked like a total idiot, standing there with a dumbstruck expression on her face. Either an idiot or a rabbit in the headlights. "Hey, Ronda," she managed to say, shaking hands.
Behind her, Hunter closed the door. "Alright, let's start by talking about tonight, then we can get into what's going to happen at Money in the Bank."
The first thing Zelina did after being dismissed from the office was take out her phone. She just had to text Seth with the news, even though he would probably think she was joking around. She typed out a quick message: Holy shit! Just been to Hunter's office. I'm wrestling Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank, in a lion's den match!
As she walked along the hallway, a reply arrived quickly.
Seth Rollins: Woah! Are you serious right now? Ronda's not even on Smackdown!
Yes, I'm serious. Ronda was there in the office. She's really nice. She's on Smackdown and Nakamura has gone to Raw. Can't believe they're giving this to me, Seth!
Seth Rollins: Believe it, muñeca. You deserve it. You've made yourself such a hateable heel that they can't ignore you.
Zelina took a moment to decide how to reply to that. She decided to go with: Thank you, baby. Hunter pretty much said he swung this for me. Don't think Vince was so keen.
Seth Rollins: Hunter sees a lot in you, as well he should. Keep on his good side and he'll try and make sure you're looked after. He's always fought my corner.
Considering that, Zelina wished she could be a fly on the wall in the creative and booking meetings to hear what was said about her, and about Seth. Whatever it was, Hunter's guys were getting the breaks on Smackdown, whereas on Raw, it seemed that 'Vince's guys' were being favoured of late. Thank God we were moved, she thought. Before she wrote out a reply, another message appeared.
Seth Rollins: What's the plan for the Ronda match?
Grinning, Zelina typed back: That would be telling. ;)
A/N: Perhaps unsurprisingly, no one called Ronda being traded to Smackdown and facing Zelina. But thank you to those who left a review.
Let me know what you think will happen in the lion's den match. I'll even open the predictions if you want to get them in early.
You guys asked to see more of the cartel members interacting outside the ring, and I listened. There's something coming up in the next chapter. :)