Blitzkrieg 1.16
Andy walked backstage wearing an old 'Ride the Mercier' muscle shirt, black cargo pants and black combat boots with his laces hanging out. He had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder and was chewing on a piece of gum. He glanced to the side where Bayley stood and shot her a smile as the other three members of Bullet Club began getting closer. "I'll see you later tonight." Andy spoke as he gave her a brief hug. Bayley nodded with a smile as she returned it.
"Hope you're ready to get beat on the Playstation." Andy laughed at her words and began walking towards his teammates as he glanced over his shoulder.
"Just make sure I don't get hold of the referee and you might have a chance!"
"Cheater!" Seth clapped Andy on the shoulder as he drew in close and Andy gave him a smile.
"Is he good to go?" Seth nodded at the man's words.
"Just got off the phone with him. I can't thank you enough for this Andy." Andy shrugged at the statement as he moved past the three men and began walking toward Bullet Club's locker room.
"When you need help, you look to family."
"Welcome to Monday Night Raw, we are now halfway to Fastlane! And if I'm not mistaken, we'll be hearing from Bullet Club soon."
"Well, that would seem like the case." Corey responded evenly. "Last week Andy Mercier and Seth Rollins were attacked by the Shield. That wasn't taken too lightly because Bullet Club showed up on Smackdown to confront the Shield about it."
"Bravo, Uniform, Lima, Lima, Echo, Tango... Bullet Club 4-4-4 4 Life!" Shot'em began and the crowd cheered happily as the four teammates walked through the crowd, mimicking the Shields own emtrance.
"Wow, look at that! Bullet Club mocking the Shield here tonight!"
"You want to talk about repercussions for anything, you can bet that there will be some from the Shield for this disrespect." Bullet Club entered the ring and Karl distributed microphones out amongst the four of them. Seth chuckled as he glanced around the arena.
"I forgot how fun that actually was." Seth spoke as he pointed to the crowd, causing them to cheer in response.
"So, the Shield want to run around and power bomb people. They like to jump barricades and attack people. That's what they've always done... no offense Seth."
"None taken." The former Shield member responded to Andy.
"And now they want to issue a challenge to Bullet Club for Fastlane." The crowd cheered and Andy nodded as he ran a hand over his face. "That's great. That's a challenge the Shield knows we will NOT back down from. Here's where the issue is. I will have a championship defense against an opponent who I don't even know who it is yet. And Seth? Seth has a match against Sami Zayne for the United States Championship. Very clever Austin. Either Seth or I do double duty at Fastlane, or it becomes a two on three handicap match, right? Very clever muppet. But you forget one thing. Bullet Club is a family business! And when you don't have enough family with you, what do you do? You bring in more family."
"You people forget that Bullet Club is not four guys on the Raw roster!" Karl spoke angrily as he looked heatedly into the camera. Luke nodded as he stepped forward.
"That's right. Bullet Club is on Smackdown. We still have a brother in AJ Styles. If Finn would ever get over himself and Andy's personal issue he'd be a brother. Jordan Sterling is Andy's brother. Bullet Club is in New Japan, Ring of Honor, Bullet Club rules the wrestling world!"
"That's right!" Seth spoke with a laugh. "You thought you had us in a corner didn't you? Dean, Roman, you know me better than that. You know that I am THE guy and I always have a way out! At Fastlane, the Shield will take on Bullet Club! Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and... a brother."
"This isn't just Club family either." Andy spoke as he walked forward to lean on the top rope, adjusting his title on his shoulder. "This... is blood family."
"Don't you dare be sour! Clap your hands for your world famous two time Tag Team Champions, and feel the power! It's a new day, yes it is!" The Bullet Club angrily looked up at the ramp as New Day danced out onto the stage.
"That's great Andy. It really is. And I'm sure that all these fans would love to hear you drone on and on about wrestlers you call your family but they really aren't." Andy grimaced as he leaned on the ropes while staring at Xavier as he talked.
"I knew it was only a matter of time before you bloke's waltzed out here to ruin any good mood I've had. So, let's just get to the source of it all shall we? Why are you out here?"
"Because Bullet Club is taking on the Shield, our rematch for the Tage Team Championships is being pushed back to Wrestlemania." Big E responded.
"Which is fine." Kofi spoke quickly. "We'll be happy to put those two to shame at the grandest stage of them all. But, in the mean time, the New Day owes Bullet Club a little payback. So, I'm out here to tell you that your mystery opponent at Fastlane, Andy, is me." Andy stared at Kofi for a moment before laughing.
"That's grand muppet! I was a little worried that I'd have to face someone with, you know, actual talent! Thank you so much for putting my mind to rest!" Kofi stared darkly at Andy as the Bullet Club dropped their microphones and began leaving the ring.
"I'm glad you're finding this funny, Andy. This will be the real kicker for your punch line. Since Jordan's match with Jacen is after ours, he'll be in the ring with us as the Special Guest Referee! Isn't that hilarious!?" Kofi nodded as Andy stared at him. "That's right, buddy. To try to coax Jordan to Raw, he's being given the chance to make the decision on who the WWE Universal Champion will be. Is it still funny to you?" Andy yelled at Kofi who dropped his microphone and began dancing with his teammates to their music.
Backstage, Andy walked back and forth with his phone pressed to his ear. "Are you watching Raw? Then you know what Kofi just said. Is it true? And you knew about it. Listen Jordan, I know we have stuff going on right now, but I need you to keep this down the middle. I know, and I do trust you. I just, you know I can't afford the doubt. Okay, thanks mate. Yeah, I'll talk to you later." Andy threw his phone onto the couch sitting in the Bullet Club locker room. He turned and stared at four men standing around him.
"Well?" Seth questioned as he crossed his arms.
"Change of plans. Bullet Club will be on standby during every one of our matches. At Fastlane, we do whatever it takes to leave victorious, as a unit, and all in one piece. If anything gets dodgy... the rule book is out the window. We do it like we do in New Japan. Anyway we have to."
"Welcome to Tuesday night Smackdown! We're coming at you live and we have an amazing lineup for you here tonight!"
The Titantron showed Renee Young who smiled into the camera happily. "I'm here with Brianna Kelly,and Brianna, at Fastlane you will be facing Asuka to determine the Number one contender for the Smackdown Women's Championship held by Becky Lynch. How are you feeling about that?" Brianna bit her lip for a second before chuckling.
"Asuka is impressive. I won't deny that. But, going into the Royal Rumble, I was the Smackdown Women's Champion. Now, as history dictates, the former champion typically has a rematch clause. I don't mind a little competition. I embrace it. But my dream is to be here, at the top, trying to be the wrestler that I wanted to be when I was ten years old."
"An admirable dream." Renee responded with a nod. "You mentioned that Asuka was impressive. Last week, during your match with Carmella, Asuka distracted you allowing Carmella to pick the win up. Afterwards, she kicked you in the head. Can you give me any insight into your thoughts on that?" Brianna took a deep breath at the question.
"Like I said, Asuka is impressive. But, during the end of her NXT run and now here on Smackdown, she's turned into a bit of a bully. She likes to throw her dominance around. There's no doubt she's earned the respect she should be given. Believe you me, Andy Mercier doesn't respect just anybody. But that doesn't mean you run around and do whatever you want." Renee nodded at these words.
"Last question. Becky called you the face of the Smackdown Women's Division. Coming from her, a close friend and someone you obviously respect in the ring, how does that make you feel?"
"It's... almost a bit humbling when someone of Becky's caliber says that about you. It's a validation of how far you've really come from the moment you set foot in the WWE." Brianna paused in her answer as Asuka appeared on camera with a smile.
"Brianna... you may be the face of the Smackdown Women's Division... But you don't have what it takes to beat me." Brianna chuckled at these words.
"Is that right, Asuka?"
"I will beat you at Fastlane. And then I will defeat Becky Lynch at Wrestlemania. Someone like you... has no hope against someone like me. You are the Sami Zayne to my Andy Mercier. You'd only beat me if I were injured." Brianna gave a smirk at these words.
"Sami Zayne and Andy Mercier respect each other. They hold each other in very high regards and both are incredible wrestlers. I don't mind being compared to Sami. That's a compliment to me. But you, Asuka, you are no Andy Mercier. I hope you're able to put up as good a fight as you do with word play. Because I plan on beating you at Fastlane." Asuka stared darkly at Brianna before smiling.
"You won't come close."
The crowd cheered loudly as Tattooed Attitude played and Matthew walked onto the stage wearing his typical street clothes. He paused at the top of the ramp and gave a smile as he looked around at the crowd before making his way down the ramp. He walked up the stairs and entered the ring before taking a microphone from an official. His music died and he gave a chuckle as the fans chanted 'Tattooed Attitude!'. "So last week, Miz jumped me. Got the one up on me. Duped me. Got a little hardcore. Not enough hardcore. Not enough for me." Matthew laughed as he quit talking, the fans having said 'What?' After every one of his sentences. "You guys should save that for Jax. Really, he loves it. Me? I love being your Intercontinental Champion."
The crowd cheered louder and Matthew nodded. "I'm glad all of you support that. But there's that one grinch who tries to take good things away from everybody else. That grinch here is Miz. All jokes aside Miz, you bounced my head off a monitor. You drove my skull straight into pavement, and you know what? I liked it! That's the kind of enviornment I thrive in! I'm glad to see there's at least a little bit of an actual fighter inside that cowardly body of yours!"
"Awesome!" I Came to Play echoed through the arena and Miz walked out onto the stage in a blacked out suit. Maryse was surprisingly absent.
"Really!?" Miz questioned angrily as he marched down the ramp. "Really!? You liked it!? I think that's a lie Mr. Hardcore. I think you're just too embarrassed to admit that I laid you out, Mr. Hardcore!"
"Oh I'm not embarrassed at all, Miz. You got the better of me, you put me down, you gave me one hell of a headache, but above all else you woke up Hardcore R and I dare you to get in this ring with me because I'm going to lay your Hollywood wannabe ass down just like you did me last week." Miz stopped at the end of the ramp as the crowd roared. "You want to mess with me? You want to try to be hardcore with ME!? That's fine. I went and talked to Daniel about that. So at Fastlane, you and I will be fighting in-"
"Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta... Shield." Matthew and Miz both looked around uneasily as Special Ops played through the arena. Before their eyes could spot then, the Shield had already jumped the barricade and were lining the front of the apron, staring at Miz. Miz backed up the ramp slightly as Jax stared intently at him. Then, the Shield turned around. Dean and Roman moved to the sides of the ring and they jumped onto the apron. Matthew looked at Jax with disappointment as the Shield entered the ring and surrounded him.
"Guess I caught a case of Bad Luck, huh?" Matthew questioned, somewhat jokingly, as Jax cracked his neck. Miz, feeling confident, slid into the ring. He threw an arm over Jax's shoulders with a laugh as he pointed at Matthew. There was a brief pause. Then Jax lashed out and caught Miz with a Cutter. Dean and Roman turned away from Matthew and began stomping away at the Miz as Jax stared at Matthew. The son of the Hall of Famer chuckled and waved a hand at Matthew. He stepped forward and grabbed Matthew's hand and raised his mic to his mouth.
"At Fastlane, in that Street Fight you were about to announce, watch your back. You may have to dig really deep down and find that Hardcore R in you. Because you, my friend... You might just be next." Jax and his fellow partners exited the ring, and Matthew watched as they exited the same route they had entered from while Smackdown went to commercial.
When Smackdown returned, Renee Young smiled into the camera. "I'm here with the winner of the Royal Rumble winner, Jordan Sterling. Jordan, it was announced last night that you would be the special guest referee for the WWE Universal Championship match at Fastlane. Can you give me your thoughts on that, and if it will affect you decision on what champion you face at Wrestlemania?" Jordan crossed his arms over his chest as he thought about the words.
"The fact that I'm the referee puts me in a difficult place with who's fighting. Kofi, who believed in me when no one else did when I got here. And Andy Mercier. It gets beaten to death but the statement is true, my best mate. Now, I accidently punched Andy and some might think I owe him for that. Some might think I'll cost Kofi the match. Some might think I meant to punch Andy. They may also think I'll cost Andy the match. But neither of those is true. I plan on calling the match straight down the middle. They're my friends, and they both deserve to have equal opportunity to win their match. As for who I challenge, it doesn't change anything in my mind. On one hand, either way I will have a friend who I have never gotten to face with incredible talent... or Cesaro. The man who beat me for my United States Championship and, as some friends say, caused my quote and quote downhill slope. I think I'll wait until at least Fastlane to reveal my decision, but I have it pretty set in my mind who I'm going after."
"Right. Now, not only are you a special referee at Fastlane, but you'll be facing Jacen Knight in a Knockout match, something you've participated in before with Kevin Owens. Last week-" Renee broke off with a scream as Jacen plowed into Jordan. Jordan hit the wall and Jacen began unloading on his skull. Jordan put up a fight for a minute before energy seemed to leave him. Officials came to break them apart as Renee screamed for help. Jacen pushed away from Jordan with one final punch before looking at the camera. Jacen smirked as he lifted his right hand which held brass knuckles on it. Jacen removed them and tossed them over his shoulder to Jordan.
"How do you like the sight of your blood? I tried to tell you not to anger god." Jacen stepped away from the scene as Becky rushed to Jordan's side.
"Oh my god! Get a doctor!" She yelled as she held Jordan's head. There were large gashes over his eyes bleeding heavily. Smackdown faded to commercial as Doctors rushed to Jordan, checking his injuries with white gloves and shining lights in his eyes as they asked him questions to make sure he was responsive.
XXX
Wrap. I've been trying to get this out all day, but I'm on meds for a broken bone until i get surgery and it kind of has my attention all over the place. Until next time guys, I love you all!