Chapter Fifty-Five: Breaking Point
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Note: I know on Raw they did the title switch and put the IC title on Umaga, I'll deal with that in a few weeks, for now, pretend that didn't happen.
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Raw was live from Bakersfield California. Machetti and the Great Khali were currently standing in the ring, and Machetti looked livid, he was clearly still pissed off from what had happened last night.
"You know," said Machetti, "I'm sick and tire of this crap. Once is fine, but twice, that's not gonna happen! This is the second time I've lost a title without being pinned, and it's a load of crap!"
The fans booed loudly, they had been wrong about the loss of the title shutting Machetti up, now he seemed even more determined to get under their skin, and now instead of boasting he was complaining.
"I lost the Intercontinental Title…" started Machetti when the fans started chanting What?
"…to Jeff Hardy…"
What?
"…without being pinned…"
What?
"I got attacked…"
What?
"…By Umaga and Big Show…"
What?
"…Now I lost the ECW World Title…"
What? That one was also accompanied by loud cheers.
"… without being pinned…"
What?
"Alright screw you!" Machetti shouted at the fans, "I don't have to deal with this crap!"
"Hey playa!" suddenly Teddy Long's face appeared on the Titan Tron. He was wearing a neck-brace and was sporting an injury which Machetti had given him last night.
"What the hell do you want!?" Machetti shouted as he glanced over at Khali.
"You were right last night when you said I couldn't fire you," said Long, "but after you laid your hands on me, I hobbled my way to the board of directors and got permission to book you in a match."
"That's a load of crap!" snapped Machetti, "who the hell do you think you are!?"
"I'm a General Manager," answered Long, "and when I get attacked, I'm not physically allowed to confront superstars, instead I have the right to put them in matches. Which is what I did, I got permission to put you in a match."
"Yeah, against who?" asked Machetti.
"Well, they're two men you should be very familiar with," answered Long, "and they're also two men that you attacked last night."
With that the music of WWE Tag Team Champions Paul London and Brian Kendrick hit and Smackdown's tag team champions ran down to the ring. Machetti quickly stepped behind Khali, who ran at London and Kendrick when they got in the ring and clotheslined both men to the ground.
Machetti smirked and pulled his bandana out from his pocket and placed it on his head. Then the ring bell rang as Machetti had Khali lift up Brian Kendrick and throw him out of the ring. Machetti then nodded to Khali who got out of the ring and climbed up onto the ring apron. This was going to be a tag team match.
Machetti dragged London into the middle of the ring and started stomping on him, then he went to lift London to his feet, but London quickly fought back and shoved Machetti backwards. London then jumped up into the air and nailed Machetti with a drop-sault, knocking him on his back. London then ran forward and jumped in the air, did a front flip and landed on Machetti for a running senton. London went for a quick pin but Machetti kicked out.
London then lifted Machetti to his feet and whipped him into the corner, then when Machetti came back London jumped into the air and caught Machetti with a hurricurana. Machetti landed on his back and London grabbed him and dragged him to his corner, where Brian was waiting. London then tagged in Kendrick who climbed up to the top rope while London wrenched Machetti's arm. Kendrick then came off of the top rope and drove his fists into Machetti's shoulder, causing him to fall to the mat when London released him.
Kendrick then stepped back, waited for Machetti to get to his feet, then he jumped into the air and took Machetti down again with a dropkick. Kendrick walked over to Machetti and lifted him to his feet, then he whipped him into the corner. Kendrick ran at Machetti and when he reached him he pushed off of Machetti while doing a back-flip, then Kendrick jumped up and kicked Machetti in the back of the head for an enzuigiri.
Machetti rolled on the ground and eventually stopped when he was on his back in the middle of the ring. Kendrick went of to his corner and tagged in London. Then Kendrick walked over to Machetti and got on his hands and knees next to him. London leaned against the ring ropes, then ran from them jumped onto Kendrick's back, then jumped off of it did a back-flip in mid air and landed on Machetti with a shooting star press, Kendrick rolled out of the ring and London when for the pin, but Machetti kicked out at two.
London then lifted Machetti to his feet and whipped him into the corner, London went after him and rammed his shoulder into Machetti's stomach, driving him backwards into the corner. London then climbed up onto the middle rope and situated himself behind Machetti, then he pushed off and spun in the air and drove Machetti's head down to the mat for a Tornado DDT. London then rolled Machetti onto his back and went for the pin, but again Machetti kicked out.
London dragged Machetti over to his corner and tagged in Kendrick. London and Kendrick then pulled Machetti into the middle of the ring, then whipped him into the ropes, then when Machetti came back they flipped him in the air and slammed him down to the mat for a double hip toss. London got out of the ring and Kendrick went for the pin, but Machetti kicked out at two.
Kendrick then pulled Machetti up to his feet and backed him into the ropes, but suddenly Machetti struck and raked Brian's eyes. Machetti then shoved Kendrick to the ground and ran to his corner, where he tagged in the Great Khali. At the same time Kendrick made it over to his corner and tagged in London. London and Kendrick ran at Khali and joined hands, then hit him with a double clothesline, but that only knocked him back a few steps.
But Khali then ran forward and took down both London and Kendrick with a double clothesline. Khali lifted London to his feet then took him back down with a hard head butt. Then Khali lifted Kendrick to his feet and pushed him back against the ropes. Khali then brought back his hand and slapped Kendrick hard across the chest. Khali stepped backwards and Kendrick fell forward and held his chest. Khali looked down then lifted Kendrick up to his feet, then hoisted him up into the air for a Military Press, then Machetti threw Kendrick over the top rope and out of the ring.
Paul London had gotten to his feet and he charged at Khali while his back was turned. London attacked Khali and went off on him with a series of punches, but they did nothing because Khali simply swatted London away, knocking him down to the mat in the process. Khali then ran at London and kicked him in the head as he got to his feet, taking him down once again. Khali then lifted London to his feet and dragged him by his long hair over to the corner Machetti was waiting in.
Khali then reached out and tagged in Machetti, who got in the ring and pointed to London, Khali and his knee. Khali nodded and lifted London up into the air for a Military Press. Then Machetti stood in front of Khali, but then bent his knee outward. Khali dropped London, causing him to land stomach first across Machetti's knee. Khali got out of the ring while Machetti got to his feet and stalked London, who rolled across the ring clutching his stomach in pain.
But Machetti grabbed London and lifted him to his feet, then Machetti jumped up into the air and nailed Paul in the back of the head with an enzuigiri. Machetti then rolled London onto his back and went for the pin, but he kicked out at two. Machetti pulled London up to his feet then he dragged over to an unoccupied corner, when Machetti rammed Paul's shoulder into the ring post. Machetti the dropped down and rolled London up looking for a pin, but London just kicked out.
Machetti shook his head as he got to his feet, but then pulled London up and whipped him back into the corner. Machetti stepped back, then ran and Paul and nailed a running dropkick, driving London back into the corner. London slid down to the mat and sat against the bottom turnbuckle. But Machetti came over and drove his foot into London's face and pushed it backwards until it was sandwiched between the ring post and Machetti's foot. Machetti then pressed down and applied as much pressure as he could, when the referee came over and pulled Machetti off of London.
"Get you damn hands off of me!" Machetti shouted at the referee. Machetti then brought back his hand and pretended to try and slap the referee, who jumped backwards to get out of the way of the non-existent slap. Machetti smirked then walked back over to the corner and pulled London up to his feet. Then Machetti place London on the top rope. Machetti climbed up to the middle rope and punched London in the face repeatedly, then he jumped up, wrapped his legs around Paul's head and fell backwards for a Super Hurricurana, causing London to land hard on his back.
Machetti got to his feet then ran full speed at London, jumped up into the air, did a back-flip and landed across him for a Standing Shooting Star Press. Machetti then hooked London's leg and went for the pin, but Kendrick came in and broke it up. Machetti looked up and glared at Brian then he looked back down at Paul and walked over to the corner. Machetti climbed up to the top rope and stood there, waiting for London to get to his feet and turn around.
When he did, Machetti jumped off of the top rope, did a back-flip in mid air then caught London on the way down and drove his head down to the mat for a Shooting Star Press DDT. Machetti dragged London into the middle of the ring and went for the pin, but again Kendrick came in and broke it up. Machetti slammed him fists down to the mat as Kendrick ran back to the ring apron, he had just had the match won!
Machetti glared at Kendrick as he pulled London up to his feet. Then Machetti whipped London into the ropes, London bounced off of them and when he came back Machetti hoisted him up into the air for the Flat-Liner, but London suddenly countered and drove Machetti's head down tot the mat for a DDT. Both London and Kendrick were down in the middle of the ring, then the two of them started crawling to their corners. Machetti made a tag to Khali, just as London made at tag to Kendrick, causing the fans to cheer wildly.
Kendrick and Khali came in and met in the middle of the ring, Kendrick got all fired up and went off on Khali hitting him with chops, punches, kicks, forearms, and elbow smashes, but none seemed to really be working. Paul London managed to pull himself to his feet then he ran at Khali and Kendrick, Brian went low and dropkicked Khali in the knee, while London went his and nailed the giant with a drop-sault. With the combined strength of the two moves Khali was knocked off of his feet.
Machetti then ran over to London and Kendrick, but they grabbed Machetti, ran with him and tossed him out of the ring, causing him to roll on the floor and come to a stop in front of the commentary table. London and Kendrick then went to opposite sides of the ring with Khali was still down, Kendrick came off, did a front flip and landed across Khali's head for a flip leg drop. Then London came off of his side, jumped up and did a front flip before landing on Khali's stomach for a flip senton.
Kendrick rolled away as London went for the pin, but suddenly Machetti got in the ring with a steal chair and smashed it across Paul London's back. The referee signaled for the bell, but Machetti didn't seem to care. Brian ran at Machetti looking to stop him before anything bad happened, but Machetti swung the chair and smashed Brian in the face. Brian hit the mat and was out cold. Meanwhile Khali had pushed London off of him and had gotten to his feet. Machetti placed the chair down on the ground and had Khali lifted Paul up and slam him down on the chair for the double handed chokeslam.
Machetti then went to the middle of the ring and unfolded the chair, then he placed it down in the middle before going after Brian again. Machetti dragged Brian to his feet then whipped him into the ropes, caught him as he came back and slammed him face-first down on to the chair with the Flat-Liner. But Machetti wasn't done yet. Machetti left the ring and got a second chair, the other one was horribly dented now. When he came back he placed the steal chair around Paul's neck.
Machetti smirked sadistically as he pulled London over to the corner. Machetti then climbed up to the middle rope. Machetti smirked as the fans started chanting You Suck over and over again. Machetti was about to lunge off and take London out of action for god knows how long, when suddenly…
"Machetti stop!" Maria ran out from the back with a mic in her hand. Machetti glared at her, but remained perched on the middle rope. "Machetti, those are your best friends in there. You're about to put one of them in the hospital!"
Maria ran up the steps and got in the ring but suddenly came face to… chest with the Great Khali. "Machetti… don't… do it," Maria said weakly as Khali advanced on her. Maria backed away but soon felt her back against the corner. Khali then reached out with both hands and grabbed Maria by the throat. Khali pulled Maria back into the middle of the ring and lifted her up into the air, looking for the two handed chokeslam.
"Khali stop!" Machetti suddenly shouted. He had released Paul and now had a mic in his hand. Machetti walked over to Khali, "put her down."
Khali looked over at Machetti before slowly lowering Maria down to her feet. "She's right," admitted Machetti, "I've been acting like a jerk lately, but you know with the title loss and Triple H getting put on the shelf, it's been very stressful."
Machetti pulled Maria away from Khali then took off his bandana. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Maria smiled and Machetti dropped his mic, then she wrapped her arms around Machetti for a hug. Maria looked up into his eyes, they showed caring, but they also showed strain. But suddenly Machetti's eyes changed. An evil glint quickly appeared in them and an evil, sadistic smirk appeared on Machetti's face.
Maria saw this and tried moving away, but Machetti's arms kept her close, then in one quick movement, Machetti hoisted Maria up into the air, then fell backwards slamming Maria's face down to the mat with the Flat-Liner. Machetti turned and smirked at Khali then he picked up his mic. Machetti then walked back over to Maria and got down on his knees in front of her. Machetti slowly lifted her head up so she could look him right in they eyes. "Gotcha," said Machetti as she dropped the mic. Then Machetti stood up as Step Up hit and he and Khali left the ring and headed to the back.
Once they were gone Paul London crawled over to Maria and checked to see if she was okay. Then he went over to Brian and helped him up to his feet. Together the two of them helped Maria out of the ring and then they headed up the ramp. If you were in the audience and you saw Maria go passed you could see tears dripping down her face. Maria, Paul, and Brian eventually went through the curtain and to the back.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Zack asked as he ran over and grabbed Maria. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have actually hit you with it, I should have landed on my elbow instead of planting you. Please tell me you're alright."
"Zack," said Maria as she held his face with both hands, "I'm fine. Don't worry I'm a big girl, I can handle it."
Zack hugged Maria and held her to him while resting his head against hers. When Maria looked over Zack's shoulder she saw Dalip smiling.
"You should have seen him," Dalip said, "he was freaking out."
"I find that pretty easy to believe," commented Paul.
"Hey, it wasn't your girlfriend who you just hit with the Flat-Liner," said Zack, "call me when you actually find out what it's like. You see that my reaction was typical."
"What ever you say," said Brian with a laugh, "but in order to do that, we need to get Paul a girlfriend. Now, we know that's not going to happen, so let's get something to eat, I'm starving."
Everyone laughed and eventually moved on to the superstar cafeteria.
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A little bit later, Maria, Paul, and Brian were shown sitting on a bench backstage. Maria was in the middle with her head in her hands.
"Great team we make," commented Paul, "all laid out by the same guy."
"I can't believe Machetti did that," said Brian, "to us of all people!"
"Both of you stop," said Maria as she looked up, "that thing, wasn't Machetti!"
"What do you mean?" asked Paul.
"The real Machetti wouldn't have hit me with the Flat-Liner," explained Maria, "the real Machetti wouldn't have attacked the two of you the way he did."
"If that's not Machetti, who the heck is it?" asked Brian.
"That's not what I mean," said Maria, "Machetti is in there somewhere, I know that if he was thinking straight he would never hurt any of us."
"What should we do?" asked Paul.
"Well if Machetti his suffering from a different personality," said Maria, "maybe we need to contact a professional."
Both London and Kendrick thought for a moment, then they smirked. The camera then went back to J.R. and King and they wondered what Maria had meant. King said for the first time, Maria was confusing him!
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Note: No Triple Threat Match, I have something else planned.
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ECW was airing on Sci-Fi and Machetti was currently in the ring, he was wearing his usually black and green wrestling gear, but was now without the ECW World Title.
"Lashley!" shouted Machetti into his mic, "get your ass out here! I know you're backstage tonight, and if you're gonna wear that belt you're gonna face all comers! So get your ass out here!"
Bobby Lashley's music hit as the new ECW World Champion came through the curtain. But Lashley clearly wasn't in the condition to compete tonight, he had the ECW World Title over his shoulder, was wearing a pair of black pants and a button down shirt, but he was using a pair of crutches to get to the ring. Machetti stepped back and eventually Lashley got in the ring. The ring announcer handed him a mic.
"Machetti," said Lashley, "I am a true champion, and I will defend MY title any time."
"Really?" asked Machetti, "well, I guess that's good news for me."
Machetti suddenly ran at Lashley and dropkicked him in the knee. Taking the ECW Champion off of his feet and causing him to roll on the mat in pain.
"You see, after I lost the Intercontinental Title," said Machetti, 'I had a rematch clause put in my contract, it states that I can have a rematch whenever I want. And guess what? I want to have a rematch now. So, right here, right now, it's gonna be, Machetti versus Bobby Lashley for the ECW World Title… in an extreme rules match."
The fans booed loudly as the ring bell slowly rang. Machetti walked over to Lashley and stomped on his knee. Then he pulled Lashley over to the ropes and wrapped his leg around the bottom one. Machetti then pulled back on Lashley's leg, applying as much pressure as he could to Lashley's already injured knee. The referee looked at the expression of pain on Lashley's face, and saw the illegal maneuver, but this was an Extreme Rules match, he couldn't stop it.
Machetti pulled Lashley off of the ropes, then he jumped up into the air and drove his elbow down onto Lashley's knee. Machetti rolled off of Lashley as the ECW Champion thrashed on the mat in pain. Machetti then smirked up at the fans, he was going to make Lashley tap out like a little bitch. Machetti crossed Lashley's legs then stuck his leg in between them, then he turned and rolled Lashley onto his stomach and pulled back. For the second time in three days, Machetti had the sharpshooter locked in on Bobby Lashley.
The fans booed loudly, and some even threw garbage in the ring. Chants of You Suck and Machetti Sucks rang through the arena as Machetti pulled back on Lashley's legs and applied pressure. But Lashley was a proud champion, bad knee or not, he wasn't going to tap out. Lashley might have vowed to not tap out, but it proved harder than it sounded. Machetti was going all out applying pressure to the hold, then he dragged Lashley over to the side of the ring and held onto the ring ropes, increasing his leverage on the sharpshooter. Again, it was extreme rules, so the referee couldn't do anything.
Lashley screamed in pain, he left like his knee was going to explode, no ordinary man could handle this much pain. But Lashley wasn't an ordinary man, he wasn't going to tap, he wasn't going to give up, not to an ass like Machetti. Not to an jerk who attacks his best friends and his old girlfriend, not to the man who practically cripple him at No Way Out. This kept running through Lashley's mind as he started fading, and it wasn't very long until Lashley was out cold. He had kept up his vow, he didn't tap out.
Machetti saw that Lashley hadn't tapped out, but was now knocked out, so he released the hold. Suddenly there was cheering from the fans. Machetti turned and saw ECW Original Tommy Dreamer running down the entrance ramp. Machetti glared at him, but suddenly a Singapore came smashed him in the back of the head, knocking him down the mat. Sandman stood over Machetti as Tommy Dreamer got in the ring. The ECW Originals then worked over Machetti Sandman wailed on him with the cane and Dreamer stomped the hell out of him.
Then Dreamer lifted Machetti up to his feet and planted him with a DDT. But they weren't done yet, then Dreamer pulled Machetti back up to his feet and Sandman grabbed Machetti, and nailed him with a White Russian Leg Sweep. Sandman and Dreamer looked down at Machetti then they looked over at Bobby Lashley, who was out cold. Dreamer and Sandman then looked up, even though Sandman was drunk off his mind, he was thinking the same thing that Dreamer was.
Together the two Originals dragged Lashley over to Machetti and draped his arm over him. The referee saw this and again, extreme rules, so he made the three count. BOBBY LASHLEY JUST BEAT MACHETTI!
Dreamer and Sandman then pulled Lashley off of Machetti, then they lifted Machetti up to his feet, up into the air, then they ran and threw him over the top rope and out of the ring. The Original ECW music played as Dreamer and Sandman celebrated in the ring, then they walked over to Lashley, pulled him up and hoisted him onto their shoulders. Lashley eventually came to, he heard the ECW Music, saw Dreamer and Sandman holding him, and he heard the fans cheering wildly. He had won! Somehow he had beaten Machetti! Lashley couldn't help but smile.
Machetti on the other hand wasn't happy at all. He sat up on the floor, then pulled himself to his feet. Machetti then glared at the three Extremists in the ring as ECW went off the air.
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That's the chapter, review if you think you know where this is going.
'Till Next Time…
Peace!
