The next twenty-four hours were very awkward for Mark and Stephanie.
After the events of Sunday Night Heat, Stephanie honestly wanted to have a conversation with him. She didn't plan to angrily confront her husband, but she still wanted to express her concerns about Andrew, and also this impending First Blood Match with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
In regard to Andrew, over these past few weeks, Mark had subjected Test's life to sheer misery, and Stephanie desperately wanted this nightmare to be over for him. She just couldn't stand seeing him being abused like this, especially not on her behalf.
But instead of Stephanie having the opportunity to confront her husband on either subject, Mark arranged for a car to take her back to the hotel alone. While he promised that he would see her later that evening, Stephanie badly wanted to protest this. She rarely went anywhere without her husband, and she needed to discuss everything that had happened tonight.
Mark, however, had other plans, so Stephanie returned to her hotel alone. After returning to their suite, Stephanie had the urge to call Andrew and ask about his physical condition; she just wanted to know that he was ok.
Ultimately, however, she decided against this.
The last thing that she needed was to do was drum up old feelings. Andrew was still under the misconception that there truly was a future for he and Stephanie, and there simply wasn't…
So while it may have been cold, Stephanie placed Andrew in the back of her mind, took a long, hot shower, and anxiously awaited her husband's arrival. However, when Mark did finally arrive, not only was he accompanied by his brother, but also by Saphirra, as well.
While Stephanie understood that Mark wanted to iron out any remaining issues between he and Glenn, she couldn't help but to also feel that Mark was intentionally avoiding her. After all, what more could the two actually discuss at this point?
Mark was well-aware that Stephanie was concerned about the First Blood Match that he had challenged Austin to. And while he appreciated his wife caring for him, he had to deal with Austin on his own.
And since him reconciling with his brother had been all her idea, then Stephanie would simply have to deal with the consequences of this newly reformed bond — the good, the bad, and the ugly.
In the end, Stephanie merely retired to her room in defeat, while Mark, Glenn, and Saphirra lingered around and continued to discuss business. She was tired anyway.
The next day was Monday, and Stephanie was in a very foul mood.
Not only had she woken up a lot later than she normally would have, but Stephanie's morning sickness was particularly egregious today. Not to mention the fact that Mark was nowhere to be found.
Usually, whenever Mark had anything that he needed to attend to, he would leave Stephanie in the care of Saphirra, who would promptly wait on her hand and foot. Today, however, things were much different. Because not only was Mark missing, but also Glenn and Saphirra, as well.
Mark hadn't even left her note informing her of his whereabouts. Stephanie simply awoke to an empty hotel room, without breakfast, without her husband, and with the nagging thought in the back of her mind, that once again, Andrew was being severely beaten because of her.
While Stephanie did eventually order room service for herself, it wasn't until the afternoon that she finally spoke to her husband, who informed her that a car would arrive later in the evening to drive her to the arena.
And though Stephanie appreciated her husband finally reaching out to her, she still wished to speak with him in person, not only about this entire crazy notion of having an actual First Blood Match, but also about the Posse attacking Andrew.
Mark, however, was short on time, which once again left Stephanie with so many unanswered questions.
Mark knew when something was bothering his wife. He knew Stephanie and her mannerisms. He just didn't have time for any interferences at the moment. He had to work out his issues on his own, so while he had taken her advice about making amends with his brother, Stephanie no longer had a place in official Ministry business.
He had to be a man.
Stephanie, however, devised of her own plan to speak to her husband. Instead of spending hours before the show in a hair and makeup chair, Stephanie would be ready for tonight's show before she even arrived. This would allow her plenty of time to speak to Mark without any distractions.
After curling her hair, Stephanie dressed herself in a red, square neck blouse, paired with a dark, jean mini skirt, and red wedge sandals. While she looked stunning, inwardly, Stephanie felt miserable.
There were just so many burning questions roaming through her mind: why was Mark avoiding her? Was Andrew ok? And most importantly, what would happen tonight on Monday Night Raw?
So many other things had already occurred since last night, and Stephanie just knew that things would only get worse from here, which is why she had to convince Mark of call off this First Blood Match with Austin.
She just couldn't allow him to go through with something like this.
After being picked up from the hotel, Stephanie arrived to the Crown Coliseum and immediately began seeking out her husband. Unfortunately,, Stephanie couldn't find Mark anywhere. And while she did inquire about his whereabouts, apparently no one had seen him.
In fact, as best as she could tell, Mark hadn't been to the arena all day, and it was nearly showtime.
While she initially couldn't fathom her husband skipping a show of this magnitude, Stephanie also realized that Mark not being at the arena all day must have been truly, simply because the Acolytes were scheduled to defend their tag team titles against the Hardy Boyz.
Had Mark shown up to the arena at any point today, then he surely would have put a stop to this, she felt.
It was just so dislike him to disappear like this. What could he have possibly been up to? After nearly half an hour of searching for Mark but still not finding him, Stephanie abandoned her search and entered her dressing room.
She attempted to shoo away all of her fears. Mark was a very smart man. She just had to trust his decision making.
With a sound of glass shattering throughout the arena, the people in the Crown Coliseum all leapt to their feet, as the new World Wrestling Federation Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin, marched to the ring.
Going from post to post, Stone Cold saluted the Fayettville crowd, who returned his crude gesture in kind. The Rattlesnake had very important business to discuss, so he grabbed a microphone and addressed the audience by saying, "If you saw Stone Cold beat the Undertaker's ass last week, give me a hell yeah!"
With the crowd all responding in an exuberant, "Hell yeah!" Steve then boasted heartedly, "It wasn't a pretty sight, but I damn sure got the job done.
"On a personal note, I would like to say to Shawn Michaels: you say how you've had your little insurance policy, trying to screw Stone Cold Steve Austin. And on one Monday Night, Stone Cold Steve Austin crumpled up your little insurance policy and shoved it right up your ass!"
Austin was red-hot tonight, because in truth, everything that he was saying was absolutely true.
Both the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels had clearly conspired together, in order to destroy the Rattlesnake. However, Austin valiantly overcame two of the most formidable forces in WWF history, and he had done this on his own.
Still, Austin was well-aware that the threat of the Phenom still lingered.
Just because he had been defeated, didn't mean that his feud with the Undertaker was over. In fact, the Deadman still had a contractual rematch for the WWF Championship, which Steve then addressed by saying, "As far as the Undertaker goes, coming out here and laying down all of these challenges, and giving Stone Cold Steve Austin deadlines — son I ain't a hard man to find.
"As far as your little First Blood Match goes: I do accept at Fully Loaded."
Closing her eyes slowly, as she could literally feel her heart sinking, Stephanie was left speechless. While she was well-aware of the type of competitor that Austin was, she couldn't believe that this match was actually happening.
First Blood Matches were absolutely barbaric; they were a liability to the actual performers, as well as to the actual company. This was all just so baffling to her.
Why hadn't anyone stopped this?
With the pit of her stomach tangled in knots, Stephanie continued to watch nervously, as Austin declared stoically, "And I tell you this — the last time I was in a First Blood Match against Kane, it was you that came down, busted me wide open, and cost me the World Wrestling Federation Championship.
"So, I will say to you: paybacks are a bitch and that's all I got to say about that!"
Even though Austin hadn't outright promised that he was going to bust Mark open, the implication was very clear, and Stephanie couldn't help but to shiver all over.
This was maddening!
Suddenly, the theme music of Degeneration-X, along with a loud ringing of boos, filled the arena. Soon, at the the top of the stage, Austin was faced with DX in mass: Chyna, Triple H, Billy Gunn, and the newly reappointed WWF Commissioner, the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels.
Although DX had come out in unison, the group of degenerates didn't look as jovial as they normally would. While Chyna and Mr. Ass still had to deal with their former friends, X-Pac and the Road Dogg, Triple H was scheduled to compete in a grueling cage match against the Rock in the main event.
So as it stood, DX was all business, with Shawn being the first person to address the Rattlesnake.
"That's not all what you've got to say about that," HBK promptly corrected. Shawn had a very important announcement to make. As far as he was concerned, the only person who would be getting any sort of payback would be him.
"Because I've got something to say about that. You see, Austin…"
Shawn, however, was then completely drowned out by loud chants of "asshole" being directed at him. And though Mr. Ass did his best to quell the ongoing verbal assault, the people of North Carolina were firmly behind the Rattlesnake, who jubilantly added, "Hold it! I'll tell you right now, you're going to have to talk a hell of a lot louder than that, because my hearing ain't so good, and you got 15,000 people calling you an asshole!"
Upon cue, the crowd renewed their salacious chants. And yet, Shawn remained undeterred. Tonight, HBK was beyond his loud and usually boisterous self, and even Austin recognized this.
Taking time to gather his thoughts, Shawn pressed through the crowd's profanity-laced assault.
"I've come to the conclusion, that quite frankly, the World Wrestling Federation just isn't big enough for the both of us. Austin, somebody's got to go and go for good! And that somebody is either you or me!"
Quickly piquing Austin's interest, the Rattlesnake looked on in earnest, as Shawn continued. HBK was definitely up to something. "You See, Austin, I've got a little challenge for you. Because I am so confident that you will not walk out of Fully Loaded as the WWF Champion, that I'm willing to put in writing —"
The rowdy crowd, however, wouldn't even let Shawn speak. They continued to chant over him, which definitely began to get under HBK's skin. "Oh yeah, sure! Chant for him all you want!"
The amount of vitriol that was pouring from Shawn was absolutely venomous. He truly hated that despite all of his efforts, Austin still managed to outsmart him. This, coupled with the fact that Shawn outright hated Austin meant that these two could no longer coexist.
Someone had to go.
As Chyna and Mr. Ass attempted to calm Shawn as much as possible, Triple H verbally threatened the crowd, until HBK finally regained his wits. He couldn't allow Austin to continue to crack him like this.
"I'm willing to put in writing, Austin — and listen up — I don't even care if your attorney's draw up the contract. I'm willing put in writing that I will never, ever again, directly or indirectly, interfere, compromise, or in any way have anything to do with you in the World Wrestling Federation ever again. Are you interested?"
"You damn right," Austin responded immediately. The opportunity to finally rid himself of Shawn Michaels was like music to his ears.
"Then all you've got to do is agree — and by the way, I won't accept your word for it, anymore than you'd accept mine; I want it in writing," Shawn admonished, while Austin chuckled underneath his breath. After all, the mere thought of Shawn accusing anyone of being dishonest was irony at its finest.
Continuing, Shawn then said, "All you've got to do is if, or shall I say, when you lose the WWF Title at Fully Loaded, that you will not ask for a rematch. As a matter of fact, that you will never again, in your professional career, ever even attempt to become the WWF Champion again. Never."
Austin knew that Shawn simply wasn't going to offer him an opportunity such as this without having something up his sleeve, and apparently, this was it.
For Steve, Shawn promised to never interfere in Austin's WWF professional career ever again, while the Rattlesnake was potentially giving up the opportunity to ever challenge for the World Wrestling Federation Title, if he happened to lose to the Undertaker at Fully Loaded.
Shawn knew how much competing at the highest level possible meant to Steve, and he wanted to take that all away from him. And now, Austin had a very difficult decision to make.
"I'm willing Austin — I'm willing to take a risk. And why am I willing to take this kind of a risk? Because quite frankly, I don't think it's much of a risk. And the reason why is this…"
However, for the third time tonight, Shawn was peppered with chants of "asshole." Not one fan in the arena wanted to hear anything that the Heartbreak Kid had to say.
Gathering his composure, while attempting to persevere against the rather rude crowd, Shawn screamed at Austin, with hatred in his voice, "The thought of you even being employed in the World Wrestling Federation makes me sick! The thought of you, Austin, with that WWF Title right in the ring — the sight of it — make me physically ill; makes me want to vomit!
"That's why I'm willing to take that risk!"
Hearing the stress in Shawn's voice, and knowing just how much HBK truly hated him, Austin found himself almost smiling. He had truly gotten the best out of Shawn, which is why HBK knew that he had to go to such extreme limits to get rid of him. He had been pushed too far, he felt.
"But I'll tell you this," Michaels continued. "If you decide to accept the challenge, Austin; if you decide to accept, then think about it: this one way or another will be the end of an era. And Austin, if you are somehow victorious, then neither you nor either of these people will ever see Shawn Michaels again."
With the crowd once again roaring in excitement, at the prospect of finally ridding themselves of Shawn Michaels, this time for good, Austin, realizing that Michaels was truly willing to risk it all, asked suspiciously, "So you're saying that I can get my attorney's to draw up the paperwork, so I don't haver to worry about trusting your sorry ass. Is that correct?"
Not even caring that Austin had clearly insulted at him, Shawn angrily responded, "That's right!"
"If you don't want to see Shawn Michaels no more, give me a hell yeah!"
"Hell yeah!" The crowd responded in droves.
They all wanted to see Shawn banished from the World Wrestling Federation just as much as Austin did. Realizing the decision that he had to make, Austin then stated boldly, "Shawn, I'll accept your little challenge, but it won't be the end of an era. It'll just be the end of you.
"And that's the bottom line because Stone Cold say so!"
The stage had finally been set for Fully Loaded.
Not only had Austin accepted the Undertaker's challenge for a First Blood Match, but now, the stakes had been raised even higher. Because at the first hint of blood, either Shawn Michaels or Stone Cold Steve Austin would have to leave the World Wrestling Federation — forever!
Following Mark's loss to the Rattlesnake the week prior, things only got worse for the Ministry. In tremendous tag team action, the WWF Tag Team Champions, the Acolytes, defended their coveted tag team championships against the exciting upstart duo of Matt and Jeff, the Hardy Boyz.
Accompanied to the ring by their manager, Michael Hayes, the Hardyz took the fight to the brawlers, and in stunning fashion, the two brothers actually defeated the Acolytes, winning their very first tag team championships!
While the Hardyz jubilantly celebrated their momumental win, the Acolytes were absolutely stunned. In a matter of only a week, not only had Mark lost the WWF Championship, but now the Acolytes had lost the tag titles, as well.
Following this, Test attempted to extract a measure of revenge against the Mean Street Posse's, Joey Abs. Obviously, the Posse had been put up by the Saphirra to do the Undertaker's dirty work, and Andrew was out for revenge.
He wanted to make an example out of Joey Abs.
Immediately following the bell, Test was all over Joey, who couldn't gain any offense in this very brief encounter. Instead, Test continued to pummel Joey and quickly prepared to finish him after a vicious Pump Handle Slam. But, just as Test prepared to make the cover, he was immediately distracted by a video that began to play on the Titantron.
Though the footage was initially grainy and very hard to decipher, both Test and the crowd became unnerved at the sight of Stephanie, who was apparently in very grave danger. She looked as if she was being held captive. Tears were flowing down her panic stricken face, and she was frantically rocking herself back and forth in the fetal position, as well.
The only problem, however, was that unbeknownst to Test, Stephanie was perfectly fine.
In fact, she hadn't left her dressing room in quite some time now. Still, Stephanie was disturbed and outright perturbed at what was being broadcasted to the entire world. And worse — she could remember this exact moment all too well, which just brought back so many awful, awful memories.
It was the night after WrestleMania.
While her father had courageously gone to the ring to confront the Undertaker, who was basically holding Sable hostage in the middle of the ring, Shane noted that he quickly had to check on the safety of the Corporation, but promised that he would be right back.
In his mind, if Taker and the Ministry could threaten bodily harm to a woman, then he feared what Mark was capable of doing to anyone else. Shane promised Stephanie that the two armed security guards were outside of her father's dressing room wouldn't allow anyone past them.
However, in only a brink of an eye, Stephanie heard a loud crashing sound coming from the outside. She couldn't even attempt to hide before the Acolytes stormed into the dressing room, grabbed Stephanie, and hauled her kicking and screaming down into the recesses of the building.
In the midst of so much chaos and confusion, Stephanie must have lost consciousness, because the next thing that she knew, she had awoken in some sort of boiler room.
The lights to the open space were extremely bright, as if she were undergoing some type of sensory deprivation; the sounds of the machines that were powering the building were loud and noisy, which frightened her all the more, and in her heightened paranoia, Stephanie also thought that she could hear approaching footsteps, which threatened to drive her completely insane.
She didn't know what to do.
She tried running; she tried calling for help, screaming at the top of her lungs. But Stephanie was delirious, not to mention the fact that not only were her legs wobbly, but her entire equilibrium was off, as well. She didn't know which way was out and even the sounds of her own panting were unnerving.
And just when she thought that she couldn't take any more, the grainy footage faded to black, which left everyone, but especially Test, stunned at what he had just witnessed.
He could not believe what Mark was doing to her!
Without any hesitation whatsoever, Test sprinted from the ring and back through the staging area. And though he had been counted out, with the match ultimately being awarded to Joey Abs, Test didn't care.
He just had to find Stephanie… and fast!
In their ongoing and heated feud, Chyna and Mr. Ass, concocted to have both the Road Dogg and X-Pac arrested, after the former were accused of vandalizing Chyna's rental car, which both men vehemently denied.
The beef between the four former comrades was very real, and if the Road Dogg and X-Pac truly wanted a piece of Chyna and Billy Gunn, then they would have taken their aggressions out on them. However, Chyna's victim act was far too convincing, and the two men found themselves being hauled to a local police station!
Saphirra on the other hand couldn't have planned this any better herself. This is exactly what she needed in order to get closer to Glenn tonight, without having to get rid of X-Pac herself.
This was perfect.
Walking through the hallway of the arena, Saphirra could feel the gaze of several watchful eyes on fall on her. After all, she was wearing a very form-fitting red latex dress, along with a devilish pair of crimson high-heels to match. With her long hair flowing down her back, Saphirra knew that she looked to die for, and despite the obvious change in her attitude, heads still turned for her.
She looked gorgeous.
Saphirra had specifically chosen this color for Glenn. And though she realized that seducing her master's brother was something that was absolutely vital to the overall success of the Ministry, Saphirra was still gushing over how great it felt being around Glenn.
Yes, he was non-verbal, but when Saphirra and Glenn actually sat amongst themselves, and not under the watchful guise of her master, she truly felt at ease. And it felt nice knowing that she actually had someone to talk to.
Glenn actually listened to Saphirra and didn't just want to use her for her body, either.
While she was well-aware of how much her master truly cared for her, for the first time in several months, Saphirra actually felt wanted on a sensual level. She tried to push these illicit feelings aside; after all, she was only just doing her job.
But she couldn't help but to feel butterflies in her stomach whenever she thought about Glenn.
This was just so magical.
Finally reaching the room that she had been looking for, a dirty smile formed at the base of Saphirra's lips, and as she briefly glanced over her shoulder, she boldly entered Glenn's dressing room.
She planned to give him a night that he would never forget.
Before he was set for action in a handicap match, the Raw camera crew caught Saphirra leaving Kane's dressing room — and the First Lady of the Ministry looked quite disheveled. Previously when she had entered his dressing room, though she was scantily dressed, Saphirra still looked put together; as if she had gotten all dressed for a big night out on the town.
But now, Saphirra looked much different.
Not only was Saphirra's hair visibly sweaty and unkempt, but her lipstick was smudged across the side of face; her red dress, which at one point was form-fitting and hugging to her body like a second skin, was now loose, and her zipper was undone and down her back, as well.
In fact, Saphirra's entire body was glistening in perspiration. Not to mention the fact that she was absolutely beaming, which left both Jerry "The King" Lawler and Jim Ross stunned on commentary, with both men wildly speculating on what could have possibly happened between Kane and Saphirra.
Just what had the two of them been doing?
Regardless, Kane still had a match against two very formidable opponents, in both Hardcore Holly and the Big Show, two men who had serious issues with the Big Red Machine.
In the beginning, both Holly and the Big Show brought the fight to Kane. With the combination of Holly's speed and the the Big Shows raw, massive strength, Kane quickly found himself outmatched.
Things took a turn, however, when the Undertaker, alongside Paul Bearer, both walked down to the ring, just like they had done on Sunday Night Heat.
And by the look on his face alone, clearly the Phenom had some very evil intentions in mind.
In fact, just the Undertaker's mere presence was more than enough to capture the Big Show's attention, who in turn completely lost focus of the match, even while Holly and Kane continued to do battle.
The Big Show hadn't forgotten about all of the evil things that Taker had subjected him to, and he certainly hadn't forgotten how the Ministry had essentially robbed him of the WWF Championship.
So yes, the Big Show definitely wanted to get his hands on the Deadman. Their rivalry was far from being over. While the Big Show continued to stare a hole through the Phenom, Kane quickly took advantage of this distraction, by giving Holly a thunderous Chokeslam, which secured him the victory.
And though he had won the match, Kane also wanted revenge, as he quickly turned his sights to the distracted Big Show. Gaining traction by running into the ropes, Kane dropped the giant by giving him a chop-block to the back of the knee, which sent the 500-pounder crashing to the mat.
And just as everyone suspected, the Phenom also took advantage of this, by sliding into the ring, and with his brother's help, the two men began pounding away on their enemy.
The Big Show was being mauled!
While Kane and the Undertaker dished out all that they could to the mammoth, the Big Show managed to somehow regain his footing, yet he was defenseless. But then, with brute, sheer might, the brothers finally grounded him with a colossal Double Suplex!
The Big Show was down, and yet, Kane wasn't done. He immediately mounted the Big Show and began raining hammering blows to his unconscious adversary, while the Undertaker stalked around the chaos, as if he was a caged animal. He dared for anyone to try to save the Big Show.
After Kane finished assaulting his rival, the Undertaker remained in the ring. He wasn't quite done with the Big Show himself. In fact, he wanted to send a clear and distinct message to Stone Cold Steve Austin.
He wanted this message to be written in blood.
While the Big Show was still down on the canvas, the Phenom stepped out the ring, and grabbed an awaiting steel chair from Paul Bearer. Then, without any hesitation, the Undertaker crashed the steel chair right into the skull of the Big Show, leveling and splitting him open upon impact!
The sickening thud reverberated around the arena; it sounded like a car crash! And yet, Taker still continued to stomp away at the helpless big man! The Phenom had made his intentions perfectly clear:
The Undertaker wanted to draw blood from the Rattlesnake!