Team Work chapter 258
November 6, 2020
Stephanie stands outside and breathes in deeply, a small smirk on her face. It's cold outside, the air chills her lungs. She likes it. She taps her fingers against her forearm and sighs softly, lips twitching a few times before she heads inside. To the warmth of the building and the cool stare of the wrestlers within as she walks past, eager to lock herself in her office and begin to book the night's card. See where her little vision will take itself this week.
I can't believe this has been on-going for almost six years by now, she thinks. She'd been so sure it'd get canceled either via poor ratings or her father getting angry over her idea. But no, neither had happened. She smiles and smooths her fingers over the logo adorning her door before pushing it open and entering, immediately grabbing her laptop and getting to work.
The first match of the night pits Dak Draper against Braun Strowman. After some back and forth that slowly wears Braun out, Draper walks out victorious. Hikaru Shida defeats Nia Jax, and Wardlow picks up a win over Jey Uso. Tony Nese partners with Austin Gunn against Billy Gunn and Darby Allin. Despite some initial reluctance between father and son to fight each other, the match eventually picks up and Tony Nese gets the winning pin for his team, to Austin's relief.
Cedric Alexander and Matt Hardy take on and defeat Johnny Swinger in handicap action, and Toni Storm wins against Dakota Kai. Serena Deeb holds her own and eventually is successful in triple threat action against Shayna Bazsler and Ruby Riott. Eric Young gets a surprising win against Mox.
Tommaso Ciampa comes to the ring, a small smirk on his face as he leans back against the turnbuckle and stretches, waiting while Shelton Benjamin makes his entrance, barely interested in the man before him. He hums, rotating his neck, his wrists, squinting over at his opponent while Shelton steps into the ring, their eyes locking. His smirk comes back in full force when Shelton huffs and steps back to wait for the ref to call for the bell so they can begin this thing.
The match starts off a little slow- Shelton is a methodical worker and Ciampa chooses to play it at his speed for now. They wrestle a little, Ciampa down on his back after a Take Down, and he breathes in deeply, trying to curb his anger. Not yet, he reminds himself. There's plenty of time. He resumes feeling things out, figuring out Shelton's weaknesses, his strengths. Although his style is usually harder than this, sometimes he enjoys the chase too. Making wrestling into something of a puzzle that he has to decipher. Overcome. And Shelton is such a well-renowned competitor. Why waste the opportunity?
Ultimately, it's Shelton who picks the speed up, ratchets the intensity between them to max. One minute, Ciampa is working out how an arm submission would do against him, the next, he's lying flat on the mat, staring up at the lights, and Shelton is pinning him following a suplex that had come out of nowhere. Ciampa kicks, of course he does, and then neither man holds back. Ciampa lands a solid strike against his upper chest that sends Shelton wheezing to his knees for a minute, but Shelton volleys back with a knee to the sternum that makes Ciampa's vision swim. Elbows and superkicks, knees to the face and slaps that make their ears ring, things start to move so fast it all becomes a bit of a blur.
Ciampa kicks at two after another high German suplex, and Shelton has to do the same after Ciampa knees him in the jaw just right, downing him. They then begin fighting with determination, anger and frustration beginning to fuel their moves. Ciampa thinks he's slipping, losing a step against Shelton's inate ability, but then... then Shelton fumbles, misjudges a fall away slam, and Ciampa regains his footing, grabs Shelton from behind and slams him into the mat with a force that leaves even him gasping. Shaking it off, he grips his skull, drags him upright once more, and pulls him into the ropes.
One Willow's Bell later, and it's all over, Ciampa laying over Shelton, breathing heavily as he realizes he's succeeded. He's won. His smirk turns into a faint laugh as the referee lifts his arm in victory.
Chris Bey defeats Brody King, and Kenny Omega makes relatively quick work of Jeff Hardy. Doc Gallows shocks everyon witnessing it by pinning Drew McIntyre. Orange Cassidy plays it smart and subtle and gets a victory in six man action over Ariya Daivari, Nick Jackson, Ricochet, Lashley, and Kushida.
Nyla Rose wins against Sasha Banks, and Sami Callihan takes out Miro. Baron Corbin gets a win over Cody, and Matt Jackson defeats MJF.
In the main event, Mansoor stands in the ring and watches as Seth Rollins comes to the ring. His entrance is flashy, bright, the music is almost religious in undertones, and Mansoor has to look away eventually because it's just too much. Once Seth joins him, he stretches his arms out and stares right into Mansoor's eyes. "We don't have to fight," he yells across at him, a dark glint in his eyes despite the small smile on his lips. "You're a successful young guy, I've been watching you and I like what I see. You should join me, we could do incredible things together. I'd help you-"
But Mansoor has seen what Seth's done for his other disciples, most recently Buddy Murphy, and he shakes his head slowly. "No, thanks," he calls back. "I'm good."
Seth's eyes flash with anger at this rejection, and as soon as the bell rings, he all but dives onto Mansoor, not giving him a moment to breathe as he punches and kicks, striking Mansoor as brutally and as quickly as he can. He only backs up once the kid's down on his knees and the referee's reprimands register with him. Mansoor does try to fight back, but it's clearly a losing battle as Seth's anger fuels him, leaves Mansoor on the brink of losing again and again just for Seth to draw back each time, clearly wanting to continue this onslaught. "You will learn!" he yells at Mansoor. "They all will learn through this lesson I am teaching you. No one defies the Messiah!"
He grips his hair, drags him up to look him in the eye, and sneers, slapping him harshly across the face. "We could've worked well together, you and I. We could've been great together. But now we will never know." Drops him, lets him languish on the mat, struggling to right himself, trembling as he braces himself, tries to look- Seth shakes his head as he watches, then rushes forward and plants his boot on the back of Mansoor's neck, booting him straight down face first against the mat, with enough force to easily knock him out. After that, the pin is just a formality.
Seth's anger clears as soon as the bell rings, and he spreads his arms, lifting his face to the warmth of the lights above, once more the pleased Messiah overseeing his surroundings, deeming it all worthy, all former negativity regarding Mansoor forgotten. For now.