A/N: Alright so once more, I will test my luck attempting to do a Zack Mercer story. I'm actually gonna listen to the fans with this run unlike I did with the rewrite. I feel like I can do better. I know I can do better and I'm gonna try my best to do better. I'm seriously gonna be rewriting some scenes. I'm seriously gonna try my best to recapture that passion that led me to creating Zack Mercer in the first place. And there are some who hate me and hate what I do. There are some who have me listed in their Hall of Shame. And to those people I say thank you. Thank you for providing the fuel that I need to get remotivated to write. Now this chapter may seem like the exact same chapter but I did change a few things and I will list those at the bottom of this chapter.

Chapter 1: Drafted?

Las Vegas, NV - 1997

The television set in the room lit up the entire room eliminating the darkness within the room. On that TV was a sport. A sport that many people would argue wasn't a sport. They say it was more entertainment than sport, so they dubbed it Sports Entertainment. But to others, it was wrestling, Professional Wrestling. And at the time, 1997, there were 3 big promotions that ruled the industry: ECW, WCW and WWF. Each company had their own unique style and while the 7 year old kid watching the TV favored the WWF, there was one man that brought him to WCW. That one man: Sting. Sting was his hero. Sting gave him hope that one day he could escape the tragedy that was his life. And right now, his escape was in the form of Starrcade 1997 where "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan was taking on Sting for Hogan's WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

"James!" He heard his sister shout, making him turn his head and see her walking into the living room with a plate of oreos and a glass of milk.

"I brought you a snack. Since you did good on your report card, I'm gonna get you that new Sting shirt you wanted." His older sister said placing the plate down on the coffee table before ruffling his jet black hair. His older sister, Elizabeth McGrady was his caretaker ever since their father passed from a drug overdose. Their father was a mess. Especially after their mother died giving both to the younger child, James. Their father Andrew, who James was named after, cited his son Andrew James McGrady Jr as the source of all his problems. He cited that James was the cause of him turning to drugs. He claimed that if James was never born, he never would have to cope using drugs. That type of verbal and mental abuse was something a child should never be exposed to. James' sister was his caretaker throughout his life. And when their father passed 3 years ago after she turned 18, she became his legal guardian. They were lucky that the house was left to them as well as fund their mother left, without the father knowing. Elizabeth used that to go to a community college while also working and taking care of James.

There was no question that Elizabeth was one of the hardest working women that James knew even at a young age or may ever know in his entire life time.

"Thanks but I don't want you to get it." He said in a sorrow tone as he took one of the cookies off the plate and dipped it into his milk. This made Elizabeth look at him with worry in her eyes.

"Why? You've been talking about that shirt for weeks." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know but I don't want you to spend money on something unimportant. I don't want to add more stress to your life." She appreciated him thinking of her but it wasn't his job to take care of her. It was her job to take care of him and she at least owed it to him to make sure he had the best life possible.

"Hey, don't worry about that. What do I always say?"

"Well you always say Fuc-" He was about to say but she quickly placed a hand over his mouth cutting off his speech.

"Not that. The other."

"You always say that God's got his hands on us and that he'll take care of us."

"Exactly. Now look at the TV, Sting's got him." James quickly turned to look at the TV set seeing Sting lock on the Scorpion Deathlock as "Hollywood" Hogan screamed out in pain while Bret Hart was the active referee checking on Hogan seeing if he was gonna tap. Hogan nodded as Bret Hart called for the bell while the WCW fans in attendance started to cheer as Sting was the new WCW World Champion. This brought a smile to his face as he looked at the wrestler embrace Sting who held up the Big Gold Belt.

"When I grow up, I wanna be just like Sting!" James said as he jumped up while his sister stared into his electric blue orbs with hers.

"Andrew James McGrady, you can be anything you want. As long as you work hard and keep believing." She said ruffling his hair once again making him chuckle. She chuckled as well reaching down grabbing a oreo off the plate and stuffing it into her mouth.

Tuesday, July 19th, 2016 - WWE Draft - WWE Performance Center

It's been years since that day and Andrew McGrady made due on his promise to become a professional wrestler. He had been wrestling on the indy scene for quite some time under the name he would use even in the WWE, Zack Mercer. He had been wrestling since he was 16 years old and luckily was able to make a name for himself. He was mostly known for his time in ROH and his brief stint in TNA. Throughout his career he was a 1-time ROH World Champion, 1-time ROH Tag Team Champion and 1-time ROH World Television Champion, becoming the second ROH Triple Crown Winner and in TNA, he was a 1-time TNA X-Division Champion. Quickly, he was making a name for himself and it earned him a chance in the WWE, more specifically NXT but still the WWE nonetheless. And in NXT, he made a name for himself under the alias, Zack Mercer in NXT. He stayed in NXT from mid 2013 up until now, mid 2016. He won the NXT Championship once and held it up until his loss against Adrian Neville at NXT Arrival.

But tonight was arguably gonna be the biggest night in his entire career as well as in the careers of several other NXT Stars. It was night that would change many of their careers for ever mainly the careers of those men and women who would be drafted by the flagship show, Raw or the newly dubbed "Land of Opportunity", Smackdown Live. The men and women who were not drafted however will have no choice but to continue their time in NXT and try harder next time.

All the superstars of NXT were sitting chairs lined up in rows. In one of the chairs sat the 5'11, 220 pounder from Las Vegas, Nevada. He was a lot older than before. He grew out his hair reaching down to the middle of his back with a faded undercut. He even grew out a beard in that time. He had even gotten a few tattoos. He had a small decepticon logo tattooed behind his left ear. On the underside of his left forearm he had Power is Beauty written in cursive with a rose branch placed across the underside of his forearm. On his left bicep, he had a heart tattooed with wings next to it. On his right hand had the name Elizabeth tattooed in cursive as a dedication to his sister. He had his hair tied up in a messy bun with a NXT shirt and shorts with black Adidas Ultraboost.

Beside him sat one half of the iconic duo, Cassie McIntosh AKA Peyton Royce. She held his hand with a smile on her face as her tag team partner, Jessie McKay AKA Billie Kay.

In a seat in the row behind her sat Alexis Kaufman AKA Alexa Bliss sitting holding the hand of her boyfriend, Matthew Adams AKA Buddy Murphy. Lexi looked around the performance center before her attention was set on the man in front of her. She knew him by his real name, Andrew James McGrady or his nickname that she only called him Drew while everyone else called him James.

"Drew!" James heard Lexi say, making him look up at the TV.

We're gonna add a little fiery temper and pure athleticism to Smackdown Live. That's why we're picking Zack Mercer from NXT!" Shane McMahon said into the mic on the Smackdown Live stage while in the performance center, Andrew McGrady could be seen covering his face in his hands while everyone around him clapped and cheered for him. He removed his hands from his face showing tears of joy with a smile on his face while he chuckled at his own reaction. He ran a hand through his hair as he got up to his feet to hug the people around him.

"You alright there honey?" asked Cassie as he hugged her first. He kissed her on the jaw before he pulled away and nodded his head. He would occasionally give out handshakes to the men around him and gave the girls hugs. He hugged everyone except Lexi.

"Drew?" Lexi asked in a questionable tone making him chuckle as he walked over to the blonde haired woman and gave her a big hug lifting her up while they both laughed. The smile on Cassie's face faded away while the smile on Matthew's face faded away also. He put her down on her feet and gave her a kiss on his forehead before he pulled away and hugged Cassie one more time. He then sighed as he walked away from her and towards the interviewer. When Andrew was out of sight, Cassie sent Lexi a death stare which Lexi noticed and frowned up. Matthew wrapped his arm around his girlfriend and looked down at her with a reassuring smile.

Minutes Later

Zack Mercer walked into a camera shot showing him in a Smackdown live t-shirt with Dasha Gonzalez AKA Dasha Fuentes.

"So Zack Mercer you've been one of the most talked about draft picks in NXT. But the question is, who is Zack Mercer?" Dasha Fuentes as she put the microphone up to Zack's lips.

"Who is Zack Mercer? Dasha, that's the billion dollar question isn't it. Zack Mercer, the 5'11, 220 pound superstar from Las Vegas, Nevada. The Dreamkid, The Ace of Spades, Mr. PPV. At one point I was Mr. Wednesday Night, Mr. NXT but as of right now, I am Mr. Tuesday Nights. I am Mr. SmackDown. They're calling SmackDown, The Land of Opportunity. Trust me when I say this I plan on taking full advantage of that opportunity and become one of the greatest superstars in the history of the WWE." He said with a smile

"And one more thing, How you doin?" Zack said before he walked away but not before giving a wink to Dasha.

Hours Later

Andrew leaned up against a wall as he had his phone in hand with his phone up to his ear. The smile that was on his face couldn't be erased and he just had to share the news with the women who raised him.

"Hello?" He heard his sister side on the other side of the phone.

"Hey Liz, Guess what?"

"What?"

"I got drafted to SmackDown!" He heard her squeal and giggle making him chuckle as well.

"That's amazing. I'm so proud of you. You did it. All those years of hard work have finally paid off."

"Yeah, now I'm up here in the big leagues. I'm gonna be on prime time television."

"I might have to get me a Mr. Tuesday Night shirt." He chuckled once again.

"Yeah, If I make it a shirt I'll send you one."

"Alright and make sure you send some WrestleMania tickets, Lena wants to go."

"I'll try, no promises. Love you."

"Love you too."

"Bye." James said hanging up the phone. He sighed as he looked down at the ground before looking up pointing a finger up in the sky mouthing the words 'Thank you'.

Andrew then walked over to his chair next to Cassie still wearing his Smackdown t-shirt. His hair was down on his shoulder now and his face had a huge smile on it while Cassie put on a fake smile. Truth was she was jealous about him and Lexi. She always thought that Lexi was there to replace her if anything went wrong in their relationship.

"Hey Cas come with me for a second?" Andrew whispered in her ear before he got up to his feet holding Cassie's hand while she had a confused look on her face. Lexi looked at Andrew and Cassie with eyes of curiosity.

Once they were around the corner, Andrew pulled Cassie into his arms and smashed his lips onto her rough but also passionate at the same time. Cassie was somewhat surprised by his roughness but she loved his passion. When they broke the kiss both were breathing hard with their foreheads touching together. He soon started to kiss her neck with light kisses while Cassie smiled.

"What was that for?" She asked.

"I kissed you because I really needed to. When I'm on the road, I want you to know that I'm still with you." He said as he stopped kissing her neck and looked her in her eyes.

"I know you're still with me here and I need you to know that I really, really like you but when you're with me here I feel like you're gonna end up with her instead of me." She said. He put his arms around her waist while she put her arms around his neck.

"I see Lexi only as a friend. Now, I see you and all of your assets in a romantic way." He said as he lowered his hands down her backside. She giggled at her boyfriend's response. She put her hand on a certain area making his eyes go wide.

"When we get to the Hotel room, Me and my assets are gonna show you a good time." She whispered seductively in his ear making him smile. She got out his hold and walked away swaying her hips while he stood there stunned. She turned her head back to see her boyfriend stunned causing her to wiggle a finger telling him to come here. He followed like a dog after a bone. When they walked back into the main area they were surprised by the sound of everybody clapping and cheering causing Andrew to look around confused. Cassie looked on the screen and saw that Alexa Bliss had been drafted to Smackdown Live making her sigh as she realized her boyfriend would now be traveling on the road with Lexi.

Before she could say anything or respond Andrew was already near Lexi giving her a hug as she had tears of joy on her face. Cassie looked at the image of Andrew hugging Lexi with eyes of jealousy.

A/N: So I did still use the 1st chapter from The Zack Mercer Story for this one and I did that on purpose. I feel like 2016 is one of those great periods in wrestling especially the WWE Draft since so many great superstars came out of the draft and I want Mercer to be included in this and I promise things will get better from here.

Changes:

I changed Zack's physical appearance mainly his weight and tattoos.

I changed his backstory in the sense where his sister is alive.

I changed Zack's achievements prior to his WWE run.

James does not have a daughter in this version.

And various other changes you will see throughout the story.

This is the ZackAttack signing out!

Peace!