Chapter 17: Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2016

Sunday, December 4th, 2016 - TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2016 - Dallas, Texas

Pre-Show:

Curt Hawkins, The Vaudevillains & The Ascension vs Apollo Crews, The Hype Bros & American Alpha

Main Show:

SmackDown Tag Team Championship

Heath Slater & Rhyno (c) vs The Wyatt Family (Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt)

No DQ Match

Carmella vs Nikki Bella

TLC Match for WWE Intercontinental Championship

Zack Mercer (c) vs Dolph Ziggler vs The Miz

Chairs Match

Kalisto vs Baron Corbin

Tables Match for SmackDown Women's Championship

Alexa Bliss vs Becky Lynch (c)

TLC Match for WWE Championship

AJ Styles (c) vs Dean Ambrose

Tonight was SmackDown Live's last Pay-Per-View event of the year 2016 and it was gonna be held live on the D-Town in the Lonestar star state of Texas. Tonight's Pay-Per-View would feature all 4 of SmackDown's Championships being defended tonight at the Pay-Per-View with 2 of those titles being defended in the namesake match of this Pay-Per-View.

James himself was very excited for this event because this was his first time competing in a TLC Match and he was gonna be competing in his second favorite state in the United States. It seemed like just a few months ago he was in the ring winning his first Intercontinental title in the city of Dallas itself.

It was crazy for him to think that he would be returning to the same city as a 2-time Intercontinental Champion defending his title in the same year. It was safe to say that this city had a very, very special place in his heart and had a special place in his career.

"The Las Vegas Ace" himself walked into the American Airlines Center in a pair of black skinny jeans, black suede chelsea boots and one of his t-shirts and a black leather jacket with a simple gold chain around his neck. He had a pair of simple gold hoops in his ears and a gold hoop in his right nostril. This past week James had made some small changes, he had gone and gotten his ears and his right nostril pierced with Lexi. And during that week, he had spent some time with Cassie giving her some much need alone time.

But right now, his main focus was going in that ring tonight and giving the WWE Universe one of the best performances that he could give them and making sure that he walked out tonight as the winner and still the champ.

A Few Hours Later - Men's Locker Room

James stood in the locker room tapping up his wrist. Tonight he wore a turquoise set of tights with black tiger scratches with a white outline. Around the waist there was a black band with a white outline with ZM in the center of that band in black with a white outline. He had turquoise knee pads on both knees with ZM on the right knee and white kick pads along with the tape on his wrist. This attire was reminiscent of the same attire Shawn Michaels wore in one of James' favorite matches all-time, Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon at SummerSlam 1995. Tonight he was looking to channel his inner Shawn Michaels in tonight's match and walk out, the same way he walked in as Intercontinental Champion.

He had the title sitting peacefully in his locker as he stared into it, seeing his reflection in the iconic white and gold championship title. Currently the locker room was empty as everyone was watching the show in catering which was perfect as this gave James enough time to sit back and relax. Or at least he thought.

James was taking a moment to relax before his big-time title defense until he heard a knock on the door, making him walk over to the door. He pulled the door by its handle, opening it to see Shane McMahon standing there with a smile on his face.

"Hey, James, you got a second?"

"Yeah, man. What's up?" James said as he stepped outside of the locker room. One of the big rules apparently for the WWE Locker Room was that bosses or writers were not allowed to enter the locker room. It was one of several rules that were sort of unspoken but enforced.

"I wanted to wish you luck tonight, I know this is your first ladder match in the WWE. Just go out there and have fun. And tonight before you leave the arena, stop by. I got something I want to talk to you about."

"Okay, will do," James said as Shane patted him on the shoulder before walkiing away leaving James to wonder what was the topic that Shane needed to talk to him about. This didn't do anything but create a bit of anxiety in the mind of James.

Minutes Later - Catering

The beautiful women of SmackDown Live sat around at a one round table in the catering area as the Pay-Per-View event aired live on one of the monitors allowing the superstars to watch there fellow competitors compete. Currently the No Disqualificaiton contest between Carmella and Nikkia Bella was on and after that match, the next contest would be the Intercontinental Triple Threat Ladder Match between the likes of The Miz, Dolph Ziggler and the Intercontinental Champion, Zack Mercer.

But currently Nikki Bella and Carmella were doing there best to give the fans in Dallas a show. Lexi had her eyes glued to the monitor, part of her was using the show as a way to try to calm her nerves or ease her anxiety. Tonight she had the biggest match of her career against Becky Lynch and finally had a chance to add some type of hardware around her waist and win her first title in her WWE Career.

And unbeknownst to her, her best friend James McGrady watched from a distance and waited for an opportunity to sneak up on her and surprise her with something that might help ease her nerves. He just wanted to drop it off and walk to gorilla. He didn't know how long the Carmella and NIkki Bella match would last but he needed to make sure that he would be ready, waiting for his cue whenever they were ready.

Rebecca, who was sitting next to Lexi, turned her head looking over at James with a confused frown seeing that he was mouth something.

"Distract her," He mouthed as she nodded.

"Hey Lexi, i think you dropped something," Rebecca lied as Lexi looked on with a frown before peeking under the table to see if she dropped something. James quickly tossed something over to Rebecca before he quickly ran away. Rebecca caught the item and place it in front of Lexi seeing that it was framed photo of her 2 years ago at Disneyworld with James standing beside her.

Lexi lifted her head from under the table and was about to speak when her attention was captured by the photo in front of her with a smile. She picked up the framed picture and without hesitation asked, "James left this for me, didn't he?"

"Yeah."

"Andrew McGrady is something else." She said as she continued to look at the photo with a smile.

Minutes Later - TLC

Dolph Ziggler and The Miz stood in the ring staring daggers into each other's soul as they awaiting the entrance of the Intercontinental Champion.

"Bully" Hits

The fans in the American Airlines Center cheered at the top of their lungs as the music of Zack Mercer hit the PA system.

The WWE Intercontinental Champion walked out onto the stage with the titantron being the sole video in the arena while the lights were off. Zack hunched over with a smile before he stood back up vertically raising his index fingers and middle fingers up in the air as a tribute to his mother and his sister. The lights in the arena started to flash bright white lights. He looked down at his Championship and smiled as he looked around the arena.

"Dallas, How you doin! Let's go it's Mercer Time!" Zack shouted as he walked down the ramp slapping the hands of the fans.

"And their opponent, from Las Vegas, Nevada. Weighing in at 225 Pounds. The Intercontinental Champion, "The Ace of Spades" Zack Mercer." Greg Hamilton announced as he reached the ringside area he looked around at the crowd once more with a smile.

He walked around the ringside area to the ring and got up onto the ring apron similar to the Miz's style. He held onto the middle rope while he raised up his index finger and middle finger with his other hand. He got up to his feet and entered the ring before going over to the turnbuckle and did his pose over again while the fans cheered loudly.

He jumped down from the ropes and walked towards the center of the ring, staring daggers at The Miz as he locked his title on the Championship hangar.

"Bully" Fades

The music faded away as Zack backed up into the corner, changing his view from The Miz onto Dolph Ziggler as the title was raised proudly in the air.

Ding-Ding-Ding!

Zack Mercer, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler all stood in the ring with frowns on their faces as the one of the WWE's most prestigious Championships hung above them on a hook awaiting for someone to pull it down. Zack, Miz and Dolph all started looking up at the title above the ring.

Zack changed his gaze to Miz and Dolph Ziggler, watching as Dolph Ziggler ran towards Miz hitting him with a forearm to the jaw making him stumble into the corner. Ziggler started to put the boots to the midsection of The Miz as the fans cheered while Zack laid across the top turnbuckle and the ropes watching as Dolph did his damage to The Miz. Dolph peeked over his shoulder looking at Zack with an intense frown as The Miz rolled out of the ring getting much needed separation.

The fans cheered as Zack Mercer jumped down staring at Dolph Ziggler. Dolph ran a hand through his hair as Zack nodded along looking out among the sold out crowd in Dallas, Texas. "The Las Vegas Ace" and "The Showoff" ran towards each other immediately trading punches as the fans cheered. Mercer managed to get the advantage and hit Dolph with a few chops to chest making the "The Show Off" howl away in pain as fans chanted the famous "woooo" chant as a tribute to Ric Flair.

Zack had Dolph reeling on the ropes and whipped him across the ring. Dolph didn't see that Miz had gotten back up and grabbed a hold of his feet, pulling him out on the outside. Miz kicked Dolph Ziggler in the abdomen, setting him up for a DDT on the outside! Ziggler's head bounded off the mat on the outside as the fans booed Miz who looked on with a smirk. Miz had gotten back up to his feet, locking eyes with the Intercontinental Champion.

Mercer smiled as Miz slid under the bottom rope and rushed up to his feet. Miz and Mercer circled around the ring before they both started going at each other trading blows Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens style. Mercer was able to get the advantage and managed to get Miz into the corner while Mercer was still going in with blows. Zack Mercer then grabbed Miz's wrist and tried to whip into the corner but Miz reversed it instead sending Zack into the corner.

Miz tried to run behind Mercer and mount some offense but Mercer saw it coming and instead jumped up onto the top turnbuckle in an impressive show of athleticism before he did a backflip landing on his feet. The crowd cheered as Zack ran to the ropes as Miz recovered and went to the center of the ring. Miz went for a clothesline but Zack ducked it and ran for the ropes. When he rebounded off the ropes, he jumped up, taking Miz off of his feet with a flying forearm smash to the jaw.

Zack Mercer got back up to a vertical base and watched as Miz stood back up on his feet. The 2-time Intercontinental Champion clocked Miz in the jaw with a right hand causing The Miz to stumble back a bit. The Miz was quickly able to mount some offense by kicking Mercer in the gut, making Zack Mercer grunt as he held his stomach in pain. The Miz grabbed a hold of Zack Mercer and sent him into the ropes. As Zack bounced off the ropes, he grabbed a hold of The Miz putting him down with a floatover neckbreaker.

Unbeknownst to Zack, Dolph had recovered and ran into the ring waiting for Zack to turn around before he clocked Mercer in the jaw with a dropkick making Mercer drop down to the canvas and roll out of the ring. Dolph turned his attention over to Miz and started to stomp down on The Miz, taking this chance to beat down on his rival. Dolph started to mount over The Miz and started to rain in with a series of right hands on The Miz, who tried to block it as much as he could.

Dolph had grabbed Miz by his hair and pulled him up to his feet, only to clock him in the jaw with a right hand as the fans cheered. The Miz bounced back with a right of his own as the fans booed. Dolph shook it off, and clocked Miz in the face with a right hand causing the fans to cheer. Miz clocked Dolph in the face causing the fans to boo and pretty soon both men started to trade blows left and right as the fans were trading their boos and cheers.

The competitors in the ring didn't see Zack Mercer, who used his freakish athleticism to hop up onto the apron before he springboarded into the ring taking out both competitors with a clothesline! The fans cheered as Zack had reached a vertical base while both competitors had done the same. Zack turned his attention to The Miz and kicked him in the gut before he set him up for a neckbreaker. Dolph stumbled over to Zack only to be rocked with a kick to the gut before he got set up for a DDT. Zack dropped both men with a combination move making the fans cheered before taking this opportunity to roll out of the ring.

The Intercontinental Champion walked over to a ladder, made the ladder collapse before grabbing a hold of it. He walked towards the ring and slid the ladder under the bottom rope. He reached down under the ring apron grabbing a hold of a steel chair, which didn't allow him to see Dolph Ziggler running towards him and clocking him with a baseball slide, allowing the chair to smash into his face!

Dolph had slid out of the ring and bent down grabbing a hold of Zack Mercer and threw him shoulder-first into the steel steps. Some of the fans in the arena booed as Zack Mercer laid on the outside staring up at the lights. Dolph took this opportunity to try to run into the ring and was caught by Miz who grabbed a hold of Dolph and hit him with a swinging neckbreaker slamming him on top of the ladder.

The fans booed The Miz as Dolph Ziggler rolled away in pain gripping his neck. The Miz looked at his handiwork with a smile on his face. That smile soon disappeared as he looked up at the coveted WWE Intercontinental Championship title. He grabbed a hold of the ladder and walked towards the center of the ring. This didn't allow him to see Zack climb up onto the top rope, facing the crowd. The crowd cheered, causing Miz to turn around still holding the ladder in his grasp as Zack jumped up into the air, hitting Miz with a moonsault press onto the ladder!

Zack screamed out in pain and agony as he felt his ribs smash into the steel ladder. The WWE Universe in Dallas, Texas cheered at the performance these fearless competitors were giving them. Dolph Ziggler had taken this time to roll out of the ring and out to the ringside area. "The Showoff" walked around to the timekeeper's area and grabbed a hold of a steel chair. He walked back over to the ringside area, looking on watching as Zack Mercer had groggily reached a vertical base still holding his ribs in pain.

Zack looked around the arena and simply shrugged his shoulders as he backed into the ropes and tried to run towards Dolph to hit him a suicide dive but Dolph threw the chair at Zack as he dove through the ropes. The Intercontinental Champion's body fell through the ropes as he clutched his head while Dolph had leaned up against the announcers table at ringside catching his breath.

Dolph ran towards the ring, slid under the bottom rope and immediately ran towards The Miz, who had taken the time to perch himself in the corner to rest. Dolph jumped at Miz in the corner, hitting him with a corner splash and immediately pulled him out of the corner dropping him with a neckbreaker onto the ladder! The Miz with a taste of his own medicine, groaning in agony as he rolled out of the ring while Dolph had looked up, setting his sights on the white and gold championship belt hanging proudly above the ring.

Dolph reached down and grabbed a hold of the ladder before setting it up in the center of the ring. Dolph had started to climb up the ladder, not seeing Zack springboard off the ropes to reach the halfway mark of the ladder making the WWE Universe cheer and clap their hands in applause for the young star.

Dolph looked on in shock as he sped up his climbing and met Zack up at the top. Both men started to trade blows left and right as the fans cheered seeing the two men duke it out on the top of the ladder. The Miz took his opportunity to slide into the ring and run towards the ladder, trying to muster up enough strength to push the ladder with both men on it!

When Dolph fell off the top of the ladder his throat caught the ropes while Zack unfortunately caught the worse end and landed on the ropes groin first! Zack fell on over crashing to the apron and rolled onto the ringside floor as Dolph laid out in the ring while The Miz leaned up against the ropes examining his handiwork with a smile on his face as the WWE Universe booed loudly.

Miz ran over to Dolph and immediately started putting the boots to the former World Heavyweight Champion. Miz reached down grabbing Dolph pulling him by his hair and drug him over to the ladder that he fell from. Miz slammed Dolph's face into the ladder making the fans boo as Dolph fell back stunned staring up at the ceiling.

The former 6-time Intercontinental Champion grabbed the ladder, holding it in his grasp as Dolph slowly reached for the ropes, using them to pull himself to his feet. As he stumbled around to face The Miz, he was clocked right in the face by The Miz with a ladder. Miz looked down at Dolph with a sick smile on his face as the fans started cheering as Zack had jumped up onto the apron and onto the top rope.

Miz was able to react to Mercer flying in the air and threw the ladder into Zack with all of his strength causing Zack to fall down to the mat as the ladder collided with his body. Zack screamed out in agony as he stared up at the ceiling while Miz looked around at the WWE Universe panting for his breath

"I'm the star of this show!" The Miz shouted as the WWE Universe booed him while Zack, despite the pain in his body, crawled over to the corner. The Intercontinental Champion reached for the ropes, using them as a means to pull himself up to his feet. He leaned up against the corner as Miz picked up a ladder and tried to barricade him in the corner with the ladder but Mercer managed to jump up onto the middle turnbuckle and clock Miz with a kick to the back of the head causing him to fall on his back.

Zack looked around the crowd listening to them cheer. He stepped from the middle turnbuckle onto the ladder as the fans cheered in anticipation. He turned around facing the crowd before jumping off with a Smash Splash (Imploding 450 Splash) as the fans cheered. Zack rose up holding his ribs as Dolph had risen up to his feet, stalking Zack from behind. Dolph rushed in towards Zack and put him flat on back with a Zig-Zag as the WWE Universe cheered.

Dolph looked around at the WWE Universe with a smile on his face as the fans cheered. Dolph rolled out of the ring and grabbed a hold of another ladder and slid it under the bottom rope into the ring. "The Showoff" rolled into the ring and bent down to grab a hold of the ladder to set it up in the center of the ring. Dolph was looking to make tonight the night that he captured his 5th Intercontinental Championship as he started to climb the ladder. He reached up looking to grab a hold of the title and didn't see The Miz quickly coming up the ladder to strike Dolph in the gut with a right hand making him lose his grip on the title above.

Dolph and Miz started to duke it out on the top of the ladder. Both men were trading blows as the fans were cheering seeing the performance these gladiators were putting on for their entertainment. Dolph however managed to get the advantage and grabbed Miz's face smashing it into the top of the ladder making him grunt upon impact. Dolph grabbed a hold of his head again and smashed it on the top of the ladder.

"The Showoff" grabbed a hold of Miz and pushed him off the ladder to fall to the ring. Dolph reached up once more looking to grab a hold of the title but he felt his foot being grabbed by someone making him look down to see Zack Mercer. Zack Mercer yanked Dolph off the ladder but his foot and when Dolph landed he was clocked in the jaw with Ace of Spades (Superkick) making Dolph fall flat to his back.

Mercer walked over to Miz and bent down grabbing him by the head and neck dragging him up to his feet. He threw Miz over the top rope and made his way back to the ladder, quickly mustering up all the strength he had left to quickly cimb up the ladder. He reached up, placing his hands on the title as he look at the fans in the arena. He gripped the buckles of the belt and pulled them causing the title to unhook off its hanger.

The WWE Universe cheered loudly as Zack had just retained his Intercontinental Championship!

Ding-Ding-Ding!

"Bully" Plays

"Here is your winner and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: Zack Mercer!"

The WWE fans in attendance cheered while Zack hugged his title close to his chest with a smile on his face. Zack looked around the arena at the fans as they cheered him on while he celebrated his successful title defense.

He ran a hand through his hair before raising his title proudly in the air.

Minutes Later - Backstage

It was a few minutes removed from James title match and to say that his body was sore was an understatement. He probably would be feeling the effects of this match probably for the next few days but it was nothing some "physical" therapy from Cassie couldn't fix.

James had just finished taking a shower and currently sat in catering with a half-eaten plate in front of him as he watched the rest of the Pay-Per-View backstage. He was clad in simple pair of grey sweatpants, a white v-neck along with some white vans.

Right now, the Chairs match between Baron Corbin and Kalisto was underway and so far the two had been competing for nearly 5 minutes already. So far the social media response from the show had been good, espcially about the SmackDown Tag Team title match and the Ladder match. A lot of people including James himself were excited to see how this storyline with Orton and Wyatt would play out. And the ladder match was something that James was happy himself to see the interaction with that match.

This was his 5th Pay-Per-View match in his WWE Career and 4th win overall on Pay-Per-View, it was great to say the least. He had been on the main roster since late July and in only a few months, he could say he was a 2-time Intercontinental Champion and one of the fastest rising stars on SmackDown Live and in the WWE.

There was a ding coming from his phone making him turn his attentions to his phone. He reached over fro his phone, lifting it up to see a message from the current commissioner of SmackDown. James took a deep breath and grabbed a hold of his plate to throw away his trash and begin, making his way to the office to meet with Shane.

James walked through the backstage area, walking past a few members of the stage crew and a few of the talent until he reached a door with the name McMahon plastered along the front of it. He knocked on the door, waiting for a while until the door was pulled open by Shane.

"Hey, James. I saw your match. Good job, come inside, we got a lot to discuss," Shane said as he stepped to the side, allowing James to walk inside the room before the door was closed.

Results:

10-Man Tag Team Match Winner: Apollo Crews, American Alpha & The Hype Bros

Main Show:

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Winner: The Wyatt Family

No Disqualifitcation Winner: Nikki Bella

Intercontinental Championship Winner: Zack Mercer

Chairs Match Winner: Baron Corbin

SmackDown Women's Championship Winner: Alexa Bliss

WWE World Championship Winner: AJ Styles

A/N: Alright so I hoped you guys enjoyed this one.

This is the ZackAttack signing out!

Peace!