On Top of the Mountain

by Lance Cortex

Having a title has its advantages and its disadvantages. One man has enjoyed the advantages for many months, but he is about to find out all the disadvantages the hard way. When all is said and done, will he still be a champion? (Chapter 10 is finished)

6. Survivor Series

Chapter 6:

Survivor Series.

Scotty 2 Hotty continued to tape up his wrists as he sat in the locker room at the second-oldest Pay-per-view event in WWE history. Every now and then, the crowd would erupt in a raucous cheer for something that was happening in the ring. The Cincinnati crowd was always a boisterous one, and they seemed to be enjoying the event thus far.

Scotty glanced over at the dry-erase board propped up near the doorway of the locker room for perhaps the hundredth time that night. The schedule of matches and interviews were arranged in chronological order on the board, with approximate times scribbled off to the side so the organizers of the event could estimate how much time they had to work with in order to meet the eleven o'clock deadline. As the night progressed, the segments were crossed off as they happened by a stagehand. Eager anticipation began to build up in Scotty's gut. His match -- the fifth one of the night -- was up next. He could hardly wait.

Once he had finished his task and packed the tape back into his duffel bag, he adjusted the belt around his waist and went over to get a closer look at the schedule.

Batista had defended his Intercontinental Title against Matt Hardy in the first match, followed by a successful defense of the Women's Title by Victoria. After that had been Shannon Moore's match with Mark Jindrak; unfortunately, Jindrak had won, and Moore was currently getting his ankle looked at by the medics. Scotty had just come back from visiting his friend, and the news was good overall: just a minor sprain that would heal up in about two or three weeks. Shannon deserved a vacation anyway.

The current match was the high-flying duo of Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam challenging the Dudleys for the WWE Tag Team Titles. The young superstar left the locker room and headed over to a nearby TV station to watch the action. The Dudleys had been unstoppable in the tag-team division for the past few months, but many believed that RVD and Mysterio had what it takes to beat the most decorated tag team in WWE history and claim the title for themselves.

As Scotty tried to focus on the exciting match, he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to everything that had led up to his upcoming encounter with Luther Reigns. Somehow, he had gotten himself involved in some very bad company in the form of Angle, Reigns, and Jindrak. How had this all started? Had this entire thing been caused by the US Title? Did the bad blood begin to form when Scotty had pinned the Olympic Gold Medalist all those months ago to win the coveted belt? Or did it start all those years ago when Scotty and Rikishi had defeated Angle and Reigns in a tag-team match? The timeline was just too expansive to comprehend. Finding the foundation of this hatred would do no good anyway; what mattered was where it went from here, where it took them all.

Scotty rubbed the belt unconsciously as the magnitude of this night began to sink in. He had won the belt an entire six months ago. Already, that put him at a disadvantage, since the average title reign fell in the ballpark of about four and a half months; anything longer was generally considered to be extremely rare, especially for the US Title and IC Title, which could he won and held by virtually anyone. Add in the fact that his opponent had been trained by Angle -- one of the best in the business -- plus the fact that Reigns would be focused more on hurting his opponent rather than actually beating him, plus the fact that he outweighed Scotty by about seventy pounds, plus the fact that he had the support of Angle and Jindrak......no matter how Scotty viewed his odds tonight, they just didn't seem to favor him. He was going to have to utilize every trick he knew in his vast arsenal in order to leave Cincinnati with the United States Title still affixed to his waist.

"Here are your winners, and still WWE Tag Team Champions.......Bubba and D-Von.......the Dudley Boys!" Tony Chimmel announced over the television screen, snapping Scotty out of his reverie. He focused back on the small screen as the Dudleys grabbed their title belts and retreated to the ramp to avoid the anger of their vanquished opponents. They had stolen their victory, of course, and Mysterio and RVD were understandably miffed at their missed opportunity at the belts.

Scotty sighed at the sight. It was a tough break for the dynamic duo, but they were almost guaranteed another shot at those titles somewhere down the road. Scotty cracked his knuckles as he realized that his match was up next. He forced himself to calm down as he made his way to the entrance in anticipation. There would be no commercial break for him to wait through tonight, meaning he would not have to deal too much with his thoughts running away from him.

He reached the gorilla position just as the somber pair of RVD and Mysterio walked through, disheveled and disheartened. Scotty spoke in as cheerful a tone as he could muster, "Great match out there tonight, guys. Very impressive."

RVD just shrugged in resignation, his face the very essence of passiveness, "Yeah, I guess it was. Maybe next time it'll be good enough for us to win those titles."

"You were watching it then?" Mysterio inquired.

"Yeah, I saw the last couple minutes," Scotty said sympathetically, "Don't worry, though. You two are really impressing management. It's only a matter of time before you get another shot at those titles."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Mysterio conceded with a sigh, "Still, it would've been nice to win 'em tonight."

"Yeah, but whatever; we'll get 'em soon. They can't keep those belts from us forever," Rob said amiably. He turned to the US Champion and said, "Hey, good luck tonight, man. We'll be rooting for ya."

"Thanks," Scotty smiled, "We'll see what happens."

RVD and Mysterio walked off to the locker room, leaving Scotty with his own thoughts before the big match. He rolled his shoulders in an effort to relieve the sudden tension he was feeling; this was it, his big moment.

As a nearby stagehand indicated thirty seconds to go before the next match, Scotty saw someone approaching out of the corner of his eye. Expecting Luther, he tensed up. However, he saw that the figure was much smaller and walked at a brisk pace uncharacteristic of Reigns' steady lumbering. Scotty smiled when he saw who it was.

"Mr. Long, now this is a surprise," he said, feeling reassured and curious at the same time.

The Smackdown General Manager approached him and said, "Excuse me one second, playah. I just have a quick announcement to make regarding your match real quick," he turned to the nearby stage crew, "Cue my music, if you would."

The stage hands pressed a few buttons on their console, and Teddy Long's music began to play a moment later. The GM winked at Scotty as he jogged up the steps and walked out onto the stage entrance, microphone in hand, amid the cheering fans.

"Holla holla!" Teddy Long announced to the Cincinnati crowd as Scotty listened from his position backstage. The General Manager continued, "Now before we proceed with the United States Championship defense, I have an announcement to make regarding Kurt Angle," he said slowly for emphasis. He waited a moment for the crowd's negative reaction to die down before continuing, "Now since Mr. Angle has been having a difficult time restraining himself in the past few weeks, I have decided to give him some added incentive to stay in the back for this next match. You see, Kurt, I am sick and tired of you interfering in Scotty 2 Hotty's matches, ya feel me? That is why I have decided to add the following stipulation to the following match: if anyone -- and I do mean anyone -- interferes in the match between Scotty 2 Hotty and Luther Reigns, they will be fired on the spot, no questions asked!"

As the crowd erupted into cheers, Teddy Long shouted an exuberant, "Ballee-dat!" and walked back through the entrance as Scotty's music began to blare over the speakers.

With a joyful smile on his face, Scotty jogged up the steps, passing the departing GM on his way. Teddy Long patted Scotty on the shoulder and whispered a quick, "Good luck, playah," before leaving. Scotty nodded and ran through the curtains.

He was immediately met with a chorus of cheers from the thousands of fans in the arena, all of which were still quite worked up from Long's announcement. Scotty headed to the ring -- making sure to welcome all the fans on the way -- as Tony Chimmel announced the match, "The following contest is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the WWE United States Championship! Introducing first: he is the United States Champion, Scotty.......2.......Hotty!"

Scotty slid into the ring and jumped up on the turnbuckle amid a deafening cacophony of cheers and a blinding flood of camera flashes. He posed for the fans a bit, then hopped down and repeated the process at the other three corners of the ring as Luther's music began to play.

Scotty paced back and forth in the middle of the ring as the hulking form of his opponent walked out onto the stage minus his partners Angle and Jindrak. He ignored the disapproving 'boos' of the fans as he steadily made his way to the ring. He hopped up onto the apron and stared at the US Champion intently as he was announced by Tony Chimmel, "And his opponent, weighing in at 295 pounds........Luther......Reigns!"

Reigns entered the ring as Scotty reluctantly unbuckled his belt and handed it to the referee, who stood in the middle of the ring and raised it high above his head for all to see. He jogged over to the side of the ring, handed the belt to a crew member, and motioned for the bell.

As soon as the bell rang, Scotty's mind cleared instantly of all intruding thoughts that could possibly interfere with his performance. The lights suddenly became less blinding, the noise less deafening, the tension less evident. The crowd suddenly began to fade away, as did the entrance and the announce table and the stage hands and photographers surrounding the ring. The only thing that mattered was Scotty and his scowling opponent. Without the external variable of Angle or Jindrak or anybody else interfering, the current US Champ was able to completely clear his thoughts and assume a single-mindedness that he was rarely given the chance to experience. He couldn't remember the last time he was more focused.

All of this occurred within the blink of an eye. Mere moments after the bell rang, Scotty dashed over to his opponent and began to hammer the big man's face with closed fists before he had a chance to react. Luther, caught off guard, stumbled back into the ropes as Scotty pummeled him with everything he had, raining blows down upon his opponent's broad chest and abdomen.

Luther blocked the vicious onslaught to the best of his abilities. After enduring the beating for several seconds, he swung his muscular arm outward and shoved Scotty back. The US Champ simply sprang back up and went right back to work, forcing Reigns into a corner.

He systematically pounded on every part of his opponent's body until the mighty Luther Reigns slumped down to his knees. Scotty then began to kick the large man's chest until he was forced flat on his back. Scotty grit his teeth in concentration as the ref pulled on his arm in an effort to get him to stop.

When his blood had just about reached a boiling point, Scotty backed away from his dazed opponent as the crowd cheered him on. He quickly ran to the opposite corner and dashed towards the groggy Reigns, turning his forward movement into a hard dropkick right to the sternum. Reigns, with his back to the turnbuckle, was sandwiched by the US Champion's kick; his breath left his lungs in a great "Ooof!" as Scotty stood back up, ready to continue with his unstoppable offense.

Before the US Champion could continue his onslaught, Luther slid out of the ring and stumbled around the outside, a hand clutching his aching chest. Scotty slid out and chased after him, running into the back of the big man's head with a running clothesline. Luther stumbled but managed to keep his balance. Scotty pounded his opponent's back, but Reigns turned unexpectedly and delivered a stiff right hand directly into the smaller man's gut. Scotty's midsection crumpled beneath the mighty blow, but he forced himself to remain upright. Sucking up the pain, he stomped away at Luther's legs in an effort to take the big man down.

Luther was brought to his knees, but he simply shot his arm forward and engulfed Scotty's face in his meaty hand. Scotty struggled to loosen the big man's grasp but Luther merely stood up and shoved the back of Scotty's head into the guard rail. Stars immediately began to dance in Scotty's vision as his surroundings became fuzzy. His eyes watered as his head began to throb from the incredible force of the blow.

Reigns grabbed his opponent by the head and rolled him back into the ring just as the ref reached seven in his count-out. The big man slid in the ring and covered the champion.

Scotty's dazed mind registered the cover and he was able to pull his shoulder up just in time. Nonplussed, Luther stood up gingerly, his chest still aching, and muscled the smaller man into the corner.

Reigns pounded on Scotty's midsection with vicious rights and lefts, leaving angry red welts on the US Champion's chest and stomach. Unable to defend himself, Scotty could only endure the punishment.

Luther shot his opponent into the ropes and ran him over with a massive clothesline. Scotty was knocked end-over-end and he landed hard on his stomach, the breath leaving his body once more. He got up onto his hands and knees, but Luther quickly straddled the smaller man and locked in a camel clutch. Not expecting such a sudden submission move, Scotty was unable to fight it until after it was locked in. He clawed at his opponent's beefy hands as his surgically-repaired neck was wrenched backward at a dangerous angle.

The referee leaned down next to Scotty's head, asking him if he wanted to quit. Scotty vehemently refused as he flailed his arms desperately for the ropes which were much too far away for him to reach anyway. He was beginning to feel light-headed. The pressure and the pain were beginning to get to him. No, he couldn't lose like this. He couldn't lose his title in such a way. He wasn't going to pass out; not a chance in hell.

In one last desperate move, Scotty grabbed hold of Luther's kneepads and planted his legs under him as best as he could given his position. Bunching his muscles together, he strained to lift the heavy man off of his back with every ounce of energy he had left.

For one joyful moment, it seemed that it was going to work, but Luther simply released his hold, jumped up, and drove his body right into the spine of his opponent. Scotty slammed onto the mat once more and tried to pick himself up doggedly.

As Luther's arms reached down to put him in the hold again, Scotty drove his elbow behind him in an act of desperation; his gamble paid off. His elbow connected with the face of his opponent, invoking a sickening crack. The hulking man immediately stumbled backwards from the blow, allowing Scotty to get to his feet.

As the US Champion slowly turned around to meet his opponent, he noticed the blood streaming down the big man's face and the odd angle his nose was pointing. Luther Reigns regarded the smaller man with fury as his broken nose continued to drip blood like a leaky faucet. Reigns was angry, to say the least.

Scotty smiled mockingly, baiting the large man to act brashly. Allowing his anger to dominate his actions, Reigns rushed his opponent with complete disregard for his actions. As soon as he approached within striking distance, Scotty performed a quick drop-toe hold, bringing the big man face-first down to the mat.

As Reigns landed on his stomach, Scotty immediately hopped onto his back and quickly wrapped his arms around the big man's head. Reigns tried to fight the US Champ's efforts, but Scotty managed to secure the headlock and twist his opponent's thick neck in a painful direction.

Reigns reached for the ropes, but he was too far. He planted his hands onto the canvas and hefted himself up with Scotty still clutching tenaciously to his head. Surprised at the strength exhibited by the big man, Scotty tightened his hold, not wanting to let his opponent get his feet under him.

The strength of Luther Reigns, however, proved to be too much for the smaller man to contain. Luther made it to his feet as Scotty clung to his back and neck doggedly. He could tell the big man was beginning to feel woozy, and if he could just hold on just a bit longer......

With a sudden surge of energy, Reigns backed into the corner, crushing the US Champion and breaking the hold. Luther stumbled forward, his head swimming and his nose still bleeding profusely, as Scotty recovered in the corner, his ribs aching.

Reigns turned back to the corner and charged his opponent, but Scotty countered with yet another drop-toe hold that sent the big man's head crashing into the second turnbuckle. Scotty crawled away to the opposite corner to catch his breath.

As the bloody Luther Reigns made his way to his feet and turned around, Scotty dashed forward and hit the big man with an impressive splash which snapped his opponent's head back against the top turnbuckle. Reigns stumbled and swung blindly at his nimble opponent, who simply ducked and connected with a savage uppercut.

Luther teetered back into the corner, his head aching and the entire lower half of his face coated in a thick coating of warm, sticky blood. Scotty held his hand up excitedly, acknowledging the cheers of the crowd, as he dashed forward again, this time intending to drive his shoulder into his opponent's gut.

As he shot his upper body forward, Reigns jumped out of the way at the very last second; Scotty's shoulder connected painfully with the unforgiving steel ring post, and it was all the young superstar could do to not yell out in pain. He hung on the ropes helplessly, not daring to move his aching shoulder.

Reigns grabbed Scotty by the waist, yanked him out from his precarious position on the ropes, and stuck the US Champ's head under his arm. Scotty, upon realizing that Reigns was going for his finisher, struggled violently in the big man's grasp until he reached the ropes. Luther reluctantly let go of the smaller man as the ref pulled the two apart.

As soon as the ref moved out of the way, Luther rained a volley of clubbing blows to Scotty's head and back. The US Champ winced in pain whenever his sore shoulder was struck, although he endeavored to mask his pain. The last thing he needed right now was to give Reigns a weakened body part to work on.

As the ref forced Luther to back off, Scotty used the ropes to pull himself to his feet unsteadily. When the big man moved in to inflict more punishment on the US Champion, Scotty retaliated with an unexpected drop kick to the chest. Reigns went flying backward onto the mat.

Both men slowly made it to their feet as the crowd began to cheer on Scotty. The young superstar circled his opponent and hit him from behind with a chop block just as Luther got his feet underneath him. The tall man toppled over and Scotty immediately went to work on wearing down the thick leg of his opponent.

Scotty executed a flurry of kicks, drops, and holds all centered squarely on the knee of Luther Reigns. The big man muscled out of each and every one of them, but Scotty noticed that he did so with just a bit less power each time. He was effectively wearing the big man down, and he was so close to victory he could taste it.

After being muscled away yet again, Scotty regained his balance and executed a standing Boston crab on the huge leg of Reigns. Luther clutched at his bloody face in an effort to keep his hands from tapping. He clawed towards the ropes, although he lacked sufficient power to shake off the tenacious US Champion. Scotty kept the move locked in, not willing to release the big man at any cost.

Reigns inched his way over to the ropes and eventually managed to get his fingertips onto the shaking bottom rope. The ref shook Scotty's shoulder, alerting him that he had to break the hold, but Scotty held on until the referee counted to four. Reigns pulled himself to the outside, clutching his injured knee as he tried to catch his breath.

The US Champion allowed himself only a moment to regain his bearings and take a deep breath before he slid out of the ring to pursue his opponent on the outside. As he neared the prone figure of Luther Reigns, the big man suddenly turned and drove his fist into the temple of the smaller man. Scotty stumbled backwards, feeling disoriented, as Reigns made it to his feet.

The big man threw a few punches at Scotty before picking him up and driving him spine-first into the steel ring post. Scotty fell forward onto the mat immediately after Reigns released him. His entire backside felt like it was being poked with a thousand tiny burning needles. He writhed on the mat in an effort to contain the lancing pain in his spine.

Reigns stormed over to him and stomped him a few times in the back just for good measure before rolling him back into the ring and covering him. The ref reached a two-count before Scotty got his shoulder up.

Feeling somewhat frustrated, Luther picked his opponent up and set him up for a power bomb. He lifted the smaller man up into the air, but Scotty managed to twist his abdomen and roll right over the head of Reigns, falling down towards the mat in a sunset flip. Reigns teetered and eventually fell over. Scotty completed the pin but only got a two-count.

Feeling slightly frustrated himself, Scotty grabbed onto the outstretched arm of his opponent and locked on an armbar. Reigns struggled but didn't quite have enough energy to make it to the ropes. He turned over onto his side and slowly made it to his feet, Scotty still engaging the excruciating arm bar. With a mighty yell of effort, Luther muscled his opponent clear off the mat and dropped him back down to the canvas on the back of his head. The impact immediately caused Scotty to break the hold and clutch his sore head.

Reigns stomped on the US Champ's back a few times before picking him up and shooting him into the ropes. Scotty bounced back and ducked a vicious clothesline that would have likely taken his head off at the shoulders, ran to the opposite side of the ring, bounced off the ring ropes again, and flipped over an unsuspecting Luther Reigns in another sunset flip attempt. Luther teetered again but regained his balance. With a mighty yell, he drove his fist downward, but Scotty slid out of the way at the last second and Reigns' meaty hand connected with the mat. He clutched his sore hand as Scotty bounced back up to his feet.

Luther turned around slowly, and Scotty saw his opportunity. He quickly took a step back; just as Reigns had completed his turn to face his opponent, he was met with a tremendous super kick right to his already-bloodied head.

The mighty Luther Reigns fell backward and hit the mat with a resonating thump, causing the entire ring to bounce once. Scotty slumped down to his hands and knees, feeling absolutely exhausted. He forced his protesting muscles into action as he crawled over to his vanquished foe, eventually collapsing on the big man in a sloppy cover.

"One, two......" the ref counted. Scotty's dazed mind was having a difficult time staying in touch with reality. The referee's hand was moving very slowly.......it was taking absolutely forever for it to complete its descent to the mat. Had he won? What was taking so long? His mind was just too scrambled for him to effectively concentrate.

As the ref's hand came within mere millimeters of striking the mat, Luther's shoulder shot upward out of pure desperation. The excited crowd let out a collective groan at the sight. Scotty couldn't believe it. He turned to the referee, who was holding up two fingers with a look of impartial certainty on his face. Scotty quickly crawled into the proper pinning position, hooked his opponent's leg, and went for the pin again. Once again, Luther shot his shoulder up just a moment too soon.

Scotty could barely believe it. Nobody recovered from his super kick. Nobody. The blood-flecked eyes of Luther Reigns began to flicker open as the big man slowly sat upright. Scotty grit his teeth and began to pummel the man in pure, unbridled desperation. He was exhausted; he couldn't keep battling Reigns muscle to muscle. He had to somehow end the match before Luther had a chance to perform any high-impact moves.

Despite Scotty's best efforts, Luther managed to make his way to his feet. He appeared to be in as much as a daze as Scotty found himself in, but his strength remained a formidable force. Scotty bounced off the ropes and hit the big man with a running clothesline, but the big man did not go down. The US Champ ran to the other side of the ring, bounced off the ropes there, and tried for another clothesline. He connected, but again, Reigns stayed on his feet. He was teetering, though. Scotty ran into the ropes once more and charged his opponent full force.

As he approached, however, Reigns merely wrapped his arms around the smaller man and body slammed him to the mat. The entire ring shook upon impact, and Scotty found that he was unable to mask the pain in his back any longer. He clutched his spine in agony as Luther picked him up effortlessly and suplexed him back down into the mat once more.

Scotty got to his hands and knees and tried to crawl to the ropes, but Reigns grabbed him by the leg and dragged him back to the center of the ring. Scotty flipped over to his back and kicked at the big man with his free leg, scoring several good shots into his temple before he was forced to release the US Champion.

Reigns stumbled backwards into the ropes, his head swimming. With a head of steam firmly built up, Scotty rushed towards his opponent and clotheslined him with such force that both men tumbled over the top rope and onto the floor below.

The ref began to count as Scotty made his way to his feet. He stumbled over to his opponent and drove his knee into the big man's gut a few times. When he decided that Reigns was sufficiently dazed, he grabbed the big man's arm and shot him hard into the steel ring steps. Luther crashed into the harsh metal steps, sending them flying away, as he slumped over onto the floor, seemingly out cold.

Scotty rolled back into the ring to break the ref's count, then stalked over to his opponent, who had begun to stir on the outside. He approached, and Reigns grabbed Scotty's pants unexpectedly and threw him headfirst into the steel ring post. Scotty's cranium connected with the steel, and as he fell backward onto the mat, he could feel the sickening sensation of blood trickling across his forehead. He lay there on the mat outside the ring, his eyes staring straight ahead at the ceiling above, unfocused, disoriented, unable to make sense of his surroundings.

He vaguely recalled Luther Reigns picking him up off the mat and sticking the smaller man's head under his sweaty arm. The fans began to shout at Scotty frantically. He heard them, but could not quite make out what they were saying.

Then a horrifying thought struck him, Wait, are we still outside the ring?

With a demented grin dominating his gruff face, Luther Reigns delivered his finisher on Scotty on the thin padding surrounding the ring. Scotty's head struck the ground and snapped backward violently. His entire world became nothing more than a buzz of noises and a blur of lights and colors. Nothing made sense any more. It was as if he had suddenly been sent to an alternate reality where his perceptions were no longer working properly. And above all else, he could feel pain. He could feel undeniable, excruciating, indescribable pain. He was hurt, and he was hurt badly.

Luther Reigns stood up, his smiling face covered in the blood that still poured freely from his broken nose, and nudged the United States Champion with the toe of his boot. Scotty stirred slightly, but made no effort to stand up. Satisfied, the big man picked up his opponent with what little strength he had left and rolled him back into the ring.

Scotty just lay in the middle of the ring, his mind elsewhere and his body aching and broken. Luther slid in after him and stood up slowly, his entire body sore from the grueling match. He simply sat and stared at the comatose champion for a while, thoughts of the championship running through his head.

Not willing to take any chances, Luther picked the US Champion up and stuck the smaller man's head under his arm once again. The crowd was jumping up and down, begging him to stop, but the big man ignored them. With a mighty yell, he twisted his body and delivered his move to the US Champion once again. Again, Scotty's head bounced off the mat as his busted forehead dribbled blood all over the ring.

But Luther was not done. With a sick, bloody grin, he hoisted the limp form of Scotty 2 Hotty up off the mat and stuck the champion's head under his arm one more time. This time he simply stood there, looking out at the sea of faces. Some were anxious, some were worried, some were angry, and some were completely petrified, but they all shared one common emotion: concern. They were all concerned about the health of their United States Champion. They were well aware of the brutality that he had already endured, and nobody wanted to see him injured. Nobody wanted to watch what was happening to their beloved champion, yet they were unable to turn away from the gruesome sight. Luther Reigns drank the sight in, absorbed all the faces surrounding him. His smile disappeared. What happened next was strictly business.

With a sharp twist, he performed his finisher on the bloody young superstar a third time, sending his already injured body crashing down to the mat once more. Scotty bounced on the canvas once and then laid still, his face a horribly bloody mess and his body completely destroyed by the might of his opponent.

Reigns crawled over to the prone man on the mat and covered him.

Get up!! Scotty screamed to himself, but his body simply would not cooperate. It was as if all of his nerves had temporarily short-circuited, leaving him paralyzed and helpless as the world around him continued to turn.

"One!"

Get up! It's not over yet!

"Two!"

You can't lose! Not like this! Not yet!

"Three!"

It's not too late to fix everything!

"Ladies and gentlemen.........."

This is not happening!

"Here is your winner........"

None of this is real!

"And the new........."

Everyone's counting on me! I can't let them down!

"United States Champion........."

I'm so sorry.......

"Luther......."

I can't believe this is happening.......

"Reigns!"

No.........

Luther Reigns held the title in his bloody hands, staring down into the gleaming golden faceplate. He had done it. He had done what his mentor Kurt Angle had never been able to do: he had won the United States Championship from Scotty 2 Hotty. He was the new champion.

Luther smiled, fastened the belt around his think waist, and marched to the back. He never was one to make a big deal out of his accomplishments, so he wasted no time in the ring celebrating. No, he was going to enjoy his victory his own way.

It's over.........all over.........

Many tense minutes passed before Scotty started to move. The referee called for paramedics, and within seconds the medics were rushing down to the ring with a stretcher between them. Scotty wiped the blood out of his eyes and squinted, trying to decipher his surroundings. He had lost. He had lost the match. He had lost the title. He had let everyone down. Nothing was going right.

The medics hovered around him, asking him if he was okay and shining a flashlight in his already-bloodshot eyes. He didn't respond. His physical injuries were nothing compared to the damage to his mind.

When they tried to fit a brace around his neck, he decided not to stick around any longer. The young superstar pushed the medics away and sat upright. They grabbed his shoulders and forced him to lay back down, but he shoved them away. He was going to leave the ring on his own power, and that was that.

Scotty rolled out of the ring and got his feet under him. Step by step, using the apron for guidance, he hobbled towards the ramp, his face pouring blood and his ribs bruised and most likely broken. As he shakily made his way up the ramp, the fans began to react to what they were seeing.

Slowly at first -- and then with increasing magnitude -- the fans began to stand up and clap. They clapped, and soon enough, others began to join in, adding to the sound until it became deafening. Almost every able-bodied member of the audience burst into applause as the former United States Champion made his precarious way up the stage, step by wobbly step.

When he reached the entrance, Scotty slowly turned around to face the sea of faces. He took his time to look at each and every one of them. None of them felt disappointed in him. None of them felt like he had let them down. No, they were actually happy for him; happy for everything he had given that night and every other night; they were grateful for the dedication that he exhibited week in and week out; they were glad that he had held onto the title for as long as he did; appreciative of his hard work and his honor and his character and his devotion; appreciative of his heart.

He slowly extended his hand and waved at the thousands of fans as a way of thanking them for their support. Hot, salty tears of gratitude began to run down his face and mingle with the sticky blood from his wound. He let them flow, unabated.

As the crowd broke into a chorus of "Scot-ty!......Scot-ty!......Scot-ty!" chants, the young superstar made his way backstage, where, out of view of his loyal fans, the damage inflicted upon him that night began to catch up with him. He managed to make it all the way to the locker room before his adrenaline wore off.

And when it did, the young superstar, unable to contain his agony any longer, passed out on the cold cement floor.