A/N: Not gonna lie, I'm super excited for this story! I've been waiting to do a Book 2 for this story forever but it just never seemed like the right to do so until now. This book will cover Ced's next chapter in his career, a chapter that involves him going to reach main event status and hopefully capture World titles to make himself a legend in the business.

So, remember this an AU so a lot of things are gonna be different including Pay-Per-Views (I'm looking at you WrestleMania Backlash and Hell in a Cell) and champions are different.

Below are the current Champions in this universe and the brand that they belong to.

WWE Championship: Roman Reigns (SmackDown!)

World Heavyweight Championship: Bobby Lashley (Raw)

Intercontinental Champion: Apollo Crews (SmackDown)

United States Champion: Jaden Sennoa (Raw)

Raw Tag Team Champion: AJ Styles and Omos (Raw)

SmackDown Tag Team Champion: Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode (SmackDown)

Raw Women's Champion: Rhea Ripley (Raw)

SmackDown Women's Champion: Bianca Belair (SmackDown)

Friday, April 2nd, 2021 – Oakland, California

Tonight, was the Friday Night SmackDown after WrestleMania. The shows after WrestleMania were always a big deal, especially for WWE fans. Monday Night Raw usually had the biggest surprises whether it be a surprise debut or a surprise return. Some of the most notable of those are the debut of Paige in which she won the Diva's Championship, the debut of Goldberg when he speared The Rock and set his sights on "The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment. And the return of the "Beast Incarnate" Brock Lesnar after WrestleMania 28.

The shows after WrestleMania always had the potential to shake the WWE up forever. This past Monday night saw the return of Charlotte Flair and the return of Brock Lesnar who F-5'ed Bobby Lashley straight to hell and set his sights on the coveted World Heavyweight Championship. Monday Night also saw the return of RVD who attacked Matt Riddle and damn-near putting a chair in his spine.

But all that was Monday Night and this was Friday night, a completely different situation. A completely different show with a whole different set of surprises and twists.

Cedric Harvey, the man who had been the topic of some social media talk for a while, had just parked his matte black 2020 Lamborghini Urus with black rims and red brake calipers. Cedric pressed the button, turning off his car before reaching over to grab his bag from the floorboard of the passenger seat.

He was dressed in a simple pair of black Jordan sweatpants with a pair of "Jubilee" 11s and simple white V-neck with a gold Cuban link chain around his neck. Cedric closed his door and locked his doors before he began to make his way into the arena.

The time was currently 1:42 PM and SmackDown didn't start for a few hours but he had to get in for the creative meeting. Apparently, there were some special plans regarding tonight and regarding Backlash on May 16th, 2021 in the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

(!)-(!)-(!)-(!)

Cedric walked into the makeshift meeting room seeing the likes of Paul, Stephanie, Vince, Shane, Ed Koskey and Michael Hayes all sitting in the room discussing the plans for tonight's SmackDown.

It felt weird being in the room for this type of thing especially since it was so early in his career and he had yet to really accomplish what he wanted to accomplish and hadn't made himself a star in the business yet. But Paul and Shane wanted him to be here so he was happy to oblige.

"Come on in, Ced we got some special plans for you tonight," Vince McMahon said as he took off his readers, placing them down on the table as Cedric closed the door behind himself.

"Ced, you've been with WWE for a little while now and we've given you some pushes to see how you'd do and how the fans would react to it. And things have been going pretty well. We talked about you going to the next level and we still want to do that but along the way, we have to make some small pit stops which brings me to tonight. You're facing Apollo for the Intercontinental title tonight and you're going over taking the title," Vince said as Cedric looked with a smile.

"Now the plan is you win the title tonight but you drop it at Backlash. We wanna try to work you into a program with Cena which should transition into a program for the title with Roman," Vince said.

This was it. This was everything that Ced had wanted to hear. He was finally gonna be pushed in the main event scene.

"You ready for this kid?" Paul asked as he looked at the man who was sort of like a student to him.

"Yeah, this is all I've ever wanted. This is all I've ever dreamed of. I'm ready," Cedric said with a nod.

"Good and it's a good thing you had your match with Hunter, that helped you build some credibility with the fans. Now it's just a matter of making sure they start to see you as a serious main eventer which shouldn't be a problem since you have the look and you have the skills," Michael Hayes spoke.

"We're gonna start to market you as not just a regular WWE Superstar but rather one of our premier faces, possibly the biggest babyface on SmackDown," hearing that brought joy to Cedric's face. He wanted this badly and now he was finally getting it.

"So with that being said, this is gonna require some extra photo shoots, extra media coverage, and a little bit of extra work from you. Are you ready?" Stephanie asked as she looked at Cedric who simply nodded.

"Let's get started," he said with that same smile on his face.

(!)-(!)-(!)-(!)

APOLLLLOOOOOOO

"To The Top (Nigerian Royalty Remix)" Hits

The fans in Oakland, California booed as they heard the music of the brand-new WWE Intercontinental Champion, Apollo Crews. Apollo picked up the victory at WrestleMania over Big E and became the new Champion.

Apollo walked out onto the stage with his spear in hand and his Intercontinental Championship wrapped firmly around his waist. He looked out among the crowd in disgust with a frown on his face as they booed. The Champion walked down the ramp with his spear in hand looking on. Once he made it to ringside, he walked around to the steel steps and walked up the steps onto the ring apron. He was handed a microphone from a member of the ring crew before he entered the ring.

He stood in the middle of the ring with a microphone in hand as the single spotlight shined on him while his music faded away.

"Quiet, you sheep!" Apollo said to the WWE fans in Oakland as they started to boo.

"Last Sunday at WrestleMania, I accomplished what I set out to do. I became the WWE Intercontinental Champion and now just like my ancestors, I rule over Friday Night SmackDown!" Apollo Crews said as he raised the classic white and gold Championship title in the air.

"Now I am the one draped in gold and what I say goes," Apollo said as he lowered the title and looked on with a frown on his face, "And my power is fear. No one can stop Apollo. No one will stop me as I reign supreme over SmackDown,"

"What?" The crowd started to chant as Apollo spoke.

"Don't you dare chant 'What'," Apollo tried to threaten to no avail.

"What?" The crowd chanted once again.

Apollo raised the mic but was cut off when a familiar music hit the PA System.

"Icon" Hits

The same WWE fans who were booing Apollo quickly rose up to their feet cheering as Ced walked out onto the stage as the lights were going around in a frenzy of colors. Ced looked down at the stage floor with a smirk as Apollo looked to the stage in anger from the disrespect he felt he was getting from Ced.

The former Intercontinental Champion looked up, spit out his water in a mist-like form, and started his descent down the ramp dressed in black knee pads, boots, and black trunks with white designs with a silver outline. Ced was soaking up the cheers from the WWE Universe. Once he reached the ringside area, he paused momentarily looking at Apollo with that same smirk from before.

He walked around to steel steps and proceeded to walk up the steps, onto the apron before entering the ring and making a beeline to the corner. He jumped up onto the turnbuckle and hit his pose for the fans in attendance as Apollo looked on in obvious disgust.

He jumped down from the turnbuckle and was handed a mic from a member of the stage crew as he looked around the arena at the fans while his music faded off into the background as he looked around at the crowd.

"How you doing tonight Oakland?" Ced said on the mic getting a cheap pop from the live crowd in attendance. He smiled as he looked around at the crowd seeing several signs in the crowd with his name on them. "Young Simba" turned his attention away from the crowd onto the WWE Intercontinental Champion, Apollo Crews, who simply looked at Ced with a frown that reeked of annoyance and disgust.

"Apollo, I just wanted to be the first man to come out here and say congratulations on your title win at WrestleMania," Ced said as Apollo nodded, "You went through hell and back in that Nigerian Drum Fight to walk away with one of the most coveted prizes in WWE history and that is amazing man. It's truly amazing, in fact I think that, it deserves a round of applause. Come on Oakland, let's give Apollo a round of applause here."

Instead of clapping for Apollo the fans in Oakland started to boo as Apollo looked around the crowd in disgust.

"And I think it's worth mentioning that I also picked up a victory at WrestleMania last Sunday. I made history myself, I did something that no other man in WWE history can say. I retired "The Game" Triple H at WrestleMania," Ced said on the mic as the sold-out crowd in Oakland cheered.

"And while it pained me to retire a man that I grew up idolizing. There was no better feeling in the world than knowing that I did something that no other man in the history of this company, of this industry will ever have the ability to say. And I went through hell and back at WrestleMania just to have the ability to say that. And just as Triple H got his ass kicked, I got the living hell beat out of me by him and I know I know why he is a 14-time World Champion."

"And Apollo, why part of me hates to steal your moment cause god knows you don't get many," Ced said on the mic with a cheap shot as some of the fans were chuckling and cheering, "I just felt that I share the spotlight with you for a moment seeing as that you believe that this is your SmackDown, I-" Ced was saying but Apollo raised the mic up to the lips cutting Ced off.

"Because this is my SmackDown, I am the WWE Intercontinental Champion and I will no longer allow you to disrespect me in my ring!" Apollo spoke on the mic as Ced simply looked at him an amused smirk on his face.

"You say it's your SmackDown, that Samoan Asshat thinks this is his SmackDown. When are you assholes gonna realize that this ain't yours? It's theirs," Ced spoke on the mic as the fans cheered, "And Apollo I hate to break it to you but everyone thinks you're a paper champion."

"I'm not a paper champion!"

"I know man but they think you're a paper champion but I think I have a way to make them respect you as a champion, maybe you put your title on the line against a former Champion who they respect, and maybe they'll cheer for you," Ced said on the mic as Apollo looked around at the crowd before he walked up to Ced and slapped Ced across the face making the crowd boo as Ced looked down at the mat with a smirk on his face.

Apollo dropped the mic as he threw his spear out of the ring while the show went to commercial break.

Ding-Ding-Ding!

An impromptu Intercontinental Championship match was underway between the new Intercontinental Champion, Apollo Crews, and the man who retired Triple H at WrestleMania, Ced.

Apollo had given Ced no time to start a game plan and immediately ran toward the former 3-time Intercontinental Champion attacking him with a flurry of fists that left Ced stumbling in the corner. Apollo had Ced reeling in the corner and started to clock him with a series of stomps causing him to be hunched over in the corner gasping for his breath as the referee pulled Apollo off.

Apollo pushed the referee aside and tried to go back to attacking "Young Simba" but the former Intercontinental Champion had other plans and grabbed Apollo by the head and neck and threw him into the corner instead. The fans cheered as Ced started his flurry of right hands to the face of Apollo. Ced momentarily paused his offense to take a look at the crowd before he rocked Apollo with a left uppercut making the fans cheer as Apollo was stunned in the corner.

Ced grabbed Apollo by the wrist and tried to whip him into the corner but Apollo reversed it instead sending Ced into the corner. The former Intercontinental Champion bounced off the turnbuckle and clocked Apollo with a clothesline sending him down to the canvas.

Ced looked around the arena as the fans cheered while Apollo crawled over to the ropes. Apollo had gripped onto the middle rope pulling himself up to a knee. The former Intercontinental Champion grabbed Apollo and lifted him up to his feet before he attempted to whip Apollo into the ropes but Apollo reversed it. As Ced bounced off the ropes, he was clocked in the jaw with a picture-perfect dropkick from the Intercontinental Champion.

Ced looked up dazed as he sat up with a hand on his lip, checking for bleeding. Apollo pushed Ced back down to the canvas and hooked the leg making the referee start his count.

1...

2, Ced powers out at 2. Apollo quickly got up to a vertical base and grabbed hold of Ced lifting him up to his feet. Apollo clocked Ced with a right hand making him stumble back to the ropes. Apollo clocked him once again with a right hand making him stumble over to the corner. "The One-Man Nation" grabbed hold of Ced and clocked him a series of right hands before he started to start a series of shoulder thrusts into the abdomen of Ced. Apollo wasn't done yet and started a series of kicks to the gut before being pulled off by WWE official, Dan Engler.

Apollo didn't pay it any mind and grabbed a hold of Ced pulling him out of the corner before hitting him with a t-bone suplex that put him flat on his back. Ced grunted as he stared up at the lights feeling the effects of his back slamming against the canvas with the suplex. Apollo looked down at Ced with a smirk on his face as the fans booed.

It's been only 5 days removed since Apollo won the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 37 and a win tonight would put an emphatic stamp on his title reign and give it the credibility boost needed to make it legendary. Apollo walked over to Ced bending down to grab him by the upper body, lifting him up to his feet. Apollo set Ced up for a snap suplex but Ced was able to hook his leg around Apollo's stopping him and lifting him.

Ced instead took this opportunity to lift Apollo up into the air before slamming him onto the mat with a vertical suplex. Ced quickly rose up to his feet and grabbed a hold of Apollo not giving him any time to regain his strength. Apollo had kicked Ced in the gut and tried to go for a clothesline but Ced was quick to duck under it and grab a hold of Apollo slamming him by the neck with a neckbreaker. Ced went for cover as Apollo was momentarily dazed from the impact of that neckbreaker.

1...

2, Apollo quickly powered out at 2 keeping his Intercontinental Championship title reign alive. Ced sat up looking around at the crowd with a frown as Apollo started to crawl over to the ropes to try to get up to his feet. Ced had slowly gotten up to a knee, stalking his opponent as Apollo had gotten up to his feet. Ced ran towards Apollo only to get clocked with a jumping enziguri that dropped Ced down to a knee.

Apollo had walked towards Ced lifting him up into the air with a gorilla press over the head. Apollo dropped Ced allowing him to crash into the canvas rib-first. Ced grunted as he rolled over onto his back while Apollo had jumped up and hit Ced with a standing moonsault. Apollo bounced right back up and jumped up again this time hitting Ced with a standing shooting star press before hooking the leg!

1...

2...

Thr-No, Ced powers out right before the 3 count. The fans cheered at Ced's resilience as Apollo looked at the referee in frustration. Apollo had gotten up to feet, looking around with purpose before his eyes set up on the turnbuckle. He unbuckled the turnbuckle pad much to the WWE Official's dismay.

Apollo walked towards Ced grabbing him by the head and neck. He tried to throw him into the corner with the exposed turnbuckle but Ced had managed to stop himself from hitting it but this gave Apollo enough time to grab him and set up for his finisher.

Apollo had Ced set up in a back-suplex-like position looking for his patented finisher The Chariot (Spin-out powerbomb). Apollo had lifted Ced up looking for the move but Ced had managed to maneuver out of this and pushed Apollo into the corner with the exposed turnbuckle! Apollo's head bounced off the steel!

The former Intercontinental Champion had taken advantage of Apollo hitting his head on the exposed turnbuckle to roll him up with a schoolboy roll-up. Ced grabbed a hold of the tights for extra coverage as the referee didn't see it and continued his count.

1...

2...

3...

Ding-Ding-Ding!

"Icon" Plays

The WWE fans cheered at the shocking victory by Ced here tonight as Ced let go of Apollo and rolled out of the ring.

"Here is your winner and the NEW Intercontinental Champion: Ced!" Greg Hamilton announced as the referee had placed the classic white and gold title in the grasp of Ced. Ced smiled as he looked down at the title, this being his 4th time with the coveted title. He raised it up in the air with a smile as he slowly backed up the ramp while the fans cheered as Apollo was in the ring, throwing a temper tantrum.

Apollo stared a hole in Ced's soul as Ced just took the one prize that Apollo went through hell and back to win.

Ced stood atop the stage with a smile on his face. He raised the title in the air once more getting a loud pop from the WWE Universe as the shot cut backstage giving Ced a chance to walk back through the curtain.

A/N: So! Ced is the NEW Intercontinental Champion for the 4th time in his short career. I've tried to have it where Ced isn't being overbooked and it's being over pushed and while I do want him to "The Man" eventually, I have to try to it make it realistic and make it seem interesting and not just automatically book my OC in the main event that's why most of Book 1 he was a mid-carder/upper mid-carder and why I had him dabble with the main event towards the end of Book 1. In book 2 he's primarily going to be a main eventer/upper mid-carder.