Gym - Mixed Match Challenge
The gym doors open as the students pile into the bleachers as the Mixed Match Challenge was about to begin. Laying dormant in the center court was a wrestling ring, which Principal McMahon is currently standing in waiting for everyone to take their seats. On the sidelines, the participants sit and wait for the tournament to begin. Finn converses with Apollo and Zack just before Drew McIntyre confronts them.
"I finally get to give you the beating that you're long overdue for. Don't even think about the next round because you'll barely make it out alive!" Drew said scowling at Finn just before he brushes past him.
"Man, everyone is intense for this thing." Apollo stated.
"Yeah and I actually don't mind. I thought this would be some sort of laid back event, but I see everyone is coming with their A-game, which means I get to show everyone what I am all about!" Finn exclaimed.
"Bro! I'm just super stoked that I get to team with a total hottie! Speaking of which" Zack pauses as Charlotte Flair walks over towards him. "Hey, Char, what's up babe?"
"Excuse you?" Charlotte said with a raised eyebrow.
"I was just telling the boys over here that we got this thing in the bag! Am I right? Woo! Woo! Woooooooooo! You kn-ouch! " Charlotte stomps on Zack's foot, causing him to fall over clutching onto it.
"Don't you dare say that! That is only meant for us Flairs and not for you jobbers! Ugh! I can't believe this! I am of royalty. My dad is Ric Flair, the most famous man in all of the world. I expect nothing less but the best and what do I get for a partner? A jobber! I don't know what Principal McMahon's doing but I do not like it and I will tell him about it!' Charlotte angrily stated.
"Oh girl take a chill pill!" Someone said in the background towards Charlotte. That, someone, turned out to be Sasha Banks with Bayley shadowing her. "Charlotte, you just need to stop all of your whining and just deal with it! You don't see me complaining about my partner. Yeah, he's from Class J but he happens to be pretty damn cool."
"Well, it shouldn't be a surprise that you easily lower yourself. Sometimes I doubt that you ever belong with the real elite of our class." Charlotte remarked.
"Elite? Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we? I just hope that you can make it past the first round." Sasha replied.
"Uh hello, I'm Charlotte Flair! I'm the perfect student! I do nothing but succeed. Failure is foreign to me as I don't really know what that is despite having this moron as my partner." Charlotte stated. "Get up! We're about to go on, idiot!" she told Ryder as he stands up on his feet just before Principal McMahon addresses the students.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this promises to be a great event here. This evening, your fellow students will showcase their talent and proved that we have the best talent in the world, here at Vincent J McMahon high! Unlike in previous years Mixed Match Challenge tournaments, where participants choose their own partners, this year we decided to shake things up a bit. This year promises to be a real wild card and I am looking forward to it! Now, let's get this thing started! First off, we have the team of Rusev and Lana!" Principal McMahon stated as Lana and Rusev enters the ring, getting cheers from their respective class and boos from the other classess. They'll be taking on one of the wild card teams in this tournament, let's hear it for Charlotte Flair and Zack Ryder!" On cue Zack and Charlotte enter the ring. Charlotte taunts Lana and Rusev while Zack taunts and poses for the crowd, much to the dismay of his partner. As Principal McMahon exits the ring, Mr. Snow enters the ring wearing a referee shirt.
"Ok, teams, I'm Mr. Snow and I'll be the ref for this tournament. The rules are pretty simple. Boys fight boys and girls fight girls. You can win by pinfall, submission or disqualification if necessary. Are we all clear here?" Mr. Snow asks both teams as they nod their heads. "Alright! Let's get it started!" Mr. Snow blows the whistle and the tournament is officially underway. Zack insists his start things off with Rusev, causing Charlotte to shake her head as she steps out on the apron.
On the sidelines, Finn and the others watch on as Rusev pretty much dominates Zack early on.
"Zack! Come on bro! Get it together!" Apollo screams.
"Lad, I gotta say Zack is quite resilient." Finn noted.
"Yeah, dude keeps getting knocked down but he always gets back up no matter what." Apollo replied. "Watch out for his kicks, Zack!"
Bayley shifts her attention from the match in the ring to Finn for a moment. "So, Finn you ready for this?" Bayley asked.
"Oh yeah! I love a good competition! Last night it seemed like Sasha and I were up all night talking about strategies." Finn stated.
'Oh, ok… cool." Bayley said.
"Yeah, and I got to ransack his closet too. Thanks for letting me take this leather jacket by the way. It's so dope!" Sasha stated.
"Wait, you went to his house?" Bayley curiously asked.
"Yeah, he just told you that. We almost were up the whole night, but it's too bad I could stay longer. Though, it was nice of you to walk me all the way home." Sasha said.
"No problem! I gotta make sure the boss is good and well taken care of." Finn said as he and Sasha share a laugh while an upset Bayley looks on. 'So, Bayley where's your partner at?"
"Oh…..Ummmm…...Well, he said he'd get here when he get here." Bayley stated.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Finn asked.
"I'm not sure. I guess whenever he feels like he wants to show up. Hopefully, he makes it on time for our match or we'll get disqualified." Bayley told Finn.
"Oh damn! She got her in a submission!" Sasha said as in the ring Charlotte Flair had finally gotten herself in the ring and had Lana in the figure four leg lock and it didn't take long as Lana taps immediately. Charlotte lets go of the hold as Mr. Snow blows the whistle indicating the match is over as he raises Charlotte and Zack's arm.
"Your winners, Charlotte Flair and Zack Ryder!" Mr. Snow yelled out as Rusev helps Lana out of the ring. Charlotte taunts towards Sasah and Finn.
"Did you see that? Perfection! Something you don't know about. I'm going to win this whole dang thing while carrying this loser on my back!" Charlotte yelled out.
"Whoa! Char, I held up my own in there too." Zack said which got him a slap from Charlotte Flair.
"You were getting your face punched in the entire time!" Charlotte shouted out.
"Yeah, but I didn't give up tho. So cool points for this guy!" Zack taunts much to the dismay of Charlotte. As Zack and Charlotte leave the ring, Finn and Sasha stand up as they were up next.
"Alright, here we go!" You ready for this, Finn?" Sasha asked.
"I woke up ready! Let's do this!" Finn said as he and Sasha dart towards the ring.
"Good luck…. you guys." A deflated Bayley said looking on as Finn and Sasha were face to face with the team of Drew McIntyre and Carmella.
"Look, Sasha, no hard feelings, but Mella is feelin herself tonight and I ain't tryna brag but I got the better partner." Carmella gloats. "I mean he's all buff and meat and your guy has some chicken legs look going on."
"Looks can be deceiving Mel, but I assure you he's more than capable of handling himself against anyone. I got faith in him." Sasha said.
Finn and Drew were in a deadlock of a staredown. "I told my classmates to have 911 on speed dial because you're going to be taking a ride in the ambulance once I get through with you!" Drew said.
"We'll see about that." Finn stated with a smirk on his face.
"Alright! You boys ready? Let's get it on!" Mr. Snow blew the whistle and the match is underway. McIntyre hits Finn square in the face with a nasty headbutt! Drew stomps all over Finn keeping him down. On the sidelines sitting front row, Principal McMahon looks on with Seth Rollins right by his side.
'So, this is the guy that's been the talk of the whole school? I didn't see anything special about him besides that he seems to be a pipsqueak." Seth said.
"Yes, so far he's not been what I was told he was, but let's just wait and see, Seth." Principal McMahon stated.
Back in the ring, Drew has Finn on the ropes and goes to clothesline him out of the ring, but Finn ducks it and takes down Drew with a dropkick. Drew gets back up only to eat another dropkick from Finn. Balor charges at Drew, but he ends up running right into an elbow from McIntyre. Drew McIntyre dominates the majority of the match, but Finn doesn't give up easily kicking out at every moment, frustrating Mcintyre to no end.
On the sidelines, Bayley is on the edge of her seat with her eyes glued on Finn taking a beating. "Come on, Finn! You can do this!" Bayley shouted. "You guys think he's going to be ok?"
"Oh no doubt about it! He may look like he's losing but he's about to turn it up shortly. He told me that no matter how it looks, just to believe in him. So, I'm taking his word for it." Apollo stated.
Just when it looked like McIntyre was about to finish off Finn, Balor shifted the momentum in his favor making an inspiring comeback against Drew. As Finn has McIntyre staggered, he turns to Sasha, who's been dying for some action. Finn makes the tag and Sasha jumps in. Carmella enters the ring and instantly starts talking trash to Charlotte. Carmella slaps Sasha in the face just before she cockily moonwalks, but that proved to be a mistake on her part as Sasha took down Carmella and put her in a crossface submission. Carmella taps out quickly and Mr. Snow blows his whistle. Sasha stands up as Mr. Snow raises her hand.
"Here are your winners, Sasha Banks, and Finn Balor!" Mr. Snow yells out as Finn gets back into the ring sweating bullets. "Nice work out there kid."
"Wow! We really kicked ass! Bayley said that you were good, but I think you might even be better than what I thought." Sasha said.
"We did but it was you who got us the win. I see why now you call yourself a boss. You take care of business. I like that." Finn said as he and Sasha embrace with a hug.
On the sidelines, Seth Rollins looks on and can't help but shake his head. "Sir, I waited to see as you said, but the guy isn't anything special. The only reason he won was that he was teaming with a Class ME student. Sasha got the win for them. I highly doubt he'd gotten hem a victory as Drew was really laying into him the entirety of that match." Seth pointed out.
"You may be right. Perhaps him drawing Sasha was a bit of luck on his end, but let's just see how he does in the next round. I got a few tricks up my sleeve and I wanna see how he handles himself when the unexpected happens." Principal McMahon stated.
Finn and Sasha step out of the ring and are greeted by Bayley. "Wow! You guys were awesome in there! Especially you, Finn. I never doubted you two for a second." Bayley said.
"Thanks, I appreciate that. So, are you ready for your match up next?" Finn asked.
"Well, I guess so but…." Bayley pauses as she lowers her head.
"Wait, where's your partner at?" Sasha asked.
"That's the thing. I don't know where he's at and I'm afraid he might not show up." Bayley said sad, but as soon as she turned around she spots Baron Corbin marching towards her. "Wait, he's here! Thank god! Where have you been? I was getting worried th-"
"Shut up! What are you? My mom?" Corbin replied as Bayley went quiet.
"Hey, is that any way you talk to your partner?" Finn asked.
"I'm sorry but who asked you? Nobody! So keep your nose out of my business before I break it!" Corbin proclaimed as Finn gently moved Bayley behind him. "It seems to me that you got a problem, boy?"
"No I don't have a problem at all. You said you'd break my nose? I'd like to see you try!" Finn said.
"Finn, no! You just had a match!" Bayley stressed.
'She's right, Finn. You need to rest up. If anyone has a problem it's you, you jerk!" Sasha shouted at Corbin.
"Ok, look, I'm sorry for nagging you! Can we just please go to the ring?" Bayley cried.
"Bayley, you don't need to apologize to this punk." Sasha said.
"No, I'll be fine." Bayley replied.
"Yeah, she'll be fine just as long as she does what I tell her. Now, you stand on the apron and do absolutely nothing and just watch me win this for us." Corbin informed Bayley.
"What? I wanna get in the ring too? I wanna get some action?" Bayley stated.
"The only action you'll be doing is just standing on that apron and keeping your mouth shut! Understood?" Corbin stated as Bayley reluctantly nods her head. "Good, so you can follow directions! Let's go" Bayley follows Corbin to the ring with her head down and spirit almost crushed.
"Oh my god! What a jerk! Someone should put him in his place." Sasha said.
"Don't worry about that. I got ole boy you can bet on that.' Apollo said as he stood up preparing himself.
"Brother, make sure you get him good and maybe you might knock some sense into him." Finn said.
"Consider it done." Apollo said with a smile, but that smile quickly faded as Sonya Deville stormed right up to him.
"Ok, let's get a couple of things straight here. First off, I can handle myself so I don't need you worrying about me or trying to be some knight in shining armor. Two, stay out of my way! I'll let you know when I'm ready to tag out or not. Three, don't touch me! I repeat! DO. NOT. TOUCH. ME! I don't want to be touched by your disgusting man's hands. If you as so much as to lay even a finger on my hair, regardless if it's accidental or not, I will hurt you and break you! You got that?" Sonya shouted at Apollo who simply nods his head. "Good, now let's go." Sonya marches towards the ring, leaving Apollo behind to catch up with her.
"I hope he's wearing a cup.' Finn remarked to which got a laugh from Sasha.
"Hye, let's go hurry up and clean up! I wanna see how Bayley does." Sasha said as Finn nods to her just before he heads towards the locker room. As Finn goes to the locker room, outside of it he sees Principal McMahon and Seth Rollins talking to Zack Ryder.
"We'll give you some time to think it over, ok?" Principal McMahon said patting Zack on the back just before walking off.
"It would be in your best interest if you did this." Seth said as he follows up behind Principal McMahon as they end up crossing paths with Finn Balor.
"Finn, I gotta say that was quite a performance out there. Though, you still got a ways to go." Principal McMahon said.
"Well, while others were impressed, you can count me in the minority as those that weren't." Seth remarked.
"Yeah, and who ware you?" Finn asked.
"Who am I? Really? You've been at this school how long and you don't even know who I am? I'm Seth "freaking" Rollins! The number one student at this school and president of Class ME." Seth stated.
"So, you're the guy I've been looking for. Just so you know when all of this is said and done, I'll be looking for you." Finn said.
"Oh, I've heard about your plans and let me tell you, you're not ready for us. You are not ready for the elite. It'd be best if you stay in your lane." Seth stated with a smirk on his face as he brushes past Finn, following up behind a grinning Principal McMahon. Finn glares at the two just before he turns his attention to Zack Ryder staring out into space.
"Zack, what were those two talking to you about?" Finn asked Zack, who was still in deep thought up until Finn snaps his fingers.
"Oh! Bro! Congrats on the win! I thought I took a beating but man you keep on pushing." Zack replied.
"Yeah, but why were the Principal and Seth here? What did they talk to you about?" Finn asked.
"Oh… Umm…. Bro, you know it was nothing really. I mean Principal McMahon was just talking about my future and trying to give me some advice I guess. I don't know bro, it was weird as he hardly even acknowledges me." Zack said awkwardly laughing. "It's all good broski! Ummm sooooo….. Ummm I'm going to go see how our bro, Apollo, is doing right now. You coming?"
"Yeah, I just gotta clean up quick and I'll be on out." Finn said.
"See you out there bro." Zack said as he fist bumps with Finn. As Zack Ryder walks off he shakes his head sighing heavily as it appears something is bothering him, which Finn sees and picks up on.