Chapter Fifty-One: Recuperation

---x---

Raw was live from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Todd Grisham was backstage yelling to Triple H that he thought the transvestite looked like a girl. But then Machetti, London, and Kendrick walked up to him from behind. "Wow, Todd… I didn't know you were into that kind of thing," commented Machetti, who had a new bandage on his forehead, causing the startled backstage interview to whirl around and face them. "But to be perfectly honest, I'm not surprised."

"Can we just drop it?" asked Grisham, "what do you guys want?"

"Paul and Brian here…" Machetti said motioning to the tag team behind him, "want to say something."

"Alright, what's up guys?" Todd asked London and Kendrick.

"We have a message for Cade and Murdoch," began London, "its time to end this once and for all."

"We won that battle royal at No Mercy," continued Brian, "and we beat them, yet again, last night at Survivor Series."

"We may not have survived until the end of the match," explained Paul, "but we did pin both of their asses in the middle of that right."

"So right here, tonight, in Fort Lauderdale, we want our title shot!" finished Brian. The local fans cheered that cheap pop from Brian.

"Cade, Murdoch," said Machetti as he stared into the camera, "you can't get out of this. They earned a title match at No Mercy. So the best thing you can do is, be ready." With that the three Chaos Inc members turned and headed off, "STAY AWAY FROM THOSE TRANSVESTITES TODD!" Machetti called over his shoulder as the camera cut to the arena where Hardcore Holly's music hit.

---x---

Hornswoggle had just beaten Carlito with some help from Finlay, then Paul, Brian, and Machetti were shown in the back heading towards the ring. London and Kendrick's title match was up next. But suddenly a brown haired blur came out of nowhere and ran into Machetti. "Did you see? We won!" exclaimed Maria as she hugged Machetti.

"I saw, I saw," answered Machetti as he lifted Maria up and spun her around, "MY GIRL'S A SCRAPPER!"

Machetti put Maria down and smiled down at her, "Seriously," said Machetti, "first, you take out Runjin, then you roughly drag Melina out of the ring and woman-handle her. You're getting to be quite the fighter."

"Thanks," replied Maria with a big smile.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, Paul and Brian have some titles to win," said Machetti.

"Oh, right," realized Maria as she stepped away from Machetti, "Good luck guys!"

"Thanks Maria," chorused Paul and Brian as the two of them and Machetti headed off towards the ring.

---x---

In the arena, Cade and Murdoch's theme music hit, and the Redneck Wrecking Crew came out from the back. "Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one-fall, and is for the World Tag Team Championships. Introducing first, the champions, weighing in at a combined weight of five hundred and two pounds… LANCE CADE AND TREVOR MURDOCH!" Cade and Murdoch came down to the ring and got in, then raised their belts up above their heads and were rewarded with boos from the fans.

Then London and Kendrick's theme music hit. London, Kendrick, and Machetti came out from the back and sprinted down towards the ring, "and the challengers, being accompanied by Machetti… PAUL LONDON AND BRIAN KENDRICK!" The three of them slid into the ring, but Machetti seemed to have over done it, and slid across the ring, then went under the ropes on the other side of the ring, and landed on the floor. Some of the fans laughed thinking it was a botch, but Machetti straightened himself up, then walked around the announce table and sat himself down next to King, and started to put some headphones on.

"Well King, we're getting ready for our World Tag Team Title match," said JR, "but it looks like we're going to have a special guest doing commentary tonight."

"It looks that way to me too," commented King.

"Well, if I was out there at ringside," explained Machetti, "I'm sure Cade and Murdoch would argue that they were screwed when they lose. So I'm just gonna sit with you guys and enjoy the match."

In the ring the referee was holding up the World Tag Team Titles, showing that this was for the gold. The two teams were in their respective corners discussing who was going to start the match.

"Now before this thing gets started," said Machetti, "King, I want to congratulate you on your match with Santino. That guy really ticks me off, and I always enjoy watching him get put in his place."

"Thanks Machetti," replied King, "honestly, I think he's angry at me for punching him in the face last week."

"Well that's what he gets for giving you a free punch," pointed out Machetti, "I've been punched by you before, and I know what you're capable of. Santino is an idiot and needs to learn some respect."

In the ring, Kendrick and Cade ready to start the match and the referee called for the bells, "Well, King, Machetti," interrupted JR, "I hate to interrupt, but this match is underway!"

Cade and Kendrick locked up, then Cade grabbed Kendrick for a side headlock

"No worries JR," said Machetti as Brian brought his leg around and swept Cade's legs out from under him, taking him down to the ground, "you don't want to miss a second of this!"

While on the ground, Kendrick got out of Cade's headlock, then locked in a headlock of his own. But Cade fought up off of the mat, then pushed Kendrick off of him and into the ropes. When Kendrick came back, Cade reached up and caught him and locked him in another side headlock. Cade then took Kendrick down to the mat with a snapmare, then while on his back, kept his arm locked under Kendrick's jaw and applied pressure. But Kendrick reached up with his legs and wrapped them around Cade's head for a head scissors. Cad released the headlock and went to get to his feet, while Kendrick did a nip up, then turned to face Cade.

"I can see what you mean Machetti," said King, "all three of you guys are so quick, you can't take an eye of the action for a second, you might miss something!"

Brian and Lance locked up again, but Cade was easily the stronger of the two, and backed Kendrick up into an empty corner and pressed him back against the turnbuckle. The referee came over and told Cade to break clean, while Cade made a big show of doing. But suddenly he swung his fist at Brian for a surprise punch. But Kendrick saw it coming, and ducked down, then grabbed Cade and pushed him back into the turnbuckle in his place. Kendrick jumped to the side, on the middle rope, then came off and hit Cade with a dropkick to the stomach. Kendrick backed up to the middle of the ring, then ran forward and hit a back-flip dropkick, Dr. Smoothie's Secret Recipe. Kendrick dragged Cade away from the ropes, ONE… TWO… Cade kicked out.

"Well, that's the point King," Machetti told Lawler while Kendrick pulled Cade up off of the mat, "if you can't take your eye off of us. That goes double for our opponents. We'll come out of nowhere, then take 'em down, and go for a pin, before they can say 'What the hell was that'."

Kendrick whipped Cade towards the ropes, but Cade reversed it, sending Kendrick into the ropes instead. Kendrick came off of the ropes and jumped up into the air for a crossbody, but in one motion, Cade caught him, then spun around and slammed him down to the mat for a vicious powerslam, causing the three commentators to shout different exclamation in response, while Cade went for a pin, ONE… TWO… Kendrick kicked out.

"But that's one thing we always need to look out for," explained Machetti, while Cade pulled Kendrick up and dragged him to the corner where he tagged in Murdoch, "Paul, Brian, and I aren't the biggest guys on the roster, so we always need to be careful about being caught."

Cade and Murdoch whipped Kendrick into the ropes, then caught him as he came back with a double hip toss. Cade got out of the ring, and Murdoch made the cover, "This could be it!" exclaimed JR, "ONE… TWO… TH… Kendrick managed to get his shoulder up!"

Murdoch pulled Kendrick up to his feet, then bent him over and locked in a headlock, before clubbing him across the back, knocking Kendrick down to his knees. Murdoch pushed Kendrick up, so he stayed up on his knees, then ran back to the ropes and came back with a running knee right to Kendrick's face, then he went for a pin, ONE… TW… Kendrick kicked out of it.

"That was a nasty knee to the face," commented King.

"You've got that right," agreed Machetti, "I felt that all the way over here!"

Murdoch pulled Kendrick up off of the mat, then hit a punch to the face. Kendrick came back and hit a punch of his own on weak legs. Murdoch staggered but came back with another punch. Sending Kendrick staggering, but Brian came back and hit another punch. But Murdoch connected with a third punch, this time it took Kendrick down. Kendrick rolled over to the ropes and went to pull himself up, but Murdoch came mover and grabbed Cade, then tossed Brian down on the mat beside him.

"You've got to admire the teamwork displayed by both of theses teams," said JR, as Cade lifted Murdoch up from behind, then dropped him down on top of Kendrick for a leg drop. Murdoch rolled out of the way, and Cade went for a pin, "hold on, here's the cover, ONE… TWO… THR… Kendrick got out of it!"

"I know what you mean JR," replied Machetti as Cade got off of Kendrick and started stomping on him, "both of these teams have been tagging together for a while now. Paul once told me, that it gets to the point where he knows what Brian is thinking and just does what's needed without it being said. I'm sure it's the same kind of thing with Cade and Murdoch."

Cade pulled Kendrick up and turned him upside down, then slammed him down to the mat with a scoop slam. Cade back up into the corner, then ran forward jumped up into the air and came crashing down on top of Kendrick for a running elbow drop. Then Cade made the cover, ONE… TWO… TH… Kendrick kicked out. Lance shook his head, then pulled Kendrick up to his feet, and dragged him towards the corner, then reached back and allowed Murdoch to tag himself in.

Cade backed Kendrick into the middle of the ring, then lifted him up and hit an inverted atomic drop. Murdoch came off of the ropes, jumped up over Cade and hit a big knee to the face, knocking Kendrick on his back. Cade got out of the ring, and Murdoch went for the pin, ONE… TWO… THRE…. Kendrick just kicked out.

"There's another thing about Cade ad Murdoch," commented JR, "they keep the one opponent isolated and they work him over. Kendrick has to really exert himself to get out of these pin attempts."

"That's Tag Team Wrestling 101," pointed out King, "every good tag team knows, to work over one opponent until he can't fight back, that's how you get the win."

"King's right JR," agreed Machetti, as Murdoch got up and pulled Kendrick up to his feet, the hit a big knee to the stomach, taking Kendrick down to his knees, "It might not show all the time, but I've got respect for Cade and Murdoch. Those two are a good tag team. They really know how to work in the ring."

Murdoch pulled Kendrick back up to his feet, then hoisted him up into the air, and fell back for a vertical suplex, then Murdoch went for a pin, ONE… TWO… TH… Kendrick kicked out. Murdoch pulled Kendrick up and held him in front of him, then Murdoch bent Kendrick backwards and clubbed him across the chest, knocking Kendrick down to the mat on his back. Murdoch ran to the ropes, bounced off, then came back with an elbow drop. Murdoch went for the pin, ONE… TWO… THR… Kendrick managed to kick out of it.

"Machetti, I know Kendrick is resilient," observed King, "but I'm not sure how much more of this he can take!"

"King's right Machetti," admitted JR, "Kendrick is getting beaten like a government mule."

"Look guys," said Machetti, "Brian will take as much of this as he has to. He and Paul want the World Tag Team Titles more than anything. He's going to take as much as he possibly can."

"Even with that Machetti," replied King, "Kendrick desperately needs to make a tag to London."

Murdoch pulled Kendrick up and dragged him over to the corner then tagged in Cade. Murdoch held Kendrick's arms behind his back, then allowed Cade to hit a big punch to the stomach. Murdoch let go of Kendrick and got out of the ring, and then Cade grabbed onto Kendrick and hit his neckbreaker. Cade got up to his feet, then jumped up into the air and came crashing down for a leg drop, then he went for a pin, ONE… TWO… THR… Kendrick kicked out.

Lance Cade got up to his feet and pulled Kendrick up too, then pushed Kendrick back into the ropes. When Kendrick came back Cade caught him and lifted him up for the spinebuster, but Kendrick suddenly started fighting back and clubbed Cade across the back, then pulled free and leap-frogged over Cade, did a forward roll, then jumped up and made a desperate tag to London.

"Now things are about to pick up," said Machetti, as London rushed in and took Cade down with a dropkick. Cade got back up, but got taken down with another dropkick. Cade got up but got taken down a third time with a dropsault. London dropped down and made the cover, ONE… TW… Murdoch came in and broke it up.

Murdoch pulled London up off of Cade then went to whip London into the ropes, but London reversed it, then caught Murdoch with an inverted atomic drop when he came back. London then jumped up and sent Murdoch flying over the top rope and down to the floor with a hurricurana. London pulled himself up with the ropes, then Cade ran in and went for a clothesline from behind, but London dropped down and pulled down the top rope, causing Cade to spill over down to the floor.

Kendrick pulled himself up in the corner, and went over to London, then they both ran forward, jumped over the top rope and took down Cade and Murdoch on the outside with a pair of suicide planchas. Now all four men were down in front of the entrance ramp. "Sorry folks, but we're going to have to take a brief commercial break," apologized JR.

"Don't go anywhere!" warned Machetti, "This thing ain't over yet!" Then Raw went to a commercial.

---x---

When Raw came back, London and Cade were in the ring, Paul had Lance in the corner and was on the middle rope raining down punches as the fans counted along. "Welcome back everyone," greeted King, "the match kept going during the break."

"That's right King," agreed JR, "let's show these fans what they missed." A replay showed of London attempting to whip Cade into the ropes, but Cade reversed, then went for a back body rope. But London jumped up and did a mushroom stomp, then made a cover but only got a two count.

After getting ten punches London climbed off of the ropes and stood in front of Cade, then reached down and lifted Cade up onto the middle rope. London pulled himself up onto the middle rope in front of Cade, then jumped up onto Cade's shoulders and sent him flying with a hurricurana off of the middle rope. London then made the cover, ONE… TWO… THRE… Cade kicked out.

London pulled Cade up to his feet and went to whip him into the corner, but Cade reversed it, sending London into the corner instead. Cade ran at London looking for a clothesline into the corner, but London got his feet up, causing Cade to run into his feet and stagger backwards.

London pulled himself up onto the top rope, then came off with a moonsault, but Cade ran forward and London went over him but landed on his feet. London rushed at Cade, but Cade caught him and launched him over his head and into the turnbuckle for a release belly-to-belly suplex.

"Oh my god King!" exclaimed JR, "the back of London's head and neck, just went right into the bottom turnbuckle!"

"That was brutal contact," commented King, "let's see a replay."

While JR and King showed a replay of London's head going into the turnbuckle, Machetti stood up and announced, "I'm gonna go see if he's alright." Machetti took off his headphones and walked over to London. Cade was looking down at London wondering if he was even alive.

Machetti walked around the corner then bent over and whispered something to London, and held up a hand with three fingers up. London said something and Machetti smirked, then went back over to the announce table. Cade dragged London onto the ring and went for a pin, ONE… TWO… THRE… London got his shoulder up.

"Yeah, he's alright," Machetti told the two commentators as he sat back down, "he's just out of it… well… more out of it then usual. I asked him how many fingers I had up and he said twelve. So, I'm sure he'll live."

"That's good to hear… I think," replied JR.

Cade pulled London up to his feet, then went to the corner and tagged in Murdoch. Cade did a snapmare, then sat up, allowing Murdoch to drop down and hit an elbow drop. Murdoch then made a cover, while Cade got out of the ring, ONE…. TWO… THR… London kicked out. Murdoch sat London up, then locked in a chin lock from behind and wrenched London's neck backwards. London's screams of pain could be heard by everyone around the ring.

"London getting launched into the turnbuckle just put a big bull's eye on the back of his neck," commented King, "knowing Cade and Murdoch, they're going to pick that apart."

"To be honest, King," admitted Machetti, as London continued to struggle in the chin lock, "I'd do the same thing in their position. This isn't ballet, you need to do what it takes to win the match. If your opponent has an injury, you need to pick it apart, that's good strategy by Cade and Murdoch."

London gritted his teeth, then shot his elbow backwards and hit Murdoch in the stomach. London followed up with another elbow and fought up to his knees, then hit another, and got up onto one off. But Murdoch suddenly released the hold, and clubbed London across the back, sending him crashing back down to the mat. Murdoch reached out and tagged in Cade, then they pulled London back up, locked in side headlocks, then drove his head down to the mat for a double DDT. Murdoch left the ring and Cade went for the pin, ONE… TWO… THR… London kicked out.

"London is in big trouble now," pointed out JR, "his neck took a real hit when it went up against that turnbuckle, and now Cade and Murdoch are working it over. London may have no choice but to tap out."

"You're kidding right?" questioned Machetti, "Paul would only tap out if he was a split second away from having his neck snapped."

"I don't know if that's good thinking Machetti," argued King, as Cade sat London up and locked in another chin lock, "sometimes it's not worth it. If London gets his neck snapped, he'll be out of action for months! Sometimes it's smarter to live and fight another day."

"That's London's way of thinking," replied Machetti, "it might not be the smartest thing. But Paul tends to be a bit out there, that and those World Tag Team Titles mean a great deal to him. Both Paul and Brian are determined to win those belts no matter what it takes."

London's screams echoed through the arena as Cade wrenched his neck. London gritted his teeth and tried to fight through the pain. London reached out and tried to grab the middle rope in front of him, but it was too far away and he'd have to pull Cade a good two feet to get to the ropes.

Suddenly Machetti stood up at the announce table and shouted "LET'S GO LONDON!" then did a series of claps (you know what I mean…). Over in the corner, Kendrick joined and chanted too. The fans started joining in and chanted along with Kendrick and Machetti. Let's Go London chants echoed through the arena and were growing progressively louder. Soon the sound of LET'S GO LONDON filled the arena.

Despite the amount of pain he was in, London smirked at hearing his name being chanted by the fans. London dug deep, then shot his elbow back and hit Cade in the stomach, then shot back his other elbow and hit another elbow to the stomach, enabling him to fight up to his knees. London alternated his elbows and kept driving them into Cade's stomach and eventually pushed himself up to his feet. Seeing his hold on London failing Cade pushed London away from him and into the ropes. Then ran at London and went for a clothesline.

But London ducked under Cade's arm, then ran to the ropes on the other side of the ring. Then he jumped up onto the middle rope and came off with a springboard back elbow, taking both Cade and himself down to the mat. London rolled onto his side, and then onto his stomach, then he started crawling over Kendrick.

"This is it, its do or die!" exclaimed JR, "London needs to make the tag here!"

"Come on Paul!" cheered Machetti.

Cade got up and grabbed London's ankle and started pulling him backwards. But suddenly London whipped his leg around and connected with the back of Cade's head for an enzuigiri. London fought up onto his hands and knees, then he dove forward and made the hot tag to Kendrick, across the ring, Cade had tagged in Murdoch.

"He got the tag!" JR practically shouted, "Now here comes Kendrick."

"And here comes Murdoch," pointed out King.

"Come on Brian, make it happen!" encouraged Machetti.

Kendrick ran in and took Murdoch down with a running calf kick, then when Murdoch got back up he sent him flying with an arm drag. Kendrick grabbed Murdoch and went to whip him into the ropes, but Murdoch reversed it. Kendrick went into the ropes, jumped onto the middle one, then came off and caught Murdoch with a springboard crossbody, then went for a cover… THE HIGHLANDER'S THEME MUSIC HIT!

"What the hell do these kilted idiots want!?" snapped Machetti as he shot to his feet and pulled off his headphones while Robbie and Rory came down the entrance ramp.

The referee as well as Kendrick had been distracted by the Highlanders, allowing Murdoch to push Kendrick off of him. "Don't let them distract you!" Machetti shouted at Brian as he climbed up on the ring apron. But the split second distraction had been enough to allow Murdoch to take advantage and plant Kendrick with a neckbreaker.

Robbie and Rory came down to ringside, but suddenly Machetti got in the ring, crossed the ring with two handsprings, then vaulted over the top rope and did a spinning back flip and came down on both Highlanders with a Handspring Corkscrew Moonsault Plancha, now all three of them were down at ringside.

In the ring Murdoch pulled Kendrick towards the corner, then climbed up onto the middle rope and waited for Kendrick to get up. When Kendrick stood up and turned around, Murdoch lunged off looking for the flying bulldog. But Kendrick ran forward, causing Murdoch to land hard and stagger on his feet. Kendrick grabbed Murdoch and ran into the corner, knocking Cade off of the ring apron as the ran up the ropes, then hit SLICED BREAD NUMBER TWO!! Kendrick made the cover, ONE… TWO… THREE! HE GOT IT! WE HAVE NEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!

London and Kendrick's theme music hit as Kendrick got back up to his feet. Suddenly he realized what that meant and a huge smile appeared on his face. London joined Kendrick in the ring and the two celebrated as the referee handed them the World Tag Team Titles. "Ladies and gentlemen, here are your winners... and the NEW World Tag Team Champions… PAUL LONDON AND BRIAN KENDRICK! Machetti climbed up off of the floor and got into the ring, then he stood in between Paul and Brian and raised their free arms while they held up their belts with the other.

London and Kendrick went to separate corners and climbed up onto the middle rope, while Machetti climbed up onto the middle rope on the ropes in between them. At the same time all three of them back flipped into the middle of the ring and as they landed pyro shot off out of all three of the corners. London and Kendrick turned and held up their titles for the fans, but suddenly Randy Orton came from under the ring and went for an RKO on Machetti, but Machetti pushed Orton off of him and into the ropes. Machetti dropped down to his knees, and London and Kendrick ran in and went to bit London with their newly acquired tag team titles, but Orton held onto the ropes behind him and slid out of the ring.

Orton glared at Machetti and the new World Tag Team Champions as he back up the ramp, then he held up his fingers motioning that Machetti was 'this close' to getting RKO-ed. Machetti's response was to show Orton a finger of his won, causing the fans to pop at the insult. Orton headed to the back and the three Chaos Inc members celebrated in the ring as the camera cut to the back and showed Orton's torch runner arriving at the arena. Then Raw went to a commercial break.

---x---

I figured I'd finally do the title change here. I think I can do more with the World Tag Team Titles than the WWE can do. And now that London and Kendrick are the champions they can face off against the heel teams, like Haas and Benjamin, the Highlanders, and Cade and Murdoch. Hell, I could even do a Holly/Rhodes versus London and Kendrick match.

Oh… and… WELCOME BACK CHRIS JERICHO!!

'Till Next Time…

Peace!