Chapter 76: The Pride of Heaven Boils Down
Smackdown was in Albany, New York and it was also the night of the "Dancing with the Stars" season finale where Delancey was in the final three along with former member of 'NSYNC Lance Bass and football star Warren Sapp.
The Angels were in John and Nicole's hotel room decorating for a party in honor of Delancey's run on the show and possibility winning the title. It was decorated with black and blue decorations.
"There," Nicole said, "all done."
"The place looks great," Buffy said. "Oh, my God, I can't wait for tonight."
"I still can't believe Delancey has made it to the final three," Amanda said. "This is incredible; she has improved every week with her dancing."
"Yeah, she has," Nicole said. "Everybody in the WWE is counting on her to win; well, everybody except Vickie Guerrero who hopes that Delancey will lose. I still can't believe that Edge won and that the two reconciled."
"Wasn't it back in August that Edge was all screwy and Vickie got scared?" Buffy said. "What the hell was that?"
"She thought she could throw us off the track with her welcoming back the Undertaker and apologizing to him; but like him, he wasn't buying it and she goes after him and look what happened."
"But Edge coming back," Amanda said, "I would love to hear her explanation behind that."
A little later, Smackdown was on and Vickie Guerrero stood in the middle of the ring with security surrounding the ring.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Vickie said, "please welcome making his dramatic return to Smackdown, this is a man who has overcome extraordinary obstacles and he just happens to be my husband and he is the new champion, Edge."
Edge's entrance theme played and he came out from the curtain and raised his WWE World Heavyweight Title belt in the air as the pyro went off. Then he walked down the ramp and got into the ring and then sat his belt on the turnbuckle and ran in embraced Vickie. They hugged and smiled wide with joy as Edge grabbed his belt and raised it up in the air.
"I promised a triple threat match at Survivor Series and that is exactly what I delivered," Vickie said, "and it's all thanks to this man, the love of my life, you, baby."
"Thank you, baby, thank you," Edge said. "You know, truth to be told, I wasn't ready to come back. I mean, I'm not even 100 percent healthy right now. But woke up in the wee hours of the morning on the day of Survivor Series, I read on the WWE website what was going on with Jeff Hardy and I had to take action into my own hands. And why did I have to do that? Because we all know Jeff Hardy's history. Jeff has a history of letting people down. He doesn't have the same gumption and tenacity that some like me, a true champion, has! You know, baby, everyone seems to think that the WWE Championship is my only motivation, this is all I care about, but that couldn't be further from the truth because, baby, I didn't want to let you down. I did all of this for you."
"Ah, baby, you know, I just wanna thank you for being my knight in shining armor. Thank you, thank you so much for being my hero and thank you for saving me from the irresponsibility of Jeff Hardy." Then the crowd booed. "Wait, excuse me! Now what happened with Jeff Hardy is still under investigation; I mean, we all know that and we all look forward to Jeff Hardy returning to the ring as soon as he is cleared to compete. But let's face it; this isn't the first time that Jeff Hardy has screwed up. I mean, excuse me, he screwed up by not showing up for his match at Survivor Series and then he screwed up by showing up late and getting involved."
"Yeah, say Hardy all you want but Jeff Hardy, he screws up, he screws up big, Hardy screws up extremely big. That's what Jeff Hardy…..."
Then "Eddie's Angels" entrance theme played and they came out from the curtain with John, Cryme Tyme, Dave, Ulysses, and the Boyz in Motion following them.
"Well, well, well," Nicole said, "the two lovey-dovey birds are back together. This has to be the most ridiculous, pathetic sight I have ever seen. I mean, back in the summer, you two got married, Edge cheated on you with the wedding planner who's now showing her face on ECW, Edge gets all crazy and comes after you, the Undertaker gets reinstated and you got sent down to hell…….and what happened next? At Survivor Series, you make this blunt announcement making everyone think that Jeff Hardy was cleared to wrestle in the Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship……Edge returns, wins the WWE Championship, and you two are back together. This has to be the most ridiculous stunt you ever pulled and now……you're dead meat."
Then the entire gang stormed the ringside area and John, Cryme Time, Dave, Ulysses, and the boys brawled with security as "Eddie's Angels" chased after Edge & Vickie and they ran out of the ring into the ring and then Jeff charged into the ring and so did Triple H who attacked Jeff from behind. Then "Eddie's Angels" ran out of the ring as some of the security went to separate the two as they brawled into the ringside and Vladimir Kozlov then stepped into the ring from the other side.
"No more games, no more Triple Threat, I am here to be champion" Vladimir said. "I'm here to get that. I'll beat you up right now.
"No, wait, excuse me," Vickie said, "hold on just a minute. Hold on, hold on. I anticipated that the three of you would want to claim stake in Edge's title, so I came up with a solution. Tonight, there will be three "Beat the Clock" matches featuring Vladimir Kozlov, Triple H, and Jeff Hardy. Whoever wins by pinfall or submission in the shortest time will face Edge for the WWE Title at Armageddon. And 'Eddie's Angels,' since I can't fire you and or get rid of you three, you can rest assure that this is far from over. Now Jeff, don't go anywhere because your match is next and good luck."
Then the Angels continued to stare at Vickie and Edge as they left the ring and began shoving the security out their way and joined the guys as Brittany walked alongside the ramp and went into the ring to join Jeff. Then the security walked away and it was all clear as the Brian Kendrick's entrance theme played and he came out from the curtain with Ezekiel Jackson following him.
Brian did his usual dance down the ramp and got into the ring as he continued to dance and got on the turnbuckles and raised his arms in the air and blew kisses to the crowd. Then he got back down and continued to dance and he took his jacket and gave it to Ezekiel and he & Brittany left the ring as the referee called for the bell.
Jeff and Brian circled around the ring and Jeff went for a clothesline but Brian ducked and Jeff was chasing Brian and Brian went to kick Jeff but ducked and rolled up Brian for a two count and Jeff got a backslide pin for another two count and Jeff kicked Brian in the midsection and got an inside cradle for another two count and A minute into the match Brian bailed out for a breather, adding precious time to Jeff's clock. When Jeff went after Brian, Ezekiel got in his face and Jeff got back into the ring and so did Brian and they went to lock up but Jeff quickly got a right hand twice and hit Brian's head on the turnbuckle and landed a suplex for a two count. Brian tried to get of the ring but Jeff grabbed him by the legs and got a legdrop for a two count and Jeff got a snapmare for another two count and got a headlock as Brian crawled on the mat and got his foot on the middle rope.
Then Jeff kicked Brian in the midsection and went to whip him to the ropes but Brian reversed and Jeff grabbed his legs and got a legdrop pin for a two count and Jeff grabbed Brian and got an atomic drop and took him down and got a legdrop to the groin for a two count. Then Jeff kicked Brian in the midsection and got a right hand and kept kicking Brian as he was sitting on the ropes and he whipped Brian to the ropes and got a back bodydrop and Brian bailed out of the ring again. Brian was taking a breather outside and was yapping at Tazz and Jim Ross as Jeff landed a suplex for a two count and landed another one for a nearfall and Jeff kicked Brian in the midsection and went to whip him to the corner but Brian reversed and charged into a back elbow.
Then Jeff climbed the top turnbuckle but Brian tripped him and Brian hit a neckbreaker off the top rope and Brian dragged Jeff to the middle of the ring and Brian applied a vertical headlock and Jeff got to his feet and was hitting right hands to the midsection and Brian got a knee to the midsection but Jeff got a roll-up for a two count and then Brian threw Jeff onto the bottom turnbuckle and Brian choked Jeff on the bottom rope and Brian was showing off as he choked Jeff with his boot and applied a headlock. Then Jeff got to his knew and to his feet and was ramming Brian's back into the corner and Jeff collapsed as Jeff made a comeback by dropping a charging Brian over the top rope. He worked his way back to his feet and Brian went for a clothesline but Jeff ducked and hung Brian upside down in the corner.
Then Jeff got a diving legdrop for a nearfall and he kicked Brian in the midsection and got a faceplant for a two count and he went for the Twist of Fate but Brian shoved Jeff to the corner and Jeff got a right hand and Jeff hit a Whisper in the Wind and Ezekiel tried to yank Brian out of the ring, but Jeff low dropkicked him and then landed a reverse powerbomb and climbed the top turnbuckle and landed the Swanton Bomb for the win.
Then Brittany got into the ring and clapped for Jeff as she helped him to his feet and raised his arms in the air along with the referee. Then Jeff sat down for a breather and looked at the clock on the Titantron that said 12:13. It would take one person to beat that time in order to face Edge for the WWE Championship at Armageddon.
A little later, Brittany was walking down the hallway looking for Michelle McCool because after the six-Diva tag team which was Michelle and the Bella Twins versus Maryse, Victoria & Natalya, Michelle was livid and had some choice words for the Bellas seemingly blaming them for the loss when Brie accidently clotheslined Michelle. When Maria rushed out to keep the peace, Michelle shoved her to the ground before walking away in anger.
"Michelle," Brittany said as she walked towards Michelle, "what the hell was that out there? Why you gonna let one little mistake let you go off like that?"
"Look, Brittany," Michelle said, "what happened out there is none of your business."
"It is my business; I don't appreciate you pushing down Maria acting you got some sense."
"You know what, Brittany? Maybe I should push you down too since you wanna get involved."
"Go ahead, I dare you."
But Michelle just smiled and simply walked away as Brittany stared at her.
Then it was time for the final Beat the Clock match which was Triple H versus Shelton Benjamin. Vladimir Kozlov had failed to beat the clock thanks to Jeff's brother, Matt.
Triple H immediately kicked Shelton in the midsection and went for the Pedigree but Shelton slipped out and retreated to the corner quickly and then the two circled around the ring and locked up before Shelton got a side headlock and Triple H shoved Shelton to the ropes and Triple H got a back elbow and kicked Shelton in the midsection and went for the Pedigree again but Shelton bailed out to ringside. Shelton walked back and forth on the outside and went to get into the ring but got back as Triple H went after him and then Triple H got out of the ring and chased Shelton down and landed a right hand and ran him into the ringpost and threw him back into the ring and as Triple H went to follow, Shelton kicked him in the back and went on a flurry with right hands and knees to the midsection and he whipped Triple H to the corner and Triple H got a clothesline.
Then Triple H again kicked Shelton in the midsection and went for the Pedigree a third time but Shelton went for a back body drop but Triple H rolled him up for a two count and Triple H applied with a crossface and Shelton tried desperately to reach for the bottom rope and Triple H pulled him to the middle of the ring and again Shelton tried desperately to reach for the bottom rope and grabbed it and Shelton rolled to the ring apron as Triple H stomped on him and he went for a suplex but Shelton countered with a neckbreaker and Triple H rolled out of the ring. Jeff and Brittany were shown in the locker room watching the match as Shelton had Triple H in a side headlock and Triple H got to his feet and escaped with right hands to the midsection and landed a right hand to the face and then he whipped Shelton to the ropes and went for a back body drop but Shelton countered with a DDT for a nearfall.
Then Shelton was punching away at Triple H and applied a chinlock and Triple H got to his feet as Shelton landed a knee to the midsection and went for a swinging neckbreaker but Triple H shoved Shelton to the corner and clotheslined Shelton from behind and the two men were down. Then Shelton got a back elbow to the face and bounced off the ropes and missed a clothesline and Triple H got a high knee to the face and Triple H landed a couple of right hands before he went to whip Shelton but Shelton reversed whipping Triple H to the ropes and Triple H got a facebuster for a two count and Shelton rolled out of the ring and Triple H followed as Triple H hit Shelton's head on the security wall and Triple H looked at the clock as it went to three minutes and he threw Shelton back in the ring but Shelton rolled back out of the ring and Triple H followed as he threw Shelton over the announcers' table on Jim Ross' lap and again onto the floor as Triple H threw Shelton back in the ring.
But again, Shelton rolled out of the ring and Triple H followed as he hit Shelton's head onto the steel ring steps and threw him back in the ring with two minutes left and Shelton bounced off the ropes and Triple H landed a double-A spinebuster and Triple H waited for Shelton to get and kicked him in the midsection and went for the Pedigree but Shelton blocked it and landed a back body drop and the two men were down and slow to get up as the clock reached the last minute. Triple H grabbed Shelton as he was hanging onto the ropes but Shelton held on to stall for time and then he elbowed the referee knocking him down and Shelton missed a clothesline and Triple H kicked him in the midsection and hit the Pedigree and covered but the referee was slow to get up and Triple H tried to revive the referee and covered as the referee crawled over with three seconds left and hit the mat the third time just as the buzzer rang.
Then the referee raised Triple H's arm in the air and another referee ran into the ring and told him that it wasn't in time. Triple H told them to watch the replay on the big screen and it showed that the referee indeed hit the mat the same time the clock reached zero; but then, the Titantron showed a split screen of Jeff's win and Triple's win showing that the two won their matches at the same time.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that Triple H and Jeff Hardy have both completed their matches at the exact same time," Justin Roberts announced.
Then Jeff's entrance theme played and he came out from the curtain and he walked down the ramp and got into the ring. He stared down at Triple H as Smackdown came to a close leaving the outcome of the fate of the WWE Championship at Armageddon.
After RAW was over, John and Nicole were having their "Dancing with the Stars" viewing party at their hotel room and have invited Amanda, Buffy, Ulysses, the Angelic Coalition, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, Dave, Cryme Tyme, the Chain Gang Diva Squad, the Boyz in Motion, Maria, Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle, and Eve Torres.
Nicole was looking out the window as John walked up to her.
"Hey, Nicky," John said, "you all right?"
"Yeah," Nicole said, "I still can't get over what happened at Survivor Series. Vickie Guerrero is really starting to tick me off. I don't know how much more I can take this."
"Now, look, I've seen 'Eddie's Angels' get in two battles that were less worse than this and you girls won both. Remember, never back down; Eddie wouldn't want you to do that."
"Yeah, at least I got a World Heavyweight Champion to lie naked in the bed with."
Then John smiled as he and Nicole kissed each other.
Meanwhile, Amanda was talking to Jasmine Morgan.
"So what are you gonna do for Thanksgiving?" Jasmine said.
"Well, I'm gonna spend it in Tampa with my mom, my stepfather, and my stepbrothers," Amanda said. "I've been talking to my mom almost everyday and I'm glad we were able to find common ground with each other."
"That's great. It looks like being 'Eddie's Angels' has made you a better person, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm finally the Women's Champion, I got a wonderful boyfriend, and now I have a mother. Life couldn't get any better. What about you? What are you gonna do for Thanksgiving?"
"Well, I'm gonna spend it in Tampa with my mom, my stepfather, and my stepbrothers as well. My parents got divorced when I was eleven and it was hard getting along with my stepfather."
"Wow."
"Yeah, but we worked out our problems and I can see he loves my mom and wouldn't take advantage of her."
"That's good. So how have you been doing lately?"
"I'm hanging in there; the thought of Mike Knox beating up Evan really creeps me out."
"Just hang in there. Evan wouldn't want you to be traumatized more and more everyday."
"Yeah."
"You love Evan, don't you?"
"Yeah, but……I never said 'I love you' to his face. If I did, I'll probably scare him off."
"Uh, Jasmine, reality check, Evan is way too nice to be scared off if you said those three little words. I can tell he's special to you."
"He is; he's smart and funny and……he's very special to me."
"Then tell him that you love him."
"I will; absence does make the heart grow fonder and my heart says I love Evan Bourne."
"Everybody, Delancey's about to come on!" Buffy said.
Then everyone gathered in the living room as Nicole turned the volume up on the TV.
"Dancing the samba, Delancey Scott and her partner Derek Hough," the announcer said.
The subject for tonight's lecture is rhythm
The beat
The driving force that holds our lives together
Without rhythm your heart wouldn't be
Without direction
Without moves
Without shakes
And so tonight we say
Hip hip
Chin chin
Hip hip
Chin chin
The beat
The beat
Then the crowd applauded as Delancey smiled and breathing hard and she & Derek hugged each other and walked over to Tom Bergeron.
"Beautiful and spicy way to end it," Tom said. "Alright, Carrie Ann?"
"Delancey, you are a star," Carrie Ann said. "The show is called 'Dancing with the Starts' and you were the star from day one. You proved what you could do with your body, but you proved what you can do with your soul; Derek, you've been an incredible teacher to this woman, you guys deserve that trophy. Fantastic."
"Well, when I saw your samba a few weeks back," Len said, "I said it was the dance of the season and nothing has made me change my mind about that."
"As they say in Italy, Belissimo," Bruno said. "You are a crown jewel of this really grand finale; a grand performance."
"Last dance, head on back, guys," Tom said. "That's it, that's the final dance of this competition of season two. Again, the judges' scores will count for one half of their final total, we still have to add in your votes from last night to determine who takes home the trophy. Samantha?"
"Wow, we're collecting ourselves back here too," Samantha said. "Come on back here. You know what? That was the hottest dance of the season, it really got everyone fired up, but this is your final dance with Derek, is it surreal?"
"Yes," Delancey said, "it's also bittersweet, it's been an amazing journey, it's emotional for us, it was our best dance ever. Derek, thank you for everything you've taught me this season, it's been an incredible an intense challenge and I hope I did the WWE justice and made them proud."
"I'm not gonna make you wait any longer, let's get your final scores."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the judges' scores: Carrie Ann Inaba," the announcer said.
"Ten," Carrie Ann said.
"Len Goodman."
"Ten," Len said.
"Bruno Tonioli."
"Ten," Bruno said.
"Well, that's the way to end to go out on your final dance," Samantha said. "A long season with so many, 30, a perfect score and Derek, your sister has two trophies, your best friend Mark has one. Is it your turn?"
"Like Lacey said," Derek said, "pressure!"
"It's someone's turn," Delancey said.
"You know, I don't know, I'm just happy to be here and you know, she's been an amazing partner and what a way to go out."
"You guys brought a lot to the ballroom, everyone sure did, and 88 points out of 90 for Delancey and Derek. Is that gonna be enough to crown them the champions of 'Dancing with the Stars'? Well, we'll add your votes from last night and find out soon."
"Okay, everybody," Nicole said, "keep voting; we have to get Delancey in the final two and help her win that trophy."
Everybody went crazy with their cell phones texting their vote for Delancey and then following her dance performance, she indeed made to the final two against Warren Sapp since Lance Bass had the lowest votes. But it was now time for the winner to be revealed.
"Welcome back to the finale of 'Dancing with the Stars,'" Tom said, "for these two finalists, their months of hard work, blisters, and tears come down to this moment of ultimate achievement or disappointment."
"After combining the judges' scores from last night and tonight with your votes from last night, we'll now reveal the champions of 'Dancing with the Stars.' Good luck to you both. Delancey and Derek; Delancey, the judges have consistently praised your technical ability placing you at the top of the leaderboard week after week. Have you captured our viewers' hearts to win the trophy?"
"Warren and Kym," Samantha said, "Warren, the judges have praised you for the entertainment and joy you have brought to the ballroom. Have the viewers rewarded your entertainment value with the trophy?"
"Delancey and Derek, Warren and Kym, after ten weeks of competition, the winners and new champions of 'Dancing with the Stars' are……."
The tension in the hotel room drove everybody crazy and some of them were crossing their fingers.
"Delancey and Derek!"
Then Delancey covered her face in excitement and she & Derek hugged each other as Derek picked Delancey up and the two hugged Tom as well.
"Congratulations," Tom said, "keeping it all in the family. Okay, this is where I ask the dumbest question you can ask, how does it feel?"
"It feels amazing aside from winning the WWE Women's Championship," Delancey said, "that's all I can say about that!"
"Oh, my gosh," Derek said, "I actually can't believe it, I really can't. I honestly can't. I mean, the journey's been so long, it's been tough, it's been wonderful, everything I could ever hope for and wow, I can't believe we actually did it, girl!"
"Just physically, mentally, and emotionally."
"You know what?" Samantha said. "There are no losers here because you brought so much to this competition every single night, how great to be here?"
"Absolutely wonderful," Warren said, "I'm glad I didn't do any disrespect to the football guys out there."
"You made them proud, you really did your standing right here and congratulations for that."
"Okay, they have waiting a long time for this, the new champions of 'Dancing with the Stars.'"
Then Tom handed the trophy to Delancey and Derek and the two raised up in the air as the other dancers and celebrities came out to congratulate them.
"Oh, my God, Delancey won!" Amanda said. "Delancey won! I'm so proud of her!"
"We all here, aren't we?" Nicole said as everybody agreed with pride.
"Hey, why don't you call her and wish her congratulations," John said.
"She's probably busy right now, John," Destiny said.
"You know what?" Nicole said. "I'll just call and leave a voicemail because she's probably gonna be busy with doing interviews and talk shows and whatnot."
Then Nicole pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Delancey's number and after a few rings, her phone went to voicemail.
"Congratulations!" The Angels said.
Then Nicole held her phone up with everybody else saying congratulations.
"Delancey," Amanda said, "the minute you come back, you know somebody will challenge to a dance-off; so you better be ready."
"When you get the chance," Nicole said, "call us and tell us when you're coming back. Don't be long."
Then Nicole ended the call.
Back in Los Angeles, California, Delancey took her time hugging a lot of her fellow celebrities & dancers and being interviewed by different shows and then she walked up to Bobby.
"You were so beautiful out there tonight," Bobby said as Delancey smiled. "I'm sure you made the WWE and the Angels proud."
"Thanks, Bobby," Delancey said. "I'm glad I made it."
Then Bobby and Delancey hugged each other and Delancey was surprised to see Eddie Guerrero smiling at her and then he nodded his head as he walked away and disappeared. Then Delancey smiled as she shed a tear and hugged Bobby tightly.
