Chapter 7: WWE Raw 9/2/24

WWE Raw

September 2nd, 2024

Denver, CO

The Terror Twins entered the arena together, sporting matching shades and smirks. Rhea was the first in the ring tonight.

THIS IS MY BRUTALITY!

She swaggered onto the stage, then stopped. She swooped downward with her song, raised her arms, and stomped as the music paused. She soaked in the crowd's adulation as she sashayed down the ramp to the ring. She felt lighter and happier than she had in a long time. She and Buddy had a glorious few days together once she was back in the States. They were talking easier again. She and Damian were fresh off their victory in Berlin.

"Welcome to Monday Night Mami!" She exclaimed, and the crowd cheered. "It feels good to be out here saying that again, but what feels even better than that is when me and my Terror Twin, Damian Priest, absolutely brutalized Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio."

The fans chanted, "Mami! Mami! Mami!"

"We're not done destroying Judgment Day. In fact, we are just getting started. I pinned the Women's World Champion, so I think it's about time I got back the one thing I never actually lost. So Liv Morgan, if you're as tough as you pretend to be…"

Dom's music played, triggering boos that only grew louder when he tried to speak. Rhea's Spanish wasn't fluent enough to know the line of curses he must have delivered at top speed. But dang, he had a black eye! She realized as he drew closer that he also had a burst blood vessel, and most of the whites of that eye were bright red. Was that from her or Damian?

"No one wants to hear your voice, Dom," she smirked. "Now go in the back and get your girlfriend before I give you another black eye."

Dom opened his mouth, his words drowned in boos. He climbed into the ring. He claimed Liv was still recovering; Rhea knew it was rubbish. Meanwhile, the crowd chanted, "You suck! You suck! You suck!"

"You and Priest took advantage of me and Liv," Dom whined. "We were jet lagged. We didn't get any sleep… for multiple reasons. But I'm here to let you know that Liv will accept your challenge. She's beat you before. She'll beat you again. And after I win the IC title and we both have gold…"

"Dom, Dom! Let me put this in a way you understand. Giatay estupedo!"

The audience cheered.

"Now if your little courageous Liv doesn't want to come out here to face me, then I want you to relay this message. I'll face her anytime, anyplace."

"Anyplace," he echoed.

She knew Liv was coming. "Mate, you don't want me to repeat myself."

Liv rushed the ring, and Rhea elbowed her in the face. Dom tried to scram. Rhea went for him, her top leg taking the middle rope with her as she stood outside and grabbed him by the mullet. Liv popped up and shoved her. Rhea fell, her left ankle tangling in the ropes. She cried out, pain shooting through her leg as she hung upside down. Slack jawed, Dom hovered and stared. Liv climbed outside the rope and kicked the shit out of Rhea's leg. Working her abs, Rhea raised her torso to block Liv's foot. She fell back and tried again. Liv kept on stomping, with Dom cheering her own.

Rhea writhed, clutching the back of her left knee. Blood rushed to her head, pressurizing her eyes. She struggled to take in breath. She felt someone grab her head and smooch her cheek. She couldn't tell if it were Dom or Liv. Her sights dimmed, and she closed her eyes.

Rhea felt an arm around her back. She opened her eyes, meeting Damian's narrowed gaze. He set her on the apron, relieving her throbbing knee. He started after Liv and Dom but then was at her side, rubbing her back.

The lights went out.

Damian leaned into her ear. "Do you want my help?" He asked.

Rhea didn't want his help. She wanted to walk it off and pretend she was still on top of the world like she was when she walked into this place. She wanted to show Judgment Day that they couldn't fuck her over anymore.

Rhea slid out of the ring, to her feet. She pushed off her right leg and came down on the left. Her knee popped. Rhea cried out and folded toward the knee. Stumbling, she caught herself on the edge of the ring.

"Rhea, let me help you."

Closing her eyes, she nodded. She bloody needed him.

Damian took her arm and wrapped it around his neck, then took hold of her waist. He escorted her ever so slowly down the ramp, which seemed so much longer. She took steady strides with her right foot, leaning into Damian and hopping with gritted teeth on her left.

In with a swagger, out with a stagger.

"This isn't over," Damian assured her.

Rhea was panting and sweating by the time she hobbled to the medical team backstage. Her head was spinning and pounding. Damian helped her to sit on a tour box, clutching her bung knee.

"Can you straighten your leg?" A medic asked.

She extended it until she felt bone on bone. "Ah!"

Damian winced.

"How much can you bend it?" asked the medic.

Rhea cringed as she drew her knee to her chest. "That's about it, mate."

He studied the battered joint. "There's already some swelling and bruising. We're going to need some ice."

Another medic scurried out of view.

"It's not entirely weight bearing," the first one continued. "Did you hear or feel a pop?"

"Yes," Rhea and Damian said at the same time. She looked at him. When she turned back, a female medic leaned toward her with a bag of ice.

Liv.

Eyes wide, Rhea jerked backwards. Pain and rage exploded. "Get off me!" Rhea yelled, cradling the wounded knee with one hand and shoving reaching hands with the other. "No! No! Stop!"

Damian stepped in. "Guys, guys, guys! Give her some space! Give her some space!"

The medical team stepped back. The female medic holding the ice bag had long blond hair but looked nothing like Liv. Rhea swallowed hard, fighting panic. If she couldn't trust her own eyes…

Rhea gritted her teeth and held her knee as she turned to Damian.

"Look, Rhea, I get it," Damian said. "You quero matar. But you've got to let them do their work. All right? You've got to listen. I'm going to go to Pearce. I'm going to say it would be good for there to be a match against one of these fools. Yeah. Pain needs to come. All right? While I do that, let them do their work. All right? I need your help."

She nodded, trusting him explicitly - more than she trusted herself.

"Cool?"

"Cool."

"All right." Damian turned to the medics. "Take care of her please?" He pleaded. He then walked away.

Hands reached for her. "Careful, careful!" she said through her teeth. Ice touched her knee, and she hissed. She held it in place. A medic gave her pills with water.

Rhea looked up and realized physical therapist Al was with the team around her. She wondered if he was there the whole time – and just how out of it she was.

Al rubbed his chin. "Let's get you a brace and a crutch, just to play it safe," he determined. "I'll go get those for you while you rest."

Rhea was tempted to ask him about that bloody door in Sunrise, Florida. But what could she say that would make any sense? She watched the medical team walk away. Sighing, she hung her head.

If Damian got a match with a member of Judgment Day, no way in hell would it be fair. The others would get involved - five against one. Why did she let Damian go? They had last week's victory in Berlin. They could rally back next week, when she would make her knee feel better. What could she do for him now if Judgment Day ambushed Damian.

"If you yeet, Yeet won't cheat," came a whisper.

Rhea lifted her head. Jey Uso sat on the box next to her. "I'm sorry, what?" She asked him.

Jey held out his hands. "If you yeet, Yeet won't cheat!"

She furrowed her brow, and he put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're one of the strongest people I know, uce," Jey said, his soft brown eyes searching hers. "You and Damian play it alone. And I get it. You two are bad ass. Just don't forget that you both are fa'aaloalo. You are part of a whole. You, Damian, Buddy, your beautiful folks back home, your town, your country, Mami nation…" He put a hand on his chest. "Me, Takecia, our kids, my people… we are a part of you. We are your people too. Don't get down. Keep your head up, and you will see what you are a part of. You will see how you te alofa ia te oe."

Rhea smiled, tears in her eyes.

"Please tell Damian what I said. Please remind him for me that he isfa'aaloalo and that I love him too," Jey paused, then added, "I worry about his loneliness."

Long after Jey left, his words echoed in Rhea's head, alongside Damian's confession: "I need for you to be okay. You matter to me more than anything." She rolled these thoughts and her friends' voices in her head as a medic fitted her with a knee brace, then handed her a crutch.

Was she really his whole world? The man loved to party but went home to an empty house. Was he so isolated? If this wounded fighter were all he had, then he was royally screwed. Judgment Day would rip his body to shreds and leave him broken. And what could she do?

Rhea knew she was the only one Damian trusted, and she needed to guide him to open up to others. They both needed to take that risk.

Damian came around the corner and slowed as he scanned her frame, propped on a crutch. He furrowed his brow.

"So, it's something serious?" He gestured toward her leg.

Rhea shook her head. "It's just a precaution. I'll be fine." she assured him.

"Awesome." He didn't sound convinced.

"How'd the thing with Pearce go?"

Damian sighed. "My part was fine, but Finn Balor, being the coward that he is, says he'll only face me in a tag team match. You're injured. I've got no friends around here. So, it looks like I can't have a match. End game."

The slump of his shoulders and defeated affect tore at her. He needed a sign that they weren't alone - the sooner, the better.

"No. Let Pearce know it's still on," Rhea said. "I think I have someone in mind."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "All right." He turned, then flashed a smile. "Let me know what he says.

Rhea smiled back. She hobbled off, in search of Jey. Her knee was screaming at her by the time she found him at the catering table. He looked up from the conti roll he was munching.

"Want a sub?" Jey asked, gesturing to the rows of conti rolls on the table. "They've got Italian, roast beef, Philly…"

Rhea shook her head, gingerly leaning into the gear box next to him. "I'm good, mate," she replied. "I came here to ask a favor of you."

"Yeet!" He boomed. Nikki Cross, who was walking by, jumped. She was in full Abby the Witch motif, making her startle all the more surprising. Hand to her chest, Nikki looked at him wide eyed.

Jey waved. "Sorry, uce!"

She smiled and continued on her way.

"Yeet!" He said - quieter this time but still shouting. "Whatever it is, yeet yeet yeet!"

Rhea stood propped on her crutch, beaming as Damian approached. His downcast gaze lit at the sight of her, fueling her glow.

"All right," he said. "I came here to tell you that I didn't get to Dom, but I see you cheesin'. He said yes?"

"No."

"Como?! Then what did he say?"

"Yeet."

Now Damian was smiling too. "I still have to have a talk with him." He flashed her devil's horns. "I appreciate it."

Rhea raised a hand and gave him the horns in a fist bump. She continued to smile long after Damian walked away. Time for his loneliness to end.

Rhea sat on a couch in the clubhouse, bare footed leg propped on its arm and ice in her knee. She watched the tag team match unfold on the monitor. So far, so good. No bullshit, just wrestling. Finn tried to dodge Damian yet again by immediately tagging in JD. Damian fixed that right away, kicking out JD and dragging Finn back in. The coward scrambled out. Damian wasn't getting the shot at Finn that he wanted. He cornered JD then tagged in Jey. Rhea knew he was conserving his energy for Finn.

Jey was all over JD, who quickly tagged Finn back in. Those two managed to get the upper hand on Jey, but not for long. Jey sent them both over the top rope, then dove out of the ring and sprawled them both. Rhea smiled. It felt good to have this tag team champ in their corner.

Damian stood on the apron, jumping and holding his hand out to be tagged in.

"Come on, Jey! Give 'im a go," Rhea murmured.

"Come on! Come on!" She could read Damian's lips as he held out his hand and beckoned to Jey. At long last, Jey dove into the corner and slapped Damian's hand.

Damian hopped the rope and clotheslined Finn's ass twice, rapid fire. JD charged. Damian clapped his ears and slammed him face-first into the mat. Finn was back on his feet and coming in hot. Damian kicked him in the gut twice, then kicked his ass. Finn tried to bounce off the rope. Damian blocked and dropped him.

Damian roared amidst the audience cheers. He paced, until JD rose until his competitors were on either side of him. Then he charged the corners, bouncing back and forth and slamming Finn and JD into the ropes. He threw out JD. Finn grabbed and tried to pin. Damian kicked out. The two jumped to their feet.

The ice bag on Rhea's knee was no longer cold, and she set it on the table beside her. By the time she looked at the screen again, Damian was on the mat. He pulled himself back up, and the two went to opposite corners, then charged. Damian kicked him to the gut, to the floor. Slapping his forearms together, he got the crowd going. Damian bounced off the rope and clotheslined Finn as soon as Finn got to his feet.

Rhea smiled. It was glorious to see Damian in action - so strong and powerful, such a force to be reckoned with.

Damian paced the ring, then raised his hand in the air. He pulsed his fingers to cheers. He grabbed Finn by the neck and choke slammed him. Finn managed to get his legs around Damian's waist, and he flipped him. Damian pushed out on one. Finn kicked him in the back, sending Damian to the rope… where JD grabbed his head and punched him. Fucking cheap shot. Damian staggered, into a backwards chokehold. Finn slammed Damian into the mat. Damian punched out on two.

Reeling, Damian crawled to the ropes and got to his feet. Finn tagged in JD, who pounded on Damian then tagged in Finn. They each took an arm and threw Damian into the opposite rope. Damian used the momentum to clothesline them both to the ground. Rhea laughed.

Damian tagged in Jey, who climbed the top rope to dive bomb their asses. Liv came flying up the ramp. She pulled Jey's leg, catching his junk on the rope. Down went Jey.

"What the fuck!" Rhea exclaimed, leaning forward with clenched fists.

Liv was hanging by the ring, taunting Rhea's people, distracting the ref, pulling her shit… enough was enough. As much as her knee fucking killed, she pulled her boot back on and grabbing her crutch.

THIS IS MY BRUTALITY!

Rhea's left knee throbbed, pulsing pain through her left leg as she hobbled up the ramp – such a sharp contrast from just earlier that evening. Rage collided with pain when she saw Jey curled on the mat and Damian roll out for a breather. They were two of the strongest people that Rhea had ever met, and she knew they could handle their own. But these bitches played dirty.

Liv approached, feigning a limp and cackling. All she heard was that boofhead chant from school, back when she played it alone. She fought the urge to regress. She couldn't, for Damian's sake. She forced herself to shift her weight onto her injured side. She gritted her teeth and slammed the crutch into Liv's gut, then hit her over the head with it. Liv fled. Rhea chased her around the ring as fast as an adrenaline-fueled limp could carry her. Liv took off into the stands. Rhea took one look at those steps. Hell no.

She looked to the ring, where Finn and JD just stared at her… while Damian was coming in hot. The impulse hit to crotch chop. "Suck it!" She exclaimed.

Damian knocked JD out of the ring and set his sights on Finn. He grabbed him and prepared to slam him to the floor. JD pulled Finn out of his grasp. JD tried to kick him, but Damian spun. JD nailed Finn instead. Jey took out and rolled out Finn. Damian raised JD over his head and slammed him to the mat.

"Yeah!" Rhea exclaimed.

Time to finish this. To Rhea's surprise, Damian turned to Jey and tagged him in. Jey got to finish his jump off the top rope and to hold down JD for the count.

The crowd erupted. Rhea pulled herself into the ring and pushed on the crutch to stand. Damian rushed over with a smile. He held the hand she didn't have on the crutch and slid his fingers to her wrist. He had Jey's wrist in his other hand. Damian threw up his arms, and Rhea flashed devil horns - as did Jey. The trio soaked in the ovation.