He's a Fighter

It's back to the beginning of another week. Tonight is Raw, and there's only two more NXT episodes left, the finale being next week. I have to say I'm proud of Alex making it this far, especially with all the haters.

"So I'm not scheduled in a match tonight." I say from the bathroom as I finish getting ready.

"That's alright."

"I do believe Mike has a match though. Stef wants me out there with them. Wish you could come out for it. With the three of us ringside, no one dare mess with us."

"Triple threat."

"Exactly."

"But hey, there's still NXT tomorrow night. And the finale is next week."

"Yes, and I'm proud of you making it this far, despite all the people who most likely voted against you."

"I'm actually surprised myself, being paired with Mike, I'm sure tons of people thought that would hurt my chances. But I proved them wrong now didn't I?"

"You did." I state, coming out of the bathroom, ready to go.

He just goes silent and I find him staring.

"You okay?" I laugh, but he still doesn't answer me. "Yoo hoo, earth to Alex." I walk over, snapping my fingers in front of his face.

"Huh?"

"You spaced out on me."

"I did? My bad." He chuckles. "You just look so amazing. Is that new?"

"The dress? Yeah, got it the other day."

"I love it."

"Kind of figured you would. Wanted to go with something fun and colorful tonight."

"It is colorful, and it looks great on you."

"You say that about everything."

"Because everything does look good on you. Everything fits you perfectly."

"Flatterer." I grin, grabbing a light jacket and whatever I needed for tonight.

"Always." He grins back, kissing me quick as I walk over to him. "Ready to go?"

"Mmhmm. You ready to go?" I ask, and he nods. We then make sure we have everything we need before heading down to the lobby to wait for Stef and Mike. So in the meantime while we were waiting, they were getting ready themselves for the show.

"Can you believe we're coming up on the NXT Finale?"

"I know. One more elimination tomorrow night and then it'll be down to the bottom two."

"You think Alex is gonna make it through tomorrow night?"

"It's hard to tell. No one likes me, so they already don't like him. But it's not only up to them, it's up to the rest of the NXT pros as well. We'll have to see. I hope he makes it through, prove everyone wrong like I do."

"That you do, every week."

"Just like yourself." He grins, kissing her quick. "You look amazing by the way."

"As always, but thank you. You too. You always look good in your casual wear."

"How well I know." He chuckles. "You tell me all the time."

"Because it's true. Wonder what you have planned for tonight."

"Don't know. Find out when we get there."

"Right." She nods, making sure she has everything she needs.

"Ready to go?" He asks.

"Mmhmm. Let's go."

They head down to the lobby where Alex and I were waiting for them, and we greet each other before heading out to the car and Mike puts his things in the trunk. When we got to the arena, Mike went straight to the locker room to get ready for the show, while Stef, Alex and myself picked a spot to hang around to way, talking about various things. Especially about tomorrow being the last NXT episode before the finale, all of us hoping Alex makes it though.

"You better make it through tomorrow night."

"Oh I know. But who knows what will happen since everyone already doesn't like Mike, so they hold that against Alex too." I nod. "I just hope my feelings are wrong about this."

"Well no matter what happens, I'm sure Mike will do something for me. Work something out. He knows I deserve to be here."

"You do." Stef and I nod.

"Whatever happens, you've got full support."

"Right."

It isn't too much longer until Mike comes and finds us, in his ring gear and one of his shirts. He wraps an arm around Stef's shoulders and kisses her quick.

"Made it just in time, the show's about to start."

"Good. I do have a segment and a match tonight so.."

"Oh good. What kind of match?"

"Well from what I was told, there's going to be a series of matches tonight. Sheamus gets to pick who will face him at Night of Champions from the said matches for the WWE Championship."

"So if he picks you, then you get a shot? Ooh, I love this idea."

"I knew you would. And it's against John Cena so.."

"Oh, well you still got this."

The show soon starts, and it kicks off after the usual intro video, with a video package of last Monday with Nexus. Then the Raw intro goes off to officially kick off the show. Then Justin Roberts introduces Sheamus, and he comes off to start the show. Once in the ring, they replay what Randy did to him last week in his match.

"Now one thing I've noticed about you Americans, is your children are spoiled brats. They're annoying, they're selfish, and they'll cry and cry until they get what they want."

"That's what children are like sometimes, yes. Congratulations on noticing that." I remark.

"Take a look at them huh. Take a look at all these little, spoiled rotten ones over here huh? Let's take a look." Sheamus adds and gets out of the ring, approaching one of the children ringside. "Look at this fella, huh? What makes you deserve to have a ticket huh? Have you ever mowed the lawn? Have you ever had to lift a finger in your house? You're a disgrace. And what about you huh? I bet you cried in the corner and sulked until your dad gave into ya, and gave you what you want. Look at this one right here. I'm telling you right now fella, none of you are deserving right here coming to watch me in the WWE."

"Rude."

"No kidding."

"There's an even bigger spoiled child in the WWE. Bigger than all of these kids and his name is Randy Orton. And Orton couldn't beat me for me title at SummerSlam, so what does he do? He attacks me after the match and then assaults me the next night on Raw! And everyone in the WWE Universe loved it. You all chanted, you cheered for him hitting me with the chair time after time, chanted RKO RKO!"

And that causes the chant to break out of course.

"Well I'm gonna burst your bubble right now. Because despite what Orton did, he is not the WWE Champion, I am!"

"Not for long though."

"Now, meself and the general manager, haven't been on the same page as of late. But in four weeks time, one of the most prestigious pay-per-views is coming up. The Night of Champions. I urge the general manager not to give into the spoiled child Randy Orton. He shouldn't be rewarded for what he did. He should be punished! He should be locked up! He should be put in prison!"

"Now now, assaulting you on Raw isn't worth putting him in jail."

"Exactly."

"He should never get another opportunity at my title. Not now, not ever."

"But you don't determine that." I shake my head as the GM chimes in.

"Can I have your attention please? I've received another email from the general manager. And I quote. Sheamus, believe it or not, I have no problem with you. You have found a way to retain your WWE Championship and I feel YOU should be rewarded. Therefore tonight, I am going to do something unprecedented. Gentlemen will you please bring out the throne."

"Throne? Are you kidding me?"

"Sheamus, I'm not going to decide your next challenger...you are. Tonight there will be a series of matches. You will watch them, observe them, and see who impresses you the most. At the end of the evening you will come to the ring and announce to the world your opponent for Night of Champions."

"Finally! Finally some justice in the WWE for me! Thank you general manager, I'm really gonna enjoy myself tonight."

"Sheamus there's uh..one other thing. The first of these matches begins...right now."

Out first for that match was Edge. He comes down the ramp and Sheamus goes up the ramp, and they exchange looks as they do so, before Edge continues to the ring. Edge's opponent would be R-Truth after the break for those watching at home. With us backstage, all we saw was Edge and Sheamus out in the ring area, before the show came back on the air and Truth came out as the opponent. At the end of a hard fought match, Edge ended up hitting Truth with the Spear to pick up the win.

"Like that wasn't too obvious. Truth isn't capable of a WWE title shot yet."

"You know Sheamus, you can sit up there on your stupid little throne, brag about all the people that you've beat. But until you beat a nine-time champion, until you beat the man who led Team WWE to victory at SummerSlam, until you beat the Rated-R Superstar....you haven't beaten anybody." Edge declares to Sheamus as he walks to the stage with a mic, before heading to the back.

"We'll see. He may not even pick him. Sheamus has all night to pick."

Of course that led to another commercial break for those at home, Sheamus still sitting on his throne, even when the commercial break is over for those watching at home. It came time for match #2 for Sheamus to observe. And the first participant, accompanied by his translator, The Great Khali.

"Wonder who his opponent will be. Doesn't matter who it will be...considering..."

"Yeah, Khali's actually got this in the bag if you think about it." Alex nods.

"Wins 9 times out of ten." Stef adds.

And then Khali's opponent was revealed to be Jericho. After working over the injured knee of Khali throughout the match, Chris would shockingly make him tap out to the Walls of Jericho, to pick up the win over Khali. Just like Edge, Chris goes over and gets a mic to speak to Sheamus as well.

"You see that Sheamus? Huh? I hope you weren't taking what Edge said to heart. Because he's not the first undisputed champion in the history of this business, I am! He's not the man who just made a giant tap out, and most importantly Edge is not the best in the world at what he does. I am. So if that's why you should choose Chris Jericho as your next opponent for your championship. Do you understand what I am saying to you right now?"

However, the camera pans out to a different view and Khali has gotten up and approached Chris and he slowy turns around to see him standing there.

"Uh oh."

Khali slaps him across the chest and Chris falls off the top and tumbles to the floor. Khali's music hits and he leaves the ring with his translator as Chris writhes in pain on the floor. Once again they talk about the upcoming match of Mike against John. They replay last Monday where Mike and Alex got involved in Daniel's match, costing it for him.

"If anyone complains about that, they're haters. You were just doing what was right. Afterall, Daniel did take your spot in the Summerslam Team WWE match. You so deserved that, but no. They didn't think so."

"Because they were in denial about how badly they needed me."

They then cut backstage where Josh Matthews is an he introduces John. They talk about Daniel and The Nexus and SummerSlam and such.

"Everybody who saw SummerSlam knows that Daniel Bryan did fantastic. It was Miz that almost cost us the match. He put his ego before everyone else. Showed his true colors last week again by attacking Daniel Bryan for no reason. Ever since Miz has won his Money in the Bank challenge, he's got an even bigger mouth and an attitude problem. So tonight, I shut it with an attitude adjustment."

"There was reason to attack Daniel." I retort.

"Exactly." Stef nods. "Took your spot at SummerSlam. You told John that you would let him know your decision that day. You were dressed and ready to compete, but no...he decides to flip the switch and pick the NXT reject that wouldn't listen to you, when the whole point of NXT is to LISTEN and LEARN from your pro."

"And he didn't, he did his own thing and disrespected you. I'm glad they brought you back this season and you got someone who WANTS to learn from you." I say to Mike while smiling up at Alex.

"Because unlike Daniel, I value what he has to say."

"You do, and that's what makes you better than him." I grin before he kisses me quick.

The next match of the night would see the Divas in action. In the ring first was Jillian with a headset on.

"Oh god. No. Please don't sing."

She does proceed to sing, more like butcher Eminem's Not Afraid. Thankfully before she could continue to butcher the song, Melina's music cut her off.

"Oh thank god. I swear my ears were gonna bleed that was so bad."

"Every time."

"Tell me though, this is for the Divas Championship. Why in the blue hell does Jillian get a title shot when she's not deserving of it?"

"Who knows. She already held it once, before losing it in the very same instant. So she's not winning it again."

In the end, it was Melina hitting the Last Call on Jillian to retain the title. Of course, her celebration is interrupted by LayCool on the tron.

"Hey, I gotta get back to the locker room. The interview segment is coming up. I'll be back alright?" Mike says to Stef.

"Oh yeah sure. We'll be watching." She nods. "Don't take too long though." She laughs a bit.

"I'll try not to." He chuckles before kissing her quick, and then heads back off to the locker room.

"Melina. Melina. Hey we're up here. Melina."

"Hey girl."

"Hey we haven't seen you since we embarrassed you at SummerSlam, and-"

"-that was so good."

"That was good, but I kind of feel bad Lay."

"No, why?"

"No, I'm just joking. I don't feel bad Melina. There is a reason we did it though."

"There sure is."

"Okay look, here's the deal. Next week is the 900th episode celebration of Raw and LayCool's gonna be there."

"Yayyyy."

"You can thank us later but that's not it. Not only will we be there, but we have an offer you simply can't refuse."

"And it's-"

"-flawless."

After a bit of talking, Cole and Jerry throw it back to Josh in the locker room. The screen switches to Mike, his back to the camera as he stands by his area in the locker room with his things.

"Excuse me Miz? Miz do you care to respond to John Cena's comments from just a little while ago. Cena stating that your actions nearly cost Team WWE a victory at SummerSlam."

"My actions almost cost Team WWE the victory. Yes. I uh...I nailed Daniel Bryan in the back of the head. But what about Cena? What about Cena? He put Team WWE at risk. The minute he chose Daniel Bryan, a nobody over me. And he wants to talk about egos. John Cena wants to talk about egos. Really?! Really, he's gonna talk about egos?! Let me tell you about my ego. After the WWE Championship match at SummerSlam, Sheamus was beaten down. He had to be carried out! Did I cash in my Money in the Bank contract? Did I walk out of SummerSlam the WWE Champion? No! I was thinking about Team WWE. The very least, the very least Cena could've done was talk to me backstage about his decision. But what did he do? What did he do? He tried to embarrass me in front of the entire world! Well I don't take to being embarrassed Josh. It just doesn't sit right with me. So tonight, I'm gonna beat Cena. And I'm gonna show him that for his actions, there will be consequences. And as for Sheamus on who he will pick at Night of Champions? I don't expect he'll pick me. But, that doesn't really matter now does it? Because I can pick Sheamus anytime anywhere I want. Who knows, I might pick him tonight."

"Thanks Miz."

Since Mike had left the locker room, that's when he started to make his way back to us standing around the monitor.

"Hey, my match is up next. Coming with me?" Mike asks Stef when he reaches us.

"Yeah of course." She nods.

"Have fun out there." I remark.

"We will." She nods again before they both start walking to the curtain.

Just as they left, the show came back on the air, with Sheamus still in his throne, ready for the next match for him to observe. But before the match could begin, Nexus' music goes off and they all walk out.

"Here comes trouble." I mutter.

"Alright lads. How're ya? What do I owe the honor huh?" Sheamus asks, but before anyone in Nexus has a chance to answer, the anonymous GM chimes in.

"Ladies an gentlemen. Can I have your attention please? I've received another email from the general manager. And I quote. I requested Nexus come out here to let them know I was highly impressed with their performance last week. As for the ban that says Nexus can no longer compete for titles, that ban has been lifted."

"Dun dun dunnn."

"You're kidding me right? How is that fair?"

That's when Wade approaches Sheamus, and Sheamus gets to his feet and they stare each other down.

"Consider our truce...over." Wade states, basically declaring he's coming for the WWE Title, before they all head to the back.

"Sheamus' face." I snicker.

They then chance to backstage, showing John heading to the ring and Mike with Stef heading to the ring for Mike's match.

"This should be good."

The match was a good one throughout. Control went back and forth like always. Mike decided that he had enough and slid to the outside and motioned for Stef to grab his title and briefcase because they were walking out of there. Just as she grabbed them and started to head over to Mike to walk out of the match, he was hit from behind, by none other than Daniel.

"Son of a...."

Daniel then proceeds to throw Mike back into the ring and Mike gets hit with an AA. But due to Daniel's interference, Mike still wins the match. Stef marches right over to Daniel, turns him around and slaps him so hard across the face, that it's heard through the entire arena. After Daniel recovers from that, John exits the ring and Daniel gets into the ring. he takes him and puts him into the Lebell Lock. Mike is tapping, but it's not doing anything.

"Get him off ref!"

He tries the best he can, but Daniel isn't budging. More officials come out and try to pry Daniel off of Mike, but he's still not budging.

"Oh screw this..." Stef mutters before going over and getting a steel chair. She then slides into the ring, tells the refs to move out of the way, before striking Daniel across the back with the chair, ultimately making him let Mike go. The refs then get between her, Mike and Daniel. She gives Daniel the death glare before dropping the chair and going to Mike's side to check on him with one of the refs. "You alright?" She asks.

"I'll be fine." He mutters.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here." She suggests and helps him get to his feet, before getting out of the ring. "Wait here. I'll get your title and briefcase." She says as she lets him go and goes around to the side of the ring where she left his things and grabs them again, coming back to his side. "Let's go." She says quietly as she helps him back up the ramp and to the back.

"Ooooh, I so despise Daniel right now." I grumble. "He had no right to do that. Just because you and Mike attacked him last week. Well he got what he deserved with that steel chair from Stef. Good for her. I would do the same thing if it were you. You know, attacking someone from behind makes them a coward."

"And that's exactly what Daniel Bryan is...a coward." Alex nods.

"That's right."

It isn't too much longer before Stef and Mike get back to us, not having stopped at the trainer's office.

"Didn't want to stop at the trainer's office?"

"Not needed. I'll be fine."

"I'll keep a close eye on him tonight." Stef nods.

"Good idea. Staying for the rest of the show?" I ask.

"Depends. Are you?"

"I'd like to." I nod.

"Then we'll stay. We're all riding together anyway, so I don't want to leave you two here with no ride back." Mike remarks.

Now it's time for the next match of the night and out first was Santino and Vladimir Kozlov in tag team action. At this point, Sheamus had left the stage, because he didn't need to be there to watch this match. Once Santino's music faded, their opponent's went off next, and accompanied by Tamina were the Usos. In the end, it was Kozlov hitting the Iron Curtain on Jey pick up the win for him and Santino. After the match, Jimmy was set to attack Santino, but Tamina would step in and prevent the attack. She helps him to his feet, making sure he's okay before leaving with Jimmy and Jey. They walk away, while she stands there and blows Santino a kiss, before walking away herself.

"At least the night is almost over."

"I know right?"

"Just one more match and then Sheamus picks who he wants to face at the PPV. Then we can all leave. I actually want to get to bed as soon as possible so I'm rested for NXT tomorrow. It's gonna be a long night tomorrow night. Between NXT and SmackDown, if we choose to stick around for SmackDown that is."

"Right. I think I'm gonna go change now. Don't think I'll be needed anymore tonight." Mike adds.

"Alright. Want me to come with you?" Stef asks.

"I think I'll be okay. I'll be back." He reassures her, kissing her quick before heading off down the hall and to the locker room so he could change. In the meantime, it was time for the last match of the night, and the last match Sheamus would oversee to see who he would choose to face him for the title at the PPV. Out first was Ted with Maryse, and I kind of roll my eyes because I don't really like her too much. Out next, was John Morrison. And third, making the triple threat match, was Randy. As soon as the match began, Sheamus would leave his spot on the stage and head to the back, not wanting to watch the match. In the end, it was Randy catching John with an RKO to pin him and pick up the win.

"That was kind of predictable." I state.

"Tell me about it."

"Knew John wouldn't win." Mike comments as he finally comes back. "Ever since our split, he hasn't really done much for himself."

After the match, Ted tries to attack Randy, but he would dodge the attack and lay Ted out with an RKO as well. They cut to Sheamus backstage to get his reactions.

"Sheamus, you just walked out on this triple threat match in which Randy Orton won, so does this mean-"

"-I don't need to see anymore of Randy Orton, because I've already made my decision. And in just a few minutes, I'm gonna announce it to the entire world out there in that ring."

"Thank you Sheamus."

"Well the moment we've all been waiting for. But you know, I sense something fishy about all this."

"Definitely fishy."

"You know, I've been tinking about it for a while now, and despite what happened last week, I am still a warrior. The Celtic Warrior."

"Yes we know. Get on with it."

"And I have a huge announcement tonight. See, I'm not gonna wait until Night of Champions to defend my title. Cause I'm gonna defend it right now! So get me a referee in here."

"Now? We don't have time for that."

"You can't succeed without opportunity. So despite what I've seen tonight, I've decided to go left field. I've decided to make a new #1 Contender. A superstar who has never had a WWE Championship match before. A man who has never had an opportunity. A man who'll be the next WWE Superstar! So my next opponent is...Zack Ryder."

"Zack? Really? He's gonna get crushed."

"Sheamus, I appreciate the offer. You just made the biggest mistake of your life. Everyone all over the world knows that you're looking at the next WWE Champion. Woo woo woo, you know it."

And of course, just like we all had predicted, Sheamus would beat him quickly, retaining the title.

"Knew it."

"So there ya have it. Another successful championship retention for the Celtic Warrior. I know how impressed you are with all that. But now I'd like to take the time to reference some WWE rules and regulations. See I don't have to defend my title now for another thirty days. That means, at Night of Champions this champion is taking the night off. You know, why not take the night off, I think I'll even take the whole month off. You know, I might even go back to Ireland, visit the family, take the car out, enjoy meself-" He gets cut off by Wade coming out to the ring.

"Sheamus. You're right. Legally speaking, you don't need to defend your title for another thirty days, but the fact is, I was the winner of Season One of NXT."

"So what?"

"So what. So, that means, I get a title opportunity at a pay-per-view of my choice. And I'm choosing to take it against you at Night of Champions. So Sheamus, your next title defense is against me."

That's when the GM chimes in.

"Oh boy, here we go."

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? I've received another email from the general manager. The general manager of Raw, would like everyone to know that he has upheld Wade Barrett's request. And I quote. Sheamus will defend against Barrett at Night of Champions. But, that's not all. Earlier tonight Sheamus you spoke of...opportunity. Well, I'm giving an opportunity to not only Wade Barrett, but to four other deserving superstars. That means at Night of Champions, Sheamus will defend the WWE Championship in a six-pack challenge. Sheamus will not only face Wade Barrett. He will face Chris Jericho. Randy Orton. Edge. And John Cena!"

"There's no way Sheamus is coming out of the pay-per-view as champion now."

"Slim chances."

Sheamus then throws Wade into the middle of the group and they circle him, and then they attack. He's thrown out of the ring, and Sheamus is hit with a Codebreaker, Chris is hit with a Spear, Edge is hit with an AA and John is hit with an RKO, leaving Randy standing tall in the middle of the ring to end the show.

"Finally it's over. I'm ready to go." I state.

"Yeah, I'll just go get Mike. Meet you two outside by the car?"

"Of course." I nod.

She heads off towards the locker room, while Alex and I head back out to the car to wait.

"Two more weeks of NXT. Still praying you make it through tomorrow night. But no matter what, I'm proud of you for making it as far as you did." I say as I lean against the car.

"And I know that. Even if I don't make it through, I'll find a way back, don't worry."

"Oh I know that. I'm not worried at all about that. Just as long as you continue to be backstage with us until then, I'll be good."

"I will. Nothing is going to keep me away from you, nothing at all."

"Good." I grin as I hug him and kiss him briefly.

It isn't too much longer before we see Mike and Stef emerge from the doors, coming over to the car. When they reach the car, the trunk gets opened and Mike puts his things into it, before we all get into the car. He and Stef get into the front, Alex and I get into the back. Once we're all settled in, Mike drives off to the hotel, so we call can get an early night and plenty of sleep for tomorrow.