Status: Active
He's a Fighter
First Elimination
It's back to NXT tonight, and tonight is also the first elimination. I'm just hoping with the WWE Universe being able to vote each week to keep their favorites on the show, that they voted enough for Alex to stay. It would be so terrible if he was voted off this early. We all were in the next town for the show, and depending on how tonight goes, we may go out tonight. But I'm currently getting ready for the show myself in the bathroom of I and Alex's hotel room. I finished getting dressed which was a short, neon coral short dress with beading/sparkle. I saved my hair for last, after doing my makeup to match and my nails, which were pink/coral and glittery. My jewelry was already on and I slipped on the heels that I had chosen for tonight. I do the finishing touches...lip gloss, which was a Mango Martini flavor and fragrance mist named Amber Romance. I gather everything up and walk out of the bathroom, ready to go.
"You never cease to amaze me with your outfits." Alex smiles.
"You're welcome. Let's just hope I don't distract you too much tonight."
"I think I can manage. Coming out with me?"
"Of course. Even during this week's challenge...and the elimination at the end of the night."
"I'm already dreading that."
"You'll do fine. If it counts, I voted for you...I had to. Anything to keep you in this competition."
"I appreciate it." He grins before walking over to me and pulling me into his arms. "I really do." He adds before leaning down and pressing his lips to mine. I smile into the kiss, but giggle when he pulls away, licking his lips.
"Flavored?"
"Mango Martini."
"You know what flavored lip gloss does to me."
"Oh, I know. Bringing it with me too, because I know how you get. Some taste so good to you, I have to keep re-applying it because you take it all off."
"Your fault for buying great tasting lip gloss."
"Sure sure." I laugh. "Anyways, ready to go?" I ask.
"Yeah." He nods, letting me go and grabbing his gear bag.
Then he heads over to the door, opening it. "After you." He says.
"Why thank you." I reply, walking out before him, and he follows.
We then head to the elevator to head down to the lobby and to our car. When we get to the lobby and head out to the car, we already find Mike, Stef, Charity and Jon. See we all leave together...most of the time anyway. We all greeted each other before getting into our seperate cars and headed off to the arena. The traffic wasn't too bad and we got there in enough time for Alex and Jon to get ready, so that we could be by the curtain to go out.
"So, first elimination tonight..." Charity states.
"Mmhmm. Already nervous about it. It's far too soon for either Alex or Jon to go home."
"Exactly."
"I'm sure they'll do fine and make it to next week." Mike adds.
"Yeah, I mean they've done their best for the first elimination. Hopefully their best keeps them in."
"I really hope so."
Shortly after that, Jon and Alex both come out of the changing area from getting ready for the show.
"So what's first exactly?" I ask.
"We've got a challenge that opens the show. The rest of the night are matches and then the elimination."
"Ah. Well the show's about to start any minute now. Should we be getting going?"
"I suppose so." Alex nods.
Then he, I, Charity and Jon all walk out of the room. Mike and Stef saying that they'll see us after the challenge. We wait by the curtain, the usual WWE intro playing on the nearby screen. There is no NXT intro this week. Out on the stage currently is a new announcer, Ashley Valence.
"Ladies and....ladies gentlemen, welcome to NXT. Voting has officially opened on wwe.com, where all your voices can be heard in deciding the WWE's next breakout star. But first allow me to introduce the candidates. Your NXT rookies."
Alex and I go out first.
"Accompanied by Kalena, Alex Riley!"
Alex is all pumped up, saying that being the next breakout star is all his, before we go over and stand in his spot on the stage.
"Husky Harris."
"Titus O'Neil."
"Kaval."
"Eli Cottonwood."
"Showtime Percy Watson."
"Accompanied by Charity, Lucky Cannon."
"Michael McGillicutty."
"Gentlemen, tonight is the first major step in your journey. It's the first NXT poll. People from all over the world are going to their computer and logging onto wwe.com to decide your future. They are joining the WWE pros as they cast their ballots for the rookie they feel should be the WWE's next breakout star. But to put into perspective how important it is to start off well, let me remind you of last season's winner Wade Barrett, who never was ranked below #2. Now granted, this was last season. However, this season is even more important. Because tonight, we have a surprise to share with you. Not only are we going to reveal the NXT poll, but we're...tonight we're also eliminate whichever one of you was ranked last."
Alex gets an amused look on his face, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Oh ho ho. Oh ho ho ho ho. Ohhhh." Alex says, laughing a bit. I can't help but laugh a bit myself.
"So making an impact and standing out tonight is not something you should do, but something you have to do. However, there is one surefire way to avoid being eliminated. And for more on that, we're gonna toss it over to my colleague, Matt Striker."
"Thank you Ashley, ladies and gentlemen it is time for the very first rookie challenge of NXT Season 2. The ever popular keg carry. Now the rules are simple. The rookies will have to carry the keg without dropping it around the ring and cross the finish line. Whomever does this in the fastest time, will get immunity from tonight's elimination. So let's get the challenge underway. Michael McGillicutty, come on down!"
He jogs his way down to Striker and the keg.
"Alright remember, immunity is on the line. Ready...set...go!"
Michael lifts it and immediately drops it, but continues anyway.
"Oh, you dropped it. Okay go."
The buzzer sounds and McGillicutty drops it.
"Hang on...I'm sorry you have been disqualified for dropping the keg, those are the rules, this is NXT."
I facepalm, and can't help but laugh, hiding my face in Alex's shoulder.
"Rookies, I hope you're paying attention. Make sure you get your hands on that keg. Michael come here. Let's give you an opportunity. What're your thoughts? You heard the rules, you dropped the keg, what's going on?"
"I've carried kegs before, there's something with this thing. I was with Husky Harris the other night, there was a keg that wasn't as heavy as that thing was. You're kidding me. It slipped out of my hands, it doesn't matter, I'll be in first place by the end of the night anyway."
"Psh."
"Alright, thank you Michael McGillicutty, I don't know if it was Husky's fault that you dropped the keg....Lucky Cannon let's see what you've got!"
"Woooooo!" Charity cheers as Jon jogs down the ramp.
"Ready...set....go."
Jon lifts it and carries it around the ring. He makes it all the way around and past the finish line, getting a time of 12.7 seconds.
"Okay, 12.7 seconds. Lucky Cannon has the time to beat."
"Yeah!" Charity cheers again, hugging Jon as soon as he walks back to her, and they go stand next to me and Alex and Michael.
"Showtime Percy Watson come on down! Come on dance your way down a little quicker my man, I know you're excited. Okay, ready...set....go!"
Percy manages to carry it around the ring, but his time is 13.0 seconds, Jon still having the time to beat.
"Ohhh .3 seconds, Lucky Cannon still has the time to beat."
"Big Eli Cottonwood."
"This is for immunity. Ready...set...go."
Eli just literally fast walks around the ring, carrying like it's nothing. He crosses the line at 13.3 seconds.
"Oooooh! So close."
"Kaval, please step forward."
"He's not going to be able to carry that." Charity comments.
"Right? It's got to at least weigh as much as he does if not more." I add.
"Ready...set....go."
"Striker, in all seriousness, this thing weighs just as much as I do. So I'm not gonna pose anymore risk to my body, unless it's in that very ring for the WWE Universe."
"Alright, some would say that that sounds like a crock, but okay. Big Titus O'Neil come on down and make an impression."
"12.7 seconds the time to beat, are you ready....set....go."
Titus lifts the keg and carries it, but before he could even pass the first ringpost, he trips and goes tumbling, dropping the keg. Instantly Charity and I burst out in laughter, I'm leaning on Alex for support as I'm cracking up, Charity doing the same with John.
"Oh ohhhhhh!"
"You know the rules, you got caught up here."
"You just saw the replay Titus, what happened right there?"
"This is one of the reasons you don't drink ladies and gentlemen. And if you do, if you do, please don't drive. That's what I tried to do just now, tried to make it a win."
Charity and I finally recover from our laughing outburst, wiping the tears from our eyes from laughing too hard.
"Alright, Titus O'Neil. Let's look at a slow replay of that can we?"
Even the slow motion replay makes it more hilarious.
"Oh, make it a win eh Titus? Husky Harris come on down."
"Ready, set, go."
Husky has some trouble carrying it around the ring. He drops it when he gets to the 2nd ring post.
"Oh, you dropped the keg, you've been disqualified. I'm so so sorry Husky."
"Alright Husky, let's be professional. That looked like it hurt, did you get hurt doing that?"
"You're pretty brave, for even saying a word to me. So how bout you back off, and I'll worry about what happens to me."
I roll my eyes.
"Well I guess the tensions are running hard. Remember someone's gonna be eliminated tonight."
Alex stands there, ready to go since he was the last to go.
"Doesn't matter if you don't win or not, you're still a winner to me." I smile before giving him a good luck kiss.
"The final one, A-Ry, Alex Riley!"
"Yeah! Wooo!" I cheer for him as he walks down the ramp.
"Lucky Cannon is the leader. YOU are looking for immunity. Ready...set....go."
Alex does manage to carry it around the ring without dropping it. He crosses the line and tumbles at 13.8 seconds.
"Damn."
"Oh no. That means Lucky Cannon has immunity!"
Charity practically jumps on him, hugging him for his win. She lets go and heads down to Striker with him.
"Lucky, this is a big deal. You're safe for tonight. How do you feel?"
"Man I feel awesome right now. You know what, some of those guys back there, they're a little bit bigger than me. Some of them, hey, might've been a little bit faster. But you know what, what I lack in size and speed, I make it up for heart. Tonight and every night, because anything in life worth having is worth fighting for."
Charity and Jon walk back up the ramp, before we head to the back.
"Ahhhhh!" Charity squeals, hugging Jon tight. "You're immune from elimination! You move onto next week! I'm so proud of you!!"
The next thing she does, is press a kiss to his lips. I motion to Alex for us to head to our locker room, giving them their moment. Charity had moved her arms so that they're wrapped around Jon's neck and his arms were wrapped around her waist, as he held her closer. A clearing of someone's throat interrupts them, making them pull apart. They turn to see McGillicutty.
"Problem?" Charity asks.
He goes to say something, but closes his mouth and walks away.
"He clearly had a problem."
"He's just jealous you got to me first."
"Then he can continue to be jealous, I'm never giving you up."
"Awww, love you too."
They kiss briefly, before heading to the locker room that we all share so we can relax before the big tag team match tonight and then the first elimination of the season. By the time they got back, MVP and Percy were heading down the ramp, while Husky and Cody were in the ring already. MVP will be facing Husky tonight. The bell rings, the match starting.
Husky goes to lock up, but MVP moves out of the way. They circle and Husky tries being quick, but he's not quick enough to get MVP. They finally lock up and goes to push MVP into the corner, but instead, gets pulled into a headlock. Husky drops to one knee, but is able to get up, getting out of the hold by pushing into the ropes and pushing MVP off. MVP comes back and shoulder blocks him, but it does minimal damage.
"I don't think that worked."
"No."
They circle again, before locking up and MVP twists Husky's arm before getting him into another headlock, making him drop to one knee again. Husky gets up again and it's the same as last time, another shoulder block attempt by MVP.
"He's got to stop trying to use that, obviously it doesn't phase him."
"Clearly."
Husky taunts before they circle a third time, MVP going for an early rollup, and Husky kicks out. Again with the circling and MVP goes for a jacknife cover. Husky kicks out. MVP goes after him and he slithers away. He gets to his feet once more and he circles again. They lock up and MVP still has control of the match, using quick movements. Locking up again, Husky is finally pushed into the corner. MVP backing up, and getting hit with a cheap shot, the match now picking up. Husky gets kicked in the face with a boot in the corner, rolling out of the ring. Husky gets into the ring eventually and MVP gets him in a potential submission. Husky get to his feet, but doesn't get much of a chance to fight back, until MVP misses a move in the corner. Husky comes back and goes for the cover back to back, but it's no use. The ref has to back Husky up, but at this point, Husky has taken control over the match. He goes for another cover, but MVP kicks out. After a frog splash, he goes for another cover, MVP kicks out. After a suplex, another cover, MVP kicking out at two. MVP starts to come back a little, but it doesn't last long.
"Come on Montel."
Husky wraps his arms around MVP's midsection. He does get to his feet, but Husky's arms are still around the midsection. MVP fights back, but it's no use. After a vicious clothesline, Husky goes for another cover, MVP kicking out. Husky goes for the a Running Senton, but MVP rolls away.
"Smart move."
They both get to their feet, and MVP starts to capitalize. Then he goes for his signature, and when Husky gets up, he delivers his finisher, hooking the leg and pinning Husky for the win.
"There you go, teach the rookie ."
Cody slides in and stops a confrontation between MVP and Husky before they leave the ring, refusing to shake hands.
"Bad sportsmanship." Stef mumbles to Mike, as he writes on his clipboard.
He nods and makes sure to put that down on his notes. It's only shortly after that when we all head out for the tag team match. Charity and I would be pitted against each other due to Alex and Jon being on opposite teams. Jon was on a team with McGillicutty and Kaval, while Alex was teaming with Eli and Titus. As much as I only wanted to cheer for Alex, I figured, might as well cheer for the whole team as well. It starts off with Eli and McGillicutty. Charity refused to cheer for McGillicutty, even though he was on the same team with Jon. She just rolled her eyes.
The match starts, McGillicutty grabbing Eli around the midsection before clubbing his back. He stays on him, with kicks and punches, followed by a headbutt.
"Come on Eli! You're bigger than him!" I yell from ringside.
McGillicutty goes to pull him away from the ropes, but Eli blocks him. Because clearly, how can McGillicutty throw this man? Eli fires back with a huge hit to his arm, making him let go in pain. That's followed by a clothesline. He drags McGillicutty over to the corner and Titus tags himself in. Alex yells for Eli to get out when he just stares at Titus. That allowed McGillicutty to tag Jon in.
"Come on Lucky!" Charity yells from ringside, cheering for him.
They circle before locking up and Jon twists Titus' arm, hitting his shoulder before adding pressure. Titus comes back with an elbow to the face, and Charity winces. Jon stumbles away before kicking Titus when he comes towards him. He elbows him once, before attempting to throw him into the ropes, only to have it reversed. When he comes back, since the ref was distracted, Alex grabs him by the hair, getting involved in the match. Before Jon could turn around and get him for that, Alex jumps down and out of his reach.
"Hey!" Charity yells.
I hug Alex around the waist as he yells at Jon, and I smile mockingly. This causes a distraction and Titus hits him with a hard and vicious clothesline. I give Alex a quick kiss before letting him go and he climbs back up onto the apron. Titus capitalizes, pulling Jon back and tagging Alex in. They double team him, and Alex picks up where Titus left off.
"Come on!" Charity yells in disbelief as Jon can't get a shot in. "Get him off ref!"
Alex starts arguing with the ref, Stef and Mike both having smiles on their faces at the performance of Alex. Mike makes sure to write everything down that he likes from what they're seeing. Alex picks Jon up and throws him into the opposite corner and hard. McGillicutty reaches for a tag as well as Kaval. Alex goes and hits McGillicutty with a cheap shot.
"Oops." Charity laughs quietly.
That makes McGillicutty slide in to go after Alex, but the ref catches him and stops him. Alex tags in Eli while the ref is distracted and after the ref turns around he doesn't do anything.
"Hey! He's not legal ref!" Charity yells in frustration. "Come on Lucky!" She hits the apron with her hands.
Eli brings him back over and the ref sees this tag to Titus. Charity winces every time Jon is dropped, hit...whatever. Titus then moves to the corner and Alex tags himself in, taking control from where Titus left off. Jon tries to come back, but Alex isolates him from his corner. Into the corner, and Alex runs at him. Jon lifts his foot, but Alex catches it. He slams it down and is met by an elbow to the face. John starts crawling for a tag.
"Come on, come on..."
But he was too slow and Alex went back after him. Alex grabs his leg, causing Jon to hop on one foot. He rolls Alex over, sending him into the corner, and then crawls for a tag.
"Go go go!"
"Come on Alex!" I scream in encouragement.
Jon makes the tag to Kaval and things go downhill for Alex. I cringe at ever hit. Kaval goes for the cover, but Eli and Titus break it up. They break Alex and Kaval apart, throwing Kaval out of the ring. The ref tries to get them out of the ring. That's when I see McGillicutty sneak in and then hits Alex with the spinning neckbreaker.
"Hey! Turn around! Ref!"
I jump up onto the apron myself trying to get the ref's attention. Eli sees him and stalks over to him, but he holds down the top rope and Eli goes tumbling out of the ring. McGillicutty rolls out and Jon comes in and goes after Titus. They roll out and Kaval climbs to the top and jumps, stomping on Alex's chest. He goes for the cover.
"No no no no no! Kick out!"
He doesn't and I sigh in disappointment. Charity however is jumping up in down at the victory for Jon's team, despite Kaval being the one to win it. She gets into the ring with him, McGillicutty and Kaval. I walk around to the otherside where Alex is and slide into the ring, checking on him.
"Are you okay?" I ask him quietly.
"I'll...be fine." He winces.
"Ice?"
He nods.
"After elimination."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the voting on wwe.com is rapidly closing in just minutes. If you have not voted, I'm begging you, get up and go on wwe.com and let your voices be heard. With that said, WWE pros, please huddle up. The time is upon us, tally up your votes, we're gonna have the first NXT poll of Season 2. And tonight one of the rookies will be eliminated." Striker announces.
By this time, I've helped Alex back up the ramp where he can recover and relax at least.
"You still did great in my eyes. You still have 2 wins on your card."
He nods, holding his chest where Kaval stomped on him. I wince, seeing the pain he's in. But shortly after, we all head down to the ring, standing at the end of the ramp, waiting for the poll.
"Rookies, the moment you have been anticipating is upon us. You finally get to see how you've been evaluated in the eyes of the WWE pros, and the eyes of the WWE Universe. But that anticipation has turned to trepidation. As we learned earlier tonight, one of you will be eliminated. Lucky Cannon, you have immunity due to your victory in the Keg Carry challenge, so you're safe for tonight. But for the rest of you, the time for talking is over. Let's find out, let's see the NXT poll."
Ranked number one was Kaval.
"Fluke." I scoff.
Number 2, Percy Watson.
"Eh."
Number 3, McGillicutty.
"Not number one like you said...psh."
Number 4, Alex.
"4th? Really?" I say in shock.
Mike's face shows shock too.
"You deserve higher." I grumble.
Number 5, Jon. But he's immune so. Number 6 is Eli, so he stays.
"Okay. Titus O'Neil, please step forward. Husky Harris, please step forward. Now for one of you, this dream is ending a lot quicker than you thought. But for the other guy who remains, it's important to understand that you've got your work cut out for you, you've got a long haul ahead of you. With that said, let's see who's going home."
The poll shows after a bit of a wait that Husky is 7th and Titus is 8th, so Titus goes home.
"Titus, what's going through your mind right now? You're going home. Take this time, tell the world why they were wrong, tell them all about Titus O'Neil man."
"Well I can say this, just like many of you in this crowd and many of you at home that have had to deal with way more obstacles than I have to deal with in this ring. Some of you have fought cancer, some of you have had to deal with your families going overseas to Afghanistan and not coming back, some of you have had to teach kids that are so hard to teach and are told over and over again what they can't do. Regardless of the fact that I'm going home tonight, I'll still want all of you to understand, to remember that life is a game and you must make it what you can. So while you are living and take each and every opportunity that you can, to make it...a...win!"
"Let's hear it one more time for a class act, Titus O'Neil!"
"Gentlemen, you now understand the finality of being on NXT. And the competition will intensify. One of you have already gone home. We're gonna find out who's gonna be the WWE's next breakout star as NXT continues to roll on!"
With that, the cameras go off, the fans exit the arena and we all head backstage.
"Wanna stick around for SmackDown?" I ask.
"We could." Alex nods. "You guys..?" He asks Charity and Jon.
"Uh....I think we're going to head back to the hotel." She grins before breaking into a smirk.
"Ooooh I know that look." I giggle.
"Shush you."
"Neverrrr." I sing.
"So....why don't you get changed and we can head back to the hotel?" Charity bites her lip, giving Jon that look.
"I'm on it." He says before dashing away.
"You're in for a long night." I laugh.
"Looking forward to it." She grins.
"Of course you are. As if celebrating him getting into NXT wasn't enough for you."
"Hey, just expressing my love."
"Of course."
"Well I'll see you all tomorrow."
"Have fun....oh wait I know you will." I laugh, before hugging her.
She then walks off to the locker room to wait for Jon.
"4th place, not bad, but I know you can do better." Mike says as he and Stef finally walk backstage.
"You know, it's because he's the rookie to you. Lots of people don't like you, but that shouldn't reflect how Alex does in this competition, even though you do both have a lot of similarities."
"She has a point, you two could be long lost brothers or cousins or something." Stef nods.
"So what're you two up to now?"
"Well considering I have tons of media to do in the morning, we're gonna head back to the hotel and get some rest."
"We're all meeting up for the 4th right? Fireworks, everything?"
"Of course. It's not a 4th of July without the United States Champion is it?"
"No, I guess not." I laugh.
"Well we're gonna head back to the hotel too." Alex adds.
"Once you go get changed."
"Right. Be right back." He nods, kissing me on the cheek before heading off to the locker room.
"You two are like perfect for each other." Stef comments.
"As you always say. Meeting down in FCW and developing that bond, helps."
"If only we could say the same thing for us."
"But you two are perfect for each other too. Just because you didn't meet until last year, doesn't mean you're not meant to be together. I see how happy you both are and that’s all that matters.”
“Very true. Well we’re going to head back to the hotel for the night. See you tomorrow?”
“Of course.” I say, hugging her and then Mike.
I head to the locker room while she and Mike go out to their car. Charity and Jon had left before us, I was waiting outside the locker room, waiting for Alex. I look up from my phone when I hear the door open. Once I see Alex walk out, ready to go, I put my phone away.
“Ready to go?” I ask.
“Mmhmm, you?”
“Of course.”
I lace my fingers with his and we head out of the arena and to our car, heading back to the hotel.
"You never cease to amaze me with your outfits." Alex smiles.
"You're welcome. Let's just hope I don't distract you too much tonight."
"I think I can manage. Coming out with me?"
"Of course. Even during this week's challenge...and the elimination at the end of the night."
"I'm already dreading that."
"You'll do fine. If it counts, I voted for you...I had to. Anything to keep you in this competition."
"I appreciate it." He grins before walking over to me and pulling me into his arms. "I really do." He adds before leaning down and pressing his lips to mine. I smile into the kiss, but giggle when he pulls away, licking his lips.
"Flavored?"
"Mango Martini."
"You know what flavored lip gloss does to me."
"Oh, I know. Bringing it with me too, because I know how you get. Some taste so good to you, I have to keep re-applying it because you take it all off."
"Your fault for buying great tasting lip gloss."
"Sure sure." I laugh. "Anyways, ready to go?" I ask.
"Yeah." He nods, letting me go and grabbing his gear bag.
Then he heads over to the door, opening it. "After you." He says.
"Why thank you." I reply, walking out before him, and he follows.
We then head to the elevator to head down to the lobby and to our car. When we get to the lobby and head out to the car, we already find Mike, Stef, Charity and Jon. See we all leave together...most of the time anyway. We all greeted each other before getting into our seperate cars and headed off to the arena. The traffic wasn't too bad and we got there in enough time for Alex and Jon to get ready, so that we could be by the curtain to go out.
"So, first elimination tonight..." Charity states.
"Mmhmm. Already nervous about it. It's far too soon for either Alex or Jon to go home."
"Exactly."
"I'm sure they'll do fine and make it to next week." Mike adds.
"Yeah, I mean they've done their best for the first elimination. Hopefully their best keeps them in."
"I really hope so."
Shortly after that, Jon and Alex both come out of the changing area from getting ready for the show.
"So what's first exactly?" I ask.
"We've got a challenge that opens the show. The rest of the night are matches and then the elimination."
"Ah. Well the show's about to start any minute now. Should we be getting going?"
"I suppose so." Alex nods.
Then he, I, Charity and Jon all walk out of the room. Mike and Stef saying that they'll see us after the challenge. We wait by the curtain, the usual WWE intro playing on the nearby screen. There is no NXT intro this week. Out on the stage currently is a new announcer, Ashley Valence.
"Ladies and....ladies gentlemen, welcome to NXT. Voting has officially opened on wwe.com, where all your voices can be heard in deciding the WWE's next breakout star. But first allow me to introduce the candidates. Your NXT rookies."
Alex and I go out first.
"Accompanied by Kalena, Alex Riley!"
Alex is all pumped up, saying that being the next breakout star is all his, before we go over and stand in his spot on the stage.
"Husky Harris."
"Titus O'Neil."
"Kaval."
"Eli Cottonwood."
"Showtime Percy Watson."
"Accompanied by Charity, Lucky Cannon."
"Michael McGillicutty."
"Gentlemen, tonight is the first major step in your journey. It's the first NXT poll. People from all over the world are going to their computer and logging onto wwe.com to decide your future. They are joining the WWE pros as they cast their ballots for the rookie they feel should be the WWE's next breakout star. But to put into perspective how important it is to start off well, let me remind you of last season's winner Wade Barrett, who never was ranked below #2. Now granted, this was last season. However, this season is even more important. Because tonight, we have a surprise to share with you. Not only are we going to reveal the NXT poll, but we're...tonight we're also eliminate whichever one of you was ranked last."
Alex gets an amused look on his face, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Oh ho ho. Oh ho ho ho ho. Ohhhh." Alex says, laughing a bit. I can't help but laugh a bit myself.
"So making an impact and standing out tonight is not something you should do, but something you have to do. However, there is one surefire way to avoid being eliminated. And for more on that, we're gonna toss it over to my colleague, Matt Striker."
"Thank you Ashley, ladies and gentlemen it is time for the very first rookie challenge of NXT Season 2. The ever popular keg carry. Now the rules are simple. The rookies will have to carry the keg without dropping it around the ring and cross the finish line. Whomever does this in the fastest time, will get immunity from tonight's elimination. So let's get the challenge underway. Michael McGillicutty, come on down!"
He jogs his way down to Striker and the keg.
"Alright remember, immunity is on the line. Ready...set...go!"
Michael lifts it and immediately drops it, but continues anyway.
"Oh, you dropped it. Okay go."
The buzzer sounds and McGillicutty drops it.
"Hang on...I'm sorry you have been disqualified for dropping the keg, those are the rules, this is NXT."
I facepalm, and can't help but laugh, hiding my face in Alex's shoulder.
"Rookies, I hope you're paying attention. Make sure you get your hands on that keg. Michael come here. Let's give you an opportunity. What're your thoughts? You heard the rules, you dropped the keg, what's going on?"
"I've carried kegs before, there's something with this thing. I was with Husky Harris the other night, there was a keg that wasn't as heavy as that thing was. You're kidding me. It slipped out of my hands, it doesn't matter, I'll be in first place by the end of the night anyway."
"Psh."
"Alright, thank you Michael McGillicutty, I don't know if it was Husky's fault that you dropped the keg....Lucky Cannon let's see what you've got!"
"Woooooo!" Charity cheers as Jon jogs down the ramp.
"Ready...set....go."
Jon lifts it and carries it around the ring. He makes it all the way around and past the finish line, getting a time of 12.7 seconds.
"Okay, 12.7 seconds. Lucky Cannon has the time to beat."
"Yeah!" Charity cheers again, hugging Jon as soon as he walks back to her, and they go stand next to me and Alex and Michael.
"Showtime Percy Watson come on down! Come on dance your way down a little quicker my man, I know you're excited. Okay, ready...set....go!"
Percy manages to carry it around the ring, but his time is 13.0 seconds, Jon still having the time to beat.
"Ohhh .3 seconds, Lucky Cannon still has the time to beat."
"Big Eli Cottonwood."
"This is for immunity. Ready...set...go."
Eli just literally fast walks around the ring, carrying like it's nothing. He crosses the line at 13.3 seconds.
"Oooooh! So close."
"Kaval, please step forward."
"He's not going to be able to carry that." Charity comments.
"Right? It's got to at least weigh as much as he does if not more." I add.
"Ready...set....go."
"Striker, in all seriousness, this thing weighs just as much as I do. So I'm not gonna pose anymore risk to my body, unless it's in that very ring for the WWE Universe."
"Alright, some would say that that sounds like a crock, but okay. Big Titus O'Neil come on down and make an impression."
"12.7 seconds the time to beat, are you ready....set....go."
Titus lifts the keg and carries it, but before he could even pass the first ringpost, he trips and goes tumbling, dropping the keg. Instantly Charity and I burst out in laughter, I'm leaning on Alex for support as I'm cracking up, Charity doing the same with John.
"Oh ohhhhhh!"
"You know the rules, you got caught up here."
"You just saw the replay Titus, what happened right there?"
"This is one of the reasons you don't drink ladies and gentlemen. And if you do, if you do, please don't drive. That's what I tried to do just now, tried to make it a win."
Charity and I finally recover from our laughing outburst, wiping the tears from our eyes from laughing too hard.
"Alright, Titus O'Neil. Let's look at a slow replay of that can we?"
Even the slow motion replay makes it more hilarious.
"Oh, make it a win eh Titus? Husky Harris come on down."
"Ready, set, go."
Husky has some trouble carrying it around the ring. He drops it when he gets to the 2nd ring post.
"Oh, you dropped the keg, you've been disqualified. I'm so so sorry Husky."
"Alright Husky, let's be professional. That looked like it hurt, did you get hurt doing that?"
"You're pretty brave, for even saying a word to me. So how bout you back off, and I'll worry about what happens to me."
I roll my eyes.
"Well I guess the tensions are running hard. Remember someone's gonna be eliminated tonight."
Alex stands there, ready to go since he was the last to go.
"Doesn't matter if you don't win or not, you're still a winner to me." I smile before giving him a good luck kiss.
"The final one, A-Ry, Alex Riley!"
"Yeah! Wooo!" I cheer for him as he walks down the ramp.
"Lucky Cannon is the leader. YOU are looking for immunity. Ready...set....go."
Alex does manage to carry it around the ring without dropping it. He crosses the line and tumbles at 13.8 seconds.
"Damn."
"Oh no. That means Lucky Cannon has immunity!"
Charity practically jumps on him, hugging him for his win. She lets go and heads down to Striker with him.
"Lucky, this is a big deal. You're safe for tonight. How do you feel?"
"Man I feel awesome right now. You know what, some of those guys back there, they're a little bit bigger than me. Some of them, hey, might've been a little bit faster. But you know what, what I lack in size and speed, I make it up for heart. Tonight and every night, because anything in life worth having is worth fighting for."
Charity and Jon walk back up the ramp, before we head to the back.
"Ahhhhh!" Charity squeals, hugging Jon tight. "You're immune from elimination! You move onto next week! I'm so proud of you!!"
The next thing she does, is press a kiss to his lips. I motion to Alex for us to head to our locker room, giving them their moment. Charity had moved her arms so that they're wrapped around Jon's neck and his arms were wrapped around her waist, as he held her closer. A clearing of someone's throat interrupts them, making them pull apart. They turn to see McGillicutty.
"Problem?" Charity asks.
He goes to say something, but closes his mouth and walks away.
"He clearly had a problem."
"He's just jealous you got to me first."
"Then he can continue to be jealous, I'm never giving you up."
"Awww, love you too."
They kiss briefly, before heading to the locker room that we all share so we can relax before the big tag team match tonight and then the first elimination of the season. By the time they got back, MVP and Percy were heading down the ramp, while Husky and Cody were in the ring already. MVP will be facing Husky tonight. The bell rings, the match starting.
Husky goes to lock up, but MVP moves out of the way. They circle and Husky tries being quick, but he's not quick enough to get MVP. They finally lock up and goes to push MVP into the corner, but instead, gets pulled into a headlock. Husky drops to one knee, but is able to get up, getting out of the hold by pushing into the ropes and pushing MVP off. MVP comes back and shoulder blocks him, but it does minimal damage.
"I don't think that worked."
"No."
They circle again, before locking up and MVP twists Husky's arm before getting him into another headlock, making him drop to one knee again. Husky gets up again and it's the same as last time, another shoulder block attempt by MVP.
"He's got to stop trying to use that, obviously it doesn't phase him."
"Clearly."
Husky taunts before they circle a third time, MVP going for an early rollup, and Husky kicks out. Again with the circling and MVP goes for a jacknife cover. Husky kicks out. MVP goes after him and he slithers away. He gets to his feet once more and he circles again. They lock up and MVP still has control of the match, using quick movements. Locking up again, Husky is finally pushed into the corner. MVP backing up, and getting hit with a cheap shot, the match now picking up. Husky gets kicked in the face with a boot in the corner, rolling out of the ring. Husky gets into the ring eventually and MVP gets him in a potential submission. Husky get to his feet, but doesn't get much of a chance to fight back, until MVP misses a move in the corner. Husky comes back and goes for the cover back to back, but it's no use. The ref has to back Husky up, but at this point, Husky has taken control over the match. He goes for another cover, but MVP kicks out. After a frog splash, he goes for another cover, MVP kicks out. After a suplex, another cover, MVP kicking out at two. MVP starts to come back a little, but it doesn't last long.
"Come on Montel."
Husky wraps his arms around MVP's midsection. He does get to his feet, but Husky's arms are still around the midsection. MVP fights back, but it's no use. After a vicious clothesline, Husky goes for another cover, MVP kicking out. Husky goes for the a Running Senton, but MVP rolls away.
"Smart move."
They both get to their feet, and MVP starts to capitalize. Then he goes for his signature, and when Husky gets up, he delivers his finisher, hooking the leg and pinning Husky for the win.
"There you go, teach the rookie ."
Cody slides in and stops a confrontation between MVP and Husky before they leave the ring, refusing to shake hands.
"Bad sportsmanship." Stef mumbles to Mike, as he writes on his clipboard.
He nods and makes sure to put that down on his notes. It's only shortly after that when we all head out for the tag team match. Charity and I would be pitted against each other due to Alex and Jon being on opposite teams. Jon was on a team with McGillicutty and Kaval, while Alex was teaming with Eli and Titus. As much as I only wanted to cheer for Alex, I figured, might as well cheer for the whole team as well. It starts off with Eli and McGillicutty. Charity refused to cheer for McGillicutty, even though he was on the same team with Jon. She just rolled her eyes.
The match starts, McGillicutty grabbing Eli around the midsection before clubbing his back. He stays on him, with kicks and punches, followed by a headbutt.
"Come on Eli! You're bigger than him!" I yell from ringside.
McGillicutty goes to pull him away from the ropes, but Eli blocks him. Because clearly, how can McGillicutty throw this man? Eli fires back with a huge hit to his arm, making him let go in pain. That's followed by a clothesline. He drags McGillicutty over to the corner and Titus tags himself in. Alex yells for Eli to get out when he just stares at Titus. That allowed McGillicutty to tag Jon in.
"Come on Lucky!" Charity yells from ringside, cheering for him.
They circle before locking up and Jon twists Titus' arm, hitting his shoulder before adding pressure. Titus comes back with an elbow to the face, and Charity winces. Jon stumbles away before kicking Titus when he comes towards him. He elbows him once, before attempting to throw him into the ropes, only to have it reversed. When he comes back, since the ref was distracted, Alex grabs him by the hair, getting involved in the match. Before Jon could turn around and get him for that, Alex jumps down and out of his reach.
"Hey!" Charity yells.
I hug Alex around the waist as he yells at Jon, and I smile mockingly. This causes a distraction and Titus hits him with a hard and vicious clothesline. I give Alex a quick kiss before letting him go and he climbs back up onto the apron. Titus capitalizes, pulling Jon back and tagging Alex in. They double team him, and Alex picks up where Titus left off.
"Come on!" Charity yells in disbelief as Jon can't get a shot in. "Get him off ref!"
Alex starts arguing with the ref, Stef and Mike both having smiles on their faces at the performance of Alex. Mike makes sure to write everything down that he likes from what they're seeing. Alex picks Jon up and throws him into the opposite corner and hard. McGillicutty reaches for a tag as well as Kaval. Alex goes and hits McGillicutty with a cheap shot.
"Oops." Charity laughs quietly.
That makes McGillicutty slide in to go after Alex, but the ref catches him and stops him. Alex tags in Eli while the ref is distracted and after the ref turns around he doesn't do anything.
"Hey! He's not legal ref!" Charity yells in frustration. "Come on Lucky!" She hits the apron with her hands.
Eli brings him back over and the ref sees this tag to Titus. Charity winces every time Jon is dropped, hit...whatever. Titus then moves to the corner and Alex tags himself in, taking control from where Titus left off. Jon tries to come back, but Alex isolates him from his corner. Into the corner, and Alex runs at him. Jon lifts his foot, but Alex catches it. He slams it down and is met by an elbow to the face. John starts crawling for a tag.
"Come on, come on..."
But he was too slow and Alex went back after him. Alex grabs his leg, causing Jon to hop on one foot. He rolls Alex over, sending him into the corner, and then crawls for a tag.
"Go go go!"
"Come on Alex!" I scream in encouragement.
Jon makes the tag to Kaval and things go downhill for Alex. I cringe at ever hit. Kaval goes for the cover, but Eli and Titus break it up. They break Alex and Kaval apart, throwing Kaval out of the ring. The ref tries to get them out of the ring. That's when I see McGillicutty sneak in and then hits Alex with the spinning neckbreaker.
"Hey! Turn around! Ref!"
I jump up onto the apron myself trying to get the ref's attention. Eli sees him and stalks over to him, but he holds down the top rope and Eli goes tumbling out of the ring. McGillicutty rolls out and Jon comes in and goes after Titus. They roll out and Kaval climbs to the top and jumps, stomping on Alex's chest. He goes for the cover.
"No no no no no! Kick out!"
He doesn't and I sigh in disappointment. Charity however is jumping up in down at the victory for Jon's team, despite Kaval being the one to win it. She gets into the ring with him, McGillicutty and Kaval. I walk around to the otherside where Alex is and slide into the ring, checking on him.
"Are you okay?" I ask him quietly.
"I'll...be fine." He winces.
"Ice?"
He nods.
"After elimination."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the voting on wwe.com is rapidly closing in just minutes. If you have not voted, I'm begging you, get up and go on wwe.com and let your voices be heard. With that said, WWE pros, please huddle up. The time is upon us, tally up your votes, we're gonna have the first NXT poll of Season 2. And tonight one of the rookies will be eliminated." Striker announces.
By this time, I've helped Alex back up the ramp where he can recover and relax at least.
"You still did great in my eyes. You still have 2 wins on your card."
He nods, holding his chest where Kaval stomped on him. I wince, seeing the pain he's in. But shortly after, we all head down to the ring, standing at the end of the ramp, waiting for the poll.
"Rookies, the moment you have been anticipating is upon us. You finally get to see how you've been evaluated in the eyes of the WWE pros, and the eyes of the WWE Universe. But that anticipation has turned to trepidation. As we learned earlier tonight, one of you will be eliminated. Lucky Cannon, you have immunity due to your victory in the Keg Carry challenge, so you're safe for tonight. But for the rest of you, the time for talking is over. Let's find out, let's see the NXT poll."
Ranked number one was Kaval.
"Fluke." I scoff.
Number 2, Percy Watson.
"Eh."
Number 3, McGillicutty.
"Not number one like you said...psh."
Number 4, Alex.
"4th? Really?" I say in shock.
Mike's face shows shock too.
"You deserve higher." I grumble.
Number 5, Jon. But he's immune so. Number 6 is Eli, so he stays.
"Okay. Titus O'Neil, please step forward. Husky Harris, please step forward. Now for one of you, this dream is ending a lot quicker than you thought. But for the other guy who remains, it's important to understand that you've got your work cut out for you, you've got a long haul ahead of you. With that said, let's see who's going home."
The poll shows after a bit of a wait that Husky is 7th and Titus is 8th, so Titus goes home.
"Titus, what's going through your mind right now? You're going home. Take this time, tell the world why they were wrong, tell them all about Titus O'Neil man."
"Well I can say this, just like many of you in this crowd and many of you at home that have had to deal with way more obstacles than I have to deal with in this ring. Some of you have fought cancer, some of you have had to deal with your families going overseas to Afghanistan and not coming back, some of you have had to teach kids that are so hard to teach and are told over and over again what they can't do. Regardless of the fact that I'm going home tonight, I'll still want all of you to understand, to remember that life is a game and you must make it what you can. So while you are living and take each and every opportunity that you can, to make it...a...win!"
"Let's hear it one more time for a class act, Titus O'Neil!"
"Gentlemen, you now understand the finality of being on NXT. And the competition will intensify. One of you have already gone home. We're gonna find out who's gonna be the WWE's next breakout star as NXT continues to roll on!"
With that, the cameras go off, the fans exit the arena and we all head backstage.
"Wanna stick around for SmackDown?" I ask.
"We could." Alex nods. "You guys..?" He asks Charity and Jon.
"Uh....I think we're going to head back to the hotel." She grins before breaking into a smirk.
"Ooooh I know that look." I giggle.
"Shush you."
"Neverrrr." I sing.
"So....why don't you get changed and we can head back to the hotel?" Charity bites her lip, giving Jon that look.
"I'm on it." He says before dashing away.
"You're in for a long night." I laugh.
"Looking forward to it." She grins.
"Of course you are. As if celebrating him getting into NXT wasn't enough for you."
"Hey, just expressing my love."
"Of course."
"Well I'll see you all tomorrow."
"Have fun....oh wait I know you will." I laugh, before hugging her.
She then walks off to the locker room to wait for Jon.
"4th place, not bad, but I know you can do better." Mike says as he and Stef finally walk backstage.
"You know, it's because he's the rookie to you. Lots of people don't like you, but that shouldn't reflect how Alex does in this competition, even though you do both have a lot of similarities."
"She has a point, you two could be long lost brothers or cousins or something." Stef nods.
"So what're you two up to now?"
"Well considering I have tons of media to do in the morning, we're gonna head back to the hotel and get some rest."
"We're all meeting up for the 4th right? Fireworks, everything?"
"Of course. It's not a 4th of July without the United States Champion is it?"
"No, I guess not." I laugh.
"Well we're gonna head back to the hotel too." Alex adds.
"Once you go get changed."
"Right. Be right back." He nods, kissing me on the cheek before heading off to the locker room.
"You two are like perfect for each other." Stef comments.
"As you always say. Meeting down in FCW and developing that bond, helps."
"If only we could say the same thing for us."
"But you two are perfect for each other too. Just because you didn't meet until last year, doesn't mean you're not meant to be together. I see how happy you both are and that’s all that matters.”
“Very true. Well we’re going to head back to the hotel for the night. See you tomorrow?”
“Of course.” I say, hugging her and then Mike.
I head to the locker room while she and Mike go out to their car. Charity and Jon had left before us, I was waiting outside the locker room, waiting for Alex. I look up from my phone when I hear the door open. Once I see Alex walk out, ready to go, I put my phone away.
“Ready to go?” I ask.
“Mmhmm, you?”
“Of course.”
I lace my fingers with his and we head out of the arena and to our car, heading back to the hotel.