Monday Night Raw, 2 weeks until the Rumble

https://youtu.be/kQhdwd8ObrA

Daniel Dalton is all smiles and excitement as he makes his way to the ring, high fiving the fans as goes along. Clearly, he was still reeling from the excitement of his epic battle last week with Cody Rhodes. He enters the ring and continues posing and exciting the crowd before his music dies down. He's then handed a microphone from ringside and begins his segment. "Kansas City, Welcome to Monday Night Raw!!!" The audience cheers loudly before allowing him to continue. "Last week, I had perhaps the best Monday night bout I've had since being called up; and I've gotta give a BIG thanks to the American Nightmare for giving me his all! Not only did he deliver his best, he brought out mine! With that said, I also gotta give a big thanks to Finn Balor for making the match happen. Even IF it wasn't under the most ideal circumstances, it was every bit of the match I had expected, and exactly what I needed to prepare for the triple threat match at the Royal Rumble. However, not so sure I can say the same about my former mentor. You see, the whole reason I selected Kevin Owens as his opponent last week... goes all the way back to their history in NXT. Owens used to always bring out the best in Finn in those days. Last week, however, didn't seem to be the same case. Last week, Balor proved exactly what everybody knows and what I feared most: he's not who he used to be... and he damn sure isn't ready for our match..... but believe me when I say, I am as ready as I can and need to be and you are ALL looking at the next WWE Champion!" He sinks in the cheers for a moment before continuing. "And Rico, or Nightshade, whatever the hell kinda comic book villain name you like to call yourself, you yourself better believe that I-"He's cut off by Finn Balor's music suddenly echoing through the arena.

https://youtu.be/niwudplhp-0

"Ah, Danny Boy! You forget to mention, dear lad, that YOU caused me to lose to that Overhyped Panda, Kevin Owens, last week. I didn't come out on commentary for YER Match because I respected the rules of competition, laddie. You bein' out here cost me a perfectly good match against an Ol' rival 'a mine, and You're out here callin ME out? You gave me a man the shell of what 'e used to be while I gave YOU a man in his prime, at his peak! If Anything, All you've proven is you were trained by a damn talented lad, Dalton. So why don't ya do us all a favor and shut yer mouth, because in terms of the WWE Championship, yer no closer to winnin' it than you were a year ago! You could NEVER Fill MY Shoes! You could hardly ever-"

https://youtu.be/LgMhDlQ_FA4

Daniel can be seen mouthing "What the fuck?" All the while, looking on in confusion from Imperium's sudden, unwelcomed arrival.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I de-MAND all of YOUR Gratitude and ATTENTION... For Deeeeeerr RIIIIINGGENERALLL... and IIIIMPEEEERIUMMM!!!" Kaiser belts out in signature fashion. As the trio marches to the ring, Ludwig begins speaking yet again. "You two men stand in the middle of that ring, bickering like infantile children. How DARE you disgrace das heilich matte..." (that's, "sacred mat", for all who don't know German) "...with such imputent Behavior! Neither of you deserve to be anywhere NEAR that WWE Championship. In fact, the only reason, I believe, either of you miscreants are recieving a chance to win that championship... is because Der Ringgeneral was not involved in the tournament! So, gentlemen, if you will, the Most Dominant man in ALL of the industry will have to ask you to yeild your challenges, so that DER RINGGENERAL, GUNTAAAH... can claim his spot as the Pinnacle, the top percentile... Of the Sports Entertainment Wo-."

"OH SHUUUUUT UUUUUP!!!" Daniel irritably retorts, seem to be speaking on behalf of everyone's annoyance. "Just shut up! No-one, AND I MEAN NO-ONE, out here came to listen to your weird ass way of talking. And on top of that? When's the last time you put your money where your mouth was, huh Kaiser? And you, Gunther! Did you ever think maybe there was a reason you weren't included in that tournament?! Maybe it's because you don't know half of what you, or your boys here, preach about! So, like it or not, 'RINGGENERAL'..." Dalton says in an incredibly mocking tone, which irritates IMPERIUM, yet illicits a laugh from the audience. "...this has nothing to do with you! I didn't say any of your names, Finn didn't say your names, So, why don't you three go back to annoying someone else with your load of crap and let the guys who earned their share handle their business?!"

Gunther took the mic from Kaiser. "You have EARNED nothing! I have more experience as a fighting champion than you have years doing your so-called Wrestling. I command the respect of every man who steps across from me, and you and Finn Balor here are no different. When Der Ringgeneral steps into the ring... Der Matte Ist Heilich... and you WILL show me the proper Respect!"

"Woah, woah!" Now Finn Balor steps in. "Now hang on just a second there. You t'ree interrupt our conversation and demand respect outta me?! Could be just me think'n this, but maybe you need a lesson in it yerself! 'Cause no-one demands ANYTHING of Finn Balor; and no-one is gonna knock Danny here out of line... 'cept fer me!" Daniel actually smirks as he too stands his group against Imperium. "I think what Finn here is trying to say is... if you really want our spots... best of luck to you tryna take 'em. That is, if you don't need your two bitches here to do it for you?"

"How DARE you Insu-"A third voice... that of Luke Jamison... cuts in. "Hey, Hey, Hey! Hold the phone Slim & Chatty! You think you get to just come out here and mouth off to the #1 Contenders? I don't think so! So Yknow what? Heres to an idea... Theres three annoying European dudes in need of an ass beating. There's three badasses wanting to shut you the hell up. So let's make this official: Imperium versus Balór... Dalton... and Jamison! Main Event! TO-Night!"

Daniel grows determined and intrigued, seeming up for the unexpected challenge. He looks over at Balor to see if he was up for it.

"You wish to get into a fight with IMPERIUM tonight? You can invite anyone to your pathethic shell of a club, Luke. It will not matter. And we will Prove why IMPERIUM is the most dominant threesome in all of WWE!" Luke shrugs. "Soooo that means...?" Kaiser raises his microphone again. "Der Ringgeneral... and IMPERIUM... Accept your challenge."

The crowd goes crazy, as tonight's main event is set! Jamison, Balor, and Dalton will take on GUNTHER and IMPERIUM!

As the show comes back from Commercial break, #1 Contender to the US title Shawn Rosario is already on his way to the ring. He's wearing his White "SoCal Sadist" cutoff T-shirt, only it had a deep red stain on the left shoulder. David Drake comments that this was "the shirt he'd used to help stop Sol's bloody nose last week." We're then shown a replay of the US title match, which Cross lost via Disqualification, and then the aftermath backstage, which included Jake Cross throwing an elbow into the face of Sol Ruca. Shawn stood in the ring, leaning forward against the ropes, mic in hand. His nose twitched as he saw the shot land to his "Very Close Friend" from Southern California in the form of Ruca. The feed cut after it zoomed in on Shawn holding his white shirt - again, the very same one he was wearing tonight - to Sol's bleeding nose, glaring into the camera with his heterochromatic eyes (It means they're 2 different colors. His left one's brown, & the right one's light Green... Or vice versa, I can never remember accurately.)

He didn't say a word for a good thirty seconds... He just stood there, looking at the floor, still against the ropes... Until he slowly walked to the center of the ring and removed the shirt he was wearing, staring intently at the thick blood stain... and he glanced up at the camera. "...Now, Jake Cross isn't man enough to be here tonight..." The crowd begins to boo. "So that means I can't get my hands on him. I can't take his leg and bend it like a Flamingo's. I can't tear his arm out of its socket with a Kimura. I can't feel each fading breath slip away in a Guillotine... At tleast, not tonight. But the days are closing in fast on the Rumble, and when that day comes, trust me, Jake Cross, I will put you down and it will not be pretty. You will regret EVER laying a hand on a woman who happens to be very near and dear to me. I know the last thing you need is another feud revolving around women, but let's be honest, It's all that's made you relevant! C'mon, everybody knows your Magnum Opus, your claim to relevence, your most-viewed 'Viral' moment... is the time you lost your now Ex-Girlfriend to your friend-turned-Arch-Rival!! So what, are you just upset I have a little something called a stable relationship? You think it's wise to strike someone who is defenseless, and moreso, someone who IS NOT INVOLVED IN OUR business?! Jakey boy, This WAS originally about that United States championship. And... Yes, I did call you the most Boring United States Champion ever... but congratulations! You FINALLY did something that made headlines! You ran with your tail between your legs, then you sucker punched a woman. It took a literal act of Misogyny to actually make you interesting! But that doesn't mean you win in the end, Cross. Because while this was about your title, You made the biggest mistake of your entire career; You Pissed me off. And now it's not just about your title, this is about YOU. It's about ME. More specifically, it's what's going to happen to YOU, at the hands of ME, because of YOUR actions!! Everything that happens at the Rumble... You've brought upon yourself." He throws the shirt out of the ring, overflowing with a pent up anger that he was just about ready to burst. "So I'm just about ready to have a good ol' FIGHT. Too bad, like I said,Jakey No-cock ain't here tonight, so I'm gonna invite anyone to come on down and step in the ring with me. Please, whether we have past beef or not... just get your sorry ass down here and don't waste my God Damn time." He says before pacing back and forth, waiting for an opponent... Yet nobody answered. So Shawn, being the tactical planner he was, whipped out his backup plan. "...To whoever answers this, If you beat me here right now, you'll be added to the No Disqualifications match at the Royal Rumble. So WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ME?!" After a challenge like that, It didn't take long for an answer.

https://youtu.be/2ANtUj98OfM

Shawn's ire only grew as the two obnoxious latinos sauntered out onto the stage and down the ramp... but which one would be accepting this open challenge? Rosario threw his gloves aside and cracks his knuckles... He was gonna bareknuckle this fight. He then, surprisingly, removes his shoes, revealing his taped ankles, the left of which was especially padded due to the sprain from last week... and lastly, he removed his usual tights to reveal the nearly skin-tight shorts underneath. Finally, he flipped his hair back and stared down Los Lotharios. He was pissed alright... pissed enough to dig into his MMA & UFC roots, even down to the attire he was wearing. Shawn raised his mic one last time... "Honestly, I don't give a shit which one of you wants it. You can make it a 2 on 1 handicap match for all I care. Just get a god damn ref down here... Oh, and let's up the stakes a bit. I'll make this an Elimination match. If both of you are standing at the time of the fall, BOTH of you get added." Shawn demands, tossing his microphone and shadowboxing in the corner as both members of Los Lotharios slide into the ring, seemingly eager to take up the Riled up Rosario on his offer of fighting down 2 - 1. A referee sprints out from behind the curtain and slides into the ring, smoothly calling for the bell mid-slide, and the bell sounds!

DING DING DING!

Shawn starts out fast against Humberto, first with a Running Clothesline that takes Carillo off his feet! He stays on the attack, pulling Humberto up before landing a Rolling elbow to the back of his opponent's neck. The crowd thought he was just showing a few quick moves before the pace slowed down, but that wasn't to be the case. Shawn attempted an early powerbomb, only for Carrillo to attempt to reverse it into a Hurricanrana, but Rosario flips forward and lands on his feet, quickly turning around, and grabbing his opponent in a rear waistlock and dumping him on his back & neck with a German Suplex! Shawn spun himself to a vertical base before he grabbed the head of a kneeling Humberto and repeatedly slammed his knee into the temple of the unfortunate recipient of his pent-up rage. Humberto could barely make out where he was, but Shawn wasn't just content with knocking him senseless. He then took his right foot and stomped Carrillo's chest! He stomped again, and again, and again, and Again! The ref began pulling Shawn off him, Much to the striker's dismay. Shawn shook his head and climbed between the ropes as the Referee tried helping Carrillo, who tried using the referee to stand up. Shawn yelled "MOVE!" To the ref, but inadvertantly he must have jolted Carrillo back to his senses, because when Rosario went for a Springboard knee, Humberto dodged, and once Shawn rolled through his miss, he turned around right into a desperation lariat! Humberto used all his remaining energy to walk towards his corner and tag in Garza!

Shawn's getting up, and Angel thinks this'll be easy now that they 'Have an advantage', but Shawn quickly spins Angel around, twisting his left arm, forcing Garza to go to the ground as he applies a Cross Armbar! But before any tap out could occur, Shawn releases the arm with the grin of a maniac on his face. Garza begins yelling to Humberto, rather angrily, but he fails to see Rosario charging at him, and Shawn nails a spinning Cyclone kick-like Knee to the jaw! Garza goes down once more, but he rolls to a kneeling position quickly, still holding his jaw, but not anywhere near being knocked out for the 3.

Shawn takes a moment to collect himself, but Angel had recovered faster than expected, and when Rosario stepped towards him, Garza was ready. Angel managed to get a grip in Shawn's head and perform some kind of sit-out facebuster move, akin to an X-factor, followed by an elbow drop to the back! Angel turns Shawn over and attempts a cover, but Shawn's able to kick out before the ref even has time to count "One"! Angel Garza sees a chance to tag in Carrillo, walking to his corner and tagging his Cousin's hand.

Angel and Humberto try to get Shawn up for some tandem offense, but Shawn steps under the double clothesline attempt. Angel attempts to rush Rosario, only for Shawn to lower the top rope and send his opponent tumbling over the top rope and out of the ring! Humberto lines up for a big superkick, but Shawn catches his leg, then spins Humberto around and nails his own superkick that staggers Carrillo! Shawn doesn't let up, as the strikes just keep coming; a trio of hard right hands to the face, followed by a spinning backfist, and finally, Shawn grabs Carrillo and delivers a powerful high-angle exploder suplex! Humberto crashes down with a nasty landing!

Humberto crawled to the corner, attempting to get any kind of breather, but Shawn makes him stand up in the corner, before moving him out of said corner, only to deliver another brutal exploder suplex, this time, into the corner turnbuckles! Angel, who is now back on the apron, begins mouthing off to Shawn in spanish... so naturally, he doesn't know what Angel's saying, but he doesn't appreciate it nonetheless.

Shawn shrugs, then punches Garza right across the face! Before he has time to gather his senses, Shawn steps up to the middle rope- is he looking for... no, it can't be! Shawn hooks a leg, then deadlifts Angel from the apron, over the top, sending him crashing to the floor with an Exploder over the top!!! How in the world did he manage that?!?!

A now-recovered Humberto seizes a chance to strike from behind and proceeds to attempt some kind of rear dropkick, which only staggers Rosario, yet Humberto began his comeback sequence! He runs off the ropes, attempting a lariat... But instead gets dropped by Rosario's Running clothesline! Shawn cut off his comeback attempt before it could even begin! Humberto rolls out of the ring to try and shake off the hit, but Shawn rebounds off the ropes and launches himself through the middle & top ropes, grabbing onto Carrillo, and planting him on the ringside floor with an amazing Tornado DDT! Angel tries to help his cousin, as he runs from one side of the apron to the other before leaping at Rosario with a flying crossbody! WAIT! WAIT! Shawn's rolling through, he caught him! Angel got caught out of the air! Shawn powers angel from a cradle position to up on his shoulders! He's going for it! DLR Driver!! Angel's down, and may be out for the forseeable future of this match!

As Shawn took a quick breath, Humberto drags Rosario to his feet, then throws Shawn in the ring! Carrillo then clears off the announce table, seemingly for a sinister plan the cousins were hatching for later in the match, before sliding back into the ring. Before Carrillo can fully stand, however, Shawn catches Humberto with a roundhouse kick, staggering the younger member of Los Lotharios! Rosario attempted a running High knee strike, but Humberto caught Shawn with a pop-up backbreaker instead, causing Shawn to roll under the bottom ropes! Humberto proceeds to shoulder-block Shawn off the apron, then he tags in Angel, who hits a suicide dive through the ropes, sending Rosario into the barricade! Angel arrogantly rolls under the bottom rope before he cockily gestures to the crowd, thinking they were now in control of Shawn.

After Angel was done taunting the crowd, he went to try and grab Shawn from the Barricade... only for Shawn to suddenly lock in an Armbar! Shawn kicked his legs up and performed a leg-scissor hold on the right arm! Garza refused to give in, but when Shawn adjusted his grip and twisted the arm at an unnatural angle, Garza furiously taps out at ringside, where the fall does not count!... But that never meant Shawn is going to hold back. He pops his hips after releasing the armbar, twisting himself around and managing to apply a Kimura, akin to one that another UFC fighter like Brock Lesnar would attempt! Angel's arm has gotta be broken in half by now! Shawn manages to pull Garza back to his feet... and A Bicycle knee from Shawn sends Angel sprawling into the ring, only Garza makes the Hot Tag to Humberto, but in the moments Garza used to crawl over and make the tag, Shawn had sprung to the top rope, and was ready & waiting for said tag, meaning he blasted Humberto with an Elbow to the ribs from the top-rope!

Shawn kips up to his feet, then slingshots himself out of the ring and onto the Apron. This time, his Springboard Knee connects! Shawn wastes little motion and hoists Humberto up, are we gonna see an elimination?! Rosario plants Humberto with the DLR Driver! The referee counts; One, Two, Three! Humberto Carrillo has been eliminated!

As the Ref had been counting, Garza slid into the ring just a fraction of a second too late. He puts his hands on his head, seeing he's lost the 2-v-1 advantage. The two re-set, squaring up in the middle of the ring. Shawn attempts, yet misses, on a Cyclone kick, yet Garza cannot connect on a springboard dropkick. Shawn simply nails Garza with a forearm to the back of the neck, then grabs Angel's left hand with his right hand, pulling him like a ripcord and turning him inside out with a Lariat!

A Wicked knee on the ropes sends Garza over the top and to the outside. Shawn grins, making a "Taking out the trash" gesture and pointing to the Royal Rumble sign.

Shawn was going to attempt a running dive, but Garza grabbed Shawn's ankle and pulled him out of the ring before he whips Shawn off the barricade at ringside! He was going to attempt another move, but Shawn dodges the following standing moonsault attempt! Shawn recovers quickly, and without hesitation, german suplexes Angel on the floor before throwing him back in the ring. Shawn follows this up with a springboard cutter that spikes Garza's head off the mat!

Shawn slaps on another armbar to the opposite arm, looking to "even out" Garza. Garza fights out and attempts a double underhook, but Shawn reverses and delivers a hurricanrana! Angel then rolls out of the way of an attempted boot to the head, only for another Grapple attempt by Garza to be reversed. Shawn then runs off the ropes, attempting his High Knee strike, but Garza rolls under, only for Shawn to be ready for him. Shawn grabs the outside arm & the head and rolls him through, only to hit the "Rolling Tide" knee! Humberto jumps up onto the apron from out of nowhere, only Shawn superkicks him square in the jaw, but Angel then goes for a roll-up, only to get a 2 count, after which Shawn became irate. Garza tried to hit the Wing Clipper, but Shawn headbutts him in the chest to avoid it! Shawn then powers up Angel and plants him with a DLR Driver! Only instead of going for the three, Shawn stumbles into the corner, a fire in his eyes unlike anything seen before. He waited until Garza was up on his hands & knees... then he walked up to him, stepped up onto Angel's back with one foot, using it to vault himself up into the air, before he came Crashing down with a mighty Double Stomp to the back of the head!! Shawn just did some kind of Step-up double curb stomp, and Garza's face smashed off the Canvas as a result!!!

Shawn goes for a cover, to end this mercifully, "One! Two! Thre-" But Shawn lifts up Garza's shoulders at the last second. He has this won, why would he keep it going-?

Shawn climbs over Garza, doing a UFC style full-mount before raining down furious rights and lefts, one after the other after another! Fist after fist, there's no end to them! Garza's forehead begins to shed that crimson red substance that we call Blood, and Shawn refuses to yeild his fury! Shawn holds Angel's head with his left hand and hammers him with the elbow of his right arm repeatedly! Finally, the referee begins to attempt to pull Shawn off, and Shawn barks at the ref. "BACK THE FUCK OFF!". Shawn threw Garza forward and effortlessly switched to the rear, applying a simple Rear-naked chokehold to the highly bloodied Garza. The ref immediately calls for the bell, knowing Garza had no chance of escaping anytime soon, and Shawn threw Garza aside like yesterday's garbage. He does not hesitate, as he rolls out of the ring and grabs a microphone.

"OH JAKE CROOO-OOOSS!! You see what happened here?! DO YOU SEE IT?! You wanna know who you're messing with? You're messing with a man who won 12 straight Middleweight fights in UFC. Back then, they called me 'Shotgun Shawn' for a reason. I was shorter, had a shorter reach than most at only 5 foot 8, but underestimating me was the biggest mistake anyone could make, because what I lack in reach, I made up for in power. One shot, it's lights out. But I don't want to knock your lights out in one shot, Jake. No, No, No... you see, for what you did to a woman I happen to care very deeply about, I want you to be awake. I want you conscious. I want you... to feel EVERYTHING I do to you! Do you hear me?! I WANT TO TAKE YEARS OFF YOUR GOD DAMN CAREER, JAKE!! YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?! CAN YOU TAKE ME SERIOUSLY NOW, YOU GUTLESS FUCKING COWARD?!?!" Shawn is red in the face with anger, but after this explosion of rage, he finally begins to show his usual sense of calm. He takes a few breaths before making one final statement. "Show up to Raw next week to sign a damn contract... Or just hand me the title that we all know you aren't man enough to defend." Shawn flips the mic and casually strolls out as Humberto and medical staff check on Angel, who is being loaded onto a stretcher and as his blood is soaking the mat!

The camera cuts to Backstage, where Johnny Gargano is standing in the gorilla position. "Well... that was brutal." He said in the direction of Shawn, who passed by Gargano in the moment. Shawn disregarded Johnny's words and kept walking. "Anyway, In case you're all wondering... Yes, I've got lots of thoughts on my mind, the most of them, of course Randy Orton! Who else? The man's trying to 'Daniel Bryan' me! But I've never let doubters stop me before, and I won't stop tonight either. So, for tonight, I'll try to put the whole Orton thing behind me, because I need to focus on getting back to Nightshade and the WWE Championship. And I guess it starts with this Qualifying match tonight. Let's do this." He says before he steps through the curtain as "Rebel Heart" hit in the arena!

However, amidst our 2nd match of the night, which pitted "Absolute" Ricky Starks against Johnny Gargano for a spot in the Royal Rumble, Gargano was poised to do exactly as he hoped to do, as he Hit Starks with a series of huge moves! A Lawn Dart, a Pair of Superkicks, and a spear through the ropes! Johnny was poised for the One Final Beat, and Starks was on wobbly knees! Johnny springs over the ropes, and connects on One Final Beat, Cover on Starks, One! Two! Th-

Johnny lurches upright, inadvertantly breaking the Referee's count. The Viper stalks his way out from behind the curtain and stands menacingly at the top of the ramp. Gargano glares at Orton, a thousand emotions behind his eyes as Randy's music kept playing. But the Longer the song played, the angrier Gargano seemed to be. He yelled for Orton to "BRING IT ON ALREADY!", but Randy pointed at something behind Johhny... and when Johnny turned around, a tad confused, he turned right into a Spear by Ricky Starks! Ricky acted quicky, powering Johnny up onto his shoulder and dropping him with the Ro-Sham-Bo! Starks flips Gargano over and goes for the cover, but to add insult to injury, he didn't even hook a leg. He just arrogantly placed his hands on Johnny's shoulders as the ref counted, "One. Two. Three." Ding ding ding!

https://youtu.be/vjxJp8866iE

Starks rolls out of the ring and immediately hops the barricade, running through the crowd, avoiding Randy Orton, as he was well aware at how Adept the Viper was to attacking anyone in his vicinity. Starks hit his signature pose one last time at the top of the stairs at the concourse entrance before disappearing. But in the ring, Johnny had crawled to the corner and grabbed a microphone. "RANDY ORTON!!! YOU!!! ME!!! ROYAL RUMBLE!!! UNSANCTIONED MATCH!!!"

The crowd explodes, as Orton's confident grin immediately turns into a look of worry. This type of match was Johnny's home turf... and one Randy had hardly ever seen the brutality of. Not to mention, any turnabout was fair play, so any sneaky tactic the Viper had up his sleeve could easily be countermeasured by Gargano! The graphic pops up behind Orton, who looks a tad worried, yet strokes his chin as if thinking of strategies ahead of time.

Gargano's music plays as we yet again cut to commercial.

After the commercial break, we had our the 3rd match of the night, which saw Deonna Purrazzo defeat Raquel Rodruigez with a little help from Chelsea Green, who pulled Deonna out of a Tejana Bomb, allowing Deonna to hit a massive German Suplex followed by the "Verdatto Del Regina" (Ripcord Lariat) to pick up the win.

Dalton and Balor are seen backstage with Jamison right by them as they seem to be attempting to get on the same page for tonight (key word being "attempting"), but doesn't seem to be panning out well. Luke finally grows tired of their bickering and decides to intervene. "Enough! You two were close as hell once upon a time, damn near inseperable! What ever happened to that?!"

"Good question, why don't you ask him. I'd certainly love to know" Daniel retorted.

"Well I-" Balor began, but Luke pounced on this before he could go any further. "NO! We aren't starting this shit AGAIN! So take whatever petty bullshit you two have and just throw it away for ONE Damn night! So I wanna see you..." he points to Daniel. "Put out your damn hand. And I want YOU..." He points to Balor. "To shake it and agree to co-exist for One night. Because If none of you make it out of tonight? You can forget the Triple Threat at Royal Rumble!"

Daniel sighs, calming himself before responding to Balor."You know he's right, though. We've come too far to let those three snatch it all away like this. We need this victory tonight, you especially; and you and I made a hell of a team once. So how 'bout it brotha?" He holds his hand out for Balor to shake. "One more for old time's sake?"

Balor's nose twitches. "Y'know, normally I wouldn't even Fathom teaming with anyone besides my brothers in the Judgement Day... And I still live by that. But tonight, there's a Lot ridin' on this here main event. So One more time, you'll see a different side of me." Daniel smirks as they shake hands and seal the deal, knowing exactly what he meant by that.

The camera cuts to the office of C.O.O. William Regal, who is in his office with Aleister Black & Buddy Murphy. "Gentlemen, I must first of all, congradulate both of you on becoming unified tag team champions. I knew you both were special the first day you stepped through the doors of NXT, and now here you are... but I'm afraid, all good things must come to a close at some point, as I'll need to un-unifiy those titles for the sake of revitalizing Tag Team Wrestling here in the WWE. And, with the draft occurring less than 7 days after the Royal Rumble, I must inform you that you will be forced to relinquish one of your two sets of Tag team championships... depending on which brand you two are selected by. That is all gentlemen." Regal says. Black nods in understanding, while Murphy looks rather upset, but chooses to not say a word.

https://youtu.be/eGKtlgRULZk

NXT superstar Kiana James makes her way to the ring, to the confusion of the live crowd. Why was she here tonight, of all nights? She goes through her usual entrance routine before pulling a microphone from her bag. "For those of you who are unaware... My name is Kiana James. I won't waste everyone's time... not because I care about where anyone has to be, but because nobody here will understand what I'm saying. I just wish the people in this backwater ghost-town would read every once in a while, then maybe they could have an actual conversation instead of just interrupting wrestling segments with the word "What?"... But I didn't come here to pander to the fans of nowhereville, USA. I'm here to make a statement. I want in on the Royal Rumble match... and no, I'm not asking. So, whoever it is that's in charge! Put me in the god-damn Royal Rum-"

Regal's voice cut off Kiana, mid sentance. The C.O.O. appeared onn the titantron, . "Actually, that's funny you say that, Miss James. I know exactly who you are, and I know exactly what you want. However, there's been a misunderstanding, it seems... Because if you had been in NXT during my tenure as General Manager, you'd know how I run my ship, and just handing out opportunity just isn't something I do. To ensure only the best possible product is out there in the ring, I make everyone earn their shot at big opportunities like the Royal Rumble. So, you want it, Miss James? I'm afraid you have to earn it... Right now."

Kiana shook her head and protested, but a referee slid into the ring, and all that was left was to give Kiana an Opponent...

https://youtu.be/Wrbl-U-5ieA

Oh my god! A Two-time NXT women's champion, Younger sister of Raw Women's Champion Crystal... and at only 20 years old, she's now Making her Monday Night Raw debut! It's Lexi Zamora! She looks quite different from the last time we saw Lexi, however, with the most notable change being, gone was the pink & black "Punk" look. In it's place was brightly colored gear, with the bright red and cyan blue contrasting like night and day, and most obviosuly her bangs were dyed accordingly' with the red & blue contrasting. It almost gave off "Harley Quinn"-esque vibes... But nonetheless, no one was more suprised than Kiana James! Lexi gives a confident smirk to the hard cam before entering the ring, discarding her jacket and rolling each shoulder out before the bell. Kiana protested this choice of opponent to the official, who wasn't having any of it. The referee calls for the bell.

The 4th match of the night is officially underway as the bell rings! DING DING DING!

Kiana set down her bag on the apron, but once she turned around, she was met by a series of high/low kicks by Lexi, which ended with a spinning back kick! Kiana stumbled back, bouncing off the ropes, and stumbling right into a Spinebuster! Kiana holds her lower back as she tries to stand again, but an Enziguri from her opponent was all she got for her attempted resilience. Lexi cracks her neck and grins. She walks right up to the downed James, grabbing her around the waist, then delivers a powerful Gutwrench suplex! Lexi then forces Kiana back to her feet before forcing her to turn around and striking with a wicked Forearm to the back of the neck!

Zamora grins, as she's in complete control... as she attempts a Chop, but her arrogance had got the better of her, as she gets intercepted by a back elbow from Kiana! James shoves Lexi to the mat, but the Standing moonsault attempt from James gots dodged! Lexi has a small laugh as she sits in the corner. "One hit? C'mon, Kiana!" She shook her head and pulled herself up to her feet. James ran forward and tried another elbow, but Lexi ducked and connected on a devistating spinning heel kick! James rolls to the outside as she tried to gather her bearings, but Lexi wasn't about to let that happen. Zamora bounces off the ropes and darts towards Kaina, shooting herself through the middle ropes and planting James with a Suicide-Tornado DDT! Lexi wouldn't give up there, as she follows this up with a Side Effect that planted Kiana spine-first on the floor! Following up this brutal pair of moves, Lexi rolls Kiana back into the ring...

With Kiana trying to stand back up in the ring, Lexi Jumps up to the apron, then without a moment's heistation, connects with a Spear through the ropes!

Lexi's next striking combo was interrupted, but Lexi ducks a slap from Kiana and went for one of her patented moves, the High Angle Exploder! Kiana landed rather awkwardly, as she crumbled in a heap in the center of the ring. Lexi follows this up by dragging Kiana up, throwing her off the ropes and hitting her with another staple of her offense, the Scoop Exploder! Zamora looks back at James, who's yelling in pain as a result of the lower back assault inflicted on her in the last 5 or so minutes. Lexi pulls Kiana up yet again, this time lifting her into a sort of "Torture Rack" Position, only to hit a KOD-like move, only she doesn't throw Kiana in between her legs in a sit-out fashion (It's more like a Burning Hammer, if you ask me). She calls this move "No Man's Skyfall"! After this move, Lexi's expression changed. She yanks Kiana back to her feet, kicks her in the gut, then twists her arm in such a way, maneuvering her into a pumphandle position... Zamora lifts her up & over, planting Kiana on her face in the center of the ring! What an emphatic "L.A.X-ecution", her old Finishing move from her early NXT days! She barely even tries to cover James, simply sitting on her rear end next to her, placing a single hand on James' chest.

"One! Two! Three!" Ding Ding Ding.

After the bell sounded, Lexi motions to have a microphone handed to her. The sound guy slides her the mic, as she's still sitting in the middle of the ring. "So, that was kinda easy..." She says, sounding slightly disappointed. "But since Miss Kiana here was so busy thinking about securing a spot in the Royal Rumble, I think I'll take the spot she wanted so badly. At only 21 years old, I'm already a Two-time NXT Women's Champion and the most Dominant woman on NXT... So I think I've more than earned the right to represent my brand at this year's rumble event!" The crowd cheered, adding a chant of "LEXI! LEXI!" as she grins and takes in the adoration of a Main-Roster audience for the first time in her young career.

Matt Riddle is standing by backstage. "Bros, I gotta say, it's not every day I get a chance like this. Usually, I have to fight some dude who's just phoning it in, and That's not a lot of fun for me, Bro. But tonight's an opportunity to face another real Stallion like myself. Ethan Bourne's a Bro I have the utmost respect for, but that doesn't mean I won't win and take your #30 spot in the rumble, Broski. So you can go to your sweetheart Kayla and talk about being the new 'Face that runs the place'... But after I beat you tonight? They'll be calling me 'The Bro that stole the show'." Riddle's music hit in the arena, signalling that their match was up next!

https://youtu.be/5K_NcIxqkWI

Once Ethan had made his entrance to the Classic "Even Flow", our 5th match of the night, Ethan Bourne vs Matt Riddle for the #30 spot, was underway.

Riddle started with a few strike attempts, but Ethan counters, sending Riddle to the ropes, then Ethan clotheslines him outta the ring. Bourne keeps the pace up, delivering a flying crossbody to Riddle at ringside! Before The Bro can recoup, Ethan suplexes Riddle ribs-first onto the barricade!

After rolling Riddle back in the ring, Ethan's next combo began with a right hand, a high kick, a gut-kick, and seemingly capping it off with a Russian Legsweep, only to keep his hold on Riddle, hoisting him up for a Back suplex to end the sequence! What a combo from Bourne! A Bridging pin attempt, the referee's right there for the count! "One! T-" Riddle kicks out after only one!

Riddle reverses Bourne's next grapple attempt, throwing him off the ropes, then he catches Ethan with a high knee that busts him open! He follows this up with a pair of Fisherman Suplexes, neither of which can secure more than a 1 count from the official. Riddle throws Ethan out to the Apron, and Riddle tries for some kind of step-up knee, but blocked by Bourne, who forearms Riddle right in the face! Riddle staggers backwards, giving Ethan enough space to hit a Phenomenal Forearm! Cover on Riddle! "One! Two! T-" The Original Bro with a Kickout at two!

Bourne is once again running the ropes, but this time around he manages to take down Riddle with a Headscissor 'rana! Ethan runs to the corner, yelling for Riddle to get up. Ethan chharged forward, looking for a running knee strike, only Riddle performed a mid-air takedown to avoid the knee to the jaw from Ethan!

Ethan goes for another combo; A Punch followed by 2 chops, but the finishing blow, a high roundhouse kick, misses! Riddle begins a string of his own offense, hitting his Bro 2 Sleep/German suplex Combo. He's not finished yet, as he lands a series of moves; a Forearmstrike , back elbow, kick to the gut, finished off by a Bicycle knee!

Riddle tries again for the Final Flash knee, but Ethan sees it coming! Ethan lays out Riddle with a Lariat! He climbs to the Middle rope and hits his Diving Spear, only receiving a Two-count on the following pin attempt!

Ethan calls Riddle up from the corner, going for a Running Knee strike, only for Riddle to raise his knee and catch Ethan in the jaw! Riddle follows this up with a rear-waistlock takedown, transitioning into a cover, but it only gets a "One" count from the ref. Ethan kips up and hits the kneeling Riddle with a Shining Wizard! Ethan kicks Riddle's arm in, as the crowd knew what was coming! Ethan ran the ropes again, this time making a grand gesture before performing a picture-perfect People's Moonsault... Only this one had a little more to come, as immediately after Bourne got back to his feet, he followed up his move with a Standing Shooting Star press! Cover on Riddle! "One! Two! Thr-" Riddle jolts the shoulder up!

Ethan grins as he once again calls for Riddle to stand. The crowd knows what he's looking for, that flipping Killswitch that's ended so many matches for him to this point, the "Even-Flow" Unprettier! Riddle's standing once more, and Ethan runs forward, leaping to attempt the titular finishing move, only Riddle managed to slip an arm free, which appeart to have lessened the impact, until Riddle popped his hips and suddenly, it had become apparent that this wasn't a botched move; Riddle had countered Ethan's finisher into an Armbar! Riddle pulled on Ethan's left arm with all his might, attempting to get the latter to tap out! Bourne suffered in the hold for a good 45 seconds before he managed to break Riddle's grip. The Bro wasn't ready to let up, however, as he sprung off the ropes and thrust kicked Ethan right in the chest! Ethan rolled backwards as a result, and he managed to regain a vertical base. Despite the pain in his arm and chest, he turned around to attempt to re-engage his opponent, but Riddle was ready for him, and Riddle lept in the air, bringing Bourne crashing down with an RKO out of nowhere!!!

"One! Two! Thre-" Bourne just barely manages to get a toe on the bottom rope, and the referee noticed right before he made the "Three". Bourne's ring awareness saves his #30 spot... for now.

A Rope running sequence ensued, with both men jumping and ducking each other, back and forth and back again, until it was finally ended by a Bicycle knee from Riddle!

Riddle looked to target the arm one more time, but Ethan reverses said attempted attack on his arm, throws Riddle off the ropes, and catches him mid-springboard attempt with a codebreaker! Ethan throws a wobbly-knee'd Riddle off the ropes a second time, then pops him up into position, stepping over his arms, nailing the Airbourne Catastrophe! Ethan rolls him over and pins Riddle's shoulders to the mat for the "1, 2, 3."

The words "Here is your winner... Ethan Bourne!" woudl've echoed through the arena if not for the massive ovation he'd recieved from the live crowd.

Ethan celebrated with the fans breifly as the commentators (Shamelessly) plugged a few sponsors, and the cameras cut to backstage.

LA Knight was standing around backstage. "...Lemme talk to ya!" The crowd yells "YEAH!" in response. "The Royal Rumble's just around the corner in Dallas, Texas. And of course, there's only one man we can pencil in as the #1, the Favorite to win the Rumble and headline Wrestlemania... No, it's not Ethan Bourne, it's not the Austrian Asshat Gunther, and It Sure as Hell ain't that sorry excuse for a superstar Jake Cross. The only man whose path to Wrestlemania is CRYSTAL CLEAR, the Megastar who will take his spot at the toppa the Wrestlin' world, with EVERYBODY sayin..." The Crowd played along, saying, "L! A! Knight! Yeah!"... Knight takes off his sunglasses and grinned. "......Yeah!"

Luke and Daniel stood backstage. "So, you ready Luke?" Dalton asked, but Jamison shakes his head. "Uh... Danny, I'm not fighting tonight." Dalton looked confused. "But you made this match happen didn't you? You set it up yourself! You, me, and Balor versus Imperium..." Luke held a hand up. "I said Dalton, Balor, and Jamison versus Imperium... I never said which Jamison It'd be." The realization of what Luke had done just dawned on Daniel. He hid his face in his hands, as a muffled "Are you f-cking kidding me?!" was barely picked up by the audio team.

Main event match - Daniel Dalton/Finn Balór/Rico Jamison vs Vinci/Kaiser/GUNTHER

https://youtu.be/dojfTRdSvMw

"The following contest is a Six-Man tag team match... and is tonight's MAAAAIN EVENT! Introducing first, the team of Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci, and Der Ring-General... GUUUUNTAAAH!" Samantha Irvin gave her usual amazing introductions for Imperium, letting the crowd know that, if any time, this was the time to keep your eyes glued to the ring.

https://youtu.be/XtLvlaGJJEU

The Boos began to echo in the arena. "...Introducing their opponents, first, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin... Weighing in at 239 pounds, He is the WWE Champion... "The Nightshade", RICOOO JAAAMISOOOON!" The crowd was not happy to see the champ tonight, of all nights. These three had a WWE title match in 2 weeks, how the hell could they co-exist?!

https://youtu.be/kQhdwd8ObrA

"Introducing, his tag team partners... First, from Fort Worth, Texas, weighing in at 191 pounds... THE IIIIRON ANGEL, DAAAANIEL DAAAALTOOON!!" Daniel was a tad more nervous, keeping his gaze fixed on the Nightshade in the ring. They both didn't necessarily "Like" each other, especially since Rico had turned to a darker side of him... But tonight, they had a common enemy, and they'd have to work around their hate for each other to take down said enemy.

Nine or so heartbeats thumped in the arena. The fans began losing their minds! Finn said he'd be bringing "The other Guy" tonight... it couldn't be... could it?

https://youtu.be/JF3Uf7dGMLk

IT IS! IT'S FINN'S ALTER EGO! THE DEMON KING HAS RETURNED ON RAW! Gunther and the rest of Imperium's expressions went from ones that oozed confidence to ones that showed hesitance and, dare I say... a hint of Fear? Daniel grins as he goes along with THAT part of Balor's theme and mimics Finn's usual motion of throwing his arms out as the lights flashed all through the arnea, timing it along perfectly with the Demon King.

Rico wasn't impressed by Finn's display. As far as he was concerned, he wouldn't be facing the Demon King at the Royal Rumble, so it wasn't his business to give a shit about what Finn called himself! Once the lightshow that was the Demon's entrance was over, Rico told the other two that he's "got this", and made sure they left the ring. Meanwhile, Vinci was set to start it out for IMPERIUM. The Bell rang, DING DING DING!

Rico begins the match with a hell of a flurry for Vinci, taking him down and delivering several knees to the bald head of his opponent. Rico was pulled off by the official, but the peace didn't last long, as Rico chops Vinci in the chest three times, with each one, the crowd let out a "WOO!". He made the mistake of throwing Vinci into his own corner, where Gunther made a blind tag, but Rico was unaware of it. Jamison pulled Vinci to the center of the ring, hooked both arms, and delivered a Shadebreaker to Vinci! He flipped him over, as if to cover him, but Gunther had entered the ring, and he booted Rico in the jaw before an attempted cover could be made! Rico holds his jaw as the Ring general beckons him back to his feet...

Over the next few minutes, Rico absolutely got his ass kicked. The fans were loving every chest-caving chop, every bone rattling slam, every collarbone crushing clothesline... Jamison's chest was a nasty shade of purple and red, as the bruising was already beginning to show...

Rico only saw an opening once Ludwig tagged in, wherein Rico raked at the eyes of Kaiser, then kneed him in the sternum! Rico fell back to the canvas, in worlds of pain, looking for a tag...

After spending the duration of the match laughing at his misery, all the while "encouraging" Rico, Daniel is finally tagged in by a desperate and hurt Nightshade, who rolls to the outside as Dalton just shrugs. Daniel, fresh out of the corner, springboards into action, taking down Ludwig Kaiser with a flying clothesline before going to the ropes. He charges back with a running forearm and then again with a corkscrew dropkick. Dalton then starts executing his Seven Heavenly Kicks, but before connecting the last one, he looks Kaiser dead in the eyes and mimics him again. "I DEMAND ALL YOUR ATTENTION!!!" The crowd laughs as he lands the final blow. He covers Kaiser, but only gets a two count out of it. He picks Kaiser up while wrenching his arm and pulls him to the corner. Daniel and Balor share a look before Dalton holds his hand out. Finn tags in and the crowd hypes up as the Demon is now legal for the first time. Teacher and student together again; an Angel and a Demon working in unison. They whip Kaiser off the ropes and catch him with a double hip toss, followed by a double kick, one to the chest and the other to the back. Ludwig groans while remaining in a seated position. Balor and Dalton seem to be regaining their dynamic as they trade a glance and nod in unison. They each ran to opposite ends of the ring, bouncing off the ropes and landing a combo on Kaiser; Dalton with a shining wizard to the face and Balor with a shotgun dropkick to the back. Daniel returned to his corner while Balor made the cover, gaining a nearfall. The Demon King starts showing off his technical prowess over the European grappler; first with his double leg stomp, then by targeting the arm. All the while, slamming hard elbows down on the voice of Imperium. Kaiser eventually makes it back to his feet and fights back with a forearm and uppercut, neither of which had any effect on the Demon. Ludwig's face showed the trepidation in his soul, as he now realized the level of deep shit he'd gotten himself into. Balor retaliated with a single, viscous strike of his own to send Kaiser back into their corner.

He tags Daniel back in and they proceed to land a double kicking combo, topped with an enziguri from Balor and a dropkick from Daniel. This earns another two count before Ludwig quickly rolls to his feet and rushes to a corner, only for Dalton to land a Stinger Splash. He then runs to opposite corner before charging back, looking to land his corner knee strike, but Kaiser moves and Dalton's knee collides with the turnbuckle. He turns while grasping his knee before Kaiser returns with his corner enziguri. Dalton is down before Ludwig comes back off the ropes for a running basement knee strike. Kaiser covers Dalton, but he kicks out at two. He then tries to bring him to his own corner, but Dalton resists, countering with a northern lights into a pin, but Ludwig quickly kicks out and rolls to reverse into a butterfly suplex. Now Kaiser is able to bring Dalton to his corner, scoop slamming him down before tagging in Vinci. Giovanni springboards off the second rope for a moonsault, but Daniel gets his knees up before popping up for his own springboard, connecting with a tornado DDT! Daniel only gets a two count, but still has a chance to make a tag. Balor is pumped in the corner with Rico still recovering on the floor. Daniel begins crawling, still a little rocked, while Vinci quickly grabs at his leg. He gets up to his feet, getting closer to Balor, but Vinci still has a hold on his leg. Daniel turns, perhaps to knock him off with an enziguri, but Vinci pulls him into a hard lariat. Daniel slowly rolls into a crouched position, perfect for Vinci to send him head first into the ring post, a loud thud echoing with many fans grimacing. Daniel hangs on the ropes in the corner as Vinci tags Kaiser again; but instead of re-entering the ring, he runs on the apron to connect with his corner drive-by kick...

Now the Iron Angel was in trouble.

After laying in some offense, Kaiser looks for his STO DDT finisher, but Dalton tries to fight out of it. This only leads to Kaiser knocking him into his team's corner, where he tagged in Gunther. The Ring General was clearly still unhappy about the "disrespect" he was shown earlier and delivered a hard stiff chop that caused him to collapse. He then ordered his boys to finish him off while tagging Vinci back in. He sets Daniel up in a powerbomb position as Kaiser heads to the top, looking for the Imperium Bomb. Vinci lifts up Daniel, but he realizes he's in trouble and starts bringing down elbows on the dome head of Giovanni. He then takes him down with a hurricanrana and jumps up the corner to bring Kaiser down with a super hurricanrana. Even better, he lands right on his partner in a almost Go Around motion made famous by Molly Holly. Once Ludwig returns to his feet, he's met with a slingblade added with a roll into a dropkick. Daniel has a chance again. He crawls as Balor and the crowd get hyped, Kaiser rolling to the outside. Daniel inches closer and closer, but Vinci again grabs at the leg. Only this time, Daniel was ready for it. He jumps for the enziguri, but Vinci ducks, only for Daniel to shift and jump back with a heel kick. Vinci's dazed and Daniel has an opening. He rolls, he jumps, hot tag made! Here comes the Demon King!

Balor rushes right in with a running forearm and then a clothesline before striking Giovanni to the ropes. He whips him across the ring and looks for another hard hit, but Vinci ducked under and went to the second rope, springboarding into a crossbody. He only gets a one count, but is quick to resume the attack, landing a running uppercut and then a stiff lariat. He comes back for a third strike, which Balor backs up toward the corner and dropkicks the running Vinci in the leg, sending his shiny bald head right into the Ring General's grape fruits. Giovanni looks mortified as Gunther drops to the floor. Then, Vinci turns to get dropped by a double leg takedown, followed by Balor's signature double stomp. He rolls to a separate corner while clutching his chest, returning to his feet, but only to receive a running chop by Balor. He then whips him to the corner across the ring for a second running chop. On the third attempt, Vinci is ready, lifting Balor over the ropes, but he lands on the apron and counters with an enziguri. Vinci crouches down as Balor rushes to the top; and in one fluid motion, he jumps with a beautiful diving double stomp to the back of the head. Vinci is down and out, Balor quickly goes to the cover. "One... two... thr-"Gunther yanks Balor out of the ring right before the three. He delivers a hard chop to the chest, but the Demon just eats it before forearming Gunther in the face. He bounces his head off the apron before crawling back up and delivered that swinging apron kick right to the head. However, at the same time, Vinci recuperated and knocked Balor off, sending him crashing into the barricade. Now, an infuriated Gunther returns to the apron just to be tagged. He then returns his attention to Balor, dead-lifting him into a belly-to-back suplex right on the apron. Finn bends inward with a loud groan before being shoved back in the ring. Gunther rolls back in the ring as Balor reaches his feet, delivering a stiff forearm and uppercut;

But Balor continues to eat each shot before rapidly forearming Gunther. The Ring General takes every shot and retaliates with a knee to the gut and an elbow to the back. He then turns Balor over and lands his hard open hand chop, sending him crashing down to the mat. The Demon is down and the Ring General has him right where he wants him. He marches to the opposite corner, waiting for Balor to reach his feet with a fury in his eyes. Finn makes it to his feet and Gunther charges for his lariat, but Balor catches him with a slingblade. He then moves to the corner with his gun gesture aimed right at his prey. Once Gunther returns to his feet, he's sent right into the corner with Balor's signature dropkick. The leader of Imperium collapses to the mat with his attacker going to the top rope, looking for the exclamation point. He rises to his feet, gun gestures aimed at Gunther, leaps to the air and...Gunther rolls to avoid the Coup De Grace!Balor lands on his feet and rolls through; but once he's back up, tyrannosaurus dropkick right to the face! With both of Finn's teammates down, there's no one to help and a perfect opportunity for Gunther, quickly picking Balor up and landing a huge powerbomb. Could this be it?"One... two... thr-"Balor kicks out! Unfortunately, Gunther was ready for the Demon's resilience, dropping him once again but with that huge lariat this time. He's not done yet as he lifts up Balor again, this time looking for the Last Symphony. He's get him on his shoulder, but Balor resist and fights, leaning back with his arm around Gunther's neck. He drops him with the elbow to the chest! Balor into the cover."One... two-"Gunther powers out with Imperium nearly rushing in. While Finn was distracted by Rico barking something at him. Gunther made a hot tag to Kaiser. Ludwig's attempted offense began, but Finn ate the kick to the back and kipped up, staring down Imperium's mouthpiece. Daniel noticed Vinci attempting to slide into the ring, and he enters the ring, catching Vinci with a Heaven's Light while Balor suddenly plants Kaiser with a 1916! The two IMPERIUM Members crawl to opposite corners of the ring and try to stand using the corners for support...

Dalton & the Demon King have the other two members of Imperium in the ring, both in opposite corners... The two nod to each other, and, in sync, Balor delivers his shotgun dropkick to Kaiser while Daniel delivers an Archangel's Arrow corner superkick to Vinci, and both men crumble to the mat! Gunther starts to climb onto the apron, but from out of nowhere, Rico grabs Gunther from behind! Jamison appears to want a powerbomb off the apron, and Gunther is too fatigued to give resistance once his lower body was compromised! The WWE champion wasted no time, powering Gunther away from the apron and tossing him through the Announce table with a Rhodeside Bomb!! The WWE champion has incapacitated Gunther, which will allow Dalton & Balor to climb the corner turnbuckles! The two men share a nod before they go airborne and connect on their finishers - a 450 Angel Splash and a Coup De Grace - in perfect stereo. Both men make a cover, not caring who the actual Legal man was, and the ref counts; "One! Two! Three!"

"Catch Your Breath" resumes (implying Balor was still the legal competitor) as Irvin announced the team of Daniel Dalton, Rico "Nightshade" Jamison, and The Demon King as the winners of the match.

The three men raised each other's arms, and Balor pulled Dalton in to say a few words, then he raised his protoge's arm again as the crowd cheered... only for Finn to kick Dalton in the gut, hook an arm, and plant his former student with a 1916!!!

Balór grins, thinking he got one over on Daniel. He poses in the center of the ring as the lights dim around the arena, everywhere except for a spotlight around him... But what Balór never saw was Jamison turn back around after he wanted to give them a moment.

Jamison slid into the ring, and without a warning, Rico nearly superkicks Balór's head off! The Demon slumps to the floor like a dead fish, and The fans let their displeasure for the current situation be known.Rico's left standing with his title, grinning as the two challengers look up at the champ, who raises his title as RAW goes off the air.

Smackdown, 2 weeks until the Rumble

Outside the Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, A black Mercedes pulled up to the arena. Much to the dismay of the fans, it was the WWE Champion, RAW's Rico Jamison! He waltzes into the stadium, throwing his keys to a Valet, then he makes his way to catering where a good number of Superstars are sitting. Rico walks past a table that has Apollo Crews, Cameron Grimes, Orange Cassidy, and Kris Statlander, among others, are sitting at. "Wow. That's it? Does smackdown always have such small amounts of food? Eh, who am I kidding, not like anyone important comes back here... Hey, you wanna see how to get these guys' attention? Watch this..." Rico had been talking to the camera guy he'd brought with him. Rico climbs up on a table and takes the WWE title belt off his waist. "ATTENTION, LOSERS AND JABRONIS!! It is I, YOUR WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Rico Jamison! I have ventured to Smackdown in light of finding a real challenge, unlike the two New Japan Jobbers they have me fighting at the Rumble!-"

Crews took exception to the disrespect Jamison had thrown at their coworkers. "You and I both know those two wrestle circles around you, Jamison!" Rico hops down from the table. "Oh really? And what would you know about out-wrestling anyone? Last time your name held any weight, you had a fake ass nigerian accent and were the most laughable Intercontinental champion of all time. So unless you want me to show the world why you should've stayed in NXT... Back off, sit down, and eat your fucking cheesesteak, Apollo." Crews' face twitched a few times as Rico stared him down... but nonetheless, he chose to be the bigger person and let go of this. He sat back down... But Grimes wasn't about to let that slide either. Cameron jumped up and launched a right hand at the Champ's face, which made a sick bone-to-cheekbone noise upon the punch landing! Jamison staggered for a moment, but when he regathered himself, he launched a foot straight at Grimes' knee, sending him down to a kneeling position. Rico tossed his belt to the side and picked up a Tray, which he proceeded to use as a weapon, whacking Grimes over the head with it repeatedly! Rico shoved him to the ground and began laying punch after punch after punch into him! Statlander tried pulling Rico off, but to no avail, and as a result, Rico threw an elbow backwards that caught Stat in the temple! Cassidy lept into action and clocked the champion, but Rico turned the tables on him too, and Rico tossed Cassidy through the glass window that separated the dining area from the lines of food! After this, Security & WWE Officials finally had showed up, and they had tried to rather roughly get a grip on Jamison, began shoving them and even threw a wayward punch that knocked a WWE official down! Adam Pearce began yelling over the top of everyone else amid the chaos, "GET HIM OUTTA HERE! JAMISON, YOU'RE BARRED FROM THE ARENA!".

Adam Pearce had ejected the WWE champion from Smackdown tonight!

After the backstage melee, we had our 1st match of the night, which saw Tomasso Ciampa qualify for the Royal Rumble by pinning Xavier Woods with the Fairy Tale Ending.

After the match, Ciampa grabbed a microphone and proclaimed that, once he wins the royal rumble... "Daddy's coming for a New Goldie".

Upcoming Battle Royal Participants from NXT's women's division are shown backstage. First, Tiffany Stratton was attempting to hog the camera to herself. "Everyone knows the winner of this match enters the Royal Rumble match. And that spot belongs to the biggest star in NXT, which I think we can all agree, unanimously is yours truly. Nobody has my star power. Nobody rose to the top faster than me. And Nobody else from this sorry division will be entering the Rumble match, because I'm just that much better than all of the-"

"Excuse you?!" A Dumbfounded Sol Ruca approaches Stratton. "Ugh. Surfer gym girl. Look, If you're here to ask me who I'm challenging once I win the rumble, save it, I already have a TMZ interview set up a-" But Ruca cut her off. "You think you're all that, Tiff? Your gimmick started as nothing more than a character out of 'Mean Girls'. Then, you looked like nothing more than a Diet Mandy Rose. And now? You've literally just turned into if Bimbo Barbie decided to play Wrestler. You're nothing but Shawn's spoiled brat, and that's why you'll never be going to the rumble match as long as I have anything to say about it." Stratton laughed. "Well someone finally found the courage to speak up! Welcome to the big leagues, but you're gonna need to work on that a LOT more..." Before Stratton could conclude her statement, Ruca slapped her across the face! "...See you out there, Bitch."

Following this heated interaction, Our 2nd match, which was titled the "I got next" Battle Royale, saw NXT's Sol Ruca claim victory by eliminating Nikkita Lyons, Lyra Valkyria, and Lastly, Tiffany Stratton.

#1 Contender Aaron Zamora sat backstage on an equipment container... notably, Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn walked past, with Dawn giving a grin and a glance to Zamora, but he didn't think much of it. Aaron glares down the camera lense and begins speaking. "I've been asked one question a lot lately. By fans, peers, and hell, even my own sisters. 'Are you ready for Damian Priest?'. I won't mince words, I won't make anything complicated or contrived... I'm MORE than ready for Damian Priest. I think I proved that I was ready with my win last week over Cesaro. But tonight, I enter the Dragon's den. I meet him face-to-face on his home turf, in a match that favors his style, and I will look him dead in the eye before engaging in possibly the most difficult test of skill in my entire career. Danielson, you're one of the best to ever step in a ring... but you happen to be in my way, which means I have no choice but to leave you lying on the mat in defeat. I wish it didn't have to come to this... But then I remember, you challenged me, so whatever happens tonight was your idea., so you'll have brought every inflicted ounce of pain... upon yourself." The camera fades to black.

Liv Morgan promises to reclaim a title in WWE and become a 3x Smackdown Women's Champion.

Darby Allin is outdoors, near the stadium. A Reporter asks him a question; "Darby, you're supposed to be in a Qualifying match next week... how do you feel your chances are for this year's Rumble event?" but before Darby could answer, He's struck from behind by none other than Rico Jamison! Rico takes Darby's own skateboard and breaks it over Allin's shoulder! Rico grabs the microphone and looks into the camera, a crazed look in his eyes. "I'M THE TOP FUCKING STAR IN THIS COMPANY, I'LL GO WHEREVER I DAMN WELL PLEASE, PEARCE!" is all he said before shoving the camera to the ground, causing the feed to cut out.

After that rather disturbing sight, our 3rd match took place. In said match, Tyler Bate qualified for the Royal Rumble by defeating an Arrogant Daniel Garcia with the Tyler Driver '97.

Rico found a way into Guerilla Position, where Danielson was getting ready for the Main event. Bryan immediately marched up to him. "WHO LET YOU BACK IN HERE?!" Pearce took notice and quickly made his way over. "I'll go wherever I want, this' MY company! I'm the top guy! Ain't my fault you put your top prize on A mid-rate guy like Priest! Get the hell outta my face!" Rico threw a few verbal barbs at the Smackdown crew, but Pearce grabbed Rico by the shirt. "I told you, You're not allowed in here tonight!" Rico responded by breaking Adam's grip and smacking him across the face. "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Adam responds without hesitation. He yells, "YOU!! ARE!! FIRED!!!" A stunned silence fell over The crowd... Yes, they didn't like Nightshade, he was a dick to pretty much everyone, but he was a damn good wrestler... Why would Pearce make such a rash choice?! A security member tried taking the WWE title belt from Rico, Only for Rico to grab his arm, twist him around, Pop him up, and Powerbomb him through a table in geurilla position! Rico grabs the belt he'd dropped off the ground and began to storm off. Danielson yelled after him, "Have fun making an IMPACT again, you Asshole!" The crowd was booing... but this time they were booing management's decision, rather than booing the character they loved to hate.

The night's Main Event: Aaron Zamora versus Bryan Danielson inside the Fight Pit!

Zamora and Danielson beat the ever-loving shit out of each other in this match. Aaron showed his striking skills, landing some impressive shots that rattled the American Dragon, but Danielson's experience and savvy shone throughout the match, as he applied submission after submission to try and win the match early. Aaron didn't allow himself to give in, and it was this resilience that foiled every last submission attempt Danielson threw at him.

Brief Recap: Earlier in the match, a steel chair was introduced into the fight pit. In the closing stages, Danielson was looking for a running knee, and most likely the LaBell lock to follow, but Zamora rolled into a Crashing Horizon, which bounced Danielson's head off the chair! The referee went to check on Danielson, but he was out cold. The ref called for the bell. Even after the uncomfortable-to-watch onslaught he'd endured, all it took was one well-placed move, and Aaron had turned the American Dragon's lights out! Zamora climbed the cage and pointed to the Rumble sign. His path was now clear. He was on a collision course with Damian Priest a week from Saturday at the Royal Rumble, and nobody could stop him now!

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Another 12k words down. I promise, the Rumble is coming up VERY soon! It's my favorite match type to write, and I even have most of the Go-Home shows planned. So with that, please, take care of yourselves and as always, leave a few comments for me, add a few questions either here or in my Dms, you know the drill! :-)

Thanks Everyone!

-RicoTheLegend