XWL Breakdown: 12/1/2013 - 12/8/2013

Live from - Portland, Oregon
Deadline Time: 4:30 PM EST / 9:30 PM GMT

Arenas for Matches
XWL Breakdown
*Download it from Community Creations on Xbox Live*
[creator's gamertag: DinosaurTaco]








Normal Match


Normal Match


Divas Match



Normal Match



Normal Match


Normal Match



Divas Match



Normal Match




Normal Match





Falls Count Anywhere Match


Normal Match



Normal Match




Divas Match





Normal Match



Normal Match



Normal Match




Normal Match



Normal Match




Normal Match


Divas Match



Normal Match



Normal Match


Normal Match



Normal Match
#1 Contender Match for the I.C Championship



Divas Championship Match




Main Event

Elimination Tag-Team Match

We are brought to ringside where the Breakdown theme begins to play, bringing the crowd to their feet!



{{King}}
Well it looks like James Storm is back, and ready to prove that he's capable of shining in the spotlight.

{{JR}}
Well no one shines brighter than The Rock! If he is able to back up his words with his actions tonight then no one will be able to say that James Storm isn't main event material.

{{King}}
That's true, and that's just one of the huge matches that will be featured tonight on Breakdown, live here in Portland, Oregon!

{{JR}}
That's right King! For starts The Miz and Alberto Del Rio will be teaming up to face DX!

{{King}}
After the hard fought match between The Miz and Alberto Del Rio they have to at the very least respect one another. Neither man was willing to stay down until that devastating Super Kick sealed the deal for Alberto Del Rio.

{{JR}}
Alberto's not the only won who won his title match with a super kick. Shawn Michaels almost broke The Ryback's jaw last night with a super kick of his own to hold onto the Intercontinental Championship. And Triple H was able to defeat Antonio Cesaro to become United States Champion as well!

{{King}}
That's right, DX is coming off of a high note, not to mention that they've been partners for years now and know each other like the back of their hand. I think that in itself is enough to give them the advantage.

{{JR}}
Well Alberto Del Rio is also coming off of a high note, the highest note possible, winning the World Title back! That's got to count for something.

{{King}}
Yeah, but not when he has to worry about Ted DiBiase cashing in his Money in the Bank Briefcase!

{{Michael Cole}}
Who cares about Ted DiBiase, it's The Miz that he has to worry about! He's the real World Champion! He's the one that should be holding that title right now! And he will! You just wait till he gets his rematch! You'll all see!

{{King}}
You've been awfully quiet Cole, still upset about that tough loss that The Miz suffered last night?

{{Michael Cole}}
You just wait. The Miz will get back what is his. Ted DiBiase might have the Money in the Bank Briefcase, but he said that he's leaving for a little while, and last night was proof of it. He clearly could have cashed in his briefcase and become champion again, but did he? No. He shook Alberto's hand. He doesn't want it. He doesn't need it like The Miz. That's why when The Miz wins the World Title back, Ted DiBiase will know better than to try and cash his briefcase in, he's better off leaving for good!

{{King}}
Well we'll see if he shows up tonight during the Main Event. DX versus The Miz and Alberto Del Rio, I can't wait! I just hope that Shawn is able to focus on the match and not worry about the #1 Contender Match for his title tonight.

{{JR}}
Well you couldn't blame him if he worries. CM Punk and Alex Shelley! Two of the best that this company has to offer. I'd pay good money to see them take on The Heart Break Kid for the Intercontinental Title!

{{King}}
Yeah, well speaking of titles, I'd pay good money to watch AJ Lee do anything! Especially take on Madison Eagles to defend her Divas Title!

{{JR}}
Of course you would King.. And tonight you will, because that's another one of the huge matches on tonight's card.

{{Michael Cole}}
You think that's a huge match? Tonight The Undertaker returns to the ring! And he's taking on none other than.. John Cena!!! John might have been able to defeat Goldberg last night, but defeating The Undertaker? Well that's a hopeless cause!

{{JR}}
Speaking of hopeless causes, Don West's West Side Army seems to be at an all time low. First Amazing Red gets fired, then Corey Graves gets injured, rumor has it that Kharma's contract as Don West's client is up, and to top it all off The Ryback gets taken out by Shawn Michaels! Tonight the last man standing, Sangriento, will take on Dolph Ziggler, lets just hope that no injurers or firing occur during that match!!

{{Michael Cole}}
Speaking of The West Side Army, we have an exclusive video taken earlier today from the hospital that The Ryback was taken to last night.. lets play it now..

We are shown a hospital room, where The Ryback is laying in a gown on a bed with Paul Heyman sitting beside him. Curtis Axel can be seen standing at the foot of the bed next to a doctor, while Brock Lesnar is shown pacing near the door.

{{Paul Heyman}}
Ahh you're awake, good.

{{The Ryback]}}
Errgh…

The Ryback clutches his mouth in pain.

{{Doctor Rice}}
Don't try to talk, your jaw is probably pretty sore right now.

{{Paul Heyman}}
You're at the Thousand Oaks Surgical Hospital, the best hospital in all of California!  Doctor Rice here is a good friend of mine, and the best that this hospital has to offer.

{{Doctor Rice}}
That's right Ryan, and thanks to Paul here, I'm going to make sure that you get the best treatment possible, and that you're back in the ring in no time… So, first thing's first, Good Morning. You've been out all night, probably half because of the pain killers and half because of the night that you had. I'm sorry by the way about your loss to Shawn Michaels, I'm a big fan of yours and couldn't believe that he was able to get another lucky win against you.

{{Paul Heyman}}
There was nothing lucky about it, The Ryback was defeated fair and square. Does that mean that Shawn Michaels is the better man, or better wrestler for that matter? No. It means that The Ryback's talent was misused, or held back if you will. This man sitting here is 6' 3", and two hundred and ninety one pounds of muscle. Brock, how tall are you?

{{Brock Lesnar}}
6'3"

{{Paul Heyman}}
How much do you weigh?

{{Brock Lesnar}}
About two-ninety one.

{{Paul Heyman}}
How long did it take you to win the World Title as my client?

{{Brock Lesnar}}
Two months.

{{Paul Heyman}}
That's right. Two months. Two months is all it took for me to turn Brock Lesnar into a World Champion. Why? Because he's a monster, he's an ass kicker, he's a beast, he's an anomaly. He's the same size as The Ryback, same weight as The Ryback. So why is it that The Ryback is not World Champion yet? He's been here for eight months with Don West by his side and what has he have to show for it? Two months is all it took me to make Brock Lesnar into a champion. Shawn Michaels didn't get lucky, he was lucky that The Ryback was being represented by Don West and not me, because if it was me in The Ryback's corner last night, well he wouldn't be in this hospital bed he'd be getting ready for his first Breakdown as Intercontinental Champion. That's why it's a no-brainer that The Ryback is going to decide to become my client, there's no doubt in my mind that when The Ryback returns to the ring he will be a Paul Heyman Guy. And why do I want The Ryback as a client you might ask? Well it's simple really. I see potential in him, the same potential I saw in Brock Lesnar all those years ago. And it's a shame that it's being wasted on Don West. The Ryback deserves better, he deserves a manager who will do what's best for his career, do whatever it takes to put him one step closer to the top week after week, no matter what. I'm that guy, and that's why I know that The Ryback will one day make both himself and myself a lot of money. The question is doc, when is he going to return? When will he be able to wrestle again. When will I be able to stand in his corner and watch him defeat each and every man on the roster until he is treated with the respect he deserves?

{{Doctor Rice}}
Well Paul. I'd say three weeks. Ryan, you're lucky you didn't break or fracture your jaw. If Shawn had kicked you an inch to the right or to the left you'd be out for a long time, but luckily you're only looking at three weeks. Your jaw is going to be sore for the next week or so, and you shouldn't eat any hard foods for the next two weeks, but by X-Treme X-Mas you should be ring ready.

{{Paul Heyman}}
Good, I'll call up some of my people and find an opponent worthy of taking on The Ryback on his big return! Rest up big guy, we'll be right back.

Paul pulls out a phone and walks out of the room, Axel and Lesnar close behind.

{{King}}
I'll tell you one thing, Don West is not going to be happy when he sees this!

The lights dim to a deep blackness as the light from the tron illuminates center-stage. On it, we see Stephanie McMahon seated on a couch with a bright red-haired young woman.



[Stephanie McMahon]
Now tell me, Eva Marie, why have you taken an interest in our business here, in XWL?

{ Eva Marie }
Well I mean, I think I'm really good at it, and I know a lot of people would really like to see me on TV more. Not to mention all the hot guys.

[Stephanie McMahon]
Are you telling me you chose to work here because of "hot guys?"



{ Eva Marie }
Not completely, I just know I'd be really good for this company. The hot guys are just a bonus. A big, bonus.

[Stephanie McMahon]
.. Right. And do you have any previous wrestling experience?

{ Eva Marie }
No, I've been a model for about 5 years now. But from what I've been able to accomplish over the passed couple of months, I think I could be the next big thing.

[Stephanie McMahon]
And do you have any other talents, aside from modeling?

{ Eva Marie }
Are you kidding? Where should I start? I'm a dancer, an actress, and an overall people person. I mean, people really just can't get enough of me. I know it might sound conceited when I say it like that, but I can't help that people just want to see more of Eva Marie. And I don't mean to brag, but I've got a pretty solid roll-up.



[Stephanie McMahon]
Uh-huh.. Well Eva, there's only one thing left to do now.

{ Eva Marie }
What?

[Stephanie McMahon]
... To sign your contract?

{ Eva Marie }
Oh, right.

Eva Marie takes the contract our resident GM Stephanie McMahon handed to her, grabbing a pen from her purse.

{ Eva Marie }
Is it okay if I sign in red?

[Stephanie McMahon]
You don't have a black pen?

{ Eva Marie }
No, you see it's kind of my thing, you know? "#AllRedEverything."



[Stephanie McMahon]
Charming.

{ Eva Marie }
Right?

[Stephanie McMahon]
Here.

Stephanie hands Eva a black pen to which she uses to sign her contract, officially joining the main roster as XWL's newest diva.

[Stephanie McMahon]
Excuse me, Eva Marie?

{ Eva Marie }
Yes?

[Stephanie McMahon]
Sign here, sweetheart.

{ Eva Marie }
Oh, right. Thanks.

Eva Marie scribbles out her previous signature, only to redo it on the dotted line. Stephanie takes the contract and pen, and offers Eva Marie and handshake, to which Eva takes her hand and shakes on it.

[Stephanie McMahon]
Well, it's official. Eva Marie, welcome to XWL.

{ Eva Marie }
Thank you so much Stephanie, I can't wait for the rest of the roster to meet me.

[Stephanie McMahon]
I'm sure they'll be equally as excited as you are.

{ Eva Marie }
If not more.



Eva passes off a brief wink and a laugh, to which Stephanie awkwardly laughs back before departing Miss Marie's presence.

[Stephanie McMahon]
Yeah.. Best of luck to you.

Eva smiles and Stephanie exits the area. The camera zooms in on Eva Marie's face as she turns to the cameraman

{ Eva Marie }
Hey, buddy, which way to the men's locker room?

The cameraman's hand comes into view, pointing to the left and then disappearing again.

{ Eva Marie }
Awesome, thanks.

She smiles and then begins to wander off the set, and down the hallway. The cameras follow her down as she is heard saying:

{ Eva Marie }
Oh boys? Come and meet me.

The tron descends into blackness as we head to a video package for XWL's own Hybrid Diva, Kaitlyn.

Brad Maddox is shown backstage looking at himself in a mirror giving himself a motivational speech as his cameraman Carson records.



[Brad Maddox] Tonight's the night, C. Tonight's the night I seal the deal. For the second half of 2013 I have been clamouring for an XWL contract, jumping through hoops, punking out superstars, reuniting D-Generation X single handedly. I proved that I'm a great commentator, interviewer and all around swell good looking guy. Now all I need is the chance to complete it all and get my well deserved shot in the ring, what Stephanie McMahon and the XWL higher ups don't realize is that Brad Maddox is a license to print money. I mean put my face on a T-Shirt, coffee mug, anything! It'll sell, hell, a Brad Maddox topless 2014 calendar would make so much money they could hire thousands of new employees. Stephanie just doesn't get it, she doesn't understand the struggle many people go through to get a job, she's just a princess, handed everything! I know there's a man who appreciates hard work and tonight we settle it all, I'm through with playing games, Carson! Tonight is the night I... call out Vince McMahon.

Brad turns to the camera with a smirk as we head back to ringside.

More Reviews Woo


Hospital Segment Thing.

The opening commentary was nice, everything it should be following a pay-per-view, the concept of The Ryback/Heyman/Doctor thing is good, it's a unique setting not often used. Ryback selling the jaw injury by not speaking works, and the shifting in managers should be interesting, the reasoning behind it was logical and it should be interesting finding out who this worthy opponent for Ryback ends up being. Could've maybe done a little more with this, but it's not bad, just felt like it was missing something.



Eve Marie's Job Interview.

I liked the immediate reveal of Eve Marie's conceited "I'm so great" attitude, that was great...the only issue I really have with this is I think like the promo above, this missed something from connecting it, in a...logical point? It's just after Eva says she has no qualifications other than a roll up and being a great model...I feel like Stephanie should have maybe not done the contract bit directly after all of that, because it just doesn't  seem like Stephanie would be all oh you only can model and want to be here for hot guys welcome aboard. I just wish you had maybe had the promo take a different direction, like maybe she makes Eva showcase her introduction skills and does badly but then Stephanie is like, I think I'm going to end up regretting this but I'm going to take a chance on you, you better not let me down stuff like that, and then the pen bit you did which was great and all. It should be a fun character to follow I just didn't love the quick okay sign your contract part.



Brad Maddox's Plan.


Loved the promo, it was short but it had all it needed to, great dialogue, quick recap of his journey to get signed, and the bold promise to go over Stephanie's head and call out Vince McMahon should be really interesting story development that I look forward to reading.

[[Punk]]:: I must be dreaming, I get the feeling that I am in fact dreaming and I keep pinching and pinching myself to try and force myself out of my slumber but it is still to no avail. So I am stuck with the feeling that what I see before me, you lovely people in the crowd tonight, the people in the back and everything around me might not be real. You tell me that “of course you are not dreaming because I can see you clear as day Punk” but as far as I know ever person here could be a part of my imagination, we all know the human mind is a cruel place, we have all had dreams that have felt so real that we just want them to be true, that our deepest desires occur and it feels wonderful and your mind will do anything to make you believe that everything you see before you is reality until you get that sickening feeling when you wake up in your room and realise that everything was just a lie.



[[Punk]]:: The more I think about it, the more that I feel I am dreaming because that seems like the most logical answer, I mean it's not like the XWL management finally pulled their heads out of each others ass long enough to grant me a #1 Contenders match for the Intercontinental Championship so what else could it be? I guess I have to keep going on in this little charade in my head just not knowing what in fact is real... I can see the people in this audience understand what I am doing but allow me to explain for those people, many of who reside in an office chair in the back that don't quite understand everything that I am saying. What you just heard, that was sarcasm, I know full well that I am not dreaming and this is reality but the fact that the beloved XWL Management or God forbid the McMahon's making a logical decision, this once in a lifetime occurrence leads one to believe that they are in fact dreaming or take it as a sign of the apocolypse.



[[Punk]]:: That's right folks, your hopes and your prayers have been answered, your dreams are now a reality because CM Punk is once again on the path for gold and I know it's not the gold that you and most certainly not I were intending for but it's a start. We all know that the Intercontinental Championship has a lot of history in this company, in fact most of that history was created by the man that holds it today, “HBK” Shawn Michaels and I guess it was a little bit more difficult for him back then, back then everyone wanted to break that run, everyone wanted to be the guy to end the reign of the Heartbreak Kid, much like the Streak it was sought after but everyone on the roster but now the truth is nobody cares about that title. It's now a stepping stone, it's not the prestigious Championship that it once was, sure it had it's fair share of talent competing for it but not in the same league that it once was but all that changes today because you may have settled for Kenny King, you might have lived with John Morrison but now it's stepping up a gear because now the Best in the World is in the mix.



[[Punk]]:: And I know it's not going to be as straight forward as I would like to think, to make it to the match, to become number one contender I first have to go through Alex Shelley. I have known Alex for a long time, we go back a long way and now we finally cross paths in XWL. A man that prides himself in Tag Team wrestling, one half of the Motor City Machine Guns who are without a doubt the greatest team that has ever walked into this company. But that is hardly an achievement in this company, in fact it's nothing more than a joke. I know, boo, I don't like saying that, I like Alex, hell I like Sabin too but the truth of the matter is they have spent the better part of their career here in XWL whining that the “Tag Scene” doesn't get the attention it deserves, that nobody takes it seriously instead of proving why it is to be taken seriously. I was in the same situation, I was just a loud mouth with one too many tattoos until I proved to everyone that I was the best.



[[Punk]]::You can pride yourself on Tag Team competition Alex, but you're heading down the path where you have no friends to watch your back, where you can't escape to the apron to get a little rest, on this path you are nothing more than an insect. I know, I'm not overlooking your achievements, you were after all the United States Champion but the one problem with that was there was a severe lack in competition. You took on the new guys, the rookies, the people who were prone to make mistakes and I'm not blaming you for taking those matches, you wanted to keep hold of the precious Championship that has eluded you for some time in your career but you need to realise that you are about to undertake a serious step up in class. That little insect has just stumbled upon the King of the Jungle, you see I am at the top of the food chain here in XWL, I have beaten everyone there is to beat, I've won everything that there is to win except for the Intercontinental Championship but that will soon change.



[[Punk]]:: So be your normal self, chill in the back, play some Xbox, hell invite Sabin and throw yourself a party for all I care but when you step into that ring don't believe for a second that you have been in a situation like this before. You may be the technical messiah, I will give you props for that you are very skilled when it comes to the art of wrestling but I am one step ahead, I am a class above and you will quickly learn that no matter how many holds you know, that no matter how many tricks that you try and pull out of your sleeve, you will discover that you are seriously out of your depth because at the end of the day when you step into the ring with absolute best, you can't touch me, nothing you do will leave a mark because I am better than you, I have more tricks up my sleeve, I have a larger arsenal of holds and while I may not be in a state of dreaming, that is how I will leave you tonight after I put you to sleep and as the ref counts to three you will be looking up at the #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Championship but more importantly, you will be looking up at the Best in the World!

- As the sound of The West Side Army’s theme fills the arena, the tone of the crowd shifts noticeably and dramatically. Within the span of seconds they’ve gone from joyful with smiles on their faces to annoyed with those smiles now replaced by scowls and general looks of displeasure. Don West hasn’t been about pandering to the people or making friends and the lack of support he’s receiving is a clear result of that. West steps out onto the stage, with the last available member of The West Side Army, Sangriento, a few steps behind him and this – the two of them wading through the sea of XWL depending on each other to keep afloat -  may be an image we’ll have to accustom ourselves to viewing on a weekly basis. As is expected of him, West already has a microphone in his hand, because a minute not spent talking and selling a product is valuable time wasted.-



{{ Don West }}
As you can all clearly see, The West Side Army is not at full strength tonight, but don’t you dare think for a second that that means we’re not still a force to be reckoned with. You see, with my God-given gift of gab… with my intuition and always knowing what the customer wants and having the means to deliver it, coupled with Sangriento’s unparalleled skill in the ring, there’s no better tandem in all of wresting now, before or ever again.  Together we’ve already made strides in the right direction, but there’s still so much left to do, there’s still so much left to accomplish and so many superstars out there to embarrass that we’re not going to slow down anytime soon. No, starting with him defeating Dolph Ziggler, again, and showing that if that bleached-blonde blubbering buffoon is considered good enough to be in contention for the World Championship for the better part of the year, we’re going to make a strong case for why Sangriento should be considered a top player in this company too. But who am I kidding? XWL has never been about giving The West Side Army the opportunities we deserve. They’ve sat back and allowed Alberto Del Rio and Roman Roman to put Corey Graves on the shelf and even more recently I bet they shared a good laugh at DX’s shenanigans that led to The Ryback being robbed of the Intercontinental Championship.

The two men reach the bottom of the ramp and the crowd’s booing fills the lull left in West’s silence as he climbs the stairs and steps between the ropes his client is holding down.



{{ Don West }}
And where is Ryback now? I’ll tell you where: holed up in some dingy hospital with Paul Heyman by his side feeding him lies and whispering sweet nothing into his ear. Last night, when Sangriento and I stepped into that ring, just two soldiers entering the biggest battle of their lives, we fought off the advances of Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar and soundly defeated them in that middle of the ring to the surprise of nobody really. The proof is in the pudding and that’s all the evidence that anyone will ever need to show that Paul Heyman will never, and I mean ever, be the manager, promoter, commentator, man, husband, father or personal advisor that Don West is, which means that he has absolutely nothing to offer Ryback, outside of utter failure, that I can’t already provide for him. I led The Human Wrecking Ball to two shots at the Intercontinental Championship, while Heyman will lead him onto a comfortable spot on the unemployment line, where I’m sure Brock Lesnar and Curtis Axel already have their respective spots reserved because that’s where they call home. Heyman is a hack, a fraud and is better served as a pencil-pusher in some office somewhere where he can’t be seen or heard by people who matter because he only came back to try and steal my spotlight and he quickly learned the hard way that this was a war he was better off not starting. Instead of trying to poison the mind of my client, his time should have been spent trying to get that egg off his face because at November to Remember he got creamed!

-West pauses for a moment to bask in the memories of the high points of the pay per view.-



{{ Don West }}
Normally, I’d allow Sangriento to get a few words in edge-wise, but what does he need to say that his actions at the pay per view haven’t already covered? Brock Lesnar thought that he’d be able to bully his way to a win, and that may have worked for him in the past against lesser superstars, but when you face someone who operates with such grace and finesse, who makes wrestling look like poetry in motion and who makes you think, even if it’s just for a second, that he can fly, then you better bring your a-game and hope it’s enough to make you look competent in defeat. That’ll be the case tonight when he takes on The Show-Off. That name is fitting because every time I see his face on my television screen I turn the show… off!!

-You can tell that was an amazing joke by the way West and Sangriento immediately burst out laughing. West is chuckling so hard that his face is turning red and he even has to pull out a handkerchief from his back pocket to wipe a tear away from his eye.-



-West nearly drops the handkerchief as Lesnar's theme hits. But yet again, it's a false alarm, as Paul Heyman walks out with a smirk on his face and a mic in hand.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
Expecting someone else? Really? That old trick still gets you? I mean, I was expecting it to fool all these people out in the audience tonight seeing as they're from Oregon and all, but I expected better from you Don. You see, Brock Lesnar isn't out here tonight because, like I've said in the past and will keep on saying until I get it through your thick skulls, Brock Lesnar is above Breakdown, and the two of you are damn lucky because of it! If Brock were here tonight he'd walk right down to that ring and prove to you exactly what would happen if Sangriento and Brock Lesnar were to go one on one in that very ring, without interference, and without a tag team partner to hold him back. I'm a manager, not a wrestler, what happened last night, what Stephanie McMahon did, it was uncalled for. But hey, that's what happens when the show is run by a McMahon, huh? I had the night set up perfectly…

-Paul Heyman looks off to the distance with a pleasant look on his face, remember what his brilliant plan was for the Pay Per View.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
First, Brock Lesnar would destroy Sangriento, a simple warm-up match. And then, then he'd take on a man more on his level, a man who he still has unfinished business with, a man who thinks that this ring, Brock Lesnar's ring, is his yard, that's right, I'm talking about The Undertaker! You think that The Phenom returned last night just so that he could blabber on about sleeping dragons and demons in the dark? No. He was there so that he could face Brock Lesnar, because that's the type of quality matches that Paul Heyman can bring to the table. But thanks to Stephanie McMahon, instead of watching Brock Lesnar destroy The Demon from Death Valley, you all had to sit through a pointless match that proved nothing. Last night I was pinned, not Brock Lesnar, simple as that. If it wasn't for that stupid stipulation that Vince's incompetent daughter put on the match, if Sangriento and Brock Lesnar were to have gone one on one, then Brock would have been the one with his hand raised and Sangriento would be at the hospital right now in West Side Army fashion!!

-Heyman laughs at his own joke before continuing.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
I know it, Brock knows it, these people know it, even Sangriento knows it!! Just admit it Don. Sangriento can't defeat Brock Lesnar in a fair fight. All you have to do is admit that. Just say those words. And then this will all be over. You won't have to see me again, you won't have to see Brock Lesnar again, you won't have to see Curtis Axel again, and more importantly, Sangriento will stay out of a hospital bed. Admit the truth Don, admit that your client can't defeat mine, just look at the facts and admit it. Save your last remaining client’s career, unlike you were able to do with the rest of your army. For once in your life look past your own needs, your own ego, and do the right thing. Admit it Don. Just do it. Save yourself the heartbreak. Admit it. Now!

-West chuckles softly to himself before responding to Heyman.-



{{ Don West }}
That’s a great excuse, Paul, I bet you stayed up all night thinking of ways to spin the facts, well here’s a newsflash for you, buddy: I’m not a wrestler either and at November to Remember I showed that I’m even better at that than you! As a matter of fact…

-West pulls up the back of his shirt and holds up his arm to give everyone a good look at his side to reveal… a barely noticeable bruise on his side.-

{{ Don West }}
You see that, Paul? I got that bad boy after Lesnar went and kicked me and do you see me complaining? No! I took that shot like a man and kept right on trucking along because that’s the kind of manager that I am. I put my body on the line for Sangriento and put my life in his hands. I bravely went on the frontlines to stand side by side with Sangriento and he had no trouble succeeding…  because you’re right… Brock Lesnar was held back… because you’re worthless! The only thing I’ll admit is that if Lesnar was as amazing as you claim he is he would have found a way to overcome being saddled with deadweight like you… but then again, he’s been struggling to do that since coming to XWL!



{{Paul Heyman}}
Oh, very funny. But we both know that the only reason that Brock Lesnar's career is being held back right now is because he's wasting it on the likes of Sangriento when he should be facing the competitors that I have lined up for him instead! You think that just because you have a little boo-boo that you're all of a sudden some kind of hero of a manager? Sorry to break it to you Don, but Brock was going easy on you. I might be a bad man, I might even be considered to be evil by some, but I would never ever, ever, condemn a man as weak as you are to the full force of the beast that is Brock Lesnar. You can't take what Brock Lesnar can dish out, Don. I know it, and he knows it. If he was really trying to hurt you last night, oh boy, well, he wouldn't have just "creamed" you.. he would have destroyed you!

-Heyman laughs for a moment before getting really serious.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
You hold Sangriento back because you're scared of what Brock Lesnar can do to him.. Well I hold Brock Lesnar back because I know what my client can do to yours. You remember that. Because if you keep pushing Brock Lesnar's buttons, one day, you'll push the wrong one, and I won't be there to hold him back.. I don't need my actions in the ring to prove anything. My client is Brock Lesnar, that in itself is all the proof that I need.



{{ Don West }}
Whoa, whoa, whoa… just hang on a second there. The way I remember things, Paul, it was you who came crawling to us, on your hands and knees, just begging us to give you a piece of the spotlight that The West Side Army had all to ourselves. The only thing I’m scared of is that continuing to humor you and your client will drag Sangriento down so low that his career may never recover from the ordeal! I’m convinced that you’re under the influence of some strong mind-altering stuff, because there’s no way that you can stand there on that stage in good conscious and act like you weren’t so afraid for Brock Lesnar’s wellbeing at the preshow that you and that joke Curtis Axel had to interject yourselves into the match forcing myself and  Ryback to even the odds. Just answer me this, Paul, if you’re so proud and so confident in your two clients, then why in the world are you obviously trying to take Ryback out from under my nose? Who do you think you’re fooling? It’s as clear as the day is long and it should be clear to everyone else that you’re trying to mooch off of my hard work and I won’t stand for that!

-Paul bursts out laughing.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
Steal… From your?.. Don.. Do you know who I am? Do you know what I've done? Do you know who I've made? You must think that you're in a different industry, because in this one, I'm the best in the business at what I do. And if you think for a second that I'm trying to steal anything of yours, well, then maybe you're not as smart as I made you out to be… Don. I'm not trying to take advantage of the work that you've done on The Ryback, I'm trying to undo it. Because you see, thanks to you, this is what The Ryback has become…

-Paul points behind him where Curtis Axel appears, rolling The Ryback out on a wheel chair. The camera zooms in on The Ryback's jaw, showing off the swollen black, blue, and red lump from Shawn Michael's super kick.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
Don't worry Don. The Ryback's legs are fine, they're not broken like Corey Graves arm or Amazing Red's career. The wheel chair is just temporary, he's under some very heavy pain medicine is all, he'll be back on his feet in no time, which means it's not too late for him to walk away from the West Side Army and save his career. So take a deep breath Don, relax a little, you're not going to have to be responsible for The Human Wrecking Ball's career ending like you are Corey Graves' and Amazing Red's. There's still hope for The Ryback. But that hope doesn't lay in The West Side Army, no, the only hope that The Ryback has of making up for the past couple months that he's wasted with you... is becoming a Paul Heyman Guy.

-West angrily opens him mouth to retort but Heyman continues.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
Don't act like you don't know it's true! I'm Paul Heyman! Steve Austin, Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Rey Mysterio, Jimmy Snuka, Sabu, Taz, The Big Show, Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin, Rob Van Dam, Rhyno, Tommy Dreamer, Cowboy Bob Orton, Test, Hardcore Holly, Matt Morgan, The Dudley Boyz, The Undertaker, CM Punk, Brockkkk Lesnarrrr! And now Mr. Perfect's son himself, Curtis Axel! Do any of those names sound familiar to you? Well they should, because when you think of greatness those are the names that you think of, and those names, each and every one of them, at one point in time during their career, were able to call themselves a Heyman Guy.

Paul pauses, clearly proud of himself

{{Paul Heyman}}
Those are the type of people who come to me, knowing that I'm the best option for their career's longevity, and that's just half of the names that are on the elite list of Heyman Guy's because I know that the other half would be wasted on these people who call themselves wrestling fans but couldn't tell me the difference between a DDT and a Suplex.  If you truly cared about The Ryback, Don, then you'd let him become a part of that list. Don't be selfish and keep him to yourself only to rot away in the mediocrity that is The West Side Army. Let The Ryback thrive! For once in your life think about your client before yourself!

{{ Don West }}
I do ca-

-Once again Heyman doesn't allow West to say his thoughts.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
Don, Don, Don. I'm just going to save you the effort of lying to all these people because we both know that you don't! If you truly cared then you wouldn't have gone to the Breakdown right after Amazing Red got fired, or Corey Graves got injured. You would have been there for them. But you weren't. You were here with your clients that were still capable of making you money and winning a title. Because that's what you really care about, proving to the world that you're as good as you think yourself to be. Hell, that's why you continue to call Ryan simply "Ryback" even though it's common knowledge that he wants to be called "The Ryback", it's because you don't care, he's just your way of proving yourself, nothing more, nothing less.

Paul angrily continues

{{Paul Heyman}}
We all know that had I not taken him in last night and brought him to the best hospital that money could buy, you would have had him taken care of by B rate doctors, in a B rate hospital, because you're a B rate manager just like your little masked friend there is a B rate superstar not worthy of lacing up Brock Lesnar's boots let alone facing him at a Pay Per View! But of course, Stephanie and Vince McMahon both think that having Brock Lesnar and Sangriento face off in a rematch at X-Treme X-Mas is what's "best for business". Just like you, they don't care about the wrestlers, they just care about the money. I mean what other reason could there be for having this match? To prove who the better fighter is? Ha! That must be a joke, because Brock Lesnar doesn't need any proof in order for everyone to simply know that he's not only better than Sangriento in the ring, but better than anyone in the whole damn locker room!

{{ Don West }}
Like last night? Like the pre-show? Li-

-For the third time in a row Heyman talks over West.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
You really don't get it, Don. Brock Lesnar isn't like other fighters. He doesn't fight to win, he fights to survive. As soon as he feels threatened in the slightest, he reacts. You can see it in his eyes, and last night I saw it. That's why I had Curtis interject in that match; I did it to protect your client because funnily enough, I felt bad for you. I knew how much it hurt you to lose Amazing Red and Corey Graves and I didn't want to make you go through it all over again, which, ironically enough ended up happening either way, just with a different clie-, well, soon to be former client of yours. I don't believe that Brock Lesnar should be wasting his time with your client any longer than he already has, but if it's a match that the McMahon's want, then it's a match they'll get. So how about this, no excuses, no disqualification, and this time I won't be able to call Brock off of your client, it will be all up to him.. Sangriento versus Brockkk Lesnarrr, X-Treme X-Mas…. An I Quit Match!!! What do you think Don?



{{ Don West }}
Are you quite done yet, Paul?

{{Paul Heyman}}
Yes, I'm do—

{{ Don West }}
Good! Because while your little speech there may have impressed those people who started watching wrestling in the era of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, I didn’t just get into this business yesterday, pal, I’ve been around the block enough times to know that you’re talkin’ outta yer ass, and the smell is gonna make me sick! You stand there all high and mighty spewing this utter nonsense about how nothing in the world would bring you more pleasure than to save Ryback and to use your golden touch to undo the “damage” I’ve allegedly done to Ryback’s career when you should be putting your efforts to minding your down damn business because from where I’m standing the grass is looking a little brown on the other side of the fence. And that makes a whole bunch of sense when you take into account that you’re depending on two big steaming piles of cow manure to help keep you relevant in XWL during a day and age when Paul Heyman is really nothing more than a minor player in the grand scheme of things.



{{ Don West }}
But you can’t accept that, can you, Paul? No, your ego has led you to believe you’re walking in a luscious pasture when in reality you're surrounded by a wasteland. Sometimes you see the rubble, sometimes you see the destruction you've caused and now you're praying that Ryback will be the rose, the one beautiful thing you can put your name on and take credit for, that rises up from the ashes of the careers you've ruined! You come here and you rattle off the names of has-beens or wrestlers who never were to begin with hoping to fool people into thinking that you're the superman of managers. I guess you swallowed a big chunk of kryptonite since arriving at XWL’ cause you haven't made a peep, while I have deafened people with the sound of my voice, Paul. Say whatever the hell you want about me but the truth is and always will be that I've taken wrestlers who were nothing before me, they weren't getting booked on shows, they were getting screwed over daily and no one stood up to fight for them until I showed up and changed their lives. Maybe they would have become champion one day without me, but that could have taken months, or even years! I showed them the shortcut to the river of success but XWL drained it before they could take a satisfying gulp.



{{ Don West }}
Of course you're gonna ignore the facts, you're gonna pretend the bad outweighed the good during The West Side Army's reign of terror and that an area shaded gray doesn't exist in your black and white world so that you can continue to make your petty little arguments stronger. I mean, are we going to sit here and discuss what Ryback wants to be called? The Ryback is what people who don't know him as well as I do or Sangriento does refer to him as. I'm talking about the peasants of the wrestling world: lesser superstars, interviewers, commentators, the list is longer than ten football fields and yes, Paul, it's a list that has your name in big blocky bold brilliant letters. Your clients may just be a means of a paycheck to you, but I consider Ryback a good friend of mine, I wish him nothing but the best and I've dedicated months of my life to ensuring he gets just that. I was prepared to stay in that hospital room all night, ready to watch him like a hawk to make sure that that sneaky bastard Shawn Michaels or his lackey didn't try any funny business. Then you went and swiped him out from under my nose when the talentless-hack parade rolled into town to provide a convenient distraction for you.  You're right on one account, though, I have lost some good people and it's been heartbreaking each time, so if you think I'm going to just sit back and let you take Ryback away from me without a fight, well, you got another thing coming!



{{ Don West }}
You know who else has The in their names? The Undertaker and don't even get me started on that guy. Then you have The Miz and The Rock who had their 15 minutes of fame, but when Ryback's time comes I want him to dominate! One month as the face of this company won't cut it. So as you can see, I have my reasons because the last thing I'd ever want is for Ryback to be grouped in with those schmucks. What you should be concerning yourself with is what your clients want to be called... Well I guess in Axel's case it doesn't matter what you call him because the people won't give a damn about him either way! As far as Lesnar is concerned, who's to say that he didn't want to be called XWL World Heavyweight Champion, by now, huh? Instead of leading him to the top of the mountain you brought his career down to a graveyard where it was promptly buried by the likes of Triple H. Why don't you worry about all the superstars in the back who I'm sure would love it if you called them your client? You ignored all their cries for help because deep down in your heart of hearts you don't give a monkey's ass about Ryback! You're just using him to get to me and you wheeling him out here to put him on display like some kind of sideshow attraction when he should be at home resting up shows the despicable sad little man you really are.



{{ Don West }}
You're, absolutely pathetic, Paul, I can't put it in simpler terms than that; take your pity and shove it! The day you admit that it was nothing but sheer jealousy that brought you back to XWL so you could target The West Side Army specifically is the day you admit to yourself that while you may have been a pretty big deal once upon a time, that fairy tale has long since ended and the fact of the matter is that as it stands right now: you're beneath me!



{{Paul Heyman}}
So.. Is that a yes? A no?.. An I don't know?.. I'm assuming that either your ears are so full of the manure that you've been spewing, or you were spending the whole time that I was talking thinking of that meaningless comeback of yours because Don, I asked you a question. I made a challenge. But hey, you can go on and pretend that you didn't hear me, I get it, you're scared. You don't want Sangriento to face Brock Lesnar because well, even I can admit it, Sangriento has heart. He has courage, even if it's foolish courage, he had have it in order to so much as step in the same ring as Brock Lesnar last night, let alone fight him. You know that Sangriento would rather injure himself than say the words "I Quit". And you also know what Brock Lesnar is capable of.

Paul pauses to let that sink in.

{{Paul Heyman}}
So you know that if this match was to actually happen, if you were to accept my challenge, then your last client standing will, well, end up like the rest of your army. Defeated, broken… simply put, a nobody. And I'll admit, all of your clients might have been just that, a nobody, when you found them. But let’s be real here Don. Amazing Red was a speed demon, just like Sangriento here. I've never seen anyone move as fast as either of those two men. So yeah, you might have been the one to find them, but anyone who can move as fast as Sangriento can and will make it in this business. And The Ryback? Look at him, he's a monster of a man. His size, his strength, his power, it's built for this industry. And Corey Graves? Some were saying that he would be the next CM Punk, and we all know how successful my former client is right now, heck, he's got a match tonight for the number one contender spot for the Intercontinental Championship that your army tried to get their hands on again and again and again without success. All of your clients have the potential, all of them have what it takes to make it in this business, but the reason why they aren't champion right now, is because they were led in the wrong direction… By you.

-Paul pauses for a moment before continuing.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
I mean sure, you were able to get your clients title matches, good for you, but what have you to show for it? Injuries. Ended careers… Nothing. Don, you have potential to be a great manager just like me one day, but you lack one thing… Follow through. You can preach about the top of the mountain, and lead your people there, you're great at that. But once you get to the peak, as soon as you're one step away, you trip them, and they fall back down that mountain, injured, bruised, and beaten as you watch them fall from the top, reaching your hand down to try and con someone else to follow you back up it. Don't you get it, Don? Just like Moses, you can lead your people to the promise land, but you yourself can't get there, because if you try, then your people will suffer the same fate as you, they will pay for your selfishness. So Don, do yourself a favor, do The Ryback a favor, and let go. You got him this far, and he almost paid the price for it. But he got lucky, he's only injured for a few weeks. Let him return as a Heyman Guy. Let him see the promise land. Let him rise to the top where he belongs!

-Paul takes a deep breath.-



{{Paul Heyman}}
And before you take what I just said personally, let me tell you this. It's not your fault. It never was your fault. I've had plenty of my clients, wrestlers with the potential to be World Champion and then some, shut down, brought back to the bottom. And it wasn't because I didn't do all the right things, I know what it takes to make a name like Brock Lesnar or uncover a gem like CM Punk. But what I say, what you say Don, it doesn't matter. These people might believe it, the wrestlers in the back might believe it, but none of that matters unless the people in their suit and ties in the back believe it. Brock Lesnar is a former UFC Champion, former NCAA Champion, and former WWE Champion. Everyone knows that he's XWL World Title material. But guess what? Mick Foley wasn't having it. Hulk Hogan wasn't having it. And you know why? They were jealous.

The crowd boos as Paul continues.

{{Paul Heyman}}
They held back my client, because they didn't want him to outdo them. They hung up their boots but refused to let anyone in the company outshine them. And Brock Lesnar was the only man on the roster capable of doing so. They were selfish, and my client paid for it. So he sat back, collected his paycheck, and let the likes of Ted DiBiase and Justin Gabriel fight over the World Title, knowing that it was just a meaningless belt as long as Brock Lesnar wasn't in contention for it. But then, well, the best worst thing that could happen to this company happened. The McMahon's returned. And the first thing that Vince did was swallow his pride and come up to Brock Lesnar and ask him to legitimize this company. Vince doesn't believe that any one man should be bigger than the XWL, but unlike Hulk and Mick, he doesn't care if a wrestler is bigger than himself, because he wants to do what's best for business, and Brock Lesnar is what's best for business.

Paul continues in a "as matter of fact" tone

{{Paul Heyman}}
Vince and I might despise each other, but we respect one another, and we know what the other is capable of. You don't. You don't have the same relationship with Vince that I do, you don't know what it takes to please him. So all your potential, all your effort, it will all just be wasted during crunch time like it has in the past. Don, you can either let me help you by allowing me to sign The Ryback as my client and turn your prodigy into someone bigger than just a big man with potential. Or you can continue to have him get injured, lose important matches, and well, climb.. Climb that mountain without ever reaching the other side. The ball’s in your court Don. The I Quit Match, The Ryback… That's two careers that your decision right here, tonight, will either make or break. So make them wisely.

 

{{ Don West }}
Oh my goodness, you just never quit do you? You could flap your gums all night long and never realize that the things you say make sense to only yourself. Please tell me why on God's green earth would I accept a challenge like that? Why would I have Sangriento step into the ring against the likes of Brock Lesnar in a match where he has to verbally utter the words that would send most men in a downward spiral of depression? It's not that I don't believe in Sangriento, or fear that Brock Lesnar would "tear him apart" as you say, but just like with your "bold" challenge for November to Remember I know there's a little more than meets the eye. Last time, you were hoping that you would be able to get away with your shenanigans on smaller stage that is the pre-show, but Stephanie McMahon put a stop to that in the blink of an eye. This time, it's obvious to me what your game plan is: Brock Lesnar doesn't have the advantage in a match like this because of how big, tough and strong he is, no, his advantage lay in the fact that I'm not even sure that he can speak proper English! All he's good for is grunting and screaming and I'm sure it would be a major inconvenience for all involved if there were to be a translator at ring side.



{{ Don West }}
At least with Sangriento it's a conscious decision on his part not to speak the language of this land. How do I know? Because we spent many a night chatting about how grateful he is that I went all the way down to Mexico to find him and bring him back to the states so that he could show off just how much better he is than everyone else on a grander stage. Unlike Antonio Cesaro, who's a jack of all trades and master of none, Sangriento has mastered both Spanish and English and does thus has the ability to speak more than one word or sentence at a time. But the main problem, Paul, lies far deeper than what our clients can or can't say. The main problem with your challenge is that we have absolutely no incentive to accept it. We already beat you once, smack dab in the center of this very ring we stand in and you should've been sent packing with your tail tucked between your leg and your pride shattered. But you were never one to play fair and you never admit when you've been bested so you waltz out here like the sore-loser you are begging for one more match so you can try to undo to damage of last night. Try as you might, you're on the losing side of this battle now and all this match will do is show Vince McMahon that he put his eggs in the wrong basket.

-West goes to speak again when Sangriento walks over to him and begins whispering something into his ear. West listens for a few seconds, his expression giving nothing away and when Sangriento finishes West asks: Are you sure? In response Sangriento just nods.-



{{ Don West }}
With all that said... We accept! Sangriento came up to me and he said, "Don when that match was over last night I looked into the eyes of Brock Lesnar and I saw the raging fire still burning away after all I did to him. I want to beat him until that fire is doused out by tears. I want to beat him so badly that he loses the will to wake up in the morning... So that he loses the craving to fight." He said, "Don, I want to push Brock to the point of no return and make him say those two beautiful words." If that's what my client wants, I'm not going to deny him the pleasure of beating your associate to a bloody pulp. If that's what it takes to get you out of our hair, for good this time, and to keep you away from Ryback then so be it; we'll play this game one more time. The West Side Army isn't just some group of guys, we're brothers in arms, brothers who will fight together and for each other until the bitter end. So if you'll excuse us, we're going to go ahead and take back what's ours.

-West sets down the microphone, then rolls up the sleeves of his shirt ready to fight off Heyman and Axel singlehandedly to get his client back. Luckily he has Sangriento by his side who's leading the charge him the ramp and Axel tries to roll him away but the chair is locked and he can't figure out how to free it. -

 

-Cheers fill the arena as Stephanie walks into the stage and West begins screaming at her to do something about the situation but it has an adverse effect because while Stephanie is trying to get him to shut up, Axel is able to unlock the chair and sneak off away with Ryback backstage. When West sees that and throws up his hands in frustration as Sangriento chases after Axel. West angrily makes a move towards Heyman but Stephanie quickly steps in between the two managers.-

{{ Stephanie McMahon }}
Relax! Ryback is a grown man, West, he can take care of himself. He got the proper medical attention and it's best that he does stay out of harm's way until Xtreme Xmas when he'll be cleared to compete. And speaking of Xtreme Xmas, I'm here to address what just happened out here. Ignoring the fact that you two wasted all that time bickering like children, and that neither of you have the power to make matches, I'm going to let this slide... But I’m going to make one small change. You see, after what happened at November to Remember, it would be, well, stupid of me to think that you two won't find a way to get involved that match. So I'm going to give you a reason.

-Heyman and West give Stephanie a curious look, wondering if they're about to be told they'll be wrestling again.-

{{ Stephanie McMahon }}
At Xtreme Xmas, I'm taking the power out of Sangriento's and Brock Lesnar's hands; they won't be saying I quit... It'll be you two deciding when they quit. You're ways talking how great and tough your clients are so at the pay per view I'm going to make you stand there at ring side with a towel in your hands and when you feel Ike your client has had enough or of your legs get tired or if you just don't have the stomach to watch anymore you're free to throw that towel into the ring to end that match. Then afterwards you can look your client in the eye and explain why you didn't believe in them.

-West and Heyman stand silent for a moment as Stephanie's words sink in. -

{{Paul Heyman}}
Well, I'll be watching that match from a front row seat then because Brock won't need me to throw in the towel for him!

Don West
You better bring an extra for when Sangriento has you sweating bullets!

-Heyman goes to respond but Stephanie grabs the mic right out of his hand. West begins to laugh until Stephanie snatches his mic as well.-

{{ Stephanie McMahon }}
Enough! Both of you! Save it for the Pay-Per-View!!

-Heyman and West stare each other down as Stephanie stands in the middle, watching the two with a disgusted look on her face as they trash talking one another under their breaths before we go to a commercial break.

CM Punk Promo

Really enjoyable read, I liked the state of disbelief at Punk getting an opportunity since it's been over a year since he has. You covered everything you needed to, the fact CM Punk has a contenders match, the fact that The Intercontinental Championship will be taken back to it's glory days now that Punk is involved, and you spoke of your opponent in a way that again puts him over, but puts you over more which is great. I will say I'd like to see you try and add in some actions here and there. Descriptions really help people get sucked into a promo or see it in their heads, and while the dialogue was great and Punk like, I just think with descriptions they would be on another level. But like I said it was good and really put over the #1 contenders match and hopefully Krzy does a promo on it as well because then this'll be a nicely hyped match that everyone will look forward to even more than they may already be.



West/Heyman

I like the concept of a manager versus manager thing, it's fresh pretty untapped in XWL and it's a nice way to have a feud between two people but make it where it's kind of a feud between two people that is stemmed simply on two other people's rivalry which is what West/Heyman is. First off Krzy I LOVED the small descriptive bit of West losing his shit at his joke, the way it was worded just made me chuckle. The back and forth was great, some Heyman parts kind of lost me...especially the one that had almost 500 words in one response clunked "paragraph" definitely doesn't make someone wanna read that when it looks like that, so should work on spacing better and adding in more actions to prevent it from being so dialogue heavy and daunting to read at once? I do love the storyline though, the match concept is brilliant. An I-Quit that solely bases on how confident the manager is in their wrestlers ability is just amazing. Because it becomes so much more than a traditional I Quit match since the actual people involved could end up seriously hurt if their manager doesn't swallow their pride. WHICH makes the rivalry between West and Heyman even more of a great thing because it perfectly sets up this stipulation made by Stephanie and it makes it that much harder for one of them to throw in the towel. Overall a good read, a little long but good.

*Just twenty four hours removed from November to Remember, Breakdown returns from a commercial break to an image that has been associated with Dean Ambrose for quite some time, before it fades into a shot of none other than the devil himself, Dean Ambrose, standing in front of a chain link fence, pacing back and forth.*



*Ambrose continues walking back and forth, almost on edge after the events that transpired at last night's Pay-Per-View event, and for good reason. The once lethal trifecta known as The Shield had a run in with one another, with on one managing to get the upper hand in their brief encounter. One thing is for certain, this war between the members of the once dominate faction are now at each others throats, and things are sure to escalate between them as the weeks progress. The sound of Ambrose's unorthodox footsteps are cut short when he turns to the camera and begins to speak.*



{Dean Ambrose}
Just twenty four hours ago, I was turned on by my own creation after I drove a stake through its heart many months ago, but it lived. It survived and once again, deciding not to finish the job right then and there proved to come back and did everything else but haunt me. I made that mistake a few times in my career, first it when I allowed Sami Callihan to walk on this planet, I allowed him to breath the same air as me and how did he repay me? By stabbing me in the skull with a fork and drawing my blood!



{Dean Ambrose}
Next came Dolph Ziggler. After I survived his pitiful attempt to take me out by placing a quarter of a million dollar bounty on my head, he did everything within his power to put an end to Dean Ambrose, but nothing he did was good enough. For a month, I survived attack after attack, didn't matter what time of day it was or even if was in the arena, people from around the world tried to do the impossible: They tried to take out Dean Ambrose.



{Dean Ambrose}
One by one they tried, and one by one they fell. There wasn't anything that I wasn't willing to do to survive and that alone proved it. You and I aren't done, Ziggler, not by a long shot, but right now is not the time to get my revenge on you for “taking me out” a month ago, no, not yet. Our war won't end until there is only one of us left standing when the dust settles. As the fates would have it, I can't exactly do that right now. So here's what I'm going to do: I'll allow you to walk around the back and talk all the trash you want to, but sooner rather than later, I will finish what I started one year ago.



{Dean Ambrose}
That brings me to you, Rollins, and you as well, Reigns. Last night, my past once again came back in a foolish attempt at revenge. If you haven't learned by now, I'll tell you one last time before I end both your pathetic careers: Don't mess with Dean Ambrose. Because I don't care what I have to do, I don't care how many people I have to go through, I don't care how many bones I have to break or how many skulls I have to smash with a lead pipe. I won't stop until I get what I want, and what I want is Seth Rollins' and Roman Reigns' heads, on a stick!



{Dean Ambrose}
If you thought that I was dangerous as the leader of The Shield, then you haven't seen what I'm capable of when I fight alone. Don't hunt what you can't kill and Dean Ambrose is Immortal! I can't be hurt, I can't be broken, I can't be beaten. Your only solace is hoping to keep me down for a three count, which is easier said than done. And even then, you still won't win because I can end your career in an instant before you would be able to celebrate your “victory.”



{Dean Ambrose}
I thought both of you would learn from the time we spent together as The Shield, you remember that, don't you? How I told you what to do and how you followed every order you received without question. I am the only reason The Shield lasted as long as it did, I was the reason you drive those fancy cars, Reigns, and I was the reason you got those Intercontinental Championship opportunities, Rollins, which you failed to win on two occasions.



{Dean Ambrose}
I see this war of ours going one of two ways: First, I do what I said I'm going to do and end the pathetic careers of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, and prove to this entire planet that Dean Ambrose shouldn't be messed with. Or, you somehow manage to do the impossible, you do what better men than both of you couldn't do, you take Dean Ambrose out for good and put me out of my misery. Either way, I win.



*Almost as quickly as it started, Ambrose's tirade comes to an end. Without saying another word, he walks away from the cameraman, his sound of his footsteps slowly descending the further he gets away before they ultimately go silent, not allowing the cameras microphone to pick them up. The last image shown is Ambrose walking down the street before the screen fades to black.*

As we return from commercial break, we head backstage to see XWL Diva Mickie James sat at a table, with a sparkle in her eyes, she stares at the object in front of her.



???
Hey babe.

Mickie continues to stare at her title, completely fixated by its appearance, she doesn't notice Magnus has come to sit down beside her.

Magnus
Hey, uh... Mickie?

Mickie continues to be oblivious to Magnus, until he strokes her on the shoulder, she shruugs and turns towards him.

Magnus
I know that we spoke last night, but after my meeting with Stephanie, I just had to come over here and thank you again for putting in a good word for me. I know that you're aware of just how hard I worked to get into this company, and I hope you realise that I probably wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you.

Mickie smiles softly.

Mickie James
You have to stop thanking me Magnus, I really didn't do anything special.



Magnus
But you did do something special, you gave me back my life Mickie. Before I met you, I wasn't sure what was next for me, I wasn't used to being stuck inside, I couldn't satisfy my thirst to entertain, to perform. I was lost, confused, and I had no direction in my life. You changed all of that, you helped me set my priorities straight and you gave me something worth fighting for. I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for you Mickie, your support over the last few months has meant the world to me.

Magnus looks into Mickie's eyes like a lovesick puppy and something inside her snaps as she pushes his arm off her shoulder and stares a hole through him.

Mickie James
Really, don't thank me, I didn't do it for you.

Magnus
What do you mean?

Mickie James
I mean I was tired of your attitude, you were bringing down my mood with your whining.

Magnus' face drops as Mickie lays into him.

Magnus
I don't understand what I...

Mickie James
Oh what a surprise, you don't understand something.

Magnus
I'm sorry if I did something to upset you Mickie, honestly that wasn't my intention. I'll stop saying thank you, anything to make you happy.

A smile creeps over Mickie's face again as she turns back to her title and stares at it again.



Magnus
I hope you don't mind me asking, but what's that?

Mickie James
What do you think it is?

Magnus
It looks like a championship belt..

Mickie James
Then that's what it is.

Magnus
… but where did you get it?

Mickie James
What do you mean where did I get it?

Magnus
Well, it's just that AJ's the champion and I...

Mickie turns away from the title again and the anger returns, she looks at Magnus.

Mickie James
What did you just say to me?!

Magnus
Well... I mean it's just that from what I understand, AJ is the Diva's champion..won't she be angry that you're borrowing her title?

Mickie James
Don't be silly, of course AJ is the Diva's champion... But this isn't the Divas Championship, this is the Women's Championship, and this, this belongs to me...

Magnus
But I thought there was only one ch..

Mickie cuts Magnus off.

Mickie James
AJ Lee can keep that championship, it represent exactly what she is, a diva, a reluctant one, but a diva all the same. AJ isn't a woman, she a little girl, she doesn't deserve to be considered the Woman's Championship... I'm the Woman's Champion, Layla told me I am... Ask her if you don't believe me.



Magnus
No, no. That won't be necessary Mickie, I know you're the Woman's Champion, there isn't anyone better suited to hold that accolade than yourself. Look I'm sorry to have to do this, but I have another interview with Mr. McMahon, and I can't afford to be late. I'll see you later Micke, and thanks again.

Mickie's face grows red with anger as Magnus starts to walk away, but it soon hits him what he's just said, he turns back to look but Mickie's gone, he sighs heavily and walks away down the hall as  we cut away to the next segment of the show.

Jim Ross:
Now that is what we want to see! Both of these men have gone through hell and back to compete tonight!

Michael Cole:
Look at the respect being shown by these two superstars, legends in the making, folks!

Jerry Lawler:
Oh, come on! Why don't you two quit your sob story! You know that only one winner came out of this, there's no need for a hug-fest!

Jim Ross:
What the hell happened to the lights?

Michael Cole:
I can't see anything!

Jerry Lawler:
Somebody forgot to pay the electric bill!

Michael Cole:
W-w-what the hell????

Jim Ross:
BAH GAWD it's The Celtic Warrior!

Jerry Lawler:
What's HE doing here???

Sheamus:
You know, I was just watching this match backstage, and wow! That must have been one of the greatest matches I've ever seen in me life! No, seriously! That match was AMAZING, 5 stars, from beginning to end! Very impressive showing by both of you.......Ladies and gentlemen, THIS is why The Undertaker is so "respected", THIS is why he is a "legend", THIS is why.......he just got his arse kicked!

Sheamus:
You see, The Undertaker is nothing more but a peasant who continues to steal the spotlight from The Celtic Warrior. Every time Sheamus and The Undertaker happened to be at the same show, you cheered for this old, decrepit shell of a man much more than meself, a younger man who DESERVES much more respect than this artifact! Let me set the record straight! Someone who calls himself a superstar, yet only comes out to perform about once every year is not a superstar in my book! He is only a fraud, and one that will be exposed to the entire world! All this talk about Undertaker being a "Phenom", all this commotion about his legendary "Streak".....Undertaker, you never had the manhood, the testicular fortitude, and the balls to challenge me for the Streak! Or maybe you thought that ME, Sheamus, was the one who lacked the courage to face you! Why, because I smiled a bit too much? Because I couldn't be the man I used to be? Well, look who's smiling now fella! Oh that's right, your eyes are rolling around because my foot just so happened to run into your skull! The only streak you're ever going to be known for is how many times The Celtic Warrior kicks his bloody head off in a row! You can have oh so many world title reigns, you can have all the "respect" from these idiotic fans here and around the world, it doesn't mean a damn thing when you step into the ring with King Sheamus!

Jerry Lawler:
Yeah! You tell him, Sheamus!

Michael Cole:
Oh come on, Lawler! This is uncalled for!

Jerry Lawler:
It might be, but it's not like The Deadman didn't have it coming!

Sheamus:
What's with all of the long faces? You were all cheering for me the last time I was here! Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I didn't know that you liked this caffler more than me! Oh, that's a real shame, because it looks like this man just fell before the wrath of The Celtic Warrior! You people seem oddly curious as to why I am back here.... Let's take a trip back in time a couple of months ago, when I was.......in a precarious situation, to say the least. I had it all at one point. Fame, money, gold around my waist. But I lost everything I had ever loved. I was doing nothing but sitting my arse down in a local pub, taking shot after shot after shot of some Guinness until I was so drunk, I had one eye looking that way, and another eye looking the other way! As the old Irish saying goes, "When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to Heaven. So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven." So hey, why not get meself drunk at the pub every night, that will rattle off the old depression! Well, things didn't exactly get better, as some of you might imagine......But they didn't exactly get worse either, as I would soon find out from my experiences.

Sheamus:
One night, whilst in the pub, getting drunk off my arse as usual, I began to notice several plonkers looking at me, laughing. Laughing uncontrollably. Why? Because I was somebody who had just turned into a nobody! Because I was as pale as a ghost! Because of my vibrant red hair! Normally, I would have kept my feelings to myself and ignored them, but that night was different. The Guinness got to me folks. I went right up to them, and I asked them very politely, "If you lads don't stop talking all that trash, then I'll be forced to kick your skulls in until they wind up like the ashes of a dead man!" They got up from their comfortable seats, and blootered Sheamus did what blootered Sheamus does best, and that was uncontrollably letting out my primal instincts by tearing these poor suckers apart...........I don't remember much after that, but I returned home and I realized that I am NOT a nobody anymore. I can come back to the place I am known for, the place where a king reigned supreme over the rest! A place where we don't have faulty champions such as the two members of D-Generation X, Triple H and Shawn Michaels, two has-beens who have long overstayed their tenure in this business and need to be put away like the dogs they are! But first, I thought to myself, why not start at a "man" like The Undertaker, a superstar who is known for his "mythical" presence and his "magical powers"........Well, your powers aren't going to work when you're up against a King, a Celtic Warrior, and THE most dominant superstar in this industry!

Sheamus:
It's understandable how you can say that a fella like me sucks, but very soon, you'll be taking back those words! Soon you'll see the rebirth of a King, starting tonight after I beat the hell out of that peasant Edge! He thinks that he has control over this company, but he has absolutely NO idea what he has gotten himself into! Believe me when I say this, The Celtic Warrior will become world champion once again, and he will prove to you peasants that there can only be one King! This chair will become a throne soon enough, mark my words........And Undertaker, in case if you remember the beating that I gave you earlier tonight, if you wanna fight fella, you got one: Anytime, anyplace, any stipulation! I will not hesitate to beat your arse again, right in front of the crowd and the entire world! I'll be waiting for ya!

Jim Ross:
It looks like The Undertaker will be having none of that!

Michael Cole:
Sheamus just might have messed with the wrong man.

Jerry Lawler:
Ah, Undertaker will get what's coming to him again! Don't worry about that!

The fans pop as one of their favorite superstars bursts onto the stage slivering his patented hand clap, skipping all the way down to the ring as the fans chant and cheer for him! He dives from the floor and slides through the bottom rope into the ring. He raches over the other side of the ring ropes and asks for a mic.




{Kofi Kingston}
It's been a long while since I've come out here and talked to you fans, and to be honest there's reasons for that. I disappointed, I failed, and I got hurt then after that I came back but was a shell of my former self. I was lacking that spark I used to have, that spark that let me kick it into this secret gear I had...no matter how tired or how drained I was, it never failed to spark something inside me to push me to the finish and it pushed me all the way to Digital Decision and in that ladder match it pushed me even harder and further then ever before, and it was then that I found out.....this hidden gear wasn't enough. I trained and busted my ass to get better but the more I did this the more my gear faded, the more it got sucked out of me and the more I feared for my future, not only in this company, but in the industry. This rattled me right to the core of who I was. I'd always been an optimist with an unbridled passion and spirit about this company but it was slowly fading away and dying. I sat in the locker room wondering why this was happening, why to me. And through all this wondering and pondering I've come to two conclusions, the true answer being a combination of the two. The first conclusion, it was all in my own head, I became doubtful and lost confidence in my ability in the ring and chose to carry that doubt night to night rather than fight it off with a big win or a great performance. I let it linger and grew until it enveloped everything about my life. That was the primary reason but it wasn't the trigger to the gun that was pressed against the head of my passion for wrestling......that, that would be you people!




{Kofi Kingston}
I was loved and adored by all of my fans, night in and night out, that is until I lost the United States Title match and got injured. Where was all that love, that admiration when I needed it most? As soon as I failed, as soon as I slipped up you all moved on to your next shiny toy and that is disgusting! I gave my heart and my soul you people and to this profession and all you did was take it, spike it to the ground and stomp on it! I grew doubtful after all that because I lost my support beam, my crutch for when I was down! I fell over and smacked the cold, hard floor of reality and that is if you don't win then you guys don't give a DAMN. But I have to thank you because that's what it took for me to realize it. I was living in a parasitic reality and was to ignorant to realize it, it's not who you are in your heart but who is doing the best right now. How's Alberto Del Rio doing? You guys looooove him now right? Of course you do, it's what you people are and that is a conglomerated leech! I know that I'm a good man, an amazing person, but I've been the laughing stock for long enough.




{Kofi Kingston}
I know after this no matter how much good I do outside of the ring I'll still be the bad guy, but the status quo needs to change and I intend to do that. This is essentially good-bye from the old Kofi, XWL Universe because this new Kofi Kingston is going to be here for a long while and he intends to do much greater things than old Kofi could have dreamed. So be paying attention, and no matter what happens, what I do I want you all to remember two things....this is all your fault, you essentially killed a man here today with what you did and the second thing, down the road in a year or however long ends up being, you can take your support and cheers and shove them right up your asses.


The crowd is in utter disbelief, not even booing as Kofi Kingston drops the mic and struts towards the backstage area. The camera focuses in on the microphone in the ring, zooming in for a close up of it.


{Jim Ross}
Whether it was the fan's actions or simply that microphone.....someone or something killed Kofi Kingston on this night, and created a new being from his remnants.


The show fades to commercial, the final visual being the microphone on the mat.

The cameras whisk away to an area backstage where Jeremy Borash is standing by the former United States Champion and a man who’s two wins away from becoming Intercontinental Champion, one-half of The Motor City Machine Guns and The Ersatz Tag Team Champions: Alex Shelley!

Jeremy Borash
Ladies and Gentleman, welcome back to what has been an interesting edition of XWL Breakdown, to say the least. At this time allow me to introduce you to none other than Alex Shelley! Hey there, Alex, how‘re you doing?

Alex Shelley
I’m doing just fine, thanks for having me, JB.

Jeremy Borash
The pleasure’s all mine, you keep me employed ‘cause you’re the only one who speaks to me.

Alex Shelley
Does that mean I get a cut of your paycheck?

Jeremy Borash
We’ll work something out off-screen and speaking of being off-screen, I must say your presence was missed at the pay per view last night. Are you at liberty to speak on your absence?

Alex Shelley
But of course I am. Now, would you believe me if I said that I missed my flight because I pulled an all-nighter playing video games and slept through my alarm?

Jeremy Borash
I can’t say that I would be surprised if that were the case.

Alex Shelley
Well it’s not; glad you think so highly of me…. I wouldn’t let that happen a third time…. The truth is that Stephanie McMahon personally contacted me.

Jeremy Borash
Personally? What was that like?

Alex Shelley
All I’ll say on that is that her hands are every bit as soft as you imagined them to be.

Jeremy Borash
Me?

Alex Shelley
That’s right, JB, we’re both men here, no need to be shy about your feelings. She approached me after the Slammy’s were over and told me that is was strongly recommended that I take the night off.

Jeremy Borash
Did she give a reason?

Alex Shelley
Nope, but who am I to argue with the boss, especially a boss that doubles as a woman?

Jeremy Borash
As a married man I can tell you in confidence that you a smart choice.

Alex Shelley
Exactly, and at first I thought she was punishing me for allowing Kenny king to become champion, but now I see that she was just looking at for me. She knew that my presence at the pay per view would attract the likes of AJ Styles, and she didn’t want a replay of last time. Who does though? Styles standing tall over me isn’t a sight any of us need to be treated to again.

Jeremy Borash
So you’re saying she had your best interest at heart?

Alex Shelley
Well yeah, I wasn’t booked for a match and if I showed there was attacked and ended up injured, everybody loses and XWL doesn’t get this huge Number One’s Contender Match that Stephanie was keeping secret. You know something, JB? It’s great that she cares that much about me to go out of her way to keep me out of harm’s way.

Jeremy Borash
Wait, Alex what are you implying.

Alex Shelley
I’d like to think the night off and this opportunity at the Intercontinental Championship was an olive branch of sorts or an act of good will, you know? Like it was her way of saying that if she were single and ten years younger…

Jeremy Borash
Alex, I’m going to stop you right there before you get yourself into trouble and change the subject over to your upcoming match against CM Punk. Earlier in the night Punk said that..

Alex Shelley
Punk had something to say? Nooo…

Jeremy Borash
I was every bit as surprised as you are. Punk’s usually known for his humility and quiet demeanor.

Alex Shelley
Not to mention his bright personality and loveable attitude that has helped mold him into the gentleman he is today.

Jeremy Borash
He’s a real pleasure to have around.

Alex Shelley
Did you know he set the record for most autographs signed at the airport in-between flights?

Jeremy Borash
You’re kidding, I always knew that Punk’s approachability is one of his hallmarks but I didn’t know it went to that extent.

Alex Shelley
Yeah, he beat out Miz’s old record by just a hair. Except he didn’t lose a fortunate paying people off to accept the autographs.

Jeremy Borash
Who else but Miz?

Alex Shelley
Eh, let’s not talk about that guy. Punk is much more interesting. Did you know he once said that if my eyes were any closer together I’d be a Cyclops?

Jeremy Borash
How’d you take that?

Alex Shelley
In stride of course, you’ve gotta have thick skin in this industry. Besides what he said was fine, because with that Wolverine love-child thing he has going on, we could always get together after this match and get a little bootleg X-man thing going putting the X in XWL. Wouldn’t that be great?

Jeremy Borash
It would be a great sight to see, I know that much. Who else would in it.

Alex Shelley
Who else but Kofi Kingston? He was always a big comic guy and he came back at the perfect time. He’d make a wonderful Nightcrawler…. Because of his athleticism of course…

Jeremy Borash
What else could you have meant? There was no other way to take that.

Alex Shelley
And there’ll be no other way for me to take the Intercontinental Championship is to beat Punk in that ring and then look forward to Shawn Michaels at X-treme Xmas.

Jeremy Borash
Do you have any reservations at all?

Alex Shelley
I know Punk is one of the best in this business, he’s been to places in this company that I haven’t but that was all in the past and right now that all means nothing. Right now we’re both on even ground because we have nothing to our names and both have the same goal we’ll be trying to reach.

Jeremy Borash
To become Intercontinental Champion.

Alex Shelley
Exactly. He may think he’s going to match me hold for hold once that bell goes off, but that’s going to be pretty damn hard when I pull out things he hasn’t seen before in his life… moves that he was never exposed to dealing with guys like Christian and Kevin Steen. 2013 has been my year to prove that I’m beyond good enough to be looked at as a major player in this company while this year Punk has been trying to show that he still has something left in the tank.
Jeremy Borash
It has been a rough year for him, he could be looking at the Intercontinental Champoionship as a way to bounce back.

Alex Shelley
If that’s his intention, then he’s out of luck, because while he may be great, I’m going to show that I’m better. While he may be cunning I’m going to show that I’m clever-er and while he may think he’s a class above me, I’m going to teach him a thing or two when that match starts. I have all the respect in the world for Punk, but I’m not going to be some star struck rookie when I stare him down. This year I’ve already shown why they call me the Technical Messiah while his claim to fame from January until now has been his pipebombs and if he thinks he’s going to talk his way to victory then may need to rethink his strategy.

Jeremy Borash
What is your strategy for the match?

Alex Shelley
It’s real simple. See, for every muay thai kick he throws I’ll lock him in a submission that takes his legs out of play and it’s going to be really hard for him to put someone to sleep when he can’t even stand. He’s going to keep trying and trying to put me away, dreams of facing Shawn Michaels fueling that hunger and his desire to win that match. But I’ll be a good guy and help him deal with that hunger and then when he’s had his fill of sliced bread I’ll finish him off.

Jeremy Borash
I didn’t think you’d actually answer that, most wrestlers are afraid they’ll give their opponents the advantage by revealing their game-plans. Aren’t you afraid that you’ve done yourself a disservice?

Alex Shelley
I could have told Punk months ago what I plan to do to him in that ring but it doesn’t mean he’s going to be able to stop the bullet from tearing through him. I’m going to take the best he has to offer, I’m going to take his A-game, his 110% and when he realizes that he’s not that man he thought I was, the man he used to know, that’s when I’ll pull the trigger and I hope over the sound of the gunshot he hears my message loud and clear: Punk, you’ve been the one sleeping all along and I hope the shock of the loss jolts you awake so you can see with clear eyes that it’s hard to call yourself the best in the world you’re not evn the best in that ring.

Ambrose Promo

I liked the story told, how it all connected leading up to the current story that is The Shield's falling out. It's nice when something like that can be done, the topics hook together to prove one solid point and that's that Dean Ambrose's decision to not "finish the job" ultimately ends up coming back to bite him, which is now in the form of this new rivalry with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Solid read, the actions were great, the caps too. The ending line was definitely interesting and was nice a way to end the promo.



M & M

I actually enjoyed this promo, it had a different feel to it, a nice way to bring in Magnus but also put over Mickie's weird attitude that you've been trying out. It'd actually be an interesting story to continue to develop between them if you continued it. But it put over both of their characters well, it gave Magnus a different debut which is always nice when it's not so "generic."  The title bit was a nice addition, helps put her character over more in the way you're going for, but hopefully that's a one time thing. Then maybe next week backstage Magnus can be like "Where's your title, Mickie?" and she's all "Stop embarrassing me I'm not champion, you know that, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO MEAN AND RUB IT IN!" just random ideas but yeah a nice start to whatever this may end up being.



Sheamus/Undertaker Stuff

One thing that did bother me, and Phobia you're new (not sure who typed this) but whoever did...Cole is the heel, King is the more face sometimes snarky person. So for future promos definitely need to fix that because commentary adds a lot to everything, but need to make sure it makes sense. Kind of not all that into Undertaker shaking Cena's hand...a bit of a character "wtf" moment because I just don't see it happening the way it did. This is just being honest not trying to tear it down, I just can't see it in the same light like I would with any other face/face pairing. The Sheamus attack was nice though, again commentary kind of being mixed up made it a tad difficult but nothing promo breaking. The promo itself was great, the artifact line at the start had me laughing, the story Sheamus told actually as nice and a good way to bring about a character growth from the last time he was here. It gave him depth and a comeback story which fits in with his statement making attack on The Undertaker. Nice stuff all around, this would have been nicely capped off with a bit more detail at the end of the staredown, something to really see in your head as you read it...but a great start to what should be a fun rivalry to follow.


Kofi Promo


A short and sweet promo that returned Kofi with a new attitude. It was a fun read seeing that different side...there were some words that kind of made me go...eh....as I read them, there's just some things you can't see a certain character saying, even while heel, that sound more like something another heel would say if that makes sense? The parasitic thing, the conglomerated leech bit...if you're going to go for a complete character change including how they speak, you wanna try to slow build it and lead up to that new "mind" I guess is what I'm saying? Take it from me I've overhauled several characters and to me it's nice to ease into changes like that, it just seemed too much like a Jericho thing to use those words if I can be honest. Don't get me wrong though it was good, but you never get better without a little criticism right?


Alex Shelley Interview

I actually liked the laid back style of the interview, and I liked the way you explained his absences by having it all be apart of this secret number one contenders match, the silly not so serious banter between the two was a nice change from other promos but what I liked the most is how it stayed on topic, it was to promote the number one contenders match, and respond to what Punk said earlier, which it did. The last paragraph was really great, it put the fun side aside and showed Alex's determination and confidence well. The final line was just the cherry on top, loved the "hard to be the best in the world when you're not even the best in that ring" closer, makes me actually want a feud involving you two down the road just going by the things you two said in your respective promos. Great stuff for sure, looking forward to the match itself.

[???]
ATTENTION PLEASE.



[Michael Cole]
It’s Codyyyyy time! And Joey time! It’s Dashingly Sleazy time!

[Jerry Lawler]
What will it take to get you to stop saying that?

*The sound of Dashingly Sleazy’s theme hitting the PA System entices a frenzy of jeers from the crowd here in Portland, Oregon. After a few moments pass, “The Dashingly Insane” Cody Rhodes and Joey Ryan finally burst out onto the stage. Cody holds his hood over his head as Joey stands behind him, with his arms wide out and a smirk on his face. Joey throws his scarf over his shoulder as Cody gets up and throws his hood off, revealing a big grin on his face too.*

[Jim Ross]
Well, here they come, Cody Rhodes and Joey Ryan of Dashingly Sleazy. And they must be in a good mood after knocking off the Rock this past Sunday at November to Remember

[Jerry Lawler]
Yeah, thanks to a well placed blind tag from Joey Ryan.

[Michael Cole]
Don’t you go make excuses for the Rock now, Lawler! Why was he not counted out when he put poor Cody and poor Joey through our announce table? Why was he not disqualified WHEN THE REFEREE ASSAULTED CODY.

[Jim Ross]
Assaulted? Give me a break.

*Cody and Joey share a look, both having a smug smirk on their face. They laugh as they begin to march down the ramp, going through an army of people that would love to get their hands on them. As they walk down the ramp, Cody stops Joey and points out a sign of a young lady with blonde hair , most likely in her twenties, in the front row. She’s sporting her “Team Bring It” shirt proudly and Cody looks at her, disgusted, while Joey leans against the barricade and advances on her. Cody pulls him away and the two enter the ring.*

[Michael Cole]
Oh man, time for my favorite part of the show!

*Once Dashingly Sleazy are finally in the ring, they approach Justin Roberts and Cody merely puts his hand out and stares off in the opposite direction. Justin begrudgingly hands over the microphone to him and leaves the ring, as Joey sets up on the ropes and begins rubbing his chest. Cody notices this and cackles, before turning back and taking the spotlight in the center of the ring. He raises the microphone and finally begins speak, but he’s still unable to hide the smirk on his face. *

[Cody Rhodes]
ATTENTION PLEASE.

*That smirk quickly fades away after the crowd boos Cody even louder, but “XWL’s Finest” simply shakes his head at them and continues speaking.*


[Cody Rhodes]
Well, well, well, here we are again. It’s the fallout edition of Breakdown from a pay-per-view, and what do we have? We have Cody Rhodes and Joey Ryan, Dashingly Sleazy, standing high and tall in the center of this ring after yet another victory. Once again, we have proven that we are the very two best wrestlers this company, this business, this world has ever seen and ever will see. Once again, we have proven that the Rock is inferior to us. And above all, once again we have proven that your chosen hero who is supposed to protect and buffer you from all things evil and vile in this world is nothing more than a false prophet, a liar, and a loser. You people just continue to blindly follow superstars like the Rock, and I just can’t understand why. Time after time again, Joey Ryan and I have beaten your superstars like the Rock, but you still turn your backs on us and ridicule us. For some reason, you all think you can look down on us, but the truth is we are both much, much higher and mightier than any of your poor souls could ever aspire to be.


[Cody Rhodes]
But, I shouldn’t be surprised. You people never cease to amaze me, because now I understand that you will never change. Nothing I can do, nothing Joey Ryan can do, will ever get you backwards, ignorant, and borderline barbaric people to ever change. All we can ever hope to do is to keep ourselves to a higher standard living than you people, and all of your heroes like the Rock. And that is exactly what we do, day in, day out. We don’t need your approval to come out here and do what we do best, we just do it because we are really damn good at it. By living a life where we don’t crave and depend on you people, we have already elevated ourselves to a higher standard of living. We have allowed ourselves to think for ourselves, and we have freed ourselves from the chains known as the XWL Universe. We are free, we are living on top of the world, and life couldn’t get better for Dashingly Sleazy, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to rest just yet. The time for that will come later, because our crusade, if you will, has only just begun.


[Cody Rhodes]
If you can recall, I stated a few weeks ago that our main mission was to destroy each and every single one of you people, and everything you love. But in all honesty, that description doesn’t do it any justice. Not only do we want to destroy what you love, we want to shatter your perception of reality. Everything you people believe in, and everyone that you look up to is a lie, an image distorted by either your peers or even your own imagination. The wool has been pulled over your eyes and Joey and I are prepared to to rip that wool off of your faces and reveal this wretched, disgusting, and painful, but still true world that all of you actually live in. And once you all have been lifted out from your comfort zones and exposed to the true horrors you live with every day, then we can pull the trigger. We will finally be satisfied and we will finally end it all. We will end your suffering and misery, and then we will rejoice in your shattered hopes and dreams.


[Cody Rhodes]
And I know just exactly how we will get to break you people. You see, the one thing blinding all of you are you false idols, the so-called “heroes” that you all look up to and admire. They are the ones that feed you lie after lie, they tell that the world is all rainbows and sunshine. They shield you from the truth, all the horrors that exist in this life, and therefore they can have all of you in the palm of their hands. So the only possible way Joey and myself could bring you people to reality and crush your dreams is if we take your heroes and knock them off the pedestals that you have placed them on. And we’ve gone after the big dog right off the bat, your “People’s Champion” the Rock. Mark my words, the Rock will bow to Dashingly Sleazy and each and every single one of you people will too. It’s just a matter of time until all of your heroes bow to us, and after you are all forced to watch us destroy and dismantle those you love and admire, you’ll fall in line with them.


[Cody Rhodes]
But we’re not just a couple of fools talking trash out here, and we’re certainly not naive. We know that your heroes, the Rock in specific, they’ll all put up a fight. They’re not going to go to down quietly, but with Dashingly Sleazy on the job they’ll certainly go down swiftly. And I cannot stress enough that isn’t some quest we’ve taken up out of some false sense of self-righteousness. This isn’t just another one of my attempts to “save” you people. No, no, no, no, no. I already told you all that I gave up that gig a long time ago. I quite honestly couldn’t care less as to what happens to you people in the future. All we want to is to see you people suffer, we want to watch you people burn. We want to see the anguish on your faces, and we desperately want to watch on as you people lost every last shred of hope you had left. And above all, we just want to see the looks on all of your faces when your heroes, like the Rock, have all fallen to us as we are on top of the ladder, with the World Heavyweight Championship, our World Heavyweight Championship, in our possession once again.



Joey Ryan
Well said, Cody. You see there isn't anyone who can beat us because together Dashingly Sleazy is the future and right now we are just taking what should have been given to us months ago, the spotlight. All we wanted was this credibility and to be known as the best. After beating The Rock and leaving him nothing but a helpless mess in this very ring it’s proved that he is nothing but the past and Joey Ryan and Cody Rhodes are the future. You can all boo and you can all show us disrespect but it’s only true that when you look at the facts you’ll see that The Rock hasn’t been able to beat us and never will. What did you expect? That he’d win? That’d ever since we attacked him he’d be the hero in this story and Dashingly Sleazy would just fade? Tag teams come and go but Dashingly Sleazy has proved that we are here to stay. I dare any of you to come and try to stop myself or Cody Rhodes.



Joey Ryan
Management and the suits in the back know just how good we are. They know we’re capable of doing whatever it takes until one of us has the world heavyweight title. We’re both former world champions, we both know what it takes to do it on our own but now we have the privilege of doing it together. No matter who wins a title or who is in the spotlight be that myself or Cody we are going to support one another because that is what friends too. That is what two people do when they are a successful team. We fight together and we celebrate together. Joey Ryan this year has had a lot of ups and downs. I’ve been in world title fights and headlining final stand to going back down to the bleak lower card fighting rookies who want to get a contract. People started to lose interest in Joey Ryan, hell even Joey Ryan began to lose interest in Joey Ryan. Now this is a new time, a new era. The Dashingly Sleazy era has now begun, and there is nothing, no one can do about it.



Joey Ryan
Not any of you, not you JR, not you King! Not anyone in the back, not The Rock, no one is better than Dashingly Sleazy, single handedly we are the greatest superstars in XWL, together we are the greatest team to ever step inside an XWL ring and now we are finally getting the recognition we deserve it is only fair that you all begin to show Joey Ryan and Cody Rhodes some god damn respect! I’m a Hollywood star for gods sake! Cody Rhodes is dashing! Are any of you dashing? Just look at you, you in the front row, when was the last time you saw your feet? Back when you was in junior school? There is that even comes close to being able to be in the same presence of ourselves. Dashingly Sleazy is at the top of the food chain, we know that people want a piece of us, before anyone wants to come and try just look at Rock, infact go pay him a visit in the hospital, I’m sure he may be able to speak now after I almost broke his jaw. And finally al-



*The Rock’s theme blasts out around the arena and the crowd are on their feet. Joey and Cody do not look happy as the fans rise to their feet and ignore Dashingly Sleazy as The Rock makes an appearance on the stage. He paces for a few moments, still showing signs from the battle he underwent just last week. He raises his hand as the crowd begins to slowly die *



The Rock
FINALLY THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO PORTLAND OREGON!



The Rock
The Rock would like nothing more than to walk down to that ring right now, cut all the bullcrap, step in that ring and lay the smackdown on your candy asses! But you see that’s not going to happen. Dashingly Sleazy, you both know what would happen, The Rock knows what would happen and The people would know what would happen. We’ve seen this for weeks, blah blah The Rock runs down to the ring gets his ass kicked and is just left at the end with a sore neck and needing to go to the dentist, we get it. We’re tired of all that but The Rock still thinks that two young punks trying to get a shot at fame at the expense of The Great One need taking care of! Now The Rock isn’t on about any of them happy endings you two give each other after the show oh no! The Rock is on about an ending which involves The Rocks boot…meeting your roody poo two bit Jabroni asses! But The Rock isn’t gonna’ come down their right now oh no, you see The Rock has been thinking about just how he can win.



The Rock
The Rock has been thinking about just what can be done to defeat you two. There are two of you and only one of The Great One. Right there, that is the problem, it’s two against one. The Rock would be whooping your ass Joey Ryan and then Cody would fly in with a kick out of nowhere and The Rock would be out 1…2…3. Or The Rock would be laying the smackdown on Cody Rhodes like there’s no tomorrow only for Joey Ryan to come into the ring all greased up and kicking leaving The Rock down…1…2…3. The Rock needs to know just how he can whoop two jabronis at the same time, then The Rock was thinking that he can’t. It’s over. Dashingly Sleazy have gotten one over on The Rock….PSYCHE! Look at your little face Joey, The Rock couldn’t leave and just let all this go on without beating you too. The Rock wasn’t ready to just walk away from this and let you guys keep on beating down on The Great One in my ring in front of THE MILLIONS….AND MILLIONS of The Great Ones fans!



The Rock
Ohhh no! That’s just not how The Rock rolls. So what I did, Cody listen closely here cause this bit is gonna’ be something you’re really gonna’ enjoy hearing. What The Rock did was not only go get some of the finest pie he has ever seen in Portland! He made a phone call, The Rock explained the situation to a good friend of The Great One who agreed that it was time he came back…to XWL. That friend wanted to meet you, Joey Ryan and reintroduce himself to you…Cody Rhodes. Now I see you both over there wanting to know just who it is, you’ve both got your heads tilted like confused little puppies so don’t let The Rock waste any more time….





















































[Jerry Lawler]
WHAT?

[Jim Ross]
CAN IT BE?

[Michael Cole]
NO! IT CAN’T BE!

*The crowd is going wild as the Rock steps to the side a little bit, awaiting the supposed arrival of his former Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection tag team partner, Mick Foley. After a few moments pass, Mick Foley finally makes his way out from behind the curtain and the fans explode! Foley comes out with his game face on and in the ring Joey Ryan stares on in awe, his mouth gaping as Cody stands there in disbelief, shaking his head  and shouting “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” Foley joins the Rock on the stage and raises his arm to huge ovation from the crowd here in Portland.*



[Jim Ross]
BY GOD! IT’S REALLY HIM! MICK FOLEY IS BACK AND HE’S COMING FOR CODY RHODES AND JOEY RYAN!

[Jerry Lawler]
Cody looks like he’s seen a ghost!

[Michael Cole]
WEREN’T ROCK AND MICK FOLEY TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER A YEAR AGO? WHAT IS HE DOING HERE!

[Jim Ross]
TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS AND BY GOD HE’S COMING TO KICK SOME ASS!

*Rock and Foley take a moment to pause and look at each other, and they both share a quick nod before marching down the ramp. Joey still looks on in disbelief, but Cody has finally been able to calm himself down. Cody slaps himself in the head a few times and puts on his own game face, before preparing himself for the Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection. He hunches over and eventually Joey snaps out of it and joins him, Dashingly Sleazy getting ready for a fight as their next challengers making their way down the ramp.*



[Michael Cole]
This… this can’t be happening!

[Jim Ross]
Oh, you better believe it Cole! Mick Foley and the Rock, united once again, are marching down that ramp and they’re ready to kick Dashingly Sleazy’s ass! About time!

[Jerry Lawler]
Guys, this place has gone wild! And now we’re gonna have a fight on our hands!

*Foley and Rock slide into the ring, immediately getting hammered by shots from Joey Ryan and Cody Rhodes. Joey goes after the Rock while Cody works over Mick, and the crowd’s demeanor has quickly changed. They’re still in a frenzy, but they’re jeering now as Dashingly Sleazy is absolutely crushing both the Rock and Mick Foley. The Rock is down on a knee as Joey uses one hand to hold his head up and the other to drill punches into it, while Foley was never able to get up and Cody is currently just stomping away at his spine. The fans continue to boo as Cody and Joey let up for a second, just so they can mock the crowd for getting their hopes up.*

[Michael Cole]
Haha! Joey and Cody are taking it to those old farts!

[Jim Ross]
Son of a bitch, they got one up on the Rock again!

[Jerry Lawler]
Come on guys, get back in this!

*Cody and Joey share a glance and laugh, clearly proud of how easy it was for them to take down both the Rock and Mick Foley at the same time. They turn around and go to work over Rock ‘N’ Sock again, but they took too long to gloat and the veterans are back up on their feet! Foley catches Cody by surprise with a wicked right to the jaw, while Rock drives his boot straight into the gut of Joey Ryan. Joey and Cody are dazed in the center of the ring, staggering as Rock and Foley simultaneously hit punches on them. The fans have gone wild once again as Rock and Foley stand on opposite sides of the ring, hammering away at a Dashingly Sleazy member.*

[Jim Ross]
THEY’RE BACK IN IT! ROCK AND FOLEY ARE TAKING IT TO DASHINGLY SLEAZY!

[Jerry Lawler]
AH!

[Michael Cole]
NO! JOEY, CODY! DO SOMETHING!

*Rock and Foley refuse to let up, and they continue to drive shot after shot into their skulls. Dashingly Sleazy aren’t completely out of it, either, and they get back into the fight as Cody kicks Foley in the leg, dropping him to a knee as Joey ducks a right from the Rock and nails him with a shot of his own. Foley quickly gets back up and hits Cody with another punch, and now they two bitter ex-rivals are at it again, trading blows like it’s 2011 all over again! The Rock and Joey Ryan remain on the other side of the ring, having an exchange on their own as the crowd are all on their feet, eagerly watching on and cheering for their heroes every time they land a punch.*

[Jerry Lawler]
This is nuts, these four are going to destroy each other!

[Michael Cole]
No! Not Cody’s face! He’s still dashing!

[Jim Ross]
Oh, if Mick Foley has his way I don’t think it’s going to be Dashing for much longer!

*The two teams continue to trade shots until Joey and Cody are pushed backwards by Rock and Foley, and now Dashingly Sleazy are back to back. They share another look and quickly duck the next shots from the Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection, and they trade places. Cody hits the Rock from behind and Joey hits Foley in the back of the head, before grabbing him by the collar and tossing him out of the ring. Now, just like all the times before, it’s just Dashingly Sleazy and the Rock in the ring, alone. Cody begins to cackle as Joey measures the Rock, landing the superkick to the side of the head! The Rock is down again as Cody puts a foot on his chest and raises his arm, continuing his cackle.*

[Jim Ross]
What a disgusting site this is. Come on, Rock!

[Michael Cole]
This is great! Cody and Joey stand tall once again!

[Jerry Lawler]
Great.

*Cody gets off of the Rock and grabs him by the shirt, yanking him up off the ground and up to his knees. Cody takes him by the collar and begins drilling punches into his skull before handing him back over to Joey Ryan. Joey grabs him by the collar and hits him with some hard rights as well, before whipping him off of the ropes, straight into a dropkick from Cody! Cody tells Joey to hold the Rock up, and Joey puts him in a version of the Full Nelson. Cody grabs the Rock’s face and says “I told you so! We told you so!” before turning his back and grabbing the top rope, setting up for the Beautiful Disaster! However, Mick Foley comes back in at the last moment, and he’s got a chair! Joey turns around, and he gets drilled by the chair!*

[Jerry Lawler]
OH! Down goes Joey!

[Michael Cole]
Oh no! Joey could be seriously hurt, he might have a concussion!

[Jim Ross]
Oh, that’s too damn bad.

*Cody turns around, notices Foley standing there with the steel chair in hands, and freezes. Cody extends his hand and tells Mick to calm down, also saying that reason could prevail if they just talk it out. Foley seems like he’s going to comply and he lowers the chair, prompting a smirk out of Cody. Cody goes to leave and turns around, but the Rock is standing right behind him! Cody’s jaw drops and the crowd goes wild, and the pleading begins. He begs the Rock to let him go, but he’s unflinching. Cody knows what’s coming next and turns back to Cody, sighing and throwing his arms up in the air. He simply stands there as Foley takes the chair, driving it into his skull!*

[Jim Ross]
AND NOW CODY EATS THE CHAIR!

[Jerry Lawler]
Dashing no more!

[Michael Cole]
NO! CODY! JOEY! I THINK THEY’RE REALLY HURT! Wait… WAIT! DON’T TELL ME HE HAS THAT…

[Jim Ross]
OH YES! IT’S COMING!

*The fans are going insane, not dashingly insane, as Foley reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out the one and only Mr. Socko! They all chant “FOLEY! FOLEY! FOLEY!” in unison as Mick hunches over and stalks Cody, holding Socko high up in the air as he waits for him to get back up on his feet. Cody is finally up again and he eats a punch from the Rock, which spins him around straight into the Mandible Claw! The arena has become unglued as Cody is caught in the Mandible Claw in the center of the ring! He tries to get the hand out of his mouth, but it’s no use and he quickly succumbs to the submission, dropping to the mat.*

[Michael Cole]
NO! THAT DISGUSTING, FILTHY, STUPID SOCK!

[Jerry Lawler]
This is great! I’m loving this!



*Mick finally lets go of the hold and Cody quickly rolls the outside, where Joey Ryan rushes to his aid. The Rock’s theme plays over the PA System once again and the crowd has one huge pop left in them. Rock and Foley stand tall in the now cleared ring, looking at each other. Rock extends his hand out towards him, and Foley smirks, accepting the hand shake! The two continue to shake and simply stare at each other for a considerable amount of time before finally splitting up and climbing opposite turnbuckles, where they pose from the sold out Portland crowd.*

[Jim Ross]
There you have it, ladies and gentlemen! The Rock and Mick Foley are officially a unit once again, and it seems like all is forgiven!

[Jerry Lawler]
And the XWL Universe couldn’t be happier! I can’t be happier! I think everyone is except Dashingly Sleazy and…

[Michael Cole]
This is awful! This is a tragedy! This is an injustice! What is Mick Foley doing here? Is Cody okay? Is Joey okay?

*Joey Ryan appears to be just fine as he helps Cody get back up on his feet on the outside. Joey holds Cody up and begins to walk him up the ramp, where the two turn back to look at the Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection. They climb off the turnbuckles and return the looks, with the Rock telling them to “just bring it.” Cody seems like he’s regaining consciousness and looks on in pure disgust before Joey helps him up the rest of the ramp. Foley and Rock share one more look, and now a smile as they watch Dashingly Sleazy retreat up the ramp. Breakdown goes to a commercial break as Rock and Foley go up the turnbuckles again.*