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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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"Nobody wants to admit the truth, Josh," Savage said, looking directly into the camera lens. "It's the hardest thing for a warrior to say out loud. But my age is catching up with me. The tank is running empty. The Madness... it burns as bright as ever in my heart, but the vessel carrying it is cracking."
Savage paused, a sudden, intense fire igniting in his tired eyes. He ripped the ice pack off his shoulder, tossing it onto a nearby table, the competitive spirit refusing to be entirely extinguished.
"But I am not done," Savage growled, his voice rising, the legendary intensity finally breaking through the exhaustion. "I am not going to let a sociopathic, arrogant dictator like Sandro Zhang write the final chapter of the Macho Man's legacy! I want one last dance, Josh! I want to step onto the Grandest Stage of Them All! I want to make a final, definitive stand against Sandro Zhang and the Undisputed System at WrestleMania!"
The Oracle Arena crowd, watching the interview unfold on the massive titantron screens above the ring, erupted into a massive, deafening cheer.
"I am a realist," Savage admitted, pacing the small locker room. "Going after Sandro in a one on one environment for a world title? With the way my body feels right now? That is unrealistic. The God King would snap me in half. But reclaiming what belongs to the WWE locker room... taking a piece of the golden empire and smashing it to dust... that is entirely doable."
Savage stopped pacing, pointing a taped finger directly at the camera.
"The Undisputed System lost the WWE Tag Team Titles last night," Savage decreed. "But they still have a stranglehold on the World Tag Team Championships. Big E. Ryback. You two massive, corporate meat shields. I am looking right at you. I am challenging the two of you to a match at WrestleMania for those titles! You want to protect the God King's empire? Step into the ring with the Madness on the biggest stage of the year!"
Mathews looked stunned. "Randy, that is a massive challenge. But you can't face them alone. You don't have a tag team partner."
Savage smiled. It wasn't a crazy, unhinged smile. It was a knowing, deeply nostalgic grin.
"I don't have a partner yet, Josh," Savage corrected him softly. "But I have the absolute perfect person in mind. The only man who can stand by my side and bring this empire down."
"Who is it?" Mathews pressed eagerly.
Savage slowly put his wrap around sunglasses back on his face. "I just need to make a phone call. I just need to convince him to forgive me and let the past be bygone. Ooooh yeah."
Savage reached out and firmly grabbed the handle of his locker room door, pulling it shut in Josh Mathews' face, leaving the backstage interviewer and the entire WWE Universe in a state of absolute, buzzing shock.
The broadcast immediately cut back to the live arena, where the crowd was still roaring over the massive WrestleMania challenge. The commentary team of Cole, Lawler, and JBL barely had time to debate the identity of the mystery partner before the heavy, aggressive guitar riff of CM Punk's "This Fire Burns" hit the PA system.
The Voice of the Voiceless marched out onto the stage to a thunderous ovation. Punk, heavily taped around his ribs after his own brutal showing in the Elimination Chamber, looked fiercely determined. He marched down to the ring, awaiting his opponent.
The bass beat, reggae infused beats of Kofi Kingston's theme hit the arena, drawing immediate, hostile boos. Kofi, proudly wearing the burgundy and gold armband of the Undisputed System, bounded down the ramp.
He was looking to secure a victory to get back into the good graces of the God King after the faction's humiliating fourteen man tag team loss the previous week.
The bell rang, and the match began with a frantic, high-l speed pace. Kofi utilized his incredible agility, leaping over Punk and hitting a beautiful spinning back elbow. He immediately targeted Punk's injured ribs, driving sharp knees into the midsection and locking in a tight abdominal stretch.
"Kofi Kingston is operating with absolute ruthlessness!" JBL praised on commentary. "He knows the Undisputed System is under fire, and he is trying to prove his loyalty to Sandro Zhang by crippling CM Punk!"
"It's disgusting!" Cole argued. "Kofi used to be one of the most beloved superstars in this company until he sold his soul to the golden empire!"
Punk, feeding off the energy of the Oakland crowd, bit his lip to fight through the agonizing pain in his ribs. He hip tossed his way out of the submission, catching Kofi on the rebound with a blistering sequence of Muay Thai kicks.
Punk hit a high knee in the corner, followed by a bulldog, fighting through the physical limitations of his injured core.
As Kofi staggered to his feet, he attempted a desperation Trouble in Paradise.
But Punk brilliantly ducked under the spinning heel kick, caught Kofi, hoisted the cruiserweight onto his shoulders, and delivered a catastrophic Go To Sleep!
Punk hooked the leg and secured the decisive three count, proving that the Rebellion was still riding a massive wave of momentum.
Following Punk's victory, the broadcast transitioned seamlessly into the Divas division. The beautiful and highly athletic Eve Torres made her way to the ring, looking to make a statement after helping fend off the Queens of the Undisputed System last week. Her opponent was the submission specialist, Natalya.
The two women put on a brilliant, highly technical showcase. Natalya tried to keep the match grounded, utilizing her Hart Family dungeon training to lock Eve in a myriad of painful joint manipulations.
However, Eve utilized her superior striking and high flying ability, eventually catching Natalya with a devastating moonsault from the top rope to secure a hard fought pinfall victory.
It was a clear message to AJ Lee that the entire division was gunning for the gold, regardless of the Undisputed System's protective numbers game.
The camera abruptly cut away from the in ring celebration, transitioning back to the dimly lit backstage area.
The shot framed the Macho Man, Randy Savage, standing alone in a quiet, secluded corridor near the loading docks. He was holding a modern smartphone to his ear, his face illuminated only by the faint glow of the screen. The legend looked incredibly tense, his brow furrowed as he listened intently to the voice on the other end of the line.
"I know," Savage said quietly into the receiver, his voice thick with uncharacteristic vulnerability. "I know I don't have the right to ask this of you. After everything we've been through. After the things we said... the years we lost."
Savage paused, closing his eyes, letting out a long, heavy breath. The tension in his shoulders seemed to miraculously melt away.
"You mean it?" Savage asked, a genuine, emotional smile breaking across his bearded face. "Thank you. Thank you for putting the past behind us, brother. I'll see you in WrestleMania. Ooooh yeah."
Savage lowered the phone, hitting the end call button. He stood in the quiet hallway, staring at the blank screen, looking as though a million pound weight had just been lifted off his chest.
"Randy!"
Savage quickly spun around, slipping the phone into his pocket. Josh Mathews came jogging down the hallway, a cameraman hot on his heels.
"Randy, we couldn't help but overhear," Mathews panted, shoving the microphone forward. "You just finished the call! You challenged Big E and Ryback for the World Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania! Who was on the other end of the line? Who is your partner going to be?"
Savage immediately threw his hands up, taking a defensive step backward, shaking his head vehemently.
"No, no, no, Josh," Savage warned, his voice returning to its gravelly, commanding tone. "That is a mystery. And it is going to stay a mystery until the absolute perfect moment. I am not revealing the identity of the man I was just talking to. Not to you, not to the fans, and certainly not to the cameras."
"But Randy, the WWE Universe is dying to know!" Mathews pleaded. "Is it someone from your past? Is it a current superstar?"
"It is exactly who it needs to be," Savage replied cryptically, tapping his temple. "You have to understand the tactical situation, Josh. The Undisputed System... Sandro Zhang... they have eyes and ears everywhere. They operate like a cartel. If they find out the identity of my partner, they will send Wade, Drew, Dolph, and Woods to completely dismantle him before we even make it to the stadium in Miami."
"But taking out your partner wouldn't even benefit them," Mathews argued. "Sandro Zhang isn't defending the tag titles. Big E and Ryback are. Why would Sandro care?"
"Because Sandro Zhang cares about absolute control," Savage stated coldly, staring directly into the camera lens. "He cares about his ego. He knows that if I step into that ring at WrestleMania with this specific man by my side, the psychological damage to his empire will be catastrophic. I am protecting my partner. The mystery remains locked in the vault. Dig it."
Savage turned on his heel and marched down the hallway, completely disappearing into the shadows, leaving the WWE Universe in a state of absolute, frantic speculation.
The broadcast rolled on, the frantic energy of the mystery partner debate fueling the live crowd.
The Celtic Warrior, Sheamus, marched down to the ring, his Intercontinental Championship gleaming under the arena lights. He was scheduled for a non title, heavy hitting brawl against the All-American American, Jack Swagger.
The match was an absolute car crash of human bodies. Swagger utilized his elite amateur wrestling background to take the powerhouse down, grinding his forearm into Sheamus's face and relentlessly attacking his ankle with the Patriot Lock. But the Celtic Warrior refused to submit.
Feeding off the adrenaline of the Rebellion's recent successes, Sheamus fought out of the submission, battered Swagger with ten devastating Beats of the Bodhrán across the chest, and nearly took Swagger's head completely off his shoulders with a catastrophic Brogue Kick to secure the pinfall.
The message was clear, the locker room was strong, unified, and entirely unafraid.
As the referee raised Sheamus's hand in victory, the broadcast clock ticked closer and closer to the 10:45 PM mark. The ring crew quickly cleared the canvas. The atmosphere in the Oracle Arena instantly shifted. The joyous, celebratory mood evaporated, replaced by a tense, suffocating, and incredibly hostile anticipation.
It was time for the main event segment.
The lights in the arena plunged into absolute darkness. The silence was heavy, oppressive.
Suddenly, the stadium lights violently flashed to a blinding, imperial gold.
The heavy, distorted, bone rattling bass drop of "SHOCK THE SYSTEM" completely hijacked the arena speakers.
The reaction from the eighteen thousand fans in Oakland was instantaneous and terrifying.
They unleashed a tidal wave of sheer, unadulterated venom. The boos were so loud, so sustained, and so intensely hostile that the commentary desk physically vibrated.
"Here they come," Cole announced, his voice dropping into a grave, serious register. "The golden empire. The absolute, undisputed monopoly of power in the WWE. And gentlemen, for the first time in a very long time, they are walking out here as a wounded animal."
Stepping out from behind the curtain, moving with a slow, terrifying, and entirely unbothered arrogance, was the God King himself.
Sandro Zhang looked like a man who had survived a war, because he had. He wore a pristine, custom tailored burgundy suit, but his face told the story of the Elimination Chamber. A dark purple bruise swelled under his left eye, and a thin, white bandage was taped across a laceration on his forehead where John Cena had ground his face into the steel chains.
But despite the physical damage, Sandro's aura of sociopathic dominance was completely intact. He wore the massive World Heavyweight Championship securely around his waist. Resting casually on his right shoulder was the WWE Championship. Resting on his left shoulder was the United States Championship.
Walking one step behind the Triple Crown Champion, looking incredibly smug and clutching two live microphones in his sweaty hands, was the Special Advisor, Paul Heyman.
"Look at the absolute greatness of the God King!" JBL praised over the deafening boos. "He walked into the Devil's Playground, he took the absolute best shots from the greatest legends in history, and he walked out with all of his gold! He is immortal!"
The rest of the faction began to file out from the curtain, forming a massive, intimidating wall of muscle behind their leader on the entrance stage.
First came the Queens of the Undisputed System. The Divas Champion, AJ Lee, skipped out with a cruel, mocking smile, flanked tightly by Alexa Bliss and Nikki Bella. They blew kisses to the hostile crowd, entirely unashamed of the controversial, underhanded tactics they had used to steal the victory from Beth Phoenix the previous night.
Next came the absolute powerhouses of the faction. Big E and Ryback marched out, their chests puffed out, the World Tag Team Championships gleaming brightly under the arena spotlights. They glared out at the crowd, clearly agitated by Randy Savage's earlier challenge for WrestleMania.
They were followed by the newly crowned NXT Tag Team Champions, Dolph Ziggler and Xavier Woods. They held their developmental titles high in the air, but their usual arrogant swagger was slightly muted.
They knew that their developmental victory had been entirely overshadowed by the catastrophic failure of the main roster tag team division.
And finally, the disgraced members of the golden empire stepped into the light.
Wade Barrett and Drew McIntyre walked out slowly, their faces masks of pure, unadulterated shame and fury. They were no longer wearing the WWE Tag Team Championships.
They kept their heads down, refusing to make eye contact with the God King, terrified of the impending consequences of their failure against Rated RKO. They were flanked by Kofi Kingston, who also looked visibly defeated after his earlier loss to CM Punk.
The entire Undisputed System stood on the entrance stage. Eleven individuals representing the most ruthless, highly organized, and deeply paranoid syndicate in the history of professional wrestling.
Sandro Zhang did not look back at his subordinates. He did not acknowledge Wade or Drew's failure, nor did he acknowledge Ziggler and Woods' success. The Triple Crown Champion simply stared dead ahead, his cold, dead eyes scanning the hostile sea of eighteen thousand screaming fans.
Sandro slowly extended his right hand toward Paul Heyman, snapping his fingers once.
Heyman immediately placed one of the microphones perfectly into the God King's palm.
The God King had survived the Chamber. The empire was fractured, the rebellion was knocking at the gates, and WrestleMania was looming on the horizon. The entire professional wrestling world held its collective breath, waiting to hear exactly how the most dangerous entity on the face of the earth was going to respond.
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Name: Alessandro Zhang
Age: 21 (2011)
Birthplace: Orlando, Florida, USA
Brand: WWE - RAW
Wrestling Style: Mixed Of All Styles
Faction: The Undisputed System
Championships History: 1x FCW Tag Team Champions, 1x FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion, 1x TNA World Heavyweight Champion, 1x TNA X Division Champion, 1x WWE United States Champion, 1x WWE Champion, & 1x World Heavyweight Champion
Other Achievements: 1x Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale Winner, 1x Mr. Money In The Bank, Youngest WWE Champion, PWI Top 500 (No.1) - 2010, & 1x KOTR (2010)
Wrestlemania Record: 1 - 0