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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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He looked around the arena, drinking in the deafening boos of the Las Vegas crowd like a man enjoying a fine wine. He spread his arms wide, his head tilted back, and a massive shower of golden pyro shot out from the stage behind him, illuminating his arrogant features.
Sandro slowly lowered his arms and began his walk down the long ramp. He didn't rush. He didn't glare. He moved with the terrifying, unbothered calm of an apex predator stepping into an enclosure it knew it owned.
He walked up the steel steps, wiped his boots deliberately on the ring apron, and stepped through the ropes.
Kane stood in the center of the ring, all seven feet and three hundred pounds of him, glaring down at Sandro. The Big Red Monster's chest heaved, his fists clenched, looking ready to tear the self proclaimed God limb from limb.
Sandro didn't go face to face with him. He casually strolled over to his corner, leaned his back against the turnbuckles, and draped his arms over the top rope. He looked across the ring at the towering monster.
And Sandro simply smirked.
It was a smirk devoid of any fear, any apprehension, or any respect. To Sandro, Kane wasn't a monster, he was just another obstacle standing between him and another piece of hardware for his collection.
The referee, looking visibly intimidated by the sheer aura radiating from both corners of the ring, cautiously stepped between the two competitors. He looked at Kane, who nodded sharply, his eyes never leaving Sandro. He looked at Sandro, who gave a lazy, dismissive wave of his hand.
Ensuring both men were ready, the referee raised his hand and signaled the timekeeper.
DING! DING! DING!
The bell rang to officially start the match, and Las Vegas braced itself for a collision between the Devil's Favorite Demon and the God of WWE.
Kane didn't waste a single millisecond. He charged out of his corner like a derailed freight train, throwing a massive right hand aimed directly at Sandro's skull. But Sandro wasn't there.
With a casual, almost insulting fluidity, Sandro ducked underneath the swinging tree trunk of an arm, slipped behind Kane, and delivered a sharp, stinging slap to the back of the monster's bald head.
The crowd erupted in a mix of gasps and boos. Kane spun around, his eyes burning with a hellish fury, but Sandro just stood there, maintaining that infuriating smirk, casually beckoning the Big Red Monster forward with two fingers.
"Look at the absolute arrogance of Sandro Zhang!" Cole shouted over the headset, his voice dripping with disdain. "He is treating a man who would be a first ballot future Hall of Famer, a man who has terrorized this company for over a decade, like a joke!"
"It's not arrogance, Michael, it is supreme confidence!" JBL immediately fired back, adjusting his Stetson. "The God of WWE has tamed the Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell! Why on earth would he be afraid of the Undertaker's little brother? Sandro is just playing with his food!"
Kane roared and lunged again, this time trapping Sandro in the corner. He unleashed a barrage of heavy, thudding body strikes, driving his knee into Sandro's midsection before grabbing him by the throat and hurling him across the ring with a violent biel throw. Sandro hit the mat hard, rolling to his feet, the smirk finally wiped from his face.
For the next fifteen minutes, the Las Vegas crowd was treated to an absolute instant classic. It was a masterclass in wrestling psychology, the unstoppable, overwhelming brute force of the Big Red Machine colliding with the surgical, lightning fast precision of the Undisputed System's leader.
Kane utilized his massive size advantage, catching Sandro mid air during a crossbody attempt and transitioning seamlessly into a bone rattling sidewalk slam.
"Kane is manhandling him!" Lawler cheered, pumping his fist. "This is exactly what we need! Someone to physically break down this self proclaimed deity!"
"You can't break down a deity, King!" JBL retorted loudly. "Sandro is just allowing Kane to tire himself out. It's a rope a dope strategy!"
"It's a survival strategy, John," Striker analyzed. "Sandro is realizing that he cannot go toe to toe in a test of pure strength. He has to target the base."
Striker's analysis proved prophetic. As Kane set up for the Chokeslam, raising his hand high into the air to the delight of the crowd, Sandro struck. When Kane's hand clamped around Sandro's throat, Sandro didn't try to pry the fingers away.
Instead, he leaped into the air, wrapping his legs around Kane's extended arm, and used his body weight to violently wrench the monster down into a flying armbreaker.
Kane howled in pain, the grip broken. Sandro immediately transitioned, snapping vicious, targeted kicks into the side of Kane's left knee. Crack. Crack. Crack. With every kick, the towering monster was chopped down inch by inch, much like a lumberjack felling a massive oak.
Kane staggered, clutching his knee, completely off balance. He dropped to a kneeling position in the center of the ring, trying desperately to push himself back up to his feet.
Sandro's eyes went dead. The predator had found the exposed vein.
He took off, sprinting toward the ropes behind him. He hit them with explosive force, rebounding back into the ring with terrifying, blurring speed. As he approached the kneeling Kane, Sandro dropped low, sliding across the canvas like a blade. He cocked his right arm back, and with a violent, inward to outward snap, he unleashed his lethal finisher.
CRACK.
THE LAST NOTE!
The elbow smashed into the back of Kane's head and neck with sickening precision. The Big Red Monster collapsed forward, his face burying into the canvas, completely motionless. Sandro didn't hesitate. He hooked the massive leg, staring blankly up at the arena lights.
One. Two. Three.
The bell rang, and "Cult of Personality" filled the arena.
"He did it," Cole sighed in defeat. "Sandro Zhang survives the monster and advances to the semifinals of the King of the Ring."
Sandro stood up, didn't celebrate, and simply walked up the ramp, his eyes already looking ahead to the next round.
As the ring crew checked on Kane and helped him to the back, the show rolled on with a match that caught the WWE Universe completely off guard.
The graphic flashed on the TitanTron, a normal singles match between the WWE Divas Champion Alexa Bliss and her Undisputed System stablemate, AJ Lee.
"Wait a minute, what is this?" Lawler asked, scratching his head. "Alexa and AJ? They're best friends! They're both Sandro's girls! Why are they fighting each other?"
"I have the scoop on this, King," Striker chimed in, reading from his notes. "Paul Heyman booked this match under direct orders from Sandro Zhang himself. Sandro wanted to ensure that the Queens of the Undisputed System received premium screen time tonight on RAW. He wants to showcase that the women in his faction are just as elite as the men."
"It's a brilliant exhibition!" JBL clapped his hands. "Iron sharpens iron! Sandro demands perfection, and what better way to achieve it than having his two top female athletes push each other to the limit?"
When the bell rang, any thoughts that the two women would take it easy on each other were instantly shattered. Alexa and AJ put on a tremendous showcase of their respective talents and movesets.
There was no hair pulling or cheap tactics, it was a pure, high paced wrestling clinic. Alexa utilized her gymnastics background, snapping off beautiful arm drags and a stunning moonsault double knee drop. AJ Lee countered with her erratic, unpredictable striking and deep submission arsenal.
The commentary team called the action beautifully, noting the sisterly but intensely competitive dynamic.
"Look at the respect, but look at the impact!" Cole noted as AJ locked Alexa in an octopus stretch. "Neither woman wants to disappoint the God of WWE watching in the back!"
The climax of the match came when Alexa went to the top rope, looking for the Twisted Bliss. She launched herself, but AJ rolled out of the way just in time. Alexa crashed hard into the canvas. AJ scrambled to her feet, hit the ropes, and connected with a devastating Shining Wizard directly to the side of Alexa's head.
AJ hooked the leg of the Divas Champion. One. Two. Three!
The crowd cheer then turned to boo, completely surprised. AJ Lee had just pinned the Divas Champion clean in the middle of the ring. AJ stood up, helping Alexa to her feet, and the two women hugged, raising each other's arms.
But in the crowd, the rumbling began. The fans were murmuring, a collective realization washing over the arena.
"AJ Lee just pinned the champ," Cole pointed out, stating the obvious. "Does this mean AJ is in line for a title shot?"
"It makes you wonder," Lawler mused. "Is Sandro trying to shift the Divas Championship from Alexa's waist to AJ's? Is there a hierarchy within his own inner circle? His own backyard?"
"Don't start spreading rumors, King!" JBL snapped. "The title stays within the Undisputed System! It doesn't matter who holds it, as long as it remains in the family! This was just a friendly exhibition!"
The murmurs continued through the commercial break, but the Las Vegas crowd was quickly brought back to the high stakes of the tournament as the first semifinal match was announced.
Sheamus marched down to the ring, his fiery red hair and pale skin a stark contrast to the dark, serious expression on his face. He was representing RAW. Moments later, the aristocratic Alberto Del Rio drove out in a silver Bentley, representing SmackDown, a smug smile plastered across his face.
The referee ensured both men were ready and signaled for the bell to officially start the match.
This was a clash of entirely different philosophies. Sheamus was a brawler, a man who loved the physical impact of a fight. Del Rio was a tactician, an aristocratic mat wrestler who targeted limbs with sadistic joy. They put on an absolute classic.
Sheamus battered Del Rio with the Beats of the Bodhrán, clubbing the aristocrat's chest against the ropes until it turned bright red. Del Rio answered by exploiting a missed Brogue Kick, trapping Sheamus's arm in the ropes and kicking it ruthlessly, setting up for the Cross Armbreaker.
The two gave it their absolute all, knowing the finals of the prestigious King of the Ring tournament awaited the victor.
In the closing sequence, Del Rio thought he had the match won. He climbed to the top turnbuckle, looking to hit a diving double axe handle to a grounded Sheamus. Del Rio leaped into the air, soaring down toward his prey.
But Sheamus wasn't grounded. He exploded upward in a fraction of a second, his massive leg swinging in a lethal arc.
BAM!
Sheamus caught Del Rio mid air with a devastating Brogue Kick that nearly took the aristocrat's head off his shoulders. Del Rio crumpled to the mat, completely unconscious.
One. Two. Three.
"Sheamus is going to the finals!" Cole screamed over the roaring crowd. "The Celtic Warrior has punched his ticket! He is one victory away from being crowned the King of the Ring!"
Right after Sheamus's arm was raised, the graphic for the second semifinal round flashed on the TitanTron.
Sandro Zhang vs. Mark Henry.
The arena plunged into darkness once again. SHOCK THE SYSTEM blared through the speakers, followed by the iconic opening riff of "Cult of Personality."
Sandro walked out onto the stage. Once again, he was entirely alone. No Heyman. No girls. No titles. Just a man walking to a fight.
At the commentary desk, JBL was losing his mind.
"This is a scam! This is an absolute travesty of justice!" JBL yelled, slamming his hands on the desk, his face red with indignation. "Look at the bracket! First, Sandro has to fight Kane, a seven foot monster! And now, with barely an hour of rest, he has to fight Mark Henry, the World's Strongest Man?! Someone in management is plotting against the God of WWE! This is a setup!"
"Oh, stop your crying, John!" Lawler laughed, clearly enjoying JBL's misery. "It's a random draw! It's the luck of the draw! That's how tournaments work!"
"It's not random! It's a conspiracy!" JBL insisted. "Vince McMahon is trying to physically break Sandro before the TLC pay per view! It's a blatant assassination attempt on his career!"
"Sandro wanted to be in this tournament, JBL!" Cole chimed in. "He has to face whoever is put in front of him! If he's truly a God, he shouldn't be complaining about the mortal obstacles!"
As they debated, Sandro entered the ring, standing casually in his corner.
"Somebody Gonna Get Their Ass Kicked!" blared through the speakers, and Mark Henry marched down the ramp. This was the second time these two men had crossed paths in a high stakes match, and the history between them added a thick layer of tension to the bout. Henry remembered the disrespect, Sandro remembered the power.
Henry stepped over the top rope, his massive frame casting a shadow over the ring. The referee stepped between them, made sure both men were ready, and signaled for the bell.
DING! DING! DING!
The match was an instant classic, a brilliant subversion of expectations. Everyone expected Henry to try and overpower Sandro, and Sandro to try and outrun Henry. Instead, Sandro met Henry head on.
When Henry went for a clothesline, Sandro ducked, hit the ropes, and threw a flying forearm directly into Henry's jaw. The World's Strongest Man barely flinched, swatting Sandro out of the air like a pesky fly. Henry scooped Sandro up and locked him in a suffocating bearhug.
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Name: Alessandro Zhang
Age: 20 (2010)
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
Other Achievements: 1x Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale Winner, 1x Mr. Money In The Bank, Youngest WWE Champion, & PWI Top 500 (No.1)
Wrestlemania Record: 1 - 0