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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
...
He was quickly escorted by the same incognito TNA staff members out the back exit and into the waiting SUV. They drove him in silence to a discreet, luxury hotel in downtown Nashville, where Sandro spent the evening ordering room service and decompressing from the corporate warfare.
The next morning, Sandro caught a private flight out of Nashville, watching the Tennessee landscape disappear beneath the clouds. When the plane finally touched down in Orlando, Florida, the suffocating weight of the executive boardroom lifted entirely.
A black town car brought him to his sprawling, luxurious penthouse apartment. The moment he unlocked the door, the God King was greeted not by sycophants or executives, but by his three queens. AJ Lee, Nikki Bella, and Alexa Bliss were waiting for him, and the corporate world instantly melted away into the comfort of his private sanctuary.
And so, days turned into weeks. Three weeks passed by in the absolute blink of an eye.
Sandro Zhang, the newly crowned King of the Ring, the United States Champion and the WWE Champion, completely vanished from WWE television.
He took the time to rest his body, recovering from the grueling gauntlet of Kane, Mark Henry, Sheamus, and his crazy schedule. But rest didn't mean idleness.
He spent his days in his state of the art gym that he is on membership in, lifting heavy, running drills, and keeping his body in absolute peak physical condition. He was preparing his muscles and his mind for the impending car crash that awaited him.
His disappearance, however, was immediately noticed by the WWE Universe. The fans who packed the arenas for Monday Night RAW, Wednesday's NXT broadcasts, and Friday Night SmackDown were acutely aware of the God King's absence. The main event scene felt strangely hollow without the gold draped tyrant looking down upon them.
But the Undisputed System did not rest. They executed Sandro's will in his absence, a relentless, golden machine ensuring the faction's iron grip on the company never slipped.
Paul Heyman, acting as the sinister mouthpiece of the absent deity, accompanied the faction across all three brands, delivering masterful promos about how the God King was "resting upon his throne, preparing to cleanse the sins of the WWE Chairman and Board Of Directors at TLC."
The matches were spread out strategically over the three week build, keeping the Undisputed System's dominance fresh in the fans' minds.
During the first week, on Monday Night RAW, Big E and Ryback decimated a highly touted local tag team in a brutal non title match, sending a message of pure, unadulterated power.
Later that same week on SmackDown, Wade Barrett and Drew McIntyre put on a technical clinic in a non title tag team match, dismantling the remnants Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith of the Hart Dynasty.
Week two saw the women of the Undisputed System take center stage. On RAW, Alexa Bliss, AJ Lee, and Nikki Bella each had individual singles matches spread throughout the three hour broadcast.
They systematically dismantled the Divas division, proving that their beauty was matched only by their viciousness. On SmackDown, Kofi Kingston successfully defended the honor of the faction in a high flying, breathtaking non title match against a game Evan Bourne, winning with a devastating Trouble in Paradise.
By the third week, the focus shifted to the future. On NXT, Dolph Ziggler strutted to the ring and successfully retained his aura in a non title showcase.
But the real shock came when the newest, unmasked member of the family, Xavier Woods, made his official in ring debut for the System in a singles match. With a cold, calculated aggression that betrayed his usually vibrant personality he showed in NXT, Woods decimated his opponent, proving exactly why Sandro had chosen him to replace Chris Jericho.
The anticipation for Sandro's return reached a fever pitch. The hype packages for the upcoming pay per view ran non stop, highlighting the sheer, terrifying mathematical disadvantage the God King faced.
Finally, Sunday arrived.
It was time for the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay per view.
The event was being held in Houston, Texas, at the massive Toyota Center. The arena was utterly sold out, packed to the absolute rafters with over eighteen thousand screaming fans.
The atmosphere was incredibly thick, charged with a mixture of excitement, dread, and morbid curiosity. Everyone in the building, and the millions watching around the world, were waiting for the main event that would close the show: the catastrophic Fatal Six Way TLC match for both the WWE and United States Championships.
It was the night Sandro Zhang would finally appear after his historic King of the Ring victory three weeks prior, forced to defend his entire empire against five of the most dangerous men Vince McMahon could find, with no rules, no disqualifications, and a ring surrounded by steel and wood with his titles hanging above the air.
As the clock struck 8:00 PM Eastern, the lights in the Toyota Center went pitch black.
BOOM!
The opening pyro show blasted through the Toyota Center when the time for the show to start arrived. A spectacular, deafening sequence of fireworks, concussive explosions, and brilliant flashes of light ignited the Texas crowd. The roar of the fans was deafening as the cameras swept across the sold out arena, officially kicking off a night destined for absolute violence and historic consequences.
The sweeping camera shot settled on the commentary table, positioned ringside amidst the chaos. Michael Cole, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Matt Striker, and the ever boisterous JBL were ready to guide the audience through the carnage.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!" Cole shouted, his voice fighting to be heard over the deafening hum of the Houston crowd. "We are live from a sold-out Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, for TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs! I'm Michael Cole, alongside Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker, and JBL, and I don't think I've ever felt a building vibrate with this much sheer anticipation for the downfall of the delusional God King!"
"You can feel the electricity in the air, Michael!" Lawler agreed, pointing to the rafters. "And it's all because of what is hanging twenty feet above that ring right now. The United States Championship and the WWE Championship. Tonight is the night the egomaniacal, delusional reign of Sandro Zhang might finally come to an end!"
JBL slammed his hand on the desk, his face instantly turning red. "Watch your mouth, Cole! You too, King! He is not delusional! He is the God King of WWE, and you will address him with the reverence he has earned! He ran the gauntlet at King of the Ring, and tonight, he will conquer the odds again!"
"Odds?!" Striker interjected. "John, the math is horrifying. This isn't a normal match. He doesn't just have to survive five other men, he doesn't just have to avoid being pinned or submitted. The only way to win is to climb a ladder and retrieve those titles. In a match with no rules, where steel chairs and tables are completely legal weapons... Sandro's chances of leaving Houston as a double champion are mathematically microscopic."
"Mathematics don't apply to deities, Matt!" JBL roared back, leaning so far over the desk he was practically in Striker's lap. "Yes, it is an absolute travesty of justice that Vince McMahon forced this match upon him. It is a conspiracy! But the winner will only be him! Why? Because the other five men in that match, whoever Vince has scraped together, aren't as smart. They aren't as ruthless. They don't have the in ring psychology or the mental fortitude of the God King! Sandro will retain his titles tonight, and he will punch his ticket to challenge CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship next Saturday!"
JBL leaned back, a massive, arrogant grin spreading across his face. "Think about it, boys! Tribute to the Troops! Christmas Eve! What a perfect date it will be. We won't just be celebrating the holidays; we will be celebrating the crowning of the first ever Triple Crown Champion in the history of this industry! It will be a night of global worship!"
Cole, Lawler, and Striker groaned in unison, shaking their heads at JBL's unwavering, almost cult like devotion to the Undisputed System's leader.
But there was no time to debate the main event, as the first match of the evening was already underway.
If the fans thought the night couldn't get any more surreal, the opening match immediately shattered their expectations.
The familiar, heavy bass of SHOCK THE SYSTEM hit the speakers, drawing the expected chorus of thunderous boos. But the configuration that walked down the ramp was something entirely unprecedented.
Alexa Bliss, the reigning Divas Champion, marched down the aisle, her face set in a look of fierce determination. Right beside her walked AJ Lee, skipping slightly, a wicked, chaotic smile playing on her lips. Trailing slightly behind them was Nikki Bella.
"I don't understand this," Cole muttered as the three women entered the ring. "The opening match is for the Divas Championship. It's Alexa Bliss defending against... AJ Lee? Her own faction member? Her own..." Cole hesitated, clearing his throat awkwardly. "...her own sister-girlfriend in this bizarre arrangement with Sandro Zhang?"
"It's a showcase of excellence, Michael!" JBL beamed. "The God King demands that his court is always sharp! What better way to prove dominance than by having the two best women in the company fight for the gold?"
The strangest visual of all was Nikki Bella, who didn't go to the back. Instead, she stood at ringside, positioned perfectly between the two corners, acting as a neutral second for both women, a visual that had never been seen before in a championship match.
The fans booed heavily as the bell rang. To them, this felt like a farce. They assumed that the match was a work, that they would lay down for each other to ensure the title simply stayed within the iron grip of the Undisputed System.
They were dead wrong.
The moment the bell sounded, Alexa and AJ tore into each other with a viciousness that shocked the Houston crowd. There were no pulled punches.
Alexa utilized her double jointed strikes, viciously stomping on AJ's arm, trying to break down the challenger. AJ responded with lightning fast lucha libre arm drags and a sickening shining wizard that nearly knocked the champion out cold.
"They are beating the absolute hell out of each other!" Striker gasped as Alexa drove AJ face first into the middle turnbuckle. "There is no love lost here! They are fighting for the prestige of the gold!"
The match was a phenomenal, high paced showcase of their respective talents and movesets. They traded near falls, the crowd slowly transitioning from apathetic boos to genuine, appreciative cheers for the sheer quality of the wrestling on display.
The climax came when Alexa went for Twisted Bliss off the top rope. AJ rolled out of the way, popping up instantly. As Alexa scrambled to her feet, holding her ribs, AJ pounced. She slithered up Alexa's back like a lethal serpent, locking in the Black Widow submission hold right in the center of the ring.
Alexa screamed, fighting desperately to reach the ropes, but AJ leaned back, applying maximum, agonizing torque to the shoulder and neck. With nowhere to go and the pain becoming unbearable, Alexa frantically tapped the mat.
The bell rang, and the crowd gasped in genuine surprise.
"We have a new champion!" Striker announced, genuinely surprised. "AJ Lee has forced Alexa Bliss to submit! The Divas Championship has changed hands, but it hasn't left the family!"
AJ was handed the title by the referee. She didn't gloat. She helped Alexa to her feet, and the two women, joined by Nikki, hugged in the center of the ring, raising their arms together.
"A flawless exhibition," JBL praised, applauding from the desk. "The Undisputed System remains whole, and AJ Lee ascends to the throne!"
The chaotic energy carried right into the second match of the night. The World Tag Team Championships were on the line as the terrifying behemoths of the Undisputed System, Big E and Ryback, marched out to the ring. They were unsmiling, focused, and looked like they had been carved from granite.
Their opponents, however, drew a deafening, unified roar from the Texas crowd.
The horns blared, and John Cena sprinted to the ring. Moments later, the slow, methodical, coiled snake entrance of Randy Orton followed. Two of the biggest stars in the industry, two bitter, career long rivals, had been forced to put aside their immense differences to form a super team capable of dethroning the Undisputed System's muscle.
"This is explosive," Lawler noted as Cena and Orton stood tensely in their corner, barely looking at each other. "Vince McMahon threw these two bitter rivals together in a desperate attempt to strip the Tag Team Titles away from the Undisputed System. If Cena and Orton can coexist, they might be the greatest tag team on paper in WWE history."
"But that's a massive 'if', King," Cole added. "These two despise each other."
The match was a masterclass in tension. Big E and Ryback utilized quick tags, isolating Cena early on and subjecting him to a terrifying display of brute force. Ryback hit a delayed vertical suplex that seemed to hang in the air for an eternity, while Big E used his massive frame to crush the breath out of the franchise player.
But Cena's resilience was legendary. After ducking a meat hook clothesline, he managed to make the hot tag. Orton came in like a house on fire, hitting his signature powerslams and an incredibly crisp draping DDT on Ryback that had the crowd counting along.
The momentum had completely shifted. Orton set up in the corner, pounding the mat, waiting for Ryback to rise for the RKO. Cena, recovering on the apron, was cheering his partner on. It looked as though the miracle was actually going to happen.
But as Ryback stumbled to his feet, Big E suddenly grabbed Cena's ankle from the outside, yanking him off the apron and driving him hard into the steel barricade.
Orton was momentarily distracted by the chaos outside. He turned his head, just for a fraction of a second.
Ryback charged. Orton instinctively spun back around, looking to hit the RKO out of nowhere. But Ryback blocked it, shoving Orton forward.
Cena, who had just managed to slide back into the ring, stood up groggily, right as Orton was shoved directly into his path.
The collision was inevitable. But it wasn't an accident. In that split second, years of bitter rivalry and deep seated paranoia overrode Orton's sense of tag team solidarity. Instead of catching himself, Orton instinctively pivoted, grabbing Cena by the head.
BAM.
RKO!
Orton dropped his own partner with his finishing maneuver. The crowd let out a massive, groaning gasp of disbelief.
Orton popped up, his eyes wide, realizing what he had just done in the heat of the moment. He looked at Cena's unconscious body, then looked at Ryback, who was already smiling a terrifying, gap toothed smile.
Orton simply shook his head, a look of utter disgust crossing his face. He rolled out of the ring and walked up the ramp, abandoning the match entirely, leaving Cena to the wolves.
"Orton just walked out!" Cole screamed, absolutely horrified. "His ego wouldn't let him share the spotlight! He just fed John Cena to the monsters!"
"That's the flaw of mortals, Cole!" JBL laughed, clapping his hands. "They are entirely consumed by jealousy! The Undisputed System doesn't have that problem!"
In the ring, Big E slid in. He scooped the lifeless Cena up onto his massive shoulder. Big Ending. Ryback immediately hoisted Cena up right after. Shell Shocked. Ryback hooked the leg. One, two, three.
Big E and Ryback retained their World Tag Team Titles, their dominance completely unbroken, capitalizing perfectly on the fractured egos of their challengers.
The pay per view barreled forward with a brutal, nostalgia fueled clash of titans. Triple H, "The Game," stepped into the ring to take on "The Animal," Batista.
The collision of these two legendary powerhouses instantly reminded the older fans of their bitter, blood feud rivalry during the explosive dissolution of the Evolution faction years ago. It was a slow, methodical, incredibly hard hitting affair.
They utilized the legal weapons scattered around the ringside area, denting steel chairs over each other's backs and driving each other through the announce tables.
In the end, it was the raw, unbridled power of Batista that won out. After surviving a Pedigree, Batista managed to hit a devastating Spear that nearly cut Triple H in half, following it up immediately with a thunderous Batista Bomb to secure the pinfall victory.
With the wreckage cleared, the focus shifted back to the gold.
Kofi Kingston, the arrogant, high flying Intercontinental Champion of the Undisputed System, marched to the ring. He was accompanied, of course, by the sneering, calculating Paul Heyman, who barked orders from ringside.
Kofi was defending his title against the incredibly popular, gravity defying Evan Bourne.
"This is going to be a track meet, King!" Striker anticipated as the bell rang. "These are two of the most agile, innovative athletes on the roster today!"
The match did not disappoint. It was a breathtaking, high paced showcase of agility, speed, and jaw dropping top rope maneuvers. Bourne utilized his incredible aerial offense to keep Kofi off balance, hitting a series of hurricanranas and a gorgeous standing moonsault.
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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) - 2010, & 1x KOTR (2010)
Wrestlemania Record: 1 - 0