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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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Love him or absolutely despise him, Sandro Zhang had brought an unprecedented level of prestige, visibility, and corporate dominance to the United States Championship, elevating it to the level of a primary world title. When the digital clock hit exactly 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, the arena lights completely cut out.
The heavy, aggressive guitar riff of the Monday Night RAW theme song blasted through the sound system, and the opening pyro show violently shot out from the massive entrance stage!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Pillars of fire and sparks illuminated the sold out Georgetown arena, and the fans let out a huge, deafening, sustained cheer! The camera panned dynamically across the sprawling sea of humanity, showcasing the rabid, incredible energy of the South Carolina crowd.
Signs could be seen absolutely everywhere, painting a vivid picture of the current cultural zeitgeist, "365 DAYS OF TYRANNY", "THE DOMINATOR IS A SELLOUT", "WEEEEEELL IT'S THE BIG SHOW", "CLAYMORE COUNTRY", and "FREE THE BOYS".
The sweeping crane camera finally descended from the rafters, gliding smoothly over the ringside barricade, and came to a halt directly on the commentary team seated at their desk adjacent to the entrance ramp.
Michael Cole, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and John Bradshaw Layfield looked incredibly energized, dressed in sharp suits and fully prepared to call the absolute chaos of the evening.
"Welcome, everyone, to Monday Night RAW!" Cole shouted into his headset, his voice already fighting to be heard over the incredibly loud, sustained roar of the live audience. "We are coming to you live and in living color from a completely sold out, absolutely electric arena here in beautiful Georgetown, South Carolina! I am Michael Cole, alongside WWE Hall of Famer Jerry 'The King' Lawler, and JBL! And gentlemen, tonight is a night of massive, undeniable historical significance!"
"You are absolutely right about that, Michael!" Lawler enthusiastically agreed, adjusting his crown and looking at the monitor. "Tonight officially marks three hundred and sixty five days, one entire, uninterrupted calendar year, since Sandro Zhang captured the United States Championship! It is a milestone that very, very few men in the history of this industry ever reach!"
"He is the greatest United States Champion of the modern era!" JBL immediately bellowed, proudly pounding his fist onto the commentary desk. "Sandro Zhang hasn't just held that title, he has elevated it! He has taken a championship and turned it into the crown jewel of a billion dollar empire! We should be having a ticker tape parade for the God King tonight!"
"We might be having a funeral instead, John!" Cole retorted sharply, entirely cutting off the former champion's praise. "Because we cannot ignore what happened last week! The landscape of this company has become incredibly, terrifyingly dangerous! We all watched the shocking return of Bobby Lashley, The Dominator! And we found out that Lashley isn't here for the love of the game, he is here because Sandro Zhang's money bought him!"
"It was an absolute disgrace!" Lawler added, shaking his head in disgust. "Sandro was absolutely terrified of Brock Lesnar! He was terrified of Drew McIntyre! So instead of fighting his own battles like a real champion, he went into the Nexum Core corporate accounts and hired an independent contractor to do his dirty work!"
"And at what cost?!" Cole shrieked, pointing his pen at the camera to emphasize the gravity of the situation. "Sandro Zhang gave Bobby Lashley a guaranteed shot at the World Heavyweight Championship if he manages to take care of Brock Lesnar! The God King has literally invited a wolf into his own henhouse just to save his own skin!"
"It is not cowardice, it is brilliant, unparalleled executive delegation!" JBL argued loudly, his face turning an angry, defensive shade of red as he supported Sandro to the absolute bitter end. "Sandro Zhang is a billionaire prodigy! He understands risk management! Brock Lesnar is a rabid animal who was out of control! So Sandro simply outsourced the pest control to the most dominant, physically imposing powerhouse on the planet! Bobby Lashley is the Anti Lesnar Insurance Policy, and it is the smartest business decision I have ever seen on Monday Night RAW!"
"Smart business or not, the Undisputed System is fundamentally falling apart from the inside out!" Cole countered, refusing to back down from the debate. "Drew McIntyre mutinied! He knocked the God King unconscious! And last week, we saw Drew actively trying to open the eyes of Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods! He is trying to show them that Sandro is nothing but an abusive tyrant! The foundation is cracking, John!"
"Drew McIntyre is a manipulative, treasonous snake!" JBL roared, leaning entirely over the desk, his voice echoing with absolute outrage. "He is trying to brainwash those boys! He is trying to poison their minds against the man who made them rich! Sandro Zhang needs to unleash The Dominator on McIntyre tonight and end this pathetic rebellion once and for all!"
As the incredibly heated, high volume argument between the three broadcasters threatened to entirely derail the opening minutes of the show, the production truck in the back suddenly made a massive, definitive decision.
The argument was violently, suddenly cut off.
A heavy, incredibly slow, deeply ominous bassline suddenly dropped through the massive Tingley Coliseum sound system. It was followed a microsecond later by a slow, methodical, incredibly heavy drum beat that literally vibrated the floorboards of the arena.
And then, the iconic, booming voice echoed through the speakers.
"WEEEEEEEEELLLLLLL... IT'S THE BIG SHOW!"
The Georgetown crowd absolutely, fundamentally exploded!
The twenty thousand fans leaped to their feet in perfect unison, letting out a massive, deafening roar of pure, unadulterated excitement!
"The argument is over, gentlemen!" Cole yelled over the sheer volume of the arena! "Because the World's Largest Athlete has officially arrived in South Carolina, and he has a massive announcement to make!"
Stepping out from behind the heavy black entrance curtains, looking incredibly focused and absolutely massive, was the Big Show.
The seven foot, four hundred pound giant did not look like he was in the mood for jokes. He was wearing his signature, one strap black wrestling singlet, his massive, bald head gleaming under the harsh arena spotlights. His sheer physical presence was absolutely breathtaking, a walking, breathing mountain of muscle and bone that dwarfed absolutely everything around him.
In his right hand, looking incredibly small compared to his massive, meaty fingers, was a live WWE microphone.
The Big Show stood at the absolute top of the entrance stage for a long moment. He slowly panned his gaze across the massive, sold-out crowd. He took a deep, heavy breath, entirely soaking in the deafening adulation of the fans who desperately wanted him to issue the ultimate challenge.
Big Show slowly lowered his head, a look of pure, undeniable determination settling over his features. He began his slow, heavy, incredibly methodical march down the long entrance ramp. Every single time his massive boots struck the steel grating of the ramp, a loud, metallic thud echoed through the ringside microphones.
He didn't slap hands with the fans. He didn't smile. He walked with the heavy, burdensome weight of a man who held a golden ticket and knew exactly how much chaos he was about to unleash upon the professional wrestling industry.
"Look at the sheer size of the man!" Lawler gasped, leaning back in his chair as the giant walked past the commentary desk. "The Big Show won the second annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale! He outlasted twenty nine other elite superstars! He earned a guaranteed championship opportunity, and the entire world knows exactly why he is walking down to that ring right now!"
"This is the absolute worst possible timing for Sandro Zhang!" Cole added, entirely hyping the immense threat the giant posed. "The Triple Crown Champion is celebrating his 365th day as the United States Champion tonight! He is dealing with Brock Lesnar! He is dealing with the mutiny of Drew McIntyre! And now, the largest athlete in the world is marching to the ring with a contract in his hand! The God King's empire has never, ever been this vulnerable!"
Big Show reached the bottom of the ramp. He didn't bother using the steel steps. He simply grabbed the top rope, effortlessly pulled down the tension, and stepped his massive, tree trunk leg cleanly over the cables, stepping into the squared circle.
The giant walked to the absolute dead center of the ring. He stood tall, a colossal, immovable object, entirely commanding the attention of millions of people watching around the globe.
The fans in Georgetown knew exactly what was happening. They immediately began to chant, a loud, rhythmic, entirely unified sound that echoed off the walls of the arena.
"U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!"
The crowd wasn't just chanting for the country, they were specifically, loudly demanding that the giant challenge for the United States Championship. They wanted to see Sandro Zhang's historic 365 day reign come to a sudden, violent, catastrophic end.
The Big Show slowly raised the microphone to his lips. He looked around the arena, a small, incredibly dangerous smirk finally touching the corners of his mouth. The music slowly faded out, leaving a thick, palpable tension hanging in the humid South Carolina air.
"You know," Big Show began, his deep, gravelly voice booming through the Tingley Coliseum and instantly demanding absolute silence. "Over the last few years... I'm not going to lie to you people. I lost my way."
The crowd murmured slightly, entirely captivated by the unexpected vulnerability from the four hundred pound giant.
"I lost my direction," Big Show continued, taking a slow, heavy pace across the canvas. "I was getting bounced around the card. I was smiling when I shouldn't have been smiling. I was making jokes when I should have been throwing knockout punches. I became an afterthought. And I knew it. But more importantly... you knew it."
Big Show stopped, looking directly into the hard camera with a look of intense, burning sincerity.
"But at that pre show at WrestleMania," Big Show declared, his voice slowly beginning to rise with raw, unadulterated passion. "When I stepped into that ring with twenty nine other superstars... something clicked. I remembered exactly who the hell I am! I am a giant! And I proved it! I tossed every single one of those men over the top rope, and I won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale!"
The Georgetown crowd erupted into a massive cheer, celebrating the veteran's monumental achievement on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
"And let me tell you what that victory did for me," Big Show roared, his massive chest expanding as he fed off the energy of the sold out arena. "It didn't just give me a trophy. That victory gave me my life back! I got my momentum back! I got my spot back on top of the food chain! I got my absolute will to fight back!"
Big Show pointed a massive, meaty finger out toward the front rows of the audience.
"And most importantly," Big Show said, his voice dropping into a register of profound, genuine gratitude. "Winning that battle royale made me finally feel worthy once again. It made me feel worthy to stand in this ring, to look every single one of you in the eye, and ask for your support once again! Because the Big Show is officially back, and I am not taking a backseat to absolutely anybody!"
The fans completely lost their minds! The Tingley Coliseum let out a massive, sustained roar of approval, entirely embracing the revitalized, dominant version of the giant that they had sorely missed.
At the commentary desk, Cole was nodding emphatically. "Listen to the conviction in his voice, King! The Big Show has completely reinvented himself! He found the fire that made him a multi time world champion!"
"It's a beautiful thing to see, Michael!" Lawler agreed enthusiastically. "When a man of that size has his confidence and his momentum fully restored, he is the single most dangerous entity in the entire sports entertainment industry!"
"Oh, give me a break!" JBL scoffed, rolling his eyes in absolute disgust. "He won a pre show battle royale! He threw a bunch of mid carders over the top rope, and now he thinks he's the king of the world?! Sandro Zhang is currently a billionaire God King! Big Show is just a relic desperately trying to cling to the spotlight!"
Inside the ring, Big Show completely ignored the commentary table, his focus entirely locked on his ultimate goal.
"When I grabbed that massive golden trophy," Big Show continued, his voice echoing with historical weight. "When I hoisted the likeness of the Eighth Wonder of the World high into the air... I felt something. I felt the absolute spirit of Andre! I felt the power of the greatest giant to ever lace up a pair of boots flowing directly through my veins!"
Big Show violently slapped his massive chest, the sound echoing like a gunshot through the arena!
"And I promised myself right then and there," Big Show bellowed, his eyes narrowing with a dark, intense fury. "That I was going to take the power of Andre, and I was going to use it to entirely take down the one man who has held this company hostage! I am going to use my guaranteed championship opportunity to take down a man who I have wanted to permanently take out for a very, very long time! A man that I have incredibly bad blood with!"
Big Show took a deep breath, perfectly milking the dramatic tension before dropping the name. "I am officially coming for Sandro Zhang!"
The sheer, visceral reaction from the twenty thousand fans in South Carolina was absolutely undeniable. The absolute second Sandro's name left the giant's lips, the arena was completely engulfed in a torrential, deafening wave of boos!
The hatred for the God King was so pure, so incredibly concentrated, that the fans actively booed the mere mention of his existence. "Listen to that reaction!" Cole shouted over the noise. "The WWE Universe absolutely despises the Triple Crown Champion! And they are entirely behind the World's Largest Athlete to be the man who finally dethrones him from that Triple Crown!"
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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: 2 - 0 Main Event: 1 - 0