(November 8, 2020)
Rather than have breakfast at home after their workout (since they ran out of stock in the fridge), Xander convinced Steffanie to go with him to one of his favorite restaurant chains in the country: Buffalo Wild Wings. The Welsh was already concerned by how much spicy food her fiancé ate back when it was just packs of noodles, but when they started frequenting Buffalo Wild Wings, she couldn't help but wonder just how much spicy food he ate in the past to make him want to eat boneless wings dipped in the restaurant's spiciest sauces.
"Xander, slow down. This isn't a contest." She told him sternly.
Xander chewed and swallowed the hot wings, not entirely fazed by the spice as he turned to her, saying, "Can't help it. It's good."
"You know, not everyone has the spice tolerance of a god." Steffanie pointed out as she bit into her own serving of boneless wings with mild spice.
"Anyway, your birthday's coming up soon. What do you want to do?" Xander asked as he grabbed another wing.
"Disney World." Steffanie said right as she swallowed. "We only went around one park last month during your birthday. We could try another one."
"Which one are we talking about, though?" He asked again
"Hollywood Studios."
_________
(November 11, 2020)
On screen...
The Titantron lit up to reveal what appeared to be some kind of lounge area. There in the center, wearing a trench coat, black polo, black pants, and black shoes, sitting on a chair like it was a throne was the NXT Champion Axel Trese. His NXT Championship was draped over his left armrest while Tegan Nox was also sitting down beside him, tapping a kendo stick on the floor while Bronson Reed was walking around, wearing a REBIRTH shirt.
From his bored posture, Axel Trese turned to his right to see the Time Splitters come in. Alex Shelley leaned forward and whispered something into the Strong Style Emperor's ear, something that clearly irked him enough to make him stand up and explode.
"Eight-man tag team match with MCAFEE'S CREW OF ALL PEOPLE?! What the hell is Regal thinking, giving them all the good crap?! WE'RE THE MONEYMAKERS AND THE SHOT-CALLERS HERE! WE'RE THE ONES HOLDING THE MAIN EVENT GOLD! THEY HAD THEIR SHOT AND THEY ALREADY BLEW IT! BUWISIT NAMAN ITO!" He snapped, causing the others to flinch.
Breathing heavily, Axel slumped back to his seat, calming down.
"...Sorry for the outburst, guys." Axel sighed.
"You have to admit, Boss, they're pretty tenacious." Alex admitted.
"Yes, they are. However, that tenacity of theirs will be their downfall. Apparently, it's not enough that I did them a favor by taking down Cole and Gargano." Axel scoffed. "They think I have to play by their status quo and they'll do anything to make sure I do so. Gah..."
Tegan sat up from her own seat, telling the others "I have some things to do tonight. See you guys later."
"Alright then. See you." Axel waved as she left the camera's view. With Tegan gone, Axel stood up as the other REBIRTH members turned to him with an audible grunt.
"Well then, if McAfee and his team want another round of humiliation because they just can't accept the reality that they are living in, then we'll grant them their wish." He declared. "Later tonight, we remind them that REBIRTH is absolute by beating a lesson into their thick, unappreciative heads!"
(Later...)
Currently ongoing was a tag team match pitting Ember Moon and Toni Storm against Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez.
Ember managed to Irish Whip Raquel to a corner, allowing her to use her Handspring Elbow Smash before going for a German Suplex. Despite managing to lift the tall Latina, Raquel managed to catch her with her own Elbow Strike, forcing Ember to release the hold. She quickly grabbed the former NXT Women's Champion and carried her on a shoulder before slamming her against the adjacent corner as Dakota tagged herself in.
The Kiwi continued the stomping as Raquel retreated to the apron. With Ember worn out enough, Dakota picked her up and whipped her to the ropes. Ember rebounded and ducked underneath Dakota's Clothesline attempt before rebounding again to floor her with a Spear!
As Dakota and Ember slowly got up on their feet, the crowd suddenly got louder, a camera turning to the stage to reveal Tegan Nox walking down the ramp, armed with the kendo stick!
"Tegan Nox again!" Vic exclaimed. "And she's armed!"
"But who does she want to go after? Both teams in the ring have issues with her right now!" Beth pointed out.
Grinning wickedly, Tegan put both her hands on the kendo stick, ready to swing at someone, only for someone to rush up behind the Welsh and attack her. It was Shotzi Blackheart!
"Shotzi Blackheart! We haven't seen her since Nox attacked her two weeks ago!" Vic announced.
Caught off-guard by the ambush, Tegan was now at Shotzi's mercy as the green-haired woman furiously fired punch after punch as she backed her ex-friend against the barricade. Taking advantage of the distraction, Raquel quickly entered the ring and tried to run down Ember once again, only to be intercepted along the way with a Running Forearm Strike from Toni Storm!
As that happened, Dakota turned around into a Rolling Elbow courtesy of Ember Moon! With everyone else occupied, Ember quickly climbed up to the top rope as Raquel tried to pull or push her down, but Toni pulled her back to ringside and pushed her against the barricade as Ember took off with the Eclipse, taking down Dakota for a pin!
1...2...3!
DING! DING! DING!
"Here are your winners: the team of Ember Moon and Toni Storm!"
That was not enough to stop the ensuing chaos as Tegan pushed Shotzi against a ring post in their struggle, now firing off her own punches and some elbow strikes as payback. Seeing this, Ember immediately rolled out of the ring and pulled Tegan away from Shotzi, teeing off with some strikes as Raquel and Toni continued to brawl on the opposite side.
"The match is over and things are still breaking down!" Vic announced.
Dakota slowly rolled out of the ring, still dazed from Ember's finisher, where she noticed Tegan's kendo stick at the end of the ramp. With a grunt, she picked it up and immediately went after Toni, smacking the weapon against her back to loosen her grip on Raquel.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring, Tegan was now overwhelmed by the double attack from Ember and Shotzi, the latter clocking her with a Forearm Strike before taking her down with an Apron Shiranui!
With Tegan out of commission, Ember and Shotzi swung around to take down Dakota and Raquel from behind just as they almost smashed Toni's head against the steps. That was enough to force them to retreat as Ember, Shotzi, and Toni took the high ground of the ring to a positive reaction from the crowd.
"Blackheart, Moon, and Storm are standing tall!" Beth exclaimed.
The segment ended with the three standing tall as Dakota and Raquel turned back to glare at them before leaving as Tegan slowly got up from the floor, seething with hate.
(Later...)
The crowd let out a negative reaction for the NXT Champion Axel Trese and his REBIRTH cohorts Kushida, Alex Shelley, and Bronson Reed.
The following eight-man tag team contest is set for one-fall! Making their way to the ring, at a combined weight of 961 lbs: the team of Bronson Reed, the NXT Tag Team Champions Kushida and Alex Shelley, and the NXT Champion Axel Trese: REBIRTH!"
"When asked about his decision on social media, Bronson Reed simply replied by saying that there's nothing wrong with joining the winning side, that Axel Trese has already proven himself worthy of the title and the station he holds, calling McAfee and the others 'fools' for thinking otherwise." Vic explained.
"After the stunt McAfee's gang pulled last week, it would be tough to blame him." Wade added.
They entered the ring as Axel, Kushida, and Alex raised their titles in the air while Bronson stood behind them, fists raised.
The crowd was much more positive and welcoming for the One-Two, Pete Dunne, and Pat McAfee, the latter wearing white sneakers, black jogging pants, and a sleeveless black shirt.
"And their opponents, at a combined weight of 878 lbs, the team of Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, Pete Dunne, and Pat McAfee!"
"Team McAfee, once again, is going to war with REBIRTH." Beth announced. "They have been quite a thorn on the side of the NXT Champion since they attacked McAfee and Dunne."
"Well, would you ignore a so-called 'objective analyst' who treated your hard work like waste and resorted to cheating to try and get his team a title win?" Wade added.
The four entered the ring, staring down and bad-mouthing REBIRTH. Both teams took to their corner as their first representatives, Danny Burch and Alex Shelley, stepped up.
DING! DING! DING!
Right away, Danny lunged and charged as Alex maneuvered around behind him before putting him in an arm lock in the middle of the ring. The Detroit native promptly attempted to force his opponent's arm to stretch to their limits, but Danny gave him a quick punch to the gut in return. As Alex pulled away, Danny went to work, pushing him against one of the corners and raining down punch after punch against him.
Danny quickly followed it up by leveling Alex Shelley with a Suplex that sent him crashing in the middle of the ring before going for the pin.
1...KICKOUT!
Following the kickout, Alex suddenly shot up and locked up Danny in a Gogoplata! Danny tried his best not to tap early as the technician proceeded to tighten the hold. However, Danny managed to plant his feet flat on the mat as he began to lift Alex up, preparing to Powerbomb his way out of the lock.
This prompted Alex to immediately let go and follow up with an Arm Drag. Both men got up as Alex caught Danny with a Single Knee Facebreaker for the pin!
1...KICKOUT!
Annoyed, Alex dragged the dazed Danny Burch up and tagged in Bronson Reed before applying a Springboard Tornado DDT as Bronson finished it up with a Jumping Senton onto the Brit! Bronson taunted Pat, Pete, and Oney in the corner as he got up before dragging Danny Burch up to his shoulders before flooring him with a Samoan Drop for another pinfall attempt!
1...tw-KICKOUT!
Shaking his head in annoyance, Bronson quickly locked Danny in a Camel Clutch, center of the ring! Danny audibly groaned in pain as the Auszilla kept the hold locked in until his opponent started to twist his body slightly until he had just about enough room to clock Bronson in the jaw with a right elbow! As quickly as he could, Danny reached out and tagged in Pete Dunne!
Wasting no time, the Bruiserweight went to work, lighting up Bronson Reed with quick yet powerful strikes that made the colossal Australian flinch despite his weight advantage. After a while, Pete quickly put Bronson in an arm lock of his own before going after his fingers. The crowd let out loud "ooh"s as Pete snapped the fingers of Bronson's left hand one by one until he was clearly and audibly in pain.
Finally, Pete finished up with a Step Up Enzuigiri for a pin!
1...KICKOUT!
Pete didn't bother letting up as he started stomping away on Bronson's face before putting him in another arm lock.
(15 minutes later...)
Now, the legal men were Axel and Oney while their respective teams have essentially started brawling outside the ring: Bronson against Pete, Alex against Pat, and Kushida against Danny.
The NXT Champion had his opponent seated against a turnbuckle as he fired repeated Elbow Smashes on Oney's face until he used up almost all of the five count. Rather than pull away for a Hesitation Dropkick, Axel quickly started choking Oney with his boot for another five count before dragging him to the center of the ring for a Kamigoye!
Axel quickly went for a pin!
1...2...
The count stopped as the lights suddenly went out!
"What happened to the lights?" Vic asked.
"This...is not a good sign." Beth groaned.
After a few seconds, a familiar graphic appeared on the Titantron...
Amidst the cheers at what this meant, the lights came back on as four men were now in the ring and outside of it, attacking everyone in sight!
"The Undisputed Era! They're here!" Vic exclaimed. "And they're attacking both REBIRTH and Team McAfee!"
"They're back to take over!" Wade announced.
The crowd went nuts as Adam Cole had Axel pinned down as he fired punch after punch on him while Roderick Strong caught Bronson Reed with a Sick Kick as Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish leveled Danny Burch with a Total Elimination!
The brawl continued as Adam forcefully pulled Axel up and caught him with a Super Kick that forced him out of the ring. Seeing the dazed Oney Lorcan, Adam quickly pushed him out with his boot as well.
The Undisputed Era seized the ring as REBIRTH regrouped at ringside while Team McAfee went to the end of the ramp, staring down the two teams. Insults and taunts were hurled among the three teams until they started going at it again!
"All hell has broken loose on NXT!" Wade announced. "Team McAfee, REBIRTH, and the Undisputed Era are trying to tear one another apart!"
Eventually, several officials and a few NXT roster members ran down the ramp to separate the three warring teams. While the strikes fired were stopped, the harsh words hurled weren't. As this continued, appearing on stage all of a sudden was William Regal!
"Twelve fighters...three teams of four...Gentlemen, you know what comes next, right?"
Knowing what was up, the crowd cheered for what was to come. They could even hear the Undisputed Era practically BEG the NXT General Manager to say it. Upon reaching the end of the ramp, just past Pat McAfee's team, Regal raised the microphone and said...
(2:05)
"WAR GAMES!"
The crowd popped as the show ended with the Undisputed Era, Team McAfee, and REBIRTH taking in what was to come as they glared at each other one more time.
(I'll end the chapter here. And I just had to throw in a Filipino insult/curse at some point during on screen segments)