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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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The unmasking revealed the chaotic, heavily smeared black and white face paint underneath, making him look like a completely unhinged lunatic. He handed his black baseball bat to the referee, who carefully passed it out of the ring, wanting absolutely no foreign objects involved in the match.
Jericho backed into his corner, cracking his neck. Punk stood in his corner, stretching his taped ribs.
The referee stepped between them, issuing his final instructions. He ensured both men were ready, checked the perimeter to make sure Gallows and Mercury were staying on the floor, and finally signaled the timekeeper.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The main event of Monday Night RAW was officially underway.
"And here we go!" Cole shouted, his voice tight with anticipation. "The stakes could not possibly be higher! A one on one match for the right to challenge Sandro Zhang for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble! Will it be a singles rematch, or will it become a Triple Threat?!"
"I have goosebumps, Michael!" Lawler admitted, watching the two legends circle each other. "These two men absolutely despise the God King, but right now, they have to completely destroy each other just to get to him! It is a massive psychological hurdle!"
"They are fighting for table scraps!" JBL scoffed loudly, leaning back in his chair with a look of pure disgust. "Look at them! A broken, bandaged martyr and a man wearing clown makeup! They are going to tear their own bodies apart tonight, and for what? For the absolute privilege of being dismantled by the Triple Crown Champion! The God King is sitting in his penthouse right now, laughing at these two peasants!"
Inside the ring, the feeling out process lasted exactly three seconds before the match exploded into pure, unfiltered violence.
Punk and Jericho didn't bother with a traditional collar and elbow tie up. They charged each other in the center of the ring, immediately trading wild, heavy right hands. The Seattle crowd roared with every single strike.
Punch! Punch! Punch!
Jericho gained the early upper hand, utilizing his veteran brawling tactics. He raked Punk's eyes, backed him into the ropes, and delivered a blistering, echoing knife edge chop across Punk's chest. The sound cracked like a whip through the arena.
Jericho went for another chop, but Punk ducked it. Punk responded with his elite, Muay Thai striking arsenal. He unleashed a rapid fire combination of stiff kicks to Jericho's thighs, followed by a spinning back fist that staggered the Painmaker.
Punk grabbed Jericho by the back of the head, locking in a tight Muay Thai clinch, and began driving vicious, repeated knee strikes directly into Jericho's sternum.
"Look at the aggression from CM Punk!" Cole praised, calling the action flawlessly. "He knows he cannot afford to let this match go long! He is wrestling with severely bruised ribs! He needs to put Jericho to sleep as fast as possible!"
Jericho, desperate to break the clinch, reached out and viciously clawed at Punk's heavily taped ribs. Punk gasped in pain, his grip breaking instantly. Jericho smiled a dark, sadistic smile, realizing he had found the target.
The match instantly shifted gears. Jericho became a methodical, surgical predator. He grabbed Punk by the arm, whipping him hard into the turnbuckles. Punk hit the corner back first, crying out as his injured ribs slammed against the unforgiving padding.
As Punk staggered forward, clutching his midsection, Jericho hit the opposite ropes, rebounding with incredible speed, and launched himself into a devastating running bulldog, driving Punk's face into the canvas.
Jericho didn't go for the pin. He wanted to inflict maximum suffering. He grabbed Punk by the legs, flipping him over, and drove his knee directly into the center of Punk's taped ribs, applying a brutal abdominal stretch right in the middle of the ring.
"Jericho is dissecting him!" Lawler winced, watching Punk scream in agony. "The Painmaker doesn't just want to win, he wants to break Punk's body so badly that he won't even make it to the Royal Rumble!"
"It's called ring intelligence, King!" JBL argued, actually praising Jericho for once, but only because it hurt Punk. "You target the weakness! CM Punk shouldn't even be in this ring! He is physically compromised! Jericho is just putting the dying dog out of its misery!"
Punk writhed in the submission hold, the pain searing through his torso. The Seattle crowd began a massive, unified, rhythmic clapping, desperately trying to will the Voice of the Voiceless back into the fight.
Feeding off the energy of the fans, Punk gritted his teeth, shifting his weight. He managed to reverse the leverage, executing a beautiful hip toss that sent Jericho flying across the ring and breaking the hold.
Both men scrambled to their feet, panting heavily.
Jericho charged, looking for a clothesline, but Punk ducked underneath. Punk hit the ropes, accelerating to maximum velocity, and leaped into the air, connecting with a spectacular springboard flying clothesline that took the Painmaker down hard!
The momentum had shifted. The match evolved into an absolute, breathless instant classic, a back and forth war of attrition that showcased the sheer, undeniable talent and deep movesets of both legendary competitors.
Punk unleashed a flurry of ground and pound strikes, mounting Jericho and raining down heavy elbows. Jericho managed to push him off, rolling to the apron. As Punk reached over the top rope to grab him, Jericho hit a stunning hot shot, dropping Punk throat first across the top cable.
Jericho quickly climbed to the top turnbuckle, looking for a high-risk maneuver. He launched himself into the air, executing a beautiful diving crossbody. But Punk rolled through the momentum! Using his core strength, Punk hoisted Jericho seamlessly onto his shoulders, perfectly setting up the Go To Sleep!
"GTS! GTS!" Cole screamed at the top of his lungs. "He caught him! Punk is going to end it right here!"
But Jericho was a master of counters. As Punk threw him into the air to deliver the devastating knee strike, Jericho wildly scrambled, grabbing Punk's leg in mid air. Jericho twisted his body, forcing Punk to the canvas, and instantly attempted to lock in the Walls of Jericho!
The crowd gasped as Jericho tried to turn Punk over, applying excruciating pressure to the already damaged ribs and spine. But Punk absolutely refused to be turned.
He fought with the desperation of a man fighting for his championship life. Punk kicked his legs wildly, finally managing to push Jericho off and send him stumbling backward into the turnbuckles.
"What an incredible sequence of counters!" Lawler cheered. "These two know each other so well! They are completely evenly matched!"
"They are destroying each other!" JBL laughed cruelly. "This is exactly what the God King wanted! Let the peasants fight! Let them bleed!"
The war raged on. The physical toll on both men was becoming painfully obvious. Sweat poured from their faces. Punk's white rib tape was beginning to fray and turn a sickening shade of purple from the repeated trauma. Jericho's chaotic face paint was entirely smeared, mixing with the sweat and making him look even more unhinged.
They traded heavy, impactful slams. Jericho hit a beautiful, bridging Northern Lights suplex for a two and a half count. Punk responded with a devastating swinging neckbreaker that left Jericho staring blankly at the arena lights.
As the match crossed the twenty minute mark, the sheer exhaustion was palpable.
Punk managed to back Jericho into the corner. He charged in, launching himself into the air and connecting with his signature high knee strike flush against Jericho's jaw. Punk followed it up seamlessly, grabbing Jericho by the head and executing a flawless running bulldog.
Punk didn't go for the pin. He looked around the roaring Seattle arena, feeding off their absolute adulation. He slowly climbed to the top turnbuckle, pointing both index fingers to the sky in a tribute to the Macho Man.
Punk soared through the air, executing a breathtaking diving elbow drop that landed squarely across the Painmaker's chest!
Punk hooked the leg, hooking it deep.
One!
Two!
Two and three quarters!
Jericho violently thrust his shoulder off the canvas, breaking the pin at the absolute last possible microsecond. The Seattle crowd let out a collective, breathless gasp, unable to believe the Painmaker had survived the onslaught.
"I thought that was it!" Cole yelled, his voice completely raw. "CM Punk hit his entire signature sequence, but Chris Jericho absolutely refuses to stay down! The sheer heart and determination of both of these men is unbelievable!"
"Jericho is a cockroach, Michael!" JBL spat. "He just won't die! But it doesn't matter! Whoever wins this match is going to be a walking corpse by the time they get to the Royal Rumble!"
Punk sat up, running a hand over his face in sheer frustration. He couldn't believe Jericho had kicked out. He slowly dragged himself to his feet, grabbing Jericho by the hair, looking to hoist him up for a second attempt at the Go To Sleep.
But as Punk pulled him up, Jericho suddenly sprang to life. Operating on pure, desperate instinct, Jericho poked Punk brutally in the eye behind the referee's back.
As Punk staggered backward, clutching his face, Jericho hit the ropes. He vaulted onto the middle cable, launching himself backward with incredible agility, and connected with a picture perfect Lionsault, crushing his body weight directly onto Punk's bruised ribs!
Jericho scrambled into the cover, hooking both legs desperately.
One!
Two!
Two and nine tenths!
CM Punk kicked out, his shoulder popping off the mat just as the referee's hand was coming down for the three count.
The entire arena exploded into a standing ovation, recognizing the absolute masterpiece of professional wrestling unfolding before their eyes. The pacing, the psychology, the sheer brutality, it was an instant, five star classic.
"This is unbelievable!" Lawler shrieked over the deafening noise. "Neither man is willing to give up that spot at the Royal Rumble! They are willing to literally break their own bodies to get their hands on Sandro Zhang!"
"And Sandro Zhang is probably sipping champagne, watching this on a monitor, realizing he doesn't have to lift a finger to eliminate his greatest threats!" JBL roared, still managing to push the narrative of the Triple Crown Champion.
Inside the ring, both men were entirely spent.
Jericho, realizing the Lionsault hadn't finished the job, didn't have the energy to follow up. He rolled slowly away from Punk, dragging his battered, exhausted body across the canvas until he reached the turnbuckles. He pulled himself up, slumping heavily in the corner, his chest heaving violently as he tried to pull oxygen back into his burning lungs.
On the opposite side of the ring, CM Punk mirrored the exact same motion. Clutching his agonizing ribs, Punk crawled to his respective corner. He grabbed the middle rope, using every last ounce of strength he possessed to pull himself up. He leaned back into the turnbuckle pads, his face a mask of absolute, agonizing exhaustion.
The two wrestlers stood in their opposite corners, completely battered, bruised, and pushed to the absolute limits of their physical endurance.
They stared a hole straight through each other across the expanse of the ring, a silent, respectful, but intensely hateful acknowledgment of the war they were currently waging. Neither man was willing to concede an inch.
With a simultaneous, agonizing roar of defiance, Punk and Jericho launched themselves out of their respective corners. They met dead center in the squared circle, abandoning all wrestling holds and technical grappling in favor of pure, unadulterated street fighting.
They traded heavy, looping right hands. Punk struck with a closed fist, Jericho answered with a stiff forearm smash. The Seattle crowd chanted with every single impact, creating a thunderous rhythm that shook the KeyArena.
Punk suddenly dropped his level, shooting in and tackling Jericho around the waist, taking the Painmaker down to the canvas.
Punk instantly transitioned into a brutal ground and pound assault, raining down heavy, closed fist punches and sharp elbows directly onto Jericho's smeared face paint.
Jericho threw his arms up, desperately trying to block the barrage, before bucking his hips violently and rolling Punk over, taking the top mount himself.
"Look at the absolute desperation!" Cole shouted, his voice hoarse from calling the nonstop action. "This has devolved into a bar fight! Neither man cares about technique anymore; they just want to knock the other man unconscious!"
"They are fighting for their championship lives, Michael!" Lawler added, wincing as Jericho drove a stiff knee into Punk's injured ribs on the mat. "If they want to end the Triple Crown Era, they have to survive this! They have to push through the agony!"
"They are ruining themselves!" JBL bellowed, throwing his hands up in the air in sheer disgust. "Look at these two fools! They are ground and pounding each other into oblivion! Even if one of them manages to win this match, they are going to be a broken, battered shell of a human being by the time the Royal Rumble rolls around! The God King is going to sweep the floor with whoever crawls out of this wreckage!"
Jericho dragged Punk up to his feet by his taping, whipping him violently into the ropes. As Punk rebounded, Jericho scooped him up, executing a beautiful, high angle scoop slam that rattled the ring boards.
Jericho immediately bounced off the ropes, leaping into the air for a running senton, but Punk instinctively rolled out of the way. Jericho crashed back first onto the canvas, gasping for air.
Punk used the ropes to pull himself up, his eyes locked on his grounded opponent. As Jericho staggered to his knees, Punk unleashed a blistering, martial arts inspired combination. A stiff kick to the chest, a spinning back kick to the gut, and a brutal European uppercut that snapped Jericho's head back.
Punk grabbed Jericho by the waist, looking for a belly to back suplex, but Jericho countered with a sharp elbow directly to the side of Punk's head. Jericho spun around, hooking Punk's arm and head, and planted him with a devastating snap vertical suplex.
The crowd was on their feet, completely captivated. Every single move felt like it could be the end.
"The back and forth nature in this match is legendary!" Cole praised. "A suplex from Jericho, a kick combination from Punk! They are leaving pieces of their souls in the center of this ring!"
Jericho stalked Punk, waiting for the Voice of the Voiceless to rise. As Punk got to his feet, Jericho charged, looking for the Codebreaker. He leaped into the air, grabbing Punk's head, and brought his knees up.
But CM Punk caught him!
Displaying Herculean core strength despite his heavily bruised ribs, Punk halted Jericho's downward momentum, keeping the Painmaker suspended in the air. With a massive shout of exertion, Punk catapulted Jericho forward. Jericho flew through the air, crashing chest first into the top turnbuckle.
As Jericho staggered backward, completely dazed, Punk knew this was his final window of opportunity. He grabbed Jericho, hoisted him seamlessly onto his shoulders, and looked out at the screaming Seattle crowd.
"He's got him!" Lawler shrieked. "This is it! Go To Sleep!"
Punk threw Jericho into the air, bringing his knee up with absolutely devastating, knockout force. The knee connected perfectly flush with Jericho's jaw. The sickening crack echoed through the arena.
Jericho's body went completely limp, his eyes rolling back into his head as he collapsed to the canvas like a discarded ragdoll.
Punk didn't even have the energy to hook the leg properly. He simply collapsed his entire exhausted body weight over Jericho's chest, burying his face in the mat as the referee slid into position.
One!
Two!
Three!
DING! DING! DING!
The heavy, aggressive guitar riff of "This Fire Burns" blasted through the sound system, immediately drowned out by the absolute, earth shattering roar of the Seattle crowd. "Here is your winner... CM PUNK!" Justin Roberts announced, his voice booming over the roaring crowd.
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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