It’s the time of year for Clash of Champions. Stephanie and Hunter come on Monday to talk to the reader about the show, and it inspires her to make even bigger and better matches. But Dean is wary of how that power might go to her head and cloud her vision.
Warnings/Promises: wrestling violence
Word Count: 4170
Note: And it’s time for CoC because TLC already happening in this series. There is one tiny, crucial detail that will become super important down the road. And I am really excited about it. Tag lists and requests open. Enjoy!

Clash of Champions – December 17, 2018 – San Jose, CA
The honor of the first match belonged to the debut of the Raw Women’s Tag Championships. Each team in the triple threat match eyed the other, keeping on their toes and ready to spring as soon as the bell rang. Though it took some cajoling, the ref was able to unclutter the ring presence to just one member from each. Bayley tapped hands with Sasha Banks, leaving her in the ring. Tamina did the same with Nia Jax. And Ruby Riott directed Liv Morgan to start, motioning for Sarah Logan to step out before hopping to the floor herself. Round one was set. The bell rang.
An unspoken alliance formed between Sasha and Liv to send Tamina out of the ropes. While she was gone, then and only then did they set to showing off their skills. Tamina rolled in and tagged Nia. Together they sent both women through the ropes, staking their claim on the center of the ring. Sasha tagged in Bayley, and Liv tagged in Sarah. There was a stare-down, almost completely uninterrupted by the nervous ref caught in the middle. The tagged women took their turn, throwing punches and each other as hard as they could.
Brawls broke out at ringside. Sasha and Bayley each had a hold of Tamina and Nia, though on opposite sides of the floor. And of course, each started by a member of the Riott Squad, now missing. None of them could see that they didn’t have a woman in the game. In the ring, Liv and Sarah stayed low and quiet, their smiles getting bigger with each count. At ten they jumped in unison, falling together to the canvas. Ruby tackled them further as the new belts were brought and placed in their hands. They made a quick exit before the other four women fully realized they had been duped.
***
Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder stood back to back in the ring as Dr. M and Braun Strowman began to enter the arena. Even when it was obvious they were coming down the ramp, the Revival kept up their guard. It was a wise decision, considering their opponents disappeared once they reached ringside. When the lights came back on, the champions were standing toe-to-toe with the Revival, and quickly threw them to opposite sides of the ring.
Braun grabbed hold of Dawson and began breaking him down. Wilder retreated to their corner, glaring at Dr. M. But they had a plan. Braun may be big, and Dr. M controlling, but they couldn’t hold onto the title forever. Or so the Revival thought. They started by getting each man alone. Wilder distracted Dr. M on the floor, and Wilder kept Braun spinning in circles. Then they targeted their weaknesses, cutting them down to size, targeting joints and previous injuries. Dawson was able to get Braun down to one knee, and he rushed to his corner to tag in Wilder while Dr. M was nowhere to be seen.
With the switch came the realization that all their work had played right into the champions’ hands. Still, they tried. Wilder bounced off the ropes, but his attack was caught and countered by Br. M. With a kiss and a flip, he was pinned.
Braun joined Dr. M in the ring, posing over the fallen with their retained titles.
***
“The following contest is a title match for the Raw Women’s Championship.” Jojo introduced Natalya and Ember Moon, then stepped out between the ropes. The referee motioned for the bell to ring, and the women started by meeting up in a lock. Ember was the first to lose ground, but she dug deep and managed to shove Natalya away onto the canvas. She retaliated with a leg sweeping attack and moved into the first sharpshooter of the match. Ember was able to crawl to a bottom rope, breaking the hold.
It was legacy holds versus first generation acrobatics. Both were hard to recover from, and both were driven by the absolute need to be the only woman standing on top of the mountain. Most of the match took place inside the ring, occasionally Natalya rolled out to catch her breath. Ember scaled the turnbuckles and waited patiently for her to turn around. She leapt. Natalya crashed and didn’t move for a while, even after Ember got back into the ring. She waited for the count, catching her own breath and holding herself up in the corner ropes.
But championships can’t be won by count-out.
The referee was up to the count of five by the time she realized this. Natalya, on the other hand, had been more than willing to stay outside. She fought Ember for as long as she could but ended up retreating into the ring. They met again in a lock of punches and kicks to each other’s torsos, both gaining their second wind. It wasn’t long before that ran out too.
Natalya wobbled to her feet. She sighed. If she couldn’t see Ember in the ring, then the only place she could be was… she turned and confirmed her suspicion. Ember jumped down from the turnbuckle with a Total Eclipse. She pushed with all her might to keep Natalya down for the count, then froze in shock as the ref counted to three. The bell rang, and he handed her the title belt. While she celebrated, Natalya made it to her feet, though still wobbly.
They faced each other, and the ref backed off. Natalya offered her hand for a handshake, which Ember received. Then Natalya lifted Ember’s arm in the air. Ember continued to cheer along with the crowd, but the defeated woman kept her eye on the title.
***
The main event was the ‘Winner Take All’ match for the Universal and Intercontinental titles. Finn Balor and Seth Rollins begrudgingly handed their titles to the referee to hold up. Depending on how it ended, that would be the last time one of them got to hold their championship.
Finn started the match with a series of sling-blades. Seth was able to avoid the last one and flipped Finn onto his back for the first attempted pin. Finn kicked out, laughing. They met in the center to slap hands and show a little sportsmen-like conduct. Then it turned ugly.
Neither man wanted to go home emptyhanded tonight. Neither wanted to have to bear the smug look of triumph on the other’s face. And neither wanted those looks from their peers backstage. The ones that said, “you fought well, but it wasn’t enough.” The effort exhausted them. Finn crawled over Seth’s chest, praying for a pin. But Seth kicked out. With a growl customary of the demon king, Finn wearily climbed the turnbuckle and glared at Seth’s unmoving body. It stayed unmoving until the last second before Finn’s boots would make contact.
By the time Finn could react and recover with a roll, Seth was up and ready with a kick that cut him in half. He evaded the first curb-stomp but was finished by the second. As he struggled to breathe, Seth was given both titles, one for each shoulder. No. Finn launched to his feet with a shout, hitting Seth in the back where he stood on the ropes, flipping him to the floor. It took five referees and several members of security to separate them. But the damage was done. Seth Rollins was a double champion. The first to hold both the Universal and the Intercontinental.
***
***
Monday Night Raw – December 18, 2018
San Jose’s crowd welcomed Seth into the arena. He wore the Intercontinental around his waist and carried the Universal on his shoulder. “Well, well, well. Welcome to Monday Night Rollins!” He grinned, smug and proud of himself. “Last night was quite the fight, wasn’t it? But it just proves one thing: that I will give my all and more for you all. To give you the show you deserve, and to be the champion that you deserve no matter what title… or how many at a time,” he added, holding up the Universal belt. “But I have to give credit where credit is due. Finn Balor was an amazing champion. And he deserved it after everything he went through to win it the first time, including me with one arm hanging from his body and all. But, times change. Out with the old and in with the new. The better. The Man.”
Finn’s music interrupted. He marched down to the ring and got right up in Seth’s face. “Beatin’ me one time does not make you better, Seth. It makes you lucky. Knowin’ your record, luck does not become you. Seth, everybody knows that you like makin’ your own way, no matter the cost. Last night was not one of those moments.”
“I did make my own way. I beat you,” Seth chuckled.
“Have you considered that I let you?”
“What?”
With a dark grin, Finn elaborated. “Maybe I let you win. My first Universal reign was short as it was because of you. But I was still the first. I missed out on months of defending and building myself up because of you. But I came back and took what was rightfully mine. All the while I toyed with you and got you into that ring last night. Because when I take my title back, your Universal reign will be completely forgettable. You can’t be longest reigning because for you it stops tonight. And you can’t be the shortest reigning, because that’s Braun. You are going to be the second man to have the Universal title for only twenty-four hours. The people only remember the extraordinary. And I’m the extraordinary man who can do extraordinary things. You’re just a man.”
Seth swallowed, gripping the red and gold tighter. “So… you want your rematch?”
“I want my rematch.”
They barely gave each other enough space to hold their mics.
“Then let’s call a ref,” Seth finally stated.
***
The rematch was even more brutal than the first. They had agreed that it would only be for the Universal. Finn didn’t mind as much that he missed the Intercontinental this time around, but he wanted his title back. And as such, he didn’t hesitate this time. Seth barely had room to breathe, much less to stand up and defend himself. He had the strong upper hand when the lights went out.
Finn spun around looking for Seth, who had disappeared from the ring. In his place stood Dr. M.
“Bray, bring him back. I wasn’t finished with him.”
“Bray Wyatt is no more. And yes, you are finished with Seth Rollins. Because I say so.”
Seth staggered to his feet behind the ring. Finn rushed in his direction but was caught and spun into Dr. M’s finisher. The bell rang, and Braun called the end. “Winning by disqualification, Finn Balor. But still your Universal champion, Seth Rollins.”
Finn made it to one knee. “No!” But Dr. M was already outside of the ring. And Braun ran by Seth, flipping him in the air.
“You will be cleansed, Balor,” Dr. M chuckled. “I have plans for you.”
***
You watched Dr. M finish his threats on your office television, wringing your hands. This was not how this was supposed to go. Stephanie and Hunter stood on the other side of the screen.
“I have to admit,” Hunter said, “you’ve done better than even Kurt Angle said you would. And I thought he was pumping up your skills way out of proportion, no offense.”
“None taken,” you gulped.
Stephanie walked around him to wrap her arm around her shoulders. “You really have done a great job, Y/N. Ever since we’ve gotten Baron out of your hair, Raw has really kicked off. Things are running smoother than normal, and you have come up with some inspired matches.”
You flinched. “I do have to tell you, Seth and Finn have been pushing this rivalry personally. The thing with Dr. M was… unexpected but I can fix it. I’ve really just been signing off on the matches.”
“As you should.” Stephanie patted your shoulder and spun you around to face her. “You didn’t step in the way, and you’ve given them plenty of room to put on several noteworthy matches. What’s a hiccup here and there? That is what a great general manager does.”
Hunter held out his hand for you to shake. “I look forward to what else you come up with. Keep up the good work. And keep on making those stellar matches. Now, if it’s alright with you, we would like to watch the rest of what you’ve got in store for tonight from our box.”
“Yes, of course. Enjoy!” You waited for them to leave your office, then spun around with a squeal.
“Having that good of a day?” Dean stepped in, his grin breaking into a full smile as you quickly hugged him.
“Yes. It’s going great! Stephanie and Hunter were impressed by Clash of Champions. They said to keep ‘making stellar matches.’” You squeaked and jumped again. “I’ve got so many ideas. There’s one, in particular, that would blow the roof off this place. Possibly Wrestlemania worthy.” You pulled out a small notebook and started flipping pages, missing how Dean’s face fell.
He fidgeted with his hand tape. “Just… be careful. It’s easy to forget yourself around here. Everything seems so big and important, but you don’t realize what you’ve given up ‘till it’s gone.” Despite disliking how Stephanie and Hunter had taken a shine to you, Dean couldn’t’ help but notice how happy you were.
You scribbled down a note. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” The notebook flipped shut and you looked up at him. Now slightly confused. “Did you come here to ask something?”
“Yeah. I’m going to be working with someone tonight, but it’s probably going to get… messy. Wanted your back-up when it turns into a match.”
“Mhmm,” you hummed, crossing your arms. “Care to elaborate on that?”
Dean tapped at his throat and lowered his voice. “Can’t. Got to rest my voice. I’m singing with Elias tonight.”
“Oh really? How’d you manage that?” you chuckled.
Dean popped the collar on his leather jacket. “I got skills.” He laughed and ruffled your hair, despite your lighthearted warning growl. “See ya later, Ladybug.”
“See ya, Dean. And thank you. For-“ He was gone before you could finish.
***
“Hello, I am Elias.”
Dean stepped into the spotlight, making Elias cringe. “Hello, I am Dean. And Elias here,” he slapped at his shoulder, “has invited me to sing some carols with him.”
Elias raised his hand. “For the record, you invited yourself and interrupted my rehearsal.”
“Right. That’s what I said. And a one, and a two, and a one two three.” Dean took a deep breath and readied to sing, but froze. “Hey, Elias, that was your cue to start playing.”
He grit his teeth. “I don’t take cues from anyone.”
“Fine. Then you start it.”
Rolling his eyes, Elias strummed for a bit. His chords rattled as Dean started singing a complelty different carol than what he was playing. But he was able to switch relatively quickly. “Joy to the world! Elias has come. Let earth receive their…” Dean stopped, making Elias’s strumming stutter out. “You’re not a king. So what do we say?”
“Use part of a different verse.” Elias took over, with Dean hopping in towards the end. “Let men his songs [employ]. He comes to make, His blessings flow. Let heaven and nature sing, let heaven and nature sing-“
Dean sang louder than before, even when the music dropped out. “Let heaven and heaven and nature sing!” When he did realize that there wasn’t any more music, he turned and barely dodged Elias’s swing of his guitar. Dean called in the referee. “Ring the bell!”
It did as Dean dodged another guitar swing. The ref grabbed it by the neck and took it from Elias, then finished clearing out the ring by tossing the stool out. While his back was turned, Elias went for a hit below the belt. Dean caught Elias’s arm before he could make contact, then made a big show of stepping over his arm and out of harm’s way. He sent Elias rolling with a punch to the face, then scaled the turnbuckles.
“Jingle bells,” Dean started to sing. Elias cut him short by catching him with a jumping knee on his way down. He growled as Dean was able to kick out. Pushing the ref out of the way, he retrieved his guitar. But as he came back, Dean hopped to his feet and took him down with a Dirty Deeds right onto the strings, then won the pin.
Dean rolled out of the ring and started to go up the ramp. “Joy to the world, I pinned Elias. Fa la la la la, la la la la.”
***
Backstage, Drew McIntyre rounded a corner, nearly bumping into someone. “Watch where you’re… oh. It’s just you.” He bumped shoulders with Dolph Ziggler, spinning him around.
“Hey, hang on for a second.”
“Look, I don’t want to hear any more of your propositions. I’ve got my own plans, and you need to stay out of the way.”
“But Seth is vulnerable. There’s no way he could defend both titles at the same time. If we start now, tonight even, the sky’s the limit. We could both have a title by the Royal Rumble.”
Drew grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. “Dolph. Shut up. That mouth of yours is gonna get you inta serious trouble. If you like your head where it is, on your shoulders and not kicked off, then I’m tellin’ ya for the tha last time: stay outa my way.” He pushed him away, sending crates rolling and steel bars clattering to the floor.
Dolph stayed where he’d been thrown. For a second, all he could do was rub at his neck. Then his brow creased, and his jaw tensed. So be it.
***
In the ring, the Riott Squad had their tag titles on display. Liv and Sarah cackled and shined the plaques with the corners of their sleeves and shirts. Ruby spun her mic in her hands.
“And here we are, the first Raw Women’s Tag Champions.” She smugly accepted the booing mixed in with a spattering of cheers. “I don’t know why there were so many shocked faces last night. We were the only team that had any real right to win. Sasha and Bayley can’t ever make up their minds whether they want to work together or kill each other. And Nia and Tamina only started working together a few weeks ago.”
Liv walked up to bump her forehead to Ruby’s, while Sarah wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “We have been a team since we got here. We know each other’s ins and outs like they were our own. Who could step to us?”
“Not a soul,” Sarah answered. They laughed together. “And who’d we do it for?”
“Not you.” Ruby cackled and stepped forward. “Not for the women backstage, not for general manager Y/N, and not for Stephanie McMahon. We won these titles for us. But there’s only one thing missing. Ember Moon, you have something that we want. The Riott Squad wants a full set. Tonight, I’m going to take your title.”
Right on cue, Ember Moon walked out to the stage, Raw women’s title around her waist. “Are you really sure you want this fight, Ruby? I kind of like how it feels to be champion. And I will break every bone in your body to keep it.”
Ruby sneered. “You are welcome to try.”
“On one condition.” Ember walked to the top of the ramp. “Leave your hyenas backstage. I won this one-on-one, and the only way you could prove you are worthy of this prestige is by taking it from me one-on-one.”
Liv and Sarah snarled and moved to step in front of Ruby but she stopped them. “What makes someone worthy is the amount of effort they put into the challenge. And I have triple the effort than any woman here. But I accept your stipulation.” She laughed. “I’m going to enjoy taking that title from you.”
Ember chuckled. “You are welcome to try.”
***
If anyone had asked you, second to only Dean’s fiasco with Elias, this was the match you looked forward to the most. The tag teams, minus the champions, were set to fight in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight. Teams would be eliminated by pinning or submitting one member. Around the ring there where trees decorated with tinsel, wreathes hanging from the turnbuckles, and presents in just about every other available space. And you couldn’t forget the candy cane kendo sticks. You don’t know how you were going to clean it up before the main event, but that’s what the stellar team of ring techies was for.
As one, the teams of Titus World Wide, the B-Team, the Revival, and the Ascension all knew that they would have to eliminate the Authors of Pain. Titus and Apollo took to weakening one apiece. Bo set to attacking Rezar’s knees, and Curtis did the same to Akam. Once they were down to their knees, the Revival bounced off the ropes and flattened them to their backs. Then the Ascension started the dog piles. Akam and Rezar couldn’t move from under everyone, so the ref counted to three and eliminated them.
From there, it could only be described as holiday themed havoc. Konnor found a steel chair in a present and used it on Titus until Viktor could pin him. Dawson and Wilder ended roped together with a wreath and at the mercy of the remaining teams until the green boughs broke. Then Konner pinned Wilder as he fell over. Now it was down to two teams. Bo and Curtis made the Ascension stop long enough to put Santa hats on themselves. Then while they were still frozen in shock, they found themselves with elf hats on their heads. That inspired a rampage that littered the ring with broken boxes, shredded tinsel, and one dismantled tree.
The candy cane kendo sticks helped the winners though. In the hands of the B-Team, and with the help of some well-timed dodges in front of ring posts, they were enough to take down both members of the Ascension. Bo and Curtis went for a double pin. They danced around the ring, kendo sticks raised above their heads chanting their theme along with the crowd.
***
Ruby must have watched the match at Clash of Champions very closely. She knew the location of every bruise and weak muscle on Ember’s body. Each one was a target. She aimed for Ember’s legs first. If she couldn’t stand, she couldn’t fight back. An if she couldn’t climb, then she couldn’t eclipse. When her knees had been sufficiently weakened, Ruby moved on to her torso. A lot of Ember’s moves required being able to twist and contort in the air and to evade hits. By undercutting that ability, Ruby made it easier on herself to wound her opponent.
But as she’d said earlier, Ember liked the feeling of being champion. And she wasn’t about to let Ruby take that away from her. Ruby had her own weaknesses. Because she hadn’t been in a match recently, there weren’t any places to target. But Ember could target her pride. Her ego. And her eardrums as necessary with screams of battle. It was more efficient than she anticipated. The first scream shocked Ruby of her feet. The second gave Ember enough of an opening to finally make an attack. An attack that was quickly subverted into another round of defense.
Natalya came running down the ramp. She passed the ring and went straight to the bell box. Liv and Sarah came running out to meet her, but she was ready. She grabbed a nearby chair and was able to knock them both to the ground, grounding them for the rest of the fight.
In the ring, Ruby tossed Ember into a corner. She spun around, basking in whatever the audience gave her. When they started cheering louder, she dropped her arms with a sigh. She turned. Ember jumped and caught her with her Total Eclipse. One. Two. Three.
She didn’t celebrate. Ember motioned for a mic. “Why are you out here, Natty?”
Natalya motioned to the women at her feet. “I was helping you.”
“Right. “You’ll get your rematch, I promise. But in the meantime, I didn’t need your help ensuring that happens. Stay out of my way. Don’t get involved. I am going to defend this title,” she took the belt from the ref and raised it above her head, “on my own.” With that, she threw the mic towards Natalya and left the ring.