Chapter Eight
"The World Heavyweight Championship is going to be on the line later tonight everyone, with 'The Game' Triple H squaring off against the man who beat him for the title back at WrestleMania Twenty, 'The Rabid Wolverine' Chris Benoit." J.R. informed the televised audience from the commentary position.
"I can't wait J.R!" Jerry Lawler enthused.
"But before that, Survivor Series continues with a match for the Women's Title… I have a real bad feeling about this one King." J.R continued, sounding awfully morose.
"Yes… You know as well as anyone how much I love seeing the divas J.R… but this is not going to be pretty." Lawler replied in an unusually serious manner, by his standards.
The two broadcasters looked at one another and shook their heads at the prospect of the match to come. J.R. turned to face the camera once more and left the viewing public in no doubt about what they were about to see.
"This is not going to be for the faint of heart everybody, the tempestuous rivalry between Molly and Victoria is going to be settled once and for all. Ever since Molly had her head shaved at the hands of Victoria back in March, she has yearned for the opportunity for revenge."
"She regained the title a few weeks back, but this feud is not about championships any more… These two are intent on finishing each other, period. General Manager Eric Bischoff has deemed that there can be no more sneak attacks… no more outside assistance… this war has to end one way or another and it has to end right now."
"So, for the first time in WWE history ladies and gentlemen, two women will face each other, one on one, surrounded by two tonnes of unforgiving steel… It's the demonic structure known as Hell in a Cell, and in keeping with the true spirit of tonight's event, there can only be one survivor…"
The arena descended into near darkness, only illuminated by a sequence of flashing red and yellow light projections from the ceiling. The crowd hushed, as the metal monstrosity situated high above the ground began to lower, slowly inching its way down. It stopped about 10 feet from the ground, hovering with intent. Howard Finkel stood in the ring, in order to announce the match.
"The following contest is the Hell in a Cell match, scheduled for one fall… for the Women's Championship!"
Several seconds of an almost deathly silence passed, before Victoria's music hit the P.A. and signaled her arrival. Receiving a decent pop from sections of the crowd, she strode out onto the stage with no sign of the usual flamboyance and razzmatazz she normally indulged in. In a throwback to her darker past, she was dressed all in black and the colour of her clothing seemed to reflect her mood; there was no smile or happy emotions, as she was fixated on dishing out some pain.
"Introducing the challenger… From Los Angeles, California… Victoria!"
The vixen strode to the ring with her own plans of revenge. She was convinced that she should still have had the title; she had never actually been cleanly defeated by Molly in her career. Whilst she had enjoyed every second of humiliating Molly over the past months, everything had become deeper than a bit of fun. In her mind the time had come to finish her off and regain what she regarded as rightfully hers.
In the meantime, Molly paced back and forth behind the curtain. She could feel adrenaline pumping through her veins, but also a twinge of nervousness in the pit of her stomach. She looked down, placing a hand on the gold strap around her waist; the Women's Title meant a lot to her, but for one night it mattered for very little. The be all and end all was to exorcise the ghosts that had littered the previous few months of her life.
She managed to cast aside any concerns that her recent head injury might become a factor in the match, as she maintained focus on her bitter enemy. Given her cue to enter the arena, she reminded herself that she had one last duty to carry out before the match. She pressed her palms together, and said a little prayer to the heavens.
"Lord, have mercy on my soul… for the time has come to administer hateful vengeance."
Molly burst through the curtains, to Evolution's theme for the first time. She stopped to take in the view of the arena from the top of the ramp; it was shrouded in a warm golden glow. Dressed in black leather pants and a blood red top, she placed both of her hands on the gleaming belt strapped around her waist and cast a wicked glare out to the fans on each side of the arena. They were as boisterous in their abhorrence of Molly as ever.
A shower of golden sparks rained down behind her, as she continued to survey the scene. Getting her head back into the task at hand, she took her first look at the cell hanging above the ring. She allowed herself a wry smile, as she contemplated finally exacting the revenge she had sought for months. She made her way to the ring with a swagger in her step.
"And from Forest Lake, Minnesota… representing Evolution… she is the WWE Women's Champion… Molly Holly!"
Making her way up the ring steps and between the ropes, she immediately got in Victoria's face and a mean stare off ensued. Molly tried to intimidate the taller Victoria, but she wasn't giving an inch. Not a word was spoken as the two women refused to untangle their eyes, senior referee Earl Hebner had to tentatively step between them to ensure nothing went off before the cell descended fully. It began to lower again, to imprison the two contenders.
"Molly… Vicky… There isn't much I can say really… Good luck." Earl said hesitantly, he felt as uneasy as all and sundry in the arena. Perhaps the only two people out there who didn't feel anxious, were the two exchanging scowls in the centre of the ring. Vicky bent over slightly in order to get to eye-level with Molly; their noses inevitably pressed together as neither refused to give an inch.
"I've had fun with you baldy, tonight is going to be no different." Victoria broke the silence, smirking at the screwed up expression on Molly's face upon hearing the reference to hairlessness.
"In case you haven't noticed, it's grown back." Molly snapped back.
"Has it? Still looks kind of… Well, kind of stupid. But I guess that's nothing new…"
"Mock me all you like psycho, after tonight you're going to wish you never met me…"
"I do already." Victoria said, coughing in an attempt to disguise it.
"That's it, get your laughs now… They will be on the other side of your face once I'm finished with you!"
They began to jostle as the steel entity hit the ground. Earl called for the bell and the bloody battle commenced. Managing to prize away from each other, they circled the ring looking for an early advantage. Molly tempted Victoria to come toward her and lock up, only to set the tone for the match; she swung her boot into Victoria's lower extremities, causing the raven haired lady to drop to her knees.
"Hey come on Molly, try and keep it above the belt!" Hebner stressed, despite the match being no-holds barred.
"What?" Molly protested, unsure as to why she would be pulled up for something that was legal in the match. It provided enough of a distraction for Victoria to regain her composure and retaliate with a similar blow of her own, causing Molly to fall to the mat.
"How do you like that Molly?" Victoria derided her writhing opponent. Lifting Molly to her feet, she whipped her into the ropes and back body dropped her on the rebound. Molly held the small of her back, but had no time for respite as Victoria lifted her once more and whipped her against the ropes again.
Molly ducked under a leap frogging Victoria, leapt over her on the way back, before being taken down with a stiff clothesline on the third recoil. Sensing a quick kill, Victoria played to the crowd in preparation for her version of a standing moonsault. Molly knew what was coming and rolled out of the way, right to the outside in order to catch her breath.
Clambering to her feet, she found herself a little disorientated; she backed straight into the steel mesh behind her. Letting out a gasp, she was reminded of the confined environment they were in.
"You can't run away Molly!" Victoria cackled. She sportingly stood away from the ropes to allow Molly to climb back into the ring, but immediately reasserted the upper hand by arm dragging her to the mat. She held on to the arm and tried to wrench it out of its socket, but inadvertently played into Molly's hands. As the better mat technician, she quickly reversed the arm lock into an arm bar of her own.
Molly used the hold as a chance to pull herself together after a rocky start. Victoria was renowned for being slow out of the blocks, but she appeared to be on her game at the start of this match. Victoria slowly inched her way out of Molly's grasp, getting to her knees. A couple of elbows to her stomach loosened the grip enough for Victoria to break away, only for Molly to grab her by the hair and yank her to the ground.
"Hey, no hair pulling Molly!" Hebner once again admonished Molly, without real justification under the rules. Molly thought about remonstrating, but didn't want to make the same mistake twice. She straddled Victoria on the canvas and set about smashing her head into it. She ripped several hairs out of her scalp, such was the force of her onslaught.
As Hebner stepped in to intervene, Molly lost her cool with him.
"Fuck me Earl! It's a Hell in a Cell match, get off my case prick!" She screamed, leaping to her feet and confronting the official. Victoria looked on, surprised by Molly's outburst; despite being a fiery character in the ring, she could never recall her using such expletives. Earl retreated to the corner, as Molly advanced on him waving her arms around furiously.
"Old age getting to you or something? Get a grip for heaven's sake!" Molly vented further. Hebner held his hands up, left speechless by the verbal onslaught; she did have a point of sorts, he was enforcing rules that weren't to be enforced in this particular type of match up.
Molly went to turn her attention back to Victoria, but was met with a crashing blow to the skull. The blow had been a glancing one, but was still of sufficient force to send her tumbling to the ground, her mind a hazy mist. Having only just recovered from a concussion, the blow could have flared it up again; but amazingly she remained conscious, barely.
"You never learn do you?" the fuzzy sound of Victoria's voice ringing in her ears. She managed to drag her head off the canvas to see her stood with a steel chair in her hands. She then noticed a red stain on the mat, akin to the colour of her attire. Reaching up to the area of her forehead that the chair had connected with, she discovered the source of the leak.
She felt sickened by the sight of her own blood on her fingers, but didn't have much time to worry about it as Victoria slapped the chair across her back. Molly could feel the fight being driven out of her, pain searing through her bones.
"Come on Molly! Get up!" Victoria shouted, nonchalantly kicking her. She proceeded to roll Molly out of the ring with her feet, throwing the steel chair to the ground. She wanted to introduce Molly to a friend of hers; the unforgiving metal fence surrounding them.
Molly fell to the outside and valiantly tried to crawl away from the merciless Victoria in pursuit. She didn't get far before her foot was grabbed and she felt herself being flipped over. She groggily held her hands up, begging for mercy, but to no avail. Victoria picked her up by the scruff of her neck and threw Molly against the steel mesh, further lacerating her head wound.
The audience gasped as Victoria repeated the act, and then again. She relented after causing a fourth collision, heaving Molly back into the ring in a battered heap. Her brain began to work overtime, as she sought to go for the jugular. She rummaged beneath the ring, finding a broom and a trash can. She rolled the broom into the ring and tossed the trash can over the ropes, before returning to find more tools of torture.
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