#ugh tag championships i win i think but at what cost

[cornerful]

Sméagol and the Gift

'Now!' said Sam. 'At last I can deal with you!' He leaped forward with drawn blade ready for battle. But Gollum did not spring. He fell flat upon the ground and whimpered.

'Don't kill us,' he wept. 'Don't hurt us with nassty cruel steel! Let us live, yes, live just a little longer. Lost lost! We're lost. And when Precious goes we'll die, yes, die into the dust.'

Devastated by this. Just a little longer, he begs. Even though his existence is a torment. Even though the will that holds him to life is barely his own anymore. He has long outlived his time but it's such a cruelty that now the only freedom for him is in death. I'm glad Sam didn't kill him but the whole scenario is awful.

When a mortal keeps a ring of power he does not gain more life, he continues, denied natural mortality as the fear of death is amplified and twisted into fear of separation, nothing matters anymore but the keeping, the continuing. In that miserable existence there is no peace, and at its end there is no graceful goodbye to life, there is only dust. Sudden, empty, and final.

It would take murder to spare him that. Or falling with the ring into the fire.

Bilbo let it go in time (did he feel anything when it was destroyed?) Frodo is freed of it now, though the toll it extracted for the separation was at very least a finger. It was too late for Gollum for the price to be anything other than it was, and that's brutal.

If you live long enough, death is no longer the enemy. What Sauron did to Gollum ensured that it would always be the enemy, to be feared and avoided for ever, once time and the ring had fashioned it into the only escape left. Evil.

[placetobenation]

It’s a “lose your championship” kind of week for the WWE.

First, we get Becky Lynch giving up her RAW Women’s Championship now that she’s going to be a Mom. Then, we get Sami Zayn being “forced” to let go of his Intercontinental Title.

Zayn, after getting some dental work to go along with his pandemic hiatus, says he’s still the champion but will now have to watch a tournament go forward to see who the next I-C Champ will be.

I thought the WWE handled Becky’s situation well with some human moments to start RAW Monday night with “The Man” and Asuka, who was just learning that she actually won the title and not the MITB contract during Sunday night’s PPV. Pulling the curtain back a bit and letting the ladies enjoy the moment for what it was as mothers was really good to see.

Welcome back to the brand extension! It’s now called the Brand Invitation and it starts with the announcement of King Corbin coming to RAW Monday night to face WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. Now, that’s quite the invitation to not only come, but face the #1 superstar on the show. NXT Charlotte Flair, who you could argue started this by being on RAW each week (along with Akira Tozawa and others), got things going by showing up on SmackDown.

They’ve done so much to make sure the bands are separate and now it seems, out of necessity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they need to mix it up because of talent shortages. I get that, I just hope they don’t overuse it. Make it special and it will be ok.

STAR OF THE WEEK:

Becky Lynch – Congrats to “The Man” on her awesome news and impending birth of her first child. That opening segment on RAW Monday night did more to humanizing her (and Asuka) than anything they could’ve ever done. I’m glad they were upfront and honest with the WWE Universe, something that can NOT be said about their handling of Roman Reigns (and others) during the COVID-19 crisis. Now, as for Seth Rollins. That’s a different and bizarre story for later on.

MONEY IN THE BANK PPV

THIS is the @WWEUniverse we're living in. Welcome to the #WWERaw after #MITB! pic.twitter.com/GfLh2o4NqU

— WWE (@WWE) May 12, 2020

LADIES and GENTLEMEN … we have ourselves a FOOD FIGHT!!!#MITB @otiswwe @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/5swu9nAMUz

— WWE (@WWE) May 11, 2020

RESULTS

Men’s Money In The Bank Match: Otis defeated King Corbin, AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan and Aleister Black

Women’s Money In The Bank Match: Asuka defeated Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Carmella, Dana Brooke and Lacey Evans

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins

Universal Championship Match: Braun Strowman defeated Bray Wyatt

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Bayley defeated Tamina

SmackDown Tag Team Fatal Four-Way Championship Match: The New Day defeated Lucha House Party, The Miz & John Morrison and The Forgotten Sons

Bobby Lashley defeated R-Truth

Kickoff Show: Jeff Hardy defeated Cesaro

… Respect?#MITB @DMcIntyreWWE @WWERollins pic.twitter.com/TK4SUg1A4c

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 11, 2020

RAW

RESULTS

No DQ Match: Bobby Lashley defeated Humberto Carrillo

Angel Garza defeated Akira Tozawa

Non-Title Women’s Tag Team Title Match: The Iiconics defeated Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross

Non-Title WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre defeated Andrade

R-Truth, Ricochet & Cedric Alexander defeated MVP, Shane Thorne & Brendan Vink

Aleister Black & Rey Mysterio defeated Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy via DQ

Shayna Baszler defeated Natalya

What we loved:

"You go and be a warrior, 'cause I'm gonna go be a mother." Congratulations, @BeckyLynchWWE!!!! What a moment on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/yWnHB3Dc4o

— WWE (@WWE) May 12, 2020

Becky Mama – As we said above, nothing but positivity from this one! Congrats to Becky Lynch and the family!

Asuka as Champ – Such an awesome and genuine reaction. Asuka has proven she’s worthy in the ring and over the past few months during a down-time in the biz, she’s more than shown she can be out of the box out of the ring too which should bode well moving further.

R-Truth – The dude is just funny and entertaining. Good stuff from him and Cousin Ricky!

That was a lot.#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/nZt2RLSceg

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 12, 2020

Rey Mysterio Line of the Year – “What a d**k!”  – Mysterio to Charly Caruso after congratulating Seth Rollins on being a father and Rollins just walking away. Rollins of course got the last laugh though with an injury to end Rey’s evening.

What we didn’t love:

Zelina’s gang of 3 – While I do love the tension between Andrade, Angel Garza and Austin Theory, why just hand over a match with Drew McIntyre to Andrade (again) when he just had one a few weeks back? Just let the tension ride and let them fight it out for a spot against the champ? It would be a very good match and advance the story line as well. Missed opportunity there.

#WWEChampion @DMcIntyreWWE shows @AndradeCienWWE that he's also the champion of CHOPS!

#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/3WU331kRUs

— WWE (@WWE) May 12, 2020

Tag team champs losing on TV again – Just like the men’s tag champs on both RAW and SmackDown the past two months, it seems like having them lose on TV is a pattern. The Iiconics haven’t been around for over 6 months and they come back and beat Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross in their first match. Seems wonky to me and doesn’t make your champs look strong. 50-50 booking. Ugh! Predictably, it sets up a title match at Backlash.

Just plain bizarre:

Seth Rollins – After being catatonic most of the night, a night in which he should be happy about becoming a father, he goes wild on Rey Mysterio, giving him a bloody eye injury at the end of their tag team match, causing a DQ win for Mysterio and Aleister Black. Then, after the match, Rollins is all apologetic again. All this comes after he shakes hands Sunday night after his title loss to McIntyre. I wish they could’ve, at least for a night, let him be happy like his fiancée Becky Lynch.

Brewing:

MVP’s Stable – Well, it looks like we’ve got the beginning of MVP’s stable now with Bobby Lashley coming aboard. Will it be long before Apollo Crews joins too? I like the factions, there’s no doubt. They were great in the Attitude Era and can be again! The MVP faction. Zelina Vega faction. Who’s next? Plus, a strong Lashley is better than anything he was with Lana.

"If you've got the guts, it'll be @EdgeRatedR vs. @RandyOrton in a straight-up wrestling match."#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/7dEE5fumEN

— WWE (@WWE) May 12, 2020

Edge vs. Orton II – Just a wrestling match? Something smells fishy here, don’t you think?

NXT

RESULTS

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Imperium (Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) defeated Matt Riddle & Timothy Thatcher to win titles

Tegan Nox defeated Indi Hartwell

Interim NXT Cruiserweight Tournament Championship Match: Jake Atlas defeated Tony Nese

Cameron Grimes defeated Finn Balor

Interim NXT Cruiserweight Tournament Championship Match: Jack Gallagher defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott

Kayden Carter defeated Aliyah

Matt Riddle defeated Timothy Hatcher

What we loved:

Your entertainment is here.

Tick tock. #WWENXT @WWEKarrionKross @Lady_Scarlett13 pic.twitter.com/GiBaAab6FT

— WWE (@WWE) May 14, 2020

The End is Here – The best thing on NXT this week was the continuing saga of Karrion Kross and Scarlett. After an amazing debut last week, a well-done produced piece putting EVERYONE in NXT on notice – not just Tommaso Ciampa – was well done.

.@TripleH, @ShawnMichaels & @WWERoadDogg have a message for you!#NXTTakeOver: In Your House streams on the award-winning @WWENetwork on Sunday, June 7th! House

#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/RzKgNXIs5v

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) May 15, 2020

In Your House is back! – Yes, the infamous 90’s PPV’s are back for at least one night as the next NXT Takeover is an In Your House Special on June 7th! And having Triple H, Shawn Michaels and The Road Dogg Jesse James make the announcement with memories of their first matches at IYH 25 years ago was funny as hell too! I hope they use the old school graphics as well!

Congrats:

.@SuperKingofBros lost a bro and the titles. @Marcel_B_WWE & @FabianAichner are your NEW #WWENXT #TagTeamChampions! pic.twitter.com/5b1BquUw15

— WWE (@WWE) May 14, 2020

New Tag Champs – Imperium is now a two-title stable. Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel took full advantage of Timothy Thatcher walking out on his championship partner Matt Riddle to win the belts for the first time. Now with Walter’s NXT UK Championship, Imperium is getting well stocked to take over NXT.

Meh:

Thatcher & Riddle – Pretty quick end to this partnership. Now, I get that Thatcher didn’t like the comedy and off-beat antics of the “Bros,” but to end it so quickly and have a match the same night seems a little rushed to me.

Dinner with the Gargano’s & Rhea Ripley – Both were just kind of there this week.

Huh?:

NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament – I’ve enjoyed it so far, but I wish they gave them a bit more time. It’s been really good in-ring action. This week, we barely got 10 minutes combined in wins by Jack Gallagher and Jake Atlas. Now, we get Kushida vs. Drake Maverick and Akira Tozawa vs. El Hiro Fantasma in the upcoming week. I hope they give them some room to show their wares!

Aliyah – Why build her up as a new Rob Stone client only to have her lose right away?

Didn’t like at all:

HUH??! What is @ArcherOfInfamy doing out here? #WWENXT @FinnBalor pic.twitter.com/EkzHTx2TLP

— WWE (@WWE) May 14, 2020

Balor’s bully – Having Damien Priest come out as the man who attached Finn Balor while Balor was fighting Cameron Grimes seemed like a yawner instead of an OMG moment. Priest is just coming off a losing feud with Keith Lee and now having him get an upper hand on Balor to cost him the match with Grimes is a bit forced and yes, rushed again. It should’ve had more play time in it and a stronger payoff.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Intercontinental Championship Tournament 1st Round Match: Elias defeated King Corbin

Dana Brooke defeated Naomi

Intercontinental Championship Tournament 1st Round Match: Daniel Bryan defeated Drew Gulak

Braun Strowman & Otis defeated The Miz & John Morrison

What we loved:

"This is such a joy to watch." – @WWEGraves @WWEDanielBryan advances to the 2nd Round of the #ICTitle tournament after an amazing match with @DrewGulak! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/cGxaOYfEhr

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) May 16, 2020

Drew vs. Daniel – Give me more of this, please! Unfortunately, it’s a first round match and not further in the tournament. Would love to see these two do an ironman match.

"Are you your own woman, or are you just going to be @itsBayleyWWE's lackey and happy being an afterthought?" – @MsCharlotteWWE to @SashaBanksWWE

#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/3Odr5DYjYa

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) May 16, 2020

The Queen stirs the pot – instead of heading into the normal physical theatrics, Charlotte Flair got things going again between Sasha Banks and Bayley. Not only do we get a match with champion vs. champion as SmackDown’s Bayley will face NXT’s Charlotte next week, but maybe we get a Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Sasha three-way dance too!

Sonya brings it – Daville continues to be dynamite on the mic in previewing next week’s mixed tag match with Sonya & Dolph Ziggler taking on Otis & Mandy Rose. She’s just being herself and it rings true! Well done Sonya! Keep it up!

Entertaining:

Main event – The combination of Otis and Universal Champion Braun Strowman was predictable as Tucker wasn’t available to join the new Mr. MITB against The Miz & John Morrison, but it worked. The double worm was fun and the right team won. Plus, we get to stoke the fire for Otis and his eventual cashing in of his contract down the road. Plus, I did appreciate the clean win and no shenanigans at the end of the match.

Huh?

AJ in the I-C Title mix – Isn’t AJ Styles on RAW? I see we are already taking liberties with the brand invitational.

Parting shots:

"Our job is to go out and be first-class professional entertainers and to give our fans what they paid their hard-earned money to see." – @undertaker #TheLastRide pic.twitter.com/z7hUQtaOWz

— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) May 11, 2020

The Undertaker: Last Ride – If you haven’t seen part 1, do it. NOW! Loved it and need me some more this week as part 2 of the five-part docu-series continues on the WWE Network Sunday night. Loved the candor from Mark Calaway and loved the fact that WWE didn’t shy away from using stars not currently with the company to tell the story, i.e. Jim Ross, Chris Jericho and more! You simply can’t tell the Dead Man’s tale without good ol’ JR!

Plus, the emotion, openness and access we’re getting from The Undertaker and wife Michelle McCool is fabulous. This is MUST SEE TV folks!

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots and Red Sox fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND!

[bastardnev]

I Told You So

i FINALLY finished the Happier sequel to My King

(crossposted from ao3)

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: World Wrestling Entertainment, Professional Wrestling Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Wade Barrett/Pac | Adrian Neville Characters: Wade Barrett, Pac | Adrian Neville Additional Tags: Fluff, i love!! these boys!!, Post-Summerslam Summary: Wade knew that Neville would win the title back.

(sequel to "My King")

Things had been rough since Neville lost the Cruiserweight title.

Not even 24 hours after he'd lost, Neville had grown to be a shell of his former self, marching around backstage with messy hair and unhealthy-looking dark circles under his eyes. Wade knew that the talk that they'd had wouldn't be enough to help him get over such a devastating loss, but he never thought things would get this bad. Every time Wade was with Neville, he was trembling, though whether that was due to sadness or anger Wade hadn't yet figured out. Whatever it was, Wade hoped that it would be gone by the time Neville's match at Summerslam ended.

Neville's rematch was set to be the second match on the kickoff show, which frustrated Wade for multiple reasons. It was bad enough that Neville wasn't seen as being 'important' enough to be on the main card, but there was hardly anyone seated in the stands yet. People would still be waiting on line to get in during the most important title match of the night -- in his opinion, at least.

His position on the card didn't seem to bother Neville, though. So long as he was getting his rematch, they could do it out in the parking lot in the early hours of the morning for all he cared. It didn't matter who was or wasn't there to watch -- he was going to get his championship back in the end.

"You're going on right after this interview, right?" Wade asked. He and Neville were watching the Ambrose and Rollins interview on a TV monitor out in the hallway, though 'watching' may not be the best word to describe it since it was really more background noise than anything. Neville was far too focused on his pre-match preparation to pay any attention at all.

"Mm," Neville affirmed, decked out in his new white and silver attire, his arms crossed. He hadn't been much for words in the last week, most of his responses having been either head shakes or grunts.

"Hey," Wade started as he put a hand on his shoulder, feeling how tense he was. "You're going to do great. I know you will. Kick his ass and bring that title back where it belongs."

"That's the plan." Neville noticed that the interview on the screen was close to ending. "I need to go."

"Go get 'em, King. I'll be waiting here for you when you're done." Wade wore as assuring of a smile as he could muster, and he watched as Neville walked away and left him by himself.

Wade sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring at the image of Graves and Joseph on commentary. He had all the faith in the world in Neville. Wade knew how he operated, and there was no way in hell that he was leaving the Barclays Center that evening without that title in hand.

"Holy shit, he did it!!" Wade shouted when he watched the referee count to three, the sound of the bell signalling the end of the match sounding like music to his ears. In the process, he accidentally scared a few backstage workers who were standing nearby, causing them to jump. Wade paid their shock no mind, however. He was far too excited to worry about what anyone thought of him.

Neville had won. He countered Tozawa's senton by sticking up his knees right as it was about to connect and managed to hit the Red Arrow -- the same move that had cost him the title less than a week ago. That split second decision changed the momentum of the whole match and allowed for Neville to capitalize, and was champion once again.

The first two time Cruiserweight champion. That accolade belonged to the King.

His King.

A few moments later, Wade noticed that Neville was making his way towards him, clutching the title tightly in his hands as if it were going to be snatched from him at any moment. Neville shot a glare in the direction of the workers that were standing nearby, and they hurriedly scurried away, causing Wade to snort. Neville has the power to get rid of people with a single look. I can only hope to be that intimidating one day.

It was once they were alone that Wade quickly swept Neville off of his feet, hugging him and spinning him around. "You did it! I told you that you would!"

"Wade, stop that!" Neville struggled to break free. "I told you not to do that when someone could see us!"

"You've already scared everyone off, Nev. There's no one around to see us."

"Still, it's embarrassing... Imagine if one of those peasants sees me like this?"

"Fine, fine." Wade let him go, and despite his complaints Neville didn't actually look like he was angry at Wade. "But seriously, congrats. I'm so proud of you."

"Was there ever any doubt that I wasn't going to win my crown back?" Neville slung the belt over his shoulder and began to stroke it as if it were a cat. "This is mine, plain and simple. This title and the whole damn division is going to be mine until I decide that I'm done with it."

"That's my King." Wade grinned and ruffled up Neville's already messy hair. He took a chance and bent down, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead. The two of them hadn't had any actual romantic contact since the day Neville lost (if that kiss they shared could actually be considered romantic and not sloppy and desperate). Wade had no idea what kind of a reaction he was going to get.

Neville's expression had changed by the time Wade pulled away, his cocky one having been replaced with a more complicated and hard to read one. "You alright?" Wade asked. "You look a little weird."

"Don't I always look weird? Come on, just look at me," Neville joked, but his expression remained the same.

"What's bugging you? You don't look like someone who just won his championship back." Says the guy who made him look this way in the first place...

"This might sound like a weird question to ask, Wade, but..." Neville glanced around and made sure that they were alone before he asked. "What are we, anyway? Are we still just friends?"

Wade swallowed, looking down towards his feet. "Well, what do you want us to be?" He replied. "I mean, we did kinda kiss last week..."

"And we hung out at the hotel afterwards," Neville pointed out. "You kept me company."

"Yes I did." Wade remembered lying in bed next to him in silence, gently stroking at Neville's hair (which was still a little damp from the shower he'd taken) as he fell asleep. It wasn't a very happy memory given the context, but it definitely didn't read as being very platonic. "Do you want us to be more than friends? I was kinda hoping that we could at least try it." They were already close friends who shared all the same interests -- some examples of those interests being making fun of their co-workers and acting dickish in general -- so wouldn't it make sense for them to give dating a shot?

Neville chewed the inside of his cheek, fingers tapping against the title as he thought. Slowly, his hand reached out and gently grabbed Wade's. "... I wouldn't mind giving it a try."

Wade looked down at their hands and smiled. "So, since we're dating, would you mind if I... y'know..."

Neville rolled his eyes with a small smirk, checking again to make sure no one was watching before saying, "Fine, go ahead."

"Excellent." With that, Wade bent down again, this time pressing his lips to Neville's and letting his eyes slip shut. He knew that he needed to pull away before someone (especially one of the other cruiserweights) caught sight of them, but that was going to be difficult what with how nice Neville's lips felt. Wade was beginning to think that maybe it was worth it to get caught if it meant that they got to continue for a little longer.

Ultimately, he pulled away, chuckling at Neville's flushed face. "Is the King embarrassed? Is our feared ruler really that bashful?" He teased.

"Hush up." Neville shoved his arm. "Ugh, I feel grimy as hell... I need to go wash up."

"Good idea. You're all sweaty." That fact didn't stop Wade from pulling Neville close to him as they started to walk towards the locker room. "What do you say we go celebrate later, hmm? Lemme take you out someplace nice."

"First you kiss me, and then you ask me on a date? All within a few minutes? How suave," Neville replied. "But I'd like that. I'm in the mood to be spoiled."

"Only the best for my King."