Stephanie springs a trap

October 7th, 2019 - Bakersfield California - Monday Night Raw

Stephanie McMahon is on the stage having interrupted Carmella’s celebratory dance break. With Carmella’s controversial reputation in the company, it’s actually a small wonder that management and the production team even allowed her to do it in the first place. Stephanie’s voice is extra raspy and it’s almost as if she’s channeling her father at his angriest. “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

Carmella retrieves the microphone she dropped when she started her dance party and responds with a smile. “I think that’s obvious - I’m celebrating! You said I didn’t stand a chance against her royal highness THE QUEEN Charlotte Flair. You thought the result of the match was a foregone conclusion. But not only did I beat your chosen challenger… I MADE HER TAP OUT!”

The fans echo Carmella with an obligatory chant. “She tapped out! She tapped out! She tapped out!”

“That wasn’t a win! That was a farce!” Stephanie argues. “You only further proved what a disgrace you are to this company and continue to embarrass everyone!”

“Yeah, well, the funny thing about that is… I’m not embarrassed!” Carmella replies. “She kept shouting at me to ‘show her’ so that’s exactly what I did. I like saying it so I’ll say it again! I BEAT CHARLOTTE FLAIR! Looks like the embarrassment is all on your side of the table.” She pauses and looks over at Charlotte who is lying on the floor. “And hers too, obviously.”

McMahon responds with a sinister smile, “Well, since the match is over and you're still the reigning 24/7 Champion… I’d like to inform you that the 24/7 Rule is now officially reinstated. And I’m also doubling my reward. Any wrestler who can win the 24/7 Championship from Carmella before the night is out will receive a TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR BONUS! GET HER!”

Sarah Logan bursts out from the back and sprints by Stephanie. She looks like she had been waiting backstage for this exact moment. She’s still wearing her ring gear and war paint and is fresh off her victory over Dana Brooke on the pre-show taping of WWE Main Event. Some cheeky fans had started up the same embarrassing chant from last night but the chanting only served to infuriate Logan. She practically decapitated Brooke with a clothesline and won the match soon after. With the two of them potentially going to separate shows in the upcoming WWE Draft this was likely the last match in their ongoing WWE Main Event rivalry.

Peyton Royce and Billie Kay also come running out from the back but Sarah Logan looks extra motivated and is already halfway down the ramp.

“Well, that’s my cue to cash out and run for it,” Carmella resolves as she drops her microphone and hastily bails out of the ring. She rushes to the barricade, looking to escape into the crowd from her usual spot, but stops with one leg over the barricade when she sees Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross coming down the aisle. Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose are just behind them. And while Fire and Desire are clearly there for the reward money, the Women’s Tag Team Champions have a much more personal reason to go after Carmella and they do NOT look happy to see the woman who humiliated them on Friday’s Smackdown.

“Going somewhere?” Alexa asks.

“Nikki wants ta play again! Hahaha!” Cross cackles with a mad grin.

Carmella draws her leg back and looks behind her to see that Sarah Logan has reached the bottom of the ramp and is coming around the ring. She runs around the ring to keep away from her and tries to escape into the crowd through the next aisle. But she’s cut off again by the sight of Dana Brooke, Asuka, and Kairi Sane coming down through the crowd.

“You’re not getting away this time!” Dana declares.

The IIconics have reached the bottom of the ramp and are going around the ring in the opposite direction from Sarah Logan. Carmella hugs her championship to her chest. She’s surrounded. This screams like a set up and seems really well coordinated. Maybe this is why the production crew allowed her to do her celebratory dance break. It gave Stephanie time to get her numerous bounty hunters in place around the arena.

Carmella’s trapped. Dana Brooke breaks into a run while Sane and Asuka hurry to catch up. Carmella backs away from the barricade and sees the IIconics coming around one side of the ring and Sarah Logan rapidly approaching from the other direction. Just behind Logan, Nikki Cross has hopped the barricade and Bliss is climbing over too. The bounty hunters are closing in around her from all directions. Well, all except one. Carmella looks back at the ring where Charles Robinson is standing by ready to make the decisive count. Carmella’s line of sight drifts lower and she finally spots an escape route. The crafty 24/7 Champion whirls around and practically dives under the ring. There’s a cameraman in the perfect position to give the fans one last look at Carmella’s wiggling nearly naked ass before she disappears under the ring.

Sarah Logan comes running into the shot a split second later and slaps the steel ring steps as she drops to the ground and immediately crawls under the ring after the elusive Princess of Staten Island.

The other nine bounty hunters are all gathered together on that one side of the ring. They quickly realize that it would be pointless to go under the ring after Sarah. But even if Logan doesn’t manage to catch Carmella under the ring, they can at least count on her to flush the 24/7 Champion out the other side. There’s a silent mutual decision to split up. Dana Brooke manages to push passed Royce and Kay who spin around and follow her back the way they came with the Kabuki Warriors running along behind them. Bliss and Cross turn to go in the opposite direction but now find themselves running behind Rose and Deville.

The camera cuts to the other side of the ring just in time for the ring skirt to rise up as Carmella comes crawling out with her green leather title belt still clenched in her hand. The slim blonde made the long crawl under the ring in record time. Mella scrambles back up but stops short when she finds one final bounty hunter coming down the ramp to join the chase.

“Roadblock!” Tamina taunts. Her appearance at Hell in a Cell was originally just going to be a one-off thing. But after hitching a ride to Bakersfield with Sarah Logan and the IIconics she figured she might as well stick around for one more night and try to claim that bounty. “And there’s no getaway car this time!”

Stephanie McMahon stands smiling at the top of the ramp. She’s mobilized the entire women’s locker room against Carmella. The only active roster members who are missing from this chase are Natalya and Lacey Evans who are preparing for their Last Lady Standing Match, Lana who was never much of a competitor and is currently the catalyst of the new Rusev/Lashley storyline, the two Raw and Smackdown Women’s Champions Becky Lynch and Bayley who will be teaming together take on the Women’s Tag Team Champions in a Draft Showcase Match later tonight, and Sasha Banks who was in a brutal Hell in a Cell Match last night and is likely recovering from the injuries she sustained.

Tamina has turned the ramp into a dead end and Dana Brooke’s pack are closing in so the third aisle is also out. Mandy, Sonya, Alexa, and Nikki are taking the long way around the ring so that leaves the fourth and final aisle as Carmella’s only remaining avenue of escape.

But as Carmella runs for the barricade that’s when Charlotte finally stands up and blocks her path. There’s a wide smile on Flair’s face. She’s clearly enjoying a small measure of **** on the woman who just embarrassed her by being the one to ultimately cut off her escape and throw her to the wolves.

Dana Brooke is the closest ‘wolf’ in question after climbing over the ring steps to avoid the extra seconds it would take to go around them. But she promptly trips and falls on her face when Sarah Logan grabs her ankle from under the ring then crawls over her WWE Main Event rival as she regains her lead in the chase for Carmella.

Carmella does some quick math. There’s a hoard of angry women closing in around her… but only one Charlotte Flair in front of her blocking her only route of escape. The solution to this problem is a simple one.

“RAAAAAH!” Carmella lets out a yell and charges straight toward Charlotte. The Queen’s eyes widen in momentary surprise as she clearly didn’t expect Carmella to run right at her. Mella jumps up and collides with Charlotte for a running crossbody. Charlotte falls backward and both women tumble over the barricade into the crowd. Carmella knows she has to keep moving so she grabs her title then rolls off of Charlotte and crawls away. Security is there to keep the fans at bay but those close enough are showing no shame in getting an up close look at Mella’s FabulASS as she crawls by.

Sarah Logan is the first to reach the barricade and hastily hops the padded fence. But her haste causes a moment of karma as she trips over the sprawled form of Charlotte and falls to the floor. The other bounty hunters all converge together and the alliance breaks down as the women start to fight over who is going to be the next one over the barricade.

One camera films the chaotic shoving match from the floor but then the feed cuts to the other cameraman who has gotten in the ring and uses the higher elevation to film over the ringside brawl and get a shot of Carmella crawling away through the crowd.

Someone comes running down the aisle and grabs Carmella. The cameraman zooms in on the newcomer. IT’S R-TRUTH! Truth picks up Carmella and hoists her across his shoulders in a fireman's carry and runs off with her.

“STOP FIGHTING!” Stephanie shouts from the stage as she watches her plan fall apart. “SHE’S GETTING AWAY!”

The feed goes back to the floor where Asuka finds herself at the back of the shoving match but when she looks to the side she sees Nikki Cross and remembers how their match ended last night. She decides to forgo competing against a bunch of other women for a $200,000 reward in favor of getting some personal ****. The Empress of Tomorrow turns and hauls off on Cross. Nikki is rocked by the strike but is never one to back down when someone wants to play with her. Cross charges Asuka and the two start brawling. Bliss and Sane see their partners fighting and rush to join the fray.

Now that half the crowd around the barricade has broken off to fight among themselves, it's easier to see what's happening. Tamina knows from the chase last night that she isn’t going to be winning any races so she’s resorting to holding the other women back. But while Tamina is busy holding back both of the IIconics and blocking the barricade, Sonya Deville puts her hands together and launches Mandy Rose over the top of the group. Mandy makes it over the barricade and crashes down on Charlotte and Sarah on the other side. Rose tries to crawl off of them but Logan latches onto leg and anchors her in place. Sonya tries to slip passed and help her partner but Tamina manages to grab her and hold her back while she’s still straddling the barricade.

That’s when Dana gets back up. She sees the four struggling women jostling in front of the barricade as well as the fight going on between the Women’s Tag Team Champions and the Kabuki Warriors and decides to avoid that mess entirely. Climbs up onto the corner of the barricade near the entrance ramp then does a quick well-balanced run on top of the narrow padding before leaping over the other battling bounty hunters and landing in the aisle. Dana lashes out and delivers a quick **** kick to Logan then runs by her in pursuit of R-Truth and Carmella. Dana’s kick causes Sarah’s grip to go slack and Mandy is able to fight free before chasing after Brooke.

And then the dam bursts, Tamina realizes there’s no point in holding the others back anymore and there’s a mad rush as she, Deville, Kay, and Royce to climb over the barricade. Sarah and Charlotte have to roll out of the way to avoid being trampled by the small stampede of women.

Logan smacks the floor in frustration and shoots back up before tearing off after the others.

“What the hell happened to this division?” Charlotte wonders out loud as she sits against the barricade not bothering to partake in the chase but still trying to process the cutthroat chaos that she just witnessed.

Security is seen running down the ramp passed Stephanie to finally put a stop to the brawl between Asuka, Sane, Cross, and Bliss. But then the camera cuts to the back where a cameraman is running to catch up with R-Truth and Carmella as Truth races down a hallway with the 24/7 Champion still slung across his shoulders.

“Truth! Truth!” Carmella calls out as her title belt dangles down behind them. “We got away! You can put me down now!”

“No time,” R-Truth replies. “Everyone’s after you. Gotta keep moving or they’ll catch us!”

R-Truth runs a bit down a hallway where he pulls a door open and rushes inside. The cameraman hurries to keep up and slips through the door to find R-Truth and Carmella standing still in the middle of the empty room.

Empty… except for referee Chad Patton who is seated on a chair.

“Truth… NO!” Carmella gasps in horror.

R-Truth tightens his fireman’s carry-style hold on Carmella and starts to rapidly spin in the middle of the room.

“TRUTH! NO! NO! STOP! STAAAHHHHP!” as her partner whirls her around in an airplane spin.

It goes on for a full thirty seconds before R-Truth tosses Carmella off his shoulders and she goes crashing to the ground dizzy and reeling from both the spinning and her partner’s sudden betrayal. R-Truth is off balance from all the spinning and staggers to the side a couple steps before he falls over on top of Carmella for a cover. Chad Patton sees the pinning situation and gets out of his chair and makes the count. “ONE… TWO… THREE!”

R-Truth grabs the 24/7 Championship and sits on the floor next to Carmella. “Sorry, Mella. But Steph was never gonna allow ya to leave the arena with this title. You said it yourself… Mella is money. So now I'm cashing in... or out... or however it goes.”

R-TRUTH IS THE NEW 24/7 CHAMPION!

Now a TWENTY-TIME 24/7 Champion, R-Truth stands up with the title and hurries to the door. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke arrive outside just in time for R-Truth to push passed them and run off with the 24/7 Championship.

“What? No!" Mandy exclaims. "We're too late!"

"What just happened?” Dana wonders as she stares at Carmella lying dazed on the floor of the nearly empty room with Chad Patton standing over her.

Sarah Logan couldn’t keep her down for long. Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss quickly came to regret crossing Carmella. Stephanie McMahon’s bounty mobilized almost the entire women’s division against her but they hadn’t been able to catch her. Even the mighty Charlotte Flair hadn’t been able to take the 24/7 Championship away from her.

In the end, it had been the betrayal of a close friend that finally got the job done.

Fabulous Truth is over. And so is Carmella’s reign as 24/7 Champion.