KMG's Bookings

Hey, all. KM here.

I'm not quite ready to launch into posting new bookings, but I thought I'd start with some old ones I did for the FBE group on Reddit. The following is a fantasy booking for Nikki ASH from MITB to Wrestlemania 38 that had her lean... much harder into the heroine role.

Enjoy.

-o-

Nikki ASH has the belt.

With
a quick cash in a day after Money in the Bank, the wannabe superheroine
has won the RAW women's championship. The super-quick (and actually
successful) cash in is arguably the most interesting thing to happen to
the strap in a while. The big question is - where do we go from here?

MONDAY NIGHT RAW - JULY 26

Nikki
gets up in front of the fans, and - once again - declares herself to be
THE BEST IN THE GALAXY, now with undeniable proof. The promo does get a
little bit... weird, granted, with an extended digression on how she
owes her title to lateral thinking, like this one guy on Youtube she
watches that does puzzle boxes - this goes on for like two, three
minutes of awkward digression - before out comes... Charlotte Flair. She
tells her - in no uncertain terms - that she wants a rematch. That
Nikki won with a cheap shot - and Nikki promptly snorts and tells her
that's kinda what the briefcase is for... but then agrees.

It
WAS a cheap shot, and she has no problems with a rematch. After all,
she'd be a pretty lousy champion if she couldn't take someone in a fair
fight. But - she lays it out clearly - the rest of her reign? They'll be
sticking to the letter of the law. You beat her clean, you get a title
match. You're the number one contender, any match with her is a title
match. She isn't going to be goaded into any weird stipulations. You
want to beat her - you have to rise up.

RAW - AUGUST 2

CHARLOTTE FLAIR v. NIKKI ASH

Charlotte
is visibly pissed, though in that calm, controlled, Charlotte Flair
way, while Nikki looks... actually pretty much unaffected, taking her
time to high-five fans on the way in, and while the belt gets a hoist
before the match starts, she isn't treating this any differently from
any of her other matches.

In other words, she's still hyped up and has probably downed like 24 Pixi-Stix backstage.

The
match itself starts off by the numbers; Nikki starts with a heavy,
promising offense, Charlotte turns the tide with her more technical
style. She briefly gets Nikki outside of the ring - but Nikki gets away
from her and hops back in, wagging a finger at Charlotte. They want to
finish this? They'll do it in the ring. From there, Nikki pulls a
comeback, plowing through Charlotte's offense with pure willpower and a
well-timed diving crossbody. The thing is - that isn't enough to put
Charlotte down. It IS enough to stymie her, though - and needing that
extra push, Nikki runs... bounces off the ropes... and comes back with a
<del>SHINING WIZARD</del> RIDER KICK.

Truly a finisher worthy of a hero.

Out
cold, there's no question that Nikki deserves the title now - and after
the match, we see medics attending to the unconscious Charlotte. The
feed cuts before we see exactly what's happening there...

In
the aftermath of the fight with Nikki, Charlotte reveals a (kayfabe)
neck injury. It's not broken - she emphasizes that fairly hard - but she
pulled (or ripped) a LOT OF THINGS with that kick, and she is stuck in a
neck brace. She warns Nikki that she's painted a target on her back -
but Nikki doesn't seem to give two hoots. Then again, she remains a
little hard to read...

SUMMERSLAM `21

ALEXA BLISS V. NIKKI ASH

Ah, Summerslam. The night when the fecal matter hits the oscillating blades.

Nikki
has an early bout tonight - it's her against Rhea Ripley in a non-title
match, which the announcers talk up as Rhea wanting to finish with ASH
what she couldn't with Flair. The match starts with the two brawling
hard - but it doesn't get far before Rhea starts coughing
uncontrollably. At first Nikki doesn't notice, but when Nikki starts
spitting up black, tarlike... goop...

Well. That's hard to ignore.

Nikki
gestures to the ref to call the match, when the lights flicker - and in
the moment they're out, Alexa Bliss appears in the ring. And proceeds
to wail on Nikki. Nikki fends her off as best as she can - it's not
totally one sided - but Alexa clearly has the drop on her. She pounds
seven shades of daylight out of her, and as she's struggling to get up,
Alexa pulls a mike.

"You
know... you've just made my life... so much easier." She kneels next to
Nikki. "I've been... struggling... to see what my role is in all this.
I've been touched by the Fiend. Seen... things that would tear your mind
apart. And now that I'm not with Him anymore... it's begged the
question... what do I do now? And because of you... I know." She leans in close, her face inches from the hero struggling to get to her feet. "The villain's almost always an old friend of the hero's, after all." And with that, she LICKS Nikki's cheek, and - flicker - and she's gone.

Yes, it's a blatant homage to Unbreakable, no one bothered watching that movie, it's fine.

In
the aftermath of the match, we get an interview with Nikki, who's
seemingly pretty disturbed by the whole thing, but doing her best to
brass it off. The interviewer probes into the connection between her and
Alexa - they were tag team partners, after all. And Nikki... admits
that it clearly meant something... to Alexa. She says that she has no
strong feelings about her period as Alexa's partner, that it was a
period where she wasn't really being true to herself - that she was
forcing herself into a persona she didn't actually like. Nikki buries
her old persona as a juvenile attempt at drawing attention, like a
rebellious teenager trying to get attention from daddy - and in doing so
takes a little bit of a swing at Alexa. She does seem to protest too
hard regarding her actual friendship with Alexa, though.

PAYBACK `21

RHEA RIPLEY V. NIKKI ASH

At
Payback we get another attempt at the Nikki v. Rhea Ripley match. Early
in the night, there's a promo where Rhea establishes that they aren't
going to be sidetracked by some two-bit Exorcist knockoff. She lays into
Alexa... hard. And between that and Nikki's earlier interview, one
might get the idea that they're trying to goad Alexa into making a move.

This
time Rhea gets in her licks early, dominating with power moves, while
Nikki does her best to roll with the punches and get her own in. Nikki
is nothing if not tenacious, and while it's clear Rhea is winning the
exchanges, she's not doing so without taking damage. Nikki starts to
turn the tide - working the knees, getting Rhea to buckle before
planting a knee in her face. Swinging neckbreaker. Diving crossbody.
1... 2...

Cue Alexa Bliss' music.

BOTH
wrestlers pop to their feet, Nikki pulling a pair of goddamn brass
knuckles seemingly out of nowhere, rushing towards the entrance... but
Alexa's nowhere to be seen. On the Titantron, or out on the ramp. They
realize that they've been faked out - as the ref calls for an
out-of-ring double DQ.

After
the match, the two confirm that they were working together with a plan
to ambush Alexa if she interrupted the match, though Rhea denies that
she was faking the down - she wasn't done yet, but she had been
legitimately knocked on her ass. Rhea then asks Nikki where she pulled
the brass knuckles from - and Nikki proceeds to pull out another pair.
Two impact batons. A taser (from inside her mask, somehow). Throwing
knives...

You know the gag.

We
stretch it out to incredulity via camera tricks, ending with an
oversized crowbar and a squirt gun (Holy water, she explains). Rhea
looks disturbed - and perhaps quietly impressed - as she mutters "Who needs a utility belt?"

Alexa
is quiet for now - but that little interruption is the overture to
something terrifying. Something that will surely hit at the worst
possible moment.

RAW, SEPT. 6

By
now, Nikki is firmly established as champion, and every champion will
have her challengers. Cue Shayna Baszler, who has climbed the ranks to
become the current number one contender. Nikki is the inverse of her in a
lot of ways - fresh faced, a believer in fair play (most of the time)
and treating others well, a would-be superhero to her manipulative,
sadistic supervillain.

Shayna
gets in the ring to cut a promo, and lays out exactly why Nikki is the
last thing the company needs as champion - that the WWE is a place for
warriors, for survivors - not for little girls playing pretend with
sparkly capes. The last thing they need is more silly kiddy sh** -

And cue Nikki's music.

Nikki
doesn't get in the ring. She just stands there on the ramp... smacks
her lips... And tells Shayna that... y'know... CLEARLY she's right.

"I mean, WWE is a serious place for utterly serious seriousness. It's not like they'd ever allow anything like, you know..."

"THIS," as she gestures to the Titantron, playing Jericho's "Man of 1004 Holds" schtick.

"Or THIS," queuing up the Rock's "My name's Billy- IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS."

"Or THIS," as the screen swaps to Mankind and Mr. Socko.

"Or THIS," displaying Doink the Clown throwing pies.

"Or THIS," as Ric Flair wrestles his own pants.

"Or even THIS -" the Gooker. And then Nikki clears her throat and says "okay, okay, maybe that was a little too far..."

The
point is, she argues, WWE has always had fun as part of the atmosphere.
Wrestling in general has always had fun as part and parcel to it -
hell, it started out as an attraction at traveling carnivals! But she'll
be glad to dispel her belief that serious equals strong. Because at
Clash of Champions, she is going to show the WWE universe that she is
STILL the best in the galaxy (hashtag buythemerchnowkids).

CLASH OF CHAMPIONS `21

SHAYNA BASZLER v. NIKKI ASH

At
CoC, Shayna is ready to tear Nikki ASH a new one. It's bad when Nia Jax
is the one that's telling you to calm the **** down before the match
starts. It gets worse when Nikki comes out in MMA garb - trunks, a
sports bra, MMA gloves and wrap... and her cape. If looks could kill,
Nikki would be a smoldering crater on the floor.

As
the match starts, it seems as if we've wandered into a squash. Shayna
comes out, elbows swinging, and damn near bashes Nikki's face in. By the
five minute mark, Nikki has yet to get a single effective attack in,
and Shayna's got her in the rear naked choke. It doesn't look good for
our hero. The ref raises her hand. No response. Again. No response. A
third time - and Nikki doesn't just respond, she grabs the ref's arm.
The ref tries to wrench away, and Nikki uses the leverage to break the
hold, just enough to breathe, and then to throw Shayna off. Compared to
Shayna's sharp MMA style, Nikki is sloppier, rougher. A brawler, not a
martial artist. But it works... until she goes to bounce off the ropes
for something, and Nia comes up from behind, snagging her by the cape,
and then grabbing her from behind. Cue a rather aggressive beating from
Baszler, which doesn't relent much as the ref intervenes to get Jax out
from the arena floor. Baszler tries to lock in the choke again - only to
have Nikki slip free, and nearly get away. And again. Shayna keeps
trying to lock it in, and Nikki - bruised and battered as she is - keeps
the presence of mind to slip away each time.

Once
more she tries - and - STUNNER. It does as the name implies, not
knocking Baszler cold, not even quite knocking her down, but on her
knees. She takes the initiative. A perfect storm, a diving crossbody -
and she finishes with her trump card, the Rider Kick.

One. Two. Three.

In
a come-from-behind, Nikki ASH has defended the belt, and smacked down
one of the biggest bullies in WWE history. Not a bad night for an
'almost' superhero.

EXTREME RULES `21 - IN BRIEF

At
Extreme Rules `21, there's a three way cage match for the #1
Contendorship. Nia Jax, Aliyah... and Tessa Blanchard, just signed to
the company after 'a killer run in the indies'. The announce team sells
the hell out of this, and she ultimately wins the match after Nia DQ's
herself (by going through the cage wall instead of over it) and Tessa
manages to get Aliyah down just long enough for her to get over the wall
unimpeded.

After
the match, Nikki ASH cuts a promo that she's stoked to take on Tessa -
because she's barely seen her wrestle anyone she's wrestled lately,
she's going to be a wild card, and that means the match is going to be
SUPER exciting for everyone. Not sarcastic, she's completely enthused,
like a kid opening the shiniest present Christmas morning.

Also,
in the fallout of this match, Shayna tells Nia off, tells her that
she's sick of dealing with her slapstick. Nia replies with something
like "how `bout I just cut out the 'stick'," and slaps Shayna in the
face hard enough to send her sprawling. The Shayna/Nia tag team is
broken up.

RAW, MID-NOVEMBER

With
Survivor Series (and the Blanchard/ASH match upcoming), Baszler has a
match with Alexa Bliss which goes from zero to ironman pretty quickly.
It's a twenty minute street fight that goes from the ring to the ramp to
backstage, with neither party backing down. Alexa finally locks in the
Sister Abigail for the win - though technically, they're both DQ'ed. She
then tells Shayna that she knows the spite that sustains her... and she
wants to stoke that little spark into a roaring fire. She's lost a
friend, but she just knows that they're going to be the best of buddies. Holding Shayna's face in her hands... the camera cuts out.

SURVIVOR SERIES `21

Nikki ASH v. Tessa Blanchard

At
Survivor Series, Tessa comes out to thunderous applause, mugging for
the cameras, fully presenting herself as the heel (or at least `tweener)
that she's comfortable with. Nikki, however, is slow to come out - and
when she does, her cape is missing, one arm is dangling slack, and she
looks like she's been hit by a truck. Tessa is outraged - after all, she
came here looking for the best, the baddest, the hardest fighters in
the world - and they're giving her tenderized meat? Nikki insists that
she's fine - she just got a little... jumped backstage, but she dealt
with it, she's good.

Tessa
shrugs, and charges in, clearly expecting to squash Nikki... only to
find that if there's one thing Nikki's good at, it's punching above her
weight. Barely using her 'damaged' arm, she unleashes a volley of aerial
moves and kicks to keep Tessa at bay.

Tessa
reverses into a series of moves that target Nikki's damaged side -
never underestimate how a good old fashioned arm drag can be dramatic
when it's got good selling behind it - but ultimately it's not enough.
When Nikki gets the momentum again, she does manage to put Tessa down -
though it takes several crossbodies and a Rider Kick, which by now fans
are probably noticing she only seems to break out on the PPVs.

It's
a clean finish - but Nikki is definitely hurting. Backstage, she's
ushered towards the medics despite her complaints that she's totally
fine. Rhea Ripley stops her en route and asks where she got jumped.
After getting pointed in the right direction, Rhea grabs the cameraman
and heads that way, and... well, look at that. Signs of a struggle, and a
distinctive black tarlike substance spattered across the floor.

In
the run up to TLC, we do get confirmation that Alexa Bliss and Shayna
Baszler are working as a team now, as they storm the tag team division
and proceed to wreak havoc in their first few matches. Shayna -
seemingly utterly under Alexa's influence - declares that they won't be
going after the tag belt - not yet. The Women's Championship is their
target. And she seems to not notice that it's a title that only one can
hold, something that Shayna would never have missed before. It's always
we, never I, and the effect is unsettling.

TLC `21

TLC
is the one PPV of the year where it seems the RAW women's championship
is getting a break. Instead, the new Transatlantic Title - a women's
midcard championship shared with NXT UK, highlighting the new signings
they've had besides Tessa Blanchard - is the highlight (yes, I know I've said this before, but RAW's three hour timeframe deserves an expanded women's roster and a midcard belt).

The
real pertinent detail for this, however - is the announcement that
Nikki ASH is in physical therapy after dislocating her shoulder and
tearing several ligaments in her arm. The doctors aren't really sure
she'll be able to get in the ring again - it's touch and go. So from the
next RAW until the final RAW before the Royal Rumble, they'll be having
a tournament to determine the new champion. Every female wrestler
currently signed to RAW will have the chance to compete, single
elimination, winner take all.

RUN UP TO ROYAL RUMBLE

Spoiler alert: Alexa wins it.

With
her mad dog Shayna at her side, Alexa Bliss tears a swath through the
roster of RAW. She wins every match, rarely clean, occasionally relying
on s****y tar powers. Interestingly enough, as long as Shayna is
ringside, Alexa seems to be able to take more punishment, tanking more
offense - some of these matches have Alexa escorting Shayna backstage as
the latter is oozing tar from her mouth. Shayna wins her matches
usually clean, often with the threat of severe and lasting physical
injury, because Shayna. The only one who manages to beat either of them
is Rhea Ripley, who eliminates Shayna.

When
Rhea v. Alexa comes up, Alexa is galled to discover that her gross tar
power doesn't seem to work on Rhea anymore - not that it matters in the
long run, as she actually manages to outlast her, and a sneaky chair
shot from an interrupting Shayna doesn't hurt either. After she locks in
the Sister Abigail, it's all over. Alexa Bliss has won the RAW women's
championship.

EARLY `22, IN BRIEF

The
Rumble is a non-issue, being won by someone on Smackdown - let's say
Bayley, or one of the new signings getting a big push. Worse, right
before Fastlane, Alexa and Shayna manage to also gain the RAW Women's
Tag Team title. Alexa and Shayna simply proceed to decimate anyone who
attempts to challenge her, with Alexa frequently taunting her opponents,
reminding them that they can do what they will, but it's her playground
they're playing in.

In
her hubris, after winning the tag title, Alexa announces an open
challenge for the tag belts at Fastlane - whoever can take her and her
super-bestie-best-friend Shayna down has earned them, after all.

FASTLANE `22

Shayna Baszler and Alexa Bliss - Open Challenge

Shayna
and Alexa walk out to the ring, mangificent and mellifluent and
malicious, and Alexa calls for a challenger - any challenger. Winner
take the belt. They're ready to play...

Cue
Rhea Ripley's music. She storms towards the ring, announcing that she's
challenging for the belt. Alexa asks who her partner is - can't make a
tag challenge without a partner. The ref looks up - and gets back out of
the ring, the bell ringing. Shayna and Alexa look confused - they're
letting the match go on with just one opponent?

And then - rappelling down from the rafters - cue Nikki ASH, cutting her rope from twenty feet up and diving atop Shayna.

The
match is intense, and remarkably chaotic at the start, with the
pairings evenly matched. Rhea and Nikki have the element of surprise on
their side, but there's only so far that will get you.

Thankfully, they also have Nikki's best quality - punching above her weight.

As
a result, whether it's Alexa or Shayna in the ring at any given time,
Nikki is able to hold her own, counter or tank their offense (she is a
slippery little giblet), and unleash her own brand of destruction. And
really, Alexa has a very... very hard time doing anything to Nikki. They
were tag team partners - Nikki knows her pace, knows her moves, and
knows how to counter them. And she's been doing her best to become less
predictable, harder to counter, so Alexa's attempts at the same don't do
well.

Late
in the match, Rhea and Shayna are in the ring... and Shayna starts to
vomit the black tar again. Alexa still looks fresh, and she's taken more
of the offense - there's an implication by the announcers that maybe
Alexa is... leeching off Shayna's endurance somehow? Maybe she took too
much? But of course, that's just speculation - what matters is that
she's weakened enough for Rhea to put her down. She gets her in the
Prism Trap, and Shayna passes out.

After
the match, Alexa - disgusted - disappears, while Rhea desperately tries
to get a medic out there... for Shayna. She's experienced Alexa's touch
in a far lessened way, and it's a nasty, nasty thing. And then... then
the conquering heroes celebrate.

We
get a brief interview with Nikki and Rhea. Nikki came back from PT
early - her arm isn't at 100%, but it's close enough, and she wasn't
about to let Rhea challenge Alexa alone. And Rhea confirms that one way
or another, she was going to face Alexa tonight - even if she had to
grab someone from the merch stands to be her partner. She's done enough
damage.

In
the run up to Wrestlemania, Nikki and Rhea prove to be a dynamite team.
Rhea's the grounded one, Nikki's the crazy idealist, but they play off
each other well. They do ultimately lose the tag title to a new team
(because new up and comers need their push), but that's almost
incidental to the main storyline - because at Wrestlemania, Alexa
announces that she'll take on one of them for the belt.

But it won't be Nikki. Because she isn't giving her the satisfaction.

WRESTLEMANIA 38

ALEXA BLISS v. RHEA RIPLEY

As
the wrestlers approach the ring, there's no clearer dichotomy. Rhea
looks healthy. Pumped. Ready to fight. Nikki follows her ringside, ready
to have her partner's back if she needs it. Alexa walks to ringside
solo, black ooze dripping from the corners of her mouth, loping like an
animal. She doesn't have someone to feed off of anymore, and she really
did get used to having that crutch. As the match starts, Alexa lets Rhea
know that she's going to crush her... and then make her into her
thrall. Her new super-bestie-bestie forever. Notably, she's staring at Nikki
as she says this, as if trying to make her jealous. Rhea barely
responds. It's not worth responding to with words. Now is the time for
action.

Alexa
opens up the match with an offense we've never seen from her before,
slashing clawed fingers and wild charges, her entire demeanor utterly
bestial. She's aerial about half the time, and it's tricky for Rhea to
mount an offense. Every time she starts to show that power, Alexa slips
behind her and trips her up. Nikki keeps yelling encouragement from the
sidelines, and it's hard to say how much of that is helping, and how
much is distracting. five minutes in, she locks in an early Sister
Abigail, and it looks like Rhea might be on the losing side of this one -
but Rhea kicks out. A second, and she kicks out at one. A third - and
Rhea reverses it into a DDT!

From
there, it's like a slowly building fire. Rhea's offensive spurts get
longer. Alexa's get more shallow. And ultimately... Alexa finds herself
ground down under Rhea's offense. Unable to really do any damage any
more. After a series of punishing suplexes and a Riptide, Alexa goes
down. One... two... three.

That's it. Alexa is down. We have a new champion...

And the arena lights flicker.

And in the next moment, the Fiend is in the ring, chains in hand.

He
slides a hook under each of Alexa's arms, and starts to drag her away,
towards the ramp. A fitting end for a failed villain...

Or it would be.

If not for the fact that there's a goddamn superhero ringside. And a hero doesn't give up so easily on her villains.

Especially when she used to be her friend.

Nikki
ASH mounts the top rope and attacks The Fiend with a missile dropkick
before he can get too far up the apron. He doesn't go down, but he takes
a knee - and rises. And turns, grabbing Nikki by the throat. Lifting
her high - and then - WHANG.
A chair shot from Rhea. Nikki's dropped. Nikki gets him with a Russian
legsweep, knocking one leg from under him. Under the combined assault,
the monster stumbles, topples - never quite falling all the way, but
they manage to knock him back. And then... he slowly straightens up.
Grabs both of them by the neck. Rhea and Nikki struggle, twisting
against the unholy might of The Fiend's grip. And then Nikki reaches
into her cape...

And pulls out Chekov's water pistol.

She
proceeds to squirt him in the face, repeatedly, with (what she claims
is) holy water, as he slowly turns, tilts his head quizzically - and the
lights go out again.

And when they return, he's gone. And Alexa Bliss is still there.

AFTERMATH (tl;dr)

Rhea Ripley has the belt, and a new tag team partner.

Nikki ASH has proved herself as a completely insane badass who's willing to do almost anything in the name of heroism.

Alexa Bliss may be free of The Fiend's influence, or might not be. We don't know yet. Something's going on there, anyway.

Shayna
Baszler IS free of Alexa's influence... but devoid of anyone to fall
back on, and having burned her bridges with Nia Jax, she might end up
falling back on her of her own accord, as a partner instead of a thrall.