La Arquitecta

Chapter 1

A/N: I have ignored the ban on Seth Rollins' Curb Stomp for the purposes of this story because I consider banning it to be ridiculous.

Seth Rollins and Finn Balor were lying flat on their backs in the middle of the ring. They were competing in the penultimate contest of the Raw brand's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view – a no disqualification match to determine the number one contender for the WWE Universal Championship.

"Both men are down!" Michael Cole called out on commentary. "Finn Balor and Seth Rollins are giving this match everything they have."

"As well they should," Corey Graves said. "One of these men will be going to Wrestlemania to face the winner of the Elimination Chamber match, which is coming up next, for the Universal Title."

Meanwhile, Balor and Rollins were both slowly getting up, on opposite sides of the ring. Back on their feet, they ran at each other, both desperate to gain the advantage in the contest that was of vital importance to their future chances of success. It was Finn who seized the upper hand, connecting with a Slingblade. After delivering the move, Balor remained down for a moment, needing more time to try and recover.

"Balor trying to get his second wind," Booker T said. "The fans are willing him on here."

"Quite honestly, I think they're cheering for both of these men, but Finn Balor is only a Coup de Grace away from going to Wrestlemania!" Cole said, hyping it up.

Just then, as Finn had lifted himself back to his knees, someone else appeared in the ring as if from nowhere. The mystery arrival sprinted straight at Finn and leaped into the air, hitting him with a spike hurracanrana, driving him face first into the mat.

"What the hell?" Who the... What was that?" Cole yelled as the crowd howled in disgust.

Booker cried out, "That was right in front of the referee! But there's no disqualification."

Only as the attacker left the ring did the camera crew manage to get a decent shot of the new arrival. "Wait, that's Zelina Vega!" Graves exclaimed. "Zelina Vega! She's from NXT!"

Zelina stood outside the ring, looking back at the apparently unconscious Balor with a broad, but cruel-looking smile on her face. It was a face of evil if ever there was one. The look in her eyes confirmed that fact quite clearly.

"The former manager of Andrade 'Cien' Almas, Zelina Vega is here! But why? Why did she hit Finn Balor with a hurracanrana?" Cole demanded angrily.

Seth had managed to get back to his feet. Looking over at his opponent, who was groggily trying to lift himself up off the canvas again, he saw the perfect opportunity presenting itself. He ran over and delivered his finishing move.

"Curb Stomp!" Cole called out.

Going into the match, both men had been babyface characters, so the crowd joined in with the count when Rollins made a cover, despite the interference that had just taken place on his behalf.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Seth Rollins has done it!" Graves announced. "Rollins is going to Wrestlemania, to challenge for the Universal Championship!"

"But why did Zelina Vega attack Finn Balor?" Booker demanded to know. "Balor looked like he had the match won until Vega appeared."

"Where did she even come from?" Cole added.

While he had been asking the question, Zelina had climbed back into the ring. She marched straight past Balor without so much as a hint of sympathy, not even bothering to look down at him. Seth was the only person she had interest in. As he stood there, almost doubled over, trying get his breath back after the gruelling contest, she walked up to him and started saying something to him in a very aggressive manner, pointing her finger in his face. It wasn't altogether clear if she was forming an alliance with him, or giving him a lecture.

That question was answered when Seth nodded his agreement to whatever she had said to him. With that done, Zelina grabbed hold of his right forearm and triumphantly raised it in victory.

"What's going on?" Cole asked, clearly not liking it at all. "Zelina Vega used to manage Andrade 'Cien' Almas until he was ruled out of several months of action by injury. Is Seth Rollins her new client? Is that what we're seeing here?"

"I think it is," Graves said a lot more enthusiastically as the end of the match began to be replayed on the screen. "And if it is, Vega already came through big time for Rollins. As you see here, it looked like Balor had this match in the bag until he was on the receiving end of this hurracanrana by Zelina Vega, smashing him face first into the mat."

Booker took up the narrative as the replay went on. "Ever the opportunist, Seth Rollins capitalised; hitting the Curb Stomp and getting the three count."

Graves said, "Whether you like the way he did it or not, Rollins just booked himself a main event match at Wrestlemania." The replay disappeared, being replaced on the screen by a zoomed-in shot of Vega's face, nodding her approval of what had taken place, with a smug grin on her face. "And it was largely thanks to that woman right there. Has Seth Rollins hired Zelina Vega as his manager? If so, why?"

"Those are great questions," Cole said frankly. "I can't wait to find out the answers. Hopefully we get them tomorrow night, on Monday Night Raw."

To end the segment, the camera shot changed to show Finn Balor, who was still out cold following the double whammy of finishing moves he had taken in quick succession. Booker said, "Something tells me Finn Balor is going to want those answers even more than we do."