La Arquitecta

Chapter 36

WWE Payback – May 27th 2018

Jonathan Coachman's voice was the first to be heard when the Smackdown-exclusive pay-per-view went live, while the crowd were shown cheering the start of the show. "Hello and welcome to WWE Payback! I'm Jonathan Coachman, alongside Corey Graves. And tonight, we have a special guest commentator. Welcome, Michael Cole."

"Thanks, Coach," Cole said. "I'm standing in for Renee Young, who is going to be in action later tonight when she meets Zelina Vega. Gentleman, that one is not going to pretty."

"No it's not," Graves agreed. "Neither of those ladies are wrestlers, but they do hate each other. What we're going to see is a fight, and I think it's going to get ugly for Renee Young."

While he was finishing his final sentence, Daniel Bryan's music hit, starting the fans cheering again.

"We're kicking off with Daniel Bryan," Cole said. "It was announced earlier tonight on WWE dot com and on Twitter that Smackdown's general manager has been instructed to announce the result of the vote of no confidence in Stephanie McMahon's leadership that was held this past Friday."

"That's right," Coach said while Bryan yessed his way down the entrance ramp. "That man right there knows the answer to the question we've all been asking: Is Stephanie McMahon still the commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown?"

"I know which answer I'm hoping for," Graves said. "It's time we saw the back of McMahon and her reign of chaos. In my opinion, Zelina Vega is the best candidate for the top job. Look at what she's been able to do with The Vega Cartel in just a matter of a couple of months. They hold every major title on Smackdown."

"You want to replace what you describe as a reign of chaos with what would undoubtedly be a reign of tyranny?" Coach asked.

Graves didn't respond because Bryan was ready to speak in the ring. "Welcome to Payback!" he said excitedly, drawing another cheer. "We've got an amazing show lined up for you tonight, bringing you the top quality matches that only Tuesday Night Smackdown can offer. But before we can get the action underway, I have the duty of making an announcement."

"So get on with it," Graves said dryly.

"As most of you will be aware, WWE's board of directors met on Friday, with the top item on the agenda being a vote of no confidence in our commissioner, Stephanie McMahon."

A mixture of cheers and boos could be heard. Presumably the cheers were for Stephanie's name and the boos for the no confidence vote.

Meanwhile, for the audience at home, a shot appeared on the screen of a plush locker room where the entire Vega Cartel were sitting on leather couches, watching proceedings on a flat screen TV. Zelina seemed to be hanging on every word, for obvious reasons.

"There we see The Vega Cartel, who have, let's say a vested interest in this announcement," Cole said.

Bryan went on, "I was sent an instruction by the board to come out here tonight and announce the result of the vote, which will determine if Stephanie continues in her role with the full backing of the office back in Stamford, or if she will be relieved of her position with immediate effect."

A chant of "Steph!" began, quickly growing in volume. It was obvious which outcome the fans desired.

Dragging out the announcement to build anticipation, Daniel waited for them to quiet down before continuing. "I can tell you now that a unanimous decision was not made. However, by a majority verdict, the vote determined that Stephanie McMahon..." he let his voice trail off to build even more anticipation.

"Say it!" Graves demanded.

"Will continue as commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown!"

"Yes!" Coach exclaimed, while the crowd went wild.