La Arquitecta

Chapter 50

Tuesday Night Smackdown – August 21st 2018

After a video package to recap the events of Summerslam, Smackdown went on air with Renee Young standing in the ring, microphone in hand. The canvas was covered in a black carpet, and there was a pedestal in the centre of the ring. Looking resplendent, the brand new WWE Women's Championship stood on top of it, ready to be presented to its first holder.

When Renee made her introduction, she did it with a lot more positivity than might have been the case a matter of days before. Her voice still sounded a little rough, even two days after Summerslam. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the new WWE Women's Champion, Zelina Vega!"

A mixed reaction greeted Zelina when her new theme song, A Queen is Born began to play, along with a brand new entrance video. She was still being booed by those who hadn't cottoned on as yet that she had turned face, or who simply still hated her. But there was also a healthy number of cheers from those who been moved by the events of Summerslam, or who had bought into the idea of Vega as a face.

In a further contrast to the Zelina of the past, she walked out onto the stage with a smile on her face. On her way down the entrance ramp, she gave the fans a wave of gratitude for those who were cheering.

Coach was the first of the two commentators to speak. "Jonathan Coachman here alongside Corey Graves. Renee Young will be joining us after she has presented the WWE Women's Championship to Zelina Vega. What an achievement it was at Summerslam for Vega to come out on top, when she was one of the underdogs heading into the match."

"I was disappointed to be honest," Graves said. "Not that Zelina won, but with what happened afterwards; all the crying and stuff. It was kind of pathetic."

"I found it very heart-warming, personally," Coach countered. "Zelina achieved a lifelong dream by reaching the top of the mountain in this industry, and yes, it was an emotional moment for her."

"Just not what I expected to see from the leader of The Vega Cartel," Graves said grumpily.

Zelina had entered the ring. As her new music faded out, she approached Renee and asked for her microphone, rather than demanding it.

Looking a little hesitant, Renee handed it over.

"Thank you, everyone," Zelina said, looking around at the audience. "Wow, what a night it was at Summerslam, huh?"

The fans cheered their agreement, while Renee nodded hers.

"Now, before we get into the presentation, I have a couple of things to say. After getting what, as you all saw, was a very emotional victory, Sunday night was a very mixed experience for me. There was celebration, of course, but after seeing the outpouring of support and positivity from all of you, it was also a night of reflection."

"A night of reflection?" Graves said quizzically. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"What I found myself thinking was that, while it's true that The Vega Cartel have achieved a lot of success, we have also done some things that we can't be particularly proud of. And that's on me," she admitted frankly. "I'm the leader. I set the tone. Sunday night, I couldn't help wondering if I could be a better leader by setting a better example. You see, I didn't cheat to win at Summerslam; I fought to win, and it made me so proud when I walked out of that arena as the WWE Women's Champion."

The fans were listening, not cheering, but Zelina had expected that. After all, she was hardly likely to go from being arguably the most hated person on Smackdown to getting the kind of reactions Ronda Rousey was getting in the space of one victory and half of a babyface promo. They weren't booing her, that was the main thing.