Scene 1 – The Arena Goes Dark
RAW didn't start with fireworks.
It opened in silence.
Spotlights panned over the crowd, the WarGames structure now replaced by something smaller… tighter… but far more dangerous.
A steel cage. Reinforced. Lined with barbed wire.
Every edge glinted under the red lights.
Inside the ring: steel chairs, a coil of chains, a single table, and hanging from the cage wall—
> A leather strap. A crowbar. And a branding iron.
This wasn't a wrestling match.
This was a reckoning.
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Scene 2 – The Entrance
The announcer's voice cut through the silence:
> "The following contest is a Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match! The only way to win is by pinfall or submission. There is no escape. No interference. No mercy."
Kai Maddox entered first.
No music. No pyro.
Just boots, tape, and blood in his eyes.
He looked like a man ready to die. And maybe even more ready to kill.
Then the lights dropped again.
The screen lit up with a flickering image:
> OUTLAW.
Then, Jaxon Cross walked through the smoke. Hood up. Shoulders squared.
He didn't play to the crowd. Didn't look at anyone.
Just marched to the cage like a man going back to prison.
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Scene 3 – The Bell Rings
DING DING DING
Jaxon and Kai stood face to face in the center of the ring.
No words.
Just silence.
Then—
They exploded.
Fists. Forearms. Blood immediately.
Kai threw Jaxon into the cage, the barbed wire ripping open his shoulder.
Jaxon countered with a chain-wrapped punch to Kai's ribs, then slammed him spine-first into the wall.
Barbed wire bit flesh. Blood ran fast.
Kai grabbed the leather strap and lashed Jaxon across the back twice, the sound echoing through the arena.
Jaxon dropped to one knee, gasping.
Kai tried for a running knee—
Jaxon reversed with a spinebuster through a steel chair.
1… 2… kickout.
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Scene 4 – The Turning Point
Minutes passed. More blood. More steel.
Jaxon's eye swelled shut. Kai's lip split clean down the middle.
Both men were soaked in red.
Jaxon lifted Kai for a powerbomb—Kai gouged his eye and flipped out, hit a rolling elbow, and slammed Jaxon with a snap dragon suplex onto the chain.
Then Kai grabbed the branding iron.
The crowd roared.
He lit it.
Held it high.
But Jaxon kicked him in the knee, snatched it—
And burned the Reckoning logo into the mat instead of his opponent.
Symbolic.
Message sent.
> This isn't about punishment.
> It's about endings.
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Scene 5 – Walls Collapse
Kai and Jaxon fought on the top rope, fists flying.
Barbed wire sliced open their arms with every move.
Kai tried for a top-rope cutter—
Jaxon caught him mid-air—
CROSS HAMMER OFF THE ROPES!
They both crashed through the table.
Crowd:
> "HOLY SHT! HOLY SHT!"
Both men lay motionless.
Jaxon crawled over—
1… 2… Kai kicked out.
Jaxon, stunned. Angry. Desperate.
He grabbed the crowbar. Stared at it.
Then dropped it.
He looked at Kai, barely conscious.
Then—
Sat down beside him.
And whispered something.
We didn't hear it.
But Kai did.
And he nodded.
Then pulled Jaxon into a roll-up.
1… 2… kickout.
Both men scrambled—
Kai lunged—
Jaxon ducked—
SECOND CROSS HAMMER.
1… 2… 3.
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Scene 6 – Aftermath
The bell rang.
The cage door didn't open right away.
Jaxon didn't move.
Neither did Kai.
They just laid there, side by side, chests heaving, eyes locked on the ceiling.
Then… Kai sat up.
Jaxon followed.
They faced each other.
Kai stood.
And offered his hand.
The crowd held its breath.
Jaxon stared.
Then—
Took it.
Handshake.
The arena exploded.
No music. No lights.
Just mutual respect, earned through fire.
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Scene 7 – Watching From the Shadows
Backstage, Stephanie McMahon watched from the monitor. Hands clasped. Eyes glassy.
A single smile tugged at her lips.
Then she whispered:
> "You're still in there."
But someone else was watching.
The camera panned right—
Randy Orton.
Expression unreadable.
He turned and walked away.
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