Scene 1 – Boardroom Crossfire
The camera fades in on a long glass conference table.
High above WWE headquarters, a boardroom buzzes with low murmurs and clinks of coffee cups. Executives in suits glance at one another with tight expressions as a slideshow clicks forward.
A still frame: Jaxon Cross and Stephanie McMahon on a balcony.
Another: Randy Orton's promo threatening to expose their relationship.
Next: A headline from a major wrestling news outlet:
> "Romance in the Ring: McMahon Conflict Threatens Reckoning Storyline Integrity"
Stephanie sat at the head of the table, composed, eyes forward, hands folded.
One exec spoke, blunt: "Your relationship with Cross is now part of the show. And the shareholders are asking questions."
Another chimed in: "We're not questioning your judgment—"
"Yes, you are," Stephanie interrupted calmly.
"We're questioning perception," he corrected. "There's already chatter that Cross is being protected. Orton's promo made it personal. Now fans think the company's playing favorites."
She nodded once.
Then stood.
"Here's what I know: Jaxon Cross bleeds for this business. He's carried this storyline without compromise, without shortcuts, and without backing down—even when it cost him everything. If you're afraid of perception, maybe the problem isn't the story—it's the fact that someone finally has one worth fighting for."
Silence.
She looked around the room.
"You want to pull me off creative? Fine. You want to fine him? Go ahead. But don't mistake personal truth for scandal."
She walked out. Head high.
---
Scene 2 – The Fire Within
Later that night, RAW opened with a backstage shot of Jaxon Cross sitting on a road case, wrapping his wrists. The locker room buzzed in the distance.
He was calm, but underneath the surface — boiling.
Kai Maddox approached, handing him a bottle of water.
"You alright?"
Jaxon gave a small nod. "They're painting targets."
Kai shrugged. "We've had worse. Hell, we've been worse."
Jaxon chuckled softly.
"You know what scares them?" he said. "It's not the violence. It's the fact that for the first time, someone like me—someone they never meant to win—is standing beside someone like her."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "You mean love?"
Jaxon paused.
"No. Truth."
He stood.
"Love just makes it louder."
---
Scene 3 – Orton's Invitation
Midway through the night, the lights dimmed again.
This time, Randy Orton didn't appear on the tron.
He appeared live.
Standing in the crowd, in street clothes, arms folded over the barricade as a match played out in the ring. Security didn't approach. Commentary didn't know what to say.
He just… watched.
Then he climbed the barricade.
Slid into the ring.
Took a mic.
His voice was low, intimate. Like he was speaking to only one person.
"Hell in a Cell. You want me? You got me."
The crowd erupted.
"But let's make it real."
He smiled slowly.
"If I win… Stephanie walks away. From creative. From ringside. From you."
Gasps echoed across the arena.
"And if you win? I walk."
He paused.
"From everything."
He dropped the mic and slid back out of the ring.
No music.
No attack.
Just a deal with the devil.
---
Scene 4 – Behind Closed Doors
Later that night, Jaxon and Stephanie sat in a small office backstage.
He was pacing.
"You heard him."
Stephanie nodded. "Yeah."
"He's not going to stop."
"No," she agreed. "He won't."
Jaxon stopped in front of her.
"If I lose…"
Her eyes locked on his.
"You won't."
"But if I do…"
Stephanie stepped forward, pressed her hand to his chest.
"Then I'll still be here."
He swallowed hard.
"They're going to use you. They already are."
She smiled softly. "Let them try."
Then she leaned up, kissed his cheek.
"Now go give them something they can't bury."
---
Scene 5 – A House Divided
Back at ringside, the main event was a tag match: Reckoning (Kai & Talon) vs Judgment Day (Finn & Priest).
It was war.
The match broke down quickly into chaos. Chairs flew. Announce tables shattered. Talon suplexed Priest over the barricade. Kai hit Bálor with a steel chain across the chest and locked in a crossface.
Suddenly, the lights flickered—
Orton appeared on the stage.
Just standing.
Watching.
Jaxon stormed out from the back.
Security tried to hold him back — he shoved through them.
Orton backed away, slowly, smiling, until he disappeared through the curtain again.
Not a strike.
Not a word.
Just a promise.
---
Scene 6 – The Final Contract
Backstage after the show, a dim-lit room was set with a contract table and two chairs. The match for Hell in a Cell was now official. Jaxon signed first. Orton signed second.
Jaxon looked across the table at him.
"You really think you're walking out of that cell?"
Orton leaned back.
"I'm not walking out."
He grinned.
"I'm burning it down."
---
Scene 7 – After the War Room
That night in the hotel, Jaxon and Stephanie sat on the bed. The lamp was dim. The city was quiet.
"You're risking your job," he said softly.
"You're risking your soul," she replied.
They didn't say much after that.
They just lay there, arms around each other, like people bracing for a storm they'd already tasted once.
But this time…
They weren't bracing alone.
---
Final Scene – Cell Door Slams Shut
A final hype video played before the credits:
> "Hell in a Cell: The Viper vs. The Outlaw."
One walks out. One leaves everything behind.
Clips of Orton's legacy — RKO after RKO, betrayal after betrayal.
Clips of Jaxon's rise — blood, war, fire, handshakes, heartbreak.
Then the Cell.
Then a match graphic.
In the background: a burning heart logo.
Stephanie's silhouette in the flames.
And the last line:
> "If love is war…
Let it be fought in Hell."
---