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Big E stepped in, towering over Kofi. The two locked up center ring. It was power versus agility. Big E muscled Kofi into the corner, then drove his shoulder into Kofi's midsection again and again until the ref counted to four. Kofi slipped out and began unleashing a flurry of dropkicks and high knees. He rocked Big E, bouncing off the ropes to hit a leaping clothesline that knocked the big man down.
Taylor tagged in next and kept up the momentum with sharp elbows and a running neckbreaker to Big E. The crowd chanted "Let's go Taylor!" as he brought Big E to the corner and tagged Kofi back in for a double team flying crossbody, to which Kofi then pinned Big E.
But Big E kicked out at two.
"That's how you keep a big man down, you don't give him space to breathe," said the play by play commentator.
Sandro watched coldly from the apron, arms folded, whispering instructions only Big E could hear. Big E eventually managed to push Kofi into his own corner, where Sandro tagged back in to a storm of boos.
Sandro came in fast, stomping Kofi into the mat. He didn't waste time on flash, he went to work with methodical knee drops, a vicious snap suplex, and a twisting neckbreaker that nearly got the three count.
But Kofi kicked out, and the crowd erupted.
"You can hear how much the crowd is behind Kofi tonight," one commentator said. "He's been betrayed, humiliated, and tonight he wants justice."
Sandro grew more aggressive with each move. He hit a stiff knee to the spine, then dragged Kofi into a camel clutch, wrenching back on the neck with calculated cruelty. Kofi fought out with elbows, bounced off the ropes, and hit a Boom Drop to shift the momentum.
The fans were on fire. Kofi dove toward his corner and made the hot tag, Taylor exploded into the ring!
He hit Sandro with a flying forearm, a spinning back elbow, then springboarded off the ropes with a blockbuster that nearly earned the win.
Big E rushed in to break the pin, but Kofi met him with a dropkick, sending the big man tumbling out of the ring.
The ring became a battlefield.
Kofi and Taylor took Sandro down with a double team back body drop, then clotheslined him to the outside. The crowd chanted "This is awesome!" as Kofi climbed to the top rope and launched himself with a diving trust fall onto both Sandro and Big E outside the ring!
"Look at Kofi fly!" the commentator shouted. "This is what they came for! Redemption in motion!"
Taylor rolled Sandro back into the ring and went to the top rope himself. He leapt with a flying clothesline, then signaled for his finisher, but the ref was suddenly distracted.
Sandro was playing possum.
As Taylor lifted Sandro, the TNA Champion suddenly flailed wildly, grabbing the referee's shirt and twisting him toward the ropes. The ref yelled at him to let go, and that's when it happened.
Low blow.
Big E had slid back in and nailed Taylor between the legs while the ref's view was blocked. The crowd booed furiously.
"Cheap shot! That was a low blow!" one of the commentators screamed.
"This is disgusting. How are they getting away with this?!"
As Taylor crumpled to the mat, Sandro looked to the top rope.
"What's he doing now?" the other commentator asked nervously.
Sandro climbed slowly, deliberately, positioning himself perfectly over a stunned Taylor.
"No! Don't do it—"
DOWNFALL DDT.
A brutal top rope maneuver, the crowd watched in stunned horror as Sandro spiked Taylor's head into the mat.
Kofi scrambled to his feet on the apron, but Big E charged with a monstrous right hand and knocked Kofi clean off the apron, sending him crashing into the barricade.
Taylor, half conscious, barely moved.
Big E picked him up one last time, set him across his shoulder, and—
BIG ENDING.
After that, Sandro goes for the cover. Hook of the leg.
The ref, still oblivious to the low blow, dropped for the count.
1… 2… 3.
DING DING DING.
The arena erupted in jeers as Sandro's music hit again, and the ring announcer declared, "Here are your winners… Sandro Zhang and Big E!"
Sandro stood over Taylor's body, grinning. He motioned for the crew to hand him his TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Big E stood beside him, chest heaving, watching the crowd with disdain.
"You hear that?" one commentator growled. "That's the sound of betrayal rewarded. That's the sound of injustice."
"Say what you want about them, but they played it smart," the other replied. "Dirty, but smart. And now they've sent the loudest message they possibly could."
Kofi crawled into the ring, checking on Taylor, who was slowly regaining his senses. He glared up at Sandro, his eyes burning with fury and heartbreak.
Sandro held the title high above his head, then leaned over the ropes, barking to the hard cam, "This is the new era. We don't carry dead weight anymore."
Big E stood behind him like a wall, unmoving.
The show faded to black with the final image, Kofi and Taylor left on the mat, beaten but defiant… and Sandro Zhang, the world champion who had sold his soul and come out the other side more dangerous than ever.
Sandro and Big E winning the tag match brought a nuclear level of heat down on them. The betrayal was still fresh, and the brutality with which they beat down Kofi and Taylor had left fans furious, stunned, and, more than anything, talking.
The crowd in attendance that night had booed so hard, it almost drowned out the ring announcer declaring Sandro and Big E as winners.
"This is the new era," Sandro had declared into the hard cam, standing tall, champion in hand, while Kofi and Taylor lay bruised on the mat. That final image, a grinning, arrogant Sandro with Big E behind him like a silent fortress, set the internet ablaze.
On Twitter, FCW's official hashtag trended within minutes. Fans took sides, arguments flew fast, and opinions were louder than ever. Most fans were heartbroken and angry, siding with Kofi and Taylor.
"Sandro sold his soul," one fan wrote. "He stabbed Kofi in the back for a shortcut to the top." Another post read, "Big E used to stand for honor. Now he's just a bodyguard for a coward."
On the FCW Official Forum, one thread titled "From Hero to Snake: The Rise and Fall of Sandro Zhang" had hundreds of replies in less than an hour.
Users dissected everything, Sandro's sudden change in demeanor, his calculated promo explaining that "dead weight drags down kings," and the ruthlessness he showed in the ring. Clips of the Downfall DDT and the ref's blind low blow went viral.
But not everyone was against him.
A smaller, more vocal minority actually applauded Sandro's actions. "He did what needed to be done," a fan commented. "Kofi and Taylor were holding him back. This is the Sandro we need, vicious, driven, untouchable." Another user simply wrote, "He's HIM now."
In terms of wrestling storytelling, the turn was a grand slam.
Sandro and Big E had become top heels overnight. The hate they were receiving was almost old school in its intensity, boos during entrances, fans flipping them off, people throwing drinks.
But the flip side of that coin was Kofi and Taylor. Once just dependable babyfaces, now they were the people's champions, two warriors betrayed, left to pick up the pieces in front of a sold out crowd that now rallied behind them louder than ever.
Backstage after the show, things were more relaxed. Despite the storm of reactions online and from the crowd, Sandro, Big E, Kofi, and Taylor were all gathered in one of the locker rooms, talking shop like professionals. Kofi, nursing his neck, looked at Sandro with a grin and said, "You stiffed me a little with that neckbreaker, man."
Sandro chuckled. "Yeah, my bad. Got a little too into it. You good though?"
"I've taken worse from Sheamus," Kofi replied with a shrug. Taylor, sitting beside him with an ice pack to his ribs, gave a thumbs up. "That Downfall DDT… damn, bro. You cooked."
"Yeah," Big E added, nodding. "Crowd ate it up. You two made us look like monsters out there."
They shared a quiet moment of mutual respect. At the end of the day, it was about telling the story right, and they had. Everyone had done their part. But then a knock came at the door, and Steve Keirn peeked in.
"Sandro. Dusty and I need a word," he said.
Sandro stood up, nodded at the others, and followed Steve down the hallway. Inside the gorilla position, Dusty Rhodes was waiting, arms crossed, wearing his signature smile. The room smelled of sweat and cheap coffee, but the energy was always electric here.
"You wanted me?" Sandro asked.
Dusty nodded and motioned to a paper in his hand. "We just got off the phone with Jeff and Dixie. They've locked it in."
Sandro raised an eyebrow. "Locked what in?"
"Your title match. This Thursday. TNA Impact Zone. You're defending your title against the opponent you requested."
A grin broke out across Sandro's face. "They gave me the green light?"
"They did," Steve said. "And they're all in on this. They said with how your persona's shifted, you being a heel now, it lines up perfectly with how things shook out on their side."
Dusty chimed in. "The Main Event Mafia's gone. Storyline dissolved. Your opponent's now a face. Kurt made the turn for both of them last week. Crowd's already buying it."
Sandro chuckled, looking down at his hands. "Good. Very good."
Dusty stepped closer. "You know this is a big one, right? You're stepping in there with a vet. One of the best to ever do it."
"I know who I picked," Sandro replied with a quiet smirk. "And that's exactly why I picked him. I want it to mean something when I beat him."
The rest of the week passed quickly.
Three days later, Thursday night rolled around, and Sandro was already in Nashville at the TNA headquarters. The production team was buzzing, the ring was being prepared, and Sandro was in a meeting with Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter.
Both of them looked pleased.
Dixie leaned forward. "We were nervous at first about the switch, but after watching what you did this week, we're confident."
Jeff nodded. "You're a natural heel, man. You talk like a king, fight like a bastard, and people hate you. That's money."
Sandro gave a small laugh. "Being a face was exhausting. Always watching what I said, playing to the crowd. As a heel? I get to do what I want. Say what I want. As long as I get the job done, it feeds the fire."
"Exactly," Dixie said. "And the best part? Your opponent is now a full on face. He's no longer part of the Mafia. The story practically writes itself."
Sandro tilted his head. "You got him to sign off on it?"
"He's on board," Jeff confirmed. "Fully. Said he wants to work with you. Said he wants to see what this 'New Era' is all about."
"Then let's give him a taste," Sandro said, eyes gleaming.
When the lights came up on the TNA Impact Zone, the energy was explosive. Fans filled the stands, signs waved, and chants echoed. Match after match delivered. Promos hit hard. The crowd was on fire, and the commentators, Mike Tenay and Don West, hyped every second.
But when it was time for the main event, the building reached another level.
Mike Tenay leaned in. "We've been talking about it all night, and now it's time. The TNA World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line."
Don West added, "And after what we saw from Sandro Zhang and Big E this past week? The whole wrestling world's watching tonight. This is going to be a fight."
The lights dimmed. Sandro's music Cult of Personality blared through the speaker. The crowd booed loudly as Sandro stepped through the curtain, championship around his waist, flanked by Big E in a black sleeveless hoodie. Sandro didn't pander. He didn't smirk. He just walked straight to the ring like a man on a mission.
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Name: Alessandro Zhang
Age: 19 (2009)
Birthplace: Orlando, Florida, USA
Brand: FCW
Wrestling Style: Mixed Of All Styles
Faction: None
Championship History: 1x FCW Tag Team Champions, 1x FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion, & 1x TNA World Heavyweight Champion.