A New Era, A New Story
Since the first week of RAW in 2024, a cinematic vignette played on the tron between matches. Over the course of the vignettes, it depicted a lone Ox that was exiled by the herd roaming about the lands it traveled. For weeks this would go on until the female voice narrator was revealed to be Xia Li. Fans immediately assumed that WWE had repackaged Xia from her "protector" gimmick into something else, but that notion was derailed as the story detailed this wandering Ox as an male figure.
"He tried to be one with the others, but they would not accept him. He was different as they told him, something he understood, but yet, did not fully comprehend until later..."
"They tried to feed him to the machine. With a wide, powerful jaw, and razor sharp teeth, the machine would have his fill of the wanderer. The machine chewed, and chewed, and more it chewed, until the machine had regurgitated the Ox, determining that "this meal" is unacceptable. The machine left the wandering Ox beaten, battered, and alone..."
"It has been many moons since that fateful day, and the wanderer has traveled to many lands, growing in knowledge, experience, battle and spirit. What was a wandering Ox, had became a leader to many while gaining powerful allies. Now the leader has become the hunter... And he is coming..."
[The wandering Ox slowly roams through a corridor that makes out to be a empty arena after cutaways showcased the area. Though dimly lit, the Ox makes it's way to the squared circle where the camera advances, showing two silhouettes standing in the ring. The camera pans upwards from their feet, slowly capturing the ominous presence. The visual reveals one person to be Xia Li, standing next to a man in all black, with both hands full of machinery bolts, cogs, nuts and screws. The man then proceeds to drop said metals, slowly watching the pieces crash to the canvas and litter themselves about. The camera would back to the man's hands, then his mouth, showing great, but subtle grimace.]
"Retribution... Will be paid... In full..."
[The camera cuts back to the erratic Ox unleashing it's battle cry to end the vignette in black with a white logo]
While many was left confused, a small portion of those in attendence seem to have figured out the encroaching figure, chanting, "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!". But it was now understood that Xia Li has aligned herself with a newcomer, or shall we say, a returnee. But the road to WrestleMania has been traveled and set in stone. While some will go on to claim new glories, others will fall from grace. Those who looked to finish their story, a new one awaits...