That Time of Year

[Kyle]

OOC: Good luck to DJ and Nicholas. If anyone has any feedback I'd be happy to hear it. I tried to include Ted's family now so I'm not too sure how I've gone with that.


It was once again that wonderful time of year where everybody's hard work paid off. Wrestlemania was upon us and it was chaos leading up to the biggest event of the year. With everything going on Ted was surprisingly calmer than ever before. He was challenging for the Intercontinental Championship for the second year in a row, and after last year's epic battle against John Cena, Ted wanted to try and top it. Several months ago Ted and Cena renewed their heated rivalry and it culminated in a Steel Cage match in which Cena won. A couple of weeks later the two ended their rivalry with a sign of mutual respect by shaking hands backstage. It was a closed chapter in Ted's career now. After the obsession he had with trying to defeat Cena, he thought he could never shake his hand and end it. But it showed that both Cena and DiBiase had great respect for one another.

This year Ted would be facing Matt Sydal and The Miz in a ladder match. Hanging high above the ring would be the Intercontinental Championship, a title that Ted had never held before. Over the last 2 years, Ted had been in many Ladder matches and it was something he was quite comfortable with now. He knew that by the end of the night he would have some big bumps and bruises and he would be feeling the effects in the morning, but it would be a great sight for everyone to see.

As always Wrestlemania was not just a one day event, EBWF Access gave everyone the chance to interact with the fans and spend a couple of hours giving back to the fans. Ted was signing from 10am until 12pm and was arguably one of the biggest superstars in his group alongside AJ Styles. Because of this it meant he had a lot of people coming through to see him. At the end of his signing time he walked away from the tables he was met by a woman and a young boy. Ted smiled seeing the two and lifted up the child. Throughout his EBWF tenure Ted tried to keep his personal life completely separate to his work life, but with Wrestlemania being one of the biggest events of the year he was lucky enough to have his wife Kristen and his son Tate with him for the weekend. Tate was nearly 2 years old and this would be the first time he would see his father in action. After hugging his son he passed him back to him mother. She had supported Ted through all of his wrestling, she had seen his triumphs and his failures and helped him get through his injuries. But like Ted she worked hard as a nurse and the two made it work. When she was out working and Ted was on the road, little Tate would spend his time with Ted's father who adored him.

Ted had walked back to his hotel room with Kristen and Tate. As soon as he entered the room, Ted fell onto the bed and let out a long deep breathe. Kristen placed Tate on the bed and he quickly made his way up to Ted.

Kristen: Long signing session was it?

Ted focused on playing with Tate while talking back to Kristen.

Ted Jr: You get used to it after a while, but signing hundreds of things does get old fast.

Kristen: Are you excited for tomorrow night?

Ted Jr: I think I'm more looking forward to seeing you and Tate in the front row cheering me on.

Ted lifted Tate up above his head and held him high.

Ted Jr: Is daddy gonna win Tate?

Tate: Yeah!

Tate's vocabulary was quite small, but at the age of one and a half he had only been walking and talking for a short time.

Kristen: Don't worry about us, I'll have him with me. He's going to love it.

Ted Jr: Have you heard from Dad yet? He's still coming?

Kristen: He should be getting here after the Slammys.

Ted Jr: And your parents?

Kristen: They're coming in just before the show starts.

Ted Jr: They know they've got tickets waiting for them?

Kristen: They do. It'll be the first time we have everyone there to cheer you on. That means you've got to win.

Ted Jr: I don't know if I'm going to win yet, they haven't said anything to me yet. With Wrestlemania they keep the script under lock and key until just before we go live. Any small leak in this day and age will be all over the internet. It could really go either way with this one, we've all been booked really strong. It'll still be a great match and a show stealer regardless of the outcome.

Ted put Tate back down on the bed and gave him a kiss on the forehead before getting to his feet and walked to his wife.

Ted Jr: I've got some last minute things to do before the Slammys tonight. So I'll see you then?

Kristen simply nodded as the two shared a kiss before Ted left the hotel room.

---
It was Wrestlemania day and Ted DiBiase was set to film a promo for his big match. He was lucky enough to get to film his promo out in the ring while the rest of the crew were setting up the stage and putting the finishing touches on everything. Ted stood in the centre of the ring and slowly looked around. They were looking at over 75,000 people attending the event tonight. It was certainly one of the biggest crowds that Ted had performed in front of. Lost in the awe of the Superdome, he spaced out for a few seconds. Then he noticed the camera man standing there waiting to film. So without any hesitation Ted began filming his promo.

Ted Jr: This is the one show that everybody wants to be on. This is where careers are made, titles are won and moments in history are created. Last year I faced one of the best EBWF wrestlers on the roster and pushed him to the limits but didn't quite make it. I took baseball bat hits to the head, steel chair shots and other cruel and painful things. But walking away from it, I was not seen as a pushover. I was seen as someone who has a great future ahead of me. For a long time I coasted off of past achievements and accolades, I got complacent and it got me nowhere. I lost that hunger and drive that I had when I arrived in EBWF, the same hunger that won me the World Championship. Wrestlemania is the time where everyone just gives that much more effort and pulls out all the stops to guarantee victory. Tonight I'm facing Matt Sydal and The Miz in front of 75,000 people. Just take a look around right now.

Ted motioned for the camera man to show the vast empty arena.

Ted Jr: Every single seat in this arena will be filled with screaming fans. It will be a night that none of us forget. Hanging high above this ring will be the Intercontinental Championship and one of us will grab it and be called a champion. My track record with ladder matches is mixed. I've won some great ladder matches and my biggest loss was in a ladder match. But tonight is a different occasion. This is the biggest stage of them all. Miz and Sydal, as much as it pains me to say it, are not pushovers. The only way one of us is going to win is by earning the victory. I've got history with both men, but that counts for nothing when it comes down to tonight.

Ted began to pace back and forth.

Ted Jr: Evan Bourne, Matt Sydal whatever you want to call yourself, you've become a thorn in my side. You're cocky, you're arrogant but you've backed it up with two championships. Let me take you on a walk down memory lane. Fanniversary 2012. I was on top of my game and had held the PTG title for 9 months, and you tried to take it from me. That match ended with me standing over you holding my championship high and proudly in the air. I decimated you in that match, and it can happen once again. But since then you've changed, you've performed well and strung together a few wins. Tonight it's not going to end by pinfall or submission, you can't steal a win here. You've got to go toe to toe with me and The Miz and prove that you really deserve to hold those championships. You've got a high risk high reward style, which can be suited to this type of match. But one mistake and it's all over for you. I know that all too well. At Christmas Eve of Destruction, I took one risk too many and it cost me my record PTG Championship reign. Tonight I have to take those risks to win, I've got everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Ted stopped pacing for a moment.

Ted Jr: This brings me to The Miz. You know me, I know you and its well documented. Perhaps you're right, which I know is something you never expected to hear. I've talked a big game and I've had some great wins, but quite a few losses. I've beaten you, you've beaten me. But please forgive me for actually caring about WRESTLING more than appearing on talk shows and radio stations. You care more about the spotlight and the exposure than anyone else. If you put half the effort into wrestling as you did into talking, you would have held the World Championship more. But for all your talk about me never quite living up to expectations the same could be said about you. You only won the World Championship when you were aligned with AJ and I, and you can't deny that we both had an influence on making you champion. But since then, tell me what have you done? You lost to Cena like I did and you had a poor reign as IC Champ. For every time you say that Ted DiBiase can't achieve anything I want you to look back at yourself and see what you've done. The only real reason that you're relevant is because you're now pals with Cena and Wes. Deny it all you want but that's the truth right there. I never needed anyone to reach the highs that I had reached. I never needed pals at the top to keep me here. I've worked for the last 5 years on staying here. So while you talk with Ellen DeGeneres and Howard Stern, I'll be doing what I was employed here to do. Wrestle. Tonight's match has the perfect formula to be a physical and brutal match. We've got 3 guys that hate each other, ladders everywhere, and one of the top prizes in EBWF on offer. The Intercontinental Championship is just the icing on the cake to me, the real prize is beating sense into anyone that steps in my way.

And with that Ted left the ring as the camera man stopped recording. Before heading backstage, he had one final look out into the empty arena. Tonight was going to be a big moment for him, he could feel it.

---
Wrestlemania was now live and Ted had left his locker room and was walking around the backstage area of the Superdome. People were running around frantically, putting finishing touches on small details. As Ted walked around he was met by Renee Young, who was standing with a microphone and followed by a camera man.

Renee Young: Ted, mind if I get a few words from you?

Ted Jr: Sure.

Renee Young: Tonight you're set to face off against Matt Sydal and The Miz in a Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship. How does this compare to a standard triple threat match?

Ted Jr: In a triple threat match it all comes down to opportunity. If you can get your opponent distracted for a second you can capitalise on it. With a Ladder match, that moment for opportunity isn't there. You need to incapacitate your opponent and make sure that they're down long enough to set a ladder up in the ring and retrieve the title hanging above from the ring.

Renee Young: Not many people are seeing you as a favourite in this match with The Miz being picked as a favourite to win. What are your thoughts on that?

Ted Jr: People didn't see me as an odds on favourite to become a World Champion, people didn't see me as an odds on favourite to achieve what I've achieved here in EBWF. The fact of the matter is, people can't predict any of this. People can call me an underdog in this match and say that I won't win, but it's those people who are going to be pissed off and eating their words when I grab that championship.

Renee Young: There's been no love lost between the three of you leading into this match, is the fact that you don't like your opponents going to matter at all in this match?

Ted Jr: At the end of the day it doesn't matter who is in that ring with me, once that bell rings I'm not their friend. It can be The Miz, John Cena, or even my father. As soon as that bell rings I've got no friends.

Renee Young: You recently made peace with John Cena, shaking his hand backstage. What was that all about?

Ted Jr: We've had some brutal matches and our match last year at Wrestlemania was one the matches of the year. Throughout all the animosity that we had for each other, we've gained a huge amount of respect for one another. When I stepped in that ring with him, everybody said that I would be a pushover and I was an easy beat. John Cena knows that I'm not an easy beat, and that I'm not a pushover. I pushed him to his absolute limit in our matches and we've got a strong respect with one another.

Renee Young: Matt Sydal also had problems with John Cena and he was the one to end Cena's historic reign as Champion. Does that put him as a favourite in this match?

Ted Jr: Sydal didn't pin Cena at all. He managed to get lucky and pinned Daniel Bryan. I mean really, Daniel Bryan is a push over. He held the Breakout Championship for less than a month and lost it to Sydal as well. All that proves is that Sydal can only beat Daniel Bryan. He isn't in the same class as Miz or I. Tonight there's going to be a new IC Champ, and I'm going to make sure it's me.

Renee Young: Thank you for your time.

Ted left Renee and continued walking around backstage. His match was set to begin in a few moments and this was a time he would usually have some nerves but this time he was calm. It may have been because he had gotten used to being in these big matches or because he knew his family would be in the front row cheering him on. But in the end he knew that tonight would be a special night for him.