Redemption

[Ben M]

OOC: Sorry it's short; I was away this weekend, so I didn't have as much time to write as I would have liked. Good luck Raza! It's always a pleasure working with you.

Wanting to make the most of their recent talent boom, the EBWF had gone all out for WrestleMania. A two hour pre-show had been planned for the first time, instead of the usual one-hour pre-show that had become customary before most EBWF pay-per-views. There were three big matches planned for the pre-show, in addition to the usual promos from wrestlers and analysis from the pre-show panel. At his request, Chris Jericho had been booked on the pre-show. Although WrestleMania was still a little under two hours away, Levi's Stadium was already beginning to fill, and Jericho felt excited as he readied himself to appear before the live crowd. "Break the Walls Down" hit and the crowd gave a mixed reaction as Jericho stepped out onto the stage. Jericho was wearing a special light-up jacket for Mania - on the front of the jacket, "Y2J" was lit up in neon LEDs, and on the back the lights made up the initials "WM XIV". Jericho glared around the stadium as he made his way down the ramp. As he entered the ring, Jericho posed on the ring apron, then his music was cut and he began to speak.

Chris Jericho: The biggest night of the EBWF calendar is finally here, and tonight, I have a shot at redemption. I will be going one on one with Solomon Crowe, and if I beat him, Crowe will forfeit his rematch to me. I will get the World Title shot I've earned, the World Title shot that I deserve, and I will become the World Champion again. All I have to do is beat the man that stunned the EBWF universe when he defeated John Cena at Survivor Series... Solomon Crowe.

Jericho paused, and the crowd booed at the mention of Crowe's name. Jericho smirked, then looked into the camera, addressing Crowe directly as he continued to speak.

Chris Jericho: You've made your feelings about me perfectly clear, Crowe. You think that I'm past it, you don't think I stand a chance against you. You've spent the last week doing what you always do, Solomon. You've talked, and talked, and talked, and talked, and talked... and people say I talk too much. Seriously, Solomon - how do you not get tired of your own voice? I can't accuse you of not backing your words up - after all, you did beat John Cena in only your second EBWF match - but that doesn't mean I'm not sick of hearing you talk. You've accomplished a lot since you arrived in the EBWF, Solomon. You pulled off what was arguably the biggest upset in EBWF history when you won the World Title, and as I've said before, you proved your doubters wrong when you held the World Title. You took out The Rock then Dean Ambrose in thrilling matches, before losing the Title in the Elimination Chamber at Fallout. And you know what? I honestly believe you were unlucky to lose that match, Solomon. You already proved you could beat The Rock and Dean Ambrose; and with all due respect to Chris Sabin and AJ Styles, if you'd faced either of them one on one, I'm sure you would have beaten them too. Styles brought his A-game, and that's why he beat you - as the Chamber match took its toll on you, AJ was ready to capitalise. And it's eating you up that you lost that match, Crowe. I can see it every time you look at you. You spend all this time talking about how great you are, about how no one can stop you - but AJ stopped you at Fallout, and it's killing you. I realised when I listened to you running your match this past week, that's why you talk so much - deep down, you're actually really insecure. That's why you keep going on and on about how you're the best... you're still trying to convince yourself that it's true. You still doubt yourself, and it makes you angry, Solomon - that's one of the reasons why you have such psychopathic tendencies. You can't get rid of that voice inside your head that tells you, you aren't good enough. So you've turned your insecurity into anger, and like I said before, you've used that anger to prove your doubters wrong. You're a fighter, Solomon - you've been fighting your whole life, and this is where it's gotten you; a match at WrestleMania with the larger than life living legend, Y2J. You've won a lot of fights in your career, Solomon, but this isn't a fight - it's a wrestling match. And unlike you, Solomon, I don't think of myself as a fighter - I'm more than that. I'm a wrestler. I can go to war with someone, I can get violent if I need to - just check out my match with Trent at Christmas Eve of Destruction if you don't believe me - but I'm at my best when there are no gimmick matches, when it's pure wrestling. Because I am the best pure wrestler in the world, and you in terms of technical ability, you can't even come close. And that will be your downfall tonight, Crowe. You'll come at me like you went after Rock and Ambrose - you'll try to hurt me with your fists, your kicks - but I'll wear you down by putting you in holds that you've never even heard of. Don't get me wrong, I'll take great pleasure in punching that big mouth of yours, in stomping on you with my customised WrestleMania boots... but a fight is what you want, and I'm not going to give you that. I'm going to make you wrestle with me, I'm going to make you grapple with me. I'm going to use this match to show you the technical prowess I've spent the last 25 years perfecting. You've made a mistake, Crowe; you underestimated me. And I'm going to make sure you live to regret it. I'm going to take your World Title shot, I'm going to shatter your dreams... and when I'm done with you, you will never, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvveeeerrrrrrrrrrrrr, be the same, again!

Jericho dropped the microphone and glared into the camera, signalling his intent. "Break the Walls Down" hit and Jericho made his way to the back. As he walked through the curtain, Jericho began counting down to his match, eagerly awaiting the chance to appear in front of the live crowd for a second time. Jericho loved WrestleMania, and he wanted to make it a night to remember.