Iron Will

[Ben M]

After a video package storying the history between AJ Styles and Chris Jericho, the lights went out inside The Dome and Chris Jericho's five second countdown appeared on the tron. The countdown clock hit zero, "Break the Walls Down" began to play, and the crowd gave a mixed reaction as Chris Jericho stepped out onto the stage. Jericho walked down the ramp, carrying the World Title over his shoulder. Upon entering the ring, Jericho held up the championship, which caused the crowd to boo. Jericho smirked, then placed the World Title back over his shoulder. Jericho's music was cut, he took a microphone from ring announcer Christy Hemme, and once the noise from the crowd had died down, he began to speak.

Chris Jericho: Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet! One hour... Sixty minutes... Three thousand, six hundred seconds. That's all I have left to wait until I become the first ever ten time EBWF World Champion. No one else has managed to accomplish that, because no one else has accomplished as much as I have in the EBWF. No one else has lasted as long as I have in this company. After 15 years, I'm still the EBWF's top guy, because I'm the best in the world at what I do. Tonight, at Fanniversary, not only do you get the gift of Jericho. You get the gift of Chris Jericho making history. Drink it in, man...

Jericho held out his arms and smirked, causing the crowd to boo once again.

Chris Jericho: As for AJ Styles? He's just the flavour of the month. A pretender that's in my way, a transitional champion, a stepping stone on my way to glory. I should have already taken care of him, stopped his comeback before it even began, but last month at Destiny, I can't deny it, AJ Styles got the better of me.

The crowd cheered at the mention of AJ's name, and an AJ Styles chant broke out. Jericho nodded, then held up three fingers.

Chris Jericho: That's right, he got the better of me... for three seconds. I've gotten the better of Styles week after week, and for most of our match at Destiny, I was in control. But he walked out as the champion. Because three seconds was all that he needed.

Jericho paused for a moment, clutching the title a little closer as he did so.

Chris Jericho: You might have noticed that I'm having a bit of trouble letting go. And that's because I shouldn't have lost this title. Everyone knows that I am better than AJ Styles, even Styles knows it. And tonight, I get a chance to prove it. Because in an Iron Man match, you can't just be the better man for three seconds. You have to last a full hour. That takes endurance, and it takes intelligence. You need to conserve your energy, pick your moments, strike when it counts. And that's something I'm very good at, because for the past 26 years, I have constantly adapted to survive. That's why I am still here in the EBWF right now while the likes of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and Sting have walked away and retired. AJ Styles suggested last month that my title reign was part of my "retirement tour", but I can promise you there is still a lot of fuel left in the tank. Because I'm smart, and I know how to go the distance. I know when to slow down. AJ Styles doesn't do that... he can’t do that. AJ Styles only has one speed, and that's maximum speed. He wrestles the same way he did a decade ago, and to be honest I'm surprised he doesn’t hurt himself more. Maybe that's the real reason he took his ball and went home after the Royal Rumble... maybe he was actually hurt and he just didn't want to admit it, because he didn’t want to seem weak. Either way, let me tell you exactly what's going to happen in our match tonight. When the bell rings, AJ will come at me being all hot headed as usual, he'll bring the fire and go at me full speed. I'll take things slow, and for the first 15-20 minutes it will look like Styles is in control. Joey Styles will say "oh my god, Styles is dominating this Iron Man match!", and Corey Graves will remind Joey that it's a marathon, not a sprint, because Corey Graves isn't a stupid idiot like Joey Styles. And then, before the match is even halfway through, AJ will start to get tired. You'll see him realise, and he'll look up at the clock on the tron, and he'll start to doubt whether he can keep going. And that's when I'll unleash everything that I'd been keeping in reserve. That's when I'll show AJ the fire I have, and suddenly I will be on top. I will wear Styles down, and when I need to catch my breath, I'll simply apply the Walls of Jericho or one of my other innovative submission holds – in case you've forgotten, I'm the man of 1,004 holds. By the time the next sixty minutes are up, AJ Styles will be at my mercy. And he will be forced to surrender the World Title that he should never have taken from me in the first place.

Jericho held the World Title up once more, but this time there was no smirk. There was a steely look on his face, an expression of iron will.

Chris Jericho: I waited four and a half years to win my eighth EBWF World Title. That's almost a fifth of my career. And then when I finally ended that drought, I lost to Wes Ikeda a mere two months later, on the grandest stage of them all. It didn't take long for me to take the title back, and then five months later AJ Styles crashed the party. Wes only lasted a month before I took back what's rightfully mine, and we all know what happened when AJ Styles went one on one with Wes Ikeda don't we? AJ, Wes was my best friend, and after he took the World Title from me I took it back so forcefully that he hasn't been seen in EBWF since. I don't even like you, AJ... so if I can send my former best friend packing, just imagine what I'm going to do to you. You're mine for a full hour, so I can beat you again, and again, and again. And then at the end, when those sixty minutes are up and the referee hands me back this title, everyone will know that I've achieved something no one ever thought was possible. I will break the record Raven set 12 years ago, and finally his place in EBWF history will be supplanted by someone far more worthy. Raven will no longer be the benchmark for EBWF World Champions, I will be. Ten times. I will break new ground, and I will break you AJ. And even you will be forced to admit that I deserve it.

Jericho dropped the microphone and stared at the stage, awaiting AJ's arrival.