29 Obstacles

[Ben M]

For the second year running, Chris Jericho was entering the Royal Rumble at number one. The Rumble was one of Jericho's favourite PPVs - after Wrestlemania, of course - and he had a lot of happy memories. In 2017, he had lasted over an hour in the Royal Rumble match, making it to the final three. In 2016, he had ended a wait of more than four years to regain the EBWF World Title. Back in 2010, he had won the Royal Rumble match, securing his place in the Wrestlemania main event for the first time. This year, however, Jericho's primary focus wasn't on the EBWF World Title, or even Wrestlemania. It was on the man who would be entering the Rumble at number two... Jimmy Havoc. Jericho and Havoc had a rivalry that had started 11 months previously, when Jimmy Havoc eliminated Jericho from the Elimination Chamber. Jericho had responded by hitting Havoc with a Codebreaker, which led to Havoc getting pinned. The two men had rarely seen eye to eye since, and as General Manager, Jericho had done everything in his power to make Jimmy Havoc's life hell - a favour that Havoc was all too happy to return now that he was GM. The latest example of this was Havoc putting Jericho in the Rumble at number one, and himself at number two. As far as Jericho was concerned, it was clear that Havoc had one goal - to stop Jericho from winning the EBWF World Title. Jericho's goal was to use the opportunity to make the most of a chance to lay his hands on the General Manager, and give Havoc a beating.

Backstage at the Talking Stick Resort Arena, Jericho was with Renee Young, waiting to be interviewed. When everything was set up and a cameraman was in place, Renee began to speak.

Renee Young: Ladies and gentlemen, my guest at this time, Chris Jericho. Chris, you have been in more Royal Rumble matches than anyone else in EBWF history, and you are one of just 14 men to have won the Royal Rumble. Tonight, you have the chance to become only the third man to win two EBWF Royal Rumbles, but as the number one entrant, you will have to outlast every other superstar in the match. How do you feel about taking on such a challenge?

Chris Jericho: Well Renee, last year I lasted 69 minutes in the Rumble... not only have I been in more Royal Rumble matches than anyone else in EBWF history, I've also been in the Rumble longer than anyone else. The Royal Rumble is an event where I always shine, and with the EBWF World Title up for grabs, there is more at stake in the Rumble than ever before. I'm not fazed by the challenge of entering at number one, but tonight is a different challenge for one reason - Jimmy Havoc. You see, in the Royal Rumble, it's supposed to be every man for himself, but I can guarantee there is only one person that Jimmy Havoc will be going after tonight, and that's yours truly, Y2J. Havoc has no interest in winning the World Title - I'm not even sure if he's allowed to win it as General Manager - he just wants to stop me from winning it. It's corruption of the highest order.

Renee Young: You seem frustrated that Jimmy Havoc is in this match, but isn't there a part of you that's looking forward to stepping into the ring with him again? Your Iron Man match at Fanniversary was a tense affair, and there's clearly no love lost between the two of you.

Jericho smirked.

Chris Jericho: If you're asking me do I want to beat the living hell out of Jimmy Havoc tonight, the answer is yes Renee. Since he took my place as General Manager, Havoc has enjoyed taunting me, knowing that I can't do anything to him because he holds all the power. Tonight, he's put the power back in my hands. But the truth is, I'd rather face him in a one on one match. In the Rumble, he's just a distraction. He has nothing to gain from the Royal Rumble apart from costing me the championship. So imagine the look on his face when I eliminate him, then go on to become an 11-time EBWF World Champion. His mind games will have failed.

Renee Young: In order to become the EBWF World Champion, you won't just have to deal with Jimmy Havoc. There are no fewer than nine former EBWF World Champions in the match, including yourself, and one of those is your former mentor, Bret Hart. Assuming you're still in the match when Bret enters at number 30, how to you feel going up against someone who helped train you?

It's every man for himself, Renee. Bret Hart is an obstacle, and I'll treat him as such. It's nothing personal - in order to become the World Champion, there are 29 obstacles in my path. It's as simple as that really.

There was something about Jericho's tone that made Renee sense that the interview was over. She wrapped it up and thanked Jericho for his time.