Defence of the Crown
Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:18 pm
It was Monday night and EBWF Warfare was due to start in less than 15 minutes. Most of the fans were already in their seats and ring announcer Justin Roberts was stood at ringside ready to inform the fans when the show was about to begin. As Roberts sat at ringside, one of the ringside crew members received a message from backstage threw their headset. They relayed the message to Roberts, who looked surprised. Roberts grabbed a microphone and entered the ring, then began to speak.
Justin Roberts: Ladies and gentlemen, in around ten minutes time EBWF Warfare will be filmed live from right here in Salt Lake City! But before the show begins, I've been asked to introduce the man who will begin the defence of his crown tonight. Please welcome your 2011 King of the Ring... Chris Jericho!
"Martyr No More" by Fozzy hit and the crowd booed as Jericho made his way to the ring. Jericho was dressed in an Affliction t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans; the EBWF staff members at ringside seemed confused by his pre-show appearance, as if it had not been planned. Upon entering the ring, Jericho took the microphone from Justin Roberts and ushered him out of the ring. His music cut and Jericho began to speak.
Chris Jericho: Thank you Justin for your kind introduction. It's good to know that when someone puts you on the spot like I did just now, you can still do your job. If Lilian Garcia were out here, she probably would have tripped on the ring steps, or fumbled her words. Anyway, I didn't come out here to talk about Lilian, Justin or any other irrelevant EBWF staff member. I'm out here to talk about the 2012 King of the Ring tournament... the tournament at which yours truly will be defending his crown. And as luck would have it, I've been drawn against one of my oldest EBWF rivals, Randy Orton. It's undeniably the pick of the first round matches, but it's not the only interesting match that's been drawn. Curt Hawkins will take on his former tag team partner, Zack Ryder... and John Cena has been given a bye! It's almost enough to make you wonder if the King of the Ring tournament is as rigged as the Hottie of the Year Slammy. But hey, at least you get to see me wrestle Randy Orton! The man they call the Viper, the man who's gone from ripping through the EBWF roster to playing house with Nicole Ikeda. A few years ago, I beat Randy Orton on Aggression, and he was so pissed off that he hit me with an RKO from the turnbuckle. He nearly broke my neck - that's how dangerous he was. Now when he hears that I've been badmouthing him, he responds to it via Twitter. I see he's fitting right into the Ikeda family. If it hadn't been for this oh so fortunate tournament draw, I don't think Orton would have ever confronted me face to face about my comments. In case you haven't noticed, I've all but given up on Twitter. I let my actions in this ring do the talking and that's why tonight, I'm going to beat Randy Orton and begin what will be a successful defence of my crown. I'm going to become the first person in EBWF history to win back-to-back King of the Ring tournaments. I'm going to...
Before Jericho could say anything else, an EBWF crew member cut him off. They began lecturing him and pointed to their watch. Jericho nodded in response, though he didn't really seem to care. When the crew member was done talking, Jericho brushed past him and spoke into the microphone once more.
Chris Jericho: I have to leave now... apparently I'm delaying the start of Warfare. My bad. I guess I'll see you all again later tonight!
Jericho dropped the microphone and exited the ring, making his way to the back.
Justin Roberts: Ladies and gentlemen, in around ten minutes time EBWF Warfare will be filmed live from right here in Salt Lake City! But before the show begins, I've been asked to introduce the man who will begin the defence of his crown tonight. Please welcome your 2011 King of the Ring... Chris Jericho!
"Martyr No More" by Fozzy hit and the crowd booed as Jericho made his way to the ring. Jericho was dressed in an Affliction t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans; the EBWF staff members at ringside seemed confused by his pre-show appearance, as if it had not been planned. Upon entering the ring, Jericho took the microphone from Justin Roberts and ushered him out of the ring. His music cut and Jericho began to speak.
Chris Jericho: Thank you Justin for your kind introduction. It's good to know that when someone puts you on the spot like I did just now, you can still do your job. If Lilian Garcia were out here, she probably would have tripped on the ring steps, or fumbled her words. Anyway, I didn't come out here to talk about Lilian, Justin or any other irrelevant EBWF staff member. I'm out here to talk about the 2012 King of the Ring tournament... the tournament at which yours truly will be defending his crown. And as luck would have it, I've been drawn against one of my oldest EBWF rivals, Randy Orton. It's undeniably the pick of the first round matches, but it's not the only interesting match that's been drawn. Curt Hawkins will take on his former tag team partner, Zack Ryder... and John Cena has been given a bye! It's almost enough to make you wonder if the King of the Ring tournament is as rigged as the Hottie of the Year Slammy. But hey, at least you get to see me wrestle Randy Orton! The man they call the Viper, the man who's gone from ripping through the EBWF roster to playing house with Nicole Ikeda. A few years ago, I beat Randy Orton on Aggression, and he was so pissed off that he hit me with an RKO from the turnbuckle. He nearly broke my neck - that's how dangerous he was. Now when he hears that I've been badmouthing him, he responds to it via Twitter. I see he's fitting right into the Ikeda family. If it hadn't been for this oh so fortunate tournament draw, I don't think Orton would have ever confronted me face to face about my comments. In case you haven't noticed, I've all but given up on Twitter. I let my actions in this ring do the talking and that's why tonight, I'm going to beat Randy Orton and begin what will be a successful defence of my crown. I'm going to become the first person in EBWF history to win back-to-back King of the Ring tournaments. I'm going to...
Before Jericho could say anything else, an EBWF crew member cut him off. They began lecturing him and pointed to their watch. Jericho nodded in response, though he didn't really seem to care. When the crew member was done talking, Jericho brushed past him and spoke into the microphone once more.
Chris Jericho: I have to leave now... apparently I'm delaying the start of Warfare. My bad. I guess I'll see you all again later tonight!
Jericho dropped the microphone and exited the ring, making his way to the back.