- - - - -
Monday March 14 2016 – Oklahoma City; Oklahoma to Tulsa; Oklahoma
There was a two-hour drive ahead for Sami Zayn, leaving Oklahoma City after a house show as he continued his hectic schedule by driving down to Tulsa for the upcoming Monday Night Warfare show. The sound of wipers wiping the heavy rain off the windscreen were the only thing helping keep Sami awake, that and the horrible cup of coffee he was forcing down his throat which he picked up from a gas station after getting into his white Hyundai Accent rental car. He looked tired; he felt tired; he just wanted to arrive in Tulsa and relax a few hours before Warfare was supposed to get underway. At this point, he still had no idea who he was facing at the show, but with WrestleMania quickly approaching he knew he needed some big matches and big names under his belt if he wanted a significant spot on the card. One year ago Sami walked into WrestleMania with a point to prove, walking out with the Intercontinental Championship after beating Lance Storm and Trent in a triple threat match. This year felt a little different; there was little direction, no knowledge of what was going to happen at the historic event but the one thing he did know was that he was doing well for himself. Despite the lack of direction and being out of the loop on most things in the company, he knew he wasn’t too far behind Chris Jericho and Wes Ikeda in terms of being in contention for the EBWF World Championship. He appreciated the spot he was in, though, he was slowly picking up the wins to move up the rankings and although he wasn’t involved in huge programmes; he understood what it meant to be in the company, something a lot of wrestlers fail to achieve. Eventually, something was going to come up, and whatever it will be – be it good for his career or not – he would go out there and give it his all, just like he does on a weekly basis, only time would tell what that something was going to be.
The yawns continued on the journey. He tried his best to distract himself, opening the windows, tapping his knees to whatever song was playing on the radio channel he wasn’t even paying attention to. Eventually, he stopped at another red light, looking around the roads he leaned to the back seat, shuffling through his duffel bag before pulling out his cell phone. He continued to look up and down in quick succession, looking at the lights and his phone. Before the lights turned green, he managed to connect his phone to the car, allowing him to read his messages or take calls through the car. He continued to drive through the rain, stretching his mouth, cracking his neck until he heard three quick vibrations on his phone. He raised his eyebrows, just like he did every single time he received an e-mail or a text message from someone from the booking team or an authoritative figure. He pressed a few buttons as the voice recognition began to read out his text messages and an important e-mail sent out to everyone in the company.
VOICE RECOGNITION: Hello EBWF talent and staff. What a great year we’ve had, I can’t thank you enough for your time and talents and we continue to present the premiere wrestling program on television today. I’m excited for our fifteenth WrestleMania event and hope all of you are too. If you have any questions regarding the schedule, feel free to reach out to…BEEP.
Sami stopped the message; he knew exactly what the e-mail was about. The WrestleMania Itinerary was telling him where he needed to be and what he needed to do. He knew the drill and would read over it properly when he had settled at the BOK Centre to soak it all in, the voice recognition then started to read out his next message, something he was already aware of but would never get bored of hearing as it brought a smile to his face.
VOICE RECOGNITION: Hello, and congratulations on another great year in the EBWF. Your efforts see you nominated in three categories in the final ballot of the 2016 Slammy Awards, including the match of the year, the face of the year and wrestler of the year.
He couldn’t help but smile to himself, he knew he had a better second year in the company compared to his first and wanted to top it off by having a great WrestleMania moment. Before any of that, he had to focus on tonight, on Warfare where every win mattered. It didn’t take too long for his third message to come through, letting him know he was indeed going to be in action on the night, and he was going up against the current Breakout Champion in Tyler Breeze. As soon as he heard Tyler’s name he made a “not bad” expression with his face, the first time he was going up against him in the EBWF but he knew him very well during their time on NXT. Something ate away at him, though, something which kicked in later after realising the situation he was in. Sami worked his ass off every single day, and whether the guys and girls wanted to admit it or not, they wanted to be on that WrestleMania card. It hadn’t been too long since Breeze walked through the doors again and here he was, Breakout Champion, a guaranteed WrestleMania match with the championship on the line yet Sami was left figuring whether he’d appear on the show at all. That was the motivation he needed; he needed to go out there and show Tyler Breeze exactly who he was stepping into the ring with, he wasn’t a pushover or somebody who was going to be forgotten about in a moment. Sami had been defying the odds since the day he walked in, if anything it’s Tyler who needed to impress in the match because of his big title defence, Sami would expose whether Tyler was still all talk or whether he could finally back up his words. As he continued to drive, a voice was heard coming next to Sami as he turned to look at him.
COREY GRAVES: So that’s how the infamous Sami Zayn prepares himself for a match on Warfare, huh?
All of this time, Corey Graves was sat in the passenger seat observing everything Sami was doing, how he kept himself awake, how he reacted to the good news, how he reacted to finding out who his opponent would be on a weekly basis. It was clearly something intended to be shown before the match; there was only the camera fixed under the mirror, no cameraman, nobody or nothing else on their journey to the BOK Centre.
SAMI ZAYN: I can’t believe you sat there and watched me almost fall asleep at the wheel, but didn’t even offer to drive. But yeah…this is usually it when I’m working a live event the night before or the same day as a Warfare.
COREY GRAVES: Usually?
SAMI ZAYN: Well at this time I’m often already at the arena, already settled in or working out, getting something to eat with some of the guys but I don’t mind this. I’m not too worried about tonight, I feel relaxed, I feel calm, and I feel ready for whatever the night has to bring.
COREY GRAVES: You’re relaxed? You and I both know Tyler, he’s as tough as they come, don’t let the pretty face fool you.
SAMI ZAYN: Oh I know; I’ve taken plenty of Beauty Shots in my time believe me. I meant I’m not worried about the match. Usually, when you look at the card beforehand or you find out who your opponent is you might think, “how the hell do I work with this guy?” You know, you’ve probably never worked with him before, or your styles clash, and there’s no chemistry. But we both know Tyler, we had plenty of matches in other promotions, so I’m relaxed about how the match will turn out, I know it’ll be good, and I just gotta do what I do best.
Corey looked at him for a brief moment, before turning to him and looking at the road ahead.
COREY GRAVES: It’s eating you up inside, isn’t it?
Sami looked a little confused, looking at him wondering what Corey was insinuating.
SAMI ZAYN: What is?
COREY GRAVES: All of it. So close to WrestleMania, not knowing whether you’ll be competing at the event, having to take part in all of the festivities with a smile on your face even if you’re not competing. Knowing that Tyler is guaranteed a match already, and you’ve been working your ass off for so long, and there are still questions marks…all of it.
Sami exhaled, taking in everything Corey said and nodded his head, almost in agreement that all of it was true.
SAMI ZAYN: I’m happy for him, y’know…he’s done great for himself and it’s good to see ‘one of us’ have some success here. I guess you’re right; I do think I should be at WrestleMania as every day passes by, and I get no call or e-mail it frustrates me more and more, it gets me worried, it gets me worked up thinking what else can I do? I guess that comes with being the champion if you’re a champion you HAVE to defend your title at the event, and he just happens to be the champion, so I don’t have anybody to blame for that. As for the festivities, it doesn’t matter what the situation is; I could turn up to the signings and the meet and greets with a broken leg, but even you know I’d have a smile on my face. I’m fortunate to be here, to be driving to Warfare, to be in a match, to be nominated for Slammy’s…the only things missing right now are a championship title around my waist and a huge match at WrestleMania…because I know I can achieve a WrestleMania moment that’ll eclipse last year.
Corey agreed with Sami, looking around and at his watch, wondering how much time they had left until they arrived.
COREY GRAVES: Oh yeah, I read something online on the forums or something like that…that Tyler Breeze is better than you ALREADY, even though you’ve been here and done what some people can’t or ever will.
Sami laughed to himself a little, making it clear that he for one didn’t believe Tyler was better than him in any way.
SAMI ZAYN: That’s why I stay away from the internet, man. Everybody has an opinion, and the fans do too, and I agree with that. Tyler has his fans, and I have mine but I don’t agree with that statement one bit, and I never will. I know that I am a better wrestler than Tyler, just like I know that when we go out there, he can parade around with his championship title and his cell phone but at the end of the match it’ll be my music playing, and I think deep down he knows that too. Right now, Tyler needs me to keep his name in the limelight whether he wants to admit it or not. I guess he can say what he wants to make himself believe he’s the best thing going.
COREY GRAVES: I mean he DOES have a championship and you don’t…
SAMI ZAYN: He’s not better. Some of them have it easier like Tyler, and some don’t…like me. Some walk through the doors and win championships right away, and some have to work harder than anybody to get to the top and stay there. I know I’ve had it tougher than almost anybody on the entire roster, that’ll be Tyler’s downfall tonight. He hasn’t experienced the low points just yet, but he will, and he’ll have to be the best Tyler Breeze possible if he stands any chance of walking away with a win tonight because I’m fighting for something. What’s he fighting for? He has the championship, he has a match at WrestleMania, and I’m here as the guy with a point to prove, and everyone knows when my back is against the wall…that is when I’m at my best.
COREY GRAVES: Yeah I agree, you do perform better when the odds are against you, but let’s say the Breakout Championship was on the line, you’re saying you wouldn’t be happy with that title?
SAMI ZAYN: Well I mean firstly, the Tyler Breeze I know will look for any excuse in the book, any loophole to avoid defending the Breakout Championship, so even if I did want the match to be a title match, I wouldn’t get my hopes up of actually fighting for that title. He needs that championship more than anything right now; I don’t think I need it. I mean, what is Tyler Breeze when you strip away that shiny belt? He’s an arrogant, obnoxious son of a bitch who has more selfies stored on his phone than he does achievements in the wrestling world. He needs to cling on to that championship for as long as he can because believe me, the second he spends looking in that mirror for one second too long, the second he loses that title….he’s done. The Tyler I know; he doesn’t have the heart or the will power to fight back to get to championship status again. So for his sake, I hope he retains at WrestleMania but at the same time, he needs to count his lucky stars that he’s facing me tonight and not at WrestleMania because I’d take that championship from him quicker than he won it.
COREY GRAVES: Yeah…but does it get to you that he’s holding that title and you’re not?
SAMI ZAYN: Honestly? No, it really doesn’t. I mean at one stage it did, but not with Tyler. I remember when I first came here, and I couldn’t catch a break, and I realised that in the EBWF….it’s not easy. So I do think that in my first few months here I should have been in contention for the title. As far as I can remember I was never even in a number one contender match for the title, so it did eat away at me for a while and then to see HIM walk through the doors and win it…I did doubt myself a little. I thought what do they see in him that they didn’t see in me? But I’m not angry; I ’m not breaking out anymore because he’s the one who needs to prove himself to the world, not me. I can’t complain either, and I shouldn’t be complaining, I became the World Champion.
COREY GRAVES: Can’t argue with that I guess. Should he be worried about facing you tonight?
Sami thought about it for a second.
SAMI ZAYN: I think he should be, but I know he won’t be, I know he’s still on a high right now from Fallout, and he’s doing well and stuff, but he won’t be worried. That’s fine by me though because I’m fired up for this match because – as I said – I have a point to prove in this match and he thinks he doesn’t. How bad will it look for him, when the champion loses before WrestleMania? So he can continue focusing on his looks, how he thinks we’re all beneath him and how he’s the best thing going but he needs to calm down and take it down a notch. He’s the Breakout Champion, so he’s finally opening the eyes of the EBWF Universe, tonight is make or break for him because by the end of the night he’s a deserving champion who nobody should have doubted. Or, he’s just the latest in line to be all talk and couldn’t back up the mouth he has on him, I’ve dealt with plenty of those, and I won’t hesitate in doing the same to Tyler, in fact, I know I’ll do it.
There was silence in the car for a little while; they were almost at the arena according to the navigation before Corey voiced his thoughts once more, trying to create a little bit of doubt in Sami’s mind that he needed Breeze more than ever to get to WrestleMania.
COREY GRAVES: Maybe a good performance against Tyler won’t be enough to get you to WrestleMania?
SAMI ZAYN: I guess that’s out of my control then. But I just can’t help but feel I’m on the verge of something big, whether it’s at WrestleMania or in the coming months…I don’t know. I know my efforts will pay off, but there’s no way I need or will ever need Tyler Breeze for my own development as an EBWF superstar or as a human being. He needs me more than anybody else on the roster right now; the chance to beat a former EBWF World Champion would put him on the map…just like beating Syxx put me on the map, at last. What he needs to get inside that thick skull of his is that he’s going up against, as you heard, a potential wrestler of the year winner. Now while he’s too busy arguing who the “hottie” of the year is, I’m getting better and better. This is a battle of between a champion who is yet to prove himself, an arrogant, cocky deadweight going up against a proven, determined man who just may become the wrestler of the year…sounds like a no contest to me.
Corey was taken back by Sami’s heated response, before he could speak Sami interrupted him to get more off of his chest.
SAMI ZAYN: Now if you’re asking me would I rather head into WrestleMania as a potential World Championship contender, or head into WrestleMania as a Breakout Champion, no disrespect to the championship but I’d be a fool to pick the second option. At the same time, I’d rather be an “uggo” and kick Tyler’s ass tonight than have the supposed good looks and lack of heart. I’m going to go in there; I ’m going to be one step ahead of him all the way and I’m going to kick that chiselled jaw he loves so much until the referee raises my arm in victory, that’s exactly how it’s going to go down. There're less than two weeks left until WrestleMania, Corey. You know how much this means to me, tonight Tyler will find out how much it means to me as well. The only place he'll be relevant is that fantasy island he calls Cuteville, nobody else will care. I'll move on to bigger things. And…we’re here.
They approached the parking lot of the BOK Centre as they were let into the EBWF area by a member of staff. One thing was for certain; Sami didn't want to miss WrestleMania, and there was no way he was ever going to let Tyler Breeze take the spotlight off of him. He needed the win tonight, and he needed to do it in style.
