Walk the Walk

[Ben M]

OOC: Good luck Dotty!

Although they'd only had three weeks to build their World Title match, Chris Jericho was pleased with what he and Kevin Owens had accomplished. They'd made Owens look like exactly what he was – a legitimate contender for the World Title – and they'd done it without resorting to any "cheap heat". Jericho wasn't sure if he'd continue working with Owens after King of the Ring, but he hoped that they would; the last few weeks had been a lot of fun.

The morning after Warfare, Jericho returned to St Louis to spend a few days with his family. He was due to be interviewed for the Rich Eisen Show in California on Thursday afternoon, so Jericho caught an early flight to Los Angeles International on Thursday morning, then made the short drive to El Segundo, where the Rich Eisen Show was recorded. Eisen greeted him warmly, then after they'd gone over what would be discussed in the interview, Jericho waited for his introduction. After Eisen had completed a telephone interview with NFL quarterback Carson Palmer, the show took a quick commercial break, and then Jericho took his place across from Eisen.

Rich Eisen: Welcome back! Thanks again to Carson Palmer, we wish him all the best in the upcoming NFL season. With me now though is a professional wrestler who made his in-ring debut almost 26 years ago! He's wrestled all around the world, and right now he is the EBWF World Champion... Chris Jericho! Chris, thank you for taking the time to be here today.

Chris Jericho: Thank you for having me! It's always great to be in California, especially when the weather is so nice.

Rich Eisen: But aren't you from Canada? I thought you preferred the snow!

Chris Jericho: Well I'm from Winnipeg, we don't get much snow there. Besides, I've lived in New York, Florida and now Missouri... I'm used to a variety of different climates!

Rich Eisen: Good point. Now you're actually in California ahead of the King of the Ring pay-per-view, which takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. You'll be defending your World Title in the main event, against your fellow Canadian Kevin Owens. I'm going to ask Ring tournament, which by my understanding has been taking place over the past two months. Is that right?

Chris Jericho: Yeah, we started the tournament at the beginning of May.

Rich Eisen: That's quite a long time for the EBWF to be focused on a tournament when as a professional wrestler, your primary focus is to be in your position – the EBWF World Champion. As the EBWF's longest serving superstar, it can be argued that you know the company better than anyone. So I'd like your opinion on the King of the Ring tournament; is it still something you feel is necessary?

Before he'd even spoken, Jericho nodded instinctively.

Chris Jericho: Well my immediate answer Rich is yes – I still think the King of the Ring tournament is necessary. And I'll expand on that in a moment, but I'd also like to mention the Queen of the Ring tournament, which I feel is equally as important. Those two tournaments have been a prominent part of EBWF programming over the last two months, which is one of the reasons you haven't seen much of me. Now the main reason I think the two tournaments are necessary can be summed up in one word – "tradition". I've been wrestling for over 25 years, and I've been in the EBWF for 15 years. I've seen countless changes over the years, and I think the EBWF has changed for the better. We're a company that move with the times... but when we're doing that, we have to be careful to make sure the EBWF doesn't lose its identity. The King and Queen of the Ring tournaments have been around for as long as the EBWF – they're part of the company's core. And they still mean something, not just to the wrestlers, but to the fans. King of the Ring if up there with the Royal Rumble for me; it's an exciting time of the year. And I've met so many fans who feel the same way.

Rich Eisen: Well that's great to hear, and my understanding is that the Staples Center is already sold out for this Sunday's pay-per-view, so I'm sure there will be 21,000 fans in Los Angeles on Sunday who as excited to see who will be crowned the new King and Queen of the Ring. But allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment. Would your opponent at King of the Ring, Kevin Owens want to swap places with any of the four men left in the King of the Ring tournament?

Jericho smirked.

Chris Jericho: No, Owens wouldn't swap places. That's what you wanted to hear, isn't it? Of course he wouldn't want to swap, because right now he's one win away from becoming the EBWF World Champion. And ultimately, that's the end game for all of us – being the champ. But that doesn't mean King of the Ring isn't important. Just ask the four semi-finalists – Randy Orton, Edge, The Miz, Sami Zayn – ask them how much it means to them. Being the World Champion might be the end destination, but the stops along the way still matter. I'm proud to call myself a nine-time EBWF World Champion, but I'm also proud to call myself a former Royal Rumble and King of the Ring winner. I'd still like to win one or both of those again.

Rich Eisen: Okay, King of the Ring still matters – a lot by the sounds of things. But even you have to admit that the World Title means more. So let's move onto your match with Kevin Owens. I guess the first thing I have to ask you about Owens is simply, what do you think of him? Because from what I've seen, he seems to have a reputation for having a bad attitude. He seems to have fallen out with the entire EBWF roster on Twitter!

Jericho couldn't help but laugh at that one.

Chris Jericho: The joys of Twitter... We talked before about all the changes I've seen since I started wrestling back in 1990, and I must admit, Twitter is one of the hardest ones for me to get my head around. I have something of a love/hate relationship with Twitter because of all the drama that seems to start on there. Owens is the prime example of that; pardon my French, but he's a total dick on Twitter! And obviously you've seen what he's like on TV, he's very good at getting under people's skin. But I honestly believe that with Kevin, a lot of that is a front. We're actually pretty similar, Kevin and me. I can be quite good at pissing people off too! Plus we're both Canadian, and we also both spent a lot time on the independent scene before signing for the EBWF. I have a lot of respect for him.

Rich Eisen: So Kevin Owens is actually a nice guy... you heard it here first! I think we just have time for one more question, Chris, so let me ask you this. There have been a lot of wrestling fans online suggesting that Kevin Owens doesn't deserve a title shot and that other wrestlers should have been considered. What do you think of that?

Chris Jericho: I think people need to spend less time talking, and more time doing, Rich. The reason Kevin Owens has a title shot is because he stepped up and challenged me. No one else did. It's as simple as that.

Rich Eisen: Chris, thank you so much for your time, and good luck in your match on Sunday. We're going to take another quick break now, we'll be back with you soon!

As the show went to a commercial break, Eisen and Jericho shook hands, and Eisen thanked Jericho once again. Having driven straight from the airport to the studio, Jericho headed to his hotel to check in and relax. He had more media work to do over the next couple of days.

Sunday came around quickly enough, and Jericho made sure he was at the Staples Center nice and early. Having done several media interviews since arriving in LA on Thursday, Jericho just had one last promo to do and then he could focus on his match. After arriving at the arena, Jericho dropped his stuff off at his locker room, then went looking for a member of the production crew. A few minutes later, he found a guy he was pretty sure was named Paul. There was a slight doubt at the back of his mind though, so Jericho didn't name him just in case.

Chris Jericho: Hey... do you know if everything has been set up ready for me?

Paul the Production Guy: Yeah, we're good to go Mr. Jericho. Right this way.

Another few minutes passed, and the camera started rolling. A spotlight shone on the throne which would be used to crown the 2016 King of the Ring, but on the throne was the EBWF World Title. The camera zoomed out some more, revealing Chris Jericho, who was stood behind the throne. Once the camera came into focus, Jericho began to speak.

Chris Jericho: Later on tonight, one of four men will become this year's King of the Ring. Will it be Randy Orton, for the third time? Will it be Sami Zayn, for the second year in a row? Will Edge stun everyone, and work out of Los Angeles as King? Or will the EBWF's second most annoying superstar, The Miz, end up on top? Whoever it is, the crown will ultimately be a stepping stone for them. The real prize is the championship you see before you. My championship.

Jericho grinned, then moved to the front of the throne. He picked the title up and sat down on the throne, holding the championship belt in his lap. Jericho then continued to speak.

Chris Jericho: I said The Miz is the EBWF's second most annoying superstar because over the past few months, someone else has surpassed him. I didn't think it was possible to be more annoying than The Miz, but somehow Kevin Owens has managed it. Owens is the ultimate troll; and I'm not just saying that because he looks like one. Everything he says and does is part of a plan... a plan to get under people's skin and get what he wants. That's why he's facing me for the World Title tonight. A few weeks ago at Death Before Dishonor, he was beaten by Enzo Amore, losing not only his Intercontinental Title but also his place in the King of the Ring tournament. So how did Owens respond? By calling out me. And thanks to a controversial win over Enzo Amore, here we are. Five weeks after being beaten by a guy whose hair gets wilder every week, and Kevin Owens thinks he'll be the guy to end my ninth World Title reign. Believe me, I can't wait to prove him wrong.

Jericho paused for a moment, sitting back in his chair. He seemed relaxed.

Chris Jericho: The truth is, Kevin... you have actually impressed me. You're a pretty clever guy, I'll give you that. The stunt you pulled last week, getting your assclown of a lawyer to distract me so that you could jump me from behind? That was a smart move, junior. Props to you for that one. Whenever you step into the ring, whether you win or lose, you look good. You're a talented guy, despite your rotten attitude. You've done a lot of good things here in EBWF. But there are two things you haven't done, Kevin. Two things you won't ever do. Number one... you haven't beaten me. And number two... you haven't managed to "get" to me. I'm sure you think you have, especially after putting me through a table last week. But the fact of the matter is, I've seen it all before. I have been in the EBWF for 15 years, so nothing surprises me anymore. Not even getting sucker punched by a privately educated lawyer. The sad truth is, Kevin, is that as much as you think you're special, to me you're nothing more than a combination of guys I've faced in the past. You act like you're already an EBWF legend, but you're not. Guys like Jeff Hardy, Christian, Triple H, Sting – those guys are EBWF legends. They've earned the right to be called that. And so have I, because I've beaten them all. I am a larger than life living legend, and that's why I'm still here after all this time. That's why I'm the EBWF World Champion, that's why I'm proving wrong all the doubters who said for years that I would never again by the EBWF's top guy. That the "new blood" in EBWF had surpassed me. Yet here I am, Wrestler of the Year for two years running, waiting for someone to step up to my level. But the only person who has even tried to step up... is you, Kevin. Kudos to you for that. You can try and brush me off as the cowardly champion, to say I've been avoiding defending this title, but the fact of the matter is, all anyone had to do as far as I was concerned is do what you did and challenge me. I would defend this title every week if there were enough challengers, but there's only you. And even you had to cheat to beat Enzo Amore, otherwise I'd be facing him tonight instead. So answer me this, Kevin. If you're such a top dog, why did you have to cheat to beat a guy that's literally half your size?

Jericho paused, sarcastically pretending to think.

Chris Jericho: Like I said before, nothing surprises me anymore. So bring whatever dirty tricks you have to the table tonight, Kevin. I welcome them. Hell, I've probably used most of them myself at some point. But know this, no matter what you try to do to me, I will come out on top. You say you're the master of headlocks, but I'm the man of 1,004 holds. Any submission move you try, I can counter it. Every time you pummel me with those big right hands of yours, I'll come back with some right hands of my own. When you try and overpower me, I'll use my agility to make you vulnerable. You've said it yourself, Kevin, I'm the best in the world at what I do. So as much as I welcome the challenge, don't expect me to go down without a fight. Someone else will walk out of the Staples Center as King of the Ring, but everybody knows that the real "King" in EBWF is the World Champion. Right now, that's me. Kevin Owens, you think that will be you after tonight. But I've waited too long to get back on this throne, and now that I'm here... I'm far too comfortable to let an arrogant weasel like you take my place. You might be the face of EBWF 2K17, Kevin, but I'm the face of the EBWF. You can talk the talk, Kevin, but you can't walk the walk. After tonight, you'll be walking to the back of the line, and I'll be sitting here on top, getting ready for my next challenger.

The scene faded as Jericho sat back in his chair once more, clutching the World Title in a way which suggested no one would be able to take it from him.