As soon as Torrie put the phone back down on the table, time felt like it had frozen entirely. She watched as the name “Wes Ikeda” faded away on the screen. While it was far from uncommon to hear from him, this time was different. Wes had just asked if she would be interested in entering the 2019 EBWF Women’s Royal Rumble match. And without much thought, Torrie said “yes, of course!” But that was a few seconds ago, and now that it had finally set in, all she could think was… “Shit…”
Of course she wanted to do it. She said yes for a reason, after all; that was her instant reaction. However, the reality of the situation was she only had two weeks to prepare. Two. That wasn’t much time at all, especially considering that the last time she had competed was her retirement match in July of 2016. The thought of calling Wes back and asking to postpone the return until 2020 crossed her mind, but dissipated very quickly. If Torrie was anything, she was true to her word.
Time started to move again, and she knew she couldn’t afford to waste any more. Those few minutes could have been used to set up a training session, which needed to happen immediately. Now sighing and laughing to herself, the only thing that now came to mind was… “Hopefully it’s true when they say it’s like riding a bike.”
JANUARY 23, 2019
With the Royal Rumble approaching and everything set in stone for Torrie’s involvement, came the press. That aspect wasn’t too intimidating, as Torrie had appeared at several Fanniversary and Slammy events since retiring. But the kicker this time was officially announcing the return to the ring. As she sat on stage in front of the audience, her heart was beating faster than she could remember it ever beating. One by one, someone in the audience was given the opportunity to ask a question. In a mixture of both anxiety and excitement, Torrie waited for the right time to let everyone in on her secret.
FAN #1
“Will you marry me?”
This was a young one, 10 years old at most. The audience laughed, as did Torrie. Although someone’s potential dream was about to be crushed, she did appreciate his boldness, and the fact that she got a chuckle out of it.
TORRIE WILSON
“I bet you’ll make a good husband one day, but unfortunately, no, I can’t marry you. Maybe ask someone like Alexa Bliss, she’s more on your eye level.”
Luckily the kid had a sense of humor. Torrie at least blew him a kiss for his troubles.
FAN #2
“What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?”
TORRIE WILSON
“That’s a good one. I don’t want to toot my own horn, but—Who am I kidding? We all love to do it sometimes. When I look back on everything I did in EBWF, I’m most proud that there isn’t very much missing from the list. Not everyone can say they were Queen of the Ring, or won the Royal Rumble, held the Women’s Championship, climbed to the top of Money in the Bank, experienced a WrestleMania moment, let alone multiples of any of those things… but I can, and I had to go through some tough competition to get there, which is the best part of it all. My overall body of work is something that I feel can’t be questioned or downplayed, and that’s a really good feeling. To still be appreciated for it is the icing on the cake too.”
The cycle continued, with more fans coming up and asking questions from “What’s your favorite type of cardio?” to “Who do you still talk to from the locker room?” and everything in between. Torrie didn’t quite feel any of those were appropriate to slide in her news. Not yet.
FAN #11
“Out of anyone in the current EBWF Women’s Division, who would you most want to have a match against?”
Perfect segue.
TORRIE WILSON
“Well, I’ve gotta say the Women’s Champion, right? Zahra Schreiber for sure. I’m pretty sure she needs her butt kicked anyway.”
FAN #11
“And if I may… What are the chances of that happening?”
Fan #11, we love you for that question.
TORRIE WILSON
“It’s kind of funny that you’d ask that, because the Royal Rumble is coming up this week… And as you know, the winner of the Women’s Rumble match this year will be crowned Women’s Champion…”
The growth of Torrie’s bright smile caused the crowd to perk up. She couldn’t even contain herself any longer.
TORRIE WILSON
“So since I’ll be competing in the Royal Rumble this Sunday, I’d say those chances are higher than ever.”
A round of cheers emerged from the audience. The feeling of relief that she had finally said it out loud overcame her. In the last two weeks, she had been working her ass off to make sure she could bring in it the Royal Rumble match. She’d be met with old opponents, such as Trish Stratus, Summer Rae, and the woman she defeated in her retirement match, Velvet Sky, as well as new, such as Raquel Diaz, Zelina Vega, Ruby Riott and of course, Zahra Schreiber. There was no turning back now, and as a certified legend in EBWF, Torrie was ready to remind everyone exactly why she earned that moniker.
