“Breaking news from here at EBWF, Finn Balor has been announced as the 26th entrant in the EBWF’s Men’s Royal Rumble which will be live from the sold out Minute Maid Park in Houston next Sunday.” Renee Young said on the iPad screen, in the airport VIP waiting room.
Underneath the iPad, was Finn Balor, wearing a leather jacket with a branded black t-shirt on underneath. He was watching the screen as a little smile came across his face. He checked his watch and stood up as his flight number was called over the tannoy.
After making his way through the gate and onto the plane he got to his seat, asked for a drink and the plane took off, taking him to Houston. Finn didn’t mind flying but he would have preferred to have driven to the city, although that would have been difficult seeing as he was flying in from Ireland.
Once he landed in Houston many hours later, he made his way to his hotel. He opened the door to his hotel room as his phone started to ring. He answered the phone.
The door shut abruptly.
EBWF ONLINE LIVE
Renee Young: As we reported a couple of hours ago, Finn Balor has been announced as part of the EBWF men’s Royal Rumble this year, drawn as the 26th entrant. Along with a few other returns and mystery entrants, this is one of the announcements we’re incredibly excited about after the draw. Even more so because we have here, live from Houston, the man of the hour himself, Finn Balor. Good morning Finn.Finn Balor: Good Morning, Renee, good to see you again.
Renee Young: Finn, how do you feel about being drawn as number 26th in the Royal Rumble?
Finn Balor: Well, Renee, I knew I was coming into the match with some trepidation, being drawn in at such a high number helps my chances immensely but that doesn’t mean I should take it lightly.
Renee Young: You will be joined late on by some big names, are you worried that they saved the best till last.
Finn Balor: No, because I’m not the 30th entrant Renee. What you have to understand is, although the match is full of ex-champions, record breakers, newbies, legends and the like, I am still the best wrestler in that match, heck, I’m the best wrestler on the card. No one can say any different. I am a new breed of Wrestler, I always have been, I have travelled miles so I can lace my boots up and stand in the squared circle and hit the mat, I have fought in all corners of the world, I have faced the best and I have beaten the best, I will prove myself once more when I step into that ring on Sunday.
Renee Young: You seem very confi-
Finn Balor: Confident, you were gonna say confident, Renee and that is because you are predictable, we can watch hundreds of interviews you have done Renee and know what you’re gonna say next, you are predictable, something which I am not. I am unpredictable. I am the Prince of Darkness, I am unpredictable.
Renee Young: Finn, you’re the 26th entrant in the match, what do you say to those who enter before you?
Finn Balor: What do I say to them? Get out. Make like a wiener and beat it.
Renee Young: You can’t say-
Finn Balor: Renee, I’m done being told what to do, what to say. I’m not the new guy in the business anymore, I am thirty nine years old, I am a veteran, I have been wrestling for over twenty years. I have laid down and let people walk over me for much too long, no longer will I stand idly by and let people treat me with disrespect. I am going to be one of the most important wrestlers in EBWF history, I will hold titles, I will hold records, I will beat records, I will take over this company. Never again will I pander to the suits, I’ll never lay down and get beaten by part timers and I’ll never wear stupid outfits to fit the agenda of the people in glass towers.
Renee Young: You will be joined by Rey Mysterio, Paul London, Cameron Grimes and Wes Ikeda as the final entrants in the Royal Rumble, what do you think about that?
Finn Balor: Great. Look, it matters to me not who these people are, who they were birthed by, what they have done in the business or how much money they have. What matters to me is that they will not see the Prince of Darkness coming. I will leave no man in that ring with me and I will go to WrestleMania as the Number 1 Contender for the World Championship. Has anyone ever won the Royal Rumble on their debut? If so have they ever gone to WrestleMania and beaten the champion, if not, Finn Balor, The Prince of Darkness will prevail and will be the first, because I guarantee that is what I am going to do.
Renee Young: The CEO of EBWF, Wes Ikeda is coming in at number 30, what are your thoughts on that?
Finn Balor: Irony, the man who built this company up to what it is out his name in the hat and by surprise has been picked at number 30. I know he and Aiden English have this little lovers tiff going on at the moment but Aiden is going in at number one, I will eat my hat if he wins this, heck I’ll shake his hand if he comes out of this in the top 5 so, I’d gladly step in for Aiden and give the boss a good old Irish kicking, and once I am the last one to leave the ring, he can sit back and ask Wes for a match at Wrestlemania, because truthfully that is what we want to see.
Renee Young: Paul London had a hard time on Monday, what do you say to that?
Finn Balor: Paul is one of the good guys, I have looked up to him for years and I have the utmost respect for him, but after what happened on Monday, he should really think about taking some time off. I mean, it’s not like he’s getting any younger, and look, I mean no disrespect when I speak about Paul, okay, not only has he had the unfortunate upbringing by being called Paul he also shares his name with one of the most backwards and desolate cities in the whole of the UK, capital of England or not, and by all means, if the big wigs at EBWF are watching and want to let “The Coalition” have another shot at Mr London, by all means put him with a tag team partner that can actually help him, someone like… I don’t know, The Prince of Darkness himself.
Renee Young: Talking about The Coalition, all male members of that stable will be entering the Royal Rumble and they have said they plan on working together to get the job done. Your thoughts?
Finn Balor: Renee, listen to me, look, in a Royal Rumble there is only one winner. This isn’t a group project at the school science fair, okay. They have three members with large egos and I can guarantee working together will not work, and if by the time I come in, and they’re working together, I will not hesitate to take them all out one by one and I’ll spend the rest of the time, sitting in the corner, sipping a margarita until I’m faced with the 27th entrant. If I come into the ring, and I have been watching and seen them work together, I am more than happy to work with whoever else is in there, to get rid of them.
Renee Young: You mentioned the 27th entrant, what are your thoughts on Rey Mysterio?
Finn Balor: Rey is a great guy, a great wrestler, a great family man, an icon in this business, but unfortunately icons need to pave the way for younger wrestlers to come in and do the job they used to do, only with me, I’ll do it better. He hides behind his flashy attire and his mask and his acrobatic ability but it’s getting stale, I do that but I also mix it up, is Rey able to go face to face with me, I don’t know, it’s unlikely. The Prince of Darkness has spent his time honing his skill, perfecting his craft and on Sunday I will show the entire EBWF universe I am not one to mess with.
Renee Young: Finn Balor, thank you for joining me, and welcome to EBWF.
Finn nodded to his camera as Renee’s half screen turned to full screen and Finn’s picture removed itself. Renee ended the video and that was it.
Friday 29th January
Two days before The Royal Rumble
EBWF HOUSE SHOW
As the show was drawing to an end the crowd were pumped from the previous match, EBWF house shows have always been a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone, the talent and the fans watching in the arena. The lights dimmed softly and the crowd waited in anticipation. “Catch Your Breath (remix)” played over the sound system as the lights dimmed and Bálor’s video played on the screen. The crowd erupted and Bálor walked out, in a leather jacket, a black T-shirt with his log on it and black jeans walked out as the crowd cheered.Two days before The Royal Rumble
EBWF HOUSE SHOW
Bálor walked out onto the ramp and walked down to the ring, not doing his usual poses, he called for the producer to cut the track as he reached down and grabbed a microphone from ringside. He stood in the ring and waited for the crowd to settle down. As they settled he raised the microphone to his mouth.
Bálor: Okay, be quiet, I’m about to speak.
The crowd hushed with a few boos entering around the arena.
Bálor: You may have heard or seen my interview with Renee Young this past week online, you may have seen in the news about me joining EBWF and me being at the Royal Rumble this Sunday, you know who I am and you know what I am capable of. For much too long, the world hasn’t given me enough attention, I have travelled the world, I have seen all too much and I am coming here to EBWF to prove my worth once and for all.
The crowd cheered.
Bálor: You may want to stop cheering for me though, because I don’t need your support. In Japan, it took much too long for me to become a household name, I won title after title after title and the big wigs didn’t want to take a second look at me, I won accolades upon accolades and I didn’t get what was rightfully mine. I had to make my success and I had to make my opportunities for myself.
Finn paced around the ring a little, enjoying himself, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. He took a breath and smiled.
Bálor: It took me having to single handedly create one of the most well known factions on the face of the professional wrestling world The Bullet Club for me to be noticed by the big wigs in Japan.
The mention of The Bullet Club drew cheers.
Bálor: The Bullet Club was my life, and if people like The Coalition want to cause trouble, I’m more than happy to pick up my phone and call some people to come help me. But, enough about them, let’s get back to the matter at hand… Me.
Bálor grabbed his drink from the side of the ring and took a sip before putting the Microphone back to his mouth.
Bálor: People keep asking me, Finn, will you be bringing the ‘demon’ to EBWF, constantly that is all people keep asking me and the answer is going to shock some people, no.
The crowd hummed a little.
Bálor: The demon was the dark side inside me, it was the voice on my shoulder, it was my inner demons possessing me and making me into a darker person and the reason why EBWF will not be seeing the Demon is because I am the demon. No longer do the voices in my head control me, but I, Finn Balor control the voices in my head, I am my own voice of reason, I dictate what I do from now on, no longer will that demon control me from the inside because there’s nothing there to control any longer. The demon doesn’t need to hide, the demon is out in full force and is the complete package of Finn Bálor.
The crowd were into Finn speaking and were listening intently.
Finn Bálor: The likes of Chris Jericho, a wrestler I have watched on EBWF for years is going to be in the match, hopefully he will still be there when I come in and I am wholly looking forward to going up against him. I believe myself and Chris are very alike in some ways, we have travelled the world, won titles all over, we’re both non American and we’re very very talented. If we step into the ring with each other I am very much looking forward to it.
The crowd popped at the thought of Finn Balor vs Chris Jericho.
Finn Bálor: Who else am I looking forward to coming up against if the opportunity arises… MJF, he is a very good wrestler, needs to work for a bit longer before he is considered on par with the rest of the royal rumble entrants, same can be said about Jungle Boy too. The Miz, ex-world champion, but the term ex is important, I mean, he’s not world champion anymore so there is always that. Not to mention his love for the letter M. You got Luchasaurus who looks like he’s wearing a worn out Ronald Reagan mask that a ten year old has scribbled on, then we have an actual worn out politician wearing a mask, I mean, if it wasn’t for the mystery entrants I’d take this royal rumble to be a bit of a joke.
The crowd laughed a little at Finn’s jokes but settled down as he lifted the mic to his mouth again.
Finn Bálor: The fact of the matter is this, and if you’re hard of hearing, or you’re in the cheap seats I want you to listen up, and listen up good, because I’m going to tell you something you’re going to want to hear, and that includes all of the wrestlers in Sunday’s match and it includes all of the EBWF suits who think they know what they signed when they asked me to sign the contract last week, listen up. The Finn Balor you have seen for the past twenty years is dead. He is dead and gone. I have spent the past few months collecting myself, training in all different aspects of the game, I have become calculated, conniving, malicious and damn right spontaneous. What you will find when I step into the ring this Sunday is I’m not going to be like I used to be, I’m not soft, I’m not pretty I am the PRINCE OF DARKNESS and you will see what I mean at the Royal Rumble!
Finn dropped the mic and stepped out of the ring, boos were ringing across the arena as Finn menacingly smiled at the crowd booing him. He shrugged his shoulders and clicked his neck before turning around and spanning his arms out as his music played before walking out into the back. The lights turned off and the house show was over.
Finn walked into the back and sent a tweet to his Twitter; “I hope the EBWF is ready for the Prince of Darkness Finn Bálor on Sunday. #Number26
