AIDEN ENGLISH
The shine has faded again, hasn’t it? When I built Kingdom, it was on a foundation of my glory. It was on the back of my successful return to the EBWF. It was built on my return to the EBWF World Title picture. What happened? Where did all of that go wrong? How have I lost my shine? Lost my place. How have I come to this place where I’m not even seen as a contender? Not for the Breakout Championship. Not for the Gateway Championship. Not for the World Championship! Focus. Did I lose focus? No, I’m more focused now than I’ve ever been before! Did I let my talent fade? No, I’m a better wrestler today than when I won any of my titles before! Why then am I not a champion? Fate. That’s the reason I’m not a champion. Fate is the reason I’m not a contender. Fate is the reason I am nothing that I want to be. FATE HAS TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM ME!
Aiden broke back into a cackling laughter. He cradled his head in his hands. When he looked up he tore at the edges of his eyes and smiled with a classic Aiden sinister grin.
AIDEN ENGLISH
I have been the enemy of fate. But in the EBWF fate has a different name. Because nothing here happens by chance. The pairings, the match ups, the competitions. None of it happens by chance. The fate of the EBWF is driven by Wes Ikeda. Wes determines everything. And he has set the world against me. He has placed all his little soldiers in a row and turned them on me. Loosed the hounds of hell. Then I confronted the Fated One. I called out his treachery. I challenged him to compete against me. To give me the redemption I so rightfully earned. To give me the satisfaction I am owed. But he hid. He put TWENTY-EIGHT men between us in the Royal Rumble. He avoided my challenges for Wrestlemania. Fate has been cruel. And now it is the season of King of the Ring.
Aiden leaned forward, his eyebrows furrowed.
AIDEN ENGLISH
The soldiers are lined up. My quest is clear. My shine will return. And, it’s all history. Everything is built on history. Between myself and Randy Orton. Between myself and Wes Ikeda. Between myself and CHRIS JERICHO!
Hahahahahahaha!
Aiden rocked back and forth as he laughed. His head tilted upward.
AIDEN ENGLISH
Oh fate. How you’ve come around to seeing what should have always been. King of the Ring. A time for the one true King to shine. A time for me to take my vengeance on everything you’ve laid out before me. To claim what has always been my birthright. And it all starts with the man who almost took it all away. Jericho. I know you haven’t forgotten about me. I know you’ll never forget about what I’ve done. I know that the glorious bells of Kingdom’s arrival still echo in that hollow skull of yours. The sound of steel colliding with your spine.
Aiden sniffed the air. His smile was one of rapture. His eyes shot back down to the camera.
AIDEN ENGLISH
I know I will never forget the lingering cacophony of that sound. I can practically smell the arena where it happened. I can see the shock of the EBWF Universe. I can feel the vibrations of the cold steel. It’s all etched in my mind. It has permanent residence. You and I are connected forever through that moment and all the others. Connected through fate and a growing shared history. A history that is going to expand this Monday at Warfare. Fate and history. Irony. What is to come. The destiny of all things. And what has already passed. The assumed destinies and the failed ones. Our history is unavoidable. It’s ground breaking and earth shaking. Our history is a battle for greatness. It’s a battle to be the best in the business when the dust settles. Yes, there will be others at the top but you and I know the truth. Either Chris Jericho is the greatest wrestler of all time or Aiden English is. There is no middle ground. These two opposites are absolutes. Defined by history, fate and every other higher power known to mankind.
Aiden’s fingers tensed at the arms of the throne.
AIDEN ENGLISH
The next chapter in our war to be the best happens Monday. It happens as a first-round match for this years King of the Ring. It’s a match that could easily be expected as a pay per view main event. It could be seen as the finals to an amazing King of the Ring. But it’s not. No, fate and fate’s hat have seen to it that Chris Jericho and Aiden English have their next battle in the first round. That we have our next battle on television, free for the entire Universe to watch on. Fate and by extension Chris himself have decided that it’s best if we get all the tension out of the way right away. That all your questions about who will be King of the Ring are answered at the onset of the tournament. That’s what this is. The conclusion. It’s the end of everything King of the Ring. He who wins here is going on to become the King of the Ring. Going on to challenge Randy Orton for the EBWF World Title. Going on to add another reign as EBWF World Champion to his name. Last week’s Warfare was HISTORIC. This week’s Warfare is FATALISTIC.
Aiden pulled himself to the front of the throne and smiled. It could have been genuine, but his lip quivered at its corners.
AIDEN ENGLISH
How does it feel Chris? To know that you can easily move fate but with a single word? To be the right hand of fate? The hand he uses to stroke his… ego? How does it feel to be the puppet and not the puppeteer? How does it feel?
Aiden had pulled at the ends of his frayed hair as he spoke. But it was like a light came on. He pulled his hands down and stared at them, wide eyed. There was a fear evident on his face. Just as quickly as it had come, it was gone.
AIDEN ENGLISH
You and I, together again. Another shot at redemption against the man who tried to end my career. And another chance for you to bring an end to my Kingdom. You and I bring with us all the baggage of our collective pasts. We bring all the victories and defeats. We bring with us everything we’ve ever done in and out of the ring. Friendships and rivalries. It’s all coming to bear at Warfare. The history between you and I Chris is all tainted by bad blood. Hatred. My heart is full of hatred and animosity toward you. Yes, you were guided by your old pal fate. But, it was you who robbed me of months of my career. It was you who tried to end my career to further your own. It was you Chris, who tried to rob my daughter of an able bodied father. Chris Jericho. I HATE YOU WITH EVERYTHING I AM. I hate you and everything you represent. I hate you like I hate Wes Ikeda. I hate you like Wes hates fighting his own battles. I hate you. I hate you. I HATE YOU! I hate you as much as you hate knowing that as long as I exist you’re only the second best wrestler on the roster.
Aiden sneered.
AIDEN ENGLISH
Four years ago I was an afterthought. No one would have predicted that I would come to rival Chris Jericho. No one would have predicted that I would come to be a part of EBWF’s history. That I would set records and make my name in the land of Wes Ikeda. No one would have predicted Chris Jericho and Aiden English as bitter enemies. Because, no one would have predicted all the things I would go on to do. Your friend fate knew. Fate made all these things happen. In those few short years I’ve staked my claim on the EBWF. I’ve become a mainstay in the pantheon of greatness. I’ve made myself one of the most legendary Royal Rumble winners of all time. I’ve made myself a King of the Ring. A crown for the once and future King. The one true King of EBWF. I was the Breakout Champion that never got beat. A held the title with such tenacity that it was only when I moved on that someone else had a chance to hold it. I was the Gateway Champion that never cashed in and still became the World Champion. I could have taken the easy way out at anytime. I could have cashed in my Gateway title and staked a claim to the World Title. But I was busy. I was busy tending to the Gates of EBWF and making sure that the trash stood on the outside. I was the EBWF World Champion. I had become everything. Done everything. And you couldn’t stand it! You couldn’t live with the role your pal fate had handed me. And so tried to usurp my place. You tried to destroy me so that you could relish in everything that I had created. You tried to take up the mantle of divinity I had built through hard work. Through grit and determination. You wanted to be me because of one fact. I did it all quicker than you. I did it all better than you. I did it all without being a friend of fate. You wanted it all and you got it. You succeeded. You taught me humility. You humbled me, Chris. But, you also tempered me. You showed me that everything I built was ephemeral. It was gone in the moment you through me from the top of that trailer. How quickly fate and the Universe could move on without me. You showed me that my legacy wasn’t secure. You showed me and I hated you for it. I still hate you for it. I loathe the truth that has been revealed to me. I am seething in that anger and hatred. Our clash at my return wasn’t enough. I need more. I need vindication. The joy of that victory faded months ago. Now there is only hate. Only loathing. Only pain. Now fate has brought us back to one another. The brim of fate’s hat has handed me another chance at vindication. A golden path back to the glory I built for myself. I hate you and fate. But I love the role I’ve been handed. I relish the opportunity to dash the hopes of Chris Jericho. I soak up the joy of Wes Ikeda’s worst fears. I can’t wait to bring low the brotherhood Ikeda has built for himself. And you Chris. You are my first taste of blood. You and I will never be done. Long after we’re dead the heavens will shake with our war. But for now I must move past to inflict hurt on the one who set you in my path. The one who goaded you into the damage you did to my career.
Aiden broke back into laughter. He tried to stifle himself. He covered his mouth. Nothing could hold back the tide of laughter. He tugged at his ears and clawed at his cheeks. Slowly the vignette around the edges grew darker. The shot faded to a black screen as Aiden continued to chuckle behind his hand. Eventually the video stopped after an unpleasant amount of laughter.