OOC: Had a lot of fun writing this. As usual good luck to everyone and if you have any feedback it would be great.


The Royal Rumble was the first Pay Per View of 2013 and it marked the beginning of the Road to Wrestlemania. Last year's event marked the beginning of Ted's 11 month long reign as Path to Glory Champion and it was the highlight of his career, defeating Jeff Hardy in front of a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden. The Royal Rumble had always been a good event for Ted, in previous events he had won the Path to Glory Championship and the World Championship, but even though the Royal Rumble event had treated Ted well, the Rumble match itself had not been kind. Ted was approaching his third Royal Rumble match and he still hadn't performed well in the over the top rope match. He had always faced stiff odds and he had entered halfway through the match each time. This year’s Royal Rumble match would begin with Lord Tensai entering at number one and the luckiest person in the Royal Rumble, entering at number 30 would be The Rock. Ted had drawn number 19 and while not a bad number, it did mean that he would have to contend with another 11 entrants along with whoever had survived before him. Among the 29 opponents he was set to face, only 7 posed a threat to Ted.

Ted was set to take part in a radio interview to hype the Royal Rumble. Ted looked calm sitting in the waiting room. He had earphones in his ears while listening to music from his iPhone. He dressed casually wearing dark blue jeans and his official EBWF t-shirt. His only thoughts were on the Royal Rumble match and getting back on top of EBWF. After waiting for about ten minutes he was called in, they were currently off the air at the time which allowed Ted to be introduced to the DJ and sports analyst, James Dent. Once the two were acquainted Ted took a seat and waited until they were back on the air.

James Dent: Welcome back everybody to The Zone, I'm James Dent and as most of you know on Sunday at the Philips Arena, EBWF presents their annual PPV, the Royal Rumble. Right now we have EBWF superstar Ted DiBiase Junior in the studio looking to talk with us about Sunday's event. First off how's everything going Ted?

Ted Jr: Great, Dean. I've had the last couple of weeks off so it's given me time to sit back and recuperate after a long 2012.

James Dent: And what a 2012 you had, you held the Path to Glory Championship for 11 months, losing it on Christmas Eve.

Ted Jr: I actually won the championship at the Royal Rumble last year.

James Dent: With that long reign you became the longest reigning champion of all time. How does that feel?

Ted Jr: Amazing. When you look at the talent we have now and that has come through EBWF in the last decade it's great to be the longest reigning champion in history.

James Dent: Now let's talk about the Royal Rumble match, for the listeners that aren't very familiar with the match would you like to explain it to them?

Ted Jr: Sure. There are 30 men in the match, each having been given a number earlier to determine when they enter. 2 wrestlers start out and every 90 seconds a new wrestler enters the match. To eliminate someone they have to be thrown over the top rope. This year the first entrants will be Lord Tensai and Christian.

James Dent: And which number entrant are you?

Ted Jr: I'm entering in at number 19, which still gives me a lot of work to do.

James Dent: Looking down through the list of competitors there are some big names. People like The Rock, John Cena, Edge, and Randy Orton.

Ted Jr: They may be considered big names, but none of them wrestled all of last year. Guys like Orton, Rock and Edge have only had 2 or 3 matches.

James Dent: Looking through my notes, it looks like you actually defeated Randy Orton last year during your reign as champ.

Ted Jr: That's right; I defeated stars like Orton, Jeff Hardy, Christian, and Kurt Angle.

James Dent: Even though you had a stellar 2012, some would consider you the dark horse in this match with so many huge names competing.

Ted Jr: People can label me as the favourite; they can label me as having no chance at all. It doesn't faze me because I know that it's not the people out there competing in the Rumble, it's me. I'm focused for this match and I'm not concerned with what anyone thinks of my chances in the Rumble match. Nobody believed that I would win the Path to Glory Championship again or hold it for 11 months but I did. I do what I do in spite of what people believe. People saying that I can’t do something convince me that I can achieve anything. That is why I'm going to be winning the Rumble on Sunday.

James Dent: And should you win the Royal Rumble, you'll go on to face the World Champion at Wrestlemania, the biggest event in Pro Wrestling. Who will be the World Champion then?

Ted Jr: At the moment CM Punk is champion and he'll be facing Raven at the Royal Rumble. The way he has been, I doubt anyone will take the championship from him until Wrestlemania. I would love to wrestle him on the biggest stage in wrestling. We have a lot of history and we always put on great matches. Most recently we faced each other at Survivor Series.

James Dent: In a Three Stages of Hell matches if I'm correct?

Ted Jr: That's right. It's hard enough facing someone in one match, but 3 is a real test of endurance and will. We tore the house down and it was one of my favourite matches of 2012. To replicate that at Wrestlemania, that would be amazing.

James Dent: Well it looks like that's all the time we have. I want to wish you good luck for Sunday and if anyone that wants to see The Royal Rumble this Sunday it's at the Philips Arena or you can order it from your local service provider.

James put on a track and they were now off the air. The two shook hands and Ted left the radio station. Ted was focused ahead of his big match at the Philips Arena. He had high expectations for the match and knew that anything less than 100% would not be enough.


Scene 2


Backstage at the Philips Arena, Ted stood with Matt Striker who was preparing for his standard pre-match interview. Ted stood silently wearing his latest EBWF t-shirt and in his hand he held a slip which had the number 19 written on it. That would be the number that he would be entering with. Matt Striker wore a jet black tuxedo and had an EBWF microphone in his hand.

Matt Striker: Good evening everyone and welcome to the Royal Rumble, the first stop on the Road to Wrestlemania. With me at this time is one of the entrants in the Rumble match, the former Path to Glory Champion, Ted DiBiase.

After hearing Striker refer to Ted as the "former PTG Champion", Ted snatched the microphone from his hands.

Ted Jr: Don't you dare call me that. I've got no time to listen to your pointless questions, so you can leave now.

Matt Striker looked at Ted confused, not knowing if Ted was perhaps joking. Ted continued to glare at the interviewer.

Ted Jr: Did I stutter? Go!

Striker left the interview area and Ted turned towards the camera. The look in his eyes showed that he was focused and determined.

Ted Jr: Tonight 30 men will fight for the opportunity to challenge for the World Championship at Wrestlemania, 29 men will fail in their pursuit and only one will be victorious. It's a painful reality of this match and of life. There are winners and there are losers. For all of 2012 I was a winner. I rewrote the record books here in EBWF, but do you think people like John Cena or Edge or AJ Styles see me as a credible threat in this match? No. Their arrogance and egos have blinded them and that is what will cost them here tonight. One of the favourites for this match is Randy Orton, a man with an ego larger than anyone I've ever met. He comes and goes as he pleases here in EBWF and since his World Championship reign, he's done nothing of value. But still he says to himself that he's better than anyone. Guess what Randy? Last time we faced each other, I beat you. But you won't acknowledge me as the future of this company, you won't see my skills and the untapped potential that I have. You see me as another loser, another peasant that's not worthy of being in the same ring with you. You see me as a joke like Santino Marella or Brodus Clay. You see me as someone who will never achieve anything but that’s not the case now is it? I've proven everyone wrong since I arrived here 4 years ago. I won the World Championship in 3 months of arriving here and I've become the longest reigning champion of all time. But do I get the respect that comes with those accolades? Of course not.

Ted sighed before continuing his rant.

Ted Jr: Tonight is going to be my night, not because I deserve it, not because I've earned it but because I am better than everyone in that ring. What pisses me off is that if you don't suck up and kiss ass here, you don't get anything. I defied the odds and prevailed above everything. But it's the guys like CM Punk, Cena, Edge and Orton who are a part of the "in crowd". It's high school cliques that have worked their way into EBWF and it hasn't been over the last year, it's been since I first arrived here. I saw guys like Edge and Orton who were buddies with Wes and Nicole and that gave them the right to complain when I busted my ass and finally won the World Championship. I was on top of the world, but Edge and Orton still believed I was garbage and it insulted them that I was the poster boy for EBWF. So then after losing the championship I got denied my one on one rematch and subsequently faded into obscurity and the "natural order" as it was put to me, returned. Now you can all hate me for saying this, but deep down you all know that this is true. I speak my mind and if you hate me for it, I don't care.

Ted began to pace back and forth, still remaining in the view of the camera.

Ted Jr: Of the 29 other competitors in the Royal Rumble, only 7 present any actual threat to me. AJ Styles, The Miz, John Cena, Edge, Randy Orton, Triple H, and The Rock are the only ones in my mind that even have a shred of hope winning the Royal Rumble. AJ Styles is trying to become the first person to win back to back Royal Rumble matches and in the process try to rejuvenate his dwindling career. What has AJ done last year? Sure he won the World Championship, even defended against me, but what about after that? Nothing. He didn't have the same drive that he did when he was a part of The Trilogy. That night at Madison Square Garden, everyone knew who the Trilogy was by the time the cameras stopped rolling. We had the top 3 championships around our waist and we had won the Royal Rumble match. But after The Trilogy dissolved what became of AJ Styles and The Miz? They reformed their little bromance and went on to win the Tag Titles at the end of the year, only to lose it a couple of weeks later. So in the last 6 months what have the two of them accomplished that's even worthy of praise? Absolutely nothing. They called me the weak link of the Trilogy but I was the one that set records, I was the one that defeated all the big names in EBWF.

Ted stopped his pacing and stood still momentarily, trying to keep somewhat calm and under control.

Ted Jr: Next there is John Cena. Out of all of the people that I mentioned earlier, I didn't have a problem with John. He was a hard worker and he did everything he could. For the last 10 years he has been at the top of the totem pole, whether it is in EBWF or any company in the world. But after being on top for over 10 years, isn't it time to step back and look to the people that will be taking over when you're gone? You've had your time in the spotlight, and now it is time to for you to step aside. Triple H is another one of those people who has been around for far too long. He recently came back and got beaten by CM Punk at Christmas Eve of Destruction, he's 43 years old and he thinks that he can still compete. I don't know if he's taken too many chair shots to the head or if he's just delusional but enough if enough. He wasn't even good in his "prime", and he thinks he can simply return to EBWF and win the Rumble after years of being an afterthought? I'll take pleasure in throwing him over the top rope and sending him packing. That now brings me to The Rock, a great wrestler back in 2000 who became a Hollywood star. Now he's come back to EBWF and everyone is so happy to see him. He'll say that he's home and that this is where he belongs, but he is nothing more than a liar. He doesn't care about this business anymore, he'd much rather dress up as a tooth fairy and star in movies. The three of them, Rock, Orton and Edge think that they're invincible, that the rules don't apply to them. They think they can come and go as they please and nobody will care that they get put in the main event. Well I care! I don't sacrifice my life and my body so someone decides that it's close to Wrestlemania so he'll get off his ass and get a big pay check and wrestle in the main event. As far as I'm concerned you shouldn't even be allowed a contract here, but I realise that'll never happen because you're untouchable. It's never what you can do, it's who you know. That's why I've been at the bottom! That's why I've had to scratch and claw to get anything here! You think you can just turn up for a couple of matches a year and screw me out of a Wrestlemania match? Not in your dreams. Now this might just be considered play time to you, but to me this is life and death, it's the difference between success and failure, being remembered or forgotten. I've got a lot more riding on this match than you do so consider this fair warning when you step in the ring: Stay out my way.

Ted went back to pacing back and forth, he was speaking entirely from the heart and his rant kept him pumped up and motivated.

Ted Jr: Now even though there are only 7 actual threats to me that will still leave 22 other wrestlers that I have to face, one of them being Alberto Del Rio. If you're in that ring when I enter, I suggest you jump over the top rope yourself because I promise above all else I will inflict pain upon you. Not because of this match, but because I should still have that championship! I should be the first and only person to have held a championship in EBWF for a full year. But that's not the case now is it? Because I got SCREWED! I did everything right, but in the end I didn't walk out of the Sprint Centre as champion.

Ted stopped his pacing once again and stared deep into the camera.

Ted Jr: The rest of you in this match, the Anderson's, the Batista's and the Ryder's, you aren't worth my time, the fact that any of you actually believe that you have a chance is laughable. Later on tonight I will outlast 29 other men and guarantee myself a World Championship match at Wrestlemania. It doesn't matter who the champion is, whether it's Punk or Raven or anyone else. Tonight I'm winning the Rumble and at Wrestlemania I'm reclaiming my lost World Heavyweight Championship.