- Begin Transmission -
A commercial for upcoming EBWF live events was interrupted. The Shield had commandeered the airwaves once again. A strange camera angle only revealed a pair of black boots slowly progressing through damp grass. It began to be narrated by a deep, powerful voice. One that wasn't heard often but one that surely carried a quiet intensity with it.
Roman Reigns: Ted DiBiase decided that he wanted to speak about famous wrestling families. He tried to compare us. It's true that when you bring up Ted you can't go very long without thinking about his father. Or even his grandfather to a lesser extent. There's a very big difference, however. While Ted wears his upbringing as a badge of honor, I have to carry mine around like a scar.
As if it needed any form of confirmation, the camera lifted and slowly spun to reveal the face of Roman Reigns. The muscle behind The Shield always appeared to be stone cold serious and this time was no exception. The evening was approaching in the background behind him but where exactly he was filming himself was anybody's guess.
Roman Reigns: I'm in Florida. Where Warfare is taking place and where I trained to become a wrestler. ..Let me rephrase that. Where I was forced to train to become a wrestler. I didn't get an option. Not like Ted. I was told that with my look and size that I HAD to train. That I had to carry on the family name. My career had already been selected for me. Now while I'm sure that Ted's training with Harley Race was no walk in the park..he was given a choice. I'm sure his development took place with the guiding hand of his father who helped to mold him into the man he is today. There was love, good intentions and a sense of pride.
The young powerhouse slowly gave his head a couple of shakes.
Roman Reigns: Not for me. I was still in grade school when I was beaten into submission. Until I finally complied and went through every agonizing second of what my father had in store for me. I couldn't stand up for myself. I was a kid. I was weak. I was also molded into the man you see before you, just like Ted. Except that we became two vastly different human beings. Ted wants to show off his nice home and talk about his money and he's already helped to further put the DiBiase name into the history books. I don't acknowledge my last name or any member of my very extensive family. I don't care about the supposedly proud tradition. I also don't care about how many titles Ted has won or how many records he's broken. His title history and what he's been able to do in the past aren't going to be able to protect him in the immediate present.
Roman's features were beginning to grow darker tense.
Roman Reigns: I'm not sure if it was Ted's intentions or not..but I feel like his promo was a slap in the face. He basically wallowed in all of this wealth that pro wrestling has given him. We've never had a run in with Ted so it's obvious that he isn't aware of what The Shield can have done to him. Maybe he doesn't realize that showing us exactly where he lives isn't a very smart move. Perhaps he doesn't understand that we can literally bring justice to his front door.
There was a brief and very rare sign of a smirk that had appeared upon Roman's face.
Roman Reigns: ..No. I want to do it in the ring. My cohorts like to play with their food. Not me. I'm a little more straight forward. I don't do mind games. I want to break my opponents down with sheer force and power. I want Ted to see that everything he's accomplished doesn't mean anything when you're face to face with someone like me. Someone that can and will hurt you and will make you remember it for a lifetime..
The camera was aimed back down towards the grass once again. There was someone laying at Roman's feet. The person, a male, was laying face first and sprawled out in a heap. A small but noticeable puddle of blood was forming from their head. Whoever it was had long black hair and appeared to be of Samoan descent.
Roman Reigns: This was one of The Uso's. I actually don't care which one. A cousin of mine. Family. By name only. He approached me because my relatives were apparently tired of the way I was portraying the Anoa'i name. He tried to persuade me to stop and give up the crusade that I fight with The Shield. Do you see him right now?
He zoomed in a bit on the unmoving body of one of the Uso brothers. It remained laying in an uncomfortable and unnatural position.
Roman Reigns: That was my response. That is what happens to anyone who tries to stop what we're doing. I don't think they're going to make the mistake of approaching me again.
Roman turned the camera back towards himself one final time. Each word carried deep, meaningful conviction.
Roman Reigns: And I don't think DiBiase is going to make his mistake a second time either. He wanted to bring up wrestling families to me? There's no chance he's going to think it's a good idea to taunt a bull when it's staring him down ever again. Because I guarantee you that after I'm finished with Ted, he's going to strikingly look a lot like my cousin down there. Someone else who is proud to be a pro wrestler, someone else with a legacy and someone else who pretended that they weren't dead on sight as soon as I laid eyes on them. You can believe that and you can believe IN THE SHIELD.
- End Transmission -
