Disclaimer: I don't own the WWE talents or the venues mentioned in the story. But I love the divas. On a personal note, thanks for reviewing. I aim to please.
The Road to WrestleMania: One Man's Journey to the Top
Chapter VII
Crusader vs. Legend Killer
Having fully recovered from the injuries he sustained, Drake Williams was finally able to get back into the winner's circle. In fact he has been a house of fire as of late; going after some of the top Smackdown superstars on the roster. He even challenged Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship at one point. The most gratifying thing about his career thus far was the fact that WWE fans had gotten behind him; so much so that Drake would refer to his core fan base as his "Crusaders" and he was their proud young leader. Sometimes though, Drake had shown signs of a darker side. Now the New Year has begun Drake was focused on one thing; competing at his first WrestleMania. Unfortunately, he was de-railed from the main event after he was eliminated from the Royal Rumble by one man; Randy Orton.
Five days after No Way Out, Drake Williams was seating in his locker room watching the show. Today he was feeling pretty sour because he did not even a match on Smackdown and he had a bizarre run in with the Boogeyman. Right now, Drake was watching Randy Orton run his big legend killing mouth and he could take no more. Drake Williams made a beeline for the entrance ramp grabbing a microphone along the way. In the ring, Randy Orton along with his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton continued berating everyone on the roster until Drake's music hit the arena and he came out.
"Can't you keep your damn mouth shut for more than five seconds?" Drake asked. "Nobody gives as much as a crap about what's on your feeble mind." Randy Orton fumed in the ring before asking, "What the hell do you want?"
"Funny you should ask," Drake said. "I'll get right down to the point; I came out here to challenge your ass to a match at WrestleMania. What say you?" Randy shook his head and said, "I'm not wasting my time whoppin' some rookie's ass."
"Either that, or maybe your just too much of a chicken-shit." Drake said. "All right fine," Randy said. "You wanna get beat down by the Legend Killer at WrestleMania, you got it."
The crowd pop big for the challenge as Drake said, "Now that's what I like to hear, but there's one little problem." Randy asked, "What's that?" Drake sighed and said, "I'm not very good at waiting."
Drake dropped his mic and charged the ring towards Orton. The audience went nuts as Orton and Williams traded blows in the ring. Drake dropped Randy with hard clothesline and Bob Orton tried to get involved, only to take a german suplex from Drake. Drake went for the Widowmaker on Randy Orton but the Legend Killer scooted out of it and escaped. Drake remained in the ring with a twisted look on his face as his music played once again. The Crusader was now set to battle the Legend Killer at WrestleMania, one on one.
For the next few weeks, Randy Orton and Drake Williams were at each other's throat. Finally, WrestleMania came around and Drake Williams arrived at the All State Arena in Chicago. He match against Randy Orton was the fourth match on the card. At age twenty-four years old, Drake had gotten this far in his career and he finds himself in his first WrestleMania; a great shame it was not in the main event or at least a title match. Forty-five some odd minutes went by and now it was time for Williams verses Orton. Drake walked down the hall passed several other wrestlers until he crossed paths with Triple H. They stared directly at the other and Triple H seemed to see a little bit of himself in the eyes of Drake, who went on his way to the entrance ramp.
Drake Williams came out first for the match and he seemed to be getting a mixed reaction from the audience on this night. Randy Orton came out next with his Hall of Fame father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton and the crowd reaction was the same. The two opponents stood across the ring from each other as half the crowd chanted for Williams and the other half chanted for Orton. They got face to face and talked some major smack at each other until Drake shoved Orton. The Legend Killer did not take to kindly to that and shoved the Crusader. Drake got in Randy's face again before the referee pulled them apart.
The two young stars finally locked up and jockeyed for position before breaking up. They locked up again and went into a series of chain-wrestling, both hoping to find an advantage but found none. Orton and Williams backed off as the crowd gave a round of applause for them. Orton and Williams locked once more and Orton knocked Williams down, but he immediately nipped-up and headlocked Orton before bringing him down in a snapmare. Randy trapped Drake's head but he quickly rolled out and flipped over; then Orton showed some great strength out bridging out and backsliding Williams for a one count. Williams kicked out and rolled up Orton for one count as the crowd seemed to be mixed between them.
Randy Orton got right up slapped the taste out Drake's mouth. The Crusader looked extremely pissed, tackling Orton down and throwing hard right hands. Orton reversed and threw some rights back and they got into a slugfest. Orton quickly rolled out the ring but Williams followed and clubbed him from behind. They went over the barricade and into the crowd and the ref has almost lost control before Orton tossed Williams back over to ringside. Williams was able to catch Orton coming over the wall and even laid out Bob Orton for good measure. Drake threw Randy back into the ring going in himself when Bob Orton grabbed his leg. Drake pulled away and stomped Bob's hand. Williams went in through the ropes and Orton kicked him in the sternum before hitting a hard DDT. The crowd gave a collective gasp as Orton rolled Williams in and covered him for a close two count.
Randy Orton now had the clear cut advantage over Drake Williams and stared blatantly choking him before the referee pulled him off. Randy Orton got into an argument with the ref, giving Drake the time needed to recover from the assault. Randy turned around to see Drake get up and charged, but Drake scored with a face buster followed by a hard clothesline for a two count. Drake mounted Orton and delivered stiff rights to his face until the ref stopped him. Drake staggered around the ring trying to shake off the affects of the prior DDT. Randy Orton jabbed his thumb into Drake's eyes but was soon after caught in the Sharpshooter. Half of the crowd cheered and the other booed as Williams applied pressure to Orton's back; thankfully Orton was able to reach the ropes.
Drake released the hold but dropped to one knee. The DDT might have taken more out of him than he thought. Randy got up and nailed Drake from behind before locking in a sleeper hold. Drake tried to fight out it but seemed to be fading as Bob Orton rooted his son on. In due time, Orton had the hold synched in and the ref raised Drake's arm to see if he passed out. The arm dropped once, then again but on the third time it stopped halfway down and Drake started coming back to life. He fought his way to his feet and back suplexed Orton, effectively breaking the hold but otherwise leaving both guys down.
The referee counted to five before Drake draped his arm onto Orton for a very near fall. Williams picked up Orton, who tried to hit the RKO but Williams countered into a German suplex followed by two more. Drake covered Randy again but got only a two count. Drake waited for Randy to get up and went for a clothesline, but Randy ducked and scored with a modified back breaker for two. Randy Orton stomped on Williams before dropping a knee to the sternum for another two count. Getting frustrated, Orton climbed up the turnbuckle until Williams caught him. Drake set up Randy and brought him down with a superplex and they were down again. Drake tried to cover but Randy kicked out again, and Drake was getting frustrated.
As Drake Williams tried to pick up Randy Orton, the Legend Killer got an inside cradle out of nowhere but Drake still kicked out. What a match! Orton threw some hard rights before running off the ropes going for the kill. Williams saw it coming and nailed a huge spine buster for another two count. Drake signaled for the Widowmaker but Bob Orton tried to intervene; Drake would catch him and hit the move on the Hall of Famer, only to walk right into the RKO from Randy Orton. The Legend Killer made the cover and got the win thanks in part to his father.
"Here is your winner, Randy Orton." Tony Chimel announced.
Randy Orton dragged his fallen daddy out of the ring and took off. Drake Williams was stirring in the ring and watched the Orton's with a look of disgust and anger in his eyes. In fact he looked as if he was going to go ballistic; and he did. Drake planted the referee with the Widowmaker before storming back to the locker room. As he returned to the backstage area, Drake was again greeted by Triple H.
"Not so happy now, are you kid?" The Game said. "Maybe, you're not supposed to be here after all."
There was no response from Drake to Triple H. Instead he slapped the man clear across the face and walked off infuriated. Triple H held the soft spot where Drake connected and had a sly grin on his face. Maybe there was more of the Game in Drake Williams then he thought. Later in the evening, Drake was in his room having finally cooled off. He stared blankly into the mirror as he though about the match with Orton. One thing ran through his mind that he wanted now more anything; revenge and he would do anything to get it.
Author's note: I'm not finished with Randy Orton yet, as I'm starting a feud between him and Drake. I also smell a nasty feud flaring up between Williams and Triple H. Are we looking at a new Game? You decide and review.