Rico's Fantasy Booking: Year 1

January: The First Declaration

The date is January 2, 2022 on Smackdown Live! Rico Rhodes officially relinquished his Intercontinental Championship the day before TLC, as he was not medically cleared due to an injury suffered by the hands of Jey Uso after Survivor series, where he won a gruelling match against United States Champion Shawn Rosario. At TLC, Buddy Murphy won the 8 man TLC match for the vacant Title. But this wouldn't be the last we see of Rico...

Rico got in the ring, ready to shoot, as he had been told. There was no script tonight, only whatever was on his mind. This would be a good one... "I'll make one thing clear. I'm not happy about relinquishing my Intercontinental Championship. I won it right before Clash of Champions, Retained it at Hell in a Cell against Apollo Crews inside Hell in a Cell, I fought EVERY WEEK! There was no 'determine the #1 contender' match, because anybody who stepped in the ring with me was the new #1 contender! Yet that's what undid me. At Survivor Series, I participated in probably the most physical and stiffest brawls, An absolute this company has seen in ages. Shawn Rosario is a gifted fighter, and hell, he almost beat me. He's a student of Aleister Black, one of the best strikers of this era of superstars, so I knew Shawn was a dangerous man. I went in, and for Forty Two minutes, you fans watched me and Shawn, I noticed that you were cheering us both, put our bodies, our health, and our pride on the line to see who was better, Raw or Smackdown's Singles champion. And for that, I have to say... Thank you. All of you. Everyone here in Indianapolis, I know that a lot of you were probably here 41 short days ago, The day after my Birthday, when I stood victorious at Survivor Series, with U.S. Champion Shawn Rosario holding my arm up while we both held our titles high... but most of You weren't in Cincinnati on November 27th. If you missed that episode of Smackdown, you missed something brutal. I was ambushed by the man I ripped this title from. The man who calls himself 'Main Event' Jey Uso. Now Jey, I get it. You're jealous! I mean, I spent 61 days going walking around with the Title I won from Him on my first night coming over from NXT and since my Invasions from the Indy scene and my brief war with Triple H, WHICH I WON AT WRESTLEMANIA!!! and then... And then Jey had the nerve to injure my shoulder. He took me out of action, meaning I MISSED TLC! I had to relinquish my title on the Go-home episode of smackdown after 83 proud days as your champion, all because I wasn't medically cleared at the last minute! I even wrestled on the Go-Home edition of smackdown! I gave Adam Cole an RKO he'll never forget! I popped him up, and When I hit that RKO, the Lights in his head were Out, pitch black, 1 2 3. But what do I get for my dedications? My Triple threat TLC match for the Intercontinental Championship became a 6 man Ladder match for the title. Rather than Rico Rhodes vs Sami Zayn vs Big E, It became Sami Zayn, Big E, Apollo Crews, Buddy Murphy, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Adam Cole for a Vacant Championship. MY Vacant Championship. And yes, We witnessed a 'Shock to the System' when Adam Cole was attacked by Roderick Strong and subsequently taken out. Yes, the conspiracies will rage on as Crews and Big E threw Sami Zayn through A Double stack of tables. Twice. We saw Nigerian Royalty Dethroned, as Apollo got his ass kicked by the King of Strong Style. And then we saw the King of Strong Style meet his Big Ending. But in the end, Murphy's Law prevailed. Buddy Murphy, congrats to you, really... but I may come for my title back some day. Emphasis on SOME day, because Fortunately for you, I have my sights on... bigger... goals. Either the WWE championship or the Universal Championship. But you can argue there are so many other people in the way of my road to the top. On RAW, who's in the way to Bobby Lashley? Well, First there's Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre. Let's not forget Randy Orton, AJ Styles, The Fiend, and who knowns when Keith Lee will show up and dominate? Let's not forget MVP pulling the strings for Bobby. And here on the Blue Brand, Cesaro is the Universal Champion. He has been for somewhere near 97 days now. Owens wants his world title shot, and he definitely deserves one. The Tribal Cheesesteak wants his rematch, in all likelihood. Edge and Daniel Bryan may shoot their shot at it again. I'm just a kid from the indies who debuted at Elimination Chamber last year as a part of the Indy Invasion. I've been in the company for near 11 months, as of this January. That means I'll be eligible for something for the first time ever..." The crowd began picking up on what he was hinting at.

"So Let's name some Wrestlemania title matches, shall we? 1994, Bret Hart & Lex Luger vs Yokozuna. 1995, Shawn Michaels vs Diesel. 1998, Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels. 2001, Stone Cold Vs the Rock. 2004, Triple H vs Shawn Michaels vs, sorry for saying this, Chris Benoit. '05, Batista vs Triple H. '06, Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton vs Kurt Angle. '07, Undertaker vs Batista. '11, Del Rio vs Edge. '12, Sheamus vs Bryan. '13, Cena vs Rock, '14, Batista vs Bryan and Orton, '17 Orton Vs Wyatt, '18 Nakamura vs Styles, '19 Rollins vs Lesnar. '20 Drew McIntyre vs Brock Lesnar, '21 Edge vs Bryan and Reigns... All good, maybe great, if not legendary matches. But what do they have in common? I'm pretty sure you got the point by now. All featured... a Royal Rumble winner. It added the winner to the match at 'mania in some cases! Benoit and Mysterio weren't originally planned to be in those matches, and they walked out as World Champions! So how can I cut the lines? Not wait for MY shot? I'll Enter into the Royal Rumble match on January 31st! I don't care if I enter at Number 1 or at number 30! I will enter the 2022 Royal Rumble, step in that ring with some of the best superstars we've seen in a long, long time. And If all things go just the right way, I will walk out of the Rumble as your winner. And soon to be... Wrestlemania...Main Eventer." He dropped the Mic and exited the ring.