Hear ye! Hear ye!
The royal court of McMahon cordially invites you to witness a battle for the ages
Two lords will meet in the pre-show arena to crown the one and true king of the lower mid-card
On one side of the battlefield stands, R-Truth, known to his followers as King What's Up.
On the other side, straight outta Preston, is King Bad News Barrett
This shall be a fight for the ages!
From whence we came
Many moons ago, a tournament was held to crown the "prestigious" King of the Ring. Both R-Truth and then Bad News Barrett were competitors to win the crown. R-Truth was a benevolent man who decreed he would use his power as king to protect us all against the spiders. But the nefarious Wade Barrett didn't care about the spiders. He just wanted to win for the power and glory that comes with winning a tournament (which is apparently lots and lots of losses.) Despite fighting valiantly, R-Truth was vanquished by Barrett, leaving his kingdom vulnerable to spider attacks.
Barrett went on to defeat the death defying Neville in the finals to win the crown.
However if King Barrett thought that he was finished with his spider fearing rival, he was dead wrong. To paraphrase a line from the Ballad of R-Truth "They hadn't even started yet." Both men were locked up in the brutal elimination chamber fighting for a prize just slightly more prestigious than the King of the Ring title: The Intercontinental Champion. King Barrett looked to add more gold to his riches, but his old foe R-Truth foiled the King's plans when he eliminated Barrett from the match.
The following night on Raw, R-Truth once again defeated Barrett. On the pre-show of Money In the Bank, Truth defeated the mighty king once more. (And then it happened a bunch of other times... seriously, it's tough to keep count.) Having bested a King, Truth felt that made him the rightful ruler. But in the eyes of the king, Truth was still nothing more than a peasant.
Fully believing that after defeating Barrett so often, he was the one true king, Truth crafted his regal garb. With his royal scepter, which likely lifted from the janitor's closet, and his regal crown, which it looks like he grabbed alongside a Whopper, he was ready to take the kingdom himself.
After these men traded victories once more, with King What's Up defeating King Barrett last on Raw, they will have their final battle (maybe) this Sunday.
The Stakes Are High
What's at stake for this battle? Asides from the culmination of a feud that is one of the longest standing in WWE today, the winner becomes once and for all the one true king. The winner will rule over the low mid card, representing a tournament in a kingdom who's supreme ruler hates tournaments. And the loser? He'll just have to go on without a crown, living a devastating life of more legitimate feuds and more wins.
Don't miss the final chapter in the Battle for the Crown on the WWE Battleground Kick Off show this Sunday!