Long Island Champion

A/N: Here's a one shot fic that was a request by the amazingly talented WhiteAsukaLover. He wanted a story where Zack Ryder becomes WWE Champion. I hope you enjoy this, White. Happy belated birthday.

Disclaimer: WWE and all related characters are property of Vince McMahon. I own only the plot and nothing more.

Summary: Zack Ryder has always dreamed of becoming a champion, so when Seth Rollins issues an open challenge for the title, Zack decides it's his time to prove himself. Can the Long Island Iced Z become the Long Island Champion, or will Rollins defeat him?

Zack Ryder sighed as he watched the monitor. Once again, he'd been left off of the card, and it frustrated him to no end. He was a great wrestler, yet they overlooked him time and time again or put him in matches he never wanted to be in. Just once, he wanted the chance to become WWE Champion. It had been his dream ever since he'd been a kid.

A knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts, and he told whoever it was to come in. He smiled as Team PCB made their way into his locker room.

"Hey, ladies, what can I do for you?" he asked them.

"We just wanted to say that it sucks that you're not on the card tonight," Paige said. "You have so much potential that it would be a shame to waste it."

Charlotte smiled. "But we have some good news for you," she said.

"Oh, and what's that?" Zack asked them.

Becky grinned. "We heard that Seth Rollins will be issuing an open challenge for his WWE title and we think you should go for it," she replied.

Zack was stunned. He never thought that anyone would say something like that to him. "You really think I should go for it?" he asked.

"Totally," Paige said. "You're one of the best wrestlers out there, and you need to show Hunter and Stephanie how good you are."

"You're very talented and you deserve a title shot, Zack," Charlotte said.

"Go out there and show that jerk Seth Rollins what a real champion's made of," Becky encouraged him.

Zack smiled. "You're right, ladies. I think it's time for me to prove myself to the WWE Universe."

"So, you're going to do it?" Paige asked excitedly.

He laughed. "Woo! Woo! Woo! You know it!"

The girls squealed in excitement and wished him luck. They left the locker room so Zack could get ready for his match against Seth. He definitely was nervous about it. This was the biggest opportunity of his life, and he didn't want to mess it up. He wanted to show that he was worthy of getting a title shot.

22222

Seth Rollins came out to the ring. This was the moment the WWE Universe was waiting for as Seth was going to issue his open challenge.

"And here comes Seth Rollins getting ready to issue an open challenge for the WWE Championship," Michael Cole said.

"Who do you think is gonna go for it, Michael?" JBL asked.

"I don't know, but it'll be interesting to see who will take on the Champion," Michale replied.

Seth stepped into the ring and took a mic. "You know, since I've become Champion, it's been pretty easy," he began. "No one has been able to beat me for my title. It's become somewhat of a joke to even defend it. But tonight, that's exactly what I'm gonna do because everyone keeps saying I don't have the guts to defend it on RAW. So, for anyone in the back who wants to come out here, I'm right here. Show me who's worthy to take me on!"

There was a pause as the camera panned to the entrance ramp. The crowd waited in anticipation to see who would challenge Seth.

"Who's it gonna be, guys?" Byron Saxton asked.

"Woo! Woo! Woo! You know it!"

The crowd erupted as Zack Ryder's theme music hit and the Long Island Iced Z himself came out. He smiled as he made his way down to the ring.

Seth's mouth dropped open. "Hey, cut the music!" he barked and the music immediately stopped. He glared at Zack, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing. "Are you kidding me? This is the guy who's gonna take me on for my WWE World Heavyweight Championship?"

Zack took a mic and glared at Seth. "Yeah, I'm the one who's gonna challenge you," he said. "For as long as I can remember I've always dreamed of having the title. And now that you've issued this challenge, I wanna prove to everyone that I'm worthy enough to take it from you!"

Seth rolled his eyes. "Oh, spare me!" he scoffed. "You really think that you can take my title from me? You really think that someone like YOU is worthy enough to hold the most prestigious title in WWE history? You really think that YOU can beat the Future of the WWE?"

Zack smiled. "Woo! Woo! Woo! You know it, bro!"

Seth couldn't believe this blatant nonchalance from Ryder. "Okay, fine," he said. "If you think you can beat me, go ahead and try it."

Zack entered the ring and the referee signaled for the bell to be rung. Ryder and Rollins locked up and Seth kicked Zack in the stomach, doubling him over. He followed that up with a swinging neckbreaker, slamming Ryder to the mat.

"And things are not looking good for Ryder here, guys," Cole said.

"He never should have challenged him," JBL added. "Everyone knows Zack Ryder can't beat Seth Rollins. Who does he think he's kidding?"

"I don't think you want to underestimate Ryder, John," Byron replied.

Back in the ring, things weren't looking good for Zack. Seth kept punching him and kicking him, trying to make Zack surrender, but the Long Island Iced Z wasn't giving up. Seth had him in a submission lock and was waiting for Ryder to tap out.

"Give up, Ryder!" Seth yelled. "You can't beat me!"

Zack managed to crawl to the ropes and Seth had to break the hold. He got up and ducked under a clothesline, delivering one of his own.

"And that's why you never underestimate Zack Ryder, guys," Byron gloated.

"Oh, come on, that was just luck," JBL scoffed. "He'll never beat him."

But Zack wasn't done as he delivered his own swinging neckbreaker. He tried to pin him, but only got a two count. He waited until Seth got up and began punching and kicking him. He whipped Seth into the turnbuckle and went to the opposite turnbuckle. Zack pumped his fist in the air as the crowd chanted, "Woo! Woo! Woo!" and he slammed into Seth, winding him. Seth wasn't done as he managed to recover and hit Zack with a Pedigree.

"Pedigree has been hit!" Cole said. "Can Rollins do it?"

"Ryder's done, guys," JBL said.

Seth pinned him, but Ryder kicked out at two.

"Oh my God, Ryder kicked out!" Cole screamed. "I can't believe it!"

"It was a fluke, Michael," JBL replied. "Seth will win."

But Zack wasted no time getting to his feet and delivering a Rough Ryder to Seth.

"Rough Ryder!" Cole shouted. "Zack hit him with the Rough Ryder. Could this be it?"

The crowd chanted with the referee's count, "One, two, three!" then burst into loud cheers as Ryder's music played.

"Ryder did it! Zack Ryder is the new WWE Champion!" Cole shouted.

"I always knew he could do it!" Byron added.

"This is pathetic," JBL moaned. "It was a fluke and all of you know it."

But nobody seemed to care what JBL thought, least of all Zack. He was so happy that he'd achieved his dream and he hoisted the title for all to see as confetti rained down and fireworks exploded in the arena. The crowd went ballistic as Ryder celebrated in the ring. He'd finally proven that he was worthy of the title. He left the ring and went to the back where some of the Superstars were waiting to congratulate him.

"Good job, man," Dolph Ziggler said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You finally did it."

"Yeah, that was great," Curtis Axel added. "It's about time one of us got to achieve our dream."

Team PCB smiled as they approached the new champion.

"Great job, Zack!" Paige said, giving him a hug. "We knew you could do it!"

"And I owe it all to you ladies for encouraging me to go for my dream," Zack said. "Thanks, girls."

"No problem, Zack," said Charlotte. "You deserve every bit of this moment, so live it up."

"And I know exactly what we can do to celebrate," Zack said. "Let's go to the hottest club out there and party!"

"Woo! Woo! Woo! You know it!" everyone chorused.

So they headed to the club and partied all night. Zack was having a good time, and he couldn't think of anything better than this. He was finally on top, he had friends who were proud of him, and he had shown that anyone could achieve their dream as long as they tried hard enough.

Paige raised her glass of champagne in the air. "Here's to the Long Island Champion!" she yelled.

Everyone cheered and clinked glasses.

Zack kept smiling. He would never forget this night as long as he lived. "Woo! Woo! Woo! You know it!"

The End

A/N: And that's the end of this story. I tried to keep it as long as I could, but I figured that would be a good way to end it. I hope you enjoyed it, White. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.