Post by gkd on Sept 11, 2024 16:51:21 GMT -5
To this day, it is rather unbelievable how Ken and Kyra Davison came together as one. Beginning as enemies, Ken tried to turn Kyra against his rival, who just happened to be Kyra’s fiance. Everything went according to plan, or so Ken thought. Kyra saw her fiance as the man he really was. Ken didn’t have to do much convincing. His rival showed his true colors as each week passed. When his rival lost the World Championship that Ken was chasing, Ken tried to disengage and distance himself from Kyra. Alas, she had other ideas. Just as she had seen the truth in her former fiance, she saw the truth in Ken Davison. “Godly” Ken Davison was a pompous, arrogant, conniving man. Kyra ripped the mask of his public persona off, finding Ken Davison to be a scared man who had held on to a love that left a void in his heart for over 25 years. Somehow, neither had put up their proverbial walls with one another. In time, they discovered his lost love had left a Kyra-sized hole in Ken’s heart.
So, here we are, over a year since Ken had wrestled his last match and more than two years for Kyra. Their daughter, Adina, wasn’t taking it so well. With the temper tantrums she threw every morning before school, dealing with Just Cause and Karly Ward should be child’s play. At least after the match, Ken wouldn’t have to listen to their whining, or so he hoped.
“Daddy, why do you have to go back to work? Why can’t you just stay home with me?”
“That’s a really good question, sweetie. You know, I love spending time with you, and if I could, I’d stay with you all the time. But going to work is an important part of what grown-ups have to do.”
“But why can’t you just stay home and play with us, huh? You been home since I started second grade and you were here the whole time. You went to every concert, every parent meeting. You were there for all of it. Besides, work is borin’.”
“That is a big fat pile of pony loaf and you know it. When I was working in Vegas, I made it for everything you had at school, plus you got to go to India. Do you know how many kids can say that?”
Adina stomps her foot defiantly. Not that it would help her in any way shape or form.
“I don’t care about Indiana. I care about home.”
Ken stops and takes a deep breath, taking a moment to wonder if it might be a good time to talk to Kyra about the idea of therapy… or maybe homeschooling Adina… but DEFINITELY therapy.
“I hear you and sometimes home can be a little boring, but your Mom and I getting back to work helps us help you. You see, when we go to work, we earn money, and that money helps us buy things we need, like food, clothes, and toys. It also helps pay for the house we live in, the electricity that keeps our lights on, and even the internet we use for watching your favorite shows.”
“But I don’t need all that shit. I just need you an’ Mama!”
“Are you TRYING to get your butt whooped? If your mother hears you, she’ll beat both our asses.” While Ken takes a moment to compose himself, Adina giggles for the first time in the conversation. “Adina, that’s really sweet, and I love hearing you say that. You’re the most important thing to me, too. But remember how you like having your favorite snacks, going to the playground, or playing games on your tablet? Those things are part of what work helps us afford. And there are other important things too, like making sure you’re safe and healthy. That’s why I, sorry, we have to go to work.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want you an’ Mama to leave me here.”
“I know, Adina. It’s tough leaving you, and I miss you every time I go. But wrestling is my job, and it’s something I’ve worked really hard at for a long time. Just like you go to school to learn and play with your friends, I have to go wrestle.”
“But school’s not like wrestling! You get to do all the cool moves and fight people. I just gotta do math. It’s so BOOOORRRRRRINGGGGG.”
“Adina, do you really think it’s so easy? I wish I could be here all the time, me and your mother both. But being a wrestler is a little more complicated than just the matches you see. You know how some mornings you wake up and I’m not here because I went to the gym? That’s my homework. I have to put in the work to see the results. The matches, well, they’re just one part of the job. You know how you train hard at your sports or practice your favorite video games so you can get better? Well, I have to train like that, too, so I’m ready when it’s time to wrestle.”
“But why do you need to do it? We don’t need all that stuff, we just need you. Besides, you’re loaded.”
“That’s sweet, except maybe that last part. But you have to believe me, being with you is the best part of my day. But wrestling is not just about the matches or the fame. I could go on about the money and the fame. Those are great and all that. But you know what the best things I’ve gotten from wrestling?”
“I dunno.”
“I got my best friend.”
Adina cuts Ken off, “Uncle Mac?”
“Yes, Uncle Mac. I got your mom, which means,” Ken pauses as he smiles gently. “I also got you.”
“Duh! But don’t you get hurt a lot? Why do you want to go if you could get hurt?”
Ken nods solemnly as he realizes that during those times he and Kyra have both been really hurt, they’ve managed to hide it from Adina. She didn’t understand having your flesh torn open by barbed wire or the feeling of being thrown through glass.
“Yeah, sometimes it can hurt, but I train really hard to make sure I’m strong, fast, and prepared. I have to be in great shape, just like an athlete in any other sport, and I know how to protect myself. Sure, there are times when I get a bruise or feel sore, but it’s all part of what I signed up for. Plus, I love wrestling! It’s exciting, and I get to perform in front of a lot of fans who love the sport just like I do.”
“You actually like it?”
“Most of the time. When I step into that ring, especially with your mother at my side, I feel like I can do anything.”
“Like a superhero?”
“Well, the last time I tried to fly I landed in a razorwire spider net, so maybe not anything.”
“A what?!”
“Nevermind. Listen, I’m going to talk to your mom at some point and we’ll see what we can come up with. Okay?”
“Deal.”
That was a deal that would last until breakfast the following morning. But, for now, peace.
Now, in full regalia, “Godly” Ken Davison stands in front of the camera set up in his basement studio. He is sitting on a bar stool with his hands folded in front of his face. The orange-tinted sunglasses perfectly match his clerical collar.
“What if I don’t remember how to do this? What if I can’t get into that headspace?”
“Oh, you’ve got this, dear,” Kyra reassures him. Despite the encouragement, Ken had his doubts. “I don’t know how I can help you, but I don’t think coming on to you will help.”
“It might in other ways,” Ken says before they both break out into a hearty laugh. As Kyra takes her place behind the camera, she mouths the words “Remember, you’ve got this,” just before she signals to Ken that the camera is rolling.
“For those of you who don’t know, my name is “Godly” Ken Davison. Coming into the inaugural event here in All Action Wrestling, it needs to be understood the importance of what I am about to do. I’m not going to sit here and tear down Karly and just. I don’t need to do that. Both of them are good, damned fine, wrestlers in their own right. But that does not in any way, shape, or form change the fact that I am simply better.”
“That isn’t to say that I am a better wrestler than either of them. Let’s face it they’re definitely younger, probably faster, and possibly stronger than I am. Those are all things that I can easily overcome. Whatever it is that they bring to the table, I can overcome it. I have the intangibles, those little advantages, that you simply cannot teach. I am more intelligent in that ring. I have more experience than the both of them combined. And the most important thing is that I am far more motivated than either one of you could possibly fathom.”
“It’s well documented that I’m something of an egomaniac. Yeah, I know it. I’ve written chapters of mine legend all across this business for almost 30 years. 30 Kendamned years that I have spent wrestling in Iron Man matches. I have spent wrestling in deathmatches. Hell, I’ve even been crucified.”
Ken holds his palms out showing off his scars. Slowly, he lowers his hands and leans towards the camera. He speaks, his tone drops to a near whisper.
“And you know what?”
Davison pauses long enough to allow the audience to process what the answer could possibly be.
“I loved each and every second of it.”
Ken returns to his normal tone of voice.
“There’s something about this sado-masochistic tango that I enjoy. We’ve even got it on film. The relationship between my wife and I began when I decided to punt her in the lady garden and she decided to return the favor the next week by kicking a field goal and splitting my uprights. There is nothing that either of you could threaten to or actually try to do that I have not already seen, done or experienced.”
“I digress. Back to my original point. I have a bit of a legacy kink. I need to make certain that I am remembered, that my name is spoken in future generations long after I’m gone. That is an opportunity that is only afforded to the three of us. I would really like it if Just Cause and Karly Ward could take a moment to understand their place in the history of this company. This will be the first match ever in this company. The winner of this match will be immortalized forever for being the first. Let that sink in. Allow that to marinate in your thought process. We have the opportunity to be remembered forever. It’s a very unusual situation, one that I’ve had the privilege of being in before. Can either of you say the same?”
Ken turns around momentarily, sliding the curtain to his right, revealing numerous championships hanging on the wall behind him, There are tag team titles, world championships, four different Hall of Fame induction plaques.
“All of these momentos and trophies are a testament to the life I have lived professionally up to this point. Most of these do not matter here. But there is one particular championship that I feel it is appropriate to tell you about.”
Ken turns around and pulls a championship from one of the display cases to his left. He slings it over his shoulder and taps it proudly.
“This is the Steelside Wrestling World Championship. The reason why this championship, that I won about 20 years ago, is significant is because it tells the story of being the first. When I arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for their first event I was put in a triple threat match, just as I am now, in the show’s opener. Much like this match, I did not know either of my opponents. What I did know was my skill, my ability to control a match. I won the first match in that company’s history. I went on to become their first world champion. I know that’s not in the cards here, but I can become the first United States Champion. Being the first can set the tone not just for your career, your time in the company, it can set the precedent that each and every wrestler that signs an AAW contract will have to follow. What a daunting task that must feel like for two wrestlers such as yourselves. So much pressure that weighs on your shoulders. For you, the day “Godly” Ken Davison graced your ring will be the most important day of your life. But for me, it is just another Friday.”
Ken carefully places the championship down on the bar stool that he is now standing next to.
“The other, quite frankly most important fact, thing that separates me from you to vaginal blood clots is that while you are doing this for personal gain and personal glory, there’s much more to it for me. You can turn around and point out how I have made this entirely about me up until this point and that would make for a very valid point. But that’s not the only reason that I need to put the both of you down. I have something that no one else in this company has. I have my wife by my side. I have my children at home. I haven’t 8-year-old daughter who has been crying and screaming because she doesn’t want Mommy and Daddy to leave again. I need to show her that I am a man of my word, a man of accountability, because I cannot justify leaving…” There is a brief pause while Ken composes himself. “I can’t go home to that sweet little girl and tell her that this was all for nothing. I don’t know what kind of Life the two of you lead, but there is no greater pressure and no greater motivator than your children and the example that you know you have to set for them.”
“You won’t hear any other person in this industry tell you something like that. I am the realest thing that you will ever encounter, here in All Action Wrestling or anywhere else. The bottom line is that I simply, absolutely, need to win this match. Unfortunately for the two of you that means that you are lambs being led to the proverbial slaughter. Ladies and gentlemen, let there be Carnage.”
Ken leans his head back and holds his arms to his sides, in a pose representative of the crucifixion. The red light of the camera goes out.
“All good, babe.”
“You think I did okay?”
“I mean, mine was better.”
“Bitch,” Ken says playfully.
“Yeah,” Kyra says and she punches Ken in the shoulder. “But I’m your bitch and you love me.”
“You know it.”
« - END - »
So, here we are, over a year since Ken had wrestled his last match and more than two years for Kyra. Their daughter, Adina, wasn’t taking it so well. With the temper tantrums she threw every morning before school, dealing with Just Cause and Karly Ward should be child’s play. At least after the match, Ken wouldn’t have to listen to their whining, or so he hoped.
“Daddy, why do you have to go back to work? Why can’t you just stay home with me?”
“That’s a really good question, sweetie. You know, I love spending time with you, and if I could, I’d stay with you all the time. But going to work is an important part of what grown-ups have to do.”
“But why can’t you just stay home and play with us, huh? You been home since I started second grade and you were here the whole time. You went to every concert, every parent meeting. You were there for all of it. Besides, work is borin’.”
“That is a big fat pile of pony loaf and you know it. When I was working in Vegas, I made it for everything you had at school, plus you got to go to India. Do you know how many kids can say that?”
Adina stomps her foot defiantly. Not that it would help her in any way shape or form.
“I don’t care about Indiana. I care about home.”
Ken stops and takes a deep breath, taking a moment to wonder if it might be a good time to talk to Kyra about the idea of therapy… or maybe homeschooling Adina… but DEFINITELY therapy.
“I hear you and sometimes home can be a little boring, but your Mom and I getting back to work helps us help you. You see, when we go to work, we earn money, and that money helps us buy things we need, like food, clothes, and toys. It also helps pay for the house we live in, the electricity that keeps our lights on, and even the internet we use for watching your favorite shows.”
“But I don’t need all that shit. I just need you an’ Mama!”
“Are you TRYING to get your butt whooped? If your mother hears you, she’ll beat both our asses.” While Ken takes a moment to compose himself, Adina giggles for the first time in the conversation. “Adina, that’s really sweet, and I love hearing you say that. You’re the most important thing to me, too. But remember how you like having your favorite snacks, going to the playground, or playing games on your tablet? Those things are part of what work helps us afford. And there are other important things too, like making sure you’re safe and healthy. That’s why I, sorry, we have to go to work.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want you an’ Mama to leave me here.”
“I know, Adina. It’s tough leaving you, and I miss you every time I go. But wrestling is my job, and it’s something I’ve worked really hard at for a long time. Just like you go to school to learn and play with your friends, I have to go wrestle.”
“But school’s not like wrestling! You get to do all the cool moves and fight people. I just gotta do math. It’s so BOOOORRRRRRINGGGGG.”
“Adina, do you really think it’s so easy? I wish I could be here all the time, me and your mother both. But being a wrestler is a little more complicated than just the matches you see. You know how some mornings you wake up and I’m not here because I went to the gym? That’s my homework. I have to put in the work to see the results. The matches, well, they’re just one part of the job. You know how you train hard at your sports or practice your favorite video games so you can get better? Well, I have to train like that, too, so I’m ready when it’s time to wrestle.”
“But why do you need to do it? We don’t need all that stuff, we just need you. Besides, you’re loaded.”
“That’s sweet, except maybe that last part. But you have to believe me, being with you is the best part of my day. But wrestling is not just about the matches or the fame. I could go on about the money and the fame. Those are great and all that. But you know what the best things I’ve gotten from wrestling?”
“I dunno.”
“I got my best friend.”
Adina cuts Ken off, “Uncle Mac?”
“Yes, Uncle Mac. I got your mom, which means,” Ken pauses as he smiles gently. “I also got you.”
“Duh! But don’t you get hurt a lot? Why do you want to go if you could get hurt?”
Ken nods solemnly as he realizes that during those times he and Kyra have both been really hurt, they’ve managed to hide it from Adina. She didn’t understand having your flesh torn open by barbed wire or the feeling of being thrown through glass.
“Yeah, sometimes it can hurt, but I train really hard to make sure I’m strong, fast, and prepared. I have to be in great shape, just like an athlete in any other sport, and I know how to protect myself. Sure, there are times when I get a bruise or feel sore, but it’s all part of what I signed up for. Plus, I love wrestling! It’s exciting, and I get to perform in front of a lot of fans who love the sport just like I do.”
“You actually like it?”
“Most of the time. When I step into that ring, especially with your mother at my side, I feel like I can do anything.”
“Like a superhero?”
“Well, the last time I tried to fly I landed in a razorwire spider net, so maybe not anything.”
“A what?!”
“Nevermind. Listen, I’m going to talk to your mom at some point and we’ll see what we can come up with. Okay?”
“Deal.”
That was a deal that would last until breakfast the following morning. But, for now, peace.
Now, in full regalia, “Godly” Ken Davison stands in front of the camera set up in his basement studio. He is sitting on a bar stool with his hands folded in front of his face. The orange-tinted sunglasses perfectly match his clerical collar.
“What if I don’t remember how to do this? What if I can’t get into that headspace?”
“Oh, you’ve got this, dear,” Kyra reassures him. Despite the encouragement, Ken had his doubts. “I don’t know how I can help you, but I don’t think coming on to you will help.”
“It might in other ways,” Ken says before they both break out into a hearty laugh. As Kyra takes her place behind the camera, she mouths the words “Remember, you’ve got this,” just before she signals to Ken that the camera is rolling.
“For those of you who don’t know, my name is “Godly” Ken Davison. Coming into the inaugural event here in All Action Wrestling, it needs to be understood the importance of what I am about to do. I’m not going to sit here and tear down Karly and just. I don’t need to do that. Both of them are good, damned fine, wrestlers in their own right. But that does not in any way, shape, or form change the fact that I am simply better.”
“That isn’t to say that I am a better wrestler than either of them. Let’s face it they’re definitely younger, probably faster, and possibly stronger than I am. Those are all things that I can easily overcome. Whatever it is that they bring to the table, I can overcome it. I have the intangibles, those little advantages, that you simply cannot teach. I am more intelligent in that ring. I have more experience than the both of them combined. And the most important thing is that I am far more motivated than either one of you could possibly fathom.”
“It’s well documented that I’m something of an egomaniac. Yeah, I know it. I’ve written chapters of mine legend all across this business for almost 30 years. 30 Kendamned years that I have spent wrestling in Iron Man matches. I have spent wrestling in deathmatches. Hell, I’ve even been crucified.”
Ken holds his palms out showing off his scars. Slowly, he lowers his hands and leans towards the camera. He speaks, his tone drops to a near whisper.
“And you know what?”
Davison pauses long enough to allow the audience to process what the answer could possibly be.
“I loved each and every second of it.”
Ken returns to his normal tone of voice.
“There’s something about this sado-masochistic tango that I enjoy. We’ve even got it on film. The relationship between my wife and I began when I decided to punt her in the lady garden and she decided to return the favor the next week by kicking a field goal and splitting my uprights. There is nothing that either of you could threaten to or actually try to do that I have not already seen, done or experienced.”
“I digress. Back to my original point. I have a bit of a legacy kink. I need to make certain that I am remembered, that my name is spoken in future generations long after I’m gone. That is an opportunity that is only afforded to the three of us. I would really like it if Just Cause and Karly Ward could take a moment to understand their place in the history of this company. This will be the first match ever in this company. The winner of this match will be immortalized forever for being the first. Let that sink in. Allow that to marinate in your thought process. We have the opportunity to be remembered forever. It’s a very unusual situation, one that I’ve had the privilege of being in before. Can either of you say the same?”
Ken turns around momentarily, sliding the curtain to his right, revealing numerous championships hanging on the wall behind him, There are tag team titles, world championships, four different Hall of Fame induction plaques.
“All of these momentos and trophies are a testament to the life I have lived professionally up to this point. Most of these do not matter here. But there is one particular championship that I feel it is appropriate to tell you about.”
Ken turns around and pulls a championship from one of the display cases to his left. He slings it over his shoulder and taps it proudly.
“This is the Steelside Wrestling World Championship. The reason why this championship, that I won about 20 years ago, is significant is because it tells the story of being the first. When I arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for their first event I was put in a triple threat match, just as I am now, in the show’s opener. Much like this match, I did not know either of my opponents. What I did know was my skill, my ability to control a match. I won the first match in that company’s history. I went on to become their first world champion. I know that’s not in the cards here, but I can become the first United States Champion. Being the first can set the tone not just for your career, your time in the company, it can set the precedent that each and every wrestler that signs an AAW contract will have to follow. What a daunting task that must feel like for two wrestlers such as yourselves. So much pressure that weighs on your shoulders. For you, the day “Godly” Ken Davison graced your ring will be the most important day of your life. But for me, it is just another Friday.”
Ken carefully places the championship down on the bar stool that he is now standing next to.
“The other, quite frankly most important fact, thing that separates me from you to vaginal blood clots is that while you are doing this for personal gain and personal glory, there’s much more to it for me. You can turn around and point out how I have made this entirely about me up until this point and that would make for a very valid point. But that’s not the only reason that I need to put the both of you down. I have something that no one else in this company has. I have my wife by my side. I have my children at home. I haven’t 8-year-old daughter who has been crying and screaming because she doesn’t want Mommy and Daddy to leave again. I need to show her that I am a man of my word, a man of accountability, because I cannot justify leaving…” There is a brief pause while Ken composes himself. “I can’t go home to that sweet little girl and tell her that this was all for nothing. I don’t know what kind of Life the two of you lead, but there is no greater pressure and no greater motivator than your children and the example that you know you have to set for them.”
“You won’t hear any other person in this industry tell you something like that. I am the realest thing that you will ever encounter, here in All Action Wrestling or anywhere else. The bottom line is that I simply, absolutely, need to win this match. Unfortunately for the two of you that means that you are lambs being led to the proverbial slaughter. Ladies and gentlemen, let there be Carnage.”
Ken leans his head back and holds his arms to his sides, in a pose representative of the crucifixion. The red light of the camera goes out.
“All good, babe.”
“You think I did okay?”
“I mean, mine was better.”
“Bitch,” Ken says playfully.
“Yeah,” Kyra says and she punches Ken in the shoulder. “But I’m your bitch and you love me.”
“You know it.”
« - END - »