[GKD]

Monday October 3, 2022
12:07 PM

“THAT BITCH!”

Yep, this was going about as well as I expected it to. Let’s go back in time to about fifteen hours ago. During Masque’s match, I managed to wriggle myself free. Knowing what I do about Masque, I could only assume that it was intentional. Especially after the… well, I guess you could call it a conversation that we had. But, that is another story for another time. 

I didn’t wait around to find out who won the number one contender’s match for my Sin City World Championship. It could be Finn Whalen for all fucking cared. Turns out that was exactly what happened. Regardless, I peaced the fuck out of there as soon as I could. I grabbed my shit and made for the airport. I hopped on the red eye and flew out to Nashville where I am going to both defend the Cooperative Championships that my wife and I hold and then compete in the UGWC Massive Melee for the second year in a row.

I wanted, no, I needed to get to my wife as quickly as possible. I even booked a flight with a layover in Chicago. Fucking O’Hare, the absolute worst worst airport in America. I was willing to deal with that bullshit just to get to her. I did all of the usual post-flight rigamarole and got in the first cab and headed to the Hotel Fraye Nashville Midtown where we are staying. It was about noon when I got there, all I wanted was to take a quick nap, have a nice dinner before Kyra, Chloe, Adina and myself headed to the arena. Of the three of us, Adina was the only one of us that isn’t competing tonight. As the old saying goes, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry and that plan most definitely has.

I walk down the hall, so tired and stressed out that I could even tell you what color the carpet is. As I get closer to the room, I hear the one thing I’ve missed the most, my wife voice. But, I hear it at a volume that is more and more alarming.

“MAC, WHERE THE FUCK IS MY HUSBAND!?”

I walk into our room, with a comfortable looking king bed and a view of the city below. She can tell that there’s something off. Adina is crying in her mother’s arms, while Chloe stands up from her seat in the corner. I expect a “where the fuck have you been?”, but that wasn’t the case at all.

“He's here, thank God, but I'm still coming down there and killing that bitch myself!"

I hear Mac say something, but I can’t make out what it is. I’m exhausted. I’ve been awake for something like a day and a half at this point. This isn’t what I need five hours before I have to be at the arena. Thankfully, what I do need is here in the hotel room with me.

“I… uh… um…” I stammer. I don’t know where to begin or what to say. Things are still… fuzzy for lack of a better word. I don’t even remember the Masque, I just remember her eyes staring through my soul. They stabbed through my psyche, sharp, cold and lifeless. I look at Kyra, probably with an expression that is probably as pathetic as I feel at that moment. All I want at that moment is some reassurance.

"Shhhh…" Kyra just approaches me and wraps her arms around me.  "I'm glad you're okay…" 

She pulls away only slightly to look me over.  "You're okay, right?"

“I think so. She was trying to send a message. Why she would try to use me to get to Amber is beyond me. Guess they have some kind of deal where Masque won’t hurt Amber’s loved ones, from what I gathered. We all know how much Amber and I love each other. Maybe the idea is to piss off Mac, which might piss off Amber but some kind of fucked up domino affect. So… yeah. That’s all I’ve got.”

I can tell Kyra's doing her best to check her emotions right now as she looks into my eyes.  But I can see it.  She's seething.  But she closes her eyes and pulls me back in.  

"Daddy!" Adina rushes in and forces her little body between her mother’ss and mine, hugging me with all the strength she can muster. I look over and Chloe and roll my wrist to beckon her.

“Ugh! Just this once,” she says with a sigh “But, I’m not calling you Daddy.”

“That would be weird,” Adina giggles, causing me to smile despite how I’m feeling. Chloe joins in and squeezes. Seems like the first emotion she’s shown anyone aside from Adina since she’s moved in. It feels like the first ray of sun breaking through the winter clouds, solely to thaw the ice below.

After a few very nice moments, Kyra pats Adina on the shoulder and pulls herself out of the hug.  

"Alright guys, he needs to rest.  Chloe, would you mind taking her down to the park for a little while?"  

Chloe nods her head, her eyebrows raising. "Uh oh.. come on, Kiddo…"

I’m semi cognisant of what’s going on. I don’t want my family to leave, but Kyra’s right, I do need my rest. I should probably eat, but I really don’t have the stomach for it right now. I sit on the bed, pulling my shoes off of my feet. Kyra's face changes the second the kids are out of the room. All hell is coming, and now, we are back to where this all started. The moment, I swear, the exact moment that the door finishes closing she screams.

“THAT BITCH!”

“I’m fine, mama. I promise.”

"And I'm glad.  I really am."  She replies as I watch her step across the room and begin grabbing a few of her things and stuffing them into her bag.  

This can't be good. This is right up there with ‘Im fine.’ Whenever a woman says she’s fine, she’s not.

“What are you doing?”

Loaded question; I know. I should know better, but it’s too late.

"I'm gonna put that bitch in the ground."  She states matter of factly, all while never looking up from the bag.  I’m going to regret this, but I made a promise.

It takes all of my strength, but I stand up and answer her just as matter of factly.

“No, you’re not.”

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I hear the Law & Order ‘dun-dun’ noise while picturing Ice-T and Marishka Harfitay finding my lifeless body. I stepped in it. I knew I stepped in it. The worst part was I stepped in it on purpose. I know Amber is trying to protect Kyra, and after what Masque had done to me, I wasn’t keen on the idea of Kyra having to endure the same thing.

She stops and turns her eyes up at me, and if I didn't know better, I'd swear the gold in her eyes had turned red.  "What the fuck did you just say to me?" 

I straighten my spine, correcting my posture as much as I can. I know that I can’t assert my dominance, but I sure as hell don’t plan on backing down, either.

“I said, and I quote, ''No, you’re not.” I take a deep breath. I lower my tone hoping that Kyra will pick up on that and lowers hers. Not bloody likely, but let’s give it a shot. “I don't want you getting hurt, not for me and certainly not because of me.”

Without missing a beat, she steps towards me, narrowing her eyes.  "Adina was absolutely fucking thrilled to watch you on TV.  Then that happened.. and she fucking thought her daddy was dead, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do.  I don't think you quite understand, Ken… I'm going to fuck that bitch up whether you give me your permission or not." 

Yeah… that went as well as expected. At least the make up sex will be amazing, if she forgives me some time in the next two months or so.

“This isn’t about permission. This is about YOUR safety. This about YOU being there for Adina. This is about US not ending up in side by side hospital beds. This is about more than just you and I. Damnit, woman. If this was something that could be contained to a wrestling ring, fine. You’re the baddest bitch I’ve ever wrestled. But, this… THIS is so much more than that. You know I can’t stop you, but you know, sure as shit, I’m going to try.”

This is our first argument, I mean our first, legitimate, big blow out. To make matters worse, she’s as stubborn as I am. How in the fuck am I going to protect her without hurting her? I’m watching her face carefully. She’s talked herself into a corner, at least I THINK she has. The problem with that is, when she’s backed into a corner, that is when she’s at her most dangerous. I don’t know if it’s just that the seconds feel like hours, or if she is legitimately taking that long to come back at me. I’ve never seen her like this before. But after a few minutes, she simply turns away calmly and steps towards the window of the room.  At this point I'm watching her with a sense of trepidation because I honestly don't know what she'll do. Out of nowhere, she takes the bag she's holding and she slams it into the ground. 

"Fine.  I won't go now.  But next week?  Or the next time you go… I'm going with you and I'd love to see you fucking stop me."

Normally she'd say something like that in a playful tone but when she glares across the room at me, there's nothing playful about it. If looks could kill, I’d be a chalk outline. 

“I’m going to have a fun time explaining THIS to Amber,” I say under my breath. Kyra stops dead in her tracks and looks over at me. Fuck.

“What you say?”

Oh, well. I’m stuck. She knows that I can’t lie to her. But maybe that’s why I can get away with it. The trick to being a good liar is making people believe you’re a bad liar. I know, I’ll just tell her part of the truth. That’s not lying. Right?

Right?

“I said Amber’s going to be thrilled to hear you’re coming.”

If Kyra picks up on my sarcasm, I’m technically not lying. I hope she doesn’t. At this point, I know I’m in the middle of the proverbial fire. I’m just trying to escape with as few burns as possible.

"I'm sure."  She returns sarcasm with more sarcasm as she stares at me, her mind racing - I can see it behind those eyes of hers.  But instead of questioning further, she sighs and points at the bed.  "Just lay down and rest.  I'm sure you'll find a way of trying to convince me to not go after we're done with the Melee."

Wait. What? She’s letting it go? This never happens. I must really look like shit. I sit down on the edge of the bed and swing my legs onto the bed. I pat the bed, hoping Kyra will join me. She gives me a look, but finally gives in, nestling her body in the crook of my arm. Even here, in a hotel room in the middle of Nashville, she feels like home.

“I’m still mad at you,” she affirms, just in case I wasn’t aware.

“I know, mama. I know.”

That’s the last thing I remember. The next three hours don’t exist in my world. I don’t care that she’s angry with me, so long as she is safe. All I know is I am back where I belong… she is where I belong.



It was a cold, wet morning. The dampness is everywhere. I see it on my window. I see it clinging to hedges, the blades of grass, even on the light poles and porch railings. There was even a bit of a fog, the kind of mist that is both light and concealing, a true juxtaposition. I had rushed outside while I had the opportunity. I, “Godly” Ken Davison, feel confident that this is perfect. Several feet away, Kyra stands with a camera. I remain still, allowing my words to cut through the murky clouds.

“A common mistake is underestimating the ability of others to succeed. Those who are weak of heart give up because their minds cannot, will not, drown the disturbing sound of adversity. If they only listened to their inner voices, odds be damned, they can win.”

At that point, I stride forward. I have my hands held together with the index fingers out. I move my hands towards the camera, as though I am pointing to whomever is viewing.

“Let me ask you this? Who predicted that Buster Douglas would defeat the unbeatable “Iron” Mike Tyson in 1990? That would be Buster Douglas. Who foresaw the Phoenix Suns besting the defending World Champion Los Angeles Lakers, led by Lebron James? If you guessed the Phoenix Suns, you’d be right. Being the underdog means having little chance of winning. Being the underdog means being considered lower, being considered less than. Most importantly, being the underdog means that you can use that to your advantage. The underdog is overlooked, often expected to merely sit on the sidelines.”

“There have been various occasions when I have been a target of ridicule. I was told that I should stay in the midcard, that I lacked the skills and abilities to move up to a higher position on the card. Rather than sitting here, whining, pissing and moaning about it, I took a different direction. I used my strengths to create projects outside the four ropes. I made myself a commodity, a name with proven value. I earned my opportunities by forcing my people to recognize my value.”

I pause, inhaling deeply to allow the overall tone to come down  

“Now, when I was a kid, like all kids, I got asked what do you want to be when you grow up. For me, I knew. There was never any doubt. There was no gray area. I wanted to be a professional wrestler.  When that finally happened for me, it was the proudest day of my life. Then, I started  coming here, as a Savior, it opened doors for me that I hadn’t dreamed of in many, many years. I’ve come in here and I’ve been able to wrestle some of the greatest wrestlers in the business, in places like Sparks, Nevada and all across the globe. Since that day, I have woken up every morning and tried to uphold the standard that I, along with the other Saviors, have set for ourselves. We are out here doing exactly what we said we would do from day one, and that is dominate. We do exactly what we set out to do. We don’t wear white hats. We use any means necessary. Simple as that.”

“And THAT is the only thing simple in this entire situation. I’ve got to look over my shoulder, watching for Masque. I’ve got Finn Whalen off on the horizon. How the hell’d he win? I don’t know. What I do know is that I should have a direct path to Finn Whalen. I should be walking into this match and handling my business? But, no, I have to do it the hard way. They want to stick this man, this almost seven foot, three hundred plus pound pile of dogshit in front of me. They want me to do it the hard way. That’s all well and good, I got on top the hard way and if that means that I have to take the hard way again to get to Finn Whalen, I’ll do it. You want to put this goofy ass sasquatch in front of my way? Fine. You want me to go and dig up every former member of the underground? Fine. I don’t do things the easy way, and this will be no different.”

“You know why I brought that up? You know what I am tired of? I am sick and tired of this company trying to make new stars at my expense? There was Tamagotchi. There was that random underground reject that I smashed next. Now, you think that this guy is going to beat me? No, because I am sick and tired of making stars. Guys like you, Armageddon, guys that are big and tall think that you can try and intimidate men like me? Why, because you sucked so bad you couldn’t even get on your college basketball team? Because somewhere in the back of your mind, you’ve got that “you can’t teach size’ mentality? Yeah, you and the seven other Armageddons I beat back in the late 90s. You’re not a wrestler. You’re an actor. This isn’t about acting. I’m a fighter. I’ve been fighting my whole damned life. This is not acting. This is as real as it gets. You think that I am going to cower at your feet? You think I am going to beg you for forgiveness? Nuh-uh, motherfucker. You will bow before me.”

So much for that keeping calm thing. Just mentioning Masque makes me skin crawl, but I know for a fact that Kyra is out of bounds. Masque promised that she wouldn’t hurt Amber’s loved ones. I might not qualify, but my wife certainly does.

“I learned very early in my career, that if I depend on these,” I say as I hold my fists up. “That yes, I am at a disadvantage against a man of your size. Sooner, rather than later, I realized that I have a far greater weapon at my disposal, that being my mind. When I started in this business, companies would sign men like you all the time. You were a dime a dozen. That’s how little value you had then and you have even less value now because I learned my craft against men like you. I was the anomaly. I was the unknown. I was the shift in the paradigm. I was the man who learned to tear my opponents open, just so I could sew them back up and do it all over again.”

“Armageddon, you hven’t done a Kendamned thing in this business. When I retire, I’ll get you to wash my clothes and cut my lawn and buckle my shoes. You aren’t anything but a big, fat slob. I’m gonna take out your knee and I am going to humiliate you. I figured I would ruin your debut, but imagine my surprise when I found out that you did so well if your first few matches that I hadn’t even heard of you. Then again, losing to Austin James Mercer is nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, I’ve never done it, but, you know…”

I smile, quite proud of myself. This isn’t going in the direction I rehearsed. It’s going even better.

“Finn Whalan, this match is going to give you just a glimmer of what I can do. You’re not going to be the next Matt Knox, slipping through the cracks the way he did. I am going to put you down, the same way I put Alexander Raven down and the same way I am going to put Armageddon down. You might think I’m being arrogant, but I really am just this damned good. If you don’t believe me, get your popcorn ready and watch me put on a show.”

“In all seriousness, I know the threat that Armageddon possesses. That is exactly why I’m not concerned with him. He is simply that, a threat. He is unfulfilled potential. He is a cocked gun that has a broken trigger. He is all of those things, while I am the exact opposite.I am not a threat. I am a promise. My potential is reality. I point. I shoot. I kill. I realize that is the proverbial David and Goliath scenario. I also realize that I am David in this situation, Not because you have all these physical advantages. You are clearly the underdog. I am David simply because when this is over, it will be the GKD, “Godly’ Ken Davison, that is standing in the middle of the arena victorious while you will be on the flat of your back.”

I fold my hands in prayer in front of me, giving Kyra the signal to stop the recording.