“How the fuck do I explain to Adina that I am fighting her uncle and her aunt’s boyfriend?” Ken speaks aloud to Kyra, who is standing in front of the bathroom mirror that is adjacent to their bedroom. Kyra looks away from the mirror to answer Ken, all the while struggling to get an earring in.

“I don’t know. Maybe just fucking tell her.” Admittedly, Ken hadn’t thought about being that straightforward. “Tell her about our India trip. That might distract her. Shit, Ken. Why are you asking me?”

“I don’t know,” Ken responds, using the same tone he had heard just a few moments before. “Maybe because you’re her fucking mother?”

Ken’s tone is light and playful. He’s making a very conscious choice not to piss off his wife.

“You really think it’s that easy?”

“Ken, you were the one who explained to her why she found a video of you kicking me in the babymaker on YouTube. You can’t handle this?”

Ken is a bit taken aback. ’I mean, she’s not wrong,’ he thinks to himself. They just weren’t in the habit of bringing up their first ever meeting. “

Fine. Fine. Fine. I’ll go have the conversation. But, I’m really not sure how this is going to go.”

“Hey, come here.” Kyra grabs Ken by his orange tie and pulls him in for a kiss. “You’re going to be fine.”

“Alright. Might as well get this out of the way.”

Ken reluctantly walks downstairs and into the kitchen, where he finds Adina engorging herself on a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.

“Hey, baby girl. You got a minute?”

“Whatcha want, Daddy?”

That never failed to make Ken smile.

“There’s a couple of things. First one is I wanted to know how you would feel about taking a trip to India?”

“Indiana?”

“No, India. The country.”

“That’s what I said. Why we goin’ there?”

“Well, I’ve got a match against Mac that I have to get ready for and they need me over there.”

“So why you gonna be up Uncle Macky?” Adina says with a side eye that could rival her mother.

“Well, it’s the only way I can win the World Championship over there.”

Chloe Hawkhurst walks into the kitchen, thankfully taking the heat off of Ken for a minute. She had been a great addition to the family, acting as a sort of older sister to Adina.

“My dad fought Mac’s son and they were totally besties. It’s just the sort of thing you do when you’re a wrestler.”

“Really? Why you wanna do that?”

“It’s not like we want to beat each other up. It’s the same with me and Rogan. We both want to be…”

“What?!” Adina interrupts. “You’re gonna beat up Aunt Lucy’s boyfriend, too?”

“You know, squirt, you really don’t catch on for someone who has grown up around this shit.”

“Brown word!”

“Adina. It’s not like that. I’m trying to beat Uncle Mac and Rogan. I’m not trying to hurt them. I just want to pin or submit them as quickly and painlessly as possible.”

“Like that’s gonna happen.”

“You’re not helping, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Mac and I, Rogan and I, we respect each other. Hell, I respect Mac more than any other opponent I have ever faced. We’re in a physical line of work. It’s just what we do. We’d never actually injure each other.”

“Accidents happen, kiddo. But we love you anyway.”

“Chloe!” Ken yells. Before he can even turn his head, that sassy little Mini-Kyra was already at it.

“Well, you was born by the highway cuz that’s where most accidents happen.”

Ken can’t do anything other than facepalm, in such a way that only another parent can understand.

“Are you two serious?” Ken says as he slowly removes his eyes from behind his hand. “Chloe, can Adina and I finish our talk?”

“I’m gonna hit the gym anyway. Be home around noon. Cool?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Besides, you’ve helped enough.”

“Glad to be of service.” Chloe says, saluting as she walks out the door, laughing at herself. “SOOOOOOOO triggered!”

Ken takes a second to turn around and grab his coffee cup, one that coincidentally reads “I WISH YOU WERE FLUENT IN SHUTTING THE FUCK UP.” “Where was this two minutes ago?’  he thinks to himself as he turns back to Adina.

“OOOOOH! It says the orange word! I’mma gonna tell momma!”

“Who do you think bought it for me?”

Adina’s face drops. Thinking she was going to get Ken in trouble, this was a bit of a letdown for her.

“So, do you haveta beat up Uncle Macky and Rognar?”

“Rogan, and yes. I do. Like Chloe said, it’s what we do. I’m a wrestler. I wrestle. It’s how I provide for you.”

“And Chloe!” Adina chimes in.

“Her too. But that’s how we’re able to go all these places. Remember how I told you we’re going to India? That’s for work. But, that’s not the point.”

“Then what is the point?”

“Let me ask you something. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“A ballerina cage fighter!”

“Oooooookay. Let’s go with that. So, do you want to be the best ballerina cage fighter?”

“Just the bestest!”

“Right. So, I want to be the best, what I am supposed to do?”

Adina looks at Ken knowingly, then drops her eyes to the floor.

“I get it. Is that why you gotta beat up Aunt Lucy’s boyfriend, too?”

“Nope. That’s for fun!”

“Then you’re a meanie!” Adina shouts, obviously missing the joking tone in Ken’s voice.

“Remember when we took you to Wrestlestock and I won that match with all the flags?”

“Yeah! That was fun!”

“Well, the winner of that match earned a shot at his championship. Let me tell you, kiddo, that’s going to be a tough one. You think I’m ready?”

“You beat a buncha different people. You can beat up one guy.”

Ken takes a sip of his coffee.

“I hope so, kiddo. I certainly hope so.”

“Godly” Ken Davison sits in the bleachers of the nearly empty Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium watching as the ring is being assembled for his next match. He wears an almost cotton candy-colored soccer jersey with baby blue sleeves emblazoned with the Jaipur Pink Panthers logo over his right pectoral muscle. A few rows back, you can hear Ken’s daughter Adina squealing in the background as she is running through the rows as quickly as she possibly can followed in close pursuit by her mother. Somehow, Ken manages to tune the distraction out, looking out onto the field, focused on the task at hand.

“I cannot believe, at 44 years old, that I am sitting here in Jaipur, India for a wrestling show. The fact that my family and I are 12,109 kilometers, which comes out to roughly 7,525 miles, the fact that we are this far from home, seeing the world as I pursue a title that can truly be called a world championship, amazes me. What also amazes me is how far I have come professionally. Four years ago, I had been enjoying retirement. I was done… Out of the game. Then, I had my heart attack. I came back to prove to myself that I could still do this. I think I’ve done a Kendamned fine job of proving to myself, and everyone else, that I am still one of the best in the world.”

“Rogan MacLean, This match is going to be a very interesting match for a number of reasons. I’m already picturing Lucy and Kyra sitting in the back watching this match, looking back and forth at each other awkwardly as we do what we need to do in the ring.”

Ken pauses for a good five seconds, carefully choosing his words.

“I know going into this match then I am automatically the underdog. even though the Baltimore Elite are the longest reigning champions in the Coalition right now, that will not matter. I know that things have been very much hit-and-miss for me as a singles competitor in this company. I know that people will no doubt my chances simply because they are not used to seeing me standing on my own two feet. This year has been a very good year for me; personally and professionally, every aspect of my life is elevated from where it was just one year before. Unlike some other members of this roster, from the day I set foot in this company I haven’t asked for a Kendamned thing except for the opportunity to prove exactly how good the Baltimore Elite are. I didn’t sit there and cry. I didn’t tell anyone who would listen about the fact that I deserve a championship opportunity just because I’ve held a different championship. At Wrestlestock, I stood on my own and I went out and I earned my opportunity.“

“The one thing I can tell you honestly is that I am coming into this match from a position of respect. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I don’t have some kind of conflict going on inside of my head and my heart. In order to win championships, I would sink to the lowest of depths in order to get what I wanted. As I hope you’ve seen oh, that is not the man I am today. It wasn’t until I began earning people’s respect that I realized exactly how much someone’s actions tarnish that respect or even cause you to lose someone’s respect. A quote from Rodger Federer, a man who should be recognized as one of the finest athletes to ever play the sport of tennis, once said “I fear no one, but I respect everyone.” The first time I ever heard that quote it’s struck a chord inside of me. I was a man that wanted to be feared. It was a tactic that worked for well over 20 years. Yet, here I am doing everything I can by the book, trying to set an example of honor and accountability for my daughter, and I am still finding the same success.”

Ken sits back, interlocking his fingers as he folds his hands in front of him as he takes a deep breath in. He holds it, for a moment, before lowering his hands and exhaling.

“I respect you and the hard work that you have put in to get to the level where you are at today. It doesn’t matter who it is that I have faced. it doesn’t matter if I won or lost those matches. Every single solitary maneuver, not just each match. I want to stress this; every strike, every hold, every submission, and every reversal has brought me to this moment and this opportunity. Though I may not have respected them in the moment I am able to look back and say that I respect my past opponents, maybe not as people, but I still respect the hard work that they put in just as much as I respect the work I’ve put in myself.”

“The funny thing about this situation, one that I think it’s quite important to make note of, is that I didn’t even plan on entering the District Conquest match. I entered this match on a whim. I didn’t watch any previous iterations of it. I didn’t prepare myself in any way shape or form. I literally just sat down in front of a camera and started talking to announce my intentions of joining the match. I look back at the other people in that match like Ezra Wolf, Vespertine, that disco guy, and that Bronie fellow. I saw how prepared they were, or thought they were given me rather strange nature of the match. For them oh, they had prepared themselves in their mind for a conquest Championship opportunity. I walked into that match and won that match for no reason other than I was bored.”

Half of Ken’s face contorts up words as he smirks at the camera.

“That reminded me, on so many levels, of exactly when I am capable of on my own. I have built up quite the resume over the years. it is a resume I would like to build up further. While my ultimate goal it’s two become one half of the greatest Cooperative team that the Coalition has ever seen, that does not mean it has to be my only goal. I see no reason why I should settle. I see no reason why I can’t walk into synergy with one Championship belt and then walk out with one more. I understand my position in your career right now. From a strictly professional standpoint, I don’t care about the fact that you want to win five consecutive championship matches. I don’t care about the fact that you want a shot at the World Championship. I don’t care what you want out of this because this is about what I want. This is about what Kyra wants. Now, I don’t normally speak for my wife, but I can tell you that we want the best for each other. This means that she will fully support me and stand beside me as I attempt to dethrone one hell of a champion. I give credit where credit is due and you have consistently been one of the best wrestlers in this company during my tenure here. That having been said, that does not mean that you are better than I am. What that means is that you have been given better opportunities than I have.”

“In the year that I’ve been here, the Baltimore Elite has watched as team after team traded The Cooperative championships. Then we had to watch as team after team dropped out of the division. Since day one, we have not been given opportunities. We have scratched and clawed and done whatever was necessary to create our own opportunities. That is why we stood in the middle of that ring and we threw out our open challenge to any and all teams in this entire Kendamned industry. That is what I did the night before by marching into the District Conquest and walking out like a Conquering Hero. That is the mentality I had walking into both of those matches. That is the mentality I will have marching into this match. I want what you have. I want you to defend that with fervor, with an intensity that has not been brought out of you in a long time. I ask myself if you truly respect me the way I respect you. If you do, if you honestly and truly do, you will come at me with a burning fire of anger and hatred. because I respect you and I know what I have to do to beat you, I am going to do the same. From the time that bell rings to begin the match until the time that bell rings to end the match I am going to show you how much I respect you and your abilities by trying to tear that championship out of your hands by any legal means necessary.”

Ken stands up and walks down to the railing that separates the field from the seating area. He leans over the railing, arms folded in front of him to support his weight.

“I need to give you clear picture of exactly what the Conquest Championship memes for me. Right now I am standing in the middle of Jaipur, India, preparing for a world championship match of my own. Yes, you heard that. I’m preparing for a world championship match against a man I consider to be my brother. Sunday night I have a match here in this very Stadium. The Conquest Championship is so important to me that I am going to step out of the ring, I’m going to go get in the shower with my smokin hot wife, then we’re going to get dressed, get on the red eye and we’re coming back to Chicago so I can watch Kyra beat Sebastian Everett Bryce’s ass before I walk out as the new UGWC Conquest champion.”

“What I want see, when all is said and done, is to be remembered one of this company’s greatest competitors. I have no doubt that the Baltimore Elite will go down in history as one of the best teams in this company’s history. When it comes to things like my life, I admit to being selfish. Rogan, this is a double edged sword. In some ways, I am very much saddened that this has to be you. At the same time, I cannot think of another wrestler that I would be more honored to be facing. This opportunity more to me than I can put into words. This is not an opportunity that I plan to squander. I’ve been very clear about the fact that while I respect you, I am not afraid of you. I’m not afraid to do what I need to do to relieve you of the Conquest Championship and on Monday you will find that I am a man of my word.”

Ken stands up straight, staring at the camera and exuding confidence as the camera fades to black.