XIV

“Godly” Ken Davison is a human juxtaposition. Inside of the ring, he is supremely confident. He knows he is one of the best to ever lace up a pair of boots. His resume speaks for itself. Outside of the ring, he is a very different man. Ken is lost, confused and questions everything. The fact that he dropped everything and moved to Baltimore to dedicate more time to his blossoming relationship with Kyra Johnson was shocking. Perhaps no one was more surprised by the decision than the man who made it.

Ken looks down at his phone, trying to decide if he is already messing up a good thing.

‘Yeah…’ Ken thinks to himself. ‘That went over like a fart in church.’

Ken sits outside in the Colorado snow, in Denver to tie up some business dealings. He was hoping to get in some skiing while he was in the area, but the wildfires killed that idea. So, instead of the slopes of Aspen, he is sitting outside of a Starbucks on Denver’s 16th Street Mall. He looks at the falling snow, taking a sip of his Pumpkin Spice Latte.

“I hope this doesn’t delay my flight.” Ken ponders aloud. He looks back down at his phone, waiting for a call… a message… something. He presses something on his phone, sighing as he looks around him. “At least this place is a Pokestop.”

At that moment, the chorus of “Chick Magnet” by MxPx plays. Ken quickly answers the call.

“Brohan!!!” the excited voice of Ken’s brother Sean fills his ear. “How you doin’, bud?”

“Just peachy.”

“What’s the sitch?”

“I don’t know. Just not sure what I’m doing.”

“Kicking ass and taking names from the look of it.”

“Not that, I mean in general. I spend way too much time thinking. Well, overthinking would be way more appropriate, if I’m being honest. I just don’t think I’m ready for all of this.”

“You must make yourself emotionally available.” Sean says in his best Dr. Phil voice. Ken lets out a small chuckle.

“Something like that.”

“Dude, we all know you are your own worst enemy. It’s normal. It’s human. You’re human, whether you like to believe it or not. I know you’ve had your walls up forever, but you have got to let them down.”

“I know. I know.”

“Here’s the thing, you have to take care of yourself, man. Self-management is like the hardest thing for most people to do. How you gonna love someone else if you don’t love yourself? And in your situation, that’s not easy. You are unreasonably hard on yourself. From what you’ve told me, your lady is hard on herself. I watch Twitter. I’ve seen all the shit the other peeps in your company say about you. You get less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. You are like your own bad boss. You only notice all the bad shit and not the good stuff.”

“Fair.”

“Look at it this way. You beat the Blast dude. Your title wasn’t on the line, am I right? So, what was the point in putting yourself through that? I mean, I know you are a prideful bastard, but you went above and beyond anything I have ever seen you do. You weren’t just fighting for yourself. If she’s got eyes, I am sure Kyra saw that too.”

“Okay. Nice talk, coach.”

“I’m not done. You need to take care of yourself first. I can’t wait to meet Kyra and I know you fought for her as much as yourself, but, bro, seriously, you gotta do things not you. I don’t mean that in a selfish kinda way. You gotta… let’s look at it like this. If you are a plane, and then oxygen masks drop, you gotta put yours on first. Otherwise, you might be able to help one person, but if you go lights out, you ain’t helpin’ anyone.”

“That makes sense.”

“But you have to do it in a healthy way. You held on for so long, and I appreciate that and I love you for it. But you did it at your own expense. That’s the one thing I was never able to get through to you.”

“You’ve always been a good one, Sean. You’ve been a better man than I could ever hope to be.”

“See? That right there. That’s what I am talking about. You need to stop underselling yourself. If you put all that energy you’ve spent and put it towards something positive, you could build something amazing.”

“I’m trying. That’s the thing.”

“I know, and I see that. But there’s more to it than just taking care of yourself. You aren’t perfect, dude. No one is.”

“Okay, fine. But you know that’s not who I am. That’s not how I’m wired.”

“And that’s fine. You have to take to things one step at a time. Recognizing that is HUGE.”

“So, do I get some kind of award or something?”

“That’s not the only thing, brohan. You gotta change your specs.”

“I will do what I can.”

“Work on yourself, brother. If you and Kyra connect the way you say you do, she’ll help you work through this.”

“I appreciate the pep talk. I really do. But I have to go. The bus to the airport is down the street.”

“Sounds like you’re just peacing out before I get to the good stuff.”

“I wish that was the case. I know you mean well, but I really have to go. I promise I won’t be so hard on myself.”

“Alright. Love you, bro.”

“Love you, too.”

The bus pulls up and lets out some air as the doors open and Ken hangs up the phone. He gets on the bus and finds an empty seat, looking down at his phone and smiling.

The scene opens inside of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The camera is looking over the Baltimore skyline, or what would be the Baltimore skyline if the Bromo Seltzer Tower and the Hilton Baltimore Convention Center weren’t blocking the view. Turning slowly, the camera gives fans a view of the right field and the seats on the first base side, before settling on the seats above the home dugout. The black seats are empty aside for one of them. The man occupying that seat notices the camera is on him and stands up and begins walking down the stairs at a slow, deliberate pace. Even from the distance, you can tell he is walking quite gingerly. The man walking is dressed in a vintage Cal Ripken Jr. Orioles jersey and a matching hat. As he reaches the bottom of the stairs, you can see that the man has his pointer and middle fingers taped together, being held straight by the same splint. He steps onto the top of the dugout as though he owns it and lifts his head, showing the camera that he is “Godly” Ken Davison.

“Cal Ripken Jr. is, quite simply speaking, a legend. He was known as “Iron Man” because he played in a Major League Baseball record 2,632 consecutive games. Our equivalent, here in Carnage Wrestling, is Jack Michaels. On one level, I have proven that I am better than him by defeating him, by beating him so badly that his daughter had to throw in the towel. I promised Kyra that I would do ‘many a great, terrible thing’ for her. Thus far, I have proven to be a man of my word.”

“When I won the Carnage Wrestling World Championship, I was able to fulfill my destiny, a destiny I prophesied when I first arrived here. The reason I make mention of this is that Jack Michaels is the be-all and end-all of Carnage Wrestling, our ‘Iron Man’ so to speak. He held the Championship for 512 days. He successfully defended the Championship 7 times. He is the measuring stick against which all other champions will be measured. While he allowed me to become the only person to ever take down each and every member of Paragon, he took away the opportunity to begin chipping away at his legacy and building my own.”

Davison unbuttons the top few buttons on the jersey, revealing a tee-shirt emblazoned with an orange rose with angel wings behind it. Not surprisingly, he is also wearing the Carnage World Championship around his waist. 

“The reason this matters to all of you is because it is my goal to be the face of Carnage Wrestling. I don’t want to be the face of Carnage Wrestling right now. I want to be the face that is associated with the company for the entirety of its existence. To do that, I need to replace Jack Michaels. I need to defend this championship against any and all comers. That should have started with “The Blast” himself, but he took that opportunity away from me. Then, you have JC and Matt Knox talking about how I’m not defending the title. Unless Amber remembers what it’s like to win, at least I am going to get the opportunity to shut one of the two of them up. For the record, kiddies, I know the only way to do that is to break your jaws. I know you saw what I did to Amber. I know you saw what I did to Jack. Don’t think for a second that I would hesitate to do the same, or worse, to you. Back to the original point, I hear JC and Matt Knox loud and clear.”

“While I hear people such as JC and Knox yapping like little chihuahuas, making sure they get their shots by doing nothing to get noticed aside from running their mouths, you have to look at the people who do things the right way. You have to notice people who do things in the ring. You have to notice people who actually accomplish something in the squared circle. You have to notice people like my opponent, Adrienne Levi.”

“As a former Baltimore City Champion myself, I can appreciate the feeling of representing this…” Davison’s face contorts in disgust. “fine city. To see everything that Adrienne Levi has overcome to earn that championship is amazing. Don’t misunderstand me. She is a fine wrestler. She has all the skills that make for a great wrestler. She’s a role model, someone your children could, and frankly, should look up to. If I could describe her in one word, ‘ball’ would be the word I would choose.”

Davison pauses, allowing time for the audience at home to try and process her words.

“What a peculiar choice. ‘How in the hell does the word ’ball.’ make any sense?’ Glad you asked. Think about it. She’s fun. She’s bouncy. She can hurt you if she hits you hard enough. But she has no edge. It is a sad, but for me, relatable situation.”

Davison sits down, letting his legs dangle off the top of the dugout.

“Allow me, if you will, a chance to regale you of a tale of my youth.”

Davison slides down, grabbing the railing as you land to steady himself. He walks out of the dugout and begins walking on the grass of the first base side.

“Picture it. Boston, 1996.  I was an 18-year-old child. I had been wrestling for a little under 2 years at the time for a very, very small company.  At the time, I was known as Tunzafun. I was the biggest face in the company. I did what I was told. The promoter saw a wrestler in another company who handed out a pair of shares to a kid in the crowd. So, what did he do? He told me to dress up in a pair of footie pajamas, come to the ring to the theme song from Sesame Street, fuckin’ Sesame Street, and give a kid in the crowd a teddy bear. Somehow, it was over huge.”

“In my head, I’m thinking that people should picture me driving around offering kids free candy while living in a van down by the river. But, it was the 90s. Everyone had an over the top gimmick. Plumbers, porn stars, coroners… who’s going to question an overgrown manchild? But, I digress.”

“The point I am trying to make is that I was going nowhere. I was the most recognizable face in the company, but I lost every match. They built my entire career on the fact that I was young. They built it on the fact that I was supposed to be an underdog. They built it on the fact that at 5′ 10″ tall, I was at least 6″ shorter than my next smallest apartment. They built it on the fact that at 209 pounds, my opponents all outweighed me by at least 50 pounds. Wrestling back then it was the land of giants and I was there to sell T-shirts and make them look good. I toed the company line. I did as I was told. I wasn’t allowed to grow a mustache because they wanted me to keep up my youthful appearance. And for a time, I did what I was told. I was just happy to be there. If the barometer you use to measure your career is just being there, I was successful as all hell. I was held back, no, held down because I was too nice. For Adrienne Levy to be able to challenge, let alone win, the Baltimore City Championship even though she has about as much fire as a spoonful of mayonnaise, is an accomplishment she should be proud of.”

Davison walks out to the center of the field taking his place, standing on the pitcher mound.

“That isn’t to say that you aren’t capable, Adrienne. That is to say that you aren’t motivated. What I have done is make a career out of people doubting me. It took people doubting me more and more for me to finally say ‘enough.’ It took someone pointing out how much she was taken for granted and ignored for her to finally say enough. Adrienne, you would be wise to learn that people will use you, step on you as though you are the proverbial doormat. That was exactly who I was when I was 19. That is who Kyra was just a few months ago. Adrienne, it is time to learn your own worth. No one determines your own value more than you do.”

“That is why I chose to stand here. No one in baseball controls the flow of a game more than the pitcher. One small decision can mean the difference between a strikeout and a home run, the difference between victory and defeat. The same logic applies to wrestling. One decision can mean the difference between winning a match and losing one. That decision, Ms. Levi, is not always one made in the ring. The decision can be something as simple as what strategy to use going into the match or something that spans as far as your attitude in the ring. Adrienne, recognize that I have walked your path. Recognize that I once walked the path of the righteous, slowly making my way through the Valley of the Stupid. I no longer walk, I march through the valley, my queen by my side and together we rule Carnage Wrestling. This gives you one of two options. “

Davison holds up his good hand and holds two fingers up.

“One. You call your proctologist and schedule a cranial extraction. That’s a fancy way of telling you to get your head out of your ass. You are the Baltimore City Champion and it’s about Kendamned time you acted that way. It doesn’t matter how you feel about yourself outside of the ring. That’s option one.”

Davison lowers one of his fingers, leaving his index finger in the air.

“Two. You continue to act the same way. You continue the status quo. You stand there like a deer in headlights and you get trampled underfoot as I march through you on my way to successfully defending the Carnage Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship at Chaos 102.”

Davison’s face turns to one of mock sadness.

“The truth of the matter is that even if you were to come around to my way of thinking, I am better than you in every conceivable way. I am stronger than you. I am smarter than you. I am more experienced than you. Most importantly, I am more vicious than you. I said that I would put my championship on the line at Chaos 101 and that is because I have the utmost confidence that I can and will defeat you. For you have been weighed. You have been measured. And you have been found wanting.”

“Now, Adrienne, I know how sad it is to be in your situation. Do you know what it’s like to be in mine? It’s phenomenal. You could not feel any better than I feel right now. I have an amazing woman by my side. I have the World Championship. I have my name in everyone else’s mouth. You see, when you are The Man, all you have to do is wake up. There is nothing I haven’t seen. There is nothing I cannot do. You, Adrienne, take notes. I am The Man. Whether you are with me or against me, it is irrelevant. Nothing changes because everybody wants to be “Godly” Ken Davison. Everybody wants to be where I am today. At Chaos 101, Adrienne, I am giving you a chance to stand across the ring with greatness. It’s up to you to show the world that you belong there.”