05-13-2020, 09:15 PM
I found a good piece of history to share for Donovan Kayl… here you go. Enjoy. Formatting got messed up in translation, so it's unformatted...
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If Alex Desoubrais, in some other world, were to come up to me today and ask for my advice on the matter – whether or not he should show up for our scheduled match at Rise to Greatness – I would honestly have to think about it. I mean shit, there are a lot of factors that need to be brought into consideration. Can he, a man in his 50’s, keep up with a man of my calibre, talent and prestige? What are the ramifications if he were to compete? Or if he were to refuse? And, more than that, is he capable not of survival in the ring, but survival away from it? I mean let’s face it – this industry has a particular hold on people, myself included. And then I’d have to look at the people CHBK has affected in SCW during his tenure. Sure, there are the names he throws out whenever he tries to talk himself up: Jason Wheeler, Damian Angel and so on, people who are no longer with SCW – at least as far as anyone knows. He is dubbed “The Epitome of SCW”, and with good reason. For eleven years, he has been a central part of this company. He has built others up and watched them fall…
And it’s the latter part that is truly troublesome. In the eleven years CHBK has been a part of SCW, names and faces have come and gone, but he has remained. He’s had associates come and go, cast aside when their usefulness to him comes to an end. I would argue that, even when he would walk down that ramp and step into this ring with the support of the people who, in a few short hours, will fill these seats, he was never about the health and success of Supreme Championship Wrestling – Only CHBK. And, if SCW were to close down shop tomorrow, he would go elsewhere to find some other talent to latch onto. As often as CHBK compares me to names who have tried to make their names off of him – an erroneous assertion, by the way – I have seen CHBK before. Men like Marco Lopez, Mario’s bastard twin brother, or Derek Clix, the six-time World Champion who wanted nothing more than to be seen as my better, or even Timothy Raine, who had this innate ability to convince the hottest up and comers to associate with him. These are men who, by and large, are CHBK in other forms. The difference between those three and CHBK?
They eventually just went home.
And that would be my advice to CHBK. If he were to come up to me and ask me, man to man, what I thought he should do, I would tell him straight-up and without reservation: Go home.
Now, I’m sure there are those among the outside world that would see me say that and assume that I am somehow scared to face CHBK – that the “Epitome of SCW” is too much for “The Cornerstone of Professional Wrestling” to overcome. They would be wrong. And that’s the problem – you look around SCW, and you see far too many people who are willing to sit cross-legged in the corner, plug their fingers in their ears and sing to themselves rather than actually tell that man what reality is saying. With every surgery, his body yells “STOP”, but he surrounds himself with people who have bought into the idea that CHBK is SCW in such a great way that they are all too willing to tell him just how much he is needed in SCW, and how the company cannot POSSIBLY survive without him. Of course, since he’s hearing what he wants to hear, CHBK goes right along with it.
I’ve never been one to follow the voice of a crowd, and that means I’m not willing to tell CHBK that SCW would be doomed without him, because I know what that kind of bullshit does to a man’s mind, and CHBK’s is far too gone to fix with the honesty anyway. If CHBK truly cared about his well-being, he won’t show at Rise to Greatness. He’ll settle into a happy retirement and live out whatever days he has left knowing he gave all he could to the company that made him a star and watch when that company flourishes out of his shadow. But he’ll never do that, because he couldn’t possibly allow SCW to shine without him or to exceed his shadow. He wants to remain the “Epitome of SCW” for as long as there IS an SCW…
And that is something I must put an end to.
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Donovan Kayl’s home in Orlando, Florida was relatively unassuming, particularly considering the often lavish tastes professional wrestlers have, especially those whose spouses are former competitors in their own right turned fashion mogul, as Donovan’s wife Chloe Barnes is. So that their Florida home, even as one in a gated community, defies convention may come as a surprise to one who doesn’t quite know the family. It is here that Donovan spends the last night before Rise to Greatness, the biggest Pay Per View event of the year in Supreme Championship Wrestling. Sitting back on his back patio, Donovan sits alone, nursing a glass of water. He knows that he has a 3 and a half hour drive ahead of him Sunday for the big event – and that’s if traffic is as expected – so he doesn’t want to risk any kind of impairment on his end for when he goes.
It’s the same drive he has already been making all week, since SCW Fanfest activities began in Miami prior to the PPV extravaganza. Between autograph signings, ComiCon-style panels and other activities, Donovan needed a night away to unwind and to reflect on the year that had been. It had been a roller-coaster of a year, starting with the moment his knee connected with CHBK’s temple at Rise to Greatness 2013 in his hometown of Toronto, Ontario. It led to dizzying highs – Defeating CHBK at the inaugural War of the Roses event and winning the SCW World Tag Team Championships with Simon Lyman back in November in a match that history may call the best tag team contest of the year – and harrowing lows – his first PPV match where Alex Desoubrais Jr., CHBK’s son, turned against him and led to a three-on-one assault against him being a particular misstep that Donovan wished he could rewrite. It was also a year he watched CHBK harass his wife on his own doorstep, something he was sure would not happen in Orlando because, just as CHBK had mockingly pointed out what was lacking in Maryland, Florida does, in fact, have a Stand Your Ground law.
Not that Donovan wanted his rival shot in the chest.
And it was a year in which Donovan’s cousin had gone off the rails completely, sacrificing his own SCW career in a desperate attempt to take the SCW World Heavyweight Championship. It was only after that, after the weight of the world had crashed around him, that Devon Kayl stepped up to his cousin and, instead of laying into him with profanity-laced tirades about how the Cornerstone was encroaching on “his” territory, sought help.
For Donovan, it was that moment that accentuated this battle… and as he looks down at his glass of water, he catches the reflection of another person standing behind him.
Donovan: I didn’t think you were coming.
For Devon Kayl, even coming to Florida for Rise to Greatness was a bittersweet occasion. This was the company that he had given so much to that he eventually felt as though he was owed the World Championship as thanks. It had brought him his wife, Skylar Desoubrais – daughter of Donovan’s RTG opponent – but it had also brought him unspeakable problems. And, the deeper Devon went into his obsession with the World Championship, particularly while he refused to address those problems, the more harm he was doing to everything: Family, career, life.
Devon: I almost didn’t.
Donovan: Did you bring it?
Devon Kayl did, in fact, bring “it” with him, and he reaches down over his cousin’s shoulder as he sets his newly-won GCW World Championship belt on table in front of him. Donovan glances over, seeing the belt in front of his face.
Devon: Don’t leave home without it, right? You never know when a couple of burglars might show up and try to ransack the place. Then, I’d be out replacement costs…
Donovan: Unless you’re able to tackle the burglars.
Devon: True enough.
Another pause, as Donovan surveys the plate of the belt.
Donovan: How does it feel, Champ?
Devon: Like… it’s everything I ever thought it would be. Like years of hard work and sacrifice actually paid off. Like…
Donovan: Like you did it yourself.
Devon: Yeah.
Donovan: I know I talk about family a lot… and family should always be there to support one another, even when it’s tough, but I am proud of you kid. You needed this, and you did it without injuring anyone’s leg…
Devon swallows deeply.
Donovan: Or employing a muscle in your corner to tip the odds in your favour.
Devon: It was tempting.
Donovan: No… you did it the right way. You deserve this belt without question.
Devon reaches over, taking the GCW belt back in his hands as Donovan turns back to his water. They both knew the conversation wouldn’t all be about the success Devon enjoyed earlier this day. There were far more serious conversations to be had…
Donovan: So what changed your mind?
Donovan turns around, facing his cousin for the first time with the glass of water in his hand. Devon, leaning back against the wall, ponders the question.
Devon: Truthfully?
Donovan: I wouldn’t expect less.
Devon: I don’t know.
Donovan pauses.
Donovan: Not quite the answer I was expecting.
Devon: I’m in a good place right now with GCW. I was afraid that if I had stepped into an SCW arena again, even with a ticket, even as a spectator rather than a participant or a paid commentator, I might relapse and find myself struggling to recover from it again. I didn’t want to jeopardize all of the progress I had made…
Donovan: But…?
Devon pauses this time, looking to Donovan. Of course there was a “but”. How his cousin was able to figure it out so easily was something that concerned him slightly, but he didn’t let that show too much. After all, isn’t there always a “but”?
Devon: But I just felt compelled to come here. It’s like… SCW was my home for so long. I couldn’t imagine not attending Rise to Greatness, even as a fan if need be. This weekend is what the entire year is building towards. But listen to me, telling you about the industry. You’ve probably gone through many of these things with the SWA.
It was true – Donovan had been involved in many fanfest events over the years – eight years of Birthday Bash and Colossalcade, both of which typically brought great fanfare.
Devon: Besides, I wanted to see you take my old man down again.
This one brought something of a chuckle out of Donovan Kayl, and if he had managed to get any of the water from his glass into his throat in that instance, might have caused him to choke a little bit.
Donovan: He’s your father-in-law.
Devon: And maybe if someone had reminded him of that fact two years ago…
There was a hint of bitterness in the younger man’s voice.
Donovan: You mean…?
Devon: You know his way, Donnie. You’ve been experiencing it right now with what he’s doing to Mikeala… what he had done to Regan. That’s how he operates – he gets whatever mileage he can get out of someone, and then when he’s done with them, he moves on to someone else. I’ve seen it happen so many times over the years, and the goal is always the same.
Donovan: Stay on top.
Devon: Even if it means being an inevitable albatross around someone else’s neck.
Donovan nods. That, to him, is exactly what he had committed to driving out of SCW when he signed one year ago. He had seen the damage such action can do over a long period of time and didn’t want to see yet another promotion come under the same fate.
Donovan: And the drive to get his support…
Devon lowers his head, knowing exactly the point that his cousin is making – and how true it is.
Devon: … Can be even more maddening than standing against him.
Donovan: You still need to make up for breaking Regan’s leg.
Devon: I know, man. Believe me… I want to! I was in a tough spot, quite possibly rock bottom – but that doesn’t excuse a God damn thing.
Donovan: It doesn’t.
Devon: So what did you have in mind?
Donovan: I beg your pardon?
Donovan takes a drink of water, a natural reflex upon hearing something not quite right.
Devon: Come on, I know your connections. You’re close to Regan now after she saw Alex for what he really is. Surely there has to be something you can do or say to get her to at least open a little bit to my attempt to apologize again.
Donovan: That’s true.
Devon: And I know you have this view that “family comes first”, so you don’t want blood rage between a cousin by blood and a cousin by marriage to become a distraction.
Donovan: It doesn’t distract me.
Devon hangs his head.
Devon: You’re going to make me say it again, aren’t you?
Donovan: I don’t know what you’re talking about…
Devon: I need your help.
Donovan: Oh… that! Okay, here’s a thought…
Devon smirks.
Devon: I knew you were holding out on me.
Donovan: Don’t think of it as “holding out”. Think of it more as “receiving payment”.
Devon: You can be such an asshole, you know that?
Donovan: I’ve heard rumours.
Devon: So how are we going to trick Regan into forgiving me?
Donovan sits back a little.
Donovan: Whoa… make no mistake here. Regan’s not going to be tricked into forgiving you. Hell, this may not even accomplish her forgiving you. I’m not guaranteeing results. I’m guaranteeing intrinsic value.
Devon: Well that’s kind of a cop-out.
Donovan: I like to think of it as self-improvement with possible benefits.
Devon: Anyway, details.
Donovan: Since you and Skylar left SCW, is there anyone here who knows CHBK better than the two of you?
Devon: Besides Alex himself? Maybe Ravyn or Alju?
Donovan: Alju?
Donovan ponders, a bit confused for a brief moment in time, before…
Donovan: Oh… right. Well, they’re non-factors, and considering Mikeala Street’s fallen hook, line and sinker into his hands like putty…
Devon: Yeah… Mikeala…
Donovan: What?
Devon: If there’s one person who wants to talk to me less than Regan, it’s Mikeala. I’ll be honest – I was pretty fucking creepy with her.
Donovan: That’s true… so imagine how she might react when she finds out why you were driven to such depths… and by whom.
Devon opens his mouth, seeking a trademark witty retort, something to throw Donovan off course. However, as his lips move, Devon is stunned to discover that no sound is coming out. He cannot argue with the logic…
Devon: I can’t argue with that logic.
Donovan: You know more than anyone what that man is capable of doing to someone mentally – not a mind game against an opponent, but what his former support can do to someone who doesn’t have it. Mikeala may see the bright lights right now and find herself blinded by it, but she’s a smart girl. The glitz and glamour will soon fade and she’ll see CHBK for what he really is.
Devon is again left pondering.
Donovan: What? You’re doing that “figuring stuff out” face again.
Devon: That’s not a face… that’s just my face. And I can’t help but think that you want me to convince Mikeala of Alex’s impure motives because you’ve been unsuccessful at it.
Donovan: If it works, I’ll be a genius.
Devon: And if it fails?
Donovan: I’m a genius with a poor plan. You know better than anyone what happens in that light, and after that light is gone. You’ll figure it out.
Donovan rises from his chair to his feet, stopping first to shake any restlessness out of his legs before he makes his way to the back door to enter into his home.
Devon: That’s it? “You’ll figure it out” and gone?
Donovan: Hey… I have a big match tomorrow and a beautiful wife upstairs waiting for me. Now, are you staying in the guest room or not?
Devon pauses briefly…
Devon: Yes?
Donovan: Good… you can drive me out to Miami tomorrow.
Devon: Hey! I didn’t agree to that.
Donovan smirks.
Donovan: You didn’t have you. I volunteered you for it.
Devon: … God dammit.
Donovan enters the house, followed by Devon behind him. The light to the back patio turns off and the scene goes black…
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I had been paying attention to Supreme Championship Wrestling for a few years – at least as long as my cousin had been using my name in the company. In fact, the very fact that there are still people who, to this day, think that talking about their history with “Donovan Kayl” as a means to get one over on the genuine article is a smart strategy to employ. To be honest, I was happy letting him have his time, even with my name. Sure, he made some choices that I wouldn’t have made, but that’s part of the benefit of being one’s own man… he wasn’t an avatar for me. He was doing his own thing.
However, the moment that truly opened my eyes to the company was a little over a year ago – the moment when Alex Desoubrais booked a bra and panties match between my cousin Regan Street and another associate of his, Syren… simply for his own amusement. Think about that – this man, for lack of a better term, booked a match for no other reason than because he was allowed to. He put two of the finest athletes – and let’s just drop this “woman wrestler vs. man wrestler” bullshit right now. Those two are two of the finest athletes, regardless of gender, in the world. But he took those two athletes and put them in a bra and panties match for his own entertainment. At that moment, I decided that being the “Epitome of SCW” wasn’t enough to excuse his depravity any more. And if no one in SCW was going to take a stand against him, then I was going to make sure that someone did.
From where I sit, too many people have the same ideas about legend. Legends deserve respect. They deserve it for the blood, sweat and tears they put into their craft and the industry. The problem is when legends start to believe their own tales and begin to act as though their will is infallible because of whom they are. And look… I’m no fucking saint by any stretch of the imagination. The last time I competed in Florida, I referred to myself as “Wrestling’s Infallible Voice”… you don’t get much more over-the-top than that. The difference between my “infallible voice” and CHBK’s antics is that he legitimately negotiated into his deal that he would have the power to back it up – and some poor sap actually bought into it. Because of that, CHBK was able to decide on his matches with his infamous veto power, the same power he had been using since War of the Roses to duck me. Let’s not mince words about it – CHBK has spent the last six months ducking me. It has nothing to do with any of the lies or the bile spewed out of his mouth. He was ducking me because he knows he cannot use the idea that I am unable to beat him, because now he knows better. In the three previous times he and I have been in the ring together, he’s had one victory over me – the tag match where he, Ravyn and Alex Jr. were able to pull the wool over the ol’ Cornerstone’s eyes and set me up with a three-on-one. Knowing he was to have been entered into a one on one match with me, after I had already shown that I was capable of taking every ounce of piss and vinegar he threw at me and still respond in a manner that was able to secure victory from him must have taken a lot of wind out of his sails.
I’m rambling…
The point is, as The Cornerstone of Wrestling, I’m certainly not afraid to take a man to task if he is being a dick, regardless of whether or not that man is considered a legend in a company or the industry. And that is what I had committed to do for SCW and to CHBK. Of course, Simon Lyman saw the same things that I did and, as he often has done, reacted very similarly to my own reaction. He challenged CHBK outright to a match at Rise to Greatness 2013. Simon is a man who absolutely wears his heart on his sleeve. He is a man who’s word I would take to the bank 100% of the time because I know, if Simon says it, Simon means it. And when he challenged CHBK to that match, his reasoning for it was exactly as he said. Of course, that is where the curse of “legend” came up again on one infamous Breakdown on the Road to RtG…
CHBK and Ravyn colluded to beat down Simon, to choke out Trinity Street, and make the demand: CHBK wins, and he gets a night with Trinity.
I nearly threw up. My wife did throw up.
Answer me this: exactly how pathetic does a man have to be in order to tack that stipulation onto a wrestling match? I know Simon wasn’t going to accept that match. Trinity, after all, deserves more respect than to be held up as a prize to be won in a wrestling match. But we knew that CHBK wouldn’t be allowed to win that match. He couldn’t be allowed to win that match. And we set our plan in motion.
Alex - you were never going to win that match. You were never going to defeat Simon Lyman in 2013 because we knew you would do everything you could to do exactly that. You would bend every rule you could, you would play every card you could because winning that match meant that you would have effectively shattered Simon Lyman’s spirit. And we knew that you would do what you could to distract the referee… and that was all we needed. Of course, you know how this story ends. Donovan Kayl, the hometown boy made good the world over, crashed the ring and took your head off Point Blank. One three count later, and you hadn’t learned a God damn thing about respect, because you would spend the next year taking the knife and wedging it into various members of my family repeatedly, your own pathetic attempt at payback following your loss. It doesn’t matter though, because I stand with full resolve, ready to take you down.
I will take you down for Jason Wheeler, for Damian Angel, and for anyone else who you stand gloating over their attempts to take you down. You frequently use the names of past adversaries as a means to push opponents down, but the fact is I am like no opponent you had ever faced prior. Others came to make their name off of you. My name was already made. My legacy will be just fine no matter what happens at Rise to Greatness. But still, I will take you down.
I will take you down for Mikeala Street who, although she doesn’t realize it at this time, will not benefit from being associated with you. Because that’s how you operate, isn’t it Alex? You take someone on the upward swing and you latch yourself to them. And when that momentum fades, you jump ship and latch onto someone else, all the while having convinced your previous association that they needed you – all the while ensuring that without you, they fail. Mikeala is better than that… Mikeala deserves better than that.
I will take you down for everyone else you once associated with, only to push them onto the sidelines at your own convenience. There have been a lot of talented men and women, each more than capable of reigning as the head of SCW, that didn’t get that chance because you were too insecure and too self-righteous to let them have that chance.
I will take you down for men like my cousin, Devon Kayl, who drove himself mad trying to earn your approval and support. This is a man who has all the talent in the world, and was just looking for that extra boost that you leech for others so readily and so often, but you denied him. It’s funny… he sought your help so many times, and when he reached out after leaving SCW and sought my help, it took him all of maybe four months to earn – not cheat his way to – his first World Championship. And I bet that you, his own father-in-law, hadn’t even heard about it ahead of time. I did… and he’s a better man for no longer caring about what the great Alex Desoubrais thinks.
I will take you out for my family – the SCW contingent of my family – who you have been making every effort at twisting and turning against each other because you can’t handle the simple, undeniable fact that, in one on one contests, we have proven that not only are we able to defeat “the Epitome of SCW”, but that we have no qualms in doing exactly that.
I will take you out for my wife and my child, who you accosted at my front door in Baltimore, Maryland. See, Alex, I was ready to put you behind me and focus on more important pursuits… but you had to arrive at my front door and tell my wife that it wasn’t over until you said it was. You don’t deserve that power… and that is why this match is happening at all. Your arrival on my doorstep woke me up to the fact that as long as there is a CHBK and Donovan Kayl in Supreme Championship Wrestling, things won’t ever be “over” on a word. It’s going to take a war.
And finally… I will take you out for me. Alex, I don’t like you. I don’t like what you do, or what side of the industry you represent. For men like you, the industry is something that exists for your benefit, and it isn’t. 99% of the industry, including SCW, doesn’t lace up their boots saying “I hope… I pray… that this match helps CHBK get ahead”. This match is going to be a rude awakening coming directly from The Cornerstone of Professional Wrestling: The industry is past you, Alex. You’re still holding on, trying to be the most important man in the world, and at Rise to Greatness, I drive my knee upside your head and put an end to that dream! You have been playing fast and loose with your position for far too long. At Rise to Greatness, in front of the greatest fans in professional wrestling – the SCW Fans – I show that “The Epitome of SCW” will always be beneath “The Cornerstone of Professional Wrestling”!
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If Alex Desoubrais, in some other world, were to come up to me today and ask for my advice on the matter – whether or not he should show up for our scheduled match at Rise to Greatness – I would honestly have to think about it. I mean shit, there are a lot of factors that need to be brought into consideration. Can he, a man in his 50’s, keep up with a man of my calibre, talent and prestige? What are the ramifications if he were to compete? Or if he were to refuse? And, more than that, is he capable not of survival in the ring, but survival away from it? I mean let’s face it – this industry has a particular hold on people, myself included. And then I’d have to look at the people CHBK has affected in SCW during his tenure. Sure, there are the names he throws out whenever he tries to talk himself up: Jason Wheeler, Damian Angel and so on, people who are no longer with SCW – at least as far as anyone knows. He is dubbed “The Epitome of SCW”, and with good reason. For eleven years, he has been a central part of this company. He has built others up and watched them fall…
And it’s the latter part that is truly troublesome. In the eleven years CHBK has been a part of SCW, names and faces have come and gone, but he has remained. He’s had associates come and go, cast aside when their usefulness to him comes to an end. I would argue that, even when he would walk down that ramp and step into this ring with the support of the people who, in a few short hours, will fill these seats, he was never about the health and success of Supreme Championship Wrestling – Only CHBK. And, if SCW were to close down shop tomorrow, he would go elsewhere to find some other talent to latch onto. As often as CHBK compares me to names who have tried to make their names off of him – an erroneous assertion, by the way – I have seen CHBK before. Men like Marco Lopez, Mario’s bastard twin brother, or Derek Clix, the six-time World Champion who wanted nothing more than to be seen as my better, or even Timothy Raine, who had this innate ability to convince the hottest up and comers to associate with him. These are men who, by and large, are CHBK in other forms. The difference between those three and CHBK?
They eventually just went home.
And that would be my advice to CHBK. If he were to come up to me and ask me, man to man, what I thought he should do, I would tell him straight-up and without reservation: Go home.
Now, I’m sure there are those among the outside world that would see me say that and assume that I am somehow scared to face CHBK – that the “Epitome of SCW” is too much for “The Cornerstone of Professional Wrestling” to overcome. They would be wrong. And that’s the problem – you look around SCW, and you see far too many people who are willing to sit cross-legged in the corner, plug their fingers in their ears and sing to themselves rather than actually tell that man what reality is saying. With every surgery, his body yells “STOP”, but he surrounds himself with people who have bought into the idea that CHBK is SCW in such a great way that they are all too willing to tell him just how much he is needed in SCW, and how the company cannot POSSIBLY survive without him. Of course, since he’s hearing what he wants to hear, CHBK goes right along with it.
I’ve never been one to follow the voice of a crowd, and that means I’m not willing to tell CHBK that SCW would be doomed without him, because I know what that kind of bullshit does to a man’s mind, and CHBK’s is far too gone to fix with the honesty anyway. If CHBK truly cared about his well-being, he won’t show at Rise to Greatness. He’ll settle into a happy retirement and live out whatever days he has left knowing he gave all he could to the company that made him a star and watch when that company flourishes out of his shadow. But he’ll never do that, because he couldn’t possibly allow SCW to shine without him or to exceed his shadow. He wants to remain the “Epitome of SCW” for as long as there IS an SCW…
And that is something I must put an end to.
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Donovan Kayl’s home in Orlando, Florida was relatively unassuming, particularly considering the often lavish tastes professional wrestlers have, especially those whose spouses are former competitors in their own right turned fashion mogul, as Donovan’s wife Chloe Barnes is. So that their Florida home, even as one in a gated community, defies convention may come as a surprise to one who doesn’t quite know the family. It is here that Donovan spends the last night before Rise to Greatness, the biggest Pay Per View event of the year in Supreme Championship Wrestling. Sitting back on his back patio, Donovan sits alone, nursing a glass of water. He knows that he has a 3 and a half hour drive ahead of him Sunday for the big event – and that’s if traffic is as expected – so he doesn’t want to risk any kind of impairment on his end for when he goes.
It’s the same drive he has already been making all week, since SCW Fanfest activities began in Miami prior to the PPV extravaganza. Between autograph signings, ComiCon-style panels and other activities, Donovan needed a night away to unwind and to reflect on the year that had been. It had been a roller-coaster of a year, starting with the moment his knee connected with CHBK’s temple at Rise to Greatness 2013 in his hometown of Toronto, Ontario. It led to dizzying highs – Defeating CHBK at the inaugural War of the Roses event and winning the SCW World Tag Team Championships with Simon Lyman back in November in a match that history may call the best tag team contest of the year – and harrowing lows – his first PPV match where Alex Desoubrais Jr., CHBK’s son, turned against him and led to a three-on-one assault against him being a particular misstep that Donovan wished he could rewrite. It was also a year he watched CHBK harass his wife on his own doorstep, something he was sure would not happen in Orlando because, just as CHBK had mockingly pointed out what was lacking in Maryland, Florida does, in fact, have a Stand Your Ground law.
Not that Donovan wanted his rival shot in the chest.
And it was a year in which Donovan’s cousin had gone off the rails completely, sacrificing his own SCW career in a desperate attempt to take the SCW World Heavyweight Championship. It was only after that, after the weight of the world had crashed around him, that Devon Kayl stepped up to his cousin and, instead of laying into him with profanity-laced tirades about how the Cornerstone was encroaching on “his” territory, sought help.
For Donovan, it was that moment that accentuated this battle… and as he looks down at his glass of water, he catches the reflection of another person standing behind him.
Donovan: I didn’t think you were coming.
For Devon Kayl, even coming to Florida for Rise to Greatness was a bittersweet occasion. This was the company that he had given so much to that he eventually felt as though he was owed the World Championship as thanks. It had brought him his wife, Skylar Desoubrais – daughter of Donovan’s RTG opponent – but it had also brought him unspeakable problems. And, the deeper Devon went into his obsession with the World Championship, particularly while he refused to address those problems, the more harm he was doing to everything: Family, career, life.
Devon: I almost didn’t.
Donovan: Did you bring it?
Devon Kayl did, in fact, bring “it” with him, and he reaches down over his cousin’s shoulder as he sets his newly-won GCW World Championship belt on table in front of him. Donovan glances over, seeing the belt in front of his face.
Devon: Don’t leave home without it, right? You never know when a couple of burglars might show up and try to ransack the place. Then, I’d be out replacement costs…
Donovan: Unless you’re able to tackle the burglars.
Devon: True enough.
Another pause, as Donovan surveys the plate of the belt.
Donovan: How does it feel, Champ?
Devon: Like… it’s everything I ever thought it would be. Like years of hard work and sacrifice actually paid off. Like…
Donovan: Like you did it yourself.
Devon: Yeah.
Donovan: I know I talk about family a lot… and family should always be there to support one another, even when it’s tough, but I am proud of you kid. You needed this, and you did it without injuring anyone’s leg…
Devon swallows deeply.
Donovan: Or employing a muscle in your corner to tip the odds in your favour.
Devon: It was tempting.
Donovan: No… you did it the right way. You deserve this belt without question.
Devon reaches over, taking the GCW belt back in his hands as Donovan turns back to his water. They both knew the conversation wouldn’t all be about the success Devon enjoyed earlier this day. There were far more serious conversations to be had…
Donovan: So what changed your mind?
Donovan turns around, facing his cousin for the first time with the glass of water in his hand. Devon, leaning back against the wall, ponders the question.
Devon: Truthfully?
Donovan: I wouldn’t expect less.
Devon: I don’t know.
Donovan pauses.
Donovan: Not quite the answer I was expecting.
Devon: I’m in a good place right now with GCW. I was afraid that if I had stepped into an SCW arena again, even with a ticket, even as a spectator rather than a participant or a paid commentator, I might relapse and find myself struggling to recover from it again. I didn’t want to jeopardize all of the progress I had made…
Donovan: But…?
Devon pauses this time, looking to Donovan. Of course there was a “but”. How his cousin was able to figure it out so easily was something that concerned him slightly, but he didn’t let that show too much. After all, isn’t there always a “but”?
Devon: But I just felt compelled to come here. It’s like… SCW was my home for so long. I couldn’t imagine not attending Rise to Greatness, even as a fan if need be. This weekend is what the entire year is building towards. But listen to me, telling you about the industry. You’ve probably gone through many of these things with the SWA.
It was true – Donovan had been involved in many fanfest events over the years – eight years of Birthday Bash and Colossalcade, both of which typically brought great fanfare.
Devon: Besides, I wanted to see you take my old man down again.
This one brought something of a chuckle out of Donovan Kayl, and if he had managed to get any of the water from his glass into his throat in that instance, might have caused him to choke a little bit.
Donovan: He’s your father-in-law.
Devon: And maybe if someone had reminded him of that fact two years ago…
There was a hint of bitterness in the younger man’s voice.
Donovan: You mean…?
Devon: You know his way, Donnie. You’ve been experiencing it right now with what he’s doing to Mikeala… what he had done to Regan. That’s how he operates – he gets whatever mileage he can get out of someone, and then when he’s done with them, he moves on to someone else. I’ve seen it happen so many times over the years, and the goal is always the same.
Donovan: Stay on top.
Devon: Even if it means being an inevitable albatross around someone else’s neck.
Donovan nods. That, to him, is exactly what he had committed to driving out of SCW when he signed one year ago. He had seen the damage such action can do over a long period of time and didn’t want to see yet another promotion come under the same fate.
Donovan: And the drive to get his support…
Devon lowers his head, knowing exactly the point that his cousin is making – and how true it is.
Devon: … Can be even more maddening than standing against him.
Donovan: You still need to make up for breaking Regan’s leg.
Devon: I know, man. Believe me… I want to! I was in a tough spot, quite possibly rock bottom – but that doesn’t excuse a God damn thing.
Donovan: It doesn’t.
Devon: So what did you have in mind?
Donovan: I beg your pardon?
Donovan takes a drink of water, a natural reflex upon hearing something not quite right.
Devon: Come on, I know your connections. You’re close to Regan now after she saw Alex for what he really is. Surely there has to be something you can do or say to get her to at least open a little bit to my attempt to apologize again.
Donovan: That’s true.
Devon: And I know you have this view that “family comes first”, so you don’t want blood rage between a cousin by blood and a cousin by marriage to become a distraction.
Donovan: It doesn’t distract me.
Devon hangs his head.
Devon: You’re going to make me say it again, aren’t you?
Donovan: I don’t know what you’re talking about…
Devon: I need your help.
Donovan: Oh… that! Okay, here’s a thought…
Devon smirks.
Devon: I knew you were holding out on me.
Donovan: Don’t think of it as “holding out”. Think of it more as “receiving payment”.
Devon: You can be such an asshole, you know that?
Donovan: I’ve heard rumours.
Devon: So how are we going to trick Regan into forgiving me?
Donovan sits back a little.
Donovan: Whoa… make no mistake here. Regan’s not going to be tricked into forgiving you. Hell, this may not even accomplish her forgiving you. I’m not guaranteeing results. I’m guaranteeing intrinsic value.
Devon: Well that’s kind of a cop-out.
Donovan: I like to think of it as self-improvement with possible benefits.
Devon: Anyway, details.
Donovan: Since you and Skylar left SCW, is there anyone here who knows CHBK better than the two of you?
Devon: Besides Alex himself? Maybe Ravyn or Alju?
Donovan: Alju?
Donovan ponders, a bit confused for a brief moment in time, before…
Donovan: Oh… right. Well, they’re non-factors, and considering Mikeala Street’s fallen hook, line and sinker into his hands like putty…
Devon: Yeah… Mikeala…
Donovan: What?
Devon: If there’s one person who wants to talk to me less than Regan, it’s Mikeala. I’ll be honest – I was pretty fucking creepy with her.
Donovan: That’s true… so imagine how she might react when she finds out why you were driven to such depths… and by whom.
Devon opens his mouth, seeking a trademark witty retort, something to throw Donovan off course. However, as his lips move, Devon is stunned to discover that no sound is coming out. He cannot argue with the logic…
Devon: I can’t argue with that logic.
Donovan: You know more than anyone what that man is capable of doing to someone mentally – not a mind game against an opponent, but what his former support can do to someone who doesn’t have it. Mikeala may see the bright lights right now and find herself blinded by it, but she’s a smart girl. The glitz and glamour will soon fade and she’ll see CHBK for what he really is.
Devon is again left pondering.
Donovan: What? You’re doing that “figuring stuff out” face again.
Devon: That’s not a face… that’s just my face. And I can’t help but think that you want me to convince Mikeala of Alex’s impure motives because you’ve been unsuccessful at it.
Donovan: If it works, I’ll be a genius.
Devon: And if it fails?
Donovan: I’m a genius with a poor plan. You know better than anyone what happens in that light, and after that light is gone. You’ll figure it out.
Donovan rises from his chair to his feet, stopping first to shake any restlessness out of his legs before he makes his way to the back door to enter into his home.
Devon: That’s it? “You’ll figure it out” and gone?
Donovan: Hey… I have a big match tomorrow and a beautiful wife upstairs waiting for me. Now, are you staying in the guest room or not?
Devon pauses briefly…
Devon: Yes?
Donovan: Good… you can drive me out to Miami tomorrow.
Devon: Hey! I didn’t agree to that.
Donovan smirks.
Donovan: You didn’t have you. I volunteered you for it.
Devon: … God dammit.
Donovan enters the house, followed by Devon behind him. The light to the back patio turns off and the scene goes black…
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I had been paying attention to Supreme Championship Wrestling for a few years – at least as long as my cousin had been using my name in the company. In fact, the very fact that there are still people who, to this day, think that talking about their history with “Donovan Kayl” as a means to get one over on the genuine article is a smart strategy to employ. To be honest, I was happy letting him have his time, even with my name. Sure, he made some choices that I wouldn’t have made, but that’s part of the benefit of being one’s own man… he wasn’t an avatar for me. He was doing his own thing.
However, the moment that truly opened my eyes to the company was a little over a year ago – the moment when Alex Desoubrais booked a bra and panties match between my cousin Regan Street and another associate of his, Syren… simply for his own amusement. Think about that – this man, for lack of a better term, booked a match for no other reason than because he was allowed to. He put two of the finest athletes – and let’s just drop this “woman wrestler vs. man wrestler” bullshit right now. Those two are two of the finest athletes, regardless of gender, in the world. But he took those two athletes and put them in a bra and panties match for his own entertainment. At that moment, I decided that being the “Epitome of SCW” wasn’t enough to excuse his depravity any more. And if no one in SCW was going to take a stand against him, then I was going to make sure that someone did.
From where I sit, too many people have the same ideas about legend. Legends deserve respect. They deserve it for the blood, sweat and tears they put into their craft and the industry. The problem is when legends start to believe their own tales and begin to act as though their will is infallible because of whom they are. And look… I’m no fucking saint by any stretch of the imagination. The last time I competed in Florida, I referred to myself as “Wrestling’s Infallible Voice”… you don’t get much more over-the-top than that. The difference between my “infallible voice” and CHBK’s antics is that he legitimately negotiated into his deal that he would have the power to back it up – and some poor sap actually bought into it. Because of that, CHBK was able to decide on his matches with his infamous veto power, the same power he had been using since War of the Roses to duck me. Let’s not mince words about it – CHBK has spent the last six months ducking me. It has nothing to do with any of the lies or the bile spewed out of his mouth. He was ducking me because he knows he cannot use the idea that I am unable to beat him, because now he knows better. In the three previous times he and I have been in the ring together, he’s had one victory over me – the tag match where he, Ravyn and Alex Jr. were able to pull the wool over the ol’ Cornerstone’s eyes and set me up with a three-on-one. Knowing he was to have been entered into a one on one match with me, after I had already shown that I was capable of taking every ounce of piss and vinegar he threw at me and still respond in a manner that was able to secure victory from him must have taken a lot of wind out of his sails.
I’m rambling…
The point is, as The Cornerstone of Wrestling, I’m certainly not afraid to take a man to task if he is being a dick, regardless of whether or not that man is considered a legend in a company or the industry. And that is what I had committed to do for SCW and to CHBK. Of course, Simon Lyman saw the same things that I did and, as he often has done, reacted very similarly to my own reaction. He challenged CHBK outright to a match at Rise to Greatness 2013. Simon is a man who absolutely wears his heart on his sleeve. He is a man who’s word I would take to the bank 100% of the time because I know, if Simon says it, Simon means it. And when he challenged CHBK to that match, his reasoning for it was exactly as he said. Of course, that is where the curse of “legend” came up again on one infamous Breakdown on the Road to RtG…
CHBK and Ravyn colluded to beat down Simon, to choke out Trinity Street, and make the demand: CHBK wins, and he gets a night with Trinity.
I nearly threw up. My wife did throw up.
Answer me this: exactly how pathetic does a man have to be in order to tack that stipulation onto a wrestling match? I know Simon wasn’t going to accept that match. Trinity, after all, deserves more respect than to be held up as a prize to be won in a wrestling match. But we knew that CHBK wouldn’t be allowed to win that match. He couldn’t be allowed to win that match. And we set our plan in motion.
Alex - you were never going to win that match. You were never going to defeat Simon Lyman in 2013 because we knew you would do everything you could to do exactly that. You would bend every rule you could, you would play every card you could because winning that match meant that you would have effectively shattered Simon Lyman’s spirit. And we knew that you would do what you could to distract the referee… and that was all we needed. Of course, you know how this story ends. Donovan Kayl, the hometown boy made good the world over, crashed the ring and took your head off Point Blank. One three count later, and you hadn’t learned a God damn thing about respect, because you would spend the next year taking the knife and wedging it into various members of my family repeatedly, your own pathetic attempt at payback following your loss. It doesn’t matter though, because I stand with full resolve, ready to take you down.
I will take you down for Jason Wheeler, for Damian Angel, and for anyone else who you stand gloating over their attempts to take you down. You frequently use the names of past adversaries as a means to push opponents down, but the fact is I am like no opponent you had ever faced prior. Others came to make their name off of you. My name was already made. My legacy will be just fine no matter what happens at Rise to Greatness. But still, I will take you down.
I will take you down for Mikeala Street who, although she doesn’t realize it at this time, will not benefit from being associated with you. Because that’s how you operate, isn’t it Alex? You take someone on the upward swing and you latch yourself to them. And when that momentum fades, you jump ship and latch onto someone else, all the while having convinced your previous association that they needed you – all the while ensuring that without you, they fail. Mikeala is better than that… Mikeala deserves better than that.
I will take you down for everyone else you once associated with, only to push them onto the sidelines at your own convenience. There have been a lot of talented men and women, each more than capable of reigning as the head of SCW, that didn’t get that chance because you were too insecure and too self-righteous to let them have that chance.
I will take you down for men like my cousin, Devon Kayl, who drove himself mad trying to earn your approval and support. This is a man who has all the talent in the world, and was just looking for that extra boost that you leech for others so readily and so often, but you denied him. It’s funny… he sought your help so many times, and when he reached out after leaving SCW and sought my help, it took him all of maybe four months to earn – not cheat his way to – his first World Championship. And I bet that you, his own father-in-law, hadn’t even heard about it ahead of time. I did… and he’s a better man for no longer caring about what the great Alex Desoubrais thinks.
I will take you out for my family – the SCW contingent of my family – who you have been making every effort at twisting and turning against each other because you can’t handle the simple, undeniable fact that, in one on one contests, we have proven that not only are we able to defeat “the Epitome of SCW”, but that we have no qualms in doing exactly that.
I will take you out for my wife and my child, who you accosted at my front door in Baltimore, Maryland. See, Alex, I was ready to put you behind me and focus on more important pursuits… but you had to arrive at my front door and tell my wife that it wasn’t over until you said it was. You don’t deserve that power… and that is why this match is happening at all. Your arrival on my doorstep woke me up to the fact that as long as there is a CHBK and Donovan Kayl in Supreme Championship Wrestling, things won’t ever be “over” on a word. It’s going to take a war.
And finally… I will take you out for me. Alex, I don’t like you. I don’t like what you do, or what side of the industry you represent. For men like you, the industry is something that exists for your benefit, and it isn’t. 99% of the industry, including SCW, doesn’t lace up their boots saying “I hope… I pray… that this match helps CHBK get ahead”. This match is going to be a rude awakening coming directly from The Cornerstone of Professional Wrestling: The industry is past you, Alex. You’re still holding on, trying to be the most important man in the world, and at Rise to Greatness, I drive my knee upside your head and put an end to that dream! You have been playing fast and loose with your position for far too long. At Rise to Greatness, in front of the greatest fans in professional wrestling – the SCW Fans – I show that “The Epitome of SCW” will always be beneath “The Cornerstone of Professional Wrestling”!