Suburban America – the perfect locale for our camera to come to life. There are a few white clouds accenting the bright blue sky, but the clouds offer no threat of rain, only an idyllic “poof”. The lawns, having been freshly mowed in anticipation of this recording, are bright in their lustrous green. And Gavin Taylor, The All-Star, approaches a park bench. He lifts a leg, stepping onto it and resting his arms on his knee.
“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Gavin Taylor, and – yes – I am in the running to challenge the Supreme Championship Wrestling World Champion at the annual End of Year program. Now I know what you must be thinking…”
‘Why should I support you in this endeavor when you have previously shown less-than-savory methodology to get what you want?’
“Well that is a good question, my friend. And might I add that you’re certainly looking well? Because you are. As to the specific question you asked, all I ask is that you come off your moral high ground and look at this from my perspective. Professional wrestling is and always has been a very cutthroat industry. In order to get ahead, one has to be willing to do what it takes in order to get ahead. If that means sometimes having to bend the rules a little bit to garner some momentum or using your environment and your imagination to get the advantage or even pinning a friend if it means securing a coveted Championship opportunity… well, you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. You do what needs to be done.”
A dog – a golden retriever to be exact – runs onto the scene, jumping up towards Gavin. The All-Star gives the dog an appropriate amount of attention before his owner, a young boy, comes to retrieve the retriever. Gavin ruffles the boy’s hair as the youngster smiles, likely being paid handsomely for this appearance. Gavin turns back to the camera.
“More to the point about why you might support someone willing to take those steps… who is your favorite superhero? I bet it’s not one of those white-hat, goody-two-shoes types who always do things moral. The best heroes and, truly, the best people are like me… like you. Yes, I did see you speed up at the yellow light and fly through the red, Phil. But I didn’t tell anyone. I kept that secret for you.”
Gavin glares briefly at the camera, giving you… or at least Phil… a knowing expression, one that says “You owe me”. After a brief moment, however, he smiles.
“The choice is clear, folks. You’re going to have a choice… a chance to affect SCW for the better or the worse. Choose the better. Choose The All-Star!”
Gavin brings his leg down, beginning to job through the picture-perfect, completely-staged town. As he runs off, his voice can be heard over the scene as it’s narration…
“My name is Gavin Taylor and I approve this message.”
The contract had been signed. September 26, 2021, Gavin Taylor, professional wrestling’s true, trademarked All-Star, would step into the ring in the mile high city of Denver, Colorado, to take on Ricky James, the Mexican transplant in America who, a year ago, stormed into SCW with a hurricane of patriotic fervor, fueled further by his associates Lucy Huckabee-Sanders and Rudy Powell. It is the latter that opens the scene, a large cup of Americano coffee from Starbucks in his hand as he fumbles around his cell phone. It’s clear that Rudy is agitated by something or other, potentially due to the public chiding he had recently been on the receiving end from at the hands of Ricky James. So as Rudy paces on the sidewalk, his patience is worn thin.
“Where is the limo?” he asks whoever is on the other end of the line. “When I order a limousine to pick me up, I expect a limousine to show up but I don’t see one right now! So hurry up and…”
Rudy looks down the road, seeing a limo parked in wait.
“Never mind,” Rudy says, brushing off the person on the other end. He hangs up the phone, jamming it into his pocket as he storms towards it. “Fifteen minutes late… this is unacceptable…”
He walks to the limo, opening the back door as he slides in.
“Where the heck have you been?” he asks the driver. “I said to pick me up at the Four Seasons. How many Four Seasons did you go to? When I say “Four Seasons”, there’s only one choice.”
“Actually Rudy, it’s my fault.” Rudy looks up from his seat and his coffee, seeing that he is sitting across from the antagonistic visage of “All-Star” Gavin Taylor, flanked by Jack and Karl Barker, the All-Star Security. Gavin sits back, sunglasses down on his face as he smirks. “Hey driver… do your thing.”
The limo pulls away as Rudy starts to reach for the door handles. Jostling it, he begins to panic as the doors don’t open. Gavin chuckles.
“Relax, Rudy,” Gavin says in a cool tone. “We’re going to the same place, so I figured a shared ride would be a good opportunity for a heart to heart conversation. Because you and I… see… we’ve never had that opportunity.”
“I have nothing to say to a filthy CANADIAN like you…” Rudy blurts out, attempting to speak over Gavin. Gavin just raises his hand, shushing the erratic man.
“Now now, Rudy,” he says, a smirk on his face and without raising his voice. Gavin is playing this uncharacteristically calmly. “There’s no need for such hostility. You may not realize this, but you and I are a lot alike.”
Rudy gets his guard up, but his interest is clearly piqued. “How?” he asks. Gavin just laughs.
“Oh, we’re nothing alike,” Gavin clarifies. “I just figured an old cliché like that would be a good way to stop your flailing about like one of those stupid tube men.”
“Nothing will stop my flailing!” Rudy proudly declares. Gavin rolls his eyes as Rudy defiantly stands by his declaration. “NOTHING!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Gavin says dismissively. “Look Rude, it’s high time you and I had this conversation and I knew that if I tried calling through to your administrative assistant, she’d probably not get you the message between your groping her, so here we are. A little bit of deception in the name of the greater good.”
“There’s no “greater good” in dealing with your kind,” Rudy again stands firm in his defiance. It’s not Gavin that reacts to the potential slur, however. It’s Jack and Karl.
“What do you mean “your kind“?” Jack asks, ready to pounce on him.
“Yeah, bro,” Karl shifts forward alongside his brother. “That kind of talk gets guys taken care of around here.”
Gavin extends a hand on either side of him and, like a mob boss calling off a hit from his goons, bids his A.S.S. to return to their seats. A smirk crawls onto the face of the All-Stat as he lifts his head, looking his adversary in the eyes.
“Rudy,” he says, almost derisive in his tone. “You have never exactly been very complimentary of me. Why is that?”
“It’s not personal, Gavin,” Rudy begins to dig his hole. “I just don’t trust Canadian communist pieces of crap. It’s not you, it’s just what you are.”
Gavin laughs.
“What’s this?” Rudy begins to ask in absolute confusion. “Why are you laughing? You shouldn’t be laughing!”
“You think I’m a “communist”?” Gavin asks half-seriously, utilizing the air quotes to fill in the blank. “Dude, I can’t even spell “communist”.”
“It’s true,” Jack confirms, nodding his head.
“Yeah, Gavin ain’t known for his spelling prowess,” Karl adds.
“Besides that, didn’t you catch the news from July?” Gavin asks, referring to this. “My “big secret” was outed. American all along.”
“That was fake news,” Rudy dismisses. Gavin laughs.
“If only everyone was as easy to fool as you,” he smirks. Rudy, not entirely understanding that the insult as anything more than a compliment, nods his head.
“Well no one’s like me!” he proudly declares. Gavin snickers as though to point out the non-compliment Rudy just gave himself, but resists. Pointing it out might be a bit too much.
“What you and I have, Rudy, is a failure to communicate,” Gavin says, using another oft-overused line from popular culture in an effort to appeal to what he perceives as a simple mind. “You think I’m this supreme evil, but really, I’m one of the good guys around here.”
“You’re…” Rudy tries to counter, but Gavin has none of it. His hand goes up, immediately stopping the typically-verbose Powell from continuing in his protests. Especially as Gavin motions to his A.S.S., who promptly move from their seats flanking Gavin into seats flanking Rudy.
“If you’re not going to play nice, I’m not afraid to keep my boys beside you to keep you in line,” Gavin explains. “But as I was saying before I was so rudely cut off, I’m one of the good guys. See, I pay my taxes. I vote. I do jury duty, for fuck’s sake. I have all of the requisite paperwork affirming my status as an American citizen and yet despite all of that, for some reason you look down on me.”
“I already explained why…” Rudy tries to interject, moving forward before Jack and Karl extend their hands, keeping Rudy in line and in his seat. Defensively, he clutches his hands to his chest. “Keep your goons’ hands to themselves!”
“Jack, Karl,” Gavin addresses his A.S.S. Without a word, the two men sit back again. “Rudy, I wasn’t lying when I said you and I are a lot alike. We both believe in something greater than ourselves. We’re fighters. We’re not afraid of a little conflict, even if that means we’re wrong.”
“I’m never wrong!” Rudy blurts out. Gavin smirks.
“Right…” he says dismissively. “And that’s something that, outside of this car, I’d tell anyone who would listen too. See, Rudy? You and I really are cut from the same cloth. The only difference is you’re more of a talker. You’ll say anything you can in order to convince people that the world is your way. Me? I’m a doer. When I see something I want, I go after it until either it materializes or I deem it necessary to refocus. Rise to Greatness… not my proudest moment, but there were some items of positivity to take away from it. I pinned Glory Braddock. I didn’t get murdered by Xander Valentine. Those were positives.”
“But you failed,” Rudy counters. Gavin nods his head in concession.
“Ultimately, yeah,” Gavin agrees. “I did not walk away the interim United States Champion of the World. But you know what? I have a focus greater than me. Because I know what I’m capable of. I know what my potential is. And I know what my destiny is. There are great things on the horizon for me, and quite frankly, I’m looking forward to finally embracing that.”
“So what do you need me for?” Rudy argues. “I don’t trust you. I don’t like you.”
“And you can’t stop me, Rudy,” Gavin smiles. Jack and Karl each chuckle. “I wanted to bring you in here… to have this conversation with you… because I really just needed to get a lot off my chest and I didn’t want to have to waste resources to relay it in any significant manner. But you, Rudy… you’ll be able to tell my story. You’ll be able to tell the nation… and truly, the world… that Gavin Taylor is ready for the big time. That I am World Championship-ready and… in fact… that I am a World Champion-in-waiting.”
“And why would I do that?” Rudy sits back, his arms crossed in defiance as he smirks smugly. Gavin shrugs his shoulders.
“Because you “don’t lie”, Rudy,” Gavin responds. “Your self-made reputation relies upon it. See, all you have to do is preface with the words “Gavin said” and your reputation is off the hook. And if you lie, Rudy… well…”
Gavin nods to his A.S.S. Both men reach into their suit jackets, pulling out a pair of folded envelopes which end up dropped onto Rudy’s lap.
“…You already know that I have the finest legal representation in the country, don’t you Rudy?” Gavin sits back with a full smile. He won. He knows this. As Rudy looks over the paperwork, the color flushes out of his face as he realizes it too.
“Broderick Chase?” Rudy says breathlessly. Gavin smirks.
“My father-in-law,” Gavin confirms. “I’m sure you’re familiar with his reputation, which is part of what made your slander of me so peculiar. You’re supposed to be a smart man. To open yourself up to such legal problems? Not your finest moment, Rudy. But I’m willing to let that slide provided you adhere to my terms.”
“Your terms?” Rudy looks up from the papers given to him, slightly worried. Gavin nods his head.
“You don’t need to worry,” Gavin begins. “I’m not going to ask you anything ridiculous like you tried to pull off in that farcical contract you tried pushing for my match with Ricky James. Just a few hold-your-tongue clauses in case you decide to get too snippy. You wouldn’t want the long arm of the law to come down on you, would you?”
“That’s my free speech!” Rudy declares. “Guaranteed in the United States Constitution! I knew you hated America!”
Gavin shakes his head.
“Free speech,” Gavin snickers. “That’s what your type always falls back on when your beliefs are challenged. Well, “free speech” doesn’t permit slander. That’s literally why slander laws exist. But beyond that, you know that I have a very powerful engine behind me… one that will see to it that my interests are protected from any potential outside force. That includes you, Rudy.”
“Are you threatening me, Gavin!?” Rudy’s blood pressure continues to elevate as Gavin remains unfazed by this conversation.
“Oh yes,” Gavin confirms. “Yes I am. If you’re smart, you’ll understand that threats like this are serious and that I’m not afraid to pursue things further if need be. But if you’re going to hover around Supreme Championship Wrestling as some kind of platform for your rhetoric, just know that Gavin Taylor is immune to your wiles. Because whether you like it or not, I’m climbing to the top of this company. And it doesn’t matter who I have to step over to get there… wrestler or blowhard alike.”
At that moment, Gavin reaches his fist up. Rudy flinches, but Gavin instead bring it behind his head, tapping on the glass partition separating the driver of the limousine from the rest of the “activity” within. Immediately, the car pulls over to the side of the road.
“What’s this?” Rudy’s paranoia begins to reach frightening levels. “You’re going to leave me here in the middle of nowhere to die?! You know how important I am!? You can’t do this!”
“Relax,” Gavin says, intoning the one word that someone who can’t relax gets more agitated hearing. “This is the Four Seasons. Your limo is here waiting for you now.”
“So we’re not traveling to the same place?” Rudy asks. Gavin scoffs.
“No, we definitely are,” Gavin says. “But you know, I have a reputation to uphold. I can’t be seen appearing without conflict with a man like you, Rudy. It would affect my reputation in an adverse manner. So you get your limo, I get mine. You tell your people about what I said. And remember – any slander will be met with swift legal ramifications and I don’t think you want to stand against the juggernaut that would be waiting for you. Capeesh?”
“What?”
“He means comprende,” Jack fills in.
“Ya dig?” Karl adds. But it’s before Rudy can answer that the side door to the limo is opened and the elder man ejected. The vehicle begins to move again, leaving Rudy standing in the dust as it kicks up behind the limo. Gavin smiles as he sits back, resting his head.
“I think that went well,” he remarks. Jack and Karl are unable to give any further feedback as the limo heads towards the arena and our scene heads towards it’s conclusion…
“One year ago…
Is that the barometer we’re measuring ourselves on? Because all I’ve heard from Ricky James is how he’s not the same man he was one year ago… how much he’s change. How much he’s grown as an individual. How he’s shed his past life as an unrepentant “patriot” and embraced his Mexican heritage. And honestly, good for him. No seriously… if he’s really come all this way to accept reality rather than live in a fantasy land, I applaud him. But if we’re using the one-year scale, then I would be remiss to not talk about how far I’ve come in that year.
Because for the past year, I have not been the best version of Gavin Taylor that there is. I’d be lying if I said otherwise and Gavin Taylor doesn’t lie. He exaggerates. He omits. But he doesn’t lie. And the truth is, for the last year, I have not lived up to my promise or potential. I mean, I don’t really have to go into details as to what happened, but a year ago at this event, I was involved in a ten-person filler match instead of challenging for the SCW Adrenaline Championship like I was supposed to before Glory Braddock decided to try and fail to become SCW World Champion instead. Not an excuse, but you can’t take an athlete like me and suddenly throw off his training and preparation like that.
But that was a year ago. And in that time, yeah… I didn’t quite live up to my own expectations of myself. I know my potential, and my potential was not met. I survived Xander Valentine throughout the year, but it wasn’t good enough for me to become United States Champion. I didn’t capitalize on any of my Championship opportunities. I didn’t win the Tag League, although that you can blame on my selfish partner looking to ride my coattails to victory. My year, from one year ago to now, has been littered with failed expectations and wasted potential.
No more.
After Rise to Gavin, I decided to make a few changes. No more shortcuts. No more taking my in-ring product as secondary. I am one of the best pure athletes in Supreme Championship Wrestling and yet, if you were to ask people on the street, they wouldn’t understand that or accept it. No more. I am going to ascend the ranks, earn myself a Championship opportunity, and finally convert to once again put gold… legitimate gold… around my waist. And how fitting for some that the process begins at “Apocalypse”? Get it? Because the idea of Gavin Taylor being Champion would, to some, be equal to the end of the world!
Where was I? Right… Apocalypse.
Ricky James has apparently had a change of heart in the past year. He wants to prove he’s a better man. He wants to shed his alt-past and show that he’s grown as a man, that he isn’t the same shit-monger he was a year ago. Well, I’m looking to prove that I’m not the perennial choke artist I was a year ago. I need to prove that if I’m going to convince the people to vote Gavin for the year-end Championship match…
Ricky… I don’t know about you. You see, I have a lot of trust issues, possibly due to the fact that I’ve been the guy who has played a part to get ahead. You see, back in my Independent Wrestling Cartel days, I took great pains to convince my “former” rival, Andre Jordan, that I had changed and he could trust me. We became World Tag Team Champions together. And then, when I won the company’s Evolution Championship, I revealed my ruse and turned on my “partner”. And honestly, there were times during that saga where I wasn’t even sure if I was telling the truth or not. That’s the thing about men like me… men like us. We can convince anyone of our stories… even ourselves.
So don’t take my distrust personally. It’s just I know what I would do if our roles were reversed. I’d lead you along. I’d convince you that my intentions are pure and my arrow is straight. And then when I get the chance, when I have you at your weakest, and when the moment was most advantageous, I’d drive that straight arrow straight into your back. It’s who I am. It’s who we are. And it doesn’t matter if you’re American, Mexican, Canadian, British, Swedish, Australian, or Swahili… there’s one universal aim for anyone who steps through the ropes, something we’d all do what it takes to attain… and that’s gold.
Ricky… you want me to trust you? But you know what? You shouldn’t trust me. Because I’ll knock you on your ass as soon as I have an opening and keep climbing the ladder. Because that’s who I am… someone who’s willing to do what it takes to get ahead. And really… it doesn’t matter where either one of us are born. There is nothing more American than that!”
"The All-Star" Gavin Taylor 