Robert Donovan

Rob's been in the gym a lot more than usual lately, and it's showing. He's looking more cut, the beer gut is nearly gone entirely. At some point, he also stopped dyeing his hair entirely, and as a result, it's growing back into it's natural color -- still a fairly light blonde, going to a hell of a lot of grey. Turns out travelling almost constantly for almost 20 years and getting beat up for a living might help turn your hair grey, who'd have thought? Donovan's hearkened back a bit in his ring attire as well, wearing a pair of loose leather pants similar to those he wore at the very beginning of his career, with stylized griffins running up the outside of each leg. Those are a nod to how he broke into the business so many years ago, but the rest of his attire is basically unchanged -- black wrestling boots, a heavy brace on his left elbow, tape on the hands. He's gone to wearing a double-strapped singlet rather than a tank-top, and the singlet generally has a simple message emblazoned across the gut. (That'll vary from match to match, or if I forget about it, at the writer's discretion.) Donovan's also sporting a full beard these days, and it too has a hell of a lot of grey/white hairs in it.

The big man has been around for a long time, wrestled on nearly every continent, and bled on most of them as well. He's definitely on the downward slope career-wise, and he knows it, and that knowledge has made him desperate to leave a legacy that he can be proud of. As a second generation wrestler (son of "Tough" Tony Donovan) and the father of an aspiring wrestler, he feels like he needs just one more piece, one real conquest that he can look back on after he hangs up the boots for good. At first, he thought the Longhorn Heritage title might be enough, but after losing it in controversial fashion he realized that while it helped justify his decision to make a comeback after such a long absence, it wasn't the legacy he was looking for in the twilight of his career. His pursuit of the National Title was derailed by the concerted efforts of Royalty, and his inability to avenge that event has left him increasingly short-tempered. Now, after getting bounced out of the World Title tournament via the actions of one of the AWA's own employees, one he considered a friend, there's really no telling what he might do next. This is a large man, a man capable of startling acts of violence, and he feels the desperation every athlete begins to feel at the tail end of their career. At this point, legacy is the thing foremost on Donovan's mind, and as a result, he's pouring every ounce of energy he has into wrestling, as much of his spare time as he can into training. Donovan's been around for a long time, but those who know him say (very quietly) that they don't think they've ever seen him as focused as he is now.

[The opening notes of the Metallica cover of "Turn the Page" hit the PA...and a few moments later, the looming figure of Robert Donovan steps into the aisle.]

RA: On his way to the ring, hailing from Pensacola, Florida...he stands seven feet, two inches tall and weighs in at three hundred and thirty-two pounds...

ROBERT...

DONOVAN!

[Donovan is wearing a pair of loose leather pants with stylized griffins running up the outside of each leg, a dark red double-strapped singlet with the word "Heritage" scrawled across his abdomen, and black boots. He pauses halfway up the aisle to adjust the heavy brace on his left elbow, then makes his way up the aisle, stepping slowly up the ringsteps and pausing on the apron briefly before stepping over the top rope into the ring. He slowly walks around the ring, just waiting for the bell to ring.]