It was at the age of 24 in 1972 that Donald Everman would win his organization’s world championship. It was also around this time that he married his long time girlfriend Julie. The two of them gave birth to David Everman on June 8th, 1973 in St. Louis Missouri. Throughout the 1970s Donald would continue to have success in the world of professional wrestling, recapturing the world title two more times before the decade came to a close. David began following him to events when he was old enough, hanging around backstage and just beginning to learn the ins and outs of the business.

When David was still a young child the first of many tragedies struck the family. It was on an icy night in the winter of 1979 that a car crash took the lives of both of his grandparents on his dad’s side. Floyd and Irene lost control of their vehicle on an icy road late at night and crashed down a steep hill, killing each of them instantly. David was six at the time and almost too young to grasp the loss fully but it nevertheless took its toll on the youngster. It was to pale in comparison to the tragedy that he would endure down the road, however.

Between school and the time with his dad at the wrestling arena Devastation began taking up an interest in tae kwon do. It wasn’t long before he discovered he was a natural at it. The family from an early age knew that David was a supremely gifted athlete in the mold of his dad and granddad. David excelled at tae kwon do and years later would earn a black belt in it. He also continued to learn the wrestling craft and shown a great interest in that. Even at an early age David was catching the eye of many trainers and road agents around the promotion. It soon became apparent that a career in professional wrestling was well within his reach. In fact he was one of the most highly touted prospects to come into the pro wrestling scene in quite some time.

It was around this time that another tragedy would hit close to home for David. His mom Julie succumbed to breast cancer at the age of 35. David was 13 at the time on the verge of entering high school and the death took a serious toll on him. He fell into depression for a while following the tragedy, eventually pulling himself out of it through wrestling. It wouldn’t be the only time that he would put his sad personal life behind him and find peace within the squared circle.

As he entered high school David naturally joined the wrestling team and began to take his promise as a professional to another level. He had one of the most successful careers in high school wrestling history, going undefeated in his four years and winning four consecutive state championships in his weight division. He was highly recruited by many of the top wrestling universities in the country and many thought that Olympic gold could be in his future but he elected to turn professional right out of high school instead of going the college and Olympic route.

Throughout his years in high school his dad continued his pro career including many tours of Japan. It was during these trips that David made some in roads at several of the dojos belonging to the promotion in Japan. He received quite a bit of pro training from sensei’s there. It was never for an extended amount of time as he was in school back in the United States but throughout the years he began to grow and expound in his wrestling ability and knowledge in large part because of the training received at these dojos. Back home he continued to grow as a wrestler, training with several of the top trainers that worked for this promotion. They all regarded him as one of the most gifted and talented people that they have trained and he picked up what they had to teach him very quickly. By the time he graduated from high school and turned eighteen he was more than ready to begin wrestling professionally.

His debut would come on his birthday, June 8th, 1991. That Saturday night he jerked the curtain of his hometown promotion drawing rave reviews as he put on a technical clinic for close to ten minutes before taking home the win. Over the course of the next few months his matches would draw much local interest and were the talk of the wrestling community. He only continued to improve over that time before getting a rare opportunity to tour Japan at such an early age. He went along with several other people from his promotion and neighboring areas, including his father. It was here that they teamed up for the only few times during their careers. His matches overseas drew lots of praise from the wrestling community as more and more people began to take notice of the rising star. The Japan tour wrapped up that December and they returned to the states just a few weeks before Christmas.

Christmas in 1991 turned out to be one of the dark times in the life of David Everman, however. After enjoying the holiday festivities with family and friends that day, he and his dad both were booked on a special Christmas night show for their promotion. His dad Donald was in the main event that night being given a chance to capture the heavyweight championship once more. He was nearing the end of his career and it was thought among most that he would be getting one last run with the title before retirement some time next year. The events of this night would force that plan to be scrapped and change the life of David Everman forever.

The main event match for that night revolved around a dangerous high spot; Donald Everman was to take a piledriver off of the ring apron and through a table set up at ringside. It was to be an enormous obstacle for him to come back from in the match, eventually winning it and the title. But it went horribly wrong as Donald slipped from his opponent’s grasp while setting up the move and landed head first on the concrete at ringside. The impact cracked his skull and broke his neck, instantly paralyzing him. He was rushed to the hospital where surgeons worked on him for hours but the blood loss was so extensive and the damage so severe that they were unable to save him. He was pronounced dead early Thursday morning on the 26th.

The event sent shockwaves through David’s life. He was left without any living relatives having lost both parents before the age of 19. Following the tragic death of his dad, David would take some time off from the sport grieving his loss and contemplating his future. It would not be until May 0f 1992 that he would return to the very promotion where his father died and where he had spent his entire life.

That happened on Saturday night May 23rd to a sold out crowd anticipating his much publicized return. He did nothing more than make a short speech in the ring thanking the fans and the company for being behind him but it seemed to resonate with the fans and he found himself with a dedicated fan base for the first time.

Through the remainder of the year he would wrestle with this hometown promotion continuing to impress inside the squared circle while constantly improving behind a microphone. It was enough to move him up the card by year’s end and it was fittingly on Christmas night in 1992 where he would get his first shot at the company’s heavyweight title.

It was an emotional night for David as the company honored his dad Donald earlier in the night before he took the ring in the most important match of his career to this point. He won the match and the gold, the first of his career. It was a night of remembrance and celebration for David Everman that would go down as one of the early highlights of a career filled with them.

It would not be enough, however to keep the company afloat much longer. They were already in financial trouble following the death of Donald Everman and the absence for five months of their most gifted wrestler. They never quite found anyone that could carry the torch until it was too late. By the time David Everman won the title the company was in a downward spiral that was too severe to pull out of. It was in the spring of 1993 that they filed for bankruptcy and David found himself without a wrestling home for the first time in his life.

For the next few years David would work on the independent circuit in the United States as he tried to expand his fan base as he performed for audiences across the country. He also toured Japan several times throughout the 1990s. He became one of the better-known gaijin that wrestled there. He became known overseas for his technical prowess in the ring and was marketed as a man from the dojos of Japan for much of his time there. The Japanese fans took to him almost from the start and he went on to compete in some classic matches for many years in the Land of the Rising Sun.

It would be eight long years alternating between independent promotions in the United States as well as tours overseas for David. He competed on nearly every continent on the planet during this time. He enjoyed the majority of his overseas success in Japan, where he won several championships and obtained several trophies, but also had success in places such as Mexico, Europe, Australia, and other parts of Asia, including Korea and China. Canada also held a lot of success for David Everman as he won critical acclaim there for a series of great matches fought there and was good enough to win a few championship belts there. Despite the success in the ring David never found himself gaining notoriety within the wrestling world. He was yet to perform on the national stage. All of that was to change in 2001.

After years of toiling away working the independent scene he broke through onto the national stage in the WCF in March of 2001. While grateful for the opportunity his stay in the company was anything but pleasant. For the short time he was there he was saddled with a horrible gimmick and forced to wrestle underneath a mask, making useless his chance on a major stage to gain notoriety within the wrestling industry. Not coincidentally the promotion was bankrupt within a matter of months after dropping the ball with the talented David Everman.

Following this it was back to the independent circuit for David. This time, however he would be back among the more established promotions within a matter of weeks. He gained acceptance into the Primetime Wrestling Academy, which was the development territory for Primetime Championship Wrestling, one of the better-known national companies. David did well in his time there, where he was free to go by his own name using the nickname The Assassin to preface it. His gimmick this time was not forced on him, as he was able to use his own personality of a technical wrestling machine to great success. It was the first time on a major stage where it was evident that it would work for his career.

Upon his graduation from this academy he earned a roster spot on PCW 2, which was the equivalent of the minor leagues compared to PCW. This lasted but a week before Primetime Championship Wrestling merged the two entities into one, not picking up his contract in the mean time. The academy graduation on his resume guaranteed him a spot on the roster but this was ignored as they parent company fired him without a second thought. It was the first time he would be screwed so outright in his professional career, but certainly not the last.

For the next few months it was back to the familiar independent scene for David Everman. He continued to impress and it wasn’t long before he was back with a national company in the form of the UCWL. His time there was short lived and politic filled. The one notable of his time there, it was where he first used the name Devastation which has since gone on to become nearly a household name among the wrestling world. His experience there held nothing else of note and within a month he left to sign with their rival, the DIWF.

It was in the Devious International Wrestling Federation where Devastation would first make his mark on a national spotlight in the wrestling world. He joined in July of 2001, though it would take a few months for him to catch on. For the first six months or so he was fortunate enough to compete on a few pay-per-views, a first in his career, but with limited success. He finally broke out in the promotion in the first few months of 2002. He went on a winning streak in the first two months of the year, which all led to his capturing their World Television Title on February 13th. This was the first major championship that he held and he made his mark on the championship and indeed the company, holding the championship until June 15th, the longest title reign in DIWF history.

That summer was his first at the top of the card for a national wrestling promotion. He spent most of it feuding over the world heavyweight championship with Brimstone and the stable he belonged to, the Heartless Bastards. He did manage to defeat Brimstone in a non-title match, but with the gold on the line inside a steel cage, he was screwed by the HB when it appeared he would win the championship. This was the beginning of what some viewed as an inability to come through in big matches for Devastation.

His first major success in the tag team ranks came that fall as he teamed off and on with Driscoll to some success. For a one-week period in August of 2002 the two of them held the tag team championships, the second gold of the career of Devastation and the only tag team gold he has ever held. Incidentally it was one of his opponents during this time that he feuded with in Psycho, which made for one of the most memorable events of his private life when he drove a truck through the front of his suburban house in Georgia. This led to Devastation moving to the country where he now resides in an almost famous lakeside log home.

It was back to the singles ranks as 2003 came around and Devastation once again found himself in the world title scene. Frustrated with management over how underutilized he was he ended up stealing the world title and crowning himself the champion. It was a move he would later say he regretted deeply and he would eventually win it in the ring in a match with Rage that February. On that night he at last realized his dream of becoming heavyweight champion for a major organization.

Devastation would hold the title until the company went under, two months from when he won it. He defended it against all comers and would never lose it, going down in history as the last DIWF World Heavyweight Champion.

Following the demise of the DIWF it was back to the independent scene for Devastation. Now a star among the wrestling community, he flourished during his time there winning several regional championships over the next year. Everywhere he went he headlined, fighting for championships from coast to coast. He returned briefly to Japan during the latter part of 2003 winning a heavyweight tournament there in a country that was becoming almost a second home to him. As much success as he was having on the independent level though did not lead to much mainstream recognition, nor the money to support his home and travels. In the spring of 2004 he would make his way back to a national stage.

This would come when he signed with the Steel City Wrestling Federation that April. His time there was short lived but eventful. He amazed the crowds at their small venues with his technical wrestling ability and soon became known as one of the best technicians to a whole new audience. He went undefeated for the month plus that he was with the SCWF gradually gaining a following before the promotion went bankrupt. Once again he found himself without an employer just as he was beginning to reach his former heights inside the ropes.

It didn’t take long before Devastation found work elsewhere, however as he joined up with True Talent Wrestling in May of 2004. He debuted shortly after their first pay-per-view with a series of demonstrations that were intended to show how gifted an athlete he was. The crowd, however was yet to be impressed with David and it would take months of living up to his words inside the ring before he would earn their respect.

He did make a mark on the company from the start when in his first match with them he defeated reigning world champion Osbourne Kilminster in a non-title match. The win sent shockwaves through the company and proved that Devastation would be a force to be reckoned with in the company. He would lose the rematch; however and also fell short in a six person King of the Mountain match for the belt in the company’s second pay-per-view. This only added fuel to the argument that Devastation could not get it done in the marquee matches.

During this summer the people that backed Steel City Wrestling Federation relaunched as the One World Coalition and came knocking on David’s door wanting him to be a part of this new project. Reluctantly he agreed and was soon picking up where he left off there. He went on another winning streak there winning both their International Championship and their World Heavyweight Championship during the two months he stayed on with them. He left as the world champion in order to focus completely on True Talent Wrestling. His departure started a storm of controversy within the company and resulted in many taking personal shots at David. A prominent technical wrestler within the company known as Joshua Delevega began calling him out shortly after his leaving. Devastation did come back in order to face Joshua in one last match and settle the score and put this behind him. The match was a technical clinic that was in the end won by Devastation. His point proven he left the OWC for good and remained exclusive to True Talent Wrestling following that.

Refocused and energized, the end of 2004 brought great success for Devastation as on November 3rd he won his first championship under the TTW banner, becoming their Midwest champion. As Midwest champion opponents were constantly gunning for him, which led to a series of highly competitive matches throughout that fall. He eventually lost that championship on December 15th. Undeterred he remained competitive in the division and was able to recapture the gold on February the 27th of 2005. This would be the first title of his career that he was able to recapture.

He would have a lot of success during this reign as he began to make himself known as one of the best that the company had to offer. This second Midwest title reign came to an end on May 5th of 2005 with a loss to Gryffin. It would be the last clean loss he would suffer for almost a year.

The month that began with losing his Midwest title gold ended with the highpoint of his career in professional wrestling as he defeated Chivalric in the main event of Rise of the Elite 2 to capture the TTW World Heavyweight Championship. It ended all of the talk that had gone on for years that said Devastation could not get it done in the big matches. The match also marked the end of a long feud with Chivalric and was regarded by most as a match of the year candidate. It capped off what a lot of people in the wrestling business consider the greatest pay-per-view event of all time.

Now the top man within TTW, Devastation would go on to have enormous success that summer. He would defeat everyone he came up against while continuing to put on extraordinary matches wherever he went. It was truly the apex of his wrestling career to that point. That all came to an end as the summer began to come to a close on August 28th, 2005.

That was the night of Collide & Conquer and it was to be the end of a feud with Rocky Stellar, who would be retiring after the match. Rocky was believed to be seriously injured going into this match and Devastation was even reluctant to agree to it. Convinced by Rocky, however, he did and the match was set for the main event that night. Going into the night Devastation had been told he was winning the match and had talked over the finish with both Rocky Stellar and owner Ed Raymond. That night however brought a different story. Rocky had been faking his injuries. The end of the match saw Rocky catch Devastation off guard and roll him up for the victory. In the aftermath of the night it was revealed that Ed Raymond had orchestrated the entire event, nearly destroying the relationship built with Devastation.

Having been screwed out of the world championship Devastation remained focused nonetheless on recapturing what he believed was rightfully his. That happened on October 13th, 2006 as Devastation became the only two-time heavyweight champion in the history of TTW. Any bad blood that might have existed with Rocky Stellar was laid to rest at the conclusion of the rematch as the two shook hands and embraced in the middle of the ring as the event came to a close. It took longer to bury the hatchet with Ed but eventually months later Devastation forgave Ed and the two of them were able to put it past them.

Having regained the world title Devastation would close out the year in a grueling feud with Damien Black that culminated in a hotly contested world title match to end the year that saw Devastation successfully defend his championship.

As 2006 came Devastation continued to take on all comers, defending his championship against whoever he was matched. A dream bout came on January 19th at Shockwave Plus as he squared off in a match against a legend of the DIWF, Greyson Blade. The match was back and forth and in the end Devastation was able to walk out the victor in a match he had dreamed about for years.

This led to a very eventful February that saw Devastation defend the title three times as part of a tournament leading up to Invite To Anarchy. It was at this event where he successfully defended the gold against another legend of the business, Jonny Johnson. The two of them met up once more in a non-title leather strap match less than a month later on an episode of Shockwave in what will go down as one of the most brutal matches in Devastation’s career. His back was beaten bright red by the strap and his face badly scratched. Doctors later told him he was lucky to not have any damage to his eyesight after taking a sick shot across the face with the strap. Devastation lost that strap match but agreed to defend the world title just one week later against Jonny Johnson in a rubber match.

That match, however would never come to pass as True Talent Wrestling folded less than a week later. For a second time Devastation found himself as the last world champion of an organization. It would not be long before he would find more employment, however.

Following the demise of TTW, Rob Belote took over the reigns somewhat and took the champions and much of the roster and started Legacy. Having been the last TTW World Champion, Devastation was recognized as the first Legacy champion by Rob and would defend the belt on their first show against good friend Greyson Blade. Blade however was attacked backstage prior to the match and a replacement challenger was named in the form of Marcus Marion. During that match Devastation and Marion went back and forth before Rob Belote himself intervened in the match, costing Devastation the title. Afterwards Rob went on a rant tearing down Devastation and firing him on the spot. Needless to say David and Rob haven’t spoken since.

Following the debacle in Legacy, Devastation went on to join the SHOOT Project in April of 2006. He would be there for a number of months enjoying some success and putting on some great matches. One thing this stop is notable for is a first in the career of Devastation as himself, Osbourne Kilminster, and Ray Wilmott formed Technical Ecstasy, the first stable that Devastation was ever a part of. It didn’t last long, however, as SHOOT soon went under soon thereafter. Having just had a shot at the Iron Fist title of X-Calibur and with the stable just starting, Devastation was left very frustrated by the abrupt closing of the company and did little for the next few months. He appeared at a few independent shows over the course of those months but primarily stayed away from the spotlight until just before Christmas.

It was at the OPW event, All Inclusive Ass Kicking Holiday on December 20th that former boss Ed Raymond dropped a bombshell mentioning that his stable, Raymond’s OPW would bring Devastation to the company in the New Year. A vignette played hyping his arrival to the company where he would spend the majority of the 2007 year.

He made his in-ring debut with Outlaw Pro Wrestling near the end of January in a triangle tag match alongside fellow member of Raymond’s OPW Dan Stein against former rivals from TTW Jonny Johnson and Christopher Davis plus the team of Matt Kanyon and OPW world champion Adam Davis. Devastation and Dan Stein would win that match but that did nothing to strengthen Raymond’s OPW and the group would crumble after Ed Raymond left the company.

For the remainder of his tenure Devastation would make his name in the C3 division and was the man that got the rules of that division changed to make it a pure wrestling one. That came one week after he won the C3 title on February the 15th. He would defend that title until June 7th of that year when he lost it to rival Nightmare. The two of them along with Osbourne Kilminster would revolutionize technical wrestling within OPW and would have several classic matches throughout the summer and fall.

Towards the end of the year in OPW Devastation would begin to align himself with Matthew Dawson but that pairing was short-lived as OPW would close shortly after and once more Devastation was left without work.

The last place most people thought Devastation would end up would be LEGACY but that’s exactly where he would find himself next. The bad blood between Rob Belote and himself had been largely quelled at a New Year’s Eve gathering at the beginning of the year but it remained an unlikely destination. Nevertheless, Devastation returned there on September 9th at the Destined for Greatness pay-per-view. After his arrival in LEGACY he would begin to feud with Stephen Rawlings over who the better technical wrestler was. The two of them met in Devastation’s first LEGACY pay-per-view match at Elevated Tensions with Devastation suffering a cheap loss. At this time, the feud still rages on with Devastation looking to prove himself once more and return to the world title that was so unjustly taken away from him.