Some days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. Other days it doesn’t pay to even go to bed. This has turned out to be such a day for the erstwhile son of Goldenboy Gene Banton. It began simply enough, rise and shine at 6 am and then to have traditional Japanese breakfast consisting of steamed rice, miso soup and Tomagoyaki with his father and sister who had wanted to sample authentic Japanese food without the Western influence to which they had grown accustomed. Two bites into the meal however; and “Junior” had decided that breakfast was for chumps. Hey, who the hell eats seaweed, especially for the most important meal of the day? Cassie did not seem to mind it much but his complaints did find a sympathetic ear in his father, who felt similarly. The restaurant was a cozy little nook nestled deep within the bowels of the ANA Intercontinental Hotel, a five star establishment planted in central Ark Hills of Tokyo itself. Despite the warm ambiance of the softly lit room with gagaku, traditional Japanese orchestral court music humming in the background it took a special kind of man to stomach the offerings presented and Junior was not that man.
He was grateful upon conclusion of the so-called meal when the trio finally stepped out into the brisk morning air of Tokyo with the sun kissing his face warmly as they debated where next to go. Cassie had spoken repeatedly of the Yasukuni Shrine, a site originally dedicated to the soldiers who fought and died in the Boshin war but now serves as a dedication to all soldiers who fought and died on behalf of the Emperor. Despite the historical significance however; she was outvoted by Junior and his father who were determined to see one of the famous Geisha houses where young, female entertainers clad in colorful kimonos and wearing intricate makeup were said to engage in prostitution. Only they learned the hard way that this practice was banned shortly after World War II after being reported to the police and arrested.
“I think I’ve had my fill of this country”, Junior complained from his cell within the Tokyo detention house in Katsushika. “This place is bullshit pops. They feed us seaweed while making us sit on the floor and call it breakfast.., I mean, where’s the eggs, the bacon and the hash browns? Then they have these chicks all dressed up like hookers, blowing in our ears and stuff, then get offended when I blow back? What the f***? They put their arms around you and call the cops when I grab their ass? What do they expect you to do?” Exhaling a long, drawn out sigh, the son settles down on the hard wood bench and props his foot up, circling his arms around the knee. With a shake of his curly blond locks he glances out into the sterile hallway, past a smartly pacing guard towards a clock on the wall, a clock he was unable to read for being in Japanese. “Christ can’t even tell what time it is. How long have we been in here anyway?”
“Almost three hours”, his father answers, pausing to glance at his wrist watch. “Cassie is supposed to be making bail for us”.
The cell itself was not unlike any other you may expect to find; a cold, concrete floor roughly 12 by 12, three plain cinderblock walls and a set of iron bars providing a view into the aisle through which the guards paced silently in front of the cells. An open toilet sat against the wall opposite the front and a slightly rusted bunk bed opposed the bench they sat on with a simple sink in the corner.
“I wish she’d hurry her ass up,” Junior replied with a nod of his head. “I have my first match tonight and I can’t be late on account of her”.
“I’m sure she’s doing everything she can to get us out of here”, Gene answers. “Just be patient”.
“I’m not a doctor, I don’t have any patience”.
“Dude stop worrying about this and start thinking about your match tonight. This guy Alexander is very experienced”.
“What’s the deal with him anyway?”
“How so ?”, Gene Sr. asked.
“I dunno, but that promo he cut made him seem like a bit of an ass”. He was talking about how the more things changed the more things stayed the same, then about hating his folks, and other crazy stuff. I thought the dude was auditioning for a soap opera. I couldn’t figure it ya know? I mean, he went from me to barbed wire matches to teddy bears and even Ed Bagley but not a single word about me! What gives? I’m his opponent tonight not that actor!”
“Umm.., I think you are supposed to be Ed Bagley.., junior”.
“Oh please! I’m a lot better looking!”
“Look,” The elder Gene interjects; “you need to start taking this guy seriously, ok? We don’t know anything about him so we’re flying into this match just as blind as he is..,”
“Oh come on pops..,”
“Don’t pop me or I’ll pop you! I’m being serious! The first match is one of the single most crucial and stressful moments of anyone’s career. You’re gonna have this guy, with years of experience on you looking to take your head off with tens of thousands of obnoxious, screaming fans making more noise than a chorus of busted chainsaws while not being able to hear yourself think! Hell, you won’t be able to think, you’re gonna have several dozen different directions your mind will be taking and if you let it wander, he’s gonna nail your guts to your forehead and ship your ass back home! Now, get your head out of your ass and back in the game, do you hear me?”
“Yes, sir!” He knew when to push and when not to push his father. This was not one of those times as evidenced by the steely glare cast upon him. Never mind that he had only been in Japan for a single day and had managed to find himself in jail along with his father for starting a fight with the Geisha after demanding that he leave, and never mind the nonstop rumbling of his stomach’s lack of appreciation for seaweed, he was about to take his first step into adulthood as he saw it. He would be carrying on the family’s name and tradition passed onto him. He could not allow himself to fail. “Do you have any suggestions on how to approach this match?” He had his own ideas of course, but the intelligent thing to do, he realized, would be to glean as many ideas as he could and select from them the one that presented the best course of action. Despite Alexander’s professed experience, the man seated beside him possessed even more, over two decade’s worth and would surely know what goes through a young wrestler’s mind on their debut night better than anyone, especially his opponent. “Tell me what you see happening?”
“Well.., it’ll start simple enough,” the elder Banton replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “You’ll go through a little cat and mouse game, trying to feel each other out. Being the more experienced of you and this being your first match he’s going to rightfully assume you have a case of the jitters and will try to take advantage of it by possibly baiting you. You can’t allow yourself to fall for it”.
“Ok, but how can I tell if he’s baiting me or not?” Listening to his father, Junior was starting to feel the depth of the situation in which he found himself. There were so many subtle ploys and nuances that went on inside of the ring that carried a pronounced effect with them he felt ill prepared for them having never competed until tonight. “I mean, I know it’s all psychological but there are so many little things he could try to do that I don’t think I could spot them all”.
“Don’t worry about spotting any of them”, Gene Sr. advises. “Let me handle that. If I feel he’s trying to set you up, I will signal you to back off”.
“I get it,” The younger man nods appreciatively. “I make him play at my pace”.
“Exactly!” Gene Sr. chimed in. “See, although you are both at a disadvantage for not knowing much about the other, you still have an ace in the hole here because the simple fact is two minds are better than one”.
“Don’t forget, Cassie is going to be at ringside too”.
“Alright, three minds. Still, there is another obstacle you have to overcome”.
“What is that pops?”
“Short answer short, jitters”. His dad replied. “Believe me when I tell you that your mind is going to be in utter chaos out there and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see you draw a blank out there for the first few minutes”.
“Well, that is human nature, dad”.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t fight it”.
“How would you suggest I fight it? It’s kinda tough to fight your own nature, know what I mean?”
“Oh absolutely,” his father agreed, rising from his seat. He approached the iron bars, wrapping his fingers around them, the cold of the steel invading his touch as he gazed absently into the hallway. “But there are ways to take your mind off of it thereby lessening the number of distractions it has to deal with”.
“Such as..?”
“Have you ever done a spinner?”
“What the hell is a spinner?” Geno junior asked bemusedly.
“A spinner..,” his father began, pausing only to collect his thoughts while hoping to take advantage of one of his son’s strongest personality quirks, a one track mind which he now had hoped to set back on track. “A spinner is a petite girl, a cutie pie that you can just set down on top of you and..,” he rotated his hands in a spinning motion while making a whirring sound with his tongue against his pursed lips, “… spin like a top”.
“Really?” Gene junior rose from his seat and joined his father at the edge of the cell, looking outward as the guards spoke to some unseen person behind a set of blinds. “That sounds like those gymnastics babes”.
“Yup,” his father agreed softly. “There’s gonna be an arena full of spinners out there watching you tonight, 10,000 plus..,”
“Over 20,000 boobies..,” he observed as the door slowly began to open revealing one of the guards and a pair of tight jeans and knee high black leather boots stepping out behind him. “Damn, that’s a lot of bras to unfasten”. The jeans and boots emerge fully into view now, revealing a snugly fit black sweater and rows of cascading flamed tresses, it was his sister Cassie.
The pair approached the cell and the guard promptly inserted a key into the door pulling it open. “You are free to go”, the guard said in broken English. Gratefully, both men stepped out into the hall and traded hugs with the crimson haired young lady.
“Cassie”, Junior held his sister by the shoulder and turned her to face him. “Dude, what took you so long”?
“I’m sorry about that”, Cassie replied. I’m afraid that there was so much to see and the Yasukuni Shrine was twice as big as I expected”.
“The shrine, huh?”
Cassie nodded.
“Was it any good?”
