<img align=left src= "http://www.scwrestling.net/events/matchimages/bodreamwolf.jpg">"Grams, are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help?"
I asked my grandmother this same question every year as I stood in her kitchen, and every year I got the exact same answer.
"No Bo." She said. "You can help me best by scooting out of here and letting me get your Thanksgiving ready."
I sighed. There was never any use trying to argue with her. Its as I said; it's her kitchen. Her domain. You simply did not go in there uninvited, and I was not invited. Thanksgiving meals were her crowning glory and now that grandfather was gone, she tried to make up for that one empty chair by stuffing me full even further. Not that I minded. Nobody cooks like a grandmother. The kitchen was alive with the smells of the banquet she was preparing just for the two of us, making me hesitant to take my leave. It was just the sight of that wooden spoon and the thought of it against my backside that finally convinced me the safer route would be to return to the living room.
Just as well. Grams had the small television in the kitchen tuned to the Macy's Parade, and as entertaining as that might be, I was more interested in getting set for the Green Bay Packers/Detroit Lions game. It promised to be a good one, and my money was firmly on the Packers to walk out of this Thanksgiving with another reason to celebrate.
I walked into the small living room and had a seat on the sofa, closer to the end table where I had a few snacks and a beer to keep me company until Grams called me to eat. I picked the remote up and started to put my focus onto the game that was playing before me, and that was when I allowed my mind to wander back to the business that I again found myself in.
There really isn’t very much that I can tell you that you might not already know about me. Then again maybe that’s a little egotistical of me to assume wrestling fans in the United States are still familiar with me. After all, I had just been in the spotlight of a major worldwide promotion like Global Championship Wrestling for less than a year. This business of ours can be an incredibly fickle one. It's always a matter of 'what have you done for me lately' syndrome.
I myself lucked out initially. I can admit that. I had been lucky enough to have met some people who had connections to help get my foot in the door.
What I can tell you is that I’m not at all ashamed to admit that when Mister Parker took me aside to tell me that Global Championship Wrestling was ceasing its operations, it felt as though my entire world had come crashing out from beneath my feet. Funny how that happens, isn’t it? One minute you’re on top of the world, the next you’re taking a nosedive with no way to break your fall.
That was me.
It was five years ago, and ironically it happened right in what is now Sin City Wrestling’s home territory in Las Vegas, Nevada. I had won a Triple Threat match against Christian and Psycho Dragon to win the new GCW National Championship, and unfortunately, I was also the last to hold that belt. It was right after Mister Parker and Mister Ward told me the bad news, and I never really got the opportunity to put that belt on the line against anyone, to defend it and prove I was a worthy champion.
I’ve had a few people in the business tell me that it was a blessing in disguise that I got to go out as an unbeaten champion, but that in itself is a bittersweet way to think about it. I was only unbeaten because any opportunities to prove myself were pulled right out from under me.
I kept the physical belt, of course. All of the champions were given that same honor. “Hot Stuff” Mark Ward and Guy Grant were co-World Champions. I’m unsure how they settled on who got to keep that one belt between them. Shane Boswell and Matt Grove kept their Tag Team belts, and Pandora kept her Woman’s title. But enough about them, I guess. You might say this story is about me and my own. That was almost five years ago, but I admit it still gives me a bit of an electric thrill running through me when I look at my gram’s mantle and see that title belt in a place of honor. I feel bad for all of the Avon ladies and Jehova Witnesses who are invited into our home and my grams, proud as can be, brags on me until their ears are ready to bleed.
Five years. Wow. It’s hard to believe that its really been that long.
Still, I have to admit there was the one blessing; I got to come home. Don’t get me wrong. I loved being on the road during my time in GCW. The sights I saw and the people I met, those were times so many wrestlers only get to dream but never experience. Yet it was like I told Mister Parker when he first interviewed me before he’d say whether or not he’d train me; family comes first. So home I went and I spent some valuable time letting (!) my grams pamper me a bit. (Yeah like I could stop her!) Luckily I still had Mister ward and Mister Parker in my corner as far as the business went. Mister Ward knew a local promotion in England was looking to import some workers and I am proud to say that he thought of me. So back on the road I went, this time for a short tour in England, then stops in France, Germany and Italy. Those were places that I never thought I'd get to see.
That was also when I learned that just because the place where you worked together might no longer exist, it doesn't stop you from being family with the men and women you worked with. While Mister Ward took care of me in Europe, Mister Parker and his wife were watching after my gram's welfare when I couldn't at the time.
I got home and spent a couple weeks with grams, and Mister Parker let me know he got me some indy bookings in the neighboring states. They were better deals than so many of my peers might get who work that scene regularly; travel expenses and nice hotels tied into the deal. I understand that I have his wife to thank for that. I worked an indy show a couple times before that, and I admit it's a stark contrast when you're used to wrestling in front of several thousand people and now you're in front of only a few hundred. Yet this to me was ideal. I could travel a few hours away from home, then after the show, return right home.
The only down side is my grams always enjoyed watching my matches on TV, and on the indy scene, that really wasn't possible unless they had a TV deal. Most didn't. So at Ms. Angel's suggestion, I did the next best thing. I bought a video camera and recorded all of my matches so grams could see them at her own comfort. I was making pretty good money, and got to spend time at home like I wanted, but Mister Parker had another plan for me in mind. He showed up at my door one morning and while my grams subdued him into her offer of breakfast, he told me that he wanted to have a tour of Japan arranged for me.
Japan.
I have no qualms at admitting to anyone that I was hesitant. Extremely hesitant. I've heard the stories about how different wrestling is in that country as opposed to what I was used to. The rings are harder. The fans are more respective toward what they're watching, and are quieter. Promotional interviews are held but it's what's inside the ring that really counts, as opposed to the shows here in the states that put segments first and wrestling second. Plus the wrestling itself was just plain brutal.
But all of that I could live with. I understood that over there, their rookies were sent on tours across the country to places like the States, Mexico and Europe in order to learn the styles and become better wrestlers. It was being gone from home and leaving Grams alone all that time that made me not want to go. According to Mister Parker, it would be a small series of tours. Each three weeks in length with a week in between each. Then I might even be able to return after those were over if the promoters took the interest. That was too long in my own opinion but that was when Grams stepped in, encouraging me to go.
She had been to Japan with Grandfather and she said it was a lovely country and she wanted me to be able to experience. plus she gave me that look that told me she was not a little girl and could take care of herself. Little did I know that she had already discussed the matter with Mister Parker over the phone and she agreed to stay at his and his wife's home in Georgia during my trips so I wouldn't worry -- so much. I was shocked she ever agreed, but I think she only did so in order to get me to go on this tour.
Like I said, family.
Then a problem arose. Mister Parker wasn't going with me. He said that an associate of his, Brandi Costantino, would be watching after me over there. She'd spent the majority of her career in Japan and was more qualified to guide me there than I was. I didn't know who she was or anything about her, so I wasn't comfortable with this. But when Mister Parker gets that tone behind his voice, I've learned it best not to argue.
Besides, how bad could it be?</color>
Bo weaved his way through the crowd between the backstage area of the Hakodate Hall in Hokkaido, Japan, and out to the ring with Brandi accompanying him. The fans on both sides of the aisle reached out to him respectively and Bo gladly accepted, slapping hands along the way. He climbed inside of the ring and at the introduction of his name, the fans applauded as opposed to answering with deafening cheers like he was used to. Streamers were even fired into the ring, covering him and his opponent, another young man that went by the moniker of Condor Sawai.
To Bo's eye, Condor looked roughly the same size as he was, if not maybe just a bit smaller in height. He figured the match would go smoothly enough. How wrong he was...
Condor sent Bo careening into the corner and came flying in after him, striking him flush in the jaw with a flying wheel kick that knocked the American grappler right down on his backside against the corner. ...
Bo was knocked out through the ropes and to the floor outside and Condor was right up atop the corner, perched like a hawk. Bo got to his feet with a small degree of difficulty and Condor jumped with a dangerous moonsault, crashing right into his opponent and wiping them both out! ...
Condor sent him into the ropes and swung at him with an attempted lariat but Bo ducked under and hit a float over DDT, driving Condor's skull into the hard mat. Bo rolled him over onto his back and hooked the leg in a cover, but Sawai kicked out just after the count of two. Bo looked completely caught off guard, as most opponents he had been against would have been kept down by that maneuver. ...
Condor caught Bo by the leg and spun him down with a corkscrew legwhip, jamming his knee painfully. Condor then went to work, brutalizing Bo's knee and locked him into an agonizing leg scissors, twisting his knee painfully. ...
Condor came off of the top, landing on Bo's sternum with a double foot stomp that took the air completely out of his body. Sawai then dragged Bo up by his braids and set his head between his knees, then lifted him up into the air in position for a crucifix powerbomb. But instead of just dropping him, Condor starting spinning in circles, building momentum, and then dropped Bo into a seated powerbomb, folding him in half for the three count!
Lesson learned the hard way. I had no idea just how powerful the ring styles of Japan could be, and Brandi met me in the backstage area afterwards, and said simply, "Are you ready to listen to me now?" I walked away, or limped rather, from that match with three fractured ribs and a severely bruised ego. I was ready to listen to whatever she had to say. It was all for the best. Ms. Costantino was almost as hard on me as Mister Parker. She gave me no leeway when she even insisted I further the development on what martial arts training I had taken in earlier years, the better to counter the same skill just about every other man in Japan wielded.
I completed that first two, competing in six matches, and walking away with zero wins. I wasn't exactly enthused about returning but I signed a contract so I had no choice. I kept up with my training and returned, and lost my first match back. But then I walked away from my next two matches with wins, and my outlook brightened. I worked harder than I ever had and finally finished the tours, admittedly with less wins than I would have preferred, but I did it. I was even asked back a few times, and went with better outlooks than I had the first time around.
My last tour ended just over two months ago, and that's when Mister Parker told me about Sin City Wrestling. Mister Ward was one of the owners starting it up, and given its light schedule, it would be the ideal place for me to work while picking up the occasional date elsewhere and watching after Grams, all in one basket.
It was perfect.
And better still, I'm being given the opportunity at a championship my first time in. A Lethal Lottery tag team tournament? I never heard of such a thing but that doesn't mean it won't work. I'll do my share of the work, and I am hoping I can say the same thing for my partner, Kid Karma. I watched his work and he's impressive. As impressive a partner as I could hope for. I really can see us going all the way and walking away with the Tag Team Championship. My opponents I think are as diverse as my own partner and me.
I've seen Stoner Scott Oliver. I remember him from the promotion, Generation-X Wrestling. He was part of a tag team as I recall so that gives him a big advantage over Kid Karma and myself in regards to how best to work in a unit. I was only in a handful of tag team matches in Japan, so Stoner has the experience in more ways than one. We're almost the same size too, but he's big on the hardcore style. As lighthearted as he seems to be in his promos, he sure does like to fight as opposed to wrestling. Usually the hardcore style seems best suited for the men bigger than he and I are. Heavyweights and Super Heavyweights. But here Scott is a Junior Heavyweight, and he's as rough as they come when the rules get thrown out the door. I've wrestled against hardcore competitors before, and the best thing I can accomplish is keep him inside of the ring, and not let him lead the charge with a brawl. Wrestling itself will hopefully be the advantage I need against him, but like I said, he has the experience in more ways than one. hardcore as he is, he might easily fool Karma and me into thinking that's all he's capable of. That isn't a trap I intend to let him lead me into.
His partner Jonathan Downs isn't what you would calla rookie. He's had experience in other promotions besides this, and even wore some gold too. His attitude leaves a lot to be desired but the skill he backs that ego up with more than makes up for it. I am actually looking forward to stepping in there against Jonathan and seeing just who is the better all around wrestler. I haven't actually seen him personally, so his reputation is mainly hearsay. I just know if half of what I heard is true, he can't be taken lightly. Mister Parker literally beat it into me that only a fool takes someone lightly inside of the ring. It’s the first step to ending up flat on your back and counting the lights over your head. That won't happen to me. I won't allow it. I've had the better training with Mister Parker and yes, Mrs. Costantino, and the experience in on my side. It's been ages since I wrestled against such a pure wrestler so this will be an experience. I'm just sorry that we both can't have our arms raised in victory afterwards. Just me.
Yes, some of Mister Parker's influence shining through right there I guess you could say.
"Bo? Everything's ready!"
My Grams' voice broke me out of my train of thought covering my match, and I promptly shut off the television. Grams would switch the small TV in the kitchen to the game so I could watch it, now that the parade was over.
I headed into where she stood waiting for me and the smells coming were incredible. She really outdid herself, just like she does every year. The table was covered with a huge turkey, enough for six people, let alone just the two of us. Then there were the mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams, stuffing, and god I could go on but let's just say she would have put the Indians back at the first Thanksgiving to shame with such a meal!
I looked over to her and smiled genuinely, and told her, "It looks incredible. Smells incredible too."
I maneuvered around the table where she took me by the shoulders and I leaned don so she might give me that customary peck on the cheek without the need to stretch. (When did she get so short?) I then pulled her chair out for her and helped her scoot in, and she said, "Let's just hope it tastes as good as you say it smells." and she handed me the knives to carve the turkey.
"Of that I have no doubt." I said as I started to perform the task that Grandpa used to every year.
A career that I love.
Supportive friends such as Mister Ward and Mister Parker and his family.
A grandmother I would do anything for.
For that I am truly thankful.</color>
