Almighty Dollar

Kasee vs Troy, Cash Challenge* (UnderGround Wrestler)

UnderGround Wrestler waves 20 hundred-dollar bills under Kasee's and Troy's noses. Two grand goes in the pocket of whoever beats up his brother. Dollar signs flash green in both brothers' eyes. Troy licks his lip. The bros are naturally competitive. Even before the offer is made, they are talking shit, the endless cycle of humiliation and one-upmanship that is family. Troy and Kasee competed in Bro War, aka Wedgie Wars, and in No Holds Barred 140  at Thunder's Arena, but not for stakes this big. Wedgies, after all, are just for fun. For $2000 a hungry man might beat his brother to a pulp.  

Family betrayal is a recurrent theme in professional wrestling. In the underground, it's often played for its erotic subtext. Whether it's sexy for the participants is not the issue. What matters is how it looks to onlookers (like me) who get a sexual charge from the Romulus and Remus angle. Among earliest memories is my wish for a brother, a year or two younger or older. Brothers on TV and in movies fought each other. By age six I knew I wanted somebody to fight in the privacy of a shared bedroom. The phrase sibling rivalry  excited me the first time I heard it. I craved the point of view of the sixth shot above - the schoolboy pin, a phrase  that vibrates below the belt even now.

The smell of $2000 cash still in their nostrils, the two lock up, Troy in a metallic blue singlet, Kasee in candy-apple red. Kasee is on top of his bigger little brother in seconds, knee on one arm and his hand on the opposite wrist. "That two grand is mine!" he says triumphantly, his brother's shoulders pinned, but then he releases, explaining, "I was just warming up."

Troy is quick to take advantage of his big brother's lenience. He applies a full nelson hold, leaning backwards for added stress. Kasee muscles loose of the nelson, but Troy grabs him around the waist and slams him to the mat. He pretty much owns his brother now with a combination choke hold and claw to the crotch. Then with the same inexplicable generosity that Kasee showed him, Troy releases, poses for the camera, and tells Kasee to "stay down." (At this point, I'm thinking "kicking someone's ass" means victory by submission or knockout, and these holds are being abandoned less out of brotherly affection than a sense that the hold cannot achieve the desired result. I'm only guessing.)

A low blow turns the lead back to Kasee, who proceeds to thoroughly throttle Troy, ultimately stripping him of his singlet and choking him with it. Refusing to tap out, Troy loses consciousness. Before Kasee can collect the prize money, though, he revives, muttering, "Fuck you. I'm still in this." Less than 90 seconds later, he chokes out Kasee and peels his singlet off. Now both are down to their swim trunks. By the midpoint of the 21-minute match, Troy is in serious trouble again as his more experienced brother slices, dices, and makes julienne fries out of him.

As previously indicated, these proceedings have the added eclat of brother pitted against brother - a kink for a few of us. The last half sees dominance shifting from one brother to the other and then back again until a near-paralyzing low blow (the ninth by my count) forces one of these bros to tap out. The winner collects his dough, throwing a sizable tip at the loser's writhing body.

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* The long title is "You Won't Believe What They Do for $2000."