French Imports

Pro wrestling seems to be a popular spectacle in France, but in order for their shows to achieve the masculine, muscle on muscle action that is the sport of wrestling, it looks like France has to import stud wrestlers from other countries. The first dude above is El Matador, a wrestler from Spain, and he's followed by Ousboy Wrestler, who comes from Dakar, Senegal. And of course the last guy is Canadian stud Tristan Archer. You can see why these dudes like to come to France, where they can dominate their cheese eating, wine swilling opponents with multiple bodyslams and other power moves. And congratulations to fan favorite Tristan Archer, who recently won the FPWO championship belt. (Note to any Frenchman who may come across this blog: rather than be offended, just see this as my poor attempt at humor).

EDIT: For a more positive view of French wrestlers, check out today's post at Beefcakes of Wrestling featuring Johan Karouani (aka Jo Atlas).

Wrestling Schizophrenia

A funny thing about pro wrestlers is how they change their names and personas during various stages of their careers. I'll just take Alex Koslov as an example. His real name is Alex Sherman, born either in Los Angeles or Moldova (Internet says both). In addition to Alex Koslov, he's been known as Aleksandr Vladimirovich, Alex Pinchek, Carlos Sanchez (!), and currently Peter Orlov with Florida Championship Wrestling. I wonder if he even gets confused about who he is sometimes. The bodyslam pictures above come from Cyber Fights, where he wrestled under the name Alex Pinchek. I would love to find photos of all his different personalities doing a bodyslam.

Jessie Godderz

Jessie Godderz has begun wrestling at Ohio Valley Wrestling, so you can add him to the list of muscle dudes there like Marcus Anthony and Jason Wayne. Godderz has been in the public eye now for several years, starting back when he appeared on Big Brother (I think that second picture is from BB). He's done some modeling and has been in pro wrestling for at least a couple of years. There's something about Godderz's look that I find a little unusual. I can't really put my finger on it exactly, maybe it's his eyebrows or haircut or something, but he kind of has a feminine look about his face. But then you get to his pecs, biceps, and bodyslams, and he becomes all masculine. Already at OVW he's gorilla pressed several other wrestlers. It even looks like you can walk up to him and he'll press you overhead if you just ask. You gotta like a guy like that. He's not afraid to show off how strong he is.

Introducing Impact

This week Thunders Arena released a match featuring a new wrestler named Impact. He's billed at 6'1" and 205 pounds. In this match, he goes up against his "brother" Tak, who Impact outweighs by 50 pounds. So given the size difference, this looks like a simple squash job, and the match description promises no less than three gorilla presses by Impact. I'm thinking Thunders Arena needs to change its name to the Gorilla Press Wrestling Association. The match title is Bodybuilder Battle 52, but I take issue with that. Neither wrestler here has the large bulky muscle you expect to see of bodybuilders. Instead both guys are lean muscle jocks, the kind you expect wrestlers to be. Impact in these pictures is king of the world. I like the look of cocky confidence he has while he's in total control of his little opponent. Tak adds to the scene as he just hangs their limply and grimaces. If you watch the short video preview of the match, you can hear Tak beg "Not again! Don't do it!" as Impact presses him overhead a second time. You're in total control of your opponent. He's experiencing physical discomfort. He even begs you for mercy. As a wrestler, it's moments like these that make the years of practice, hard work, and training all worth while.

Toy Story

When I was a kid, I knew that boys didn't play with dolls, but there was nothing girlie at all about action figures. And what could be more masculine than having your action figures wrestle with each other? I staged more than one wrestling match with my own action figures, but I wish I had had a Spider-Man action figure like the one in the second picture above. I've always been a big fan of Spider-Man and wish someone would put on a wrestling match with one muscled up wrestler dressed as Spider-Man. Too bad I don't remember what happened to my toys from back when I was a kid. I guess I can always get some more. There's nothing wrong with an adult buying action figures these days, is there?

Dream Team

If you check out other wrestling blogs, you've probably seen by now pictures from a recent Ohio Valley Wrestling match which features the tag team of Marcus Anthony and Jessie Godderz. I think the amount of muscle in the wrestling ring with these two probably triggers some type of Surgeon General's warning. I find this double gorilla press to be just stupendous. I especially like the second picture where Marcus Anthony can barely contain his excitement at having finally found a suitable playmate in the form of Jessie Godderz who can appreciate the beauty and sophistication of pressing another wrestler over your head.

More Matt Magnum

Here are a few more pictures of Matt Magnum in action as he dominates several more wrestlers in the ring. When I Googled to find out more information about Magnum, I learned that he recently has had to take a break from wrestling at Top Rope Promotion for health reasons. Let's hope that it turns out to be nothing serious and that he soon returns to the ring to continue what looks like a promising pro wrestling career.

Matt Magnum

In one of my posts last week, I mentioned my own preference for seeing the young muscle wrestler beating up on other wrestlers instead of vice-versa. Matt Magnum above is an indy wrestler in New England who performs at feds such as Top Rope Promotions and PWF Northeast Wrestling. He's a lean, muscular college dude, and in these photos he's going up against a bigger, burlier guy named Ryan Bisbal. If this were a BG East match, I suspect Magnum would be beaten and made to suffer. But not here. It looks like Magnum does a pretty good job of handling his opponent (see Beefcake for more match pics). For me, real wrestling is about strength and conditioning, so even in pro wrestling with its scripted matches, I still like to see the guy like Matt Magnum who looks like the real wrestler win.

Joe Coleman

In my last post on Marcus Anthony, I showed him executing an amazing gorilla press on Joe Coleman. Because there were other pictures like that, I wondered whether Coleman had to play boy toy to Marcus night after night in the ring. I'm glad to report that Coleman doesn't always have to be the bitch. In a recent match we get to see him dominating another beefy wrestler with a bodyslam. Coleman looks like a pretty strong slab of beef himself, so let's hope we get to see more of him tossing dudes around like this.

Kyle Stevens

I have to say that more and more I'm really impressed with thestable of wrestlers at Thunders Arena. One in particular is Kyle Stevens. Just one look at him shows he's a bodybuilder, and he's got his own website if you want to find out more. Kyle is not that tall at only 5'8", but he weighs 230 pounds, so he is really packed with muscle. I haven't come across a picture of him yet where he scoops a guy up just for a simple bodyslam. I guess when you're as strong a wrestler as he is, why bother? Just grab hold of your opponent and press him overhead. The slam that follows is all the more powerful. At first I thought his shaved head added a bit of fierceness to his persona, but then I realized that it's the raw power of his muscles. In these pictures it's clear Kyle really enjoys showing off this power when he wrestles. And who can blame him? I especially like how Kyle looks up at his dude while he's pressing him overhead. I can appreciate this. There is a certain satisfaction in putting a guy on his back in a wrestling match and seeing the look of panic on his face. It's a little arrogant and cocky, but no doubt Kyle Stevens can back that kind of attitude up.

Fade

Fade is a wrestler featured in several CyberFights matches. At six feet, he's perhaps of average height among a stable of tall wrestlers like Kurt Sterling and Robert Anthony. But on that six foot frame he packs on 220 pounds of muscle. This allows him to easily scoop up and slam many opponents. Fade's bodyslamming technique is notable. He gets his arm in square and deep through his opponent's crotch (the third photo shows this well). His muscles let him hoist his opponents up pretty high. And I like how he places his hand on his opponent's butt. There's really no better way to get to know your opponent in wrestling than the slide your arm through his crotch and squeeze his butt. When you hold him up off the ground like this, he's really in no position to complain about it.

Rio Garza Revisited

A year ago my first post in 2011 featured BG East wrestler Rio Garza, and I wondered whether we would get to see a more agressive wrestler in the new year or if he would continue to be a whipping boy. Well, twelve months later, it looks like he has continued to be a whipping boy. Here are a couple of more good bodyslam photos of Garza, but they look like they come from the same match I featured last year. I guess those who follow BG East love to see Garza get the crap beaten out of him on a regular basis. Personally, I don't get it. He's got a good masculine, musclebound stud look about him, and I would enjoy seeing him dish out some bodyslamming and backbreaking punishment on another dude. But that's just my preference, and I guess it's not meant to be. Maybe we'll check in with him again next January to see how he's come along.