Seasons Beatings from the Z-Man

After my last post I received tons of comments criticizing me for suggesting that Zack Vazquez is getting too old to wrestle.  Ha ha, just kidding.  I didn't receive any comments, as usual.  But in case anyone thinks the Z-man is too old to provide us with quality wrestling entertainment, think again.  Here are some action pics from matches at Rock Hard Wrestling where he demolishes Kyle Carter and Logan Matthews.  A dude with biceps like the Z-man's still has a long career ahead of him in underground wrestling.

And by the way, the Z-man and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Out with the Old, In with the New

Recently Rock Hard Wrestling posted a match featuring the Z-man going up against a new guy named Chad Daniels who is touted as a college athlete.  Seems like Z-man has been breaking in a lot of the new guys lately at RHW, which makes sense because he's such an experienced wrestler.  And as I thought about it, I realized that Zack has been appearing in underground wrestling videos ever since I have been following them.  I don't want to say he's old, because he certainly doesn't look it, but it makes you wonder how much longer he can continue dishing out and receiving punishment in the wrestling ring against younger opponents.  Not long ago I was wrestling with a cousin who is on the high school wrestling team, and because I'm older, stronger, and more experienced, I stayed in control (well, most of the time, at least).  But the next day I was sore as hell.  This came as a shock because I think I'm too young to be getting old, but I guess that's the way it goes.  Anyway, I suspect Z-man was also feeling it the day after his match with the younger Chad, especially after being slammed a few times.

For more match pics and quality commentary (as always), check out Joe and Ringside.

Power of the Atom

 
In college I loved my physics classes.  I was fascinated by the power of the atom.  Something so tiny that it's measured in picometers (a trillionth of a meter), yet when split through nuclear fission it produces an exothermic reaction to release a large amount of energy.  Ha ha!  Just kidding.  I wasn't really a science geek in college.  I just got that stuff from Wikipedia.  But I am impressed with the power of Atom the wrestler at Thunders Arena.  I've posted before about how deceptively strong he is, and he's at it again with a nice looking gorilla press here of Angel.  I'm a fan of Angel, too, who's a scrapper who really knows how to put the hurt on bigger dudes.  With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I'm thankful to both Atom and Angel (as well as Thunders Arena) for all the entertainment they have provided us.

And I'm also thankful for having finally reached 100 followers.  Thanks guys!

The Champ

One of my favorite pro wrestlers is Austrian Mexxberg, in no small part because he loves to bodyslam and gorilla press his opponents in the ring (and sometimes out as the fourth pic shows).  What's not to like about that?  Mexx is active in at least two European federations, Varsity Pro Wrestling and New European Championship Wrestling.  He makes that VPW championship belt look pretty good.

CameronWrestler.com

As long as I am promoting wrestling websites, I want to feature Cameron Mathews' website today.  Recently Cameron has begun to produce his own wrestling matches and posting them for sale.  Many of the wrestlers will be familiar to you.  The pictures here come from a match Cameron recently made available between Marko and Maverick.  Maverick is none other than indy wrestler Tony Nese, and he suffers from a pretty good looking otk backbreaker here.  There's a lot more on the website than just these videos.  You can get information on how to request custom made matches, and Cameron also has details about "Pro vs. Joe" matches where you can challenge an underground wrestling star to a one-on-one match.  Stepping into a ring against someone like Brad Barnes sounds like a lot of fun . . . at least until he scoops you up and snaps your spine with an otk backbreaker . . .

Molto Lotta Italiana

If you check out Italian Muscle's website, you'll see a link to his wrestling videos.  These matches feature not just him, but several other of his buddies, too.  From the previews, it looks like they are mostly lift and carry videos.  Bearhug fans in particular should find them entertaining.  Our man at Italian Muscle sent me these screen shots to show there's some good bodyslam and backbreaker action, too.  The match between the two guys in the second and third pics really looks intriguing.  Their singlets may not be quite regulation, but I'd love to wrestle them.  I really need to start planning that trip to Italy . . .

Italian Muscle

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Brodie Brings It

It's hard to believe that it is already October.  The year has gone by fast.  At the end of last year, I crowned Brodie Fisher of Rock Hard Wrestling the Wrestler of the Year for 2013, but it seems like he has kept a low profile in 2014.  I think he's appeared in just one match this year, so maybe he has moved on to other things.  It would be a shame to not see him wrestling anymore, but then again, sometimes to old has to make way for the new, and RHW has brought onboard some stunning new talent recently, like Dash Decker and Bruce Ballard.  I'm pretty confident those two dudes will give me some good material to blog about soon.  But back to Brodie, here he is above delivering some slams and backbreakers in a match against Colt Palmer.  It's not really much of a match to be honest.  Except for a few minutes of boxing at the beginning, Colt doesn't really fight back.  That's my kind of opponent.

On another note, the photo below comes from a recent college wrestling match in California, and I love it!  A lot of ingredients go into making a successful wrestler, such technique and skill, strength and muscles, drive, and a good dose of insanity.  A cocky attitude is also essential for success in wrestling, and this photo captures that perfectly.

Muscles in Action

I know it has been many months since my last post.  I guess over the past year I have found less and less time to spend on this blog, and to be honest, it's probably pretty much run its course.  How much more can you say about a bodyslam anyway?  Luckily, while I may be running out of words to say, wrestling productions are still turning out products that continue to inspire, and every once in a while I come across some things that are worth saying a few words about.  If you have followed this blog, it's no secret that I like OTK backbreakers, so you can figure out why these pictures appeal to me.  The first two action photos come from a match at Thunders Arena featuring Brad Barnes against Tak.  I've seen the whole match and found it well worth the price of admission.  The backbreaker Barnes gives Tak is probably one of the best I have seen.  It actually begins with Barnes flat on his back and Tak on top of him.  Barnes takes a hold of Tak and somehow works his way to his feet, taking Tak up with him.  It's a testament to the strength and power of the bodybuilder wrestler.  But the best is yet to come when Barnes drops Tak over his knee and holds him there for almost  minute.  Tak squirms and cries out in agony, but he just can't break free of Barnes' powerful arms.  It's pretty impressive.  The next photos come from a match at No Rules Wrestling between Dave Calbrese and Lorenzo Smalls.  I haven't seen the entire match, but from the preview, it looks like Calbrese gets in some good power moves, including this sick OTK backbreaker.

Aside from the crotchlifts and backbreakers, it's the specific pairing of wrestlers in these two matches that leads to good quality action (at least in my opinion).  I have always liked a wrestling contest where a muscular wrestler dominates a slightly smaller opponent.  Maybe it's because I was a wrestler back in school, so I like to see the muscle guy win.  In his match against Tak, Brad Barnes does a lot of showing off and flexing of muscles, and then he puts those muscles to good use with his awesome backbreaker.  Dave Calbrese's muscularity is readily evident in the third photo, especially compared to the much leaner Lorenzo, who fruitlessly struggles in Calbrese's powerful arms.  All in all, both matches present a great combination of muscles, lean bodies, and power moves.

Well, I hope you dudes enjoy these photos.  Let's hope it won't be another six months before I make another post.

Beefcake Brian Cage

I know I haven't been posting much lately, but it's been getting harder for me to spend time on my blog.  But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post these pictures of Brian Cage in action for Pro Wrestling Guerilla in California.  This is also my way of tipping my hat to Bruno and his Beefcakes of Wrestling blog, of which I am a fan.  The first two action photos are particularly awesome because they show Brian Cage tossing around fellow beefcake wrestler Tony Nese.  The next two photos feature Cage humiliating two jobbers whose names I don't care to learn.  There's just something about a muscled up dude taking apart an inferior opponent in a wrestling ring.  All in all, I like these pictures.  (By the way, great photos by Devin Chen photography.)

Puroresu

I've been surfing the net looking for more good action photos of Kota Ibushi and Hiroshi Yamato, but they have been hard to come by (good bodyslam photos at least).  On the plus side, I've come across other good action pics to share, all keeping with my current celebration of Japan and its unique version of pro wrestling known as Puroresu.

Hiroshi Yamato

I want to stay in Japan and this time take a look at Hiroshi Yamato of All Japan Pro Wrestling.  He's a lean, muscular dude at 5'10" and 180 pounds.  Yamato has an amateur wrestling background, and these skills are evident in his pro matches with his frequent use of suplexes.  Of course, he does a nice bodyslam now and then, too.  Check him out in action on YouTube.