Play Time

Thunders Arena released some special matches for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, one of them being a match between Scrappy and Kasee.  I've watched Scrappy wrestle many times, but this is my first look at Kasee.  And boy, am I a big fan!  At 5' 9" and 170 pounds, Kasee has the looks I like in a wrestler with his muscular, aesthetic physique.  He's even wearing the type of trunks I like to see on wrestlers.  Because TA generally features big bodybuilders, I fear Kasee is destined to be a smaller dude who gets thrown around a lot by the bigger guys.  That's a problem Scrappy has at TA, too, so it's nice to see the two of them featured together in this match.

I have to admit, this is kind of a strange match, but I really enjoyed it, and Kasee in particular.  The best word that describes him is "playful."  It's like he doesn't see this as a serious wrestling match, but instead it's just an opportunity to have some fun.  He sees Scrappy's body as something to play with.  His own body is something for Scrappy to play with.  The wrestling is play time instead of a contest.  I love how Kasee is always grinning, like when he checks out Scrappy's thighs.  Scrappy claws his pecs, and Kasee grins.  Trapped in Scrappy's bearhug?  No problem!  It's just fun and games for Kasee.

Scrappy seems only to tolerate Kasee's playfulness to a point.  TA bills this match as muscle worship, and you see a good bit of it, mostly with Kasee trying to play with Scrappy's muscles.  Scrappy will let the playful Kasee do his thing for a few moments, but then Scrappy tries to get this back to a wrestling match.  Yet even when Scrappy breaks Kasee's back over the knee, or when Scrappy gorilla presses him (and it's impressive how he does so), Kasee just takes it all in with a grin like you see on the face of a kid in the sandbox on the playground.

The wrestling action for much of the match has Scrappy controlling Kasee, but Kasee eventually decides to make some moves of his own.  But even then, it's still all a game, like when he playfully gets Scrappy in an over the shoulder carry, or when he catches Scrappy in a sleeper.  The innocent, happy grin rarely leaves Kasee's face.  Wrestling in it's most primal form is just a game, something to be enjoyed, which Kasee understands.  That's why I like Kasee and look forward to seeing much more of him at TA.

Now there's a wrestler who knows it's all about the fun!

Giving Thanks

For most you guys, you probably equate November with Thanksgiving, but for me each year it means I get to enjoy the November to Remember series at No Rules Wrestling.  Every year, NRW posts a new match each day of the month, and often there's at least one dedicated to the glorious backbreaker.  This year, it's a short match featuring NRW superstar Dave Calbrese breaking in a rookie wrestler named Arlo by dishing out some brutal back punishment.  My favorite part is when Calbrese scoops Arlo up and then drops the rookie over the knee repeatedly for backbreakers.  Few do it better than Dave Calbrese, and for that, I am truly thankful.

Another Backbreaker Monday brought to you by Dave Calbrese.

Happy Thanksgiving guys!

Singlet Season

I need to check out Underground Championship Wrestling more often, because when I do, I find an unexpected gem.  The match here in today's post is definitely one of them.  It caught my attention because the wrestlers are in singlets, which I find appropriate for this time of year with the college wrestling season just beginning.  The starring wrestlers are Aron (red) and Malik (blue), and the two put on a great wrestling match.  From my somewhat trained eye, Aron looks like he's a much more skilled wrestler than Malik, and if this were a true competition, I suspect he would have had Malik pinned and tied up like a pretzel repeatedly.  But this match is also about the entertainment, and I was greatly entertained.  Malik may not be as skillful of a mat wrestler as Aaron, but he knows enough to make a good show out of it.  The wrestlers agree at the beginning to make it a best three out of five match, and it goes all five rounds before one of them finally claims victory.  There's good back and forth action, and while much of it is mat wrestling, Aron and Malik produce some good pro-style lift and carry moves.  That's important for me because it means I can feature this match in my blog.  Aron in particular I liked.  He has appeared in several matches at UCW, but now he's listed as "retired".  That's too bad for us because I would love to see him star in more matches.

Malik says, "You gotta love wrestling in singlets!"

Lumberjacked

In my Halloween post I confessed that I'm a real coward when it comes to horror movies.  So when 88Wrestling recently promoted a new match by featuring Chase Lundquist brandishing an ax (axe?), I began to worry this would be another slasher-flick type contest, and I would need to keep my hands over my eyes for much of the match.

Sure, at first, Chase looks menacing as he waves the ax at his opponent, Tanner Hill.  But luckily Chase is not some crazed serial killer.  He's a lumberjack.  And a jacked one at that.  Hence the name of the match, "Lumberjacked."  Of course, Tanner isn't going to be out-jacked by anyone, and he also gets his chance to swing the ax around a bit, teaching Chase a valuable lesson about bringing foreign objects into the ring.  And that's about it for the ax, and this is not a blood and gore type horror match.  And this is not a match where you want to cover your eyes.  It's a wrestling match between Chase Lundquist and Tanner Hill.  And you can't take your eyes off these guys.

Both Chase and Tanner are the type of wrestlers I love to see in the ring.  They are young and cocky, boast powerful physiques, but not too big . . . the perfect specimens of aesthetic muscles.  They represent why I like 88Wrestling so much (and its predecessor Rock Hard Wrestling).  Not only do I like to see guys like these in the ring, I also like to see them dominate.  So this actually creates a little dilemma for me here.  Who do I pull for in this match?  Eventually I decide it doesn't really matter.  I'm a winner either way.  I like the back and forth action.  Plus there's a lot of sweat as the wrestlers punish each other, making their muscles glisten in the lights.  Trust me, boys.  You'll want to keep your eyes wide open throughout the entire match.

Blonds and biceps . . . a winning combination!

For more pics and commentary, check out Joe and Ringside.