Remembering Rio

I realize that my last several posts have featured Tanner Hill (aka Cena) in one form or another.  If I'm not careful, I may have to change the name of my blog from Bodyslam Fan to Tanner Hill Fan.  Actually, that's got a nice ring to it, but there are tons of other wrestlers out there worthy of attention, too.  One of them is Rio Garza.  Now, don't be fooled by the title to this particular post.  This is not a memorial to the guy.  As far as I know, Rio is still alive and well.  Rather, I'm just remembering back several years ago to the time when I began to really get interested in this underground wrestling stuff.  This was around the time Rio Garza burst onto the scene, and he's a large reason why I got so into this strange but fascinating secret world where young muscle guys battled it out for our entertainment.

Rio Garza initially made his name at BG East, but like I mentioned in my last blog post, several guys in the underground scene worked for multiple productions.  Rio was a hot commodity himself, and he wrestled for several different companies, including Can-Am.  Today's post features Rio performing for Can-Am in a fun, multi-match video called Hollywood Fight Club.

Now, one thing that really made Rio popular at BG East, Can-Am, and other places was that he played a great jobber.  It seems like guys just loved to see the baby-faced wrestler get pummeled.  I guess my tastes are a little different because I prefer to see muscleboys in the role of a heel.  What I like about Rio's appearance in Hollywood Fight Club is that it shows he's not a total and complete jobber.  The kid got the opportunity to show off his alpha male side several times during the video.  As you can see above, none other than Aryx Quinn (aka Tristan Baldwin) suffered at the hands of Rio.

 

During another part of the video, Rio faced off against a bigger Donnie Drake, with Rio even showing off some bigboy wrestling moves in the process.  This blog is inspired by bodyslams, afterall, so I just can't help but savor the sight of the young Latino wrestler slamming badboy Donnie hard to the mat.

Of course, Rio Garza knows how to take punishment, too, and there's plenty of that in this video.  But if that's what you want to see, you'll have to download the video at Can-Am.  For me, however, it's the vision of a dominant Rio being all alpha as he flexes his biceps over a broken Aryx Quinn that will live on in my fantasies.

Hollywood Fight Club was produced back in 2010 when Rio looks like he's twenty at most.  So, what's our hero up to these days?  I think he's still engaged in bodybuilding and fitness modeling.  But what about wrestling?  About a year ago, Cameron Matthews at Wrestler4Hire mentioned being in touch with Rio to get him back into the ring.  Let's hope Cameron is successful, because if he is, we got something like this to look forward to:

These days, Rio is older, more mature, and boasts bigger muscles.  Combine all that with the tattoos and facial hair, and I say he's got "wrestling heel" written all over him.  Rio buddy, I wish you the best.  I don't know what you're up to now, but I hope whatever it is makes you happy.  Just know that a lot of us would be happy to see you back wrestling again!