Muscle Collection

Our good friend over at Italian Muscle has posted previews of videos featuring not only himself but also of other European muscle studs.  It looks like our Italian buddy has hooked up with another web company called Muscle Collection.  Some of these dudes are just flexing, but others are wrestling, including the two Hungarian studs we see here.  With the singlets and the wrestling mat, these pics kinda tie in to my last post about amateur action and lift and carry in wrestling.  From the video clip of these two dudes it doesn't look like this is a real wrestling match, but they do show some good wrestling moves and I like the amateur wrestling theme.  It reminds me of great times spent horsing around with my buddies on the wrestling team.  Seriously, after seeing these pics how can you not say that being a wrestler is the best thing ever?

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.

Turkish Wrestling

So, here's something a little different for today.  The great thing about wrestling is how universal it is. A common denominator among cultures throughout history.  It's truly a global sport.  I mean, everybody knows that (unless you're one of the idiots on the IOC).  Wrestling is the national sport of Turkey, and oil wrestling in particular.  The annual Kirkpinar festival is the top competition for the sport and has been held continuously for over 650 years.  It's the world's longest running sports competition.  Victory can be achieved by a pin, which of course is typical for wrestling.  You can also win your match by lifting your opponent up over your shoulders and carrying him for five paces in any direction.  Sounds like a bodyslam would come in handy here.

Olympic Wrestling

This week at the London Olympics marks the wrestling competition.  It's unlikely you will see any pro-style bodyslams, but you should be able to see many bodies being slammed and tossed about.  Let's hope the USA does better this Olympics than they did at wrestling in Beijing four years ago.  If the Greco competition from the past few days is any indication, things don't look too good, but freestyle is always our stronger style.  Regardless of nationality, though, you should see a lot of great wrestling.

Jason's Back

Here's a little different perspective on Ohio Valley Wrestling superstar Jason Wayne as he gorilla presses a variety of opponents. I've featured Jason Wayne before because he does a good job of bodyslamming and gorilla pressing other dudes. Hell, if you're built as solidly as he is, it's the logical thing to do once you step into the wrestling ring. And speaking of Jason Wayne's build, just this past weekend he was bragging on Facebook about losing thirty pounds since the beginning of the year. Very impressive. Below is the leaner, meaner Jason Wayne, who I expect to continue to bodyslam the shit out of jobbers.


By the way, props to Penn State for winning another NCAA championship this weekend.

Crunch Time

In high school wrestling, February is crunch time. It's time for district and region tournaments, and then the holy grail, the state tournament. This is what your goal is after several months of constant training, brutal workouts, endless practices, tons of sweat. And don't forget the restricted diets. At night you dream more often about the foods you can't eat than about the girls you can't have. On the flip side, you are in the best shape of your life. You're lean and strong, and you feel like you can conquer anything life throws at you. You're also spending most of your "free" time with the best bunch of buddies you will ever have. So, here's to all the high school wrestlers out there. Good luck in reaching your goals.

College Wrestling

Don't lament the closing of college football season, because college wrestling is just getting into full swing. Here's a great scene from a college wrestling match to show what you have to look forward to. This stud wrestler from Rutgers gets some pretty nice air on his Army cadet with a great rear crotch lift. Be sure to support your local college wrestling team this year if you got one. You may not see some pro-style bodyslams, but you will see some bodies get slammed.

Amateur Slam

OK, enough of these European guys. It's time to cross the Atlantic and come back home. Here's a great bodyslam pic from an amateur wrestling match that I found on the net. I've never been able to do this to a guy in real competition, but it's great to see something like this because it shows that it's possible. Sometimes when I see a good wrestling action shot, I like to think about what transpired to get to this moment. Judging from the guy who's about to get slammed, this looks like high school wrestling. I suspect this is the kid's first real match. The coach at school asked him to join the team because they needed to fill a weight class. The kid's a jock, probably plays football, so he thinks he can just walk out onto the mat and make a statement. But he meets reality when he faces a guy who's been wrestling for years. The kid gets dominated by the wrestling stud, who parades him around in humiliating fashion before ending the match with a pin. In high school a few times I wrestled against jocks from other sports who thought they could just walk out onto a mat and compete (you'd be surprised at how many soccer players think they can suddenly wrestle). It was fun to toy with them a little bit, let them know who the real athlete was, before flipping them onto their back for the inevitable pin.

Ghenadie Tulbea

These photos show Ghenadie Tulbea slamming his opponent during the European wrestling championships. It would have been cool if he had been able to hoist him high off the mat before slamming him, but it's an impressive move nonetheless in real wrestling. I find it funny to see a wrestler from Monaco, which is more a haven for the rich and less a hotbed of wrestling activity. But Tulbea is really from Moldova. How he wound up in Monaco I don't know, but he's doing something right with his wrestling if he can earn enough to live in Monaco.

Real Men Wrestle

This post is a little off topic. I've mentioned before that wrestling is not for the squeamish, and this picture shows why. Not many guys can take having another guy's hand between his legs. Once back in high school I was wrestling around with one of my track & field teammates. It was mainly horseplay, but he wasn't a wrestler so I was controlling him pretty easily. I decided to get him into a ball and chain, which is one of my favorite holds in wrestling, but when I slid my arm into his crotch, he really freaked out. Because of his reaction, I decided to torment him and kept him in a good crotch hold for a few minutes before letting him go. I got a good laugh but he refused to ever wrestle me again. Anyway, I've always liked the crotch hold and often use it in wrestling. It's one reason why I like bodyslams so much. I love getting my arm in between another guy's legs and controlling him. It takes a real man to like having his arm in another guy's crotch. Nor does a real man mind having an arm in his own crotch. In fact, he may even enjoy it.

Kirk White

Kirk White is a NCAA wrestling champion and freestyle wrestler. Here he executes a brutal powerslam on his opponent during a freestyle tournament. There's even a video of it. It's a rare but awesome pro-style bodyslam in amateur wrestling.

High School Wrestling Action

Here's a good action shot of a high school wrestler from South Dakota hoisting his opponent up in the air a few years back. The photo made the cover of Wrestling USA magazine. Check this link for more information.

More College Action

With a little effort I came across another good bodyslam from an amateur wrestling match. I think the guy executing the move here is Wes Blaensifer from a college in Oregon. He's a heavyweight, so it's no small feat for him to be able to lift and toss his large opponent around like that. Very impressive.

College Dudes

In an earlier post I noted how difficult it is to execute a prostyle looking bodyslam in an amateur wrestling match, but sometimes it gets done. Here is a good picture of a stud from Johns Hopkins University taking his opponent for a ride.