The Final Act

 

So here is my third and final post about Hollywood Fight Club 3 from Can-Am Wrestling.  There are several wrestlers featured in this video, but really it's three of them who make this one worth while.  First and foremost, there's Rio Garza, who is in a class of his own.  The second wrestler is Michael Vineland, a big, muscled-up dude who dwarfs the rest of the competition with his size and masculinity.  And finally, the third star is Aryx Quinn (aka Tristan Baldwin).  Rio and Vineland don't wrestle in this video, which is a shame, but previously we got a glimpse of Rio and Tristan wrestling.  And now I feature the contest between Vineland and Tristan, which is the climax of Hollywood Fight Club 3.  This match is for all the marbles.

Every wrestler in Fight Club brings a big wad of cash with him.  And the contest rules bascially say if you are defeated enough times, you're out.  The last man standing victorious after all the matches is the winner, and he collects all the money.  It's Michael Vineland and Aryx Quinn in the final battle, and it looks like Vineland is well on his way to take home the prize (by the way, the big guy already won Fight Club 2).  Much of their match showcases Vineland beating up on Aryx with big muscle moves like bodyslams and backbreakers (which is why I enjoyed watching it so much).  But we know that Aryx is an experienced pro, so we can't count him out too soon.  He eventually turns the tables, but in the end, I think Aryx learns that you can both win and lose at the same time.

I don't know what else to say, but "Ouch!"

Hollywood Fight Club

About ten years ago Can-Am Productions released a series of wrestling videos called Hollywood Fight Club.  Each one features several guys who gather to fight each other, with the ultimate winner claiming a big cash prize.  It's a good set-up for a wrestling themed video, and I'm surprised we have not seen more of this from other wrestling productions.

 

Earlier this year I blogged about Rio Garza's appearance in Hollywood Fight Club 3.  In addition to Rio, there are seven other wrestlers who compete in this two hour production.  Fan favorite Rio definitely is one of the stars, as is well known wrestler Aryx Quinn (aka Tristan Baldwin).  But in the literal sense, the biggest star is Michael Vineland.  His hulking, muscular body pretty much dwarfs everyone else who shows up at the fight club.  Michael is strong and powerful, and he eagerly uses his strength to toss his competition around the mat.  If you are a fan of bodyslams (and you know that I am, of course), there's plenty to like with muscleman Michael performing multiple slams along with other awesome power moves.  The big guy really delivers in this video.  The one regret is that he and Rio did not square off.  But all in all, Hollywood Fight Club 3 is not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

One word . . . Awesome!

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!

WOTY: Braden Charron

The ballots have been counted and in a surprise victory, Braden Charron has been named wrestler of the year!  The voters on the selection committee explain that this award isn't necessarily for any particular thing Braden did over the past year, but instead is a recognition of his many years of quality wrestling action.  Of course, it didn't hurt that Braden's submission included a pic of him in a red, white, and blue singlet.  Pandering to a voter's patriotism is a smart move (we are in an election year after all).  But the committee was swayed by his stellar performance in a 2 on 1 match in Can Am's East Coast Mat Battles.  Braden's opponents Cameron Matthews and Chris Richards find out the hard way that it takes more than just two skinny dudes to take down a muscle stud like Braden.  I don't think this is what they had in mind by double teaming:

Stayed tuned in the coming weeks and hopefully we'll get to see more of Braden in action.

Mat Battle

A few years ago Can-Am Wrestling released a collection of matches called East Coast Mat Battle, and one contest has Braden Charron wrestling Cameron Matthews.  Braden is one of my favorite wrestlers out there because he has big muscles and knows how to use them.  How much punishment can young Cameron's back take as this Grade A side of beef delivers a series of bodyslams, backbreakers, and bearhugs?  Braden even effortlessly presses Cameron up overhead, leaving no doubt who the true alpha wrestler is.  Check out those biceps!

Mike Pope

Here are a few pictures of blond mega-musclestud Mike Pope in action. He truly has one of the best physiques I've seen among Internet video wrestlers. He often used a half nelson on a guy as he lifted him up for a slam. While such a technique is not unique to Mike Pope, I suspect he did it so his hapless victim could get a good view of his rock hard abs before being bodyslammed. Hey, I'd be willing to be slammed by him just so I could get up close and personal with those abs. Unfortunately, the only pictures I've seen of Mike Pope in action are lower quality video stills, which makes me think he wrestled back in the mid-90s or so (I think for Can-am). I don't think he is wrestling these days, which is too bad, because I would love to see one of his bodyslams in HD. If anyone knows what Mike Pope is up to these days, please share.

Gorilla Press - Part 2

Although pro wrestling has given us the gorilla press for a while, in recent years, many internet video wrestling companies have also gotten into the act. As a result, some of my favorite muscle stud wrestlers like Aryx Quinn, Braden Charron, and Alexi Adamov have hoisted overhead some of their hapless opponents. I can hardly wait to see who's next.