Hail to the Muscle Gods!

Who's ready for another post dedicated to the over-the-knee backbreaker?  I could probably do about fifty posts on this wrestling move, but I'll just stop at two for now.  I drew upon the image of a "muscle god" in my last post to refer to a wrestler who likes to sacrifice his opponent over the knee.  As I look over these two posts, I realize there are so many muscle gods in wrestling.  It's such a popular move that you see it in all the underground wrestling companies I like to follow.  On this page alone we got Rock Hard Wrestling, Muscleboy Wrestling, Wrestler4Hire, 88 Wrestling, Thunders Arena, and NRW Wrestling.  The new Weekend Wrestling absolutely loves the OTK backbreaker, and at Untamed Creations (which I just started following recently), those boys are breaking backs all over the place!

And looking at these photos I see so many of my favorite wrestlers doing the move.  I have to say that Scrappy is one of the best at breaking backs, but guys like Tanner Hill (aka Cena), Dante, and Cody Nelson always impress when they do it, too.  And I love the first pic in this post where Jake Jenkins plays muscle god by breaking Austin Cooper's back.  Cooper is no slouch himself in the world of wrestling, but it just goes to show that even muscleboys can find themselves sacrificed to muscle gods.

 

Sacrificing muscleboys to muscle gods!

Brad Barnes

While sorting through my fan email this week, I came across one message asking me to name a favorite wrestler who has not yet been featured in my blog.  Ha ha, just kidding!  I never get any fan emails.  But if someone ever did ask me this question, Brad Barnes would be a good answer.  Sure, he's made appearances here and there in my blog, but I've never actually done a post to celebrate the wrestler.  I like Brad Barnes, and there's a lot about him to celebrate.  He's got good masculine features and a muscular physique, especially when he's in bodybuilder mode.  You expect a wrestler at 5' 9" and 200 pounds to be a powerful dude, and in the ring Brad can deliver power.  There are plenty of places to see him in action because Brad has made the rounds to several different wrestling websites, including BG East, Thunders Arena, Muscle Domination Wrestling, and recently he's been wrestling with Cameron Mathews' group at Wrestler 4 Hire.  It looks like Brad serves as a jobber more often than not, but in some matches he shows a heel side.  And even when he's a jobber, Brad still gets in several good alpha wrestling moves.  Brad's got muscles, and he knows how to use them.  I guess that's why I like him so much as a wrestler.

I certainly haven't come close to watching all of Brad's matches, but I have to admit that one of my favorite all time wrestling matches features Brad, and it's his match at Thunders Arena against Tak.  The main reason this one is a favorite is because Brad delivers one of the best over the knee backbreakers I have seen.  The whole sequence lasts almost two minutes and begins with Brad flat on his back on the mat.  It's a testament to his strength and power that from a prone position he takes hold of Tak, scoops him into the air, brings him down across the knee for backbreakers, and ultimately ends with a bodyslam.   It's hard to describe in words, but you can check the match out at Thunders Arena.  If you do, you'll be treated to awesome scenes like this:

Fucking killer!  Hey Brad, sorry for taking so long to do a feature on you in my blog!  You're a certified muscleboy of wrestling!

Pressing Times

At work today there was a group of people engaging in their neverending conversation about the upcoming election.  And one guy, who is always overly dramatic and a general downer, sighed and shaking his head said, "These are pressing times."  Well, I don't know exactly what he intended by that statement, but for me, it brought to mind much happier thoughts.  I think these pictures give you an idea of what I was thinking about.

Yes, pressing times indeed.  And if you are looking for an escape from the campaign, be sure to check out Thunders Arena, which is the source for the awesome pics above of badboy Steel in action.

Jake Is Back

I haven't been posting much lately, but I can't let this pass without a comment.  Jake Jenkins is back at Thunders Arena.  His first return match against Austin Cooper has been out for a few days already, but that wasn't just a cameo by Jake for a special reunion match with his old partner.  It looks like Jake is going to be a regular on the TA roster again, and he now has a match against the 200 pound Steel.  TA bills Jake as coming in at 155 pounds, but I think he looks bigger.  It definitely looks like he has put on some mass since his last appearance on the mats a few years back.  But extra mass or not, Jake is at a distinct physical disadvantage against the bodybuilder Steel.  The smaller dude is gonna have to rely on his superior wrestling skills if he's going to get out of this one alive.

Thunders Arena has been on a roll lately with some awesome matches and new wrestlers.  And with the return of Jake Jenkins, it looks like things are only going to get better.

Alex and Jake

You may recall at the beginning of the year that I announced Alex Waters had won the coveted Wrestler of the Year award.  The funny thing is, despite being a big fan of his, I really haven't featured Alex much in my blog.  Maybe this post will make up for it.  A couple of years ago Rock Hard Wrestling released a match with Alex wrestling Jake Jenkins.  Jake made a name for himself at RHW during the earlier seasons, while Alex has made an impact in later ones.  This promised to be a match of superstars, and I was not disappointed at all.  Don't let these "pretty boys" fool you.  They are also tough wrestlers through and through.  One thing I noticed is that there must be a mirror just outside the ring, because a few times Jake and Alex get distracted by their own reflections (kind of like parakeets).  I guess the "pretty boy" overcomes the "wrestler" in them at times.  Another thing I noticed is how Jake sweats (he says he looks good all sweaty as he admires himself in the mirror).  My experience in wrestling and martial arts has taught me that there are just some guys who really sweat while competing (hey, I'm on of them).  If the sweat is any indication, Jake really gets in a good workout here.  But anyway, since this post is supposed to be about Alex, here are some good action pics of him.  Alex really seemed to enjoy tossing and slamming Jake about the ring, so you know this is a match I really liked watching.  Now remember, Alex is a certified muscle boy, so that's why he gets to flex like this:

Backbreaker Monday

It's Monday.  The first day of the work week. Seems like a good day to have a tribute to the backbreaker because a job can be backbreaking work, amiright fellas?  Too bad we all can't be pro wrestlers.  I know these dudes put in a lot of hard work, but in the ring they make it look like too much fun for it to be just a job.  Have a good week, guys, and keep up the good work!

Backbreaker Sunday

The dudes at Rock Hard Wrestling, No Rules Wrestling, Thunders Arena, and other internet based wrestlers make wrestling look like a bunch of fun and games, all for our entertainment.  But truth be told, like the above pictures show, sometimes wrestling can be hard, backbreaking work (ha ha, get it?  backbreaking?).  But then other times, as we see below, it's just pure unadulterated fun.

Spring Break

I've been doing this blog for almost three years now.  At one time I had the idea that I should blog every day, but even blogging a few times a week has been difficult.  I'm impressed with guys like Joe at Ringside and Bruno at Beefcakes who can produce so much material on a regular basis.  For me, some months the inspiration is there, but other months it is a struggle.  My decision to do a blog just focused on bodyslams doesn't make it any easier, either.  Luckily there are several sources to inspire me, like the wrestlers at Rock Hard Wrestling, and a lot of times I probably should just let the action photos speak for themselves.  For now, though, I think it's time to take a break from blogging, at least until the wrestling muse reappears.  And when he does come back, I better take a hold of him like these dudes at RHW are doing to their opponents.  I'm going to shake him as hard as I can until I get every last drop of inspiration out of him.  See you guys in a few weeks.