Faces of Pain

A good squash job doesn't just rely on a dominant heel.  You also need a jobber boy who can play the role.  I recently checked out a match at Wrestler4Hire between MarkO and Zach Reno.  The write up about the match on the webpage leaves little doubt this is a classic heel versus jobber match.  And let me tell you, Zach Reno really sells the jobber role. 

MarkO is cocky, confident, aggressive, and has the body to back it all up in the wrestling ring as the heel.  Zach is no pushover himself, but in this match he doesn't stand a chance against his muscular opponent.  This match is equally about MarkO as the alpha wrestler as it is about Zach Reno the suffering jobber.  We know pro-style wrestling is really about the entertainment and drama of the conflict, but Zach sells his suffering so well at times, I get the impression Zach's faces of pain are genuine.

Now, as much as I like seeing a good jobber punished, I'm more entertained at the sight of a muscular heel dominating.  That's the main reason I purchased this match.  The lift and carry aspect of this match does not disappoint.  Seeing the ripped, muscular MarkO repeatedly hoist Zach Reno into the air and toss him about checks all my boxes.  We get bodyslams, suplexes, a killer torture rack, gorilla presses (yes, that's plural), plus a devastating series of over-the-knee backbreakers that it's a wonder Zach can still walk.  MarkO is a muscle freak, and his performance is so dominant we have little doubt that Zach's suffering is real.  At the end of the match, I find it hard to decide which wrestler I envy more.  But as much as I hate to admit it, it's probably Zach because he gets to be MarkO's little bitch.

The suffering jobberboy needs a little break!

I'm On Team Scrappy

My last post was all about choosing sides in a match where Ethan Andrews makes an appearance.  Here we go again with another Ethan match, this time from Wrestler4Hire where he wrestles Scrappy.  Can there be any doubt about my choice in this one?  Hell, yeah, I'm on Team Scrappy! 

Heck, let's be honest.  I'm usually on Team Scrappy regardless of who he's wrestling.  But in this match, it sure is fun seeing our little muscleboy go all alpha on the pale, pasty Ethan.  Scrappy is my favorite type of wrestler.  He's got muscles, and he loves to use them.  My guess is Ethan spends about half the match up in the air as Scrappy picks him up and tosses him around over and over.  Sure, Ethan gets in some good moves here and there himself.  But there's no point in highlighting any of that in this post.  After all, I'm on Team Scrappy!

Team Scrappy brings out the big guns!

I'm On Team Jett

Not long ago while promoting its newest match between Jett Bentley and Ethan Andrews, 88Wrestling asked us whether we are on Team Jett or Team Ethan.  Well, I've mentioned before my thoughts about Ethan Andrews, so there's no need to re-hash them again here.  Let's just say it comes as no surprise that I am totally on Team Jett!

Jett Bentley arrived at 88Wrestling a couple years ago as a ripped, rookie wrestler, described as a gym freak with a shredded physique.  After a few matches, Jett disappeared for a while before returning as a ripped wrestler, a gym freak with a shredded physique, but now with twenty additional pounds of muscle.  Holy crap!  He's even bigger and better!  The new and improved Jett has wrestled in several more matches now, but surprisingly this is the first time I have featured him in my blog.  He's muscular, masculine, confident, and boasts good looks.  These are all the qualities I love in a wrestler.  When it comes to choosing sides, there's no doubt I'm on Team Jett.

 Team Jett rocks Ethan!

For more pictures and commentary about this match, check out Joe's blog at Ringside and W.R.'s Screencaps.

Dante's Back

Dante is my favorite wrestler at Muscleboy Wrestling, so I was excited when they brought him back for another match.  Now, put Dante in a singlet, and that's just a match I can't pass up!

In MBW's most recent catalogue, Dante faces perennial badboy Jesse Zane.  It starts off with Dante and Jesse hanging out in the wrestling room, wearing singlets with the shoulder straps down.  You know, just normal stuff guys like to do.  When challenged to a match, Dante claims he's not a very good wrestler and that he's not interested.  Um, hello!  You're standing on a wrestling mat wearing a wrestling singlet.  Of course you're going to wrestle!  It's no surprise that Jesse doesn't let Dante off so easy, and the expected wrestling ensues.  Jesse's got a tough streak in him, and he's pretty skilled as a wrestler.  But don't think Dante is just a prettyboy jobber.  Our hunky Latino makes Jesse suffer for long periods during this match.  As the combat grinds on, the singlets come off and the sweat pours down the two wrestlers' bodies.  After a while, Dante complains that he's too tired, but Jesse keeps on going.  Dante is the bigger wrestler, but perhaps his lack of stamina is the equalizer in this match.  Everyone knows that stamina marks the difference between just being a wrestler and being a champion wrestler.  Let's hope MBW helps Dante on his strength and conditioning, because in the next catalogue, I want to see Dante being a badass heel.

Next time, let's hope Dante gets to bodyslam some punk ass!

Stallion

Thunders Arena has made a name for itself by bringing in big bodybuilders to the world of underground wrestling.  The guy featured here is Stallion, who at 6' 2" and 250 pounds offers a lot of power and muscles when he steps onto the mat.

Of course, bodybuilders who wrestle love to show off their muscles, and that's why I like Stallion.  He knows he's big and strong, so he has no problem lifting and carrying and tossing other dudes during a match.  That's easy to do when pretty much every other guy is smaller than you.  Even a big muscleboy like Eagle finds himself tossed about like he's nothing but a little punk.  Holy shit!  This is power wrestling at its best.

"You weigh 200 pounds?  No problem, bro!"

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!