Anywhere But America

Pennsylvania native "High Impact" JC Westler, 23, 5'10", 178#, turned bad guy last spring.  He teamed up with British heel Wyndham James Winthrope III to form Elite International, the proteges of Iraqi sheik Ima Shithead.  Now he traitorously boasts that he hails from "anywhere but America"--in a bid to generate fan heat that's practically foolproof.  Westler plays the whole thing up with clownish exuberance that shows off his animal magnetism.  It almost makes up for a gimmick that is right-wing paranoid and corny and not even corny enough to work as camp.

On the plus side, Westler's looking better and better as he builds up his thighs and arms.  Still slim, the body is no longer as boyishly slim as it was a year ago.  JC knows how to sell a move, too.  Better known for high-flying kicks than the sort of sweaty gruntwork I prefer, he is saved for me by his boy-next-door looks--and by the fact that he does up-close clenches better than 80% of other wrestlers his age.  But for the typical depilatory excesses of pro wrestling, he would be my ideal of a bear cub or otter, an impression deepened by a face full of brown stubble and a slight resemblance to Sid, the hyperactive sloth in Ice Age--and I mean that in a nice way.

Despite the success of EI, overlooking its recent loss of the Lehigh Valley Wrestling tag championship to the Haze Brothers, Westler shines best in his singles matches, like this one from a LVW show in September against Jimmy Konway.  You can see he's got the moves, charisma, and definitely looks to make it big.  His potential as a Class-1 heel is unmistakable--the big mouth, the cockiness, the short cuts, the bullying cowardice.  I look forward to seeing this guy grow by leaps and bounds in the coming year.  And if  '11 can bring me a long, sweaty feud between Westler and somebody like weaselly Aden Chambers, it will be a most happy year in pro wrestling for me.