I Like

I like Trent Blayze, 6'1', 195#, at BG East. Physically, he fits my ideal of the pro wrestler, tall, big-boned, meaty, quick to sweat--he would look perfect in loose-strap overalls, chewing Skoal and pulling a plow. More than anything, I want to put him in a time machine back to 1970s NWA and pit him against Tommy "Wildfire" Rich or Ron Fuller. He's got the back and legs for real grunt-and-groan mat battles--and crowd-rousing 10-count corner mounts.

He's got the sort of belly I find sexy in a wrestler--or any big man. For me the six- or eight-pack peaked with Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise. I can appreciate its beauty and the discipline it takes to maintain a fine washboard of smooth muscle, but it just doesn't excite me all that much anymore. I like a flat stomach that sometimes extends in a sexy bulge, solid, not flabby, with a plate of hard muscle underneath. Trent's midsection hints of countable abdominals from time to time, but mostly it presses testily forward, daring somebody to take a poke at it.

Trent has a ways to go before fulfilling my ideal in every respect. In his first two matches (against Jayden Mayne and Attila Dynasty) he seemed a little stiff to me--not stiff in the wrestling sense or the porno sense (either of which would suit me fine), but in the sense of a community-theater actor or a presidential candidate: wooden, awkward, unsure of what to do with his eyes and hands. Still entertaining, still tough and sexy. He gets better as he gets more into the fight, so it might be worthwhile to skip to the second round to see him at his best. With training and a bit more cheek, he could be a top-drawer attraction, I think. The new Cliff Conlin.

So far he's competing with smaller guys with fine-drawn features. I'd like to see him up against bigger, broader boys, guys like Alexi Adamov, Rio Garza, Joe Robbins, and Donnie Drake. Chace LaChance would be a hot match, too, especially if he were taller (or Trent, shorter). When he rises to his potential (and to the level of my fantasies), Trent is impressive, but he hasn't yet the accomplishment and confidence that define a BGE star. I want him to be that star, though. I'm rooting for him, and I think he can put himself over, hopefully in the coming year.