Qualifier

The end of the semester is looming, and I spent a thick slice of yesterday grading student essays. The bad news is that the grade I gave out the least was A. The good news is that the next two least-assigned grades were F and D. Well over a third (though under half) of the papers earned a grade of C--to be expected, I guess, in fact, fairly close to the normal ("bell curve") distribution. Still, it's exasperating work, all the more so because it's easier and (needless to say) more fun to read nothing but A and B papers.

Knowing that much of today would be spent grading essay exams for World Literature 1, I frantically combed the Internet for some good wrestling to watch during the break. I found a lot of shit. Some shit so smelly that even the participants looked bored by it all. It started to look like I might not find even a mediocre match to help me while away the hours. And, frankly, I had even begun to worry that my interest in wrestling might be waning, now that I've reached my twilight years and all. Why wasn't any of this so-called wrestling (even one match with decent eye candy) giving me at least a tingle of excitement? Then I found a nugget of gold. An International Wrestling Cartel (IWC) match from March 11th in Meadville, Pennsylvania, featuring two of my favorite young Southern wrestlers (both in their IWC debuts): Corey Hollis of Alabama, 23, 5'7", 192#, versus Kyle Matthews of Georgia, 25, 5'9", 175#.

Hollis and Matthews have faced each other in the ring before, and, to be honest, good as it is, this match does not necessarily stand out as their best work, individually or together, but both wrestlers have a lot of fighting heart in addition to looking good and, thankfully, both know how to handle themselves in the ring. So pretty much anything these guys do will be high calibre and of some interest. These are journeyman wrestlers--not yet at the top of their form, I suspect, but polished, serious, and, in striking contrast to some of the wrestlers I was watching previously, focused on what they were doing. On top of that, they are both smoking hot. 

Corey has the arrogance and muscle (about 20 pounds of it over Kyle), and Kyle has the cool professionalism and ring experience (about 3 years of it over Corey). The two are competing in a qualifying match for Super Indy XII, to be held in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, in June to determine the new IWC Super Indy Champion. Past champions include wrestlers like AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, Low Ki, Jerry Lynn, Johnny Gargano, and the current titleholder, Anthony Nese. Hollis-vs-Matthews turns out to be a swell little match, enough to assure me that, for now, my interest in wrestling remains--and that a couple of well-trained, good-looking, and 100%-committed grapplers can still steam up my glasses.