Notes on a Classic: BG East's Tag Team Torture 4








In the second match of BG East's Tag Team Torture 4, cleancut jocks Tommy Tara and Jaxx O'Doul (in matching blue trunks) face heels Nick Archer and Aryx Quinn, who enter in matching shades and leather jackets. A traditional tag team match here--good guys versus bad, and costuming tells half the tale. The teaming is inspired--each man resembles his partner physically--they could almost be mistaken for brothers--and each provides a sharp contrast to the other team, in appearance and style. All four men are looking great--but Aryx, especially, exudes star power.

Round 1

Right off the bat, we see the referee having to break Aryx and Tommy apart and censuring Aryx for illegal choking. It's worth it to have a ref in the ring just so he can occasionally pull the wrestlers off each other, adding an extra obstacle to the fighters' urge to smash body to body. Aryx's viciousness is part of his sexiness. Whoever came up with the idea of beautiful, sexy heels is the guy I need to thank for my pro wrestling kink.

Soon enough, Tommy gets a tight side headlock on Aryx. He walks him around the ring, continuously grating Quinn's ear against his ribcage, stomping every so often to up the pressure. The side headlock is one of my favorite holds ... to be caught in. The beat of a hot antagonist's heart up against the ear is a lovely sound, visceral and rhythmic, tinged with pain--like life. The tenacity with which Tommy maintains the grip is a basic element of wrestling--grab hold and hold on. Aryx tries to thrust himself free, even managing to lift Tommy off the mat. But when they hit the mat, Tommy is still locked on tight as a tick. He won't let go. Aryx eventually wriggles into position to catch Tommy in a headscissors. He mimes situps to emphasize what a piece of cake it is for him to dominate the guy, but he's not fooling anybody. The payoff comes when Tommy powers out and snaps Aryx's face into his armpit all over again.

Tommy ties Aryx up in a knot, and we get a good look at every muscle in Quinn's chest and midsection straining for escape. Quite a sight! The image is worth saving in the section of my brain scientifically labelled "flog file." Aryx is in agony and helpless, yet stubbornly unsubmissive. "What do you say?" the ref asks Aryx. "Piss off!" Aryx shoots back. He's stuck until Nick attacks Tommy from behind, saving Aryx from almost certain humiliation.

The wrestlers tag in their partners, and now it's Nick and Jaxx in the ring. Nick charges into O'Doul with such ferocity that the ref has to warn him against excessive roughness. Archer works O'Doul in three of the four ring corners. Then, all of a sudden, Jaxx goes apeshit all over the handsome heel, leading into a series of speedy two-counts that ends when badass Nick chokes Jaxx against the bottom rope. After the ref insists on a break, Jaxx proceeds to give Nick the clean beating the heel deserves, almost gaining a pinfall till Nick slugs him in the nuts and tags Aryx back in. Aryx drags Jaxx to their corner so Nick can jump down off the top rope and sink his boot heel into O'Doul's chest. Then, while Nick distracts the ref, Aryx strangles Jaxx with the arm of one of the leather jackets.

In vain, Jaxx tries to crawl over to Tara for the tag, but Aryx pulls him back to the center of the ring and almost gets a pinfall, stopped only when the ref notices that Aryx is illegally gripping Jaxx by the back of his trunks. While Aryx argues with the ref, Jaxx catches his second wind and drops Aryx to the mat, for a clear and legal pin! Archer tries to interfere (again), but Tara stands up to him, chest thrust forward pugnaciously. The ref calls Round 1 for the good guys.

Round 2

Jaxx follows up on his beating of Aryx, twice reprising the bodyslam that won him and Tommy the first round. Jaxx struggles to hold Aryx in an armbar, but Aryx keeps squirreling loose. Jaxx rests his knee on the side of Quinn's head, steadying him while he pulls up a free leg to bend the badboy in two. This hold turns into a single-leg crab that has Aryx futilely reaching out for his partner's hand. Jaxx applies a combination figure-four and camel clutch that once again give us the beauteous sight of Aryx's torso stretched, twisted, and quivering. O'Doul keeps up the pressure on Aryx's spine and joints in a series of very effective punishing holds. Aryx tries to break free by pulling Jaxx's hair, but the ref steps in to stop him.

Big, powerful Jaxx then lifts Quinn up in a deadly bearhug. Aryx can't breathe. Jaxx slams him into the corner ropes and tags in Tommy, who reapplies the torturous hug. Aryx looks like a goner as the good guys trade tags again, and a refreshed O'Doul crushes Quinn in a reverse bearhug. Another tag, and Tara is back in the ring. His attempted camel clutch goes wrong when Aryx heaves him up off the mat and carries him on his back to the corner where he and Nick double-team all over Tara's trembling body. Jaxx enters the ring in protest, inadvertently distracting the ref while the heels escalate their abuse of Tommy.

By the time the ref finally stops the two-on-one assault, Tara is a broken scarecrow of a man. Archer props him up in the corner as a punching bag for his partner, but Quinn accidentally decks his own partner, knocking him away from the ring. Tommy gets a headlock on Aryx and piledrives his face SPLATT! to the mat. An elbow drop to the back and another wrenching side headlock, and we see Aryx's knees have turned to jelly underneath him. Tommy nails Aryx in what should be a legal pin, but the ref's count is slow, and Archer reaches into the ring to pull Tara to the apron for a choke session against the bottom rope. The helpless ref can't stop this vicious and unsportsmanlike attack, so Jaxx rushes around the ring to attack Nick. Nick and Jaxx slug it out and wind up in the ring along with Aryx and Tommy. The bad guys then wring simultaneous submissions out of the good guys. The ref practically has to pull Nick off Tommy, Archer not letting even victory stop him from trying to tear Tara limb from limb.

Round 3

An incredibly short third round, where dominance is quickly and decisively established. I'll spare you the details, but, in a nutshell, we get double bicep poses, an ominous spat between the two heels (go to Wrestler Spotlight: Aryx Quinn, for the upshot of this), and simultaneous pinfalls, all in about five minutes or so. The first two rounds are so deliriously great--a beautiful win for each side--that I hardly felt shortchanged by the abrupt ending, which had the added advantage of climaxing in pinfalls, my favorite form of wrestling closure.

Comments

  1. Here is an example of why I would like BG East to allow us to purchase single matches on DVD or by download. This match looks great but the other two matches hold no interest for me. Thus, I find the DVD price too high for what (for me) is one match.

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