I Got You Now

Bodyslam at UCW-Wrestling confided this weekend that fan response to the oil match between Johnny Deep and Hiro [#343] has been "just crazy." I am not surprised. Johnny and Hiro are the sexiest wrestlers at UCW, and drenched in olive oil they look tastier than the garlic knots at Marcella's (back in the 70s my favorite Italian restaurant in Miami). My post about Hiro's debut last November drew more visitors than any of my previous reviews of UCW matches. And anything I ever have to say about Johnny is fraught with agonized awe over how one person can be so brutal and so cuddly at the same time.

Johnny has the more experience at UCW, and his self-confidence as a wrestler is a strong advantage in this fight. Hiro has the stronger, more humpable body, in my opinion, compact but thick, sturdy, and forceful in ways I suspect even he hasn't discovered yet. And both show remarkable capacities for dealing with the challenges of maintaining tight locks and grips while wrestling in oil, a challenge few good wrestlers can overcome.

It's great to see Hiro unlocking his more aggressive tendencies, now that he's past his initial camera shyness. Deep and Hiro both are adorable, but they're cruel, too. Lovers of UCW can expect the chokes, nipple twists, wedgies, spanks, nostril stretches, gut punches, and nut pinches they have become accustomed to. Mostly I'm impressed with the way these boys yank hair. I would like to believe the upsurge in hairpulling this past year is all for me, but I know I'm not the only fan turned on by follicle abuse. There are even moments when the match verges on genuine male catfighting. 

A figure-four choke combined with hairpulling settles the question of which of these boys is tougher. "I got you now," the victor boasts. The groans of the vanquished turn to gasps, which disappear into silence. Sweet. The last few matches from UCW convince me that the company is entering a new phase in its creative growth. I didn't say "coming into its own" because with its robust fanbase and enthusiastic wrestlers it's clear that UCW came into its own quite a while back. But still it dares new things--outdoor location matches, three-way dances, most recently oil wrestling. Never afraid to try something new, never afraid to fail, always open to new ideas, always holding on to the stuff that works, owners Bodyslam and Axel have let their company grow organically, attentive to the strengths of its wrestlers and the voice of its fans.