Indiana Jonesing











Thank-you to D Dude for sending me this link to a great January 17th match at PWE in Indiana, featuring one of his and my favorite indy pro heels, Joe Pittman (6'6", 251#) against tough-as-nails doughboy Kyle Maverick (5'10", 180#). Joe has certainly fine-tuned his act since I first blogged all over him last spring. He may look like Clark Kent, but deep down he's Lex Luthor evil. Could this be love? Here's what the Dude had to say about the fight:
Simply put, Joe is the total package. You already know that, of course, but even for us believers this match brings out his beauty and irresistible cockiness, his unlikely vulnerability at the hands of a smaller opponent, his pain--in even more pronounced ways than we've seen before. My screen grabs mainly focus on his moments of near-defeat or humiliation. Stumbling onto the outer rail in front of a couple of kids, one of whom taunts him as only a seasoned 10-year-old roughneck can. That's about 4:55 in, and probably my favorite moment in the match, though there are so many from which to choose.
While D Dude understandably favors the moments when Joe exhibits "looks of despair or anticipation--bracing for the strike," I prefer Joe's ill-tempered, nasty side: swaggering into the ring like he owns it, pleading for a timeout after he gets his first taste of blowback from Kyle, pulling hair, using the middle rope as a garrote, dancing a nimble yet dorky Milli Vanilli jig after bodyslamming his opponent and then dropping down to punch his face (7:53-7:58), and, finally, scowling ungraciously at the fans as he exits the auditorium at the end.

Though D generously offered his own wonderful screen grabs for my use, I prefer taking my own, not because there's a special art to my caps, but because finding, cropping, and touching them up for myself helps me to digest the action, even providing me with an imaginary sense of contact with the athletes. Highly fond of saturated colors, I got Joe's trunks as red as I could get them without turning them into solar flares.This is a small, modest match made large by Pittman's good looks and charisma.

Comments

  1. Pittman lost? Most of the caps show him in control. Was it one of those last-minute-out--of-the-blue reversals? I hate those, whether the turner-around is hero or heel.

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  2. 11/18 of JP in control. Is that an accurate reflection of the ring action?

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  3. You have accurately reflected on the ring action. But I love out-of-the-blue reversals at the end, especially when a bedraggled hero triumphs over a cheat and a coward. I'm simple that way. It has to be convincing, though.

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  4. Even as a kid, in the sixties, watching on B&W TV on a Saturday afternoon, I felt it was usually a cheat, bigger than any heels, even when it was the noble hero pulling off the bait-and-switch on an acknowledged, dastardly villain. It offended my sense of fair-play, even if he was evil, he'd worked hard for that win and earned his reward. And my hero, who I'd still prefer to win? All po-faced and dragging around like some one on his last legs and, suddenly, he's beating down his foe and acting like a berserker? That ship should have sailed much earlier when I'd've found it credible and just!

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    Replies
    1. Like I said, it has to be convincing.

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    2. But that's so rare! It sets of my BS detector.

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  5. uhm, you do you realize that 99 percent (or more!) of all wrestling matches have a predetermined outcome right? Don’t put so much emphasis on “winning’ and just enjoy the ride …

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  6. Sure, it's all "entertainment" but that doesn't mean that one doesn't care about the journey and it's destination. A movie, a TV show, a comic book, a novel, etc., it's all scripted, but there's well scripted and poorly scripted, there's satisfactory and unsatisfactory finales. I do care who wins and how they win. It's the bargain the entertainer makes with the entertained.

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