Scuzzball










Growing a beard has aged Ryan Taylor about 15 years since I last watched him in action. He used to look like a younger, hunkier John Cusack. Now he looks like a desperado in a spaghetti western. I like the change. The bouncy positive energy he used to exude 24/7/365 was starting to wear on my nerves. He's scruffed up, found a way to make himself look paler than death, and joined up with a heel stable called Vermin. Evil looks good on him.

This May 2014 title match for Championship Wrestling from Hollywood finds Ryan going up against hairy-chested crowd favorite Joey Ryan, the then-current belt holder. It's far from a fair fight from the beginning. Joey's entrance is delayed. One of the ringside commentators conjectures that the champ has chickened out. It turns out that RockNES, two bad seeds named Johnny Yuma and Johnny Goodtime*, are in the process of battering Joey, weakening him for Taylor's eventual kill shot.

But putting Joey Ryan down is harder than Taylor and crew anticipated. Joey uses Taylor's signature moves against him (a big insult) and, at one point, successfully subdues all three assailants at the same time. Ryan T and J Ryan battle inside and outside the ring, and trade some center-ring chops worthy of hard-style Japanese wrestling. The videography is crisp, detailed, and bright, though I would have preferred more closeups of Joey and Ryan. A fun match. If it sounds like something you might like, here's the link to the YouTube video.

* Are these not names worthy of henchmen in a Tarantino movie?

Comments

  1. He's definitely sexier with a beard! Maybe next time he'll turn the signature move table on Joey. That is a wonderful insult.

    ReplyDelete
  2. He looks like Michaeletto on "The Borgias"

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