Battler






The new Kieran Dunne reminds me of the young Kevin Sullivan or the young Dino Bravo. What happened to the apple-cheeked babyface, world renown for his jobbing skills, putting over such BG East greats as Troy Baker, Joshua Goodman, and Braden Charron, as well as a slew of lesser-knowns? His physical transformation has been gradual, over years--the beefing up part anyway--but seeing him now with acid-yellow hair styled a la Billy Idol or Bamm-Bamm Rubble (and squat brawny body stuffed into a Barbarella-metallic bikini) is a small shock all the same.

And the attitude! Kieran is now a bonafide punk, narcissistic, brutal, with a wide cowardly streak that pushes him to cut corners and fight dirty. To me he has never been sexier. I used to feel pity for the sweet-mannered boy everybody picked on, but now he's shaped himself into a preening bad-ass I want to see sprawled and unconscious on the ring floor or screaming a humiliating submission into the ears of some gorilla.

The gorilla in the soon-to-be-released Ringwars 23 is Jaguar. (Dunne-vs-Jaguar is already available as a VOD on The Arena @BGEAST.) Jag is a brawny, no-nonsense kind of bruiser, seemingly created to be Kieran's nemesis. When Kieran treats this opponent with open contempt, he is no doubt digging his own grave. Jaguar won't stand still for Dunne's disrespect, and his wrath is felt suddenly and with great force.

What I mainly like about this match is its old-school canvas-thumping rumpus: big, burly guys tossing each other around the mat like basketballs. Nothing the least bit sophisticated or twinkish about it. The peak roughhouse occurs after Jaguar dares to muss up Kieran's $100 haircut. Dunne retaliates in full-on demolition mode, with a hint of the swagger and flash I associate with the WWF "attitude era" or, further back, the take-no-prisoners approach of Southern wrestling in the 1970s.

The man-size bear hugs, low blows, and body slams culminate in a knock-you-the-fuck-out punch that puts the brakes on this feud. I love it. I was a lukewarm Kieran Dunne fan up to this contest. Now I can't wait for Dunne to cut loose even more.


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