Wanna Wrestle 38

Dean Bly vs John Watson, Wanna Wrestle 38 (NHB-Battle / Movimus)

A strenuous battle between two competitive submission wrestlers is all the story I need--and it can be poetry too. Six or seven years ago UK wrestler John (6'3", 182#) crossed the Atlantic to grapple with Dean (6'1", 187#) on the NHB-Battle mats. Both athletes are tall and strong, well matched in skill and experience. It's a tossup who'll win, and the suspense stems from the power of their fit bodies in give-and-take tension and the wrestlers' knowledge of holds.

The stark whiteness of John's body pressed to the deep tan of Dean's, the slap of muscle on muscle and the rhythmic thump and squeak of skin on the mats, and of course the heavy breathing contribute to the accidental eroticism of the match. More and more I'm convinced that, even more than pro wrestling, this is what I think of when I think of wrestling: slow, writhing limbs and pained, dazed expressions. The realness and spontaneity are, at times, emotionally overwhelming. I find myself moved and enthralled by contests like this.