Roman

Roman Stone vs Paul Perris, Canadian Musclehunk Oil Wrestling 4 (Can-Am)

According to the Gay Erotic Video Index, in 1993 and 1994 Roman Stone made three videos for Can-Am and a fourth for Close-Up Productions: Canadian Musclehunk Oil Wrestling 4 (pictured here), Canadian Musclehunk Wrestling 4, the classic Kick-Ass Bodybuilder Feud, and (as Jamie Cutler) Nude Musclehunk Oil Wrestling. I have all three of the Can-Am releases on DVD and would consider sacrificing my left nut for the fourth. For me the most charming thing about these works is that Roman fought nobody but his cousin Paul Perris. The Polish bodybuilders seemed to share a JCVD-themed fantasy world of wide leg splits, MMA-infused poses, guttural threats, and groans that were more visceral than vocal. Together they tapped into their animal nature ... and mine.

Stone had little of Perris's energy and intensity, though he was equally self-dramatizing in his own way. He repeated what seemed to be the only English words he knew: "I am da best," "I will keel you," and "Geev up." They were plenty enough words, as far as I was concerned. Six-foot, 190-pound Roman was the more statuesque of the two, resembling the forceful and stern sculptures of the early empire, as suggested by his wrestling name. His beauty was well matched to Perris's dancer-like vitality. In my 1990s dreams, I played a third in their private fantasies by (in my conflicted top-bottom indecisiveness) beating the shit out of Roman and summoning Paul's Bloodsport-inspired retribution ... or, just as often, vice versa.