DVious DPlorable DGenerate

DGenerate vs Matt Angel, Legacy - 8 April 2015 (Jonquière Championship Wrestling)

My sincere thanks to Jim in Nashville for directing my attention to this match. DGenerate is another ring performer, like Mirko (see Wednesday's post), who earned my devotion in my pre-blog days. I don't need a lot of French to understand that DG is a dishonest, arrogant, and histrionic bully like a thousand other heels - yet he's irresistibly watchable in the squared circle. My friend Jim's been in a stormy mood lately, filling my inbox with some of the most delectable nastiness to be found on the internet, every bit of it profoundly appreciated. Here's one of my favorites.

DGenerate represents a wrestling type I'm not usually fond of. He's shrill and loudmouthed, while I prefer my heels to be strong and silent types, as a rule - even more to have a jaded, world-weary mien. DGenerate could not possibly be further from my ideal, yet he's riveting to watch as a performer - part acrobat, part dungeon-master, part irritating little brother. The man is a serious threat in the ring, despite or because of his flouncing ring theatrics. The opponent who refuses to take this guy seriously is in for a cruel and painful awakening.

Making this match a particular treat, DGenerate's opponent is his trainee, Matt Angel, who made his professional debut in 2013, about two years before this match. That Angel (in long tights) and DGenerate (in black trunks and tassels) have fought and sparred on many other occasions is evident in the smooth execution of intricate and often counter-intuitive maneuvers. The wrestlers frequently use misdirection to catch the audience by surprise, as when (in the sixth GIF above) DGenerate swoops in for a cover and gets blasted in the forehead by the tip of Angel's boot. These moves are pure DGenerate, as witty as they are brutal. And notice the almost liquid timing in the fourth GIF - here's genuine beauty in professional wrestling.

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