May Day













Corruption vs Super Tough Dudes, Slams for Scarlett, 7 April 2018, Coldwater, Ohio (W.A.R. Wrestling)

Hearty thanks to Jim in Ohio for shooting and posting this match from early April. Once I didn't care for old guy vs young guy matches at all. They're still not top of my list, but now that I'm old, the thought of scrapping with a couple of young bucks is, let's say, not unappealing. Cody Hawk and Dusty Dillinger of Corruption, Jim tells me, are Midwest wrestling legends who have been working the squared circle for as long as their opponents have been  alive*. Bristly  and strong as mastodon hide, the pair are great villains, who tell the crowd that it is undeserving of their presence at this charity event and ply the Super Tough Dudes (STD, for short) with as much trauma and dirty tricks as can be squeezed into fourteen minutes.

In the opposite corner, Pat Monix and Storm Grayson have, in my opinion, the right curvy build for ring wrestling - the right mix of adipose tissue and brawn to make the ring shudder and roar. Raven-haired Storm is matinee idol handsome and jaguar tough. Late in the match, his corner mount on Hawk is ultra-luscious, his smooth, glorious belly hovering over the villain's dumbstruck face for a full 10-count of punches (beginning at 13:27). I'm a little more familiar with Pat, whose body is just about perfect for bouncing off ropes, mat, and boot heels. It's a joy to see this blond babyface suffer. And though they clearly deserve the victory the fans crave for them, time and again they are foiled by Hawk and Dillinger's underhanded tactics.

And, yes, today is International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, commemorating the 1886 Haymarket riot (and massacre), in which workers rallied for the eight-hour work day, a protest that ended in disaster but ultimately succeeded in its goal. (The riot occurred in Chicago, hometown to Monix and Grayson.) In pro wrestling lingo, worker  is a synonym for wrestler, a fact I take particular pleasure in since I see wrestling, in its pre-1980 essence, as blue-collar theatre - especially in the mid-20th century when babyfaces were proletarian heroes with ethnic surnames in constant rebellion against fat-cat, fancy-schmancy, and aristocratic heels.



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* A little kayfabe flourish there, but only a couple of years off.


Comments

  1. Whoa -- thanks for featuring this live audience Indy rasslin' done in the classic style. And it's a Heels vs. Faces Tag Team Punishment match, my very favorite. The Heels pull out all the double-team tricks and tactics, and the gullible Babies play right along -- perfect! The manager taking selfies of the Face-in-Peril's suffering (so he could enjoy them later when he is home alone?) was a nice touch. Thanks for the heads-up on this one, but now I'll be late for work again!

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  2. If the tatoos were not the same, I would almost think that there were two Storm Graysons.
    https://youtu.be/uQHLCQ5Vx5E

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