Cheap Shots

Attila Dynasty vs Eli Black, Cheap Shots 1 (BG East)

To me, it looks like BG East tailor-made Cheap Shots 1  for Eli and Attila, two wrestlers already drawn to the full spectrum of MMA attacks and punishments. I certainly can't think of two wrestlers more perfectly suited to the task of inaugurating the new series - yet time will tell whether other wrestlers sign on to this style of ultra-aggressive confrontation, mano a mano.

What starts off as friendly sparring quickly escalates to a no-punches-pulled battle. It happens so fast I can't really say who steps over the line first. In fact, I get the distinct impression there is tension between these two from the get-go. I can't tell whether Eli is surly or merely, as he says, "minding my own business," or whether it's really an accident, as claimed, when Attila slugs Eli's jagged jawline.

All pretenses drop when Eli drives his fist hard into Attila's midsection. Dynasty loses his cool, rips off his gloves, and pummels Black to the canvas. Blows and kicks follow each other quickly from this point on, combining grappling, boxing, and a variety of Asian (I think) offenses I don't know the names of. There's nothing here that's altogether new to BG East or to these two fighters specifically. Eli's run-in with newcomer Rudolfo Dias comes to mind, for one instance, Attila's nasty (and tasty) skirmish with Jake Jenkins is another.

The action veers out of the ring at one point as the attacks gain heat. It's hard to believe Eli and Attila are done with each other even after one of them is knocked out cold. The thrill of an earnest and unironic fight, even if choreographed in a movie, simultaneously sets my teeth on edge and bones me up for hours afterwards. If these two do not face off for a second time (and I can understand why the battered loser of this match may lack enthusiasm for a rematch), I certainly wouldn't mind seeing similar bouts spotlighting the dark and reckless sides of wrestlers like Elite Eliot, Jayden Mayne, Brute Baynard, Guido Genatto, and other scrappers with hair-trigger tempers.

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