Lube for Two

Paul Perris vs Cliff Conlin, Canadian Musclehunk Oil Wrestling #7 (Can-Am)

I obsess over nobody more than I obsess over Paul Perris and Cliff Conlin, so it's a treat to watch and rewatch them in action  I feel lucky that their only match together is an oil match. Generally I like oil matches no more and no less than I like mat matches, but neither of these two fighters has a distinct advantage in an oil pit, whereas Conlin would undoubtedly trounce Perris on a dry mat or in a wrestling ring. Consequently, this match lasts through three falls, thirty minutes in all. In height and weight, Conlin and Perris are almost the same. Conlin has the stronger no-holds-barred approach to wrestling. Perris has showmanship and the body of a Frank Frazetta jungle lord. The pairing of the two is what hard-ons were made for.

I have stated previously that watching two favorite wrestlers take each other on makes me ill at ease, but the mental stress kinda turns me on, too. I'm surprised how well Cliff and Paul maintain their holds, given the massive amount of lubricant that covers them. Where the traction comes from I can't even guess. The battlers are relentless, conceding only to save hospital expenses and weeks of recuperation. The older I get, the more certain I am that the early 90s, when I suspect this fight was taped, was the golden age of underground wrestling. To be sure, we have many great wrestlers and promotions in the present day (and the old days had their duds, too), but no current wrestler has surpassed these two for vigor and guts. Equalled, perhaps, but not surpassed.

Visit Can-Am here.