You and Me and the Mat

Axel vs Ken the Wrestler, Match 752 (UCW)

Axel promises a no-gimmick match. No oil, no points for humps, no ring, no belt on the line, no backstory. Just wrestling. Axel acknowledges his opponent Ken's advantage in the muscle department. Particularly from the waist up, Ken the Wrestler is a tasty specimen of taut, intricately outlined muscle, the back and shoulders no less than the pecs and abs. Acknowledging his opponent's impressive muscle, Axel rightly boasts of his own bona fides as a wrestler. He has faced plenty of wrestlers with topnotch musculature, and he has vanquished most of them.

With no storyline, no bad blood between them, and, most importantly, no trashcan lids in sight, the match depends entirely on Ken and Axel's mat skills. Ken battles impressively, though relying on a handful of holds. He keeps up with Axel's pace, and there's no clear sign that Axel pulls his punches, so to speak, to accommodate the newcomer. (This is Ken's fourth UCW match, but he still has the slightly dazed look of an apprentice. No matter. Axel comes down hard on all his opponents.)

The bout goes beyond the boundaries of collegiate or folk-style wrestling. At UCW, boundaries are ignored, so, yes, Ken and Axel punch and choke freely, no ref in sight. Axel whips out some mma-style strikes, showing off for the fans and picking up the match's pace. Keep an eye on Ken, though. He's no pushover, not even for as skilled a fighter as Axel. Odds favor Axel, but UCW is known for the unpredictability of its matches, especially for no-rules, no-script contests like this one.

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