Noir







The term dark match deserves to mean so much more than what it does mean--which is, prosaically, a non-televised match before or after the main show. Hasn't pro wrestling any poetry left? To my mind, a dark match should mean dim area lighting in gray and murky surroundings, a brutal overhead spot aimed at the brawlers' necks and shoulders, making them explode against the muted background, the overall effect of a George Bellows painting of back-room boxers or a Goya black painting of lost souls writhing in agony in a penumbral inferno. Beyond Wrestling's shadowy lighting for this free match from the jazzily titled Coin-Op Co-Op show, suggests what the term ought to mean. BW shot this contest, in which Anthony Stone battles the taller, meatier Biff Busick, in September in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. Stone and Busick are two raw-boned and hungry-looking fighters, whose sharp, stoic features catch the harsh light just right. The blurry images here capture the strain and exhaustion of a hard-fought battle. Much as I like Blu Ray clarity, I also like the unsettling noirish mood we get in this video.

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