Waylaid

UCW's latest release [#327] is the third time Erik the Viking has taken on the new champ Michael Hannigan in just the last month and a half. Anybody else thinking "feud"? Hannigan seems to attract feuds, and being newly crowned the company's best wrestler only makes matters worse, pushing him even further into the line of fire. Just as his first feud (against Twisted Torment) began in the great outdoors in the summer of 2012, his feud with the Viking hits a boiling point amid fading foliage and dry autumnal breezes. Can't a guy take his UCW championship belt out for a relaxing stroll without being ambushed by a longhaired muscle dude? Let's hope not.

Wrestling in jeans in the grass is one of those things that ought not be as good as wrestling in skimpy spandex in a ring, but it is. Jeans are a second skin, over time reshaping to match the lower body's natural curves, with use almost developing sensory nerve endings (especially when worn without anything underneath). Wrestling in jeans (shirtless and especially barefoot--not the case in this fight) is as good and arguably better than wrestling buck naked.

The second and third screen shots above capture key moments of erotic tension, as Erik armbars the surprised champ and steadies him by resting his right hightop upon Michael's crotch. Seconds later, Erik presses the sole of the same shoe to the back of Michael's head, forcing his nose into brittle blades of grass and dark loam.  The sensuousness of this stuns me with a rush of memories: boyhood cruelties, grappling in nature, the sense of absolute mastery over another human being.

Soon enough, the fighters are shirtless, and Hannigan begins to turn the tables on the Viking. Or so it seems. The guys try out some fancier moves, which work surprisingly well, with the dying flora in stark contrast to the young men's nimble energy to give the elaborate (sometimes stilted) melodrama a veneer of spontaneity. The unofficial (hence non-championship) match escalates to a satisfying knockout kick and a properly fleshy cross-body three-count.