Salvatore

Setting a goal for 40 new and original matches in 2015, Movimus has not only sped up its output of no-holds-barred submission matches but also introduced exciting new talent. This weekend Salvatore Landow, 5'3", 153#, hit the mat against Dave Markus, 5'9", 172#, already, after seven months and eight matches, the company's star attraction. Movimus must also keep him busy scouting for new wrestlers, as he hauled in its latest recruits, Landow and (last weekend) Julio Vargas.

Given Markus's rep for wiping the floor with his opponents, Salvatore better have more than a pretty face and a hot body. He does. With high-school wrestling experience in his pocket and sharknado speed on the mat, Sal is two handfuls for Dave, who no sooner muscles his way out of one hold than Landow snares him in another. Reportedly, little Salvatore demanded this match, so the new guy also has balls the size of melons going in his favor. 

As expected, Dave takes command from the start but soon finds Salvatore's low center of gravity a major obstacle. Landow gives him almost nothing to hang on to, and when he's on his feet, the newcomer swoops in from below and topples him, clasping his long limbs like a wheel clamp. Still, experience and conditioning count for a lot, and Dave claims the first fall with his infamously cutting body scissors, to which Salvatore submits in less than a second. Also, Marcus is a severe challenge to most wrestlers' endurance, sticking on his opponent and letting the guy wear himself weak in the long struggle to escape.

It's great to see two fighters this in-touch with their strengths employ them with such apparent ease and grace. Movimus did itself and us fans a great service with the hiring of Markus, a capable submission wrestler with star appeal and a magnet for other promising talents too. Tense, close matches like this one are the keystone to the company's future and the reason my interest in Movimus continues to rise.