Hardcore

Jake Jenkins & Austin Cooper vs Trent Novak & Cliff Johnson, Catalog 6 (Rock Hard)

When I first watched this tag-team match six years ago, I had no idea Jenks and Coop would contribute as much as they have to the underground wrestling scene. The two of them were at their best in each other's company. Neither looked particularly threatening, yet they were effective as bad guys. Vigorous and malevolent, they were surprisingly convincing, Jake being a particular shock for me.

In the intervening years, I had forgot how brutal these early RHW matches were. Back then, I had a moderate crush on Trent Novak, the pasty-looking guy in Carolina blue trunks. I should have been more impressed with his talent, too, specifically his talent for depicting stark terror and agony. The extended sequence in Round 1, between Trent and Jake, is so much better than I remembered it that this more recent viewing was something of a jolt. Jake is savage, and Trent looks genuinely terrified of him.

Cooper lets Jenkins do most of the heavy lifting in the first round, then takes over in the second. The brief (too brief) episodes of double-teaming are passionate and well-performed. It's hard not to get caught up in them. By well-performed I don't mean wittily choreographed. In fact, they're messy and raw - and unreservedly spiteful. Nothing cutesy here. I'm left wondering why my response in 2011 was different than it is today.  Then, I was just beginning to appreciate mostly one-sided beat-downs like this one and still wasn't altogether sure how I felt about tag teams.

Watching this match almost makes me forget what adorable babyfaces Coop and Jenks made. They belong to that small group of wrestlers who can play multiple characters and perform well both in the ring and on the mat. I wouldn't have thought it - and didn't remember it - but Jake was considerably stronger as a heel than Austin was. I'm amazed how much my perceptions and attitude have changed in six years.


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