Imbroglio

Ray Naylor vs Skip Vance, Undagear 30 (BG East)

This has got to be the most egregiously brutal match in BG East's history. It's basically a typical UCW match with the dosage upped on low blows, bitch slaps, and hair yanks, but with none of UCW's kidding playfulness. Ray and Skip fight like they're out to kill or, at least, cripple. They fight for all the world like they hate each other's guts, and now it's going to take a lot to convince me that they don't. 

And it all starts because Skip shows up late and, instead of saying "I'm sorry," as he ought to, proceeds to bad-mouth Ray's choice of undergarments. Naylor is usually quick to take offense, but here it's almost as if he was hoping Vance would give him any old excuse to kick his ass. Suddenly, Vance is like a guy who's stumbled into coils of razor wire, only without the bloodletting.

Skip fights better here than I have seen him fight in the past. Though usually outmaneuvered by his opponent, it's clear to me that Skip has been waiting a long time to vent his rage this recklessly. Ray is often the cool, calm, and collected type, even in the midst of heated competition, but here he eagerly strips down to beast mode, setting off an altercation like few (if any) before it.

Maybe it takes rangy guys like Vance and Naylor to stir up this kind of furor. Maybe the heavyweights carry too much bulk for this kind of almost incessant reptilian scrap. It's fascinating as fuck too watch, and maybe too rich for most fans' blood. Practically admitting that perhaps they went too far this time, BG East tacks on a coda, truer to the spirit of past Undergears, in which the victor drags the loser out of the mat room, presumably to bed. Or true to the venomous spirit of this particular match, to gouge out an eye.

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