Acts of Defiance

Rampage Brown vs Justin Sysum, Defiant Loaded #19 - 14 April 2019 (Defiant Wrestling)

Emerging from swirling theatrical smoke, the two number-one contenders advance to the ring. First, Justin Sysum of Gloucester, at 220 pounds, cloaked like a Roman centurion until he strips down to his red trunks. Then, Rampage of Leeds, at 253 pounds, bald and blunt as a battering ram, dressed only in the black and rust trunks and boots he will wrestle in. The effect is of the smoke-filled rooms and tents in the carny days of professional wrestling. Both men resemble the barrel-chested war beasts of old - pre-1980, the beginning of the end for the kind of arena wrestling that still fascinates me most.

Bruno of Beefcakes of Wrestling has been dogging these UK wrestlers' careers (and physiques) over the course of four or more years. Wrestling Arsenal thoroughly covered Rampage here. Ringside at Skull Island's pages have featured them only fleetingly, here and here. I like the way these guys look against each other - the smooth versus the hairy chested, military swagger versus street swagger, flyer versus slammer. Both men reportedly stand over six feet tall. Something about them seized my imagination immediately. I felt compelled to watch, and I was not disappointed in the grunt-and-groan spectacle they provided.

The ten GIFs below capture some of the rough and rugged action from entrances to catastrophic finisher - and may contain spoilers.

Visit Defiant Wrestling here.