Argh! Ugh! Oof!

Dave Dutra vs Jungle Boy, Rumble at the Ritz 3, 10 February 2019, San Jose (UnderGround Wrestling Alliance)

[Warning! spoiler in the last GIF after the text]

The first half of this match spotlights Jungle Boy's ring style, a bungee roller coaster of springy off-the-ropes acrobatics, best appreciated in long form. GIFs cannot replicate its elaborate curlicues. It's fun, but for me the meat in this match - the main course - is the second half, when Dutra sets the pace with staccato moves delivered with devastating force. For either to work, both wrestlers must be quick on their feet and supple in motion, and Jungle Boy and Dutra are both those things. The first half is breathtaking, but the second half gets me itchy.

The turning point happens outside the ring, when the wrestlers are bumping into paying customers and punching the stuffings out of each other. Here the style shifts from flippy to brutal. The surprise (for me, at least) is how well Jungle Boy handles the change. He lives up to his moniker and shows off his savage side. But this is territory that Dutra (my man!) knows well, and it's hard to outdo him on his own turf. This is a match I wish I could have caught live. The video captures the wrestlers' energy with New Wavy jump cuts and replays, which have the unintended effect of also breaking continuity. A seat at ringside would have been ideal, where I could feel the blasts of heat emanating from the squared circle.

Visit the Facebook page of UnderGround Wrestling Alliance, aka Ugwa, here.