Headlock

Kyle O'Reilly vs Tyson Dux, Pro Wrestling World Cup '17, Toronto (Defiant Wrestling)

Time and time again, Kyle O'Reilly shows us how elegant and brutal the side headlock is, especially in the first half of this 2017 match against Tyson Dux. It's one of my favorite holds, maybe my absolute favorite. Granted, it's a hold often identified as a "rest move," that is, a ring move designed to put the match on hold, allowing the wrestlers to catch their breath before moving on to the next spot. Its stillness is, in fact, what appeals to me - along with its value as nostalgia. But Kyle's side headlocks are far from restful - as he jerks, writhes, struts, crunches, grinds, whatever he thinks of to increase the pressure to his opponent's temples and jangle the man's whole body. This is right out of the Jack Brisco playbook I remember from the early '70s.

In contrast, Dux usually goes for the limbs, delivering raw and spiteful kicks to O'Reilly's kneecaps. His goal is to stun and to cripple, and his methods are sadistically effective. Both men are sadists to the core, always have been. Dr. L sent me the link to this fight, my brother in wrestling sadism, given our mutual love of sweat, agony, muscle, and moans. It's worth noting that the heel-babyface split is not applicable here. Kyle has as many heel characteristics as Tyson does, and, conversely, both suffer punishments that fans can't help but respond to with sympathy. Besides, Kyle targets arms and legs only slightly less often than Tyson does (note especially the eighth GIF below). 

The match appeals to our sense of structure and order as much as it dazzles us with upheaval on top of upheaval, much as a good stage play will do, specifically a tragedy. The fight starts with clenches, advances to catch-as-catch-can mat grappling, then veers towards the ropes and beyond. Progressively, the moves become more torturous. Even the final cataclysm is part of the grand order of things, though we experience it as chance or chaos. Both men, but especially Kyle, I think, are skilled in evoking the bloodthirsty terrors of tooth-and-claw competition, and, by turns, evoke pity and fear.