Tough Guys at Work and Play: Chapter Two

Brendan Byers vs Kayden Keller, Heel Bash 3 (BG East)

Brendan's 2018 return to BG East is a big deal not because he returned after a seven-year absence but because he came back a different man - thick, tough, and mean as a junkyard dog. The manner in which he returned is huge, too. He arrived as a masked contestant named Payback. He defeated and unmasked his opponent, who promptly fled the ring, hands shielding his face from the camera. Right after that,  Byers revealed his own face and identity in a surprising closeup. This, in my opinion, is the single greatest gotcha in BGE history.

Kayden is one of the young breed of wrestlers who showed up in the wake of Brendan and his cohorts. Kayden has been cultivating his heel persona from almost the beginning, a true master of the slow burn and small-detail sadism of veterans like Kid Vicious. His cool and collected villainy stands in contrast to Brendan's take-no-prisoners approach. Two styles of heel on a collision course in Heel Bash 3, but Keller and Byers both like to pose their victims in sexually compromising positions, a penchant that distinguishes this fight from yesterday's.

For once I'm not complaining that a BG East match starts with posing. I like the "bigger, better" Brendan Byers. I love a belly that begs for a punch (Kayden evidently agrees), and his thick haunches are 100% ring style. But it's when he puts that body to real work that I start licking my chops. He fights Keller like he means to pick him clean and then fuck the pieces. His fight face is both scary and sexy. Clearly it's a face he can use when he cums as well as when he hurts a challenger - and who says those have to be two different things?

Kayden has his finest fight ever in this contest. He crushes Brendan's fingers under the sole of his boot. He head-butts the man's groin. He smothers the guy with his crotch. He works Byers up against and in between the ropes. He also knows how to sell a hard submission - his own as well as the sweaty submission he wrings out of Brendan about halfway through the fight. 

The back and forth is thrilling, with enough two-counts to build suspense - there are even the highly prized two-counts that the aggressor cuts short, having not finished with his man yet - usually a foreshadowing of doom for the arrogant bastard who doesn't know to stop while he's ahead. These men brutalize each other for the full stretch of this match - and the guttural sound effects are pure gold.

I would be lying if I denied  rooting for Byers. The man - the new man - is sex AND violence. His fleshy physique befits a fighter who goes to extremes to destroy an opponent - and it is a gorgeous target as well. I hope this match is not the last we see of Byers Version 2 at BG East in the coming years.

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