Ambushed & Annihilated

Ethan Andrews and Jake Mason vs Tanner Hill and Matt Miller, Welcome to Muscleville: Ambushed & Annihilated (88Wrestling)

This is only 88's second tag team match in two years. Tag matches are hard to pull off early in a company's history. For one thing, you need four wrestlers of comparable build who have some chemistry together. On top of that, you have to find a time when all four can meet for the match. Also, tag team matches require tiptop choreography and a breakneck pace. This match - pairing rookies Jake and Matt with accomplished wrestlers Ethan and Tanner - has its highs and lows like pretty much everything else in the world. The highs fall mainly in Round Two, after the guys have loosened up in Round One  and broken a sweat. The lows are sprinkled over the 28 minutes whenever the rookies (usually) undersell a perfectly good spot in the match.

There's paydirt here, nevertheless. The eight GIFs above I offer as examples of the gold to be found, along with muscle (especially Tanner's), in Welcome to Muscleville  - 88's nod to the growing popularity of retro and faux-vintage wrestling - a fantastic concept that I am particularly anxious to see replicated in the underground. (I'm less fond of the large-arena indie wrestlers' tendency to play the retro angle for laughs - seriously, I'd like to see the tradition given the respect it deserves.) Ethan and Jake, in long black tights, blindside their arrogant gym-bunny opponents and take every opportunity to double-team and otherwise fight dirty. Tanner and Matt have the advantage of raw strength and muscle, but through much of the match they are outwitted and punked ("ambushed & annihilated") by their slim and devious opponents.

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