Fun to Watch

Judas Icarus vs Tony Baroni, VIPW 6 Year Anniversary (Vancouver Island Pro Wrestling)

The 68-second wristlock (above) is daring and exhilarating even though it strains credulity. Its executor, Judas Icarus, is the most idiosyncratic and fascinating seller of wrestling holds I've seen. His body movements are angular and herky-jerky - what I'd expect of an unfastened marionette who has fallen into a whirlpool. He is fun to watch - hard NOT to watch. I saw him first as a (sorta) heel against Matt Cross earlier this month. Here he's the babyface, booked against another more mature and accomplished wrestler, Tony Baroni, who plays the cranky skinhead heel.

Icarus has a strong start, dominating Baroni with the aforementioned wristlock. His leaps have a scarecrow gracelessness that comes very close to elegance. When Baroni casts him from the ring (third GIF below), his body flaps about on the floor mat like a headless chicken. Ditto, in the next GIF, for his loopy collapse when Baroni karate-chops him on the top of the head. And in the GIF after that, Judas's reaction to Tony's high kick to the head verges on over-selling, but it's perfect. The same goes to Judas's implosion when Tony kicks him in the teeth (last GIF).

Icarus is not skinny, but he seems too slim to take the kind of roughneck hell Baroni has in store for him, incensed by the 21-year-old's opening shots. Judas knows how to put on a show, and if this guy doesn't make it in the business, the business probably needs to close. I see in Judas Icarus a future for North American professional wrestling. And he's got a fun-to-watch butt, too.

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