A Striking Figure

Austin Cooper vs Royce Perry, Matmen 28 (BG East)

Royce Perry's three previously released BG East matches have all been ring matches. He cuts a striking figure in them all, though he has been and still is in the paying-his-dues phase of his career. A mat match is a promising switch for a guy who looks good in a singlet. But taking on Austin Cooper, who started as a babyface but long since strayed from the straight and narrow, makes Perry's future iffy, at best.

Cooper in all his incarnations, here or at other promotions, is worth one's attention. Catalog 141's product description says it best: "He'll fight anywhere - the pool, the gazebo, the ring, the mats, indoor, outdoor - he doesn't give a fuck. He just wants to fight, and he wants to fight hard, and he wants to win." My kind of guy. He's palsy-walsy at first, telling Royce he "always like[s] working with the new guys." We get seven minutes of sure-enough wrestling, with both men showing impressive grappling skill, especially Perry. When Perry gets a legit pin fall - worse, one that puts Coop in an embarrassing ass-in-the-air position - Austin explodes, calling it a "bullshit move," and heaves Royce up in a bear hug then slams the rookie's balls down on one knee.

Nevertheless, fair play resumes, though now under a dark cloud. Less than two minutes later, Perry gets Cooper in a second pin, holding it for eight seconds to remove all doubt of his mat prowess. "How's that feel?" he asks as Cooper arches and squirms. Then the two strip down to the waist, locking up for a third attempt. This time around, Coop is rougher, but Royce is pretty damn tough. Austin gets him in a figure-four leglock. It hurts. The strain on Royce's face says so, but he refuses to submit until Austin splits his thighs in a gleeful act of crippling punishment.

At this point, Austin's ruthlessness knows no bounds. He chokes Royce with a singlet strap, he yanks him up by his golden locks ("I used to have that hair"), and he snaps the small of his back against one knee. The last ten minutes of the video is punishment after punishment for Perry's crime of having superior mat skills, superior at least within the boundaries of fair play. But this is BG East, where fair play is what you wipe your ass with. Perry catches on fast and gives Coop as good as he gets, unleashing a devil of a fighter that Austin (and I) never suspected was in him. The violence escalates until one man is choked out cold.

The last 10 minutes made a Royce Perry fan out of me. Though he still has some rough edges that need work, the guy is tough and handsome and fearless in the presence of a far more powerful and well-established adversary. I never miss an Austin Cooper fight if I can help it. Now the same goes for Royce Perry.

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