Off












Rex Bedford vs Ethan Andrews, I Want Those Calvins (88Wrestling)

Rex is my favorite wrestler at 88Wrestling, and his reign as its champion has produced some of the finest matches in the company's history. Ethan wrestles for almost every underground wrestling promotion in existence and might well claim the honor of being underground wrestling's poster boy. However, this rip-and-strip match presents neither man in the best light.

What matters to me in any match is convincing rough and tumble. I'm not seeing it here. Three or four minutes into the match, Rex's reaction to Ethan's gut punches are off enough to bother me. And with rare exceptions I'm going to have problems with any match that requires Ethan to display bad-boy attitude.

Here's the problem - for me, anyway. Uncharacteristically, Ethan and especially Rex put up little to no defense. There is give and take in the sense that Ethan and Rex take turns assaulting each other. But it feels like they are taking turns, each letting his opponent throttle him until some timer goes off and they switch places. It almost never looks like the guy getting assaulted is trying to defend himself. Rex is worse than Ethan in this area. Looking at the second GIF above, I have to wonder whether, while getting choked with a T-shirt against ring ropes, my first instinct would be to spread my arms out. Really? And in the third GIF, the camera should be on the other side of Andrews for Bedford to look like he's mounting an effective attack.

There is stuff to admire here, too. For me the best part of the match, is (as seen in the sixth GIF) Rex heaving Ethan over one shoulder in an attempt to peel off his jeans. This is a fantastic John Wayne-Maureen O'Hara moment. Rex is in full butch mode. Ethan wriggles to escape. This struggle could have lasted longer. It's the most daring and original move in the video, but it's cut short and ultimately goes nowhere. Both wrestlers should have fought like alley cats for the full 22 minutes. More detailed torments like finger-splitting, nostril-hooking, ball-grabbing, armbars, figure-fours, head-butting, and gnawing would have worked better than big gestures played half-heartedly.


Visit 88Wrestling here.


Comments

  1. Amen, Joe. I too am a big fan of both of these wrestlers, but...

    Gimmicks in matches, in and of themselves, don't bother me at all. What gets me is that they often disrupt the wrestling. The wrestling is what I find to be compelling, entertaining and sexy. I must give props: UCW has succeeded in keeping strip, oil, handicap and other matches interesting. I will probably still get this match, but I have a sense I'd prefer it to have been shot on Axel's home turf.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really? Last week they had a strip match between 2 guys who have been all over the internet naked for the past year or 2. What intrigue is there in that ? When you see 2 guys who have done everything imaginable in their matches for other companies, who cares about who gets stripped naked.

      Delete
  2. ooofff... but valid points. As with pro wresting, underground wrestling needs match psychology i guess. Waiting for Tanner vs Rex (rematch) or Tanner vs Jett. Hope they will above par =)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with your comment about Ethan. He is cute enough (though very rarely is he the more attractive wrestler in the ring), but i never ever believe him as a heel or thug. He is too gentle, too timid, too small, too skinny, too reserved, he is not verbal enough, and when he does talk, his words are not creative enough and his voice is not masculine or threatening enough. Any one of those things would not be a problem in itself, but the combination of them all just means I never buy him being dominant. As far as I am concerned, his greatest attributes are his big dick (which he should display more often) and his tenacity and stamina. Those are definite turn ons. He should do more with them. I think he would be very hot, for example, to see him play the cuckold. An arrogant guy who thinks his big dick is enough to keep his man (Wolfboy?) interested, but then a big, tougher wrestler comes along and humiliates him in front of him boy. Which turns the boy on, and makes the boyfriend worship the body of the man who humiliated Axel. Maybe have the heel carry the boyfriend away in his arms, leaving Axel beaten on the floor behind.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Archive

Show more