Wild Game

Leon Klen vs John Rodriguez, Paris Rough House Assault 19 (Wrestlingmale)

Muscles, sweat, eyes so intent yet expressionless you can feel them burn into your flesh., Leon Klen is superstar material, all right. I went to this match for John Rodriguez, the hard-luck veteran who suffers like Amfortas, but a minute or two into the video, I was blind to all but Leon. Equal in weight, Rodriguez is six inches taller than Klen and 19 years older.

Klen, it would seem, is the bullet with Rodriguez's name on it. With the strength and confidence that belong to the young, Leon is a cocky and relentless predator. He brandishes medallions he hasn't won (not yet, anyway) and beckons Rodriguez to give him his best fight. For each hope spot John gets, Leon descends on him like an avalanche.

Leon's not perfect. His takedowns aren't everything I'd like them to be, but the guy has grit and sex appeal. His holds are steel traps. I love his cavalier slaps, intended to rouse and debase an already defeated foe (the 5th GIF). The whitewashed brick walls that surround the fighters add to the match's ruggedness. I could do without the picture-in picture effects, but as usual, Wrestlingmale's eye for setting is perfect.

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