With His Bare Hands

Leon Klen vs Duc Roys, Paris Rough House Assault 20 (Wrestlingmale)

"With his bare hands" is one of those phrases that send a chill down my back. It's a cliché I remember from childhood, and even then it excited me to no end. This match brought the phrase to mind as Klen and Roys try to strangle each other. Maybe it was too much television; how else to explain a 10-year-old who thinks a shirtless strongman straddling his waist and choking him with his bare hands would be the best way to die. How many 10-year-old boys contemplate their cause of death, much less rank the options? Yes, I was more Pugsley Addams than Mouseketeer.

Leon Klen, a born executioner, is butch as fuck. What we're looking at in the GIFs above is Paris Rough House Assault 20, actually two matches featuring the same two combatants, with somewhat different moves and different outcomes. Each runs about 20 minutes. Both are worth watching, and I can't decide which I like better, though I lean towards the first (the top five shots). The takedowns, awkward and slow, are the weakest parts of these contests, but once butt hits the mat, these sweaty studs writhe like their lives depend on it.

The match inspired a dream, with guest stars Nicole Kidman and John Malkevich. Be thankful I can't go into details because my memory of it is foggy. A motorcycle was involved, and Klen was on it, standing on it in fact. (Freud would be proud.) There's something dreamlike about the two PRHA20  matches, too. The second is like a drowsy revision of the first, even though it is described as a "revenge" sequel to the first. The idea of packaging matches with rematches strikes me as an excellent idea. In fact, three matches with the same two wrestlers would not be too much, provided the wrestlers are worth that much attention.

Roys and Klen are well matched and definitely worth the attention. Duc is tough and vindictive in contrast to his placid appearance. Leon smolders and sweats. Like most Wrestlingmale product, these two matches are artier than they need to be, but I have to admire a promotion that has a distinctive house style.


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