Mayhem

Mike Posey vs Chip Day vs Patrick Bentley vs Corey Hollis, RPW Memorial Mayhem (Rampage Pro Wrestling)

27 May 2012 - This is what Cirque du Soleil would be if it had originated in the American South. Four teammates, who fought side by side just three weeks before this match, must fight to decide which of them exits the stable. Corey Hollis and Patrick Bentley of Alabama, Mike Posey of Tennessee, and Chip Day of Georgia put up a fight that balances bouncy choreography with visceral rage.

All four of these guys provide perfectly timed but far from formulaic highspots. I am most impressed with Posey (in long tights) and Hollis (in white and blue trunks). (The long-hair stud is Bentley, and Day is in the black trunks.) I have seen Hollis in live shows in North Carolina, and he is electrifying. Both he and Posey stand out for their ability to combine polished professionalism with in-the-moment volatility. 

The well synchronized spotfest (I use the term respectfully) reminds me of lucha libre, but the sweaty savagery is 100-percent redneck. The rapid-fire assaults take my breath away, and though focus and lighting are inadequate, the camera movement is among the best I have seen, especially the tracking shots of bodies bombarding bodies. The 20-second finisher must be seen to be believed:  a high-flying gang bang that's now etched forever in my imagination.

Georgia's Rampage Pro Wrestling closed shop in 2013.