Stung

Jake Scorpio vs Cliff Conlin, Arena 24 (BG Enterprise)

Jake Scorpio has a cool name, and he lives up to it by winning the first fall against no less than Cliff Conlin in this throwback beauty. He starts strong in a test of strength, then clamps a reverse bearhug on Cliff. In about 90 seconds, Cliff strikes back, and a whirlwind give-and-take ensues, climaxing in a spine-cracking boot between the shoulder blades that forces Cliff to submit to Jake. Neither Cliff nor I saw that coming. True to form, though, Cliff takes his vengeance in the match's second segment, which sets the stage for the third, in which (I'll spare you the spoilers) one man chokes the other man out cold.

It's interesting to see Cliff tap out, made vulnerable, at the mercy of someone else. Muscle aside, Jake is one fine wrestler; BG's product description says he has an amateur wrestling background. Cliff, also a tried-and-true mat wrestler, has moxie the rest of us don't, and his punishments are lightning bolts, as the GIFs above demonstrate. These are my particular favorite bits in the match - Cliff in a head scissors applying the scissors on Jake, Cliff punching his way out of a rope choke, the extra bit of flair Cliff brings to a corner beatdown, and some snappy smackdowns.

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