Spin Cycle

The O.J.M.O. vs Buffalo Soldier, IWL: Set It On Fire! (International Wrestling League)

The O.J.M.O. and Buffalo Soldier push British wrestling to the next level in this late 2018 match. They put snap into some archetypal moves and throw in the extra cranks and jiggles that add reverb to takedowns and punches. All in all, it's an exhilarating match. Body contact is sadly brief but forcefully delivered. Their slim bodies do what the big brutes do but with a lighter Looney-Tunes touch. They sell every spot up to and including the lightning-strike finisher.

Much of the credit goes to The O.J.M.O., as it should. The pro-wrestling press has compared him to Ricochet, though Ricochet presents a more traditional heroic image. O.J.M.O. is Ricochet's comic double. Like Ricochet, he holds the crowd in the palm of his hands. Like Ricochet, too, he's incomparable - how's that for paradox? Buffalo Soldier plays the straight man in this comedy, and I found myself rooting for him two or three times, especially as the match draws to its conclusion. His braids (or dreadlocks? I could not distinguish which) whip the air, adding zip ribbons on top of the breakneck ring action.

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