Absolutely

Chase Lundquist vs Blake Starr, Absolute Destruction (88Wrestling)

Over the last year, 88Wrestling has made small but qualitative changes in its look and format. It has preserved the best of the old - the three-round matches and the male models with abs of steel - and made some stylistic improvements - a darker, more menacing tone and an emphasis on pain and the performance of pain. It has also pulled in some hot new fighters, including Blake Starr, who has wrestled elsewhere. Body-beautiful models like Blake and Chase Lundquist are candy-delicious, and especially in the first half of this new match, they bring dog-eat-dog energy to the squared circle.

Most of the energy is in the wrestlers' facial expressions - rage and agony - which are exactly right for underground wrestling. Somewhat less impressive are the body blows and clutches, which sometimes stop short of full contact. The guys grunt and groan, but I would have appreciated more smack and reverberatory quiver. Apart from that, the match worked for me on the strength of the eye candy, sass, and sweat. Chase and Blake are hypnotically beautiful to watch in action, all the more so when they are fired up or suffering.

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