Grit

Toni Harting vs Marius Al-Ani, Summer Smash 6 (German Wrestling Federation)

Besides being the Berlin champ, Harting, aka Tiger, has the advantages of size and weight as he takes on Al-Ani in this mid-July challenge. Both men are built like horses. Marius, a high flyer, has more ring experience, but Toni keeps him grounded for most of this match. The defending champion has a background in kickboxing. His challenger has sparkly green trunks.

I loved the match and hated the fast cuts, which disorient and distract. The match does everything it's supposed to do. It provides constant and rapid back-and-forth action, then clubs us viewers with an out-of-the-blue finisher. The pace is fast, slowing down from time to time for the sweaty wrestlers to glare at each other or engage in rapid-fire slug-outs. Both men have exuberant fans in the crowd. They fight on the canvas, against the ropes, and outside the ring. 

This is a fine example of slug-'em, bounce-'em wrestling. Both men are suited for this type of match, with bulwarks of  muscle to protect them, but not so much of it to slow them down. Both guys are in their thirties - and at times hard to distinguish from each other. Their balding, shaved heads hark back to Goldberg and Stone Cold Steve Austin, even further back to the smoky arena days of wrestling. There's nothing here that we haven't seen before, but it's grade-A quality from start to finish.

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