Sw3rve

Swerve Strickland vs Nick Wayne, DEFY 50 (DEFY Wrestling)

I liked this guy as a high flyer, fighting super-hunk Dezmond Xavier, but Swerve Strickland is taller, heavier, and meaner than the old Shane Strickland. Now he's a lightning bolt, and pasty-faced pretty boy Nick Wayne gets struck way more than once in this sweaty typhoon last month in Seattle. Nick gets a lengthy and fairly satisfying hope spot in the middle of the match, but the match is hottest when Swerve is at the controls.

Swerve's speed is matched by his cockiness and viciousness. He's still flying high now and then, but I love the way his punches snap here, in and out of the ring. (Note the quick clips below.) I figure the lags - and there are a few - are meant to give young Nick time for recovery. He needs it, and the pauses give viewers time to savor the beautiful cruelties of Strickland's assaults. Typically, I don't care much for either high flights or long breaks in the action. I'm less bothered by these elements here, mainly because the spurts of raw violence excite and terrify me.