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Steve Mason vs Drew Harper, Back to College - Wrestlingmale Conquers 26 (Wrestlingmale)

Here's a fine, intense match, played close to collegiate wrestling rules, only there's no ref, and Steve and Drew eventually roll their singlet tops down and bare their chests. It's a rough and rowdy fight that ultimately crashes into a nearby swimming pool, thus abandoning any resemblance to NCAA-style competition. The match is at its best when Steve and Drew legit wrestle, which accounts for most of the fight before the big plunge into the deep end.

The best parts are not planned. They are created on the spot. Or else they are amazingly well rehearsed works. The pace changes from jerky thrusts to catch-as-catch-can rasslin', but I never get the sense that any of it is scripted or otherwise planned in advance. The grimaces look real to me, and take-downs, chokes, and arm bars happen in the moment. The looks of frustration and determination are spontaneous and unrehearsed. Exhaustion is hard to fake convincingly, but it's undeniably present on Steve's and Drew's shellshocked faces. 

Can Steve's slim yet muscular body hold up against Drew's heft and raw muscle? Steve's moves are by the book, but Drew crashes down like an avalanche. My money's on Harper.

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