Mayhem V

Travis Banks vs Tyler Bate, Project Mayhem V (Fight Club PRO)

Stiff upper lip, aplomb, tit for tat, fair and square, gentlemanly conduct. I associate these terms stereotypically with old-school UK wrestling in its heyday. In the early years of this blog, I drooled over a range of hunky British TV wrestlers - Nathan Cruz, Terry Frazier, Mark Haskins, El Ligero, Lionheart, Owen Phoenix, Kris Travis, Greg Valentine (UK), and Valkabious - and so on: you get the picture.

This best-out-of-three-falls match from 2016 starts with verbal challenges leading to a sweaty brawl, the battle decided by not one piledriver but two piledrivers back to back. Bate (5'7", 174#) wins the first fall. Aucklander Banks (5'8", 189#) wins the second, setting up a nailbiter third fall. Banks is older and more experienced than Bate, who was a teenager at the time.

The moves are brisk and spirited at first. As the match wears on, the wrestlers get hot tempered and edgy, making for a spectacular faceoff at the end. The crowd is heavily invested in this match, palpably intense as the battle draws to the end. If you like fiercely competitive fights involving two fit athletes who respect each other, I think you'll love this one.

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