Review: Krush vs. Lionel (Krushco)

It's a crazy end to the year on the wrestling scene. Everyone is putting out incredibly hot stuff all at the same time. Like this season wasn't expensive enough already, now you could easily spend hundreds of dollars just buying all the great action. It might take me until March to catch up on it all.

With all the amazing options available, two things drew me to buy Krush vs. Lionel from Krushco: Krush's opponent and the premise.

Krush and Lionel make the most of a
simple, clear and exciting premise. 

Let's start with Lionel. While it's not his first Krush video, it is the first one I've seen. He's a ripped muscleman, lean and sculpted in black briefs. Very hot. He only gets hotter as he wrestles as his muscles struggle and strain, pumping up and visible in full detail. He's a grunter, not a talker, but that's Krush's thing.

Krush seems to be great at finding fighters. They might lose (some badly), but they're always game to put up as much of a challenge as they're able to. Lionel is the same. He's in it to win it, pushing Krush early until the bald brute takes control.

Two mat studs go for broke.

  

Lionel is ripped and ready ... to suffer.

Krush looks like Lionel is trying to give him castor oil.
"I don't wanna! WAHHH!"

I'm inferring a question and an answer from the title of this video. The question is, "Would you rather tap out or pass out?" and the answer is the implied threat, "Tap out or I'll make you pass out." So it seems like the video is ranking tapping out as less bad than passing out. And I agree.

It's one of those concepts that interests me. Submitting, getting pinned or passing out are all defeats, but they're very different. I think suffering a pin is the least bad way to lose. It's usually the least painful, it's over quickly and you can convince yourself you just got in a bad spot. Submitting is next bad for me. It hurts, but at least you can try again. While I can see some guys thinking that admitting weakness is the worst, to me the idea of getting knocked out is the absolute worst kind of defeat. It feels like the most dominant victory and you're at your most vulnerable after it happens. So my order is pin, submission then knock out.

So if it was me, I'd be doing the same as these guys and tapping out to avoid going out. Lionel, of course, does pass out. Repeatedly. And Krush delights in making the choice for the chiseled stud then rubbing his nose in the humiliating knockouts.

Love how Lionel's muscles strain
as Krush sells like a champ.

Feel the burn, baby.

Uh oh. Looks like Lionel has a choice to make.

Action-wise, this is all mat work. It's well-executed, fast-paced and relentless for 37 minutes. Since it's Krush, you get the additional nastiness you expect. The tension between studs. The verbal domination. The extra twist or shove. The hard-hitting body work. The kind of rough action where rules are more suggestions. It's not hardcore crazy or cartoony, staying firmly in the realm of reality, but it goes beyond a standard mat match.

It works, because these guys are pretty comfortable with each other and the scene. It's Krush's house and he owns it. Lionel knows what's up, too, playing the role of a feisty sleeping beauty. So it's all really engaging.

Inner thigh attacks are so underrated.

Lionel faced with the titular choice - tap out or pass out.

The site isn't called Lionelco, dude.

In the end, you have a hot premise, executed really well. Tough Krush and ripped Lionel work perfectly together and deliver a great performance. The wrestling is crisp, the punches are stiff and the holds are tight, just like they should be in submission wrestling. The rapid submissions are hot and I really like the extended one-sided domination in the last half of the video.

What are other bloggers saying?

RINGSIDE: TAP OUT OR PASS OUT

So that's my take. What's yours?

Alex

-2017