Review: Clint Morgan vs. Dark Rogers (BGE)

I wrote several posts for Bard's old Sidelineland blog. I've decided to re-post some of them here, as part of consolidating my content.

Clint Morgan 1

I love it when something inspires me to re-discover old wrestling matches. With the constant barrage of new material, it's easy for some older matches to be forgotten. Of course, whenever you go back, sometimes the match isn’t as good as you remember it, but other times, the magic returns immediately.

After responding to a post on the Ringside at Skull Island blog, Joe said he didn't remember who Clint Morgan was. That got me thinking about the man and sent me to look back at some old videos. I dug out two matches, one of which was  Clint Morgan vs. Dark Rogers from BGE's Private Bouts. This was among the first matches I ever saw and really got me hooked. I don’t want to spoil what happens, but I can’t guarantee I can avoid it.

Would this count as catchweight?

Morgan starts the bad boy’s lesson

Lean guys are so fun to bend

Rogers knows how (or where?) to handle a bigger opponent

The key is to keep the big man down

The wall takes its fair share of abuse in this match

Dark had a thing for stripping his opponents, but Clint planned ahead!

Riding the white cowboy

Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry (but the viewers do)

One of the things that appeals to me about Morgan is that he was a big, tough badass. Rogers is clearly the “heel” here, but Clint isn’t a gullible face nor is he a jobber. Of course. the production isn’t up to today's digital, hi-def standards, but it kind of adds to the charm. The match was a short one, only 12 minutes, but still really fun. There were quite a few matches set in this rec room environment, which I like as it feels like the kind of matches I’m used to. In fact, any two guys could live this match out in their basement.

There's a great tension throughout the match, as Clint Morgan is sent to teach the diabolical Dark Rogers a lesson. The bad boy has been tearing up the competition and Morgan is just the badass good guy to set him straight. The match features a size contrast, with the lean and hairy Rogers being quite a bit smaller than his younger, smooth opponent. Both men are very tanned (unless that's the camera and age of my video), trim and handsome. In fact, Rogers' look doesn’t feel dated to me at all.

Despite the size difference, this is pretty back-and-forth until the end where there's a definitive winner. The ending is surprisingly fun (to me) and still excites me every time.