Well, I think my attempt to cast The Cave with Rock Hard Wrestling wrestlers turned out to be pretty popular based on the number of page views and comments.
So, I'm back to try again. This time with the king of the ring. The heavyweight champion of the gay wrestling video world. The best there was, is and (maybe) ever will be ...
BGEast.
I love
BGEast. They introduced me to this whole gay wrestling video thing, back when I was younger and had no idea anything like this could actually exist. I'm a bit disappointed with them right now over their lack of downloads, but I am a member of the Arena and have bought VODs. It says something that my only complaint is that I can't give them more of my hard-earned money.
With such a huge roster, it's tough to narrow down for my four main characters. So I set some ground rules for myself:
(1) I have to have seen the guy in action in a BGEast match. No judging guys by their pictures, work with other companies or what I've heard.
(2) I separated guys into "older school" and "newer school", which are relative terms. I'm defining them as guys who were there when I started watching (even if they still wrestle now, they're older school) vs. guys who came along later.
(3) I tried not to just force fit my favorites in (sorry
Mike Columbo, you're not my Ben; sorry
Wade Cutler, you're not my Jeff. Still love you though!)
(4) I tried to pick
BGEast exclusive guys, rather than guys who play the field, so to speak. I did choose
Jake Jenkins for the
Rock Hard Wrestling post, but I think cross-promotional guys will be a separate category for a future post.
So, without further ado, here we go ...
Cody =
Justin Pierce. Cody isn't a jobber. Justin is. However, I'm going mainly on appearance. To me, Justin is as stunningly hot and hung as Cody claims to be. He could be the face of my superhero-themed, gay-oriented wrestling video company any day of the week. I think he could pull off winning, it's just that he looked so good losing.
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| Hot and hung |
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| Cocky and confident |
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| Justin looks good on top |
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| And he could dominate The Cave |
I pulled a clip from one of my favorite Justin moments that might convince you of his Cody-ness. I bought this match when it first came out on VHS then converted it to DVD before I ripped it into a digital file, so when I tried to pull screen grabs, they looked terrible. But I think it's good enough to support my case for Justin.
Justin's opponent is completely coincidental and had nothing to do with ...
Ryan =
Mikey Vee. Yep. Big, bad and dominant. Probably a little more attitude than Ryan, but he seems like early Ryan - a guy who could hold a grudge, sandbag his duplicitous best friend and beat up a guy in the locker room.
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| The intensity to be Bane |
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| And the looks to be Ryan |
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| Dominating everyone |
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| And looking great doing it |
Ben =
Brad Rochelle. The perfect man for Ben, who I consider my "everyman" character (assuming every man is a rich, handsome wrestler with a heart of gold). I could see him being the smart, savvy Ben, fighting on the mats or in the ring. With
The Contract series, we know Brad can be tough when he needs to be, but he can also just have fun.
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| From back ... |
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| to front, he's my Ben |
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| Ben's no pushover and neither is Brad |
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| But he can take a beating when he has to |
Jeff =
Vinny Trevino. Both guys are rough around the edges, tough and confident. Vinny's dominating wins are great, but what sold me on this choice are his losses. Jeff isn't some invincible superman. He has to fight for what he wants. I could see Vinny as my tough guy who gets in trouble with his temper and mouth.
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| Hot and built, just like a Jeff should be |
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| Let's fight! |
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| Confident, dominant pro wrestler ... |
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| who can lose and look great doing it |
Cody =
Kid Karisma. This one was tough. I think there are a lot of newer guys who could fit the Cody character. But for me, Cody is a star and so is Kid. He's talented and dominant, but can be vulnerable. I think he could play my leading man, with the swagger and confidence of this charming, yet self-absorbed stud.
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| Yep, Kid works as a superhero in black |
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| All that's missing is the cowl |
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| He's got the showmanship to be The Bat ... |
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| or suffer as his jobber identity, The Pink Punk |
Ryan =
Trent Blayze. This will be a surprise choice, I'm betting. Trent is tall, but lighter than Ryan. However, he has a body that isn't perfect, which is Cody's thing. Trent is far more vulnerable than Ryan in the ring, but I see Ryan as vulnerable outside the ring. He was heavy and he's trimmed down, but he's still insecure sometimes.
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| Got a problem with my choice? |
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| Yes, he could be Ryan |
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| He can be powerful |
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| And look good showing off Ryan's new body |
Ben =
Alexi Adamov. I love this choice. In the matches I have, Alexi comes across as a good guy, which Ben is, of course. Ben also faces more varied matches and opponents than any other character, so it's important to be versatile. Alexi can pull off the range necessary and look great doing it.
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| Love that look ... very Ben |
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| Ben can lose |
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| Ben can win |
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| Ben can be playful |
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| Uh oh, it's a battle of the Bens! |
Jeff =
Josh Goodman. This one is the hardest one to explain. It's like the tall, Aussie, smooth-talking Hugh Jackman as the short, Canadian, feral superhero Wolverine. It just works for me. This is a gut call. Josh is probably more cerebral than Jeff and more of a heel. Jeff would never sport a soul patch (thank god, no offense). Still, I just think he could play the confident pro wrestler who thinks with his fists and will take on all comers.
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| This is a great look for Jeff |
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| Josh is tough, just like Jeff |
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| And sometimes he gets in trouble |
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| BBW for Lou or Champ? |
So that's where I landed. What say you? Any home runs? Any complete misses? Maybe there's a guy who I haven't seen in action that I need to see. Please let me know in the comments!
Alex
Your Cody choices were both HOME RUNS in my opinion. Justin Pierce has always been one of my favorites in BGEast and could fit the role to a t. He makes a good jobber, for those Pink Punk days, but he can totally pull off The Bat too. And Kid Karisma was another choice that just made me nod in agreement before I had to read any of your reasoning. This whole casting was fun to read through.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm glad it was fun to read.
DeleteJustin is always a home run for me. One of my favorites, too. All I need is a time machine (and limitless money, but I could solve that with the time machine, too).
I was a little unsure about Kid Karisma, so thanks for the validation.
Alex R
ReplyDeleteWould mind seing these guys in some sort of series or matches. Perhaps as guest wreslters LOL.
I'd love to use some BGE guys. There are tons of pics, including action ones. I could write a match around the pics pretty easily. However, I don't want to push my luck by posting too many Arena images.
DeleteAlex R:
DeleteI guess that as long as you dont over do it, its ok. I also imagine that some changes can be done in orrder for them to look less like the originals?
One guy I suggest you watch is Gabriel Ross, sure he's a bit small but dear god he's got a body on him and can wrestle, and his cock..rhhrr!
ReplyDeleteI do like Gabriel Ross. He didn't seem to fit any of my characters, but I agree with you on his body and cock.
Deletealex
ReplyDeletedo you ever do any fantasy matches using bge vs can-am wrestlers? nrw vs thunders arena? I would love to see how marco vs josh steel would play out!
Thanks for asking. I don't do fantasy matches like that. The closest I came was my Battle of the Wrestling Stars posts with RHW vs. UCW. I only touched on the action. I planned out BGEast vs. RHW vs. Thunders, but I never finished the post.
Deletethat would be interesting to see. i hope you finish it sometime. any thoughts as to who would win between marco vs josh?
DeleteHm. I'd probably have Josh win. He did well at Movimus and he's bigger. Marco does often wrestle up or down to his competition, so it'd be hard-fought and close, but in the end, Josh would rack Marco then knock him out.
DeleteGlad you finished your Battle of Wrestling Stars post. very nice. Too bad you couldn't have Josh vs Marco. Maybe next time you will ask your fans to suggest some match up ideas and you write the stories.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I did think about fan suggestions, but I felt that might ruin the surprise and be uncomfortable if I don't use the suggestions. Like now. ;)
DeleteI didn't include Josh even back in 2015, when I started, as I was trying to use current guys (or guys with current videos in BGE's case). Maybe if there's a season 3 I'll use any guy from any time.
It sounds like there has been a lot going on behind the scenes at Thunders Arena... Marco injuring Deadlock, Marco punching Mr Mike,and who knows what else! I wondered if you had any background info on these events? or maybe you could create a story based on them?
ReplyDeleteI've seen a lot of that on their Tumblr. No inside info here. I don't have that kind of relationship with any of the producers or wrestlers.
Deletehey alex
ReplyDeletei'm curious to see what you thought of Bard's "Battle to Be the Best"? i loved the idea, lots of potential and he used some really hot guys. i wasn't too surprised that mikey managed to beat flex and his battle with ace hanson was awesome. hanson had the size advantage but the voters kept mikey fighting back for quite a while. a sad loss for vee after carrying the title for so long only to lose it to a new-comer, or cummer, i should say. i wonder what guys you would have used? your thoughts?
I loved it. I was shocked by the outcome, but that’s probably a good thing. I don’t know who these Ace fans are, but that might be because the only time I’ve ever seen him, he was being outshined by Big Sexy.
DeleteI might’ve put Ace against Mike Columbo just for one final full circle match, but that’s not how elimination tournaments work. You only need to win once, as long as it’s the final match.
I thought Bard’s choices were great. You can’t beat Mike or Mikey. Dom was an interesting selection, but certainly a stunning dude. My classic knowledge is almost entirely BGEast. I didn’t actually know a couple of his choices. From Can-Am, I can only think of Jimmy Dean and Steve Sterling off the top of my head, but not sure if they’re considered stars. And Thunders Arena I thought of Johnny Bravo, but not sure how classic he is.
of the bunch i found sebastian to be the oddest choice. i think big sexy or frey or marco would have appealed to a wider audience. overall is was great. lets hope he does another!
Deletei was wondering if you were planning to do a Battle of the Wrestling Stars segment anytime soon? hope so. can't wait to see who you match up and the outcome of this fun fantasy fights.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn’t on my radar, but now that you asked, I’ll see what comes to mind. I’d want it to be different, so it’s good that there are a crop of new guys out now. MBW guys would have to be included ... Nick Flex, Alex Costa, Derek Bolt, Joey McCoy, Justin Powers, etc.
Deletesounds good. it could be fun to match them against some wrestlers that they never had a chance to meet. nick flex vs flex of can-am or justin power vs brad rochelle.
ReplyDeletehey. checking back to see if you gave anymore thought to the Battle of the Wrestling Stars segment we last discussed?
ReplyDelete