Casting The Cave: BGEast Edition

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 ...

BGEast (older school):

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.

Hot and hung

Cocky and confident

Justin looks good on top

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.

The intensity to be Bane

And the looks to be Ryan

Dominating everyone

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.

From back ...

to front, he's my Ben

Ben's no pushover and neither is Brad

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.

Hot and built, just like a Jeff should be

Let's fight!

Confident, dominant pro wrestler ...

who can lose and look great doing it

BGEast (newer school):

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.

Yep, Kid works as a superhero in black

All that's missing is the cowl

He's got the showmanship to be The Bat ...

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.

Got a problem with my choice?

Yes, he could be Ryan

He can be powerful

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.

Love that look ... very Ben

Ben can lose

Ben can win

Ben can be playful

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.

This is a great look for Jeff

Josh is tough, just like Jeff

And sometimes he gets in trouble

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