Review: Jersey vs. Kai (Thunder's Arena)

Brother vs. brother is a pro wrestling staple. Whether it's real brothers or fake brothers, there is a long history of tag teams, factions and feuds all based on the familial connection between male siblings.

Tag teams trade off the natural connection brothers have. If you can't rely on your brother, who can you rely on? But guys getting along is boring. There's no tension. So, we crave rivalry. Competition. And a little deep-seeded resentment doesn't hurt the storyline, either.

It's only natural for brothers to wrestle. For me, there's nothing sexual in it, nor do I want there to be. It's entirely about establishing dominance. Who is the real man of the house? The alpha male. Usually the older brother dominates, but his natural advantage diminishes the older we get. For me, that's when it's most interesting.

For a lot of reasons, brothers are less common in our type of wrestling. But there have been a few. Like their pro counterparts, they both tag together and compete against one another. Obviously, I have a preference for the competition, which pits brother against brother.

The latest brothers to appear together are Jersey and his younger brother Kai. I've been buying the Jersey matches (the one exception being the Jersey/Frey re-match in the pool), so I naturally snapped this one up.

Jersey is Jersey. He looks as 'adorkable' as ever. All these matches were probably shot at once, so that's no surprise. He wears tight red trunks, which look good. I found them to be lot better than the squarecuts vs. Dozer, but a little worse that the red poser vs. Frey.

It's actually little brother that gets put in the red poser. Kai doesn't quite fill it out, front or back, but he still looks good. Admittedly, if he wasn't Jersey's brother, I'm not sure how interested I would've been in Kai, but he's cute-ish and very much a slightly smaller version of Jersey.

Red trunks for Jersey

Kai's red poser (back) 

Kai's red poser (front)

One side note ... I was a little distracted by how hairy Kai's legs are and the random bruises and cuts on his body. It's not really bad, but it's unusual. I don't know why I fixated on them. If hairy legs are your thing, you'll be very happy.

The action is fast-paced and rough. The rivalry is clear and referenced multiple times. It's clear that Jersey has dominated Kai their entire lives and little brother would love to be the dominant one for once. Little brother is mouthy and cocky, especially when he's on top.

Big brother Jersey on top

Little brother Kai on top

Both brothers get in their shots, but big brother is slightly more dominant. Still, younger brother is holding nothing back and Jersey seems a little whiny a couple of times ("wait, wait, wait, my ribs"; "stop, I've got a cramp"), whereas Kai takes his punishment like a man ("it hurts, bitch") and never stops fighting. Point for Kai.

Kai wins the full nelson battle

So yeah, I really enjoyed it. The subtext of the brotherly conflict makes it really interesting, but the action is pretty good, too. There's a lot of great, body-displaying holds here, including many personal favorites like the over-the-knee backbreaker, single leg crab and dragon sleeper.

In terms of price and quality, it's typical Thunder's. Now, it is a short video. It starts with just over 1 minute of intro, establishing the relationship and rivalry, until a sneaky Frey manages to ignite the conflict. The match itself is 17 minutes of action. There is a definitive winner. Then it all wraps up with a promo for Frey vs. Kai.

At the start, Frey gets the brothers feuding

At the end, Frey comes looking for a fight

One note: You get the same Frey/Kai footage again in that match (about 90 seconds). My video actually has two versions of a short Jersey vs. Frey moment. I get that things take multiple takes, but it feels like a mistake that I'm watching it. Not bad, just a little sloppy. I also think there's supposed to be another promo, but my screen just freezes on Frey while voices and music can be heard.

I'll be reviewing Kai/Frey in-depth tomorrow. There was just too much for one post.

So what do you think? About brothers, these brothers, anything else ... share them in the comments.

Alex