The Cast: Who's Who (January 2016)

Guys,

Here are the base models for January's stories. Only one new guy this month, but some new images of the returning studs.

The Cave 15

Cody/The Bat = Leighton Stultz (Model)

Review: Talon vs. Bucky (Thunders Arena)

Full disclosure: This video was provided to me by Thunders Arena.

Talon: "I'm waiting on some action."
Bucky: "What kind of action are you waiting on?"
Talon: "Whatever you want, I'm ready."

Oh Talon, you know just what to say to get my mind going. Of course Talon vs. Bucky isn't "that" kind of video, but I have a feeling this exact exchange will start one of my stories at some point. In this case, those words are the start to a new Thunders Arena ring match starring fan favorite Talon and newcomer Bucky.

Pro vs. Joe: Hair-pulling intensity

Talon retaliates with a boot to the throat

Regular readers know I've been a big fan of Thunders Arena ring matches, positively reviewing three already (Dirty Daddy vs. Marco, Dirty Daddy vs. Brian Cage and Johnny Bravo vs. Brian Cage). I didn't even know this one was out, but there it was from Mr. Mike in my inbox. I was going to hold back, but I watched a few minutes, got hooked and here we are again with my third Thunders post in 8 days.

Commentary: The Rise and Fall of RHW

It's been a while since I had anything provocative to say, but this seemed like an interesting and timely topic. It's also been a while since I covered anything to do with Rock Hard Wrestling.

Let me start by saying I know nothing about RHW that you don't know. I've never exchanged emails, texts or any other form of communication with them. I don't know how they work, how their sales are or any other insider information. So this is merely one fan's perspective.

A year ago, RHW was my favorite producer by far. They had my favorite wrestlers, awesome action and the best-looking videos at a great price. As recently as August, Jose at LaSustanciaP called me the biggest RHW fan he knows. I chose them for my first “Casting the Cave” post, my first “Battle of the Wrestling Stars” post and based on the strength of their early 2015 slate, they won multiple 2015 Caveys for wrestlers and matches. However, I didn’t give them any of the Producer Caveys.

2015 Cavey winner for Favorite Match

Review: Ty Alexander vs Chace LaChance (Wrestler4Hire)

After a lengthy break, Cameron Matthews is back with more videos, releasing a number of interesting looking matches featuring a great combination of hot indie pros and homoerotic wrestling studs. I've already bought three - two with Maverick and the Lane Hartley/Kelly King double-teaming Barry Burke video. Reviews to come.

Today, though, I'm looking back to an older release. This match is actually titled "Wedgie Wars". I bought it a while ago, but it kind of fell down my list. I bought it for the two wrestlers. I like both of them, but somehow the title made me feel like it was a novelty match. I figured I needed to be in the right mood.

While there are many wedgies and trunk pulls, this is actually a really good match on its own. The first wedgie doesn't even happen until you're more than a third of the way through this 20-minute match. As proof of that, I only pulled one of the titular moves, opting to feature the non-wedgie action.

The only wedgie I'm highlighting (JPG)

Review: Frey vs. Travis (Thunders Arena)

Full disclosure: This video was provided to me by Thunders Arena.

This is a bonus post. I originally planned three reviews for the end of January, but Thunders Arena sent out another video to a bunch of bloggers, including me. I try not to do the same company twice in a row, but I moved Cage/Bravo up a day and slotted this one in. So now there's four reviews (plus the Who's Who) to end the month.

Here's the email we received from Mr. Mike ...

"We had so many reviews of travis come back into us that he doesn’t know how to wrestle so we made a video of him learning how to wrestle. I thought you might enjoy watching this and share it with your readers. I think it would be interesting to do an article on a bodybuilder trying to learn how to wrestle. Got some interesting stuff for you to talk about with your fans. This is Travis vs Frey"

Okay, I'm not doing an article on a bodybuilder trying to learn how to wrestle. I think that'd be interesting if this was an interview with Travis, but it's just a video and we don't get any insight into Travis' feelings on the matter. If anything, he doesn't seem particularly troubled by his lack of knowledge or skill.

Still, this whole situation is really interesting to me. Interesting enough that I adjusted my schedule to fit this in as an extra post. It's like they're trying to hit the reset on Travis. Perhaps they feel that they botched the debut of a potential superstar. Travis is a cute 18-year old phenom with an impossible bodybuilder physique. He should be a bestseller for a long time, except for this 'doesn't know how to wrestle' issue.

Travis is a big boy

Review: Bravo vs. Cage (Thunder’s Arena)

This match intrigued me when it first came out, but I ended up waiting a while before buying. I’m not a crazy fan of these two guys, but the combination of these two huge muscle beasts in one match sounded pretty cool. However, it was $50 and I already had a ton of matches on my iPad, so I didn’t feel a huge rush.

Waiting paid off. Thunder’s Arena eventually reduced it to $33, so with a free match add-on (Marco/Fit), I got three matches for $59, which is under $20 each. With the match downloaded and a little free time, I finally got around to watch it.

How was Johnny Bravo vs. Brian Cage?

Great. The match definitely delivered exactly what I expected. The musclemen, the action and the finish were excellent. It’s a unique product. I can't think of anywhere else in our little gay-oriented wrestling video world where you are going to see two guys that are built like this, with these reputations, in a ring together battling it out.

Inspiration: The Stump Puller

Alex R. suggested that I post about some of the moves I use. Not everyone is familiar with every hold. Now Wrestling Arsenal already has an alphabetical listing of hot galleries that includes a lot of holds, including the Stump Puller. They're a great place to start. I decided to do my own post anyway, just for fun.

Flash LaCash traps Guido Genatto (here)

The Cave 15: The Bat vs. Spartan

DING, DING, DING!

"Stupid move, Bat, agreeing to wrestle me. You should have kept ducking me."

I smirk as I climb into the ring, "What? Me, duck a jobber like you? You've clearly been hit in the head one too many times during your many losses."

The muscle freak ignores me. He flexes in a most muscular pose, tightening his incredible muscles, "Yeah, you didn't want any part of me before, but I finally got you! Now, you're going to be the next victim of Spartan's winning streak!"

Review: Kink-Men Superheroes (Kink.com)

While this blog is primarily about wrestling, there's obviously a clear superhero angle, based on The Cave and Superhero genre stories.  I've mentioned before that it doesn't take much to get me to buy gay superhero stuff. If I can download it, I'll usually try it.

In the wrestling space, I've bought from Can-Am's Hard Heroes, BGEast's Superhero Heels and Muscle Domination Wrestling's Super-Men. In all three cases, I got over them pretty fast. They were very hit-or-miss, skewing to miss.

Outside of wrestling, I've mainly bought from a few Clips4Sale stores and the three videos I'm reviewing today from the Men on Edge brand of Kink.com, who also produce Naked Kombat. I found these thanks to images on Tumblr and was immediately intrigued. (Note: I made all the GIF's and JPG's below, they're not from Tumblr.)

The videos are (in order of my preference): The Orgazmatron, KinkMan and The Moral Keeper.

Review: Jersey vs. Viggo (Thunder’s Arena)

Jersey vs. Viggo is the seventh Jersey match I’ve reviewed. There are only eight available on Thunder's Arena, but I haven't bought or watched Jersey vs. Frey 2 (in the pool). Maybe the completionist in me will kick in one day, but until it does, this is likely my last go-around for Jersey content.

Jersey: "It's all about the cannons"

I obviously like this guy, but so do many of you. My reviews of his matches have earned a lot of views and comments even without any link or support from another site. Not only did he win my 2015 Cavey Award for Favorite New Wrestler, but fellow blogger Bodyslammer just awarded him Newcomer of the Year. As well, his videos are big sellers based on the Thunder's Arena monthly rankings they were doing. So Jersey has definitely caught our collective attentions.

Now, that's all nice, but the question is, what did I think of THIS match?

Review: Blayze vs. Pitt (BGEast)

Me and my big mouth. When I talked about Blayze vs. Pitt back in November, I said, "I'll definitely review it when I get the chance, for good or bad."

Well, I'm sad to say it's "for bad".

A 31-minute tease that goes nowhere

If you want to see these guys trade holds and moves for 28 minutes, you might like this. The guys spend almost three minutes in the gym discussing their losing records because of heel cheating. This is weird, as Blayze has a 2-2 record and neither of his losses were driven by excessive cheating.

Route 69: Bad Boys S104

"So there I was, just 20-years old and I'm getting offered a spot in the WWL developmental league! Can you believe it? Of course, I turned it down. I just didn't feel ready for it."

I'm like, "Really?"

"Oh yeah. I don't want any special treatment, just because of my last name. My grandad always said, 'you gotta earn your way in pro wrestling, Little Jack'. That's what everyone still calls me. I'm 6'5"/230-lbs, but I'll always be Little Jack at home. Because, you know, he's Big Jack. Big Jack Justice. AWL Hall of Famer. Yep, it's kinda hard, being a Justice. Everyone still knows and respects my grandad, my dad and my uncle Jake. It's like I've got three huge shadows to get out from under."

"Little Jack"

I nod, "Sure."

Jack smiles at me, "You know, Champ, that's why I feel so proud to be in ROW. Because it's based on my ability. I've been working the indie circuit for the past two years, making my own way."

I tell him, "Good for you."