Review: King/Travis vs. Marco/Bolt (Thunders Arena)

February was going to be a Thunders Arena-free month. I've covered a lot of their stuff and I wanted to give some love elsewhere. However, a commenter mentioned this tag team ring match - Marco/Bolt vs. Travis/Joey King. They've sent me three matches recently, so I figured I'd take a risk and try it out. Don't worry, though. I'm doing this as a bonus post, so you'll still get the five reviews and wrestling move post I've already uploaded for the month.

Now, I might have bought this without prodding, but I definitely would've thought twice before buying it. I've enjoyed all four of the Thunders ring matches I've watch so far, so that makes me interested, but none of these four wrestlers are must-buys for me.

Three of Thunders bestsellers together should be a winner, right?

On one side, you have Bolt and Marco, both big sellers and fan favorites. However, Bolt didn't impress me in his match against Dozer (review here). And while Marco is hot, I find him hit-or-miss. I think he works at the level of his opponent, shining against stars, but not elevating lesser talents. While I did like his last ring match (review here), he was with super-pro (and Cavey Award winner) Dirty Daddy, so I give the hairy hunk more credit for my enjoyment.

Their opponents are two rookies. As documented here, Travis looks great, but struggles with the wrestling part. Yes, the teen bodybuilder is hot, but you'd expect a ring to only make his inexperience more noticeable. His partner is Joey King, a Thunders newbie, but a working pro. Now the fact that King knows his stuff did make me a little less nervous, but he's still an unknown.

The studs you love put on a show

King rules the ring

How'd it go? Well, all four guys look great here, although Marco's gear is strange at best. I think his outer white trunks are on backwards and the whole saggy look doesn't appeal to me, especially in a pro ring. King looks awesome, Travis is a flexing machine and Bolt's tiny floral briefs are extremely hot.

In terms of the action, the match is as sloppy as it can be. It's repetitive and actual moves are minimal at best. If you like seeing guys run into the corner and miss their marks, you'll like this. From this small, mediocre sample, I think King is a stud. He's thick, powerful and sexy as hell in his bright yellow trunks. However, I don't think this match tells me how good he is. I suspect I would like him, so I'll have to see if he wrestles elsewhere.

All three guys get a turn in the same hold

Joey King enjoys punishing mouthy Marco

Bolt positions himself just right

I'm surprised to say that Bolt is actually the standout for me among the three amateurs. He really gets into the action, trying his best. Bolt and King work well together and I'd love to see a singles match between them. Marco is solid, but gets stuck with Travis a fair bit. I'll give him credit for working hard to deliver a good match, but as I said above, he can't save bad talent.

I'd book King vs. Bolt immediately

Bolt impresses me in this match

Marco: "STOP FLEXING!"

Which brings me to Travis. Oh poor Travis. I don't want to be mean to an 18-year old and maybe this was filmed before the Frey training session. The young bodybuilder just continues to struggle. He's detached from the action and all he wants to do is flex. He kind of knows how to do a snap mare, a full nelson and run guys into the corner. That's it. His lack of ability, interest and effort bring down the entire match.

Marco and King seem to get irritated, while there's not much Bolt can do with him. Marco chides Bolt for applying a crab completely wrong (see GIF below), basically telling him he's better than that. Travis even distracts from the action when King is wrestling by flexing in the background. The other three wrestlers feel obliged to call him out for it continuously. He keeps doing it, so is it a plot point or is he really is like this? Either way, I'm not a fan.

Travis flexes while his partner dominates

Marco: "What are you doing? YOU know how to wrestle!"

Marco and Bolt try to stop Travis from flexing

So while there are moments of promise, especially with Bolt vs. King, I can't really recommend this one. On the positive side, it made me rethink my opinion of Bolt. He's charming, hot and seems to know how to wrestle. I think I will give him another try. And if King battles either Bolt or Marco, I'm in. In fact, I'll likely buy King against almost anyone. I bet Talon or Eagle would work great with him, too.

I'll take a second look at Bolt

So that's my take on it. What's yours? If you bought it, did you like it?

Alex