Review: Scrappy vs. Frey (Thunders Arena)

Thunders Arena always debuts new guys. Their pipeline of muscle has to be the envy of everyone in the business. Now I have no idea who'll stick around, who'll sell and who'll vanish, but I have recently watched matches with Thunders newbies Jet, Scrappy, Steel and Jake Jenkins. With the stories coming every week this month, I figured I'd spend the gaps by reviewing these new additions.

All four Thunders rookies are hot white musclemen, but that's really where the similarity ends. Today, we're starting on the smaller end of the new guys, Scrappy. So far, he's appeared the least, just one match plus a brief mini-match (less than 7 minutes of action). This is too bad, because he seems to have a lot of potential.

I'm starting with the full match - Scrappy vs. Frey - but I will cover the mini-match vs. Vinny on Sunday.

Frey checks out the new guy

Scrappy is definitely very Thunders Arena. He's handsome, young and built. The rookie has a great physique, adorable looks, shaggy hair and a farmer's tan that leaves his torso bright white. In addition to his physical beauty, Scrappy also brings a very Thunders attitude to the mats - cocky and confident. In fact, the rookie is a pretty standard Thunders archetype - the smaller stud who's afraid of no one, tries really hard, and is remarkably resilient.

The rookie from Kentucky declares himself to be 5'6"/160-lbs, which is on the "get squashed" side of things, but he looks strong, like a mini-Marco, so I wasn't 100% sure how things would go. Yes, the formula is that Frey beats on the rookies. It's such a common event that it's become cliche by this point, so I'm thinking that they could switch it up. Well, they could, you don't know.

Is Scrappy flipping the script?

Frey finds he's not as easy to control as expected

Scrappy looks good on top

Opposite Scrappy, Frey is Frey, doing his usual schtick with rookies. There's a lengthy flexing, trash-talking session, mainly to introduce us to Scrappy. At the 3-minute mark, the action starts and runs for a solid 18 minutes.

Overall, I'd say that the wrestling looks a little sloppy, but it's mainly because Scrappy keeps fighting and moving. So it's not necessarily bad, it could just be part of his character showing he's a "scrappy" dude. However, it does kind of mess Frey up a few times as he looks to apply holds that require a more static and cooperative opponent.

Scrappy acting scrappy

Frey uses his power to manhandle the smaller stud

Frey bends the resilient hunk

There are a few standout moments that are excellent. When Scrappy has control, he does a really good job dominating. Frey's over-the-knee backbreaker with hair pulling is well done. And so is the torture rack. Well, there are multiple racks, but one of them is especially nice where Scrappy gets in the right position and is really folded and manhandled by the bigger stud.

During the match, Frey gets frustrated, upset at Scrappy's resilience and unwillingness to submit. That's very cool. The Thunders veteran does have to remind the rookie to be vocal, especially when suffering, but Scrappy responds and shows some ability to sell. It helps that he looks even better when his pale, chiseled body is stretched out.

Hair that's begging to be pulled

The Scream!
It's a work of art that would make Edvard Munch jealous.

From head to toe, Scrappy is awesome

In the end, I really liked this match. It's certainly not perfect, but it is very Thunders. It's a great introduction to Scrappy and might require multiple sessions to complete, thanks to a couple of really good moments. It did for me. Even though Scrappy is not necessarily a unique character in Thunders, it never hurts to have a spare, right? If he sticks around, Scrappy has the potential to break out.

What are other bloggers saying?

RINGSIDE: SAY HI TO SCRAPPY

So that's my take. What's yours? Wisdom of crowds people. Help readers with your opinion.

Alex