Guys,
Bruce Ballard is one of
Rock Hard Wrestling's best stars and now all his videos are on sale for just $13.95. This includes SD and HD downloads, but not something called ... DVD? Whatever that means. Either way, Bruce is worthy of your attention.
Bruce is ranked #4 in my RHW talent rankings, behind only Jake, Alex and Dash. Yes, looking at RHW only, I like him more than Austin, Ethan or Z-Man. To me, those three excel more at other places. Regardless, he's pretty great and like Alex and Dash, he's unique to RHW.
I'd say that Bruce has four phases ...
Let's start with
Bruce vs. Alex Waters. My Cavey Award winner for
2015 Favorite Match and
Favorite Ring Match, it's inarguably one of the best RHW matches ever. I mean, you can try to argue, but you'd be wrong. The only question for me is whether it's #1 or #2 all time. My
full review of it is here.
These early Bruce matches introduced him as a tough stud and heir apparent for a guy like Alex. If you want to see Bruce dominate, you can also check out matches like Blake Keller or Tyson Matthews.
At some point, either plans changed or Bruce just ran into the buzzsaw of established studs. To see a more jobber-y side of Bruce, look at his early videos against superstars like Austin, Ethan or Z-Man. The one against Ethan is particularly humiliating - a crushing defeat in two straight falls against a guy with a fraction of his muscles.
And then there are his tag matches. Bruce teamed up a lot - 4 of his 13 matches paired him with either Dash or Austin. He shines less, but does fill the 'damsel in distress' role in a couple of these.
The last phase of Bruce is his RHW 2.0 period. There are 4 of these, but I have none of them, so no images by me. This is where I plan to focus my shopping. It seems like a good time to check these out with minimal risk. I'm not sure which ones I'll buy, but likely singles matches vs. Tanner and Jax.
If you don't have Bruce videos, now seems like a great time to get them. Or if you have some, why not complete your collection?
Alex
I'll say it again --- I love reading your reviews! These last few have been great but this article helped me narrow down which Ballard match I wanted to buy this time ... (I bet you can guess which one)
ReplyDeleteAlex, keep up the good work!
Thanks! Appreciate reading something positive about the last few reviews, but I'm especially happy to hear this post was helpful.
DeleteBruce...what a damn hottie. He had a mean streak about him, by that I mean that he could go on and dominate. But once tables turned, oh boy did he put a suffering show. HOT HOT HOT. Two of my favorites, with Austin and Ethan. That ending with Austin, super Sexy, worthy of The Cave. The one with Ethan. Shocking is not enough. Scorching Hot HOT HOT. The outfits alone, specially Ethans, is mind blowing. Why couldn't RHW continue stuff like that. Let me tell you, there was some serious storytelling in that match.
ReplyDeleteBruce has an impressive range, able to play dominant and victim. That's why I broke the post up. Guys can choose their Bruce.
DeleteI, too, loved the Ethan match and the ending of the Austin match. Old school RHW was definitely an inspiration on The Cave's look and feel, but probably action, as well.