The Cast: Who's Who (July 2017)

Guys,

A ton of "story" in this month's first story then another visit to BIGBeast. The guys are mostly existing or 'familiar' characters. Havoc is the only 100% new guy, but hopefully you enjoyed seeing guys like Ram and Steve again.

The Cave Undercard 17

Cody = Leighton Stultz (Model)

Review: Kid Karisma vs. Reese Wells (BGEast)

More from BGEast's latest Ringwars compilation. This time, it's Kid Karisma vs. Reese Wells. It's a master heel against a cute babyface in a surprising match that ended up being both compelling and super-hot.

Go for it, Reese. You've got Kid Karisma
right where we all want him.

Review: Bruno vs. Nick Flex (Muscleboy Wrestling)

While the newest gay-oriented wrestling video company, Muscleboy Wrestling, is already on their third catalogue, I'm still back on at square one, checking out some original releases. Bruno the Beast vs. Nick Flex was a video that immediately caught my attention back when it was released, but I just recently got around to watching it.

Nick Flex flips the script on Bruno the Beast.

Review: Josh Goodman vs. Gil Barrios (BGEast)

Josh Goodman is having a pretty good year at BGEast, even though he might not even be wrestling any more. He's already appeared in my current favorite match of 2017 against Cole Cassidy, rocking animal print trunks. Now, Ringwars 27 features Josh Goodman vs. Gil Barrios.

This is another old-new match. New because it was just released, but obviously filmed years ago where aging musclemen wore unfortunate soul patches and things existed in a 4:3 ratio.

Josh wants Gil bad enough to
face him one-handed.

Review: Lane Hartley vs. Nick Justice (W4H)

One of the reasons I subscribe to Wrestler4Hire is for seeing indie pros in more private, slower and generally more interesting matches than youTube offers. Indie pro often moves too fast and lacks a coherent storyline. I've equated modern pro to basketball where they just keep going back-and-forth, but only the last minute really matters.

So when Lane Hartley vs. Nick Justice came up for viewing, I had to watch it. How did it go?

Nick pinches an inch as he and Lane
go at it hard in this big boy battle.

Review: Scrappy vs. Viking 2 (Thunders Arena)

First things first, I am going to SPOIL Thunders Arena's re-match between Scrappy and Viking. There's simply no way not to, because the pictures will tell the story.

When this came out, I bought it immediately. I loved the first one and it made Viking a must-buy guy for me. Scrappy was already there. Plus, I did suggest a Custom Series reversal of fortunes, which this is, so I might be partially responsible for some generous fan actually making this.

It's tough to make a sequel to a beloved and spectacular debut. How did Thunders do?

Can Scrappy flip the script in
this science vs. history grudge match?

Review: Scrappy v Finn McCool (Thunders Arena)

Thunders Arena finally hit the jackpot during this latest round of Vegas videos and it looks like their lucky charm is Scrappy. The feisty fireplug has at least five recent Vegas winners - Marco, Karl, Bart, Steel and this one against newcomer Finn McCool. Yes, Finn, Steel and Bart also had some other good action, but it's Scrappy who led the way. So that's why I decided to look at Scrappy vs. Finn McCool.

It's a love fest when Scrappy and Finn go at it.

BIGBeast: The New Guy 3

This story is based on a reader commission

At the Home for BIGBeast Wrestling

"Hey, jobber. Put these on and be in the ring in five minutes." Jimmy hands Steve a pair of silver and black shiny trunks.

Steve looks suspicious.

After a moment of skeptical hesitation, the hot new guy's eyes light up. He says, "Oh nice. These don't look very jobber-ish. What's the deal?"

Jimmy circles behind the blond muscleman then rubs his broad shoulders. He ignores the comment, responding, "You did good as a jobber against Dino. I mean real good. Camera-boy here was hard most of the match and when you squealed? He shot his wad into his shorts."

BOTWS 2: BGE v RHW v Thunders Part 6 of 6

This is it. Season 2 all comes down to these final three matches.

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 1

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 2

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 3

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 4

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 5

Round 16: Chad Daniels vs. Mitch Colby

Mitch looks focused as he waits for the young surfer to circle the entire ring. Chad is contemptuous of the mature muscleman as he climbs into the ring. After getting squashed by Tyrell, the blond RHW stud is more focused. He takes early control, really torturing Mitch with an impressive series of classic power moves - slams, stomps, punches and even a suplex.

BOTWS 2: BGE v RHW v Thunders Part 5 of 6

And here we are for the first half of the final day of season 2. These six Day 3 matches will decide who wins bragging rights. Defending champ Rock Hard Wrestling has a big hill to climb, but nothing is impossible. Thunders is definitely in the driver's seat. And of course, you can never count BGEast out.

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 1

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 2

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 3

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 4

BOTWS 2: BGE v RHW v Thunders Part 4 of 6

Day 2 continues with three more matches ...

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 1

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 2

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 3

Round 10: Joshua Goodman vs. Talon

Talon bounces in the ring, looking pumped and focused. His loss to Tyrell burns him up. He's only lost once at Thunders. The idea of going 0-2 is unfathomable. Joshua Goodman emerges from the back and saunters to the ring. He's got sunglasses on, looking ridiculously hot in an animal print poser. He looks at Talon with a smirk.

BOTWS 2: BGE v RHW v Thunders Part 3 of 6

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 1
Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 2

And we're back. Day 1 resolved nothing as things ended in a three-way tie. Big stars came through for Rock Hard Wrestling, while BGEast and Thunders both got a nice win from one of their frequent jobbers. And we learned that there are Cooper brothers, explaining their incredible frequency. But wait ... are they twins? Or ...

BOTWS 2: BGE v RHW v Thunders Part 2 of 6

And we're back with the second half of Day One.

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: Part 1

Everyone has one win, but can it stay this close? Let's see ...

Round 4: Dash Decker vs. Mitch Colby

Hoping to keep the momentum going, Zack substitutes Dash in for Chad at the last minute. Yeah, he's burning through his most talented studs, but Tanner's loss to a Thunders jobber hurt the team's confidence. He needs his less experienced guys to know they can win.

Battle of the Wrestling Stars 2: BGE vs. RHW vs. Thunders Part 1 of 6

Welcome to Season 2 of Battle of the Wrestling Stars. I was motivated to finish this by a recent comment on an old post and the return of Battle of the Network Stars to TV on ABC.

The original series pitted Rock Hard Wrestling against UCW. It was originally posted on the New Stories blog back in June 2015 and then re-posted (starting here) at The Cave in September 2015. It was inspired by the 70’s TV show and an e-mail exchange with Joe from Ringside at Skull Island about a comment he made.

It was a hard-fought, five-match, three-day affair that went down to the wire with then-King of the Ring Dash Decker eking out a victory in the third fall vs. then-UCW champion Quinn Harper.

In BOTWS 1, Dash Decker won the day for RHW.
Can he do it again?

Season 2 is even bigger, with RHW returning, plus two more producers. It’s a week-long, 18-match extravaganza. This time, RHW faces BGEast and Thunders Arena. Each selected stud will wrestle twice. It was developed as a three-day event, but it is so big, so monumental that it's being split into six posts posted over the next 8 days.

US Independence Day: Wade Cutler

Happy Independence Day for my American readers. Happy plain old July 4th for everyone else. According to Google Analytics, Americans still represent 57% of my visitors and the timing just works out nicely for a special post. Last year, I shared a bunch of studs in USA-themed gear. This year, I've decided to focus on one particular stud in USA-themed gear.

Wade Cutler.

Happy July 4th!

Wade always sets off fireworks.

The Cave Undercard 17: Havoc vs. Ram

"Hey. Uh, I'm Trent. You're, uh, Cody, right?"

I smile and extend my hand, "Yeah, that's right. Nice to meet you, Trent. What can I do for you?" We're at the gym where I work as a personal trainer. I just finished up my last appointment. I've got a reputation for being the best, so I'm used to guys coming up to me. Trent is a compact 5'8"/165-lbs and in great shape, but maybe he wants some pointers on a specific goal.

Trent