Review: Chris Cannon vs. Jake Zane (Muscleboy Wrestling)

I'm sure there are great Muscleboy Wrestling videos I haven't seen. I was planning on looking for another video with newbies, but Chris Cannon made me change plans. I enjoyed him a lot in his debut, so I decided to check out his return pretty much immediately.

Did I make the right call? Was Chris Cannon vs. Jake Zane worth it?

Jake: "Argh! My back!"
Cannon: "What's wrong with your back?"

Yes, Chris Cannon is back. He looks even better in shiny blue trunks and black heel boots. The cocky heel has a casual, methodical approach to destruction that's compelling. I also like that he shows a great understanding of telling a story through wrestling, which I'll explain below.

Cannon: "You're earning your stripes today, jobber."

This is pretty terrific.

Wrestling Arsenal (link below) saw this as an old school beatdown and who am I to disagree? That's my take on it, too. It's like Saturday morning wrestling where the heel so outclassed the jobber that he could take his time and have his way with his powerless opponent.

Of course, I've seen Jake beat Damien Rush and Steve Tanner, both bigger guys but also jobbers. Here, Jake is against an emerging heel who doesn't seem to have a jobber bone in his body. He can only muster verbal defiance, as opposed to anything physical. He often scowls and refuses to give, only to end up submitting to "Chris Cannon, Sir".

Chris once again convinces his opponent
to remove his vest. Yeah, I'd do it, too.

Boom goes the dynamite.

Cannon: " You've got heart. I guess I can respect that."

The submission moves are well-done. Cannon targets the back repeatedly. I like a focused attack as it tells a better story than randomness. You can just imagine the effect a combination of a camel, Boston crabs and an extended rack from the brutal heel would have. As would Cannon's elbow drops. Having 185-lbs of heel crash down on top of you would knock the air right out of you. No wonder Jake can't fight back. Hair pulling fans should be happy, too, as Cannon controls Jake with his a ton in this match.

The slams (body and power) and suplexes are good and also target the back, but done onto a mattress, so it requires a little suspension of disbelief. As do a lot of the punches and forearms, which are weak and there are some noticeable misses. Cannon's methodical approach probably doesn't help, emphasizing the slowness of the strikes. I think rapid fire is a little easier to sell. The camera probably can't be so close and direct, especially with no supporting sounds. It makes those moments feel too pro fantasy.

Cannon: "No, don't give. You wanna be a champion,
you're not supposed to give.""

Always love the piledriver.

Damn, Cannon rocks my world.

In the end, Chris Cannon's sophomore video delivered for me, but not as well as his debut. The action is solid storytelling with good power moves and submission holds, but not quite there for me with the body work. Cannon's look, charisma and style are classic heel. Jake is a seasoned opponent, able to be both challenging and ultimately submissive.

Overall, I do think that MBW is doing a really good job, especially right out of the gate. Justin Power is next on my list to check out, so we'll see how that goes. And I'm looking forward to seeing more of Cannon moving forward.

What are other bloggers saying?

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So that's my take. What's yours?

Alex