Review: Coop/Jake vs. Ethan/Jason Kane (RHW 1.0)

Now that Rock Hard Wrestling is officially defunct and replaced (my post here), we can't be sure how long its website will be up and running. So I figure I better have what I want before the cost outweighs the income. Luckily, I probably have everything I want, including every Jake, Bruce, Dash and Alex solo match.

During the recent Jake Jenkins sale, I completed my Jake collection adding the four tag team matches that I had previously skipped. Out of all those tag matches, I decided to review Coop/Jake vs. Ethan/Jason for some variety and nostalgia. Coincidentally, it's also the "Encore Presentation" right now.

Three huge stars in one match!
Jake plays the concerned partner perfectly.

Three of the four wrestlers in this match are one-name superstars. If you say Jake, Coop or Ethan, fans will know who you mean. They're in their formative years here, but they've already got the looks, attitude and skill that makes them superstars. They're so fun to watch and engaging. Cocky, playful and cruel, they seem to really enjoy being in the ring.

Interestingly, the one guy who isn't a superstar has some of the most memorable moments of all. Jason Kane is new to me, but he feels very familiar. He's handsome and ripped, perfectly suited to the hot white frat boy aesthetic that made RHW what it was. In appearance, he's pretty much interchangeable with half of the RHW roster. However, that doesn't mean he's bland. In fact, Jason holds his own and even shines in this match.

Austin has always been about the muscle.

The Jake we know and love,
tortured by super-heel Ethan.

Jason Kane hangs with these future superstars
(at least from a performance standpoint).

I love tag action, so you'd think I would've bought these when they came out, but I passed. At the time, I mainly wanted to see Jake wrestle (suffer) and I worried that these wouldn't have the sustained punishment I was looking for. And this one doesn't, but I still really liked it. So even though I was right, I was also wrong thinking it wouldn't work for me.

I feel like Jake actually suffers the least of the four studs, but I don't care. He's a great cocky dominator, too. Jake's domination of Ethan and playful tormenting of Jason are really fun. Of course, Ethan and Coop are great on top, but both get to prove their awesome selling skills, as well. It's pretty much a round robin where everyone gets their turn.

Jake's the best at selling, but this
tag match isn't about that.

Classic tag team dickery.

Double teaming awesomeness.

There's a lot of standard RHW action, but I really enjoy the double teaming. That's what makes tag action so uniquely hot for me. Isolate one guy then wear him down with vicious attacks while his partner desperately begs for the tag. Add in taunting by teasing a tag and I can replay that over and over.

As I implied above, Jason is the surprise here. He suffers a ton and looks great doing it. His ripped body gets manhandled, stretched and worked over. Austin and Jake delight in breaking him down almost as much as I delighted in seeing it done. It's great to be surprised and I was by how much I liked the unknown (to me) hunk.

Jason takes more than his fair share of punishment.

Luckily, he looks great doing it.

Show that hot stud off, Coop.

In the end, I really liked this tag battle. It's entertaining, fast-paced and plays into the things that makes tag team action so great. There's a lot of domination, a lot of suffering, and a lot of bad boy arrogance. I shouldn't have waited so long, because it is worth a look.

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

Alex