Story Preview: July 2018 (Warning: Spoilers)

Summer’s in high gear and the heat is on in this month’s stories. Click and be spoiled on the matchups. Don't click and be surprised. It's all up to you.

The Cast: Who's Who (June 2018)

Guys,

So many men in the first story of the month. You have images of 11 regulars, plus four staff. The second story is much simpler - just one frequent wrestler and two cute newbies.

AMU 150: And Then There Were Studs

Jae = Mike Carr (Model)

Review: Brute vs. Felix (Thunders Arena)

I bought Brute vs. Felix at the same time as several other Thunders Arena matches, but it took me a while to watch it. These two guys were in an extremely disappointing video labeled as a tag team match, but it was really a practice video with about six minutes of sort-of tag wrestling. As readers know, I love tag, so I was quite bitter about it and it lowered my interest in watching this one.

Fortunately, I got over it, because Brute vs. Felix is pretty good. It's not life-changing, but definitely a video I enjoyed watching.

It's beefy boys from opposite sides of the pond.

Review: Ace Aarons vs. Ricky Roma (BGEast)

Ace Aarons vs. Ricky Roma is a direct continuation of the BGEast "Wrestling with Pride" event, but it's pretty easy to figure out what's going on if you haven't watched it. Or is it? Things start out simply, but there is a twist in motivation here that will likely be the determining factor in your enjoyment.

There's a story to this wrestler vs. ref match.

Ace Aarons was the draw for me. He's a sexy, sultry heel with a smoky voice and a captivating swagger. So far, the two videos I've watched have been hit (vs. Ash DeLeon) and miss (vs. Luke Lonza), but Ace was a hit in both. He's a guy who's both a skilled pro wrestler and an erotic presence just sitting on the top turnbuckle.

Review: Frey vs. Scrappy (Thunders Arena)

I moved this post, because there was some drama at Thunders Arena with Mr. Mike landing in the hospital. They were closed for business and it read like there were some operational challenges. With the site back up, I'm assuming he's on the mend and things are back on track. Phew. I've been traveling, so I only know what I read in this PSA on Ringside, but it sounds like it was scary.

If anyone needs to cheer themselves up, Scrappy vs. Frey might be a good place to start.

Frey tests whether a face really can freeze that way.

Review: Butch.J vs. Muscle Beast (Wrestlingmale)

It's hard to buy from a new wrestling video company. You don't know the wrestlers. The vibe. The quality. And when the company is also the priciest player out there, it's doubly as difficult to decide. I'd been looking at Wrestlingmale for a little while. They have some familiar faces, but I'd decided I wanted to start with new guys. I immediately fixated on Muscle Beast and Buffalo B, but I just couldn't convince myself to pull the trigger.

Until now. I saw a tweet then just went ahead and bought Butch.J vs. Muscle Beast. From what I could tell, it looked like a good first video to try. Hot hunks. Lots of wrestling. No gimmicks. And I was right. Yay!

It's younger muscle vs. mature muscle
in my first purchase from WrestlingMale.com

One-Hit Wonders Part 3: Fan Favorites

I'm back again with more one-hit wonders (1HWs) from BGEast. The first two posts were each the second most viewed for their respective months (1HW 1: April and 1HW 2: May), so I figure that you must like reading about these guys.

The difference this time is that none of these guys are 1HWs that I'd seen. These are three fan recommendations out of the ones that I've received so far. They're very different from one another, so I thought they'd make a nice set. My criteria for 1HWs goes beyond just their number of appearances. To qualify, they must be memorable, despite their limited tenure. With all three of these, I definitely get why readers remember them.

Mack O'Malley

6'2"/245-lbs.

The Cave Unleashed 6: Spartan vs Young Love

This story is a reader commission.

Xaq’s Apartment.

“Of course, we're mainly hiring you because you're such an awesome muscle bitch.”

WHAT? I read the email again, unable to believe my eyes.

Me. Xaq. Awesome. Muscle.
Not that other word.

“… mainly hiring you because you're such an awesome muscle bitch.”

Eye of the Cyclone: Reap What You Bow

I've been a member of Eye of the Cyclone for quite a while. Bard has covered a few of the stories over the years, but I never really have. I don't know why. I like the site enough to pay for it, but maybe the structure makes it harder to blog about. Anyway, doesn't matter. I finally decided to talk about the site, thanks to a tweet about one of their classic series.

Our hero, Will Bowman.
Love those tights.

New Blog: W.R.'s Screencaps

Long-time The Cave reader and commenter W.R. joined the blogging game yesterday with his first post at W.R.'s Screencaps (link here and full URL is http://wrsscreencaps.blogspot.com) He's creating a mostly visual experience around some of his favorite videos. Here's how he describes it:

In this blog I will feature guys in scenarios which have captured my imagination. Hopefully they will capture yours as well.

Good luck, W.R.! He's off to a great start with screen captures from a match between Braden Charron and Bart Barron from BGEast.

Alex

Review: Austin Tyler vs. Nick Flex (Muscleboy Wrestling)

Muscleboy Wrestling is out with catalogue 8. They sent me a few matches that I'll check out over the next few weeks, but you'll notice there's no disclosure notice on this review. That's because I bought Austin Tyler vs. Nick Flex immediately, knowing I wanted to see it and being more than willing to slap down my hard-earned cash for it.

I should never get my hopes up, but in this case, it worked out because I loved this match. It's my new favorite Nick Flex match and another awesome showing for Austin Tyler.

Two of my faves give it their all.

Review: Frey vs. Vinny (Thunders Arena)

When Thunders Arena won my 2017 Cavey Award winner for Favorite Promotion, I praised them for delivering consistent quality. Scrappy and Blayne led the way, but almost everything just clicked. So far, it's been a different story in 2018. At best, I can call this year inconsistent. The charming and physically perfect Cason is the only major rookie highlight, but even he's not been infallible.

After a couple of recent bad decisions (e.g., Frey vs. Professor Muscles and Brute/Joey King vs. Felix/Sage) and the announcement of a shift to a browser-based video format (.webm instead of .mp4), I've decided it's time to be a little more thoughtful about what I buy. I almost jumped on all five new Vegas videos, but I managed to calm myself. Patience.

Anyway, Frey vs. Vinny has the kind of qualities I'll be looking for. Two fairly reliable studs that I like, on the classic mats, with a simple premise, bought during a recent sale. I was surprised by this video, but in a good way as the action is different than what I expected, but it was hot and engaging.

Vinny and Frey are back for another
roll around the mats.

Review: #593 Austin Tyler vs. Chase Michaels (UCW)

With UCW transitioning action to a ring, I was curious and understandably nervous about what it meant. The first match I watched, Austin Tyler vs. Miles felt ... different (see my review here). However, the tag team match featuring Golden Boy and The Gorilla taking on Joker and Quinn Harper (reviewed here) worked out quite nicely, feeling both new and familiar at the same time.

Which way does Austin Tyler vs. Chase Michaels tilt the scale?

Ropes are the new brick wall when
Austin meets Chase in the UCW ring.

Review: Biff Farrell vs. Franco Vetti (BGEast)

Biff Farrell vs. Franco Vetti was on my list from the latest BGEast catalogue, but not at the top of it. It was hovering in that second tier with Kayden Keller vs. Bruno LaBestia as matches I was interested in, but not 100% sure because of an unknown wrestler (rookie Franco Vetti) and an unappealing gimmick (Kayden and Bruno boxing).

I did end up VOD-ing this one and I'd say that it should be near the top of any list. It's fan-freaking-tastic as the veteran and rookie are really good.

Biff Farrell and newcomer Franco Vetti deliver an
excellent Gut Bash video via the Fantasymen series.

AMU 150: And Then There Were Studs

In celebration of my 150th story ...

Chapter One: The Manor

Howard Hill Manor

“Wow.”

“You said it, Cody. I've never been to a mansion like this before. It's like a castle or something. This is really a hotel? I didn't see any signs.”

“I guess Howard Hill Manor is just that exclusive. I mean, just imagine how much staying at place like this must cost, Jae. We couldn't afford it, that's for sure.”

“And this Noah guy really just gave you a weekend here? No strings attached?”

I smile, “Yeah. I guess I'm just that good.” My boyfriend just smirks at me. “Noah did say that it was some kind of wrestling theme weekend, so he thought we'd love it.”