Review: Trent Blayze vs. Jonny Firestorm (BGEast)

I've been traveling a lot recently, which is a big part of the reason why there's been so much Thunders Arena coverage lately. I loaded up my iPad and caught up on all of Vegas. Conversely, BGEast just isn't convenient on the road. It looks like I basically missed catalogue 128, since VODs for catalogue 129 are now available. I'm okay with that, since there were only a couple of matches I was genuinely interested in (Zip/Z-Man, Mitch/Jobe). Both Bard and Joe reviewed them if you want to know more.

So, I've decided to look forward rather than back. Jonny Firestorm vs. Trent Blayze is one of the new ones I definitely wanted. And it was available early (that seldom happens)! Great. I VOD'ed it on Saturday. How'd it go?

Somebody wishes this was a twenty minute video.

Obviously Jonny Firestorm is the star here, but he's not actually who drew me to VOD this video. Trent Blayze is one of those guys that I seem to like more than everyone else does. I just like his guy-next-door looks, his long lanky body and his attitude. He's unique in all three areas.

So who is Trent Blayze? A Southern stud who says things like, "This isn't over. I'm still standing. Might be on one leg, best believe, I'm still standing." When Jonny asks Trent whether he wants to go down the easy way or the hard way, Trent boldly chooses hard. Good man. And this continues throughout the match. A leg on the ropes to break the pin. Refusals to give. Jonny can't decide if Trent is tough or stupid. Either way, it's hot as fuck.

Meanwhile, Jonny seems to be working out some frustrations here. He mentions The Boss (who oddly is missing from the profile pages, so no link) several times. And when he says that The Boss says he needs more energy, Trent is the unlucky recipient of vicious gut work and crippling leg attacks. ENERGY! Sorry Trent, but I like it if more energy = more intensity and brutality on hot hunks like you.

I just like Trent.

Maybe Jonny underestimated Trent?

Aw, the spladle. One of Jonny's greatest splits.

There are two matches on this compilation. One is private and one is public. This is obviously the private one. This is a long match - over 40 minutes. And it's almost divided into two different scenarios. There's twenty minutes where size and power overcomes skill then another twenty minutes where diabolical brains defeats noble brawn.

This is one of those videos where I had trouble deciding what images to use. I reluctantly moved a ton of hot screen-grabs into my iMac's trashcan as I whittled them down to a reasonable number. I focused more on Trent suffering for a reason. After Jonny's power moves, Trent has an incredibly sexy way of twitching and convulsing. I'll write about guys bouncing after a slam or suplex, but this is it in action.

That twitch isn't a glitch.

See, that's how jobbers do it, Trent.

Every time, Trent adds a little extra OOMPH.

Action-wise, there's too much to describe. I like that there's a great combination of moves and holds. You get big power moves, like body slams, a piledriver, bulldogs and even a gorilla press slam. There's body work in the corner. And you get expertly executed submission moves, like the figure-four, over-the-knee backbreaker and torture rack. Both guys submit, get pinned and are posed over with the finale featuring a knock out.

My only issue with the action is Trent is slow, tentative and tense. He seems confused at times, as well as conscious of the camera. I haven't really noticed this before, so I'm not sure what's going on. Jonny's excellent, of course, so maybe that makes it more noticeable than against the amateurs Trent has faced previously. When Jonny's in control, things are smoother.

Jonny shows the big man how strong he is.

Hey, that's Jonny's move!

"Strong as an ox, but dumb as a bag of rocks."

In the end, I liked this pro battle quite a bit. Jonny's always fun and I just connect with Trent. The action isn't as crisp as I'd expect from a pro vs. pro battle, which is entirely on Trent, but he makes up for it with his can-do attitude and those twitches and convulsions. I am now curious about the public pro match to see how he looks there.

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

Alex