Review: #603 Gorilla/Golden Boy vs. Chase/Miles (UCW)

Don't be confused by the title of this post. In their previous tag team match, the heel team renamed Austin and Axel as Gorilla and Golden Boy, respectively. I love it. No one uses those names here. The closest reference is when Miles tells Gorilla, "Get your stinkin' hands off me", which is reminiscent of "Take your stinkin' paws off me, you damn dirty ape!" Yeah, I don't think the reference was intentional.

Anyway, I'm going to use these names in this review because I can. And probably in any related review for them as a tag team. The names play off Gorilla’s big (for UCW) muscles and Golden Boy’s special place in the promotion, but I also think they're sexier and more fun. But what about Gorilla/Golden Boy vs. Chase/Miles? Is it sexy and fun?

It's a classic face vs. heel tag match.

The idea of a ref at UCW is weird to me. Outside of these recent tag matches, the only role I've ever seen a ref in is for a title match. They never enforced any rules, because there aren't any. Then in the last tag match, a ref appeared. He was incompetent and ineffectual, which was perfect. I still don't know why he was there, but he wasn't a problem.

Now, there's a ref again in another tag match. This time, however, I know EXACTLY why Ref Trevor is there. Neither ineffectual nor incompetent, Ref Trevor is actually the perfect ref for UCW. Strutting around with his striped shirt open and a sneer on his face, he's a tattooed roughneck who's pure bad boy. Yeah, this is a guy who belongs in the new UCW ring. And so, I love having a ref in the ring this time.

Miles: "Your partner's going to sleep.
I'm having fun!"

Uh, Golden Boy? Why are you reaching for a tag
when Chase has your boy Gorilla all wrapped up?

Everyone gets in the action, but my images
are a little biased towards Gorilla's suffering.

The teams rock their matching gear, looking the part in this tag battle. And both sides act as teams, especially the red-clad heels. Miles cheers on Chase and vice versa. They also work effectively as a team whenever the opportunity arises (which it often does). The good guys could work well together, but Ref Trevor is quick to keep order on the blue side of the ring, limiting their ability to coordinate.

Gorilla tries to get things under control.

It's the law of the ring: heels must go low on
big-bulged babyfaces or be kicked out of the union.

Chase goes for extra credit by
taking out Golden Boy, too.

The action is fast-paced and rough, basically very UCW. There are some submission holds, but things never really slow down for long. There's a lot of punching, stomping and cheating. All the guys dominate and suffer, but the good guys take more abuse. It doesn't help them that Ref Trevor is focused on enforcing "made up rules" only one way.

The guys talk the whole time. I don't remember a quiet moment and sometimes they're all talking over one another. Miles is especially good at talking, probably doing most of it. He's a compelling cheerleader for Chase, taunter of the good guys, narrator of the action and traffic cop for the ref. It's a lot of fun, feeling smooth and natural. I've suffered through some bad banter recently (e.g., Cap (vs. Blayne) + Vinny (vs. Cason) at Thunders), so this was refreshing.

Yeah, that's more than a five-count,
but the ref is "distracted" again.

Ref Trevor isn't incompetent. He's a heel.

Golden Boy, whining to the ref: "I know they paid you!"
Ref Trevor, mocking him: "Maybe I paid them."

In the end, UCW is killing it with these tag matches that combine classic heel vs. face drama with their own unique brand of wacky hijinks. I love Gorilla and Golden Boy in the role of gullible good guys who get hoodwinked by smarter, win-at-all-costs bad boys. The action is fast, sexy and true to the UCW brand. Hopefully there's a lot more like this to come.

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

Alex