Review: Kelly King vs. Toney Rico (BGEast)

When I reviewed Braden Charron vs. Tatum Riggs (review here), a reader recommended Kelly King vs. Toney Rico as the best from BGEast catalogue 130. Honestly, I probably would’ve let the match go by, but it was a forceful recommendation, the video features two wrestlers I’ve liked in the past, and there wasn’t much else in my queue. And so I decided to check it out.

This Big Boy Battle has big boys,
but 'battle' might be a little strong.

Kelly King is a guy I crushed on hard for awhile but I kind of got over it. I don’t really know why, it’s just a ‘it’s-me-not-anything-you-did’ kind of situation. I mean, he’s physically perfect for the ring. Thick, muscular and cute, the pro stud is one of BGEast’s hunkiest pro heels. He’s certainly very skilled at destruction. And he plays the arrogant bad boy very well.

Now that this review is making me think on it, maybe I do know why. There are probably two reasons why King stopped being a must-buy. Repetitiveness is one, although there actually are a lot of guys who I eagerly watch do the same schtick over and over. Bigger is that somehow, King’s heel contempt and attitude struck me as a little too real at BGEast (vs. how he is at Wrestler4Hire). It came off in a disrespectful way that feels contemptuous of the entire underground video milieu. It’s just a vibe and not anything I can point to, which is why I say it’s all about me. Technical perfection is great, but I like to enjoy my heels’ nastiness.

King is a perfect prototype for ring wrestling.

The dominant big boy loves to be on top.

Even a simple flex is made torturous.

Anyway, let’s focus on this match. That’s just a more of the rambly extraneous background that I frequently put in these posts. Toney Rico looks great in shiny pink and white pro gear which pops against his rich brown skin. The classic jobber look puts me in a mindset, taking me back to the 80’s as it telegraphs the 30 minutes of complete and total squashy destruction.

Right from the first lock up, Toney is no match for the big bad boy heel. And he probably shouldn’t be. King”s more powerful and more experienced. Yep, this is one of those classic Saturday morning beatdowns. King is the star. Rico is the local jobber handpicked and attired to get demolished. I loved those matches and this feels like a 30 minute version of that.

I love infinite loop GIFs.
Toney will be shoulder blocked forever.

Spread 'em, big boy.

Yeah, this is a squash-tacular video.

King is definitely enjoying his work here. He physically and verbally savors bending, throwing, slamming, stomping and generally crushing his amateur opponent. The pro heel puts the joe jobber into body-torturing hold after hold, mixing in big boy brutality with fists, shoulders and feet. It’s relentless, making this a hard match to get through in one sitting. The holds are long-held and the moves are classic in a really great way.

BGEast did a good job releasing Toney’s matches, setting him up as a competitive and capable hunk before throwing him to the wolves. We know he can wrestle and win, so it makes King’s ruthless, relentless and humiliating squashing more meaningful. No gentle kisses at the end of this one, Toney. Just a smiling heel exiting after a job well done and a wrecked pink-clad jobber left sprawled out and unconscious in the ring.

King savors every moment of domination. 

Now that's a big boy move.

Poor pathetic Toney.
Stick to the smaller studs, buddy.

In the end, I enjoyed this a lot. It’s exactly what was advertised, so thanks to jorgefighter for commenting. Toney makes a sexy and logical victim in perfect classic gear. King knows exactly what to do with his prey and the match moves really well. Even though I could say I wish Rico had gotten in some offense, that wouldn’t be true. This is built off classic pro tropes and it works as such.

What are other bloggers saying? Well, Joe makes a great case that King isn’t even actually a heel, which I admit may actually be right. I might’ve fallen victim to promotional hype just like I did as a kid. It’s a compelling and positive view on King at BGEast. I’m not editing the above, but I’m glad I wrote mine before reading his.

RINGSIDE: THE PICTURE OF VIRILITY

So that’s my take. What’s yours?

Alex