One of my favorite things about
UCW is that they have a long-standing championship belt that gets frequently defended. Rookie
Chase Michaels upending "Golden Boy"
Axel a few years ago in
match #490 was the high point for me
(reviewed here), but it's still fun to see something be on the line. The current champ is
Tyson the Hammer, whom I've liked a lot but only reviewed a couple of times. And his opponent is my
2018 Cavey Award winner for
Favorite Wrestler.
Yes,
Tyson Hammer vs. Austin Tyler for the belt was a must-buy.
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| It's a big title match at UCW. |
UCW Gorilla,
Austin Tyler, gets so much love here that I'm going to focus my wrestler section of this review on
Tyson the Hammer. Physically, the champ is unique in UCW's pantheon. He's tall (6'2"), un-tattooed, and ripped with broad shoulders, long limbs and smooth skin. He's a handsome clean-cut stud in a sea of braggarts and roughnecks.
Tyson also has a calm, cool demeanor with a quiet confidence. He's also a ball-grabbing, down-and-dirty, cheating badass, which is definitely not unique at UCW. It's kind of a requirement for lasting this long at UCW. We're early into his reign, but the champ has been an active defender of the belt that he worked so hard to earn.
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| Austin rocks yellow trunks. |
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| Can Austin wrest the belt away? |
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| Or will Tyson knock Austin out of the running? |
Things start out like most UCW matches. Bravado and cockiness are displayed as the guys try to show how tough they are. Both guys have reason to believe they're going to win, so the wrestling starts fast
(around 80 seconds in) and keeps going until one guy gets his arm raised by the referee
(30 minutes later).
I was going to write that they run through the motions, but that has negative connotations. It's not that they're not interested or don't give it their all, it's just that I've seen all this before. It's a very typical UCW match and I didn't feel the suspense I used to feel, say, when Axel defended in the garage and his opponents would come so close that you were sure that they were mere seconds away from finally ripping the belt from around his waist. I mean, in
#435, sexy
Nick Diesel had him tied up and knocked out
(reviewed here)! How could Nick not win? That kind of tension never happens for me in this one.
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| The ring kind of gets used, but not much. |
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| Hey, Tyson's supposed to be the Hammer! |
 |
I hope Austin uses something to strengthen his roots
because everyone loves to pull that hair. |
Action-wise, it's easiest just to say that it's very UCW. It's back-and-forth and brutal. Tyson starts the low blows. Like any guy with any kind of sex drive, he loves to stick his hand into Austin's packed yellow trunks. I'm with you, buddy. It feels like Austin is more dominant, which probably makes sense as he's the challenger. Still, you do see both guys giving and receiving.
The ring plays less of a role than other recent matches I've seen, so I don't know how comfortable Tyson is inside the squared circle. He sticks to familiar mat tactics and low blows, chokes, etc. Since most everyone at UCW knows each other, there's usually a lot of chatter and the same is true here. These two have wrestled before and it shows.
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| When in doubt, rely on what you know. |
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| Nice hold, but not memorable. |
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It all adds up to a good UCW match,
but a classic title defense. |
In the end, this was a good-not-great match. I think a title match should be approached as special compared with other matches and this wasn't. They look fantastic, but I don't know if these two are a great fit to ever deliver a classic match. Austin's best UCW ring matches are PG-rated and showcase his creativity and ring savvy. My favorite Tyson matches were on the mats with more erotic overtones, like against Max Ryder and Axel.
What are other bloggers saying?
So that's my take. What's yours?
Alex
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