Story Preview: June 2019 (Warning: SPOILERS)

What's coming up in June? If you hate waiting or love spoilers, click away ...

The Cast: Who's Who (May 2019)

Guys,

Well, another month is in the books. May featured ...

• Three fan favorite wrestlers
• One recurring character
• One new wrestler
• One new side character

So, you probably already know by whom four of the guys are played, but who are our newbies?

Fan Fiction 2: The Zodiac Saga (Chapter 2)

Brody = Joel Thomas (Bodybuilder)

Review: Dante vs. Nick Flex (Muscleboy Wrestling)

You might notice, I've added some "reactions" options. I'm trying it out, since comments are intimidating for many of you. I still prefer comments, but I'll take a click, too!

Dante vs. Nick Flex is one of two matches I bought from Muscleboy Wrestling's latest catalogue (as opposed to them sending it to me). The other was Scrappy vs. Joey McCoy. Why did this earn my hard-earned money? Well, a huge part of it is the guys - these are two of MBW's hottest talents that you can't see anywhere else. The other is the contrast, as these two are different in every relevant way except that they're both hot studs.

These opposites are damn attractive. 

Review: Ace Owens vs. Teddy Trouble (Wrestler4Hire)

Late last year, Ace Owens vs. Ronnie Pearl became one of the most talked about videos of 2018. Not here, but Ringside, Wrestling Arsenal and WR's Screencaps all posted about it. I was late to the viewing party and figured everything had been said and shown, but now, a similar match is streaming on Wrestler4Hire. Ace Owens is back in the same ring, in the same gold trunks against another older pro heel.

Teddy teaches Ace a lesson I'll never forget. 

Review: #642 Austin Tyler vs. El Fuego (UCW)

This is officially the least UCW match I can remember from UCW. If that sounds like a criticism, it’s not. I enjoyed this quite a bit and it required two viewings to get through. The wrestling is hot, the guys have arguably UCW’s sexiest bodies and the whole thing it produced well. So, my opener is a provocative observation, meant to be somewhat intriguing but mostly informative.

It's a really good and really unique match from UCW.

Review: Krush vs. Dimitri (Krushco)

I’ve been looking forward to Krush vs. Dimitri for a little while. Krushco has been basically pre-selling videos to fund them, so he’s been talking about this matchup for weeks. From the Twitter pics, Dimitri looked like a good match and I really liked Krush's last match against a Wrestle4aFee import Krush vs. Callum - reviewed here).

Welcome to Krushco, Dimitri.
Hope you survive the experience.

Guest Blogger 4: Cameron Matthews (Wrestler4Hire/Hero Hunks)

Guys,

Here's the final section of guest blogger material I've received from Cameron Matthews from Wrestler4Hire and Hero Hunks.

Today, I'm sharing what I've grouped together about the matches themselves. He gives great insight into his process for creating hot matches - training, roles and characters. It seems to me like the keys are using an organic approach based on authenticity and collaboration. Sounds like a great way to operate to me.

Cameron's philosophy: do what comes naturally ...

Review: Kurt Fletcher vs. Spencer Hawkins

Full disclosure: This match was provided to me by Muscleboy Wrestling.

It's been a while since I watched a video with two guys I've never seen anywhere. Kurt Fletcher vs. Spencer Hawkins features two MBW rookies and two guys that I know next to nothing about. If I'm being honest, I probably wouldn't have bought it, but since it was shared with me, I figured I'd check it out. And I'm glad I did.

Rookies bring it to the mat room.

Rival Pro Wrestling 5: El Presidente vs. Flyboy Fiero

Rival Pro Wrestling Arena. 1982. Backstage.

Narrator: Slim Jim Bartlett

'Slim' Jim Bartlett

“Wow, that was tough to watch, Lance.”

Review: Garrett Thomas vs. Guido Genatto (Wrestler4Hire)

I almost moved this review when I realized I was posting about Dirty Daddy on Mother's Day (in many but not all countries). I thought it might be weird, especially since Garrett and Guido mention his nickname many times, calling him 'Filthy Father' throughout. However, the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. I really couldn't think of anything more appropriate for the day, so here we are.

Talented pros bring old school joy.

Review: Big Sexy vs. Dominic vs. Frey (Thunders Arena)

As I was looking for things to talk about, I stumbled across this unheralded video. I say unheralded since I couldn't find any blogger who talked about it. Maybe they did and I missed it. I know Thunders Arena and Joe (by request) purged a bunch of Big Sexy stuff years ago when someone actually believed that you could erase things from the internet. How foolish folks were back then. Of course Big Sexy's profile and all his matches are back at Thunders, because let's face it, it was never really gone and nobody really cares.

Big Sexy vs Dominic vs. Frey is like an all-star video with three of the GOAT's at Thunders. It's a custom (wow, nice job, commissioner) also 42 minutes long and only $22 currently. Nice. But what's it all about?

Frey figure-fours Dom.

Review: Josh Goodman vs. Austin Raines (BGEast)

One of the things I've just recently noticed is that BGEast is posting a free VOD on the Arena. I like this. I have no idea how long they've been doing it or how frequently they swap it out, but it's a nice feature to create more value for the Arena. Their back catalogue is so huge that I'm sure there are a ton of hidden gems that aren't getting purchased, so it won't impact them in any financial way.

Currently up is Joshua Goodman vs. new-to-me Austin Raines from Demolition 14, a match that (in 2014) Joe at Ringside ranked as his 12th favorite Demolition match. Not bad.

Mr. Joshua makes this bearhug even more brutal!

Review: Alex Costa vs. Luca Ferrari (Muscleboy Wrestling)

Full disclosure: This video was provided to me by Muscleboy Wrestling.

I like to be a couple of weeks ahead on posts, but I'm running pretty last minute these days. I've been really busy with work and life, but it's mainly that I've been watching a lot of mediocrity lately. Since I'm struggling to figure out what to review, I turned to Alex Costa vs. Luca Ferrari. I figured it'd be good, given the talent and the website description of their relationship. Luckily, it lived up to my expectations, so here we are.

Boyfriends bring it to the MBW mats!

Fan Fiction 2: The Zodiac Saga Chapter 1

This story was written by Anonymous featuring characters from The Cave.

The Zodiac Saga

Chapter 1 – “To Dreams Coming True” (Ram vs. Brody)

Author’s Note: Although the events of The Zodiac Saga may or may not be Cave canon (you’ll have to wait until the end of the series to see!), the stories will frequently mention events within The Cave narrative to establish a reference. The following story takes place:

• BEFORE the events of Rival Pro Wrestling 2: Cave vs. Country

• AFTER the events of Fan Fiction 1: Brody vs. Ram (Parts 1-5)

Friday, Approximately 11:30pm

Brody’s 30-year-old Ford pickup truck struggled up the winding mountain roads surrounding the Los Angeles basin. Although the vehicle didn’t exactly meet California’s strict emissions standards, it was old enough to be grandfathered into the state’s laws and had been Brody’s only means of transportation since he first learned to drive. It was also the very truck in which he packed what meager belongings he had 16 years ago and set off for the big city, fleeing his harsh and judgmental parents and the life of mediocrity he was destined to lead if he remained on his family’s farm.