Review: Scrappy McNair vs. Joey McCoy (Muscleboy Wrestling)

Of all the Muscleboy Wrestling matches listed on their 13th catalogue, Scrappy McNair vs. Joey McCoy was probably the most exciting for me. It’s weird that I waited to watch it and review it last, but that’s the way cookies crumble. You’ve probably already decided whether you want to buy it or not. And it has certainly been talked about elsewhere. Still, I felt compelled to post on it. Originally, it was scheduled for next week, but with catalogue 14 now up, I figured I should move it up to today.

The boys are ready for fun at MBW.

I could watch both these guys all the time. Joey McCoy is amazingly fun. He cute as fuck. He makes a great victim with exaggerated selling that’s both dramatic and compelling. And he works as the small man who uses quickness and skill to upend expectations and take down his bigger opponents. He’s a quietly cocky punk who never backs down and fights to the end.

I post about Scrappy McNair more than any other wrestler and he deserves it. Early on, the superstar fireplug comments that his opponents at MBW keep getting smaller. And he’s right. In this one, he’s in heaven as he’s finally the big muscleman, something that never really happens at Thunders Arena. Now, he finally knows what it’s like to be one of the monster men like Johnny Bravo, Viking or Vinny and he makes the most of it. Scrappy is totally confident looking at Joey and he’s at his most arrogant (which is pretty darn arrogant).

Yes, you're the big man now. Enjoy it while it lasts.

You always know what Joey's feeling - so expressive.

Literally the perfect reaction to receiving a piledriver.

What I love most about this is the pacing. The 33 minutes breaks out thusly: 3 minutes of intros, 12 minutes of domination, 10 minutes of domination the other way and 8 more minutes after yet another reversal. Those long stretches of domination are perfect for me and exactly what I like most. You get to savor the action and can easily make this into multiple viewing occasions.

Permit me a brief “things were better in my day” rant. One of the reasons I don’t watch or review a lot of modern pro wrestling on YouTube is that too often the action isn’t compelling to me. It’s wrestling plotted like a basketball game. It’s fast-paced but boring as the guys just trade their moves and nothing matters until the last two minutes. I feel like the plotting goes like this: “Okay, you do your one move then I’ll do my one move as though yours never happened then we’ll keep going like that for 10 minutes until you just lie down for me.” That might be grossly unfair, but the days of long-held holds, sustained punishment of the same body part, and a narrative that builds logically are long over in most indie wrestling, which is why I need these wrestling videos.

Oh, Scrappy, that's 135-lbs (soaking wet) humiliating you.

These types of holds are meant to last.

Joey: "These veins aren't helping you now!"

Action-wise, it’s fast-paced and hard-hitting. Joey’s easy to throw around and torture, which is perfect for a muscleman with a sadistic streak like Scrappy. The muscleman talks a lot and you can hear him gleefully basking in the glory of being so much bigger, stronger and harder. He laughs his way through, not because the match is a joke, but because he enjoys crushing Joey so much. I love how he powers Joey up and down like he’s doing curls while wrecking him with an over-the-knee backbreaker, for example.

And the muscular powerhouse can take a bump, too. It’s a perfect story when Scrappy is at full-arrogance that Joey flips the script. The diminutive pro goes all out, really testing and punishing his opponent’s thick muscles. Joey shows up Scrappy repeatedly, dominating him thoroughly when he’s on top. I really thought he might get a submission a couple of times, the holds were that good.

The sadistic smile makes this magical.

Oh Scrappy, you should know that a fighter like Joey will
never willingly climb your massive muscles in shame.

Yeah, Scrappy, that's how the big men feel ALL the time.

In the end, this is a classic. The performances are perfect, the guys are amazing and the action is hot and exactly what I love about watching wrestling. Easily in the running for Cavey come December, it’s that great.

What are other bloggers saying?

WR’S SCREENCAPS: SCRAPPY MCNAIR VS JOEY MCCOY (MBW, 2019)

RINGSIDE: LAYING IT ON THICK

So that’s my take. What’s yours?

Alex