Recently, there was a sale on
Tanner Hill videos at
88Wrestling, so I picked up three matches, including
Tanner Hill vs. Zack Johnathan. While I like Tanner, he's never been a must-buy or must-watch. However, my interest was piqued by some recent pics I've seen. Tanner seems to have gone through a transformation from chiseled frat boy to rugged muscleman. I'm wowed by his new look and had to check him out. Turns out, his body in action is even better.
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| Tanner and Zack visit Flex City. |
In my brain, I've always viewed Tanner Hill in relation to
Alex Waters. They seemed like similar characters based on their looks and personalities, with Alex being the first and far superior version. Not any more. Now, Tanner's pure beefcake. 100% handsome muscle hunk. I love the new look, new persona and new body. He's simply stunning, going from boy to MAN. He's physically perfect.
I know, I know. I say that about a lot of different guys and different body types, but I really do feel that about a lot of guys and body types. You can be hairy and beefy and physically perfect. You can be smooth and ripped and physically perfect. You can be muscular and physically perfect. Et cetera. In this case, Tanner is perfect, too.
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Pumping up his arm while getting a leg workout?
The man is smart and beautiful. |
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| Tanner hopes his flexing can break Zack. |
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| Stunning. |
Tanner is one of those guys who is so gorgeous that I want to see him as both dominator and victim. I want to see those muscles overpower someone, but I also want to see him manhandled. I want to see his perfect body pumped and powerful, but also tested, bent, stretched and displayed. I want to see his handsome face smirking when he's on top and showing the pain when he's not.
Luckily, that's what we get here. I understand the appeal of seeing him squashed and enjoyed the total squash that I picked up, but I actually prefer the back-and-forth action of this video.
Zack Johnathan turns out to be a perfect opponent for Tanner. Also a ridiculously gorgeous muscleman, it seems like people want to see Zack job, but I remember him from his classic matches with Big Sexy and he can be a malevolent heel, too. When he waterboards Big Sexy in the bathroom? I still watch that one.
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| A test of strength is mandatory in Flex City. |
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| Yeah, Tanner's 100% beefcake now. |
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| Zack's still got the body. Wow. |
Action-wise, this is classic
Rock Hard Wrestling with some
Thunders Arena-style flexing thrown in. Unlike Thunders, though, the flexing happens during the action, as opposed to during breaks. "Flex City" is a theme, apparently. Tanner is the self-proclaimed king
(do cities have kings?), but Zack is definitely up for staging a coup. The guys show off their muscles as they battle, but the fight keeps going.
The holds and moves are mostly the standard things you expect. Headlocks, lockups and a test of strength start things out. Memorable power moves include a couple of suplexes, some slams, shoulder blocks and body shots. Submission holds include a hangman, bearhug, ab stretch, full nelsons, crab, camel, scissors and leg work. It's all pretty good and does a great job of putting all that sculpted muscle to the test.
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| A tight grip on the ass makes a better suplex. |
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| Zack's a powerhouse, too. |
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| Does the king keep his crown? |
In the end, Tanner and Zack are a perfect pair. Tanner's new look is incredible and I applaud him for building that body. Woof. Zack's so consistent that it's easy to take him for granted, but this match is great because it gets him out of that jobber role and back to being a tough asshole. I love that both guys get to shine and that it's back-and-forth until the end.
What are other bloggers saying?
So that's my take. What's yours?
Alex
Yep! This match was awesome! Tanner looked amazing. And I think Zack fed off Tanner and he shined in a way he hasnt shined in a long time. He was so into the match and he was aggresive and dominant and just not a jobber pretty boy. Its good to see when wrestlers get out of that hole.
ReplyDeleteBut Tanner looked spectacular! Hard body! Tough body. And I think his whole look was spot on. It works perfect for him, I can imagine him wrestling alot of cguys and being competitive. Win or Lose I think he looks great and can always put up a great challenge.
Yes, it was nice to see Zack back as the guy who was a challenge. He has the propensity to over-act and get a little corny when he’s the arrogant jock jobber. So this toned that down a little and up his competitiveness.
DeleteThis match is pretty good, but for the ultimate hard-bodied matchup between these two, you MUST check out “Perfect Pecs” from Underground Wrestler! My wrestling video library has over 3,000 matches, and I can honestly say that Perfect Pecs is one of my Top 3 all-time favorite matches from any video company, federation, or movie of any era!
ReplyDeleteFirst, there’s Z-Man, The Ageless Wonder, in pristine white trunks – his physique still flawless after over a decade in the wrestling video business. During the inevitable physique comparison, he asks Tanner Hill (or “Cena” as he’s known in UW), “Do you know what these arms have been through? Do you know how many people these arms have stretched out? Do you know how many bearhugs have been applied with these arms?!” as he clasps his hands together and flexes his chest. Z-Man later does something I’ve never seen before even as a pec worshipper – he slowly rolls each pec muscle in a wave from top to bottom, demonstrating total and complete control over every fiber of his magnificent chest!
Then there’s Tanner/Cena. With his bronzed skin, scruffy beard, thick eyebrows, buzzcut, and light dusting of chest hair, he looks like the romance novel version of a werewolf – a creature of power and beauty rather than a monster – and his growls and snarls throughout the match add to his animalistic nature. He sports the golden trunks that have earned him accolades on this site already, and his pecs are so obscenely swollen in this video that they border on breasts, giving him ample opportunity to show off his muscle cleavage.
The action is everything I’ve always wanted to see in a contest but have never witnessed so succinctly in any of the thousands of matches I’ve watched. Tanner/Cena literally charges into Z-Man with massive chest bumps, driving Z into the ropes where he then wraps him up in a tight bearhug and proclaims, “I’m crushing you with these pecs!” SO HOT! I’ve always been a fan of wrestlers calling their own moves and providing commentary on how they’re hurting their opponent (phrases like “Do you feel those ribs cracking?” or “I can hear your spine snapping!” or “I’m gonna break you in half with these arms!”), and I’d love to hear more of this in videos. Tanner/Cena later presses Z into the ropes again and uses them to slingshot himself chest-first into his opponent several times before taking Z-Man’s head and repeatedly bashing it onto his pumped-up pecs!
And that’s just a small part of this 20-minute masterpiece! Two of the best physiques in all of underground wrestling in close-contact, close-camera action. Z-Man manages a small comeback, but my favorite part is a scene late in the match where Z-Man is on all fours and Tanner/Cena walks over to his head, looms over him, then gently taps Z on the back of the head with one finger and says, “Look…” like a small child proud of something he wants to show off while once again flexing his chest – to which Z-Man moans, “I don’t wanna see that.” It’s charmingly playful but somehow still menacing, and it makes me laugh every time! :)
-JS
Thanks for the review! It’s like a bonus review for anyone who reads this one. :)
DeleteYou should definitely check it out. I think you'll find it worthy of an official Cave review!
Delete-JS
P.S. I just noticed Underground Wrestler is running a 40% off sale, so now's the perfect time to check out the aforementioned "Perfect Pecs" video between Z-Man and Tanner/Cena, as well as Devin's latest video, "Fitness Freak", which is the epitome of roughhousing if you're into that kind of thing!
Delete-JS
JS - you are shameless. Alex is a nice guy as I’d delete your hijacking of this post and what looks like a great match by 88 Wrestling. What’s Underground Wrestler paying you?
ReplyDeleteThanks for defending the blog, but it's not like that. JS is a great friend of the blog and me. We often exchange emails and thoughts on a wide variety of topics, matches and companies. So this is nothing unusual.
DeleteOn topic, I did think that this is a great match by 88Wrestling.
That definitely wasn't my intent, and I'm really sorry if it came across that way. I was just trying to increase awareness of the body of work between these two incredible bodies by letting everyone know that they faced each other again in another promotion -- which also happened to be running a pretty good sale at the time for anyone who enjoyed this match and wanted to see more. It wasn't about promoting one company over another; it was about promoting the wrestlers themselves. I again apologize if my comments were misconstrued in any way.
Delete-JS