Happy Labo(u)r Day

Let's celebrate all the hard-working wrestlers out there ...

He works hard for the money;
so hard for it, honey.

Review: Coop/Jake vs. Ethan/Jason Kane (RHW 1.0)

Now that Rock Hard Wrestling is officially defunct and replaced (my post here), we can't be sure how long its website will be up and running. So I figure I better have what I want before the cost outweighs the income. Luckily, I probably have everything I want, including every Jake, Bruce, Dash and Alex solo match.

During the recent Jake Jenkins sale, I completed my Jake collection adding the four tag team matches that I had previously skipped. Out of all those tag matches, I decided to review Coop/Jake vs. Ethan/Jason for some variety and nostalgia. Coincidentally, it's also the "Encore Presentation" right now.

Three huge stars in one match!
Jake plays the concerned partner perfectly.

PSA: Jake Jenkins for $13.95 Until 9/5 (RHW)

Guys,

The Bruce Ballard sale back in March must have worked okay, because Rock Hard Wrestling is doing it again. This time, it's Jake Jenkins and it runs through 9/5.

Wake up Jake! You're on sale!
Jake vs. Ethan Andrews

I own 12 of Jake's 16 matches. The four I don't own are the tag matches. Maybe I'll rectify that with this sale. Since Jake looks pretty much done with wrestling, we all better stock up now. The only new material is likely to be whatever remains in BGEast's vault, if anything.

Review: Jake Jenkins vs. Alex Waters (RHW 1.0)

"Video fills a screen. Sound fills a room."

I thought of this quote during Jake Jenkins vs. Alex Waters while listening to Jake Jenkins' moans once again. They absolutely fill my room. I can see how you might get tired of reading about the awesomeness of his plaintive cries of pain in every Jake review I do, but I can't imagine how you can ever tire of actually hearing them. If loving Jake's suffering is wrong, I don't want to be right.

My favorite RHW studs battle for superiority

Review: Jake Jenkins vs. Gunner Bayani (RHW 1.0)

Jake Jenkins vs. Gunner Bayani is probably a weird Rock Hard Wrestling match for me to choose to feature, because it's not necessarily a favorite. It is, however, still enjoyable depending on your tastes. I picked it because it breaks the expected mold in a few ways. RHW was the most consistent and homogeneous of the video companies, so a little variety was and is interesting to me.

It's Jake vs. Gunner

Review: Jake Jenkins vs. Eli Black (BGEast)

As is the case sometimes with so many guys wrestling for so many companies, we have the same matchup done two ways. I already covered Jake and Eli facing off in the RHW ring, now they're facing off on the BGEast mats.

After a round in singlets, Jake wants
to take things to a new level

Review: Jake Jenkins vs. Eli Black (Rock Hard Wrestling)

It’s time to look back at classic Rock Hard Wrestling again. I’ve looked back on matches with RHW exclusive phenoms Alex and Dash, as well as multi-federation superstars Zack, Austin and Jake. It’s amazing the talent that has spawned from RHW. Today, I’m reviewing a match that I believe was the debut for another prolific mega-star, Eli Black.

Two stars before they were stars

Review: Jake Jenkins vs. Frey (Thunders Arena)

Frey: "Aw hell no!" 

Jake: "Austin Cooper?" 

Frey: "No, no, no. Not here. It's Frey." 

Jake: "Frey? What're you afraid of?"

Jake doesn't get the name change and I feel the same way. I've never really understood why Austin is Frey. Yes, Frey is a Norse god, but he's neither famous in pop culture nor connected with strength or combat as far as I remember. Anyway, it doesn't really matter. A rose by any other name, yadda, yadda, yadda. I just found it an entertaining beginning to a great video.

Jake vs. Frey ... just feels right

Review: Jake Jenkins vs. Steel (Thunders Arena)

These two are my final Thunders Arena rookies, although next week I am talking about Jake and Jet again. Today is Jake Jenkins vs. Steel then Wednesday is Jake Jenkins vs. Frey. Technically Jake Jenkins is not a rookie, but he's a newbie to Thunders, so I'm counting him.

It's THE Jake Jenkins vs. some other guy

Now Steel is a 100% rookie to the underground wrestling scene. He has inhuman proportions, with massive shoulders, arms and chest that lead to a narrow waist. He's big, but maintains rock hard chiseled abs. The guy also has thick, powerful legs that Jake both admires and fears during this match. The muscleman is really quite amazing, even when he's just standing around. The whole package is nicely wrapped in tight blue speedos.

Review: Jake Jenkins vs. Lucas Payne (RHW 1.0)

By now I'm sure everyone knows that Jake Jenkins is back in action for Thunders Arena. Truly this is a joyous event. I have watched two matches and written two reviews, but they won't appear until 8/18 (vs. Steel) and 8/20 (vs. Frey). I've actually completed all my August posts and it's a jam-packed month with 4 stories, an epilogue, 9 reviews and a Who's Who.

Today, I'm not focused on the present, I'm looking back to Jake Jenkins vs. Lucas Payne. This is my fourth monthly post on the glory days of Rock Hard Wrestling. Jake is clearly the reason I bought this video, but I have to say that his opponent did catch my attention, too. However, muscle boys were RHW's stock in trade, so it's not like that was enough to inspire me to buy. No, it was definitely Jake.

Jake's the best, but Lucas has a certain appeal, too

Review: Jake Jenkins vs. Austin Cooper (BGEast)

So all month, I've been doing some match pairs, like Demolition 19, Eagle/Brute, Duke/CT and now Jake/Austin. It's not surprising that these two wrestled each other more than once. They are, after all, friends and superstars who appeared at the same time in the same companies.

So today I'll cover their BGEast match, released almost exactly 5 years ago (June 2011).

Two superstars undeniably linked in greatness

Normally, I'm not a fan of buying the same pairings from different companies, but Jake Jenkins is clearly worth it. And Austin Cooper is no slouch, either. He makes up a large part of my collection, too. Fortunately, this Jake Jenkins vs. Austin Cooper video is a mat match and the action is different than the RHW 1.0 version of their battle. It doesn't feel duplicative or repetitive with what I reviewed on Sunday at all.

Review: Jake Jenkins vs. Austin Cooper (RHW 1.0)

It's time to look back at some of my favorite RHW 1.0 matches again.

To me, Jake Jenkins vs. Austin Cooper is another must-have classic from Rock Hard Wrestling's library. It's only three falls and you'll wish it was five, but we didn't know any better back then. This was a KOTR-level match before there was a KOTR.

Jake looks and sounds his best here. Decked out in dark red squarecuts, the smaller muscleman is stacked, his smooth pecs looking especially plump. His quiet charm is endearing and his moans will stick in your brain for a long time. Of course he also gets his fair share of dominant moments, showcasing his sexy confidence.

Yeah, I could've watched two more falls from these two

This isn't even the end of the match
if you're worried about spoilage

Quick Hit: Kid Karisma vs. Jake Jenkins (BGEast) SPOILERS!

In case the heading wasn't warning enough, this post has a ginormous SPOILER for this match.

After Monday's review, it's a good time to go to a jobber-heel matchup I loved. In fact, I've wanted to review it since I started this blog, but I couldn't figure out how to do it without spoiling the best part. Instead of stressing about it, I'm taking AH's advice. There's a SPOILER warning in the title and I've written this rambling paragraph to give you time to look the other way.

So what's the SPOILER? What's the BIG SECRET? How does it END?

Well, it's NOT the ending I'm spoiling. You can guess how this thing goes. We've got two of the most popular and talented studs in the business in top shape. Outstanding heel Kid Karisma is wearing his sexy black dollar sign trunks. BGEast jobber Jake Jenkins is angelic, barefoot in crisp white gear. Yeah, it's pretty much a one-sided beatdown from start to finish.

It's why this is a "Quick Hit" ... it's an older match and let's face it, you already know if you're going to love this.

Expect a lot of Kid flexing and Jake suffering

Review: The Best of RHW

Way back in March, I was asked for a reco on the best match on my Rock Hard Wrestling casting post. I kind of gave an answer, but I thought I'd expand on it here.

It's probably pretty clear that I'm a huge fan of Rock Hard Wrestling. I have bought many matches from them and plan to buy more. So here is my review, to help you decide if you'd be a fan. I know that just because I like them, it doesn't mean you will.

Strengths (Subjective)

These are strengths for me, but I list them like this because they're very much personal tastes.

Talent: It all starts with the wrestlers. In terms of appearance, the guys are top notch, if you like the young, white fitness model type. Handsome, ripped and charismatic all describe most of the talent. While I obviously have an appreciation for a lot of different guys, based on my story casting and my reviews of Guido Genatto matches, I do like the roster of RHW guys a lot.

Josh Steel holds Dash Decker

Review: Guido Genatto X 2 (BGEast)

(Originally posted on New Stories 5/6/15)

One of the great trends currently is the surge of the hottest indie pro wrestlers playing in the underground wrestling space. Of course there have been guys doing it for a while, but it feels like the curtain has come down slightly and working pros with rising careers are freely joining the ranks of BGEast, CameronWrestler, Can-Am and the like.

One of my favorites so far is Guido Genatto. I have bought three matches of his - vs. Flash LaCash (BGEast), Jake Jenkins (BGEast) and Superman/Randy Winters (CameronWrestler).

What really impresses me is how different the three matches are, even though Guido remains the same character. I already covered one here, but I thought the other two were worthy of review, too. I'm reviewing them together, because they make a nice contrast.

Demolition 17: Guido Genatto vs. Jake Jenkins

Guido's sitting pretty in the match

Casting The Cave: Multi-Promotion Edition

The first two Casting posts using guys from Rock Hard Wrestling and BGEast seemed pretty popular. A lot of views and a few comments. So I'm trying again, this time with the guys who are too big to stay in one place, too hot to be contained and so in demand that they can work anywhere and everywhere.

That's right, here's the casting for the multi-promotion guys.

For Rock Hard Wrestling, I did choose Jake Jenkins, but at the time, I didn't know that I would do another casting post. When I followed it up with my BGEast casting thoughts, I specifically left out these guy out. I wanted a more pure choice that couldn't be duplicated anywhere else.

It ended up excluding a lot of guys. I was actually quite shocked just how many guys it disqualified. There are so many sites producing videos now that it’s becoming a blur with the same guys appearing constantly. However, it also meant that there is a robust roster and that this is actually quite a difficult task.

Casting The Cave: RHW Edition

I don't think The Cave would be a viable business. Based on the number of abandoned attempts to combine superheroes and wrestling, there probably isn't a market big enough to sustain it. People don't usually stop making successful series, so I can only assume they don't sell that well.

However, if The Cave ever came to life, I see it looking like Rock Hard Wrestling. I visualize The Cave's pro ring in a similar stark black environment. It's so clean and simple, which is my aesthetic. I'd want the same high quality camera and sound work. The site is singular-minded, much like The Cave. You know exactly what you're going to get with RHW.

And the guys are all pretty perfect for my imaginary world. They're young and they look like models, which is my main source of base images. I have featured slightly more variety, specifically in body type/hair with guys like Pete (The Cave 4 & 8) and Blake (Route 69: Harrisburg), in race/ethnicity with guys like Terrence (Route 69: Baltimore) and Abdi/Yusuf (Route 69: Dallas) and age with guys like Blake and John (Route 69: Fort Worth). However, most of my guys are young, ripped and great looking.