Review: Tanner Hill vs. Zack Johnathan (88Wrestling)

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.

Tanner and Zack visit Flex City.

Review: Ethan Andrews vs. Zack Johnathan (88Wrestling)

Full disclosure: This video was provided to me by 88Wrestling.

I like extra drama in my wrestling beyond just hot guys grappling. Stories, contrasting studs, gear, setting, whatever. Just give me some overt and clear reason why they're wrestling and I'll be much happier. This probably surprises no one, but it's in my head because recently, Joe made a request for a simple wrestling video without a story, posing, porn ...just two guys hitting the mats.

That’s so not me.

If a match doesn’t have a story, I’ll add it. I’ll add dialogue. And conflict. Ethan Andrews vs. Zack Johnathan is all about the story. And the story is the big reason why I like it so much.

Apparently, video games give you strong fingers,
which are perfect to claw a muscle jock's abs.

Review: Jaxton Wheeler vs. Z-Man (W4H)

Another match built off contrasting looks, this time from Wrestler4Hire. Jaxton Wheeler vs. Z-Man features two wrestlers that I have liked in the past, so I was interested to see this battle between a hairy porn guy and a smooth fitness model.

SPOILER ALERT ... both these guys have won and lost, but I am spoiling the outcome. There's no way I can avoid it without jumping through hoops. Stop reading now if you don't want to know who wins.

Hairy vs. smooth.

Review: Alex Waters vs. Zack Johnathan KOTR7 (RHW)

UCW has rejuvenated my interest in their belt. Can Rock Hard Wrestling do the same? I skipped the last two King of the Ring matches, unable to summon any interest in either one. Now we've got King Zack Johnathan vs. Alex Waters.

Two veterans in a KOTR disappointment

Putting Alex back in the KOTR series convinced me to buy this. The guy is my favorite RHW wrestler and his last KOTR appearance is one of my two all-time favorites (now tied with Alex v Bruce, reviewed here). I've seen these two wrestle and I liked it, so it became an immediate download.

So how'd it go? Meh.

Review: Z-Man vs. Eagle - 10th Anniversary (Thunders)

Full disclosure: This video was provided to me by Thunders Arena.

Wow, time flies. Thunders Arena is celebrating Z-Man's 10th anniversary. I'm not gonna lie and claim that I've been with him since the beginning. For some reason, he never made my must-buy shortlist. I like him, but I only have his matches because of his opponents, including guys like a certain big and sexy wrestler, Jake Jenkins, Alex Waters and pro wrestling super studs Kelly King and Lane Hartley.

So maybe I haven't seen everything, but what I can say is that as I looked back at my collection, I enjoyed every match of his that I own and what more can someone ask?

Thunders is celebrating 10 years of Z-Man

Review: Alex Waters vs. Zack Jonathan (RHW 1.0)

It feels like I'm settling into a heavy BGEast/Thunders Arena focus on my blog. It's not intentional, just the way things are happening nowadays. I'm trying to break it up, but I'm bound by what's released and what I want to watch.

I feel like someone with 500 channels complaining there's nothing to watch. UCW would be the easiest to do more on, but Joe is all over their videos. I only do downloads and don't do subscriptions, which impacts Cameron Matthews, Jonny Firestorm and BWN. Yes, Cameron and Jonny have offered downloads, but you have to register at Wrestler4Hire and Jonny's VOD's are pricey. My tastes in Movimus are based entirely on the wrestlers, so I don't buy a ton from them. I don't know what's up with Can-Am, but it's all crotch stuff these days. I've bought from Krushco and MDW, but so far they're not really my thing. I've looked at Spotland Scrappers, but I'm not sure where to begin or what I'm really getting. Did I miss anyone?

Oh yeah, Rock Hard Wrestling.

Alex vs. Zack = Classic RHW Action

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.

Review: Z-Man x 2 (BGE/Can-Am)

Z-Man/Zack Johnathan is clearly one of the biggest and most prolific stars in the wrestling video community. And it's no wonder. He has an incredible body, big personality and he's talented both jobbing and in competitive matches. No matter the challenge, it seems like he always brings a cocky and confident attitude.

Z-Man is pumped and ready to face the pro wrestler

Yeah, he's making sure EVERYTHING is ready

I have matches featuring Z-Man from four different companies, so choosing something to review wasn't easy. I settled on these two matches, because they have some natural connections. First, they're from BGEast and Can-Am, the grand daddies of wrestling video companies. And they both feature the fitness model against rising pro wrestlers - Kelly King and Lane Hartley.

PSA: Bringing Sexy Back (Thunder's Arena)

Guys,

PSA stands for Public Service Announcement. I realize that with global readership, I should never assume things like this to be universally known. This PSA is to say that Thunder's Arena has a new (?) streaming rental service. It's $17.95 for a 3-day rental. I'll leave you to decide what you think of that. For comparison, BGEast offers 1-day VOD's for $10 and a 7-day option for $15.

But here's the reason for this post ... the rental page is full of matches starring a certain big and sexy wrestler, including the infamous bathroom match versus Z-Man, which was previously not available for download. As you might know, Thunder's Arena removed all his videos for sale and Joe from Ringside was asked to remove all reference to him from his blog.

Now, I have no idea why the reversal. Has his status changed? Did they realize that it's futile to try to hide these matches? Are rentals somehow perceived as different from sales? Will he soon return to active duty in the Arena? Will I be asked to remove this post?

These questions — and many others — will be answered in the next episode of ...

No, wait, that's not right. Sorry, Logo is airing re-runs of Soap, a comedy from the 70's. It's pretty funny and that's how they end every episode.

He is easily one of my favorites wrestlers anywhere, any time. So in honor of this event and since I have no idea how long it will last, here are a few of my favorite matches starring him, all of which are available for rental if you so choose.

*** WARNING - SPOILERS BELOW! ***

I normally work to avoid spoilers, but it's impossible here, because the endings are part of why I like a couple of these matches.