Down and Out: Fond Memories

Over the years many wrestling studios have come and gone. Some with reasons aplenty, others have just stopped in their tracks without a word. In this post I want to highlight a match each from a selection of studios that no longer produce content for us to buy. Think of it as a kind of homage.

Naked Kombat

The progenitor of my wrestling fascination. Naked Kombat's matches were among the first I'd ever laid eyes on when exploring the web. Their matches were the most real of any I've seen, never straying from the basic (and effective) loser-gets-fucked format which worked so well for them.

The match I want to talk about is Colby Jansen vs Trent Diesel. This match features the well-known Colby Jansen in his first and only appearance on Naked Kombat against Trent Diesel in supposedly his last appearance for the studio. This was Colby (at his finest if I'm honest) before he became the huge, hairy, beefcake he is typically seen as today. Described as a rugby player and martial artist, Colby more than puts up an amazing fight against the renowned and wily Trent, who already had a great reputation over several matches.

The match has it all: hard grunts and groans, sweaty closeups of these two between rounds, and proper rough and tumble. Naked Kombat matches typically took place over three 8-minute rounds: the first in Speedos, the second in jockstraps, and the third nude (sometimes with oil, mud, or water). Each wrestler can score a series of points for certain moves as determined by the ref who spends most of his time off camera. The winner then gets to do whatever he wants to the loser.

Though the rigid structure of the match isn't what a lot of people tend to be drawn to, it does mean that you know exactly what to expect. With the exception of a couple of matches, these guys really fight to win. Colby and Trent wrestle dirtily, roughly, and closely throughout the entirety of the match. Balls are grabbed, fingers go up asses, dicks are shoved into faces, etc. The match is close, but as the minutes go past the eventual winner becomes clearer. Over the pained moans of the loser you can start hearing him chuckle, like he's having a fun thinking about the kinds of things he'll do to his opponent when he wins.

Rock Hard Wrestling / 88 Wrestling

Rock Hard Wrestling, later rebranded as 88 Wrestling, featured a sizzling roster of muscle-bound men in sweaty pro matches. It's not the most unique of selling points, but RHW/88W were the most consistent in delivering just that, heaps of sweat and muscle in a ring. I'm not sure why they seem to have stopped production, but their website is occasionally updated with deals which are advertized on their Instagram, so there is perhaps still some life left to give.

The match I want to highlight is Nick Karras vs Drew Harper. There's just something about Nick Karras I'm obsessed with. I can't really explain it. All I can tell you is to just look. In his matches for 88W and Weekend Wrestling, just watching him sweat is enough of a point to make me want the match. I enjoy watching him suffer and succeed in equal amounts. Drew is, of course, also fantastic. His reputation precedes him, being so prolific in the underground wrestling scene.

You'd be forgiven for thinking this is a squash when considering Drew's experience. Nick, however, more than holds his own against the enthralling Drew Harper. It's a well fought back-and-forth that sells the hard hitting thumps and slams better than a lot of underground pro productions. Nick and Drew match well with each other, and their professionalism is evident when you see how easily the match flows.

The match is titled "Bearhug Blues" and I can see why. Each fall in this best-of-three ends with a rib-crushing embrace, but the match doesn't feature them that much at all. There are some great headscissors, sleepers, and a whole host of other moves to feast your eyes upon too.

WR's Screencaps has a great collection of screenshots from RHW and 88W for you to check out—just look through the labels in the sidebar. It was actually after browsing through WR's blog that the idea for this post came to me. This match was also reviewed on Ringside; you can view it here.

wrestle4afee

One of my favorite studios. They have produced hundreds of matches over the years, and only stopped earlier this year due to the unfortunate passing of the great John Cotterill. I never knew John, but the few emails I've exchanged with him when ordering a couple of customs showed me that he was kind and dedicated to his craft. Like I mentioned in a previous post, wrestle4afee's videos have a much more grounded feel to them. It's the simplicity which appealed to me.

The match I was to focus on is Callum v Dimitri 19 (CVY19) (via FFE Wrestling's Watchfighters). Avid readers of this blog may know this is actually one of the many customs I've ordered, and it remains one of my favorite matches to date. The "19" in the video's title signifies that this is the nineteenth encounter between them (for wrestle4afee at least). Their familiarity with each other is exactly why I picked them. Callum, though unassuming, is a ferocious wrestler with a great reputation in the underground scene. Dimitri on the other hand, doesn't carry the same unassuming presence, and instead looks like someone who wants to be feared.

The simplicity of wrestle4afee productions is why they were one of my favorites. This match was just over an hour of brutal promission between two opponents who know each other so well. Callum and Dimitri start off cautious, but as they grow into the match they get cocky, and for good reason. They both have expansive and illustrious careers in the underground wrestling scene. But their best fights, in my opinion, are with each other.

Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure what 'promission' means. There are certain pro elements and the match is of course somewhat choreographed being a custom, but it all falls under the guise of a submission match. The portmanteau representing a combination of those elements should be enough, but I've seen in several places that the meaning is a little more convoluted than how I'm understanding. That's not to say there's anything convoluted about this match, however. The match is just Callum, Dimitri, a mat room, and a camera. No bells and whistles, no gimmicks, just wrestling.

Callum and Dimitri go balls to the wall for this one. There's hair pulling, cheap shots, long sleepers, pained yelling, etc. There is some marvellous camerawork in this match that captures many of the intense moments like the above gif. There are plenty of better lit, wider shots as well. But moments like these, where you can hear both men groaning as they slowly grind into each other, are what fuels my love for underground wrestling. I had a simple brief for this custom and what was delivered exceeded my expectations and then some.

Ringside at Skull Island has reviewed three other Callum vs Dimitri matches. You can check them out here (CVY1), here (CVY13), and here (CVY16).

UCW

I believe it was announced (on Facebook) that UCW had recently come under new management. By whom I cannot say; truthfully I have no idea. I am aware of a couple of names floating around the rumor mill. I won't speculate, but instead eagerly anticipate any announcements to come. My main focus, however, is to pay some homage to what UCW once was, one of the best. It was the studio that gave rise to such stars as Ethan Andrews, Nero Angelo, Anton Alvarez, Kal Conners, and Ash DeLeon (to name a few).

The match I think shows off UCW in its prime is Match 524: Quinn Harper vs Chase Michaels. To me, this match epitomized what made UCW so unique compared to a lot of other studios: the primal nature of their bouts. Many wrestlers now have a lot more caution when it comes to wrestling, understandably. Although a hobby/lifestyle centered around combat, no one wants an injury. However, not long after UCW transitioned from the blue tarp walls to the pale bricks, much of that was thrown to the wind.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is the dirtiest, roughest match in all of underground wrestling. Chase and Quinn quite literally fight tooth and nail. If you asked me to describe this match in three words I would say "really fucking nasty". Quinn was much more well-known for his rough housing and tactics than pre-beard Chase, but the latter really steps up to match Quinn's levels to make this match a treat.

Both men start off in shorts or jeans, but it doesn't take long for those to come off and reveal the jockstraps underneath. I say it doesn't take long, but it takes a lot of effort. Within the first five minutes you can see the sweat on their backs as they really put the work in to take each other out. Match 524 rarely loses pace throughout its nearly 30-minute runtime, which is a testament to the wrestlers and UCW itself.

This match was also reviewed over at Ringside (which you can check out here). There the match is rated as a 20 on a scale of 1 to 10, and I'm inclined to agree. The match is malicious, intense, sweaty, rough, dirty, [insert similar words here]. If it was somehow possible, I'd have loved for this match to continue on for another 30 minutes or so. Not that it's short, but I didn't want it to end. It's sensational. To top it all off, after all the savagery these two unleash on each other throughout, the final shot of this match is a handshake. Make of that what you will, but for me it's somehow the most appropriate way to end this match, and this post.