Here is another match featuring my new favorite Heel, Jay Bradley, and the actions he takes to get inside our heads and force us to hate him like any great Heel wrestler. This match was promoted by the Pro Wrestling Blitz indy federation at their 11/24/12 Ringwars 2012 show.
Bradley is wearing blue trunks with a big “Hello My Name Is: Asskicker” on the front. This little patch does several things: it draws our attention to his crotch (the root of his masculine power); it tells us about his attitude and desire to fight (referring to himself as “Asskicker”) and it lets us know, in case there was any doubt, that he is the villain and we’re supposed to hate him.
Bradley’s victim — I mean opponent — is the young male model, Ashton Vuitton. I think Ashton used to be an arrogant bastard Heel, but now he is playing the hopeful Baby-Face.
Wow, that little body on Ashton is just begging to be kicked and punched, and I believe Jay Bradley is the perfect man for the job.
In this cynical modern age, many wrestling fans don’t really hate the Heels. They may cheer for the villain because he’s cool or fun. Now that everybody knows it’s Sports Entertainment, it’s all an act anyway, so who cares which one you clap for.
But Jay Bradley is an exception. He is a villain who generates real heat from the crowd. They truly do want to hurt him, even tossing garbage at him like this is a classic pre-kayfabe match from the 1970’s.
Check out the video on YouTube if you want to see what I’m talking about.
Not long into the match, Ashton Vuitton injures his shoulder (thanks to Bradley twisting his arm into a Hammer Lock, then slamming it into the turnbuckle.)
What unfolds next is one of the longest, most intense scene of Arm Abuse since the great Arn Anderson hung up his trunks for the last time. This Jay Bradley knows 1,000 ways to work the arm and shoulder, and he demonstrates most of them on poor Ashton Vuitton, who mostly lays on his back and groans in agony for most of the match.
This is good work — Jay Bradley is a master of Ring Psychology and fun to watch as he picks apart his competition.
It seems to be common courtesy these days for wrestlers to make each other look good, taking turns showing off and selling each other’s moves. This match, on the other hand, is an utter one-sided squash, featuring the total humiliation of poor Ashton Vuitton. Mr. Bradley really lives up to the “Asskicker” moniker printed on the bulge of his speedo.
Here is how one reviewer described this match:
“Bradley came to the ring and instantly got into it with the crowd who were hurling insults his way non stop. Bradley is a great natural heel and has the size and the talent to back it all up and this match really showed off just want a dominant monster he can be. He spent nearly the entire match beating Ashton from pillar to post focusing heavily on Ashton’s arm and shoulder.”
So if you miss the One-Sided Squash matches that many of us grew up on (or got off on), be sure to check out this beat-down.
The message that Jay Bradley is sending with every move is that Ashton doesn’t even belong in the ring with him. He (Jay Bradley) is too powerful, too masculine, too talented to ever suffer at this pretty-boy’s hands.
The invincibility of this cocky Heel sends the audience into a rage. They scream insults non-stop, and Bradley responds — at one point leaning over the ropes and spitting on a fan! The crowd wants him punished for his insolence, but poor Ashton Vuitton can’t do it — he is too weak. So the crowd just boils over with hatred and Bradley eggs them on. Seriously, I haven’t seen crowd heat like this since pro wrestling was believed to be real.
Bradley delivers his Boomstick Lariat which just about knocks Ashton’s head off his shoulders. Of course no man — even a big macho stud man — can survive this unbeatable weapon, let alone little Ashton Vuitton, and the male model is easily pinned.
Bradley then gets on the microphone to insult and verbally humiliate Ashton as well as the fans at ringside. He even calls the fans “queer” and says they want to play with each other, bringing up the dreaded homosexual accusation and inciting Gay Panic.
Obviously the men in the audience showed up today to watch shirtless, attractive dudes “rolling around in their underwear.” They may be feeling a little uncertain of their masculinity right now after enjoying Ashton’s suffering — so calling them out as queer really sets off a firestorm of outrage and hatred. Bradley is a very ballsy Heel.
Here is how the reviewer described the end of the match and the gratuitous violence and torture that followed:
“Ashton tried to mount a comeback but Jay cut him off and leveled him with his Boomstick lariat and won the match. Not satisfied with his win and pissed off at the crowd, Jay picked up a chair and beat on Ashton’s arm and shoulder some more in an attempt to end Ashton’s career. The referees were helpless trying to stop Jay and it was only after Jay felt like he broke enough bones in Ashton’s body that he put down the chair and left the arena.”
This is the kind of violent, unfair, chaotic, dangerous wrestling that I grew up on. I really enjoy seeing it again — thanks Jay Bradley! Thanks Ashton Vuitton! Thanks everyone at Pro Wrestling Blitz! If you love this kind of wrestling like I do, be sure to check out the video on YouTube.