Dynamite Duumvirate

Each year, the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla federation (or PWG) holds a Tag Team tournament called the “Dynamite Duumvirate Tournament” or DDT.  I had to look up the word “duumvirate” — it means an alliance between two equally powerful military or political leaders.

Back in January, DDT4 was held in Reseda, California.  One of the most entertaining duumvirates to enter the tournament was these two flexing show-offs — the “Young Bucks” — Matt and Nick.   These talented real-life brothers wear fancy long tights to the ring to accentuate their high-flying, long legged suicidal moves, and to play up their flamboyant arrogance.

The Young Bucks’ opponents in the first round of the tournament are these confident dudes in pink and black — the “Inner City Machine Guns.”

The crowd loves the way these hotties dance down the aisle to the chill old song: “All Night Long.”  What, exactly, are these studs going to be doing all night long with the handsome Young Bucks?

The Young Bucks portray the perfect Arrogant, Cheating Dicks.  They sneak-attack their hapless victims to gain the early advantage.  After every mildly successful move, they flash their guns as if they just stormed Iwo Jima.  They shake their hips, chop their crotches, and blow kisses across the ring to both flirt with, and enrage, the other team and the audience.  We’re torn between wanting to see what outrageous acts of egotism these bastards will perform next, and wanting to watch them suffer a painful comeuppance.

Much of the appeal of this match lies in the sense of Class Warfare between the teams.  The “Young Bucks” are a pair of good looking White Boys, presumably from a happy family in the suburbs.  They carry themselves with that sense of entitlement, as if they can cheat as much as they want and just know they will get away with it. They can charm their way out of any situation, or call their Daddy if things get out of hand.

Their opponents — Rich Swann and Ricochet — are minorities from the “Inner City.”  We suspect they may have struggled and faced adversity.  Now they’re being subjected to cruel tactics and underhanded cheating by the cocky (white) Bucks.

Rich Swann (the darker of the two Machine Guns) plays the Face in Peril, and the Young Bucks just bully the hell out of him.  They choke him, claw out his eyes, double team him, and mock or insult him to his face until even the most racist Klansman would be feeling compassion for poor young Swann.

They stand over Rich Swann or rest a boot on his neck to symbolize their social status and privilege.  The Bucks always inflict humiliation like this, but the ethnicity of their victims in this case, the perceived differences in their social status, make it even more compelling.  The implication is that young bucks all across the country are getting an unfair advantage, are laughing all the way to the bank while the less privileged minorities are exploited.

The material advantage enjoyed by the Young Bucks is symbolized by their toy guitar/laser pointer.  For the first time probably in the history of pro wrestling, a laser is used as a Foreign Object as they shine it in poor Rich Swann’s eyes to blind him!

The match was not 100% Young Bucks in control (that’s just the stuff that gets me turned on, so that’s what I focus on.)  The Inner City Machine Guns get to deliver some fancy, flippy offense too, synchronizing their moves to demonstrate their effective Male-Male partnership.  The Young Bucks are soon running for cover like classic cowards.

This match is not your classic get-down-on-the mat and scissor somebody wrassling competition.  This match is about showcasing the moves of four fearless, acrobatic, lean, dextrous, young lions who are willing to put their own bodies on the line (and to really fuck up the other guys) to excite and entertain the audience.

So if you’re into the exciting high-energy sort of match by guys who know what they’re doing, order the DVD of DDT4 from PWG.

One man Superkicks his opponent in the head, so his partner kicks the original kicker, which pisses of his partner who responds with a skull kick of his own.  Soon we’re witnessing an arms race of loud, stunning Superkicks, each one followed by a gasp of “OHH!” from the audience, and everybody has a concussion.  All this kicking sends the hot crowd over the boiling point and they begin chanting “PWG!  PWG!” and pounding on the ring apron.  If you want to see what the hell I’m rambling about, check out this 45 second YouTube clip of this “Amazing PWG Spot.”

Anyway, I don’t know if I really explained anything here or accomplished anything, other than to say that I found this match really entertaining — I usually prefer the older style classic wrestling but this acrobatic battle delivered a lot of scary, dangerous, high-flying thrills.  Those cocky Bucks are always a turn-on — their charisma is through the roof so their matches never get dull.  Thanks Young Bucks, thanks ICMGs.