So I was surfing around looking for images and videos of pro wrestling (as I do from time to time) and I stumbled upon a nice Tumblr site called “Links to Matches“. That’s just what it is — the blogger provides a link to a wrestling match he enjoyed on YouTube, and gives a little synopsis about the match and why he was entertained by it.
It’s a simple formula really — it’s not hard to make a link to a video and write a few sentences about why you enjoyed watching it. But I greatly appreciate when someone takes the time to do this — to just talk about good pro wrestling.
So I decided to watch the very first match he linked to on September 19, 2012 — Ted DiBiase (wrestling as the heroic Baby-Face for once in his career) against one of my favorite Heels — the “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer in his trademark black trunks with big furry boots. You can watch the match on YouTube.
The match begins with DiBiase establishing his power and masculinity. He grabs a mic and calls the commentator, Michael P. S. Hayes, “Prissy Sissy.” This emasculates Hayes and marks DiBiase as the dominant, presumably hetero-sexual, Alpha Male.
Then DiBiase applies a series of Armbars to punish and control the Mad Dog, reapplying the hold each time Sawyer escapes.
Mad Dog Sawyer proceeds to sell the fuck out of those Armbars to further put DiBiase over as an effective stud. The Mad Dog bares his teeth, scrunches up his face, and convinces the audience that tuff-boy DiBiase is inflicting the worst pain he’s experienced since he last wore his shock collar. He grows increasingly desperate to escape as he resorts to hair-pulling, face-biting, and eventually some stiff knees to the gut in an attempt to terminate DiBiase’s relentless Armbars, but the talented hero gets the Armbar right back on.
This is a classic formula from the Golden Age of wrestling and I love the psychology of it — DiBiase pulling the pitbull’s tail over and over until the angry pitbull eventually bites back with a vengeance…
Ted DiBiase Sr., meanwhile is looking gorgeous in his bright red trunks and tall white stripper boots. Presenting his package and his ass in those flashy red briefs (as he grinds and humps on the kneeling Buzz Sawyer) establishes his potential as a sex object.
Now I understand why Ted DiBiase Jr., this man’s son, always looks so fetching in a pair of trunks. He inherited his best assets from his sexy daddy, who probably whispered in his son’s ear that the fans crave plenty of eye-candy.
Eventually bad boy Buzz gains control after a crushing Power-Slam — he then works on further injuring the hero’s back for much of the match (the mark of a great Heel).
I really enjoy how Sawyer constantly pulls DiBiase’s long flowing hair, a provocative tactic the villains often use to dominate and control their victims. There is just something salacious and dirty about gripping another man by the scruff and yanking his head wherever you want.
And DiBiase is a willing punching-bag, obediently allowing the Dog to beast all over him and really make him suffer for his earlier cockiness. A truly talented wrestler can be effective as Baby-Face, Heel, or anywhere in between.
The climax of the match occurs at 5 minutes into the 8 1/2 minute match. Laying down chest-to-chest, Sawyer slaps on a beeyooootiful Bearhug. He crushes the pretty-boy in his embrace, his face buried deep in DiBiase’s chest. The crowd cheers wildly as their hero struggles to his knees and then his feet, but the relentless Bearhug continues. Mmmm, if you get off on Bearhugs, this one is a doozy.
After DiBiase eventually escapes, the Mad Dog reapplies that tight, rib-crushing Bearhug again and once again takes his victim down and lays on him. Just as DiBiase kept going back to his signature Armbar earlier in the match, now Sawyer keeps going back to his crushing Hugs. And then he rubs his beard all over DiBiase’s body, again burying his face in the other man’s chest. And now the hero really sells the living hell out of his agony, tossing around his hair, opening his mouth wide as if in a perpetual scream of sublime anguish, and squinting his eyes shut as if he is about to cry. It appears Mad Dog Sawyer is doing more than just hugging DiBiase — it appears he is raping him. I am not sure if my words can do it justice — it is a stunning scene.
So here is how the Blogger from the “Links to Matches” described it:
“A fun little match between Ted DiBiase and Buzz Sawyer. Trying to watch a bunch of matches from the greats, especially from 1970-95. I didn’t see a lot of DiBiase’s wrestling but I always heard of his excellent technical skills, so it’s time to immerse myself. Buzz Sawyer is also pretty good in this, I need to give him more of a look. Crowd is hot hot hot for this one and DiBiase/Sawyer deliver. Plus, Michael Hayes is fun on commentary.”
Yes, “hot hot hot” is a good way to describe it. I may have watched this match before on YouTube and not been overly fascinated by it. I mean, it’s some solid wrestling, but you can find all sorts of great wrestling online now (Hallelujah!) But reading about how and why another fan enjoyed the match seems to make me also enjoy the match more. I get to see it through his eyes — to get inside another wrestling lover’s head and connect, I suppose, over mutual admiration for great wrestling. And, full disclosure, I am NOT claiming this blogger loves wrestling like I love wrestling — I am not claiming he gets turned on by it. All I am saying is that, having another person enjoy it enables me to enjoy it even more, albeit in a different manner.
I recall driving on the school bus in junior high and the rougher, tougher kids at the back of the bus would sometimes discuss the pro wrestling they’d watched over the weekend. “Aw man, did you see what Flair did to Magnum!“, or “I about lost it when Orndorff pressed him and threw him right over the ropes, DAMN!”
That was the basic gist of the conversation — junior high was a long time and many bus rides ago. But their apparent passion for the sport validated (somewhat) my own extreme excitement over many of the same matches. I wondered sometimes if they loved watching wrestling the same way I loved it. And hearing them talk about my beloved wrestling in public, without any fear or self-consciousness, well let’s just say I’d often have to put my bookbag on my lap.
After being tortured for much of the match, DiBiase suddenly catches Sawyer in a surprise Power-Slam and hooks the leg for the pinfall.
This is a nice turn-about to end the match. Sawyer had worked on DiBiase’s back relentlessly (starting with a Power-Slam followed by Over-the-Knee Backbreakers, slams into the steel railing at ringside, you know the drill). But Sawyer couldn’t get the job done, couldn’t finish off his man. DiBiase is presented as the effective stud, able to destroy Sawyer using a single Power-Slam and beating him at his own game.
So it was a pleasure for me to watch this well-performed classic match, the sort of match they’d talk about on the bus. Thanks to Sawyer and DiBiase for their great work and to Bourbonjimbo who posted it on YouTube. It was also a pleasure to discover the Links to Matches blog and to be able to read and understand a little about why other people love pro wrestling too. (Please don’t delete your Tumblr account just because I mentioned it here…)
