Jesse’s Back in Town

Those of you who appreciate a handsome,  muscular type wrestler may recognize this young lion — Jesse Sorensen. You may also recall that his neck was severely injured while wrestling for TNA in February 2012.

You may also be pleased to hear that Jesse has recovered from his broken neck and is wrestling again — for the Ring Warriors indy fed.   Here is Jesse in his return bout during Episode 7 of Ring Warriors available on YouTube.  His match begins at 11:30 into the video.

Jesse’s opponent is a cocky Heel named “Johnny Armani.”  He is working the flamboyant I-am-Better-than-You Male Model gimmick.  Like all fit, good-looking wrestlers who strip down for our viewing pleasure, Armani has been featured on the Beefcakes of Wrestling blog, both in 2011 and 2013.  Check him out to see how his look has changed over the years.

Right from the opening bell, the arrogant bastard does just what I hoped and feared he would do — he targets poor Jesse’s injured neck.  With a cruel grin, he grinds on a Side Headlock, which leaves Jesse rubbing his aching upper vertebrae and selling his suffering just perfectly.

Your heart has no choice but to bleed for this handsome young lion in his pretty pink trunks as he massages his C-1 bone to remind us of his injury and long recovery.

Jesse was paralyzed on 2/12/2012 at TNA Wrestling’s “Against All Odds” show (how prophetic…).  The TNA brass promised to save a place for him on their roster when he got back in fighting shape.  Well, in July, Jesse tweeted that he had been released from TNA.  In August, we heard that TNA refuses to pay his medical bills.  Stay classy, TNA.

How completely idiotic of this federation!  First of all, they stir up bad publicity and negative press by breaking their promise of a job for this cute Baby-Faced fan-favorite.  Second, they fail to cash in on this heart-warming Against All Odds story — the injured warrior determined to struggle and win despite his neck pain.  Third, who the hell wouldn’t want a Stud and Ratings Magnet like Sorensen on their roster?!

They could have featured Jesse Sorensen in a long, dramatic feud against the very man who injured him — show Zema Ion trying to re-injure poor Jesse’s neck. Imagine a victory photo of the villain looking triumphant as he stands over Jesse with one black boot planted on the back of  our “re-injured” hero’s neck.  Hell, I’d pay to see it…

They could have put Jesse in the ring with every vicious, ass-kicking villain in their federation, make him wear a neck brace to the ring, and feature plenty of neck and spinal punishment (with Jesse looking pathetic and selling his anguish, which is what he does best.)  They could’ve made a lot of money off this stud’s suffering and eventual triumph and paid his medical bills five times over.  What a wasted opportunity!

I noticed in recent weeks that Jesse has been selling his used gear on e-Bay, which had me wondering if his career was, in fact, over.  Why else would he be selling off these great looking (but slightly used) trunks, such as this light blue pair?   (…which is still available for you to bid on as of the day I am typing this.)

Maybe Jesse needs cash to pay his medical bills and knows that many wrestling fans like us will pay a dear price for some spandex that touched his flesh.  Or maybe he is so distraught over being fired that he wants to be rid of every scrap of gear he had worn for his former employer.  Bid early and bid often, wrestling fans!

(UPDATE:  Jesse’s trunks sold for $355.  Great job guys, way to be supportive of Jesse and help him raise money! Maybe he will sell more stuff now…)

Meanwhile, the spinal torture continues as Armani applies a Neck Breaker — OUCH!  The commentators repeatedly draw our attention to Sorensen’s injury and agony to help sell it:

“Something as simple as a tackle like that can rattle the psychology in your brain, coming back from a neck injury that serious,  folks!”

“And look at Johnny Armani right there driving that boot right to the back of the neck of Jesse Sorensen — well scouted by Armani.  And then rubbing his head right across that top cable!”

I love it when they describe the action in graphic detail — it’s like dirty talk to me.

“There it is — the Neck Breaker… like a shark with blood, Johnny Armani did his homework and he knows exactly what to target on Jesse Sorensen!”

“Each and every time there is a big time impact move, that’s gonna impact the neck of Jesse Sorensen!”   Nice!

Ironically, Jesse’s favorite attacks also target the neck.  He often grabs his opponent under the chin and then flips the helpless dude around and down to wrench his spine.  It’s as if Jesse is now an expert on the spine and how to punish it thanks to his own experience.

So I said it before and I’ll say it again — support your Indy pro wrestling.  Check out Jesse in this match on YouTube and hopefully in future episodes of Ring Warriors.  Place a bid on his gear.  Follow him on Twitter.  I sure hope to see much more of him in the ring.

You can see images of Jesse applying his dangerous Whirlwind Neck Snapper maneuver in my August 2011 article on his Gauntlet Match.  You can also see a lot more of him suffering and selling in part 2 of the Gauntlet Match article (where Austin Aries just destroys the poor kid) and in a Tag Team bout where Jesse is manhandled by two sadistic veterans: Austin Aries and Kid Kash.