Match Watch: Taped Rib Abuse

Match: AT Brooks vs. Blake Steel

Federation/Event: IWA Unlimited/

1 UP Tournament, May 26th, 2013

Gimmicks: Taped Ribs Attack, Bleach Blond Baddie

Gear Pat-Down: The arrogant Heel, AT Brooks, wears bulging green trunks with his name written boldly across the ass.  He bleached his hair platinum blond in the tradition of cocky Heel wrestlers like Ric Flair and Buddy Landell.

His opponent, dark bearded Blake Steel, wears a simple pair of tight black trunks.  His most noticeable accessory is the bandage wrapped around his torso to emphasize a recent rib injury.

What to Watch For:

• Two eager young lions in trunks and boots who pull out some hot moves

• Sneaky, cowardly villain using rough tactics to punish the heroic male

• Focused, repeated attacks (kicks, elbows, even the old Ab Stretch) on the Baby-Face’s injured ribs, conspicuously wrapped in bandages to highlight his suffering

• Blake Steel emasculated and rendered helpless, selling the ever-loving hell out of the cruel blond Heel’s rib punishment

Hottest Moves:

Brooks screaming “AHH!” in a high pitched voice as he is choked and chopped @ 5:12.  Brooks then fights back, but Steel no-sells his ineffective chops like a Real Man.

Long-held grab-your-trunks and hold-you-upside-down Suplex @ 6:28

Steel dropped violently across the ropes and then suffering on the floor @ 7:18.  The rib torture then begins in earnest.

Well-executed and painful looking Running Power-Slam by Steel @ 9:58

But my favorite move series is when AT Brooks Irish-Whips his opponent into the ropes, following him across the ring while holding onto a wrist.  Just as Steel is starting to bounce off the ropes, his body gaining forward momentum, Brooks lifts a knee and drives it up into his mid-section.  OOOFFF! Steel then doubles over clutching his torso like he was just shot in the gut.  It’s such a dick move and so effective looking — and Brooks (God bless him!) does this three fuckin times in a row to poor Steel starting @ 8:25, totally knocking the wind out of him each time!

Verbal Porn:

Somebody taped this match with a video camera, so all we hear is the gasps and moans of the wrestlers and the comments from the audience.   The wrestlers do a great job voicing their pain, with the blond villain bitching and gasping in a high pitched effeminate voice, and Steel emitting more manly “OHH’s” and “Awwww’s” after each belly-kick.

During the Irish-Whip/Knee series, a frustrated woman in the audience, worried about poor Blake Steel, remarks: “Come on AT, now come on.  Get him off of his ribs!”  Comments like that turn me on.

Psychology 101: Normally the Heel appears intimidating because of his massive size and bulk, or because he acts like a savage beast.  But AT Brooks is not very big, and is actually kind of cute with his pretty blond hair and snug little trunks.   He assumes an intimidating persona by being sadistic and sneaky, by having no mercy on his fellow man as he tears into Steel’s rib injury like a pit bull shaking a rabbit until it breaks.

AT Brooks reminds me of that bratty Malfoy kid from the Harry Potter movies, or the boy king on Game of Thrones, pretty looking but arrogant little fuckers forever sneering and finding ways to injure the more masculine heroes.  This cruel demeanor is what gives villains like AT Brooks their fearsome power.  In a way, it makes Brooks seem almost scarier and more dangerous than a big huggable Heel like Van Vader or Jim Neidhart.