Hero vs. hero

“EVOLVE” promotes live wrestling events performed by some of the hottest, most talented athletes on the Indy scene today.  Their shows are available for streaming on the WWN Live Network.  This battle between two of my favorite wrestlers — Drew Gulak and Chris Hero — appeared in Evolve #38 on March 8th, 2015.

The psychology of the match is that Drew Gulak in his little black speedo trunks and black lacey boots is smaller and weaker than the skull crushing juggernaut in Chris Hero (whose body is really starting to fill out nicely — what a perfect Big-Bellied Heel he is becoming.)

So to counteract Hero’s size advantage and deadly Elbow Strikes to the head, Gulak will out-wrestle the big beast.  The beginning of the match is all about wrestling holds, with Gulak putting on a clinic and Hero generally getting caught, trapped, and ArmBarred by his wily little opponent, growing more and more frustrated as he must repeatedly fight his way out of Gulak’s clever holds.  Here, for example, is a picture perfect Figure 4 Headscissors, Gulak’s long white legs choking out the bearded behemoth.

Hero plays along nicely, letting Gulak put him in all sorts of compromising, embarrassing positions.  I love his work ethic, playing Gulak’s wrestling dummy for the first half of the match.

And his tight green trunks are fun to watch as his legs are twisted, spread apart, and torqued.  I think he bought those little green bulge-briefs when he was 20 pounds lighter.

But eventually Hero tires of his scrappy little opponent and he starts throwing those deadly Elbow Strikes his is famous for.  Gulak has no defense, nearly knocked unconscious each time big Hero feels like driving another huge brain-rattling Elbow into his vulnerable head.

The second half of the match is all about the Suffering of Drew Gulak as Hero unleashes his brutal striking offense each time the Baby-Face dares to peel himself off the mat.

Check out this presentation of helplessness — Hero standing over Gulak with his bulging green trunks near his face —  Gulak unable to rise from his knees, weakly embracing Hero around the legs as if to say: “Please don’t Elbow Smash me again.”  But Hero is the ideal Heel, so of course he slams another Elbow into the weakened man’s noggin.

Check out Hero using his body-weight to dominate and degrade his exhausted victim.  He bends Gulak’s ankles up toward his ears to put his ass in the air, then mounts his plaything.

I don’t know if Hero truly wants to pin his opponent at this point, or just to enjoy the ride and the feeling of domination.

Then, Hero suddenly ends the match with one of the ugliest, most brutal looking Pile Drivers I’ve ever seen…

My poor Gulak just had no chance once the match became a brawl and Hero started delivering his patented Skull Crushing Elbows!  Hero’s offense exactly replicated the t-shirt he wore to the ring:  “Elbow & Elbow & Elbow & Knockout.”

Gulak’s vulnerability makes me want to see more matches with him suffering, hopefully pitted against a much larger, more vicious opponent every time.

I also want to go stream some more Evolve events on the WWN Network — they’re only like $15 each, the wrestling skills are top-notch, and you don’t have to wait a week for that DVD to arrive in your mailbox.