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his article continues my review of the wrestling scenes found in the recently released movie, The Masked Saint. You should be able to find this film On Demand or available for download for a small fee if my descriptions move you.
However, don’t claim that I promised you a deftly written screenplay or Oscar worthy performances. I am only commenting on the few brief wrestling scenes which I did enjoy (in spite of the churchy tone of the rest of the movie.)
The more you struggle, the more it’s gonna hurt.
The last we saw of retired wrestling Chris, he had hung up his white tights to accept a position as a pastor. However, not long after he joins his new church — and it’s rec basketball league — he gets in a dispute with a bully from his congregation.
It seems that once you have a boner for wrestling, it’s hard to shake (I know THAT feeling.) Soon Pastor Chris has the blowhard in the Sleeper.
The comment he repeatedly whispers to his struggling victim — “The more you struggle, the more it’s gonna hurt…” — is so homo-erotically suggestive, I’m all like: Are we sure this is a religious movie and not a porno?! Anyway his wife scolds him to release the chump at once, perhaps not because she’s outraged by his violent act but because she’s concerned about his obvious eagerness to rassle with dudes.
An old church lady asks Pastor Chris to escort her to some event. A wrestling fan herself, she perhaps recognized Chris as The Saint, because she tricked him into attending the local rasslin’ show. A bald stud named Titan won his bout and showed off his HUGE guns.
For the main event, our hero’s old Bromance the Ice Man faced the evil Reaper (who had broken The Saint’s leg in their last match.)
Wearing a hood to conceal his identity, Chris’s jaw about hits the floor when he sees Ice Man strutting around in his too tight trunks. Meanwhile that big Reaper is a sight to behold as he strips off his jacket to real a swole chest and stomach.
This is it folks, this is why we’re here!
Before Ice Man can remove his fancy jacket, The Reaper attacks!
Whoa! I must admit, it was a stunning image as this killer rushed at his cute victim, first in slow-mo, then QUICK as a whip. His muscles flex, his hair flails wildly with his face painted like a savage. It’s like the bear attack in The Revenant — so ferocious and sudden.
It looks like Ice Man is done for the night, that slam was brutal!
The scene portrays the classic Forced-to-Watch trope, with the hero (in this case The Saint) seated at ringside as his Best Friend is destroyed, but the hero can’t take action. Meanwhile the helpless victim (in this case Ice Man) has no hope but to wait for rescue from his more-masculine friend.
Whoever directed the wrestling scenes for this movie clearly understood the ingredients that make a wrestling match arousing — including brightly colored and blatantly bulging gear on the Baby-Face. Also the suffering is emphasized in slow motion to really push our buttons.
The Reaper is fighting for real again, this time with the vulnerable Ice Man as his prey. Some kinky breath-play ensues as the face-painted freak grips the pretty-boy’s jugular.
Just when Chris can’t stand seeing his cute boyfriend destroyed any longer, he discovers his old Saint mask stuck in the pocket of his hoodie. How conveeeenient! (or maybe the church lady had stashed the mask in his pocket because she suspects he is The Saint and loves to wrestle.)
So Chris doffs his shirt, dons his trusty mask, and storms the ring just in time to prevent The Reaper from implementing his dreaded Legbreaker on poor helpless Ice Man. Not today, Satan, not today!
This movie poster with its caption “two are always better than one” depicts the power and satisfaction found in the male-male bonding experience. The Saint tried to go straight and live a hetero-safe lifestyle, but our take-away from this scene is that a wrestling addiction is like a drug. He couldn’t resist getting in the ring — getting shirtless with his Bro again — to bask in the gaze of his excited fans and rassle a dude.
They’re gonna win the battle!
To further emphasize the power of their bond, the Good Guys work together to defeat the devil — I mean The Reaper. When Ice Man is hoisted up for a Suplex, The Saint slides under to trip The Reaper. Chris has not found success through his hetero marriage, but is clearly powerful when bonding with Ice Man.
Ice Man lands on top and covers The Reaper for an eye-catching victory.
The buddies duck out of the ring before the Raper — I mean the Reaper — can attack them. They embrace tightly at ringside to celebrate their dominance, which is more physical intimacy than we’ve seen between Chris and his wife this entire movie.
Will Chris continue to resist his natural urge to wrestle? Will he accept the promoter’s offer to return to a wrestling career as the Saint in Shining Armor?
Stay tuned wrestling fans until our next exciting issue (or just go stream The Masked Saint on demand and see for yourself what happens next..)
To Be Continued…
Great photos, and spot-on comments. Thanks as always for your brilliant site.
Is the actor / wrestler / stuntman who plays ‘The Ice-Man’ credited? He certainly deserves praise – not only for looking delicious in a pair of tight blue trunks, but also for agreeing to take such a stiff body-slam. Filming usually requires multiple takes. Does anyone know how many times he had to be slammed down onto the canvas like that while they were shooting the scene?