7/19/2012: A Very Good Day

It always feels like a good day when your favorite wrestler appears on the program — and even better if he actually wrestles shirtless instead of just giving an interview wearing a suit and tie.  July 19th, 2012 was a good day for me because Leo Kruger wrestled on that episode of WWE NXT — strutting to the ring all smug and superior in his leopard-print sash.

Ever since I became a wrestling fan (which was when I was, what, about five), there were certain wrestlers I’d tune in to watch, hopeful they’d make an appearance in the ring from the moment the opening credits ran.  And if that wrestler wasn’t on the show, because he was busy or injured or because there were too many other dudes clamoring for the spotlight, well it always felt like a let-down.  Like when you look forward to Christmas morning for weeks, only to find out your dad was laid off so you only would receive mittens that year.  The mittens are nice, don’t get me wrong, but you were hoping for something extra special and exciting…

Kruger’s opponent is Richie Steamboat — son of the famous 1980’s Baby-Face Ricky Steamboat.  Like his father, Richie is heroic, smiley, friendly, and wholesome — everything we pro wrestling fans love to see tortured and degraded.  He makes a nice opponent for sadistic Leo Kruger, the goateed Bad-Ass with the predatory attitude and lack of mercy or compassion.  Kruger is going to tear this pretty-boy limb from limb, which is the same thing the Heels did to Richie’s daddy 20+ years ago.

By the way, I’m sorry if you’re getting tired of seeing Leo Kruger featured on this Blog, with his muscular build, smoldering eyes, sexy goatee, and filled-out trunks.  He is my current obsession, my favorite WWE NXT eye-candy, so bear with me here.  When you start your own pro wrestling blog (and be sure to send me a link), then you can drool all over your favorite wrestler(s).

The reason Kruger is being especially brutal with young Steamboat, kicking him right in the face for example, is because the two had a scuffle the week before.  It seems Kruger barged in on Steamboat’s private interview, and after a brief (homo-social) stare-down, the two men ended up rolling around on the floor together, with Steamboat on top like a groom ravaging his new wife, missionary style.

This pissing-contest inspired Kruger to challenge Steamboat to a match so he could kick the pretty-boy’s ass six ways to Sunday in revenge.  It seems that a feud is brewing between these two young NXT hopefuls.  This is why July 19th, 2012 was a VERY good day (and not just a regular good day) — because involving Kruger in a feud ensures we’ll see much more of him.  Starting a bitter war between Leo Kruger and Richie Steamboat means the promoters are giving these two a “push” — allowing them more screen time as the feud plays out.  That means this lucky wrestling fan will be seeing much more of the great Leo Kruger…

This has been the secret to Ric Flair’s success over the years: always get involved in a hot, long-running feud with the cutest, baby-faciest young hero around, which is why Flair bickered and fought with Ricky Steamboat for like three decades.

This means they’ll have to feature Kruger on every episode of WWE NXT for a while (Yay!) so we can track the status of his skirmishes with young Steamboat.  Hopefully this Steamboat-Kruger feud will span three decades just like the Steamboat-Flair War did in the previous generation.

I am thinking there are a lot more very good days on the horizon now that a Kruger-Steamboat feud is in the offing…