Phoenix Gimmick

There is so much great Indy wrestling on YouTube now, I don’t know how I have time to go to work.  Here is a match I watched recently featuring the “Phoenix” Tommy Taylor, who came to the ring in a spectacular flowing cape, against a big Beat-Em-Up sort of brawler — Barney Rumble (great name!) who was wrestling his farewell match.

Even the name, Tommy Taylor, just screams “Baby-Face!”   It sounds like a combination of Tommy Rogers and Terry Taylor, two of the classic, lovable Babies of yore.

He peels off his flowing cape to reveal a banging body and tight little blue trunks, a look that really caught my eye as you can imagine.

Taylor has been in pro wrestling for over a decade, so he is skilled at getting the fans on his side, selling the pain, working all the little nuances that get inside your head and make you want to watch and cheer for the Baby-Face.

For example, when he’s caught in an Armbar and the ref asks whether he wishes to submit, Taylor yells: “No!  NOOOO!  AHH!  No. No. No.  AH!” I’m a sucker for those helpless Baby-Face antics.

The federation that promoted this show is called “Vintage Wrestling” out of Florida.  Does the name “Vintage” mean that they will deliver the classic, old-school Rasslin’ style, the nice long holds, mat wrestling, and traditional ring psychology?   I hope so.  Rumble does focus his punishment on Taylor’s arm thoughout the beginning of the match, applying and re-applying locks and holds as the victim patiently endures each little torture and refuses to surrender.

Then Tommy Taylor does something amazing.  In a scene that reminds me of about 1985, he is flipped over the ropes and his head becomes caught between the top and middle ropes, his neck totally pinched between the twisted rope strands:

Now THAT is dedication and sacrifice for the fans’ enjoyment!  They say the “ropes” around a wrestling ring are actually steel cables with a plastic covering, not really ropes at all.

It must be very dangerous, and in any case very painful, to get your neck entangled and constrained like that!  It’s not long before Tommy collapses to the floor, totally injured and unable to continue the match.

His hard body is sprawled out and immobile.  The security guards use a towel to hold his broken neck steady as they help him to his feet. (Do not try THAT at home if somebody breaks their neck!)

The “Phoenix” Tommy Taylor bravely, or foolishly, refuses to admit defeat.  Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, he crawls back to the ring to continue the fight.  Like all Baby-Faces in wrestling, this young man has guts and determination, the willpower and intestinal fortitude of a champion, ladies and gentlemen!

Pro wrestling is supposed to tell a story, and the Phoenix is telling us the story of the unbreakable man — the masculine ideal of power and pain tolerance, the “Never Say Die” attitude that many of us have inside but rarely have the guts or willpower to access.  The big man, meanwhile, focuses his assault on that injured neck.  To my utter delight, he even applies a deadly Hangman!  Seriously!

What did I ever do to deserve YouTube?  How do I now have access to so much spectacular action, performed by great looking athletes who wear hot gear and know how to suffer?  These men really use their bodies to tell a story and convince us to buy into the fantasy and excitement for little reward.  Great job, guys!