I can always count on Bruno from the “Beefcakes of Wrestling” blog to surprise me with some great images of pro wrestling suffering from all around the world.
He recently shared some photos of this British lad — Josh Bodom — selling the pain as the larger, more masculine brutes dominate him without mercy.
Some pretty-boys are just born to suffer in the ring, and Josh Bodom is definitely one of them.
British wrestling fans have always loved a mis-match. Many matches in classic Brit Pro wrestling (now available on YouTube) were built around the premise of a young underdog (often with “Kid” or “Boy” somewhere in his name) taking a horrific beating from a much larger punisher.
What is it about the British psyche that they so enjoy the Underdog Gets Owned sort of match? Why do they love seeing their young, blue-eyed lads humiliated and harmed? Maybe it’s because America beat them down in the Revolutionary War and then had to tag in and rescue them during World War II, so they are all jobbers at heart…
Josh Bodom is built like the classic British jobber: young and smooth, pale skinned, not too muscular with soft features, and a cute face. He is like Robbie Brookside meets Chic Cullen meets Greg Valentine (the British Greg Valentine, not the “Hammer”…)
The Brits loved to toss young men in the ring against full grown adults. The announcers would then refer to the doomed young wrestler as “curly-haired boy” or “fair-skinned lad” or “handsome kid.” Some believe that the Industrial Revolution and two World Wars have caused the British to regret losing their pastoral innocence, their playful childhood as a nation. The theme of many films and novels in England center on yearning for simpler times, a desire to return to the Garden of Eden, the perceived innocence of youth. The punishment of a hopeful young wrestler, therefore, plays on the British nostalgia for happier days and the gloomy feeling of losing their innocence.
18-year-old Josh Bodom is just the sort of kid that the British fans swoon over. They’re eager to see him in the ring against some 300 pound beast so they can witness the exploitation of his innocence, the decision to either man up and grow a set, or suffer more abuse. Bodom channels those Blue-Eyed Baby-Faces of yesteryear by suffering beautifully and looking pathetic and emotionally needy while doing it.
In one recent match, Bodom was smashed through a table by some cheater at ringside. One reviewer described the scene this way:
“Trophy Tournament Final: Cyanide def. Josh Bodom… Dave Rayne also made his presence felt during this match by powerbombing Josh Bodom through a table whilst the referee has been accidentally knocked out. Cyanide then took advantage of the situation by brutalising Josh and then pinning him to win the FutureShock Trophy!”
Another aspect of British culture is respect for tradition and history. I mean, they still have a Royal Family as if this is the 1700’s or something…
It is refreshing to see that British Pro Wrestling is still alive and respecting their wrestling traditions: the cute young lad fighting against the odds, the one-sided beatings and mis-matches, the application of holds that put the kid in agonizing positions, the relentless punishment of the ragdoll jobber, his handsome face contorted in pain as he absorbs the relentless abuse.
