In my recent article “Kneel Before Your King,” Austin Aries boasted about forcing Neville to tap out. The braggart was then humbled in Neville’s own killer hold.
The rivals met to settle their feud with a “Submission Match” at the Extreme Rules show on 6/4/17. It did not bode well for Aries that the wardrobe staff dressed him in light blue jobber trunks.
The ever-swole Neville, on the other hand, was dressed like a fierce barbarian in all black garb, complete with warrior gauntlets on his arms and bicep bands to emphasize those steep peaks.
Neville is so convincing as a Heel — one look at him, and you know he could fuck you up.
Neville begins by screwing Austin’s damaged leg.
If you look close at Austin’s left knee, you’ll notice some white bandage peeking above his knee-pad. This is a reminder of the ligament snapping Drop-kick to the leg that Neville had inflicted during that earlier beat-down.
As I hoped and prayed he would do, Neville targets that injured knee with this devastating Leg Screw.
How about another Leg Screw, bitch!
Austin is the very picture of vulnerability in his baby-blue trunks as Neville repeatedly targets that injured knee. Perhaps I’m making the match seem more one-sided than it really was, but still, the King of the Cruiserweights ruled over Mr. Oww My Leg and utterly tortured him for the majority of this match.
They used to package Neville as a heroic, high-flying Baby-Face, but I find him far more entertaining as a Heel. He is not cute enough to play the Good Guy, and his body is so rough and impenetrable — the kind of body that makes you fantasize about him doing stuff to you against your will. Like, if he were running rampant in your house, wearing his trunks and boots, and bending you over the back of your couch, or doing stuff to you on your bed, then on the floor next to your bed. You get the picture — he is an inspiring Bad Guy.
This awkward fall injures yet another body part.
This damaging Drop-kick to the knee sends Aries out to the floor, his arm striking the edge of the ring to dislocate his shoulder.
Now Neville will turn his focus to the fresh injury, weakening and wearing it down to soften Aries up for the Rings of Saturn — the ultimate shoulder dislocater.
Some wrestling bloggers have complained that Neville’s Heel-work here was unfocused because he started working the knee, but later switched to shoulder abuse.
But I think this makes sense to the narrative — that the knee was damaged first to shut down Aries’ offense, and then the shoulder was destroyed in preparation for the final submission. Plus it’s fun to see Aries so vulnerable and frustrated — injured in multiple places.
You can’t hurt rockhard steel, son.
I enjoyed this subtle demonstration of power by Neville. He allows Aries to slug him in the gut. Then he brushes it off like maybe a moth had landed on him, like Austin’s punches kinda tickle.
This totally emasculates the weakling who threw the punch, unable to harm his opponent even when the dude offers him a free shot.
If he’s outside the ring, then you NEVER need to release the hold.
Austin was able to gain control for several Hope Spots, for example when he locked on his gorgeous Last Chancery bridging neck wrencher outside the ring.
Neville was forced to tap, proof that this one hold is his only Achilles Heel. However, Aries had foolishly applied it on the floor, and we’re told that submissions only count in the ring.
Back in the ring, Aries was able to apply a modified version of the Rings of Saturn — giving Neville a taste of his own medicine. This is similar to Ric Flair ironically being caught in the Figure Four Leglock (which happened in nearly all of his Really Big Title Matches.)
This match was packaged as Submission Hold vs. Submission Hold — the Last Chancery against the Rings of Saturn to prove which is superior. For Austin to attempt the Rings of Saturn seems like an admission on his part that it’s the better hold — that his Chancery did not work earlier, so he’ll upgrade to Neville’s move.
But even after trying to turn Neville’s own hold against him, Aries remains unsuccessful. We see the Mad King regain control and beat Aries into loyal submission.
Neville graces us with these iconic poses of dominance, just taking his time dismantling Austin Aries, standing over him like a hunter over his trophy antelope.
Wrestling can be so fucking beautiful.
Neville busts out a move from his High-Flier days — the devastating and visually stunning Red Arrow. He flips and rotates in mid-air, then crashes all his weight down on Aries’ spine to break him! Coolest spot of the night!
THIS is why Neville remains the King — he kills chumps and looks spectacular while doing it.
Remember when you laughed at me for tapping out?
Neville could’ve easily pinned Aries after that back-busting Red Arrow, but this is a Submission Match so pinfalls don’t count.
To grind out the final submission, Neville locks up Austin’s arms and wrenches him back in his agonizing Rings of Saturn.
Damn — what an orgasmic hold!
Neville leans way back like a Boss, nodding his head to wrench on that extra bit of pressure. Meanwhile Austin’s arms and fingers go as limp as a wet dishrag as he is totally owned by the King of the Cruiserweights.
Have you learned your lesson, bragger boy?
NOW who was forced to tap out??
Watch Austin’s right hand as he weakly taps out, his arrogance now humbled as he is forced to admit publicly that the King bested him yet again.
I half expected they might let Aries win the title in the end — give his career a push. But no — they instead let Neville crinkle him up and toss him in the garbage like a used tissue.
