I believe every wrestling blogger is receiving photos of this young Indy wrestler — Bryen Douglas — from one of his fans and supporters The Wrestling Arsenal is no exception. Here are some of the best photos from 2016 that this blogger received recently via e-mail.
Bryen is muscling up nicely since the last batch of images that his #1 fan e-mailed to me. I like his classic boots N trunks look — he could be a Von Erich or an Armstrong with that long hair and well-developed physique.
OK, let’s get to the suffering…
One of Bryen’s best abusers in 2016 was this sadistic clown known as “Krimson.” This insane, face-painted Joker has been beating down cute young Faces since I guess The Dark Night movie in 2008.
But creepy clowns were a big scary deal in 2016 so having Krimson dominate young Bryen repeatedly seemed topical and on trend. Krimson loves to pull long hair, and I love him for doing that.
The gimmick in Indy wrestling is to put your youngest, most attractive, least clothed wrestler in the ring against the scariest monsters you can find — like a Krimson the Klown or a big African cannibal. This unfair mis-match — the Kid versus the Savage Killer — seems to stir up the audience in support of their young hero.
As you travel into more rural communities, it seems easier to find big monsters to join the local ‘rasslin federations than lean, attractive, muscular pretty-boys. In small farm towns, the average pro wrestler looks more like John Candy than Eye Candy.
So when they do find a hunky young jewel in the rough like a Bryen Douglas, they strip him down to trunks, and turn the beasts and blubbery brawlers loose on him.
This gimmick is so old, and so common, it must be wired in our animal brains to crave seeing the youthful hero paying his dues. It is universal across the globe — the Brits and their Danny Boy, the Japanese and their Jun, the Mexicans and their Volador Jr.
But why are humans like this? Why do we get off on seeing the youngest, prettiest guy in the room taking (fake) physical punishment?
And why is it especially exciting to see the handsome young hero forced to fight, not against another fit young looker, but against the most massive, intimidating, potentially dangerous monsters the promoters can conjure up? Why do we want to see beasts gnashing their fangs at our vulnerable young warriors — like Christians stripped to the waist and thrown into the Colliseum against a lion, a bear, and a pack of wolves?
I guess if I could answer that question, I’d finally know the secret sauce behind the appeal of pro wrestling — the reason we love it so. I think it’s because of how our brains are wired, with violence, and lust, and love, and masculine aggression somehow getting tangled up and criss-crossed in the neurons and synapses.
To their credit, the Indy feds all “get” the appeal of the Suffering Stud. They designate their best looking rookies as Faces, and are certain to place the young eye candy in the most pathetic, sexy, and agonized positions.
I’m not sure if it’s just a tradition for the young’uns to pay their dues, or maybe the promoters grew up watching squash jobs on TV, so it’s their natural inclination. Maybe they can tell from the ticket sales that suffering sells.
Perhaps my favorite opponent for Bryen in 2016 was not a big beast at all. Seth Allen presents a great contrast to young Bryen — older, beefier, more brutal.
This match is available on YouTube on Bryen’s channel (but filmed from too far back to get a good look.) Seth roughs up the “little man” as the fans chant “Let’s go, Bry-En!” The pairing of Seth and Bryen gives off a Teacher / Student, or Daddy / Son power dynamic.
