I always remember a great match I saw on WCW in the 90’s where the Mongolian Mauler, a big bald monster with a fetish for chewing on the ring ropes, just destroyed Brian Pillman, who wore brief little red trunks for the match.
I actually had this match saved on VHS tape for several years after I first recorded it (along with similar exciting wrestling matches) and I would often pop that trusty tape in when I was… ahem… home alone and bored.
Well I’ve always wanted to see this match again. I even searched for it recently when I created a Rope Bite gallery for my Subtle Little Things series, but I couldn’t find it. Wouldn’t you know about a week ago, somebody finally uploaded this bout to a YouTube channel called Rasslin’ Ring (nice name!)
For most of the match, Flyin’ Brian (who looks spectacular by the way in his red speedo) got utterly mauled by the Mongolian. He did manage to secure a sexy Leg Grapevine early in the match, falling back to snap the knee.
But the Mauler soon begins to “No Sell” all of Brian’s moves, not even reacting to Pillman’s punches and kicks to his big gut.
I’ve always loved Brian’s adorable expression of worry after he tries to Shoulder Tackle the big Mauler, only to be knocked on his ass like he ran into a brick wall.
He licks his lips pensively and thinks: “Oh shit, this big monster really wants to fight! He isn’t going to let me easily kick his ass, so now what?!”
The punishment becomes quite sadistic as the insane Mauler bites and scratches at Brian’s flesh, trapping Brian in the corner to blatantly torture him. Brian quickly sinks into ragdoll mode, perhaps taking the advice of outdoorsmen when they’re attacked by a bear: Play dead.
Much of the Mauler’s offense is focused on Brian’s throat — for example, he stands with all his weight on Brian’s neck, strangles him on the middle rope, etc. This is particularly cruel because Pillman was known to have trouble with his neck. He battled cancer as a small child and had to undergo over 40 surgeries to remove polyps, which is why is voice was so raspy. And this sadistic animal decides to maul poor Brian’s throat?!?
Check out Brian desperately kicking his legs to roll the Mauler down. The big man easily puts a stop to his frantic struggling simply by dropping all his bulky weight onto poor Brian’s ribcage. Damn, that move looks too real and effective, like maybe he really did crush poor Brian under him, like for real.
The Mauler wears unusual wrestling boots with a curled up toe, similar to those worn by the Sheik and other Arabian wrestlers. This toe is presented as a sharp weapon, capable of gouging out your eye.
Here Brian sells his agony beautifully as the Mauler grinds his face on that spike. Nice close-up camera work!
During 1993, Pillman had been in a Tag Team with Steve Austin — an arrogant pair of douche-bags known as the “Hollywood Blonds.” Their team separated in October ’93, and this match aired in February ’94.
Even after breaking up with Austin, Brian continued to wear his snug “Hollywood Blonds” trunks with the star on the ass — maybe he liked how they felt on him. This cruel torture by the Mauler was meant to re-establish Flyin’ Brian as a Baby-Face.
Wow, Brian sure could sell the suffering! Check out his face as the Mauler strangles him into submission. Poor pathetic Brian reaches out blindly for the ropes, his fingers limply grasping.
Watching this match, you get the feeling the Mauler was legit hurting Brian, that his offense was all too convincing. Brian becomes frustrated and angry a few times, for example hauling off and slapping the Mauler across the face in retaliation. It seems as if the Mauler didn’t know how to wrestle without hurting his opponent, so he just went ahead and hurt him.
I was happy to unearth this gem again after all these years – The Punishment of Pillman. The action was as nasty, brutal, and hot as I remembered. And Pillman’s red trunks were as sexy as I remembered.
What a remarkable age we live in where we can find and watch obscure old wrestling matches that turned us on 20+ years ago!
