Bonk!

Left to right: Travis Lee, Kidd USA, Jake Damien; from Cyberfights 20

Lonesome

"Lonesome" Jay Bradley, 6'4", 251 lbs.

Who Was That? (Sleeper Hold Edition)

Update: Question answered!  Kidd USA puts the sleeper on Jake Damien.

I first saw this image years ago on Wrestling Arsenal.  I have never uncovered their identities, but I'm willing to offer the following Inner Jobber points (IJ points) for any help provided:

* 50 IJ points for identifying the wrestler applying the sleeper hold;

* 150 IJ points for identifying the victim falling asleep;

* 250 IJ points for identifying both men.

Who was that?

My First Look

Above is the first image I ever saw of a BG East match.  I had come across this picture on the Bearhug Submission Page.  It features Wade Cutler vs. Steve Sherman in Hard Pros 3.  I still haven't seen the match, but my god, do I want to see that bearhug!  Bard at Neverland recently spoke about the first time coming across companies like BG East, and I too remember the thrill of discovering wrestling that was a little more intentionally homoerotic than what you can find on TV.

On a side note (as long as I'm feeling all wrestling nostalgic), the first BG East tape (yes, tape back then) I saw was Hunkbash 5, my favorite match at the time being Johnny Modesto vs. Psycho Capone.  The other matches were great, too, but this is the one I noticed the most.  Johnny's gear!  It was so much smaller than gear on TV!  And he got so dominated by Psycho!  (Oops--spoiler alert.)  Sadly, it's been a long time since I've seen that match.  I think that tape might have, um...accidentally been thrown away one day, after a sudden bout of guilt and self-loathing.  (It hasn't always been an easy road, you know?)

Johnny Modesto

Psycho Capone plants his foot on Johnny's carcass.

It looks like the Bearhug page also offers a cleaned-up version of the picture--in technical terms of things like color and lighting, that is.  Whew!  Wade's butt!  (He said, guilt-free.)

Skeleton Bang

Sometimes, when I'm frustrated and start to doubt if getting a college education was even worth it, I have to admit that it WAS worth it, even if only for one thing I learned: When bodies decay into skeletons, the bones don't stick together without ligaments and stuff.

So those images of skeletons chained to walls or sitting up in chairs or whatever just could never happen. And yet, AND YET, in every TV show, movie, and video game, there they are, skeletons chained to walls, magically staying intact.

Sometimes surely the creators know this isn't accurate, and are merely conceding to popular misconception.  But I never used to think there was anything wrong with it.  Actually it's a little annoying to notice that now.  Stupid college!

Look!  Ub Iwerks invented "The Human Centipede" in 1929's "The Skeleton Dance."

Here are some good skeletons.

1. "Skeleton Bang" by Rasputina, from the album "Great American Gingerbread"

2. Skeleton Zak

3. "The Skeleton Dance" by Ub Iwerks

A-1

Real name Alastair Ralphs, wrestling name A-1 (a very apt name for such a big handsome bull of a wrestler--you know, bull, steak sauce...).