Loserboy's Blog

Wednesday June 6 2018 - Clash XXII: Atlanta Clash of the Titans 2018

My 3rd year at the Clash of the Titans has come to an end. Another year, another memorable event where I met great wrestlers and made new friends. I mentioned about a week or two ago that I would take it easy at the Clash. Truth be told, it actually went the opposite way.

Thursday May 31 2018

Fun4Us (id 8822) was my designated driver this time around. I was quite spoiled. I reduced my role to a co-pilot or navigator holding my phone in GPS mode to guide us between our hotel in Mableton to the event's venue in Austell, which are suburbs or counties west of Atlanta. Both areas are about a half hour drive from Atlanta when there's no traffic.

We arrived at the venue at around 8 pm and the ring was already set up. The first people I see are the commissioner Big Joe, Harley, Kevin_Patrick, TampaChaser (id 11434). I immediately gave them all a big hug. Even though I barely interacted with Kevin_Patrick and TampaChaser two years ago, we've talked as if we were lost buddies and suddenly found our way back. We've instantly recognized each other and I'm sure we've both wondered and told ourselves why we didn't spend more time to get to know each other two years ago. Luckily, I won't be repeating the same mistake: I'll be catching up with TampaChaser later on.

LatinJock4_U, Steve, BigJohn and Viper (known at the event as Armani) were also around that evening. JackBouvier and Destroyer (id 2190) joined in an hour or two later. Shawty (id 520) accompanied us and took on the mats for a few sub matches. He preferred staying on the sidelines, so he avoided the ring because he wasn't ready for it yet.

Fun4Us, Kevin_Patrick, TampaChaser, LatinJock4_U and Viper climbed onto the ring and started doing a round-robin tag match. I watched them in awe wrestle each other off for a good half hour and then took a deep breath: I wanted some of the action so I've decided to join in. Well.... little did I know that I became the jobber to pick on. That's what happens when you're small. The guys wouldn't let me tag out and they were just using me as a practice dummy. No, I'm not complaining. On the contrary, it was very exciting. According to Fun4Us, it allowed the wrestlers to break glass and go all out.

When things calmed down a little bit, I was lucky enough to get some private time with LatinJock4_U. We tossed each other around and I was able to lift him up in a rack. He instantly turned to me and asked me how to perform this move. It didn't take him long: he learned it instantly and easily grabbed and picked me up as if I was a light little feather.

Previously, I thought of LatinJock4_U as a very intimidating wrestler. I was looking at the pics before meeting him and I was telling myself that this is a guy that probably would not wrestle me. I was obviously wrong as LatinJock4_U is probably the nicest and most open wrestler at the event. This guy is really incredible. He is absolutely humble, well-versed in pro, always willing to learn and has an exceptional personality. I would even say his smile brightens up the warehouse.

I also got some time with Steve. Now this guy is hard to find because he doesn't believe in online profiles, so he is not registered anywhere. He goes mostly under the pseudonym Jet Fan. Steve did sub wrestling in his previous years, but switched entirely to pro after an injury. He likes almost every hold in pro and loves to be the jobber. Ironically, for my match against him, I turned out to be the jobber. That's also because I have trouble chaining my moves as a heel and Steve honestly goes from one move to another without even breaking a sweat. His arsenal is infinite. He really knows what to do to get the momentum going in a match.

I believe I also managed to squeeze a bit of time with both JackBouvier and The Punisher (also known as The Destroyer or The Crippler). Both of them are also great heel: all I had to do was follow their lead.

Near the end of the evening, I spent some time showing TampaChaser (id 11434) how to apply the torture rack. He was really eager to master this hold. Unfortunately, I turned out to be a very bad teacher because my instructions led him to hurt his shoulders. This hold is easier said than done and performing it can be very dangerous. TampaChaser has a big shoulder frame and the way he positions his arms may have been a bit awkward for the rack. We've told ourselves we need to repeat and practice this somewhat complicated and convoluted maneuver another day.

I eventually switched gear to have my first sub match. Lucky me, I was up against Viper (Armani). I later learned that this guy is a black belt, Muay Thai fighter. He is probably one of the toughest sub wrestler I have ever faced. To say that Armani kicked my ass is a big understatement. This guy is so far ahead, he is such a competent and formidable opponent that I don't have the slightest chances of winning against him. Armani didn't hesitate to play a few pranks by toying around with me. I really enjoyed my time with him, but I eventually stopped the match a bit prematurely in order to conserve my stamina. I know I've always said not to look back and not to have regrets, but I really would have love to spend more time wrestling him. A very charismatic, entertaining, dauntless and sociable guy. If you want to become a better sub wrestler, make sure you wrestle him. You can learn a lot from this expert submission wrestler!

Fun4Us, Shawty and I stayed at the warehouse until Harley and Joe kicked us out at 11 pm.

It seems that Thursdays has become the best day to wrestle people at the Clash. Why? Well, because everybody is at their top notch shape, they are ready for action and no one has injuries.

Friday June 1st 2018

The following day, I did the mistake of starting the day with sub matches. I had 3 sub matches and they've drained me drastically. I quickly became significantly tired for the remainder of the day. Then again, had I scheduled my sub matches in the afternoon or evening, I would probably have collapsed.

I started my sub matches with Wildwoolly (id 4258), an opponent that I have completely underestimated. In fact, all sub wrestlers at the Clash are usually all very good. WildWoolly had a defensive stance, but he knows how to chain up his moves and take advantage of mistakes you make in order to make you tap. Very talented and very nice guy off the mats.

Next up, I had a re-match with Scottilla (id 3020) whom I have wrestled twice previously at the Clash and maybe another two times at the Wrestlefest. This fifth time, he still beats me pretty easily.

Hey, he was an Olympic wrestler, I've never had a chance anyway... His skills, wisdom and his wrestling experience way surpasses mine.

I also had a short sub match with LatinJock4_U where I tried showing him my ankle lock. It was probably the only match I could get someone to tap, but then again, this was the first time he was doing sub, so it was quite unfair for me to go full power on him. LatinJock4_U got pretty excited and he suddenly had this strong urge to learn more about submission wrestling. This guy has so much energy and is so passionate about trying new things to explore. A really awesome guy all around.

Later in the afternoon, Timnbama showed up and he immediately took charge of the pro tournament. That also meant that he sacrificed his wrestling time to manage the matches and give instructions to each wrestler part of the tournament. Believe me, this is no easy task. This wasn't planned either. Joe had to step out for the remainder of the event and Harley initially panicked, having to manage the tournaments all by himself. Timnbama sided with Harley and gave him all the help he needed. This is why in my book, Timnbama has a wonderful and marvelous heart. Traveling all the way to help out Joe and Harley.

I initially registered for the Pro Tag Team Tournament with Fun4Us, but later during the day, I was surprised to see the return of J. I wrestled with J two years ago, also at the Clash. We were in a handicap match: three of us against the Mighty Mongo. This year, J asked me if I can be his tag team partner and Fun4Us kindly freed his spot. J and I went on the ring to do a practice match and wow... J pulled off moves that I could never have pulled off. He went from ropes to ropes, bouncing from one to another to do stunts and maneuvers that require a lot of flexibility. Seeing him work out the moves was really mind blowing.

J chose our tag team name: it was "Big Things Come"... from the full expression "Big Things Come in Small Packages". He explained to me that it does 3 stuff:

- We are small, but we do big things
- It has an innuendo
- I can't recall the third one... I know, I'm terrible.

Our first official tag team match was against Chip (id 1809) and Kevin_Patrick. J really had this under control and was able to lead the match. Kevin and Chip eventually managed to turn around the tables. I played a little bit of the bad guy by pulling out Kevin_Patrick's boot on one of the pins he had on J. Ultimately, J gave out the finishing hold that would put Kevin and Chip's tournament journey to an end and move both of us in Round 2. I actually wanted to lose, but Timnbama had other plans set aside for us: he instructed us to win against them.

The heat was starting to have its impact. The Clash venue doesn't have an AC system and they leave the door of the warehouse wide open to circulate fresh air, but in the afternoon, the air can be warm enough to drench every wrestler in their sweat. Fun4Us and I eventually returned to the hotel to get an hour or two of rest in cool AC before eventually coming back to the venue. This is where I was very happy that he cranked the AC to the max. After several hours of heat, it feels heavenly to return to a fridge.

When we got back to Clash, the pro tournament preliminary matches were over for the day. We were able to force Harley on to the ring. Timnbama also climbed up to have his share of the fun. You should see the pounding that Harley received. It was a way for all wrestlers to thank him for holding the Clash event. I think he was quadruple-teamed.

TampaChaser (id 11434) and I locked up on the sub mats, trading scissors and such. I did not remove my pro boots so he managed to lock in a scissor counter by putting his boots on mine. Ow. Now I can feel the pain that I usually make the others feel.

Saturday June 2nd 2018

Many of the wrestlers came on the Saturday: I saw WGA-Rassler (he goes under the pseudonym Rex Moros), Wrestle007, ChicagoMuscle, PiledriverVA, H2oWrestler and JJ_Sparks (id 2445). Unfortunately, I was unable to wrestle any of these guys. I was caught up in both the single and tag pro tournaments and I was pushed in the later rounds despite my request to make me a complete jobber and to end both my pro entries on round 1 for both tournaments. I'll explain this later on.

I was however able to slip in a very short sub match against Chicago Piledriver. I think this guy became an even better sub wrestler because he was able to get out of my moves pretty easily this time around. I never stood a chance anyway. Why is that the case for every sub wrestlers I meet at the Clash?

In the afternoon, the great Rasslin_Bodybuilder (who also goes by MuscleBuffBoy) walked in and um... wow, this guy is really something. Handsome, humble and kind. I was initially supposed to heel him in a practice pro match, but after he got me in a clothesline, he simply said: "I guess I'll heel then." and he immediately took over control of the match. He went on to pound me with multiple consecutive moves and then pinned me to the ground. Had I known he was just staying around for a very short time, I would have spent more time with him. Then again, it's hard to distribute your time with all the many wrestlers that show up, especially on a Saturday.

I initially registered to be part of the submission tournament, but I opted out at the last minute because I knew I was going to be pushed for round 2 for both single and pro tournaments. It was probably for the best since I needed to take it easy this time around. I wasn't at my top shape, but the guys at the Clash really pushed me to do my best in pro. However, watching the preliminary sub tournaments was shocking. I would not have lasted long because every sub wrestler there were so skilled. I have to say that I admired LatinJock4_U who has decided to join the sub tourney despite being his first time trying sub.

My 2nd round of tag team pro match started right after the preliminary sub matches. Now, this is the reason why I should write down blog entries like this the same day, because right now, my memories are getting blurry. This match was supposed to be against Roscoe The Rassler and WGA-Rassler. WGA-Rassler ended up coming later in the afternoon, so LS_Powerhouse (id 4337) took his spot instead. We were instructed to lose this match, when suddenly, at the last minute, J made a pin and we were moving on to the finals of the pro tournament. I couldn't believe it. I have no idea what happened and when the decision was made, but I went along with it. Heck, why not?

I honestly can't remember what else happened in this match or how this match turned out. I think J recorded it, so I'll have to ask him for the video.

I did eventually exchanged a few messages to Roscoe a few weeks after our match and he mentioned the he appreciated me selling some of the moves he threw at me. He said that I was not stiff or fighting every move. He gave me tougher stomps and punches and I did not complain about it. Honestly, sub wrestling does help me build up a bit of resistance to withstand incoming attacks from stiff pro.

My first single pro match started around 1 pm-ish. I think we were ahead of schedule. I was set up against JackBouvier. Timnbama explicitely told me that I need to win the match because JackBouvier is a bit injured and is already exhausted by the previous matches he have had in the past few days. This match went easy enough as JackBouvier lead the match as a heel, locking me holds, dominating the whole match until he was ready for me to finish it off. His instructions were simple: on his signal, I would go behind him and apply the sleeper and win the match.

After his defeat, JackBouvier asked me if I can take a few pics with him because he loves pics as much as I do.

The image above is actually ironic because he is shown here sleepering me out, while in reality, he submitted to a sleeper. My guess is that he likes sleepers.

What a better way to punish a jobber with a bearhug? JackBouvier has many more images, but he'll be sending them to me gradually over the coming weeks.

I saw J wrestle against Viper, who wore a Spiderman costume. I have to admit that this was the most hilarious match in the single pro tournament. J and Spiderman went back and forth for quite a while, but eventually Spiderman decided to finish it off by using his "web slingers". He used a spray can that spreads some sort of sticky pinkish substance, I really have no idea what it is. It was funny, weird, yet creative.

It's a good thing to see the wrestlers show off some originality and add up some spice to their matches.

Fun4Us also had his share of single pro matches. He faced JJ Hart, followed by Peter Parker (the non-hero version of Spider-Man or Viper (Armani)) and eventually lost to Roscoe.

While some of the single pro matches played out, I sat down with TampaChaser (id 11434). I told him that I was very thrilled that we got to wrestle a lot more this time around. I also told him that, two years ago, I was intimidated by him. He's a guy in great shape, wrestles other big guys with ease. I didn't think he was someone who would wrestle smaller guys like me. Well guess what he said? He replied to me that he was intimidated by me because I carried all the big guys around with my rack. Lesson learned: I've always wanted to wrestle TampaChaser and I should have taken a leap of faith and interacted with him sooner. TampaChaser and Kevin_Patrick are extremely nice guys. They get along with everyone so easily and they are funny guys too.

Viper and I had a short chat on wrestlers across the world: he travels often and he recommended me places to visit. He shot down Los Angeles by saying that there are lots of wrestlers, but virtually every wrestler he was supposed to meet down ended up canceling or not showing up. On the other side of the coin, he said that London, UK was the best place to meet wrestlers. People there are apparently respectable and they will honor the wrestling meets. That city has the highest rate of wrestling meetups in his book.

My second single pro match was up against DCJobber (id 3247), a veteran of the Clash. DCJobber is billed at 250 lbs, so technically, I would need to lose this match with my puny 160 lbs. Big guys dominate smaller guys, right? Not quite. We were both tired. DCJobber wanted to lose the match and I wanted to lose as well. None of us wanted to go to Round 3. We asked Timnbama, our pro commissionner/organizer, if we could both lose our match in a double count out or double disqualification, but Timnbama told us no. He needed someone to take on Wrestlg to be able to close his brackets for the tournament. Ultimately, I volunteered to win the match. It's ironic: people usually want to win matches, but at Clash, people were yielding for others. The heat and exhaustion from mass wrestling are big factors that come into play.

Well-versed in both sub and pro, DcJobber wants his matches to look real, especially in pro. So, I suggested that we rehearse our moves beforehand. DCJobber gave me precise instructions to follow near the ending sequence of the match: throw him on the ring, give him a kick on the stomach, throw him again and give him a real punch to the stomach and on the third throw, he would hold the ropes. Once he regains control, he'd jump from the first rope then onto me in some form of a splash. He then climbs up on the second rope and brags to the crowd. This was my cue: I would need to do a low blow from behind him, grab him in a rack an proceed with an airplane spin. Normally I wouldn't do an airplane spin at 250 lbs, but he gave me his trust as he wanted me to go full power, he wanted me to spin faster and drop with a stronger impact to reinforce his wish for realism. He sold it well and actually so well that I thought I've harmed him for real. He's an absolutely terrific wrestler.

My tag team partner J was kind enough to take a video while I was in the ring. In the following racks I've extracted from the clip, I honestly look like I'm out for revenge trying to uh... strangle someone. Maybe I'm trying a bit too hard to be into character and get into that wrestling persona. I'm sure these photos alone will prevent me from meeting new opponents. My evil, scary and aggressive look will probably chase people away.

I can hear people saying: if you don't want your back broken in half, don't wrestle Loserboy. He is a serial racker.

You can also check out

Clip ID 339 for a short video sequence of the rack. I could not post the whole match because there was a couple of people in the background that do not want to be seen publicly on the web.

I however took the time recently to listen to the audio track that goes along with this video and I just noticed that Jet Fan Steve was nice enough to be my personal commentator yelling at the top of his lungs:

- "Oh! Oh no! Oh! It's his rack! He's doing it! Oh my gawd! The rack! Ahhhhh! He spins! HE SPINS!"

I should personally hire him to be a commentator for all of my matches. So much excitement!

Anyhow, with DC_Jobber submitting to the rack, I went on to reach the semi-finals of the single pro tournament to face Wrestlg (id 4402). He told me I should win the tournament with all my racks, but I told him I couldn't go on. Exhausted and sweating like crazy, he graciously took the win to get to the finals because I really really needed my beauty rest.

My match with Wrestlg was actually a refresher as we were doing both sub and pro in the ring (I suppose promission). He got me in technical holds on the mats and I was actually giving him punches to his abs for real. I've always considered him an elite in both pro and sub and that he probably likes it anyway. I've wrestle him twice before and he has always gave me that general impression. My first time was in NYC, we were just horsing around. My second match was 2 years ago, at Clash 20, in a sub match where he out-skilled me by a great margin. This time around, it's a pro match where we agreed that he should win. That technically means I've lost all my matches against Wrestlg.

Eventually, Wrestlg was pitted against Roscoe The Rassler in the finals, who incidentally defeated Fun4Us in the other semi-finals bracket. In the final bout, Roscoe defeated Wrestlg to win the Single Pro Tournament. Here's what the tournament bracket looked like from what I can remember. The empty spaces are blanks I need to fill. With that many wrestlers at the event, it's hard for me to remember who had a match against whom.

Single Pro Tournament Bracket
Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 = Quarter-Finals
S1, S2 = Semi-Finals
After an hour break or so, it was time for the Final Pro Tag Team Tournament match were J and I were matched up against the other tag team finalists: LatinJock4_U and TampaChaser (id 11434). Having spent most of my energy in my previous single pro matches, I've asked J to stand in for me for most of the match and thank goodness he had no problem doing so. J went on to punish TampaChaser and LatinJock4_U with his awesome flying moves and leet maneuvers. TampaChaser took control a bit, tagged out to LatinJock4_U and J was able to tag back to me.

I really liked our finisher: it was an awesome tag team combo. I would pick LatinJock4_U in a rack, airplane spin him and kneel down. J would climb on the 2nd rope, put his fists together and land them on LatinJock4_U's chest. The momentum would flip me backwards to drop my opponent on the mats so I can do my pin... 1... 2.... 3 and we were pronounced Tag Team Champions of the Tournament. It was awesome. I gave J a great big hug and we did the same to our opponents. I suppose I should now change my nickname to Winnerboy.

This is what I recall from the Pro Tournament brackets. You'll notice that I am also missing the names of 2 other team formations. The days went so fast that I forget who was in each team. As you can see, you only need to win 3 matches in the Tag Team Pro Tournament to make it to the end (as opposed to 4 matches in the Single Pro Tournament).

Tag Team Pro Tournament Bracket
After another short AC break back at the hotel, it was time for the Battle Royale. I've decided to skip it out again, but the Battle Royale was actually quite entertaining. You had a feeling you were watching a Survivor show where everyone decided to form alliances to decide who would get booted out and in what order they should be kicked off the island... uh I mean... wrestling ring. Staying under the radar was the key and outwitting your opponent was crucial. Roscoe and Steve were on the microphone and they had a strong influence on who gets to be kicked out as the wrestlers on the ring seemed to agree with them on their decisions. Being booted out of the Battle Royale was based on a few criteria:

- If you are a newbie, your chances of being kicked out were pretty high.
- If you previously won a Battle Royale, your chances to survive were lower. Sensational Danny actually won the Battle Royale quite a few times in the past, so he was definitely targeted quickly.
- If you are a heavy wrestler, everyone will likely team up against you. Bigger means harder to push out of the ring, so you were perceived as a threat.

At times, the wrestlers outside the ring were chanting "Boring" because the wrestlers in the Battle Royale spent too much time negotiating or discussing who should be kicked out next.

There was 4 referees for the match, one for each side of the ring. If 50% of your body was outside the ropes of the ring, then you were out. Harvey and Timnbama were on the south side, Kevin_Patrick guarded the west side, H2oWrestler monitored the north side and I was donning the ref shirt on the east side.

I think there was nine wrestlers in the ring and the booting order was: Fun4Us, LatinJock4_U, Sensational Danny, JJ_Sparks, WildWooly, BigJohn, JJ_Hart and DCJobber became the ultimate winner... When two wrestlers remain in the ring, they can make the other tap via submission. DCJobber managed to put JJ_Hart in a move where he couldn't breathe, so he had to tap out. I think I missed one or two other wrestlers in the Battle Royale, I can't remember whom they were.

Timnbama entered the ring at the last minute when DCJobber came out. They joked around, playing and bending the rules by mentioning that in a Battle Royale, you can enter the ring whenever you want, but the last man standing in the ring is the winner. Timnbama entered the ring just as DCJobber walked out. In theory, Timnbama becomes the winner of the Battle Royale. This is why later on, he received the Zucchini Award, which is usually given to those who do the silliest thing. In any case, he was given the Battle Royale Winner Award anyway.

Around 6-7 pm, a feast was given to the attendees, you had cold cuts, deviled eggs, fried chicken, fruits to help everyone recover. Fun4Us was very sweet to do the extra mile to get the chicken. Shortly after, Harley climbed onto the ring with his trusty laptop and announced the winners of the various awards for this year's Clash of the Titans.

Awards

Best Jobber: Jet Fan Steve
Best Heel: Viper (Armani)
Zucchini Award: DCJobber (id 3247)
Best Dressed Wrestler (Diana Ross Award): Wrestlg (id 4402)
Shittiest Referree: Fun4Us (id 8822)
Newcomer of the Year: Fun4Us (id 8822)
Sponsors Award: Fun4Us (id 8822)

Lightweight Sub Champion: LatinJock4_U
Middleweight Sub Champion: Viper (Armani)
Heavyweight Sub Champion: UWillTap (id 9117)
Titan Sub Champion: ChicagoPiledriver
Final Sub Champion: Three-way tie: Viper (Armani) + UWillTap (id 9117) + ChicagoPiledriver

Single Pro Champion: Roscoe The Rassler
Tag Team Pro Champion: Big Things Come (Loserboy and J)
Battle Royale Winner: DCJobber (id 3247)

Best Match: Armani + UWillTap (id 9117) (29 minutes submission wrestling match - it apparently beat the previous record of 26 minutes)
Most Improved Wrestler: Loserboy
Most Inspirational Wrestler: LatinJock4_U
Rookie of the Year: LatinJock4_U
Wrestler of the Year: LatinJock4_U

Not everyone showed up for the group pic because of privacy concerns. Missing in this image is Viper and ChicaoPiledriver. Jet Fan Steve was a good sport and joined us anyway, but I blurred him out because he usually does not want to appear online. For multiple award winners, I've decided to put only one of the awards. Otherwise, the image would be over-cluttered with captions.

Yeah, LatinJock4_U pretty much racked up the best awards. That's telling how amazing this guy really is.

That being said, my friend Fun4Us had his own share of awards: Shittiest Ref, Sponsors Award and Newcomer of the Year. Shittiest Ref may look like a lousy award, but it's actually nice to have it. Some years, this award is sometimes transformed to best ref. Harley said that it was impossible to get Fun4Us off the ring. Fun4Us was definitely very intense and energetic. He reffed almost all the matches and he wrestled intensively by reaching out to almost every wrestler at the Clash. He got along with everyone, he roughed it up or toned it down whenever it was needed; Fun4Us showed me that he has a lot more wrestling passion and adrenaline in him than I do.

As everyone started to leave after a day charged of wrestling, Fun4Us and I stayed behind with the very few that remain to enjoy a bit of casual semi-sub, give and take and some light pro wrestling. I was able to put a few holds on JJ_Hart to experiment and I also managed to put some on UWillTap (id 9117). After locking my leg scissors by cheating with my kneecaps, I realized that there was absolutely no way I can hurt him. It's as if I was trying to squeeze a piece of brick. UWillTap could only grin at my futile attempts. He went on to wrestle Fun4Us and took care of him without any effort. I don't think anyone can beat UWillTap... except perhaps maybe Viper, but then again, both had wrestled to a draw. Had they not both declared this, I would have been curious to see who would last longer and who would emerge victorious. If there is one thing I learned in this match is that a submission match can be paused if both wrestlers agree that the sweat from both wrestler needs to be removed.

I tried to get JJ_Sparks (id 2445) to come onto the ring, but the heat really didn't agree with him. I told him that we were lucky this year: the heat this year was actually less worse this year than the two other times I was at the Clash. Fortunately, JJ_Sparks did have a few matches. I saw him go against LatinJock4_U in a non-tourney match.

Timnbama finished his work managing the pro tournament, so I was able to spend a little bit of time with him. I asked him if I can get him in a standing rack again... actually, all my previous racks on him were kneeling down, but since I felt so comfortable with him, I really wanted to pick him up standing. Fun4Us kindly took a shot of us. I was worried prior to the trip I could no longer pull stunts like this, but Timnbama is such an calm and nice guy to lift that he made it very easy for me to carry him.

This cuddly bear is full of surprises. In one of his non-tournament matches, he drank from a water bottle, kept it in his mouth discreetly until the moment came: he spurted the contents on a wrestler rushing towards him, just like on TV.

He took advantage of this to regain control of his opponent. I really wish I had more time with Timnbama, but we were both spent from a full long day of wrestling. I still managed to be his boot boy by tying and un-tying his laces for his wrestling boots. It was my personal time with him...

Later in the night, I was doing my usual body scissors, ankle lock and leg scissors on TampaChaser and he got excited, asking me how to apply that ankle lock. I switched back and forth with Kevin_Patrick on whom I locked on head scissors and body scissors. I then realized we shared a very similar mind. He loved to be squeezed and asked for more. He apologized for been greedy and I told him that it was pleasure to crush him... He explained to me the experience of the near submission sequence: everything starts becoming bright, you see the lights, you are about to pass out, but you tap at the very last second to stay conscious. That's exactly how I would describe myself the joy of being in a body scissors near submission. Honestly, I could squeeze Kevin_Patrick all day... except I don't have that much stamina to keep him that long. I need extra rest between scissor sessions. I have to admit, he can take quite a beating... or a squeezing and will definitely come back for more.

Sunday June 3rd 2018

Most of the wrestlers have already left on the Sunday. Many have been exhausted, had to take an early flight or were injured in the previous days and couldn't come back on Sunday. By the way, by injury, it could simply be muscle pain. On my end, I only had a stiff right shoulder. I suppose I got lucky. No scars this time around.

Nevertheless, I had a casual match with Steve. He showed me an interesting combo: I had to throw Steve into the turnbuckle, then I bend down, he hops over me, goes to the other side of the ring, bounces back and launches a drop kick! I can't do drop kicks, but Steve is so good that he pulls them out with ease. Mind you, one of his drop kicks did land on my groin, but I pushed myself back enough to reduce the impact. Thank goodness.

Steve also told me he found my blog very amusing.. you know all the teddy bears I've been posting. I told him I use it mainly as a journal so I can remember my past matches. Fun4Us told me that I should post my stuff on MeetFighters' blog or on Facebook, but I prefer to keep this in my corner, without popping notifications in people's faces. If people want to know what's going on with me, they can casually check anytime they want. Facebook is a bit too mainstream for me and I can't control the notifications being sent if I create blog entries in MeetFighters.

We also had a tag team match with Fun4Us being on my team and Steve and DCJobber as our opponents. I was out of energy and tagged often to let the big guys have fun.

I also recall putting Fun4Us in a kneeling rack (I had no energy left to lift him) and lock him in a nice and tight full nelson with body scissors to thank him for accompanying me in this wonderful trip. Did he submit? Of course, he did. Nobody, not even the great and powerful Fun4Us can withstand the devastation of my signature move.

WildWooly, BigJohn, JJ_Sparks, Fun4Us and I all helped out Harley around 3 PM to dismount the ring, remove all the equipment and clear/clean up the venue. Fun4Us felt that JJ_Sparks should have been given the Sponsors award because he was also there on Thursday to set up the ring and do the initial setup. Dismounting the ring is a lot of work and a bit dangerous, this is why we should stay behind to help out.

According to Harley, the final count of attendees for the Clash event of this year was around 42. As with every year, about 10% of the roster ends up canceling for various reasons (more than 42 registered, but ended up not showing up). That being said, I consider this year an excellent success for the Clash.

Again, Big Joe, Harley and Timnbama are the real heroes. Setting up an event like this is no easy task. These guys do it with so much love and dedication. There seems to be no boundaries for them. These guys are showing us that their wrestling passion is above all of ours combined.

I spent the remainder of the day with Fun4Us, we chilled out and took it easy. We went and watched at the movie theater "Solo: A Star Wars story". Meh... mediocre and unmemorable movie. I was waiting for Emilia Clarke to unleash her dragons with her "Dracarys". I will always see her as the mother of dragons. Anyhow, we ate at Golden Coral and we've also put back some order to our hotel room which we had previously transformed into wrestling grounds. Fun4Us had no expectations prior to the event. He told me that this was probably one of his best trips. So many wrestlers, so many matches and so many memories. We both made new friends that we will both cherish forever. We parted ways the next day: we drove back to the airport, returned our rental car. He went on to take his domestic flight while I strapped my bag to get my shuttle for the international terminal back to Canada.

Notes

My rotation for the Clash is usually once every two years, but Fun4Us might return next year. I enjoyed it very much, but I did explain to him that for my next time, I would want to stay on the sidelines and perhaps do sub only. The awards are supposed to be for the new Clashers: it's a way to welcome them in our family or our community. I get enough ring time and the spotlights should go on to the newcomers. The Clash needs new blood. LatinJock4_U was the perfect example, and we need other great guys like him to keep this event going on and growing.

Fun4Us shared with me the history of the Clash. In its starting years, it was a closed and reserved event and it took a while before it was open to everyone. It is perhaps one of the few events today where everybody can mingle together and socialize rather than shut oneself off in hotel rooms in private matches. Of course, you will always have people who will prefer the latter. Not everyone gets along with everybody, but at Clash, everybody does a great effort to include everyone without having any hiccups or discrimination. The Clash is your chance to integrate with the wrestling community and to participate, shine and have fun in the ring with other great wrestlers that think alike, sub or pro.

By the way, I do have lots of photos taken at the Clash. It's just that a big chunk shows Fun4Us in action. You know what? Fun4Us has always told me that he'd create his own blog. Now's your chance to nag him to create this new blog and ask him to include these pictures. Mwahahahahah. I'm evil. Last we spoke, he already created a few entries using MeetFighters' blog interface, so make sure you check them out.

Now that I think of it, the reason why I don't have that many pictures is because I would ask Fun4Us to take shots of me, but most of the time, he was busy reffing or he was reffing my own match.

Another point I'd like to mention about the Clash is that the event and the tournaments allows you to match up with new people and with wrestlers you wouldn't get to wrestle one on one normally. The board of the Clash decide who goes up against whom and you don't get to decide, but their picks are usually excellent match-ups. At the venue, wrestlers will usually tone down or remove their restrictions and they will cooperate with you to make the tournament work or just to be of good sport.

I'm thinking of leaving my camera in my bag for most of the time the next time I come to the Clash. I should only bring it out when a wrestler specifically asks for it. I may have made some wrestlers uncomfortable by walking around with a camera and taking as many shots as I did (95% were shots that were not of me). Not everyone wants to have their picture taken.

Stuff I could bring next time

I brought a first aid kit just in case and it turns out it was quite a bit useful. I however had insufficient waterproof adhesive tape for bandages, so I would need to pack an extra roll or two for next time. These are useful when you have a cloth around one of your limb and want the cloth to stay in place. There was requests from many people for Advil, so a bottle of that would have helped along with perhaps a bottle of Aleve for muscle pain relievers or maybe a few Salonpas or IcyHot patches. Just writing it as a reminder for me to pack these along for next time. Better safe than sorry. While I'm at it, I think a tube of Polysporin can also be useful.

Thankfully for me, I didn't get any injuries this year. I had muscle pain on my right shoulder, but that was my fault: it was caused by bad positioning for one of the racks that I delivered. I may have lost a bit of balance while I was holding my opponent and I may have jerked the rack too abruptly: it caused weight to shift harder on the right shoulder. That being said, the rack is definitely a dangerous move... don't try this at home.

I also had a little bruise on my right elbow due to rug burn on the base mats of the wrestling ring. I thought the fabric would allow friction without pain, but it's just not designed to let you slide or being pulled while you're down on the mats. To mitigate this, JJ_Hart suggested that I get elbow pads to go along with my knee pads next year.

Finally, I think I've hit something outside of the ring while I was walking in the warehouse. It must have being a scratch or a cut from a prop or something, so I had to apply a little band-aid on the middle part of my left leg. That would have prevented me from getting that rug burn and scratching it for a few days. Other than that, I was still in great condition after the event, minus the fatigue from over-exerting myself lifting bigger guys and wrestling quite a bit more than my average habit.

The solution is to probably slow down on trying to show off racking guys that are twice my size.... but I can't stop it! I love racking guys! It also makes unusually great pictures. How often do you see smaller guys racking big guys?

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