Power Struggle

Uhaa Nation is one of those big, thick beefcakey wrestlers that makes your jaw drop when he walks in all shirtless and masculine, built massive and barely contained in his tight little trunks.  Black dudes with a shaved head and goatee always emit that manly Bad-Ass vibe, as if he sweats out more testosterone than you have in your entire body.  He’s got that spectacular, weighty presence.

At the recent Dragon Gate USA Fourth Anniversary show, Uhaa wrestled handsome muscle-stud, Anthony Neese.  This is one of those matches where a buff but human muscle-man (Neese) meets his match in an even larger, super-human brute — Uhaa Nation.  This is what I refer to as the Strong Man vs. Stronger Man gimmick.

Even though his body is buff and muscular, there is something fragile about Anthony Neese.  Maybe it’s his well-groomed little beard. He always seems to be out-matched and bested.  He eats other wrestlers’ offense for three meals per day.  If he’d been born 30 years earlier, he would’ve been a Young Stallion.

For reasons I have never been able to define, there is something satisfying and exciting when the Big Swinging Dick meets his match — when Superman suffers a kryptonite enema.  When Neese squares off against Uhaa Nation, I can not WAIT for Uhaa to crush him, break him over a knee, Bearhug him until he groans and passes out.

When it comes to a stud like Neese, I crave seeing him tested and bested.  Does that make me a cruel and sadistic person?

As usual in a Power Struggle match, much of the emphasis is on strength moves.  Uhaa (1). scoops Neese up by the crotch for a rough-neck Body Slam;  (2). embraces his boy-toy from behind to German Suplex him on the back of his neck; and (3). swings his victim side to side like a pendulum, bouncing his skull off the metal fence at ringside. Neese’s masculinity is tested repeatedly.

I sure love watching a brute force type of wrestler like Uhaa Nation just beasting some handsome pretty-boy, making his victim appear helpless and weak.  It’s just so satisfying, like chewing on a thick, juicy porterhouse steak with plenty of fat and juices running down your chin.

One of my many fantasies as a young wrestling fan was to picture some big monstrosity pressing the innocent wrestler over-head, slowly walking toward the ropes like a threat, and then tossing the poor rag-doll over the ropes to crash down out in the crowd.  It just seemed so heartless and dangerous, the sort of thing fantasies are often made of.

F YEAH!  Uhaa Nation fulfills my wet-dreams by pressing Neese and sending him sailing over the top rope down onto the spectators!  How the hell do modern-day wrestlers enact high-risk moves like this without breaking each other in half??

I am really digging this Uhaa — pronounced “eww AHH.”   Big brutes like him are usually restricted to strength moves only, but Uhaa has a high-flying offense as well, flipping off high places, leaping over the ropes, etc.

Yes he’s built like a tank — but with glider wings and a helicopter rotor.  He is both strong and graceful, and is there anything in the world more fun to watch than that?   And let’s not sell Anthony Neese short either, his submissive groveling, the ineffectiveness of his muscular body, is a religious experience for this wrestling fan

Eventually Neese remembers that he has a set of balls and fights back with some High-Flying destruction of his own.  He first stuns Uhaa with jaw shattering kicks and knees to the face, followed by a lung-busting Flip/Splash off the ropes. His few minutes of offense are intense enough to give cocky Anthony Neese the victory.

The best thing about this match is that both men are celebrated for their incredible power — both are able to get over with the fans.  Neese absorbed a ton of abuse by Uhaa, which raises his cred in the eyes of the fans, and in the end, he reigned supreme.

Uhaa Nation was able to demonstrate some of his sick, innovative moves — very impressive for a Big Powerhouse.  Uhaa dominated the majority of the match, so he sure doesn’t seem like a pathetic weakling, even if he did not win in the end.