In 1983, an unusual feud erupted between two cowboy wrestlers: “Outlaw” Ron Bass and rookie Barry Windham. Apparently, Bass had taken ownership of a saddle that belonged in the Windham family and young Barry wanted it back because it was a family heirloom.
Bass agreed to wager the saddle against Barry’s Florida Heavyweight Championship belt — the winner would keep both the saddle and the belt. The naive young cowboy fell for the sneaky Outlaw’s dirty trick and agreed to settle it in the ring like Real Men. The two cowboys faced off on November 16, 1983.
Windham appears almost boyish, or perhaps girlish, in comparison to beefy, hairy Ron Bass. With his long blond hair, lean delicate frame, and soft flesh, it seems Barry will be torn apart by the aggressive villain.
He completes his look by wearing tight trunks in a baby blue color, and a kerchief around his neck. His tall boots remind us that young Barry wants to be a cowboy, like so many dreaming boys who play dress-up.
As usual in matches where the young pretty-boy tries to prove his manhood against a beefy Real Man, the youngster gains the advantage early in the match. But we all know the veteran will soon hit his stride and make the rookie pay for his early confidence with a pound of flesh.
The banner over the ring reminds us that we’re watching “Wrestling” and offers a constant visual stimulus, a subliminal message, to people who associate the word “Wrestling” with excitement.
Soon we see that young Barry is not as experienced, brutal, or aggressive as the “Outlaw,” who gains the upper hand over the handsome youngster. Barry offers the fans some beautiful and pathetic suffering for which he became famous: his eyes dazed, his body limp, his strength ebbing, his long legs sprawled wide apart. Our hearts go out to the suffering blond cowboy, who is just trying to win back the saddle that rightfully belongs to his family.
Ron Bass then destroys Barry’s manhood with the ball-busting Atomic Drop, leaving the youngster on his knees rubbing his rear end. Was this meant to imply an anal penetration by the salacious “Outlaw”?
It’s worth noting that, during the 1970’s, the cowboy icon — the very model of American masculinity and heterosexuality — had been adopted by the gay community as a homosexual archetype. Gay men could assert their masculinity by imitating the very prototype of manliness in America — the cowboy. The image of a shirtless wrangler in jeans, hats, and boots had become shorthand for “homosexual.”
Windham and Bass, fighting shirtless over ownership of a belt and saddle (two iconic possessions of the cowboy) played off both the original stereotype of the cowboy as Real Man, and the new definition of cowboy as a butch lover of other men.
The hairy-chested Outlaw applies the dreaded “Abdominal Stretch”, wrapping his thick, booted legs around young Barry’s leg to entrap him. He pushes the limits of decency by grabbing Barry’s skin-tight blue trunks, yanking them up into his crack and nad-sack. This pro wrestling match is looking more and more like a rape scene, more and more like gay pornography.
What will this dirty “Outlaw” do next to humiliate and sexually abuse his handsome young victim? Tune in next week for more exciting action, wrestling fans!
You can watch the legendary Saddle Match on YouTube:
To be continued…