Over the past six months, AR and I have been discussing the amazing power of homoerotic wrestling to transport fans into their shared wrestling fantasies. Of course, the eroticism is sometimes rooted in the voyeuristic aspect. The watching is, itself, a turn on. But having been a passionate consumer of homoerotic wrestling products for many, many years, it’s also true that the really good wrestling matches I watch ignite my imagination, and draw me into the fantasy as a participant. It happens subtly sometimes, like when I notice myself answering a wrestler who’s putting the hurt on an opponent and asking him, “How does that feel?” (Usually, the answer is “Fucking great, asshole, show me more!”). But sometimes it runs deeper, like when I watch a hunk locked up tight in a completely dominating, humiliating hold, and I see myself milking the hold. I think about what I do next to the unlucky jobber. I’m turned on, not just because of what I’m watching, but because I’m in the action, transposed onto one or the other combatants, and feeling it deep down inside, from the inside out.

Somewhere in the midst of discussing this phenomenon with AR, I decided to explore that fantasy BG East universe more. With AR’s unbelievably sexy artistry backing me up, I began charting a fantasy version of BGE, with a suspiciously familiar character of a homoerotic wrestling blogger who takes the leap from behind the keyboard to showing up and putting his own body and homoerotic wrestling soul on the line in the hard, hot, brutal world world of BGE competition.

It’s been a fascinating journey, figuring out how I might show up. What sort of wrestling persona would I have? Would I be a jobber or heel or babyface hero? How would opponents read me and react to me? We debated what opponents I might face, in what context, and resulting in what outcomes. The BGE-fantasyverse is built out sufficiently at this point that I feel some confidence in sharing it with others. Nervous, mind you. I realize I talk a big game when I’m picking apart homoerotic wrestling matches as a reviewer. This experience has heightened my empathy for the super hunky wrestlers who have to endure backseat drivers like me combing through every moment of their matches and spouting off about what I like and don’t.

“Catalog 1” of my Fantasy BG East Wrestling universe is now posted on Sidelineland Stories. I’m not entirely sure how the back office boys at BG East may react, but I hope it’s received by them, and by the existing wrestlers who’ve been transported into the fantasyverse, as deeply respectful and adoring of the amazing products that they publish. We’ve got some full match stories coming down the pike in Catalog 2, but for now, you can enjoy the teasers of a blogger’s rookie matches in the form of promotional match descriptions, not so dissimilar to the ones I IRL write for BG East on a regular basis.

I want to thank those who’s creativity, artistry, and inspiring wrestling have gone into this experimental little venture, including the wrestlers and crew of BG East and, especially, AR!