Author: wrestlebard

I'm a gay man with an active imagination.

What Goes Around

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Can-Am’s Pro Sex Fight 4 
Reigning homoerotic wrestler of the month, Rusty Stevens, is no stranger to the pages of this blog. He’s the third most cited wrestler here at neverland, and now that he’s back in the business, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him growl, flex, and dominate his way past my second most frequently cited wrestler, Brad Rochelle. Then again, with the news that Brad isn’t done with his contributions to homoerotic wrestling, it could be a dog fight. Let’s just sit with that image for a moment… Brad, Rusty, in the ring, brutalizing one another for their places in the pantheon of homoerotic wrestling iconography. Holy hell, now that would be a fantasy match that would make my head explode…
Can-Am’s Pro Sex Fight 4
Rusty is nothing if not provocative. At least, he never fails to provoke me. Perhaps the move the provoked me most was Rusty’s announcement that he was retiring from porn. I was instantly somewhere around both the 1st and 3rd stages of grief, desperately denying that Rusty’s retirement could include his work in homoerotic wrestling, and bargaining, pleading for his wrestling prowess to be exempted from his move away from the industry. Rusty went silent for nearly a year. I documented the existential crisis that this provoked within me, as I had to decide what to do when my very long-running favorite homoerotic wrestling pornboy walks away with the title still belted around his waist. I felt toyed with, betrayed, angry, sad. So it should come as no wonder that I was profoundly moved yet again when Rusty showed up this summer in Can-Am’s Pro Sex Fight Series. He isn’t in quite the muscle-brute shape he once was, but he has precisely that same snarling, slicing, crushing mouth on him that has made one adonis after another wither. Regular readers here should have experienced no surprise at all to see Rusty crowned homoerotic wrestler of the month a few weeks ago.

Can-Am’s Wrestle Bait

What Rusty does best, and what really provokes me most, hasn’t changed at all over the course of his homoerotic wrestling career. He delivers a cocky, contemptuous, ferocious character with smarts to match his beautiful body. I believe the first sight I had of Rusty was his Can-Am appearance against gorgeous tattooed porn god, David Taylor in Wrestle Bait. Rusty was lean and mean, and though the “prisoners forced to wrestle and fuck at gunpoint” gimmick was a little distracting for me, I already detected that Rusty was a hunk who hated to be dominated nearly as much as he loved dishing out humiliation. If David ever showed up on Naked Kombat (which seems entirely possible) to face Rusty, I’d put a whole lot of money on Rusty crushing David like a grape. In Wrestle Bait, the action was more scripted, and both boys took their turns on top.

Naked Kombat – Rusty Stevens v Tommy Defendi

I think the next notice I took of Rusty was discovering his back-catalog for Naked Kombat. Holy fuck! Rusty was made for Naked Kombat, and vice versa. In fact, every Naked Kombat match I watch now I automatically compare with Rusty’s performances. Arguably the most stunning physical and sexual domination I’ve seen from Rusty was his oil match against doe-eyed Tommy Defendi. This match is not close by any stretch of the imagination (7-58). However, unlike many squashes, Rusty has no problem maintaining intensity, pushing the pace, innovating and ad libbing, and making every single second pure joy for any homoerotic wrestling fan. I still think that his leg scissors choke on Tommy after everything else is said and done, barking at the loser, making Tommy stroke himself almost to climax and then denying the loser the right to cum, over and over, until Tommy is nearly ready to explode from the sound of Rusty’s voice alone… that’s got to be one of the most pristine, purest, unadulterated moments of thrilling wrestling kink I’ve ever seen.

Can-Am’s Arena Part 1

Rusty’s meteoric rise in the rankings of my favorite homoerotic wrestling pornboys, however, really dates to his return to Can-Am, sporting his Naked Kombat physical conditioning, in the Arena series. Again there’s this incredible moment that frequently replays in my mind of Rusty having obliterated Brian Bodine in Arena Part 1, leaving the gorgeous hunk ass-up and unconscious in the middle of the mat. Aryx Quinn strolls in and insults Rusty’s handiwork, questioning his manhood, laying down a challenge of wit and skill. What the fuck was Aryx Quinn thinking? With his huge, beautiful cock erect and bobbing up and down as he strolled around Bodine’s unconscious body, Rusty unleashes a trash-talking assault on Aryx that twines together humor, domination, and humiliation in a way that I’ve never seen the likes of since. Aryx tries to keep up, tries to parry and counter. He’s no match, no how, for Rusty’s smart-ass mouth. The two never lay a hand on each other (until Arena 2), and yet that exchange ranks awfully high on my list of most erotic moments in wrestling.

Can-Am’s Arena Part 2
When Rusty and Aryx finally consummate this marriage of trashtalking and wrestling, yet again I give the verbal domination win, unquestionably, to Rusty. Aryx seems to think that’s keeping up, but he’s just not. Honestly, I get the impression that Aryx may be smarter than the average porn star, but trying to trade barbs with Rusty makes him look like a slobbering fool. The wrestling in Arena 2 is highly enjoyable. As is Can-Am’s way, both boys trade riding time. Rusty looks utterly defeated and humiliated with Aryx fucking him hard. But emblematic of Rusty’s homoerotic wrestling skill set in total, Rusty sneaks up from behind and snatches a crushing victory over Aryx from the jaws of defeat, with Rusty’s furious verbal assault always twice as erotically stimulating as his very hot sexual domination. My #1 criticism of the Arena series is the indulgent need for the whole scenario to be framed as a “Can-Am conquers BG East” backstory. It’s as if Can-Am was taking the opportunity of hiring the likes of Aryx (and Rio and Jobe and Cameron and…), all around that same time, to co-opt BG East fans. For me, that’s never going to fly. The two companies offer entirely different twists to my homoerotic wrestling kink, and every BG East boy that Can-Am touches seems to me to deliver a decidedly Can-Am performance for the west coasters. That’s fine, as far as I’m concerned. But I’ve never found anyone else turning my wrestling kink crank in the manner that BG East does, regardless of the performers involved.

BG East’s The Breaking Point: Sexiest

Ironically, after I went on my original rant calling foul on Can-Am’s attempt to co-opt BG East fans along with BG East wrestlers, BG East turned around and delivered my fondest fantasy. Never would I have imagined it as even a possibility, but just at the moment when Rusty was my #1 favorite homoerotic wrestling pornboy and Mitch Colby (the prior #1) was running a close #2, BG East released the two of them in a sweat-soaked mat match in Florida. I hardly need to point out that Mitch (who is by far the most cited wrestler in the pages of this blog), will perpetually own favorite-emeritus status, and I was ready to witness Mitch deliver a wrestling performance that would decisively snatch the title away from Rusty. And it’s damn, damn close! The gallons of sweat make that match hard for me to watch more than about 2 minutes of at a time. Rusty is in the most attractive physical conditioning of his career (for my tastes… I know that others will disagree on that point). But it’s that mouth of his, as always, that made me confirm that Rusty remained at the top of the heap. Mitch took the match victory by jacking off Rusty in the end, but it was Rusty’s mouth that owned my homoerotic wrestling lust. “I’m thinking you may want to say you give… but then again my ass in your face.”

The Once and Future King?

So Rusty’s back. He sounds like he’s been smoking a lot, as he coughs and sputters in his suffering in the Pro Sex Fights (5 features Rusty against Michael Vineland, already available in Can-Am Max). He’s not as hard or big as he’s been in the past. And the stories seem to be built around the concept that the “returning veteran” needs to get schooled by the young new breed of homoerotic wrestling pornboys at Can-Am. He tops and bottoms (as is Can-Am’s way), and he strokes and gets stroked in the midst of entertaining pro-ring wrestling (which is a formula that I wholeheartedly endorse). But there’s no mistaking it. This is Rusty: beautiful, nasty, cocky, selling every second, and trash talking in a league all his own. Keep it coming, Rusty! Mitch may be ripe to get knocked out of the contender spot for my current favorite homoerotic wrestling pornboy!

Colliding Assets

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Rock Hard Wrestling’s newest release features a battle between two of my former homoerotic wrestlers of the month: Jake Jenkins and Lucas Payne. Both Jake and Lucas wrestled their way to the top of the ranks in their respective months by turning me on with their gorgeous bodies, snarling cockiness, and highly skilled salesmanship in the ring. Bodybuilder Lucas got my nod back in the beginning of May thanks in large part to his ability to paint such a vivid character with his knack for mocking his suffering opponent and growling like a grizzly. Muscle stud Jake hip-tossed the competition out of the way two months later with his seriously entertaining and hot wrestling savvy that was totally unexpected for such a green rookie.

With two such great tastes climbing into the ring together, this was bound to make me happy. I’m thrilled to report that I’m deeply satisfied with the result! Both Lucas and Jake bring the best of what they do to this match. They’re both jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Lucas growls and humiliates like a nasty bully with a serious delight for domination. Jake tosses, pounds, flies, and works that hot muscle ass of his off from start to finish. It’s a relatively quick bout, but it has a whole lot of the elements that get me off, including that famously astounding camera work that RHW does better than just about anyone, taking you so close to the action that you can just about smell the sweat beading up in the deep crevice between Jake’s pecs as he applies grunting, crushing body scissors on a desperately thrashing Lucas.

The premise for the match plays right into what these boys do best, even if it may be a tad predictable. Jake is “Mr. Skills,” calling out Lucas, who is lifting his “baby weights” at ringside, as being nothing but a bodybuilder pretending to be a wrestler. Skill versus power, big versus little, cocky muscle hunk versus cocky muscle hunk, with bragging rights that much more important for these two young, built, and testosterone-fueled bucks. Side by side you might think that it’d be a stretch to sell Jake as ready to stand toe-to-toe with such a big, beautiful bodybuilder. Jake is giving up a reported 3 inches in height (looks like more), and 15 pounds in weight (again, looks like more). But Jake is fucking fast and furious, and I wouldn’t doubt for a second that any encounter between these two boys would be seriously competitive. When “little” Jake snaps on a full nelson and locks his knees around Lucas’ incredibly narrow waist, clamped across Lucas’ back like a tick, the big bodybuilder’s voice sounds sincerely pissed and frustrated as he does his futile best to dislodge his opponent. “Get off me!”

I’ve lobbed armchair criticisms at RHW in the past for any number of weaknesses, but this match seems like solid wrestling entertainment to me. The holds continue to be too brief, each advantage milked simply too little to fully believe that these guys have quite a passionate lust for domination. But the range of the action is hot as hell. Lucas’ repeatedly digs his claw into Jake’s luscious pec, even while the bodybuilder is crushing the air out of Jake’s lungs with his pride and joy “thunder thighs” squeezing out his fantastically enviable bodyscissors (I’d trade places with Jake in a heartbeat if Lucas promised not to let go of those scissors until I screamed). Jake’s ability to toss, slam, and have his way with his bodybuilder opponent makes me gasp in awe and count up the abundance of evidence that Jake’s had a wrestling resume long before we first saw him at RHW. The sight of Lucas pulling Jake off his feet in a string of bearhugs (including a beautifully suggestive rear bearhug that REQUIRED me pushing pause, rewind, play, pause, rewind, and play) is profoundly arousing. I found it dizzyingly hot to watch the big hunk with those massively thick arms squeeze the pint-sized dynamo and thrash him back and forth, as Jake’s arms and legs fly about like a rag doll in my terrier’s mouth.

Like I said, I’m loving the range of action that these boys deliver in this match. There aren’t many examples of holds chained together like the veterans do so pleasingly, but both wrestlers mix it up with blows, strength moves, throws, slams, and joint work. Jake uses three out of four corners to launch his increasingly deep arial arsenal. Lucas bounds off the ropes on all four sides of the ring in all-in sprints, and I was powerfully entertained to see the bodybuilder choking his smaller opponent in the middle rope in round 2. They cover the geography of the ring well. They spend good time on their feet, in the ropes, in the corners, in the air (particularly Jake), and on the mat. They demonstrate both speed and power, and between nicely sold strikes and some crafty camera work, I found very little to break my suspension of disbelief that these two rock hard hunks were punishing the hell out of each other.

It’s a rare thing to see two of my favorites go toe-to-toe, and it simply demands comparison not only in the sense of competitive combat (as in which wrestling hunk is going to come out on top), but also in the sense of competing for my loyalties as the cream of the crop. Which homoerotic wrestler of the month alum comes out on top in commanding my lust, when the two display their assets one-on-one for 16 minutes of high quality wrestling entertainment? Neither of these beautiful boys are losers, by any means, and I hope that we see more of both of them, building on their ring presence and wrestling skills and continuing to thrill with the cocky characters that they’ve both impressively established.

But as mouthwatering as it is to watch Lucas work up a sweat, it’s Jake that sells me hardest and most pleasingly. Lucas pulls his weight, no doubt, particularly with selling the delightful sight of a cocky bodybuilder suffering. But Jake’s delivery of the “little man” who’s in control, out-moving, out-maneuvering, and yes, even out-powering his bigger opponent is just the tastiest treat on the menu. Jake simply works harder and sells every second one step more convincingly and entertainingly. He holds the initiative for about 2/3rds of the match, and although that demands a whole lot of exquisite suffering from Lucas, it impresses me and arouses me even more to see Jake maintain the energy and momentum with a steady stream of beautifully paced, skillfully delivered, commandingly executed wrestling entertainment.

Keep up the excellent work, boys!

1 Rocking Hunk

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I strongly suspect that a certain co-author of mine may be clicking his heels with joy that Noah Mills is co-starring in a new CBS series called 2 Broke Girls. It was Metellus who “recruited” Noah to play a starring role in our joint project in the Producer’s Ring, a fictional homoerotic wrestling universe. In our joint imagination (Metellus’ and mine), Noah is an elite executive in the high stakes post-modern universe where the entertainment industrial complex runs the world. In the short story “Global Cooperation,” Noah gets into a bar fight with shirtless, tattooed hunk Mateus Verdelho. When Noah takes some arguably unnecessary liberties in humiliating Mateus, fitness muscle god Tyler McPeak leaps into the action to teach Noah a little humility and lend a hand to a drunken Mateus. Just as the bar boys start to bring Noah to heel, a ferocious David Gandy steps in to even the playing field and come to Noah’s aid. 

In our homoerotic wrestling imaginations, David’s rise to Noah’s defense is clearly motivated in large part due to some lustful admiration that he has for the double-teamed hunk. And checking out the caps of Noah’s shirtlessness from his new TV show, it’s no wonder! Metellus has got an eye for talent, as far as I’m concerned. Noah’s physique is incredible! He’s definitely harder and more heavily muscled than any twink, but Noah is no musclehead, either. His physical balance and beauty is perfectly complimented by a stunningly handsome face that, once again, defies simple pigeonholing. Gorgeous and masculine with a boyishly charming grin, Noah’s mug stands out in a crowd of chisel-chinned, blue-steel boys (such as David Gandy, I’d say).

The caps from Noah’s sitcom debut show him barely squeezed into remarkably low-rise pants, his similarly super-low rise underwear peaking out. The rippled six-pack and armored obliques pointing like an arrow toward his belt buckle are riveting. The super-duper low-rise wardrobing most certainly required some meticulous bodyscaping to be safe for American prime-time. Good God, this is certainly major temptation to inspire me to return to prime-time CBS viewership after a long, long hiatus. Very, very tempting (but I’m not sure quite tempting enough, however).

At the end of “Global Cooperation,” David scrapes Noah, stripped naked, off the pavement and carries him lovingly from the scene to nurse him back to a full recovery. Metellus and I have already batted around some story ideas for a part 2 to Global Cooperation, but the wrestling partner/lovers concept (of which I am many times over on the record as hugely turned on by) seems like it will inevitably play a part. As hot as the  near-porn shots of Noah are from his real-life television appearance, I’d bet money that 2 Broke Girls isn’t nearly as sexy as what we’ve got in store for Noah in the Producer’s Ring.

Mindfulness

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Miss me? I’ve been gone yet again for an extended time of travel. This time, while it kept me apart from internet connectivity for a while, I did enjoy some very relaxing time to write. As a result, I’ve made headway on a couple of different Sidelineland fictional homoerotic wrestling stories.

Model Anthony Gallo –
Inspiring a new character in Sidelineland’s “Brothers in Arms”

While away and delighting in scoping out Scandinavian hunks worshipping some unexpected mid-September warmth and sunshine, my thoughts oddly returned often to this blog. Not being able to post forced me into a more mindful, meditative place. From time to time, that’s probably a really good thing. As a result, I’ve thought of a few things that I’d like to do around here to shake things up ever so slightly.

Sweden’s Calle Ericksson is just the
tip of the Scandinavian iceberg!

My first innovation is adding my current playlist to the widget bar at the side of the page. By “playlist,” I’m referring to what were the most recent homoerotic wrestling matches that topped me off. I hope that it continues to provoke more sharing about what readers are watching and enjoying and being inspired by. I’m also just interested in taking note of where my tastes take me through my library of homoerotic wrestling – are there patterns, types of wrestling, wrestlers, holds or scenarios that show up over time? Does my assessment of my tastes and preferences line up with my actual behavior? Just curious, and I’m sharing just to feed the random curiosity of those of you who might be interested.

The homoerotic wrestling that satisfied me most recently:
Kid Karisma’s figure-4 choke on barefoot Jake Jenkins in
BG East’s Hunkbash 12: No Mercy

I’ve got a few more ideas for what I’d like to do or do differently around neverland. I’ll announce them as I put them into place in the coming weeks. In the mean time, thanks for your patience, concern, enthusiasm, encouragement, and shared passion for homoerotic wrestling!

Hot or Not?!

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Wicked Gay Blog posted last week a new topic in their “Hot or Not?” series: wrestling.

There are four votes so far in the comments of the post. Three votes for “yes,” and one voter argues that the sweat and aggression and public nature of competitive wrestling are decidedly not hot. I figure that there are a lot of neverland readers who would have very decisive votes to cast.

I’ve often thought about the relationship between being gay and being fanatical about the eroticism of wrestling. For many of us in this little corner of the internet, it would be a bizarrely obvious question, whether wrestling is hot or not. I’ve heard from many of you who think of your sexual orientation primarily defined by wrestling more than being gay, in fact. So where do wrestling fetishists stand in relation to other gay guys who could even conceive of asking a question like “is wrestling hot or not?”

Boy Culture, which is not all about wrestling by any means, responds to the Wicked Gay question with an answer that many of us can get behind: “Are any wrestlers – real wrestlers – unsexy? I haven’t seen any yet.” The fact that there are obviously plenty of gay men who aren’t primarily oriented toward wrestling eroticism but who do, nevertheless, enthusiastically get turned on by wrestling, makes me suspect that we’re more mainstreamed than even we realize. You and I, who find homoerotic wrestling as a/the primary turn-on, may simply represent one end of the spectrum. While there are clearly those for whom it is a legitimate debate as to whether wrestling is hot, there are also clearly a whole lot of gay guys who recognize that wrestling is sexy as hell, even if they don’t turn to wrestling as their primary source of arousal to the extent that many of us do.

Patrick Donovan and Tyrell Tomsen illustrate beyond a shadow
of a doubt just how hot wrestling can be in
BG East’s upcoming Wrestler Spotlight: Patrick Donovan

And then there are the typical readers of this blog, whose erotic fantasies revolve around wrestling almost entirely. I think what may be called for is less debate regarding what is or isn’t hot, in some definitive way that seems to presuppose that there is a singular answer to the question. The question itself appears to me to be a form of social control, contriving and reifying the bounds of normative gay sexuality and tastes. Perhaps a better approach is to ask, what turns you on about wrestling? Sure, there will still be the voices who answer, “nothing,” but I think we can become much more sex-positive, gay-positive, body-positive people if we spend more time appreciating the infinitely complex distribution of erotic tastes and turn-ons, rather than try to carve the world into two pieces: the yes votes and the no votes. It may be entirely true that you and I reside in one of the tails of the so-called normal curve when it comes to our affinity for the eroticism of wrestling. We may be relatively rare in the degree or enthusiasm of our erotic focus on wrestling. But then again, there’s nothing impressive about being average. There’s nothing morally superior about hovering around the mean.

New topic. Being in the majority: Hot or Not?

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Do not let it be said that I don’t follow through on my promises. Okay, well, so I’m sure there are promises that, it could be said that I’ve not followed through on. But I’m happy to point to this latest evidence that I do have the capacity to follow through. It was the middle of December when I posted the Werewolf Rumble in the Producer’s Ring, detailing the fictional three-way homoerotic wrestling match between werewolf heart throbs Joe Manganiello, Russell Tovey, and Taylor Lautner. Almost instantly there were calls from several regular readers registering their desire (to put it diplomatically) for Taylor to appear in a 1-on-1 match. Oh, and yeah, they were also pretty unanimous that Taylor’ hot, tight ass ought to be on the line.
So it took me quite a while, but I’ve just posted what I’ve referred to in the Producer’s Ring group as Taylor’s first big boy match. I’ve mentioned to the chorus pulling for another Taylor match that, curiously I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of his. I can clearly see the appeal, of course. He bulked up to a freakish level while still jailbait. A washboard 8-pack, defined pecs, broad shoulders and veiny biceps are typically a formula for capturing my homoerotic wrestling imagination. All that said, there’s just something that doesn’t entirely inspire me. So the concept of me writing a homoerotic wrestling match for him was destined for two things: 1) it was going to take me a long time to complete as my attention wandered over the intervening months, and 2) Taylor’s sweet ass was most certainly going to be in serious jeopardy. A major stumbling block to getting off the dime on this text was deciding what opponent could carry my lustful attention and pose the precise challenge that Mr. Lautner needed to face.
After considering several potential opponents, even having a false start with one of them, I settled upon a return to the Producer’s Ring Focus Group for a man who has never failed to inspire my homoerotic wrestling imagination: Hugh Jackman. The muscle mass he put on for the last X-Men movie was absolutely jaw dropping. He also provides nice contrasts to Taylor when it comes to several angles that I have a particular fondness for… youth versus maturity, smooth versus hairy, small versus big, rookie versus veteran…
As always, my homoerotic wrestling fiction is available to those who sign onto the Producer’s Ring group. There are no fees or costs associated with signing on – just your attestation that you enjoy homoerotic wrestling (and by implication, aren’t a spammer/hater). I don’t want to spoil anything for those who want to sit down with an admittedly long short story detailing how Taylor’s determination to take the entertainment industrial complex by storm ends up putting him pec-to-pec with the likes of big, bad, beautiful Hugh. As with all of the Focus Group matches in the Producer’s Ring, it should come as no surprise that this one features nude wrestling pretty much from start to finish. The stakes are higher in this match than most, however, so those who were pleading to read a fuck-or-get-fucked match starring barely legal Taylor, I’m hoping your lustful desires will be satisfied.

I’ve got an angle that I’m eager to write for the superhero series in the Sidelineland group next, along with the part 2 of the latest chapter in the Wrestle Club series, not to mention another story that’s already sketched out between me and Metellus for the Producer’s Ring Secretarial Pool. No promises on when they’ll get written. But I’m feeling confident in saying that they will get written. Thanks for you patience, inspiration, and feedback, everyone!

Rugged Action – The Homoerotic Wrestling Imagination

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During my visit to BG East this summer, I had an opportunity to get a sneak peak at stills from their upcoming releases. Turns out, one of the new releases will be the next story from the Rugged Action wrestling comic series. Since I’m a fan, this caught my eye. The Boss generously put me in touch with Rugged Action artist Dan, who in turn graciously granted me an interview.

Bard: Thanks so much for being open to answering some questions! I love your Rugged Action series, and I’m fascinated to hear about what inspires you.  So which came first for you: drawing or your interest in wrestling?


Dan: Drawing. It’s the old cliche, I was drawing before I could read or write.  I used to make up stories in picture book form.  My dad thought I was a genius, my mom thought I was nuts.  I basically taught myself, although once I discovered comic books, I tried to copy them.  First it was the Harvey books (Casper, Hot Stuff) but later it was Archie.  I was a huge Archie fanatic.  I wanted to work for them when I grew up so I practiced that style for hours.  Wrote them a letter in my teens, with some samples of my work.  They sent me a polite rejection letter advising me to get an education first, so I went to University to study art, for a while.  It was there that I came out, and soon dropped out.  I discovered Tom of Finland in this period, and I admired the way he drew leather pants and boots, so he was a huge influence on me as well.  Other artists I admired were Jack Cole (Plastic Man), H. G. Peter (Wonder Woman), Will Eisner (Spirit) and more recently Michael Allred (Madman) & Jaime Hernandez (Love & Rockets).

My interest in wrestling came around the same time I discovered Archie, during puberty.  I’m convinced that what makes my strip so likeable to some is that they probably also developed their sexuality while watching pro wrestling on TV and reading Archie comics.  I was around ten when I had my first wrestling experience with a neighbor boy a year older than me.  We were friends and one day he confided in me that he liked to get into fights.  Oh, I said…he went on to say that he REALLY liked to fight.  Hmmmm.  One day he turns to me and says, “Let’s pretend we’re drunk!,” and he got me into a headlock.  I countered, and the wrestling match was on.  I’d been a very shy and somewhat effeminate boy, and there was a thrill to be doing something so “manly.”  We both had huge hard-ons, and we wrestled for what seemed like hours.  I could feel the heat from his crotch, and we must have cum, because later I discovered my underpants caked in something.  I didn’t know I was having sex.  I was so innocent.  I just thought the hard penis meant I was tough! [Laughing].  We wrestled for about 3 years everyday, and the matches would get sooo intense.  We would push it further every time, rougher and rougher.  Soon I found another boy to “fight.”  And those matches were even wilder.  By the time, I reached junior high, however, it was over.  My friends must have been clued in as to what we were “really” doing and told everybody in school.  After that I suffered the usual homophobia.  But nobody ever bashed me though. They thought it would turn me on. [Laughing]
Bard: I had the same experience of having a wrestling buddy as a kid, and it was intensely arousing for me. One day he announced that he didn’t want to wrestle anymore, and I could tell the he knew that it meant something more for me than it did for him. So, tell me about when you started working on the Rugged Action series.
Buff – Rugged Action headliner

Dan: I started working on Rugged Action in ’97.  Wrestling had not been a part of my gay life when I came out, and the only reference to it I found was a brief entry in “The Joy of Gay Sex”.  I didn’t meet anyone in the scene, so I had sex and relationships without it.  Still I was never quite satisfied.  Something was missing.  The 90’s were a great time of discovery.  Interest in Bettie Page and fetish grew in the mainstream media.  I discovered a reprint of Bob Mizer’s “Physique Pictorial” full of Tom of Finland stuff, but also to my surprise and delight, wrestling!  I hadn’t done any artwork since leaving school, and I was on disability for chronic pain when someone suggested I take it up again.  A friend said, “Do something twisted!”  So I thought, how about a gay wrestling fetish Archie comic drawn by Tom of Finland with a punk rock look and attitude!?  And so Biff and Buff were born.

Bard: What a fantastic formula for inspiration! Who’s your favorite character that you draw, and why?
Dan: My favorite character is probably Buff.  He’s the guy I wished I’d been.  He’s a cross between Alan M from Josie and the Pussycats, Billy Idol, the Vegetable from the cult movie “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!,” and Arch Hall Jr. [Laughing]. I don’t really have a favorite; I’m fickle.  I fall in love with one, draw him until I’m sick of him then move on to someone else.  They are all guys I would have loved to wrestle in real life.
Buck Hunter – Bard’s #1 favorite
Rugged Action star

Bard: Personally, I have to say I have a crush on Buck Hunter. I was pulling for him to really lower the boom on Buff in Rugged Action 3. Any wrestling hunk who seems to enjoy pulling hair that much is tops with me! Do you have any particular favorites when it comes to moves, holds, gear or gimmicks in wrestling?

Dan: [Laughing] Hair pulling is definitely a favourite of mine (when I still had hair to pull).  I especially liked it when my opponent pulled mine first, then watch out!  Poor guy. You’ll see Buck Hunter in a Mud match with Biff.  You’re gonna love that one. When it comes to moves, no holds barred.  Loved bearhugs and scissors of course, but the piece de resistance for me was at the climax, clenched together on the ground, sweaty, exhausted, grunting, punching, biting, rolling back and forth, pounding our crotches together, then whammo! The tense rigid moment as we both shoot our loads.  As for gear, boots are a must.  Black is my fave, but brown, red, blue or white will do.  Actually you’ll see all kinds of gear in the strip from singlets to leather pants.
Bard: Whammo, indeed! Does your art turn you on (obviously, it does me!)? I work out some of my own fantasies in fiction text-based wrestling, and I find it powerfully erotic to pull from my imagination and put it on the page. Is your art similar to that?
Dan: Yeah, in fact Tom of Finland always said that if a drawing didn’t give him a hard-on, it was no good.  I try to maintain that level.  Of course they are my fantasies, but increasingly they are gaining a life of their own. [Laughing]
Bard: What’s the toughest aspect of wrestling to convey in your artwork?

Previews from Rugged Action 4 –
Buff goes muscle-to-muscle with
Britboy Bull Savage
Dan: Wrestling is the hardest thing to draw.  All those limbs entangled and twisting this way and that.  It doesn’t come easy, and I have to struggle to recreate the various holds.  When it works, it’s very satisfying.
Bard: Clearly, there are a lot of us that find your work very satisfying, as well! It seems like you have quite an eye for the massively muscled boys with huge pecs, shoulders, nips and six packs. Is that the body-type that turns you on in live-action wrestling? Any hot lean twinks or big-bellied bear daddies likely to take a shot in pages of Rugged Action?

Preview from Rugged Action 4 –
Bull Savage gives Buff a hard pounding
Dan: Well I just love those pecs, and nipples are for twisting and biting in my book. [Laughing]. The strip exaggerates the physiques that we all imagine we possess while wrestling.  I’ve personally always preferred someone built like me, average (I’ve been skinny, I’ve been buff, now I’m out-of shape [laughing]).  I think it works best for cartoons.  It’s that pneumatic quality that Russ Meyer spoke of in his movies, and is definitely a feature of Tom of Finland as well.  Everything gets inflated including the reader’s dick (I hope).  As for bears, well, wait until you see Hot Stuff Hooligan.
Bard: Excellent! I’ve seen Hot Stuff Hooligan’s profile in the roster from the BG East Arena, and I’m on the record many times over as a rabid fan of a freckled, red-headed bad boy! What’s your working relationship like with Kid Leopard and BG East?
Dan: Working with Kid Leopard and BG East is great.  I discovered them in an ad for various kink vhs order companies in BIZARRE magazine.  I ordered one of their tapes and sent them samples of my work, and KL liked it and got back to me.  He’s very nurturing of talent and my biggest supporter and fan.  I don’t think I could have picked a better company.  Besides their product is the best!
Bard: I have to agree that they’re work is simply the best to be had. Glad to hear that it’s a mutually satisfying working relationship. During my recent visit to BG East, I learned that another chapter of Rugged Action is about to be released. Any hints about future story lines in Rugged Action?
Dan: I am so far ahead in writing and drawing these things that you can expect a long run.  In fact I’ve written 50 stories so far and counting. There are 21 different characters (so far) that will be introduced as well as a couple of non-fictional guest-stars.  Expect the Biff and Buff rivalry to heat up, when Biff also joins BG East.  There will be all kinds of matches (fetish, superhero, tag, nude, battle royale, etc.) It just never ends! [Laughing]
Bard: Fantastic! I think your work is incredibly hot, so I’m looking forward to seeing lots more of the boys. Can’t wait to see Buck Hunter and Biff’s mud match!
Dan: I’m happy you like the strip.  It’s just a hobby for me but it’s very satisfying.  I may be a little too much in poor health to have a wrestling sex life, so it’s a blast to know I can turn guys around the globe on with my drawings.  Thanks so much for you interest.

Bard: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me!

Preview from Rugged Action 4 –
Side headlocks, ball claws, abdominal stretches…
fantastic homoerotic wrestling!

Cutting Off Our Noses

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Today’s post is dedicated to a certain BG East boy who suggested to me that the one thing he doesn’t see enough of in gay wrestling blogs is a strong statement about piracy. I think he’s perfectly correct. There isn’t enough of a thoughtful discussion about piracy, illegal file sharing, and bootlegging of homoerotic wrestling products. My strong statement on the subject: it sucks.
Even before my visit to the BG East compound this summer, I was against efforts to pirate copies of homoerotic wrestling. I get asked A LOT to share my collection with others. Sometimes, guys suggest a swap, which I don’t have a problem with. Exchanging legally purchased products seems entirely fine with me. I don’t do it, mind you. I’m awfully attached to each and every purchase in my lovingly assembled collection of homoerotic wrestling. But for those who want to literally swap or give away their legally purchased products, seems like a legitimate option.
However, file sharing and bootlegging seems a much more insidious and parasitical activity that could ultimately harm us all. I don’t do it, and I’m strongly against it. Getting a glimpse of the BG East archives was astonishing this summer. I’m pretty proud of my 70 or so BG East products in my library, but hot damn, there are hundreds of videos in their published catalogs! A newbie to homoerotic wrestling could feast for a long time on just BG East’s back catalog, not to mention the products of other companies like Can-Am, Rock Hard Wrestling, Naked Kombat, Thunder’s Arena, UCW, etc., etc.  There’s been an incredible quantity of fantastically arousing homoerotic wrestling produced in the past 20+ years, and probably twice that in not-so-fantastically arousing homoerotic wrestling (and wrestling that’s just, at best, homoerotically-inspired). My point is, there’s already a lot to choose from.
However, I for one am a big, big fan of the creative edge of the homoerotic wrestling industry. I love (lovelovelove) the new find. I’m crazy for the next rookie debut. Having seen quite a bit already, I’m especially thrilled when something new comes out that I just haven’t seen before. A new face, a new move, a new story, a new venue… Regular readers know that I can be harsh when I get the impression that anybody (wrestler or production company) is just phoning it in, recycling material or merely going through the motions. What thrills me most is being caught off guard, being surprised or awed by a novel move or a look that isn’t cookie-cutter.  I’m powerfully provoked by what I haven’t seen yet, whether it be the veteran who pulls off something completely new and unexpected, or the rookie phenom who delivers a move or hold that makes me gasp. I love tried and true formulas that never fail to tweak my kink (the muscled babyface conquered and used, the narcissist crushed, the young bucks pushing each other past the limits of fair play in fiercely fought competition, e.g.), but there’s just about nothing sexier than innovative wrestling kink for my tastes.
What bootlegging and filesharing does is threaten the very existence of the ongoing creativity in homoerotic wrestling. Hell, it threatens to undermine anybody who tries to make a living producing new homoerotic wrestling material. For every bootlegged copy and illegal fileshare, there’s less financial incentive for producers to keep producing. There’s less investment to pay the salaries of the next round of wrestlers.  If we, who enjoy homoerotic wrestling, cheat the industry out of their intellectual property rights, then we’re taking a piss on the very people who so wonderfully feed our wrestling kink. The more we, who consume homoerotic wrestling, pirate the wrestling that we love, the less likely it will be that the industry will continue to produce, create and innovate. What we’ll be left with, it seems to me, is what we’ve got: a great body of hot homoerotic wrestling archives, but without the promise of anything new, nothing to be ventured, nothing to be gained. If we cheat producers of homoerotic wrestling out of what’s rightfully theirs, sooner or later we’re going to go hunting for something new in homoerotic wrestling inspiration, and find nothing but a blank screen.

Homoerotic Wrestler of the Month

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September has already rolled in, and I’m behind in everything. Most relevant to today’s post, I’m late in crowning a new homoerotic wrestler of the month. Somehow, I feel like I didn’t give Kid Karisma quite the fawning adoration that he deserved during his reign last month. However, if he continues to work that gorgeous muscle-ass of his the way he has been lately, I predict he’ll be one of the very elite wrestlers to repeat as homoerotic wrestler of the month.
August was one bizarre, topsy-turvy, wild month for me.  On the one hand, it seemed to be a month filled with homoerotic wrestling moments, including my pilgrimage to BG East and the profound thrill of meeting all of “the boys,” including Kid Leopard, Kid Vicious, and Jonny Firestorm. On the other hand, tragically, I didn’t actually get the opportunity to watch that much wrestling. So selecting a homoerotic-wrestler-of-the-month from among the newly released titles feels like a bit of a challenge. The upcoming releases for BG East don’t count, because they haven’t technically been released yet.  So the options from which I’m choosing are including just a few of the wrestlers who managed to catch my eye during the distracting month of August include: Jake Jenkins, Austin Cooper, Cliff Johnson and Nick Collins (mini-Jake!)  for their tag team tussle for Rock Hard Wrestling; DJ and Drake Jaden for their appearances in opposing tag teams for Naked Kombat’s August 3rd release; Jobe and Rio Garza for Can-Am’s Rio’s Revenge; and Michael Vineland and Rusty Stevens for the newest volume in Can-Am’s promising Pro Sex Fight series. There very well could be other worthy contenders that aren’t in this list, but this is just about all I’ve taken note of amid my travels last month. And my pick for the new reigning homoerotic wrestler of the month is…
Rusty Stevens.
I’m not completely convinced that the pro ring is Rusty’s most natural habitat, unfortunately. I think the less spontaneous format of the ring with the increasingly formulaic Pro Sex Fight scenario doesn’t display Rusty’s wrestling skills to their fullest. That’s all I’ve got to complain about though.  The return of Rusty to homoerotic wrestling is such an incredibly welcome second-coming, after the crisis of faith his announced “retirement from porn” threw me into last November. Somehow, the homoerotic wrestling universe seems to make more sense with Rusty back in game.

My selection of Rusty to climb atop the throne this month is admittedly more than just a little motivated by nostalgia. Rusty was my reigning favorite homoerotic wrestling pornboy when I started crowning wrestlers-of-the-month. After entertaining me so commandingly, Rusty’s wrestling career peetered out right around the same time that the competition was just heating up for the monthly title. As a result, despite Rusty absolutely owning my erotic affections like nearly no one else, he never got the nod as my homoerotic wrestler of the month. So even if his Pro Sex Fight work hasn’t been as thrilling as prior matches, it’s still entirely sufficient to kick the contenders in the crotch and leave him all on his own atop the heap.

Rusty’s match with STUNNING bodybeautiful Kevin Crowes was delightful, and I’m keeping my eye out for more from gorgeous Kevin. In August, Can-AmMax began releasing Pro Sex Fight 5, in which Rusty faces off with Can-Am’s reigning ring champion, huge and gorgeous Michael Vineland.  While Can-Am hasn’t release pics from PSF 5, that’s the performance that I’m crediting with earning Rusty his reigning title. 

Rusty isn’t quite as thickly muscled as we’ve seen him before, but he’s every inch a sexy, sweaty muscle god! And while I’ve picked on his ring wrestling, his mouth remains his most devastating and, frankly, his sexiest weapon.  His suffering is poignant. As Michael dominates, Rusty sputters and chokes in agony, selling the abuse wholeheartedly. But there’s nothing quite as sweet in my book as Rusty in control, physically dominating as well as psychologically overpowering. It’s those moments, in particular, that work like a push button, arousing me quicker than just about anything else can. When Rusty works Michael in the ropes, snarling and spitting and humiliating him in word and deed, he brings back to homoerotic wrestling a powerfully kinked quality that’s just been missing without him.

Welcome back, Rusty! You’ve been missed!

The Casting Couch

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Spanish language soap star William Levy –
too pretty to strip?
My first introduction to Spanish language soap heart throb William Levy came from Bruno’s excellent guest contribution to the neverland summer series, “Diverse Tastes.” Bruno recommended that pretty boy William was a most excellent candidate to make an appearance in the fictional homoerotic wrestling universe, Producer’s Ring, putting those luscious pecs and washboard abs on the line as he battles for fame and glory in no-holds-barred wrestling action on the backlots of an apocalyptic entertainment industrial complex.

D-Listed reports that in real life, Levy was considered for a part in a movie about male strippers, for which he most certainly appears entirely qualified. However, he has apparently turned down the opportunity, forgoing this opportunity at a major league introduction to non-Spanish speaking audiences. D-Listed has delivered a withering assessment of Levy’s decision and prospects, but let’s face it, D-Listed excels at delivering withering assessments.

Pablo Martin is Bruno’s choice for a hunk to bring William Levy to heel.

The good news is that the male stripper buddy flick appears to be on track to bring the likes of Matt Bomer, Channing Tatum, and frequent subjects of my wrestling fantasies and posts on this blog, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer and…. wait for it…. the man currently sitting atop the pantheon of muscle gods in my fantasies, Joe Manganiello!

Joe Manganiello limbers up in preparation to tackle the stripper pole.

In addition to earning William the scorn of D-Listed for coming across as a too good for a male strip flick, this career move almost certainly fuels fodder for fulfilling Bruno’s recommendation that William needs to show up and get his gorgeous ass beaten six ways to Sunday in the Producer’s Ring (perhaps one way to Sunday for each aforementioned hunk in the stripper flick in addition to Bruno’s pick, Pablo Martin). I think we’ve got the making of a muscle jobber who thinks good looks and talent are all it should take to climb on top in the highly competitive world of top ranked entertainment. Happily, such goody-two-shoes never learn!

Hunks are lining up in my imagination to meet
William Levy in the wrestling ring.