Jonny Firestorm: 5'5 145 lbs! At a decidedly disadvantaged matchup, Jonny seizes (and crushes) the bull by the horn(s) Jonny's much smaller body is hoisted, shaken, crushed, and broken in Robbins' bearhug Rule #1 in catch-weight: Cut the big man down to size; Jonny wrecks Robbins with a figure four Jonny writhes, completely helpless, back bending precipitously across Joe's broad boulder shoulders Is this it?! Jonny chokes the bigger stud the fuck out with a figure four headscissors
Wake-Up Call
Joe Robbins hit BG East just as Jonny Firestorm's career was taking off. Jonny was still new meat, but he had a dozen matches already under his belt. His fanbase was huge, and he and BG East could barely keep up with the demand for more Firestorm. It was during these hectic times that Jonny was booked against newcomer Joe in the squared circle. Joe, big and strong as a tiger, would test the limits of Jonny's resilience and wrestling expertise. Jonny, in turn, would show the new guy how things get done in the squared circle. Years later, somebody found this unforgettable dream match tucked away in the BGE video vault. Available to the public at last, it's easy to see how this contest, though long forgotten, is a seminal work for both legendary wrestlers and an important part of BG East history.
With nobody in sight, Robbins tests the firmness of the ring ropes and then enters. He catches sight of himself in the nearby mirror and examines the sensuous curves of his torso just as we hear the sound of a door opening and closing behind him. Supremely sure of himself, Joe shows no curiosity about the man who climbs into the ring behind him. His eyes remain locked on his reflection in the mirror. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Jonny says with typical Firestorm bravura, tossing his black towel across the turnbuckle. He dubs Robbins "the latest meathead," and Robbins smiles humorlessly at the insult, already looking forward to crushing this little jackass. "You're in my way," Jonny tells Joe and pushes him aside to admire his own taut and solid physique in the mirror.
Firestorm finds the subsequent posedown somewhat demoralizing, but even back then he was not one to worry about the small stuff. A shoving contest propels Jonny to the opposite ring ropes and on his butt. He springs back in a flash, and bounding off the ropes he attempts a crossbody block, only to be caught in the air in Joe's massive arms as the bell announces the official start of the match. Joe moves Jonny to his shoulders and lifts him in a gorilla press. Then, without warning, he slams Jonny to the mat. It's one of the finest getting-to-know-you moments in BGE history. Jonny no sooner regains his footing, tenderly cradling the elbow he just landed on, than Joe heaves him up and splats him back down, not once but two more times in a row.
A crossbody pin glues Jonny's shoulder blades to the mat for well over 10 seconds. Jonny doesn't concede defeat, though, and, with great effort, testily pushes Robbins off him. Joe returns to the mirror, again to study his mounds of muscle. Jonny leaps on his back for a rear choke hold. Joe pulls the arms away like he's loosening a scarf, then falls back, landing on Jonny, who howls in pain. Flat on the mat, though, the two wrestlers are at a somewhat equal vantage. Jonny applies a chinlock, but strong as Joe is, it's about as effective as a chinlock on an ox. By now, it's clear that the only way Jonny can win against this beautiful brute is to wear the man down.
By chance or design, Jonny wears Joe down by serving as the hunk's wrestling dummy for the next seven minutes. He gets swatted and bounced and tossed out of the ring, but he does succeed in slowing Robbins down. A quarter of the way through this match, Firestorm demonstrates why he must be recognized as a wrestling phenomenon, perhaps the best grappler BGE has ever seen. With a quick reversal, Jonny takes Joe to the mat and wraps his arms around one massive leg and his legs around the other and stretches the titan out, exposing the crotch (and clear outline of the titan's junk) to the camera. In real time that's 130 seconds of groin-aching agony, which feel like ten minutes to Robbins.
But is this enough to turn the fight around? It does bring more give and take to the 48-minute fight, but for the time being, Firestorm is still taking about twice as much as he's giving. The final 25 minutes is a grueling, grunting struggle for dominance, streaming with sweat. Both men are magnificent, revealing prowess and perseverance that few other wrestlers can lay claim to. A ring corner knockout brings the merciless battle to an end. A match that will set your pulse racing, this lost BGE classic is a MUST SEE for all lovers of good wrestling and a primer for wrestling's future generations.
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Purchase Ring Classics 1: Firestorm vs. Robbins $19.95
Using every inch of the ring, Jonny seizes one of the big man's legs and cranks in a single boston c
Jonny works his gameplan with mastery, wearing the big man down to nothing in a headscissors
Joe clamps and ratchets his tree trunk thighs around Jonny's ribcage in a torturous scissors
Crucified in the ropes, Joe begs for mercy as Jonny neuters him with a russian gas pedal
Joe is in a whole fucking universe of pain as Jonny works a hair-pulling bow/arrow variation
Jonny looks to reduce big bad Joe to nothing with a crotch-ripping spladle hold
Joe Robbins: 6'2, 240 lbs Nobody puts Jonny in the corner! A turnbuckled Jonny lashes out with a boot to Joe's jaw Even with all Jonny's skill factored in, Robbins muscle reigns supreme as he hoists him vertically Joe makes the work look easily against the muscled pipsqueak with a backbreaking boston crab Heaping humiliation atop the abuse, Jonny gives big Joe Robbins a brutal wedgie A familiar sight: Jonny victoriously atop the throne of yet another outmatched, broken meathead
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