Johnny Deep's last appearance in UCW was his harrowing rematch against the diabolical Eli Black. I've been following gay wrestling for quite some time (Old Freddie isn't young -- I remember when BG East was formed, as the east coast subsidiary of BG Wrestling, its parent company based in Huntington Beach, CA). I can honestly say, without equivocation, that the Johnny Deep vs. Eli Black rematch made a more profound emotional impact on me than any other match I've seen in my lifetime. That's why I started this blog in the first place.
In that Johnny vs. Eli rematch, all of the necessary elements for the creation of an epic dramatic production were present. Johnny fit perfectly into the role of a wholesome, somewhat awkward youth (Johnny is reportedly shy off camera, and this endearing quality shows up during his UCW appearances). Eli Black was so convincing as a ruthlessly aggressive bully, that I found myself disliking him on a personal level. (Ethan Axel Andrews told me that, in order to create a ring persona, you start off with your core personality and exaggerate it ten times over -- and even one tenth of the cruelty Eli exhibited in that video would be enough to make me despise him.) The coup de grâce was the "Ringside at Skull Island" review of the match in which Joe (the site's blogger) unwittingly played the role of a callous media talking head, blaming the bullied kid for his own victimization (Johnny briefly fought back against his tormentor and therefore "deserved" his beating).
You may relate to pro wrestling as theater, but you must keep in mind that it's improv. The action unfolds based on various subtle cues that the wrestlers communicate to each other. Therefore, if you care about such things, you can learn a lot about the wrestlers' true selves by paying attention to those subtle cues.
In his review, Skull Island Joe quotes Eli's remark to Johnny, "You got a lot more muscles than the last time I did this to you," but Joe ignores the context in which those words were spoken. In the world of mainstream pro wrestling (with which Mr. Black may have some familiarity), the independent federations frequently feature gratuitous violence to appease the knuckle draggers in the audience and rookie wrestlers are expected to tolerate pain and suffering as a sort of initiation (aka "paying their dues"). Chair shots are often delivered with unrestrained impact, so that the sound of metal connecting with bodies (and skulls) reverberates throughout the arena. Open-handed chops to the chest are delivered with enough force to redden, and even lacerate, the flesh. Therefore, in extreme cases, the chest areas of novice wrestlers come to resemble this:
By contrast, let's examine the context in which the above mentioned quote occurred. During the match's earliest stages, Eli delivered some very gentle open-handed chops to Johnny's chest. Then Eli clutched Johnny's pectoral muscles and said (in these exact words): "Look, you're so pretty, look at this. You got a lot more muscles than the last time I did this to you." Immediately, Johnny's facial expression relaxes and his posture becomes limp as he leans against the tarpaulin covered wall. During the reenactment of a conflict, nothing calms down a young man like verbalized recognition of his own attractiveness. Via his body language, Johnny is clearly placing his physical safety in Eli's hands, like an acrobat showing faith in his partner and letting go of the trapeze. In response, Eli delivers two vertical body shots to Johnny's torso. The first blow is too gentle, barely reddening Johnny's skin, and Eli acknowledges, "That wasn't good enough." The second blow effectively reddens Johnny's skin, stinging but not injuring or disfiguring him. However, the downward trajectory of the double handed slaps inadvertently catches Johnny below the belt. Johnny is confident enough to mention this to Eli, but Eli stays in character and gruffly barks, "Shut-up."
Viewing this match with a critical eye (which I rarely do, since I usually choose to become emotionally involved in these matches, as I would when watching a movie, a TV show, or a play), one can't help but notice Eli's out-of-character protectiveness toward Johnny while delivering multiple chair shots. Also, as Eli puts a referee's shirt on a seemingly unconscious Johnny, he says: "Put your left arm in this way. Is this the way your mom dressed you? I can tell you were one of those kids who were hard to wake up in the morning because you didn't go to bed on time, did you?" It's a very strange soliloquy, more like the words one would speak to a younger brother or a very fond friend, not a hated enemy. Once again, I made the connection to real-life experiences with bullying, and I wondered how much schoolyard bullying is actually sublimated male/male attraction. After all, we live in a society where violence between males is socially acceptable, but love between males isn't -- and this message is articulated to teen and preteen boys with particular clarity.
One of the elements which made this match so memorable to me was the degree to which both wrestlers verbalized the action. While in character, Eli's mockery of Johnny's suffering was a spot-on, accurate portrayal of a bully's mindset. Also, Eli's truculence seemed to inspire the usually reticent Johnny to come out of his shell. Therefore, we were treated to a running commentary when Johnny briefly turned the tables on Eli, with Johnny sounding for all the world like a middle-class, Catholic school jock (yes, I myself am a product of those educational institutions) exacting vengeance on his thuggish, blue-collar, crosstown rival.
In Johnny's UCW return, he faces an opponent named Nick Diesel, who Skull Island Joe praises thus: "Diesel is not your average heel. He's neither a noisy blowhard nor a primping playboy. He carries himself with quiet reserve." Truly, Diesel is the strong, silent type. However I've come to believe that Skull Island Joe and I possess exactly the right combination of similarities and differences to make us incompatible on nearly every issue, and this is just one more example. What Joe sees as a strength, I see as a weakness. Since Nick barely utters a word throughout this match, Johnny is similarly untalkative, and an important dimension that existed in Johnny's previous match is lost.
However, the few words that are uttered during the Johnny vs. Nick encounter provide me with some of this match's most vivid memories. When it comes to prematch banter, there is even more trash talking between Johnny and Nick than there was between Johnny and Eli, and for that I am deeply grateful. The older, more experienced Nick delivers his lines smoothly, seeming almost bored, just speaking words that are expected of his character. However, Johnny displays his charming adolescent angst, struggling to appear confident as he flounders while trying to match Nick's quips. If you want to see a blatant example of Johnny's boyish, semi-articulate manner, just watch this:
Johnny's Inside Scoop. Even in this heavily edited tape, Johnny's youthful vulnerability is so obvious, you'll want to hug him.
At another point in the Johnny vs. Nick match, words once again make an impact. Nick is using a rope to flagellate Johnny's speedo covered genitalia (the blows don't seem too severe but Johnny "sells" like a pro). In typical UCW fashion, the amount of punishment inflicted upon this portion of Johnny's anatomy seems commensurate with the degree of jealousy Nick feels toward Johnny's sex appeal. Nick asks Johnny, "Do you want me to stop?" and a traumatized Johnny responds, "Yes!" This prompts Nick to ridicule Johnny with the taunt, "Then make me stop, little boy." The exchange is in keeping with the dynamic that so frequently exists between mature men and ephebes. An older man, jealous of a fresh face, is attempting to portray youth as a liability. (By the way, Johnny's reaction to Nick's remark was gratifying.)
Since there are so few verbal exchanges in this match, visual imagery is all the more crucial to this production's success. Fortunately, we have Johnny Deep as one of the participants. Johnny is truly beautiful, from head to toe, and the frequent medium close-up shots of Johnny's tender soles with his ankles bound tightly by several coils of white rope leave a lasting impression. The subliminal message communicated to me was: "Johnny can't run away. There's no escape."
Skull Island Joe started off his review of this match with, "Nick Diesel and his rope tricks are back at UCW-Wrestling." Indeed, this tape, ostensibly of a wrestling match, often seems more like a depiction of a B&D session. Wrestling happens, but bondage seems to be the primary focus. During Johnny's match with Eli, Eli used restraints in order to inflict more punishment on his opponent. However, in this match, bondage is the ultimate goal, not a means to an end. Both wrestlers attempt sleeper holds in hopes of being able to bind and immobilize an unconscious adversary.
Joe may not enjoy squash matches (unless the victim "deserves" his fate), but once again we disagree. It's no wonder that Joe waxed ecstatic about the Johnny vs. Nick encounter ("Diesel-versus-Deep is one of the most exciting pairings offered up at UCW or anywhere so far this year") since this is a classic, back-and-forth battle. In my humble opinion, all that give-and-take causes a match to lose credibility. In real-life conflicts, you never see two fighters taking turns beating each other up (and, having spent all my adult life in New Orleans, I feel qualified to make that observation). Still, that's just my opinion. Plenty of people would agree with Joe concerning his preference for evenly matched bouts. To each, his own.
I also realize there's a huge market out there for Nick Diesel's type: the bearded,
macho, mature man who probably hangs out in leather bars and roughs up
his partners before, during, and after trysts. However, I'm not a part of that market.
Johnny Deep is my type. As Johnny himself told us (probably blushing) during his video blog, "I'm still pretty." Yes Johnny, you are. In my eyes, you're underground wrestling's most highly merchandisable commodity. (Isn't that romantic? I should write verses for Hallmark cards.)
The Johnny Deep vs. Nick Diesel match, a radical departure from Johnny's youthful skirmish with Eli Black, is interesting. That's the word that Ethan Axel Andrews used to describe a fan fiction I wrote about him, and it seems appropriate to describe this UCW film noir.
The "Ringside At Skull Island" blog (subtitled "Hardboiled Wrestling Kink") naturally gave a rave review of this match. Read it here:
Ringside at Skull Island: H _ N G M _ N.
This match (and all of Johnny Deep's other smoking hot performances) can be purchased here:
UCW Wrestling.
