Wrestling a match

Place the emphasis on the word ”wrestling”. On Saturday 15.11.2014 I stepped in the ring to face a promising newcomer Jami Aalto. Due to the opponent’s Greco-Roman background it was the kind of match I had been waiting for, an opportunity to challenge both my skills as an old school wrestler and the audience’s perception. I expected Aalto’s athletic ability to be on a level better than average, whereas I had the experience and my hybrid style. It would be too much to say that Aalto never had a chance, but remains the fact that probabilities were on my side.

It was obvious from the start that we had an extra gear. Even finding a way to get the first hold was a competition, which Aalto actually won by having me in a waist lock as I tried to manipulate his arm and pull him sideways, a trick most typical in his original game. Knowing that he would go for a suplex I immediately hit the mat, defending until he had to change his plan and we got up; that was when I threw in some Muay Thai-type of techniques. The upper hand was soon mine so it was time to calm down and wait for Aalto to make a mistake.

It was easy to lure him into a half-hatch after which I would take him down and put him in a position he surely hadn’t been during his amateur career. Still, it was too early to have him pinned so I decided to take things a bit further – I wouldn’t call that a mistake from my behalf, but Aalto certainly proved his agility and quickness by countering some of my moves while standing up, so I wisely retreated to break the spearhead of his attack, making it somewhat of a mind game.

Back to the groundwork we went, and to take away Aalto’s speed I started working the legs. He soon had no other way to go but to try to get on his feet, by which he practically offered me a chance to put him in a sleeper hold. This didn’t end the match but clearly led to the final phase which did. There was still enough fight left in him for one more plunge: a series of moves you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a rookie, then again it definetely wasn’t his first match to begin with. Being mentally stronger of the two I was capable of standing the charge and driving him down once again to apply the ultimate hold in wrestling. When the bell rang the power of the Constrictor had been proven as usual, despite of Aalto’s resistance and him being undeniably an exception among the people I have previously battled in the ring.

There’s an element in pro wrestling that brings it closer to real fighting than most forms of combat sport: that is the grey area. The reality of the match is that the wrestler can bend the rules, which I do, not to let them limit one’s doings but rather to use them as a tool to destroy the opponent’s endeavours. For example, a rope break doesn’t indeed have to happen immediately; it is the referee’s count that tells you when to let go. So you have time to make your move. Even if the wrestler chooses to release the hold he may still take the opportunity and deliver a blow with a possible effect to the outcome of the bout. Think ahead, set traps and make it difficult for the opponent to succeed in any of his attempts – create several paths for yourself to follow and finally overcome.

Saturday’s match was something that isn’t normally seen in any wrestling show because of the tactics, because of the grappling aspect of it and because of the competitive approach of both men. Those things were also the reasons why the audience would still react as expected. It was the spirit of the duel that made it a fight to behold, reminding everyone which way to go as long as we keep claiming that pro wrestling is the very arena where modern day gladiators meet. The main difference to Rome then must be that I have no Caesar to hail. I’m there for myself, my own master - only the arms of Mercury surround me.