Official blog of the Living Room Wrestling federation (aka LRW Wrestling). "Wrestlers with photogenic appeal..." featuring Fratboy Francis Franklin (aka "Triple F"), Kyle O'Connor, Nathaniel Noel, Cameron Murphy, Shane Saunders, Joltin' Juke Jason, Sean Evans, Kurt Mendelsohn, Joshua Lonergan, Hayden Beaulieu, the Masked WhoDat, Adam Nowak, Austin LeGrand, Adrian Wisniewski, and Peter O'Rourke. Based in Connecticut and hosted by Old Freddie Young.
Here is a brand new interview with our reigning LRW Wrestling Super-Star Champion, Fratboy Francis Franklin (aka "Triple F") on the eve of his long anticipated title defense against the virtuous young hero, the pride of Nashua, New Hampshire, Nathaniel Noel.
As you can see, Triple F has grown some facial hair since his last LRW encounter, making him look even more like a haughty young nobleman (and the wrestling gear with the monarch's crown just adds to the effect).
Triple F exudes customary arrogance during this interview, shrugging off the challenge posed by Nathaniel, a noted master of the sleeper hold. Could Triple F's hubris be the source of his downfall? Keep checking this site for updates concerning a clash of two worlds -- and two diametrically opposed personalities!!!
Nathaniel is from Nashua, New Hampshire, and we're delighted that this handsome young man (who is studying chemistry at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, by the way) made the trek from northern New England to entertain our LRW fans.
Nathan will be wrestling the controversial Fratboy Francis Franklin aka "Triple F" for the LRW Wrestling Super-Star Championship in a soon-to-be-released videotaped match-up. As we can personally attest, Nathaniel is a bona fide master of the sleeper hold, and Triple F's championship reign just may be in serious jeopardy!!!
It is indeed an honor to have Nathaniel in the ranks of LRW grapplers. We wish him the best of luck in his upcoming championship bout with Triple F, and in all of his future wrestling endeavors!!!
(NOTE: LRW fans wishing to correspond with Nathan can email him at lrw-wrestling@comcast.net . Just put "Nathaniel Noel" in the subject heading, and we guarantee that Nathan will receive all of your messages!!!)
Many of you were probably hoping, longing, and yearning for a chance to own wrestling gear ring-worn by none other than Ryan Kidd, the only pro wrestler who really matters. Well, while the rest of you were lost in your daydreams and delusions of grandeur, wily Old Freddie Young was actively submitting bids in Ryan's "Fabric Free-For-All" contest and, guess what -- he won!!!
There's the Certificate of Authenticity...and we love how Mr. Excitement himself added an exclamation point after Freddie's name!!!
The package included several flyers (some autographed) advertising shows in which Ryan has wrestled plus three 4x6 glossy photos (including this autographed action pic).
There's the autographed 8x10 photo that Ryan included in the package, plus another autographed 4x6 pic -- artwork depicting Ryan wearing the famous black-and-silver trunks!!!
Here are more flyers from Ryan Kidd shows (Ryan has wrestled in two nations and seven states -- Mexico, California, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, Nebraska, Illinois, and Texas) plus a specially packaged "Ryan Kidd Pro" bracelet!!!
Here is the pièce de résistance -- the sparkling, glamorous Ryan Kidd wrestling trunks, along with the actual "Ryan Kidd Pro" bracelet!!!
Here is the signed index card listing all of the items that Old Freddie won. Ryan said that he was "going all-out" while putting together this package and he meant it!!!
Here are more autographed flyers from Ryan Kidd shows, plus a close-up of the Ryan Kidd "Mr. Excitement" button!!!
Here is the "Mr. Excitement -- Go! Fight! Win!" rally towel -- said to be 100x more potent than the Pittsburgh Steelers "Terrible Towels" (sorry, Steelers fans).
A back view of Ryan Kidd's sartorial splendor and a few more autographed event flyers. It was a FABULOUS Fabric Free-For-All!!!
Check out Ryan's weekly blog (now in its twentieth week of consecutive publishing) to keep up on all of Ryan's activities!!! (It's published 12 noon pacific time every Thursday -- which means that a new entry should be posted in about an hour!!!)
Note: LRW Wrestling, in conjunction with the good folks at Paparazzo Photography, are proud to be sponsors of Ryan Kidd. In 2015, sponsorships are available for both businesses and individuals -- contact Ryan for details!!!
The top photo was taken seconds after the bell rang, signifying that the match had reached its fifteen minute time limit. Kyle isn't injured; he's merely exhausted.
The video below the photo features Muhammad Ali after utilizing his "rope-a-dope" strategy to defeat the physically more powerful George Foreman and regain his heavyweight championship title. There's a clear parallel between the two matches, but first let me impart some boxing history to you young whippersnappers.
When Old Freddie was a mere youth (a towheaded lad in high school, actually), Ali attempted to make a comeback after being stripped of the heavyweight title for refusing to serve in the military during the Vietnam War. The current champion was George Foreman, a devastating puncher who was sort of like my generation's Mike Tyson.
The fight took place in Kinshasa, Zaire and was billed as The Rumble in the Jungle. Ali was basically a finesse boxer who relied upon speed and superior boxing instincts to bob and weave and avoid punches. The common wisdom was that, if Ali had any chance of victory, he would spend the entire fight dancing, slipping punches, and dazzling George with his fancy footwork. Foreman was expected to try to "cut the ring in half" and trap Ali in a corner. Everyone pretty much agreed that if Foreman had Ali in the ropes, the fight would be over in a few seconds.
Even Ali contributed to this scenario, asking his fans if they were ready for "the Big Dance" during pre-fight interviews. Then, to everyone's shock and amazement, Ali began the fight standing flat-footed in the ropes, daring George to hit him. Of course, Foreman went crazy, throwing punch after punch, pummeling Ali as hard as he could, as Ali leaned back in the ropes and taunted him.
This went on for seven rounds. By round eight, the stronger, more muscular Foreman was so arm-weary that he could barely swing his fists. At that point Ali, with his superior cardiovascular conditioning, danced away from the ropes, threw a few powerful jabs, and sent a thoroughly fatigued Foreman plummeting toward the canvas. Against all odds, Ali regained his title and Foreman began selling grills.
Of course, years later, some ethical questions arose concerning the fact that Ali's ring crew loosened the ropes before the fight, allowing Ali to lean back, far away from George's powerful punches, but the issue is relatively moot. Ali was always a Machiavellian character, loved by many and despised by many, who believed that the ends justify the means. Ali had George pretty much psyched out before the match anyway, hiring a witch doctor to sprinkle "hoobie dust" in the ring to rob Foreman of his power (when asked how to spell "hoobie" during a post-fight interview, an exasperated Foreman exclaimed, "How can you spell it when you can't even see it?").
That brings us to the Triple F vs. Kyle O'Connor fight for the first-ever LRW Wrestling Super-Star Championship. Truthfully, I didn't believe that Triple F, the lean, wiry, boastful kid from Fairfield County, had much of a chance. Kyle O'Connor is your stereotypical jock, a former varsity lacrosse captain, high school soccer star, and surfing instructor in Southern California.
Kyle has a muscular physique of which he is justly proud. By contrast, Triple F has what would commonly be called a swimmer's build. As you can see by the stats posted at our newly created "LRW Wrestling: Locker Room" page, Kyle is 5'10" and weighs a solid 176 lbs. while Triple F stands 6'0" but weighs a mere 142 lbs.
When I wrote the rules for the LRW Wrestling federation, my goal was to create fast-paced matches (and marketable videos). For this reason, I imposed a 15-minute time limit and allowed matches to be won via a point system similar to that which exists in high school wrestling. In the absence of a referee, a wrestler would have to make the call himself when he was forced out of bounds, and his opponent would have to break the hold and back off within five seconds or lose the match. Furthermore, in order to eliminate long, boring, ineffectively executed submission holds, I awarded points whenever such a hold was executed. A wrestler could pile up points by trapping his opponent in multiple, rapidly released, submission maneuvers.
Unwittingly, I created rules tailor-made for a Triple F victory.
The first half of the match is fairly even, with Triple F dictating a fast pace and Kyle attempting to match his slender opponent's speed and stamina.
Time and time again, Triple F manages to apply pro wrestling submission maneuvers, letting go of Kyle quickly, and then continuing his attack. The strategy (whether planned or instinctive) was wise for two reasons: a contest of endurance favored Triple F, and Kyle wasn't about to say "I quit" while in the clutches of any painful hold (that was obvious to me when I was going through some routines with Kyle before the taping began).
Kyle's fatal error in this encounter was wrestling in accordance with Triple F's style. Whenever Kyle trapped Triple F in a painful hold, he failed to go for a submission. On more than one occasion, Triple F seemed to be in desperate straits, then displayed huge relief when the hold was broken.
As a matter of fact, during one such episode near the end of the match, Triple F is in so much pain that he reaches for his frat paddle while locked in a modified Boston crab. Kyle prevents the deliberate disqualification by dragging Triple F to the center of the mat. Then, inexplicably, Kyle releases Triple F. By then, Triple F had accrued an insurmountable lead in points via multiple takedowns, escapes, near falls, and reversals. There was no way that Kyle could have won on points that far into the match, and his only hope would have been to torture Triple F into quitting. However Kyle, a consummate gentleman, seemed to lack a "killer instinct."
Triple F feeling immense lower back pain while being bent in half
That was the about the only offense that Kyle was able to muster during the match's latter stages. Early on, Kyle began breathing heavily while Triple F seemed fresh and full of energy. By the time the match had reached its time limit, Kyle was really huffing and puffing while Triple F seemed ready to run a marathon.
When the bell rang, Triple F didn't even wait for me to officially announce a winner. Triple F just strutted across the living room and claimed his championship belt. The match had been so lopsided that Kyle didn't utter a word of protest.
Triple F pulled off a stunning upset victory and he almost earned my respect (and Kyle's, too, for that matter). However, in the proverbial manner of "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory," Triple F then chose to conduct himself in a thoroughly boorish manner. Grabbing the frat paddle (which Triple F had assured me was only a theatrical prop) he struck Kyle with a few light (almost timid) but humiliating blows as Kyle tried to collect himself following the unexpected loss.
LRW rules clearly state: "Any action which deliberately embarrasses or humiliates an opponent will be considered unsportsmanlike conduct and will be grounds for disqualification at the referee's discretion." However, the rules also stipulate, "A wrestler's prematch and postmatch conduct will certainly be considered when determining future bookings, but such conduct will have no bearing on the outcome of the match." Triple F's actions were disgusting (Kyle later typified the incident as "childish"), but the champ adroitly waited until after the bell rang to figuratively rub salt in Kyle's wounds. Therefore, the decision couldn't be reversed and Triple F now represents my federation.
It's rather ironic that I formed LRW, in large part, as a reaction to UCW's anarchic "no rules" approach to wrestling and the championship reigns of notorious "heels" like Eli Black and Quinn Harper. Of course, Triple F would be considered a saint by UCW standards (even UCW's "faces" behave more like "heels" than anyone I would ever allow into LRW); the Fratboy is a "heel," but he's a classy "heel." Still, Kyle would have been a dream-come-true as my first LRW champion and Triple F was unbearably bratty during his post-match interview (during which I dutifully presented him with the title belt).
As for Kyle, he initially seemed somewhat distraught when I talked to him, but began to brighten as I assured him that he still represented an ideal champion in my eyes, regardless of who is wearing the belt. Kyle had kind words for the state of Connecticut (which he was visiting for the first time) and promised me that he'd continue to compete in LRW.
On a side note, I would like to point out that the more I learn about Kyle, the more impressed I am. Only one city or town had two schools listed in Business Insider's "24 Smartest Boarding Schools in America," and that was Ojai, California -- Kyle's hometown (and yes,one of those schools was Kyle's alma mater). Oh, it breaks my heart that Kyle isn't my champion.
In typical fashion, it was Kyle who took initiative to resolve his differences with Triple F after the taping. The two young men had a long and generally cordial conversation and both agreed to pose for a series of still photos (which were included in the DVD recently auctioned on eBay). If you want photographic proof of just how much of a "class act" Kyle O'Connor is, simply take a glance at this:
At any rate, as I said in the last blog entry...
"This piece of underground wrestling history is now available for download as a standard definition, 1920 x 1080, 1.41 GB video in the popular .mp4 format. The video is 19 minutes, 10 seconds, featuring 15 minutes of wrestling (including ring introductions, in accordance with the LRW rules) plus post-match interviews with both wrestlers, including the awarding of the LRW Wrestling Super-Star Championship belt!!! All this for only $9.95, people -- so click on this BUY NOW button and download this amazing match between two awesomely photogenic wrestlers now!!! Enjoy the match, people!!!
LRW Preview: Kyle O'Connor vs. "Triple F" from LRW Wrestling on Vimeo.
First of all, we want to thank you for making the auction of our premiere DVD offering (http://www.ebay.com/itm/161644998777) such a success. For those of you who missed out on the chance to get our Limited Edition, Director's Cut, Special Edition, Collector's Edition, yadda, yadda, yadda DVD, don't despair!!! You can still see the heroic Kyle O'Connor...
...and the willful Fratboy Francis Franklin aka "Triple F"...
...go at it hot and heavy for a 15-minute time limit match. By dictating a super-fast pace and exhausting his opponent, one of these grapplers earns the coveted, first-ever LRW Wrestling Super-Star Championship!!!
"This piece of underground wrestling history is now available for download as a standard definition, 1920 x 1080, 1.41 GB video in the popular .mp4 format. The video is 19 minutes, 10 seconds, featuring 15 minutes of wrestling (including ring introductions, in accordance with the LRW rules) plus post-match interviews with both wrestlers, including the awarding of the LRW Wrestling Super-Star Championship belt!!! All this for only $9.95, people -- so click on this BUY NOW button and download this amazing match between two awesomely photogenic wrestlers now!!!"
P.S. All of your fan mail has been forwarded to your favorite wrestler. Due to the busy schedules of these guys, responses cannot be guaranteed -- but I can assure you that your messages of encouragement are read by both Kyle and Triple F, and are greatly appreciated by both young men.
From Connecticut's Gold Coast, Fairfield County, here's Fratboy Francis Franklin aka "Triple F"!!! Triple F is a handsome young man, and I won't say much more about him. I didn't really allow Triple F to talk very much because, after his flippant "get with the program" remark, I wasn't so inclined.
At any rate, this historic clash between Triple F and Kyle O'Connor to determine the first-ever LRW Wrestling Super-Star Champion is now available on DVD (which includes the 19-minute video plus 86 exclusive, still photos from the shoot). You can bid on this little piece of underground wrestling history right over here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/paparazzo504.
Without posting any "spoilers" (UCW's Michael Bodyslam taught me about that), let me just say that this match (surprisingly) did not involve a pin or submission. The match went to its 15-minute time limit, but that's not to imply that it was an evenly matched bout. One wrestler pretty much dictated the pace (incredibly fast, with point after point accumulated via quickly applied and immediately released submission holds) and he totally dominated the second half of the encounter.
The losing wrestler was completely exhausted at the end of this match. When the bell rings, the winner claims his belt without even allowing me to announce the result. The match was so lopsided that the defeated wrestler doesn't even protest. There is, however, a bit of unsportsmanlike behavior immediately after the bell, and it marred the presentation of our inaugural video offering.
All in all, this match is an interesting hybrid of amateur and pro wrestling, with both participants giving their all and becoming drenched in sweat by the match's conclusion. I'm proud of both guys, and I hope you enjoy this DVD.
Welcome to LRW Wrestling, Fratboy Francis Franklin aka "Triple F"!!!
Old Freddie wasn't joking when he promised that LRW Wrestling would present "Wrestlers with photogenic appeal..." As proof, here's Kyle O'Connor, the first young grappler slated to compete in our fledgling fed. Kyle seems like somebody who Freddie created, custom-made to order -- but Kyle is real, and all of the biographical facts mentioned about him are 100% accurate!!! (Oh, in case anyone missed the name of Kyle's Southern California hometown, it's Ojai Valley, and you can read about it here.)
One thing that Freddie somehow failed to mention was Kyle's astrological sign. Yes, Kyle is a Scorpio!!! Oh, it just doesn't get any better than this!!! (Old Freddie has a special fondness for Scorpios, as anyone who read his recent Facebook comments on a Skip Vance post already knows...)
In our new federation's first match, Kyle wrestles for the coveted LRW Wrestling Super-Star Championship belt. Who will Kyle's opponent be? Keep checking this blog to find out!!!
