I was a Spandex Wrestling Video Victim

Since I'm lean and mean lately, VeVe called me back to co-star in another wrestling video with her. The theme of this work: Spandex Wrestling Domination.


VeVe had been wanting to do a new spandex wrestling domination video for some time. Her first in this style was a match against the fully spandex-clad Silver Ghost. Since quite a few video fans seemed interested in and intrigued by the mixed wrestling spandex match, we reloaded and set up to shoot this new one, taking place over a year or two later.

VeVe and I both wore very shiny, slick spandex for this video. Essentially, our attire consisted of dancewear. VeVe had a white spandex half-body suit over which she wore a teal-ish blue leotard. Her laying of garments created an interesting effect with all of the white and blue straps crossing over her back and shoulders. Both of these spandex pieces had smooth and slippery textures.

I also wore a half-body suit, but it black. Since the upper part of the body suit wasn't quite working for us, I instead rolled it down and essentially turned it into a pair of leggings. I was pleased and surprised at how well the body suit stayed in place as leggings and didn't unroll during the course of the struggle.

So, on to the meat of the matter.

This was indeed a domination style video, and the focus of it was to get my head crushed by spandex-clad legs as much as possible. For 20 minutes of filming. I can out of there with a bloody nose, a slightly irritated larynx, and a light headed feeling.

Then, of course, there was also the spandex legged body scissoring - some sore ribs for the next morning - and a good deal of School Girl Pinning and rough facesitting, which I believe was the cause of the nose bleed.

Normally I can fight through a nose bleed, and I have been able to get them to stop during matches before, often with no one really realizing it had happened. However, when white leggings are crushing my face, blood will show up real fast and will cause a lot of staining. So, after I noticed that I couldn't easily stop the blood with VeVe constantly smashing my face, I had to take a moment to directly address the matter.

I had to wonder, though, if viewers would be interested in seeing the brutality of this blood all over the light-colored spandex. Imagine my face, a tight head scissors or leg triangle wrapped on me, and blood streaming out of my nose with nothing I could do about it. But, for the sake of VeVe's brand new, shiny attire, we passed on that opportunity.

I will say that spandex is damned slippery. It's kind of like oil wrestling without the oil. Sort of. It was quite an interesting feeling to try to lock onto VeVe's spandex-clad legs with my spandex-clad legs. Total slippage. But it's a nice, smooth slipping feeling. Real minimal friction. Smooth like ice. And, as a result, it is fairly easy to slip out of attempted holds and locks. Well, except for those darned School Girl Pins. But perhaps a spandex face mask might have helped with that...

Anyway, I got a thrashing in this video. Although it was domination style in favor of VeVe, she sure didn't hold back or simply "indicate" any of the holds - and thus for my bumps and bruises. It was a little bit like being sucked up into a tornado, actually.

Clobberetta ran the camera for this one, and she did a fine job of getting in to capture all of the spandexy punishment that VeVe was dishing out, along with all of my suffering.

That match should be along soon, though screen stills, as you have seen, are up and about and should be around in VeVe's photo galleries even sooner.

And so, that's it for now. Oh boy, never a dull moment in wrestling video production.

Catfight Brutality and the Aftermath

Well, VeVe didn't get to fight Dia Zerva last night. But she did get to fight what may well have been her most vicious fight of the year. As a matter of fact, as I do my Dana White impression, I have decided to award this match our company's "Most Brutal F v F Bout of the Year" award from my stand point as a producer.

Last night, VeVe fought the powerhouse that is Clobberetta.

I knew this fight would be a good one, since I know that both of these ladies have an extremely high tolerance for pain, and I know that neither one gives up submissions easily. At all. You know, the sort where you need to actually damage their joints or knock them unconscious before they will give.

Of course, while both VeVe and Clobberetta are capable of fighting civilly, courteously, and technically - and while that is something they often do when faced with out-of-town guest wrestlers - civil fighting was NOT on the table for last night's battle. Last night was an all out catfight!

And I chose that format for those ladies because I know them well. See the above! Add that all together, and you have a recipe for an intense fight.

One thing that surprised me was the ladies' willingness to start from a standing position. I tried to discourage them from doing this, given the considerable weight difference, but they were so fired up, that they just jumped into it for the first round, going right for standing slaps and takedowns. I hoped for the best and kept the camera rolling. For the second round, same deal: they jumped up to start from the feet, and looking for sweet-spot face shots.

I'll also mention that when we started rolling for the second 10-minute round, I announced that the winner would take a victory pose over the loser. That, I think, added even more fuel to the fire. While these ladies love to fight for fighting's sake, after that announcement, they knew they

were fighting for stakes. And since both of them are rather prideful fighters, the drive for the W

climbed even higher. This was a delight to see.

I'm trying to avoid saying to much about the actual specifics of the match and the eventual outcome, but I will say that the Victory was really up for grabs here, and I could have gone to either one of these fierce competitors.

20 minutes of slapping, hair-pulling, and general crushing is pretty rough, wouldn't you say? Just sayin'.

When I was editing the video, it sure looked to me that VeVe was clutching on to Clobberetta's hair for almost the entire time. No wonder Clobberetta said that her scalp hurt when the match was over. And VeVe did not escape unscathed from the harsh hair-pulling. Oh, no. Clobberetta grabbed VeVe's hair at one point (or several) and jerked her so hard that VeVe woke up today with a sore neck. Both ladies have been twittering today about being considerably sore and bruised this morning, so... I'll leave it at

that!

Personally, I happen to love catfights. They are my preferred form of female fight video to shoot, truth be told. Getting slapped in the face really makes you see red. It pisses you off, and it makes you want to strike back with a fury. Hair-pulling is just as powerful. Yes, indeed, slaps and hair-pulls must surely have been designed to piss off the receiver! They are less damaging than punches, kicks, and Thai knees, to be sure, but they are absolutely great for heating up a fight on an emotional level. So, in my mind, slaps and hair-pulls are great!

And I loved watching the blood boil at last night's fight.

... it was boiling so much so, that the winner did more than just take a victory pose over her opponent. She channeled her fight rage, took her opponent down after time was called, and mounted her for a humiliating School Girl Pin slap down. That's right, she rained down unanswered slaps on her defeated foe. It's tough losing these sorts of matches, you know.

Lastly, before I move on, I will say a few words about the setting. Since this match was to be particularly violent and noisy, we took it to a secret and private location. No open studio here. No harsh lighting. No outside influence. We set up in a gritty stockroom warehouse space in Hell's Kitchen - a perfect setting for a catfight.

Now, if only I can get that space for more matches...

Anyway, hats off to you two, VeVe and Clobberetta. Great fight. It was very exciting to shoot and edit, and very difficult to select promotional screen captures for - there were just too many great stills to choose from. Let's keep it rollin', ladies.

[This entry refers to this match: VeVe vs Clobberetta: Catfight Wrestling!]

Quick screen captures from VeVe and Clobberetta's catfight tonight!

Now THAT was a heck of a vicious catfight! It will be out and ready tomorrow!

Here's a screen still of some of tonight's crazy hair-pulling. VeVe and Clobberetta are intense competitors who push to the max!

And some mutual hair-pulling:

And VeVe taking a hard slap. One of MANY:

Great action on its way. Stay tuned.

Now, I have to get some sleep!

The Slap Down is on its way!

This is quite amusing to see develop. Looks like I'll be filming a splendid catfight between two very physically different opponents tomorrow: VeVe Lane vs Clobberetta. I love filming catfights! Here's some of what the ladies have been saying to each other on the DM yahoogroup:

Clobberetta started in with:

So, yesterday while training with VeVe I noticed there were an unusual amount of 'accidental' slaps and scratches. I think she's been getting a little too comfortable in the catfight/MMA setting. I'm not a catfight gal myself, but hell hath no fury like a Clobber-woman's scorn! If she likes to hit, then so be it - I can slap, too. Bring it on, little furious thing... you will be crushed!

So, tomorrow I'm going to be doing my first catfight video against VeVe Lane. As a newbie to this, I don't know what people generally wear - I'm used to singlets. Does anyone have any catfight attire suggestions?

Clobberetta

So, VeVe answered back:

Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait just a second here!

Sure thing, Clobberetta, you want a catfight, that's just fine by me. But let's get some facts straight here first. Who was the person throwing her weight around all over the mats during our training yesterday? And by weight I don't mean good, old fair-fighting body weight, I mean those big clumsy elbows of yours.

I guess a few warning slaps weren't enough to teach you to watch yourself, look out for your opponent, and keep a nice, friendly grappling match friendly. No problem, you're a newbie yet. We can switch over to catfighting and make the lessons a lot harder and faster.

You can thank me tomorrow.

- VeVe

Get the popcorn out, folks. This is going to be a great fight. These two both have a high pain tolerance, so, at least from my point of view, it will be quite a sight to see just how much slapping goes on here! Also, does such a size difference make a difference in a catfight style bout? Time will tell!

Some Tie-Up Wrestling Action and Dia Zerva coming to Town

First thing's first: I finished up a trailer for the Tie-Up wrestling match I had with VeVe on Oct 24 (see previous blog entry). That trailer video is embedded below. If you like to see some grappling + thrashing all rolled up into one, that trailer is for you.

Next: We have Dia Zerva coming to town, and she is lined up to have a match with VeVe. I was supposed to film the match between them this past week, but Dia's travels were delayed. Instead, we will be filming this coming Tuesday evening. We have no special conditions for that match, but I am certainly willing to listen to any that anyone might toss out there...

In the meantime, here's that trailer:

VeVe's Bondage Wrestling Challenge

Tonight we shot VeVe's very first Bondage Wrestling match ever to be caught on video.

VeVe is fairly experienced at this art form she calls "bondage wrestling," and she has practiced it several times in the sessioning realm. And while I've heard VeVe talk about this wrestling style before, tonight was the first time I got to witness her bondage wrestling skills in action. You see, that's me right there:

Yes, dear readers, I had the pleasure of facing off against little VeVe in this challenging sort of match. Clobberetta handled the camera on this one, and she did a great job of it.

The match ran for 20 minutes total, made up of two 10-minute rounds. VeVe's objective: to tie and capture me, all while wrestling for position and control. My job: don't get tied! Now, that's easier said than done when your opponent has loops and lassos pre-set all over the mat space. If we rolled near a rope coil, you bet that thing was coming into use real quick.

VeVe is pretty smart when it comes to bondage wrestling. I have to say, she did a fine job of distracting me and using that distraction tactic to slip quick-tie coils on my wrist and ankles. The ankles ties were the absolute worst. Not only were they considerably painful (rope bites), but they were considerably immobilizing. Go ahead, you try wrestling while your feet are tied together; legs are very important in this game.

I was able to get a few sweeps in, despite my bound ankles, and I even nearly got a one-armed rear naked choke while I had both legs and one wrist tied. Not too shabby!

Despite my thrashing attempts to shake her off, VeVe kept her cool and went about her business like a pro. It's a tough fight when your opponent can get great grips and you and you can't really grab her back.

So, there's my little run down as I simultaneously work on the editing for this video, set for a release tomorrow.

What do I think of bondage wrestling with VeVe after this experience? Well, I certainly think it leads to a very frustrating situation of immobility! Her quick-tie roping neutralized my strength advantage, making the struggle a tough one for me. All in all, it was pretty damn fun!

And on that note, if you like struggle, I do indeed recommend you give this style of bondage wrestling a try!

Making match compilation DVDs

It took an unexpected phone call about a month ago to get me thinking of this. Or maybe I had thought of it before, but it took that phone call to actually get me to put this seemingly obvious idea into action: the creation of multi-match DVDs.

You may be tempted to say "Duh, Mr. D, that's just so obvious!" But allow me to explain.

When we produce a new match video, our turn-around time is very quick; the match is filmed and released usually within a day or two. While that works excellently for downloadables - people can get the download quickly, with the full excitement of the match still lingering fresh in the air - it isn't that great for DVDs.

To release a match quickly on DVD typically means the release of a single-match DVD. Unless, of course, multiple related matches are shot within the same week, such as two F v F or two mixed matches of the same style. However, since we didn't stack shoots like that in our earlieryears, that led to the production of many single match DVDs.

This is the way it went for some time.

Then one day I received a phone call from someone asking for a printed list of our DVDs. Since we had never received that sort of request before (most people use the internet listing), I thought it might be interesting to assemble a printed listing. And that is when I realized just how many single-match DVDs we had. Whoa, now that had to be tightened up.

Luckily, I had the raw files and footage for a number of the single-match DVDs, so I have been slowly assembling the related matches onto single discs. My latest compilation DVD, for example, has been all of Jay's mixed matches: Jay vs VeVe (Oct '09), Jay vs Kim (Jan '10), and Jay vs Jenny (June '10).

One thing I like about making the compilation match DVDs is that it gives me, as editor, an opportunity to see the evolution of certain wrestlers over time, in the various matches. The DVD viewers would also get to have that comparison experience.

So, in an effort to provide greater value for DVD viewers and fans, I am going to include at least two matches on each new DVD produced. And I am also working to combine as many of the pre-existing single-match DVDs as possible. Unfortunately, I do not have the raw files for a few of our older single-matchers, so they will remain as singles. Also, our 40-minute long matches will remain as singles.

One of these days we will get a 60-minute long match, but I digress...

Future releases will be speedy on the download, but will have a slight delay on the DVD, as I also assemble other footage to add to the disc.

So, there is a little bit of talk and insider info on why I do what I do and have done what I've done. More to come, as always!