You’d think that bringing together wrestlers of unequal weight might make for some dull, predictable viewing. Not so! Much to everyone’s surprise (including that of the fighters themselves!), the lighter grapplers in each of these three bouts manage to hold their own against all the odds. Yes, the heavier dudes clearly take pleasure in torturing their prey when they can, but the sheer cunning of these youngsters means they never miss a trick - and, sure enough, their scores begin to grow! You begin to wonder how much longer the big guys can maintain their ‘playfulness’ as defeat seems to loom over the horizon; they’d only have themselves to blame, after all, and only a fool would ignore the signs altogether!

  In the first two bouts, the young bucks are completely fearless, and seem up to tackling even the biggest and heaviest of opponents! In each of their bouts, Pascal and Miguel - two of W&L’s most popular and skillful wrestlers - approach the mat, brimming with confidence and sure of an easy victory. It’s not long, however, before they’re completely taken aback by the incredible audacity of their young, upstart opponents. In the third bout - where (in the initial stages at least) Alex (“the Giant”) appears so clearly to be the dominant fighter - again expectations are turned upside-down, as Mouka reaches deep into his bag of tricks for even more ingenious escape routes.

  Basically, our three challengers all adopt the same tactic: they avoid getting into tests of sheer brute strength by relying on their agility and speed. (Contrary to popular belief, a fight between guys of unequal weight doesn’t necessarily result in the advantage being given to one or other combatant. In fact, here you’ll see advantage being distributed pretty much equally between the fighters; power on the one hand, speed on the other.The heavier guys certainly can’t afford to be over-confident; they must capitalise on their assets and overwhelm their opponents by muscle-power alone. Any rapid movements must also be avoided, as the younger guys will do everything they can to maintain the impetus and wear the bigger hunks down.

  All three bouts are impressive displays of courage, power, man-to-man aggression - and even, at times, humour! For example, the extraordinary sight of Miguel breaking into uncontrollable laughter when - at the very moment he is proudly strutting in front of camera - he releases a resounding fart, like a drum-roll! And also, when - in the first bout - Chême buzzes around Pascal (like a mosquito around a bull!) - making faces behind his back - until the moment he stops dead in his tracks, for fear of receiving a smack from Pascal when he turns round! Or when Benoît gets hold of Miguel’s head and, turning towards the mirror on the wall cries in his characteristic Northern brogue “Look at his head! Go on, look at his head!”. You really couldn’t stage it any better if you tried!

  It’s great watching these real-life ‘David and Goliath’ encounters; Miguel’s neck on the line (courtesy of Benoit’s inflated arrogance), and Pascal’s hunky body pushed to the limits by the relentless energy of the bantamweight Chême, determined to impose his will once and for all on the muscular bull!

Combat 1

  Pascal du Kosto des Lascards vs Chême des Typhons et Pythons.

  Pascal Gagneur vs. Chême Le Chêne.
  Pascal accepts a challenge from that arrogant show-off, Chême. (If he had known then what he was about to face, he might have changed his mind and stayed at home! Pascal may well be the more experienced of the two gladiators, but believe you me, it doesn’t take his lean and hungry opponent long to breach the defenses and begin on his agenda of muscle-stud destruction!).

  At the start of the bout, there are no real surprises, as Pascal goes on the offensive and brings Chême to the mat with little difficulty. Even at this early stage, you fear for Chême’s hide (knowing - as we all do by now - Pascal’s formidable technique in free-style wrestling!).

  However, don’t be fooled! Against all expectations, Chême (who until now has been stuck in a very tight corner indeed!) manages to slip an arm under Pascal’s chin and proceeds to strangle the hirsute grappler mercilessly. Pascal renews his attack (convinced that Chême has just scored his first - and last - point), but without success. Again he is overcome by yet another stranglehold! Somehow, at this stage in the scrap, Pascal’s freestyle skills seem to be deserting him; the younger guy manages time and again to hit the right buttons and turn Pascal from a revered veteran of the hardest scraps imaginable, to a virtual novice!

  You really do start to worry about Pascal; rather than overpowering his opponent with his usual dazzling array of moves and counter-moves, he seems to lurch from one trap to another - all based on that same, astonishingly effective, stranglehold. Indeed, after a while, you start to think this must be the only hold Chême knows! (It’s certainly one Pascal now wishes he knew better!!).

  Not surprisingly, Pascal is now acting with a good deal of caution; instead of really going for it (and, in so doing, running the risk of total exhaustion), he bides his time and waits for Chême to make the first big mistake. This tactic works well, and soon Chême submits to a number of locks and strangleholds from the master’s bag of tricks. That said, however, Chême still has the upper hand....

  The question is, can Pascal overcome his problems, and rise to the challenge of the younger man, before the final bell sounds? Can experience win-out over youthful cockiness?

  Watch, and find out!

Combat 2

  Miguel du Kosto des Lascards vs Benoît des Mâtins Terrifiques.

  Miguel Le Magnifique vs. Benoît El Niño.
  Miguel - a seasoned grappler from the stables of W&L - meets Benoît in an intriguing blend of power, speed and determination. Benoît may be a featherweight, but, my God, he’s the real thing; an out-and-out brawler, arrogant beyond belief and a self-proclaimed ‘cock-of-the-walk’! Like Chême in the last bout, he’s certainly not short of things to say, and he’s alive to every opportunity that comes his way. From start to finish, Miguel looks serious; even at the outset, he refuses to shake Benoît’s hand - a snub which visibly annoys the younger man.

  You have to admire Benoît - a handsome blond who looks fantastic when he flexes his muscles and displays his superbly developed chest. At the same time though, you almost have to feel a bit sorry for Miguel; at the start, he suffers terribly from an over-confident approach which (ironically) leaves him vulnerable to attack. It seems he just isn’t exercising enough caution over his fiesty, lighter opponent!

  Some of the action can make for some pretty uneasy viewing; the sight of Benoît’s small blond head being engulfed by Miguel’s powerful frame has you holding your breath....until, that is, Benoît turns into Houdini and somehow manages to escape by breaking Miguel’s vicious choke-hold. Time and time again you think Benoît is at death’s door; but just as Chême managed to escape Pascal’s powerful clutches in the first bout (thanks to a great deal of sweat, I might add!), so Benoît starts to make light work of Miguel’s.

  Now thoroughly pissed-off, Miguel gets hold of the young stud in a vicious bear-hug, and contemptuously hurls him backwards to the mat in a gesture of complete defiance. As it echoes around the gym, the sound of Benoît’s body hitting the mat with such force is really quite startling! Valiently, however, Benoît hauls himself up again and, with Miguel’s powerful frame bearing down on him, he braces himself for the shock. The resulting tangle of bodies makes it even harder to predict the outcome; just who is going to emerge as the winner of this war of nerves?

  Now Miguel’s muscular thighs are doing their worst, and before long you start to worry for Benoît’s safety. Not to be outdone, however, Benoît escapes from his human ‘straight-jacket’ and immediately applies a nasty elbow-lock (a speciality of his) to the bewildered Miguel. From the resulting submission, Benoît swaggers to the scoreboard, totally pumped and positively overflowing with testosterone!

  From his hapless position on the mat, Miguel looks on in frustration and wide-eyed disbelief. More than ever, he’s determined to bring this farce to an end, and no amount of abuse from Benoît will put him off. The youngster, meanwhile, is still strutting his stuff and milking the moment for all it’s worth. In what turns out to be a moment of supreme irony, he thrusts his finger towards the camera and proclaims “This is just the beginning!”

  How very true! Poor Benoît - he just doesn’t see it coming....!

  With his dignity and energy-levels restored, Miguel gets the better of his opponent and severely punishes the naughty and presumptuous child in a ferocious tangle of muscle and sweat. It’s pay-back time, and for one young wrestler, this is a lesson in modesty he’ll never forget!

Combat 3

  Alex des Typhons et Pythons vs Mouka de la Fosse aux Molosses.

  Alex Le Colosse vs. Mouka Le Moka.
  Here we have almost exactly the same scenario as with the previous two bouts: Alex (the hunky muscleman) being kept unexpectedly in check by his lighter, faster opponent, Mouka.

  (Incidentally, Mouka’s nickname is ‘Mouka le Moka’ (‘Moka’ being a popular, sweet cake made of dark chocolate). The irony of this is certainly not lost on Alex; how can something so pleasurable be so difficult to deal with? At least with ‘Chême-le-Chêne’ (‘chêne’ meaning ‘oak’), Pascal is given something of a clue as to his opponent’s sturdiness and resilience! Benoît, on the other hand, is anything but ‘benoît’ (which means ‘bland’!). So, of the three, it would appear that only Chême has a nickname which befits his performance on the mat!).

  This is one heck of a scrap! Alex, a thoroughly nice, easy-going guy for most of the time, seems to forget himself once the wrestling trunks go on, and, against his equally agressive and competitive opponent, all Hell breaks loose!

  At the start, both combatants seem to enjoy sizing each other up for what they hope will be a friendly knock-about on the mats. Gradually (and somewhat predicatably) however, tension mounts as each grappler ups the ante with increasingly forceful manoeuvres and holds. It’s no surprise, then, that tactics turn decidedly dirty; the odd knee to the jaw, here...an occasional blow from the elbow, there. Mind you, whilst the spectators themselves might have every reason to disapprove of such behaviour (manly though it is!), they nonetheless applaude the fortitude and resilience of these two courageous gladiators.

  Actually, Mouka’s experience on the mat matches up to Alex’s tremendous determination throughout the course of the bout. Whilst you may feel that, because of his experience, Mouka is very much in the driving seat - bringing his much larger opponent to the mat on a number of occasions - Alex, on the other hand, demonstrates terrific endurance by escaping the many painful armtwists which his lighter opponent applies with relish!

  To everyone’s delight, this bout is as evenly balanced as it is tough; both guys manage to keep enough in reserve to make the outcome far from certain, and we’re kept in a state of breathless suspension right to the bitter end!

  Certainly not for viewers of a nervous disposition!

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