Rhode Island's riches Biff Busick vs. Timothy Thatcher 26.09.2015

The Cars have been in the mechanics for a few days but it's been fixed up and we're back on the road. We take the three hour road trip passing through our old friend New Hampshire arriving in beautiful Providence Rhode Island. Soon we will escape from New England. Providence is one of the first American cities to embrace industrialization, appropriate given the cold efficient action seen from one of our competitors.

Rhode Island is slightly more plentiful in good wrestling compared to some of its New England Compatriots that this road trip has recently visited. That being said, it's still mostly untouched by major promotions instead being dominated by one indie promotion, Beyond. Beyond is remembered as a promotion that people kinda sorta cared about. On this specific night the 26th of September 2015 we find a match that is part of the “Greatest Rivals Round Robin” a one night round robins tournament that has four competitors of Drew Gulak, Biff Busick, Eddie Edwards and Timothy Thatcher. Four of the best wrestlers of the US 2010’s indies and also Eddie Edwards. In both competitors' 2nd match of the night we find Timothy Thatcher facing off against Biff Busick.

Thatcher is often criticised for just being a guy who gets a limb in a hold and makes silly faces. Those criticisms are wrong because even if that was true, silly faces and limb holds are the secret to good wrestling but also there is so much more to Thatcher's work. And when paired with a worthy competitors in Biff Busick we get magic. The early part of this match is an extended Greco-Roman Knuckle Lock or test of strength if you're boring. This sequence is brilliant and shows off one of Thatcher's best qualities of being able to get a lot out of something simple.

What makes it work so well is how the knuckle lock is used to get both in and out of submission without the hands ever letting go. Thatcher who takes the early dominance is perfectly cruel and punishing in his actions and Biff is sympathetic in his role. Thatcher segments himself as the heel of the bout with the bending of the rules in using the ring post to damage Biff's arm which steps up the grab a hold to make a funny face part of the match though it doesn't go as long as it might for other Thatcher matches.

Biff is excellent in selling both the damage to his hand and the desperation to get to the ropes. As soon as Biff gets some space between him and Thatcher he realises that in order to get back into the match he must raise the level of violence and start slugging it out. To the surprise no one Biff throws great strikes but Thatcher whose strike game is not brought up enough responses with punches that are just as good. This is a match that really builds without feeling overly staged. Perfectly peaking with the trade of headbutts between the two. In the end it's Thatcher attempting to return the match to the mat that is hes downfall with Biff able to slip out of his clutches to get in a bulldog choke for the win.

Truly excellent match between two of the best the Indie scene at the time had to offer.

Four ¼ Viola Davis out of five

Next up Connecticut .

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