RhodyRaybo's blog

After 75 matches with 29 different guys in a 12 month period, I decided to sit back and reflect on my top 5 favorite wrestling buddies. It was easy to pick them out. About half the guys I wrestled were one shot deals. Some of those were not a heartbreak to me. Others, it would have been nice to see them more than once. But for the guys who stand out I'm giving mention to each of them in a "Best Of..." approach. And I will use all made-up names to protect their privacy. So here goes.

BEST BROMANCE "Todd" age-mid 50's, lives 20 minutes away, single, straight, about my size, cannot host. Todd was the second guy I wrestled with when I started last July. His knowledge of wrestling moves is limited, but he can hold his own. He was the first to put me in a scissors lock. He was also the first to treat me as a genuine friend. After our match, we didn't see each other for a few weeks, but much to my surprise, I continued hearing from him through email. He was very encouraging. We started meeting semi regularly and wound up wrestling 10 times. During our matches, we talked an awful lot and enjoyed each other's company. He was the first wrestler that I confided in with a lot of personal issues. We became close friends. Unfortunately, he's had some health issues this past year, so any future matches are on hold for now. But he is having them addressed, so we'll be able to get back into the swing sometime next winter hopefully. In the meantime, we continue to communicate and keep each other updated on what's happening with us. So "Todd" gets the "Best Bromance" award.

BEST SUB WRESTLER "Stanley" Mid-50's, mostly straight, married, family man, smaller, muscular, fairly hairy, cannot host. I met Stanley at a garage of another wrestler last August. The host had Stanley and myself wrestle right after I arrived. It only lasted about 10 minutes, but I knew at that point that I wanted to go at it with this guy again. He left shortly after and I had a session with the host. That guy who hosted and I have not been in touch lately, but Stanley and I began wrestling semi regularly the following January. While Stanley does not employ a large variety of moves when we wrestle, he has tremendous strength, energy, and speed. He likes sub wrestling and it's always a battle to to see who can pin or nail whom. When he has me on my back he often treats me to his grinding his hairy chest in my face. Love it!! Then after a tapout (usually me), we embrace for several minutes. But what I love about Stanley is that he's been wrestling for many years and has quite a list of semi regulars, largely guys who travel to the major city he lives near. So with all that demand and heavy activity, I consider it such a high honor and privilege to be on his list of regulars. He also is one to try to push me to the next level. He wants me to get better at what I do, and with his brotherly help, it's happening. Thank you so much Stanley.

BEST BEAR MATCH "Wilfred" mid-30's, gay, single, slightly bigger than I am, very, very hairy, cannot host. Lives 25 minutes north of me. What do I mean by "Bear Match"? Picture 2 very hairy guys going at it who mutually admire each others' very hairy chests. That is a "bear match". Thus enters "Wilfred". He and I first met and wrestled sometime during the winter when I had a 3 day trial "premium membership" on another site. I sent out over 30 invites to wrestle, and "Wilfred" was the only one who met with me, or even agreed to for that matter. We have now wrestled 7 times and will continue to do so as circumstances allow. Wilfred is very strong, but not unbeatable. I am able to get him to tap out at least once each session. After each tap out we might massage each others pecs or bellies, hug a bit, or just plain talk. He's actually quite funny when he tells of his antics with his parents, work, or roommate. He actually might do well as a stand up comic. But either way, I always look forward to meeting with "Wilfred". It's always intense, fun, and humorous.

BEST JOBBER "Ron", mid 40's, straight?, divorced father of one, 50 lbs lighter than me, works 20 minutes north of me, lives about 45 minutes east of me. I don't see this fav anywhere near as often as I wish I could. Our schedules and infirmities just seem to prevent us from grappling as often as we'd like. But nonetheless, this jobber whom I first met in March and grappled with 4 times so far is very deserving of a place on my list of fav's. Despite the fact that he is trained in various martial arts and is quite strong, his first choice is to be a jobber. But he's no rag doll here. He will make you work for the title of heel. He loves being in a hold and trying to get out of it. I always say I love the looks on his face. He also loves belly and pec play, and will trade rolls and play the heel if you ask him to. Bottom line, I have had so much fun being heel to him, and he's very down to earth and personable. On our first match, I felt as though I was wrestling an old friend rather than a guy I just met. So 5 dings for "Ron". He's tops in my list of wrestling buddies even though I usually look "down" on him while grappling.

BEST ALL AROUND "Jim-Bob" early 30's, about 65 lbs heavier than me, straight, family man, hairy chest and belly, lives about an hour away, cannot host. I had every intention of including this very special wrestler in my list of favorites, but what title to give him? I couldn't think of one thing in particular, but rather, several things. So I decided to award him "Best All Around". We met back in May for the first time though we had chatted months earlier, but a match didn't happen back then. But when we planned our initial meeting back in May, we chatted quite extensively beforehand, both on line and on the phone. And the more we chatted, the more we realized the common interests we had when wrestling. We both love hugging and long embraces. We both love hanging together. We both love making videos of our meets then watching them together. We both love certain types of wrestling that I won't go into. And he has gotten me interested in more gut punching, something he loves. Our matches are long...at least 3 hours. We meet, we embrace, we wrestle, we embrace, we wrestle, we embrace, we through some talking in there and we just have an all around great time. Let's just say, we really clicked. We've had 3 matches so far with a fourth one in the planning stages. I honestly didn't think that I would click so strongly with someone that much younger than myself, but I have. We've become very close friends in the process and Instant Message each other very regularly. So hats off to "Jim-Bob" for making every aspect of our wrestling relationship the best one could ever ask for.

Again, the men here are real, the names have been changed and locations concealed to protect their privacy. If any of them read this and wish to identify themselves, they are free to do so. But hopefully they'll all read this and realize they did more than just wrestle. They bonded. And I love them all like brothers, well more than brothers because I never really got along with my biological brothers to begin with. Peace out!