From Jeff G. Bailey: Atticus Cogar vs AKIRA is Death Match Wrestling’s answer to Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat 1977. Yes, I’m being completel...
Atticus Cogar vs AKIRA is Death Match Wrestling’s answer to Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat 1977. Yes, I’m being completely serious.
Bold statement? I guess. Can I back it up? I guess you’ll have to read on to find out. If you’re looking for credentials to back up this opinion, I’ve been watching Wrestling for over 40+ years, modestly did it at an extraordinary high level for 17 of 23 years & saw Flair & Steamboat both debut in Mid Atlantic & saw them wrestle live multiple times in the 70s/80s/90s etc.
I’m basing this comparison on one year though. 1977. I was 13 & Ric Flair was already my favorite wrestler. He’s been in Mid-Atlantic for three years now, he’s apprenticed under the top heels in the territory, first Rip Hawk & then Johnny Valentine. He has survived the plane crash, the gory feud with Wahoo McDaniel, has a World Tag Team Title run with Greg Valentine, a friendship with BlackJack Mulligan & has taken his place as the top heel & US Champion. He was riding high, looking like the MAN when a young, handsome baby face named Ricky Steamboat shows up.
I don’t want this to be a history lesson, (Mid Atlantic Gateway is a great place to learn) but the first time Steamboat & Flair had words with Flair interrupting Steamboat during an interview, it was instantly exciting & felt huge. Times were very different & Ricky was a very kind & respectful baby face. As Flair continued to insult him, it was obvious this was going to be something special. Humble Steamboat politely took the abuse this first time, but you just knew he wouldn’t a second time.
The following week Flair interrupted again & this time slapped Steamboat across the face. First Steamboat apologizes (Best baby face ever) to David Crockett for what he’s going to do & then knocks Flair cold with a chop to the head & were off & running.
This set up has zero to do with modern wrestling let alone DM wrestling, but it does set the table of two future greats finding that perfect dance partner to have an everlasting feud with. The heated competition between them feels so real, they don’t even realize, let alone know how lucky they are to have found each other yet.
Finding that right person in DM Wrestling is a godsend at this time, as there are more young high quality DM wrestlers at this time than I can ever remember. In a world of spectacle when it’s always getting harder to be memorable, having a heated rival & a feud gives you a much better opportunity to stand out & be recognized for ALL of the things that make wrestling great.
Just as I saw those two in 1977, I discovered the “Silver Teethed Satan” Atticus Cogar & AKIRA this past Summer at ICWNHB DM Circus weekend. AKIRA fought 3 times that w/e & I was immediately taken with him. Three very different matches including the very first Pit match when no one had any idea what to expect & AKIRA & Eddy Only made the Pit shows become a thing. Seriously bad ass shit.
Atticus only fought once that w/e but they both headlined shows & had great matches with the ICW Ace John Wayne Murdoch. At the end of AKIRA vs JWM the 44OH got involved & Atticus expressed the opinion that “AKIRA wasn’t the future of shit.” He also called Ric Flair a pussy, so he may not love this comparison. So be it. It’s my story to tell.
Tiny backstory there, AKIRA had been dubbed the “Golden Boy” aka the future of DM Wrestling. Atticus clearly has taken offense seeing himself in that spot. Alex Ocean has also been in the “Golden Boy” discussion as well & has found himself a peripheral part of this feud as the year passes into 2021 as well.
Now getting back to 1977 Flair & Steamboat...
The similarities are obvious. The bleached blonde hair often turned red with blood, an arrogant & cocky heel who can go from being a backing it all up killer on the attack to switching to a big selling, chickenshit heel backpedaling. He can talk and in a way that no one else does. He has his own very compelling personal story to tell, that feeds into the whole 44OH aesthetic.
He does videos that he narrates with his own unique slam poetry promo style that makes you believe every word he says. When he cuts a promo, he makes it very personal & he attacks guys verbally in a way that sells the match. He has his own flashy style of wrestling, talking & just overall presentation of himself. He looks like a star. He’s the fucking “Silver Teeth Satan”. A true Heel. Clearly, I’m a fan.
Then there’s AKIRA, he may not be as humble as Steamboat (Who was/is?) but he has that same sense of honor and pride that he carry’s himself with. It doesn’t feel phony because it isn’t. Like Atticus, you know he believes what he says which in turn makes you believe it.
Seeing two guys fight who can make you believe they mean what they’re saying happens almost never anymore. It’s truly the lost art of Pro Wrestling & something Death Match wrestling needs more of to continue to grow & grab a bigger slice of the Pro Wrestling dollar.
He’s tells you he’s the “Death Samurai” & you know that it is true. From his Bloodsport entrance music with everyone waiting to shout out “Fight to Survive” & chant Kumite, to his katana, to his general overall vibe & fearless nature, he is a phenomenal baby face.
Some guys are just born to be a baby face. Steamboat was one & now AKIRA is another. They have the people with them effortlessly.
Sure, he could be a heel, but why? Great baby faces are super rare.
It helps to have great heels to make baby faces & the entirety of the 44OH are great heels but Atticus is AKIRAs rival. The yin to his yang.
Their feud right now appears to be an ICWNHB only as they’re only 3 matches in & Atticus is 3-0 at this point, (2 in the Pit/1 in the Chains) but this match could travel anywhere & headline a show. It has a special feeling to it, it’s clearly 2 guys on their ascent to the very top with each seeing the other as a road block or more likely a stepping stone to reaching their pinnacle.
They have a rivalry that feels real. They sell their fights not based on respect, but more so on the hatred, disdain, & contempt they have for each other as well as wanting to prove who the better man & fighter is. I haven’t seen any lame posts of them putting each other over & I hope I never do, which is certainly an uncommon sight in DM wrestling as respect & appreciation of your opponent is a common way of selling matches.
A kind of lazy one if you ask me but I existed in wrestling as a talker so I certainly appreciate those who try to do more in that art form. Matches with promos giving them a reason to exist > than those without. It isn’t rocket science, make an effort, sell your match.
Death Match Wrestling is a spectacle, & it can be promoted & enjoyed off that alone, but when you have a true personal rivalry, then it is truly at its highest crescendo. The best that it can be. I love that it feels headed more in this direction for 2021.
It’s not every day two guys come along that are the two sides of a coin. So in a year of Death Match Super Fights on the horizon like
RSP vs Gage, vs Murdoch & vs Bentley, JWM vs Takeda, Alex Colon vs 44OH, as well as Atticus vs MASADA, appreciate what we have in this Atticus vs AKIRA feud because we may be talking about it for decades to come. I certainly hope so, not just because I enjoy the matches so much, but also so that my genius can be forever acknowledged by putting these thoughts out in the ether.
“Two sides of the coin to choose from.”
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