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Dusty Rhodes and The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) (with Paul Ellering) defeated The Powers of Pain (The Barbarian and The Warlord) and Ivan Koloff (with Paul Jones) in a Barbed Wire match. (Clash of the Champions 3/27/1988)

#jcp #nwa #dusty rhodes #road warriors #road warrior animal #road warrior hawk #paul ellering #the barbarian #the warlord #powers of pain #ivan koloff #paul jones

Here are scenes from a classic Triple Tag Team match from the Cold War era. A brutal Russian troika runs right over young Sam Houston. The three Heels' matching red singlets (which barely contain their meaty physiques) convey military power and precision, teamwork and discipline -- in contrast to the jobber team who are mis-matched in gear, stature, and weight (and thus, doomed.)

The usual anti-Soviet propaganda, common during the 1980s, is in full effect here. The hated Russians are depicted as cruel, heartless cheaters whose only goal is to harm our American athletes -- especially cute young Sam Houston.

They isolate Houston and proceed to beat the fu$k out of him with a series of devastating moves. Meanwhile, he fully capitulates, acting totally weak and rag-dolly. It is a complete Squash Job -- Houston and his two jobber partners never really had a chance!

So this begs the question: Why is this depiction of Soviet dominance being presented to a Western audience? Shouldn't our TV shows reflect the strength and power of our American heroes, triumphing over the Communist threat? (at least by the end of the match, if not throughout?) Why not give the paying fans what they want to see?

I believe that this display of superior Russian power plays on viewers' secret desire to be invaded and dominated. Many people crave having a stronger power immobilize them, slap them around, and bully them. So these wrestlers are giving the fans what they paid to see: the pleasure of being totally controlled and humiliated (at least, by proxy.)

As the cowboy-next-door, Houston serves as our avatar -- our American representative in this story. Didn't we all dress up as cowboys, and don't we still crave, at some level, the carefree lifestyle of freedom and adventure? So anything that happens to Cowboy Houston here is also happening (figuratively, in our thoughts and fantasies) to us.

So we watch as Houston is ravaged by three big, sweaty Russian conquerors. They pass his limp body from one soldier to the next, each man taking his turn pummeling their play-thing. Sometimes, they double-team him, too. This is a barely concealed pantomime of a Gang Bang.

And maybe you've heard news reports about sadistic Russian soldiers and the depraved acts they commit on their conquered enemies to degrade and humiliate the defeated population. Given this reputation for pillaging their enemies, we get the sense that they're doing more to Sam Houston (and, in turn, to us) than just wrestling him/us.

And thus, plenty of the men in the audience will go home angry, blushing, and rather horny after being violated psychologically like this. And many of them will show up or tune in for the next pro wrestling card, craving more humiliating Russian domination scenes like this one.

Even the text under the above replay describes the Russian Team as "seemingly unstoppable" -- a hint that they aren't done with these jobbers (or with us). It's another tantalizing threat to our safety and dignity.