Tank

[Dylan Waco]

Discuss Here.

[Dylan Waco]

I'm probably not the best guy to go to bat for Tank because I never had the privilege of going to a show he worked regularly. Having said that if you talk to old Wildside fans, or fans in the Chattanooga area, or even IWA-MS fans, the consensus is that this guy is one of the few independent workers who has a real aura of violence and intensity about him. In the build up to last years Scenic City Invitational I referred to him as "the Brock Lesnar of Empire" and while that likely sounds absurd to people who haven't experienced it, it is also an absolute fact.

 

I nominate him because I think Exposer might consider him, but also because he is sort of the iconic Southern badass. His team with Iceberg is legendary in Southern indie circles and it should be. I've seen plenty of those two together, and it was like watching a prime Road Warriors if the Roadies had cooler spots, and were ten times more agile. I've also seen Tank live enough to know that he's a shockingly dynamic wrestler when he's on, a guy who combines presence and working stiff into a package that makes you always want to see him regardless of opponent. It is not an exaggeration to say that with the exception of Kyle Matthews and Jimmy Rave, there is no Southern wrestler now or from the last fifteen years who I would rather see live.

 

Like Abdullah The Butcher and Sabu, there is an authenticity to the Tank character that sort of transcends the narrow concept of good matches. Like those two I would consider him v. almost anyone a dream match, and like those two, seeing him live is a real experience.

 

Last night my family saw him have a death match that was apparently quite violent, and quite good. That doesn't really surprise me. The guy is in his 40's and much less mobile than he used to be, and I'd pay good money to see him work just about anyone. That has to count for something.

[Exposer]

Tank has this special aura about him that no other wrestler in Southern Indies has ever been able to duplicate. Every time he comes out for a match there's an immediate buzz in the building. I've been seeing him live for fifteen years now and his presence has never once changed. He's not a guy who's going to be able to hang in there on the mat or work long epic matches but he's pretty varied for what he can do. He's most notable for brawls and death matches which he's great at. However, he's also good at working big man vs little man matches, sprints whether they're big man brawls, violent brawls, or versus smaller opponents, he's a good tag worker especially as a hot tag, and can work one brawl that's completely different from the next. He also does crazy shit like double stomping a barbed wire board that's splayed across a guy who happens to be laying on thumbtacks, taking fans plastic forks to stab heads with, and crushing dudes with chairs at benefit shows. I'm hesitant to consider him because he's still limited, but I will be thinking about him.