Jardonn's Erotic Tales

 CHALLENGE MATCH

by Jardonn

Part One -- The Match is Made

Dick Hodges was a dying breed. He had wrestled in all the smaller circuits, year by year moving up the ladder towards the big time. It had now been four years since he had made it - Chicago - the Mecca of all professional wrestlers. Not only was the National Guard Armory Arena packed every Friday and Saturday night, but the television broadcasts were beamed to thousands and tapes of the action were sent to stations all over the country.

Despite being the most popular wrestler on the circuit - and therefore the owner's favorite, Hodges was unhappy. The game was changing right before his eyes. Bad guys were getting away with more and more every week. Sure there had always been cheating, but now they were going way beyond the unspoken boundaries. Illegal devices were being brought into the ring, ringside chairs were being used to knock opponents out and double teaming was seen with increasing frequency. All of this was being done in full view of the referees, but cheaters were being declared the winners despite these dirty tactics.

Hodges had complained to the owner many times, but the answer was always the same. He claimed that many in the audience enjoyed the violence and that since they helped pay the salaries same as the traditional fans did, there was no harm in allowing that other segment their jollies every now and then, too. The motto has always been "give 'em what they want."

Dick Hodges felt he was becoming a dinosaur. He still believed that true wrestling skills and playing by the rules would always win out and he was going to prove it. Knowing that the owner would be in Europe for a few days to sell his product to TV stations there, Hodges issued a challenge on the Friday night broadcast. He picked the three dirtiest players for a "loser leaves town" match.

Saturday night he would face them in a best two out of three rounds challenge event. The first round would pit Hodges against one of them while the other two remained in the locker room. In round two a second man would join the first and face him two against one. If a third round were necessary, Hodges would take on all three in the ring at once. Each round was to be determined by pin-fall or submission and there would be no time limit to any round.

The bad guys jumped at this opportunity, because Hodges was the final bastion of scientific wrestling left standing between them and total domination of the Chicago circuit. The owner had always told them they could do what they wanted to any of his wrestlers, but Dick Hodges was off limits. With the owner out of town, they saw this as their best opportunity to get rid of the golden boy for good by any means necessary. Contracts were signed on the Friday live broadcast and the four men actually shook hands on the agreement.

So the match was set. It was to lead off the popular two-hour, Saturday night "Wrestling at the Armory" broadcast and even if it took the entire time to do it, this contest would determine the future of pro wrestling.

Dick Hodges was greeted with wild enthusiasm as his name was announced to the audience packing the arena. He bounded down the aisle and entered the ring to a hero's welcome. He removed his black robe and unwrapped the white towel from his neck, handing them to Jimmy, his ringside assistant. Now he stood before his adoring fans with arms raised, his ankle-length black lace-up boots and black trunks set just below the navel perfectly defining his traditional style. Hodges' muscular and well-defined upper torso, arms and legs glowed in the bright lights illuminating the ring.

Next, the MC announced the first opponent and Bucksaw Jones lumbered down the aisle. A scattering of cheers and applause was quickly drowned by a din of boos and hisses. He stood in the ring with hands on hips, his 6'7" 270 pound frame towering over the crowd. Fitting with his lumberjack image, he was dressed in a flannel shirt with sleeves torn away and baggy Levi's tucked into knee-length logger boots. His massive arms and chest were the perfect build for beating down his opponents and the illegal logger boots were his secret weapon, stomping and kicking victims on his way to victory.

The bell sounded and match began. Hodges moved in fast, knowing he needed to finish Bucksaw quickly and save his strength for Round 2. Dipping to one knee, he grabbed one of the legs and moved behind the hulk, who was as slow as a turtle and possessed no wrestling skills whatsoever. Bucksaw soon found himself face down on the mat with his left leg clamped in an ankle lock and even though this joint was protected by the thick leather of his logger boots, the skill with which Hodges executed the hold caused Bucksaw to scream in pain. With the ankle leveraged against his forearm, Hodges could have broken Bucksaw's ankle at any time, but he was not the type of man to use his skills for such things. That was not his purpose. Instead, he intended to create enough pain to cause his opponent to forfeit the round by submission, which happened in less than thirty seconds. Bucksaw pounded his meaty hand on the mat and begged the referee to end his suffering. Round 1 lasted a total of 53 seconds, with Hodges declared the winner by submission.

It was always Hodges' custom to rest on a stool in his corner between rounds and the duty of assisting him had been given to a young man he had met early in his career. Jimmy was a fan of Dick Hodges dating back to the days when his professional career began in Enid, Oklahoma. He had written countless letters to his hero and when their meeting finally took place, Jimmy begged Hodges to let him be his ring boy, securing the star's robe before the matches and setting up the stool in multiple-round events.

Hodges had agreed to this, paying Jimmy a small percentage of his salary for this assistance and from that day on, Jimmy had followed him up the ladder of success. Now, with Hodges making good money, Jimmy's loyalty was rewarded with the same percentage of the much larger salary. After all this time, he still was devoted to the man and they maintained a very close friendship, with Jimmy taking care of all the equipment, traveling with the wrestler to every town on the Chicago circuit and acting as a sort of "buffer" between Hodges and some of his overly enthusiastic fans.

Over the years, Jimmy had read countless library books and magazine articles relating to the anatomy of the body human, so he was quite skilled in helping Hodges to not only maintain, but also nurse the muscles, tendons and ligaments back to health. This he did both in the locker room after a match had ended and sometimes at the wrestler's home or motel room before time to arrive for the next contest, plus in between rounds whether it was needed or not.

As Hodges sat awaiting Round 2, Jimmy rubbed and squeezed the wrestler's trapezoids, while Bucksaw angrily paced in the opposite corner, trying to walk off the pain in his ankle.

Then the Master of Ceremonies made the announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, now entering the ring, standing over seven feet tall and weighing in at 325 pounds, the Mongolian Giant, Kruil Li Khan!"

________________________________________

Round 2

Many in the audience were impressed by this powerful man. He had totally dominated the circuit since his arrival by brutally beating down opponents with his massive arms and fists. But most of the fans despised him. Even though his superior strength and size were more than enough to defeat inferior wrestlers, he would always pummel them with a metal chair when they were prone and defenseless on the mat. After he got bored with that he would finally pin and put them out of their misery. His brutality offended a majority of the crowd and they booed him loudly, as he stood in the ring dressed in his size 14 boots with full length black tights tucked inside, and flexed his powerful bare chest while sneering at the audience.

The bell rang and Hodges sprang from his stool. He took a flying leap at Khan and drove both feet into the man's chest. The force of the blow sent the giant against the ropes, where he teetered over the top rope before falling to the floor below, crashing face down with a mighty thud. Now Hodges ran towards Bucksaw and immediately got him in the ankle lock once again. The lumberjack tried to hold on, waiting and hoping for his partner to rescue him, as Hodges expertly twisted the ankle more and more. Screaming in agony, Bucksaw raised his hand to bang the mat and signal his submission when suddenly the ankle lock was released - the result of Khan having re-entered the ring to viciously whack Hodges across his broad back with a metal ringside chair.

The fans screamed in protest. Why wasn't Khan being disqualified and Hodges declared the winner? The referee silently stood in the corner and watched what was happening, but made no effort to interfere. Even though Jimmy frantically paced the floor and pleaded with the referee to disqualify Khan, the official merely smiled at him and shook his head.

Dick Hodges lay chest down in the center of the ring. He groggily pressed with the arms to lift his torso and rise to all fours, while Khan tossed the chair aside and ran towards the ropes. He bounced off them and headed for Hodges in a full sprint. Lifting his right leg on the final step, he planted the instep of his size 14 boot into Hodges' rib cage, a blow which sent the dazed wrestler three feet into the air and rolling towards the corner, coming to rest on his back.

Now Khan stalked the prone man, grabbing both of his ankles and dragging him into the corner. Lifting Hodges up by the ankles, Khan draped the man's legs over the top rope, bending his knees over the rope on either side of the turnbuckle. Now he crossed and locked Hodges' ankles together, tucking them under a three foot long, woven steel cable. This cable horizontally connected the turnbuckle to its corresponding vertical steel post, one of four that supported the ring from the floor below. Hodges was now trapped. He was suspended upside down inside the corner of the ring, facing the center with his head six inches from the mat and forearms resting on it. He reached for the bottom rope one hand at a time and began to pull himself up, but Khan, who had left the ring and now was on the floor by the steel ring post, quickly grabbed Hodges' wrists and pulled the arms straight back towards the post, stretching them under the bottom rope outside the corner of the ring.

Now it appeared as though Hodges was vertically frozen in a mid-air hand-spring flip. His arms were bent at the elbows and pulled back at the same angle of his legs, which were bent at the knees. His forearms and shins were all turned upwards towards the ceiling of the arena. Khan held the wrists close together, causing Hodges deltoids and laterals to expand and form an inverted "V" shape from the black trunks to his bushy armpits. His back was arched, as it was pressed against the padding of the bottom and middle turnbuckles, while his chest and abdomen jutted out towards the center of the ring, hopelessly vulnerable to attack.

Bucksaw was still hobbling around the ring, but soon approached the suspended man and planted the griddled sole of his right logger boot into the center of Hodges' chest. The devastating kick drove the air out of the wrestler's lungs and left an imprint on his sternum. Khan continued to pull harder on Hodges' arms, forcing his back to arch and chest to protrude more and more.

The fans were screaming for the referee to stop the match. By the rules, Khan should have been counted out for being outside of the ropes for more than ten seconds, but this referee continued to stand in the distant corner, oblivious to the illegal tactics being used on the helpless wrestler. Jimmy also relentlessly pleaded with the referee to do his job and count out the Mongolian, but his protests fell on deaf ears. The audience members were beginning to suspect that some sort of arrangement had been made prior to the beginning of the match, while Jimmy was sure of it, for no other reason could explain this referee's blatant disregard for the rules.

Khan pulled with all his might and Hodges groaned in agony, flexing his torso to prepare for the next assault. Bucksaw's ankle was now fully recovered and he lumbered over to the opposite corner, turned to face Hodges, then ran at full sprint towards the bound man. Gaining speed, Bucksaw came at him like a freight train and leaped into the air to deliver a devastating drop kick with both logger boots, one crashing into Hodges' chest and the other pulverizing his stomach. This caused a spray of saliva to spew from his mouth, as the air was pounded out of him. Now Bucksaw stood before the poor man and lifted his right boot, then began to repeatedly pound Hodges' chest, stomach and belly with the sole of the logger boot. One devastating stomp after another rained on the helpless man's exposed chest and abdominal muscles, as Hodges groaned and grunted from this brutal punishment. Little red circles began to cover the front of Hodges' torso, imprints left behind from the thick sole of the griddled logger boot driving into his exposed chest and gut.

Finally Khan released Hodges' wrists and left him hanging there upside down, desperately gasping for air. He lifted his arms and began to rub his aching chest with one hand and pulverized belly with the other.

As Khan stepped up to join his partner in the center of the ring, both men pointed to the helpless victim in the corner and started to laugh. These two brutes taunted their dazed opponent, while also teasing the crowd by raising their hands in victory as though the round was already over. Jimmy jumped up to the ring outside the ropes and attempted to release Hodges' feet from underneath the steel cable securing them, but Bucksaw quickly moved toward him and planted a fist in the center of Jimmy's forehead, sending him back down to the floor flat on his back.

Then Bucksaw reached over and unlocked Hodges ankles, allowing him to tumble to the mat, where he lay chest down groaning in pain. Khan joined his partner and picked Hodges up by his armpits to a standing position. Soon he had the crook of the wrestler's elbows locked with his. Placing his forearms into the small of Hodges' back, Khan locked his wrists together and pulled back the victim's arms, forcing the chest and abdomen to push forward. Now Hodges' was held in the classic position, primed for a series of gut punches.

Bucksaw placed his left hand on Hodges' chest and began the assault. He drove his fist into the stomach, just under the rib cage. Hodges had tightened the muscles there with all his might and the fist was received with a dull thud, causing Bucksaw's knuckles to feel like they had hit a brick wall. Unfazed, he resumed the pounding, driving his fist into Hodges' mid-section again and again, working his way from the stomach down towards the navel inches at a time. Now he grabbed the rim of Hodges' trunks with his left hand and pulled the belly towards him, simultaneously delivering a punch with his right hand aimed directly at the man's belly button. He continued pounding Hodges' lower abdomen with repeated rights, while Khan pulled the victim's arms back with painful effect.

Hodges was slowly succumbing to these devastating punches. The only way he could defend himself was with the powerful muscles in his abdominal cavity, but they were slowly breaking down. The deep sounding thuds that accompanied each punch to his guts were now being joined by breath-heavy grunts, ooghs and ughs, so Bucksaw intensified the attack by including left hooks in his arsenal. He alternated right upper cuts to the pit of the man's stomach, followed by a left to the kidney and another right in the vicinity of the navel. Manly grunts echoed from the ring, as Hodges withstood a relentless flurry of blows to his exposed gut.

After pausing to catch the breath and admire his work, Bucksaw bolted for the far ropes, bounced off them and returned towards his victim. He leapt into the air and planted both boots into Hodges' mid-section with another flying drop kick. A huge wad of spit shot from the poor man's mouth as every ounce of air was driven out of him. Khan finally released the arms and Hodges fell to his knees with both hands clutching the belly, then lingered for several seconds before collapsing chest down onto the mat.

Again the hulks teased the audience. They pointed to Dick Hodges and laughed at him, ridiculing the man in front of his screaming fans. Scattered amidst the crowd were a few clapping hands and cheers, but nobody heard them. The vast majority was yelling at the referee, begging for him to do something.

Bucksaw and Khan probably could have pinned the man then and there, but they were not finished with him. Now it was Khan's turn. Bucksaw prepared Hodges for the next punishment by placing the crook of his elbows under the man's armpits. Locking his hands behind Hodges' head, he now secured him in a full-nelson, then rolled over onto his back and brought Hodges with him. Next, he brought his ankles from either side, placed them over the tops of Hodges' and effectively pinned the man's legs to the floor between his own.

Dick Hodges was held in a full-nelson while lying on top of the massive lumberjack. His chest rose high into the air as his arms, which together with his shoulders formed a "U" shape, were pulled down towards the mat. Khan retrieved the chair that had begun Hodges' downfall and - after folding the metal seat to a closed position, he approached the helpless victim, raised the chair high over his head and slammed it down across Hodges' protruding chest with a tremendous blow. As Hodges howled in unholy pain, Khan turned to the audience and taunted them, pointing to the stricken man as a way to further belittle their fallen hero.

Some in the crowd were enjoying this spectacle and they cheered the mighty Khan, which caused small skirmishes to break out in the audience. The majority still wanted the beatings to stop and were outraged as to why anyone would be applauding the antics of these two monsters. Sure, there had been rule-breakers who had punished journeymen wrestlers before - jobbers they're called, but they were nobodies and the brutality had never reached this level. This was the number one good guy in the entire stable of wrestlers. How could it be that these men were being allowed to totally destroy him, with no sense of fair play nor an official who would enforce the rules? The fans were puzzled and beginning to fragment between those loyalists who loved Dick Hodges and those new to the sport who wanted something more exciting. With the outcome of the match still in doubt, the traditionalists held the majority, but little by little their numbers were dwindling.

Khan turned back to his victim and straddled him by planting his size 14 boots on either side of Hodges' hips. Holding the chair by its legs, he scrutinized the powerful chest and belly stretched and defenseless before him, then raised the chair and drove the edge of its seat back into Hodges' flattened abdominal muscles. He brought the chair up and down again and again, pounding Hodges from the pit of his stomach down to his belly and back again. Spit was spraying from Hodges' mouth like a fountain each time the seat back was driven into him and he let out a guttural grunt with each blow, as oxygen was crushed out of him as quickly as he could breath it in.

Kruil Li Khan was not yet finished pulverizing the helpless wrestler. He reversed grip on the chair and held the seat back with one hand. Using his free hand, Khan grabbed Hodges' trunks and lowered them to just above the pubic hair, then partially unfolded the chair to make the feet six inches apart. Placing two of the feet into Hodges' middle section, he began to lean on the chair. Now they were grinding into Hodges' abdominal muscles - one foot below the man's navel, the other in the pit of his stomach. His mighty chest expanded, while Bucksaw pulled down on his arms to further arch the back and stretch the abdominals. Hodges sucked in and tightened the belly with every ounce of strength he could summon, desperately trying to withstand this horrific punishment. The groaning of the man was a pitiful sound, as he strained against Bucksaw's firmly clamped full-nelson and raised his head with lower jaw jutting forward. Gazing past his heaving chest, Hodges looked down to the sight of his own torture. He and his powerful belly muscles were locked in a battle against the feet of the chair, as Khan ruthlessly drove them deep into him like impaling stakes.

Soon, tiny lines of blood began to trickle from the corners of his twisted mouth. The grinding feet of the chair were slowly crushing his stomach and the organs in his belly. Seeing this, the giant raised the chair embedded into the man's muscles and tossed it to the mat. He gazed at the audience to see and hear a few cheering and applauding these antics, but most were shaking their fists at him and demanding that he stop torturing the poor man.

Khan knelt to the mat and positioned himself beside Hodges' abdomen. He stared at every line of the stretched muscles he had just ground to a pulp, while the helpless wrestler's chest and diaphragm rapidly rose and fell. He struggled to take in fresh oxygen in an attempt to bring renewed strength to his pulverized belly, then turned his head to find Jimmy standing at ringside.

With Khan on the far side from him, Jimmy had a full profile view of his helpless hero's tormented body, as it strained against the torturous stretching of the full nelson. He saw the line of Hodges' abdomen quickly and repeatedly rise and fall, noting at how It was caved in to such an extent that the massive, expanded chest cavity appeared to be miles higher than the belly itself. Add to this the drama of his muscular body gallantly struggling to escape the full nelson and Jimmy was mesmerized by the scene. He marveled at the incredible power of the man, but at the same time was devastated by the sight of his hero's suffering. He so dearly respected and admired Dick Hodges - not only for the masculine strength and athletic skills, but also for his unwavering commitment to the sport they both loved - that Jimmy's eyes began to moisten and his face became consumed with anguish.

With head turned, Dick Hodges cast his eyes upon the devoted assistant and in a thoughtful gesture to console him, flashed a smile, coupled with a reassuring wink. This strengthened Jimmy and he resumed his attempts to persuade the useless referee to do his duty, but the fool made no moves to disqualify these two henchmen.

Just then Khan raised his arms high and formed two claws with his gigantic hands. He brought them down full bore onto Dick Hodges' belly and clamped on the abdominal claw. Hodges writhed in agony from this devastating hold. Few men had survived this paralyzing punishment under normal circumstances, but now Dick Hodges was forced to endure this agony with his arms and legs hopelessly pinned, chest raised high in the air and exposed belly muscles stretched, flattened and relentlessly ground to a pulp.

The hero let out a manly groan with each exhale, as Khan ruthlessly clutched his 10 powerful fingers into the flattened abdominals. Hodges clenched his teeth and raised his head to witness the grinding punishment. Staring him down with an evil grin, Khan told the struggling man to submit, but Hodges shook his head side to side, as he groaned and grunted with lower jaw jutting forward in defiance. Khan then raised up on his haunches to increase the leverage, driving his fingers deeper into the poor man's belly muscles. He again demanded a submission, but Hodges held on with all his strength.

Illegal in almost every circuit (including Chicago - not that it mattered), the abdominal claw renders a man nearly lifeless. By attacking the muscles and nerve endings, a form of paralysis sets in, as the metabolism slows and organs begin to nearly stop functioning. The longer such an attack is sustained upon a man, the further his body becomes defenseless - that is if he merely lies flat on his back to withstand the punishment. The belly of Dick Hodges was in a far worse predicament and position of vulnerability, but still he somehow was able to maintain enough strength to flex the muscles in defense. This caused his mighty chest to expand and rise even higher into the air. The sight of this poor man's struggle was somehow both tragic and beautiful. He alternated his gaze, first looking to his tortured belly, then to the referee and Jimmy, then to different areas of the audience.

A few were cheering their approval of these tactics, while others seemed indifferent. A few cried - both men and women. It was painful for them to see their mighty hero's manly body punished in such an unjust manner. This man was the ultimate design of masculine strength and beauty, yet they were forced to watch as he was relentlessly beaten to a pulp - tortured right before their very eyes. To them, this was not wrestling, but an undignified and unwarranted destruction of a majestic man. They could not understand why nobody was willing to help him - why there was no one to stop this two-against-one torture in the center of the ring.

What they did not realize was that they were witnessing a rebirth of the sport. Just as surely as the fingers of Khan were slowly grinding the life out of Dick Hodges, so too was the life being drained from the scientific and legitimate sport of professional wrestling. As the outrageous, illegal assault continued to wear him down, this final bastion of pure wrestling began to realize the outcome was unavoidable - his defeat inevitable - but not yet. He vowed that as long as there was one ounce of strength remaining in his tortured body, he would never give in to them. They would be forced to beat him down until he could no longer move any muscle in defense. Until then, Dick Hodges was fully prepared to withstand any form of punishment they could dish out.

With newfound resolve, Hodges turned his head, glared at the tormentor and sprayed a mouth full of spit towards his face. Immediately, Khan released the abdominal claw and stood in a rage, wiping the offensive saliva away from his eyes. Then, seeking revenge, he schemed for a new attack.

As Hodges relaxed his powerful belly and continued to gasp for air, Khan placed his hands onto the mighty chest of his victim, raised the legs in a handstand and brought both knees down into Hodges' abdomen. The hapless wrestler grunted with a loud, echoing "UGH," as the air once again was driven out of him. The first blow had caught him off guard and the knees plowed into the belly while his muscles were relaxed and innards unprotected, which caused another fountain of saliva to spray straight up into the air. Now he flexed in defense, as Khan unleashed a repeated attack by raising the legs again and again, bringing both knees down repeatedly with full-force into the stretched muscle. Soon, the spit spewing from the mouth of Dick Hodges had a reddish tint, as blood intermingled with saliva to produce a pinkish spray.

Something unexplainable happened with many in the crowd when they saw these fountains. They forgot that they had come to the arena to see a wrestling match. Many more of them now had become excited by the violence, the savage assault and resulting blood being spewed up in the center of the ring. The audience began to count as Khan ruthlessly pounded the man's belly to hamburger. Seven... eight... nine... ten!

The increased bleeding from the corners of Dick Hodges' mouth sent many in the audience into a frenzy. These were the ones who had suspected for years that wrestling was fixed, but weren't quite certain of it - until now. Those fans were slowly becoming caught up in the violence - the brutality of the spectacle and they rushed closer to the ring, trying to get a better look at the relentless torture of Dick Hodges. Some of the other fans began to pull them back, but the audience was now split about 50-50 between those who were upset and those who were loving this drama.

Bigger skirmishes began to break out as the people fought over who was right and Khan, who sensed that things might get out of control, removed his hands from Dick Hodges' heaving chest and stood gazing down at his pitiful victim. With the pulverized belly rapidly rising and falling, Khan stepped onto its stretched surface and stood with his full weight crushing down. Hodges strained with the arms and expanded his mighty chest, tightening the abdomen to withstand the incredible load bearing down on him, while his amazing strength caused the abdominal cavity to lift Khan's body up a few inches with each tormented breath of air.

More and more people began to cheer the spectacle. One by one, they realized that this drama was no longer centered around who was the better man, but how the intense scene might play out. Good versus evil - athletic skills and masculine prowess versus illegal tactics and brute force - who would prevail? Because they no longer were concerned with what was right and what was wrong, they threw their support to the brutal duo. It stimulated them to see one man at the mercy of two and they urged the thugs to inflict more punishment to the stricken wrestler.

As Khan raised his arms in triumph, he looked down and nodded to the lumberjack. He was finally ready to put the finishing touches to whatever was left of the man beneath his boots.

Khan stepped off the belly, then Bucksaw rolled over on top of Hodges and left him lying there face down. They both began mercilessly stomping on his back, until Khan poked his foot under the arm pit and rolled the beaten man face up and spread-eagled. Bucksaw stood on Hodges' wrists and - just for good measure, Khan retrieved and slammed the chair once more across the poor man's battered chest. Casting the chair aside, Khan stood on his belly, Bucksaw stood on his chest and they both flexed their muscles to the crowd, as the referee counted very slowly. One...... two...... three. The bell rang. Round 2 had ended.

Round 3

Jimmy rushed into the ring to help his fallen hero, pitifully struggling to drag the wrestler back to his corner. Somehow, Hodges managed to crawl that direction and Jimmy helped him onto the stool, where he immediately began massaging his idol's pulverized chest and belly. In a dazed stupor, Hodges sat there gasping for air, while the audience watched, most of them figuring that he was finished - maybe not yet - but soon, because Round 3 would introduce a third opponent for him to deal with. Surely this daunting task would be too much. After all he had suffered, how could he possibly take on three at once?

Meanwhile, the TV announcers were in a quandary. Their producer was worried that the brutality of the match was getting too heavy, so they signaled the MC over and explained the situation to him. He in turn stepped into the ring to approach Bucksaw and Khan. "Get this over with quick. Just go ahead and pin him, because the TV people are getting nervous."

He decided to get the third man into the ring so that everybody would be ready to start as soon as the TV advertisements were over. Returning to the center of the mat, he announced the next wrestler.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is the third and deciding round. The loser of this round must leave Chicagoland forever! Presenting to you, weighing in at over 400 pounds, from the darkest depths of Africa, the immovable object, Mount Killer Manjaro!"

And what was this man's claim to fame? He was huge - not only huge, but also fat. He spoke no English. He wore only a brownish buckskin wrapping around his loins. Not one opponent had ever knocked him off of his big, nasty feet. Quite simply, he crushed people. If an opponent ever got trapped in a corner turnbuckle or flat on the mat, the outcome was inevitable - but that would never be enough, because this mammoth always brought a mysterious object with him that would be hidden in his loin wrapping. Placing this object into his enormous hand, he would pound the opponent's head until the victim was unconscious - and this always occurred after the match was over.

The audience was now subdued. They had no idea what would happen next, but they all stood to anticipate something exciting - something never before witnessed. The lights on the TV cameras came back on and the live broadcast was resumed, but as the bell sounded to begin Round 3, Dick Hodges collapsed off of his stool and onto the mat face up. Jimmy ran to kneel beside his fallen hero, massaging the chest in an attempt to rally him, but it was useless.

He turned to the referee and pleaded with him to stop the match. Jimmy tried to declare a forfeit, which would allow the three opponents to win, but at least prevent the man's body from further damage. This referee would have none of that, explaining that by rule only Hodges himself could forfeit the match. It was the first time throughout the entire ordeal that the rule book had actually been enforced, which only added to the insult and injustice of this absurd drama. The referee obviously had agreed to do everything in his power to help these three monsters and even though it was now clear that they no longer needed his help, he certainly had no intentions of stepping in to stop the massacre of this beaten down man.

Khan grabbed poor Jimmy by the throat and lifted him high into the air, then casually tossed him over the top rope and down to the floor, where he banged his head and lay unconscious.

By this time, Hodges had summoned enough strength to roll over and rise to his knees. Seeing Killer Manjaro approach with both arms raised, Hodges reached up in desparation to punch the beast in the groin with an uppercut. Manjaro bent over in pain, as Hodges moved his hand under the loin wrapping and grabbed the behemoth's bare testicles, crushing them in his powerful fist. For the first time in his career, Mount Killer Manjaro fell to the mat, uttering wild animal screams as he crashed down like a bullet-stricken hippo.

Dick Hodges' domination of Manjaro lasted but 15 seconds, however, because Khan and Bucksaw simultaneously pounced on him with kicks, fists and forearms, forcing him to release the crushing gonad grip. While Manjaro rolled around the mat in agony, Khan and Bucksaw played tag with Hodges' battered body.

Khan stood him up, then Bucksaw landed a fist to the forehead, turned the victim around and pushed him towards Khan. The giant greeted Hodges with a kick to the belly, which bent him over. Then Khan lifted his knee and planted it into the victim's jaw, causing him to crash onto the mat flat on his back. Now he picked the wrestler up and sent him staggering back to Bucksaw, who landed a devastating kick to the center of Hodges' chest.

The dazed wrestler stood there teetering on the brink of collapse, until Bucksaw grabbed the man's arm and slingshot him towards Khan, who leapt into the air and delivered a devastating side drop kick, one size 14 boot landing on Hodges' chest, the other into his gut. The hapless man staggered backwards and received another drop kick from Bucksaw directly to the middle of his back. Finally, they allowed Dick Hodges to collapse face first to the mat in the center of the ring.

By this time, Killer Manjaro had risen to his feet and was ready for revenge, so Kruil Li Khan rolled Hodges over onto his back, then grabbed the man by his wrists. Placing each of his boots onto Hodges' shoulders, he leaned back and fell to his seat on the mat, bringing the arms with him. Meanwhile, Bucksaw Jones spread the ankles three feet apart and pinned them to the mat with his enormous hands. Exposed face up in the center of the ring, Hodges began to moan as they pulled his limbs in opposite directions, torturing him in their make-shift stretch rack.

Bucksaw and Khan had no intentions of following the MC's instructions. They were consumed with anger at Dick Hodges' continued defiance of them and their only concern now was to punish this man, until he fought them no more.

Killer Manjaro approached. He leapt straight up into the air and came crashing down with both feet - 400 pounds landing onto Hodges' stretched middle section. Launching himself from the man's helpless body, the tub of lard jumped up and down, repeatedly crushing Hodges' already pulverized abdomen. The tortured man intermingled guttural grunts with sprays of saliva and blood, as the organs in his lower abdomen were brutally crushed. Continuing his leaps, the African landed with one foot in the pit of the stomach and the other on the chest, while Bucksaw and Khan relentlessly pulled Hodges apart.

As for the audience, the tide had turned. All thoughts of fair play had long ago disappeared and those few remaining purists who were disgusted by the injustice they were witnessing sat there in a daze, unwilling to believe their eyes. They saw no "sport" in the ruthless beating of a helpless man, but somehow could not bring themselves to look away or simply leave the arena. Surrounded by jubilant, screaming-for-more-punishment spectators, they knew the sport they loved was being replaced by something new - something they desired to see play out, regardless of how revolting the scenario might be to them.

Whether revolting, tragic or maybe even stimulating, the scene inside the ring was becoming more and more intense. The stomping had ended and as Manjaro stepped back to admire his work, a huge roar of approval came from the crowd. Dick Hodges gasped for air, his chest and belly rising and falling at a rapid pace, while Khan and Bucksaw continued his merciless stretching. The tortured man turned his head to gaze at the audience and what he saw nearly brought tears to him, because a large portion was now cheering and shouting their approval. How quickly they had turned against him. Already writhing in agony from the pounding his body had taken, now his spirit also was under attack. He had made a grave error in his judgment of these wrestling fans and at that moment he nearly gave up everything - his beliefs in what was right and what was wrong; his faith in the overall goodness of human kind - but just as he was ready to concede defeat and submit to his tormentors, his eyes locked onto those of a father and son about four rows back. Both were crying, as the father clutched the boy in his arms to protect him from the frenzied crowd surrounding them. Hodges could see the boy's lips screaming the words, "C'mon... fight'em, Dick," and with one uncontrolled burst of rage, Dick Hodges yanked both ankles and wrists free from the grips of his tormentors.

With cat-like swiftness, he swung the right leg up and kicked Bucksaw in the side of the head, then continued to roll and spring to an upright position with his arms. Another kick was delivered to the center of Khan's chest, which sent him rolling backwards towards the edge of the ring. Before Manjaro could react to what had happened, Hodges landed a solid right to the mammoth's jaw, then another and another, as he staggered backwards to bounce against the ropes and return to meet one last tremendous blow, which sent him crashing face down onto the mat.

Then, the sickening sound of metal striking bone echoed from the ring. It was the chair. This time, Khan had delivered the foul instrument onto the back of the man's head and he immediately fell to his knees with eyes cast to the ceiling, then collapsed once more onto his back, dazed and nearly unconscious.

It was the end. The father and son, as well as the remaining fans who loved Dick Hodges could take no more. They left the arena forever, unable to stomach the sight of this merciless mugging. He now was abandoned to the enraged mob who wanted to see Manjaro finish the "good guy" forever and throughout the arena there was a strange atmosphere of anticipation - of witnessing an unknown. The stage was set and a chant began to ring out from the back walls of the arena. "Crush, crush, crush, crush." The volume began to grow as more joined in. "Crush, crush, crush, crush!"

Killer Manjaro heard the buzz and had learned from previous matches what it meant. He had heard it before in all of his bouts, but never this loud. Hodges also heard. The fans wanted to see Manjoro's patented, crushing belly flop delivered to a helpless man being stretched before them. Happy to oblige, Khan and Bucksaw grabbed Hodges by the wrists and ankles to drag him towards the corner and once again stretch him on their rack. With the victim's body and the corner of the ring forming a triangle, Manjaro began to climb the ropes in preparation for his belly flop onto the helpless man.

As the fans continued their chant to "crush," Manjaro reached the top and stood facing them. He raised his hands high, but just as he was about to launch himself into the air and down onto the victim, someone shook the top rope, which caused the behemoth to lose balance. Unable to recover, he looked to the left and saw Jimmy, then swayed to the right and crashed down to the floor below. Manjaro writhed in agony from the impact of his own weight landing on the hard surface, while Khan and Bucksaw released Hodges from their grip and stalked the ringside assistant.

He leapt to the floor and ran to the other side of the ring. Bucksaw gave chase with Khan close behind him and they forced Jimmy to circle to the third side, then the fourth, where he was greeted by the hammering fist of Killer Manjaro. The blow sent him flying backwards and down flat on his back. Once again, Jimmy lay unconscious below the ring.

Seeing the frail and puny body of this young man flying through the air only further excited the crowd. They resumed their chant to "crush" and the three brutes returned to where they had been before the interruption. Hodges, still dazed from the blow to his head, was again ruthlessly stretched and presented to the African giant. Manjaro climbed the ropes, then leapt back from the turnbuckle and came crashing down onto the man's chest and abdomen with his own. A crimson plume of spit and blood spewed up from the victim's mouth as his vulnerable innards were crushed by the 400 pound belly flop.

The merciless fans continued to chant, as Manjaro again climbed the ropes. Hodges raised his head and shook it side to side, then pulled with all his strength to break out of the make-shift stretch rack, but it was useless. All he could do was helplessly watch as Manjaro launched himself from the top turnbuckle, this time crashing down with his greasy buttocks onto the chest of Dick Hodges. With another ungodly red fountain spraying upwards, the tortured man's spit now resembled the final, bloody exhale one sees coming from the blow hole of a harpooned whale - the macabre signal that death is eminent.

Wildly cheering their approval, the crowd urged Manjaro to climb again, but the MC approached ringside and frantically motioned to Khan and Bucksaw, while pointing at his watch. The TV time was about to run out.

The two men released Hodges from their stretch rack and dragged him back to the center of the ring, leaving him to lie motionless and spread eagled. Only the rise and fall of his chest and belly was seen, while tormented moans wafted from the blood-stained mouth. He was finished. The moment everyone was waiting for had finally arrived and the crowd stood in silence, fully prepared to see Dick Hodges pinned, defeated and banished forever from the National Guard Armory Arena.

Khan waved Killer Manjaro over to finish the deed and the 400 pounder planted one nasty foot onto Hodges' chest, the other onto his belly and the referee counted. One... two... ... but the count never reached three.

Dick Hodges lifted his knees and pushed upwards with his powerful calves, sending Manjaro tumbling to the mat. This amazing man had kicked out! Khan, Bucksaw and every person in the arena were stunned. How did this beaten down man find the strength to jettison 400 pounds off of his battered body?

For a few seconds, the arena was silent, as every person there marveled at the amazing resolve of this tortured man, but even though you might think that this display would perhaps win them back to his side, you would be sadly mistaken. Sure, there were a few who saw the heroic strength, the masculine defiance as a rallying cry. They began to cheer the fallen man, while coaxing others to join them, but these attempts fell on deaf ears. The mob was no longer interested in heros. They were only interested in seeing heros destroyed. Soon, little by little, the support for Hodges was drowned out by a new chant and as others joined in the volume increased, until the arena was filled with the deafening din of, "Kill, kill, kill !"

Nothing would satisfy their bloodlust. They demanded the three brutes continue pounding the poor man into submission - or worse. They wanted nothing less than his utter defeat and destruction, but at that moment the TV time expired. The producer signaled to the announcers, who alerted the MC, who in turn told the time keeper to ring the bell, bringing an official end to Round 3. Mass confusion swept over the arena. How could the match be over with each side claiming one round of victory? Soon the TV cameras went dark and the announcers started switching off their microphones. The Saturday night "Wrestling at the Armory" television program had come to an end.

________________________________________

Encore

The cameramen, producer and announcers started packing up their gear to leave. They were union members and, as far as they were concerned their shift was finished and the match over. The MC pleaded with them to continue the broadcast, but they refused and headed for the locker rooms, soon to exit the building.

Meanwhile, Kruil Li Khan, Bucksaw Jones and Killer Manjaro were uninterested in the TV broadcast, but instead were furious that Dick Hodges had survived their tortures, so they all three began stomping his body into the mat. Oblivious to this, the referee conferred with the MC to decide what should happen next. With the fans nearly in riot-mode, these two men were a bit nervous about what might take place if this match was left undecided, so with a fermenting and dangerous situation surrounding them, a decision was made and the referee signaled the timekeeper to ring the bell.

With his public address microphone in hand, the MC made the announcement, "Ladies and gentlemen, this match will continue!"

A huge celebration erupted in the stands, while the brutes lifted the broken man by his arms and dragged him to one side of the ring. First, they stood him up on the mat outside the ropes, then, locking his limp arms between the top and second ropes, they kicked his legs off of the mat and left him suspended on the outside of the ring as though crucified.

Now a chair was brought and placed in front of the victim, as the audience strained to see what was happening on that side of the ring. Killer Manjaro stepped up onto the chair and reached into his loin wrapping. The mysterious object was soon in his right hand and he began pounding on the man's forehead, while Bucksaw and Khan each held an ankle and pulled down to increase the agony of Hodges' stretching.

The image truly did resemble that of a Roman crucifixion. After three blows from Manjaro, blood began to trickle from the forehead and corners of Hodges' mouth. Adding to the drama, the victim's trunks (still lowered to just above his genitals) resembled a black loin cloth from all the classic paintings depicting this torture, while Hodges' labored breath and horrendous stretching caused him to moan in agony, which completed the picture of this tragic spectacle. The crowd was in awe, as this powerfully masculine form was mercilessly crucified right before their very eyes. Bathed in sweat, his gloriously defined muscles flexed, stretched and highlighted, Dick Hodges was now subjected to the ultimate punishment and - just as the Romans would have done in preparation for this sentence - the victim had been beaten down and tormented for hours, rendering his body a useless rag before this final agony was perpetrated upon him.

But he was not a useless rag - not yet. Although at their mercy, he continued to defy them. He strained against the ropes and clasping of his ankles, which only further enhanced his manly form. The chest heaved and expanded, while the belly caved in to highlight every masculine curve, ridge and muscle. Not even the brutal pounding of the loaded fist onto his forehead could sway him to concede defeat. Despite this relentless and agonizing torture, Dick Hodges refused to be broken, instead taking his punishment as though he were an indestructible force.

Jimmy had now recovered and he slowly staggered towards the tortured wrestler to see the crazed African beating on his forehead. The channels of crimson now trickled down from the face, past the neck and onto Hodges' battered pectorals. Jimmy wrapped his arms around the maniacal beast's massive leg and tried to pull him down from the chair, but Manjaro easily kicked aside this annoying interruption.

The sight of fresh blood whipped the crowd into a frenzy and they began taunting the stricken man, just as would have been done in days of old. The National Guard Armory Arena in Chicago had become the Colosseum of ancient Rome.

As Manjaro tired of the beating and paused to rest, some of the other wrestlers came down the aisle from the locker room to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Finally, someone was going to end this pitiful man's suffering. They all stood before the crucified victim, while Hodges forced a smile of relief, his labored breath increasing as the crucifixion slowly began to suffocate him. Rescue had come at last. He flexed his mighty chest and scowled in defiance at Manjaro, who still stood on the chair in front of him, panting with exhaustion.

Suddenly, the other wrestlers began to taunt and spit on the crucified man.

"Well, well, look at the tough guy."

Some even threw punches into his gut, as the three brutes and the rest of the crowd watched in amazement.

"Think you're mister wonderful, do ya? Slater ain't here to protect you now."

They released years of the pent-up frustration they had felt from having to play second fiddle to the owner's favorite. Seeing him helplessly displayed before them, they now unleashed their anger with cruel words and punches, as Bucksaw and Khan continued to torture him in their make-shift crucifixion.

The fans roared their approval, while Jimmy forced his way through the wrestlers to stand between them and his tortured hero, but the brutes immediately pounced on him, tossing the young man into the ring and ripping off his shirt in the process. Soon he was pinned in the corner by one of the wrestlers, his frail body standing and crushed between the turnbuckle and massive backside of his captor.

After the men had satisfied their appetite for revenge, preparations were made for returning him to the ring. Khan and Bucksaw released him from the ring rope torture and the others lifted him up and over the top rope. While they held him steady, Manjaro was coaxed to lay in the center of the ring face up and fold his arms across his chest, then four wrestlers grabbed four limbs and lifted Hodges into the air. They turned his body until it was parallel with Manjaro's and laid him on top of the 400 pound mountain. Pulling him in four directions, they stretched the man as tight as possible, then brought his wrists and ankles down, pinning them to the mat.

Stretched spread-eagle and face up with four limbs held by four men, raised from underneath by the 400 pound slab of meat Manjaro, massive African forearms pressed against his back, Dick Hodges was again cruelly displayed for everyone in the arena to see. His majestic, but bloodied chest rose high into the air, while the muscular belly was dramatically caved in and gasping for air.

Still crunched into the corner turnbuckle, Jimmy looked at his idol's tormented body, as it was mercilessly pulled apart in four directions. He begged the wrestler securing him to show mercy for this beaten down man, but was greeted only with taunting laughter. There would be no end to his suffering until he conceded his defeat, something which Jimmy knew would never happen. These men, like the three who started this atrocity, wanted Dick Hodges gone forever and since the other three couldn't get the job done, they were ready to do it themselves. If torturing him with pain didn't work, perhaps something else might persuade him, so they waved Khan and Bucksaw aside, then prepared Dick Hodges for their plan of attack.

The audience watched in stunned silence, as the other wrestlers began to unlace Hodges boots and remove them from his feet. Next came the socks. After his feet were brought close together, someone grabbed the helpless man's trunks to pull them past his ankles and the jock strap soon followed. Unwilling to surrender to the relentless beatings, Dick Hodges was now stripped, shamed and humiliated before the throngs gazing to the center of the ring.

The remaining wrestlers strutted about the ring and solicited the crowd's approval. Some held their hands to their ears, asking the crowd to participate in this man's degradation, which they did with a crazed enthusiasm. These fans loved the spectacle being presented before them and a deafening roar reverberated throughout the arena, while many were signaling the thumbs-down as though they were Roman emperors, screaming for more blood, more punishment, more humiliation.

Hodges turned his head from side to side, scrutinizing the bloodthirsty crowd and all those in the ring surrounding him. He had been betrayed by all of the wrestlers he thought were friends and abandoned by all of his fans save one. Thirteen men had descended upon him and all hope for rescue was lost.

He raised his head to scan what he could see. Anger rose up in him as he saw the sweat, the blood, the ruthless fans, the stalking wrestlers and worst of all, his precious genitalia, exposed for all to ogle. He furiously strained every beaten down muscle to break free of his tormentors. With his powerful chest expanded and lower jaw jutting forward, he gallantly struggled with all his might to escape them in yet another display of manly strength and resolve.

This caused the wrestlers and fans alike to mock and jeer at him, as the sight of this helpless man straining to break free filled them with a sadistic cruelty, as though he were some sort of captured enemy, no longer a threat, but kept alive merely for their entertainment. Taunting phrases could be heard, such as "Look at Dick's dick" and "He's just a weenie, now," but suddenly, all ridicule stopped. The left ankle escaped from the man holding it and Hodges immediately kicked that man in the face, sending him to tumble towards the ropes. Then he planted his bare foot onto the mat and tried to leverage his other limbs loose, twisting his body to the right with all his strength.

The scene was heartbreaking. Despite the brutal beatings; despite the damaged organs inside that powerful, but hopelessly racked body; despite having been punched, crushed, kicked and relentlessly tortured for hours, somehow this amazing man was able to launch one final, desperate attempt to escape his tormentors - to thwart their plans for his ultimate degradation. It was useless. The other wrestlers immediately pounced on him. Two grabbed hold to re-pin his ankle and spread the legs wide apart, while the others ruthlessly attacked with not only stomps and kicks to his vulnerable chest, but also devastating punches to his stretched and flattened belly - until he struggled against them no more.

Now all was lost. His futile attempt to escape had been a monumental effort, but again he lay exhausted and pinned in their torture rack. Gasping for air, trails of blood painted onto his face and chest, this broken man now awaited his fate. Dick Hodges had made his last stand.

The time had come. These wrestlers would now prove what they already suspected. Shirtless Jimmy's arms were held behind his back and he was brought towards the center of the ring. Forcing him to kneel between his hero's stretched thighs, they grabbed Jimmy by the hair and shoved his face into the tortured wrestler's belly. Then they ordered Jimmy to lick it. He slowly placed his tongue into the man's navel and began leaving trails of saliva on the flattened muscles around it. Hodges looked up over his chest to watch the humiliation of his friend, then lowered it, wanting to see no more. Jimmy tasted the briny sweat coating the man's skin and felt the power underneath, while concentrating on the trail of fur that connected his idol's belly button to the pubic hair, leaving tiny beads of spit mixed with the manly sweat.

The belly worship was suddenly interrupted, as Jimmy's face was cruelly rammed into Hodges' crotch. They demanded that he suck this man's dick. His nose was buried into the pubic hair and lips pressed against the flaccid penis. Hodges flexed when he felt his manhood being touched, but didn't bother to look up, because what he heard told him all he needed to know. Jimmy was being verbally taunted by the sadistic bastards, as his head was maliciously turned from side to side and face ground into Hodges' sweaty pubic hair and spongy cock. They began to chant for Jimmy to suck it... suck it... suck it. The pathetic fans soon joined in the chant to further antagonize poor Jimmy and his tormented hero. Suck it... suck it... SUCK IT!

Reluctantly, he engulfed the prone wrestler's penis into his mouth and began to work his tongue around the head of the organ. The helpless man groaned at Jimmy's forced worship of his manhood, as it seemed unimaginable to him that this could be happening in front of all these people. How could it be that not one person in the entire arena was outraged enough to stop this obscenity? He cried out for someone - anyone to help him and his friend, but his pleadings went unanswered. The referee, the MC, the people in the stands and even some of the wrestlers themselves, all were silently mesmerized by the unbelievable proceedings in the center of the ring.

Jimmy slowly began to realize why he had idolized this man for so long. Subconscious thoughts that he had kept suppressed for years began bubbling to the surface and as the tortured man's unit began to grow larger, Jimmy's excitement also grew. He could feel the incredible power that he had so long admired. The strength, the defiance, the masculinity, all were being summoned from the furthest reaches of the man's body. From the manly feet, the ruggedly handsome face, even the powerfully thick hands and hair-covered, muscular forearms, the essence of Dick Hodges was now rushing to one place and Jimmy could feel the power of it. Every quality that he adored, every trait that he worshiped was now concentrated into this man's magnificent penis.

Jimmy increased the intensity, as what he had always secretly dreamed became a reality. His tongue now began attacking the head of his hero's cock each time he brought the moistened lips to the end of the unit. Taking his mouth back to the base, Jimmy tried to engulf the fully erect organ down his throat. The very being of Dick Hodges was under his control and he wanted all of it. Jimmy was now oblivious to those surrounding him, because he was totally focused on one goal, and that was to take Dick Hodges to a place he had never known.

Hodges was flexing as Jimmy's enthusiasm grew. He no longer could feel the pain of his tortured body, because the entire focus of the nervous system had been channeled to one specific place. What he was feeling in his penis had never been experienced before - not like this. The revelations that had overwhelmed Jimmy were being transferred to the sensitive organ of this man and Hodges absorbed it. He too was oblivious to everything and everyone - except for Jimmy. This was no blow job, but something divine, something that traveled far beyond hero-worship. Jimmy was taking him somewhere unknown before to either of them and he transferred what he felt back to Jimmy, making his mighty cock grow harder, longer and more powerful than it had ever been before.

Jimmy shook when he felt the reverberations being sent to him. Now he knew - Dick Hodges was everything he had ever hoped he would be. They had discovered one another. He frantically attacked the man's dick to increase the tempo and all he could hear were sounds of ecstasy, moans and groans coming from the center of the ring, as the naked hero was lovingly serviced by his ringside assistant. Hodges flexed every muscle in his powerful body and the mighty cock recoiled to fire its seed into Jimmy's mouth. One huge gob of semen after another came rushing out as the young man continued sucking him with an uncontrolled gusto. Years of subconscious yearning came rushing up Dick Hodges' shaft and Jimmy eagerly received every spurt of this man's fluid, frantically swallowing again and again, wishing it would never end.

Finally, Hodges was totally spent. He emitted guttural exclamations of pain and pleasure as Jimmy continued to suck on him long after the orgasm was finished. The constant attack on the sensitive head of his penis caused him to writhe and twitch his beaten down body, but soon the wrestlers had seen enough and they pulled Jimmy away, casting him over the top rope and crashing to the floor.

Hodges' body collapsed as he was at last released from this incredible oral praise. The orgasm and aftermath had taken what few ounces of strength he had left and now the realization of his battered, broken body began to return.

As the crowd remained in a mesmerized silence, he was lifted up by the wrestlers holding his four limbs and they began pulling in four directions. Killer Manjaro rolled out from underneath him, while Hodges howled in agony - his naked body now horizontally suspended and quartered, stretched in mid-air. Simultaneously, they released the man and sent him crashing to the mat flat on his back. One by one they began to exit the ring, each stopping along the way for one final, revenge-filled stomp onto either the chest or belly, but Hodges did not even react to this. The strength was gone - energy drained to the point that neither his arms nor legs could be lifted to defend the battered torso. This once glorious, powerfully compact and masculine form was abandoned - now by the very man to which it belonged - to absorb every ruthless blow, until their lust for vengeance was finally exhausted.

Soon the ring held only the five. Hodges lay naked and spread eagled in the center of the ring - eyes closed; pitiful groans drifting up from the twisted mouth; mighty chest heaving majestically into the air; flattened belly rising and falling at a torturous pace - as the referee stood silently in the corner, where he had remained during this entire abomination. Now Bucksaw waved him over. Khan pinned Hodges' ankles, Manjaro his wrists. Bucksaw stepped up onto the chest with his crushing logger boots and the referee counted slowly.

One... two... three.

Aftermath

There was no applause or cheering when the torture of Dick Hodges was finally ended. The three brutes did not solicit the crowd's approval or derision. They merely exited the ring and headed for the locker room, followed closely by the worthless referee and MC. Whatever arrangements had been made, whether monetary or simply mutual agreement, their goal had been achieved. Dick Hodges was no more. Professional wrestling as a legitimate, sporting contest was no more.

As the fans slowly filtered out of the arena, those close enough threw their paper cups and other trash at their former hero, who still laid motionless on his back in the center of the ring. The remnants of wrestling's past was now stripped, humiliated and defeated before them, but they seemed satisfied with this result. Wrestling had become a new and exciting entertainment for them. Now everyone knew the matches would be pre-scripted, while the drama would come from bold and exciting new ways to see men beaten senseless. The old guard, true wrestling fans were gone forever, to be replaced by a more youthful, thrill-seeking crowd who yearned for passion plays of violence and brutality - people who had tasted blood and savored it.

The owner received a phone call from the MC, filling him in on the events of the evening. Initially, he was angry about what had transpired in his absence, but soon got a second phone call that changed his mood. It was from the TV producer. They had been flooded with calls from people who wanted to know how the match had ended and soon all of Chicago, plus the other cities where the broadcast had been seen were abuzz about the wrestling game. When the overnight ratings came in, the results were through the roof and so subsequently, a new formula was inserted for the TV broadcasts.

Each week a new group of patsies was sacrificed for slaughter in the ring. The bad guys were now good guys, inventing ever more innovative methods to beat down, humiliate and destroy their opponents week after week. It was as though the ancient gladiatorial games had been reborn, but now it was called wrestling. The arena was sold out every night weeks in advance and television stations all over the world clamored to pick up rights to the broadcasts. The owner became a very wealthy man.

The "Loser Leaves Town Challenge Match" was a watershed moment in the history of professional wrestling. Because of this match, many years later Steve Austin would be displayed in a staged crucifixion to promote a pay-per-view event. Because of this match, Val Venus would be attacked in the locker room by a gang of men, then suspended by the wrists, stripped naked and terrorized, as his penis (pixeled out, of course) was sliced off with a sword in another mock scene of absurd theater. Because of this match, Bret Hart would not only be taken away on a stretcher, but attacked again by the same man who had injured him in the first place - this time in the ambulance taking him to the hospital.

That night, nobody could have predicted how professional wrestling would evolve into what it is today - a scripted, lavishly produced entertainment of drama, sex and comedy, which can take place in the ring or any number of places outside the ring or even outside the building where the event is held - but Dick Hodges' last stand set the foundation for all of it. The crowd's reaction and subsequent enthusiasm told the promoters all they needed to know and a multi-million dollar industry was born.

When poor Jimmy was finally able to pull himself up to the ring floor what he saw was a pitiful sight. His idol's naked body was battered, bruised and bloodied. Somehow, Jimmy was mesmerized by this. The poor man had been ruthlessly beaten for over two hours, stripped of his clothing and dignity, forced to have orgasm against his will in front of hundreds of people. Dick Hodges had lost everything - the fans he thought adored him, the wrestlers he thought were his friends, even Jimmy, his devoted assistant, all had participated in the total destruction and humiliation of this magnificent man. Now, his broken carcass lay limp - a shell of what once was.

And yet, Jimmy saw beauty in this tragic scene. His hero had endured unspeakable torture and degradation, but had never given in. They had beaten and drained him until his strength was gone, but his defiance had remained. Even though he lay naked, broken and abandoned in the center of the empty arena, in Jimmy's eyes, Dick Hodges was still magnificent. To him, Dick Hodges was the ultimate example of the human male - a man of principles and integrity, he had sacrificed his glorious, powerfully masculine body to these principles. Now, stripped of everything, Jimmy was all he had left in the world.

The ringside assistant began to gather his hero's clothes and bundle them inside the robe. As Hodges slowly regained strength, Jimmy helped him stagger naked to the empty locker room, where he lovingly dressed the man in his street attire and then they left the arena for the last time. Jimmy drove his friend to the hospital and stayed at the fallen man's bedside for every hour of his recovery period. No visitors came.

Dick Hodges faded into history with the likes of Dale Lewis and Patrick O'Connor, true wrestlers who were no longer wanted. Occasionally, he would pick up odd jobs around the country by tutoring high school students who wanted to learn the scientific art of wrestling, but Hodges himself never entered the ring again. Jimmy was with him until the end. Dick Hodges would forever be his hero and Jimmy would always be his ringside assistant.

The End

Revised Copyright © 2005

________________________________________

Or read the companion piece THE RING BOY

the Dick and Jimmy story