What’s the story?
Independent wrestler Joey Ryan has an unusual claim to fame thanks to his peculiarly popular nether-regions. As seen on Ryan's own Twitter account, the hardcore legend Mick Foley experienced the raw power of the YouP**n Plex at an OTT Wrestling event in Dublin, Ireland.
In case you didn’t know…
Joey Ryan's moniker "King of Dong Style" was first seen while competing against Danshoku Dino on a DDT Pro card back in 2015. His opponent would regularly use the non-PG submission with overwhelming success... until he crossed paths with the uncanny fortitude of Ryan's member. The original spot went massively viral, even receiving coverage from major mainstream outlets like ESPN.
The heart of the matter
Over The Top Wrestling held the first night of a show called WrestleRama with special guest Mick Foley. The Hardcore Legend attempted to use Mr Socko on Ryan, who jumped in an attempt to stop the attack. Mick's mandible claw went farther south than he expected, creating this moment that's garnered so much attention.
This spot has also caused a ton of backlash from the expected sources. Jim Cornette said on Twitter that he loves Mick but it's "sad to see a real star stooping to give credibility to an a**wipe nobody like this."
Foley issued a general response to his detractors on Facebook. He told people to look at the reactions of those in attendance. "JUST LOOK AT THE SMILES! There is a smile, literally on EVERY face! In the end, isn't that what it's all about? If applying the mandible claw to Joey Ryan's genitalia last night was wrong...I don't want to be right!"
What’s next?
There's no reason to believe that this instance of Ryan's penis-based offence is going to negatively affect his career. He's been doing it for a couple of years now and he keeps gaining more and more notoriety.
Funny might not equal money for some wrestling minds, but Ryan keeps getting booked more and more in front of bigger and bigger houses that appear to enjoy what he does. He even landed a role on the recently released Netflix series GLOW, so his sleaze is even getting himself opportunities outside of the wrestling world.
As for Foley, he made sure to end his Facebook defence with a reminder that he's selling some merchandise for a good cause. "The #MickFoleyMemorabiliaAuction begins tomorrow at http://rainn.org/ with 100% of profits going to #RAINN."
Author’s take
I get a kick out of Joey Ryan's raunchy arsenal of offence, so this was all fine by me. Jim Cornette is quick to act like this spot is beneath the integrity of what wrestling should be but he conveniently ignores that he once booked himself to wrestling an imitation Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in Smokey Mountain Wrestling.
Serious wrestling that doesn't require much suspension of disbelief is great but there also room for the silly stuff as well.
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