Hooper may mean it when he says, I aint skeered of you. but he might want to think before he rushes to the mat against a hairy muscle monster like Xavier. Initially, the two trade the expected putdowns of each others biceps, abs, and tats, but the true test will be what happens when these guys throw down. Out-muscled by fifty pounds or so, Hooper aims to make a name for himself by targeting Thunders most popular and biggest competitors. He started against a hardly amused Bulldog in Mat Rats 26, which some of us worried he would not survive. Hooper wants the fans the big dudes draw, and the way to these fans hearts, he reckons, is to test himself against tough competition and come out on top. Xavier thinks Hooper is a twelve-, thirteen-, maybe fourteen-year-old mamas boy whos got way out of his depth at the Arena. What are you even doing here? asks X, stomping his bare foot on the kids chest. Waiting for a fight, Hooper shoots back, without taking a breath. He has come to the right place, then, and Xavier is raring to give the newcomer a spanking and a kick in the ass that sends him flying back to his mothers apron strings. When Hooper attempts to bind Xavier in a full nelson, he cant even reach the back of the burly mans neck. Things do not look promising for the kid. Xavier smirks contemptuously as he gets ready to tear this 86-pound upstart limb from limb. Expect twenty minutes of bearhugs, crab holds, abdominal stretches, headscissors, and backbreakers, as big crunches down on little as Hoopers harsh initiation to the Arena roster continues.
