A while back, some of the FilmDrunk Commentariat and I were helping one of the female commenters come up with a name for her new roller derby schtick, and this made us all very happy because we love any opportunity to come up with ridiculous puns. And we came up with a ton, including Machete White, Amelia Fearhart, and my favorite, Threata Van Sufferin. The point of today’s installment of Cool Story, Bro is that I’ve been introduced to a whole new amazing world of female name puns, thanks to the Collective of Lady Arm Wrestlers.
CLAW travels the country, performing at hipster theatres and such, putting on arm wrestling tournaments that involve 8 local women, who develop and perform different characters for the crowds and celebrity judge panels. And I’m so fascinated by the whole idea that I read an entire article on the NPR website about it. I know, I’m impressed, too.
As to why these ladies do it, the NPR revealed:
“The first time I competed in arm wrestling, I had no idea what I was doing,” says Dyer, a woman in her mid-20s with short brown hair and a slight physique. “And I won.”
“I won the first round. I won the second round. And I almost won the championship round,” she says. “I was like, ‘Holy cow, if this is how well I can do when I haven’t even been training, then man, I gotta start lifting weights.”
Sitting on a bed in a Charlottesville, Va., hotel room, you’d have no idea by looking at her that she was about to make a transformation into a lingerie-clad burlesque entertainer. She looks more like the person she is during her day-job: a genetics researcher at Duke University.
“It’s theatrical, and it’s crazy, and wild, and really, really fun,” she says.
Again, I was sold at the crazy names, and according to the CLAW website, they do not disappoint. They’re also incredibly active in their communities, so I give them a double hat tip, wink and arm flex for their amazing efforts. Check out some of the best CLAW arm wrestlers, as well as one woman’s “daily routine” video that rivals most WWE promos.
