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[2000-04-15-FWA] Low Ki vs Mike Mayhem


Loss

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  • 2 years later...
  • 2 months later...

This had some hype surrounding it and was probably the first match where I heard Low Ki's name. It is easy to see why this match was so impressive at the time. It starts out with Mayhem and Ki running through move after move in quick succession but they never do the respect stare off that can be annoying and clever stuff like Mayhem biting Ki to break a submission creates an overall storyline to the matchup. Match opens up with moonsault to the outside. Ki's kicks are absolutely brutal here. I continue to beat the drum of Ki as a rookie here compared to Matt Riddle in 2016 and one area where Ki absolutely has the advantage is in his kicks and the velocity they are thrown at. Ending was fun with Mayhem getting a nice cradle out of a Ki Krusher attempt. I really would like to see Mayhem more in the future as like Billy Reil in the earlier Ki match this year, it isn't a one man Ki show. Mayhem is cocky and picks up the pin attempt to try the Kryptonite Crunch from the top rope. Ki is able to counter that and hits the Ki Krusher from the top rope to get the win in a definitive way. A very good professional wrestling match with unique counters. Ki continues to be awesome in 2000. ***3/4

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  • 4 weeks later...

This struck me as the indy version of Juventud Guerrera-Blitzkrieg in a lot of ways, which is a compliment. For some reason, I was expecting more bomb throwing. Don't get me wrong, this match had tons of it, but there was a really strong wrestling core here as well. Mike Mayhem strikes me as the type of guy who should have been Low Ki's Psicosis that he took everywhere to make him look good, as he understood his style, and added a lot of really nice heel touches to help get him over. I love the mid-air submission counter from Low Ki to whatever Mayhem was trying. It's clear by now we've barely scratched the surface with Low Ki, but that we are in for an awesome ride. ****

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  • 3 weeks later...

Mike Mayhem impressed the hell out of me in this. It really felt like he was orchestrating things with Ki in order to make him look like a million bucks while also keeping things grounded. Ki has gotten some absolutely insane elevation on his Asai Moonsaults in what I've seen from him during this project. His moonsault to the outside was flat out incredible here.

 

Mayhem carried stretches of this with his savvy and douchy heel charisma and really pulled out some nice touches to help build to the giant Ki Krusher finish. This was a very good match and Ki has the feeling of someone I'm excited to see every time I put on one of his matches.

 

***1/2

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  • 3 weeks later...

When you look at a guy like Mike Mayhem during his entrance, you don't expect much. I thought he was pretty good here going toe to toe with Ki. Ki looked great with his moonsaults and that devestating finisher. That looked worse than the missed dive in that CZW match with Ric Blade. Just brutal but awesome. Good match.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm gonna take the opportunity to continue familiarizing myself like guys like Low Ki. He was a lot looser here than I was expecting and a bit more flippy than my image of him. Some of his stuff looked a bit shitty, to be honest. Mayhem was solid, The big knock on indy bouts like this is that they pinch stuff like the Fujiwara armbar and use the hold for no reason other than to name drop it. There were elements of that here but were pretty forthright about working a counter based offensive bout and stuck to their guns whether they were on the mat or the top rope. Not bad but didn't bowl me over. The finish was spectacular but bordered on overkill. The commentary sounded like it was done by a message board poster. I swear I heard him thumbing through the Big, Big Book of Moves. Retro.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 months later...

I didn't like this as much as you all... This is felt like the typical U.S. indy match where they where the matwork is brief and meaningless in the long before they go all out.

 

Mike Mayhem -- another guy U.S. indy guy I've never heard of and he really doesn't stand out to me here. His does throw a really bad looking spin kick.

 

Ki's diving headbutt is pretty bad looking too, however his rolling koppu kick, huge moonsault to the outside and his counter into an armbar looked great.

 

I thought this was average.

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  • 3 months later...

Ki breaks the full nelson, taking Mayhem down in the process and transitioning to the armbar, forcing him to stretch for the ropes. He lands on his feet after a top rope backflip and dropkicks Mayhem in the knee who then takes to the floor. There’s no-one home on the pescado as Mayhem ducks back inside. Suicide dive, but Ki with a jumping kick to the head as he’s flying through the ropes. Power drive elbow off the top, however when Mayhem kicks out of the pin he quickly slaps on a leg lock. He can’t get to the ropes for the break here so resorts to biting Ki on the ankle. Mayhem looks to turn the tide, but Ki rolls through to escape from the Fujiwara armbar. Now he’s at it with the cross armbar, although he doesn’t have the same fluidity or crispness as his opponent when it comes to applying these submissions. Ki with the neck bridge, he then flips over before locking on a ‘Texas cloverleaf’. When he realises Mayhem isn’t going to submit, he turns it into a unique pinfall, keeping his legs tied up at the same time. Rolling koppo kick sends Mayhem to the outside. He fakes him out on the tope and then hits that gorgeous sky high springboard Asai moonsault to the floor. Diving headbutt for two. Mayhem blocks the top rope rana and nails him with a spinning heel kick from the middle. Attempted ‘Kryptonite Krunch’ that Ki counters into a sunset flip. He backdrops Mayhem over the top rope but he (just about) lands on the apron and levels Ki with a springboard missile dropkick. The ‘Kryptonite Krunch’ is again countered, this time by a straight armbar with Ki still on the back of an upright Mayhem. He continues to persevere with his finisher, but now hasn’t got the strength to lift Ki up due to that previous armbar. Mayhem gets Ki on his shoulders in an electric chair position, however from there Ki rains down blows on the top of his head. ‘Mafia kick’ and a great counter into a small package for a near fall off the ‘Ki Krusher ‘99’. Both clearly want to finish this match with their trademark moves as Mayhem again counters the Ki Krusher, this time with a DDT. He finally hits the ‘Kryptonite Krunch’ but doesn’t go for the pin, preferring to play to the crowd instead. When he does, he picks Ki up at the count of two in order to inflict more damage upon him. Mayhem signals that he’s going hit the move off the top, but Ki repeatedly kicks him in the head to escape after he’s got him up there. Top rope ‘Ki Krusher ‘99’ and that’s it.

 

I liked this, but am probably a notch below the majority. Some of the counters and reversals were fantastic, although I’ll maintain that Mayhem isn’t as crisp as Ki and there are definitely some holes while he’s applying stuff. My big issue was the over reliance on going for the ‘Kryptonite Krunch’ and ‘Ki Krusher’, which at times felt like it was an excuse just to demonstrate various counters. A real cool touch though was how on the one occasion Ki’s straight armbar played into Mayhem’s subsequent attempt, with him not having the strength in his arm to pick Ki up. Ki’s springboard Asai moonsault was glorious and that top rope ‘Ki Krusher’ is a brutal finisher.

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  • GSR changed the title to [2000-04-15-FWA] Low Ki vs Mike Mayhem

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