[2000-03-11-FWA] Low Ki vs Monsta Mack (Hardcore)

[soup23]

Drew Lazerio is someone I have never seen before. Drew is apparently on the cover of GQ. Well good for him. This is a bit sloppy but these guys weren’t really pulling back much at all on these strikes and that is something that can be appreciated and really excuse some of the strikes not hitting perfectly. Low Ki does one of the best springboard moonsaults I have ever seen in this match getting insane air time. Monsta Mack wringing out his arm after each strike is a nice touch to get over the violence. Ki retrieves a table and the crowd is really electric for it. Monsta Mack powerslams Ki from the apron through the table on the floor in a great looking spot. Back inside, Mack misses his big splash from the top and Ki misses his moonsault double stomp. Mack is able to hit a super doctor bomb from the top that doesn’t look great but what ambition. Low Ki kicks out of that as well. Low Ki goes for another dive and gets caught with two powerbombs and the Greetings from Brooklyn which is the Greetings from Asbury Park with Low Ki spiked right on top of his hand. Ki is able to fight back and land a Ki Krush for the win. This is really a match where they unloaded the kitchen sink at each other and made it tough for any match to follow but the stiffness helped ground everything to make it really enjoyable overall. ***1/2

[Loss]

This is a hardcore match, but most of the brawling takes place in the ring. There is one table spot, no weapons and no blood, yet the crowd is more than satisfied with the quality of the match. A lot to be learned there about how they created violence through their ringwork without gimmicking themselves to death. Mack was awfully giving, maybe even too giving in some ways, but if the goal was to get Low Ki over as a tough as nails guy who could go toe-to-toe with someone bigger than him and hold his own, this match accomplished that in spades. The stiffness of the shots neutralized whatever size difference may have made this a tough sell for some fans, and this is a big credit to both guys. ***3/4

[Migs]

This was pretty fun. A bit messy at times (Ki's blown handspring kick especially), but they recovered and really took it to each other. Ki's moonsault to the floor was amazing, but this really picked up for me when Monsta Mack took over on offense. He really brought the stiffness and the violence, in particular the awesome Greetings from Asbury Park. Ki getting Mack up for the Ki Krusher looked terrific as a finish.

[AstroBoy]

In my opinion, Low Ki too often just mangles his opponents, eating them up when it would make more sense for him to fight from underneath a bit more and that's how I felt after watching this match. I understand Ki is an asskicker and that's his aura, his character, but I didn't care for the way he portrayed no real weakness here.

 

Ki lands a very gnarly Asai moonsault and then goes through a table on a huge bump. From that point things shift to Ki kind of controlling again and I felt that lingered a little too long before Mack crushes Ki with an awesomely reckless powerbomb off the top rope. Ki kicks out and Mack lands a multiple-powerbomb to Greetings from Brooklyn that Ki kicks out of as well. And then Ki just kind of blows all that off, hits his finisher and wins.

 

So there was a lot to like here and the action was good. The dynamic just could have used a little more of Mack tossing Ki around or beating him down.

 

***

[Moonsault Marvin]

Low Ki's kicks were way off throughout the match and looked bad, but the big spots made up for it. I really liked the press slam onto the table and the doctor bomb off the ropes. I was surprised that there wasn't any interference from the manager. Fun match.

[Tim Evans]

I agree on Loss's points about how this was a hardcore match with not much hardcore and the crowd ate it up. That's impressive for 2000. Ki in 2000 is interesting. He doesn't really change his style depending on the opponent and is almost always the same. I wanted to see Mack throw Ki like a long dart but it wasn't meant to be. Good match and I enjoyed the announcer. Usually, indie announcers aren't very good like Cornette or Steve martin but this guy did a good job.

[Laney]

Very good match here and this may be the best that I have ever seen Monsta Mack look (a definite from a physical standpoint). There's only a table spot from a hardcore match standpoint, but the crowd enjoys this nonetheless. A stiff match with Low Ki pulling out his kicks that look impressive for the most part, but there is a major whiff on his cartwheel kick. My biggest criticism is that I feel like Low Ki should have worked from the bottom more based on the physical difference between the two. They both still get their shit it in, but could have put on a classic if they worked more storytelling and selling into this. Still a very good match and top notch for a 2000 indie. ***3/4

[GSR]

This is a ‘hardcore match’ and Monsta Mack is managed by Drew Lozario who used to be Low Ki’s manager. Mack backs Ki into the corner and slaps him across the face. His size is a bit too much for Ki to deal with in the early goings as his clotheslines have no effect, and Macks responds with a stiff one of his own. Ki attempts to slow Mack down and tire him out by getting him to chase after him. He goes to the well once too often though, and when he tries to vault over him for the third time Mack delivers a clubbing blow to the chest before unloading on him. Ki reverses an Irish whip then blows a handspring Pele kick as his positioning was out and he was too far away to connect with the kick. Back to back springboard dropkicks from Ki for a two, and he follows up with three kicks to Mack’s head. Pele kick connects this time and it sends Mack tumbling out the ring to the floor. Glorious springboard moonsault with some serious air and hang time. The two of them trade blow on the outside until Ki is able to fell his opponent. He pulls a table out from underneath the ring and sets it up. They’re up on the apron, Ki with a kick to Mack’s mid-section, he goes for a second, however Mack catches the leg, presses him overhead and throws him through the table to the floor. He tosses Ki back into the ring and he’s just about able to kick out of the pin. Mack misses a splash off the top, Ki goes for a moonsault, but Mack moves and he lands on his feet. Ki blocks a clothesline, and a rolling Koppo kick sends Mack back into the corner. He heads up to the top turnbuckle, but Mack cuts him off and a sort of ‘super Doctor Bomb’. That doesn’t put Ki away so he sits him back up on the top turnbuckle again. Ki fires back and he goes for a rana but Mack catches and plants him with a powerbomb. He holds on, gives him a second, holds on again and a Rikishi driver or ‘Greetings from Brooklyn’ (as it’s moved a little up the Atlantic coast!). He covers him, but then pulls Ki up as he’s not finished punishing him. Ki ducks a clothesline, forearm, roaring elbow and a Ki Krusher for the win.

 

Good stuff here. Although this was billed as a ‘hardcore match’, I liked how it was completely different from what other promotions were doing: no chair shots, no garbage cans, weapons, just one broken table and as a result you remember it and the bump. The size difference between these two wasn’t as bad as I was expecting either. I remember Da Hit Squad as a couple of big dudes, and while Mack was a fair bit heavier than Low Ki, they were pretty much the same height. The two had a very physical, compelling match based off the back of stiff strikes and kicks interspersed with some high spots along the way. Not everything came off (handspring Pele kick, super Doctor Bomb), but it never detracted from the match. Kudos to Mack for keeping pace with Ki throughout all of this as well. Ki’s springboard moonsault to the floor was a thing of beauty and it was impressive getting Mack up for the Ki Krusher finisher.

[Seabs]

Match of highs and lows. Bit dull in the begining but after Ki's brutally botched handspring kick it picked right up. The Asai Moonsault and the Table spot were really good. Mack selling his hand after each chop was a really sweet touch. Then they started losing me again by just kicking out of a daft amount of stuff. Once Ki kicked out of the top rope powerbomb I stopped caring. Then the powerbomb combo and the Greetings from Brooklyn were just the icing on the cake, not to mention after all that Ki getting Mack up for the Ki Crusher for the finish. Dull begining, really strong middle and then an overdone finish.

[Edwin]

This was brutal. Both guys brought the stiffness and they turned a hardcore match into a straight up stiff singles match with a table spot. Them avoiding the blood and excessive use of weaponry made this unique and enjoyable.

 

Low Ki at this point was still green and you could he was still improving at this point, but that botched hadnspring kick in the corner was bad.

 

I prefer Dan Maff as a fatty Puerto Rican bruiser, but I thought Monsta Mack looked good here. Mack tossing Ki around was awesome.

 

Also this finished at the right time as they didn't go into overkill and didn't go on for too long either.

 

Good stuff.

 

***

[Stiva]

Fun match that manages to be refreshing in the context of recent brawls than anything else. With regards to Ki, he whiffs a couple of strikes and still looks green but he's just so naturally smooth at times; the moonsault to the outside is beautiful and the height and impact he gets on the big spots makes them look great. Cool to see that the crowd could still pop for a match like this without 100 table spots and they deserve credit for that. Monsta Mack was perfectly fine in this, finding some interesting ways to splat Ki all over the ring, put it all together and the match works. Indy refs are still counting way too fast for my liking though.

[TravJ1979]

Some big spots - sloppy not that meaningful