[2000-07-14-JAPW] Low Ki vs Mark Reil / Low Ki vs Nick Berk

[soup23]

This felt like a waste of Ki overall. Billy Reil comes out and cuts a promo. He also gets into it with a fan and has the crowd chanting for him. That is all well and good telling the fans to show some respect in an unironic manner but aren't you supposed to be the heel? His "cousin" Mark Reil jumps Ki and they have essentially a squash match as Reil is really green and looks timid and botchy on most of what he tries. Ki dispatches of him and Berk attacks. A good 5-6 minute match here between him and Ki but it should have just been that match proper for 12-15 and presented as Berk being the hired gun for Reil or whatever. Ki is able to move past Berk as well. ** for the whole thing.

[AstroBoy]

Reil has nice charisma and has a lot of character. He is believable in the way he carries himself.

 

Mark Reil comes out after a nice tease of Marcus Bagwell and proceeds to pretty quickly botch a springboard. He mostly just takes Ki's offense and Ki doesn't hold back at all really roughing him up with some kicks and a Krush Rush.

 

Nick Berk is solid enough here and really takes a nasty looking dropkick to the knee followed by a dragon screw that seemed like it should have torn his ACL. Berk somehow reminds me of a paler, heavier, Super Crazy with his attire. I don't know.

 

**1/4

[Migs]

The Mark Reil segment starts weird, with Ki taking way too much of his offense when he's going to brush it off. The Ki offense section was pretty fun.

 

The Berk segment was also pretty meh, with Berk not really being able to match Ki's intensity. As a result, match never really seemed to build momentum and Ki never seemed in danger. Good example of Ki really needing to find the right guys to work with him to make the style click.

[Tim Evans]

Marcus Alexander Reil. Nice touch. I liked Billy's promo at the beginning. Ki goes the mark pretty easily but seems to have problems with Berk. Especially during the finish where he was having a hard time getting him up for the Ki Krusher. After the match, Billy moons the crowd. A very indie segment indeed.

[GSR]

Low Ki vs Mark Reil (JAPW 7/14/00)

Billy Reil heads to the ring although he’s not dressed for wrestling. He says how the last time he was in Jersey All Pro Wrestling, Sabu, Low Ki and himself tore the place down, but unfortunately he got injured on another show last Sunday and won’t be able to wrestle tonight. If anybody deserves the JAPW Light Heavyweight title it’s Low Ki, and he invites him to come to the ring so he can hand him the belt. After Ki joins them, some fan in the front row starts heckling Reil and he completely owns him making him look like a right tit. Back to business and Reil has got a replacement for himself (so much for just handing the belt over!); he’s looked all over the world and straight from WCW is Marcus Alexander...Reil.

 

Mark Reil runs out and jumps on the back of Ki, but he treats him as if he’s swatting away a fly; firstly flipping him off, and then when he tries again, giving him a rolling Death Valley Driver. Billy Reil continues to run his mouth from the outside and with nothing having worked so far, Mark low blows Ki. Tornado DDT, but he then slips off the ropes on the springboard leg drop attempt. He gets the expected “You f*cked up!” chants, to which he responds “I know, I know”. Top rope splash followed by a butterfly suplex for a one count. ‘Diamond Dust’ and Ki again kicks out of the cover. Mark hits a ‘Ki Krusher’ as an excited Billy is screaming about him beating him with his own move, although like everything he’s tried to put Ki away with, this didn’t work either. This looks to have taken it out of Mark who is now breathing heavily and beaten back to his feet by, a fresh as a daisy looking, Low Ki. Kick to the head, brainbuster, before Ki pulls Mark’s T-shirt over his head and chops his chest. Mafia kick and one ‘Krush rush’ later and this is all over.

 

Low Ki vs Nick Berk (JAPW 7/14/00)

Or is it? After desposing of Mark, Billy tells Low Ki it’s not over yet, and as he’s introducing his next opponent, Ki’s jumped from behind by Nick Berk. A pair of knife edge chops by Berk and you can see a dismissive look on Ki’s face, almost wishing his opponent to lay them in as these are pretty soft strikes. Running uppercut in the corner followed by a clothesline. Ki reverses the Irish whip and then Berk runs into a stiff ‘Mafia kick’. The stiffness continues in the shape of a couple of European uppercuts, chops, forearms and finally a lariat. ‘Krush rush’ but Mark Reil, who has stayed at ringside after his match, puts Berk’s foot over the ropes to break the count. Berk blocks the brainbuster and counters with a suplex. ‘Dragon sleeper’ and Billy is back doing his commentary over the house mic trying to get a “tap, tap, tap” chant started. Ki escapes the ‘Berk driver’ and reverses it into a nasty looking ‘Dragon sleeper’ of his own. Mark is up on the apron so Ki lets go of the submission to deck him before levelling him with a pescado. Dragon screw leg whip and Ki with a variation on the figure four, however Berk is able to grab his head and turn it into a pinning predicament. More stiff Ki offense, until Berk with the tip up over him and he hits the ‘Berk driver’. Billy thinks it’s all over, but not so as Ki kicks out. Mark is back up on the apron and primed to clobber Ki with the title belt, when Ki reverses things and he accidentally nails Berk instead. ‘Ki Krusher’ and its back to back victories for Low Ki. Post-match Billy gives Ki the Light Heavyweight title, but he doesn’t want to win it this way, wants to defeat the champion for it and they agree to a future match when Reil is healthy.

 

Didn’t care at all for the Mark Reil match (who was spotty and super green) and although Ki ended up blowing it all off, he got in way too much offense when Ki should’ve just squashed him in thirty seconds. I was surprised at how stiff he was when working with Berk and in hindsight wish they’d given the five minutes or so wasted on the Mark Reil match to this one instead.