The Independent Mid-Card 01.08.08: Ki vs. Generico
Posted by Samuel Berman on 01.08.2008
Selling. What a concept.
Hello all, and welcome to this week's edition of The Independent Mid-Card. Over the weekend, a shocking and unannounced return to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla led to an astonishing PWG World Title change in the very first match of the weekend. As a result, it seemed only prudent to use this week to look at a match featuring the newest champion in Southern California wrestling. That I was able to find a match where his opponent has also held the PWG World Title is just the icing on the cake that is this week's IMC. (Psst. Check out The Cool Kids' Table!)
Low Ki vs. El Generico
Tournament – Semifinal Match
IWA Mid-South – 2006 Ted Petty Invitational, Night 2 – Midlothian, IL – September 30, 2006
The Wrestlers:
Low Ki – Probably most famous for being the first Ring of Honor Champion, Low Ki has long been considered one of the top talents in all of Independent wrestling. With a brutal arsenal of strikes and submissions at his disposal, he was the cornerstone of early-era ROH, taking part in a near-legendary series of matches through the company's first half-dozen shows in 2002. Since that time, he has had a number of stints with ROH as well as Total Nonstop Action, where he was known as Senshi during his most recent run. Having come to IWA Mid-South in mid-2006, he had set his sights on making an impact in his very first Ted Petty Invitational Tournament, in which he had already dispatched with CHIKARA star Gran Akuma and ROH and PWG talent Davey Richards.
El Generico – Known mostly for his work in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as the Canadian Independent company International Wrestling Syndicate, "The Generic Luchador" El Generico is one of the most entertaining performers in Independent wrestling. Recognizable both by his mask and by his near-constant utterances of the word ‘Ole', Generico had previously taken part in the 2005 Ted Petty Invitational, losing in the first round to eventual champion Matt Sydal. So far in the 2006 tournament, Generico had defeated M-Dogg 20 as well as fellow PWG star "Photogenic" Chris Bosh. Of note, the first round match between Generico and Bosh is widely regarded as one of the best in the entire tournament.
The Match:
The Bouncing Souls begin to play and El Generico makes his way to ringside, still selling a rib injury from the earlier rounds. The announcers discuss that Generico may have an advantage because his second round match was the first one of the night and now he's taking part in the third and final semifinal matchup, but I think that particular advantage might be negated by having to face Low Ki. The familiar beat of The Realist Killaz hits and Low Ki begins to walk to the ring. Play-by-play announcer Ben Jordan calls Ki the ‘odds on favorite' to win the tournament, which, fairly, was the thought heading into the weekend. Generico is announced first as hailing from Mexico, but as is usual for TPI matches, no weight is announced. Low Ki is fighting out of Brooklyn, New York. Surprisingly similar levels of applause for these two, especially given Ki's overall status in the wrestling world. Another item to note is "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush on color commentary. Both men are checked by the referee and the bell rings to start things off.
Circle and a lockup leads to Generico grabbing a side headlock and Ki sending him off the ropes to break. They go into a leapfrog sequence and then Generico ducks a chop from Ki before getting a pair of armdrags. Generico then ducks a roundhouse kick and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Ki counters out of it and suplexes Generico chest first onto the top rope. Ki makes the early cover for two and then continues the assault by stomping away.
Ki forces Generico to the corner and hits a series of shoulderblocks followed by a hard chop. Ki then snapmares Generico to the mat and covers again for two. A pair of European uppercuts put Generico back into the corner, but Ki pulls him out and whips him off the ropes. Generico puts on the brakes and kicks Ki in the chest on a duck down move and then follows that up with a quesadora into a rolling cradle for two. Ki cuts off his momentum with a running clothesline and then gets in a stiff kick and a body slam before applying a bodyscissors. Ki elbows away at Generico's neck while working the injured ribs with the hold. Ki releases, but Generico counters a suplex into an inside cradle for two. He comes running with another quesadora, but this time tries to turn it into a sunset flip. Ki is having none of it, however, and squashes Generico with a jumping double stomp.
Ki applies a bearhug on the mat, which is surprisingly efficient given the rib injury. Generico works to his feet, but Ki rams him into the turnbuckle to further damage the ribs. Ki goes for the Tidal Wave (springboard enziguiri), but Generico catches him on the rebound with a dropkick. Ki is first to his feet, but gets caught with a pair of back elbows and a beautiful leg lariat. Generico calls for the Helluva Kick (running yakuza kick to the corner), but Ki gets a boot up to block it. Ki then comes running with a diving forearm into the corner, but Generico slips through the ropes to the outside to avoid it and Ki crashes into the turnbuckle. Generico climbs right to the top and comes flying in with a high cross body block for two.
Generico follows up with a boot the midsection and grabs a knucklelock. He chops Ki's chest and then leaps to the top before planting Ki with a tornado DDT on the way down, eventually making the cover for two. Generico is selling the ribs almost constantly now. Generico goes for a suplex, but Ki goes deadweight. Generico tries again, but this time Ki is able to bound off of the top rope mid-move to avoid taking damage. Then out of nowhere, Ki snaps off a rolling wheel kick that just pastes Generico in the head. Ki then dives at the ropes and rebounds into the Tidal Wave, again catching Generico right in the forehead. Ki covers, but again only gets two.
Ki goes into a series of Mongolian chops to Generico, but the masked man just keeps absorbing Ki's best shots and makes his way to his feet. Finally, Generico blocks one of the chops and grabs Ki, locking him into a body cradle and then segueing right into an Orange Crush (vertical suplex into a powerbomb) for two. Both men are slow to their feet, but Generico comes running with the Helluva Kick and just knocks Ki silly. Generico puts Ki on the top rope, but Ki is able to avoid his attempt at the Brainbustah (super brainbuster that lands the opponent head-first on the top turnbuckle) and hit a Kawada kick (shin kick to the face) while standing on the top. Ki then locks in a Dragon sleeper in the ropes before releasing when prompted by the referee. The two continue to fight for the Brainbustah and top-rope Ki Krusher (fisherman's driver) until Generico gets crotched on the top rope in the struggle. Generico then falls back into tree-of-woe position, but sits up when Ki steps on his knees and gets absolutely annihilated by the Warrior's Way (flying doublestomp with opponent in the tree-of-woe) and the pinfall is academic for Low Ki at 8:03. Ki is announced as the winner as the crowd chants his name and applauds both men. Ki takes a moment to collect himself before heading to the back and then Generico gets his own round of applause as the referee helps him from ringside. Bless his heart, Generico sells the ribs the entire time.
The Analysis:
Good, solid stuff from both men here, as they maximized their time in the ring by focusing their attention on Ki working Generico's ribs and using that weakness to build right to the finish. Low Ki was actually willing to sell a fair amount for Generico, which was nice to see, especially with Ki having been portrayed as an absolute buzzsaw in IWA leading into the tournament.
Generico toned down his goofier tendencies here, too, which makes this an interesting counterpoint to his more comedy-based matches. This match had little in the way of wasted motion or extraneous wackiness, and was the shortest of the three semifinal matches (Chris Hero vs. Roderick Strong went a bit over ten minutes and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Arik Cannon went nearly fifteen). Part of that might have been due to the show being a long one to begin with, but in all honesty, these two were able to put together a far crisper match in eight minutes than it might have been at thirteen.
Again, very solid work here, and a nice primer on both guys' movesets and style if one were seeing them for the first time. Certainly not the best match of the tournament (especially this tournament which had a number of truly great matches), but a great effort with sound psychology and an economy of motion.
The Aftermath:
El Generico has made a handful of appearances for IWA Mid-South since the 2006 Ted Petty Invitational, but has actually found more success in the time since as a part of the Ring of Honor roster. Having returned to ROH in late-2006, Generico would go on to team with fellow PWG star "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen, with the duo taking part in a much-heralded feud with Jay & Mark Briscoe during the course of the year. In addition, Generico would spend the first half of 2007 as the PWG World Champion, having defeated Human Tornado for the strap in late-February. His reign included outstanding defenses against the likes of PAC, Davey Richards, and CIMA, but he was eventually defeated for the belt by "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson. Generico would also make it all the way to the finals of the 2007 Battle of Los Angeles Tournament.
After outlasting Arik Cannon and Roderick Strong to win the 2006 Ted Petty Invitational Tournament, Low Ki would have a series of high-profile matches for IWA Mid-South while simultaneously continuing his work for Total Nonstop Action. In particular, Ki would have a pair of matches with Chris Hero (one draw and one submission victory), as well as winning decisions over Necro Butcher, Roderick Strong and Arik Cannon. Unfortunately, Ki was unsuccessful in wresting the IWA Mid-South World Heavyweight Title away from Chuck Taylor in a number of attempts. In TNA, Ki (there known as Senshi) would spend most of his time threatening for the X-Division Title, but would not hold gold throughout 2007 before being granted his release in early-December. In his very first appearance since leaving TNA, Low Ki would make a surprise return to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he had previously wrestled Samoa Joe and Davey Richards in April of 2007, at the first night of the company's All Star Weekend 6 in early-January of 2008. In the very first match of the night, Ki would defeat "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson to win the PWG World Title
The Final Word:
Low Ki truly is one of the most talented performers in Independent wrestling. However, his ‘multiple stints' in a variety of companies lends credence to the perception that his attitude has not always been the most positive. Hopefully his newfound success on the West Coast will provide him with the opportunity to disprove those theories, and he will become as consistent a performer outside of the ring for PWG as he has been inside of the ring for so many companies before.
To see this week's match, the 2006 Ted Petty Invitational is available from smartmarkvideo.com. Night 2 includes Chuck Taylor's improbably title victory as well as great tournament matches featuring talents like Claudio Castagnoli, Mike Quackenbush, Chris Hero, Roderick Strong and Delirious. The entire event remains one of the best from 2006 and is a must-own for all Independent wrestling fans.
This week's Buy or Sell features Chris Lansdell's debut. Unfortunately for him he's facing off with Larry, so him walking away unscathed seems unlikely. Oh, and there'll be an ROH Roundtable on Friday as usual for the weekends with shows. If you're reading this, you know the drill by now.
Weekly iTunes check-in is as follows:
1. "It's Time" by Kiss Me I'm Sick – from Kiss Me I'm Sick
2. "Don't Cry to Your Mama" by The Probers – from Same Ol' Same Ol'
3. "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp – from VH1 Storytellers
4. "Umi Says" by Mos Def – from Dave Chappelle's Block Party Soundtrack
5. "Universal Magnetic" by Mos Def – from Dave Chappelle's Block Party Soundtrack
The Cool Kids' Table remains open for business as usual with the most recent edition being a knock-down, drag-out between Brad and me. Good stuff, even if I do get trounced. You should have heard it before the final edit. Wow, was that a bloodbath… Viva la rebel podcast! Oh, and I think we'll all land on our feet, thanks for asking.
This hasn't been the most stress-free week for me, I won't lie. Some of it I saw coming and some of it I just hoped wasn't, but if nothing else, the last week has taught me that you've just got to fight through the bullshit sometimes. And a big thanks to Matty Seltzer for the new mantra: get started.
