Low Ki vs. Brian Kendrick

Low Ki vs. Brian Kendrick - NJPW BoSJ 6/6/12

You can ask anybody and they'll tell you these are two of my favorite American wrestlers of the last few decades. Well, not "anybody", but the other guys that write on this blog, and my wife, whom I'd always drag into the room when these guys had their runs on SmackDown! and encourage her to appreciate their high proficiency in pro wres. Kendrick dances to the ring like a low-rent rentable male stripper only stopping to force a woman in the front row to hold a turquoise and white checkered heart-shaped mirror while he checked himself out. Low Ki stomps down to ringside fresh off a hot run in EVOLVE. Funny callback to their ZERO1 days as while Low Ki stands on the turnbuckles looking out to the audience Brian creeps up behind him and forces Ki's arms into the Titantic pose Kendrick used to do pre-match as Spanky. Can't think of many places I'd rather see either guy more than the mats of New Japan -- maybe a cameo in HWA. Loved Ki dodging a kiss blown by BK then drilling him in the pecs with a chop. BK takes a break to flirt with girls in the bleachers until Li chases him back to the ring. I'm not finished yet but so far I'd rank this year's BoSJ a few spots above last year's. Kendrick nailed a really great suicide dive that looked more violent than graceful. Great sell by Ki on a chair shot out on the floor -- giving BK time to admire his own reflection back in the ring. Really admiring the way Ki's selling the back pain as BK targets it. Coupling his independent run and recent NJPW stint 2012 is shaping up to be an awesome year for Low Ki fans (myself certainly included). Low Ki's flying forearms tower over Tito Santana's, making mistakenly remembering Tito's as the best seem as good an idea as feeding a kid McDonald's "food". BK's got a really underrated dragon suplex. We may or may not have just seen a callback to a Dolph Ziggler bout. Nice finish as Ki counters the Sliced Bread #2 into a modified Ki Krusher '99. This is a really fun seven-minute romp that won't make you forget the last Hou Hsiao-Hsien or Apichatpong Weerasethakul film you've taken in but remind you that wrestling is alive and fun, BoSJ is better than ever, and the future is bright for NJPW!