[2002-07-17-NWA TNA] A.J. Styles vs Low Ki

[Superstar Sleeze]

X Division Champion AJ Styles vs Low-Ki NWA TNA 7/17/02

 

These two can not have a bad match together. Not quite as good as the others I have seen but still the intensity and energy was there. Just from the opening grappling, you can feel the tenacity and will to win. I loved AJ hitting a nice dropkick Ki when he goes for the cartwheel karate kick early. It shows that you can only hit those show off moves later in the match or if the opponent does not know you well. Very nice. Liked Ki controlling the wrist on an Irish Whip and him getting a Kappo Kick. Loved the Dragon Sleeper in the ropes. They were just laying everything in. This felt like a very good Nitro match, but like most very good Nitro matches it also felt compressed and rushed. They just did not let things breathe. They packed a lot of stuff in ten minutes. Like the Ki Krusher quickly into a DDT and then AJ missing a Spiral Tap, but everything was humming along. It is too bad. They do that super cool Phoenix Splash into a Styles Clash, but I think Ibushi/AJ pulled it off better. Still very good just hurt by time constraints. ***3/4

[Zero]

They only got about 10 minutes, but they did quite a bit with it. Story of the match was Styles reversing a lot of Ki's offense. 2002 AJ Styles is really fun to watch. 

[ohtani's jacket]

This was great. A bit like 1996 Cruiserweight wrestling for the new millennium. They set it up from the beginning as move-counter move wrestling, so you know not to expect a match with a ton of depth. I'm cool with that. I have a hard time taking Styles seriously without the beard and long hair, but he does a great job of countering Low Ki's offense. I'm not a fan of Styles' signature spots, but I liked the way he pulled off the win here. The angle afterwards wasn't bad either.