[2000-12-01-USA Pro-Return to the Madhouse of Extreme] Low Ki vs Xavier

[Edwin]

Talk about it here.

[Migs]

The USA Pro announcing is some of the worst of all-time. What, you haven't enjoyed "heavy technical wrestling"?

 

I believe this is to determine the first UCW Champion (a promotion which would be very prominent in New York over the next couple of years). Even in front of this not so smart crowd, Ki is already awe inspiring with his stiffness and unique style. Xavier is just about there with him and makes a nice foil for Ki, as he can keep up, but his style is flashier and distinct from Ki. The pinfall reversal sequence is a bit cliche, but the rest is a lot of fun and unique for the time. Jac Sabboth interferes at the end to set up another evil promoter storyline, but at least that feud pays off nicely in about six months.

[soup23]

I always like the way Elks Lodge looks and wish more lower level indies ran NYC now. We get some atrocious commentary from Iron Sheik at ringside. Good lockup to start and the chain wrestling they do in the early going is tight and proficient. Xavier gains the advantage sending Ki into the turnbuckle and to the outside. Spinning tope to the outside from Xavier. Ki regains the advantage wasting Xavier on a series of kicks. Ki then does a moonsault to the outside and gets great height and body control. Awful commentary again as you can see them passing the one microphone back and forth and they plead with Sheik to say something of note. The striking and intensity here carries the match as there is a good many transitions given the time that has expired. Fun spot as Ki whiffs on a kick to a diving Xavier, he points to his head and Ki lands a big kick then. That turned what I thought was a botched spot into a planned one. Phoenix Splash attempt by Ki and he gets kicked in the stomach on the way down. Buckle Powerbomb by Xavier and then a pumphandle slam for a nearfall. Xavier gets crotched going up again and Ki locks in the Dragon Sleeper with them both on the ropes. Ki is showing a lot of his signature stuff here. They do the Guerrero/Malenko pin sequence and then Xavier catches Ki in a snap powerslam and hangman’s neckbreaker. Now Maniac is on commentary. This would have been better without commentary. Ki Krusher is hit by Ki and both men are down. Xavier breaks that pin up with a foot on the rope. Ki climbs to the top but is distracted by the UCW crew on the outside. Xavier hits the 450 perfectly and picks up the pin. For a 10 minute match, we saw a lot here and most was hit cleanly. This was a better envisioned version of the indie stuff Ric Blade was trying to do but just didn’t have the story or connective tissue of greater matches that would happen on the indie circuit in the next couple of years. Still helluva fun. *** (6.2)

[GSR]

“Making his way down to ringside hailing from...oh, I don’t know where he’s hailing from!”  Great start there from your ring announcer, gives off a real professional vibe to things!  Bizarrely it seems like the Iron Sheik is on commentary.  It is.  And now the commentators are talking about crack dealer and other such nonsense, like how Xavier must think he’s going to be on Star Trek because he’s wearing space age tights!  The opening lock up is right out of the Homicide/Low Ki playbook from earlier in the year.  It’s something else hearing an unintelligible Sheik trying to do play by play here.  Both men are evenly matched, it pointed out that they have wrestled each other many times already in their careers.  Ki reverses a whip to the corner but as he comes rushing in Xavier launches him over the top rope to the floor.  Tope con hilo by Xavier.  Back inside Ki avoids the running lariat and boxes Xavier around the side of the head with a kick.  He follows that up with a handspring kick which lead to Xavier taking refuge out at ringside.  Orihara moonsault, at which point Sheik references “his cousin Sabu”.  WTF?  Is he trying to claim that he’s the original Sheik?  Ki unloads with a series of kicks, the last one to the temple dropping his opponent.  Xavier ducks a kick and then crotches Ki on the top rope before nailing him with a springboard dropkick.  He teases a tope suicida, however stops, expecting the Ki kick from the floor, which came.  That was an incredibly smart callback.  What was not smart though was Xavier putting his head through the ropes saying “I got him”, at which point Ki connects at the second time of asking.  One of the best matches the Iron Sheik has ever seen is this!  Ki goes for a Phoenix splash but is kicked in stomach as he comes down.  Running bucklebomb by Xavier, which may very well be a first for that.  Release overhead pumphandle slam.  Ki counters the powerbomb with a huracanrana as they run through a Guerrero/Malenko series of near falls.  A nasty looking cut throat neckbreaker, although for some reason Xavier gets off his opponent at the count of two rather than continuing the cover.  He goes for it again, this time mind Ki blocks and reverses into a ‘Ki Krusher’.  That one reminds Sheiky of a young Sheik and Bob Backlund!  Three members of the roster are out to watch on from ringside, something that distracts Ki as he heads upstairs.  Xavier slams him backwards to the mat and hits a 450 splash to become the first UCW Heavyweight champion of the world.  Post-match Xavier attacks Kid with the belt, putting the boots to him along with the other three unnamed wrestlers who had come out moments earlier.

The commentary is all kinds of abysmal and adds nothing to what is going on in the ring.  Do your best to switch that off in your mind to avoid the distractions, or alternatively mute the audio, as it took me a few minutes at the start to get fully into this.  Surprisingly short match and not the twenty plus minute epic I was half imagining going in.  I was really impressed by Xavier here and that bucklebomb must be a first.  Really nice callback to the JAPW match from a fortnight ago too, this time Xavier expecting the kick on the tope, stopping, but then has he brags that he’s outsmarted his opponent, gets caught with it.  Finish isn’t ideal with the distraction, although that doesn’t take too much away from what is a fun, progressive match.