Low-Ki Advent Calendar Night 8- Ki vs. Strickland 3

Low-Ki vs. Shane Strickland MLW 11/8/18

ER: This got kinda weird. I think this was overall better than their other MLW match. That one was too Strickland-y and this one felt more rough. But it also had a couple of unmissably awkward moments that were recovered from nicely enough but still stood out. Strickland whiffed on a slow leg sweep while Ki stood there, and later Strickland bumped late for an armdrag that didn't seem to happen. They looked weird, I'm not sure who did what weirdly, but they were there. But there was a ton of good, too. Strickland hit hard, hard chops, hard running elbow, big heavy arm running lariat that landed with a great thud to Ki's chest, hard knee in the corner; all that stuff is important because you know Ki isn't going to hold back on chops and kicks. The early Strickland control stuff was cool too, bullying Ki around, dropping him with a cool over shoulder backbreaker, and we got a really awesome fight over a suplex. Strickland tried a vertical suplex, Ki almost fought out of it with a knee, but Strickland managed to hoist him back up only for Ki to block it again. It was an awesome visual and my favorite part of the match, Ki fighting back while upside down in the air and Strickland repeatedly muscling him up. We get another cool moment later, also around a suplex, where Strickland lands a running knee in the corner then just yanks Ki up out of a seated position and drops him with a Saito suplex. Strickland needs to do more of that kind of thing, then suddenly I'd be looking forward to Shane Strickland matches. Ki finds smart ways to fight back from underneath, and throws in stuff I love like stomping on Strickland's foot when Strickland was on the mat but getting up. Our finish is kind of weird, kind of cool, with Ki doing one of his crash and burns, flying at Strickland from the top but getting the ropes instead and knocking the ref down. The ref really didn't seem to get hit but they sold it like he took one between the eyes and Strickland got a long visual pin. But the part I dug was Ki just starts ripping at Strickland's hair, trying to yank it out, then got a flash pin. It easily could have looked stupid, but Strickland sold it great and made it very believable that a guy could get a quick pin while someone is distracted by unfamiliar pain. I like the trend of Ki winning MLW matches by resorting to weird sudden cheapshot street fight violence, ripping at Daga's ear and now this. They are ways I wouldn't think to end a match, but I've liked them both.

PAS: I agree that this was better then their first MLW match, I especially enjoyed all of the early match scrambling on the mat, Ki is great at that stuff, but I thought Strickland was surprisingly good too.  The ref bump was really creative, and Ki is guy who will really mix in some nuts bumps. I think the awkward moments probably keep this from make a Match of the Year list, but I love that Ki is basically wrestling like a psychotic martial arts villain. I just watched the Night Comes for Us yesterday, and I can just imagine Ki taking a meat cleaver and cutting off Iko Uwais's thumb. Ripping off Daga's ear was lunacy, and finishing a match by ripping out Strickland's braids was completely extra. I am excited to see what sick thing he does to Konnan in Miami.


COMPLETE AND ACCURATE LOW-KI