2020 Ongoing MOTY List: Kendrick vs. Banks

2. Brian Kendrick vs. Travis Banks NXT UK 1/17 (Aired 1/23/20)

ER: Well, Brian Kendrick just went and ruined pro wrestling in the UK, because now they've seen what a small 160 lb. guy is capable of doing in a ring. How can fans see this tremendous Brian Kendrick performance, and go right back to watching short armed Billdy Joss or stumpy legged Declan Davis-Davies, without a good hard look in the mirror? Kendrick has been an absolute ace since returning to WWE, reminding me more of Finlay than anyone else on the roster, in all of the best ways: ring positioning, creativity, working with a moment, logical attacks; every Kendrick match has a few things that expose what other wrestlers *aren't* doing, and Kendrick makes those things obvious. here Kendrick punches Banks at the bell and locks on a great headlock (Kendrick is among the best headlockers in WWE) but gets shrugged off and a little overwhelmed. Sensing this as a problem, Kendrick opts to just wreck Banks' left hand for the next 10 minutes. We get 10 minutes of Kendrick slamming that hand into the ring steps, into the barricade, stomping on it, bending it around the ropes, kneeling on it, using it as an entry point to bigger things. The Captains Hooks has my favorite sub since he debuted it, a nasty crossface set up with a great headlock takeover, and I liked how it kept coming back.

Banks did more than pay service to his hurt hand, it informed a lot of what he did and he was always mindful of it, all through the finish. Kendrick dominated once he took out that hand, so Banks offense came in bursts: a great tope that crashed his whole body over Kendrick, big missile dropkick, and a couple Kiwi Crushers that looked like they dumped Kendrick on the back of his neck (one for a great nearfall, another for the win). I love the way Kendrick bumps, and thought his bumps made Banks look strong. They aren't always clean bumps, but once you see a guy who doesn't fill his matches with fast flat back bumps you realize how silly they are. Kendrick falls the way a move's momentum takes him, sometimes tumbling wildly to the floor while reaching out for ropes or ring skirt to stop him, sometimes falling on his side, always looking like the right bump for the move he just took. Kendrick's faceplant bumps are some of the greatest I've seen, whipping his face fast into the mat and holding it like he just loosened two teeth. Oh, and then during the home stretch Kendrick also showed he has the best yakuza kicks in wrestling. What a killer. I'm excited to go back and see what kind of match Ohno had with Banks last year, as this felt like Kendrick working all of Banks' best stuff into a match crafted around selling, and Banks holding up his end impressively.

PAS: I liked Banks less than Eric in this match. I thought he came off as a pretty generic Euro junior. If you are going to do kick combos, you had better waste a guy like you're Low-Ki or Tajiri, because if you don't they just look bad. Most of these WWE UK matches are one awesome guy against a guy who only got signed because of that WOS pilot a couple of years ago, and I agree that this was master class by Kendrick. He just has so many interesting little flourishes in his matches. The hand work is different than any hand work I can remember, way closer to Hotta working on Aja Kong's hand than some Marty Scurll finger break bullshit. I did like Banks' selling, and loved how Kendrick stayed focused on the injury. The adding of that hand lock to the Captain's Hook was really cool. Still, it felt like the wrong guy went over, and I would have been way more interested in the When Worlds Collide 4-Way with Kendrick in there to fill spaces with cool shit.


2020 MOTY MASTER LIST