Forever Forward Fridays

Kenny King VS "Speedball" Mike Bailey -  IMPACT! Wrestling Pit Fight 1/19/2023

Match Link

CJD: I spent a little extra time on K-I-N-G Kiiiiiinnngggg this week, watching him in tiny indies in big singles, on undercard tags in the veteran roll, trying to find that hidden gem. I'm a fan of Kenny, he has an it factor that makes me want to watch at least, even if he rarely shows up on a lot of end of year type lists. Well instead of going under the radar I settled on his 5th highest rated on Cagematch. And it's really because everyone should see this match. Once again, it probably won't make a lot of all-time match lists or what have you. But damn is this a fun piece of pro wrestling with a fresh presentation in a promotion that is hard to remember to check in on occasionally. Well here's your reminder. This match brought the best out of both Speedball and King, and I'm a little disappointed I couldn't find any of the build to it. I'd gladly have sat down to that as well. Very curious to hear your thoughts on this with decades of martial arts training, I don't know if it's scratching that BattlARTS/Bloodsport itch, but at the end of the day I thought the fun factor ruled above all.

JJZ: Jesus Chris. That this was such a joy to watch. Imma Tarentino it and just say the finish was fantastic. I literally said fuck out loud when he hit that. King and Bailey did a wonderful job using what they had as an offense. The spots off the apron were done perfectly. I didn't get any Battlearts feels but I did get some heat coming through my screen. Also Kenny and Mike's martial arts skills really shined at points. I would've loved a video package about the back story. Good shit homie.

No Excuses, No Fear

Kenta Kobashi/Kentaro Shiga VS Yoshihiro Takayama/Takao Omori - AJPW 7/4/1999

JJZ: So I picked this match because of a bunch of things I believe are new to me. I don't remember Kobashi ever wearing that face gear before. I can't recall ever watching Shiga before. (I'm totally anticipating you telling me that I have) The length of the was shocking to me since it was a 90s AJPW match. I have seen Omori and Takayama team a few times though. I really found this match unique to the AJPW that I have become accustomed to. The dog on a bone mentality that Omori and Takayama had on Kobashi's nose was awesome. Usually they work that stuff but they were treating it like a real fight and going for Kenta's injury right away. Shiga added a lot of fun to the match with his hot tag. Swig of green tea for those slaps. Dude wasn't pulling shit. I think I made the right call here homie. Enjoy.

CJD: You HAVE watched a Shiga match or two before, but with a career that had a few stall outs, that was cut short by injury, I can totally understand forgetting about him. To quote one of my favorite Mountain Goats songs, "sometimes you get some heat, sometimes it follows you around." The heat was following Team No Fear into and out of the building in this one! I loved the dynamic going after Kobashi's nose brought. And Shiga as the outclassed sidekick, doing anything and everything to help his mentor, was note perfect. He really had me believing on his big comeback there. This was about everything I want in 10 minutes of pro wrestling, right up to and including the finish. You made the right call indeed my friend.

Forever Forward Fridays

Brodie Lee/Delirious VS Kenny King/Rhett Titus - ROH 11/8/2008

JJZ: Man I miss Brodie Lee. Really loved this dynamic of Delirous and Brodie. You get a taste of both sides of crazy. Kenny King and Rhett were always a good tag team. Seeing the beginning matches of a tag team is kinda like listening to the first album of a band. You get some good things, you can tell they are reaching for a few things, but you can see the potential. Good back and forth and a solid build to a hot tag. Nothing overly fancy just a solid match.

CJD: I was really impressed with the chemistry of both teams in this one. Like you said this was basic, but it still accomplished a lot. It built the Delirious/Rhett feud first and foremost. It established the soon to be All-Night Express as an emerging team. And it kept Brodie looking very protected while showing flashes that King could hang on his level. I liked the seeds they were planting here, and for a match that didn't try to do a ton, it was still very efficient in what they did. Even more than an early album I'd say this was a demo tape with a ton of potential. But great comparison!