Posted March 26, 20178 yr comment_5793368 On paper this had me very excited, and they delivered a match I knew it had all the potential in the world to be. Callihan was a man on a mission - he wanted to prove that he has learned from his mistakes & that he is just as bad as Low Ki. This was just them beating the shit out of each other w/ awesome looking strikes (Low Ki is still the fucking man) & submissions which were applied with extra intensity behind them. Low Ki looked like a killer, which doesn't surprise me, he just beat the shit out of ol' Callihan Death Machine w/ that killer offense of his. Every time Callihan got the control, even for lengthy amounts of time, Ki always had something in his backpocket to bust out and stun the champ. The ending w/ Abyss was a bit annoying, but when I think about, it was actually some solid storytelling w/ Callihan realizing he just can't knock Ki down, he needs the help of his mates to do it. ****1/2
April 3, 20178 yr comment_5795475 That finish was an absolute kick to the dick of an otherwise exceptional match. Pity.
April 7, 20178 yr comment_5796096 Callihan is the AAW champion and is coming in trying to avenge a beating Ki gave him in JAPW back in 2011, and it really delivers the level of violence that set up promise. Ki is rocking his Hitman suit gimmick and both guys rip into each other early. Callihan is landing straight punching him in the forehead and Ki is lacing him with chops. This is the best Sami performance since his return to the indies, violent, explosive, and a bunch of fun Finlayish tricks like catching Ki in the ring skirt and yanking Ki's arm and causing him to whiplash himself into the top rope. There were moments in this match which felt like high end FUTEN which isn't something you see in wrestling these days, near the end Ki is unloading these uppercuts which are thrown at full force. There was alot of fun horseshit in this match too, Callihan tapes Ki to the top rope and brutalizes him with a chair (including a shot to the face which was super nasty) when Ki gets loose he retaliates by grabbing Callihan by the jaw and dislocating it, Callihan then rips his managers shirt and makes a makeshift bandage. This was working it's way to an all time classic until the plum awful Abyss run in, about the worst way to end a great match reminded me of the end of Lesnar v. Reigns or Fiera v. Estrada. Still strong MOTY contender but any better of an ending it could have closed the debate.
April 7, 20178 yr comment_5796141 Ki is fucking amazing for a guy who now works a handful of times a year. He looked great in his surprise appearance at WrestleCon as well. I don't know how he stays so sharp athletically with so little ring time, but he's certainly adding to his legend.
May 22, 20178 yr comment_5801427 This was my favorite match of 2017 until the finish. Still damn close to the top. Just a violent battle peppered with a few wonderful moments of wrestling nonsense. I hope to god they run a rematch sometime this year. Ki is ageless.
May 23, 20178 yr comment_5801449 Haven't thought about it in an organized way. Maybe Sabre's Evolve title win over Thatcher? Body of that wasn't as good as Ki-Sami but it really worked as a moment. I'm also still catching up on a bunch of shit. Seems impossible that a match with an Abyss run-in could be MOTY, but it's not out of the question. Everything up until that was viscerally awesome.
May 23, 20178 yr comment_5801514 Forgive my ignorance but how does one go about seeing this match? I watched it on the Highspots streaming service. Not sure if it's floating around in the land of free.
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