For the longest time, he has been one of the more prominent athletes on the independent circuit today. Low Ki is known to be one of the more innovative offensive wrestlers in the world today. He brought a new breed of wrestling when he combined it with his martial arts background.

I'm not talking about him using a chop across the top of the head, a la Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, or using a crescent kick like Shawn Michaels. Low Ki's offensive is much more hard-hitting than that and is known to have one of the stiffest kicks in the world. Low Ki is very much skilled with his feet because of his background in Aikido Karate.

Low Ki is a native of Brooklyn, NY. Like many wrestlers today, Low Ki was a fan of the sport at a very young age. He began his training in 1997 at St. John The Baptist Church in Brooklyn. His training was provided by the trainer to the stars, the "Notorious 187" Homicide.

After many long months of training, Low Ki was ready to make it to the ring. The first promotion he competed for was the Long Island Wrestling Federation (LIWF). On October 10, 1998, Low Ki faced off against Chief Tango, Mike Sweeny and Monsta Mack in a Four Corners Match. His debut ended in a time limit draw.

He spent the early part of his career in the northeast competing in LIWF, Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW) and Jersey All Pro (JAP). Some of his first matches were against guys like Monsta Mack, Damien Dragon, Billy Reil, and even Homicide. Slowly, Low Ki was rising to become one of the most talked about wrestlers on the east coast.

One of Low Ki's first title victories came on October 2, 1999. He traveled to Palo Alto, CA and competed in Future Wrestling Alliance (FWA). He defeated Mike Quackenbush to win the title, but would lose it back to him on November 20, 1999 in the same city.

One of Low Ki's first major east coast title victories came on April 14, 2000. He beat Andrew Anderson to become the second man to hold the JCW Title in Elmwood Park, NJ at the high school. Low Ki's accolades at this point were deserved, as his ascension to the top was a quick one.

On May 12, 2000, JCW held their first annual J Cup Tournament, which has come to be one of the most exciting tournaments of the year. Some of the competitors in this first annual tournament were Billy Reil, Judas Young, Homicide, Dave Greco, Abunai, Crazy Ivan, and Low Ki. Low Ki defeated Grandmaster B and Billy Reil in the first two rounds, but then fell to eventual winner Judas Young in the semi-finals when Reil sought revenge on Low Ki.

Low Ki made his USA Pro debut on June 2, 2000 defeating Mike "Kid" Kruel. Low Ki also continued to defend his JCW Title, against such foes as Dave Greco, Mike Dell, Billy Reil, Trent Acid of The Backseat Boyz, and had a feud with Afa Jr. Low Ki began to catch the eye of scouts in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was brought in to work a dark match for the promotion on August 7, 2000. Low Ki teamed with Vince Goodknight and the lost to the Mean Street Posse. The opportunity was big and it showed fans that Low Ki was the real deal. It wouldn't be his last time working for WWE.

Low Ki joined up with Afa's Pennsylvania-based promotion, World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW), on October 15, 2000 and lost to Afa Jr., spilling their rivalry into WXW. After making defenses of the JCW Title like the fighting champion he was, Low Ki finally dropped the title to Reckless Youth in East Rutherford, NJ at the Battle at Becton on October 20, 2000. Six days earlier, Low Ki made his East Coast Wrestling Alliance (ECWA) debut be defeating Reckless Youth.

Low Ki was once again brought back to work a taping with WWE, and this time made it on their Jakked/Metal taping. On October 23, 2000, Low Ki lost to the late Crash. It was around this time that Low Ki was putting on a series of great matches against Xavier. On November 5, 2000, Low Ki returned to USA Pro and beat Xavier. On November 17, 2000, they took their rivalry to JAP and Low Ki beat him once again. On December 1, 2000, Xavier finally got a victory over Low Ki in USA Pro.

Low Ki started 2001 by winning gold. On January 9, 2001, he returned to WXW and beat Mason Cage for the WXW Cruiserweight Title in Allentown, PA. The matched aired on television in few select markets five days later. Low Ki was also competing in Jac Sabboth's Ultimate Championship Wrestling (UCW) and jobbed to Tajiri on January 26, 2001 in Queens, NY. On February 12, Low Ki worked another Jakked/Metal taping for WWE, once again jobbing to Crash.

Jim Kettner holds the ECWA Super 8 Tournament every year, which is also a much-anticipated tournament. On February 24, 2001, Low Ki was invited to compete in the tournament. In a single night, he defeated Florida indy wrestler Billy Fives, Jason Reign and The American Dragon. This tournament is a springboard to greatness for many athletes in it. The first four winners of the tournament included Ace Darling, Lance "Simon" Diamond, former WWE development wrestler Steve Bradley, and "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels.

Low Ki was a constantly brought in to work WWE TV tapings when they came to the New York area, and was brought in on March 19, 2001 to work another Jakked/Metal taping. This time he did the job to former WWE Light Heavyweight champion, Essa Rios.

The month of April was a busy one for Low Ki. On April 4, 2001, he replaced the injured Monsta Mack and teamed with Mafia to beat the Moondogs 2000 for the JCW Tag Team Titles. Three days later, Low Ki teamed with The American Dragon to beat Russ & Charlie Haas to win the ECWA Tag Team Titles, beginning a yearlong title reign. The next night, Low Ki returned to WXW and lost the Cruiserweight Title to Afa Jr. in Allentown, PA. The next night, Low Ki once again competed for WWE and teamed with Alex Arion to job to Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn. Worked against Essa Rios at another WWE taping on May 7, 2001, doing the job again.

Low Ki ventured back to the Florida independents in June. On June 16, 2001 he defeated Billy Fives to win the Future of Wrestling (FOW) Title in Davies, FL. The reign lasted only 24 hours as he lost it back to Fives.

On June 23, 2001, Low Ki was once again invited to compete in the JCW J Cup tournament. After losing in the semi-finals the previous year, Low Ki was looking for nothing to win the whole thing. In a single night, he beat UCW champ Xavier, Joel Maximo, Shark Boy, and Queenan Creed in the finals to win it all. The field was tough, as other competitors in the tournament included previous year's winner Judas Young, Dave Greco, Mike Quackenbush, Jose Maximo, Dixie, and "Supreme" Lee Great.

WWE had back-to-back television tapings in Madison Square Garden on June 25 and June 26, 2001. On the 25th, he lost to Raven during a taping of Jakked/Metal. The next night, Low Ki wrestled a dark match and won his first match in the Garden when he defeated Mike Sullivan.

The feud of the year on the independent scene in 2001 was Low Ki vs. Xavier. They had the main feud in Impact Championship Wrestling (ICW), which was formerly known as UCW, and had battled several times over the ICW title, with Xavier getting disqualified in one of their encounters. This led to their much talked about Ladder Match on June 30, 2001. Low Ki won the title in this epic encounter. A review of this show can be found on the site by The MiC. Low Ki held the title for a year before the company shut down operations.

Low Ki was riding a hot streak. On July 7, 2001, Low Ki beat Nick Berk for the JAP Light Heavyweight Title at the ECW Arena. Later that night, Low Ki also defeated Homicide to win the JAP Heavyweight Title. Low Ki left Philly with JAP's top two singles titles. Later in the month, Low Ki competed in the Midwest Championship Wrestling (MCW) T-3 Tag Team Tournament with the vacant MCW Tag Team Titles on the line. He teamed with Airborne and beat Vinny Massero & Jay Jensen, The FBI (Guido Maritado & Tony Mamaluke) and Christopher Daniels & Jayson Reign to win the tournament and the titles.

Despite Low Ki holding two JAP Titles, Low Ki was not going to hide behind one and defend the other. At the JAP Anniversary show on July 19, 2001, he retained the JAP Light Heavyweight Title in a 3 Way Dance over Minoru Fujita and Xavier. Later in the evening, he defended the JAP Title against Homicide, resulting in a no contest.

Meanwhile, in ECWA, Low Ki & The American Dragon continued to reign as the ECWA Tag Team champions. However, they were working the Chris Candido/Lance Storm angle from Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) where they couldn't get along. On July 21, 2001, Low Ki battled The American Dragon and jobbed to him. What was so significant about the match was that it was reffed by Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. This was one of Steamboat's first appearances since retiring in 1994.

On August 18, 2001, Low Ki ventured back to the ECW Arena for a JAP show. He was involved in a 3 Way Dance against Homicide and Xavier. Low Ki was pinned by Homicide, which resulted in Homicide walking out as the new JAP Heavyweight champion. Due to the stipulation, Xavier also walked out with the JAP Light Heavyweight Title.

All Pro Wrestling (APW), based in California, also holds an annual tournament, similar to that of JCW and ECWA, called King of the Indies. The tournament is held over two days. The 2001 tournament was held on October 26-27. Low Ki defeated Vincenzo Massaro, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels before losing to his ECWA Tag Team championship partner The American Dragon in the finals.

Low Ki had a series of matches against Crowbar in USA Pro. On August 26, 2001, Low Ki jobbed to Crowbar. They had a rematch the following month on September 8, but this time it was an Iron Man Match. Low Ki walked out as the victor, beating Crowbar four falls to three.

As ICW champion, Low Ki didn't have many defenses. He had several defenses against The Amazing Red. On November 30, 2001 in Queens, NY at the Elks Lodge, Low Ki had a huge defense against current WWE champion, Eddie Guerrero. Guerrero was in between tenures with WWE and was in the midst of ridding his life of demons. In this huge match for Low Ki, he came out on top against one of the premiere wrestlers in the world.

Low Ki wrestled his final WWE taping on January 7, 2002, jobbing to then WWE European champion Christian in a match taped for syndication. That was also the night Triple H made his return to WWE after tearing his quad muscle in spring of 2001.

On January 18, 2002, Low Ki debuted in Connecticut's Assault Championship Wrestling (ACW). In his debut, he defeated his long time rival Xavier. That wasn't enough for Low Ki that night, as he lost later on in a rematch to Eddie Guerrero. ICW had their first anniversary show on January 26. On that show, Low Ki battled former ECW champion Sabu to a no contest.

Current WWE superstar, Charlie Haas, teamed with his brother Russ Haas on the independent scene long before securing WWE developmental deals. The Haas Brothers competed for such companies as JAP, Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and ECWA. On December 15, 2001, tragedy struck as Russ Haas died suddenly at the age of 27 from a heart attack. JAP held a benefit on February 2, 2002 in honor of Russ Haas. On the show, Low Ki defeated Mike Kruel.

On February 23, 2002, Ring of Honor (RoH) held it's first show in Philly. RoH was based soley on it's wrestling, and very little emphasis on gimmicks. The main event of the first show saw Low Ki defeat Christopher Daniels and The American Dragon in a 3 Way Dance. The three of them would continue to feud with each other over the course of the next few shows.

After appearing throughout the country, Low Ki finally made his pay-per-view debut on February 24, 2002. World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) held their first PPV called Revolution. The opening match saw an elimination match involving Low Ki, Shark Boy, Christopher Daniels, Nova, AJ Styles, and Tony Mamaluke. Nova walked out as the winner.

As ECWA Tag Team champions, Low Ki and The American Dragon continued to bicker with one another. They made a defense on April 6, 2002 against Christopher Daniels & Xavier. The stipulation was if Low Ki or American Dragon could get the fall, they would have control of the ECWA Tag Titles and choose a new partner. Low Ki pinned Xavier and then named Xavier as his new partner. The reign was short-lived as the lost the ECWA Tag Titles to The SAT on May 4, 2002.

On May 16, 2002, we lost another wrestler to a sudden death. Alex Rizzo aka "Big" Duck Dudley died due to kidney failure. He was a mainstay in USA Pro, holding the USA Pro Title on two occasions. USA Pro held their first annual "Big" Dick Dudley Memorial Show on June 8, 2002. On that show, Low Ki teamed with Xavier to win the USA Pro Tag Titles in a 3 Way Dance over Da Hit Squad and The Natural Born Sinners.

On June 19, 2002, Jerry & Jeff Jarrett launched National Wrestling Alliance: Total Non-stop Action (NWA:TNA) and held their first show on this date. On the debut episode, Low Ki teamed with AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn and they jobbed to The Flying Elvises: Jorge Estrade, Sonny Siaki and Jimmy Yang aka current WWE star Akio. The best was yet to come in NWA:TNA for Low Ki.

On July 10, 2002, in a match to determine the #1 contender to AJ Styles' X Division Title, Low Ki beat Christopher Daniels, Elix Skipper, Kid Romeo, Tony Mamaluke, and Jerry Lynn. The match for the X Division Title was held the following week and Low Ki did the job to AJ Styles.

On July 27, 2002, RoH was ready to crown their first champion. The main event of the show was a 4 Way Iron Man match. The participants were Low Ki, Christopher Daniels, Spanky, and Doug Williams. In a match that helped put RoH over as a dominant promotion, Low Ki was crowned the first RoH champion.

Low Ki finally won the NWA X Division Title on August 7, 2002 in a 3 Way Dance, defeating AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn. The following week, he defended that title against all three members of The Flying Elvises in an Elimination Match, and retained it.

Ten days later, Low Ki returned to USA Pro and teamed with Xavier to lose the USA Pro Tag titles to Stormin' Norman and Larry McKeeny in Deer Park, NY. It's what happened backstage at this event that made headlines on the Internet. Low Ki got into an argument with Tammy Lynn Sytch, over a seat of all things, who is the significant other of Chris Candido. As they argued, Candido tried his best to calm them both down. Low Ki told Candido he respected him, but told him to keep her in line.

Low Ki once again defended the X Division Title in an Elimination Match on August 21, 2002, this team against The Amazing Red and The SAT. Low Ki won the match and retained his gold. Unfortunately for Low Ki, he lost the X Division Title to Jerry Lynn the following week in a Ladder Match that also involved AJ Styles.

Donnie B's Phoenix Championship Wrestling (PCW) held a memorial tag team tournament, on August 31, 2002, in honor of Russ Haas, who also competed in PCW. In one of the non-tournament matches, Low Ki faced off against Frankie "The Future" Kazarian and Jerry Lynn in a 3 Way Dance for the PCW TV Title. Kazarian walked out as the winner.

Low Ki was finally getting the chance to compete in Japan, which is a bigger deal to most indy wrestlers than getting a contract with WWE. On September 16, 2002, Low Ki beat Leonardo Spanky in Tokyo to capture the Zero-One International Junior Heavyweight Title.

As RoH champion, Low Ki made only one title defense, and that was against AJ Styles. He ended up losing the RoH Title to Xavier on September 21, 2002.

Low Ki received a huge opportunity on PPV on October 2, 2002. He challenged NWA champion Ron Killings for the title. In the main event of the show, Killings retained the NWA Title.

On December 17, 2002, Low Ki turned heel and joined Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme (SEX) faction. Low Ki formed a faction within the faction known as Triple X, along with Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper. The trio teamed and defeated The Amazing Red and The SAT.

Low Ki started 2003 on tour with Zero-One. On January 5, he retained the NWA International Junior Heavyweight title by beating AJ Styles. Ten days later, Triple X teamed with Vince Russo to defeat Jeff Jarrett, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and The Road Warriors. This was a huge victory for the young Triple X trio, having a win against their legendary opponents.

One week after that, Low Ki teamed with Elix Skipper to beat the NWA Tag Team champions America's Most Wanted for the NWA Titles. On February 5, 2003, Low Ki & Elix Skipper battled The New Church to a no contest, which resulted in the titles being held up. America's Most Wanted eventually regained the titles, only to lose them to Low Ki & Christopher Daniels on March 12.

Low Ki defended the NWA International Junior Heavyweight title outside of Japan when he competed in a PWF show in Pottstown, PA on March 16, 2003. He retained the title by beating Quiet Storm. Six days later, Low Ki defeated Jody Fleisch in a RoH show. Soon after this match, Low Ki would have a disagreement with manage which led to Low Ki not working for RoH anymore. But in wrestling, you can never say never. Low Ki made his return to RoH on July 19, making short work of Special K member, Deranged. The following afternoon, after a lengthy absence due to scheduling conflicts, Low Ki made his return to USA Pro in the main event, jobbing to USA Pro champion Raven at Fan Fest.

On August 13, 2003, Low Ki got another shot at winning the NWA Title, this time against AJ Styles. He once again came up on the short end. Three nights later, Low Ki wrestled his final match, yet again, for RoH when he legit knocked out Dan Maff with one of his stiff kicks. A few days later, Low Ki would release a statement on his web site, apologizing to the fans and Dan Maff for the abrupt end to the match.

Low Ki did another tour of Zero-One in late August 2003. On August 31, he lost the Zero-One International Junior Heavyweight Title to Wataru Sakata. Three days later, Low Ki suffered a broken jaw and is shelved indefinitely. He was back on his feet in no time and worked an All Japan show in Budokan Hall on October 26, 2003, defeating Silver King.

In his final match held in the Elks Lodge in Queens, NY, Low Ki returned to USA Pro to defeat Sonjay Dutt in what people were saying was the match of the night.

The first NWA:TNA show of 2004 saw Low Ki compete in the second Ultimate X match for the X Division Title. Low Ki faced off against Chris Sabin, Michael Shane and Christopher Daniels and saw Sabin win the title. Low Ki also competed for Court Bauer's Major League Wrestling (MLW) and lost to Homicide on January 9, 2004 in Florida, but then beat Chad Collyer the next night.

Pro Wrestling World-1 held three shows on February 6, 7 and 8 in Pennsylvania. On the first night, Low Ki teamed with Spanky to job to Justin Credible and Jerry Lynn. The second night saw Low Ki beat Matt Striker. And the third night saw Low Ki beat Justin Credible for his PWF Universal Title. The title was renamed on February 24 as the Pro Wrestling World-1 Openweight Title.

On February 19, Low Ki traveled back to Japan with Spanky to defeat Dick Togo & Ikuto Hidaka in Korakuen to capture the NWA International Light Heavyweight Tag Team Titles.

On February 14, at the RoH Second Anniversary Show, Low Ki wrestled RoH champion Samoa Joe, Dan Maff and BJ Whitmer in a 4 Corners Match for the RoH Title. Samoa Joe retained. Oh yeah, if you couldn't tell, Low Ki returned to RoH.

Zero-One held it's Third Anniversary Show on February 29, 2004. On the show, Low Ki & Spanky retained their NWA International Light Heavyweight Tag Team Titles by defeating AJ Styles & Frankie Kazarian. On March 7 at Hustle II, Low Ki teamed with Homicide and they jobbed to Spanky & Kaz Hayashi.

Because of his constant touring of Japan, Low Ki found himself not competing for NWA:TNA on a regular basis. The NWA held a tournament to crown new champions, which began on March 24. Low Ki & Christopher Daniels reunited as a mystery team, defeating Shane Douglas & Michael Shane in the first round of the tournament. The following week, they beat The Naturals in the semi-finals. Then on April 7, 2004, in the finals, they fell to Kid Kash & Dallas.

Pro Wrestling World-1 held three more shows on April 8, 9 and 10. On the first night, Low Ki beat Minoru Fujita. The second night, he teamed with Spanky and Homicide to defeat CM Punk & The SAT. On the final night, Low Ki completed the hat trick by teaming with Spanky to beat Ikuto Hidaka and Minoru Fujita.

On May 8, Zero-One held Hustle III in Yokohama, Japan. Low Ki teamed with the first WWE Light Heavyweight champion, Taka Michinoku, to job to Kaz Hayashi and Spanky. This was a loaded show, as fans witnessed Dusty Rhodes defeating Steve Corino, Naoya Ogawa & Shina Hashimoto defeating the recently reunited Outsiders: Kevin Nash & Scott Hall, and Cactus Jack making his first appearance in Japan in eight years, jobbing to All Japan Triple Crown champion Toshiaki Kawada for the title.

Low Ki made his first USA Pro appearance on 2004 in Queens, NY on May 14, against Samoa Joe. This match had been scrapped at one point, as Low Ki had decided to work the Pro Wrestling World-1 show. After those shows were cancelled, this match was back on. The match was very stiff and saw near falls as these two tough men beat the hell out of each other. The match ended in a double knockout.

Low Ki is known the world over for his cat-like reflexes and his stiff kicks. His unorthodox offense has made him a must-see wrestler and is truly unique. He's an awesome cruiserweight, who has proven he can hang with the heavyweights. Low Ki continues to be a huge star in Japan, while still making waves in the United States. For more info on Low Ki, check out

http://www.low-ki.com/

John Gjoni
johnftw7533@aol.com

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