Low Ki Talks The One Problem With AEW, Why MLW Attracted Him
Low Ki has over 20 years of experience in the ring and has wrestled for seemingly every promotion imaginable. He is currently signed with MLW where he was the Heavyweight Champion before dropping the belt to Tom Lawlor.
With so many options at his disposal in terms of wrestling promotions to go to, Low Ki talked with our Nick Hausman about why he chose MLW.
"What attracted me with MLW was the original version of MLW which I was a part of in 2004," said Low Ki. "Then I had a positive experience with [Founder] Court (Bauer) despite the fact the company was suffering back then."
Low Ki remembers Bauer contacting him at the end of 2017 and said the positive experience he had led to him to return.
"The integrity that was maintained at that time is something uncommon in this realm of business. A lot of people don't understand the business aspect of this world. They only focus on the in-ring stuff which is the easier part. The business part is much more difficult and in my interactions with Court, I reminded him of the integrity he had shown which made my decision much easier to join MLW in this new incarnation," stated Low Ki.
For someone who has wrestled for so many promotions as Low Ki has, he provided his insight on the rise of the next big wrestling promotion with AEW.
"To me it's an opportunity that hasn't been available for a lot of people," said Low Ki. "The only problem is: now you're finding out who the whores are.... Everyone's going after money. A lot of these guys don't have any experience to being with, so they wouldn't normally find the availability of this level of financing. So, of course they are going to go there."
Low Ki mentioned that with this inexperience comes a lot of immaturity and that can be detrimental to young wrestlers. In a wrestling locker room, you are bound to find lots of followers, but very few leaders.
"From my experience within 20 years of wrestling, I haven't run into many leaders. I've run into a lot of followers," stated Low Ki.
Low Ki says he's a perfect fit with MLW because the focus is on the action and what happens in the ring. The promotion isn't about just who can talk the best and long promos like what you would normally see with other wrestling companies.
"We're more traditional. We're simple," stated Low Ki. "All of the talking is not done in the ring. All of the work is done in the ring?. We're not spending the first 20 minutes of a show with an in-ring segment of people going back and forth with each other. We want action."
MLW has a lot of young talent, but Low Ki says they still have to prove themselves and was asked which performers have caught his eye.
"That's difficult because right now it's still too soon with a lot of the roster being fairly young," admitted Low Ki.
"A month from now or six months from now, a lot can happen to change the dynamic of what you're seeing. The adaptability of these guys is gonna be something to pay attention to."
But he did have nice words to say about a certain second-generation wrestler due to his passion for the business.
"(Brian) Pillman Jr has a good future, but it's because he actually cares about this. This is not something that he's just doing. This is something he's invested in, not just because of his name, but because he likes doing this," said Low Ki.
He also was complimentary of the Lucha Bros and has known them since they were young men just trying to get established in the wrestling business.
"With Fenix and Pentagon, they were in Japan with me as young boys," revealed Low Ki. "They were brought over with Pro Wrestling Noah while I was with New Japan.
Low Ki says he relates with the Lucha Bros because of their shared experience where they were all foreigners trying to earn their stripes. He also praised the brothers for being family men and having a maturity that is uncommon in wrestling.
"There is a much deeper connection with responsibility and they are also family men. There's a difference in maturity associated with their decision-making. There's a reason why they were tag champions for so long," stated Low Ki.
Low Ki will be competing at MLW's Rise Of The Renegades on April 4th and Battle Riot II on April 5th. Both shows will be held at the Melrose Ballroom in Long Island City.
The full audio from our exclusive interview with Low Ki was included in Wedneday's episode of our WINCLY podcast. You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. In the full interview Low Ki discusses working with Tom Lawlor, why MLW attracted him, the launch of AEW, what goals he has left in pro wrestling and more.
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