This was a B Block match in the 2018 D-Oh Grand Prix tournament.
Whereas the D-Oh GP Mike Bailey matches so far have been variations or straight-up reruns of his usual hits (Little Mike Bailey vs. Big Guy, Eye-Rolling Knee Work Match), what we have here is something far more novel, far more interesting, and yes, despite the name on the other side of the match from him, somehow also far better than the previous two matches.
Mike Bailey is a genuine bully, and it is a revelation. Despite all of the fun fireworks shows and dream matches he’s had in DDT, the UK, and Canada in the time since his U.S. ban in early 2016, it’s the best performance he’s had in years at this point, probably since that career year of 2015. He does everything that he’s always done that’s made him such a joy to watch, and not only cuts out the sort of stuff that’s held him back on and off for a few years, but does it all in entirely new way.
In the interest of total and complete fairness, this is not just a one man show.
Shockingly, Soma Takao brings it.
Or, at least as much as he is physically capable of. He’s got smaller arms, there’s only so much that he can bring, you know? His arms are full here, if nothing else. He does not light the world on fire exactly, but given his inability to even create a spark for most of his career, even a nice little campfire is impressive. It’s more than he’s been able to conjure up in over three years, ever since the miracle KO-D Title match against HARASHIMA in November 2014. He throws a lot of elbows, and something like sixty to seventy-five percent of them are genuine heaters. He’s got a few real nasty ones that he throws to the body that leave a real impression. There’s some weaker offense too, and he is still not an especially likeable wrestler, but there is a real effort from Soma Takao, and he does not let the match or his opponent down like usual.
He could probably have been anyone though, and with a Mike Bailey performance as great as this, the match would have been just as good, if not better.
In this match, Mike Bailey is not an underdog. He is not even wrestling an equal in some stylistic battle, like you might get on any non-U.S. indie in the world at this point.
Instead, Mike Bailey is a rotten little prick.
Young Karate is out of this world great in this match, delivering the sort of absolute shitheel performance that I genuinely had no idea he had in him before this match. He’s aggressive and incredibly mean, but also such a preening little showoff. Everything he does is either incredibly petty and spiteful, or athletically incredible, which is always followed up by him smiling at himself or taking a bow. He holds things for longer than usual to show off, he kicks a little sharper and harder than usual, and goes out of his way to taunt little Soma Takao. It doesn’t just stand because it’s so unique from Bailey, but on top of that, because it is simply so good. As great as he’s been in the past as an underdog, he’s just as great here as in any of his better and/or more acclaimed matches. It’s not only a performance that whips a ton of ass, but a genuine eye-opener.
The reason I’m often so hard on Mike Bailey is because of this match, not just because he showed the ability to do something different and more sensible, but because he was better here against an otherwise complete dud than he’s been in at least a hundred matches against far better wrestlers. It’s the sort of thing he ought to be capable of all the time, but often doesn’t reach, for any number of reasons. It’s the sort of performance that raises someone’s ceiling in my mind, and that makes every lesser effort stand out that much more.
Soma wins with a cradle, but the result of this is the least important thing about it.
If not the absolute best match or performance of Mike Bailey’s career, given the situation, card placement, and opposition, it may be the single most impressive performance of Mike Bailey’s career.
The sleeper of the tournament.
HANDWERK 