Thursday, January 15, 2015

Match of the Week for January 15th - January 22nd

This is my first Match of the Week article of 2015 so I'll give it a little background. Almost every week, I pick a match, from the past or present, to discuss and recommend to the readers of this blog. It's a great way to share wrestling with other fans and give them alternatives to what they see on TV each week.

The match I'd like to discuss this week is arguably the hottest match on the Indies at the moment - Biff Busick vs Mike Bailey. Every now and then, a bout comes along in which two guys have such chemistry that they can't have a bad match together. So much so, that it makes waves through the Independent Wrestling scene and as a result, every promotion wants to book it. It happened in the early 2000's with CM Punk & Colt Cabana, it happened in 2012 with Michael Elgin & Davey Richards, and now in 2014-2015, it's happening with Biff Busick & Mike Bailey.

In 2014, Busick & Bailey tore it up against each other in several promotions including CZW, Beyond Wrestling, and the promotion in which this particular bout took place, Canada's C*4 Wrestling. On top of last year, the buzz these two have created has led to this match being booked at PWG's upcoming event on February 27th. That's what led me to choose a match from their series of encounters as the match of the week this week.

On paper, these two are complete opposites. Biff Busick is a technician that also uses an arsenal of hard hitting strikes, such as uppercuts, to dismantle his opponents. Meanwhile, Bailey, nicknamed "The Speedball", is a quick, agile competitor that uses his tae kwon do skills to create a unique offense that sets him apart from most other junior heavyweights.

In this particular match, which is thankfully available on YouTube for free so you can see it for yourself, Busick & Bailey faced off at C4's "Crossing The Line" event. The bout started off with Busick trying to ground Bailey and take him to the mat. Bailey responded by reversing one of Busick's headlock takeovers into one of his own which showcased his own technical prowess.

Bailey didn't win that exchange however as Busick hung him over the top rope and delivered one of his signature vicious uppercuts which sent Speedball to the floor. From this point on, Busick took control of the match up. He began throwing chops and strikes which left Bailey defenseless. Or so we thought.

Soon, Bailey began soaking in every strike that Biff threw and began responding with some of his own. The two men, vastly different in size yet equally as tough, stood toe to toe trading chops in the center of the ring. Bailey seemed to get the best of the exchange as he began throwing shots to the mid-section of Busick followed by several kick attempts however Biff countered and nailed him with a boot to the face. Busick went to follow this up by hitting the ropes, but recieved a superkick for his troubles.

The story of this match soon became Bailey staging multiple comebacks only for Biff to put a stop to them all. This would end up showcasing the toughness of Mike Bailey as he would come back for more after every flurry of offense that Busick delivered.

For instance, Bailey went running and jumped off a chair only to be met by an uppercut in mid air from Busick. Bailey would recover from this and deliver an array of strikes that floored the Star Destroyer however Busick would recover and nail Bailey with a brutal half & half suplex on the ring apron which dropped Bailey right on his head.

I won't spoil who won this encounter since it's available for you to watch on YouTube. Although, I will say that in this match, Bailey was the underdog that never stopped fighting while Biff was the rugged powerhouse that held nothing back. This made for a fantastic match and it's what has made their series of bouts so great.

As these two prepare to take their highly acclaimed series of matches to another level in the form of the top independent promotion in America, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, I felt like now would be the perfect time to highlight what these two men are doing. I can't wait to see what 2015 holds for both of them.

To keep up with what goes on in their respective careers, follow Biff Busick on Twitter @_STARDESTROYER and Mike Bailey @SpeedballBailey. You can also follow the promotion where this match took place @C4Wrestling.

Thanks for reading and be sure to follow me on Twitter @EthanPWT and this blog @ThePWTruth.

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