Best of the Tubes - Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Low Ki; The Colony vs. The Young Bucks; Sara Del Rey vs. Lufisto

Another week, another round up of great wrestling you can find online. I wish I had more time to write another article and not just post a bunch of videos but I bought a PlayStation 4 last weekend and that’s been taking most/all of my free time. But I wrote a review of the action/adventure survival game “Don’t Starve” which you can check out right here.

Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Low Ki

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship, Wrestle Kingdom VII

Though I don’t follow Japanese wrestling that closely, this match between three of the quickest, hardest-hitting junior heavyweights in the world is a great example of how exciting professional wrestling can be. There is hardly a lull in the action during this match. And yes, Low Ki is dressed like Agent 47 from the “Hitman” video game series. I like this video as well because it comes from a YouTube channel that commentates over matches so you get some info about the match instead of just incomprehensible Japanese.

Prince Devitt is an Irish-born wrestler and one of the most popular wrestlers in Japan. It’s been rumored for a long time that WWE is interested in Devitt but considering his popularity abroad and the fact that he is the leader of the Bullet Club (a heel stable featuring foreign wrestlers like Devitt, “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson and the Young Bucks), I doubt we’ll ever see him stateside.

Low Ki has been around the indy circuit for a long time, as well as working for WWE and TNA for a time. However in October of 2013, he announced that he would be retiring from wrestling due to All Japan Pro Wrestling allegedly not honoring their contractual obligation of medical care following an abdominal injury.

Kota Ibushi is a popular high flyer who made his name in the DDT promotion in Japan, a company known for its comedic hijinks. He recently defeated Prince Devitt at Wrestle Kingdom VIII for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship, despite rampant interference from the Bullet Club. Keep an eye out for an upcoming Kota Ibushi match on Best of the Tubes where he takes on Yoshihiko – a Japanese wrestler in DDT who looks suspiciously like a blow up doll (spoiler alert – it’s because Yoshihiko is a blow up doll).

The Colony vs. The Young Bucks

Chikara “High Noon”

Though Chikara may not exist anymore, great matches like the Colony versus the Young Bucks from High Noon in 2011 will live on forever on the internet. And it’s a good thing too because the Colony and the Young Bucks are two of the most talented tag teams on the independent circuit today. Well, the Colony has been teaming very infrequently since Chikara was shut down last June but the Bucks are only becoming more and more popular, currently holding the Pro Wrestling Guerilla tag team titles as well as the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag team titles.

Tag team matches in Chikara are always high-tempo thanks to the company’s use of lucha-libre rules, which states that a wrestler exiting the ring and touching both feet to the floor constitutes a tag. This leads to tons of crazy double team maneuvers and makes sure there is never a break in the action. Also, teams can only challenge for the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas (tag titles) when they’ve accrued three points/wins and if a team loses, they lose all their acquired points. I believe both the Colony and the Bucks have two points going into this match, making the stakes quite high for both teams.

While Chikara technically doesn’t exist anymore, you can still see many of its popular stars in Wrestling is Fun, Wrestling is Respect and the upcoming NationalPro Wrestling Day.

Sara Del Rey vs. LuFisto

Women’s championship match, Jersey All Pro Wrestling

LuFisto vs. Sara Del Rey by Jokerwilds

The final match this week is a Jersey All Pro Wrestling women’s championship match between the “Queen of Wrestling” Sara Del Rey and the “First Lady of Hardcore” LuFisto. Both ladies are two of the top female wrestlers of the current generation and both employ brutal striking offenses and well-rounded technical abilities on the mat.

I personally think that Sara Del Rey, who has competed all over the world including places like Ring of Honor and Chikara, is the best female wrestler of this or any generation. LuFisto may not be as well-known but she has had an equally impressive career, showing a proficiency for technical wrestling, hard-hitting striking as well as mixing it up in hardcore matches. Even more impressive is that both ladies are known to wrestle and regularly defeat male opponents.

Del Rey, unfortunately, doesn’t wrestle anymore. She took a job with the WWE and is a trainer for the Divas division at the WWE Performance Center is Florida. It makes me sad because I’ll never get to see her wrestle live but it also makes me happy to know that the WWE recognizes her talent and that she will be helping create a better future for the Divas division. LuFisto, a former CZW Ironman Champion and only woman wrestle in the Cage of Death, is still active on the independent circuit and currently wrestles for Shine.

(Image credit – r/SquaredCircle and u/cwmonkey)