Hey yo,
Did you know "The Smashing Machine" Mark Kerr was a pro wrestler? Like many main event heavyweight MMA fighters of the late 90s and early 00s, Mark Kerr dabbled in pro wrestling. I will emphasize dabble as according to my research he only had four pro wrestling matches. I have now seen all four matches and can proudly say I have completed my first Complete & Accurate on a pro wrestler. :P
Shooters in pro wrestling have always fascinated me. I think a lot of pro wrestling fans are predisposed not to like shooters in pro wrestlers. They see them as outsiders who did not pay their dues in the system. I often go back to mini-controversy around the year 2000 when Jeff Kent said he saw baseball as a job. A lot of people got up in arms about it because for many people that was their dream and they couldnt achieve that dream. So they want to believe that people got to live out their dream cherish as much as they do. We see this a lot in pro wrestling. A common criticism of say Lex Luger, Bill Goldberg or Brock Lesnar is that they dont love pro wrestling, they dont do it for the love of the game, it is just for a paycheck. To that, I have always called poppycock. I dont care if they love pro wrestling as much as me or if they are in it for the money, I just care are they good at it and do they entertain me.
The other reason I believe pro wrestling fans take issue with shooters in pro wrestling is more subconscious they know their existence in the sport seemingly exposes the pro wrestlers. Ronda Rousey could have ripped through the entire women's division at will same goes for Ken Shamrock in the late 90s and early 00s. I have two things to say about this challenge.
The first it is not a fait accompli that the Shooter will de-legitimize the pro style wrestler. Take two case studies. The first is a very interesting match I watched pitting Stone Cold Steve Austin at the peak of his popularity in 1998 against Ken Shamrock. In a shoot, Shamrock would have ripped Austin limb from limb, but this is pro wrestling. While Shamrock was indeed one of the most dangerous men alive in 1998, it was Stone Cold that felt like the Toughest SOB in the world. That's the beauty of pro wrestling. It is not about who actually is the Toughest or Most Dangerous. It is about who can most successfully convey that. Watching that match back 27 years later, I can tell the feeling is the same, Austin comes off badder muthafucka than Shamrock. Rousey dealt with the same thing with peak The Man Becky Lynch in 2019. Rousey just couldnt convey Badass the same way Becky could in that original The Man run.
The second point I will bring up is that "I enjoy a challenge". Shooter present an interesting challenge in a pro wrestling environment. How do you respect their legitimate credentials, but also foster drama and tension? A classic shoot-style narrative would be that of the striker versus the wrestler. I see the shooter vs pro-style wrestler as a more extreme example of the typical shoot-style narrative. How do you overcome an opponent is a better striker and grappler than you? Thats the challenge posed to pro style wrestlers. The greats come up with some really creative solutions to the problem. That is when pro wrestling is at its most enjoyable. Not when it is free-form, but when there are strict boundaries and you have to challenge yourself how to play within those boundaries. I will give use the example of a match that I reviewed for this Complete & Accurate. When Yuji Nagata & Takahashi Iizuka took on Mark Coleman & Mark Kerr they would never stand a chance against the Marks, but they used the pro-style environment to create opportunities. During rope breaks, they stomped the Marks. They used the tag team rules to trap the Marks in their corner or use double team moves. It respected the Marks' legitimate credentials while creating real drama.
To me, I firmly believe in the adage "styles make fights". Shooters bring a level of sport to pro wrestling that fosters intriguing offensive strategies from the combatants. When you stay true to your character and react in a way organic to your character, amazing things can happen in pro wrestling. Shooters are in a lot of ways actually the easiest characters to understand in a pro wrestling ring. However, because so many people inside and outside the industry are insecure about what pro wrestling is, they are demonized and used improperly.
In his very short pro wrestling career, Mark Kerr showed great aptitude as a pro wrestler. His takedowns were explosive. He understood the need to feed as exemplified in how he used kicks in the Nagata tag to allow his opponent to catch them and generate offense from them. He was secure in his own badassery enough to be thrown around by other pro wrestlers. Based on just these four matches, I wish he had given pro wrestling a real shot after his MMA career and at the very least I wish the Shinya Hashimoto match that he challenged for had come to fruition. I am excited to see the Smashing Machine this weekend, without any further adieu... Mark Kerr's Complete & Accurate in Pro Wrestling.
Mark Coleman & Mark Kerr vs Yuji Nagata & Takahashi Iizuka - Inoki Bom Bae Ye 12/31/00
I am 3/4ths done with my Mark Kerr Complete & Accurate just need to find his singles match against Dick Vrij in Zero-One.
From a strictly Mark Kerr perspective, I enjoyed his work in Zero-1 more than here where he was Double Leg machine in Z-1. I feel like Mark Coleman who wore a Goldberg shirt to the ring was the real star of the team. Nagata & Iizuka are coming off their 5 star classic against Kawada & Fuchi but they don’t really stand much of a chance against the Marks.
Coleman rips a couple great suplexes on Iizuka the junior partner of the Japanese team. The gut wrench looked great. Kerr immediately throws a kick which I thought was bizarre but it served as an opening for Iizuka to catch and drag him to Nagata. Nagata worked hard to get a cross arm breaker. I love the wrestler in Kerr to counter that by bridging. Even though Kerr is able to get a couple takedowns, he is treated as the Junior partner of the Marks with Japanese able to get offense on him. The pro wrestling starts to kick in with Kerr in the ropes and Iizuka stomping him. Coleman gets the tag. HE VAULTS OVER THE ROPES AND RIPS IIZUKA DOWN WITH A THROW! Great throw into the ground & pound. Iizuka gets him to the corner and Nagata uses Headbutts in the ropes again pro wrestling. He uses that to get a leg lock on Coleman who sells it really well. Coleman counters and into strikes to tag in Kerr.
Kerr great knees and throw on Nagata and goes for the Cross Armbreaker. Again Kerr uses a kick as a way to feed the Japanese. Nagata excellent Northern Lights. He goes for a Cross Armbreaker But can’t get it on. Great Kerr knee but Nagata throws him. Iizuka throws Kerr and gets a leg lock. Kerr is the one they get offense on. Kerr articles out and tags to Coleman who vaults over and had a real star aura to him. Iizuka crowds in the corner with forearms. Again three times now the pro wrestlers are using the ropes & corner to smother the more proficient Marks to gain an advantage. They hold Coleman in replace while one dropkicks him. Again Pro Wrestling tactics. NAGATA HIGH KICK KNOCKS COLEMAN DOWN! We get a seven count. Coleman Big Alabama Slam style Double Leg into Ground & Pound and Anaconda Vice as surprisingly it is Nagata that taps out.
The Marks were heavy favorites but didn’t think Nagata would take the fall. This felt like a really good wrestling-oriented MMA exhibition. The two things I really liked were Coleman’s aura and pro wrestlers using pro wrestling tactics to gain advantages. I think Kerr would have also been a fun pro wrestler but it is a really shame Coleman didnt go for a Shamrock or Frye style run. *** 1/2
Shinya Hashimoto & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Mark Kerr & The Predator - Zero-One 8/30/01
Turns out I’ve only ever seen Mark Coleman but have known of Mark Kerr’s existence forever but just never seen him. It seems like Kerr did a lot less pro wrestling than Coleman. The Predator is best known stateside as Sylvester Terkay who I thought had a way longer run in WWE. He really stuck with me as a teenager. I loved his look and gimmick. He was undefeated in WWE in his short tenure. Why was he let go?
The Predator makes a big deal that he is indeed The Predator at first I thought this was weird but it is because I guess he was going a Big Van Vader UFO gimmick complete with mask (but he took Off the mask). I assume this was to avoid lawsuits.
Nothing extraordinary here but an enjoyable contest. Mark Kerr would have been a fantastic pro wrestler. Predator is fucking huge and looks killer but leaves something to be desired in his strikes and moves. Tom Howard was also the trainer of the Predator so I feel like this a continuation of UPW vs Z-1 or American Shooters vs Z-1 feud.
The best exchanges were between Hashimoto and Kerr for sure. Kerr’s double leg takedown looked killer. Hashimoto gave pretty good (he did the old Takayama spot where Kerr shot off the double leg and Hashimoto made him eat a knee) but Kerr looked like a beast. Predator/Fujiwara was fun because Fujiwara is always fun. Hashimoto performed better against Predator (sick drop toehold to start) and it was clear he was going to be the fall guy. Fujiwara/Kerr was fun. Just some cool amateur takedowns and scrambles. Back to the main event which was Hash vs Kerr. Kerr gets a terrific organic belly to belly but can’t connect with any ground & pound. Predator comes in and Racks Hashimoto but Fujiwara saves with the headbutt. Hashimoto delivers SPACE TORNADO OGAWA and polishes him off with a cross armbreaker!
Kerr gets on the mic to challenge Hashimoto to a singles match which has me salivating but to my knowledge never came to fruition. Enjoyable short tag match. Kerr/Hashimoto is worth it ***1/4
Mark Kerr vs Dick Vrij - Zero-One 10/25/01
Is Vrij pronounced "Fly" or "Frye"? This is at Budokan and reportedly only drew 2000 people, rough, 1/8th full that is bad. Headliners were Naoya Ogawa vs Josh Dempsey and Hashimoto vs Gerard Gordeau. I have seen some 90s Vrij from RINGS and this match completes my Complete & Accurate on Mark Kerr.
Both men have pretty thick fingerless MMA gloves on and wrestling shoes. Some check kicks thrown. Great explosivity shown by Kerr on the Double Leg and works to transition to the cross-armbreaker. Another great throw by Kerr but cant get anything to stick on the mat. Vrij is known as a Dutch Kickboxer which Aleister Black keeps that tradition alive even though I wish he would ditch the lame gimmick and just be a badass Dutch Kickboxer. Vrij scores two knockdowns on Kerr with a knee and then a kick. I didnt think either one was particularly electric. I thought the finish was superb. Kerr catches a spinning heel kick into a massive slam and a cross-armbreaker for the win. Vrij and his team attack Kerr after the bell. Kerr retreats but gets on the mic and says "This one is for America and he challenges someone named Hans". This about a month after 9/11 so understandable comments on saying this is for America. Based on a quick Google search, I believe the Hans in question is Hans Nijman who apparently was a figure in the Dutch world and was murdered in 2014. Maybe not the best guy to be challenging, but Kerr is still alive. Anyways, enjoyable shoot-style match. ***
Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa vs Mark Kerr & Tom Howard - Zero-One 12/9/01
Skipping Zero-One’s fifth I didn’t recognize the foreigners and it looks like it was a commercial flop (2000 in Budokan OUCH!). Watching the pre-match hype this is the first time Hashimoto & Ogawa team after their long, torturous rivalry. I am surprised they didn’t cash in on one more Hashimoto vs Ogawa match before going down the dream team route. They are continuing the UPW feud with Mark Kerr somehow continuing to be roped into this. Tom Howard is pretty good, very athletic, he was the big bumper and mover of the four. With the right gimmick, he could have been a solid mechanic. Kerr is the ultimate wrestle-fuck wrestler and it is a lot of fun. Ogawa and Kerr present such a cool match up.
These matches tend not to be too narrative heavy so the work doesn’t really stick with me. Ogawa vs Kerr was a lot of fun. Kerr weathers an early Ogawa storm and shows he can take the big man down. Hashimoto & Howard present a very different alternative with Howard throwing wild high kicks and using eye takes while Hashimoto works the leg in conventional manner. I love Howard’s scramble arm crawl out of the ring to avoid Ogawa. Ogawa two pancakes on Kerr and then into a really nice Judo throw was cool. The next thing I remember was Ogawa in control of Howard and Kerr breaking it up. The Japanese end up on the heels. Then it looks like Hashimoto and Ogawa are going to break up right then and there about ten minutes into the match. I remember Hashimoto shoving Kerr head first into a post really hard. Hashimoto working some solid takedown defense including that knee when Kerr shoots for a takedown but succumbing to the belly to belly into a cross-armbreaker but Ogawa saves. Again the memory gets a little hazy here but the finish run is pretty awesome. Next thing I remember OGAWA SPACE TORNADO OGAWA ON KERR! Double leg takedown by Kerr, Triangle by Ogawa, wait now Kerr is trying to make Ogawa eat his knee. Hashimoto needs to save twice. Hashimoto DDTs Kerr twice. He goes for the Triangle/armbar but Howard hits a crazy top rope elbow. Howard should’ve gotten a run somewhere. Great three move finish combination. Ogawa/Hashimoto version of total elimination (STO with Hashimoto’s leg sweep) on Kerr, lariat into a German it looked like Kerr and Hashimoto might be out. Ogawa detains Howard and Hashimoto chokes Kerr out which is surprising I thought Howard would’ve taken the fall.
Not the stickiest of matches (match sticks with you) but the finish run rocked and I loved Ogawa/Kerr’s interactions so this an easy thumbs up. ***1/2
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