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Bonzai Kid is an American professional wrestler who wrestled in independent promotions throughout the United States, Japan, Mexico and Europe during the mid-1990s. His birth name is Kai "Tom" Kelly, and he was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was born on August 10, 1974, and was billed 5'9", 188 lbs, originating from Tokyo, Japan. His debut match was against Omega Sin on November 9, 1992 in Arlington, Texas.〔 Kelly was raised in a middle-class area of Oahu. His father was an Irish/Hawaiian physician, and his mother was a Japanese nurse. Kelly was a gifted amateur wrestler during his high school years. He won several regional titles, and eventually gravitated to gymnastics to improve his coordination and flexibility. In an article of World Wrestling Magazine (October 1995), Kelly indicated that his passion for wrestling stemmed from his personal discipline in gymnastics and martial arts. His tremendous ability to focus allowed him to earn a 4.0 GPA in high school. He was accepted to Stanford University, but turned down the opportunity to pursue professional wrestling.〔Championship Wrestling Digest, volume 45, May 1996, "Not the Typical Highflyer"〕 During his early career, Bonzai Kid wrestled in the Texas Wrestling promotion, and was trained by legendary trainers Roger Jonston and Chris Adams. Bonzai Kid was appealing to his fans for his high-flying maneuvers as well as his charismatic trash-talks. His signature finisher was the cork-screw flying cross-chop. This is considered one of the most difficult and dangerous moves in professional wrestling.〔 He had several injuries in front of live audiences, most notably the back injury during the match against The Crow on July 2, 1999 in Austin, Texas. This injury resulted in his permanent retirement shortly afterwards. Bonzai Kid has appeared in several WCW events as opening matches. He also appeared as cameo at various NWA and UWA wrestling events. It was rumored that Bonzai Kid appeared in a 1997 pornographic movie titled "Geisha Love" under the stage name Tom Bonzai.〔Hustler Magazine, June 2000, "A Different Business"〕 It was later proven by wrestling fans in Japan that the male actor in the film, who engaged in sexual acts with 3 different Asian actresses, was not the famous wrestler, but rather, a look-alike.〔Hentai News, JP., March 14, 1998, "Not My Pornstar", by Katsuo Sato〕 This controversy made the news on both continents, and resulted in litigation between Bonzai Kid and the adult movie production company.〔Houston Superior Court file, Kelly v. Great Bay Productions, May 1998〕 An undisclosed settlement was eventually reached. In a 1999 telecast of UWA "Slam-A-Jam", Bonzai Kid publicly denounced Hollywood and the entertainment industry for exploiting the likeness of various famous wrestlers over the years. His own experience clearly sent a message throughout the business.〔UWA Newsletter, Volume 135, May 2, 1999; "Shockwave through the Personal Circles"〕 The rather short career of Bonzai Kid has made him obscure from the public eye for the last decade. Currently he is working as a part-time trainer in various wrestling schools in California and Mexico. Bonzai Kid still makes occasional appearances at local wrestling events such as charity matches and autograph sessions. ==Championship Titles== Bonzai Kid has held two titles in his professional career. He won the UWA World Television Championship belt on June 23, 1995 against Mike Boyette in Charlotte, North Carolina. He lost that title on December 30, 1995 in a scaffold match against The Raging Bull in Phoenix, Arizona. On April 25, 1997, Bonzai Kid defeated Ninja Sazzam to win the UWA Light Heavyweight Championship title. He lost that title on September 15, 1997 in a No-DQ match against Jake Christopher in Anaheim, California.〔West Coast Wrestling Digest, April 1998, "The Rise and Fall of a Bonzai"〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bonzai Kid」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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