MOTW #9: Bryan Keith vs Mike Bailey
"Chris Things M.O.T.W. #9: 'The Bounty-Hunter' Bryan Keith vs. 'Speedball' Mike Bailey" - ink & digital illustration
Still at it by week 9 of my “Match of the Week” art series & this week is a doozy! This bout took place for Keith's Freelance Legacy Championship on December 16th, 2022 for Freelance Wrestling’s “Deck The Halls With Balls of Fury” event at the beautiful Logan Square Auditorium in Logan Square, Chicago. Which just so happens to be one of my very favourite suburbs in the world!
Honestly just such a fun match to watch! As a big fan of independent wrestling of years gone by (who hadn’t watched much at all in recent years) this was just such a treat & really captured all of the magic of the proper 'indie-wrestling' experience. The super-hot, appreciative Freelance-Chicago crowd, (who knew exactly what they were in for) also really added to things. There’s nothing quite like a 'super-indie' matchup up like this. Of course Bailey was amazing as always but I was so awestruck by “The Bounty-Hunter” in this one! I’d seen a little of him before & was quite impressed but this was next-level. Just such a great badass aura & presence about every little thing he does. The best comparison I can make is to one of my all-time favourites, Low Ki (which is a massive compliment from me btw!).
I also love the overall thematic vibes of this one; almost like Karate Kid's Daniel-San taking a tournament walk-on challenge from a badass, Django-like bounty-hunter 'hood-cowboy'! Just tremendous in every way!!
Artists’ note: I don’t usually do so much detail for the backgrounds but I just love the look of Logan Square Auditorium so much that I couldn’t help but do my best to capture a bit of the wonderful character of this building.
ENJOY!!
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