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Kirby And Se7en: Wrestling's Newest Odd Couple

Posted: May 16th 2008 By: CMBurnham

One is a ring general who has several titles under his belt and is a master of multiple forms of unarmed combat. The other has yet complete his first year of competition and can count the number of wins he's achieved on one hand. And while they don't have much in common, somewhere along the line, Jason Kirby and Se7en developed one of the most important things in pro wrestling: respect.

When 2007 ended, Se7en made his return to MSWA and declared that he was going to pick someone from the back to conduct an exhibition match with. This was not meant to be a truly competitive match, just a demonstration of holds and technique. Jason Kirby was the opponent and Se7en stretched him in a variety of ways, ultimately pinning him for a 3-count. At the next MSWA show (the first of 2008), Se7en said he was going to pick someone from the crowd to do an exhibition match with, but Kirby arrived and said he'd been training more with Tom Jones and wanted another chance. The chance was granted and again Kirby found himself outclassed and stretched like a rubber band.

2 weeks later, MSWA commissioner Halo announced the Lethal Lotto Tag Team Tournament. At the time, there seemed to be no connection between that event and Se7en's ongoing humiliation of Kirby. And, for the 3rd time, Kirby and Se7en faced off in a 1-on-1 encounter. Again, Se7en won, but this time, he attacked Kirby after the match, as Kirby made his best showing here, almost pinning Se7en for a 3 count on one occasion. As ar result of his actions, MSWA commissioner Halo forced Se7en and Kirby to be tag team partners in the Lethal Lotto Tag Team Tournament, something that didn't seem to excite either one.

The pairing didn't go too smoothly, as Kirby would often interfere in Se7en's 1-on-1 matches, just to get under his skin. But as a team, some success was present. They advanced past the first round of the Tournament by defeating Brian Blade & IZW Tag Team Champion Scott Sanders. This victory wasn't without controversy as the New Varsity Club came out to distract Sanders and Se7en accidentally elbowed Kirby, knocking him onto Blade for the win. But then, another surprise move occurred. At the next MSWA show, Se7en and Kirby were both brought out by Halo, who said he'd received multiple complaints that they didn't want to be partners and he was tired of listening to them. So he said they could each go and find a tag team partner and face each other. Whoever's team won would then get to pick a partner to continue in the tournament with. Se7en picked Crisstopher Crow while Kirby acquired the services of Damien Morte. While both these men were newcomers to the MSWA audience, they were well known to SWCW fans, who saw them as members of the faction Nemesis. Kirby's team won and Morte and Crow "battled" to the back. Se7en was outraged and Kirby was ecstatic. It wouldn't last long.

Morte no-showed the finals of the Lethal Lotto Tournament and it appeared at first that Kirby would have to go it alone until the arrival of IZW Tag Team Champion Striker. Kirby & Striker lost to Shane Rawls & MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion Tyson Jaymes. And that seemed to be the end of this odd couple story. Until about a month ago.

On April 27, Morte & Crow, joined by their Nemesis member Sage, sat out in the seat amongst the fans before the show began. This was a tactic they had pulled in IZW, even going so far as to dress in their full wrestling attire. Not much was thought of it and the show opened with a Triple Threat Match pitting Li'l Joe, Montego Seeka and UWF06 Champion Ky-Ote against each other. After about 10 minutes of high-flying action, Nemesis hit the ring and drove the others away, declaring that this was now their time and they would do what they wanted to do. Later in the show, Kirby was brought out by Jesse Storm for an interview, where he was asked about the friction between himself, Se7en and Damien Morte. This brought out Nemesis and Morte grabbed the mic, stating that he and Kirby were never actually partners. Kirby had backed this up earlier by saying that, if he'd had the chance, he would have asked Se7en to continue as his partner. More derogatory things were spewed from Morte's mouth culminating in a challenge to a match. Morte dominated Kirby with the help of the other Nemesis members at ringside and claimed victory in this match.

This past Sunday, all the pieces finally fell into place. Morte & Crow arrived for Crow's match against Kirby and they had Kirby's bicycle. Kirby came out on his own, upset that his property had been stolen. The match began and again, Kirby's inexperience allowed the 2 rulebreakers to use their unfair advantage. After Crow scored the pin, a post-match attack began, which included Kirby being hit over the head with a small stop sign, then having Crow apply a muscle buster. Morte then got on Kirby's bicycle and threatened to run him over (and act more humiliating than harmful) and that brought Se7en to the ring. Se7en cleaned house to the crowd's surprise and delight and then the staredown occurred. What would happen? Kirby extended his hand. Se7en slapped Kirby across the face. It seemed like nothing had changed. But Kirby extended the hand again. And this time, after looking at it a long time, Se7en slapped the hand in a sign of respect and left the ring.

Are they partners? Are they friends? Can they just get along on a week to week basis? It seems like there is potential in the team with Se7en serving as the teacher and Kirby the eager student. And Kirby certainly needs associates against the likes of Nemesis. But will this pairing really work or will Kirby once again find himself on his back as a result of naivete?

Tags: Jason Kirby, Se7en, MSWA, Tom Jones, Halo, Brian Blade, Scott Sanders, IZW, New Varsity Club, Crisstopher Crow, Damien Morte, SWCW, Nemesis, Striker, Shane Rawls, Tyson Jaymes, Li'l Joe, Montego Seeka, Ky-Ote, Jesse Storm, Sage