Bonzai Kid

Who is Bonzai Kid?

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, 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.

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.