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by
Les Honig
Tom Howard once said that it takes a good ten years for a person
in our business to gain the maturity, mat poise and experience to
really succeed as a major superstar. Such a fact was never more
evident than for Mike “Kid Vicious” Balasis; who has faced many
ups and downs as he strives to reach his ultimate career dream; a
vaulted spot in a major national federation.
Defying his ring nomiker, Kid Vicious, (given to him by one of
Canada’s famed Hart family members), Mike, now 29, seems in real
life to be anything but vicious; instead a calm, totally focused
and generally giving person in the ring and out; yet his lifelong
personal drive to make it in the sports entertainment business
reveals an ever deepening singularity of purpose.
Longtime UPW fans will remember the first days of Balasis’ career
when he appeared with fellow trainee Thor at the famed weekly
Saturday light shows at Huntington Beach’s L.A. Boxing Club now
some five years ago; delighting fans with his hard-driven
sophisticated moves, learned earlier from many rich prior
wrestling experiences.
Growing up in Bakersfield, California, he participated in a
variety of kid’s sports notably but began early on to follow WWE
action, being particularly smitten by the British Bulldogs whose
total mastery of the squared circle amazed and delighted him.
Paralleling this ever increasing interest in pro action was a then
equally great passion for martial arts which Mike first developed
when he saw some classic Bruce Lee films.
Training hard in judo and then kung fu and kickboxing, Balasis
concentrated on amateur wrestling in high school, enjoying that
experience immensely.
After high school and a bit of time in college, it wasn’t long
before Mike had worked himself up to a leading role as manager and
lead instructor in a local dojo, but already his mind was
beginning to focus elsewhere on even more compelling personal
projects.
Being accepted into the legendary Stu Hart wrestling school in
Calgary, Canada, Balasis ventured north into strange and uncharted
territory seeking to learn from the world’s best teachers, and
what followed was a grueling but forever impactful experience
training and learning the basic and more advanced skills.
Unable to return to continue there after a short visit back home,
Mike instead concentrated on his craft by working in several
leading Bakersfield indies, and it was then that he heard about
Ultimate Pro Wrestling after reading a feature in a prominent
magazine.
With many Galaxy supershows and an exciting Zero One tour behind
him, it seemed nothing could stop the ever advancing Balasis, yet;
an unexpected injury while in Japan was to sideline him followed
by other personal problems that caused him to miss the action and
temporarily interrupt his pro progress.
As time passed, however, the burning desire to become a mat legend
and return to the wrestling world he so cherished, caused him to
make a final determination: a return, in even better shape than
before was needed! Working tirelessly in the gym and returning to
UPW territory to train, Mike “Kid Vicious” Balasis has recently
returned to our fed, as a key player behind the scenes, helping
Rick Bassman out at our promoter’s thriving San Clemente Orange
County Dojo, both at the front desk, sometimes instructor and with
other projects that Bassman is involved with.
Looking back now at his already long UPW tenure the Kid covets
both many fond memories along with specific words of appreciation
for those who helped him reach the point he now finds himself at.
“Above all, I think, I want to thank Tom Howard, who taught me so
much about ring psychology and how to succeed in front of Japanese
audiences. He was there during my first tour and gave me so much
support and good advice that it made a terrific difference. That
caring and advice has continued right up to today. I not only
think of him as my teacher; more than that I call him my friend.”
Added to that preeminent name are many others who Mike feels
helped him develop into the amazing talent he has now become.
These include, but are definitely not limited to, Thor, who has
been a best friend and training buddy since the beginning, his
trainers in Calgary, as well as UPW alum Andy Van Damme, Prodigy,
B-Boy, Little Nate, Pinoy Boy, Frankie Kazarian, Spanky, Smelly,
Al Katrazz (who he had his first Galaxy match against) and
Hardkore Kid (who “accepted me as his partner in Hardkore Inc.
when he really didn’t have to”) along with indy stars Donovan
Morgan, Mike Modest and Low Ki, who he says provided him with one
of the greatest match experiences in his career during the Zero
One Tour.
Humble and gracious as always, Mike explains their impact on him
this way: “It may sound clichéd, but wrestling is truly what you
make of it. You learn new things from your opponents all the time,
even more than instructors can teach you. Just by wrestling them
you see the varied aspects of another person’s style; and it is a
real challenge, too, to have to adapt to that. That really keeps
you on your toes.”
Recently given the chance for his fourth WWE performing
experience, as he met another one of his longtime idols, Chavo
Guerrero, Jr. in an Anaheim Pond Heat match, the 2006 re-energized
version of Kid Vicious announces that he is “in the greatest shape
of my life, physically, emotionally and spiritually,” and is ready
and eager to confront all challengers.
Asked to sum it all up for fans, Mike Balasis puts it very simply:
“I guarantee that the best is yet to come!” a soul-deep pledge
that is sure to be fulfilled as this seasoned but still aspiring
mat lion moves toward ultimate squared-circle supremacy.
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