King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Bonzai Kid

American professional wrestler

Born
10 August 1974, Honolulu
Citizenship
United States
Sport
amateur wrestling, professional wrestling
Occupation
amateur wrestler, professional wrestler

Kai Kelly (born August 10, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler who wrestled in independent promotions throughout the United States, Japan, Mexico and Europe during the mid-1990s under the ring name Bonzai Kid. He was billed at 5'9", 188 lbs, originating from Tokyo, Japan and 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.

External links

Facts from Wikidata Q4942705 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.