John Barrett, star of American Kickboxer 1 (1991), is nowhere to be found in American Kickboxer 2 (1993). In fact, much of the emphasis this time is not on the title character, but on the heroine. When her daughter is kidnapped, Kathy Shower calls upon the two most important men in her life. Those worthies are her kickboxing ex-lover (Dale "Apollo" Cook) and her equally athletic ex-husband. Evidently she could never make a commitment-but her two "ex"s certainly can! This film's official title is American Kickboxer 2: To the Death.