CHIKARMY Insider Is a Warm Gun! (Detailed Results for Danielson’s Return Shows)

.

It’s another CHIKARMY Insider! This week, it’s fully new and super detailed reports on this past weekend’s Chikara show featuring the return of Bryan Danielson! Not convinced you should read more? Some über cool stuff: a shower of ties for Danielson, a certain Kentuckian steals a woman’s purse, Bryan arguing for PG wrasslin’, the audience saving a wrestler by crowd surfing him back into the ring, WAR ULTRAMANTIS, The UnStable storyline taking a shocking turn, and Bryan Danielson…GOING TO TNA?!?! Find out more by reading the whole shebang. I’ve totally got you on the hook now, I’m sure of it. A special thanks goes to all those who texted and typed up results on Twitter and various other websites & forums, especially Mushroom Jones and JaKyL25 from the GameFaqs forum. I can take zero credit for the information provided, only for gathering and organizing it in one place for everyone to enjoy!

.

(Photo by Chris Schramm)

.

.

.

.

.

We Must Eat Michigan’s Brain

June 26, 2010 ~ Taylor, MI

.

0. CLASH Showcase: Cameron Skyy & J. Miller d. GQ & Tommy Treznik (9:41). I am under the impression that this was a dark match, as no one was on commentary. Apparently, J. Miller and Cameron Skyy looked very good. Skyy and Miller got the win when Skyy pinned GQ with a bulldog variant. It was said to have been a good match that showcased CLASH pretty darn well.

.

1. Teacher vs. Student: Mike Quackenbush d. Green Ant (6:09). In an unexpected match-up, Quack faced perhaps his most durable pupil. The match was literally nothing but submissions traded back and forth, back and forth. Ultimately, Quack got Green Ant to tap, and then post-match taught him how to escape and counter the hold he lost to. That’s awesome.

.

2. Lince Dorado & Pinkie Sanchez d. The Osirian Portal (15:32). Lince pinned Amasis with a high speed prawn hold in a good match. Afterwards, the BDK continued the assault on Amasis & Ophidian until they were saved by…Vin Gerard & STIGMA. Boy, The UnStable sure do like The Osirian Portal. It’s getting a little creepy.

.

3. Best Friends Forever?: UltraMantis Black d. Delirious (6:07). Ares was out controlling Delirious with the dog whistle and he also led him to the ring on a chain. Delirious is now in full white gear, mask and all. See the new get-up HERE. Like the Danielson pic above, this photo comes from somebody named Chris Schramm, who is officially awesome. Before the action began, UltraMantis was demanding answers from Delirious, who refused to respond. Ares blew the dog whistle and Delirious sprang into action. This was mostly a brawl, the finish coming when Ares and Delirious miscommunication allowed Mantis to school boy his former bestest buddy for the victory. Ares was furious afterwards.

.

4. Fire & Soldier Ant d. Super Smash Brothers (11:55). Fire Ant pinned Player Uno in what was described as a awesome encounter between former tag team champions and was named by several people as Match of the Night. This gives The Colony duo their first point and, believe it or not, it’s been over a year and a half since Uno & Dos have won a straight tag match in Chikara. Bonkers.

.

5. Chikara Dream Match: Bryan Danielson d. Eddie Kingston (15:19). Kingston came out first, and the crowd eagerly anticipated Danielson’s return. Suddenly, “Wild and Young”, the NXT theme, began to play. The crowd erupted in laughter and boos. After about twenty seconds, it cut off, “The Final Countdown” began to play and the crowd exploded with cheers, chants and raucous celebration. Instead of streamers, the fans covered the ring in ties! Danielson briefly threatened to choke referee Bryce Remsburg with one, but he ultimately relented. Very slow, smart match-up between the two men. In the end, Claudio came out and distracted Kingston, allowing Danielson to pick up the win via small package. Afterwards, “American Dragon” made an impassioned speech where he talked about getting more people interested in independent wrestling and the merits of PG-rated wrestling. It was quite hilarious. See the entire speech he gave HERE.

.

6. Six-Man Tag Match: Acid Jaz, Marshe Rockett & Willie “Da Bomb” Richardson d. Ares, Tursas & Claudio Castagnoli (10:58). Kingston finally gets under Castagnoli and the Bruderschaft’s skin by distracting Claudio, allowing Acid Jaz to roll up Claudio for three, assisting in the big victory for Da Soul Touchaz. It should be mentioned that this is the first loss ever suffered by this particular BDK trio, and the fact that it’s to non-Chikara regulars speaks volumes about how the company tends to reward fervent fan response. Da Soul Touchaz were very over, and they celebrated their win heavily, like they couldn’t even believe it happened! Their manager C. Red picked up Gavin Loudspeaker with a big ol’ hug after they won.

.

7. Young Lions Cup: Tim Donst© d. Frightmare (11:45). The match was heavy on fan interaction. Early on, Donst applied a submission and, when Frightmare got to the ropes, he broke the hold at the last possible moment, saying that he “had ‘til 5” in an effort to irk his following night’s opponent, Bryan Danielson. At one point, Frightmare was taking Donst around a tour of the ringside area, letting all the fans get a chop in on him, including some kids. Donst had Frightmare’s leg injured, so he took him to the far end of the arena and just left him there, hoping for a count out victory. But, in the truest spirit of Chikara, the fans actually CARRIED Frightmare back to the ring! Donst retained using a tie-assisted rear-naked-choke! The crowd knew that once the tie surfaced from his trunks, Frightmare was in trouble. Donst’s arm obscured the tie from the ref while he choked Frightmare out. Donst then hid the tie in his armpit so the ref wouldn’t see it post-match, and had to have the ref raise his other hand in victory. Frightmare sold the tie choke like death, needing water to be revived and people to help him to the back.

.

8. Eight-Man Main Event: Equinox, Helios & 3.0 d. Icarus, STIGMA, Chuck Taylor & Vin Gerard (15:47). The main event had lots of comedy, mostly coming from 3.0 cutups Jagged and Shane Matthews. They got a “DEFENSE! DEFENSE!” chant going when Equinox was the face-in-peril for example. One of the members of 3.0 pulled off an epic series of head scissors. Chuck Taylor scared the life out of some kid, and stole a girl’s purse in the middle of the match. Helios got the pin on Icarus with the 630 Splash and The Future is Now gained momentum going into the next night’s tag title shot against Claudio & Ares by defeating the Rudo quartet. Once again, Chikara puts eight random guys in a tag match and they turn it into fried gold. Dives, laughs and fun times galore, but it suffered a bit because people started to get in line to get Danielson’s autograph about half way through.

.

Overall Thoughts

This sounds like the quintessential Chikara experience: nothing mind blowing, but every single match is worth seeing. There was somewhere between 250-350 people, a very good number for Chikara’s debut in the Detroit area. The most lauded contests were Colony/SSB, the YLC match, and the Main Event, and I’ve heard absolutely nothing but good things about each and every match. Chikara has more “I must see this!” moments than any promotion in professional wrestling: Danielson’s entrance & exit, the shenanigans in the Young Lions Cup match, Delirious & UltraMantis interacting again, and Eddie getting a little payback on Claudio are just a few of the best mentioned. This was already a no-brainer purchase, so the glowing reviews really only serve to build anticipation for a show I was confident would be great.

.

.

.

Faded Scars and Lines

June 27, 2010 ~ Cleveland, OH

.

1. Tursas d. Player Dos (4:22). Dos brought the fight to the big man but Tursas emerged victorious thanks to his devastating Big Splash.

.

2. Da Soul Touchaz d. The Colony (9:12). In yet another stunning upset for Da Soul Touchaz, the unit beat the 2010 King of Trios runners up the night after defeating this year’s tournament winners. Willie Richardson got the pin for his team after crushing Green Ant with his Top Rope Leg Drop. Wow.

.

3. Grudge Tag Match #1: 3.0 d. Icarus & Chuck Taylor (8:52). Huge win for 3.0, giving them their first point towards a tag title shot. Scott “Jagged” Parker rolled up Chuck Taylor for the three count, concluding a terrible week for the F.I.S.T. boys.

.

4. Johnny Gargano d. Player Uno (11:29). Looks as though Gargano is here to stay, as he utilized the home-field advantage (he’s from Ohio) to best Uno with a Twisting Flatliner.

.

5. Grudge Tag Match #2: Lince Dorado & Pinkie Sanchez d. Mike Quackenbush & Frightmare (15:10). Lince low-blowed Frightmare behind Sir Bryce’s back, securing the dubya for Dorado & Sanchez. That’s two points for them. Tursas came out and threatened to give Quackenbush the Big Splash…..but he’s saved and the Bruderschaft are run off by a chair-swinging UltraMantis Black! Nice!

.

6. Eddie Kingston d. Delirious (9:47). Kingston finally pins someone from the BDK, albeit not exactly a fully-committed member. “The Last of a Dying Breed” wins after an impressive offensive flurry and his patented Backfist to the Future, pushing Delirious to 0-2 on the weekend.

.

7. Delaney Barred From Ringside: Vin Gerard & STIGMA d. The Osirian Portal (14:35). Vin Gerard pinned Ophidian after Colin Delaney turned his mask around, allowing Vin to get a crucifix pin. Gerard & STIGMA are irate with Colin and they demand Delaney tell the Portal what he did had nothing to do with them. In a shocking move, STIGMA, Delaney & Gerard beat down Amasis & Ophidian! It was all a ruse! The UnStable seem to have…stabilized…for now.

.

8. Bryan Danielson d. Tim Donst (18:37). Tim Donst nearly pulls off the upset of the decade in the longest match of the weekend, but he eventually falls victim to Cattle Mutilation. After the match, we get another vintage Danielson promo. He states that, after his 90 no-compete clause is up…HE’S GOING TO TNA!!! SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS, NO!!! Okay, so he was joking…no worries. NOT COOL, Bryan. Hilarious…BUT NOT COOL. He continues to joke about going to TNA, saying the fans don’t want to see Desmond Wolfe vs. Lloyd Boner.

.

9. Campeonatos de Parejas: Claudio Castagnoli & Ares© d. Helios & Equinox (12:54). Claudio and Ares attack before the bell. Ares catches Equinox with the Toblerone Driver to put the Bruderschaft up one fall to none in nine seconds. With The Future is Now reeling, the entire Tecnico locker room empties to root them on just like they did for Incoherence at Aniversario Elf. Tursas came down the ramp during the match looking to interfere, but the tecnicos got in his path and denied him the opportunity. Helios hits the 630 Splash on Ares, but the sure three count gets broken up by Castagnoli. Claudio tosses Helios into the lights, but since there are no actual lights for Helios to hold on to like Frightmare did, he falls right into a European Uppercut. Cover. Three count. BDK Reign Supreme in two straight falls.

.

Overall Thoughts

While I obviously tracked down much more info on the Michigan show, I’ve read a few people state that Danielson/Donst was the Match of the Weekend and that it was another very, very good show. We got some movement in some storylines, including the revelation that The UnStable are on the same page after all. This is a bizarre twist to this story, as all three guys have become extremely stagnant as a trio. With Crossbones officially gone from Chikara, STIGMA would be a natural fit for a reborn Neo Solar Temple. I said this on the podcast I did recently, but a Vin Gerard & Chuck Taylor tag team would be gangbusters. Gargano and Da Soul Touchaz both left lasting impressions in the minds of Chikara fans, and they will surely both be a part of the company in the future. Overall, it appears that Chikara pulled off two great shows at just the right time, as the attention Danielson will bring was not squandered. These are top shelf Chikara shows, and I can’t wait to pick them up at Smart Mark Video in a couple weeks.

.

.

.

.

– So…my back is shot. I pulled a muscle or I’m having lower spine issues or something. If I’m not laying flat on my back, I’m in constant pain. So if you were saying to yourself, “Doesn’t this guy always do more than just results?” this is the reason why. My lovely and super smart girlfriend tells me that there are these things called doctors, and that they can, like…fix you. Psh. Doctors are for I should really go to the doctor. I might have to if this is still unbearable by, say, Wednesday. So hopefully I never have to do a column in this manner again. I always try to bring original content and commentary each and every week, so this article probably has the all-time least amount of me in it. Back spasms permitting, this will be rectified in the coming weeks. Remember: “Chikarasaurus Rex: King of Show” coverage starts next week!

.

– Please leave any comments or questions you might have and I’ll do my best to respond with as much colloquial Irish gossip as I can conjure. I’d like to do a contest or something cool like that, but I’m not sure how much interest there’d be. Let you voice be heard! Also, let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see in the column, like fantasy booking, treasure hunts, wish-lists, secret handshakes, etc.

.

.

.