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Hide your kids, hide your wife and hide your husband cuz CHIKARMY Insider has returned from hiatus to bring you full rundowns of Chikara’s huge shows coming next weekend! Also on tap: news regarding the nature of how these shows were booked, info on what Chikara mainstays you can expect to see on EVOLVE’s final show of the year and a look at the two big new DVD releases Chikara has out now! So you can run and tell that, homeboy.
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Dieter vs. Chikarason: A Booking Battle for the Ages!
It started as a simple challenge laid out to the former Director of Fun, Leonard F. Chikarason, to the current DOF Dieter VonSteigerwalt. “Put together any collection of non-title bouts your puny mind can imagine.” Dieter tasked Chikarason. Yes, the current Director was allowing the former to book a show, the event in question being November 20th in Easton. He did so in an attempt to alleviate complaints mounting from certain members of the Board of Directors and fans from the Chikarmy, saying, that this season was devoid of fun. “There is loose talk about complaints from fans regarding changes made this Season,” Dieter expressed “and numerous, unfounded comments regarding Referee Derek Sabato. I would like to point out that since assuming the mantle of Director of Fun, CHIKARA has smashed its all-time attendance record not once, but twice. It was under my rule that CHIKARA drew a capacity crowd in New York, turning fans away at the door. And for the first time in company history, potential investors have been attracted to CHIKARA. Did any of our C-list celebrity Commissioners accomplish this? Nein. VonSteigerwalt did this.” Only days after the gauntlet had been thrown down, LFC responded in kind of the Chikara Blog. “I understand the provision that I cannot make any title matches for the card in Easton. Maybe some would see that as you trying to handicap the potential popularity or drawing power of the event. Well, not me. I couldn’t imagine someone with such an obvious affinity for the BDK giving that kind of power to someone else. And it doesn’t bother me. The month of November reminds me of crowding around the TV set after Thanksgiving dinner with my family, and watching giant 8-man elimination tag matches on pay-per-view. I miss those. And when I think about what CHIKARA’s been missing this season…well, it will be really easy for me to put a card on paper for you, Dieter.” With Chikarason booking the show taking place the night before Dieter’s last Philly show, you can expect The Board of Directors…and the ever-growing fanbase of Chikara…to weight in! See below for full rundowns of each guy’s show!
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Chikara Wrestlers EVOLVE for the Final Time This Year!
For the final EVOLVE card this year, several Chikara talents will be on hand competing in the upstart promotion. The biggest opportunity goes to Chuck Taylor, who becomes the first current Chikara roster member to headline an EVOLVE card. EVOLVE 6: Aries vs. Taylor, taking place November 20th in New Jersey, sees Chuckie T put his 3-1 record on the line against the debuting Austin Aries. Also of note is a tag match featuring a current Chikara team, the debuting Super Smash Brothers, taking on a former Chikara team, the undefeated duo of Cheech & Cloudy. Others in action: Johnny Gargano will take on Jimmy Jacobs, Ricochet will fight Adam Cole & Homicide, who will be making his Chikara debut next week in Philly, fights Jon Moxley. In fact, every single match on EVOLVE 6’s card features a wrestler who has worked Chikara at some point this year!
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New Chikara DVDs Are Now Available!
Because Chikara gets their DVDs out faster than any indy company around, we are once again blessed with two new releases from October. The Dark Ciberknetico features Dasher Hatfield’s return from injury, a surprise defense of the Young Lions Cup and the annual sixteen-man elimination match, Torneo Cibernetico, as The Chikara Originals, lead by UltraMantis Black, Mike Quackenbush, Eddie Kingston & the mysterious Vökoder, take on Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, Tursas and the rest of the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes! Terror in the Neighborhood features the reunited Olsen Twins taking on The UnStable, Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw going for a future tag title shot against the BDK, the third epic match between Eddie Kingston & Tom Donst and the BDK leaders, Claudio Castagnoli & Ares, defending the Campeonatos de Parejas against The Osirian Portal! Both shows, as well as a ton of other amazing Chikara Pro releases, are available at Smart Mark Video right now!
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With bragging rights at stake in this Battle of Bookers, Commentation Station mainstay Chikarason made clear exactly was he was looking to do with his show: have some old-school fun. By old school, we’re talking 90’s Michinoku Pro, of course. Known for their epic multi-man Elimination Matches then just as Dragon Gate is today, Chikara will pull from the M-Pro playbook, putting on an epic eight-man tag match featuring only former Young Lions Cup champions. Last year, at YLCVII: Night 3, the Golden Dreams Triangle Trios Match pitted three young lion triumvirates against one another in a crazy match that was on most fan’s top five Chikara matches of 2009. The winners, Hallowicked, Arik Cannon & Fire Ant, are back for this contest, as is Quackenbush tag partner and DGUSA roster member Jigsaw. Opposing this team will be former cup holder and rudo mainstay Vin Gerard, tag partner in The UnStable STIGMA, Bruderschaft member and self-proclaimed greatest YLC champions ever Tim Donst and the lost YLC champion, statistically the most successful cup holder ever, the returning Max Boyer! Hearing who he would be teaming with, Donst was less than pleased: “I don’t want to team with these people. I don’t belong in a match with these other has-beens. I am the greatest Young Lions Cup champion of all time, and I deserve better. I guess the silver lining here, is that I will – beyond a shred of doubt – show the world that I truly am the greatest. At the Dark Ciberknetico, I single-handedly defeated former YLC champs Jigsaw and Shane “STIGMA” Storm. Now, this upcoming elimination match will give me the chance to defeat the likes of Arik Cannon and the man that many call the greatest YLC champ, Hallowicked. Maybe after I dismantle the other team by myself, I’ll eliminate the scrubs I have to side with, just to prove my point.” Strong words…strong, bewildering words from a young man who should expect to be without an ally in the main event of one of the most intriguing Chikara shows in quite some time.
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It was all wrapped up with a bow on top and a sticker that read “Happy Hanukkah, Lince Dorado”. He beat a hand-picked opponent to reach Young Lions Cup VIII’s Eliminator where he managed to best an exhausted and beaten Ophidian to gain entry into the tournament finals. There, he faced a man that he’s not only beaten before but he also had BDK referee Derek Sabato overseeing the affair. With all of that working in Lince’s favor, winning the Young Lions Cup seemed all too easy. Turns out, it was. Frightmare managed to overcome incredible odds to win the cup for Chikara Pro. This rematch was scheduled to take place last month at The Dark Ciberknetico but Lince Dorado had to pull out at the last moment due to a family emergency. Now, Dorado has been granted yet another shot at redeeming himself. Left off the Bruderschaft’s team for Ciberknetico, Dorado will look to prove that Frightmare’s win was a fluke.
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In all of wrestling, there is one group of men who can say without a doubt that they have dominated the Bruderschaft: C.Red’s crew, Da Soul Touchaz! The adored, fan-favorite trio of Acid Jaz, Marshe Rockett & Willie “Da Bomb” Richardson will return to Chikara once again, and once again it will be against the Bruderschaft. Having best two different BDK trios, the task of taking them on again should not be too great for this formidable group, especially with Sugar Dunkerton on their side. “The S & S Express”, as C.Red has dubbed them, will face the quartet of Ares, Daizee Haze, Pinkie Sanchez & Tursas. Should they win once again, only Sara Del Rey & Delirious will be the two remaining BDK members that DST hasn’t beaten. And with another victory comes even stronger evidence that they belong amongst the competitors in King of Trios 2011…if there is one…
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It’s been quite a long time since Buck Hawke has graced a Chikara ring. At the end of 2008, Larry Sweeney turned on Claudio Castagnoli, joining up with Hawke and Mitch Ryder to reform The Fabulous Three. Due to a smorgasbord of issues, the alliance was short-lived. Four months later, Hawke would appear in two eight-man tag matches, one alongside F.I.S.T. and one under Parejas Increibles rules. Since then, Chikara has been Hawke-less. Now, he returns to take on a man that he’s never met in the ring: “The Old Timey King of Swing” Dasher Hatfield. Buck met a man named Create-A-Wrestler in a tag match back at 2008’s Café Culture. However, this is not the same person Hawke fought back then. Hatfield has shown to be more focus & determined under his now permanent persona than when he would change every six months or so. Hatfield also has the undying support of fans, something the young Buck has never experienced.
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Last month, for the fourth time in their young careers, Amasis & Ophidian lost a match with the Campeonatos de Parejas on the line. With Ophidian winning the Rey de Voladores earlier this year and Amasis getting three pinfall victories during the YLCVIII tournament, they seem to be getting much stronger as singles competitors, perhaps at a detriment to their tag success. Another wrestler gained three pinfalls during the YLCVIII tourney: Obariyon. He had a dominant showing on Night 2, pinning Dustin Rayz, Adam Cole & Keita Yano with his devastating Deep Impact DDT. However, it was Ophidian who put him down in the main event Eliminator and it was Amasis who pinned Obariyon’s partner Kodama during his debut in an Elimination Tag Match back at Eye To Eye. It would appear that The Portal has this team’s number, but since we still don’t know a thing about Obariyon or Kodama, you cannot count them out. They aren’t even on the Roster page! Also, they have a point to protect while The Portal has none. If they wanna send Amasis & Ophidian all the way home sans one point, they’ll have to show that their more than just intimidating physiques and slick green face paint.
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If the Easton main event features eight of the best wrestlers Chikara has to offer, this “Back to the Future” eight man tag reflects some of the best and most beloved personalities in the company’s history. After all, Chikara fans have always had a soft spot in their hearts for guys that may not be the best wrestlers, but could always entertain you. UltraMantis Black leads a squad with good friend Mr. ZERO, one half of the “Knight Eye for the Pirate Guy” tag team Jolly Roger, and Dragonfly, who made a then one-night return to Chikara last year. On the other side, Icarus will team with the curmudgeonly Darkness Crabtree, last seen trying to invade YLCVII, Lance Steel, the other half of “KEFTPF”, and Rorschach, who was Dragonfly’s opponent for his 2009 return match! HISTORY LESSON, FOOLS.
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The last time El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream Jr. were in a Chikara ring, it was night one of this year’s King of Trios, where Hijo was pinned by Cuije with an assisted splash. The last time Los Ice Creams faced 3.0, they were still 2.0 and Jagged didn’t have a first or last name. Now, Scott Parker and Shane “Big Magic” Matthews have become more than “just” a comedy act. They took current tag champions Claudio Castagnoli & Ares to the absolute limit in September, making their first ever attempt at capturing Chikara gold. 3.0 became the first team to even gain a fall on the BDK, but they were ultimately bested in the end. Now, 3.0 will look to get back to their winning ways while Los Ice Creams will look to *puts on sunglasses* freeze them in their tracks. YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!
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When Director of Fun Dieter VonSteigerwalt mentioned that he was “supremely concerned with attracting a very dangerous new competitor”, speculation ran rampant. Turns out, the man making his Chikara debut is one that many people thought would never grace the company’s family-friendly ring: “The Notorious 187” Homicide! For the fourth time this year, it will be and this year’s Cibernetico winner, “The Last of a Dying Breed” Eddie Kingston, who will challenge the outsider in a one-on-one contest. For the longest time, Kingston has complained to management about the guys in masks getting their dream matches, facing their dream opponents. Well the BDK has thrown Eddie the likes of Christopher Daniels, Tommy Dreamer & Bryan Danielson, but it hasn’t been out of their kind, German hearts. Time and time again, they’ve interfered in his matches, costing him contests and general screwing up his life. While one would hope that the BDK would lay low here, especially seeing as how Ares has to deal with UltraMantis and Claudio is out of the country. However, the giant Tursas is without a match for the show. Usually this would lead me to think that we’d see him in some kind of weak match unworthy of his size, but with Kingston pinning Tursas to win the Cibernetico, he may be looking for revenge. Eddie should savor the moment, but not forget to look over his shoulder for trouble.
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On Night 2 of YLCVII, Lince Dorado was scheduled to take on Arik Cannon. Dorado was injured and he couldn’t compete. An ally and fellow member of The Future is Now, Jigsaw took his place, scoring a huge win over Cannon. After that, TFIN started buying in to Jigsaw’s mentoring and he would take over the leadership position from Dorado. This infuriated Lince, so much so that he joined up with the BDK, turning his back on partners Equinox & Helios. Had Lince made that match, had he been victorious, had he won the YLCVII tournament…maybe it would’ve all been different. Now, over a year later, the two men will finally face off. Dorado has had a rough few months, but if he can walk into this match with the Cup under his arm and walk out a winner again, perhaps he can get back in the good graces of his BDK brethren.
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It’s been brewing for a very long time now, this heated feud between Soldier Ant and the former Carpenter Ant, Pinkie Sanchez. Back when he was infiltrating the Chikara locker room on behalf of the BDK, Sanchez formed a tentative rivalry, but as allies in The Colony. Soldier would submit Sanchez with the Chikara Special at YLCVII in his wrestling debut, and Sanchez spent the next few months teaming with Green Ant in various tags, including the now infamous “Baseball Match”. However, it was at Cibernetico Increible that things turned ugly, as Pinkie tapped out Soldier Ant using the Inverted Chikara Special, the move’s official debut. After that, Soldier Ant and Carpenter Ant never shared the ring again. Pinkie would unmask and reveal the ruse. The BDK would dominate the first few months of Chikara as an unparalleled force. Then came King of Trios. In the main event of Night 2, with Pinkie looking on, Soldier tapped out Tim Donst, becoming the first man to truly defeat a member of the BDK. Since then, Soldier Ant & “Pink Ant” have faced each other in multi-person affairs, but in Philly, they will finally meet face to face in a singles match. No Colony. No BDK. No running for either man…er, ant.
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They are two of Chikara’s best-known and accomplished wrestlers. Hallowicked, many times labeled the Wrestle Factory’s great student, was the winner of the inaugural YLC tournament, one half of the longest-reigning Chikara tag champions in company history and the first man to have tasted both company titles. Tim Donst is less known for his titles and more known for the active roles he’s played in changing the Chikara landscape, from outing Shane Storm as a traitor, to teaching “Carpenter Ant” the Inverted Chikara Special, to demasking as Vökoder at the end of last year and providing the BDK with the Eye of Tyr. He isn’t without his gold though, as he is the self-proclaimed great Young Lions Cup champion ever. Now, for the first time, these two men will meet in the ring one-on-one, a Chikara original against a man who will go to any lengths to secure a victory.
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It all began with the unmasking of The Man in White. UltraMantis Black looked on in shock as Ares revealed himself to be the man after Mantis’s stolen artifact, The Eye of Tyr. Over the next half a year, Ares would mentally and physically dominate Black, taking away his slave Delirious, costing him the Campeonatos de Parejas, and injuring Crossbones, effectively destroying The Order of the Neo Solar Temple. He even bested Black in a one on one contest. Now, Mantis is reinvigorated after pinning Delirious in singles competition and both his former friend and Ares at The Dark Ciberknetico in the main event. Feeling empowered, he made a challenge to Ares on the Chikara blog and it was quickly accepted. “I made it my personal mission to end you and all of your games,” Mantis stated, “and that’s exactly what I plan to do. So later this month, in Philadelphia, I am issuing one final challenge to you Ares. Meet me again – face to face, one on one. But this time I won’t let a mere wrestling ring contain us. Not even an entire building can contain the venom and rage that will be unleashed upon you. So accept my challenge for a Falls Count Anywhere wrestling match. Bring everything you have to the table Ares, because this will be the fight of your life. A fight to the bitter end.”
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The Four-Way Elimination Tag Match has become a Chikara staple and it’s never been more present than this year. Offering the quickest route to the three points needed for a title shot, the match also means that 3/4 of the competing teams will leave with nothing. While two teams, Amasis & Ophidian and Icarus & Chuck Taylor, will simply be search for points towards a title shot, the other two teams have a little more invested in the outcome. Sara Del Rey & Daizee Haze actually have three points. However, instead of challenging their own stablemates for the tag titles, Claudio & Ares have tasked them to block the other three teams from gaining enough points to challenge. Though they seemed displeased with the orders from the BDK leaders, who have effectively forced them to delay or even sacrifice personal glory for their own gain, Sara & Daizee nonetheless agreed. This means that, if Death Haze loses, they are back to square one, a familiar location for the final team: Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw. “You know we have the skills to take those title belts away from you.” Jigsaw declared in a blog directed towards the Bruderschaft, “That’s why, every single time Mike and I are going for our 3rd point…you put your goons and that punk Sabato in the ring with us. To block us from getting that 3rd point. To stop us from embarrassing you when the Campeonatos de Parejas are on the line. Twice now, this worthless excuse for a referee has robbed Mike and I, right in the middle of the ring. We don’t just deserve a shot at those gold belts – we need it. For us. For CHIKARA. But now, we’re back down to zero – we have NOTHING to show for it. There isn’t a single CHIKARA team holding three points – or even two points, for that matter. You’ve done a great job stacking the deck. But you’ve made a real mistake here, Bruderschaft. You know who the most dangerous opponent is? The opponent with nothing to lose. You’ve awakened a killer instinct in us. You put us on a war path.”
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After losing to Vin Gerard & STIGMA last month in a heated tag match, the reunited and it feels so good Olsen Twins were left feeling, well…unsatisfied. Dejected. GASSY. However, it didn’t take long for Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen to challenge them to a rematch the very next month: “What happened in Hamden was a mistake on our part. Lesson learned. Kinda like the time Uncle Jesse’s grandpa, Papouli died and he did a Greek dance to deal with his pain. OK, maybe that wasn’t the best analogy. We are not the same adorably goofy dudes in tassels that came here in 2006…well, OK, we are – but we’re also a lot more these days. We’re not the fun guys who can’t get the job done anymore. We’re the fun guys who have won Ciberneticos, the fun guys who have wrestled on worldwide television, the fun guy who beat Vin Gerard in CHIKARA’s first and only ladder match for his YLC. In Hamden we fell into being that team from 2006, but The Olsens that will show up in Philadelphia on November 21st will be a whole new story. I know you’re real proud of that point you got from us Vin, but in Philly we’re taking it back.”
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During a recent edition of the Chikara Event Center, Johnny Gargano expressed a desire to once again challenge Frightmare for the Young Lions Cup. Despite losing clean to Frightmare at The Dark Ciberknetico after cashing in The Golden Opportunity he received in winning The Countdown Showdown, Gargano felt that he deserved another chance. Dieter VonSteigerwalt answered Mr. Gargoochi swiftly, stating the following on the Chikara blog: “It is not up to you to decide where or when you get another shot at the Young Lions Cup. Those decisions are made by me, and me alone. That is why I withheld such power from Leonard F. Chikarason, when permitting him to assemble his silly little card for 20 November in Easton. Have your match with Frightmare in Philadelphia, Gargano, but make no mistake about it, by the time Frightmare arrives at the former ECW Arena that afternoon, he will no longer be YLC champion.” So if Frightmare retains over Lince in Easton, Gargano gets himself an arguably undeserved second opportunity at Chikara gold.
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– Please leave any comments or questions you might have and I’ll do my best to respond with as much ravenous Portuguese dirty talk 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 your 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.
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