-Taped from Manhattan, NY
-Your hosts are of course various members of the CHIKARA roster and staff.
Match in Five Words or Less; Kick Based Offense
Match Highlights: Del Rey has four points and is looking to tie Mike Quackenbush. Ophidian is riding a goose egg right now. The good news is Gavin Loudspeaker has a microphone do ring announcing properly tonight. They exchange holds to start. Del Rey says enough with the holds and delivers three hard kicks. Back to the mat. Ophidian tries a kick of his own, but it doesn’t go well. Del Rey of course responds with a series of kicks. Ophidian regains the advantage with strikes. Del Rey has a violence party in the corner. Ophidian drops Del Rey on her shoulder. He continues working it over. He applies an armbar and nearly gets a little dirty by pulling the fingers. Springboard moonsault misses. Del Rey is caught kicking. Backslide for two by Ophidian. Two more nearfalls and Ophidian back bridges over. One footed dropkick. Ophidian nails one of his own. Two running double knees. Del Rey boots Ophidian in a head stand. This reminds me of when Samoa Joe did something similar to Nigel McGuinness on a 2005 ROH show and the crowd lost it. More kicks from Del Rey. Rolling kick and a two count. Exchange of nearfalls. Face plants into another nearfall. He calls out to Amasis and hits a 450 splash. Del Rey won’t die. Ophidian evades one kick but is hit with a second one. Powerbomb. 1-2-NO! Kicks the shoulder away. Ophidian Death Grip! Del Rey butterflies Ophidian over and gets three.
Match Analysis: Not the typical opener you’d see out of CHIKARA. This had some clear importance for both individuals. Del Rey used her ingenuity to pick up the win two straight nights. I’m really enjoying her push because instead of allowing her to demean the men, she’s simply out-smarting them to get victories. Her offense, while some might consider it monotonous, makes a lot more sense in context since there’s no logicial way for her to simply lift dudes up and drop them on their heads. And she’s never exactly been the high-flying type. Good work from both people involved.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Sara Del Rey/13:59/***1/4/***1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: The Throwbacks Score
Match Highlights: Throwbacks have two points to their name and with a win will earn themselves a shot at the Campeones de Parejas. Gavin and Bryce sing Alicia Keys as the match begins. They hit high notes they probably shouldn’t be able to. A friendly exchange between all four men. The fans chant “I like both teams.” NYC > Philadelphia. Soldier applies a saluting figure four leglock, but Sugar turns it over. Both teams show sportsmanship although neither can gain an advantage. Throwbacks are both tossed. We get a Michinoku Pro moment. Referee asks for things to settle back down. Double flapjack on Soldier as Throwbacks finally get the advantage. Sugar Dunkerton trying a roll-up didn’t work very well. Dasher tosses his partner into two more pinning combos. Harlem Globeslammer (assisted facebuster) gets two. Soldier sends Sugar into the top turnbuckle. Now it’s the Colony’s turn. Northern lights suplex and a beautiful bridge for two. Dasher manages to tag in but the advantage doesn’t change. Four Feet of Colony gets two. Green Ant and Dunkerton get into it with a slap exchange. All four men battle. They take some time to tie their shoes? Nick Papagiorgio fails to do so and gets called out on it by the wrestlers and fans. Papagiorgio leaves, and he’s so sad doing so. The wrestlers begin counting out the referee. Jon Barber comes out and gets cheered. This is a new feeling for him I’m sure. Dasher and Soldier exchange nearfalls with various roll-up combos. They eventually end up outside the ring. Green Ant hits an Angle Slam. Dunkerton hits a Kiss my Converse. Green Ant hits a lariat. Battle on the apron. To the outside they go. Small package exchange. Dasher ends up on top and gets three.
Match Analysis: I couldn’t believe how long this match went when Gavin announced the time. This was a good babyface versus babyface match. Neither team even went default heel. The crowd went quiet at certain points but still seemed into the match. I liked the blend of comedy and solid back and forth action. They probably could have gotten the message across in 12 minutes as well, but I appreciated their work and effort.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: The Throwbacks/17:43/***/***1/2
-Icarus can apparently read. He doesn’t lie about anything and claims Iron is in fact faking his handicap.
Match in Five Words or Less: Icarus Is The Worst
Match Highlights: Does anyone actually like Icarus? Even his parents defriended him on Facebook. Icarus tries working Iron’s right arm. Iron goes on the offensive. The hated Icarus teases leaving. Icarus runs around through the crowd and spears Iron from behind. Into a series of holds as Icarus basically continues reasserting how much of a jackass he is. While in a camel clutch, Icarus takes his jacket off, thus blinding all of the first row and half the second row. “That tat sucks” chant. Cute. Iron hits his pimp slap. Up and over goes Icarus to the stage. Cross body to the outside! Icarus rams Iron’s back into the post. Iron slaps him off the top rope, sunset flips him over, and gets three!
Match Analysis: These two don’t exactly have great chemistry, but the heat here was pretty good. Not much of a match as Icarus applied some holds before Iron hit a couple moves to get the pin. Not bad but nothing good either.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Gregory Iron/8:16/**1/4/***
-Donst talks about what people have forgotten and what people need to remember, that he’s the breakout member of the BDK and the greatest Young Lion’s Cup champion of all time.
Match in Five Words or Less: BDK Falters Again
Match Highlights: Donst is appalled by the people clapping along to “MMMBop!” Can’t blame him. Nick mocks RVD and Booker T. Clearly, the Bucks never want to go back to TNA or WWE. Feeling out process between Matt and Donst. Bucks double team hip toss into a dropkick. Matt nails Tursas on the apron. Double stomp on Donst’s arm and they focus on the arm. Donst leaves the ring. Matt and Nick try to knock the big man down. Tursas tosses Matt over and dropkicks Nick down. Bucks try going two-on-one. Donst drives Matt’s head into his knee. Heat segment on the elder Buck. Double team side slam/neckbreaker combination gets two. Great tease of a hot tag as Nick jumps in the air, but Tursas pushes him back into the corner. Roll-up by Matt and hot tag. Crossbody nailed on Donst. Tursas taken off the apron. Donst tosses Matt to the stage. Nick hits s springboard facebuster but gets brought down. Splash by Matt on Tursas. Standing sliced bread on Donst gets two. Matt fights off both members of the team. Donst hits a DVD. Tursas splash. 1-2-NO! Nick works out of a powerbomb. Tursas rams his arm into the post. Forearm exchange between Matt and Donst. Running bulldog by Donst. Nick sweeps the leg and kicks him in the face. Huge dive but Tursas rams Nick into the rail. Trifecta of northern lights suplexes on Donst. Tursas catches Matt but gets superkicked. Matt tries lifting Tursas for the finish. Not happening. He lifts him up. Donst hits a high knee. Nick rolls over to a running knee. Superkicks on Tursas. More Bang for your Buck on Donst! This gets the win and a second point for the Bucks.
Match Analysis: Jakob was on commentary for the match and added a lot of wackiness and fun to the commentation station. The man can literally do it all. As for the match, it was a well-executed old style tag team match with lots of excitement and a heat segment. Tursas is in a really good position. While he’s not that great of a wrestler, he’s improved to the point where he doesn’t look out of place in a tag team match. Bucks got a chance to be featured but didn’t get as insane as they tend to in PWG matches.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: The Young Bucks/15:24/***1/4/***1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: Feud Settled?
Match Highlights: Ares is the one who led the way in taking out Diamond and C. Red at the season nine finale, thus taking the rivalry to the next level. Technically, Da Soul Touchaz got their revenge in the main event of the Chicago show, but Rockett wants a piece of Ares since he’s the one who started everything. Delirious is at ringside to cause trouble. Rockett dominates early. Spinebuster and a series of right hands. Dropkick followed by a bodyslam and leg drop. Quick two count and Ares powders. He pulls Rockett down. Chop. Delirious gets kicked in the face. Guillotine by Ares. Suplex back in the ring. Some choking from both Ares and Delirious. Ares tries chopping Rockett. Of course, that doesn’t work out so well. Rockett’s chops rival Roddy Strong’s at this point. Back to choking by the dastardly Ares. Ares distracts the referee and gets a blue thunder power bomb thanks to the distraction of Delirious. Leg lariat starts Rockett on the comeback trail. An enziguri sends Ares on the apron. Swinging neckbreaker for two. Whip to the corner followed by a frog cross body. M-80. Delirious pulls Rockett out of the ring so the referee can’t count three. Ares distracts the referee. Delirious pushes Rockett. Ares takes advantage with a tiger driver to get the victory.
Match Analysis: If this was the end of the feud between the BDK and Soul Touchaz, this was quite lame. It had very little of the intensity you’d hope for out of such a grudge match, and Ares plodding offense didn’t gell at all with what Rockett's high-flying and striking. Thankfully, this transitioned well into the next match as…
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Ares/8:18/**/*
-Ultramantis Black immediately hits a Preying Mantis Bomb on Ares. Hallowicked enters to try and bring Delirious out of his hypnosis. Crowd gets behind this as well. Black delivers one final warning toward Ares and lays down a challenge for a match. Kobald comes from behind, allowing the BDK to depart. Sinn Bodhi joins Kobald in on the attack. Here come the other two members of the Batiri. Frightmare gingerly comes in to help his partners out. CROSSBONES of all people waddles down with a flag to an enormous pop. Just ridiculously popular. It's a testament to CHIKARA's ability to create memorable characters that people even miss FREAKING CROSSBONES! I guess we have ou
r eight man tag.
-The Spectral Envoy (Ultramantis Black, Hallowicked, Frightmare, and Crossbones) vs. The Dark Army (Sinn Bodhi, Obaryion, Kodama, and Kobald)
Match in Five Words or Less: Welcome Back Crossbones!
Match Highlights: Utter madness as the brawl continues. All eight men are battling across the arena. Crossbones works over Kobald inside the ring. Action literally too hard to call. Obaryion and Kodama work on Hallowicked before turning their attention to Frightmare. Knee drop on Kodama for two. Spectral Envoy takes control. Frightmare helps Hallowicked on a double team leg drop. Kneecolepsy attempt fails. Vertical suplex attempt works. Obaryion saves his partner. Battles are continuing inside the ring as well. Frightmare low bridges but runs into a boot from Kodama. Bodhi stops Kneecolepsy again. Vicious neckbreaker followed by a RIDICULOUS spike DDT from Obaryion. The bump Frightmare took is literally worth a star by itself. Jumping hillbilly Jesus. Hallowicked has to break the count since his partner is basically dead. Step-up kick to the face on Obaryion. Backcracker out of the corner gets two. Frightmare now has to make the save. Go 2 Sleepy Hollow followed by the Preying Mantis Bomb gets two. Bodhi breaks the count and sends Mantis out. Kobald and Crossbones finally enter the ring. There are six men in the ring just fighting. Crossbones takes out both Kobald and Kodama. Mantis drops Bodhi right on top of his head to get the victory.
Match Analysis: This felt like a brawl followed by an exhibition of moves. I’m not saying there was anything wrong with this considering the grudge between both teams, but I can’t in good conscious give this a high match quality star rating. But hey, that's what entertainment ratings are for. I’d really like to see Obaryion and Kodama separated from the Dark Army because their feud with Mantis and Wicked did them no favors, especially with Sinn Bodhi making fewer and fewer appearances in CHIKARA.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: The Spectral Envoy/11:27/**3/4/***1/4
-Johnny Gargano says he and Taylor are articulate men. The time for talking is over. Taylor says they’re going to prove they're the best tag team in the world.
Match Highlights: Derek Sabato is the official so expect shenanigans. This is also Jigsaw’s home town. F.I.S.T attack from behind. Quack causes some miscommunication between Taylor and Gargano. After both men are sent outside, Jigsaw dives on them. Continued double team from the champions. Double Jig ‘n’ Tonic leads to a very quick first fall victory for the champions in 1:45. Taylor hits Quack with a foreign object behind Sabato’s back. Jigsaw controls on Taylor. Spear from the outside by Gargano leads to a springboard moonsault. Taylor goes into the crowd as Gargano chokes Jigsaw. Interesting storyline point: Bryce Remsburg and Leonard F. Chikarason question Sabato being assigned such a high profile match yet again. See if this angle goes anywhere. F.I.S.T continue working Jigsaw over. Jigsaw DDTs Taylors while reverse DDT’ing Gargano. Quack tags in and he chops away on Gargano. Running forearm and dropkick. Palm strike on Taylor avoided. Taylor launches Quack into a dropkick. Taylor claims a low blow. Referee calls for the bell in the second fall in 10:20. This is exactly how F.I.S.T got their third point back at Chikarasaurus Rex: Night 2. Jigsaw goes crazy on F.I.S.T. Running forearm and leaping enziguri. Taylor nails Jigsaw and Gargano ends up hitting sunset flip for two. Palm strike by Quack on Taylor. Gargano kicked away. Quack rolls over. Taylor hits an Awful Waffle. 1-2-NO! Jigsaw hits a long dropkick from the top on Taylor. Enziguri misses. Series of counters. Chop fest between Gargano and Jigsaw. Taylor grabs his leg. Superkick by Jigsaw. Jig ‘n’ Tonic. Taylor pulls Sabato outside. Jigsaw dropkicks Taylor into the rail. Gargano hits a low blow on Jigsaw and gets two. Assisted Herts Doughnut gets two. Gargano Escape. Sabato drops the arm once, so Sabato calls for the bell and we have new champions.
Match Analysis: Sabato being allowed to continue as a referee better have a payoff to it because it literally makes no sense for him to be given all these main event level matches on shows. I’m all for heels cheating and using underhanded tactics in order to get victories, but these two teams are undoubtedly the best in the world. Instead of walking away hating F.I.S.T or shaking my fis…arm at them, the heat is on Sabato. THAT’s why I can’t stand heel referees. The heat is put on them and not the wrestlers. While this was a very well executed match, I feel it could have been so much more.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: NEW Campeones de Parejas-F.I.S.T/11:03/***1/4/***
Match in Five Words or Less: An Absolute War
Match Highlights: Kingston has six points and is easily the leader of block B. Fire Ant, however, has four and could potentially tie Kingston with a victory here. Kingston has strong words for a fan before the match begins and threatens to see him outside. Well then. Both men are cautious to start. Kingston responds to another fan (sort of resembles Andy Warhol) who tells him to hit the gym. Hilarious. Fire Ant hits a pair of armdrags before hitting a rana. Kingston decks Fire Ant with a right hand. Series of strikes. Fire Ant with lightning fast chops. Atomic drop and boot by Kingston. TOPE SUICIDA! He maintains the advantage outside the ring. Kingston just pistols Fire Ant with forearms. Snapmares and a perfect neckbreaker. Quick roll-up for two. Some fans actually chant for Fire Ant. Running clothesline. Forearm to the back. Fire Ant is laying but gets continually hit with hard chops. Stiff kicks by Fire, but Kingston headbutts him. Neckbreaker. Back to the corner for more punishment. A whip. Kingston misses a boot. Running kick sends Kingston outside. Tope suicida of his own. Kingston ends up in the crowd a little punch drunk. Fire Ant DIVES INTO THE CROWD AND HITS KINGSTON! SWEET JEBUS! Then Fire Ant… HITS A CROSSBODY INTO THE CROWD! Vin Gerard comes out of nowhere and attempts to work over Kingston’s knee. Kingston is clearly injured as Fire Ant hits a back senton for two. Kingston whips Fire Ant, but he can’t run across. Fire Ant is getting aggressive by attacking the injured knee. Kingston with strikes and headbutts. Kick by Fire Ant. Cross body and a spinning DDT. 1-2-NO! Beach Break attempt worked out of. Lariats by Kingston. Capture German suplex. 1-2-NO! Running yakuza… sort of. Arm suplex gets two. Fire Ant. Just. Won’t. Die. Kingston gingerly gets up. Fire Ant with a roll-up for two. INSIDE OUT LARIAT! 1-2-NOOOO! Straps come down. Fire Ant hits a stunner. Running knee right to the head. Back fist misses. BEACH BREAK! 1-2-NOOOOOO! Knee bar. Kingston reaches for the mask before going to the bottom rope. Kicks to the leg by Fire Ant. Back fist but Fire Ant KICKS OUT AT ONE! Back drop driver right on his head. Running forearm. 1-2-NO! A second to the back of Fire Ant’s head finally ends an crazy contest.
Match Analysis: This was a incredible way to end an amazing show. It came off like these two were wrestling a war against each other. Because of how hard a battle this was, and really because of a number of these tournament matches, that CHIKARA Grand Championship means all the more. A fantastic, stiff, brutal match between two CHIKARA originals. Words cannot describe how epic this was. Both guys came off amazingly well.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Eddie Kingston/22:27/****/****
-Kingston raises Fire Ant’s hand after the match and gives him some praise in a post-match promo.
FAVE Five-
5. Although I may not have liked the ending to the tag team title match, Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano have had some really good tag team matches for multiple promotions. Very glad one company rewarded them with tag team gold despite the circumstances.
4. I’ve got to give some love to a team that got three points. The Throwbacks may not be the men to carry CHIKARA in the next decade, but they’re a great midcard babyface act who deserve to get at least one tag team title match. Their work with the Colony was solid and showed how a well-executed babyface can be executed.
3. The Young Bucks have some of the most insane matches you’ll ever see in PWG, yet they’re also able to tone the act down a bit and have excellent matches in CHIKARA as well. Hopefully, they stay regulars.
2. It might surprise some to see I have the winner of the main event slot as the number two, but Eddie Kingston deserves credit for selling his knee injury throughout and wrestling to his strengths. You’re never going to get a typical “indy” match out of him, but he has the ability to suck fans into a match with his delivering of moves and emotions.
1. For the beating he took, for the great work he’s put into this 12 Large Summit thus far, and for being one of the most underrated members of the roster, I’ve got to say my favorite person on this show was Fire Ant. He took a beating and kept coming. He stepped into Kingston’s home area and managed to turn some people to his side. It’s a testament to his skills as a babyface and his ability to still show emotion even while having a mask on.
The Verdict: This is more like it. I liked this Manhattan debut significantly more than the Brockton show. There were some really fun tag team matches, an entertaining brawl, and a main event that provided a great crescendo to the evening. An easy thumbs up for any CHIKARA fan. If nothing else, the 12 Large Summit tournament matches have made these shows feel more significant, and there’s less randomness surrounding what CHIKARA puts together.
For more information in CHIKARA Pro, including tickets and event information, please check their website. While you can purchase DVDs there as well, you can also purchase their DVDs on Smart Mark Video. To get a great sense of history and participate in discussion of the company, check out their official messageboard. One thing the promotion does really well? Videos. They have frequent (almost daily) updates on their YouTube channel.
As someone relatively new to reviewing these shows and not nearly the CHIKARA fan as certain others, even I need to look up information and have a good CHIKARA resource. I can can think of no better place to do this and also read exclusive reviews of every CHIKARA show in history than at The CHIKARA Special. Kevin Ford maintains this little blog and also updates a CHIKARA Special Tumblr with news and videos nearly every day.
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