CHIKARA: Cibernetico:The Animated Series DVD Review

-Taped from Easton, PA

-Your hosts are of course various members of the CHIKARA roster and staff members

-We start off with another hit song from Gavin Loudspeaker about the upcoming High Noon iPPV. My musical background is so limited that I'm not sure what the lyrics are even in reference to.

-El Generico is the opportunity Ophidian has been looking for. Ophidian wants what Generico has and brings up all of the numerous accomplishments Generico has complied in his career.

Match in Five Words or Less:  The Losing Streak Continues

Match Highlights:  Ophidian is on a remarkably long losing streak, and this is a major test against one of the biggest stars in independent wrestling. This is also yet another  battle of Rey de Volordes as these are in fact the last two winners of this prestigious CHIKARA honor.  Code of honor followed although Ophidian makes it clear he’s here to fight. Basic to start. Pace picks up. Generico fakes a dive and hits his patented armdrag sequence… with a twist! Ophidian hits the final one. Series of chops but Ophidian comes back with a round the world headscissors. Tilt a whirl backbreaker from Generico. Forearm and boots to the face. Hard bodyslam and a two count. Backbreaker. Split-legged moonsault misses. Springboard moonsault from Ophidian gets two. Into a modified chinlock. Shoulderblocks in the corner. Another chop. Snapmare into a back bridge. Cover for two. Fisherman’s suplex blocked. Strike exchange won by Ophidian. Series of clotheslines and a back drop. He grabs the wrapping and hits a blue thunder powerbomb for two. Ophidian up and over. Kicks. Generico drops Ophidian with a Michinoku driver. That was nasty. Yakuza countered. Double knees off the top into a two count. Running knees. Generico misses a yakuza. Ophidian misses a charge but recovers into a roll-up with a back bridge for two. What a sequence. Hard chop. Exploder into the corner by Generico. Yakuza kick. Brainbuster  COUNTERED INTO A RANA FOR TWO! That was also unbelievable. Shot to the knee. Generico out of the death grip. Running forearm. Yakuza countered into a spin kick by Ophidian. 450! 1-2-NO! Ophidian Death Grip. Generico dives toward the bottom rope. Yakuza doesn’t appear to quite kick. Ophidian with a kick of his own. Headstand. Generico hits a yakuza into a half nelson suplex into a brainbuster to finally pick up the victory.

Match Analysis: How ironic that ever since Ophidian has embarked on this losing streak that he’s been having some of the best singles matches of his entire career. What he’s shown in this run is a clear ability to break out of simply being a tag team wrestler and into a prime time singles performer for CHIKARA. This was an incredible way to open the show, and Generico really showed how adaptable he is to any situation. With the exception of PWG, you will never see a finer opener than you did here.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: El Generico/16:42/***1/2/****

-Before a graphic even appears for the next match, Icarus makes his way to the ring to announce Gregory Iron isn’t going to be at the show. I can barely what he’s saying with all the vociferous booing going on. He makes it clear to Iron that his handicap will become real by the time the match at High Noon ends. That’s just mean.

-Grizzly Redwood likes challenges, and Jigsaw certainly provides that.  He makes a tree reference before threatening to chop him down.

Match in Five Words or Less: Say What?

Match Highlights:  To the mat they go. Jigsaw applies a series of surfboards using the straps, the beard, and finally into a Romero special. Jigsaw is sure to snap the straps along Redwood’s upper body.  Gory Special. Redwood is literally upside down. Pair of armdrags into a dropkick. Redwood hits a slingshot spear. Has he been watching Johnny Gargano? Is that even allowed for Ring of Honor employees? Chinlock. Jigsaw snaps the strap yet again. Gotta give him credit for ingenuity. Into the corner hard goes Jigsaw. One chop hits. Another misses. More snapping of the straps. A chop followed by a lariat from Redwood. Now he uses the strap to choke Jigsaw. He takes time to mock the fans. Kicks from Jigsaw. Elbow by Redwood. Abdominal stretch. Some suspender leverage used.  Jigsaw grabs Redwood out of the air and tosses him. Running kick and suicide tope to the floor. Shoulder block from Jigsaw. Jig n Tonic countered. Superkick into a rack bomb into a cover for two. Redwood bites him and hits a rana that sends Jigsaw into the middle buckle. Cannonball gets a two count. Up and over. Kick. Follow-up with an elbow. Running kick doesn’t appear to land very well. Brainbuster countered. Redwood locks in a sleeper. Rammed into the corner. Up and over. Leaping enziguri. Springboard misses. Redwood hits a swinging DDT… and gets three?!

Match Analysis: Considering Jigsaw’s ugly new smurf-colored gear, it’s no wonder he lost this match. In all seriousness, I don’t understand this result at all unless CHIKARA plans on bringing back Redwood on a consistent basis. I’m all for pushing new guys and providing fresh opportunities, but Jigsaw is one of CHIKARA’s best and shouldn’t be losing unless it serves a purpose. I reserve full judgment until we see how Redwood is handled going into 2012, but I definitely question the booking here.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Grizzly Redwood/9:40/**1/2/**

-Steve Weiner comes out in his turtle costume, and he’s not happy about some of the comments Icarus made some 15 ago.  Weiner takes the mask off and gets serious for a moment. For the first time ever (at least to my knowledge), he publicly talks about his autism. No matter what anyone thinks of Weiner, I do have admiration for Weiner’s ability to live life and be a part of wrestling despite his disability. No one seems to have a love for CHIKARA as much as he does. Weiner calls out Darkness Crabtree for a match. It appears we have a replacement for one Gregory Iron.

-The Bravado Brothers are in CHIKARA to prove themselves in yet another place. They talk about everyone jumping on the Bravado bandwagon.

Match in Five Words or Less: Bravo 3.0

Match Highlights:  Harlem asks the referee to hold Shane Matthews back while he talks. Matthews is incredulous and even asks who they are. He calls the Bravados the fastest rising tag team in the history of wrestling. Fans disagree. Lance, with an ugly moustache, mentions their grandmother again and rips on 3.0 for a bit. Matthews is too angry to speak. Scott Parker and he uses the catchphrase. He elbow drops the microphone. Matthews: Your grandmother is crazy. Hilarious. Feeling out process mixed in with shenanigans. To be expected with these teams. Double team on Harlem. Bravados commiserate on the outside. Harlem reluctantly reenters.  Bodyslam. Harlem continues arguing with the referee. Another bodyslam. Back to talking with the referee. A third bodyslam. Referee ducks contact. 3.0 has the referee help out on a triple clothesline.  Dive from Scott Parker. Harlem grabs Parker’s foot. Swinging neckbreaker and we have ourselves a heat segment.  Double boots. Lance tears him down. Parker misses a butt first dive and tags in Matthews. Headscissors party! Short lariat on Harlem. Lance brought down. Spear by Parker into a cover for two. Parker knocked off the top rope. Bravados go back to double teaming Matthews. Very awkward sequence ensues until Lance hits a nice sitdown powerbomb. Parker breaks the count. Lance and Parker have a punch exchange. Knee to the gut. Whip reversed. Back elbow. Lance tossed in the air and Matthews hits a spear. Parker goes for a backslide. Roaring elbow. Bravados hit a Gentlemen’s Agreement (assisted enziguri) for two. Matthews blocks a kick. Lance nails his own brother. School boy cover for two. Double lungblower and Parker covers for three.

Match Analysis: This was a bit on the awkward side since neither team has really worked with each other, and the Bravados still have a lot of work to do as far as their in-ring goes. They certainly fit in well with CHIKARA though with their goofy antics and characters. Oddly enough, I feel like their characters were more pronounced in more Ring of Honor appearances than here. Still, with CHIKARA being so northeast based, it would be nice to see them come back some day.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: 3.0/10:37/**1/2/***

-Darkness Crabtree vs. Steve Weiner

Match in Five Words or Less: Dark For A Different Reason

Match Highlights:  Crabtree us up to his usual fun and games before the match. Crabtree tries taking a nap before the match. He says he wants five more minutes. This should be a sporting contest, a fine replacement for Crabtree/Iron.  Lots of shenanigans and comedy early. Let’s just fast forward to the big reveal. Crabtree unmasks himself, revealing Icarus. Weiner almost kills Icarus with a freaking top rope superplex. Word of advice: Never ever do that again. Fanny pack shot and Icarus gets the victory to set up his big PPV match with Iron.

Match Analysis: Not really a match but a solid angle to assert just how evil Icarus truly is.  This certainly won’t make any best of tapes for sure.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Darkness Crabtree/7:45/*/**

-Icarus has more words for Iron after the match. The fans’ booing got really annoying at this point. Gran Akuma makes his return and nearly gets his hands on Icarus. Well, that’s a fine how do you do.

Match in Five Words or Less: Not The Freedom Gate Champion

Match Highlights:  Chuck Taylor comes out with the Open the Freedom Gate championship and red chest. The latter is courtesy of one Yamato.  Taylor is in a sweater and backpack. Fire Ant dropkicks him. Taylor tosses his bag. Hey, he’s in a Ronin shirt. Guess that will hide his chest. Fire Ant tosses Taylor into a sea of chairs. That’s just mean. Dive off the bleachers caught. Powerbomb into those same bleachers. He tosses his shirt to a little girl. Taylor takes his shirt back. Finally, we have a bell. Taylor maintains th advantage. Taylor even manages to take a couple photos. Fire Ant hits a crossbody. Up and over with a DDT for two. Slingshot crossbody to the floor. Top rope kick misses. Soul Food blocked. Leg sweep and a huge kick.  Brainbuster. 1-2-NO! Fire Ant gets his knee back in order. Taylor hits an Outsider’s Edge into the corner. Uranagi. Instead of going for a pin, he applies a half crab. Fire reaches the bottom rope. Fire Ant turns a suplex into an stunner. Kick exchange. Flying one by Taylor. Awful Waffle counte

red into a Beachbreak which is also countered into a sitting roll-up for three and a victory for Fire Ant.

Match Analysis: I’m sure these two have a better match in them, but this wasn’t it under the circumstances. Taylor already had one match, and I’m sure just getting to the building was a struggle. This was still okay for the seven minutes it got. Pending the result of the Colony/Young Bucks match at High Noon, this might also serve as a bit of a preview for yet another tag team encounter between these two groups.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Fire Ant/7:05/**3/4/***

-Tim Donst says people don’t understand why he hates Hallowicked. He talks about becoming the greatest Young Lion’s Cup champion. He talks about Hallowicked having a makeshift team. He talks about this isn’t going to stop until people think Donst is better than Hallowicked. Great promo.

Match in Five Words or Less: An Ardous Match To Review

Match Highlights:  Captains Hallowicked and Tim Donst start things off. No feeling out process here. Hallowicked starts out quickly, and the brawl goes all the way to the outside of the ring. Mantis and Delirious end up as the legal men in the ring. Knee by Delirious. Mantis sent into the buckle head first. Slap to the face and he continues trying to break the spell.  Mantis kicks him and spends his time talking with him. Jakob and Dasher enter next. Dasher breaks out of a headlock with a back suplex. Sliding dropkick gets two.  Uppercut by Hammermeier. A second is countered into a backslide. Hard strike exchange. Backbreaker and stunner by Dasher. Hammermeier departs. Baseball slide dropkick. Sugar D and Tursas in next. Chops don’t exactly work very well. Dropkick by Sugar D. Forearm off the middle rope. Tursas ends up on the outside. Slap to Ares. Here comes Matt Jackson. Series of clotheslines. Ares tries tossing Matt. Running back elbow and bodyslam. Spear into a double team splash. Obaryion sends Matt out and does battle with Nick. Dropkick from Nick. Dive to the outside. Pace picks up with Kodama and Green Ant. Running splash from Green Ant. Submission hold blocked. Bodyslam. Del Rey tags. Kodama tries leaving. Del Rey grabs him. Guillotine on the top rope. Kobald manages some offense. Running elbow drops for two. Series of chops. Kobald meets the post. Overhead butterfly slam quickly ends Kobald’s night at 8:39.

Donst enters the ring and appears ready to confront Del Rey. He stalls for a bit. Donst tries to keep it on the mat. Del Rey hits a series of boots. Donst heads out. Snapmare and kick to the back from Delirious. Del Rey responds in kind. Delirious eats kick after kick. Jakob, Del Rey’s High Noon opponent, comes in the ring. He applauds Del Rey in mocking fashion. Tursas nails Del Rey from behind. Hammermeier tries choking. Del Rey hits some strikes. Again Tursas charges into the ring. Hammermeier is allowed to continue choking.  Rinse, lather, repeat. Del Rey finally escapes. Hallowicked hits a series of forearms. Guess who comes in to save his partner. Tursas in and hits a bodyslam. Hallowicked dives out. Mantis hits a series of chops. Ares knees him in the back. Mantis goes after him. Dasher dropkicks Tursas. Sugar D peppers right hands at Obaryion. There is a brawl going on all over the place as action continues inside the ring. Kodama joins his partner in a double team effort. Donst tags Kodama blindly, hits Donstitution on Sugar D, and gets the pin 15:16.

The Batiri don’t appreciate Donst’s handy work. Matt Jackson kicks them out. Bucks take control. Matt dropkicks Donst on the outside. Nick kicks Delirious. Running enziguri and a dive.  Green Ant no sells being sent into the buckle and hits a diving headbutt on Hammermeier. Hammermeier brings Ant to the floor and his a Russian legsweep. Del Rey is legal. Series of kicks. Tursas from behind with a back suplex. Tursas kicks at the leg of Del Rey. Kodama continues working her over. Del Rey kicks him away and hooks in a sloppy roll-up for three to eliminate Kodama in 18:32.

More tension is teased between the Batiri and Donst. Tag to Hallowicked. Donst goes for the mask before driving him to the mat. Delirious recognizes the stump. He goes for something but is countered. Go 2 Sleepy Hollow on Hammermeier. Dropkick by Tursas. Mantis stomps the feet. Dropkick to the leg. Lariat blocked. Big bodyslam. Big slap by Dasher. Forearm. Another chop in the corner. He sets up for a big move and is hit with a flying move off the second rope. Matt Jackson legally enters. Dropkick and a series of forearms. Tursas puts him in the corner. Nick Jackson hits a running knee. They go for the finish. Tursas low blows Matt. Big splash ends Matt Jackson’s night at 22:23.

Nick Jackson hits a springboard facebuster. Running dropkick and knee. Springboard moonsault for two. Tursas catches Nick and overhead slams him. Ares in with boots. Choking along the middle rope. The other BDK members join in. Obaryion continues working Nick Jackson over. Donst rips at the nipples and then beels Nick down. Nasty. Three straight gutwrench suplexes lead to a two count. Drop toehold and an elbow drop by Delirious. Whip to the corner. Clothesline and a neckbreaker. Series of leg drops. Back to the neckbreakers. Superkick by Nick Jackson. A second one. Hammermeier takes one as well. High cross body. Hammermeier reverses into a roll-up AND GETS THREE AT 28:15! Even though Nick got beaten up pretty badly, I’d have to call that a pretty big upset.

Green Ant wants a piece of Tursas. Donst yells at Hammermeier to get down. He wants a meeting and even orders Ares around. Green Ant dives on everyone, and here come the other babyfaces to turn this into a brawl. Utter chaos. Bryce Remsburg has no idea what to do. Hammermeier is finally tossed in. Green Ant hits a dropkick. Incredibly, I think those were the two legal men to start. Hammermeier hits a pair of uppercuts. Angle slam from Green Ant gets two. Texas Cloverleaf. Dasher prevents Tursas from breaking the hold, and Hammermeier submits at 32:20.

Green Ant points at Tursas. Series of strikes. One lariat takes him down. Finlay roll for two. Green Ant with a leaping neckbreaker. Running knee. Cloverleaf blocked. Splash Mountain blocked. Forearms from Green Ant. He goes for a bodyslam. Ares pulls and holds on to the leg. Tursas ends up on top and gets the pin, eliminating Green Ant 34:30.

Green Ant nails Tursas with his padless left  elbow. Combo kick from Del Rey. Series of hard axe kicks and Tursas is gone at 35:18.

Ares chopblocks Del Rey from behind.  Obaryion follows up as Ares sends Wicked into the post. Donst continues working over Del Rey’s knee. Quick kick and here comes Wicked. Donst runs away. Delirious in as Incoherence is about to explode! Wicked tries saving his former partner. Ares slaps Delirious in the face. Delirious decks Ares! Donst shoves him and takes charge. Shove. Wicked comes from behind and rolls Delirious up and gets the elimination at 39:16. Well, that was a bit rudoish. Hmmm.

Wicked tries to “talk” to his partner some more. Obaryion from behind.  Delirious yells at him. Forearms from Wicked. Backcracker and then he tosses Wicked onto his front side. That looked sweet. Donst pulls Wicked out. Mantis works over Obaryion. Modified powerslam from Obaryion. Remsburg yells at Donst and Wicked. Obaryion hits a reverse Go 2 Sleep for two. Obaryion hits a leaping DDT on Dasher, who was on the apron. Donst tosses Mantis out of the ring, brings in Dasher, and covers him for three. Dasher is gone at 42:20. Brilliant.

Del Rey rolls Donst over and almost gets the elimination. Another roll-up for two. Small package gets the same result. The six remaining people brawl in the ring. Heels sent in the corner. Preying Mantis Bomb on Obaryion takes him out at 43:08. A very impressive performance for Obaryion.

Mantis goes for Cosmic Doom. Blue thunder powerbomb by Ares gets two. He goes for Mantis’ mask. Cosmic Doom hit. Ares goes into the ropes and complains about an injured head. Mantis tosses Bryce. Ares hits one shot to the midsection, rolls up Mantis with a handful of tights, and gets the elimination at 44:34.

Series of counters leads to Del Rey tossing Ares into the middle turnbuckle. Guillotine choke. Ares rams her into the corner but that doesn’t work. Ares drives her down. Swanton misses. Wicked hits a huge boot. Forearm. Rydeen bomb and Ares is out at 46:09.

Now Donst has no choice but to get in the ring with Hallowicked. Donst looking around to see no one around was a spectacular moment. Bryce counts at him. Wicked brings him in by the hair.  Donst hits a powerbomb out of the corner. Feet on the ropes and Donst gets the cheap elimination at 47:08.

Del Rey immediately hits a running combo kick. Another kick and a two count. Royal Butterfly but she settles for a knee strike. She gets him over. 1-2-NO! Donst got his foot on the ropes ever so subtly. Hard kicks. Chop block. He drives her down for two. Pad comes off. Tape comes off. It’s getting serious. Donst talks some garbage at Del Rey. Forearm exchange. Donst dives at her. Del Rey applies an armbar, only for Donst to reach the rope. Del Rey kicks him away. Cannonball off the apron. Donst hits Del Rey. Donstitution. 1-2-NO! Submission hold. Del Rey reaches the rope and kicks him away. Blind charge misses. Piledriver gets Del Rey the victory!

Match Analysis: I feel like this match hit all of the important beats it needed to. All the big issues that were going to be settled at the PPV were at least hit on in this match. Donst got to assert what a cocky bastard he is but also what a talented and smart leader he is as well. Del Rey, who’s truly been one of the big stories of CHIKARA this year, picked up the biggest victory of her career on this night. This was such a well-booked and executed match. I’m sure there have been better versions of this match in the past, but every minute of this felt worthwhile, and as a viewer, these 50 minutes flew by.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Sara Del Rey/51:46/***3/4/****1/2

-Fave Five

5. Obaryion looked really impressive in his Cibernetico stint. He’s been the better of the two Batiri members from the beginning, but the rough edges are being smoothed over and he’s becoming an all-around great performer.

4. Ophidian may have lost, but he put on a great performance in a losing effort. His singles matches this year have all been really solid. He’s really broken away from the Osirian Portal to become his own man. Good for Ophidian.

3.  El Generico continues to show why he might be the best wrestler of 2011 with a great opener against Ophidian. No matter where you place this man  on the card, he’s always going to deliver and have a great match.

2. Tim Donst got another incredible promo before the main event. He looks to be getting in the best shape of his life, and he acted like a heel captain throughout the entire match. He wrestled brilliantly, not wowing anyone with moves, but just being a great personality that people would want to boo and despise.

1. Gotta give props to the queen for a great victory. CHIKARA has really given Del Rey the opportunity to show why she’s one of the best wrestlers in the world, male or female. She’s stepped up her game and changed her offense to match up better with the men. She also sold her knee throughout Cibernetico. A major plus in my book.

-The Verdict: Considering the opener and main event encompass over half the show, I’d say this is worth a purchase. Much of the midcard is mediocre to alright, but the two important matches make Cibernetico: The Animated Series an easy thumbs up. It’s a perfect companion piece to High Noon and unlike other companies who seem to tank shows the night before PPVs, CHIKARA at least made this slightly more relevant than just another B show.