-Taped from Vaughn, Canada
-Your hosts are of course various members of the Chikara roster and staff
-Sara Del Rey keeps things brief. No more talking. Time for wrestling!
Match in Five Words or Less: A Major Upset
Match Highlights: Crowd thinks Del Rey is going to kill Kobald. The rest of the Batiri is at ringside. Kodama tries to sneak up on Del Rey but gets kicked and sent outside. Del Rey gives chase. Kodama and Obaryion distract her long enough for Kobald to get the advantage. Chop. Del Rey responds with some of her own. Kobald with a running kick. Choking. Running spear as Del Rey is prone along the ropes. Abdominal stretch. Knee drop on Kobald’s head. Crowd asks her to do it again and she does. Kick. Spear in the corner by Kobald. Cover for two. Weak double chops to the back. Another chop. Del Rey sends him in the corner and delivers a series of kicks. To another corner. Kobald sends her away and sits down in the whoopee cushion. He drags her up by the hair and lays her across his shoulders. Chop by Del Rey. Kicks as Kobald is tied up in the middle and top rope. Stomp to the head sends Kobald back in the ring. Kobald rips Del Rey’s eyes. Snapmare. Off the ropes with an elbow drop. He hits two more. Off the ropes and Del Rey kicks Kobald away. Obaryion grabs her leg. Version of the Drunk Slam into a bridge for two. Double chops. Running spear but Kobald rams his shoulder into the post. Rolling combo kick into the cross armbreaker. Kodama and Obaryion push the rope so Kobald can reach it easier. Del Rey again becomes distracted. German suplex gets two. Both Kodama and Obaryion go on the apron. Kobald rolls her up… and I guess gets three. That was terribly awkward. Jon Barber, what were you thinking about?
Match Analysis: Other than the botched ending, this was an acceptable opener. Kobald looked the best he’s looked so far and Del Rey looked motivated to have a good match with the relative newcomer. I’ve been complaining about Batiri needing something to do, and I can only assume a feud with Del Rey is in the works. To be honest though, Del Rey is a borderline main eventer and the Batiri really aren’t. Be interesting to see how Chikara makes us invested in this rivalry.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Kobald/7:56/**3/4/***
Match in Five Words or Less: Fine
Match Highlights: The only one of these guys I’ve seen is Banks, who’s made a couple appearances in AAW. His gimmick is pretty much a rip-off of Sugar Dunkerton. Feeling out process between Alexander and O’Shea. O’Shea hits some nice kicks. Running kick to the face before meeting a back elbow. Handspring elbow into a nice roll-up for two. Alexander tosses him out. Vega hits a headscissors. Marquez attacks him from behind. Vega flips over and hits a rana. Forearms by Marquez. Off the ropes. Vega armdrags Marquez into the corner. He eats a forearm. Banks becomes legal and hits a cross body. Nice roll-up for two. Hard chop. Around for an armdrag. Left forearms by Suave. He tears Banks’s shirt off. Enziguri out of the corner. Off the ropes and into a small package. Flip up and over. Dropkick. He gets tossed out by Alexander. O’Shea flips in and ranas both men. Clothesline by Marquez. Forearm and we have a heat segment on O’Shea. Crowd chants “hacker” since that’s his nickname. Wonder what kind of friends he has. O’Shea double stomps him away and Vega gets the tag. Series of strikes and a running forearm. O’Connor roll blocked. Dropkick. Triangle choke. Banks comes in with Alexander and hits a nice armdrag. He drives Alexander down with his legs. Flip out of the corner. Springboard elbow. Strikes from Alexander. Everest German suplex nearly ends it. He gets low bridged out. Suave and Vega go at it. Boot by Vega out of the corner. Marquez gets rana’d out. He then tosses Suave on top of his partner. Banks hits a sky twister and catches his ankle on the apron. Cannonball by O’Shea on Alexander gets his team the victory.
Match Analysis: These sorts of showcases are a mixed bag for Chikara. Some have gone well. Some have gone terribly wrong. Thankfully, these six guys didn’t try to do much and merely had a solid six man tag team match with some high-flying and Luchaesque moves.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Brent Banks, Alex Vega, and Scotty O’Shea/8:49/***/***
Match in Five Words or Less: Lee’s Farewell?
Match Highlights: Lee misses a running boot to the corner before the bell even rings. Fire Ant saves the referee in a nice moment. Lee catches Fire on a dive. Fire heads back in the ring. Tope suicida followed by a tope con helo. Lee hits a running boot. Some stalling as Lee doesn’t take advantage. Fire Ant gets tossed into the hockey boards hard. Two minutes for boarding. In the NHL, that wouldn’t even be a suspension. Springboard dive back in the ring. Fire sent in the corner. He steps on Fire. Chop. Rake of the face. Lee tears at the mask. Fire with chops. Lee dropkicks Fire and gets two. European uppercut. Lee brings Fire up by the antenna. Forearm in the back. Chop. Texas cloverleaf. He picks him up and drops him. Choking. Pumphandle suplex. Charge misses. Fire Ant climbs. Lee suplexes him but only gets two. Powerbomb turned into a stunner. Kick by Fire. Charge misses. Boots Lee away. Cross body and a running kick. Brainbuster blocked. Hard strike from Lee. Fire comes back with strikes and kicks. Lee catches Fire Ant in a German suplex. 1-2-NO! Half nelson suplex turned into a roll-up. BOOOOOOOT! Running powerbomb and that’s it.
Match Analysis: If given more time, I feel like this match would have veered from simply being okay fun to a really good match. As is, they did what they could with the time given. Lee has really developed into a good all-around wrestler, and you can see why certain bigger companies have become interested in his services.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Brodie Lee/7:01/**1/2/***
-Eddie Kingston claps for after the match since they meet on the next show.
-Dasher is unhappy about losing to a nerd. Hmm, sounds a bit like his cousin there. It feels the seeds of a heel turn were planted here.
Match in Five Words or Less: Poor Archie
Match Highlights: Mr. Touchdown comes down with Dasher while Veronica is nowhere to be found. Archie looks depressed. Basic to start. Crowd wants them to hug it out. Archie folds his arms and pouts. Crowd chants… swear to God… “Dasher’s going to hug you.” Vaughn. I love you. Don’t expect it to last however. Archie grabs a waistlock. Dasher maintains the basic nature of the contest. Shoulder tackle. Dasher counters… into a hug. Archie pushes him away. Crowd wants one more. Drop toehold by Archie. Running forearm to the back. Leg drop. Stomps in the corner. I wish a camera was focused on Touchdown during this. Running blockbuster. Headbutt in the corner. Double underhook suplex. Bearhug but Dasher elbows out. Atomic drop. Armdrag. Back drop. Elbow to the midsection. Bridges over for two. Slap to the chest. He runs into a boot. Clothesline off the middle rope by Archie. He calls for the finish. Veronica makes her way out as Archie climbs to the top. The crowd sings. Archie misses. Baseball slide dropkick by Dasher. Dasher continues working over the left leg of Archie. Enziguri by Archie. He talks at Veronica. Russian legsweep into another leg submission. Kneebreaker. Dasher wraps the legs and contorts the tights so they wrap around his legs. This means Peck is in a hold and Dasher isn’t doing anything. Oh my God. Peck reaches for the rope. That was the best submission move…ever! Dasher maintains the knee work. Dasher runs around the bases and dropkicks Archie. Jackhammer for two. Dasher calls for the finish and climbs to the top. Archie meets him and hits an overhead exploder. Veronica is shown making eyes at Mr. Touchdown. They walk toward each other. Archie yells at Veronica. Dasher locks in the figure four leglock. Dasher taps! Veronica walks out.
Match Analysis: This match played second fiddle to the angle going on outside the ring. Clearly, Mr. Touchdown and Veronica are going somewhere. Maybe a date? Perhaps to the ice cream shop? Perhaps to an aptly named dance? Dasher’s leg work actually paid off with a submission victory, and he certainly showed off a bit more of an aggressive style relative to what he’s done in the past. I am intrigued by the angle despite the match not being amazing.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Dasher Hatfield/12:05/**1/4/**1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: Beginner’s Luck
Match Highlights: The invaders, combatANT and deviANT, come out in lieu of Los Ice Creams. I guess this is the official debut of combatANT and deviANT, thus proving if you invade a promotion, you will get booked on the next show. Mini-battle royale ensues almost immediately. Everyone matches up in each corner. Batiri and Spectral Envoy. Colony and The Swarm. Eventually, wrestlers begin getting tossed outside. Brawl of course continues. Poor Bryce Remsburg doesn’t know what to do. It’s just utter chaos. Announcers point out, and this is worth mentioning, that the Swarm is more concerned with taking the masks off than actually beating Soldier and Green. Soldier finally dumps combatANT on the apron hard on his back. The Batiri and Spectral Envoy are almost forgotten in this mess. Wicked gets everyone’s attention by sending Obaryion to the boards. Kodama slams Mantis on the bleachers. Soldier sent into the ring. CombatANT goes for Soldier’s mask. Remsburg threatens them with disqualification. Clotheslines by Soldier Ant. Back out goes combatANT. High knee strike by deviANT. Green drops him in a Michinoku Driver. Green dives on all of the ants…except the third member of the Swarm. This one is in blue and is significantly bigger than the other two. Forearms by Obaryion on Wicked. Double team. They each apply a sleeper on Wicked. That’s different. Mantis has to save his partner. Back elbows for everyone. Cosmic Doom gets a nearfall. Obaryion sent into the top turnbuckle. The blue ant beats Soldier. Miscommunication by Batiri. Elbow by Mantis. Running boot by Wicked. Go 2 Sleepy Hollow. Mantis hits a running senton. Envoy calls for the end. Delirious then gets on the microphone and calls out Mantis. Batiri hit a quick double team knee strike on Wicked and eliminate Spectral Envoy quickly in 8:10. Colony don’t fare so well against both Rudo teams. The four rudos work over Soldier and Green. Then the Swarm turn on the Batiri. Green gets a roll-up for two. DDT. Chikara Special: Green leads to the submission and elimination at 11:10. DeviANT and combatANT go for Soldier’s mask yet again. Green Ant tries taking on both members but has no success. Gutwrench by combatANT. Tag to deviANT and he hits a stomp. Back to the masks. Boot by Green. Enziguri. He kicks combatANT away. Soldier comes in with a clothesline, elbow, and forearm. Four feet of fury on combatANT. Another attempt misses as the blue ant makes the save. Tope suicida on both of them. Soldier goes for the TKO. His mask gets turned around. TKO by combatANT gets the victory.
Match Analysis: You wanna talk about a match that wasn’t as important as an angle or angles? This was it. This was a borderline mess, and I’m not even sure how to rate it. Definitely too much going on as you had Delirious distracting the Spectral Envoy leading to their elimination. Then the stuff with all the ants. If the Swarm are so obsessed with taking the masks off, why aren’t they just doing it and ignoring the referee’s demands? Chikara has a lot of work to do before they sell me on this angle. This match did not do it for me.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: combatANT and deviANT/14:12/**/***
-Tim Donst didn’t drive all this way to lose to El Generico. He yells at Hallowicked some more and talks about being the greatest Young Lion’s Cup champion of all time. Some call it repetitive. I call it effective storytelling because he’s so good at what he does.
Match in Five Words or Less: Donst Chokes
Match Highlights: These two of course had a dandy of a match in Cleveland for AIW. A noticeable minority of the crowd cheers for Donst. Feeling out process. Generico ducks and hits a pair of chops. Shoulder tackle. He springboards off. Leg lariat. Chop back in the corner. Donst sent into the top turnbuckle. 10 punches in the corner. Cover for two. Standing moonsault? Donst trips Generico and sends him into the post. Generico rammed into the side of the ring. Back in the ring. Chinlock. He sends Generico to the mat by the mask. In the corner for an elbow. He grabs Generico’s nipples. Whip in the corner. Choking on the middle
rope. Elbow to the back. Another whip. Running shoulder tackle and overhead throw. Generico hits a series of forearms. Donst catches Generico in a firemen’s carry. Into the corner. Donst hits an iconoclasm as a way of calling Hallowicked out. Knee to the midsection. Generico low bridges Donst. Tope con helo. Cross body gets two. Blue thunder powerbomb is blocked with elbow strikes. Generico counters out of a firemen’s carry and hits a blue thunder powerbomb. Yakuza blocked. STDonst. Firemen’s carry but Generico elbows out of it. Open –hand slap. Donst hits a death valley driver for two. Running clothesline. Generico misses a charge. German suplex by Donst. Exploder in the corner by Generico into the corner. Forearm exchange. Boots by Generico. Half nelson suplex. Yakuza misses. Donst unwraps the tape that’s around his wrist. The referee takes it away. Donst take a shoe lace and chokes Generico with it. Of course, this leads to the referee stopping the match due to a choke-out.
Match Analysis: This was a good match, but nothing I would run out of my way to see. They delivered a solid, entertaining bout. There were some good, basic exchanges, but it felt like something was missing. It’s sort of how I feel about this show in general.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Tim Donst/12:15/***/***
Match in Five Words or Less: Uh Oh
Match Highlights: Quack and Jigsaw quickly run out to the ring because it’s time to get serious. Quack cuts a promo before the match. He calls the beatdown last month a fluke. The fairytale story ends tonight! From behind, here are 17 and Shard. That was predictable. WATCH YOUR BACK! Quack clotheslines 17 over the top rope. Double team on Shard. Jigsaw goes for the brainbuster but gets chop blocked. Back to the double team by the tecnicos. Quack hits a springboard splash. Jigsaw hits a springboard double stomp. Quack chops Shard. 17 drags Quack out and rams him into the side of the ring. Rudos go to work on Jigsaw’s knee. I love how 17 has a goofier costume than half the Chikara roster. Jigsaw tries chopping out of the corner, but Shard elbows away. Heat segment continues as they refocus their efforts on the knee. Elbow by Jigsaw. Release German suplex. Shard gets sent outside. Jigsaw does as well. Elbows by Quack and a running dropkick. Creative hot tag there. He drives him down and goes into the roll-up for two. Up top for a swanton and two. Shard breaks the count. Jigsaw kicks Shard and goes for the brainbuster. Counter and a superkick by Shard. Quack superkicks Shard and prevents him from hitting a Jig n Tonic. Palm strike by 17. Quack does one as well. Quackendriver 2 by 17. He locks up Quack’s wrists in a submission hold. We get an immediate submission. You would be amazed at how little crowd response all of this got.
Match Analysis: I just don’t know about this angle. I liked the psychology of Quack and Jigsaw having to deal with mirror images of themselves, but considering we just dealt with an invader angle, I’m not sure how much enthusiasm I can muster for another set of invaders. Match was alright in execution. It definitely wasn’t bad, but unless you’re super into this angle, it’s tough to sink your teeth into everything surrounding the match.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Shard and 17/7:27/**1/2/**
Match in Five Words or Less: Lots Of Choking
Match Highlights: Remember when Kingston was fat? Wow, has he lost weight lately. Good for him. Immediate attempt at a choke. Dropkick in the corner. Kingston sends him up and over. Enziguri and double knees off the top rope. Chop. Kingston responds with some of his own. Clubbering blows to the back. Series of chops in the corner. He sends Ophidian all the way down. One more for good measure. Northern lights suplex. Headbutt. Double chops by Ophidian. Straight choke. Choking on the middle rope. Kingston chokes back. Kingston then slaps him away. Ophidian chokes Kingston in the corner. Snapmare into a kick. Kingston tosses him away. Ophidian goes for a nerve hold. Kingston lifts him up in an electric chair and drops him. Kingston chops him. Ophidian with a series of kicks. Again with the choking. He goes to the masks and loses the advantage. Into the corner. Ophidian rakes at the eyes. Stomach claw. Chop by Kingston. Kick by Ophidian. Forearms by Kingston. Overhead toss and a strap comes down. Yakuza kick. Uranagi gets two. Backfist misses. Body scissors and choking. Leaping kick to the back of the head. Double knees in the corner. Death Grip. Kingston judo throws him. Kick by Ophidian. Backfist to the future and an immediate three count.
Match Analysis: I sort of liked where the match was going with Ophidian going for a lot of chokes and trying to also end the match right from the get go. However, while I appreciate Kingston is the Grand Champion and should be treated appropriately, he shouldn’t be beating someone like Ophidian, who needs all the help he can get considering his heel turn, with one move after basically dominating a match. I’m not angry Kingston won but rather disappointed Ophidian was booked to fold so quickly.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Eddie Kingston/7:34/**3/4/***
-Very simply, this is the biggest match of 3.0’s career. They’ve been best friends since the third grade and are ready for their big moment together. Scott Parker’s promo proves one thing. This.Is. Serious.
Match in Five Words or Less: Boo Ya!
Match Highlights: Icarus replaces Gargano again. The dyed hair and douche goatee are still there as well. Just when you think a guy can’t be any more of a heel, Icarus always finds a way. Matthews is ready. I can only imagine how many Red Bulls he had before the match. Matthews starts with Taylor. Matthews goes for Boston crabs on both men early. They flee. F.I.S.T stalls for a bit. Parker and Icarus take their turn. Off comes the jacket. The crowd, referee, and me are all appalled by his continued insistence on showing off the worst tattoo in the history of mankind. Parker elbow drops the jacket before tossing it. Why would you want to touch that thing? Icarus wants a test of strength. Parker armdrags him over. Icarus throws a tantrum. Parker encourages the crowd to clap away. They keep things basic for a bit. Parker works a side headlock. Icarus bites out of it. Parker kicks him out of the ring. Back drop on Taylor. Double team by 3.0. Double team elbow drops on both members of F.I.S.T. Taylor knees Parker in the back. Parker knocks him off. Icarus hits a spear. Snap suplex into a guillotine choke. Taylor uses a shoe on Parker. Chikarason makes an Austin Powers reference. Thankfully, I’m above that sort of thing. Matthews starts a “Defense” chant. Running clothesline by Icarus. Russian legsweep. Taylor hits a double axehandle off the top rope. Choke on the bottom rope. Series of stomps. Parker hits a clothesline. Flapjack. Hot tag to Matthews. Clotheslines for Icarus. Icarus throws powder in his face, hooks the tights, and gets three at 10:48. F.I.S.T tries to take advantage, but Parker causes some miscommunication and gets a roll-up for three in six seconds to pick up the second fall. Parker with right hands for Taylor. Leg lariat. Springboard forearm. Clothesline on Taylor. Matthews hits a headscissors on both Icarus and Taylor. F.I.S.T resumes double teaming. Elbow by Matthews out of the corner. Headscissors/side headlock takeover combo. Double team running kick. Hart Attack clothesline. Icarus tosses Matthews outside. Choking. Matthews lifts Icarus up. Doomsday Device. Taylor breaks the count. Taylor out of a powerbomb. Superkick hits. Soul Food. Parker hits a roaring forearm. Blu-Ray. 1-2-NO! Pedigree hits. 1-2-NO! Matthews with forearms. Taylor hits a knee strike. Running knee into a backcracker. 1-2-NO! Icarus goes into his boot for his boot lace. Matthews goes for a Boston crab. Icarus hits Matthews with a chain and covers. 1-2-NO! Icarus grabs one of the belts. Matthews takes him down and applies a Boston crab. Parker prevents Taylor from interfering. Icarus taps out at 4:10. Crowd goes crackers. Locker room empties. NEW CHAMPIONS!
Match Analysis: To be frank, the Vaughn crowd was a mixed bag during this entire show. They really should have been more into this match than they were. A little bit more from them would have made this moment even more special. Thankfully, Chikara knows how to handle moments like these so impeccably well it doesn’t matter. The babyfaces coming out to celebrate helps. Congratulations to 3.0 on finally becoming the champions. They’re not the best pure wrestlers, but they are a representation of everything that Chikara wants to be. For all the negatives on this show, it ended perfectly.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: NEW Campeones de Parejas-3.0/15:04/***1/2/****
The Verdict: What an unbelievable ending to what was a mediocre show. Just because of 3.0 winning, I have to give the show a thumbs up. This moment, and really the match, are worth checking out alone. There are major questions that need to be answered as it pertains to the key angles Chikara is going with. This invader angle needs to be explained better… and soon. At least the BDK had some intrigue and build-up before happening. It’s going to be a very interesting rest of the year.
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Too bad 3.0 are probably going to immediately cough it back up. And now Quack’s out with a wrist fracture.